Falcon had the honor of stepping down to the planet first. A smug grin sat on his lips, as he now knew just how much his teamates admired him. How blind they must be, he thought, to only realize his value when stepping into the worst of things. Confidently, he strode down the Arrow's boarding stairs, resting the star rod in his right hand on his shoulder. He even looked the part of the leader – after all, he was the best dressed. And after spending his alloted training time spray-painting the damned weapon black instead, he had no fear of it embarrassing him.

"Nothing to worry about, guys," he reassured them, without stopping or turning around. "Any Zeg'ra that come our way is probably toast before you guys even get the chance to lift a finger!"

--Just endure his ego for now,-- Mewtwo advised to the others in secret. --It's a small price to pay for such a reliable... what's a good word? Meat shield.--

Link had doubts about the ethics behind this decision. After all, even Falcon was a useful member of the team right? Still, the topic had already been discussed among him and the other four heroes, and he had agreed, provided that he was second in line to heal the poor bastard.

Fox glared at the scanner in his hand from his position at fourth in the line. "Infrared's picking up massive heat signatures to the northeast. About a mile."

Sonic stopped to stretch his legs. "Is that all? I could be there in less than thirty seconds!"

--And isolate yourself from the safety of the group? If you were to be ambushed, we'd have no way to help you.--

"I'll go with him," announced Shadow. "A scout party would give us a tactical advantage. The two of us can watch each other's backs, and if things get too difficult, we should easily be able to outrun anything the Zeg'ras could have gaurding their home."

--Too risky.--

Link scratched his head. "Why not? It makes a lot of sense, I don't-"

Mewtwo stopped. --Perhaps you haven't been paying attention. The Zeg'ra have become stronger every time we've met. If they can adapt to the vacuum of space, then there's no telling what limits they have. Maybe they've evolved camoflaged organisms to take the two of you by surprise, or quadrupeds that can easily match your speeds. We don't know. We can't afford to take risks.--

At this, the Hylian folded his arms. "If this whole excursion can't be called risky, then there is no word to describe it. Risks happen. Truth be told, it might be riskier not to send scouts. If we play it safe every moment, our enemies will be able to guess exactly what we're doing."

Sonic smirked. "I like the way you think, Link. Like the elf said, Mewtwo, have some faith in your teammates! We might just surprise you."

Mewtwo stood (floated?) silent for a long time, his eyes closed as he considered it. --Be careful.--

"Long as Shadow keeps up!"

"Wait up, you fool!"

--------------

The bleak landscaped blurred past as the duo raced to Fox's coordinates. From afar, they might have looked like a small dust storm, kicking up huge clouds of the stuff as they ran. Each of them were going already faster than most any other life form could, and they hadn't nearly reached max speed.

"I never got the chance to ask you," the blue hedgehog began, his voice raised against the roar of the air their bodies cut through. "Why did you decide to come with us?"

Shadow didn't turn his head. "I made a promise to someone."

"Who?"

The black-quilled one now looked Sonic dead in the eyes. "What about you? Is this just another chance to stretch your legs?"

"What?"

"This is more than another of Eggman's ridiculous plots. This is a plague that will extinguish all life if left unchecked. If you don't devote your entire being to victory, you will fail."

Sonic narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean that this task will challenge you like nothing on Earth ever has. If you treat the Zeg'ra like you do Eggman, you won't put forth your true skill."

"I don't plan on losing to these slimeballs!"

Shadow looked away again. "In time, you'll see my meaning, Sonic. Until then, don't die."

With that, the two skidded to a stop. They stood upon a cliff, overlooking a great cave matching the coordinates. The Zeg'ra main nest was somewhere deep inside, along with the chance to save everything, or perish in the attempt.