Author's note: On with the show! This chapter is at least a bit longer than the previous one.

Chapter 4

Sonic hated to deceive or trick his little brother. He really, truly did. But he saw no other option. This was the best way. There was simply no time for him to head back to civilization, then to a doctor – and Chaos knew how slow they were – then go all the way back and find Eggman's new base. No, he had to take care of this now. He knew he could take on Eggman even with all of his senses gone, anyway, so he wasn't that worried.

His progress was slow, by his standards, fighting his way through the undergrowth, mindful of roots and rocks that could lend him a sprained ankle. After a while, he even considered if it wouldn't be faster to try to make a raft of some kind and float down the river, but the prospect of horribly drowning when falling off (which he was sure he'd do at some point or other, given his recent bad luck) made him re-consider that option.

Fortunately, he remembered the way they had been going (the multiple skid marks and ruined undergrowth helped) and after a strained trip through the jungle, he noted familiar surroundings again. He was close. Time to settle this once and for all – the doctor couldn't have gone that far, those hoverpods weren't too fast. Snarling, he passed the wreckage of the Mantis. This time, he noted a dirt road behind it. Surely, it must lead to Eggman's base. Now, blessed with room to finally run again, Sonic could pour on the speed and run in earnest. He noted how the trees became more and more sparse, the dirt road larger and more well-travelled. He must be getting close to Eggman's base, no doubt about it.

Sonic's joy at finally having ample space was unfortunately cut short only a minute or two later. Forced to stop a mere kilometre from the base, though he didn't know that at the time, he was glaring up at Eggman, again. Well played, doctor, well played.

Another mecha, not unlike various ones they had seen previously. Roughly humanoid, large and bulky, with massive feet and two equally massive arms – one with a claw-like grip, the other hosting a massive gun of some kind. Instead of the usual red-black-yellow colours, this one went almost entirely in shades of green and brown – to melt better into the scenery, he supposed. Sonic had seen this type of mecha before, though. Piece of cake, really – he just needed to reach the area between the mecha's head and its torso – the place where Eggman was hiding in a protective bubble of extra strong, reinforced glass of some kind. Same as the Mantis, pretty much. The only thing that could potentially slow him down, as far as Sonic was concerned, was the thick undergrowth surrounding the small glen where they were currently standing – vines, ferns, mud and Chaos knew what else. There was far less room for him to move here than usual, but no matter. He could do this with his eyes closed, anyway. With a snort, he glared at the doctor.

"I knew you'd come back, you imprudent rodent!" Eggman all but growled at him, putting even more weight into the favourite insult, apparently already ready for the next round. When did he have time to build all these bases and mechas, anyway? You'd think each mecha would take months to finish. Not that Sonic really cared. He was just itching to make things even. Time to make Eggman run off with his tail between his legs – again. He'd make sure to put in a few extra hits for his damaged hearing, too.

"Let's get this over with!"

A few minutes later found the hedgehog, unexpectedly, at a disadvantage. He had noted, quite worriedly, that this was not at all going as he had planned. Unable to hear the mecha's movements behind and around him, he was resorted to relying almost entirely on his eyes, constantly looking around him, ducking, jumping – and getting the chance to attack only once in a while as a result. Already being low on energy after the most recent battle didn't help, either. His sore ribs screamed in pain and he could feel various of the small cuts re-opening under the strain.

Unable to rely on his ears, he had had to resort to being quite a bit more defensive than usual, and did not dare attack the mecha fully head on as he normally would unless he was certain there was nothing behind him. Which he rarely could be, with those damn arms flying everywhere. He had found out, very narrowly escaping their clutches, by the way, that the arms were fully extendible, shooting after him from all directions as they moved together in the underbrush. One trying to shoot him, the other trying to grab him. He wasn't sure which was preferable.

Even Eggman appeared surprised at Sonic's lack of progress – alternatively insulting his seeming lack of enthusiasm, not knowing the real reason behind it, alternatively praising his own brilliance at giving his opponent a run for his money.

Gasping with effort, the hedgehog had paused for a moment, standing on a great root and glaring at the robot before him. Eggman was aiming the weapon once more, ready to fire off another round of deadly bullets. A good deal of them were already visible around them, lodged deep into the ground.

"Ready for another round, hedgehog?"

As he readied himself to fire, Eggman thought he suddenly heard a distant hum, glanced up at the sky and cursed. Not now, not when he was so close…! Had his ears still been functioning, Sonic would have heard the whirring of a propeller behind him as well. He didn't, but he suddenly noticed that Eggman looked a shade redder.

"Sonic!" Tails shouted, not caring that the hedgehog couldn't hear him as he came in lower. "I'm coming!" He had seen them, finally he had seen them, and even as he thought the hedgehog seven types of an idiot, he was readying himself to help him as well as he could. Go figure Sonic had gotten himself into another battle already! The Tornado was not equipped for combat at this point in time, but he had a plan all the same… a feeble one, but it was the best he had come up with at such a short notice.

Aiming the plane downwards, to all appearances readying himself for a kamikaze mission, Tails dove towards Eggman who shouted angrily in response, forced to make the mecha get out of the way and leave the hedgehog for the moment being. Seeing the doctor turning his attention to something behind him, Sonic turned as well and broke into a grin.

"Tails!"

The fox in question continued to lose altitude, now dangerously low to the ground, the wings already clipping branches and bushes, rustling greenery falling around them like snow. With a snarl, he almost rammed into the mecha, which only barely got out of the way. Fortunately, it was all that Sonic needed and he leaped up, aiming a lethal spin-dash after the scientist in his protected seat.

Eggman, in an attempt to set priorities, hoped feverishly that the protective layer would hold up to at least one deadly spindash. He had to get rid of that fox or he'd never get a new chance at the hedgehog. As Sonic crashed into him he was sent flying back in his seat, head slamming painfully against the neck rest, but the glass held, though it had left a sizeable crack. Whew. The hedgehog was back on the ground, aiming for a new attack.

Sighing in temporary relief, Eggman again focused on the fox who was coming in for yet another dive. Uprighting the mecha from the half-crouch Sonic's attack had left it in, he waited until the last second before lashing out. Whether it was pure luck or skill he wasn't sure – perhaps all those years of fighting a supersonic hedgehog had paid off – he laughed gleefully as the great hand of the mecha managed to slap the plane's wing clean off as it came in for another dive. With twin screeches – one from the plane itself, one from its pilot – the Tornado fell to the ground with a clash. Fortunately it was a low fall, but it was still a dangerous maneuver with a great risk of injury.

Panicking, Sonic hurried over to his friend to make sure he was okay. Calling, over and over, looking for signs of life, he was relieved to see the fox attempt to crawl out under the debris.

"Sonic, watch out!" Tails coughed, pointing behind him. He was mostly unhurt, though still stuck under various parts of the wreckage and unfit to fight. Noting his worried expression, the hedgehog turned around from trying to help his friend, very barely missing a swipe that could have broken his neck with the impact. With a snarl, he ran back to the mecha. Now it was personal. He aimed for another spindash to the reinforced glass bubble, hoping to take out it like the Mantis (though preferably without the screech – then again, he supposed, it wouldn't make any difference this time no matter how much of a sound it made upon destruction).

Eggman glowered at his opponent, very much suspecting the glass would break if there was another hit. He backed a couple of steps, bringing up one of the arms to aim at the blue hedgehog before him. With a snarl of his own, he let lose a salve of deadly gunshot, hoping against hope to get a hit in. No such luck, though indeed he was not out of luck all together – while Sonic busied himself with jumping back from the approaching weapon, he didn't hear Tails' strangled cry behind him.

"Watch out, Sonic!"

It was such a silly thing. A harsh slope, a muddy one at that, littered with a tangle of vines. Unable to both look behind him and avoid the gunshot, Sonic took a jump back only to slip and slide down the slope with a surprised yell. Shouting in triumph, Eggman followed, using the claw-like hand to grab the dazed hedgehog in a vice-tight grip.

"Damn it!" Sonic cursed as he felt himself forcefully lifted off the ground. He struggled fervently, but to no avail. He was caught. Had his ears still been functioning, he would have heard Tails terrified scream, but instead he focused on trying to breathe as the mecha squeezed painfully tight, forcing a cough from his abused abdomen.

"You're mine!" Eggman whispered fiercely, his tone almost possessive. Laughing manically, he wasted no time. The mecha sprang back, quickly leaving the sobbing fox behind as he took off into the jungle, a tight grip on the very much pissed off hedgehog. Tails continued to scream angrily for over a minute after they had gone, painfully dragging himself out from under the remains of the plane, shouting for his brother, Sonic, Sonic, come back… You deaf idiot, why did you run off…

Nothing. The jungle was quiet around him, as if there hadn't been a battle there at all. The only signs anything had occurred at all, beyond Tails and the broken Tornado, were the bullets lodged into the vegetation, along with some broken plants and prints left in the ground.

Tails stood on shaking legs, leaning against the remains of his plane, defiant tears in his great blue eyes.

"Sonic, I'm coming!"

If Sonic had thought the recent days had been rather dull, this trip more than enough made up for it, if for all the wrong reasons. He had been hauled through the woods in the fierce grip of the mecha, like some sort of deranged doll in the hands of a very, very bad child. Gasping as he was manhandled through the trees, with an additional bonus of the occasional insect slapping against his face, he sighed in relief when they neared the base and slowed down. The place in question appeared to have been built into a cave of some sort, neatly camouflaged by trees and bushes, actually looking unusually inconspicuous as far as Eggman's creations went. Suppose he was learning to be sneakier after all these years.

Bringing the mecha to a stop in a large building that must have served as a garage of some sort, Eggman lowered its arm before exiting the machine.

"How very nice of you to stop by, Sonic. Let me show you around my new place, won't you? I won't lie, I had no expected you… so soon. I mean, I hadn't even announced my plans yet! Fortunately for us, I always plan ahead and I have just the place ready for you. Just hang in there while I get it ready for you…"

Sonic rolled his eyes at the excited doctor. He may not have heard him, but he had heard enough Evil Overlord Speeches to have a good idea over what was being said, anyway. With a slight cough, he tried uselessly to shift in the mecha's grip, very much angry with himself for being captured – and so easily, too! The fox would never let him live this down… as soon as he'd freed him. Hopefully.

Eggman wasn't taking any chances. He knew that the moment the mecha loosened its grip, the hedgehog would break free... and quite likely trash everything around him, too. Not to mention, almost certainly fly straight for the doctor's throat. As a result, he decided to ensure that the hedgehog would be going quietly. Even as he called for back-up from within the base, he raised the mecha's other arm over the hedgehog's unprotected head.

"Hey, wait, what are you... owww..."

Following a surprised yelp, Sonic stopped struggling, head lolling forward as the massive arm was raised again. The mecha had hit him square on the top of his skull with its massive gun, knocking him out. With a low groan, Sonic fell limply to the ground as the mecha released him, several robots quickly appearing from within the base to lift him and take him to his cell.

Truth be told, the doctor had not yet been fully prepared for the hedgehog's arrival. His plan had been to remain hidden in this Chaos forsaken jungle, where his base would, he had hoped, remain completely hedgehog-free for once. He did not think Sonic would have come all the way here to search for him even after his planned announcement two days from now. The missiles had been aimed just hours earlier, still awaiting the last minute tweaks. Blast that conference for bringing the hedgehog and his furry friend here - and they had even had the nerve to not send him an invite. Him! The greatest mastermind on the planet! No one rivaled his knowledge on robotics! Well, he'd show them. Two days more, he told himself. Just two more days, and the world will be yours.

Still, he was at least somewhat prepared. At this point he had plenty of experience when it came to dealing with troublesome prisoners of all kinds and one of his first steps when assembling a new base had always been ensuring that it came complete with a set of heavy duty, hedgehog proof cells. And so, he happily led the hedgehog, still out cold, to his new "home". Good thing he had that cell waiting already!

At first glance, it looked much like a typical prison cell, three of its walls dull grey and bereft of any decorations. The fourth side was made up a thick array of metal bars, stainless steel coated with chromium. They had been especially prepared for the hedgehog... just in case he found his way down here. No spindash could break through them. Intentionally, he had made the cell rather tiny as well, as to not give the hedgehog enough room to build up speed. It measured only around 3 by 3 metres, no more. There were no objects in the cell - no bed, no washstand. The only thing that stood out was a small drain in one corner, though it was much too small to allow any means of escape.

Sonic was unceremoniously dumped on the floor, the door quickly shutting behind him as the robots left him. Raising himself to his hands and knees with a groan, he attempted an angry glare at the doctor, though he was still feeling far too woozy to stand up properly.

"Enjoy your stay, hedgehog! I've business to attend to, but I'll be back soon!"

With an exaggerated flourish, Eggman sketched a bow at his prisoner before leaving him alone. He knew that the hedgehog would be too dizzy to speak with right now anyway - he wanted to gloat with him fully conscious - and indeed he had other matters that needed seeing first. He would be making sure to put aside plenty of time for his new prisoner, however. Cackling as he left, Eggman all but bounced away.

Sonic meanwhile was rubbing his head tersely, noting a faint red stain on his glove when he removed it. Lovely. He had been sore enough as it was, he didn't need a concussion to boot. Fortunately, his mind was already feeling more alert and carefully he stood up, inspecting the cell for any signs of potential weakness. Gradually feeling more like himself again, he felt over every bar, knocked on the walls and inspected every part of the floor and ceiling. No apparent weaknesses. Naturally, he tried a couple of spindashes but were disappointed at the results. He couldn't build up any real momentum and whatever the bars were made of, they were strong. Sighing, he decided that his best course of action for now would be to wait for Eggman to return for his first gloating session. Reluctantly, he sat down in one of the far corners, arms crossed behind his head.

Roughly an hour lately found Eggman returning. He appeared to have dressed for the occasion, freshly showered, his moustache still slightly damp, in new clothes and polished glasses. Sonic had seen him approach but hadn't bothered to get up from his sitting position.

"Well, here we are!" the doctor grinned at him. I know, it's not the first time I have you in my grasp, but as I'm sure you noticed, I've learnt a few tricks when it comes to prison cells… Time for our little introduction talk!"