Author's Corner – Okay… so I still have another story I'm not even a quarter of the way finished with yet. -sweatdrops- Well, I had an urge to write something else, so I will. This story takes place after Sonic '06, but since nobody remembers anything anyways, it's practically after Shadow the Hedgehog. Mmmhmm. Unless I'm missing a game there. xD
Well, enjoy. All review types welcome. All review types. x3
The stars, pressed against the sky like tiny, flickering gems waiting to be discovered in a dark cavern somewhere exotic, gave the only light to the black mountainsides and ebony forests, but the city had stars of its own. Golden streetlight pooled across the sidewalks, and some late-night offices burned through the black of midnight with their amber windows fueling light from their lamps as they dove into the last of their paperwork.
Despite the lights all around, there were still patches of darkness, for where is there light without shadow?
Especially if you were, yourself, a 'shadow'.
He needed not the light he was provided as he roamed the city tops, wide, questioning eyes fixed in a burning glare on the world beneath him. He stood atop one of the smaller buildings—a market, or something, as far as he knew—and was now watching as, even now, the world was awake and buzzing with life, in actuality.
He knew of the sinful things people did at night—partying in sleazy clubs like the one he was close to, whose loud, dirty music filled the air with its heavy notes. He also knew that most of those people weren't sober, weren't clear-headed, and wouldn't wake up in their own beds the next morning, which made him chuckle quietly to himself as he thought of it.
Humans were so easily preoccupied.
Most of his Mobian species were, too, but this particular hedgehog was not like most of his species; he wasn't even born of the process they were. He had only a few friends, and most of them were awestruck by his appearance, his attitude, and his background, which had been shrouded in mystery until recently; recently being when the alien, Devil Doom, had brought his alleged immortal horde of black and red monsters.
The other Mobians and humans had wondered many things about Devil Doom when he had visited their planet; why was he here? Why was he powerhungry and bloodthirsty?
Most of all… why was he hanging around Shadow, the once well-respected, well-known hero who had helped the national hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, in the battle involving Colony ARK. It was quite a mystery to them.
It was even more of a mystery to Shadow.
There was no longer this troubling aura of darkness, or blurriness, of questions and no answers. He knew the truth—and it wasn't pleasing. Or it hadn't been at first. He was now beginning to think of the possibilities he had; the power in his hands, in his heart, in his body, in his soul… the equal balance of heroism and malevolence… it intrigued him, and, yes, the conscience part of him was frightened and angered by it.
Penetrating the thick, muted walls of silence in which he brooded upon these opportunities was the brisk sound of wings slicing through the crisp night air. Turning, he wasn't surprised to see one of his acquaintances light upon the building's flat, squared-off roof, smiling charmingly. Ah.
Her.
"Heya, Shadow," she greeted him, and warmly—too warmly. She appeared to be holding nothing in her hands—surprising—but he was sure she was on her way to hunt some self-deemed 'precious gem' or 'sacred jewel'. Hmph.
"Why are you here?" He interrupted abrubtly, not interested in her petty conversation but in fact quite interested to hear her reasons for visiting a loner who was walking the dark like a long-lost friend when she was the social kind—always in some mission, hired by some agent, or partying in some club.
Rouge the Bat was perhaps his closest living associate. Some would say she was his friend, for they had worked together on countless occasions—first at that unrecallable episode at Colony ARK, another time to annihilate Eggman and discover who he really was (accompanied by the robotic unit E-123 Omega), and she had also helped him during the time Devil Doom was launching a thwarted attack on his planet.
She was the closest thing to a friend Shadow had… but she was still only an acquaintance.
Rouge sighed, somewhat flustered, though not naïve enough to show it. She put a hand on her hip, continuing to bait the black hedgehog she knew so well: "Well, I come out of the goodness of my heart to see you and you try to scare me off? That ingenious echidna usually has more appreciation for me that that." She then chuckled, rolling her eyes.
"Stop toying with me, Bat Girl. What are you really out here for? I see you have no jewels. Were you on your way to get one and decided security was too rough, that you needed help?" The tone layered over his voice was dark with hostility, but Rouge wasn't about to be hurt because of that.
"Well… you've only scratched the surface of the matter, I'm afraid," she said, grinning crookedly. "I'm not entirely defenseless against those guys, just for the record, but I'm not planning on stealing any old jewel from any old person. Try… the Master Emerald from Knuckles the Echidna! And… well… I've never succeeded in getting it before. Alone, that is." She batted her eyes, soft blue eyeshadow the shade of her irises flashing briefly along with long black lashes.
He smirked on the outside and rolled his eyes dramatically, but some inner, shoved-aside part of his heart was hurt. A sulking conscience, perhaps, was viewing this with some bitterness. She only came for the jewel, after all… no one would go out of their way to say hello to you, Shadow the Hedgehog.
Shaking these pitiful thoughts away and flinging them far, he turned to look back at the night life.
Rouge could sense a bit of disappointment here, which startled her. What was it he had wanted from her? She thought for a moment, an idea suddenly coming to her. Hmm… "What if we snatched Knuckles' precious little Emerald, then went to my favorite club to celebrate?" She grinned, feeling some guilt slip away.
Shadow, his back to her, stiffened considerably when she said this. Are you crazy? He wanted to inquire verbally. Have you forgotten who and what I am? Instead, he let out a harsh, sarcastic and quite audible laugh. He voiced his opinions, but not as brashly.
"You don't think I'd even consider…"
"It doesn't matter. I'm not inviting you. I'm gonna drag you away. You're gonna have fun, and like it," she snickered, flapping her wings for emphasis.
Shadow's gleaming eyes swung around, piercing her turquoise gaze with his own startling blood-red glare. "Oh, really? I'd like to see that."
"You will—first-hand," she shot back, still smiling coyly. Shadow's eyes lingered on her smile for a moment, but he only shook his head.
"Let's just get out of here so I can leave," he muttered, turning and running past her.
She smiled to herself, knowing she'd won yet another argument with Shadow.
Men of all kind are so easy to work, she thought, lips curving pleasurably. With Shadow on her side, nothing could go wrong this night, and she would finally get him to have some fun with her.
Maybe.