Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the characters in the franchise.
G.U.N. Headquarters.
Shadow lied back on his chair, sleeping. Rouge had popcorn in her hand, tossing it in the air and catching it with her mouth. Omega was playing chess with himself; he briefly moves a hand forward to make a move, but then decides against it.
Suddenly, the door is shoved open. Shadow snores loudly while Rouge fumbles on her popcorn, spilling it on the ground. She scowls at the intruder.
"Thanks," she remarks sarcastically, "I was on my 100th streak, you know."
The G.U.N. Commander steps in and closes the door behind him. "Sorry, but I have urgent news to deliver to you all."
Rouge lies back on her chair and crosses her arms, her eyes halfway closed.
"The Master Emerald is missing." He announces.
Omega suddenly makes a move.
"Double checkmate."
Rouge and Shadow immediately get up and rush towards him, muttering to each other.
"Woah, I didn't think you could do that!" Rouge remarks.
"That's very impressive, nicely done." Shadow compliments.
The Commander clears his throat, trying to get their attention.
"I said, the Master Emerald is missing."
"You really should participate in tournaments; you're really good at this, Omega." Shadow suggests.
Omega turns to him. "You are the only meatbags whom I can tolerate."
"Will any of you listen to me?!" The Commander shouts. The three of them turn around towards him, smiling.
"The Master Emerald is missing and we need you on the case."
"Oh come on." Rouge groans. "Why can't we leave it to Knuckie? He seems to be doing a good job not guarding it."
"G.U.N. doesn't like the idea of leaving a poweful relic in the hands of an impulsive echidna. We're assigning you on the case."
A loud scuffle outside. The group turns to the door. Shouting, screaming.
Suddenly, the door smashes open. Knuckles looks around, huffing in rage. He quickly spots Rouge and points at her.
"Where is it, batgirl?!" He yelled.
Rouge rolls her eyes. "Oh no…" She mutters.
"If you didn't take the Master Emerald, I don't know who did it!"
Rouge stares back at Knuckles. "Sweetie, I wouldn't want your family jewels even if you begged for it."
"I know you took it, thief!" He yelled.
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Did not, and besides, maybe now you can find a real girlfriend." She winks.
"Why you little…"
Knuckles charges at her. Rouge kicks a chair at him which he smashes with his fist. The Commander and Shadow briefly look at each other as Omega tries to separate the two from destroying the office.
A moment passes while the Commander speaks to Knuckles outside, accompanied by Omega. Shadow gently wipes a cloth with disinfectant to a cut above Rouge's eye. She twitches in pain.
"You really shouldn't provoke him like this." He chastises.
"I can't help it if it's fun." She replies. Shadow rolls his eyes and presses harder on her wound. She squeaks.
"Ow! You're doing this on purpose." She scowls.
The door gently opens and the Commander walks in.
"I've spoken to Knuckles – after he calmed down – and gave me some details. He saw a person taking it whose description fits perfectly to Eggman's."
Shadow and Rouge stare at him in surprise.
"Eggman?" Rouge asks.
"Didn't we get him in our last operation?" Shadow asks.
"Yes, but we haven't recovered any bodies." The Commander continues. "It may be very likely that he's still out there, alive."
Shadow takes a deep breath and sighs. He briefly smiles to himself before hiding it away.
"Where could he be?" He asks.
"We don't know." The Commander sighs. "He was presumed dead after our last attack, and we cleared out all of his bases."
Rouge suddenly gets up and walks to the door. She turns around and salutes. "Leave it to me!" She winks. "I'll be right back." She exits the office.
Another moment passes. Shadow was sleeping on his chair again while Omega was browsing through a computer.
The door is suddenly bashed open again. Rouge holds a paper above her head, grinning.
"I found him!"
Shadow turns his head to the side.
"No Maria, I don't want any more chocolate…" He mumbles.
Rouge scowls angrily at him and kicks his chair back. Shadow fumbles to not fall.
"I DON'T LIKE WHITE CHOCOLA-" He yells before waking up. He looks around in confusion before noticing Rouge. "-oh. Hey Rouge."
"Wake up, sleepyhead." She looks over at Omega. "Come on Omega, we've got serious business to…"
She glances at his monitor, confused.
"What are you…" She mutters, squinting.
She slowly walks towards him and peeks at the display.
"Sonic the Hedgehog Fanfiction Archi..."
Omega suddenly turns off the monitor, turning his head to Rouge.
"They have very interesting stories." He remarks.
Rouge stares blankly at him for a while before turning back to Shadow.
"I found out where Eggman is hiding." She announces.
"And how did you do that?" Shadow asks.
"I have my sources." Rouge winks. Shadow and Omega stare at each other for a moment.
"Look." She places the paper on a table while Shadow and Omega huddle close around her.
"It seems that we've cleared all of the bases that Eggman used to hide in."
"Oh, thanks," Shadow responds sarcastically, "for a second I thought I had amnesia again."
Rouge scowls at him briefly before looking back at the paper.
"We've checked everywhere, except…" She points to a location written on it. Shadow and Omega look closer to read it.
"Our old G.U.N. HQ?" Shadow asks.
"Yup!" Rouge crosses her arms, proud of her work.
"But why would he hide there?" Omega asks.
"Because none of us would think of checking it." She answers.
"But how could he gain access to-"
"Look, stop asking questions and let's get this over with." She picks up the paper and smiles. "Well? Ready to make an omelet?"
Shadow gawks at her for a second before facepalming.
"Let's go." Omega says. The trio exits the office.
