Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter for the Story of the Protector. I might change the name for a better suited title. Right now I can't think of anything better. IF you guys have any ideas, then feel free to shoot them in the reviews.
Anyway, thank you for reading, lemme know what you think in the reviews, and as always I hope you enjoy!
Two years have passed since Blaze finally returned to her home. Two years have passed since her and Shadow made the agreement. An agreement that was agonizing for both of them but needed to fulfill their duties efficiently. Shadow doesn't appear to be taking things well but he was getting better. He just couldn't wait for her to return just so he could see her once again. Within those two years, GUN has kept him occupied with work so he had his mind occupied with that instead of thinking about Blaze.
Lately, there has been a lot of attacks on three major cities. Terrorists have appeared in Westopolis, Central City, and Emerald City. Everyone has been on edge since the attacks and are working hard to stop the terrorist attacks. The odd thing about this is that the attacks had no goal. No one understood the purpose of the attacks and the agents can't pinpoint the supposed target if there is one. However, no one was letting their guard down. Shadow was successful at unmasking one of the terrorists, but he couldn't capture him because the man poisoned himself to avoid capture. He brought the corpse to Forensics for further investigation. After that he went to Team Dark's office to make a report about him and the scuffle with the now deceased attacker.
Rouge noticed the door open and waved, "Hey there Shadow."
Shadow turned his gaze to the treasure hunter, "Greetings Rouge. How are you doing?"
Rouge sighed heavily as she sunk into her seat, "I'm fine. I'm very tired though. Man ever since these attacks started happening we've been working nonstop for the past week. We should have stopped this by now."
"I agree but these guys are...elusive. Every time we corner them, they either escape or find a way to kill themselves." Shadow stated, slightly annoyed. He walked over to his desk and sat down.
Rouge rest her head on her hand, "And we still don't know what they are after. For all we know, they could be a group of anarchists trying to prove a point."
"I doubt it's that easy. We would've smoked them out already if that were the case," Shadow looked over to his monitor. "These guys are trained professionals with high tech weaponry. Their combat exceeds some of our own agents their attacks are mapped out to the simplest detail. They're not anarchists."
"Well, thanks for deducing that down," Rouge smiled at the dark hero. "We know they're some type of terrorist organization who wants to cause mayhem."
Shadow remained silent. He seemed troubled as he stared at the monitor.
Rouge raised an eyebrow, "Everything alright, handsome?"
Shadow lowered his eyelids, "I'm fine...It's just..don't you find it weird?"
"What do you mean?" Rouge queried.
"Each of their attacks were in major cities. Each time was when we were present," Shadow stated. "Team Dark, Spider Troupe, and the Commander were all in one place the same nights they attacked."
Rouge widened her eyes in realization, "You think those guys are after one of us?"
"I'm not sure. Normally I'd think they're after me.." Shadow's voice trailed off.
"But they were lucky enough to single you out. They would have captured you by now since they had multiple chances," Rouge said, more confused.
Shadow nodded his head, "Exactly so I'm not their target."
"Then who? I know I'm not and I know Omega isn't. I don't think anyone would target anyone in the Spider Troupe unless it's over something petty," Rouge attempted to analyze the situation.
Shadow froze. The conclusion hit him quickly. Rouge dropped her pencil as the realization hit her as well.
"They're after Commander Tower!" Both of them yelled in unison.
Rouge stood up quickly, then glanced at Shadow, "I'll report this to Abraham. You need to finish your report."
Shadow looked at her intently. He lowered his head and nodded. Rouge noticed the change in his eyes. They conveyed deep worry. Can't blame him because both Shadow and Abraham created a brother-like bond with each other over the years. They are the remaining survivors of the raid on the Ark and the last two people with Maria's memory.
"Shadow," Rouge called out to the dark hero.
Shadow looked up from his monitor and gazed at the treasure hunter.
Rouge smiled at the ebony hedgehog, "Don't worry Shadow. We'll stop them before anything happens to him."
Shadow stared at Rouge for a few moments, then nodded reluctantly, "You're right. This is the Commander we're talking about. I need to relax."
"Yeah no kidding," Rouge chuckled to herself. "I'll be back in a while."
Shadow nodded and watched her walk out of the door. He returned to his monitor to get started on typing his report. More thoughts went by as he began typing.
'Why are they after Commander Tower? What do they want from him? What are they to him? Do they want to kill him, capture him for information?' Shadow's eye twitched at the thoughts that roamed through his head.
He couldn't focus on finishing his report. Moments later, Shadow just stared at his monitor blankly trying to find the terrorists' reasonings for wanting the Commander. Maybe when the time comes, he'll get his answers. For now, he'll have to do his best to protect the Commander at all costs.
BOOM!
A huge rumble was made within GUN headquarters. Shadow fell out of his seat and landed on his bottom.
"W-What the hell!?" Shadow stood up. He walked quickly over to the door.
As he turned the knob, another ground shaking rumble occurred. Shadow lost his balance but caught himself onto the table next to him. Shadow stood up and bolted out of the office and ran down to the main lobby. The lobby was completely totaled. Fire was spreading around the area, the agents in the area were in distress, and smoke was thickening. Shadow moved quickly and helped all the agents who were injured or unconscious.
"Shadow, do you copy!?" Rouge's voice rang through his communicator.
Shadow brought the communicator to his mouth, "Yes I do. What is going on!?"
"I don't know! There was an explosion from within the lab then another in the main lobby," Rouge exasperated. "We have to be under attack! Shadow, get to the Commander now!"
Shadow cursed under his breath and ran through the main lobby into a hallway. He ran to the room where the elevator led to the commander's office. Shadow heard a sound of something being cut as he got closer to the elevator door, then a scraping sound that was getting closer and closer rapidly.
"They didn't," Shadow widened his eyes in shock. He quickly jumped away from the elevator door.
CRAAAASH!
The elevator doors blasted away from its hinges and crashed into the wall. Shadow put his arms up to shield himself from the dust. He looked over to the elevator to see the whole thing crashed down to the bottom floor. Shadow clenched his teeth in frustration. Now was probably the worst time to not have a Chaos Emerald in his possession. Shadow quickly ran towards the elevator, then forced himself to the top of the totaled moving contraption. He looked around and noticed the cables holding the elevator were cut.
"Damn it," Shadow gazed upwards to see a few guys in tactical suits peeking over the elevator doors from the same floor as the commander's office. "I won't let you have your way."
Shadow jumped onto the wall and started speeding upwards toward the men. The men noticed Shadow running up the wall and looked back.
"Hey, the hedgehog is coming! What do we do!?" One man yelled.
"Kill him! What else!?" The other said as he walked towards the commander's door. "We were ordered to keep that hedgehog from entering so we will do that. Shoot him!"
"Yes sir," Two men yelled then walked over to the elevator shaft.
Shadow sees that the men returned then seen two laser sights pointed right at him. Shadow scoffed to himself. The men began shooting down the elevator shaft. Shadow swiftly dodged the bullets as he maneuvered around the shaft.
The man on the left grunted, "Our bullets aren't working on him!"
"Damn it, where are the special bullets that we were supplied with!?" The man next to him yelled.
"Here," the guy behind the two ran to the bag and pulled out two extended clips with a red coloring in the middle. He handed them to the men who were not reloading. "Use these!"
The two men complied and loaded their M4 assault rifles with the special clips. They aimed down at Shadow who was closing in on them. Both of them sprayed down the elevator shaft making it difficult for Shadow to dodge. One bullet grazed Shadow and normally Shadow wouldn't be affected, but it stung severely. Shadow grunted as he covered where the bullet grazed him. Shadow moved faster and faster until he became a black blur. He appeared in front of the two men and dashed right into them. Both of them lied on the ground groaning in pain. Shadow stood and faced two others who had their guns aimed right at the ebony hedgehog.
Shadow snarled at the two terrorists, "Move aside! I don't have time to waste on you two!"
"Tch, we can't allow you to move any further," the man on the left stated calmly.
"Yeah, you're not going anywhere hedgehog!" The other man roared, clearly hiding the anxiety from within. They're facing Shadow the freaking Hedgehog. Who wouldn't be nervous?
"I said step aside!" Shadow roared more firmly this time.
The two men didn't budge as the aimed right at Shadow.
Shadow got into a fighting stance, facing the two men fiercely, "Fine, hard way it is."
"What is the meaning of this?" Tower stood behind his desk.
He faced three masked men, one standing next to the door, the other pointing his gun at him, and the last walking aloof around him.
"Don't you think it's pretty obvious, commander?" The man casually walking around him asked sarcastically.
Tower raised an eyebrow, "We've been tracking you, trying to figure out what your goal is-,"
"And you came up with nothing right?" The snarky man replied. He chuckled to himself, "You guys are literally a government agency, yet you guy couldn't uncover such a simple mystery."
Tower remained silent as he eyed the man who finally stopped walking around and faced him.
"I guess we're a lot better at covering tracks than I thought. Though, covering our tracks is our best quality," The man removed his mask to reveal his face. "You should know..I mean we both had to do dirty work to get to where we are."
Tower widened his eyes in disbelief. He stared at the man who stood in front of him. The toothy grin, the scar that stretched across the left eyes, and the recognizable cross tattoo on his right cheek.
"Vergil?" Tower spoke out quietly.
Vergil smirked at the commander, "It's been awhile Abe. Last we seen each other, you left me behind back in 1990 after we were hired to assassinate the leader of the revolting group that caused mayhem in Brazil."
Tower stared blankly at Vergil, as if he was staring at a ghost, "I thought...I thought you died..."
"Hehe so did I and yet I'm still here," Vergil chuckled to himself. "Strange how things work out. Now, I'm here to kill you."
Tower gritted his teeth, "Who hired you to come after me?"
Vergil wagged his finger at him in a teasing way, "Nah ah ah! You know the code: Never reveal the client to the target unless it's requested."
Tower glared intensely at Vergil but he remained silent. A lot of memories of the two working together flashed through his eyes.
"Ahh," a voice in pain yelled out loud.
Everyone froze as they heard the commotion going on outside.
Vergil, who's eyes were glued to the doors, spoke, "I suppose this is the special agent that I've been hearing about. Brandon, drop the blast doors, so we'll have more time."
"Roger that," the man ran behind the commander's desk and pushed a button.
Two metallic doors were summoned in the doorway and blocked out any noise from the hallway. The doors were sturdy enough for Shadow to take at least five minutes to break through.
"Another part of the code," Vergil turned his gaze over to Tower. He continued, "Is not to reveal yourself to the target as well."
Vergil gave Tower an amused expression, "Hmph, glad you didn't forget where you came from."
Tower's glare deepened, "Vergil, stop this now. If you stop now, tell us who hired you, then maybe your punishment won't be as severe."
Vergil laughed manically in response, "Sorry but a job is a job. Nothing personal, it's just business. You had a target on your back from doing your mercenary work back in the day, and even now for being a commander of the Guardian Unit of Nations. Someone was bound to catch up to you sooner or later. Weird how fate put me in place of that."
SMASH!
Everyone looked toward the door to see a dent inward.
"Hah!" Shadow punched the door once again, creating another dent.
Vergil sighed to himself, then points his gun towards Tower, "Seems I don't have much time before that thing breaks through. Glad to have this reunion Abe. Brought back good memories."
SMASH!
Vergil lowered his eyelids, solemnity spreading across his face, "Sucks that our reunion had to be like this, brother."
Tower remained quiet as he stared at Vergil.
SMASH!
The door looks like it might break on the next impact.
"Rest well," Vergil said quietly, then pulled the trigger.
BANG!
"Haaaah!" Shadow blasted through the door.
Shadow swiftly took out the man that guarded the door with ease. Shadow took the man's assault rifle and focused on the two in front of him, then he froze. His eyes immediately landed onto the commander who appeared to be falling. Shadow gasped quietly as flashbacks started to flash through his mind.
'NO!'
Shadow bared his fangs and shot the man closest to Commander Tower. Vergil took cover behind the desk. Shadow used his Chaos Snap and landed on top of Vergil, slamming his foot onto Vergil's face.
"Ugh," Vergil grunted against the impact.
Shadow put more pressure against his head, "Who the hell are you and why did you shoot him!? Why!?"
"Sorry kid but I can't tell ya," Vergil pointed his gun at Shadow quickly.
Shadow noticed and jumped away from Vergil before he was hit. Shadow went to aim the gun at Vergil, but Vergil moved quickly on his feet. Vergil tackled Shadow to the ground and knocked the gun away from Shadow's hands. Shadow kicked Vergil off him and faced the terrorist. Vergil pulled out a knife and faced Shadow.
Vergil stared at Shadow for a few moments, then smirked, "You must be the famous Shadow the Hedgehog."
Shadow clenched his teeth, glaring ice cold dagger at the attacker, "That's irrelevant. I'm bringing you down, now!"
"Hehe, tough talk coming from a shrimp. Let's see what you can do," Vergil played with the knife in his hand.
Shadow's blood was boiling the more he watched Vergil mess around, "You're dead!"
Vergil and Shadow lunged at each other and clashed. Vergil slashed at Shadow with the knife but Shadow dodged out of the way. Shadow parry's the next swing and grabs Vergil's arm. Shadow lifted Vergil in the arm then body slammed onto the ground. Vergil attempted to push Shadow away, but Shadow slammed his arm to the ground and pulled his arm.
"Aaaagh!" Vergil yelled in pain.
Shadow bared his fangs at the assassin, "Who the hell are you!? Why did you kill him!?"
Vergil turned his gaze to the black hedgehog and smirked, "Wouldn't you like to know."
Shadow began putting more pressure against Vergil's arm, on the verge of crushing it.
"Nngh!" Vergil grunted against the pressure. Even so, Vergil still kept his aggravating smirk, "Ya know, ol' Abe over there always talked about you back then. About how much you took away from him, how it was your fault that his life went to hell."
Shadow's eye twitched. He wasn't sure who this man was to Abe or why he was talking as if he's familiar with him. None of that mattered, all that does is the attacker paying for killing Tower.
"Who woulda thunk that he'd befriend the runt who ruined his life," Vergil spoke. "I thought he'd continue to hunt ya down like a parasite but he was too weak."
"I will not tolerate you disrespecting the commander," Shadow said in a deep, threatening tone.
"Tch, you don't know Abe as well as I do kid. Unlike you, him and I have actual history with each other," Vergil stated loudly. "Isn't that right Abe?"
Shadow looked at him shocked.
"I know you're not dead yet. You're too stubborn," Vergil chuckled to himself.
Shadow looked over to see Tower struggling to get up. Relief washed over the Shadow as he seen Tower was still alive.
Vergil was eating up the whole demeanor changing of the black hedgehog, "You must truly care for Abe over there."
Shadow turned his gaze back to Vergil and glared at him, "Of course I do. He's the commander of GUN. We need him alive."
"Oh cut the crap. You're emotions was all over the place when you thought he died," Vergil smirked. "More than a usual agent would express. You must have some type of bond with him, don't ya?"
Shadow remained silent. He looked at the dull, sleazy, dark blue eyes that belonged to Vergil. He wanted to kill him right here, right now. If he did that, then they won't know why he's here. It would be illogical to kill him if we don't learn his objective.
"Shadow..." a voice croaked.
Shadow looked over to see Tower holding his chest in pain. Shadow immediately got off of Vergil and assisted Tower.
"I pierced his left lunge," Shadow widened his eyes at the Vergil's voice. Shadow turned to glare at the assassin. He had a huge smirk on his face, "Eventually he'll drown in his own blood."
Shadow looked back at Tower. If only he had a Chaos Emerald on him so he could teleport to the medical department, but the Research and Development team needed it for their experiments. Even so, Shadow had to find a way to get Tower help without inducing further damage to him.
BANG!
Shadow jolted his head to the left and seen a bullet zip passed into the wall. Shadow jumped away on instinct to distance himself. Vergil had his pistol aimed directly at the ebony hedgehog.
"You don't really think I'd let you leave with him, did ya?" Vergil pulled his other pistol from his holster. Now dual wielding, he has both aimed at Shadow, "I can't allow you to help him. I'be never failed a job and I don't plan on failing one today."
Shadow clenched his fist in annoyance. He glared at Vergil intensely. He can't waste any more time with this guy. Tower is literally treading thin ice with his life right now. He has to finish this quickly if he wants to save him. Vergil remained calm as he faced the hedgehog.
"Vergil..." Vergil raises an eyebrow.
He kept one gun trained on Shadow and raised his hand to his ear, "What's up? I'm kinda in the middle of something."
Shadow raised an eyebrow in confusion. He must have a communicator on his ear.
"Did you kill him?" The mysterious voice asked.
"Not yet, he's dying but I'm pinched between the black hedgehog you told me about." Vergil stared quietly.
The voice remained silent for a few seconds then spoke, "It seems that you can't escape if the black hedgehog has you cornered. I'm afraid you are compromised."
Vergil moved his gaze to his communicator, seeming aggravated, "Now wait just a damn minute, I can get out of here easily!"
"Sorry Vergil but I can't take any chances. If I let you live, then they will catch on to me and I can't let that happen yet," the voice stated sharply.
"Hey, you can't be serious!? Are you still there? Hey!" Vergil yelled loudly. He pulled off the communicator angrily, "I know you can hear me asshole! HEY!"
There was still no response on the other end. Vergil remained dead silent as he tightly gripped the communicator in his hand. Shadow didn't know what to make of the situation entirely, but he knew that it wasn't good for the assassin.
RRRR! WHOOSH!
Shadow and Vergil became alarmed at the loud, rumbling sound. Vergil looked over to the windows and dropped both his pistols to the ground. Vergil looked at the window in disbelief as defeat weighed in on him. Shadow raised an eyebrow and decided to look at the direction he's facing. Shadow seen what made Vergil become so shocked. A rocket was headed this way at a rapid rate. Shadow looked over to see Tower looking at the rocket as well. He had to save the Commander now or he'll lose the only brother he ever had. Shadow frantically ran towards Tower in a panic. The rocket crashed through the windows and was closing in on the floor.
Shadow lunged for the commander to try and reach him. Tower looked over to see Shadow trying to get to him. He could see the panic and the worry rushing through Shadow's eyes as he reached for him. Instead, the commander looked at him with a calming expression. Shadow widened his eyes as he stared at Tower's face. Serenity washed over the Commander and he smiled at Shadow. Images of Maria ran through Shadow's mind. Tears started falling from Shadow's eyes.
"NOOOOOOO!" Shadow cried out.
Tower remained smiling as he looked at Shadow lovingly, "Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog."