Do not be afraid, do not attempt to adjust your monitors. This is indeed an update. I finally managed to kick myself out of this slump. I just wish it didnt take so long *grumble* Anyway, here we go again...
Part Twenty-Nine: Retribution
Groaning in beautiful agony, he picked his body up from the freezing tile floor, streaks of red painting the ground. His cranium stung as he tried to cover the split in his forehead with a hand, but he knew that was the least of his problems now. All around him, the bodies and broken remains of his support lay defeated and crushed under the power of not one, but two hedgehogs. It wasn't supposed to happen like this! Our intel said that Sonic would help us, not Shadow! This… this was never supposed to go so far! Steadying himself against the wall, Treize spat some of the blood from his mouth as he examined the hell that had unfolded before him.
It was just the kind of carnage that he had come to associate with the 'ultimate life-form'. Whenever he was paired with the midnight warrior, it was like Shadow became something else entirely, neither truly mortal, nor as defiant as a demon. Maybe it was the connection that a human partner like Treize represented to the hedgehog's past or some twisted sense of inbred superiority. Every time they deployed together, or one was sent to retrieve the other, he could see the chaotic energy swirling behind his ruby eyes. And the disgust from having to accept such an unbalanced team.
Granted, the human knew exactly why Shadow looked at him with such disdain. Before they were introduced, he had been given access to all the information deemed 'relevant' by the agency about the prototype petri dish, including his capture after the incident after the ARK disaster. The whole file had been coated with tampering and false truths, but Treize could not accept that such power would sit idly by after such an operation killed so many of its creators. But it was their final mission together that showed him just what kind of being they had unleashed upon the world.
Flashback: Over a year ago…
It had started as such a simple mission; to search and destroy a band of weapons smugglers deep within the Amazonian jungles who just happened to get their foul hands on some extremely volatile materials. The plan was simple in its conception and efficient in its ruthlessness. Shadow was sent in first to eliminate any security, then pull back and support Treize and his crew as the humans retrieved the dangerous cache. To be sure, the midnight warrior had done his part with swiftness and lethal accuracy, for not a whisper was heard from anyone on patrol. It was only when the other troops trotted upon the board did the mission go wrong. Entering the wooded scene as stealthily as possible, Treize has crossed the hedgehog's path and those frozen ruby orbs, so the human tried to save face "Good work, Shadow. Pull back and standby. We'll take it from here."
Giving a trademark 'humph' in response, an ivory glove dismissing such empty praise "Just be sure not to screw up your part of this mission."
Whatever gratitude the human had for the hedgehog's talents had instantly evaporated under armed ego, "Listen here! You might be referred to as the 'ultimate life-form', but I doubt you could even"
Suddenly, everything went to hell. Two blood-chilling screams tore into the night sky as a pair of unseen lookouts ran at full speed back into the camp to warn the others. There was no time for thought, only action as they reacted; matching armor-piercing projectiles with a quickened Chaos Spear. It was then and only then did they realize just what it was they were firing at; a pair of young muchachos, no more than ten years old each and armed with only their voices. By some grace of nature or will, Shadow's attack shattered the ground beneath one boy's feet and sent him flying into the dirt, but it sent him there alive and pacified. Treize's shots were far more accurate as three rounds from his muted rifle tore through the other child's torso like railroad spikes through paper. Ruby eyes wide and stunned, Shadow was almost frozen in the moments of watching the young rag doll slide through a mixture of grass and blood, for it was the mirror of a scene written fifty years behind and thousands of miles above them. To the hedgehog, even the last shrieks from Maria's innocent voice were audible in the moment, wrapping around his neck like a silken noose, threatening to condemn the moment into anarchy.
Only when other voices cried out in panic and fear as shots and explosions rang out did the charcoal warrior spring back into action. Sprinting to the side of the fallen boy, Shadow checked the body for a pulse and was fortunate to find one, weak and unstable as it was. As Treize barked orders to Shadow and his men to secure and push forward into the fray, the hedgehog did not obey. Instead, the midnight soldier scooped the wounded youth into his arms and raced away from the melee with the almost lifeless cargo, dropping the agent's eyes wide and jaw low in perplexed anger.
The rest of the mission was a victorious disaster. To be sure, G.U.N put a stop to the radicals and whatever plans they had, but at losses far superior to what they had estimated. And Shadow himself had never returned to the battle. The trip back to their forward operations base was a long one indeed, as most of the humans were nursing some form of injury or another, Treize himself had taken a few grazes across the shoulder and calf. But the only pain he really felt was anger at the treachery displayed by the ultimate life-form. Does he really think he's above the rules? That he can just flaunt in and out of a mission whenever it suits him?! Shadow, you're going to pay for the lives lost tonight…
Once they had returned, Treize pulled aside the first poor soul he could, demanding to know where the hedgehog had run off to, to which the young private was only too willing to direct him to the infirmary. Storming in with one hand on the pistol at his hip, the human snarled as he laid eyes upon the scene. Only one of the beds lay occupied, but from the tell-tale sheet of white splashed in spades of blood draped over it, he guessed the boy did not survive the extreme forces of his transport here. Standing beside the lifeless shell was Shadow, arms crossed and eyes closed. Despite the dim lighting in the small hours of the morning, Treize could make out the stain of red against the hedgehog's ebony coat and snowsplashed chest.
"You…traitor!" the human bellowed.
Ruby eyes snapping open, Shadow returned his comrade's disdain for the other's presence "How dare you! Thanks to your incompetence, they were warned about our arrival!"
The handheld weapon at the human's side cleared the holster faster than he ever could draw it consciously "And thanks to YOU, I lost twelve men! Did they deserve to lose their lives for this bastard of a child that would have grown up into simply another mercenary or drug trader?!"
"At least those men went down as you humans prefer, guns blazing and all that useless showmanship. YOU shot this youth in the back like a coward! You!"
Uttering an incoherent urge of anger and malice, the human let his finger speak for him, tensing back on the trigger. The shot rang out into the room, but Shadow was already in motion, easily sliding under the bullet's trail and catching Treize with a devastating cross punch to the jaw. Collapsing back into the wall, he could feel the blood trickle from his split lip, casting a blue-eyed glare shaking in rage at the hedgehog. Shadow's own ruby gaze narrowed as he stepped over Treize to leave the infirmary "Just know this much. If I ever see you again, you'll be fortunate to have enough pieces left to put back together."
With that, the midnight loner disappeared from the base, from G.U.N itself and for a while, the rest of the world. A fact that couldn't have made the human happier, for his "actions above and beyond the call of duty" during that mission promoted Treize to Special Agent, a position that involved much more stealth and subtlety in its application, just the methods the human preferred. From there, he commanded others to rain down justice or wrapped himself into deep covert operations to keep the planet safe and shielded from any threat that presented itself. Though deep down, the thoughts of their confrontation never really left his memory.
I guess this was only a matter of time before we met again…Treize thought to himself, brushing the dirt from his suit as he retrieved a rifle from a fallen solider as he picked up his own bruised body back to as much potential as it could go. To him, it wasn't just a matter of international security, as noble a goal as that sounded. Shadow had dragged this battle down into its simplest forms; survival and revenge. And Treize was a very sore loser. Gathering his breath and wits back about him, the agent took off towards the nearest method to reach the higher floors where his quarry had run before.
Suddenly, it darted across the corner of his eye. Almost invisible, it was there only for an instant, too quick for most mere mortals to even comprehend. But that one blip in his peripheral glance made the human's skin stand on end. A streak of iridescent darkness slicing through corridor like the aftereffect he was named for. "No more running Shadow. No more innocent sacrifices. This time, I put you in your place, or I just put you down."
No sooner than Shadow removed himself from their conversation did the thought strike Dr. Caimen's mind like the prick of a needle. He had new orders, as did the troops currently engaged in this little coup, but how many of them even knew that much? Were the rest of his comrades from the Guardian Unit of Nations still floundering around within the bowels of the building, being led by a lost sheppard? Turning to Rouge, the canine asked "Did you get any word about who's actually in charge of this little sham?"
Twitching her ears, the young huntress pondered that thought for a moment, running back through the conversation in her mind before drawing a blank "No, they didn't say. You think the agency called out the new orders?"
"I'm not sure, but I'm going to find out." Cale replied, pulling his own mobile phone from a pocket "Authorization three-six-six-zeta. This is Agent Caimen. Get me Local Ops Twenty-One"
"Copy Agent Caimen, go ahead" the voice on the other end responded after a moments burst of white noise.
"This is Special Agent Caimen calling all deployed troops at this location. Operation terminated. Repeat, operation terminated. All forces pull back to respective bases. Authorization Theta-Six-One." It was a long shot to be sure, and there was nothing else Cale could do. Their next move rested solely on the minds and decisions on politicians and officers in some secure location. If Rouge had been successful as she claimed to be, then the rest would fall easily into place and this night of stress and siege would dissolve away into memory. If not…
"Unable to comply, Agent Caimen. Operation security has been compromised. Primary targets are set to be quarantined or terminated."
That last word grabbed three sets of attention, even stopping Sonic from his distracted pacing. With the audience all staring at the doctor, Cale felt his skin pale and stomach sink "By who's authority?! I'm in command of this sector!"
"Special Agent Treize, Task Force Zero One" came the reply before the line clicked dead. The name meant nothing to the aqua hedgehog, who simply sported a curious look. Dr. Caimen had only heard of the human in rumor or email, so the physician only furrowed his brow. Only Rouge stepped back in some form of emotion, her wide blue eyes shaking and ivory glove over her mouth. She'd heard that name come up in conversation only once, the day Shadow resigned from the Guardian Unit of Nations and vanished for almost a year. Even now, she could still see the fire in those bloodred eyes and hear the venom in his tongue "Him?! They sent him in?! Oh my god!"
In an instant, the bat took off after the echo of her former partner, canine and hedgehog in pursuit. "What's going on Rouge? Why do you look so spooked?" Sonic had to ask, if only for his own good.
"Treize was the reason Shadow left G.U.N. And if half of the things he said about that guy are true, then we have to stop him here and now before they kill each other!"
That was all the encouragement the blue blur needed before he kicked off into a full speed sprint. It didn't take a scientist to deduce that wherever Shadow was, Amy would be racing towards. And if that included even a small fraction of the calamity that tonight had become, then Sonic owed it not just to her, but even to his midnight rival to help them break out of here. If it weren't for me, this never would have happened. Shadow, this makes us even!
What? I couldnt make it that easy for them all. But hey, this is Sonic and Shadow we're talking about here. They'll be fine...right?
Bring on the reviews!