Chapter 3
Work Colleagues
In the corner of the dark laboratory, tiny wires, snapped by some kind of falling debris, flashed violently with electricity and uncovered the a giant egg like man trapped under a girder. His head had dropped, nearly lifeless except for his heavy breathing. As he came to he stretched his head outward and panicked upon realising he was trapped. He looked down at the girder on his legs and felt the extreme pain that had been delayed in his state of unconsciousness. "Damn it" He panted, gritting his teeth to endure the pain. He hoisted his right arm up onto the debris and typed something in on the keypad on his arm; the machine fizzed uselessly and then died. "Damn it!" He repeated, louder and more pain stricken. His heart was beating fast and in an odd manner and to make it worse his chest was thumping with it. He wiped the growing sweat from his brow and attempted to sit back and wait for rescue. Deep down inside he considered how ironic it was that the people he wanted to rescue him were the very people he'd been trying to kill for the past few years. It was only a few months ago that he had Sonic right in his grasps, only to lose him at the last moment.
The pains he felt grew worse, almost unbearable, to a point where he was writhing in pain beneath the wreckage of the laboratory. He arched forwards, the beating in his chest growing more powerful. His chest was tore apart by a small worm creature, spraying sinew, flesh and blood across the dark lab as Eggman's screams died into the night.
Sonic stumbled into Tails' workshop still wounded from Shadow's punch. Tails glanced at him briefly while fishing through his drawers for his x ray. "What did Rouge keep you back for?" He asked casually as Sonic collapsed on a chair.
"Nothing important" Sonic groaned back "Just wanted me to ask Shadow if he'd visit her"
"Judging by your injury, I guess it didn't go so well" Tails replied, shutting the drawer he'd been searching through and opening another. Sonic let loose a further groan to confirm Tails' suspicions. "He'll come round to the idea, I'm sure" Tails smiled, pulling a small device from the drawer. It was about the size of a handgun and near enough the same shape, with a big screen facing tails just above the handle with a touch screen keypad. "Still works" Tails said, surprised "It's a little dusty and takes a couple of presses on the screen to function properly. But hey, it's something" Sonic didn't appreciate any of these words and simply tried to massage his bruising stomach. "If there's anything that can show what's inside Rouge and identify it, it's this. I'll go start up the Tornado" Tails marched out of the workshop towards his plane, beckoning Sonic to follow. The blue hedgehog rolled off the chair and stood up, stretching. Through squinted, yawning eyes he spotted a mechanical hand reach up and grab the side of the cliff and lift itself upwards. It looked like any other Eggman minion but was battle worn with circuits exposed and paint work so scratched it had returned to its original silver-ish body colour. It crawled along the ground towards the blissfully unaware Tails. Sonic dashed over quickly and stomped on its outreaching hand. "Not so fast" He smirked, ignoring his gut pain to appear macho.
"S-S-Sonic hedgehog" It buzzed back, scanning him with its glass eyes. Sonic changed from looking heroic to mildly confused as Tails span around to observe the crumbling excuse for a machine. "Message" It croaked. It repeated this a couple of times before collapsing. Tails observed the robot closely; there were two holes punched straight through its chest. A tiny CD popped out of the top of its head and was caught by Sonic. He span it around and observed it in the sunlight, bouncing the rays into Tails' eyes. "Doesn't look sabotaged" He said "Maybe it's a genuine message?" Tails shrugged and inserted the disc into his CD player within the Tornado (Underneath the plane's controls Tails had installed a manner of useful devices. As well as a video phone, disc reader and translator it also came equipped with a refrigerator for keeping Knuckles' stock of grapes freezing cold and a device to spray ketchup and mustard in Sonic's favourite ratio). The little screen flashed then showed a darkly lit room where Eggman was standing over a tiny metal box.
"Witness this, Sonic!" Eggman began grandly "I, Dr Eggman, have managed to create a device that is so devastating the whole world will be at their knees to me! This machine is so diabolical that-" Eggman was cut off by a loud whooshing noise and a crashing of metal through the roof, spraying debris everywhere and shutting off the camera. "Hm" Tails pondered, throwing the disc into the ocean below "He's finally lost it alright"
"What was that at the end?" Sonic said, on edge.
"No idea. Looked like a huge chunk of metal. Whatever it was, we've got no time to check it out" Tails replied, hopping into the seat of the plane. Sonic went to lie down on the back of the plane but clenched his gut in pain and slid into the back seat instead.
Eyes opening slowly, Shadow awoke. He didn't observe his surroundings; he knew that if he was waking up, he was directly outside the jungle GUN safe, lying back in his favourite spot. He stretched his neck and looked over to Omega, but the robot was missing. Shadow grew more alert and took an offensive stance. He then looked back at Omega's 'spot'; there was a small GUN teleportation device lying on the floor. "Figures" Shadow muttered to himself. Omega had obviously gone to visit Rouge. Despite not having emotions, Omega was very caring of Rouge, though perhaps it was merely a mistress and minion relationship. Shadow didn't pay much attention to either of them when they had worked together and even less so now that he had a full time job guarding the safe. He considered what Sonic had said to him and sighed. Partially he knew that Sonic was right. Shadow was extremely protective of Rouge and had seen her as a little sister like figure, but since she had lead them into Eggman's trap three months earlier Shadow had felt failure for the first time in his life since leaving Maria, a pain that came upon him bitterly. He had even managed to convince GUN to drop Rouge as an agent in case she compromised him again. He approached the small teleportation device (A round, chrome looking thing with flashing red lights that fit easily into Shadow's palm perfectly) and clutched it, holding his fist shut for a few seconds then vanishing with a bright flash of light.
In a dingy basement beneath the Station Square hospital, Shadow reappeared, landing on one knee and lifting himself up. A secretary dressed in GUN military uniform sat pouting and twiddling a pen between her fingers. Shadow ignored her and marched up the stairs into the hospital building, approaching a nurse who was busily fluttering between rooms. "Excuse me" He grunted "I was wondering if you could guide me to a patient named Rouge?" The nurse blinked a few times then smiled politely. "She's a very popular patient today. I assume you're friends with her?" The nurse asked.
"We're..." Shadow stumbled for an excuse "...Old work colleagues"
"I see. Well, she's just down this corridor here" She pointed to one of the many similar corridors to her left and walked speedily down a different one before Shadow could ask which room it was. He grunted and laboured over to the corridor, checking the doors either side. He pressed his ears to each door, attempting to listen for Rouge's breathy tone or Omega's robotic ramblings. He eventually heard a loud "I apologise, Rouge" from a room mid-way down the corridor and knocked. "Come in" Rouge said, sounding partially happy now she was talking to an old friend. Shadow walked in briskly and shut the door with his foot, lying back on it as he usually did with folded arms and keeping his foot pressed to the door. "Shadow?" Rouge gasped, partially joyous and partially worried. Shadow shot a dangerous look at Omega. "E-123, why did you leave your post?" Shadow commanded. He had refrained from naming him Omega because he didn't see him as anything but a machine. It had been Rouge who had taken to calling it him as his name; Shadow referred to him as E-123 at all times since parting ways with her. "Forgive me, Shadow. I felt compelled to visit Ms Rouge as soon as possible after the information we received from Sonic" Omega buzzed back. Shadow turned his head dramatically, sighed, then muttered "Carry on your conversation"
"It's quite funny, actually" Rouge laughed "He was apologising for your absence before you came in. What are you doing here?" Shadow remained silent. "Fine, I guess, as long as you're here" She broke of most of her sentence by clenching her fangs through the pain. Omega attempted to restrain her slightly to prevent her wings stretching and breaking any equipment. "I mean no offence, Ms Rouge, but may you please sit still?" Omega asked.
"Sure" She laughed through the pain "I'll try. Don't you have an x ray scanner in those goggles of yours, Omega?" The robot shook his tiny head.
"Negative. GUN removed all unnecessary and malicious Eggman accessories from me upon my initiation"
"Something I should remember, right?" She smiled. She looked over to Shadow, who was still looking away. "Would it be useless to try and apologise?" She asked him.
"Yes" He replied quickly. Rouge's ears drooped, and then suddenly pricked up again. "Omega, call the doctor up here!" She wailed, beginning to writhe in her bed "I'm gonna puke this shit up" Omega scrambled for the door, Shadow moving swiftly aside, but stopped as he heard Rouge's moans and fidgeting cease.
"Miss?" Omega enquired "Are you ok? Do you still want the doctor?" Rouge's eyes rolled to the back of her head and her chest was propelled to the air, a small worm creature appearing through all the flesh and scraps of clothing. "Rouge!" Shadow shouted leaping towards her. Omega's metallic hand quickly changed into a machine gun and he spat bullets out at the worm that had taken to crawling around the room. The worm creature escaped through a tiny vent in the corner of the room. "Rouge..." Shadow repeated affectionately, peering into the bat's dead eyes. The same nurse that had directed Shadow to the room rushed inwards. "What is the meaning of all this noise-" She began, soon seeing Rouge's carcass lying on the bed. "Oh God!" She screamed, running out of the room and wailing down the corridors.