Sonic stared at Rouge. "Sooooo...... you've found out the name of our black hedgehog friend? Are you serious Rouge?"
"When am I not serious."
"When you're flirting." Said Sonic. Rouge smiled, but behind it she was sighing, he still wasn't happy about her flirting with Tails, who he said was too young for such things.
"Fine, I'll admit that. But come on in here, I looked through GUN's files, and found some confidential ones."
"And so of course you were itching to open them." Rouge grinned.
"Correct. So they're from this place called the Space Colony ARK, or just ARK for short. And the guy who wrote them was called Professor Gerald Robotnik, oh shut up and screw your jaw back on Sonic!" Sonic's jaw had dropped, but at Rouge's remark, he shut his mouth, glaring at her. "Stop glaring at me, or I'll knock you out and let Tails explain everything to you later." Sonic put on a blank expression. Rouge sighed. "Oh fine... if you won't change your expression to much, then this'll have to do... take a look at this." She opened the folder labeled PROJECTS, and scrolled down to the bottom. "Read this." Project: Shadow was opened. Tails read it about two minutes, he wasn't a fast runner, but he was a fast reader.
"So you think Project: Shadow is the hedgehog?"
"Of course."
"Soooo.... his name would be Shadow then?" Asked Sonic. Rouge rolled her eyes.
"Duh... you think?" Sonic frowned.
"Thanks very much for being so nice Rouge..... I guess we gotta go find Shadow then!"
"Yes...... but you have to find Shadow, I'm going to collect more information."
***
Shadow meanwhile, had no idea that Rouge had sent Sonic and Tails to find him. He'd just got past a bunch of dangerous traps and things to get the third emerald. He looked at the ones he had now collected. Green, red, and light blue. "Four more." He heard a commotion and looked up.
"QUICK! RUN! THE SUSPECT HAS GONE BONKERS!" Shadow hid behind a tree and watched with surprise as a green crocodile, a purple chameleon, and a young bee ran (and flew) past him helter-skelter. He came out and with smooth movements, was soon running beside them, at their pace. For the first few moments, they didn't notice him (trying to avoid bullets from a crazed squirrel is a very distracting task). Then the purple chameleon looked over.
"Who are you?" He asked. The trees were thankfully blocking the squirrel's aim.
"Who are you." Asked Shadow.
"Espio, speed member of Team Chaotix. Now what about you?"
"I'm Shadow, Ultimate Life-form created on Space Colony ARK." Said Shadow, smiling slightly, he liked the look of this Espio, he looked more serious than anyone else he'd met so far.
"I see, why are you running?"
"I wondered why you were."
"Well, we're working on a case for someone and were talking to a suspect... or rather, Vector was." Espio waved a hand at the crocodile in headphones. "Something he said drove the squirrel crazy, I wasn't listening properly, and unfortunately for us, the squirrel had guns..."
"BIG guns!" Said Charmy enthusiastically. "I'm Charmy!" Shadow frowned, Charmy looked like a nuisance...
"Charmy, buzz off." The young bee went to Vector's other side, grumbling.
"Would you like me to take care of your..... suspect?" Asked Shadow. Espio shrugged.
"Sure, it would be nice." Shadow disappeared, Espio's mouth dropped open in shock, the bullets stopped flying behind them. Shadow appeared in front of them and they screeched to a halt. He held the squirrel in one hand, unconscious.
"There you are." He dropped the squirrel in an unceremonious heap.
"Thanks! I'm Vector! Who are you?" Shadow blinked. Espio elbowed Vector.
"Thanks for helping us Shadow... do you need some help with something? We'd pay you back by helping you." Shadow smirked.
"Ever heard of the chaos emeralds?" Vector groaned.
"We're helping search for them at least thirty times a year, of course we've heard of them. Everyone has heard of them!" Shadow's smirk grew wider.
"Good. That's what I need help finding, I have three." Espio smiled.
"Wow, how long did it take you to do that?"
"Two days."
"You're very good."
"Thank you."
"We'll help you." Said Vector. "And free of charge, because you helped us." Shadow raised an eyebrow, but gave no comment. "So when will we meet up with you to report our progress?" Shadow shrugged.
"Where could I go and know you'd arrive there sooner or later?" With that comment, Espio gave Shadow the directions to Chaotix HQ. And he also leant Shadow a spare set of keys, just in case they were not there.
***
Rouge browsed through the magazines, she sipped her ice tea and read about some super model's car accident. "What an idiot." She said after finishing the article. Having said it, she put the magazine back. She looked around and sighed. "This is my favorite form of information collection..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes fell on the display in a store selling kitchenware. She got a smirk and fiendish twinkle in her eyes as she walked over to buy something... and that something was a butter knife.
***
Shadow had just mentally congratulated himself on finding the yellow emerald, when Sonic and Tails screeched to a halt in front of him. "Hey there!" Shadow looked up but gave no comment. "Hello...." Said Sonic, waving a hand in Shadow's face, Shadow almost managed to break Sonic's arm but the blue hero's reflexes were too good. Shadow mentally mourned the loss of such a brilliant opportunity... even though he was supposed to be helping Sonic, he found the blue hedgie annoying. "Rouge wants to see you." Said Sonic, grinning.
"And what if I don't want to see her?"
"Oh come on..... please...?"
"No."
"Why not? I said the magic word."
"I am saying no, because of the simple reason that it's you asking." Sonic didn't even look offended by this statement.
"Oh really? Then Tails, you ask him." And with that, Sonic sped off in search of a chilli dog stand, calling back over his shoulder that he'd meet up with them on the way to Rouge's. Tails fidgeted, silent. Shadow looked at him.
"You know... you look a little too smart to be hanging around with Sonic, why do you anyway? He's a nuisance." Tails smiled slightly.
"Well he can be sometimes, but he's my friend, and he's protected me."
"Has he treated it like a game?"
"No, it's one of the few things he's actually serious about." Shadow looked Tails over... yup, he was definitely smart, he wouldn't be sticking with Sonic without a reason.
"So... you put up with him simply because he'll protect you?"
"Nah, it's because if I don't, I might not know when he's going to fight Eggman or whoever else it is trying to conquer the world, and if I don't lend a hand with some things sometimes, he might die... and then his fangirls would all try to murder me for not keeping a closer eye on him."
"So you stay with him out of fear?"
"And partly out of fondness, I have no idea why though." Shadow nodded. "So... would you mind coming to Rouge's? I'm sure she isn't going to attack you or anything..." Shadow raised an eyebrow.
"If you expect her to not try to kill me after having tricked her then I'll have to ask you what you think about your statement there, but after she's had her revenge." Tails now looked slightly nervous.
"I... I'm sure she wouldn't be too violent... or really hurt you, you're as fast as Sonic..." Shadow shook his head, smiling slightly.
"You don't know Rouge too well then."
***
"Rouge, we've got him." Sonic walked through the door first, as cocky as ever. Rouge smiled sweetly. A little too sweetly.
"Hello boys, thanks for finding him for me." Sonic nodded and sat down, Tails did too. Shadow and Rouge were now directly across from each other. "Hello Shadow."
"I see you found my name then, good. You're not a total idiot." Rouge frowned slightly.
"What was the big idea, helping me steal the emerald, only to take it back next?" Shadow smirked.
"The agreement was for me to help you get it off the island. I did. I returned it to Knuckles because I judged that it might be safer there. Obviously I was wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"Something has happened to it."
"And how would you know that?"
"Because I can feel it." Rouge glared.
"It's taken me three long months to get my hands on that emerald..... and you had to ruin my triumph! Couldn't I have had it for an hour at least?!"
"You would have sold it within that time." With a scream of rage Rouge charged at Shadow and stabbed him with the butter knife. He looked at the handle protruding from his chest. "Is this supposed to have any effect?" He asked calmly. Rouge stabbed him with another knife... this one had a serrated edge. Shadow's eye twitched this time, and Rouge grinned triumphantly. "So... is that the extent of your revenge? Or is there more?"
"Yup! Nope!" Said Rouge cheerfully, hugging Shadow... and driving the knives deeper. Sonic went to throw up in the bathroom, while Tails sat on the sofa, wide eyed. He was gibbering about something or other..... but Shadow wasn't really paying attention.
"Interesting. I'd have expected it to go on longer." Shadow pushed her off him and pulled the knives out. Then, he darted behind Rouge, twisted her wrists so the knives fell out of them, and twisted her arms behind her back, holding her there. Her kicking his legs did nothing, he heard a bone shatter, but it didn't bother him unduly. Tails looked like he was going to faint. The door burst open. Knuckles rushed in.
"Rouge I need your..... what's going on?" Indeed, the scene was very strange. Shadow stood behind Rouge, holding her arms behind her back. The white bat was kicking and snarling, with two knives on the floor near her. And Tails was sitting on the sofa, looking like he'd seen a ghost.
"I'VE WITNESSED WOMANLY VIOLENCE!" Screamed Tails, then hurled himself on Knuckles, and started sobbing into his shoulder.
"You're right. Time for me to leave." Shadow tossed Rouge at Knuckles, Tails got out of the way just in time. The white bat and the red echidna started yelling at each other. Profanities were traded. Tails' eyes were wide again. Shadow was going to walk past them, quite calmly, and go out the door, but Sonic came out of the bathroom.
"SONIC I HAVE HEARD AND SEEN EVIL!" And with that, Tails hid behind the blue hedgehog.
"Shadow... what's going on?"
"Rouge and Knuckles' verbal violence has mated."
"THEY MATED IN FRONT OF TAILS?!" Rouge and Knuckles froze, then, with a roar, charged at Sonic. While Tails and Shadow watched Sonic get the beating of his life, Shadow said.
"They did not mate, their verbal violence did. Now Tails, do you take back what you said about Rouge's revenge?" Tails nodded furiously.
"Aren't you gonna die with such injuries though...?"
"I am immortal. I cannot die." And interestingly enough, the limp Shadow had had three minutes ago was not there now, and the wounds from the knives were gone too, only leaving crusted blood behind. Shadow walked out the door, and disappeared.
***
Espio looked up as Shadow walked in. "Well? Have you found anything?" Espio held up the light blue chaos emerald. Shadow smirked.
"Two more..... and then...... then we'll see what shall happen."
And of course we shall! :D Will Perfect Chaos rise? Will Chaos be contained before he even reaches the PERFECT stage? Or...... will he rise.... and beat both Shadow and Sonic? All these questions will be answered in the next chapters which will be posted whenever I get the inspiration for a good one. :P R&R and tell me what you think of this! ^_^
Disclaimer: She owns nothing except Sally & Darren, and the plot. Otherwise everything is SEGA's.