Disclaimer- I don't own any of the characters…which is really unfortunate…

Chapter 25- DNA

"So I'm assuming that you'll be fired from your job when you get back."

Rouge's ears twitched when a sleep-laced voice rose above the rumble of a jet engine. The albino agent abandoned her piloting duties for a split second to peer over her shoulder at the red Mobian sitting behind her. Red was leaning his head against the glass that separated them from the rushing winds. Those amethyst irises held muted interest as they focused on her, waiting for a response.

The bat grinned before waving him off and resuming steering the speeding craft through the air. "So Sleeping Beauty finally woke up, hm?"

There was a sigh from behind her. "I was resting my eyes. There's a difference."

"Sure there is sugar," Rouge teased as she stared forward, squinting against the setting sun. She then glanced down to her left, seeing Shadow skate against the sands under the sleek aircraft, keeping up with them with little difficulty. "But anyway, GUN would probably yell at me, but that'll be it. I'm too precious for them to lose," she said cheekily.

"You stole one of their jets, and they won't fire you?"

Rouge's grin widened. "They can't let my many talents go to waste."

Nothing but a noncommittal hum came from the back.

Inside of the jet was quiet once more, and Rouge found it awkward (at least for her) knowing that the other sharing the same space wasn't asleep. She pursed her lips, thinking that not having constant conversation – or yelling contests, depending on the day – with a red echidna close by was something that she wasn't used to. Same color, same voice, same face, but definitely not the same personality.

"Not the conversationalist, are you?" She finally asked when the stretch of silence went on for too long.

"There's nothing to talk about."

Rouge had to resist rolling her eyes. How did Shadow deal with this version of Knuckles all this time? The answer quickly came to her however, knowing that the striped hedgehog preferred less conversation in general. Those two had to have gotten along well. "There's plenty hon!" She flashed him a mischievous smirk. "Like what's the real reason you wanted to join Shadow and me?"

"…The real reason? I told you already."

The agent's face fell and she sent the blunt and oblivious echidna – maybe he and Knuckles had more in common than she thought – a slightly irritated look. "You can't be that lazy, can you? There's surely another-"

She barely detected the exasperated sigh as she turned back forwards. "Rouge, you can have whatever relationship you want with my other self, I don't care. Just leave me out of it." Said bat blinked. Maybe he wasn't as oblivious as he seemed.

That attitude still wasn't welcome however, knowledgeable or not. "Excuse me, Mr. Snappy," she quipped.

"I'm not being snappy," he drawled out. "It's called being concerned and nowhere close to being in the mood for whatever you're doing."

Rouge glanced back at the red echidna to see him gazing out of the window, his brow subtly furrowed. The frown present was a little too prominent to blame on lethargy. The pilot chose this time to sober up a bit, mind going back to everything that's been revealed to the not-guardian. Not many of those things have been good, to put it lightly.

"I get it," she started, letting out a small puff of air, "Life isn't the best right now. Your home is practically destroyed and you're stuck here. Also, what makes it worse is that two of your friends have been kidnapped and are being held for ransom. You're worried." Teal orbs drifted to the back, meeting attentive violets. "You aren't the only one, hon. I haven't been around Cream much, but hell, even I know that she doesn't deserve what she's been going through. Sorry if my way of coping is getting on your nerves," she finished, slipping that last part in and wondering how the red Mobian would respond.

Red took his gaze off of her and refocused it to the golden landscape littered with patches of green they were flying over. He raked his hand through his dreads. "If you found a different way to 'cope', then maybe I wouldn't mind as much."

"Well, let's talk about something else then!" Rouge suggested, musing, And keep the flirting to a minimum. The bat tapped her chin while her other hand handled the steering. She snapped her fingers when a topic came to mind. "Tell me about Rogue. And please don't tell me that he's a taboo topic too."

"…What about him?" Red questioned, sounding defeated.

He didn't really put up any type of fight. He already knew how it was going to end. She inwardly chuckled. He's a smart one. Rouge flipped her hand. "Anything really. Shadow had already told me the whole story, but he didn't go into the details."

"There's nothing much to say." Hearing movement, Rouge turned her head to see the echidna slump more in his seat, cheek buried in his gloved palm. He was still peering through the clear glass, this time watching Shadow move down below. "He's a nice guy."

The agent couldn't resist the eye roll this time. "Really? I didn't know."

He shrugged. "Sorry. I don't know what else to tell you."

Rouge clicked her tongue, his dispassionate tone rubbing her the wrong way. "Is he anything like me?"

"Sure," was his immediate reply.

"Sure?" Rouge repeated, lips twitching downwards. "What kind of answer is that?"

"An accurate one."

Well this conversation is doing nothing for me, Rouge mentally complained, hoping that her silence successfully conveyed her displeasure towards the one in the back. His lack of response told her that no, no it didn't.

However, Rouge's discontent melted away when what they had been searching for appeared over the horizon. It was a civilization made up of huts and large clay structures. It had to be Mazuri. "It's about time we got here! We need to hurry and get this emerald so we can get out of this heat and check out some slots!"

There was shuffling, and suddenly the bat had a tanned muzzle over her shoulder. Red was checking out the incoming town as well. "Why did we have to fly here anyway? Shadow could've just Chaos Controlled us here."

Rouge angled the jet downwards to slowly descend. "He hasn't exactly been here before, and neither have I. Shadow there likes control – which I'm sure you've learned by now – and teleporting into the unknown isn't really his cup of tea."

Red just grunted. "Then why did he volunteer to search Mazuri if he-"

The bat shrugged, pulling in for a landing right at the outskirts of the little village, gaining the attention of the local natives. "Because it was the farthest out, and despite appearances, he likes this kind of fast travel just as much as Blue does."

The echidna sat back just as they touched down. "Always has to make things difficult…"

I can't argue with you there, but that is what makes it interesting, Rouge thought as she opened up the large cockpit, glass retreating inside of the jet. Even though the sun was hanging low in the sky, the heat was almost enough to make Rouge want to stay in the air-conditioned aircraft. Almost. A beautiful jewel was waiting for her after all.

She turned off the jet and hopped out, landing gracefully on the rich golden soil beneath her. The bat stretched her wings before giving the onlookers a single wave. Red climbed out beside her and linked his hands behind his head, ignoring the people altogether as he calmly stared up at the orange clouds up above.

Rouge took her eyes off him when Shadow approached her with his arms crossed, scarlets surveying the nearby area. She put a hand on her hip and rose a brow. "Do you sense anything yet hon?"

Shadow nodded after a moment of thought. The striped hedgehog bobbed his head in the direction of the village. "I can feel the emerald's energy coming from that direction. It's weak, so it has to be somewhere beyond it."

"Just great," Red drawled out, "The emerald's not even here." The echidna focused on the huts of the village. "I can stay here and-"

"Don't start with that again." Shadow gave him a pointed look that had a tinge of exasperation mixed within. Rouge watched in amusement as Red visibly slumped in disappointment. Then she barely could hold in the snicker when the hedgehog gripped the echidna's wrist, to Red's surprise and irritation. "We're all going."

Red tugged at his arm a bit, letting out a heavy sigh. "Do we really have to go through with this?"

"You run slower than Rouge can fly," Shadow stated, getting ready to blast off. "We won't need the jet at the moment."

The agent grinned, looking at the duo. "Hm. I can't help but think that you two have done this before."

"Unfortunately," Red huffed, done fighting the hedgehog's strong grip. "This happened the first time he dragged me – literally – along for an 'adventure' after he ran into me – literally again – for a second time."

Shadow scoffed, gazing off into the distance. "If I hadn't, you wouldn't be here right now."

"Yeah. I would've been relaxing against a tree and catching up on sleep."

"In the other reality." The striped Mobian finished for him, and the echidna had a confused expression on his face until it morphed into an understanding one.

"Oh…right."

Rouge just shook her head at the Ultimate Lifeform. "It's just like you to make everything dark, Shadow."

"Blame the color of my fur," the hedgehog quipped before shifting his weight. "There's no point in wasting anymore time. Let's go." He activated his skates and blew right through the middle of the village, giving the locals just enough time to hop out of the way before they were ran over.

The people glanced the way Shadow and Red left and then turned to Rouge for an explanation and/or apology. The agent cursed her partner's one-track mind before plastering a grin on her face. "I'm saying sorry for him, because I know he isn't going to do it later." She gestured to the jet. "Do you mind watching this government owned aircraft that is easily tracked down if stolen?" Actually, Rouge had disabled the built-in tracker, but they didn't need to know that. At the head shakes she received, her grin grew cheeky. "You all are such kind people!"

With a powerful flap of her wings, the agent took off after her partner.

Shadow let go of the echidna's wrist when ruby irises trained themselves on the massive and intricate clay buildings laid out before them, some structures reaching high into the darkening sky. The emerald's pull was stronger here. They weren't too far away from it.

There was a breathy groan from beside him; Shadow glanced over to see Red rubbing the abused area on his arm. It looked like merely gazing upon the complex citadel caused the red Mobian physical pain. "The emerald's in there somewhere?" Red met the hedgehog's gaze. "You better be accurate in searching, because I swear to Chaos…"

"And what are you going to do sugar?" Rouge asked from above them, admiring the view. "You look like you barely have enough energy to walk, much less threaten and actually go through with it."

"…You have a point there," Red muttered.

Shadow gave the echidna a once-over before grunting out, "After going through all that we have, you manage to still complain." The Ultimate Lifeform knew that these series of unfortunate events wouldn't completely change someone's personality, but he thought that the more-than-lethargic echidna would raise his energy level up a notch. However…Shadow could also see the stress of everything weighing down on the red Mobian, and motivation would reasonably be at an all-time low.

"You wouldn't have heard my complaints if you had left me at the village." Red yawned out.

"I don't know what's worse," Rouge started, "Knuckie's obsession with the Master Emerald, or your obsession with sleep."

Red furrowed his brow in thought. "Considering his rampage earlier, I think my dimensional twin has me beat. And speaking of him…" he rose a brow at Shadow. "Is he always that hotheaded? Because I really don't want him in my face every time we're near each other. It's draining."

"Of course it is," Shadow retorted sarcastically. Everything's draining for you, "The guardian is only like that when Faker riles him up, or when he's on the topic of the Master Emerald."

"Which is unfortunate," Rouge chimed in, lowering herself to flutter in front of Red. "Because if he was anything like you, I would've had that green beauty to myself a long time ago." The bat sighed as she faced Shadow. "If only you had the chance to make Knuckles like this."

"Make Knuckles…" Red trailed off before inquisitive violets clashed with alert rubies. "Right…that dream stuff mentioned earlier. Can you explain that to me? Well, that and how exactly are you walking around right now? If Espio hadn't been completely lying about your death, that is."

Shadow refused to relive that gruesome memory of his fight with the chameleon. Muscles tensed, the hedgehog marched forward into the citadel, skates clanking against the hardened clay. "The emerald is located in the west side of this place." He peered back at Red who was following behind with Rouge at his heels. "Are you going to be awake enough to keep up?"

"As long as you start explaining, maybe," the echidna replied, beginning to jog when the hedgehog quickened his pace.

The Ultimate Lifeform sighed as he faced back forward, not paying attention to the intricate clay sculptures surrounding him, only focusing on going in the right direction of the emerald. "Technically," he started, voice sharp, "Espio did kill me. However, because of how that reality was made, I didn't die."

"It was made up of your past dreams?" Shadow nodded at Red's question. "So were you dreaming all that happened?"

"Yes and no," the hedgehog simply answered. "It was real until I woke up here from the coma." At the echidna's questioning look, he elaborated, "Our Eggman got in a hard," and very influential, "hit on me."

"So what am I exactly?"

"As it was said earlier," Rouge smirked down at him, wings still flapping. "You're a dream come true. Well, most of you and your friends are. Don't know about Shadow's Sonic or Espio though. They might belong in the nightmare category."

"Didn't I tell you to stop calling them mine?" Shadow bit out, frowning at Rouge's faux-innocent expression.

"Huh…so I used to be just a fabrication of your mind…" The Ultimate Lifeform furrowed his brow at the echidna's off tone, not able to decipher it. The present frown on his muzzle deepened when a thought popped up inside his head.

"Don't tell me that you're having an existential crisis." Shadow deadpanned as he turned a corner, going down an alley lined with unlit torches. He has had enough of those to last ten lifetimes; he was not going to put up with someone else having one around him.

Red shook his head, dismissing that idea as he hopped over a small pile of rubble. "I'm not. I'm just thinking about how much of an irritant your-" At Shadow's scowl, he changed his words, "-the other Knuckles had to be to dream of me like this."

"He's loud and can be too short-tempered."

"Oh really? That's funny hon, coming from you." Shadow refused to acknowledge Rouge's statement. He remained silent as she continued on. "So you don't care about that Red, which isn't that surprising knowing you now, but what about your home being gone?"

Said echidna shrugged. "There wasn't really anything there that you don't have here. There's sun, wind, peace, well…not exactly at the moment, but there will be. It's the same, besides the doubles running around. A plus is that the Master Emerald is no longer my responsibility."

"Not like you cared about it before," Shadow said.

Red shrugged again. "I had to retrieve it from whatever rubble it was left in. Now I don't have to do that."

Rouge put her hands on her hips and huffed. "I for one am glad that you aren't in charge. The things that that precious gem must've been through…!" Shadow and Red glanced up at the visibly distressed bat before sharing a look and sighing simultaneously. "I heard that! It's not my fault that you two don't find the jewel as gorgeous and perfect as I do!"

"If Rogue had acted like that…" Red murmured with a grimace.

"The gem has more attributes than just being pretty Rouge." Shadow breathed out, slowing down when he reached a split. He immediately turned left after tuning in on the emerald's energy.

"I know that. But it being absolutely stunning has to be a major one." Rouge giggled to herself, most likely imagining the Master Emerald in her grasp, before she calmed down and gazed at Shadow curiously. "You know, I say we go back on the topic of your mind and the wonderful things it can do, Shadow." Two pairs of eyes trained on her. "If it's true that Red is the way he is because of your experiences with Knuckie, then why are the other Sonic and Espio the way they are?"

The Ultimate Lifeform unconsciously slowed down before shaking his head and speeding back up, believing to know where the bat was going with this. "Remember that all of this is based on a mere theory, Rouge."

"I know, but it doesn't hurt to wonder, does it?"

Shadow didn't answer her.

Rouge took this as a sign to continue. "Like…let's talk about the other Espio. He's trouble with a capital 'T'. He's clearly out for blood and power, and we don't even know why yet. He's determined as hell too to get what he wants, not caring about anybody else. Doesn't that remind you of someone? Or rather, it shows me what could've happened if you hadn't-"

"Rouge…" Shadow growled lowly.

The agent held her hands up innocently. "Can't a girl figure things out for herself?" A huff was her only response. "Now, with Sonic, he's been through some stuff. It's not hard to see that he's hurting under that rough and tough exterior. Call me crazy, but I can see you empathizing with him a little bit. Maybe you included parts of your own psyche when making their personas…"

"That's ridiculous," Shadow immediately opposed, "It's just a-"

"Coincidence?" Rouge finished, "I don't think so, and you don't either. But," she shrugged, "like you said sugar, it's just a theory."

Shadow subtly clenched his fists. He knew that Rouge's words could possibly hold some truth to them, given everything that they have witnessed, but he favored that they didn't. The hedgehog wouldn't want to think of the other Sonic and Espio as reminders of what happened. He had enough trouble dealing with the Mobians on their own; he didn't need to have to go into what they could possibly symbolize as well.

"I'm not asking for any specifics here." Shadow blinked when Red's voice reached his ears. He had forgotten that he was there. The echidna was staring at Rouge before his gaze drifted down to the Ultimate Lifeform, expression somewhat cautious. "But I have the feeling that at least some of this is linked to…"

He trailed off when Shadow nodded. "Yes, it is."

Rouge pursed her lips, glancing between the two. "Wait a minute…he knows?"

"Yes."

"Do all of them know?"

"No."

The agent furrowed her brow, the ghost of a frown on her face. "I know that you didn't just outright tell him-"

"I am right here."

"-so how…"

"He found out."

"After just a couple days of knowing him? How many hints were you dropping, hon?"

"Just one," Shadow answered as he turned a corner only to decrease his speed down to a walk when a massive pile of clay and stone appeared before him, as tall as a one-story building. The emerald is in there. It must have collapsed a tower that was in its flight path. The Ultimate Lifeform strolled forward until he could put a gloved hand on the crumbling clay. When Red stepped up to his side, Rouge landing on the other, he muttered out, "The emerald's buried underneath this."

"Are you sure?" Rouge questioned.

"Positive."

"Alright." The agent grinned over to the echidna. "Time to get to digging, Red!"

"You know…I've had a gut feeling that this might happen." The red Mobian let out a heavy exhale before turning his hands into fists. "Might as well get it over with…I know that I'm not getting out of this…"

The echidna took a step forward, but before he could actually do anything, a familiar voice made him pause.

"We got the other red Chaos emerald. No sign of Penumbra though."

Hearing Knuckles' words, Shadow dug the communicator out of the cuff of his glove and just stared at it, letting the information register. It wasn't like Shadow had fully expected Penumbra to be where that emerald was all this time, but it would have been nice to have one less liability. His twin was still unpredictable, and having him loose and unsupervised at the moment wasn't the best situation to be in.

But where could he be though?

Rouge hummed. "I guess your double is pretty good at hide-and-seek Shadow." She dusted some dust off her white boot. "But at least they found the trouble-causing emerald."

"I bet he didn't have to dig to find it…" Red mumbled before hopping up and digging his knuckles into the mound. Once he gained his footing, the echidna climbed up to the top.

Shadow watched as the echidna kicked up dust and dirt when he began working. The striped hedgehog held up the communicator to his mouth and pressed the button to answer, but another voice beat him to it.

"Uh…cool. Just-"

"IF YOU HAVE ACHIEVED YOUR MISSION, COME BACK TO RENDEZVOUS AT THE HOME AND WAIT FOR THE REST TO ARRIVE."

Thinking that his input wasn't exactly needed, the Ultimate Lifeform released the button and put the device back in his cuff. Rouge rose a brow. "You're not going to jump in?"

"There's no need to." Shadow crossed his arms. "I'll radio in when we get all of the emeralds."

"Yeah please come. I don't care what Shadow said, this robot makes me SEVERELY uncomfortable."

"I AM NOT A DANGER TO YOU."

"Right now you're not!"

Rouge snickered at the conversation. "Looks like Omega isn't making friends with that croc anytime soon."

"I'm not surprised," Shadow replied. He knew how much of an opponent Espio's Omega was, and seeing the bot suddenly being 'friendly' wasn't going to automatically make the others forget that.

"Wait, so no one else is there, and nobody is using their communicators?" Knuckles' voice grew in volume. "What's the point in having them then? Amy's group probably dropped it in the water, I bet Sonic lost the damn thing, and who knows what bat-girl's group is doing right now!"

"Temper temper…" Rouge said like the other could hear her. "We're working too you know."

"W-What if something happened to them?" Shadow labeled that voice as TT's, and he almost reached for the communicator again until Tails spoke up.

"There's nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, Sonic loses things all the time, Amy and Rosy have to deal with two Charmys, and well, Shadow and Rouge aren't the most…"

"Reliable?" Knuckles finished.

"Not exactly that…"

"It's nice to know what they think of us," the albino agent commented with a smirk. "We aren't unreliable… I prefer the term chaotically neutral, don't you agree?"

"Sure, Rouge." Shadow absently concurred, not paying attention to the background conversation anymore.

The pair waited and observed as more and more clay flew out of the hole Red had managed to create, sidestepping any clumps of dirt that was accidently sent their way. After several minutes of seeing Red dig, relocate, and dig again, the echidna finally popped out of a hole and held the shining purple emerald in his dusty grip.

"Ooo!" Rouge cooed, holding her hands out, "Come to mama!"

Red slid down the large mound, wiping the clay off his tail as some of the crumbling earth gathered around his shoes. The echidna tossed the violet jewel over to the bat, shaking his head at the sight of her dusting it off and cradling it.

The red Mobian knocked his gloves together to minimalize the amount of dirt there before linking his hands behind his head, turning towards the striped hedgehog. "Are we done here?"

Shadow nodded. "We are. Let's go."

When he grabbed Red's wrist, the echidna couldn't keep in the exasperated groan.

"And why exactly did I have to part with the emerald?"

Shadow took his wandering eyes off of the many flashing, colorful, and moving lights of Casino Park that contrasted the night sky above and trained them on his partner, whose formerly white fur now shone a multitude of hues as they traversed the crowded streets of the popular city.

"It was so you don't lose it," he clipped as he glanced away from her irritated look. "The people here would kill for something shiny. What makes you think that they would just stop at their wallets?"

Rouge huffed and folded her arms in front of her, annoyance swirling in her teal orbs as they roamed the buildings filled with slots, roulette wheels, and very expensive looking items on shelves begging to be stolen by a particular thief. Her anger slowly dissipated at the sights.

She tapped a finger on her arm in slight agitation. "You got to keep yours and not leave it in the jet with your sleep-obsessed friend."

"I have my reasons Rouge."

The bat turned up her nose at him. "Sure you do." Rouge then began to veer away from the hedgehog, heading towards a well-lit section with tons of machines and tables. "Well, you can make up for my lack of emerald by letting us have a little fun. I know that we don't have any money at the moment," she peered back over to him and winked, "but I can fix that problem in a second."

Shadow frowned when he reached over and grabbed her upper arm, pulling her back to his side. "Remember what we came here for, Rouge. Does anything else here really take precedence over a Chaos emerald?"

"Hmph. You really aren't any fun Shadow." The agent whirled around on him and poked a finger in that furry chest of his. "Fine. After we get the emerald, I'm going to enjoy myself before we get back to the doom and gloom. You better believe that, sugar."

"…You're impossible," Shadow simply uttered before letting her go and paying attention to where the gem's energy was emitting from. Narrowed rubies swept the area until they zeroed in on a lit building a couple blocks down with people walking in and out of its open doors. "In there," he told her as he made his way through the crowds.

The Ultimate Lifeform stopped when he reached the entrance, waiting for Rouge to catch up to him. The partners nodded to each other before entering the building, taking in the people enjoying themselves at the various slots available. The voices and laughter were loud as they bounced off the flickering walls, the dim atmosphere making the lights pop even more.

Shadow ignored all of the distractions, the door on an adjacent wall to his right gaining his full attention. He glanced up at the neon sign above it, which read, 'From Ancient Antiques to Eye-popping Electronics, start bidding here!'.

Of course. A gem that holds immense power is about to be auctioned off. Everything holds monetary value these days. Shadow nudged Rouge and bobbed his head in that direction. When she understood his gesture, the duo walked over to the doorway and pushed open the door only to enter a room similar to the one before, but instead of slots everywhere, there were tables and chairs. Over to the side, there was a stand for refreshments. At the opposite end of the room was a stage with an occupied podium situated on it with items lined up on shelves on either side of the suited man speaking at the moment.

"There it is Shadow!" Rouge whispered over a man bidding a hundred dollars for a pair of SOAP shoes. The bat pointed to a yellow jewel that pulsated with life, its aura outshining everything around it. The gem was positioned inside of a clear cylinder container beside delicate jewelry.

She smirked over at him. "So…distraction, or no distraction?"

"Distraction," Shadow instantly answered, "I don't feel like dealing with angry citizens and determined cops." Though technically it isn't anyone's property.

"You read my mind, hon," she patted his shoulder before going back out the way they came. "Give me a minute or two." She called softly over her shoulder, "You'll know it when you see it. Meet me on the roof afterwards."

Shadow grunted in response when she left. The hedgehog – thankful of his color – slunk into the shadows to remain inconspicuous as he waited for Rouge to make a move. Him just standing there in the open would surely prompt some questions.

True to Rouge's words, the distraction came about a minute and a half later in the form of bright lights. The whole space went from a dim darkness to a blinding white so suddenly that Shadow could hear the shocked pained groans from the crowd. Eyes painlessly adjusting, the hedgehog warped over to the stage, took the case and the emerald inside, and then suddenly he was standing on the roof of the building, feeling a light cool breeze ruffle his quills.

He kept his eye out for his partner as he emptied the case, absently wondering how long it would be before they noticed the gem missing, and wishing that he would be away before that happened. Black ears flickered when the sound of swishing met them, and Shadow turned to see Rouge landing at his side with a sly smile.

"I'm guessing it went well?"

Shadow tossed her the jewel. "Very. Now we can leave since-"

"Oh no you don't!" She put a hand on her hip. "I'm going to have some fun, remember?"

The hedgehog kept himself from running a hand down his face. "Rouge, a Chaos emerald has been stolen. Do you really think that they would overlook the world's best jewel thief and me with my history?" A blaring alarm went off, and Shadow grabbed her arm again. "Let me answer that for you. No, no they won't."

There was a sudden scene change, and the pair were now standing at the very outskirts of the city where the jet was waiting. A small pout adorned Rouge's face. "Fine Mr. Pushy. But I'm coming back here later."

Shadow sighed. "I don't care what you do then."

The pout morphed into a grin. "I think you might, because I'm dragging you with me."

Before the hedgehog could vehemently refuse the offer, there was movement from behind them. The duo turned around to see Red dropping to the ground, communicator in his hand. Yawning, the echidna shuffled up to Shadow and held out the device. "Woke up to them wanting you… Was going to answer, but…I heard my other self's voice and I'm not awake enough to deal with him."

Shadow tilted his head and took the silent communicator. "They aren't saying anything now though."

Red stretched a bit. "…stopped right before y'all appeared…think they were trying to contact you for a while now…"

"Did they sound serious?" Rouge asked, "If you were even alert enough to tell…" she added as an afterthought.

They weren't surprised when red shoulders rose and fell in a sloppy shrug.

Shadow went ahead and pushed the button on the side of the device. "Hello?"

"So you did have your communicator! Why the hell have you been ignoring us?"

"Calm down, echidna. What do you need?"

"Do you have the emeralds?"

Shadow frowned when his question was answered with a question, even though he had technically done the same thing.

"Yes, we have them."

"So you're on your way back now?"

Shadow exhaled harshly through his nose. "You still haven't answered me."

"Since you're on your way, you can know when you get back to the house."

Rouge hummed at Knuckles' abrupt hang-up. "Someone's salty."

"Yeah, I'm glad that I held off talking with him." Red rubbed his tired eyes.

Shadow tucked the communicator away. "Just get into the jet; we're heading back."

"I wonder what's got him so worked up?" Rouge climbed up into the pilot seat, placing the yellow emerald in her lap. "I know it wasn't just because we didn't answer the radio."

"We'll find out soon enough…" Red murmured, settling himself back into his comfortable spot. He then gave Shadow a lethargic confused look as the jet started up. "Wait… Can't you just teleport us there…?"

Everyone needs a break, and this is mine…also, Rouge does have to return the jet, Shadow thought as his lips twitched. "You're complaining? It's more time for you to sleep."

Red blinked and a sleepy chuckle filled the air. "You're an alright guy, Shadow…"

"You hear that hon?" Rouge's teasing tone was easy to decipher. "Savor it, because you may not ever hear it again."

Shadow sent her a weak glare before activating his skates and leaving a trail of singed grasses in his wake.

Espio was swiveling back and forth in his soft chair as he gazed up at the large monitor in front of him, examining the many pictures of the second base the chameleon was planning to renovate. It was very spacious and elaborate, which was perfect for what the reptile had in store. However, Espio did find it strange that there were random metallic balls laying around in some rooms…

The chameleon deemed those unimportant for now as he reached up and searched around in the systems again, particularly the archives. Metal Sonic was a unique robot. He could talk for himself, think for himself, make his own orders…he had personality. Most importantly, he had the speed of Sonic. All because of DNA…

If Espio could help it, Metal wouldn't be unique for very long.

Once he found what he was looking for, the chameleon clicked on the file, and large blueprints partially covered up the images of the underwater base. The ninja smirked at what was shown to him, thinking that coming to this dimension was the best thing he could have ever done.

When he heard footsteps approaching, Espio closed out of the blueprints. He didn't want Eggman to know what he was planning quite yet. He didn't want the doctor to somehow ruin his plans.

Espio swiveled around in his chair, watching as the collared human stepped into the room with a fully operational Omega entering after him. Metal remained in the doorway, leaning against the frame. An amber iris examined Omega's body before regarding Eggman. "He's completely fixed, correct?"

He reveled in the heat sent his way, the hostility making him stronger instead of getting him to cower. "Yes," the doctor growled out, arms crossed, "Back to one hundred percent."

"I'd like to thank you for replacing his arm as well," Espio said with a demeaning smirk, "True, it was…functional before, but not practical."

"I TRIED MY HARDEST."

The chameleon nodded at his trusted robot. "I'm sure you did Omega." He then turned to Metal, raising a brow. "Did you detect anything suspicious while Eggman was working on him? For instance, was anything inserted that shouldn't have been?"

"I did not see any of the sort." A monotonous voice responded, "I would have ended the doctor's worthless existence if he had tried."

Eggman whirled on him. "Worthless?! If anyone's worthless, it's-" The man promptly fell to his knees when an electric current flowed through his body, making his entire frame shake violently.

Espio just watched on, smirk widening. "That's good to hear." He gestured the blue bot over, facing the monitor once again. "Come over here, I have another request."

"Another?" Metal stepped up to his side, red opticals trained on him. "You are beginning to ask for too much, chameleon."

You'll be whistling another tune soon enough, Espio mentally replied before waving the mech off. "Just hear me out." He pointed to one of the base's pictures. There was a nearly inaudible gasp behind him, and the ninja glanced back to see a recovered Eggman staring at the screen as well. It wasn't farfetched to say that he recognized the place.

Espio ignored him. "I want you to take Eggman, Omega, and as many robots as you can to this base. It's clear that it has been abandoned for a long while, and I want you to supervise as the others work. The faster it's cleaned up, the better. It will be the Master Emerald's new home."

The chameleon could feel the displeasure radiating off of Metal (and the loathing coming from a specific human in the back). "And why do I have to be present, exactly?"

"So the work doesn't slack." Espio reclined in his seat, relaxing and enjoying the control he had over everyone here, obvious or otherwise. "The groundwork has to be laid out before the machine for the ME can actually be built." The chameleon cocked his head at the Sonic look-a-like, knowing the response to his question before he asked it. "I'm doing this for you. You do want the Master Emerald's energy flowing inside of you as soon as possible, right?"

"So this is what you planned all along!" Eggman gritted out, "You came here for my resources! You – gah…" The man was on the floor again, the button in Metal's grip being pushed.

"Silence," the blue bot ordered before replying to Espio. "I did not know that infusing me was part of your plan."

"It had always been. I just had to work out any kinks," he bobbed his head toward the agonized scientist, "out before it became concrete. So, will you go?"

Metal nodded. "I will."

"Great." Espio turned to see all of the occupants of the room, propping his cheek on a clenched fist. "So while he supervises, Omega, you will be in charge of the group of bots sent to do the manual labor."

"UNDERSTOOD."

"Eggman." Said man stiffened, jaw clenching like he wanted to say something, but refrained from doing so. Yes, Espio's stay was going well for him…except his little failure from before. He inwardly frowned. The fight with the other him did not go as planned, but he would have his twin's blood on his hands soon enough. Espio refocused on the here and now. "You will be part of the force of bots that will be working on any faults in the circuitry and electronics." When he was met with irate silence, Espio poured venom into his next words. "If you refuse to, I'm sure your body would make a good enough dummy for Penumbra to practice on."

The gulp was audible. "Things were not supposed to end up this way…"

"Face the music Eggman." Espio jeered. "They did, and there's nothing you can do." An amber orb then met with artificial reds. "Time to gather the bots and set off. I disabled every functional switch and button in Eggman's hovercraft except the ones for flight, so you are safe while he rides in it."

Metal made a move toward the door, but he paused in his steps. "What will you do while we are gone?"

"I've got some preparing of my own I have to do," he simply answered, "Don't worry about me. Do as much as you can before coming back for the trade-off tomorrow."

"Trade-off?" Eggman questioned, glancing between Metal and Espio. "What trade-off?"

"How else do you think we're getting the Master Emerald?" The ninja uttered before shooing the human off and returning his attention to the large screen. "Figure it out yourself."

The doctor didn't say anything else – Espio had a sneaking suspicion that Metal had something to do with it – as the trio left, the door closing behind them.

"Alright…" The chameleon reopened up the file from earlier and looked over the blueprints. He hummed to himself before pulling up the floor plan of the base he was currently in, searching the monitor for the place's infirmary, if the doctor had bothered to install one. He zeroed in on a tiny room labeled 'First Aid'. "There it is."

The chameleon patiently waited about ten minutes to make sure the others have gone before standing up, grabbing Penumbra's remote, and leaving the office. Espio strolled down the halls of the underground base like he owned it, light footsteps echoing throughout the silent walkways.

It didn't take long for him to reach his destination. It was a small storage closet, but instead of mops and brooms, it was filled with health-related supplies. Espio entered the small space and began to shuffle through the items, hoping that the doctor had what he needed. He should…even though the chameleon didn't know what Eggman would need needles for. Perhaps for self-evaluation if he had come down with something? Maybe.

It was when he moved over a box of Band-Aids when he found them. Sterile needles and syringes. Pleased, Espio grabbed the bag and prepared four of them, palming a small plastic container to store them all in once he was done. He labeled them 'S', 'P', 'C', and 'R' with an available pen before he left.

Silver's room was first. The chameleon ignored the muffled raspy screams when he passed the threshold, making his way toward the convulsing psychic huddling in the far corner. His shoes were getting stained, but he would deal with that later after his entire mission was complete. The blindfolded and gagged hedgehog tried violently pulling away when Espio grabbed him by his red splotched arm.

"Stop moving, or I'll kill you." And just like that, Silver was still. Or rather, as still as he could be while his body was trembling like it was subzero temperatures in the room.

Sure, the ninja could very easily take samples from the painted floor and walls, but he figured for the best results, he should take it right from the source.

He plunged the needle into the crook of Silver's elbow, whimpers pouring out of the rodent's mouth around the cloth. The psychic was smart enough not to move though. Espio quickly filled the tiny container with blood before yanking the needle out of the vein without any remorse, causing a pained yelp.

Espio shoved him away when he stood up, observing dispassionately as Silver curled back into himself, crying into the blindfold and crawling away from where he thought the chameleon was. The reptile turned around and left, lips twitching upwards.

Rogue was next. As the chameleon approached the room, he frowned and looked down at the arm the bat had sunk his teeth into, now healed because of Penumbra. That winged Mobian's laughter echoed around in his mind, and that paired with the image of the bat being torn into while he had a wide smile on his face made Espio purse his lips.

He just shook his head and became expressionless once more. The boy wouldn't be his problem much longer.

When the chameleon stepped inside, those dull teal eyes were immediately focused on him.

"Aw…you're healed…that's too…bad…"

Espio scoffed at the beaten and broken bat propped up on the opposite wall. As punishment – yes, he decided that the other needed more – he had swapped out the cloth gag for a highly uncomfortable muzzle that unfortunately allowed just enough mouth movement so the bat could talk.

And to smile, apparently…

Rogue's arms were also bound with cuffs and tight rope so another incident like before couldn't happen.

"Be lucky that you're still alive after that stunt you pulled." The chameleon scowled as his approached, gripping the needle in his hand tightly.

The bat's head lolled to the side, dim irises never wavering. "…lucky…sure…"

Espio said nothing when he squatted down and readied the syringe over the skin of the other's arm. There was no resistance.

"What's with…you…and needles…man?" Rogue let out a breathy chuckle, voice weak and cracking. "…wonder what…the surprise…is gonna be…this time…"

He had no response as Espio focused on pulling the blood, but what the bat whispered next was so unexpected that it made the reptile unconsciously tense.

"…you're gonna die…"

A sole amber orb glanced up to meet empty teals, the bright smile underneath making Rogue's expression contradictory.

"But not before…all your bones are…broken… Can't exactly…make it painless…right dude…? Taste your blood as you…bleed out…"

Espio's gaze snapped down to the bat's mouth, seeing his own blood caking those lips. The smile widened, and the teeth shown still had red stains on them.

The laughter started, and the chameleon couldn't get the container to fill up fast enough. "…scared…huh…? Grow…a pair…man…" The bat's shoulders shook as the chortles increased in volume. "It's…just…pain…"

Espio tore the sharp object from the other's arm, punching him in the face hard enough to send the white Mobian to the ground. "You're threats are all empty. They mean nothing."

His words were drowned out by the warped laughter that drove his feet to head for the exit.

The last two were Penumbra and Cream.

The chameleon took two syringes out of the container before he scanned his hand, the door sliding open in front of him. Inside of the room, the two mammals were sitting facing each other, heads turned in his direction. One gaze was filled with worry, but the other had a mixture of anger, curiosity, and fright. It seemed like they had been having some kind of conversation; obviously it had been cut short.

Espio gestured for the striped hedgehog (now clean after getting hosed down) to come closer. "Come here, Penumbra."

The hedgie spared Cream one last glance before making his way over, slumped and pathetic looking.

The rabbit reached out for him, but didn't move from her spot. Tears welled up in her eyes. "W-Where are you taking h-him?"

"I'm not taking him anywhere," Espio stated. Once Penumbra got close enough to him, the reptile grabbed the other's elbow and held it steady. When the 'hog attempted to pull back, Espio pinched the skin and inwardly smirked at the whine he received. "Stop moving."

Black ears flattened themselves against his head. Penumbra weakly glared down at the floor. "Sorry."

Maroon orbs followed the syringe as it got closer to piercing the skin. A loud gasp came from the bunny at the sight of the menacing looking needle. "Wh-What are you doing to him?!"

"I'm drawing blood," Espio responded lowly as the sharp tool pierced the skin, tightening his hold when Penumbra instinctively jerked. He glared over at the rabbit. "No more questions."

The hedgehog whimpered when the red liquid began to leave him. "Hurt arm…"

Cream silently witnessed the interaction, biting her lip in visual concern. Espio knew that she wouldn't stay quiet for long. "Can…Can I ask you o-one more question?"

Espio frowned, but nodded anyway. Mildly interested in what she had to ask.

The rabbit swallowed thickly before saying, "Who…Who are you making Mr. Penumbra h-hurt?"

The ninja snorted, pulling the needle out of the dark arm. He swapped the full one out for an empty, seeing Penumbra back up a couple of steps while rubbing his abused limb. "No one that you know." It seemed like Cream didn't know to be relieved or frightened at the fact that people – strangers or not – are actually getting attacked. He gazed at her timid form. "It's your turn."

At his words, she began to panic. "N-No! I don't…I don't want to… That looks s-scary! Please don't make me!"

Seeing Cream scared made Penumbra growl. Those sharp eyes darted from the bunny to the needle, and he made some kind of connection in his head. The hedgehog moved himself so that he was in between the chameleon and rabbit, quills bristled. "No!" the hedgie snarled, "No hurt! Espio…" he paused for a moment, "You say no hurt Cream!"

"It won't hurt if she doesn't move," Espio bit back, "Step aside!"

Penumbra refused, and the reptile was just about to palm his remote when Cream pushed the rodent to the side with a shaking hand. The hedgie blinked over at her before calming down and relaxing some of his muscles. "Cream…"

"I-I've always been scared of needles…" She sniffed, standing in front of Espio and holding out her trembling arm. "B-But…Mama said that b-big kids aren't…" Cream stared up at the chameleon with moist chocolates, confidence flowing into them. "A-And big kids are strong! I-I have to be strong for both Mr. Penumbra and me! We h-have to stay strong until Mr. Sonic comes to find us!"

The hedgehog smiled at the bunny's turnaround and held her unoccupied hand, providing comfort.

"That's a nice speech," Espio started as he inserted the needle and slowly drew the blood, not caring about Cream's face twisting up in pain. "It's too bad that you're missing one little detail…" When the blood filled the small cylinder, he slid it out of her vein but kept a grip on her arm. Espio looked her in the eyes. "No one's coming to get you."

"Y-You're lying!" Cream yanked her arm away and backed up into Penumbra's secure hold. She didn't see the scowl the hedgehog was giving him. "He'll come find and r-rescue me! H-He always rescues his friends!"

"Why? Because he's a hero?" Espio spat out the last word, turning around to face the exit door. "Heroes don't always win. Believe what you want to, but that won't change the outcome." He peered over his shoulder at the duo. "See you in the morning."

Espio left the room and picked up the rest of the syringes he had left by the wall. He held up the container they were in and carefully placed the last two in there. The ninja scanned all of them and smirked. He believed that this made up for his loss from earlier.

He was going to sleep well tonight.

Next chapter…eight Chaos emeralds in one place!