Chapter Text
Rouge wiped at the damp glass cup with a dry rag.
A hand slipped some cash to her, giving her a smile and a wink. “For you, darlin’.”
She touched his hand, giving him one of her own smiles. “How generous of you, handsome.”
“Of course,” he chuckled with his smooth, deep voice. “I wanted to contribute to your… other activities, if you know what I mean.”
Rouge drew back her hand, taking the money. She discreetly counted through it slowly. “Is that so?” 30$. A solid amount. This stuff doesn’t come cheap, afterall. “Hmm,” she glanced at him up and down. Brown fur with light patches, folded ears. There was a gold watch on his right wrist. “Fang, right?” He bared his teeth for a moment, showing his single golden canine tooth. That confirmed it. She reached beneath the bar, opening up a small box. She didn’t break eye contact as she felt around for what she was looking for. “Ah, here it is.” She pulled out a small piece of paper and slid it across the table to the wolf. “I believe this is what you’re looking for.”
The wolf took the paper and nodded. “Pleasure doin’ business with you.”
“Likewise.” She went back to polishing the glass as Fang turned and walked out of the bar, the ring of the bell signalling his exit. The rest of the patrons in the bar didn’t even look up from what they were doing. They each minded their own business.
It wasn’t unusual for these types of transactions to take place. In the time it took Rouge to build a reputable bar, she also became one of the top gathering hubs in a chain of venues that dealt in information transactions. After leaving GUN, she wanted to run a simple bar in Grand Metropolis. Nothing super fancy, just enough to live comfortably. But as it turned out, she missed her time as an agent. She loved gathering sensitive intel, and the espionage that came with the job.
You could take Rouge out of the agent, but you can’t take the agent out of Rouge.
And so, being her treasure-hunter self, she sniffed out the locations of information smuggling and got herself in. Her bar, the Succubus’ Kiss, had become the top spot for confidential data.
She was liking it.
“-more stories from the northern front, the human organization, the Guardian Units of Nations have finally been completely restructured in the wake of the Stone Village Incident.” The mobian news anchor on the TV reported. “Many mobians are still protesting the necessity of an organization that has free military reign in both the human and mobian U.Z.A. We will discuss more on this issue at-”
Rouge tuned out the TV.
Someone scoffed. “I don’t see the need for that damned organization, they screw things up royally everytime they butt their big heads into something.”
There were a few murmurs of agreement.
“There’s always so much collateral damage that we have to fix.” Another added.
“Always disrupting lives too.”
“It’s those humans that are the issue,” a bear grumbled. “They’re always so quick to resort to violence in any situation.”
Rouge whistled, the sound cutting through the air.
Everyone fell silent.
“I will not tolerate any racist or specist comments in my bar.” She commented simply, reminding them of her policy. She continued to wipe down the bar. It was best to nip these criticisms in the bud to prevent outspread revolution. She tolerated complaints against GUN, encouraged them even, but she couldn’t allow negative words against the whole of the human race.
“Apologies, Rouge.” Someone murmured.
She continued doing her job, ear flicking.
The general murmur of conversation started up again.
Yeah, she was liking this.
Once it hit 12 am, she closed and locked up the bar after shooing away the last stragglers. She headed up the stairs to her second floor apartment to do some research of her own. More personal information gathering.
She put on a pot of coffee before settling down at her laptop.
She checked her email real quick, waiting on a reply for a very specific request. After scrolling through her inbox and not seeing it, she moved on. She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. She’s waited a week already, but sometimes these things take time.
She pulled up one of the websites that she frequented. Look2thesky.com.
It was an online news and chat space for astronomy nerds to talk about the latest news concerning the cosmos. This ranged from moon phases, to newly discovered galaxies, to, more importantly, meteorite sightings and crashes.
It’s been a month and a half since the ARK Incident. She’s been tracking an assortment of different websites that had to do with crash landings, celestial events, and even alien conspiracies. She wanted to cover all her bases in her continued search for Shadow.
She still believed that he was alive, even as everyone else had long since given up. Call her crazy, but she wasn’t letting this go. If there was even the slightest chance that Shadow was out there, she was not going to leave him to fend for himself. And she knew the chance of him being out there was fairly high.
She pulled up the meteor sighting thread.
st@rlight77 32m
DID ANYONE SEE THAT METEOR THAT FELL INTO THE OCEAN??!! THEY FISHED IT OUT AND IT WAS LIKE A HUNK OF METAL!! Y’all fr it might be alien tech O.o
53 Likes · 10 Comments · 0 Reposts
Mhmmeteors 1h
Anyone else feel like theres been an increase in meteor sightings recently? I smell government conspiracies
1k Likes · 108 Comments · 32 Reposts
Astro-naughty45 4h
Where can I sell space scrap? Random tech landed in my backyard :/ should i get astroid insurance?
503 Likes · 36 Comments · 2 Reposts
Popularpoplar 9h
I watched a really cool meteor peter out about an hour ago. Looks like another one that didn’t reach the planetside. How disappointing.
2k Likes · 63 Comments · 5 Reposts
Rouge rubbed her face. It seemed like more of those ARK sentries were coming down. All the more reason to keep searching though. If those pieces were finally coming down almost 2 months later, then there was a chance that Shadow hadn't come down yet. Maybe. If not, she can search the tag #newcratersite to get a list of posts people made after checking out the new crater sites for themselves. It was tedious, but she only needed one of them to mention an alien or movement within the crash site for her to believe that it was a certain Ultimate Lifeform.
She kept scrolling and reading, but there was nothing else that was interesting. Still, she made more marks on the map that hung above her desk, indicating that another sentry landed in the ocean and somewhere near Metal City. The map was full of color-coded flags and thumbtacks, following a legend that only she understood.
She moved to the next website. It was more about aliens and government conspiracies, but she hoped that it would one day announce that an alien landed in someone’s backyard. An alien that could be her missing brother. She typed in UFOencounters.com.
She searched through that crap for another hour.
Nothing.
Just some old humans slouched in their parent’s basement trying to talk about aliens.
It wasn’t anything she hadn’t read before.
It was 2am when she finally went to sleep.
~~~
Thursday came slowly.
That meant the Succubus’ Kiss was closed. She usually spent a day like this shopping or meeting up with Amy. Maybe even snooping around for more underground info that she could sell for a high price.
This time, however, she was meeting Knuckles for lunch.
She hadn’t spoken to any of her friends in the three weeks after Shadow’s disappearance. Instead, she retreated into herself and focused on nothing but her work, and her search. She only communicated with others through email. She was back and forth with Abraham during that time, refusing to take back her old job and checking up on the status of the GUN Emerald Facility. While the Commander was dealing with the GUN restructuring and the court hearings, he authorized the building of Rouge’s requested facility. He sent her the projected blueprints and she reviewed them and sent back her own thoughts on it. She had to admit that Abraham's sudden assistance took a weight off her back. Of course, he was curious as to why she would request something like that, but she didn’t want to tell him about the Biolizard. She had to contact an expert first, to ask for assistance concerning the creature. How would she go about bringing it to earth? Did it need any special accommodations? She didn’t know where to start. Once the blueprints were to her liking, she forwarded them to a recommended nature conservationist organization.
She still awaited said emails, but for now, she needed to get to the cafe.
She locked up her apartment door and hiked her purse higher on her shoulder and began her commute. The good thing about living in Grand Metropolis was that most cafes, restaurants, and stores were within walking distance from her new home. She made her way down the street, soaking in the sun. She waved at the locals as they passed by.
The neighborhood was nice and she met most of the people who lived here. Grand Metropolis had a population of mostly mobians, of course, because it was considered the capital city of the Mobian United Zones Alliance. There were barely any humans living along this street or in the city in general. The cafe that she was heading to was around the corner and called Sweet Treat. They were known for their little pastries, tiramisu cake, and fragrant coffee.
She arrived at the coffee place and immediately spotted Knuckles through the front window. He met her gaze through the glass and raised a hand in greeting.
She opened the door, a bell ringing to signify a customer. She went straight to the counter to order herself a drink and a pastry before making her way to Knuckles.
She smiled. “Hello, handsome.”
The echidna raised his head. “Rouge. Good to see you.”
She sat down across from him and crossed her legs, adopting a casual stance. “So,” she began. “What brings you to Grand Metropolis?”
He shrugged. “Can’t I just come by to see you?”
She hummed. “Not unless you have something to tell me.”
Knuckles fell silent. Rouge stared out the window, her leg lightly bouncing.
“So what did you order?” Knuckles asked instead.
“A vanilla latte and a raspberry pastry.”
“Sounds good.”
“It usually is.”
The conversation died once more.
Knuckles tapped at the table, idle. This seems to be how each of their meetups went. Short courteous conversations broken up by stretches of silence. Any other topic that was broached would be stilted and slightly awkward.
“A large vanilla latte and a raspberry pastry!” The barista called out.
“That’s me.” She got up to collect her order, giving the pelican a grateful look. She took a sip and raised it to her. “Delicious as always, Coral!”
Coral smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up. “A pleasure serving you, Miss Rouge!”
With her breakfast in hand, she returned to their table. Settling herself back into her chair, she sipped at her hot beverage, letting the warmth run through her. She sighed in satisfaction.
“You’re very friendly with everyone here.” Knuckles commented.
“Mhm, that’s what happens when you step out of your little hidey-hole and get to know people.” She unwrapped the wax paper around the pastry. This flaky dessert was her go-to item. She took a liking to the sweet and tart taste, something that she knew Shadow got attached to. “How’s the Master Emerald?”
“It’s fine.” Knuckles replied, fiddling with his gloves. He took a breath, “Rouge-”
“How’s Sonic and Tails?” She cut him off, taking a bite of her pastry.
He sighed, crestfallen. “Sonic’s back to being Sonic. Tails… seems to be doing better. He doesn’t hole himself up in his workshop anymore. He goes with Amy to visit Cream and Cheese now and again.”
Rouge nodded in understanding. “It’s good to hear that Tails is getting better.”
“Yeah,” amethyst eyes glanced at her. “How are you doing?”
She sat back in her chair, hand flicking dismissively. “Oh, you know, I’ve just been busy with my business and all.”
“Mm, and how’s… business?”
Rouge took another bite of her treat, chewing thoughtfully. “Good. It’s coming along really well. I’ve racked up a good amount of regulars, so I have a steady stream of income.”
“Good, good, that’s good to hear.” Knuckles mumbled.
The silence returned with a vengeance. This time, it was only broken up by Rouge sipping her coffee and munching on her pastry. She didn’t offer any new conversation starters, not contributing to them. There was no olive branch for the echidna. She knew what he was here to talk about. Knuckles would come by occasionally after that three week grace period. He wanted to check up on her, but all their interactions would end in arguments.
Rouge believed that Shadow was alive. Knuckles did not. Or maybe he didn’t want to believe it.
Originally he supported her. He would bring food, update her on their friends, and even talk about how he missed her presence on Angel Island. She was paraphrasing, of course. He just mentioned that he had a surplus of fruits.
After some time, however, Knuckles would mention something about a memorial for Shadow. Like an informal funeral, for closure, he said. Rouge would tell him that Shadow’s not dead which would result in Knuckles becoming frustrated, saying that she was in denial. Thus the argument ensued.
She finished her pastry and crumbled up the wrapper, careful not to make a mess. “Well, if that’s all you came to talk about,” she pushed back her chair and stood up, brushing crumbs from her shirt. “I should really get going.”
Knuckles popped out of his chair to follow. “Wait, Rouge-”
She tossed her wrapper into the trash, still clutching her unfinished coffee in her other hand. “I have some things I need to get done today, so if you’ll excuse me,” she turned to wink at him. “Enjoy your day, handsome.”
She was out the door.
Rouge didn’t lie to him. She had things to do today, but they weren’t very urgent. She did some leisurely grocery shopping, then rounded to her suppliers to pick up some stock for her bar. She tried to push Knuckles’ hurt expression from her mind. Her cold shoulder could be considered cruel and unusual, and she did miss the grumpy echidna. That’s why she continued to humor his meetups. The way he fumbled to bring up conversation topics was endearing and clearly he tried hard. But if he brought up the ‘fact’ that Shadow was dead, then she didn’t find him as charming.
Once the sun began to dip below the horizon, she headed home.
She settled into her usual routine. Starting up her laptop to do some mindless scrolling, taking a break to cook dinner, then back to checking her email. Her website rounds didn’t have anything new, just more bot parts getting scattered around the continent.
Ah, but her email resulted in some progress!
GUN Emerald Facility Status [Inbox]
Abraham Tower < [email protected] >
To Rouge the Bat
Rouge,
I wanted to inform you that the GUN Emerald Facility is now complete. Swing by GUN Grand Metropolis Facility on Severance Avenue to pick up your new ID Badge that will grant you access. If you’d like a tour of the building, let me know and I will clear out my schedule.
CDR Tower
Guardian Units of Nations BOD, Military Division
GUN HQ, 165 N. Central Ave. STE 501
Central City, 11474, H.U.Z.A.
Perfect. The Secret Sanctuary that she’s been waiting for was completed. This was good news, that means that she was finally making some headway. Now that the facility is done, she just needs a response from someone who could help in the relocation of an exotic creature. This was the thing with looking for professional assistance. It always took longer. The Biolizard was an experimental creature that was unstable and potentially dangerous. The Mobian Council wouldn’t want something like that wandering around the earth with no supervision. The Human Council would want that even less. Chaos, if they had their way, they might just try and terminate it. She needed backing from the Council and she could only get that if a respected conservationist built a case for the creature to stay on earth. Secretly and securely is what she wanted and needed. She supposed legally as well, but that came later. From the blueprints, the facility should be big enough to comfortably house the Biolizard and then some, making sure to provide it with everything it may need.
She hoped to have the Biolizard well-situated by the time Shadow came back.
Rouge sent a quick email back, asking for a tour of the facility on saturday morning. Her bar usually opened at around 12 noon so that should give her enough time to visit the facility and get back. She needed to stop by the Security Office of the GUN facility nearby too. Severance Avenue was only a few streets down from where she lived. She’ll pick it up tomorrow morning so she doesn't need to worry about doing it before she leaves on saturday.
~~~
The morning came when she left for the Emerald Facility. She picked up her new ID with no issues the previous day. They had asked her if she was a new employee. She laughed at that. Of course she wasn’t! She refused to work for GUN again. This time, GUN was working for her. Not literally, but she was leeching off the Commander’s guilt for what he did to Shadow. She hoped that he’ll feel guilty for the rest of his life.
The Emerald Facility was about an hour and a half from Grand Metropolis. She rented a car that was covered by her shiny GUN credit card. The facility itself sat on the coastline, looking like a small nondescript concrete office building. It was surrounded by a 12 foot high chain link fence topped with barbed wire to deter the public. She definitely needed to beautify this place though, it looked depressing. It also stuck out to anyone who might drive by. To be fair, she was mostly focused on the inside of the building rather than the outside, but if she ever wanted to bring Shadow here, it needed to look more welcoming and less like a government building. Some native plants and clever landscaping should do the trick.
She pulled up to the gate and waved her new ID badge at the scanner. It beeped and the automated gates slid open. She parked the car in the small gravel lot on the side of the building and waited. Tower knew that she was there. She assumed that she just had to wait for him to make his appearance.
Speaking of the devil.
The doors slid open. The tall figure of Abraham Tower strode out, as imposing as ever.
Rouge collected her purse and stepped out of the car. “Good morning, Commander,” she smirked. “Or should I say, Director .”
Abraham Tower’s face twisted with distaste. “Can’t say I’m particularly happy with that development, but I understand their reasoning.”
“I’m definitely happy with this development.” Rouge met him at the door. “You needed to be kept on a leash after that Stone Village debacle. Be glad that no one brought up Angel Island.” Following Stone Village, GUN got a complaint filed against them about their recklessness that went through the Mobian Council. The whole of the Mobian U.Z.A. was reasonably outraged at the partial destruction of the village and there were many hearings after that, discussing if it was necessary for GUN to be dissolved. Many people were surprised at how fast they came to a decision. There was enough pushback from both the humans supporting the organization and the mobians who wanted them gone. They somehow came to a compromise. GUN was still considered ‘necessary,’ but they had too much power. The organization was restructured and given a board of directors. Each director was the head of a certain division: research, weapons, personnel, military, and public relations. Overseeing the board was the new GUN CEO, someone who presided within the United Federation. No one knew who they were though. The public relations division also had some serious revisions. It was mandated by the U.F. that there needed to be a Mobian consultant on the board of directors, who was in charge of the public relations division. This compromise put out the fire under the Mobian Council.
Rouge vindictively wished for a harsher punishment, but the backlash from the humans would be severe. Some type of human vs mobian civil war over something as stupid as GUN would be unnecessary and damaging to the United Federation. It would put a strain on the already weakened relationship between the two species.
He pressed his lips together, heterochromic eyes boring into hers, before he gave her a curt nod. “Let’s begin the tour.”
Rouge followed the man into the facility. The cover building looked like the usual rentable office space. The large empty room hasn’t been filled with desks and cubicles yet. At the back of the room there was a simple hallway that led downward. She assumed that this hallway followed the decline of the beach. “This is still the bare bones of the building. I sent you that email as soon as I got the notification of its completion.” He gestured to the doorway as they walked through it. “We’re going to outfit a security door there, per your request. No one will be able to come down here without proper clearance.”
Rouge hummed in approval.
Eventually the hallway leveled out into another compound. This one must be below the waterline, and is considered the main hub of the facility. There was a large hallway to the left, lined with many doors. But directly ahead, there was one large observation window overlooking an enormous glass room. Well, it doesn’t use typical glass. It was composed of several different layers of material such as quartz, silica, and borosilicate glass. In other words, the same material used on space ship windshields. There was nothing but blue ocean pressing on the glass and on the floor of the room there was a large moon pool, big enough for a certain experimental creature to climb through.
“This is the observation deck and there’s some additional rooms through the other hallway there. Right through that window is the containment room.” Abraham said, pointing at the other room.
Rouge shook her head. “Don’t call it a containment room, that’s not what it is.”
Abraham glanced at her. “I’ve put a lot of time and resources into this. Tell me, what is this facility even for?”
“It’s…” She pursed her lips. “Well, it’s going to be a habitat. For a special creature.” She turned to him. “I’m still waiting for a particular response for it, but I’ll keep you in the loop about that.”
The man grunted at that. “And you didn’t think it was pertinent to tell me that this place is going to be used as a zoo?”
“Not a zoo, no.” Only one creature was planning on living here and she wanted it better than a zoo. A home. “How are the walls coming along?” She inquired, pacing about the room. The last part of the facility that was needed were the walls, fencing in a large expanse of water. As much as she considered just letting the Biolizard go into the wild, it would be a strange and unfamiliar world for it. It would be hard for the creature to adapt to the new and endless environment after living in limited space for so long. She wanted to give it a large space to roam, allowing it to interact with the native flora and fauna of the planet without there being any grave consequences. Again, she still waited for a response from someone who specializes in exotic feral animals. She needed someone to be a professional consultant for the Biolizard, to ensure that she was doing this right.
But she also needed someone to watch over the biomechanical parts of the creature as well.
“The construction of the walls started around the same time as the building. They’re about 45% complete.” Abraham approximated.
“Okay, so how much longer until the wall is done?”
“Another month.” He led her to an elevator that would take them down into the habitat. “Now that the facility is complete, there’s more hands available to build the wall.” They stepped inside and the elevator quickly took them down.
“Good.” The doors slid open to grant them entrance. The habitat was larger than the ARK’s core, larger than any singular room Rouge had ever seen. The glass gave her a beautiful view of the surrounding ocean and the glass ceiling poked out just above the waterline, giving the room plenty of natural lighting and a gorgeous view of the sky. Under the water, she could see marine vehicles moving about, presumably transporting the GUN construction workers. “Do you have any scientists on hand who specialize in biomechanical engineering?”
Abraham glanced about the room, approaching the moon pool in the center. “I would have to contact the research division to verify, but yes, I have a few in mind.”
“I will need a volunteer to pick up a new project.” Just one of them should be enough to watch over the Biolizard.
The man frowned. “You do realize that that’s a big ask for one of them. Many of the GUN scientists are very busy people.”
“That’s why I asked for a volunteer.” Rouge retorted. She leaned against the lip of the moon pool, looking down into the deep blue water. It flicked against the edge of the pool, swelling and retreating. “I’ll send you a report that you could show them when checking for availability. One of those nerds should take an interest in the Biolizard.”
Tower rounded on her. “ The Biolizard? ” He asked incredulously. “You want to house the Biolizard here?”
She shrugged, unconcerned. “Who did you think this whole facility was for?”
“Clearly I should’ve asked for more information from the start,” he grumbled, squeezing the bridge of his nose. “This is what I get for following a plan blindly,” he muttered quietly before addressing her again. “Bringing the Biolizard to earth is absurd. What made you think that is a good idea?”
Rouge glared at him, straightening and crossing her arms. “Shadow wanted to bring it here.”
He exhaled in frustration. “I think that thing should stay on the ARK-”
“Like you wanted Shadow to stay in the basement?”
Abraham snapped his mouth shut, eyes smoldering.
He clearly got better at holding his tongue. Maybe those court-appointed anger management sessions were working.
“You owe Shadow for all those years of isolation,” Rouge continued. “He even saved the planet for Chaos’ sake!” She placed her hands on her hips. “I think that housing the Biolizard and giving it a good life is a great place to start.”
The man grinded his teeth. He sniffed and gave her another brusque nod. “Fine. I’ll see what I can do.”
Rouge smiled again, a little more shark-like than was necessary. “Perfect. Now I think that I’ve seen enough of this place. Tell your architects and workers that they’re doing a great job. Once I get in touch with an expert, we’ll decorate the interior with some nice plants and grass. In the meantime,” she winked at him. “Get yourself a landscaper to fix up the front of the building, it sticks out like a sore thumb.”
~~~
Another week had passed.
Another meeting with Knuckles at Sweet Treats.
He was persistent, she’d grant him that.
Rouge shrugged her coat on before she left. It was starting to get a little chilly outside, plus there was a chance of rain today. She made her usual walk to the cafe, passing by familiar faces and waving to her neighbors. A young ferret couple next door just had their first litter. Quadruplets. They’re definitely a handful and everyone could hear them crying from the street when the four kits decided to team up. The old falcon across the street just celebrated the highschool graduation of his grandson. A single mother of a disabled kitten was able to land a well-enough paying stay-at-home job to support them both.
She always wondered why she never thought to live in Grand Metropolis. She lived in Central City for a while because of the close proximity to GUN headquarters. The apartment complex that she lived in was quiet and everyone kept to themselves. Most likely because of the high concentration of humans. They tended to mind their own business, focusing on their own lives. Mobians in Grand Metropolis liked to celebrate and get to know others. They created their own tight-knit communities, accepting a wide-range of people. The twin goats across the street would offer to babysit the ferret kits when the parents needed a break. The aforementioned old falcon would watch the disabled kitten during the time her mother was out working two separate jobs.
It was an amazing mix of people.
Rouge smiled at Rowdy, an elderly ox who liked to sit outside on his front porch. “How goes it, honey?”
The ox grinned. “Same old, same old, my dear Rouge. How’s that bar of yours?”
“Better and better every day!”
“Now that’s what I like to hear!”
She rounded the corner to the cafe, spotting Knuckles at the same table that he takes every time he visits. She followed the usual script, entering the cafe and ordering at the front before taking her seat.
“Anything new to report?” She teased.
“Nothing really,” Knuckles replied. He had his own hot beverage in his hand. That was a first. “Angel Island’s route has been ordinary, nothing new about the Master Emerald either.” His brow raised. “Ah, Sonic has found a Chaos Emerald.”
“That’s nice,” she mused. “Where was it?”
“Up north, near the Mystic Jungle.” He took a swing of his drink. “Tails said something about the settings on his Chaos Emerald Locator and that the gadget has been on the fritz. That’s why it’s taken them so long.”
“I thought Tails’ locator was one of his best inventions, why would it be on the fritz?” She questioned.
Knuckles shrugged. “Beats me. That’s just what he told me.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “I suppose that he always wants to make sure his stuff is functioning at its best. Maybe he tinkered with it and something changed.”
“Certainly sounds plausible.” The echidna easily agreed. “So what have you been up to?”
“Nothing in particular.”
Knuckles looked suspicious. “Are you still… looking for him?”
Rouge blinked at the blatant and non-tactful way he brought that up. “Well, if you must know, yes.”
He immediately sighed, but didn’t sound surprised. “Rouge-”
She shook her head, raising a hand. “Uh-uh, we are not doing this today.”
“-you need to face the facts. He’s gone.”
“Stop it, Knuckles.” She frowned. “He’s still out there, I can feel it.”
“Feel it? Rouge, do you know how that sounds?”
She pressed her hand into her temple. “Yes, it sounds like I’m delusional, but I’m telling you, he has to be out there. He promised me-”
“He promised you?” He closed his eyes and sighed once more. He seemed to do that a lot when he was with her. “Stop it.”
Rouge felt the bubble of irritation at his ignorance. “ Stop it? ” She scoffed. “I would’ve thought that you of all people would believe me!”
“Rouge, I’m just being realistic!” Knuckles argued. “No one could survive a fall from space! Not even him.”
“I am being realistic. If you read his files, you’d know that he has abilities that you can’t comprehend.”
“Is this another jab at my intelligence? Because I really don’t appreciate it.”
“I’m just saying that Shadow’s abilities extend beyond advanced healing and durability. Not to mention his Chaos Energy Manipulation. I don’t believe a fall like this is enough to kill him!”
“Think about this!” He pressed. “If that’s true, then do you believe that he’s out there suffering and in pain because those burns from falling through the atmosphere wasn’t enough to kill him?”
“He could be!” She slammed her fist on the table, inadvertently catching the attention of the other customers. “That’s why I need to find him. I’m not giving up on him.” She hissed. “He’s been forgotten and given up on by too many people. I am not going to be one of them.”
Knuckles fell silent.
Rouge tried to relax her bristling fur. She took a deep breath. “I’m… not going to stop until I see irrefutable proof.”
The echidna looked to her wrist. “Irrefutable proof?” He echoed. “Not like that shattered inhibitor ring on your wrist?”
Her hand immediately moved to grasp at the ring, feeling the ridges of the patched-up cracks and the scratched up Robotnik name. She spent weeks upon weeks painstakingly gluing the pieces back together, like an expert-level jigsaw puzzle. “This doesn’t count.”
Knuckles’ eyes grew sad. “Rouge, please. Everyone’s really worried about you. We know you have your bar to take care of, but it’s been a long time since we all got together. Even Amy says that you don’t text her a lot.” He sighed. “We’re meeting up at Sonic’s house. Next Thursday. Just… swing by, say hi to everyone. That’s all I’m asking.”
Rouge stared out the window at the cloudy sky. It was going to start raining soon.
“Large vanilla latte and raspberry pastry!” Coral called from the front.
She got up. “I should probably get home.”
Knuckles closed his eyes in disappointment. “Okay.”
She collected her order and, without giving him another glance, left the cafe.
Her walk home was a little less cheerful than her walk to the cafe.
She still mustered up enough energy to smile at people though.
Home yet again, she roughly opened her laptop, putting up her email. She really needed a win. That same argument always left her down in the dumps. She was the only one who went through Shadow’s files, she was the only one who knew what he could do. It took days for her to read through the whole folder. Many sleepless nights and pots of coffee. Many more moments of anger and vomiting. She didn’t put herself through that to just accept that he was dead. There were many moments in the files where Shadow’s body was destroyed and pushed to the limit, an unnatural limit. Suffocation, drowning, exsanguination, vivisections, amputations, broken bones, freezing, and - the one she focuses on the most - being burned alive. She will never, ever, open those files again, but now she knew with absolute certainty that Shadow was undoubtedly a hardy creature. He always bounced back from what they did to him, impossibly so.
So no. Shadow was not dead. Falling from the atmosphere could not kill him.
She scanned over the spam mail, looking for anything that could lift her mood. Knuckles was a stubborn creature. He was blunt, straightforward, and stuck to facts. He wasn’t one to go chasing after maybes and perhaps. One could argue that the mystical nature of the Master Emerald counted as faith, but he’d disagree. Rouge could show him the files to convince him, but she herself wasn’t ready to go through that again.
Her eyes zeroed in on an email.
Bingo.
Re: Exotic Creature Rescue [Inbox]
Peaches the Possum < [email protected] >
To Rouge the Bat
Thank you for reaching out, Ms. Rouge!
I have reviewed the information provided and I believe that I could build a strong case for this animal. Furthermore, I see you mentioned that this creature has some health issues. Once I am able to assess it, then I am sure that I can come up with an appropriate treatment plan. I have also examined the blueprints that you forwarded to me which I believe is an excellent start for its long-term habitat. I have some suggestions, but I will bring that up once I am able to see the animal.
I just need a few more things regarding its creation and I would very much like to meet in person to discuss these points. I have appointment availability on the 12, 15, and 16 at 2pm.
I eagerly await your response,
Dr. Peaches the Possum, VMD
Wildlife Conservationist
Exotic Feral Animal Veterinarian
14456 Humberty Rd. STE 400
Grand Metropolis, 30456, M.U.Z.A.
Rouge breathed a sigh of relief. She finally got a response from someone who could help her manage the Biolizard. She quickly checked her schedule. The 15th was next Thursday, perfect. The bar wasn’t open and she had an excuse to skip the get-together at Sonic’s place. She wasn’t avoiding them, no. She just… had higher priorities. She replied with her availability and clicked out of the window.
Her stress and frustration had lightened a bit at the new development. She was definitely glad to finally get a response after two weeks. The Biolizard had waited long enough.
She navigated to her frequented websites once again. After running through the astronomical threads, it really seemed like look2thesky.com was the best online space to get semi-reputable information. She did check out profiles to see a lot of people with college degrees. She may drop a couple of websites from her usual rounding and focus on this one.
~~~
She went about her days as usual. Opening up Succubus’ Kiss at 12pm, closing at 12am, searching through online threads about meteors and the likes. She also entertained the thought of hiring an employee to help run the bar. She went through the motions with an eagerness in her step. She looked forward to the meeting. Fortunately, Thursday came without any issues, and without much fuss.
Rouge pulled up the address for Dr. Peaches’ office on her phone, the same phone that Shadow had once charged on Angel Island. The time certainly felt so long ago. It was hard to believe that in a few months her life changed drastically. Four months ago she still worked for GUN, traveling the world on undercover missions and obtaining highly confidential information that could topple governments. Now? She couldn’t imagine working for them again.
The address took her to a high-rise office building. The revolving doors at the entrance spun perpetually with sapients walking in and out. She made her way into the building, dodging by the others who moved with haste. City life seemed to make everyone late for something. She took the elevator to the 4th floor, looking for room 400.
It was easy to spot with the plaque saying Office 400, Dr. Peaches Possum. It was right next to the elevator.
A quick knock on the door frame alerted the orange-brown sapient sitting at an oak desk.
She looked up at Rouge, a smile appearing on her face. She stood up, smoothening down her crisp suit. “Hello, you must be Rouge,” she offered her hand out. She had warm brown eyes with thin wire glasses sitting on a light pink nose. She also seemed to have a bit of an accent.
Rouge mirrored her courtesy smile and reached over the desk to shake her hand. “That would be me, yes.”
“Splendid, I am Dr. Peaches.” The handshake was firm and brief before she gestured to the cushioned chair in front of her desk. “Please, have a seat.” Rouge acquiesced, crossing her legs casually. The possum settled into her own chair. “How are you doing today?”
“Fantastic, now that I’m here. How are you?” She couldn’t help the sincerity that bled into her words.
“Oh, I’m doing just fine, thank you.”
“It’s wonderful that I’ve finally got a response to my email.”
“Yes, I apologize for that. We’ve been backed up for a few weeks, but I must say that your unique issue has piqued my interest. You talk about an experimental creature with mechanical implants, is that right?” Straight to the point, this Dr. Peaches. Something Rouge could appreciate.
“Yes, ma’am.” Rouge responded. “It has spent its entire life in captivity and isolation.”
“Is it aggressive?” Dr. Peaches had lined paper on her desk, where she began writing short notes.
Rouge hesitated. In the ARK’s core, the Biolizard didn’t seem aggressive, more scared and territorial if that. Shadow was able to connect to the creature somehow, but it seemed pretty passive once it was calmed down. Before they left the ARK, Rouge went to visit the creature, but it had already disappeared below the floor and into the pool below. “I don’t believe so. It has some pretty strong protective instincts, but overall I think it’s just scared.”
Dr. Peaches nodded. “As is the case with many captive-raised creatures. What happened to its creators?”
“Well…” They were executed by firing squad. “They’re not around anymore.”
“I see. I suppose that excuses me from filing any unethical animal experimentation paperwork,” she murmured. “Who was the person who found the creature?”
“That would be me and some of my friends. The Biolizard is fairly fond of my brother.”
The possum’s eyebrows rose. “Biolizard?”
“That’s its name, or title, I suppose.”
Dr. Peaches tsked. “Not a very creative name, in my opinion.” Unless she preferred ‘the Ultimate Lifeform Prototype,’ then the Biolizard should work as a name. “Your brother,” she mentioned offhandedly. “Is there a reason why this Biolizard would be fond of him?”
They’re like creatures who went through years of isolation following the ARK Seal Destruction Operation. “He was the first one to approach the Biolizard calmly. It seems that the creature may trust him a bit more.”
“That’s good to hear. Will he be available during the relocation of the Biolizard?”
Rouge bit her lip. “Um, no, I don’t believe so.” Unless she managed to find him within the next couple of weeks. Wouldn’t that be something.
“Oh, that’s too bad.” She said, “It would make the move easier and less stressful if there was someone that the creature trusted there.”
Speaking of… “I hate to bring this up, but it’s a bit of a long move for it. Is there any way to sedate it?”
“Well yes, you can do that. I’d have to calculate the dosage based on its weight.” She wrote something down, presumably something about a tranquilizer. “Which reminds me, how big is this creature?”
“Over two hundred feet long from nose to tail, one hundred feet wide, and about sixty feet tall.” She recited. “I’m not fully certain on how heavy it is, though.”
The pen stopped moving.
The possum stared at her. She shuffled her glasses up and cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” Rouge repeated the measurements while the conservationist jotted it down. “Goodness, okay. And you said that you have a habitat being prepped for it?”
“That is correct, yes.”
There was a look of disbelief on her face. “You do?” She shook her head in incredulity. “Where is this creature located currently?”
“On a space colony. In fact, the one that almost crashed into the earth almost two months back.”
To her credit, Dr. Possum didn’t react in any particular manner. She just took a slow deep breath and let it out. “Interesting. I believe that this will be the most intriguing case of my career.” She sat back in her chair and smiled. “How exciting!”
They talked for a few more minutes, going over the Biolizard’s appearance. Without a current picture to show her, Rouge just settled for describing what she saw when they were in the ARK’s core. The tubes, the mechanical eyes, and the large metal pack. There were some articles about the Biolizard within the Project Shadow folder, but after some time, reports of the creature dwindled and stopped. The only thing she could get from it was that all the implants were some type of life-support for it, which she communicated to Dr. Peaches.
“I would like to commend your dedication to the protection and well-being of this creature, Ms. Rouge. It’s truly remarkable.” The possum complimented her. “I look forward to working with you on this. Now, if you’d give me a timetable for the rescue of this creature, I’d like to be there for it.”
“Unfortunately, this is more of a covert operation,” Rouge admitted. “I can give you the time and address of where to meet me once we bring it to earth though.”
“That’s acceptable. In that case, I’ll give you my phone number so you can reach me easier.”
Rouge smiled. “Perfect.”
On her way home, she decided to stop by a restaurant to pick up some lunch. She felt a weight leave her shoulders at this meeting. Dr. Peaches seemed like a pretty sincere person, and her VMD degree was framed and on display in her office. Not to mention the additional certifications and pictures of nature conservatories that lined her wall.
As she waited for her food, her phone vibrated in her purse.
Amy: Heyy girlie, I just wanted to check up on you
Amy: You didn’t show up to the hangout today and I was just wondering if something happened?
Rouge stared at the text, feeling the slightest stab of guilt. Sweet Amy didn’t deserve the cold-shoulder. She’s been nothing but helpful, trying to reconnect with her even as Rouge moved away to Grand Metropolis. Amy still lived in Station Square, which was a ferry and an hour bus ride away. They met occasionally over the last month, not reaching their quota of girls’ nights or shopping sprees that they would usually have. Amy always inquired after her health which Rouge was quick to reassure her.
Rouge: Sorry honey, I had a few things that I needed to take care of today.
Rouge: Next time?
There was an immediate response.
Amy: Oh, okay! No worries!
Rouge tucked her phone back into her purse and collected her food. She’ll eventually tell Amy what she learned about Shadow. She’s sure that the pink hedgehog would believe her. She just needed to make sure that Knuckles wasn’t supervising the conversation.
~~~
Another month had passed. She spent her time coordinating emails between Abraham Tower, Dr. Peaches Possum, and the newest member of their ‘Save the Biolizard Crew,’ Dr. James Coveldi, the lead scientist in the GUN Research Division.
…The same guy whose ID badge they stole.
He must have gotten another one because, funny enough, Rouge still had his badge.
She tapped said badge against the palm of her hand as she waited in the gravel lot of the GUN Emerald Facility. Abraham had let her know that the underwater walls had been completed, thus marking the end of the construction of the sanctuary. The wall themselves had small openings scattered around the pen, allowing water and smaller creatures to pass in and out of the area. There was still work to be done though, mainly the actual decoration of the habitat. The inside may have an enormous moon pool for access to the ocean, but not much else, making the room feel empty and cold.
She didn’t want it to feel that way to the Biolizard. She definitely didn’t want it to simulate the ARK. She wanted it to be natural and homey with substrate and plants. Basically a giant terrarium. Enter Dr. Peaches. The conservationist would take point and actually fill the habitat with appropriate greenery and amenities. Rouge hoped that the possum would be able to figure out what type of animal the Biolizard was, or was based on anyway. Rouge didn’t know a lot about animals, but she knew that the Biolizard didn’t have scales like a lizard. Shadow was the only one who actually touched the creature.
Which brings her to now. With the facility complete, she wanted to brainstorm the procedure for bringing the creature to earth.
A military humvee rolled through the chain link gate, parking a few spaces over from her. The door opened and out came Director Tower.
“You’re late.” She remarked, passive-aggressive. She pushed off her car and approached him. Abraham’s uniform was wrinkled and he looked as if he didn’t comb his hair.
“Apologies,” he said flatly, as if he didn’t really mean it. “I slept in my office and the meeting today ran late.”
Rouge hummed. “Sounds like you’ve been busy.” They both followed the path into the building.
“The military division’s budget was cut. I had to reallocate our current funds.” He said shortly. It's good to hear that he was finally feeling the pressure of the restructuring. “It’s no matter. Where are we now with the Biolizard?”
“Seems that we’re all set.” Rouge reported as they entered the main hub of the facility. “We just need a way to transport the Biolizard, who’s going to be under heavy sedation, from the ARK.”
Tower nodded. “Already done. While we waited for the completion of the walls, I already ordered the modification of an ARK space shuttle. Its cargo bay had been emptied out and expanded. It will be a cramped ride, but I believe that the space will be sufficient.”
“Color me impressed, Director,” Rouge couldn’t help but compliment him. “I didn’t realize that you were so invested in this project of ours.”
The man sniffed haughtily. “Well, one of us needed to plan ahead.”
Rouge rolled her eyes. “Sure, and this has nothing to do with you feeling guilty?”
“I don’t feel guilty. Ever.” Tower replied immediately, almost defensive.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Rouge muttered. However, she was maybe just a little bit glad that the man thought of something like that. She was stumped and was entertaining the idea of getting the Biolizard to Chaos Control itself into the facility. “How much longer for the shuttle?”
“It’s already finished.”
Rouge gave him a side glance. “What do you say to getting the Biolizard now?”
“Now?” The man spluttered.
“I think the Biolizard has waited long enough.” She put particular emphasis on the word waited.
Director Tower glared at her. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off.
“You must be Agent Rouge!” A man emerged from the hallway containing the extra rooms. He had a shock of black hair on his head with glasses and now that she saw his face, he looked fairly young. “I’m Dr. Coveldi, it’s nice to finally meet you!”
“Ah, hello!” Rouge greeted him with the same enthusiasm. She decided not to correct him on her ‘agent’ title as this man was a far cry from the stressed scientist in his office.
“I’m the one who will be overseeing this Biolizard project.”
“I know who you are,” Rouge smiled. She pulled out the old ID card of the man. “You’re the kind fellow who helped me rescue Shadow from your basement.” She quickly gave Abraham a condescending glance.
Dr. Coveldi’s face was a perfect picture of surprise. Then he began laughing. “So it was you who took my badge! Man, I got a serious earful from the security office when I told them that I lost it!” He took the ID from her with a grateful smile. “Looks like you had a better use for it than I did.”
Rouge had to be honest, this wasn’t quite the reaction that she was expecting, nor did she expect him to be so… peppy.
“Goodness, is everyone in the research division as bubbly as you?” She chuckled.
He nodded. “Oh yes, everyone’s so nice! We all work together to help complete our assignments as well as our personal research projects. We have a lot of fun!” Then his face screwed up in displeasure. “Well, most of us. There’s this one guy that no one wants to be around.” He looked at her in apparent surprise, his mind catching up to the conversation. “Actually, you mentioned Shadow. You mean from Project: Shadow, right?”
“That’s right.” The man was the lead scientist, so it would make sense that he was all caught up with GUN’s files, confidential or not.
“Ah well, the Director tried to assign me to his case the night you broke into HQ. Dr. Khalani was the one who specialized in the latest memory tech. He’s not a very nice person, no one likes him.” He took a breath. “Sorry, I’m pretty hyped up on caffeine right now-”
“Dr. Coveldi,” Tower’s sharp words prevented him from continuing on.
“Director!” The scientist gave him a mock salute. “I’ve done my part, so I’m all prepped and ready to go!”
“Ready to go?” The Director echoed. “What are you going on about?”
“Well, you guys were just talking about going to get the Biolizard, yes?” He winked at Rouge.
She was starting to like this guy, even if he was a motor-mouth. “I agree. No time like the present, Director.”
Abraham’s face twitched. That usually happened when he didn’t want to admit that he lost. “Fine. I’ll clear my schedule.”
A few phone calls, a quick conversation, and a speedy text message later, the three of them stood outside the facility in front of an enormous space shuttle. It was hidden behind the compound apparently, out of sight and away from the entrance. It looked like it was the same size as the Biolizard. Did it even have enough space for it? Rouge voiced these thoughts.
Dr. Coveldi scratched at the stubble on his jaw. “Well, hypothetically, yes. If the Biolizard curled up in the cargo bay, that is.”
“With a creature that large, wouldn’t the shuttle have a hard time with all the extra weight?” Rouge wasn’t well-knowledgeable on the logistics of space travel, but that seemed like a good thing to bring up.
“Asking all the good questions, Agent Rouge,” she twitched at her old title. “All ARK shuttles were outfitted with small Rocketdyne RS-25 engines due to their high reusability as many people used to make the trip back and forth. Now our lovely engineers took the time to puzzle out how to return to earth with excessive mass and to give us enough thrust to counteract the extra weight and gravity from reentering the atmosphere, and that was to modify the RS-25 engines to keep the efficient high vacuum-specific impulse, while installing a secondary open-cycle gas generator consistent with the F-1 rocket engines.” He raised a finger, “Now these F-1 engines are a one-time use, so it’s a good thing that we’re only making one trip.”
Rouge blinked. “You wanna run that by me again?”
“Sorry, basically, we won’t need to worry about the excess weight because we’re not leaving earth with it.” He explained, a tad slower. “The RS-25 engine will have enough power to push us away from the ARK with the extra weight while the F-1 part will be used as a secondary engine to ensure that we don’t go splat when entering the atmosphere and trying to land.”
“Okay,” Rouge decided to just take his word for it.
Tower huffed, walking around the shuttle and inspecting it. “You’re a biomechanical engineer, Coveldi. What do you know about rockets?”
“I may specialize in a certain science, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t have interests outside of my degree.” The scientist replied, amused. “Y’know, speaking of Shadow, I was glad to hear that he was given the title of Hero.”
Rouge blinked and looked to Abraham. “You gave him the title of Hero?”
Tower glared at Coveldi. “I just did it by the book.” He said grumpily. “Procedure states that anyone who had a direct hand in saving the world is given such a title. That’s a provision that was added after Sonic became a big deal.”
This was all news to Rouge. She’s never heard of that before.
Coveldi opened his mouth to say something when Tower cut him off once more. “Anyway, the shuttle is ready.”
Rouge filed the new information away to research later. She stared at the large vehicle. “Well, who’s going to fly it?”
“I am.” Abraham began climbing the ladder to the entrance. “Let’s move if we want to make it back before dinner.”
“Yes!” The scientist cheered and followed him.
“Wait, do we have everything we need?” Rouge asked, taking another look around. She was the one who suggested going today, but she felt that there was something missing. She also didn’t realize that the ‘Save the Biolizard Crew’ only consisted of the three of them.
“It’s already on board.” The Director informed her. “I made sure we had everything on hand. Dr. Coveldi said that he already mixed the tranquilizer before you arrived.”
“Yup!” The younger man said, popping the p. Rouge hesitated for a moment longer before trailing after the humans. Dr. Peaches and Dr. Coveldi must have talked about the sedation plan at some point. The three of them climbed into the shuttle and shut the door behind them. It was sealed with a vacuum sound. “We’re going to use romifidine hydrochloride. It has a half-life of approximately 3 hours, so that should be enough time to get it to the facility. It works fairly well on horses, so on a giant salamander…” He paused. “I assume it should work real well. After all, according to my calculations, we’re giving it 947 milliliters, almost a whole liter!”
“You found its weight?” Rouge had to ask. She didn’t have the Biolizard files in her possession so she couldn’t fact check him. Dr. Coveldi certainly did his research, which was a weird thing to be surprised about because he was quite literally GUN’s lead scientist.
“Yeah, it says it in its file. It’s about 87 tons. I think a majority of that is because of the metallic implants, but that’s the best I got.” Coveldi shrugged. “It also has an accelerated metabolism so maybe overestimating the dose isn’t such a bad thing.” That confirms it then. The Biolizard and the Project: Shadow files became separate after a while.
“Where do you even get that much tranquilizer?”
“GUN has their suppliers,” he replied lightly.
“Enough of the chitchat,” Director Tower commanded, strapping himself into the seat. “Go sit yourselves down. Once we launch, it’ll take us 30 minutes or so to get there.”
Rouge copied Abraham and sat herself down, listening to the small clicks of her seatbelt. Dr. Coveldi did the same.
She never thought that she’d go to space, even less a second time. As the shuttle lifted off, she glanced out the window, watching the facility get smaller and smaller. To her surprise, there was no need for a countdown or a specific launch site. It almost felt like using a commercial airline, if it were being piloted by her former boss.
“This is how GUN was able to keep information about the ARK secret,” Dr. Coveldi was saying. “These ARK space shuttle launches aren’t as dramatic as rocket launches to space, so they didn’t attract a lot of attention.” He leaned forward. “You used to take trips to the ARK a lot as a kid, didn’t you, Director?”
Rouge perked up, listening closely.
Abraham Tower grunted. “I did. Monthly.”
“Is that why you got certified to fly one of these?”
“Something like that.”
They left the world behind, approaching the inky blackness of space. Rouge sat up in her seat to get a better view of the outside. The small pinpricks of light passed by the window leisurely, like holes in a dark blanket. She couldn't help scanning the area for a dark hedgehog. Wishful thinking, she supposed.
True to his word, they came upon the ARK in about 30 minutes.
Tower docked at the space station without a hitch, entering the large shuttle bay. “We’re here. Dr. Coveldi, grab what you need and let’s go.”
“Yes, sir!” The scientist unbuckled himself and moved down to the cargo bay. He came back up with a backpack and what looked like a milk jug. Rouge raised an eyebrow at this. He grinned and lifted it up. “This is our tranquilizer here.”
“Ah,” Rouge vocalized. She turned to follow the Director out the shuttle and into the ARK.
She only saw the ARK’s shuttle bay once when they were leaving the station on Eggman’s Egg Jet. She wasn’t really paying a lot of attention then. She took the time to look around as this was probably the last time she would ever need to be here.
Coveldi kept muttering to himself and spinning in circles trying to get a look at everything. “I can’t believe I’m actually here,” he whispered, sounding giddy.
“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Tower grumbled.
“Oh! Would you take me a picture, Director?”
“No.”
They continued on.
Rouge eventually took point, leading the two of them down to the ARK’s Core. She remembered the way out from when they moved to the observation deck on that day. She had to retrace her steps as Shadow had teleported them to the core. The humans remained silent until they came about the enormous room that housed the Biolizard.
She stopped in the doorway. “We’re here.” She announced.
“What do we do?” Abraham asked, turning to look at Coveldi.
The scientist got down on the ground and began unpacking his backpack. “The Biolizard must be in the water. It was originally based off of a salamander so it’s technically an amphibian, it likes to stay moist. In its file, it said that it had gills, which is super interesting because salamanders don’t live in water.” He pulled a large case out of his bag. Unzipping it, he revealed a giant syringe with a thick needle. “Its skin is really thick and acts as shock absorbers, so in order to actually get the whole dose in, we’re gonna need a lot of strength.” He assembled the syringe and connected it to what appeared to be half a gun. “This thing will help the needle pierce the skin and administer the tranquilizer, acting as a, well, tranquilizer gun.”
“When did you have the time to make this?” Abraham asked, keeping his eye on the room.
“I was really excited last night and couldn’t sleep,” Dr. Coveldi explained. “I just had to put something together!”
The Director rolled his eyes.
“So I guess I’ll draw it out and you stick it?” Rouge asked.
Dr. Coveldi rose to his feet and hefted the giant syringe-gun on his shoulder. The liquid inside sloshed around. “Good enough, I guess. Unless the Director has another idea?”
Abraham frowned at him. “Hell no. This is you twos’ project, I am not getting anywhere near it unless it’s in the cargo hold of the shuttle.”
A thought occurred to her. “About that… How did you plan on getting an 87-ton creature into the cargo hold?”
The two humans froze.
Rouge blinked.
“Did… none of you think about that?”
“Well…” Coveldi chuckled nervously, his finger tapping the handle of the gun. “I guess I was so excited to do this that it slipped my mind.”
“Tower?” Rouge looked to him.
He crossed his arms. “Again, this wasn’t my idea.”
“You said that you planned ahead!” Rouge exclaimed.
“Yes, for the space shuttle! Not for putting it into the cargo area!” Abraham defended himself.
“Oh, Chaos,” Rouge groaned and rubbed her face.
“I may have an idea,” Dr. Coveldi piped up. “I don’t know if it’ll work, but we can try.”
“I guess I’ll take any idea right now,” she sighed.
“So, you know how the Biolizard likes to hang around in the water below the core? All that water has to circulate the ARK,” the scientist explained. “Fortunately, there are huge pipes that run to the larger rooms, including the shuttle bay in case of an emergency, like a bad fire. The emergency system works to flush the water into the hangar to extinguish the fire, then small drains in the floor will recollect the water and transport it back to the water recycler. The plumbing here is a work of genius, honestly.” He grinned in a self-satisfied way. “I took the time to go over the ARK’s blueprints during the ride here!”
“What’s the idea?” Tower interrupted, eye twitching.
Dr. Coveldi flapped a hand at him, unfazed by the man's impatience. “I’m saying, if we can open the grate to the main pipe, then activate the shuttle bay’s emergency system, we can flush the Biolizard out to the shuttle!”
Abraham stared at him, mouth in a thin line.
“That’s… an idea.” Rouge said hesitantly.
Tower’s nostrils flared. “That’s the stupidest-”
“I don’t hear any suggestions coming from you!” The scientist bickered.
“Boys!” Rouge snapped, silencing them. She took a deep breath. “Will this agitate the Biolizard?” She directed her question to Coveldi.
“Maybe a little, but not if I have this,” he pulled a tiny vial from his pocket. “Ta-da! This is Gerald Robotnik’s secret serum to calm the Biolizard! I found the formula for it in one of the files.”
Her eyes flickered from the vial to the large syringe. When did he put that together? “If we have that, then why do we need the tranquilizer?”
“Well, according to the files, this concentrated stuff works kinda like hot tea. It’ll calm it and help it sleep, but it doesn’t make it sleep. I brought it just in case.” He wiggled the vial around. “Now how’s my plan, Director?”
Director Tower pinched the bridge of his nose. “Enough of this childish nonsense. How do we do this?”
“Alright, so here’s what we do…”
Abraham and Rouge would head back to the shuttle bay while Coveldi dropped some of that serum into the water to calm the Biolizard. He would then go and connect to the ARK’s mainframe so he could control the pipes. Once sufficient time has passed for the serum to take effect, Abraham would create a fire in the hangar to activate the emergency water system. Coveldi would then open the grate to the main pipe and the Biolizard would get flushed to the hangar. From there, it was up to Rouge to get the Biolizard into their shuttle and tranquilize it.
Rouge was dubious about that last part of the plan, but they had no other choice. The lack of foresight was incredible.
They moved according to plan.
Because there was no cellphone service in space and none of them thought to bring communication devices, Coveldi told Rouge to set a timer for 15 minutes. Once the timer went off, she and Abraham would build the fire, and the rest of the events should follow.
The two of them briskly walked through the ARK back to the hangar. Abraham carried the tranquilizer gun on his shoulder.
Rouge’s eyes caught on the door with the name MARIA plastered on it. She slowed to a stop. This was Shadow’s sister’s room. The door she found him by when they came here. She wondered what was inside.
“What are you doing?” Tower demanded from a few feet away.
Rouge tore her eyes away from the door. “I was just…”
Abraham was also staring at the door.
That’s right. Abraham and Maria were supposedly friends. The whole reason why he treated Shadow the way he did was because he believed that Shadow killed Maria. His actions were understandable, as anyone would hate the person that killed their friend, but unforgivable. His feelings were misdirected as GUN raided the ARK and shot Maria.
Abraham spent all this time mourning a friend, knowing that her ‘killer’ was still alive and right beneath his feet. Rouge wouldn't be caught dead defending the man though.
...That could be a poor choice of words.
“What do you remember about her?” Rouge surprised herself by asking that question.
The man was silent for a moment. “Her kindness. Her positivity. She always looked on the bright side even with her disability.” He turned away from the door. “She believed in people.” He continued down the hallway.
Rouge sighed and followed him. Yeah, he was so emotionally constipated. No use trying to get him to talk about his feelings.
They made it to the hangar with 5 minutes left on the timer.
“I suppose we need to find some things to burn,” Rouge commented, glancing about the area.
Abraham nodded. “There’s a linen cabinet over there,” he pointed across the shuttle bay. “I’ll go to the janitor’s cabinet to find an alcohol-based product. Handsanitizer works well in starting fires.”
How the man knew that, she didn’t want to know.
She followed his instructions and gathered towels and dryer sheets. As she returned, she searched the walls and ceilings, looking for some form of smoke detector. If they were to make the fire right under it, it should activate the emergency system much quicker.
Abraham seemed to have the same idea. He was already standing under what looked to be a protruding panel from the wall. “Dump those things here.” He directed.
Rouge complied. “You found handsanitizer?”
He held up a bottle. “Even better. Rubbing alcohol.” He unscrewed the cap and emptied the bottle onto the heap of cloths. “Now we just wait for-”
Her phone began beeping.
She pulled it out to stop the alarm. “That’s the signal.”
The Director shrugged and pulled a lighter out of his pocket. “I hope this works.” He clicked it and knelt down to set fire to the pile. Once it caught light, he stepped back. “I’ll open up the cargo hatch. Good luck.” He turned and promptly left her alone.
Rouge backed away from the burning towels. The smoke was already wafting around the detector.
Yeah, she hoped this worked too. She wasn’t even sure that she could get the Biolizard to listen to her.
An alarm sounded, just as planned. Lights began flashing.
Rouge blew at the flames to try and get it to grow bigger, before she retreated closer to the shuttle.
A large thump sounded and the ground shook.
The slightest bit of nervousness wormed its way into her heart.
An additional siren blared out and suddenly, a large gate began opening in the corner of the room.
A loud screech echoed out of the new tunnel, or pipe as it was. She didn’t know if that was the sound of the grate opening or the Biolizard.
Water surged out of the opening.
“Oh shit!” Rouge leaped into the air, wings carrying her higher.
Water covered the floor, a foot deep. The pressure immediately knocked over the burning linens, putting out the fire immediately. From what she could see, some of the towels were still salvageable, a testament to the punctuality of the system really. The whole hangar was covered in water. Fluid licked at the side of the GUN space shuttle.
Rouge waited for the Biolizard in trepidation, eyes glued to the large pipe.
The ARK shuddered, large bangs could be heard from the entrance.
There was a deep throaty shriek.
Rouge knew that was the Biolizard. She steeled herself, trying to think of a way to gain its attention.
There were heavy footsteps and the sound of sliding. The water rippled with each movement.
The Biolizard’s enormous head peaked out of the tunnel, mechanical eyes rotating.
Rouge whistled sharply.
The creature flinched, its eyes immediately locking onto her. It growled, a sound that vibrated her chest.
“H-Hey, honey,” she tried. “You remember me?”
It didn’t move from the pipe opening, only its head was visible.
So much for ‘flushing’ the Biolizard out. The pipe didn’t even have enough water pressure for that. It clearly just crawled through the pipes.
“Come here, sweetheart,” she beckoned a hand at it, lowering her voice to hopefully a comforting tone. She had no idea if it understood her, but it had to have some form of comprehension since it listened to Shadow. “Come on out,” she beat her wings to gain some altitude, trying to meet its eyes.
It grumbled, shuffling back and eyeing her suspiciously.
“Oh wait, wait,” how was she supposed to connect with it? Could she lure it with food? They didn’t have any! “Don’t you want to get away from here? We can take you to earth,” she tried instead. She offered her hand out, slowly, the same way she saw Shadow do. “C’mon, baby.”
It huffed at her hand, hot breath bordering on scorching. Her instincts screamed at her to get away from the larger creature, but she held her ground.
It paused. The red mechanical eyes focused on her wrist.
She was confused. “What is it…?”
Glancing down…
Oh.
Shadow’s inhibitor ring.
Did it remember him then?
She slipped it off and offered it to the Biolizard. “You wanna see Shadow again, sweetcheeks? Let’s go.”
The Biolizard followed her movement, entranced by the dull ring.
“That’s it, honey,” she whispered. She lowered herself to the ground, hovering just above the water.
The Biolizard emerged from the tunnel in its full glory. Almost as if it was bigger than she remembered.
Was it really going to fit in the shuttle?
She carefully made her way into the open cargo doors. “In here, sweetie.”
It hesitated for a moment, glancing about the entrance to the shuttle. It tossed its head with a snort and moved forward, following her in. It was like leading an animal with a treat.
She felt a wave of relief. “Aw, that’s a good- uh, Biolizard.” Was it a boy or a girl? Was it either?
She’d have to ask Coveldi.
“We’re in, Tower!” She called out. The Biolizard huffed at the ring once more.
She sat on the floor, back pressing against the wall. Surprisingly, the Biolizard joined her, curling up barely a foot away from her.
Huh, maybe they won’t need the tranquilizer after all.
She placed the ring an inch from its nose. She cautiously stretched a hand forward, resting it on the orange skin.
She exhaled. Things were looking up.
Coveldi joined them a few minutes later, his pants and shoes were wet from trudging through the flooded shuttle bay. Abraham hid himself in the cockpit. He didn’t offer a reason as to why, but Rouge concluded that he must be scared of the Biolizard. Rouge didn’t blame him of course. Her proximity to the creature made her fur stand on end, but she kept trying to convince herself that it won’t hurt her.
Dr. Coveldi popped his head down into the cargo hold to check up on her before they began the journey home. His eyes almost had stars in them when he caught sight of the Biolizard. “Oh, my god, its huge!” He whisper-shouted. “You don’t need the tranquilizer?”
Rouge shook her head. “I don’t think so. It's okay for now.”
He gave her a thumbs up. “We’ll start on back now. Well done!” Then he disappeared.
He must’ve told Abraham because the shuttle started up, rumbling deeply.
The Biolizard raised its head, almost just realizing what was happening.
Rouge raised her hand with it, trying to keep the contact. “Wait, wait, it’s okay!” She tried to comfort it. She picked up the inhibitor ring and offered it again. “Look, look here!”
The Biolizard trained its eyes on the ring and settled down again with a groan.
That’s how her thirty minutes were spent. She continued to redirect its attention to the ring, getting it to calm down. She didn’t know how the Biolizard knew that the ring belonged to Shadow, but she wasn’t complaining. The real challenge was keeping the creature placid while they reentered the atmosphere. The shuttle shuddered intensely and was making the Biolizard nervous. She was almost certain that they’d have to use the tranquilizer, but fortunately, the turbulence didn’t last long.
As they approached the GUN Emerald Facility, they fired the secondary engine to slow their descent. They landed a bit roughly, but everyone was in one piece.
Before the cargo doors were opened, Rouge had Coveldi open the hidden access gate in the underwater wall. She hoped that the Biolizard was okay swimming to its new home.
Rouge led the Biolizard with the inhibitor ring once again, but she only had half of its attention. One eye stayed on her while the other rotated wildly around the landscape. It must be overwhelming.
She’d whistle to gain its focus again and then they were off.
She coaxed it into the water and through the gap in the wall. It groaned in contentment as it fell into the water, the cool liquid rushing over its back. They made slow progress, but the creature made it into the contained area. She really hoped that it discovered the moonpool itself. She had no desire to get into the water and swim to the entrance. For now, the Biolizard seemed content to laze around in the ocean, diving down to explore whatever awaited it below.
Rouge circled the building to the entrance, hurrying through to get to the observation room. Just as she stepped inside, she caught the tail end of a conversation between Dr. Coveldi and Dr. Peaches, who she texted right before they left for the ARK.
“-nk that should be sufficient,” Dr. Peaches was saying. “A nice misting system would keep its skin moist while out of the water.”
“Mhm,” the GUN scientist nodded his head, writing on a clipboard. “I like that idea. And for its habitat? What would you suggest?”
“It would need a peaty soil, sphagnum moss, some substrate that would hold moisture well.” She answered. “Keep the temperature between 55 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity between 50-80%.” Her ear flicked at Rouge’s arrival and she turned her head. “Ah, Ms. Rouge, it's good to see you again. I was surprised to get your text today, but I’m glad nonetheless.”
Rouge smiled. “Likewise, Dr. Peaches. Did you get a look at the Biolizard yet?”
“Oh, not yet, I’ve been helping Dr. Coveldi here with some habitat suggestions, to help keep it comfortable as he told me that it was a salamander.” The possum replied.
“That’s great, thank you!” The hard part was definitely over. They just needed to order a crap ton of substrate and plants and make minor adjustments to the compound. No biggie with all of GUN’s resources.
She glanced at the observation window. Abraham stood there overlooking the habitat. She nodded towards him. “Why don’t you go wait over there with the Director?” She told Dr. Peaches. “I’m sure that the Biolizard will be making its appearance soon.”
The possum smiled. “I think I’d like to do that.” She quickly gravitated to the glass, easily striking up a conversation with Tower.
Once Rouge and Coveldi were alone, she let him finish up jotting notes down on his clipboard. But she couldn’t help asking him, “What do you know about Sublevel 20?” This was neither the time nor the place, but she just had to know.
Any mirth on the scientist's face immediately faded. “The lab where they kept Shadow?” She nodded, moving her gaze to keep it on the observation window. “That place is an aberration of science. It was run by the lead scientist at the time, Dr. Ligerburg. He was a biomedical engineer, one of the best we had. But he was a sick man. Many of his personal experiments were unhinged and dangerous. He only worked for GUN to receive funding,” he shrugged, “As many of us do really.”
“Do you know what… happened there?”
“Unfortunately,” he sighed. “I do have access to all GUN research files, but that doesn’t mean I want to know all of them. What Dr. Ligerburg did down there was just… abominable. Truly horrific. That man should have been fired a long time ago.”
“Where is he now?”
Dr. Coveldi’s eyes flickered to her. “No idea. Hopefully six feet underground, if you ask me. God knows he shouldn’t be left to experiment again.”
Rouge hummed.
Dr. Peaches gasped in awe. “Oh look at it!”
Rouge and Coveldi rushed forward to join them at the glass window.
The Biolizard’s head rose from the moon pool, glancing around. Its eyes locked onto them through the window.
Rouge raised a hand to wave.
The creature tilted its head at her before disappearing back down into the ocean.
Her mouth raised into a smile.
Biolizard Rescue complete. Now she just needed to find Shadow.
When she got home that night, she opened her laptop.
She wasn’t getting anywhere in her search for Shadow. It was time to try a different approach. Her plan for the Biolizard only came to fruition with some outside help. Maybe some professional assistance for her search was indicated.
She pulled up the official website and began filling out a report.
After reading over the information twice to ensure it was all correct, she sent it. Just as she was about to start her bedtime routine, her laptop pinged immediately.
Confused, she turned to check it.
Re: Missing Person [Inbox]
Chaotix Detective Agency <[email protected]>
To Rouge the Bat
Thank you for your interest in our services!
Unfortunately, your Missing Person request could not be filed because there is already a request put in to find Shadow the Hedgehog. Due to Client Confidentiality, we cannot tell you who has filed the report. Luckily, this inquiry is currently an open case and is being investigated!
Have a good night!
Chaotix Detective Agency
Rouge stared at the email.
What?