The heavy metal leg slammed atop Sonic. Eggman's nemesis would be crushed in seconds by his greatest masterpiece – himself! The madman grinned, giggling uncontrollably as the groaning underneath became louder.
"Stay still!" he ordered in a mocking tone, quickly bashing the hedgehog's back with the robot's foot.
Electromagnets on the grasshopper appendage pulled it closer to the floor, applying more pressure on Sonic's body. Trying to get a steady grip on the floor, the hero attempted to lift himself a bit. To no avail. Having noticed the hedgehog's attempts, Eggman sent him a powerful kick on the head. It lurched him away from the evil machine.
What an excuse for a…breather. Sonic coughed, feeling that whatever major bruises the villain had caused were located inside. He was an experienced fighter. Right now the scars on his back only provided him an immense hot sensation. The hero had less than five minutes until his body caught up to the actual pain.
Standing up groggily, the hedgehog glared at his encroaching enemy. "Is that all…" he said, needing to spit the substance gathered in his throat.
Sonic closed his eyes unwillingly, wanting to finish the line, but couldn't. Speaking was simply too painful!
"Ah, Sonic. Why don't you just join your friends in the corner?" asked the villain, pointing at his deceased comrades.
He wouldn't take any more shit from the insane doctor. Sonic rolled into a ball, accelerating in place to charge at the towering monstrosity. Robotnik grinned at his efforts, having him within targeting range. The cannon fired, shooting a ball of plasma at Sonic. Luckily, he's had enough energy to dodge the hit by shifting to the left. Big mistake. Eggman had counted on it and launched another three projectiles at blazing speed. One had barely touched the blue blur's edge, but it forced Sonic to jump up to the very ceiling. A scream burst out of him, as the scalding sphere had melted a good portion of his back fur.
Squinting heavily, he could only hold onto the light support mechanisms on top. It was so bright that he started seeing colours in the white light.
Eggman spared no time by firing a missile at him. However, as soon as it closed in on the hedgehog, the rocket went straight up, ruining the man's perfect lighting.
Heat sensors! That's how those things worked. As long as the bright light bulbs didn't seethe his hands, Sonic was safe from explosives.
"My light!" Robotnik growled. "You won't steal it!"
More missiles shot. This once Sonic knew exactly what to do, but he'd need to do it fast. Heh, as always! The hedgehog propelled himself forward, swinging from one support beam to another. A rocket went off close, making his hand slip off the steel frame. Alarmed, he rolled into a ball to whirl just a bit further in the air. Those rockets were gaining fast, and he's had them right where he wanted.
Sonic zoomed above Robotnik's bald head, and successfully landed on the ground. He'd let the villain do the dirty work. Eggman turned, not wanting to lose sight of the moronic pest.
In the meantime, remaining missiles impacted with the ceiling, setting an avalanche of hot lamps and debris to fall on the robot. Sonic grinned, watching the bulbs break as they landed in a vivid flash. Eggman was but a pile of rock and glass now.
"Keep your light," he mumbled, coughing a bit. "Bastard…"
What he heard next, forced his quills to shoot up in violent fright; that lunatic laughter. And it was coming directly from behind.
Something grabbed him, putting an unbearable squeeze on his bones, and raised the little hedgehog. He was now face to face with Eggman. The same claw that held Rouge hostage had now captured Sonic. He gulped, thinking it really might be his turn.
"You didn't think you'd put me out easily, hmm?"
The brave hedge grinned cockily, revealing the blood on his brilliant teeth. "As a matter of fact…" he said, imitating the doctor's earlier words.
Sonic's hand pushed forward to attach to the bluish gem in Robotnik's eye socket. Eggman's human eye widened at the dastardly deed. The cocky glare then turned into malice, as Sonic pulled the Chaos Emerald right out of Eggman's head.
The machine's hold loosened, and Sonic could easily fight his way to freedom. Trembling and fizzing, the robot's limbs went berserk. The laser marker travelled around the room pointlessly as Eggman wobbled, unable to regain control of his own body without the emerald power source.
"What have you done?!"
Fluids leaked from the exposed socket. The man was in obvious pain, unable to calm down. Robotic hands were unsuitable to ease the torture, only able to hide his face from Sonic. The hedgehog looked at the mildly amusing scene in silence, letting his grin do the talking. Robuttnik got what he deserved for messing with the hero. Sonic bounced the emerald in his hand, healing with its power.
But then convulsions weakened. Agonising screams stilted into a loud breath, finally, morphing into a broken giggle. The hedgehog clutched the emerald tight just in case. Eggman's arms revealed his face again, but there was no more a misshapen hole in his skull. A beam weapon took its place.
"Huh?"
"Let's take a picture, Sonic! Smile!" Eggman shouted cheerfully, laughter resonating from the walls.
The marker returned on his forehead, and with a dull click, Eggman fired straight at him. Sonic could barely even notice the shot. Next thing he felt, no, saw…was his whole body plastered into the metal wall. As he fell out, a very detailed imprint came into view.
He wouldn't be taken by surprise now, though. Sonic had a Chaos Emerald. Holding onto the jewel, he was about to motion for Chaos Control, but another direct shot misplaced him to a corner. Sonic could no longer feel the emerald's power.
"What a joyous reunion!" Eggman commented victoriously, seeing Sonic lay atop Knuckles' corpse.
The claw extended to return the discarded gem into his will. "Ah, gotcha!
"No…" Sonic whispered weakly, before shutting his eyes tight and shambling over.
The hedge took a desperate leap for the jewel, his hand landing atop Eggman's as the villain pulled the treasure closer. He wouldn't let go no matter the pain…no matter what.
"Away!" Eggman hissed.
His empty eye beam struck the nuisance. Sonic's senses blacked out for a split second, his right leg cramped, but the emerald was still there. He grinned as the robot dragged him up. Eggman gave him a pitiful glare. The hedgehog's head slumped on his shoulder, that trademark grin still there. Sonic snorted and spat right at Robotnik's large nose.
The maniac was not impressed. Eggman's machine swung its arm forcefully, trying to peel the blue hedge off. Seeing this did not convince the insolent vermin to let go, the saws mounted into his other arm began spinning. Sonic watched the saw gain momentum, but did nothing until the metal blade swiped half of his top quills off.
What was he even doing?! Sonic couldn't give up now that he knew Signature Omega's weakness. He'd lose the clash, but win the battle. The hedgehog allowed himself to be launched into the air with the next swing. He landed carefully, managing to stand up somehow.
Eggman had successfully inserted the Chaos Emerald back into his head. The large cannon on his shoulder kept Sonic occupied at a safe distance during the process.
He groaned in satisfaction once the jewel's energy entered his system. "Rejoice, hedgehog! You will witness Robotnik's full power!"
Perking up a brow, he watched the target laser turn blue and begin running circles around Sonic's figure. Eggman's breathing tubes glowed brightly and steam emanated from the stolen emerald. The villain's human eye closed
A bright flash.
Run for life, blue blur! He quickly rolled into a ball and spun out of the way, and even then the marking laser couldn't lose track. That was his smallest concern, though. As soon as the flash reached his eyes, it seemed to have…returned into the emerald. In fact, the gem managed to suck out all the light from the room. The wrecked laboratory turned pitch-black for a split second. Eggman's fake eye shone like a beacon in unrelenting darkness. Before lights came back on, however, a ray fired from the emerald. It was a huge cone-shaped power vacuum.
That was one lucky miss, Sonic thought, as he had rolled out of the way. He believed this, though, only until he tried to unroll. The hero's left hand went numb. Glimpsing to the side, Sonic was horrified to see it whiter than snow.
Still trying to get over the initial shock, he couldn't feel the arm, as if it wasn't even there! Life force was drained from the body part, leaving but an organic shell.
Eggman wasted no time. Running up towards the stunned hedge, the robot pounced on him. Robotnik took a clean saw swipe at his enemy's ear and topped the blow off with a powerful kick.
Sonic was lurched against the wall like a puppet.
"Wuahahaha!" the man laughed whole-heartedly, witnessing his enemy's defeat. "Game over…hedgehog."
Robotnik looked at the living Sonic one last time.
And the emerald flashed again.