Few things could keep G.U.N. from calling Team Dark out on missions. Rouge was pretty sure that, if mandatory vacation hours and time off didn't exist, her team would be constantly out and about without so much as time for a coffee break in between assignments.

But there was one thing that not even G.U.N. had control over, and that was the power of Mother Nature.

Heavy overnight snowfall had resulted in blocked streets, damaged phone lines, and other issues all over Station Square, and after a few phone calls and emails were exchanged, it was decided that Team Dark's field missions could be transferred over to other agents living outside of the affected area, while they took some data analysis that could be done remotely.

Thanks to Omega, it was done in under an hour, and after a bite to eat, the three of them prepared to go outside to shovel the snow away from their door, driveway, and road.

Rouge saw her breath turn into steam and float into the air before she even opened the door, and the mass of white sparkling in the sun assaulted her eyes the very next moment. The bat shielded her eyes with her hand, blinking in an effort to readjust quickly, her training teaching her to keep her muscles taut and ready for attack as she struggled to regain her missing sense.

"Alright boys," she said in the meantime, pulling her coat more firmly around her shoulders, "looks like we have a lot of work to do."

"I CAN FINISH IT ON MY OWN," Omega claimed.

"No weapons allowed," Rouge warned. "If there's any damage done to my club then you're fixing it on your own and paying for it."

"...I DEMAND ASSISTANCE FOR THE CURRENT OBJECTIVE."

Rouge giggled. "Thought so."

All the same, the job went remarkably fast with the three of them working together. Omega's talon-like fingers proved very useful for picking away stubborn pieces of ice, and the heat generated by Shadow's skates helped clear out perimeters for areas that needed to be dug out. Now and again, Rouge would fly up and pick out a missed spot from the air, and before lunchtime had even hit, their work was finished.

"Great work team," Rouge praised, getting in response a nod from Shadow and a small hop from Omega that caused the ground to tremble.

They went to the park for lunch, none of them eager to run back inside and peel off their heavy winter attire, and sat on a bench, snacking on hotdogs and hot chocolate, or in Omega's case, drawing exceedingly precise pictures in the snow.

Rouge tilted her head back, trying to get to the final dregs of her drink, before setting the cup back down with a sigh. "I love snow, but I'd love it more if it wasn't so cold."

"Don't tell me a little cold's got you down!"

Two pairs of ears perked up, and three heads turned around to the source of the newest comment. A blue hedgehog stood behind their bench, flanked by a yellow fox and a pink hedgehog, and all three smiled at the other trio.

Rouge faced forward again, leaning back on the bench as Sonic stepped forward, bracing his arms on the back of the bench and leaning over to talk more easily. "It takes a lot more than a small chill to keep me down, Big Blue," Rouge returned.

"Good to hear." Sonic turned to the other occupant of the bench. "What about you, Shadow?"

"I'm not affected by this degree of temperature," Shadow replied in monotone, and Rouge rolled her eyes.

"We get it, darling. You're the 'Ultimate Lifeform'," she said, making her voice deep and gruff in a poor imitation of her friend.

Shadow barely had time to glare at her before Sonic spoke up again. "Great! In that case…"

A whoosh of winds and a blur of blue passed in front of them, and the next thing any of them knew, Sonic was standing right in front of them. "Think fast!" he quipped, pulling a snowball out from behind his back and crushing it right into Shadow's chest.

For one second, nothing happened.

The very next second, Shadow was on his feet, and he and Sonic were running all around the park, with the sound of Sonic's laughter coming from all sides. Rouge, still processing what had just happened, looked back behind her to see Amy and Tails with twin grins, also holding snowballs in their hands and challenge in their eyes.

And how could she refuse a challenge like that?

"Omega!" she called out, dodging Tails' snowball on her way over to the robot. "Cover me! It's war!"

"UNDERSTOOD. UPDATING PRIMARY OBJECTIVE TO SNOW WARFARE."

And warfare it was; Sonic was a wild card, appearing anywhere at any time to throw a snowball with remarkable accuracy, Tails took to the skies for aerial attacks, and Amy's brute strength was formidable enough for throwing, but when she used her hammer, she gained a ridiculous advantage in range.

It took everything Rouge had to ward Tails away from Shadow and Omega, especially once they had all come to the unfortunate conclusion that Omega had difficulty packing up snow without crushing the ball in his hands. Shadow worked double time to make enough snowballs for the both of them, and Omega threw them around with intense precision and power.

"Delete the word 'mercy' from your database," Shadow ordered as he passed a snowball to Omega's hand.

"NEGATIVE." The robot sent it flying the next moment, where it managed to hit Sonic square in the back. "SUCH A WORD WAS NEVER IN MY VOCABULARY TO BEGIN WITH."

"AUGH!" Sonic cried, dropping to his knees. "I'm hit! I… I'm not going to make it!"

"Sonic, no!" Tails landed next to his brother as the hedgehog dramatically fell onto his side. "Please! Say it ain't so!"

"I'm afraid so little buddy," Sonic rasped, gasping in pain for good measure. "It's all up to you now-"

Another snowball from Omega hit Tails in the arm the very next second, and after a second of consideration, he fell into the snow as well.

"Sonic… I can see the light…"

"Me too… It's calling for me…"

Both brothers let out overdone 'dying' noises as they went limp on the ground, and Team Dark watched it happen in confusion and in Rouge's case, amusement.

That is, until Amy stepped forward.

"Sonic! Tails! I swear I will avenge you!" she cried, before throwing a flurry of snowballs with such intensity that Rouge had to wonder if Amy was really that good of an actress or if she was committing to the bit just a little too much.

Their game continued for a very long while, during which Sonic 'died' two more times, until Rouge felt exhausted and flushed and freezing and soaked to the bone. She wasn't alone; both Amy and Tails seemed to be running out of steam, but unfortunately, Sonic, Shadow and Omega showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

"Rouge," Tails murmured, discreetly nodding up at the trees above them, where enormous piles of snow were still clinging onto the branches. The bat understood the plan at once, and grinned at the sly fox, holding out one hand.

"Truce?"

"Truce."

They shook on it.

"But how do we position them?" Rouge wondered until a giggle from behind gave her the answer. Amy passed them both by and gave them a wave.

"Leave that to me."

With that, Amy charged toward the other trio, screaming as she gave her final attack. Rouge and Tails jumped back into the sky, making it seem as though they were going to continue their aerial battle, but when Amy led the others underneath the tree, both of them darted over and kicked the branches, utterly smothering Sonic, Shadow and Omega in snow. Rouge held out a hand to Tails, and without even looking her way, he returned her hi-five.

Omega was the first to emerge from his snowy prison. "TRAITOR," he accused as Rouge landed in front of him.

"Ouch, that's harsh Omega! Keep that up and I might just cry!"

All the same, Rouge had a bright smile on her face as she effortlessly pulled Omega out of the snow and helped clear out his joints, while Shadow and Sonic dug their way out of their freezing prison. Shadow emerged first, brushing the powder from his body, then paused and offered Sonic his hand. The other hedgehog looked surprised for a second before grinning and taking it, and Shadow helped pull him out and back into the open air.

"We can't have you dying again," Shadow deadpanned, making Rouge grin from ear to ear.

"Did you just make a joke?!" she accused playfully, hamming it up with a squeal as Shadow huffed and crossed his arms and Sonic began to laugh. "You did! You did, I heard it!"

"We've witnessed history today," Tails remarked in turn, making Sonic laugh harder and Shadow glare at the ground and kick away some snow.

After cleaning themselves up a little more, the group walked to the edge of the park together before Sonic and Tails decided that it was time to go home and warm up. Rouge waved them off, shivering as the heat of battle continued to leave her and the cold seeped in to fill its absence, but before she could say her goodbyes to Amy, the pink hedgehog was pushing an envelope into her hands.

"It's an invitation to my holiday party next weekend! It's a potluck kind of thing, so if you can bring some snacks or desserts that would be great. Sonic and Tails are coming, and I invited Knuckles and Silver too. I also tried Blaze, but I haven't heard back from her."

Rouge regarded the envelope in interest. A holiday party?

"If you can't come because of work, it's okay, really!" Amy continued, locking her fingers together in an attempt to warm them up. "I tried inviting the Chaotix but they're abroad and can't make it, so-"

"We'll be there," Rouge decided. "I'll make sure of it."

Amy smiled wide, her eyes closing in happiness. "Great! All the little details are on the note inside, so I guess I'll see you then!" The girl waved over her shoulder as she started heading home. "And thanks for today, it was a lot of fun!"

"No problem at all, sweetheart!" Rouge called after her before turning over to her bedraggled team with a glint in her eye. "Sounds like we have a few more phone calls to make before the day is out, hm?"