Sonic Apocalypse

Chapter 35 - A Vile Experiment

With the recent addition of Silver, Starline's top secret experiment was going strong. But not strong enough. According to Starline himself, the only way he could ensure that this project would be a total success is if he had Sonic in his grasp as well, so that he may harness the abilities of all three hedgehogs into one abominable, insanely powerful being. His goal was to create an ultimate weapon made entirely through the underappreciated wonders of biological science. Which is, surprisingly, something Eggman had never thought of doing. And once his creation is complete, Starline plans on using it to usurp Eggman and create his own Empire, claiming the entire planet for himself.

Starline walked inside of his laboratory, taking a look around the room before making his way to Silver and Shadow, who were being kept in large tubes that were hooked up to different biotechnological machines that Starline used to manipulate and extract their DNA. They have been kept alive but are in a totally unconscious, coma-like state, with the only way of regaining their consciousness being their freedom from the dreadful machines they were hooked up to. There were, conveniently enough, four testing tubes in total, with the first three being reserved for Sonic, Shadow and Silver, and the final one would be where Starline's creation is birthed into this world.

Starline figured that a regular Mobian hedgehog would work best for this experiment, his only hope is that the subject he had chosen doesn't become deceased as a result of this project and that the abnormal genes that the three hedgehogs possessed didn't harm it all too much. Thankfully, Starline was very careful and persistent with his work, so he didn't worry about it that much, he was actually more worried about getting caught and having all his progress be cast asunder.

"Things seem to be treading in the right direction." muttered Starline to himself as he looked upon his work with a devious grin on his bill. "Now all we need is the last piece of the puzzle, the big blue hero himself, only then will I be sure of this experiment's success. And with Sonic's abilities, along with the other two's as well, my creation will become more than unstoppable. And with it, I will shove old Eggman off to the side and take his place as the Khan of this world. But of course, Eggman is a stubborn old hag, I know he won't just simply hand Sonic over to me. But as always, I've got a plan to retrieve Sonic without a single soul knowing about it."

Back at Eggman's temple in Metropolis, the mischievous doctor turned tyrant took another look over the conquered city, witnessing his Eggmanland dreams coming truer and truer by the minute. The bright full moon beamed its luminous light onto the city as Eggman looked over it with the usual menacing grin he poses whenever he's on top. He then went back inside and made his way toward the underground chamber where Sonic was kept as his personal prisoner, where he has been brutally tortured and taunted ever since Eggman took control of the planet, and of him.

Sonic was suspended in midair by four sets of turquoise energy beams that connected to dark blue cuffs that were wrapped around his wrists and ankles. Not only were these "chains" unbreakable, but they could also ignite searing electrical energy that would travel all throughout Sonic's body, causing a great deal of agonizing pain. Sonic had been through so much torment that any energy he had has been depleted almost entirely. Eggman's horrific treatment of Sonic turned him from hero to zero within just a few weeks. Sonic, even if he were to be freed right at this very moment, simply didn't have the strength to join his comrades in battle.

"Salutations Mr. Needlemouse!" greeted Eggman in a stupidly pretentious manner. "How is my wee little friend doing on such a gorgeous night?"

"Christ Eggman, even I don't get this cocky." replied Sonic holding his head down in exhaustion.

"Oh, quit your whining, you're lucky I'm even keeping you alive. Of course, that could change at any given moment." snickered Eggman.

"Heh, you don't have the balls to kill me." sneered Sonic, picking his head up to give Eggman a snarky look.

"What's that sound? Oh, why it sounds like some irony!" laughed Eggman. "You didn't forget did you? All of this is your fault, remember? I am not killing you yet because I consider you...a trophy if we're putting it simply. You didn't kill me because you didn't "have the balls.""

Sonic growled as he attempted to reach out towards Eggman but he obviously didn't reach his arms very far before Eggman activated the electrical chains that bound Sonic to fire several electric jolts throughout his body at once. As he yelped helplessly, Eggman couldn't help himself from grinning the entire time as he witnessed his sworn enemies pain and misery.

After Eggman disabled the electrical currents, he walked over to Sonic and picked his chin up, giving him a cold, hard stare right into his near tearful eyes.

"All of this could've been avoided. All of this." said Eggman before dropping Sonic's head and walking away from his victim.

"Metal Sonic. Keep an eye on your doppelganger for tonight, I gotta catch up some rest." ordered Eggman as he head out of the chamber and went straight for his bedroom. He was quite exhausted and had barely gotten any sleep ever since the war began, getting a global Empire ready was a lot of work after all.

Metal Sonic lingered for a bit and waited for Eggman to be completely asleep before he moved forward with his and Starline's plan. He shut the machine off, disabling Sonic's means of imprisonment and causing him to fall right onto the floor. Metal Sonic quickly caught him in order to prevent a commotion that could potentially awaken Eggman. He gave another look around the room to ensure that nobody saw what he was up to.

"We're ready. Open the portal." said Metal Sonic.

Right then, a small portal opened right in front of Metal Sonic. Big enough for the two of them to fit through and just small enough to not emit the bright orange light that Starline's portals would normally create. This portal was roughly the size of a small crawlspace. Metal Sonic quietly slid Sonic through the portal before replacing the real Sonic with a clone of him they acquired via the Phantom Ruby. Metal Sonic stayed behind so that Eggman wouldn't immediately sense something skeptical going on. He placed the Sonic clone where the real Sonic was held prior to Starline's capturing of the authentic hedgehog and sat back as if nothing ever happened at all.

Starline held Sonic in his arms as he made his way towards the third tube where he would be placed for his experiment. He finally had all three but Starline still remained weary about getting caught in the act, hoping that using a replica of Sonic would keep Eggman distracted from his research long enough for Starline to finish his work.

"Oh Sonic, how I've waited for this very moment." hissed Starline. "Don't you worry, you and your pitiful friends will become subjects of one of the greatest achievements in scientific history. And this entire world shall grovel in its glory, and I will conquer this miserable planet far greater than Eggman ever could. Ah Sonic, if only you knew what you and your friends are about to be up against."