Eggman had run out of things to do in his holding cell. He had counted the tiles on the ceiling and circuits on his restraints. He had tried to reminisce about successful schemes, and then when he ran out after a few minutes, he tried to debrief his failed schemes to see where he could have done better (that took significantly longer to do). Eventually, though, he ran out of even those, so he hummed to himself for a while, tried to think of new robot ideas, tried to replay movies he'd seen in his head, made clicking sounds with his tongue, and even thought of some new egg based puns he hadn't thought of before.
At some point, though, he realized that he couldn't distract himself forever. He had to get out of here.
He stared at the blank wall, which he knew was actually a one way mirror, and huffed to himself. He was reminded of a time when he had sealed himself into one of his own traps. It was an accident - an incompetent robot, a trip, and a faulty security protocol locking the doors shut. The walls closed in slowly on all sides, and as he felt them grow closer, pressing in on his ribs, contorting him into increasingly uncomfortable positions, he was certain he was going to die. It was only through remarkable fortune that power shut down to the facility, letting him live. Still, he had been stuck there in a tiny room for two hours before he could be let out. It was among the most miserable experiences of his life, and though he tried not to bring it consciously to mind, something about his holding cell now felt eerily similar.
The colorless walls weren't actually closing in, he had to remind himself - but it certainly felt like it. How long had he been here, anyway? A few hours? An afternoon? Until nightfall? He was used to isolation, but only when it was self imposed, and certainly not while bound so tightly he couldn't move. When he got out - and it had to be "when" and not "if," he reminded himself - he vowed to spend at least a week somewhere with wide open spaces, surrounded by his creations for company. He'd do some kind of plan that involved some eldritch nature god, or maybe even find a way to cause earthquakes and tidal waves. Something where he could do research outside, with no metal or beige in sight. That would be nice.
He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing.
If he could get himself out of here soon, he still had a chance of keeping his own mind. He could engineer an escape to… well, somewhere. It couldn't be anywhere in the Federation, he realized. He was a wanted man before, but now he would be priority number one. Other nations were likely out as soon as the infected could travel across the ocean on planes and boats. He'd have no way of predicting which hideouts of his were compromised, given that GUN knew about his latest exploits. And returning to one of his "deserted islands" also seemed like a stupid idea. Hmm. Perhaps it was time for him to return to space, or dimension hopping. At least there, he could be safe for a while. At least, until the nanites claimed enough scientists….
A crackling static filled the room. An invisible speaker blared a familiar voice - the voice with no name, but regardless consistently, relentlessly, present. He knew that voice like those of his enemies and hated it all the same. "Are you ready to share, Doctor?" it said, no tone to it at all.
"I already said to you, I won't tell you anything. I can't tell you anything."
A stifled laugh cracked through the wall. "Come now, Doctor. I thought you would be more creative than that."
"I'm afraid there is no way to stop the nanites, my malevolent benefactor. They were never meant to be turned off."
"You expect me to believe you didn't put any kind of back up plan in place, in case this backfired?"
"Hey, I'm called a mad scientist for a reason. My plans are so brilliant, I don't expect for them to fail."
"Yet, they always do. And the world is paying the price."
A long silence. The restraints on Doctor Robotnik's wrists cut into him more as he tried to move in his chair. Though he didn't feel any pain, he could sense the distinct warm wetness of a trickle of blood. It rolled down his finger, stained his glove, and dried as quickly as it came out. It felt like an uncomfortable sticky paint, one he could not get rid of. Liquid, he thought. The fact blood could be exposed without feeling… strange… meant that his invention had yet to go this far, into this room. Small comforts. The wheels turned in his head as he did mental calculations of hours, minutes, seconds. By now, he thought, his nanites would have at least made it to the coast, no matter what. The best case scenario was that any carrier would wash up on a remote seaside, buying at least a few days before initial transmittal to a live form - but the fact that Shadow and Sonic, those insufferable thorns in his side, had specifically sought him out earlier likely meant that was not the case. Who knows how much it had learned already.
"There is no kill switch. That is all I can say." He sighed. "Believe me, if I knew of one, I would tell you. The nanites will be out of control, soon. They can even get to me, if I'm not careful. The best you can do is attempt to quarantine, but even that is only buying a little time."
The static erupted again. Eggman winced at the high volume, unable to cover his ears. "I'm afraid you've misunderstood our intentions, Doctor," the voice continued. "Perhaps when we're on the same page, we can decrease the suffering you will no doubt need to endure." Doctor Eggman squirmed - the voice was cool and calculated, but there was a note of glee in it. It felt familiar; it was the same as his own voice when he explained his schemes to Sonic, so sure of himself and his victory. Being on the other side for a speech like this felt nauseating… or maybe that was the dizziness from not drinking water for a while. "We don't want for you to deactivate the nanites, Doctor. We want you to tell us how to control them."
To say he was dumbstruck would be an understatement. "What? But you're the good guys!"
"A simplistic notion, but sure. What you have done here is morally reprehensible. Robbing people of their free will, rendering them unknowing of the world or its dangers. There is no way around the fact that the actions taken to get to this point would not have been sanctioned or approved by any kind of government authority." Somehow, the words seemed completely non-genuine, as though read off a script. "But through your misdeeds, you have opened the door for a kind of world peace."
"Through mind control."
"Through… influence. Imagine it; an entire world with the same goals and ambitions, a world where nobody disagrees with each other, a world where everyone has the same values."
"Your values."
"Now you're catching on."
Doctor Eggman laughed. He shook his head, his body twitching from the strain of attempted movement. "I can't say I'm surprised. GUN has always been a step behind my evil genius, and now you want to exploit it. Controlling the masses for your own means? It's exactly what I made the nanites for in the first place."
"We remind you, doctor, that if you do not comply with us we will make life very painful for you here. It is in your best interests to cooperate."
"I won't. And you won't be able to do a thing to me."
"And why is that?"
"Because I have exactly what I need from you, and now I can make my exit."
With a blast, the room filled with debris and dust. When it cleared, the wall was gone - and the doctor along with it. When the GUN guards looked at the debris later, they could find tiny shards from a pink bomb littering the floor.
Shadow had been redirected to the labs when he mentioned the incident at the hospital. He had told Sonic that was unusual, but not unheard of - the root cause was a bioweapon, after all. GUN probably wanted their scientists to know first about any developments they had encountered in the field, so to speak. He was very open about the fact that this didn't sit well with him; "GUN doesn't normally care about the science of discovery or the right thing for the world," he said with a snort. "Only what will keep the peace in this country - even if that peace is forced."
Sonic shrugged. Frankly, he couldn't care less about the politics of it.
As Shadow directed him through GUN's featureless hallways, Sonic found himself uncharacteristically silent. Shadow carried an unconscious Scourge over the shoulder, not betraying any strain from the weight. Meanwhile, Sonic was still adjusting to the castless leg, still using crutches to move around. He looked at his own two feet, grimacing. It had been a few hours since the doctor's office, where his cast had come off and he had been subsequently attacked. The whole hospital… it had been swarmed with people attacking him. He tried calling Blaze multiple times to warn her, only to go straight to voicemail. He was safe for now, but there were so many people there… how much damage could they have done in three hours? How far could they travel? Could they have even followed them there?
Shadow huffed and switched Scourge to his other shoulder. "We're almost at the labs," he said, "and we can drop him off there. Then I need to debrief my superior officer on the situation."
Sonic breathed heavily. "Just you?"
"I'd imagine they'll want your first person perspective as well. You're already in too deep for what your level of clearance is supposed to be, so what's a little more?"
"The mission isn't over yet?"
"No, your mission with me to capture the Doctor is done. But this is just one battle in a new war - I wouldn't be surprised if the commander put me on a new task right away."
Sonic looked at hims with a panicked expression. "You, alone?"
Shadow's grip on the body tightened. "Sonic, you saw what happened in that doctor's office. You almost let that doctor take you and make you into one of them, and if I hadn't been there-"
"I wouldn't let that happen again! I know what we're up against, and I'm just as ready to fight as ever. I handled myself just fine back there!"
"If I hadn't been there to tell you the doctor was about to inject you with something strange," Shadow continued, "or to carry you out, you would have been gone. I can't let that happen."
"Shadow, I'm in danger literally all the time. I'm used to it. You don't need to be alone in this!"
"This isn't negotiable, Sonic. The world cannot lose you." Shadow scanned his iris at the lab entrance, and the door opened. "I cannot lose you," he said more quietly, as he stepped through. Sonic followed closely behind.
"What do you mean by- wait. Why is it all dark in here? Where are all the people?"
Shadow narrowed his eyes, and the doors slammed shut behind them both. He tried activating the iris scan again to let them out, but the machine only blared warnings at him. Access denied. Access denied. Access-
"What the hell?" Shadow muttered, putting Scourge down on a table and trying again. Access denied. "This isn't right. Something is wrong here."
Robotic arms moved around the walls, coming from the far side of the room towards them. When they landed on Scourge, robotic voices spoke in eerily sweet tones as they touched his skin. Subject 9992 identified. Warrants for arrest and detainment processed. Certificate of death processed. Commencing experiment.
Sonic was confused. "Certificate of death? But he's not-"
"Get down!" Shadow hissed. He tackled him to the ground, holding a finger to the other's lips. The movement brought a stinging pain up Sonic's bad leg, but sure enough, he said nothing - just winced. In the dark, he could barely make out what was going on. Robotic arms placed restraining cuffs on Scourge's legs and arms, activating them with a few buttons. A spark from one woke the now bound Scourge, who looked at the arms with anger and surprise.
"What the hell is this about? Where the fuck-"
Subject now conscious. Evaluating physical and mental health.
"My health is perfectly fine, you piece of shit! Take these things off me or I'll-"
Lights came over Scourge, like the iris scan at the door but larger and brighter. Sonic could see him wince at the unexpected brightness, and he almost felt bad for him. Subject is slightly injured in eyes and legs, but otherwise unharmed. Genetic profile indicates instability, causing enhanced physical abilities and some mental degradation. Subject is identified as within specifications for Experiment 447C. Introducing 20 CCs of stimulus. Expected conversion time is thirty minutes. Liquid samples to be taken in intervals of three minutes.
What occurred next made Sonic audibly gasp, causing Shadow to cover his mouth immediately. One of the robot arms brought out a syringe, which had a tiny drop of the liquid he had come to recognize on sight. It plunged into Scourge's arm, causing him to yelp. "Ah! Watch it! I have fuckin' rights, and I'm not afraid to-"
Subject has increased aggression-
"Gee, I wonder why!"
-Sedative determined to be detrimental to study. Checking vitals...
Scourge thrashed about on the table, screaming obscenities and making loud banging noises. Sonic looked away to Shadow, who continued to pin Sonic to the ground. His legs straddled the other over his waist and his hand over the other's mouth. His eyes darted around the room, as though looking for a weakness or gap - which was good, because despite the urgency of the situation and the several unanswered questions he had, Sonic could not suppress the heat rush on his face. Shadow mouthed words that Sonic could barely see, let alone understand. "This is bad," were the first ones, understandable though silent. He was so close to him, Sonic could feel the warmth of the other's breath. "We need to get out before he 'converts.' Can you be quiet here, alone?"
Sonic waited a moment, oddly enough doubting that Shadow had been asking him. It wasn't until the other looked down on him with a quizzical, frantic expression - Chaos, he hadn't realized how sharp of a red the other's eyes were before - that he nodded. Shadow rolled quietly on the floor away from him, and began to weave around the lab like it was familiar to him. With a sinking feeling, Sonic realized it probably was. The steps, awkward as they were, probably avoided some kind of sensor or hidden laser - they were the practiced steps of a dancer, who had done the choreography enough times he could do it in his sleep. Sonic wondered how many times he had to do this before - how many times he would have to sneak out of labs like this one to go for a day without being poked, prodded, and tested. How many iterations of trial and error it must have taken to know where the empty spots were, how to tell the security systems weaknesses, what the quickest way to escape detection at any given time was. He didn't even want to think about all of the times Shadow may have needed to fail, or what kind of punishment GUN would have in store for an escaped experiment, before he became as he was now. He obviously moved with ease, with the practiced precision that could easily have gotten him away scot clean… if it weren't for one outlying factor.
"What the hell is that guy doing here?"
The robot arms twitched, as though preparing to scan the room. Shadow looked almost panicked, and Scourge's face went from enraged to delighted in a split second. "Oy, it's the idiot from the bar! What're you doing around here? Want to hear more stories? I'm afraid I'm really not fuckin' feeling it." Shadow tried to duck away from Scourge's line of vision, but he kept yelling. This was bad, Sonic realized. The tech in this room wasn't the smartest he'd seen, but eventually it would pick up on Shadow's presence. It would track Scourge's eyes or understand key references, or maybe Scourge would even say the black hedgehog's name.
When he realized he couldn't let that happen, something inside him snapped.
Sonic, with all the strength he could muster, launched himself at Scourge. His leg felt like the muscle was splitting in two, and he cried out in a spike of agony, but it worked. He slammed into the green copy, putting a gloved hand over his mouth, shutting the other up. A small blessing in this strange time.
Other life form detected. Scanning for identity and qualifications for study.
Shadow looked at the two of them with wide eyes. "What are you doing?" he mouthed angrily.
Knowing there was no way out of this, Sonic called out, "Yeah, you big robot thing! Come get me, you giant-"
Life form identified as civilian Sonic the Hedgehog.
Sonic began to hobble back and forth, imitating a dance he had seen small children do to get their parents' attention. He banged on walls, screaming loud enough that even Scourge seemed calm. He tried to avoid looking at Shadow as much as possible so the artificial technology wouldn't notice him, and he hoped Shadow picked up on the message. Let me get you out, he thought. Let me do this for you.
"Thought you could hide me away, Scourge? I'm right here! I'm not going anywhere until you shut your big mouth!"
Life form does not have clearance for Artificial Pathogen lab. Protocol 9 initiated.
"Shit," Shadow mouthed.
The arms grabbed Sonic, and he mouthed to Shadow to keep moving away. As he did, Sonic breathed a small sigh of relief until he heard more words from the robotic voice, chilling him to his core.
Subject ID 10213 created.
[[AN: A friend of mine who looked at a summary of this part told me that it has a lot of similarities with the final episode of Black Mirror. I think the similarities are superficial at best, now that I've actually had time to see it, but I highly recommend it. In case you couldn't tell by the very long pause, this was difficult to write down; hopefully now that I'm past this part, as well as some of my work and school struggles, I should be able to update this more regularly again.]]