"Six-"
Sonic charged into the tech lab foyer, all sense of self-preservation lost. He skidded to a halt on the hard marble floor and spun to face the stairwell.
"You came, hedgehog!" Eggman said. "Very good, especially considering you could have been walking into a line of combot fire and I might not have had your fox here at all."
The stairwell stood before Sonic. The whole structure was shrouded in a spiraling energy field.
Sonic kept his gaze fixed on the shield. He strode forward, stopped inches before the energy field, and jerked his head up.
Far above him, on the highest floor, he saw Tails' head and his back. He could barely see the combots over the edge of the rail.
"And, yes, it's not a hologram," Eggman said.
Behind both layers of the energy shield stood Eggman, the field distorting his image.
Sonic's focus doubled on Eggman, murder in his eyes.
"Now in ten seconds you can watch him fall down to the basement," Eggman said, hands clasped. "And you already know it would be pointless to jump through the energy-"
"-What do you want?" Sonic screamed at him, backing up, all his spikes unsheathed. "Is it me?" He stabbed at his chest with his thumb. "You want me, huh? Is that it? Well here I am." Sonic dropped to knees and thrust out his hands where Eggman could see them. "This is plain surrender, Eggman. Bring him down, safe and sound, and I'm not going anywhere."
Eggman didn't reply for a moment. "Hmm. I forgot you thought fast too."
Fear bolted through Sonic's eyes. His voice rose in intensity and he shook. "If you don't keep your part of the deal—if you kill him-!"
"Don't worry, hush up, Sonic, I don't want to kill him, he's a lot more useful alive-" Eggman snickered. "I mean, just look at you. But I will kill him if I have to. Or I can just, I don't know, stick him with electric pins for awhile, and I'm sure you'd love to watch that-"
The tears pricked at Sonic's eyes. He swallowed hard, still glaring, and took a quick, deep breath. "You people-"
He shut up, unable to speak.
"Well, let's not dally, if you really surrender, lay on your stomach and cross your wrists and ankles behind your back. My combots will be with you shortly—you are surrounded you know," Eggman said.
For a brief moment, Sonic did not move.
He took one glance back up at Tails and lay down on the floor. He didn't know what would happen once he gave himself up, but he'd figure it out.
He needed to get up and run out of there. He had to stay free so he could fight for Mobia. He couldn't throw away his life and his gift with it—he had to live as long as possible so he could stop Robotnik—that's why he'd been born.
Did he honestly expect Gramps and Tails to stay alive, being as close to him as they were? He should let Tails die. He couldn't live his whole life trying to keep him alive. People died. Tails would probably be happier dead.
Sonic crossed his wrists and ankles behind his back and pushed the side of his face against the floor, closing his eyes. He heard the metallic clanking steps of the combots, circling in on him.
Whatever. He still wasn't strong enough to live without them.
"It's alright, Sonic, I know how you work better than you do sometimes." Eggman said. I knew this fox was all you had left, other than the old one—and, if I was informed correctly, he's long gone by now. At least you've saved one last life," Eggman sneered.
Sonic's eyes burned at the words, but he forced himself to lay still as the combots closed in.
Let them do their worst.