UlTrRa SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ:

THe CRiSMoN PaGeS By: UlTrAa ShAdDow

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters….but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!

-PS: Rouge kicks ass. Always remember that, and so does Cream…in this fic at least.

"You can close your eyes to things you don't want to see, but you can't close your heart to things you don't want to feel."

-THe CRiSMoN PaGeS

-Black

"Ms. Dawson, your delivery is here."

An old, cutesy plump old vixen came to the door. She looked as if she could have passed as anyone's grandmother. The vixen wore spectacles that made her eyes look far too beady and round and a long lace shawl. Ms. Dawson readjusted her glasses to squint at the newcomer; even with her strong prescriptions she was terribly blind.

"Why is that you Shearson dearie?"

"Shadow."

"Shalom?" The black hedgehog in question stiffened for a second, then grimaced as he acquiesced, "Yes, it's me. I've delivered your order."

'Shalom' believe it or not, was none other than the ultimate life form himself. Somehow Shadow had been reduced to nothing more than a delivery boy, and a pretty darn fast one, for a pastry shop right outside his home.

After the fight against the Black Arms five years ago, there wasn't a single organization that didn't recognize the black and red antihero. And because of his infamous reputation, no one dared to higher him and after the businesses refused to higher him, in fear of their lives, they sent him baskets of goods.

The ultimate life form frowned as he waited for the old woman to shuffle around in her purse for the one dollar and fifty cents she owed him. She looked up at him and smiled, she reached up to touch his face, "It's so good to see you again dearie."

"Yeah," Shadow wasn't ready to begin a conversation and on top of that he avoided her lurking grasp.

"Perhaps sometime you'd like to come over and have some tea and cookies, young man."

"Maybe."

"Or perhaps you'd like to meet my granddaughter, she's a pretty one you know!" Shadow rolled his eyes blatantly; her granddaughter was nowhere near cute. If he had to choose a date between her and an ornery hippo that smelled like trash, he'd take the foul-smelling hippopotamus gladly.

"That's nice."

"Well young man, keep working hard. Seeing young people doing productive stuff makes me believe there is hope for our future," she smiled at Shadow's frowning face, "See you next Tuesday, Shane."

"Shadow."

"Sampson."

The door slammed shut and Shadow began to head away on another, high-speed delivery. He was way too good for this job. Shadow cursed; he was glad no one knew he had this job, then life would suck even worse than it did now.

---

Team Sonic consisted of four members: In reverse chronological order there was Cream, Tails, Amy and then Sonic. The youngest member of the team, Cream, loved the color orange, tea with milk, surprises, and fighting. It was such a fun way to fill the time. Also being apart of Team Sonic enabled her to constantly be alongside her friends.

Next was Miles Prower, the technical genius. His IQ was limitless, just like his patience and kindness. Although he himself never battled in fights, he was the invisible guiding hand to the team. Before everyone made their moves, they first consulted with him, the mastermind.

Amy Rose, the most cheerful member was the heart of the team. She was always optimistic, giving, and looking at everything in rose-colored glasses. Even after five years she was still Sonic's number one fan.

Then there was the big blue guy himself. His name said all someone needed to know about him; he was a supersonic hedgehog who made fast tracks, tons of jokes, and just loved life in general. Sure he was a glory hog, a hothead, and sometimes just clueless, but it was all apart of the package that made him Sonic.

Would it also hurt to mention that Sonic was voted 2008's hottest bachelor? That's right, there on the magazine cover was the blue guy himself posing with his famous grin and a wink. Rumor has it that it was the most sold out issue of 'Station Square Flare!' magazine. Today Team Sonic were called up on an investigation. Currently they were called down to the town's mayor's office. The second the four-man team entered, they knew it was all bad.

"Wow," Amy blinked, "Someone really did a number on this place."

The pink hedgehog was in the mayor's office, the same man who had treated them to dinner the previous night. His office was completely wrecked; furniture was strewn and overturned, gaping holes were in multiple walls, and even the pictures at the mayor's desk had been smashed in. Accompanying her where Sonic, Tails, and his dubbed sidekick, Cream. Team Sonic was at work again.

The police had asked the squadron of heroes to take a look at the crime scene. The mayor himself was in perfect health; in fact he hadn't been touched once. Just what had went on in here? Amy tapped her hammer against her leg unconsciously, "Who would do this to the mayor? He's such a nice man!"

"Tables smashed into pieces, freakin' big-ass holes in the wall," Sonic gestured to a hole that was nearly his height, "Just what went on here last night?!"

"The mayor seemed really scared when we talked to him," Cream looked sad.

"He was pretty shaken up," Amy commented, watching Sonic as he studied a mutilated marble desk, "He wouldn't even speak to Sonic and those two are like…best friends!"

"Doesn't the mayor's son have a crush on one of your cousins or something?" Tails asked to himself.

"He did," Sonic replied with no inflection in his voice, "And then I kicked his ass."

Frowning, the blue hero squatted to his knees. Even in the clutter of the destroyed office, Sonic caught something of interest. His gloved hand picked up a smashed photo frame. In the family picture were a chubby blue hedgehog his wife and kids.

'It looks as if someone purposely messed up this photo. So what was the point in doing so, huh? Hmm…' Sonic narrowed his eyes as he reflected.

Sonic suddenly rose to his feet and spun to face Tails. As he did so, he flicked his wrist and flung the shattered photo at the golden fox, "Catch."

Tails barely managed to get his wits together and caught the object. His blue eyes began to meticulously scan the photograph. As Sonic watched his lil' bro analyze the picture, he leaned against a nearby wall, "So, why would someone go out of their way and jack up the mayor's family photo?"

"What do you mean, Sonic-sensei?" Cream asked, blinking up at him curiously.

"If you look at that photo," Sonic's eyes glanced at the frame within Tails' hands, "Then you'll see that someone went the extra mile and smashed in that picture. It wasn't destroyed at the same time this room was."

Amy and Cream walked over to Tails to glance at the hard evidence. The young vulpine glanced up at Sonic looking impressed, "…Wow, what a perceptive analysis, Sonic. I'd have to say I agree with you."

The rosette hedgehog touched the faces in the picture, "…But why would someone do that?"

"Hmm, I think this has to do with the upcoming elections," Tails replied, still studying the picture, "I think someone hired a hand to scare the mayor out of running."

"That's terrible!" Amy cried as she curled her fists up and waved them around frantically, "Now we really have to find out who did this!"

As Amy and Tails engaged themselves in another conversation, Sonic went over to study the collateral damage. He glanced at the impressive dents and holes in the office, the broken furniture, and even the desk.

A low whistle escaped Sonic's mouth as he rubbed the large crater in the desk. Just what kind of instrument did the predator have to make this kind of mark in a marble desk? Even a few of the steel enforced beams where busted. One day, Sonic would have to remember to test out whether or not Knuckles himself could smash through reinforced steel.

"Hey Amy," Sonic suddenly was engaged in their conversation. His lean, cool blue figure approached casually. Semi interested now, Amy blinked. "Eh?"

"Can I borrow your hammer for a sec?"

Amy walked over to Sonic and handed him her prized crimson and gold hammer. Sonic weighed the weapon in his hand; it was slightly heavy but that was even more impressive as Amy was able to wield it, albeit with a doubled-handed grip. Sonic glanced back at Tails, who was staring at him rather curiously, "Say Tails?"

"Yeah?"

"How strong would you say this weapon is?"

Tails shrugged, "Well, offhandedly I'd have to say really strong. I don't know its exact megaton count or what not. But why?"

"Strong enough to break stone?"

"I think so."

Sonic nodded at Tails' last statement and without warning, turned and bashed the marble table for what it was worth. With his actions he made everyone in the room jump, Amy even squeaked. Once he regained his sense a bit, Tails stepped forward to shoot a glare at his 'big bro', "Sonic? What the heck!?"

"Look," he replied calmly, pointing to the table, "Even this powerful hammer couldn't crack this marble, let alone put a dent in this desk." The golden fox's eyes widened as realization hit him and Amy gulped slightly, "So…whoever did this to the mayor…what did they use that had enough power to break that desk?"

"Maybe they carried different weapons?" Cream asked.

"Highly unlikely," Tails replied. Amy snapped her fingers, "They used a jackhammer!"

Sonic laughed slightly, "So what? Can you really see someone using a jackhammer to intimidate someone? Ooh! I'm going to terrorize you mayor, with my scary…jackhammer! Not a chance." The pink hedgehog puffed her cheeks angrily at the insult as her fists clenched tightly, "It's possible…"

"Maybe a machine did this," Tails said, "One of Eggman's robots."

Sonic groaned, "I certainly hope not, do you think he built another E-100 series? If he did, I'm sending him to a fat camp."

"Sonic!" Amy cried with disbelief.

"What!? Jail's obviously not punishment enough. That's the only thing that's going to get him to change his ways," Sonic nodded his head and pointed at them, "Food is the key to Eggman's undoing! To his frickin' undoing!!"

"It's just a suggestion, we don't even know if Eggman is involved in this," Tails replied hastily as Cream walked to his side. "Well, one thing's for certain. We are dealing with some freaks of nature here," Sonic acquiesced, "Something or someone unnormal."

"Abnormal," Tails corrected gently but Sonic turned to glare at him, "Can't you lay off me for one second? I made a huge important discovery!"

"For once," Amy grunted. The blue guy spun around and raised an eyebrow with mild irritation on his face. "Hey, if we listened to your idea, we'd be looking for a guy carrying around a jackhammer," Sonic said through clenched teeth.

"Ooh!" Amy clutched the ends of her dress in anger, "Well you're a blue…a blue weasel!"

"WEASEL!?" somehow Sonic took this offense to heart, "Well you're a pink………..iguana!"

"Weasel!"

"Iguana!"

"Weasel!"

"Iguana!"

As Sonic and Amy were quarreling, now in each other's faces roaring, Tails continued to study the damage. Cream went in the middle of them trying to break up their shouting match, but it just wasn't happening. Tails frowned as he glanced at the snapped table, 'The only thing that could make sense is Eggman, but is he really behind all this?'

---

It was just starting out as another night in club Rouge. The attractive hostess herself was known to come every now and then and mingle with the customers. Rouge wasn't above dancing, playing, or even chatting it up in her own club.

So tonight was one of those few occasions Rouge graced the club, usually she was too busy handling financial dilemmas. However now, with the huge loan she was going to get, she could kiss her troubles good bye!

The glimmering lights were sparkling in the darkness as the loud, hip music was blaring. The bar was full and being attended to as customers lined up for their popular drinks. They watched with awe as the cute bartender was skillfully performing for them, flipping and twisting bottles within the air fluidly. The dance floor was packed as the dancing mob was swaying to the hypnotic tunes.

A chatting crowd of customers began to part at the appearance of a guest. As the newcomer approached, a couple of wolf-whistles sounded. There, parting the crowd easily was none other than Rouge the bat.

She was stunning in a figure-hugging black dress and matching pumps. The gorgeous hostess smiled as she spoke to her crowd, "Hey everybody, are ya having a good time?"

A loud, resounding cheer answered the club manager as a multitude of voices were raised. Rouge laughed as she continued her way through the crowd, "Well, try not to have too much fun, ya hear?"

And with that Rouge went to mingle with a batch of her customers at the bar. The bar always had something interesting going on there. Rouge slipped up to the bar and ordered a drink that was the club's equivalent of a strawberry slushie.

She smiled at the bartender, a teal hedgehog girl named Mare, as she received her drink; Rouge knew all her employees by name. The white bat sighed happily, just deciding to bask in the glow; soon this club would be renovated, and things would only go up from there!

---

"And remember, stick to the plan, and everything shall end up how it's supposed to be."

A second voice, suave in content, "Heh, that little bat will get what she deserves, I can't wait to see the look on her face."

A third, "So when do we start? Now? Now? Now? Now!?Now? How about now? Or maybe now? Now? Now? Now, now, now!?"

"Would you shut up!? Damn, you're driving me crazy!"

The third voice sounded again, "Whee! Let's go! Come on! Please can we do it now!?"

The first and most authoritative voice heard the beeping of his watching going off. Now it was game time, "Now we're good to go."

---

"Hey Hostess lady!"

"Huh?" Rouge spun around to see a couple of girl club-hoppers approaching her.

"Yo Rouge, there's trouble in the back. A few guys are harassing a couple of my friends," the echidna girl hiked a thumb behind herself, "Can you handle that?"

Rouge nodded her head and narrowed her eyes, "Oh yeah, just lead the way."

Another well-known fact was that the hostess of club Rouge herself was well versed in combat, especially kick-boxing. Rouge didn't hire, or need security because any and every tousle that came up, she was able to take care of herself. Despite her 'easy-on-the-eyes' appearance and her pleasing figure, Rouge was a lethal martial artist.

Rouge' aqua eyes fixed on the situation before her. It looked like the usual: a couple of drunks hitting on a bunch of pretty girls. There looked to be one guy who was doing most of the trouble making. The girls looked at Rouge with relief, "Rouge! Thank goodness you're here! Please help us! This guy just won't leave us alone!"

The bat went into hunter mode: eyes narrowed, senses sharpened and lasers on stun, "Okay big guy, I'll give you one chance, leave these girls alone for good, or I'll throw you out myself. I tolerate nothing of this sort in my house."

The drunk now started to stumble toward Rouge, "B-but, I, I only wanted to t-talk and---"

The guy tripped over his own feet and barely caught himself by holding onto Rouge. The white bat rolled her eyes irritably; geesh, sometimes she wondered why people were so prone to make fools of themselves. This guy right here, she was sure was drunk off his life!

"Okay, easy there," Rouge sighed, "Remember how to walk."

The drunk continued to grumble on and on about some useless story, or something, but as the second passed Rouge grew more annoyed with this guy. A) he was kinda big and he was hanging all over her, B) he was way too inebriated to even know what was going on and C.) he was kinda big and he was hanging all over her and he was way too inebriated to even know what was going on.

"Okay big guy, let go of me, you're starting to wrinkle my dress," Rouge growled.

When the guy put his nose in the crook of her neck and smelt her, that's when Rouge's patience drained completely. The war scowl feel into place and her hand instantly went to his arm, "Okay, that's it buddy, now I'm kickin' your as—"

The wolf chuckled as she slowly pulled away from her. Rouge's eyes widened just the slightest bit at the sight of the white wolf. Hey, he was the guy she had punched a day ago! When she received the loan for Club Rouge. For some reason Rouge got the idea that he wasn't every drunk at all.

"Why hello my sweet, fiery Rouge," the wolf purred, "It would be a shame if I did not mention how gorgeous you look tonight. Your radiance makes even the great sun itself green with envy."

For some reason, warning klaxons where ringing in her head; the part of her that was a treasure hunter was warning her about this guy, but the business mogul-side was telling her to watch it all play out; she followed the business side, "…Er, thanks. But is there any reason why you're really here?"

The white wolf's smile showcased long incisors, "Why, can't a gentleman court a fair and beauteous lady?"

"No, now take your overgrown mits offa me before I break your face against that counter behind you," Rouge was dead serious about that one.

The wolf chuckled, "Ouch, why that makes me think you don't want me, my feisty beauty. Fine, I shall vanquish my hold upon your fair, voluptuous frame."

The snow-furred wolf slowly stepped away from her, but didn't release the hold on her hand, if anything his grip grew tighter. His large hand was starting to painfully grate the delicate bones in her hand.

Rouge hissed as she glared back up at him; this wasn't good, as much as she would love to beat him up and down the halls of her club, it just never looked good to fight; it gave bad publicity.

"Ah, my Fiesty beauty, there is one thing I'm supposed to tell you. It was something my boss wanted me to tell you. But just what was it exactly?" the wolf glanced up as if in thought.

"Then spill," she hissed, her aqua eyes fading into a shade of deep emerald.

"Ah yes! He wanted me to give you his congratulations upon winning the grant for your club," the second the wolf released her hand, he leaned forward until he was whispering in her ear, "…And to say that your club shall no longer be standing within fifteen seconds."

"…WHAT!?" Rouge stumbled away from the leering wolf.

The second she distanced herself from the smiling wolf, a large explosion broke out. In pure shock, she watched as a conflagration of crimson and amber fire burst forth from a nearby pool table. Rouge gasped in horror; customers had been there! It was far too late to help them.

Then a ricochet of explosions followed, bright blares of red clouds and fire began to dance upon the scene of the club. Rouge watched wide-eyed in the midst of it all as pandemonium hit her tarnished, burning club. The second she turned to yell at the wolf, she realized he was gone.

People fled in roves toward the exit, trampling and shoving any and anyone out of their way. Rouge stood in silent horror as she watched all her hard work and dedication go up in waves of dancing, licking flames.

'My club…all the sweat, blood and tears I put into this place…its as if I'm going up in smoke too…'

Rouge snapped out of her trance as she heard a cry of pain. She glanced toward a table to see a girl trapped underneath a collapsed pillar. She screamed in pain as tears flowed from her eyes, "Someone, please help me!"

"Hold on!"

The huntress ran over toward the crying girl and bent down to assess the situation. It looked as if the girl's leg was crushed underneath the rubble. With her will and anger fuelling her, Rouge ripped the rumble off the girl until she was free. It took time and tons of effort, but it was worth it; she had saved a life.

The yellow hedgehog limped away, exclaiming her great thanks to the club hostess. Rouge watched lukewarmly as the girl went off and hugged a black and silver hedgehog, a guy she assumed was her boyfriend. They both fled toward the exit before giving Rouge bright smiles.

The second Rouge waved to them, a powerful, nearby explosion blared. Rouge shrieked as the heat, and the power of the blast made her vision white. Rouge covered her eyes, trying to withstand the powerful blast but soon found herself being carried away. She screamed as she felt the ground beneath her feet being swept away viciously.

"Aah!" Rouge felt herself tumble through the air helplessly. With all her might she tried to flap her wings but to no avail she couldn't stop her wayward spiral. Her spine finally found one of the walls and she smacked into the wall with a vicious thud and hit the floor limply.

The club owner found the searing pain slowly starting to ebb away as she blacked out. A sweeping panic launched her customers into chaos; everyone was running in different directions, trampling over anyone who fell in their path.

In the center of the chaos stood three figures. By normal standards they were far too calm and pleased in the middle of the chaos. The three, burly wolves were grinning, relishing the terror and pandemonium in the atmosphere of the club.

"Man, do I love the smell of fear."

"Let's just mess this place up."

"Okay, let's do it just how the boss prescribed."

The three henchmen went around breaking and smashing any and everything they desired to. Luckily for Rouge, she was safely hidden away behind a smashed turntable. After about five minutes of round robin smashing, one of the three henchmen sighed, "We better get out of here before the cops show up."

"Hey, where's the club owner?" One of the wolves asked; this one had black fur, "We're supposed to find that broad." The brown wolf, who was standing on a table, giggled erratically, "I heard she's really pretty."

"The gem of my eye," the white wolf smirked, "A beautiful rose…with terrible thorns."

The black wolf frowned, "She's extremely hot but she's such a hellcat. You know about that, don't you Narcissus? She slapped you!"

The brown wolf laughed and chanted, "Nar got slapped! Nar got slapped!"

The white wolf smiled, "Perhaps, but boss said we could do with her as we please if we find her. For that offence I'd personally probably smash her cute face through that turntable. Then that way I can tell the boss than we made sweet music together."

The three cronies laughed from the pun of the joke. After taking a last kick at one of the wobbling tables, one crony had an idea, "Let's torch this place. There's flames here and there, but I want a full blown firestorm."

"Fire?" the white wolf smiled, "What a marvelous idea. It'll teach that lady never to mess with us again. Or refute an invitation of mine again."

"Can we burn this place Rex? Huh? Huh!?" The brown wolf was jumping up and down on a pool table, "Please? It'll be fun!"

The white wolf, Narcissus smiled, "It's too bad we couldn't find that cute little number that ran this place. I would have liked to…get to know her better. But it is your call, Rex."

"A little savage, isn't it fellas?" the black wolf, Rex, smiled, "But I like it. One of you goons hand me a lighter."

---

As the ultimate delivery boy was hard at work, a gathering crowd caught his eye. He blinked at the sight of the congregated people then rolled his eyes; sometimes the general public was so stupid. They were probably gathering to watch someone getting mugged or something.

Yep, he had seen it happen right before his very eyes. While some girl hedgehog was in the process of getting mugged, a group of people had just congregated around her and watched the act happen. Shadow shook his head from the thought; if he was the girl he didn't know who he'd go after first: the robber or every chump in the crowd that had watched the mugging.

With a sigh, Shadow finally decided to join the crowd and see exactly what was going on. Curiosity had gotten the best of him. He looked to his left, right then used Chaos Control to appear at the back of the crowd.

And with his tall stature coming into play, he was able to see over of the heads of most of the bystanders. The place they were all staring at was submerged in flames. Shadow squinted at the melting sign; what did that say? ub ouge? What the heck was ub ouge?

Just as Shadow was beginning to turn away and resume his route, a side conversation caught his interest, " ---These three guys just came into the club and started destroying everything."

So the place was a club, huh? Club ouge. Why does that sound familiar? Shadow's eyes widened as realization hit him; Club Rouge! Holy cow, that was Club Rouge on fire! Shadow decided to hang around for a few seconds more before he went on his way.

"I heard they came for the owner."

Shadow blanched, still eavesdropping, "Dude, that hot bat chick?"

"Yeah, no one's seen her yet."

"Maybe she ran away."

"I don't know man, then why isn't she here with all of us?"

"Well, wherever she is its too bad that this happened to her. She's such a nice person. She went around the club and talked to each of us. And even when some of the guys made passes at her she turned them all down so politely." In a ray of green light, Shadow suddenly disappeared. The two spectators blinked, "Dude, was there like, someone just behind us?"

"I have no idea."

---

Shadow reappeared in the building and instantly covered his nose. The once flashy, beautiful club was being torched terribly. Thick wafts of black smoke filled the air. In the fiery setting, Shadow's dark fur was a dark shade of orange, as were his eyes.

"Rouge?" Shadow called out walking around and peering around through the burning debris. He scrambled around the burning club, searching every nook and cranny. And yet he couldn't find the girl he was looking for.

"Dammit," Shadow spat; those two guys had said they hadn't seen her outside, so there was a chance that she was still trapped in here. In pure frustration, he went and kicked the nearest object, a charred turntable.

It broke in half and once Shadow went to admire his handy work, his eyes widened. Lying beside the broken turntable was Rouge. Unconscious, she was splayed on the floor looking terribly helpless. She was lying on her back with her long hair strewn about and her face was titled to the side slightly. Even though she was unconscious her face looked sweetly distressed.

Had those three creeps done his to her? Had they hurt her and left her there to die in the midst of these flames? Shadow's anger began to build but he quickly leapt into action when a large chunk of the ceiling collapsed, nearly smashing into him. Shadow narrowed his eyes and scooped her up into his arms. And with a turn, both Shadow and Rouge disappeared in a green flare of light.

---

"No!" Rouge popped up out of bed looking around feverishly then she blinked realizing that she wasn't at her club or at home. Rouge clutched the comforter as concern began to set forth; if she wasn't at home, then who's bed was she in? Better yet, why was she in a stranger's bed? And why was the room pitch dark?

Rouge blanched as thousands of different possibilities floated through her head. Just as she made a move to escape, a deep strong voice halted her immediately, "I wouldn't leave if I was you. You're in no condition to go anywhere."

She quickly raised the covers and glared venomously at the sound of the voice, "Who in the hell are you!? You've got some nerve treating me like this. I swear I'll---"

A chuckle, "Calm down, batgirl. You're safe here." At the sound of the nickname, Rouge relaxed slightly; only her true friends had called her that. All anger washed away and she blinked, "Who are you?"

"Still fiery, huh?"

"Er…" Rouge blinked, swearing she heard the smile through the stranger's voice.

"Is that anyway to thank me for saving your life? Bombarding me with questions?" The voice sounded slightly amused as Rouge's face colored charmingly, "Just relax for awhile batgirl."

"But you still haven't told me who you are and I'd like to know. If you ran through my burning club to save me, then tell me your name," Rouge smiled, "And since you called me 'batgirl' then you must be a really good friend of mine."

"…Maybe."

"Tails?"

"No," the voice sounded amused.

"Yeah, you're right, Tails doesn't have that kind of baritone to his voice ," Rouge said to herself, "Sonic?"

"No."

She tapped a finger against her chin in thought, "Of course. Yet again, there's too much bass in your voice that his lacks…"Her eyes lit up, "Knuckles!? Is that you, you stupid echidna?"

Rouge beamed lightly; she could imagine the powerful guardian of the Master Emerald rushing through an ocean of fire to protect her. She swore as he rescued her, she could feel herself being carried away within the confinement of strong arms.

"No," at her last guess the voice sounded slightly darker; moodier.

"Why won't you tell me who you are? Or show me?"

"…Because it's for the best that I don't."

"Who are you?" Rouge groped in the darkness, trying to find anything; a lamp, a switch, maybe even the stranger himself. To her luck, beside her she found a desk and a lamp. Her fingers curled around the dangling switch.

"Ah ha!" With a large triumphant grin, Rouge pulled on the switch and a flare of light burst throughout the room. The black hedgehog standing before her had covered his eyes due to the sudden transition of dark to light. He stumbled backwards a bit and uncovered his eyes; red met blue.

The mirth from Rouge's face drained and was replaced with a dark scowl; he swore that he saw the color drain from her eyes as her irises changed from blue to black, "Shadow…"

With her best high-pitched roar, Rouge flung anything within an arm's distance at him. Shadow ducked, dodged and maneuvered his way out the room backwards. He closed the door just in time before an alarm clock hit him. Shadow sighed, "…Well, that did not go quite as I planned…"

---

After that encounter, Shadow had decided to let Rouge rest for awhile, and she took advantage of that time. Although as she slept, her rest was still tormented as she relived the unwanted memories Shadow's appearance had brought back.

The white bat tossed and turned violently in her sleep as sweat caked her fair face; why? why couldn't Shadow just let her be? Even in her sleep he vexed her, holding some sort of evil magical spell upon her.

--

Flames salivated over the buildings and landmarks lustfully as the sky was the color of a drop of blood. Agent Rouge the Bat sleuthed as she made her way through the buildings. Decked out in the customary black G.U.N. vest and matching black cargo pants, the huntress was on the prowl.

With a practiced stealth and grace that few had, Rouge slithered and darted in and out of the shadows easily. There had been a disturbance within Westopolis and G.U.N. had sent out their best today. Ha, no crap Sherlock! Of course there had been a 'disturbance'! It looked as if this city was frying under the flames of a fry pan!

Rouge slowed to a halt as her sensitive ears caught the telltale sounds of a scuffle ahead. She quickly darted forward and hid behind after building. The huntress slowly lowered her hand until it fingered the walk-talkie holstered to her leg. She quickly turned it off; a tweak of static giving away her position was another hindrance she wanted to avoid.

Judging from the sounds ahead, whatever was going on couldn't be more than one hundred feet away. Rouge cringed as she heard a bloodcurdling cry of a man up ahead. The pallid bat frowned, just wondering what kind a pain a person could be in to make such noise.

"Agh…" she heard the first voice, the same one that had made such a terrible scream, "P-please…ha-ave me-ercy?"

"Mercy?" A cool, tenor replied.

Rouge paused, feeling that she had known that voice from somewhere. No, it just couldn't be…He was above this…He wouldn't have anything to do with this whole fiasco…He was her friend…Her trusted ally….Maybe even someone she cared for deeply…It couldn't be him…He wasn't a monster…

"Did your kind show mercy…at the death of my best friend!? When you humans murdered Maria! An innocent little girl!?"

Spring blue eyes widened, as Rouge confirmed who it was. Her eyes grew dark; no! She wouldn't believe it! Any of it! He wasn't responsible for this! He wasn't a monster! He was a hero! He had a heart of gold and he would fight to defend those he loved!

Rouge whipped her head around to see the scene for herself, and of course afterwards she wished she hadn't. There stood the tall black and crimson hedgehog she knew. Although his back was to her, she could see that he was holding a bleeding, trembling G.U.N. officer by the scuff of his vest.

Batgirl had seen Shadow's anger and fury before, but the expression upon Shadow's face was the cruelest she had seen. Although Shadow was smiling, with the way his incisors glinted, it seemed more like he was sneering.

"What, done talking so soon human?" the black and red hedgehog struck the human to the face with a vicious kick.

It took everything Rouge had to not cry out. She watched as blood began to gush from the G.U.N. officer's nose. He whimpered as Shadow laughed. Rouge froze in horror as her eyes widened; Shadow had laughed! He had enjoyed inflicting pain!

'…No…this can't be true…' Rouge to herself in horror, 'This isn't happening…I wasn't called here to stop Shadow…THIS ISN'T TRUE!!'

The human cursed before his demeanor took a complete one-eighty, "Why…you…demon…you hellbent…freak…you'll never…get away with this…"

"Really?" Shadow smiled darkly, "And who can stop me!?"

Then the human said the thing that cost him his life, "…Heh…I bet when your friend was killed…that bitch screamed out in pain…and cried…I hope…she suffered…"

Rouge knew it was game over from the expression on Shadow's face. If possible his expression grew darker, and more venomous. Shadow didn't even allow anymore oxygen to enter the lungs of the human before he threw him to the ground and crushed his cranium in like an empty soda can.

The albino bat quickly hid behind the building again, as nausea and fear consumed her. Rouge covered her mouth to do the best to prevent herself from heaving up her breakfast; did Shadow really just…kill someone? So cold-bloodedly? Was he the reason for the disturbance? Was he the one responsible for these flames, eating away the city?

'Shadow…what…what has happened to you? What has become of you? This isn't the Shadow I know…'

Rouge froze as she felt a presence appear right behind her. For some reason, Rouge didn't have to turn around to know who was standing right behind her. Within that hot second, her insides turned to mush, and all determination and strength evaporated from her, leaving her a shivering, trembling being.

Fear made her heart beat against her chest wildly and she even felt her previous nausea returning tenfold. Behind her, he stood no more than five feet from her.

"…Rouge…"

--

"No!!"

The white bat jumped up from her sleep. She quickly wiped the sweat off of her face as she tried to level her frantic breathing and her racing heart. She was trapped here, somewhere…with Shadow…How dare that stupid black hedgehog think he could come anywhere within twenty miles of her! He was a freak and could not be trusted as far as he could be thrown.

Ever since his bout with those ugly dark arms aliens, Shadow, in her opinion, had been a loose canon. He was power-hungry, vengeful and just ultimately unsafe to be around. Wherever he went, trouble was only a step behind.

After those years, Rouge had tried to avoid him indefatigably; she cut off seeing him completely, wherever she happened to see him anywhere in Station Square, she purposefully turned and went another direction and she even changed her cell phone user. Shadow wasn't ignorant or stupid; he knew she was avoiding him like the devil. And it was only bothersome because he truly…

A light wrap on the door signaled a new presence, blue eyes shot open, "Batgirl?"

"Go away," she deadpanned, "And it's Rouge to you."

With little hesitation the door opened. In came Shadow and Rouge backed away from him, hiking the covers nearly to her chest. She scowled at him as he approached her. "Don't come any closer to me," she growled, "I'm warning you."

But he did, Shadow only stopped until he was good and ready to. Rouge was glaring at him balefully. Shadow stopped before her and took a knee. His claret eyes were surprisingly peaceful, "How are you feeling?"

Rouge didn't bother with a reply, unless a cold glare counted. Shadow ignored her artic stare and slowly reached for the bowl he had brought inside. It was filled with warm, near hot water. He glanced at her face for a second before he spoke, "…Those burns on your face won't leave permanent marks. I will help them heal properly."

"You don't soak burns with water, smart guy." Rouge replied venomously.

"True. And that's why I brought this water for your cuts and bruises."

The albino bat cursed under her breath; just when she thought she was going to get one up over Shadow, he proves her wrong. That was another thing about the black hedgehog that irritated her; he was always right, even if he was truly mistaken.

She came to when she realized Shadow was slowly drawing the steaming towel closer to her face. However before the cloth reached her face, Shadow's hand did. Rouge gasped as she felt Shadow's large hand carefully caress her face.

A pink smudge of blush grew on her face. Wait, just what in the heck was he doing!? Was this really Shadow the Hedgehog here? The monstrous devil who played with power like fire? And who lusted after blood drunkenly? Last time she checked he was as cold as ice and stone.

This black hedgehog in front of her, who was delicately caring for her wounds wasn't the same demonic entity she was thinking of. Rouge decided to further analyze this demon and she found herself caught on his striking eyes.

There seemed to be no color of red that could compare with those of his eyes; bright yet deep, and ever vigilant. As Shadow finished his task in cleaning one of Rouge's arms, he went lower and began to gently clean the wounded flesh on her thigh. He didn't even have to raise her long dress any; after the damage it had been through, her conservative, long dress now had a slit that ran up the side of her leg like a Japanese dress.

Rouge froze as her face burst out into a full-on crimson blush. Okay, so here's where Shadow went wrong: first he had touched her thigh, second, he had done it without any indication he was going to do so, and third, well, remember, Rouge was uber pissed at him. Despite the odd effect his touch was having upon her, she was still furious at the same time.

The next action was reflex at her personal boundary being invaded; Rouge slapped his hand away and smacked him right across the face; just hard enough to turn his head. Rouge blinked as her eyes widened in surprise; she hadn't meant to slap him! It was just reflexes!

Shadow seemed to get her message and for a second he turned to glare at her with a fierce scowl, one that made Rouge cringe, but then his face settled into an impassive-anger. He slowly rose to tower over her ominously. Although his face was a blank mask, Rouge somehow knew that he was seething…and hurt?

"…I see." He said monotonously, somehow despite his cool tone, Rouge got the idea that he was fighting the idea of choking the life out of her, "I am only a hindrance to you. I won't be attending you anymore."

His eyes glittered darkly before he turned out and stormed out of the room. At that moment Rouge felt as if she had been gazing into the eyes of a furious mountain lion. Whatever was simmering behind those red orbs of his, it was feral.

'…Shadow, just who are you?' Rouge questioned herself, 'What have you become?'

-To be Continued!