Chapter 42: Return and Find
"Finally," Rouge said after gliding down a long shaft and landing safely into an empty hallway before a locked door with a keypad. She had traded her previous outfit for a new one that consisted of a dark purple top with a low-cut and pink midriff, white gloves, a heart-shaped belt, and matching purple spandex pants and thigh-high boots of the same color. "I thought I'd never make it to Dr. Eggman's secret storage room in one piece. There's got to be something worth stealing inside."
After typing a few keys on the keypad, the locked door opened into a large room littered with crates. At the center of the room was an egg-shaped pod standing on top of a white pole behind a control panel. A flight of metal stairs led up to the pod's door, which Rouge ascended to see what was inside. To her surprise, it was a teenage boy with spiky black hair done in red highlights and he seemed to be suspended in green-colored liquid.
"Shadow!" Rouge exclaimed.
Immediately, Rouge glided down behind the control panel and pressed a few buttons. The liquid from the pod was drained in a matter of seconds followed by the door opening slowly. Not only was Shadow devoid of his black hedgehog ears and tail but he was also completely naked.
As Shadow's eyelids fluttered open, a loud clanking sound caught Rouge's attention. She looked at a dark corner and saw a robot that looked like a taller version of Gamma walking towards her. But before Rouge could say a word, the robot lifted its bulky arms which had turned into cannons and fired them at her. The gunfire woke Shadow up completely and he leaped toward Rouge. After grabbing her, Shadow warped both of them out of the robot's range of fire and onto a pile of crates nearby.
Before Rouge could speak, Shadow said, "Stay here."
Next, Shadow warped himself from the crates to the floor and dodged the robot's rapid-fire shots.
"Must destroy all of Eggman's robots!" the robot shouted. "Eggman is the enemy!"
"Eggman?" Shadow said, warping in front of the robot and pushing its arms away from him. "I don't know an Eggman, and I'm certainly not a robot."
"Whoa, hold up," Rouge said, flying up to Shadow and putting herself between him and the robot. "How can you not know Dr. Eggman, Shadow? You worked with him."
Shadow blinked, revealing that his pupils weren't slanted like they were before. "You've got the wrong guy, bat girl. I'm Shawn, not Shadow."
Rouge hesitated for a moment, and then she smiled. "Ah, I see. You're his host."
"What?" Shawn asked.
"Nothing," Rouge replied, pushing Shawn away from her. "Put some clothes on, and then we'll talk."
Shawn did as Rouge asked, and searched the room extensively.
Rouge then turned to the robot and said, "Now you've got to cool down. We're not Eggman's robots and we don't like Eggman either, so you could say we're on the same side."
"Did he lock you away?" the robot asked.
"Well, no."
"Because that's what he did to me, and I want to make him pay!"
"All right, well it just so happens that I'm looking for Dr. Eggman as well. If you can help me find him, I'll let you have at him when I'm through."
"Why are you so interested in finding this Eggman fella?" Shawn said, now wearing the same clothes that Shadow wore including the golden rings.
"Because he…has something that I want," Rouge answered coyly.
Shawn raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"
"Does it really matter?" Rouge said dismissively. "I want to know more about you because you're dead as far as everyone's concerned."
"Who's everyone? What happened?"
"You mean you don't remember anything?"
"The last thing I recall was being onboard the Space Colony ARK and I had broken into my grandfather's research lab. He'd been contacted by an alien who called himself 'Black Doom' and was given a sample of the alien's blood to create a serum that might finally cure my sister. But I was doubtful, and so I injected myself with the serum to test it."
"And then what?"
"I don't know. What year is it?"
"2001."
"2001?" Shawn exclaimed. "The last date I remember was 1952, so that means I've been inside the pod for…fifty years."
"You weren't always in that pod," Rouge said calmly. "A few months ago, you were in suspended animation inside a G. U. N. facility and it was Dr. Eggman who released you. This storage-room also happens to be inside one of his bases, so if anyone can tell you how you'd ended up in the pod it would be Dr. Eggman."
"I see," Shawn said as he scratched the back of his neck for a few seconds. "Do you know where I can find this 'Dr. Eggman'?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out, but if we work together I'm sure we'll find him in no time."
"If you're seeking out Dr. Eggman, then maybe I should come along," the robot said, holding his robotic arm out to shake. "My serial number is E-123, but you can call me Omega."
"Okay, well I'm Shawn," Shawn said, taking Omega's outstretched hand. "Shawn Robotnik."
Rouge smiled and put her hand on top of Shawn and Omega's hands. "I go by Rouge, and I have a feeling that we're going to get along swell, boys."
"I sure hope so," Shawn said.
Once that was settled, the three left the storage-room and made their way out of the base together.
###
In Central City, there was a small house on a busy street that had a slanted roof and mismatched windows on the second floor. A boy with blond hair sticking out from underneath an aviator's cap came running up to the front door with a package in his hand. Without bothering to knock, the boy went inside, beholding a wide foyer with a large desk at the back where a tall man with close-cut green hair was nodding his head back and forth to an unheard song coming from his black headphones while a teenage boy with spiky purple hair was standing in a dark corner near the water cooler.
"Hey, Victor!" the boy said loudly.
The tall man opened his eyes and removed his headphones. "What did you say, Charles?"
"A package arrived in the mail today, and it's addressed to us," the boy answered.
"So what?" the purple-haired boy said nonchalantly.
Charles reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter that had already been opened. "This letter claims that there are instructions for a job waiting for us inside the package."
"A job?" Victor exclaimed, and leaped over the desk. "Let me see."
Before Charles could react, Victor took the package and was about to open it when the purple-haired boy appeared right next to him.
"Maybe I should open the package," the purple-haired boy said. "Just in case this is some kind of trick."
"Sure, Espen, whatever you say," Victor responded, letting Espen take the package.
After Espen examined the package, he took out a kunai knife and cut off the rope that bound the box. He then opened the package and looked inside. To his surprise, it was a yellow and red walkie-talkie.
A voice emerged from the walkie-talkie that sounded altered but still audible. "Greetings, Chaotix Detectives, assuming that the package has been delivered safely to you. I would've met you in person, but I'm currently tied up at the moment. However, I am willing to pay you boys handsomely for the job I'm about to offer. So will you take it or leave it?"
"We'll take it!" Victor said, picking up the walkie-talkie.
"Just tell us what we have to do," Charles added.
"Are you sure about this, Victor?" Espen said doubtfully. "Something doesn't seem right."
"Relax, Espen. You worry too much sometimes," Victor said. Then he spoke into the walkie-talkie again. "All right, buddy, what's the job?"
"First, I'll need you to go to Whale Island and investigate the Ocean Palace for any signs of Dr. Eggman."
"Eggman?" Charles exclaimed. "Don't you mean Dr. Robotnik?"
"Sorry, I meant to say Dr. Robotnik."
Afterwards, the walkie-talkie went silent.
"Well, you heard the man," Victor said, running up the staircase next to the desk. "We're going to Whale Island."
"Yay!" Charles said following Victor's lead. "Do you think we'll get to go to the beach near Seaside Hill along the way?"
"Possibly, but don't bet on it," Espen said, taking up the rear.
Once they were all packed and ready to go, the Chaotix Detectives went out the door and took a taxi to the airport. From there, they took the next flight to Seaside Hill. In a matter of hours, they had arrived and followed a trail of seashells toward Whale Island.
To be continued…