Stability
(RP with Usiosan on AO3)
Genre: Hurt/comfort.
Trigger Warnings: Experiments, Blood, Torture, Threat.
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Chapter 1:
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Spurred on by the sound of helicopters and drones buzzing overhead, Sonic kept running, despite the extreme exhaustion.
His legs felt like lead, feet pounding into the gravelled ground, as he tumbled over open terrain. Rain was inevitable from the bleak, cloudy grey sky, and as he felt another wave of dizziness hit, so was falling unconscious.
It had been at least four days. He was uncertain; after the first injections, everything melted together and he spent forever suffering from intense vertigo and a high fever. Whatever he'd been fed didn't agree with him and soon after, dehydration reared its head, followed by lethargy and even hallucinations.
By some miracle, he'd escaped GUN's holding facility. Details were fuzzy and he was uncertain how they'd contained him. He vaguely recalled an invisible wall — a forcefield?
There was a bang in the distance; a bullet whizzed by his ear, causing him to stumble, tumbling uncontrollably down another grassy hill. He landed hard at the base, dizzily looking up to see a dense, massive forest ahead.
He couldn't recall this place, but the forest offered shelter from GUN's overhead armed assault. Another bang rang out above, and he felt pressure in his shoulder. Warm liquid trickled down his back, but his attention was focused on the overgrown trees.
As he dashed for the forest, his vision began blurring and darkening, the fever burning in his veins and pulsing behind his eyes. He yelped as he fell into a shallow pond of ice-cold water, soaking his fur as he messily waded through, until he was on dry land again, this time shivering and shuddering from both the cold, his fever, and something much more sinister. Something he hadn't felt in a long, long time.
Fear. Genuine fear.
His ragged breaths sounded deafening in his own ears, the buzzing of aircraft above approaching. He sounded unrecognisable to himself, and it terrified him. Had he ever been this scared? He couldn't remember.
He continued advancing, without a clue of his location, or if he'd evade capture. His heart pounded, but his pulse felt too weak to keep up with it.
Amidst the leafy shadows and dark green shades of the forest, he caught a flash of something red and metallic. A logo — a familiar one, but one he couldn't register the significance of.
With the last of his waning strength, he put everything into crashing through the hollowed portion of the structure that resembled a massive pipe.
In his last moments of consciousness, he heard more gunfire from above, but this time, it sounded like a different set of drones…
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Eggman chuckled softly, relishing in his early morning routine. He'd already enjoyed a good, and to the Doctor's standards, healthy breakfast, trimmed his moustache to perfection yet again, and crossed another Sonic-Free day off his calendar, making two, fun-filled weeks of inventions sans a high-speed hedgehog dismantling them.
Seemed today's weather shifted from sunny, to one hundred percent chance of rain. Oh well, bad weather wasn't going to ruin another perfect day; it often deterred a certain blue blur from going for long jogs, stumbling on hidden bases and the Doctor's latest scheme was only in the draft phase.
As he walked to the bridge, he suddenly got a notification from Orbot. Sonic had been sighted nearby. He groaned and trudged to the control panel; good things eventually came to an end.
"Where is he?" Eggman inquired, staring into his advanced, modified telescope.
"Coming from the starboard side, sir." Orbot replied.
Said human veered the scope, noticing the recognisable blue streak in the distance. He switched lens to magnify. While gazing, he did a double take. Sonic seemed ready for bed, not a battle; the bags under his eyes were as visible as Shadow's black fur in snow, and he swayed off course several times.
The doctor growled at this foolishness, even for the hedgehog; Sonic was in no condition to fight. Sending bots would be a waste of time; the fun would be over in seconds, even if it was in Eggman's favour, for once. He did have to wonder why his rival acted like this.
"Have an Eggsniper fire a warning shot. That'll deter him from this direction." The human grumbled, without looking away.
He heard the sound and saw how Sonic dodged and fell, ungracefully, down the hill. He then spotted the GUN squadron behind the hedgehog, as he struggled to rise, but succeeded and ran. Just as he started, Eggman noticed an armed soldier lean out of a chopper and shoot the blue one.
The doctor gasped at the blatant cruelty. Sonic wasn't attacking; he was being hunted. No wonder he didn't look great. He watched the hedgehog run this way, possibly for the forest providing shelter. But he did spot the blue blur moving frantically; he was terrified.
Eggman left the telescope and pressed a button nearby, summoning his arial defence drones. He then returned to the scope, and instantly yelped when an up-close Sonic leapt briefly into his range before disappearing.
A sudden, distant rumble indicated the inevitable seconds later, followed by a dull thud, with shrill metallic ringing. Eggman sighed; the speedster hit one of the main exhaust pipes.
Orbot hovered over. "Doctor, Sonic's ins-"
"I know!" Said human groaned.
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Sonic's world shifted in and out of darkness. He couldn't hear anything, but his heartbeat. His head was pounding, his throat burned with every breath, and his right shoulder throbbed, as warmth trickled down his back.
He shook his head to try alleviate the dizziness. He accidentally put weight onto his bad arm as he rose, and grunted as he slumped on the ground, in pain.
Gunfire rang out above his head, bullets chinking and ricocheting off the metal surrounding him. He may have imagined it, but it seemed a different set of drones had entered the fray.
From his crumpled spot, Sonic opened his eyes, blearily watching what was happening, but with his strength completely depleted, everything fell around him and he finally succumbed to unconsciousness.
The doctor was smart to only send a miniature drone into the collapsed pipe to scan the surroundings. It soon found the unconscious Sonic and analysed him, sending a report back to Eggman. It was a long list, too long to read, especially as he realised within a few words that the hedgehog was running out of time.
"Hmm, bring him inside." He announced to his medical Eggpawns.
They all beeped in unison with surprise and stared at their master.
"What? I'm not going to let this opportunity go to waste. Now get out there, or you'll wind up on the scrapheap!" He demanded after the explanation.
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"...age, did you calculate Sonic's oxygen intake? He's small, but his heart and lungs exceed his other organs in size. Should the bots retrieve another oxygen tank? It's Sonic we're talking about; his intake is immense. I'm monitoring him right now; that harsh wheeze isn't vanishing. I should've put him on a ventilator after extracting the bullet, but you and I both know confinement isn't the best option."
He felt numb. The incessant ringing in his ears was still there, and as he drifted up from darkness, he saw red behind his eyelids. A bright light was above him.
Was he outside? He wasn't cold anymore. His body registered something under him. It felt solid, but had some slight give, as if made of rubber.
The throbbing in his shoulder returned, but dulled, and he felt something sticky and stiff slide as he breathed. A bandage? Gauze?
He heard heavy breathing behind the ringing, and realized in his confusion it was his own. He tried to shift, but his body wouldn't move. It felt like every ounce of energy had been sapped from him.
He involuntarily gasped as a flash of needles, electricity, pain and endless, never-ending exhaustion ravaged his mind. He could feel those needles, the forcefield trapping him and stealing every drop of Chaos Energy housed in his body.
His breathing morphed into wheezing, as he registered someone… talking? Not to him, but above him. About him?
"… intake… organs… size… right now… ventilator… confinement… best option..."
His eyes snapped open; they'd recaptured him. The panic granted him enough energy to thrash and tumble off the table. He crashed onto the hard ground with a sickening smack.
The doctor flinched, upon hearing the sudden noise, and glanced over. He didn't expect the hedgehog to awaken so soon, nor that he'd vanished from the bed. He noticed the Mobian on the ground, thanks to the table's visible underside. Sonic's entire form shook as he rose; he grabbed onto the operating table to support himself.
'Don't ask what happened to him.' Eggman told himself. He'd already analysed the long list of injuries and chances were the mental side was worse.
"Easy... you're safe."
Sonic heard the same voice continue, realising it was no longer speaking above or about him, but to him.
Something in him, that'd been trying, and failing to get control of himself, recognized that voice. He knew that voice, and with effort, managed to level his breathing; his tremors slowly vanishing, until they were reduced to a light tremble from the exertion of standing, as he sat knelt sideways.
"… Eggman?" His voice was raspy and he softly coughed to clear his throat. "What…? Where are…?"
He unconsciously reached up, placing a hand on his shoulder, and flinched when he felt not fur, but the thick square padding of gauze and medical tape.
Although Sonic was slowly becoming accustomed to it, uncertainty was still a foreign feeling to him. His green gaze wavered, as he slowly looked back up at Eggman.
He saw movement in his peripheral; they weren't alone; robots were present, although they obediently stood to the side, silently waiting for a command from their creator.
He gulped, throat feeling thick and sore, telling himself that was the only reason he was uncomfortable. He wanted to move, to escape, unsure and wary of being so vulnerable, with his arch enemy only metres away. But with how weak he was, the fever flowed through him like poison, he wasn't in any shape to flee.
The doctor observed Sonic glance from him, to the bots, to the door. Plotting an escape or an attack? Doubtful, since he knew his own condition was bad. No, he was being overly cautious to the point of treading on extremely fragile ice. He was trying to maintain a suitable distance from possible threats. The table he'd been lying on was the only barrier he had.
Eggman assumed he was paranoid and trying to establish a defensive nest simultaneously.
"There's an open juice box above you and a footstool beside you. I doubt you'll be able to stand for long periods right now." The human stated.
Sonic glanced up, spotting the juice box, but kept his eyes on Eggman and the robots. His body and mind were on high-alert.
He tried to calm down by focusing on the facts. This was Eggman; the doctor wasn't like GUN. He wouldn't lace food to make him ill; that wasn't Eggman's style.
Sonic knew his body needed sustenance and fluids, especially to regain his strength. Eggman himself was already a threat, but if GUN came looking for him…
He unsteadily climbed to his feet, keeping his attention on the scientist and his mechs. He reached the juice box and slowly began to sip, resting on the footstool. The fluid eased the thickness in his throat.
"Where am I?" Then, with more fear and trepidation in his voice, "…Where's GU — What did you see?"
Eggman noticed the blue one's quills rising, or rather, what remained. He saw some fall out whenever the hedgehog moved. Some were singed, cut or even plucked from the roots. The latter would've certainly been painful.
"First off, you're on my airship. The location... irrelevant. Second, I saw enough to know staying in that forested location was a bad idea. My robots repaired the ship, so I could leave safely before anything else unexpected occurred."
Upon hearing Eggman's words, Sonic became aware of a rumbling sensation beneath his feet, now realising was always present, but he'd relegated it to his subconscious in favour of focusing on current issues. They were on the doctor's airship alright, and airborne.
The discovery that he was in a confined space, without a way to leave if the human tried anything, sunk in. He really disliked this feeling — vulnerable and too weak to fight back.
At least they were away from GUN. He needed to get someplace safe, and despite what his rival said, he didn't know if he'd call this airship "safe".
What he needed to do was get in contact with Tails, Amy, maybe even Knuckles, but he didn't know if he could just… ask Eggman.
'Focus.' He'd still need strength to escape, without collapsing in the process.
For years, Sonic had a more "act now, ask questions later" attitude to escaping rough situations, but experience taught him it was a very flawed tactic; one that often got himself, or less forgivably, others in trouble. Analysing situations first would've helped him avoid a lot of unnecessary peril in the past.
He was too dizzy to move right now. The drugs GUN had pumped into him had yet to wear off, making the room feel like it was perpetually spinning.
"… Where are you taking me?"
He saw the scientist observe him and suddenly felt self-conscious. GUN had taken a lot from him. Blood, tissue, energy, spikes… The list went on. He knew he was in bad shape, but was wary how Eggman would react.
To answer the question, the doctor pressed a button on his glove. "Ever been to my airship graveyard?"
The hedgehog heard the shutters rise behind him; sunlight seeped into the room.
Sonic flinched at the sudden brightness, but he slowly looked out at an ocean as blue as him. Nothing but water for miles, passing beyond the horizon.
So, he was trapped on Eggman's airship, over an ocean. Wonderful. Also, they were headed to an airship graveyard…
"Why there? What's your MO? And get these-" he growled in frustration, staring at the robots surrounding them with an accusatory glare, before sighing. On any other day, he'd be raring to break robots, even trying to break his record. But with dizziness overtaking him, his fever intensifying, and exhaustion looming, he just wanted to sleep.
"Are you - Am I gonna stay in here? With these guys?" He waved a hand towards the bots. "You know I won't go down without a fight." It was evident it would be a feeble attempt at best, with how tired he was.
Eggman tsked and grinned, slightly unnerving the hedgehog. "Sonic... you and I both know you're in no condition to fight... and, after narrowly evading detection, I'm in no mood to play your game. I have no schemes up my sleeve right now... so relax, rest up, because you look like you need it."
He walked over to his desk, typing on his computer.
"As for why there and my MO, that's where I'm handing you over to Tails." He couldn't help but glance at Sonic's disbelief, but continued before the hedgehog could jump in. "I've sent him coordinates to our location. He should arrive a few hours after us. I just hope he believes my story, but he did mention you disappeared the week before."
He pulled up his email history. Sure enough, it was the fox's pseudonym account in the reply section with a familiar profile pic. No doubt, no hacks, nothing faked.
"As for your last question, no, you're not staying here. A certain someone..." Eggman put his hands behind his back, as though protecting something on the desk. "…Reminded me you're still inducted into my Empire, meaning you're my guest and no bot can harm you. However, that doesn't mean they can't escort you to your room. You have access to several areas of the ship; just don't let it go to your head."
Sonic was relieved knowing Tails was coming, but being above water made him edgy, no matter how he'd tried to get over his fear of water.
He flinched; he'd been with GUN a whole week? That thought made him queasy; he tried to block painful memories that swirled in his mind. It felt like a blur, but he could make out some images - tufts of his fur and quills, vials of something glowing an ethereal blue, a bloody needle, pain, pain, pain…
He suppressed those thoughts with a slight, imperceptible shake of his head, focusing instead on what Eggman said. He wouldn't stay in the med bay?
Before he could protest - he didn't have the strength to - he was led away by a robot, and escorted down a dimly-lit corridor, which opened to a long hallway, with thick glass windows, showcasing the bright blue sky and endless ocean. If he wasn't so tired and held captive (he didn't care what Eggman said; he wasn't a guest if he couldn't leave), he might've found it beautiful. Eggman had an undeniable taste for the fantastic and extravagant. Of course, he'd ensure there were multiple viewing areas on his airship. The blue one knew Eggman's airships weren't just for battle.
They entered a large storage room, outfitted to become a hastily-made guest bedroom. Sonic took one look and wanted to leave; he wasn't spending his time in a cage, but sickness dictated otherwise. With his fever slowing him down, the bullet wound fresh, and the awful memories swimming through his head, exhaustion won out over stubbornness. He was out before his head hit the pillow.
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His sleep was plagued by night terrors. Masked humans surrounded him, pulling at his fur. He couldn't speak, he couldn't move, and then he couldn't breathe. He shot up with a gasp, sweating and shivering. He threw himself off the bed, dashed out of the room, into the hallway and returned to the windowed corridor.
It was pitch black outside, and he knew they were still over the ocean. He rested his forehead on the window, trying to control his shaky breaths. It felt cool against his skin. He didn't know how long he stayed there.
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To be continued…