Phantom Loyalty

Back on Planet

Sonic had lost track of just how much time had passed.

He had lost count after the medbay incident, he'd been unable to pick it back up and it had been... a while since then to put it bluntly.
He didn't have to worry about losing track of time for too long though.

Apparently Eggman's "no gloating" streak was only kept up until they stuck the ruby to his chest. It didn't take long after his talk with Infinite that Eggy came for a visit himself.
It went essentially how he figured his stay would go from the beginning. He came, called Sonic pathetic, and then started talking about his plans for the planet. Of course he held onto the finer, more important details, not wanting to give out too much info. Much to Sonic's frustration, nothing was said about his friends or who specifically did what. But overall it was a lot of blowing smoke up his own ass, just as Sonic figured it would be. That is until he got around to what was happening on the ground.
Part of his boasting went back around to how without Sonic there, he'd already taken about twenty percent of the globe in just over a month.

More than mildly concerning.

Sonic trusted his friends though. They could handle themselves. Even without Eggman filling in the gaps on who was doing what, he knew they wouldn't fall easily. Although it definitely made more sense on the front of why they hadn't come for him yet. He'd just have to be patient or find his own way out. It changes nothing at the moment. It's already what he was trying to do. He just had to stick with it now. No reinforcements.

Sonic had started to tune the doctor out after he started gloating about how he was using Sonic's energy to do it. It stung a bit and he'd already tried a handful of times to remove the phantom ruby prototype. He felt drained enough to know that Infinit and Eggman weren't lying about it at this point. Either way- He needed to focus on what was more important in the conversation. He'd been here for over a month, his friends were still fighting, and more than likely needed help.
All he could do with that information was plan and escape.

Every plan he had fell flat.
The odds were against him, that much was obvious, but it wasn't going to keep him from trying. As the months progressed, every escape attempt he made failed. He couldn't figure iut the layout and it's not like the death egg had maps plastered all over the place. Then there was the matter of Infinite and his copies. They made sure his attempts went unsuccessfully. Egghead also couldn't seem to get over the glee that came with keeping Sonic caged. Not only that but Infinite and Eggman both made a point to come visit him regularly. Eggman to gloat and Infinite to run tests.

Eggman's visits were about the same as the first. He's come in and he'd gloat. Updates on the time he'd been locked up and how much had been taken over.
At first Sonic wasn't even sure of what Infinite was doing. The first few times he came, all they did was talk. Not much had changed. Infinite acted high and mighty and Sonic made it a point to not show anything other than his normal front, not willing to grant the jackal any form of satisfaction. Maybe the ruby on Sonic's chest let Infinite feel safe enough to let it slip or maybe it was just more gloating, but that's how he found out about the copies. Infinite started with taunts and boasting about how being the means to take him and the resistance down. As the visits progressed Sonic could feel minor changes in the ruby they had attached to him. With each change Infinite's visits shifted. More questions and more commands from the jackal and less focus on himself.

Sonic was confused for the most part. He never would have pegged the jackal to be one to ask about him. At least not to his face- Eggman had plenty of files on him. Anything he could have wanted to know would be in those unless it was day to day info. And Sonic was certain Infinite didn't care about how he felt. Certainly not with the annoyance he showed whenever Sonic would make a joke about the accommodations. The questions persisted and turned into more of asking things of him.