Chapter 49

No More Heroes

"Damn it!" Espio pounded his fist against the floor. "I had him..I had him right there and I…I.-"

"Lost your nerve." Shadow finished as he helped Rouge to her feet. Still slightly disoriented, Rouge staggered and caught herself on a metallic console. Rouge put a hand to her head and tried to rub away the throbbing behind her eye.

"That's the second time you've saved me from blowing up," She commented dryly. Shadow simply shrugged and walked away to a dark corner of the room. Before Rouge could ask where he had brought them, lights flickered to life. Rouge recognized the place immediately. It was the transporter room located in the secret base Eggman had built inside a pyramid. Rouge herself had used the machine to transport onto the Space Colony Ark. "What are we doing here?" She asked.

"I've been using this as a base." Shadow said. He typed on the keypad and the console behind Rouge lit up. Eggman's insignia flashed on screen before switching to a neon map of the world.

"You managed to hack the computer?"

"I had help." Shadow turned from the screen to face Rouge. "What happened back there? Why is GUN after you?"

Rouge paused. She caught Espio's eye from the other side of the room. The ninja nodded. She took a quick breath and sighed. "They're after me because I left them."

"I figured that much, but why? What made you decide to leave?"

"The Eclipse Cannon…Shadow, the military has it. They made a deal with Eggman, giving him the materials he needed to create his Ion Batteries, and in exchange he would not fight them for control of the weapon. We all thought they intended to destroy it…but in reality they brought it back to earth." Rouge motioned to Espio. "His team found out the truth…and GUN…they murdered his friends to try and silence them. Commander Smith decided he could trust me and he showed me the weapon. I thought at first he meant it as a deterrent but he doesn't…he means to use it."

Shadow frowned. Rouge could see his mind working behind his dark eyes, but as always, he kept his feelings to himself. "So that's why you left then. You didn't have the stomach for what they planned to do next."

For some reason, Rouge found it difficult to meet Shadow's eye. She usually never cared what people thought about her, but for some reason she wilted beneath the pressure of Shadow's approval. Rouge searched for something to say but was saved when Espio interjected.

"What about you? Why were you looking for Rouge?"

"Because of this." Shadow drew out a small flash drive and held it up. He inserted it into the console. The map switched over to a recording. Two people sat across from one another in a plain white room. Rouge squinted to get a better look. "Is that…Professor Gerald?"

"Watch." Shadow said, his voice quivering slightly as if he was afraid.

Rouge did and, as the clip played, a sinking feeling opened in the pit of her stomach. Every so often she turned slightly to watch Shadow's reaction. His gaze was glued to his creator, his expression completely unreadable except for the strange shimmer in his red and black eyes. Rouge felt a swell of pity for him and wondered how disoriented he must feel.

"He's here with us," Gerald's voice had changed. The sudden shift sent a shiver down Rouge's spine. The flickering in the video stopped as if time had suddenly frozen. Gerald's face turned to the camera. "Shadow…" Rouge physically shuddered. For a heart stopping second it felt as if Gerald was speaking to the Shadow standing beside her.

Rouge watched with absorbed interest until Shadow paused the video. The image was frozen on the symbol Gerald had sketched on the piece of paper; a triangle enveloped by a circle crossed with twin diamonds. Shadow turned to her expectedly. "Well…what do you think?"

Rouge looked hard at the symbol but it meant nothing to her. "I…I don't know. Shadow…" She again found it difficult to look him in the eye. "I understand what you…what you must feel, but I don't think-"

"There is more to my creation than what I was told." Shadow insisted. Rouge could detect the hunger and frustration in his tone. He pointed at the screen. "Gerald was trying to tell me something. He said my name."

"Shadow…that is all he said. That was what they were talking about." She tried to sound reasonable but that was hard because she wasn't altogether convinced.

Shadow shook his head furiously. "No! There is more to it than that. Shadow…why Shadow? Why a hedgehog? Gerald never explained he never told me. This whole time I had assumed…I had never really asked myself."

"What does it matter?" Rouge made herself meet Shadow's eye. There was pain in the depths of the black, pain and yearning. "Gerald is gone. They're all gone. You are who you are, what does it matter what the professor intended?"

"It matters…" Shadow hissed through gritted teeth. "I deserve…I need to know."

Rouge sighed. She knew Shadow was too resolute to be convinced. "Well, I suppose I owe you one now, so how can I help?"

"I want her." Shadow said, pointing at the screen. "Doctor Miranda, I want to speak to her, to find out what records she kept on the Professor."

Rouge frowned. "The doctor? What would she know?"

"I'm not sure, but she is the only lead I have. GUN destroyed all its records once they took over the Space Colony Ark. This is all that's left of what Eggman had on his grandfather."

"So why do you need my help?"

Shadow went to the keyboard and started typing. He clicked away and the screenshot switched to a search database. Rouge watched Shadow type in "Doctor Miranda Gold". When he entered the search a line of text appeared reading "your search has zero results." Shadow turned back to Rouge. "GUN has scrubbed every record of her. Anything and anyone that was associated with Project Shadow has been wiped away."

Rouge frowned. "That was over fifty years ago…this Miranda person may not be alive anymore."

"She looked young enough," Shadow said dismissively. "If she is alive then GUN is hiding her identity. I need a way to track her down. That's why I needed you. I thought, while you were with GUN at least, you could search its files, find her for me." After making his request, Shadow folded his arms and frowned.

Rouge bought herself a few moments to think by turning to screen and staring intently at it. Doctor Miranda Gold…it was not a name she recognized. Whoever she was, she had either died or retired before Rouge had started with GUN. "Well…I can at least still point you in the right direction." She smiled mischievously at Shadow. "As a secret operative I made it my business to know the weak leak in the chain of mystery. The one way someone could have found out who I really was, other than me telling them of course, was to follow the money. That's the same way you'll find your doctor. GUN can hide her name and her address, and they would destroy all evidence of her involvement in Project Shadow. However, you can bet they would have kept her payroll records. Even GUN wouldn't want to draw the ire of the IRS. Fortunately for you, I just so happen to know where GUN keeps all their…let's call them..mundane files."

Shadow smirked slightly. "And what do I do with those files?"

"Find out who was getting paid and how much. It shouldn't be too difficult to cross reference a psychiatrist's salary from the rest of the military pay. You may end up with a list of names to check but you can teleport all over the planet so that really isn't too difficult for you."

"Another goose chase then?" Shadow lamented. "I guess I better start sooner rather than later. I can teleport you two somewhere else though if you want."

"You're going now!" Rouge protested. "Didn't you hear what I said about GUN?"

Shadow's eyes narrowed. "I did. What's that got to do with me?"

"They are going to fire the Eclipse Canon!"

"How do you know they plan on firing it?"

"We heard them," Espio said, emerging from his silent brooding. "Rouge and I infiltrated a meeting between the head of GUN and the President. That is how we found out that Fang was going to Rouge's apartment in Westopolis. We overheard them discussing all their plans. They want to fire the cannon and pin the violence on Metal Sonic and some made up robot war."

Shadow drew out the Chaos Emerald and held it up. "They can't fire the cannon without these. How many do they have?"

"They don't need the Chaos Emeralds." Rouge said. "They have found something else. I saw Commander Smith holding one, it was a pink gem, he called it a Sol Gem or something. He said it was capable of firing the cannon with the equivalent strength of three Chaos Emeralds."

"He's bluffing." Shadow scoffed.

"Smith doesn't bluff." Rouge snapped. "And he doesn't make idle threats either. He will pull the trigger if he thinks it will secure GUNs position. We need to get everyone who can stop him together. You and Sonic are the only ones strong enough to take down GUN."

"Sonic isn't here." Shadow said hotly. His chest was heaving with sudden rage. "The fool went chasing after Eggman and left the planet."

"What? When will he be back?"

"How should I know? He isn't my problem and neither is GUN."

Rouge had to prevent herself from shouting. Her face was getting hot with anger. "How can you say that? Millions of people could die if we don't do something."

"I've already saved this world once." Shadow reminded her. "I was willing to die for the humans when they didn't deserve it. That doesn't mean I owe it to them to keep saving them. I'm not their hero. It isn't my fault that Sonic loves adventure more than protecting people." Shadow turned from her and walked towards a blank pyramid wall. He placed his hand on the surface and a door appeared and slid open. "I trust you can find your way out?"

Rouge didn't move. Her hands were balled into fists. "What about your promise? Didn't you tell Maria-"

"I did!" Shadow's yell cracked like a whip. "I gave them a chance. A chance. Humans want to fight. They want to destroy each other. I never promised to keep intervening again and again. If they want to use my chance to start a war with each other then that is their problem."

"We need you!" Rouge tossed aside her usual shield of bravado and confidence. "GUN knows how to take everyone else down, including Sonic. They mean to destroy Knuckles, to kill Tails and use Sonic's girlfriend as bait. Even if he comes home, they will threaten to kill her in order to stop him. The only one they don't know how to beat is you, they are afraid of you."

Shadow dropped his gaze. Rouge could almost feel the anger swelling inside him. Seconds passed and Rouge knew these were the crucial moments of decision. If her words did not break through to his heart now, his defenses would return and he would refuse her. "Shadow-"

"Enough." Espio cut in. He was staring intently at Shadow. His expression was one of the purest dislike. "If he can't be bothered then let him go."

Rouge watched with a sinking feeling as Shadow's expression hardened. The moment of vulnerability had passed. Shadow left the room and Rouge was left alone with Espio. She heard the echo of his footsteps disappearing down the dark hallway. Rouge wrestled with herself for a moment before chasing after him. She caught Shadow's hand just as they emerged outside the pyramid. They stood on a high ledge overlooking the desert. The night air was breezy and the vista of the desert from their high vantage point was breathtaking.

"Let me go." He insisted.

Rouge held his wrist firmly. "Shadow…whatever reason Gerald made you…whatever the truth is…it doesn't matter. You are who you are. I've seen the choices you've made, I've seen you help people when you didn't have to. I'm not asking you to be Sonic. You deserve to have your own life, free from responsibility for other people."

Shadow stopped resisting her. He looked out at the ocean of sand. Minutes passed in silence. Rouge could hear the wind whooshing over the dunes. At last, Shadow sighed. "When you need me. When the moment comes, I will be there. But I have to do this first. I need to know." He drew out his Chaos Emerald and clenched it tightly in his hand. "Meet me back here in three days." Flash! Without another word, Shadow disappeared into the night.

Rouge opened and closed the hand she had been holding him with. She felt exhausted. The wounds of the previous battle now started to ache. She limped back into the transporter room and found Espio propped up against the wall.

"Well?"

"He won't come. At least not yet. He said to meet him here in three days."

"Three days might be too late."

"Well there is nothing we can do about that." Rouge said, shaking her head. "There are no more heroes."

Espio moved off the wall. "We're still here."

"And what can we do? We can sneak into places, but stealth won't stop GUN. At some point someone has to have the power to stand up to them directly."

"Which is why we need to form a team. A new Chaotix."

Rouge rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah? And who is gonna join it?"

"Anyone we can convince. I know of two at least. But you know of one as well, one with plenty of power."

Rouge raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

Espio drew three kunia and held them between his fists like bladed knuckles. "I believe you two already have a history. And he will have plenty of reasons to want to fight GUN once he finds out what they plan on doing to his precious island."

Rouge's cheeks burned. An undeniable rush surged through her that had nothing to do with GUN or their mission. I'll have to change first. I can't go over there looking all beat up.