Before I go any further in this story, I just want to state that I am not a doctor nor do I have any medical training of any kind. I am writing this story for fan purposes only, and anything medical should not be taken seriously.
If looks could kill, then the curly red headed woman walking in front of the Ultimate Lifeform would have combusted ten minutes ago.
Shadow heated glare rarely strayed from the assistant's back. He may have had no choice but to trust her, but that didn't mean he had to like it. She could still be lying and leading them to their doom for all he knew. But Rouge needed help he couldn't give her, so he continued to follow the young human.
Not a word had been uttered by the female or mobian since they entered the dimly lit hallway. It was obviously night again, if the dim lights and lack of personnel was any indication. Only the occasional passing guard, who the woman skillfully hid the two mobians in her charge from.
Rouge was still sleeping securely in the striped 'hog's strong arms. Her face was still slightly sickly green. And Shadow could still see sweat on her brow, but at least she was able to rest peacefully in his safe embrace.
Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime of going through corridor after corridor, and down hallway after hallway, the young assistant stopped in front of a wooden door. Reaching into one of her uniform's skirt pockets, she withdrew a ring of keys. After silently searching for the right copper metal key, she unlocked the door. The freckle faced woman motioned with her hand for the dark hedgie carrying the white bat to enter first before following in after them and closing the door.
The room was engulped in pitch- black when the door was shut, no one was able to see anything. Shadow heard a pop then the small enclosement lit up with a painfully blinding white light. After a few blinks his eyes readjusted to the onslaught they indored. The hedgehog watched as the human locked the door before gazing at his surroundings.
A cold metal exam table with an IV pole standing beside it was in the middle of the room, as the center focus. There were a few cabinets, a medicine cabinet, and an empty medical cart against the far wall. It looked just like the room Shadow was brought to for Dr. Wilson by Phillips. The only difference was this room had a cot in it.
"Lay her on the cot." The assistant instructed the ebony mobian as she walked over to the large medicine cabinet. "I'll grab the anti-nausea."
Shadow grunted then silently obeyed. He placed Rouge on the narrow cot, making sure her head landed on the soft looking pillow, then removed his arms from under her. He grabbed the folded blanket at the end of the fold-up bed, shook it out, and then covered his companion from the neck down with it. Shadow's gaze rested on Rouge's peaceful sleeping face.
The redhead came to stand beside the black hedgehog with a medicine bottle in one hand and a syringe in the other. She laid the items down on the cot so she could pull one of the bat's fur-less arms out from under the cover. After setting the arm to rest on top of the gray blanket, the assistant grabbed the syringe, and removed the safety cover off the needle. She picked up the medicine the struck the needle through the soft lid. The woman filled up the syringe half way with the clear fluid. She then pulled the needle out of the lid, and set the the medicine back down before picking up the arm again.
Scarlet orbs watched the human closely as she took Rouge's arm and pierced the skin in the bend of the elbow, pushing all of the syringe's content into the bloodstream.
"There." The woman exhaled as she removed the needle. She discarded the syringe in the nearby trash bin, then returned the bat's arm under the blanket. "That should help with the nausea." The assistant claimed while pulling back a piece of curly hair that fell out of her ponytail to rest behind her ear.
Shadow narrowed his piercing eyes at the human, and questioned. "Should?"
He still didn't believe her completely. Yes, she seemed to be helping. Yes, she had brought them here. And yes, she had kept their presence a secret from all the guards in the corridors they went through. But she had not earned all of the GUN agent's trust yet. He was still skeptical of the assistant.
The young human locked her deep brown irises with the hedgehog before clarifying. "Your friend may still feel a little nausea and I can't give her anymore, but she shouldn't vomit again." A worried and concerned frown graced the woman's face. "We need to get her out of here though. I'm afraid there isn't much more I can do for her, she needs a doctor and not one here."
"That's what we were trying to do. But this facility does not seem to have an exit." Shadow really didn't want to ask this, but once again he didn't have a choice seeing as Rouge needed help. He internally sighed. "Perhaps if you told me where the exit to this facility is, we could leave."
"Of course I'll tell you." She quickly stated, then a look -that the striped 'hog wasn't sure what it meant- covered the woman's face. "As long as you promise me one thing."
Shadow folded his arms across his white chest fur as he looked up at this strangely brave or really ignorant female. Did she not know who he was or what he was capable of doing with a snap of his fingers? Why wasn't she afraid of him? Everyone was afraid of him. Everyone avoided him, going the other way if they saw him coming. Only a few he would consider his friends and his allies actually approached him. Let alone make eye contact.
He raised one of his eye ridges in questioning curiosity though, as he wondered what the human could possibly want the Ultimate Lifeform to promise. "And what would that be?"
A determined look crossed the woman's figures. "That when you get to civilization you will contact the authorities and tell them about this place so the madness here can be stopped." Now grief and sorrow replaced the determination in her chocolate irises as she sighed sadly with slouching shoulders. "And so they can't kill anyone else." She dropped her head down, looking at the floor as a single tear escaped her eyes and rolled down her cheek before dropping off her chin to the ground. "No one else should die."
The young assistant's reply took the stoic hedgehog by surprise. He never expected her to ask him to let her escape with them, then let her disappear into the night, and not tell anyone about her. Or for when he told the authorities to ask them to not kill her when they infiltrated the laboratory, then to testify on her behalf at the trial. But her request had nothing to do with her, it had everything to do with all the imprisoned mobians here.
And what was that Shadow could hear in her voice? It sounded different. Like she was talking about one mobian in her last sentence, not all of them. About someone that was close to her. He should know, it's how he sounds when he talks about the friend he lost on the Space Colony Ark, Maria.
With a sigh, Shadow drops his arms to his sides then takes a step closer to the softly crying assistant. His deep voice softens as he asked, "What's your name?"
The young woman slowly raises her head to look through her tears at the crimson striped agent. "Beth." Was the chooked answer.
Shadow's gaze never left hers. Tear stained cheeks and reddening brown eyes stare back at the typical frown but slightly softened, yet strong and determined rubies. "You have my word, Beth, I will do everything in my power to free all the mobians here. And see to it that any and every one here that has had anything to do with the deaths, captures, and anything else that has happened in this facility will be caught and punished." He could see the relief in her dark irises, but he wasn't done with his promises yet. "I also promise to get you out of here too, Beth."
Standing before him wasn't one of the evil corrupted personnel of this underground laboratory, the black hedgehog believed this young female who could be no older than twenty was a prisoner too. He had a strong feeling that Beth did what she had to and was told to, not what she wanted to. As if she had to do these things or be punished. They may have even threatened to take her life if she disobeyed. He would free her from her invisible chains.
A small grateful smile grew on Beth's face as now tears of happiness and relief rolled down her red cheeks. "Thank you." She whispered as she held out a trembling pale skinned hand for the GUN agent to take.
Without hesitating, Shadow grabbed the outstretched hand firmly, shook it once, then let it go.
Not willing to waste anymore time, the created lifeform inquired as he refolded his striped arms, "Where are the exits to this dang place?"
"There are only two emergency exits." She started as she wiped her now puffy eyes. "The laboratory has three floors." Beth opened a drawer of one of the cabinets, grabbed a blank sheet of paper and a pen.
Shadow came over to the exam table to stand beside the woman as she laid the piece of paper on the metal table so he could watch what she was doing.
Beth drew a large square then a t in the middle of it, making four even sections. This floor has four departments which have one set of stairs each that lead to the top floor. Upstairs there are two sections, the living quarters where everyone's rooms are in the right section and the cafeteria in the other section. But I am only allowed on the first floor and in this section on this floor." She pointed out the top right square, indicating that's where they were now. "So I can't tell you what's in the other departments and downstairs. And as I am also not allowed to leave, I cannot help you escape." She turned her gaze away from the hedgehog to stare at the door. "I'm not even allowed to go down the hallways leading to the exits unless I want the guards standing there to kill me. I can't go there even in the events of an emergency, so I can't take you."
That confirmed Shadow's suspicion. This woman named Beth was also here against her will. Not for much longer if he had anything to do with it.
"Beth?" At first, the assistant didn't respond, but finally she slowly returned her gaze to the striped mobian. "Can you take me to the beginning of the hall then?"
She nodded in agreement. Beth opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by white noise coming from the corridors and from the speaker hanging in the corner of the room they were in.
"Alert! Alert! Two mobians have Escaped! A female albino bat and a black hedgehog with crimson stripes. The hedgehog is believed to be 'Project Shadow' and extremely dangerous. All personnel confine yourselves into the Safety Rooms until the escapees have been neutralized. Alert! Alert! Two mobians have escaped! All personnel confine yourselves into the Safety Rooms."
Shadow snarled, a threatening growl rumbling in his chest, his muscles tensed as he clenched his fist tightly. Heated scarlets glaring fiercely at the speaker as it went silent. So much for leaving undetected. And he knew what they meant by 'neutralize'. They are planning to kill the two mobians when they find them.
As the 'Ultimate Lifeform' Shadow didn't have to worry about being killed as he was immortal. But Rouge was mortal like everyone else, she could be killed. And if they found Beth helping them, they would most certainly kill her for her insubordination.
Shadow wasn't about to let that happen. Not on his watch.
They also knew who he was. And anyone that knows anything about 'Project Shadow' knows about his chaos abilities. So he couldn't utilize the element of surprise with his chaos powers.
Shadow turned to face Beth, expecting to see absolute fear and terror in her eyes. Her body shaking as she slowly backed away trying to put as much distance as she could between herself and the dangerous alien hybrid hedgehog as she could. But what the Ultimate Lifeform saw shocked him. He saw disbelief, recognition, and...excitement?
The dark mobian was confused. Why was Beth excited and not afraid? Everyone feared him, even those that had known him for years now. So why wasn't she?
"Oh my gosh! You're 'Project Shadow'?!" Beth practically squealed, steeping closer to the lifeform. "I should have known, with you black fur and red stripes and all. That means you can chaos control, right?"
Too flabbergasted to speak, Shadow dumbly nodded to the smiling assistant.
"Then you can just chaos control us out of his lab. Her smile faltered a little' "Right?"
The hopeful woman's inquiry brought Shadow out of his shocked paralysis as the question registered in his reeling mind.
The hedgehog shook his head. "No. I need a chaos emerald to be able to chaos control us to the surface, And I do not have one on me. If I could I would have already controlled Rouge and myself out of here before you even found us."
"Oh." Was the only response Beth gave as sad orbs looked down at the floor.
Scarlets turned and landed on the peacefully sleeping bat, completely unaware of the dire, and even deadly situation they were in. How was the ebony mobian going to get Rouge, himself, and even Beth -as he would not leave her here to face the wrath of her fellow humans- out of here alive?
Shadow had no emerald and the entire facility was looking for them. There were only two exits to this place on the floor above them that was undoubtedly even more heavily guarded than before. He could try to fight their way through, but his chaos energy was low. He wouldn't be able to fight for long as he not only tried to get to one of the escapes, but also protected the two females that accompanied him from harm. It would be a gamble hoping his chaos reserves would be enough, but a gamble he may have no choice but to take.
The striped 'hog didn't like taking gambles like his partner did. He was a realist. Having a plan that was foolproof and had set adjectives in place. He relied on facts, knowledge, and skill. Never on luck.
The Ultimate Lifeform was brought out of his musings by a low groan coming from the cot. Rouge was slowly turning her head from side to side as she fought her way back to consciousness.
Shadow stepped up to the cot, kneeling to one knee to be eye level with the albino bat as he watched her blink her eyelids open to reveal glazed unfocused tear irises. The hedgehog placed one of his hands on a covered shoulder to make his presence known.
Rouge could hear talking, but she could not make out anything that was being said. Her mind was foggy, nothing was clear. The bat had no idea where she was, but it was certain she was laying on something soft while something warm and heavy covered her.
A quiet groan passed through her lips as the GUN spy fought the darkness that tried to keep her under. She slowly shook her head as she worked her way up the ladder and out of the thick fog into the light. With much difficulty, the bat finally managed to open her eyes to find the world around her a complete blur.
Rouge felt a small weight placed on her shoulder. She turned her head toward the weight to see a large black and red figure beside her. She blinked a few times adn narrowed her eyes trying to clear her sight. Slowly, but surely, the big blur took shape and features.
It was an ebony hedgehog with crimson stripes and eyes. Recognition crossed the spy's face. Kneeling beside her was her friend and partner, Shadow.
A lazy smile grew on the ivory bat's face as she greeted her friend. "Hey, handsome."
Shadow removed his hand as he couldn't help but lightly chuckle. No matter the situation or occasion, Rouge's flirty and laid back personality stayed the same.
"Hey." A little relief shown in the hybrid's keen eyes from the fact that she had woken up, but he was still concerned about Rouge. "How do you feel?"
The albino bat could see the concern her friend to hide in his ruby eyes. "I'm fine."
They had been friends and partners for a couple of years now, and though he could hide his feelings and emotions from others, she knew him well enough to see them in his eyes and body language. Like the tension in his muscles, and the look on his face that he got when he was trying to come up with a plan when they were in a bad situation.
"What's wrong? What's happening?"
Shadow wasn't even remotely convinced that the treasure huntress was fine. The exhaustion was evident, there were bags under her eyes, and she was still looking green. He also knew that even though she hadn't mentioned it she was worried about what the humans here may have done to her. Rouge knew now wasn't the time to fret about it as nothing could be done or solved here, she would just have to wait until they returned to G.U.N. HQ. But the resolve in her aqua preen eyes was the same as he had for every mission they went on, and helped settle his concern a little for now.
With a sigh, the Ultimate Lifeform explained everything.
Rouge said nothing for a minute, fully taking in all the information.
"So, what's the plan, hon?"
Shadow sighed for the tenth time in the past few minutes. "The only option I see is fighting our way to the exit and up to the surface."
"That's Risky. And even if we make it topside, do you even think we stand a chance of getting away? They'll catch us before we even make it remotely to HQ." The bat stressed, now setting up on the cot with her legs still under the thick gray blanket. "And I know you won't out right tell me, but I'm certain that your chaos energy is low. You won't be able to run fast for long if at all after fighting our way to the top."
Shadow gazed askance at Rouge before promptly looking away, confirming her suspicion.
"What other choice do we have though?" Her partner faced her again, crimson orbs locking with hers. "If I had a chaos emerald I would just control us to the surface then directly to G.U.N. HQ, but I don't have one." He pointed out.
"Hey! I know where a chaos emerald is!" Beth exclaimed excitedly, interrupting the two agents.
Both mobians looked up at the enthusiastic woman. Shadow had completely forgotten that the human was even in this room.
"There's one here. In this laboratory." The young assistant claimed with a broad smile. "I just remembered that."
The hybrid hedgehog frowned deeply at her, doubting what she said was true. Why would a chaos emerald be here? He hadn't felt the energy from one.
The ivory bat also found what the woman said hard to believe. Chaos emeralds were extremely difficult to find, and practically impossible to keep hidden from GUN's satellites that were specially designed to pinpoint the chaotic energy the emeralds emitted. And there had been no reports or intel to even suggest the possibility of one of the priceless power jewels being anywhere near the forest they were searching.
Beth could easily see the disbelief on the mobians faces. "There is one." She persisted.
"If there was one, I would have sensed its energy." Shadow stated as he stood, faced the assistant, and folded his arms. "And I have not felt one."
"And if Shadow doesn't feel one, there isn't one, sugar." Rouge replied, confident in her dark partner's ability.
"But there is one, I tell you!" Beth cried. "One of the other assistants told me when he was drunk."
"Most people say anything when they're drunk." The white spy said. "I own a club, trust me, I would know."
"That may be true. But they also tell the truth. Do they not?" Beth argued.
"They can." Rouge compiled. "But there's no way to know if what he said about a chaos emerald being here is true or not."
Shadow toned out the two arguing females as he closed his eyes, and put all of his focus into the air of his surroundings. Searching for even the slightest hint of chaotic energy. He didn't believe an emerald was here. But if there was, and he could get it, it would help secure their escape. But that was big ifs.
He felt for the energy through walls and doors, down the halls and corridors, and in every room. He could fell just how large the facility really was as he searched.
It took every bit of the concentration the black hedgehog had.
There was nothing on the floor they were on, neither on the floor above them. But when Shadow felt of the floor below him, he could feel the unmistakable signature presence of a chaos emerald. The energy was weak, that why he couldn't feel it and had to search for it.
He could tell this was the residue left over from the emerald being here. The emerald was probably placed in something that contained all its power from escaping into the surrounding air.
A small smirk grew on the ebony agent's tan muzzle, with a chaos emerald all he had to do was chaos control to the surface then to G.U.N. HQ. Shadow opened his crimson eyes and turned his gaze to the two women, one a mobian and the other a human, still arguing.
Clearing his throat audibly, the Ultimate Lifeform gained the females' attention. "There's a chaos emerald here." He informed them.
"A chaos emerald? Seriously? There's one here?" Rouge exclaimed in disbelief.
"Told you." Beth retorted with a smug grin plastered on her pale skinned face.
The ivory bat rolled her eyes before regarding the leader of Team Dark. "So what's the plan? We're obviously going to retrieve the emerald."
The hybrid hedgie didn't answer right away, thinking of the best and safest course of action to take. But his plan would be based on the answer to the question he was about to ask.
"Beth." The red haired assistant looked down at the male mobian questingly. "How do I get downstairs?"
"The only way to the basement is by using the elevators." The freckled faced woman answered. "But when you're going to the third floor you have to enter a twenty digit password to even gain access to the button that allows you to go there."
"Wait." Rouge replied as she focused fully on her dark companion. "How do you know it's downstairs?"
The Ultimate Lifeform smirked. "I can sense it."
"Of course you can." Rouge sighed.
"Sense?" Beth inquired bewilderingly. "What do you mean by 'sense'? You can feel a chaos emerald, even with it that far away?"
"Yes." Shadow nodded. "I am infused with chaos energy and can 'sense' when one is near."
"So you know exactly where it is then?" The human asked.
"Not exactly." The black hedgehog shook his head. "I know the general location is, but not the exact place. And the energy gets stronger as I get closer to the emerald. I still have to search and find it. It's just easier for me to than for others."
"Oh." The woman said. "I just thought it maybe worked like echolocation."
"Not really. I don't get a mental image like whales and dolphins do. I only feel the chaotic energy in the air if I'm in the surrounding area of an emerald." Shadow clarified in which Beth now seemed to understand.
"So I guess I'm hacking into the system here and getting the password then?" Rouge said, figuring this was part of the plan while throwing the blanket off her legs.
"No."
"No? What do you mean 'no'?" Rouge asked cockily. "I know you can hack the system, hon, but you know I can do it faster."
"True." Shadow agreed. "But you're in no condition to get out of that bed." The albino bat narrowed her aqua green eyes at the striped 'hog, but it didn't stop him. "You have no strength to get to a computer to hack it, let alone fight if the situation arises."
"I'm just fine." Rouge retorted, stubbornly standing to prove her point. "I can make it perfectly well to a computer and fight if need be, thank you very much. I will be just fin..." The spy's knees buckled and her partner had to catch her.
Her entire world was spinning so fast she didn't know what was up and what was down. Slowly the ebony agent pushed her back on the cot, and held her by the shoulders cause she was swaying.
When Rouge's world finally settled, she saw -though there was concern and worry in his blood red irises- there was a smug smirk on his muzzle. She turned her head away from her companion with frustration and disappointment written all over her face. She was no longer fir or able to help contribute to their mission and escape from the evil and wicked laboratory. Which greatly annoyed her.
Satisfied that he had won the argument, Shadow went back to telling his plan after stepping back from the sulking bat, that was no longer swaying, and giving both of them back their personal space.
"Now this is my plan. I won't need to hack a password," The stoic agent began, looking directly at Rouge, locking eyes with her. "because I'm going to chaos control down there." Even though it's extremely risky to control to a place without being there at least once or having a vision of what it looks like. I could end up anywhere, inside anything, or in any situation, but they don't need to know that as it is irrelevant right now. "Once there, I will search for the emerald and retrieve it. After I get it, I will chaos control here, and together we'll go to the surface, and finally back to GUN HQ."
"How can I help?" Beth inquired eagerly. "What do you need me to do?"
"I want you both to stay here." The enthusiasm immediately fell off the woman's face, clearly disappointed in Shadow's response. :They are looking for us, and the less of us roaming the corridors the better." Understanding shown on Beth's face. She didn't have to be told what would happen if they were found. "Also I want you to stay with Rouge and make for sure she stays here, as she has a habit of being stubborn."
The bat glared at the striped hedgie. "Like you can talk, hon." Shadow choose to ignore that comment.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure she stays where she is." The young woman smiled, pleased she was sble to do something to help. "But what about you? Will you be safe?" Concern swirled in her chocolate brown orbs.
"Don't be concerned about me." Shadow stated as he turned and walked the few steps to the door. "Do not leave this room unless necessary to." He unlocked the door and peeked out, looking down both ways of the corridor before glancing back at the females. "I will return soon."
With that, Shadow exited the room, reclosed the door, and raced down the hall. Triangular ears picked up the reassuring sound of the door being locked.
The Ultimate Lifeform disappeared as he rounded a corner, going down a conjoining hallway in search of the chaos emerald.
Big thanks to YokaiShinari for the name suggestion. As it is perfect.
Also thank you to all of you that follow me and for all the positive reviews.
I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.