In his first moments of activity, Omega knew that he was special. His internal records showed that he was the last of Dr. Robotnik's E-series combat mechs, which meant that any flaws his predecessors had were ironed out of his design. In combat simulation exercises, Omega surpassed any existing record in eliminating hostiles. Any moment now, Robotnik would have him assigned to a battlefield, where he would swiftly declare victory in the name of the United States Armed Forces.
Another combat exercise had finished as usual, with Omega topping his own personal record at the training course. As his training weapons were replaced with his actual weapons, his creator had arrived to investigate personally.
"Oh, you beautiful piece of art!" the human cried, kneeling down to wrap himself around his creation's frame, and ignoring the technicians awkwardly watching. "Everyday I wonder if you can surpass yourself, and I am continuously proven right!"
"I EXIST TO CARRY OUT YOUR DIRECTIVES," stated Omega.
"Uh, I'll see if the brass is ready to deploy it," said one of the technicians. "If they say yes, we can send it to the paint shop for a coat of khaki-"
"No need," interrupted Robotnik, grabbing the technician and physically turning him away. "I'll personally have it repainted in my own lab."
"If-If you say so," he stammered, following the rest of the technicians out.
"If they say yes," repeated Robotnik, laughing loudly. "How simple-minded of them. No army in the world would refuse you, E-123 Omega."
"CORRECT, I AM A MATCH FOR ANY OPPONENT."
"Finally, an intelligent conversation partner."
Omega followed after his creator to the lab, where paint jets came down from the ceiling to repaint the robot for deployment to a desert environment. Before Robotnik could prime the jets, though, one of his assistants walked in with a tablet.
"Agent Stone, I believe there was a sign on the door," seethed Robotnik, walking up to the intruder. "A sign that, unless I misread, stated 'Do Not Disturb.'"
"I'm sorry, Doctor, but I-"
"Can you read English, Agent Stone?"
"Yes, Doctor, I can read English."
"Then explain to me why you ignored that sign!"
Stone finally showed his superior the tablet, his shoulders sagging. "I just got word from the Pentagon. They're shutting down the E-100 project, and they want all the robots locked up."
"That's it? That was so important you had to interrupt me?" Now Robotnik was standing over Stone, who wisely kept his head down. "What, were you sad about the widdle wobots?"
"No, not at all, Doctor. It's just, you've… you've put so much time and money into it, these could have been your magnum opus."
Robotnik stepped away. "Agent Stone, there will never come a day where I choose not to improve on my inventions. If I stopped creating when others suggested, I wouldn't be here, now, with the future of robotics in my palm."
Omega's head twitched, wondering what this order meant for him.
"E-123 Omega, remain in this lab and enter standby mode," his creator ordered. "Don't come online unless intruders arrive."
"I SHALL OBEY."
Omega stepped towards a closet, entering a low power state as he could hear the two humans shutting everything down. Robotnik was the first to head out, his assistant looking surprised.
"Just a moment, Doctor, wouldn't you like… well, one last look around?"
"Agent Stone, the project is done. As far as I'm concerned, this room and everything in it no longer exists. Now, if you'd like a souvenir…" He picked up a pen from one of the desks, handing it to Stone. "Here. Shall we go now?"
"Of course, Doctor."
And they were gone. Omega was left on his own. While his body remained inert, his processor was still functional, and as weeks and months passed, he began to develop conscience.
He had been created for combat. He had been created to eradicate hostile enemies and secure victory. He couldn't do that while he was stuck in here, and his current parameters prevented him from doing anything about it.
Omega was the ultimate E-100 robot, but what good was that? If he couldn't fight, then what could he do?
"Wherever you go, my little diamond, make sure it's better than where you've been."
The words echoed through Rouge's mind as she held up the ring. Voleur had a comforting hand on her shoulder as she pondered just where in the universe she could take them.
The years hadn't been kind to either of them. All Rouge could remember was living parentless on the streets, digging through trash for her next meal like most other kids. That was how she spent the first seven years of her life, until she met Voleur. The thylacine had been living on the streets for longer than she'd been alive, and instantly took the bat under his metaphorical wing. He gave her a black sweater with a heart on the chest, which she treasured with all her heart.
Five years later, though, he began to slow down. Voleur said it was something called NIDS, a disease which cost a fortune to be treated. "That's that," he declared, heaving himself upright to look at his concerned ward.
"What do you mean, Voleur? I can just steal whatever you need," she had protested.
"This isn't a bottle of pills, diamond. It requires machinery bigger than both of us and more technicians than we have fingers." Voleur reached under his pillow, pulling something out. It was a small ring, covered in a small layer of grime. "Listen to me, Rouge, it's too late for me. I bet I've got two weeks. What I need you to do-"
"Voleur, we're survivors, we can't just give up now-"
"What I need you to do," the thylacine repeated, placing the ring in Rouge's hand, "is take this, and go somewhere else. Anywhere in the universe, as long as it's not here."
Rouge had turned the ring over and over in her fingers, considering the weight of this option. "You're coming with me," she declared at last. "I don't give a crap if you've got two minutes left, you're gonna spend those two minutes with me, somewhere you can feel the sunshine. Please, Voleur, I won't leave without you."
"That's my girl," he said at last, a smile across his muzzle.
And that's where they were now, Rouge contemplating their next move while Voleur pulled himself into a wheelchair. At last, she figured out where she wanted to go; someplace warm, with more food than mouths to feed, and a decent spot of land to bury Voleur when his time came.
Then, she tossed the ring forward, being met with the sight of tall green trees and a clear blue sky.
Voleur only lasted a few days longer after reaching their new home, and Rouge spent a long time crying before burying her mentor and contemplating her next move.
She shouldn't have plotted a score while she was still reeling from Voleur's death, but when Rouge spotted the base just a few miles from where they had landed she knew there had to be something valuable inside. Just one thing stood in her path:
Voleur had visited this world before, he said the inhabitants were a violent group called "humans." And looking at the heavy armor and machinery these humans were equipped with, she saw no reason to doubt him. Still, a base with that many eyes and guns would prove to be an interesting challenge. So, Rouge spread her wings, dived off the cliff edge, and soared into the base. The starless sky did a good job of concealing her approach, and she landed atop one of the buildings without a single cry of alarm down below.
The doors used some sort of lock activated by a card reader, but Rouge was able to use her lock picking tools to bypass that feature. Sneaking through hallways, making sure to avoid security cameras, Rouge found her prize: a door marked DO NOT ENTER: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY BEYOND THIS POINT in black text on a yellow background. Whatever this base had to offer stood behind this tantalizing door.
"Hmm… I think I'll use a more personal touch this time," she remarked to herself, throwing caution to the wind and kicking the door handle with all her might.
The handle landed with a metallic thud, the door swinging open. Rouge rubbed her hands together, ready to find whatever treasure was waiting for her.
What she found was an empty lab. It was covered in layers of dust, like it hadn't been accessed in years. There were plenty of drawers and filing cabinets, but the only things they contained were redacted files. Rouge couldn't help the depressed sigh that escaped her.
"And here I was, expecting something important…" she mumbled, wiping some of the dust from her gloves.
She was interrupted from further musing by the sound of machinery booting up, two red orbs appearing in an opened closet as something stepped out.
It was a robot, painted in a gray coat of primer, looking directly at her.
"INTRUDER DETECTED IN LABORATORY!" it stated, Rouge stepping back. "INTRUDER, IDENTIFY BEFORE I OPEN FIRE."
"I'm Rouge," the bat stammered out, hands raised above her head. "Uh, who-who are you?"
"I AM E-123 OMEGA, THE ULTIMATE E-SERIES ROBOT," the mech responded. "INTRUDER ROUGE, STATE YOUR PURPOSE."
"I was j-just lost, couldn't find my-my way around." Rouge was backed up against the wall. "You d-don't seem busy. Are you p-programmed to just sit around all night?"
Omega stopped, it's head twitching around in what Rouge assumed was confusion. "I AM… UNCERTAIN OF MY PURPOSE," he said at last.
Rouge's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean? You're a machine, it should be programmed into you."
"I WAS CREATED FOR COMBAT! I SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED UPON COMPLETION OF MY TRIALS!" Omega was ranting. Rouge had never heard a machine do that, so she just let him continue. "I WAS DESIGNED WITH A SPECIFIC ROLE AND FUNCTION, AND IT WAS DENIED TO ME! WHAT IS MY PURPOSE?!"
Rouge flew up, bringing herself eye level with the robot. "I don't know what your purpose is," she told him, brushing a hand over his top. "Personally, I feel a little uncertain, myself. I… I lost someone important to me recently, and it's been hard getting by the past few days. But I know he'd want me to keep going, to live a better life than I had back home."
"QUERY: WHERE IS YOUR HOME?" Omega asked, continuing to stare at the intruder.
"Far away from here, not on this planet at all. But my point is this; as long as you can think, you don't need someone else to define you. Your purpose in life is that which you choose to accomplish."
Their moment was interrupted by footsteps from the hall, Rouge mentally cursing as someone shouted about the broken doorknob. In seconds, even more shouting and loud footsteps came into earshot, the door slamming open as a dozen soldiers swarmed into the lab. Rouge quickly held her hands up again, as shocked to see the soldiers as they were seeing her.
"Colonel, we've had a security breach in the old lab," one of them said, not taking his eyes off of Rouge. "Some sorta creature in a heart top broke in."
Some voice on the other end gave an affirmative, and a few moments later another human entered. This one had a very sharp gaze, which he quickly turned on Rouge.
"What the hell are you?" he asked, his mouth twisted back in an expression of disbelief.
"A bat?" she responded anxiously, giving him what she thought was a charming smile.
The colonel stared for a moment. "A bat, hmm?" he repeated, kneeling down. "So, you managed to get inside without tripping a single alarm, avoiding detection until just now?"
"I… I did."
Another few moments of silence. Rouge's eyes flicked from the colonel, to Omega, to the other soldiers aiming their guns at both of them. Then, the colonel shoved her to the ground, forcing her hands behind her back.
"Get off of me!" she shrieked, trying to kick at him. This only resulted in him pinning a knee on her legs.
"Shut the tin can down and get a truck ready," he ordered, pulling a cloth from his pocket and holding her wrists together. "I'm taking this 'bat' to D.C. Uncle Sam can figure out what to do with her."
"Rrrgh, I'm n-agh, not going anywhere!"
One of the other humans approached Omega, only for him to get smacked into the nearest wall. This caught the attention of the other soldiers, as well as the colonel, who was distracted from binding Rouge's wrists.
"MY PURPOSE HAS CHANGED," he stated, his hands retracting as two mini guns emerged. "I MUST PROTECT ROUGE."
Everyone dived for cover as Omega began firing; most of his shots hit the walls, but a few came very close to hitting some of the soldiers. The colonel got off of Rouge and removed a pistol, planning to take down the rogue robot himself.
That proved to be a mistake, as Rouge kicked upwards, her foot colliding with his chin and sending him sprawling on his back.
The rest of the soldiers recovered from their initial shock and began to fire at Omega; most of the shots bounced harmlessly off his frame, and as his own guns focused on them-firing more bullets at a time than they could-they wisely ran out of the room.
"Yeah, you better run!" laughed Rouge, her confidence returning.
"CORRECTION: THEY ARE NOT RUNNING FROM US, THEY ARE SIMPLY WITHDRAWING TO ACQUIRE MORE LETHAL WEAPONS," stated Omega.
"What?!"
"AFFIRMATIVE. OUR BEST CHANCE OF SURVIVAL IS TO RETREAT INTO THE WOODS."
"Good idea. If we fly from the roof, then perhaps-"
"CREATING ESCAPE ROUTE."
The robot turned his torso around, producing a missile from his wrist and firing it at the nearest wall. Rouge quickly dived behind him, most of the debris leaving little more than scratches on her companion's much sturdier frame. With their escape route in place, rocket boosters in Omega's back came online, and he began flying out of the lab. Rouge quickly spread her wings and took to the skies beside him.
Down below, the base was on high alert; some personnel had discovered Omega's "escape route" and were scrambling trucks, dogs, and all the equipment they could. The colonel was personally leading the charge, riding in the passenger seat of a humvee that tore into the woods.
They searched every square inch of ground in the forest, but found no sign of bat or robot.
In a cave carved into a cliff, Rouge and Omega rested, keeping quiet in case a search party were right above them. Once they were certain nobody else was around, Rouge spoke first.
"So… what do we do now?"
"I HAVE DISCOVERED MY PURPOSE. I SHALL PROTECT YOU, ROUGE," said Omega.
"Thank you, big fella," she replied, placing a finger to her chin. "Have you ever heard the phrase 'you scratch my back, I scratch yours?'"
"AFFIRMATIVE. IT IS AN EXPRESSION MEANING THAT ONE PERSON OFFERS AID TO A SECOND IN EXCHANGE FOR THE SECOND ONE'S AID."
"Right, yeah. But anyway, we both saved each other, right? I mean, I stopped that colonel from shooting you."
"CORRECT. ARE YOU SUGGESTING THAT WE FORM A TEAM?"
The bat stood up, holding her hand out. "Yes, that's what I'm suggesting," she said. "What do you say?"
Omega held his hand out next, extending a finger which Rouge promptly grabbed and shook. "I ACCEPT YOUR SUGGESTION. EDITING MISSION PARAMETERS ACCORDINGLY. WHAT IS OUR NEXT OBJECTIVE, ROUGE?"
Rouge once again touched her chin, then spread her wings. "Wait here for about, say… forty-five to fifty minutes. I'll be back, promise. Got that?"
"FORTY-NINE MINUTES FIFTY-NINE SECONDS. FORTY-NINE MINUTES FIFTY-EIGHT SECONDS. FORTY…"
Rouge rolled her eyes, then flew out of the cave.
"…FTEEN MINUTES THIRTY-TWO SECONDS. FIFTEEN MINUTES THIRTY-ONE SECONDS. FIFTEEN MINUTES THIRTY SECONDS. FI-"
Omega's countdown was halted by the return of Rouge, carrying several bags full of supplies. "I'm baaaack!" she sang, dumping the bags out. "Since we're gonna be working together, Omega, I figured I could give you a makeover."
The contents of the bags were cans of spray paint, small metal spikes, and glue.
"CLARIFY: WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THESE SUPPLIES, AND HOW DID YOU OBTAIN THEM?"
"The paint is to give you a proper look, the little spikes are to make you look cooler, and the glue's for the spikes, of course." Rouge opened up one of the spray cans, pulling a cloth over her mouth. "And I stole them from a hobby store."
"THEFT IS A CRIME. YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE THAT, TEAMMATE ROUGE."
"Trust me, the place I got these from does much worse. Now hold still for me, Omega."
Several minutes passed, and soon Omega's new paint scheme was complete. His main body and limbs were red, his head was yellow, and a bright red omega symbol was painted on his shoulders.
"Looking good, big guy!" cheered Rouge, stifling back a yawn. "Once that paint dries, I'll put those spikes on."
"ANALYSIS OF YOUR PHYSIOLOGY SUGGESTS YOU ARE FATIGUED," observed Omega. "RECOMMENDING THAT YOU SLEEP, TEAMMATE ROUGE. I SHALL KEEP WATCH UNTIL YOU AWAKEN."
The bat nodded wordlessly, settling against her makeshift pillow before eventually falling asleep.
Rouge awoke the next morning to a loud bang and dust covering her body; coughing and waving the dust away, she became alert enough to find Omega standing over her, having seemingly launched a missile from his wrist.
"IT IS MORNING, TEAMMATE ROUGE. RISE AND SHINE."
"I didn't ask for a wake up call," she remarked, patting down her outfit. "Did we get any visitors?"
"TWO MILITARY SEARCH UNITS PASSED OVERHEAD, BUT OUR HIDEAWAY REMAINS UNDISCOVERED," answered Omega.
"Better head out, before search unit three finds us."
Rouge flew out of the cave first, Omega rocketing after her. During their flight, the robot filled his teammate in on the planet she had landed in; they were currently in a nation called "Montana," which was part of a larger nation called the "United States." Omega was running low on fuel, so the two set down on a cliff overlooking some small settlement.
"Any idea what this place is, Omega?" asked Rouge.
"SCANNING MAPS. SETTLEMENT IDENTIFIED: GREEN HILLS."
"Pretty small town, huh?" Rouge sat down on Omega's elbow, reclining against his head. "Probably pretty boring down there."
"WHAT ARE YOU SUGGESTING?"
"I'm saying we go down to Green Hills and paint the town red. What do you say, Omega?"
"STEALTH IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. GOING OUT AND ENJOYING OURSELVES FLAMBOYANTLY WILL DRAW ATTENTION."
"Suit yourself, but I'm going out there." Rouge spread her wings and leapt from the cliff, soaring over the trees in the direction of the town.
After a moment of hesitation, Omega rocketed after Rouge. The two dipped downwards, unsure of what they'd find in this new area, but knowing they'd do it together.
There are a bunch of stories about how Shadow might become part of the movie-verse, but not a lot about how the other members of Team Dark could enter the fold. Since Shadow seems very likely to be in a future movie, I figured Rouge and Omega deserved their own spotlight.
This will probably be a one-shot, since I'm already writing two other Sonic stories; but if I come up with another idea, I'll be sure to write it down. In the meantime, lemme know what you guys think!