Disclaimer- Should be common knowledge by this point. Nothing is mine, well…Boar, Psy, Bat, and Rabbit are mine…I think. Don't quote me on that.

Chapter 37- Fight fire with fire

The moment those doors closed behind him, Espio knew that if he made a single mistake, he was going to die.

He wasn't overreacting or blowing anything out of proportion. He had barely won the fight against his corrupted self. He didn't have a chance against those robots Silver and Blaze had warned them about. All he would be able to do was flee. Yes, he could turn invisible, but he was sure that escaping even with his ability would not be an easy thing.

Also, if he got found out – especially before he could relay the necessary information – their plan would be ruined, and lives would be in more danger than they already were.

He had to stay calm. He couldn't let the pressure get to him. He was a ninja. Stealth was his specialty.

The purple chameleon breathed deeply to steady his nerves as he scanned his immediate surroundings: a futuristic narrow passageway that was gently sloping downwards. Blue neon lights illuminated the space like a runway, leading him farther down into the base.

He was seemingly alone – for now. Espio increased his grip on the communicator in his palm before rising it to his mouth, pressing a button on its side. "I'm in," he whispered lowly into the radio, "Can you detect me?"

"Roger that. Operation Stealth is a go," a young voice answered just as quietly, "And yes, as long as we have a connection, I can pick up your location. Be careful, Espio."

"Same to you, Tails," the chameleon briefly responded, lowering the device after doing so. He stashed the communicator in his left glove before focusing his mind, and letting his body disappear. Espio checked himself thoroughly to make sure that there weren't any faults in his camouflage.

Once he was satisfied, Espio charged forward, footsteps light and practically unnoticeable.

I have three objectives to complete: locate the Master Emerald, locate Shadow and Sonic, and glean as much information as possible in any order. The level of difficulty is…severely dependent on if I get caught.

The ninja ran silently until he came across more doors, decreasing his speed to a stop just enough distance away to not cause the metal to slide open on their own. Espio eyed the closed threshold, sensing a dilemma here. There was no way he'd be able to know what – or who – was on the other side of the doors. If he would trigger the motion sensor, then there was a possibility that someone else would witness the doors opening by themselves, which could raise suspicion. But then again, this base had been abandoned for a while. Perhaps they would blame faulty wiring…

Espio would boldly admit it. There was – had been – someone else who could do this better than he could. However, at this point, he was the only one who could do it.

And be the person to complete step one in avenging that poor soul.

The purple reptile strained to listen for any sounds created by something or someone he couldn't see, but he couldn't make anything out. It was quiet. Having no other option but to push forward, Espio did so, the metallic doors not revealing any unwanted surprises. Instead, they simply uncovered the next section, which was a large room with multiple levels.

Espio scanned the wide space as he stepped through the doorway, searching for any movement as well as analyzing his potential path. Fortunately, he was alone. Unfortunately, there were many directions he could choose from that would lead him away from his objectives.

The ninja was currently on the second level, standing on a ledge that protruded out of the wall lining the room so one wouldn't plummet down to the floor the second they cleared the sliding doors. There were four other exits to the room just on the top half of the area.

The ground half had four more temporarily blocked passageways, reached by a curved ramp that connected the second and first levels. The material looked different from the metal surrounding it; the convenient incline could have been recently installed.

A single amber iris switched back and forth between the doors at his eye level and the doors that were below him. The first thought that breached the surface of his working mind was that where Sonic and Shadow were being kept had to be in the complete opposite direction of where the Master Emerald was being stored. His two targets were most likely held at the two ends of the base just because of Shadow's power.

So building off of that, he assumed that the Mobians were either trapped in the upper level of the underwater structure, or that they were confined somewhere on the deepest floor. He pondered this for a moment, believing that all of this came down to what his corrupted double thought was more important. With what Espio had learned about his twin's futuristic feats, he would say that the Master Emerald must hold a higher place on the priority list than Sonic and Shadow.

The Master Emerald was on the bottommost level of the base, and his friends were at the same depth he was currently standing. At least, Espio hoped so.

With that thought bouncing around in his brain, the horned reptile bypassed the ramp leading downward and swiftly strode to pair of doors adjacent to the ones he had just came from. The solid barriers glided apart with a soft swish, and he was greeted with another empty hallway. However, unlike the one that brought him into the body of the base, this passage was lined with glass.

Blue-tinted light filtered through the window, shifting with the waves up above. Different species of fish swam near the clear material without a care. Blissfully unaware to the dangers lurking within the unnatural metal edifice placed in the middle of their environment.

Espio barely spared a glance at the marine ecosystem as he lightly treaded down the hall, hyperaware of everything around him. He couldn't be distracted here. Even though the base was huge from what he was told, the situation of running into his double (who understandably could be as perceptive as he was) could happen in an instant.

The ninja promptly froze when the doors he was heading towards briskly opened, three figures striding through the threshold. The one in the middle of the trio was a Mobian Espio knew all too well; however, his two accomplices were less familiar. Although, the visual of them matched the mental image he had conjured up after Blaze had enlightened them all of their possibly bleak future.

Espio's twin was currently being flanked by Bat and Rabbit.

Holding his breath, the ninja carefully darted to his right to move out of the path of the small group, pressing his back against the glass. He wasn't sure if his footsteps were absolutely silent, but it didn't seem to matter because the trio were engrossed in their own not-so-quiet conversation.

"T-To be clear, you're not going to dismantle us, right?" the winged robot questioned, worry noticeable in his tone.

The evil reptile rolled his working eye, and Espio frowned as he subtly rubbed the bandages covering his own injury. He hated sharing so many similarities with his deceitful double, but…it couldn't be helped. "You've asked that four times already, Bat. Do you want to be torn apart?"

Bat waved his hands in a negative. "N-No! I-It's just that-"

"The whole thing was an accident." Rabbit was examining what looked like a blood stain on her sporty weapon. The invisible ninja immediately focused on that, mentally questioning whose blood that was and how much they had lost. "I didn't know that thing was a magnet, you didn't know, and I'm sure he had no idea too."

The camouflaged reptile refused to move a muscle when the trio finally passed him, and he resisted the urge to let out a relieved sigh when they didn't detect anything off.

"Right. I didn't." The villain crossed his arms over his chest. "And it doesn't matter that Shadow almost escaped, because he didn't. So, if you ask me that again Bat, destroying you would be a fun activity."

"R-Read you loud and clear!" Bat quietly chuckled as they increased the distance between them and Espio. Eventually, they had disappeared behind the automatic doors. Espio didn't dare relax until a good minute had gone by, being positively sure that none of them mysteriously had the desire to turn back around.

After internally counting down to one, the purple chameleon peeled himself off of the window, gazing the way the group had come from. The blood on the metallic bunny's bat seemed fresh, so whatever they did was recent.

From their words, he deduced that Shadow was around here somewhere. He wasn't sure about Sonic though, and a bit of concern bubbled up in his stomach before he smothered it. Just because they didn't mention Sonic didn't mean that he wasn't with Shadow, or that something…more permanent had happened to him.

Steeling himself for what was to come, Espio – still see-through – continued his trek, confident that he would reunite with at least one of them soon.

Leaving out of the aquarium-esque passageway, Espio was met with a medium sized room with three doorways: one to his left, one to his right, and one straight ahead. There was no way to figure out which way his sinister self had come from, so he went with his gut and continued straight. This had to be the shortest path to where his friends were located; if not, why would the trio choose the way Espio had entered to leave? Veering left or right would surely end him up closer to one of the other hallways that massive room had split into.

Espio crept along cautiously through the structure. Even though his twin, Bat, and Rabbit were behind him, it didn't mean that Eggman or Metal Sonic couldn't be around here as well, lurking.

However, after guessing on a few more twists and turns, he was less worried about getting caught and more worried about not finding their missing Mobians. Approaching another pair of sliding doors, he mentally told himself that he would turn around and try a different direction if any variation of a hint was not revealed to him in the next thirty seconds. Yes, it was true that he wasn't exactly timed, but the faster he got this done, the faster the rest of the plan could commence.

When those metal slabs opened up for him, he paused in his step to absorb what he was seeing.

It was a room with two exits, one on the opposite wall, and one that Espio was standing in. There were a multitude of floating balls next to a dully lighted rod. There had to be some kind of magnetism going on there. That was interesting and all, but what really pulled Espio's attention was the blood stains in the middle of the floor.

The ninja jogged over to the biggest one and crouched low, eying the red fluid. It seemed mostly wet and – again – recent. Believing that he was finally getting somewhere, Espio straightened back up and scanned for any more clues. There was none from what he could see, but the blood was enough to have him commit to his directional choice.

The chameleon spared one more look at the floating metal spheres, paring that image with the bloody bat Rabbit had in her hands. Whatever experience Shadow had gone through was definitely not a pleasant one.

Hating his double more now, Espio resumed his near silent adventure with his jaw clenched. Fortunately, he was trained to be keenly observant. If he hadn't been, he would've dunked his foot into a large puddle of vomit. His lips twitched downwards at the foul smell, but instead of backing away from the sick, he peered closer at it, noticing how there were lines of the liquid leading away from the original puddle. Someone had to have been dragged through this, and he had a good guess who.

What exactly did they do to him? Espio inwardly questioned. Plain abuse shouldn't have made Shadow throw up. There was more to those robots that he had seen. He didn't know exactly what, but he planned to find out. Gleaning information was one of his objectives, after all.

Remaining cautious, Espio left the puddle of sick behind in favor of following the thin trails of it leading away and hopefully towards the kidnapped hedgehogs. He relied on the fluid for a while, but then they became nonexistent, leaving him high and dry in the underwater maze. However, Espio didn't have to start guessing randomly just yet.

Because he was hearing something. It was a voice accompanied by thumps. Both were very faint, but they were there.

Espio's hopes rose; he couldn't be too hasty and careless though. They could very well belong to Metal or Eggman. The voice was too far away for him to recognize it. Honing onto those sounds, the ninja was careful as he continued at a slightly quicker pace than normal.

After taking a few more turns, Espio could definitely name who that voice belonged to without question.

"-will make sure you regret ever meeting me, you damned chameleon!" The purple reptile turned a blue-tinted corner just in time for the multitude of thuds that came after Shadow's exclamation. An amber iris zeroed in on a door in the middle of the hall, its owner thinking that the striped hedgehog couldn't be that hurt if he was ramming himself against the metal over and over again.

Espio swiftly jogged over to the marginally vibrating door, placing his hand on it in order to feel every time Shadow smashed into metallic slab. He scanned the barrier for any way to open it, but the door itself gave no answers.

The chameleon decided to speak before the other broke his shoulder or something similar. "Shadow," he whispered, low enough so that his voice wouldn't carry too far, but loud enough so that the hedgehog inside could hear him.

The striped rodent had stopped ramming the door at his voice, but now a growl emitted from the inside. "Why in the hell are you back? Coming to torture us some more?"

Us? So Sonic's in there too. Thank Chaos. "I'm not him, Shadow. Me being here is basically the opposite of you two being tortured," he breathed, checking for any signs of approaching footsteps as he did so.

"…Detective?"

Espio nodded even though the other couldn't see. "Yes, I was sent down here to locate the Master Emerald and you two."

Shadow's voice was less rough and more controlled. "Are the others down here too?"

"No. They're on the surface, waiting for me." The image of the evil trio popped up in his mind, and he asked, "How are your conditions?"

"I'll live," Shadow replied strongly, but then he let out an audible sigh. "Sonic will too, but he's worse than I am. Metal Sonic got to him, and he can't talk."

Espio's only eye widened marginally. He couldn't begin to imagine how much pain Sonic had to be in right now. "I apologize for not bringing a Chaos emerald. I wouldn't be able to sneak with it on my person."

"He'll be fine as long if we can get out of here and find one or the Master Emerald. This door is voice activated, so you should be able to let us out. Just say open."

Espio obeyed. "Open."

Nothing happened.

He frowned deeply and tried again. "Open."

When nothing happened for a second time, it was clear that Shadow was not happy. "That damned reptile...! He had said it was voice activated, but dammit, there has to be something else…"

Espio examined the door again, not detecting anything that stood out to him. He knew that this would have been too easy. "There's nothing here that I can interact with." And if Shadow couldn't break it down, there was no way the ninja was going to be able to. Well, he assumed that it was good that they planned for this. "But you will get out. The others will be able to get to you later after I find the Master Emerald."

"So you're about to leave us in here?"

"There's nothing I can do, Shadow. Especially without getting noticed. My mission is to pinpoint your and the gem's locations without tipping our adversaries off. Getting you two out would have been a plus, but the plan isn't completely ruined." Espio palmed his communicator and pressed a button on its side. "This is the location of Shadow and Sonic."

"Yes! Roger."

He cut the connection.

"You have a communicator?"

Espio slipped said device back into his glove. "Yes, but I'm trying to keep the talking to a minimum. We don't know what kind of sensors they have down here. Tails has a radar, and I just gave him my location."

"So he knows where we are now…"

"And he knows where to send the rescue crew," the ninja added on. He then glanced back the way he came, knowing that he had to get along now. But before that… "Shadow, I saw my other self walking with a robotic bat and rabbit. They were talking about you. What happened?"

"That doesn't matter," the hedgehog responded stubbornly, "But what does is their abilities. Rabbit is powerful with her bat, but along with that, she has her ears."

Espio blinked. "Ears?"

"They can stretch and are electrified. I didn't know that at first, and that's how we got taken in the first damn place."

The visual of that small metallic bunny popped up, and he couldn't help the doubt that had leaked into his voice. "She alone took you two out?" It wasn't that he didn't believe the other; it was just hard to picture one robot defeating Sonic and Shadow. But then again, according to what Blaze had said, the bots were near invincible with that energy in their system.

"She did." The hedgehog almost growled before changing the subject. "Bat's more dangerous. He might not be as strong as her, but he can shoot air out of his fingertips, and his ears can produce vibrations that destroy your balance."

Espio made a mental note to be extra careful from now on. "I saw vomit on the floor earlier. Was that because of-"

"Yes," Shadow cut him off, obvious in not wanting to talk about it.

The ninja respected his wishes, not carrying on that topic of conversation. Espio took a deep breath, readying himself for the second half of his journey. "I'll be off then." He then directed his next words to the silent occupant inside. "It shouldn't take too long. Hang in there, Sonic."

"He heard you," Shadow said after a moment, "Now go so we can get out of here."

"Right." Espio was about to step away, but he had to say this before he went. "And keep it down. Don't give them more reasons to torture you."

There was a muffled snort. "Leave, chameleon."

And he did.

Espio had been staring at a specific set of doors for a long while. He was currently pressed against the wall of a hallway deep within the base, this level lower than all of the other ones he had combed. The chameleon had been surprised that he hadn't run into anyone else as he steadily made his way down, but now, he understood why.

He heard voices behind the doors. They were muffled and almost drowned out by the racket coming from inside, but Espio could recognize his own voice within along with Bat, Rabbit's, and Metal Sonic's. Eggman had to be in there as well, because while the ninja hadn't heard him talk, the others had been speaking to him. Actually, more like commanding him. Espio didn't know what to make of it just yet. However, he did recall seeing a collar around the man's neck at the trade-off…

The purple chameleon was so curious to what exactly was happening inside, but he couldn't risk opening the doors himself and possibly causing all who was inside to be suspicious. He had to wait for his chance, if he ever got one.

Luckily for him, he didn't have to stand by for long.

His invisible body tensed up when an explosion thundered from beyond the barrier, his breaths becoming lighter when the automatic doors opened not a second afterwards. Espio silently watched as a generic robot slid to a stop in a location where it was continuously triggering the motion sensor. The Chaotix member examined the nonmoving mech with a smoking hole in the center of it for a brief moment before shifting his attention to the room that had been hidden from him.

Espio immediately realized that it was the room he had been looking for.

It was large, and it was crowded inside. Along the walls were machines working on machines, almost like a factory. Most of the generic bots were busying themselves, but some of them were staring where the one with the hole in its center had landed. However, the still mech held more than those bots' attentions.

Standing in the middle of the room were the ones that Espio had guessed earlier…plus one. Bat and Rabbit were beside each other, one gapping and the other apathetic. Metal Sonic had his bloodied arms crossed, and to his right was an exhausted looking Eggman, who seemed pained as he gazed upon the target. He still had that collar around his neck. Espio's corrupted twin was patting a newly reformed Omega's arm with a smug smile on his face.

"Well, looks like you're in working order. How does it feel to be back, Omega?" the evil reptile asked, turning to the red and black robot. As he was talking, the detective Espio slipped into the room unnoticed, hugging the walls and staying out of any robot's way.

"IT IS GREAT," Omega responded, lowering his smoking cannon arm. "BUT, MY QUESTION IS WHY WAS I GONE IN THE FIRST PLACE?"

The reptile waved him off. "It's not worth my time explaining." He then gestured over to Bat and Rabbit. "These are your new…coworkers: Rabbit and Bat."

Omega focused on them. "HELLO. I HOPE THAT YOU TWO LIKE DESTROYING LIKE I DO."

"Th-That was so awesome!" Bat gushed as he fist pumped the air. "Your whole arm turned into a cannon!"

"IT IS NICE TO KNOW THAT YOUR OPTICAL SENSORS ARE FUNCTIONAL."

Rabbit rolled her eyes. "Ignore him. He gets distracted by the simplest of things. So big guy, you're pretty powerful, but how about we go compare our strengths? I highly doubt that you can hit one out of the park like I can."

"I WILL GLADLY ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE." The bulky mech paused before glancing over to the observing chameleon. "IF THAT IS OKAY WITH YOU."

"P-Please say yes!" Bat begged, "I-I want to see more explosions!"

Metal Sonic then produced a noise that was similar to a scoff. "They all act like children. Espio, do you seriously think-"

"It doesn't matter what they act like, Metal," the horned reptile interrupted him, tone bland, "As long as they get the job done – and they will – it doesn't matter."

Bat laughed at that. "H-He's right! W-We'll grow on you pretty soon Uncle Mets!"

The metallic Sonic stiffened up. "Please refrain from calling me that."

The evil Espio had a smirk on his face. "It fits," he said, and Metal's red eyes flashed. The chameleon didn't respond, instead, he drifted his gaze over to the quiet Eggman. "How long is it before Psy is done, doctor?"

The human stifled a yawn as he scanned over the working bots, finally zeroing in on something to the side. The see-through Espio followed his line of sight and saw a couple of worker mechs fixing up a machine that looks almost exactly like Silver. The only thing it was missing was an arm.

"He'll be done in about five minutes." Eggman's voice was tired and worn and calculated, like he had to think about every word he said.

The purple reptile nodded. "Good." He gave Omega, Bat, and Rabbit his attention again. "We'll go after Psy gets activated so that we can test his skills as well."

The bunny shrugged. "That's fine with me."

"I-I can wait five minutes," the winged robot commented before excitedly approaching Omega, asking the bigger bot to show him all of his features.

Metal Sonic led Eggman over to where the deactivated Psy was getting worked on, waiting in silence.

Still hanging out by the wall, Espio took hold of his communicator and just pressed the button. He didn't dare speak into it. He held it down for a second before cutting the connection, letting go a relieved breath when Tails didn't respond.

Espio's amber orb rose from the device and fixated on the item sitting in a large cylinder container on the far wall, it pulsating a bright green light. The kit should be smart enough to understand that Espio had just completed his other main objective: locating the Master Emerald.

Espio could easily leave now, his mission being complete. The door was open, and he hadn't slipped up somehow. His body wasn't moving though because he was thinking. He could possibly facilitate this inevitable fight by…

The ninja glanced to the side, eying the work the generic robots were doing. He narrowed his single eye when he spotted a disembodied head on a table. It was colored dark red and black, similar to Penumbra's appearance. That had to be Boar.

A new plan put itself together in his mind, and all he had to do was bide his time. His friends shouldn't mind this little deviation.

The five minutes ticked by quickly, and it wasn't long before Metal Sonic and Eggman were disconnecting a multitude of wires from an activated Psy, him now being chock-full of the glowing jewel's energy.

When those cyan opticals flared to life, Espio's twin was sure to be the first one seen. "I'm Master Espio," he introduced himself before bobbing his head over to Metal, "And he's…" Lips curled upwards. "…your uncle."

The blue mech's body violently twitched. "I strongly dislike you."

"Ignore him, Psy." Light blue eyes that were trained on Metal snapped back over to the grinning purple reptile. "Welcome to the world. I'm going to be blunt in saying that you were created to destroy my enemies. Do you have any comments about that?" Psy just stared at him, not saying a single word. The chameleon's brow creased. "Can you not speak?"

It was then that Psy cocked his head marginally at him. "I can."

"Ah. One of few words. I can appreciate that," Espio said, cutting his eyes over to Bat for a split second. "So…" he stepped to the side so that the other main robots could be seen. "You'll be working with them, and I'm sure that they, along with I, would like to see what your capable of. Follow us to a training room, would you?"

"I have nothing else to do."

"Alright then, it's time to go." Espio then addressed Metal. "Send a bot when Boar is almost ready." Before the Sonic look-a-like got to answer, the reptile was grabbed by an impatient Bat and flown out of the room, followed by Rabbit, Psy, and Omega.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Eggman ground out. "You don't have to let him know. You can – gahh!"

Espio watched in shock when the human instantly crumbled to the floor, static electricity causing his muscles to convulse. That collar…is a shock collar! And… The ninja paid attention to the remote in Metal's clawed hand. And he's controlling it.

"I didn't ask for your input." Metal walked away from the twitching scientist on the ground in order to overlook the development of Boar.

As Eggman wobblily regained his footing, Espio came to a conclusion. The doctor – at this point in time – wasn't the bad guy. He was nothing more than a mere worker, a slave to them. He was trapped here like Sonic and Shadow were.

That gave the ninja food for thought until it was time for him to make his move.

And that time was when Eggman and Metal Sonic were in the middle of hooking up Boar to the machine the Master Emerald was contained above.

Taking a deep breath to control his rapid heartrate, Espio left his position against the wall and lightly treaded back over to the open doorway. The ninja subtly shook his tense muscles loose and hoped that his acting skills were up to par. He sure looked the part; they didn't know that he had his eye taken out as well. The chameleon peered over his shoulder to make sure his doppelganger wasn't actually making a return. It was clear.

After exhaling heavily one more time, he turned himself visible and stepped back into the room. "Is he done yet?" he questioned, his tone more commanding and sharp than usual.

"Does he look done yet, chameleon?" Metal responded without turning around. Espio kept his composure as he strolled deeper into the space, eventually ending up right beside the blue robot. "We just put the last wire in place." Metal added on before moving over to the M.E.'s machine, flipping switches.

Espio observed him for a while. He then focused on Eggman and smothered any surprise when he met the human's calculating gaze. The doctor most likely knew that something was awry. Espio only wished that the man would go with the flow, not saying anything until it was safe to do so.

With one final push, the wires began to hum, and Espio stared at Boar. Potentially the most dangerous of the series.

The ninja whipped his head upwards, frowning up at the ceiling and pretending to be troubled. "Metal, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" The robot and Eggman lifted their chins as well.

"You didn't hear that thump? It came from the floor above this one." Espio then looked Metal in the eyes and ordered, "Go see what it is."

Metal stubbornly didn't obey. It wasn't totally unexpected. "It is most likely the others. There is no reason for me to-"

"I left them nowhere near where that sound is coming from," Espio cut the other off, a growl leaking into his voice. "Go see Metal, because if its intruders and they are left alone because of you, then don't be shocked if I take care of them second."

It was silent for a moment before Metal said, "None of those robots will be able to defeat me. I am not scared of them nor you. However, the opportunity of killing one of the blue rat's friends and bringing him their dead body is too good for me to pass up." The azure mech held out the remote control for him to take. Espio did so without hesitation. "I will return soon." He flew out without another word.

The detective turned the remote around in his palm, it being very simple in structure. There was a dial for the amount and then there was a lone button to deliver.

"You aren't him." Eggman's tone was somewhat hesitant when he stated this.

Espio didn't want to drop his act just yet. He didn't know what side the human was truly on. The purple reptile steeled his gaze and facial expression. "What in the world are you talking about, doctor?" One glimpse at the machine holding the Master Emerald told him that Boar was halfway done. "Stop spouting nonsense before I-"

"Before you what, reptile?" The human was gaining confidence; the chameleon could tell. "There's nothing that you could possibly do that is worse that you've already done. Because if this stupid plan of yours, you've stripped me of everything!"

Espio just stared at him, not knowing what to say or how to act. This moment of pause had made the choice for him.

Eggman's stance marginally relaxed, yet his eyes were still keen. "I was right, you aren't him. Otherwise, he would've shocked me for that outburst." The man focused on the bandages on his face. "Accurate costume."

If only you knew. Espio grunted when he broke the remote in half. "You're correct in your assumption. I won't hurt you despite everything you've done in the past."

Eggman watched it fall to the floor. "How noble of you." The rotund scientist rubbed his collared neck after glancing over at the M.E. as well. "You should leave before Metal Sonic comes back. Your little show worked earlier, but it's risky."

Espio knew it was, but… "I'm not going without the robot."

"The ro…" Comprehension flooded the human's expression. "You're going to fight fire with fire." Eggman tapped his chin before shaking his head. "Clever plan, I'll give you that. It may not work though."

The ninja rose a brow at him. "And why not?"

"Because-" Whatever Eggman was going to say was lost when the doctor peered back over his shoulder and completely froze.

The detective knew immediately that he was in serious trouble. He didn't bother turning invisible as he turned on his heel, for he had already been caught. Espio was more than ready to sprint away if one of those robots had come back, and he was up for a fight if his double had returned alone. However, neither was the case.

There was no one there.

Espio was only given a second to be confused before he was hit hard in the back of his head and harshly pushed. He gasped as he stumbled over his own feet, struggling to regain his balance. It was futile. Gravity won over.

When he crash landed, he heard, "Hello Boar. I'm doctor Eggman, your creator and master."

No! Espio inwardly gasped, pushing off the floor and hopping back up to his full height. He whirled around to see the human smiling down at an activated Penumbra look-a-like, his thin spines sharp and sticking out dangerously. He was crouching slightly, absorbing the doctor's every word.

"Don't listen to him!" Espio exclaimed, hating that he fell for that dirty trick.

Boar's glinting carmine opticals trained themselves onto him. The mech tilted his head. "You sound really desperate. Like…he's about to order me to kill you or something." The red-striped robot turned back to Eggman, a smile forming. "Are you though? Because that'll be fun and messy."

"No I'm not ordering you to kill him!" Eggman opposed, and Espio felt a little uneasy when Boar looked disappointed. He liked this robot the least. The doctor cleared his throat. "I'm ordering you to teleport me out of here! Can you do that?"

"No."

Eggman blinked, befuddled. "You can't?"

"Fly, yes. Teleport, no."

The doctor stomped his foot. "Then fly me out!"

"You know the directions?"

"Yes!"

"Stop yelling. I'm not deaf," Boar crisply retorted before refocusing on Espio, who was debating whether he should attempt to attack the newly made mech or not. "What about Mr. Desperate over there?"

Eggman was about to answer, but the ninja wouldn't let him. "If you're planning to escape Eggman, then help me set Shadow and Sonic free. Shadow just needs the energy in Boar to Chaos Control out." When the man took a while to reply, he continued, "They are hurt and trapped here like you are. They can help get the Master Emerald, the echidnas can shut it down, and you won't have to worry about my twin anymore."

The doctor scowled, clenching his jaw. "Fine."

Espio's heart leapt. "Fine?"

"Yes!" Eggman hissed before addressing Boar. "Can you smoothen out your back quills?" Without verbally answering, the mech's spines flattened themselves row by row until his whole back was slick. The scientist pointed to Boar. "Get on his back, chameleon."

"Whoa what?"

They both ignored the indignant robot. Espio didn't like it, but it was the fastest way to get around. Also, the base was huge. What was the chance of them running into anyone?

The chameleon ran over and hopped onto Boar's back, disregarding the glare he received as he held onto the artificial one's neck. The not-Penumbra then became airborne, hooking his arms beneath Eggman's underarms as he did so. After lifting the human off the ground – and lowly commenting on the man's weight – they sped out of the room.

Directions were given by the doctor as they zoomed through hallways and rooms, gaining altitude as they did so. Espio remained quiet until they reached the top level, miraculously unnoticed. A couple minutes passed, and they finally ended up in the first large room Espio had encountered when he first arrived. They were at the bottom half.

"There's the exit," Eggman uttered, glancing up at a particular set of sliding doors.

"Sonic and Shadow are to the right of those doors." Don't change your mind on me now, Eggman.

"Tell us where to go, chameleon," the scientist grumbled, and Boar produced in annoyed sound.

"What's the point of doing what he wants again?"

"Just follow his directions, Boar."

Relief filled the purple Mobian's system. "Thank you."

"Start pointing before I change my mind."

There was a heavy silence in the cramped room that they were forced into. Sonic had no way of speaking, and Shadow didn't have a clue of what to say, not being a conversationalist under normal conditions.

Since the time that Espio had left, the Ultimate Lifeform had been staring at the door separating them from freedom with his ears perked, wanting to hear anything that signified their rescue. As time ticked on, he was growing antsy.

It wasn't because of himself. His injuries weren't worrisome. He was very bruised, he may have a minor internal wound, and the vomit on his chest fur wasn't his definition of being in prime condition, but he was alright.

He was thinking about Espio and Sonic…one more than the other. The chameleon was down here in the belly of the beast. Who knew what was happening to him right now. And with Sonic, well…he was losing blood. Metal Sonic did not hold back on him, and the injury to the hero's throat had to be the worst. Red liquid was dripping from the cloth wrapped around his neck; it didn't seem like it was going to stop any time soon.

Sensing movement out of the corner of his eye, Shadow turned his attention to Sonic only to see his rival fighting sleep, his head dipping lower and lower. The striped Mobian kicked the azure one's leg, careful to aim for a patch of furred skin that wasn't the color of a plum.

"Stay awake Faker," he advised when Sonic jerked up, and his dull emerald irises zeroed in on him. "If you fall asleep, you might not wake up."

The blue hero opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but he snapped it closed again, a frustrated expression on his face. Sonic wriggle against the wall, gingerly adjusting himself, tired of sitting in the same position. Shadow shared his sentiments. Being cooped up like this was the last thing he ever wanted to do, and being hurt on top of that made the experience worse.

Both he and Sonic then nearly jumped out of their skins when there was a knock on their door. "Are you awake in there, boys?" Shadow instantly snarled at that voice, it not belonging to the right Espio. He didn't miss how Sonic stiffened up beside him. There was a low chuckle on the other side. "I'll take that as a yes. Open."

What the hell? Shadow internally questioned when that damned chameleon was revealed. Why didn't the voice command work when Espio tried? Different Inflection?

A malicious grin was present on that scaled face. "Hello again."

"Go fuck yourself," Shadow spat, taking one out of Boom's book. He was nowhere in the mood for this reptile.

"I'll pass," Espio drawled out, "Instead, I'll be taking you two out for another round."

A raspy gasp emitted from Sonic, and Shadow was cursing like a sailor in his mind. Before he could respond verbally, a second figure stepped into Shadow's line of sight. It was a robotic Silver…Psy, if he remembered right. The Ultimate Lifeform then blinked down when the chains around his ankles were surrounded in a cyan glow.

Before Shadow could fully process what was going on, his world was flipped upside down. He hissed when the back of his head slammed against the floor, him losing contact with the ground a second afterwards. The striped hedgehog was floating in the air now by his feet, glaring up at Psy as he was guided out of the room.

Once he was in the hallway, Shadow noticed that the evil Espio hadn't just brought the psychic doppelganger with him. Bat, Rabbit, and…the other Omega were eying him as well. Shadow gritted his teeth as he hung, despising his current position.

"Hm…" Heated rubies focused on the upside down purple reptile, wishing that he'd just combust on the spot. "Psy, why are you only picking up the chains and not Shadow himself?"

"I can't." The white robot's blue gaze never left the Ultimate Lifeform. "I can only use my powers on inanimate objects."

Espio lips twitched downwards. "That's no serious matter, because you do have some more tricks up your sleeve." That frown morphed into a smirk when he faced Shadow. "And he'll get to show those off on you two very soon. Get the other one too, Psy."

Shadow glanced over to Sonic just in time to see him get roughly yanked into the air, too tired to hide his pained grimace. Being held like that must be causing him extreme agony because of his broken leg. The striped hedgehog clenched his fists. "Leave him alone dammit! He's had enough!"

"It's not enough until I say it is." Espio scoffed. "And plus, Metal was the only one who got to work with him. While Omega and Psy have you, Bat and Rabbit can have their turn with the silent hero."

"Metal Sonic?" Psy inquired.

"O-Our uncle," Bat replied with a snicker.

"Oh." The psychic mech nodded. "Okay."

Rabbit approached a obviously hurting Sonic and poked him when her sporty tool. He winced, swallowing thickly and promptly coughing up some blood. "I've already had my time with you, so Bat can go all out."

The winged robot's ears twitched. "I-I don't know…wouldn't it be too easy? A-At least Shadow could move a little bit!"

"DO NOT COMPLAIN," Omega admonished, "HE IS A VALID TARGET WHETHER HE CAN MOVE OR NOT."

"Omega's right." Espio turned his back on them, starting to arrogantly walk away. "Take what you can get. Let's go."

"I will destroy all of you," Shadow snarled when he was forcefully moved, venom leaking into his tone. "I will rip you-" He cut himself off when Sonic gained his attention, the azure speedster shaking his head at him. His open expression communicated 'Don't anger them'. The words, "It doesn't matter if they're angry or not. They're going to do what they want anyway," were on the tip of Shadow's tongue, but he didn't let them loose.

Instead, he thought, Where in the hell are you, detective?

"They're gone!"

Espio, pulse racing, dropped down off of Boar's back and scampered over to the wide open room that was supposed to hold Shadow and Sonic. He scanned the space like the two hedgies would pop out of the walls, but unsurprisingly, that didn't happen. The room remained empty.

Boar and Eggman landed behind him, the latter stroking his large mustache. "Is there any chance that those two had escaped themselves?"

"No…" the purple Mobian breathed, "The others must have them." Mind going haywire, he whirled around to face the duo. "We have to go find-"

"We are not." Eggman strongly opposed, tone inarguable. "Listen to yourself, chameleon. Panicking in this situation is the last thing that we want to do. Going after them even with Boar on our side would be a death sentence."

"You're underestimating me, human?" Boar cut his gaze onto the doctor. "Because I'm sure that I can kill anything that gets in my way."

"I'm not underestimating you," Eggman quickly mended, "I'm saying that we need to leave. Now. Are you coming or not, chameleon? Because I will leave you."

As much as Espio wanted to take action, he knew that the man had a point. Technically, the others still didn't know that he had been here. He could meet back up with his friends, and they now knew where the Master Emerald was. If it wasn't moved by the time they got down there…

All the more reason to reunite as soon as possible.

"I'm coming." Espio jumped back onto Boar, securing himself against the robot. Hang in there you two, wherever you are.

Said mech huffed as he picked up Eggman. "I can't wait until you stop doing that."

"If you hurry up and get us out of here, then you won't have to worry about me anymore," Espio reasoned, itching to be back above sea level.

Boar grinned. "On that note…"

The robot zoomed off with a chameleon and human in tow.

Will the hedgehogs' and the Master Emerald's rescue go off without a hitch? Don't count on it ;)

Next chapter…hide and seek!