It was mid day on the Space colony ark, or at lest it was what the scientist aboard I sister must be mid day. Living in a space station that didn't really experience the day night cycles like they did on earth didn't need to stick to the same schedule, but the scientists insisted on it.
The space station was home to a secret project, the ultimate life form project. Each lead scientist had their own theory on how to create the ultimate life form, and each lead their team in tasting their hypothesis. One by one as each new life form was created they were tested and failed to meet the standards that had been set for the ultimate life form. But sense they could not simply wast all the time and resources they put into these creatures they decided to use them for other experiments.
A portion of the Ark was converted into a special separate area for these life forms to coexist so the scientist could monitor their interactions. Almost all of their space had ether cameras or observation areas where the scientist could see him, but the lifeforms could not see out.
By the time this space was created there was already three life forms. A female pink hedgehog, a blue male hedgehog and a fox that had developed two tails. They almost did not keep the last one but the two tails intrigue to the scientists.
Not long after these three were brought together another male hedgehog was added, this one green. A few more male hedgehog came after that, they seemed to be the preferred experiment type. Some time latter two knew hedgehogs joined the group, a white female and a light gray male.
Each of them knew who has created them though had little interactions with the scientists outside of when they were needed for experiments. The only exception was a young human girl named Maria. She was the only one who seamed to care about them and treated them life they had felling and were more then just animales.
It was lunch time and most of the life forms were in their special designed cafeteria where they would pick up their food from the window before going to sit down. Each one was given their one specific meal so if the scientist needed to do anything involving their food, they would already be used to it.
The blue male hedgehog, Sonic as he decided to call himself, sat down at a table and sighed. He looked around at the others in the room then at his food.
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
The walls were plain and cold, enhancing all of their unexpected lives brought through genetic manipulation and accelerated growth. This ARK, this place...it's all they've known ever since they woke up.
Every day there were batteries of tests and challenges, as they all turned out to have special skills. Even Tails, the two tailed fox, was incredibly smart despite being much younger than the others.
Silver and Krystal, the two newest hedgehogs, both had psychokinesis, a power that they used to control objects and other things around them. While Silver has a strong health, Krystal turned out to have a fragile health...the handlers learned fast to not push her too much during the tests.
Amy, the pink hedgehog, slowly approached Sonic with her own tray of food. With a sigh, she slowly sat down, pinning her ears as she set down her food on the table.
"Hey..." she quietly said, looking tired.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic looked up, "oh hey," he said with that big fluffy smile of his. "I was your training today?" He asked then laughed a bit, "I broke the knew, not so improved wheel that James made so now I get to be off for a few days till they can think of a better way to test my speed without braking stuff," he said looking so proud of himself.
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
"That's impressive, Sonic...at least you will get to rest." Amy replied, then sighed and rubbed her eyes, clearly tired. "...They made me fight and smash bigger robots, testing my speed and strength with a hammer..." she then quietly replied. "They keep repairing them as soon as I live the training room..." she then concluded, staring down at her food, playing with it using the fork.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
"James just tells me they are cureas and want to know the full extent of what we can do. I'm just glad Maria got us all this space were we can be together rather then living in our isolated labs" Sonic replied. An optimist as always.
Just then Tails waled over with his try of special prepared food. "Hay, did Maria see ether of you today? She came to the lab today and said se had a secret. Any of you know what that could be?"
Sonic shrugged, "she might have mentioned something like that"
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy shook her head. "I don't know anything...they've been pushing me a lot lately with training..." she quietly said, before to finally start eating. "By the sounds of it, she seemed excited, though."
Amy was usually energetic and bubbly, but the trainings lately clearly drained her from her energy. Hopefully a good night of sleep would help her recharge her battery.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic got a bit concerned at that and looked down at his food a moment then looked back at Amy, "Why don't you talk to your handle? They are suppose to advocate for you if your getting to tired."
Tail's ears pined back, "Sonic, you know not all of our handlers are as... understanding as yours is," Tails replied specking from experience. His experiments might not be as physical as the others but his handler, Alexander, was quit the slave driver when it came to tests of learning and problem solving.
Sonic looked down at his food, "Yeah... I know but..." Sonic then looked at Amy, "Maybe talk to Maria, you know she will always listen to you."
Just then tails saw the two newest additions to there little group, Silver and Krystal, walk in to get their food. Silver and Krystal shared a handler as they came from the same experiment. Unlike Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles, who spend quit a long time living in isolated labs before this shared experiment space was created, Tails, Silver, and Krystal were brought to life after and introduced to the group almost instantly after. Tails was the first one added a year ago and Silver and Krystal just 6 months ago.
Tails waved to them, "Hay guys," he said with excitement. He knew what it was like to be the new kid and didn't want them to feel like they were unwelcome.
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy's handler, Helen, was strict and demanding regarding her training, always trying to test how far she could go before actually seeing that Amy had reached herlimits.
Amy smiled sheepishly at Sonic. "Thanks for caring..." she whispered, his concern apparently making her feel a little better.
Silver and Krystal both waved at them with excitement, too. "Hey guys! How's everyone doing?" Silver replied with a bright smile, while Krystal, still shy, made a shy smile and stayed close to Silver.
The two were quite close because of being raised and trained together by their handlers Harry and Irina. They were carring, and took time to train them just as much separately as they did train them together. The main reason for this was to test their psychokinesis as a team and separately, trying to figure out their strengths and weaknesses. They were less harsh or demanding with Krystal, as they had find out that she has a fragile health and despite being determined and resilient, she would tire easily if pushed too far.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Did ether of you talk to Maria today?" Tails asked a little bit of a one track mind.
Sonic laughed a little, "let them sit down before you start pestering them." he said to tails and looked back to Silver an Krystal. "apparently she has some kind of big secret and She is relay exited."
"She is not the only one," Tails replied waging both of his tails for a moment.
Sonic looked over at the little fox finally realizing something. "You know something, don't you?"
Tails blushed a little, "I may have pestered Alexander after Maria left. He wouldn't tell me much just that it has something to do with all of our training and testing as well as her grandfather, the head syenites of the ark. You know, that one big guy with the gray mustache that sometimes shows up to watch some of the important tests." [[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy looked over at Krystal as she did sat down and they exchanged light smiles and a little 'hi' as well.
Amy then looked over Tails. "I think they call him...Professor Robotnik...?" she replied, resuming eating.
Silver looked confused as he sat down as well. "I didn't heard anything..." he said, frowning in concern. "Is it really good news...?" he then asked.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Yeah, that is what Alexander called him," tails replied and laughed a little.
Sonic just shrugged, "She said she would come after we finished eating, that's all I know" he replied.
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Well...better get started, then." Silver tried to joke to lighten the mood.
They all started to eat in a somewhat comfortable silence. It helped Amy feel a little better, as she was low on energy at the moment.
Once they were done eating, they chatted about their training and their handlers, finding comfort in somewhat shared experiences.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
Just then the door into there... encloser, opened and in walked Maria with her normal happy smile. "Hello everyone, how is everyone doing today?" she asked as she came over and sat down with them. The tables were a little small for her but she made it work.
Sonic smirked, "Oh, just waiting for the secret is all."
"SONIC!" Tails protested, "You could at lest protect to try some small talk before jumping to it."
"Oh, like you weren't the one who couldn't think about anything ells for the past third minuets" Sonic teased.
Maria laughed a little, "Its ok, I'm also exited about it," she said smiling even more.
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
They were obviously all happy to see her.
"How are you doing today, Maria?" Amy asked, genuinely concerned. "You didn't pushed yourself too much, right?"
Silver and Krystal smiled at Maria, but also looked concerned hearing Amy's question about her health.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
Maria just smiled, "oh I am alright, I didn't really so much today. Mostly just spent time with my grandfather in his lab. That is how I learned about this new surprise."
"Well, what is it?" Tails asked.
"There is going to be one more experiment," Maria blurted out and a smile.
"What? Really?" Tails asked eagerly.
Maira nodded, "this one is my grandfathers project. He said they used all the information they have gathered from all your tests in order to creat him. "He will have your strength Amy, Tail's intelligence, Silver's power and Sonic's speed. Krystal they even took what they leaned from studying you to make sure he would be immune to all diseases. My godfather is calling him the ultimate life form."
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
They were all surprised, widening their eyes at the news.
"Wow, that's...that's wonderful, Maria." Amy replied.
"Is he awake yet?" Silver asked, curious.
"When will we meet him?" Krystal asked, also curious.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
"He's not awake yet, grandfather said he still has a few things to finish up before he will be ready. He also couldn't tell me when he will come join the group," Maria replied.
Sonic laughed a bit, "it will be nice to have some one to keep up with me," he joked.
"If, if he is ment to have something from all of us... dose that mean he will replace us?" Tails asked a little concerned.
That was a thought Maria had not thought of. "Well, I don't think so, but maybe you all won't have to train so hard of your not the only one who can do something. I will have to ask my grandfather about that."
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
Tails did rise concern about their own existences with his question.
"Well...I can't wait to meet him." Silver replied with a light smile.
"Tell us more about him...does he have a name?" Amy asked.
"What does he looks like?" Krystal also asked.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Grandfather decided to name him after the project itself, he will be called Shadow. He's a hedgehog but his fur is black and he has these really cool red markings on his arms, legs and in his quills. I have not seen his eyes yet though" Maria explained.
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
"He does sound interesting...hopefully we can meet him soon." Silver said with a polite smile.
"Is there any reason why he was the one named after the project?" Tails asked, frowning in confusion, given that neither Sonic or Silver were named after the project.
Krystal and Amy were trying to imagine what Shadow would actually look like with the description that Maria gave them.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Granpa said he named him after the project because he used all the information learned so fare in creating him.," Maria replied "he is ment to be the combination of everything that came before."
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Oh...that sounds logical..." Tails muttered, still frowning, but with concern this time. What will happen to us then...if we are no longer needed...? he then thought with worry.
"Well...hopefully we will get to meet him soon." Amy replied, smiling lightly as she tried to be optimistic and resumed eating her meal.
Krystal slightly nodded in agreement and also resumed eating.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
Just then there was a buzzing sound that came from the door. Maira looked up then back at everyone. "Looks like I have to go now, but I will come back another time. Have a good lunch everyone."
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Alright...see you later, Maria." Amy and Krystal both said in unison, as they waved her good bye.
Silver and Tails also waved her good bye, then once she was gone, Tails looked back at the others.
"W-What will happen to us then...if we are no longer needed...?" he asked them, lightly pinning his ears.
Silver widened his eyes and also lightly pinned his ears. "That is...a good question..." he replied, frowning with concern.
"But...they can't just get rid of us, right?" Amy said, pinning her ears with slight anxiety.
Krystal remained quiet, pinning her ears and staring down at her food. They might keep all of you, but me...? They won't need some fragile, poor health creature like me... she thought to herself with...resolve, already thinking of what might happen to her. [[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic quickly stood up, "come on guys, don't think about it like that. There is no way one guy can replace all of us. They might have used what they learned from us to make him but they will still need us."
He said then looked over at tails, "your helping them with building and inventing stuff, even if he could do the same it would take a long time to bring him up to speed with what your working in, might as well just keep using you."
Sonic looked over at Amy, "your straight is unmatched, I don't think this new guy could possibly live up to that."
Sonic then looks over to Krystal and Silver, "and with your powers you both help the sentience with a lot of problems like moving big delicate things they can't move any other way." Sonic added.
"Yeah, he might be a combination of all of use but they have come to rely on all of use and 1 guy can't replace 5 others even if they wanted to. So insted of wording let's just be exited to meet him."
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
As much sense as Sonic made, they couldn't help and feel an underlying anxiety and concern about meeting this new guy.
"When are we even going to meet him?" Amy asked with a frown.
"That's a good question..." Tails muttered.
"Well, in any case, we will greet him with open eyes." Silver smiled.
Krystal remained silent, now wondering what would happen to her if the scientists didn't need her anymore.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
6 months then passed by and the new guy had still not yet joined them. Despite this they had all overheard rumors about him as their handlers and other scientists discussed among themselves during their individual training. It was clear that this guy must be vary impressive but also that the professor was vary protective and secretive about this one. He didn't want any outside force changing the project unnecessarily.
As they all thought about one day meeting him it did bring up memories of when they all were introduced.
Sonic, Amy and Tails were the first put into this joint enclosure after spending years up to that point in isolation. 1 year for tails, 2 years for Amy and 4 years of isolation for Sonic. When they first meet none of them had names, they had just been referred to has hedgehog or fox in tails case. Sonic was the first to decide he wanted to be called Sonic, as a reference to his speed. He then suggested Tails to the fox because of how could he thought his two tails were. Amy also named herself.
Being the only two hedgehog in a situation like this, Amy and Sonic formed a rather close friendship rather quickly.
About 8 mounted latter another hedgehog was added, a male hedgehog that looked a lot like Sonic but was green. The green one might look like Sonic but his personality was quit the opposite. He was harsh and aggressive with a nasty temper and wild animalistic behavior. This green hedgehog did not help improve the scientists views on them and might have contributed to them being seen as little more than wild animales that could talk.
The moment he was introduced he attacked Sonic and declared himself to be called Scourge. For weeks after that the fights we almost constant to the point that the scientist almost canceled the group living arrangement.
When another male hedgehog was introduced, this one purple and much more shy, scourge attacked him as well taking a chunk out of his ear. But out of no where Sonic attacked Scourge defending the new hedgehog with such intercity that it sent scourge to the medical bay and he did not return for a few week with a fresh scare across his chest.
After that Scourge didn't challenge Sonic again, he had official won the position of Alpha in that fight. Though scourge did pick on the purple hedgehog who préfères to keep to himself rather than join the group. It was another year till the next two were introduced at the same time, a gray male and a white female who shared the same greater/scientist.
The introduction of a new male shook up the ranking of the ever growing array but Sonic came out on time once again.
It was hard to say what introducing another male would do to this little Array.
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
Silver was not confronting, unless provoked or witnessing unfair treatment. He was rather protective of Krystal, whom he share genetic material with, making them siblings. He had named himself Silver, liking how the name sounded rather than thinking it made him more valuable or anything.
Krystal was shy and kind, she and Amy being the only two female hedgehogs they quickly developped a close friendship and supported each other a lot. When Scourge picked on her, both Silver and Amy gave him a piece of their mind and attacked him to protect her. Krystal was not defenseless, but didn't want to cause troubles, which is why she hadn't said anything whenever she was picked on. Amy named her, thinking that the name suited her, and Krystal liked the name as well, thanking her.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
It was just any ordinary day as Krystal was being lead to her check up by her handler. As always her handler, Irina, walked in front of her to grant access to any doors needed and make sure they went the right way, behind Krystsl a GUN solder fallowed close behind to make sure she did not run off or to subdue her if she made a fuss. It was the same way for any of them when ever they left the safety of their sterile enclosure.
Everything was ass normally, like it had been all her life, she knew no other way, non of them did.
Went they walked through the doors of the medical bay there was already a GUN solder standing at the entrince to the main medical room.
"You will have to you the backup room." He said to Irina. "Professer Robotnic is running tests on his life form." The gun solder said.
He is here, Shadow is here! She is this close to him.
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal lightly perked up her ears, now curious. She did not show any other reaction, however, aware of the soldiers and their weapons.
"Do we have an idea on how long it will take?" Irina simply asked.
Krystal lightly moved to simply stare at the door as if she could see through it. She was so close to meeting this new lifeform, yet so far.
I wonder how he is...but the way they all speak of him, he's definitely the best results they had so far. she thought to herself, wondering how this new hedgehog looked like.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
The solder sighed, "I have no clew."
The door then opened and one of the scientists came out. "Sorry Irina, I know you were scheduled to use the lab at this time but professor Robotic was vary exited that the initial immunization tests all came back positive. This is the first of the life formes that has not foaled even one of the medical tests. He wanted to run as many or the more rare test to be sure this life form is exactly what he is looking for."
"The syentist looked around then back at her, "if you want to see it you can go to the observation room just next door" [[USER_B]] said the following:
"Alright...we'll make a quick stop there, thanks." Irina nodded softly.
She did not said anything to Krystal, but she was required to follow her handler no matter what.
Irina, Krystal and the GUN solider headed to the observation room nearby to get a look on the new project. Krystal approached the glass and gently puts her hands on the window, just trying to get a peek.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
The room in which she was looking into was very familiar to her as she had been tested there many times, herself or simply brought in for check ups to ensure her health was not declining but this was the first time she had seen the room from this angle. It was hard to see it first as there was at least two junior scientists and a technician or two moving around. But then, she saw him.
They are sitting on the table was a Hedgehog with fur and quills the deepest black she had ever seen and with markings, have a break, vivid red. Unlike the other male hedgehogs, who is quills offload down naturally, his quills arched upwards, giving him a very striking appearance.
This hedgehog had all sorts of wires and things attached to him as different machines, or monitoring his vitals. He let out a bit of a huff, clearly bored, but behaving himself.
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal widened her eyes.
This hedgehog looked quite striking and dashing, and yet...even she could sense his raw power from where she stood, observing him. He looked powerful, and definitely gave her the feeling of looking at an alpha.
Krystal, still wide eyed with her hands on the glass, felt her cheeks starting to burn, as a blush crept to her cheeks.
Who is he? Why do I sense such raw power emanating from him? He looks like he and Sonic would compete, if they are ever put in the same room. she thought to herself, not questioning what she personally felt looking at this new, handsome male.
Irina glanced down at Krystal and could tell she was mesmerized, but did not think there was anything else than curiosity to it.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow was just botfly looking around the room when suddenly he spotted her on the other side of the window. His eyes widened and he stained back at her, this was the first time he had seen anything other than humans.
Sudenly there was a flash and he disappeared leaving the medical equipment and shirts behind and the machines having a cow.
Secants latter there was another flash, this time right by the window and there he was, standing directly in front of Krystal paying no attention the the alarms or frantic scientist and technicians behind him.
He slowly put his hand on the other side of the glass where Krystal's had was. He just stared into Krystal's eyes as nothing ells around them mattered.
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal jumped when he reappeared right in front of her on the other side of the glass, but she did not moved her hands away, nor did she looked away.
Her mint green eyes were unable to look away from his own ruby eyes, and the world momentarily stopped for her, too. The ringing alarms faded into the backround of the stillness.
Krystal held her breathe, her cheeks slightly red from blushing, but then, temptatively, she made a shy, soft little smile. Her eyes shone with what appeared to be both excitement and thrill.
She then silently mouthed the words 'Hi, it's nice to meet you', but only him was able to 'read' it.
Irina had been startled and had backed away from that, but she stood close, wide eyed. None of the other experiments had displayed such a sudden interest during a medical exam.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
Irina was the first to notice the commotion inside and the chaos from the lab teks scrambling. A GUN solder moved towards Shadow razing his weapon thanks to the hedgehog's sudden teleporting and one of the junior scientist blocked him saying something that could not be heard through the glass.
Then Irina's attention was drawn Professor Gerald Robotnik who was waving his hand in a rather huffed and almost frantic 'shoe shoe,' kind of way and he did not look happy.
"Get white out if there," he helped so loud Irina heard it through the think observation glass. "They were not ment to see each other till the introduction next week!"
The solder who had fallowed them cleared his through. "We should go, I think it will be safe to skip one health check"
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
Irina nodded and gently, but firmly put a hand on Krystal shoulder, and started pulling her away from the window.
Krystal stiffened and pinned her hears, but knew she couldn't resist her handler. She looked at Shadow until she had to turn around and walk out with Irina and the GUN soldier.
"What was that all about?" Irina asked her gently but firmly.
Krystal flinched and kept her ears pinned, but she kept her eyes down, her holding her hands in front of her as they walked.
"I...I don't know..." she quietly said, and then refused to say anything else.
The doctor had looked a little annoyed and Krystal was fearing the potential consequences of the aftermath, no matter if the event had been accidental.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
When she got back most of the others were still gone doing their testing it training for the day but Krystal quickly learned she was not alone.
She hears a laugh, "back already, you really are useless aren't you," it was Scourge. He chuckled leaning against the wall of the hallway that lead to the sleeping area. "You will probably be one of the first to go."
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal pinned her ears and clenched her hands into fists, but looked away, not wanting to engage with him. She headed for the large bay window, where they could see the Earth.
Krystal stared at the blue planet with longing and saddness. She often just stood there, wondering how it was down there, or if they would ever be allowed to go down there one day.
He lies...they can't get rid of us that quickly...can they? she silently thought to herself, staring at the Earth as she wrapped her arms around herself.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
Luckily, for her, scourge didn't follow her. He knew he could not read her long or the others would some how find out.
Krystal got to spend some time in front of the window before she hears Sonic and Amy coming in their training. They had been scheduled a sparing match and Amy had manéger to time it just right and hit Sonic head on with the hammer they were training her with, sending him flying into one of the steel walls so hard it made a dent.
Sonic was running his head, "Wow you got me good," Sonic said in a log by jarred voice vary much not mad. "My ear is still ringing" [[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy couldn't help herself and giggled nervously. "I'm so sorry again, Sonic. I'm still figuring out my own strength too." she replied with a sheepish smile.
Krystal noticed them and she waved at them from the bay window.
"Hey, how was the sparring match?" she asked with a light smile.
"It was great, actually...I managed to hit Sonic, he's so fast I didn't think I would, though." Amy replied with another giggle. "And you? How was your medical check up?" she asked with a light concerned frown.
"I...didn't get to have one today..." Krystal quietly said and looked away.
"Uh? Why not?" Amy asked, surprised.
"Because...he was there...the new guy was there getting tested on." Krystal replied with a light blush, still looking away. "They asked my handler to bring me back here."
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Wait, really? Did you see him?" Sonic said with excitement not knowing what happened between them was more than just... seeing.
"I've seen him, he's nothing special if you ask me," Scourge said from the hallway to the sleeping quarters. "He's even more boring than you blue," he mocked.
Sonic snarled looking back at Scourge, "You know my name, don't call me by what THEY do."
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
"What did he looked like, Krystal?" Amy asked with curiosity, ignoring Scourge.
"He was black with red stripes and his quills curved upwards, and a patch of white fur on his chest...his eyes were red, too..." Krystal replied, finally looking at Amy.
"Oh wow, he sounds far more interesting than Scourge." Amy commented, digging at Scourge. "Did he also saw you?"
Krystal silently hesitated to reply to that, for some reason. What happened felt...personal, like...it had only been him and her, a moment just to them.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
Scourge just rolled his eyes, but then chuckled, "you girls better remember to stag out of the way because when he walk at through that door I'm going for his throat. He won't be so ultamit if I kill him day one," he said then laughed and evil laugh of his.
Sonic just rolled his eyes, "basses on what Maira said you won't stand a chance agent him let alone killing him."
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy gave an annoyed look at Scourge. "Dream on, Scourge." she commented.
Krystal frowned, and looked around. Where is Purple? I haven't seen him in a while... she thought to herself.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
Scourge just huffed and turned back for his room or perhaps to bug purple.
Sonic chuckled and shakes his head. "And to think we have the same creator. I wonder what went wrong with that guy." He said but then out of the blurted out, "oh, the ringing is gone. I forgot I was waiting for that."
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy and Krystal both laughed a bit, when Tails and Silver finally walked in, done with their own schedule.
"My handler made me fix some complex device today." Tails was telling Silver. "They always try to push us all, don't they?"
"They do...mine made me use my powers to lift heavier stuff today." Silver replied.
"Hi, guys." Amy smiled. "Krystal saw the new guy today."
"A-Amy!" Krystal stuttered, not liking to be put in the spotlight like that.
"Really?" Tails replied. "What was he like?"
"...Seemingly curious..." Krystal quietly muttered to herself.
"What was that?" Silver said.
"Nothing, I said he looked powerful." Krystal quickly replied. "I heard the doctor say we would meet him in a week.
"Oh my, I can't wait!" Amy squealed a bit.
"Do you think he'll be normal or like Scourge?" Tails mumbled.
"Nothing like him, hopefully." Silver chuckled a bit.
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[[USER_A]] said the following:
But the truth was it was hard to know at this point. But Maira did say they used something from each of them, what if they used Scourge's aggression.
But when he looked at Krystal, his eyes had such... innocence and curiosity to then. It was hard to tell what he would be like when he joined them.
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[[USER_B]] said the following:
"I want to think that he will be okay." Krystal commented. "He however is most definitely resistant to most poisons, one of the GUN soldiers told my handler."
"I wonder where they got that from." Amy frowned.
"Well, we'll make sure to give him a warm welcome." Silver smiled with optimism.
Tails nodded in agreement.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
A couple of days latter Amy was walking with her handler and GUN solder to the tracing ground. Like with Krystal, though Nether Amy or her handler knew it, there was a solder standing outside.
"The professer is just finishing up with testing his life form they will leave the room then." The solder said. He then chuckled, "if you want a pick at him you can use the side observation room," he said.
The Mobians were not the only ones curious about him. Even the other handlers and scientists wanted to know more about what made this one so different.
"Just," The solder started to say before they had a chance to walk way. "Remember to turn on the one way mirror before you go in there." He said then looked down at Amy before looking back at her handler, "we don't need a repeat of what happened with White."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy just looked confused. "A repeat of last time...? What happened last time...?" she replied, clearly unaware of what had happened last time.
Helen waved a hand. "He was not supposed to see any of you before the end of the week. He got distracted by her and almost caused everyone a heart attack." she vaguely replied, before instructing Amy to follow her to the observation room.
Helen pressed on a button to make them invisible from the inside of the training room, before to allow Amy near the window.
The pink hedgehog approached the window and just like Krystal did before her, she pressed her hands on the window. [[USER_A]] said the following:
By the time she entered the observation room, the test was already in full swing.
The walls below shuddered from the impact of another collision-metal against metal, echoing through the glass like distant thunder.
In the center of the testing arena, the black hedgehog stood surrounded by shattered drones and smoking debris. His chest rose and fell with steady precision, crimson eyes locked on the next wave of machines emerging from the walls.
"Continue with the strength protocol," one of the scientists ordered, unfazed. "Increase resistance by twenty percent."
The floor panels lit red, and mechanical arms unfolded, each tipped with reinforced plating. They struck fast.
Shadow moved faster.
He caught one mid-swing, boots sliding back a fraction before he wrenched the arm free with raw force. Sparks rained as he hurled it into another drone, the resulting explosion lighting up the room in a burst of orange and blue.
Amy knew those drones.
She'd fought them herself, multiple times. They were heavy, durable, and relentless, designed to overwhelm with sheer strength and numbers. Taking down even one required effort, planning, and a little luck.
And yet, this hedgehog was dismantling them like they were nothing more than training dummies.
There was something unnatural about his precision, how his strength wasn't wild or frenzied, but controlled. Every strike landed exactly where it needed to, every motion a calculated display of power.
Then, for a heartbeat, he stilled. Amid the smoke and whirring machines, Shadow's head turned, crimson gaze cutting upward toward the observation glass. It was only an instant, but it felt deliberate, like he knew he was being watched.
And for the first time, it wasn't the scientists he seemed to be looking at.
It was her!
Or at lest that's how it appeared. She knew the glass was was a mirror on the other side so he couldn't really are her.
... but then why did it look like he was looking right into her eyes.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy was impressed indeed, she had never been able to completely fight these off without her hammer, they were just too fast for her. This new hedgehog was incredibly fast and strong, there was no doubt about it.
Amy then widened her eyes and slightly stepped back, when he seemingly looked up at her right in the eyes, despite the window now mirroring the interior of the room where he was in.
What the...he can't really see me, can he? she thought to herself, confused but not looking away.
She was just startled, not scared or anything.
"Oh my, this project is clearly promising." Helen commented, unbothered by the strange behavior of Amy. "Pink, you've got some competition."
"It...appears so..." Amy quietly muttered, still unable to look away.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow's gaze lingered on the glass for a moment longer before he gave a small, almost dismissive huff. He couldn't see her, not through the mirrored surface of the observation window, but something in him seemed aware that someone new was there.
Shadow brushed a gloved hand back through his quills, resetting them into their sharp, orderly shape. The motion was subtle but purposeful, as if confirming to himself that the fight had barely even touched him before returning to stillness.
A faint crackle filled the air as the intercom came alive.
"Excellent, Shadow," came Professor Gerald Robotnik's voice, measured, calm, the tone of a man whose curiosity always outweighed his awe. "That was very good for a first test. But..." A soft chuckle followed, half-admiring, half-calculating.
Wait... first test? It took Amy almost 3 years before she could take on drones of THAT level and they got him up to that level on their first test. Not only that bue He wasn't even breathing hears.
"It seems we'll need to develop something stronger if we truly wish to test the limits of what you're capable of."
The lights dimmed as the simulation powered down. Steam hissed from the cooling systems, and the drones that hadn't been completely destroyed slumped lifelessly to the floor. Shadow didn't move, arms crossed now, waiting in silence-obedient in posture, but with that unmistakable air of restrained defiance that made it clear he chose to obey.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy staggered backwards, intimidated. She had always been the strongest this far, even stronger than Sonic and Scourge. And this Shadow guy...took on a challenge that took her three whole years to get to.
His strength was unnatural, and it sent a chill of wariness down her spine. Everything about him felt superior...too superior.
"Pink, are you alright?" Helen frowned, a hand on her hip.
"Y-Yes..." Amy quietly replied, finally looking away from Shadow.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Alright, you can head to the door, we will meet you there," one of the scientists said through the intercoms.
Shadow just nodded and turned for the door that would let him exit. He he stoped and glanced back at the mirror window looking right at Amy once again but only for a moment before turning and walking out.
Basses on what she saw it would clear this hedgehog could be just as agressive and possibly even more dangerous than scourge.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Indeed, and that made her feel cautious.
Later on after her training, Amy was taken back to where the others were and immediately she seemed off.
She kept glancing at Scourge, and then Sonic, then down at her food that she was playing with using her fork.
"Amy, are you altight?" Tails asked, concerned about her silence.
"Y-Yeah, I just...witnessed the new guy in action..." she whispered.
Krystal lightly perked her ears up, her interest caught. "Really? How was he?"
"...Quite ruthless...and powerful..." Amy replied, not looking up.
Silver frowned. "What do you mean by ruthless?"
Amy sighed. "Silver...he was destroying the machines it took me three years to reach with his bare hands, like they were made of nothing. On his first test. He destroyed them with cold, ruthless precision."
Krystal widened her eyes: she hadn't witnessed that side of him herself, only something more...emotionally meaningful. Soft, innocent, even.
Silver and Tails were wide eyed with shock.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic's eyes widened head then. His ears pined back a little then gulped. "I... I saw him too." He finally admitted. "I didn't want to say anything... I didn't want to admit it..." he said and looked down at his own plat.
"I thought Maira was exaggerating when she said he would have each of our abilities. But what I saw yesterday" he said then looked up at the others. "He's fast. Much faster than I expected. They had him on the treadmill they designed to test my speed on and he up to like, over a thousand miles an hour. They had to tell him to stop because the mashers was smoking. I mean I did that too but not my first time on it." [[USER_B]] said the following:
Silver frowned. "...He seems quite fascinating..." he commented. "But we'll still warmly welcome him, alright? He might not be as bad as he might seem." he then added, still wanting to be optimistic.
Amy quietly nodded. "Of course, it's just...intimidating, seeing someone that is besting you in...the things you were excelling at first..." she replied with a sheepish smile.
"Do you think he's...smarter than me?" Tails frowned, not having seen him yet.
"I don't know, but...somehow he...sensed me...he looked right at me twice, even though the window was mirroring the room he was in and that he couldn't see me..." Amy frowned.
Krystal quietly ate her food, deep down wanting to think that the new guy wasn't as bad as he appeared to be. He couldn't be, not with the way he had looked at her.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"That's odd, he didn't even seam to notice I was there," Sonic replied looking confused. He then shrugged.
"One good thing that's coming out of this, James told me they are converting the widest part of the lower outer ring of the ark into one massive track with imbedded sensors so I will finally be able to run as fast as I can without braking anything."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Funny how you three always get all the fun." Silver smirked, playfully teasing Amy, Tails and Sonic.
"W-We are not?!" Amy stuttered.
Silver chuckled. "They didn't changed anything to my training or to Krystal's, yet they change you three's, that's all I'm saying."
Tails nervously chuckled, but didn't comment.
Krystal choose to remain silent and eat her food in peace.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic smirked, "well, maybe start braking stuff and they won't have a chose." He lightly teased."they only replaced out stuff because the old stuff couldn't truly measure what we could do."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
The group just kept chatting until they needed to go to sleep.
The next day, Alexander brought Tails out for his own tests and just kept an eye on him while the fox was fixing yet another complex technological device.
Soon enough, Tails fixed it in a new record time, just under ten minutes. He pulled away and dusted his hands as Alexander looked impressed.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
As they were walking out the noticed the fire to the control room for one of the larger testing rooms was open and they could see inside.
Tails recognized it immediately - the Sequential Logic Grid.
He'd run this test dozens of times. It measured a subject's ability to analyze evolving patterns under time pressure, designed to test problem-solving, adaptability, and spatial reasoning.
The floor below was divided into a matrix of luminous panels, each glowing in rhythmic pulses of blue and gold. Holographic projectors lined the walls, casting complex geometric patterns across the surface. Every few seconds, the grid shifted, panels changing color, sequences rearranging, algorithms rewriting themselves in real time.
It was Him!
Shadow stood barefoot in the center of the grid, the sterile light washing over his dark fur and crimson stripes. His gaze swept the grid once, sharp and assessing.
At Gerald's command, the grid activated.
Panels started to light up in rapid succession, an intricate, branching pattern of logic sequences that would take most subjects several minutes to map out. Shadow didn't pause to calculate. He stepped forward, bare feet landing with quiet precision on the first correct tiles. Then the next. Then the next.
Every shift in the pattern met an immediate, perfect counteraction. He never hesitated, never stepped wrong, never wasted motion. His eyes tracked the smallest flicker of color change before it even finalized, his mind already adapting to the next sequence.
Technicians murmured behind the glass as data scrolled across their screens.
"He's syncing with the algorithm... reading and predicting the changes before they occur."
"Processing time under 0.5 seconds per shift. That's, impossible."
The grid's tempo increased. Most participants would have faltered here. Shadow only accelerated, weaving the correct path faster than the system could update. The last few panels flashed rapidly before stabilizing into a unified gold pattern- the completed sequence.
The room fell silent as the floor dimmed and the test timer stopped.
"Completion time: one minute, twenty-six seconds," came Professor Gerald Robotnik's calm voice over the intercom. "That's a new record."
Shadow didn't react outwardly. He simply glanced toward the observation deck, expression unreadable, then folded his arms behind his back.
Gerald's voice continued, a faint note of satisfaction in his tone.
"Excellent work, Shadow. Let's increase complexity by twenty percent on the next run. I want to know just how far your mind can go."
The lights reset, patterns beginning to shift once more.
Shadow didn't respond, but his gaze lingered on the dimming panels as if studying the pattern even now, searching for what he could do better.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Tails had stopped dead in his tracks and had observed the whole thing, and the way this Shadow was quick-thinking made him feel less confident in his own intelligence.
He pinned his ears, while Alexander was in awe.
"That was impressive...nobody's ever done this test that quickly." he commented.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Remember to keep the fox from getting too close to the window," one of the solders nearby said to Alexander.
One thing was certes, the girls were right about how impressive he was and how striking he looked. The only one if the hedgehogs ti have quills like that.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Indeed, and now with the knowledge that he was also quite intelligent, he could also be a treat, but that seemed to be limitated to obeying to the humans' orders, for now.
Soon after, Alexander brought Tails back to the living quarters and Tails wasted no time in warning his friends about Shadow's intelligence.
The day after, surprisingly, none of them had tests scheduled, so they were allowed to just...rest.
Amy and Krystal were looking at random books with Tails about science, maths, physics, cooking recipes, nature and animals from Earth.
Sonic and Silver were having a playful sparring match in the sparring area. They were allowed to spar, as long as they didn't seriously injure themselves. [[USER_A]] said the following:
The day had been rather quiet, almost too quiet. Tails had noticed Wait shapes moving in the observation windows. They were watching more than normal; something big was happening today.
Suddenly, the door slid open with its usual hiss, but the air inside the room shifted instantly.
Every instinct went silent as they all looked, and there he was.
Shadow stepped through, posture calm but coiled, quills arched high and sharp, the natural curvature making him look half-alert, half-ready-to-strike.
The others felt it before they processed it: this wasn't another handler. This was one of them.
Just as he promised, Scourge moved first.
He was a blur of green and fury, charging low with a snarl, claws out, eyes locked on Shadow's throat. His attack was fast, vicious, born of arrogance and instinct, the kind of challenge that decides rank in seconds.
Shadow's head tilted slightly, no surprise, no hesitation.
The impact never landed.
Instead, Shadow's first strike split the air with a clean, brutal crack, not a flurry, not a showy exchange, just an absolute, surgical hit that ruined Scourge's momentum before he even reached him. The sound echoed like a bone snapping against a metal plate. Scourge folded forward, breath blasted out of him, and for the half-second he took to recover, Shadow was already moving.
He grabbed Scourge's arm and spun him around, slamming him sideways into the wall; the thud resonated through the Array, a metallic clang that made the bunk panels tremble. Scourge's back hit the plating, and the air whooshed out of him in a wet gasp.
He didn't rush so much as glide, no wasted motion, every step precise. Shadow slid to Scourge's side, palm striking up under the ribs that jarred the green hedgehog and sent him skidding across the padded floor. The impact threw sparks of dust and a smear of red where teeth met lip in the first exchange.
Scourge scrabbled, reaching for leverage, but Shadow's bare feet were a metronome, predictable, inevitable, impossible to outrun.
Scourge tried to twist, to shove, to find any gap, but Shadow's weight and timing neutralized every attempt. When Scourge did manage a wild, stumbling counter, Shadow met it with a catch-and-turn, his grip on Scourge's shoulder like a vice, using the attacker's own motion to wrench him headfirst into another panel.
Shadow didn't let him breathe, a short, punishing elbow into the sternum that folded him in half. The blow and the air rapidly flying from his lungs drove Scourge's face down to the floor, flattening him to the pads.
Then Shadow's hand closed at the base of Scourge's neck. Not a squeeze meant to crush, but a lift that removed the raging hedgehog from his feet, one clean motion that picked Scourge up and exposed him like a creature held for inspection. His feet dangled; his legs thrashed uselessly. The room smelled suddenly of disinfectant and copper, and Scourge's quiet curses turned into a raw, stunned yelp.
Scourge tried to scratch at Shadow's hand, spitting curses through his teeth, but Shadow's claws flexed, digging in just enough to draw a warning line of blood.
A strangled squeak broke out, short, instinctive, defiant.
Shadow didn't move. His growl deepened, rolling through the room like thunder in a cave.
Then the claws pressed harder.
Scourge's body stiffened, breath coming in shallow bursts. The yelp came higher, still not enough.
Shadow's quills bristled, muzzle lowering close to Scourge's ear. Another growl, this one a clear, animal demand.
Finally, Scourge's voice cracked into a loud, desperate sound, a submissive yelp that echoed through the enclosure. Every creature in the room heard it for what it was.
Only then did Shadow release him, letting him collapse to the ground, utterly defeated.
Shadow stood, silent, his claws faintly stained, his breathing steady, the predator's calm that comes after the storm.
Scourge stayed down, panting, his quills flattened tight against his skull. The smell of blood and fear hung sharp in the sterile air.
Around them, the rest of the Array stood motionless, silent, even Sonic. His quills were raised, not in challenge, but in pure animal alert. He dared not challenge Shadow after... after that.
No one spoke. No one moved.
The hierarchy had shifted.
No words were needed.
The Array knew exactly who stood at the top now.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
It had all happened so fast, the aggression, the violence, everything. They had warned Scourge to not try anything, but he got what he deserved in the end.
Amy, Krystal and Tails had gotten up from the table and all three of them had retreated towards where Silver and Sonic were as quietly and as quickly as they could, wanting nothing to do with that fight.
Silver and Sonic had gotten partly in front of them, not to start more drama but in a protective manner. Amy, Krystal and Tails were actually scared, their eyes wide with shock and their ears pinned.
Silver's fur was also alert, his eyes widened with shock as well, and his quills slightly puffed from witnessing all the aggression and the violent display.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow slightly shook his ahead before straightening his quills, still sharp and proud. This was another reminder to the green hedgehog of his dominance, a show of just how unbothered he was by their fight and how little of a threat he had been if Shadow was so at ease as to adjust his quills with him still right there.
Shadow's red eyes sweeping across the others without a word. His eyes calm, unbothered, but as he looked at them perhaps the slightest glimmer of the realization that he might have gone a little too fare flickered in his eyes.
Shadow looked anyway from everyone and with one quiet exhale, turned his back on Scourge and walked deeper into the room, the other way from were Sonic, Silver and they other had gathered.
Crap... way to go Shadow. You just walked in and they already hate you he thought to himself through showed no outward sign of this.
Scourge didn't get up right away. His quills stayed flat, his head low, breath ragged. His pride was severely broken and maybe even a bone or two. With a few whimpers, ether in pain or to prevent retaliation, he snuck his way over to the door leading out, staying as low to the ground as possible. He quickly pressed the call button... repeatedly, desperately wanting them to come take him to medical.
Around them, the rest of the Array stood frozen, ears twitching, tails still, reading the new hierarchy in silence. Even Purple, who had been sitting at a corner table, had drawn in close to the other, not wanting to be alone and seam as a threat.
After a moment Sonic was the first to shake his own head straitening his quills and letting out some of the stress and tension that had build up.
"Well... that escalated fast. Kinda feel like we should've had popcorn for that." He gave a half-smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, the kind meant to break a spell.
When no one laughed, he turned around to face the others.
"Hey, hey, relax, guys. It's over. Scourge started it, and he got what was coming. No one else is gonna get hurt, okay? The new guy's not a monster, he was just... getting a point across. You all know what scourge is like, you saw the way he charged at him first."
He glanced toward the hallway Shadow had walked down. "Let's... maybe not judge him too hard on his first five minutes." [[USER_B]] said the following:
Unbeknown to Shadow, they didn't hate him - excepted perhaps Scourge, whom they watched getting hurried out of their area and then obviously getting rushed to the medical bay.
In fact, they were just shocked by Shadow's display of his abilities, which himself couldn't lie that they were almost above all of theirs, if not slightly superior.
"Sonic's right...let's just give him space to breathe first." Silver replied, nervously chuckling.
Amy, Tails and Krystal remained silent, but they nodded in agreement. Even Purple
Later on, it was diner time and they were gathered to eat. Krystal had started to feel weak, most likely running a cold or something, so she ate what she could, then she had gone to bed. Shadow had come out about ten minutes after she had gone to bed, missing the chance to try and engage with her.
While the boys were chatting, Amy's eyes glanced over where Shadow was siting, alone and...playing with his food, as if trying to figure out if he was hungry or not.
Amy couldn't resist his magnetic pull any longer. She was too curious about him, she needed to hear what he sounded like, to know more about him.
Without missing a beat, Amy grabbed her food platter and got up from her chair, then made her way to Shadow's table under the bewildered eyes of Sonic, Silver and Tails.
As soon as Shadow looked up at her, Amy simply smiled brightly, showing no fear or anything.
"Hey...is this seat free?" she asked Shadow, nodding at the chair near him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow looked up at her a little startled and confused that she had approached him not knowing why she would. He then looked at the chair, this was the first time he had been in a group setting with his own kind so this was vary new for him.
"I guess" he replied a little confused about the question. "I mean... some one payed for it but I don't think they are charging us to use them"
He then posed and looked up at Amy, "do they charge us to use some of the chairs?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
It was actually endearing and Amy chuckled a bit as she sat down on that chair, settling herfood down on the table.
"No, they don't charge us to sit on the chairs, we are free to sit wherever we want." she replied, seemingly amused.
She then reached her hand out. "I'm Amy, but the scientists call me Pink." she introduced herself, giving him her chosen name and the name he most likely heard the scientists call her whenever they referred to her.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow looked at her hand for a moment, this gesture was not in his list of instinctive behaviors. Some how he could tell it was not an agressive move so he did t show any defensive posturing just looked at her hand with curiosity and confusion.
The way her hand lingered he began to realize she wanted something, for him to react in some way.
Not wanting to apear rouge and without any other sign as of what to do, he copied Amy and put his hand out as well though not taking hers.
"They call me Shadow," he replied then thought for a second, "or... sometimes the new one" he thought for another second, "sometimes the professors life form."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy approached her hand and gently slid it into his, and lightly held into it as she shook it a bit.
"Nice to meet you, Shadow." Amy replied, still smiling as she shook his hand.
His hand felt quite warm in hers, and her grip on his hand was light and non-threatening.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow was confused by the behavior but didn't resist it. "And you as well," he replied letting her move his hand around.
Once she let go of his hand he he returning to poking at his food. It was clear he not not taken a bite. He then glanced at her plate before looking back at his own.
"How dose one know if they are honey?" He asked confused.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy seemed confused by his question, but she chose not to poke into hos reasoning.
"Well...when you feel hungry, you feel some kind of annoying pain around here." Amy carefully replied and gestured around where her stomach was. "You also start to feel week if you don't eat everyday." she then added and took a bite of her food for good measure.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow looked at his food and picked at it again before looking back at her, "I have never felt ether of those phenomenon. The professor has insisted that I eat a few times but never explained why." He replied.
God he was so new and confused about so many things, that much was becoming more clear the longer they talked.
"The professor told me to try and fit in my coping your behaviors and daly rituals," Shadow explained which is why he got the tray of food to begin with.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"That is a good start." Amy simply replied, trying to be encouraging. "Maybe try to take a few bites? It's actually good." she then tried to encourage him again as she took more bites of her food.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow looked back down and picked a food one more time before stamping it with the fork and taking a bit.
"I guess it's not bad," he replied before starting to eat a little more normally.
- - -
Over at the other table Sonic was a bit nervous, mostly for Amy. "I wonder what they are talking about?" He asked looking over there frequently.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy smiled. "Of course it's not the best meal they ever gave us, but it's still decent food." Amy replied as she also ate her good along with him.
"I prefer when they give us more meat...it helps much more with recovering energy and helps to sleep better." she then added, as she continued to eat.
---
"I don't know, but theh seem to be doing fine." Tails replied, as he ate his food.
"I would agree...if he had been wanting to hurt her, he would have done so already." Silver added, also eating his food. "It might be a good thing that Amy went to see him." he then concluded, still eating. [[USER_A]] said the following:
"Meet," he replied as he thought for a moment. "I will have to try that." He added before taking another night.
- - -
Sonic sighed and turned back to face the others. "I know," he replied though still didn't sound that sure. He had always been protective of Amy sense she was there with him sense the beginning.
"I mean... it's not like he's afraid of fighting with the rest of us here or anything,"
He said a bit nervously.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy looked perfectly comfortable to be anywhere near Shadow. She ate her meal as she kept encouraging him.
"Where did you learn to fight like that?" she eventually asked him. "I mean...those robots I saw you destroy with your bare hands...they took me three years to reach their level, and I can only destroy them using a hammer." she then added, genuinely curious.
---
Silver smiled a bit, amused. "Not like we are going to purposely attack him either, are we?" he tried to joke to lighten the mood.
"Count me out, I'm not a physical fighter." Tails nervously chuckled.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow thought about it for a moment, genuinely wanting to answer her question accurately. "I don't really know, instinct I guess" he replied before taking another bite. "I just let my body react the way that felt narrow, both times," he replied also referring to what happened with Scourge. Which means his reaction was instinct. Which mes the look she saw in his eyes that he also seamed a star tales by his own actions, was most likely correct.
- - -
"Yeah, you're probably right," Sonic replied and went back to ears though he c'est and ear in their direction, his own kind of instinct.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Indeed, it was all impressive, especially how he relied a lot more on his instincts than they all did.
"Well, you've got some great skills." Amy smiled, complimenting him.
Amy kept Shadow company for a while, just talking. The others didn't know what they were talking about, but Shadow seemed to appreciate the company, otherwise he would have shooed Amy away long ago.
Silver looked over at Sonic. "I think she is doing fine, otherwise he seem to be the kind of guy who would let you know if you bugged him - without engaging him into a fight, that is."
Tails was back to reading a scientific book, finding peace in educating himself.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"What am i doing," Sonic asked then stands up, lWhat are we all doing," he said looking at the Silver and tails. "Instead of talking about him we should go introduce ourselves."
He then picked up his try and headed over to that table. "Hay, mined if I" Sonic started to say but was interrupted by Shadow glaring at him and making a low growl. "Ok," he said and literally turned on his heal and walked back towards the others.
Sonic sits back down, "like I was saying we should really give that guy some space." He said as if he hadn't just been scared away.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Silver and Tails both sweat dropped.
"Well at least he didn't charged at you." Silver commented.
Meanwhile, Amy was wide eyed. "Uh, what was that...? Sonic wasn't trying to start a fight, he wanted to join you as well, Shadow." Amy sweat dropped, but kept smiling. "Scourge was the only threat here, nobody else will try to attack you." She then added.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow's quills were still a little on edge and his body still seamed tense, like he was ready to strike at any second. "I told you, I rely on my instincts and he smells to much like the green one." Shadow replied.
It was natural for males to be more aggressive towards one another so there was some of that to Shadow's instinct as well.
But also, Scourge was created by the same scientist as Sonic. In fact he even used Sonic as a base or model for Scourge but gave him a much higher level of question which is why they looked, sounded and even smelled vary simuler. They were about as close to twins as any of them could get.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"They were created by the same scientist and Sonic was used as a model for Scourge, from what we were able to understand." Amy replied, frowning. "But I assure you that Sonic, Silver, Purple and Tails can be trusted. Scourge was the one always causing trouble."
She then smiled sheepishly. "But you don't have to talk to them now if you don't feel ready for it, they will understand." she added, clearly respecting his boundaries.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow was slowly starting to calm down when he clamped his eyes shut and his face crumbled a bit, almost like he was in some kind of pain. His hole body tense back up and his hand clenched around the fork he was holding.
This l'aster a couple of seconds before he started to relax again though didn't open his eyes right away.
He shook his head a little bit. "Maybe some other time," Shadow replied.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy seemed to notice. "Hey, are you alright...? You looked in pain..." she asked with slight concern.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"It's nothing," Shadow replied shaking off again. "Probably a residual effect of the professors test earlier. He said I might experience some discomfort within the next day or two as my system fights what ever it was they injected me with." He explained.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"I hope you'll be ok..." Amy replied, still concerned and clearly unaware of his immunity.
She then let out a yawn, clearly tired.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow's ears perked and he looked confused at her. "Why did you make a tinny scream?" He asked then looked around, "did you sense something? is there something I should be aware of?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy looked a him with confusion. "What...? I only yawned...we yawn when we're tired and need to rest and to sleep." she explained.
"You...never yawned before?" she then questioned him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow shakes his head, "I have never sleep before. The scientists mentioned something about needing to sleep but not what this sleep was or how to do it." He replied back to being that confused and innocent hedgehog.
It was strange seeing how quickly he could go from able to rip a a large robots arm off like it was nothing to thinning yaws were tinny screams and not knowing what food or sleep was. [[USER_B]] said the following:
It was rather confusing yes, but also quite endearing.
"Sleep is easy...you lie down with a good pillow in a bed and close your eyes until you just...go for a few hours." Amy tried to explain. "Sleeping boosts your energy back and helps you be able to go through your day." she then added.
She then yawned again, a hand over her mouth.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"I guess I should let you get to it then," he replied not knowing what ells he could say.
Sonic also yawns, "I think I'm going to toon in," he replied and stood up again. He looked over at Amy and Shadow and this time Shadow just looked away from him not making any agresive poschering.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy smiled lightly. "Alright...good night, Shadow. I hope we see you tomorrow." she replied and got up with a nod.
She then made her way towards the others as they were also standing up, yawning.
"Good night, boys." Amy simply said, yawning again.
"Good night, Amy." Silver and Tails replied, choosing not to push her with questions.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Good night Ames" Sonic said and headed for the alway that lead to the sleeping area but to do so he had to walk right by Shadow. His ears pinned a little and he walked by a little slower then he normally might, almost in a im not threat kind of way and Shadow just ignored him which was progress.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
It was progress, and it was enough.
Silver looked over at Shadow and nodded in acknowledgement, but remained silent and at a respectful distance.
Tails simply walked by and waved at Shadow innocently.
Amy just watched them go by Shadow, before following them.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow waited for a moment then after remembering what the professer had instructed him about combining there rituals he then got up and flowed after them.
He fallowed Amy, "we're do I sleep?" He asked not knowing which rooms were still available.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Over here in one of the free rooms." Amy replied and showed him which rooms were available.
Some were in the back, some in the middle, and one right next to the main area. Krystal's and Amy's rooms were in the back. They slept better away from the main area where the males often got active in the morning and were loud.
Sonic, Silver and Tails were somewhere in the middle and a bit close to the main area.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow looked through the rooms wanting to pick the right one. He opened one of the closed doors which just so happened to be Sonic's who had already gotten in bed.
"Hay, Rude," he said then quickly jumped up and ran to the door. "As you can see this one is already occupied, so if you'll excuse me," he said then grabbed the door and quickly closed it again.
Shadow stood there in front of the now closed door for a few moments blinking like he was trying to register what just happened.
"The doors with names on them are taken," Sonic added through the door.
That is when Shadow noticed the sticky notes on the doors, it was all they could get to label their rooms.
Shadow then looked around at the rooms noticing which ones hade nots and not opening those ones. Then after determining there was only one way in or our He then turned to Amy, "I will take that first room, after all it is the Alpha's responsabilité to be the first line of defense so that is where I will be."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy sweat dropped at the interaction, but she then looked surprised.
"That does sound like a good idea...but I'm still surprised that you'd want it given it's closer to the main area." she replied with a light chuckle. "Well...I hope you can sleep tonight. See you tomorrow, Shadow." she then smiled.
Amy then turned around to head off to her own room, her pink quilld flowing as she walked, since they were quite long, about waist length.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow watched Amy walk to her room and pondered for a moment, then again if I pick that room I would be next to her he thought looking at an empty room next to Amy's which also happened to be right across from Krystal's room he just didn't know why that was, yet.
But he decided to stick with the first room for now. He went inside and closed the door as the others had. He then looked around.
"So now what?" He said to himself not knowing what the next step in this sleep thing was.
He thought back to what Amy said. "Lay down with a good pillow?" He said then noticed the bed. He argued, "worth a shot"
He then went over to it and laid down on his back and just... stared at the ceiling.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
The room was filled with silence, it would've been peaceful if this whole space station hadn't felt like a giant prison.
As he lied there, Shadow could sense his new comrades' energies more clearly, now...each somewhat having their own unique signature.
Sonic's was quite energetic and strong. Tails felt normal and non threatening. Silver's was strong but calm, at the moment. Purple's was like Tails, although that hedgehog behaved like a recluse.
And then there were Amy's and Krystal's energies. Amy's felt strong and warm, a tad energetic, too.
Krystal's energy was...low, and felt quite fragile, despite being warm.
Nobody told him why she had left and gone to bed earlier, but she was most likely becoming ill.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow stared, and stared, and stared some more.
After some hours he sighed and sat up, "well that's boring," he said to himself then headed out to further explore the living area.
Unforchanetly there was not much spade for him to explore. There was the main living area where he first came in at that had chairs, tables and the coûter they all got their meal trais from but that was closed up now. There was also a small training space and then he spotted the window.
Shadow went over to it and looked up seeing earth for the first time. He stood there and looked at it on aw and stayed there watching it till morning. [[USER_B]] said the following:
Soon enough, the others all walked out one by one, yawning and groggy from sleeping. The scientists had brought food for them and a doctor was called to check on Krystal, as she hadn't came outof her room yet.
But soon enough, she walked in with pinned ears and a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She silently sat down at a table away from the others, her head low as she just looked tired.
Shadow had returned to his room right before Krystal had come out and was still there, though there was no way to know what he was doing in there.
"You need to eat and try to stay up a bit." the doctor was telling Krystal.
Krystal remained silent, but softly nodded in acknowledgement.
Amy, Sonic, Tails and Silver had to wait for the doctor to leave, before to approach her.
"Hey, are you alright?" Amy asked with concern.
"...I'm sick again..." Krystal quietly replied.
"You seem to get sick every few weeks, that's worrisome..." Silver frowned.
Tails just remain silent, but he also looked worried.
Krystal didn't like to look weak and her energy was weak too, although the others couldn't sense it. She pulled a tray of food towards herself to eat something.
Amy looked around to see if Shadow had came back, but he hadn't and she hoped that he didn't think that they were ignoring him, they were just concerned for Krystal.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic had his ears pined, "and they didn't want to take you to the medical bay?" Sonic asked thinking they would want to do that. "Did they st lest give you medicine?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"The doctor gave me medicine and recommanded me to eat and to rest plenty..." Krystal mumbled, nibbling at a bite of food. "He said he would come back tomorrow and to stay clear from you all, too..." she added more quietly.
Amy huffed and crossed her arms. "Like we'll agree to that." she replied, but then sighed. "But seriously, just take it easy..."
Silver nodded in agreement. "It's not your fault, Krystal...you didn't do anything wrong." he tried to comfort her.
"Don't worry about the rest, you need the time to heal." Tails also pointed out.
Krystal silently nodded, and played with her food with pinned ears.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"But that also means Maira can't come here," Purple pointed out from were he was sitting a few tables away eating his food.
Sonic's ears pined remember if that. "You didn't have to bring that up," Sonic said a bit frustrated not wanting Krystal to feel worse then she already did.
Not only could Maira not visit when one of them was sick she couldn't be near any of them in case they were carrying what ever it was.
There was a sterilization chamber on bord just in case but they scientist normally just kept them apart.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal flinched being remembered that, and just silently nimbled on her food. There was nothing to be done but to eat, rest and heal, Maria would understand.
Sonic, Amy, Silver and Tails kept her company as she ate slowly, but she eventually ate the whole thing, and then went off to bed again to go back to sleeping, which she clearly needed.
Sonic, Amy, Silver, and Tails were then taken away for their personal and almost usual tests.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Latter that same morning Shadow was shaking off his quills after coming out of the sanitation chamber. The professer had insisted to have Shadow be sent through sense Maira would not stop talking about speaking to Shadow after his first day/night with the others. She had not been allowed to watch mostly sense they expected there would be violence.
"I don't like that machine," Shadow admitted.
"I know it's not fun, and it's even loud to me so I would hate to know how it feels on your ears." He joked.
"Trust me... you don't want to know," he replied shaking his head again.
"Come on, Maira will be in the lab. She is eager to hear about your night,"
So they both went to the lab together, Shadow faking The professer.
"Guess who's back," he said as they both walked in, Shadow looked a little flushed up still from the sanitation chamber.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Maria just looks so happy to see him and basically rushes to grab him by the hands.
"You have to tell me everything!" she exclaimed, sparkles flying off of her. "How did it go? Did you made friends? Did you sleep well too?" she then excitedly bombarded him with questions.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"When, when I first got there,," Shadow started to say but the professer interrupted him by clearing his thought.
"Well, let's just say I didn't quit get along with one of them," Shadow said not explaining what that ment. "I think they were all kind of scared of me at first,"
"Well, you are rather intimidating," the professor lightly teased.
Shadow laughed ever so slightly then turned to the professer, "I did what you told me, I tried copying their behaviors.
He then turned back to face Maira "I got the food that they were eating. The pink one, I think she called herself Amy, she came and sat with me. She said she likes it when they get meet
He said then turned back to professor Gerald, "I want to try this... meet... stuff."
Shadow then blinked and looked back at Maira, "what is meet?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Oh, that's basically animal parts that you can eat." Maria replied with a light chuckle.
She then showed him the image of what a meal that included meat looked like.
"That's beef, with veggies and rice. They are usually being served that on Fridays, perhaps you will get to try it later." Maria smiled. "Amy must have told you about how it helps replenish energy and obviously get some proteins in."
She seemed aware that the others had named themselves. [[USER_A]] said the following:
"Yeah, that's exactly what Amy said. Eating meet helps her with recovery." Shadow replied.
The professer thought for a moment, "Perhaps I can see if the kitchen can work more meet into the meals of the experiments. To be honest I have never really looked I to what they were being fed. Surly they at lest must be giving the fox more frequent meet. He is a fox after all,"
What the professer didn't realize is the kitchen had become lazy and were feeding all of them the same things and mostly what was left over from what the humans didn't want with a few extra vary basic foods to supplement. In fact sometimes when the kitchen was really lazy they got cat food, even Tails.
"Then I could try meet sooner," Shadow said sounding exited.
The professor smiled, "alright, then I will go talk to the kitchen this afternoon, but first we need to get some work done, ok Shadow."
Shadow's ears pined back a little, "oh, yeah."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Maria didn't know any of that either, and she frowned at what her grandfather said.
"What kind of work, now?" She asked, rising an eyebrow.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Well, we have to take some more blood sample and see how his body is reacting to the tests we performed yesterday, wether or not he had been effected by it or if he already fought It of or not," The professer explained.
He then walked over and put a hand on Maira's shoulder, "I know you don't like that he must be tested on but if these tests go well it will be one more step closer to you getting to live a normal life."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Maria folded her arms and looked away, silent and clearly not happy about this.
"He deserves better than this...all of them, actually, deserve better." she muttered.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
The professor clears throat, "why don't you ask Shadow how is night went," He suggested mostly to change the subjected as Shadow was walking over the one of the labs tables that had ben set up and a kind of Mack shift medical area.
Shadow got up on the table on his own and sat down, understanding the drill at this point.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Maria quietly sighed, then looked over at Shadow. "How did your first night go, Shadow?" she asked him, humoring her grandfather's wish.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Well j tried that sleep thing," Shadow started saying as The professer was getting out the stuff he nodded. " But to be honest, it was kind of boring."
Shadow then looked over at Maira. "How do people stand staring at the roof for 8 hours? Do yours at lest have something to look at?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Maria smiled sheepishly. "You could have gotten out of the room and go to the observation bay window to look at the Earth...I enjoy looking at it, it's a beautiful world." she replied, sad that there was nothing else to look at in space.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Oh, do that's what that thig is..." Shadow was saying but stopped and winced when the professor put the needle in his arm to withdraw some blood. "called." he said finishing his sentence looking over at the professor.
"Yes, that... thing you can see from some of the windows is one of the planets and it is called earth. That is were me, Maria and all the humans on this station are from." he explained as he waited for the syringe to fill. soon enough he polled it out.
"oh" Shadow replied then thought for a moment then looked over at Maria "Where am I from?"
"You are from here my boy, right in this vary lab" The professor replied proudly getting Shadow to look back at him. "I built you" he said and booped Shadow in the nose.
""oh" Shadow replied not having any other knowledge by which to compare that statement with. He then looks back to Maria. "I eventually did go and look at it"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
So were all the others he had met. Built in these labs on the ark.
Shadow was the most successful results being made with both mobian and Black Arms DNA.
"Yeah, the Earth looks blue from here, but I assure you that there are more colors to it." Maria added with a light smile.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Do we get to go there?" Shadow asked not knowing the hole story.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Maria got quiet and looked down at her hands, silent. "...I can't go...The low gravity of the ARK keeps my Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome in remission..." she quietly said, sadened as she closed her eyes and rose a hand to gently rest it on her head.
"...But you guy? Maybe one day you'll get to go down here and have wonderful lives that don't involve being stuck here!" she then added with more cheerfulness, trying to be optimistic.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
the Professor put a hand on Maria's shoulders, "I will find a cure then you will get to go back to earth." he replied then went back to the pick up the medical supplies and brought them over to his lab equipment. "But for that to happen we all need to work vary heard"
Shadow nodded, understanding wheat that meant. That meant nun of them were going to earth till Maria was healthy enough to be there.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Maria nodded softly, perfectly aware that she needed to take it easy, too. She silently stared at Shadow, wondering if he and the others would get to experience more things in life than...this current living situation.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Gerald then turns to Maira, "not that I think about it, don't you have class to getting to," the professor said. "Your not trying to get out of it are you?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"I was not, I was just excited to talk to Shadow about his first night with the others." Maria sighed, not wanting to leave.
She got up from where she sat, then looked over at Shadow.
"See you around, Shadow. You two, Grandfather." she said with a light smile, then headed for the door.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"By Maira" Shadow said waving a bit. Once Maira was gone he turned to the professer. "You did that on purpose"
"Yes my boy, I hade to. Maria is too kind hearted to know the full extent. Not like you and I. We both know that sometimes you have to do things you don't like in order to accomplish a goal." The professor replied.
Shadow nodded, "to accomplish... a file," Shadow repeated as he looked down committing the concept to memory. He then takes a deep breath. "Alright," he said preparing himself.
"Good, brass yourself"
Shadow grit his teeth as the professor continued his work.
Latter on back in the experiment habitat, Krystal had been the only one left behind. It was mid afternoon and no one was back yet. [[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal had slept in most of the morning and despite still feeling the early signs of illness, she needed to stay up a bit.
She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and she stood in front of the observation bay window, just staring at the Earth.
Krystal's ears were pinned, as she slowly rose a hand and let it rest against the cold window, watching aurora borealis lights shine brightly across the northern pole.
Her eyes were sad a bit. She was left behind for obvious reasons, but she couldn't help herself and feel like they all deserved better lives than...that.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
The doors to the enclosure opened and Shadow walked in. He turned around and watched the doors close and waited a few seconds before wincing and letting out a grown of pain.
"They keep getting worse" He said not knowing that anyone ells was in the room.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal blinked in confusion and turned around, hearing him talking to himself.
"...Shadow...?" she called out, slowly approaching as she held the blanket around herself. "Are you alright?" she then asked with concern.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow turned around and when he saw her his eyes widened, "It's you!" She said a little startled.
"You're the on I saw in the lab that day," he quickly added. "The one at the window."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal smiled lightly, and nodded. "Yes...I'm Krystal, but the scientists call me White." she introduced herself more properly. "Are you alright?" she then asked, still concerned.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"I Will be fine," He replied not wanting to dwell on it.
"So, your Krystal," shadow replied. "I head the other talking about you this morning."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal nodded softly. "Yeah, sorry about it...I needed to go back to sleep, since I seemingly got sick." she replied with a sheepidh smile. "Which is why I was the only one in here when they let you come in." she then added with a light sigh.
Her energy did feel low compared to the others, but not in danger, as far as he could tell.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow leaned in a little towards you and started to sniff the air. "Your energy dose seam low compared to the others and your scent dose seam a bit off but I can't realy know for sure." He replied as he stoped sniffing. After all he didn't know what her base line smelled like.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal blinked in confusion. "My scent...?" she repeated. "I suppose I smell...normal?" she then added, chuckling a bit.
She then leaned forward and smelled at him with interest in return. "...Well, I don't know how to describe yours...but your scent is strong." she said, as she stopped sniffing as well.
And...enticing? she then thought to herself, surprised to find his scent so...tempting.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow chuckled a little, "you can actually determine a lot about a person's health based on their send. Changes in blue presher, blood chemistry, blood sugar and other such things can be detected by sent" Shadow explained and chuckled a little, "The professer has been teaching me how to distinguish some of these biomedical changes in a person's sent. Unfortunately I do need to smell a base line sent to know if something is a change or normal." He admitted.
But still, that was really impressive.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Oh, I see...I heal well within a week, most of the time." Krystal replied with a sheepish smile. But you on the other hand smell incredibly healthy. she then thought to herself.
"I was watching the Northern Lights when you came in." Krystal said with a little spark in her eyes. "They're breathtaking from up here."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow razed an eye brow, "northern... lights?" He asked confused. "Why do lights have direction?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Actually, you should see them." Krystal smiled.
She reached for his hand and gently grabbed into it, then started pulling him towards the observation bay window, where he was now faced with the spectacle of northern lights in the north hemisphary of Earth.
"The Northern Lights a phenomenon where the solar particles from the sun hits the Earth's magnetic field, and the Northern Lights are the result of that collision." Krystal explained, resting a hand on the window as she stared at the dancing lights.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow's eyes widened as he stared at it in wonder. Krystal had just explained the science behind it, but even after understanding that it's still felt like magic to him. "I can see why you could want to look at them."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Yeah, they distract me from all of...everything else..." Krystal replied, her voice growing quieter at the end as she lightly pinned her ears. "I...just wished we had something better than these hollow, metallic halls." she then added, longing in her voice as she kept staring at the dancing lights.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow looked confused as he looked at you, "what ells is there?" he asked genuinely not having any idea.
But to some degree none of them did. Nun if them had existed beyond this station, even before they were brought together they were only in the land they were created in and compared to that this was so much better. At lest here they had some comforts.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal moved her hand from the window and silently waved at the table where the scientific, nature and other kind of books where. A book suddenly flew to Shadow and once he grabbed it, it stopped glowing.
"...This book shows a big world down there...filled with animals, with life...with light..." Krystal replied still with longing. [[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow looked at it for a moment but didn't open it. He looked over at Krystal then back out the window. "You do realize, non of us are going anywhere till Maria's condition has been fixed. The professor said as much today." Shadow explained.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal slowly turned her head away, but he could see a tear twinkle as it streamed down on her cheek anyway. Her ears were pinned, and she still held the blanket around herself.
"...I want more...than a life trapped withing these stupid walls..." she quietly replied, her voice shaking as she said the words.
Krystal sniffled and tried to wipe her tears away. "...Maria might be the reason why we exist...but we're so much more than scientific projects...I long for more than being subjected to experiments, day after day..." she quietly added, her eyes closed as she still cried silently.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Krystal had no idea how that one single tear triggered something inside Shadow that would cascade and build into some thing that would change him forever.
With your words determination set into his hart. then, there is only one option he thought as he turned back to look at the planet. I will do what ever it takes to make sure Maria others cured, no matter what
Just then the doors opened as Sonic walked back in. "I am sick of wheels" He said in frustration. "Can't they finish the track alredy" he said not realizing the conversation that just took places
When he spots Krystal he quickly ran over, "Krystal how are you doing? Feeling any better?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal jumped a bit, not expecting him to rush next to her. "I-I'm feeling a little better, the sleep really did help." she stammered with a nervous laugh.
Her cheeks were still wet from crying just seconds before and she quickly wipped them away.
"I was showing the Northern Lights to Shadow." she then added with a light smile.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic was a little conserved at first when he saw the tears flaming ad Shadow for a second who was now just looking out the window.
Sonic then dismissed it, "yeah they're nice," Sonic commented, he never really slowed down long enough to take a really good look at them. "Amy and tails should be showing up soon. I heard tails finishing up with his handler as we were heading back and Amy is almost always done around the same time."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"That's wonderful, I would love to say hi before I have to go to sleep again." Krystal lightly chuckled.
She then glanced over at Shadow, who is still holding the nature book, wondering if he would read it.
Soon after, Amy and Tails are walking in, stretching and sighing in relief.
"Finally, some peace..." Tails mumbled, clearly exhausted by whatever mental task he was challenged with.
"Oh, hi, you three!" Amy waved, noticing Sonic, Krystal and Shadow by the window.
"Hey." Krystal smiled lightly.
"How are you three doing?" Tails asked, smiling.
"Still tired..." Krystal lightly chuckled.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"You got to say up long enough to have dinner. You know you will feel better after if you eat regularly." Sonic pointed out.
Shadow stayed by the window but he listened to the conversations.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"I know...I do feel hungry." Krystal admitted.
"Silver must be done soon, and who knows if Purple is finished too." Tails replied, avoiding mentioning Scourge.
Amy nodded softly. "Well, I'm starving, too!" she smiled brightly.
"Will you join us, Shadow?" Krystal asked with a light smile.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow's ear twitched, not expecting to be invited. He turned around, "I guess." He replied then looked a little confused, "but didn't everyone already est today?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"They usually feed us two to three times a day, depending on how long they put us through training and experiments." Tails replied with a light smile.
Amy nodded. "Yeah, sometimes it's the same kind of food, but they do vary too. I'm hoping for meat today." she chuckled a bit.
"And veggies." Krystal added with a light smile.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic just rolled his eyes, "you both know they early feed us meet anymore," he replied in frustration. "I'm just hoping it's not kibble again." He said and shuttered. "I hate kibble."
"When do they feed us?" Shadow asked.
"They normally wait till most of us are here. That way they don't have to come back more then once. And anyone who's not here when they feed us tend to go hungry cause they are not Lilly to come back" Sonic explained.
"That... dose not seam fair." Shadow replied as his brain was thinking that one through.
"But the scientists are the ones keeping you out late, it's not like we can decide when we are done"
"Yep," Sonic replied.
"So they will still let you go hungry even if they were the ones keeping you out past when the others got fed?" He asked.
Sonic just laughed a bit, "yeah, that about dumbs it up. Welcome to our world" Sonic replied lifting his hands up motioning to the room.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy, Tails and Krystal aslo shuddered at the mention of kibble. None of them liked to eat kibble, it wasn't as nutritious as the more...acceptable meals that included meat and vegetables.
"Well, I need something better than kibble to heal..." Krystal mumbled, still holding the blanket around herself.
"I'm crossing my fingers that we will get something good." Tails said, crossing them.
"We will have to wait and see." Amy replied with a resigned sigh.
The door opened up again and in walked Silver, rubbing his neck and sighing. He then noticed everyone by the window.
"Hey, guys." he said, approaching them. "Krystal, you are up. How are you doing?" he then asked her.
"Better, but still tired." she replied with a sheepish smile. [[USER_A]] said the following:
Not long after Silver arrived and had a chance to settle in a bit they hear the ding that let them know that their door had arrived.
Amy was the first to go up to the window to get her tray and she instantly noticed something was different. Right on her plate was a hole pice of chicken, not shredded chicken, or bits and pieces that looked like they had been cut off of other piece, but one hole chicken brest.
Not only that, but the chicken looked grilled with some kind of sauce. There was also rise and sautéed vegetables. But the most shocking part of all... was steam. There was actually stern rising up from her food and it looked like it had been made fresh rather then looking like it had sit on a counter for an hour before even being delivered.
THERE WAS EVEN A COOKIE!!!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy gasped as she widened her eyes. "Oh my...!" she excitedly exclaimed.
"What's going on?" Silver asked her.
"It's chicken! With a cookie and some veggies!" Amy replied excitedly.
Krystal gasped. "Do you think we all have that?!"
"I sure hope so!" Tails said, getting giddy.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"There is only one way to find out" Sonic said and approached the window. he came back to the group with a tray matching Amy's "This food is Hot... I didn't know food came hot" he said with exactment.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy glanced at Shadow. "Hey, Shadow! You should try chicken, it's great!" she happily said.
Tails, Silver and Krystal all got their own food platters with the same food and were clearly excited about this, too.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Alright," Shadow replied as he got his food and came over to sit at their table.
This food was better then they had in a vary long time, if ever at all.
Sonic takes a bite and can't help but smile. "Where has this been all my life" he said and started eating... with gusto.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Indeed, this food was far much better and they were all eating with excitement and delight.
Krystal whimpered. "Oh my gosh, this is so good..." she sighed dreamily.
"You can say that again!" Amy replied, munching down on that chicken.
"Why they don't give us more similar foods, oh my gosh..." Silver sighed longingly although he was already eating something amazing.
"I wish they did!" Tails replied.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"You're right, this is actually prity good," Shadow said and started eating with them though not quit as exited becuase he didn't know what the other food was like.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy looked at Shadow. "What do you think of it?" she asked.
Krystal looked at him with curiosity.
Tails and Silver were just eating happily.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"It's good, I think I like this... chicken thing" Shadow replied.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy smiled and kept eating along with the others.
Later on, they were looking at many books, and it was clear that Sonic was bored out of his mind about them.
Silver chuckled. "Come on, Sonic...learn chemistry!"
"Or physics!" Tails grinned.
"Or maths!" Amy added, snickering.
Krystal didn't feel like teasing the blue blur, so she simply giggled a bit at the jokes.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"But those things are so boringly" Sonic said flopping off the side of his chair so his head was now on the ground but his lags still on the chair.
"Why can't they give us anything fun to do." Sonic added.
"Like what?" Shadow asked.
"I... i don't know... but I know this is boring"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Well...we have a sparring corner, don't we?" Silver pointed out. "Maybe a little sparring session would be fun."
"Yeah, maybe you guys can spar for fun while we instruct ourselves." Tails chuckled as he pulled both Amy and Krystal to him with little brother vibes.
Both girls giggled a bit, while Silver smiled a bit.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow looked to Sonic and Sonic smirked, "well that might be fun," he said standing up.
Just then the door opened and to everyone's surprised on walked Scourge. One one had seen him for two days sense he tried to attack Shadow.
He had bandages around his ribs as a cast on one arm.
Sonic quickly sits back down and quickly grabbed one of the books, "oh look at that... plants."
Shadow then stands up looking at Scourge.
Scourge just pined his ears back standing by the door not daring to come closer.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy and Krystal both had the same reaction: they both reached out to Shadow and put their hands in each of his arms.
"I think he learned his lesson." Amy said, although her ears were lightly pinned.
Krystal nodded, her ears also lightly pinned. "Leave him be, he is no shape to try anything." she said, pointing out the obvious.
Silver, on the other hand, got up, glanced at Shadow, then headed for Scourge, waving a hand. There was an extra platter of food that floated towards him and he moved his hand so that it would gently land on the table that was the closest to the door, but also far enough from Shadow.
"Hope you'll get better soon, but for now...just stay low." he recommanded, polite but serious.
Scourge had been there for a long time too, so it was only normal that Silver would give him the minimum compassion, despite the green hedgehog's aggressive nature. [[USER_A]] said the following:
Scourge glanced at the plat and his eyes widened seeing the chicken and the cookie. He quickly sat down getting exited for a moment forfeit about Shadow.
His affection was not entirely his own fault, he was designed that way. Sonic's created thought he was too lay back and unfocused and to try and build a better weapon created scourge with more then double the aggression for a normal hedgehog but that also lead him to being hard to control.
Once Shadow saw Scourge waring and keeping to himself Shadow slowly sat back down and let out a huff. "I won't hurt him," Shadow then agreed to the others. "So long as he is not a threat." He added.
Sonic sighed, "he's not much of a threat" he replied looking up from the book. "At lest not right now plus I think you scared the shit out of him"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Silver wished Scourge a good meal, and then left him to enjoy his meal in peace.
He returned to the others and he could see the relief on both Amy's and Krystal's faces. They didn't want more...violence in here...it was supposed to be their 'home', after all.
"Sonic is right, Scourge is...behaving, for now. Don't pay him mind unless he proves to be a threat again." Tails suggested.
Silver sat down again and resumed eating, then looked at Shadow and Sonic.
"So, we were discussing about friendly sparring." he casually reminded everyone.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic gave Silver a quick glare not wanting him to bring that up not wanting to get into any kind of fight with Shadow, fun or otherwise.
Shadow chuckled a little, "The professor said we would each need sparing evenchaly when the time came. He wants to see how my powers compare to the rest of you." He said not knowing several of them had already seen him in action.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"That sounds enticing." Silver smiled, ignoring Sonic's glare.
They kept eating in silence, and then Krystal excused herself and went back to stare out at the Eaeth again, while she still had the energy.
Silver and Amy actually wanted to spar and started sparring, friendly taunting each other as they did.
Tails cheered them on from a table nearby, still reading the books.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Once he was done eating Scourge stayed in the farthest corner away from Shadow but also kept away from Amy and Krystal. Deep down he knew better than to approach ether of them.
Shadow didn't show many more aggression towards Scourge but he did keep and eye on him, vary closely. As fare as Shadow was conserved scourge was now the omega, the last in their little array's hierarchy.
Shadow then gets up and walked over to Krystal and stands beside her and watched out the window.
Sonic on the other hand takes his opportunity to go over to Scourge and sits down next to him.
"Shadow is not such a bad guy," he said but Scourge just glared at him with a small growl. Sonic out his hands up, "Hay, im not here to start anything and yeah, you both got off on the wrong foot, but try not to remember you started that fight."
Scourge sighed looking away, "that's what the creator kept telling me." he finally replied. Unlike most of the others Sonic and Scourge didn't know the name of the scientist responsible for their project. They only knew him by the creator or our creator. "He said that what ever pain I was in... was my own damn fault..."
Sonic's ears pined back felling bad for his brother. "Hay," he said in a softer voice. "Maybe I can talk to James, ask him to bring you some painkillers."
Scourge just huffed, "you know they won't do that. No handler can interfere in the matters of another project. That's all they ever say, he won't help me."
Sonic sighed, "Yeah, I know, but I can at lest," Sonic started to say but was interrupted as Scourge stood up rapidly and nocked the metal tray off the table casing a vary loud commotion getting everyone's attention.
"They'r not going to FUCKING give it to you! So just drop it and leave me FUCKING ALONE" He snapped.
Sonic just sighed not looking up, "I was just trying to help. I know it hurts and I know your to stubborn to say it." Sonic then stands up and looks at scourge. "But as your brother I'm not going to let you suffer if there is something I can do to help, even if you can't see that."
Sonic then headed for the door and hit the call button. "This is project Blue" Sonic said using his project name which everyone but Shadow knew he HATTED but that's just how serious and determined he was. "I need to sleek with James urgently"
After a moment a static sound came from the speaker. "Your request is being prodded, stand by."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
The metal tray loud noises hiting the ground made everyone's heads turn to the two hedgehogs.
Krystal's ear were lightly pinned in concern, the blanket still wrapped around her shoulders. She didn't hear the discussion between the two, but she heard the static from the speaker. She stared with confusion, wondering what was going on and why Sonic looked serious.
Silver and Amy noticed Sonic by the speaker and stopped sparring, also confused and wondering what was going on. Both looked concerned after hearing the noises. Tails as well had stopped reading and was staring at Sonic and Scourge with wide eyes.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Scourge didn't pay anything attention to the others but looked straight at Shadow who was now staring at him. He quickly sat back down pinning his ears not wanting to upset Shadow.
The static came back into the speaker, this time everyone heard the reply. "Project Blue, your handler will be there shortly. Remain were you are."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal slowly made her way towards Silver, Amy and Tails, her eyes still on where Sonic and Scourge were, her ears still pinned a bit.
"Hey...what's happening...?" she asked, confused.
"I have no idea." Silver replied with a light frown. "I think Sonic's concerned for Scourge...after all, they're kinda brothers." he then added.
Amy softly nodded, staring as well in silence. Tails did the same. [[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow also walked over to where Amy and Krystal were instinctively wanting to protect them.
Scourge just looked down at the table not daring to get up or move.
Sonic remained by the door as instructed, never looking away from it.
It took some time, as it always did when they tried to get one of their handlers to come under abnormal circumstances. But eventually the door started to open and Sonic intently pined his ears back, shifting his wait so he was only standing on one leg. When the door fully opened there was James, Sonic's handler. "What was so urgent Blue?" he said sounding annoyed.
Sonic let out a small, painful whimper, "I'm sorry," he said trying to sound pitiful. "I should have said something sooner. I think i polled a muscle training today, my leg really hurts. could... could you bring me something.... to stop the pain?" sonic asked being very humble which wasn't normal for him.
Japes just razed an eyebrow at Sonic. "If you hurt your leg that bad maybe I should take you to medical" he stated to say but sonic quickly put his hands up
"NO!" he blurted out practically giving away his little act. He then pinned his ears back down and sighed, "Pleas, I... I cant leave my brother... not like this."
James then glanced over at Scourge who looked miserable and he suddenly realized what Sonic was really doing. He sighed, "I could get in so much trouble for this" he said then looked back at Sonic. "Just this one time you hear me" he added with an almost angry and reluctant tone. "Next time he gets his ass kicked I wont be helping"
Sonic gave a nerves chuckle, "Yeah, knotted."
James sighed in frustration then glanced over at Scourge again before turning around. "I will be back in a moment." he said just before the doors closed.
Once the door was closed and they were alone again Scourge looked up at Sonic confused. "Why... why would you stick your neck out for me?"
Sonic just looked back at him and smiled, "You may be a pain and a big jerk sometimes but I know its not entirely your fault and besides, Your still my brother."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
This showed Shadow one thing he had yet to see properly: loyalty in sticking together. Sticking up for your family.
And on this whole spaceship, in this room, they all were family. It didn't matter who created them, what genetic material was used to create them either. It didn't mattered that they might fight, argue, and not want to talk to each other anymore.
None of it mattered, because they only had each other, all of them, in the entire universe.
And they had to stick together, no matter what.
Krystal, Silver, Amy and Tails stared silently, obviously quietly admiring Sonic for showing them all why they had to stick together.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
It took a while for James to come back and Sonic didn't walk away from the door the entier time. Eventually the door opened James stepped back in he tossed a little cylinder shape object to Sonic. "Fell better." He said a bit sternly but then glanced over at scourge who looked over at him.
Scourge made the smallest hint of a smile.
James then turned and left without staying anything ells.
Sonic sighed then walked over to him and opened it up to found. "There is enough in here to last a few days. That should get you through the worst of it." He said handing them to Scourge. Sonic then started to head twords the others.
"Thanks" Scrooge said rather quietly.
Sonic turned around and smiled, "you're welcome."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
The others silently watched Sonic comic back to them.
"Will...he be alright?" Amy asked, frowning in concerned.
Silver crossed his arms. "It'll take time, that's for sure." he muttered.
Krystal finally felt exhaustion catching up to her and she sighed as she got to the table and sat down.
"Well, I sure can't complain now...he's got broken bones...I'm just sick..." she quietly said.
Tails looked at Shadow, then at Sonic. "I think we all need to give him space, gor now." he said.
Shadow, however...had learned that loyalty in sticking together, was making them strong.
Sonic had demonstrated that by helping Scourge get painkiller pills.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Sonic looked to Krystal, "you didn't ask to be sick while he did ask for this. We tried to warn him and he didn't listen so this is his one fault," Sonic replied.
in a moment after taking one of the pills scourge got up and headed for his room.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal softly nodded, knowing that this was true. But it didn't mean she had to be happy about it.
They soon all went to bed again.
A week of tests and training then went buy, and by the time they came back to the room again, Krystal was finally healed.
Even Shadow could tell that her chaos energy was stronger, healthier even.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Your energy is different," Shadow said smelling her. "Have you gotten un-sick?" He asked.
Shadow was still having some difficulties adapting to life with his one kind. He was still tense around scourge and would growl anytime scourge came to close while he was near Amy or Krystal. Scourge became quit submissive towards Shadow but still taunted Sonic but at lest a bit less risky now.
Purple was........................................... Purple.
Ever sense that day Amy told Shadow she whisper they would give them more meet they started getting some kind of protein every day. The only exception to this was Tails who was now getting some kind of meet at literally every meal. In fact they were giving tails a simuler but slightly different meal, like some one remember he was a predatory species.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal smiled a stronger smile than she did in the previous days.
"I have healed, yes." she replied.
They were all eating once again.
"The food has been helpful, along the rest." she then added.
"What did the doctor give you for the fever?" Amy asked with a frown.
"I have no idea...he called it tylenol or something...said it was used for fevers and body aches." Krystal replied.
"Well, uh...they certainly got more attentive to our...needs." Tails said, looking at his meal.
"They sure did...that's...a good thing, but it feels strange, too." Silver said, sweat dropping and chuckling a bit.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"How come?" Shadow asked confused.
"They never use to give us food this good," Sonic replied waring his. "They haven't even fed us kibble in weeks" he said bary glad about that. [[USER_B]] said the following:
"That's true." Amy replied, surprised to notice that too, eating her meal.
"I wonder what changed." Silver said, as he ate.
"Whatever that is, it's better than kibbles." Tails said, shuddering.
Krystal lightly chuckled at Tails' shuddering. "You are right."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Oh, the professor said they plan to start testing how some of us work together rather than individually." Shadow commented.
Sonic looked over at Shadow, "wait, isn't professor Robotnic the scientist that created you? He's the leader in charge of the entier Ark. how often do you even interact with him?"
Shadow surged, "every day I guess, why?"
Sonic looked shocked, "I never interact with my creator, nun of us do. They assigned us each a handler so they don't have to deal with us themselves."
"Handler?" Shadow replied a bit confused. "No I... I just work with the professor."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Oh, that'd be great!" Amy said, getting excited.
"Me and Krystal are already used to that." Silver smiled. "Would like to see how we work separately with others." he then added.
"I'd love to try working with you too, guys!" Krystal happily said.
"I'm afraid that my main strength is my mind." Tails nervously chuckled.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"I don't know who will be working with who first, the professor said they were still working together to create a schedule" Shadow replied.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Amy pondered on how weird they all had handlers, but not Shadow. Something was fishy about it.
If Krystal noticed it too, she didn't let it show. Nor did Tails or or Silver.
"Well, in any case, I'm sure it'll be kind of fun!" Silver replied with a smile and being optimistic about it.
Krystal, Amy and Tails all smiled and nodded in agreement.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"Oh," Sonic said excitedly. ."they finally finished the new track. Tomorrow I get to run on it and see how fast I can really go."
As Sonic was going on about the new track and how exited he was about it only Krystal and Amy noticed that Shadow grit his teeth and his body suddenly went tiges.
Soon Silver was even able to notice that his energy started to seam vary high and it only seamed to be getting higher.
Sonic was the last to notice as Shadow's face began to show an expression of pain.
"Hay... you alright?" Sonic asked.
"Yes... no... I don't know," Shadow replied through gritted teeth. His hart rait was spiking.
Slowly little parti makes of energy started forming in his fur and zipping back and forth between his quills and the tufts of his fur like tinny staticky electricity.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Shadow!" Amy blurted out.
She and Krystal moved to touch him, but Silver swiftly grabbed their wrists.
"Don't!" he exclaimed, staring at Shadow. "If that's hurting him, it will hurt you both as well!" he then added.
Tails was wide eyed and stared at Shadow with pinned ears, wondering if he was okay.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow's ears pinned and he let out a painful grunt. "Not this again" Shadow said in a low harsh voice.
Sonic grabbed onto tails and polled him back not going what was happening but the energy surging along his fur was only getting faster and more intense.
Shadow made another grisant of pain before the energy dancing along his fur started to slowly dissipate.
Silver could sense his energy slowly lowing again as Shadow slowly looked to be in less pain.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"W-What was that...?" Amy asked, clearly concerned.
Krystal pulled away from Silver and put a hand on his shoulder. "A-Are you alright? It looked painful..." she asked, also clearly concerned.
Silver was frowning. "That..looked like an energy surge..."
"You are right..." Tails frowned as well, agreeing with him.
"An energy surge?" Amy repeated.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
When Krystal touched him she felt a tiny zap from left over energy. Nothing painful just like mild static.
Shadow's heart was still breathing a bit fast. "I... I don't know what that is," Shadow replied trying to calm himself down.
Sonic's ears were pinned but he let go of Tails. He looked at Tails hoping he would explain it sense he was confused like Amy.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Krystal swiftly pulled her hand away with a light yelp and shook it, confused by the shock.
"An energy surge is basically a sudden and powerful increase in energy levels." Tails explained, having read about it in one of the books they had. "Your body seem to accumulate too much energy and with no way of using it properly, I theorize that it comes out as electrical impulses, coursing all over your body." he then added, frowning.
"But why does it hurts him?" Silver asked, frowning too.
"I...I don't know everything..." Tails replied, pinning his ears. "If my theory is right, it's because Shadow is trying to contain it to not hurt anyone around him. Containing the surge like he did clearly hurts because the energy is trying to get out, so with no way to evacuate, it only causes him pain..." he then added.
Amy kept her ears pinned. "Why only him?" she asked.
"I...I don't know..." Tails quietly replied, looking down at his hands. "...We were all created for a reason, who knows what Shadow was created for..." he then added just as quietly.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"To heal Maira", Shadow replied as his heart rate was slowing down.
"Wait... what?" Sonic said acting suprised.
Shadow takes a deep breath and looked up at him. "The professor created me so that he could find a cure for Maria's condition." [[USER_B]] said the following:
They were all aware of Maria's illness.
"What?" Amy replied.
"But...how...?" Krystal asked.
"Maria told us that the only thing helping her right now was the low gravity on the ARK." Silver replied, just as confused.
Tails remained silent, just as confused as the four others.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
"I have natural immunity to every disease they have tested on me, every disease they could get their hands on." Shadow replied starting to feel better. "Now the professor intends to experiment on me in hope to find a cure for her disease."
Sonic got wide eyed, "what? You mean... he's actually... and you let them?" Sonic said in shoke.
Shadow looked up at him, "I don't exactly have a chose. Nun if us will ever be free of this place until Maria is cured and if that means I have to let them happen then I will."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"That's..." Amy started to say, but couldn't finished and swallowed.
"It's...thoughtful of you...but aren't you affected in the slightest by all those diseases they put into you...?" Krystal asked, genuinely concerned.
"We want to be free, but...not if it comes to the price of any of us' life..." Silver pointed out, concerned too.
"...Maybe even you won't succeed in helping them..." Tails pointed out, a sad look on his face. "Maria said they've been trying for years..."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow then stands up thinking he was felling better. "I will do what I have to," Shadow replied. He then shakes his head a hit. "I will be fine" he added.
"Well, maybe we should get some one to look at you... just in case" Sonic said taking a step towards the door.
Shadow quickly glared at him letting out a growl. "I said I will be fine, no one needs to be contracted."
Sonic put his hands up, "alright, alright."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Maybe you should not push yourself..." Amy commented, concerned.
"Just let us know if you need anything, Shadow...we're here for you, too." Krystal added, concerned as well.
"Well, for now we can just leave him be, girls." Silver pointed out. "But Krystal's right...we have to stick together."
Tails softly nodded in agreement.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow's nose started twitching, "something smells... different," he said sniffing at the air again.
Sonic chuckled, "you could have just asked to change the subject."
"No, I mean it," Shadow replied then continued fallowing the sent till he got to Amy. He then looked confused. "You... smell different."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Me?!" Amy replied, a light blush on her cheeks as she widened her eyes and pressed a hand on her chest.
"What do you mean?" Krystal asked, confused as she sniffed at Amy in confusion. "She smells the same to me?" she said, still confused.
"I don't smell anything from here." Tails pointed out.
Silver looked confused too, but did not dare to take a sniff at Amy, as she was starting to be agitated and fidgetting with her hands.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow noticed and stoped, "yeah, I can think of how to explain it. Maybe more... sweet?... floral? I don't know. But something is different."
Sonic smelled at the air without getting to close to Amy, "you're right, there is a bit of a different smell in the air. "It's kind of nice."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"I...can smell it too." Silver conceeded.
Amy blushed in embarrassment. "Stop sniffing at me!" she blurted out, confused and agitated.
"Amy, are you okay?" Krystal asked, confused. "You...You're not usually this...agitated."
Amy froze. "Uh?" she said, not having noticed that.
Silver and Tails both sweat dropped.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow stoped and looked over at Sonic who also quickly stoped.
"Sorry Ames, I couldn't help it," he said rubbing the back of his neck.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"It's fine...I guess." Amy replied, sweat dropping. "Let's...just move on."
They all resumed finishing their food and soon went to bed, all wondering what that was all about.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
The next day when tails was being brought to his test for today his handler seamed a bit exited or nerves. When they get to the testing Adria that's when he sees Shadow and the professor.
"So, today we will be testing him with the Fox," one of the men were telling Professor Robotnic. We have developed a new program that should be challenging for both of them."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Tails blinked in slight confusion: what kind of test? And why were they quite excited about all of this? [[USER_A]] said the following:
One of the senior scientists stepped forward, datapad in hand, eyes focused entirely on Professor Gerald. He didn't spare even a glance at the two Mobian subjects standing nearby; they were simply present, not participants in the conversation.
"Professor Robotnik, the three-phase evaluation for Subjects SH-01 and F-02 has been prepared. Each phase escalates in operational complexity and introduces distinct forms of environmental stress."
He brought up a holographic schematic, angled toward Gerald and the other staff.
"The first phase begins with independent obstacle paths running simultaneously. Each subject will encounter a distinct problem set designed to test response time and situational adaptability. Moderate combat interference will be active throughout the course."
He clarified, almost as an aside:
"They are permitted to begin together but are not required to finish at the same time. Performance metrics will be logged individually."
He tapped the display, shifting to the next chamber diagram.
"The second phase involves stabilizing an array of malfunctioning energy nodes. Each subject must restore their assigned system by activating the nodes in the correct sequence. Incorrect activations will trigger a full reset of that array's cycle."
He added, "Time-to-completion and reset frequency will be primary evaluative factors."
Another tap brought up the largest chamber, two workstations, hazard zones, and a timer projection.
"The final phase places both subjects in the same operational field. Fore separate systems will require calibration. The environment will introduce periodic combat interference as the chamber progresses toward critical load."
His tone remained clinical, uninflected.
"Subjects may approach the tasks in any order. Observations will focus on decision-making under pressure, task prioritization, and overall adaptability to shared operational strain."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
They're speaking of us as if we didn't even existed...or mattered... Tails thought to himself as he silently listened to what was being said.
He didn't like how this sounded. What could they possibly be looking for by testing them by groups of two, now?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Professor Gerald's eyes skimmed the holographic display once more. He gave a small, satisfied nod, hands folding behind his back.
"Ah. Yes, that will do," he murmured, tone warm but measured. "The structure is sufficient. Proceed with the evaluation when ready."
The scientists stepped back to initialize the chamber systems.
Shadow, who had been standing just behind Gerald's left side, turned slightly and looked over at Tails. His ears twitched once, betraying a flicker of uncertainty beneath the composed façade the scientists expected from him.
"...Did you understand any of that?" he asked quietly, red eyes narrowing not in hostility for once, but genuine confusion.
His voice was low enough that the scientists likely ignored it, assuming it irrelevant chatter, but Tails was close enough to hear him clearly.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Tails looked over at Shadow. "They want to test our time reaction in the face of solving complex problems. Both together as a team but mostly individually." he explained. "By the sounds of it, the problems sound quite complex." he then added, frowning lightly.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow nodded, that made more sense then what the humans had said or were currently discussing. "Based on what I have heard and... think I understand this kind of thing is your specialty. Is that correct?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Tails nodded. "While I am not physically as strong as everyone else...my mental strength is above theirs in terms of science, calculus and physics, among things." he replied, then laughed a bit. "But the scientists seem to think that you are far more intelligent than I am, which might be true given what I saw you do once." he then added.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
The cluster of scientists finished their briefing notes and turned almost in unison, filing toward the observation room with the clipped efficiency of people who had already mentally moved on to data collection.
Professor Gerald paused before following them. He looked down at Tails and Shadow with that gentle-but-authoritative calm that only he seemed capable of in this place.
"Well then," he said, adjusting his glasses, "you two had better make your way to the starting points. The trial will begin shortly."
He gave them both a small nod, not dismissive, but expectant, then turned and followed the rest of the staff into the glass-walled observation deck.
The door into the testing chamber hissed open, cold air spilling out in a sterile wave. Shadow took a breath, squared his shoulders, and stepped inside without hesitation. He crossed to the nearest marked circle on the far left side, a glowing ring indicating Subject SH-01 Starting Position A.
He stopped at the exact center of the marking and stood tall, quills lifted in their natural sharp arc, posture steady and ready.
The chamber lights began to hum, low and rising.
Phase One was moments from starting.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Tails walked in, a little intimidated knowing that they were going to be observed by so many people during these trials.
He himself walked to the nearest marked circle on the far right side, a glowing ring indicating Subject F-02 Starting Position B.
Tails' ears were lightly pinned, clearly not liking this, mostly because he was not one to purposely wanting to be the center of attention.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
One of the scientists slid into place at the main console, adjusted a small earpiece, and tapped a glowing control rune on the panel.
"Begin Phase One," he announced over the chamber intercom, his voice echoing through the high metal walls.
Instantly, the lights overhead shifted from sterile white to a pulsing amber. The floor beneath both marked starting spots vibrated lightly as the internal systems powered on. Mechanical arms retracted from hidden compartments in the ceiling, unfolding in synchronized motion.
Then the course revealed itself.
The floor plating split into long, jagged lanes, each twisting and cutting through the chamber at sharp, unpredictable angles. Elevated platforms rose from the ground in staggered heights, some tilting, others spinning slowly. Moving walls slid in and out of the pathways, forcing constant changes in direction.
Above the lanes, drone emitters activated with a series of sharp clicks, releasing sleek, fast-moving targets that zipped across the chamber like metal hornets. Their stun-shots were rapid and precise, firing in short bursts that demanded instantaneous movement to avoid.
Laser trip-lines flickered into existence, crisscrossing the lanes at awkward heights, too low to crawl under without speed, too fast to step over without timing.
It looked less like a puzzle
... and more like a battlefield built on momentum.
A voice from the intercom continued, calm and clinical:
"Each subject must navigate their assigned path and reach the far checkpoint. Obstacles will recalibrate every fifteen seconds. Combat interference is active."
The walls trembled again as the first recalibration cycle primed.
Shadow stood poised on his mark, body angled forward, muscles taut with instinctive readiness.
The timer on the far wall flashed to life,
00:00:00
and then began counting upward.
Phase One had officially begun. [[USER_B]] said the following:
Tails widened his eyes.
What the hell was all of this?! They knew his physical abilities were nothing compared to the others! Why would they even set all of this up?!
As soon as the timer started, both Shadow and Tails rushed forward on their respective tracks. While Shadow was going through it with flying colors, it was a different story for Tails.
The fox struggled to keep up with the track changing form every fifteen seconds and bumped into things almost constantly, unable to adjust himself as the changes were just too sudden for him. Clearly, he was unable to predict the patterns.
Tails groaned as he hit a bar, the metal hiting him in the stomach. This is not what they usually put me through! he thought to himself, jumping over it after recovering from the blow.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow launched forward the instant the timer flashed-no hesitation, no second thought. His body dropped into a low, streamlined sprint, quills swept back, arms close, movements razor-clean.
The shifting platforms and tilting panels didn't throw him off; they fed him.
Every sudden change sparked an immediate, precise adjustment.
A wall jolted out in front of him, he pivoted and used its surface as a springboard, twisting into the next lane without breaking stride. A spinning platform threatened to throw him sideways, but Shadow landed dead-center, letting its rotation fling him toward the next obstacle in a perfectly angled arc.
The stun-drones locked onto him with sharp chirps of targeting.
Three fired in quick succession.
Shadow vanished into a blur.
The stun bolts hit empty air as he reappeared behind a drone, spin-dashing through it in a burst of sparks. Two more fell moments later, one with a sharp heel-kick, the other with a controlled palm strike that sent it crashing into a moving barricade.
The laser trip-lines flickered on, unpredictable, fast.
Shadow slipped between them with impossible precision, twisting his body midair, tucking and unfurling like a creature born for this kind of chaos.
Every recalibration hit like a thunderclap in the room, walls shifting, platforms rising, drones redeploying, but Shadow adapted instantly. He didn't have to "predict" anything. He simply moved, reading motion the way others read words.
At one point, a collapsing platform dropped out from under him.
Shadow didn't flinch.
He planted one foot on the falling surface, used its downward momentum to launch himself upward, and landed neatly on the next stable panel as if the collapse had been intentional.
His eyes were sharp, focused, almost glowing with adrenaline.
There was no frustration.
No confusion.
No fear.
Just instinct, speed, and fluid motion,
a creature operating at the exact center of what he was designed to do.
The first third of the course was behind him already, and he hadn't slowed once.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Where Shadow excelled in this test, it was clear that Tails was failing miserably. It was clear from the very start that their abilities were not on the same level, and that the fox's own physical prowess was not as good as the other subjects.
Tails reached the third of this test when Shadow was already halfway through it, and it remained that way until they finished the whole thing.
It took Shadow precisely 5 minutes to finish this, while Tails...ended up needing 15 minutes to complete the track properly.
Tails just stood in his designed finish spot with embarrassment, ears pinned. As I thought...this is silly, why would they even do this? They know we don't all have the same abilities. he thought to himself.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
A moment of silence hung in the chamber after Tails finally reached his finish point. The hum of the machinery slowed, platforms locking into place and drones retracting into their ceiling mounts. Then a familiar crackle sounded overhead as the intercom activated.
"Phase One completed," a scientist announced, voice crisp and detached. "Stand by. Preparing chamber for Phase Two."
The floor vibrated beneath their feet as the entire system powered into its next cycle. The combat lanes folded back into the ground with a grinding metallic slide, locking out of sight. Cooling fans kicked on, sweeping dust and heat from the air.
Panels shifted in the walls, retracting the combat drones and replacing them with tall, vertical columns lined with soft blue lights. In the center of the room, two large square platforms rose from the floor, smooth, flat surfaces etched with faint glowing circuitry.
Small mechanical arms extended, depositing scattered arrays of energy nodes across each platform. The nodes pulsed weakly, flickering with unstable light.
A soft chime rang once.
Then the intercom returned:
"Phase Two: Sequential Node Activation Trial. Each subject will repair their designated array. Incorrect activation will reset the sequence. Time efficiency will be recorded."
Additional lights activated above the platforms, casting bright, even illumination across both workstations.
The room no longer looked like a battlefield,
but a malfunctioning machine waiting to be solved.
Shadow and Tails stood on opposite ends, the new trial taking shape before them.
The chamber hummed.
The nodes flickered.
And the intercom clicked one final time:
"Begin Phase Two."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Now this, Tails felt much more comfortable with.
He quickly approached his designated platform without hesitation and immediately got to work.
His mind already took note of every single pieces scattered all over his platform and he immediately got to work.
He started building something he had no idea what it would look like in the end, but knew exactly where pieces went and belonged to.
It took him all in all 6 minutes to build whatever that was, having been careful and observant. [[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow approached his platform again, eyes narrowing at the flickering array of unstable nodes. He didn't hesitate, he never did. He tapped the first one that felt right.
The entire board went dark with a loud reset tone.
Shadow's quills twitched upward.
He tried another sequence, two taps, then a third.
Reset.
Another attempt, reset.
Another, reset.
Another, reset.
Every failure was sharper, louder, more insulting than the last. Shadow's jaw tightened, claws curling slightly. The logic behind the pattern wasn't landing in his mind the way a motion, a strike, or a threat would. This was still. This was quiet. This was methodical.
Shadow was not methodical.
But he was relentless.
He started again, narrowing his eyes and tapping each node at a faster rhythm. Reset. Adjust. Reset. Adjust. Reset. He tried to anticipate the pattern, failed. Tried to "feel" the right order, failed again.
After five minutes, he had reset the board more times than the system was designed to accommodate.
After eight minutes, he was visibly irritated, quills lifted high, shoulders tense.
After ten minutes, he stopped trying to reason with the grid at all.
He shifted strategies entirely.
Shadow set his jaw, inhaled once, and started tearing through combinations like a living machine, one sequence after another, after another, after another.
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
Reset.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap.
Reset.
Tap-tap-tap.
Reset.
He wasn't thinking anymore.
He wasn't predicting.
He wasn't strategizing.
He was simply fast enough to attempt every possible combination before most creatures could blink twice.
Minutes bled by.
Tails had long since finished, fifteen full minutes into the trial, the board lit blue.
A stable, clean, undeniable completion signal.
Shadow stared at it for a heartbeat, chest rising with sharp annoyance.
He did not look proud.
He looked like someone who had been insulted by a puzzle and then punished it for existing.
But the task was finished.
Shadow straightened, letting out a quiet breath as the system powered down beneath him, his quills settling back into their natural sharp curve.
Phase Two was complete... just nowhere near as gracefully as Phase One.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Tails was nervously watching his progress the moment he was done with his own and was impressed with the speed he had displayed.
He still thought that this was unnecessary...it felt like they were trying to set them up to compete with each other...not to test their abilities together.
He waited to see what would happen next.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
The chamber rumbled again as the new instructions began filtering through the speakers. Shadow's eyes narrowed.
"Revision to Phase Three is now confirmed," the scientist continued, tone clipped and professional. "This portion of the evaluation is intended to measure critical thinking under pressure, as well as maintain operational efficiency under combat interference."
Shadow's jaw tightened.
"The environment will activate six malfunctioning nodes," the scientist went on. "All six must be stabilized before the chamber reaches critical load. Their positions have been evenly distributed around the perimeter for balanced access."
As if on cue, the room shifted again.
Panels along the circular wall folded open with smooth metallic clicks. From each panel, a single glowing node emerged, six total, spaced evenly around the chamber like points on a clock.
They flickered violently, their energy readings unstable.
"This arrangement will require rapid decision-making," the intercom added. "Combat interference will initiate at the same time as the nodes. Subjects may engage the tasks in any order."
Shadow's quills lifted slightly, annoyance mixing with readiness.
To anyone watching the setup looked obvious:
Three nodes near Shadow, three near Tails.
A fair, split workload.
The drones overhead clicked open their housings.
And the hum of rising energy suggested the room wasn't going to be kind.
The chamber lights flickered from red to cold white.
"Stand by," the scientist announced. "Phase Three activation in five seconds."
The countdown lit up the far wall.
5... 4... 3... 2...
Shadow shifted forward, muscles coiling.
1.
A harsh chime echoed through the chamber -
"BEGIN."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Tails pinned his ears.
He didn't like this, not one bit. They knew that he wasn't a fighter and that his main strength was his mind...so why put him through all those physical tests.
He approached one node, carefully...but was slammed back and he fell to the ground, letting out a little yelp of pain as he rose back to his hands and knees, staring at them with uncertainty.
What am I supposed to do here? I can't even approach those things! he thought to himself. [[USER_A]] said the following:
Shadow reached the first node in a burst of motion, planting his hand on the control panel and inputting a quick series of attempts. The node flared red in rejection, its lights snapping back to an unstable flicker. He drew in a short breath through his nose and tried again, this time entering the sequence even faster.
Another reset.
Another buzz of failure.
A muscle in his jaw tightened as he glared at the stubborn device. He made one more attempt, sharper, impatient, and the node punished him with a third reset. His quills lifted in irritation, and the frustration finally slipped out of him in a low, aggravated growl.
"Oh, for chaos' sake, " he muttered, claws pressing briefly against the edge of the panel.
He was just about to force yet another attempt when a sharp sound from behind him caught his attention. Shadow's head turned, his eyes narrowing as he saw Tails still down on his knees near his own assigned node. A drone had pivoted toward the fox, descending with its stun-rod charged and angled for a second strike.
Shadow didn't pause, didn't weigh the situation, didn't spare a thought for the task he had been assigned. He moved on instinct alone.
He pivoted sharply, feet scraping against the smooth floor as he sprang forward. His body blurred in a tight spin that slammed into the drone before it reached its target. Metal groaned and buckled beneath the impact, the machine skidding across the chamber and sparking against the far wall.
Shadow landed between Tails and the remaining drones, posture low and steady, one hand braced against the floor as he lifted his gaze. His quills flared high, the lines of his body sharp with protective intent. The drones recalibrated overhead, their sensors shifting toward him as he placed himself squarely in the fox's path.
For the first time since the trial began, Shadow wasn't thinking about the nodes, the sequence, or the scientists watching from behind the glass.
Shadow shifted his stance, the light from the drones flickering across his quills as he held the line between Tails and the incoming fire. His breathing had settled, but the tension in his body remained coiled and ready.
Another drone dipped lower, its targeting beam sweeping the floor, and Shadow's quills lifted in response. He didn't look away from the threat; his eyes tracked every motion above them with sharp, predatory focus.
"Fix the nodes," he continued, tone quiet but absolute. "I'll keep them off you."
A stun bolt cracked against the ground near his foot, scattering sparks. Shadow shifted smoothly, placing himself even more firmly between the fox and the cluster of drones.
"They're not getting past me," he added. There was a finality to the words, a promise, not an order, not a command, not a calculation.
Just a choice.
A choice to protect, no matter what the scientists expected, no matter how the test was designed, and no matter how it would be scored.
Shadow lifted his head, eyes narrowing as the next wave of drones activated.
"Go," he said simply. "I'll handle them."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Tails was wide eyed, but also grateful for the opportunity. "Alright, I'll go." he replied, getting up to his feet.
The fox then ran over the nodes, while Shadow covered his back and kept the drones away from him. He tapped away at the keyboards, trying to find the right number combos and get access to their central unit.
He eventully managed to find the right combo, and a red button covered with glass suddenly darted up from the middle of the console. Tails swiftly opened it and smashed the button down without hesitation.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
The moment Tails struck the red emergency override, the node beside him erupted in a burst of bright white light. The flickering, unstable energy stabilized instantly, collapsing inward before reforming into a steady blue glow.
A sharp chime echoed through the chamber:
Node 1: SECURED.
The shift was immediate.
The drones nearest that node deactivated mid-flight, dropping like metallic husks to the floor as their targeting protocols shut down. Energy readings rippled across the walls, showing that one of the chamber's critical load indicators had dropped by a noticeable margin.
But the other five nodes were still pulsing erratically, their lights flashing faster now, reacting to the stabilization of the first.
Shadow glanced back only long enough to confirm Tails wasn't hurt. Then he crushed one of the approaching drones under his heel and whipped his head toward the next closest node.
"Go," Shadow snapped, voice low but firm. "Head for the next one."
His stance shifted, bracing himself between Tails and the incoming wave, ready to intercept anything that moved while Tails ran.
"Move!" he barked again, sharper this time as another drone lunged from above.
Shadow dashed forward to meet it, clearing the path.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Tails jumped at the sharp command but quickly ran to the other node and repeated the processus, although it took him more time to find the right combo this time.
He was forced to duck when a wave of drones tried to fly into him, but Shadow quickly dealt with them, so the fox resumed typing away on the keyboard and finally found the second right combo.
Once he found it, he swiftly repeated his gesture and punched the red button again.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
The second override triggered with a deeper, heavier surge.
The node flared, white at first, then stabilizing into that same solid blue glow. A shockwave of harmless energy pulsed outward from its housing, rippling through the floor like a heartbeat.
Node 2: SECURED.
Two more drone clusters immediately lost power, collapsing mid-flight and scattering across the ground in a clatter of metal. The lights on the chamber wall shifted again, another segment of the critical load bar dropping into the safe zone.
But now the drones that remained shifted tactics. They flew lower, faster, targeting Tails the instant the system detected the node stabilizing.
Shadow was already there.
He blurred across the chamber, intercepting the swarm before they could close in. A spin dash tore through the first cluster; a sharp backhand sent another skidding across the floor. He shielded Tails with his body without hesitation, feet planted and quills raised like a living barrier.
Tails barely had a second to breathe before Shadow snapped at him again, sharp, urgent, but not unkind.
"Keep moving!" He pointed with a quick jerk of his head toward the next flickering node on the far side of the chamber.
"You can do all of them in the time it would take me to do just one" Shadow admitted then glanced back at tails over his shoulder. "You got this!"
Shadow then quickly turned back to smash another drone.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"R-Right!" Tails blurted out in a startled voice, and quickly made his way to the other nodes.
One by one, as they kept working together, the nodes were shut down. One after another, the success message would appear, but the drones would get faster and more aggressive, too.
They managed to leave scratches on the fox, despite the ebony hedgehog's protection from them, but at least he was not as hurt as he did got at the start of this whole test.
Finally, the final node was shut down, and Tails was panting, having ran from one to another without a proper breather. [[USER_A]] said the following:
The final node's override screamed to life the moment Tails slammed his hand down on the red button.
A brilliant column of light shot upward from the node, bursting into a clean, crystalline blue flare that washed across the chamber like a wave.
Node 6: SECURED.
CRITICAL LOAD: STABILIZED.
All at once, the drones in mid-air froze.
Every targeting light blinked out.
They fell like dead metal rain, clattering across the chamber floor in a chaotic chorus before lying still.
The timer on the far wall snapped from its frantic countdown to a frozen display:
FINAL TIME: 05:42
The lights overhead shifted from harsh white to a softer, neutral glow as the hum of the chamber wound down. Defensive barriers folded back into the walls. The remaining machinery powered off in cascading ripples of sound until the entire room was silent.
The intercom crackled to life: "Phase Three complete. Total integration time: five minutes, forty-two seconds."
The door at the far end slid open with a hydraulic hiss.
Shadow released a long, controlled breath, the last of his tension melting from his shoulders. He turned immediately, eyes sweeping the room until they locked onto Tails, panting, scraped, but standing.
Shadow strode toward him in quick, firm steps. Not rushed. Not panicked. Purposeful.
He slowed only when he reached Tails' side, scarlet eyes scanning the fox for injuries, looking over the scuffs along his arms and the small scratch across his cheek. His quills were still half-raised from the fight, instinct hovering just under his skin.
Before he could say anything, footsteps approached from the newly opened doorway, a scientist stepping into the chamber with a datapad in hand.
Shadow reacted before he knew he was reacting.
He shifted.
A step forward.
A slight turn of his body.
Shoulder angled.
One arm subtly edging back.
Blocking Tails.
Not aggressive.
Not hostile.
Just instinctively, a protective barrier formed in a single heartbeat, eyes locked on the figure entering the room.
The scientist stopped mid-step, brows lifting faintly at the display, though he didn't comment. He simply began scribbling a note on the datapad.
Then he looked up at the two of them, at Shadow's defensive stance, at Tails still catching his breath, and asked in a calm, almost bored tone: "...Why did you deviate from the instructions?"
His eyes flicked between them, not accusing, just collecting data, as though the question were no more personal than asking a machine why it changed its processing route.
Shadow didn't look away from the scientist. His stance didn't ease, but his voice came out steady, low, controlled, and edged with something that sounded almost like restrained irritation.
"You didn't prepare him for that," Shadow said plainly. "Anyone could see that." His quills shifted slightly, not in threat, but in emphasis. "You had drones attacking from every direction, and his body isn't built for that kind of fight."
He glanced at Tails briefly, then back at the scientist. "I wasn't going to stand there and ignore it." He lifted his chin a little, not defiant, just stating a fact.
"It made more sense for him to handle the nodes. He's faster at them than I am. And it made more sense for me to keep the drones off him. That's what I'm better at."
"So we did what worked."
The scientist didn't respond.
Not to the explanation.
Not to the tone.
Not to Shadow instinctively placing himself between him and Tails.
He simply lowered his eyes back to the datapad and began typing.
Fast.
Precise.
Expressionless.
A few more taps.
A quiet hum of acknowledgment to himself.
Not a single look up to show whether Shadow's reasoning was approved, disapproved, or completely irrelevant.
When he finished, he tucked the stylus behind his ear, turned on his heel, and walked out of the chamber without a word.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Tails' ears were pinned.
He too was starting to think like Krystal. That there has to be a better life for all of them. One of freedom, without tests, without constant fear of failure.
The scribbling of the stylus on the datapad made him flinch, like it was some unwanted shot.
Swallowing, Tails looked up at Shadow. "Thank you..." he said, genuinely sincere.
His handler, Alexander, soon walks in and looked annoyed.
"They didn't explained to me what you'd be put through." he told Tails and stopped with a frown at Shadow's protective behavior.
"Y-You knew about this?" Tails stuttered, ears pinned.
"I did. Just not the full extent of it. But you need to go to Medbay now, get those scratches treated." Alexander replied, a little concerned.
Tails grit his teeth and looked away. He felt betrayed...the handlers had always warned them whenever it was something new, but...even if Alexander didn't know the full extent himself...it still hurt. [[USER_A]] said the following:
Before Tails could say anything back to Alexander, the door slid open again.
This time, the footsteps were lighter.
Measured.
Almost... cheerful.
Professor Gerald Robotnik walked in with a wide, unmistakable smile, practically glowing with pride. He stopped just inside the threshold, hands clasped behind his back as he looked at both of them like a grandfather watching children win their first award.
"Magnificent!" he exclaimed. "Absolutely magnificent. You two did far better than any of us expected."
His eyes crinkled at the corners as he looked between Tails and Shadow, not with clinical disinterest, but with genuine warmth.
Shadow blinked, unused to that kind of reaction.
Gerald nodded approvingly.
"You displayed adaptability, critical thinking, and remarkable instinctive cooperation. Exactly what we hoped we might see. You learned from the first two tests what each others strengths were and used that information to determine the most efficient path to success"
His gaze softened even more when it landed on Tails, taking in the scrapes and the exhaustion.
"Alexander," Gerald said, turning to the handler with a gentle but firm tone, "see to it that Tails is excused from further testing for the rest of the week. He's earned a proper break."
Gerald then looked at Shadow, not with fear or suspicion, but with open approval. "And you, my boy... you performed exceptionally. I couldn't be more proud."
Shadow stood still, uncertain how to react, but his quills dipped ever so slightly, the closest this early-version of him could get to softening in public.
Gerald clasped his hands together once more.
"Well then! Off with you both. Medbay first, then rest. You've both more than proven yourselves today."
The warmth in his voice lingered in the chamber long after his words faded, a stark, comforting contrast to every cold, clinical evaluation before it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
"Of course, Professor. I'll make sure of it." Alexander replied, then looked over at Shadow and Tails again.
Tails quietly got up from the floor, and still looked uncertain as he looked at Shadow, before heading off to Alexander.
"...Thank you, Professor Robotnik." he simply replied, unsure of what to say else.
As he was leaving with Alexander, Tails looked behind him at Shadow, ears pinned in concern.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_A]] said the following:
As tails was talking away he saw the professer continuing to talk s'il shadow till they were out of the room. At the medical bay tails got looked over and then back to habitat.
When he got there sonic was alredy there and his eyes worded when he looked at Tails, "what happened?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[[USER_B]] said the following:
Pinning his ears, Tails went to sit down on a chair. Amy immediately sat down next to it, Krystal was napping, still recovering, and Silver was out doing his own tests.
"What happened, Tails? You look distraught." Amy asked him, concerned.
"...They put us through a series of tests that gauged our personal skills separately and then...we were forced to work together for the last one..." Tails whispered, looking down at his hands. "...We succeeded, and Shadow's unbelievable to see in action..." he then added, then clenched his hands on his knees.
"That's wonderful, but why are you so distraught?" Amy asked again, as he hadn't answered that yet.
Tears fell on his hands as they started shaking on his knees.
"...They didn't warned me...or Shadow...about what they were going to put us through...Professor Robotnik contragulated us, b-but...it still isn't taking away that they hid information from us about those tests..." he quietly replied, his voice shaky.
He was bandaged in some places, and now he brought his legs up and wrapped his arms around them as his rested his face in his knees, curling his tails around him.