A heavily armored GUN vehicle popped in through a large warp ring, barely missing a boulder. Rouge the Bat sat strapped into the back of the vehicle with Shadow the Hedgehog sitting across from her. Both were in barely-disguised booster seats due to their diminutive height. The white man in full military garb driving the vehicle cursed out loud as he cut the wheel hard.

"Watch it!" The Mobian woman shouted.

"Sorry," the man anwered back, "We can't exactly tell what's what in terrain like this!" The rocky, sandy ground made for a very bumpy ride.

Rouge crossed her legs and shook her foot anxiously, trying to ignore the nausea building in her stomach. They had left the other member of the group, a robot that broke free from Eggman's control, back at the base for repairs.

The squeaking of her pleather boots was putting Shadow on edge. He couldn't understand how it didn't bother Rouge because her ears were much larger and more sensitive. He wished the sound the vehicle made while rumbling through the desert was louder.

"It's not a Chaos Emerald, I can tell you that," Shadow spoke up, "It feels different."

Rouge rolled her eyes at him. She was a treasure hunter! No need to rub salt in the wound- she was already miserable coming to the desert.

"Whatever it is it better be worth my time coming out here." She was greatly annoyed.

"We're here." The man said. Shadow and Rouge exited the vehicle and looked around. In the distance they could see Eggman's carrier leaving. The land appeared pristine and untouched, as if he was just passing through.

"How did he beat us to it?" Rouge scoffed.

"He could've been the source of the energy spike, I guess." Shadow shaded his eyes with his gloved hand and walked forward several paces forward.

"Should we follow him?" Rouge sounded bored.

"It doesn't look like anything happened out here, so no." The Overlander shrugged. "All of my sensors stopped going off."

"There's blood here," Shadow pointed to a few drops he was standing next to, "And two sets of adult Overlander footprints in the dust: one with shoes and one without. These huge footprints are Eggman's."

The Overlander took a sample of the blood for testing. "How do you know it's his foot print?" He asked Shadow.

The black and red hedgehog simply pointed to the little cartoon logo of Eggman's face in the depression. "The man wears his own brand of shoes."

"Tacky." The Overlander said, getting up. He called his supervisor and asked if they should chase after Eggman but was given a negative and ordered to return to base.

Rouge pulled out her phone and snapped pictures of the evidence before taking to the air for an aerial view. That's when she noticed a large area of freshly disturbed earth near where Shadow was standing.

"Hey, Shadow!" She shouted. "Looks like something was right where you're standing but is gone now. Maybe it was Eggman's ship?"

Shadow sighed. "I don't think it was anything important. We might as well go back and test the blood we found. We can confront Eggman about it later; he was probably testing out some new weapon that didn't do any damage."

Rouge landed gracefully and sent the photos she took off to their director.

"It must have been a small injury if there's only a few drops. I don't see any tracks that show urgency, so maybe one of them was hurt and that's why they left." The Overlander suggested. "No drag marks."

"Why would anyone be barefoot out here in the desert? Their feet would've gotten burned." Shadow crossed his arms.

"Maybe he was entertaining a lady friend," Rouge chuckled, "And he got fresh so she stabbed him."

"It could be a man's footprint; just a small one. Why are we assuming it's Eggman's blood? Besides, If the director wants us to go back we should."

"Let's load up, then." The Overlander adjusted his dense bulletproof vest. "I feel like a turkey in an oven out here."

The trio loaded back into their blessedly air-conditioned vehicle and drove off to the warp ring. While the Overlander was casually chatting with his director over coms, Rouge pulled her phone out and texted Sonic.

[WhiteEcho] Hey are you there?

[BlueBlrr91] Whats up

[WhiteEcho] I need you to do me a favor

[WhiteEcho] Keep an eye on eggman for me

[WhiteEcho] And let me know if he's with anyone

[BlueBlrr91] what's he up to now?

[WhiteEcho] I don't know, but we just saw him leave an area of interest

[WhiteEcho] I can't say anything else

[BlueBlrr91] It's quiet on the island, I'll let you know if I see anything

[BlueBlrr91] Is Shadow there? Say hi for me!

Rouge looked up from her phone at Shadow who was staring out the window. He wasn't even bothered by the constant dinging from her phone. Maybe he was counting the rocks as they passed by.

[WhiteEcho] he's just staring

[WhiteEcho] eyes emoji

[BlueBlrr91] What does that even mean

[WhiteEcho] idk it's just what he's doing right now

[BlueBlrr91] k have fun out there

Rouge put her phone into sleep mode and nudged Shadow with her foot. "When are you gonna get your own phone?"

"I don't need a phone." He rested his head against the window.

"We can't use our GUN communicators for everything. Besides, how else are you gonna take cute pictures of your food?"

"Why would anyone take pictures of their food?"

"You must eat boring food."

"We can't all take artsy pictures of our burritos, Rouge."

"I was very proud of that burrito I made you! It was gourmet quality." She rarely cooked anything as fancy for herself but for friends she went all-out.

"It was delicious," he admitted, "But I wouldn't put it in the Louvre."

"Anyway, Sonic says hi." She smiled at Shadow. He just let out a scoff and rolled his eyes in response.

Back at GUN's base, Shadow and Rouge were sitting with a different Overlander who was almost done making repairs to Omega. The robot was patiently holding her in his hand so that she could reach the smallest parts of his neck with an equally tiny wrench.

Her phone dinged. She put the wrench in the front pocket of her overalls and looked at the message.

"The results are in," spoke Hope, niece of Eggman and resident teenage tech genius of GUN,"It's Eggman's blood." She wasn't at all disturbed by this and was a little disappointed that her uncle didn't die. Hope shoved her phone back into her pocket, took the wrench out again and went back to what she was doing.

"So today was a waste of time." Shadow sighed. He was going to be kicking sand and dirt out of his skates for weeks.

"Maybe he lost a finger." Omega helpfully suggested. "Addendum: I hope he lost all of his fingers."

"No, we would've found it." Rouge smiled broadly.

"So you still have that theory that Eggman was the source of the energy spike?" Hope brushed her blonde hair behind her ear. "He was probably testing some kind of weapon out there.

"I haven't heard back from Sonic, so I don't think anything is going on at all." Rouge shrugged. "I'm going to bed. Good night, Hope; you too, Shadow."

"If I was there I would have gone after his ship. I then would have retrieved a finger. For reasons." Omega mused to himself.

Hope waved goodbye as Rouge left and Shadow only let out a grunt. He was thinking about that second set of footprints he saw.

"Is something the matter, Shadow?" Hope asked sweetly.

"Nothing. Just annoyed. You should go to bed, too. Don't work yourself sick." Shadow ran his hand through his spines.

"I'm almost done..." With a few more turns of the wrench her work was finished. "Give that a try, Omega."

Hope backed up so Omega could test out his new parts.

"Status update: I am lithe again. Thank you, my favorite meatbag." He nodded.

Hope jumped down and grinned at her work.

"Excellent job as usual, Hope." Shadow smiled at the girl. He was curious about Rouge's aloofness and decided to keep an eye on her.

After tucking Hope into bed he silently warped out to his dorm which was adjacent to Rouge's. Shadow looked around the windowless room which contained an overstuffed bookcase with one lone chao plush seated on top. He looked at it fondly, remembering when Cream the Rabbit had given it to him with the promise of it banishing nightmares. A desk, a closet and a twin size bed were the only other articles of furniture.

That was when he heard Rouge's phone chirp. Sonic had finally replied.

Sonic was enjoying a sleepy Sunday afternoon in his beachfront shack when Rouge had texted him. He was about to fall asleep, too.

Keep an eye on Eggman. What's new? It's not like he had anything else to do today.

He hopped out of his hammock and went over to a wooden dresser to find a pair of binoculars Tails had made him.

"No… no… no..." Sonic spoke to himself as he was digging through his junk. His binoculars were missing.

He groaned to himself and sped around the shack looking for the misplaced item. A blue blur whizzed through boxes and around furniture, the breeze caused by his super fast movements blowing loose magazines around.

"Well, looks like I have to go to Tails' to get a new pair."

In a flash Sonic zoomed out to the workshop Tails lived in. The little two-tailed fox was working on another invention and wearing protective gloves and goggles while soldering.

"Hey, bro!" Sonic cheerfully shouted.

Tails jumped and nearly dropped his tool. "Sonic!" He yelped.

"Oh, sorry! Didn't mean to scare you." Sonic lightly pat Tails on the back.

Tails clicked off his tool with his thumb and took off his goggles. "What's up, Sonic?"

"I got a text from Rouge earlier. She wants me to spy on Egg-face and I can't find my binoculars. Can I borrow a pair?" He smiled uneasily, eyebrows upturned. "I promise I won't lose this pair!"

"Okay, but seriously- don't lose these. They're expensive to make. Maybe I should go with you…" Tails pulled off his protective gloves and put on his plain white ones.

"Maybe we should invite Knuckles and Amy, too. Make a day out of it." Sonic suggested.

"I guess that could be fun." Tails dropped his goggles on the table and walked over to a shelf where he had a spare pair of binoculars sitting out.

"Hey Knucks, Sticks or Amy, you there?" Sonic spoke into his little wrist communicator.

"Hi, Sonic!" Amy spoke cheerfully.

"Let's meet up at the beach by Eggstain's. I got a mission from Rouge."

"Rouge?" Knuckles asked nervously, a slight blush painting his cheeks.

"Yes, Rouge," Sonic said, "Bring a snack!"

The group sat on the beach, enjoying the mild weather waiting for Eggman to return. Tails looked at the lair through his binoculars, wringing his tails together.

"I've never met this Rouge; is she trustworthy?" Sticks the Badger asked as she dug through the sand for fractured shells she could weaponize.

"She's great," Sonic said, "But will steal your jewelry if you're not watching. She goes on missions with Shadow and a robot named Omega for GUN."

"She doesn't sound very smart. Who would willingly cavort with robots? Maybe she's a robot herself!" Sticks was not a badger that trusted anything mechanical.

"Omega is a nice robot, Sticks." Amy said as she turned a page of the sappy romance novel she was reading. She sat in a beach chair with her purse beside her in the sand. She carried Sonic's phone in it along with other junk of his.

"If we spot anything out here you may get to meet her and Omega. Even Shadow, maybe." Sonic shrugged. He and Knuckles were building something out of sand that sort of half-resembled a castle.

"Last time we saw Shadow he was mad and I think he tried to kill you," Sticks dug deeper into the sand, "I still trust him more than a robot."

"He didn't try to kill me," Sonic corrected her, "We have a rivalry."

"Uh huh." Amy said unimpressed. "Tails, do you see anything?"

"Nope," he adjusted his binoculars, "Maybe he stopped for junk food on the way back from wherever he was."

Knuckles walked out to the water, took up a huge armful of wet sand and dropped it directly onto Sonic's head.

"Whoops, sorry Sonic." He chuckled.

"Ugh! Knuckles, watch where you're going! I'm going to be digging sand out of my spines for a year…" He shook the sand off, getting it all over Amy and Sticks.

The girls yelped with outrage at this and threatened to throw Sonic into the water if he wasn't more careful.

"Hey, guys... Eggman is back." Tails said. He watched the scientist carefully land his carrier on the outside of the lair. Everyone moved to where Tails was sitting and looked out to the lair but without binoculars they couldn't see much. Knuckles falsely believed that if he mimicked holding a pair it would help.

Eggman exited the carrier holding something in his arms.

"It looks like a white curtain or maybe a rug?" Tails seemed unsure of what he was seeing. Sonic took the binoculars from him to take a look for himself.

"More like he's carrying a person. Actually, it's a woman." Sonic was scandalized! Another human on the island? One Overlander was way more than adequate. He took his phone out and texted Rouge.

"A woman in white? Like a bride?" Amy sounded interested and took the binoculars from Sonic. "Maybe she'll keep him busy for the rest of his life and he won't bother us anymore. Ooh he's doing the princess carry! Oh how romantic… wait… she's asleep. Or dead." Now Amy sounded concerned.

"We need to investigate! He may have kidnapped someone! Or worse… she willingly went with him!" Sticks stood up and held her boomerang in the air. "We can't allow Eggman to breed! Imagine: a disgusting dozen of bald babies with ugly mustaches! The horror… the horror…"

[WhiteEcho] What's going on?

[BlueBlrr91] we're camped out watching eggdude's lair and

[BlueBlrr91] he got out of his carrier and hes got a girl with him

[WhiteEcho] a girl or a woman?

[BlueBlrr91] a woman. A human and she's asleep or unconscious

[WhiteEcho] is she hurt?

[BlueBlrr91] doesn't look like it

[WhiteEcho] thanks Sonic. Keep an eye on him let me know if he leaves.

[WhiteEcho] I'll see if I can do a flyby to the island tonight. Don't confront him unless

[WhiteEcho] you think something is wrong. Wait till I get there

[BlueBlrr91] sure

"What's she saying?" Amy peeked at Sonic's phone.

"She says not to engage unless we think something's wrong," Sonic handed his phone to Amy to hold, "And that she's gonna try to come out here tonight to investigate."

Sticks growled. "I don't like this. I hate waiting!"

"Rouge is coming by? Tonight? Oh no!" Knuckles jumped up, "I have to…" he paused, "Get ready!" He ran off, kicking sand everywhere.

"Subtle," Amy remarked, "He's still got a crush on her."

Sonic chuckled. "Well she is a babe…" Amy shot him a dirty look and Sonic shrugged in response.

"Wait, how long do we have to be out here?" Tails sounded frustrated. He wanted to get back to his workshop and finish what he was doing.

"We don't all have to be out here. Sonic and I can stay while you guys go back to what you were doing. We can meet up again if Eggman makes a move." Amy smiled at Sonic who only met her look with a raised eyebrow. He decided it wasn't worth the stress so he agreed.

Tails made Amy promise she wouldn't lose this pair of binoculars and left. Sticks took home her respectable collection of shells, a bit depressed she did not have the chance to use them.

The winter sun sunk behind the sparkling ocean, illuminated by a full moon.

Sonic and Amy built a small fire on the beach to keep warm with and were laying back on the beach chair together, watching Comedy Chimp episodes on his phone. She rested her head on Sonic's shoulder in total bliss.

"What if Eggman did run off and get eloped? That's so weird." Amy wondered. Now she had marriage on the brain. She was only thirteen years old but loved to imagine wearing a gorgeous, flowing dress down the aisle once she was old enough. Her hair done up with real roses and a veil of the most sparkling gossamer that floated on the air… Sonic in a tuxedo waiting for her at an altar with tears in his eyes…

"Amy, your sappy romance paperbacks are complete fiction. Nobody would marry Eggman. It's probably a robot," Sonic chuckled, "Though he did make a robot bride or two when I was a lot younger…"

"They didn't last long did they?"

"Nope!" Sonic grinned from ear to ear. Amy was so taken with Sonic's smile she was tempted to lean in and kiss him on those fawn-colored lips.

"Oop, I see movement." Sonic reached down and picked up the binoculars. Amy frowned- Yet another nice moment ruined by Eggman.

"The woman is okay and… all that white stuff? That's actually all her hair. Look," he handed Amy the binoculars. "Check it out." Amy took the pair and sat forward staring intently.

"She's running… running… stopped. Looks like she's holding a book? She went back to Eggman and they're talking. I can't tell what they're talking about, but their body language tells me they're both okay with being around each other."

Sonic was already texting Rouge again.

[BlueBlrr91] guess who! We're on the beach by eggman's

[WhiteEcho] Hi Sonic, good timing I was about to fly out.

[BlueBlrr91] Eggman is with a woman with way 2 much hair

[BlueBlrr91] they're out talking

[WhiteEcho] ooh spicy!

[BlueBlrr91] is Shadow coming?

[WhiteEcho] no, see you in an hour. Stay put

[BlueBlrr91] aw ok, see you soon rouge! Knux is excited to see you again

[WhiteEcho] ;)

"She's facing this way but I don't think she can see us. She looks... sad." Amy frowned. "She just went back inside with him." Sonic got up and was kicking sand on the fire to put it out.

"Rouge is on her way; she says to stay put."

"Why are you putting out the fire?" Amy asked as she put the binoculars in her purse.

"You said she was looking this way, right? I don't want us to get spotted."

"Good point but how will Rouge see us?"

"Um…" Sonic was stumped. "She'll text us!" Smooth.

Rouge packed a pink, heart-shaped messenger bag with a number of tiny bombs, a loaded handgun, a warp ring and her lipstick

She normally didn't go anywhere without Shadow but she wanted some time to herself. It had been a long time since she was at the Seaside Island and she would enjoy a short tropical vacation.'

Since she was doing this 'under the table', she felt it was best to be as discreet as possible. Her plan was to fly out a good distance then use the warp ring to get to the island.

The GUN base was a mountainside facility built overlooking the sea and despite what its appearance would suggest, leaving the massive, castle-like fortress was actually quite simple with the proper clearance.

"You'll get struck by lightning." She heard a voice from behind her. It was Shadow.

"Shadow! You scared me."

"What are you doing out here?" He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, blocking the stairwell.

"I should ask you that," Rouge put her hand on her hip, "Are you spying on me?"

"I want to go with you."

"We can't both go out without permission."

"We can if we're back before morning," Shadow smirked.

"Is this about that second set of footprints?"

"Something about it is bothering me and I can't put my finger on why that is."

"It's a human woman. Sonic said Eggman carried her into his base earlier and he saw her again just now. That's why I'm leaving. I'm going to investigate."

"Why are you going alone?"

Rouge raised an eyebrow and then chuckled. Shadow was so naive.

"What's so funny?" He was annoyed.

"Because if Eggman isn't doing anything wrong we don't need to start a scandal. The blood was his. There was no struggle. No reason to give us more paperwork than necessary."

"I'm still going."

"Fine," Rouge sighed, "Are you going to teleport us or are you going to use my warp ring?"

"I'll teleport us." He stepped forward and took Rouge by the upper arm.

"We're going to Seaside Island. Specifically, the beach across from Eggman's lair."