A/N: Hey, all! I think that I'll be updating weekly, depending on how my week goes. On Thursdays. That is all, thank you!
Knuckles dropped off a drowsy Rouge at Club "Rouge", where she climbed down the stairs into the basement, where her bedroom was located. She quickly got dressed into a pink nightgown and flopped into bed. As the bat buried herself under the covers of her warm bed for the first time in weeks, there was a sound of the door opening.
"Ugh . . ." she groaned, hoping no one had wandered into her living space while in a drunken stupor. The bat pulled a robe over her nightgown and slid out of bed, parting with the covers again.
As she opened her bedroom door, Rouge gasped. There stood Shadow, his fist raised and ready to knock, and he was equally shocked as Rouge. Behind him was the massive and newly-recharged figure of Omega.
"Sorry to bother you, but-"
"Guest bedroom is open, although it might not be clean," Rouge answered shortly, already knowing that Shadow would ask if he could stay there for the night with Omega. Shadow nodded his thanks and bid the bat good night. Omega did the same and gently closed Rouge's bedroom door again.
Rouge listened to the shuffling of Shadow's feet and the pounding of Omega's feet hitting the ground. It was evident that the robot was trying to stay quiet, even though it was near impossible with him. Rouge half-smiled when she pictured the big metal figure attempting to tiptoe across a room, which was more or less what he was doing as he headed to bed. The bat climbed into bed again and adjusted her position so that her head rested comfortably on her pillow. Once she'd found the right position, Rouge immediately shut her eyes and meandered her way into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Her eyes flew open at the sound of a loud crash in the kitchen area of the basement. Rouge begrudgingly threw on her robe after oozing her way out of her bed and headed for the kitchen. Inside, there was Omega, staring helplessly at a pile of pots and pans. There was a moment of strange silence as Rouge raised her eyes to the robot's somehow crestfallen face.
"I apologize," he said shortly, without looking at the bat, "my intentions were to prepare a nourishing meal for you and Shadow."
Rouge peered over Omega's boxlike shoulder at a very messy counter, where there was a large amount of eggs(shells and yolks), crusted-on pancake mix, and bread crumbs everywhere. In the sink there were a few bowls, two frying pans, and a bent-up spatula. Rouge normally would have blown up, but the energy that she would have spent on getting angry was still being replenished after the last mission.
"You tried to make us breakfast?" she asked dubiously as she pulled a dish rag from a drawer.
"I'm merely looking to make sure you and Shadow maintain a healthy balanced diet so that you will increase your lifespan by approximately point-zero-zero-zero-seven-six-nine percent," Omega argued as he fumbled with a spray bottle, struggling to open it, "you both must remain healthy as you are now."
Rouge narrowed her eyes and continued to scrub a stubborn patch of dried-on pancake mix from the counter.
"Why are you so concerned about it, big guy?" she asked, cracking a grin at the robot's obvious embarrassment. "Besides, Shadow won't be going anywhere for a long time. I'm probably the one you should be worried about."
Omega was silent for a moment as he continued to press the nozzle of the spray bottle of cleaner. He managed to grasp it with his big and clumsy appendages, but the lemon-scented liquid refused to leave the bottle, save for a few little drops.
"You do not know that the Shadow creature is immortal for sure," the robot defended, staring at the measly droplets that had fallen.
"Oh, I think I do," Rouge countered with a yawn. She rinsed off the rag as Omega hung his head in what appeared to be shame. The bat couldn't resist a grin at the childish gesture. She dried her hands off on a towel and patted the robot's hard metal shoulder. "Hey, it's all right, big guy. It's not a big deal. One day we'll have someone teach you how to cook up some killer meals and we can all sit down and enjoy 'em. Okay?"
The robot's eyes lit up ever so slightly. Before he could reply, Shadow appeared in the doorway and took a long whiff of the air.
"What a way to wake up," he grumbled. "First an avalanche of kitchen items, then the combined smell of lemon-scented cleaner and burnt toast and eggs." The hedgehog sat himself down on a stool in front of the counter and folded his hands in front of him. "Now, what's for breakfast?"
Rouge set her hands on her hips and let a long and irritated breath escape from her nose.
"Knuckle sandwiches," she shot back, "prepared specially by Omega and I."
Shadow growled under his breath, demonstrating the fact that he didn't get enough sleep and was in no mood for smart remarks.
"All right, I suppose I can get it myself," he sighed in defeat as Rouge and Omega stood motionless, staring at the grumpy hedgehog. When he got up, Rouge noticed a slight limp in his walk.
"You didn't get into any rumbles last night, didja?" she asked.
"No," Shadow answered flatly, "This was an accident. But forget it; I'll be fine."
Rouge shrugged off the blunt answer and began to explain to Omega one of the most simple food-making methods—and that was how to pour milk and cereal into a bowl. After a few inelegant attempts, the robot was able to pour the milk into the bowl without spilling nearly the whole carton all over the table.
"There you go," Rouge praised as he filled up the bowl with the perfect amount of milk, "now just put the cereal box and milk away, and you're all set."
Omega carefully closed the milk carton and cardboard box and replaced them into their respective cabinets. Rouge took a spoonful of Omega's "meal" and gave him a thumbs-up. "You're well on your way, buddy," she said, chewing the cereal.
If a robot could smile, Omega would be beaming.
"It will be my duty to keep your diets in order," he said, "I shall protect you from bodily harm and disease with my skill."
"Of course," Rouge smirked. Shadow gulped down a mouthful of eggs with a quizzical look about him. Rouge shrugged and watched as Omega put the dishes into the small sink.
"I'm assuming you have plans for the day?" Shadow asked, getting up from the table. Rouge shook her head.
"Heck no. I'm staying right here," she said, "and I am dead serious. There's no way I'm leaving now."
"Well, then, I guess Omega and I could head out," Shadow said, "we'll let you have some time to yourself."
"How very generous of you two," Rouge replied without looking up from the sink, where she filled up a bowl with water and turned off the faucet. "You had better stay out of trouble, do you hear me?"
"You're telling us?" Shadow inquired with a straight face.
Rouge's eyes traveled to the ceiling.
"Yes. If I hear a single word regarding something involving one of you two, I will tie you both to chairs for the rest of the weekend."
"Ropes would not hold me," Omega stated innocently. The bat sighed heavily and leaned against the robot's metal body.
"You know very well what I mean."
"Fine. I will monitor the hedgehog's every move to be sure that he doesn't instigate a scene," Omega said, more innocence leaking into his monotonous voice. Shadow performed what was perhaps the most exaggerated eye-roll in all of Mobius' history.
Shadow and Omega stepped out, bidding Rouge a goodbye for the day. Rouge shut the door behind them and fell onto her couch, flipping on the TV.
A documentary about layers of rock in the ground came up. Rouge was only mildly interested because of the mention of precious stones by the man's sleepy-sounding voice, but after a few minutes, she had begun to nod off and fell right to sleep again.
It wasn't long before Rouge's sleep was interrupted by a loud buzzing sound.
"What the . . ." she groaned as she mindlessly swatted the air by her head, somehow assuming that there were bugs flying around. With a start, she woke to realize that the buzzing was her G.U.N. watch. In her most awake voice, she answered the call. "Hello, Agent Rouge presently speaking."
"Agent Rouge, we regret to say that there's been some suspicious activity in-"
"Not interested."
Rouge turned off the watch and carelessly tossed it on the coffee table. The TV still continued its march of programs, taunting Rouge with its endless possibilities. The bat fished for the remote in the couch, found it, and pressed the 'Power' button to halt the television's marathon. It was at that moment that her phone rang.
"This better be good," she mumbled, picking up the phone. "Hello?"
"Rouge, the agency just called you," said a familiar deep voice on the other end, "they want us at HQ in ten minutes."
"You're kidding me, right? Please tell me this is some kind of sick joke."
"Believe me, I am in no mood for jokes myself," replied the hedgehog on the other line, "they need all of us to come to a mandatory and urgent meeting at HQ."
"Do you understand how exhausted I am right now?" Rouge asked, her eyes filled with utter disbelief. "I'm barely caught up on my sleep!"
"I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do," the hedgehog responded through gritted teeth, "Don't kill the messenger. Are you coming, then?"
"Ugh . . ." Rouge sighed, exasperated. "Fine. Whatever. I suppose I'll be right over, then."
"Good. See you soon."
Defeated, the bat threw the phone onto the couch. It bounced up in a manner that was not nearly as satisfying as she had hoped. Rouge growled at nothing in particular and quietly began to curse the agency for forcing them into another mission before she had even recovered from the last one. With a heavy heart, the bat changed out of her nightgown and into her regular clothes, makeup and all, and then bolted out the door to catch up with her partners.
Team Dark stepped into the big conference room at HQ. The glossy wooden table was chock-full of agents and other authorities, including the commander himself, thus making it hard for the two Mobians and one robot to find seats. Upon seeing none, the trio walked to the end of the table, where, conveniently enough, were two vacant chairs right next to each other.
"Sorry, Omega, you'll have to stand," Rouge apologized as she sunk into the cushioned seat.
"No need to apologize; I have a clear view of everything," replied the robot, "It would be impractical of me to take a seat. I could quite possibly break the chair."
Shadow shushed his teammates before Rouge could respond to Omega. Scowling, the bat leaned back in her chair and folded her arms, bracing herself for the worst.
"I'll try to make this as simple as possible," the commander said as idle conversations died down, "I'm sure most of you are aware of the blackouts that have been occurring, am I correct?"
Everyone nodded or mumbled a short "yes". After hearing most of the chorus of "yes"'s, the commander used a small control panel at the other end of the table to open a map projection on the screen in the front. The map contained many green dots and a few red ones all scattered across the region.
"These green dots represent the blackout areas where the electric current was disrupted or the system was shut down entirely. We've had electricians and circuit workers attempt to determine the source of the problems, but not a single one could pinpoint it in the city's system. Many explained to us that the main power was being drained through some kind of device outside of the entire system."
"Get that fox kid on the job," Rouge whispered to Shadow, who shot her a less-than-amused glance. The commander continued his explanation.
"Since then, we've been trying to identify the exact location of where this potentially harmful device could be. There were only a few areas that proved to hold some sort of threat to the electrical field in these cities. These areas are marked by the red dots on this map," he said, pointing to the screen, "and we'll be sending out small squadrons to each location."
Rouge groaned louder than she had expected, causing many heads to turn in her general direction. Clearly exasperated, the bat buried her face in her arms in the same manner that a student would when a teacher gives a pop quiz. The commander, though thrown off for a brief moment, finalized his assignment speech.
"Each squadron is expected to report back here in no more than three weeks," he said, "Whether you've found suspicious activity or not. No exceptions to this; am I clear?"
The commander looked as his mostly bright-eyed and eager soldiers, who nodded their heads and happily accepted the job. He peered back at Team Dark, which consisted of an incredibly worn-out bat and her hedgehog and robot partners that both shook her in attempt to wake her up.
"I repeat: I am I clear, Team Dark?"
Shadow's head snapped up at the sound of his team being called and nodded quickly.
"Clear as day," he answered with a slight snarl, finally resorting to giving Rouge a flick of her ear. She jolted awake and yawned.
"Here," she murmured absentmindedly, her head clearly not focusing on work. Shadow brought his palms to his face and covered his eyes. He didn't dare to see the commander's reaction expression.
"Glad to see we're all here," the commander growled, loud enough for everyone to hear, "now, then, I will assign each particular unit their respective areas."
Shadow waited until Team Dark was called and made a mental note of where they were going.
"Team Dark, you will be investigating Mystic Cave," the commander announced, keeping a suspicious eye on Rouge, who still nodded off no matter how hard she tried to fight it.
"Omega, do you have that place recorded somewhere in your system?" Shadow asked.
"I have not ever been to Mystic Cave," the robot droned with a hint of shame, "However, we can still try to set up a route with my mapping system."
"Guess we'll have to try that, then," Shadow sighed as he watched all of the other agents getting up and leaving in order to prepare for their journeys. The hedgehog stood up himself, staring at the exhausted bat, whose head lay flat on the table. He took one of her wings between his index finger and thumb, giving her a slight tug to try and wake her up.
"Let's go pack up," he said, poking the bat multiple times as she started to stir. Rouge rubbed as much sleep out of her eyes as she could before drowsily standing up. Letting her exasperation escape in the form of a sigh, Rouge ran to the doorway where her teammates had disappeared through to get ready for their next challenge.