Space Colony ARK: Negotiations

Metal's landing wasn't quite as graceful, as his loud metallic crash into the floor indicated. Scowling indignantly to himself, the metallix picked himself up from the floor and made a quick visual exam for any superficial dings in his armor. Satisfied with that, he glanced between his creator and the chimera, then folded his arms and turned so he was facing the side, turned away from them both. The seething glow of his eyes indicated he was still quite angry over what he had just been put through.

With his irate little display out of his system, he found himself free to glance around at their surroundings. They were... vaguely familiar. He had seen photographs before, but it was certainly the first time he had ever seen to the ARK in person. It might have interested him more had he not been so upset.

"You think you can threaten me, Shadow? You should know by now, I don't... respond well to threats." Eggman adjusted his ascot with his thumb and forefinger. "If you want this Emerald, you'll need to make me a better offer. After the stunts you've pulled, you're very close to making yourself one of the most wanted enemies of the Empire... But I'm a civilized man, so I'll offer you a chance. Tell me, what can you offer me that's better than a Chaos Emerald?"

"Is that so?" Eggman's glasses seemed to gleam, even in the dim lighting of the ARK. "That's an offer I could get behind... But are you prepared to keep up your end of the bargain?"

"Hoho! But you seem desperate. You need these Emeralds right now, don't you? I'm sure we can arrange something that benefits us both... especially since I have the supply, and you have the demand!".

"I've no desire to bloody my hands here. You said it yourself, Shadow... Two Emeralds would certainly be suitable replacements for one. You see, while you need my Emerald immediately, I have no such pressing matters to attend to. I believe loaning you this one would be advantageous in the long run, so long as you pay me back with interest." Eggman grinned widely. "I won't be unfair. Two Emeralds should suffice. What do you say?"

"Oho! Excellent, Shadow! I knew you could see reason." Eggman paused and stroked his mustache in thought. "However, there is one thing I'll need from you... Some form of collateral. I can't have you defaulting on this loan, you see... It needs to be something precious to you. Something I can be certain you'll come back to get. Can you think of anything like that, Shadow?"

There was a whirring sound of gears and the shifting of mechanical limbs. Up until this point Metal had placed his focus on their surroundings, his thoughts somewhere very far away from the current conversation. However, the raise in voice caught his attention, and he no longer faced away with his arms crossed. Instead, he stared down the ebon hedgehog with a critical glare and shifted his weight closer to Eggman.

A time-waster or not, Shadow quite honestly may have resorted to battle had he not brought the obtuse doctor to his own home. In the back of his mind, he probably knew somewhere that Eggman was well within reason to want insurance with this transaction... But that notion was dwarfed under the fact that if he wanted that Chaos Emerald without destroying the ARK, he'd have to find some sort of agreeable middleground.

Shadow released a guttural growl and glared aside. What in the name of Chaos could he possibly offer?! He couldn't offer his skates, they were far too important to his travels. The flame ring was a vital strength-booster, and in this endeavor he would need every advantage he could get. His gloves... Well, they weren't valuable, so they'd be easy to leave behind, but that was exactly the problem; they weren't important enough to convince Eggman he'd return. What else was there?? Was there anything Eggman would take?!

"AURGH!!" the hedgehog eventually exclaimed in frustration.

Shadow was thinking, and thinking hard. His equipment couldn't be spared. In a fit of desperation, the hybrid hedgehog began fumbling around in his malletspace in hopes of finding something -- anything -- that could be considered even vaguely acceptable. However, most of the things he found could be considered hardly more valuable than junk: broken tools, a gun with an empty clip, handfuls of rings (hardly enough to be tempting), even a discarded food wrapper.

Except for one.

The ultimate lifeform froze in place. He knew exactly what his palm had grazed against. It was something valuable; something extremely valuable. Something he would most definitely return for, at any cost, no matter what the circumstances. But it didn't solve his problem.

It only created another. "I realize that the point of this stipulation is to ensure that I can be trusted," Shadow announced in a low tone, his eyes piercing into the doctor, "but where's my assurance that the same can be said of you?"

The hedgehog's ear twitched in agitation. That was all the insurance he would be getting?! What the hell kind of deal was that?! There may have been some logic to Eggman's words, as he was in fact handing over something precious himself, but at least his something precious had an absolute chance of recovery; Shadow's did not.

Growling with partly bared teeth, the hybrid removed his hand from his malletspace, revealing what appeared to simply be a small piece of paper. Upon further inspection, however, one could tell it was a photo -- an incredibly old photo at that, having yellowed with age and tattered at the edges. "I would hope you could understand the immense amount of faith it's going to take me to entrust this into your care, Eggman," Shadow darkly murmured as he stepped forward. Holding up the photo for the doctor to view, but not take, he added, "After all, I have to assume this could very well be irreplaceably precious to you as well."

Eggman waved a hand dismissively. "But no matter what, you-" The doctor's eyes suddenly widened behind his glasses in surprise, and he stumbled forward before regaining his balance. "That's my grandfather! And..." Eggman stared at the photograph, seemingly lost in thought. After a moment, he straightened himself. His tone of voice changed to something quieter and more serious. "You have my word. I'll take the utmost care of this."

Eggman took the photo carefully, holding it by the edges. It was indeed very precious to him. He had looked up to Professor Gerald. His grandfather was his inspiration in more ways than one. This picture reminded him of why he had come this far.

Looking Shadow in the eye, Eggman nodded and pulled out a pair of objects: First his Chaos Emerald, and second a small radio, placing both on the ground between them. "When you're ready to find me, use this radio. I can't disclose the current location of my base, so this will be the best way."

Eggman shook his head. "I can make my own way back to my base. In fact, this is a convenient place to do so from..." Eggman began walking to the hall, heading for the space transporter, but stopped before long.

"You know, Shadow, we're fighting for the same thing." He held up the photograph for a moment, turning to the hedgehog. "Should you ever find yourself doubting the current leaders of our planet, there's a place for you in my Empire. Just some food for thought."

After carefully putting the photograph away, he motioned for Metal to follow him, and began walking down the hall. "But for now, I'm sure you have bigger things on your mind, hm?"

Eyeing the spot where the chimera had vanished for a brief moment, Metal turned and followed after his creator as commanded. With Eggman's back turned to him he allowed his eyes to fall into a slitted glare, before making what sounded strikingly similar to a snort and turning his focus back to studying their surroundings.

"Hmph."