| " | \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIt didn't take long for Tails to recognize his destination, despite nearly blacking out from exhaustion as a result of forced march that never seemed to end. But he was finally there, and he knew the classic Eggman construction when he saw one—except this one seemed abandoned, just like many other mass badnik manufacturing facilities after Eggman Empire fell apart at the end of war. His captors took over the factory and attempted to restart the production for their own use. However, they were unable to break the encryption that controlled the badnik's target identification protocols, and needed an expert consultation. They knew Tails understood Eggman's systems inside-out and were determined to force his cooperation. The gang wasted no time preparing their ticket for processing—binding the fox in a strict strappado position with his wrists and tails shackled and hoisted far towards the ceiling, forcing him to stand on his toes to alleviate his already aching body. Tails knew that the encryption was the only thing stopping them from amassing their own robot army and sparking yet another destructive conflict, and had to hold out no matter what. But before his torture could start in earnest, Tails was due for a punishment for failing to keep up during the trip. After several lashes to his posterior nearly brought the captive to tears, Tail could only wonder what other unpleasantries were in store for him.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t | \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t