Shadow the Hedgehog: The Just and the Fallen
Segment One – The Discovery
'Well, here I go…on another boring mission, I suppose…'
Rouge was riding an elevator down to Subterranean Floor Two of Area 99, to where her office was. She leaned casually against the wall with crossed arms as long fluorescent lamps flashed skyward. She eyed them blankly.
'Here comes my stop,' she thought flatly, standing up from her lean.
The large elevator gates slid open with a remarkably quiet hiss. She exited through them and entered the vast corridor, where federal agents, researchers, scientists, and staff traffic usually flowed.
Area 99 was a very large building on the desert surface, but underneath was where most of the work got done. This was where Rouge had to work—instead of top-secret—in order to ascend through the federal ranks.
With that in mind, she sighed hopelessly.
She came to her office door; "SL-235", its number read. She presented her ID card to the security module. It scanned the card, and after a few brief seconds, it gave an approving "bing". Rouge smiled and stepped through the motion-sensing door. It hissed silently shut, while Rouge stood half-akimbo in thought.
"It's about time," she said. "While my next assignment is being processed, now's a good time to just loll around and relax."
She strolled over to her desk. It was well-organized—too meticulous for Rouge's taste—with a sole desk lamp shining a bright light, casting lonely shadows in the corners of the room. Atop of her desk lay something askew.
"Huh?" Rouge wondered, getting closer to her desk. "What's this?"
She sat down in the swivel chair and rolled it closer to the desk. She began to examine the beige folder curiously. It was blank, front and back. She placed it back on the desk and carefully opened the folder. Her eyes widened slightly.
It was Case File 2395, the file that explained the most top secret operation.
"Project: Shadow," Rouge awed. She began to flip through the several-paged document; then something caught her eye. She flipped back a few pages and noticed a satellite picture of a strange spherical structure eclipsing the moon from a profile view. She blinked a little and continued to flip through. Then, more pages after, a card with four headshots appeared. From the top-left corner, Rouge read the little biography about the first person.
"'Tsumura Tomohiro. Thirty-five-year-old of Japanese descent. Black hair, dark-brown eyes, and eyeglasses. Biogenetics specialist. Deceased…' Wait a minute!" Rouge exclaimed. "'Deceased'?"
She flashed her eyes over to the next photo. "'Irene Celton. Twenty-eight-year-old of Irish-American descent. Reddish-orange hair, green eyes, and eyeglasses. Bioenergetics specialist… Deceased.' Wait, hold on."
She glanced at the next photo. "'Allen Roderich. Thirty-two-year-old of German-American descent. Blond hair, blue eyes… Biorhythms and Biotelemetry specialist…' Deceased, as well."
She looked at the last picture. She furrowed her brows. "She's probably dead, too," she said to herself. "But she looks oddly familiar."
She read, "'Laura Harris. Twenty-eight-year-old of African-American descent. Black hair, blue eyes, and eyeglasses. Genetic Molecular Biology specialist…' Yeah."
Rouge leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms.
'How did all of these scientists…die?' Rouge asked herself.
She stared more deeply into Laura Harris's face.
"There was an incident that occurred on the ARK,"…
THE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE - CENTRAL CITY—14:37
The President continued, "If you haven't read moreover. It was…" He sat back in his chair. "…Catastrophic. It was reported that the GUN officers had infiltrated the ARK, in desperate need of information as to where Project Shadow's subject was, so they could do the God knows what to him—?"
"Him?" Rouge wondered, raising a curious eyebrow.
"It was confirmed that the Project's subject was male."
Rouge blinked a little. "Okay…" She shrank back in her seat, blushing slightly.
"Umm, anyway, during the infiltration, innocents were immediately killed either for insubordination or for fleeing…and the four of them…" The President showed her the photographs of the four scientists. "They were found dead among the victims. A team of the world's best geneticists…Professor Gerald Robotnik's specialized team of biology experts to assist in the Project. Fifty years ago…"
"Fifty years ago?" Rouge exclaimed, a bit startled. "I thought this was recent!"
The President stared blankly at her for a moment. "You're not a very attentive reader, are you? You apparently skimmed through it." He opened up the file and scanned a few paragraphs. "If you read closely, it specifically says the year A.D. 3186. Do the math. Fifty years ago…"
"What's your point?"
"Well, my overall point is this incident dates back fifty years, and due to its 'cold case' status, I want you to close it."
"Me?" Rouge objected, pointing at herself. "But why me? Can't you get someone else to do it? I mean, my rank number isn't very high, and I don't think I'm ready for that kind of responsibility yet. Heh heh…?"
"I'll promote you three military rankings, and I'll throw in this, if you successfully close this case." He revealed a diamond of remarkable size from within a glass case inside of a drawer. "I'll be saving it for you." He quirked an eyebrow handsomely.
She gasped and snatched the gemstone out from the President's hand and gazed into it, her eyes sparkling.
"It's so beautiful…" she drawled.
The President then reached out and gently plucked the diamond back and encased it again. Rouge blinked out of her daze and looked at the President.
"So, do we have a deal?" the President inquired.
She stood from her seat. "Yes, sir! Agent Eighty-Eight reporting for duty, sir!"
"Ah, Rouge, I know you won't fail me. Just consider yourself…Agent Number Ninety-One from now on."
Rouge smirked appealingly to that. She saluted loyally. "Agent Number Ninety-One reporting for duty, Chief."
The President nodded to her.
"Sir!"
The President and Rouge shot their gazes at the incoming GUN soldier. As Rouge blinked, the President growled.
"What's wrong?" the President demanded an answer.
Slightly out of breath, the soldier replied, "The Subject… He's been found!"
Rouge gasped; the President's eyes gaped. Rouge sharply looked back at her boss.
"Go with him, Ninety-One," the President ordered. "Soldier, send the coordinates straight to the Assault Leader and have him mobilize a Mecha Assault Unit! We need that Subject in custody, now! Now, both of you, go!"
"Yes, sir!" Both agents sharply saluted and headed out.
The President sat back down and sighed. His eyes glistened, purely determined. He frowned.
"The 'Ultimate Life Form'…found?" He blinked slowly. "We need to get to him…before they do."
EMERALD TOWN—15:25
Rouge was soaring high through the cloudless sky over Emerald Town, a quaint little town some miles southwest of Central City, with a squad from the Mecha Assault Unit flying after her. She had been given the location of the Subject sighting as well, leading the small battalion to it. She scanned the ground for any enemy sightings.
"Be careful, Ninety-One," one of the mecha pilots advised her, using her new rank number. "Three enemy mecha spotted not too far off, three kilometers ahead!"
"You guys are the ones who should be careful," Rouge fired back sweetly, winking. "I'll capture the Subject if you guys distract them for me."
"Understood, ma'am," affirmed the four Assault Mecha pilots.
Then, the five of them separated, the four mecha splitting into groups of two while Rouge flew solo toward a nearby hiding spot.
The three enemy targets were also Assault Mecha, but of different origin—apparently, an antagonist government. The pilots inside shot their eyes toward the incoming GUN Mecha. Before they had a chance to escape, the GUN Mecha slammed themselves into their targets, armed with blades. A battle soon ensued.
Waiting amidst the fighting, Rouge gauged the attention spans of the enemy soldiers and watched for a window of opportunity to open up. Her eyes spied on each enemy mecha. She calculated the moment to take off and went with it; and with the Subject in her sights she took off at full speed. She watched out for the mecha's footing and landed next to the Subject.
Dusting off some sand, Rouge lifted the Subject into her arms.
"Hey! She's got the Subject!" an enemy pilot yelled. He lunged out, throwing a claw out at her. "Get her!"
She didn't give herself a moment to waste. But she flew away just before the claw was caught by her comrade. She took off into the sky, evading the fighting mecha's swinging arms, taking the Subject with her.
"Number Ninety-One!" one of comrades yelled to her. "Where the hell are you going?"
"Somewhere safe," Rouge said into her radio link. She glanced at the Project: Shadow Subject, a black hedgehog with crimson streaking along the curves of his body, who was still unconscious.
"Number Ninety-One!" the same pilot from before called out while still engaged in battle. He snarled, "What the hell…! Number Ninety-One!"
Rouge ignored the cries and blinked sadly down at the person in her arms. "Please, don't die…"
With a sense of urgency, she quickly left the combat scene and accelerated.
Segment One Completed.