(Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the characters, all credit goes to Sega. Please support the official release).

Chapter 7: A Father's Sacrifice

As everyone was searching for Gwen, Shadow received a call from one the G.U.N. soldiers who went to investigate her family's farm.

"Yes? What did you find?", asked Shadow.

"We searched the premises and...we found two bodies. We brought them to the morgue and now the mortician wants to speak with you", said the soldier.

Shadow acknowledged this as he hung up and teleported to their location. When he arrived at the morgue, he was greeted by the G.U.N. soldiers and the mortician, who was a tall black raven. On two metal tables were two figures covered by white sheets.

Shadow looked at the tables with a solemn expression on his face, "This is them? How did they die?", he asked.

The mortician looked at the covered bodies, "Well...even though they were already in a state of decomposition, I was still able to examine them for cause of death. The soldiers discovered the deed to the house in one of the bedroom drawers, revealing their names.

"The husband, Donovan, was found slumped over a table by the front door. He had a single stab wound in his chest, so I deduced that he had been killed when he answered the door, meaning the slave traders had knocked and waited to be let before striking.

"As for the wife, Patricia, she was found in a dried pool of blood a few feet away from the door, with a pair of scissors in her hand. There were signs of a struggle, meaning that after her husband was stabbed, she tried to fight back.

"I discovered a large axe wound between her neck and left collar bone, meaning one of the slave traders had attacked her and she fell over. There was a small drop of blood on a chair by the table where all this went down.

"The table itself was laid out with crude arts and crafts supplies, all of which are now covered with dust. Considering the state their bodies were found in, they had been there for at least three and a half months", he said.

Shadow looked at the bodies again before sighing and running a hand across his face, "Those bastards...they really did murder Gwen's parents right in front of her before kidnapping her, the blood on the chair must've been from that cut she had on her leg. Eggman was telling the truth", he said.

Just then, Shadow's communicator went off. He clicked it to answer the call, "Yes? Who is this? What is it?", he said.

"It's me, Shadow. Eggman found out that Gwen ran off and now he's having a panic attack", replied Rouge's voice.

Shadow ended the call and teleported back to G.U.N. HQ, where he spotted something truly peculiar: Eggman was indeed panicking as he had grabbed Sonic by the shoulders and was shaking him like a ragdoll.

"How could you just let her run away?! She had nearly died twice from wandering around outside on her own, and you just let her run off?! What if she's hurt? Or worse? You have to find her!", he shouted.

Sonic, now dizzy, managed to remove himself from his grasp. "Calm down, Eggman. We're gonna find her, we promise. We won't let anything happen to her", he said.

Eggman tried to calm his heavy breathing, he was terrified to think of what could be happening to his precious baby girl and meanwhile he was stuck here, unable to do something about it.

Just then, one of G.U.N. soldiers had approached the group.

"Did you managed to find Gwen?", asked Shadow.

"No, but someone just hacked into our systems. We're getting some sort of transmission from an Eggman base somewhere outside of Central City", said the soldier.

Eggman gasped in shock, "That's impossible! I'm right here and that base should be empty, save for the hanger where I keep unused mechs. How are you getting a transmission from there? Who is sending it?", he said.

"Well, come see for yourself", said the soldier.

Everyone followed him to the main control room, where everyone gathered in front of the large computer screen. As they looked, static appeared on screen before it cleared up and revealed a familiar face.

"Starline?!", everyone shouted.

That was right, Dr. Starline himself appeared on screen, a smug grin on his face as he fiddled with his glove.

"Ah, if it isn't Sonic and his dear companions. But I'm not here to speak to you all, I wish to speak to the one and only Dr. Eggman", he said.

Eggman pushed his way towards the screen, "What do you want now, you duck billed imbecile? Now is a very bad time for me, and what are you every doing at one of my old bases?", he said in frustration.

Dr. Starline smirked and laughed, "Oh dear doctor, now is actually the perfect time for us to speak. After all, I have something very precious to you...something sweet and innocent you recently...", he said in a low sinister voice.

Eggman's eyes widened in shock and he could feel his blood run cold, his body began to shake with barely suppressed anger. He slowly approached the screen, his fists clenching.

"Where...is...she? Where...is...my...daughter?!", he asked through clenched teeth.

Dr. Starline smirked once again, "She's alive, I can assure you. And I promise not to hurt her...much, if you accept my deal to join me. I know all about your project to build a new Roboticizer to help the physically disabled, but you have too much potential to waste on something so trivial.

"So... I'll make you a deal, dear doctor: you join me and we can try once again to eliminate Sonic and his pesky friends and finally achieve world domination! In exchange, I'll let the poor girl go. In fact, I'm even open to the idea of you continuing to raise her.

"After all, you're no spring chicken. It's always great to have a backup plan in case mortality catches up to you, and what better plan is there than raising you own evil protege to carry on your legacy?

"Or...you can refuse and I will make sure that child doesn't get to live to see her next birthday. But don't get me wrong, I'm not entirely heartless, I do promise to at least make her demise quick and painless.

"Anyway, I'll be kind and give you exactly forty eight hours to comply with my demands. You're a smart man, doctor, I'm sure you'll be more than willing to take me up on my offer. See you then, and don't take too long...the poor girl misses her Papa!"

Just then, the transmission was cut off. Everyone looked towards Eggman, who stood there seething with rage, teeth and fists clenching and his breathing heavy.

"Um...Eggman...?", Sonic asked tentatively.

Suddenly, the doctor let out a thunderously loud scream of anger as he punched the screen.

[Time Skip]

Gwen shivered in her small cell and just stared blankly at the far wall. She had only been there for three hours, having woken up from her hypnosis induced slumber, and already she had bruises from the beatings she had received.

When she had woken up, she immediately became scared of Starline, who explained he was going to hold her hostage as a way to coerce Eggman to join him. When she heard this, Gwen tried to escape but Starline grabbed her by the back of her shirt.

Fueled by fear and desperation, Gwen reached over to bite Starline on his arm, causing him to drop her. She then kicked him in the shin as hard as she could before bolting off. She managed to make it to the door, but she was unfortunately too small to reach the doorknob.

Starline caught up to her and proceeded to beat her for her defiance, he didn't hurt her too badly but just enough to make sure she had understood the mistake she had made. He then locked her up in a cell that was almost too small even for a young child.

A long gash ran along her right side from one of Starline's boots that had struck her harshly. The wound wasn't bleeding anymore, but still throbbed painfully. The cell she was in was small and dark, which cause her to have a small panic attack.

There was still a slight claustrophobic feel to it that made her heart race in slight panic and fear. The soft drip-drip from a pipe helped ground her from its constant pattern and also stopped her from drifting into unwanted memories.

Memories of being locked in a dark cage in a dark room, with only the sounds of children crying and men laughing or yelling.

The sound of heavy footfalls made Gwen's breath catch in her throat and she glanced to the door and watched as Starline strode in with a smile on his face.

"Well hello there, my dear. How are you liking your stay?", he asked mockingly. The young hedgehog just looked back to the wall refusing to even acknowledge the platypus.

This didn't seem to please him because the next thing Gwen knew, she was being pulled to her feet by one of her quills. She cried out in pain as some of the wounds opened and her aching body was screaming in protest.

Starline paid her no heed and dragged her to a small cell that could barely fit a six year old child like herself in it. Gwen's eyes widened as she was shoved into the room and she turned to face the man who had put her in there.

"You may come out when you learn how to be a grateful person, after all...I could've simply disposed of you immediately, but you're my bargaining chip to get Eggman to join me!" Starline growled and slammed the door shut.

The room was plunged into darkness and Gwen screamed in fear. She rushed at the door and slammed her shoulder into it but it didn't budge. She then tried again and again till his shoulder was bruised.

Next, she tried slamming her little fists against it but all that did was earn her a sprained wrist.

"I can't…can't breathe", she muttered and clawed at her chest trying to get the air that just didn't seem to be there. Tears stung her eyes and flowed down her cheeks making the small cuts on her face sting slightly.

In a vain attempt to get out, she lifted one of her small legs and kicked with all her might and gave a chocked sob when nothing happened. Her left ankle was sprained and her fear was growing.

"Please…I just wanna go home...I want my Papa!", she whispered while curling into a ball in the corner of the small cell. She sat there crying for what felt like hours, until she felt like she had no more tears left to shed.

[Time Skip]

Eggman was pacing back and forth silently raging at himself and anyone who dare come near him.

"We have to get over there now! Starline has my baby girl, and I won't rest until I've made him pay for doing this to me?", he shouted angrily.

Everyone looked at him in astonishment, fully convinced that he truly did love that little hedgehog and would do anything for her.

"Now hold on a second, Eggman. We need to act carefully here, we can't just rush into things", said Sonic.

"As odd as that is to hear coming from him, Sonic is right. We need to come up with a plan, if we just head in without a plan then we could potentially be putting Gwen in danger", said Shadow.

Eggman placed a hand against the wall, trying hard to breathe and calm himself down. He knew they were right, if he just jumped in head first without thinking, then he could put Gwen in danger. But he couldn't help how he felt, his perfect little angel was being held captive by a complete psychopath.

At that moment, he had thrown caution to the wind. All he cared about was getting his little girl back, and no one was going to stop him. "I...I need some air, if you'll excuse me", he said as he walked outside.

"I'm gonna follow him, just to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid", said Knuckles as he followed after the doctor.

"So, what's the plan? How are we going to get Gwen back?", asked Tails.

"I suppose we could ambush him, we could have Eggman go to him and pretend to accept the deal. Meanwhile, we'll be lying in wait and spring out at just the right moment", said Sonic.

"That's not a bad plan, but we need to take into account that Starline might have a trap waiting to counter us. We need to cover all the bases", said Shadow.

Before they could discuss this further, they all heard a loud pained shout coming from outside. They all ran to see that Eggman was gone and Knuckles was lying on the ground with a bruise forming on the back of his head.

"Knuckles, what happened? Where's Eggman?", asked Sonic.

"He...he punched me in the back of the head and ran off to go get Starline. I've never seen him so angry before, it was like he was possessed!", Knuckles groaned.

"We gotta go after him! He could very well be walking into a trap, and putting himself and Gwen in danger!", shouted Amy.

[Time Skip]

Gwen shivered as the cold seeped into her thin body, she hadn't eaten in the last two hours and her small body was rumbling and trembling as her empty stomach grumbled and protested for food.

Starline had let her out of the small room which was a great relief for her but had then started a new form a punishment. He picked up a bucket of ice cold water and dumped it on her, nearly scaring her to death and drenching her from head to toe.

He did this a few more times until she looked like a dog who had been caught in a rainstorm, and she was shivering from the cold. Her ears were pinned flat against her head from the pain, fear and cold. Gwen had been put pack in the small room but she didn't shout or try to get out this time.

This time she just sat there with her head buried into her soaking wet lap, sobbing and begging for Eggman to save her. The whole time she had been in Starline's captivity, she was reminded of the slave traders who would physically abuse her and kept her in a cage like a filthy animal.

The door suddenly flew open and Gwen watched as Starline walked over to her and stood in the door way. The platypus was smiling evilly down at the broken child who just whimpered and went back to curling up into a ball.

"Well, aren't you going to say something...brat?!", Starline asked but Gwen remained silent as stone save for her whimpers. She didn't even glance his way, she just sat there with tear filled eyes.

"Seems I need to teach you another lesson", Starline growled and stepped forward. Gwen's eyes widened slightly but closed when she felt him grab her by the shirt collar again. At that moment, she felt a rush of despair, and the fight she had been keeping hold onto was lost.

She felt so little and insignificant, and alone in this scary place without Eggman, Metal, or anyone nearby to comfort and protect her. It frightened Gwen so that she freely started weeping.

"Please stop...please!", she begged as she wept, fully convinced that this time...she was going to die.

Her cries went on for several minutes until her ears twitched, hearing something. It was the sound of electricity crackling and someone screaming in pain. Gwen looked up and gasped when she saw Metal Sonic standing behind Starline, tasing him in the back.

Then, he roundhouse kicked the platypus across the room, catching the young hedgehog in a thick blanket just before she could hit the ground.

"Metal! Big brother!", Gwen happily cried as she nuzzled her soft cheek into Metal Sonic's cold metallic exterior. He let out a few joyful bleeps as he hugged his adopted organic sister.

Just then, they both heard a loud stomping noise. Starline shook off his concussion and noticed a large shadow looming over him. He slowly looked up to see that it was revealed to be Dr. Eggman within his Egg Emperor mech.

"HERE'S EGGY!", Eggman shouted in perverse glee.

He then immediately attacked with the mech's spear, Starline quickly dodged and used his Tricore to run up it.

"I must say, Eggman, this is quite the grand entrance! But I did not hope this would all come down to a showdown between us, I did not wish to embarrass you", said Starline.

Flying up to the head of the Egg Emperor, he switched to the Tricore's power aspect and tried to strike it in the head with a punch, but he was swatted like a fly.

Then, Eggman looked for Starline in the Egg Emperor mech after the platypus took cover. As Starline continued to hide, he tried not to panic and begins to formulate a plan.

Thinking about how Eggman must have had an escape route built into the command tower, Starline took into consideration the height of the tower, the speed at which he could escape, and the prep time to launch the mech and fly back to the tower. Deducing that the hangar was not too far away and there could be more mechs in storage if Eggman was piloting an older one.

While this was going on, Eggman looked down at Metal Sonic, who was swaddling Gwen in the blanket while using his internal heating system to warm her up.

"Metal, I'll handle Starline myself! Take Gwen and get out of here! More than likely you'll run into Sonic and his friends on the way out, you'll both be safe with them. Don't you dare let them interfere, this is my fight!", he called out.

Metal Sonic nodded but as he tried to leave, Gwen reached her little arms out to Eggman. "Wait, Papa! What about you? Are you gonna be okay?!", she called out.

Eggman looked down at her with a loving smile, "Of course I'll be alright, my princess. You stay with your brother and Sonic and his friends, they'll keep you safe while I deal with the mean old platypus that hurt you. I promise that when all this is over, we'll go on a family vacation somewhere nice. Now go, remember Papa loves you!", he called back.

Gwen looked up at him unsurely but all she could do was stay swaddled in Metal Sonic's arms as he flew out of the facility, "I love you too, Papa. Please be safe", she whispered.

Once they were gone, an annoyed Eggman called out for Starline not to run away but to face him with dignity.

"Come on, you coward! Stand your ground long enough so that I can destroy you! I'm gonna make you pay for what you did to my precious daughter!", he shouted. Suddenly, Eggman spotted a giant fist punch up from the ground.

Meanwhile, Metal Sonic exited the building and flew as far away from it as possible. That was when Sonic and his friends suddenly showed up, they saw the state Gwen was in and became concerned.

"Gwen, what happened to you? Where's Starline? Where's Eggman?", asked Shadow.

"That mean platypus hurt me and threw cold water at me to punish me, but then Metal came and saved me. Then Papa appeared in a giant robot and he's fighting that mean platypus, but he told us not to get in the way", said Gwen.

Everyone gasped in shock, "He's fighting Starline by himself? No way!", said Knuckles.

"And he doesn't want us to intervene?", asked Tails.

"Well we gotta get in there and help him! Knowing Starline, he'll pull some dirty and underhanded tricks!", said Sonic.

He was about to race inside, but then he was stopped when Shadow grabbed him by the arm.

"What the...? Shads, what are you doing?", he asked.

"Didn't you hear the part where we're not supposed to interfere? Besides, this is Eggman's fight. Starline crossed him and threatened his child, so as a father, he needs to fight this battle on his own", said Shadow.

Sonic and the others looked at the base in the distance, hearing the noises of the battle echoing across the landscape. Gwen clung to Metal Sonic tightly as she buried herself in the blanket, shivering from the cold and her anticipation.

[Time Skip]

Upon seeing the fist come up from the ground, Eggman shot at it but soon found himself mech-to-mech with Starline piloting the Super Eggrobo. As the two mechs clashed, Starline tried pleading with Eggman to listen to him.

"Come now, Eggman! Join me, we can rule the world together! We can even take turns raising that little girl to be our successor, she may be young and ignorant now but children's brains are like bread dough!

"So easily moldable and they absorb so much like sponges! She'll become an evil genius in no time, and she'll rule the world with great prejudice. It'll be glorious!", he shouted.

Eggman snarled angrily at him, "Even if I still wanted to rule the world, I do not share! And I do not settle for less, not to mention that you're nothing, Starline! And I'm done with that chapter of my life!

"Thinking about everything I did...the horrors and the countless amount of damage and fear...I don't want to cause pain anymore! My life back when I was Mr. Tinker was so much better...

"I would rather go back to the peaceful life I had as him, back in Windmill Village, and bring my sweet little girl Gwendolyn with me!", he said.

Starline's jaw dropped in confusion and disbelief, "No! You can't do that! You can't just throw your life away like that, not for some little orphaned waif you don't even know! And you certainly cannot waste your potential being some carpenter in the middle of nowhere!", he shouted.

Eggman shook his head, "I'm sorry, but I can't be that man anymore! I never should've gone back when you restored my memory in the first place! I had a new life that I actually liked. I had a family, and a village that loved me, people who appreciated me for what I did!

"But now, I have a second chance! That little girl, my sweet baby girl Gwen...she has given me a chance to turn over a new life. To change, to be the man I was meant to be. I want to go back to that peaceful life again.

"I want to raise my daughter, watch her grow into a strong and kind person and grow old and die happy knowing I made the right choice. Maybe someday you'll understand there's much more to life than being evil and creating mindless machines", he said.

Starline refused to listen, he claimed that he was doing all of this for Eggman, but the doctor retorted that Starline was wasting his time, wrecking his stuff, threatening his family, and just ticking him off.

The Egg Emperor deflected the Super Eggrobo's shots and sliced at it with its spear, eventually stabbing it in the torso. Acknowledging Eggman as the superior mech pilot, Starline came to the conclusion that he chose the wrong machine to face him.

The platypus ejected himself from the mech and launched a devastating attack on the Egg Emperor called the Tricore Blast that put the mech out of commission. Before Starline can claim victory, Eggman emerged from the rubble.

"You played yourself, like the fool you've always been. I had specifically chosen the Egg Emperor for our battle once I realized it was you that raided my Power Core reserves. I knew that your obsession with my past exploits would give you logical tunnel vision.

"And I knew that you would use the Power Cores' power, however you utilized it, to its fullest extent. Due to that, I knew that you would deplete that power just to make your point!", he said.

Not willing to give up, the platypus attempted to attack Eggman with a Multi-Tool Heel Spur, only for the doctor to catch him by the leg and slam him onto the ground. As a last move, Eggman removed Starline's glove and dropped it onto the ground, stomping on it as hard as possible. The Tricore cracked under the pressure before it shattered to pieces.

"It's over now, Starline. You've lost, so just give up already. You messed with and my family, and now you've suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands on the man you idolized the most. If you have any dignity left, then just stay down and quit!", said Eggman.

Starline had descended into a more unstable state in utter disbelief that his plans were all for nought, he reached into his vest and pulled out what looked like a detonator.

Eggman gasped and too a step back, "Wha...what the heck is that? What are you doing?!", he shouted.

"This thing in my hand is a detonator for a high yield explosive, once I press the button, this place will be blown sky high! And you along with it!", shouted Starline.

Eggman's jaw dropped, "What?! Are you truly insane?! That's suicide, you'll blow up too!", he said.

Starline laughed like a lunatic, "Exactly! That was my backup plan if you refused my deal and I somehow lost my little captive, if I cannot rule the world then you don't get to either! If I'm going down, then you're going down with me!", he screamed like a deranged maniac.

Then, Starline pushed the button, which activated the bomb deep in there underground levels of the base. The explosives were attached directly to the structural points of the base, weakening the foundation so that the whole place would come crumbling down.

More rumbling happened all around them, leading to debris falling from above. Eggman spotted this and tried to convince Starline to move before he was caught up in it, thinking he could still try to save him.

However, Starline had descended into a more unstable state in utter disbelief that his plans were all for nought and he simply laid on the floor, laughing like a mental case.

As more debris fell, Eggman was unable to reach Starline before a large piece of debris fell on top of the platypus, resulting in a sickening crunch. Eggman ran off as Starline was crushed to death. More explosions went off as the building began crumbling down like a domino tower.

As Eggman ran, a chunk of debris fell on top of him, a loud crack was heard. He screamed in pain as he could feel his legs being crushed, he struggled to free himself but the debris was too heavy for him to move on his own.

As he struggled, he looked up and saw one of the mechs falling towards him along with more debris. Realizing that there was no way he would be able to escape his fate, Eggman stopped struggling and waited for the end to come.

"Gwendolyn...my baby girl...I'm so sorry, please forgive me", he whispered as he slowly shut his eyes.

[Time Skip]

Sonic and his friends sat outside, a safe distance from the base. Knuckles had started a campfire since it was getting dark out and cold winds began to pick up.

Amy sat Gwen near the fire so she could warm, keeping the blanket wrapped around her body. Tails had left a little bit ago and came back with a thermos filled with hot soup for her.

"How are feeling, kiddo? Feel better?", asked Sonic.

Gwen took a big sip of the soup, relishing in the warmth that trickled down her throat and filled her belly. "Yeah, much better. I'm glad I'm not gonna get sick again, I don't like being sick", she said.

Just then, they were all startled when they heard a loud explosion. They looked to see the base crumbling to pieces until it fell in on itself and collapsed into a pile of rubble.

"Holy Chaos! Eggman!", shouted Sonic.

"Papa!", shouted Gwen.

They all raced over to the wreckage as fast as possible; Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles and Metal Sonic immediately started digging through the rumble to find Eggman, all while Amy and Tails stayed off to the side trying to comfort the crying Gwen.

Just then, they heard Knuckles gag and then vomit off to the side.

"Knuckles, what's wrong?", asked Sonic.

"I found Starline, or...what's left of him!", Knuckles said as he turned away to puke again.

Starline's body had been crushed into a nearly unrecognizable puddle of blood and body parts, the sight of which made the echidna feel sick. Shadow turned on his communicator, "I'll radio ahead for the hazmat team, and also for a medical transport vehicle just in case", he said.

Sonic and Metal Sonic continued combing the rumble for any signs of Eggman. Meanwhile, Gwen buried her face into Amy's chest as she cried; her tears were staining her dress, but she didn't care. All that mattered was this poor sad child in her arms.

"Papa...Papa...please be okay...", she mumbled in between sobs.

"It'll be okay, sweetheart. They'll find your Papa, he'll be okay", Amy said trying to reassure her.

Just as the G.U.N. hazmat team and an ambulance arrived on the scene, Metal Sonic let out a series of frantic beeps whilst pointing at a pile of debris. Sonic raced over and pushed aside a piece, revealing Eggman's bald head.

"Hey! Hey, we found him!", he shouted.

Shadow ran over and helped move aside the debris, then he helped Sonic and Metal Sonic pull him free from the pile of debris and carried him over to an empty patch of grass.

Eggman laid on the ground not moving or breathing, his legs mangled and broken. Amy kept Gwen's face hidden so that she wouldn't see the state her Papa was in.

A few paramedics climbed out of the ambulance and ran over to Eggman's side, one of them placed an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose while another began performing CPR. Sonic and his friends watched as the paramedics tried their hardest to revive the doctor.

Gwen kept crying, she didn't see what was going on but she heard everyone talking about Eggman's condition and it filled her with fear and sadness.

Please be okay, Papa...please, she thought.

Just then, Gwen heard something that filled her with a small sense of hope.

"He's breathing! We've got a pulse, but it's weak! We need to get him to the hospital!", shouted the paramedics.

They loaded Eggman onto a stretcher and covered him with a blanket, so Amy finally allowed Gwen to peek out and see him now that his injuries were covered up. Metal Sonic walked up to her and took the small child from Amy's arms, holding her close as he walked over to the ambulance.

He stepped inside and sat down near his creator as the paramedics closed the door and climbed into the ambulance, driving off towards the hospital.

"We need to head over to the hospital ourselves as well, G.U.N. will take care of the mess here", said Shadow.

"I'll fire up the Tornado", said Tails.

Meanwhile inside the ambulance, Gwen sat curled up in Metal Sonic's arms as they rode in the ambulance. She looked over at Eggman, who laid on the stretcher unconscious. He had an oxygen mask on his face, electrodes attached to his chest and an I.V. connected to his arm.

He almost looked just like how she had when he first brought her into his base after that bear nearly killed her, so weak and frail and fragile. She tried to reach out to touch his forehead but Metal held her back.

He let out a few sorrowful beeps, as if to indicate that Eggman was too injured and weak, and that she shouldn't touch him. Gwen looked back at Eggman with sad eyes, the only sound that could be heard was the car noises the ambulance made and the beeping of the heart monitor.

"Papa, if you can hear me, I'm sorry you got hurt because of me. I love you so much, Papa. I want you to be okay, and I want you to wake up. Please wake up, Papa. You promised you'd be okay and that we'd do fun things together", she said softly.

Gwen stared at Eggman's still body as tears fell from her eyes, she cuddled up close to Metal Sonic who wrapped the blanket around her and pressed her close to him to warm her up.

"Please wake up, Papa...please", she whispered.

[To be concluded...]