Chapter 14

Suspicious Space Steps

Mona continued searching through the ARK. She knew there had to be a power up somewhere. She had a strange feeling before seeing a greenish glow in a room. The brunette opened the door and paused. This was the area where Shadow was created. She spotted the glow's origin before making her way to a drawer. She pulled out a pair of sunglasses and looked them over before putting them on. Search Glasses…

"Okay, since you can show me people, where's Sonic and Amy?" Mona asked before suddenly seeing the group. She pulled them off before suddenly having a thought come to mind and putting them back on. "Where's the Bio-Lizard?"

All she got was a containment pod where the huge colossus was being dormant. Mona breathed a sigh of relief before putting the glasses away and going in the direction where the heroes were going to land.

:---:

The shuttle was on a direct course for the Space Colony.

"So this is the colony where Eggman is hiding!" Sonic exclaimed when the colony got into full view. Tails suddenly let out a yell.

"INCOMING!!!!!" He shouted just as the shuttle was barely able to avoid hitting a piece of debris. The collision only caused the cargo bay doors to open slightly. "Is everyone alright? We should be landing soon!"

"Oh no! The cargo doors are damaged!" Knuckles yelled.

"Don't sweat it! The only things in the cargo area are those Master Emerald pieces." Sonic said not realizing how freaked out the echidna was at hearing this and seeing green shards fly past.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN "DON'T SWEAT IT"?! LAND THIS THING!!!" Knuckles shouted and grabbed the controls.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Sonic yelled. "You're going to crash this thing if you keep this up!!" He suddenly saw Knuckles reaching for a certain lever. "OH NO! DON'T TOUCH THAT LEVER!!!!!!!!!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Everyone (except Knuckles) let out a combined yell as the spaceship went into a tailspin.

:---:

Rouge paused. She had found information about Project Shadow but she wondered what the pre-teen was doing at a time like this.

"Where are you Mona?" Rouge picked up her radio.

"I'm in the docking section of the Ark!" Mona responded. Rouge had a confused look.

"What are you doing there?"

:---:

"Don't ask. Eggman and Shadow are in the pyramid. I think you'll receive a message from them soon. Just make sure I'm not mentioned." Mona responded.

"What's this all about?" Rouge asked before Mona switched the radio off.

"I can't explain it to you." Mona sighed before putting the glasses back on and checking the heroes. "Oh geez…" She muttered as she watched Sonic and Knuckles fighting over the controls before seeing Master Emerald shards go to two different areas.

"Crud," She turned the radio back on. "Rouge, I found some shards of the Master Emerald! They're headed towards Mad Space and Meteor Herd!"

"Got it! I'll head for Mad Space first! Just be careful, I have a bad feeling that Eggman might suspect something!"

"Don't worry! I'll be careful!" Mona nodded and switched the radio off. The shuttle landed noisily in the shuttle area before she pressed a code that allowed the heroes to enter the space colony unharmed. Immediately Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy stumbled out.

"KNUCKLES, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! YOU ALMOST KILLED US!" Sonic yelled and started grappling with Knuckles.

"I have to protect the Master Emerald! That's why I did it!" Knuckles argued. The two started creating a fight cloud.

"I see you had a fun time…" Mona muttered.

"I'll never go on a roller coaster again!" Amy gasped. "How are you Tails?"

"Just…fine…thank…you…" Tails gasped.

"Okay, can you two stop arguing? The eclipse cannon is going to fire in a matter of hours, and I might be in deep trouble if Eggman finds out!" Mona said to the two mobians causing the dust cloud to settle.

"You're working for…?" Tails started.

"I'm not! I might get my cover blown off!"

"Okay…"

"So where is the space colony control at?" Sonic asked.

"Just go straight ahead," Mona pointed. "Rouge just went for the Master Emerald shards."

"You mean that bat-girl?" Knuckles asked.

"She's in Mad Space. You're going to have to go to Meteor Herd before she gets there." She explained before he ran off. "Sheesh, a thank you would've been nice!"

"Okay, I have to get back before Eggman finds out." Mona said. "And I suppose you're going to be using a fake Emerald to destroy the cannon."

"How did you know?" Tails asked as he pulled out two yellow Emeralds. One was bright and the other wasn't as bright.

"Are you psychic or something?" Sonic asked.

"Not quite." Mona shrugged as Sonic picked up the fake Emerald.

"So, can you guide me to the console?"

"Sure thing," She nodded "But if Eggman finds out, I'm toast!"

"Don't worry!" Amy said. "We'll handle it!"
"No, you should stay here Amy." Tails pointed out.

"Why's that? I can help!" Amy pouted.

"You might get lost so it's best you stay here." Tails said before he, Mona, and Sonic left.

"I HATE YOU! YOU ALWAYS LEAVE ME BEHIND AND HAVE ALL THE FUN!!!" Amy shouted.

:---:

On Earth, Eggman continued trying to signal the Ark.

"What are those girls up to anyway?" He muttered. "That's very strange; I'm getting readings from two Chaos Emeralds!"

"Why don't we check?" Shadow asked. "You know those two were awfully suspicious dropping in like that and offering to help."

"Hmm…I never thought of that…" Eggman replied. "They might take over while our backs are turned."

"So which one do you think we should worry about the most?" Shadow asked. "Do you think Rouge was actually saying that Mona was her trainee?"

"No…she did stray off from her post. She must've been helping Sonic from the beginning!"

"Well, there you have it…" Shadow muttered. "I hope not…"

"We're going back to the colony. Make sure you get answers out of that girl while I take care of my nemesis." Eggman sneered as he jumped into his mech and warped himself and Shadow towards ARK. Eggman saw this as an immediate victory, Shadow however, found this as the best time for some answers.

:---:

Rouge flew towards Meteor Herd with the shards she found earlier.

"This is easy…" She thought to herself before landing on a tower. Rouge turned suddenly and spotted a blur of red before avoiding Knuckles' punches and landing a few feet away from him. "Long time no see, treasure hunter! Have you found my emerald?"

"That's a good one, YOUR Emerald? Talking to you is a waste of time!" Knuckles shouted as he and Rouge aimed punches and kicks at each other. (I can't stand battle sequences!!!!)

The duo suddenly got to a high beam and stopped there before gasping. They were both exhausted from dealing blows to each other.

"STOP FOOLING AROUND! GIVE ME BACK MY EMERALDS!" The echidna and the bat shouted at the same time.

"What are you babbling about? You call yourself a hunter, attacking a lady, SHAME ON YOU!" Rouge shouted.

"What kind of lady goes around stealing gems anyway?" Knuckles asked bitterly. Rouge took a step forwards.

"Those belong to me!" She felt herself slip from the beam before yelling. Once she struck the lava below, it would all be over. Or so she thought. Knuckles swiftly grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "What in the world?"

The two stared at each other for a while before Rouge pulled away.

"Keep your hands to yourself!" Rouge snapped. "Don't touch me!"

"Is that any way to say thanks to someone who just saved your life?" Knuckles asked.

"Saving my life, don't think I owe you one. You just wanted to hold my hand didn't you?" Rouge started smiling. "That's why you saved me. You're such a creep!"

Knuckles let out a sigh of exasperation.

"This isn't a joke you know! Think what you want bat-girl! I was saving the Master Emerald!" He pointed out. Rouge sighed and shook her head.

"No matter what you say, it sounds crazy…" She tossed the rest of the shards to Knuckles who blinked. "Fine, then just take them! They stink like echidnas do!"

"If that's what you thought, you should've given them to me in the first place!" He responded before the pieces formed into the full Master Emerald. "Finally," Knuckles muttered to see Rouge who turned.

"What…?" She asked.

"I'm sorry, if I hurt you." He responded. Knuckles shrunk the emerald before walking away. "It's a good thing that girl warned me." Rouge suddenly turned.

"Was she a brunette?" She asked.

"Yes, why do you…" Knuckles stopped in mid-sentence. "Wait, is she the same girl who fell onto the island?" Rouge nodded.

"But if she knows…was on my side…helped the heroes on Prison Island…not good." Rouge remarked.

"You mean Eggman would…" Knuckles started. "We've got to find that kid before she does anything stupid." He took off with Rouge following.

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Shadow: Ooh! Busted!

Sonic: Shadow! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY CHAO?!

Shadow: ERK!!!

Look who's calling who busted?

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