ARAAT3: The Forbidden Experiment

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A Rose And A Thorn 3: The Forbidden Experiment

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic and Froggy22651

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Harley: Hmmm… even though BZLF asked some questions which will be answered, winner of the Most Intelligent Review Award goes to Disaster Master. We can explain why the sequels didn’t turn to shit.

Froggy: A lot of the time, sequels are unplanned, so it’s a hasty plot thrown together onto something that should have ended. But these fanfics were all written with not only a sequel in mind, but also a specific plot in mind for the sequel. So they fit.

Harley: Did we say we are using Sega characters without their explicit permission? Probably. So, let the fourth chapter of the third fanfic commence!

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Chapter Four: To Fight And Kill

Mirage pulled the pillow over her ears. The sun had risen, the birds were singing, and it was, if her biological clock was right, about seven in the morning. Vector had spent the best part of last night clearing all the junk out of his room, and she didn't sleep well in any circumstances, "Fu'sht..." she moaned, and gave up, climbing out of the bed.

She sat on the edge of the bed, getting her bearings, remembering where she was. Finally she stood up, brushed her furry quills with her claws, and headed for the stairs, still wearing the t-shirt/nightdress. She didn't mean to peek, but as she passed Espio's door, she realised that the chameleon was still meditating, as he had been last night.

Indeed, he still sat there with his legs crossed, eyes closed, his hands in his lap. It seemed downright impossible that anyone could still that still for that long.

Mirage hovered there for several seconds, then went into his room, "Hey, uh... Espio," she tried. This got no response, so she shook his shoulder sharply, "Espio, it is morning now!"

The chameleon's eyes shot open and stared at her like daggers, instantly alert. After a moment of hesitation, the sharpness left his gaze, him realizing that there was no danger. He blinked and carefully, slowly, stretched. "Mmm... how long was I like that?"

"Since about seven last night," Mirage answered, taking a step backwards.

Espio stood up and stretched his back, a loud popping sound being the result. "Yeah, feels like it,” he commented. Amazingly, he didn't look tired or in pain. Meditation must have been a substitute for sleep, "How are you, Mirage? I trust you slept well."

"Wrong," Mirage replied, easily, "I-" she stopped, and rearranged the sentence in her head, "I rarely do. I guess I am generally just waiting for an interruption."

Espio silently put his boots and gloves and walked over to the wall where a variety of weapons were hanging. He picked up a staff of some kind and began whirling it around in some kind of drill. "Difficulty sleeping can indicate many things,” the chameleon said as he practiced, "A great deal of stress or a guilty conscience, for example."

Mirage's expression became a glare, and she caught the staff as it blurred past her, "I do not have a guilty conscience!" she snapped, holding the staff tightly.

"Nice reflexes,” Espio noted appraisingly. Immediately after, he worked at twisting the weapon out of her grip, "If that's true, why so defensive about it?" he asked, easily dividing his attention between the conversation and the struggle.

"Felines should not have consciences at all!" Mirage replied, her grip tightening, "It is a major character flaw."

Espio yanked the staff away from her and resumed his drills as if he had never stopped, "Alright. Then you don't have a guilty conscience."

Mirage sagged. She'd half expected Espio to investigate the matter further, but if he wasn't going to press it, neither was she, "That is right," she said, "But I am going to have breakfast." She half left his room, then hesitated. Espio could tell she was about to speak, but then she didn't, she just... left.

Espio looked down at the staff in his hands, and tossed it back towards the wall. It landed and rolled to a stop just underneath the weapons case. "I'm coming too,” he said out loud, walking towards the door.

Mirage had already found the kitchen, and was looking in the fridge, "When," she asked him as he came in, "Was the last time anybody cleaned this thing out?" She found a carton of milk and a slice of bread, and sat at the table.

Espio looked inside the fridge and grimaced, seeing the same mess she did. "I told Charmee to do it yesterday,” he grumbled, "But then, that was a bad idea. I guess I'll do it later." He slapped together a sandwich from what he could find which still looked edible and sat down beside Mirage.

Mirage lined a mug with the bread, then poured the milk into the mug, and started to drink it, "I suppose you can tell Shadow I am okay now," she said, staring at the mug, "Of course, I shall not be able to stay long, staying in one place for any length of time is practically asking for trouble."

"I agree,” Espio said with a nod, "If Ashura has any sense at all, this place will be high on his list of places to search. We need to figure out where to go next... preferably more comfortable than the city streets." He took a tentative bite from his sandwich and immediately regretted it. "Ugh..."

Mirage started to spoon the milk-soaked bread into her mouth, "I meant me, alone," she pointed out, "One person is harder to track than four, and besides, you guys should not get involved if you do not have to."

"I swore to Shadow that I would keep you from harm, and I will do that,” Espio declared in his ever-calm voice. Tossing his sandwich into the nearby waste bin, he continued, "Vector and Charmee would be easier to spot, yes. Which is why they won't be going with us. They'll stay here and keep us updated however they can."

Mirage growled softly, obviously discomforted by the idea of being followed, "I do not need your help to stay safe," she said, looking at the mug, "I can defend myself just fine."

"I'm sure you can. To an extent,” Espio said, tilting his head to the side, "However, it would increase your chances of staying safe if you had help."

"I told you, I do not need help," Mirage insisted, her hands twisting around each other. Espio couldn't tell whether she was serious, or whether she just wanted to be alone.

Espio scooted away and stood up and walked over to the window, staring out, "Alright. You don't need help,” he said.

Mirage frowned. That was too easy for comfort. It was then that Vector came into the kitchen, "Who teleported all that junk into my room last night?" he asked them, "Was it you, Mirage?"

Mirage raised an eyebrow carefully, "Who, me?" she asked innocently.

Espio turned around, raised his own eyebrow curiously, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You did, didn't you?" Vector asked the half-feline again.

"I cannot teleport things!" Mirage insisted with absolute honesty, but both Vector and Espio could see a slow grin crossing her face.

Espio smirked, seeing right through the lie, "Oh really. Too bad; that would be a very interesting trick."

"Then how did all that crap get in my room?" Vector asked her.

There was a complicated silence while Mirage tried to think up a good lie, and failed, "Magic?" she suggested, weakly. Her hand gripped the pendant around her neck tightly.

"It would have to be,” Espio admitted, "You can't make things disappear and reappear without it. Well... magic, and a little science. You did come from ARK, after all. Chaos energy?"

"No, not that," Mirage cleaned out the mug with her finger, and licked it, "Chaos Energy... ugh!"

"What is it then?" he asked, "You don't have to answer. Just curious..."

"...Gives me the most appalling headache..." Mirage muttered, then shrugged, "Anybody ever tell you what curiosity did to the cat?"

"Yeah, it killed it,” Espio said. He then pointed at her quills and noted, "But you're not fully a cat."

"Yeah, my other half is a hedgehog," Mirage admitted grudgingly, "Must be where I get that wretched conscience from."

Finally, a genuine smile crossed the chameleon's face, "Ah, so you DO have a conscience,” he chuckled, "Must also be why you have trouble making up your mind."

"What do you mean, I have trouble making up my mind?" Mirage asked, suspiciously.

"You claimed that you didn't have a conscience earlier,” he reminded her.

"No, I claimed I do not have a guilty conscience," Mirage replied, "And I do not!" she insisted.

"If you say so,” Espio replied, walking towards the door, "I need to go make a phone call."

“Yeah, you tell Shadow his little sister is just fine and she does not need any help," Mirage told him, “Not even from you guys.”

Vector blinked and took a seat opposite Mirage, "We can't let you go out there alone," he warned her.

"You can and you will and you must," Mirage scowled, her hand tightening on the pendant.

Espio picked up the phone and dialled Shadow’s home. As he had expected, it wasn't Shadow who answered, but Amy.

"Hey there," Amy's calm voice answered the phone, "Who's calling?"

"It's me, Espio,” was the chameleon's reply, "I was wondering if Shadow were there."

"Sorry, he's out delivering," Amy replied, "Maybe I can take a message?"

"No, that's alright. I'd like to tell him myself. Just have him call me,” Espio said, "How are you and Eclipse doing?"

"Oh, Eclipse is doing wonderfully," Amy even sounded like she was smiling, "He really listens, I'm sure of it, you know? And his streaks are shaping nicely. He's very active."

The chameleon smiled, pleased to hear of their child. The smile disappeared though, as he asked the next question, "And Shadow? How has he been since his... trip?"

"He's been... concerned," Amy replied, "Looking for Mirage all over the place. I think he'd rather find her himself than you guys find her first."

"Well, sorry, but we got to her first. She's here at our hideout right now. That's what I want to talk to Shadow about,” he explained

"Oh," there was a pause, "Shall I tell him, or would you rather call back?"

"...You can tell him. It's alright. And tell him that Mirage has been displaying some unusual powers. They may have something to do with the Chaos Emeralds... or the Master Emerald."

"Okay, I’ll tell him that… See you around, Esp!" Amy hung up.

Hearing the click, Espio hung up as well and leaned against the wall and looked towards the kitchen, "Just what are you, Mirage?" he whispered.

He could hear her talking with Vector, "Okay, I will help you carry all of that stuff outside. Just stop complaining. It is just a bit of dust."

Considering how lax Vector was with the housework, Espio silently bet that it was a lot more than just a ‘bit’ of dust for him to complain about it.

Mirage passed Espio, her paws twisting around each other, as if her mind was elsewhere. She followed Vector up the stairs, muttering what sounded like swearwords in feline all the way. A few minutes later and she came down again, dressed, and carrying a dusty television in her arms.

"Want me to help out?" the chameleon asked.

"If you feel like doing some dusting," Mirage replied, "The damn stuff always gets right in my fur."

The chameleon smirked, "Ah, the advantages of having scales. Sure, I wouldn't mind dusting. A nice, peaceful exercise."

~~~

The next couple of hours were spent with Mirage carrying out all the junk that she had moved into Vector's room and putting it into the outside bin, while Espio and Vector tried to clean the room itself.

"You know she did it," Vector told the chameleon, "How did she do it?"

Espio looked around at their work with a satisfied look on his face. "May this be a lesson to you, Vector. Keep things tidy."

"My room was fine before she managed to dump all that junk into it," Vector complained, "How did she do it?"

"How should I know?” the reptile asked as he turned and walked out of the room

"Well then, ask her!" Vector snapped.

It wasn't like Vector to lose his temper like that. Espio calmly turned around and faced the croc, "Is there something else you need to say to me?"

Vector took a deep breath, "I'm sorry Esp," he grumbled, "But you try having an entire spare room appear in your bedroom some time. I just wanna know how she did it."

"Some sort of power she was given when she was... created. Like Shadow, she was given unusual abilities. We just need to figure out what."

Vector lay back on his bed, "I know that," he told Espio, "But in case you hadn't noticed, it's no easy task getting her to open up."

"She's afraid to,” Espio explained as he leaned back against the wall, "She feels that opening up would leave her vulnerable."

"I don't expect she got much free time,” Vector pointed out, “Like Shadow."

"That is right," Mirage agreed. Vector and Espio turned to see the feline standing in the doorway. They had no way of knowing how long she'd been standing there listening either, "I was taught to fight." She turned away and went back into the spare room.

Espio remembered how she had easily caught the staff he had been twirling, "I suspected as much,” he muttered, "But fight what?"

"Why don't you ask her?" Vector suggested.

"Perhaps I should,” Espio agreed, "It's doubtful that Doctor Gerald would create something purely for combat... it's not in his character." With that, Espio stepped out of the room and followed Mirage. When he was close enough, he asked casually, "What is that you were trained to fight?"

"Why do you care?" Mirage asked him, her voice slightly muffled, because she was facing the wall.

"I care because I want to know if I'm standing near a living weapon or not,” Espio stated bluntly.

There was a quiet ‘Humph’ and then Mirage spoke again, "Shadow," she muttered, so quietly that Espio could barely hear her.

Espio blinked, sure that he must have heard that wrong. What she said didn't make any sense... "What was that?"

"I already told you. I was trained to fight Shadow," Mirage repeated, a little louder, "To fight him and to kill him."

A cold chill ran up Espio's back, and not just from the words she said. The matter-of-fact way she said it sent a cold feeling through him. He spread his arms out and said, "Kill Shadow? Why? Why would you be made to kill your brother? It doesn't make any sense." It was the most flustered she had ever heard him.

"It makes perfect sense," Mirage replied, "I was Gerald's failsafe plan. To stop GUN - or anybody else - from manipulating Shadow into becoming a weapon of destruction. Of course, that was before he went crazy. I was not necessary after that. I was... forgotten about."

Espio nodded slowly, "Yes... if he was going to have Shadow carry out his doomsday plan, he wouldn't want you around to stop him." It did make sense, once he thought about it. Gerald knew that GUN wanted Shadow as a weapon. He tried his best to raise Shadow to be good, but if that were to fail... Mirage could stop him, "But how?" Espio asked, "Shadow isn't an easy person to kill. I would know. I've sparred against him plenty of times before... he always wins."

"That is because you are not designed specifically with Shadow's defeat in mind," Mirage answered, "I was designed to defeat Shadow. Not by being faster, or stronger, but just by being... different. I..." she stopped and looked uncomfortable, "Different. Yes."

"Different,” Espio repeated out loud, looking thoughtful, "It can't be through physical force... You're fast and strong, but not quite at his level... no one really is, except for...well, you probably don't know about him yet."

"Who?" Mirage asked, rolling onto her side to face Espio, "Who is at Shadow's level?"

Espio leaned against the wall and answered her question, "His name is Sonic, and he's another hedgehog. Blue fur, green eyes. A hero known around the world. He seems to match Shadow in every possible way, including his control of the emerald's power, although it’s obvious that Shadow has spent more time refining his skills. I don't know why Sonic would be on the level of the Ultimate Lifeform. Maybe Sonic himself knows, but... he never speaks about his past."

"Sonic..." Mirage looked thoughtful for a few seconds, then shrugged, and rolled onto her back, "You cannot beat somebody like Shadow by being stronger than him. Shadow draws his strength from the Chaos Emeralds, and their energy is only cancelled out by the Master Emerald." Her hand squeezed the pendant around her neck again.

The pendant around her neck... Espio hadn't really given much thought before into why it was a green crystal shard, "The Master Emerald,” the chameleon stated, "It's what you draw your power from, isn't it?"

"Maybe," Mirage conceded, which Espio correctly translated as 'Yes'.

The ninja smiled grimly. "It makes perfect sense. How to stop a being infused with the very powers of the servers? Make another infused with the power of the controller. Simple, but brilliant."

"Yes, it is a shame nobody asked me if I wanted to be a biological killing machine," Mirage answered flatly.

"It is a shame,” Espio admitted, "But then... none of us have a choice in where we come from. The important thing is where we go from there."

"Any suggestions on possible directions would be welcome," Mirage commented, not actually looking at him, "When you are given an artificial destiny, it gets a bit tough to actually make your own."

"I can't help you there. Not yet. But I will say that your artificial destiny is not the one you have to choose."

"Thanks, you have been really helpful," Mirage groaned, and pulled the pillow over her face, clamping it down. It would take far more than that to kill her, but it was a general sign of exasperation.

"You're welcome,” he said dryly, looking away. After a moment, he faced her again, "Well... what do you want out of life?"

"Wanting things out of life is for people," Mirage removed the pillow and looked up at Espio, a strange expression on her face, "I am an experiment. I can either be a successful experiment, or a failed experiment."

"You’re wrong!" Espio said with a sudden furious energy that surprised her, "You are a person who feels and thinks and dreams! That is one thing that no one can ever take from you."

Mirage looked nonplussed, "I do not understand," she said quietly, "You can say that about yourself easily enough. You were not made with a purpose in mind. I am just... a means to an end."

"That's what your creators intended,” Espio said in partial agreement, "But in that, they failed. Shadow, too, was a means to an end, Gerald's revenge, but he chose to save life rather than end it. He chose love over hate. He found his own way, as you will too. You are not a machine, but a living being. Never forget that."

"Huh... that does not inspire me with much confidence..." Mirage muttered, "Shadow did take the destiny given to him. He just clearly took the one that didn't result in this planet being fragmented into about a million tiny pieces. Gerald wanted people to be happy. That is why he made us at all. But he was too idealistic. He thought he could be part of a world where everybody was happy. He paid for it."

"And I suppose Shadow never had a choice when he fell in love with another, when they had a child,” Espio said with a shake of his head, "Look at it however you want, but both of you are people and both of you have souls."

Mirage shook her head, “I do not have a soul,” she said, “Not the same way you do,” She blinked, "Love," Her expression changed again, as if she was almost remembering something happy. Then there was another silence, "I do not think I shall ever understand emotions properly."

Espio frowned, "You haven't been given a chance to,” he said.

Mirage sat up, "Anyway, I should stop feeling sorry for myself. I have to leave soon anyway."

Slowly, Espio turned around and walked towards the door. Pausing for a moment, he said, "I know it's a lot to ask of you, but... You can trust me." He left her room, leaving her alone again.

Mirage shrugged as he left, "Maybe the real question is..." she reached inside her vest, checking her fighting daggers, "Can you trust me?"

~~~

Harley: And there we have it. The fourth chapter. Hopefully the less interested people will be more interested and the more interested people will be happy. Now we move out of the set-up and into the general action and stuff.

Froggy: Oh, and Read and Review. NOW!