CHAPTER THREE

He doesn't look too good. I wonder how long he's been lying there. A sort of sorrow grips me.

He could have been here, like this, the whole time I thought he was just laying low.

Suddenly I see myself like he is now, and I'm afraid. I don't want to think about what could happen to me if I need help but there's no one who wants to. In my world, everyone helps everyone else. That's how it works. But Eggman…he's the enemy. Nobody helps him and he doesn't help us…well, unless he absolutely has to.

"Eggman?"

My voice is small and tentative, and it surprises me.

He doesn't answer.

I don't know what to think right now. I move around the chair and bend down on one knee over him.

He doesn't look like he's been attacked or anything. I wonder what's going on.

I put a hand on his shoulder and shake him a little.

"Eggman?"

He moves a little but that's it.

I stay there like that, not quite sure what to do next. What do you do when you walk into your enemy's secret lair and find him motionless on the floor?

I guess I'll go and get Tails. Maybe he'll know what to do.

I get up and walk towards the other side of the room. Slowly. I'm kind of reluctant to leave him there like that. It feels wrong to leave someone like that. No matter who they are.

I decide to try and wake him up one last time. He did move the second time.

"Hey, Eggman. What's going on?"

He moves a little more.

Okay, so I won't leave.

"What happened to you, man? Why are you on the floor?"

"S…Sonic?"

His voice is very, very weak and wavery.

"Yeah. Your favourite person."

He coughs a little.

"How…"

"Tails tracked you down somehow, I dunno how he did it."

I kneel down beside him. "Can you get up at all?"

He nods a bit and I help him into his chair. He leans back exhaustedly.

"What's going on, Eggman?"

He doesn't answer and after a minute I realize he must have passed out.

I run out of the building and speed as fast as I can for home. Something is seriously wrong with Eggman, and I need to find out what it is. Now.

Hopefully Tails agrees with me…

As I run I try and think of what could possibly have happened to Eggman. He wasn't marked up, there are no signs of a fight, no killer robots came out to attack me…maybe Eggman was hiding from something? That base was not finished. Maybe he was injured internally and went there to hide?

Man my head hurts from all this thinking. That's why I leave this stuff to Tails. But hey, it's not like I'm super busy right now, I totally run on autopilot.

I enter our place and come skidding to a stop. "TAILS! COME HERE, IT'S IMPORTANT!"

"Yep, I'll bet," says Tails, walking out of the kitchen with a piece of pizza from last night. "What's the world-shattering emergency this time?"

"It's Eggman," I say. "He needs our help."

Tails drops the plate and stares at me.

"He WHAT?"

"There's something wrong with him. You need to come with me and check him out."

"Sonic, why would you suggest such a thing?"

"Because he needs help," I tell him, frustrated.

"So?"

I just stare at him back.

"He's our enemy, Sonic. He tries to kill us and wipe out our ecosystems. He tries to make us his slaves. Why help him?"

"Because…because…look, just come with me and look him over, and you'll see why we have to do it!"

"Why I'LL have to do it."

"What?"

Tails stands there and shakes his head.

"If there is something wrong and if I do figure out what it is, you'll then ask me to fix it."

"Well…we could take him to a doctor…"

Tails snorts. "No doctor on Mobius would help him. I'm not sure I will."

I grab his shoulders and look him in the eye. "Tails, you have to. You have to help him."

"I get that you think I should. I don't get why."

"Because…just come with me. You'll understand when we get there, I know you will."

Tails sighs and bends down to clean up his pizza.

"Okay, Sonic. But I don't think it's a good idea."

"I know this sounds stupid, Tails. But I just…it needs to be done, that's all."

"Okay."

We finish clearing up the mess and then Tails goes and preps the Tornado. He clambers into the cockpit and I jump onto the left wing.

"Ready?" I ask him.

"I guess," he says.

With a rumble and a roar the engine comes to life, the propellers whir themselves into silence, and as the plane taxies out of the garage and onto the runway I have one thought in mind:

What if Tails is right?