While Shadow and Whisper had gotten to talking with Cream, the other parties were having discussions of their own.

Rouge and Omega were on their way to the next Chaos Emerald, travelling at a relatively tame speed. It was always nice for Rouge to be able to stretch her wings. Despite the freeing feeling, she couldn't shake the uneasy realization she'd been starting to have. She glanced at her robotic partner. Though they were close friends and had a generally fine relationship, he wasn't exactly the greatest talking partner. The last time they'd had a real heart-to-heart was way back during the discovery of Shadow Androids. His one-track mind didn't make for particularly interesting conversation, but at this very moment he was the only one around.

"What's on your mind, Omega?"

Omega was moving alongside her, keeping up with her sleek gliding by utilizing his jet boosters. The top-heavy robot answered as bluntly as ever. "Terminating Eggman and cementing myself as the ultimate robot."

Rouge sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know why I bothered asking when I knew what the answer was," she shrugged.

Omega turned his head, isolated from his body, 90 degrees to look at her. "I only have one goal I desire to fulfill. Your mind does not possess the same strength as me, that is only natural for a meatbag. What troubles you?"

Rouge was taken aback by his question. Who knew he could read people so well? "Just something on my mind. Before all that stuff with the Metal Virus happened, Shadow had been planning to destroy Dr. Eggman from the start. I manipulated the events to avoid that from happening… I basically lied to Shadow because I didn't agree with his ideals at that moment, and in turn the very thing he was concerned about ended up happening…"

Omega turned his head back, generating a response. "If you are going to ask me if what you did was wrong, then the answer is an obvious yes, going by your very own sense of morality and justice as a meatbag. You orchestrated events to obstruct Shadow from his path, and then his fears were realized. Now here you are, aiding him in his mission when the stakes have been significantly raised, as now we must combat Sonic and his allies."

Rouge felt a twinge of guilt after hearing what he said. Leave it to a robot to present the facts straight. He didn't necessarily pull any punches, and he wasn't saying anything wrong. "Ugh, the thing about you robots and you men: you have no idea how to read the room. Even if you're right, that doesn't make me feel any better, y'know."

Omega responded plainly. "You didn't allow me to finish. From my perspective as your teammate, your line of thinking was just as valid as Shadow's, perhaps even more logical. You went with your instinct. It is unfortunate that your sentiment did not pay off, but in the future I would propose opening a dialogue. You should've discussed and been open with him about your feelings on the matter, and perhaps you would have swayed his mind. You really are the only one he appears to listen to."

Rouge's ears perked up a bit having been previously dropped. "I don't know why people keep saying that… Shadow listens to nobody. Although, who knew you had such a way with words? What do you think I should do now, then?"

"There is nothing you can do at this moment except focus on the mission at hand. If you are still bothered, you should apologize to Shadow for manipulating him. I trust he will take it fine."

Rouge smiled. "Got it. Thanks, Omega."

"Your thanks is as unnecessary as it is irrelevant. You need to be in the right frame of mind for operating optimally. My actions were required for the betterment of the team."

Rouge teased. "Nah, I think you just have a big heart. Somewhere under all that metal bulk, at least. Maybe you've spent too much time around us 'meatbags'."

"I will be taking a long leave from the team after our mission is accomplished as a countermeasure, then," Omega groaned.

Rouge laughed. No flirtatious front, no guard put up. Just a genuine, loud laugh. It was good to have her friend around.

Back in Seaside City, Tails and Tangle sat down with the Chaotix to discuss their proposition. Vector had brought out chairs for them as the five sat around his desk. Tangle spotted the bulletin board behind Vector's head, seeing some pictures stuck on. One was a group photo of a visibly younger Chaotix. Espio's shoes were different, and Charmy didn't have his signature jacket. With them were an black armadillo with a red shell and shoes identical to Sonic, and a yellow flying squirrel with blue shoes. They all looked happy in the photo. The only other photo on the board, to which the first was tied to via "detective string", was of what appeared to be a villainous trio. A towering polar bear with an annoyed expression, a green… duck/woodpecker with shoes identical to Sonic sporting a crazed expression, and a smug… jerboa? Wolf? Weasel! He had a popgun in hand. Tangle would have to remember to ask about all of them later.

Vector was eager to get down to business. "So Tails, what brings you all the way over here? Seems like some serious business judging from your demeanor."

Before Tails could answer, Tangle interjected excitedly. "Wow, so it's true what they say about your legendary detective skills! You could figure out how Tails was feeling just from seeing him?!"

Vector rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. "Heheh, er, no, we're friends, so of course I can tell if my friend isn't doin' too hot."

Tangle blushed, scratching her cheek. "Oh, haha, yeah, that makes more sense."

Tails took the opportunity to speak. "Well, like I said, it's no mystery or anything like that. We actually came by for your muscle. That is to say, to join our current, uh, 'alliance'."

Espio raised an eyebrow. "Alliance? Who are you allying against? And in addition to the both of you, who is 'our' referring to?"

Tails' expression turned grim. "So far our 'team' is made up of Sonic, myself, Tangle, and Amy, though she isn't really with us yet 'cause she's still doing her Restoration stuff. And, um, we're fighting… Shadow and Team Dark. As well as their newest recruit, Whisper." Tangle bent her head in sadness hearing her friend's name again.

The detective trio was shocked to hear this, but the filterless Charmy was the first to speak up. "Woah, you guys are fighting Shadow? And you want us to help? I mean, I know I'm pretty awesome, but Shadow's so strong! He's so cool, he's unbeatable!"

Vector noticed Tangle's attitude adjustment and further questioned the situation, scratching his head in confusion. "You got sad when he mentioned your friend. What's going on, Tails? Why are you and Sonic fighting Shadow of all people? Talk about a clash for the ages…"

"Shadow… wants to kill Dr. Eggman. Destroy him for good."

The Chaotix's reactions were all different upon hearing that sentence. Vector shivered a bit, Espio lost his cool composure and uncrossed his arms, and Charmy was cheering on his role model. "Wow, so cool!" He did a quick impression of his brooding voice. "'I'm Shadow the Hedgehog, and I wanna kill Dr. Eggman.' Hahaha, so awesome!" He jumped from his chair and did a quick loop-de-loop in the air.

Vector wagged his finger at the hyperactive bee. "No, Charmy! Murder isn't awesome, it's wrong! Hurting people isn't cool, helping people is. You need better role models, like Tails over here. He's a great hero even though he's only a little bit older than you."

Tails smiled a bit before Espio inquired more. "What's Shadow's motivation for wanting to kill the Doctor? Doesn't he trust Sonic to keep him in check?"

"No, not anymore," Tails shook his head. "He's decided to take matters into his own hands after what happened with Mr. Tinker and the Metal Virus."

"Then I can't say I blame him." Espio stated matter-of-factly.

Vector was taken aback by his friend's remarks. "Espio, what are you saying? We can't just go around killing people because we don't like or agree with them, even if they ARE dangerous. That's just not right."

Espio turned away and closed his eyes, crossing his arms again. "If the only argument against what Shadow is doing is that it's morally wrong, it's not a viable one. To put it bluntly, Sonic has proved to us he's incompetent at keeping the world safe from Dr. Eggman. He's not as in-control as he used to be, and the pain we suffered because of Sonic's reckless call to let Eggman be in Windmill Village was excruciating."

Tails wasn't keen on Espio trashing his hero, and tried to argue back. "Even if we go by what you're saying about Sonic (even if it's completely bogus), that doesn't give Shadow the right to step in and end someone's life. Sonic believes Eggman can do good one day, and he's changed people before. He's softened Knuckles tougher-than-leather exterior, he's opened Chaos' heart, and he's even given Shadow a chance at redemption, to live and learn. Why is this any different?"

"Because now he's failed us!" Espio raised his voice. "And so did you! You weren't there when Vector and Charmy were infected. You can't imagine the anguish in my heart! And the 'genius sidekick' of the 'world's greatest hero' only continues to disappoint in his hero's stead! Where were you during the Eggman War? We lost the planet and you vanished, Tails, when we needed you! But nobody said anything to you then because we knew you were 'taking the loss hard' even though we all were!"

Vector tried to intervene, noticing Tails' expression deteriorating. "Hey, c'mon, cool it, Espio."

"No, he needs to hear this, because clearly no one has told him any of it before!" Espio retorted loudly. "During the pandemic you failed us again at providing a cure when the world was counting on you! Without Sonic, you buckle down and become a shell of who you are. What happened to the Tails of old, who could handle himself even when Sonic was absent? Who is this imposter that sits before me? You're a genius. Even you must know there is a degree of truth to what Shadow says. But you would rather cower under Sonic's shadow and watch the world burn than even consider the fact that Shadow is logically in the right here."

Tails' head was too clouded by emotion to think straight, Espio's words pushing him to the brink of tears. His fatigue from troubled sleep didn't help, and all he could mutter was a whimpering "Sh-shut up, Espio…"

Tangle wasn't going to sit by and let her tail-friend take this, and began to chime in. "Wow, do you really think you guys were the only ones affected by the war and the plague? Didn't Tails pitch in and help defeat Eggman later on during the war? Didn't Tails pitch in and rescue survivors of the virus? So what if there were a couple screw-ups along the way? Tails has and always will be trying his best to help everyone, I've seen it firsthand. Can you really call yourself his friend if you don't believe that?"

Espio paused for a moment, thinking. His voice had lowered considerably back to its default after Tangle's intervention. "No, I suppose I can't. I'm sorry, Tails, but sometimes even our best isn't good enough. And I don't think I can trust Sonic's 'best' either after what has transpired."

Vector put his hand on Espio's shoulder and looked his friend in the eye. "Man, Espio, where's all this coming from?"

"These feelings have been in my heart for a while."

He stood up from his chair and started walking towards the exit of the office. Charmy yelled to him with rhythm in his voice. "Yo, yo, Espio, where are you gonna go?"

Espio stopped walking to answer and turned around. "I'm going to confront Shadow. I want to hear his perspective before I make any decisions. You two can join Sonic and his team if you wish."

Tangle yelled in bewilderment. "Wait, how the heck are you gonna find Shadow? He could be anywhere."

"I'm a detective, remember? I can find him quite easily." He turned back around to avoid looking his two best friends in their eyes. "Farewell, my friends." Vector tried to plead with Espio to wait, but the latter walked out the door, and they watched through the glass door as he vanished in a cloud of smoke and leaves.

While that conversation had taken place, Sonic, Eggman, and Metal were hard at work tracking the Chaos Emerald and came across a large, purple cat.

The Mystic Ruins were home to Big the Cat's house, and previously the location of the Final Egg. That base was long defunct now, though. The appropriately named feline had a fishing rod cast into the river next to his humble wooden home. He was generally unaware of his surroundings, so much so that he didn't even notice the odd trio arrive a few feet away from him. His only concern was his small frog friend beside him. Froggy was napping on the red Chaos Emerald, so if Froggy was content, so was Big. Sonic and Eggman's jaws dropped at the sight of this. If Big was in possession of this Chaos Emerald, then acquiring it would be a piece of cake! Unbeknownst to both Big and the trio, however, was a stealthy bat and slightly less stealthy robot lurking behind the thick trees of the jungle, searching for the Emerald before stumbling across Big and Sonic at a distance.

Rouge gestured for Omega to hush, putting her index finger at her lips, to spy on their enemy for a bit before pouncing. She whispered a message into her wrist, "Emerald located in the Mystic Ruins. Sonic is in the radius as well. May need assistance."

On the other end, Shadow and Whisper received the message and looked at each other. Shadow quickly formulated a plan in his head as Whisper looked to him for orders. "Alright," he declared. "Whisper, stay here with the kid and the robot. Don't let down your guard." He then looked over to Cream. "I'll be transparent with you, kid. You may need to fight Sonic and his team if they arrive here. I know he would never hurt you, so if it comes down to it, be the fierce fighter I know you can be and don't hold back against him. You'll have your robot and Whisper here to back you up."

Cream nodded, a look of determination in her eyes.

Shadow said nothing else as he bolted out the door, skating towards the Mystic Ruins at blinding speed.

Back at the Mystic Ruins, Sonic approached Big to talk to him. He tapped him on the shoulder and greeted him when he turned to look at him, waving his other hand. "Hey, big guy! Long time no see."

Big responded in his regular oafish voice, "Hey, little guy." When he saw Eggman in his Eggwalker, though, his face lit up, and his tone was a bit warmer. "Hey, you're my fishing buddy! Hey, friend!"

Sonic looked over at Eggman in shock as the latter turned red, vehemently denying any sort of notion. "I have no idea what you're talking about, cat! I don't even know who you are! You're clearly mistaken!"

Sonic guffawed pretty loudly, only adding to Eggman's embarrassment. "No way, Eggface!" He sputtered out in between chuckles. "You can't lie your way outta this one! Hey, fishing with Big isn't anything to be ashamed of. I didn't know he hung out with losers like you, but I guess even you have a soft side." Metal Sonic shook his head in disappointment, clearly not amused by the average Sonic-Eggman antics.

"I'm a very cultured individual, hedgehog," Eggman groaned. "I'll have you know, fishing is an incredibly relaxing and freeing activity. Even my genius needs a rest sometimes, to operate at full capacity!" Sonic also shook his head, still chuckling, remembering how Eggman had berated Tails earlier for needing more rest to think clearly.

While Sonic's laughter had subsided, Metal tapped his creator's shoulder to show him a message. He'd received Gemerl's first statement, and his eyes displayed the text for all to read. *Shadow the Hedgehog and Whisper the Wolf are currently at Cream's house.*

Sonic and Eggman reacted very differently. Sonic muttered out a small "Uh-oh, that can't be good" while Eggman threw himself into legitimate panic, sweating and wondering where they were going to go back to after they retrieved the Emerald. Wait, the Emerald!

Eggman elbowed Sonic and spoke under his breath, in a panicked voice. "You imbecile, hurry up and secure that Emerald before anything else happens."

"I'm working on it!" Sonic retorted. He turned his attention back to Big. "So, Big, I'd love to catch up with you and all, seeing as it's been a while, but I'm kind of in a rush. Gotta go fast, you know? We tracked a Chaos Emerald here and I was gonna ask if we could borrow it for a bit."

Big looked over at Froggy, scratched his head, and slowly reeled in his fishing rod. No catch. "Gee, Sonic, I'd love you to help you. Really! But my pal Froggy is using it right now. I don't wanna disturb his nap. He needs his rest. In fact, Froggy's gotten so attached to that Emerald, I think he might swallow it!"

Eggman facepalmed, groaning. "Oh, brother…"

Sonic assessed the situation, and was able to use his quick-wit to come up with a compromise. "Hmm, I getcha. Wouldn't wanna disturb Froggy. How about this? I'm sort of forming a team with my friends, and seeing as you and Froggy are my friends, I'd love to have you join it! Froggy can keep the Emerald, and when he wakes up, you can let me borrow it since you'll be with me. How does that sound?"

As Big looked at Froggy and thought the offer over, Eggman whispered to Sonic again. "You're recruiting the fat cat? Really? There's nothing in his head but fish and frogs!"

"Hey, lay off, man," Sonic whispered back. "Big's one of the strongest guys I know. You've seen him in action, you know it too. Remember when Metalhead here went berserk, way back when? Big chipped in with Ames and Cream. Not to mention, he's incredibly determined. If I told him Shadow threatened Froggy, he'd fight Shadow."

Big came to a conclusion. "Well, I guess I can trust you guys, even if the shiny other Sonic over there looks a little scary. Ok, Sonic, me and Froggy will join your team, right, little buddy?" The sleeping frog didn't answer, but that didn't discourage Big.

Sonic pumped his fist in the air. "Oh, yeah, now we're talking!"

It was at this point that Rouge and Omega let their presence be known. "Not so fast. Sorry, kitty-cat, but we'll be taking that Emerald now."

Big clutched Froggy and the Emerald protectively as Metal stood in front of Eggman defensively. Sonic just rubbed the underside of his nose with his index finger, as cocky as ever.

"Hey, pretty lady. What brings you to this neck of the woods?"