Omega opened his eyes, and tapped his wrist device, deactivating it. As soon as his vision cleared, he looked at Bane, in the seat in front of him. He was apparently asleep. He knew he wouldn't be able to access that file, Ar-b. Apparently, D-level access only let him onto the site, and to files under special permission. He would have to either apply for greater access freedom, or be granted it; he had gathered that much from the registration page. Hmm… that gave him an idea.

He turned his uplink back on, and was faced with the passcode page of the TPO site. He entered his passcode, and chose 'Security Clearance' from the main menu. He was faced with a large applicatory page, with many empty spaces for information. Omega sighed, and dutifully began to fill it out, requesting B-level security clearance. Moments after he finished, a message flashed. "B-level security clearance approved (Override L-P01). Access granted."

Omega momentarily wondered what Override L-P01 was, but thought nothing much of it. It was probably something that he had no real business knowing. So, he began to search through the Operative Bios again. "Operative: Bane. AKA Shadowman. Sex: Male. Species: Homo sapiens. Age: 7822. Height: 6'8". Weight: 73 Kg.

"Ratings:

"Combat: A

"Stealth: A

"Infiltration: S

"Information Acquisition: S

"Subtlety: S

"Bio: Oldest surviving TPO agent. Only SS class agent still alive. Born in Atlantis, trained under the first TPO agents. Has turned down several Director positions for fieldwork. Has completed 1217 missions to date (see file Ar-b). Has recruited 180 agents in the course of these missions. Most decorated agent in the history of the TPO. Current status: On mission, A-Class, details classified. Unavailable."

Omega blinked. Those numbers couldn't possibly be correct! If they were, Bane would be nearly 8000 years old. "Um… Bane?" he asked.

"Yes, Omega?" Bane replied.

"I was wondering… are you really-?" he began.

"Yes," Bane interrupted. "The numbers in my profile are correct. I am 7822 years old."

"Oh. How'd you manage that?"

"I stopped aging at 24."

"Um. I suppose it's pointless to ask you how?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Just then, an island came into view. It was definitely Angel Island, because it was level with the jet. Tails pulled up, and started to descend for a landing. A long, thin clearing near the edge of the isle served this purpose rather well. They got out of the jet, and began their trek to the Shrine of the Master Emerald. "Hold it right there!" came a voice from the jungle, about 10 minutes later.

Sonic, Tails, Bane, Omega, and Rachael looked up. There was a rustle of foliage, and a familiar figure dropped down in front of them. "Oh, hey, Knuckles. Long time no see," said Sonic.

Knuckles looked at Sonic, then at everyone else. "Oh, Sonic… didn't realize it was you. And Tails… and Omega… who're the other cat and the human?"

"I'm Agent Bane. Call me Bane," Bane replied.

"Rachael. Rachael Undershaft. Call me Rachael, or else."

"Right. The human's a secret agent and the cat's a psychopath. Perfect," Knuckles muttered under his breath. "Well, I'm assuming you came here for a reason. So, what is it you wanted?"

"Omega needs to commune with the Master Emerald. It's important," Sonic added.

Knuckles shrugged. "I suppose that would be all right. But if you try to steal it, or break it, so help me, I'll…"

"I think I get the point…" Omega murmured.

Knuckles grunted. "Follow me, then," he said, and began walking down the path.

The group looked at each other, shrugged collectively, and followed. About ten minutes later, they came to the stone steps of the Shrine of the Master Emerald. "Here it is…" Knuckles said, gesturing to the pedestal on which the Emerald rested.

And, indeed, there it was, in all its glory. It was rather larger than he remembered, too. About 3 or 4 times larger, in fact. Omega started toward it, doubts in his mind. He thrust them aside, and took on a steel-like certainty and determination. The Master Emerald glowed softly in the noon sun, scattering small beams of green light in the shrine and the forest. Omega scaled the last step, and shielded his eyes. A beam of verdant green light was shining directly onto his face. He extended his right hand, and placed it on top of the Master Emerald.