"Good job, Rouge!"

          "No problem, it was nothing. I told you I'm the best when it comes to finding jewels!"

          Rouge continued to watch the monitor closely, examining four familiar figures walking outside of the shop-one of them holding a boom-box.

          "They seem to be there right now," she went on, "but don't worry, once they leave, that emerald is as good as mine-I mean ours!"

          As Shadow was walking down the halls, he glanced into the computer lab and his eyes instantly caught the aerial shots being projected on the monitor. He rushed over to Rouge, demanding to know how she found out where they were. She disconnected her conversation with the doctor once done, and turned to Shadow.

          "Zoom in," he said, clenching his fists slightly but trying to act calm and cool.

          Rouge typed in a few commands and the camera closed in on the area where the teenagers were standing. Sonic was talking and laughing with Angel while Alternative Rock music was blasting the speakers of the boom-box. Tails, like always, was working on various parts for his aircrafts and Amy was glancing through the pages of a Seventeen magazine.

          The snow-white bat looked at the monitor, and then to Shadow. His eyes narrowed violently as he watched the video.

          "Get out of the seat," he ordered.

          "Wha-?"

          "Get out of the fucking seat!"

          Shadow basically pushed Rouge out of the chair as he sat himself down. She could take the hint that he didn't want her anywhere near him, so silently she left the lab. She reached for her cell phone once more, and instead of dialing the number reaching Dr. Robotnik, she dialed a foreign number.

          "Rouge reporting," she said into the mouthpiece.

          "Is everything going according to plan?"

          "Of course…Mr. President…"

          "What's the point of this call then-"

          "Mr. President, do you know about something called Project A.O.D.?"

          "Project A.O.D.? I…uh…am afraid I have never heard of it before."

          "Oh…I was just wondering…"

          Rouge flipped down the screen of her cell phone and placed it on the table beside her.

          "What a liar…I know he's heard of it before."

          Rouge sighed; looking at a large diamond ring she had recently stolen from a jewelry dealer, and closed her eyes.

*************************************************

          "This is the anthem!"

          "Throw all your hands up!"

          "Ya'll gotta feel me, sing if you're with me!"

          The blazing blue hedgehog Sonic and his spunky lilac friend Angel happily sang along to the song The Anthem by Good Charlotte. The volume was maxed out, and Amy thought that anyone within a 50 mile radius of them would be able to hear them. 

          "I…I've never had so much fun before!" Angel announced as Sonic pretended to be a rock star by air guitaring.

          "Of course, 'cause when you're with me, it's impossible to be bored!"

           Angel smiled, mocking him by air guitaring as well. However, she abruptly stopped and pressed the pause button on the stereo. She looked around the now dead silent scene, a look of uneasiness forming on her face.

          "What's wrong?"        

          She held her hand up, signaling Sonic to be quiet as she took a few steps forward before Amy shrieked, "Look out behind you!!"

          Angel felt herself being lifted up from the ground by cold, metal hands.

          "Ahhh!!!" she screamed as the robotic figure tried to flee the scene with her in its grasp.

          "Angel!" Sonic yelled back as he rolled up into a ball and sped at high speed at the kidnapper, leaving nothing but a trail of dust behind him. The robot toppled over, loosing its grip on Angel whom struggled to get free. However, she was not successful; she still remained in its control.

          "Let go of me you fuckin' robot!!" Angel pounded at the robot's hands, trying to make it let go of her.

          "We could use the X-tornado to take it down-"        

          "Oh my God! What the hell, are you crazy!? You'll blow ME UP TOO!"

          "Tails, do you have any rings??"

          "Yeah…I got one right here, but-"

          "This is gonna be tricky, but it's the only way we can get Angel!"
          Sonic took the golden iridescent ring from Tails' hand and dashed as fast as his legs could take him, feeling the power of the ring starting to sink into him. He jumped into the air, forming into another ball again.       

          "What is he doing!?" Amy cried as she watched intently, a drop of sweat rolling down her face.

          Sonic did not stop, he continued on his destructive path. He aimed carefully at the body of the android, and went directly through it, emitting a shower of sparks around them.

          "Oh my God!"

          Tails and Amy watched the smoke and flames form around the robot and within a matter of seconds it exploded, leaving countless metallic parts scattered about the plain. They walked over to the ashen place where it once stood, and looked to each other.

          "Where's Angel? And Sonic??"

          "Right here!"      

          Amy and Tails turned around to see Sonic holding a girl who looked so terrified that it was as if her eyes were about to pop out of her head.

          "Please…don't…ever…do…that…again…" she said as she gripped onto Sonic so tightly that her nails were digging into his arm.

          "For a second there I didn't think you were gonna make it!" Amy said as she sighed with relief.

          "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog! There's nothing that I can't do!" He responded with a wink. He let Angel down whose trembling knees almost made her fall.

          *************************************************

"Shit…"

          "Jesus, how'd he defeat our robot??"

          Shadow and Rouge hovered over the monitor again as they witnessed the diminishing of their android.

          "I don't fuckin' know, but I swear that blue hedgehog is going to get it someday. If he gets in my way just one more god damn time, I'm going to kick his speedy ass."

          Shadow leaned over and pulled open a drawer from the computer desk. He scrambled through the unfilled papers and pulled out a small, white box and a lighter.

          "I didn't know you smoked-"

          "What, is that a problem?" He said as he took a cigarette out of the box. He placed it in his mouth and lit it, taking a big puff of it as Rouge waved her hand in front of her face and coughed.

          "Hmm…" Rouge said, trying to think of another plan, "You could always just meet her face to face?"

          "Oh yeah? And say what, come join me take over the world? Christ, you idiot, can't you think of any-"

          "Uh…you could tell her that we're trying to stop Robotnik?"

          "Heh…if she was on this ARK don't you think she'd notice him walking around??"

          "You know, most of the time he isn't here, and when he is we can just make sure he and she don't meet!"

          Rouge could tell Shadow was giving it some thought at he gazed at the screen, watching Angel and her friends walk inside of the building.

          "It's worth a try…I guess…she'd easily go along with anything I told her. She's pretty naïve, but doesn't take shit from anybody."

          "Do you want me to call the Doctor and tell him about our plan?"

          "I don't care, just get the hell out of here."
          Rouge gave Shadow a disgusted look as he took another drag from his cigarette. She exited the room, slamming the door shut as Shadow sat there in the dark room by himself. From what he could see from the aerial shots, evening had fallen upon them and would soon be nightfall-the opportune moment for him to make his move.

          For the next few hours, Shadow kept his eye on the monitor-hoping that Angel and her friends didn't leave the shop for any reason. He flicked the small butt of the cigarette into the corner as he pulled out another one, starting to become highly addicted to them.

          Once the night had fallen upon the Mystic Ruins, Shadow stood up and left the lab. This was it; he had to make Angel join his side. He couldn't afford messing up, which would result in her never believing him again.

          He walked down the endless corridors, gazing at various bloodspots smeared over the metal walls and floor. After seeing enough, he closed his eyes so memories would not leek into his mind; he had tried so hard to repress them, but most of his attempts did not succeed.

          Shadow pushed open a large, metallic door which led to a room that was actually quite small. A small, oval pod was lying in the corner as a control panel sat next to it. He approached the panel, inserting coordinates on the location he wished to go to.

          "Latitude…54 degrees….longitude….about 24."

          The entrance into the capsule opened, revealing a seat for one person and a monitor displaying a map with a keyboard in front of it. He stepped in, buckling himself up as he hit a button marked "deploy." The doorway closed, and the capsule fell straight from the ARK and headed to his destination-the Mystic Ruins.

          *************************************************

          "zzz…oh yeah, Amy…that's how I like it…zzz" Sonic was fast asleep, his body draped over the couch with a smile as kinky dreams drifted through his head. Tails was curled up on his favourite beanbag chair, Amy was in front of the TV with a Teen People magazine on her lap opened up to a page with Orlando Bloom in a bathing suit, and Angel was on the couch as well with a bowl of Cheetos in her arm.

          "zzz…don't stay….forget our memories…forget our possibilities…zzz" Angel was sleep-singing a Linkin Park tune, Don't Stay. However, a loud rustling came from outside made her wake up abruptly. She looked out the window and saw a fast-paced figure speed by, sending chills down her spine as she crouched beneath the glass so that whoever was out there wouldn't spot her.

          "Oh my god…" she thought to herself as she peaked out of the window once more. The figure was no where in sight, but just to make sure; she grabbed a wrench on a nearby table and opened the door. Holding the weapon up high to attack any assailants, she looked around and still saw no one.

          "I know I saw somebody…" she thought to herself as she took a few steps past the doorway. She held the wrench close, scanning the area.

          "I…I guess it was just my imagination-"

          "…Angel…"

          "Who-who said that??"

          "…You can't hide…"

          Angel started hyperventilating (hey, wouldn't you?) as she stepped backwards, trying to get back to the workshop when she felt something-or someone-right behind her. She turned around; ready to strike whatever it was when she found herself looking into cold, crimson eyes

          "S-Shadow!" she cried silently, backing away from him.

          "Don't be afraid, Angel," Shadow said as he walked towards her, "We need to talk…"      

          Angel stopped, but continued to hold the wrench.

          "You think I'm a bad guy, don't you?"
          "Well…uh…I-I don't really know…"

          "Angel, you know me better than that…"

          "But…aren't you with Robotnik though?"

          "With him? Ha, I'm the one trying to stop him. He may be a descendant of the professor, but he can't be trusted."

          "Then, why don't you join up with me and my friends?"

          "This doesn't concern them; it's none of their business. This is our mission-ours only-we need to stop the emeralds from falling into the wrong hands, and avenge the deaths of everyone aboard the ARK by destroying the company known as G.U.N. They killed Maria; we can't let them get away with it."

          Angel looked down to the ground, letting the wrench drop from her hands. She didn't know what to do. She knew Shadow would never lie to her, but little did she know about his plan. He walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. A tear trickled down her cheek as she said, "I miss Maria so much…"

          "So do I…"

          "I…I'll fuckin' kill G.U.N….every last one of them…"

          "So, what do you say? Sonic and his friends have aided you on your journey this far…but their part in your story is up…"

          Angel wiped her eyes and quietly said, "I'll go with you…"

          She put her arms around Shadow's body, giving him a tearful embrace. He slightly rolled his eyes, but returned the hug.

          "Follow me, your journey awaits."