ARAAT3: The Forbidden Experiment

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A Rose And A Thorn 3: The Forbidden Experiments

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

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Harley: Okay, two chapters up at once. They’re both pretty short, but this way you have something GOOD to review.

Froggy: Read and Review. We don’t mind if you have a poor opinion of the story, just tell the truth and don’t be an asshole. On with the Chaotix-ness!

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Chapter Three: Moving In

The hooded half-feline shaded her face as a police car passed by. It was more instinct than anything else. The coat was dirty from several nights of sleeping rough, and she was actually starting to regret running away from Ashura. At least she'd be sleeping on a bed if she were working for him. And she was hungry. She scowled at this thought, and continued walking nowhere in particular.

Espio was also moving through the city silently, his skin colour ever changing to suit his surroundings, making him nearly invisible. He was searching for the feline he had met on ARK, the one which claimed to be Shadow's sister. The rest of the Chaotix were at it too, at Shadow's request. Vector was searching for her by asking around, seeing if anyone had spotted a red and black feline. Charmee, not nearly as useful at questioning people, had taken to the air, using his high vantage point to search. Together, with their combined talents, they hoped to find Mirage. It had been three days, and they had covered much of the city, but it was sure to be only a matter of time. They were fairly certain that Mirage was in Central City; her escape pod had gone down close to it.

Mirage saw Espio at the exact moment that he saw her. Her face was hidden from view, but he could still see her crimson eyes almost glowing. Then she turned from him and scurried down a narrow alleyway.

Without hesitation, the chameleon chased after her, running into the alleyway, alert to any attack or trap she had prepared. He didn't get the impression that Mirage meant anyone harm... but better safe than sorry, "Mirage, wait up,” he called out in his calm steady voice, hoping that it would alleviate any fears she had of him.

The alley was so narrow, two people would have had trouble standing next to each other. Mirage was nowhere to be seen. There was a long silence, "Why?" a voice asked him. After a few moments, he looked up. Mirage was about twenty feet up, her shoulders braced against one wall, her feet against the other. It was a magnificent hiding place. The only way to get her down from there alive would be to convince her he was no danger to her, or blow up the buildings, "Why should I trust you?" she asked him.

"To be honest, there is no good reason for you to trust me,” Espio replied. He looked up at the feline and relaxed his stance, "You don't know me. But I have yet to hurt you, as I'm sure Ashura has. Whether or not you give me a chance is entirely up to you, but I give you my word that I will not harm you."

There was a long, tense silence, as Mirage’s eyes met Espio's, weighing him up, "If I do come down," she said finally, "What then? What will you do with me?"

Espio's eyes looked back up into hers, even from across the distance between them. He could see that her fur was dirty and there were shadows under her eyes, as if she had not been sleeping well, "Shadow asked me and a couple of friends of mine to find you and keep you safe from Ashura. Beyond that..." The reptile shrugged, "Nothing was specified. But we could give you a place to stay. It looks like you could use it."

There was another pause, and Mirage nodded, "Okay..." she said quietly, "Okay, I will come down..." Slowly, cautiously, she worked her way down again, until she was facing Espio in the alley, chewing on her lip nervously.

The two of them stood there for a long, silent moment looking at each other, waiting for the other to speak, to make a move. Finally, it was Espio who did something to break the silence, offering her his hand, "We haven't been properly introduced. My name is Espio."

Mirage looked at his hand, "Yes, you said on ARK," she replied finally, "My name... I am Project Mirage."

Espio let his hand drop. Maybe he'd tell her about hand shaking later... "If you don't mind, I'll just call you Mirage,” he said.

"Okay," Mirage replied, her position defensive. She twitched nervously, "Where... are you taking me?" she asked him guardedly. She looked ready to run at any moment.

Espio fingered the radio attached to his wrist. "I'm going to contact the others, and I suppose we'll go to our HQ from there. It's not much, but it's home to us. It's warm, its got running water, and a place to sleep..." he said, and then grumbled under his breath, "When Vector remembers to pay the bills..."

Mirage twitched again, but smiled very slightly at these words, "So... do you have financial problems?" she asked him.

"You could say we have a tight budget,” the chameleon said as he turned and gestured for her to follow him, "Work has been hard to come by lately. At least, no work that pays well. But we do what we can." Espio frowned. It didn't help either when they got ripped off by people like Eggman... but hey, at least the Chaotix got the satisfaction of beating their frustration out on him. That almost made the whole Metal Overlord debacle worth it.

"So you do have financial problems," Mirage replied, "I do not see that I will be able to help..." she sounded apologetic. In fact, that seemed to be her regular tone; one of a permanent apology waiting to happen.

Espio just shrugged. Yeah, having someone else around wouldn't help matters but... she was a guest, "Don't worry about it."

Mirage constantly looked around nervously as they continued down the street, as if she was waiting for somebody to jump out at her, "I do not see how you are going to hide me from Ashura either," she muttered, "If he wants to find me, he will."

"Maybe. Maybe not,” Espio said, looking over his shoulder at her, "Don't turn him into something he is not. Ashura is fallible, as are we all."

"Hey, I think I know that... that monster a little better than you do," Mirage scowled. Her paws opened and closed rapidly, and her claws dug some way into her paws, actually drawing blood.

They left the alleyway behind them, and Espio led them towards the meeting place the Chaotix had chosen: the park, "You may know that particular monster better,” Espio admitted, "But I know something about all monsters: their greatest weapon is fear. Strip them of that, and they have no power over you."

A low whine rose up from Mirage's throat, "You make it sound so easy," she complained.

Espio couldn't prevent the smile from spreading across his face, "I do, don't I? Well... no, it's not easy. But once you do it, everything else is."

Mirage was silent for a while, "How do I know I can trust any of you?" she asked him as they got closer to the park, obviously growing twitchy again.

"Trust isn't always a matter of knowing if it is safe or not,” Espio replied cryptically as they stepped onto the grass and neared a park bench. Judging from the buzzing sound in the distance, Charmee Bee was about to collide with something black and furry in 3... 2... 1...

The small bee slammed into Mirage's back, knocking her into Espio with a shriek, "It is an ambush! Every hybrid for herself!" she shouted as she staggered back to her feet in less than half a second flat. Then she saw the diminutive Charmee, and relaxed somewhat, "Who is that kid?" she asked.

"This little bundle of energy is named Charmee,” Espio said as he climbed to his feet and dusted himself off. He gave a look of warning at the bee, "And I've told him a million times to watch where he's flying."

Mirage tilted her head to one side, looking at the bee at an angle. She nodded slowly, obviously deciding that he wasn't a threat, "Okay," she said carefully.

"Sorry, miss!" Charmee grinned, "Who are you? Are you the cat we had to find? I couldn't find ya!"

"Well of course you could not find me," Mirage replied, "What would be the point of hiding if you could find me?"

"You hid well,” Espio said with a nod, "With some training, you could be invisible. You've got the potential."

"I am not a chameleon," Mirage commented. Espio couldn't help but notice that the half-feline had a tendency to take everything literally.

"No, you're not,” Espio noted, "But you don't have to be to hide from others." His gaze scanned the area, looking for a certain crocodile. Vector was taking a long time. Not surprising.

However, he could see the crocodile approaching, not difficult seeing as he towered above most normal people. When he saw Mirage was with Espio and Charmee already, he visibly groaned before he was even in hearing distance. When he was finally there, he looked down at Mirage, who looked up at him, "Can I take it that Espio found you... uh... miss?" he asked the half-feline.

She nodded slowly, before speaking, "Yes. He looked up," she replied.

Espio suppressed the urge to chuckle at his friend's expense. He wondered if she had done the same trick with him. Vector would have walked right past her, "Vector,” he said, turning to the croc, "This is Mirage. Mirage, this is Vector."

"Pleased ta meetcha, Mirage," Vector offered his hand to shake.

The hedgecat looked at his hand, "Right…”

"But for now,” Espio continued, “I suggest we head back to HQ. It's been a long day for all of us."

Mirage tucked a furry quill behind her shoulder. It fell forward almost instantly, but she ignored it, "Lead the way then," she said, clearly still on her guard.

Espio gave a respectful bow, turned, and gestured for all to follow him.

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It wasn't a very long walk to their HQ, an old three-story building they had renovated and made their own. As Espio said, it wasn't much, but it was their home.

"You live here?" Thanks to Mirage's monotone voice, it was difficult to tell whether it was a compliment or an insult, but considering she'd been sleeping rough for the last two nights, it was probably a good thing.

"Live and work our little operation from here,” Espio said, stepping inside, "We have a spare room you can borrow for the time being."

Mirage smiled again, "Thankyou," she said, "It is hardly as if I have got much stuff. To be honest... I am wearing everything I own."

Espio gave the feline a small, odd smile, "You're not really missing out on much." Then the chameleon stepped away from her and walked towards the stairs. He waved behind them at Vector and Charmee. "I'll be upstairs meditating if you need me."

Mirage shrugged, then turned to Vector and Charmee, "So, where is this spare bedroom then?" she asked them.

"I'll take you!" Charmee squealed. Mirage followed the hyperactive bee up the stairs. They passed Espio's room, which exuded a distinct silence. The spare room was full of dust, a broken television that Espio hadn't let Vector sell on Ebay, a small bed, a wardrobe full of clothes that the crocodile had bought that nobody would wear, and the pictures that nobody wanted to look at.

Mirage nodded, "Just like home," she said, "I will just tidy it up." She took in the disorder in the room, and used Chaos Tempest to get it and the broken television and all the other junk out of the room. If she could keep it out for about half an hour, the planet would have rotated sufficiently for it to all wind up in Vector's room.

"Neat trick!" Charmee shouted, "Do it for my room!"

Mirage ignored him and bounced experimentally on the bed, "It is a lot softer than concrete," she admitted, and lay back, sitting against the wall, “You want to leave now,” she told Charmee briskly. The bee was about to shout something, but she turned to look at him, and the expression nailed him to the wall. He left in a hurry.

She reflected on the day. Right up until she had met the Chaotix, she'd been on the run and terrified for her life. Now she felt... not in danger, at least temporarily. She considered this, as she investigated the wardrobe and found a large t-shirt that had obviously never been worn. It would do nicely for a nightdress. She'd have to leave soon, of course, but for now she could relax while she worked out her next move.

Whatever Espio said, she couldn't be safe from Ashura, but if she kept on the move, he wouldn't catch up with her for a while, at least until she'd worked things out. She pulled off her vest and hung it on the end of the bed neatly, then pulled on the t-shirt. And it would be nice to eat food for once and not have to steal it. She nodded, feeling satisfied with the day's work. She concentrated for a few seconds, "3... 2... 1..." she muttered. There was the sound of several things trying to be in the same place at the same time, and Vector was swearing and sneezing in the next room loudly. She smiled, nodded, and curled up, covering her ears with her tail.

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Harley: Now that makes up for two short chapters. Right?

Froggy: It had better…