Disclaimer: All copyrighted characters belong to their genius creators. Others are property of me, the not-so-smart girl. :P
I can finally update this. Sorry for the long wait for those who were interested in this story. But my computer's back, so yay. And thanks for the great reviews! This chapter's longer and it's allright. Hope it's somewhat enjoyable!
Chapter 2- Wanting To See You
"Sonic! Wait for me!"
"Aw, man. Not again."
The endless cycle of catch the hedgehog commenced once more in a maddening rush for the tenth time that same month. Sonic dashed through the winding streets of Station Square at his famous speed while Amy Rose, his self-proclaimed girlfriend, trailed after him, giggling with cheerfulness. Every occasion it ended the same way; the blue hedgehog achieving miles of distance from the girl as she continued to chase him like a hopeless dream, determined to win her love. To the pink hedgehog it was a thrilling challenge. She felt that she was wearing him down, and noticed that he did not run from her immediately like before.
Yep, she was definitely winning him over. Even if the supersonic hero did not know it.
Amy slowed down her pace, watching the blue blur zigzag across the roads. People were jumping out of the way from the hero's path; skirts flying, bags dropping to the ground, and cars swerving away from his fast feet. They were used to this though, it happened on a daily basis.
The girl continued looking ahead, even after Sonic was long gone. Her green eyes sparkled.
"You know I'm gonna get you one day, Sonic!" she said aloud. Her smile widened with glee.
"Amy…" A silent call.
"Huh? Who's there?" She glanced behind her, searching for the source of the voice. Seeing nothing but the sidewalk and a lonely mailbox, she shrugged indifferently. "Must be the wind."
Seeing that Sonic was much too far ahead of her, she walked away, heading toward her favorite café, for she feelt in the mood for some delicious pastry and some coffee. Amy shivered unintentionally. The voice had been eerily familiar. But soon, she ignored the memory and focused more on the money she would have to pay for her snack.
Violet eyes watched her steps, eyes devouring the hedgehog's face. From the building tops, he followed Amy slowly, saying her name, caressing it gently.
His hands clenched in yearning.
Rouge the bat flew over to the park for the arranged meeting, holding on to the light blue purse that was slung over her shoulder. The treasure huntress had received a phone call the previous day from the agency that had conveniently ignored her letter of resignation. They stated that they had a special assignment for her, but could not tell her over the line due to 'safety precautions.'
Rouge was tired of working for them, feeling it offered little fulfillment. She had thought it over during the night before the appointed time. Few could leave the spy service of their own accord, and she was no exception. But she did need the money; the rent grew higher every month, food costs exceeded drastically, and treasures were rare to find these days. The odds were against her, so her choice was mandatory.
"Just one more assignment, then I'm quitting for good," she had decided after five hours of consideration.
Rouge saw the giant oak tree rise from the sea of green, the meeting place where the talker on the phone had notified her. She landed next to the dark trunk, folding her wings behind her. She swiveled her head around only to find no one around. She sighed in a frustrated manner and began pacing up and down beneath the blanket of soft leaves from the trees.
5 minutes…7…8…12…15…She had such little patience.
The bat grinded her iron heel into the ground, cursing under her breath. Her wings stretched out, suffering the urge to travel the skies.
"Damn bastards. Call me out of nowhere, tell me to come here and not even show up. I don't have time for these idiot games. What a load of-"
"Miss Rouge."
The bat almost jumped out of her fur at the sudden voice. "Don't do that!" She cried, fuming.
"I'm sorry, Miss Rouge." The speaker walked out of the trees shadows, his brown hair framing his middle aged face. His voice was a monotonous tone, as if he was reading lines from a cue card. "Here is your assignment." He handed her a thick white folder, packed full of documents and photographs, not wasting time on petty introductions.
The bat took it coldly and flipped it open to search through the files. They were printed with dates and descriptions of crimes, and black and white pictures depicted the person that the files all led up to.
She took one photo in particular, showing a full body shot of the criminal. "This guy, huh?"
The agent nodded, the shadows hiding his eyes. "Yes, he is one of our most top wanted. Has been on the run for over three years now. Throughout that course, he has committed 36 crimes, all murder. Many of them brutal and gruesome…. which I prefer not to describe." The agent stopped in his discourse, clearing his throat several times.
"You all right?" Rouge asked.
After a minute of awkward coughs, he nodded once more. It seemed to the bat that the only part of his body that he could move was his head. The rest stayed erect.
"Fine. As I was saying, this criminal has repeatedly eluded police forces and even some of our most top agents. Already he is on our most wanted list, and is considered a threat to society."
The bat lowered her mascara eyelids. "So you want me to go after him."
The man gave the same predictable nod. "Correct, Miss Rouge. After your astounding work at the ARK incident, the agency feels that you are more than efficient for the job."
The bat continued staring at the photograph, mesmerized by the criminals' appearance that seemed haunting. But she showed nothing on her face.
"So all I have to do is catch him?" she asked apathetically, as if catching wanted criminals was an everyday basis.
Again the nod. "Though it would be preferable to bring him alive, the agency understands the need for his elimination if the hunt proves too dangerous. But if you produce no body, we will not be able to reward you."
The bat grimaced, sure that she had seen the man give a haughty smile. But the trees shadows impeded her sight. With a flowing motion, she put the folder in her purse. "Alright, I'll do it. Expect your criminal very soon."
"Of course, Miss Rouge."
She grew annoyed at the man's obviously fake politeness and robotic voice. Unfolding her black wings, she took off into the sky, not deigning to even mutter a farewell. Once far away from the park, she reached into her purse and pulled out the photograph that had stayed imprinted in her mind. There were other pictures that portrayed the person in a positive light, clearly taken before his crime spree, but this one was more evocative. It was the only clear full body shot of the convict; the shockingly pale figure darting among police officers that tried in vain to capture him. His face was unsettling, the skin clearly unhealthy.
But what were most appalling were his hands.
They were not real.
Sonic looked back at the streets he had just passed, seeing the pink hedgehog nowhere in sight. He breathed normally once more.
"Phew. Finally."
The hero slowed down to a light jog, his blue quills trailing behind him like a cobalt banner. Lately, her persistent antics no longer annoyed him as it once did in the early years. Her joyful cry that issued when she saw him no longer made him cringe in irritation. Heck, he even smiled a tiny bit once he saw her coming towards him with open arms. Running away was pure instinct, a habit that was hard to break.
Still thinking deeply (an aspect highly unlikely for a hedgehog that never dwelled on such matters) he came up to a television store where a group of people stood in front of the large window in the shop.
"He's still on the loose?"
"Of all places he had to come here?"
"Yeah, we got enough with Eggman."
"Won't someone please think of the children?"
"Okay, now you're overreacting."
Sonic hearing the conversation came up to the mass. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked a forty year old man.
"Huh? Who said that?" The man looked behind him curiously, missing the hedgehog that was more than half his height. An insistent tugging on his sleeve and an impatient "Yo!" attracted his attention to below. "Oh, Sonic!" he exclaimed, recognizing the world renowned hero. "That criminal is on the loose. He's all over the news."
"Who?" The hedgehog raised one eye ridge in puzzlement.
But the man turned his full attention to the multiple television screens displayed in the store window. Seeing he would get no other answers, the hedgehog shifted his eyes to the monitors as well, which depicted a light brown squirrel sitting behind a large desk. He was all dressed up in a clean, blue suit, thick glasses perked on his black nose. A stack of papers was held in his hands which he shuffled at the end of every sentence he spoke with an unimaginative tone, despite the words he said.
"It has been reported that the murderer Sen has struck again. This time committing felonies at the city of Station Square. A civilian by the name of Adams Benek is yet another unfortunate victim. Police have found the man grossly wounded, his chest ripped apart and the heart absent. All citizens are advised to keep a lookout for this fugitive."
Immediately, the screen switched to a photograph. Sonic paid close attention to the picture. It was of a white chameleon, smiling in good-hearted humor. This was not one of those prison photos, showing a dour faced escapee's front and side profile. It looked more like a family photo, taken during times of normality and freedom. The lizard was sitting on a couch with kind eyes, showing no inkling of harboring a murderous mind beneath the façade.
He was thin, slender almost in a feminine way, small muscles apparent on his arms. A blue coiled tail befitting his kind poised behind him in a lazy manner, sharply pointed at the end like a scythe. Orange spikes dotted his back in vertical row, standing brilliantly against the white skin. A red horn was placed between the violet eyes, gentle but also calm and confident. He bore a smile like the purple orbs, yet Sonic saw something disquieting about it. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.
The reporters' voice broke his thoughts.
"Sen the Chameleon is extremely dangerous and caution is strongly advised. Any who sees him must report directly to the authorities. No person should try to detain him on his or her own. This concludes this breaking report, now back to your scheduled programming."
Once the news broadcast abruptly finished, the gathered crowd slowly dispersed with shocked, fearful, and even derisive murmurings.
"Crud, does this mean I can't go the party tonight?" a young male adolescent voice whined.
"Would you rather get killed by a psychopath running around the streets?" answered an older, female tone.
"But it's supposed to be killer party!"
"Quiet!" A severe shush quickly followed the exclamation.
As the people walked back to their lives, Sonic was left alone staring at the window, his emerald eyes glinting.
"Hmm, Sen huh? I'll have to remember that." His feet once again resumed their swift pace clattering against the pavement in the jog. Sonic's azure quills swayed lightly, his face sporting the regular, carefree demeanor he wore every day. The news did not really mean much to him. If he found this Sen character, a blow to the ribs should do the trick. Simple as that.
The hedgehog looked in all directions, searching. "Wonder where Amy went?" he thought aloud, a trail of dust left behind by his hurrying feet.
The girl walked jauntily on the sidewalk, her emerald eyes shining with a joyful brilliance. She found the café across from her and was just about to enter through the inviting doors when flipping through her cherry purse, she realized that she had not enough green bills inside.
"Oh! Must've left the rest at home," she exclaimed. The pink hedgehog quickly sauntered to her apartment that was to her right, only a block a way. The people walked by her, some greeting her with a friendly wave. Smiling she waved back, grateful for another beautiful day.
Arriving at her building, the doorman welcomed her enthusiastically. "Hello, Miss Amy. How was your day?"
"Just fine, Robert. Did you get those cookies I sent you?"
"Yeah, they were delicious," he answered back, smiling at the memory.
"Thanks! I'm usually not that great at baking," Amy giggled. "See ya later!"
"Goodbye, Amy!"
The girl traveled the elevator to her floor, soothed by the soft music playing inside. A chime signaled her ascent and the doors opened to let her through. Still thinking about the beautiful day outside and looking forward to drinking her espresso on the white tables outside the coffee bar, she was stunned seeing someone sitting outside her apartment door.
"Uh, excuse me? This is my home, are you waiting for me?" she asked politely.
The figure raised his head, meeting her eyes.
The purse fell from shoulders. She paid it no heed, staring at the person with shock and panic. Her feet moved involuntarily backwards, sensing the danger.
"No…no…how are you-?"
"Amy? My Amy?" The one before her stood up. She could now see the white skin that was pale, much too pale, moving near her. His tail waved back and forth lazily, the sharp point occasionally hitting the floor. The violet eyes pierced through her, taking in all of her form.
"No…please, I-?"
"Amy…I came for you."
He was holding out his hands to her, gesturing for her to draw closer to him, so that he could hold her once more.
Her eyes flashed at the sight.
Metal hands, metal that had taken so many.
She never thought she would see those things again.
This really serves more of an introduction to which characters will be in the story. It gets better later. Um… reviews? O.o