I wake up shrouded in the same darkness, not knowing if it's morning or still night. When I sit up to assess my unchanged setting, I see Sonic lying on his back near the corner of the room, asleep and breathing extremely lightly. It's unsettling how little he breathes in unconsciousness, as if, at any moment, he'll stop. I don't think he even had the energy to pose for his slumber; arms straight at his sides and legs similarly unbending. This reality of Eggman's hold on his captives is ugly as can be. And that belief is only reinforced by the quiet sniffling of another prisoner crying... yet another whispering unceasingly to themself... the empty cell across from mine...

I sit for a while, silent with only my thoughts to ground me. I try to map out Robotnik's castle in my mind based on what I've seen so far. His lair, the ballroom, the endless winding hallways, the hundred steps down to the dungeon... it's impossible. I don't have enough information to work with. If I hadn't been blindfolded when they brought me in, I could figure it out. Or at least I could map out a sufficient escape route with minimal improvising. He's probably made this place into a fortress, so I'll have a tough time finding my way out if I don't pin down the basic layout first.

I don't know how much time has passed, but suddenly I can tell Sonic's awake. I hear his body shift against the hard floor and look up from my distant, unfocused stare. His face is turned towards me and his hands are on his stomach. There's no smile to brighten his tired face. Does he know anything about the architecture of this place? A single door leading out, or even what it looks like from the outside? I'll have to ask when he looks less broken. I can't get the question out now, while his eyes stare hopelessly into mine. Those exhausted eyes...

"Hey..." he utters, his voice more gravelly than before. "Got the time?"

I can tell he meant to make me laugh, but I'm hurting instead. It takes everything in me not to let my expression crumple while he's looking. Because throughout my year of chasing the Experiment and his crazy master, I've seen a lot of fucked up things – but this is the worst. And I feel it'll stay that way until I witness gory torture or death. The possibility that I might makes me shudder, which Sonic takes as a reaction to his joke.

"Sorry. Guess I should work on my material..." His eyes close and he lies still, but I can't tell if he drifts off into resting again. I think about telling him it was funny, but what's the point? Might as well save the lies for Eggman.

Then, the corpse-like hero asks another question, quietly with his eyes still closed. "How did you end up here?"

What a question... I can't bring myself to answer at first, too ashamed to face my own failure. I force a sly chuckle for his sake and respond, "You're chatty for a prisoner."

"... It's been a while since I had someone to talk to." He sounds so drained.

"The Experiment caught me," I tell him.

"Shadow?"

"Yeah. I chased him for a year on an assignment to try and contain him again. After a while I told G.U.N it was a useless effort, but they were adamant that I could do it. I should've just stopped there." I'm staring vacantly at the floor again while I fill Sonic in on my biggest fumble; in my peripheral, I can see him slowly opening his eyes and shifting to prop up his torso.

"But I didn't... up to that point, I had been able to evade getting snatched, even when... Shadow-" I tense up, saying his name, "- had the upper hand. Wasn't quick enough this time, though. He saw me before I saw him, and that was all it took." My eyelids lower with the growing inferiority I feel retelling my own capture. "He pinned me before I could even blink. I guess he really is the Ultimate Lifeform."

"And if you could go back?" Sonic asks. "Would you try again?"

I drag my gaze up to his. Is he trying to gauge my character? Determine if I'm a Good Guy™? If he is, he's in for disappointment. "No. If I could go back, I would reject the mission and avoid Shadow altogether."

Just as I expected, Sonic looks disappointed. Too bad, Speedy – I'm not a Good Guy™.

He pries, "Why?"

"Because now I'm forced to fight," I nearly spit back. "And I still will, because I don't want them to win. I don't have any choice if I don't want to end up like the rest of you. But I'm not going to pretend like my motives are pure, so..." I have to reel in my frustration to avoid getting angry and taking it out on him. I let out a huff. "We should stop talking."

Sonic stares at me a few seconds longer than I'd like, then returns to his sleeping position. I don't know if he's closed his eyes again; I'm not looking at him anymore. I've crossed my arms over my knees to rest my chin, wondering again what time it could be and when the Doctor will return. I want to beat his face in, throw him in this cell, and release the other prisoners to help finish him off. Sitting in harrowing silence, I start formulating a plan to do just that.

The heavy metal door cracks open and I hear the screech of the hinges through the hall. The other prisoners start making noise; I stand and approach the bars, ready to put my plan into action, but... I was hoping to see Robotnik entering the stone corridor. Instead, it's a few of his robots, each one rolling on spiked wheels. They stop in front of the first cell and I notice the noisy captives are thanking them fervently. What the hell? Why...?

Multiple thin arms are thrust through the gaps in the bars before the mindless drones raise their own arms towards them. I'm curious and worried over what I see attached to the end of their metal limbs: needles. I can't help my face twisting in disgust when the robots stick the skinny prongs into six waiting arms. After a second, they pull back, and I swear I can hear some of the prisoners crying with joy. Are they... hooked? Addicted to something that's being pumped into their system to make them weaker and more willing to comply? Shit...

Eggman's minions turn around and do the same with the next cell. I can see those victims' faces a bit easier, and it does look like they're smiling, however frail they may be. Blue liquid fills the needles, quickly disappearing into the prisoners' bodies and making me sick; because what in the world is that stuff? And what kind of effect is it having on them? Then, I hear a dragging sound behind me, and turn to see Sonic shuffling over. He's hunched and his feet don't - probably can't - leave the ground.

Once he's close, I ask in a hushed tone, "What are they doing? Should I be preparing to dismantle some bots in a minute?"

He shakes his head and weakly grips the bars. "No, it's okay. It's just our nutrient injections."

"Injections?" I repeat, incredulous. "I never trust that word. It doesn't freak you out?"

"Well... it freaks everyone out at first. But it's the 'nutrients' part that's important. They're giving us the fuel we need to keep living."

I shudder. "I wouldn't call it living. You're telling me there's vitamins in those needles?"

"More than that, but essentially, yeah. Somehow he fits dairy and protein and stuff in there, too."

"Instead of letting you eat." My nose crinkles as the robots get closer. "That's fucked up. The Doctor needs to be slaughtered."

"Before I saw what goes on in here, I would've disagreed with you. Now, I think you're right... but that's damn near impossible-"

"Like hell it is. I'll take him down, I promise."

They get to our cell and only one drone raises a needled arm. I take a step back, still skeptical of letting anything be put into my system.

"I don't know, Sonic..." I look over at him and his eyebrows strain into an upward curve.

"It's okay, really. When's the last time you ate – at least a day ago? You'll need it if you want to keep going."

He's... right. Annoyingly right. I am hungry, and I've been ignoring the peckish tug at my stomach since I woke up. I stare into his pleading eyes a little longer, then let out a sigh and offer my arm to the robot. "Fine, I'll trust you. Let's get this over with."

"UNAUTHORIZED RECIPIENT," the metal minion says, its lifeless voice stilted.

I glance at Sonic, confused. "Uh... what?"

"CELL MEMBER 147: ROUGE THE BAT.

INJECTION STATUS: DELAYED.

TIME REMAINING: 23 HOURS, 50 MINUTES."

I pull my arm back through the bars and whisper to Sonic, "What the fuck does that mean?"

"I've never heard that before. Not even when I got thrown in here..." He hesitates to continue. "Maybe... maybe Eggman is trying to weaken you."

"UNSCHEDULED CHATTER DENIED. CELL MEMBER 101, PROVIDE LIMB FOR INJECTION."

"I reject my injection for today," he says, a little more heft in his voice as a flicker of life enters his eyes. "Give my fuel supply to Rouge."

"What?" I mumble, looking over his skinny frame. "Are you crazy? You need it way more than-"

A loud beep sounds from the drone and its eyeplate flashes red. "UNAUTHORIZED DECLINATION."

Then, the needle extends quickly from its arm, shooting towards Sonic and sticking into his skin. He exclaims and I can see the refusal in his expression, but the transfer is finished before he can even pull away. Suddenly the idea hits me to take the needle, and I lunge to grab it – or even the string it's connected to. But it gets yanked back at the same time, zipping out of the cell too quickly and just barely evading my outstretched fingers. Damnit! Instantly enraged, I let out a frustrated yell and turn to thrust my arm through the bars.

I want to dismantle the stupid things, rip off even a piece of them; but they're positioned too far away, completely unphased by my outburst and unable to be touched. The urge to yell curses at them rises, but I quell it and pull my arm back. Saying a single word to these hunks of metal is useless. They weren't built to care. They were built to serve the man who wants to conquer the world. And with their task complete, Robotnik's machines make their exit and leave us to continue stewing in our misery.

I'm pacing back and forth across the cell, feeling irritated while my mind races. My entire plan hinged on Robotnik coming into the prison at some point, and he might not even show up – in hindsight, not the best scheme I've ever thought up. But with limited options, I'm floundering. There isn't much I can do to get past the bars besides pretending that Sonic is driving me mad. Unfortunately, now that's looking like a very stupid plan.

My cellmate braces himself against the wall and slides down until he's sitting, then says, "Don't pace like that. You'll waste energy."

I groan in aggravation, then halt my steps. "I should've just killed him when the Experiment brought me to his stupid lair."

Sonic stares, puzzled and concerned. "You wouldn't have been able to. As long as Shadow's around, Eggman's invincible."

"I know, I fucking know – that goddamn bodyguard of his... ugh! There's some way to get the upper hand in all this, I know there is, I just have to think!"

I plop down on the hard cement floor and prop my elbows on my knees, dropping my head into my palms. My eyes close and Sonic remains quiet while possibilities and guestimations flood my brain. If Robotnik does come in at some point, I have my first shoddy plan as an option; but is there another choice here? Is there any other way I can get out of the cell and have a chance at attacking the overlander, without him catching on before I can make it happen? He's gullible on occasion, but still so smart that I fear nothing I can think of would work.

What if Shadow collects me in his stead? I can't win in a 1v1 against the superweapon. Maybe Sonic could help me – he likely would – but then what happens if he decides to hit us with a Chaos Blast? Then the others would be injured, too. Or if he uses the shocking power he apparently has, would it take us out of the fight entirely? Would he zap us until we're unable to move a muscle? A fight like that might convince the Doctor that we deserve the death penalty...

After a while of running my mind in circles with nothing to show for it, I look up and see Sonic lying down. He's faced away from me, towards the wall, resting on his side. That injection really did give him what he needed, because now he looks more like he's napping than lying dead. He isn't wearing himself out with flimsy plans. So maybe I should save my energy. With no more thoughts to think and no company to keep, I decide to take a nap myself; anything to distract from the irritability I feel.