The Ultimate Lifeforms

Unnecessary Surgery and Revelations

Sonic awoke to a metallic ceiling overhead and a pounding headache. Blinking his eyes a few times, he tried to clear his vision, to no avail. Trying to regain awareness, Sonic moved his arms only to find them restrained above his head.
Looking around the room, Sonic was able to tell he was in some kind of medical facility, but everything seemed cold and metallic. The room was small with only one other unoccupied hospital bed to the right of him. His swimming vision made it hard to focus on details, but he didn't need his full eyesight to know he was in trouble.
Soft clicking sounds, much like a keyboard, caught Sonic's attention. As he turned to the source, he found Eggman typing at a computer.
"Eggman?" Sonic whispered out in his weak voice. He found it strange that the fat man was not in his usual attire, but was wearing hospital scrubs instead.
Eggman looked up from his work in surprise, not expecting Sonic to be up so soon. "You have a very impressive metabolism, Sonic. I thought for sure you would be out for the rest of the day. It's no matter, only a few minutes delay in my plan."
"Plan?" Sonic asked hoarsely. He had never before worried about Eggman's plans, as they were always easy to foil, but for once in his life, he truly felt fear. He truly felt helpless. "What are you going to do?" He was also too loopy to remember what Shadow told him.
"Just some research," Eggman said calmly, motioning to the array of surgical weapons beside Sonic.
Sonic's eyes grew wide at the sight. "What kind of... research?" Nervousness was clearly evident in his voice.
"The scientific kind," Eggman responded with a laugh, enjoying the sight of Sonic at his mercy. "If it was up to me, you would be awake for the whole procedure, but don't worry, you won't be."
Sonic watched as Eggman washed his hands and put on a pair of sterile surgical gloves. He then made his way over to some drawers on the side of the hospital room and pulled a syringe out of a nearby drawer, bringing it closer to Sonic.
"Don't worry, you won't feel a thing." Eggman inserted the needle into Sonic's arm and injected the contents.
Within moments, Sonic was unconscious once more.
"Besides," Eggman added, knowing he was speaking only to himself. "Shadow would have my heart on a platter if I hurt a quill on your head."

(The Real G.U.N. Investigation Report)
(Over 50 Years Ago -
Project Shadow- Mission Debrief
Mission Objective: Terminate Project Shadow)
Following G.U.N. protocol, all Project Shadow files were secured and sent back to home base for further observation.
All scientists and personnel were arrested and sent back to Mobius for debriefing and facing potential charges. The head of the Project, Professor Gerald Robotnik, has been placed in maximum security holding at Prison Island, awaiting further questioning.
Initial attempts to secure Project Shadow were a failure as it was launched to Mobius along with a second pod in the emergency escape system.
Of the pods launched, we recovered one, Project Shadow, but the other was never found. It is assumed it contained the prototype to Project Shadow and burned up in the atmosphere.

Several monitors attached to Sonic beeped around him, indicating his body was still functioning properly.
Though he had already completed many of the preparations needed for surgery, Eggman had one more task to do. Now that Sonic was out, he would be able to wash his abdomen off and plan his incision marks. Thankfully, Sonic already lacked fur on his chest and belly, so it didn't need to be shaved first.
After carefully marking exactly where he was going to cut, he turned on the tape recorder next to him, preparing to take auditory notes of his procedure.
"Preparations for internal inspection of the second Ultimate Lifeform beginning at precisely 12:42 A.M."

"Excellent work, Shadow," Eggman congratulated the ebony hedgehog.
"Hmph."
Back aboard the ARK, the two figures walked down the quiet metal hallway, towards the medical bay.
"Come now, Shadow. No need to be so modest." Eggman attempted to pat Shadow on the shoulder, but the death glare he received deterred him from doing so. Shadow even had his fangs bared, as if threatening to bite him.
"Enough of your games, Doctor." Shadow crossed his arms, indicating he was serious. "I got you what you wanted. It's time to uphold your end of the bargain."
"Oh, all right. No need to take the fun out of everything." Rifling through the inner pockets of his jacket, Eggman procured a few pages of Prof. Gerald's journal and placed them in Shadow's outstretched hand.
Shadow looked through the pages, a frown on his face. The dates on the pages were out of order, and only a few. "These are only a few of the pages. Where is the rest of the journal?"
Now it was Eggman's turn to laugh. "I said I would give you the pages to my grandfather's journal. I didn't say anything about which pages you would get, which order you would get them in, or even how many at a time."
Within a moment, Eggman was half on the ground, the front of his jacket in Shadow's clenched fists.
"I believe I said enough with the games," Shadow growled, making sure his intentions were clear. "I will ask you only once. Where are the rest of the pages to Gerald Robotnik's journal?"
"If you want the other pages, you are going to have to work for them, just like you worked for these."
"What if I don't want to do your dirty work?" Shadow didn't like the idea of having to dirty his hands any further. The only reason he agreed to the mission was because he was promised Sonic would not be killed. He considered the blue hedgehog his brother and he made a promise to him. And that meant he definitely didn't want to sully his hands with his death or leave the planet prone to a takeover by Eggman.
"You're not captive here. You can leave any time you like, but the pages stay with me." Eggman smiled, knowing Shadow would have no choice but to accept his offer. It was no secret that Shadow was desperate to find any information he could about his past.
"Fine," Shadow gritted between clenched teeth. "But get this through your head, Doctor. I'm here for the journal pages and nothing more. I have no interest in power, or becoming one of your lackeys. And you better not hurt Sonic. Understand?"
Eggman pulled Shadow off of his jacket and stood up to his full height. "Fair enough. But if you ever decided to join Team Eggman, a spot will always be open for you."
"I'm going to check up on Sonic," Shadow said as he turned away from the fat man.
"Oh, Shadow!" Eggman called, suspiciously happy. "Before you visit your friend, why don't you relax on the observational deck and maybe read through a few of those pages? I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised."
Shadow looked down to the pages in his hand. He turned back around to question the doctor, but found he was already out of the hall, the metal doors closing shut behind him.
Not knowing what to expect, Shadow began reading the first few lines of the journal pages as he made his way to the observational deck.
February 12th, 1953
That was the day G.U.N. invaded the ARK. This was most likely the last page in the journal, made the morning of the attack.
Shadow was never really one to follow advice or take orders, but the observational deck was exactly where he went to clear his mind, and a clear mind was exactly what he needed.
For some odd reason, Eggman didn't want Sonic restrained after the 'procedure', and it was his job to make sure he didn't try anything foolish when he awoke.
Shadow settled down in front of the spectacular view of Mobius and took the journal pages out. Not knowing what to expect, but still hoping for the best, he began reading.
It took a little longer than expected, approximately eight months longer than I expected, but alas, it was done.
I was finally able to find a companion for Shadow...