Confining stone gray walls had been etched and torn up on all four sides in a failed, desperate attempt to keep a record of how many days, months, possibly even several years had passed. The stench of old blood hung in the damp, chilly air. Pixilated eyes glared through the pitifully-lit room toward cast-iron bars, their gaze never leaving or wavering. Trapped within those bars loomed the two creatures that were once the Hero of Mobius and the Ultimate Life Form, but had long since been altered far beyond recognition.
What was left of Sonic didn't even remotely resemble a hedgehog, let alone any other mammal, or anything that could be found on or off Mobius. He-or rather, it-was twice the size of Sonic and had eight extra eyes, none of which could perceive vision. Its tail resembled a long, thin, broken twig splashed with paint and coated in scales. It dragged limply behind the creature when it would attempt to move using its now uncoordinated three legs. The few patches of fur the monster possessed were all overgrown, dark indigo, and coarse. Its skin was a dark hue of sienna. It had no arms, but small, feathered, mismatched wings that could never fly instead. It lacked vocal chords and the ability to speak, and so could never make amends to the other mutant it shared its prison with. Its eyes couldn't see, but they could cry.
What used to be its companion was no more pleasant to look at.
Shadow was now nearly the same size, but had two heads that bore the nose of an ill black rat with no eyes, no mouth, and only one ear each that oozed viscous slime. It had long, flexible necks that could bend backwards without snapping. Its abdomen somewhat resembled that of a stallion, save for the lack of fur and pincer jutting out from its chest. Its tail was dragonish and twitched constantly and uncontrollably. The beast's breathing was labored and erratic. It, too, badly mourned its losses, and those of the creature it was caged with.
Neither one could ever reverse what had happened, or revoke the horrible things they'd once said to each other, no matter how much they longed to.
The one door to the room opened up, allowing light to pour in. It burned Shadow's flesh, and caused Sonic to hiss and try to retreat into a corner of the cage, stumbling and nearly tripping. Through the door entered the most powerful man in the world, the ruler among rulers, Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. He approached the cage, studying over his test subjects for a moment before concluding aloud, "They've been mutated too severely. Any further tests would be a useless waste of time and materials." He turned toward the bearer of the pixilated eyes.
"Kill them."
The sound of two quick gunshots resonated in the walls momentarily. Sonic fell instantly, but Shadow only staggered toward him, trembling in agony as magenta blood spurted from its chest. With three more shots, it fell atop its former partner, and their leaking body fluids mixed as they pooled on the floor around them.
Author's Note: I warned you it would only get worse.
Does the title make sense now?