"What did you do to him?!" Eggman boomed in shock.
Infinite fixed his glove, letting go of the hero completely. "He is in good enough shape to do everything required.
"Ohoho, not even! Just by looking at him he has multiple broken ribs, hence why he's desperately holding onto his chest, and don't get me started on his ugly face!"
Sonic gave no reaction, barely looking at Eggman's camera. Instead he stood still like a robot that hadn't been programmed.
"I want him fixed up in the med-bay immediately! I am not coming back to the Death Egg early, so Infinite, if he's not resting by the time I back... you know what I'll do."
"Ugh, yes sir."
"I want a word with the Blue Gopher. Alone."
Infinite nodded silently, teleporting away. It was the perfect chance. His friends could be safe, he could be out!
"Eggman loo-"
"Whatever you're doing to make him mad, you need to stop right now!"
"You don't-" Sonic coughed. "You don't understand what he's-"
"I need you in running condition! I never thought I would care about you Rodent, but I've never seen you so beaten up! Anything he's planning for you is-"
"LISTEN! It's important. He's blackmailing me: get them to safety-"
"Times up." Infinite stated happily, grabbing Sonic by the arm and bringing him back to his 'humble abode'. Eggman glanced down from where he was hovering in his Egg mobile, and spotted Tails.
The hedgehog plopped on his bed once more, with the villain standing right next to him. "Why isn't he leaving.. and wasn't I supposed to be taken to the med-bay?" Sonic wondered anxiously as he tried to stare Infinite in the eyes. The uneasy feeling arose once more: goosebumps covering his muzzle and skin patches, his eyes filled with emotion.
In that moment, Sonic felt cold. "What.. do you want?" He asked, not at all having the confidence to bring it above a mumble.
No words, only mysterious drawing closer with each step. Once he was basically on top of the hedgehog, he finally broke the silence. "Did you inform him?" He asked angrily, his words filled with boiling hot lava that was ready to burn.
Sonic answered neutrally with absolutely no emotion in his voice. "No."
"I apologise, I didn't hear that, tell me one more time."
"No!"
"LIAR!" Infinite yelled, giving the hedgehog the hardest blow to the stomach he'd ever received. The wooden bench he was laying on collapsed beneath him, sending him deep into the concrete floor below. Sonic made almost no effort to fight back. All he could do was try to breathe due to the pure amount of pressure being put on his chest. In anger, the jackal pressed his foot down harder and harder, the death stare getting to frostbite level.
Sonic wriggled like a worm to make room. Once Infinite's foot was slightly off of him, it was go time. In one swoop he flicked his legs up to kick him in the legs and spin dashed. It knocked the jackal back into the wall the tv was on, smashing it to bits.
Intimidatingly, Infinite walked slowly towards Sonic, making the atmosphere go red. "I don't believe the terms allowed you to fight back."
"You left me no choice. I was going to die."
"Haha, and I thought you were supposed to be 'the selfless hero'. Oh well, I might pay them a visit-"
"NO!" The hedgehog shrieked, pouncing onto the jackal, pinning him into the floor. "Eggman is going to keep them safe, I know it. If you want to hurt me so badly, do it. Never. Touch. Them." He scolded in anguish, his voice occasionally breaking from hurt.
Infinite threw Sonic off of himself like a ragdoll. He laughed satanically, soon summoning spikes, surrounding Sonic with their sharpness. "I can smell your fear." The jackal commented, drawing in close to the hero. "Your outbursts mean nothing. They amount to nothing. All it shows is how fragile and weak you are, begging for your me to not hurt your 'friends." He whispered furiously into the hero's ear. "It isn't the blackmail that is causing you fear, it is but my presence alone".
"You would need to use my friends against me if you're so 'fearsome'!" Sonic yelled back, trying not to get psyched out.
The spikes cleared a path for Infinite as he backed away. "Alright then, here are your new terms. Obey, or I will make you scream for mercy. Mentally and physically."
"Heh...you know I'll never do that."
"You will change your mind very soon, rat." Within three seconds, spikes disappeared, and Sonic's leg cuff lit up. One massive cry of pain boomed throughout the entire Death Egg, making the hero fall down to his knees. He couldn't focus on the world around him, and his vision was blurred beyond belief. It was virtually impossible for him to fight it, so Sonic took on the agony and got back onto his feet, though weak.
With his whole body aching terribly, the hedgehog took a defence position, awaiting the next attack, knowing any move the hedgehog himself made would be countered effortlessly. Suddenly, a ringing bellowed in his ears, basically deafening him and his thoughts, as Infinite followed it up with a jab to the leg, making Sonic fall over like a bowling pin. The jackal grabbed him by the same limb and yanked the hedgehog smash into the wall repeatedly with the broken tv.
Sonic tried to fight, but dealing with high voltage, a high pitched squeal in his ear, and the rest of his aching body, was just too much for him to handle; everything turned to nothing. The last words he heard were "Obey." before all his senses shut off.
...
When he woke from his unconsciousness, the first thing he saw was a blinding light being shined straight at him, eventually turning side to side, noticing medical tools all around him. Confused, Sonic lifted his head to look down at his lower body and took a glimpse at the pure amount of bandages.
"What happened?" He murmured aloud. "I look like a mummy!" Observing his surroundings, Sonic realised what had happened, and started to tremble. His eyes widened in terror as he heard the ever so smooth but intimidating voice.
"You brought it upon yourself." It stated in monotone. "If you had conformed, barely any injuries would have occurred."
"I'm guessing bedside manner is not your forte. " Sonic quipped nervously.
The jackal rolled his one visible eye, and sighed. "You constantly say the same, irritating speech, repeat battles, and constantly defy me. All outcomes every single time lead you to the same dead end. Why get no where, when if you obey, you'll get somewhere?"
The hedgehog stood up from the bed he was resting on, and got ready to fight once more."Because I don't give in. Being locked up here doesn't scare me, neither does the wounds, and you certainly don't either."
A chuckle was let loose by Infinite, making Sonic lower his guard in confusion. "I beg to differ." He slowly approached the hedgehog and teleported him into the security room. "I assume you were told about the constant survelience of your cell, correct?"
"Yeah, what about it-"
"There was some interesting footage I looked through while you were unconscious just before."
The tv went static before cutting to recorded tape. It featured Sonic curling into a ball on his bed, and other shots of him in his well-justified slump. This sent the rodent into a state of panic.
"All that fear building up like a ticking time bomb. Soon you'll explode, and realise who is superior." Infinite chuckled, his ego at its peak.
The hedgehog explained hastefully "I was worried about my friends! You were the least of my worries".
"Oh? Well then, elaborate on this clip."
It was when he was forced on the treadmill, which started to make Sonic filled to the brim with anger: towards himself. He had no words. "Am I really scared of him?" The hedgehog reflected nervously as more of the video footage played, revealing him as he dropped to the floor, completely zoned out. Once it had finally completed, Sonic fell back into the chair behind him, fazed.
"I am everything you fear." Infinite stated. "Every. Single. Aspect. I am the mysterious; the unknown."
"As long as I'm alive I won't stop fighting!" Sonic shouted in pride. He remembered about his friends, and what they had done to his life after all of their adventures. There was no way he could give up so easily after they all impacted his life so much.
Infinite replied with "We will see." as he grabbed Sonic's arm and teleported him to the run down prison cell. He quickly disappeared then reappeared, holding a tray of goo and muck. "Your dinner."
"I was starting to think you weren't gonna give me any baby food." The hedgehog gagged as he tried to drown out the sensation he was feeling. In disgust, he snatched the barely even, if not at all, edible food, and waited for Infinite to leave. Once he did, Sonic held his black nose, and shoved it as fast as he could down his mouth, trying avoid any of it touching his taste buds. He hurled at the..everything.. of what he had just consumed, rushing to the bathroom toilet. Desperately Sonic tried to not vomit as he brushed his teeth, and did his nightly routine.
When it was completed, Sonic collapsed on the floor beside his bed, and checked his communicator. "Come on Tails...Amy...or even Knuckles... I hope they got it, 'cause I really can't keep dealing with that whackjob." The time was ten at night, and through the semicircle window on one of the walls, he could see his home planet, shining with as much colour as it usually does. "God I wish I was back home.." He left his thoughts on a good note as the hedgehog finally got some rest, though not a very comfortable one.
...
The resistance was under extreme pressure.
"What can we do now that Sonic's gone?! He was our biggest weapon against that guy!" A small, whiney voice cried, buzzing around in headquarters. Vector eventually caught him, and exclaimed pridefully "What we've always done! Bash some badniks!"
"I never thought I'd say this, but Vector's right. With or without Sonic, we still need to give the people hope. All we need is a plan."
In agreement, Amy stepped forward. "That's what he'd want us to do. It's only been two days and the time is two hours before midnight though, maybe we should sort this out in the morning?"
"Sounds good. I'll keep watch for the night."
"Knuckles, you need to take a break from your whole 'dark knight routine'. A very soothing voice chimed, as the speaker flew down to the crowd of heroes.
"We need someone to! And plus, I'm the leader, it's my rules."
"Ugh, fine. I'll stay with him. Night darlings!"
Everyone said goodnight, wandering off to their quarters. It left the pair of gem lovers alone together, as they chatted, mostly bickered, back and forth. Mostly the conversations were about the master emerald and the war going on outside as they sipped their hot chocolates, but when the time was right, Rouge asked the question "How do you feel about Sonic being gone?"
He clearly was not prepared for such a heavy hitter, as the echidna turned away shyly.
"Come on you big red dope, I won't tell."
"But how can I trust you?"
"Because I miss him as well. Everyone does. I would be talking to Shadow about this but he's been of the radar since Sonic was gone."
"Yeah well," Knuckles looked Rouge in the eyes as he smiled sympathetically. "It's only been two days. That edgelord probably needs time, and Sonic will definitely be back. That's one of his most annoying qualities!"
"Am I seeing a soft heart underneath that shell?" The bat girl teased playfully, smirking back at him.
"Psh no!" In embarrassment, the red echidna turned away, giving her a slight push. After a couple seconds, some chuckles came from the both of them, as they realised how peaceful it was at night in comparison to day. They spent an hour reminiscing their past adventures, such as when the master emerald pieces scattered everywhere and they were both on a mission to find it, which lead to their first interaction.
For two days that already seemed like months, life had been nothing less of horrible. But for once within those two days, it finally gave them some type of fun. Even if it just was a small chat with some deeper questions, the talk was relieving, and time had felt like it had stopped, just to let joy into their lives.
The joy eventually ended, when Rouge and Knuckles spotted a yellow figure drawing closer by the second. The metal doors opened switfly when the bat pulled the lever, and once it had come inside, she closed them once more.
"Tails, what happened out there?" Knuckles asked, concerned.
"I tried to get to my workshop but there was an ambush waiting for me. I managed to fly away, but I can't go back there anymore, it's not safe! I was working on making the communicators' coverage further, so maybe we could track Sonic, but mine got destroyed by a badnik! I was so close to seeing if he was okay and-"
"Hold on there fox boy, you said there was an ambush?"
"Yeah, my whole place was covered front to back in robots! I really would like to talk, but I need to remake my communicator and it takes a while so-"
"No you don't Tails. Go to bed, I'm sure Sonic can wait until tomorrow."
"What if he can't Knuckles!? You didn't see what I saw when he got taken!"
Rouge sighed. "I can't believe it, but I agree with red. Kid, you need sleep, and plus, you won't think straight if you're tired." She shoved him off to a spare bedroom, and closed the door.
How could Tails sleep in a crisis like this? His brother's location was unknown, and same to his condition. A drive was settling in. But he reflected on what the two were going on about before. "It's Sonic! He's probably annoying Eggman to shreds right now! I need to be more relaxed... but it's so hard.."