Hmm. He didn’t say much while I was there but he actually does seem like the Sonic I expected. Though, less of that had to do with the doctor’s ‘briefing’ on ‘enemies’ I could likely expect to encounter and more on my own research into a Mobian that was generally considered something of a hero and his friends (and, honestly, they almost did seem a bit like the kind of ‘superheroes’ featured in some of the books, shows, and videogames Maria liked to use to pass the sadly ‘ample’ amount of time she often had to spend in bed). Kind of neat. Still…

SERIOUSLY. I mean I get that I am not human, and Mobians (or at least something based off of one) are still probably something relatively ‘new’ for….

Still dealing with the fatigue that a long distance Chaos Control engendered and the frustration my recent encounter with G.U.N. had caused me, I walked tiredly through the entrance of the flying Egg Carrier that was currently functioning as the base of Dr. Robotnik (the lesser, as I referred to him, in my own mind at least) and, I guess, my base, for now.

Unsurprisingly, he was waiting for me when I entered.

“I don’t know why you’d waste time helping that blue menace. If we were lucky, they might have shot him for us.”

The doctor’s disappointed scowl was not a welcome sight, I can tell you. Really, nothing about the lard-bucket was really welcome, but when life hands you not just lemons, but cyanide and unprocessed sewage you work with what you get.

I didn’t really want him thinking I actually cared anything about what happened to Sonic or his friends, so I gave him a response I was pretty sure he would misunderstand.

“They thought he was me. It was INSULTING!!”

I didn’t have to feign my disgust at all. Though, as I expected, he didn’t take it the way I meant it. Instead, a thoughtful expression crossed his face before he nodded.

“I see. I doubt I could stand being mistaken for that blue rat either.”

His face showed that he thought such an outcome would be the worst event ever. Seriously, like if it ever happened, he might as well just end it all then. I withheld a sigh; it just wasn’t worth it. Meanwhile, his face hardened before taking on an extremely greedy look.

“So, did you get it?”

My disgust now had an entirely different target, though I tried not to let it show…much.

“Yeah, here it is.”

So saying, I tossed him a data stick containing the information I had downloaded during my raid on Central City’s G.U.N installation. He caught it with surprising dexterity for the blob he appeared to be.

“Yes, yes, soon, I will achieve my…I mean, we will achieve our goals.”

And not being creepy at all, he headed quickly back into the base clutching the data stick with all the manic possessiveness that would have done Gollum out of Lord of the Rings proud (which was, by the way, one of the book series Maria had favored and encouraged me to read along with her, and I couldn’t really think of a better example for what I was reluctantly seeing right now). Seriously, Knuckles, I haven’t actually met you yet, but you trusted that?!

Of course, what did it say about me that I was currently ‘working with him’, likely knowing full well what he was?

Actually sighing now, I began to head to my temporary quarters, or at least as ‘temporary’ as my stay with Dr. Robotnik (the lesser) and the Egg Carrier worked out to be. I swore to myself that I would make it as temporary as I could possibly manage.

It was a relief to have some decent quarters of my own, actually, more than decent, despite the ‘egg’ theme that the doctor seemed to actually lean into….Seriously, for all that I’d gleaned he considered the nickname ‘Dr. Eggman’ a terrible insult, his personal appearance and the choices he obviously intentionally made in how he designed and named his facilities seemed to tell a different story. Psychosis much?

…Well, other than that quirk, the facilities were all actually quite high-tech and well-designed. He was Dr. Gerald’s grandson (regrettably), and clearly also a man who liked his luxuries (and food, I mean, really), so my room was actually quite nice.

I enabled the door lock and shrugged out of my tactical gear and just flopped on the bed provided to me with no little relief. It was like a cloud, honestly, and yet the bed and sheets were also durable enough that my spines weren’t an issue. I could spend twelve hours here and not move.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Also, given all the high tech in the Egg Carrier, I’d been a bit nervous initially but, despite all his (obviously, many, many) faults, I hadn’t gotten those kinds of vibes from the doctor. Nevertheless, I had still taken the time to impress on him that if I ever discovered there were any kind of recording devices in my living quarters, I would personally ensure that ‘Dr. Omelet’ was the only name by which he would ever again be known.

In a combination of disgust and abject fear, he’d assured me there absolutely weren’t. It had been enough to satisfy me.

Laying there, I just enjoyed a moment of calm before my thoughts unfortunately turned again towards something that had been bothering me. Sighing, I sat up and made my way to a storage drawer and grabbed out some clothes, including a T-shirt and shorts. They also had to be extra durable to handle my spines, with, of course, the shorts also having an appropriately placed opening to accommodate my short tail, but the doctor had some impressive fabricators, so they hadn’t been difficult to produce. Even the tactical gear I’d shrugged out of earlier was a surprisingly quickly made copy of the G.U.N. version I’d awoken in, though the new one was far more stylish. I’d requested some modifications to better fit my natural coloring (rocking the purple accents after all).

I was just glad that Mobians wore clothes, despite their other physical and cultural differences from humans. It would be so awkward if we (well, I was close enough, I guess, to say “we”) didn’t, given my own history of being, sort of, ‘raised’ by humans.

Walking to the attached bathroom, I looked at the figure gazing back at me in the mirror there. Since my reawakening, I realized this was the first time I’d really seen my full image, well, other than when it had been displayed on the computer monitor on Prison Island, but I had other things on my mind then.

A female, Mobian (or at least people could be forgiven for thinking that I was one) hedgehog. Largely black-colored spines, with occasional purple swathes, coated most of my head where humans would have hair, billowing out in an unsurprisingly spiky ‘hair’ style, though the black and purple spines didn’t just cover my head, but almost my entire back as well. I’d certainly never be able to shop for clothes at any normal human establishment, as accommodating these wasn't just as easy as adding a slit for my tail. No, without some pretty special durability, my spines would just make a mess of any normal fabric.

Though, I supposed there probably were Mobian-friendly (maybe even Mobian ‘hedgehog’-friendly) clothes shops by now. I mean Sonic and Tails had been wearing some pretty nifty looking athletic shorts when I saw them earlier, though, based on my own experience, I doubted Sonic’s running shoes could be anything other than very specially made. The speeds a Mobian hedgehog could get up to, well, I doubt you could find any normal shoes, even ones made specifically for Mobian physiques, that could handle that kind of wear and tear.

No, they definitely had to be some kind of super special order or maybe something Tails had a hand in. According to that ‘briefing’ the doctor had given me, the kid fox was apparently every bit the prodigy inventor my own later research had confirmed him to be. While the ‘round one’ hadn’t openly come out and admitted it, he had implied that Tails’ intellect and inventive skill were on par with his own (That had felt good to see, witnessing the pudgy doctor as he had tried to wriggle out of telling me just how smart Tails was, while still also trying to communicate to me just how much and what kind of a threat the young fox could pose.).

But I guess I’m getting off topic.

Beyond my spiky, black-purple ‘hairstyle’, and prickly back covering, my head was overall a good bit larger than a human’s, with triangular, forward-facing ears at the top and short black fur covering most of what my head spikes didn’t, with the exception of an even finer lavender-colored fur that surrounded my mouth and most of the bottom half of my face. My black-colored nose actually looked a lot like an actual Earth-hedgehog, though my eyes certainly didn’t. Instead, they looked a lot like a human’s, though significantly larger and with natural (well, as much as anything about me could be said to be ‘natural’) lavender irises.

I suppose I should mention that, while it wasn’t so visible in the current lighting, in a darker setting, it would be noticeable that those lavender irises would glow slightly, due to the Chaos energy my body self-generated (just one of the ‘benefits’ of my particular heritage, I suppose). Heightened emotions would also make that glow quite a bit brighter, if I wasn’t keeping a tight lid on them, enough that it would be noticeable even in brighter settings, as would my more active use of Chaos energy. The ARK researchers, with the exception of Dr. Gerald (and Maria as well, of course), found it rather intimidating.

But I guess that’s enough about the more unique features of my eyes. The rest of my body was a bit less ‘flashy’ with limbs and a shape roughly analogous to that of a human, if significantly more ‘hedgehog-y’, and what wasn’t covered by my back spikes was covered by a lot more of my short black fur, except for another wide patch of lavender fur just under my neck and across a good bit of my upper chest.

All in all, I thought I looked pretty good, really. Though I couldn’t help feeling another twinge of annoyance at remembering my earlier encounter with G.U.N. and Sonic. While maybe not to ‘Rouge’-level, I was still clearly a mammal. That they apparently couldn’t tell….

You know, I’m just going to have to try to put that behind me somehow. Or, you know what, I’ll just keep it in mind during the next raid. It should help to…motivate…me a bit more, as if I didn’t have enough reasons, 1,000 of which begin with “Dr.” and end with “Gerald” and 10,000 that begin with “Maria” and end with….

The Chaos energy glow in my eyes became quite visible now, despite the bathroom’s bright lighting. ….ARGHH….

No matter how much I wanted to, smashing this mirror, and everything else I can get my hands on, wouldn’t help. Struggling with myself for a while, I finally managed to calm the interior rage those thoughts stirred up. Though, I can tell my eyes still have some of their earlier heightened glow, making it pretty obvious that I haven’t really been entirely successful in that.

Making an effort to shove those feelings down a bit deeper, at least for a little while, I try to return to my earlier self-inspection.

So, yeah, a black-purple, female, ‘Mobian’ hedgehog. I look at my image for a while before sighing and then look a bit more, and, in the end, can’t help but feel satisfied at what I see, despite the less ‘positive’ comments about my appearance I’d received or ‘overhead’ during my life. In case you somehow can’t tell, those particular comments came exclusively from the ARK researchers and G.U.N., with nothing even slightly negative having ever come from Dr. Gerald or Maria (which I assume is actually no surprise to you, at least when it came to these latter two). Heading back to my bed, I flop back down on it and just look at the ceiling for a while.