"What…do you want…with me?"

Pike was now no longer locked in that room, but strapped against a hard metal table that rather resembled an operating table doctors used in surgeries. No matter how hard he pulled at his restraints, he couldn't break free. He was nowhere near strong enough. He turned his head so that he was looking at Eggman; the man had his back to the weasel.

"What I want with you…" Eggman smiled, though the weasel couldn't see it. "…Is to use you for my experiment. Unfortunately for you, you aren't going to survive. But you will be giving your life for a good cause: the advancement of science and the Eggman Empire. You should be grateful." He snarled.

Pike glared. "I am hardly grateful to die for you, Eggman! You…you promised me that I could work by your side, as an equal. You liar! I…I thought you meant it…but you…" He glared. "I feel disgraced to have ever worked with you." He spat.

Eggman smiled. "Well that doesn't matter now." He then stepped around the table, so that he was standing in front of a large screen. He didn't turn around as he spoke to Pike. "Because now, you're going to meet your end."

He then started preparing a syringe with some strange liquid in it. As he did so, he spoke. "You know, I've been experimenting with chemistry, and I've come up with a rather interesting chemical that will cause your blood to boil inside your veins. Now…seeing as Sonic was able to free those girls, I can't test it on them. But you…" His eyes flashed. "You are a perfect specimen."

Pike's eyes grew wide. He started jerking around, trying harder and harder to free himself, but to no avail. It wasn't working. He finally stopped, overwhelmed by a feeling of fear and horror.

Eggman grinned, turning to face his captive. "Sorry, Pike…but I never had any intention of letting you in on my rule of this world. You're just a pawn. You were always a pawn. Goodbye, little misguided fool. Pray that your death will be quick."

And then he came towards the weasel, gripping the syringe in one hand. He smiled at Pike's fear, and jabbed the needle into the weasel's arm.

Pike let out a scream that rent the air, tearing a hole in the heavens with its utter ferocity. The sound was like nails scratching a chalkboard, but much, much louder. Even Eggman had to hold his hands over his ears.

But the wretched sound was nothing compared to the pain Pike was experiencing.

It felt as though rather than blood pumping through his veins, there was molten magma. And in fact that wasn't far from the truth. The chemical Eggman had injected into him had caused the temperature of his blood to increase far above that of boiling temperatures. And now that blood was pumping through his veins, burning him from the inside out.

Pike started retching, coughing up searing-hot blood. Sweat had broken out all over his body, and he was shivering uncontrollably. His heartbeat had increased a hundredfold; it was a miracle he didn't die of a heart attack, though Pike would have far preferred that over this slow, painful death he had to endure.

He shut his eyes, having finally stopped screaming. The flames of Hell are nothing but embers in comparison to this, He thought fuzzily. He could feel his mind going numb, slipping away as he drew closer and closer to death. He could feel that he was almost out of time…almost at his end…and he welcomed it.

Suddenly, however, the searing fire burning in his veins died down. He was still shivering uncontrollably, and was now only semi-conscious; he was completely unaware of anything or anyone around him. He had entered a state of shock, and as far as he was concerned, he was the only thing that existed in this world. But he hadn't died.

Eggman swore. "I suppose the dosage wasn't high enough. I only brought enough with me for this…I don't have any more on my person. Damn it! Now I need to go all the way to…" He broke off, grumbling. He turned his head so that he was looking at the weasel, who was still in a state of shock, a look of petrified terror on his face. He smiled, eyes glinting. "You may have survived this one…but when I come back, you won't be so lucky." He snarled, turning away. Then he added to himself,

"If you don't already die when I'm gone."

Espio was still nonresponsive.

It was early morning, the third day since everyone had come to Cream's house. Silver, Mist, Knuckles, Sass and Alex had all returned now, with Gazer and Ultra now conscious and able to walk on their own. They had arrived to find a happy surprise: Sonic, up and about. Surprisingly, Knuckles was the most emotional about it; several times he had to turn away to stop from weeping tears of joy. Vena leaped up onto Sonic, wrapping her arms around his neck. The blue hedgehog laughed and picked her up, and she leaned forward to kiss his forehead. Everyone was rejoicing.

Everyone except for Charmy.

The small bee was sitting beside Espio, while everyone else was still inside partying and enjoying themselves. During the last week or so, Charmy had become increasingly depressed; he was completely silent around others, and didn't say a word to anyone unless he absolutely had to. He refrained from flying, letting his wings drag on the ground behind him as he walked. His antennae drooped in front of his eyes, and he had the general appearance of someone who had been crying for days endlessly.

He looked down at Espio. He knew it was futile, trying to revive him; after three days, he should have responded…but he hadn't. No…there would be no use trying to revive him now. That wasn't why Charmy was talking to the chameleon now; it was because Espio was the only one he would talk to now. And he just happened to be dea…gone.

"H-hi, Espio…Sonic's back. He was dead or something and then Amy said something that brought him back to life or whatever. I thought…maybe if I talked to you, you'd come back too. But I guess not." He paused. "What's it like, Espio? Dying, I mean. People say it's not that bad…I hope it isn't. Because…now that you're gone, I'm…I have no one."

Charmy let out a quiet sob. "You were my best friend. But…you'll never know that now." He laughed half-heartedly. "It doesn't matter; I'm useless to Vector, anyway. And…if there's a chance that I can get to see you again, even just a little glimpse…to tell you how important you were…are…to me, t-then I'd take it. Vector and everybody else won't miss me…I'm just annoying to them, anyway."

Charmy sighed, heart heavy. …No, his heart wasn't just heavy; it was numb. He couldn't feel anything anymore. The fact that Sonic was back didn't seem to register to him; he knew he should be happy, but…what was happy? He wasn't sure he knew anymore. The thought of joining Espio was just so…so tempting now. He had nothing; no one could cheer him up anymore. He just wanted to leave it all behind.

He looked up suddenly, hearing soft footsteps. He saw one of the girls, the blue hedgehog called Abby, approaching. He gave her a fake smile, but said nothing. The girl sat down next to him, smiling. Yet Charmy could see in her eyes that she was sad, too. He turned away from her.

Abby gently touched his arm, and he yanked it away. She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry…" She whispered. "I'm so sorry…" She again tried to console the bee, but this time he swiped at her. Tears were streaming down his face.

"GO AWAY!" He screamed, voice loud and despairing. "I WANNA BE LEFT ALONE! GO AWAY!" His eyes were so sad, it was almost enough to make Abby herself start crying as well. He started gasping and panting.

Abby sighed. "If you want me to leave…I'll go." She murmured, trying to keep her voice calm despite the obvious sorrow in her heart. She stood up to leave, but froze when she heard Charmy's small voice, now so tiny and pitiful that she had to strain to hear.

"I want to die."

Abby's heart nearly burst out of her chest. She whirled around to face him, shocked horror plastered all over her face. "No…don't say that!" She whispered, crouching down next to him again. But Charmy just shook his head.

"Why couldn't it be me? Why didn't Espio just leave so that I could die, instead? And now that he's gone…I have no one." His voice was so small, so sad, it sounded as though something had died inside of him. He looked right into Abby's eyes. "I have no one now. I just…it hurts so bad! I can't take anymore…I-I want to die. I'll-I'll be with him, won't I? If I…if I…" He started sobbing again.

Abby came towards him, gently picking him up in her arms and hugging him, her own tears falling now, too. She sat down again, with him right beside her. "Please…don't say that. Do you think…" She thought for a moment. "Do you think that's what Espio would have wanted? For you to go kill yourself after he died for you? Seems like a lousy way to thank him." She murmured, trying hard to convince him not to do this. She continued, "Espio gave his life so you could live. If you go and die now, too…it would have been for nothing. Please…don't do it."

Charmy felt his heart rip at the seams. He shook his head. "I…never thought about it like that." He whimpered, but a tiny hint of a smile lit his features, if only for a split second. But it was there. He turned back to look at Espio. "Thank you." Abby wasn't sure if he was talking to her, or to Espio…or both. Then he turned back to Abby. "I…" He started, trying not to cry again. "I won't." He then went back to watching over Espio. Abby stayed with him for a little while, but then stood up and left. She had accomplished what she had come to do.

Eggman stared at the figure in the capsule, smiling. Naturally, when he had gone to retrieve some more of the chemical, he got distracted by his other disturbed creations. He placed a hand on the glass fondly. "It is almost your time, Shiney. Do not worry." He cooed, turning away again.

She was almost ready. And when she was…

…Sonic and the others would surely fall.

"This is where he was being held before…"

Spark had led the other three to the room he had seen Pike in. But now, as they stared around, there was no sign of Pike. But what made it worse was that there was a lot of blood spattered all over the back wall, and more blood along the floor.

Scythe let out a small squeak. "It's…" He whimpered. "Are we…?" He didn't bother finishing his sentence. He didn't have to. Everyone knew what he meant. He looked down at his feet.

Otto moved forwards to cheer him up, but stopped. Scythe wasn't crying or sad, or any of his other usual emotions. He was…angry. For as the hedgehog looked up again, there was a frightening scowl on his face, and his eyes glinted with rage. For all the world, he looked almost exactly like Shadow now, spare the colouring; he even had his angry glare that was seemingly a permanent feature of the black hedgehog.

His fists were shaking now. "I…can't…won't…believe he's gone! He's-he's still here. Eggman just moved him to some other location. I refuse to believe he's d…gone…" He hissed, voice like acid. He then turned around and started walking out of the room. While he was still immensely weak, he refused to accept help from anyone. Not even Otto. Not even Rainbow.

Spark sighed. "Scythe, I don't think…" He started, but knew the hedgehog wasn't going to listen. He had his mind set on something now, and he wasn't giving up no matter what. So instead, he just followed along behind.

Scythe was using the wall to help support him, while also trying to listen for screams, whimpers, growls…anything. Anything that he could recognize Pike by. He had already passed about fifteen doors, none of which held Pike. He was just coming up to the sixteenth now.

He pulled at the handle, but it was locked. A computerized voice responded, "Please enter the correct password." Scythe glared at the little mechanism. Then a small smirk lit his features. He reached out and touched it with his hand, overloading it with electrical energy. The thing's inner circuitry was fried, but it had also successfully opened the door. Scythe led the way, squinting into the dark room.

The first thing that Scythe saw was a brightly-lit computer screen. He walked up to it, reading the information displayed. The file open was depicting some kind of chemical. The hedgehog glanced behind him. "Any idea what this is?" He asked the other three.

Spark took one look at the screen, and felt sick to his stomach. He looked at Scythe, wild-eyed. "Y-yes…" He murmured, voice quiet. He didn't want to continue, but the look Scythe gave him suggested he should.

"When Eggman had captured me…he said that he'd come up with some new chemical that was able to superheat anything it touches. He had it in a syringe, and was threatening to inject it into my bloodstream and make my blood boil. When I still refused what he wanted…he threatened Pike. He gave me his word he wouldn't do it to Pike if I gave him what he wanted, but…" He shuddered. If Eggman really did use this stuff on Pike…he honestly hoped that the weasel was dead, for his sake.

Scythe wasn't convinced. He turned around, trying to see in the utter blackness. He took a step forward, and nearly jumped out of his skin when the lights suddenly came on. He looked around, wide-eyed, and saw Spark. The fox had used his electrical power to activate the lights. He laughed at Scythe's expression of utter bewilderment.

Scythe nodded his thanks, and turned around again.

He wished he hadn't.

Pike was strapped down to a metal operating table of some kind. His wrists and ankles were caked in blood, but that was only the half of it. His entire body was covered in what looked like burn marks. Sweat was streaming out of every pore in his body. His eyes were open, rolled into his head so that only the whites were visible. The weasel was jerking uncontrollably, having some kind of fit or seizure or something.

Scythe turned away, almost retching. He squinted his eyes shut, shuddering a little. He felt Rainbow's gentle hand on his shoulder, and looked into her eyes. She whispered something in his ear, and Scythe closed his eyes and sighed. Finally, he turned back around to face Pike, this time with Rainbow holding his hand.

The two of them moved towards Pike, followed by Otto and Spark. The yellow hedgehog grabbed one of the straps that was holding the weasel down, and tugged hard. The thing held tight at first, but he could feel the tension building. Rainbow grabbed ahold of it as well now, pulling as hard as she could. It took what seemed like forever, but the strap finally came out with a satisfying snap.

Now Otto and Spark grabbed the other one that held his legs down. They pulled with as much force as was possible, and then even more than that. Theirs, too, took a long time; they had to work at it, loosen it, but finally, it snapped open as well.

Dark laughter echoed through the room. "Well, well, well. Bravo."

Spark, Scythe, Rainbow, and Otto whirled around, hearts racing. They all knew that voice. They all hated that voice. And at the moment, that was the last voice they had hoped to hear.

Eggman was back.

Carma looked at Chi. "Hold on. I think I just heard something." She whispered, ears twitching a little. She nodded to the girl-turned-dragon, and pointed in a general direction. "Over there. There was a…it sounded like voices, I think." She murmured. She looked tentatively at Chi, willing the girl to take the lead. While she had leader-like qualities, she still preferred not to lead.

Chi nodded. "I can hear them now, too." She murmured. She squinted, her keen eyes searching for the source of the noise. Since her vision was far superior to Carma's, it was no surprise that she spotted the small house not too far from their location. Her wings twitched a little, and she turned back to look at Carma. "There's a house there. Think you can fly?" She asked, obvious excitement shining in her eyes. Carma's eyes lit up, too. The two girls nodded at each other in silent agreement. With some difficulty, the two girls spread their wings…and soared.

It wasn't easy going. Carma had trouble beating her wings; she wasn't used to having something sticking out of her back. Admittedly she had always wanted to fly, but…she had never thought about how hard it would be. Now, though, she knew. And when she did figure out how to beat them, she sometimes forgot to, and started lurching towards the ground awkwardly.

Chi, too, was having trouble. Though, since her wings were far larger, she didn't need to beat them as often; she discovered rather quickly that she could simply spread her wings, which would catch air currents and let her glide cleanly through the air. Her wings were heavy, though; so when she did need to beat them, it was slow going. Neither looked very graceful in their flight, but at least it was working. They arrived at the small house within ten minutes, both with aching wings.

Carma stepped towards the door, but hesitated. While she didn't often shy away from things, she wasn't so good with…well, people. However, she didn't even need to bother knocking; the door opened, and a tall, beautiful rabbit who looked to be in her twenties opened the door. She smiled kindly at the two girls. "It's good to see you're okay." She murmured gently. Then, before either could respond, she turned around. "Sonic! The other two…they're here."

Suddenly, a blur of blue sailed by them, circled twice, and then stopped beside the rabbit. Both girls were surprised to see a blue…porcupine?...standing in front of them, a cheesy grin on his face. He waved casually at them, leaning against the wall of the house. "Hey! How's it goin'? I'm Sonic…Sonic the hedgehog." He said good-naturedly.

Chi frowned, clenching her fist. "How did we get here? Why were we turned into these…things? Who was that…fat guy?" She asked, heartbeat quickening. When Sonic took a step towards her, she tensed, stepping back.

Sonic raised his hands submissively. "Whoa, calm down…it's okay. I'm a friend. We're on your side. That fat guy's Doctor Eggman. And…as for how you got here and everything else…" He turned around suddenly, revealing Tinga, Ultra and Gazer inside. Behind the girls, Abby shyly stepped forwards, waving to them. Sonic smiled. "C'mon! You've got a lot of catching up to do."

Both Carma and Chi cautiously entered the house. Carma stopped at the doorway, staring at a black hedgehog with red-streaked spikes. She watched as he turned away from the others, making brief eye contact with him before he melted into the shadows, disappearing somewhere into the night. She wondered where he was going, and was tempted to follow, but went inside with Chi anyways.

"Argh! We don't have time for this!" Came Rainbow's frustrated snarl. Eggman was standing in the doorway, blocking it completely. Rainbow turned to look at her friends. "We have to get rid of him, quick! Pike's not gonna make it if we don't hurry and get him to Ark. He can heal him then." She murmured.

Spark nodded his agreement. "Right." He thought for a moment. Who should take Pike while the rest of us fight? I already know Scythe doesn't exactly have a good history with Pike; he almost left him to die! Then again, he was the one who wanted to rescue him…but Rainbow's faster. If I went, I could use my electricity to protect us both. I…guess…

He stopped. He had decided. Looking around, he spoke to Rainbow. "You, me, and Scythe will stay and fight Eggman while Otto takes Pike to Ark, and-"

"No. Let me take Pike."

Everyone whirled around to stare at Scythe, bewildered. They all knew that the little hedgehog wasn't joking; the look in his eyes said it all. He truly wanted to save the weasel. Was it because of what Rain said? Probably. But still…would he be able to do it, what with everything Pike ever did to him? But if he wanted to…that badly…

Spark took a deep breath. "Y…yeah, sure. You could use your electricity to fend off attacks. But…don't take this the wrong way, but…are you sure you can do it?" He asked tentatively.

Scythe nodded. "I have to. I need to clear my name with Rain…but that's not all. Ever since I left him…it's been haunting me. I was so scared that I'd actually let someone die." He whispered, shuddering. He had started shaking again. Rainbow gently put her hand on his shoulder to steady him.

Eggman chuckled. "Wahahahaha! You really think that Scythe will be able to get away from me? Scythe? Ahahahaha!" He rumbled, his whole body shaking; a rather disturbing sight to see.

Yet none of the four were fazed by him. Rainbow squeezed Scythe's hand, nodding to him, while Otto and Spark both stood in fighting stances, eyes narrowed at Eggman. Scythe looked at each of his three friends, a worried expression on his face. Part of him wanted to stay, to fight with them, but he knew he had to get Pike out of this place now…before the weasel died.

Scythe grabbed Pike by the shoulders, hauling him to his feet; the weasel fell almost immediately. Scythe draped one of Pike's limply-hanging arms over his shoulders, trying to support the weasel. Pike, however, was a good bit larger and heavier than Scythe, making it much more difficult to carry him out than he'd expected.

He turned to face the only exit to this place; an exit that was currently blocked by the large form of Eggman. Scythe gritted his teeth, glaring hard at Eggman. Electricity crackled on his palm. He then thrust his free arm forward, sending an electric pulse at the huge man. At the same instant, Spark did the same. Otto and Rainbow attacked after, while Eggman was stunned. They leaped at him, pounding on him with their physical force. Scythe took a deep breath, staring at Rainbow for a long moment before he tightened his grip on Pike and started making his slow escape. Before he made it out, however, Rainbow whispered to him, "We'll be right behind you." Now more reassured, Scythe began slowly trekking away from the wretched place with Pike in tow.

Scythe had made it only a short distance from Eggman's base before he heard a bone-rattling explosion from behind him. Involuntarily, he released Pike, causing the weasel to fall to the ground. But right now, Scythe didn't notice. All he could see was Eggman's base up in flames, with a dark mushroom cloud billowing overhead.

"OTTO! SPARK! R-RAINBOW! NO!" He screamed, voice cracking. He started running back towards Eggman's base.

And then stopped.

He turned around again, looking at the green weasel, now lying on the ground. He was still visibly breathing, but only barely. Whatever Eggman had done to him…he wasn't going to live much longer. And something in Scythe's heart couldn't…wouldn't…leave him behind, even if this was the person who had tortured and terrorized him during his childhood life.

Scythe had a choice to make. He could go back and find his friends, or…

…Or he could save Pike, and bring him back to Ark so he could be healed.

Scythe stood there motionlessly for a few minutes, dropping to his knees and weeping. He wanted…so badly…to go back and get Rainbow, Otto and Spark. But he knew…if they had been caught in that explosion…there was no way…no way that they survived. But he couldn't just…leave them! He stood up, knees shaking. He started taking a step towards the wreckage that was Eggman's base…

…But something stopped him. Or rather, someone. He felt something grip his leg, and nearly jumped out of his skin. He whirled around, almost falling over. What he saw was Pike, wide-eyed and terror-stricken, gripping his leg tightly. Tears were glimmering in his eyes, and he was crying; something Scythe had never seen Pike do.

The weasel stared at Scythe, his eyes pleading. But he said nothing. It was almost as though he couldn't say anything. He was mouthing the words, though; Scythe could make out one word, repeated over and over:

"Please."

Scythe drew in a sharp breath. He felt suddenly so torn, so pained. He wanted so badly to go back to his friends and girlfriend, just to hold Rainbow once more. But he knew that he had to save Pike, no matter how much he hated him. And oh, how he hated him! But that didn't matter right now. He was dying. And if he didn't do something now, the body count for tonight would reach four.

Suddenly, Scythe was aware of another presence. He turned around…and saw Shadow. His eyes grew wide. "What-how?" He gasped, surprised. The black hedgehog didn't answer Scythe's babbling. Instead, he picked up the green weasel in his own arms, and turned to the yellow hedgehog. "Go to her." He said, almost ordering him.

Scythe thought for a moment. Who did he mean by 'her'? But it took him only a second to realize who Shadow meant. He looked up. "How did you know where to find us?" He asked. As he looked up, though, he saw that Shadow was already gone. Scythe turned back towards what was left of Eggman's base. "Rainbow…I'm…

I'm coming."