Shadouge: The Rise of Black Mephiles
Day 1: The Dawn Black Mephiles and the Black Fighters
'SHADOW!'
'ROUGE!'
She wriggled in the grasp of foul, blackened creatures as she fought to reach him, his hand fleeting inches from hers. More weight pulled her body back, and she was losing him fast- and to that sardonic, mental puppet-master bastard of all people!
"I'm not going to let you have him! Not again!' Rouge cried, forcing her fingers forth to grasp Shadow's just barely, gripping his very fingertips for dear life. He himself, was stuck in long, red sting-like bands, one arm bound and legs wrapped up tight and rendered useless, every bloody strand leading to the puppet-master bastard in question, seeming to struggle as he pulled at the ebony hedgehog in his grasp.
'You meddling wench! Let my disciple go!' the alien growls out as he pulls on Shadow harder, twisting the bands everything but tighter and making Shadow cry out in pain. Rouge lurches forward again, her hand clasping Shadow's forearm, making the bands sizzle at her touch. Black Doom recoils and roars at the feeling, earning a glare from the tenacious bat.
'Your... Disciple...?! If Shadow is anything, he belongs to no one! He is his own..." She reels back, making a few bands around Shadow's torso snap. Doom roars again, feeling Rouge's hands frying him merely by her grip, She pulls Shadow close to her own bound body and holds him tighter than anything she'd ever had before,
"...and if Shadow ever belongs to Anyone, He belongs to me!" She uses her arm-bound blade to slice the remaining bands away from Shadow, causing Black Doom to go reeling back and bellow with pain, allowing Rouge enough time to cut herself free. The two welcome the feel of solid ground beneath their feet from being in the air for so long, but Shadow could only stare at Rouge in a bit of disbelief.
'Rouge...' he breathes as the two stood entranced by the other for a moment as their eyes locked. She smiles and hugs him, gripping his torso gently. Shadow was taken slightly aback by the gesture, but returns it hesitantly.
'And I wouldn't want it any other way...' Rouge softly adds, looking her dark hero in the eyes. He softens and returns her smile, but Doom had had enough of the mushy stuff. He was quick to uses his tentacle-like bands as whips to lash at the two, making them move out of the way. Shadow, thinking quickly, took Rouge into his arms and dashed towards Doom's fleshy-looking throne. Doom was quick to try and stop them.
'Chaos...'
'Shadow?'
'No!'
'…CONTROL!'
Everything froze in place except for the dark duo. Shadow rushes to the throne and lifts his hand.
"Chaos Blast!' he said and formed a ball of energy, its shape contained by a lack of time movement. He set it in the seat of the throne and amplified it, and even began shaping it here and there to properly direct the blast. Rouge came up behind him and raised an eyebrow at his work.
'Shadow, what are you...'
'I'm leaving a little surprise for Black Doom.' he replied, still poking at the energy ball. Rouge giggled as a thought came to her. She placed her fingers over his, and in an unspoken gesture she took over the operation. She poked and prodded until she achieved her desired shape, and pulled back happily when done. Shadow bursts into laughter.
'He's going to Love this...' Shadow said sarcastically and Rouge joined his laughter. He cut it short by hoisting Rouge up bridal style, surprising her. He ran toward the edge of Doom's now open chambers (courtesy of Rouge) and jumped out, taking Rouge with him as he shouted, 'Chaos Control!'
Black Doom slowly ventures forth, seeing a glowing object upon his throne. Upon closer inspection, he found it to be a glowing hand, balled up tight except for one protruding finger in particular.
'Why those insufferable-'
BOOM!
Rouge held onto Shadow like her life depended on it (in this case it pretty much did since they were free-falling) as he hopped and jumped between the rapidly falling remnants of the Black Comet.
Rouge buried her face into Shadow's chest, gripping his trench coat tight enough to rip it as she fell. She dared to look up at the barrage of metal and fleshy material falling behind them, her eyes going wider than ever.
"Shadow-!" she cried, warning in her voice as he took a glance back. It was all closing in on them.
"Hang on!"
The sound of rustling trees and leaves followed, until finally, the dark duo hit the ground with a thud. Rouge was quick to sit up, worry pulsed through her like adrenaline.
"Shadow? Shadow, can you hear me? Shadow!" she called his name, shaking him lightly. His body was a little scratched up from the fall, but he was alright. Still breathing, from what Rouge could tell. Shadow's crimson eyes finally opened, lidded from exhaustion. He seemed a little dazed, but he suddenly sits up, his eyes flooded with worry.
"Are you alright? You didn't get hurt, did you?" he quickly asked, his hands taking up hers and scanning for any new marks on her skin. Rouge could only sigh and shake her head.
"Shadow, I'm fine, a little tired obviously, but fine. You're the one who took the impact of the fall and was unconscious temporarily, and yet you're worried about me…" she sits back on her haunches relief washing over her in waves. She could only smile.
"You really are something, you know that?" she sighs, leaning forth and resting her body atop his, laying back on the grass beneath a tree and watching from their vacant field as the Black Comet's debris fell into the ocean just beyond the surrounding forest.
Shadow stiffens, but relaxes as he takes in the serene peace that settled around them. His hand found the small of her back, making a small connection between them. He could feel her breathing as she nuzzled a little further into him. Rouge only smiled a bit more as she felt and heard his heart rate pick up, then slowly begins to settle. Suddenly, a question popped into Rouge's head.
"Hey, Shadow?" she called; her voice is warm and almost a purr as she began tracing a pattern along his abs with feather-light fingers. An uninvited shiver of pleasure rushes down Shadow's spine as she does this. He decides he's feeling a little humorous, and thinks up a reply.
"Yes, My white Heroine?" he replies, his voice so low that Rouge can feel his chest rumble as he speaks. A flood of heat rushes to her face as she slowly sits up enough to look him in the eyes. Shouldn't have done that…
His crimson eyes were lidded and he had this sexy glimmer in them, mostly because of the setting sun, but, well, damn, he looked sexy! Rouge almost forgot her question.
"Do…" she choked up on her words, obviously flustered. Shadow found moments like these where she couldn't find her words just so adorable. Rouge strengthened her resolve and set her heart on her question.
"Do you mind… if we stay here a while? Just like this?" she forced out, placing her head back on his chest. Shadow smiles and sighs, shifting a bit to make himself comfortable.
"No, not at all, but there's one thing I'd like to do." This gets Rouge's attention.
"What?" she asks slowly, but her answer was quickly found when Shadow placed a gentle hand on her cheek and sealed her lips with his.
She was a bit stunned at first, but she gradually falls into the slow rhythm of their lips, her eyes slipping closed in bliss. Shadow's fingers slipped into her hair and moved gently along her thigh, while Rouge shifted to straddle him. When the need for air became too great, the two broke apart, their breathing a little labored, but eye contact was never broken. Rouge was the first to find her voice.
"Shadow…" she breathes, her mind too fuzzy to formulate anything else but his name. Shadow faintly smiles.
"I want to thank my ally, my friend, my savior and the love of my life for risking her own to save me…" Shadow pants out, his thumb stroking her cheek. Rouge can feel tears burning at her eyes.
"And I want to thank her fully, in any way I can. And one way I can start is by saying 'I love you'."
Aquamarine eyes fluttered open to sunlight strewn across a white, pink, and black themed bedroom, light ran across her sheet-cocooned form as the owner of said eyes slowly sat up, throwing her arms above her to stretch. A yawn bellowed from her lips as her eyes looked about her room, her fingers mindlessly toying with her long, snow white hair until she heard the familiar voice of her ally out in the living room.
"Hey Rouge, are you awake? I made breakfast!" Shadow calls from behind her closed door. Rouge the Bat was quick to swing her legs over her bed and jump up, forgetting her robe and thanking Heaven for night gowns as she practically bolted out of her room.
It had only been a couple seconds before Rouge had taken her seat and the breakfast counter, sleepily grinning. Shadow whipped around with pancakes and sausage on one plate and eggs and toast on the other, not all too surprised to see the ivory bat there, her hair still an obvious mess and her eyes free of make up for once, just how he liked seeing her in the morning.
Shadow the Hedgehog would never admit it to anyone, but he felt as though he was the luckiest hedgehog on the planet for having met such a beautiful, kind, and rather sprightly woman like Rouge. Not to mention he thought it rather cute when she woke up in the morning, her now long, back length hair with a tail of extra hair down to her thighs a bit ruffled and make up free; her bangs thrown across her face like white rose petals. She always seemed to glow in whatever lighting she was in, especially in the morning hours.
"You're up early today…" Rouge giggled, noticing the apron Shadow was wearing that read 'Kiss this Sexy Hedgie, You know You Wanna!' on it. She'd gotten it for him on his birthday as a gag gift, but despite his protests early on, he'd grown accustomed to it somehow. Heck, when he cooked (which wasn't often, but he can cook his ass off) he almost seemed to be strutting around the kitchen with pride.
What Rouge didn't know is that any gift to Shadow, if it's from Rouge, is the greatest gift on the planet. Just, that fact alone may very well be a secret he'll take to his grave.
"May I ask just what is so funny?" Shadow inquires, turning with a spatula in hand, a frying pan in the other. Rouge was having a battle with herself to hold back her laughter.
"Nothing, but every time I see that apron, I can't help but think it's so true, handsome."
"True?" Shadow repeats oddly, and stealing a quick look down and thinking about it for a moment, a dangerous smirk appears on his face.
"Oh, so you want to kiss this 'Sexy Hedgie', huh?" Shadow chides, setting the pan and spatula down on the stove. Rouge had already burst with laughter about a minute ago and was too busy trying to stay on her chair to notice what Shadow was doing.
He walked silently across the tile and carpet, spun Rouge around and placed his hands on either side of Rouge's chair, pinning her there. Her laughter died on her tongue as she gazed into his eyes, his expression turning daring, almost… sexy…
"Well then, hit me with your best shot, Rougie…" Shadow challenges his voice deep, smooth, a little fiery… He's so close that Rouge can feel his breath tickling her chest. Her face went from golden to red in two seconds flat, her eyes a bit wide.
But Rouge was quick to regain her composure and swiped up a bit of syrup from her plate and wiped it on the hedgehog's lips then licking it off her finger, getting him to drop his guard. The two laugh as he licks it off and Shadow heads back to the kitchen, bested.
"Damn you. I thought I had you this time." Shadow playfully pouts over his shoulder as he flips one last pancake onto his own plate and walks to sit next to her. Rouge gives a little 'hmph!' mimicking her dark friend's trademark response to, actually, a lot of things.
"You shouldn't have left enough space for me to reach my plate. Besides, I hate being a second away from your amazing cooking." Rouge remarks, swallowing down a piece of sausage. Shadow scoffs.
"I still have yet to master your Chicken Alfredo. I never get it to taste like yours." Retorts Shadow. Rouge raises a finger to allow her time to swallow her food.
"That's because I use a special ingredient!" She says proudly, a small piece of pancake stuck to her cheek. How she managed that, Shadow didn't know, but he found it rather humorous.
"And what's that?" Shadow dared to ask, but he expected his answer to be somewhere along the lines of…
"Ah-ah-ah, Shadow, that's Top Secret information! You've gotta give me something good to get your hands on stuff like that!" Rouge giggles, wagging her fork at him. She still had that bit of pancake on her face. How did she not feel that? Wait… The pancake gave Shadow an idea.
"Alright then, how about I give you this?" Shadow puts a finger beneath her chin and comes close, a determined glare in his eyes as he approaches once more. He acted as if he was going to kiss her, but turned her cheek just enough to kick the pancake off her face. Rouge turned that deep shade of red again as he backed away, his pride sky high.
"You had pancake on your face, Bat-girl." He took a bite of his eggs, "Now, how about that secret ingredient?" Rouge's face took on a new shade of red, deeper than the first, she stutters over her words as she tries to find something to say. Her flustered demeanor prompted Shadow to laugh
"I'll get you back, damnit…" she growls and finishes her plate, putting it in the sink. Shadow's still laughing as she angrily strides by, headed towards her room.
"Get some clothes on, we're heading out today!" she calls as she shuts her door. Shadow lets his laughter subside and walks to the hallway bathroom.
"If you're in the bathroom, don't flush the toilet like you did last time!" Shadow calls back as he closed the door and proceeded to get undressed. Something like a 'yeah, yeah' came from Rouge's room on the other side of the wall. Shadow only shook his head and turned on the shower.
Rouge had done the same and was busy trying to pick out an outfit for today. Next thing she heard was a loud, rumbling bang down the street. She rushed to her balcony to investigate and was shocked by what she saw.
What used to be the street below her was now a large, deep, fiery trench of molten asphalt and dirt. People peeked and leaned out of their windows and balconies on either side of the street, gaping in awe. Shadow, wet and wrapped in a towel, bursts into the room.
"Rouge, what happened? Everything okay?" he asks quickly, joining her on the balcony. She doesn't say a word, for Shadow merely followed her gaze and quickly put two and two together.
"I'll…get my gear…" he says hesitantly, turning quick to leave, Rouge right behind him.
"I'll get dressed. Meet me when you're done." She says hastily, knowing GUN was going to call them in any minute about the situation.
Minutes later, both were in the living room, throwing on their shoes and getting ready to go. Shadow had a long, black trench coat with a crimson collar, a plain white t-shirt, tan pants, his usual shoes and gloves and two belts; One crossing his chest with a couple of pockets for bullet and other things, and the other around his waist, sometimes used for the same purpose.
Rouge was dressed in her purple jumpsuit, her hair tossed over her shoulder, and her long tail was always tied towards the end, creating a little tuft of hair.
The two leave the house, hop on Shadow's motorcycle, and take off, tearing through the streets and weaving through traffic on their way to GUN.
Upon entry, it was obvious the GUN agency was being flooded with news, reports, and complaints about the, well, whatever that was, no one knew for sure, but some reports say that it was a meteorite of some sort, others said it was an attack from another country.
Shadow and Rouge moved amongst the crowd swiftly, making their way to the elevator. Once inside, Rouge huffs a sign and leans against the glass at the back, revealing the clear view of the city. Rouge glanced back, groaning.
"Today's going to be a long day, isn't it, Shadow?" she asked her dark friend exasperatedly, her eyes closed, already knowing her answer.
"Looks like. I just wonder what would create such a large-"
BOOM!
A sudden explosion shook the elevator, stopping it cold and making the two cling to the bars on the walls. Shadow noticed the stall and tried calling down for help, but all he got in response were screams and shuts for help. He heard something about an attack, and the word 'black', but he had no idea what was being said as the transmission garbled to static.
Rouge looks around quickly, and, upon seeing the glass, began kicking it until it finally gave way and shattered. Shadow takes her extended hand and the two jumped out, Rouge gliding them to safety in the nearby forest.
Both landed on a rocky face near a creek, looking about in search of any oncoming attacks. None seemed present.
"Rouge, look at GUN…" Shadow says with wide eyes. Rouge turns and does the same, finding the massive building speckled with flame and… black, red, and blue creatures? One flew over head and attempted to pounce on Rouge, but she kicked it back fiercely, the creature whimpering upon impact. Slowly, the dark duo walked forth and examined the creature.
"Shadow… doesn't this look like—"
"-a Black Hawk from the Black Arms? Yes, it does, but there's something different this time…"
The creature was still relatively the same, but now it had blue, sharpened ice-like spikes coming out of it at the ends of its tail and quills. Its eyes were green faded into red, which was a bit eerie.
What had happened? And why were there Black Arms creatures here? Shadow had destroyed the Black Comet and all of its creatures 3 years ago! The prospect troubled Shadow greatly.
'What if Black Doom is back?' was the question that popped into both of their heads, a sense of fear rushing over them both. Rouge took up Shadow's arm and began walking briskly back to GUN, snapping Shadow from his musings and pulling him along with her.
"Rouge, where are you going? GUN's on fire and in the process of being destroyed!" Shadow protested. Rouge kept walking.
"And you think we're gonna jus sit here and have front row seats? I don't think so!" Rouge took flight with Shadow in tow, but was quickly knocked back down by a blast of some sort.
Amidst their fall, Shadow quickly shifted and held Rouge tight to his chest as he fell, his back hitting the ground instead of hers. Painfully, the two sit up, and were greeted by a swarm of Black Arms soldiers that oddly resembled Mephiles' clones. A laugh filled the air and dark clouds swarmed about, until a figure appeared, a wicked, knowing smile plastered amongst a tanned muzzle.
"Ah, Shadow, how wonderful it is to see my Disciple!" the figure greeted with open arms, fingers sharp and spread wide. Shadow glanced at Rouge and stood oddly.
"Who the hell are you and how do you know my name?" Shadow instantly demands, his fists clenching as he stood in a protective stance before Rouge, who was slow to rise.
Wait…, Serious Déjà vu: Some weirdo who looks like Black Doom and Mephiles had a kid calling Shadow his Disciple? Where had she heard that from…?
"What do you mean by 'Disciple'?" Rouge inquires, coming up to Shadow's side. Shadow glanced at her, his eyes were filled with question and impending rage, if need be.
"I mean, that I, Black Mephiles…" the figure steps into the light, revealing himself to be, well, just as Rouge had imagined—a hedgehog dressed in Black Doom's robes and Shadow's shoes, but had three eyes, all green faded red and slits for pupils like a snake. His quills and pattern was similar to Shadow's, like Mephiles, but his stripes were jagged and red faded blue with ice-like spikes protruding at the edges,
"…am making Shadow my Disciple and heir to the throne of which I shall create this day as I enslave all of Earth and Mankind. And any who oppose me and my conquest shall be destroyed." Rouge felt the reality of it all crash into her.
Her dream! This was her dream made reality! She shook her head as if to wake up from it all, but there was nothing to wake up from.
This wasn't her dream.
This was real.
Shadow was going to be taken and brainwashed and Rouge would have to fight the worst possible battle to get him back, destroy the Black Comet all over again, and nearly get her life taken by—
"Well, you're going to have to destroy your Disciple, Black Mephiles…" Shadow's voice broke Rouge's thoughts as he took a daring step forward, raising his voice, "… Because I'm never going to enslave anyone! I promised, no, I vowed to protect this planet with my life, and there has never been a day where I've broken that promise, and there never will be!"
Black Mephiles shook his head with disappointment.
"I knew that this would happen. So, I plan to destroy all of those who tie you to this planet, starting with that pesky bat-girl behind you." He growls out, glaring past Shadow and right at Rouge.
"Shadow, we gotta go!" was Rouge's immediate response, taking up his hand again and sprinting into the forest. She grabbed his other hand and burst into the skies, flying as fast as she could back to Club Rouge. Shadow whipped his head around to see Black Hawks quickly closing in.
"Rouge, we've got company!" he says quickly, his hands gripping hers a little tighter. Rouge sped up.
"Hang on!" she calls in response, diving for her balcony, but was once again shot down. Shadow didn't have the time to save her this go around, and both crashed into the trench of a street below.
Rouge quickly got back up despite a hurt wing and leg, and limped over to an unconscious Shadow, weakly attempting to rouse him.
"Shadow, Shadow get up! Shadow get the hell up!" she pressed, shaking him frantically. He finally opened his eyes and sat up, but Black Mephiles arrived on the scene, smirking.
"You thought you could run from me, girl?" he asks scornfully, Rouge jumping before Shadow.
"I'm not going to let you take him!" she cried, throwing her arms to her sides. Her eyes held her fear back and replaced it with anger and a need to protect.
"Ah hah! Clever girl, I applaud you!" Black Mephiles said coldly, clapping his hands, "But how did you know of my little plan to take my Disciple, I wonder..?" he asks to no one in particular. His fingers raise and release red bands, much like the ones from Rouge's dream, and grabbed Shadow, yanking him up of a Black Hawk.
"Shit, Rouge, get out of here! I'll get out of this, just go!" he calls to her, wriggling against the red restraints.
"I'm not going to leave you behind, damn it!" she calls back, throwing a couple of bat-bombs and flying into the smoke, hoping the mask of gray would shield her enough to grab Shadow.
Unfortunately, her efforts were in vain and she was knocked back just as her fingers touched the bands wrapped around Shadow's arm. She hit the ground more forcefully this time, but she pushed herself back to her feet, coming at Black Mephiles again. She tried a hurricane kick, which he caught, and was thrown back down, this time Rouge caught herself mid-air. The 'overlord' hedgehog began laughing.
"Do you want to speed up your demise that badly, because I'd be happy to oblige!" came his dark voice as he sent out more of the long, ribbon-like bands, lashing them at her, She did her best to dodge them, but one occasionally got a nick of skin or clothing.
His demonic laughter bellowed out, taunting her efforts. Finally, a couple of his soldiers shot her down and attempted to hold her down, but she fought them more fiercely than she ever had. She managed to tear off arms and heads, which surprised Overlord and Disciple both. Rouge ripped a final arm free of her form and marched out of the pile of massacred alien matter, her glare turning from fiery to deadly. Black Mephiles merely turned to leave, Rouge hot on his heels.
"This girl is relentless!" he cursed under his breath as he ordered the hawks to fly faster.
"That's my ally for you: headstrong and ruthless. I'm pretty sure she gets it from me." Shadow venomously chides, Black Mephiles shooting him a glare.
"Silence, you impudent hedgehog!" he seethes, shocking Shadow through the bands. His cry only made Rouge fly faster. She took a quick look around and noticed more Black Hawks surrounding her, closing in. They shot and clawed at her, yanking her out of the sky.
"Damn it, get back here!" she cries over the hawks gripping into her skin and clothes, watching desperately as Black Mephiles flew off with Shadow. Her dark ally looked back with worried eyes.
"Rouge, No!" he bellows, wriggling at his restraints all the more, fighting to get free. He heard a dark chuckle beside him.
"Don't worry, she'll be eaten alive by my hawks and you won't have to worry about her anymore." Say Black Mephiles snidely, he and Shadow disappearing into the clouds above. Rouge let a warrior's cry bellow out of her as she furiously kicked and punched her way out of the mass of black buzzards. Weak from the loss of blood, she limps forward, her eyes on the spot where they disappeared into the skies above. Tears burned at her eyes and spilled over her cheeks.
"Shadow!" she cries to the sky above, crashing to her knees upon the cracked pavement below her. She pants heavily, her eyes glaring at the grayed sky, sun slowly breaking into their barrier of gloom. S
She picks herself up and limps to her apartment, drips of blood trailing behind her. She reaches her door and collapses once she gets in and has it shut. Just before she lost consciousness, she could hear her phone ringing away, her body too weak to answer it.
Next thing Rouge knew, she was waking up in her bed, her body slightly numb of pain. She can feel a weight on her bed besides her own, and her eyes shift to see who. She was surprised to see Blaze there on her bed, her eyes wide with happiness.
"Guys, she's awake!" she calls, prompting rapid footsteps. Amy and Cream, now a teenager, come rushing into the room.
"Oh my goodness, Rouge, you're awake! Are you okay?" Amy asks sitting on the adjacent side of the bed from Blaze. Cream sat at the foot of the bed, Cheese in her lap.
"I'm… fine…" she says groggily. She slowly sits up, rubbing her head. She noticed the bandages on her arms and chest upon doing so.
"Did you all bandage me up?" she asks hesitantly, examining the work. Cream nods.
"Yeah, Amy called us both over when you didn't answer your phone. We all found you in your living room unconscious and bleeding heavily." She says lowly, looking down at the Chao in her lap. Rouge's memory al came crashing back into her.
"Shadow... " she whispers, sadly holding her hand to her chest. Blaze sighs.
"You too?" she asks, her voice holding back a growl that bubbled at her throat. Rouge raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" she presses, sitting forward. Amy spoke this time.
"Sonic, Tails, the Chaotix, and Silver were all taken by that Black Mephiles bastard yesterday afternoon…" Amy seethes, her eyes looking down at Rouge's comforter, her finger trailing over it sadly.
"That means that we're the only ones left, Miss Rouge." Cream says, petting Cheese softly. Rouge's eyes got a bit wide, but an idea came to her head. She rises from her bed and begins walking out of her room.
"Follow me." She says, heading down the hallway. Cream, Blaze, and Amy were quick to follow her. She goes to a door at the end of the hall, moves a panel hidden in the wall, and inputs a little code in the keypad. The three behind her watch in awe as the door opens with a hiss and a click, revealing a vault-like room. Rouge steps in and the others follow.
"About a year after the first Black Arms invasion and a couple years after the Mephiles incident, GUN found traces of both of their energies in a black hole out near Saturn, and this lead many scientists to believe that through the matter that is sucked in the black hole that Mephiles, Black Doom, or both would manifest themselves again and exact revenge." Rouge began, passing a couple of suits of different color, but the main color of them all was black.
"So, in preparation, they had these specially designed suits made just for such an occasion and called the operation the 'Black Fighters'." She points to four capsules at the very back, each labeled with their names. Beside their names was a little pad, glowing green.
She got a few confused looks from Amy and Cream, but Blaze only stared at her suit oddly. Rouge walked up to her and placed her thumb on the pad, and after a beep and a flash of light, her capsule opened to reveal her suit. The three followed suit and opened their capsules, and began to examine their suits a little further.
"These suits were designed so that they can withstand a good sum of the attacks that the Mephiles clones and Black creatures would use, but I don't know how they'll hold up to a combination of the two…" Rouge says and she began getting undressed and putting on her suit, the others doing the same.
"What about that paralysis gas that Black Doom used before?" asks Amy and she wiggled into her suit's dress.
"She's got a point, Miss Rouge, can it stand up to that, too?" asked Cream, pulling on a glove.
"That was one of the first things they thought about, along with mental waves from both parties, so the communicators that come with your suits are designed to prevent hypnosis and mind control." Rouge explained, zipping up her boot. Blaze put on the communicator, which looked oddly like a scouter from Dragon Ball Z, but it had multiple buttons and a rectangular shaped lens, each of different color to match each of the girls' suits.
"Amy, you're going to need an upgrade to your hammer, so there's a new one in the capsule behind your suit. Blaze, you suit is fireproof and amplifies your powers, and Cream, they didn't know what to include for you but the made your suit lightweight to allow flight to be easy." Rouge adds, snapping on her belt.
"Now, listen up", she announced once they all finished getting dressed.
"I knew this may sound a little scary, but we're going to get everyone back, and we're going to have to fight. We're going o have to fight probably for days on end, and we're going to have to fight harder than we ever had. So, all of you will have to promise to put you lives on the line for everyone we've lost to Black Mephiles. You will get hurt, you will probably bleed, and unless we stay together, No one will be there to save you. So, if you're up for it, we're going to fight our way to the Black Comet and take it by storm." Amy speaks up.
"You do know how big the Black Comet is and how many Black Creatures are in our area alone, right? We all had a hard enough time just getting to your house." Rouge sighs.
"I know. And I know that the idea seems impossible with just the four of us, but we can do it. All of us can" she breathes, putting a ring on her wrist. Everyone recognized it immediately.
"Isn't that Mr. Shadow's ring, Miss Rouge?" Cream asks hesitantly. Rouge nods.
"I'm wearing it to remind me of who I'm going after." She says, turning to leave the room. The others follow her to the roof of Club Rouge, looking out to the golden sun as it peeked out from the clouds, surmounting their gray curtains. Rouge glares determinedly out at the horizon, her hands on her hips as she glances at the other girls behind her... Amy leans on her new black and pink hammer, Blaze is letting fire dance along her fingers to test her powers, and Cream merely sits at the edge, holding a knee to her chest. Rouge returns her gaze to the horizon strewn with morning before her.
"Look out, Black Mephiles, because this is the Dawn of the Black Fighters…" she breathes, getting the attention of the girls beside her. They all smile, ready to do whatever it took to get their friends back.
"…and we're coming after your ass."