Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

Reality Shock

Chapter 9

"Whew! This is a lot harder than it looks in the game."

I had been practicing using my Dash Boots, as I called my shoes, for about half an hour while waiting for Eggman to capture Amy and use her for bait to trap Sonic.

I was in a large locker room where the researchers kept their personal objects while on duty.

I had taken a shower to get all the sweat and dirt from the activities of the past few hours out of my fur. I gazed into the mirror and got my first good look at my new self.

My fur was a bright green color, with vertical black stripes arms and legs. and a small tuft of white fur on my chest. There were stripes along the spines on my head, starting near my skin and continuing to the end of the spine. My quills were very long and stiff, except for one thin one that hung limply over my right eye.

But the most striking features of my new form were my eyes. They were a deep, piercing blue that seemed to look straight into your soul. You could lose yourself in those eyes. It was unnerving just looking at my reflection.

I was jolted from my trance by the sound of footsteps behind me.

"Who's There!"

Busted...

The owner of the voice came into view then. It was an ebony hedgehog, with crimson stripes on its spines, and white chest fur.

"Who are you!"

Our eyes met in the mirror and I smirked.

"Shadow the Hedgehog I presume?"

Shadow was startled by this.

"How do you know my name? And why do you look like me?" Shadow demanded.

I glanced at my refection and saw Shadow was right. I did look just like him. In fact, if it wasn't for the one quill and that I was an inch or two taller, I'd look just like a color swapped version of him.

I turned around to face him and closed my eyes.

"I know a lot about you, Shadow. As for who I am, no one of consequence." I replied.

Shadow narrowed his eyes. "Why are you here?"

I shrugged. "To be honest, I'm not really sure. One minute I'm relaxing at home, the next I've been tossed in a crazy adventure to stop a madman from taking over the world."

"You mean the Doctor?"

I nodded. "Yep."

Shadow went into a fighting stance. "Then that means you're my enemy!"

Shadow leapt into the air and curled into a ball, using his Air Shoes to turn the spin into a Homing Attack.

As Shadow's spiked form neared, I focused on channeling energy into my shoes to activate the thrusters, and dashed under his attack, narrowly avoiding the lethal-looking spikes on his back. As it was, they grazed my shoulder, slicing through the skin like it was tissue paper.

I grabbed my shoulder, hissing at the pain the action caused, and spun to face Shadow, who was glaring at me like a cat who had just been given a bath. I pulled my hand away from my wound and glanced at it. My glove was covered in blood.

I glared at Shadow and clenched my fists. "You're gonna pay for that!" I told him through gritted teeth, my vision filling with a slight red mist as it usually does whenever I get mad. I launched myself at Shadow, using my Dash Boots to add extra power to my punch.

Shadow smirked, before gesturing towards me and shouting "CHAOS SPEAR!"

For a split second, I thought I saw something moving on the wall behind Shadow, until a large bolt of golden light shot at me, piercing through and negating the protective aura that my rings provided me with, and slicing into my chest with great force.

I fell to the floor, gasping for breath as everything went hazy.

I looked up and saw Shadow pull out a small radio and speak into it. "Doctor, I've captured one of the intruders. A green hedgehog."

The radio crackled as a reply came back. "Good job Shadow. Bring him to me at once."

"Of course, Doctor."

Shadow put away the radio and started to approach me. I groaned and laid my head on the floor as I succumbed to unconsciousness.

A/N: Wow... That was a tough chapter to write. I nearly gave up on it.

Not much to say except that reviews are much appreciated. I'll have the next chapter written and uploaded as soon as possible.