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center of the colony and uncover its secrets", "writing": "[center][u]Chapter 3[/u][/center]\n\nSonic spin-dashed into the bright red door but bounced off after barely leaving a scratch. He swiped his forehead, “Tough door. Any idea how to break through it, Tails?”\n\nTails was already at the door, analysing it with her computer, “Looks like it’s heat resistant too so napalm’s no good,” she collapsed the screen and checked over their loot for the day, “Not much chance of blasting through it either. I’ll need to hack the password to get through and I’ll need a more sophisticated program than what I have here.” They heard her stomach growl as she put her computer away and she chuckled, “Guess it’s been a long day.”\n\n“At least we know the way now.” Sonic carefully scooped Tails up into his arms, “Let’s get some rest and you can work on it tomorrow.”\n\nTails nodded and clung to Sonic as she had before. When he was carrying her he could zoom from the deepest parts of the ruins back to their rooms in the outside ring in mere minutes and over the last seven months it had proved to be the best way to avoid retreading the same ground over and over, especially once Tails started tagging each security station to help them keep track of where they had explored.\n\nThe rush made Tails exhilarated and her face was red by the time they reached her workshop.\n\n“Thanks,” Tails’ face was still red as she got to her feet and stored the materials they had retrieved for the day. “I’d better get started on that program.”\n\n“Why not take some time to chill?” Sonic dropped his backpack and put his arms behind his head as Tails began unloading and sorting her spoils.\n\n“Really, you want me to take it slow?” Tails didn’t look up.\n\n“Honestly, for the first time in ages I feel like slowing down.” The higher pitched voice caught Tails off guard and she looked over her shoulder to face the hedgehog, “Sonic? Was that your voice?”\n\nSonic sighed and spoke, confirming the higher-pitched voice was his, “Yeah, this is how my voice sounds when I’m not trying to sound like a guy.” He immediately shifted back to what Tails now recognized as a voice being deliberately pitched down, “This is the real me but sometimes I have to stop forcing it or it hurts.”\n\n“Oh.” Tails stood up and turned to face him. Her voice hadn’t cracked yet so she didn’t have to make that kind of effort to sound feminine, or at least androgynous. “Thanks for sharing, I think.”\n\nSonic smiled, “No worries, but yeah let’s kick back for a bit,” he offered his hand to Tails, who took it and let Sonic lead her back to his room.\n\nTails curled up against Sonic as he channel surfed on the room’s television, checking every channel he could find before sighing and passing it to Tails. “Still nothing. Eggman’s been quiet too long.”\n\n“Worried?” Tails leaned back to look Sonic in the face.\n\n“Yeah, he’s never been quiet this long and trust me, Robotnik’s not subtle. If he’s up to something he’d have shown up to do something.” Sonic was glaring at the TV screen.\n\n“Sonic, maybe take your own advice and chill,” she smiled when she saw Sonic visibly relax, “Let’s just watch something mindless and rest.” She swung her tails over Sonic like a blanket.\n\nSonic smiled and wrapped his arms under Tails’ and around to her chest, “Yeah, you’re right.” His voice slipped into its natural feminine range as Tails started channel surfing. It wasn’t long before they fell asleep.\n\nSonic awoke to find that Tails had twisted around in her sleep, laying her head on Sonic’s chest and hugging him with her arms. Sonic couldn’t help but smile and hugs Tails closer.\n\nTails stirred, “Mornin’ Sonic.” Her eyes shot open as soon as she realized where her head was. “Wah! I’m sorry!”\n\n“It’s fine,” Sonic held Tails as she tried to jump up, “That eager to get to work?”\n\nTails breathed a sigh of relief and let herself sink back down, “A little. I’ve been dying to know what powers this place for years.” She snuggled up to Sonic, “But I supposed I can wait a little longer.”\n\n“Yeah,” Sonic rubbed Tails’ back, “We deserve a rest.”\n\nTails finally pulled herself away half-an-hour later to start working on her hacking program. Sonic would watch her for a while, go watch TV for signs of Robotnik then go outside to run around usually only returning for meals or sometimes to watch Tails at work, though admittedly watching her work on a computer was less exciting than her usual mechanical work.\n\n“And I am done!” It was a couple days later when Tails finally finished, thankfully early in the morning after leaving some of the software to compile overnight.\n\n“Alright, let’s do it!” Sonic reached out for a fist bump, which Tails returned before she let Sonic scoop her up and speed back to the bright red door. Tails was on her feet and connected to the still open panel on the door.\n\n“Alright, I’ll have it open in no time.”\n\n“I know you will,” Sonic folded his arms and leaned back against the wall to watch her work. It was the work of a minute before they heard the door start to slide open. They stood side-by-side, Tails pulled out a yellow plasma pistol and held it at the ready while Sonic reached for a power ring, both ready for whatever was on the other side as light broke through the crack in the middle of the door.\n\nIt was a laboratory but unlike the others they had found it was pristine and massive, built around a large pillar and extending around in what they believed was a massive ring with blue and white light illuminating the entire room. There was no alarm or any sort of security as the duo stepped in.\n\n“The power core should be in there,” Tails pointed to the cylindrical middle of the room.\n\n“So we just gotta find the door, no sweat,” Sonic smirked.\n\n“That and this has to be the central computer.” Tails hovered over to the nearest computer console, “Once I crack this I can only imagine what I’ll find.”\n\n“Alright, I’ll look around for any surprises,” Sonic dashed off leaving Tails to her work... only to return less than a minute later.\n\n“Tails!” Sonic’s high-pitched shout made Tails lose her spin and drop to the floor. “There’s hedgehog here! A mobian!” he managed to push his voice back down into the more comfortable lower register as he grabbed Tails’ hand.\n\n“Wait what? Whoa!” Tails was yanked along before she could get any more words out until Sonic skidded to a stop and pointed.\n\n“Look!”\n\nTails got to her feet and turned to stare at what Sonic had brought her too. It was a large cylindrical tank full of some sort of frozen transparent pale blue liquid and floating inside was a Mobian hedgehog. They looked about Sonic’s age, maybe a bit older, and was covered in black quills save for a white tuft on its chest and red stripe down the center of their head and the top of their quill-clusters, which curved upwards. Their only clothing was a pair of white rubber-soled laboratory shoes.\n\n“What’s a Mobian doing in here?” Tails looked at the computer at the base of the tank.\n\nSonic shook his head, “Probably got trapped here,” He spun around trying to spot whatever might have grabbed the black hedgehog.\n\n“I don’t think so, look,” Tails pointed to the screen that she was now seated in front of, which was displaying a number of medical readouts and the words: STASIS TANK-03, PROJECT SHADOW, READINGS STABLE.\n\nSonic leaned over to read, “What’s stasis?”\n\n“I think it’s a form of freezing or suspended animation,” Tails was already working on the computer, “If this was a project that probably means they were created here but I don’t recognize the date code so I have no idea how long they’ve been here.”\n\n“Can you wake them up?” Sonic turned to Tails.\n\n“I think so, it’s not encrypted too tightly.” She looked up at Sonic, “Should I?”\n\n“Yes!”\n\n“OK.” Tails worked furiously, easily accessing the controls as commands and menus flashed across the screen.\n\nSUBJECT STABLE\nCONFIRM RELEASE?\n\nYES\n\nDISABLING STASIS FIELD\n\nThe frozen liquid inside began to bubble as it thawed and the black hedgehog stirred.\n\nPROJECT SHADOW:\nMEDICAL READINGS STABLE\nDRAINING SUSPENSION FLUID\n\nAs the fluid drained the black hedgehog opened their red eyes, blinking a couple times until their feet touched the floor and the tank was empty. Suspension fluid dripped from the hedgehog’s quills as they blinked through the glass at Sonic and Tails, then they started to pound on the glass with a fist, trying to say something that was completely muffled.\n\nSonic and Tails squinted at the hedgehog’s face as they slowed down to let the pair read their lips.\n\n“Let. Me. Out.” Sonic repeated what he saw the hedgehog as saying.\n\n“No sweat.” Tails entered a single command and the glass slid down to release the occupant.\n\nThe black hedgehog panted and carefully stepped down from the tank, then glanced from Sonic to Tails. “Thank you for freeing me,” the hedgehog’s voice was male, deep and gravelly; it sounded like he suffered from a perpetual mild sore throat, “Who and what are you?”\n\nSonic relaxed then grinned and pointed a thumb at himself, “My name’s Sonic the Hedgehog and this is Tails.” He gestured to his friend.\n\nTails pointed to herself “We’re Mobians. We’ve been exploring this crashed space colony for over half a year. Who are you? Are you a boy or girl?”\n\n“I’m male and...” he paused then looked around, “crashed... Wait! Maria!” Without warning the black hedgehog sped off in the opposite direction Sonic and Tails had come from.\n\n“Hey, wait up!” Sonic and Tails took off after the black hedgehog.\n\nThey didn’t have far to go and they met the black hedgehog in front of another stasis tank, this one shaped more like a bed. Inside was another Mobian hedgehog, this one looking only about six-years-old with blonde quills and wearing a simple blue dress that was two-times too large for her.\n\nThe black hedgehog was seated at the tank’s computer as he went over the younger hedgehog’s vitals. He breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank god, she’s alright.” He swiped a hand over his forehead.\n\n“Wait, who is she?” Sonic pointed at the tank as Tails landed next to him.\n\nThe black hedgehog stood up and turned to face them, now visibly more relaxed. “My name is Shadow and this,” he turned back to the tank, “is Maria. She’s my daughter, sort of...” He sighed, “It’s a very long story.”\n\n“We’ve got time,” Tails leaned back, curling her tails under herself so she could sit on them like a stool.\n\n“Yeah,” Sonic leaned against the nearby wall, “What is this place.”\n\n“There’s still a lot to answer there, Miss Sonic.” Shadow was about to continue when Sonic cut him off.\n\n“Listen, it’s not miss or ma’am or anything like that,” he gestured to his chest, “No matter what you see, I’m a guy. Are we clear!”\n\nShadow recoiled slightly, “I’m sorry. You’re transgender?”\n\nSonic blinked, “Yeah, I’m trans.”\n\n“Me too,” Tails interjected, pointing to herself, “But I’m a trans-girl. You know about people like us?”\n\n“Read about them and saw some documentaries but I’ve never met anyone trans, or at least no one talked to me about it.” Shadow cleared his throat, “But back to your question. This place was once a giant research station called ARK. The entire complex was in orbit around Earth and it served as a giant closed environment and research lab for hundreds of top-secret experiments.”\n\nSonic raised a finger, “Hold on, what’s Earth?”\n\n“It’s this planet. What do you call it?” Shadow asked.\n\n“Mobius.” Sonic said.\n\n“And you said you’re Mobians? So there’s more people like you?” Shadow looked from Sonic to Tails.\n\n“Millions, we’re the dominant species on this planet now,” Tails nodded, “What are you if you’re not a Mobian?”\n\n“I was the subject of a secret project called ‘Project Shadow’ which was headed by my creator, Doctor Robotnik.”\n\n“ROBOTNIK!” Sonic and Tails simultaneously jumped to their feet, as if they expected something to jump out at them.\n\n“Wait you know Doctor Robotnik?” Shadow was about to get up when Sonic was in his face, leaning over him aggressively.\n\n“That madman made you?! When? How?”\n\n“Wait a minute, Sonic,” Tails pulled him back, “This place has been here longer than Mobian civilization, there’s no way it’s the same Robotnik.”\n\nSonic took a deep breath, “Right, right. Sorry, Shadow.”\n\n“Apology accepted,” Shadow stood up and dusted himself off, “Let’s start over. Who is the Doctor Robotnik you know?”\n\n“Well his name is Doctor Ivo Robotnik, but I call him Eggman. He makes robots and he’s trying to take over Mobius,” Sonic grinned and pointed to himself with a thumb, “And yours truly is always there to stop him.”\n\n“He’s not the same one then,” Shadow shook his head, “My creator’s name is Doctor Gerald Robotnik and he was a geneticist with a background in medicine, not a roboticist.”\n\n“Do you think our Robotnik is a descendent of his?” Tails turned to Sonic.\n\n“Maybe. So Robotnik’s a human eh? Never thought they’d be so ugly.”\n\n“I doubt he’s a real descendent, maybe a clone or some genetic creation,” Shadow turned back to the tank where Maria was still in suspended animation, “Dad never talked about his family other than Maria, and me.” Shadow sighed, “Or he could just be someone using the name but then I don’t know how he’d know about dad without coming from here.”\n\nSonic shrugged, “Eh, best not to worry about that. So how is Maria ‘sort of’ your daughter?”\n\n“That’s a long story and it has to do with why I was created,” Shadow turned back to the pair.\n\n“Before you tell us, can you tell us how to get to the colony’s reactor,” Tails stepped forwards, “I’ve been dying for years to find out how this place is still running.”\n\n“I don’t have the access but I can show you where the entrance is,” Shadow glanced back at Maria in the tank, “If you help me revive Maria safely.”\n\n“Deal,” Tails held out her fist.\n\n“What are you doing?” Shadow gave a tilted glance to the fox’s fist.\n\n“It’s a fist bump,” Sonic held out his fist to Tails, who pounded it back, “It’s a friendship thing.”\n\n“I see,” Shadow carefully punched Tails’ fist as it was extended towards him again. “I’ll show you the entrance.”\n\nThe door was a fair distance from the stasis tanks and had a large yellow radioactive symbol on the front door.\n\n“This is the door. You can try to access it through there,” Shadow pointed to the side access panel, “I don’t know exactly what’s inside except that it’s the source of all the power for the station.”\n\n“And it’s been running all this time,” Tails marveled as she approached the controls, “I’ll need time to access this.” She started rattling away at the keyboard going through menus at a breakneck pace, “It’s a lot more complex than the lab entrance.”\n\n“Only Dad and a couple others had access,” Shadow said.\n\n“There, I think I can get access,” Tails was so excited she wasn’t paying attention to Shadow, “And there!”\n\nThere was a short rumble, then an alarm started blaring which made Tails jump back from the controls.\n\n“Whoa!” Sonic steadied himself on a wall from the shaking, “What did you just do, Tails?”\n\n“I don’t know, I thought I was opening the doors!” Tails was starting to panic as Shadow pushed forwards and checked the panel.\n\n“Project Shadow-00 prototype containment breach,” Shadow’s voice seemed to catch in his throat, “it’s still alive?”\n\n“What’s still alive?!” Sonic demanded.\n\nAs if in answer, there was a pounding sound form a door a short distance away, the metal distorting as whatever was inside struggled to get free.\n\n“The Biolizard. Dad’s first attempt to make the ultimate life form.”\n\nThe door finally burst open as a giant red lizard burst into the room. Small metal tubes covered where its eyes should be and two cables connected its head to a giant metal disc that was rooted into its back.\n\n“That just makes one big target!” Sonic crouched then dashed aside as the biolizard smashed a foot down at him.\n\nTails took to the air and flung a handful of mini-bombs at the lizard, blowing chunks off of the monster’s hide which swiftly regenerated.\n\n“What the, AAUGH!” Tail cried out as the beast spun around surprisingly quickly and smacked her with its tail. She hit the ground, hearing her shield generator deplete.\n\nShadow darted over to Tails to help her stand, “Its regeneration is too aggressive, it used to be the size of a normal lizard but after being subjected to injury over and over again it grew out of control.” He watched as Sonic darted around the massive lizard occasionally spin-dashing into it and slicing off pieces of its flesh which also quickly regenerated.\n\n“What’s that tech attached to its back?” Tails pointed at the large disc as the Biolizard flailed around, trying and failing to smack Sonic.\n\n“They installed that to try and keep its regeneration under control and feed it extra energy,” Shadow said.\n\n“Got it!” in an instant Tails had taken flight and pulled out her plasma pistol. Once the Biolizard had its back to her she fired right at the disc which blew a chunk off, “Sonic! Aim for the disc!” She shouted as the giant lizard turned back to face her.\n\n“No sweat!” Sonic jumped up, pulling out a large power ring and launching into a mid-air spin dash, striking the center of the disc. The lizard roared in pain then even louder as Tails threw a handful of mini-bombs at it, managing to dislodge part of the disc embedded in its back.\n\nTails had to fly up to avoid the lizard’s snapping jaw and almost banged into the ceiling before she threw a small canister at it, a napalm bomb. The flammable jelly burst over the Biolizard’s back causing it to roar in pain as it flesh was burned away and regenerated almost as quickly.\n\n“Careful!” Shadow shouted, “I can’t risk this place burning down!”\n\n“Sorry! Whoa!” Tails had to take a nose dive as the lizard tried to snap her up again, and was met a Sonic spin-dashing through its neck, almost severing it were it not for strong neck bones and its regenerating flesh.\n\nTails shot off one the spikes holding the disc to the lizard’s back with her plasma pistol which elicited another cry of pain, this one more of a high-pitched whine, as it turned away from them and started stomping towards the reactor door.\n\nShadow immediately realized what was going on, “No! Stay away from there!” He charged right at the Biolizard unarmed and grabbed its leg, trying to hold it back. The lizard merely kicked back and sent the black hedgehog flying back into a console.\n\n“Shadow!” Sonic darted over and pulled Shadow out, wincing at the lacerations that had been made by the jagged metal of the now destroyed computer consoled.\n\n“It’s nothing,” Shadow grit his teeth against the pain, “We have to stop it from getting to the reactor!” He shot his hand towards the Biolizard and there was a bright flash as half a dozen yellow darts made of energy materialized around his hand and fired right at the Biolizard. The darts pierced the lizard’s skin which made it flinch but didn’t slow it down.\n\n“How did you do that?” Tails had flown higher to avoid the miniature spears.\n\n“Doesn’t matter, keep doing it!” Sonic shouted as he spun into another dash and sliced into the Biolizard again.\n\n“Right, just... HA!” Shadow shouted and swung his arm in an overhead thrown sending more of his energy spears at the lizard, peppering its hide and leaving more visible holes before they started healing over. Tails managed to throw one of her bombs into a hole before it healed and blew a large hole in the lizard’s back. Sonic jumped up and spin-dashed into the disc on the lizard’s back again.\n\nThe Biolizard did its best to just power through towards the door and began smashing it as soon as it was able. Desperation lent it strength as the door buckled under its attacks despite the disc being even more damaged as energy spears, bombs and spin dashes began to reduce it to circuits.\n\nWith one last smash, the Biolizard burst the center of the door open then shoved its head through, widening the gap large enough to shove its forelegs in and force the door open wide enough to let it all the way through.\n\nTails flew up to get a better look as the Biolizard stomped through the door. The reactor room was mostly bare save for a large machine in the middle of the room that extended to the ceiling and floor which housed a fist-sized yellow gem shaped like a cut diamond. She shouted down to the hedgehogs, “It’s a Chaos Emerald!”\n\n“A what?!” Shadow stared up at Tails.\n\n“Powerful gemstones, explain later!” Sonic spin-dashed right at the disc on the lizard’s back, the impact making him bounce over the monster.\n\n“We have to keep it away from the emerald!” Tails tried to fly past the Biolizard but it reached its head up and smacked her back into a wall.\n\n“Tails!” Sonic shouted, barely dodging a stomp from the Lizard’s leg.\n\n“Stay away!” Shadow fired off more of his energy spears at the Biolizard’s disc, which stubbornly refused to fail despite being in pieces as it stomped towards the reactor.\n\nSonic was revving up to spin-dash the monster again as it reached up to the chaos emerald then changed his mind, “Can’t let it get that. So I will!” Sonic sped off around the Biolizard and jumped, spinning through the air towards the reactor. The Biolizard was about to reach forwards and snap the emerald in its jaws when Sonic blew past it and snatched the emerald out of the housing.\n\n“Got it!”\n\nSonic felt a rush of energy as he landed on the ground. The Biolizard turned to face him, still drawn to the energy of the Chaos Emerald. Tails got to her feet as the yellow light from the emerald grew brighter and began to envelope Sonic.\n\n“Sonic!” Tails jumped into the air, her tails spinning to keep her aloft as the light bloomed outwards, forcing her and Shadow to shield their eyes against the brightness.\n\nSonic could feel the energy from the chaos emerald flowing into him, it felt like hundreds of the large power rings all at once and he gripped the emerald tightly then turned to face the Biolizard. The light coalesced around Sonic before it was absorbed into him. The emerald seemed to have vanished and Sonic’s quills glowed with yellow light that radiated outwards.\n\nTails uncovered her eyes, “Sonic.”\n\nThe Biolizard could only sense another source of energy and lunged at Sonic, only for the glowing hedgehog to suddenly vanish and reappear two meters to the side.\n\nSonic gave a cocky grin and wagged his finger, “You’re too slow!” he taunted. The Biolizard lunged again and again and each time Sonic seemed to teleport just out of reach. “You can’t touch me, I’m faster than-” another lunge and Sonic seemed to vanish reappearing in mid-air halfway to the ceiling, “-Light!” a beam of yellow light appeared in his hand and he swung it at the mechanical disc with the blade extending to several meters in length before it severed the disc completely from the Biolizard’s back.\n\nThe Biolizard roared in pain and began thrashing around, the minor wounds on its body starting to boil and puff up.\n\n“Its regeneration is going out of control!” Shadow shouted.\n\nTails’ mind raced as she observed the monster thrashing around while Sonic kept vanishing and reappearing around the room, seeming to be in as many as five places at once the longer he went even as the Biolizard’s body was bloating and twisting out of control.\n\n“Sonic!” Tails called out as an idea hit her and she fished some of napalm bombs out of her belt pouches, “Slice it up, as much as you can!”\n\n“What!” Sonic was distracted for a moment and was smashed by a misshapen leg which sent him flying away as his shield collapsed from the impact. He forced himself back to his feet “Alright, here goes!” It was almost instinct to call up a blade of yellow light about two meters long in his hand and sliced at the Biolizard as it tried to stomp him again, slicing the leg clean off. He dashed to the side and sliced the other front leg off then sliced at the monster’s neck severing its head. He darted around slicing and cutting at every part he could reach as it distorted and boiled until it was a writhing mass of dismembered pieces trying to reconstitute itself.\n\nIt never got the chance as Tails hurled dozens of her napalm bombs at the remains which set them ablaze. In so many small pieces the fleshed burned away to little more than foul vapor in less than a minute.\n\nShadow stared at where the remains were as the fire died down, with nothing flammable to continue fueling the flames the generator room was safe and Shadow breathed a sigh of relief as Tails landed next to him.\n\nSonic reappeared in front of them with a sudden rush of air, his quills still yellow and with the yellow emerald back in his hand. He grinned and tossed the emerald up, “Way past cool, huh?”\n\n“Yes. Very cool. Now,” Shadow snatched the emerald from mid-air, “Let’s put it back before the system shuts down.”\n\nThe glow faded as Sonic’s quills returned to their normal blue color and he shuddered while Shadow marched up to where the emerald had been set.\n\n“What was that like, Sonic?” Tails asked.\n\n“It felt like the power rings, but like a hundred times stronger,” Sonic looked at his right hand, “I think I absorbed it for a bit.”\n\nTails nodded, “I think that’s where the power rings came from. If the energy was extracted and compacted into smaller pieces it would be better than linking everything to a single power source. Actually I can feel the energy run off from it from here,” she shuddered now that the adrenaline from fighting the Biolizard had worn off she really could feel the immense ambient energy bleeding off the Chaos Emerald, even at this distance.\n\n“Tails!” Shadow’s shout broke up their conversation, “The blue blur damaged something when he ripped the emerald out, can you fix this?”\n\n“No problem!” Tails flew up to where Shadow was and in under a minute the Chaos Emerald was back inside the generator.\n\n“I don’t think we’re going to run out of power anytime soon,” Tails hovered down alongside Shadow as he walked down the stairs that led to the emerald housing, “From what I’ve seen this place has enough backup power stored to last years, if not decades.”\n\n“I don’t want to take that chance,” Shadow said grimly as they stepped over the ruined door back into the lab, “Not until Maria’s safe and walking around again. What?” Shadow noticed both Sonic and Tails were eyeing him up.\n\n“You’re not hurt,” Sonic pointed to the indent Shadow had made when he was smashed into a computer, “But I saw you bleeding when I pulled you out of that thing.”\n\nShadow looked at his arms where the cuts had been and felt his back where he knew he had been bleeding then nodded. “I guess I have time to explain now. I regenerated. My name is Shadow and I am ‘The Ultimate Lifeform’.”", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "
Chapter 3


Sonic spin-dashed into the bright red door but bounced off after barely leaving a scratch. He swiped his forehead, “Tough door. Any idea how to break through it, Tails?”

Tails was already at the door, analysing it with her computer, “Looks like it’s heat resistant too so napalm’s no good,” she collapsed the screen and checked over their loot for the day, “Not much chance of blasting through it either. I’ll need to hack the password to get through and I’ll need a more sophisticated program than what I have here.” They heard her stomach growl as she put her computer away and she chuckled, “Guess it’s been a long day.”

“At least we know the way now.” Sonic carefully scooped Tails up into his arms, “Let’s get some rest and you can work on it tomorrow.”

Tails nodded and clung to Sonic as she had before. When he was carrying her he could zoom from the deepest parts of the ruins back to their rooms in the outside ring in mere minutes and over the last seven months it had proved to be the best way to avoid retreading the same ground over and over, especially once Tails started tagging each security station to help them keep track of where they had explored.

The rush made Tails exhilarated and her face was red by the time they reached her workshop.

“Thanks,” Tails’ face was still red as she got to her feet and stored the materials they had retrieved for the day. “I’d better get started on that program.”

“Why not take some time to chill?” Sonic dropped his backpack and put his arms behind his head as Tails began unloading and sorting her spoils.

“Really, you want me to take it slow?” Tails didn’t look up.

“Honestly, for the first time in ages I feel like slowing down.” The higher pitched voice caught Tails off guard and she looked over her shoulder to face the hedgehog, “Sonic? Was that your voice?”

Sonic sighed and spoke, confirming the higher-pitched voice was his, “Yeah, this is how my voice sounds when I’m not trying to sound like a guy.” He immediately shifted back to what Tails now recognized as a voice being deliberately pitched down, “This is the real me but sometimes I have to stop forcing it or it hurts.”

“Oh.” Tails stood up and turned to face him. Her voice hadn’t cracked yet so she didn’t have to make that kind of effort to sound feminine, or at least androgynous. “Thanks for sharing, I think.”

Sonic smiled, “No worries, but yeah let’s kick back for a bit,” he offered his hand to Tails, who took it and let Sonic lead her back to his room.

Tails curled up against Sonic as he channel surfed on the room’s television, checking every channel he could find before sighing and passing it to Tails. “Still nothing. Eggman’s been quiet too long.”

“Worried?” Tails leaned back to look Sonic in the face.

“Yeah, he’s never been quiet this long and trust me, Robotnik’s not subtle. If he’s up to something he’d have shown up to do something.” Sonic was glaring at the TV screen.

“Sonic, maybe take your own advice and chill,” she smiled when she saw Sonic visibly relax, “Let’s just watch something mindless and rest.” She swung her tails over Sonic like a blanket.

Sonic smiled and wrapped his arms under Tails’ and around to her chest, “Yeah, you’re right.” His voice slipped into its natural feminine range as Tails started channel surfing. It wasn’t long before they fell asleep.

Sonic awoke to find that Tails had twisted around in her sleep, laying her head on Sonic’s chest and hugging him with her arms. Sonic couldn’t help but smile and hugs Tails closer.

Tails stirred, “Mornin’ Sonic.” Her eyes shot open as soon as she realized where her head was. “Wah! I’m sorry!”

“It’s fine,” Sonic held Tails as she tried to jump up, “That eager to get to work?”

Tails breathed a sigh of relief and let herself sink back down, “A little. I’ve been dying to know what powers this place for years.” She snuggled up to Sonic, “But I supposed I can wait a little longer.”

“Yeah,” Sonic rubbed Tails’ back, “We deserve a rest.”

Tails finally pulled herself away half-an-hour later to start working on her hacking program. Sonic would watch her for a while, go watch TV for signs of Robotnik then go outside to run around usually only returning for meals or sometimes to watch Tails at work, though admittedly watching her work on a computer was less exciting than her usual mechanical work.

“And I am done!” It was a couple days later when Tails finally finished, thankfully early in the morning after leaving some of the software to compile overnight.

“Alright, let’s do it!” Sonic reached out for a fist bump, which Tails returned before she let Sonic scoop her up and speed back to the bright red door. Tails was on her feet and connected to the still open panel on the door.

“Alright, I’ll have it open in no time.”

“I know you will,” Sonic folded his arms and leaned back against the wall to watch her work. It was the work of a minute before they heard the door start to slide open. They stood side-by-side, Tails pulled out a yellow plasma pistol and held it at the ready while Sonic reached for a power ring, both ready for whatever was on the other side as light broke through the crack in the middle of the door.

It was a laboratory but unlike the others they had found it was pristine and massive, built around a large pillar and extending around in what they believed was a massive ring with blue and white light illuminating the entire room. There was no alarm or any sort of security as the duo stepped in.

“The power core should be in there,” Tails pointed to the cylindrical middle of the room.

“So we just gotta find the door, no sweat,” Sonic smirked.

“That and this has to be the central computer.” Tails hovered over to the nearest computer console, “Once I crack this I can only imagine what I’ll find.”

“Alright, I’ll look around for any surprises,” Sonic dashed off leaving Tails to her work... only to return less than a minute later.

“Tails!” Sonic’s high-pitched shout made Tails lose her spin and drop to the floor. “There’s hedgehog here! A mobian!” he managed to push his voice back down into the more comfortable lower register as he grabbed Tails’ hand.

“Wait what? Whoa!” Tails was yanked along before she could get any more words out until Sonic skidded to a stop and pointed.

“Look!”

Tails got to her feet and turned to stare at what Sonic had brought her too. It was a large cylindrical tank full of some sort of frozen transparent pale blue liquid and floating inside was a Mobian hedgehog. They looked about Sonic’s age, maybe a bit older, and was covered in black quills save for a white tuft on its chest and red stripe down the center of their head and the top of their quill-clusters, which curved upwards. Their only clothing was a pair of white rubber-soled laboratory shoes.

“What’s a Mobian doing in here?” Tails looked at the computer at the base of the tank.

Sonic shook his head, “Probably got trapped here,” He spun around trying to spot whatever might have grabbed the black hedgehog.

“I don’t think so, look,” Tails pointed to the screen that she was now seated in front of, which was displaying a number of medical readouts and the words: STASIS TANK-03, PROJECT SHADOW, READINGS STABLE.

Sonic leaned over to read, “What’s stasis?”

“I think it’s a form of freezing or suspended animation,” Tails was already working on the computer, “If this was a project that probably means they were created here but I don’t recognize the date code so I have no idea how long they’ve been here.”

“Can you wake them up?” Sonic turned to Tails.

“I think so, it’s not encrypted too tightly.” She looked up at Sonic, “Should I?”

“Yes!”

“OK.” Tails worked furiously, easily accessing the controls as commands and menus flashed across the screen.

SUBJECT STABLE
CONFIRM RELEASE?

YES

DISABLING STASIS FIELD

The frozen liquid inside began to bubble as it thawed and the black hedgehog stirred.

PROJECT SHADOW:
MEDICAL READINGS STABLE
DRAINING SUSPENSION FLUID

As the fluid drained the black hedgehog opened their red eyes, blinking a couple times until their feet touched the floor and the tank was empty. Suspension fluid dripped from the hedgehog’s quills as they blinked through the glass at Sonic and Tails, then they started to pound on the glass with a fist, trying to say something that was completely muffled.

Sonic and Tails squinted at the hedgehog’s face as they slowed down to let the pair read their lips.

“Let. Me. Out.” Sonic repeated what he saw the hedgehog as saying.

“No sweat.” Tails entered a single command and the glass slid down to release the occupant.

The black hedgehog panted and carefully stepped down from the tank, then glanced from Sonic to Tails. “Thank you for freeing me,” the hedgehog’s voice was male, deep and gravelly; it sounded like he suffered from a perpetual mild sore throat, “Who and what are you?”

Sonic relaxed then grinned and pointed a thumb at himself, “My name’s Sonic the Hedgehog and this is Tails.” He gestured to his friend.

Tails pointed to herself “We’re Mobians. We’ve been exploring this crashed space colony for over half a year. Who are you? Are you a boy or girl?”

“I’m male and...” he paused then looked around, “crashed... Wait! Maria!” Without warning the black hedgehog sped off in the opposite direction Sonic and Tails had come from.

“Hey, wait up!” Sonic and Tails took off after the black hedgehog.

They didn’t have far to go and they met the black hedgehog in front of another stasis tank, this one shaped more like a bed. Inside was another Mobian hedgehog, this one looking only about six-years-old with blonde quills and wearing a simple blue dress that was two-times too large for her.

The black hedgehog was seated at the tank’s computer as he went over the younger hedgehog’s vitals. He breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank god, she’s alright.” He swiped a hand over his forehead.

“Wait, who is she?” Sonic pointed at the tank as Tails landed next to him.

The black hedgehog stood up and turned to face them, now visibly more relaxed. “My name is Shadow and this,” he turned back to the tank, “is Maria. She’s my daughter, sort of...” He sighed, “It’s a very long story.”

“We’ve got time,” Tails leaned back, curling her tails under herself so she could sit on them like a stool.

“Yeah,” Sonic leaned against the nearby wall, “What is this place.”

“There’s still a lot to answer there, Miss Sonic.” Shadow was about to continue when Sonic cut him off.

“Listen, it’s not miss or ma’am or anything like that,” he gestured to his chest, “No matter what you see, I’m a guy. Are we clear!”

Shadow recoiled slightly, “I’m sorry. You’re transgender?”

Sonic blinked, “Yeah, I’m trans.”

“Me too,” Tails interjected, pointing to herself, “But I’m a trans-girl. You know about people like us?”

“Read about them and saw some documentaries but I’ve never met anyone trans, or at least no one talked to me about it.” Shadow cleared his throat, “But back to your question. This place was once a giant research station called ARK. The entire complex was in orbit around Earth and it served as a giant closed environment and research lab for hundreds of top-secret experiments.”

Sonic raised a finger, “Hold on, what’s Earth?”

“It’s this planet. What do you call it?” Shadow asked.

“Mobius.” Sonic said.

“And you said you’re Mobians? So there’s more people like you?” Shadow looked from Sonic to Tails.

“Millions, we’re the dominant species on this planet now,” Tails nodded, “What are you if you’re not a Mobian?”

“I was the subject of a secret project called ‘Project Shadow’ which was headed by my creator, Doctor Robotnik.”

“ROBOTNIK!” Sonic and Tails simultaneously jumped to their feet, as if they expected something to jump out at them.

“Wait you know Doctor Robotnik?” Shadow was about to get up when Sonic was in his face, leaning over him aggressively.

“That madman made you?! When? How?”

“Wait a minute, Sonic,” Tails pulled him back, “This place has been here longer than Mobian civilization, there’s no way it’s the same Robotnik.”

Sonic took a deep breath, “Right, right. Sorry, Shadow.”

“Apology accepted,” Shadow stood up and dusted himself off, “Let’s start over. Who is the Doctor Robotnik you know?”

“Well his name is Doctor Ivo Robotnik, but I call him Eggman. He makes robots and he’s trying to take over Mobius,” Sonic grinned and pointed to himself with a thumb, “And yours truly is always there to stop him.”

“He’s not the same one then,” Shadow shook his head, “My creator’s name is Doctor Gerald Robotnik and he was a geneticist with a background in medicine, not a roboticist.”

“Do you think our Robotnik is a descendent of his?” Tails turned to Sonic.

“Maybe. So Robotnik’s a human eh? Never thought they’d be so ugly.”

“I doubt he’s a real descendent, maybe a clone or some genetic creation,” Shadow turned back to the tank where Maria was still in suspended animation, “Dad never talked about his family other than Maria, and me.” Shadow sighed, “Or he could just be someone using the name but then I don’t know how he’d know about dad without coming from here.”

Sonic shrugged, “Eh, best not to worry about that. So how is Maria ‘sort of’ your daughter?”

“That’s a long story and it has to do with why I was created,” Shadow turned back to the pair.

“Before you tell us, can you tell us how to get to the colony’s reactor,” Tails stepped forwards, “I’ve been dying for years to find out how this place is still running.”

“I don’t have the access but I can show you where the entrance is,” Shadow glanced back at Maria in the tank, “If you help me revive Maria safely.”

“Deal,” Tails held out her fist.

“What are you doing?” Shadow gave a tilted glance to the fox’s fist.

“It’s a fist bump,” Sonic held out his fist to Tails, who pounded it back, “It’s a friendship thing.”

“I see,” Shadow carefully punched Tails’ fist as it was extended towards him again. “I’ll show you the entrance.”

The door was a fair distance from the stasis tanks and had a large yellow radioactive symbol on the front door.

“This is the door. You can try to access it through there,” Shadow pointed to the side access panel, “I don’t know exactly what’s inside except that it’s the source of all the power for the station.”

“And it’s been running all this time,” Tails marveled as she approached the controls, “I’ll need time to access this.” She started rattling away at the keyboard going through menus at a breakneck pace, “It’s a lot more complex than the lab entrance.”

“Only Dad and a couple others had access,” Shadow said.

“There, I think I can get access,” Tails was so excited she wasn’t paying attention to Shadow, “And there!”

There was a short rumble, then an alarm started blaring which made Tails jump back from the controls.

“Whoa!” Sonic steadied himself on a wall from the shaking, “What did you just do, Tails?”

“I don’t know, I thought I was opening the doors!” Tails was starting to panic as Shadow pushed forwards and checked the panel.

“Project Shadow-00 prototype containment breach,” Shadow’s voice seemed to catch in his throat, “it’s still alive?”

“What’s still alive?!” Sonic demanded.

As if in answer, there was a pounding sound form a door a short distance away, the metal distorting as whatever was inside struggled to get free.

“The Biolizard. Dad’s first attempt to make the ultimate life form.”

The door finally burst open as a giant red lizard burst into the room. Small metal tubes covered where its eyes should be and two cables connected its head to a giant metal disc that was rooted into its back.

“That just makes one big target!” Sonic crouched then dashed aside as the biolizard smashed a foot down at him.

Tails took to the air and flung a handful of mini-bombs at the lizard, blowing chunks off of the monster’s hide which swiftly regenerated.

“What the, AAUGH!” Tail cried out as the beast spun around surprisingly quickly and smacked her with its tail. She hit the ground, hearing her shield generator deplete.

Shadow darted over to Tails to help her stand, “Its regeneration is too aggressive, it used to be the size of a normal lizard but after being subjected to injury over and over again it grew out of control.” He watched as Sonic darted around the massive lizard occasionally spin-dashing into it and slicing off pieces of its flesh which also quickly regenerated.

“What’s that tech attached to its back?” Tails pointed at the large disc as the Biolizard flailed around, trying and failing to smack Sonic.

“They installed that to try and keep its regeneration under control and feed it extra energy,” Shadow said.

“Got it!” in an instant Tails had taken flight and pulled out her plasma pistol. Once the Biolizard had its back to her she fired right at the disc which blew a chunk off, “Sonic! Aim for the disc!” She shouted as the giant lizard turned back to face her.

“No sweat!” Sonic jumped up, pulling out a large power ring and launching into a mid-air spin dash, striking the center of the disc. The lizard roared in pain then even louder as Tails threw a handful of mini-bombs at it, managing to dislodge part of the disc embedded in its back.

Tails had to fly up to avoid the lizard’s snapping jaw and almost banged into the ceiling before she threw a small canister at it, a napalm bomb. The flammable jelly burst over the Biolizard’s back causing it to roar in pain as it flesh was burned away and regenerated almost as quickly.

“Careful!” Shadow shouted, “I can’t risk this place burning down!”

“Sorry! Whoa!” Tails had to take a nose dive as the lizard tried to snap her up again, and was met a Sonic spin-dashing through its neck, almost severing it were it not for strong neck bones and its regenerating flesh.

Tails shot off one the spikes holding the disc to the lizard’s back with her plasma pistol which elicited another cry of pain, this one more of a high-pitched whine, as it turned away from them and started stomping towards the reactor door.

Shadow immediately realized what was going on, “No! Stay away from there!” He charged right at the Biolizard unarmed and grabbed its leg, trying to hold it back. The lizard merely kicked back and sent the black hedgehog flying back into a console.

“Shadow!” Sonic darted over and pulled Shadow out, wincing at the lacerations that had been made by the jagged metal of the now destroyed computer consoled.

“It’s nothing,” Shadow grit his teeth against the pain, “We have to stop it from getting to the reactor!” He shot his hand towards the Biolizard and there was a bright flash as half a dozen yellow darts made of energy materialized around his hand and fired right at the Biolizard. The darts pierced the lizard’s skin which made it flinch but didn’t slow it down.

“How did you do that?” Tails had flown higher to avoid the miniature spears.

“Doesn’t matter, keep doing it!” Sonic shouted as he spun into another dash and sliced into the Biolizard again.

“Right, just... HA!” Shadow shouted and swung his arm in an overhead thrown sending more of his energy spears at the lizard, peppering its hide and leaving more visible holes before they started healing over. Tails managed to throw one of her bombs into a hole before it healed and blew a large hole in the lizard’s back. Sonic jumped up and spin-dashed into the disc on the lizard’s back again.

The Biolizard did its best to just power through towards the door and began smashing it as soon as it was able. Desperation lent it strength as the door buckled under its attacks despite the disc being even more damaged as energy spears, bombs and spin dashes began to reduce it to circuits.

With one last smash, the Biolizard burst the center of the door open then shoved its head through, widening the gap large enough to shove its forelegs in and force the door open wide enough to let it all the way through.

Tails flew up to get a better look as the Biolizard stomped through the door. The reactor room was mostly bare save for a large machine in the middle of the room that extended to the ceiling and floor which housed a fist-sized yellow gem shaped like a cut diamond. She shouted down to the hedgehogs, “It’s a Chaos Emerald!”

“A what?!” Shadow stared up at Tails.

“Powerful gemstones, explain later!” Sonic spin-dashed right at the disc on the lizard’s back, the impact making him bounce over the monster.

“We have to keep it away from the emerald!” Tails tried to fly past the Biolizard but it reached its head up and smacked her back into a wall.

“Tails!” Sonic shouted, barely dodging a stomp from the Lizard’s leg.

“Stay away!” Shadow fired off more of his energy spears at the Biolizard’s disc, which stubbornly refused to fail despite being in pieces as it stomped towards the reactor.

Sonic was revving up to spin-dash the monster again as it reached up to the chaos emerald then changed his mind, “Can’t let it get that. So I will!” Sonic sped off around the Biolizard and jumped, spinning through the air towards the reactor. The Biolizard was about to reach forwards and snap the emerald in its jaws when Sonic blew past it and snatched the emerald out of the housing.

“Got it!”

Sonic felt a rush of energy as he landed on the ground. The Biolizard turned to face him, still drawn to the energy of the Chaos Emerald. Tails got to her feet as the yellow light from the emerald grew brighter and began to envelope Sonic.

“Sonic!” Tails jumped into the air, her tails spinning to keep her aloft as the light bloomed outwards, forcing her and Shadow to shield their eyes against the brightness.

Sonic could feel the energy from the chaos emerald flowing into him, it felt like hundreds of the large power rings all at once and he gripped the emerald tightly then turned to face the Biolizard. The light coalesced around Sonic before it was absorbed into him. The emerald seemed to have vanished and Sonic’s quills glowed with yellow light that radiated outwards.

Tails uncovered her eyes, “Sonic.”

The Biolizard could only sense another source of energy and lunged at Sonic, only for the glowing hedgehog to suddenly vanish and reappear two meters to the side.

Sonic gave a cocky grin and wagged his finger, “You’re too slow!” he taunted. The Biolizard lunged again and again and each time Sonic seemed to teleport just out of reach. “You can’t touch me, I’m faster than-” another lunge and Sonic seemed to vanish reappearing in mid-air halfway to the ceiling, “-Light!” a beam of yellow light appeared in his hand and he swung it at the mechanical disc with the blade extending to several meters in length before it severed the disc completely from the Biolizard’s back.

The Biolizard roared in pain and began thrashing around, the minor wounds on its body starting to boil and puff up.

“Its regeneration is going out of control!” Shadow shouted.

Tails’ mind raced as she observed the monster thrashing around while Sonic kept vanishing and reappearing around the room, seeming to be in as many as five places at once the longer he went even as the Biolizard’s body was bloating and twisting out of control.

“Sonic!” Tails called out as an idea hit her and she fished some of napalm bombs out of her belt pouches, “Slice it up, as much as you can!”

“What!” Sonic was distracted for a moment and was smashed by a misshapen leg which sent him flying away as his shield collapsed from the impact. He forced himself back to his feet “Alright, here goes!” It was almost instinct to call up a blade of yellow light about two meters long in his hand and sliced at the Biolizard as it tried to stomp him again, slicing the leg clean off. He dashed to the side and sliced the other front leg off then sliced at the monster’s neck severing its head. He darted around slicing and cutting at every part he could reach as it distorted and boiled until it was a writhing mass of dismembered pieces trying to reconstitute itself.

It never got the chance as Tails hurled dozens of her napalm bombs at the remains which set them ablaze. In so many small pieces the fleshed burned away to little more than foul vapor in less than a minute.

Shadow stared at where the remains were as the fire died down, with nothing flammable to continue fueling the flames the generator room was safe and Shadow breathed a sigh of relief as Tails landed next to him.

Sonic reappeared in front of them with a sudden rush of air, his quills still yellow and with the yellow emerald back in his hand. He grinned and tossed the emerald up, “Way past cool, huh?”

“Yes. Very cool. Now,” Shadow snatched the emerald from mid-air, “Let’s put it back before the system shuts down.”

The glow faded as Sonic’s quills returned to their normal blue color and he shuddered while Shadow marched up to where the emerald had been set.

“What was that like, Sonic?” Tails asked.

“It felt like the power rings, but like a hundred times stronger,” Sonic looked at his right hand, “I think I absorbed it for a bit.”

Tails nodded, “I think that’s where the power rings came from. If the energy was extracted and compacted into smaller pieces it would be better than linking everything to a single power source. Actually I can feel the energy run off from it from here,” she shuddered now that the adrenaline from fighting the Biolizard had worn off she really could feel the immense ambient energy bleeding off the Chaos Emerald, even at this distance.

“Tails!” Shadow’s shout broke up their conversation, “The blue blur damaged something when he ripped the emerald out, can you fix this?”

“No problem!” Tails flew up to where Shadow was and in under a minute the Chaos Emerald was back inside the generator.

“I don’t think we’re going to run out of power anytime soon,” Tails hovered down alongside Shadow as he walked down the stairs that led to the emerald housing, “From what I’ve seen this place has enough backup power stored to last years, if not decades.”

“I don’t want to take that chance,” Shadow said grimly as they stepped over the ruined door back into the lab, “Not until Maria’s safe and walking around again. What?” Shadow noticed both Sonic and Tails were eyeing him up.

“You’re not hurt,” Sonic pointed to the indent Shadow had made when he was smashed into a computer, “But I saw you bleeding when I pulled you out of that thing.”

Shadow looked at his arms where the cuts had been and felt his back where he knew he had been bleeding then nodded. “I guess I have time to explain now. I regenerated. My name is Shadow and I am ‘The Ultimate Lifeform’.”", "pools_count": 1, "title": "Sonic Chaos Force Chapter 3", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "image/jpeg", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "1", "rating_name": "Mature", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "2", "name": "Nudity", "description": "Nonsexual nudity exposing breasts or genitals (must not show arousal)", "rating_id": "1" }, { "content_tag_id": "3", "name": "Violence", "description": "Mild violence", "rating_id": "1" } ], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "t", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "0", "views": "72" }