CHAPTER 2

A FRIEND OR FOE

It was two days later and Shadow found himself not at an alley way or military base, but in a comfortable room. He was laying in a big bed, until he woke up. He didn't recognize the strange place at all. He figured someone must have taken him in after he passed out. "Where am I?" He asked himself.

Then he heard someone come into the room. They opened the door and once he saw them, it was just a young white bat girl. She came in with some water and steak. She set them on a tray, she laid the tray onto Shadow's lap. She had a friendly smile letting him know she wanted to help him. "I bought you something to eat. I figured you were hungry since you were asleep for two days."

"Two days?"

She nodded, "I would've called the ambulance or something if you didn't wake up for at least another day. You were breathing so I assumed you were okay. You are okay aren't you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You'd better eat something to keep your strength up. I think that's the cause of you passing out in the first place."

She was right it was from the battle at the diner that night.

Shadow ate the steak like he hasn't ate for days, but could not satisfy all of his hunger.

"You must be very hungry, come down stairs I have more for you in the kitchen. If you do want more."

Once they got downstairs Shadow sat at the table putting his hand on the side of his head looking sickly.

The bat noticed how sick he looked, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I am fine." Shadow was getting sick of hearing that question over and over again. He only looked that way because he hadn't had blood for a while.

She put more steak on the table.

While he was eating she introduced herself. "My name is Rouge the Bat, but you can call me Rouge. What's yours other than Experiment 301?"

Shadow almost gagged, "How did you know that?"

"I looked at the shock collar you had on around your neck. It said Experiment 301."

Shadow now remembered the shock collar, 'The collar of course.' He felt around his neck for the collar, but it wasn't there.

"If you're looking for the collar, I took it off. I figured that you wanted it off."

"Thank you."

"One more question though. Why were you wearing the shock collar around your neck in the first place? Did you belong to some kind of special force?"

Shadow got up from the table, "It doesn't concern you."

"I was just asking. Now can you please tell me your real name?"

Shadow was quiet for a moment, "...I don't really have a real name..."

"You don't?"

"I think I did, but I can't remember. My past is nothing but a blur."

"Oh."

"But I call myself Shadow."

Rouge smiled, "I think that name suits you well, Shadow. You must be suffering from memory loss or something. Don't worry it'll come back to you one of these days."

Shadow really didn't care for this bat, he really wanted to kill her, so he could be on his way. Shadow walked into the living room then towards the door.

"Wait." The bat ran after him.

Shadow stopped in his tracks, "What?"

"Where are you going?"

"None of your concern."

Rouge put her hands on her hips, "You certainly are a sour one."

"Then I suggest you to stay outta my way."

"You listen here..." She couldn't finish her sentence because Shadow grabbed her wrist and started to squeeze it. She was even more afraid when he showed her his sharp drooling fangs. "My god what are you..."

"I am the military GUN's top secret weapon against war, but somehow they couldn't control me. I killed millions of lives in only a single day. If you must know who I am, I am Shadow the Hedgehog!" He almost stuck his fangs into her neck, but he then saw a picture of General Bat and her. General Bat was pushing her on the swing when she was little. The hedgehog's pupils had gotten small by seeing the photograph. He took his fangs away from her neck, "You-you're General Bat's daughter."

The scared bat nodded her head slightly.

That made the hedgehog very angry. "I hate your father. He is a very cruel person, he's the one who did this to me. He...cursed me!"

The bat got out of the furious hedgehog's grip. "My father would never hurt anyone!"

"Yes he does! He captured me...an innocent civilian of this city. He did countless experiments on me. Then one day when I tried to resist. He tried to settle me down with a sedative, but he accidentally grabbed the wrong vile and put that in his gun. It was a vile that contained vampire bat DNA. He shot that into me instead. Within three days in the facility...I became...a bloodsucker. I realized that, that bat is a real idiot. He did this to me and he'll pay, every last one of them. I give them what they deserve and that's the same pain I felt."

"That's...not true."

"You may think it's not true, but it is to me. I've been through it, you haven't. I have been told 'to have a curse is the ultimate curse' and I'm one of them. What did I do to deserve this? What?" Shadow remained silent afterwards.

"I can't believe my father would do that, something so cruel. I'm sorry that happened to you, Shadow."

"Your father will be the one who's sorry."

"Shadow, I'm on your side, but you're not going to kill him are you?"

"Of course I will. He's gonna pay and that's that."

Rouge didn't know what to do, until she found the perfect solution,"What if I help you to escape the military? Is it a deal?"

"Fine, but this doesn't mean I let your father go."

Rouge nodded, she understood his pain, but she also cared about her father more.