Terra and the Dentist

"Sunshaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw...!"  A whimper came from Terra's room.  The little blue-eyed stardroid clutched his jaw, puffing out his tiny cheek.

Sunstar approached the door, which was slightly ajar.  "Yes, little Terraling?"

"My mouf hursh."  Terra whimpered, leaning against the wall next to the door.  "Hursh a wot."

"Aww...let me see."  Sunstar knelt, opening the door a little more.

Terra crawled closer and opened his mouth, tears in his little blue eyes.  Sunstar reached his hand into the open mouth, wiggling his finger along each tooth until he reached the left upper canine, at which point Terra winced and bit down.  Sunstar flinched, but remained calm.  Terra couldn't help what he was doing in pain.

"It's loose and you have a toothache, my little Terraling."  Sunstar said softly, ruffling a few strands of bright green hair.  "Will you let my finger out?"

"O-oh!"  Terra suddenly opened his mouth; Sunstar yanked his finger out quickly, shaking it.  Thank goodness this kid already had his roborabies vaccine.

"I'm going to have to take you to an earth dentist."  Sunstar frowned.  "I can't fix this on my own, little Terra."

Terra sniffled and nodded, clinging to Sunstar tightly.  The older stardroid stood up and looked around for an interstellar communications device.  Ah yes, those portable ones!  Thank goodness for them.  He dialed the protocol code for Earth, then dialed the first dentist's number he could find in a databank.

"Guten Morgen, you haff reached the office of Dr. A. Wily, DDS."  A tinny female voice answered his call.

"May I make an appointment?  My little Terra has a really bad toothache."  Sunstar tried his best to sound like an earthling parent.  He hoped it worked.

"I can fit you in at three."  The voice responded.

"Today?"

"Yes."

"That works."

Sunstar glanced at the clock.  It was already noon.  At least it gave him time to figure out where to go.

"And where is this office located?"

"Skull Island--off zee coast of Monsteropolis City."  The cool female voice responded.

Sunstar smirked.  He knew Monsteropolis.  He beamed down there a lot to scare the hell out of humans when he wasn't having to take care of a squadron of little hellraisers.  This would be familiar.

Around the time of the appointment, he beamed down with Terra, to a small island he had located off the coast of Monsteropolis.  The tiny stardroid clinged tighter, staring at the giant fortress that didn't look at all like a dentist office.  Sunstar wrinkled his nose, but knocked on the door.

"Gimme da password!"  A hasty squeaky boy's voice ordered.

"I don't know the password, I'm just here because I scheduled a dentist appointment."  Sunstar frowned.

The door opened and an old man clutching a struggling little boy clad in red armor with yellow boomerangs stood.  "I apologize for mein son's rude behavior.  Little Quickman can be quite the handful."

"It's alright."  Sunstar nodded.

"Zee office is down this hall, first door on zee left."  The old man smiled; he then turned around, chewing out the small boy in his arms that continued to struggle.

Sunstar moved as directed into the office.

A dentist, it seemed, already stood in the office, his coat down to the floor, a pair of pliers in his hands.

There came a throat-clear, and suddenly a mimicry of the old man's voice.  "Guten tag I will be your dentist."

Terra yelped.  He didn't like the look of the sawblade on the forehead of the dentist's helmet, nor the eerie red eyes or the pliers.  Sunstar gave a stern look, as though evaluating.

"What's your name?"  He spoke up.

The dentist failed to mimic the voice this time, and spoke in a soft, childlike tone.  "I'm Metalman.  A-an' I'll be your dendi-dentish--dentist!"

Sunstar crossed his arms.  "No you won't."

The dentist seemed to shorten almost two feet as a clank was heard.  His hard steel bottom had whacked against the stool he'd been standing on.  The little robot eyed Sunstar.  

"You won't tell my papa I been bad, right?"  He murmured, looking up with the cutest, saddest eyes he could muster.

Sunstar chuckled.  "I won't.  I'll tell him you just got caught up in playing."  He rather liked this little guy; he wasn't a bad kid.  Just over-imaginative.

The old man entered the office, eyeing the little boy in the dentist coat.  "Metalman, go play dentist with your brothers, okay?  Papa needs to work.  And give me my pliers.  I might need those to pull the patient's tooth."

The little robot gave the old man the pliers and hopped down from the stool, nodding.  "'Kay, papa."

Sunstar chuckled at the little boy, then focused on the old man.  "So...Dr. Wily was it?  Can you check out little Terra's tooth?  It's the upper left canine tooth."

Dr. Wily nodded and crouched near Terra.  "Open your mouth, little guy."

Terra did as ordered.  Dr. Wily reached in and started wiggling the tooth somewhat, wincing when he heard Terra's pained whimpers.  He then brandished his pliers.

"Zat tooth has to come out."  Wily frowned.

"Understood."  Sunstar nodded.  "Hold still, Terra.  He's just pulling your tooth."

The little stardroid stared and whimpered.  Wily reached in with the pliers and tugged at the tooth, causing Terra to squeal.  The tiny Stardroid thrashed and squealed until the tooth was out, at which point Wily capped the oil ports to the tooth port with a flat steel cap.

"Does zat feel all better?"  He asked.

Terra nodded, whimpering, tears in his eyes.

"How vould you like a lollipop for being such a little trooper?"  Wily offered.

"...C-can I have some for my widdle bwothers?"

"Nein, nein.  Hmm, then how about a sticker?"

"Otay!"