RiR - Prologue /Awakening/

Date: 2/7/2173

No room for mistakes here...

- C'mon! This way! - exclaimed Aiden the Hedgehog, directing the group.

The way was a thin corridor that forced them to go one by one. The ceiling was so low that Edgar, the heavy-weapons bear, was having trouble trying to squeeze through it.

- Are we even sure they have...  that thing could be here?? - asked the bear, clearly annoyed.

- The Dominion never misses a chance to show off its new toys. Yet they decided to get all secrets and hush-hush with this particular thing? - said Aiden, turning to look at him. - Not to mention they brought this "project" of  theirs right from the ARK. Honestly, though, you seemed less dubious when we set out, Edgar....

The bear wanted to protest, but ultimately decided against it.

- Sorry Commander... I'll follow your lead, as always.

Commander... No matter how  many times they call him that, the title still felt strange for him. These three guys here and the people back home may treat him as a leader, with all that it implies, but Aiden could never really feel comfortable with it. It's not that he rejected the whole idea. A lot of people depend on him and Aaura to protect them, and he'd do anything to keep them safe. It's just that those under his command gradually stopped questioning or speaking their mind whenever they'd disagree with him or his wife. Well, he couldn't blame them if they didn't want to upset Aaura...

- ...As long as we get to blow the shit out of some humans, I don't mind where we go - said then Axel, a wolf sniper.

- Seriously...? Can't you just go on without shooting at something for at least ten minutes? - whined her twin sister Lexa, a combat engineer.

- Cut it out, you two! - ordered Aiden - We're getting close now.

- By the way, boss? - asked Lexa, lowering her voice a little - How did you know about this secret passage?

- Long story... - said the hedgehog without much explanation. Although he then added - This used to be one of G.U.N's bases. I just happen to know a thing or two about them.

Nobody asked any more questions. 

They came to a turn to the right. the corridor became slightly wider and the ceiling raised high enough to allow the bear to stand without further problems. However, the corridor ultimately led up to a dead end a few steps after taking that turn. 

- Alright. Let's go through the plan again - said Aiden, turning to face his companions.

- Um... but, how do we一 

- There's a hidden door right behind me, which leads to inside the base. - began Aiden, interrupting Edgar - Once we go through, we probably won't be able to go back that way, so we gotta do this right.

"Whatever was brought here, it should be right in the center of the base and in the lowest level. We already are in the lowest level of this facility, so we just need to find the package brought from the ARK. I'll take care of any security measures we come across, Lexa will aid me if we stumble upon any non-electronic device blocking our way. Edgar and Alex, your job is to keep an eye for enemies and suppress them on sight. Remember, we have to do this quietly, so avoid using gunfire unless it's extremely necessary. Now, about the package itself... Our Intel couldn't exactly find out what it was, so we have at least three possible situations. A : It's purely computational data of any sorts, in which case we can just copy it and destroy the source. B : It's a machine or vehicle, in which case we have no other option but to destroy it, as trying to get away with it from a fortified facility such as this might prove impossible. Or C : it's any kind of technology we CAN take back with us without alerting the whole Dominion before we escape with it. Remember : We get in. We find that thing. We get out. Fast"

- Sounds simple enough - said Lexa, after listening carefully.

- Aww... You sure I can't shoot them up a little bit? - whined her brother.

- I'm starting to think we should have Alex on a leash, Commander... - interjected Edgar sarcastically.

- Heh,  I'll leave that up to you, Edgar. - replied Aiden with a giggle - Now, let's do this!

*---------* 

The cameras remained still as they moved silently through the empty hallways . They were lucky there was a control panel just a few steps away from the secret passageway the came in from. That the hallways were empty wasn't a coincidence, though. Aiden had coordinated their entry along with the guards' shifts, so that they could have a small window of time to get in and out without being noticed. Even so, everyone was carrying their weapons, prepared for any threat that may come up. Lexa was holding her shotgun tight, while Edgar had a handgun and Alex a small sub-machine gun (the bear's grenades and the wolf's sniper rifle would be truly unhelpful in this situation). Aiden was the only one not carrying a weapon this time around. He didn't really need a weapon. After all, he was adept at the use of Chaos Energy, an ability that none of the other three had.
Despite Alex's borderline racist hate for humans, Aiden trusted he'll follow his orders. After all, there are an awful lot of mobians who think like that. Likewise, there are a lot of humans who think of mobians like nothing but glorified, brutal animals. It's funny, though, how both sides are equally wrong and right about their beliefs on each other. Still, that didn't give humans any justification to be chasing them down, isolating or downright denying Mobian rights as living beings...

- Hey Aiden! I think it could be there... - called Alex behind him, pointing at a door in front of them.

The door in question seemed pretty inconspicuous at first glance. But then Aiden noticed it had a small panel at its right. A fingerprint lock. That door wasn't going to open unless someone with proper authorization wanted it to.
Well, that'd be the case if he wasn't here.

- Just give me a minute guys. - said the hedgehog. - I just need to一

BAM!

An awfully loud metallic noise resonated through the hallway when the great bear smashed open the door without warning.

- Didn't I told you to do this QUIETLY? - reprimanded Aiden.

- You also said we had to do this quickly. - replied Edgar, shrugging.

- Ugh... Just.. Let's get this over with.

The room they walked into would've been completely dark if it wasn't for the light coming from the hallways. Despite the fact that he made sure they wouldn't trigger any alarms, Aiden half-expected  for a loud siren to go off any second as they inspected the place. He told Alex to stay by the door in case anyone showed up while they searched the room. There was a desk with papers thrown all over it, and behind it, what seemed to be a machine of some sort. The central piece of that thing, a big metal cylinder, was at least as big as Edgar. The rest of it were tubes and machinery, generators probably. A triangular console with a digital screen sat in front of this construct, but it appeared to be powered off. They certainly couldn't take that back to base, but at least they could find out what it was if those papers had any info on it.
Aiden had just started reading one when...

- Uh... Boss? You should check this out. - called Lexa, who was taking a closer look at the strange metal structure.

The wolf was leaning onto the cylinder and was pointing at its upper part, which had an inscription. Upon reading it, the hedgehog double checked what he had just read in the paper he was still holding in his hands.

Subject M.R-001.

Project Snow White.

- What are these people doing...? - muttered Aiden. Then he raised his voice. - Aright, I need to know what the hell is this thing.

Aiden took some steps back and began tampering with the console although, for his surprise, it came into life with a strong golden light just by touching the screen. Almost immediately, a query popped up on the screen.

DEACTIVATE CAPSULE SHIELDING?
YES / NO

 - Capsule? - said Edgar, reading the screen - They're holding something in that thing!?

- Only one way to find out, right? - replied Aiden while putting the project's report in the pocket of his coat. Then, taking a deep breath, he pressed the screen.

The capsule in front of them produced a cracking noise, and a metal plate began sliding to a side and into the machine, revealing the capsule's contents through a glass pane.

 - No way...

The capsule was filled to the brim with water (or some other liquid), and like its console it shined with a brilliant light.

- *Tsk*... It was a matter of time before they started experimenting on themselves... - said Alex, who was leaning on a corner, watching from the shadows. 

Inside that tank was no other thing but a human. A girl, not much older than a teenager with long, blonde hair and only dark underwear covering her body. She wasn't conscious, but it didn't seem like she had been hatmed. Not externally, at least. The capsule's glass had holographic displays, detailing numerical data and information regarding the subject's vital signs (all of them stable, apparently). The machine as a whole was probably a really advanced stasis chamber. If it wasn't for that, one could very well assume she wasn't sleeping, but actually...

- Well, let's take care of this, shall we? 

Aiden turned around to see Lexa pressing the console's screen a number of times, after which the capsule began draining all its liquid.

- Wait, what are you doing!? - asked the confused hedgehog. The capsule swiftly drained all the liquid, and then the glass pane raised on its own. - What if一

The young human, without liquid to float in and still unconscious, fell down to her knees like a ragdoll. Aiden attempted to assist her, but then...

- ... If it kills her? - Lexa finished as she grabbed him by the arm, preventing Aiden from helping the girl - Well, that's kind of what we came here to do, isn't it? - replied the female wolf, treating it as a trivial thing. - Besides, she's still un一

Lexa stopped mid-sentence the moment she directed her attention back to the girl. Be it due to have been released from that chamber or simply for the shock of hitting the floor, she was now awake. a pair of bright blue eyes were looking at 4 mobians in the room. She didn't seem to be scared, or worried. Rather, she looked... lost.

- Uhh... Commander? What do we do with this one now...? - asked Edgar.

- D-DON'T MOVE!

Every quill on Aiden's body stood on end when he heard those words. 
Edgar, Lexa, and Aiden turned around slowly. A soldier stood outside the room, rifle in hand. Her voice sounded more nervous than it sounded authoritative , and she seemed to be hesitating on whether to actually confront them. She probably had just learned how to even hold a wrapon. Aiden could easily close in and take her out, but chances were she'd fire her weapon anyways, which could result in either Edgar or Lexa getting shot...
He then felt something pulling the back of his coat, so he cautiously turned his head. The girl from the capsule was now cowering behind him, her head peeking out just enough for her to see the armed woman. She clearly was scared, but there was something else in her face... was it anger? The soldier then noticed the human behind him. she took a step inside and一


BANG!


Alex hadn't moved from that corner, and the woman never caught sight of him. The moment she stepped inside the room there was a bullet going through her head. A clean shot. She was dead on the floor before Aiden could even process it...

"That was unnecessary..."

- Alex, what the hell!? That shot rang out for miles! - yelled Lexa at his brother.

"Her death wasn't necessary..."

- We've wasted enough time as it is! - yelled the wolf back. Then he addressed his commander - Look Aiden, I couldn't care less if you wanna make charity with this human guinea pig, but we have to leave. Now.

Alarms. The sound of alarms going off in response to the gunfire drowned Aiden's thoughts. There wasn't anything else for them to do there...

- Lead the way... I'll catch up later. - said Aiden to Alex.

- But, Commander一 

Edgar wanted to protest, but Aiden just glared at him.  Nothing else was said. The two wolves and the bear took off, leaving Aiden alone with a dead body and a scared girl. He approached the soldier's body and knelt by her. He had seen a small object reflecting the hallway's light on her neck. It was her dog tag, a small metal sheet used as a necklace that serves as ID for human military personnel. Name and birth date....
She was just entering adulthood.

- She didn't want to hurt you....

Aiden didn't think she was unable to speak, but hearing the girl's voice behind him, startled him nonetheless. She was on the floor, holding her legs and looking at him with nothing but sadness on her face

- I... I didn't want to hurt her, either... - said Aiden softly in return. - I guess I just... wanted to give her a chance...

- A chance...? - she appeared to be lost in her thoughts as she whispered the same words the hedgehog had said. 

Whatever it was, it just lasted a second, after which she addressed the hedgehog once more.

- Will you leave now?

- You could come with me... If you want, that is.

The alarms were still going loud as they spoke. Aiden couldn't force her to come along, but who knows what would the people responsible for putting her there do to her when they see her out of that capsule?

- ...What was her name? - asked the girl in response.

- Aeryn

. I see... - said the girl slowly.

Following that, she stood up, although rather clumsily so. Aiden couldn't avoid seeing her as a child until now, but in fact she was an almost fully grown woman. Her head raised above his easily.

- Let's go - she said, extending her hand to the hedgehog with a shy smile.

Aiden smiled back. At least there'd be one good thing coming out of this mess.
There was much unanswered, but he held hope in that thus girl and the documents they found here would be worth it. 

He took her hand with one of his, and with the other he produced something out of his pocket. It was meant for a last resort escape, but he didn't actually expected to use it this time. The gem in Aiden's hand, a Chaos Emerald, glowed with an intense green light. He raised it high and focused on the place he wanted to go. 

A moment later, there was no trace of either hedgehog or human in the room.