Chapter 2: Fangirls with Pets
Eggman clenched a bottle of liquorice soda while glaring at the building in front of him. "The Square Arms Hotel of Station Square…you are a worthy nemesis."
"It's a building, doctor. Let's pretend we're her friends and they'll let us in," Shadow bumbled in the background.
"Bah! These elaborate plans of yours are bound to fail. Back in Eggtropolis, we'd just fire the Egg Carrier's laser cannon."
"There is no 'we' in Eggtropolis. You are the only inhabitant and tourists get roboticised in their sleep."
The doctor opened his drink and guzzled it all down angrily. This time, Shadow had to endure his exaggerated glare. Eggman wiped his moustache clean and licked the remains off his thinly squeezed lips. The man bent down to hedgehog level, eyeing the companion.
"Who's the evil genius here?"
Shadow didn't flinch. He's had extensive staring competition practice with Maria. "You are. I'm the one with the Special High Intensity Training in spycraft, so I'll take this part."
Huffing about the black smart aleck, Eggman dropped the empty bottle and waltzed towards the entrance.
Square Arms was a run-of-the-mill franchise one would expect in every small city. Located in a newish building with a glossy green coat just outside the train station, it had all the furnishings and service a three-star establishment should maintain. Seven storeys towered above the old town, letting the more affluent soak in the view while the frugal patrons could feast their eyes upon a set of concrete bricks belonging to the adjacent block of flats, just a turn from the highway.
Once inside, Shadow noticed the reception desk had no staff. Someone left a hand-written note on the table surface: "Back in 15." Eggman wiggled his moustache in discontent, not just because he had lost the staring contest earlier.
"Your plan is unspeakably foolish. We have barely entered the building and there's already a delay!" the man grumbled between wiggles.
His companion let it slide like before. Old people were cranky at night, he believed. Both traits ran in the Robotnik family, indeed.
"The computer is on. Be on the lookout while I check reservation data," Shadow whispered as he snuck behind the work space. A few clicks and a random password hack later, he grinned by a third at the ease of success. "She's in room 409. Let's go."
He motioned for the doctor to follow, but Eggman wouldn't budge. Shadow had to turn around and confront the stubborn villain.
"You must plant a bomb in their monitor to destroy the evidence."
Shadow sighed, attention plummeting to his toes. The old man next to him was supposed to have an IQ of 300. Maybe the last zero was a typo?
"I think that would create evidence."
"Hmph. I lost half the respect I had for Bokkun," the doctor retorted.
Shadow didn't care; the lift was down to take them to Amy's room. As the doors slid aside, the two encountered a suspicious receptionist, who wouldn't let them into the cabin.
"May I help you?" she asked.
Shadow stepped in front of the doctor. "We're here to see Amy Rose. She's in room 409."
"Our staff were instructed not to allow entry to fangirls," the receptionist pointed out, looking at Eggman.
"Fangirls?" Shadow inquired.
"Or pets," she added, now motioning at the hedgehog.
Eggman pushed him behind. "Shadow isn't a pet; he's a highly biological weapon of mass destruction!"
The receptionist folded her arms. "If it soils the carpets, you bet it will be. None shall pass."
They were kicked out of the building with a smile. Neither of the two was happy, though. Eggman sat down on the kerb, wiggling his moustache violently.
"If only I had an Egg Carrier!"
Shadow joined him by the road. "Let's assume everything went according to plan."
"We can't because the street is still there, we're out and she still has the Chaos essence. I keep telling you: we need an Egg Carrier for this."
"No, I meant this plan: we cross the street, we enter the building, we steal the container. Part one is accomplished."
"You mean act one?"
"Yes, and I know how to enter the building," Shadow said, a distant street light devilishly reflecting off his face.
Eggman waved an arm in front of him to interrupt the light. "We had entered before they pushed us out. It's staying inside that's challenging."
"Do you have a credit card, doctor?"
The man's arm lowered, so the light could reflect off both their heads, especially Eggman's. "Ah! That is crafty. We use it to buy the hotel and fire everyone, who considers me a fangirl," the villain schemed, rubbing his palms in short-lived content. Shadow was not impressed, and it didn't take long for the doctor to reach a less expensive approach. "What? It's close to midnight. Evil genius is my day job."
Shadow ran back in as soon as he got the plastic slip, only to encounter a smug, contemptuous welcome: "Can I help you, pet?"
"I am not a pet," he said as he placed the card on the desk. "I am a guest, and he's paying for our stay," Shadow referred to the doctor.
"Will that be one room or two?"
"One…" Eggman replied. He then leaned towards a sour Shadow to whisper: "My credit rating isn't as high as it used to be."
She offered the scientist a magnetic key, but wouldn't let go when Eggman reached for it. "Pets must be on a leash at all times."
Shadow whined in the background. Even Eggman had enough idle non-world-conquering chatter for a month. "He's not a pet."
A stray headlight shone upon the receptionist while ignoring the rest of the room. "So he may have a separate room."
Eggman pulled a string with a collar out of his pocket and wrapped it around Shadow's neck. "No. Let's go, Shadsie. Here, boy."
Were it not for proof of pudding, Shadow would have sunken his ultimate teeth into one of the doctor's more prominent parts. In the meantime, the doctor helpfully called for the lift using the room key. The quicker they disposed of her company, the better. Eggman stepped into the shaft, causing a red diode to flash.
"You are weight-challenged and will take the stairs. Use your key to enter the designated floor," the receptionist explained. Before Shadow could interject, she added: "Pets must be accompanied by their masters at all time."
And so they went for the stairs. It was a tiring trip full of gripe, dynamic woe comparison and reflecting upon one's insecurities. In under ten minutes, the patrons were reduced to a gender-confused fangirl banned from using the lift and a life form dependent on said fangirl for food and shelter. Shadow's Ultimate Life Form factor went flaccid from the sheer notion.
As they were passing the fourth floor, Eggman tugged on Shadow's leash. "I have a plan, which, I swear on Maria's space grave, is both evil and genius."
Rather than irritated, Shadow looked up at him, hopeful. "Are you sure about that, doctor?"
"Indeed. Evil genius is the pinnacle of Eggman."
"No, I mean, is Maria in space?"
Eggman didn't listen; he held the locked floor entrance in his sights. The magnetic room key was prepared for insertion.
"Get a load of this!" Eggman exclaimed as he thrust the card into the slot.
Nothing.
He shoved it again.
Still nothing.
The doctor proceeded to batter and pull the door, sticking the card in every nook and cranny, expecting a different result from the action.
"You're not going to get away with this!" he yelled at the lock.
Shadow patted the man on the back. He's done his best and failed, so it was time to retreat. As the hotel had few vacancies due to a police fair in Station Square, they got a room on the sixth floor. Not as close as Shadow had wanted, but it was the best Eggman could afford.
A swipe of the key card first let them into their accommodation. Tucked away two floors above Amy, the duo was free to scheme to their hearts' content.
"Wuahahaha! We have passed act two! Not ten seconds like you promised, but the timing looks triple-A to me," Eggman cheered till a very important sign on the minibar caught his attention. "Ooo! Compliments of the chef!"
The doctor didn't take long to discover the hotel's more charitable side within a stock of snacks and liquorice soda.
"Are you sure they meant the whole minibar?" Shadow asked.
The doctor was indisposed, too busy acting as a drain pipe for delicious anise-flavoured drinks. Shadow approached the tiny fridge to save one for himself, but Eggman slapped his hand away and hissed hyperactively.
"Aren't you going to share those?"
"The first part of my occupation is evil," explained the doctor as he sat down right in front of the minibar, blocking the contents from view. "Find your own. Better yet, find me the Chaos essence!"
Still sour and now sodaless, Shadow picked up the stray compliments card. The hedgehog read it to himself: "Compliments of our star chef: flamingo-shaped ice cubes for your drinks." There was a price list below. Shadow noticed the mineral water in the room was more expensive than any equivalent the inn's service would bring. What was up with that?
Done studying the list, he got back to work. Since an inside job was impossible due to the presence of locked doors and the most militant receptionist in the history of receptionists, he'd take the covert operation outside. Shadow reached for the window, realising he was too short to grab the handle.
Eggman chuckled in the background. "It's no use. Give up! Should have taken the Egg Carrier option," he teased.
Once the window was open, Shadow jumped on the sill outside to study the environment. In the meantime, Eggman closed the window and waved gleefully before returning to his soda feast.
"No, wait, Egg…man."
He was stuck on a narrow edge, six storeys up in a hotel packed with police officers. There was only one thing left to do.
"Command, there were unforeseen complications."
