Artifice
Anyway, first Shadow/Rouge-ish story here. Feel free to interpret it this as friendship or something more. Hope you enjoy!
It was the first time he had failed one of their "missions".
With his resolution, it would be the last time. It would be his last failure.
His first failure had been enough.
Shadow the Hedgehog willed the pain to vanish as he begrudgingly opened his eyes. Black flashes spotted his impaired vision of the scenery; scorched, ashen metal was the proof that his mission had spiraled horribly in the wrong direction.
He blinked his crimson eyes, trying to dispel the watery grey-brown fiery blurriness from them. His perception was weakened and distilled; Shadow wasn't used to seeing the world through hazy, ill-defined shapes that blurred together like watercolor paints sloshed with too much water.
Per GUN's intelligence division, Shadow had been sent solo to the abandoned armory in the once prosperous city that had reportedly received several authorized shipments of weapons; missiles, bombs, if it could be used to threaten people and enforce rule, Robotnik had summarily paid a hefty sum to shipping companies in order to have it transported to the discrete locale.
Shadow's objective had been to non-fatally subdue any humans on the premises, check for any extra information, and dispose of the supplies. Shadow had opted to transport them to Sand Ocean via Chaos Control and let them sink to the bottom of the earth.
Unfortunately the information had turned out to be a dud. Rather than be greeted with high end security guarding the stockpile of powerful weapons, he was greeted with piles of boxes filled with nothing but dust.
And that was when his world had changed in a rush of white heat and light.
Sparks danced in the air, descending to the blackened earth as orange, billowing flames reached ever higher and higher in their hunger. Splintered and ravaged tree trunks sagged towards the earth in ruin, destroyed limbs and dead leaves littering the cracked, moss covered concrete as a testament to their falling.
"Ugh…. That smell…" Shadow muttered, finding it quite an effort to speak. His mind wandered a little in disorientation before realizing the pungent smell of cooked flesh was that of his own skin. Angry, brick red blisters crisscrossed across his entire body, darkly accentuating his black-and-red color scheme with cracks and peels.
"Well, there's one thing I can cross off my list of things I've experienced on this job…" the life-form grunted, petulant as he surveyed the rest of his coal dark form for damage. His right arm was torn almost to shreds, innumerable shards of glass and metal embedded in the red-streaked appendage. His left hand hung limply from the wrist as if deflated. His right leg was bent at an angle you wouldn't see in even the most complicated math equations. And the back of his skull felt like one large bruise.
Shadow gritted his teeth as he leveraged himself up on his left leg, which fortunately still retained more functionality than the spaghetti noodle that was his right leg. He pinched and prodded the rest of his body for any damage, trying not to wince at the slight pain he felt in his explorations.
"Talk about going out with a bang, huh?"
Shadow turned his head at the dulcet tones of his housemate and oft partner in crime, Rouge the Bat, who seemed utterly nonplussed at the fact that the ultimate life-form was currently losing enough blood that could fill up a dozen donation bags for the Red Cross.
"What are you doing here, Rouge?" Shadow asked her, his face impassive. He was grateful for her not being dumbstruck enough to play the role of the horrified passerby who asks the car crash victim with the gearshift protruding from their chest 'Are you okay?'
"GUN sent me out here on aerial reconnaissance, I was ordered to provide backup in case anything like this happened, yada yada blah blah," Rouge waved her crisply starched, white gloved hand dismissively as she spoke, "Just thought I'd drop down and see if you were still breathing."
"Nice to know you care," Shadow deadpanned her way, feeling strong enough to stand, albeit in a slightly wobbly manner.
Rouge eyed him as she noticed the rivulets of blood threatening to turn his arm completely red and his broken wrist, "Are you sure you should, I don't know, be doing anything requiring physical effort? I mean, I know everyone enjoys a little sadomasochism now and then but-"
"Painkillers…" Shadow interrupted her tersely.
The ghostly pale bat cocked her head at Shadow, "Of course you'll have some when the EMT's get here. But right now, Mr. poster child for the game of Operation gone wrong, you should sit down and conserve your strength. Don't want you to keel over and die of blood loss, especially after surviving such an explosion. If there had been any weapons here, you would have been obliterated."
Shadow stared at his partner with incredulity, as if she had missed the glaringly obvious neon sign hovering over Shadow's head that read 'I am a created lifeform and have vital organs that are merely for decoration rather than function, and have no need for basic necessities. I am virtually immortal! I am also anti-social with trust issues and have a dead little sister complex.'
"Nanomachines…" he told her simply, as if it was the most obvious fact in the world, "as a part of my regeneration and health process, Professor Gerald implanted small cybernetic robots inside my central operation systems," Shadow tapped the top of his head lightly, "that dispense painkillers to each of my extremities in the case of injury, and they also can rejuvenate and heal damaged or dead skin."
His only reply was a blank stare.
"…"
"…"
"You mean like Wolverine?"
"You know your pop culture references are lost on me, Rouge."
He frowned as lifted his right arm into view, the blood flowing freely down it hardening his gaze, "I was created in the shape and form of an organic life form, with organs and blood. Yet I am synthetic; created and manmade and put in a test tube for experimentation and observation. I am artificial."
"You're not a robot either, then," Rouge chimed in helpfully as she brushed the dust off of her black leather jumpsuit. Her fangs glinted mischievously in the light of the moon and the flickering flames created shadows that danced dark patterns across her lily white face.
"Good thing too, because I think the 1-person quota of 'homicidal robot seeking revenge on egg shaped man' was filled out on our squad already with Omega."
Shadow ignored her as he watched the blood ooze down his arm, falling to the ground to form intricate red flowers on the scorched earth.
"I was made to be the Ultimate Life Form, a weapon with supreme power. I should be a cold-blooded killing machine that acts on orders. But I'm a weapon that can think and feel and… and bleed. I'm not completely a hedgehog… I'm not entirely a machine… perhaps I really am just a fake."
"Rouge," he spoke softly, his voice tiny and small, a whisper barely heard above the crackling flames. He extended his hand towards her, as if asking her to take it and comfort him, asking her with his actions, "What am I?"
The ruby and black life form glanced across from him to find his partner absorbed in checking her makeup in a heart-shaped compact mirror.
He interrupted her activity with a slightly aggravated cough, and was pleased to see her smear the cherry red lipstick she was applying into a wild bright line doodled on her cheek.
Putting the compact mirror in her trans dimensional "I'll hide this in my cleavage" spot that all females seemed to have, she wiped the red lipstick off her face.
At another aggravated cough, she returned his gaze innocently, with a question of, "What?"
Shadow glared at her, with which she replied by crossing her arms and huffing at him in an annoyed tone before speaking, "Okay, I know getting blown up and all must have been intensely traumatic and you feel the need to lift some great burden off your chest… but, Shadow, have you seen where exactly we are?"
His haunted red eyes bore into her intelligent blue-green ones, searing into her soul and asking her for an answer.
With an exasperated sigh, Rouge continued, "We're in the middle of a long abandoned city with mold that's been alive longer than you and Eggman combined, surrounded by the wreckage of a bombed factory. You choose here, of all places, to drag your skeletons out of the closet?"
Shadow was silent as Rouge stepped towards him, one foot in front of the other and hands on hips disapprovingly. The tone in her voice was almost accusatory as she asked him, "This… this is what you think about when you're alone? You're having some existential crisis?" Rouge's voice peaked with disbelief.
He seemed to be muted by shock as she placed her hand to her left temple and shook her head with a sigh. "Listen," the huntress across from him said almost apologetically, "it's good, Shadow, that you confide your feelings to someone. I'm flattered, really, that you would choose me."
"But…" the air seemed to evaporate from her frame, her voice struggling to find words appropriate to express feelings. Her mouth opened in the tiniest o-shape before she spoke, "I don't care."
Shadow's head whipped upwards from looking at the ground in shock, his eyes wide. His closest ally, his partner… betraying him? His best friend---his only friend---didn't care? His eyes narrowed in anger and with a voice roiling in hatred and rage, he hissed, "How dare you-"
Rouge interrupted his tirade, waving her arms frantically in front of her as she stepped backwards, "No, no, you don't understand. None of that matters, Shadow."
She began to explain her point in hopes of cooling his rage, "Where you came from, what happened in your past… yes, those things used to be important. But that's in the past, Shadow. You can't change it; it's long gone. You are who you are. Now and here," she spread her arms wide, indicating their surroundings, "you can change this."
Her eyes pleaded with his as she continued, her arms moving emphatically, begging him to understand, "Shadow, what matters now is who you are. It doesn't matter where you came from or how you came into existence. You could be some hotshot weapon with the power to destroy nations, you could be a hedgehog created to protect life… hell, you could even be the bastard offspring of some tentacle monster from Uranus and a houseplant and that wouldn't matter."
Shadows' fists, which he was unaware of being clenched, relaxed themselves. The flame that had been flickering in his eyes died down.
"You want to know what you are?" Rouge told him, her eyes alight with radiance and a smile from ear to ear.
"You're a hell of a fighter. You're a great friend. You're my housemate and my partner in crime. You're antisocial and a loner. You brood over things. You're stubborn. You're strong, and brave, and everything in between."
Her body seemed to be inches away from his in a flash, Shadow flushing as she stepped closer. Her wings unfurled as she outstretched her arms and placed them against his shoulders. She leaned forward and pulled Shadow towards her, their bodies meshing together like the last two pieces needed to complete a puzzle.
She cradled her head in the crook of his neck, Shadow stiffening at the sudden but not unwelcome close contact. She embraced him tightly, and with a voice filled entirely with warm and fondness, whispered in his ear.
"You're Shadow the Hedgehog."
Shadow loosened, feeling like a great burden had lifted from his chest as he returned Rouge's show of affection. After what seemed like hours but what both knew were merely precious seconds, the two withdrew from their embrace.
Rouge, arms akimbo, spoke to him with a playful, loving glint in her eye, "Does that answer your question?"
Shadows' eyes darted in all direction wildly, trying to avert his gaze as a blush crept its way onto his cheeks. Failing admirably, he returned her question with a rare, genuine smile.
"I'll accept it, for now."
Red and blue lights flashed in the corner of the pair's vision, both realizing the EMT had made their long delayed arrival.
Rouge's delicate hands grasped Shadows' as she smiled at him and nodded, "Let's get you checked out and taken home, all right?"
Shadow nodded, letting himself be pulled along as he wondered if, perhaps, maybe this mission wasn't such a failure after all.
I hope you enjoyed! Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, as is general feedback. Happy 4th of July everyone!