The ground is light beneath my feet. I feel as if I'm traveling across a road of water, bending beneath my every movement with gentle submission. I'm walking in what appears to be a void, somewhere that exists beyond time and space. I can feel Chaos energy all around me, but I feel no need to tap into it.

While walking, a ray of light appears before me. It is a color unlike most on Mobius. It sways back and forth as it echoes–in an eerie, childlike voice–four words.

The world will fall.

"Wake up, lazy-bones! It's time to get to work!"

I jolt upright, taken aback by Rouge's rude awakening. I rub my eyes, remembering the strange dream. I don't recall falling asleep, but it eventually took me. My body aches with restlessness; the dream (and my live alarm clock) had taken a lot of my energy away.

"Sorry Shadow, did I scare you?" Rouge playfully tugs at my sheets.

"No, I just wasn't expecting such a loud entrance."

"Yeah, yeah. Well you'd sleep through the apocalypse if you could help it. If I had been any quieter, we'd be here till noon."

Aggravated, I mutter, "Let's just get to work, shall we?"

I got out of bed without my usual grace. The dream really did take a lot out of me. What did it mean? I normally don't look much into dreams, after all they aren't real memories, but I couldn't get it out of my mind. And that light...It was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was fascinating, yet terrifying. I grabbed my radio chip and placed it beneath my false inhibitor ring. The clock read 5:53, meaning it was almost time to depart for Eggman's base.

Rouge and I walked into the bright lights of G.U.N.'s main hallway toward the aircraft hangar. Sensors indicated that Eggman was last seen in downtown Westopolis, a city with great significance to me. Rumor has it he has spent a small fortune on the Flux Building–a modern apartment complex long abandoned due to it's affiliation with random suicides. It was built to house the rich and famous socialites of Mobius, but within weeks all the new tenants had died of self-inflicted wounds. G.U.N. investigated the building a few years ago, before I was a part of the team. It was one of the few buildings left standing after the invasion of the Black Arms. But, they found nothing except mysterious coincidences.

Eggman's base lies in the penthouse complex of the Flux building. A surprise really, the doctor has always been rather superstitious. Another supporting factor in the argument for his madness.

We arrive at the hangar early enough to be briefed about the mission one last time before departure. Commander Tower is still dreary-eyed with sleep. However, as a military man, he nonetheless stands upright and shouts his orders over the whirring aircraft.

"Shadow, Rouge. Today marks the first day of our mission to discover Eggman's true motives for his robot army. I've dubbed it 'Operation: Insanity,' for short."

"Figures," interrupted Rouge, "One of the most involved and dangerous missions G.U.N. has ever been a part of, and it gets a stupid name like that."

"Ahem, well, I thought the name was appropriate," muttered Commander Tower.

"Sir, please continue," I say. I just want to get on with the mission.

"Yes, anyway, we will drop you off at the coordinates three clicks northeast of the base. Shadow, your objective is to find Eggman and get into the building with him. Rouge, you have a slightly different goal. I want you to slip into the building across the street and go to apartment number 452. Here is the room key."

He handed Rouge a silver key with a miniature card hanging from the attached keyring.

"The card will grant you access to the computer within the room. It's one of G.U.N.'s private city bases. From there, I want you to attempt to hack into the main network of Eggman's base and download the information onto your communicator. That way, we can hopefully retrieve the blueprints for Eggman's robots, and therefore know the best way to dismantle them. From there, go to the base. Explain to Eggman and Shadow your rehearsed script, and offer Eggman the emerald in your possession."

"You're really making this hard, Commander. Making a lady part with her jewels."

I let out a quiet laugh. Sometimes I wonder how Rouge keeps her job at G.U.N. with comments like that. Then I remember, it's Rouge. She gets away with everything.

"Commander," I say, "It won't be hard to convince Eggman of our devotion with two Chaos emeralds. My only concern is our safety once inside."

"I believe in you two," the Commander says endearingly. "You are my best agents. I trust you will make it out unscathed. However, E-123 Omega will be on standby in the building with our computer base. If you need his assistance, the button on your communicator will summon him. An entire swat will be sent if anything looks too grim."

The pilot of the helicopter waved out the window.

"That's your cue," said the Commander. "Good luck, Team Dark."

"The Ultimate Life Form needs no luck," I scoff. My confidence makes Rouge blush.

It was a two hour flight from G.U.N. headquarters to the helipad in Westopolis. Since the old G.U.N. HQ was destroyed in the Black Arms Invasion, Commander Tower thought it best to locate further from Westopolis, and closer to Soleanna. I often forget how big Mobius is until I'm looking down at it from above. I'm not a fan of flying; it makes me uneasy. I prefer Chaos Control, or motorcycles. But Commander Tower wants to make sure we are undetected. Our helicopter is disguised as a flight for life vehicle, and the helipad is the hospital's. From there, we make our way to Eggman's on foot.

I press my thumb against my false inhibitor ring, rubbing it softly. I can feel it controlling my power, but it feels much less stable than my real one. Chaos energy is something G.U.N. will never understand. No one can understand it, unless they can tap into it.

"Hey Shadow," Rouge tapped my leg gently, "Do you think Sonic would want in on the plan? I feel like he should at least know about the Robots."

"Hmmm," I ponder her question. Personally, I think the less we involve Sonic, the better. But, he could prove useful if the mission goes awry.

"Commander," I speak into my wrist. "Request permission to visit Knothole before we touchdown in Westopolis."

"Permission granted, Shadow. Sonic's previous involvement with G.U.N. has proven successful. The more allies against Eggman, the better."

I tap the pilot lightly on the shoulder. "Sir, we need to make a pit stop in Knothole forest. Drop us off at the Northern border of the trees."

"You got it, agent Shadow."

We quickly descend as I scramble back to my seat. I suddenly, but reluctantly, grab Rouge's arm for support. I hate flying.

"The Ultimate Life Form, feared by many, possibly sealed away for all eternity in the distant future... And you're afraid of flying." She laughs. I hate it when she mocks me.

"I'm not afraid of flying..." I say, unconvincingly.

"Okay, handsome. Whatever you say."

I am thankful when we touchdown. I tell the pilot to wait for us outside the borders of the forest for one hour. With Sonic, nothing takes more than five minutes, but I plan on making sure he understands the gravity of the situation.

I walk up to the trees and grab Rouge's hand.

"Since I don't like flying, we'll just warp through the forest."

"Damn it, Shadow! You know Chaos Control makes me want to––"

And we warped out of sight.