Chapter Text
A door opens, followed by the mechanical sound of pistons, as an older man dressed in a professional scientist's outfit steps into the room. He is a fairly older man with a long, white mustache and a white beard. He is wearing a long, white coat, a black dress shirt, dress pants, and black dress shoes. The man has a name tag on the right side of his chest reading "Dr. Gerald Robotnik - Scientific Researcher". He holds a brown clipboard with papers on it and a black pen.
"Good evening, Shadow, Echo"
The man speaks in a stern, yet non-angry tone. He speaks calmly, but almost too calmly, robotic even. He glances at the two and then across the room at the metallic, clean walls, the drawings scattered across them, some depicting rolling grass hills; others depicting large bodies of water.
Two small creatures sat on the floor, both dressed in a light green hospital gown and wearing mechanical collars around their necks. They sat drawing on a large piece of poster paper as one of them glanced up at the man. The small creature he referred to as 'Shadow' resembled a black-quilled hedgehog with red highlights, a dark-tan, almost mocha-brown muzzle, white fur on his chest, green sclera/eye whites, and red pupils with a yellow dot in the center. He stared up at the old scientist as a stoic expression crossed his face, his smile dropping.
"Doctor."
The small creature said coldly, his gaze unwavering from the older man's. The old man stared, a bit more tense as he knew that the creature would react like this. He lifted his clipboard, writing something down as he looked back at the creature.
"I need Echo for further testing."
The other creature he referred to as 'Echo' perked up, it was even smaller than the other, resembling a fox with primarily yellow fur, except for the white fur on its muzzle, inner ear, chest and the end of it's tail, or tails plural, as unlike an actual fox, it possesses two, puffy, yellow tails. The fox also has blue eyes, brown highlights around its eyes, between its eyes, around the middle of both tails, and on its paws, extending up to its wrists.
"Me...?"
The small fox-like creature mumbled, its ears and tail drooping as it dropped the marker it was using to draw with. It began to stand up, saddened by what the older man had said.
"Yes, you."
The old man had spoken, pulling out a key card and putting it against the small scanner beside the door. The door made the same mechanical piston noise as before as it opened, allowing Gerald to lead 'Echo' outside the room. The small fox walked over, leaving the room, as it glanced back at Shadow, staring at him. Shadow stared back, disheartened by his brother's absence.
The doors shut tight with a "Click" sound as 'Echo' and Gerald walked across the mechanical halls, continuing down a long corridor leading to another room. Windows lined the walls, showing off the vast, empty void, with stars lining it. Outside, the silhouette of Earth was visible, along with another planet nearby, similar to Earth but more colorful.
Gerald opened the next room, and the two stepped inside as they made their way through a few more doors and rooms. Finally, they ended up in a room on the other side of the room that 'Echo' and Shadow inhabited. This room was as mechanical as the rest, with metal plates lining the walls and the smell of oil and rust.
This room was different; however, it had a large glass chamber with a panel of multicolored buttons and dials, each corresponding to something. Close by was a small medical tray; sharp objects lay spread across it, along with various other medical equipment.
'Echo' shivered upon entering the room, the cold atmosphere causing his fur to stand up. He stared at the chamber and the tray, trembling a bit from the cold and fear. He stepped forward more into the room, as he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
"This way."
Gerald spoke up, guiding 'Echo' over to the chamber as he pressed a button on the panel, opening it. 'Echo walked over, stepping into the chamber with a scared expression, staring back at Gerald, who was now on the other side, pressing another button to close the chamber. Gerald picked up a small recording device as he clicked a red button on it.
"Project: Echo - Testing process 264: Heat adaptation."
Gerald spoke aloud into the device before leaning down and pressing a few buttons on the control panel, turning a dial clockwise. He quickly connected an audio device to the inside of the chamber, as he could now hear 'Echo'.
'Echo' began to feel the room heat up. It was warm at first, like standing too close to a heater. Then it grew hotter… and hotter still. The air itself began to sting his lungs when he breathed. His fur lifted and crackled as the heat licked across it. The chamber filled with the faint crackling sound of singeing fur. At first, it only felt uncomfortable. Then it burned.
The tips of his fur began to curl and blacken, the smell of scorched hair filling the chamber. The heat crawled across his body, pressing into his skin like invisible hands. His ears flattened against his head as his body instinctively tried to pull away from it.
The pain came suddenly. Sharp. Blinding. His skin felt like it was being stabbed with thousands of needles all at once.
"T-too much... s-stop! Stop, please!"
'Echo' shouted, his voice cracking as the audio blared through the device Gerald was holding. He stumbled forward, his legs shaking violently before finally giving out beneath him. The small fox collapsed to his knees, pressing his hands against the floor as if it might somehow make the pain stop. The heat continued to climb.
His fur began to ignite in small patches, curling away from his skin as the smell of burnt fur and flesh filled the chamber. Beneath it, his skin reddened and blistered, the surface tightening painfully as the heat seeped deeper into the tissue.
Gerald kept the same professional expression the entire time, his face unreadable as he watched the child writhe inside the chamber.
"P-please!"
The small fox cried out again, his voice breaking into a desperate sob. But Gerald did not answer. He only observed, scribbling calmly onto his clipboard as if watching numbers change on a screen.
Echo bit down on his own lip, trying to hold back the screams as the pain intensified. Blood ran down his chin as his teeth broke skin.
The heat climbed higher.
Blisters split open across his skin, the flesh beneath turning dark and cracked as the burning sensation deepened into something worse. His body trembled violently, muscles locking and twitching as the nerves in his skin fired in chaotic bursts of pain. The fox writhed helplessly against the floor, his tails thrashing weakly behind him.
Then, slowly… something changed. The burning didn’t stop, but his body began to fight it.
The charred patches of skin began to split and peel as new tissue pushed to the surface. Fresh skin slowly crawled across the wounds, sealing the cracked flesh beneath it, raw and sensitive as it regenerated. Fur began to sprout again in uneven patches, pushing painfully through the healing flesh. Echo let out a strained, broken growl as the regeneration worked through his body.
It hurt in a completely different way now, not the sharp agony of burning, but the deep, crawling pain of skin and muscle rebuilding itself. Slowly, agonizingly… his body adjusted.
The heat that once felt unbearable now only pressed against his skin like an intense summer sun.
'Echo' stopped moving.
His chest rose and fell in ragged breaths as he lay on the chamber floor, completely still, his limbs trembling from exhaustion. The pain had faded to a dull throb, his body finally able to endure the temperature. He didn’t even have the strength to lift his head. He lay there, panting weakly against the metal floor.
"Good, adaptation successful..."
Gerald said through the device, writing once again on his clipboard as he then pressed some more buttons on the panel, turning the dial back counter-clockwise and pressing another button to open the chamber. He quickly walked over, stopping in front of the door. 'Echo' didn't move, not one muscle, not one inch; he didn't even blink.
"Get up, I'll escort you to your room."
'Echo' after a few more seconds weakly pushed himself back up, his legs shaking as he kept walking behind Gerald. He continued to tremble from the pain and fear. He walked closely behind Gerald as they made their way back through the room. 'Echo' took a moment to glance out of the window lining the hallway wall, as he glanced at Earth, wishing that he had been there rather than here...
'I can't stand this... all of this... it hurts so much... I want something better, I want to see what Maria talks about so much...'
'Echo' stopped walking, drifting slowly towards the window, his legs shaking as he placed his trembling hand on it. He stared at the vast space below, staring at the planet he so wished to see. He wanted to see the bright blue oceans, the green, lively grass, the sun from a world not high in the sky. 'Echo' stood there, lost in thought... He wanted this so, so badly.
At some point, 'Echo's' breath began to fog the window. He stood there, his tails beginning to sway once more, despite the pain he was in. He pressed his head against the cold surface of the glass as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Gerald noticed the lack of movement behind him, turning around and watching 'Echo' for a moment. He let the boy dream for a moment before speaking up.
"Come on, you will get your time to dream later. For now, you need rest."
'Echo' was snapped out of his inner thoughts as he sighed and nodded, beginning to weakly walk with Gerald again and taking one more glance out of the window at the 'paradise' below.
They finally got back to the room, the door opening as 'Echo' stepped inside. 'Echo' would turn around to see that the door had closed, Gerald having left. 'Echo turned back, spotting Shadow in bed, staring at him.
"How did it go?"
Shadow spoke up, breaking the disheartening silence.
"...Hurt... S-so much..."
'Echo' spoke up in a soft, sad whimper. This broke Shadow's heart, as he sighed. Shadow patted the bed beside him, smiling as he sat waiting for 'Echo' to respond. Echo quickly walked over, lying next to Shadow as he smiled back at Shadow.
Shadow's smile quickly turned into a grin as he grabbed 'Echo', holding him tight and running his knuckles along 'Echo's head, his fur getting messy as Shadow gave him a noogie.
"Stop!"
'Echo' would giggle and try to escape, playfully kicking and pushing him away as he sighed at his brother's antics. Shadow let go and hummed thoughtfully for a moment, pulling the blanket over both of them. Shadow tightened the blanket around both of them, as if shielding them from the outside world. His look became more determined and protective.
"Listen, I won't let anybody hurt you, alright?"
'Echo' stopped laughing, staring for a moment as he smiled at his brother, nodding and hugging him as he began to drift off to sleep, comforted by the warmth and safety of his older sibling. The fox's two tails drooped as he fell asleep.
Shadow stared for a moment, smiling as he lay his head down as well, staring at the sleeping fox before letting out one more thoughtful hum and closing his own eyes.
"Sleep well, Miles..."
Shadow mumbled, falling into a deep sleep.
Despite everything, despite the pain, they both slept soundly through the night.