So, let's review. We have our protagonist Matt in trouble with some odd Dr. Eggman look-alike. He's in electric handcuffs of some sort, in a position that would be impossible to get out of without the use of one's arms. All over some stupid cyan gem that's been pretty much ruining his day since he got it.

Great. Just great.

He tried at first to break free of the handcuffs, since they were really nothing but glowing rings, but received a rather nasty shock. And he immediately wondered why he didn't see that coming. He had only seen it in about a million science fiction shows! He was starting to get extremely frustrated, and really was questioning if he was going insane. Why did that guy want the thing in the first place?! It couldn't really be a...

...But then, maybe it was a Chaos Emerald.

He had dismissed it as his brother's overactive imagination, but maybe he was wrong. After all, why else would it have that shining aura around it? Not to mention the pictures it had transmitted to his brain. They had been images of Sonic characters, and they had eventually brought him here, tied up by electric handcuffs, wondering what the heck was going on.

His frustration quickly built up more as he heard Rosenburg walking toward him, no doubt wanting to taunt him again.

"Are you feeling comfortable?" he quipped. He probably thought that was funny. The bastard.

Slowly, he attempted to turn himself on his back, and to his surprise, succeeded. Also to his surprise, he wasn't very frightened; for some reason he felt quite confident. He actually wanted to fight.

"Who are you?!" he shouted. "What are you planning to do?!"

Once again, Rosenburg smirked. "Getting a bit curious, aren't you? Well, I'll explain a bit, I suppose." He started fiddling with his clipboard. "You...play video games, don't you?"

Hesitantly, he nodded. What was this guy getting to? Pretty much everyone played video games nowadays.

He soon got his answer. "In that case, I assume you know of the Sonic the Hedgehog series?" the scientist continued.

So...this did have something to do with Sonic? That would explain the pictures in his head, he supposed. Then he came to a realization.

"So you mean...that's a..." He stared at the gem, which he noticed was starting to flash a bit, and he started to become entranced again.

"Yes. A Chaos Emerald," Rosenburg replied, then typed something into the computer. "I'll be performing quite a few experiments on it, so of course you won't be getting it back."

"And what do these experiments involve?"

He was silent for a moment, the sighed. "Explosions, most likely. Large explosions. The motel will probably be nothing in ashes by the end of the day." He tried to pretend to be regretful, but somehow Matt could tell he didn't really care about the lives lost - maybe he was even looking forward to it. It was really starting to piss him off. He stared at the emerald again. The machines were making its power increase. He had to stop this, somehow, before the entire motel was nothing but debris. And what about his house?! Poor Miles would die all alone...not knowing anything that happened...no...no...he had to stop this!

Then he found his strategy - a series of bars on the side of the machine. His couldn't use his hands very well, but they were still there, and theoretically, he might be able to push himself up. It would be difficult, but it was worth a try. Quietly, he rolled over to the edge...and ended up bumping his head. No matter. He reached up and grabbed the bottom bar, and tried to raise himself to sitting position. It worked. He grabbed the next bar, and pushed up higher - then the third one, and the fourth one, until he was finally in a standing position. Then he backed up, slowly grabbing for the emerald...

And felt something puncture his skin.

He yelped, looked at his bicep and realized Rosenburg was injecting something with a syringe. Suddenly, he began to feel extremely nauseous, and pain spread throughout his body. He almost yelled, but tried to hold it in. My god, this pain...what was this stuff?

"Silly boy, letting yourself get into mischief," he chuckled. "Of course, you won't be able to fight for long."

No. He had to fight. Even if his body was coursing with pain. "What...is...this..." he managed to mutter.

"I wanted to keep it a surprise, actually, but I suppose I could tell you," the scientist replied. "I've injected animal DNA into your system. In no more than thirty minutes, you'll be nothing but a little rodent wobbling around. At that point, someone will freak out, and the hotel staff will probably kill you..."

He gasped. He didn't want to be killed so soon in his life...and as a rodent without communication! He wouldn't be able to talk to his family again, or go to school again, or...or...

But he couldn't do anything. The pain was too strong, and he felt like he would throw up any second. He could feel himself weakening already...and soon he wouldn't have any strength at all. He was weak...powerless...

You're far from powerless.

Matt gasped again. There wasn't a voice in his head, not even words spelled out...it was just a message, like his brain had received it, even though he knew there wasn't any message that should've been received. Upon turning around, he noticed that the emerald was glowing more brightly than usual. Could it be...?

"Whuh..."

You may be weak physically at the moment, but you have a strong spirit. You didn't give up until this very last moment, did you? But you can't give up just yet. There's more in store for you.

Was that true? He'd never really thought about it before...anyway, more in store. "What do you mean..."

Your perseverance has paved the way for a great destiny ahead. And now it's finally arrived.

Before he could ask any more questions, the jewel began to glow intensely, and suddenly seemed to explode, engulfing him. He felt what was almost like a giant surge of electricity...except it didn't hurt at all. It was extremely warm, like a hot bath almost (god, that sounded weird) - just an enormous amount. As he stood there trembling, in shock from the intensity of the sensation, he almost felt something forming. Not anywhere in his body. It was deeper. He didn't exactly understand, but he still knew it was somewhere inside him.

Finally, the light faded, and Matt dropped on the ground, wondering what the heck just happened. Even though he was still shaking a bit, he felt a lot better. The nausea was still there, but it was less intense now, and he was in very little pain. Did the emerald save him?

He soon realized that the cuffs were gone, and picked up the emerald. It was back to normal now. He looked at Rosenburg, who seemed to be in a mix of shock and anger. Realizing he could do something worse at any minute, Matt ran up the stairs as fast as he could...only to realize he was exhausted by the time he got to the top. He then proceeded to walk to his room. All he needed was some sleep...some good sleep...

---

Matt couldn't sleep.

He had began to feel odd soon after he got into bed. His nausea was coming back, and although the pain wasn't, he was starting to shake involuntarily for some reason. And his heartbeat - oh, his heartbeat! It became harder by the minute, filling his head with an annoying rhythm that wasn't too convenient when you just wanted some sleep.

Over time, these symptoms began to increase, until he could barely take it anymore. As he leaned against the wall, trying to control his rapid heartbeat, he thought he felt that sensation again, trickling through his bloodstream...

Was the emerald doing this to him? What was it doing to him?! He was starting to feel his stomach twisting - not like he was going to throw up, but...almost like parts of his digestive system were changing shape. It did make him feel like he was going to throw up, actually. He quickly ran to the bathroom, emerald in hand, hoping to find some answers (and also hoping he wouldn't make the room smell of puke).

Unfortunately, at that very moment, he couldn't hold it in anymore, and vomited into the toilet. It was pretty much just normal vomit, with the remains of his dinner and everything, but there was something unusual about it.

More specifically, it was glowing.

He yelped in surprise, and flushed it as fast as he could, more confused than ever.

Your body is trying to fight it.

The emerald was sending messages to him again. Hopefully he'd be able to understand the situation better now. "What exactly is it fighting?"

It's assuming the power is a virus and is trying to get rid of it. Unfortunately, some discomfort is inevitable.

"Power?!" So the thing had given him superpowers or something? He didn't feel...powerful at all. He just felt extremely nauseous. And...shaky. The shakiness had increased quite a bit.

Yes and no. You will see.

...Great. He had to be left on a cliffhanger. He didn't really believe the whole superpower thing. It sounded kinda lame, anyway. Besides, he had to throw up again.

After his second upchuck (which was glowing a bit less), he felt a sensation of shortness of breath for a minute. As he tried to breathe, he found that it had disappeared as soon as it had arrived, and he could breathe better than he thought he ever had. It was hard to deny it now - something about him was changing. But what, exactly?

Maybe Miles would know. He was smart, right? He had caught a lot of diseases when he was living alone, he said. Maybe some sort of disease fit this criteria. His shaking hand picked up his cellphone, and cautiously he dialed the numbers to his house. Tone...tone...tone...

"Hello, Jeanes residence."

Yes! "Urg...agh!" Puking again. This time it wasn't glowing at all. Good lord, he was getting tired of this.

"Uh...M-Matt?"

"Hey, buddy..." he muttered weakly. He would lose all the day's food at this rate. "Listen, I need some help."

"Matt? Are you sick?" Miles sounded worried - a bit too worried. "Your voice sounds a bit different..."

"It does...?" Come to think of it, it did sound a little different, didn't it? Well...it was probably just from throwing up so much. Anyway, back to the main topic. "Y'know how you said that jewel I found...looked like a Chaos Emerald?" He cringed; he couldn't believe he was saying this. "I think it just might be one."

"WHAT?!" Hoo boy...he was really freaking out now. "Ohmigod ohmigod what happened did you fight anyone tell me tell me tell me....!"

"Calm down, calm down!"

His brother took a deep breath, and finally managed to talk slowly. "What...um...what led you to conclude this?"

He thought about it. "Well...I did fight someone. Although there wasn't much fighting involved..." He found the events were a bit blurry, and decided to skip straight to the point. "Anyway, this guy stole it, and he said it was a Chaos Emerald...and now it's doing...something to me." Thinking about it made his hands tremble, and he accidentally dropped the phone. He frantically picked it up again. "I was wondering if you might know anything."

There was silence. Then finally, a response. "I'm...not sure. Can I come over there?"

Matt sighed. "Sure. You see the keys on the counter? The gold key gets into all the rooms. The employee room is behind the service counter." He groaned - he was starting to feel nauseous again. "Hurry up, okay?"

"Okay! I'll be right there!"

At that moment Matt hung up, and upon noticing vomit had crusted on his lips, decided washing his face would make him feel better. He walked up to the sink - had it gotten taller or something? - and quickly splashed his face with cold water. Afterwards, he found himself absent-mindedly staring into the mirror, his mind disoriented from all the...health issues, he supposed. He put his hand against the mirror. He looked pretty much the same, but he didn't feel the same. All these thoughts boggled his mind, and he moaned.

"What's...happening to me..."

Suddenly his face began to tingle. A closer look, and he found that his usually hazel eyes had developed a more green tint to them. And were they a bit bigger, too...? The tingling sensation was becoming more intense, and he began to feel a pulling sensation around his eyes. They seemed to be growing even larger.

But that wasn't the worst part. His cheek started to feel itchy, and as his normally pitch black hair began to take on a more bluish tint, he saw a light layer of fur spreading onto his cheek...

Matt screamed, and ran away from the mirror as fast as he could. What was going on?! The injection couldn't have worked, could it? No, he was supposed to be safe. Then what on earth...

He gasped as he realized. Of course...it should've been obvious from the start! I mean, it was blue fur! How could that not be obvious?! Even with that, he still had trouble believing it. But he didn't have any other options. The fur was spreading, and he was beginning to feel himself shrink a bit as well. There was no doubt now - he was becoming his childhood hero.

"Sonic...the..."

Before he could complete his sentence, the transformation became too much for his body to handle, and he found himself fainting.

---

Oooooog...my head...

Matt woke up with one of the worst headaches in his life. Where was he again...? Oh yeah, he was at the motel, right? He seemed to be stuck in some sort of blanket, and attempted to squeeze himself out. What was he doing in the bathtub? And why did it seem so cold all of a sudden?

Once he was completely out, he soon got his answer.

There was Miles, gaping, dropping the bag he had been holding. As he wondered what might be freaking him out so much, the events of the night quickly came back into his head, and he let out a silent gasp. It had to be a dream...he couldn't have really...

He looked down at himself. His legs were covered with blue fur, and on his feet he saw those oh-so-familar red shoes.

No doubt about it. It was real. He had become Sonic the Hedgehog.