14 - What Are We?

After seeing the monitor room, Shadow was pretty convinced that this place really was awesome. Even if he did get a rude welcome at first. On the monitors showed untold various places. Worlds that looked similar, worlds that looked different. Actually, he wasn't too sure, but he thought he caught a glimpse of a world where all of the males were females, and the females were males. He swore he saw a female version of Sonic, he swore he did. Anyway, Moebius was there too. It was simply marvelous. After Zonic showed them the monitor room, he took them out of his office and they traveled to the armory of the HQ. The place was locked down tight, accompanied with thick large metal doors and two buff looking soldiers standing in front of it. A big red light above the doors was there, but it wasn't lit. The moment they saw their commander walking up to it, they stepped aside automatically. Zonic then proceeded to take out a transmitter to contact the person on the other side of the doors to let them in. Sonic was so proud that he had a hotshot lieutenant general as a best friend. Speaking of which, he meant to ask about that.

After Zonic put away a walkie-talkie looking device in his quills, Sonic took that chance to ask him. "Hey, when'd you get four stars with the rank lieutenant general? Last I checked, you were just an 'elite', whatever that means."

"That is quite impressive." Shadow commented.

Zonic shrugged. "All I can say is persistence. I always wanted to be the general, but since the warden's basically the main general of our branches, I could only ever become lieutenant general. I strived so much for it, that I worked hard to get it. Soon, I was getting promoted more often, and I went up the ranks rather quickly." He turned to Sonic. "Around the time before my vacation, that's when I got promoted to my current rank now. That's why I worked myself to the bone, I had a lot of work to do just to get started." He turned back to the thirteen feet tall doors and sighed. "Plus, officer Zhadow helped me work harder too. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be at his level of authority."

"You keep talkin' about that guy. You two partners or somethin'?" Sonic asked as the two metal doors slid away from each other to allow them in. Zonic motioned for the two hedgehogs to follow him as they talked.

"Actually, yes, we are. At first we didn't see each other as much because of how low I was on the pecking order. I was only a private when I first met him. Tch, he barely even noticed me..." From his tone, it sounded like he was a bit salty or upset about that. This made the two hedgehogs take that to mind. "But, seeing him do so many wonderful things for the people of No Zone inspired me to be more like him. So I forced myself to do better and do more. Soon, he noticed me, and helped me along the way because of my potential." He stopped walking and allowed the others to keep going. He made another smirk. They'd probably like this part as well.

On the walls of the armory were weapons. On the ceiling of the armory, were weapons. On the floor, were crates and barrells of weapons or ammunition. To put it simply, there were weapons. Lots and lots of 'em. Definitely suited for an entire army. They didn't even look like the normal weapons GUN soldiers used. No, these bad boys looked like something from out of a video game. They were incredible, just unreal and out of this world-err, reality. Some looked so advanced, Sonic was too scared to poke 'em. Zonic made a small chuckle. "It is alright, Sonic prime, you may touch them. None of them are armed until ammunition is put inside. They're all empty." He pointed out. Shadow was having a field day in here, and the zone cop could see it. It was so obvious, and it was cute to see someone like him fanboy over them. Well, fanboy wasn't really a good word. It was more like, staring profusely and silently with wide eyes while having his arms crossed. But he could tell he was having a nice time.

Not only were weapons here, but so was their new equipment. Zonic explained to them the new modifications. "Here we have the very things that make us as fast as you two. Sonic prime actually inspired me to make this suggestion to the engineers." He pointed to a pair of footwear that girl soldier was wearing earlier. "They can switch gravity modes on and off very easily from your world's degree angle, to our normal ninety degree angle. This allows us to travel up and down buildings and ceilings. Similar to our spatial stabilizers. They're the things that make you walk like us. Thanks to them, we're able to round up convicts a lot more quickly, giving them less time to get away." He elaborated. "Then there's the classic control collars," He pointed a few feet away to some metallic collars. "We use them on any dangerous high threat level inmates with unstable power. It basically drains it away. Scourge was the only inmate we've ever had with a high level control collar."

Zonic then held out his hand and pointed to his own palm. "And this," He pulled up his sleeve and revealed the gauntlet to the hedgehogs who peered at it curiously. "Is a control gauntlet, specifically for people who use chaos energy. To disrupt it, or render the user powerless. It also shoots lasers that produce the same effect." He looked at Shadow specifically. No wonder he felt tired the second he grabbed his hand when he charged at him earlier. "It also gives the wearer physical strength that grows each time they use it. Not only that, but if one wears it long enough, the strength the wearer gains remains for a while even if they take it off."

"Woah." Sonic said breathlessly. "That's so, freaking, cool."

"That's kinda what happened to me since I trained a lot, I rarely took them off." Zonic slipped the gloves off of his hands and placed them in his pocket along with his transmitter. "That effect wasn't intended, but it's definitely useful."

The Mobian twin of the two blue hedgehogs nodded his head, thinking that sounded about right. "I was wondering why you guys were running fast like that."

To this, Shadow raised a brow. "What, you normally can't do that?"

Zonic shook his head. "I do not possess Sonic prime's speed. No one here did until a few weeks ago. To be honest, we're still getting the hang of things, but we're making good progress." Suddenly a beeping sound resonated throughout the room. They all looked upwards on the right of the room to see a large digital clock on the wall. How the hell did they miss that huge thing? Probably because of all the weapons cluttered in the room. Zonic made a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." He murmured. "If you both don't mind, we'll stop by my office again to drop off my uniform. Lunch time has arrived sooner than I expected, meaning we'll resume the tour after we're done eating."

Sonic shrugged with a grin. "Pfft, I don't mind. I was gettin' hungry anyway. Not like we ate breakfast." He looked over at Shadow who for some reason refused to look his way.

"Hmph. Indeed." He grumbled back, barely paying Sonic any mind. This made the other furrow his brows with a frown. What was his deal? He paid more attention to Zonic than Sonic for some reason. "Why do you want to change your uniform?"

"Well, when the clock strikes twelve noon, the warden is out for the next few hours. Meaning we don't have to act so strict and follow all of the rules. So I like to take off this uniform when he's not here. The uniform is a nice change but, it makes me sweaty and it's a bit too tight sometimes." He explained as he guided them out of the spacious room. He motioned for the guards standing in front of the entrance to close it up tight like it was last time before walking away with his two guests. "He's always watching and listening, so we all have to be careful of what we say or do."

"Oh, is that why you speak like that?" Shadow asked.

"Talk like what?" Zonic blinked, his monotonous tone crawling back again.

The ebony hedgehog just shook his head, basically saying what he asked wasn't important. He couldn't believe he didn't notice it himself. Guess it really was just him. "Nothing." He mumbled.

Soon, the three returned to Zonic's office and stood outside of it to wait for him to change. He would be a minute, so Sonic had the idea to talk to Shadow about what may have been bothering him. He seemed pissed at him. Sonic leaned against the wall, saying hi to some fellow soldiers as they walked by. He noticed that a lot of them weren't wearing that black uniform they digitized in from earlier. They were all just wearing casual clothes. Some people didn't even bother wearing pants, like him and Shadow. Even some females felt a little risky and wore skirts or nothing at all. He had to say...He may have been playing on a different team right now, but uh, he still very much appreciated the female figure. He had to calm himself down a little, heh.

But on a more serious note, he turned to his partner, who was leaning against the opposite side of the wall across from Zonic's office and had his arms crossed like usual. Well, it was now or never. "Hey, Shadow?" He called softly. Shadow didn't respond, he only glanced at him once and looked somewhere else. "Ehh, you alright buddy? You still ticked off about Zonic flippin' you?"

"Interesting. Is a 'buddy' all I am?" He questioned harshly with a glare. "Or what? A 'pal' or 'bro'? Or whatever other ridiculous name you give to your friends."

Ouch. He was starting to sound like the old Shadow. The Shadow he knew before they got close. Sonic just started to shake his head with a confused face. "What? No no, you know we're closer than that."

"Oh, so we're 'tight' now? Like you and the commander?" He retorted.

"What's gotten into you..?" Sonic replied with bewilderment. What, did he say something?

"If that's what you refer to your partners to after you've been intimate with them, then no wonder your relationships all failed miserably." Shadow spat, turning his head away from him callously. Sonic felt his chest swell up a little, and it was beating fast. Not in the good way, either. He was starting to feel it again, remembering all those times he made someone cry or made them angry. Or like that time when he ignored a girl by doing too much hero stuff at a time, making her dump him the night he bought her something. Or like that time when he was cheated on simply because she got bored with him. Or like that time when that other girl did things with him and then dumped him just because he didn't want to go all the way that first night.

Oh Chaos, it was all coming back and it was starting to hurt. It was hurting so bad, he couldn't take it.

...He couldn't let Shadow see that side of him. He felt Dark's influence feed off of his guilt and sadness, but he couldn't let himself turn. No, he'd act cool and calm. Put on a fake smile, like always. Make everyone think everything was okay even though they weren't.

Ha, after all, he does it all the time. Not like this was any different, right?

Noticing Sonic's emotionless face and complete silence for the past couple of minute, Shadow put his attention back on him. Okay, he was a little concerned about that. He never just stopped talking before. Not like that. Not with that face. Even his ears drooped a little. The damage was already done but, now that he thought about it, what he said was a low blow. He knew that.

"Haha," Sonic suddenly chuckled with a smile. But, this wasn't one of his normal smiles. It was fake, very very fake. As time between them passed, Shadow grew to learn when Sonic faked a smile or not. But this one was sadly evident. "Oh, I see what the problem is." He sighed to himself and looked to the side. "I kinda friend-zoned you earlier, didn't I?"

Someone like Shadow normally wouldn't know what the hell a friend-zone was, but thanks to Rouge, he knew all about it. What a terrible hellish limbo to be stuck in. He didn't respond back, though.

"Yeah," Sonic answered for him. "I had a feeling that was it." He faced Shadow and tried to step a little closer, away from the wall he previously leaned on. "Sorry about that, really. Listen, Shadow, I didn't mean it that way. I swear-"

Shadow growled at that. "Then why'd you say it?"

"B-Because I," Sonic's muzzle turned pink. "It's, really personal to explain."

"What we did last night was personal, but I sure as hell don't give a damn. I don't care who knows about it. Actually, I want people to know about it." He said sharply. "I finally have you, you're mine. We may not have said those key words, but it doesn't matter. I'm pretty sure after what we did, I deserve a much better title than 'a close friend.' People who do things like that aren't just friends, faker." He sarcastically used air quotes with his fingers as a rude gesture. "You mean a lot more to me than just that, and I thought I made that clear yesterday."

Sonic tried to explain one more time. "I know that, but I-"

"What, you're ashamed of being in a relationship with someone like me? Scared it'll ruin your hero image?"

Damn, another low blow. Not as low as the last one but, low enough. Sonic was put in the friend zone before once upon a time, and it did hurt. It hurt like a bitch, it did. Kinda why he wasn't too hard on Amy when she annoyed him but, this was different. He understood where Shadow was coming from, but he had to understand his point of view as well. "No, no and no." Sonic repeated. "I don't care about that, especially not now. While it's nice that you don't care about what anyone might say about us, I do." He emphasized the 'I' part. "And no, it's not because of my status or whatever. I mean, yeah, it might screw up my reputation back in Mobius, but I don't really give a damn either. Not enough to hide it like a bad disease. I'm offended you think I'm that shallow." Shadow noticed, Sonic didn't sound angry as he said this. He sounded more sad and disappointed. "If I tell my friends about you, they'll judge me. And I know I shouldn't care about their judgement all that much, but still. It'll hurt to see my friends hate me or avoid me just because I'm with someone I love-Err, like a lot."

That little slip up in his words made Shadow perk his ears up at that.

"I...Damn it.." He cursed, his fake smile dropping instantly. He couldn't keep up that charade anymore. "This is, really really personal shit here." He was being serious. He dropped that nice guy act too. "I-I've never said stuff like this to anyone, okay? And try not to throw it back in my face later along the lines, deal?" He said bitterly and sighed tensely. Chaos he hated being in love, it was always one big mess. Only, this time he felt something real. All those other times he thought he was in love, he realized he didn't have true feelings for that person anyway. That's why he never mourned for too long after the break ups. There was only one that broke his heart, that really shattered him. But, after a week, he didn't feel like that anymore. He questioned why he ever felt for that person that way in the first place. But Shadow, he really felt something for him.

And that's why he never asked him out first when they started getting close, because he was too afraid of history repeating itself.

"It's not just that either."

Shadow tried to stop him from going any further. "Faker-"

"No, just listen." Sonic cut him off immediately. "I don't want to tell everyone I'm with you, and then a week later we're over." He hugged his arms to his chest and bit his lip. "Because, that's happened to me. People who I'm seriously into, they drop me like extra baggage. Only after dating a week, or a day. Using me or just getting bored or impatient with me. I've gone through it way too many times, and I don't want it to happen again. Hell, a girl once broke up with me because I told people we were in a relationship." All he could do was continue to blow air out of his mouth from all the stress, just to calm himself down. It actually felt better to finally let that out. "I know I shouldn't keep comparing you to past mistakes, but I gotta learn from them too, ya know?" He laughed a little. "A guy gets insecure sometimes. Or all the time, in this case."

From all that, Shadow only had one more thing to say. "...Yeah, you really are insecure." He said with wide eyes.

That, didn't make Sonic feel any better though. And to that, he didn't say anything. He already knew he was right. Shadow noticed his lack of response and tried his best to resolve this issue. It was just another argument among them, a thing rivals often did, right? "I know it's not your fault that you're like this. Trauma changes a person in due time. Though, you hide this side of you very well. Never did I notice this until now." Shadow grunted as he got off the wall and went to Sonic's side. He stood by him, his arms still crossed over his chest. "Gerald always said that those who smiled the most, held the most pain. Maria was a prime subject of that, and so are you. But this is something you've already told me before. You think like this all the time, you just repress it. But that smile, it's all just a mask, right?" The ultimate life form smiled to himself. "I think the only thing you don't question is your actions when you're in combat. Everything else you ponder about every second of the day. But, you're right. You have a lot of people in your life who can be quick to judge you for whatever you do. The citizens of Mobius are a big portion of that, and the media probably wouldn't be too kind on us."

Sonic still wouldn't say anything. His face was darkened at this point, but Shadow didn't stop.

"I guess I should have been a bit more open minded to your perspective, and not so myopic. I should have known better than to suspect you of being that way. That's not the kind of person you are." When Shadow saw that fewer and fewer zone cops were walking past, he took this opportunity to get in front of Sonic and grab one of his hands gently. "Perhaps you're right. We shouldn't let anyone know yet. Besides, we haven't done much as a 'couple' to even be considered one. I'm sure you thought that too." He put his other hand under Sonic's chin and softly pushed his chin upwards to look at him in the eyes. "But I guarantee you, I won't desert you like they did. Definitely not after one week. Not even less than a month. You gave me a chance, and I took it gratefully. Isn't it only fair to give you the same?" He leaned in and kissed the side of his mouth. "I am sorry. And I won't throw your past in your face again, I promise."

The hero exhaled silently. "Good.." Was all he said. He looked almost like Zonic, now. Uncaring and detached. He was probably just tired of confessing crap to Shadow all the time. It was emotionally exhausting. "I really, really like you, Shadow. I can't stress that enough to you." Even his voice was low and downbeat. "I hope you realize now that I wouldn't do anything to screw this up. I care about you way too much." Small parts of his muzzle were turning pink from the way Shadow was caressing him.

"I shouldn't have to make you explain yourself to me all the time. Again, I'm sorry." The elder apologized once more, pinning one of Sonic's hands against the wall, the one he was holding onto. His nose brushed the tip of the other's playfully, and dived in for a kiss. It was tender, but quick. "Forgive me." He whispered, going back in for another kiss. Suddenly, Sonic reached up and dug his hand into Shadow's chest fur. He really liked grabbing that place, did he? He tugged on it and yanked Shadow closer, deepening the kiss. His aggressiveness made Shadow let go of his hand and grab his waist instead. Sonic put his arms around Shadow and held onto him tightly. Tongues clashed together and fought in their mouths. But just as they went further into their make out session, they heard Zonic's voice from inside his office.

"Sonic prime? Shadow prime? I'm almost done, I just had to put away a few files. I'll be out in a second."

The two barely even cared, they just broke the kiss with saliva still connected to their mouths. Their eyes were low, and they didn't really pay attention. However, that meant they couldn't continue for long, or else their secret would be out. They really didn't want to stop though. Sonic smirked a little, which made the string of spit that connected their mouths break off. "Hey, you should totally do me on the wall." That, made Shadow chuckle. That was the Sonic he knew.

"Keep talking like that and I just might."

Sonic lips his lips hungrily. "Damn, that's kinda hot..."

"Shame we can't do it now, though." Shadow referenced to their third party who could come out at any second and see them like this. He let go of Sonic and moved a few centimeters away from him. He didn't move that much, though. "I never thought you'd be into public sex."

"Pfft, I'm not. I'm too chicken to get caught." Then a thought occurred to him. "Then again," He made a devious look at Shadow. "Maybe we should try it one day."

"Maybe." Shadow replied coolly before reaching behind Sonic's back and giving a good squeeze to you-know-where. Sonic made a small gasp of surprise. Nope, he still couldn't get used to that, no matter how many times his ass was grabbed. He just snickered, feeling a little flirtatious. He had no idea why Shadow liked touching him there so much, it wasn't even that big. Not like a girl's anyway.

"Alright you two, my apologies for the wait." The zone cop said as he stepped from out of his office, closing and locking the door behind him. Once he did, Sonic and Shadow's mouth hung open. He was only wearing the undershirt of his uniform, a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and barely buttoned. Then they looked down, and realized that just like them, he was no longer wearing any pants. Guess he wanted to feel free for a little bit like everyone else. Why did no one like pants, here? Then again, that sounded a bit hypocritical considering Shadow and Sonic never wore any.

Only, the problem with Zonic was that he had a very nice backside. Like, really nice. And that was putting it lightly. That's when it hit him. Is that why Shadow liked to grope him there? Because if Zonic and Sonic were exactly physically alike, then that meant that his butt was just as nice as his. Wow. Looking at it from a different pair of eyes made him realize that he really was a good catch. He suddenly felt really good about himself.

For Shadow, it was almost like he could see everything in slow motion. The way he moved, the way he spoke, the way he breathed. Holding up that night stick thing on his shoulder like some kind of sword. He looked so uncompromising, which was a solid plus for the ultimate life form. His peach chest revealed, yet not. Such unforgivable teasing. And the way he walked past them, Shadow saw it all. The way his ass perfectly went up and down-

"Sonic prime? Shadow prime. Are you both listening to me?"

It was like wind was blowing through his quills, making him seem all the more tantalizing.

"Oh," Zonic looked beside them to see one of his soldiers holding a large circular fan in his arms. He looked like he was struggling. "So there was an outlet nearby for you to plug it in?"

The soldier nodded quickly. "Yes sir. Near your office. The cord's pretty long. It's old, but it still works."

"Great. Could you unplug it and put it in front of my door?" He asked politely. The soldier struggled to salute while carrying the fan with one arm, but he managed.

"Of course, sir!" He wobbled to the direction of his room.

"Now, back to you two." Zonic turned and looked at the two hedgehogs with a rigid scowl. "Were you listening?"

"N..No..." Both Shadow and Sonic could barely get that out. They were too distracted. Even though Zonic's head held a vein throb ready to pop with his eye beginning to twitch, his shadowed expression alone told them just how peeved he was.

It's been fifteen minutes.

Shadow's been staring at Zonic, for fifteen minutes straight.

Zonic had escorted them both to the mess hall. It was a pretty nice place for a military cafeteria. Everyone looked like they were being themselves, too. No one was in uniform, no one was acting like a soldier. Everyone was relaxed and even having fun. This was basically everyone's lunch break. However, some portions of the army had specific schedules. Not every soldier had their lunch break at the same time and were still on patrol, should an outbreak or riot occur. It was a vital safety measure, since it would be easy for an attack to happen right under their noses while they'd be distracted by lunch time.

The cafeteria wasn't extravagant, but it was spotless. Sonic and Shadow assumed some were assigned to clean the place, while some were punished into cleaning duty. Surfaces of the tables were shiny, and so were the floors. The food was pretty nice, much better than the pantry crap back in Moebius. Zonic even ordered Sonic a chili dog, made especially for him with all his favorite toppings. He overheard a fellow soldier comment that the only reason why the food's so good, is because the warden's a 'fat-ass slab of lard'. Well, despite their harsh words, they were probably right.

So now, Sonic, Shadow and Zonic's right hand men were sitting at his private table. Reserved for only the best of the best, and the commander himself. Sonic was going to try and introduce Zespio and Zector to Shadow, but he was too busy staring at Zonic. They were going to apologize earlier for the way he was treated and the rude welcome, but they couldn't even get his attention. Zonic wasn't even at the table, he was at least a few yards away talking to one of his other soldiers. He was holding an open water bottle in one hand, and it's top in the other.

Sonic just stared at him with the most incredulous expression on his face. Yeah, okay, they got it. Zonic looks exactly like him, they wee basically identical twins. So he got why he would be so attracted to him, but why is he making goo-goo eyes at him? This was starting to get weird, and old. He never looked at Sonic like that. He only glanced at him like that when they...did things last night. What, did he want to do the same thing to Zonic, too?

"Um, Shads," Sonic tried to get his attention by nudging his elbow in his arm. He was gentle at first. "Shads, Mobius to Shadow.." He tried again a bit louder, while making his nudges more aggressive, but to no avail. He sucked in a deep breath and bit his lip, before taking his elbow and shoving it right into his chest. Both Zespio and Zector's eyes widened at that. "Shadow." Sonic growled lowly.

That elbow in the chest was barely cushioned by his chest fur. Shadow made a slight cough, before whipping his head over at Sonic. He saw the pissed off look on his face, and he felt a sweat drop coming along. "Err, yes. Sorry." He quickly apologized. "What were you saying again?"

"I said-"

"Sonic prime?" Zonic's voice cut through instantly. Everyone at the table looked up and saw him leaning one hand on the table, while holding the water bottle near his mouth. The cap of the bottle was in between his fingers. He was standing right next to Shadow, his hip nearly rubbing against his shoulder. "Your food is ready at the counter. It is reserved so that no one else will mistake it for theirs. Be sure to give thanks to the chefs." After he said that, he brought the bottle up to his lips. They were already moist thanks to the water, and when he placed it in his mouth, Shadow felt something rise from below. His attraction for him was getting worse, far worse. After taking a few gulps, he took it from his mouth and licked his lips. Man, work always made him thirsty.

"I," Shadow found himself hesitant in his own words. He cleared his throat to start the sentence over, and got ready to stand up. "I'll get it." He said as he stood up abruptly. But, when he did, he accidentally knocked his own shoulder into Zonic's arm on the way up. The very arm that held the bottle. With a small grunt of surprise, water splashed all over the zone cop. It got all over his shirt, and the rest of his torso. Some even got on his face. Zonic managed to keep his hold on the bottle, but most of it's contents were on him, or on the floor.

Shadow roamed his eyes up and down his drenched body, seeing it all drip down from his legs. Absolutely luscious. Zonic made a disgruntled look and sighed while trying to wipe his face with the back of his arm.

"My apologies." Shadow said immediately.

Zector, his crocodile elite made a worried expression, a bit fearful of his irritated mood. "B-Boss, you alright?"

"It's fine, a simple accident." Zonic dismissed their concerns with a careless voice. He didn't see Sonic silently seething in the background.

"Alright, you two, listen up this time." The commander ordered with a stomp of his foot. Hilariously, his two elites saluted with a loud 'SIR!'. Whenever he did that with the heel of his boot, they knew what was up. After eating with for some reason a very awkward silence, Zonic suggested everyone at the table follow him back in his office. Sonic and Shadow needed to know what happened at No Zone over the past few months, and talk about exactly who they were dealing with so they can come up with a game plan.

Now they were sitting in front of his desk, looking at the bulletin board on the side of it. The elites Zespio and Zector both stood beside their commander and awaited any orders during his explanation. Zonic had taken out some files from his drawers and pinned them onto the board. He took his night stick and pointed to a written report. It didn't look that old, but a little dated. Looking a little closer, they could see it was written about some kind of incident. "Around the time you departed to go on vacation, I was forced to do the same due to physical exhaustion. During that time," As he made his exposition, he paced around the desk. "That was when Scourge made his first attack, and reared his head." He glanced at the chameleon soldier. "Colonel Zespio."

"Sir!" He nodded and scurried over to the desk. He grabbed some papers that were scattered about and neatly tucked them in a thin stack. He then stepped in front of Sonic and Shadow and handed a couple of documents to them. As they gleamed over them, their irises grew bigger in shock. They were given official pictures of No Zone HQ, destroyed.

Zonic tapped his night stick against his leg, with lowered eyes. "Scourge made a direct, devastating attack on both the HQ and the prison. He gathered up people from all over Moebius and formed them into the gang you see now. We'll go more into that later, but he had the numbers to inflict a lot of damage. No one died, thank goodness, but there were still some minor casualties. But a body count, was never intended."

"According to this," Shadow started to say. "There was more collateral damage on the building itself than actual soldiers. They demolished this place."

Sonic scowled at the file. "No wonder there's so many people doing construction. He didn't just wreck your place but-"

"Yes, he destroyed part of the city as well." Zonic walked back over to the board and pointed to another file. This time, it was a document with an insignia. It looked really important, but it reminded them of Eggman's symbol that was marked on all of his robots. "This insignia was made by the warden himself. This is his mark. He personally reported to me about the destruction that was caused while I was gone." He hissed as a sigh. "I'm sure you can imagine my temper at the time."

Zector scratched behind his scaled head while making a booming laughter. "Haha! You shoulda seen the look on Boss' face! He tore this place apart!"

Zespio nodded in agreement with a slim sense of disappointment. "Indeed. The entire HQ was dead silent when the commander walked in that office."

"I lit a fire under right under his seat." The commander spat. "He acted like he didn't even care, acting as if the soldiers were collateral damage. I never once raised my voice to a superior, not until he told me that. He didn't even talk to me, he just threw a report in my face and told me to fix it." He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Well, enough was enough. I did indeed suggest a few ideas, and that's where the new equipment came from."

Sonic looked over at Shadow and briefly informed him on how insufferable the warden was. "This is another version of Eggman. So basically, he's still a huge asshole."

"Hn." Shadow could pretty much figure that out on his own with the way Zonic was describing him. "He didn't give you a hard time about it?"

"That's the part where I lit his ass on fire, excuse my language." He tapped his night stick against the wall and pointed to it. "That's where I got this."

Sonic blinked a couple times. "You grilled him so bad that you made him make new uniforms and weapons, and you got his night stick!?"

Zonic twirled it in his hand. "Yup. I made a few promising threats, and even threw you in, Sonic prime. I could have lost my job, but he knew better than to fire a soldier of my caliber."

"You used me as a threat in an argument?"

"Anyway-"

"H-Hey!"

"Needless to say, I got what I wanted. He promised to improve our army with new weapons and armor. I also forced him to use up some funds to help out in town. We managed to fix just about everything in the HQ, except for my monitors and Warp Rings." He sat on the edge of the desk and crossed his legs. "They were all hacked some how, now locked with encryptions." He then pointed the night stick over at another file on the board. "That's when, very recently, your anti-double attacked us again. This time, kidnapping some of our soldiers. We sent some of our men after him to try and get them back but," Zonic wistfully clenched his teeth, before exhaling heavily and closing his eyes. "I think we can all figure out what happened."

"Um," Sonic held up a finger, while softly interrupting. "Sorry to interrupt Z," He used that nickname tenderly. "But, was one of the guys who went after Scourge officer Zhadow?"

"Yes." His twin nodded with dejection. "That's why when you had him on your back Shadow-prime, I didn't know what to think." He was starting to sound a little more emotional, and not in a good way. No one got word about his condition yet, so he was probably worried sick. "I digress, but what's most important now is discussing our strategy." With a small huff, he hopped onto the desk and sat with his legs formed like a pretzel. He let his night stick stand up right on the surface while his other hand rested on his lap. "Alias Scourge, prisoner number seventeen, nicknamed and born 'Sonic' Ogilvie Maurice Hedgehog, was arrested for the first time the day of his fifteenth birthday. He was released due to reasons of insanity, so he was placed in an asylum to have his mind mended. However..." Zonic seemed like he didn't need any document for this. He for some reason, knew all of this information by heart.

And that name, was that Scourge's real name? This made Shadow wonder, what was Sonic's real name? Or did they have the same name, but Sonic never knew because of the absence of his parents? Questions for later, he thought.

With a tiresome tone, Zonic continued. He didn't like talking about this. "At age sixteen, he faked his good behavior and the improvement of his sanity to be released even earlier than intended. From then on, is when he began to commit petty crimes. He robbed, he assaulted, and took on fake identities. Sonic prime can fill you in on that later."

The hero made a lopsided grin with a less than enthusiastic chuckle. "Ehh, good times.."

"He even took part in, well, very inappropriate offenses that I won't go into detail about. After disguising himself as Sonic-prime, he was beaten by yours truly," He gestured to Sonic by pointing his stick at him. "And was arrested by us. However," He dragged that word sarcastically. "He broke out of prison and went off to commit even more crimes. This was also around the time he found the female fox he made part of his entourage, Fiona. Now seventeen years old, he soon went back to robbery and vandalism, only this time, he and an unknown accomplice stole something precious from your world. Something called the Master Emerald."

Oh they knew who that unknown accomplice was. They knew her all too well. They didn't even looked surprised, they just sat there with bland expressions. Rouge was a clever woman, but sometimes even she had her idiotic moments.

"From that relic, he gained his mutation, which I'm sure you know made him turn green. That's when he once again, tried to assault and ultimately kill Sonic-prime. Of course he failed, and Sonic prime gave him to us personally." He opened his forest green eyes and stared over at the wall somewhere. "Despite my warnings to the warden, Scourge was underestimated, and was treated as a common maximum prisoner. Coincidentally, his lover Fiona was imprisoned along with him. Because we stripped him of his power and even snipped his quills, Scourge was treated poorly by not only the guards, but by other prisoners. That in itself, was a bad move." Zonic face palmed. "He should have been locked in solitary confinement, because he used his 'weakness' to his advantage. In all that time that he was mocked, or bullied, beaten or allegedly sexually harassed-"

"Wait what?" Shadow and Sonic scrunched up their faces in unison with utter disgust. Zonic only rolled his eyes and groaned, that itself was a long story.

"D..Don't focus on that. It was just an unproven claim he made before the start of his first failed execution-"

"First failed execution?"

"Will you two shut up and listen?" Zonic growled lowly. "I'm not even halfway done with this. I'll try to sum up everything as efficiently and quickly as possible, but you're silence and attention is very much required."

They silently nodded, and Sonic even pretended to zip his lips closed.

"Thank you." His twin said more softly. "Scourge used his victimization to form his plan to escape No Zone Prison a second time, with the help of his lover. He tricked more prisoners into pitying him, while rising an idea to riot. Soon, more and more prisoners became riled up, and their sense of morale sky rocketed. Before we knew it, our equipment was stolen while some were destroyed. Prisoners started to free themselves of their cell blocks and caused havoc. But worst of all, Scourge regained his power, and escaped effortlessly along with Fiona." Zonic clenched his fists tightly. "That was the last time he was ever arrested and imprisoned, but that was over a year ago."

Sonic was taken aback, flinching at his words. He made a look of intense confusion and blinked several times. "Wha-Hu...No," He whispered. "You're lying to me, that couldn't have been a year ago!"

Zonic shook his head sadly. "His escape was exactly thirteen months ago, Sonic prime. Scourge only spent one year in prison. A little after his eighteenth birthday, he escaped. He's now nineteen, just like you. Though, after some studying, we found that his mutation made his body physically two years older than you, so he's technically twenty-one."

Shadow gently grasped Sonic's hand and tried getting his attention. "What's wrong?" He didn't answer back, and his face darkened. Shadow grimaced and pulled him a little closer. He leaned over a bit and whispered near his ear. "Faker, say something."

"...Hey," Sonic had that worried look again. "Hey Z, this time, how long was Scourge planning his revenge on me? And, is he actually a genius?"

That question, made Zonic's face flabbergasted with shock. That kind of question, was a little scary. However, they needed to know as much information about Scourge as possible, so he basically obliged. They wouldn't know everything yet, but all of the key elements.

He just hoped that it wouldn't ruin their hopes in beating him.

END - 14

Yaaay! More Sonadow goodness!

Hey hey, reviews are special. Don't forget to do so please! I read 'em all.

Anyway, Danganronpa references? Pfft I have no idea what you guys are talkin' about. I mean, it's not like I'm totally in love with the game/anime or anything, hahaha...Pupupu..Oh and speaking of which, yes, there was a genderbend reference as well.

Bonus time, bonus time, bonus time-I said bonus time!

1. If it wasn't obvious, Sonic hates talking about his emotions or his past. Scourge on the other hand, doesn't give two shits about who knows what about him. He wouldn't even care if someone threw it back in his face.

2. Apparently, a girlfriend once broke up with Sonic because he proudly told people they were together. He also runs down a longer list of why he had so many break ups in the past in this chapter. Like I said before, Sonic's love life in the comics is absolute shit, so that's why I made him insecure. (Hell, his love life sucks so bad, Robotnik even insulted Sonic about it one time. It's shiiiit. As an example, I even referenced Sally Acorn in this chapter, when I wrote that 'a girl once broke up with him because he was doing too much hero work', 'one that really broke his heart' and 'I don't want to tell everyone we're together, and then a week later, we're over'. Sonic and Sally broke up/argued dozens of times in the comics for stupid reasons. It became frequent at one point.) Scourge, has dealt with similar problems before, but it was usually vice versa. He's the heart breaker.

3. There seems to be an anti and No Zone counterpart to everyone in Mobius prime. While it is said that there is indeed an anti-Shadow, he's yet to make an appearance in the comics (And probably never will since the writer of the No Zone and Anti worlds is gone. Sucks, I know.). So Scourge has never met him, and probably never will...Maybe...

4. It seems that all Sonic counterparts are attractive to Shadow, including Scourge. Let's not forget that in the beginning of the story, Shadow hesitated in attacking him and even had an urge to kiss him even though he knew he was an imposter in disguise.

5. Both Sonic and Scourge can get jealous pretty easily. Scourge is just, more violent and angry about it, while Sonic tries to keep his mouth shut.

6. Scourge's real name is 'Sonic' Olgivie Maurice Hedgehog. In the comics, this is Sonic's real name. But in this story, Sonic prime's life is more based on the games, while anti-Sonic is more based on the comics, so I gave him the real name instead. Sonic doesn't know what his real name is.

7. Scourge is technically twenty-one due to his mutation, and Sonic is only nineteen.

Hey, here's a crazy question. What do you think the anti-Shadow would be like?