Alright next chapter!
Sorry about the slight delay, I've had a six day working week!
Ugh! But still I've got it done.
Standard deal. Read and enjoy.
Shadow sat down in his rarely used office chair and booted up his computer. Cassie had advised him to read up on their findings while she filed away her paperwork, including Knuckles' hiring form.
He was slowly getting used to no longer having the luxuries that came with being the top Agent. For one thing he never had to do any research or write any reports, that was all done for him by someone else. It dawned on him that Cassie might have been one of those other Agents who provided him with the intelligence for his missions and with a frown; he decided to thank the people who give him any information in the future.
As he read through the various files and emails he had received, he couldn't help but have his mind wander, conjuring up thoughts and images of that lavender hedgehog who had somehow broken through his emotional barrier.
He enjoyed her company immensely, the casual conversations they shared, the way she acted, always so confident and sure of what she was doing, a trait she shared with Sonic but to a much lesser degree. She also had drive, like she wanted to prove herself by doing the best she could at all times. Shadow understood how that felt. When he had first joined GUN he worked hard to prove himself to be a talented and resourceful Agent who didn't need help from anybody.
There was a knock at the door and he looked up from the screen. Another Agent entered with a file in their hands.
"What is it?" Shadow demanded, perhaps a little harsher than he meant but regardless, he had put up his 'Do not disturb' sign for a reason.
"Sorry Sir, but I've got the latest autopsy report from Dr. Gracian." Shadow raised an inquiring eyebrow and accepted the folder without a word and the Agent left quickly. Shadow flicked it open and began skim reading the contents. His eyes halted and he reread the description of the autopsy subject.
"Green Rabbit…" He mumbled, casting his thoughts back to all those involved in the case so far. His eyes widened in realisation and he snatched up his office phone.
"Cassie, head down to the morgue, I'll meet you there." He said quickly when he heard her voice answer.
"Shadow, what…"
"Dr. Gracian has something to show us." He put the phone down and stalked out of his office.
Cassie caught up with him just outside the elevator and gave him a questioning look.
"I'm not gonna like what Gracian tells us am I." She said as the metallic box rumbled their decent.
"Most likely not." Shadow growled in return.
-0-
As they walked into the morgue Shadow frowned, he was so used to seeing Sheba either snoozing on an operating table or hard at work on the latest cadaver that the sight of an aging grey furred goat, wearing a pair of half-moon glasses and writing down his notes seemed far too out of place. He looked up and peered at them over his glasses.
"Can I help you?" His voice was tinged with annoyance and his tone reminded Cassie of her old school science teacher.
"I'm Agent Shadow and this is my partner, Agent Rahna. We want to, discuss on the green rabbit, Paul Metha'as." Replied Shadow curtly.
"Did you not get my report Agent Shadow?" The bearded goat snorted.
"Let's just call this professional curiosity." Shadow was doing his best to remain calm but Cassie could see the subtle signs of his rising anger. The Dr. must have picked up on this as well, as he grunted and walked over to the collection of chilled wall containers and pulled one open, pulling out the body of a green rabbit.
"Paul Metha'as, male rabbit, green fur, between twenty-nine and thirty-three years old. Found dead in his cell this morning having, bitten through his own wrists." Dr. Gracian listed as he uncovered the corpse. Cassie cringed slightly upon seeing the torn flesh of his wrists.
"Lovely…" She muttered. Shadow peered closer.
"Although I have never seen a suicide quite like this one, it is a clear and simple deduction." The Dr. sounded smug as he looked down at the deceased rabbit. "Of course all of my findings have been recorded and written down in my report, so your being here undermines my authority on this matter!"
"This case has been anything but 'clear and simple'." Shadow growled, his keen eyesight noticing something on the rabbits wrist. He leaned closer, eyes focussing on the slight variation in fur colouring.
"You'll contaminate evidence if you're not careful!" Snapped the pathologist, receiving a glare from both hedgehogs in reply. Shadow gestured at Cassie.
"Have a look here Cassie, see anything odd?" Cassie followed Shadow's example and stared at the rendered flesh, finally picking up on the same strange difference her partner had seen. She turned her head to look at it from a different angle.
"Maybe. If we could clean this area up a bit, we might be able to get a clearer look." She looked up at the goat in the white lab coat. "Dr. Gracian, could you perhaps-"
"This is outrageous! First you doubt my analysis and now you make demands of me? Get out! Both of you, now!" Shadow turned suddenly on the old man and grabbed him by the front of his coat.
"Now you listen to me doctor." His voice was low and threatening. "My patients' is wearing thin. Now you do as she says before I really get angry!"
"Fine!" Grunted the doctor as he shook himself from the hedgehogs grasp. He wandered off to collect cleaning fluid, muttering under his breath as he went. Shadow and Cassie stepped away from the body and waited.
"I miss Sheba." Shadow admitted, folding his arms.
"You do know I could've got him do that." Cassie noted copying Shadow's stance while Dr. Gracian worked. Shadow grinned and looked sidelong at her.
"Somehow I doubt that."
"Oh really?" She looked at him with an evil glint in her eyes. "I'll have you know, it's the cute and charming ones you need to look out for. No-one suspects them, especially when they're with someone all dark and moody."
All Shadow did in reply was roll his eyes and shake his head but the smile on his face was clear. Cassie's smile faded as they turned back to the working doctor.
"There goes one lead." Shadow grunted in agreement. "But it doesn't make sense. Suicide after two days in a cell? And just after a visit from his sister as well."
"What did you say?"
"I read a file about Paul Metha'as having a visit from two people, his sister and her lawyer a few hours before he was found dead in his cell." Shadow rubbed his chin in thought.
"Weren't their any guards to his cell block?" Cassie shook her head with a frown.
"The timing coincides with your secret mission and the attack on Mobotropolis." She explained.
"What attack?" Shadow asked quickly. Cassie stared at him.
"Don't you ever keep on top of what's going on?" Shadow looked down sheepishly.
"Only when it concerns me or Rouge."
"What about Miles Prower? You're friends with him too, right?" His ears perked up and he looked at her.
"What happened to him? No wait. Don't tell me. Let's just focus on here and now, I'll read the report later." Cassie smiled.
"I'll get a copy for you." They both turned back to see Dr. Gracian stand up and stretch his back.
"There! I hope you cretins appreciate this." Shadow's eyes narrowed and his fists clenched.
"What did you just call us?" He roared. He was about to hurl a Chaos bolt at the aggravating doctor when he felt Cassie's hand on his arm.
"I'll handle this Shadow." She said calmly before walking up to Gracian. Shadow could hardly hear what she was saying, but the aging goat went rather pale, gulped and swiftly excited the room. Cassie stood by the table and Shadow joined her, a proud and somewhat smug smile was on her face.
"Told ya."
"This isn't a contest." He replied through a grin.
"Aww, spoil-sport." She pouted, sticking her tongue out.
Shadow smirked at her jovial behaviour and turned his gaze to the now clean wrist. Cassie stood to the side, not wanting to get in the eboney hedgehogs way.
"What does that look like to you?" He asked after a moment, stepping aside to give her some space. Cassie looked closely, trying to ignore the jagged rips to the rabbits' wrist and studied the mark.
"Is that part of a tattoo?" She mused aloud. "I t looks like, part of a claw."
"And I'm certain I've seen it before." Shadow said darkly. "Get the case file and meet me in the car park as soon as you can."
"Where're we going?" The lavender hedgehog asked.
"Station Square general, we've got some friends to visit."
Knuckles sat cross-legged, his eyes closed and hands resting on his knees, his back to the bars of his cell. His heart rate was slow and calm, his breathing shallow and controlled. Nothing but the dull rumbling from the depths of the fortress could be heard and so the approaching footsteps were like great explosions of sound the focussed Guardian.
"So this is the intruder?" A voice sounded wistfully from behind him. Knuckles chose to ignore the comment and keep up his meditative state.
"Indeed." The Guardian recognised the voice of Imperator Ix and internally growled at his presence. "He is yet to give us his name and he is just as stubborn Kron."
The other voice chuckled with little humour. "You said High Praetorian Shade captured him with no resistance."
"Indeed she did. Which is curious in itself, he looks more than capable of defending himself." Knuckles' expression twitched slightly but he quickly regained himself. Neither spoke for a while as they studied the silent Guardian sitting in the cell.
"I believe it is time to test a theory." Said the Imperator, a sinister note in his voice. Before Knuckles could even contemplate the meaning of his words he was struck by a powerful energy beam that was fired from the head of Imperator Pir'Oth Ix's golden staff. He cried out in pain and slumped onto his side breathing heavily.
"Remarkable! His body dissipated the majority of the energy; any other being would have been fried!" Said the other gleefully.
"I want him studied Zachery. Find the extent of his powers and perhaps that'll lead us to what is rightfully ours!"
Cringing at the searing pain of his back, Knuckles glanced up from the floor at the two albino echidnas outside his cell. With an enraged growl he leapt from his prone position at the bars. The moment his hands wrapped around the cold metal a powerful electrical current surged through him and he was thrown back.
"Tsk, such a temper." The one call Zachery said in a mocking tone. He turned to the Imperator. "I think this'll be fun."
Over the course of the next few hours, Dr. Zachary performed test after agonising test on their prisoner under the watchful gaze of Pir'Oth Ix. They plagued Knuckles with questions, about who he was, where he had come from, what they could expect from the outside world. Questions he answered only with a scowl.
Knuckles slumped to the floor after the latest 'test'. Patches of his fur blackened, his breath came in gasps and pain racked through his entire body. But still he refused to talk.
"This is getting us nowhere!" Imperator Ix growled angrily, turning on his counterpart with barely held rage. "That's enough for today Zachary! Perhaps tomorrow he'll be more talkative."
He strode from the cell block, his cloak swishing along the floor behind him. Doctor Zachary looked down at the echidna curled up behind the bars and shook his head.
"Stubbornness will only get you killed. Cooperate and you may yet prove useful."
"Go to hell!" Knuckles grunted through the pain. Zachary was at first taken aback but a sinister smile swiftly overcame his surprise.
"Oh, but I've already been there." He answered with a sneer. "I think we're going to enjoy our time together, don't you?"
The albino echidna degraded into maniacal laughter as he left, leaving the Guardian alone in the cold, dank cell. Knuckles curled tightly on the floor. He needed to get the Master Emerald somewhere safe, away from these madmen.
Tikal had been with him throughout his torture, giving him strength and courage against the pain and suffering he had to endure, but there was only so much she could do.
Julie-Su waited a good ten minutes after the two albino echidna's had left before she ventured down into the prison block. She had her weapon drawn and switched to the stun setting. She knew full well that if she were caught down here she could face imprisonment herself, or worse. She kept her footsteps light and her breathing shallow as she descended the black stone steps.
Upon reaching the bottom she pressed her back to the wall holding her photon blaster at the ready. She turned the corner, levelling her weapon as she went, expecting to see Gizoids or at least a guard. She blinked a couple of times and it took her a moment to come to terms that there was no-one guarding the prisoner.
The prisoner himself was curled up on the floor, his back towards her. She walked over to his barred cell quickly, scanning the corners of the room as she went, tracking with the barrel of her gun. She knelt down in front of his cell and gazed at the Guardian.
"Knuckles?" She whispered tensely. When he didn't move she reach a hand towards him, snatching it back when her gloved fingers sparked against the invisible barrier. She bit her lip.
"Knuckles!" She said more urgently. This time he stirred. Slowly he pushed himself up from the floor and sat down half turned away. Julie-Su noticed the scorch marks upon his fur, recognising them as energy burns from a beam weapon.
"Knuckles, are you alright?" He turned his head to face her, recognition slowly dawning on his face.
"You're Shade's sister, Julie-Su right?" She nodded.
"That's right. Sh- she asked me to look out for you."
"Why?" Knuckles barked, causing Julie-Su to flinch back.
"She's worried about you! You wouldn't have noticed but she acted differently to you than she does with anyone else!" Knuckles was taken aback by the pink echidna's sudden outburst. "And I look out for my sister and would do anything to help her, so don't question why!"
Knuckles looked down in shame. Once again he had jumped to the wrong conclusion and let his temper get the better of him. "I'm sorry Julie-Su. But why would Shade want you to look out for me?"
"She likes you." Julie-Su answered simply. "You're the first echidna she's ever met who didn't treat her as just another Nocturn. She's always felt out of place here, like a lot of us…"
Julie-Su laid her gun on the ground and sat down, drawing her knees to her chest. Knuckles turned his body to face her and waited for her to continue. "We're not all megalomaniacs like Dr. Zachary or Lien-Da. Some of us, most of us just want a place to call home."
"Well, you're home now right? So what's to stop you from leaving the island and finding a new place to live?" Julie-Su smiled sadly.
"It's not that easy Knuckles. For nearly two hundred years we've lived in the Twilight Cage. The Procurator and Imperator have ingrained the need to fight for survival so deeply that it'll take much more than simply coming home to remove it." Her voice was heavy with sorrow and regret. "There might be some willing to leave, and I know that the Brotherhood have always been trying to persuade us to join them but…"
"Who are the Brotherhood?" Julie-Su looked at him, a slight hint of surprise in her eyes.
"You truly aren't from here, are you?" Knuckles shook his head.
"No I'm not." The pink furred echidna licked her dry lips before answering his question.
"The Brother of Guardians are a small clan who live in and around the stone pyramid on the other side of the island. They follow more traditional methods of survival, shunning most of the technology of the Nocturn in favour of their own ingenuity. While we have survived, their numbers have dwindled. And although they oppose the ideals of the Nocturnus, they embrace those who come to them and are a fearful force to be reckoned with."
Knuckles leaned back on one of his arms and looked down at the floor in thought.
"And I'm thinking you're a lot like them. And it's that individuality that, stubbornness to bow down, which Shade finds so…" She trailed off, not wanting to over step the mark.
Knuckles rubbed at a burn mark on his leg, an idea slowly forming in his mind.
"Perhaps you could do something for me." Julie-Su looked at him, unsure where this might be heading. "Can you contact the Brotherhood and ask for their help? I can't stay here, I need to…"
He stopped himself before he could tell her about the secret he kept hidden. "It's very important that I get out of here as soon as possible. Can you do that for me?"
He looked deeply into her eyes, pleading, hoping that she would help him.
After a long moment of silence she finally nodded her head. It was such a slight movement but it sent a wave of relief flooding over the crimson echidna.
"Thank you Julie-Su."
"It'll take some time, but I'll do what I can."
"You might also want to contact a few friends of mine. They may be an odd bunch but they've helped me out on a number of occasions." Knuckles reached into his dreadlocks and pulled out a small booklet in which he kept all the contact details of his friends and allies and flicked it open.
Julie-Su activated her wrist device and typed in what he listed to her. Questions surged through her mind but she did what she was asked, and once Knuckles stowed the booklet away she stood up, retrieving her weapon as she did.
"Are you sure they'll be able to help?" She asked. Knuckles grinned.
"Trust me, once they get going, nothing can stop the Chaotix."
Yes the Chaotix. If this story didn't need more characters...
Anyway, still got some ideas to keep this going but I'm already planning a sequal.
Yes, you can't get rid of me that easily.
Next update might be late. Just FYI.
Till next time.
-Corrupt TE-