As Eggman's craft zoomed towards his base, Shock noticed the air gradually getting thicker and staler. The sound of vehicles got louder and the echidna poked his head past Eggman's seat to see where they were headed. They were flying towards what looked like a city. Dark clouds hung over the vast expanse of gloomy industrial buildings. The air got thicker and hotter the closer they got. Soon, they were flying over the streets. Looking over the side, Shock saw robots of all shapes and sizes travelling along the cracked roads. The echidna caught a whiff of exhaust fumes and promptly coughed. He covered his nose, but it did little to alleviate the smell.
"Welcome to Metropolis Zone," Eggman said over his shoulder.
"That's a pretty ironic thing to say; it's not very welcoming," Shock replied with a scowl, staring out over the pollution-filled streets.
"My apologies, but what you see is the cause of that hedgehog," the Doctor growled, "He... it makes me angry thinking about it. He's such a heartless monster..."
One hedgehog caused all this? Surely that can't be...
"Ah!" exclaimed Eggman, "Here we are! My base of operations."
The craft stopped in front of a tall building, the tallest one, in fact, Shock noted. There was a giant golden model of Eggman's head adorning the top of the building. The echidna frowned at this strange decoration as the craft descended.
The two occupants exited the ship and were immediately surrounded by a group of mean-looking, crab-shaped robots, all with one large, spiked claw. Shock instinctively arced electricity between his hands, but Eggman put a hand on his shoulder.
"Easy, my boy. These are my creations. They won't harm us. They're just here to guard my Egg-O-Matic."
Shock stopped the crackling electricity flowing through him and turned his head towards the Doctor, Your creations?
"Do you doubt me?" asked Eggman, pushing his glasses up.
"I don't know..."
"Trust me. I'm an inventor. I have created countless robots to aid me in dealing with—"
"Yeah, yeah, the hedgehog."
Eggman frowned at him, but his expression quickly softened and he cleared his throat, "Shall we?"
The echidna followed him as he walked towards the building's entrance, guarded by two praying mantis-like robots armed with large spikes for arms and staring yellow eyes. Above the metal entrance doors was another head in the likeness of the Doctor, only this one was more of a caricature with a creepy grin.
The doors slid apart and the two entered, the robots watching Shock's every step until the doors closed with a solid thunk.
They were in a metal hallway lined with sleek, gun-toting robots. Shock noticed with some apprehension that they all had their barrels trained on him. The echidna walked close behind the Doctor as they passed through another metal door and into an elevator. After travelling up several storeys, the elevator doors opened directly onto a large laboratory. All around the room were various machines and gadgets, each stranger-looking than the last. At the far end, a window spanned almost the entire wall, allowing a view of the polluted city.
"Welcome to my laboratory, Shock. Hopefully, we will find a solution to your problem here. In fact, I have every confidence we will."
I hope this guy isn't just all talk... Shock thought, looking around the lab, relieved at its cool temperature and relatively cleaner smell.
"So," continued Eggman, "What would you say normally triggers these outbursts?"
Shock walked over to the window overlooking the city and stared at his reflection's deadpan expression.
"I don't know... it... happens on its own."
Eggman cupped his chin in his hand, "Hmmm. Do you think perhaps strong emotions set it off?"
I wouldn't exactly say that, but I guess it's possible...
"...Perhaps..." responded the grey echidna.
"Or maybe when you use a large expenditure of your energy?"
"...Maybe..."
"I'm not saying those are the causes, but they may help initiate it."
Shock had no words to respond with. He simply nodded and continued to stare out the window at the depressing city. He crossed his arms and turned his head slightly to the side, "Did that hedgehog really cause all this?"
The large Doctor smirked and walked to join the echidna at the window. As he approached, his smirk disappeared and was replaced with a faked look of sadness, "Yes. You see that large building with the chimney-like stacks?"
"Yeah?"
"That was like a large air purifier. But Sonic and his friends, especially that two-tailed fox..."
"Two-tailed fox?"
"Exactly. He altered himself in such a way that gave him the ability to fly. That's how far they will go to thwart me."
An expression of disgust crossed Shock's face.
"I will grudgingly admit that the fox, although very young, has an extremely high IQ to rival my own. He played a major role in this disaster – just as he altered himself, he altered the air purifier to do the opposite of its namesake."
The echidna only shook his head.
"We'll talk more about them later, though. For now, let's see what we can do for you."
"Alright..."
Shock accompanied Eggman as he made his way over to a control panel in front of some kind of chamber with a window set in it facing the inside of the lab.
"Now, Shock," the Doctor gestured to a door next to the window, "step inside this chamber and I will examine you. We can also use it to run some more practical tests if the scans don't return anything."
"Right," replied Shock and stood in front of the door. Eggman pressed a button on the panel and the door slid up. Stepping inside, Shock felt a little claustrophobic, a feeling which intensified when the door closed. The chamber was medium-sized and all-metal. The echidna's footfalls echoed slightly as he walked around the space.
There was a click and Eggman's voice came through from an unseen speaker, "Shock, stand roughly in the centre of the room. I'll be able to scan you there."
He did so and was startled and unnerved when two strange devices lowered from the ceiling on either side of him. They were about twice his height, angled inward at the top and were coloured black.
"Stand as still as you can."
The arms slowly rotated around him, occasionally emitting a flickering green beam. Shock began feeling slightly nauseous, but remained as still as he could. Soon, the arms stopped rotating, locking back in their positions at his sides. They rose back into the ceiling and his feeling of nausea passed.
Shock looked at the Doctor as he examined a nearby screen. Eggman nodded and turned to him.
"Well, I have the bioscan data, but it will take some time for this to be fully processed. You may as well come out now."
The echidna nodded back and made his way out as soon as the door opened. Shock found it strange that he felt claustrophobic, as he had never felt that way in his life. He shrugged it off and walked over to the monitor Eggman was standing in front of. On it, he saw what looked like an x-ray along with several other coloured images of himself, but he couldn't figure out what they represented.
"Well, about that Sonic or whoever..." said Shock, turning to the Doctor next to him, "Tell me more about him."
"Hmmm. I advise you to be very careful around him and his friends. Or should I say 'accomplices'?"
Eggman proceeded to tell Shock about all the incidents that had happened due to Sonic and his partners, including the destruction of the Life Egg, an orbiting research station. It was designed for the purpose of discovering ways of giving life to dead and barren places of the planet. Or so the Doctor said.
He also told of the destruction of Station Square thanks to an echidna named Knuckles freeing the monster, Chaos, by shattering the Master Emerald. Eggman, despite his best efforts, couldn't stop Sonic and the others from feeding Chaos the Emeralds.
"And do you remember when the planet shattered apart?" asked the oversized Doctor.
"Yeah. That was... scary," admitted Shock.
"Agreed. Sonic and Tails attacked me. I was about to transform a dead wasteland into a lush jungle with the Light Cannon, which used the power of the Chaos Emeralds, but that fox modified it to use the Emeralds' negative energy and freed Dark Gaia. Sonic then used the residual energy to transform himself into a werehog."
"A... werehog?"
"Yes. At night, he became a terrifying beast. Thankfully, after I defeated Dark Gaia, Son—"
"How?"
"Don't interrupt," Shock scowled at this, but the Doctor continued, "Anyway, after I defeated Dark Gaia, Sonic lost his ability to transform."
"I see..."
"I know, quite unbelievable, but I assure you – those events happened."
"Hmmm..."
"As for when you found me – I had actually just lost a fight against the hedgehog. He always gets in my way..."
"I'd like to pay him a visit, myself."
"I'm not sure that's wise, my good friend."
Shock turned to fully face Eggman, "I can take care of myself, Doctor."
The scientist watched the echidna for a few moments, and then grimaced, "Well... hmmm... if you must. Just remember to be careful and don't listen to anything he says – it's all lies."
"Yeah, you mentioned that two or three times," replied the echidna, turning away.
"Uh... I just wanted to make sure you knew that about him."
Right... I'm out of here... thought Shock and began walking towards the elevator.
"Wait, how will you—?"
"I'll find him myself," replied Shock without stopping.
"As you wish. I'll have one of my robots take you out of the city."
The grey echidna walked inside the elevator and turned, "Thanks. I'll start looking at the Mystic Ruins," he said as he pressed one of the buttons.
As soon as the doors closed, Eggman broke into a wide, menacing grin, Hopefully, that stupid echidna will be able to do some damage. I'm not expecting anything big, but knowing I have a new ally is sure to make that hedgehog uneasy... provided "Shock" doesn't listen to what the hedgehog says about me...
"I have a good feeling about this."