This chapter has been updated as of 09/08/2020
Monday, November 29th, 7:06am, Robotnik's Lair
Shadow wakes up in what looks like a fancy hotel room. The power is on, which is a little jarring after a week without it. He looks around the room to get his bearings and freezes when his eyes reach the seating area. There, lounging on a couch, phone plugged into a nearby outlet, is Manic. For a moment, time suspends, and then Manic looks up and Shadow's heart clenches.
"Oh, you're up," the skinny teen observes, dropping his phone and standing up. He stretches as if nothing is wrong, and Shadow feels lost.
"How?" he asks, and Manic cocks his head to the side with a frown. Then he laughs, but there's no warmth in it.
"You're really something, aren't you?" he says, ignoring the question. "I mean, fuck me right? I trailed after you for years, like some sort of lost puppy, and you? You never even looked at me. And I always told myself that that was fine, that we were friends in our own way, but that was a lie. You were so cool on your fucking pedestal and I was nothing." He rakes a hand through his hair, completely dishevelling the spikes he always wears it in. Shadow wants to protest, but there are no arguments to be made. "Not that it matters," Manic continues. "You left me for dead in some damp, smelly basement. Didn't even look back, did you? Just grabbed Amy and left. So, I guess you showed me. You were more interested in getting your dick wet than saving my life."
Rage builds inside Shadow, but he tries to push it down. He is the one in the wrong, after all. That doesn't mean he can't defend himself, though. "I didn't have a choice!" he argues, earning a scoff from Manic.
"You did, actually. You could have looped around and come back for me. Put me out of my misery if I was maimed, saved me if I wasn't. But you didn't, you just... left. You left, and I waited all night for you to come back like the idiot I am."
Tears prick the corners of Shadow's eyes, because he had been so sure. "I'm sorry," he says, and something dark flashes in Manic's eyes.
"Oh, now you care? Convenient fucking timing, asshole. Did Amy guilt you into it?" Shadow winces, and Manic snarls. "She fucking did! I died, and the only reason you care is because it's your fault," he accuses, grabbing a cushion off the couch and throwing it as hard as he can. Shadow deflects the pillow with ease, but he can't deflect the words. How could he? Yes, he cares, but Manic's right. Not until the end, not until too late.
Except, it's not too late.
Shadow stumbles out of bed and across the room, catching Manic's shoulders in his hands and willing Manic to see the truth in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he repeats. "I will never take you for granted again, okay? I'm an asshole, and a terrible friend, and I messed up, but if you forgive me I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you."
A humming sound fills the room and Manic laughs, revealing a ball of light in the back of his throat. "It's too late for that," he tells Shadow. There's a popping noise, and Shadow just barely manages to dodge the light as it tears its way out of Manic's mouth, burning a hole through his jaw and his teeth. Shadow feels the bile rising in his throat as he watches Manic collapse lifelessly to the ground. He stumbles back a step, trips over something, and falls. When he sits up he's back in bed, and there are no other occupants in the room. Shadow gets to his feet shakily, still bushed from healing himself the night before, but he has to know. He retrieves his Emerald from the shelf he'd left it on and heads for the basement where he last saw Manic. The trip doesn't take nearly long enough, and when he reaches the familiar figure his hands are shaking. He drop to his knees, the bile rising in the back of his throat again as he takes note of the injury. The blackened, burnt crater at the back of Manic's neck doesn't go all the way through as it had in Shadow's dream, and that's more relieving than he would have expected. It's clear the blast severed Manic's spine and all connected nerves, and he hopes for his friend's sake it was instant, hopes he didn't spend agonizing minutes suffocating as his body refused to obey him.
Shadow rolls the body over and wonders if Manic really had felt betrayed in his final moments, if he had cursed Shadow for running. Eyes so dark they're nearly black gaze lifelessly out of the usually vibrant face. Never again will Manic invade Shadow's personal space. Never again will that familiar cackle startle him out of his thoughts. Manic is gone. As gently as he can, Shadow wipes some of the dirt off his friend's face. There's no reaction. Manic would have laughed about that, would have made a huge joke out of Shadow's delicate caress. Instead he just lays there, and Shadow's entire body shakes.
"Why did you even come here?" he demands, and a part of him is disappointed when he doesn't get an answer. "We're not even friends," he accuses, but that isn't really true. Hasn't been for a while now. "I never asked you to talk to me." Even his voice shakes. "Why couldn't you take the hint?" Those lifeless eyes haunt him, boring into his very soul. If he even has one. He slides them shut. There's no peace in Manic's expression, but there's no judgment either. There's nothing. Manic died, leaving his body and taking every last scrap of himself out of this world so that only a corpse remains.
Shadow doesn't realize that he's started slumping over until his head rests on Manic's chest. Half remembered conversations float through his mind, and he wishes he'd paid more attention when he'd had the chance. Or, maybe he wishes he'd paid less attention.
"You were so annoying." Shadow's voice is a hoarse whisper. "Always invading my space, trying to get a rise out of me. Don't think I didn't know it was intentional, you're not as subtle as you think." His fists have balled in the fabric of Manic's shirt and his tears are so thick and heavy that his eyes burn. "And you just kept talking, telling me all sort of things that I didn't want to know. Do you really think I cared about any of it?" He knows his words would've hurt Manic, maybe even convinced him to leave Shadow alone. He should have said them before, then Manic would still be alive. He straightens up and scowls at his friend, but the anger fades and he finds himself pulling the husk of his friend into his arms, cradling Manic's head against his shoulder.
"What was so special about me that you kept coming back?" he asks, and still there's no answer. "Was I worth it?" His ragged breathing reverberates throughout his entire being. Manic will never again climb a sheer cliff face just to stand on the edge and feel alive, will never again sneak out and hitchhike to the next town over to see some shitty local band. He will never confide in Shadow again. Shadow makes a choking sound and presses his forehead to his friend's, clutching the lifeless body against his own. He starts rocking back and forth. Hot tears stream down his face, and he feels cold.
"You really are the biggest idiot, you know that right? Only an idiot would follow someone who never gave them the time of day into a place like this. What did I ever do for you? Nothing. I couldn't even save you, I didn't even try. If I could go back, I—"
A thought strikes him then, so hard he actually starts. He has a Chaos Emerald. He can heal. Robotnik had taught him how, had taught him two methods, even. One method heals by speeding up time in a very localized pocket, rapidly healing the injury. It's easy, but leaves scars and can't heal anything beyond the body's natural abilities. The other method is much harder, but it makes it so the injury never happened. It works by reversing the flow of time. It takes more energy, getting exponentially harder the older the injury is, but if he could manage it... Shadow can barely contain the surging hope that blossoms in his chest. His hands shake for an altogether different reason as he takes out his Chaos Emerald. He can do this.
He closes his eyes and focuses his mind on what he's doing, tuning out all outer stimuli. This method of Chaos Healing will fail if his focus lapses even the tiniest bit. He feels the Chaos building up inside him like a horrible pressure. It's been hours since the injury was inflicted, but he can do this. The pressure continues to build, throbbing inside him, building up in his gut and skin and veins. He's almost there.
Pain. His blood starts to boil and he wants to scream. Heat burns him from the inside, the pressure is too much, but he's almost there. For an instant he is Manic, and he feels the blackened flesh on the back of his neck retracting until there's no trace of the injury left, feels the nerves reconnecting and his heart sluggishly starting up again. The weak fluttering of Manic's heart and its slow increase of strength mirrors Shadow's growing hopes. He can do this! He flexes and the body in his lap flexes with him. He nearly loses his connection, but there's still something missing, some integral piece needed for life. Shadow tries to reach for it through the body, the last place that held the spark, but it's like trying to bore through rock using a feather. No matter how much he pushes, he can't get through. He tries to take more energy from the Emerald into himself, but each pull makes pain flare in his wrists and burn him more thoroughly than the Chaos coursing through his veins. He doesn't stop trying until the pain becomes unbearable, and then he collapses over the body in his lap, panting from exertion. Sweat soaks every inch of him, matting his hair and causing his clothes to cling to his body. He feels as though he's run a mile. While carrying boulders. Uphill.
Manic's pulse fades back to nothing. Shadow has failed.
Guilt chokes him and the sobs that tear their way out of him are so rough they hurt. Why hadn't he looped around and gone back? The Chaos Emerald slips unnoticed from Shadow's hand as he hugs his friend tighter, burying his face into Manic's lifeless chest and crying until he runs out of tears. He lets out his anguish until the pain leaves, along with his other feelings, until he is empty and emotionless. When the tears stop coming he presses a soft kiss to Manic's forehead. The skin is cold against his lips.
"You're in a better place," he says. "This world is putrid and disgusting, and you were too good for it." The words are hollow, a meaningless way to convince himself that everything is fine. Yes, he believes that the world is putrid, rotten to the core, but the idea of a better place... he only entertains the thought because the Chaos Emeralds had been equally unbelievable before he'd gotten his hands on one.
Shadow buries Manic's corpse at the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean, and while he does it he feels disconnected from reality. Perhaps he should have delivered the body to the others, but the idea seems almost cruel. He can tell them where the grave is later, after everything blows over. If it blows over. If they don't hate him forever. Or die. Maybe they'll never know. He marks the grave by filling the last two feet of it with sand and blasting it with Chaos energy until it melts into glass, and promises himself that he'll return as often as he can.
...
Monday, November 29th, 9:43am, Sonic's bedroom
When Amy wakes up, she's in a place she's only ever dreamed of waking up: Sonic's room. She's sore all over and her eyes feel like sandpaper. She has no idea how she wound up in Sonic's bed, of all places. Then again, all of yesterday is a confusing blur. She remembers tunnels and a terrifying leap and Robotnik's lair. In fact, the last thing she remembers is—oh. Right. The last thing she remembers is watching Manic fall limply to the ground as Shadow dragged her away, and the dawning realization that her actions had gotten Manic killed. After that, everything is a blur of screaming and crying. She remembers Shadow carrying her, but can't recall where. Here? And she remembers arguing with him, but can't recall what they'd said. Perhaps that's why he isn't curled up with her now? She considers going back to sleep, wants to go back to sleep. Wants to sleep forever and ever and never wake up.
But, she also wants to find Shadow and have him hold her and tell her everything is going to be okay. She may not know what they fought about, but it doesn't matter. She just needs him to hold her so she can feel safe and warm and loved. If she gets that, then everything will be okay.
Amy drags herself out of bed with a groan. Her chest aches, it's hard to breathe, and her fingers are so tender that it hurts to think of them. When she glances at her hand, she's surprised to see that some of her fingers have bandages around the tips. Looking at the ones that don't shows cracked and broken nails, as if she'd dragged them across something very hard and very rough. There is dirt under the remains of her nails, which isn't surprising, and blood, which is. She vaguely recalls clawing at Shadow's arm, and a coil of guilt makes itself at home in her stomach. Her desire to find Shadow increases. She has some apologizing to do.
When she exits the room she's relieved to find a figure at the dinner table, and at her approach the figure looks up. Thick waves of dark hair frame a copper face with high cheekbones, thick eyebrows, and a strong nose. Amy's heart skips a beat, and for a moment she sees ruby toned eyes instead of the umber ones that regard her. And then she speaks, and Amy realizes that this must be Aziza.
"You are Amy, yes?" she asks in a voice as rich as her son's. Similar in timbre, but the accent and tone are wrong. Amy nods. "Your friends went to... Tails?" Amy nods again, even as a thought occurs to her.
"I don't remember rescuing you, did Shadow go back?" Why that question should bring a look of anxiety to Aziza's features, Amy has no idea.
"Yes," Aziza finally says in a wobbly voice, and when she speaks again her voice is thick with grief. "Where did he learn to use that? He should even not know of its reality! They will kill him and then call it mercy!" She starts babbling about Emeralds and Shadow and other stuff that Amy can't for the life of her decipher between the accent and the choked sobs.
"Aziza, please!" Amy cuts in, planting her hands on the older woman's shoulders and trying to steady her. When she gains Aziza's attention, she continues. "Where is Shadow?"
Aziza lets out another small sob. "I do not know," she admits. "I worry for that, he is reckless."
"Do you have any ideas?"
"He faces Robotnik since last night..."
Amy goes cold. The bright light streaming in through the windows indicates it's sometime in the afternoon. If he went to face the scientist last night... she needs to gather the others, they need to save him!
...
After insisting that Aziza stay behind in case Shadow turns up, Amy heads to Tails' workshop, since that's where her friends apparently went. On her way there she wishes her phone still worked, or that she had a radio, or something. When Tails answers the door he looks like a mess. His curly hair is in nasty tangles, his eyes are red, and the smile that had seemed to perpetually adorn his features in even the worst of circumstances is nowhere to be found. There's also something strange about the way his shirt drapes across his chest.
A throat clearing brings her back, and she's mortified to have been caught staring. "Ah! I didn't mean to stare, I'm sorry!"
"Oh, ah, no worries, it's, ah. It's fine, really. I'm just, ah, a little self-conscious, is all." From the way he's standing—shoulders hunched and arms wrapped protectively around himself as if in an attempt to hide—Amy would say that's an understatement. "Not everyone is understanding about it, y'know?" Amy frowns, not entirely sure what Tails is talking about. Honestly, she isn't really sure what she had been looking at, though it feels like she ought to know if his reaction is anything to go by. "You know what? Never mind. I'm babbling."
Amy furrows her brow, but nods. "Are the others here?"
Tails grimaces. "Rouge and Knuckles are at the hospital visiting Bunnie and Sonia, and Silver and Blaze went back to the school."
"What about Sonic?" she wants to know, and Tails grimaces.
"I have no idea where he is," he admits. "He ran off last night, after...," he grimaces again, and scrubs forcefully at some fresh forming tears. "Well, I haven't been able to find him. I've checked most of his favourite places, but there's no sign of him anywhere. I'm planning on taking the tornado out to look for him in the next half our or so."
Amy nods. "Can I come?"
The teens spend the last few hours of daylight in the Tornado, straining their eyes for any sign of their friend. At the end of the day, she catches Aziza up on their efforts and asks if there's been any sign of Shadow or the others. There hasn't. The next day, Amy goes out with Tails again and they alternate between searching in the small aircraft and searching on foot, with about the same results. Again she updates Aziza, and this time Aziza updates her back. Rouge had been by today, briefly, though she's long gone by now. Aziza doesn't know where she's gone. On the third day, Amy is desperate. Not desperate enough to go to the hospital, not yet, but desperate enough to drop by the school. It's a long shot, but maybe Cream knows something. Even if she doesn't, maybe Silver and Blaze can be recruited to help again.
When Cream sees Amy, she runs over and throws her arms around her friend. Amy tries not to flinch too hard, despite the stabbing pain that flairs up in her ribs. "Amy, it's been days! I was so worried! Did something happen?"
She lets out a nervous laugh. "A lot," she admits. She considers telling Cream about it, but the thought of getting into it... Plus, if she tells Cream, she'll want to help. Cream is so sweet and so brave, but she's also so small. "I, ah, I don't really want to get into it right now," she says instead. "What about you?"
"Mostly I've been cooking, and worrying about you. Oh! Did those nice men find Mr. Shadow?"
Amy feels the colour drain from her face. "Nice men?" she echos hollowly.
"Ah, from G.U.N.? They came asking after Shadow, said it was really important they find him. Something about his mother? That was, ah...," Cream pauses to count on her fingers. "Five days ago."
Five days ago, the day G.U.N. agents had surrounded her apartment. Was it really so recent? Amy thinks she might be sick. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, they found him." She bares her teeth in an approximation of a smile. It feels wrong lying to her friend, even if it's just lying by omission, but the truth means involving Cream, and she's so small and sweet and—
"What a relief! I was so worried, is his mother okay?"
"Ah, yeah. She's actually staying with us, now."
"Oh, I'm so glad!"
Amy wants to scream, wants to shake Cream until she understands what she did, but she knows that Cream was only trying to help. Part of what makes Amy love her is her sincerity and her belief in everyone, but it also makes her too trusting.
Unfortunately, Cream doesn't know where Sonic is. Amy could get into the details as to why Sonic's missing, she could. But, she doesn't want to talk about them right now, or any time in the foreseeable future. The idea of telling someone about Manic makes her gut wrench, and she's not sure she could stop the resulting breakdown if she tried. She can barely handle thinking about it in the abstract. So instead she asks after Blaze and Silver, only to find they've left. Amy swallows, and finds herself wandering, not knowing where to go next. There's no sign of Sonic, and the only person she knows the location of is Knuckles. So she should go to him, clearly, except he's at the hospital and she can't go back there. Which means she's completely out of options. Unless...
No. The idea is laughable. There is no way Amy could break into Robotnik's lair alone, it wouldn't work. It would never work. She'd just wind up getting herself hurt, or caught. And that's the best case scenario. Really, even considering going there alone is foolishness. It's idiocy. It's... she considers going to the hospital again, and swallows. Every day spent delaying is another day that Shadow could be suffering. Really, she's wasted enough time as it is, she doesn't have time to go to the hospital for reinforcements. She swallows, because there's no way she can get in through the tunnels again, even if she could remember the route they took.
Then it hits her. Tails has a plane! She heads back to Sonic's house, leaves a note for Aziza when she finds the older woman sleeping, and then races to Tails' workshop.
Tails, of course, is adamantly against Amy going to the lair. Eventually, she wins him over using the age old argument of "Whether you help or not, I'm going." After that, they come up with a plan; a simple, but risky plan. Tails will bring Amy to the roof of the building in the Tornado under the cover of night, and that's where Amy will climb out. He'll then attempt to attract all the exterior guards to the small plane as he flies away, allowing Amy to get in undetected through the former hotel's roof access. Not as risky as jumping from a window seven floors up, but she'll be alone once Tails leaves. That's her choice, though, one she'd insisted on. Sure, she's not exactly the stealthiest person, but if it's just her then it'll be easier to hide.
She reminds herself of this fact as she watches Tails begin taking off, drawing the fire of the robotic guards. She wants to continue watching, to be sure he makes it out safely, but she knows she can't. Instead, she turns her attention to the lone door and wishes she hadn't dropped her hammer in the lair's basement. Perhaps that's where Shadow is. If so, then she'll grab the hammer on the way. She reaches the door connecting the roof to the interior and takes a deep, calming breath before pushing it open.
Or, trying to push it open. It's locked, and Amy has to resist the urge to shriek. All the work getting up here is for nothing? No! She refuses to accept that! She refuses to be halted by a stupid piece of wood and a dumb lock! In her frustration she kicks the door as hard as she can, again and again and again. When that doesn't work, she rams into it with all her might, throwing her entire weight against it, which hurts way more than the movies make it seem. The door doesn't budge. She tries picking the lock with a knife she brought, but that works about as well as she'd expected. She looks around the roof for inspiration, and her eyes fall upon a ladder leading down the side. A fire escape, perfect! She clambers down, hurrying past the first window she comes across when she sees the machines inside it assembling robots very much like the ones patrolling the halls. The second window is boarded over, the bricks around it charred as if from some explosion. That's invitation enough for Amy, and she removes the plywood as quietly as she can manage before she slips in. The room behind the plywood is a disaster, its walls cracked and burnt. Piles of singed rubble litter the carpet, the ceiling seems about ready to cave in, and there are actual holes in parts of the floor. Part of her wonders what happened in here, but mostly, she's glad for the destruction. Odds are there won't be any guards looking in, after all. Slowly, carefully, Amy makes her way across the room. At first she hugs the walls, figuring that'll be safest, but when the floor under her gives she decides on a different method. With agonizing slowness she feels her way around until she finds a relatively solid path, perhaps above a support beam? When she reaches the door she peers through the peephole, and immediately her chest constricts.
Shadow is right there! Well, okay, he's a ways down the hall, and his back is to her, but it's him! Even if it weren't for the distinctive crimson streaks in his hair, Amy would recognize that closed-off, stiff posture anywhere. She doesn't think twice before throwing the door open and sprinting after him.
"Oh Shadow!" she calls out, throwing herself at him and wrapping her arms tight around his waist. "I thought I'd never see you again!"
...
Tuesday, November 30th, 8:52am, Robotnik's lair
The day after he buried Manic's body, Shadow finds himself scowling at the man in front of him. It takes all his willpower not to attack, but he has to be patient. Thirty-six hours and already his use of Chaos Control has vastly improved. And of course, there's the list. Search as he might, Shadow has yet to find Robotnik's list of all those involved in the ARK shutdown. He needs it. He's already lost everything else, this list is his last chance of making it right.
Yesterday had been a day for resting and retrieving his things, but today it seems he's expected to offer Robotnik his services. The thought of helping the scientist makes him sick, but the thought of not avenging Maria makes him sicker. He listens as Robotnik explains to him how important it is they gather the rest of the Emeralds, how they can be used to unlock Shadow's true potential. Only then, apparently, can the two of them hope to face G.U.N..
"So you see, Shadow, it is imperative that you get the other two back. If you do, it will free my mind up to focus on the whereabouts of the others. It's simply a matter of efficiency."
Shadow snorts. "I don't see why you can't just send your robots."
"Why, isn't it obvious? You are far superior to any of my creations. You're the Ultimate Lifeform. Besides, you need to get your body re-acclimated to the Emeralds. I can't imagine manipulating pure Chaos is very pleasant in your current state, even when done properly." He gives Shadow a look, and Shadow has to bite the inside of his lip to keep from cursing. Of course he'd seen Shadow's attempts to revive Manic, he has cameras everywhere! The Chaos burning through his veins had felt like gasoline eating him from the inside, and the thought that he'd been seen in such a moment of weakness shames Shadow greatly. On top of that, the Chaos had scarred him, leaving angry streaks of vibrant—nearly metallic—red on the outsides of his arms and legs, marking his failure, driving it home every time he catches a glimpse of them. Still, he does not relish the idea of stealing from the others. Perhaps he can manage it without hurting them, but what if he runs into Amy? Or his mum?
No, Amy hates him now, and Aziza is not his mother, and that's that. It's done. Still, he can't just bow to Robotnik, so he gives the man his most condescending smile. "I will retrieve my Emeralds for you, Doctor," he spits the title like an insult, like something dirty and vile and beneath him, "if you can find them. If you can't even locate them on your own then you are of no use to me." Robotnik's eyes narrow, and Shadow knows he's playing with fire. Oh no, someone like Robotnik would not like being spoken to like that, not by some juvenile brat, as he would see it. Not even if said juvenile brat is the so-called Ultimate Lifeform. "In the meantime, I will be in my rooms." He clears his mind and feels the increasingly familiar sensation of space and time bending to his will, feels the world shift around him until he stands alone in the suite Robotnik had designated to be Shadow's living quarters.
True, it would have been easier to simply slow down time and walk to his rooms, easier still to walk there without manipulating time and space at all, but the effect wouldn't have been the same. In the short time Shadow's been here, it has become painfully obvious that the scientist respects nothing so much as power. The more Shadow flaunts his Chaos powers around the scientist, the less the man will try to push him around.
Of course, if taking the time to clear and focus his mind isn't an option, there are also shortcuts he can take, words that can be used as focal points in the event of an emergency. It's just a matter of associating the words with the use you intend them for, something that Shadow plans to work on today.
"So, this is where you got to," a sultry voice purrs from the window in clear defiance of Shadow's plans. Shadow's back goes rigid.
"What do you want, Rouge?" he asks, hoping she doesn't realize the sharpness of his tone is caused by surprise. Better for her if she takes it for anger and leaves, though given how long they've been friends, it seems unlikely. He crosses his arms and turns to her, expression carefully neutral.
Rouge scowls, pulling herself the rest of the way into the window and stalking up to Shadow. "No way, don't you dare. You are not going to shut me out now, of all times!"
Shadow blinks before returning the scowl. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he sneers.
"The closed off body language? The dirty look? You know exactly what I'm talking about. Whenever anything bad happens to you, you get like this, and I'm sick of it."
"Then leave," Shadow commands in a voice that should brook no argument.
"No!" Rouge argues, because Rouge is difficult like that. "Not until you tell me what the hell you're doing here." She has that determined look in her eyes as she speaks, but there's no way he's going to tell her he's working for Robotnik.
Instead he says "I could say the same to you."
"Really?" she scoffs. "Because I'm not the one who seems to have made myself at home here. And don't even think about lying to me, I can tell by looking at you. You're fed, you're clean, you're wearing clothes that look like they came straight out of your dresser. And, unless I'm mistaken, that's your laptop on the table behind you."
Shadow grunts; so much for not letting her know. He switches tactics. "Guilty as charged. I guess you could say I've had a change of heart. It turns out the doctor and I share some common interests."
"Common enough to forget Manic?" Rouge accuses, knowing just how to get under Shadow's skin. He flinches, but doesn't back down.
"Like you care; you barely even knew him. Half the school you invited to your parties, but not Manic. Never mind that his sister is your best friend."
Rouge takes a deep breath to centre herself, but he sees her getting fed up behind the mask. "That's not fair and you know it," she says instead of screaming at him the way she obviously wants to. The way he wants her to. "Shadow, you're my best friend. Talk to me. For once in your life, let someone in."
He glowers at her. Letting people in is what got him into this mess in the first place. "I'm good, thanks. How did you get up to this window?"
She hums slightly. "Oh, that? I climbed." She says it like it's obvious, and if it weren't for the difficulty of getting onto the fire escape, or getting past all the guards, it might have been. "I always said I'd be a spy one day," she continues, "and I think I just proved myself."
Shadow snorts despite himself. "As I recall, you always said you'd be the world's greatest treasure hunter."
"Semantics," Rouge replies, flapping her hand dismissively. "Now, are you going to talk to me, or are you going to keep sulking?"
Sulking? Shadow's not sure he's ever been so affronted in all his life. Shadow doesn't sulk, he just isn't a particularly cheery person, isn't given to sharing his feelings with others. It's different. "I'm good, thanks," he repeats. "You, however, are getting on my nerves. Please leave before I'm forced to call the guards." He's half tempted to do it, to scare her off for good. She may have been his friend for years, but what does that matter now? Everyone else left him in one way or another, why should Rouge be any different? Besides, he's in no mood for her taunts.
She shifts her weight onto one leg and crosses her arms. "You wouldn't." He can tell from the nervous tapping of her foot that she isn't as confident as she's trying to seem, so he takes a breath and opens his mouth as if preparing to call for backup. She all but leaps forward, clapping one of her hands over his mouth. "Alright, alright. Ugh, can you at least hear me out first?"
He frowns and, after a moment, nods. She lets out a small sigh and drops her hand from his mouth before sauntering over to the same couch Manic had inhabited in Shadow's dream. Rouge drapes herself along it.
"The truth is, I came here hoping to find out what Robotnik has planned for the Chaos Emeralds. It seems kind of silly, in retrospect, putting so much on the line when we don't even know what he's going to do with them."
"He needs them to take on G.U.N.," Shadow answers, which is true enough. "He wants to make them pay for the things they've done." It's not the whole truth, but Shadow doubts even he has the whole truth. Oh well, one thing at a time.
"And that's the cause you believe in enough to forget Manic?" Rouge asks, surprised. "Since when do you hate G.U.N.?"
Shadow refuses to be baited. "I have my reasons," he answers instead.
Rouge snorts at that. "Right. Well, it seems like you could use my help."
Shadow raises an eyebrow. "What help could you possibly offer me? And why should I trust you?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe because we're friends? I mean, you certainly seem to be doing a good job of pretending we aren't, but pretending something doesn't make it real. As for help, I can keep tabs on the others for you, let you know how they're doing and what they're up to. Or, do you think they're not going to be after the rest of the Emeralds too?"
Shadow raises an eyebrow at that. "Is the fact that you would spy on your friends for me supposed to garner trust?" Rouge doesn't answer that, and Shadow sighs. "Fine, whatever, but you can't come back here." He tosses her the pager Robotnik had given him earlier, resolving to ask for another once she leaves. "I'll send you my number in a bit, so page me if you learn anything. I'll tell you when and where to meet me." Rouge nods, getting up to go. "And Rouge? If I see you around here again, I won't be so nice." It feels bad threatening his last remaining friend, but it'd be worse for her if Robotnik caught her. She frowns and searches his expression. Whatever she find must scare her, because she's at the window in a matter of seconds. Halfway through, she hesitates.
"Amy is looking for you," she tells him and his heart stops dead. "Aziza says she's practically tearing the city apart looking to build up a force and rescue you."
Energy builds up in his veins, looking for a way out. How dare she mention that name in his presence, does she have any idea...? He takes a step forward, and his body fills up with power. If his expression had scared Rouge before it must terrify her now. She wastes no time pulling herself the rest of the way out the window, and then she's gone. He doubts she's truly left, likely she's just looking for another window. She'll want to find Robotnik's plans herself before she leaves, but no matter. Shadow has other things to worry about, like finding an outlet for the Chaos singing through his veins. His body nearly vibrates from the buildup, and he focuses on sending it out. He is unprepared for the result.
The energy rips outward, expanding outwards in a small, red explosion. Everything in the room is slammed away, and when the dust settles, Shadow is amazed by what he sees. While his body and clothing are untouched by the devastation around him, nothing else is. The furniture is in pieces, shattered and burnt. The walls are also burnt, and have deep cracks in them. The floor at his feet seems as if it will cave in at any second, and the ceiling hangs ominously. He isn't surprised when the sprinklers come on, soaking him and washing away the smoke. The alarms sounding is also unsurprising, and he waits patiently for Robotnik to come in demanding answers. He is suddenly very glad that he left the clothing Manic lent him, the clothing he'd spent ages hand washing just yesterday, hanging to dry in the bathroom.