CHAPTER 24: Let's Make A Deal

"Heh, that was cool," Shadow said to himself as he walked into his little shack on the outskirts of Station Square. "No wonder kids like skateboarding down that thing." He threw himself down on his bed, kicking his skates off. He looked out the window into the trees and sighed. So peaceful and quiet out here, and people like Jehovah's Witnesses didn't bother him at crazy hours. He did still have a phone and mailbox, though. The IRS still kept tabs on him. "I need to check those things out more. Those kids come up with some cool stuff." Shadow looked his clock: it read 5:30 in the afternoon. At this moment, the phone rang. On the second ring, Shadow picked it up. Before he could say anything, a whispered voice spoke out.

"Don't talk," it said. "Just listen. I know what you want Shadow, and I can help you get it. I'm willing, if you're willing to help me first. If you want to know more, be in Station Square junkyard in an hour. That will leave you roughly fifteen minutes to think about it. It will take you at least forty-five minutes to get there, unless you want to piss the cops off and wind up being chased down for speeding, even on foot. If you're not there, you will lose your only chance." The person on the other end hung up, and so did Shadow.

"What the?" he whispered to himself. "Well, whoever it is has my attention."

Shadow reached Station Square junkyard in good time, and had about fifteen minutes to go before his hour was up. However, he only waited two minutes before a white mouse of 21 stepped out from behind a broken-down car. She wore a soft white dress without shoulder straps, that was held on by the pressure it put on her chest and breasts. At the waist it loosened off and flowed freely about her legs. She wore shiny white high-heeled shoes and carried herself in a royal fashion. The only part of her that wasn't white was her eyes, which shone a beautiful shade of green in the light of the setting sun. "Hello Shadow," she said. "My name is Salia. I'm glad you could come."

"Are you the one who called me?" Shadow asked.

"Straight to business," Salia observed. "No, I didn't make that call. My... employer called you. My job is simply to pass along his message."

"Go on," Shadow said. Salia smiled.

"Glad to see you're so attentive. You'll need to be. My employer wishes to make a deal. You see, he is capable of unlocking your memories, which will reveal your past. However, he lacks what he needs to do so."

"What's that? And why does he care about my past at all? Something doesn't make sense."

"Well, there's something in it for him as well. He needs the seven Chaos Emeralds for his own means. He believes he's invented a machine that can harness their power and generate infinite amounts of power. Of course you know, free energy is exactly what the world wants. Imagine, never having to pay an electric bill ever again, never having to worry about fossil fuel depletion, any of that. However, he needs someone, that is, you, to obtain the Emeralds for him. He is able to manipulate the electronic impulses inside the brain to either supress memories, or reopen them. He would be willing to reward you in this way for bringing him what he needs."

"How do I know you're telling the truth? How do I know he won't screw me over, or that he won't use the Emeralds for evil?"

"Would you like to see the apparatus and how it works? He can prove to you how the machine works."

"Just because it works the way you say doesn't mean he'll use it that way."

"Unfortunately Shadow, I cannot actually prove to you that he'll keep his word, except to say that he keeps his promises. All of them. I've never known him to make a promise and not keep it. Even then, all I can do is hope you'll trust his word. At least meet him and judge for yourself."

"I'll meet him, but that does not mean we have a deal. At least not yet."

"Thank you." Salia whistled loudly, and a moment later, a black limousine drove up beside them. The windows were tinted black, and Shadow couldn't see through them at all. The door on the passenger side opened and a man in his mid-30s leaned out, a black hedgehog much like Shadow.

"Good evening Shadow," he said in a sort of scratchy voice. "Come in and park yourselves on the hide." He patted the black leather seat across from himself. Shadow climbed in cautiously, and Salia climbed in right after, crossing her legs when she was in the car. The black hedgehog across from Shadow closed the door and turned to Shadow and said, "You can just call me Dave." Shadow took note of this guy's clothes, which consisted of a black tuxedo, shiny black shoes, and dark shades, which hid his relatively small eyes from view.

"Are you the employer?" Shadow asked.

"No, I'm not," Dave said. "Salia and I are his messengers. Well, two of them, anyway. Salia, do it before we start moving." Before Shadow could blink, a black cloth was thrown over his eyes and he could feel it being tied in a knot at the back of his head.

"What is this!?" Shadow demanded, throwing up one arm and catching Salia's wrist.

"We were instructed to blindfold you in case we had to show you to our employer," Salia said gently. "Please Shadow, just cooperate with us for a little while and everyone will be better off in the end." Shadow reluctantly let go of her wrist, and Salia finished tying the blindfold.

"Why all the secrecy?" Shadow asked.

"Oh Shadow, imagine how people would react if they knew where they could find technology capable of bringing free energy to the world," Dave said. "There are those who would hunt our employer down, kill him in his sleep, and steal the technology for their own personal gain."

"Hmph," was Shadow's response.

"Would you like a drink?" Dave asked.

"No," Shadow said.

"Suit yourself," Dave said.

"Relax Shadow," Salia said in a soothing voice. "We're not going to try anything funny. Our employer needs your help, and he'd skin us alive if we did anything to harm you." Shadow didn't reply, but he did relax a little.

"He's just behind this door Shadow," Salia said an hour later, motioning to a wooden door shrouded in shadows. "Even if you don't like what he says, please hear him out before you make any rash decisions." Salia left at this point, and Shadow knocked on the door.

"Come in," answered a man's voice. He sounded young. Shadow pushed the door open and entered, closing the door behind him. "Welcome Shadow. Please, sit." Shadow looked across the room. Two armchairs were set up in front of a fireplace, which contained a roaring fire. Between the chairs was a coffee table with a tray across the top. Upon the tray was a steaming tea kettle, several smaller containers that Shadow presumed to contain cream, sugar, and the like, two small teacups and a plate stacked with crumpets. Shadow crossed the room and sat in the empty chair, and took a look at the owner of the voice. He was an average-sized person wearing a tuxedo, shoes like Dave's, and a mask with small eyeholes and a mouth hole. His species was impossible to determine as of yet.

"What's with the disguise?" Shadow asked.

"My face was horribly scarred in an accident several years ago," the person replied. "I prefer to keep the scarring hidden in the presence of company. But, please, you've had a long journey. Would you fancy a cup of tea, or perhaps a crumpet?"

"No, thanks," Shadow said. The person in the mask poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip before continuing.

"As Salia and Dave have undoubtedly informed you, I have need of your assistance. I assume you are here because you did not trust what Salia told you, and she asked you to at least meet me before you made a decision. I will start with my name. My name is Blank. My father was a little dull, before you ask."

"I wasn't going to. I've met a couple people with some... different names before. But I want you to answer some questions first. How do you know so much about me?"

"I have been watching you for some time, Shadow. I know a great deal about you. When you sleep, you rest little. You dream of a girl named Maria, but you do not know who she is, what she looks like, or what her connection is to you." Shadow was stunned.

"Alright, you've been watching me, I can see that," he said. "Why did you call me?"

"Because you are one of very few people I can count on for the job I am going to ask of you, and of those few people, I thought you would be the best to try to reach out to, because I am able to give you what you desire. But I find it strange. I fail to see why you do not simply ask your friends what they know."

"Well, I... Um..." Shadow hesitated. "I guess I just wanted to find out for myself..."

"You realize that if you accept my offer, you won't technically be doing this yourself, do you not?"

"I guess I'd rather work for it than simply ask someone and get it all from them. I would have no way to properly thank them."

"So, it's a matter of expressing your gratitude. That, I suppose, makes more sense than you preferring to find out for yourself." Blank took another sip of tea, then set down his cup. "I suppose you want to see my apparatus, to be sure that I am not lying, correct?"

"Yeah, that's be nice."

"Follow me." Blank stood up and walked toward a door hidden in shadows off to his left. Shadow stood up and followed him. The two of them walked down a flight of stairs behind the door, down a short corridor, then down another flight of stairs. Blank said, "I must keep the device well-hidden, in the event that someone discovers my whereabouts. I rarely come here now that it's completed. We are 600 feet underground. I'm sure you noticed the downward feeling you experienced during the ride here."

"Yeah, I did. I figured it was some sort of elevator."

"Perceptive one, you are." Blank pulled a key out of a pocket inside his jacket and opened a final door with it. He beckoned Shadow into the room, then entered behind him.

"This is it?" Shadow looked at a square blue machine roughly the size of a printing press, with various monitors, panels, and seven slots shaped like large gems.

"Yes, this is it. It's capable of converting many types of energy into other useful forms, such as heat into electricity or vice versa. Observe." Blank held up a AA battery, which he picked up from a table beside the machine. He flipped open a small panel in the machine and inserted the battery. Instantly, a light bulb in a fixture in the ceiling clicked on. It clicked off the second Blank removed the battery.

"Batteries are made for powering things, though," Shadow said skeptically. "I'm not convinced."

"Exhale into the machine," Blank said, motioning to the same panel. Shadow stepped up and exhaled onto the panel. Nothing happened for a moment, then the light clicked on again for a few seconds. "You see? That minor amount of heat fueled the light for those few seconds."

"Incredible," Shadow breathed. "You really can produce free energy with this thing."

"Yes. I need the Chaos Emeralds to utilize it to its full potential. So, will you help me?"

"Alright, I guess I can lend a hand."

"Excellent. Thank you Shadow, you will not regret this. One word of warning though: do not tell anyone what you're doing. You can probably imagine why."

"Yeah, I can."

"Good. Now then, Salia is waiting outside to transport you home. She will provide you a case in which to store the Emeralds as you collect them. Good luck." Shadow left, going back the way he came, and Blank dropped his oily manner. "And you better be worth it. What will we be letting into the mines living area next? The slaves?" He pounded on the machine with one arm. "Alright sweetheart, back to work!" A green female cat of about 12 pushed open the lid on the fake machine and climbed out, rushing off through a hidden side door to return to work. Blank said to himself, "Still, love my genius. Stick a slave in a box, give her a light switch and call it a miracle machine. How gullible did that guy have to be?"

Mkay, now I'm starting to throw Shadow in there a bit more. He got lured to what he thought was an underground research center by a mysterious phone call, a white mouse in a white dress, and a black hedgehog in a tux. There he met Blank(also wearing a tux and a mask), and was fooled into thinking Blank had a miracle machine that could transform some warm breath into electricity. Upon leaving, Blank banged on the fake machine and sent a slave girl scampering back to work. Seems he got his job done though. As for you curious types, this is how the "machine" worked: Blank stuck the battery in, the slave girl got a slight shock, and flicked on a light. When Shadow breathed on it, she felt the breath through small openings inside the panel and flicked the light on a few seconds later. Also, as for how Blank, being a robot, drank that tea, he simply put it in his mouth and let it flow into a small container he'd placed in there for the duration of his meeting with Shadow. Nifty huh? R&R please. I can't figure out why, but I HAVE to know how y'all like this chapter.