Rouge panted as she leaned against a stone pillar. She felt burnt out. While there wasn't any snow in the desert, she was still feeling cold. Her forehead felt as hot as the desert sand itself, and the weight of the jewel she was carrying seemed to double.

"I'm fine," she told herself. "I just managed to steal the emerald of that foolish echidna, after so many tries..." She smiled and let her fingers glide across the green surface of the emerald.

Now if only the damn fever hadn't forced her into that horrible fit of coughing... she would have never been detected. And now that brute Knuckles was hot on her heels. She even had to take this detour through the desert to leave the annoying guardian behind...

Well, maybe she could hide in these ruins for a while...

"I finally found you!" a well-known voice shouted from the top of a pillar. There he stood, the guardian of the Master Emerald and top treasure hunter from Angel Island: Knuckles the Echidna!

He jumped down in front of the bat and raised his fists. "Okay, give it back, and I mean NOW!"

"Just let it go," Rouge grunted. "You just don't know when to give up, do you?"

"What are you talking about?" Knuckles grumbled. "That emerald's mine! You got that!"

"Yeah, whatever..." Rouge grumbled. She tried to prepare for a fight, but she felt even weaker now. She could barely stand on her two feet.

Knuckles was ignorant of her condition and kept on with his tirade: "The Master Emerald contains special powers used to neutralize the Chaos Emeralds. That makes it very powerful and... WHAT THE...?"

"What?" Rouge gasped when out of nowhere, a chilly breeze blew through the desert. A white shape zipped past them, and something snatched the emerald. Rouge felt even colder when she looked up at the Snow Dancer who was hovering above them.

The Snow Dancer looked at the emerald happily. Within its simple mind, it came to the conclusion that it had actually found the crystal its mistress had sent it for. And now she could bring it back to her.

"You thief!" Rouge blurted out when she saw how the snow creature turned around to fly away.

"Look who's calling who a thief..." Knuckles grumbled. "I don't know who or what you are, but I'm not gonna let you take the Master Emerald! TAKE THAT!" And he jumped up and attacked with a powerful punch.

But he underestimated the fragility of the snow monster... one of his punches was enough to turn it into chunks of frozen snow, which instantly melted when they fell upon the hot sand. But his fist then connected with the Master Emerald itself...

Rouge thought her heart would stop when she saw how the beautiful gemstone was shattered into hundreds of pieces that flew away in all directions.

"AAAAAAAAHHH!" she shouted. When Knuckles landed back on solid ground, she forgot about her weakness, ran over to him and shook him around several times. "What was that all about? And look what you did to my emerald!"

Knuckles freed himself from the hands of the angry bat. "I did that to prevent the emerald from being stolen, you idiot!" he shouted. "If it's in pieces, I can restore it. And by the way, that's not YOUR emerald!"

"I despise anyone who takes jewels from me..." Rouge grumbled. "All the world's gems are mine to keep."

"Yeah, we'll see about that, bat girl!" Knuckles barked.

Rouge couldn't give him any other comeback line... the fever was finally taking its toll, as her eyelids closed, and she collapsed to the ground.

Now Knuckles finally realized the bad shape the female thief was in. He felt her forehead. "Damn, you're running around in such a condition?" he growled. "Are you trying to kill yourself, stubborn girl?"

Rouge did not reply. Even in her sleep, she panted heavily, and sweat was running down her head.

"Looks like she's in a really bad shape..." Knuckles grumbled. "Damn, I should just leave her here and look for the pieces of the Master Emerald... dang, I think Sonic's heroism is rubbing off on me..."

He took the new cellular phone Rei had bought him on his birthday and quickly dialed her number.

"Rei? It's me, Knuckles! Yeah, I know you wanted to meet with your friends, but this is serious. The Master Emerald's broken again... No need to yell, okay? It wasn't my fault, it was... listen, I only called you because you're good friends with that blonde bat-girl, aren't you? Well, tell her to come to the desert, her friend Rouge is in a bad shape..."

Pluto tried her best to keep up with the dark shadow she had seen, but she just could not keep up with him. That is, not until he came to a stop in a dark alley...

She realized that they were now close to Station Square's main reserve bank, where the mayor was storing one of the Chaos Emeralds. She wondered if that was just a coincidence...

She couldn't wait any longer. "Shadow?" she asked as she approached him from behind.

The dark figure turned around... revealing a hedgehog with black fur and red stripes along his quills.

Her face lit up with joy. "Shadow, it's really you! Oh, little brother... I thought I'd never see you again!" She ran to hug him, but he skipped out of the way.

"Who are you and why do you keep following me?" he shouted angrily.

Pluto froze in her tracks. "Sh-shadow wh-what are you talking about? Don't you remember me? It's me, Pluto... your sister!"

"I have no family!" Shadow proclaimed darkly. "I am the Ultimate life form... and you are starting to get on my nerves!"

'He doesn't remember me...' Pluto thought. 'Oh dear god, what happened to him...'

"Shadow..." she asked carefully. "Don't you remember anything... anything from your past? About how you were created? About how we lived together on the ARK? The professor? Bio? Maria?"

"Maria..." Shadow whispered. His hand began to shake. He grasped his head when images began to flash through his mind. One of them was a beautiful human girl with blonde hair..."

"You remember her?" Pluto asked hopefully. "Do you know what she told you? The promise you made?"

"I know who I am..." Shadow grumbled. "And I know about my promise to Maria... but you, you are nothing but a meddler, so get out of my way!"

Pluto gasped. "You... you can't mean that... I've been looking for you for such a long time..."

"If you keep getting in my way... you'll be DESTROYED!" the black hedgehog shouted as he ran up to the dark green hedgehog. Pluto had barely the time to defend herself before he attacked her with furious punches and kicks.

"Stop this!" she shouted while blocking all of her brother's attacks. "I'm not your enemy! I'm your sister!"

"I DON'T HAVE A SISTER!" Shadow yelled and curled his body up in a ball. That declaration shocked Pluto so much that she didn't even think about dodging when he smacked his body into her face. With a grunt, she collided with the house wall behind her and slid down to the floor.

Shadow smirked. "How pathetic..."

He then tried to gather his last memories from the ARK... the memories of the only living being that, in his eyes, had ever loved him...

"Maria..." he whispered as he walked out of the alley. "I still remember the promise I gave to you..."

He looked across the street, at the huge bank building in front of him. His hands tightened into fists, and he gritted his teeth.

"I promised you... REVENGE!"

Rouge coughed as Minako put her back into bed.

"Really, I can't just leave you alone for a few hours..." the blonde bat grumbled. "See what you did to yourself? With a fever like yours, exposing yourself to such temperatures... first all the snow outside, then you go into the desert. Hello? I mean, you were lucky that Rei is my friend, or else I wouldn't have heard of what happened quite as fast. Well, now that I brought you back home, you're not gonna leave this room, understood?"

"M-minako..." Rouge muttered.

"What is it?" Minako asked in a worried tone of voice. "Can I bring you something? Some tea? or maybe a wet cloth?"

Rouge weakly opened her eyes. "Minako... i-it's time I finally tell you... what I really do..."

Minako sighed. "She's delirious..." she muttered. "Rouge, I already know, you're the best treasure hunter in the world, and all the world's gems are yours to keep and..."

"Minako, listen to me!" Rouge said in a voice so stern that Minako actually closed her mouth.

"I am... not just a treasure hunter," Rouge groaned. "I am... an undercover agent working for the government. They... they call upon my services when they need me." She coughed again. "I've been paid by the president for quite a time now... and I've even worked with GUN..."

"Rouge... I... I had no idea..." Minako whispered. "Are you... are you serious? I mean... you're an agent, just like James Bond?"

"Mina, listen to me, dammit!" the older bat snapped. "I'm telling you this... because I need you... to take my place."

Minako thought she didn't hear quite correct. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Rouge said. "I need your help. I've received a special mission from the president, a VERY important one. They are counting on my help... and I admit, I'm not just doing it for the jewels they usually pay me. I mean, I would have done it, but... in my condition..." She panted a few times. "You were right, I was a fool to go outside like this... but now that I can't begin my mission, I need someone else to do it for me. Minako... I only ask you for this because you are the only one I have ever trusted..."

"W-wait a second here, Rouge," Minako stuttered. "I'm not nearly as good as you... I can't do this! This is a bit too big for me... I'm sure everything will be all right as soon as you recover. Then you can begin with your mission, I'm sure the president will understand when you call in sick..."

"Minako, there is no time!" Rouge shouted. "The encapsulated specimen from the ARK... it has already been released. And the Eclipse Cannon..."

"Great, now she's babbling again..." Minako muttered. Rouge, calm down and tell me exactly what the problem is. If you want me to take over for you, okay, but I need to know what's going on."

"You... you need to team up with... Dr. Eggman..."

Minako blinked and then rubbed her oversized ears. "Excuse me, did you just say that?"

"Minako, I'm serious!" Rouge coughed.

"You want ME to team up with a self-proclaimed 'ultimate scientific genius' who builds lots of robots, wants to invade our home town, turns helpless animals into robots, and is the worst father Hotaru-chan could ever have? That Dr. Eggman? How were you going to accomplish that?"

"He... doesn't know you," Rouge said. "You will tell him that you are a treasure hunter who's interested in jewels and help him find the Chaos Emeralds..."

"Wait a minute, STOP!!" Minako yelled. "I will NEVER help that egghead to find powerful, magical artifacts that will help him to take over the world!"

"Let me start from the beginning," Rouge sighed. "That was my first reaction when I first heard of the mission as well, but there's more to it... Rouge, did you ever hear of the first space colony humankind built?"

"You mean... the ARK?" Minako wondered.

Her mentor nodded. "Yes. Now, Minako, what I am about to tell you is top secret! You can't tell this to anyone else! Not your friends, not your family, no one!"

Minako smiled. "You are the only family I have left, Rouge..."

"Either way, don't tell this to anyone, okay?"

Seeing how serious Rouge was, Minako nodded. "Yeah, I promise!"

Rouge took a deep breath. "Okay, it all began sixteen years ago, when Eggman's grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik..."

Dr. Eggman stroked his beard while entering the control center of his hideout. "With the Chaos Emerald..." he mumbled. "In the space colony, Ark..." He snorted. "I've got to find out just what's going on up there!"

"Back again, doctor?" a deep voice asked as Metal Sonic came up behind him. "So, did you find your super weapon in the base on the island?"

"Something... like that," the scientist grumbled.

Metal Sonic would have raised an eyebrow, if robots had any. "I've seen how a few of the guards have brought E-123's body down into the basement... did something go wrong?"

"Hmph, that ungrateful tin can openly disobeyed me! I should have programmed him better... now he will pay for the insolence. Let's see how rebellious he'll be after spending a couple of months in a locked room..."

"So, Omega gave you more problems than the military?" Metal Sonic smirked. "I didn't think I'd see the day when the great Dr. Robotnik has to fear his own inventions..."

"I didn't have to fear anything!" Eggman shouted angrily. "And Omega was no problem. With the help of Shadow, I..."

"Shadow?" Metal Sonic asked. "Now who could that be...?"

"Would you mind your own business?" the doctor grumbled and switched on the television screen on the wall. "Let's see if they are speaking of my break-in in the news..."

"We interrupt this broadcast for an important news flash," a female reporter just said. "There has been a break-in in the federal reserve bank today. Mysteriously the only thing that was stolen was the Chaos Emerald."

Eggman gasped for air, while Metal Sonic's optic sensors lit up.

"The Chaos Emerald?" the doctor asked.

"According to eyewitnesses at the scene, the suspect was identified as the world-renowned hero, Sonic the Hedgehog. The suspect was seen fleeing the scene, destroying the reserve's guard robots in his path. Stay tuned for more details!"

"Sounds more like the work of Shadow!" Eggman grunted.

"Doctor..." Metal Sonic said. "Don't you think it's about time you tell me what REALLY happened in that underground base?"

"Watch your mouth now, minion!" Eggman grumbled. "If you're not careful, Shadow the Hedgehog will turn out to be a better ally than you ever were!"

The robotic hedgehog watched as the rotund scientist walked out of the room. "Is that so?" he asked in a low voice.

After having helped the Sailor Senshi to fight the Snow Dancers, Sonic had left for his 'daily training routine', as he called it. Skipping from rooftop to rooftop while spinning his body, the blue hedgehog felt as free as a bird.

But there were other things on his mind than just training. And up here, away from all the people and traffic, he really was able to clear his mind.

"A comet that is approaching Earth..." he muttered. "And aliens that are attacking... That somehow gives me a feeling of foreboding... like something bad is about to happen."

Sonic should have known better to never say things like this aloud.

He was very surprised, when all of a sudden, a big helicopter appeared in front of him, having waited behind one of the skyscrapers. It wasn't just any helicopter... it was a military craft, heavily armored and with guns attached to its underside. Guns that were aimed at our hero.

"Freeze!" a loud voice shouted. "Sonic the Hedgehog, you are wanted for breaking into the federal reserve bank and stealing the Chaos Emerald! You are under arrest!"

"Oh boy, and my day just keeps getting better..." Sonic sighed.