A pair of E-1000 robots were marching down the corridor, side by side, their weapons ready to blast any intruder that might appear in front of their visual sensors.

They never saw the pair of high-heeled shoes that came from above, crushing first the metal skull of the left robot, then the head of the right one. Both E-1000's came apart in a small burst of metal shards and sparks, and the two little animals that were trapped inside, a bunny and a skunk, fell to the stone floor, blinking in confusion.

Minako, still in her 'Agent V' outfit, landed next to them and posed. "Ah yeah, I'm the best!" she grinned. She then winked at the two animals. "You better get out of here, little guys. You don't want Eggman to trap you again, do you?"

The skunk and rabbit decided it was best to listen to the strange bat-person that helped them and skittered away.

Minako flexed her arm muscles. "Well, so far, so good. At least old Eggy doesn't know I'm here yet. Let's hope it stays this way. But as I always say: Nothing dentured, nothing waned." She giggled.

A sigh then escaped her. "Dang... it's not the same without Artie's grumpy remarks. Oh well, the sooner I can finish this mission, the better."

And she ventured deeper into Eggman's secret hideout within the pyramid.

It was just a matter of time before she found something.

"What's this?" she asked as she approached the strange machine in front of her. "Some kind of computer? Hey, maybe he has some cool games on there." She grinned.

Suddenly, her walkie-talkie began to beep. She sighed. "Oh great... the big boss again... hello?" She raised the walkie-talkie to her ear. "Venus Industries?"

"Stop fooling around!" came the harsh voice of Commander Bullet. "Your first report is overdue. If you want to be a secret agent, start acting like one! So where are you right now?"

"Oops, the report." Minako giggled sheepishly. "I knew I forgot something. Sorry 'bout that. Um, yeah, I'm inside Eggman's hideout, and I found this funky machine that looks like an arcade game." And she described the device to the commander.

Bullet felt a headache coming. "That's NOT an arcade game, you stupid girl!" he grumbled. "That's a space transporter."

"Really? Just like in Star Trek?" She whistled. "Cool!"

"Would you listen for a damn minute? If Dr. Eggman has a space transporter within his hideout, he must have used it. Try to find out which destination it's been set to."

"Roger roger!" Minako saluted. "Um, how do I do that again?"

Commander Bullet sweatdropped. Then he gave Minako the necessary instructions. After having taken an aspirin.

Minako searched her way through the computer's menus, following the commander's instructions. "Um, according to this, the destination has been set to a place called... ARK."

"The ARK... of course..." Bullet muttered. "After all those years, that place comes back to haunt me. We should have destroyed that damn thing a long time ago..."

"Excuse me... what did you say?" Minako asked.

"Never mind that," Bullet replied. "Just go up there. Follow Eggman and find out what he's up to."

"You got it!" Minako nodded. She put in the necessary commands, then she stepped in the middle of the circular transporter platform. "Beam me up, Scotty!" she giggled.

"Stop that!" the commander shouted.

Commander Bullet was actually right: Eggman had already used the space transporter to reach the ARK, exactly 15 minutes before Minako had found her way into the transporter room.

Steering his egg-shaped combat walker through the dark corridors, he muttered to himself: "So this is the space colony, ARK..."

He had read a lot about this, not only in his grandfather's diary. He knew of all the grand things his grandfather had created while living up here. He was envious and at the same time glad that he wasn't able to do some research of his own up here. Envious, because he admired everything Professor Gerald Robotnik had done. Glad, because he'd never want to work under the supervision of an official military organization such as GUN.

If it weren't for them, his grandfather might have been still around...

He snickered. "Well, at least that gives me the chance to use everything he created for my own ambitions... so everything stays within the family."

It didn't take him long before he found the central control room of the ARK, the room Shadow had mentioned before he had left the doctor back on Prison Island. It was a huge computer, located on a circular platform that floated above a deep abyss. All kinds of holographic images floated around the platform and the computer itself.

In front of the computer, a black hedgehog was standing, holding the Chaos Emerald he had taken from the bank.

"I've been waiting for you, doctor!" he smiled.

Dr. Eggman climbed out of his Egg Walker while Shadow resumed talking: "Now, I will show the glorious achievement of what the world's leading scientist, Professor Gerald, has created."

The computer behind him suddenly sprung to life, the various control panels flashing in a bright light while the holographic images began to spin.

"The ARK was the first space colony created by mankind," Shadow continued. "Not many people know that the ARK contained a top-secret research facility, where weapons of mass destruction were being created. This is one of them: A weapon capable of destroying an entire planet. Codenamed: 'The Eclipse Cannon'."

Shadow was now smiling like a proud son. He was the only one Professor Gerald had entrusted with this secret. He never mentioned what this cannon was there for, but he knew he could use it to finally have his revenge on the humans on Earth... revenge for Maria...

In the back of his head, though, he somehow felt as if there was supposed someone else... someone who had also been told about this secret by the professor. Someone who also lived here in the Space Colony...

The image vanished before Shadow could take a better look at it.

Eggman was looking more than intrigued. He was awestruck in front of this technological masterpiece. "Destroying an entire planet..." he muttered while stroking his beard. "Was this... my grandfather's legacy?"

Unknown to either of them, their conversation was being overheard. Minako the Bat alias Sailor Venus alias Agent V had managed to catch up with the doctor and was spying on him for some time now. Now, she was hiding in a small alcove high above them, in the very same control room. She had been very surprised to see a hedgehog that somehow resembled Pluto. She smirked at the thought of what she would say if she knew she had a male double. But then, after Shadow had begun talking about the Eclipse Cannon, she didn't feel like laughing anymore.

'If that weapon falls under Eggman's control... we will be in greater danger than we've ever been before. That is, if the black guy's telling the truth...'

She knew she was a bit ditzy and clumsy at times. One more reason why several people, including Artemis, compared her to Usagi.

But she was still a Sailor Senshi, a defender of Earth... and she had been around much longer than Usagi or any of the other girls. She knew there were times when she couldn't just take everything with humor, when she had to be serious. And this was such a moment.

'I won't let them use that horrible weapon,' she swore to herself. 'No matter how, I won't let them!'

"But it's been deactivated for some time now," Shadow then said, catching Minako's attention. To reactivate it, large amounts of energy are necessary."

He picked his emerald and threw it at the control panel, where it landed within a small indent. Suddenly the whole machine began to pulse in an even more intense light.

"Oooooh," Eggman remarked. "So that's why we needed the Chaos Emeralds."

"Exactly," Shadow smirked. "To reactivate the machine, we need the seven Chaos Emeralds. Once you have that, then you have the ultimate power of destruction, to use as you please. And then..." He narrowed his eyes. "The world could be yours!"

Minako felt a bit more relieved, now that she knew the cannon wasn't at its full power yet. Still, she somehow had to make sure they would never fire that thing. How was she going to accomplish this, however? And there was still the promise she had made to Rouge... she couldn't blow her cover, or her mission would end in a failure. She also didn't knew if she could face both Eggman and that dangerous-looking hedgehog all on her own... She would need a plan...

"Hahahahahahah!" Eggman laughed. "Sounds like a plan! I like the way you think, Shadow! I will get the Chaos Emeralds, use the machine to dominate the worlds and build a legacy of my own..."

"Do you really think it's going to be that easy?" a female voice high above him spoke up.

Shadow and the doctor both looked up to see the masked, blonde, red-winged bat in the black bodysuit that was floating above them, slowly flapping her wings.

"I've got a great idea," she smiled as she landed in front of them. "How about making a deal?"

Eggman was certainly surprised at the appearance of the bat-girl. How did she manage to sneak up on him like that? Was she friend or foe? Could it be that thief, Rouge? No... she wasn't blonde. And this girl sounded younger.

"A... deal?" he then asked.

"Well," Minako said with a wink. "If you'd just let me borrow that radar... I might be able to help you find the missing emeralds. I may not look like it, but I'm a first-class treasure hunter!"

'In-training,' she mentally added.

Eggman was more than sceptical about this offer. He rubbed his chin and exchanged a look with Shadow. When the black hedgehog gave him the hint of a nod, he sighed and said: "Very well."

"Okay, then it's a deal?" Minako grinned. "I don't think we've been introduced. I am the bedazzling, charming, gorgeous and absolutely stunning treasure hunter V the Bat... but you can call me V!"

'Well, that's that,' she thought to herself. 'They accepted me into their little group... now all I have to do is to make sure their little agenda doesn't cause any more property damage than the usual battles we used to have with old egg-head's mechs.'

She had not the slightest clue how she was going to accomplish this... but for now, she was just glad that Eggman didn't see through her disguise. She didn't want to imagine what he'd do if he found out that one of the Sailor Senshi was infiltrating his little operation...