Enjoy the new chapter as we witness the return of a familiar face!

Entry 39

Operation ARMS (Part 2)

''I tried so hard to run away, I tried so hard to change my fate. Am I worth the saving? I can't see the best in me, 'cause I'm my own worst enemy; another friend just fakin'. When everything feels broken, I will keep on going, oh-whoa, yeah! Will I ever be enough when the going gets too tough? Will my worry be too much? Feel a fake sense of safety, I'm not in my old ways, yeah. Maybe I can erase me? (Have you ever felt) lost? Tried to find a way out, I couldn't let myself down. There's no goin' back now. (Lost) Thought I found my way out, I've never felt this way before. My mind is lost, I'm torn! Everything feels different to me, I can't be myself. Stranger, won't you be my friend and show me thе way out? (The way out) Hope you'll see that I need help (show mе how)! Show me how to make it out!''

– Lost by Shawn Christmas (Sonic Frontiers)

xXxXxXx

Touka jolted awake when she felt someone poking her elbow, glancing at Shadow, who gave her a look of concern. She then looked around, realizing that they were still inside that van, guarded by those strange people in military uniforms, and that she had dozed off accidentally due to still being tired from what had happened.

''How long are we driving?'' she whispered into Shadow's ear, who just shrugged. Since the back of the van had no windows, it was impossible to tell how much time had passed, and the people watching over them didn't appear to be interested in answering her question. All Touka and Shadow could do was to exchange glances, both wishing they could have a private conversation about their situation and find a way out of this mess. Unfortunately, nothing could be done.

It took some time, but eventually, the van stopped and Touka and Shadow could hear someone shout outside, before the van started to move again. After a few moments, it stopped again, with their guards getting up and the door being opened.

''Out!'' the woman who was with them commanded, pointing at the door.

Touka and Shadow listened, exiting the back of the van and noting how it was still dark, although there were signs of the sun rising over at the horizon. They figured that they had probably been driving for several hours if it was this early in the morning. They then took a look around, realizing that they found themselves in some kind of yard with many other vehicles parked there. The yard was surrounded by a tall wall, with guards placed on top of it. Inside the walls were several buildings, with the main building having a logo on the front that looked like a blue-rimmed concave hexagon, with the words ''ARMS'' written across it in yellow letters and the background being red with blue square-shaped data particles.

''ARMS?'' Touka mouthed the word, rising an eyebrow.

''Com'n! The Commander wants to see you!'' the woman from earlier walked up to them, gesturing to follow her. Touka and Shadow exchanged questioning glances, then followed the woman into the main building. The two siblings kept a close eye on their surroundings, trying to figure out what this place was, and noting how there were more people inside, some in uniform, some in lab coats, as well as ARNavs assissting them. The two siblings figured that this must've been either some kind of military facility or a research center… or both. It took them a bit, but eventually, they reached an office, with the woman opening the door for them and gesturing to them to walk inside.

''I've been waiting for you two to finally arrive. I hope that the drive here wasn't too long.'' Touka and Shadow were met by a man with dark grey hair, wearing a grey and dark green military uniform, sitting at the table in his office, his fingers crossed as he leaned forward. He then stood up, extending his hand towards them. ''I am Roy Williams, the commander-in-chief of ARMS.''

Commander Williams kept his hand up, waiting for either of the two to shake it, only to be met by a defiant look from both Touka and Shadow. He let out a sharp breath, realizing that the handshake won't happen and sat back down, observing both of them. ''I suppose both of you have a lot of questions. Why don't you sit down?''

Touka and Shadow's expressions remained unchanged, but they did follow his offer, sitting down on the empty chairs across the Commander. Realizing that this was probably her only chance of getting any proper answers, Touka asked, ''What is this place?''

''You two are currently at the ARMS headquarters. ARMS stands for Advance Reconnaissance & Mission Support, and it is a military and security organization of Starpoint Area. ARMS is a specialized branch that deals with threats like the Irregulars by using our own unit of Irregulars and trained soldiers,'' Commander Williams explained.

Both Touka and Shadow were somewhat surprised to hear this, but at the same time, they weren't too shocked by the reveal, as they had figured that this was some kind of military organization that focused on the Irregulars. Still, they needed more confirmation for their own presence in this place.

''If that's so, why are we here?'' Touka continued. ''Neither Shadow nor I are soldiers and we certainly didn't volunteer to work for ARMS.''

''That may be true, but it wasn't your decision to make regardless. I assume you still remember your time at the Codex Research Facility, specifically Project Shadow,'' Commander Williams asked, observing their reaction carefully.

''Yeah, we do,'' Touka replied, furrowing a brow. She wasn't going to tell this man more than he needed to know. ''The project was focused on researching Irregular ARNavs.''

''Indeed, but I assume that Prof. Sakamoto didn't tell you everything. You see, when ARMS had been formed, we collaborated with the Codex Research Facility in the creation of Project Shadow. Aside from trying to understand the intricate nature of an Irregular ARNav, the project was also supposed to result in a creation of a weapon that could benefit society at large,'' Commander Williams explained, giving them a pointed look. ''I won't lie, it was quite bewildering to see the results. No one expected a cartoon animal to be some kind of weapon.''

Shadow, folded his arms across his chest indignantly, furrowing a brow as he shot Commander Williams a glare.

''Nevertheless, going by the information we had gotten at the time, the final product was still satisfactory, if in testing phase,'' Commander Williams continued. Now both Shadow and Touka were glaring daggers at him, both wishing they had psychic powers so they could explode the Commander on spot. It felt so revolting to hear this man talk about Shadow like he was just… a weapon, and not his own person. He couldn't care less about the dark hedgehog's feelings as he had to listen to his monologue, unable to do anything without getting himself and his sister into trouble.

''I don't recall agreeing to any of this…'' Touka said, her tone filled with nothing but tranquil fury.

''That is because we didn't need any of your consent. You too were part of this deal, Tomoe Sakamoto,'' Commander Williams replied, with his Touka's eyes widening in surprise.

''That's not her name!'' Shadow growled, not taking note of Touka's weird look. Commander Williams did notice it, but made his own interpretation.

''Obviously, Prof. Sakamoto never told you two anything about your true identity,'' Commander Williams said, gazing at Touka specifically, clearly satisfied to see her stunned expression. ''Hiroshi Sakamoto once had a daughter, Tomoe. She had been quite sick for a long time, her illness being genetic in nature, and there was no surgery that would cure her. Therefore, the Professor decided to use his knowledge of genetics to create an artificial body for her and transfer her memories into it in hopes to allow her to continue living. However, Tomoe had died during this procedure, and instead, the artificial body awakened, having no recollection of who she was.''

Shadow turned his head towards Touka, noting how she was shaking, her hands balled into fists and her head lowered, her bangs covering her face. He, in turn, was furious, wondering whether the Commander was really getting some kind of sick and twisted satisfaction from this reveal.

''Prof. Sakamoto then decided to name this 'person' Touka, and that's how you came to be. When Project Shadow had begun, he offered you to become part of the project, since he feared that it would be too dangerous for a normal human to be around an Irregular, even if that Irregular was completely tame,'' Commander Williams continued. ''You have been registered as Touka Sakamoto at this facility…''

''It's Kageura!'' Touka hissed, looking up at the Commander furiously. ''I don't care what Prof. Sakamoto says, he is not my father nor do I acknowledge him as family. Kisaki was the one who adopted me and I took on her last name.''

''Once again, you were registered here under Sakamoto's name. However, I'm afraid that you won't be able to talk to him about it,'' Commander Williams responded.

''We've heard that he is missing,'' Shadow suddenly said, carefully observing the Commander. The man in question just stared back at them, as if waiting for a different reaction, but when he didn't get any, he sighed.

''Prof. Sakamoto is dead,'' he said in a matter-of-fact tone, taking note of the stunned look Touka and Shadow gave him. ''We have found him at Infinity Forest with a gaping hole in the chest. I assume you two wouldn't know anything about it.''

''We haven't seen him since what happened at the Codex Research Facility. How would we even know he's dead?'' Touka asked in disbelief.

''I had been hoping to get some answers about his death, but I suppose I won't get them from you,'' Commander Williams muttered, leaning back in his seat and sighing, before then continuing in a more serious tone, ''Regardless of that, you two are both registered as government property, being listed under the weapon category. Therefore, we don't need your consent for you to work here. Even though he is dead, Prof. Sakamoto had already signed the agreement that you two would be left in the care of ARMS.''

''Have you ever thought to even ask us whether we agree to this? We're people, not property!'' Touka protested furiously. ''Neither Shadow, nor I agreed to be created or whatever!''

''Once again, you have no choice in that matter,'' Commander Williams responded, now irritated by their constant protests. ''I am aware that you hold great power, though, and that if you wanted, you would be able to escape, so let's get one thing out of the way.'' He stood up, walking over to the two, forcing them to turn around to look at him. ''ARMS knows about the other Irregular ARNavs, the ones you call your friends.''

Both Touka and Shadow felt a cold chill flowing down their spines at the sudden realization, their expressions showing nothing but pure horror. It… It couldn't be…

''The moment we have realized that Project Shadow was free, we decided to monitor you, and we had noticed that the nature of the ARNavs you were spending time with was quite unusual. It took us a while, but we soon came to the conclusion that they had to be Irregulars,'' Commander Williams continued. ''We were puzzled to see that they weren't aggressive as the ones you'd usually see, so we decided to monitor them alongside you two. As a matter of fact, we are still keeping an eye on them even now, making sure they are no threat to society.''

''Why you-?!'' Shadow growled, realizing the implications of what he had been told. However, before he could say anything that would get him into trouble, Touka spoke up.

''What do you want from them?'' she asked. ''Why didn't you capture them like you did with us?''

''Admittedly, it was quite a hard decision to make. After all, your human friends could've been arrested for giving shelter to Irregular ARNavs. However, the decision was made that they would be left alone as long as they pose no threat to Neos City and its inhabitants. Of course, if you two decide to get rebellious, we might have to actually have to take… precautions.''

''You're blackmailing us,'' Shadow said, his eyes narrowed, feeling something squeezing his chest tightly.

''Oh, I wouldn't call it blackmail. I am simply reminding you that there are consequences for you and your friends' actions,'' the Commander responded.

Touka and Shadow knew that they have been beaten. If ARMS knew about their friends, then the only thing they could do was to comply with whatever conditions they were given to make sure that the rest of Team Neos stays safe. However, at the same time, they had no clue just how much ARMS knew about their exploits. Were they aware that Team Neos knew about the existence of the Codex Research Facility? Had they any idea about Chaos Surge? Did they know anything about their battles against Dr. Eggman? At least it seemed that the Commander didn't know about their involvement in Sakamoto's death, but did they know about Toshiro and Mephiles' existence?

''I suppose that you now understand the situation you are in,'' the Commander said, walking back and sitting down. ''You two are dismissed now. From now on, you will be living at one of the dorms we have here at ARMS HQ, and I will send someone to bring you your uniform, Agent Sakamoto. I'm certain that you two are quite tired after the ordeal today, so you will have a day off to rest and recover.''

Touka was annoyed that the Commander called her by her registered surname instead of the one she had adopted, but she knew that she had no room to protest. After all, she and Shadow had been claimed as government property rather than being their own people, and they would be treated as such. Touka just took a deep breath as she exited her room, her mood being just as cold and bitter as Shadow's, and they followed the woman from earlier towards where the dorms were. On their way there, the woman took her time to explain to the two the do's and dont's at ARMS HQ, but the siblings were only half-listening, neither wanting to accept their fate at this place.

''This is your room,'' the woman replied, giving the two a keycard and leaving the two alone. Both Touka and Shadow stared at the woman as she left, eventually finding themselves all alone in the hallway.

''At least these people won't be hovering over us and give us some privacy,'' Touka commented in a dry tone, with Shadow just furrowing a brow.

''Even that sounds like too much to ask for,'' he grumbled. Touka sighed, then used the keycard to enter their room. It was certainly bigger than expected, with two beds, a closet, a cupboard, a desk and two chairs placed next to each other. There was also another door that led to a bathroom. ''Hmph, doesn't look too different from what we've gotten at Codex.''

''I guess…'' Touka muttered, checking the door before looking around the room as if searching for something.

''Do you really believe they would put in hidden microphones or cameras?'' Shadow asked in a sarcastic tone. Touka sighed, having been on her knees and looking under the bed, then turned back to her little brother.

''Look, this place makes me feel paranoid, and I want to make sure no one is listening to us while we try to process what just happened,'' she replied.

''I hate to say it, but I share the sentiment,'' Shadow replied, deciding to help her comb the room for anything suspicious. After a few minutes of searching, they fortunately didn't find anything, with Touka just flopping over on her bed.

''So, basically, we're back to square one. This is like Codex, but even worse,'' she muttered. ''All I ever wanted was for both of us to get out of that place, and now we're both imprisoned here.''

''While I doubt that they will keep us confined in this room, you're right,'' Shadow, who sat on the bed on the opposite side, responded. He then reached for his quills, pulling out his AR Visor that he had hidden there. Touka's eyes widened and she immediately sat up.

''So, that's where you kept it! I was already wondering why they didn't take yours away,'' she said, while Shadow tapped on the AR Visor, noting bitterly the missing call from Sonic. He knew that his rival was probably waiting for him at Heizeru Park for their sparring match.

''I had figured that we'd need at least one line of communication with the outside world,'' Shadow replied. ''The ARMS agents wouldn't think that an ARNav has an AR Visor on themselves, but I still wanted to make sure in case they didn't mistake the goggles for an accessory.''

''That's great, but…'' Touka's spirits diminished. ''What if they figure out that we're calling our teammates? That alone might get them into trouble.''

''You're right. We can't take risks until we know what our options are,'' Shadow said in a matter-of-fact tone, but there was a hint of regret in it as he closed the holographic screen.

''Too bad that you cannot tell Sonic what happened, right?'' Touka said, her expression softening as she looked at her little brother. However, there was a glint of mischief in her eyes. Ever since Shadow would go on his daily sparring sessions with Sonic, he would return home in a surprisingly much better mood, at least until Touka would ruin it by asking him what happened and why he looked so content.

''Hmph,'' Shadow huffed in a non-committal manner, not wanting to respond to that. He lived long enough with Touka to know the look she was giving him and he wasn't going to dignify it with a response.

The two then heard a knock on the door, turning towards it with a suspicious look. ''Helloooo~! Did someone order a new uniform?''

Both Touka and Shadow's eyes widened in shock when they heard a very familiar voice. ''Rouge!''

Touka then quickly opened the door, with Rouge the Bat walking into the room, holding a pile of clothing with Touka's AR Visor on the top. Surprisingly, she wasn't wearing her usual pink and black suit, wearing instead a different outfit. While the gloves looked identical to the ones that made up part of her regular outfit, the one she wore now was a tight-fitting, dark purple and black outfit that covered most of her body, featuring a purple jacket-like garment with a heart-shape on her chest and black and purple boots with heart-shaped jewels on their cuffs. Around her neck was a golden ring-shaped collar.

''What are you doing here?'' Touka asked as Rouge closed the door, placing the pile of clothes on her bed before making herself comfortable on the edge of her bed, crossing her legs.

''Well, I have volunteered to bring you your new uniform, sweetie… Oh, that's not what you were wondering about,'' Rouge replied, giving the two a knowing smirk. ''Actually, I'm here for the same reasons you two are.''

''No, you're not,'' Shadow replied in a blunt tone, his arms folded across his chest and a scowl on his expression.

''Trust me, I did not volunteer for this job,'' Rouge replied, now sounding a bit more serious. ''I was also hoping that they wouldn't find you two and drag you here, but I guess it couldn't be helped.''

''What happened?'' Touka asked curiously. Rouge immediately took on an 'pity me' expression, something neither Touka and especially not Shadow were impressed by.

''Oh, poor little ol' me was going on another of my treasure hunts, finding an incredibly rare and very shiny gem at what appeared to be at some old facility, when I suddenly got ambushed. I thought at first that I had everything under control as they looked to me like your typical Irregular Hunters, but it turns out that they were ARMS agents, way better equipped to deal with a treasure hunter like me,'' Rouge explained, pausing for a moment to seek for any sign of sympathy from Touka and Shadow. The two just gave her a deadpan look, causing Rouge to pout. ''Well, in the end, they captured me and gave a condition – they will keep me alive as long as I act as their spy.'' She then tugged at the golden ring-like collar around her neck. ''If I even dare to take a step out of the line, the detonator will activate and I can say goodbye to my whole existence.'' Rouge took note of their horrified looks, relishing in this show of emotion. ''I had been trying to find my way out of this place for a while now, and while I had managed to gather some intel, I still had no way of freeing myself.'' Rouge then smiled. ''However, now that you two are here, we can finally leave. You can warp us out of here with your Chaos Control, right Shadow?''

''No,'' Shadow replied bluntly.

''What?'' Rouge rose an eyebrow.

''Unfortunately, we cannot leave. ARMS knows about Sonic and the others being Irregulars and are blackmailing us. They won't harm them as long as we stay here,'' Touka explained. Rouge stared at her, all hope vanishing from her blue eyes.

''Damnit!'' she hissed in frustration, only to sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. ''Nevermind, even if I tried to leave, I would still have to find the keycard that would open my collar.'' She then gave the two an earnest look. ''You two are planning to break out of this place, right?''

''Of course, we are. Neither of us plans to stay here for too long,'' Touka replied. Rouge just smiled back, taking note of the AR Visor in Shadow's hand.

''Have you tried to call your friends?'' she asked, nodding towards the AR Visor. Shadow shook his head.

''ARMS might track the call,'' he said. Rouge didn't look too surprised.

''Yeah, you're right. From what I've seen, they're keeping an eye on any information that gets in and out of this place,'' she replied. ''However, knowing your friends, I'm certain that they have noticed your absence and are probably trying to figure out how to find you.''

Shadow paused for a moment, remembering his conversation with Sonic the previous day, and nodding in agreement. ''You're right. Sonic and I had a conversation about this kind of scenario and he had told me that, if I ever went missing, he would do everything in his power to find me.''

His stern gaze then softened as he thought about his relationship with Sonic. Even though they started out as enemies way back when Shadow had no idea what happened to Touka and decided to get his revenge on humanity for the suffering they had caused, Sonic never really acknowledged him as an enemy. While Sonic had indeed fought Shadow, it was less because he Shadow was someone capable of destroying the world, and more because he knew that Shadow was hurt and that there was still a chance for him to turn things around. Shadow didn't want to admit it, but he was glad that Sonic was correct.

Another thing that stood out was their confrontation after the whole incident with Mephiles. Shadow knew that Sonic was just worried about him, but all the frustrations and stress he had built up at that time was too much for him and he snapped, getting into a full battle with Sonic just to take his own anger out on his rival rather than directing it at someone who actually deserved it, like Mephiles. But, instead of knocking some sense into him, Sonic took it upon himself to battle Shadow until he finally calmed down, acting as if nothing had happened. He did all of this while trying to talk to him, trying to coax him out of his self-imposed isolation. All that Sonic wanted was to make it clear to him that he wasn't alone, and Shadow felt guilty for attacking him in the first place. Yet, Sonic didn't care, moving on from their fight as if it were nothing. Still, his actions left quite an impression on Shadow.

''Sonic will fight for me…'' he muttered, feeling a strange sense of warmth spreading through his chest. He spread his hand against it, wondering why he felt like this.

''Well, now that you're done reminiscing about your boyfriend, we still need to find our own way out of this place.''

Shadow snapped out of his thoughts, his eyes darting towards Rouge, who just gave him a smug smile. A tint of red spread across his tan muzzle, leaving him blushing in embarrassment, but his crimson eyes turned sharp, showing pure fury towards her as he gritted his teeth, his quills bristled.

''What are you implying-?!''

''Hey, Rouge! I forgot to tell you that Knuckles has been looking for you!'' Touka quickly leapt on her feet, standing between the two. She knew the look Shadow was giving Rouge meant that he was most likely two seconds away from murdering her and she wasn't going to let that happen, especially since they needed Rouge's help to escape the ARMS HQ. Rouge, who still had that smug look on her expression and was enjoying the fact that she got under Shadow's fur, perked up at what Touka had just told her.

''Really? Well, I'm happy to hear that the Knucklehead is missing me,'' she said, quite pleased about the news. Touka just gave her a sheepish look, scratching her cheek as she was about to respond when Shadow interrupted her.

''Tch, Knuckles was just making sure that you're not up to something again. Don't think too much about it,'' Shadow said in a sharp, dismissive tone. Rouge pouted, frowning as she shoot him a glare. As for Touka, she sweatdropped, wondering why she was the one to end up playing mediator between the two. She then sighed audibly, only to realize something.

''Wait a second, would be possible to convince the Commander to let you join me and Shadow?'' she asked Rouge, who in turn gave her a surprised look, only to think about it.

''I suppose it would. After all, you are the new recruits, and someone would have to show you two the way around. It might take some sweet-talking, but as long as you act as if you had resigned yourselves to your fate as ARMS agents, I think everything should be fine,'' she replied, then glanced at Shadow, who did not look happy about this proposal. ''Do you have something to say, Black Blur?''

''Hmph, as long as it gets us out of this place, I'd be fine with it,'' he replied.

''It is nice to see that you are on board,'' Rouge said, getting up. ''If you two don't plan on resting, I could show you around and then we could go to the Commander with your suggestion. Trust me, there is a lot to talk about this place, so you better get comfy.''

''Right, I guess I should put on my uniform,'' Touka said, reaching for the clothes on her bed and her AR Visor, surprised to see that it was given back to her. Rouge then walked out of the room to let Touka change from her PJs into the uniform, with Shadow following, but not before he turned around, glaring daggers at Touka.

''Don't you dare to say anything about this,'' he said in a calm, yet threatening tone.

''I have no idea what you're talking about,'' Touka quickly responded, feigning ignorance while also feeling heart beat rapidly. Shadow stared at her for a moment, then exited the room. It is only then when Touka took a deep breath, feeling her legs shaking. ''Man, what was that?!''

She was well aware that Shadow was referring to Rouge's earlier comment, but to make things even worse, he also now knew that Rouge basically gave Touka ammunition to tease him and he was making sure to get the message across that none of that was going to happen. Touka knew that, as much as she wanted to question Shadow about his reaction earlier, especially considering how she never saw him being so flustered, she would be met with a wall of silence at the best and a Chaos Spear to the chest at the worst. While Shadow was typically open about his emotions around her, it seemed that this time, she wasn't going to get that privilege.

xXx

Rouge hummed, her and Shadow waiting in the hallway for Touka to be done. Shadow had already hidden his AR Visor back into his quills, not wanting anyone to get ahold of it, and just kept staring ahead at with his arms folded across his chest. Rouge sneaked a few glances at the dark hedgehog, wondering if she could get him to talk.

''So, are you…''

''No.''

That was the end of their conversation, with Shadow clearly not being in the mood for a light conversation. Rouge just shrugged, remembering that the hedgehog wasn't that talkative anyway and that she wasn't going to get a response from him, and decided to drop it. Eventually, Touka walked out of the room, looking quite dipleased with the uniform she was given.

Touka was now wearing a more militaristic uniform, consisting of a tight dark grey shirt with long sleeves and tight dark grey pants, a short black military vest with a chest pocket on the right side and the ARMS logo on the left side, a black belt around her hips that had a black waist bag attached to it, black elbow length gloves and black knee-high boots. She also tied her hair into a high ponytail via the AR Visor.

''I hate this uniform,'' Touka grumbled, tugging at the gloves.

''I agree, honey. It looks ugly on you,'' Rouge replied. ''Also, I don't think that's how you're supposed to wear the AR Visor.''

''Well, I cannot use it the way I want anymore, so I'll do whatever I want with it,'' Touka replied. ''They removed any contact I had and made sure that I cannot add any new contact unless it's ARMS specific. I checked.''

''Too bad,'' Rouge responded, beckoning the two to follow her. ''We should go now. We still have a lot to do, and I'm certain that both of you would love to know what happens to the Irregulars that are brought here.''

''Why don't you tell us?'' Shadow asked in a deadpan tone. Rouge furrowed a brow.

''Trust me, this is something you have to witness with your own eyes. Unfortunately, it's not pretty,'' she replied in a more serious tone, with Shadow and Touka taking note of the look of concern on her expression. The siblings then exchanged worried glances.

Just how bad was the situation at ARMS for the Irregulars?