Chaos Control brought him onboard the Death Egg. Cold metal, dimmed lights – not much of a change since last time. Sterile walls surrounded the heroic hedgehog and only a random logo or idle screen interrupted the orderly continuum. Even the smell was the same. The air Eggman used was poorly filtered and could easily suffocate someone unprepared. Thankfully, the emerald offered enough protection until his lungs would become accustomed to the sharp stench.
The emptiness of space was evident. The sensation of being alone in that forsaken place crept up his spine. Sonic sighed. No, not because if felt generally disturbing to pursue a maniac he considered dead into a base he supposedly destroyed. It wasn't even longing for real fresh air or green, something the hedge wouldn't have found with a microscope in the perilous structure. The maniac had changed and went further into malevolence. His overbearing insanity was enough to catch Sonic off guard. And this once...the hero couldn't guess what was out to happen.
Thinking about Eggman's words, he allowed images to swirl into his head. Who was right in this war? Eggman, trying to void everyone of their freedom? No. Sonic, whose passion for revenge outgrew control? Doesn't look this way. Maybe G.U.N.? Just a bull in a china shop.
Another sigh disturbed the mechanic silence. His eyes fixated on a single window set on the near end of the corridor. Earth. It looked beautiful from space. Peaceful and blue, like the hero. Its turmoil was always hidden from view. He smiled nostalgically. Sonic had forgotten about the Death Egg being a threat since Eggman founded a permanent HQ on the ground. The madman probably did some multi-tasking between failures. And now the space station was approaching his planet.
Lights flickered, setting Sonic's attention on the goal. Robotnik decided on further action. A monitor screeched nearby, static replacing the idle red logo on a black background. Then, a sign appeared: "Standby!"
Sonic paced closer to the screen, perking a brow at the odd exclamation. A fanfare sounded, and Eggman's chubby mustachio face came into view.
His grimace magnified. Hadn't that lunatic screwed a few loose bolts into his head and became a robot? Instead of the metallic monstrosity Sonic encountered earlier, this man he saw seemed refreshed, untouched by battle. That smile he wore in a charmingly devilish way added colour to his cheeks, making the doctor look almost…likeable. Cameras zoomed in for a close-up, making a cinematic run from different angles, allowing ignorant fools to recognise true genius in his physique. Sonic chuckled at how pompastic (for lack of a better word) the fat dope looked. In fact, the hedgehog cried: "Poser!" between laughs.
Then, the view stilled on Eggman's face. His grin faded, giving room for a serious well-prepared scowl. The scientist didn't want to appear too playful to the audience.
"I am Doctor Robotnik, the supreme intelligence of planet Earth. For years I have been putting up with your incredible inferiority," the madman began, flames flashing in his eyes. Were they computer-animated, or an actual inferno, Sonic couldn't tell. Eggman's voice became grim: "But no more! I have set my space station on a direct collision course with the planet to make room for a real sentient species," he commented, showing a slideshow of the Death Egg approaching the globe's orbit.
Finally, the slides were replaced with live footage of the enormous metal goliath. The sphere with Eggman's face for an averse crept towards the world. Concaves used to resemble the scientist's eyes glowed with crimson light before releasing a barrage of laser projectiles. What was their purpose, Sonic didn't know.
A smirk returned to the speaker's lips. "Do not panic! You will all die!"
Sheesh! Old Doc' really lost his marbles. No demands or countdowns?
Sonic bit his brain for the thought when a timer popped up on the screen's corner. Now it looked like something Eggman would normally do. Only a habit would give the hero confidence after such unusual events.
The hedgehog tried not to think about what happened before. Eyes closed, he attempted to blur the disturbing images away. Blood, hopelessness, their fear, his anger and lust for revenge. Shaking his head didn't work out, but he just had to concentrate. Tears would not help! They never did.... Sonic believed so with passion. If he wasn't strong, nobody else would be.
However, during the mental cleansing, a huffing registered from behind. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around Sonic's short neck. White gloves, oily odour…could it be? Looking at the reflection in a mostly dark screen, the hedge saw that his suspicions were right. The one strangling him was Eggman!
"I'll crush you, little hedgehog!" the man hissed, gritting teeth while squeezing as hard as he could.
This was mad! Or, as Tails would have said: "Ludicrous!"
Sonic quickly spun out of the doctor's hold and took battle stance. Yup, it really was Eggman, now reaching into his pocket to pull out a weapon. Robotnik's insanity challenged only his cluelessness. Before those thick fingers could even reach a pocket, he was quickly spun into disorientation and chucked towards the nearest wall.
Sonic approached him, shaking his head in a mocking fashion. "You saved me a trip to get you, Egghead. Getting stupid with age, huh?"
"Laugh, Sonic. Enjoy your last sights of genius!"
Eggman got up and made a pathetic attempt at throwing a punch. The doctor missed, unable to notice his foe, who was already standing elsewhere. Screaming some unintelligible phrases, the villain then rushed at Sonic with his hands up in the air, indicating fury. Sonic hadn't counted on that. He spent almost two seconds baffled, not knowing what to do. What was the doctor trying to achieve? Though, until the man could approach him, Sonic rolled into a ball to press the enemy back as he did by default.
Now the egg-shaped ragdoll was chucked at the window. Lying on his head, Eggman cried some more gibberish, but no matter how much he shovelled to stand up, the heavy body remained on the floor. Sonic cracked his knuckles, approaching the man in a victorious pose.
"First I'll beat you to a pulp. Next I'll let you tell me where you hid the self-destruct button. And then you're going overboard!" Sonic laughed, explaining the whole plan he considered almost too good.
"Correct. Your last part," the man mumbled, uncovering a hand grenade.
The greenish sphere beeped and ticked, making its purpose more then obvious. Beeps became a long siren, predicting the inevitable. What a cowardly dipwad! He was really going to blow himself up.
Forgetting all about the pleasures of mauling, Sonic set his sights on go. Being cast into space vacuum did not appeal to him at all, nor did the fact that he had to escape from Eggman threatening him with a simple grenade.
Bang, squelch, huff. A thick door was in Sonic's way, and ramming it appeared to be a waste of time. Not one ungrateful dent!
"Get out of my home!"
The explosive went off. It burst into a clouded flame that extinguished itself as soon as the shockwave crashed the fragile illuminator. Eggman was no longer in sight, his remnants already boiling in vacuum.
One glimpse behind was all it took to frighten the hedgehog: loose objects and metal pieces flying into outer space. In all the commotion, Sonic's grip of the emerald weakened. He could feel it slipping out, but did nothing, every drop of strength used by his feet to remain inside. This was a mistake he regretted dearly later on.
Hopelessly battering the door, he remembered the one person that could still save him. Tails always could track his communicators, and was probably working on Sonic's situation. The hedgehog couldn't wait for Miles to show initiative. Heroics and patience walked separately.
Efforts were now necessary just to remain in place. An invisible vortex tugged his body to slide back, and its power only grew exponentially. He tried to scratch the floor that got very slippery with his nails, but this offered little compensation. Artificial gravity began malfunctioning, and the moment he'd lose touch with the floor, nothing would save him from decompression.
"FUBAR, Tails! Door!" he shouted in desperation.
There was a pause. Sonic could have sworn it took him ten minutes to respond. "Just a second…"
His feet began slipping backwards with every next step. Breathing was out of the question already. Gasping for air, Sonic managed to shoot one last scream at the twin-tailed genius.
"No second! Now!"
"Ah!" a distorted exclamation came back.
The door pulled up, allowing the hedge to do a triangle jump far enough to reach the next compound. His exit slammed shut afterwards, sealing the airless corridor away from the rest. Sonic huffed, sitting on the floor, staring at it, happy to be supported. That was one extreme treadmill! He'd have to be more careful not to knock too many holes in the Death Egg before blowing it into smithereens.
"Sonic, can you hear me now?" Tails murmured.
"Yeah, but speak louder!"
Sonic didn't want to dart off onward without mapping his steps first. Eggman's fortress had proven itself a menacing maze during every previous visit. Miles asked for some more time to decode the heavy encryption on outer layer plans. Some rough schematics revealed the base really resembled an egg, and the hedge had just broken through its shell. It was now either a long trot to the centre, or…the clever person that Sonic always considered himself could try another method.
"Chaos C-!" his voice died when he looked down at his hands.
And heck knew what evil Eggman put in his path towards the centre.
Meanwhile, outside, the missing emerald was gracefully spinning back towards the Death Egg. An invisible force guided it straight into a robotic claw. The station's shadow shrouded the captor, and only etched letters "S.O." could be seen.
Time to revisit my city.
