Author's note: Poor, poor Sonic…

Chapter 5

"Oh, by the by, I thought about what you told me be about hedgehogs and rodents before. Thank Chaos for Wikipedia! I must say, it was quite enlightening reading, really. I was thinking that while I have you here as my "guest", I should remedy my previous ignorance and treat you as a hedgehog deserves. So, tell me Sonic, what would you rather have for dinner tonight – grass roots, or some nice fat slugs?"

Eggman had been pacing outside the cell, arms behind his back, eyeing his prisoner with apparent glee. Despite the insult, he was actually somewhat curious to hear the hedgehog's response to his words about his feral ancestors' habits. When he thought about it, he had never really considered what the supersonic hedgehog did eat besides those blasted hot dogs…

Sonic was eyeing Eggman carefully as he spoke, hoping against hope to understand what he was telling him so he could come up with a nice retort. He thought he read the word "slugs" on his lips… that couldn't be right, could it? Why would Eggman be talking about slimy invertebrates? Certainly he must have been talking about shotguns of some kind…

"You know you ain't got anything on me Eggman, I'll take you on whatever weapon you throw after me!"

That… was not the response the doctor had expected. Twirling his moustache, he raised one eyebrow while eyeing the hedgehog before him. There was something different about Sonic, wasn't there? He just couldn't figure out what it was…

"Cat got your tongue?" Sonic teased, the first few traces of a grin on his features. If Eggman was struck dumb, he must have done something right…

"You speak funny, too" Eggman mused, ignoring the hedgehog's remark. Indeed, Sonic was still speaking rather loudly and his words sounded unusually flat where usually they would be heavy with arrogance or sarcasm, at least as long as he was speaking with his nemesis.

Sonic was growing restless standing still in one spot for so long. Turning away from the doctor, he turned his full attention to carefully straightening one of his gloves, giving it his full devotion. Nothing like a theatrical pose to irk the doctor further. He didn't as much as flick an ear when Eggman banged his hand against one of the bars, annoyed with the hedgehog's apparent lack of attention. He was not one to be ignored, dammit! And yet, noticing the hedgehog's odd behavior, Eggman's curiosity grew. He had expected at least a start from the hedgehog from the sound of the hand against the cold metal, knowing Sonic's quick reflexes. Not enough to frighten him, no, but certainly earning that quick, instinctive tensing of muscles that he was well familiar with in his encounters with the blue blur. Sonic's lightning reflexes had proven vital to his survival and were extremely tuned…

"What's the matter with you?!" The doctor queried, now appearing both intrigued and annoyed. Though unable to hear the angry words, Sonic had turned around again and seeing the flustered expression on the human's face, he grinned widely. Whatever he was doing, it seemed to be working as far as riling Eggman up went. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot, knowing his shows of impatience had always annoyed the doctor. Especially while he was gloating.

Eggman on the other hand seemed to be pondering something, brow furrowed and humming to himself. He looked over the defiant hedgehog carefully, taking in every part of his appearance. Muttering something about how he usually would have been met by some stupid retort by now, he took note how the hedgehog had remained unusually quiet throughout their whole exchange, doing little but eyeing him warily most of the time. And when he did reply, his words didn't really fit with the rest of the conversation, did they?

After a moment longer, Eggman appeared to have come to some sort of conclusion. His expression, Sonic noted, looked both surprised and pleased, as if Christmas had just decided to come 6 months early. Intending to test his new theory, he put his hand into a pocket, retrieving a tiny intercom radio of some kind. He whispered something into it, followed by crossing his arms and waiting. Sonic glanced up at his hand, but couldn't even begin to guess what he was ordering into the small gadget. Calling for an attack or something? Retrieving robots to fetch him to take him somewhere else?

"What's the matter, Eggman? Out of insults already?" Sonic teased, having tired of the waiting game long ago. He didn't notice a small hovering robot, some sort of half-finished prototype not looking entirely unlike a somewhat oversized beetle, though still lacking a decorative hull, floating through the hallway. It wasn't a loud robot, but it did emit a constant humming which was clearly audible in the otherwise quiet hall. The beetle-bot was small enough to easily fly through the far end of the barred side of the cell, up against the back of the hedgehog who did not notice it at all as it hovered behind him. At this point, Sonic was convinced Eggman was just standing there to glare at him as some sort of new way of gloating, and instead of giving him any more attention busied himself by leaning down to wipe dust off his sneakers. If the doctor wasn't going to do anything but stand there and look stupid, he could turn his consideration to more important tasks… like maintaining his good looks.

Eggman, on the other hand, widened his eyes at the apparent lack of reaction from the hedgehog. Certainly he should have noticed the humming and whirring of the prototype and destroyed it as soon as it entered the cell. Sonic was usually so alert and unable to keep himself from destroying any of his creations... It appeared his suspicions were correct - only one final test left and he'd be certain. Once more grabbing the remote, he whispered a new command into it, followed by hurriedly taking a couple steps back as extra precaution. Three seconds later, the little half-finished robot exploded a metre or two behind Sonic, who didn't as much as flinch. The robot had been tiny and not especially powerful, going out much like a firecracker. Loud, but not large enough to cause any real damage. Causing no sudden heat or shockwave, Sonic didn't notice anything amiss until he saw the burnt remains of a tiny piece of metal roll past his feet.

"What the...?" He blinked and looked behind him, seeing what little remained of the prototype on the floor. Those burnt bits of metal and plastic hadn't been there before...

He didn't hear it, but he didn't need to either in order to know it was coming as he turned back. Eggman exploding into an evil laughter, slapping his knee empathically.

"Oh, this is rich, this is just fantastic! What's this, a little hard of hearing are we? Growing old? Tell me, how many years are you in hedgehog years? Or..." He stroked his chin carefully, thinking back. "Ah, I think I've got it now... It was the Egg Mantis, wasn't it? My ears were ringing after that horrible screech. But you... You were still standing in it at the time, weren't you? Oh, this is just splendid!"

While Eggman broke into another monologue, Sonic paled visibly, frowning. He could tell by the other's expression - Eggman knew he couldn't hear. And he was already captured. Crap. He huffed, crossing his arms and glaring at the doctor who was, for the sake of annoying the hedgehog and knowing he couldn't bite back, taking the opportunity to throw him every insult he had always wanted to tell the hedgehog, very much enjoying the change of pace where Sonic was no longer able to interrupt him with his own idiotic retorts.

Sonic grew tired of that speech far quicker than the doctor did, wanting to turn his back to him but not daring to do so, since he wouldn't be able to hear if Eggman was aiming a weapon at him or similar. Now that the gig was up, he wasn't sure what to expect next. The doctor in question was still going on and on, Sonic long having lost the interest in even attempting to read his lips, though he thought what looked like 'idiotic' was re-appearing quite often.

Eggman finished his little talk, walking up close to the bars and lowering himself almost to the hedgehog's eye level. Automatically, Sonic walked closer to him as well, a faint growl beginning deep in his throat. Oh, if only he could have gotten his hands through the bars to knock that smile off his face!

"Know this, you deaf little vermin. This changes everything. I'm going to enjoy this. Rest assured. We're going to have so much fun together, how does that sound? Oh, who am I asking... You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?"

He laughed again, caressing one of the bars in an almost gentle manner before standing up and turning to leave his prisoner.

Sonic had kept eye contact with the doctor, not willing to give him any more satisfaction than he could avoid, even if he was currently at a disadvantage. He didn't understand Eggman's message, but he could see in his eyes that whatever it was, it wasn't going to be pleasant for him. Glaring still as the doctor rose and finally left, he waited for a long time before returning to the corner of the cell, sitting down with a heavy sign. What kind of mess had he gotten himself to now? He had run off while disabled and gotten himself captured almost immediately. Even worse, none of his friends knew where he was or where to begin looking for him. Leaning back against the cool wall, he drew up his knees, crossed his arms over them and rested his head on his arms, eyes closed. It was going to be a long night.

Eggman, unlike his prisoner who was currently pining in his cell, was beyond thrilled. He saw before him simply countless possibilities now. The hedgehog was not going to be a problem anymore – their recent battle had already proven at what a disadvantage he was. No, he could take his time to enjoy toying with him, to show him just what it meant to lose one of your defenses. But what to start with? He tapped the side of the armchair rest, considering his options as he glanced at the screen in front of him, going over various hastily sketched up ideas.

In another part of the base, someone elsewas likewise very much considering the recent turn of events, though from a very different perspective. Several low curses were uttered, an ally was contacted and a decision was made. Now they just had to wait for the right time to strike.

Tails was sitting in the pilot's seat, arms wrapped around him. What to do, what to do…! He had no way of contacting anyone, no one to come to his aid. And more than anything, he had no time. He had to make a decision, fast. Either he could try to follow Eggman, or he could try to cross the vast jungle and find help somewhere and go from there. With the Tornado out of commission, he couldn't move nearly as fast as before. Well, he could never compete with Sonic's speed anyway, but he could fly pretty fast for short distances. Perhaps he could cross the jungle until he reached civilization again. The closest town could be miles away though, in any direction. It could take him days to reach someone. But following Eggman? He had no way to reach him, either. He didn't even know where he was, even if he was probably closer. And no matter which road he went down, he would have to leave his precious plane behind, waiting to be stolen or taken apart by anyone passing by.

Sighing miserably, Tails whispered fiercely to the air around him.

"Sonic, you idiot!"

The hours had taken their toll. The battle, together with the pent up nervousness and adrenaline following the hours of waiting, culminating with his unfortunate meeting with the doctor, had taken their toll. Sonic was just going to close his eyes for a second… which soon led to full blown, heavy sleep. Under normal circumstances, he would have done little but doze lightly in similar settings, but his imperfect senses combined with his exhaustion fooled his body into a deeper rest. When Eggman approached him again, this time flanked by two robust robots of vague humanoid build (sporting the classic Eggman-like characteristics, round-bellied and mustached), he was laying partially curled up into a ball, snoring lightly, quills drooped and ears lazily draped back along his skull, for all intents and purposes looking not entirely unlike a content sleeping feral puppy.

"Cute" the doctor sneered, though he also had to admit he was somewhat amused at the sight. He'd never seen his enemy asleep before – the hedgehog would never let his guard drop that low. He actually looked quite innocent when he wasn't blazing around at astronomical speeds and taunting you every step of the way. Rolling his eyes at the sapient before him, Eggman decided to wake his prisoner up so they could get started. He had a long list of activities planned, not to mention a tight schedule even without taking the hedgehog into account. Taking over the world required its time and planning.

Giving the hedgehog a few more seconds to make sure he wasn't bluffing, Eggman finally pressed the button on his remote to open the cell door. The sturdy robots – heavy duty repair bots, actually, usually working within the deep bellows of his crafts – had been hurriedly modified, now equipped with quite a few new tricks that he hoped would keep the hedgehog well "entertained" during their upcoming time to together. He very much looked forward to this – his only regret that he wouldn't be able to taunt the hedgehog all the while.

As the door opened, Sonic didn't as much as flinch, oblivious to all going on around him. That is, until he was roughly shaken awake by harshly being grabbed and lifted by the scruff of his neck. His eyes widened in instinctive panic and he fought viciously to get away. The scruff hold had been a good choice of grip, though – no matter how he twisted and turned, Sonic remained fixated in place. He kicked and punched, unfortunately not able to hurt anything but the air around him.

"Wakey wakey!" the doctor taunted, grinning at his prisoner. Still groggily coming awake, Sonic instinctively began to roll up, intending to spindash away, when he felt the other robot roughly grab his arms behind his back, handcuffing him, his hands held tightly together without any slack. Sonic would not be able to spindash away without risking serious injury to his arms now, leaving him immobile. The robot continued with his kicking legs, applying cuffs and chains. He could move his legs enough to walk, barely, but running was out of the question. The chains clinked noisily as Sonic still continued to kick as well as he could, never one to give up. As a final retort in this unfortunate situation, his mind raced for other means of fighting back. Settling on firing up a nice long string of imaginative curses and insults – in his mind at least marginally better than going quietly – Sonic tensed up once more when he felt the robot rush to apply the final restraint – a tight blindfold, tied so snugly around his skull that it hurt. With a gasp, Sonic froze. Now blind as well as deaf, he stopped fighting, uncertain what to expect or do. How did this all happen so quickly? Curse his lack of hearing, curse his slow reflexes! What did Eggman intend to do with him anyway? He felt disgusted with himself for not realizing when he was being approached, for not reacting quicker. He had never considered before how much his senses worked together to help him understand and react to the world around him. With one sense gone, it was if all the others had been dimmed too. He felt more vulnerable than he had in a long time.

"Let's take a little stroll, shall we? Oh, of course, you don't know where you're going, do you?" Eggman purred, motioning to his robots, now flanking Sonic on each side as he had been unceremoniously dropped to the floor. He took immense pleasure in seeing the hedgehog remain in place, not even trying to run off. This was going to be even easier than he thought.

"You can't see, you can't hear, isn't that just unfortunate? How are we going to reach our destination like this? Better make sure your other senses are still in order, don't you agree. Bots – why won't you do the honours?" At this point, he didn't care that the hedgehog couldn't hear him. He was going to have his fun either way.

Suddenly the hallway was filled with a surprised pained scream as Sonic received two strong electric shocks, one from each robot on his respective sides. Not having been able to see them coming, Sonic was completely unprepared and at their mercy. Eggman leered at him.

"Eggman!" the hedgehog roared as the shocks stopped, furiously lashing out as well as he could, shoulders squared, hoping he'd hit something at least, though he had no way of telling where the doctor was standing. No such luck as the robots simply shocked him again. And again. And finally, a last time for good measure.

Several moments later, Eggman smiled pleasantly as the hedgehog had stopped fighting, on one knee and panting. Wasn't he trembling just slightly, too?

Sonic shook his head meekly, trying to clear his mind, before tensing up again as he felt the jab of one of the bot's tasers against his left shoulder. Not shocking him, but… urging him on? It pressed painfully into his tingling skin. Wishing to simply lash out again but deciding he'd had enough of shocks for now, Sonic rose carefully, slowly walking in the direction he was roughly being pushed. Twice he received shocks for not complying fast enough, but at least they were moving ahead.

Heatedly, Sonic decided that this game of struggle – shock – repeat was getting old fast. He decided to obey, but only until they had reached wherever they were going. Hopefully a new chance for escape would show itself soon. He doubted Eggman would keep him blindfolded forever, he'd want to gloat to his face sooner or later… patience, hedgehog, he reminded himself. Wait and see what opportunities present themselves. He continued walking forward, uncharacteristically quiet, nerves a-jingle as he tried to be ready for anything but having no way to foresee anything going on around him, restricted to touch and smell to orientate himself. For the normally so alert hedgehog, this by itself was veritable torture.

"Clearly, your sense of touch is still working. How lucky for you!" the doctor smirked at him, clasping his hands together as he watched the clearly shaken hedgehog slowly stagger his way forward. He got no reply, not that he had expected one – he knew the hedgehog couldn't hear him, but he simply couldn't resist the opportunity to revel in this. It brought him great joy to see the former speedster carefully stumbling along, herded like mindless cattle through the hallways. He was bringing the hedgehog to his control room, confident that Sonic couldn't do anything there anyway. He wanted to enjoy this in full, perched in his luxurious seat. Perhaps even with a snack in hand as he watched his opponent struggling on the floor…

Upon finally reaching their destination, Eggman motioned to the robots that stopped pushing the hedgehog along. Standing proud as to not give the mad doctor any satisfaction, but very much terrified inside, Sonic huffed through his nose and turned his head from side to side, trying to see through the blindfold or pick up any sounds. Nothing. Damn. Eggman turned to him as he sat down in his chair, a most pleased expression on his face.

"Well then, let the games begin!"