Shadow: The Origin Of A Legend

Chapter 15

Half of a year later...

The white bat elegantly slides down the air ventilation shaft, her wings opened as wide as possible to maintain a reasonable velocity. Spotting a vent down below, she flaps her wings to slow herself a bit more, landing delicately on it, attempting to avoid making a lot of noise. This base is supposedly abandoned, but you can never be too careful. She knelt down, gently undoing the screws that held the vent in place. To her dismay, the metal was so rusted that they were disintegrating-after two different screws turned to powder in her hands, she decided to just rip the grate out of its socket. Fortunately, that worked, and it only shed a small amount of dust onto the floor. She hops out of the shaft, landing near-silently on the floor. Turning, she inspects the rusted, dingy red door in front of her. It appeared to demand a card and a passcode. The passcode she had acquired from an older vault; the card-slot would have to be hacked into. Entering the PIN, she swiped a card barcoded with a scrambling pattern, meant to confuse the technology into receiving the correct data, and the door swished open. Yes! It worked!

Cautiously, she walks into the vault, pausing to look around. "This must be it!" She murmurs to herself, excited. The room was dark, but that didn't stop her from seeing all of the details of the room. It was filled with capsules, different tanks Robotnik often used to store his things. "I've found Eggman's secret treasure!" Enthused, she prances up to the nearest technological thing she could find. It's a wide desk-shaped control center, holding a variety of buttons, knobs and levers, as well as a standard computer keyboard. Rouge pulls out a device from her shoe and clicks it to life. It whirrs to life, shining a dark bluish purple light over the keys, revealing the most-pressed buttons. Nodding, she presses them in a random order, hoping for the best.

A buzzing noise emits from the console, and a few rather spooky lights flicker to life. Rouge steps back, looking up, confused. An unusual noise is masked a bit by the buzzing but she can still pick it up-it sounds like a full bathtub being drained. Confused, she glances around, trying to figure out what was going on.

To her left, a robot is waking up. E-123 OMEGA's red eyes buzz to life, and he lifts his head, scanning the room. Within the capsule, the green ooze is draining, rapidly. He detects a life-form within it, though unidentified. He readies his weapons as the capsule springs open, and Rouge steps back from it with a gasp.

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I open my eyes to find myself staring at my feet. I look up rapidly as I hear gunfire break out, and see a female white bat sporting an unusual, armor-like pink and purple form of attire. Immediately I spring forward and knock her to the ground, hissing, "Stay here." She sputters something in reply, but I pay little attention, leaping quickly from the ground. Spiraling through the air, I scan the environment around me, attempting to find the source of the gunfire and end it. I spot a robot, standing near a supporting column. Around this time, I notice a peculiar substance coating my fur, slick and slimy, and I smirk to myself. Perfect...This will lend me a boost in my evasion abilities.

"Must destroy all Robotnik robots," the robot booms in a monotone voice. The bat is sitting up by now, and makes a confused noise. I leap forward, aiming right for it with a kick. Just as I was about to land the blow, a white blur leaps into the way. Panicking, I twirl rapidly, retracting my foot and attempting to keep her out of my way. You idiot! I told you to stay put--what are you doing?!

"Hold up!" She shouts, shoving the robot back as I land elegantly next to her. The robot rights itself, having ceased firing but still on guard. She stares at the damage done to the room, gaping. I myself allow a fervent glance to ensure structural integrity. After a few moments, I deduce that the room is still stable, though a bit worse for wear. "Let's just talk this out," she begins, turning to the robot. Disgusted and annoyed, I turn away and focus on more important things, pacing forward into the room. Much has been destroyed, but a few bits may be salvageable.

I look up at the ceiling, and begin to wonder how I got here. How strange... I muse. I don't recall how I got here, or what this place is. I look around at the wreckage, searching for something that might indicate what this room is. Unfortunately, if its purpose had been marked before, it was too decimated to tell. Worry furrows my brow as I look down. Why can't I remember anything? What caused me to end up here?

The white bat's voice breaks my concentration as she addresses me. "And you," she calls out to me, continuing on some thought she had been discussing that I'd ignored, "you can't remember anything, can you?" I turn my head to my right slightly, glancing at her over my shoulder, and then I look away. I don't know who she is, but I'm not going to let her take advantage of my weakness. I emit a small 'hmmph' noise, and she takes it as an answer. "Well then," she barrels on, "it's settled." She hops down from her perch, continuing. "Now, you two make nice so we can join together and figure out what's going on!" She grabs the robot's arm, pulling him forward, and then to my surprise she grabs my arm and turns me around, forcing me to put my hand on top of the eerily cold robot's. Slapping her hand on top of mine, she cheers, "Yeah, baby, this makes us a team!" I glare at the robot, not trusting it, and it lifts a weapon as the oblivious bat yammers on. "Now, let's go find Eggman!"

Just what, exactly, have I gotten myself into? I think nervously, glancing around. I just met this lady, don't even know her name, don't even know where I am, and now suddenly I'm on a team? With this robot who just tried to destroy this entire room? It's more than a little ridiculous. But, it's not like I have anywhere else to go or anything else to do. Even if I did, I don't remember it, and since I have no clue what any of this world is like, it may be wise to stick together.

"First things first..." Rouge looks at Omega. "We're gonna have to find a different way out, 'cuz you're absolutely not gonna fit in the way I came in."

"There is an exit ten doors down to our right." Omega replies.

"Great!" She chirps. "Come on, let's go!" The white bat skips out the door, with the robot trundling along after her. I hesitate for a moment, feeling slightly put-off by this place, and then I walk after the robot at a relaxed pace. I have no idea if this is going to work out at all, but it'll certainly be interesting...