I just started college so the updating for this story may be sporadic. Anyway, hope you like the chapter. I made a few tweaks after I uploaded this but if there are any glaring mistakes feel free to tell me.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Sonic the Hedgehog series characters.

Chapter 2: Something Horribly Wrong

High heeled boots clicked down the red bathed corridors at a break neck pace. They joined in the cacophony of blaring alarm calls, shouted warnings and poorly aimed gun shots. The intruder couldn't help but take a fleeting glance behind. Every physically intimidating goon this facility could produce was hot in pursuit. The intruder ran faster. That damn window had to be close. A couple more turns and it would be a clear path to freedom. The intruder turned each corner sharply with a grace that the bulky pursuers couldn't hope to mimic. It bought a few precious seconds and in that time the intruder came to the hall with the tantalizing window.

Too bad there was a seven foot mound of muscle and arrogance standing right in front of it with a gun. He wore a cocky smirk that clearly said "gotcha". With both exits blocked it was almost inevitable that the intruder would surrender. Almost. The intruder nearly giggled at the big man's face. He certainly hadn't expected such a well caged target to keep running at the same flurried pace. He shot, training overriding surprise but the small bodied intruder slid at the last moment and went straight through the big man's legs. Without a pause the intruder flipped upright and vaulted out the window shattering the glass in the process. For a weightless moment the world was a sea of black filled with shimmering shards.

Amidst the midnight black the intruder's sharp eyes caught sight of a rope ladder. It was swinging wildly in the winds of a hovering helicopter and was too far for the arc of the jump to reach.

In all likelihood the intruder would plummet to the ground and be crushed by the impact. The goons would pick up the pieces and casually "dispose" of them, once again safe in their obscurity. The intruder would be nothing more than a memory. An "almost was", an amateur in over their head, nothing more than a mediocre thief who took one leap too many.

The intruder laughed.

Wide bat wings unfurled from the intruder's back and with a few strong beats the space to the ladder was crossed. With a firm grasp on the rung the intruder tore off the dark mask to reveal two white pointed ears.

Rouge watched in amusement as the goons jockeyed for a spot at the window, trying to get a shot at the now out of reach intruder. Rouge blew her would be captors a kiss before shimmying up the ladder.

"Thanks for the lift boys," she said, sitting precariously on the edge of the compartment.

A gray haired man with mismatched eyes and a stiff military dress nodded to her.

"Please take a seat Agent Rouge," the Commander said.

"Don't mind if I do."

She sat in the only available seat, next to a heavily armored robot with glowing red optics.

"Hey big guy. Long time no see."

"…"

"What's with the silent treatment?" There was no anger in her voice, just mild curiosity.

"…Apology proffered."

"Hmm? What are you talking about?"

"Apology proffered." The robot's computerized monotone couldn't convey emotion, yet somehow left the impression that he was nervous.

"Apologizing for what?"

"Apology proffered."

"Oh now I remember." She snapped her fingers then beamed a shining smile to her companion. "I was at the most delicate part of the operation, nothing I couldn't handle but then an extremely loud voice of someone came over my transmitter and alerted every guard within a twenty foot radius of my position."

"…Apology proffered."

"Oh, ease up Omega. I forgive you." She waved her hand casually, still smiling. "Just don't let it happen again."

"…Affirmative."

The Commander made no motion through the odd exchange, but now that the tension was resolved (hopefully) he cleared his throat to speak.

"Did you succeed in your mission?"

"Of course. Who do you think I am," Rouge winked coyly as she pulled out a compact disk and handed it to the Commander.

"Good work," he stashed the disk in some hidden pocket of his jacket. "Now for your next assignment."

"Can't a girl ever get a break," Rouge sighed.

"I assure you this mission is of the utmost importance. The reason we came to get you personally is because of the fragile nature of the situation."

Rouge creased her brow. A situation that required the personal attention of the Commander was nothing to sneeze at.

"We believe that Agent Shadow has gone rogue…Where are you going." Rouge had reopened the door and was preparing to jump out. Neither of the compartments other passengers made a move to stop her.

"Honestly, you came all the way out here to tell me that Shadow is having a tantrum. I have more important things to do than play babysitter to an overemotional hedgehog."

"This is a serious matter and we have information that proves it… there's a death count."

That caught her attention. She never took Shadow for an entirely controlled person, but she'd thought he'd gotten over the whole homicidal thing.

"Omega, what do you think?"

"More data is required before an optimal action can be initiated."

"I'll take that as a "Don't be hasty" kind of thing. Fine, it's not like all the jewelry stores are closed yet anyway." She sauntered back to her seat and sat down as if nothing had happened.

"Thank you," the Commander pressed a button on his armrest and a screen folded out of the ceiling.

"This is some salvaged footage of the attack."

He pressed another button and the screen played… for literally two seconds before the screen was black again. Rouge blinked and gave the Commander a questioning look.

"The footage was severely damaged. This was all we could recover. I'll slow it down so it's more coherent."

The screen lit up again and this time stayed that way. There was what looked like a lab with a couple people in white coats moving in slow motion. What happened next was hard to describe. It looked as if something passed through but even at the slow speed it was impossible to see what it was. The only evidence of its passing was the flying papers sucked up in an invisible wind and the startled faces of the lumbering scientists. Next, a strange machine at the far right of the camera was broken into and…it all turned white.

"That machine," the Commander said as the screen refolded, "was a prototype engine that would utilize the power of a Chaos Emerald to create energy."

"Let me guess. There was an Emerald inside when this happened and now it's missing. Supposedly stolen by Shadow."

"Is there any other creature that can use a Chaos Blast like that."

"…No. So what did you do?"

The Commander's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"The last time something like this happened it was because G.U.N had twitchy trigger fingers."

"This attack was completely unprovoked. No one has any idea as to what Shadow's motives are."

"Fine," Rouge shrugged, "I suppose we'll know soon enough."

"We're here," the helicopter pilot said. Rouge looked out a small window and saw a city scape underneath them.

"Station Square?"

"Yes. It was the last place we tracked Shadow to before we lost him. A few sentries have managed to spot him but couldn't give an exact location. He's still in the city but we don't know any more than that."

Rouge sighed, "So we're looking for a hedgehog in a haystack. Great."

"Target energy signature: GC-217. Sensors tuned to Agent Shadow. Probability of encounter increased thirty percent. "

"That'll help, but this is still a lot of wing work for one night. Shouldn't I be paid overtime?"

The Commander chose not to comment, instead opening the door as Rouge and Omega took their positions.

"Use the transmitters if you need backup," the Commander said. Despite the roar of the wind he could still be heard without raising his voice. "The city has been placed on high alert and the residents moved to secure shelters. Given that I would appreciate a lack of property damage."

"Omega?" Rouge cast an amused glance at her companion.

Omega looked from one to the other.

"Secondary priority initiated. Designation: optional."

"Good enough. Good luck team."

They jumped and for a while were stuck in free fall as the sky rushed upwards. Slowly, Rouge began to open her wings, letting the drag slow her fall. Omega did the same with his thrusters. Once close enough to ground Rouge fully extended her wings and broke out of the dive in a graceful arc. She skimmed over the ground, then with a couple wing beats pulled up to land soundlessly on the pavement. Omega, on the other hand, crashed into the ground with the force of a sledgehammer, making two distinct holes in the road. He walked out of the dents without damage, his powerful shock absorbers able to take the impact as easily as a walk down the stairs.

"Looks like priority number two isn't going to last long."

Omega gave an almost sheepish look at his handiwork.

"Collateral damage: negligible. Finding Shadow is top priority."

Omega hurried forward with Rouge falling into a glide beside him.

"Ah well, not my tax money."


Shadow felt horrid. Take the most disgusting, gut wrenching feeling on Earth and it was more horrible than that. The worst of it was he had no idea why he felt this way. He remembered feeling something…twist and then a weird spike in Chaos Energy. After that it was like all the receptors for pain, confusion, and general torture had gone off in his head. He leaned on the wall of the alley he'd taken refuge in and slid to the ground in a heap. It didn't help much but at least there was no chance of falling over again. Not long after the pain had started, Shadows eyesight had been… erratic. At random intervals, the world would spin, blur, or just white out. He gave a low growl. Figures, he couldn't just feel terrible but had to go blind as well. And now G.U.N was after him for who knows what. He'd been able to destroy most of the robots that were after him by tapping into Chaos energy, but every time he did so his eyesight got worse. There was something wrong and whatever it was it did a good job of making him miserable.

His breathing was getting ragged now. He hadn't been this drained since falling through the Earth's atmosphere. He drew on more energy and immediately the pain lessened, but the alley started to whirl in a dizzying pattern of colors that probably shouldn't have been there. There was definitely a connection between Chaos Energy and what was happening to him. Almost like-

His ears perked as he caught the sound of screaming coming from the mouth of the alley. He stood faster than he'd thought possible. Images of yelling soldiers and claustrophobic glass rushed through his head. It didn't matter what state he was in. He wasn't going to get caught again. No matter what, he wouldn't let it happen. No matter what.


"Haven't you found him yet?" Rouge asked. She'd opted for sitting on Omega's shoulder rather than keep flying.

"Optimal radar range: 100 feet. Estimated time of complete search at constant speed is six hours. Suggested action: patience."

Rouge ignored the last statement.

"The whole night ahead and I'm stuck tracking a hedgehog with my mechanical bloodhound."

Omega gave an indignant breep at that but Rouge's attention had been caught by a store they were passing. She jumped off Omega's shoulder and glided over to it, forcing the robot to stop.

"Well, well, well, what have we here." Rouge was leaning against the glass of a pawn shop where a dazzling black gemstone was glittering in the moonlight.

"Top priority mission in progress. Time constricted. No distractions." Omega started releasing and resealing his arm mounted machine guns in a motion that might have been seen as intimidating, but which Rouge knew to mean the robot was simply getting impatient.

"I know, but maybe on the way back we can do some window shopping."

"Chaos Spear!"

Omega and Rouge reacted at the same time, both leaping out of the way as a band of sizzling energy arced into the unfortunate pawn shop.

"Now Shadow. Is that any way to greet a friend?"

Shadow stood, barely visible, in the mouth of an alley his crimson eyes narrowed to slits.

"You're no friends of mine."

"Come now. Are you in the whole amnesia mode again? You should really have that checked."

Shadow didn't respond, instead he threw another Chaos Spear which Rouge dodged deftly.

"Agent Shadow," Omega was in full offensive array with every hidden weapon come to fore. "Surrender or we will be forced to use excessive measures to complete priority."

"Yeah Shadow, we're your friends. If we need to bash your skull in to make you see reason, we will."

Even Shadow in his unstable state could see the lack of logic in that sentence and he shook his head at the bat.

"You have ten seconds to cease resistance."

"Don't bother counting." Shadow rushed at Omega and the robot barely had enough time to put up his guard before a heavy kick sent him skidding backwards.

"Whoa. Someone's been taking their vitamins." Rouge hadn't expected Shadow to go all out on them. This might be harder than she'd thought.

Omega was still in a defensive stance, which Shadow took advantage of to jump on the robot's head and leap upwards towards Rouge. The sudden change of opponents surprised her, but she managed to get out of the way of a direct attack. A passing kick from Shadow caught her wing however, and sent her spiraling to the ground. Both attackers were on the down now as Shadow landed.

"Let's take care of this once and for all."

Shadow got into a running stance and rushed forward with all his might…straight into a wall. He then rebounded like a spiky soccer ball and collapsed onto his back. Rouge blinked and Omega did the mechanized version of a double take.

"Are we sure he single handedly took out a fortified military base?" Rouge asked as she poked the now unconscious hedgehog with the tip of her boot.

"…Conflicting data."

"Well at least we can take him back now. It doesn't look like he'll come to for-,"

Rouge yelped as a hand grabbed her ankle and threw her sideways. Shadow rose in a blur and dashed away.

"Halt!" Omega fired, but Shadow was already out of range. The robot let his weapons drop knowing he couldn't catch up with his speedy target. He went over to where Rouge had collided with a street lamp. Omega did some computations and decided that by the time Rouge woke up, Shadow would have escaped. He picked her up, being careful of his sharpened fingers and gently lay her on a bench, before racing off after the fleeing hedgehog.