Chapter 6: A Cracked Egg
Metropolis Hospital, 2:30 PM.
Shadow looked over the battered and bloodied Dr Eggman as he lay in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV. Eggman had placed a call to the hospital 10 minutes ago, but never stated what his emergency was. Everyone thought it was potentially another cardiac episode caused by his old age.
Nobody was expecting THIS.
He had 24 broken bones, severe damage and even hemorrhaging to his internal organs, yet in spite of the injuries the doctor sustained, he was still alive. Barely. He was breathing relatively fine, but he was currently unconscious. Shadow examined each bruise on the doctor's face carefully, noticing the hand size, but what worried him was also the claw marks left on the right side and trailed down the respective arm.
Shadow: A Mobian definitely did this…
That's when the head doctor of the hospital, Dr Nightshade the Hedgehog, a purple hedgehog with hair over one of her magenta eyes walked in, adjusting her glasses and holding a clipboard.
Nightshade: Commander Shadow.
Shadow: Nightshade. What have we got?
Nightshade: Aside from the obvious 2 dozen broken bones, damaged organs, and bruises on the epidermis, not much. No real clues as to who could have done this. Whoever was responsible was likely wearing gloves.
Shadow: That's never stopped you before, has it? Try the DNA scanner on his face, try to make a sample.
Nightshade: Alright. It's gotta warm up…
Nightshade pulled out what looked like a small phone, but then held it close to Eggman's face. After a brief moment of time, the device beeped.
Nightshade: Wait, what? That can't be right… The device says that whoever did this was… Dead.
Shadow: Dead?
Nightshade: Dead but clearly not, the samples are corrupted.
Shadow: Hm…
Shadow sat in thought at this. First the Cosmic Highway breach, now Eggman is in a hospital bed, and on top of that the DNA scanner said whoever did it was dead somehow. Something wasn't adding up…
Shadow: Is the Memory Scanner operational?
Nightshade: No, and even if it was, we can't use it without consent of the patient, or their families.
Shadow: And seeing as Sage isn't going to let something like this happen without Eggman giving her specific orders to allow it, we're stumped.
Nightshade: Yeah… And I don't want to risk my job here. I already risk it enough as is.
Shadow: We'll find a way. Until then, I'm going to head to the breach in Eggman's lab to search for clues.
Shadow turns to walk out of the room, but stops in the doorway, turning his head slightly.
Shadow: Still holding that animosity for the old GUN regime, I see.
Nightshade: I'm never going to let that go, and you know what my reasoning is.
Shadow: Hm. Have a good day, doctor.
Shadow walked out of the room. The animosity between the two hedgehogs was more or less a result of former GUN agents murdering her own family. Nightshade had a valid point, Shadow could have stopped it before it happened, if he had not been distracted by friends of those Agents trying to put him in a jail cell simply for existing.
The former GUN was gone, and had been consolidated into the Mobius Defense Force's elite teams, consisting of primarily Mobians, with a couple humans here and there serving with distinction.
But the racism from the past will always be a stain on the here and now. Even if Shadow had been doing a good job as the one in charge, and even if he flat out gave Nightshade what she wanted, the mistrust and animosity would always stay there.
Funny how the two are similar in that their families were murdered in front of them. It was a similarity Shadow had even pointed out, but Nightshade dismissed seeing as he and Maria weren't family by blood or genetics.
She wasn't wrong in that regard. But she was wrong in assuming that a family couldn't be made from something as simple as love. Maria was a sister to Shadow.
He knew all too well what watching loved ones be murdered in front of you was like.
Shadow came to his office at headquarters, sitting down at his desk and sighing. He then grabbed his head, grunting in pain before he quickly popped some aspirin into his mouth and swallowed.
His amnesia was caused by brain damage. And his brain damage was caused by falling from orbit after helping Sonic put the ARK back in stable orbit using Chaos Control.
Aspirin eased the headaches and pangs he had, but his brain wasn't going to heal fast. It WAS healing, but it had to do so slowly. The pangs he got were his brain's way of informing him it was trying to heal…
Shadow: Dammit… First I wake up to those former agents shooting up my house, then Dr Eggman tries to wreck Sunset Heights, and now this…
Someone knocked on the door of his office.
Shadow: Intrude.
The familiar face of Rouge the Bat walked in. She was wearing her work clothes.
Rouge: Heard what happened to the doctor. Anything new?
Shadow: 24 broken bones, damaged organs, and traces of "dead DNA".
Rouge: So our mystery culprit is a walking corpse?
Shadow: Seems that way, but we can't say for sure.
Rouge: Sounds like a typical Tuesday for you, hun.
Shadow: Please stop calling me that. I appreciate the gesture, but we aren't… Ahem.
Rouge: Right… Sorry Shadow. Force of habit.
Shadow: It's fine, just… Watch it.
Rouge: Either way, you're gonna be available tonight, right?
Shadow: To visit the club, yeah. No shot contests, though. Liver is still healing.
Rouge: Fine by me. Just figured you needed time to relax is all.
Shadow: I can't fully relax with music playing loud enough to make me go deaf, Rouge.
Rouge: And that is why the soundproof VIP booths exist. Call me when you're done for the day.
Rouge walked out, giving Shadow a wink as she did. Shadow just smirks and shakes his head, sighing.
Shadow: Ironic how she went from a treasure hunter, to GUN operative, to nightclub owner, while Knuckles went from Master Emerald Guardian, to hero, to treasure hunter… How 25 years can change people…
Shadow chuckled to himself, then got up, grabbed his coat, ammunition, shotgun, and then proceeded to go investigate the breach in Dr Eggman's Metropolis lab. He had about 4 and a half hours before he had to be at the Rouge's Emerald Nightclub. And THIS time, for sure, he was going to relax…
… He still had to make one important phone call before then. He may as well let Sonic know… If Eggman wound up in the hospital, who's to say that whoever put him there won't go after everyone else?
\\Oh yeah. Eggman got an ass kicking. He'll be back though, don't worry. And Sage is fine. Leave ya thoughts!
