A/N: Starting out with a request for smileaway96! Hope you enjoy. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic and Co., or Harley-Davidson!
Oh, and it's going to get a little more serious in this one. More adventure, a bit less humor. But the shenanigans will be right back in the next chapter! ;)
Rouge and Shadow had stopped at a gas station to put air into the Harley-Davidson's tires. They were just about to start out again when they were approached by a somewhat scruffy-looking fellow.
"Another TV opportunity?" murmured Rouge under her breath. Shadow groaned.
"Hey, you two," grinned the man. "You've been selected!"
"Uhhh . . . for what?"
"A chance to play free laser tag!"
"No thanks," said Rouge at once. "Between the Metarex and the occasional security system, I've had enough free laser tag to last me three lifetimes!"
"Uh . . . "
"Never mind. But no thanks."
"Hey, hey!" protested the guy. "Don't throw away an opportunity like this! Hear me out."
"Okay, fine." Rouge folded her arms. "Shoot."
"Well, my name's Mack. My buddies and I decided to start up a little business venture," said the guy. "We built our very own laser tag center, and we plan to open it to the public really soon. But before we open, we want to test the place for bugs and glitches. So we're offering random people a chance to play ten minutes of free laser tag, if they agree to tell us what needs improvement!"
"What's the catch?"
"No catch, ma'am! Just ten free minutes, and you can play longer for ten cents a minute."
"And the lasers are harmless?" ventured Rouge uncertainly.
"Of course! Good grief."
"Kind of boring." Shadow put in his two cents.
"Hey, it's free!" urged Rouge. "We might as well see what it's like."
"Well . . . oh, heck, might as well."
They followed Mack to a brightly-painted shack next to a side road somewhere, suffused with the sharp smell of fresh paint. Mack led them into the building and explained the rules.
"These are infrared," he explained, strapping phaser-like devices to both their wrists.
"Why are they tied to the wall?" asked Rouge dubiously, tugging at the long electric cable trailing from the device. "And to us?"
"Well, it's a high-action game," said Mack. "We were worried people would keep dropping the lasers. As to the cables, well, uh . . . we couldn't afford wireless models."
Rouge chuckled.
"Okay. I'll take being leashed for a while. For you."
"Uh . . . " the fellow blinked, flustered, as Rouge gave him a sweet smile. "Okay, um, yeah, so. You guys wear these sensors to register when you're hit. There'll be a different "hit sound" for either one of you. Hits will be marked on that scoreboard there, and whoever gets the most hits in ten minutes wins."
"That all?" asked Shadow wearily.
"No, one more thing. There'll also be simulated aliens projected on the wall, and they'll be able to fire at you too. We're not quite sure if the projections match up with the built-in lasers, though, so if it seems like a blank wall just fired at you, let us know!"
"Okie-doke!" chirped Rouge.
"Okay, now test if your lasers are working," instructed Mack. Rouge fired off-handedly at Shadow, triggering a brisk triple beep from some hidden speaker. Shadow tried in turn, setting off a high-pitched phaser-like "pow!" Rouge spun around and faked a dramatic death.
"Shoot, I thought I had it on 'stun'," muttered Shadow, checking his device.
"You did," grinned Rouge, sitting up and untangling herself from the phaser cable. "It was heavy stun, though."
Mack shook his head, chuckling.
"Okay, let me go start up the timer. When you hear the Klaxon, that means you can start."
"See ya!" called Rouge. She glanced in Shadow's direction as Mack disappeared outside, pulling a heavy curtain over the door to darken the room.
"Say, why didn't you tell the guy you were left-handed?"
"I'm not; I'm ambidextrous. Being one-handed is inferior," said Shadow coolly. In the dark, he could practically hear Rouge rolling her eyes.
"Besides," he couldn't help adding. "I needed a handicap."
"I'll make you eat those words! Don't forget, dodging lasers is my specialty."
"Really. Well, my specialty is dodging everything. And let me remind you that my aim is excellent."
"You, Mr. Hedgehog, are going down!"
Before they could spar any further, the Klaxon blared over the speakers. Flashing lights blazed to life in all kinds of hidden corners, dimly illuminating plastic rocks on the ground and styrofoam planets hanging from the ceiling. Rouge whooped and sprang into action, while Shadow calmly stepped one foot back to remain on the defensive.
Within a minute and a half, it became clear that one of them was doing much better than the other. Rouge was no slouch at dodging, fast and nimble on her feet, kicking lightly off the walls, using her wings and tumbling skills. But if she was no slouch, Shadow was the grand master. He blinked in and out of sight, whisking from one end of the room to the other, appearing in random places just long enough for Rouge to fire—only to find he was already elsewhere.
"Hold still, you!" growled Rouge, attempting to sweep the room with a laser beam. She only succeeded in getting herself hit for the fourth time, while Shadow hadn't been hit at all.
"I'm already handicapped," retorted Shadow calmly. "I thought you said you were good at this."
"Oh yeah?"
Rouge attacked furiously on Shadow's right, herding him far enough to the left to trip over his laser's electric cord. Before he had a chance to spring back up, she was bearing down with her laser. Even then, Shadow rolled easily out of the way and onto his feet.
"Foul play," he sighed, sidestepping a shot. "I'll have to stop going easy on you."
"Whaddaya mean, going ea—"
Pow! Five hits for Shadow.
"No fair!"
"You're one to talk." Shadow jumped lightly aside as Rouge took aim again. Two minutes later, he had scored seven hits, and Rouge still had none to her name. Eventually she lost patience.
"Okay, that does it! Hold still!"
"Seriously?" retorted Shadow. Before he could say any more, he suddenly found himself tangled up in a Screw Kick. It wasn't full power—that would have given him a pretty bad headache—but it was enough to throw him back against a wall. There was a sudden snapping sound, and a fountain of sparks.
Rouge pulled back, alarmed.
"Shadow? You okay?!"
"Oh, just fine," grumbled Shadow, rubbing his head. "Look what you've done now!"
He held up his wrist, showing the laser still attached to it. There was only a little tail of electric cable hanging from it, while the torn end of the main cable lay nearby.
"Well, they'll want us to pay for that," growled Shadow, shaking off the now-useless laser.
"Oh, snap," sighed Rouge. "Couldn't we make a break for it?"
"Right. Through that one door. Where we'll definitely be seen."
Rouge heaved a sigh.
"Okay. I guess we have no choice but to face the music."
Nodding grimly, Shadow turned to head for the door.
Suddenly there was a strange buzzing sound. A spectacular geyser of sparks suddenly shot from the end of the torn cable, while Rouge gave a strangled yelp. Shadow spun around to find her out cold—for the second time in two weeks. Tendrils of smoke were coming from the laser, which was still fastened to her forearm.
Shadow's brain kicked into overdrive. Even as he crouched at Rouge's side, he was remembering something Tails had told him once: when you think something might be filled with electricity, touch it with the back of your hand, not the palm. Quickly he brushed the back of his hand against Rouge's forehead. Her fur was standing up straight, but he didn't get shocked. That was good—she wasn't being continuously zapped. With one hand he ripped the laser off her wrist in case the current restarted; with the other he checked for a pulse. A little unsteady, but strong and definitely present. Phew.
At that point he became aware of loud voices outside. He raised his head, his ears swiveling. Slowly he got up, picked up the laser he'd shaken off his wrist, and stepped into a dark corner.
Within seconds a horde of rough-looking men and women tromped in through the door, with a particularly terrifying specimen at their head. The guy saw Rouge slumped on the floor and swore up and down.
"Only one of them!" he growled. "Where's the other one?!"
Shadow slipped silently out the door and pressed himself against the wall just outside. The smell of paint was strong, but he ignored it and kept his ears trained on the interior of the building.
"Take it easy, Bill," advised another gruff voice. "The other one's gone, tore the laser right off its cable. He must have felt the shock coming and been scared off."
"And if he comes back?" growled Bill.
"Ah, if he just ran off like that, not likely he'd bother returning," scoffed the other voice.
"Besides," put in a third voice, a woman's. "Even if he does return, we'll have this one out of the way by then. We can deal with them one at a time!"
"True, true," agreed Bill. "Okay. Time to show this dame what happens when you mess with us!"
Shadow hesitated. There didn't seem to be any good way to get Rouge out of there. The gang was all around her—if he went charging in now, they might hurt her before he could do anything about it. Without a Chaos Emerald, he could only gather enough Chaos energy for one Spear, perhaps two if he was very lucky. Taking off his inhibitor rings would give him a burst of power for maybe fifteen seconds, followed by an instant KO. No-win situation . . .
Biting his lip, Shadow slipped quietly away. He wasn't one to bang his head against a lost cause.
Back inside the building, Rouge stirred slightly and mumbled something as Bill tied her wrists and ankles together.
"Get the wings too," advised Mack.
"Nah, she won't be needing 'em," grunted Bill. "Let's get her outside, wake her up, and get to work."
He hoisted the still-unconscious Rouge off the ground and led the others out into the sunlight. Putting her back down none too gently, he pinched the tip of her ear.
"Ouch!" Rouge woke up at once, full of fury. "Why, you—" She fell back slightly. "You! You're that freakin' biker gang! I knew you looked familiar!"
"Exactly, sweetheart," grinned Bill. "You thought you'd got away with it? We've been tracking you down for weeks, and we built the whole stupid laser arcade just to lure you two in!"
"What have you done to Shadow?!" barked Rouge, lashing out her wings. She didn't get far before Mack pulled her back down.
"He was just a bonus prize," scoffed Bill. "It's you we have a bone to pick with."
"I'll pick your bones all right!" growled Rouge, twisting her wrists against the ropes.
"Oh, no you don't," warned Bill, grabbing her by the arm. "Don't try to struggle, batgirl. You're in for it now."
"I'll have you know only Knuckles is allowed to call me batgirl!" said Rouge through her teeth.
"Gonna stop us?" mocked Bill.
Rouge's ears were down flat in fury, but she didn't—couldn't—do anything. The situation didn't look too good . . .
"Hands up, gentlemen," said a quiet voice nearby.
A whole gang's worth of heads turned. Shadow the Hedgehog was standing patiently nearby, his head tilted slightly and the ripped-off laser in his hand.
"I said hands up," he repeated calmly. He waved at the sky with his free hand. "If you're confused, up is that way."
"What on this blooming earth?" said Bill in disbelief. "Now the scruffy rat's holding us up with a toy laser gun?"
"Don't try my patience," said Shadow wearily, stepping a little closer. "I'm willing to do damage."
"With that?!"
Muttering, Shadow raised the laser, swung it out to his side, and pulled back the trigger. A beam of light struck one of the gang's motorcycles, and the vehicle promptly blew all to bits. Pieces of metal rolled and clattered across the tarmac, as a small vortex of smoke rose from the void the motorcycle had once inhabited.
The biker gang was suitably overawed.
"One more time, all of you," continued Shadow quietly, bringing the laser around to point at them again. "Hands up. Back away slowly."
They complied.
"Cowards," smirked Shadow. "Good. I like that in a villain."
Stepping forward, he unbound Rouge's wrists and backed off to let her unfasten her ankles.
"I suppose you have the most against these guys," he remarked. "I'll let you take your pick of them."
"Well thanks," said Rouge, rubbing the feeling back into her wrists. "But you know what? Forget it."
Shadow raised his eyebrows at her silently.
"Yeah, I know," shrugged Rouge. "But I've fought them before. They're lousy fighters and a waste of time, believe me. And if we beat them up now, they'll just run to the police, and we might get ourselves in trouble. As it is now, they're the ones who should be worried about the police."
Shadow lowered the laser somewhat and regarded Rouge curiously.
"Are you telling me to stay out of trouble?"
"I'm not forcing anything," said Rouge, waving a hand. "Go ahead and have a field day with them, if you like. I've had my fun already."
"Yeah . . . I'm going to want to hear about that," said Shadow resignedly. He glanced back at the biker gang and shook his head. "Do you punks even know how lucky you are?"
He trained the laser on Bill again and nodded over his shoulder.
"You go ahead, Rouge. I'll join you in a minute."
Rouge nodded and trotted off. Meanwhile, Shadow stepped quietly up to Bill and looked him in the eye. He had to tilt his head back slightly to do it, but somehow it seemed he was the one looking down at Bill.
"I don't want to see you again," he remarked. "And if your memory's poor, maybe this will help you remember."
Tossing the laser aside, he sprang up and caught the biker under the jaw with one fist. Landing lightly back on his feet, he spun on one heel and stalked back to the bike.
"They're after us," gulped Rouge, glancing back at the biker gang. Snorting, Shadow kicked the motorcycle into life and started off.
"They won't chase us," he said, as Rouge glanced over her shoulder anxiously. "I slashed their tires while you were arguing with them. I thought we'd be fighting, and I didn't want them getting away."
They drove for about half an hour, then Shadow pulled over into a field.
"All right, let's hear about this first fight of yours," he remarked. "You've been getting into more trouble?"
"That time wasn't my fault," replied Rouge, spitting on an electricity burn on her forearm. "And how about you tell me first. What did you do to that laser to make it blow up random motorcycles?"
"Nothing," Shadow waved a hand impatiently. "That was a Chaos Spear. They didn't have to know that I was out of energy after that."
"So, I guess it's a good thing that I broke the electric cable, huh?" grinned Rouge. "Otherwise we'd both have been caught."
"You happened to get lucky, in a situation that would normally have been disadvantageous," sighed Shadow. "Now let's hear your story."
"Wait, one more question. Why the paint?"
"What paint?"
Rouge tapped the back of her head, smiling. Puzzled, Shadow ran a hand over his quills. All along the back, he came up against stiff clumps of matted fur.
"Blast it," he groaned. "The paint on the building must still have been fresh when I leaned against that wall . . . " He scraped at one of the mats, but it didn't come off. Hesitating, he glanced uneasily at Rouge. "What . . . what color is it?"
"Some blue, a bit of green," said Rouge with a straight face. "Don't worry, no pink."
"Could be worse," muttered Shadow. His eyes darkened slightly as he thought back.
"I'm sure nobody noticed," assured Rouge, reading his thoughts. "Heck, I didn't notice till we were driving away. I don't think anybody would pay much attention to a little paint when you were being that epic."
Shadow gave her a sharp glance.
"What's the punchline?"
"No punchline," said Rouge. "Seriously, you were pretty awesome. Thanks for getting me out of that."
Shadow shrugged slightly, looking away.
"I expect you could have handled it yourself."
"No doubt," grinned Rouge. "But I appreciate the help."
"Sure, whatever. Now, I'm still curious about that earlier encounter."
"Darn . . . I was hoping you'd forget about that."