Rouge put her hands on her hips, her arms were visibly shaking from the cold. "Where do we start?"

Shadow supposed that was a good question, for he himself had no idea where to start. Everything was literally just.. rock. There was nothing to give them even the slightest indication of where they were supposed to go.

"That way?" Omega suggested, pointing to his left, it could have been any direction really but they might as well start somewhere.

Rouge sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, why not?" She said as she started to walk off at a fast pace, clearly, she wanted to avoid the cold as much as Shadow did.

"Bramble, you know I don't tolerate traitors." A dark red creature snarled. Where his eyes should have been white, they were black, and his red irides appeared to glow with malice.

"I am well aware of that, Crimson. Although, I don't understand what this has to do with me, your honour." A light brown creature with black marks almost making him look like he was from a tribe. He talked with a hint of a sigh as he looked up to the other creature.

"This isn't about you, Bramble," He growled, "You haven't done anything." His claws scraped against the armrest of his throne of stone.

"Then who is this about?"

"A select few that I'm pretty sure even you know about!" Crimson spat. "They must be kept in line." His claws stopped mid scratch and Chaos Energy sparked off of them.

"Forgive me, your honour, but I have not seen anyone that might be considered a traitor, your rule is stronger than ever." Bramble responded, dipping his head slightly to Crimson.

"D'aw, Bramble! This is why you're favourite! Always praising my work!" Crimson giggled as he began to lean forward on his chair. "But I wish the same could be said for your intelligence, if you hadn't noticed, those with previous connections to our last Chaos Spirit might provide some unwanted conflict." Crimson growled through gritted teeth. "I need you to keep an eye on them."

"Of course, your honour, I will closely monitor their behaviour, and report to you what I find."

Crimson allowed his posture to relax as he sighed. "Good. You may go."

Bramble turned around, and rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe how Crimson still didn't realise who he was and what was really going on, but he supposed that was a good thing. How much more of this could he take? Acting as a cruel darkling's follower, forced to do everything he was told, no matter how gruesome. Every time he stepped in front of Crimson's throne, he was fearing for his life. How did he end up fearing someone that acted like a petty child so much?

"How.. damn.. cold... does it.. have..to be?" Rouge whined through chattering teeth. Rouge and Shadow were in each other's arms, huddling together for warmth as they walked. Shadow would usually despise such physical contact, but the chill in the air was so prominent it essentially bit into his fur and skin.

"This.. place doesn't even.. snow, so how is.. it as cold.. as Antarctica?" The bat continued to whine.

"We need to find the Chaos Emerald before you two get frostbite." Omega remarked, unlike the two Mobians, the cold presented no problem to him. "Shadow, couldn't you use your connection to the Emeralds to see if you can track it?"

Shadow sighed. "You know what.. happened last time." Shadow said, also struggling to speak with his teeth constantly chattering. Shadow didn't like to admit to his weaknesses, but one thing he'd always admit to was struggling to track the Chaos Emeralds. He much preferred having a device to do the tracking for him, as when he relied on his own connection to Chaos Energy he'd end up anywhere except where he wanted to be. He cringed as he remembered how he had lead his team in a constant circle around a forest, supposedly following a signal. It took them 5 days to finally realise they were going in circles, and Rouge was furious that she had ruined her boots by covering them in mud for nothing.

"Still, it might give us a good place to start." Omega insisted.

Shadow took a deep breath in and tried to focus all his energy to trace where the emerald might be. He let the Chaos Energy consume his mind, and the familiar feeling of him almost floating filled his senses. To his frustration, there was no sign of the emerald, so Shadow needed to let the Chaos Energy consume him further.

"AAAH!" He suddenly screeched, he could feel Rouge's hands stop him and hold him up before he fell down. His knees were weak and felt like they were going to give in any second, and his arms were as heavy as lead. The worst pain, however, was in his head, where there was a relentless pounding like a hammer in his brain. Not to mention he could practically feel his brain physically throbbing, and all that added to the fact he felt like he was shot with a piercing bullet. He started to writhe in agony, struggling to breathe and the world around him was beginning to turn black. He could vaguely make out the sound of someone talking but was unable to put a name to the voice before the crushing burn thrashed in his head more aggressively.

Then everything was dark.

"Shadow?" Rouge's voice shook with panic as she felt Shadow go limp in her arms. "Can you hear me?" She asked desperately.

"He's passed out." Omega stated. Even though Rouge very well knew he wan't able of expressing his emotions through his voice, she was grateful that made him sound much calmer and stable than she was. "We'll have to go back to the ship and let him recover."

"What do you think just happened?" She fretted, her voice not just quivering from the cold, but worry as well.

"I have no idea."

Rouge was left to stare in confusion and concern at Shadow's unconscious body. "I suppose that's all we can do for-" Rouge broke off as she swore she could her footsteps approaching. Her shoulders tensed and her heart filled with dread as she allowed herself to turn around to the face the unknown figure.

"What gives you all the right to be here?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE!

HELLO THERE! I HOPE YOU'RE ENJOYING THIS SO FAR, I'VE PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO THE LORE AND CHARACTERS, AND I CAN ONLY HOPE YOUR HAVING AS MUCH FUN READING THIS AS I AM HAVING WRITING IT!

SORRY, FOR LEAVING YA'LL ON A CLIFF HANGER THERE.. BUT, I LIKE CLIFFHANGERS

THIS ALL BEING SAID, I'M QUITE A NEW WRITER, AND THIS IS MY FIRST FANFICTION, CRITIQUES AND REVIEWS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED SO I KNOW HOW TO IMPROVE AND MAKE THIS MORE ENTERTAINING FOR YOU GUYS!

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!