Oh my, I wrote a new one. Yay for me. (does victory sign). I hope that this chapter will be satisfactory to you guys! Here, you will see how Rouge becomes her vampire self. Whoo! This was originally much longer (24 pages exact) but I decided to split it up. So this is part 1 of what happened to her and the next chapter will show the rest. The next will be updated fast since I already typed it up.
The beginning of this chapter will be in the present, but then we go straight into the flashback. Don't want confusion.
Show me that you read by reviewing please. I will be grateful! ..:D
Chapter 3- Changed (Flashback Pt. 1)
"Oh my God! Sonic, you're okay!"
A flurry of orange fur latched onto the blue hedgehog with devastating force.
"Gah! Tails, I'm fine! Are you taking lessons from Amy or what?" Sonic choked from the tightened hug.
Shadow hardly paid attention to the two, his gaze rapt ahead to the north. Rouge must have left that way after her attack on Sonic. It might take him a while to find her trail, but he'll find it, he will…
"But I was so afraid you would get hurt because of Rouge being a vampire and all and that she might have bitten you and-!"
"Wait, what!"
"Well…Shadow said she was!"
Now Sonic turned his full attention to his dark look-alike. "Uh, what is Tails talking about?"
Shadow did not look back, his eyes focused ahead, trying to find a flying form in the skies. Sonic's question was a hindrance to him. "Rouge is in trouble and we need to find her now," was all he would say.
"Hold on a sec," Sonic said, making the time-out signal with his hands. "Could you fill me in? What's happened to her?"
Shadow still would not look at him. "She is in trouble, and needs to be found now," he repeated in a forced voice.
"He says she's a vampire," Tails said softly, aware of Shadow's reluctance to speak.
Sonic's eyes widened in disbelief, but with the memory of Rouge's appearance, they slowly faded into small understanding. "I guess that explains why she was trying to bite me…"
Tails' trembled suddenly. "But she didn't! Did she?"
"No, I'm fine. But I think she gave me a concussion with that kick of hers." The hedgehog patted the back of his head, a bump forming under the quills. "Does she have to wear those iron boots all the time?"
Shadow turned to the pair, impatience clearly written on his face. "Come on already! We have to move now!"
"Alright," Sonic replied, the pain in his head easing finally. A thought crossed his mind suddenly. "Oh shoot! I just remembered Rouge taking someone away. He was still alive. Maybe if we-"
Shadow shook his head. "No, we have to find Rouge. And that's it."
Sonic's quills bristled from the curt response. "But what if she did something to him? We can't just leave him to her, especially when she's acting all Dracula-like!"
"He's dead. There's nothing we can do for him. Only Rouge, so let's go."
"…How would you know that?"
"I…just do. I don't need to explain myself."
Sonic stared with hard green eyes at the black hedgehog before him. His head still ached terribly the fight earlier, but things were becoming clear again in his line of vision. The night's events had given him fear he had not felt in years, and Shadow was as vague as ever.
"Shadow, what is going on?" Sonic calmly questioned.
Tails remained silent, watching with innocent eyes at the two hedgehogs, unsure of anything.
Shadow grunted in exasperation. "I told you already-"
"No you didn't!" Sonic shot back. "Just why is Rouge this way? How? You better tell me the whole story now."
The black hedgehog tensed, looking almost ready to throttle his counterpart. They had to get to Rouge, she was getting farther away.
Then again, Sonic had the right to know what happened. The blue faker was not one to go blindly into situations without knowing the important facts…at least not all the time…
Shadow glanced to the sun-lit skies. Rouge could not travel anyway in daylight, and Sonic still looked quite battered from the fight. They still had some time.
Damn blue faker had a point.
"Fine then," Shadow gave in. "I'll tell you, but only if you don't spread word about this to anyone or it's a snapped neck for you."
"Alright, no need to get violent here," Sonic replied with a hint of a smile. Tails stood next to him, face spread with curiosity of what he was about to hear.
Shifting his feet, Shadow's eyes fixed onto the cement, recollecting memories. He was not exactly looking forward to it.
"And don't interrupt either, this is already hard enough..."
It all began with a letter.
On any other occasion, Rouge would have just thrown it away, along with the bills and fake prizes if she had not caught the name on the envelope.
During that time, Shadow had been living at her house, having no other place to turn to after the ARK adventure. Though at first and many times later he had declined the offer of staying with her, Rouge insisted upon it, unyielding to his words.
"So where are you gonna go? Live all alone in the woods or something? Become a drifter? Or just wander around the world angsting of how life screwed you over?"
She had a point. Though he did not believed he angsted all the time.
…Right?
Perhaps it was because of the easygoing relationship they had that convinced him. But whatever it was,in the long run, he was swayed over to the bats arguments reluctantly and was at this point in time, flipping through the television channels of the living room. Of course, nothing good was ever on.
Rouge, standing near the couch, ripped through the envelope with eager hands, grasping the neatly folded paper inside. Her eyes took in the sentences written in neat penmanship as she deciphered their meaning. Her face at first consisted from puzzlement, to curiosity, and then finally intrigued as she read the final lines.
Shadow, still monotonously pressing the buttons of the remote, turned to her when he realized the bat was being unusually quiet. "Rouge?"
A few moments passed before an amused smile crossed her lips and she dropped the letter to the table. "So he's come groveling back. This seems pretty interesting. Guess I'll wait 'till later."
The bat then sauntered away to her room, the envelope in hand, leaving a confused Shadow in the room.
Traveling to the desk, he spotted the letter, carelessly left among the rest of papers in a pile. Now he was not one to pry into other people's belongings, but the random comment of the girl got him curious. Besides, she had just left the paper there for all eyes to see, even though she took the envelope…
Quickly, Shadow snatched up the letter, skimming through the lines in handwriting unfamiliar to him. He still did not truly understand until he got to the bottom. Eye ridges shot up at the words.
"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered.
"You're not actually thinking of going there, are you?"
Rouge was already going out the door, the sun near the horizon, burning a fierce red that stained the clouds. Her face looked up eagerly to the skies as the impulse to flex her wings in the wind came forth, to travel in that ecstatic freedom.
"Please, what can he do to me?" she replied in confident tones.
Shadow crossed his arms, a clear sign of disagreement. "So just because Eggman says he needs to see you in some letter, you're going to go along with it?"
The bat shrugged nonchalantly. "Being overprotective, aren't we?"
He grunted in disapproval, getting a laugh from the female.
Ever since the ARK, Eggman had mysteriously vanished from public attention. After a year passed and no declaration of taking over the world had been made, it aroused suspicion. It was certainly not like him. Sonic and the others (excluding Shadow and Rouge) searched his last known whereabouts, investigating abandoned bases. But nothing turned up. It was as if he literally vanished off the face of the earth.
Rouge had waved it aside, considering her own affairs much more important. Shadow was apathetic about the whole thing, thinking that perhaps the man was just in hiding, working on his next big project for world domination. But then again it was not like him, a mad doctor that continually bragged about his so-called genius and rivaled for the public spotlight.
His letter came as anunexpected surprise:
To Rouge,
My plans are now near completion and I need your help and expertise to carry them out. Soon, I shall announce to the world of what I have in store for them! There is a reward for you in all this. I have the Chaos Emeralds with me, and I will give them to if you promise to meet me at the Mystic Ruins temple this Tuesday at seven o'clock at night. Bring no one, or the emeralds remain with me.
Sincerely,
Dr. Eggman
There was even a maniacal laugh written after the name that went on for two paragraphs, which was hardly impressive.
But it was the mention of the 'reward' that certainly caught Rouge's eyes and the Chaos Emeralds were the most valuable of treasures indeed. The bat had searched for the precious gems but all her hunts turned up blank. If Eggman truly had them, it would save her much time than she would rather spend.
But Shadow was not letting her get away that easily.
"Why would Eggman want you to come alone? Ask yourself that."
Rouge gave an exasperated sigh. "Shadow, just lay off it. I can take care of myself."
"At least, let me come along with you," the hedgehog suggested.
"For what? To be my bodyguard? I'm not a helpless little damsel in distress like that Amy, you know that."
Shadow's ruby eyes hardened. He knew that very well. The bat was strong and deeply independent. Only one time did she ever needed help from him and from then on she was careful not to make any more mistakes. But something about this did not feel right…
"You shouldn't go alone."
Rouge unfurled her black wings, already rising towards the sky. "Relax, I'll be fine. Hey, if I don't make it back, you can have the house all for yourself, 'kay? That is if you can figure out how to pay the high rent by your lonesome."
Then her lithe form dwindled into the darkening heavens as Shadow watched quietly. He was still standing outside long after she was gone until he shook his head to rid himself of the feeling for foreboding. He walked back inside the house, trying to keep his mind off of it.
Of course he was overreacting. Rouge could take care of herself. She had proven plenty of times beforehand. So why was he so worked up about it?
Plopping down onto the couch, he picked up a magazine, gazing absently at the bright pictures of young celebrities and false advertisements. He noticed that a lot had to do with some magical diet pill that promised the reader fifty pounds gone in one little month guaranteed, or they get a free coupon to McDonalds.
Aggravated, he threw the glossy booklet aside, his mind continually nagging. Once again, Shadow went to the table and looked through Eggman's letter. This just did not feel right.
Why would Eggman just suddenly send a letter? And a letter? The hedgehog believed that the doctor would probably use email instead considering his technological status. But then again, Rouge did not have a computer anyway. Well, there goes that theory. Yet something about the writing did not make sense.
He stared at the words that seemed to scream out at him as suspicious.
Bring no one.
The black hedgehog glanced up at the clock hung on the wall, hands making the angle that described 6:40 p.m. Only ten minutes had passed since she had left.
His instincts kept jabbing him relentlessly.
Bring no one.
Wasting no time, he rushed out the door, jet shoes lighting up the streets.
The night's heat was oppressive, making the air almost too suffocating to draw into her lungs. Sighing, Rouge wiped the sheen of sweat forming on her forehead as her wings beat in steady manner. The Mystic Ruins were now below her, the shadow of her figure silhouetted on the ground. Farther ahead, she could just make out the dark emerald leaves and vines of the jungle. There she saw the large, ancient temple rising from its depths, crumbling with time. Dark designs covered its surface that could barely be seen in the night.
She slowed her flight, descending into the tangled brush. The humidity of the jungle hit her full force on the ground.
"Damn it," she muttered harshly. "For some genius, the Doc sure picks crappy meeting places."
The bat was hesitant of the environment, now having second thoughts about coming here. But the lure of the Chaos Emeralds was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Searching every conceivable place had rewarded her little. Only lackluster gems and shoddy pearls were all she had to show for it. She was even beginning to fear that she was losing her touch as a treasure hunter.
Then Eggman just simply pops up, practically dumping the emeralds on her lap. Rouge planned to go along at first with his dumb plans until she was sure she could take her treasure with impunity. Her past alliance with the doctor blocked up any future possibilities.
The bat marched around the base of the temple, scrutinizing the area suspiciously. The calls of the nocturnal creatures in the jungle flowed around her, curious eyes watching this mysterious newcomer from behind leaves and bushes.
Rouge completed her circumference around the old building. No Doctor Eggman.
Her senses heightened at this turn of events, though she knew she should have expected it. It was not exactly difficult to locate an overly obese man with a bushy mustache.
She lost her patience. "Eggman! Stop playing games and come out or-!"
Her voice stopped as it appeared before her.
Shadow in quick time arrived at the Mystic Ruins. Already the sky was dark, no stars showing themselves on this night. The hedgehog searched above but found no winged form.
"Guess she's already there," he whispered to himself.
Hearing a sound he looked to the right, finding Tails' workshop in the distance. The young two-tailed kitsune was outside, craning his neck upwards to the roof of his abode. His voice carried into the wind, yelling for someone to come down. Sonic was laying carelessly on the rooftop, pretending to have not heard the fox.
Shadow stared for a short while until he resumed his goal, rushing to the jungle of where Rouge supposedly was.
"What the…who are you?"
The female stepped back suddenly, surprised at this new figure that had appeared seemingly out of thin air in front of her. A soft voice emitted from it.
"So you're Rouge…"
She narrowed her eyes, almost insulted that this person would dare utter her name. "Who are you?" Rouge repeated through gritted teeth.
Silent, the stranger jumped for her, a living shade in the night. The treasure huntress skillfully dodged to the left, ready for such an attack. Moonlight casted its glow on the spot, revealing the person's appearance as clearly as daytime.
It was a bat such as herself, crouched low in as a result from his jump. Male, with light brown fur, his hair cascaded down his back in tangled wisps. The eyes glared back at her with ebony coal, sharp claws raking the ground deeply. His wings were tattered and ripped beyond recovery now, just useless flaps of leather sprouting from his back.
Climbing to his feet, he showed his abnormally long fangs in a fierce grin.
Though taken aback by the creature's appearance, Rouge knew one fact instantly.
"You wrote that letter."
The male chuckled. "Brains and beauty, a rare combo."
Feeling the humidity rising, the treasure huntress clenched her fists from the frustration. "Why the hell did you make me come here? Where's Eggman?"
A look of pure disgust crossed the male's face. "That Eggman…is dead. Far more than he deserved after what he did to me."
"Dead?" Rouge gasped.
The male bat's eyes gleamed from pleasure of a past memory, gazing at Rouge's face intently. "He mentioned you…"
The treasure huntress raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Tell me what is going on."
Expecting the order, the male clicked his claws against one another and folded the torn wings around him like a cloak. His grin remained plastered on his face.
"The one you called…Eggman…captured me after finding out about my kind."
"Your kind?" Rouge questioned, but the male continued on as if he had not heard.
"I never figured out how he discovered our secret. But he did, and he took me to a dark place…his lab, I believe…and I was experimented on mercilessly. All that fat bastard did to me…he should have know how much worse I would do to him!"
He trembled from the remembered experience, black eyes glowing a faint hint of red. Pure, dark rage emanated in his voice.
"He wanted to use my abilities for his gain…some foolhardy plan to rule the world, this mud ball of a planet. He wanted to make more like me through mechanical means. An army…" He gave a mocking laugh. "Pathetic human. None of that was possible and he knew it. The powers of our race were beyond his capabilities."
The wind blew forcefully in a shriek, waving his twisted hair around his shoulders in the dark. "But he then he had the gall to make me obey him, for there was only one way to create more."
His gaze fully locked onto Rouge, devouring. "He thought you would make a good test."
"What do you mean?" Rouge retorted in angry turn. "So he did want me to join up with him again."
"Yes, but not in the way you think." A spark of fire appeared in the depths of his eyes, making Rouge unconsciously step back. "I remember him saying how there was only one way to make you come to him when he took this from a storage room. A weakness for jewels." From behind his back, he produced a shining green Chaos Emerald engulfed in his large right hand. The facets glinted in the moonlight, shining in Rouge's eyes.
The male bat grinned and continued on with his tale. "Trying to force me to obey him was a mistake. He was even dumb enough to release the metal bindings he had put on me, as if I were some dog about to perform tricks for him. He wanted me to change you, perhaps thinking we would be compatible because of our species."
He clenched his hands tightly, madness written on his face. "He was so weak without his toys. More pitiful than a child. But I didn't drink the red, no, not his. I would not degrade myself by feasting on him. Just tearing his limbs would suffice. Yes, that showed just what he was truly dealing with."
Rouge was shuddering as she gazed at this seemingly psychotic bat. This thing boasted of killing Eggman, but the terms he used, 'drink the red,' led her to the conclusion that the male before her was some sort of cannibal. Just as she was about to fly away and escape, the male bat suddenly hissed in anticipation.
"He thought that you would be good. Yes, I will see now. I can make new ones if I choose. It depends if the recipient is strong enough. Are you strong?"
He took one step forward. Rouge raised her arms in defense. "Stay back!"
The male tilted his head to one side, fangs flashing white. "Yes, I wonder how you taste?"
Before she could utter a word, he pounced in a blinding swiftness. Moving with the shadows of night, he pinned her to the ground, already the thirst rising to the breaking point. He could see it pour out of her; all he needed to do was tear it away.
Rouge tried to fend him off but the male's strength was too much. Already she could see the horrid face come closer, his harsh breathing rasping in his throat.
Instinctively, she cried out his name.
"Shadow!"
Then stark, white pain.
The hedgehog halted in his tracks in his trek through the jungle, hearing someone yell out his name. His heart racing, he ran to the direction of the voice.
Rouge was in trouble, that was her calling for him.
Shadow's body crashed through underbrush and hanging vines as he forcefully shoved them away, the need to get there faster. Much faster. Animals scattered from his path fearfully, seeing his ruby eyes in desperation.
The temple came into view, bathed in white, pale light. As he moved closer, his attention was drawn to the base.
And there was Rouge, lying under another body. Her eyes were wide open, body limp, making no move to repulse her attacker. She was looking straight at Shadow, with nothing in her eyes, bare. The body on top of her was unaware of the black hedgehog who watched in horror.
"Rouge!"
The next few moments were a blur. Shadow, his face twisted with pure carnal rage, collided with the woman's assaulter in a spin dash. The other sprawled to the ground in surprise from such force. The hedgehog bent down to Rouge and saw the puncture wounds on her neck, lifeblood dripping down her flesh. He checked for a pulse, even though he knew by the still look in her eyes.
Nothing. She was dead.
Trembling in barely controlled anger, Shadow turned around to find the attacker standing before him, still recovering from the hedgehog's strike.
Shadow did not waste any time with meaningless words. Great ferocity consuming him, the hedgehog leaped onto the other, landing hard punches with all the force of an enraged animal. The instinct to rip apart this thing before him was all his clouded thoughts could say. Bones crunched as black bruises formed from his strikes.
"What the fuck did you do to her?" he shouted, giving a roundhouse punch to the stomach. He kept yelling out the same question but the male bat being disciplined could not have answered even if he tried. Each second was met with a shattering blow, his senses becoming muddled.
Shadow's vision was in a red-blood haze as his mind continually screamed to destroy this thing in front of him, to make this thing suffer for its crime. He obeyed, hitting over and over, feeling that this was all he knew. Venting out onto another.
The male bat was astounded at his opponent's viciousness. He tried to fight back, but the hedgehog was too fast. Appearing from one place to the next like a phantom. His head snapped back from a strike. The crack was loud and apparent in his ears. Rouge's blood, still so sweet in his mouth, slithered down his brown fur. Collapsing to the ground, he braced for another intense blow.
But the hits stopped, as well as the raging voice. Warily, he looked upwards to find the hedgehog gazing down at him. Those red eyes the only color in the night, demonic.
Shadow grabbed the bat by the neck and lifted him up until his face was level with his own. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded, voice soft with deadly poison.
Despite the thousand bruises and countless broken bones throughout his entire body, the male bat could only laugh. Mocking and amused.
Enraged, Shadow tightened his grip, stopping the grating sound. "Answer me!"
The bat stretched his mouth into a grin, long fangs clearly shown in a pale white. "What she will be…"
The hedgehog did not flinch. "What are you talking about?"
The bat motioned behind Shadow, to where his female counterpart lay. Shadow turned around on impulse.
Rouge was no longer there.
"What? Rouge!"
When turning to look, he had slightly loosened his hold on the bat, giving the other the opportunity to escape his grip. Shadow immediately pivoted back, just in time to see a gruesome face, mouth gaped, saliva dripping down his teeth. The bat clutched onto the hedgehog, ready to take his next meal.
Shadow was taken aback by such a horrid transformation. Automatically he could only think of one move. Forming a Chaos Spear out of sheer will and desperation, he plunged the shaft straight into the bat's chest. Deep where the heart should be.
The vampire's eyes widened, more out of surprise than pain. With a dumbfounded look on his face, he gazed down at the weapon that had just ended his unholy life. It seemed he could not even comprehend how it had come there. Raising his eyes toward Shadow, still shocked that something such as this hedgehog did this to him, he pitched to the side, body inert.
The Chaos Spear vanished, exposing the hole in the bat's chest.
No blood flowed from his wound for he had lost his own long ago.
Shadow remained standing, equally shocked by his own actions. He stepped back slowly, mind in conflict.
No…Rouge…gotta find Rouge…
Pushing away his thoughts of the dead body, he focused them again on his friend. Before turning away, he found a Chaos Emerald lying alone on the ground. It seemed to wink at him smugly in the night. Shadow snatched it up immediately, hoping it might prove useful later.
The black hedgehog then ran away from the temple, the body of the once vampire left all alone.
The eyes were still wide, mouth opened in a silent scream unheard to living ears. A permanent mask that death had frozen on him.