"So this is the Space Colony ARK," Eggman mused as his transportation was deemed complete. He looked around at the dark, decrepit, old metal shell, holding obsolete but operational technology that was just as dangerous as any other. The doctor may have been able to build better on his own, but he was no fool. The ARK had been the home for many top secret projects and housed some of the greatest minds ever seen, his grandfather included.

In the back of his mind, the name 'Maria' popped up, but he pushed it away with a near-imperceptible shudder. There was no time to consider that.

It was time to go find Rouge.

"I have to locate the central control room she mentioned before she left," he muttered, refreshing himself on his objective. He rolled his neck, stretched out his arms, and let out a breath before moving forth, opening doors and destroying security systems as he passed on by.


In the central control room, Rouge waited by the main computer, rolling the green Chaos Emerald around in her hand. She felt a prickle at the back of her neck and sucked in a breath. Ivo had arrived; she could sense the energy emanating from his Chaos Emerald. She closed her eyes and concentrated, blocking out the energy signature from the gem in her hand, but it seemed as though he had only brought the one emerald with him. Rouge frowned, reopening her crimson eyes. She had expected more from the professor's descendant, but perhaps this was but another move in the game of chess they were playing.

Fine. If that was how he wanted to play it, then she would go along with it. If it meant achieving her goal, to avenge Maria… she would do whatever that man said. She would listen to his excuses and accept his apologies. Whatever it took to get the emeralds to the ARK.

She stood in wait, feeling the energy signature grow stronger and stronger, until the sound of the door sliding open let her know that it was time to give her speech.

"I've been waiting for you, doctor," she stated, turning around to face him as he leapt out of his mech. "So you've settled on just one emerald to give to me?"

"Until I know what they're going to be used for, I don't see why giving them to you will benefit me," Ivo responded. Rouge fought the urge to glare; she knew that this was not the time to be making an enemy of this man, no matter how annoying this setback was. As it stood, working with him would give her the best chances of following through with her plan; it would take a Robotnik to figure out all the technology on this spacecraft.

Rouge was many things. A savant of every machine and piece of equipment on the ARK was not one of them. Like it or not, she needed his know-how for her plan to succeed.

"I suppose that's fair," she lied evenly, turning her head back to the computer behind her. "In that case, I will show you the glorious achievement of what the world's leading scientist, Professor Gerald has created."

Had, her brain corrected, and the thought sent a stab of pain through her chest. She selected the program she was to use, masking her recovery from her grief with flashing lights and the sound of engines beginning to whir.

"The ARK was the first space colony created by mankind," she explained, fighting to keep her voice even. "Not many know that the ARK contained a top secret research facility where weapons of mass destruction were being created." She tapped the console, steeling herself for whatever questions might come next. "This is one of them. A weapon capable of destroying an entire planet…"

And every last worthless, miserable excuse for a human being on it.

"...code-named, the Eclipse Cannon."

She was prepared for surprise, for skepticism, for the inevitable questions of 'why would you help me' and 'how does this benefit you', but Ivo only looked… intrigued?

"Destroying an entire planet…" he echoed in wonder, eyes roaming over the console and across the projected screens. "Was this my grandfather's legacy?"

Grandfather. The word almost sent Rouge's head spinning, and a voice, soft and sweet and clear, repeated it in her memories. Grandfather! Grandfather!

Stop it, Rouge. You're doing this for her.

"But it's been deactivated for some time, now," she barrelled on, taking out the green Chaos Emerald once more. Without a second of hesitation, she jammed it into one of the seven slots on the machine, and the engines started to hum, the lights flashed more brightly and quickly, and the room seemed to come to life for a few seconds before dimming again. "To reactivate it, large amounts of energy are necessary," she explained, turning back to the doctor.

"Oh… So that's why we needed the Chaos Emeralds!" Ivo realized, and Rouge resisted the urge to smirk in triumph. She had him now. She just needed to deliver the final blow.

"Exactly! To reactivate the machine, we need the seven Chaos Emeralds. Once you have that, then you will have the ultimate power of destruction to use as you please. And then… the world could be yours!"

Ivo cackled at that, hands resting on his middle. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed, and this time, Rouge didn't hold back her triumphant grin. "I like the way you think, Rouge! I will get the Chaos Emeralds, use the machine to dominate the world, and build a legacy of my own!"

"Oh come on, do you really think it'll be that easy?"

Both bat and human whipped their heads around. That was a new voice. Rouge hadn't heard them come in, but now that she was focused, her ear picked up the soft clang of shoes on metal approaching them.

Then, to her surprise, the black hedgehog from the night before sauntered forth, glaring daggers at her before turning to the doctor, his voice turning saccharine. "I mean, I suppose it would be, if either of you had any idea of where to look for the rest of the emeralds."

"How did you get here?" Rouge asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion. This hedgehog had found his way back to her, somehow. He couldn't have taken a shuttle into space; how could he have known that she was in orbit? And he lacked a Chaos Energy signature, so it couldn't be Chaos Control, so how…?

"Was it supposed to be hard?" he taunted back, hand coming to rest on his hip. "As much as I'd love to tell you how easy it was to track you down, I couldn't help but hear about this whole business about the emeralds, sooooooo…" He looked back at Ivo with a grin. "How about we make a deal?"

"A deal?" The doctor sounded intrigued, and despite her better judgement, Rouge was just as interested to hear what he had to say. In any case, if he proved useless, she could easily take him out again and make sure he never returned.

"Oh, it's pretty simple," the hedgehog drawled, smoothing back his quills. "You have one emerald, she has another. I might not have one on me anymore…" He punctuated that statement with another glare in Rouge's direction, and despite herself, Rouge felt a flare of satisfaction at his annoyance. "...but I know where four more are being kept. As for the last one, that's still a work in progress, but I think I could make that little radar of yours work some magic with the help of one of these."

With that, the hedgehog pulled out a large green shard and pointed it toward the mech. As he did so, Rouge felt the power in the cyan emerald spike, and the doctor's radar started letting out loud pinging noises. "I've been told by a certain knucklehead I know that the Master Emerald causes a reaction in the Chaos Emeralds," he explained, tucking away the shard, arrogance seeping into his tone. "Mostly to neutralize their power, but as you can see, there's a bit more to it than just that. With its help, tracking that last emerald down will be a walk in the park."

"And what's in it for you?" Ivo asked, and though Rouge had been expecting to hear that question sometime today, she definitely hadn't expected it under these circumstances.

"Simple. I want to have the radar for keeps once you have all the emeralds." The hedgehog pursed his lips, mulling it over for a moment. "And I want to be considered a part of this plan. That means being up here when you start to point the big guns at the planet!"

Ivo cackled once again. "A replaceable piece of equipment and a bit of security? Now that's another plan I can get behind!"

"And how do we know he's telling the truth?" Rouge cut in before Ivo could prematurely set the deal. Her eyes narrowed again at the intruder, and he looked back at her with eyes that could have turned water into ice. "I'll admit that his resourcefulness to find his way here is impressive on its own," she continued, noticing with mild surprise how his glare morphed instantly into a look of shock, "but how can we know that what he claims is true and that he knows where most of the other emeralds are? What if he takes the radar and runs?"

"I appreciate your concern, Rouge," the doctor responded. "But Shadow here is the real deal. He's tracked down and stolen the emeralds more times than I can count! Adding an extra little accessory to his collection is something I can afford to do."

"Oh please, you two are going to make me blush," Shadow said, sounding much more flustered than Rouge would have thought from a simple compliment. "But you should listen to us, Rouge. I can vouch for my own skills all night, but Eggman's seen me in action."

Rouge resisted the urge to question the odd nickname, deciding that it was ultimately unimportant in the grand scheme of things. "Fine then," she conceded. "But be aware that if you cross us, I will track you down and this time around, I will not show you any mercy."

Shadow crossed his arms, glaring at her once more as Eggman murmured a curious 'this time around?' under his breath. "Oh believe me, bat girl, I'll do whatever I have to do to get what I want."

It was far from a reassuring statement by any means, but Rouge knew that, once again, she wasn't the one who controlled the board right then. It just meant that there was one more player she had to keep an eye on. She turned her attention back to Eggman and gave a single nod.

"Very well," the doctor stated. "Welcome to Team Eggman, Shadow. Our first order of business… charging up this cannon!"

Hold on just a little longer, Maria. With all the power our grandfather placed in me, I swear I will avenge you!


Next chapter: Team Eggman goes back to Prison Island to set their plan in motion, but things get complicated quickly as they run into some unexpected guests.