Shadow: What the hell is that?
An update to Experimentation?
Shadow: You finished the fourteenth chapter?!
Finally, I know. But yes.
Shadow: ::shock and awe::
Sonic: o.o? Nani? What's up?
Shadow: She finally got the new chapter done…!
Sonic: REALLY?!
Shadow: YES!
You two knew I had a busy college year and everything…
Shadow: ::fanning Sonic – who is on the floor:: He fainted.
Oh god. He's so melodramatic…
Since it's summertime – I've been able to write without needing to worry about homework and other obligations. So – I managed to get this chapter done (all thirty four pages of it – although the total page count as of right now for the WHOLE story is 132 pages). One of the main problems that I couldn't get farther on this story was because of a huge writer's block that I had on it. If you don't know what that is – it basically means that I was unable to write past a certain point in the story – where my imagination and creativity couldn't get past the hurtle to continue the storyline (I'm only saying this here because I have received emails asking me what it was that was stopping me from writing).
As a busy writer, I usually work on more than one project – which includes various writings in the world of fan fiction, but also on my own original work as well. I currently have over twenty projects that I'm working on. Hopefully I will be able to get my sequel for Unknown out this summer as well.
Anyway – here you go! I'm sorry it took so long – but it's worth the wait. This is the second to last chapter of Experimentation. Chapter 15 is the last one – which I hope to get out before the end of the summer. We'll see though. I will be working two jobs this summer, so I will be busy again…
Thanks for being patient and for reading. I hope you enjoy it and I appreciate it. Oh, and don't mind the horizontal breaks... FF.NET apparently has a thing about asterisks now (that's how I would show breaks in the pages) - so I had to edit... I don't really like it but, what can you do? XP
Crimson blinked rapidly as he tried not to run out of the room at that very moment to tell everyone the good news. Sonic's weak smile made him smile, if it was just a little bit.
" You've…been out for a few days, Sonic…"
Sonic continued smiling.
" I…like the new hairstyle, Shadow…"
The black hedgehog touched the back of his head with his left hand, feeling his damp quills. He nodded a little.
" I took a shower so…they won't stand up on their own for awhile."
" Can't…leave you alone for a minute, can…I?"
Shadow raised an eyebrow.
" Hmm?"
" Stealing my hairstyle…You know, I'd smack you if I could sit up…faker…"
Both of them laughed, until the blue hero winced. Shadow rose – Sonic squeezed his hand a little harder.
" Are you alright?!"
" Okay…note to self…don't laugh hard…"
" Do you want me to get Rouge? She can give you something for the pain…" He said, looking Sonic over. He'd have done it himself, but he didn't know what Rouge had already given him, and he didn't want a certain drug to counteract badly with another one and end up killing Sonic.
The azure hedgehog shook his head weakly.
" No…I'm okay…It hurts, but I'll live…"
" You're in worse shape than I am and the painkillers will help…"
" Will they make me sleep?"
" …Most likely."
" Then I don't want them now…"
" But Sonikku…"
He shook his head again. The stubbornness was still there.
It showed that Sonic hadn't changed much since his torture.
" No. I don't want them right now. Maybe if it gets worse…"
Shadow nodded, reluctantly. He sat down again, giving Sonic's hand a squeeze. Sonic tried to relax and smiled gently.
" So…fill me in…what's happened around here…?"
" Nothing much, really…"
" Haven't told you much…?"
Shadow nodded.
" Rouge hasn't really let me do anything…She'll be really glad that you woke up though. They were really worried."
Green eyes closed for a moment. The ebony hedgehog wasn't sure if he was trying to rest or if he was pondering…
" You did too."
His ears perked.
" I did what?"
" Worried about me."
" Well—yeah." Shadow said, looking down a little.
He didn't know what to say now. A thought passed by and he lifted his head again.
" Oh, I wanted to—"
" You're welcome." Sonic interrupted.
Shadow paused.
" W-what?"
" I said 'you're welcome'. Did you lose some of your hearing or something?"
The infamous grin.
He was puzzled though. How did he…?
Sonic chuckled quietly, trying not to hurt himself.
" I heard you, you know…"
Blink.
" You…did?"
Sonic nodded, smiling.
" I'm just glad that you woke up…"
" What can I say? I die hard…" He chuckled again.
It was Shadow's turn to smile a little. Remembering. ARK. Their last encounter before the final fight. He had said that once before.
" Do…you know what they did to me…?" Sonic asked, breaking the memory in Shadow's mind like a stone through glass.
Red looked up to meet saddened green eyes.
" Pardon?"
" My chest…really hurts a lot…"
" I'll get Rouge." He stood.
Sonic shook his head once more, tightening his grip on Shadow's hand, and pulling a little so he would sit down again.
" N-no, I just want to know…if…you know."
Sitting down again, Shadow frowned.
" Rouge said that…GUN…put some sort of…sensor in you."
" That's what…they did to me…?"
" From what she told me…yeah…"
The blue hedgehog seemed to tremble a little. He bit his bottom lip and closed his eyes.
" I…couldn't really see…what was going on…"
Oh no…I went through this too…
" I just…remember feeling someone sitting on me…"
Shadow bit his own lip this time.
" And they…I don't know…stabbed me! W-with something…and g-god…it hurt so badly…." He shook a little, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.
" Sonic—try not to think about it…"
" B-but I…thought I was going to…die…T-that they were slowly….watching me die…"
The black hedgehog squeezed Sonic's hand, standing once again so he could lean over the bed. He wiped away the tears from the hedgehog's eyes. Trembling slightly, Sonic paused as he felt Shadow's hand rest on the top of his head.
" I'm…s-sorry…it's just—"
" Don't be sorry…I know it had to be awful…"
Sonic sniffled a little and then opened his eyes.
" T-thanks…"
" It's nothing…"
" God, I wish…I could move…"
" You'll get better soon…And once you get strong enough, I'll help you around if you want. Or someone else will, because they probably won't let me do it."
Sonic felt himself smile a little.
" Just like…I did with you…before…"
Shadow paused. He had forgotten about that. Sonic had let Shadow use him, literally, as a crutch when he was first brought to the workshop. He felt himself smile a little again.
" Right…"
Sonic moved, wincing harder now. He tried to stifle a cry of pain.
" O-ow…"
His friend jumped.
" I'll get you something for the pain. Rouge'll know what to do—"
The blue hedgehog wouldn't let go of his hand. Nails digging into flesh now. Shadow winced just slightly, a little shocked at Sonic's grip.
" N-no…please don't leave…"
He stopped, looking back at him.
" Please…"
The hero's eyes were pleading for him to stay. Shadow frowned, not liking this idea. He didn't want Sonic to be in any pain if he didn't have to be. Unfortunately, the hedgehog's stubbornness was getting the better of him this time. He could force Sonic to let go…but he looked scared. He didn't want to be alone. Shadow knew that feeling…and sat down again, grumbling a little at Sonic's stubbornness.
" There's got to be something that I can do…"
Sonic was trying to deal with the pain, digging his nails into Shadow's hand again, not realizing that he was doing it. Shadow just squeezed back harder, trying to let him know that he was there.
" I'm fine…it's going away…"
" Sure doesn't…feel like it is…just don't break my hand…"
" S-sorry…"
" I really should get Rouge."
Another shake of the head.
" I'm alright. Really, I am…please…don't leave."
" Please, Shadow…" Desperation.
The black hedgehog thought for a moment. He still didn't like to see Sonic in pain, especially when he COULD do something to assist him… But Sonic said that he was alright. Although it was obvious that he wasn't.
" If it gets worse, you'll tell me. Right?"
" Right…"
" Promise me, Sonikku… I don't want to see you hurt."
" I promise."
" Alright…"
He sat back down. Sonic smiled as best as he could, trying to focus on his friend.
" You…were really worried about me, weren't you…?"
A slow blink.
" Of course I was…you were…so much worse off than I was…"
" I'm glad…you're alright…"
" Now it's your turn to get better."
Sonic laughed, wincing slightly. Shadow frowned yet again.
" No worries…I told you…I just can't laugh hard…or it hurts…"
Another squeeze.
" Try and rest, Sonikku…"
" I am resting, Shadow…"
" You know what I mean."
Another one of the grins appeared.
" Have you…by any chance…remembered anything…?"
" Remembered…?"
" Your memory…Falling from ARK and…all that jazz…"
" Oh." Shadow hadn't even thought about it at all, since they had gotten out of GUN Labs.
" You haven't remembered anything else…?"
He shook his head.
" No, I don't have any more…pieces to the puzzle."
Sonic frowned this time.
" I'm sorry."
" It's not important right now, Sonikku. I have all the time in the world to remember, right?"
A smile.
It was soon matched with another one.
" That's right…"
The two hedgehogs continued to converse late into the morning. Time passed, although they didn't seem to notice it much. Sonic fell asleep here and there, due to his lack of energy. Shadow stayed up with him until about dawn. He felt his eyelids betraying him as he sat up with Sonic. He slowly began to doze off, where Sonic, on the other hand, began to wake up. He blinked a little, finding that Shadow hadn't moved from his spot.
" Shadow…?" He asked quietly, noting the hedgehog's quiet breathing, and how it had deepened as if he was asleep.
His ears flicked as he heard the door open.
Tails poked his head into the room, looking about.
" Morning, Shadow…"
The hedgehog did not answer him. The small fox walked closer.
" Shadow…? Oh, he fell asleep…" He gently touched his arm, about to wake him up.
" Leave…him be, Tails…" Sonic's quiet voice spoke up.
The fox jumped, looking over at Sonic quickly. The hedgehog grinned at him.
" Sonic!"
" Shhh…" He hissed. " Shadow stayed up all night with me…don't wake him."
Tails noticed that Shadow still had his hand over Sonic's.
" …You're okay, Sonic?"
" I've been better…but meh…I'm fine. It'll take a lot more to kill me off…" He winked a little at his small friend.
" I should get Miss Rouge!" Tails said, his ears perking. " She'll be so happy that you're alright!"
Shadow moved a little in his sleep, catching the eye of Sonic.
" Shh, Tails…"
" Oops…" He covered his mouth with his hands.
" Go get Rouge if you want…kid…"
" You'll be okay…?"
" I can always wake Shadow up if I need help…"
The small fox nodded, taking off out of the room quickly. His excitability was noted as he cried out for Rouge.
" Rouge! ROUGE!!"
Sonic sighed a little as Shadow's right eye opened.
" Tails…is a little too rambunctious for his own good…Sorry, Shadow…"
A smirk.
" Don't worry about it. How are you feeling?"
" Like a truck ran me over a few times…"
" That bad, huh…?"
" Actually, that's better than last night…hee…"
Shadow laughed a little.
" ROUGE!"
The white bat jumped a little, her ears folding.
" Tails, I heard you… ow. What is it?"
" It's Sonic!"
Her heart dropped. Oh no… Sitting up in bed, she slowly looked over at the fox, whose eyes were practically sparkling. He had the biggest smile that he could possibly muster on his face. She hadn't seen that one in awhile.
" What about Sonic…?"
" He woke up!"
" He did?! That's wonderful!"
" SonicsaidthathewokeupsometimelastnightandShadow…!"
" Whoa, whoa, kiddo! Slow down! Breathe when you speak…"
Tails took a deep breath and retold her the same thing in a slew of babble. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him gently.
" TAILS! Use spaces!"
He gasped again and blinked at her a couple of times.
" Sonic woke up some time last night and said that Shadow stayed up with him all night and and and…!"
Rouge got up out of her bed, putting her robe on before she ventured out of her room to Sonic's. She was too busy trying to tie it, not paying attention to where she was going…
…and collided into an ornery half awake echidna.
" Oof!"
Hands grabbed at her sides, steadying her against him.
" Whoa, there. Where's the fire?"
" Knuckles?!" Her face flushed up slightly.
" Yup, it's me. What's going on?"
" Well—"
" SONIC WOKE UP!" Tails screamed from behind them, causing them both to jump, instinctively grabbing each other. " YAAAAAY!"
He rushed past them, darting back into the other room where the hedgehog resided.
Rouge found her head on Knuckles' chest, since both of them were holding each other out of surprise. They both blinked a little and quickly shoved the other away.
" S-sorry!"
The Guardian looked at her once and then turned his head away. Purple eyes focused on the ceiling as his dreads swung about, landing against his shoulders.
" Um—Rouge…your robe."
He made sure NOT to look at her.
" Pardon…?"
She looked down, noting her silk nightgown showing from her half opened robe.
" Eee!" She closed it quickly – after giving Knuckles a good slap to the face.
" Ow!! What did you do THAT for?!"
" You know exactly why!!"
" I didn't look!!"
" Like hell you didn't!!"
" I take it they're falling in love more every day, eh, Shadow…?" Sonic's voice carried a little from the open doorway.
" It's clearly flirting." Shadow commented.
Both hedgehogs were smirking evilly at the two blushing treasure hunters.
" Sonic! You're alright?!"
Knuckles rubbed his now stinging red cheek as Rouge rushed into the room, almost knocking him over in the process.
" Sonikku! Do you—oh my god, you probably need painkillers…WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME, SHADOW!?!"
The black hedgehog jumped, slumping in his seat quickly as she loomed over him.
" He didn't want me to! Honest!! I was going to!"
" Oh really?! You sadist!"
" What!?! I didn't do anything!!"
" Exactly! Why I ought to…"
" Rouge, don't yell at him! It's the truth." Sonic said, smiling at her.
Green eyes blinked once, turning to meet his matching green. His smirk told all.
" God, Sonic…you had us all worried!!"
" You know me. I like to keep you guys on your toes…" He laughed a little, regretting it instantly. " I really need to remember not to laugh…"
" Um…Rouge…can you let me have some breathing room now…?" Shadow asked, poking at her shoulder with one finger.
" What? Oh! Sorry, Shadow." She backed up, moving to get a look at Sonic. " Your bandages are going to need to be changed too…and you'll need some more medicine and…"
" I can help with that—"
" No, Shadow. You need some more rest."
" But—"
" Rouge," Knuckles interrupted, rubbing the top of Tails' head gently with one hand. " You can handle this, right?"
It was very obvious that he was in need of some sleep. She blinked and then waved a hand rapidly at him.
" Get to bed, Knuckles. Thanks again."
He gave them a thumbs up, then turned to find a place to sleep.
" I'll talk to you guys later…well, if you're conscious, that is…" He grinned at Sonic, who tried to flip him off as best as he could. The hedgehog was still grinning though. " Later." And with that, the echidna padded up the stairs to find Sonic's actual room and bed.
" Shadow, you go get some sleep too. You look like you could use it."
" But—I—"
" Go on, now." She tried to shoo him out of the room.
" I want to help…!"
" You can help later! Sleep!"
" Damn it…huh?" He felt a tug on his arm.
Tails smiled at him, pulling him toward the door.
" Gah! Not you too!"
" Miss Rouge is right, Shadow!" He smiled again.
" All against me…" The hedgehog muttered as he walked out of the room.
Shadow grumbled a little to himself as he walked back to the room that he had been sleeping in for most of his stay at the workshop. He opened the door, walking in, and found some of Rouge's clothes sitting on the chair. They were neatly folded up, waiting to be used for that day. He also noted her boots that sat next to said chair. Thinking a little to himself, he smirked and picked them up off of it.
It had to be the lack of sleep.
Really.
Knock.
" What…?" Rouge questioned, looking toward the door.
Tails opened it, finding Shadow leaning against part of the doorway.
" Do you think this is my color?" He asked, holding her outfit up to his body.
He had the slyest grin on his face.
" The black I like, but I don't really care for the pink…but it comes with these cute matching boots!" He was waggling them now.
Sonic burst out laughing, practically wailing in hilarity and pain. Tails covered his mouth with one hand to try and hide the fact that he was giggling. The bat, on the other hand, flushed up slightly.
" Are you sure? They were left out all neat and tidy in my room…" Shadow laughed, ducking a swipe from her left hand as she chased him out of the room.
Sonic was practically crying now.
" Sonic! You're going to rip your stitches if you don't calm down!" Rouge fretted.
" SO…funny…slowly……dying of…laughter…!" He choked out in between gurgles.
The fox was rolling on the floor by now as Rouge's ears picked up on Shadow's snickering. She stuck her head out of the room to yell at him.
" If Sonic rips his stitches because of you…!"
" He needed that laugh as much as the rest of us!" Shadow said, winking at her.
She scowled at him…trying not to smile.
" Go get some sleep…I think the lack of it is really affecting your brain…"
He stuck his tongue out at her as he disappeared back into his own room.
" You really should sleep some more, Sonic…"
" But I've been asleep for so long…"
He was whining.
" You need it though."
Now he was pouting.
He was SUCH a child sometimes.
" I hate feeling weak. You shouldn't need to take care of me."
" We all know that you're not weak, Sonic…Let me help you up. We need to change your bandages today…"
" Alright."
The stubborn hedgehog tried to sit up on his own, failing miserably. Rouge gently took a hold of his shoulder, helping him. She slipped an arm around his back, pulling him up slightly so that he was sitting upright.
" Tell me if anything hurts…"
Sonic nodded, gritting his teeth as he finally managed to get upright. She pulled the blanket from him gently, looking at the slew of white bandages.
" Some of these might hurt when we take them off…"
He nodded, trying to raise his arm so she could get at the ones on his chest. He was regretting that move soon after.
" Easy, Sonic…you're not superhuman. Take it slow. I can cut them off anyway."
Rouge picked up a pair of medical scissors and slowly began cutting some of the bandages away from Sonic's body. A few fell away on their own – others clung to him. All due to the dried blood and draining fluid from his body. She was very careful around the hedgehog's chest, knowing that it would hurt a lot of she accidentally ripped a stitch or two out. Her ears flicked a little as she heard the door close. Tails had hightailed it out of there this time. She didn't blame him though. Even though he had seen Sonic in pretty bad shape before, Tails knew that all of these injuries were all due to the tests done on the hedgehog in order to find out more about any power that resided within him. It was still very hard for the boy to accept that.
He whimpered a little as she pulled bandages away from his chest, looking down at the stitches that dwelled there.
" Your fur should regrow and cover the scars that'll form, Sonic…"
" God……so…big…" He said quietly, staring down at his chest.
The hedgehog ran a finger over the stitches.
" Yuck…"
" It must be draining a little…" She began to add new bandages, replacing the old.
" That's…good, right?"
" Yes, it's getting rid of anything that your body believes is bad and all…"
" I don't think any of the stitches are broken though…if that's what you're worried about."
" Good. I was going to have to hit Shadow upside the head if he made you rip any of them."
" Oh pish…" Sonic waved a hand a little. " I think I needed that…and it was hilarious."
" Only you men would find that amusing…"
" I saw you smiling, Rouge."
" Perhaps…" She closed her eyes a little and smirked. " I've never…really seen Shadow act like that…though."
" I think I must be rubbing off on him."
It was true. Sonic was the type to pull a stunt like that. To make everyone laugh when it was needed. Shadow was the quiet type. It wasn't supposed to be the other way around.
" Has it gotten a little bit better around here?"
" What do you mean?"
" I remember the tension…well, some of it. With Shadow being here and all."
" I think Tails got used to him being around quicker than any of us. Knuckles, though – I'm not really sure. You know how…silent he is when it comes to how he feels."
" It takes Knuckles a long time to trust people."
" I realize that. But Shadow's not our enemy anymore. Never really was…well, to me, I mean."
" You know him the best out of all of us, Rouge."
" And I don't really know that much about him, to tell you the truth. I think he's opening up a little more now. He hides a lot of his emotions and pain…Until it just gets so bottled up that he erupts…" She frowned, remembering his post traumatic sobbing on the floor of the next room. " Never saw him cry before…" She trailed off, unsure if she should say anything about that incident to Sonic.
Green met green.
" He—what?"
Sonic almost didn't believe her. Had he heard right? He couldn't have. Shadow was so…unemotional to begin with.
" W-well…"
" Rouge…? Please, tell me."
" I really should learn to keep my mouth shut."
Those eyes though…she couldn't stare at him like that and NOT tell him. Sonic would find out eventually. If she didn't tell him now, he would come after her as soon as he could walk in order to find out what did happen. The bat sighed a little, ears folding.
" He sort of…broke down the night before. Post traumatic stress, you know…"
" And…he…cried…?" Sonic seemed to have to sound it out slowly, due to his disbelief of the whole incident.
She nodded a little.
He blinked, trying to picture it in his head. Shadow – actually crying.
It seemed implausible!
But she wouldn't lie about something like…that.
Then again, he had done the same thing last night.
" I…did too…but—only a little…!"
Rouge raised a brow a little.
" You did?"
" A little…last night and all… Shadow told me not to think about it though…"
It was her turn not to believe. Pondering it though, she understood.
" He has been very worried about you though…so I guess I can't be all that surprised that he…tried to comfort you."
Sonic smiled a little.
" Shadow really is a good person…although I don't think he thinks that of himself sometimes."
Another nod came from her.
" I wish we knew what happened to him though…before he was sealed away in stasis, I mean."
She knew a bit of it.
The ARK killings.
She felt that it wasn't her place to ask Shadow about it though.
Sonic shrugged a little.
" He'll tell us when he's good and ready…" A sly grin. " After all, you haven't exactly been all that forthcoming about yourself either, now have you, Rouge?"
She laughed.
" I suppose I haven't, have I?"
He smiled at her as she continued to change his bandages.
" Ow…"
" Sorry. I'm going to give you some painkillers after I'm done with this."
" Alright."
" And probably a sedative as well—"
" Wait a minute! No!"
" You need to sleep and get some of your strength back, Sonikku!"
Sonic pouted – again.
" Oh, don't do that bottom lip crap with me…"
He made his lip quiver a little.
" NO. Don't be cute!"
" Aw, but Mommy…" Sonic whined in his best childlike voice.
" I'm not your mother, Sonic, but so help me…"
" I really don't want to sleep though…"
" You won't be able to do much but sleep if I strap you down to the bed and give you the sedative anyway, now will you?"
" …spoilsport."
" Hee hee."
" It's so beautiful…"
" What is…?"
" That. The Earth."
" What's it like down there?"
" There are a lot of people down there, Shadow. Lots of things that aren't up here."
" Really?"
" Yes…"
" Will I ever get to see it down there?"
" Maybe. I hope so. I can show you really pretty things and…it's just so nice down there."
" Tell me! What else is down there, Maria?"
" Well…there's water…and trees…grass…"
" And lots more people? Like you and the doctor?"
She smiled sweetly at him.
" Yes, there are tons of people down there. You'll get to meet more of them eventually. It'll be fun!"
He smiled back at her now.
Happy.
It slowly darkened.
To complete black.
It was dark for awhile.
Until…
Stars…
Blurring by.
Head over heels.
He saw yellow flying toward him.
Heard his name.
It was getting hard to see now.
The twinkling of stars was dimming…
Something grabbed his wrist, pulling…
" I got you…!"
…snap…
His hand fell away.
Wrist guard – gone.
It came off of his white glove.
" S-SHADOW!!!"
He blinked.
The yellow was gone now.
Drifting…
…feeling…
……sleepy……
Goodbye…
Eyes opening.
Yet another piece of the puzzle…
He slowly sat up, watching the blanket fall from his body and into his lap.
Maria…
He blinked a little.
Both of them had wanted him to be happy.
To live his life the way that he wanted to.
Maria had tried to save him from GUN capture.
Sonic had done the same thing.
I wonder how he's doing…
Shadow got up out of his bed and stretched a little.
Rouge'll be after me to change these bandages soon too…I just know it…
He left the room and saw her playing chess with Tails.
" Shadow? You're up already?"
The black hedgehog nodded.
Tails moved his white rook forward. Rouge continued to look at the board…
" How's Sonic?"
A black knight overtook the white rook. It fell over onto the chessboard with a soft clatter. The white bat looked up at him.
" He's doing alright…for now. He's sleeping though."
The fox giggled as he picked up the white rook and put it aside.
" Miss Rouge had to sedate him. He didn't like that much."
Shadow felt the corners of his lips curl upwards slightly, in a half smile.
" I bet…I don't like it all that much either." He mouthed the word 'sadist' at her when the boy wasn't looking.
She only smiled and shook her head.
" Speaking of sadistic tendencies…" The bat got up.
" Uh oh." The hedgehog moved away a little bit.
" Your bandages need to be changed."
" Shit. Um, I can do it."
" You're going to need help."
" No, I don't."
" Yes, you do. Tails, be a dear and find me the peroxide."
" Yes ma'am!" The little fox said, getting up from his chair and dashing off to find the hellish liquid.
Shadow was backing away from her now.
" No! Not again!"
" Yes again, Shadow. This'll help you heal faster!"
" You're going to have to catch me first!" He said, skittering around her.
" Shadow! Get back here!" Rouge chased after him as he headed for the front door.
" No way!"
" Stubborn hedgehog!"
Tails poked his head out of the next room, holding the antiseptic. Uh oh…this looks familiar…He giggled a little, remembering how Knuckles had to chase Sonic around the workshop in a similar situation. The fox watched as Rouge was staring at Shadow from behind the couch. He was in front of it. They soon switched places as she tried to run around it to grab him.
" Hold still!"
Shadow only smirked at her. The bat was getting annoyed now and tried again. She nearly had him but he managed to slip out of her range in time.
" How the hell are you able to run that fast already?!"
The hedgehog shrugged.
" I told you. I'm not having you indulge in your sick pleasures!" He grinned.
" Sick pleasures?! This'll help you heal!"
" Says you!"
Once again, they had traded places. This time Shadow was behind the couch, near the stairs, whereas Rouge was on the other side of it. He could not help sticking his tongue out at her.
Of course, he wasn't expecting her to vault over the couch at him.
" Gak!" He dodged as she came soaring at him.
Rouge's wings flapped once as she stopped herself from crashing into the floor. Shadow raised an eyebrow at her as he moved toward the door again, smirking. The bat's feet hit the ground as she swung to face the hedgehog. He was walking backwards though, keeping his eye on her.
His smirk faded as a hand clamped down on his shoulder.
Turning his head, he stared at the half awake echidna on the steps. Knuckles' dreads were a bit mussed up and his eyes were still half lidded, but he still smiled a little.
" By as much racket as you two are making…I would guess that someone's not being cooperative with the nurses?" The Guardian mused, pressing his lips together slightly.
" Hey!" Tails cried. " I'm not a nurse!"
Rouge folded her arms.
" He doesn't want me to change his bandages."
" She's a sadist." Shadow stated, trying to move away from Knuckles, but realized that the echidna's strength was something that one couldn't mess with.
" Perhaps…" Knuckles' smirk didn't leave his face. " Then again, I'm usually the one who has to snag Sonic so Tails can put medicine on his wounds…"
" …Shit." Shadow muttered as the realization dawned on him.
" Owowowowowowowowowowow…"
" Stop whining and hold still."
Knuckles chuckled a little as Rouge tied off the last bandage. Shadow squirmed, trying to get away. The bat laughed at him as she let go of his arm and watched him put distance between the two of them. He did not look happy whatsoever.
" Evil…" He hissed at them.
" Oh stop that. It needed to be done. As it is, your wounds are already beginning to heal over nicely."
The hedgehog's right eye twitched slightly in annoyance. Tails giggled, moving his next chess piece. He smiled at Shadow, who had shot him a glare, but promptly took it back. The twerp didn't do anything wrong…just glare at the spiteful treasure hunters…
" Miss Rouge, it's your turn."
She looked over at him and smiled, putting down the roll of bandages and getting up. Shadow watched her for a moment and then looked toward the room that Sonic was in. Knuckles spoke up eventually, asking how the blue hedgehog was doing. The other treasure hunter filled him in on the situation, as Shadow was watching the chess game in progress. White seemed to be overtaking the black pieces. Which meant that Rouge was losing. It was not that surprising to the hedgehog that the little fox was outsmarting the bat at the game. But she was just as crafty as he was, so he didn't put it past her either to come back from behind in the end.
A feeling of being watched soon overtook him. Crimson eyes moved slightly to notice the echidna's gaze. Neither of them said anything as they skillfully eyed each other, feeling out the tension. Rouge's ears flicked as Tails muttered "check" at her. She pondered, moved a piece, and then regretted it as the fox sealed the deal with his queen.
" Checkmate."
" You win again, twerp." She gently rubbed the fox's head.
He laughed, then looked at the others, noting their silence.
" Everything okay?"
Knuckles responded to his question before Shadow did with a nod. Tails smiled a little and began to put the chess game away as Rouge turned toward the boys this time.
" You're both deep in thought, aren't you?"
" Just pondering some things…" The echidna stated.
Shadow was rubbing his right bicep.
" How long do you think I'll be out of commission?"
" Well, that depends…" Rouge said, crossing her legs. " You've already shown some of your regained strength…and you weren't as badly off as Sonic was."
The black hedgehog nodded slightly.
" I guess it all depends on how quickly you heal up. Your wounds were already closing and you aren't as weak as you were before…"
" GUN didn't fuck around with me as much as they did with Sonic…"
" That's true…it's going to take him a little longer than you to regain mobility and whatnot…"
" Sonic's got a strong will." Knuckles stated, rubbing his dreads a little. " He'll get better as soon as he can…If I know him, I'll be chasing him much like you two were doing just a little while ago as soon as he can get out of that bed on his own…" The echidna chuckled a little.
The black hedgehog couldn't help but ponder more now. His wounds were apparently healing right away. Sonic's wouldn't be as quick, but his body had been under much more torture than Shadow's had been. He honestly was not sure if it was because of him being a created being or not. Am I the Ultimate Lifeform...or not? Am I blessed with an internal healing system...?
Crimson blinked as a hand waved in front of his face.
" Earth to Shadow..."
He looked up to find Rouge looking down at him.
" You alright?"
" Just thinking again..."
" Did you hear what we asked?"
He had not. Therefore, he shook his head and apologized.
" Sorry. I was zoning out... What did you ask me?"
" Are you hungry? We haven't eaten yet."
Eating? He hadn't thought about the concept actually. His mind had been wandering around way too much to even think about what his body needed to sustain itself. Am I hungry?
He found that he was.
A nod.
" Okay, we'll make something then."
Tails had already bounced off toward the kitchen while Rouge smiled and followed him. Shadow watched her leave, offering to help, but she declined it. He soon found himself alone with the Guardian.
Knuckles was busying himself with putting the boxed up chess game away as the black hedgehog's eyes moved to him. He could feel eyes burning into his back, so he turned his head slightly to stare at Shadow.
The stare down commenced.
" ...Did you want something?"
" ...No." Shadow focused on the chess box.
A quirked eyebrow raised.
" ...Hm."
Shadow matched the eyebrow raising with his own.
" What?"
" Want to play?"
He felt himself blinking. " Play?"
" Chess. Do you know how?"
Maria taught me once upon a time...
" Yes, I know how to play."
" Well then?"
He thought about it...
" You're on."
" Hey, you two, soup's on."
Rouge poked her head out from the kitchen to break up the suspected tension that was in the living room.
" I said soup's on...?" She trailed off, eying the two now as she thought that they were locked in a stare down.
Wandering out into the living room, the white bat found both Shadow and Knuckles cross-legged on the floor, using the coffee table for their chess game. It was apparent that both of them were deep in thought as they battled it out with black and white pieces.
" ...Guys?"
Neither one seemed to hear her. Knuckles moved a knight as Shadow watched his hands carefully as it moved to a white square.
Rouge was not appreciating the fact that they were ignoring her.
" I'm talking to you two!!"
Shadow moved a bishop to take one of the Guardian's pawns.
Violet scanned the board slowly...
He moved a rook.
Tails hovered out of the kitchen to see what Rouge was yelling at.
The other bishop moved.
Then a pillow smacked both of them over their heads.
" Ow!"
" What was that for?!"
Rouge just glared.
The fox was giggling now, amused at the fact that both of the other males had been that lost in the game and had been tuning her out.
" I said that the food's ready..." The bat said quietly, trying not to scream again for fear of disturbing Sonic's rest.
" Can we eat it here?" Knuckles asked as Shadow was now looking at the game board again.
" No! You two won't eat then!"
" Sure we will - Knuckles, it's your move." The hedgehog stated, gently poking the echidna in the shoulder.
" Alright." Knuckles said, turning back to the game.
Tails had to snatch the pillow from Rouge before she threw it at the chess board.
" They can eat in here, Miss Rouge. I don't mind."
" I mind, Tails."
" But they're in the middle of a game."
" They can stop for a few minutes..." Rouge said calmly. " Chess is not a quick game."
The boy nodded and eyed the two combating wits.
" Hm..." He tried to think of something that would get them to stop...
Rouge had already moved in by now, sitting down next to Knuckles and eying his pieces.
" Knuckles, come on. You two have to eat." She gently poked at him.
" Shh, I'm thinking..." Knuckles said quietly, still focused on his pawns.
Shadow was watching Rouge now, trying to figure out what she might up to. She's a crafty one, after all...
It was really hard for him not to snicker the second that Rouge hugged Knuckles from behind, obviously playing off of the fact that she was well endowed to make the echidna blush.
" C'mon, Knuckles…" She moved against him slightly, winking at Shadow. " You guys have to eat…"
Her voice had lowered into what could only be constituted as a sexy rumble, where her lips curled into a slow smile as she watched the Guardian turn redder than the shade of his fur in a matter of .02 seconds. Tails was giggling again and had disappeared back into the kitchen by now.
" …Off." Knuckles managed to say after a minute or two of her latching onto him.
" Awww…but Knuxie…" She let a finger twirl around a longer dreadlock, closest to his right eye. " Pleaassssseeee….?"
Shadow snorted under his breath, biting his lower lip as he was sure that the echidna was going to turn purple.
" Okayokayjustgetoffofme!!!"
And she let go of him almost as quickly as she had latched on. Batting her eyes and waggling her hips as she wandered back to the kitchen, Rouge was smiling. If it was because she was just happy that she got her way or if she really thoroughly enjoyed making the echidna squirm, Shadow could not pinpoint that.
He assumed that both were true as his eyes fell back onto his opponent.
" Shall I go get you something cold to…cool off with? Cold shower, maybe?"
Violet eyes violently glared in embarrassment up at him.
" Shut. Up."
And all he could do was grin at Knuckles now, standing slowly to join the others in the kitchen.
Competition was fuel for anyone to inhale their food and dash back out to the living room. She was sure that the two of them were going to choke on their lunch and had almost swatted. Both the black hedgehog and the red echidna thanked Tails and her for the meal, then were promptly back at that chess set in a matter of moments to duke it out some more.
Rouge sighed, shaking her head in a slight frustration. Tails was humming happily as he cleared the table and began to wash the dishes. She looked over at him and went to help clean up, but the little fox shooed her away.
" I can handle it Miss Rouge!" He smiled.
" I want to help, Tails."
" Nah, I got it. Thanks though!"
" But…"
" Should I make something for Sonic? What should I make him? He's prolly really hungry and…!"
Green eyes blinked at his chatter. She felt herself smile again.
" I'll go see if he's up for anything to eat."
" Miss Rouge, it's Sonic…he's always hungry!"
" This is also true…" She laughed, exiting the room. The bat shook her head at the two males who were crouched over their chessboard as if one of them was possibly going to cheat as she wandered to the room where Sonic was. Rouge gently opened the door slowly, peeking in first to see if he was still asleep.
" Sonikku…?
Green eyes blinked a little as she stared at him. Or rather his mouth. He was still lying down, but his head was propped up with pillows, tilted back, his mouth gaping open as he pointed at it like a child. The hedgehog made little noises like he wanted to be fed.
A snicker.
" You're such a child, Sonic…" Rouge moved into the room, closing the door behind her.
He continued to point to his mouth, now more rapidly, sounds coming from him.
" Oh stop that…I'll get you something to eat soon."
Sonic closed his mouth, pouting.
" I hungry…!"
" Brat."
He grinned his grin. The infamous one. Despite everything he went through, how much he looked like shit right now, he was still that sassy hedgehog that she knew.
" How do you feel?"
Sonic opened his mouth and pointed to it again.
" Besides that."
" I still think a freight train ran me over a few times…but…yeah…"
Her hand was on his forehead now.
" You sound a little better. Your voice isn't as ragged as before."
" I'll take that as a compliment…"
" Any pain?"
" Still numb from whatever you shot me with last…"
Rouge smirked a little. " Well, that should wear off in a few hours…"
" Can't I get something that doesn't come in shot form?"
" Shots give out the dosage fastest."
" You are an evil sadist, you know that?"
" You know I'm right, Sonikku."
" Yeah, but still. Sadist." He waggled a finger at her.
" Do you want to be fed or not?"
His mouth opened once again – indicating that he wanted food more than any medicine that she could pump him full of. Rouge laughed again.
" What are you hungry for?"
More little noises came from that gaping mouth.
She shook her head and pondered.
" Okay, here's a better question – can you move enough without hurting in order to feed yourself?"
Green eyes seemed a little perplexed. He wasn't sure if he could or not, after all.
" 'Course I can!" A typical lie from a stubborn male.
" Show me then."
Well shit, that means I actually have to! Sonic mused anyway, a smile curling into view as he slowly tried to move his arms. The pain had subsided thanks to whatever Rouge had given him, but it did leave an overall feeling of numbness coursing through the hedgehog's body. He winced a little merely because he felt it was the only thing his body could do. The blue hedgehog flopped a little, sighing.
" Can't?"
" My body's…tingly and it doesn't want to listen to me."
" Looks like I'll be feeding you."
Sonic made some sort of noise under his breath.
" Well…if that's the case, can we at least take this damned IV out…?" He looked hopeful.
" No. That needs to stay in until you're better."
Fucking needles… The hedgehog sighed a little again and nodded.
" I'll get you something to eat. Any requests?"
" No soup."
Rouge quirked a brow at him. She wasn't planning on giving him that, but she wondered why the emphasis was there to herself before she actually asked the question.
" Why not?"
" I don't want it spilt on me…"
Another brow raising commenced.
" …Do I want to know?"
Sonic seemed to shudder – remembering something that he would have rather kept private. Rouge was not one he would like to share that awful experience of soup burns…
" …no."
The bat smiled, nodded, and then gently patted him on the head since the hedgehog could not fend off the invading petting. Sonic's eyes widened a little, his reaction time much slower than he really wanted it to be, and tried to lift his arm to swat at her. Her arm was already away from him before he even raised his hand.
" N-not fair! Picking on a poor defenseless hedgehog like me!"
Rouge stuck her tongue out at him as she opened the door to leave. She noticed him trying to pick up a pillow to throw at her.
" Ah, no. You'd better keep that, Sonic." She winked and departed the room, closing the door as he started shooting off his mouth.
Her ears flicked a little, noticing that both Shadow and Knuckles had not moved from their spots at the chessboard. Tails was long gone. She could hear him tinkering on some random project for the moment, busying himself in order to remain calm. Green blinked at the two in front of her. She tried asking them a question and could almost see it bouncing off of their heads and get lost into the empty space around them. Her fangs clamped down against her bottom teeth, almost grinding.
Figures…
The female treasure hunter disappeared into the kitchen to prepare something to feed the always hungry hero.
Their eyes stared down at the black and white checkered board. Faces placid. Frowning slightly here and there, neither male looked at the other. After a fleeting moment, their eyes moved, lifting their heads almost in sync to look at each other.
" How…?"
There were only three pieces left on the chessboard.
" This isn't over…"
" We aren't going to be able to play another game…"
" Why not?"
" I think Rouge'll kill us. She's been gritting her teeth in our general direction."
" She's not even here right now."
" She was."
" I'm sort of surprised that she did not say anything…"
" You know…she probably did."
Eyes blinked.
" Were we that into the game?"
" I believe so."
He laughed.
" She's probably pissed."
" We better watch our backs."
" Want to play again?"
" You're on. I'm going to win this time."
" We'll see about that."
Hands moved the two kings and the last pawn off of the board.
" I still can't believe that stupid pawn took my queen."
" You made the mistake of moving it there."
" I knew I should have killed that pawn…"
" I find it funny that your queen was lost to a pawn…"
A grin.
Another one matched his.
" Just shut up and set up the board."
The vein in the back of her head was throbbing now. They have the nerve to start another game…! Her hands gripped at the tray in them, tightly – forgetting that her claws were there, piercing the metal a little. The white bat huffed past the two combating chess players and headed back into Sonic's room with the tray of food that she had prepared for him.
" There you are!" His face was beaming with that grin. " I almost got up to go look for you!"
Sonic's humor was still there. Half hidden by pained eyes but it was still there. Rouge felt it humbling in a way. Regardless of everything that he went through at GUN Labs, he still had that spark behind those mischievous emerald eyes.
" How are you feeling?"
" You asked me that already." It was obvious that he just wanted the food.
" Humor me then. How are you feeling?" She repeated.
" Other than shit?" That grin was still there. She was walking closer to him now, bringing the tray of food with her. His eyes followed her closely – or more like followed the food closely.
Rouge smirked, setting the tray down on the table beside the bed. Sonic's eyes were focused on it, his head turned toward her now. She had made a few sandwiches and brought him some water, but other than that there was nothing else she felt he could have to eat at the moment. Her eyes caught his fingers flittering against the sheets and bandages, anxious for sustenance.
" Still numb?"
" Yesnowgivemethefood!" He did not bother with pleasantries any longer. He was starving and it was RIGHT there…
" What do you say?"
" …Now?" He mused.
" Wrong answer."
Her eyes watched him suddenly turn from overly confident smartass to pouty child in about two point three seconds. His ears had folded against his head, bottom lip quivering a little as Sonic somehow made his green eyes appear larger than they already were. Hell, his eyes were even a little watery.
Rather cute and adorable – like a puppy.
She would have quickly hugged him if she didn't know it would probably only hurt him more.
The bat picked up one sandwich half and held it over his nose.
" Being cute won't get you anywhere, you know."
His teeth snapped for the sandwich – purposely missing. Rouge moved her hand away and teased him by bringing the sandwich half to her own mouth…
" Gah! Rouuuugeeee!" His infamous whine had returned.
" What do you say?" She winked.
The pouting was back. This time it was about tenfold in the category of pitiful looks.
" Pleaaaaaase?" Sonic almost bounced for the sandwich.
" Just don't take my fingers off this time."
Rouge moved the half back to his mouth, knowing full well that he was pretty much immobile for the time being. Sonic took a few bites and swallowed, smiling a little euphorically as if he had just indulged in some guilty pleasure. She sat down in the chair next to the bed and continued to smile. It was one of those moments that words did not really matter. The hedgehog was being fed so he was happy. She was happy because he generally looked better than the other day. Sonic would probably be back on his feet before they all knew it.
At least that's what she hoped.
His eyes moved back toward her.
" More?" She helped him eat the rest of that sandwich half.
Sonic munched on his sandwich, swallowed and relaxed. He looked content now.
" Better?"
He nodded slowly.
The bat relaxed a little and felt his forehead. " Too warm?"
" Nah…I'm alright."
" You feel a little warm…"
" It might be the pounds of bandages I'm in, Rouge." Sonic stuck his tongue out at her, just a little – so that it rested slightly on his lower lip. She resisted the urge to grab it and pull.
The treasure hunter nodded and pulled her hand away from his forehead. She restrained herself from sighing.
" How long?"
Her ears perked.
" What do you mean?"
" How long do you think it'll take me to get better…?"
She could not hide the frown.
" I really don't know Sonic…"
" Guess."
" You've surprised me in the past, you know. I don't like assuming anymore."
" Humor me." His mischievous nature was a relief to her.
" Couple of weeks to get back on your feet at least."
" You mean I have to be confined to a bed for a couple of weeks?!"
" You know you're not strong enough to walk anytime soon."
" Oh, I'll prove this wrong…"
Rouge realized that the sentence that came out of her mouth was going to bounce off of him like a rubber ball against a brick wall. This was Sonic the Hedgehog that she was talking to, after all.
It went on like this for weeks. Tending to the injured. Assisting the hedgehog to get better. Making sure that Sonic was not going to rush his own body. Shadow had recovered quickly, due to whatever powers were latent inside of him. He helped out as much as he could, but often was found by himself looking out at the ocean, deep in thought. Knuckles would disappear here and there to return to his island or to scout for Rouge and Tails. GUN was still looking for them after all. The device that had been in Sonic had only kept their soldiers busy for so long. A few GUN militants had come to Mystic Ruins at one point – since the device's trail had lead there at one time, even though it had disappeared to wherever Knuckles had taken it.
Tails was working hard to keep his workshop safe. The young boy felt it was the only true way for him to protect Sonic from GUN – since he was still rather squeamish around the injured hedgehog. The fox made sure that the workshop was protected with barriers and other security measures that he concocted up. He even changed the GUN file on the device's travel path within their own database, so the soldiers would not find the workshop. Granted, this would have their troops trampling through another part of Mystic Ruins, beyond the mountains and away from the train station – but it would keep them safe. That was all that mattered. Rouge had helped him get back into the GUN database to try and tamper with the files, but often he had to pull out of the web there before being detected. He changed and stole what records that he could – but could not get his hands on the new Chaos Control Project files. These files were protected and Tails knew why they were, since he believed that GUN discovered that someone had accessed them outside of their labs. Now the GUN Database had alerts on the CC files, so they could not access them without triggering something that would signal to GUN where the invading terminal was.
Sonic had been getting his strength back little by little. Everyone knew that he had cabin fever though. That was apparent from the whining. Sonic would practically drool at Shadow whenever the black hedgehog would visit him and tell him about a run through Mystic Ruins that he had or something like that. Rouge let Sonic have books, but they would usually not keep the hedgehog's attention for long. Once he was well enough and got enough strength back to lift his arms, they allowed him to have a handheld console to play games on, so that kept his attention for quite a bit. With the hedgehog occupied enough so he would not attempt trying to escape his room, the others were able to relax here and there.
Rouge let out a long sigh, stretching and smiling a little. She looked around the workshop. Tails was tinkering with something and Knuckles had disappeared from the area to make sure that GUN soldiers hadn't gotten too close. She knew Sonic was sleeping so she was able to just relax. A thought of checking up on Shadow wandered through her mind, causing her to check the room that he had been sharing with Knuckles whenever he was around. No hedgehog was in sight there. Frowning slightly, the treasure hunter headed outside. He had better not have gone out on another run so late…GUN lackeys like to wander in the darkness of night…
She was relieved to see him sitting in what the group had teased him as being "Shadow's Spot" on the cliff near the workshop. His black fur had filled in the patches where the scientists had shaved it away and Rouge had known that his body had pretty much healed from the ordeal that had happened at GUN Labs. His mental condition was still to be assessed, but from what she knew, he seemed to have healed somewhat from the experiments. He sat at his spot, legs over the side of the cliff, looking out toward the horizon where the sun was about to disappear. Quills swayed a little in the wind as light danced against the cool water below, changing colors and reflecting the departing sun's rays wherever the waves took them. His ears flicked a little as he heard her heels against the ground as she walked up.
" Shadow?"
He didn't look at her. His eyes were out toward the sunset.
" Yes?"
" Mind if I join you?"
There was a silence that followed. The bat wondered if he was pondering about if he wanted to be alone or if he wanted to share the sunset with her. Her sharp eyes noticed an almost unrecognizable nod from the hedgehog which allowed her to sit down next to him, though it was roughly two feet away from him to give him his space. She didn't say anything to him, allowing him to speak if he actually wanted conversation. They watched the sun dip lower into the horizon. Bright colors of red and orange taking over what little space they had left in the sky before the darkness of blues and greens mixed and made the purple highlights. Rouge felt herself smile a little, since it had been a long time that she sat there and watched the sunset. Usually she was too busy with her treasure hunting or taking care of a whiny blue hedgehog to take notice of the sunset. Typically she found herself gazing at the stars when no one was around.
" How's the whiner doing?"
Her large ears flicked as Shadow asked her about Sonic. She felt herself smile yet again. The two of them had started to do an almost typical bickering now since Sonic was well enough to fly 'faker's through the air at his rival.
" He's alright. Sleeping right now."
Shadow nodded a little – eyes cast out to the sea. Silence had resumed between the two for another moment. Rouge's ears flicked as she heard footfalls. Heavy ones. Glancing slightly toward the workshop, she caught a hint of red quills disappearing in through the front door. Knuckles is back already? She turned back toward the sea. Shadow had not moved from his spot either, but his ears had picked up the movements as well.
" The Guardian?"
" He probably brought back some more herbs for Sonic's wounds."
A nod and then the silence returned.
Due to his knowledge of his culture and ancient times, Knuckles' medical knowledge greatly differed from Rouge's. He could survive without the need of hospitals with the ancestors' teachings, so the female treasure hunter had allowed him to help Sonic heal with the medicinal plants that he gathered. She had only questioned him on possible side effects that might react with the medicine that she had been giving the blue hero. So far, the herbs did not interfere at all with the other drugs that were helping Sonic.
Rouge felt like she needed to speak with Shadow. He had been rather withdrawn from the people at the workshop, besides talking with Sonic once and awhile. Granted, he would help her out with trying to take care of the other hedgehog, assist Tails in his work on the security, or even play chess with Knuckles whenever there was a lax period.
" How are you feeling?"
" Fine." He said quietly.
" You've been really sort of…distant in the last few days."
He shrugged slightly.
" …Shadow? Is something bothering you?"
The hedgehog made a soft sound in her general direction.
" Do you want to talk about it?"
" Not at the moment."
" Alright." She respected his decision and did not pry, despite the fact that she was still surprised he had stuck around. Rouge believed that he actually saw her and the others as allies now. Friends…? Perhaps… Shadow would have most likely disappeared from their sides if he did not care. I really think he has found some sort of humanity after that fall…
" Have you gotten any more of your memory back?"
He shook his head.
" I have reoccurring dreams of what I've already seen. But nothing new. My mind isn't really focused on that right now."
" Then what is it focusing on?"
The hedgehog turned slowly to look at her, crimson eyes glittering a little in the light of the sunset. Rouge caught his movement from the corner of her eye and soon matched it. She recognized his seriousness almost instantly. Something showing in those red eyes told her that there was something that was deeply troubling the black hedgehog. Her ears folded just slightly, worrying.
" Shadow…? What is it?"
" Revenge."
Her eyes widened slightly at the word. She blinked and actually found herself not that surprised at the thought that was running through the hedgehog's head. At the present moment though, the bat had not counted on that thought being the one bothering him.
" You want re—"
" Hey!" A familiar voice cried out, startling them. "Red, you had better keep an eye on the faker…he might be after your woman!"
Rouge turned toward the workshop door where she heard the voice. Her ears also picked up Knuckles' oh so famous growl…
" You should be in BED!" She rose, leaving Shadow sitting there.
" I'm getting bedsores, damn it!" The grin. Infamous.
The Guardian wandered toward both Shadow and Rouge with a bandaged blue hero riding on his back. Sonic had his hands on two of Knuckles' dreads, using them like reigns to get the echidna to turn a certain way.
" Ow! Just ask me where to move! Don't pull!"
" Ya, mule! YA!" Sonic cried, wriggling his bare feet as if he had imaginary spurs tied to them. His hand tugged on Knuckles' left dreadlock again.
" Owww!! Knock it off!" But yet the echidna moved to the left so he could meet Rouge halfway.
She was shaking her head at the hedgehog.
" I can't believe you…"
" Aw come on, Rouge!" The hedgehog winked. " I'm going stir crazy in there!"
" That's why we gave you a handheld game to keep you busy!"
" I beat the game already!!"
Shadow turned to see what the commotion was all about, but remained sitting in his spot at the cliff. He blinked slowly, feeling a small smirk appear on his lips as he watched the three bicker about Sonic remaining indoors.
" How could you let him talk you into this, Knuckles?" Rouge smacked him lightly on the arm. " You know that he should be in bed!"
" Hey - HE latched onto ME! There wasn't much else I could do about it without hurting the stubborn bastard!"
Sonic's ears perked and tugged on Knuckles' dreadlocks again.
" I can hear you, you know!"
" OW! When I put you down…!!" The echidna snarled, trying to get his dreads from the hedgehog's hands.
Rouge laughed a little, commenting on how they were always doing this to each other – nitpicking and getting on each other's nerves. Both heroes continued to bicker back and forth, usually ending up with Sonic wriggling his feet again into Knuckles' sides. The bat folded her arms across her chest and laughed at them again. Her eyes flittered back toward Shadow, who had gone back to looking out toward the sunset.
Sonic leaned over Knuckles' right shoulder and eyed the black hedgehog.
" Hey, faker! What's the matter?"
Ears wriggling a little – recognizing that he was being spoken to.
" Plotting." He stated simply.
The Guardian quirked a brow as Sonic tried to lean forward more.
" What are you talking about, Shadow?"
The black and crimson hedgehog slowly stood, his eyes still out to the water.
" They will pay for what they've done."
Rouge gently put a hand on his shoulder. " GUN needs to be stopped…They will only continue to hunt Sonic and yourself."
" I know."
The blue hedgehog rested his head on top of Knuckles'.
" What's the game plan then?"
" The game plan? Well, after we get you to bed…" Shadow felt himself smirk, waiting for Sonic's protest.
" H-hey! I want to help!"
" You can't even fully walk on your own yet, Sonikku. You're not going to be able to help us this time." Rouge stated.
" But…!"
" She's right, you know." Knuckles piped up.
" I hate you all." And the pouting started.
Shadow turned and looked back at the Guardian.
" I can't wait any longer…They must be stopped. Please understand…"
Sonic looked at his fellow hedgehog.
" I want a piece of them too, Shadow."
" I know. But if we don't stop them, they might get to us first."
The blue hedgehog frowned a little and nodded. He understood where Shadow was coming from after all. The pain and suffering that the two of them had felt during their capture at GUN Labs was horrible. He was still plagued with nightmares about the experiments that they did to him, and he could only assume that Shadow had them as well. Waking up screaming, or to it, in the middle of the night was terrible for both of them.
" Fine then. But I get to help with the raid planning then."
" You won't let this go, will you?"
" It'll give me something to do." Sonic smirked a little.
Shadow nodded slightly. " Agreed."
" I assume you want to get to work right away then, eh, Shadow?" Rouge chipped in quietly.
" It's better to strike at night anyway."
She nodded as Knuckles shuffled his feet, trying to get a more comfortable position for the dead weight on his back. Sonic made a noise and tugged on a dread again. He made another noise as someone tugged gently on his tail. Looking over his shoulder, the blue hedgehog noticed orange ears perking a little as his younger friend looked up at him.
" Tails, I thought you were working on…"
" The defenses here are up to speed, so there's no worries." The little fox smiled up kindly to him, then looked at the others. " So if we want to plan a strike on the Labs, I'm free to help in any way that I can."
" Your skills in defensive tactics will be most handy, Tails." Shadow said quietly.
" Should I pull up the blueprints?"
Rouge nodded. " We better get to work then. Plan tonight, strike tomorrow?"
" Agreed. We can rest during the day and be fresh for attacking in the evening."
" I like that plan…we won't end up killing…people." Sonic said quietly.
Black ears flickered gently at the other hedgehog's words. That's true…in the evening many of the actual human workers in the GUN building will not be there…but… His fist tightened. Damn him and his…nobility. He doesn't want to kill people…but…they did those horrible things to us. To him. How can he just…forgive them like that? That one fucker…
He jumped a little as Rouge touched his shoulder.
" Shadow…are you alright?"
" …Yes. Sorry. Just thinking."
She knows. She can pick up on what I'm thinking because we've worked together before… He let out a sigh.
" I'm alright, Rouge."
Green eyes sharpened slightly as she nodded, gently squeezing his shoulder a little bit. You know you can talk to me about it, Shadow… She did not say anything else to him though. As it was she had a feeling that Sonic knew what was up anyway. It was pretty obvious that the black hedgehog was not as forgiving as the blue one was.
There was another one of those awkward silences between the group.
He hated those, but it sort of…happened whenever he was around. It was typical since he was so stoic. One hand moved to his mouth as he cleared his throat, crimson eyes glittering softly in the pale light of the setting sun.
" We better get to work then."
Tails was busy pulling up the blueprints to the GUN Labs, which was located in the heart of the city, where Sonic and Shadow had been held hostage before. I bet they beefed up the security from when we broke in before…probably the upper floors especially, since they appear to do a lot of their top secret stuff up there. Sure enough, modifications to the upper levels of the GUN building – mainly in the duct work from where they had slipped through the cracks of the security. He laughed a little to himself though. Almost all of the lower floors had not been improved much, but the security that the militant building had typically been pretty difficult to get by before.
Shadow had made it clear that he wanted revenge on the people who hurt him and Sonic. The rest of the group had come to the agreement that GUN needed to be stopped, but as usual, Sonic really did not show any interest in killing them. The fox knew that the hedgehog did not like killing others. Granted, he would if he had to – but for some reason, Sonic did not show much interest in taking revenge. At least, not at the moment.
The soldiers had to be stopped though. They would continue to come after the two hedgehogs regardless of what they did. It was a mutual agreement to put a stop to the bastards in this sector. GUN was global though – it would be hard to stop them completely. All they could do was protect themselves.
For now.
" We don't want to kill the people though." Rouge stated as they were gathered around the table, working.
There was another moment of silence.
" …Speak for yourself."
Eyes turned to Shadow.
He did not look at them. Two of them stared at the hedgehog from across the table. Sonic was sitting near Shadow, in one of the chairs, pressed up against the wall. It was lined with pillows to keep him comfortable, with his feet propped up. He remained silent.
Knuckles was also silent, looking at a few of the papers in front of him. They had complied notes to try and formulate the best plan. It was what he did best – planning and plotting. The fox wandered in with another handful of printed off papers and a rolled up printout of the blueprints, handing them to the echidna. He spread out the blueprints of GUN Labs across the table, carefully looking it over. Tails didn't ask what was going on. He could practically feel the tension in the air as Rouge sort of gaped at Shadow.
" I thought we agreed that we wouldn't harm anyone…"
" We did."
Tails pointed to a floor on the map, talking quietly with Knuckles. His finger was on the duct system of a lower level, where there were some flaws to the security there. He believed that they might want to look at that as a possible entryway for someone to get into the building undetected. The Guardian marked it with a pencil and then gave him a small nod.
The female treasure hunter had not really picked up on their conversing. Shadow was not looking at her any longer, staring at a paper in front of him. One pen was curled in his fingers, twirling slightly. Sonic's eyes were focused on Shadow. He was still quiet though. He didn't know what else to say that would make his comrade feel better.
Sonic was pretty sure he saw the word "revenge" scribbled at one corner of the paper though.
Please don't become bitter again…
" Guys." Knuckles piped up softly. " We think we might have found a few ways in."
The bat turned to look at the blueprints in front of her. Knuckles pointed out a few of the lower levels of the building.
" These lower parts…here, here…and here. We can slip in like we did before, but we might be detected when we near the building through. Surveillance is round the clock, according to the information that Tails found for us. We'll probably be spotted entering – but once we're inside, we can slip in and use these hallways…" His fingers slipped to a path that he and Tails had found. " Here."
Crimson moved – following red fingers and memorizing the paths.
" Do we know which floor has the emerald?"
" Emerald?"
" They had the silver Chaos Emerald. I used it to perform a Chaos Control for their sick pleasure…" Shadow trailed off.
Tails was fiddling with some papers, looking them over and then pointing to the fifth floor from the top.
" There. It's on a floor that has one of the entrances that we can use. I'm almost certain that the emerald is stored there. They have a container for the thing so its energy can be studied. Most likely in conjunction with the Chaos Control experiments that they performed on Sonic and yourself…"
A shiver ran up Sonic's spine.
" I see. Thank you." Shadow jotted something down on the paper in front of him.
" What are you thinking, Shadow?"
" If I can get my hands on the emerald, then I can get out of there without you guys worrying about me."
Rouge's fists slammed against the table as she stood, huffing slightly.
" You're NOT doing this alone, Shadow!"
" Then what do you suggest?"
" Tails can drop us off again with the Tornado."
" They'll be expecting that."
" Perhaps, but it will be the best way for us three to get in."
" Three?"
" You, Knuckles, and myself."
Knuckles raised a brow, but did not disagree. After all, the plan wasn't finished yet. There was still much to be discussed and thought out.
" You mean four."
And then there's always Sonic…
" No. You're not coming. You're not strong enough to walk on your own."
" I want to help, damn it." He protested.
Rouge's eyes glanced to the stubborn hedgehog, whose own eyes were slanted. Then she turned back to Shadow, who was waiting for her ideas on the matter.
" As I was saying…"
" Hey!!" Sonic growled, trying to shift in his pillowed chair. " Don't fucking ignore me!!"
" You're not going. End of story."
" Don't you fucking tell me—!" His green eyes shifted to look at the red hand on his shoulder, turning upward to Knuckles.
" Sonic, calm down."
" Fuck you, Knuckl—ow!" He rubbed his head a little after the echidna gave him a bop. He whined a little and frowned.
" Rouge, you can't just deny Sonic from assisting us this time. His and Shadow's determination to put an end to all of this is critical to success."
She growled at him; her fangs poking out a little from her lips.
" Don't take sides, Knuckles! He can't even walk. I don't want anything to happen to him just because we couldn't protect him!"
Violet eyes sharpened slightly.
" Who said he'd be getting inside the building with us?"
Her ears wriggled a little.
" What are you getting at?"
" Well, our plan consisted of making sure that GUN Labs, at least here – couldn't continue doing their dastardly deeds, right?"
" Correct."
" And how have we done that in the past?"
" Blown the place sky high." Sonic stated.
The echidna moved a few of his dreads off of his shoulder.
" Exactly."
" Are you saying we let Sonic do that…?" Tails asked.
" Someone's got to detonate the bombs, if that's what we decide to do."
Sonic started to bounce a little in his sea of pillows.
" Let's do that…! Then I can help…!"
Shadow looked over at his fellow hedgehog. He's…smiling…
" Tails, do you think you can come up with the necessary components for the timed explosives?"
" Sure thing!" The fox smiled and looked to the bat next. " You can help me, right, Miss Rouge?"
A small chuckle passed through her lips. " Of course."
" How many do you think we'll need?"
One finger ended up on the blueprint again.
" If we put four on the lower levels, we can set off the main structure and bring the whole place crashing down."
" Make at least eight." Shadow said quietly.
" Eight?" The fox looked over at him, questioning.
Shadow pointed to the upper levels.
" I want to make sure some of those…projects – are destroyed."
" I…agree with Shadow." Sonic stated, nodding again.
" Alright then. Eight. Four for the lower and four for the higher levels." Tails nodded, making a few more notes on a paper near his right arm.
" And I get to set the fireworks display off…?" Sonic's grin was back.
" Here's my two cents – the Tornado'll be able to get us close enough for the three of us to get into the building, through the three various entryways. Sonic can remain with Tails and once we're all out, he can set the bombs off via remote. Since the two of you can glide, I assume you can get out and meet up with Tails again – perhaps at a rendezvous point that we've set up."
" What about you though, Shadow?"
" I'm going after that emerald. If I can get it, then I'll be able to get out without having to try and meet either Knuckles or Rouge again on the lower floors when there's going to be guards running about."
" That'll be risky."
" Aren't most of these missions?"
" Point."
Sonic's ears bristled as he remembered something, turning to his small fox friend.
" Hey, Tails. Do we still have those headsets for communication?"
" Oh! Yes, we do, Sonikku!"
" That'll be the best way for us all to make sure that everything's going according to plan. That way, Tails and I can pick up anyone who gets out of the GUN building, and once we have everyone, then we can enjoy the show…right?" He gave Tails a wink.
" The Tornado's X-wing form will allow us hovering ability so we don't throw any extra passengers off, but also assist any quick pick ups…"
" Luckily for me, I've been in the Tornado, so I can just Chaos Control to it." Shadow mentioned.
" So is that the plan…?"
" We have to go through the specific details and backup plans…but otherwise…yes."
Sonic started snickering to himself. Soon he was wiggling about in his pillow sea. All eyes were on him now. Smiles were appearing on his friends' faces as well.
He raised one bandaged arm and gave them a thumbs up.
" Let's put an end to their tyranny!"
The plan was in motion. The group of heroes had double-checked everything, made sure the backups were in order, and that they were rested up before the strike. Sonic barely slept, but that was to be expected. Sometimes he was too much like an overexcited child before a mission. He was only happy that he could help bring the GUN Lab down, so that others might not be hurt like he had been. Then again, he probably wouldn't have been able to do anything this time if it wasn't for Knuckles' ideas. I'll have to thank him when everything's said and done…
A pillow spun in the air and fell back to his hands. Catching it, he sent it upwards again as he laid on the couch, still surrounded by many of its fluffy comrades. God, people…wake up and get ready so we can go…! He sent it upwards again – green eyes watching it spin and fall back…
One black ungloved hand grabbed the pillow while it was still in the air, quickly bringing it back down onto Sonic's face. The blue hedgehog made a startled noise underneath the pillow and then tried to wrestle it out of Shadow's hands, protesting.
" You jerk…! Gimme my pillow back…!" He tried to chew on the hand in front of him.
Shadow chuckled and let Sonic have the pillow – only to have it thrown back into his face.
"Gah!" He caught it before it slid to the floor. " Why you little…"
" You started it!" Sonic stuck his tongue out and made a face at him.
" Shh, keep it down. The others aren't awake yet." Shadow said, leaning against the back of the couch, looking down on the blue hedgehog.
" Oh. Well, alright…"
Crimson eyes wandered back and forth, making sure Rouge was not around.
His hand grabbed Sonic's shoulder, pulling him up. Sonic squawked in surprise, clawing at Shadow's arm.
" What are you doing?! Let go…! N-Nyah!!" He gasped as Shadow's knuckles started grating against his head rapidly. " Gahhhhh!!!" His eyes widened and he kicked at the pillows, trying to get out of Shadow's grasp.
The black hedgehog was grinning as he continued. Sonic was soon laughing, tugging at Shadow's ear.
" What the HELL are you two doing?!"
A pair of green and a pair of red looked over at angry green. Rouge's foot tapped against the floor as she held fists at her hips, obviously not amused. Her hair was tussled slightly, but since it was short, one could barely tell. She had wandered out of the nearby guest room as the hedgehogs had been roughhousing.
" Um…we were…"
" Waking everyone up, apparently…" She huffed, folding her arms and looking angry. " You two know that we've got to be at our best…" Her voice trailed off as she heard footfalls coming from behind her.
Knuckles was rubbing one eye as he wandered out of the room that she had just come from.
" What the hell is going on…?" He looked a little sleepy, dreadlocks mussed up and going every which way.
Two sly looks had replaced the surprised ones on the two hedgehogs' faces.
" Why don't you two tell us what was going on in there…?"
" Hm?" Violet eyes widened slightly at the evil hedgehogs. " Nothing happened…" He felt his cheeks flush a little.
Rouge's glare had disappeared as she blinked and looked at Knuckles, then back to Sonic and Shadow. " Don't start, you two. Nothing happened in there."
" Oh? Just sleeping together cutely, eh?"
" OF COURSE NOT!" Rouge flushed again.
Knuckles had taken up to staring at the floor by now, trying to let his dreads hide a blush that was spreading way too quickly for its own good. Rouge was getting frustrated again, blushing and angry from embarrassment.
The hedgehogs cackled a little before Shadow yelped as Sonic's arms wrapped around his neck, flipping him over the back of the couch and onto the pillows. He blinked up at a grin.
" Gotcha." Sonic smirked a little.
The black hedgehog blinked a little and felt himself smile.
Tails was tugging on Sonic's ears now. " Hey! Quit fooling around Sonikku…" He laughed a little, tugging again.
" Ow! Hey, Tails…stop it!" Sonic swatted at the fox's hands, grabbing a pillow and bopping him lightly. The fox laughed and tugged again, but then let go of the blue ears.
Rouge was rubbing her temples.
" I'm surrounded by idiots."
Knuckles shook his head and picked up one of the stuffed backpacks, putting it over his shoulder. He picked up the second one and handed it to Rouge.
" The sun will be setting soon. We better finish getting everything finalized and head out to take care of the GUN problem."
She took the knapsack and nodded. " You three ready?"
Sonic looked over at them as Tails nodded, running to get the headsets. Shadow kick-flipped to his feet, dusting himself off before also nodding, starting off to get his gloves and his bag. The fox flew overhead about two minutes later, handing out the headsets to everyone, then landing and racing off to get the Tornado ready. Knuckles fixed his mussed dreadlocks and then handed his bag to Rouge.
" Could you hold this please?"
She blinked and took it from him, nodding. The echidna wandered to the couch, helping Sonic with his headset and grinned a little.
" C'mon. Let's get you to the plane."
" Thanks, Red." Sonic nodded, wrapping his arms around Knuckles' neck as his friend picked him up and carried him outside.
Rouge felt herself smile a little and followed them outside, carrying the two bags. Her ears picked up the sound of the airplane rolling out from the bay it was usually stored in. She smiled at Tails as he parked it and flew out to help Knuckles get Sonic into the Tornado. The hedgehog grunted a little and then giving them a grin as he was seated into the plane. Tails double checked his own headset, as well as Sonic's, even though the hedgehog had tried to protest it, since Knuckles had done it before. The fox smiled a little and looked back toward the door, noticing Rouge coming.
" Where's Shadow…?"
" He'll be out shortly." Rouge said, smiling a little.
She handed the second bag to Knuckles, who put it over his shoulder again and nodded in her general direction. The bat checked her headset to make sure it worked and that she could hear them, then gave the trio another smile.
" Remember, if you can't meet me at a pickup point, I can just fly to your location." The bat reminded Tails.
" Alright."
" Oh, and Tails…?" Knuckles muttered.
" Yes?"
" I only ask one favor." He winked a little. " Don't give the detonator to the hedgehog until we're all there?"
" HEY!" Sonic cried out, growling at Knuckles a little.
" I think I can comply with that one…" Tails snickered.
" You all suck." Sonic grumbled, folding his arms.
" I'll be damned if I let you blow me up with that building just because you're trigger happy, hedgehog."
" You don't trust me, do you?!"
" In a word: no."
" Ungrateful bas—"
" That's enough you two." A voice stated from the workshop door. " I swear you two bicker like a married couple." Shadow said, grinning a little as he teased.
" Nobody asked you, Shadow."
The black and red striped hedgehog fixed the backpack straps on his shoulders and then wandered to the Tornado, jumping to the tail and hanging on.
" Let's get this show on the road."
" Alright!" Sonic grinned like an excited child, leaning back in his seat and practically vibrating in it.
Tails flew over and sat back down into the cockpit and started the Tornado up again, looking back at the pair of treasure hunters.
" Are you two going to be hitching a ride or following right away?"
" We'll follow you, and then catch a ride when we need to be dropped off at the entrance points of the building." Rouge stated. " Good plan?"
The fox nodded, checking the switches and the gauges of the airplane.
" Everyone ready?"
" You bet, buddy!" Sonic said, patting Tails on the shoulder as he pulled his goggles down over his eyes.
Shadow nodded, giving a sort of grunt of agreement.
" All right then! Here we go!!"
The Tornado started off down the runway, picking up speed and then taking off, ascending into the darkening sky of clouds and stars. Shadow looked back to see white and red running off the cliffs, floating on air currents and following the plane as they headed toward the city where the GUN building was located.
There it is…
Shadow's quills bounced back and forth in the wind as they began to get closer to GUN Labs. He looked to the wings of the plane, where Rouge and Knuckles had caught their rides shortly after they entered the city limits.
" We're almost there…!" Tails cried over the roar of the propellers.
Sonic leaned forward and looked. The building was in sight, illuminated by outside lights. It looked cold and dead, almost like the people who worked inside the place. He felt his fist tighten a little and then leaned back. I wish that I could really go in there and help Shadow set up those bombs…but I guess I have to do only…what I can…
The plan was pretty much set in stone. They had backup ones just in case the people inside the building would capture one of them, but Sonic was certain that they would not have to fall back on them. Shadow was determined enough not to let anything stop him from making sure that the Chaos Control Project continued on and Sonic knew this. His own conviction drove him to do everything in his power to stop the GUN soldiers and scientists from hurting Shadow and himself again. Since he couldn't help Shadow inside, he knew he had to have faith in his friends this time.
" Sensors say that the security outside the building might be stronger than we anticipated…" Tails called. " I might have to only do two sweeps, instead of the three…!"
Knuckles looked back at Tails, his dreadlocks flying around from the wind.
" Rouge and I can get off on the first flyby…! That okay with you, Rouge?!"
She gave him a little victory sign with her fingers, smirking a little.
" Alright – we'll go with that! Hang on everyone!"
Tails sent the plane in lower, moving toward one of the lower floors. This was more difficult because he had to be careful of the low buildings that were near the GUN building, but navigating was no problem for the skilled pilot.
" Tails, there are turrets showing up on sensors…!"
" Gotcha…! Make sure to hang on tight…!" He shifted the plane, turning it to avoid gunfire as he got closer and closer to the building. " Get ready you two!"
Rouge climbed up onto the top of the biplane's wing, moving over to the side that Knuckles was on, bracing her feet but keeping low so as not to create too much resistance against the wind. Knuckles had followed suit, only he was on the lower wing of the biplane, unlike her. Gunfire continued to follow them, but Tails' quick movements with maneuvers kept them safe from it.
" And…GO!"
The two treasure hunters dived off of the plane as Tails sharply pulled up, bringing the gunfire after him. Rouge tried to grab Knuckles' arm to fly up with him, but he glided toward the wall of the building without her assistance. She flew toward the duct system, hearing his claws RIP into the cement as he landed. While she pulled the grating off, his hands tore cement from the wall as he scaled it. Rouge flapped her wings so she moved upwards, allowing the echidna to slip into the open duct before her. She dove in, feet first, bringing the grating with her so she closed the opening before the surveillance spotted them.
" They're in." Shadow stated, watching the two through a pair of Tails' high tech binoculars.
" Not spotted, I hope."
" The lights from the surveillance appear not to have…"
" Good."
Tails moved the Tornado to disappear into a cloud and then turn around.
" Are you ready for the next drop off, Shadow?"
" No sweat."
" Alright, we'll go for the next sweep then." The fox fiddled with a few more of the gauges on the control panel and then lowered the plane into a clear part of the sky.
Shadow looked down for the right level. Now it was going to get tricky. He dug into his bag and pulled out two of the scaling picks that he had. Putting one into his mouth, he held onto the tail of the Tornado with his free hand, while the other one had the other pick ready to slam into the wall so he could sneak onto that floor. Sonic was chattering into the headset to Rouge, who had given them an update on her progress with Knuckles into the building. Apparently things were going well on their end – they hadn't been detected.
" We're coming up to the drop off, Shadow…!" Tails cried, avoiding more fire from the security turrets.
He nodded, gripping onto the tail again and moving his feet so he'd have a good jumping position when Tails buzzed by the spot where he was supposed to fall to. Sonic turned and looked back at Shadow.
" Good luck!" And give them hell for me…
Shadow nodded, noticing the look in Sonic's eyes. Determination. He knew that Sonic would be right there with him fighting, if he could…
He gave him a sharp nod, still holding the pick in his mouth.
" …GO!" Tails cried out, flying just above the level that Shadow as going to jump to. He buzzed past the building, quickly.
His feet pushed off as the ebony hedgehog jumped, sailing and freefalling toward the building. His hand holding the first pick moved and slammed it against the cement of the wall, while his other hand grabbed the one from his mouth and embedded it as well. His body smashed into the wall, causing him to cry out a little. Shadow's red eyes looked back, watching the Tornado maneuver away and drawing the fire away from him. It appeared to be transforming into the X formation. Thank you. He turned to the left, moving the picks so he could get to the duct that was his entrance into the building.
One of the picks smashed into the grating and ripped it away from the wall. He swung one foot into the opening, and tossed the first pick into the duct and then used that free hand to pull himself into it. Once he had gotten himself into the system, he shoved the half broken grating into place. He waited for a moment, looking out of the hole in the grate and checked to see if he had been spotted by the lights.
They had not shone upon the grating. He knew he was safe from them at the moment. Turning again, he pulled the mouthpiece of the headset down and turned it back on.
" I'm in. So far so good on my end."
Rouge's voice piped up in his ear.
" Knuckles and I encountered a few guard robots, but we handled them with no problem. Set one of the bombs already too. Be careful though, Shadow – since you're higher up than we are, I'm sure the security is better…"
" I hope you two made sure to hide the out of commission bots…"
" Well… we would have…"
" What?" Sonic chimed in. " You guys didn't?!"
" You didn't let her finish, hedgehog." Knuckles muttered into his line. " We would have…if there had been anything left to them."
Shadow could almost feel the grin from the echidna through the headset. He shook his head and continued on his path through the duct system, going silent as the others chattered strategies with each other. My best bet is to remain in the air ducts until I can locate the container that has the emerald inside of it… He tapped the headset a little.
" Tails – do we know where the emerald container is precisely located on this floor?"
" Just give me a second, Shadow – I'll pull up what I have on the Tornado's data files of it…"
The black hedgehog continued on his path, checking the gratings to see where his position was on the floor.
" The information states that it's near the middle of the floor, next to three barrels of…something. I'm sorry, Shadow – I don't have much information on this…"
" Don't worry about it. I think that'll be enough for me to figure it out…"
His fingers slipped in between the gratings of one of the ceiling ducts, pulling it up and moving it to the side. Carefully looking down, Shadow double checked the area to see if there were any guards around. He pulled a pair of goggles that Tails had lent him from his knapsack, putting them on and flicking a switch. This allowed him to see anything that was in infrared light – sensors or lasers might trigger an alarm – and that was the last thing that he needed at the moment. He made sure that there were no alarms around the grating and the opening, then slipped out of the duct, holding onto the edge with one hand as he hung from the ceiling. His other hand held his backpack, which had four bombs, as well as a few other tools that Tails and Rouge let him have in order to sneak around the building. He carefully lowered it onto a table before replacing the grating from where he came from. After that was accomplished, he dropped down, landing as quietly as he could – using the jets on his shoes to set his feet firmly on the ground.
Picking his bag up again, Shadow looked around the room for anything that was remotely like that of Tails' description. He saw a few barrels off to the side, as well as other containers, but they were much too big to be holding a Chaos Emerald in them. Crimson eyes continued to scope out the holding room, until he found three barrels stacked near another box on a table. This smaller container seemed to be the appropriate size to be filled with a chaotic crystal – thus the hedgehog quickly headed to it. His goggles continued to show where any infrared lasers were, so he jumped over and bent under the ones that were hindering a straight walk to the box. As Shadow crossed the room, he gently reached out to touch the box, since there were no lasers lining the outside of it. There was an electrical control panel on the front of it – which consisted of the locking system for the box.
Fishing into the bag, the hedgehog pulled out a little mechanism that Rouge had lent him. Since the bat was a skilled thief, she had many tricks of the trade – one of them being this little apparatus that hooked onto control panels and figured out what codes were. Once he attached it to the panel, Shadow made sure it was configured correctly and turned the machine on. It started to beep and scroll through various codes, until the five digit combination was punched into the panel and the lock sounded as it unbolted inside. Shadow pulled Rouge's machine off of the box and tried the handle, turning it to the left and pulling the box open slowly.
A light glittered from inside the box. Silver light. It shone against the wall and sparkled with all its power and glory.
The Chaos Emerald…
He gently took it out of the holder inside of the box, smirking a little to himself as his fingers gripped the smooth surface once more. It wasn't his green emerald, but it would do for now until he could reclaim that one. Shadow slipped the emerald back into the bag and darted for the door, ready to get upstairs to put an end to the madness that the scientists had created from their study on his body.
This was going to be tricky. The hedgehog could no longer use the ducts again to get to the next floor, since the layout of the security system had reinforced those from the last break in. Shadow opened the door to the room that he was in, looking out into the hall.
" Guys." He spoke quietly into the headset. " Do I have a straight shot to the stairs?"
" Sonic here. Let me double check for you, Shadow…"
Black ears flicked a little and he waited.
" The layout of the floor is pretty much straightforward. Take a left and head straight past the next three doors, then turn right. The stairs should be right there."
" Thank you."
The black hedgehog peeked out of the room again and noticed that there weren't any guards in the hall. He slipped out into the hallway and checked his goggles, making sure he wasn't about to run through any alarms. There were crisscrossing patterns in front of him - too small for him to slip through.
" Shit."
" What is it, Shadow?" Sonic's voice was in his ear again.
" The lasers from the alarm system are tightly woven."
" Shit."
" That's what I said."
" Hush you two." Rouge muttered into the line.
Shadow blinked a little and then looked about, making sure nothing was coming to stop him. He looked again toward the hallway in which he could get upstairs from. The lasers flickered and disappeared shortly after a blink or two.
" The hell…? Tails, what did you do?"
" I didn't do anything, Shadow…"
" I did, silly." Rouge said. " I took out some of the defenses offline via one of the main computers down here. Your path should be clear of those stupid alarms, but I can't guarantee that there won't be any robots on the upper levels."
" Hm…"
He took off down the hall and turned to his right, finding the stairs and dashing up them. The goggles were still in place over his eyes as he opened the door to the next floor and peeked out. The alarm lasers were gone on this floor, so Rouge's tactics had worked in his advantage once again. Shadow felt himself grin and then darted down the hall again, using the wall to shimmy against for cover whenever he was near a corner. Peering around one, he found that the "prison" room that he and Sonic had been kept in was being guarded by two of the smaller robots. Shit again…Where's another fire extinguisher…? Aha!
Grabbing one off the nearby wall, he set it down on the ground and kicked it hard – sending it rolling past the robots. Both looked down upon the rolling canister, sensors flicking and trying to determine where it had come from. Turning and looking about, a fire axe embedded itself into one of the robots' heads. Electricity crackled as the circuits were exposed. Shadow moved to smash its eye sensors in, but the second robot had already locked onto him. He moved quickly before the shot blew the other guard's head off, allowing him to bring the axe smashing into the eyes of the second. Its right arm grabbed the axe and ripped it from Shadow's hands, startling him in the process. It began to swing wildly, trying to swat him away. The hedgehog had the advantage since the robot could not see him. He grabbed the fire extinguisher again, hitting the robot in the back so he believed that he was there. Setting the canister rolling down the hall again, Shadow pressed himself against the wall, watching the robot chase after it stupidly.
Dumb ass.
Shadow touched the panel next to the door to open it and was soon inside. His eyes widened as the doors shut behind him. Memories of pain and suffering returned to him as his eyes laid on the stasis tubes. He remembered the acidic waters within them. The two tubes were now empty – but the hedgehogs' names were still attached to the consoles. A fist tightened as his eyes wandered around the room – filled with equipment and tools of torment.
I can't wait to watch this place burn.
He had to act quickly, setting a bomb against the stasis tube that he had once resided in. The one that held Sonic was still broken. Shattered pieces were piled near it when someone cleaned them up after the break out. He locked the bomb's detonator so it would not be able to be set off except via the remote that Sonic would have, then grinned a little, thinking about where he should set the other three. His ears flicked as he heard the door open.
Oh shit.
Shadow looked quickly toward the door, grabbing his bag and hearing guns cock.
" Freeze." A familiar voice stated. One of evil and nightmare.
His eyes sharpened as he recognized it. The head scientist from the experiments.
" Stand up, Shadow." A chuckle rose in his throat.
The hedgehog slowly stood, holding onto his bag.
" Drop it."
" Why should I? You won't kill me." He turned his head slightly, glaring one red eye at the bastard who had hurt him so severely. " You need me for your sick games."
A shot ripped into the wall next to Shadow's head – to the left. It missed the tube that he had rigged with the bomb by mere inches.
" As if we could kill you. Dr. Gerald's work is much more…ultimate than that, Shadow." The ugly grin on that mad doctor's face that had haunted his dreams reappeared.
" Then what do you plan on doing with me?"
" You? Oh, you will be studied some more…once we dispose of those friends of yours…except for the blue one, of course."
His eyes slanted.
" You will NOT touch any of them."
" I'll do as I please, Shadow." The gun was still on him. " I assure you – you'll enjoy being a part of GUN once more. We kept you locked up for so long…No one in GUN was determined enough to want to find out what makes you tick."
" That doesn't give you the right to hurt me or…"
" Too late. This concerns more than just you now…" The grin widened. " You'll be happy here…assisting in destruction once again. After all, look at what you did before on ARK…"
A twitch.
" What? I didn't do anything on there except live with the doctor…"
" Oh, but you're mistaken, I'm afraid…You're quite the killer, after all."
A flash sparked in his head. One of blood and death.
" …Shut up."
" You don't remember, do you?"
Bodies. Everywhere.
" I said shut up."
" You were still…somewhat 'little' then…if I recall correctly from the reports…"
Members of the military. Dead. Faces clawed. Bloodied. Eyes ripped out.
" Shut. Up."
" To think the death of that one little girl could make both you and the doctor go mad…"
Maria…! Another flash. He remembered those haunting dead blue eyes. Watching her die. Feeling ultimate sadness. Of loss. Pain. Grief. All these feelings flew in through him. He could remember the pain being so strong that it turned to hatred. Hatred of guns. Hatred of the people who shot her. The people who were trying to capture him. Hurt him. Do things to him. He remembered the glass lifting and…attacking…
" …mar…ia…"
" You remember now? How lovely… Amnesia is so overrated nowadays."
The ebony hedgehog's eyes closed tightly as he remembered bits and pieces of death and destruction. His hand tightened on the bag a little.
" Now then… put the bag down and surrender quietly. We can make it not hurt so much anymore…Everything will be fine now, Shadow. After all, you are the Ultimate Lifeform."
Teeth clenched.
The bag slipped from his hand, landing softly onto the ground.
A gasp came from the scientist.
He said something about putting it down.
Silver glinted in the light.
Fingers tightened against smooth surfaces again.
And he was gone in a spark of radiance.
The man barked orders at the four soldiers who were with him, but they didn't stand a chance now that the hedgehog had a Chaos Emerald. Silver light reappeared here and there, as well as a slew of fists and feet – punching and kicking. He wouldn't stand for it. He was fighting for survival like he had before. Shadow sent one soldier into the computers – his head smashing into a monitor. Blood ran down the controls as gunfire tried to take the hedgehog out again – but he was gone in another flash. The head scientist moved back, trying to allow the remaining three soldiers deal with the hedgehog. Two didn't last long, considering that they were both beaten quickly and then slammed into each other. The last one was sent into the wall, kicked in the throat and left to twitch on the floor. The hedgehog took a hit in the shoulder from the last remaining gun, but it didn't slow him down. He disappeared again from sight.
" Where the hell are you…?"
A kick to the back of the head sent the man crashing to the floor. He screamed as one shoe stomped on his hand and kicking the gun away from it. Another kick to the face allowed Shadow some gratification in seeing the bastard in pain. The man chuckled a little, wiping blood from his mouth.
" I should have known you still had it in you…After all, you enjoy seeing others in pain."
" Fuck you."
" What will you do now, Shadow…? You have no where else to go. No one will truly understand what you are…Not even yourself. You will only be able to regain your memory with our help…"
The man coughed a little, feeling blood running down his head as he tried to sit up against one of the consoles. He heard Shadow move away from him.
" Going soft…?"
His eyes widened slightly in surprise as the warm barrel of the handgun pressed against his forehead. Shadow's hand was steady. Eyes cold. He wanted this. Wanted to kill this man who put him though so much pain in order to try and ease any suffering that he felt. He could hear Sonic's voice in his ear, wondering what the hell was going on. He tried to ignore him. This was closure.
His thumb cocked the gun.
Die.
Sonic: Shadow's going to kill him!!
Shadow: Finally…
Sonic: But you can't kill him!!! That's wrong!!
Shadow: ?! What?! You can't be a pacifist now!
Sonic: Are you going to?! ::looking at the author::
Oh dear… Sonic, chill out. You'll find out in the next chapter.
Sonic: Butbutbut…why'd you leave it off there?!
Because that's where I wanted to leave it off… .
Shadow: A master of cliffhangers… She's evil.
Sonic: She IS!!!
Thanks for reading! Onward! To the last chapter of Experimentation!