Chapter 1: A New Guide
(Normal POV)
19:28 hours: Westopolis
A large, tubular container, the size of a seven foot human, stood attached in a fastened safe. A few feet away five guards' bodies scattered inside the truck that secured the safe. The driver's head was pressed against the steering wheel, though it wasn't visible enough to arouse attention. A tiny tranquilizer dart protruded from his neck. It was a good thing she didn't choose the lethal ones.
Too bad. The guards were a different matter. Each one had a bullet either in the head or neck, which created a rather large pool of blood. She didn't have a choice, besides the tall, lanky girl didn't give a dam. She chuckled darkly, feeling scared that she felt no remorse. There were more important things she had to do, and the equipment in the chamber was supposed to help her do just those.
The green panel beside the tube conveniently had a card slot to slide in the key card that was a last gift from a dear professor. The girl eyed the two-inch thick electronic card. It was blue, just like her best friend's eyes, or late best friend that is. She slid the card, and immediately the tube unlatched its own locks; the chamber opened emitting white fog. A white, spandex-like, suit with turquoise glowing markings hovered in the open pod. Above it floated a similar designed biker helmet with a black visor.
"Welcome, new user. Verify name to operate."
"Evangeline Rozen," the girl responded monotonously.
"Confirming body structure," the helmet shone a light on top of the visor, scanning with a cerulean glow around my body. "Body structure confirmed. Permitted to lock?"
"Yes."
"Prepare to merge." At once the whole suit liquefied and slithered in few seconds to my body. The sensation felt like rubber creeping and pressing on my skin, then hardening as a firm shell. The helmet solidified, covering my head. In a few second, the blue readings on the visor screen whirled to life.
"Welcome Miss Rozen. My name is Aura. I am pleased to be a new asset. May I please receive your requests and concerns you have of me?" the pleasant female voice echoed in my ears.
"None, and please, don't call me Miss. Just address me as Eva."
"Please to meet you Eva. I am now merged with your body, and whenever you wish, I can be removed at any time. Do you wish to start a tutorial?"
"There's no time for that! Your commands are made by me and ONLY by me alone!"
"Since I am a prototype, my authority belongs only to the one who wears me. Are you sure you want to erase any trace of my data that bears allegiance to G.U.N?"
"Your primary authority belonged to your creator and master, isn't that right?" the girl spoke firmly, her voice wavering a bit.
"That is correct, Miss Eva, however I was also programmed for G-"
"Not anymore! Your obedience to G.U.N. ends right now!"
"Password?"
"Maria."
"Deleting all files of Aura Suit blue prints and G.U.N. claim." Aura's computerized voice echoed in the helmet. A little window appeared in the visor and the percentage of deletion increased in within two seconds to zero. " Deletion completed, I'm solely under your command alone."
"Perfect!" the girl chuckled. She burst through the truck doors and ran with all her energy.
"Hey! Intruder!" soldiers shouted with guns and snipers drawn. Without warning they fired at her.
"Hmph! What a stupid bunch!" she drew out her arm which morphed into a white-blue marked machine gun and with blitz strike she shot every man down. "Jet pack please!" she shrieked frantically at Aura. Rockets emerged from her back and the girl was sent semi- soaring across the streets of Westopolis.
"To the forest!" Eva flew past G.U.N. vehicles and mechs. "Argh!" she crashed right through a giant robot without a scratch or feeling for that mattered. Evangeline sped through intersections even though she had no idea where she was going.
"Turn right on Spade Avenue!" hummed Aura.
Eva jerked her body right and accidently crashed into the street sign that indeed said "Spade Avenue."
"Continue three miles, then turn left on Tarboro Road," the GPS screen blinked over my eyes.
"Okay good but I got a better idea!" Eva halted and stood vertically then launched herself into the sky. Untill she could clearly get a bird's-eye view of Westopolis. I scanned the far away green area and shouted "Full speed to the forest!" Aura blasted the rockets and I aviated like the speed of sound.
As soon as we got close to where the forest began I bellowed, "Stop!" At once the jet pack shut down, and Eva alighted on the grass. She lifted her head up to gaze at the short black hedgehog before her. At the sight of his astonished face Eva chuckled. "We meet at last, Shadow the hedgehog."
(Shadow's POV)
A human in a blue glowing white suit stood tall and by the appearance of her eyes darkly shadowed under the helmet, smug.
By the sound of the voice, I guess it was a female; her suit was tight against her lean body. This new visitor alarmed him a bit, but not much.
"Who are you, and how do you know my name?" I growled at her. Her confidence annoyed me considerably that she seemed unafraid.
She laughed again. "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! It's not every day you come across the Ultimate Life Form. Aura, dispatch my helmet please." The helmet attached to the suit miraculously melted away. I frowned. Her face looked pretty young for someone in a battle suit. Her short dark cascaded down her cheeks. The girl had big brown eyes and a small mouth that curled into an amused grin.
"Forgive me if I seem rude, but we don't have much time for chatter." She turned around to eye the clouds. I followed her gaze to the sky that transformed into an unusual shade of crimson. She swished her head back to me. "My name is Evangeline Rozen. I come here as a guide to you."
"A guide?" I snickered. This chick must be joking, but her frown said otherwise.
"What's so funny? Think that I'm just a kid? Well, for you're information I know a lot about you than you think!"
"Look girl, I don't know who you think you are, but just knowing my name doesn't change my opinion." I eyed her up and down. It was pathetic to see she was so taller than I was. If I broke her legs she wouldn't be so high and mighty any longer.
"Oh please, that's no way to treat someone who knows about your past!" the girl rolled her eyes. "I bet you were thinking of her right now! The blond blue eyed girl in your visions, I expect?" she chuckled.
I jumped off the grass and grabbed her neck, pinning her to the ground. She yelped in surprise and yet she didn't scream.
"How?" my breath became raspy and I bared my teeth at her face. "How do you know about her? Who are you really?" I tightened my grip around her neck.
"H-hey! No need to get sensitive now! I'm here to help!" she croaked. "Maria! That's her name! You knew her! Please!" she coughed. "Let me explain!"
I reluctantly loosened my fingers then jumped back for her to stand. She staggered up quickly then panted softly.
"You better clarify this because if you know what my visions are-wait, how do you know about them anyway? Can you look into people's minds?" I eyed her skeptically. I crossed my arms waiting for her to catch her breath.
"No, I-just had a hunch. Anyway, if you now have second thoughts about killing me now I'd like to get on to business." She brushed herself off. "Black Doom, the leader of the Black Arms will come into contact with you soon. Meanwhile I'll head off into the city when he decides to come." She handed me a white ear bud communicator. "Clip this on to your ear so when he leaves, you press the button on the side. She pointed to the turquoise circle. Meet me at central Westopolis and I'll guide you on from there. For now know this." She took steps closer toward me to tower my figure as if to threaten me but said, " He will tell you to bring him the Chaos Emeralds then to tell you his past, however," she bent over to my face. "Don't trust a word he says, he only wants to use you."
My eyes narrowed. This Evangeline seems to know one event over the next as if she can tell the future. I smirked, "If you say I can't trust this Black Doom, how can you assume I'll trust you instead. Does G.U.N. want to persuade me to join them? Have they become as desperate as to send a child? You claim to have a lot of information, and right now you've managed to convince me a little, but if I'm going to allow a teenage girl to become my guide, get one thing straight; I may not protect you!"
Eva shrugged, "I didn't expect anymore trust from you. If it makes you feel more secure I don't work for G.U.N. Never did and never will," she said flatly. "Isn't that right, Aura?"
"Affirmative, Miss Eva," an older female voice emitted from Eva's helmet. "I am now programmed to follow your will, as my creator would have it."
"You see?" she beamed. "The last people we'd want to have in charge of us is G.U.N. or Eggman, in case if you're suggesting that."
Damn. She's good. That was after all my next target. Perhaps she was trustworthy after all? She was a child, and as one she seemed rebellious. "If you don't work for them then who's your master?"
"No one," she murmured solemnly. " I did have two good friends, but they died a long time ago," she gloomily sighed. "G.U.N. killed them both, so why would I ever work for them?"
She perked her head up in weak smile. "Enough about that! The more important thing is your past, which fortunately I'll be willing to tell you, for a price that is."
"Really now?" I cocked one eye. " And what would that be?"
"Nothing big really. First, I don't want you to trust Black Doom or give the Chaos Emeralds no matter what he tells you. Second I want you to help me find the Chaos Emeralds for our own purposes. And third, I want an agreement that you won't harm me in any way and in return I'll protect you as well," she held out her hand.
I took her small hand and shook, but I couldn't help but laugh, "Protect me? Sure I won't harm you or trust whoever this Black Doom is, but seriously?" I held my hands up. "You're a child, in a jumpsuit! How's that supposed to protect me? Besides,-"
"Whatever!" she snatched her hand away. "This suit can do more than fly! Just you watch!" she crossed her arms and looked away. "Honestly, I can't believe I had to promise him I'll guide an ungrateful black midget!"
I growled and took a couple steps toward her. "What'd you say to me? A midget huh? Well can a midget do this-" I held my arm back, feeling a temptation to launch a Chaos Spear at her, but the thunder over head interrupted my threat.
The sky was dark crimson and cloud covered. A huge swirl was visible in the horizon and red-eyed black creatures of all shapes and sizes began to fall from circle. Immediately, screams and gunshots could be heard and I swore I saw a car fly over a building.
"Tch, look at them, pathetic. I don't have time for these humans." I turned my back on the city. The wind rose up from behind me and I jerked my head back to get a glimpse of the girl aviating toward the city. She just flew from here a few seconds ago and already I failed to view her path.
"She'll just get destroyed if she helps them." I shook my head. Before I tried to follow her, an octopus-like, black alien hovered in front of me with a huge red eye. Crimson light flowed from it and what came out became a projection of a tall black alien with three red eyes. Two red tipped tentacle hairs sprouted from its head like horns, and it was wearing a huge back cloth adorned with a rainbow of jewels.
"Shadow," a deep guttural voice uttered from the mouth- less alien. "As you can see, the day of reckoning will soon be here. Find the seven Chaos Emeralds, and bring them to me, as promised."
"Huh? Who are you? And how do you know I'm Shadow? And what are you talking about?" I burst out questions impulsively.
In response, the hologram disappeared and the eye flew away. "Wait!" was what I wanted to shout, however, out of nowhere bombs exploded up in smoke all around me.
I looked around in confusion. "Just what was all that about? If he says he knows the truth about who I am, then like it or not I have to believe him, but," the child's warning echoed in my head. But what the hell did she know? Then again she seems a more believable guide than whoever this guy was. Wait… this was Black Doom? God I'm slow! I slapped my forehead.
"I don't know who to believe but in the mean time," I smiled "The only way I'm going to get the secrets to my past, is to get those Chaos Emeralds!" I skated across the grass, feeling a little giddy, toward Westopolis.