Hello everybody! Here comes a new chapter in this story after a week in the making. Actually, it was finished sometime two days ago, but I wasn't able to post it until tonight due to going crazy with my college work. Boy, it has only been work after work in terms of homework when it comes to their classes along with having to study notes taken through class in order to make sure that I'm ready for the quizzes they will give us. You'd have to be some kind of studying nut to keep up with all those classes and work that has to be done within a ten week period since I'm on a quarter schedule. Oh well, the best things in life are always the hardest to obtain.
If there's one thing you guys ever learn from me, make sure it's this. Never procrastinate for all your classes and wait two days before you have the class to work on your essays. Unless you're some person who seems to get some kind of high from the sense of urgency combined with the lack of time to finish, as I'm sure I am myself, and can finish under those conditions, never do that when in college. The chances of you having nothing to turn in and getting a low grade in the overall class is high, and grades are definitely everything in college. If you get a lot of bad ones, which I have thankfully have not, they won't allow you to continue to attend until you fix them up at community college. Take this as some good advice for those who want to go to college.
Now that I have that public announcement out of the way and off my chest, I hope that all of you readers are enjoying how this story is turning out to be right now. I hope that I am posting the characters into the roles that they are supposed to be playing well enough while keeping close to their game persona. And if there is anything that seems OOC with them, too bad. This is a fan fiction for a reason, not some reproduction of a game.
Anyway, I hope that you will all enjoy this chapter as much as you enjoyed the whole of this story up until now. Don't forget to leave a review after you're done reading. Until the next chapter update everybody!
Chapter 12: A Morning Breakfast Conversation
"How are you enjoying your breakfast this morning Shadow?" Rouge asked her fiancé from across a table covered with a plain ivory white tablecloth with dishes both empty and filled with food resting on top. "I had the chef make it especially for you after your close run-in with death last night. I thought that it would be able to help you forget about it. That and I know how much you like freshly made waffles."
"It was the best breakfast I've had in a long time," the black hedgehog, who was sitting on an ornate wooden chair, simply responded with complete sincerity as he picked up a porcelain cup and took a sip of the warm tea that was in it. "I didn't expect that the morning meals would be just as good as last night's supper. I thank you Rouge for going through the trouble of having this morning meal made for me."
The two of them were currently on a rather isolated area of the ship that seemed to have been constructed to look a lot like a breakfast nook with partitions separating it into different sections. It was clear that it was mainly an area that was meant only for first class members due to the placement of a couple of maids standing by and ready to serve when they are called upon. It overlooked the ocean that was currently shining brightly with the morning sun halfway on its journey to its highest designated point in the sky with a roof over them to protect them from rain and exposure from the sun's rays.
The breakfast that they had just finished eating consisted of savory sausage links and a simple egg chive omelet as indicated by the remnants of food left behind on the plates and utensils. On another plate that was not quite empty of its contents was a fresh golden brown waffle with some fruit and whipped cream on it along with a small jar of pure maple syrup next to it. It was definitely a breakfast made and created beautifully by a first class chef, and it also clearly showed the effort that the woman took in making this breakfast as enjoyable as possible for the ebon furred hedgehog.
"I'm glad to hear that," the woman replied with a smile on her face as she went ahead and poured herself another cup of warm tea from a white and blue porcelain kettle that was resting on the center of the table. "Is there anything else that I can do for you this morning to make you feel more at home? I know that you haven't really been acting like yourself ever since we first discussed the move."
"This is just fine Rouge," the teen hedgehog simply responded with a tone of indifference as he took the last waffle from the plate along with the fruits that were resting at its side. His mind, however, was screaming at the woman to not remind him about the subject of moving that he now considered to be a taboo subject. "All I really wanted this morning was a nice warm breakfast anyhow, and I have a feeling that this was more than what I was expecting. I thought that it would be just some warm mediocre food that was placed neatly on the plate in an effort to look all fancy."
"Well, they did boasted to have employed only the greatest chefs in Robotropolis in order to create the food that they considered to be equal to a five-star restaurant when I first contacted the kitchen," she said with a smile that clearly showed she was more than pleased with this claim now proven to be a fact. "It's apparent that they have held true to their bold claim. Then again, I'm sure that you weren't expecting anything less than perfection for your first breakfast on this voyage, both in tastes and presentation aspects."
"To be quite honest, I was just expecting things to be as close to the way things used to be back at home. I'll admit that the food here is most likely better than what I've had before at home or at school, but that seems to be the only thing that has some semblance of improvement around here from the everyday."
"Speaking of which, how have you been faring ever since your close brush with death last night? I don't suspect that you would want to talk about it, but do know that I am here if you want to talk to somebody about it. Keeping all these stressful things to yourself isn't necessarily the healthiest things to do, you know?"
"I thank you for your concern regarding this, but I believe that I'm faring quite well with this incident. I have already since put it all behind me, although I am curious as to whom the person who tried to shoot me was. I would like to lay my eyes on him at least once before somebody goes ahead and takes him out."
"Please don't go about running on a wild goose chase on this ship looking for your potential killer. You're just going to be inviting more trouble to yourself if you do that. Who knows if he or she might have other weapons on them besides the gun they conveniently left behind? And besides, I still think that that blue hedgehog you were with then was an accomplice to the entire thing. He was probably setting you up the entire time by pretending to be all friendly with you so that you would let your guard down."
"For the last time Rouge, Sonic was not an accomplice to last night's incident apart from pushing me to the floor and saving me from a bullet," Shadow replied with clear annoyance in his voice as he continued to eat away at his waffle while piling up a piece of fruit with it every so often. Thanks to this, the pleasant breakfast mood changed to that of mild apprehension that was easily felt by the maids nearby. "I find it hard to see him as a person content enough to go ahead and commit something as heinous as murder. I was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time whereas he was there at the right time for my benefit. I do wish that you would stop suspecting him of having some role in this sick line of disdainful events."
"I'm sorry, but I honestly can't help it Shadow dear," Rouge admitted before taking a sip of her tea. If the black furred teen did not know any better, he swore he saw her give off a small smirk from behind the rim of her cup. "I can't help but to worry about you when you're on your own after last night's frightful episode. I mean, do you honestly believe the words of a simple third class boy when he would have something to gain in killing you?"
"And what, may I ask, could he possibly gain in wanting me to be killed?" the ebon teen questioned with a raised eyebrow as he finished off the last bite of his breakfast. "This is hardly the place to conduct a proper murder without getting caught. That and I can scarcely imagine a reason befitting for him to want me wiped away from this world."
"Well, you are the only son of Dr. Ivo Robotnik, a well-known man in the high strung world known as the stock exchange," she explained in a tone that sounded all official like her explanation was the only plausible one. "His stocks, despite having suffered a huge plunge because of the economic problems, are one of the highest and most profitable. In fact, a raise in his stock usually results in the lowering of all others. Consider if you will, that this hedgehog's family invested all of their money in a stock other than your father's. They're losing money even quicker than they could imagine, yet they don't want to pull away from it in case it ends up rebounding back to the gaining section. In order to try and cut their losses, they figure that they use what little money they have left in order to purchase a third class ticket and board this ship that they know you are going to be on for the next month."
"My, this is starting to turn into quite the fascinating story you're telling. No offense, but it seems to fit that of a bedtime story almost befitting for a child were not the part about potential murder were present. If that really were the case, which I highly believe it not to be, then what would happen if he succeeded in killing me? And this is only provided that if it really were is intention to begin with."
"I would think that you would already know what he would have to gain by risking his life to do this. Remember how I said that a heightened value of your father's has an adverse effect on others? Well, the converse would also hold true in this case. If his stocks were to fall due to any kind of circumstance, then the other stocks would see theirs rise to some degree with the competition seeing it's time of uncertainty."
"I still fail to see how my death, however unfortunate and saddening it would definitely be for you and my father, would have any kind of impact on my father's stock company. I don't have any official ties with his company yet until I'm of age, and that won't be happening for a little less than a year from today. I don't see how it would make sense to take out a person with no official ties with a business in hopes of recovering lost money."
"Ah, but since you are soon to be legally eighteen years old, those who are familiar with the both the business and your father's dream of passing it down to his next generation would know that you will be acquiring the leadership of the company soon. If you, the future owner of Dr. Robotnik's company, were to die due to murder or natural causes, stock prices would fall considerably since there are no other beneficiaries to allow the company to thrive through another generation. It would fall right past the deep red and straight to the darkest depths of debt hell in a heartbeat."
"...I suppose that scenario would make a lot of sense, considering if it were actually what was happening this time around," Shadow admitted after a small pause as an attempt to consider the possibility of what his fiancée just said. "Knowing father though, I'm sure that he'd be able to keep the company afloat regardless if I were alive or not. He always has a knack for making these great deals with the big corporate people."
"But do you really think those corporate people would want to do business with him when his stock company is slowly but surely falling past the red and into the darkest depths of debt?" Rouge countered with a raised eyebrow as she took another sip of her tea. "While some are providing some modicum of business with him, it's only because there is still a clear chance he can get out of his monetary troubles. However, if he continues to keep going down into the red, no company, no matter how reputable or rich they are, would want to help him recover his losses or even want to conduct some kind of business with him."
"And just what does this have to do with my chances at being murdered on board this ship?" the ebon hedgehog questioned as he visibly showed how tired he was with this pointless conversation that was bound to soon turn into an argument if the subject were not changed soon. "I would like to get this particular conversation over with as soon as possible. You've seemed to have managed to drift way off track from my main question and caught up with your explanation that turned into nothing but a convincing child's story."
"Don't you know that patience is always a good habit to have these days?" the woman responded with a small sigh. "Then again, I have been moving off topic a bit. With all this said, that hedgehog's family would most likely be able to cut their losses once your father's stock falls to unrecoverable levels, leaving all others the chance to grow. Don't you think that would be good enough motive for him to be an accomplice to murdering you?"
"Were this concerning someone else other than Sonic, I would completely agree with you. However, I already told you time and time again that he actually went the extra mile to push me to the ground when he could've just stayed right next to me and not bother rescuing me. What else could he possibly gain by saving and befriending me from the person he's supposed to be working with who wants me dead? I highly doubt that this other person would be happy that his plans got foiled by his own partner at the last minute."
"Shadow, I know that you are a very sharp and attentive man. You can see and construct plausible scenarios from these small yet revealing happenings that could convince even the most skeptical of people. It's that ability to foresee possible future scenarios that I fell in love with along with your good looks. However, don't you think that you're using all these scenarios so as to help defend this third class child? Not one of the few you've mentioned has any cause to place him as a murderous person."
"That's because there isn't one scenario that I can see where he would go and commit something like that. I've managed to talk with him for a few minutes both before and after the incident, and there was nothing in both his words and tone of voice that would indicate he was a person full of danger and not to be trusted."
"And what if he happened to be a master of misguidance and deception?" Rouge asked, her words and tone showing clearly that she was not going to be accepting any answer except for the one that she has already planted into her head. "If that is the case here, then wouldn't all of your scenarios painting him as an innocent person be reversed completely? Wouldn't they all show him off as a child with murderous intent on his mind of helping his parents regain their money lost through bad stock?"
"I'm sorry Rouge, but I'm starting to grow tired with this line of conversation," Shadow responded in a weary tone, hoping that it would have been enough to sway her away from talking further about Sonic and the events of last night. "This continuous talk of something we hardly know anything about is starting to become nothing short of mundane. How about we go ahead and move on to a different subject?"
"If that's what you so wish," the bat replied in a rather indifferent tone as she went ahead and poured herself another cup of tea. Once she finished doing so, she summoned one of the maids standing nearby with a small series of light claps. "Oh Amy, would you be a darling and fill this pot with some more fresh tea?"
"Certainly Ma'am," one of the maids, a pink hedgehog in a customary black and white outfit replied politely with a small curtsey before moving to take the pot off the table. Her green eyes shined brightly and complimented the equally bright smile she was showcasing to the two. "I'll have some more ready for you in a few minutes."
"And Cream, would you be so kind as to clear off the table?" she addressed the second maid that was also nearby, a small female rabbit with cream colored fur that seemed to be the source of her namesake. Floating right next to her like a pet bird was a small blue creature with a red bowtie that was almost as big as it making some kind of strange noise. Regardless if it was her best friend or her pet, it was clear that it was not going to be leaving her side for any reason whatsoever. That and it also seemed capable to help since it had a towel in its hands and at the ready to clean up any spill that might occur.
"Yes Miss Rouge," the young rabbit responded in a sharp tone that showed she was a relatively young girl, possibly even younger than the previous maid herself. "I'll make sure that this will be as clean as it can be for the next time you come for breakfast. Come on Cheese; we got to go and clean this table for these nice people."
The creature, whose name was now known to be Cheese, made some kind of happy sound before floating down over the table and start wiping it down the few spills with its towel. In the meantime, the young rabbit was picking up all the empty dishes and utensils, placing them on her arms in a rather expertly fashion. It was almost as though she has had much practice handling delicate dishes despite probably being too young for most to consider a maid able enough to handle certain daunting tasks.
"So what is it that you would like to talk about now Shadow?" Rouge asked while the two were busy cleaning the table just as Amy came back with a fresh steaming pot of tea. With a wave of her hand as thanks to the pink hedgehog, she said to her fiancé, "Is there anything of any particular interest that you would like us to speak of?"
"Uh, I-I don't know what to talk about," Shadow responded with a slight stutter as he helped Cream a bit with piling some of the dishes. He did seem a bit flustered in trying to find a topic, but he was really just pretending to not know what to talk about in hopes that she would get the hint and strop trying to strike up a pointless conversation with him. "You know that I'm not usually the type to go about starting conversations. Minus the events from last night, what is it that you would like to talk about?"
"My, you really do need to work on your conversational skills with people," the woman stated with a small chuckle, completely oblivious to the fact that he was pretending to have nothing interesting to talk about. "Well then, how about we talk about all the possible things that we'll be able to do together today? I don't think we've really had the time to discuss and put aside some time for just the two of us."
"I think I'll pass on that idea, thank you very much," the ebon furred teen responded rather bluntly as he watched the small creature clean up the last stain before hovering towards the rabbit as she went to put away the dirty dishes. "It doesn't really sound like something I'd be interested in talking about. What else do you think we could discuss?"
"Oh, you're being just as bad as you were yesterday. I was hoping that after having a good night's rest, you would be more open to be talking to me about things. Then again, no one really thought that last night's event's would've happened, so I suppose that you're still in some shock from it."
"I'm glad to see that we both agree on that accord. And please don't think for a second that I would be more open to talk to you about my private musings since we're going to be close to each other for the duration of this trip. If anything, this opportunity would only serve to help me strengthen myself against people who wish to pry into every single minute of my business and grant me no privacy in the process."
"Shadow, you know that I wouldn't do anything like that to you. I would gladly honor any kind of privacy that you so need and wish. All you need to do is tell me when you would need it and I won't bother you for a good while."
"I'm sorry to bother you, but is there anything else that you wished to be cleaned or done?" the voice of Cream chirped up, forcing the two out of their conversation momentarily. The sound and sight of Cheese was soon seen and heard as it hovered happily right next to her with a fresh towel in its hands.
"That's all for now Cream," Rouge responded as she looked at the small rabbit and gave her a kind smile. "I don't believe that we'll need your assistance anymore this morning. You're free to do whatever it is that you need to do."
"Thank you very much Ms. Rouge," the small rabbit thanked her before politely making her way out of the breakfast nook area and to wherever it was she was either needed or wanted to do before being called upon again.
"Isn't she just the sweetest little girl that you've ever seen Shadow?" she asked as she watched the child enter the ship with the small blue creature hovering close behind her. "I don't think I've ever seen somebody so young act so sophisticated before. And to think that she has a Chao beside her as a helper and quite possibly her companion. I never thought that I'd be able to see one of them myself being that they are so rare and all."
"Yeah, they are usually a timid bunch and don't like to make themselves known when there are people nearby," Shadow agreed with her as he seemed to be in thought at the subject. "From what I've learned about them, they generally live in secluded areas that are either hard for us to see or impossible to access without knowing beforehand where they're located. To lay eyes on one is just has hard as seeing an entire family or group in one spot; to have one as a companion is even rarer."
"My, it seems that you know quite a bit about them," the bat responded with intrigue ringing clear in her words. "Is this something that they had you study back at the academy along with how to run a business with proper work etiquette?"
"If you really must know, that was all something that I chose to study up on by myself without any push from the school," the ebon hedgehog replied bluntly as he got up from his chair. "It captivated me when I first heard of it, and I gathered quite an interest about them once I started learning more. I don't really think that it's something that you should be surprised in learning about me."
"Well, you never told me that you knew a good amount about them before now. I think that I'm entitled to be surprised to learn this about you. I myself have always wanted to learn more, but my busy schedule always impeded me from doing so."
"I'm sorry to hear that, but maybe you should try to take some vacation time for yourself so that you'd be able to study up on the things that interest you. Just being a person with a name behind a desk really isn't the most opportune life to be leading, you know? Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to take a private morning walk on deck."
"Oh, that sounds like a good idea," Rouge spoke up quickly as she got up from her chair just as she saw the other begin to make his way towards the exit of the breakfast nook area. "So where is it that you're planning for us to walk around today? I've wanted to see what the entire deck looked like."
"Uh, I thought I said that I would like to take a private walk on deck?" Shadow repeated as he emphasized a key word, hoping that his fiancée would get the hint. As an added precaution though, he chose to explain it to her in the shortest and sweetest way possible. "As much as I appreciate your eagerness in wanting to join me, I want to participate in this calming walk on my own this morning. I don't wish to have you accompany me this time around."
"But Shadow, do you really think that would be the safest thing for you to do after last night's scene?" the woman questioned with concern clear in her voice as she was clearly not going to forget the events of last night anytime soon. "I think that it would be safer if I went with you so we could avoid another mess like that."
"And what makes you think that would make any difference in another killer's mind whether or not you're with me?" the black hedgehog questioned, internally wondering if the bat was even using her head on occasions such as this. "If anything, he'd probably just end up killing you in the process so as to not leave any witnesses to the situation."
"I-I suppose you're right about that. But then what is it that you want me to do while you're out wandering around the decks again? How am I supposed to know whether or not you're going to be safe during your walk?"
"You know that I can take care of myself pretty well so long as there isn't a gun being pointed at me from somewhere far away. All you really can do is to not worry your health away about what might happen to me and worry more on what I am doing now. It's better than having to worry on something that you have no idea on what it is that might happen in the near future, don't you think so?"
"But it's not going to stop me from worrying about you completely," Rouge stated as Shadow started to make his way towards the door. "Are you sure you don't want me with you this morning?"
"I really don't feel like repeating myself anymore this morning," the teen simply responded with a shake of his head before placing his gloved hand on the doorknob. "How about you just go on ahead and spend some time with my father? I'm sure that he could use the company since I'm most likely not going to be giving him that pleasure myself for the duration of this trip. Now if you'll excuse me, I would like to take my walk now before lunch comes around."
"Shadow, wait!" the woman exclaimed in a last attempt to try and gain her fiancé's attention, but it fell on deaf ears as he opened the door and made his way to the deck. She then added to herself in a frustrated manner, "Oh, there are times when he could be as sweet as a button, and there are times when he could be too stubborn for his own good. This is definitely one of those times where he's too stubborn to even consider his own safety during something as simple as this."
With a small sigh leaving her lips, the woman sat back down on her chair, now alone with only a pot of tea on it and Amy the maid standing a few feet away from her. This was clearly not what she had planned out for this morning, but she did have to admit she was probably shooting a little too high in hoping things would pan out as she hoped. At least she managed to have a nice morning breakfast with him.
"Amy, do you mind bringing me a couple more waffles from the kitchen?" she suddenly asked the pink hedgehog who had responded when she heard her name being called. "I don't believe that I'm as full as I previously thought."
"Certainly Ma'am," the maid responded with a small curtsey before heading towards the kitchen to obtain what it was she was asked to bring. "I'll have them out and ready for you to eat in a couple of minutes."
"Thank you," the bat thanked the quickly retreating form of the maid before picking up her cup of tea and taking a small sip from it. She then used this time of quietness and loneliness to contemplate the things that were running through her head which concerned of things from her now defunct business all the way to how she was going to live with her future husband.