In the hustle and bustle of the big city, nobody noticed when a wormhole opened up and released a white bat into the world.
"Well, that is one place I won't go for my summer vacation" joked Rouge. "Am I right Shadow? …Shadow?"
The wormhole closed up. The hedgehog never came with her. The bat girl became a little worried.
"He's still back there? Oh well, he can take care of himself… but then again that future isn't exactly something you can handle all alone. Argh! Curse my sense of good morals."
Against her better judgment, Rouge contacted G.U.N. headquarters.
"Come in, HQ. This is Agent Rouge reporting in."
It didn't take long for someone to respond. "This is HQ. Agent Rouge, you are wanted for attempted political tension. Where is Agent Shadow?"
"Agent Shadow's status is currently unknown. We had a complex situation and I may require contact with Subject Greek Numeral."
"Request denied. Subject Greek Numeral is detained as a high-risk combatant and you are trespassing in foreign territory. Return to base immediately."
"I am willing to come back and face punishment for my actions. But believe me when I say Agent Shadow may be in danger."
The other end was silent for a few moments. "We have uploaded coordinates of Subject Greek Numeral's deployment. We expect a full report after this situation has been dealt with. HQ out."
On the other side of the city, Team Sonic made their appearance. Unlike Rogue, they dropped in the middle of a public area. Nobody really cared though.
"Looks like we made it back in one piece" Knuckles says in satisfaction.
Tails noticed they were two people short. "Where did Shadow and Rogue go? Did they appear someplace else?"
"Those two can take care of themselves" Sonic reassured his foxy friend. He snatched up a newspaper to see which day they had arrived in. If this paper was recent, then only one day has past since their little time travel adventure.
However, it was then that Sonic noticed the headlines; "Doctor Eggman holds train hostage". Sure, the title could have used more pizzazz, but it was enough for the hedgehog to have an idea of where to go next.
RADICAL TRAIN
Mission: rescue the hostages!
Sonic came into the train yard noticing Eggman boss around his mechanical minions. The hedgehog made himself known as he shouted, "I didn't know you had a thing for trains!"
"Came back from your little trip, have you?" said the doctor. "I apologize if I haven't prepared a welcoming party for you, but it appears I have run out of fuel for my Egg Carrier. Luckily I managed to 'persuade' a few people to offer me resources for my transportation."
"Going home already? Well, in case I guess I should ask you to let Elise go."
"Of course, of course." Eggman takes out a remote control and pushes it. "Whoops, looks like I accidentally sent a train full of passengers spiral out of control. Better do something before it crashes."
That was Sonic's cue to save the day. Ricocheting off springs like a pinball, he landed on a platform. Behind a grated wall was a stack of explosives placed on the train tracks. The hedgehog's only option to prevent witnessing a tragic fireworks show was to hope there was a switch nearby.
And indeed there was! Once the switch was activated all the explosives detonated. By the time the runaway train came rolling by, all that it ran into were some charred bits. While the passengers were safe for now, Sonic knew this was too easy if this was the only trap Eggman planted.
The next area the hedgehog ran through was an industrial zone of sorts. Sensitive scales and crazy conveyors were the main obstacles at this point. Using his rarely-needed ball bouncing technique, Sonic got to the next platform with more bombs to blow up. This switch was hidden under a wooden crate, one of many the blue blur broke open in order to denote the roadblocks.
There appeared to be only one more switch left. However, this one was guarded by a robot armed with two laser cannons. Sonic got out of the way as a stream of plasma swept by. While the robot was recharging, the hedgehog struck. A force field that surrounded the third switch fizzled out when its guardian fell. Nothing stopped Sonic as he blew up the last explosives earlier then intended.
Now all that was left was to stop the train before it falls off that cliff. Sigh…
An old shrine of Solaris stood alone deep in the wilderness. Abandoned and forgotten, the shrine hasn't had a visitor in centuries. Until today.
The guest was E-123 Omega. As a war machine, Omega had no interest in the shrine. The only reason it was here is because it was sent to meet somebody.
"This is a charming little place" says another visitor.
The robot turns to the direction of the voice and scans the visitor. "ROUGE THE BAT" it states its conclusion.
The next few sentences are classified from public archiving. (Plus it was just Rouge recapping her and Shadow's adventure, so you aren't missing out on anything.)
"SITUATION UNDERSTOOD" the robot boomed. "WHAT WOULD YOU INQUIRE ME TO DO?"
"Well… my idea is a bit of long shot." Rouge pulls out a shard of one of the exploding emeralds. "There were a lot of these where the wormhole opened up. If you were to track this jewel's energy patterns, you may find Shadow as well."
Omega took the shard and placed in a compartment of sorts. "SYSTEM REACTIVATION COUNTDOWN INITIATED. BACKUP POWER SOURCE AND SPARE MAGAZINES SECURED. COMMAND PROGRAM PRIORITY CHANGED. NEW MISSION: SHADOW SUPPORT. EXTERNAL ACCESS NO LONGER PERMITTED. CONFIRMED."
"I'm counting on you."
The robot slowly walked away to return to its imprisonment. It would be unlikely Omega would ever see the light of day again. G.U.N. made it very clear they don't trust creations of Doctor Eggman, especially one who only turned against their master was because of a simple grudge. If Omega was to see any action before rescuing Shadow, it would have to be a moment of sheer desperation.
As for Rouge, all she could do now was wait.
TO BE CONTINUED.
