Chapter Text
Sonic tapped his chained feet against the cold metal of his cell. It was the only small form of entertainment he could get at the moment. The cell was empty with the exception of one metal shelf hanging low on the wall, ment to serve as his bed.
His foot taps quickened, but he took great care to not make them too loud however. He didn't wanna alert any badniks that could be nearby.
He'd learned that lesson near the beginning of his imprisonment. When he kept banging his body against the wall. At the time he thought that maybe if he put enough force into it, he could break through the wall and find a way out. But that was easier said than done.
Even if he did break through the wall he couldn't fight, not as long as these shackles were on him. Eggman finally learnt his lesson and put special energy shackles on both his arms and feet, preventing him from doing anything.
He couldn't spindash or roll. Hell, he couldn't even run, and certainly couldn't hope to perform a boost. But disregarding all that, even if he could somehow defend himself long enough to escape, he was still in space. Locked aboard the death egg. Shuttles were in the lower parts of the death egg, so it wasn't entirely impossible to escape back to Mobius.
But even as an optimist, Sonic knew that those odds were bleek. And to top it off, the shackles on his lims weren't just normal energy shackles.
These shackles were capable of shocking him. At first only eggman had the button to deliver the shock, but after his admittedly pathetic escape attempt, he'd given all badniks authorization to shock Sonic whenever needed.
And those shocks are not light shocks. They were bad. But Sonic, stubborn as he is, was determined. For the first two months he'd still perform the occasional escape attempt.
And each time the shocks would get worse and worse. He could only assume his arms and legs under the shackles were burned. But he had no way to check.
The cycle repeated itself for a while. And after every failed attempt eggman would come to gloat. Until one day he'd gotten too upset. He'd said something that pushed Eggman too far. And made any hope of him escaping on his own disappear.
(A few months ago)
“Aww what's wrong you blue rodent? Upset that your little escape attempt didn't work?” Eggman said in a degrading tone, his loud and raspy voice further worsening Sonic's headache. “Where's that foolish determination? That stubbornness? Don't tell me you've reached your limit?”
Sonic's eyes burned with a rage like never before. He jumped to his feet in spite of the pain, in spite of the shackles and began to shout at eggman, whose eyes grew slightly fearful as sonic began his tirade.
“LIMIT!? LIMIT!? DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT LIMITS YOU FAILURE?!” Sonic couldn't stop himself. If tails were here he'd calm sonic down. Explain to him how unwise it was to provoke eggman like this while at his mercy.
But Tails wasn't here…
And that fact only pissed Sonic off more..
“NEITHER YOU OR ANY OF THE USELESS BADNIKS YOU MADE WERE ABLE TO STOP ME! YOU HAD TO GET HELP FROM THAT JACKAL!” Sonic's voice was louder, more defiant than it had been in a long time, not since he'd thought eggman had killed tails during one of their first adventures together.
“YOUR JUST A CRACKPOT FAILURE OF A SCIENTIST!”
The room went quiet, the only sounds being sonic heavy breathing, and the various sounds of nearby machines. All the badniks had stopped to watch the scene. Even they knew that sonic had just struck a dangerous cord in their creator.
Eggman's expression changed. From slightly afraid…to FURIOUS…and then to something even scarier…A completely blank face…
Sonic felt his shackles vibrate. His heart raced as he realized the grave error he'd just made. “H-hey. Doc…E-eggman…Ivo?”
Eggman said in a scarily monotone voice.
“…Set shock power to the maximum it can go.”
A metallic voice coming from god knows where, almost instantly responded.
[WARNING: THAT WOULD MAKE ANY FUTURE SHOCKS BE POTENTIALLY LETHAL! WOULD YOU LIKE TO ENABLE LETHAL FORCE?]
Eggman responded again, his voice still monotone, but slightly more insistent, letting his calm facade slip slightly and revealing some of the rage he felt. He glared at Sonic, who's expression looked genuinely scared for the first time since his imprisonment. The both of them looked at each other as Eggman calmly confirmed. “Yes.”
The vibrating in his shackles grew stronger, the passive energy becoming slightly painful on its own. Sonic began to sweat until Eggman began to speak again.
“I will be having some of my troops come in to…keep an eye on you, Sonic. Since I clearly can't allow you to be left alone, even in your chains. Remember. Each of them has the ability to shock you at any moment. However now, if they shock you even once. You will die. So attempt another pathetic escape again at your own downfall. And things will stay this way until I finally crush your friend's pathetic resistance. And after I do? You'll be shot into the vacuum of space. Goodbye you mettlesome blue rodent. We will not meet again.”
As Eggman left sonic balled his fists up and sat in the corner of his cell. Using any strength he had left to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. He couldn't let eggman see him scared, see him cry.
All he could do…was sit and wait…
(Present day)
Eggman kept to his word. Every now and then someone would come into his cell. They'd beat him, sometimes within an inch of his life. But whenever he slept he'd wake up without a scratch, but still feeling the pain.
But he couldn't fight back. Or they'd kill him…
‘Kill me early’ Sonic internally corrected himself. Eggman was planning on launching him into space soon. They'd be a horrible way to go. Some days he'd thought about fighting back against the people hurting him, allowing himself to be electrocuted to death.
‘At least then I'd die fighting. Like an actual hero.’ Sonic thought to himself. Before shaking his head, a small fire of determination ignited within him as he thought to himself.
‘No. I am Sonic the hedgehog. Hero of Mobius, and earth alike. He'd saved worlds, beaten the odds hundreds of times. He would not let eggman win.’
He'd just have to hold on…A little bit longer.
And as he thought that sirens blasted the entirety of the death egg. At first Sonic thought that Eggman was finally ready to have him killed.
But as the energy shackles that had been restraining his hands and feet disappeared and fell to the ground, Sonic realized what this was.
It wasn't his execution. It was his opportunity. His chance. Now he could fight unrestricted, with no fear of being killed for it.
They'd given him an inch. And he was gonna take a mile.
Zavok appeared and walked towards his cell as sonic processed his newfound freedom, saying some threat that sonic didn't really hear. But Sonic, determined to not waste what could be his only chance to escape, responded with something that sounded like confidence. “Let's see you try something now that I'm free!”
Zavok said with confidence. “Fool. Being out of your chains does not make you free.”
Sonic didn't waste any time beating zavok. He wasn't nearly as passionate and determined to beat him than on the lost hex for some reason. So he was much easier to beat. But after he did zavok disappeared into thin air, a weird distorted sound playing as he faded.
Sonic didn't have time to think about it. He finally had a chance to escape. He couldn't waste it.
…
Sonic sped through the deathegg running on pure adrenaline and hope, destroying any badnik in his path desperately looking for any shuttle he could use to get back to Mobius. Until he saw someone being surrounded by badniks. He quickly disposed of them and asked why and how the random person had gotten aboard the death egg.
He nearly cried from joy at the answer.
His friends had found out he was alive, and sent this recruit to save him. That's why the power malfunctioning happened when it did. It wasn't luck…it was a rescue. The rookie led him to the shuttle, and set the autopilot to Mobius.
Sonic rested on the chair. It wasn't the most comfortable but it was leagues better than the metal bed in his cell. As his eyes closed, finally getting some actual rest away from his enemies' grasp. He couldn't help but think one more thing before falling asleep.
‘Don't worry guys…I'm on my way. Just hang on…a little longer.’