Hey everyone! This took a little longer than expected. I had this ready to go, until I read it through and realised that a lot of big events happen too quickly, which is a bad habit of mine. As a result, I rewrote the entire thing. Some events still happen, but not as before so that I can work with them in future chapters.
The idea now is that from this point on, things will get a lot darker, hence the M rating to begin with. Feel free to keep reading, but you have been warned. :)
Anyway, enough rambling. I hope you enjoy the chapter and I will see you again soon!
Arby xx
The night felt endless. Stars twinkled gracefully from above while many dreamt the darkness away. Charmy and Shadow were sound asleep, but Espio lay awake as his mind flooded with thoughts. The chameleon knew he was tired, but he couldn't help but wonder if Vector was hurt or worse.
"Ugh! There's no point to this." He whispered, knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep. He quietly got up and put on his shoes and gloves then equipped any weaponry he had, which was only a few shuriken stars and kunai. The others were not woken up as Espio crept out of the house and back out into the city.
Despite the outskirts being as silent as the ninja himself, life in the more built-up areas never stopped. Casinos ran on 24 hours a day, while clubs and bars housed the drunkards until the early hours of the morning when they would stumble home or die trying. Espio decided it would be best to stay out of the way of as many people as possible, so he remained invisible for the entire journey.
One club in particular, Chaos till Dawn, seemed to attract at least a thousand people per night and double on the weekends and holidays. Espio went there first, figuring that it was the kind of place where a thief bat would go. No such luck was with him tonight. Instead of returning home and getting well-rested, Espio decided to see if getting drunk really made all your problems go away, even if it was temporary. He was so sick and tired of worrying constantly that even a few hours break seemed like a haven.
The music was loud, especially near the large dance floor where the majority of people seemed to be. The ninja knew he hated places like this and questioned why he was here. He then caught sight of an empty seat at the end of the bar and decided that it was more welcoming than anywhere else. Once comfortable with his head resting on one hand, the barman came up to him and asked him what he wanted. Unfortunately, Espio's knowledge of drinks was non-existent and he struggled to answer.
"Uh… whatever you recommend, I guess." He was forced to yell over the music, but at least the constantly flashing strobe lights didn't reach this far back, so it was dimly lit by the lights behind the bar which Espio seemed to be content with. The barman returned with what looked like the usual can of beer. Espio didn't complain and handed over some money before opening the can and taking one long gulp. He cringed at the bitterness, but soon the pleasing taste of fruit began dancing on his tongue.
"This isn't half bad." He drank more and with each mouthful, the bitter taste seemed to die down. Once his can was empty, he studied himself to see if it had any effect. His vision was fine and Vector still entered his thoughts. A deep sigh escaped him as he checked his wallet. 20 bucks seemed to glow at him and he asked the barman to get him another.
An unknown amount of time had passed, but the club was suddenly a lot quieter. The majority of people had left with only a few still dancing and others still drinking, including Espio. Every song sounded amazing and he couldn't help but sing along, not caring that he was horribly out of key and every word he sang was slurred.
"Of all the people I'd expect to see here, you are at the bottom of the list."
Espio turned when a familiar female voice spoke to him. Despite his vision being a little blurred, the figure standing before him was as obvious as the fact that he was drunk.
"Whadda you want?" He slurred with an attempt at a glare. She chuckled before beginning to mock the vulnerable chameleon.
"Aww, are you missing your friend?" She laughed right in his face. She was now beginning to grate on him and his voice showed it.
"What… did you say?" He growled clearer than before. His glare became more focused, yet the bat was still unaffected.
"Get over it, ninja boy. I know where he is and he doesn't care about you."
"Pfft, yeah, sure." His sarcasm caused the bat to grin evilly. He turned away and calmly left the bar. His feet stumbled most of the way home, but the chameleon was certain that he was alone until he was on the same road as Shadow's house. Rouge landed right in front of him which nearly caused him to fall over, but a nearby wall provided him with the necessary support.
"I knew you wouldn't believe me, so I went back to Vector and he gave me this as proof." Espio froze when Rouge pulled out from behind her, Vector's chain. Both his mind and his voice box wouldn't work and he just stood there staring helplessly. Rouge's evil smirk returned knowing that she had finally gotten into the ninja's head. "Like I said before, he doesn't care about you. Just give up your search and go home."
"He wouldn't… he's my best friend. You take that back right now." His voice was stern and serious, but had no effect.
"Think about it, you're only around to earn him money, Charmy also. Why'd you think he just willingly gave me his chain? He could just buy a new one with all that cash and you don't get anything." She laughed some more, the empty streets made it seem so much louder.
A blinding fury seemed to boil within the chameleon; it was something he had never felt before, but it made him feel immune to the world and he was going to use it to his advantage. With almost no effort, he pinned the unsuspecting bat to the wall with one hand. She panicked at first, but then began to kick him in the stomach expecting him to fall to his knees and let her go. No such luck was with her tonight. The vast amount of alcohol he had consumed earlier combined with his anger numbed any pain Rouge thought she was causing.
"You're… stronger than I thought you were."
"Never underestimate a ninja." He responded. Her face went pale when Espio used his one free hand to pull out a kunai. Her eyes widened and she tried to think of some way to stop him.
"You would never end a life. You don't have it in you." She stated, hoping to remind Espio of his morals.
"You know, you're right. I wouldn't normally just end a life so brutally like this…" She breathed a short sigh until he spoke again. "…when I'm sober. Unfortunately for you, that is not the case." She panicked again and squirmed within his grasp but to no avail.
"Espio, wait! Plea-"
"That should silence you." He remarked as he plunged his kunai into her throat. A sadistic grin appearing on him as she slowly sank to the ground wheezing horrifically. He listened to her struggle until the inevitable. Once she was still, he put the kunai back into his wrist couplet and began to make his way back to Shadow's whilst singing at the top of his lungs and tripping over occasionally.
The sun returned, bringing with it another day of blistering heat. Many were already awake doing whatever they needed to, whether it was grocery shopping or lounging on the beach. Others were still in bed trying to sleep off the effects from the night before. Espio gradually awoke with the sun's rays keeping him blissfully warm. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to appreciate it thanks to his blinding hangover.
The chameleon looked around his room to see Shadow sat in a chair next to his bed with a mocking grin on his face. A groan left his throat knowing that he was not going to live this one down.
"So…" Shadow began. "…How was your night?" The hedgehog wasn't physically laughing, but Espio knew he was on the inside.
"Shut up, Shadow." His headache was aggravating him more than Shadow's words, but it still didn't help.
"Oh, come on, don't be like that. What happened last night?" He was leaning forward hoping Espio would spill the beans.
"Everything is such a blur… I don't remember anything."
"Oh if I had a nickel…" Shadow thought. "Well, it seemed eventful. Charmy and I found you passed out in a bush outside. Your loud drunken singing woke us both up." Espio covered his face out of embarrassment. He then noticed his glove was blood-stained.
"I must've cut myself on a branch or something."
"Typical drunk." Shadow chuckled as he received an irritated glare from the reptile. "I'll get you a bandage. Don't do another runner." The hedgehog got a faint grunt in return as he went downstairs. A knock at the door caught his attention and he decided that it was best to answer it first. The door was opened to reveal two police officers stood in front of him. He raised a brow, but said nothing.
"Morning, Shadow." One officer began. Shadow was never a fan of the cops, whether he was a G.U.N. agent or not and always kept his guard up whenever they were around. "Is Espio the Chameleon here with you?" The hedgehog thought about his answer and thought it best to figure out why they were here before he said anything valuable.
"No, he's not. Why?" He said dryly. The other officer answered.
"You haven't heard? Your friend Rouge was killed last night and Espio is suspected of being the murderer."
"W-what?!" Shadow stuttered. The words repeated themselves in his head, he simply couldn't believe it.
"We're sorry, Shadow, but if you see him then let us know immediately. You have a good day now." Both officers went back to their car and drove off. The hedgehog slowly closed the door and took a minute to gather his thoughts.
"Espio? A killer?" The sentence alone seemed weird in his head. The chameleon was strong, that much was obvious, but he would never think of him ending a life. Shadow wanted answers and he was going to get them, headache or not. He returned to Espio's room to see his hands on his face, shielding him from the sunlight. Shadow slammed the door behind him, scaring the ninja half to death, but then clutching his head afterwards because of his headache.
"Did you have to do that?" He groaned.
"You owe me an explanation." The hedgehog growled. Espio turned to see a very angry-looking Shadow.
"What did I do?" The ninja asked.
"You tell me. What do you remember from last night?" He wasn't yelling, but he looked as if he was ready to punch him there and then. Espio thought back to the night before to take his mind off of Shadow's intimidating stare.
"I… remember someone else laughing. I remember being in a bar and singing a lot."
"Keep going." Shadow demanded and Espio obeyed.
"Uh… someone began talking to me and I remember tripping over a few times on the way home." Espio really thought hard. Shadow could see he was trying and therefore kept quiet. "I'm sorry, Shadow. I just can't remember."
"Here's a hint. Did you see Rouge at all last night?" His voice maintained the same growl. Rouge's name sparked his memory and the night began to unfold in his head.
"Yes! She was the one who came up and talked to me. She was talking about Vector and how he didn't care and that really got to me. So, I left the bar to try and avoid any conflict, but she followed me only this time, she had Vector's chain and began taunting me some more. I remember this rage coming out of nowhere and…" He stopped. Unable to speak as the end of the night replayed itself over and over again. He could see Shadow still glaring at him out of the corner of his eye.
"You're a pretty violent drunk, you know that?" Shadow remarked.
"I'm aware…" Espio's voice trembled as did his body. He couldn't believe himself. The thought alone made his stomach churn and one more glance at his glove forced him to run to the bathroom to throw up, realising the blood wasn't his. Shadow followed to make sure he was alright. Rubbing his back seemed to calm the chameleon, who now had tears streaming down his face.
"What the fuck happened?" Shadow asked quietly, just in case Charmy had woken up.
"She kept saying that Vector didn't give a damn about me or Charmy and that we should just give up. Whenever she laughed it seemed to just… piss me off like nothing else ever has and I just used all of that anger to shut her up."
"Yeah, permanently." Shadow stated.
"How did you even know about this?" Espio asked. Shadow then explained that the police were now after him. The chameleon began to shake again, clearly in a panic. "Oh my Chaos! I'm going to prison! Charmy is going to have no one with Vector still missing and Rouge even knew where he was! Crap! I'm such an idiot!" Espio began hitting his head against the wall until Shadow placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him out of it.
"Would you take it easy? You don't have to go to prison."
"Then, what's the other option?" Shadow paused and stared straight into Espio's bloodshot eyes.
"We run." The ninja's bottom jaw dropped.
"I can't just run from the law! I killed someone Shadow, an innocent and I deserve to pay for what I did!"
"What if she wasn't innocent?" Shadow said, despite it being a long shot.
"How's that now?" The chameleon questioned.
"She's a thief, remember? For all we know, there could be bodies in her basement, including Vector's. She could've killed him and lied to you about it." Espio thought for a moment, he hoped that Shadow's words weren't true, but nothing was certain anymore.
"It's a possibility, I guess… not a nice one though." Shadow nodded in agreement.
"So, what do you say? We get out of here and find the truth without the cops on our back? Or you turn yourself in and rot in a cell whilst having no idea of how or where Vector is?" The ninja allowed himself to breathe deeply for a few seconds to gather some sort of thought.
"We run."
