From the rooftops of Central City, Ava the Badger notices how the streetlights glisten like fireflies in the night. The darkness conceals her, but her vision is as clear as day. She wishes her best friend Shadow the Hedgehog was with her, but he's the reason why she came to the city. The past few days, he has been acting strange, and she can't explain his behavior. So, she decided to seek out Rouge the Bat, who could hopefully give some advice.
Ava takes a deep breath and jumps down to the next building, heading south. She finally finds the street she's looking for and follows it from the rooftops until she reaches an alley. She vaults off of the roof she's on and wall jumps down to the ground, flattening herself against the wall as she catches her breath. There's no need for her to be stealthy, but she likes to practice it when she can.
Ava walks out of the alley and across the street to Rouge's nightclub. She remembers the last time she was here she stole the bat's Chaos Emerald. She shudders, wishing she could forget about her past already.
The nightclub doesn't appear to be busy from the outside, so Ava is surprised to see how full it is when she walks in. She stays close to the wall as she glances around the dimly lit room. Large crowds usually make her claustrophobic, but she tries her best to keep her mind off the crowd and focused on finding Rouge. After a few minutes, she finds the bat lounging in a booth in the back corner.
The badger takes a deep breath as she walks over. "Uh, hey Rouge."
Rouge looks up from the stack of bills she's counting. "Ava! What brings you here?" She smiles coyly. "It better not be to steal another Chaos Emerald."
Ava's cheeks turn red. "Heh, no. Thankfully, it's not. Actually, I came because...it's about Shadow."
"I haven't seen him lately, if that's what you're asking."
"No, I know where he is. He's with me..."
Rouge raises an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"N-not like here with me right now, I mean," Ava stammers. "More like I'm kinda living with him right now..." She sighs and starts over. "I need your advice."
"Why didn't you say so? Have a seat."
Ava sits down on the other side of the booth, putting her hands beneath her legs. "I don't know how else to put this, but Shadow has been acting strange."
"Strange, huh," Rouge says curiously. "In what way?"
"Well, he...he hasn't talked to me at all in the past few days, and he doesn't really acknowledge me. Like I'll say something to him, and it's like he hears me but at the same time he doesn't...?" Ava rubs her right eye. "I don't know how normal this is for him, honestly. He's never been this quiet around me. You've known Shadow much longer than I have, so I figured maybe you'd know something."
"Hmm..." Rouge thinks for a moment. "It's not unusual for Shadow to be quiet, you know. It's usually a sign that he's brooding about something."
"Yeah, I know that, but he's just been...so eerily silent."
"Has he said anything to you?"
"No, not a word. Only a few grunts here and there."
"Huh, that is weird. In all the time that I've known him, I've never known him act that way towards anyone. Even when it seems like he's not listening, he almost always is. It's not like him to straight up ignore someone, or at least not like him to do it without a reason."
Ava shrugs. "I can't imagine what would cause him to ignore me. Maybe you could talk some sense into him? I don't know what else I can do. We were so close just last week, and now...it's almost like I'm a stranger to him."
