A/N Alright so yet another chapter coming out. I'm trying to concentrate, I've been sleeping badly for a week, I have no idea why, maybe because it's finally warming up and now I need to stop sleeping with my socks on.

Anyway, appreciate your patience, and I'm glad people did not forget this story after so long. Anyway let's get this going.

The five mobians began walking further into the base. They were all expecting to be attacked any second now. Every moment adding to their paranoia. Any moment now…. Now….. now?

"Keep your eyes peeled" Shadow growled eyes darting in all directions.

"You didn't need to tell me that" Scourge said with a roll of his eyes feeling that being cautious was obvious right now.

Shadow ignored the other male. His senses were working at peak levels for any disturbance that could signal and attack.

As the group slowly walked further into the hallway one thing became very obvious, there was little cover in these hallways. And the long hallways weren't gonna help them out much either.

Blaze was not happy with any of this, if Silver were here he could project a field to defend them if enemies came, but they'd yet to show up.

Continuing down the hallway was slow and careful. Shadow wanted to just blast through this place, get to Eggman, end this right now, but if they went fast they could fall into a trap.

Speaking of trap, two turrets lifted out of the floor . The machines guns spooled up for half a second giving the four only a moment to step to the side.

With very quick reflexes they all dove to the side. Shadow and Fiona going left and Scourge and Blaze to the right. What small cover there was the hallways indenting inwards looking like Pillars inside the walls. It wasn't much, just barely enough to keep two in cover.

Unfortunately this meant there was nowhere to go now.

Shadow grunted as a bullet deflected near his face.

"What are we going to do!" Fiona yelled over the gunfire.

Shadow tried to think and peak around the corner another bullet ricocheted near his face again forcing him to retreat back behind the pillar.

"I don't know" he reluctantly said. If he had the ability use his chaos powers he'd just freeze time and destroy them, or bend space and time to destroy the turrets. But the anti chaos field was going to keep him from using his powers through this entire operation or until they found a way to stop it.

Across the hallways Blaze blind fired several fire balls at the turrets. Despite hitting, it did almost nothing.

"This is bullshit!" Scourge yelled.

"There has to be away around this!" Blaze called.

Shadow tried to think of an idea, if these were like the defenses outside it would have extreme reaction times too, any attempted to rush them would be really bad, even if they made the most unpredictable movements possible.

"Dammit!"

Unknown to them a ventilation shaft fell from the ground right behind the turrets. The turrets began glowing in a green aura and began forcibly turning towards one another. Within a few seconds the turrets were fully facing eachother and began unloading into eachother. Despite their tough armor the barrage of rounds cut through the metal both turrets were destroyed.

With the gunfire gone Shadow peaked around to see what was happening. Seeing the two turrets facing eachother and full of holes. He cautiously walked out of cover incase another attack commenced.

He flinched into a fighting stance when he saw two figures fall from the ceiling, but his caution left him when he saw familiar white fur.

Silver and Tails turned to find their friends were all ok.

"You are ok!" Nicole cheered.

Tails' face was covered but Silver was smiling seeing his friends were all ok "Ya. Glad to see you all made it"

They moved up to the duo's position and before he could react Blaze was hugging the silver hedgehog.

"She was quite worried about you" Fiona said with a smile.

Blaze ended the hug prematurely "I was not"

Silver looked to the cat, giving knowing smile, but he kept quiet. They had more important things to do than playfully argue over that.

"It's good to see you too" Silver warmly smiled.

Blaze just nodded back in response having the same sentiments.

Meanwhile Shadow went to Tails to speak of what was gonna happen next "Anything happen to and Silver?"

"Ran into a few obstacles, the most notable was some kind of gas. He flooded the vents with it, but we were able to get through it with no problems" Tails replied, his gaze had generally continued to stare down the long white hallway for any danger.

Shadow began to stare down the hallway and began to realize something was wrong.

"Where are his bots?"

"I was thinking the same thing" Tails said, a small growl in the back of his throat "This is his main headquarters, all that's attacked us is the outer defenses, the gas and those turrets…. There has to be more"

Another pair of boots ended up on the other side of Tails "I smell something brewing" Fiona leaning more on one leg and crossing her arms.

"Same" the male fox replied.

"I don't think we have a choice but to play by his rules" the dark hedgehog sighed, he took the brief moment to fiddle with his brace.

Tails didn't believe that, maybe they could figure this out. They were smart, and had Silver. He could move doors if need be.

"If he tries to corral us, we'll just make Silver lift the door up"

Shadow shook his head "It took, Silver and me to open the doors back at that small prison, do you think they'll be weaker here?"

As much as Tails wanted to argue that these doors weren't meant for blasts that could come from an outside attack, but Eggman was a paranoid man, and had proven in it, even in the past.

"We'll have to atleast try" Tails grumbled.

"And what if it fails?" Fiona asked.

Tails sighed "Then we have to go where he makes us go" not the option he'd want, but the only direction left was forward, even if they could escape, Eggman wouldn't let them in here again.

Fiona just shrugged "Well, we'll just try our best and hope we come out on top"

"Agreed" Shadow grunted back and turned "Are you ready?" he asked the others.

"I was born ready!" Silver said a little more confident in their chances than anyone else.

To this the others nodded in agreement, though Scourge didn't look to ecstatic.

Tails then said "Alright then, let's go"

The group began heading forward, surprisingly they were still alone. Where we the eggbots, or defenses? It was so strange.

But as they walked the hallways was suddenly cut short when a door slammed down cutting off their direction of travel.

Tails sighed "I was hoping to get a little further before a door slammed on us" He turned to face Silver "Think you can raise it?"

"Ya, sure thing!" Silver said stepping ahead of them. His palms began to glow green as he channeled his powers towards the door. The door began ti glow as well and slightly shuddered. But before it could actually move locks gripped to the floor, and the other hidden locks could be heard slamming down to keep the door shut.

Silvers expression went form confident to worried, he tried to drag their large door back up, but to avail. The sound of the doors motors revved up to oppose him as well.

After a few seconds of trying he gasped releasing his powers from the door and panted heaving over slightly "I-I can't"

Shadow growled "Seems he was ready for Silvers powers" nut the question now, was how would they get past the door.

"We could head back" Scourge suggested.

"No, the only way back is closed and locked as well" Tails realized.

He looked around trying to find a vent, but nothing, they might have to head back to the vent they'd already used. So he decided to lead them back, but another door slammed down in his face.

Now they were trapped like flies.

He took a deep breath but suddenly the side of the hallway opened to yet another hallway.

"He's leading us somewhere for sure" Fiona grunted.

Scourge just growled "Couldn't do us the courtesy of just killing us could he?"

Tails had to agree with Scourge, Eggman had them dead to right if he could close off doors that were impossible to move, even by Silver. Could just make them starve to death if he wanted to. Instead he was playing with them, he'd regret that.

"Guess we have no choice but to move forward" Tails sighed beginning to walk down the hallway. Behind him, the others followed, they all seemed rather confident despite the circumstances. Tails felt like they should be tense and ready for anything. This wasn't like the old days.

"So what do you think he has planned for us?" Silver asked after about a minute of silence.

"A trap" Shadow sad blankly.

"Ya, but what kind of trap?"

"Does it matter?" Tails sighed, ya his patience with people had come back a bit, but Silver was still hard to listen to sometimes.

"Well ya, what if it's an instant kill trap, or one where we're slowly killed. And if it's the second one, will there be a way out? Like all the cliché villains who always leave some way to escape, or walk away before the good guy actually dies"

Shadow growled "This is a movie Silver, Eggman isn't an idiot…. Well….. he's not that stupid…. Maybe" Shadow corrected himself twice as he remembered the past somewhat agreeing with Silver.

Nicole then piped up "Well my memory banks remembers everything he's done, and honestly Silver has a point, he does fill the qualifications of a cheesy villain"

Tails made a small chuckling noise "Actually, now that I think about it, she's right"

Nicole giggled "I remember one where he-AH!"

Suddenly the floor opened up causing all of them to fall. Silver activated his powers stopping himself then catching everyone else. He looked up wanting to fly back up but the opening had already closed.

Silver then looked around seeing they were all in a large open chamber. No visible doors. But there was a floor, so he slowly floated down. Letting go of everyone as he neared the floor.

"Good reflexes" Shadow said giving Silver a nod.

Tails got to his feet drawing his weapon and looking around for any danger. He thought they were about to be swarmed by bots, but after a quick look around, nothing.

"So he dropped us here…. Why?" he asked aloud.

His inquiry would be answered by none other than the doctor himself.

At the end of the large chamber a large tv appeared showing the infamous Doctor. His smirk as annoying as every under his ridiculous mustache.

"Well hello there rodents" he clasped his hands together "Just like the old days, you fall into my trap yet again, but unlike back then, you will not be escaping"

Tails growled at the sight of the doctor "We're getting out of here, and you're gonna die!"

"Ho ho ho ho!" the doctor laughed at the foxes threat "If you have not noticed you are trapped like the vermin you are! And now…" he paused slowly lowering his finger down on a button "You will die for my entertainment"

His finger pressed the button and the tv turned off and slid into the wall. Around them the ceiling opened up briefly dropping eggbots down. The doors opening too fast for Silver to send anyone through, including himself. Seems Eggman had thought of that.

"Alright everyone! Time to fight!" Tails yelled He immediately began firing at the nearest Eggbot quickly dispatching it. His aim moving to another, and another.

The others scattered to begin fighting, due to Shadow losing his powers he had to rely on the old school tactics. His speed, homing attacks and his gun.

Fiona had no powers, so she was gonna have to rely on skill alone. Luckily her aim was true and she had plenty of ammo now. With that in mind she was able to use them much more freely. That didn't make her fire without regard. If they were trapped, she still would have to conserve ammo where she could.

Silver quickly got into the zone. He'd have to focus on everyone and himself. Protecting his friends, protecting himself, and helping out by taking out bots. This was gonna be extremely hard, but he had to try.

Blaze relied on her fire powers, finesse and training. She was hyper focused, she even seemed to be avoiding miss firing her abilities more. When she did, she almost seemed to know it was gonna happen and had a back up plan for it everytime.

Scourge and Nicole kept together, because she had to stay close to him and the PDA he carried. His speed was a major asset, ut having Nicole to distract the bots made up for anything else.

The fight started off slow, with easily manageable numbers. It almost got monotonous. That is until the floor in random places opened up and shot flame into the air.

"Watch out for the flame throwers!" Shadow yelled. He side stepped as he ran around narrowly dodging the geysers of flame.

Things only got worse as the rate the bots were dropping got a bit faster. Enough that it began to strain on them, and the numbers slowly but surely grew. Only the speed from Shadow and Scourge, and the powers of Silver and Blaze keeping them from being over run.

Tails was backing up gunning down two approaching melee bots. He had no shortage of ammo, fatigue would probably get him before he ran dry. Just as he reloading he was hit in the back and knocked down.

He turned to find another melee bot standing over him. He could handle this, a simple maneuver would free him of this, but everything stopped when they heard…

"STOP!"

All the eggbots immediately stopped in their tracks, even one about to be destroyed by attacks from his friends. The tv screen was back up and Eggman was there again.

Tails took the moment to destroy the eggbot anyway, so if it started again he'd be back on his feet. He kicked up and used his shock gauntlets to fry the bots circuits. He retrieved his gun and looked to the screen.

"Alright, that's enough. I hope you all realize how hopeless your situation is"

Silver was panting loudly, the usage of his powers draining him heavily. He took the short moment to grab a snack and eat.

"Well I have one more piece of business I need to clear up. Something you took that I need back"

Shadow growled "You aren't getting the chaos emerald, unless it's from my cold dead hands"

"Oh no" Eggman waved that off "I will take that from you when you're dead, no I need to collect something more delicate"

Tails realized what he meant and looked back at Scourge and Nicole.

"Yes, you know what I mean" Tails looked back at the screen finding Eggman staring at him. Even through the black glasses, he could tell the doctor was staring directly at him.

"Like always, smartest of the bunch"

"You aren't getting Nicole!" Fiona yelled.

Eggman just laughed at her "Ho ho ho, I don't think any of you have a choice" all the eggbots aimed at the respective enemies, except Scourge.

"Now this I could not have predicted, Scourge joining his former enemies"

"After you sent bots to kill me, what did you expect!" Scourge yelled back.

"I'm sorry Scourge, the eggbots were still programmed to fight Sonic and must have mistaken you" Scourge growled at being compared to him.

"But I am glad you weren't killed. We were both enemies of Sonic and he crew, and I've always believed in enemy of my enemy is my friend" the doctor smirked.

The others realized what he was talking about.

"He's not gonna just hand her over!" Silver yelled back.

The doctor laughed again "Something tells me he may change his mind when he hears my offer"

Tails kept his eyes on the screen through his mask. The doctor was playing dirty. And now they had to trust Scourge.

"I understand you are from another world. Well, it just so happens I can get you back to your old home, and away from all this suffering. All you have to do. Is give up, and give me the AI" the smirk on Eggmans face was smug, you almost wanted to jump through the TV and strangle him.

Nicole crossed her arms "No way, Scourge has changed he wouldn't-"

"Deal" Scourge said.

"W-what?" the lynx turned to him completely stunned, she hoped she'd heard wrong.

"I'll accept your deal, anything to get out of this death trap"

"Excellent" Eggman smirked.

"Scourge, no. Please, I thought we were friends! I thought you had changed!?" Nicole cried out.

"Sorry, Niki, it's nothing personal"

"You son of a bitch! I trusted you!, We all trusted you!" Fiona suddenly screamed, the sting of betrayal hitting her all over again from him "You're nothing but a weasel, a snake!"

Shadow growled "You're nothing but a coward"

"Ya, I may be a snake, weasel and a coward, but I'll be the one who's alive by the end of the day" he laughed at his former teammates as he began walking towards Eggmans screen.

"Scourge, I beg you, please don't do this" Nicole tried to stop him, her virtual tears streaming down her face "I put my trust in you, we all did. Don't do this!"

"Like I said, nothing personal"

"Yes it is! If you cared about us at all, you'd stand by us!"

Scourge shrugged and scoffed "No way, I've betrayed people for less, under better circumstances"

"But you can be better than that!"

"And end up dead, why the hell would I do that?" Scourge said nearly to the wall.

"There isn't anything left for you back home, you even said so?" Nicole bawled trying to convince him anyway she could.

"Who said I was telling the truth" Scourge shot back.

Nicole just looked right at him, tears running down her virtual face "Please…. I thought I could trust you…. I don't want to be his puppet again"

Scourge silently walked past her one more time, a small door opening up for him to pass through. He didn't look back as the door closed, and with the door closed the PDA on his belt could no longer project Nicole and she disappeared.

Eggman laughed for a few seconds after the door closed and then said "Alright, now…. Where were we…."

Ok so I wanted to get this out right now while I had my mind for it. I also just want to say that if it feels rushed, I feel it too. I wanted this out right now before I lost my groove so you guys would have something to read and know it ain't dead.

I'll get to work on the next as soon as I can. Thanks for reading.

Live long and prosper

Admiralkirk