Chapter 3 – Reunions and Ramifications.
In the three years since Chaos's attack on Station Square, most of the city had been rebuilt. One of the new additions to the city had been the Memorial Park; this was about a hundred acres square of parkland with a pleasant pond, a large picnic area and a small wood. It boasted a steady supply of traffic as people walked their dogs and fed the ducks at the pond in a time honoured tradition that showed no signs of being broken. Shadow the Hedgehog was a regular visitor to this park; he liked being around his friends, but there were times when he just needed a bit of space and free time. This was especially true when living with Sonic; the hedgehog was a great person, but being around him for more than three days non-stop would have had Shadow crawling up the walls. The black hedgehog smiled and wondered just what insane force possessed Amy to chase after him as she did; in her shoes, he'd have been running just as hard away from the blue nightmare.
Now that's just petty the hedgehog scolded himself; Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Rouge, Cream and the Chaotix picked you up when you were down. They're still helping you now he reminded himself. As he did every day, he strained him mind back to try and remember something, anything beyond waking up in a strange white bed with tubes sprouting from his body at all angles. It was hard for him; all he had were strange images that confused and even scared him; a ghost-like girl smiling at him, a blur when he was feeling extremely cold, a searing, burning pain, he cut himself off and took a fortifying breath. He'd try again later, when he'd had something to eat; he rubbed his stomach as he plotted a route back to the flat he shared with Sonic. Having thought for a few seconds, he set off walking; enjoying the change of pace from the super-speed races he always had with Sonic and Tails.
He thought as he walked, a puzzling conundrum that he often questioned; early on, before the gang had realised how bad his amnesia was, they'd referred to him as the 'ultimate life-form'. He often wondered what they'd meant by this, why was he so special? He was very fast, but so was Sonic, he wasn't quite as smart as Tails and he didn't even want to think about his cooking. He chuckled; he could run faster than a Formula 1 racing car and do acrobatics that would have Olympic athletes green with envy, but when it came to the kitchen he was about as useful as a solar-powered torch. Oh well, can't be good at everything he mused as something landed at his feet with a dull splat. His hear froze as he realised what it was; a small ball, red with gold stars on it. He knew what that meant and braced for impact; it wasn't the ball that was dangerous, it was what followed it…
Something large, strong and moving at a rapid rate of knots ploughed into him and by sheer foul luck smacked right into his solar plexus. He didn't go down, but idly wondered if his lungs would ever recover enough to accommodate oxygen again. The huge dog reared up and put its saucer shaped paws on the immobile hedgehog's shoulders, tongue slapping into his face. THAT brought the feeling back alright.
"Gyaahhh, geroff you mad mutt". Shadow stepped back and let the dog drop to the floor, woofing happily as a high voice shouted out,
"Down, Akki, down; sorry".
"S'not a problem" Shadow gasped as he recaptured his breath, still stunned by the impact of the Akita dog. And he's still a puppy he thought despairingly, thinking about what would happen when Akki was fully grown and shuddering. There was a high pitched clip as a lead was applied to the collar of the Akita and a girl's voice shouted,
"Bad boy Akki, bad boy. No jumping up at people, bad dog". Shadow watched as the pup whimpered and flattened his ears, cowed into submission by a cat girl that was the just about bigger than he was. The cat looked up apologetically,
"Sorry Shadow, he saw you before I did. He must really like you; he never jumps at anyone else". Lucky me the hedgehog thought, refraining from rolling his eyes with difficulty; I only threw the ball for him once, now he just ploughs into whenever he sees me, what did I do?
"No problem Cinnamon, how's his training class coming?" The cat brightened, the patch of light brown fur around one eye visible as she smiled,
"Oh he's much better now, hardly pulls at all and he knows how to sit".
"Really?"
"Yeah, watch", the cat looked the puppy square in the eye, "Akki, sit".
To Shadow's complete amazement, the dog did just that; enormous tail sweeping the ground as his rump landed. The hedgehog blinked a few times before his brain functioned again,
"Uh, umm, wow", he stuttered before smiling mischievously, "say, does that training work on hedgehogs as well?"
"Not that I know of, why?" Cinnamon echoed his smile,
"Ah, shame, I know a certain blue hedgehog who isn't that well trained". The cat chortled and punched him lightly on the arm,
"That's no way to talk about Sonic; anyway, I gotta go, Mum's expecting me back at three. C'mon Akki, see you round Shadow". The cat pulled on the lead and led the reluctant Akita away, the dog pulling gently to get at Shadow for one last lick. As Cinnamon gave a last mighty heave, the dog relented, turned and trotted away obediently, Shadow as always dumbfounded by this. That cat must have some kind of power over him; she's younger than Cream and handles that dog like it's nothing. He'd met Cinnamon not too long after being released from the hospital, just by walking in the park like this. He'd thrown the ball for her puppy and chatted for a while, before Cinnamon told him that the Akita had only been a few months old at the time. The cat had confided in him that she wanted to be a lion-tamer when she grew up; she was certainly getting enough practice the hedgehog thought as activated his shoes and headed for home.
The first thing that greeted him as his key clicked in the lock was the scent of heaven. The chilli-dogs were sizzling away merrily; he could hear them from here, as well as Amy shooing Sonic away from trying to steal a few of them before they were done. Absent-mindedly dropping his keys in the pot near the door, the black hedgehog peeked into the dining room/ kitchen, smiling at the sight. Tails was sitting patiently at the table, nose buried in some book or other, while Sonic was trying to sidle up to the frying pan without Amy noticing. Tails glanced round,
"Oh, hey Shadow". The other looked towards him as he nodded,
"Hey guys; Amy, to what do we owe the pleasure?" he enquired, glancing towards the result of her labours. To his surprise, it was Tails who answered voraciously,
"We owe nothing; hell, sheer hell that's what it was. I'm never shopping with you two again" the kit swore as Sonic grinned broadly,
"C'mon little bro, it wasn't that bad",
"You weren't carrying the bags" the fox cut him off. Shadow shook his head as he asked,
"Have I got time for a shower before dinner?" Amy smiled and slapped Sonic's hand away from the sizzling pan.
"Yeah, why, what happened?"
"Two words; Cinnamon, ball."
"Ah, Akki attack. Yeah, go for it, these'll be done in about fifteen minutes". The black hedgehog took off for the shower, grabbing a towel from his room on the way in.
As Shadow arrived home, so did a second resident of Station Square. Mind completely numbed by the truly terrible in-flight movie, Rouge staggered through the gates of the Station Square airport. She cursed the call, the uncomfortable airplane seats, the person who designed the uncomfortable airplane seats and the person who invented jetlag in roughly that order as she waited for her bags. As they approached on the terribly slow carousel, she sluggishly switched her phone on and, rather unsurprisingly, there was a message awaiting her. 'Farbacks Coffee store, near entrance. I'll be waiting'. At least that was something she muggily realised; she needed a decent shot of coffee to wake up properly.
Nack blew the steam from his expresso, wanting to light up a smoke but restricted by the airport security signs. His eyes roved around, looking for the Rouge he remembered but a bit taller. There were some real stunners moseying round; no matter how serious the business was, Nack always had a keen eye for the ladies. In fact, there was one heading right for the café right now. Much as it pained him, he had to tell her when she sat down at his table,
"Er, sorry love, I'm waiting for someone" he remarked offhandedly, sipping slowly from his mug.
"She's just sat down". Nack spluttered into his coffee, the foam dripping off his muzzle as he stared at the beautiful woman now sat opposite him, "Nack the Weasel, I might have known. It's been a while". Rouge smiled, exposing her fangs as she offered a hand that Nack shook, still partially stupefied by the revelation of his new partner.
Having ordered a double expresso that Rouge insisted was necessary for her to fully wake up, the two sat in silence for a few minutes, trying to think of a way to break the ice. Nack made the first effort,
"So, how's things been going then?" Rouge glanced up,
"Pretty good, all things considered, what about you?" Fine until last night the weasel thought dryly before answering,
"Fine, been on the road mostly, doin' odd jobs when I can", he changed tack slightly, "you've changed a lot; what happened to the skinny little bat from the guild?"
"Probably the same thing that happened to your six-pack" the bat pointed out, laughing slightly as Nack's purple hue didn't quite hide his blush. I wonder if Knuckles' fur hides – no, stop thinking about him; the bat checked herself. She then sighed,
"I don't think you sent out the call just to ask about my life thus far". Nack nodded slowly, feeling the mood turn sombre. He swallowed the last of his coffee and exhaled,
"Right, I came into town about three days ago, an' just by luck got hold of a number that turned out to be Jessie Wheatears'. Remember her?"
"Hell yes", Rouge exclaimed, a flow of memories triggered by the name, "I trained with her a lot in the guild. Damn, I didn't know she lived in Station Square…" she saw the look on Nack's face and fell quiet, waiting for the blow to fall. The weasel continued,
"Yeah, we arranged to meet at her place. When I got there last night, she wasn't there", Nack removed a folded up piece of paper from his jacket and slid it across the table, "this was". The bat carefully picked it up and unfolded it, eyes widening as she lowered the paper to stare at Nack. The weasel waited for her to come to terms with this, watching as she lowered the piece of paper and swore quietly.
"Is this…what I think it is?" Just as he had, she needed conformation.
"Yeah, it is" Nack swallowed an uncomfortable lump in his throat, "Seraph's back and he's taken Jess".
It took a few minutes for the full implications of those words to sink in; Rouge was having trouble just getting over the name,
"So she's…"
"No", Nack hastily derailed that chain of thought, "I said taken, not killed. For all we know she's still alive and well". Rouge let out a low breath,
"So you'll reckon he's going to come for us next?"
"In a word, yes", the weasel affirmed glumly, staring at the dregs of his coffee as if the secret of turning lead into gold could be found there if only he looked hard enough, "and I reckon he's going to start soon. We don't have a lot of time". Rouge nodded, all traces of sleepiness vanquished and purely down to business.
"Okay, when are the others getting here?" Nack smiled sadly, his overlong fang creasing his lower lip as he dipped into his pocket again; here comes the hard bit.
"The, there's no-one else Rouge". The bat's head snapped straight up,
"NO…"
"Shhhh" the weasel hissed, glancing round hurriedly; luckily, the bat's exclamation had been drowned out by a take-off, "this was at Jess' as well" and he slipped the maimed photograph across the table. One look told the veteran spy all she needed to know,
"Oh this is really not what I need right now" Rouge moaned as she kneaded her forehead with her knuckles. Nack gave a gruff chuckle,
"You and me both babe; not really what I had on my mind either. Now, how much do you remember?"
"About him or the guild?"
"Both".
"Not nearly enough" the bat admitted.
"Thought as much" Nack stood up, "c'mon, my ride's outside; I'll take you back to my humble abode" he spat the last two words like poison. Rouge mirrored his movements,
"Oh, Nack?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't call me babe".
"Whatever".
"Now that was heavenly; Amy, you outdid yourself".
"Oh stop, you're making me blush", the pink hedgehog giggled as Tails leaned back in his chair, completely full to the brim. Sonic and Shadow were pretty much the same way – whatever her other faults may have been, Amy was a genius in the kitchen. How many ways can you make chilli-dogs? the kit thought to himself before stretching. Sonic groaned and nearly fell sideways off his chair,
"Someone call the hospital, I need a stomach pump. Super-suck" he added as Amy glowered at him,
"Are you saying my cooking's bad?" she demanded. Sonic grinned and dropped the act,
"No, I want my stomach pumped so I can eat more of those dogs" he remarked, causing Amy to go almost as red as her namesake. Tails smirked,
"See, told you he liked you" he quipped, both he and Shadow snickering as Sonic went as red as Amy and chuckled nervously.
"Right you two; for that you get the honour of dish duty. Now get!" Amy stormed, trying unsuccessfully to hide her blushes. Shadow managed to contain himself,
"Yeah right, and just how are you going", he trailed off as the haft of the Piko Piko hammer edged into view, "err, dishes sound good". He glanced at Tails, who followed his gaze and blanched slightly,
"Yep, fine by me; I'll wash you dry?"
"No way, washing's easy. I'll wash."
"Not a chance – rock-scissors-dynamite?" the fox challenged.
"You're on," Shadow confirmed, matching his hand movement with Tails', "one, two, three, go. Rats!" he exclaimed as his dynamite was cut by the fox's scissors. Tails beamed smugly as he collected up the plates. Sonic was grinning as well; Shadow's pride wouldn't stand for that,
"C'mon washer-boy, let's give these two love-birds time alone" he remarked, speeding into the kitchen with his furry friend not far behind. The slam of the kitchen door was drowned by Sonic's angry shout,
"Hey!" the hedgehog hammered on the door, "you two are dead meat when I get in there". Damn, why is this getting to me – you know why, 'cause its tr – finish that sentence and I'll lobotomise you – shutting up…. Huffing, Sonic turned to Amy, who was by now a brilliant red. Sonic stumbled as though blinded,
"Wow, hey, I could get sunburn from that" he said in a jokey tone, causing the pink member of his species to burst out laughing.
Up to his elbows in soapy water, Tails casually asked,
"Do you reckon those two actually have feelings for each other?" Shadow was quiet for a minute before replying,
"Amy certainly, but I'm not so sure about Sonic; if he does they're well hidden", the black hedgehog shrugged before asking his own question,
"When do you reckon it'll be safe to come out of here?"
"Umm, hard to say, but I'd definitely give it a couple of hours", the fox looked to his left and his face fell, "mind you, with those saucepans that shouldn't be a problem".
Amy checked her watch and did a double take,
"Oh nuts, it's getting on a bit. I'd better get back to Rouge's". Sonic smiled gently,
"No problem, hold onto me; I could do with a bit of a run". Amy stared at him gobsmacked and Sonic wondered if he'd said the right thing.
"Y, You'd do that?" the pink hedgehog stuttered, causing Sonic to rub the back of his neck,
"Er, sure, I do it all the time. Like when Tails needs to get back to his workshop, I'll take a quick run and get him there in minutes. Just something I'd do for a friend" he finished lamely. Amy smiled,
"So, I'm your friend?"
"Hell yeah, but just a friend" the blue blur wagged a warning finger,
"That'll have to do, for now at least", Amy said in a light-hearted tone, heart singing out wonderful praises to the world, "now, how do I hold on?" Sonic chuckled,
"At least wait 'til we're outside girl" he said exasperatedly, leading the pink hedgehog out the door. After checking she was holding on alright, the famous blur took off at his traditional speed of just below the sound barrier.
Nack flung the door of the Pit Stop wide open as Rouge removed the weasel's spare helmet and gently straightened her huge ears. She winced as her appendages complained at the cramped conditions they'd been forced to endure, shaking her head as she followed the weasel into the dilapidated place. The owner looked up from a magazine that could politely have been described as unsavoury and let out a grunting chuckle.
"Fort so; I know a ladeez' man when I see won. Good taste mate" he said approvingly as Nack glanced to see if Rouge needed restraining. Luckily, the bat managed to keep her cool as Nack smiled and led her upstairs. When she was sure they were out of earshot, Rouge unloaded,
"You can do better than this; why a flea-pit like this for Christ's sake?"
"'Cause I'm keeping my head down, same reason you're not going back to your place tonight" Nack answered as he fiddled with the lock, carefully avoiding his installed electric shock device before swinging the door open.
"Welcome in". Rouge crossed her arms and scowled,
"No, no way and never in that order". Nack frowned before sensing an opportunity to bait the bat a little,
"Why, what's wrong with it?"
"You need a list?", if sarcasm was measurable, it would have been dripping off Rouge's statement as she stepped inside, "great, I've lost my first holiday in years, I'm living in a trash heap, a ravenous psycho's after me and to top it all off, I have the worst case of jetlag imaginable. Oh, what did I do, what sin was so heinous as to deserve this?" The bat threw herself down on the bed and buried her head in a pillow, the absorbent material muffling her shrieks. Nack didn't trust his own voice; he'd already cracked several ribs fending off an assault of the giggles. Eventually, she calmed down a bit and faced the weasel again, smiling in a resigned fashion,
"Sorry, just had to blow off some steam; this wasn't what I had planned for my two week break". The weasel nodded, sitting down next to her on the bed and taking off his hat,
"Don't apologise, think I didn't do that when I found out about this? Anyway, I'm shattered as well, so we better turn in. We need to get ready; tomorrow we put our heads together and try and come up with some kind of a plan". Rouge agreed before glancing around the room,
"There a shower in here?"
"Yeah, only cold water though. That door," Nack pointed one of two doors she could see, "oh, whatever you do, don't take the blob of white-tac off the wall".
"Lemme guess, plugging the water pipe?" Rouge mustered a smile from somewhere, but the weasel shook his head,
"No, plugging the peep-hole". The expression of horror that crossed Rouge's face at this bit of info was the straw that broke the camel's back; Nack just collapsed in utter hysterics, folding up in gales of laughter as Rouge tried to reduce him to ash with a sustained glare.
"Hey Ames, we're here; you can let go now" Sonic spoke as he screeched to a halt outside the correct apartment block. The hedgehog froze for a few seconds as his passenger alighted on unsteady legs, breathing deeply,
"How do Knuckles and Tails do that?"
"Ease of long practice" the hero assured her with a cocksure grin that Amy quickly mimicked.
"Well, guess I'd better get some practice in myself…"
"Hey, I'm a hero not a glorified taxi service," Sonic struck a dignified pose as Amy stifled her giggles quickly, "well, see you round Amy".
"Okay, see you".
"Right".
"Well".
"Um…"
"Er…" Sonic stood, apparently paralysed with indecision before turning suddenly and bolting into the distance. Amy watched him go, still smitten by the hot-headed hero, but also envious of his speed and his I'm-so-cool-nothing-gets-to-me attitude. But then, why'd he take so long to leave? Shrugging, the pink hedgehog jogged gently into the apartment block, running a replay of her run in her mind.
Sonic came to a standstill half the city away, heart slamming against his ribs and for once it wasn't due to the run. What the hell is wrong with me; I wanted to, to hug her. Why? In his heart of hearts, Sonic already knew the answer to that question, but as always, he quashed it down deep and resumed his run, mulling these new feelings over and trying to find reasons for denying the inevitable; as always again, it was getting harder to do so.
Wrapped in Nack's old towel, Rouge ordered the weasel into the bathroom; no peeking on pain of being tied up and left outside for Seraph to deal with at his leisure. When decently clothed again, she whistled the weasel back in.
"Right, you want the bed or the floor?"
"You're kidding right; my room, my bed", Nack jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "Off!"
"If you were a gentleman, you'd let me sleep here and crash on the floor", Rouge crossed her arms and frowned, flumping back down the bed and closing her eyes. She rapidly re-opened them when two arms slid under her and a voice growled in her ear.
"Guess what", giving a heave, Nack turfed the bat off the bed, leaving her to sprawl ungraciously on the floor with a yelp, "I'm not a gentleman". Nack pulled his hat over his eyes, ignoring Rouge's contempt and the fact she was nearly glowing with rage.
"You can sleep on it tomorrow" he grunted as she opened her mouth. The comment mollified the incensed bat somewhat, though it didn't stop her grumbling as she grumpily arranged the cushions of the sofa on the filthy carpet. The sooner this is over the better, she realised; Nack had fewer manners than Knuckles and she hadn't thought that possible. No sooner had the thought passed her mind than she growled in frustration – even in possible mortal peril, she couldn't get Knuckles off her mind! I'm going to have to kill him she realised as the intoxicating waves of slumber pulled at her, dragging her down until her gentle snores were all that could be heard in the darkened apartment.
As darkness descended, every member of Station Square's population headed home following a day of work or play. Every member, that was, bar one; the last rays of the sun were fading when a lone figure finished a complicated, choreographed set of manoeuvres that would have left three potential attackers on the floor, gasping for air and nursing several broken bones. The silent, black-clad Mobian turned to face the moon, paused for a second and finally moved, heading out into the city. There was work to be done and the targets were there for the taking.
