Rain tore at the earth for a violent eternity and thunder split the sky. But the fierce emotions of the land could not last – eternity translated into hours, and soon the heavens could weep no longer. The storm passed away, leaving broken moonlight to illuminate the land. The celestial watcher scarcely kept its crescent eye open – it was a cold entity, observing the world with tired detachment.
On the Earth below, a similar eye opened. Rouge stretched her body and woke. She grunted, and covered the spasm of pain at her side. God, she was stiff! She wondered why on earth for, and she pursed her brow, confused over the foreign scent of wood in her bedroom.
Bits and pieces of the past began to fill her memory. She opened her eyes with quick alert, and got an eyeful of the rundown house of plywood. She recalled the two weeks trapped with the cat, her accidental trek into the depths of the jungle tower, and the giddy excitement of kidnapping Shadow and Omega. Her body reminded her that the experience had been far from a pleasant time, and she grimaced over the stiffness of her bandaged joints.
Rouge tossed aside her blanket and sat up slowly. She faintly recalled making an important decision before she dropped to sleep, but that frenzy of activity in her mind was now thin as smoke. It was difficult to remember her earlier convictions. A nonchalant shrug. Oh well. So much had happened; she needed to think things through.
She considered the tragedy that had sent her into devastation earlier this night: Her jewels had been shattered. Crushed in a single footstep. The memory made her sigh, but now she was able to step away from her initial distress and look over things calmly. Yes, she had worked hard to liberate those jewels, and she had devoted so much time to their care, but really – were they so terribly important that she had to break down and die?
She cringed, recalling what a weeping whiner she had been earlier. They were just stones, after all, and she had much nicer ones in so many other hiding spots around the Provinces. Now those unguarded children were something to concern about; she had to collect them all before her secret caches were discovered.
The thought was enough to stir the bat into action. So it was back to the initial plan – sneak into the cities, empty her coffers and get out of the country. Rouge got on her feet to explore the house. Right now she had less than ever before, but she would work her way up from nothing, now that her mind was locked on a goal. Rouge sauntered about, taking an inventory of everything the house could offer her, and making a mental shopping list of everything else she'd need.
The bathroom still had running water. She took a long drink and splashed her face. Black rivets of oily liquid ran down the drain. Soap. That was the first thing she'd need. Looking in the mirror at her blackened face, she snorted and chastised herself once more for her earlier panicking. Mud and dirt would wash off and her wings would sew themselves back together. And scarring? There were creams she could buy that would lessen their marks, and what was left could be concealed behind alluring garments. There was nothing to grow sick over.
Clothes – something black and stealthy, something casual. Painkillers. A passport. Someplace to hide out. A computer. Her shopping list grew. She gave no thought to that ridiculous promise made in a moment of stupid sorrow. Hunt down Gerald Robotnik's grandson to learn everything she could about Shadow's lost past. It was sweet and idealistic, but she didn't want that burden – she had her own problems to take care of first.
But maybe this time, she could have help. At the foot of the staircase, she found Omega – powered down in hibernation, with his torso slumped on an angle and his arms hanging in defeat. Apparently the night had been too much for even his endurance. Her eyes drifted over him lovingly, taking in all the secret weapon-housing compartments on his towering frame. G.U.N. would have to break this soldier before they ever arrested her. Rouge patted his chest and let him rest for the new day.
Oil, tools. Her little helper would have to be in top condition. And a disguise. Robots were the popular minority to persecute these days.
Once again, her thoughts focused on Shadow. She was not so hysterically emotional about him this time, nonetheless, her sudden compulsions to protect him – keep him from her former employers – remained. It would be risky business, consorting with G.U.N. and hoping they'd play fair.
She marched into the next room, dark, but not unoccupied. Shadow was sprawled over a couch, sleeping in the nude. Moonlight trickled from the tarp-covered window, and his body glistened with sweat. Rouge frowned, concerned that his night had been a poor rest.
He'd saved her life – fighting back the Egg Pawns, shielding her against the burn of that rocket explosion, leaping against Omega when the end seemed near. Rouge couldn't help but sigh wistfully over the memory of his sweet chivalry.
Why give up that pure loyalty? The more Rouge thought about Shadow, the more she wanted to keep him. Without the Immortality Project, those traitors in the Intelligence Division would be forever scarred with failure. And The Doctor would be so furious to learn his little trophy had been stolen, he'd be throwing tantrums! She grew giddy, thinking about how she could spite them all by hiding Shadow.
In fact, she rationalized, Shadow would be all the better with her. What past did he have that was so wonderful to remember? His hand set the detonators that killed every man and woman on Prison Island. His malice tricked them all, collecting the chaos emeralds to power the ARK's engines for free-fall. Nothing but blood and fifty years of ice – she was doing him a favor through deception.
He'd be safe and looked after, and she'd give him a future so rich that the past would lose all its allure. All he had to do was accept her stories and help her reclaim her fortunes. And if he wanted to leave after that, she would be open to the consideration of the pondering of that possibility.
The future blossomed with hope. No one would stop her with The Ultimate Life Form and the Final E-Series unit as her enforcers. And if she found a chaos emerald… Her lips spread with a trembling smile. Rouge tried to hold it back, but she couldn't bear restraint. Girlish giggling erupted from her jovial face. With a chaos emerald in Shadow's paw, she could be invincible! Her mind flooded with possibilities.
The bat turned to Shadow, still asleep despite all her noise. His nightmares must have been truly draining. Rouge tsked, thinking about the poor baby, and sauntered over to stroke his unfortunate head.
Shadow shot a hand out and around her throat. She gagged. With startled eyes, Rouge grabbed his wrist and pulled against his grip. This time he was stronger, merciless, and her eyes were starting to go black, but she escaped with a fierce tug and tumbled to the floor, panting.
"You bastard!" Vengeance gleamed in her fixated eyes. She was about to throw her weight into his rib cage when she realized that Shadow was still snoozing peacefully.
He was asleep. Rouge stepped away, her incredulous eyes understanding now the danger of this monster she had liberated. She'd heard stories about this sort of thing – all the veterans from major combat had stories of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or something. Memories of fighting and terror so strong, they etched into your brain as instinct. And this vengeful little beastie was so jumpy or sadistic that he tensed for killing while he slept! Rouge ground her fangs and paced the floor, fighting the temptation to kick him and set him straight.
Tell him the truth – yeah right! Shadow was ready to strangle her in his sleep. If he ever found out that she was lying to him – if he ever lost his fear of Angelic pain, if he ever began to doubt her enlightenment – he would snap her neck for being deceived so blatantly.
She reconsidered the deal for amnesty with G.U.N. There was no profit to keeping this secret if it would kill her. But easy retirement and the power of Chaos Control were too tempting. If anything happens, she reasoned, … well, Omega wouldn't let it happen. His devotion would be everlasting.
Massaging her crushed windpipe, Rouge added another item to her list. A Past. Her story needed to be airtight to keep Shadow in line, to keep him from running away or turning against her. And if in the end, he didn't appreciate her efforts to give him a better life – if he dared rebel against his guardian angel – she would cast him back to Hell, back to G.U.N.
Another revelation came. Rouge looked down at the hand she used to soothe her throat, and realized it was her left – the same hand Shadow had fastened around her neck to kill.
He broke that arm, she thought, recalling all the pain even slight movement had caused him. Now he was laying face down, arm dangling off the couch without any indication of a fracture. Rouge looked closer – searching for the burn marks on his back, or the wounds from those inserted tubes. The only scar she could see ran along his shoulder, and the couch was covered with the flakes of old scabs.
"You really are the ultimate," she whispered. Rouge had to tame this demon.
Only one thing kept her from getting to work on the past. Shadow's clothing was arranged at the head of the couch, and his hoverskates emitted a magnetic attraction. Stepping around his circle of reach, Rouge slipped the shoes up in her fingers and retreated to the opposite end of the room to try them on.
They were big on her, of course, leaving lots of toe space. She tried a few awkward steps, wondering how she could get the nitro-jets to float her off the ground. She wiggled her toes to the tip of the skates, and felt the springy resistance of a button or a pad. Her weight pushed down hard.
Blades unhooked from each side of the sneakers. Her eyes jumped only a second before she restrained her shock behind calm ice. "What the hell?" Quickly, Rouge pulled off the skates for a good look at this surprise.
Three hooked knives sprung from each inner and outer face, angled to slice flesh with a kick. Rouge thought back to the secret bunker, and how efficiently Shadow had lopped off every robot's head. He was a walking lawnmower, capable of nipping off any limbs that came within these rotary blades!
Irritation found the bat – why hadn't she discovered this secret before? With a quick glance at the sleeping Shadow, she followed a hunch and crept over to the couch to search the rest of his things.
The manacled gloves – they had sharpened metal rivets at each finger joint to increase the damage of every punch. Brass knuckles. Both wristlets, identical to the one she had carried for over a month, had an alarming new addition: a little stub that could be pulled to unwind the spool of razor wire inside. Her throat went very dry.
The ring. The precious ruby ring he made every effort to retain. Rouge touched the jewel, identified it as an imitation and felt it wobble, like a button on a console. She hammered it, and an eight-inch punching dagger popped out of the frame. The ring dropped from her grasp and clattered on the floor. It opened up like a locket. Inside, she found a small screwdriver, flashlight, miniature wire-cutters and a set of lock-picks all recognizable to a trained treasure hunter.
The skates, the ring, the gloves – all of them had The Doctor's grinning mug etched in their fabric.
She thought back to the base and the capsule he'd been locked in. She thought of the wires flowing into his legs, his arms, and his shoulder. She thought of his sudden training in martial arts and these hidden weapons – tools of an assassin. Rouge told herself she was not afraid, but there was no denying the terror of her final revelation. This amnesia was no accident.
Shadow yawned. In a flash, she snatched up the ring, folded away all its concealed weaponry and infiltration kit and replaced his things in exact order. Then she got up and walked hastily out of the room. She shut the door.
Rouge darted past the sleeping Omega and tiptoed upstairs to find some privacy. She needed to think back over her various heists and assignments – figure out how Shadow could have helped her accomplish the various raids.
If it all worked, nothing would stop her. The thought returned the bat to her cold calm. There was always a way out; this job was nowhere beyond her skills. She had Omega; she had Shadow – all he needed was a little assurance. Together, nothing would stop her.
She smiled with content. "Now I have everything I need," she purred, "to get me everything I want."
Rouge settled down in a corner and began to remember the past two years of her life – years spent scouring the globe for priceless wonders with her partner – the world's second-greatest treasure hunter, Shadow the Hedgehog.
Know how to survive.
There's no point in living,
If you can't feel the life
We know when to kiss,
And we know when to kill.
If we can't have it all then nobody will...
--"The World Is Not Enough". Lyrics by Don Black.