Chaos Corrupts Absolutely

by Ryan-Sinclair

By himself and on his own, Sonic suffers a horrible loss in the heat of battle. Rejected by society, he's saved by the most unlikely individual. Will he be convinced to serve for what he is told is a greater good, or can his friends save him from a dark path? -/Reboot\-

11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

.

[Time - 8:15 P.M.]

[Date - July 1st, 21XX)

(Location - Station Square, City Hall District, Police Station Headquarters)

Awakening in a jail cell, Sonic's bloodshot eyes slowly pried themselves open to investigate his surroundings. Moaning from the pain in both his eyes and lungs, he turned his head, realizing that he was on a cot. Looking up at the roof, then the walls, he saw that both of them were made of concrete. Blinking to try and rid himself of the stinging in his eyes, he leaned up coughing. His chest felt congested with gunk, likely from being pepper sprayed. Groaning, he scanned the room, noticing the prison bars on the door to the room. Immediately he understood that he was being held captive, yet it still took a bit for him to comprehend who he was being held by. In a split second, everything came back to him; how he made his way to the Mystic Ruins only to be ambushed by police and their trigger-happy S.W.A.T. team. Holding his hand to his forehead, the splitting headache he had made it hard to think for an extended period of time.

"Son of a…" He lamented the unpleasant sensation. Coughing again, he hocked up a loogie that felt like pure pepper, spitting it onto the floor next to him. "My eyes…" Automatically, he reached up to rub his eyes, instantly jerking away when that hurt worse than the initial aggravation. "OWW! Dammit!" Sniffling to clear his nose, he huffed. "Am I-?" He speculated about his location. "Am I in jail?"

"Quiet in there!" He heard a guard yell, watching as the man turned to face the hedgehog's cell. "You just keep that mouth shut until they come get you for interrogation."

"What am I doing here?" Sonic asked.

The guard shook his head with a chuckle. "You know; it's funny… I could swear that I just told you to shut up. But, here you are still TALKING!"

Sonic sighed as he got up from the bed, finding his legs to be so wobbly that he could barely walk. Getting a cold feeling in his shoulder, he looked down to witness the bandage completely drenched in blood. Exactly as he had surmised, the stitches in his shoulder had torn from him trying to run as fast as he could to get away from the police. His eyes rolled in frustration as he knew he would have to be stitched back up again. Nonetheless, he ignored the pain in favour of limping over to the jail cell door, gripping the bars of the little window in order to stop wobbling side-to-side. "You can't treat me this way! I have rights!"

"What you have is the right to remain silent. God, I wish you'd use that right, because your voice is annoying." The cop scoffed in advance of turning his back to Sonic.

Keeping hold of the bars on the door's window, Sonic rattled the door as much as he could with what little strength he had left. "You have to tell me what I'm in here for! You can't just lock me in here without any explanation!" Coughing, he stopped banging against the door as his chest tightened, shortening his breath. "You tase me twice, pepper spray me… for what?"

"For resisting arrest!" The cop spat at him angrily, not in the mood for playing any games.

Gritting his teeth, Sonic grunted loudly so the human knew he was getting further frustrated. "What was I arrested for? I think I can remember somebody saying I had an arrest warrant out for me. Why? What was the warrant for?"

"You think I know the details on that?" The officer retorted, rolling his eyes at the anthro's persistent pestering. "I wasn't there for your arrest, so I don't know. You'll have to ask your lawyer or find out during your hearing arraignment, which won't be until tomorrow since it's late." Yawning, he crossed his arms. "Now, shut up and go sit down, twiddle your thumbs or something. I don't care what, just be quiet so I can meditate."

Sonic stared at the back of the uniformed human's head for thirty seconds before giving up, knowing that he wasn't going to get anywhere with such a rude person. 'You definitely need meditation, dude.' Sonic insulted the guy in his head as to not say it aloud. 'You're an asshole.' Defeated, without anything else he could think of to say and certainly no way to escape his concrete prison, the hedgehog retreated back to the pre-warmed cot. Sitting down on the side of it, he shivered as he felt the warmth where his body had been laying for an unknown period of time. 'I'm so cold.' Wrapping his arms around himself, he was swiftly reminded of his bandage soaked with his own blood. It dawned on him that blood-loss was probably the reason why he was feeling so weak in addition to being cold. Not having Amy nor the supplies to even try to do it himself, he began to fear that he would have to alert the jerky guard one more time. 'Screw that… No way am I saying another word to that bastard.'

The blue speedster made an attempt at laying back on the cot, but now the pain in his shoulder was becoming too much. Leaning back up hissing from the ache, once he had the desire to take one, he realized that he had been stripped of all of his belongings, including the medicine bottle with pain pills in it. 'Man….. I'm going to have to check and see if I busted a stitch; I had to at least have a few busted. There's so much blood.' Getting up from the cot, he had to utilize the only other thing in the room to assist in his recovery, a stainless steel toilet and sink combination. Wobbling over to it, the first thing he noted was how much the metal throne stunk. Nonetheless, the sink had a bubbler to act as a water fountain and he was quick to take greedy gulps of it, not caring about how disgustingly metallic it tasted. 'I'm so thirsty.'

Stopping his gulping of water after two whole minutes, he gasped for air with his muzzle drenched. "Goddamn." Panting, he went back to drinking for another minute before pulling away with more gasping. With his eyes stinging, he turned the sink on, splashing water up at his face to rinse the pepper spray away. Despite being luke-warm, the water felt so soothing to his eyes he wound up doing it until his arms were tired. Looking up into the mirror, he saw the expression of sorrow plastered upon his face, giving off the aura of a person who had completely given up. Merely seeing his own reflection made him upset as it brought to light the situation he was stuck in.

With water dripping from his face and the sink still running, he started untying the bandage. Upon the bandages removal, the gauze had to be peeled off his fur as the sticky mixture of both fresh and dried blood formed a reddish residue that acted as adhesive. The blue hedgehog made a face of disgust before his eyes widened at the damage he had sustained from resisting the police back in the Mystic Ruins. As he had speculated, nearly all of the stitches had been pulled due to his frantic acrobatic maneuvering in an attempt to escape being captured. What had once been neatly sewn was once again split open and bleeding profusely. For a moment, he wondered why it was bleeding so badly seeing how he was told by Amy that it appeared to be healing at an accelerating rate. Then again, that curiosity soon turned into grief as his mind drifted toward what the pink hedgehog was doing. Grabbing a roll of toilet paper from the holder on the toilet and sink combination, he used a square to dab at the blood dripping down his fur. 'I should have just stayed with Amy. None of this would have happened if I'd stayed with her.'

Shaking his head, he immediately rejected his previous sentence. 'No… No, that's wrong.' Sighing, he admitted it would have been worse if he'd stayed. 'If these cops really had an arrest warrant put out for me, then they would have busted into Amy's apartment to raid the place when she's trying to relax. My luck, I wouldn't even be there either. That's the last thing I'd want for her to go through. To be tormented by police in your own home because of a supposed crime committed by your boyfriend is ridiculous.' Nodding in agreement with himself, he told his reflection. "You did the right thing. But, now you need to seek medical attention."

"What are you yapping about in there? Didn't I tell you to be quiet?" The guard standing in front of the door asked upon hearing the hedgehog's muttering, only turning his head very slightly.

Sonic, bearing his fangs with a look of frustration, rushed up to the door to sternly say "I need help. I'm bleeding badly from a gunshot wound."

Inhaling deeply, the guy then exhaled extremely dramatically. "Personally, I don't care. But, I'm obligated to ask you, do you feel that it is a life threatening emergency?" After saying that, he waited a bit to hear an answer, but when he didn't get one, he turned around to face the barred window of the door. "Did you he-..." Was all he managed to say before he was interrupted.

Having drank so much water in an incredibly short period of time, the nausea came out of nowhere for Sonic. One moment he was speaking and the next he felt it coming up. While still holding onto the bars of the window, the blue blur had projectile vomit that shot out through the bars onto the police officers trousers as well as his shoes. Although the puking was by utter accident, it proved Sonic's point rather well to the guard. The only plus side to this situation was that the throw-up was only water and not partially digested food. "Uhh…" Sonic coughed as he wiped his mouth. "Sorry about that. I still need a doctor though."

"Oh, you son of a bitch!" The guard gagged a few times before snarling at the anthro. "Now I have to go change and this is my lucky belt! Dammit!"

Sonic stared at him through the bars with a queasy face. "I said that I'm sor-... Oh… Oh man." Turning away from the bars this time, he tried to make it over to the toilet, only to puke on the floor halfway there.

"Alright, pukey." The guard said as he radioed in the code for this situation. "Face the wall while I open the door. You're coming with me to the infirmary."

"Wait, what?" Sonic snapped back in surprise as he heaved again.

"The infirmary… You know, the clinic." The obnoxious police officer grumbled as he unlocked the jail cell door, pushing it to the side until it clicked into the recessed door frame. "Let's go."

Sonic shook his head no as he used the sink's bubbler to rinse out the puke from his mouth. "No way. I don't do hospitals; can't you just have the doctor come take a look at me?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance, the guard sighed dramatically. "How about no? Either you come with me to the infirmary or I lock you in here until you bleed and puke the place to the ceiling."

"What's your problem, man?" Sonic finally summoned the courage to ask. "I've saved this city more times than I can count and now you're going to treat me like garbage just because I got arrested on some trumped up charges? You don't even know why I'm here, so why are you acting like I'm the worst criminal scum on the face of the planet."

"How about you just shut up?" The guard spat back at Sonic, not caring in the least how brave the hedgehog got nor what questions he asked. "This is your final chance. Are you going to the infirmary like you wanted to? Or, are you going to sit in here and stew in your own bodily fluids?"

.

[Five Minutes Later]

.

At long last, making it to the infirmary, Sonic was panting a bit lethargically from being out of breath. Like some sort of enslaved maid, he was forced by the guard to stop at every drop of blood which dropped to the ground, being made to wipe it up off the floor with a crappy paper napkin. The jail he was housed in was small, yet contained numerous narrow winding corridors that would slow down any criminal attempting to flee. Same as it was inside of his cell, the walls and floor were made out of cold white concrete. Only a sign mounted beside the door indicated that it was the jail's infirmary.

The blue hedgehog stopped directly in front of the door, feeling his pulse quicken as he realized it was going to resemble a hospital setting. There were multiple reasons why he disliked hospitals; Eggman's most recent abduction being the newest. Nonetheless, his past was the biggest contributor and it wasn't a topic he had time to think about for long prior to being nudged by the guard.

"Go on, get in there, you little spikey bastard!" The human demanded as he pushed the hedgehog forward. "The sooner you're dealt with, the sooner I can get out of these fucked up pants. Next time, puke in the toilet or else…."

Having the door opened for him, he was shoved inside, immediately noticing the overwhelming stench of bleach. It was sterile, but far overpowering for the nostrils. There were around fifteen hospital beds with waist high curtains to block patients from seeing one another, but not doctors or guards from seeing the patients. The doctor was a small Indian man dressed in a classic white laboratory coat. He was seated at a desk in the corner of the room where the medical supplies were locked behind a cabinet. As soon as the blue blur stepped in the room, he was noticed by the doctor since the only other person in there was a man that was asleep on one of the beds.

"I take it this is the guy?" The Indian doctor asked the guard.

Motioning towards the puke on his pants, the guard huffed. "Obviously. I don't know what's wrong with him. Little freak puked like the exorcist and his shoulder is bleeding like a stuck pig."

"I got shot the other night." Sonic butted in so he could inform the doctor of his situation. "I had somebody remove the bullet and stitch me up, but all the movement made me pop a few stitches."

"You went to the hospital?" The doctor asked.

Sonic coughed in advance of shaking his head. "No, I had a friend with medical training remove it."

Right away, the doctor waved at the blue hedgehog to come forward. Kicking off against his desk until he rolled on his stool over toward an exam table. Patting the exam table, he said. "Come here. Let's see what damage your friend did."

As Sonic walked over to the exam table while still dripping blood, the guard grumbled as he said "He's also puking all over the damn place. You should try to fix that before sending him back because he's making a mess."

The hedgehog saw the doctor look at him inquisitively prior to Sonic saying. "It's okay. For that, I think I drank too much water too fast. I feel so dehydrated." Hoping up on the exam table, he winced as he held onto his shoulder, not caring that he was getting blood on his hand. Not having those pain pills made the agony almost intolerable. Yet, Sonic held his composure, doing his best to not show how uncomfortable he was, especially since he was in jail, where he needed to appear dominant. "I haven't drank a whole glass of water without feeling like I had to dunk my whole head in it to cool down… well… in quite a while."

"Oh, that's not good for you." The doctor replied with a caring voice. "A guy your size needs to drink at least a third a gallon of water a day."

"Sir!" The guard suddenly said while looking spry, giving a swift salute.

Sonic took note of another man entering the infirmary while the doctor began to take a look at his wound. The guy the guard was saluting had to be a cop, but he looked familiar. His outfit was far more decorative as well as formal than any other police officer that he'd seen. Instead of combat boots, he wore black dress shoes and navy blue uniform with a royal blue tie and stripe going down the side of the pants. Aside from the typical police patches on his shoulder, his coat had four golden rings embroidered onto the sleeves by the hands. His badge was gold, his epaulets had four gold stars and he also had numerous service ribbons pinned to his chest. He carried his hat under his arm, but even that had dual golden olive branches attached to the brim. His thinning hair was jetblack, not showing a lick of gray in spite of his obvious age. Not even his chevron mustache had a hair out of place. Spewing smoke out of his mouth, he coughed before puffing on a cigarette, something else that proved his status since nobody else would dare smoke a cigarette indoors in modern day.

"At ease." The man said gruffly in response to the guard's salute. "I'm here to speak with Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Oh, absolutely!" The guard spoke cheerfully, completely opposite from his previous behaviour. "Yes sir. He's right in there. But, I have to warn you, he's not exactly in decent shape."

"Did you do something to him?" The man in the decorative uniform asked the guard.

Immediately shaking his head, the guard said "No sir! I brought him here because he was puking and bleeding badly. He's lucky I did too or he might've died. Poor fool wouldn't say a word to me."

Sonic imagined himself flying off the exam table and confronting the guard for his lies, but he knew it would do no good. The hedgehog had never been to a jail before, on the other hand, he knew acting aggressive wouldn't get him far in this environment. Keeping his mouth shut, he winced as the doctor poked and prodded at the gunshot wound on his shoulder in addition to taking a look at the markings on him, the bruising from where he was first attacked by the Concrete Junkies.

"Alright then, You're dismissed. I don't need anyone to watch my back." The man in the decorative uniform said.

"Yes sir, Mr. Bradshaw, sir." The guard replied prior to leaving, closing the door behind him.

Sonic gulped as his memory recalled the name. 'Bradshaw… The police commissioner. I remember hearing his name and seeing his face on that news broadcast when I was at Amy's apartment the first time I visited her.' Taking in the guy's appearance, he watched as the human walked closer to him. Unfortunately, his mind was soon distracted as the doctor stuck his finger in the gunshot wound on his shoulder, sending an electrical bolt of pure pain up his spine. "GHAAA! Damn man! What are you doing!?"

"Oh, sorry." The small doctor apologized before grabbing sterile isopropyl alcohol wipes to dab at the blood surrounding the hedgehog's injury.

Sonic's eyes narrowed as his eyebrows furrowed, clearly pestered by the doctor's lack of gentle touch in spite of his kind bedside manners. "You just stuck your finger right in there though, what the hell?"

"You'll be fine, you big baby." He chuckled softly as he cleaned up the blood around the wound. "That's what you get for lying to me about not going to the hospital. Plus, there's no way you just got this wound."

Gradually relaxing the level of frustration within him, the blue hedgehog became less angry and more curious as to what the Indian doctor meant by what he said. "What are you talking about?"

Even though the Police Commissioner had approached the two, he waited there quietly as the doctor continued to explain his findings to Sonic. "I'm saying that this wound couldn't have occurred yesterday, because you already have scar tissue built up on the inside of it. That's not possible. This wound looks like it's weeks old." Staring at where the bullet penetrated the hedgehog's shoulder, he used a bulb syringe pre-filled with aqueous iodine, squirting it directly into the puncture in the flesh. "Not only that, but there's no way you had some buddy with no skills sew you up. Although you busted every one of them, those stitches were placed there with the precision of a surgeon."

Clenching a single eye shut, Sonic grunted from the medical solution being spurted inside his open injury. It didn't feel pleasant, but was far less agonizing than the alcohol Amy used. "I… I didn't lie." He decided to admit all that he knew since the guy was a doctor. It might be a long shot, nevertheless he hoped telling the doctor might give a bit of insight on his situation. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, don't you know? I'm always exposed to Chaos Emeralds, and they have fantastic healing capabilities… I figured it has something to do with that. What do you think, doc?"

Leaning back, the doctor simply blinked. "Uhh… I don't really know anything about Chaos Emeralds. I'll have to do some research and get back to you on that. For now, I want you to hold still while I stitch you up again."

"Okay." Sonic replied, watching as the doctor removed a surgical needle in addition to unwrapping a spool of sterile sutures.

"Ahem…" The police commissioner cleared his throat to get the duo's attention.

The doctor was first to look up. "Ah. Commissioner. How can I help you?"

"You didn't see me here or hear me when I came in?" The commissioner asked with a serious face prior to snickering, cracking up. "You're still as focused on your job as you always have been, huh?" Playfully gasping, he continued to tease the doctor. "Wait a second… Don't tell me your hearing and vision are going? I didn't know you were that old, Manoogian."

Rolling his eyes at the joke, the doctor stuck his tongue out. "Don't make me stab you with a scalpel, Richard." The two obviously knew one another, so Sonic understood that they were merely teasing one another. But, after a few more taunts, the commissioner, Richard Bradshaw kept puffing on his cigarette, exhaling smoke in spite of being in a medical setting. Regardless of being buddies, the doctor had to say something as he waved away the smoke. "Alright, alright… You gotta put that death stick out if you're going to stay in here."

"I won't be long." Richard spoke while taking the cigarette out of his mouth, using a nearby sink to run water under the tip so it was snuffed out. "I just need to talk to Mr. Sonic here about his charges." Throwing the water logged cigarette in the garbage, he walked back over to the hedgehog.

"Huh?" Sonic cocked his head before wincing, hissing as the doctor began stitching his wound closed for the second time. "Nggh… Isn't that unusual?" He fought through the pain in order to communicate and look tough. "Prisoners don't usually get to talk to the police commissioner about their crimes. What makes me so special?" In a way, part of him recalled what Eggman told him about police inequality. Most detainees were forced to wait until their hearing arraignment before they were explained the nature of their crimes. It made him wonder if this was a case of being above the common member of the public, since he was obviously getting special treatment.

"What makes you so special is the fact that you've saved Station Square more times than I can count on my fingers and toes." The police commissioner replied informatively. Sitting on the edge of the closest hospital bed, he asked. "I take it that you know who I am?"

The heroic hedgehog nodded as he made a face from the soreness of the damage to his shoulder. Before answering the commissioner, he pondered why it was more painful to be stitched up now than it was when Amy did it. In the end, he figured it to be due to either him not having any pain medicine or perhaps because it wasn't accompanied by Amy's gentle touch. Nonetheless, he managed to answer the human's question. "Yeah. I saw you on the news broadcast a few days ago when you were talking about me. You're RIchard Bradshaw, the Station Square Police Department Commissioner."

"Indeed." The aging human bowed ever so slightly in acknowledgment toward the hedgehog's recognition. "I've served this city for over twenty five of the six years you've been around here and I've never once spoken to you, even with all that you've done for us." Adjusting his tie, he placed his hat in his lap. "What do you think that means?"

"Quit flinching." Doctor Manoogian held the hedgehog's shoulder still.

Sonic grunted as the needle felt like it was going down to the bone compared to when Amy did it. "I'm trying…." He replied to the doctor in advance of responding to the commissioner. "And, I figured you, the police commissioner, didn't have a reason to personally come see the Hero of Station Square until he made his first well known failure. It always seemed to me that you had no reason to associate with me."

Pursing his lips, Richard stared straight into the eyes of the hedgehog. Following a minute of watching him moan and groan from being stitched up, the human broke the silence by abruptly asking. "You don't remember me at all, do you, Sonic?"

Sonic kept his brow furrowed as he directed his attention away from the medical process, returning to scrutinize the police commissioner. The human's choice of words was curious to him. He contemplated whether or not they had encountered one another on a previous adventure. No matter how hard he tried to remember, he couldn't think of anything that connected him to the guy. In fact, he didn't think he'd ever seen Richard's face prior to the news broadcast. "Huh? No, I don't think so… What are you talking about?"

The commissioner waved off the hedgehog's concerns before saying "Bah… Don't worry about it. What's important is we talk about your crimes."

"What crimes?" Sonic interjected right away. "I didn't do anything to anybody." Sighing loudly, he continued "I hope you're not talking about those gang members. That was self defense."

Shaking his head while drawing his tongue along the top of his teeth, Richard clarified the issue of his charges. "That's not it, no…" Clasping his hands together on top of his hat that was in his lap, he proceeded with "You were taken in due to being menacing to members of the public. But, your official charge is seven counts of murder in the first degree. Do you understand those charges?"

"W-What!?" Sonic jumped up before being pushed down and reprimanded by the doctor for his sudden movement. The fur on the back of his neck stood on end as he felt an all too familiar cold sensation rising from the depths of his stomach. Shocked by the accusation, he stuttered before he managed to find the words to say. "I… W-Wha… N….. No…. No way! What the hell are you talking about?! I haven't killed anybody that wasn't out of self-defense! These charges are completely false!"

"That's what they all say." The doctor put his own two cents into the midst.

Sonic immediately snapped back to make sure the commissioner knew how he felt about everybody considering him guilty. "It's true! I didn't kill anybody."

"I wish that were true." Richard told him with gloom in his voice. "But, we have you on security footage smashing a guy's head into the pavement of an alleyway. Not only that, we also have you on traffic cameras causing a car crash, a report of you stealing from a liquor store and dash cam video of you evading police."

Scoffing, Sonic hung his head in disbelief for a moment. Their evidence sounded damning, but he didn't understand where the seven deaths came from. Doing his best, he tried to talk his way out of it with a proper explanation for a few of his crimes. "Whoa, whoa… Wait, just wait a second. I can explain a lot of that." Clearing his throat he said "If you're talking about the guy in the alleyway in the Central District, then there's a good reason for what I did. He was trying to rape a woman and when I intervened, he came at me with a knife! At that point, it turned into another case of self-defense! The guy was deranged. I had to do what I did in order to stop him from trying to kill me…" Sniffling as the shock gradually wore off, he kept telling them what happened that night. "Surely there's security camera footage of him trying to rape that woman if you have video of me kicking his ass." Blinking rapidly, he remembered what else he'd been accused of. "I never saw any car crash and I have absolutely no clue what you're talking about with six other murders."

Doctor Manoogian had to reprimand the hedgehog again for all the nervous shifting around he was doing. The Doctor was aware of the fact that being stitched up wasn't completely pain free and he also understood that talking about why you've been arrested can be a hot topic. Nonetheless, it was vital that Sonic stay still so he could do a good job. "Sonic, if you don't hold still, I'm going to strap you to the bed; that or this wound is going to look like frankenstein… Stow your emotions for another two minutes and I'll be done with you."

Sonic nodded as the commissioner reached into his pocket, retrieving a tube containing nicotine gum. "I'm afraid I don't know much about those either seeing how they were done outside of the city, all across the United Federation." Tapping a rectangular tablet of gum into his hand, he put the tube back in his pocket. "We were only just sent that data this morning by G.U.N." Popping the tablet of nicotine gum in his mouth, he proceeded to chew on it, getting his fix of tobacco without needing to smoke a cigarette.

"The Guardian Units of Nations?" Sonic enquired, wondering why they gave Station Square police information on him, in addition to why they were claiming he killed six people across the country. "They're full of shit! I haven't been out of Station Square in over six months! How could I kill people across the country if I haven't left this city?!" Feeling a bit more frustrated with the accusations, he huffed, yet kept trying his best to think of something intelligent to say, something convincing enough to make the human curious enough to investigate. "There has to be evidence that I've been here that long! I might be the fastest thing on the planet, but I can't be in two different places at once!"

Richard Bradshaw shrugged his shoulders as he blew a bubble with the nicotine gum, popping it. "How? You rarely use your debit card. The one time you did was to buy the train ticket, which is how we knew where you were going. But, for the most part, you pay with cash and you don't ever stay at hotels. Hell, you don't even have a driver's license. There's no way for us to track where you've been."

Sonic grumbled at the rebuttal, unsure of how to counter it. Glancing down, he paid attention as Dr. Manoogian pushed the needle through his shoulder flesh a final time, pulling it until the wound closed. Tying off the ends of the sutures, he finished using the needle. Now that the wound was stitched closed, all he had to do was apply more aqueous iodine in order to ensure that the surrounding tissue was sterilized from contamination. Following a double check that all was done correctly, the doctor applied a pad of gauze to it that was adhesive, not even needing to be held as the bandage was thoroughly wrapped around him. After a couple of circles of the bandaging around the wound, tying it off too, the clean up and repair to his injury was complete.

"What about my cellphone?" Sonic abruptly thought of a way to track where he had been. "Can't you trace my recent locations by using my phone? If it hasn't been out of the city in half a year, then it's probably obvious that I wasn't in another state committing a murder."

Richard made a tick noise with his tongue pressed against his teeth. "Well, we actually already looked at that and the phone company informed us that you went outside of Station Square and then had your phone shut off for nearly eleven days. That's long enough to commit a string of brutal murders."

"That!" Growling, Sonic took the opportunity to shake his hands violently as if he were pretending to strangle a person. "That's because Eggman held me captive for over a week after being rescued by him!"

"What do you mean, rescued? Eggman rescued you?" The commissioner asked questionably.

Sonic instantly held his hands up to indicate he was just as stunned by that as the human was. "I know, I know. I don't get it either. But, it's true…" Exhaling a long sigh, he recalled the evening with vivid detail. "All I'm aware of is that I was being ambushed by a street gang that calls themselves the Concrete Junkies, when out of nowhere, before they could kill me with their baseball bats, they were apparently killed first by Eggman. I don't know if he was following me or using cameras to keep an eye on me, but he knew I was there and he saved me just in time."

Richard stared at him while looking confused, unsure of what to think about the blue speedster's explanation. "That… That sounds too suspicious. Why would Eggman be following you just to help you? Wouldn't it make more sense that he would have let you die instead of saving you? You two are arch-enemies, him saving you is totally out of character."

"No kidding!" Sonic retorted, having known that all along. "All I can say is that is the truth. That's what happened."

"Why wasn't it recorded?" The commissioner continued to interrogate the blue hedgehog. "Civilians used their phones and recorded you getting beaten by the gang, but there wasn't a single frame of Dr. Eggman anywhere. Why is that?"

Sonic shrugged as Dr. Manoogian chuckled. "Pfft… 'Doctor' Eggman. What a load of crap. The guy's no more a doctor than I am a mechanic."

Ignoring the Indian doctor's burn in regard to robotnik, Sonic answered Richard's question. "I don't know! I don't even know how anybody recorded me in the first place. I might not have been my usual self that day, but I can vividly recall thinking that there wasn't a soul around to help me. So, the fact that there's footage at all is weird to me."

The commissioner popped another bubble of the nicotine gum in advance of chewing on it to get his fix. "This is Station Square. There's almost three million people living here, so there's bound to be somebody watching you, even if you don't see them."

Dr. Manoogian grabbed Sonic's right hand, tugging it out so he could see it. "Hmm…" He rubbed his chin with his free hand prior to reaching around to grab the scruff of the hedgehog's neck, pulling on it until the loose flap of skin was raised an inch or so, like a mother cat grabbing its kitten. Letting go, he said. "Sorry to interrupt your conversation. I just wanted you to know that we're going to have to put you on an I.V. drip because you are severely dehydrated." Doing a second test to confirm the diagnosis, he pulled Sonic's head down and parted his quills so he could see his scalp. Taking a hold of one of the hedgehog's blue quills, the doctor tugged on it until Sonic yelped. Upon letting go of the quill, the human paid close attention to Sonic's scalp, noticing that the skin barely budged an inch in spite of him pulling on the quill. "Definitely dehydrated."

"Can't I just have a bottle of water?" Sonic asked almost pleadingly. "I'm not a big fan of needles."

Dr. Manoogian laughed as he pulled Sonic's arm back out, tapping on the inside of his elbow in order to see what veins he could spot. "No, you need saline intravenously to help rehydrate you as fast as possible. At this stage, you'll just wind up puking more if you try to drink that much again." Rolling over to his desk, he opened a drawer in advance of pulling out an electric hair trimmer. Turning on the hair trimmer, he took a hold of Sonic's arm again and shaved the fur away from the inside of the hedgehog's elbow. Now that he could actually see the veins, he tapped on them to get them to come to the surface. Turning off the trimmer, he grabbed an elastic band, wrapping it around the arm close to the area to help the veins bulge more. Using an alcohol wipe, he dabbed at the area to sterilize it before returning to his desk to retrieve an I.V. cannula. Going back to Sonic, he grabbed his arm. "As for your fear of needles, just try t-... Wait a minute. You know what? What am I saying? Your head is covered in needles, how could you be afraid of them?"

Sonic made a face before huffing with a soft smile. "What are you talking about?" Distracted by the thought, he didn't notice the doctor getting closer to his arm with the needle. "My quills are not needles. Sure, they're kinda sharp but they do-..." Was all he managed to get out before Dr. Manoogian poked him in the inner elbow with the needle, penetrating to the vein on the first go. "OWW! You jerk!"

Dr. Manoogian laughed at the hedgehog's surprise. "You're fine, you big baby. That was the only poke. Now, let's get you hooked up to an I.V." Unlocking the first aid cabinet, rummaging around, he opened a box containing fresh bags of saline. Grabbing a bag from the box, he closed and made sure the cabinet was locked again before hanging it on the I.V. stand closest to Sonic. Attaching a tube to one end, he attached the other end to the cannula. "You'll feel much better after you get some fluids in you." Turning the valve on the end of the I.V. bag, the saline flowed through the tube into the cannula. "Alright. Sorry to interrupt your conversation. Just give that thirty minutes to an hour and it should be absorbed by you." Upon grabbing a stethoscope as well as a blood pressure cuff, he started taking Sonic's vitals to record in the medical records.

Richard was about to say something, only to be cut off by the blue blur who spoke first. "I don't get it. Why is this happening to me? Why is G.U.N. saying that I did this?" Sniffling, he tried hard to keep from crying. The last thing he wanted to do was show fear, even if he wasn't around other inmates. Either way, it was incrediabnly emotional to be accused of murdering seven people, six of which he couldn't get a proper answer on. "I've done nothing more than help this city, this country, this entire world and yet I continue to be blamed by everyone more and more and more!"

Giving Sonic the chance to express himself, Richard finally said "Why do you think I'm here? Like you said, you're the Hero of Station Square and I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt because you've never done anything to hurt us before." Popping another bubble of the nicotine gum, he stood up from the hospital bed, placing his hat upon his head.

"Wait… Where are you going?" Sonic asked as he watched the human stand up.

The commissioner walked over to the blue hedgehog, placing his hand upon his uninjured shoulder. "I've got to go back to work, son." Giving him a comforting pat on the shoulder, he suddenly leaned down to whisper into Sonic's ear "If I were you, I'd get a good lawyer, the best you can find. Someone is trying to take you down." Leaning back up, he glanced over at the Indian doctor in advance of giving him a gentle wave. "I'll see you later, Manoogian. Duty Calls."

"Yes sir, I'll be here anytime you wanna stop by to harass me or my patients." Dr. Manoogian teased his friend.

"Oh, you know it!" Richard pretended to play along.

Sonic, on the other hand, was genuinely stupefied by what just occurred. "Whoa… Wait." He said, trying to get the commissioner to stay a little longer so he could explain more of what was going on. "What are you talking about? Are you saying you don't believe I committed those murders?"

Richard stopped walking away and turned back toward Sonic. "As an official member of the Police Force, I can't comment on my personal opinions on the case." Regardless of saying that, a subtle wink was all it took for the blue blur to realize the human was telling the truth about being unable to talk about the matter, yet obviously didn't believe the heinous accusations against the anthro hero. "I have looked into your case though. I can tell you that your hearing arraignment is going to be the day after tomorrow, so that'll give you time to prepare yourself." Turning around to leave again, he was stopped by Sonic yet again.

"Wait! One last thing…." The blue hedgehog conjured a good question that would assist him in uncovering who it was trying to besmirch his reputation. Narrowing his eyes, he asked "Was it the Guardian Units of Nations who gave you that weapon you used on me? I know the police aren't usually equipped with such a device."

Standing in the doorway for a moment, from the sides of his head it was clear he smirked. "Good luck, Sonic; you're going to need it."

Leaning his head back against the cheap pillow on the hospital bed, Sonic felt exhausted. Nonetheless, The saline going directly into his veins helped him feel better within minutes, rehydrating him from the massive amount of blood loss he'd sustained. The saline felt cooler too, almost too cool were it not for his fur. Not only that, but it also started making him feel like he had to pee. It was odd since he knew he didn't have to go to the bathroom, but he chalked it up to an effect from the saline going in intravenously. Continuing to take deep breaths, he didn't really know what else to do other than sit there. Since he was being held until the arraignment, all he could do was wait. It was depressing to see, considering he was used to being free to run as fast as he wanted, only to now be cooped up in a stone dungeon surrounded by underpaid prison guards.

'I can't believe this is happening.' He pondered the possibility of escaping. 'I should just haul ass, find a way to break free and run all the way to Green Hill. They'll never catch me out there.' Sniffling, his lip wiggled a tad as he tried to hold back from crying. 'No… No, I can't do that. They'll just send more people after me. I can't fight Eggman and all of the government. That's outrageous.' Going back and forth in what to do, Sonic's jaw clenched tightly as he peered down at the I.V. going into his arm. 'But, I can't just sit in here and rot for decades over an alleged crime that I didn't even commit. Eggman would run complete havoc around the United Federation if I'm not there to stop him. I have to find the right time to escape.' He thought for a moment about the possibility of using a lawyer to clear his name, then again, he had a feeling it would be unlikely no matter who he hired. It would be far better to be found not guilty of what he's been accused of. Unfortunately, like he'd been told by his own arch-nemesis, the court system is corrupted. Whoever is trying to take him out probably had more money to blow on this than he did. 'I just have to find the right time, the perfect moment… then I'll make a break for it.'

"You never told me who stitched you up before I did." Dr. Manoogian abruptly said, taking Sonic out of thought.

"What?" The hedgehog asked in confusion, not comprehending what was said since he was so wrapped up in thinking of a way to get out of there.

Pointing to his shoulder, the doctor repeated himself. "Your stitching; was it done by a doctor?"

"Oh… Uhh… No, it was done by a friend." Sonic replied. "She wanted to become a doctor though."

"She still should." The doctor responded as he wrote down information in the blue blur's chart. "Anybody who has hands that steady should be in the medical field, that's for sure. You should count yourself lucky you have a friend like that."

"Yeah…." Sonic sniffled as a single tear rolled down his cheek. "I have been lucky, haven't I?"

.

[Forty Minutes Later]

.

Having been resting until the I.V. bag was depleted, the hedgehog was nudged by Dr. Manoogian. "Alright, Mr. Sonic. You're done here." Motioning toward a guard who had been summoned to the infirmary, he continued "You can go back to your cell now and rest there until you're released to the general populace for breakfast."

"Huh?" Sonic blinked a few times as reality came back to him. "Oh… Okay. Man, I feel better now."

Dr. Manoogian nodded his head as he proceeded to remove the I.V. cannula from Sonic's arm. "That's what happens when you get so dehydrated and lose a lot of blood. From here on out, I want you to take it easy on your shoulder and be sure to drink plenty of water. I know that water around here doesn't taste the best since it's city water, but it'll still hydrate you. Make sure to drink a quarter a gallon a day." Taking hold of the hedgehog's chart, the petite Indian man started feeding that information into his computer. "I've also put it in your records that for the next two weeks you are to receive morphine for the pain. When it's time, you'll have someone bring you the pill."

Wincing from the needle being removed, Sonic leaned up from the hospital bed, swinging his feet over the edge onto the ground. The guard approached him with his handcuffs out. "Is that really necessary?" Sonic asked, wondering why he had to be handcuffed in order to be brought back to his cell. "I'm already shackled by my feet. What, do you think I'm going to hop down on a handstand and run away from you that way?"

"Sorry, sir. It's mandatory." The guard spoke with a different voice than the previous one, making Sonic realize that he wasn't dealing with the same person as beforehand. "I'll try not to put them on you too tight."

"Ohh." Sonic held his tongue from saying anything else rude. Scratching the back of his head, he admitted that he didn't realize this guard was a different person. "Sorry for speaking so harshly. I thought you were that other guy. You guys all look the same with those helmet visors on." Holding his hands out, he allowed the officer to clasp the cuffs around his wrists. Unlike the other guard, this one appeared to be kindhearted. Like the human said, he didn't tighten them nearly as much as the others were. No matter how small it was, it did his heart justice to know there were still folks who care about him and perhaps even thought he was being falsely accused as well. "It's been a rough few days and an even rougher week."

Out of nowhere, the lights cut off, making it pitch black inside before the emergency lights kicked on. Able to see only due to the dull brightness of the emergency lights, everybody thought it was a simple power outage until a siren went off. Klaxon alarms blared throughout the jail as and announcement came over the intercom system "ATTENTION! ATTENTION! THIS IS A CODE-4 LOCK DOWN! AN UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY INTO THE PREMISES HAS BEEN DETECTED! THIS IS NOT A DRILL, I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!" After sounding like a robot with a generalized alert message, a regular voice came back to say "EGGMAN IS ATTACKING!" in an exasperated tone.

Before the guard or Sonic could react to what was said, they heard the sound of a laser blast echoing amongst the brick walls of the jail. "Open fire!" An officer could be heard yelling prior to shooting off his ballistic pistol. "Gunshots! What the hell is going on!?" Another cop hollered as more bullets went off in addition to laser weaponry. "EGG PAWNS! WATCH OUT!" A third screamed as he shot at a robot coming at him. "We're under attack!"

"Did I just hear somebody scream Egg pawns!?" Sonic jumped to his feet. "Eggman is attacking!? Shit, you gotta get me out of these shackles so I can fight back."

The guard in the infirmary with the hero pulled his gun as he backed away from the door. "No way! We're being invaded, I can't just let you run around freely!"

"I'm not going to run around!" Sonic retorted to the cop. "I'm going to help you fight back against the prick!"

"WATCH OUT!" Somebody, presumably a guard yelled somewhere down the hall. "IT'S GONNA SELF-DESTRUCT!" As the officer said, in only a second of time, an explosion reverberated throughout the entire facility. "SON-OF-A!"

"OFFICER DOWN!" A female guard screamed to the top of her lungs. "WE NEED REINFORCEMENTS TO CELL BLOCK A!"

"WE NEED REINFORCEMENTS IN THE CAFETERIA!" Yet another guard yelled through the radio. "THE ROBOTS ARE CAUSING THE PRISONERS TO RIOT!"

Another explosion shook the entire building prior to a guard radioing "WATCH TOWER ONE HAS BEEN DESTROYED BY EGG BOTS!"

"THERE'S A RHINO TANK THAT JUST TOOK DOWN THE FENCE OF THE COURTYARD!" Another guard said into the radio.

"Shit!" The guard in the infirmary with Sonic exclaimed as Dr. Manoogian ran over to and locked the door to ensure nobody would get easy access to them.

"W-What's going on?!" The single prisoner who had been asleep the entire time awoke to the sound of the jail being under attack.

"Don't move, just stay there!" The guard stuck in the infirmary commanded as he raised his gun at the door, ready to shoot anybody that entered.

Sonic tugged on his shackles, but the metal was too durable for him to break. Moving toward the guard, he continued to plead with the human for his freedom. "You've got to know by now that those bullets aren't going to be very effective! If you want to live, I suggest you unlock these cuffs so I can fight for you like I've always done!"

Lifting up his visor so he could look the hedgehog directly in the eyes, the human appeared determined to do what it took to live, as most do; Sonic could plainly see it communicated through eye contact. "Will you help my friends? Please, Sonic… I don't want Eggman to kill them."

"Unlock these shackles and I'll do everything within my power to ensure nobody dies by one of his machines, ever again." Sonic replied as he held the cuffs up above his head so it would be easier for the tall guard to unlock them.

The hedgehog's face was stoic and he seemed rather serious. Because of that as well as the fact that he'd saved the city more times than any officer on the force, the guard became lenient, taking mercy on Sonic by doing the right thing. "I knew you weren't a murder." The human told him as he used his key to unlock the cuffs on the blue speedsters wrists, letting the metal fall to the ground with a thud. "You were always our protector." Unlocking the leg shackles, he leaned back up to give the hedgehog a salute. "I trust you to help us like you always have."

"I wish there were more officers out there like you." Sonic said in admiration toward the kind-hearted lawman. Stretching his legs, rubbing the marks from the shackles, he then cracked his knuckles in addition to his neck.

Dr. Manoogian grabbed Sonic's arm to stop him. "You must be careful, Sonic. Quick movements and excessive motions are going to tear the stitches again and you'll be right back in here. There's only so many times you can pop your stitches before you wind up with an infection or worse."

With a gallic shrug, Sonic said "I have to do what I have to do."

Going over to the door, the guard grabbed the handle and unlocked it prior to asking. "I'll watch your back. Are you ready?"

As soon as Sonic nodded, the human pulled the door open and Sonic ran out into the corridor. Right away, just a few feet away, he encountered two guards with ballistic shields deployed still struggling to defeat an Egg Pawn utilizing its laser gun. Although the Egg Pawn was a mass produced robot, it was one of Dr. Robotnik's more superior models; with their sleek humanoid appearance, they resembled their namesake in more than one sense of the word. Their orange painted round body and dome-shaped heads came together into the shape of an oval. This particular unit's normally cyan coloured optical sensors and vocal panel were a menacing blood red instead. {By decree of Dr. Robotnik, you must be terminated.} It spoke in a computerized voice as its yellow nose wiggled up and down. Using the laser gun in its bulky hand, it fired out a series of blasts machine gun style. Most of the laser beams bounced off the police officer's shields, but a single blast managed to graze the left cop's shin. {I promise to be merciless, so you can have a quick death.} The machine taunted the police in its mechanized voice. {Ha... Ha... Ha... Ha...}

"My leg!" The guard struck in the shin shouted as he fell over. "I'm hit!"

"Goddamn robots!" The officer accompanying Sonic shouted, shooting at the Egg Pawn alongside the other guard who was trying to cover his buddy's body, preventing it from being struck again. "Soulless monstrosities!" To the dismay of all the humans, their bullets barely put a dent in the mechanical man, the majority of them bouncing off its plated metal to ricochet in the narrow hallway, causing another threat of friendly fire.

Sonic ran forward, leaping over the two guards trying to defend themselves. The Egg Pawn barely had time to register who it was dealing with before it was struck in the face by Sonic's shoe. The hedgehog backflipped off the Egg Pawn's head. Breaking off the robot's nose, it tried to grab Sonic, but he was too fast, already having jumped off its face to pile drive the machine with his elbow. "YAAAAWWWW!" Sonic exclaimed as he crushed the robot's head, smashing it into its torso to where it couldn't see what it was doing. It immediately kept firing its laser gun even without a visual, blindly firing in the direction it assumed the blue blur was. Unfortunately, those laser blasts mainly pelted the shielded officers. In order to prevent the guards from being killed by the onslaught of laser blasts, Sonic rolled low to the ground in advance of jumping up, leaping off the wall, propelling himself forward to grab the laser gun. Even though the robot kept a tight hold on the weapon, the hedgehog was able to twist its arm until it blasted its own body full of laser beams. "I still got it!"

"Quick!" Dr. Manoogian could be heard calling to the group from behind. "Bring the wounded in here!"

As the robot seized and malfunctioned, Sonic let go of it, allowing it to fall to the hard concrete ground with a loud clang. The two uninjured guards pulled their teammate to safety, dragging him inside of the infirmary to tend to any sustained wounds. For a split second, after grabbing the laser gun, Sonic figured the guard that granted his release would abandon him for his actual partner. However, he found himself pleasantly surprised when the human closed the infirmary door behind his friends and Dr. Manoogian, returning to the Hero of Station Square. "You came back." He found himself saying, glad that he had a single ally in the entire facility.

"Of course." The guard replied as he picked up his wounded comrades' ballistic shield off the ground. It was heavily damaged, yet still looked to be sturdy enough to hold off a few blasts. "I told you I was going to watch your back. I'll do anything to rescue my friends."

Staring at the guy's face since his visor remained up from when he previously adjusted it, Sonic realized the human was younger than most of the other officers he'd encountered, likely in his mid twenties. For some unknown reason, he felt a connection to the guy as if he really admired his courage in the face of danger compared to most people twice his age. "What's your name?"

"Me?" The human asked, as if there were anyone else around. "Officer Zeke Harroldson. I've been serving for three years now. It's always been a dream of mine to be a member of the S.S.P.D. even though I had no clue we'd have to deal with Eggman so much. When I was younger, I always saw you battling that fat bastard. I guess I felt safe enough to deal with the purse snatchers and jaywalkers knowing that you would always show up if a threat bigger than us presented itself."

Sonic smirked and shook his head before giving a single head bob, as if to say heads up. "Here…" Tossing him the Egg Pawn's laser gun, he continued "Use this. As you can see, it works better on them than your handgun."

Officer Zeke caught the laser rifle out of the air, shocked to realize how light it was compared to ballistic weapons of similar size. He blinked rapidly as he examined the Egg Pawn's gun. "How do I-…?" Aiming at the robot's destroyed remains, he pulled the trigger on the gun, making it release several rounds of laser beams which pierced the machine's metal without any issue. "Aha! Got it!"

"There's no reload either." Sonic gave the human a quick lesson on laser weaponry. "Just aim and shoot. All you have to worry about is overheating, but you'll know when it does that."

"This is awesome!" Officer Zeke exclaimed prior to having laser blasts shot at them from Egg Pawns coming around the corner. "Whoa!"

{We shall not forgive you for the elimination of our brother. You must be destroyed!} The incoming Egg Pawns shouted in mechanized unison.

"Try not to shoot me." Sonic said to Officer Zeke in a calm collected tone prior to darting toward the Egg Pawns as they proceeded to open fire upon them both. The blue blur raced at the robots, zigzagging to avoid their attacks. Rolling, he collided with the machines, causing them to tumble to the ground. Due to their egg shaped proportions, they had momentary trouble getting back up. Then again, before they could get back to their feet or Sonic could destroy them, Officer Zeke took the opportunity to shoot the Egg Pawns with one of their own guns, smiling in glee as the laser tore into a robot's torso like a hot knife through warm butter.

"Take that, you fuckers!" Zeke celebrated his first takedown using superior firepower.

Sonic smashed his shoe against one of the robot's heads until it busted its optical sensors. With circuitry exposed, the hedgehog ripped out its electrically wired guts, tossing it at the other pawn that was getting up, making it miss the shot it took at the blue hero. Rushing at it, he grabbed its torso, tackling it to the ground again in advance of kicking the laser gun out of its hand. The fourth Egg Pawn had gotten to its feet, coming at Sonic with a wrist-mounted blade. Reacting with perfect timing, the blue speedster backflipped over the robot, kicked off the wall and smashed into the back of it, forcefully pushing the mechanical man against its fallen brethren. Using the momentum, he kept going by leaping off the wall yet again, repeatedly smashing into the robot with such velocity that he dented its torso until it breached the metal, destroying its power source.

When one of the other Egg Pawns stood up to ambush Sonic with another wrist-mounted blade, it had its leg blown off by Officer Zeke. "Booyah!" The cop sang cheerfully prior to filling the robot full of focused energy. Without its leg, the machine fell over, unable to avoid the next attacks that blew its arms off prior to being nailed right between the eyes. "Bucket of bolts!"

{THERE'S TOO MANY OF THEM COMING INTO THE COURTYARD!} An officer in distress screamed over the radio on Officer Zeke's hip. {I'VE GOT THREE OFFICERS DOWN AND AN INMATE! I'M LOW ON AMMO! I NEED BACK-UP DAMMIT!}

Sonic ripped the head off of the last remaining Egg Pawn as Zeke spoke into his shoulder mic. "What's your position!? I have Sonic the Hedgehog with me and we can be there in the blink of an eye!"

{WHAT!? NO WAY! WE DON'T NEED HELP FROM PRISONERS!} The guard on the other end of the radio had the audacity to reject Sonic's help.

It wasn't that surprising to Sonic, not after all that's happened to him; what was surprising, however, was the fact that Officer Zeke spat back at his own ally to stick up for the Hero of Station Square. "Sonic isn't a prisoner, he was detained! You better get over it too, because right now he's the best you got if you wanna live! Now, what's your fucking position!?"

In a matter of seconds, the cop on the other end of the radio spoke up with the needed information, no longer caring that it would be Sonic the Hedgehog saving his keister. {I'M AT THE BOTTOM OF WATCH TOWER THREE! THE TOP HAS BEEN DESTROYED BY THE RHINO TANK! I DON'T THINK I CAN HOLD OUT MUCH LONGER! EGGROBOS ARE CUTTING THROUGH THE DOOR WITH SOME SORT OF BLOWTORCH! YOU HAVE TO GET US OUT OF HERE! JOHNSON GOT HIS HAND BLOWN OFF, BILLY GOT HIT BY HIS OWN BULLET RICOCHETING AND THOMAS GOT SMACKED IN THE HEAD WITH A LEAD PIPE BY A PRISONER! IT'S JUST ME, THE LIBRARIAN TIFFANY, AND TWO INMATES HOLDING THE DOOR! HURRY!}

"Let's get to the courtyard!" Officer Zeke told Sonic in advance of taking the lead.

Sonic followed the guard further into the depths of the facility, passing by the entrance to Cell Block A. Both of them could see the prisoners rioting with guards. For a moment, they thought about joining in to assist the officers trying to get the jumpsuited jailbirds back to their cells, yet it was clear these guards were in less trouble than the guy who radioed the two for back-up. Making a decision, they moved on. It didn't take them long to hustle through the complex either. Coming around one of the corners of the corridor, they were met with more Egg Pawns blocking their way to the courtyard; four of them to be precise. This time they got the drop on the robots as they were all marching away from them toward the door to the courtyard.

"I got this." Officer Zeke whispered in advance of pulling the lever on a nearby fire alarm.

On top of the constant klaxon alarm, a second school-bell sounding alarm rang out amongst the facility a mere second before the sprinklers recessed in the ceiling began spewing cold water. The Egg Pawns curiously peered upward at the falling water as Zeke took the opportunity to charge them with his ballistic shield protecting his front. Shooting at them, the robots barely had the time to react before three of the clanky tinmen were swiftly taken out by precise aiming. That fourth Egg Pawn swung around to shoot at Zeke, but the human immediately raised his shield, deflecting the blasts. Firing off a laser beam from beneath the shield, Zeke scored a hit directly on the pawn's crotch. Since it was a robot, it didn't react as a living being would, on the other hand, it was humourous to see the wires dangling from the machine's groin as if to resemble a certain appendage. Blasting it three more times, it stumbled backward before collapsing.

"Public nudity is illegal!" Officer Zeke quipped.

Sonic laughed at the amusing situation. "Good shooting! I'm liking you more and more already!"

"Best in my class!" The guard gave a cocky grin while also hinting at why he was selected in spite of being so young. "Let's keep going, we're almost there!" Seeing the hedgehog nod, they both raced to the end of the hallway. Using his keycard, Zeke scanned his identification into the system handling the locks, granting him access to the door. A small buzzing sound was barely audible atop the ringing of dual alarms. Gripping the handle of the door, within the time period of the buzzing noise, he pushed it open.

There wasn't any sunlight to adjust to since it was nighttime, but the first thing they noticed was the spotlights from two police helicopters circling the sky trying to defend the jail in addition to avoiding attacks from badniks. The courtyard wasn't very big, certainly not like you'd see in a prison; consisting of a rectangular concrete pad with exercise equipment scattered around. Surrounding the courtyard was a barbed wired eight foot high chain link fence preventing anybody from escaping. One section of the fence had been completely downed by a Series E, Model 2 Rhino Tank. Resembling its namesake, unlike its Rhinobot predecessor, the Rhino Tank was larger, bulkier, the size of a hummer or cargo van on tank tracks instead of wheels. The Rhino Tank's main body was turquoise in colour; its face had a large yellow horn for ramming things, two optical sensors for eyes and two ears for hearing. Somehow, the motor on the back of the war machine sounded like a big animal growling as it revved. With the security fence down, a squadron of twenty Egg Pawns were marching through with lances and laser rifles.

Five to seven Eggrobos used jetpacks to fly into the air. Similar in design to the Egg Pawns, Eggrobos were totally egg-shaped, yet their extremities were far skinnier. Their torsos were painted to look like their master, Dr. Eggman's retro coat, a red button up with yellow lapels. This nod to the past wasn't only a call-back to better days, but also evidence of their model's age. Eggrobos weren't of the E series, rather that of the C series created shortly after Eggman's rise to crime. They were kept around because they were more intelligent leaders than other units, capable of ordering around models superior to themselves. Their red eyes and decorative hinged jaw made them look menacing, yet they weren't capable of speech, communicating via beeps and bloops. In addition to their fancy jetpacks, they also used blasters capable of charging up for a stronger laser beam.

As foretold by the guard on Officer Zeke's radio, one guard tower overlooking the courtyard had been utterly annihilated while another was partially destroyed from the top down. Seeing a watchtower that was only half rubble, Zeke and Sonic immediately surmised that it must be the tower the wounded hostages were being held in. For a bit more confirmation, there was a single EggRobo at the door attempting to cut through the metal using an acetylene torch powered by its jetpack.

{BEEP BEEP CLICK BUZZ} One of the EggRobos flying about sounded in response to seeing Sonic and Zeke. The EggPawns and Rhino Tank took immediate notice of them after then, some shooting while others charged at the duo.

"HERE WE GO!" Sonic shouted prior to taking off racing around the courtyard, leaving Zeke to do his own thing.

"I'VE GOT YOUR SIX!" Officer Zeke shouted as he followed directly behind Sonic as fast as his human legs could move. "TAKE THIS, YOU BASTARDS!" Using his commandeered laser rifle, he blasted in the direction of the squadron of incoming Egg Pawns, even managing to score a few hits in spite of the distance.

A single Eggrobo was shot out of the sky with a well placed sniper shot to the head. Sonic looked up to see a sharpshooter in a police helicopter doing a fist pump in acknowledgement to the takedown. Three EggPawns with spears chased after the quick hedgehog, trying their best to impale the pest. Cartwheeling the moment the Pawns thrusted their lances forward, he dodged two of their attacks before grabbing the lance from the third robot, chucking it upward. The spear punctured the chest of another Eggrobo, sending it crashing out-of-control to the ground. Sounding like a big monster, the Rhino Tank revved its engine in advance of charging Sonic with the intention of either running over the hero or stabbing him with its rhinoceros horn. Seeing the bulky treaded robot flooring it in his direction, he changed course, only to be forced back into harm's way by a heavy blast from another EggRobo. Instead of letting the Rhino Tank hit him, he jumped at the right moment to grab its horn. The machine kept going forward before braking, suddenly turning into a bucking bronco as it tried to stop and go, swinging in circles in an attempt to sling Sonic off it.

"BE CAREFUL!" Zeke worried about his hero's health as he noticed a thin blood trail following behind the blue hedgehog. Since the human never saw Sonic being struck, he presumed it was due to him pulling his stitches already. Nonetheless, he covered his newfound anthro friend by shooting one of the EggPawns in the chest and blowing another's leg off.

Kicking open the door to the partially destroyed second watchtower, a human that was probably the guard who contacted Officer Zeke revealed himself alongside an older lady with a shotgun. Holding his handgun point blank to the surprised EggRobo, the machine took a bullet right to the face. As the evil robot stumbled backward, still trying to keep itself operational enough to take aim at them with its laser blaser, the petite librarian lady took herself off her feet firing the shotgun at it. The machine's metal was strong, but not able to deflect a twelve gauge shotgun slug. While one of the prisoners caught the librarian, the robot crumbled in defeat. "GOT YOU, YOU MOTHERFUCKER! YEAH! YEAH! YOU DIDN'T EXPECT THAT SHIT, DID YOU!? FUCK YOU!" Retreating back inside the watchtower, the guard closed the door just in time as several EggPawns fired at him, only to hear his laugh as the laser blasts impacted the door instead of him. "FUCK YOU!"

Sonic eventually let go of the Rhino Tank, finding the perfect spot to roll to safety. Getting back on his feet, he had to hop out of the way as the vehicular war machine charged him yet again. Thinking of what he could do to eliminate the Rhino Tank, he ran in a circle around the courtyard until he came upon the crumpled remains of an Eggrobo. Although he had to run around the place one more time to retrieve it without being struck by laser blasts, he had an idea regarding the Eggrobo's unexploded jetpack.

"WATCH OUT!" Officer Zeke shouted for Sonic to be alert as an EggPawn threw a spear at him, only missing the hedgehog by mere inches. Zeke returned fire at the EggPawn until the laser blasts melted through the robot's armour.

{BORP BEEP BORP WHIRR!} One of the last remaining Eggrobos communicated in its own language. However, the fact it pointed at Officer Zeke as it flew through the air meant the obvious.

Several of the EggPawns turned their attention to the human as they were commanded to eliminate him, wanting him to stop assisting the blue blur. Zeke's eyes widened as he saw ten of the pawns taking aim at him. Raising his shield he crouched on the ground to reduce his body coverage, trying to hide all of himself behind the ballistic shield. As the laser blasts impacted the shield one after another, he could feel the plexiglass getting hotter. He knew it wouldn't take long before the shield disintegrated altogether. Then, there wouldn't be anything to prevent him from being stricken by focused energy. The last thing he wanted was to be caught aflame or have a hole burnt into him.

"FUCK YOU!" The foul mouthed guard in the watchtower cursed at the machines as he took potshots from behind the door, only his arm and handgun sticking out.

Luring the Rhino Tank into his direction, Sonic made sure to run at the ten EggPawns trying to kill Zeke. Running straight up to the robots, Sonic taunted them. "Why if it isn't the disposable tin men!" Sticking his tongue out at them, he laughed as they averted their fire from Zeke in order to attack him. Nonetheless, their attacks were easily avoided as the blue speedster somersaulted out of the way in time for the Rhino Tank to miss him, running into the group of EggPawns instead. Now that the majority of them were knocked over, he threw the jetpack beneath the left track of the Rhino Tank in advance of dashing away. The moment the tank turned to target Sonic, its treads smooshed the jetpack, immediately causing an explosive reaction that exploded the bottom of the vehicular robot. The detonation destroyed six of the EggPawns as well, injuring two.

The Rhino Tank wobbled in a circle a few times before its backfiring engine fell through the bottom of its chassis, rendering it inert. "HAHAHAAHAAHA!" Sonic taunted what robots were left with a sing-song voice. "NAH NAH, NAH BOO BOO!" He laughed as the machines got to their feet.

One of the EggPawns with a dented cranium defected right then and there, running away with its arms flailing. The rest of the robots continued to follow their directives by going after Sonic no matter how futile it seemed. Zeke was about to stand up from his bunkered down position when he gasped in shock from having a spear penetrate the shield, the tip of which came centimeters from his head. Feeling the force of the EggPawn tugging the spear, he eventually lost his grip on the shield and had it flung from his grasp. "SHIT!" He hollered in concern due to not having anything to protect himself with. Thankfully, instincts took over and he used the laser gun to take out the last lance wielding EggPawn. Without the shield to protect him, he started running toward the watchtower, letting Sonic handle the rest.

Sonic ran circles around the remaining EggPawns as the last EggRobo chased after him. The hedgehog could feel the heat from the laser blasts being so close to his tail. Surprisingly, even though he hadn't sustained a single hit from any of these robots, he found himself abruptly clenching his jaw and grunting from the pain in his shoulder. A quite squishing sound could be heard as he completely popped every stitch in his newly sealed shoulder wound. Holding onto his shoulder, he also felt a muscle being pulled, likely in response to dehydration. All this activity was putting a dire strain on his utterly exhausted body. 'Dammit!' Looking down at the tickle of blood flowing down his arm, he was momentarily distracted just long enough for the EggRobo to cut him off, flying to and landing directly in front of the hero with a fully charged laser blaser. It chuckled in a strange mechanical whirring. Sonic realized his mistake of paying attention to the pain, but also saw that it was too late, the robot's finger was already on the trigger.

From across the yard came a swollen energy blast that annihilated the EggRobo, turning three-quarters of it to rusted dust. "I told you, I got your back!" Officer Zeke yelled to Sonic as the blue hedgehog understood it was the human who just saved his hide by using a commandeered EggRobo gun. Ironic in a way that the cop ended the final leading robot with one of its own weapons. Still, there were about five EggPawns left.

One of the EggPawns collapsed as it was struck by a sniper bullet from another sharpshooter in a circling police helicopter.

"I got these!" Sonic replied to the human, assuring him that the last of EggPawns would be safely destroyed before they could cause anymore havoc upon the jail. Rushing at them, as he ran, the pain in his shoulder caused him to focus on eliminating the robots. Just looking at them was beginning to severely piss him off. Even though he didn't notice it, those eerie sparks of electricity began forming on the tips of his fur again, discharging into the surrounding air. "They have to know by now that they're not going to make it past me! Whatever Eggman had planned obviously isn't going to happen here!"

"HAHAHA!" Dr. Eggman's voice suddenly revealed itself despite him not being visible. "THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE WRONG, SONIC!" It sounded as if the tubby evil human was talking into a megaphone, so Sonic knew he wasn't too close, but close enough to know what was going on right now. "THE ROBOTS DID EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED THEM TO AND YOU DID EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGHT YOU WOULD!"

Trying to keep his focus on the last four EggPawns, Sonic rolled into a ball in advance of tripping one of them, taking its leg out from beneath it. Once it hit the ground, it was targeted by both a sharpshooter as well as Zeke. Zigzagging between the final three, he spun around before lunging at one of them, tackling it to the ground while the other two were quickly taken down by Zeke and the guard hiding out in the partially destroyed watchtower. Now that there was only a single EggPawn left, it seemed logical that Sonic could calm down, but upon merely hearing Eggman's voice, he became enraged, slamming his fists into the last robot over and over until he dented its chest. Like a wild animal with fire burning in its eyes. The furious hedgehog went so far as to instinctively sink his teeth into the metal of the EggPawns neck. His teeth felt like diamond as they were somehow able to penetrate the metal of the machine. Tearing off a chunk of its head, he dove back in using his fangs to rip out the robot's circuitry, shocking the hedgehog and squirting oil upon his face. He wound up acting vicious, nonetheless the job was complete as every machine in the courtyard was terminated.

"THAT'S RIGHT! HAHAHA!" Eggman laughed from somewhere nearby. "WEAR YOURSELF OUT!"

"Sonic!" Officer Zeke hollered as he waved to the hero, motioning for him to come to the partially destroyed watchtower instead of looking for Dr. Robotnik. "Help me with those that are injured! We need to get them to Dr. Manoogian!"

"WHERE ARE YOU!?" Sonic called out for Eggman instead, wanting to fight his nemesis, precisely like he told him he would do the next time he saw the mad scientist. "COME OUT, YOU COWARD! WHAT ARE YOU DOING ATTACKING THE POLICE LIKE THIS!?

"HAHAHA!" Eggman laughed his evil chuckle. "I TOLD YOU THE POLICE ARE CORRUPT! THEY'RE GOING TO BE THE FIRST I KILL OFF TO PAVE THE WAY FOR THE EGGMAN EMPIRE! HAHAHA! DON'T YOU WORRY YOUR LITTLE RAT SOUL, I'LL REFORM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THEY'LL BE FAR SUPERIOR TO THESE JOKES! HAHAHAHA!"

From behind the jail, out of sight, three balkiries emerged, flying toward the courtyard at great speed. A balkiry is a drone designed to resemble a bird with a red painted body and yellow beak. It had gray wings fully extended and could even use its talons to grab unsuspecting victims just like a true bird. However, it also had attached to it a vertical stabilizer and two rotors to clarify that it was a machine and not a living creature no matter how much it looked like it from a distance. Like a miniature fighter jet, the three balkiries flew toward the area using their thrusters. Sonic thought for sure that they were coming after him, but was shocked to see two of them target the surrounding police helicopters. One collided with the rotating blades in mid-air, self-destructing as if it were a missile in order to cause a complete system failure to the helicopter. The pilot didn't even have time to issue a warning before it crashed into the top of the jail. As for the second balkiry, it hit the other helicopter in the tail, destroying its tail rotor. Unlike the first, this pilot had time to send out a message as the helicopter started spinning out-of-control.

{THIS IS CHOPPER 02! WE'RE HIT AND GOING DOWN!} The pilot's voice came through Officer Zeke's radio. Sonic and Zeke watched as the second helicopter made a rough landing out of sight, presumably making it safely since there was no explosion, only the sound of metal scraping concrete. A cough came through the radio before the pilot revealed himself to luckily be alive. {I need a medic!}

"We're here!" Another guard's voice called out from behind everyone as a small team of security personnel had arrived to assist in the situation. "Watch out!" The first of them out the door immediately shouted, pointing upward prior to retreating back inside as the third and last balkiry nose-dived at them, chasing them inside the building where it smashed itself into the door, completely preventing the back-up from re-emerging. "Fuck!" One of the guards yelled as they tried to get out the door, only to be blocked by the wreckage as well as slightly burnt by it. "Quick! Everybody go around to the other door!" Based on what was said, they would have to go around the building to the other corridor leading outside. They would get there eventually, but probably too late.

"AND NOW YOU'RE ALL ALONE!" Eggman said, his voice getting closer.

"YOU'RE WRONG!" Officer Zeke shouted in response as he grabbed another laser rifle, preparing to dual wield a charger blaster and a rifle at the same time, doubling his firepower like some sort of enraged Rambo. "HE'S NOT ALONE! HE HAS ME!"

A loud bang reverberated through the ground just before they saw an object being flung up into the sky. Within a split second, the object proved to be hurling toward the two. Sonic and Zeke both got out of the way as a spherical purple orb came crashing into the cement, busting several inches down into the earth. As the human and hedgehog put their hands down from the dust cloud ejected from the impact, they saw that it appeared to be another robot. This one was far larger than an EggPawn or EggRobo, a bit bigger even than the Rhino Tank. It wasn't totally round though, as it had a white painted wheel-driven undercarriage protruding from beneath. It also had arms that were folded to its side, an oval head with a single cyclops laser beam in addition to boosters at the back. Revving its engine, it spun around to face Sonic as its arms unfolded, revealing that one was a regular hand while the other had a built-in cannon.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK, SONIC!? I WAS GONNA CALL IT THE DEATH EGG, BUT I FORGOT I ALREADY CALLED ONE THAT." Laughing maniacally, he discharged a thick laser beam that Sonic had to roll out the way of. "SO, I DECIDED TO CALL IT THE MONSTER MACHINE SINCE I USED PARTS FROM SO MANY DIFFERENT DEVICES YOU RUINED!"

Sonic nearly tripped on his feet as he uncurled from his ball form. His heart was beating out of his chest and his lungs felt like they were on fire. He had to pant to keep from hyperventilating. The pain in his shoulder grew more and more with every motion he gave. Still, he knew he couldn't show weakness, so he did what he always did as he fought the crazy human and made fun of him, trying to piss him off so he'd lose focus. "Don't blame me because your inventions all suck! And, you should get tested for dementia! It definitely seems like you're getting more forgetful!" He laughed as he tried flanking the monster machine.

"SHUT UP, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" Eggman didn't find the jokes humorous in the least. Turning to keep the blue hedgehog from getting behind the robot, he made it smash its fist into the ground, trying to squash Sonic while also using its cannon arm to blast away at the estimated trajectory Sonic might go in if he tried to escape the hulk smash.

For a moment, he had to think instead of doing it naturally as Eggman cut off his escape route. Instead of running away, he ran toward the machine as it tried to shoot him. He almost reached it when the mad scientist used the robot's cyclops laser to send the hedgehog jumping backward. 'Dammit… This one's tough.' Sonic thought as he attempted to find a weak spot. The engine on the robot's back was obvious, which was why Eggman was being careful to not let it be flanked. There had to be a way to defeat it. He hoped that there might be another weak spot worth exploiting. Before long, he realized that there wasn't, so instead of another weak spot, he had to find another way to hit the engines. 'Maybe I could use Zeke. No, I couldn't do that… I don't want him to get hurt.'

"HEY, SHITHEAD!" Officer Zeke yelled as he flanked the monster machine on his own accord, taking as many shots as he could at the engine. "DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME!"

Eggman could be heard grunting before he laughed. "DON'T WORRY, I HAVEN'T!" Swiftly rotating the robot's body in a three hundred and sixty degree motion, the mad genius used its open palmed hand to smack Zeke so hard that he was flung against the fence of the courtyard, nearly breaking his back.

"ZEKE!" Sonic shouted as he held his hand out to the poor human, fearing for his death. Bearing his fangs, while Eggman had the robot distracted, the hedgehog ran at it full speed, not caring about the damage to his shoulder or his burning heart and throbbing lungs. His pace quickened as the electricity building within him flew off the tips of his quills. Seething with anger, his fingernails poked through his gloves and he used them like claws to slice at the tires of the monster machine, popping one of them with a loud bang as the air pressure violently released.

"ZEKE, ZEKE! OH, ZEKEY BOY!" Eggman taunted Sonic, making fun of their budding friendship.

"FUCK YOU!" Sonic spat back before being flicked like a paper football by the hand of the monster machine. His body didn't fly as far as Zeke's did, nonetheless he rolled uncontrollably about twenty five feet before he succeeded in getting back to his feet. Panting still from the deadly fatigue encroaching upon his sanctity, the heroic hedgehog started feeling the sting from being hit by cold metal. Although his adrenaline was still flowing like a waterfall, the lack of pain medicine or depletion of endorphins in his body allowed him to really feel any painful sensation; in fact, it was almost amplified. Either way, he knew he couldn't give up, so he did what he did best and ran around the courtyard. For a moment, he thought about getting away, but he couldn't do that to Zeke either. "I'M GOING TO C-..."

"SHUT UP ALREADY AND GIVE IN!" Eggman demanded as he launched a barrage of missiles from the shoulder of the monster machine. He then made it produce an enormous energy burst that traveled low to the ground. Although the static discharge caused the robot to temporarily shut down, it quickly rebooted. The given time while inoperable wasn't enough to do anything as Sonic had to dodge the attacks first.

As tired as he was, Sonic could still do it. But, felt his body beginning to fail as muscles twitched and gave out on him. "DON'T INTERRUPT ME YOU BASTARD!" He retorted while rolling away from the missiles until the shockwave caught up with him and forced him to return to a normal running position that he was capable of jumping in. Leaping over the circle of expanding electrical energy, he returned to the ballform in order to evade the missiles. "YOU LOST THAT RIGHT A LONG-LONG TIME AGO!" Performing his usual maneuver, he brought the missiles at something that needed to be destroyed, which just so happened to be the monster machine.

Eggman made the robot floor it, trying to get away from the impending attack by its own missiles. However, Sonic was much quicker than the machine, especially since it had a flat tire. He managed to roll underneath the back of it and come out the other side. The missiles following him weren't so lucky nor agile, as they all collided into the back of the monster machine, impacting its rear tires and exhaust port. Losing control, the robot started spinning in a circle with the rims of the wheels scraping against the cement. It took Eggman a moment to regain control, making it steady enough to aim properly.

"It's Eggman!" Guards shouted as they finally emerged from the other end of the hallway leading out into the courtyard here. "Shoot to kill!" Several of them ran out into the courtyard firing a mixture of handguns, assault rifles and commandeered laser rifles. "Shoot him!"

"NO, DON'T!" Sonic tried to warn them, knowing that the monster machine was far more powerful than the average robot and wouldn't be taken down by any of their measly attacks. "RUN AWAY!" He hollered as he ran straight toward the machine in hopes of keeping it distracted.

Turning around, the robot started charging its cyclops laser while leering in the direction of the guards. They were trying their best to fight back, to defend their jail and city. Eggman found that amusing. "Ooh! What do we have here!? MORE TARGET PRACTICE!" Even as Sonic tried to stop him, he just swatted the blue pest away, launched a cannon at him and then released the built up laser charge upon one of the guards.

"YEAARGG!" Was all the guard could say before his entire body was vaporized. For a single second, it was as if a skeleton was standing there as everything other than his badge and gun turned to ash. Without any tendons or muscles holding it together, the skeleton of the brave officer fell apart, turning to dust as well right as the last of the energy was expended.

Freaking out, all of the guards abandoned their duty after seeing the result of testing Dr. Robotnik right now. "HOLY SHIT! FRED! HE KILLED FRED!" They didn't drop their guns or stop shooting, but they certainly made haste back into the building where it was far safer than being out in the open like they were. "HE JUST TURNED TO DUST! OH MY GOD! HE HAD A WIFE AND KIDS!" A few stayed in the doorway taking potshots, but most hightailed it out of there. "SCREW THIS! I'M NOT PAID ENOUGH FOR THIS!"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Sonic screamed furiously while looking at Zeke's unconscious body as well as the guard who was just erased from existence. "I'M… GOING… TO… KILL… YOU!" Grabbing a laser rifle from one of the EggPawns and shooting at the monster machine, he charged it as if he were a frontline soldier in the revolutionary war. "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE TODAY! TODAY! DO YOU HEAR ME!?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Eggman pretended to yawn as he made the robot hold its hand out flat, using its palm to deflect each blast. "Is that all you have left in you? Seriously? I really thought you had more left than this, after all you've been through." He laughed as he watched Sonic pour with sweat while firing the laser rifle so many times it overheated in his hands, making him drop it. Sure enough, just as robotnik planned, the laser blasts did virtually nothing to his robot. "It's going to take more than a laser to get inside this thing. Come on, don't you wanna see a big boom? It's the last robot left, destroy it so I can get out of here and plan my revenge like I always do!"

"I HATE YOU!" Sonic wailed as he took off running at the monster machine with static zapping amongst his fur. Eggman made the robot shoot another barrage of missiles and then discharged one more circle of deadly electrical energy, hoping to trip the maddened hedgehog up. On the contrary, something snapped inside of the hero. Staring at the monster machine, then at Zeke as well as the pile of dust that used to be a human, his heart began to beat so fast it felt like he was going to catch on fire; more or less vibrating instead of pumping. The sweat on his forehead increased, pouring from not only there but his armpits too. His eyes narrowed and reddened with bloodshot lines as his lips retracted to show his entire set of teeth like a feral animal. Snarling, his voice deepened and the static in his fur felt like lightning bolts. Same as before, even the colour of his fur changed a bit as the roots blackened and the tips turned navy blue. "DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! DEAD!" He repeated as his teeth clacked together with every word. "KILL YOU DEAD!" He foamed at the mouth as his feet came off the ground an inch, just enough to hover over the burst of electricity from the monster machine. "NEVER HURT PEOPLE AGAIN!"

Although the hedgehog had slowed down since he was just hovering like a ghost and not running, the barrage of missiles did their job by crashing into him and exploding. "AHA!" Eggman laughed until the smoke cleared up, revealing his mortal enemy to be perfectly fine, without a single quill out of place from any of the missiles or the explosion. From an outside perspective, it would make sense for Eggman to start becoming scared now; after all, the hedgehog was floating and took several missiles to the body without flinching or so much as making him shed a drop of blood. In fact, the wound on his shoulder from the Concrete Junkies was healing itself before the villain's very eyes. Oddly enough, instead of retreating or getting nervous, Dr. Robotnik seemed to encourage Sonic to keep going. "Yes… Yes! YES! KEEP GOING! SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!"

As Eggman aimed the monster machine's cannon arm at Sonic, he bore witness to the hedgehog virtually disappearing from sight in advance of reappearing, popping into existence in front of the robot in less than a millisecond. His face wasn't angry anymore, yet lacked any form of emotion, with deadpan eyes that gave a thousand yard stare. Cocking his head nonchalantly, as if curious to find out how easy this would be, Sonic allowed the cannon to strike him, nailing him right in the crotch and lower abdomen. Once more, he didn't react, he didn't even move. In spite of thousands of pounds of force being applied to him from the impact of the cannon, not even a strand of fur was blown back; the cannonball merely hit, busted into thirds and then fell to the ground. Sonic looked down at the crumbled cannonball before back up at the monster machine. "Kill." Was all he said as he grabbed the arm of the robot, ripping the cannon off of it with ease.

"PERFECT! KEEP AT IT YOU LITTLE ANTHRO FUCKER! I WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FLIP YOUR SHIT! HAHAHAHA!" Eggman proceeded to taunt as his robot was flung a few feet due to the centrifugal force of Sonic ripping its weapon off. Not giving up either, the madman focused the machine's cyclops eye right on Sonic's chest, charging up for it.

"Kill?" Sonic said in a befuddled tone prior to vanishing.

The monster machine scanned all around itself before turning up to the night sky, trying to spot where the feral hedgehog could have gone. Suddenly, he materialized above the courtyard. "GOTCHA! HAHAHA!" Eggman exclaimed as the robot discharged its thick laser beam in Sonic's direction.

Vanishing again, the laser beam passed through the spot the blue blur was literally just at. Out of nowhere, even as the laser continued to expel all of its energy, Sonic re-appeared. But, this time, he appeared in multiple places at once, filling the sky of the courtyard with afterimages as he popped in and out of existence so fast that reality had trouble processing his speed. However fast he was going, it had to be astronomical for his molecules to be producing a burn in space-time in such fashion; the way he made the light linger in flickering pulses.

"What in the hell?!" Dr. Robotnik exclaimed in genuine interest at what he was seeing. "Fascinating."

Unfortunately, his fascination quickly turned to dread when the maniacally dark version of Sonic appeared in front of the robot again. "KILL!" The crazed hedgehog repeated the only thing he seemed capable of saying in advance of releasing a laser blast of his own that came directly from his reddened eyes. As if he were a superhero with laser vision, with such immense energy swollen inside him that it engorged his spirit, he was able to release all of it into a destructive beam of heat. That beam continued to be shot from his eyes for five solid seconds. Using the newfound power, he strategically sliced the monster machine's other arm clean off from its shoulder.

"WHOOO! JEEZ LOUISE! LASER VISION!? HOLY MOLEY!" Eggman exclaimed, laughing in amusement. "THAT A BOY! YOU'RE GOING TO BE A REAL SUPERMAN! HAHAHAHAHAA! UP UP AND AWAY!

Releasing the last barrage of missiles the monster machine had on its shoulder, only one managed to get out before Sonic teleported to the panel, closing it on the rest to make them explode inside the robot. As the top half of the monster machine's head was blown off from the explosion of its own rockets detonating inside itself, Eggman watched that lone missile circle around the courtyard to target Sonic's back. Surprisingly, before impact, Sonic spun around and bit the rocket right out of the sky, crushing it in his mouth as it exploded with absolutely no effect upon the dark hedgehog.

"WOW! IMPRESSIVE!" Eggman clapped semi-sarcastically.

"Kill… Eggman." Sonic said as his eyes twitched rapidly. Flying at the monster machine, he slammed into it with such force that it knocked the robot over onto its back. Even immobilized as it was, the mad scientist had the machine target the hedgehog with its cyclops beam. It fired the beam right at Sonic as he started slamming his fists into the chest of the monster machine. Once again, the beam did nothing, not a lick. Sonic kept going with his attack, lost in a trance as static zapped from the tip of his nose. Biting a chunk of metal on the side of the robot, he even went as far as to use his fangs to start tearing into it with unnatural force. Punching as fast as he could, it didn't take long for the metal alloy on the chest of the monster machine to bend, giving way to the power of this new Sonic. "KILL!" He screamed with an eerie smile as Eggman tried to electrocute him. "KILL!"

Seeing that the hedgehog was quickly getting through the armor of the monster machine, Dr. Robotnik knew he had to act now. The time for fun and games was over and his experiment needed to come to an end since he was beginning to put himself in danger. "Alright, Alright." He could be heard grunting as the main section on the chest of the monster machine abruptly flew open like a spring loaded boxing glove, propelling the hedgehog back a bit from the unexpected motion. The chest didn't retract though, in fact, after the suckerpunch, it completely detached, falling off to reveal Eggman inside, who had been piloting the thing the entire time. "You might be superman now…" Eggman said as he raised a tranquilizer gun and shot the surprised Sonic with it. "But, I'm your kryptonite."

"EGGMAN!" Sonic said as the tranq dart stuck in his neck. With all the energy left in him, he vanished, only to appear directly in front of the chubby human. Now that he knew it wasn't just a robot he was dealing with, but a vehicle of his arch-nemesis, he tried to take out the driver. "KILL!" With the tranquilizer dart still stuck in him, he wrapped his tattered gloved hands around the obese human's throat, squeezing as hard as he could despite feeling the medicine swiflty making him lose his strength. "DIE!" He yelled in a demonic voice as he choked Eggman with all his might.

Eggman gagged and grabbed at Sonic's hands, dropping the tranquiliser gun to the ground as he stared at the enraged hedgehog in his bloodshot eyes. "Yes…" He choked out. "You'll... do... perfectly..."

As reality began to fade in and out on him, Sonic widened his eyes and gripped Robotnik's throat tighter. His red eyes hummed with energy as they began to glow. "KILL YOU NOW!" He screamed wearily as the brightness of his laser eyes increased tenfold. But, of course, before he could release the anger with deadly heated vengeance, the light in his eyes gradually flickered out like a broken lightbulb. "Kill… you…. now." He spoke softer as his eyelids lowered halfway and his grip on the fat human's throat waned. "Kill…. Kill….." Arms giving out and legs buckling, the medicine coursing through him began to take effect.

Eggman smiled wide as he grabbed the hedgehog's arms, pushing them off his throat. "Whew…" After gasping for air, he exhaled with a bit of true worry. "I was slightly concerned you were going to melt my face off there. Good thing I gave you enough sedatives to take down an elephant."

"Kill….. you…. Eggman…" Sonic muttered under his breath as his eyes shut. The strange static that emanated from his fur dissipated along with the darker colour of his quills. Going unconscious from the surprise tranquilizer, he returned to the normal blue hedgehog form that was much more recognizable as Sonic.

Rubbing his throat, Dr. Eggman coughed a couple of times. Flicking switches above him in addition to pushing buttons, the Monster Machine whirred loudly, vibrating violently before the interior of the robot/mecha where Robotnik resided came detached from the torso. As the Monster Machine fully powered down, the Egg Mobile emerged, having served as the cockpit the entire time; a typical design favourited by the tubby human. Swiftly ejected from the robot, he flew out sideways before the gyroscopic sensors of the Egg Mobile re-oriented the craft and then ignited its engines to stay afloat. Hovering over Sonic's comatose body, the scientist pressed a button on the control console to make a hydraulic grabber extend from beneath the Egg Mobile. Using a joystick off to the side of him, he controlled the reacher as he did previously; maneuvering it down to the ground where he was able to gently grab Sonic with its tri-claw. Smirking, he said "Everything went according to plan. Now, let's get you back to the Egg Carrier."

"DROP HIM!" Eggman heard a voice call out to him before a laser blast bounced off the bulletproof windshield. Ducking from the sudden attack, he peered down to see Officer Zeke opening fire upon the Egg Mobile as he was being dragged to safety by the guard from the inside of the partially destroyed tower. "YOU LET HIM GO, YOU FAT FUCK!"

Additional bullets and laser blasts began to impact the Egg Mobile as the guards who had stayed behind to fight from the inside of the jail returned to the battle now that the playing field had been leveled. "WE GOT YOUR BACK, SONIC!" Several of them yelled as they tried to help rescue him from the clutches of evil.

"FUCK YOU, PO-PO!" Eggman shook his fist as he pulled down on the yoke to make the Egg Mobile go flying up into the air, knowing that they wouldn't risk shooting Sonic.

Following a few well-placed shots, Zeke started to get back to his feet as he yelled "CEASE FIRE! CEASE FIRE! WE'RE GOING TO HIT SONIC BY ACCIDENT!" Standing up, he dropped his commandeered laser rifle and took his helmet off, throwing it to the ground as well. His short brown hair and freckles were interesting to see since they were often hidden behind his helmet, but his eyes stoked furious flames as he cursed up at Eggman. "WE'RE GOING TO GET YOU, EGGMAN! YOU COME BACK HERE WITH SONIC!"

Dr. Robotnik gave the officer the middle finger as he grew smaller and smaller into the distance of the sky, gradually becoming a miniscule dot. With Sonic's sedated body dangling from a crane like he was a cheap stuffed animal in an arcade claw machine, Eggman pushed the yoke in as he engaged the thrusters, getting the Eggmobile to take off like a miniature jet. All that could be heard as he vanished into the night sky was his maniacal laugh. Nonetheless, on the ground, all the damage that had been caused by him as well as all the destroyed robots remained behind for the people of Station Square to clean up. At this point, due to the fact it's literally what he did, Eggman got what he wanted and left.

"SON-OF-A-BITCH!" Zeke exclaimed angrily.

"Calm down, we're safe. It's over now." One of the officers said as others went around checking to ensure that the destroyed robots were completely offline, not playing dead.

Zeke slapped his hand to his forehead as he stared up at the twinkling stars. "You don't get it, do you? What are we going to do the next time Eggman comes back and Sonic isn't here to save us?!"