…and enjoy your eternal stay
The elevator finally reached its destination shortly afterward. Without waiting for the door to open, Sonic tore it down with his trademark Spin Dash attack and ran along the new path at top speed. He didn't care what he would destroy along the way, he would gladly do it if it meant getting closer to saving his precious friend and comrade.
"Tails, I'm coming, please…please be safe…" Sonic muttered.
The corridor was long and filled with automatic guns on walls, which instantly opened fire the moment their sensors picked Sonic's heat signature. The hedgehog, having grown tired and annoyed at the objects, leaped into the air, making the guns take care of themselves without having to lift a finger.
"I don't have time for this…" he thought bitterly and sped up even more, breaking the sound barrier and destroying the rest of the cannons in his wake.
…
After a while of running around in search of Zavok's room, the blue blur finally arrived at a suspicious-looking gate. Having no time to waste on manners, the hedgehog once again tore the sturdy obstruction down with a powerful strike and quickly headed inside. When he looked up ahead, Sonic saw the bulky leader of the Zeti standing still in the middle of a large, round arena with his hands crossed, seemingly expecting him to show up.
"ZAVOK!" Sonic yelled at the top of his lungs, his fierce voice echoing throughout the entire chamber. "Where is Tails? If you hurt a single strand of his hair, I will personally see to it that today becomes your funeral."
"Oh, I'm so scared," Zavok replied in a playfully dull tone, "please spare poor little me, master Sonic."
"I don't have time for this, where is Tails? Where have you taken my brother, monster? Answer me!"
"Not so far away, I can assure you, Sonic. Just beyond this room," the powerful Zeti then pointed his finger at the steel door behind him and smirked. "But to get to your "brother", you have to get through me first."
"Then I will," Sonic retorted, having discarded his usual cheerful demeanor and adopted a spiteful personality. Tails' life was on the life, and that was a risk Sonic wasn't willing to take. "You will get out of my way, Zavok, one way or another."
Zavok said nothing in return. Instead, he put one foot behind him and entered his battle stance. The Zeti let out a mighty battle cry that shook the entire fortress and gestured for Sonic to enter the arena. Without a second of hesitation, the blue blur did just that. The two enemies started at each other for a short while before lunging at one another at top speed.
…
Zavok's speed was incredible, but it paled in comparison to Sonic's legendry speed. Coupled with the hedgehog's dexterity and agility, Sonic easily evaded the Zeti's thunderous punches and jabs. When he saw an opening on the alien's side, he immediately seized the chance and hit Zavok with a series of powerful Homing Attack.
The first strike was able to make the strong alien lose balance slightly, while the subsequent one knocked him off his feet. The third Homing Attack knocked the bulky alien down on the ground and the final strike landed on his abdomen with a mighty force, strong enough to tear through steel. Strong though he was, Zavok was lying on his back after a series of vicious attacks from the blue blur.
"This ends now, Zavok," Sonic shouted, his eyes burning with anger as he attempted to drop down on his fallen opponent with another strike. However, Zavok anticipated that and quickly pushed himself up from the ground, dodging the hedgehog's fatal attack in the nick of time.
"I've been waiting for this day to come, I'm not about to lose to you again, pesky hedgehog," Zavok shouted and shot multiple fireballs from his mouth.
Using his speed, Sonic quickly leaped back and began to run around the arena, dodging all incoming projectiles. Though he was grazed by the rocks thrown around by the explosions, he didn't care. His only thought was about defeating Zavok an rescuing Tails from this nightmare.
"You can't defeat me by running around, Sonic," Zavok said as he took a high jump and raised his hands in the air. The mighty Zeti came down a moment later, slamming both fists on the ground and causing a major earthquake that made Sonic lose his footing.
Before the blue blur could recover, the leader of the Deadly Six stomped him on the chest and slowly applied more force as time passed. Sonic tried to resist it, but just as he was able to outperform Zavok in speed, the Zeti easily outdo him in strength. The trapped hedgehog tried everything, but he couldn't get away from his opponent's hold, many times, he let out soft whimpers when the giant foot pressed down, making it difficult to breathe.
Zavok, on the other hand, enjoyed dishing out pain and getting his revenge on his enemy.
"Yes, that's right, Sonic. Squirm like the worm you are under me. I will slowly break you and make you beg for mercy, or make you wish you had never been born…whichever comes first, or maybe both."
The vicious alien then applied more force, making the entire ground beneath Sonic crack. The weight of Zavok's foot was cutting off his air supply, and he was getting dizzy, but still, Sonic refused to give up.
"Must…save…Tails…" his mind protested, urging him to find a way to escape.
After a while, Zavok bent over, his face dangerously close to Sonic's, and looked at the trapped hero directly in the eyes. Even when all hope seemed lost, those emerald orbs still shone brightly with the hero's hatred for the brute Zeti.
"Oh, let's see how long it takes until I finally wipe that scowl off your face, Sonic," Zavok taunted and applied even more pressure Sonic's chest, almost causing him to black out.
"It is only a matter of time before you finally die and your precious brother joins my side. With his genius mechanical skills, he will undoubtedly be useful in his servitude to the Zeti. He will help us conquer the world and reign supreme."
Sonic, even in his predicament, was horrified when he heard this revelation. His kind-hearted, compassionate and loving brother being used as a servant to create weapons…Inconceivable, unthinkable, despicable. Truly and utterly despicable! Tails loved everything in life; he was always kind, fair and gentle in his dealings with others around him, always ready to come up with new inventions to help ease Sonic's quest against evil. To forcibly strip him of his free will and turn him into a creator of weapons capable of mass destruction was criminal, inhumane. Even though he was under the influence of mind control, the knowledge of his inventions being used for murder and genocidal purposes would surely rip the fox's soul apart. He was too kind to commit crimes of such degree, and seeing them would only tear his innocent heart to pieces.
"No…No way…I'll ever let you take Tails…" Sonic muttered breathlessly and clenched his fist tightly. He shot a glare at Zavok and looked into his eyes. "I will not allow you…to defile Tails…like that…"
"What can you do, Sonic? The only thing you can do right now is talk back at me," Zavok snarled and lowered his head even more. "I've had enough, it's time I finished you once and for all."
"Not if I have anything to…say..about that," Sonic said and swung his hand in front of the Zeti's face, throwing sand and dirt into his eyes. Desperate times call for desperate pleasure. For Tails, the blue blur would go to any lengths, even throw away his own pride in the process.
…
With the sand in his eyes, Zavok lost balance and took a step backward, releasing Sonic as a result. Capitalizing that opportunity and ignoring his throbbing chest, the hedgehog launched himself at the dazed Zeti and knocked him down with a powerful Homing Attack. When Zavok groggily stood up, Sonic hit again with another Spin Dash, sending him flying toward the center of the arena.
"I will never let you turn my family into something that he is not, Zavok," Sonic grunted, both in pain and in anger. "Time to wrap this up."
After that, the blue blur began to run around Zavok at top speed, creating a blue whirlwind surrounding the Zeti. Due to his dizziness after receiving Sonic's vicious and consecutive strikes, Zavok wasn't able to process what was going on.
The tornado created by Sonic got bigger and bigger, until it was strong enough to lift the mighty and heavy Zavok up. Hovering in the air, the powerful Zeti couldn't find anything to hold onto. Out of the blue, Sonic appeared directly above him, much to his shock.
"You're finished, Zavok. Take this!" Sonic instantly curled up and unleashed a Homing Attack augmented by his Sonic Boost toward the hovering alien. Inside the blue whirlwind, Zavok was completely vulnerable to the hedgehog's attack, and was hit squarely on the chest when Sonic's form crashed down.
The attack was powerful enough to knock the air out of the alien's lungs and sent him pummeling to the ground. His giant frame landed on the floor with a thunderous bang, smashing the entire arena to bits.
Landing clumsily on his feet a few feet away, Sonic dropped to one knee and panted heavily, finding it increasingly difficult to breathe.
"Not yet…Must…find Tails…" he muttered and groggily walked toward the steel gate.
"Impossible…How could I lose to you again?" came the sudden voice of the Zeti across the arena, prompting Sonic to turn his head to that direction. To his annoyance, he saw Zavok wobbly get up and sit on his knees.
"Why is it that you always managed to defeat me?" he questioned Sonic breathlessly.
"I don't have time for this…I must rescue…Tails…" said Sonic, ignoring the conscious Zeti and his throbbing chest.
All of the sudden, a devilish smirk crossed Zavok's face and he let out a maniacal laugh, shocking and scaring Sonic. It wasn't that the blue blur was afraid of the alien's voice. No. Sonic was afraid that something bad had happened to Tails during his search. If something bad were to befall his innocent and loving brother, Sonic could never forgive himself. However, in his head, he tried to tell himself that Tails was fine, he was beyond that door, he was safe. That being said, Sonic still needed to ascertain.
"What…is so funny?" he asked with a frown, shooting another glare at Zavok, who was still laughing like he had finally lost the last shred of sanity.
"Oh nothing," the ancient alien replied gleefully, "I will release my captive as promised,"
With a click of his fingers, the steel gate opened on its own. Sonic narrowed his eyes and waited expectantly, hoping that his friend was unharmed. After a while, he could make out the familiar outline of his brother inside the darkened room. At that moment, Sonic's heart swelled with joy, and that joy was intensified by a hundred times when the figure stepped outside, revealing Tails, perfectly unharmed without a scratch on him. The fox kept his head bowed, so Sonic couldn't see his bright sapphire eyes, but that didn't matter much at the moment. His friend was safe, and that was all he needed to know.
"Tails…TAILS!" he shouted with utmost joy and immediately ran toward his best friend. In an instant, he threw his hands around the fox and pulled him into a warm embrace. It required all of Sonic's willpower not to let his tears flow.
"Tails…You're safe…You're safe now, I've got you..." Sonic choked on his words, overcome by his whirlpool of emotions, both relieved that Tails was fine and angry that his gentle friend had to endure that rough treatment from Zavok.
Speaking of the alien, he was still kneeling where he was, holding his wounded chest and laboring himself to breathe. Despite the pain, he still had that devious smirk on his face, a smirk that didn't go unnoticed by Sonic, but the hedgehog couldn't interpret its meaning.
"Congratulations, Sonic," Zavok began, "You have finally won your trophy back."
"Shut up, you monster, Tails is not a trophy…He is my friend and brother" Sonic retorted, making the grin on Zavok's face grow wider.
"Whatever you say, Sonic."
"Come on buddy, let's get out of here," Sonic broke the embrace and pulled on Tails' hand. To his surprise and confusion, Tails remained where he was, his head downcast and his body limb. At that instant, joy was replaced by shock, and later by fear, fear that something had befallen his friend. But how could that be, there was no wound on his body, he was perfectly unscathed, so what could it be.
Suddenly, it hit Sonic. Memories of the conversation between him and Zavok repeated itself like a broken record in his head. Most of the content was blurry and incoherent, but one word was clear, "microchip", that dreadful word kept replaying itself.
Sonic hesitantly and fearfully reached his hand forward and stroked the soft hair on Tails' head. Everything was as it should be, smooth, fluffy until his eyes fell on some stitches. Sonic, at the realization of what had happened, widened his eyes in horror. He lost all control of his body and trembled like he was standing naked in the middle of the South Pole. His mid almost shut down, and he lost all awareness of his surroundings. The only thing he could see was those stitches, those nasty stitches that told him of the pain Tails had endured, and the pain that he would be forced to bear later in life.
"No…" was all Sonic could mutter. A second later, his attention was attracted by a maniacal laugh across the arena. Turning to the source, Sonic saw Zavok sitting on the ground and laughing triumphantly.
"You…" the hedgehog said accusingly and shot a murderous glare at the Zeti.
"I promised I would release him without a single scratch on his BODY, Sonic. Nothing was ever said about his head or his brain," Zavok said and returned to laughing a second later, leaving Sonic broken-hearted and despaired. He didn't know anything about technology, so how could he save his buddy? The only one he knew who was skilled enough to fix Tails that was Eggman, but he had disappeared without a trace after his latest setback, so there was nobody who could help him.
At that moment, Tails lifted his head up and stared at Sonic directly in the eyes. That cold and icy stare petrified Sonic instantly. Gone were the sparkles of life and intelligence that were always present within the fox's sapphire orbs, the sparkles that shone ever so brightly like the brightest of stars in the universe. In the place of those orbs now were two blank eyes, completely void of all emotions and feelings.
The way those eyes stared at Sonic made him release the tears he had been holding back, letting them flow freely down his cheeks in defeat and despair. To Sonic, those blank eyes and that cold gaze Tails was giving him were an accusation. "Why didn't you come to save me?" they seemed to be yelling, an accusation directed at Sonic that to him was he truth, the undisputed and harsh truth. Even with all of his speed and power, he failed to save the one whom he called his brother in his time of need.
Sonic, the fastest thing alive, was too slow to save his family.
"Tails…I'm…sorry, Tails. I…I've failed you as a friend…a brother…" he muttered.
Everything crashed down around Sonic as he limped and kneeled down, his eyes fixed on the ground. In his moment of despair and sadness, he even failed to notice the sound of Zavok approaching him. The Zeti put his hand on Tails' shoulder and whispered something into his ear. In his blurry vision, Sonic could only see Tails nod back, almost mechanically like a robot.
The next moment, Sonic saw Tails approach him and wrap his hands around his neck, slowly tightening the grip. As time passed, Tails' grip became stronger and stronger until it completely cut off Sonic's airway.
His vision began to fade, his body began to go limp, his mind became blank. In his last moments of consciousness before he fainted, Sonic saw the cold and emotionless face of his best friend looking down at him. Those blank eyes bore into his mind, mocking him with his failure. Even in his fading vision, Sonic could still make out a single tear rolling down the fox's cheek, which only made his heart ache even more than his wounds.
Tails was still there, but not in control. Tails was still alive, but he was dead at the same time. The gentle and kind genius was no more, in his place stood only a servant of the Zeti, who would live and die by their command, all the while aware of the deeds that he committed.
"Goodnight Sonic the hedgehog. When you open your eyes once again, you will join your precious little brother as slaves to the Zeti," Zavok's malicious voice rang in Sonic's ears as darkness slowly lulled him into sleep. The last thing he remembered before fainting was calling Tails' name one last time, his voice full of remorse and anguish.
After that, everything went dark completely.
