Chapter 5: G.U.N. Headquarters

"Hurgh...are we there yet?" the cobalt hedgehog, for once in his life was actually sick of running. Not physically, but mentally, emotionally. Chasing this fable that may or may not be true. He wished it was over. Now. He had his answer and he could leave and never be seen again. He was still so very, very confused. He didn't know if he wanted to believe this or not.

They now stood in front of the G.U.N. military headquarters gate. A fifty square mile base filled with thousands of G.U.N. soldiers, agents, some prisoners, important documents and information, military vehicles – tanks, aircraft, carriers, ships..!

The black hedgehog scanned his G.U.N. ID card at the entrance gate, motioning to the guard that the blue guy was with him. With that, they were allowed to proceed into the base, "C'mon, hedgehog. We need to get you a class two temporary ID before we can go check the records."

A stray tank drove by their location, "Uh, Shads, where do we get that?"

"In here." he led him past the dust the tank had kicked up and into a great, white marble office building. Glass windows on every side of the building, for each and every office. Walking up to the receptionist, he requested Sonic's class two ID card and gave it to the slightly grumpy hedgehog, "Stop being a grump because of this afternoon."

"Hurgh...forget it Shad." he took the ID card out of a gloved, extended hand, "I want information about the experiment, too. I'm not leaving this place until my whole life's story has been explained to me."

"We'll find that out as well. First, we're heading to the medical ward."

"What for? A DNA test?"

"Correct." he nodded, walking off to the left side of the building, leaving the blue hedgehog to follow along behind him.

"Let's go." he waved his hand, "Now."

"Do you even know where you're going?" he took a few wobbly steps forward, unsure if he should follow the wandering blue hedgehog.

"No. But I'll get there."

"Slower than the rest of us."

"Shut up." he rounded the corridor to the right, then dodged an opening door.

"It's back that way."

Sonic looked up at the sign at the end of the hallway, noticing it was pointing in the opposite direction for the medical ward, "I knew that!"

"My apologies, m'am." Shadow faked a smile to the middle-aged woman whom Sonic had almost run down in his attempt to get back to the main hallway, "WAIT. Sonic!"

A grey and blue corridor lined the hallway as the two passed countless nurses, doctors, patients, and various carts of medical supplies and medicines.

"So...how long is this DNA test gonna take?"

"Long enough for us to look up necessary documents while it processes."

"Which is how long, exactly?"

"Three hours."

"Okay. I'm okay with that." he crossed his arms, "Faster than most places nowadays."

"I'm a high ranking G.U.N. agent and officer." he elbowed him, "Need I remind you everytime we visit a G.U.N. base or work together for an assignment?"

"Yeah, yeah. I got it, Shads." he turned left, down a side hallway.

He stopped, tapping his foot and crossing his arms, "This way, Blue."

Shadow led the hedgehog down several small and narrow corridors, then down a few floors to a lower level of the base. They received odd looks from several nurses and doctors because of his blue counterpart's unusually grumpy demeanour.

"In here, Sonic." he opened a solid green glass door and into a waiting room, allowing the blue hedgehog in first, "I've already made a candid appointment and we'll have DNA samples taken and tested immediately."

"Hello." an old lady nurse with curly grey hair turned and smiled at the two hedgehogs, "What are we in for today, Mr Robotnik?"

"Hello Martha." he held his hand out, gesturing to the blue hedgehog beside him, "We're here for a DNA test."

"What for if I may ask?"

Looking down at the papers, he read what one of the previous medical assistants wrote on it, "To prove to this blue prick we're related."

"Oh, Sonic," she chuckled, cautioning the blue hedgehog, "I'd believe him if I were you. When he tells the truth, he tells it exactly how it is." she put her hands on her hips, "But brothers? Shadow, you've never told me about that before. What brings this up now?"

"I'll tell you later, Martha."

"As you please." she lifted the ebony hedgehog up onto the table, then spun about to scoop up the other hedgehog to place beside the previous one, "Now let's get you up on this table so I can get a sample..."

"OWW.." a hand smacked the place where the needle had been inserted into the blue hedgehog's arm, "Dude, she's seriously got to be more careful. That hurt!"

"Agreed, she could be. But her vision has worsened over the years."

"I take it you knew her?"

"She was one of the nurses aboard ARK."

"Then why doesn't she know about me?" he shrugged, tapping one finger to the centre of his palm, "If my immune system was so weak and I was put in the hospital so often, why didn't she ever see or take care of me back then?"

"Part of her memory was erased because she suffered so much from PTSD." he sighed, looking down, "It's be she doesn't remember much about ARK."

"But you...you remember..." the blue hedgehog's lips parted, eyes lowering in realisation as he barely moved his lips nor made a sound, "...suffering."

"Every moment." eyelids fluttered shut at this and a smile appeared on his face, "Joyful, tear-filled and everything in between."

"Shads, about your kids."

Crimson irises rotated in the direction of the other male hedgehog, "What about them?"

"How'd they, well, die?"

"Experimentation to see if they could survive every illness known to man."

"Oh..But Francine – was that her name? – survived, right?"

"Yes, Flora did survive. She was the weakest, oddly, but she inherited the power to control Chaos Energy."

He sunk his shoulders sheepishly, "Sorry."

"Don't be."

"Was their mother nice? How'd you meet her?"

"She was an angel. She was the colour of a golden caramel and had white all over her muzzle and some parts of her face."

"I hope she was a hedgehog." he teased.

"African pygmy like you and I. An experiment, too."

"The same kind of experiment we were?"

He studied his friend, knowing exactly what he could have been thinking at that moment, "Her egg and sperm were different. I did not have a litter with our sister if that's what you're wondering." he hopped off the table they were sitting side by side on and onto the floor, briskly walking toward the door, "Let's go look up those records."

"Finally!" hopping onto the cool, tile floor, Sonic followed along behind Shadow like a puppy dog. He had do many questions, "Can you answer me one last question about your litter? I suppose it will help me understand life aboard A.R.K. with this one, too."

"Yes?" he waited intently for his question. A moment passed, then a minute, "Out with it, Hedgehog. We haven't got all day."

"Okay, okay." he folded his hands as he walked beside the midnight hedgehog, "So, uhm...was that your only litter?"

"Yes."

"And were they," the air before him suddenly seemed very appealing as he sharply sucked in a breath of it, "an experiment?"

"An experiment–?"

"–I don't mean any offence, I just–"

"–No." he slapped a hand over his mouth to shut him up, "No, they weren't, and none taken. I've been asked that plenty of times before considering they were born on A.R.K. and the nature of the Space Station." he thought a moment before continuing, "You remember I told you I played around and got myself into trouble?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

"I was drunk." a sharp laugh escaped his breath, "I snuck into the kitchen with a few other experimental hedgehogs aboard and we all got drunk on all the wine and brandy we could find. Shea and I went back to my room, and you know the rest."

"Shea." he pronounced the name repeatedly, enunciating every vowel and creating new syllables for the one-syllabled name, "Pretty name."

A large room, filled with filing cabinets, an observatory. "So...this is our records..."

"Yeah." he thumbed through several folders, looking for his and Sonic's name, adding encouragingly, "Go ahead. Open it."

"I'm not sure if I really want to, Shadow..." he tossed the new folder of medical information regarding their DNA into the air, catching it, "I just..."

"It's only nerves. I already know the truth, so I don't really need to look at it." he pulled out what looked to be a report, skimming down the page until he found his own name, "Floyd Robotnik. Don't forget, Sonic, I was the one who researched all this and compiled it with the help of a few other top G.U.N. researchers."

"But it'll change our lives." he shrugged off an odd and very annoying feeling, "Permanently."

"Hasn't it already?" he shrugged, "Look...no matter what we do, it's already been set in stone. Whether we're related or not, it shouldn't change anything."

"Yeah..." he cracked the file folder open and sat down to begin reading the document, "Project Shadow. The implantation of artificial eggs into a female carrier for foetal development...Two hedgehogs born at four weeks during the pregnancy. The first to be born a black and red, male hedgehog. Very weak at birth weighing barely an ounce." emerald eyes looked worriedly up at the black hedgehog sitting across from him, then returned to reading, "Was placed in a containment chamber for further development. The second, a blue, male hedgehog weighing six ounces and not as weak as the first. Had to be placed in a development chamber as well to continue developing until term was complete." he skimmed the paper, looking at the next page showing photographs, "Holy shit, is that us?"

"Don't tell me you don't believe the photo evidence, now, do you?"

"No, no...that's not what I meant."

"I know it's not."

"What's all this?" he turned the next page. Medical information and documentation scribbled all over the papers.

"That is the information about our DNA when we were born." he showed him the new copy of DNA information, "Compare these and find a difference."

He studied the paper for several minutes, noticing no differences, "There are none..." he flipped the page to look at what was stapled onto the back. A note from the biologist who examined these samples.

"Mrs Watson explained how to read the report in the note. She concludes, stating that we have identical physical makeup, regarding our height, weight, body structure, personal health history, and medical history in that we share inherited disorders and diseases." he laid a hand on his shoulder, "So, what do you think?"

He half smiled, partially relieved, "I'm sorry I've been a pain in the arse, lately..."

"So there's that apology I've been waiting for!"

"Yeah. Ha. Ha." he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

A/N: *laughing hysterically* I don't know why I made Sonic so grumpy in this story and Shadow so happy-go-lucky! It's like a reversed their personalities purposely – which I didn't, honestly. I intended for Shadow to be a bit more mature, more optimistic about the situation, and overall for the idea of allowing Sonic into his family. Whereas Sonic, on the other hand, likes to stick with the old ways of doing things, he's sorta "prejudice" against experiments like Shadow, does not like people telling him what to do, very immature – he's the troubled kid, Shadow's the older brother who's trying to help get his little brother get his life back on track.