Dammit, that's the last time I set a date on anything!! The video card on my computer died and I've been unable to type… until now! Ha ha! Too many school projects… not to mention the musical, but I don't care. Everything turns out all right in the end. Anyhow, here I am, and I must say it's good to be back. On the contest grounds: a couple of partially right answers, and it was fun to see who everyone thinks our villains are. Very interesting… anyhow, enough babble, on with the tale!
Knuckles' ARK
Space Colony ARK: Day 11, 10:30 A.M.—Journal of Shadow the Hedgehog
Journal,
Knuckles escaped, but we're not quite sure how. We caught him in the medical area with Rouge, and it was a good thing too. He was about to take her off and do God knows what, then we'd never be able to find her and we'd have even more problems to deal with. Like Amy. Girl gets crazier every day.
At any rate, Knuckles is now back in his own cell, Tails has taken custody of the Master Emerald, and I'm with Dr. Eggman trying to figure out why the hell Rouge isn't close to dying.
"—But you had a hole through your shoulder the diameter of a tennis ball! Where the hell did it go? It can't just disappear!"
"Do you think I don't know that? Besides, I already told you; he used the Master Emerald to heal me." They're getting along rather well today, don't you think?
"Impossible. There's no way that it holds that kind of power, I'd have known about it."
"You don't know everything!"
"Hey!" I interrupted, "We're here to do a job, doctor, so let's get busy." By job, I meant an examination. We had to make sure she was in good health before allowing her to run off and nearly get killed again.
Dr. Eggman did the testing while I recorded; her reflexes were good, eyes were dilating fine, and there wasn't a sign that the wound had even been there. We only had problems when it came to listening to her heartbeat. She had been quiet and cooperative the whole time until the doctor pressed the stethoscope on her bare flesh. Then there was trouble.
"EEEEEYAAAAAAAH! What are you doing??!!" she shrieked, leaping back from him to the end of the examination table. He stared at her for a moment before glaring.
"Come back over here, I'm almost done with your examination, just this one last thing. I have work to do, you know." Yeah, work like rigging up new cameras in her room.
"No," she stated, crossing her arms. "I'm cold enough already! Did you soak that thing in ice water as a means of torture or something?" Doctor Eggman rolled up his sleeve and tested the metal instrument on his arm.
"It can't be that cold, Rouge. Suck it up," I said, walking toward the table where she sat, glaring at us both. Doctor Eggman spoke up.
"No, she's right, Shadow. It is freezing. If you don't mind, I'll just use my ear." All at once, her frown lifted into a crooked smile as she leaned forward.
"You'd really enjoy that, wouldn't you, Doctor?" she mocked. "I'd get defensive, but right now I'd really like to get out of here and get some new clothes on." I swear the old man must have planned that. I tested the stethoscope myself, and it felt as if it had been in a freezer. Why did all old men seem so… perverted?
"As long as you don't mind…" he grinned. I couldn't watch this; it was just too sick. I jumped in between them.
"I'll do it, Doctor. My hearing's much better than yours." Eggman, looking slightly angry, walked back to the counter for the clipboard as I glared at the bat. "What do you think you're doing?" I hissed.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she smirked, "I just want a shirt, that's all. It is really cold in here, you know." Yeah, but it wasn't that cold. She was plotting something.
"What are you up to, Rouge?" I asked as the Doctor approached. "You wouldn't let that disgusting old man near you without a purpose." Her smile widened.
"But it's different for you, Shadow? According to what you've told me, you're just as old as he is. So what's the big deal? Anything you want to tell me?" So that was her game, was it? Looking for information… or was she just trying to bother me? Well, she did. Why was I doing this, anyway? I didn't feel any want or need to shove my face into her chest under the excuse of 'listening to her heartbeat'... did I? And she was right; I am just as old as Doctor Eggman! What the hell was I doing?
"Alright Shadow, let's finish this. Then we can get Rouge suited up and go about our own business."
"Yeah, Shadow." She sat up straighter. "Hurry up, I'm freezing." And she was; there were goose bumps all over her skin and her body trembled slightly. "Well?"
Anyway, there isn't much more to tell. I did it, we got her the clothes Eggman designed for her, and I left to take care of some business I'd left unfinished. In fact, I'm still not quite done, so I think I'll go work on that…
Y'know something? I'm glad she didn't die…
Space Colony ARK: Day 11, 11:00 A.M.—Fly on the wall
"MISS ROUGE! YOU'RE ALRIGHT!" Amy yelled, throwing herself at the older girl.
"Of course I am! You don't think a little thing like a laser cannon can keep me down for long, do you?" the bat smiled.
"If I did, I don't anymore! It's so good to see you're not hurt."
"Well, thank you. Any new information on the attack come to light?"
"No, but Sonic has been going nuts over the whole thing! He's determined to find out who did it. Oh Miss Rouge, who do you think it could've been?"
"I wish I could say, but I thought I was on pretty good terms with everyone, so I'm baffled." This was a blatant lie; a blatant lie that the hedgehog didn't catch.
"I'm so scared now, Miss Rouge!"
"Everything'll be fine, Amy, don't worry about it; I'm not." The younger girl sighed.
"I wish I had your confidence, Rouge. I don't know whom to trust anymore. Everyone's a suspect."
"I hope I'm not interrupting something?" Both turned to see the silhouette of Tails standing in the doorway.
"Tails! No, no, everything's fine! Come sit with us," Amy called, gesturing the little fox over. He approached the table, but didn't sit.
"I'm afraid I don't have the time for that right now. I just wanted to get a fur sample from both of you," he answered, pulling out two plastic bags and a forceps.
"Fur? Whatever for, Tails?" The boy looked sharply at Rouge, attempting to figure out if she was serious or not.
"Someone stole the full body mech Dr. Eggman and I were working on. We think that the attacker might have used that. They left behind a few strands of white fur inside, and we're getting a sample from everyone with any white. So if you two don't mind…"
"Not at all!" Rouge beamed, once again with a mocking tone. She stood and allowed the fox to pluck a few hairs off of her head. Amy was slightly more hesitant, but plucked a few hairs from her belly just the same.
"Thanks again, girls. Oh, and Rouge," he smiled, "Do you like your new suit?" Amy looked at the bat as if she'd just realized that she wasn't wearing her customary attire. She was instead outfitted in a two-piece outfit with a white, bikini-like top attached to a zipped up leathery piece that went to just below her ribs. The shorts were so small that they almost couldn't be considered as such, and the whole thing was topped off with matching gloves and boots.
"Wow…" Amy breathed. Rouge smiled.
"Yes, it's wonderful. Did you help the doctor design it?"
"No; the design was all his idea. But I made it!" the boy stated proudly.
"Well, thank you very much, and give my thanks to the old man, okay?"
"Will do! Catch you two later!" And with that, the boy was gone. Amy shuddered.
"What's wrong, Rose?" the bat asked.
"There's something… different about Tails. He's completely changed since before we were all stuck up here," the hedgehog answered, biting her lower lip anxiously. Rouge patted her back.
"You're being paranoid, sweetie. Tails is just preoccupied with other things, that's all. He'll be back to normal once we get back to the planet. Don't you worry." Another lie, but this time it was caught.
"…You don't believe a word you just said, do you?" Amy asked with wide eyes.
An explosion rocked through the colony, cutting off their conversation.
Space Colony ARK: Day 11, 11:00 a.m.—Journal of Dr. Eggman
More problems now. Somebody's blown one of the generators. Luckily it wasn't the main one, but it did control the power on levels A, B and C, as well as the ventilation and heating ducts for those levels. I was blamed, naturally.
"What the hell did you do this time, Eggman?" Sonic screeched at me from his position in front of the broken machine. It was already starting to get cold.
"I didn't do this! I'm the one who stands to suffer most from it!" I countered. Tails stepped forward.
"He's right, Sonic. Without the power to our labs, we can't continue working on our projects! And he's more likely to freeze to death than anyone else here." The hedgehog gritted his teeth and turned his back.
"If not him, then who?" he asked, to no one in particular.
"This doesn't make any sense," Rouge muttered from her position near Amy. Amy… yes, there's something I must speak to her about.
"You're damn right," I agreed. "Who here has the motive to possibly want to cut the power to three of the levels?" Rouge's head snapped up.
"Does the main control room get power from this generator?" she asked. There was a pause.
"KNUCKLES!" Shadow shouted, and everyone followed him out of the room.
Alone, I walked around the sabotaged generator and studied the marks on it. They could only have been made by one type of creature, but… what was the motive? Ah well, I decided to find out after I asked Amy what she'd been doing with our new mech. Speaking of which, I'll go do that now.
Space Colony ARK: 11:10 a.m.—Omochao
My cellmate looked up as the others entered the room. He'd been trying for nearly an hour to open the cell from the outside because he promised me he'd let me out once he was sure it was going to be clear for a while? Anyway, the blue guy walked over and stood in front of him.
"Why'd you blow the generator, Knuckles?" he asked. Knuckles swallowed hesitantly.
"I didn't. I heard the explosion and broke out of the cell again, but- wait, a generator?!"
"Don't play stupid, echidna. It was obviously you. Everyone else was accounted for at the time," a black hedgehog said, coming up on the other side of him. "You cut the power so you could escape."
"If I did that, why would I still be here?"
"You said you were gonna let me out, remember?" I piped up. Knuckles stared at me with a mixture of shock and anger.
"And was the echidna gone at all before this?" the black hedgehog asked me.
"Yes, he said he had something he had to do that would help us," I answered, always ready to help.
"There you have it, ladies and gentlemen." The black hedgehog grabbed Knuckles by the arm.
"I saw what you did, Shadow," Knuckles hissed, shocking the black hedgehog. While he was speechless, Knuckles punched him in the chest, which sent him flying several feet away into a wall. Did I tell you Knuckles is one of the strongest guys in the world?
"Shadow!" the blue guy yelled, running over to inspect his friend for any serious injuries. Knuckles, meanwhile, looked about ready to run for it when a pretty bat pressed him up against the holding tank.
"What are you doing?" she hissed at him. He leaned toward her as best he could.
"You don't think I did this, Rouge!"
"I don't, but all the evidence points at you."
"Well get off, because I'm not going to let them lock me up again!" With that, he pushed her away and ran from the room, disappearing into the dark hallway. The blue guy stood to go after him, but the pretty bat grabbed his arm.
"Let him go, Sonic. It isn't safe for you to follow him in the dark." He looked at her.
"Will you follow him, then? I wouldn't trust him alone with you, especially in that getup." She laughed.
"Thanks for your concern, but I'm not worried because I'm not going after him either. I do, however, think that we need to get Shadow conscious again." She jerked her thumb in the direction of the unconscious black hedgehog.
"Good idea. Care to help me?"
"Sure." The two of them, carrying Shadow between them, left down the dark hall. Leaving the fox and the hedgehog girl.
"Amy?"
"Yes?"
"Doctor Eggman needs to ask you some questions right away."
"Um… okay."
They left, too. And they took the only light. Now it's dark…and I'm alone. I don't like the dark…
Space Colony ARK: Day 11, 11:45 a.m.—Fly on the wall
"What the hell are you up to?" "Excuse me?" "You know what I'm talking about!" "All right, fine. How did you know it was me?" "By looking at the evidence you left. It really wasn't that hard. Do you have any idea what will happen if people find out it was you?" "Yes; they'll think I'm the attacker and maybe we can all get out of here." "But it wasn't you!" "How do you know that?" "I have my ways." "Well, don't worry about me. I know what I'm doing." "I certainly hope so."
Space Colony ARK: Day 11, 2:00 p.m.—Journal of Rouge the Bat
I know what's going on! I know who attacked me, but I don't know what to do. I don't think I can hold off more than one of them, and if I'm right, I definitely don't have the strength or the skill to hold off him. I don't know whom I can tell… or if they'll believe me. They've all gotten into such tight-knit little groups… The only loners are Knuckles and Amy, but I can't be sure who they're with, and it isn't safe to tell them. If I confide in the wrong person, I'm as good as dead.
In other news, we're all stuck on the manufacturing level because it still has heat and light. A, B and C are all frozen through by now, and the Doctor has them sealed off. Now we all sleep in the same room, and use the same bathroom… it's horrible. Reminds me of that job in India a few years back, only here nobody's even tried to cop a feel.
I can't find Knuckles. I've looked for him all over. I just hope he's not in any of the frozen levels… Speaking of Knuckles, the Master Emerald is gone! Tails ran around shrieking about it for almost ten minutes before Sonic told him it was all right, and they didn't need it anyway, or something like that.
…God, I'm so cold. I have to share a sleeping bag with Rose now because we're short on blankets. Unfortunately, it isn't time for bed yet, and my suit only covers so much skin. I think I'll go for a run… get my blood running. I'll write later if I'm still alive.
Rouge
Okay… that's it for now. Rouge has it solved, do you? Don't forget to send your answer to make the cameo. I'll try to get the next one out soon. We're almost done here. (And don't review with just guesses… I'll take any hints or tips anyone has to offer. They'd be appreciated… or you could just tell me you liked the chapter… or you could ignore my pathetic condition and have a lovely day. That one sounds good, don't you think?) Anyway, see you all next update.
--Esly~.^