Shadow, Don't Make Me Upset (Shadow Saga Series #2)

You Are Hiding Something

Brief flashback before Eggman blows up half the moon.
Sonic belongs to SEGA, enjoy!

"You must really like that planet, Shadow."

He remembered her voice so clearly... it was as if she were right there, standing next to him like she always did...

Shadow stood on the observation deck, looking at the planet below as Maria walked up to join him. He only glanced at her for a small moment before he returned to his original position, arms folded across his chest, brow furrowed as he was deep in thought. "Professor Gerald said his life's work is dedicated to all of the people who live down there," he told her. "That it's his purpose in life to make people happy through the power of science."

"Shadow..."

Those odd thoughts were in his head again as Shadow stared down at his hand, eyes seeming to glaze over as if he'd never seen it before. "Maria... I can't find the reason I was born... what I'm supposed to do, what my purpose is for being here..." He then glanced back at the planet again, the hint of gloss never leaving his eyes. "Will I find the answer... if I go to that planet someday...?"

Maria never responded.

Shadow turned his gaze to the ground, his eyes glazing over further as he saw Maria disappear out of the corner of his gaze. "Maria..." he mumbled, shutting his eyes and wanting the memory to just go away...

"Why so melancholy?"

Shadow snapped back to reality, noticing that he was still at the window on the observation deck—but it was already morning. Turning slightly, he found Rouge walking up to him, stretching and looking like she'd just woken up a few minutes ago. "Good morning," she said with a wave, smiling warmly.

Shadow had to force himself not to start staring at her eyes again. "...Morning," he said after a moment, returning his gaze to the planet. I must have fallen asleep out here. Guess I lost track of time, which is ironic considering we're in space, he thought, observing the sun as it bathed the planet in light. This will be the last time that humanity will see the sun...

"You know, I don't think I ever thanked you for saving me back there," Rouge interrupted his thoughts, actually sounding sincere for once. "That was so unexpected. So unlike you, Shadow..."

The hedgehog's quills bristled at the way she said his name, but he scoffed and put on his usual stoic expression. "It's not that I wanted to save you," he said. "I only did it for the Chaos Emeralds."

"Yeah, yeah. But that's not the whole story, is it?"

Shadow's heart began to pound again. Is she onto me...?! he thought in a panic, until Rouge spoke up a second time.

"Your ability to use Chaos Control certainly comes in handy!"

Whew... Shadow was safe. For now. If she caught on, everything would be ruined...

"Say, how does it work anyways? Is there a science behind it?"

Shadow merely rolled his eyes and counted the "steps", if you will, on his fingers. "Hold Chaos Emerald. Say 'Chaos Control'. Go fast."

Rouge didn't look impressed. "That's it?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you."

"Hmph! How rude. I'm only trying to be nice."

"Then stop trying. I don't need any sense of camaraderie to achieve my wish." Shadow turned around fully this time, glaring daggers at the bat. "I can do this, with or without you. And the doctor."

Rouge gave him a sassy look, those eyes boring into his very soul. "Oooh, so you're actually not working with Eggman?"

Shadow's eyes widened. Shoot.

"Well, lucky for you, neither am I." Rouge winked at him and put a finger to her lips. "It'll be our little secret. Shush-shush, handsome."

Shadow blinked in surprise at this woman's words. How did she figure it out? And more importantly... how much had she figured out? Shadow had to ask, no, to demand—his lips moved, but no words came out.

Eggman suddenly barged in, clearing his throat. Loudly. Excessively. Thank Chaos, Shadow thought, grateful for the interruption. "Everything is ready to go," the doctor reported, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

"Are you sure?" Rouge asked, raising an eyebrow. "We only have six of the seven Chaos Emeralds, you know."

"That's more than enough for a demonstration," Shadow cut in as he walked past both of them. "So, let get this started."

And with that, the hedgehog left the room, with his two "allies" not far behind him.

Leaving the duo to their own devices for a moment, Shadow teleported to Gerald's old laboratory, accessing the computer with skills that would give even the world's greatest hacker a run for their money. But he wasn't accessing the ARK's database.

He was accessing GUN's.

Squinting at the various files that popped up, Shadow scanned the contents until he came across a particular section. "Top Agents". Lucky for him (and unlucky for everyone else), the higher-ups had been so kind as to organize their documents alphabetically, so Shadow needed only to find the letter "R" to find what he was looking for.

Richard, Roger, Ross... aha! Rouge. Shadow clicked on the file...

And his heart nearly jumped into his throat.

Agent Rouge the Bat
Skills: Treasure hunting, stealth and infiltration, intelligence gathering, negotiation
Mission status: Inconclusive
Recent accomplishments: Not determined

Current mission: Investigation into Project Shadow

Agent will infiltrate the ranks of Dr. Ivo Robotnik and gather information about Project Shadow, feigning interest in assisting the enemy's goals. All relevant data will be directly uploaded to GUN headquarters, where staff will determine how to properly deal with the Ultimate Lifeform. On agent's request, the reward for successfully completing mission will be a collection of valuable jewels. Mission incomplete.

Shadow clicked off the file and felt his fists clench tightly.

She lied to me.

That pathetic bat LIED to me!

The hedgehog burned with anger, but he didn't dare reveal this information to Eggman. He couldn't risk compromising his mission, and besides, he was no tattletale. This would merely be something else for him to observe.

But... something in that file made his skin crawl.

Why was GUN trying to get information on the Ultimate Lifeform...

...when they had already captured the Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow the Hedgehog, 50 years ago?

Shadow has found out what Rouge is hiding. Also, the Chaos Control explanation is thanks to the Twitter Takeovers. You're welcome for that reference.
Peace out!