Fanfiction» Fanfics» LabRat

That night, I stayed up, listening to the cackles of the few that were still awake, and thinking about my outburst. I hid in the darkest corner, trying to figure things out. But nothing was working. According to the moon I managed to see from the tiny slit they called a window, it was well past midnight. Snoring erupted from a cell six across from mine. I was the only thing awake.

Something caught my eye. A camera swerved along the cells, watching each creature in them. It swerved back, but stopped on me. It met my hard, cold stares, lingered there, and then swerved away. "Hey." I shook the squirrel-shark, "Look."

"Huh? Wha?" He followed my gaze towards the camera, "Oh. That's where Scientist watches us. He does that a lot." The camera and I met again. "I think he finds you to be an interesting specimen." He yawned, and tried to fall asleep again. I didn't let him.

"What does that mean?"

"Oh, it means that in the next few days he might call you to go up to him. Sometimes he comes down here, but he doesn't do that often." He yawned again. I shook him, trying to keep him awake. "Once he does that, then he inspects you." He shuddered. "It's terrible really. Once that's done, he ends up doing some tests on ya. And then he…then he…." He fell asleep again.

I groaned, and let him fall back over against the wall. I kept staring out the slit, wondering if I'd get out of here.

The moon slanted towards the butterfly-fish. I followed the trail of light to her. Her scales glistened, and her wings shone brightly. I couldn't take my eyes off her. I kept watching her until the moon faded away, and I was cast into darkness.

* * *

I slept in the next day. The others kept going about their own business, the butterfly-fish complaining that she had a dream last night. I didn't move. I was hoping it was all a dream…until something bumped my foot.

"Wake up, wake up." A larger lizard thing cried, tapping one of the steel bars of the cell with a long claw extending from its foot, "Master doesn't like creatures that sleep in." He kept tapping the bar. "Breakfast, ya filthy hybrids." He threw bowls of unidentifiable gunk into a tiny door at the bottom of the cells. I sniffed the thing he had thrown and gagged, smacking it away. "Ya won't have it, then?" I snorted. "Then starve! I don't care 'bout hybrids. They're not my problem." He hissed. His claw bumped the tiny door, and it stayed open.

Memories flooded back to me at the sight of that open door. One stood out to me. I stepped back into the shadows, and calculated the right time. I started running at the tiny thing. Once I figured I was there, I curled up, and somersaulted underneath it. The squirrel-shark, the butterfly-fish, and the pig-cat each stared at me as if I had just done the impossible.

"Where's the key?" I whispered.

"Scientist has them." The butterfly-fish replied.

"There's gotta be another way to get everyone out of this."

"Hey, you!" The larger lizard cried, "How'd you get outta there!? Get back in, or I'll call Master!"

"No." I said flatly, "I won't."

He stared at me, hissed, and ran back down the hallway. I snorted and turned to the butterfly-fish. "There's got to be another way." Another memory popped up in my head. "That!" I pointed at the green jewel. "Gimme that! It does something, I'm sure of that!"

The butterfly-fish stared at me. "That thing is worthless!"

"Just get me it! I'll figure something out!"

She reached for the green jewel. I was about to grab it, when something sent shivers up my spine. I whirled around.

Two frightening, dark, large eyes met mine. They seemed to be bottomless. I just kept staring into them. They had me in their grasp. A fierce memory shot me from their gaze. I covered my eyes, afraid to look back at whatever was touching me.

"Ah, yes," The two eyes whispered, "You're my new subject…Shadow…."

"How'd you know my name?"

"I know more than you ever will. More than anyone ever will." The eyes drew back. An older man wearing a white coat kept his eyes on me. "You're a fine specimen." He bowed. "I'm honored to meet you."

"But…but…how? I was dead!"

"Yes, but not for long. There are some things that no one can control…except me…."

"He's mad." The butterfly-fish whispered to me, "Don't listen to him." The man glared at her. She fainted.

"Who are you?"

"I am the greatest scientist in the world." He whispered. Memories kept flashing back to me. "Just call me Scientist. And I have one mission in life." I nodded. "To create a new species of creature that can withstand anything."

"Wait…." I muttered, trying to conjure more memories, "You wouldn't happen to know someone named…."

"Gerald Robotnik?" He rubbed his chin. "Ah, yes. My old friend." He glanced at me. "And your father." He started to pace. "We were friends many, many years ago. He was the creator of the space colony, correct?" I nodded numbly. More and more memories were flooding me. "After that terrible accident, he created you, right?" I nodded. "He told me that he had created the world's ultimate life form. I thought he was crazy. But he inspired me. I worked day after day, night after night, to try to create my own type of creature." He grinned. "And I still am." I took a step back, slightly afraid of this strange creature. "I figured, if I use my old friend's work, maybe it would help my own. I heard that it was evil…but then it saved the world along with its counterpart…then it died." He placed his hands on my shoulders, trying to get me to look into his eyes again. "So I brought it back to life." He leaned back and laughed an evil laugh. I struggled to get free of his icy cold hands, but he wouldn't let me. I was terrified.

"Now, now," He said, keeping a firm hold on me, "Don't panic. That will only make everything worse. Let me explain what will happen to you." He rubbed his chin again. "If you cooperate, I'll mix you with something more like you. A porcupine perhaps. If you don't cooperate, then you'll undergo a painful and time-consuming process of mixing you with something else." He grinned. "What do you say?"

"Two words."

"Yes…?"

"Shut up."

He laughed that evil laugh again. "My, my, my. It seems that your counterpart has given you more than just looks." He cleared his throat. "But now I'm serious. Will you cooperate, or not?"

I reached behind me, trying to get that green jewel.

"You mustn't have heard me. Will you cooperate, or not?"

I almost had the jewel.

"Answer me!"

"I told you!" I cried, grasping the jewel. "Shut up!" I slammed it forward. The jewel blasted out a yellow beam of energy so hard, it shot me backwards. I hit the steel bars of the cage, and was knocked out.

* * *

Whispers hissed around me. I recognized three voices, the others just meaningless noises. A bird chirping. A deep roar. Frog croaks, and snake hisses. Shrieks, howls, and chatters. I groaned, blinking. The whispers stopped immediately.

"What happened?" I mumbled, trying to get up. I realized that I was sitting on something. The pig-cat forced me to sit back down on him. His skin felt smooth. Tiger's fur.

"You were amazing!" The squirrel-shark chattered, "I mean, with the jewel thingy, and Scientist, and the zappy thingy, and…oh, wow, you should've seen the look on your face when that jewel fired!" He giggled.

"That doesn't answer anything!" The butterfly-fish cried, "Allow me to explain. There's some good news, and some bad news. The good news is: you almost blasted Scientist, and if you had, we would've returned to normal, and left this place. The bad news is: you missed Scientist, and now he took that answer as a no."

"We've decided," The squirrel-shark said formally, "As a way to say thanks, that we've decided to change the question to who, not what."

"We've looked down on ourselves too long." The butterfly-fish said, "It's time we stopped treating ourselves like hybrids, and more like real things. More like…" She stared me in the eye. "…Like you." I stared back at her, confused, yet happy.

"Ahem." The squirrel-shark announced, "My new name is Cheeky." I stared at him. "It's the only thing I could think of! And it sounded appropriate, since I'm half squirrel."

"My new name's Flutter." The butterfly-fish continued, "Since I'm half butterfly."

"It sounds perfect for you." I muttered, before I could stop myself.

"Why, thank you." She replied, blushing.

"And my name's…" The pig-cat sniffed my leg. I got up, disgusted. "Sorry, but like I said, you smell good. My name's Snort." He offered me a hoof. I shook it, careful not to get any unidentifiable objects on my hand.

"Thanks…I guess." I muttered, "But…how'd I do that? Where'd the jewel go?"

"Scientist took it." Snort said, "Too bad. With that thing, we coulda gotten outta here fast. Nothing could've stopped us!" He grunted. "Okay, nothing that dramatic."

"Attention!" A loudspeaker boomed, "Everyone to the mixing floor…except…." The voices changed. "Shadow the Hedgehog. Everyone else, go!"

"What did that mean?" I said, glancing at the camera.

"Every so often," Cheeky replied, waiting for a larger lizard to unlock our cell, "We must go to the mixing floor to be inspected." He giggled, hopping around. "Scientist will be happy with me! I'm growing another fin!" He showed me part of his arm. "It may not seem very interesting for you to see, but most of us never change. That's why I'm so happy!" The larger lizard unlocked our cell, and Cheeky, Flutter, and Snort left. "Bye-bye." He waved at me, then disappeared into the crowd of hybrids. I waved back, but I knew that he probably couldn't see me.

A smaller lizard followed the crowd, jumped onto my cell, and locked it. I was alone. I waited. Footsteps clicked down the hallway. I hid in the darkest corner, knowing those footsteps were coming for me.

* * *

"I'll say this once more." Scientist snapped, a tone of anger in his voice, "Cooperate, or else I'll mix you here and now!"

I wasn't listening. I didn't want to listen.

Scientist glared, but suddenly, his face when blank of all expression. He ordered a tiny lizard to write 'the results' on a clipboard. The tiny lizard complied. Scientist glanced at the clipboard, smacked the tiny lizard away, and then erased what was on it. "You cannot get any good help these days." He gave that evil laugh. I remained silent.

He snapped. Two other hybrids, a spider-frog, and a bear-horse, came from the shadows. The three huddled together, discussing something. I strained to listen. They broke apart. Scientist had a terrible grin on that made shivers run down my spine.

"According to my spies," Scientist hissed, "And video recordings, I have reached a decision." Part of the wall shimmered, and evaporated. A screen replayed my first encounter with Scientist. It got to the part where the jewel fired, and it went static. I had missed Scientist and had hit the camera. The wall returned. "My decision is…something is bothering you. Memories." He started to pace. "I'd like to see them."

"You're mad." I snapped, "It's impossible. You can't see what I'm thinking." I gulped. "I hope…."

"Oh, no, my little prickly friend. If I can mix different species together, then anything is possible. Watching one's memories is very simple, to be exact. It only requires a willing specimen."

"Then you've got the wrong hedgehog." I turned my back, crashed into the spider-frog, and noticed the hourglass-shaped symbol on its chest. It was half black widow. It wrapped all eight legs around me.

"Now are you willing?" He took out a round, golden disk. "Let us see, shall we?" He held the disk in front of my face. His eyes melted into the disk, making it larger. It was all I could see. I nearly fell asleep gazing at it, but I didn't. "Tell me. What is it that makes you fight back? What is it that makes you…as you would say…tick?"

I closed my eyes, trying to block out that disk. "I won't tell you."

"There's no need to fight it. Just open your eyes. Face the music."

I kept my eyes shut. "I told you. I won't tell."

"Now, now. Open your eyes, Shadow."

"No."

"You're only making things harder for yourself."

"I don't care."

"Don't make me force you."

"Do it then."

"Humph." Scientist took away the disk. He snapped. The spider-frog lessened its hold on me. "You are quite the stubborn hedgehog." He glanced out the window at the hybrids being inspected. "But…there are other ways." He ran out of the room. I kept my eyes closed, thinking it was some trick.

"Shadow?" A familiar voice called, "What's going on here?"

"Flutter?" I quickly glanced at the butterfly-fish. Scientist held her tightly. I was outraged. "Let her go!" The spider-frog increased its hold.

"I'll let her go," Scientist hissed, "If you cooperate. If not…well…." Something wet dripped another my head. The spider-frog was drooling. "I think she'll make an excellent snack for my spy." He slowly approached the spider-frog.

"No! Let her go!" The spider-frog grabbed at Flutter.

"Shadow!" Flutter cried, "Help!" The spider-frog spat a line of sticky thread at Flutter. Scientist dropped her, and the spider-frog slowly dragged her in. "Don't let me be frog food!"

"Fine!" I cried, "I'll cooperate. Just don't hurt her." Scientist snapped the thread connecting Flutter to the spider-frog. The spider-frog hissed, disappointed. "I'll do whatever you say."

"Ah, yes." Scientist snapped, "I see you're growing attached to her…fascinating." He scribbled something down on his clipboard, as the bear-horse dragged Flutter away. "Let us try this again." He took out that golden disk. I didn't close my eyes. "What makes you fight back?"

An hour passed. I had told him everything I knew. I was exhausted. Scientist had completely filled up his clipboard. He seemed satisfied. "Very good, very good. You may go now." The spider-frog released me. "Go. Get your rest. You shall be tested again tomorrow." I shot Scientist a dirty look, and ran from him, not looking back.

* * *

The next day, I was called to Scientist's side again. "What now?"

"I've decided," Scientist muttered, scribbling things on a second clipboard, "To have you run a little race, my lab rat."

"Lab rat?"

"Are you questioning my orders!?"

I was getting more and more annoyed at the second. "A race will be fine." I thought of something. "Against what?"

"The floor."

"What!?"

He didn't say anything, just pointed at a small white door. "Go in there and wait for me." I snorted, but followed his orders anyway.

The door led to a long hallway. The hallway broke into two, and those two broke into four, and so on. It was a long maze of hallways. "Against the floor? Flutter was right, this guy is mad…."

"I heard that." I whirled around. The wall fizzed, and broke away. Scientist was watching me through a window. "And you shall be punished." He hit something. Suddenly, there was no floor under me. I managed to grab a hold on the top of a wall before I fell into the darkness below. The floor reappeared as soon as I got tired of hanging there. "Now do you see what I mean?" He cackled. "You have a history of being fast, so I'll just turn it up a bit." He twisted something in his window. "Ready?"

"But…but…." I stammered, "I'm not sure! Give me some time!"

"I am sorry, but that's not the right answer. Let's try that again…." I glared at him, but he merely smiled. He hit that invisible button, and I started to run.

It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.

The floor was faster than I was, and Scientist kept yelling at me to keep going. The turns were sharp, and traps were hidden along them. A gap. Spikes. A dead end. Yet strangely, I kept up with the floor, traps, and turns. I had remarkable reaction time that I had forgotten about. There was just one thing missing. I clicked my heels together, and my shoes acted up. I was moving faster than I had ever thought I could. And I was enjoying it.

I blew through the end. Scientist was waiting. I grinned. "How's that!?"

"Three minutes." Scientist snapped, staring me straight in the eye, "Exactly."

"What!? That was too slow! I need to do it again! Please!?"

"You enjoyed that, didn't you?" He smiled, but it died. "That is all. Go."

"But…but…."

"That is all, lab rat. You may leave. Go join your other hybrids."

"I want to do that again!"

He grabbed my shoulders, and glared into my eyes with those bottomless ones of his own. "That…is…all, lab rat. Go."

I glared at him. I started to the door at the end of the track. I noticed a rock, and started kicking it. It felt good. Another stare from Scientist, and I was hurrying back to the door. But I kept my rock with me, and kicked it back outside.