Shadow: Awakening II

The Last Emerald

"Gragh!" The Doctor angrily stomps the floor, channeling his anger into the kick. I stand with my back to the Eclipse Cannon, looking out to the ARK's walls. That didn't go quite as expected... I think, frowning into my crossed forearms. The door whooshes, and I let my gaze flit to Rouge as she walks towards us. Her eyebrows raise as she sees the Doctor, but she doesn't seem overly bothered by his antics.

"Why are you so upset?" She asks him, tilting her head to the side. When neither I nor the Doctor give a response, she changes tactics. "Well, that was really impressive, you know! You've managed to create complete havoc on the whole planet! Does this mean the planet has surrendered and is open to our commands?"

"Grrrrr..." The Doctor growls, whether in response or not I'm not sure. I decide now is as good a time as ever to inform him of the cannon's main drawback.

"At this rate," I begin, "the cannon will take too much time to charge up. If you want to unleash its full potential, then you'll need all seven Chaos Emeralds, Doctor." The Doctor ignores my comment, something I find very aggravating, and instead turns to Rouge.

"Where in the world have you been?" He barks, glaring at the bat woman. Her eyes widen a bit with comprehension, and she questions us.

"Did something happen?" Rouge asks, swiveling her head between both myself and the Doctor. The Doctor gives no response, so I speak up in an effort to keep my charade of alliance going.

"Our threats fell on deaf ears," I say in a disbelieving, slightly miffed tone. I wave my left hand in an exaggerative motion, rolling my eyes to convey displeasure. Rouge takes the falsehood in stride, and instead turns to the Doctor.

"Look at you!" She muses, waving her hands dismissively. "Throwing a tantrum like a little kid. How totally embarrassing!"

"Don't forget your end of the bargain, Rouge," The Doctor growls snappishly in response. "What about that last Chaos Emerald, hmm? We did have a deal, after all... So, tell me, where exactly is my Emerald?"

"Oh, how nice of you to ask," Rouge says, and she waves some sort of printed paper. "I found this..."

"Why didn't you show me this before?" The Doctor exclaims, and I try to tune the two out as he begins reading the article aloud. It's something about a young boy and a Chaos Emerald... Not like I actually care...

Oh, Maria. I swore to you that I would bring revenge upon the world, and I've been doing everything I can to accomplish your wish. If only there was a way I could accomplish this world's demise faster... So much time was wasted while I was trapped in stasis... Now there's very few, if any, left who will know just why their world is going to be destroyed. It makes me sad to think so many have escaped the revenge Gerald and I have planned, but rest easy knowing that, soon enough, your wish will be fulfilled.

"Soon enough, Maria..." I whisper, my voice low so as to go unheard.

"Did you get any of that?" Rouge asks, glancing at me. I notice that the Doctor has already left the room, and hope that my inattention wasn't as noticeable as she's suggesting. The last thing I need is for Rouge to suspect that I'm not fully on board with the Doctor's plan. If Earth suspects my true plot... But it's too late to stop it now, isn't it? I pause for a moment and consider the various outcomes of my plan if Earth discovered it early. No, I decide, my plan isn't foolproof until I get the last Emerald. Turning on my heel, I walk out of the room, following in the Doctor's footsteps until I am away from Rouge.

I wonder if Rouge is as perceptive as she seems to be. This isn't the first time she's surprised me by seeing deeper into my guise than I want her to... Shaking my head of thoughts, I walk to the bridge. Of course, now I have to team up with a Rouge to get the 7th Emerald. Wonderful. I wait around for almost 20 minutes for the bat to show up, but when she does, she wastes no time in grabbing my arm.