Ch 2 Paper or Plastic?
On the other end of town that was slightly more populated than the other because of less damage, team dark entered a grocery store. They all made a bee line to the toiletries aisle, attracting attention from a few turning heads who just saw a hulking robot enter the store. Rouge grabbed a cart and directed Shadow to the Mobian portion of the aisle. The shelves were stacked with everything from wing lotion to fur trimmers. Shadow knelt down in front of the quill products. He looked over one of the shampoos that said it had built in quill softener and another that said maximum sleek and shine. He ended up going with the latter, he had no desire to be soft. No, he wanted to be as sharp as possible. The dark hog threw the item into the cart and moved on to the body wash. Later they passed by some cakes out on display in the bakery. Shadow would make longing glances at the pastries but continued his silence. Rouge however noticed. Meanwhile the bat was doing some shopping of her own and Omega was just content being included. The robot eventually motored off to scan the selection of automobile polish and sealers. The robot returned moments later with a large jug of Formula F-15; Mirror Shine. The mechanical man, who more represented a child in the moment, thrust the item out to Rouge. Rouge didn't pay him much mind as she perused the makeup formulated to be placed over face fur,
"Maybe if you're good Omega."
For a moment Shadow could have sworn he saw determination behind those red lenses. Speaking of child, at that moment a tiny Mobian was holding a hand out to the dark hero from inside a shopping cart. The bright-eyed Collie puppy sat in a buggy while his mother had her back turned looking over, long coat fur conditioner. The child reached an arm out and waved.
"Hi. Hi." The pup cooed out in a cute, high-pitched voice.
Shadow froze. He didn't want to seem weird and ignore the child, but he also didn't want to let his guard down just because a baby was trying to interact with him. Shadow decided it was best the answer the child in some way; he knew a child of this age would not let up or take the hint if he was not given a response. He had learned this from similar past experiences. Shadow raised a hand and lightly waved a tiny wave making eye contact with the kid. The puppy smiled and giggled at Shadow, and the dark hero felt a bit of nostalgia. He remembered a time when he was that small… for about a week of his life. he recalled being very small when he was first released from his suspension chamber. He was introduced to Maria and she instantly fell in love with him. At least that's how he remembered it. they would play juvenile games like peekaboo and she spoon fed him mashed foods. A week later Gerald had announced that it was time to go back into the chamber to continue his growth acceleration. He remembered falling asleep in the chemical bath and them waking up bigger and more cognitive. He remembered Maria cried for days after she saw him again. It was later explained that he had been asleep for another week and in that time aged to the body of a seven-year-old. it was strange for him to remember that not but a week prior not even having the brain function to form a proper sentence. Those sessions in the chamber continued until the doctor deemed him adequate to allow natural growth. Those body accelerations had caused some… interesting and embarrassing effects on his hormone levels at the time.
A young dark hoglet darted around a corner attempting to not be detected. He giggled to himself as he made his way down a long corridor. He had been let out of his training sessions early that day and was off to surprise his best friend in the whole wide world, if they lived on that world that is. Maria would be so exited to play with him an hour earlier than usual. The child physically looked to be about thirteen but had shaggy uneven fur as if he was molting and losing his baby quills and simultaneously had a strange deep voice that didn't match his body and would occasionally crack. He was about to round another corner when a sliding door to one of the dorm rooms opened behind him.
"Ouch! Damn it!" one of the male scientists that worked aboard the ark, shouted as he stepped out in his night robe and slippers, "What have we told you about running through the halls while you're shedding like a dog!"
Shadow looked down at the man's feet to see he had left a quill trail behind himself. Black and red razor-sharp needles littered the floor and the man had just stepped on one, stabbing him through his slipper. Fortunately, it wasn't serious. Shadow rubbed his arm nervously,
"Sorry sir. I forgot. I was just really exited about going to see Maria. We have been playing this game where I am a knight from one of her story books, and she is a wizard with magic powers, and me and her have to save the kingdom from dragons and evil knights; she is really good at play pretend, the best even, we had to stop yesterday during a really good part where she has to use her powers to bring me back to life and…"
"You shouldn't be playing games with a little girl," Shadow looked taken aback by the man's interruption, "You are too old for that, and you're the ultimate life form for peats sake, start acting like it."
With that the man turned down the hall heading in the opposite direction,
"and god damn It, clean this up!"
Shadow knelt down and began picking up every fallen quill off the ground.
"Sir? Sir. Sir!"
A very disgruntled dog Mobian was now in Shadows face,
"sir, why are you staring at my child like that?"
Shadow woke from his daze and locked confused eyes with the snarling woman,
"Huh? Was a?"
"Yes, for about six minutes you just stared at him. I suggest you leave us alone or I will be forced to call the authorities. Pervert."
The woman moved on to another aisle, leaving Shadow with furrowed brows and Rouge concerned that they may be kicked out of the store. Shadow turned to Rouge,
"Why did she just call me a pervert?"
Rouge cringed. She thought she would be used to Shadows weird behavior by now,
"I'll tell you in the car. Let's hurry up and get out of here before someone really does call the cops."
They all made it out side to the car with their groceries. They then packed them into the trunk and took off down the road.
"What? Why would someone do that?" Shadow yelled out into the enclosed car in rage.
"I don't know hun. There are some messed up evil people in this world." Rouge replied focused on the road.
The rain had halted for the time being but looked as though it could start back up at any time. Shadow scowled and folded his arms at the thought of the information that he had just discovered about the crazy world he lived in. internal rage was brewing. If he ever found out someone did that to a child, he would rip them limb from limb. Shadow's train of thought was interrupted by Omega blurting a robotic statement out from the back seat,
"Reminder. Do not forget to call builders for Club Rouge."
"Oh yeah. Thank Omega."
Shadow looked back and forth between the two,
"You use Omega as a memo pad?"
"Hey! Between working, running a club, and looking after you two I need a little help. Sue me." Rouge glanced at Shadow briefly to catch the hogs full attention, "which reminds me, you and me still need to have a talk about how you talk to women."
"I'm listening." Shadow replied, honestly intrigued in what the bat had to say.
"First off, you obviously think that women and men have to abide to certain rules." Rouge stated.
Shadow scanned the females face,
"Don't they?"
Rouge dead panned,
"Obviously not. I don't fallow gender roles."
"Yes, you do. You are feminine. You are very into make up and fashion and you care about your physical appearance."
"Yes, but I'm also a G.U.N agent. I work for the military. I'm a business woman."
"You're not married or have children to stay home with." Shadow stated making his own conclusions.
"Exactly. And look at you, you just said that women have to care about their appearance, but you obviously do that to," the hog stared at the bat as she spoke captivated by the intriguing conversation, "I'm sorry to inform you but the way you think about gender roles is very out dated. So are a lot of other things you think as well. You can keep on the way you're going if you want, but all I'm going to tell you is that it only makes you look like an uneducated jack ass."
"Oh…" Shadow paused in thought for a moment, "If I continue the pattern will you tell me of my mistakes?"
The bat was so shocked she almost swerved into the other lane,
"Are you… Asking me for my help?"
The female had honestly expected to start a screaming match with the dark hog, maybe even cause him to want to fight. She didn't want that, but she also was not about to back down from speaking her mind. She wasn't afraid of him. Shadow sighed,
"Yes… If we are forced to be in each other's presence, then I might as well not rock the boat any more than necessary."
Rouge looked Shadow from top to bottom. She started with his pointed ears then his ruby irises, all the way down to his rocket shoes. She smiled sympathetically. He was just a lonely kid who had been through hell and had to carry around a lot of baggage. He was still impressionable. Why just moments ago in the check-out line, she caught him staring at a designer, Reebok track jacket, in a magazine. The item was being sported by a young boy with the latest hair cut and pouty face. The magazine read, The Coolest Looks for Fall; she saw in Shadow's eyes he wanted it. At least he had good taste, she thought.
"Okay, I will." She said with a grin, "But we don't have to be enemies anymore you know. We can put all that stuff behind us and chill and kick ass, like we use to."
Shadow looked like he was about to protest until a robotic voice came from the back seat,
"I second that notion."
Rouge laughed a little under her breath,
"Omega, you were so quiet back there I almost forgot about you. See Shadow, Omega really missed you too, and you have barley spoken two words to the poor guy."
Shadow looked back at the compacted form the robot had taken. He was a black box with gold trim and only a flap that would pop up to reveal his red eye lights.
"Incorrect." The machine bellowed, "I find enjoyment in working by Shadow's side in battle situations."
"Not true, you said to me that you were and I quote, disappointed that Shadow did not acknowledge your presence." Rouge stated, looking at angry lenses through her rear-view mirror.
"File name, Come Backs; opening file; Shut up Rouge!"
Shadow watched the little flap at the top of the box flip back down hiding the fact that there was ever a sentient being in the back seat. The male couldn't help but grin to himself as he continued his stare out the window. Rouge noticed that too.
A day had passed since Rouge took Shadow to the store; the dark male was quite happy with the results of his new hygienic products. He felt fresh and clean, his quills were glossy and smooth, and he smelled like old spice. The only thing he wished he had was a hair dryer, not only so it wouldn't take so long for his copious amount of quills to dry but because he secretly enjoyed having that extra bit of fluff to himself. He proudly held his head high as he worked on various assignments. He still attacked hateful looks from the occasional nosey parker, who thought they were rough and tumble, but Shadow paid them no mind. He had to be on his best behavior so he could get gun off his back, besides his first field mission was tomorrow and he would defiantly prove himself there. One o'clock rolled around and Shadow was met with a solider walking up to him instructing him to see Dr. Baker. The hog did as he was told and made his way up to her office.
"Hello Shadow," Julia said as the hedgehog entered the room, "How have you been?"
Shadow stood in the middle of the room with his arms folded,
"Fine."
The woman riffled through a drawer as she spoke,
"Please take a seat."
Shadow glanced down at the cushioned chair and sighed as he sat,
"you're really not going to give up are you."
"Nope. I don't give up easily Mister Hedgehog."
Shadow looked off to the side and gave the woman a sarcastic smirk,
"Neither do I."
The woman pulled out a piece of candy for the hog to take yet again, but Shadow didn't move,
"Do you not enjoy sweets? Oh, maybe you're just full. You only had your lunch break thirty minutes ago. Did you have anything good?"
Shadow frowned,
"I had my break but I did not eat. Honestly, I find lunch breaks to be a waste of my time, I do not need breaks and I can sustain myself on Chaos energy alone."
The human looked up from what she was doing with a concerned expression,
"You don't eat… At all?"
Shadow looked deep into the woman's chocolate brown eyes. She was doing it again. Some how she had this power to will him to speak.
"I don't require it… very often. I… I prefer it so I may stay at my peak performance but… it is not mandatory."
"When was the last time you ate, Shadow?" Julia mumbled out still shocked.
Shadow broke eye contact to look to the side in thought,
"one to two months ago."
Suddenly Julia stood from her seat and walked to a mini fridge she had in the corner of the room,
"Do you like chicken alfredo?"
"No no no. You don't have to…"
"This is not a request, Shadow," the petite woman said interrupting the male, "This is the Dr.'s orders."
She pulled out a Tupperware container and placed it into a microwave on top of the fridge. While the machine was nuking Shadow's soon to be meal Julia spoke,
"Anyway, how have things been going with you and Rouge since we last talked?"
"Oh, um, well I suppose. We sorted things out." Shadow said still confused by baker's reaction.
Julia came back and handed the hot food to Shadow,
"You actually talked to her, Shadow I'm so proud of you!"
Shadow blushed slightly. She had said she was proud of him for the second time since meeting him. This time though he felt he sort of deserved it; talking to Rouge about their issues hadn't been easy for him to do.
"Yes… it turned out that it was a misunderstanding for the most part." Shadow said eating a bite of the pasta.
Julia smiled,
"Now don't you feel a weight lifted from your shoulders?" she allowed Shadow enough time to nod before she continued, "Now I'd like to talk to you about something you said last time you were here. You told me you like to feel useful, what did you mean by that?"
Shadow gulped down his current bite before speaking, as to not talk with his mouth full. He really didn't want to talk about such a subject but the little woman had proved to be resilient,
"I… I'm the ultimate life form I was created by the worlds greatest scientist for what I believe to be the purpose of curing a disease that doesn't matter anymore and to protect this world."
Shadow sneered at his next statement,
"But I get to this planet and the job of protecting this world has already been filled."
"Sonic?" Julia asked already knowing the answer.
"Yes… Sonic." Shadow answered, "I'm not needed… I don't have a purpose."
"I don't believe that's true. Sonic could always use help." Shadow tisked at her words but, she continued, "and he isn't going to be six teen forever. But you are immortal, yes? You will always be here to help those in need."
"Maybe." Shadow cringed, that was honestly another thing he didn't want to think about.
Julia realized what she had implied. The poor woman wasn't used to situations like this. She never thought in a million years she would have an alien-Mobian hybrid, that is immortal, over fifty years old but looks nineteen, acts like a moody teenager, chaos powered, hedgehog as a patient.
"Not that I think you should wait around for Sonic to… oh dear." The Dr. took a seat and recollected her thoughts, "I think you working for G.U.N is a good way to start, if you want to help people. Maybe… one day… you can ask Sonic if he would like your help on one of his future adventures."
Shadow gave the psychiatrist her expected response to the last statement. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Despite his attitude Julia could tell Shadow was in a much better mood than the previous day they met.
"So is Rouge helping you out in any way, or are you just on speaking terms now?"
"She is an annoying gossip, who flirts with everyone she meets… But she has helped me," Shadow decided to keep his hygiene issue to himself, "and she is showing me what is considered not appropriate behavior in this day and age."
"What do you mean?"
"You now like sexism, stereo typing, things that are not correct that I was taught," Shadow looked to the ground confused and shook his head, "You would think men of science would be more educated than that."
Dr. Baker snorted a little under her breath,
"Well that's very good too, I think you and Rouge have the makings to become great friends."
This time Shadow pft with a small smile as he turned his head so the professional couldn't see. Julia smiled as well. Her grin quickly turned serious as she remembered something she wanted to talk about,
"Shadow?" the hog looked up from his food as she spoke softly, "I'd like to talk about your friend Maria."
Silence fell over the room but was interrupted by Shadow's Tupperware dish splattering on the floor as he abruptly stood. Alfredo sauce seeped into the carpet and Julia's eyes went wide for a moment before going back to an impartial size. Shadow stared through the woman with death in his blood red irises.
"I thought you seemed to know more then the last time," Shadow growled, "You have no right to my records. That's my business!"
"I actual do. Under normal circumstances no, but you are a convicted criminal technically, so I need your records to study your case."
Shadow grabbed the arm of the chair he was previously in and threw it against the wall, smashing it to splinters. Julia held her ground at her desk and said nothing.
"Rouge even has the common decency not to ask me questions like that, what makes you thing you can? And convicted criminal? Why not convict the criminals that murdered an entire space colony along with an innocent child! Oh wait, I forgot G.U.N has a do as I say not as I do policy!"
Shadow turned and headed for the door. Just as he was about to leave he left the Dr. with one final statement,
"Don't ever speak to me again or I'll rip you limb from limb."
He didn't yell, his voice was calm and cold as he spoke the last sentence. It chilled Julia to the bone. The dark Mobian then slammed the door and left.
Back with Omega and Rouge they were in the middle of prepping for there mission the next day. Shadow stomped back into the supplies room where the packed their gear.
"well there he is did you enjoy your extended break?"
Shadow yanked his own bag off the wall and proceeded to fill it with his weapons of choice. Rouge took note of the silence and rough treatment to the items,
"Did something happen?"
Shadow shifted his eyes to meet hers and with a slight nod said,
"I'll tell you in the car."
