"𝓦𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓨𝓸𝓾'𝓻𝓮 𝓖𝓸𝓷𝓮"

🎇𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐑𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐑-𝟐🎇

At the Eggman Island...

(Author's POV):

Rei and Rogue walked down the hallway, discussing Eggman's summons. "Any idea why Eggman wants us, Rei?" Rogue asked. 

"No clue. He just said it was urgent," Rei replied. As they neared Eggman's lab, the metallic walls echoed their footsteps, heightening their uncertainty. "Do you think it's about that new project he mentioned last week?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Could be. But knowing him, it might just be another scheme to take over the world," Rogue said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. "Or maybe he finally found a way to stop Sonic."

Rei snorted, shaking her head. 

"The last time he tried, he built a giant robot that malfunctioned and chased him instead." Both of them laughed and just then, they reached the door only for Rogue to stay behind and let her go first since she likes making an entrance.

The black and blue female hedgehog fixes her scarf and quills before entering the room, only to be met with Eggman, Cubot, and Decoe celebrating with an unknown mobian: "You did it! You really did it!" Her creator joyfully shakes its gloved hand, exclaiming, "You did a great job!" 

Cubot and Decoe stand proudly with their servos at their sides, their optics filled with joy that Rei has never witnessed before. Confused, she raises an eyebrow: "He's incredibly happy!" "It's the first time he's won, so I guess it can't be helped." 

"By the way, Doctor..." The deep voice from the unknown mobian speaks up, "In order to rule the world using the Eclipse Cannon, you need to have five more chaos emeralds." 

Rei widened her light blue eyes to get a better look at the newcomer but could only see his sleek, muscular back. His distinctive black quilled back, adorned with red stripes, marked him as an anthropomorphic hedgehog like herself. 

She felt her heart race but ignored it as she hid behind a machine to eavesdrop unnoticed.

"What?" Eggman exclaimed in shock but quickly collected himself with a short cough and crossed his arms over his chest, "Oh yeah, you're right. So what's the next plan?" 

That's when Rei steps in and asks, "What's going on here?" In an instant, Eggman turns and pulls her next to him, placing both hands on her shoulder. "R-2! You're just in time to meet our newest team member!"

"It's Rei the hedgehog, Eggman." She mutters under her breath, "Right, of course! But I'd like to introduce you to the original Ultimate Lifeform!" Eggman tells her with a smile before clearing his throat to start, "Shadow, I'd like you to meet Rei, my latest creation."

This catches the Mobian's attention. He notices that she's a black hedgehog too, but her quills are black, slightly longer, to be exact, as it features light blue stripes that match her scarf. She's wearing a black sleeveless turtleneck leotard, grey shorts, and silver wrist limiters.

Shadow's crimson eyes narrowed as he looked Rei over. He seemed to be trying to decide if she was really a hedgehog. "Another hedgehog?" he asked, his voice low and steady, cutting through the tension in the air.

Rei stood up straight, and she looked at him with a spark of defiance in her eyes.

"I'm not just another hedgehog. I'm here to show that I can stand on my own, regardless of what anyone else thinks," she replied firmly. Sensing the tension, Eggman interjected with a wave of his hand, "Let's not get too heated here! I think we can all agree that we're on the same side here. The ultimate goal is to take down Sonic and his pesky friends!"

Shadow took a moment to think, looking Rei over as if he were assessing her value. Finally, he gave a little smirk, which was pretty rare for him. "I doubt she can keep up."