Chapter 5

The Commander of the G.U.N. forces swiftly walked down a familiar light hallway as he came to a huge metallic door. Sliding his access card and punching in the code, the computer let out an "access approved" as the door slid open and closed shut again after the Commander entered.

His blue eyes widened at the sight of what was in the stasis tube in front of him. Shadow the Hedgehog, the ultimate life.

Professor Austin was also in the room, sitting by a large computer and running some scans.

The Commander walked over to him. "When will it be ready?" He asked impatiently.

"In a few hours," He answered without looking up from his computer. "He hasn't had time to recover from the anti-chaos blast and the tranquilizers yet."

The Commander growled slightly as he turned to leave. "Notify me immediately when he's ready."

The Professor let out a small "yes sir" as the Commander exited from the room and headed back to his office.

Professor Austin sighed slightly as he focused his attention back to the computer. 003's chaotic energies were growing back to normal and he knew it wouldn't be long until he would awaken.

Bu he knew, that once he awakened, he wouldn't be resting for quit some time.

Several Hours Later

Shadow's red eyes slowly began to blink open. The dark hedgehog's eyes were spared of the harsh bright light that he had encountered during his last awakening to find himself staring towards a cool neon green environment.

The dark hedgehog moved his head slightly as he spotted a man in a white lab coat standing in front of him. Shadow's first instinct was to move out of the way of this new person when he found out he couldn't.

The hedgehog tugged his arm slightly only to move it a little before hitting something solid. Shadow's eyes widened slightly as he moved his hands in front of him to try and touch the human observing him when his hands came into contact with cool glass.

It didn't take a genius to figure out Shadow was in a stasis tube. The dark hedgehog tried to speak to the human in front of him but when he opened his mouth, excruciating pain seared through his throat.

Shadow gagged slightly from whatever it was that was now inside of him. The dark hedgehog relaxed slightly as a very simple and easy plan came to his mind.

Bearing the pain, Shadow managed to whisper the phrase that had saved his life on several occasions in the past. "Chaos Control!"

Shadow looked around slightly to find out that absolutely nothing had happened. So, taking another shot at it, Shadow fought the pain in his throat again and whispered the exact same phrase. "Chaos Control!"

Once again, nothing happened. That's when it hit Shadow. He was hit by that anti-chaos blast and now all his chaos powers were temporarily dismantled. Shadow managed to growl as he looked back up to see another human standing by the one in the white coat. One with jet back hair, blue eyes, and a Commander uniform.

He was currently facing the man in white as they conversed. Trying as best as he could, Shadow tried to listen in only to fail due to the heavy sound proof glass installed into the tube.

The dark hedgehog's mind flooded with possible escape methods. But not being able to use Chaos attacks, Shadow decided to try it the old fashioned way. The dark hedgehog raised his right arm and curled his glove-less hand into a fist. Reeling back, the hedgehog brought it down upon the glass, making a spider web like crack into the place of impact.

The two humans outside immediately turned their attention to the capsule, seeing as it must have given out some kind of noise. Shadow reeled his fist back again and punched the exact same spot. The crack deepened as a small amount of the liquid he was in started pouring out.

The man dressed in the uniform immediately picked out a small radio and talked into it as the man in white stepped back. Shadow reeled back his fist again as the fist made impact with the glass, completely shattering it.

The small bits of reinforced glass fell to the floor as Shadow dropped down to the bottom of the tube. The hedgehog regained his composure and tried to get out when he found himself to be hindered by multiple wires.

The hedgehog took his wet hands and ripped all the wires off his body as they fell loosely to the side. Lastly, the black hedgehog moved both of his hands around the tube in his throat and yanked it out with all his strength, causing it to drop to the bottom of the tube.

Shadow bent over slightly as he spit up a small amount of clear liquid to the bottom of the tube, where a small amount of the liquid that previously occupied it was still inside.

Taking hold of the sides with his hands, Shadow managed to pull himself out. The hedgehog stumbled slightly but soon stood to his full height, cracking his neck a few times.

Shadow looked up only to stare into at least ten barrels with guns on the back of them. The G.U.N. Special Forces soldiers dressed in black uniforms all aimed their M-16's directly at Shadow as the hedgehog just stood there.

Suddenly, a figure pushed them aside as it stepped forward to reveal itself as the human with the black Commander uniform.

He smirked at Shadow and spoke. "Ah, it seems you're awake 003."

Shadow didn't respond but only stared at the Commander who spoke again. "Oh of course, how rude of myself! Allow me to introduce myself; I am the new Commander of G.U.N."

Shadow snorted slightly. "Yeah well, what do you want with me? The President cleared me of all my charges."

The Commander snickered. "Well that may be, but he need not know about our little transaction, does he?"

Shadow tensed his body up as he raised his right hand and pointed at the human in front of him. "Listen human, I don't intend on staying here and I'll be glad to rip your head off if you think you can force me!"

After Shadow's threat, every man's gun in the room was immediately pointed at Shadow's head again. The Commander laughed. "Now, now, 003. There's no need for violence."

The Commander's eyes sparkled with a hint of evil. "Besides, we wouldn't want anything to happen to that bat you're so fond of, now would we?"

Shadow's eyes widened but kept his composure. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The Commander smirked as he pulled a small photo out of his pocket and tossed it at Shadow, who caught it and stared at the person in the picture with disbelief.

"By the way you're looking at her; I think you do know what I'm talking about." The Commander said with a small smirk.

Shadow looked up at him as the Commander continued. "We currently have three snipers stationed at her residence awaiting her arrival. All I have to do is give the order and she'll be taken down."

Shadow's eyes glistened with hatred. "If you lay so much as a finger on her, I'll break your neck in two!"

The Commander snickered. "A bold statement coming from someone who's most cherished thing in the world is at stake."

Shadow continued to glare as he looked back down at Rouge's picture. The Commander smirked when he saw this and spoke. "Of course, it doesn't have to come to that…"

Shadow's head snapped to attention as the Commander continued. "All you have to do is be a good little life form and cooperate and do as you're told, understood?"

Shadow's immediate response was no in his head but gazing back down upon Rouge's picture, he came up with a different answer. "If I cooperate, will it guarantee her safety?"

The Commander nodded with a dark smile. "Of course, I'm a man of my word."

Shadow stared at the Commander and then back to the picture. His glove-less hand released the picture as it fell to the ground. The hedgehog bowed his head and stretched his arms out in front of him. "Fine, I accept."

The Commander smirked. "Excellent!"

The Commander motioned for two of the soldiers as they came forward with a set of titanium handcuffs. They cautiously proceeded to the silent ultimate life form as they snapped both arms into the cuffs, without any protest from the hedgehog.

Motioning for the soldiers to move, the Commander stepped forward and placed a hand on Shadow's shoulder, leading him down the hallway from which he first entered, with the other scientists and soldiers close behind.

They went down the light hallway once again and stopped at a large dark red door which slid open without any kind of code access. The Commander led the hedgehog into the room, which was brightly light with a large metallic table in the center.

On the right of the table was a large shelf filled with all kinds of tools. Besides that, the room was completely barren save for a large mirror that covered the entire left wall. The Commander led Shadow over to the table, where he slowly removed the cuffs.

"Sit over there 003!" The Commander ordered as he pointed towards the table. Swallowing his pride, Shadow did as he was told and was forced into a laying position by two sets of hands on his shoulders.

The two soldiers who did this took some leather straps dangling from the side of the table and slid them around Shadow's arms, legs, waist, chest, and neck. Once again, Shadow did nothing.

The Commander motioned for the soldiers to leave as they and the other eight soldiers walked out of the room, the door hissing shut behind them. The five scientists including Professor Austin all slid into white surgery coats and covered their faces with what looked like to be some kind of masks.

The Commander smirked as he also exited the room and headed for one right beside it. In front of him was a large window, mimicking a mirror on the other side, where he could observe everything.

Meanwhile, Professor Austin reached for what looked like a large needle, its size rivaling a small cat. Shadow's eyes widened slightly at the sight but did not show any emotion.

Professor Austin looked at Shadow. "Now, this might sting a little."

And with that warning, The Professor stuck the needle straight into Shadow's neck.

And sting it did…

Shadow gasped slightly from the pain but did not say a word. The Professor pulled back on the handle of the needle, extracting a blood sample from the hedgehog. The Professor handed it to one of the scientists, who carried it out of the room.

Shadow's eyes were now completely fixed on the Professor as he took a large scalpel from the shelf. With one glance at Shadow, the Professor jabbed it straight into Shadow's stomach. Shadow grimaced in pain as the Professor proceeded to cut off a small piece of flesh covered by fur and skin, placing it in a dish and putting it in the hands of another scientist.

Shadow's anger now boiled. 'What the hell are they doing to me?' He screamed in his mind, staying completely calm on the outside.

The Professor now picked up a small circular saw. He glanced at Shadow and quickly explained. "This will be to test your recovery rate."

Shadow only glared as the Professor averted his gaze and turned the power on. The saw came to life with a loud buzzing sound as the Professor reached down and made a large cut into Shadow's right arm, completely cutting down to the white bone.

This was too much for even Shadow as he let out a loud scream of pain. The Professor flinched and removed the saw, turning it back off. He faced one of the scientists. "Get the wound cleaned, and then bring him back to the stasis tube. It should be repaired by now."

The scientist nodded and did as he was told. Shadow grimaced in pain again when he felt the soft fabric rubbing against his wound. Luckily for him, the scientist was a young, gentle looking female.

"There you are!" She said with a smile as she un-strapped him. "Let's get you back to the stasis tube."

Shadow looked at the gentle female slightly. He was beginning to think not all of these wretched humans were bad.

The thought left his mind however, when he looked back forward and spotted the Commander standing there smirking. "Laura, don't take him to the stasis tube, bring him to the Physical training ward!"

Laura's eyes widened but obeyed the command, leading Shadow off towards the training room.

The dark hedgehog and female entered the room, which was at least the size of a football field, only completely white.

Laura smiled at Shadow. "Don't worry, you'll make it through."

Shadow was about to respond when he heard another voice, one that made his blood boil.

"Well, I certainly hope so…"

Shadow turned around and looked at the Commander, standing by a large computer protected by a fiber glass shield.

"…Because this will certainly push you to your limits!"

Author's Note- Since the majority of the reviewers requested it, I will be putting up the bios for my characters on my profile. It should be up by the time this chapter is posted so look for it!

Also, I would like to say that Tales Of An Ultimate is really growing. We are still 9th with subscribers, 3rd with archieve size and...1st staff count wise! Thank you to all, my staff members. Also, I would like to formaly welcome Shadow Minamoto and Tru Mel Meiko Mei Ling, the newest additions to the C2.

If you haven't subsribed yet, please do so to make us 1st in all categories!