Sonic returned home much later than he had been expecting, surprised when Tails didn't greet him at the door as he usually did. He figured that Tails was probably just working on an invention or something, although he couldn't shake off a nervous feeling...
"Relax," Sonic said to himself quietly. "Tails is probably just in his workshop or went to bed early or something. It's no big deal."
But he still couldn't shake off the feeling that something had happened, no matter how much he tried to ignore it. Yes, someone had tried to kidnap Amy earlier that same day, but she had been able to defend herself. Tails was fully capable of defending himself, too.
But Shadow was barely able to defend himself against the guy... Sonic thought morbidly.
That was ridiculous, Sonic realized. What were the chances that the same guy who had attacked Shadow and tried to kidnap Amy would go after Tails? It was all so silly...
Even so, the more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable Sonic felt. And he couldn't make himself stop thinking about it.
Finally deciding that worrying about what was likely nothing would get him nowhere, Sonic went into the kitchen to look for a snack. There, he found a note scrawled on the counter, and immediately recognized the handwriting as Tails'.
"Hey, Sonic," the note said, "out looking for chaos emerald, be back in a bit."
Okay, so Tails was probably just out looking for a chaos emerald for some experiment or whatever, had probably lost track of time or something. That was logical. Still, it was getting pretty late...
"Tails?" Sonic called out, knowing he wasn't going to get a response. "Are you in here?"
Sonic dashed to Tails' workshop and found it empty. He looked all over the house, hoping with every fiber of his being that he'd be able to find his friend, feeling his heart sinking lower and lower with every empty room. There was no way Tails could have gotten himself into trouble, but why on earth was he so late getting home? It wasn't like Tails to get home so late, especially if he was working on an experiment.
Trying not to jump to conclusions, Sonic decided to just try calling Tails' cell phone. He prayed this wouldn't be one of those days Tails forgot to bring it with him, although he felt his prayers fall short when the call immediately went to Tails' voice-mail. If Tails had his cell phone with him, why wouldn't he have it on or answer it, especially if the call was coming from his own house?
Okay... Maybe Eggman's up to something, Sonic reasoned. That would explain it; if Tails is out there stopping him, I don't think he'd be answering his cell phone.
Sonic decided to turn on the TV, hoping there would be something on the news about it, if only to let him know his friend was okay. However, today had apparently been a pretty peaceful day as far as the news was concerned, and Sonic switched the TV right back off after a few minutes.
Something was seriously wrong, he could feel it. There was no reason for Tails not to be home, and after what had happened to Amy and Shadow earlier that day...
Sonic just hoped that Tails was okay.
Tails woke up slowly, feeling a throbbing pain in the side of his head. He couldn't remember what had happened, at least not for the moment. When his eyes finally managed to pry themselves open, the young fox looked around and saw that he was in some sort of building, inside a small room. A cell. But he had no idea how he had gotten there. He remembered being just outside the city, enjoying a peaceful day, and then...
And then someone had attacked him! It was all coming back to him, he had been on his way home when someone had attacked him. But that still didn't explain where he was now or how he had gotten here...
It's probably some stupid plan of Eggman's, Tails told himself, trying to calm himself down, although he wasn't entirely convinced. He had a bad feeling, and couldn't shake it off.
Tails reached for his cell phone, shocked that whoever had taken him here hadn't taken it away from him at some point during the process. He quickly flipped it open, started dialing the numbers to Sonic's cell phone, figuring that would be the fastest way to reach the blue hedgehog...
He stopped short when he heard someone walking in his direction, feeling chills going up his spine. It was the fox from earlier, the one who had attacked him and presumably taken him here, and Tails couldn't help but feel increasingly nervous. He was obviously dealing with someone violent, and he had no idea where Sonic was. He was trapped with no way to defend himself, and he couldn't help but think that Sonic wasn't going to come here and save him.
Sonic had no idea where he was. Heck, Sonic probably didn't even know anything was going wrong right now; he was probably at home, thinking that Tails was still out looking for a chaos emerald and had simply lost track of time or something. Tails was entirely on his own for now, and that thought absolutely terrified him.
"You didn't think I wouldn't notice that, did you?" the other fox asked, gesturing to the small phone Tails was holding.
"Who on earth are you?" Tails asked, caught between wanting to get in contact with Sonic and wanting to figure out just what the heck was going on. "And why...?"
"Who're you calling?" Esplouge interrupted. "Sonic? I'd like to speak with him, too, if you don't mind."
"... You'd better leave me alone," Tails said, trying to force his voice to sound braver than he felt. After all, he was just dealing with another kid, albeit a violent one, but he was sure he could still take care of himself if he needed to. And even if he couldn't, maybe acting strong would make the other fox back off a little. "Sonic's going to come here any minute and make you wish you hadn't..."
"Oh, you really think so?" Esplouge interrupted, sounding as amused as he appeared. He reached a hand through the bars of the cell Tails was trapped in. "Hand it over."
"No way," Tails said, dialing the rest of the numbers he needed as he did so.
Esplouge opened the door to the cell and let himself in, slamming the door so hard, it came partway back open. Tails startled at the noise, but ignored it in favor of waiting for Sonic to pick up.
For the time being, Tails was unsure about simply running passed Esplouge to escape; his head hurt so badly, Tails was worried he wouldn't be able to stand properly, much less fight or run. For now, the safest thing to do would be to stay sitting on the ground. As long as Esplouge didn't do anything to him, there was really no reason to try to fight, especially with his head hurting as much as it did.
Esplouge merely stood over Tails, a predator in wait.
"Hello?" came Sonic's voice, cutting the second ring short. "Tails, where the heck...?"
"Sonic...!"
Before Tails could say any more, Esplouge yanked the cell phone out of his hands. Tails jumped up to try to get it back, regretting the action almost instantly. His head started pounding, and he realized fairly quickly that Esplouge was taller than him and could easily hold the phone out of his reach anyway.
"Why don't we put it on speaker?" Esplouge suggested, pressing the button on the cell phone that would allow the two of them to hear Sonic.
"Sonic, I have no idea where I am...!" Tails screamed before getting kicked in the stomach, feeling the wind being knocked out of him. He tried crawling over to the door to the cell, hoping he could just sneak away, but Esplouge noticed and quickly put himself between Tails and the door, leaving the smaller fox at a loss for what to do.
"What the hell's going on?" Sonic demanded.
"What's going on," Esplouge started calmly, staring right at Tails as he spoke, "is that I have your little friend right where I want him, and you can't do anything to save him."
"What...?"
"I'd be quiet if I were you, Sonic," Esplouge said, saying Sonic's name with utmost spite. "Unless, of course, you want me to hurt your little friend..."
"If you lay a hand on him, I swear I'll..."
"You're in no position to deliver threats," Esplouge said, sounding amused. "Besides, you can still hear Tails, so you know he's alright. Here, say something to Sonic, Tails. Let him know you're still alive."
Esplouge held the phone in Tails' face, making the smaller fox shrink back.
"Sonic, I'm scared..." Tails said, his voice growing weak with fear. He had no idea what was going on, no idea what on earth was wrong with the strange fox he was with, and that absolutely terrified him.
Esplouge took the phone out of Tails' face and walked out of the cell with it, setting it down on the ground just out of reach.
"See, Tails? This way, Sonic will still get to hear every scream, and we don't have to worry about your stupid little phone breaking," Esplouge said, sounding strangely happy. He walked back into the cell, closing and locking the door behind himself, licking his lips hungrily, making Tails' discomfort rise.
"Don't you dare touch him!" Sonic's voice nearly screamed over the phone.
Esplouge grabbed Tails by the tuft of fur on his chest, holding the smaller fox's face close to his own. He stared fiercely into Tails' eyes, licking his lips again, sending chills through Tails' body.
"I'm going to enjoy every second of this..." Esplouge said. The two foxes were so close, Tails could feel Esplouge's breath on his face.
Esplouge threw Tails at the wall, but Tails managed to stop himself short of hitting it. Tails' actions were fueled entirely by fear; he couldn't run away, so the only thing left to do was to fight. Tails swiped weakly at Esplouge with his tails, forcing Esplouge away from him, which only seemed to make the darker fox more amused.
"Oh, so you're going to try to put up a fight?" Esplouge asked. "And here I thought you were just going to take it."
"L-leave me alone," Tails said, his voice shaking slightly. "I don't even know you, why are you...?"
Esplouge tackled Tails to the ground, cutting Tails short. Tails let out a shriek of surprise and immediately started struggling with Esplouge to get up. The two rolled for a moment before Esplouge got his grip and firmly held Tails down, making it impossible for the smaller fox to get up.
"Really, you're making this too easy," Esplouge taunted. "At least try."
Esplouge slammed his elbow down into Tails' gut, resulting in a choked cry. Tails' eyes began to tear up, which only seemed to amuse Esplouge more. They could both still hear Sonic's voice screaming over the cell phone, but neither of them was registering the blue hero's words anymore. They were entirely focused on each other, Tails on figuring out a way to free himself, and Esplouge in causing Tails more pain.
"It's okay, Tails," Esplouge said quietly. "I'm not going to kill you. At least not yet. After all, Sonic can hear us, and if he hears me kill you, I won't have anything to lure him here with. So please, by all means, keep talking so he knows that you're still alive."
Esplouge put his face closer to Tails' and whispered into the smaller fox's ear.
"You wanted to know who I am? I'm your worst nightmare, Tails. That's who I am. And as for why I'm doing this to you..."
Esplouge's fist connected with the side of Tails' head, causing the smaller fox to cry out in pain. Esplouge started to laugh, as if this was the most hilarious thing he had ever seen.
"Go on, keep screaming, Tails," Esplouge said joyfully. "At least this way, he'll know you're still alive."
Esplouge's fist hit Tails again, causing the smaller fox to again cry out in pain. Esplouge pressed himself closer to Tails, as if trying to crush the smaller fox with his body.
"I don't think you're screaming loud enough," Esplouge said, his voice rising even though his mouth was so close to Tails' ear. "Sonic might think we've hung up on him! So scream louder!"
Tails struggled against Esplouge, not wanting to give the psychopath the satisfaction of winning. Tails managed to roll so that he was on top of Esplouge, but almost immediately afterword, the darker fox pushed him off and got up. Esplouge pulled Tails up as well and shoved him against the bars of the cell. Tails refused to cry out this time, knowing that was what Esplouge wanted. If he so much as made a sound, Esplouge would win.
"I must not be hitting you hard enough," Esplouge taunted, catching on to Tails' plan. "I guess I'll just have to fix that..."
Sonic cringed upon hearing Tails scream from over the phone. He had been running through the city since Tails had called, trying to find Tails before something truly horrible could happen to him. And for some sick reason, even though all he was hearing was his friend being tortured, he couldn't bring himself to hang up. He knew that Tails was still alive, although if he didn't hurry, he didn't know how much longer that would last. But at least for now, he knew that Tails was still alive, and that was all that mattered to him.
"Tails!" Sonic screamed for what felt like the millionth time. "Tails, try to say something coherent, tell me where the hell you are! Please!"
Sonic's legs felt weak, but he couldn't stop himself from running. He had to find Tails. He had to make sure his friend was okay.
Sonic heard a loud noise over the phone, something that sounded like metal scraping against metal, before hearing another coherent voice.
"He stopped moving..." the voice droned, sounding almost deathly calm. "Ha ha, don't worry, he's not dead, Sonic. At least not yet..."
"Who the hell are you?" Sonic demanded furiously. Disgusted at the thought of someone sick enough to hurt someone like Tails.
"Oh, I'm not ready for you to know that just yet," Esplouge said. "I'd like to keep up an air of mystery for a little while, just to get used to things being the way they are. You'll be so much more fun with all that pent up frustration and rage, and that's exactly what I want from you."
"This isn't a game!" Sonic screamed. "Don't you understand that?"
"It's not?" Esplouge asked, feigning surprise. "Funny. I thought it was. I sure know that I'm having fun..."
The connection cut off before Sonic could say anything else, forcing away any hope he had been clinging to. Sonic fell to his knees, feeling defeated. There had to be something he could still do, but he had no idea where Tails even was. How could he protect Tails if he had no idea where his friend was?
Feeling as though there were no other option, Sonic switched his search from Tails to Shadow. Hopefully the darker hedgehog would be willing and capable to help in some way.
Esplouge stared down at Tails' unconscious body, his excitement from before having not quite gone away. He was almost annoyed with how quickly Tails had fallen unconscious, wishing he could have savored the torture for just a little while longer. Something about beating someone within an inch of their life just felt so good...
"Well," Esplouge said after a moment. "I guess I can always go look for some chaos emeralds while I wait for you to wake back up."
Esplouge turned Tails' cell phone off entirely, wanting to preserve the battery life for future use, and set it down just out of reach from Tails' cell. If anything, the thought of Tails' reaction to his phone being just out of reach whenever he woke up was absolutely hilarious to Esplouge, even if he likely wouldn't be there to see it himself.
"Sleep well, my little angel," Esplouge taunted, before turning to leave. "Try to put up more of a fight next time."
Sonic's search for Shadow was thankfully short, although, the blue hero noticed, the sun had already begun to rise. He found Shadow near where he and Amy had been attacked mere hours earlier, staring intently at the dried blood that remained on the ground.
"Shadow?" Sonic asked unsurely, a little off put by the darker hedgehog's utterly blank expression. "What's up?"
Shadow looked to Sonic, his expression still blank, as though he was only half-aware of the blue hedgehog's arrival.
"... What do you want?" Shadow asked flatly. "I already told you..."
"He kidnapped Tails," Sonic interrupted. He allowed for a short pause before continuing. "I'm pretty sure it's the same guy who attacked you and Amy, and now he has Tails, and..."
"So what do you expect me to do about it?" Shadow asked. "He's your friend, not mine."
"Shadow, Tails is just a little boy. He's just a kid, are you seriously saying it's okay with you to allow whatever monster who attacked you to do the same to someone who can barely defend himself?"
"Tails is smart," Shadow said, trying to sound uncaring. "He'll figure something out, probably. Look, I want to get revenge on that bastard anyway for attacking me, I've got my own motives for going after him. You'd just hold me back."
"What the hell is your problem?" Sonic asked, getting fed up with Shadow's attitude. "We're both searching for the same guy, it'd make more sense for us to search for him together. Two heads are better than one."
Shadow regarded Sonic for a moment, appearing annoyed.
"We're both after the same guy," Sonic continued. "I know you have your pride and everything, but I really need your help. I really need your help, Shadow."
Shadow was silent for a moment, seeming to consider this.
"... Fine. I don't know how much I can help you, but if it'll get me closer to that little bastard, I guess I'd be willing to help you. Just don't hold me back."
"Dammit."
Esplouge had been searching for chaos emeralds for what felt like hours and hours, getting progressively angrier as time passed without yielding results. Now the sun was coming up, driving the people of the city out of their houses and into the world, where they would serve as little more than an annoyance to the dark fox as they went about their pathetic little days. He could always kill them if they got too close, but he wasn't in the mood to kill a large crowd; at least not yet. He still needed more power, power that could only be achieved with help from the chaos emeralds, and if he didn't have a single one...
Esplouge's thoughts cut off as he remembered something. When Eggman had created him, hadn't he used a chaos emerald? Judging from Eggman's hasty retreat, the emerald was likely still where it had been; under the rubble of the collapsed building. All Esplouge had to do was find it, which he figured wouldn't be too difficult.
After all, he would be able to feel the presence of the emeralds. If energy from one was inside his body and the emeralds themselves could sense each other, then it only made sense that Esplouge would be able to feel their presence as well. As long as he was close enough to one, he was sure he would be able to feel its energy and, more importantly, use its power.
Esplouge started toward where he figured the emerald was, trying to hurry there in case someone else tried to get to it first. The last thing he needed was for someone to try to run off with his emerald.
Of course, Esplouge figured, if anyone else so much as thought about touching those emeralds, he could always just kill them. After all, life held little meaning to him, and if he had to kill every last man, woman, and child on the planet to achieve ultimate power, then so be it. All that mattered to him was acquiring more power and destroying all that stood in his way. And then once he had destroyed everything else...
The crumbled building came into view, and soon after, so did Sonic and Shadow. They seemed to be talking about something, although what, Esplouge wasn't sure. He took shelter behind a nearby tree, figuring he'd just play it safe for now.
After all, as long as the hedgehogs didn't notice the emerald, there was no need to engage the two of them in a fight.
No, not yet. That would be for another time.
"We need to be organized about this," Shadow said. "If we just search for him at random, we're probably not going to find him. We need to come up with a plan and stick to it until we find him."
"How the heck do you expect me to do that?" Sonic asked. "I'm a man of action; I just dive in. Besides, it'll take forever if we search everywhere."
"Yes, but Rouge is pretty good at finding things that don't want to be found," Shadow explained. "And your echidna friend is a pretty decent treasure hunter as well, if I'm not mistaken. Plus, considering what happened, I don't think it'd be very safe to leave Amy by herself for very long. We could actually build up a pretty good-sized search party, which should make both of our goals easier to reach."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sonic sighed, almost feeling awkward that he and Shadow of all people were agreeing on something. "I'm not sure how Knuckles would feel about being torn away from the master emerald, though, but it's worth a try."
"So it's agreed, then?" Shadow asked. "I'll get Rouge to help, and you find Knuckles and Amy. I work better alone, so I'll see if Rouge can just help the three of you."
"Huh? How will we keep in contact, then?" Sonic asked. "We can't let you know anything if we have no idea where you are or how to contact you."
"Rouge has my cell phone number," Shadow explained. "So she can still have contact with me."
"Yeah, but what if Knuckles or I find out something that might be important?" Sonic asked. "And what if Rouge isn't nearby?"
Shadow scowled and rolled his eyes.
"... Fine, I'll give you my cell phone number. But if you prank call me after this is over with, I swear I'll rip your face off."
Sonic smiled sheepishly.
"What? Me, abusing the privilege of having your number? Never..."
Shadow looked about ready to punch Sonic, which made the blue hero stop his taunts even though a hint of a smirk remained.
"... Right. I'll get Rouge, you get your allies," Shadow said.
"We'll meet back at Tails' house, okay?" Sonic said.
"Fine," Shadow said. "Rouge and I will meet you there in a bit."
With that, the two hedgehogs were off.
Esplouge finally came out from behind his tree after the hedgehogs had left, thinking about Sonic and Shadow's conversation. So, they were going to put together a search party to find him?
"Fools," Esplouge said to himself. "You think you're so clever. You have no idea what I'll have in store for you."
Esplouge went over to the fallen base, intending on searching through the rubble for the chaos emerald he was sure was still there.
A burning sensation suddenly struck his body, making him feel as though he were on fire from the inside. He gasped, not expecting the sudden pain, and started to look around, trying to figure out where the burning feeling was coming from. What was causing it?
What the hell's going on? Esplouge wondered as he staggered away from the fallen building, not really sure what else he could do.
Somewhere below his conscious mind, he could hear a voice - or was it a group of voices? - that seemed to engulf his skull. As though a pressure were building up, building and building upon itself until his head would finally split and the voices themselves would come out as physical beings...
The emerald's doing this...
Esplouge had no idea where the thought had come from, but he had to agree with it. Only something truly powerful could cause a creature like him so much pain, and the only things that powerful were the chaos emeralds. But why on earth would they hurt him?
Or was it only the one that had given him life that hurt him? But that didn't make any sense...
"... That has to be it..."
Angrily, Esplouge left the fallen building - and the chaos emerald - and headed into the city.
No one knew his face, at least not yet, so he could at least get used to the area he would soon destroy without being bothered. Wade along in the sea of people, more or less invisible to them until it was far too late for anyone to do anything at all to stop his reign of destruction...
As long as he didn't run into Shadow, he'd be fine.
Shadow was the only one who knew his face that could prove to be an actual threat at this point.
Amy had woken up early that morning, deciding that she would go out shopping. She was still a little shaken from the events of the day before, but she figured that Sonic was right; she just needed to relax. As long as Sonic was alive, he would never let anything bad happen to her.
So Amy found herself at the mall, surrounded by happy people and nice stores that would all serve to keep her mind off of nearly being kidnapped. After all, what were the odds of bumping into the same psychopath again, much less in such a populated area?
Besides, there were so many cute things on sale, which was saving her a ton of money on the stuff she never knew she needed. After all, that cute pair of shoes was just too cute not to buy, and so were the matching sweater and socks.
Just as Amy's mind had gotten off of the prior day's events, a pair of arms wrapped around her that sent shivers down her spine and broke apart any contented feeling she had finally managed to muster.
"Hello, Miss Rose," Esplouge greeted quietly, his lips close to her ear. "It sure is a lovely morning, isn't it? Don't bother with screaming; there are too many witnesses here. Do you really think I'd be so foolish as to try to kidnap you in the middle of a crowd? Heh heh, no... I just felt like saying hello."
Amy tried to turn to face Esplouge, but he held her tightly, not allowing her to move.
"You really are a squirmy little girl, aren't you?" Esplouge asked, laughing. "Like I said, I don't plan on kidnapping you. Not anymore. When I failed yesterday, I found someone else. Someone better. I don't need you anymore, so you're off the hook, my sweet little rose..."
Esplouge bit Amy's ear lightly, smirking when he felt her body tense up.
"Of course," Esplouge continued, "the person who had to take your place isn't so lucky. How does that feel? You're responsible for someone else's needless pain. At this very moment, someone else is suffering because you wouldn't just come with me. How does that feel, dear rose? Does it make you feel selfish?"
Amy started to struggle against Esplouge's grasp, trying to get away or at least at an angle where she could swing her piko piko hammer into his gut. Esplouge proved to be too strong, although that didn't stop Amy from trying to get away.
"You're so selfish, dear rose," Esplouge said, sounding amused. "Allowing someone else to suffer in your place. Allowing someone completely innocent, someone I wouldn't have even bothered with to suffer in your place. Heh, do you want to know what I'm going to do to him? Huh? Do you?"
Amy continued to struggle, somehow feeling both weaker yet more determined to escape with every movement.
"Do you want to know what you're causing to happen to another person?" Esplouge asked, his voice barely above a whisper, his lips almost grazing the side of Amy's ear as he spoke. "Do you want to know what your selfishness has caused? Do you, dear rose? My dear, sweet rose..."
Amy finally managed to twist herself from Esplouge's grasp, but when she finally turned to look at him, he had disappeared into the crowd. Her eyes darted around for a moment, trying to spot him, but she couldn't find him anywhere. It was like he had just disappeared.
Amy ran home as fast as she could, feeling oddly more terrified than she had when Esplouge attacked her and Shadow the day before.
Something about being alone with him, even if it was in a crowd, was just so disturbing. Feeling his touch, his breath on her skin...
Esplouge watched Amy leave the mall, hiding amongst the crowd of people until she was well out of sight. He couldn't help but smirk at how pathetic she looked; so shaken and terrified, like a frightened animal. That was everyone's rightful place, Esplouge thought; shaken and terrified before their eventual deaths. Everyone would soon know the same fear Amy felt.
Or, at least, the people he allowed to live, which wasn't going to be a particularly large group if everything went to plan.
Esplouge finally started his way back to his base, figuring that Tails would be awake by now, or close enough. He certainly couldn't allow for any peaceful moments in Tails' consciousness. If he was going to have a captive, then that captive needed to be broken. Completely and utterly broken, until death became the only option...
Esplouge's thoughts were cut off when he saw a human just walking along, enjoying the nice day. Just one lone little human, with absolutely no witnesses around...
This was going to be fun.