To Be... or not to be...
His eyes opened slowly.
Warmth... that's all he felt. Odd, because he didn't remember falling asleep under such circumstances.
Huh... the ceiling was so far off, and a nice, great chandelier hung over head. Okay, that's... weird. He definitely didn't remember any of this stuff existing.
And, oh, there was this throbbing in his head. It was pointless, he knew it, still, he pulled his left hand up to his head, and laid it there. The throbbing didn't subside, even as his fingers danced alongside his temples, trying to calm those nerves. He needed to assess the area around him, as he was really, really confused. He was in some bedroom. The covers he slept in were a nice, velvety red, the walls of said room stretched on for yards, and a balcony laid on the right side wall.
What happened? What occurred that caused all of this to happen? Where was he, and...? Who the hell was this?
He looked to his right. There was this woman, grabbing tightly on his arm. Her silver locks covered her face, shielding her from his prying eyes. He started to quake, as his eyes moved up and down her body. Even though she was covered in the bed's sheets, he could tell she was naked. Those flawless shoulders of hers proved that much.
His voice got caught in his throat. So unsure, was he, right now.
What... the... hell...?
He started shaking. His body, moving up and down, like he was shivering. But, he wasn't shivering, he was just so confused.
"Mmmph..." she whispered, her tongue snaking out of her soft lips, "Shadow... you awake already?"
He gave no response, his eyes only stared. He knew that voice all to well. It didn't make his shaking go away, however. In fact, it made them increase.
She had no business being here. He had no business being here. None of this had any business being here! Just, where in God's name was he?
"Shadow?" she whispered again, hands releasing his arm, "Is there something wrong?"
The silver hair, the sultry voice, the long wings that were now stretching wide. They revealed only one thing.
Her hands found her face, and she pulled apart the silver strands constricting it. Her teal eyes looked into his ruby ones.
"Shadow?" she questioned, head cocking at angle, "Shadow?"
He gave no response. Instead, he removed the sheets from his body. Pulling out of the bed, he kept his eyesight on her, while at the same time walking backwards. The bat's facial features changed at the sight, for every step he took, she grew more and more confused. It didn't take him long to meet the wall, and once he did, he leaned up against it. The bat said nothing, her eyes merely stared forward.
"Sh-Shadow?" she called out again.
His head wavered to and fro, in a 'no' manner. Glaring about the room, he just analyzed things at a closer level. The farther off he viewed, the more blurred his vision became. Looking down to his hand, he found that his gloves were gone. But... more horrifying was something else.
His inhibitor rings. They were gone as well.
"Shadow, you're scaring me... what's wrong?"
His ruby eyes shot up like lightning.
There were no words that came between them. Just... silence.
"R-R-Rouge?" he whispered finally, just loud enough that she could hear him.
The bat nodded to the call, a weak smile forming on her lips. Seconds later, she nodded.
"Oh Shadow," she said, her voice being freed, "I thought you were hurt."
Her breath released itself in the form of a heavy gasp.
"Oh my... you and Omega have really been working to hard."
The bat, Rouge, she leaned herself back, and fell into the soft plushy sheets of her bed. A noticeable groan exited her lips seconds later, as her hand started to point at the nightstand beside the bed.
"Shadow, honey," she said, her voice as flirtatious as usual, "Please don't forget your glasses... you tend to do that..."
What, the living, hell?
What exactly was going on here? Why was Rouge in a bed with him? Better question, what bed were they just sleeping in? What glasses does she speak of, and where are his inhibitor rings? He was always calm in the face of confusion, his mind ready to find answers. But this? THIS? Well... he didn't know what to do.
"Who are you?" he suddenly questioned, his voice holding this threatening intent.
He met pillow.
Tearing the piece of furniture from his face, he glared holes at the long-haired white bat. She did likewise, her teal eyes shooting back an equally powerful stare.
"Yup," she said, arms crossing, "you and Omega did work too hard last night."
She didn't take to long to exit the bed then. Just like him, she was undressed from head to toe. Never seeing the bat in such a way, Shadow immediately turned away, his muzzle flushing red. She didn't seem to mind, however, as she daintily exited the room, prancing along her tippy toes. Once she was gone, Shadow collapsed.
"Okay, Shadow!" he said aloud to himself, "You are obviously losing your mind! Think here! What the hell!?"
He clinched tight his eyes.
Nothing.
Yeah, he remembered nothing. The last thing he remembered, was G.U.N. Commander giving him a mission to attack Eggman's base. That's it... He didn't actually remember attacking the base, or leaving to attack the base, or anything. He just remembered saluting the Commander, exiting the room, then... darkness...
Cloudy, putrid, darkness!
Where was he!? No, seriously, where the hell was he!? This wasn't his room, or Rouge's room, or any room he ever stepped foot in. Ever. What the hell!? How did he end up here!? Things had better start making sense, or he was about to start breaking things.
But he couldn't. Right now, with all the rage and confusion building within him, he should have started turning red by now. But he didn't. Instead, his body remained silent. It was like...
The Chaos Force... he couldn't feel it...
"Shadow the hedgehog..." a cold robotic voice called in the room.
"Omega?" he answered.
"Shadow, this is a recorded message! I have found new information on the missing girl! Awaiting your arrival at the office!"
And, just as fast as it came, it subsided.
Shadow's ruby eyes floated left and right in an attempt to find this recording. Finally, they floated to the nightstand holding the glasses Rouge referred too. He slowly moved over to the stand, slid his hand to the slot within it, then slid it out. Held comfortably within, were his usual gloves. He lifted them, felt the weight they put on his hands, and his mind started wondering.
So wrong... so, so wrong...
Beside those gloves, a ring. A shining, teal diamond, ring. He lifted the ring, traveled his eyes along its golden band, then found a nice engraving placed on it.
Till death do us part, love you always, Rouge
Okay... now he was really losing it.
He lifted the ring, marveled at its brilliance, and more specifically the words it held. What did it all mean? Why were such words engraved on it.
WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON HERE!?
His mind was roaring with so much confusion! He wanted answers! No, he needed answers! He really needed them.
"Shadow!" Rouge's voice called, "I was thinking pancakes for breakfast! Do you want some!?"
He really had no answer to give her. Though... he did love pancakes...
"Uh... yeah..." he answered.
"Fine then! But speak up next time! You know how big this place is!"
How big this place is? No, he did not know how big this place is! Hell, he didn't even know where this place is! Well, there was only one place to find out.
He turned around to face the window doors that lead to this room's balcony. They were draped in shining red curtains, but the hedgehog could still make out what was going on the other end. Well, just barely. His vision was so blurry, it was actually hurting his eyes. Since straining himself wasn't something he was intending on doing for a while, he faced the glasses that lied on the night stand. They were square framed, with black edges, and would fit perfectly on his head. Odd, because every Mobian's glasses had to be different, thanks to the varying heads and such. But Shadow had never worn a pair in his life. Never, so...
Yup... they fit perfectly, much to his fear. They fit right on his head, snuggly too, and thanks to them, his vision increased nearly tenfold. The blurry parts of his vision became as clear and as crisp as daylight, much to his combined pleasure and fear.
This was, by far, the most insane morning he has ever had. Still, he persisted, just so he could investigate what was going on. He got closer and closer to the balcony's doors. And then, with a heavy breath, he removed the curtains.
The first thing he met was the sunlight. It was so bright, and so blinding, he had to cover his eyes as to not injure his vision. After his ruby orbs adjusted themselves to the sunlight, he looked out again. He was high up, extremely high up. From what he saw, he made out that his home must have lied at the very top of a great building. And great buildings were everywhere. They stretched on endlessly, going far off into the distant horizon, and probably even farther than that. Glancing down, he saw the many vehicles that drove through this city. They were flying, they were futuristic, and they made Shadow blink at the speeds they moved at. Surely, Sonic himself would grow wide-eyed at their velocity. This place had no roads, but it had sidewalks, where many people could be seen walking about freely.
On Mobius, there were many futuristic cities, but this one surely took the cake.
"Gooooooooood Morning Monopole City," a voice called from the radio, "This is your news man, Steve Hawk here! Giving you your morning news!"
Monopole City. Odd... Shadow remembered hearing that place before. That's where all those extreme gear contests are held but... what the hell was he doing here? He had never even set foot on Monopole City before, well, not that he could remember, so what was he doing here, now?
Oh, this morning was hurting his head more and more, and these blasted glasses on his head were not helping in the least bit!
The door slid open, catching his eyes. Standing there, in a bathrobe with dripping hair and angered expression, was Rouge.
"Shadow, honey," she called, her voice sounding annoyed, "You do plan on getting dressed soon, right?"
He glared down to his body, before giving a much-needed growl. Shooting his eyes at Rouge, his confusion met its boiling point.
"Rouge!" he yelled, shocking her, "What's going on here!? What are we doing in Monopole!? Is this some kind of mission!?"
The bat's head cocked at an analyzing angle, her teal eyes gazing into Shadow's ruby ones. He looked so confused and so disturbed by everything, like he had just seen some nightmare.
"Shadow?" she questioned, "Are you okay? You're acting... crazier than usual."
"What the hell are you talking about woman!? Why were we sleeping in the same bed!? What are we doing in Monopole City!? And.." he lifted the ring he found, "What's with this ring!?"
And yet, through all of his yells, the bat's face never changed. She just retained that same, annoyed visage from before. But, in a sultry and flirtatious manner, she walked up to him, hands on his hips. Coming up to face the hedgehog, she leaned her hand to his vision, showing a ruby ring on her fingers.
"This case you and Omega are working on sure is driving you nuts, isn't it?"
"What are you talking about? What case!? What about the mission I was sent on!?"
But Rouge merely shook her head.
"Mission, case, those words are interchangeable in your head, aren't they?"
"Rouge... what is going on!?"
Giving another sigh, the bat returned his words with that same annoyed expression. Now, however, she stretched forward and pinched his nose, much to his anger.
"Rouge... what the hell!?" he barked.
"Shadow, I did not make breakfast just so you could yell at me. Can we go now?"
"Tell me what's going on first!" he demanded.
"Okay, fine, let me go over things so you can calm down..."
Taking his hand, she started to lead him toward the door. Shadow's eyes unconsciously floated about Rouge's frame as she did this. Now that he looked at her, he realized just how different she was looking from the last he saw her. Her hair was much longer, and her voice seemed more... adult, to put it lightly.
"Shadow, I think you really need to get your head examined," she suddenly stated, "you've been acting so weird."
"Humor me then," he said, voice free of any sarcasm, "Tell me who am I?"
Yeah... he really needed something concrete.
"Of course..." she said, annoyed and sarcastic, "Fine then, Shadow honey, I'll humor you." finally they broke free of the room, coming to the long mahogany halls of this home, "You are Shadow the hedgehog," Rouge continued, "Great Detective of Monopole City, and quite a rich one as well."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he interrupted, stopping in his tracks, "Detective?"
"Uh, yeah," Rouge replied, arms crossing, "Remember... you went through years of forensics in college?"
He shook his head.
"Shadow, that's when we met, remember?"
He shook his head.
"Ugh, this case really does have you messed up, doesn't it?"
"No, no!" he yelled out, "I'm Shadow the hedgehog, Agent of G.U.N. and the Ultimate Life form! You're an agent as well! We're allies!"
"Agent? Of G.U.N.?" she started laughing, "Shadow, I haven't worked in years! Not after we got married!"
"Married!?"
"Yeah. Married. Remember?" once again, she showed him her ring, "You proposed to me a good year or two ago? We've been living together ever since then."
"No, no, no!" he said, shaking his head, to and fro, "This is not possible!"
"Shadow, I'm starting to worry. What's wrong with you? Why are you acting so weird this morning?"
"I'm not married to you! I'm a G.U.N. Agent! You are a G.U.N. Agent! We... we're just allies!"
"Shadow... you're really beginning to scare me. What did you do last night that has you so ancy?"
"What did I do last night? I was sent to go find Dr. Robotnik! I... I don't really remember what happened next..."
"Dr. who? Robotnik? As in Gerald, your father? Shadow, Gerald's been dead for years, remember? He was already old when he had you!"
"Ah... what's going on!?"
There was a sudden knock, gaining both of their attention. Not wanting to face whatever else this world had to offer, Shadow merely leaned against the wall to think. Rouge patted him on the shoulder in comfort briefly, before shifting her attention toward the noise. She disappeared down the hall seconds later, leaving Shadow alone to his own devices. He just thought. Mind, wondering over what he's just heard, and what is going on. Married to Rouge, living in Monopole City, and a detective, no wait, a rich detective.
What in God's name is going on here?
"Shadow's what?" a very familiar, very heartwarming voice, echoed from downstairs.
"He's... loosing his mind." Rouge responded, "I'm going to have a talk with Omega later today. I wanna see if he's like this at work."
"Oh... Rouge, you have to bring me to him."
"I'm not sure if he's okay, you might wanna wait a while."
"No, seriously, Rouge..."
That voice beckoned to Shadow, as he knew it all to well. Sure, it sounded aged a bit but...
He started down the hall, walking off lazily toward the voice. Eventually, he came to a great long staircase, one that spiraled all the way down to another floor. Laying his hand along the stair's railing, he started down very slowly. Rouge's conversation with the woman hadn't lessened, nor was any name given to her. He got closer, and closer to the bottom floor, and upon getting off, his eyes immediately floated over to this mansion's front door.
She noticed him first.
Greeting with a smile upon her aged, wrinkled lips, she waved her hand in a beckoning manner. She may have been old, her blonde hair grey with age, but those blue eyes were forever.
The grip on her cane increased, and she walked up slowly to him.
"Shadow," she said, voice filled with concern, "Rouge says you aren't okay... what's wrong?"
"M-M-Maria?" he answered.
She nodded to confirm his words.
"Yes, Maria..."
He fainted.