A/N: And we have an overly delayed update. Yippy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Prototype Bond

Theme: Cosmic Castaway, by Electrasy

Chapter 4: Delayed Admittance

"Excuse me girls, you can't be back here." A gruff voice said from behind them. They turned to see a security guard glaring at them in irritation. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Now."

"Of course, sir." Rouge said with a winning smile. "We were just wondering what this place was."

"Private property of ARK Industries." The man sighed, clearly wanting to be somewhere else. "Look, if you just leave I won't have to call the police. And that means less paperwork for me."

"Okay, we just looking for our-"

"We'll be leaving now, sorry for all the trouble!" Amy grabbed Rouge's arm and pulled her back to their car. She sat in the driver's seat and left the parking lot as fast as she could.

"What was that all about?" The white-haired girl asked.

"We shouldn't get Shadow in trouble."

"How would telling people there that we know him get him in trouble?"

"If he lied, then someone doesn't want people to know that he's going there. And if they're having him lie about it, then he might get in trouble." Rouge gave her friend a dubious look. "It makes sense."

"No it does not." She smiled suddenly. "So, why were you so worried about getting him in trouble?" Amy flushed slightly.

"Because he's our friend?"

"We've only known him for a few days." Amy flinched at her rebuttal.

"Because he's in our band?"

"He only joined today."

"Because he saved my life?"

"Alright, keep your secrets." She reclined in her seat with a groan. "At least we know that he was lying."

"ARK Industries…What do they do?"

"No idea. I'll look it up when we get home." They drove in silence from there on, both wrapped up in their own thoughts. Thoughts about a certain dark-haired guy. As Amy finally pulled into their parking space, Rouge's phone rang. She pulled it out and looked at the number.

"Who is it?" Amy asked as she climbed out of the car.

"Unknown." Her phone suddenly stopped ringing. "Oh well, must have been a wrong-" She was cut off when Amy's phone began ringing. "Spooky. Let me see the number." She looked at the two numbers carefully. "It's the same. Hello?" She answered the call.

"Seems like I have your numbers backwards."

"Shadow?"

"Please don't follow me without my permission Rouge. It is annoying."

"So is someone who lies to his friends." She countered.

"You have a point. If I had, in fact, lied."

"That wasn't a hospital Shadow. What is ARK Industries?" Rouge demanded, causing Amy to panic.

"Are you nuts? He'll hate us!"

"Tell Amy to calm down." He sighed over the phone as Rouge relayed his message. "Look, come by the front desk tomorrow at three. I'll prove I wasn't lying."

"It's a date then." She smirked when Amy glared at her.

"Fine."

"He had better not be messing with us. I'd hate to bother that nice guard again." Rouge said as they walked into the building.

"Don't worry; I have no intention of doing that." The dark-haired boy said from a plush couch in a waiting area. "I believe you know Mark." He nodded to the guard they had met the previous day.

"Hi." Amy said nervously.

"Hello." The large man said with a smile. Shadow stood and waved for them to follow. "Thanks to you to I have to follow him around until you leave." Mark said as they entered an elevator. Shadow swiped a cardkey and entered a code.

"If security is so high, why are you taking us?" Rouge asked in confusion.

"My sister's idea." They were silent until the elevator dinged to announce their arrival. It neglected to show what floor they were on however, the screen having gone dark. "Follow me." Shadow said over his shoulder. They walked down a long hallway, passing several locked room. As they came to the end they were met by two, large doors. "Maria? I brought the girls I told you about." Shadow said, holding the door open a crack.

"Bring them in please?" A female voice said from within the room Shadow held the door open for the two girls.

"If you upset her, there will be consequences." He said just loud enough for them to hear. They nodded, feeling a chill go down their spines at the cold look he gave them.

"Shadow?" The girl called from within the room.

"Coming." He escorted the girls into the room. Sitting in a hospital bed was a blond girl several years older than them. Shadow instantly went to her side, taking her hand in his. "Amy, Rouge. This is my sister Maria." He said, holding the girl's hand lovingly. She smiled brightly at the two girls, gesturing for them to sit next to Shadow.

"Thank you for coming here, Shadow's told me a lot about you." She gave him a pointed look. "A little too much."

"Maybe hacking the school's system to see their grades was a little extreme." He said smiling slightly at her glare. Amy marveled at him for a moment. First he is nice to her and Rouge, then he is a jerk to Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. Now he was acting kind and gentle. Just who is he? She thought with a frown.

"You looked up our grades?" Rouge asked with a glare. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Did you change them?"

"Of course not."

"Why not? I could use a few A's." She grinned, causing Amy to sigh in irritation.

"Because someone would never let me hear the end of it." He and Maria smiled at each other. "And you really don't need it. Either of you."

"Maria? Why aren't you in a hospital?" Amy asked suddenly. The blonde girl frowned worriedly at Shadow.

"I have a rare disease." She answered when he smiled reassuringly.

"N.I.D.S. Most hospitals are ill-equipped to care for someone with a disease of such intensity."

"So ARK Industries?" Rouge prompted. Shadow shot the guard standing in the hallway an irritated look.

"You just can't keep a secret, can you Mark?" He said wearily. "Anyway, I invited the two of you down here so you would know why I would have to skip practice every once and a while." He gave them an oddly haunting look. "And please don't follow me around anymore. You are far from subtle."

"Says the guy with red-streaked hair." Rouge shot back without missing a beat. Amy and Maria giggled as the two began arguing.

"So Maria, how much older are you than Shadow?" She asked, ignoring the others' argument.

"Oh, about ten years."

"Really? You look younger than he does." The blonde gazed at her brother with an odd expression.

"Yes, he's…younger than he looks." She said with a smile. "And my disease makes it seem that I'm younger than I really am. I have an extreme case." She answered Amy's unasked question. "And he told me about the hamburger incident. That must have been scary."

"Yeah, lucky Shadow was there." The ivory-haired girl looked at Maria suddenly.

"Did you know he's never even heard of cheeseburgers?" She asked accusingly.

"He spends most of his time here, taking care of me. I finally convinced Grandfather to send him to an actual school."

"Which I still maintain is pointless." Her brother added, closing his eyes in a scowl.

"What about us?" Rouge asked with a slight pout. He opened one eye to look at her.

"Fair enough." Maria laughed at him. "What?"

"Nothing." He frowned thoughtfully.

"Whatever you're thinking, the answer is no." He said with finality. Amy however, was thinking along the same lines as the blonde. Knuckles is not going to like this.