"Your blood tests came back clean. You're completely healed; it's as if you're twenty years old again. However, your kidneys are now showing as sitting backwards," a young male doctor with blonde hair and blue eyes was looking at the x-rays with befuddlement.
"Backwards?" Andrea was holding onto Boris' hand so tightly her knuckles were white.
"Yes, or rather reversed. Your left one is on your right and your right is on your left. Otherwise they're in perfect health." The doctor was pointing to the location of the kidneys with his capped pen on the x-ray. It looked like vines in white facing the spine, "These should be facing outward- not inward."
"What does this mean?" Andrea felt dread creep up her neck.
"It's called an ectopic kidney. The flow of urine is still going toward the bladder so overall you're fine it's just...posed oddly. What doctor did the transplant? I should send them back to medical school." The doctor put his pen in his pocket. "Also, how did they do it? You have absolutely no scars, and traditional transplants leave the old kidneys in!"
"We do have the privilege of doctor-patient confidentiality, yes?" Boris leaned in.
"Of course," the doctor nodded, "Nothing leaves this room. Not even President Tower can compel me to say anything."
He paused and then sighed, "The witch who helped all of those Egg Army people? She healed Andrea."
The doctor bit his lip. "She cured your renal failure?"
"She did it in under five minutes." Andrea nodded. "It felt cold...like being in an ice bath. It didn't even hurt."
"I wonder…" The doctor turned to the x-rays and then back to the Cabbots. "Do you think you can bring her here? I'd like to run some tests."
Shadow was sparring with Omega in the training room to blow off steam.
"We may have been fighting deformed children," the hedgehog dodged the robot's attacks, "And we may have to fight more."
"Those were not adolescent meatbags." Omega caught the hedgehog by the ankle and flung him toward the wall. Shadow righted himself and pushed off the wall with his skates and grabbed Omega's head.
"It's still possible." Shadow's goal was not to actually damage the robot so he simply jumped down and rolled out of the way of Omega's incoming punch.
"I wish I wasn't her familiar," he spin-dashed around and knocked Omega over by hitting him directly in the chest, "I wish I wasn't involved."
"Calculating…" Omega righted himself. "Kill the witch and kill the beasts. This solves all problems."
"That's your solution to everything," Shadow rolled his shoulders, "But that isn't mine."
"Am I wrong?" The robot stared down the hedgehog. "This would also kill Eggman. Three birds, one stone."
Shadow paused before walking out of the room to go find Rouge for advice.
In Eggman's large office Orbot was taking Sheptilah's measurements while Cubot was pawing through her purse. Thunderbolt lounged off to the side watching carefully.
"It's bigger on the inside, boss!" The robot pulled out a shell. "Kinda like my brain."
"That's because it's so empty," Eggman groaned, "Chest out, Sheptilah."
She stiffened up for the measurement. "So Thunderbolt is going to train me? Right now, in the middle of the night?"
"Yes, you will need to learn how to use most of my technology and our written language as well as the history of the Eggman Empire." He was sketching up designs on his computer console.
"And how to command everyone," Thunderbolt chimed in, "Which means not being nice."
"Seriously?" Sheptilah yelped when Orbot took her chest measurement, "Watch those hands!"
"You don't have to be cruel but you do have to be firm." Ivo shot Cubot a look for going through the bag.
"I know how to lead an army;" she groaned, "Can I request that the uniform be a pinkish-purple? And there should be an opening for my Oracle Stone. Fabric rubbing up against it feels weird ."
"Weird?" He leaned back in his chair. "What happens if someone touches it?"
"Have you ever noticed that I never touch it?" She gestured to it, "You just don't do that. The sensation is unpleasant and if someone grabs it it will shock you. Badly. It won't shock me of course since it's my stone but still."
"Keyhole it is, then." He turned back to his computer.
Orbot finished taking measurements and gave them to Eggman to do with what he pleased and he and Cubot left the room to go do chores.
Eggman's computer beeped. He had an incoming message. He looked at his gauntlet and excused himself to answer it.
"This is Axel," the image of the water buffalo appeared on the gauntlet, "Egg Army Efrika is online and we are ready to re-engage. We have a group of thirty capable Mobians, not including myself."
"Good work," Eggman spoke quietly, "I am still waiting to hear back from Akhlut, Nephthys, Tundra, Cassia, Clove and Mordred. As always you are the first to be ready, besides Thunderbolt."
"I have not heard from them." Axel shook his head, "Sir, why are we re-engaging?"
"The Eggman Empire has expanded." He grinned, "And I have a new member to introduce."
"What of Wendy, Maw, Conquering Storm, Abyss and Kukku?"
"Wendy and Walter are currently imprisoned in another dimension. As for the others I am being extremely selective at this time. Consider yourself the cream of the crop, Axel." Eggman disconnected and returned to his office to find the witch had taken the form of a typical chinchilla and was chasing Thunderbolt around.
"I can't leave you two alone, can I?"
"Not really, no." The witch stood on her haunches and swished her tail back and forth, revealing a white tuft on her chest on otherwise gray fur. "I wanted to prove regular chinchillas are just as fast as Mobian chinchillas! Turns out Thunderbolt is right and Mobians are faster."
"I'm starting to wonder if you really look like a regular woman or not." He stroked his mustache in frustration.
"Well, my true form," she shifted into the image and voice of Sonic but with patch of white on her chest, "Is this!" She posed and blew a kiss.
"That is literally the worst thing you've done to me today," he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Including the gut-slicing?" She put her hands on her now blue hips
Thunderbolt twisted her face up in disgust.
"Oh, especially." He chuckled. "Though it's good to know you can take the whole form of others. I may need to use that ability later."
Sheptilah looked back over her shoulder at her tail. "This form is really cute but it's so hard for me to hold the glamour of my voice." She cleared her throat. "Maybe once I have more practice I can do it."
She bounced back and forth on the balls of her feet for a second and then changed back into her typical self and breathed a sigh of relief. "I can't mimic his speed, though. That would give it away. I also haven't spoken to him enough to feel confident in how he speaks."
"I think your uniform design is ready, what do you think?" He gestured to his console. It showed a long-sleeved orchid turtleneck coat that flared like a bell at the bottom. The length of the coat was modest and only came to her mid-thigh. The sleeves and hem were gold and it had a simple diamond-shaped keyhole opening across the chest to allow for breathing room for the Oracle Stone. Above and below the opening were golden crescent moons so as to frame the stone like a vertical triple moon goddess symbol.
White straps with gold buckles on the coat matched a white belt that went around a black jumpsuit, also with a keyhole, and black boots with gray slotted screw head-style padding at the ankles. White gloves completed the look.
"Wow. That's frighteningly conservative," Tilly was impressed, "I actually love it."
"And to think you could've had a wonderfully designed Eggman ensemble days ago if you had listened to me." Thunderbolt beamed.
Eggman smiled. "I'm so pleased you like it." He typed something into the console. Within minutes Orbot brought in the clothes fresh from the printer.
Tilly snapped her fingers and the clothes appeared on her body and fit perfectly. The weight of her hair being down pushed the coat forward and ruined the shape so she put it into a high ponytail with a glamour.
"It's fade proof, waterproof, and your shoes are shock absorbent. They will also allow you to walk on even the smoothest of surfaces without problem."
Sheptilah felt along the buckles that went across the middle of the coat's flare and gasped softly. "And there's hidden pockets!"
"Sir, what about the communicator?" Thunderbolt pointed to the side of her head where the injected device was to remind him of his next move.
"Cubot? Cubot!" Eggman tapped his foot impatiently. "That was your cue!"
Cubot came floating in holding a box. He was in such a rush he nearly crashed into a wall.
"Here you go, boss!" he held it up. He opened i and showed the woman: two glassy red earrings and a golden tiara with a red gem in the center.
"You should always wear these," he handed her the earrings, "The other Egg Bosses have little trackers and communicators in their skulls but seeing as that would kill you I've instead opted for these. All you need to do is squeeze one and talk and we will hear you if you are within range."
She put the earrings on by forcing the backs through her unpierced ears and was delighted to find they felt nearly weightless.
"With these you can be found anywhere and communicate with the rest of the army bosses. With this-" he took the tiara out and gently placed it on her head, "You can gain access anywhere on any of my properties. Never take this off when we are away from the lair."
Thunderbolt was awfully quiet. She knew full well what that crown did. In fact, she suggested it . The gem functioned like a key card that let her enter rooms any other Egg Army personnel would have access to but the most top-secret. Built into it was a mind control device just in case something went awry. Eggman had installed such fail safes in his traditional injected technology but he had to get creative with the witch.
"So it is a fancy key," it felt denser than her normal tiara, "Thank you."
"Soon you will meet the other regional commanders and those that serve under them." Eggman was very pleased with himself.
"What about Shadow?" Tilly bit her lip.
"Oh," Eggman had completely forgotten about him.
"I want him there, too." She flashed a cute grin. "I mean he is my familiar."
"He is going to be upset that you've joined the Eggman Empire, to put it politely." He stroked his mustache in thought. "Alright, just him, though."
She bounced on the balls of her feet. "Where are we meeting them? The others, I mean?"
"I haven't decided yet," he checked the time, "We should be off to bed. It's already one in the morning."
"Oh, by the way," the woman straightened her coat, "When is the next red moon?"
"What, a lunar eclipse? In this hemisphere?" He looked it up on his gauntlet, "Not for a few months, why?"
"Oh, uh, no reason," she lied, "It's just been so long since I've seen one…" She snapped her fingers and was back in her GUN scrubs. "I'm going to sleep outside. Thank you, again."
She waved at them, grabbed her frond bag and left to sleep in the garden.
Thunderbolt turned to Eggman and smirked. "You're good."
"Oh, I know." His devious grin made her heart skip a beat. "Human women are easy to charm."
"Hey, boss?" Cubot floated up to him. "Thunderbolt's new mecha is ready."
The chinchilla could barely contain herself. "Really?!"
"Yes! You've been a good minion so I thought I'd reward you." He bent down and lightly pat her on the head. This simple friendly gesture nearly killed her.
Men are so damned easy to charm, Sheptilah thought to herself as she settled down on the grass, it's almost too easy.
She got comfortable in the cool, waning moonlight and almost fell asleep when Shadow, of all people, warped in.
"Oh for the love of-" She rolled over and sat up. "Oh, hi, little brother." Her entire demeanor changed. "What brings you here?"
"Your legal papers," he tossed a manila envelope at her, "We need to talk."
"About?" she opened the envelope and let the contents spill into her lap. A passport, photo ID, a temporary birth certificate with question marks for all of the data validated by GUN, none of which she could read. She put the materials back into the envelope and stuffed it away into the frond bag.
"Changelings."
She looked up at him with hatred, mouth curled into a snarl. "Don't you dare say that word." She hissed.
"Why?" He crossed his arms defiantly.
"It's the most heinous slur I know," she stood, "Hebat was one. Do you know the ostracism we faced when we became queens?"
"Hebat? Your familiar?" Uh oh, he thought, I'm definitely in trouble now.
She balled her fists and sighed. "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known." She bent down, grabbed her frond bag and walked past Shadow.
"Follow me." She opened a portal to the shore and stepped in.
He nervously obliged. Tilly unceremoniously closed the portal behind him. She sat in the cold sand and motioned for him to sit in front of her. He did so and she pulled him closer and held his hands in front of him.
"We don't say that word because it elicits hatred from the tongues that speak it and the ears that catch it." She pressed his hands together with her fingertips.
"What are you doing…?"
"Watch," she pried his hands apart and a puff of smoke escaped his palms and fizzled away, "Why would you ask about such a thing, anyhow?" She pressed his hands together and pried them apart again and sighed. She would have to share energy manually.
"I saw it in the grimoire. I think I misunderstood something. They have unstable magic and shape shift so I incorrectly guessed they were the witch-eating things."
"No, not at all," she rested her chin on the top of his head very carefully, "The beasts don't have Oracle Stones. Even hybrids do; any biological offspring of a witch will have one."
He chuckled. "I'm relieved to say the least. I thought we may have been killing misunderstood creatures that were defending themselves."
"Oh, that's what this was about? No, no, they're like under-evolved animals."
"But one of them talked to me in the ziggurat."
"What?"
"It talked, remember?"
"Ivo was holding my leg together, I don't remember much at that point." Her limb tingled just thinking about it.
"It was talking to me telepathically. It said it was the core of the building- seriously, what are you doing with my hands?"
"I'm trying to get you to use your magic. Sometimes it's like a plug that you have to pull out in order for it to flow with outsiders. There's something there but I'm having trouble. It could be that chaos energy." She groaned. "This is annoying."
"It could be my rings." He shook his wrist, the golden band glittered in the moonlight.
"What about them?"
"They're inhibitors. If I use my full powers I could really hurt myself. I am the Ultimate Life Form and that means I'm full of intense energy that requires dampeners so I don't explode things without meaning to."
"You mean to tell me this entire time you've been holding back?"
"Yes."
"Oh my gods, are you serious?" She grumbled. "Then we gotta do this the hard way." She put a hand over her Oracle Stone and drew out raw power that took the form of a glittering, silvery liquid and pressed it against the white fluff on Shadow's chest.
He felt the magic 'bounce' around inside his body until it settled in place. It was so cold his first few breaths were visible.
He shuddered and choked. "A little warning next time!"
"If I caught you on guard you would have resisted," She shrugged, "The core of the ziggurat was my great grandmother. I mentioned that the building was her familiar, right? The core is her essence. Whatever was messing with its magic was manipulating a witch-eater that was already there."
She again pressed his hands together and pried them apart. This time there was more smoke and it held a form for a few seconds before dissipating.
"It worked! It worked! The magic's going!" She could barely contain herself.
"Okay, so how do I use it?" He shivered. "God, that's cold."
"Think of something," she urged, "Like a little bird. Let the image 'flow' from your head to your shoulders and then your hands."
He closed his eyes and concentrated. He was able to get the vapor into the form of a little sparrow for a few moments.
"You did it!" She squeezed him, "You can do a lot of things as long as you concentrate hard enough and use your imagination."
"What happens if I run out?" He looked at his fingers and wondered if the Chaos Energy he could wield would hurt him now.
"Eh, you should be able to develop more on your own but if not I will just give you more. Oh, by the way I am involved in Eggman's army now and you are coming with us to the next meeting."
"Sheptilah." He looked back at her.
She squinted, "What? It's the only way to keep Eggman under my full control. He has already agreed to stop everything he's doing until this is all over and that includes harassing Sonic and his friends. He witnessed my power earlier today when I nearly killed him after he nearly killed me."
"You fought him?" Shadow's ears drooped down.
"Mhm," Tilly sighed, "He smashed my head against the ground and that made me upset; so I stabbed him in the gut in front of everyone in the village as a warning."
Shadow frowned and looked back toward the ocean. Storm clouds were forming on the horizon. "Well, I guess he deserved it for trying to murder you."
"Tails yelled at me for that. He was right, though; I shouldn't get carried away with flexing my powers. Anyway, Eggman apologized and offered to help. He must think I'm stupid and I may be in a strange time and place but I'm no fool."
The witch closed her eyes, "So I'm going to work both sides to my advantage in fighting off these lunar beasts. I don't trust GUN for what they did to you and Maria and I certainly don't trust Eggman but I trust you, Shadow. I hope you can trust me."
"So you know about Maria? Eggman told you?" The hedgehog gripped his knees.
Sheptilah recounted the story Ivo had told her. Shadow growled softly, "He left out the part when he manipulated me into being his slave. You really should have talked to me before you did this. Do not trust him, Sheptilah. Never trust him."
"I don't," she pulled the tiara and earrings out from behind her head, "I would like GUN to quietly take a look at these and tell me if they're safe. He gave these to me and told me it's for tracking me and letting me into his buildings. Please bring them back as soon as possible."
Shadow took the jewelry and looked at it. "He gave you a crown?"
"I know, right? He thinks he's funny." She pulled the shrunken grimoire out as well and placed it in Shadow's hands. She then stood and opened a portal to GUN's main gate for him.
"Just imagine the book as being larger or smaller and it will shift in turn. Study it, write in it, whatever you like. It's just as much yours as it is mine. Take care, Shadow. I will fix everything in time."
"You are a real pain in the ass," he chuckled, "President Tower is going to be mad."
"Let him be mad," she shrugged, "This is what he gets for not letting us get separated."
"Okay," he stepped through the portal, "I'll be back as soon as possible."