Chapter 4: Eggman's Plan

"Wanna race?" Shadow asked.

Sonic grinned and nodded. "Of course I do." Shadow grinned and sped off. Sonic sighed and followed him at the same speed. Sonic quickly caught up with Shadow. Smirking, he looked over at him. "I'm going to win this one," he said.

"Sure about that?" Shadow asked. "Chaos Spear!"

Sonic dodged out of the way, countering with a kick. Shadow grinned; he was enjoying his new powers. He kicked Sonic back and then threw a punch. Sonic ducked under his arm, kicking at him again. The two continued their race down Station Square. They grinned; this was fun. Both of them made sure not to hurt anyone as the race continued. A few minutes later, they stopped and panted for breath.

"That was...fun," Sonic said. "This new body is pretty cool. I'll miss my abilities."

Shadow nodded. "At least I can use Chaos Spear."

Sonic straightened. "When did you want to tell the others?"

"How about right now?"

"All right. Let's go find your friends."

Sonic nodded. As they were walking, he looked at Shadow. "Do you think we'll gain each other's personality now that we've swapped bodies?"

"I hope not."

"How come?"

"That would defeat the purpose of us changing." Sonic shrugged. "I just think it would be a waste."

Shadow thought about it. "You're right," he said. "I wouldn't really like a mental change either, to tell you the truth."

Soon, they had reached Tails' house. Shadow rang the doorbell and a few minutes later, Tails answered. "Oh," he said. "Why are you two here?"

"We wanted to tell you something," Sonic said.

Tails nodded. "What is it?"

"We've switched bodies," Shadow said. Eggman did something when he attacked Station Square."

Tails' eyes widened. "That's cool," he said. "Why would he do that?" Both hedgehogs shrugged. "Well, come on in. Maybe I can run some tests on you two to see what he injected. If I can do that, maybe I can figure out his plan."

Sonic and Shadow followed Tails inside. Tails led them down to the lab and had them lay down on the table. He took out a few needles and drew their blood, then examined them under the microscope. The hedgehogs watched him with both curiosity and worry. A few minutes later, Tails looked at them in concern.

"What's wrong?" Sonic asked. "What did you find?"

"Apparently your DNA has been permanently changed," Tails said. "Also, there's something else inside Sonic...it has to do with his gender."

"What about it?"

"The serum...it's also changing Sonic's gender," Tails told Shadow. "In a few days, he'll be a female permanently."

"What?" Sonic shouted. "Why?"

Both hedgehogs were confused, looking at Tails.

"I am not sure," Tails said. "Why would Eggman do this?"

Then his eyes widened in horrible realization.

"What is it?" Sonic asked. "Tell us!"

Tails gulped and nodded, then spoke. "The serum he gave you also alters your personality. If Eggman made this, then he must have mixed in something that would make you work for him. It's the only explanation that makes any sense of the mixture."

Shadow and Sonic's eyes widened, then looked at each other.

"Is there any way to stop the mental change?" Shadow asked. "I don't want to work for the doctor."

Tails shook his head. "I don't know. Chemicals aren't my strong point. I can try to pull something together if you want."

They nodded.

"Please do," Sonic told him, and he and Shadow got off the table. "Should we tell him about us?" Sonic whispered in Shadow's ear.

Shadow looked at Sonic. Tails was his best friend, and he didn't want this to change how he thought about him.

"If you want to," Shadow said.

Sonic nodded, and spoke to Tails. "We have something to tell you," he said. "Shadow and I...are in love. We're gay."

Tails looked between the two, unsure of how to react. In a way, it made sense. Finally, he smiled. "Well, I'm happy for you," he said.

Sonic and Shadow sighed in relief. Tails had taken it better than they'd hoped. The smiled and nodded, then walked out of his house to head home.