Writer's Note:
As many of you know, Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Life Form, has been working with G.U.N for quite some time. However, according to SEGA and comic book writer Ian Flynn, he is NOT a G.U.N agent and never was affiliated with them.
This "factoid" can be dismissed as irrelevant and non-canon alongside Takashi Iizuka's two worlds theory, which has been trotted out for a while now. But what was his first day as a G.U.N agent like and what was his first mission? Let's dive in...
Disclaimer: Shadow belongs to SEGA and so does the G.U.N Commander.
If anyone had asked about the possibility after he'd been awakened or prior to the invasion, he would've probably said no. Long ago, after what happened on the ARK, the idea of working for them would have been unthinkable.
Yet, just days after taking down the Black Arms, here he was, approaching G.U.N's main headquarters. Shadow was willing to do anything to help protect the world, he'd put his past behind him but was still eager to make sure Maria's final wish was not forgotten.
Not long ago, he had issues G.U.N, now it was time for two old enemies to work together and put aside the differences. It was a bright sunny day; the sky was blue and a warm breeze was crossing over Central City.
Two uniformed soldiers guarded the entrance t, rifles ready just in case. Shadow hoped the Commander got his message and expected him. When the soldiers saw the black hedgehog coming, they quietly saluted and snapped to attention.
Shadow saluted back, a firm smile on his face. The door slowly opened, granting him entrance into the interior of the main building as he saw G.U.N personnel roaming around, hard at work. A few people saw the Ultimate Life Form and waved, happy to see him.
Walking up to the front desk, Shadow looked straight at the brown-haired female secretary sitting in her chair. "I'm here to see the Commander." The black hedgehog said coolly, "Important business, nothing more."
"The Commander is in his office." The secretary said, instructing Shadow on where to go. Thanking her, he headed down the hall and took a left, passing several G.U.N soldiers along the way and hardly taking notice of photographs showing the late Professor Gerald Robotnik.
One photo in particular caught his attention, it was a picture of him with Sonic next to the White House taken just days after the battle with Metal Overlord, which happened a couple short weeks after the incident on the ARK and his near demise.
Shadow took a right, finding the door with a label that read "Commander's Office". He knocked softly and turned the knob, walking onto red and blue carpeting as the dark hedgehog entered the large room.
United Federation banners along with G.U.N symbols decorated the walls and the star-spangled flag of the United States of America sat above the door, potted plants sat close by. The commander himself sat at a wooden desk in his chair, calm and patient.
Gray-haired, a brown left eye and a green right eye, wearing a uniform along with white gloves, the leader of G.U.N noticed Shadow at once. He and the black hedgehog weren't the only ones in the room. Rouge the Bat, wearing her revealing purple-pink costume, was there as well.
Even E-123 Omega, Eggman's renegade battle robot, was in the room as well. "Welcome, Shadow." The Commander said warmly, "I almost never thought this would be happening in the years G.U.N has existed."
"How wonderful of you to join us, handsome." Rouge said with an almost seductive wink.
"Shadow, seeing you here is satisfactory." Omega chimed in, "I am amused by the idea of the three of us working with the United Federation against Doctor Eggman!"
"Dismiss the pleasantries." Shadow told Omega almost fiercely.
"Warning!" Omega buzzed, "I detect irritation and belligerence in Shadow!"
"Awww, don't be so grumpy." Rouge told the black hedgehog in a flirtatious voice.
"Nothing to worry about, you two." The Commander said in calmly.
"Agreed," Shadow nodded, arms crossed even as he sat down in an empty chair next to Rouge, "I know me and the Guardian Unit of Nations have had differences in the past, stretching over fifty years. But times change, we are no longer enemies.
"I've decided to put the past behind me and do whatever is necessary to keep my promise to Maria that I would protect this world, give the people a chance to be happy. We might not see eye to eye, but I am willing to work for you as a free agent."
"Almost unexpected," The commander mused, "But, given the recent developments and that I've... forgiven you, I suppose we could work together and G.U.N needs all the help it can get, especially when it comes to dealing with Eggman."
"Eggman is a threat that is important to be neutralized, especially since he's tried to conquer the world numerous times and did try to use the Space Colony ARK during one of his schemes which I was involved in after he woke me up."
"Agreed, in fact, since you're willing to work for us, your first assignment might as well be related to the doctor. Our intelligence operatives just reported in half an hour ago that Eggman's forces are operating in the Kara'wan Isle sector."
"So, I take it you want me to head there and deal with Eggman's operations?" Shadow smirked, "I like that already, I haven't done much since the battle with the Black Arms other than brooding most of the time."
"Indeed." The Commander commented, "Your assignment begins soon, I suggest you get some rest before the mission. It's important for new agents to get some sleep and rest before their mission begins."
Shadow rose to his feet and saluted. "Roger that." He left the room as Rouge happily welcomed him to G.U.N and Omega gave a thumbs up, excitedly proclaiming how it was thrilling to have an ally in G.U.N with them.
After leaving the room, Shadow examined a map which he used to look for any barracks to get some rest and located the resting room in the north wing of the base. He headed down the hall, took a left and a right, before finally reaching the sleeping rooms.
The room was spacious and comfortable with nearly put together beds that had red, white and blue pillows with soft bed sheets that had G.U.N symbols on then. Most of the beds were full of sleeping soldiers, thankfully Shadow found an empty bed just for him.
Not bothering to remove his rocket shoes, gloves and limiters/inhibitor rings, the black hedgehog plopped down on the bed and closed his eyes without pulling the covers over himself. He was fine, after all, he did have fur and fur kept him warm.
Shadow napped for about an hour, thinking about the upcoming mission until he woke. Unconcerned, the dark hedgehog left the room and met up with the Commander, Rouge and Omega in the hallway as a soldier escorted them to a transport outside.
For a brief period, Shadow nearly thought he would be going on the mission alone, but solo missions would probably have to wait, team missions were also important. Shadow may have had a tough exterior, but he cared about people including Rouge and Omega.
Upon boarding the transport, a big helicopter, Shadow found a seat next to his two allies while the Commander signaled to the pilot to take off. The chopper's engines spun to life and the transport took to the air, flying over Central City and leaving G.U.N HQ behind.
The door was mostly open, allowing a gust of wind to blow in and causing Shadow's fur to ripple. Rouge and Omega didn't seem to mind this, the black hedgehog had his arms crossed, unconcerned about anything.
Every couple second, the Ultimate Life Form peak outside to look at the view and so would Rouge. Omega stayed stationary while sitting, waiting for when they were over Kara'Wan Isle so their mission could begin and he could blow stuff up.
Very soon, the ground became replaced by water as the chopper flew over the ocean, the water churned as waves poured forth. A few whales emerged for air and some Orcas jumped out before diving back in.
Shadow moved to the front, joining the pilot and looking at the horizon ahead, waiting for any signs of their destination. A couple islands passed by, none of them were the destination, Kara'Wan had to be around here somewhere.
Minutes passed and nothing major happened, Shadow was silent, the G.U.N pilot was focused and Rouge was chatting with Omega about gemstones even though the rogue Eggman robot didn't seem to be interested.
Patiently, Shadow waited with nothing big happening until the pilot announced that Kara'Wan was in sight. The hedgehog looked out the window and saw the large landmass coming into view, full of greenery, mountains and a lush beach.
Dusk had come and the stars were emerging as the sunset transitioned into night-time, spotlights were now beaming up into the sky from the island, one of them forming a shadow that looked like Eggman's face: The symbol of the mad doctor's self-proclaimed Eggman Empire.
"We're here." Shadow told his comrades, "The island is just ahead."
"And you've been very patient." Rouge noted.
"Ammo loaded," Omega buzzed, "Can't wait to blow up Eggman base and robots!"
The distance between Team Dark and the island closed greatly as the helicopter soon hovered over the beach and descended slowly while still hovering in the air, allowing Shadow, Rouge and Omega to get off onto solid ground.
Before they got off, the G.U.N pilot placed a communicator on Shadow's wrist, instructing him and his team to contact base and call for a pick up once the mission was over. The trio watched as their ride flew off, getting smaller and smaller until it was gone.
"Team Dark." Shadow told his allies, "Let's take down the doctor's forces and destroy Eggman's operations on the island while finding out what he's up to."
With Rouge and Omega behind him, Shadow took off across the beach and through the woods at top speed, heading straight for where one of Eggman's bases was said to be. The trees were humongous and the bushes felt bushy as the ground felt soft and grassy.
Just as he could breathe fresh air, Shadow could smell some pollution in the form of smoke from somewhere, probably a set up Eggman factory. The doctor was known for establishing bases that sent smoke into the air.
Not too far off, a pack of Egg Pawns and Egg Hammers were patrolling the perimeter, minding their own business, not bothering to try and interact with each other as Eggman hardly programed them with any social skills.
However, if there were any emotions programmed into the robots, it was surprise. The group of robots heard a noise coming their way, noting it sounded like jet boosters and wondered where it was coming from... until Shadow emerged from the woods.
The black hedgehog attacked, smashing the Egg Pawns and going for the Egg Hammers, taking them head-on as Rouge and Omega caught up. The bat used her martial arts and saboteur skills while Omega unleased every bit of ammo he had on the robots in the area.
Alarms blared as searchlights activated and hundreds of robots deployed to combat the intruders. Team Dark was hard at work, plowing through the vicinity and taking down Eggman's forces all the way into the halls of the humongous base.
None of the guards stood a chance against Shadow's Chaos Powers and the might of the war machine that was E-123 Omega, who went all out, going to town on almost every last robot as he yelled, "OMEGA REIGNS SUPREME, EGGMAN STANDS NO CHANCE!"
Chaos reigned throughout Eggman's base as robots scrambled, Moto Bugs woke from low power mode and deployed, Egg Pawns activated and Egg Gunner Prototypes emerged from storage, combat ready.
"This inferior Eggman holdout must be annihilated!" Omega buzzed as he blew up robots and machinery, doing as much damage to the place as possible, "The doctor's base cannot be left standing, the Eggman Empire's hold on the island can't last!"
"Hold up, Omega!" Rouge chided, "We can't just blow up the entire base yet, we have to extract some intel on whatever schemes Eggman may be planning. We're heading to the main computer terminal where we'll try to get as much information as possible."
"I want to blow up the base too." Shadow remarked, "However, I do agree, G.U.N may want valuable Eggman-related information. So, when we reach the main control room, you cease fire until further orders. Got it, Omega?"
"Affirmative, I will secure the area until you've obtained as much information as possible."
Eggman's island base was huge, almost one of the biggest in the history of the Eggman Empire next Final Egg or the airborne Egg Carrier and the Egg Fleet, this place with its vast structure almost felt like the pinnacle of mad science.
Team Dark carried onward down every corridor, taking left and right turns while fighting off random robots all the way to the large doors leading into the main terminal, Omega let loose and blasted the doors open before taking down the Egg Pawns inside.
With the robots out of commission, Omega temporarily deactivated his weapons as instructed and stood guard, keeping an eye out for more Eggman Badniks. Shadow and Rouge got to work, scanning through Eggman's computer files.
It was mostly Rouge doing the work while Shadow covered for her, standing by the white bat and acting as a guard, he'd even drawn a machine gun and had it ready. While the Ultimate Life Form wasn't into guns much, he was willing to often use weaponry.
"Hmm," Rouge commented, having just come across a file that fascinated her, "It appears Eggman has plans for a Project Egg Star, whatever that is, he seems to be keeping all details about it classified. This should interest G.U.N, copying data file and... there we go."
"Well?" Shadow asked.
"It's time for us to get going, sweetie." Rouge said, holding up a hard drive.
"Shall I blow things up now?" Omega requested.
The bat gave the robot the all clear as she and Shadow exited the room just as several robots came down the hall towards their current position, without a doubt, Omega opened fire and leveled the entire computer terminal, leaving only burning tech in his wake.
Rouge found a big red button and pressed it, triggering a self-destruct mechanism. Doctor Eggman was about to have a wrench in his plans big time, the computer announced that there were 2 minutes until the Egg Base self-destructed.
"We must hurry." Shadow said, he grabbed Rouge's arm and zipped off down the hall with her beside him as Omega followed suit, blowing up more and more robots. The robot seemed to be enjoying himself so much, he might as well be in love with the idea of robot carnage.
Not slowing down and not letting anything stand in their way, Team Dark made it to safety just as the base went up in a massive fireball. Now Eggman had suffered another setback.
Shadow, Rouge and Omega stopped on the other side of the woods on the beach to watch the explosion, Omega seemed dazzled as he exclaimed, "The number one most awesome explosion in the history of explosions!"
"Mission accomplished!" Rouge said, beaming happily. She held up her hand and, almost reluctantly, Shadow smiled and high fived her before contacting G.U.N to ask for a pick up. As far as anyone was concerned, his first mission and first day as a G.U.N agent was a success…
The End