"Are you sure we shouldn't tell Doctor Robotnik about this?" Said the bird standing before a running radar. "He has means of finding out." He hesitated for a few seconds and used it to look at the battle bird behind him.

Battle Lord Kukku XV snorted at the ridiculous question and tossed a wing behind his shoulder as if throwing the notion away. "If he can find out about this, let him." He held his hands behind his back and looked out the massive glass window of the Battle Bird Armada's ship. "He needs to know his time of controlling us is very limited. It's only a matter of time until we prove how much stronger we are than him." The green grasslands far below slowly rolled with more hills than before. Kukku's brilliant eyesight could almost see the grass waving in the wind. "The emeralds can power our cannons and make them more of a threat than his army will ever be. It will be the perfect end! And he knows nothing about our excursion. He hasn't asked us for anything for weeks now. As long as we report anything suspicious in our skies, which won't be much unless we see the Sky Patrol stealing our wind, the Doctor has no reason to suspect us for anything."

"We're nearly there," the bird next to the nervous one announced, taking a look at the radar and maps. "Scans show the emerald is safely outside the city of Soleanna. We should be able to land without the people there noticing."

"Excellent! Call Speedy to the front." The experienced bird grinned and rubbed his hands together in anticipation. All the others nearby the bay lowered their goggles over their eyes even though they predicted not to confront anyone after landing. "This is going to be easier than I expected."

...

Eclipse peered out beyond the leaves with his hands grasping the strong bark of the tree so he wouldn't lose his balance. The signal of incredible power pulled his senses in this direction unlike ever before. Ever since he secured the Chaos Emerald from Frog Forest, it seemed to heighten his ability to track sources of power. He had wished to keep the clear gem safely hidden in case Shadow came looking to fight again, but the stronger pull, of what he hoped was the others, was too useful to leave behind. Hence, he kept it in a tight wrap with his tail.

Now, he had another sense. It grew stronger with every passing minute. Whatever it was, it was moving, and it was moving toward them. Now in his perch among the branches, he saw what it was. A large airship of some kind graced the sky. It wasn't G.U.N's, that he knew for sure. He could tell from the bulbous shape alone. That, and it didn't have the Federation's insignia. He couldn't see an existing insignia at all from this angle, but he grew confident he would recognize G.U.N's shuttles from any distance.

Cyzer broke his attention, asking if it was wise for them to hurry and find the emerald before it was too late. The suggestion spread anxiety to the other three, but Eclipse shook his head and comforted them from the idea. "We can use this. Whoever these people are, it seems they want to find the emerald too, but there's something on that ship." He looked back at the airship. It wasn't far from the ground now. "They may already have one. Let them begin their search. While they are distracted, we will invade them and take the power source already onboard. After that, we'll try to get away with the one they're kindly searching for us now."

The Dark Arms gave a little cheer and rushed to the bottom of the tree. Eclipse backed up and followed slowly behind them. Once near the ground, he dropped the last few feet and gestured for his companions to stay close. "Quiet now. We're going to sneak around the back."

They still hovered over the ground but crowded closer to the alien as he drew them away from the front of the ship. The bay was open now and several birds walked out. Most of them were already distracted by the devices they took with them. Once on the grass, they began to spread in different directions. By that point, Eclipse and his team were already watching the newcomers far away and closer to the side angle. The alien stayed low and crept closer to reach the back, every now and then pausing to make sure the coast was clear. No heads turned. No one stopped them.

Eclipse placed a hand on the hard metal that made up the ship. It's too smooth to climb. I'm going to have to fly up to the first deck. He looked back at the Dark Arms. Cyzer understood and allowed the alien to borrow his power. In a single bound and a flap of the wings on his arms, Eclipse soared over the large dome body until he came to flat ground. He let Cyzer free as soon as he hit the ground. They kept close to the walls, but that didn't stop a burst of wind from tossing the Dark Arms back a bit. Eclipse looked back to make sure they were still with him and to warn them to be careful.

They came upon long windows they crawled under the view of. Eclipse paused and, hearing nothing but the wind rose on his knees and peered into the window. There was nothing of importance, but would it be a good place to break in? He had to assume the ship had a high-security system. Breaking the window could set off the alarms. This room wouldn't have many places to hide, but they didn't need a lot of options. Just one would do, and some of the open panels going into the floor beside the machine lined with levers could be his answer. He couldn't see the inside of the opening very well, but it looked like it was the access to the many pipes within the ship.

Just as the Dark Arms rose enough to peer through, Eclipse ducked down and took them with him. There were still some birds in the ship and one just passed by the window unaware. Eclipse peered in one last time. The coast was clear. He bounced the Chaos Emerald free from his tail, allowing Cregal to swoop in and catch it. Follow my lead, he issued and, now with his tail free, he slung it into the window, shattering it in a million pieces. At once, the alarm began to sound and lights flashed inside the ship, but Eclipse and his gang wasted no time. The alien jumped into the room and ducked into the hole in the floor and the Dark Arms followed in behind him just in time before the responders rushed in.

Eclipse didn't wait for them to leave. He crawled along the pipes and followed the signal that drew him here in the first place. The alarm continued and rang much louder within the walls of the ship. In between the blasts, they could hear the timid yells and thuds of running soldiers. Soon, the place would be overrun, but Eclipse didn't worry, and neither did his Dark Arms. If there was a Chaos Emerald to be found here, they will find it, they will take it, and they will destroy anyone blocking their escape.

...

They were on the move once again, but it wasn't for the reason any member of Team Dark would have predicted. G.U.N sent out several teams already to probable locations with Chaos Emeralds. The location they headed, for now, was none other than a spot of land Doctor Robotnik seized to build his beloved Eggman Land. That would be weird enough, but they weren't the team sent here. Team Komodo requested their backup. Apparently, the destroyed amusement park wasn't abandoned.

"The attacker is identified as Thunderbolt the Chinchilla," Omega explained as the ruins of Eggman Land crested on the horizon. His jets roared as he kept up with the team's motorcycle, the Dark Rider. Despite the noise, the two riders heard him perfectly. "She is one of the so-called 'Egg Bosses' to the Doctor's Egg Army. Reports show the Freedom Fighters encountered her army on multiple occasions. Her prowess leads her to be considered dangerous."

"Hmph, maybe the Freedom Fighters see her as a threat, but not us," Shadow replied, turning his attention back to the road and speeding the bike up. "Let's make quick work of this."

Omega gave a thumbs-up with a metal joint. "I couldn't agree more."

Rouge rolled her eyes, but her smile betrayed the feigned annoyance. Finally, Shadow slowed to a stop outside the entrance of the park. At once, Rouge and Shadow hopped off the bike and hurried through the crumbling gate. Before they passed through, Rouge spotted a G.U.N. marked truck further to the side of the entrance as she took flight. They were in the right place.

Omega issued a final warning. "Doctor Eggman's base may be destroyed, but there are many hazards still in the area. Proceed with caution."

The cold stillness of broken towers and quiet wires suggested this place hasn't been operational in a while, but a thick pollution still lingered over the park. It soaked up the color of the midday sun and became a sickly orange. Bits and chunks of badniks lined the ground everywhere and scorch marks in random places suggested there was some kind of battle here. The team knew the park fell sometime around the final struggle against Dark Gaia, maybe even during, but what would have brought a battle right to Doctor Robotnik's door? The Freedom Fighters were an obvious first guess, but then why did none of them hear about a battle? In the end, it didn't matter. That was the Doctor's business, and if he faced problems among his own forces or against a new enemy, that was his problem to solve. Right now, Team Dark had more than enough of their own problems to solve, and their next one lay ahead.

In front of a dark and leaning Ferris wheel, Eggman's face taking up the center to show who it belonged to, the battle raged. Shadow caught sight of an armored human ducking under a fallen pillar. Her round eyes met his and she nodded at the team before peeking around the top and firing her gun at the attackers. A blow of lightning retaliated and Shadow saw the chinchilla and her army facing against the rest of Team Komodo. Unfortunately, guns were no match against lasers and lightning blasts. The chinchilla herself, a round and short creature, laughed hysterically with each fired laser from her side of the field.

Omega stopped and returned fire at the hovering badniks beside her. They burst into flames and fell at her feet. Thunderbolt's laughter turned into a long shriek. "Can a girl search for trinkets from her idol in peace?! Why does this happen to me every time I try to serve the great Lord Eggman?!" A bolt of light zapped right off her fur and toward Omega, but the robot was already moving. "None of you even had the decency to allow me to change into my suit! That makes me very upset!"

Team Dark broke in different directions as another flash blew up the ground where they were standing. Encouraged, Team Komodo pushed forward. Lasers began to fly at increasing speeds, but Thunderbolt's army was already shrinking. The mobian force aimed their guns at the sky for the bat soaring around them, and while they were distracted, they were open targets for Team Komodo and Omega's aim. As many lasers shot on the battlefield, one of her soldiers jumped out of range of incoming bullets. Team Komodo saw Thunderbolt as the biggest threat and targeted her whenever possible, which was becoming increasingly easy as her forces became distracted. That didn't seem to deter her, and guns were no match against lightning.

The human ducking from one place of cover to the next did not escape her attention. Steadily in the chaos, he was coming closer. He remained at the back of her priorities until he came in clear range of her. He aimed a rifle at her head, but she turned. The young man hesitated, knowing it was too late. He fired anyway, but the blast of lightning dissolved it long before it reached its target. If Shadow didn't move him out of the way in time, there would be nothing left of him.

"It'll be wise for you to retreat," Shadow warned after he released the stunned human. "You don't have a reason to be here any longer."

Thunderbolt answered with a yell and a bolt of lightning. Of course, it didn't come close to touching the dark hedgehog. "You don't get to tell me to leave. I'll go when I want to! Ugh, what's with all these hedgehogs who think they can just dodge all of my attacks?"

She tried her hardest to keep an eye on him, but he kept disappearing and reappearing in random spots. No matter her attempts at catching him in time or trying to predict where he would show up, he kept dodging. Not just dodging, he was coming closer. By the time she realized that he came up by her side and kicked her in the head. She fell hard on the ground and before she could react, he was upon her, tying her in rope. She yelled at him since she couldn't do much else.

"Now, don't think about struggling. We'll come back for you," Shadow wasn't sure if she understood or not as she ignored him, but he skated off for the remaining units still shooting on the field.

The chinchilla, no matter her chances at freedom, struggled anyway. Her round body had her rolling like a ball. The more she pulled the harder the rope tightened around her, but her groans and mumblings only grew as she tried harder and harder to break through. Zapping herself with electricity turned it a darker color, but it didn't break. Whatever this stuff was made of, it was top-grade.

Too focused on breaking free, Thunderbolt didn't notice how far from the field she rolled away until she bounced and slipped on a curved piece of sheet metal. Her surroundings spun in a dizzying vortex of the many colors in the ruined amusement park until she slammed into a crooked sign advertising a ride on an egg spinner attraction. Her tough fur absorbed the impact so she wasn't hurt, but she lay still, her eyes still dancing in circles. Once the ground finally stopped tilting, she went back to struggling and immediately realized her hands were loose.

Threads slowly unraveled and her hands were free. She tried for the rest. Now, she could use her hands to help pull as well, but while the bond may not be as tight as before, she still couldn't be free of it. In the middle of chewing the line around her chest, she looked up at the battlefield. It was a lot calmer over there. Her dear Eggman won't be happy about this... She had one last thing she could do.

With the push of a button, Battle Lord Kukku XV appeared in a hologram before her. "Kukku, I'm in need of reinforcements! Send them to the old Eggmanland at once, and hurry!"

She didn't stop to take in his scowl or the sounds of chaos in the background. "Can't you see I'm already busy?! I have problems of my own, and that's Lord Kukku to you." In the background, one of his soldiers flew by and tumbled on the ground. Sounds of alarms and yells grew. "Bother someone else!"

"You have units all over the skies! There has to be one in my location." She grunted and pulled on the rope again, making the hologram bounce up and down. "Get over here and help me NOW!"

He was fixing to yell at her again before someone behind him interrupted. "Sir, the ship is taking massive damage!" With Kukku's head away from the screen, Thunderbolt could see he was in the middle of a battle of his own. An alien surrounded by four small followers stood their ground, fighting and clawing the responding crew of the ship with a wide grin on his face. Battle Lord Kukku XV turned back to the screen. "You're on your own."

"Wait! You can't just leave me like this!" Thunderbolt screamed after him as the screen shook on his side and she briefly saw the alien coming after him as the call ended. She pouted and was about to call the next ally on her mind, but her time ran out.

A hand jostled her and lifted her a few inches off the ground. The dark hedgehog was a lot angrier than she's seen him that day. She thought he was frowning before, but the lines from his furrowed eyebrows could not be more intense. And those eyes! That red stare could have killed her on the spot. Thunderbolt's ears flattened and she gave him a nervous smile. That did nothing to temper Shadow's rage. "That was Eclipse! Where was that?!" He yelled in her face. Thunderbolt continued to shrink under him and hesitated too long. He shook her and yelled louder. "Tell me!"

Thunderbolt only had a second to respond. Even though the shoving took the breath out of her lungs, she choked out a pitiful answer. "I-I don't know! I swear!"

She braced herself for an attack, but with a firm grip still on her clothes, he dragged her back toward the Ferris wheel where the fighting took place. Well, it wasn't a battlefield anymore. G.U.N. had her soldiers in more secure bonds. Some of the humans were more worn out than the others, but they didn't compare to Thunderbolt's team. Uniforms were ripped and covered in dirt. Most of them stared at the ground as G.U.N. escorted them to the truck the original team arrived in. Some of the others swayed and would have fallen if Team Komodo didn't keep them on their feet. Shadow kept dragging her until he handed her off to the captain without looking back. "Keep her close. We're tracing that most recent call as soon as we're able."

The man stared after him in building confusion but brushed it off and began checking her for weapons. At once, she began to holler and struggle in protest. The captain kept a tight hold on her and maintained his calm demeanor. Her protesting grew frantic as he checked her pockets and withdrew a Chaos Emerald shining a brilliant cyan. "Hey! I found that first. It's mine! You can't take that, you thief!" Finally, her fit caught someone's attention, but it didn't help her.

Rouge paused in her tracks and greeted the captain. He didn't move to stop her as she plucked the gem from his hand. "My, my, aren't you beautiful!" The bat took a second to gaze into the vibrant color and perfect edges before she looked over at the chinchilla who scowled at her as much as her face would allow. "It's a good thing your team got here when they did, Captain Vargas. Now we have a better chance against another world domination effort. Do you have enough room to drive all of them back, or do you have to wait for a prisoner transport?"

He started with a short laugh at her remark. "The truck's pretty big. We should manage just fine. They're not much of a risk of them breaking out, and we need to keep an eye on this one anyway. These Egg Bosses gave us enough trouble in the past. I don't want to risk it."

"Lord Eggman will come back for me! You wait and see!" Thunderbolt shouted. Captain Vargas winced and began to walk her toward the end of the park. They're going to have to muffle her or endure the headaches all the way back to headquarters.

Rouge gave the chinchilla woman a final wave. "Thanks for finding this for us, sweetheart!" Now with almost all of the Eggboss's team out of the park, she scanned the quiet park. Without all the chaos and lasers, her keen ears could pick up the unsettling creaking metal all around them. The structures whispered warnings of their constraints against the wind, weak foundations, and time. Even without a raging battle, these buildings could collapse at any moment. She sighed, tossed the emerald, and caught it again. The unsettling air creeping up her back made her thankful they didn't have to search the park for the emerald. She bet Shadow would be thankful too, but more likely not. Still, maybe if she shared the news with him, it might cheer him up a little bit.

She spotted Omega closer to the gate, but not Shadow. He must already be outside. She picked up her wings and hovered for the exit, leaving the park as desolate as before. When she came around the other side of the wall, she saw the prisoners loading into the back of the truck. Omega assisted, probably threatening them while he was at it.

Finally, she located Shadow standing beside the Dark Rider. One hand leaned against the front of the bike and the other one held by his ear. She guessed he was talking to someone back at headquarters. She crept up behind him and waited for him to turn around, the gem held up by her side. "Hey there, handsome. Look at what we found in the chinchilla's possession."

He barely gave it a look. "Good. Tell Omega it's time to get a move on. We have to get back to headquarters."

"Now hold on. Don't you realize what this means? As long as we have one, Eclipse can't have the full set." She set her hands on her hips. He paused in his action of mounting the bike, though he kept his hand on the handlebar.

"I know that," Shadow argued, a bit of a growl rising in his voice. "But this is only the beginning. Thunderbolt contacted the Battle Bird Armada when I came back for her. He's there. I saw him fighting the crew." He paused to look over at Omega coming to join the party, each step leaving a heavy clunk sound in the ground. Further away, the back of the G.U.N. truck slammed close and the engines came to life. When Shadow looked back, he saw Rouge staring at him like a statue. He stepped up and slung his leg around the seat. "Dispatch said they're able to trace the call, but they can't access the secured network. We need Thunderbolt's device to work our way in," he finished and tipped his head back, gesturing for her to climb on.

Rouge finally found her voice. "If he's fighting against one of those ships, he'll be long gone by the time we get to wherever he was."

Shadow frowned, his patience falling. "It gives us a lead to follow. Commander Tower has other teams looking for the Chaos Emeralds. It's our mission to track down Eclipse."

She raised an eyebrow at him but wasn't willing to test his temper any longer. She took her seat behind him and the bike kicked on and awaited Shadow to shift the gears. Omega took a few steps forward. "Finding the Chaos Emerald greatly increases our chance of success in destroying the alien."

At least someone was excited about their discovery that day, Rouge thought as the bike began rolling some distance away behind the G.U.N. truck. Omega followed close behind his teammates. Their usual silence seemed more uncomfortable than Rouge remembered. No matter what they may find on Thunderbolt's device, she was sure they had a long day ahead of them.

...

"The Chaos Emerald will be stored in a vault immediately and the prisoners sent to a secured facility. Well done to Team Dark and Team Komodo," Commander Tower praised as officials loaded Thunderbolt and her group onto a prison van. "The fight for the world's safety continues, but we won a battle today and every small victory counts."

Rouge leaned against the side of the G.U.N. truck and smiled as the commander's pep talk excited Omega who responded with a fist pump. Eggman may still have plenty of bosses around the world, but this was one less they had to worry about, and that did bring satisfaction, especially after seeing the guilty and defeated expressions of Tunderbolt's group as they were led from the truck and into the prison van.

"Fantastic work, team!" Joined a smiling Dr. Snively as he came to stand before the bat. "The emerald helps us against the alien and Thunderbolt's arrest will surely weaken Doctor Robotnik's influence on the world! Now that's multitasking." He finished with a point at the two agents and then dropped his arms to his side. "So we have one emerald secured. How many have been found so far then?"

Rouge received his question still leaning against the truck. "Eclipse claimed the one we found in Frog Forest. That's all I can say right now."

The response had Snively scratching his chin and looking up at the wide, clear sky. "That leaves out so many then... No matter. It's just one alien against all of us, and I know if Team Dark can't take him down, then none of us..." He glanced around the lot after addressing only two in the team. "Where's Shadow?"

"Oh, you know him. Already working on another lead."

"Ah, well, don't let me get in your way then." He stepped to the side and dropped in a quick bow. "With Team Dark on the case, we'll have the emeralds and the alien in our grasp in no time! Good luck!"

Without waiting for a response, he turned and headed back for his lab. Rouge could only shrug when Omega turned to regard her. After that, they followed the doctor's lead, looking to rejoin their comrade. The little man's excessive grin remained on her mind. He always seemed off and she couldn't help but think he was up to something. She wasn't the first one to think that, especially not after what happened on Angel Island. The man was power-hungry. Shadow may have agreed with his idea of taking the Master Emerald into their possession at the time, but she knew of all the distractions scrambling his mind. What was Doctor Snively's excuse? Vault or no vault, she didn't trust him around the emeralds. He's worked with Robotnik before. Surely he could come up with a plan of breaking in. Even with C.L.I.P. watching, she may have to keep her eye on him...

Shadow was right where she knew he'd be, in the massive computer lab, waiting as a human agent attempted in hacking into Thunderbolt's communication device. Rouge didn't know what device the chinchilla used, but she didn't think it would be as small as a pin. It looked so unimportant attached to the cable going to the agent's computer. She stopped next to Shadow's side and raised a finger. "Do you think you should be plugging Eggman tech into a computer like that?"

The older woman didn't look away from the screen. "It's fine. I have a firewall surrounding it. Doesn't make it easier to look into though..." She finished her thought in a whisper as it was more to herself than anyone. Lines of code appeared on her screen and she paused, reading each line as if it was in simple English.

Rouge sighed and rested her hand on her hip. "Looks complicated. If it's gonna take a while, I think I'll like a coffee. You in?" She finished with a look at the ever-brooding Shadow.

Red eyes flashed in her direction for only a moment, but otherwise, he didn't even bother uncrossing his arms. "Not now."

"Party pooper," the bat returned and turned around. "See you later then. Have fun, boys!"

Omega turned his head to see her leave but remained as still as a statue. Rouge came close enough to the door for it to open for her, but then a sing-song chime stopped her in her tracks. She looked back over her shoulder and saw a map of Mobius pulling up on the big screen high up the wall. Rouge returned to the party. The agent sitting in front of the monitor adjusted her glasses and returned to tapping the keyboard. "Now all I have to do is open the call history..."

After opening and closing a few menus on her screen, Shadow turned his attention to the one on the wall. After a few more seconds of the still image and the agent typing away at the computer, the map finally responded. With rhythmic clicking, a circle narrowed on the terrain, growing smaller and smaller as it came closer to the destination. "This is the location of the last call made," the woman explained as she rolled her chair back to see the map better. Finally, the circle cemented its spot with a final tune.

"Outside Soleanna?" Rouge asked aloud. "What was that bird brain doing there?"

"...We need to investigate that area right away," Shadow concluded and faced his teammates. "Prepare to leave. Team Dark has its next task."

Meanwhile, many miles away, Eclipse balanced a Chaos Emerald in either hand, and the one he had before was back in his tail. As he walked along with the Dark Arms away from the burning and broken battleship, he pondered how long those birds will be stuck in the city without transport. The thought put a smug smile on his face.