Dr. Eggman's Base

"Hmm, is it just me, or did something seem off about Sonic during our last fight?" Eggman mused to himself. Orbot and Cubot stood side by side as they watched their master, and the little red robot spoke up.

"He did appear to be more easily angered yesterday, sir. Perhaps he was not feeling well before the battle?"

"Yeah! He probably ate something bad at the Meh Burger."

Eggman twirled his bushy mustache as he mulled over their suggestions, "A very plausible theory. Who knows what that lazy intern puts in their food. I'll buy that explanation, but for now, it's time to take a look at my other project. I need to figure out why Shadow would come all this way just to release my black monster. It would have been the perfect thing to take on Sonic and his meddlesome crew, after a few battle armor additions of course."

Cubot put on a thinking pose and held it for a few seconds before shrugging, "I got nothing."

"Of course not," the doctor muttered, "Prepare my eggmobile! We're going back to the jungle!"

Orbot nodded, "Right away, sir."

"Whatever you say, boss!" Cubot saluted, and the two robots scurried out of the main control room to complete their task.

Half an hour later, Eggman and a small posse of robots arrived back in the clearing where he had captured the strange black monster a few nights ago. He had retrieved the trap the same time he caught the beast, meaning it was safe for his robots to wander about the clearing.

"Hmm," he mused, "the real question is how did Shadow know about my little scheme?" he thought aloud.

Meanwhile

Shadow stalked through the thick jungle undergrowth, blending in perfectly with his namesake as he followed the intruding scent of human and machinery. He had warned the doctor not to come near his territory, but it appeared the man was too hardheaded to actually consider it. When the sound of turning gears reached his sensitive ears, he teleported up into a high branch with a clear view of the glade.

"There must a be clue somewhere!" he heard Eggman shout to his metallic lackeys, "I just have to find it."

A clue about what? the dark hedgehog thought. A robot lifted its scanner upwards, and the Black Arms alpha hid deeper in the foliage. What were they looking for?

"Sir! We found something!" Orbot exclaimed. Shadow narrowed his crimson gaze as the round automaton lifted a single black quill up to his master. The hybrid glared darkly. He would need to retrieve that quill before Eggman had a chance to run it. That meant he had to intercept the human and his crew before they got back to base. How could I have been so careless?

"You should really learn to mind your own business, doctor," Shadow sighed.

Back with Egghead—I mean Eggman

"Excellent!" Eggman cheered and snatched the quill out of Orbot's hand. He lifted it close to his face so he could study it. The human couldn't believe his luck! He tucked the quill safely in jacket pocket and typed a few commands on his console. "Pack it up. I've got what I came for."

"Not so fast, doctor," a deep, baritone voice commanded. The human whirled around and searched the borders of the clearing in surprise.

"Who's there?!"

A black figure leaped out of the trees and landed in a half-crouch. Shadow the Hedgehog stood to his full height, glaring sharply up at the mad scientist as he extended his hand out.

"I believe you have something that belongs to me."

Eggman sweat-dropped, "I don't know what you're talking about," he laughed nervously. Shadow crossed his arms and quirked an eyebrow knowingly.

"Don't tell me your that stupid, doctor," he taunted, his blood red orbs taking on a dangerous sheen.

Eggman looked around anxiously before an idea sparked in his mind. He subtly pressed the red button on his control pad and continued talking, "As much as I would like to discuss my business with you, I'm afraid I can't. Robots! Attack!"

Shadow growled angrily as the troop of machines advanced. At the same time, Eggman flew away in his eggmobile, praying the attack would give him enough time to escape.

"You just made a grave mistake," Shadow hissed and prepared to skate after him when a laser whizzed passed his ear. A lowly beebot hovered above him, and he spindashed it to shreds. Instinctively, he ducked as another laser flew over head. He looked over his shoulder with as snarl and back flipped on top of the motobug responsible, ripping out its circuitry with his gloved hands. In the same second, he raced through the lines of robots blocking his path, destroying them beyond recognition.

A golden blur dived overhead and charged a beebot. Shadow looked up and resisted the urge to facepalm.

"Hi, Alpha Shadow!" Shimmer chirped in Black Arms Speech before divebombing another aerial robot.

Shadow rolled his eyes as he continued to fight, slashing through a row of crabmeats, "What have I told you about following me?" he replied in the same tongue. The Black Volt flapped its wings to hover in thought for a brief moment.

"...To not to?"

"Exactly," he hmphed and continued fighting. He was wasting precious seconds battling, but he supposed it was a good thing Shimmer came to help.

"Let's finish this quickly," he stated, and the Volt chirped in agreement, putting all of her effort into the fight. With the two working together, it took them only a few minutes to finish off Eggman's army. Shimmer landed in the middle of the scattered metal parts beside Shadow, flapping her wings proudly at the idea that she had helped her leader. Shadow, on the other, prepared to leave.

"Go back to the den. I have to take care of something," he ordered. Shimmer's mood deflated instantly. The red and black hybrid sighed as she slowly flew in the direction of their home. He wouldn't have minded much if she tagged along, but he couldn't risk her getting captured like Crawler had. That moment had shaken him up more than he ever let on, and he had resolved to never let something like that happen to his pack again. With that thought in mind, he skated off in a flicker of red lightning.

Eggman's Base

Eggman arrived at his base with just enough time to get into his main control room. He pulled out the quill and placed it on to a scanner pad.

"Computer," he commanded, "Run this quill and tell me what you find."

The scanner bleeped in reply as a red scanner washed over the follicle. A blue bulb lit up, signaling that the task was completed, and the computer spoke the results.

Scanners show high durability and flexibility. Results also show DNA merging.

"What kind of merging?" Eggman demanded.

Merging consists of hedgehog and of an unknown species.

"Unknown?" the doctor mused thoughtfully, but he didn't have enough time to act on it.

"Sir, Shadow the Hedgehog is here, and he appears quite angry," Orbot informed him. At the same time, sirens began to wail. Eggman rushed to save the data he had uncovered but was knocked on to his back by a 3'3'' battering ram.

"I'm done playing games, doctor," Shadow snarled, swiping the quill off of the scanner pad. Eggman, for once, looked up at the malevolent hedgehog, who pressed his foot on the human's chest, "What did I tell you the last time I was here? I told you to stay out of my territory!" the hedgehog leaned in closer, pressing his weight further on to the villain as he growled, "I don't like it when people disobey me."

It was now a matter of life and death for Eggman, and he tried to think of anything that could give him enough time to escape. He knew Shadow would kill if he had the chance, as it had happened at least twice in the last year. He didn't want the third try to be the charm.

"Y-You're a hybrid," he stuttered. Shadow's gaze darkened, and red energy sparked between his fingertips with neither his knowledge nor his consent. All he knew was that he was too late, and that Eggman must have already run his quill.

"So what if I am?! Petty facts will not save you from my wrath!"

"What did I do to you? Please answer me that at least," Eggman pleaded.

What had he done? That was by far the most idiotic question he had ever been asked. He had tricked him on one occasion. Kidnapped a member of his family with the intent of forcing him in a fight to death versus his number one rival. Intruded on his home and stuck his fat nose where it didn't belong. But Eggman couldn't know the extent of his offense. To tell him would be admitting who his family was and putting them in danger. This meant he would have to give another, far more stupid excuse.

"You stole my quill and refused to return it."

Eggman's eyes widened behind his glasses. Was that what this was all about?

"Y-You can have it back. I only wanted to...study it. You know, so I could make some sort of improvements to my robots!" he chuckled nervously. Shadow was not amused, but he lessened the amount of pressure on the human's chest.

"Hmph. For someone who claims to be so smart, you truly are pathetic. If you know what's good for you, you'll stay on this side of the island," he threatened and teleported out of the base and vanished into the jungle.

Orbot and Cubot hurried out of their hiding place under the table to check on their master.

"Good gracious, sir. That was quite an ordeal."

"Yeah, I thought for sure he was gonna squish ya!"

Eggman waved off his two lackeys and pulled himself back on to his feet.

"What is up with that hedgehog? He was so cool, but now it's like he's going to kill me every time we meet! I mean, sure, it was cool the first time, but this is ridiculous."

"Perhaps, you could find out what the unknown species mixed in his DNA is? That may offer some clues as to his strange behavior, as of late."

Eggman twirled his bushy auburn mustache at the thought, "An excellent idea, hehehe..."

A/N: That's all for this chapter. Join us next time as we return to Sonic's side of this story, where things get a little...hairy for our blue hero. Bye for now!