Hello everyone. Sorry for the lateness of this update but Christmas combined with an upcoming university project meant that I was unable to get in front of the computer for any real length of time. Anywho, I hope you enjoy this latest chapter and don't forget to review as it speeds up the process exponentially. Also, I would direct you all to The Conflicted Wrtier's story Metal Overdrive if you like this story. Not only is it very well written but also, more voice actors are still required for his audio adaptation of it, so go check it out, after reviewing this chapter first of course :)
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Disclaimer: Sonic and all official characters are copyrighted by Sega and Sonic Team
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Chapter 9: Drive
Welcome to the luxurious Club Rouge, the most up and coming trendy nightclub this side of the Blue Ridge Zone. With a vibrant atmosphere and a selection of drinks for even the most fickle connoisseur, you'll be sure to find something to suit your tastes. We also have some of the best bar-staff in the city who will be happy to make your life a little better. And, if your not in the mood for a lively club scene, why not purchase a temporary pass to lounge in our back room with a glass of wine or a good book.
"And, if you manage to avoid the security guards and make your way to the lower levels of the building you'll find that the proprietress is currently hiding a black hedgehog with genocidal tendencies and one of Doctor Eggman's most advanced death mechs in the basement, of which we are very proud."
Shadow smiled and put down the pen from writing his little addendum to Rouge's latest promotional flyer. With a grunt at his stiff muscles, the hedgehog stood up from his spot on the couch and walked into Rouge's bedroom. Carefully, he placed his modified flyer on her pillow and, with a quick backwards glance pocketed her car keys from her dresser. Then Shadow walked across the flat and over to the staircase. He was frankly surprised that Rouge was able to fit her sizable amount of possessions into the an area with the floor space of Club Rouge but he also figured that, Rouge being Rouge, she had more likely than not greased a few palms when the basement was being built to allow for her to expand beyond the building's limits.
When he reached the staircase, instead of ascending towards the club itself, Shadow descended into the lower bowels of the building. Before too long, a steel door blocked his way, but Shadow was well aware of the password. He tapped the letters T.E.A.M.D.A.R.K into the keypad next to the door and continued downstairs.
Not long after defeating Metal Sonic aboard the Egg Fleet, Shadow and Omega had moved into Rouge's apartment. But before long, the monetary strain of having a second mouth to feed, along with all the mechanical parts that Omega continually went through meant that even with Rouge's considerable pay check from the government and the profit that Club Rouge was making, money was starting to become tight which in turn prompted Rouge to convince Shadow to try and find work. Which was harder than it looked. Unlike Rouge, Shadow had made no secret of the fact that he was conspiring with Doctor Eggman aboard the ARK, and Shadow could provide none of the documentation usually required for employment, given that he had no Social Security number, or even a birth certificate. There was only one real job avenue open for him, taking a job as a special operative of G.U.N. Shadow wasn't enamoured with the idea but with little alternative, he had joined the government. It was some consolation that he was partnered with Rouge for the majority of his missions and even more of a consolation that the head of G.U.N.'s special ops division had also recruited Omega and made the three into an elite team for high-profile missions. So, for now, working for G.U.N. wasn't so bad.
Shadow exited the stairs into Rouge's basement. There was little here, even the floor was no more than solid concrete. Shadow's air shoes made little clicking sounds as he crossed over to the new opening in the wall on the opposite side of the room. Omega had been busy extending the sub-basement to create a firing range for his own use. Until this point Omega had been using crudely erected targets in the yard behind Club Rouge at night for his practice sessions. But the sounds of machine gun fire had brought the police calling in the early hours of the morning one too many times for Rouge's liking and she had bought Omega some building supplies and told him to extend the basement instead of practicing in the yard. Shadow considered yelling to Omega over the sounds of construction but instead thought better of it. Shadow turned away and walked into Rouge's garage.
There were four vehicles in the garage. The first was a large olive-green utility van that was used when Team Dark (as the trio were known within G.U.N.) needed to be transported to a mission location. The second was a silver Porsche that Rouge used for her day to day life. Shadow did have a set of keys for the Porsche but was instructed on pain of death to never use the car except in an emergency. The final two were a pair of motorbikes. One was a pure white and another was black with red streaks down the sides. Shadow walked over to the latter bike and hopped aboard. Shadow had found his bike during the Black Arm invasion of Westopolis. Hours of running through a broken city had exhausted the black hedgehog and, when he had seen the black motorcycle in a side-alley, the hedgehog had taken it. Shadow had hidden the bike when he had left the city but, once the invasion had been thwarted, Shadow had returned and was pleased to find it still there. He had taken the bike back to Rouge's apartment and had customised it to his size and shape and afterwards, the bike had become his primary means of transport when he wasn't in the mood for running.
After a few minutes, Shadow was out of the city limits and on the Speed Highway to Station Square. It was true, driving a motorbike was far a different experience than running and both were good in their own way.
"Hey! Shadow!" The voice was almost lost in the rushing wind but Shadow's sensitive ears just managed to make it out, and he turned to see a familiar blue shape rocketing up to him. Sonic slowed down once he was level with the bike and turned his head to look at the black hedgehog.
"Still going around on that old bike? Your ten times faster off it you know." the blue hedgehog grinned. Shadow gave a quick smirk back.
"Maybe so. But I'm still fast enough for you." then, the bike accelerated overtaking Sonic easily and racing away down the road. Sonic watched it tear away and laughed to himself.
"Heh. You've still got a few good races left in you yet Shadow." Then, accelerating to the speed of sound in under a second, Sonic rocketed after the bike.
In was gone midnight by the time Shadow staggered into Rouge's flat. He was wheeling the bike along and for very good reason. The front fender was completely smashed and all of the paint was missing along one side. Shadow himself was bleeding from a large gash on his forehead and large bruises were already forming on his arms and chest. Rouge was standing in the lounge, with her hands on her hips, Shadow's altered brochure clenched in one gloved hand. Omega was standing behind her, but the robot was constantly swivelling his head to look around at the entire room. Shadow could sense that Rouge was preparing to shout at him, both for defiling her brochure and being out so late. But one look at the wounded hedgehog and her fury melted away into genuine concern. She helped Shadow over to the couch where he collapsed in a groaning heap.
"What happened Shadow? Where were you all this time? I was going to come looking for you but I can't find my keys anywhere." she asked sending Omega into the kitchen for a bag of frozen peas. Shadow looked up at her, remembering being side by side with Sonic on the Speed Highway before taking a hairpin too tightly, smashing into and over the guardrail and colliding with the pavement 100 feet below. Then he had walked all the way up to the same hairpin to recover his bike. Sonic had been standing there, looking over the rail for any sign of the ebony hedgehog. Sonic had briefly enquired about Shadow's health before running off again when it was obvious that Shadow was not seriously hurt.
"Oh, you know Rouge. Just out for an afternoon's drive."
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Apologies if this chapter didn't seem very Drive related but I also wanted to focus on Shadow's life outside of the games now and how he ended up working for G.U.N. (Yes I know Sonic '06 isn't canon but I think Shadow working for G.U.N. makes sense.) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and that you'll join us again next time for chapter 10: Breath Again. And don't forget to R+ R. It makes the brains go faster.
