"One down…six more to go…"
Shadow, the black hedgehog whom had a little unanticipated 'run in' with Sonic and his companions late last night in the backstreets, stood in the dank, murky room looking intensely at the luminosity of the emerald shining from his palm.
"Shadow! Did you get it?? Did you get the emerald!?" An apprehensive voice called from what sounded like a few inches away. The door on the far side of the room slid wide open, revealing a rather rotund character with a bushy bright red moustache.
"Yes, Doctor. They're no threat to us…"
"Ha ha ha! Sonic's no match for us this time!" Dr. Robotnik cackled as he snatched the precious gem from Shadow's grasp. He looked it over as if making sure it was bona fide and interleaved it into a slot which seemed to fit it perfectly…a slot on the Eclipse Cannon.
Shadow watched with satisfaction as the emerald flickered brightly. The mischievous grin once on his face was quickly wiped away as he turned away from Robotnik, thinking about the other things on his mind.
"Maria…don't worry…soon the people of this world will experience our pain…they will pay for what they've done, I guarantee it. But Angel…I wonder…" He went into deep contemplation; excruciating, distressing recollections bombarded into his mind which he tried fervently and vehemently to block. He fisted his hands and punched as forcefully as he could at the unyielding metal wall, putting a slim indentation in it.
"Ha ha, you two amuse me…"
An unidentified voice came echoing from above, which sounded very feminine and suave. Dr. Robotnik and Shadow looked up to see the contour of a figure with lengthy bat wings. She slowly materialized from the shadows, illuminating her form. Her fur was pallid and hoary, and just by looking at her profoundly make-uped eyes you can tell she was the inexplicable, sexy type. She wore a black cat suit with a hot pink heart shape breast plate on her busty top and tall white and pink hooker styled boots that reached her knees.
"Who are you?" Dr. Robotnik asked the interloper.
"You're looking for the Chaos Emeralds, am I right?" She asked, completely disregarding the doctor's query.
"What's it to you?"
"Hmph, well what if I told you I could…help you find them?"
Shadow and Dr. Robotnik looked at each other, both already conjecturing this was some kind of swindle to pilfer them from their emeralds.
"Well I'd think there was a catch…"
"Not likely," she held out her hand, a topaz-coloured gem was exposed, "I'm looking for them as well, and I already have pinpoint locations on where most of them are."
"Alright, you're not fooling anyone," Shadow finally stepped up, "so whoever you are, get the fuck out of here, we're not interested!"
The white bat lobbed the jewel to them. Dr. Robotnik picked it up, scanning it over with great curiosity in his eyes when at last he shouted out, "This is a Chaos Emerald!"
Shadow looked to the emerald, and then to the girl, "Why are you doing this?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
No one responded.
"Alright, you got yourself a deal," The doctor broke the silence and stepped closer to the woman, "you'll help us find the emeralds."
"The name's Rouge," She shook Dr. Robotnik's hand with a impious grin, "Rouge the bat."
******************************************************
"Hey, I think she's finally waking up!"
"Ugh…"
"Wake up, WAKE UP!"
"AHH!!"
Angel screamed stridently and quickly sat up from her sleep, smacking Amy, whom was hovering over her, straight in the head.
"Owwy!" Amy cried as she stroked her forehead.
"Dude, what kinda way is that to wake someone up?" Angel asked, seeing stars flash in front of her eyes.
"Angel! Who was that black hedge-"
"He got the emerald!"
"What did he
do to yo-"
"Do you know him?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait…okay…okay…" Sonic, Tails, and Amy's mouths were moving a mile a minute, wanting to know what exactly happened the preceding night, "Let me say this plain and simple…what the HELL HAPPENED LAST NIGHT!? AND WHERE'S SHADOW?!"
There was an ephemeral pause.
"Well, um, you sort of…gave him the emerald…" Sonic said, looking to Amy and Tails who both returned his gaze.
"Wha-! No…he didn't…"
"You were, like, in a trance or something!" Amy responded, sounding both vexed and bewildered.
Angel didn't say anything, but seemed to have zoned out on the floor. Amy waved her hand in front of her eyes, and she finally came to.
"Amy, stay back!" Sonic said as he got in front of her and looked Angel straight in the eye, "She could be with Robotnik and that black hedgehog!"
"No! I…I'm trying to stop them!"
"You seemed to be awfully acquainted with him…who are you!?"
She didn't respond.
"I…I'm…"
"Tails, Amy, stand back."
Angel got to her feet as Sonic took a few steps back, getting ready to assault her if she tried to escape.
"Angel…" Amy said sensitively as she and Tails looked as if they were about to dissent to Sonic's actions, but stood back as told.
"We don't take kindly to spies," Sonic flashed her a threatening look, "So get ready!"
Kneeling down, Sonic got ready to run and strike her as Amy and Tails behind him shouted 'no!' and 'stop!'. Angel, however, closed her eyes, not looking at all apprehensive about Sonic.
"Please forgive me," She said as she reached into her pocket, pulling out a glimmering silver gem, "Chaos Control!"
Sonic stopped in his tracks.
"She's gone!"
The three of them rushed outside of Tail's workshop to look around, only to see she was no where in the vista.
"I knew it! She was with him!" Sonic affirmed as he continued to glare around the scene in search of Angel.
A low and fatigued voice called out behind them.
"You must believe me! I'm trying to stop Shadow!"
"Liar!"
Sonic, Tails, and Amy directed their eyes back to the workshop where they saw a sallow Angel kneeling on the soil; winded and trying to intake oxygen she desperately needed
"Take it." she said, rolling them the emerald since she didn't have enough energy to throw it. Amy picked it up and handed it to Sonic, who had a mixed sentiment in his eyes- hesitation, culpability, and puzzlement. All of the thoughts in his head about her being with Dr. Robotnik were tangled and twisted…if she was with him why would she give them the emerald? Was it a lure?
"I don't care what you say, Sonic!" Amy yelled, quickly running over to Angel to help her to her feet, "She's my friend!"
Angel gave her a feeble smile for her supportive words, still struggling to catch her breath.
"Alright, I'll give her another chance…" Sonic said, walking closer to her, "but I want her to answer every question truthfully."
Angel nodded her head limply as she leaned against the workshop for support. She felt her legs almost give out.
"First of all, who is 'Shadow'?"
"…Project Shadow…Professor Gerald Robotnik's experiment also known as the 'Ultimate Life Force'…He was created on the Space Colony ARK-"
"Space Colony ARK? But that's been shut down for over fifty years!"
"Exactly. Fifty years ago, the colony was assaulted by a corporation named G.U.N. They had one task to complete, to exterminate Shadow. Once they had completed that, they were to obliterate everything aboard the ARK, shut it down, and blame Gerald Robotnik for everything.
Maria Robotnik, Gerald Robotnik's granddaughter, unfortunately was shot by one of the assailants but managed to run to the room Shadow was being kept in. With her few last breaths, she put him in an escape pod and deployed him down back to earth where no one would find him. As soon as she hit that button, a man in black broke into the room and…murdered her…"
A few drizzling tears slid down Angel's face as she told them her story. She quickly wiped them away, and was about to continue on when Sonic interrupted.
"But, how do you know all this?"
"Because…I…was on that ARK."
As the last word emitted from her mouth, an demoralizing wind seemed to have blown through the trees.
"But, how is that possible!? You'd be over fifty years old, but you look only fourteen! And how did you survive!?"
"I…I was sent down in a capsule as well. I saw him shoot Maria, and then he pointed his rifle towards me. I tried to dodge it, but was hit by two bullets," Angel lowered a strap from her tankini top, revealing two wounds that looked only but a few days old: one on her shoulder and one on her chest. She put her hand on one, closing her eyes not only from the excruciating pain of the bullet-but from her memories as well. "I was shot back into the wall. Quickly, I pressed a button while he was chambering another round, making a capsule emerge from the ceiling; surrounding me and deploying me down to Earth as well. We both landed in an abandoned lab outside of San Francisco. The problem with that? We couldn't get out until someone activated the pod and released us."
"Wait, that doesn't make sense. Wouldn't you have died in there?"
"No, when you are in the pod, it's like being cryogenically frozen; you're basically preserved as you are."
A few more tears trickled down her face, reminiscing about that tragic night that would haunt her forever.
"Maria…she was my best friend. Shadow, too. It's hard to believe now but he was so different…he actually had feelings instead of being the ruthless, merciless killer he is now!"
"Angel…I'm…I'm sorry for coming to conclusions too quickly," Sonic walked over to her, putting his hand on her shoulder, "If it's alright, would you like to be part of the group?"
The three looked to Angel-who was starting to resume her normal colour- and waited for a response. She stared at the emerald, and then to Sonic, wondering if she'd be better off on a pursuit for the gems alone or with Amy and the others helping.
"Alright."
"Yay!" Amy threw her hands up in delight and gave Angel a hug, obviously cheerful at the choice she had made. Sonic grinned and chuckled as he watched Angel struggling to get out of Amy's deadly grip.
"Welcome to the team, Angel."