Sonic and related characters are copyrighted SEGA. This fictional account belongs to the author. Any and all original characters are copyrighted the author.
It was like he was possessed. The arch of his brows curved in deadly angles; the curve of his back rigid, as if the moon rested his shoulders. He stood tall, imposing, the captain of a phantom crew.
Shadow was at the helm, taking his captain's stance as the battleship dropped deeper. Rouge stood at his side, casually scanning the monitors, noting their depth, the water pressure, and the radar that noted their current position and target position. Rouge didn't know what Shadow was searching for, but it was important enough to drop one of Eggman's battleships from the sky.
Shadow blinked, only the first time since five minutes ago. Rouge wondered if robots had to blink. Omega never had to.
The quiet gripped the ship in a snake hold. Rouge thought she was going to choke. Shadow had assured her, when they were completely submerged 200ft below the surface, that all the doors of the ship were sealed, and there was enough oxygen in the tanks for six days under 16,000 pounds/square inch water pressure, about 2 leagues under water. They were descending into the deepest point on the planet; there was black hole water pressure down here.
Rouge didn't know whether it was the tension or her claustrophobia that was squeezing her lungs.
"We're approaching 5000 fathoms," Rouge commented, trying to bring authority into her voice. Omega was down in the works, manning the pressure pumps as he was the only one with strong enough appendages to turn the values. Rouge wondered if Omega had the power to cut off the air supply from the pipes and vents. What if she was the only one on the ship who needed to breathe?
"Shouldn't be much longer," Shadow said idly. Rouge didn't care much for one line conversations, but in Shadow's current mood she wasn't going to get anything unless she prompted a response.
She wanted to ask why the hell they were 2 leagues under the sea, but Shadow didn't look like he was in an explaining mood. She'd go with the flow for now, but keep her eyes open.
"Tell Omega to release the hydraulic carrier pipes," Shadow stated. Rouge pulled out a walkie-talkie and relayed the information to Omega.
"Rod-ger." The sounds of hissing air and rushing fluid relayed over the communicator before the link buzzed out. Rouge clipped the walkie-talkie back to the clip on her hip.
A circular dome was over the central command, just like a kids-book submarine. Shadow had inspected it before they dove, saying it was modified hurricane glass, and wouldn't shatter under the water pressure. The glass was fashioned to hold the pressure of the upper atmosphere, and should be able to take high water pressure. Rouge kept her distance, regardless. A curved helm, a semi-circle shelf with computers, blipped with refreshed information: water pressure, the status of the battleship, radar.
Rouge attempted conversation. "So, having fun, Captain Nemo?"
Shadow didn't even turn. "Who?"
"Captain Nemo, the captain of the Nautilus, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea…"
Not a flicker of movement. Rouge didn't know whether Shadow was ignoring her or whether he really had no idea what she was talking about.
The conversation died. Rouge scuffed the floor with her diamond cut heels in the silence.
Rouge was carving her name in the steel plated floor before Shadow spoke again. "Land ho, Rouge."
Rouge looked out through the dome's scenic view. The ground had opened up underneath them, swallowing them whole and turning the central deck into darkness, lit up by the glowing computer data. Rouge had never been so afraid of the dark before.
"What did you do?" Rouge took the tone of a scolding mother in her panic. She had to tap into her echolocation to find Shadow so she could direct her yells in his direction.
"We're descending into the Mariana Trench. What you just saw was the abyssal plane rising above us." Rouge could detect a smirk in his words.
Rouge frantically sent a stream of echolocation squeaks. Rouge's clicks bounced back indicating movement. A moment later the red lights flashed on; Shadow's doing. In the new light he looked like someone had scratched away the background of the helm, exposing the dark underneath.
It was going too far. Shadow was dragging her into the deepest part of the ocean. Any miscalculation and water would crush her lungs. Frustration replaced fear. Rouge grabbed Shadow's shoulder.
"Why the hell are we down here? What's so important down here?" Rouge spat in Shadow's face.
Shadow looked at her from the corner of his eyes, lips turning up in an amused smile. His eyebrows formed curves again. Rouge's fear intrigued him, her face an accented rouge red in the light.
"The information you gave me said that Project Shadow didn't start in Gerald's lab, or even Prison Island. It began here, on the bottom of the sea."
Rouge tore her hand from Shadow's shoulder, leaving scratches. Shadow didn't wince.
Shadow turned his eyes to a computer monitor on his left, Rouge followed his gaze. On the radar, the green dot of their ship was approaching the red dot of their target.
The seconds clicked away as the screen refreshed, pulling up a new graphic as more fathoms were crossed.
Rouge's fangs poked out over her bottom lip. "I don't remember that being in the log files."
Shadow smirked, eyebrows angling condescendingly. "That's because you didn't decrypt it and debug it correctly."
Rouge stamped her foot and spun her back to Shadow. Bubbles danced upwards over the dome. Rouge slipped a lock pick into her hands and fiddled with it. She wondered what Omega was doing, and how soft Shadow's stomach would be if she kicked it.
The red lights flickered. "Destination…reached." Shadow purred.
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