(One step into darkness, two steps into light.)

Chapter 2

It Begins Now

Shadow made no attempt to slow down as his new apprentice struggled to keep up. Of all the possible trainees he could have been paired with, he had to be given some wispy, inexperienced female. He actually felt a wave of anger at being degraded like that. Apparently she was smart. Great, he thought sarcastically. Like intelligence ever saved anyone.

"Wait!" She panted, the sound of her feet sending strange echoes along the hall. "Where are we going?"

He ignored her. Obviously she would know when they got there; why was she asking pointless questions? He strode along another corridor, doing his best to pretend she wasn't there; however she caught up to him, demanding his immediate attention.

"When do I get to start a mission?" Embers questioned, eyes widened in anticipation.

He sighed, passing a hand over his eyes. Damn it, why was this girl so irritating? "Maybe when you learn to be quiet," he answered tersely.

She looked like she had been struck, instantly dropping back while clamping her mouth tightly shut. Good, maybe that will stop her endless talking.

Shadow continued down the hallway, leading her through another corridor until their path branched off in two separate directions. He went right. Twisting and turning left, then right, then right once more before trotting up another set of stairs. Then he led her through a door to their right. After taking another left, Shadow was certain his apprentice had already forgotten what directions they had gone; explaining why she was practically treading on his heels. He frowned, wishing she wouldn't linger so close to him. What was her name anyway, he mused after glancing in her direction. Regardless of his curiosity, he remained stonily silent, eyes trained on the route in front of them.

Only after he had guided her through the enigma of directions did he finally halt in front of a large metal-plated door. "This," the hedgehog explained after seeing his apprentice's bewildered expression. "is a meeting room where very few are permitted inside. Don't say anything and try not to get in the way." Without a sound, the door swung open the moment he placed his hand on the scanner.

Inside, the room was painted chrome-black, and illuminated only by the lime-colored lasers that crisscrossed within the tiles and up the walls. Monitors lined the back of the room, flashing images of people, places, the news and many other data-related material; and in the room's center stood a holographic table, currently suspending a three-dimensional map about six inches above its surface.

Leaving the trainee to gape stupidly at the sights, Shadow casually transversed the distance between the door and the figure standing below the monitors. "I hope you found something. Those damn idiots upstairs are completely useless."

Rouge gave an understanding nod. "Well, you can't expect much. They always want to believe the Nation's in peace. It will take a bomb exploding under their noses before they actually get the guts to do something." She dropped a hand to her hips, wings beating slightly with her obvious frustration. When she turned to look at him, she suddenly stopped; whirling instead to face Embers as the trainee confidently approached. "Who's this?"

Scowling, Shadow didn't even bother concealing his annoyance. "My apprentice." "Apprentice!?" Rouge glanced back and forth between the two as if looking for an acknowledgement. She didn't receive any. "I gotta say, she's got a good look to her, but I'm surprised you didn't go for a male instead."

Odd as it was, he was mildly pleased to see Embers bristle at Rouge's statement. The comment on her looks was probably brought up due to the semblance in the way both women dressed. However Embers definitely had a tougher demeanor. Although Embers wore a scarlet top that left her stomach exposed, unlike Rouge's similar shirt, Embers' had straps and it covered all of her chest. They both wore tight jeans and knee-length boots, but where Rouge's were shimmering black and sporting three-inch heels, Embers were tawny brown, open down the front as well as laced with gold laces, and had heels like hiking boots. It was true, if he was forced to train an apprentice, he would have preferred training a male, but he was willing to admit that he was grateful Embers didn't act like Rouge.

Rouge broke the silence with an introduction. "I'm Rouge the bat." She extended a hand, waiting for the trainee to accept it.

Embers eyed Rouge's painted nails with a perplexed look, but she gave her hand in return. "I'm Ashley Embers. It's nice to meet you."

Shadow sighed. Ashley, really? Could there be a name that was any girlier? He had liked not knowing it, much better.

"Well Ashley, since you're Shadow's apprentice now, I guess you'll be involved in our investigation. We're the real brains behind this agency." Then she turned back to Shadow. "As for your answer, take a look at this." Rouge waved a manicured hand towards an image on the screen and Shadow had to curb the surprise that threatened to break through his passive demeanor. "What the hell is that?"

Behind them, Ashley gave an audible gasp.

"I have no idea. It was spotted on the outskirts of a minor city. There's been other sightings, but this is the only picture we have. Of course, it's hard to see, but I've done my best to touch it up. And if it actually does look like this, and it's not just distorted by the bad quality..." she broke off with a shudder.

The creature, stooped and doubled over, sported a body nearly like a hybrid of a lizard and a panther, but not quite. It's flesh was onyx and glossy, but shed violet flames and wicked claws glimmered at the end of each gnarled paw. The picture made it appear as if this creature had a tail bristling with spikes, but he wasn't certain. As for the face, all that could be seen that wasn't obscured by the flames, was daggered fangs and a pair of unearthly, orange-glowing eyes. It was enough to make his quills stand on end.

"That," stated Rouge with a slight quiver in her voice. "Is your next mission." "What!?" Ashley's cry was clearly one of horror, not excitement. What had happened to that 'This'll-be-great!' mentality?

But seeing how the creature disturbed all of them, Shadow refrained from saying the cutting retort he would have otherwise shot at the girl. Instead, he demanded crossly, "And what exactly is this mission?"

Rouge gave him a skeptical look as if he questioning his sanity. "Well find it of course. Find it, hunt it, and follow it. We need to know exactly what it is, and what it's doing. Surely that shouldn't be too hard for you."

He rolled his eyes at her mockery. Great, after not having been in the field for six month, his assignment was monster tracking. Rouge was either loosing it, or they were all becoming increasingly desperate. "Fine," he shrugged, turning to watch as Ashley stared petrified at the screen. Unfathomably irritated that she wasn't paying attention, Shadow smashed his fist into the red button; the monitor instantly flickering to black. She blinked as if awakening from a trance. "Pay attention. If you're going to accompany me, you better know what you're doing. Cause I sure as hell don't need someone screwing things up."

Apparently, Ashley knew better than to respond.

Rouge coughed. "I've left a debriefing package at your office, in case you're interested. Let me know if you decide to head out." Then she rolled her shoulders, one hand rubbing at her forehead. "They're not paying us nearly enough for this. I should just go on a vacation sometime, get back into treasure hunting. Maybe I can give that echidna a piece of my mind."

Shadow ignored her as he made his way back to the door; yet on the other hand, his apprentice seemed eager to ask questions. What's with this girl? It was getting far too annoying. "We're leaving." He didn't give a damn that Rouge glared at him in disgust. He was sick of this. He'd been stuck in that place far too long. The sooner he got out of the agency and back onto the field, the better.

Hurrying after him, Ashley had to shove the door open before it slammed in her face. "Wait!" she pleaded yet again, making his mood worsen immediately. "How am I suppose to know about this mission if no one explains?"

Shadow whirled so suddenly, she collided with him. "The less you know, the better," the hedgehog spat. There was no feeling of remorse to see her face drop in shock. "You're dismissed. Meet me in the lobby eight o'clock sharp tomorrow. Don't make me wait."

Only after the girl had trotted away, brows furrowed to match her injured expression, did Shadow finally release the sigh he didn't realize he was holding back. He hadn't wanted an apprentice, no matter what the corporal thought, and he certainly didn't want the irritant he had gotten stuck with.

Feeling his emotions boil in fury, the hedgehog balled his fist, fighting against the urge to break the wall next to him. Damn it! What was he suppose to say? He couldn't have said no; not when G.U.N. was already suspicious of what they were doing. If he let any of those good-for-nothing agents into their investigation, nothing would be accomplished. So in turn, he had been landed in this horrible predicament.

He had been completely unaware of the fact that he had been walking, until he found himself standing outside the door to his office. (If you could call his dorm an office.) Shaking his head, Shadow scanned his hand before heading inside, the moment the light ticked green. Something was amiss. Rouge knew it as much as he did. Creatures like that freak Rouge had discovered, didn't just "show up" in occupied cities; whether they were big cities or not. There was always a reason. He couldn't forget that the last time something like this had happened, the world had been at the nonexistent-mercy of Black Doom and his damn aliens. Whatever was happening currently, he was ready to bet his own life that it would turn out to be yet another horror.

Giving a sigh, Shadow snatched Rouge's file off the desk, flipping it open with begrudged interest. But as soon as he started reading through it, he felt a wealth of sudden shock. Within moments he was typing a hasty message to his only true ally.

As soon as the response came back, Shadow lunged for his pistol before bolting out the door, leaving the computer screen flashing behind him.

"REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGED. WARNING: CONFIMED DANGER. WILL ASSIST IMMEDIATELY."

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