Hedgehog and bat perched on top of a building. Sonic kept one foot on the ledge as he ate a chili dog, looking out over the city as he listened to Rouge, who was sitting unseen in the morning shadow of a generator. People moved in the streets below, laughing and talking cheerfully with each other. Pretzel crouched several feet to the right of him, wary and watchful.
"As I said before, the Gaia Temples and Chaos Emeralds were always used to strengthen Light Gaia."
"So we don't do that. Got it."
Rouge ignored him. "Historically, Light Gaia has always fought with Dark Gaia upon awakening. They would battle until they were too weak to continue, and then go to rest in the planet's core."
"Are you suggesting we find Dark Gaia?" Sonic raised an eyebrow at her, still keeping his gaze on the city. The sun seemed to be rising faster than usual, though admittedly he didn't have a lot to compare it to. I need to visit this area again sometime.
"They are natural opposites. If we find Dark Gaia and equip it to fight Light Gaia, the two will weaken each other sufficiently for us to finish them off, even if they don't seal themselves."
"You've really been readin' up on this. But isn't Dark Gaia, I don't know, evil?"
Rouge shrugged. "Fight fire with fire."
"Is Light Gaia evil?" Sonic asked, glancing back at her, but she didn't answer. "I mean, mostly it just seems to be making things bright and… happy." He perked his ears—gah, they felt so weird—at the crowd below, chattering happily to each other.
Rouge apparently didn't feel the need to answer. Sonic kept watching the street, leaning forward. He yelped as his vision shifted unexpectedly, the world brightening. Everyone seemed to glow with varying degrees of brightness, everything else dulling, as if he was looking through thermal goggles. He glanced at Rouge, but she blended almost completely into the shadows. Only a very faint, dull red revealed her presence.
A flash of color stood out below, drawing his attention. A dark shape among the brightness of the crowd, holding something in its hands… Sonic's eyes narrowed. Odd…
"Thief!" Someone shouted, and as one the bright crowd turned on the dark shape. The shapes flared with fire, brightening even further, as they converged on the thief. Sonic started to move, only to feel a hand grab his shoulder.
"We don't need to draw attention to ourselves." Rouge reminded him. He looked at her and she took a step back, wings flaring warily. Her eyes narrowed. "Sonic… ?"
Pretzel's tail tip scraped on the stone as she hissed, arching her back. Sonic's eyes widened as he looked at her— pure black, the black of the ocean, down and down… He blinked and his vision cleared, returning to normal.
"What—" He stopped, looking at the crowd again. The thief was running, pursued by previously smiling citizens, their faces now twisted with fury. The thief vaulted onto a low building and ran out of their reach, and within moments of losing their prey the crowd returned to cheerful conversation as if nothing had happened.
"What's up with you?" Rouge asked, folding her arms as she frowned at him.
"I guess it's this… transformation… thing," He frowned at his clawed, yellow hand as if it was the culprit. "Everything looked weird."
"Alright…" Rouge joined him at the edge of the building, still keeping a safe distance away. "Are you going to help me?"
"Yeah," Sonic looked at the blissful crowd that had been planning murder a minute ago. "Yeah, definitely. What's the plan?"
"We follow GUN's plan for now," Rouge pushed off the building, flapping her wings to slow her descent. Sonic jumped after her, landing lightly on the sidewalk beside her.
Remembering what he'd seen with the odd "light vision", he surreptitiously moved between Rouge and the view of the crowd. He wasn't sure if the brainwashed people saw like he had, but he didn't want to risk getting them attacked. If she noticed, she didn't show it.
"We go to the Gaia Temples and gather intel. We should also steal the Chaos Emeralds back from Eggman. For safety reasons, of course."
"Of course." Sonic echoed, laughing. "And then what?"
"We find Dark Gaia and take it to Light Gaia." She stopped at the corner, looking at him.
"Nice and simple. I like it." Sonic looked around and was relieved to see Pretzel trailing behind them, hugging the shadows.
Rouge followed his gaze. "Your little friend is probably tied into this more than we know."
"Definitely," Sonic agreed.
"Do you have the Tornado?" Rouge pulled a device out of her uniform pocket, tapping something into it.
"Yeah, it's nearby."
Rouge handed him the device, showing him coordinates somewhere in Kenya. "Can it get us there?"
"It needs to be refueled, but it could get us there in about… nineteen hours? Oooor it would take seven hours if I ran us there. Not counting stops either way."
Rouge considered. "The faster the better. I'll retrieve my protective gear." She pushed into the air, flapping her wings to hover above his head.
"Hey, where's Shadow?" Sonic asked, squinting up at her. "Chaos Control-ing over there would be a lot simpler."
"He's on a mission. One I'm not allowed to know about." Venom leaked into her voice, but she regained her composure in a beat and winked at him. "See you in thirty, blue boy."
Sonic watched her fly off. "I've gotta take care of the Tornado, if I'm leaving it here." He looked at Pretzel. "You coming?"
"Are you coming back here?" She frowned at the nearby crowd, ears flattening. "I'll just hide nearby."
"I'll be back before you know it," Sonic promised.
Pretzel ignored him, slithering into the shadows and out of view. Considering how few shadows there were, it was an impressive feat.
Sonic spun on his feet and started running, leaning nearly parallel to the ground. Bright energy poured through him, and the faster he ran the more there seemed to be. The crowd split before him as he burst forward, the air bending around him. His senses blurred. All he saw was light and shadow, the wind singing in his ears and smoothing his quills behind him. He laughed, and the sound flew away in the gust. This was all he needed.
Everything was bright, too bright. She pressed to the wall, pulling the shadows around her like a blanket. The heat still poked through, trying to suffocate her. She hissed and tried to push farther into the darkness, but the wall remained firm and unyielding.
"Commander," A low, cool voice caught her attention, and her eyes flicked to its origin. A dark spot in all the blinding light.
It was a slender hedgehog, similar to Sonic except for his black coat. Pretzel blinked against the glare, trying to see the details better. She got the feeling she didn't have very good eyesight, or not the right kind of eyesight. As if that makes sense.
"…she has found Sonic and convinced him to help her." The hedgehog paused, listening. "There is one problem, however. They are making their own plans. She is planning to disobey you." He winced, and Pretzel caught a burst of sound coming from the device in the hedgehog's gloved hand. The sound quieted, and after a moment the hedgehog nodded. "Understood, sir." The hedgehog put the device away and started walking. He paused next to Pretzel's hiding place, looking around with a slight frown.
Pretzel drew the shadows tighter around her and held perfectly still. The hedgehog moved on, and she watched until he was out of sight. The dark spot disappeared, and she was left alone in the harsh light again.