Happy Easter folks!

I hope you'll enjoy it!


Entry 43

Team Dark

''With Rouge in the fight - electric lives, change surroundings, a jewel in history. A treasure disappears – as she goes. Miss her as you look away – and no one knows. This power is a key- This power changes me!''

This Machine by Sonic Heores (Team Dark Theme Song)

xXxXxXx

''…while you have done an excellent job infiltrating Dr. Eggman's base and copying critical information for our investigation-'' The Commander was looking at the USB stick, his eyes narrowing as he gazed at the three Agents standing before him. ''I still don't understand what what it the world had possessed any of you to bring back one of his robots.''

Shadow, Rouge and Touka exchanged glances, with Shadow managing to maintain a fairly neutral expression, while Rouge and Touka had sly smiles on their lips. As for Omega, he was standing next to them and, for the lack of better words, vibing. He was content with the fact that he was finally outside the Egg Base and, after learning about Team Dark's current situation, completely fine with waiting for the right opportunity to get into action guns blazing, literally.

''Well, first of all, his name is E-123 Omega, or just Omega for short, and second, he hates Dr. Eggman, so we had figured that he might as well become a member of our team,'' Touka explained.

''Agent Sakamoto, who gave you the authority to decide who is allowed to join your team?'' Commander Williams asked in an irked tone. Touka frowned, keeping quiet as she fumed over being called a name she hated. ''Well?''

''Nobody, sir,'' Touka muttered. Rouge suddenly held up her hand, as if being a student in a classroom and trying to get the teacher's attention. Commander Williams looked at her, nodding in acknowledgement.

''If I may say something in regards to this situation…'' Rouge started, smirking as she placed a hand on her hip. ''Wouldn't it be easier for Omega to actually stay in our team? After all, we have experience with him and in the case that something goes wrong, we would take full responsibility for whatever happens. We can take the risk, especially considering how this team has one of your most powerful Agents.''

Shadow felt the Commander's eyes boring into his skull, clearly waiting for a response from him. He just nodded to show that he agreed with Rouge. The Commander's eyes narrowed as he stared at the four, and while he was not on board with this idea, he had to admit that having a robot made by Dr. Eggman work for ARMS was actually quite tempting.

''Even if you are willing to accept the risk of this Eggman robot turning against us-''

''This unit's name is Omega and I will not tolerate any slander. I am here to kill, maim and destroy Eggman, and not necessarily in that order,'' Omega said, suddenly pointing out his cannon arms at the Commander, whose eyes widened in shock, with fear gripping him at the sudden realization that the robot in question could easily end his life then and there. ''If you doubt my conviction, give me an appropriate target and I will show you. Any Badnik will be fine for target practice.''

''Calm down, big fella,'' Rouge suddenly said in a casual tone, knocking on Omega's arm to get him to lower his cannons. ''The Commander isn't the most trusting person, you know.''

''I believe that this should be enough evidence for you to understand that the only enemy Omega seeks out is the Doctor… and everyone who stands in his path of revenge,'' Shadow added in an ominous tone, glaring at the Commander.

Commander Williams took a deep breath, trying to collect himself before responding, ''Fine. The robot can stay as a member of your team. However, I want him to be examined by our technicians first.'' Touka and Rouge exchanged grins, with even Shadow sporting a small smirk, while Omega was satisfied that the Commander took him seriously. ''Agent Rouge and… Agent Omega, I suppose. You are free to leave, but Agent Shadow and Agent Sakamoto are staying. There is something I need to discuss with you two.''

Rouge and Omega glanced at Shadow and Touka, who were not happy to hear that they would have to endure another conversation with the Commander, and left, hoping for the best. Wishing that they could just join their teammates, Shadow and Touka turned their attention back to the Commander, who was staring at them intently.

''While you were away on your mission, I had an in-depth conversation with Dr. Manilla about the results of your exams. She claims that, during the BioEnergy Absorption Test, something strange had happened, resulting in not only an immense power spike that damaged the computers, but according to the data she had managed to salvage, resulted in both of you having the same energy signature. I would like an explanation for this phenomenon,'' Commander Williams said, his eyes narrowing as he gazed at the two. Touka and Shadow sighed internally, well aware that they would have this conversation eventually. Fortunately, they also knew what to tell the Commander, because they sure as hell weren't going to tell him the truth.

''Honestly,… I don't know what had happened there either, sir. I mean, I believe this may have happened before, back when we were at the Codex Research Facility…'' Touka started, knowing full well that this was something the Commander had no way of verifying. ''Although, I have issues recalling any of it. It might have to do something with the amnesia I was suffering from.''

The Commander sighed. ''That is an unfortunate consequence of Sakamoto's experiments on your memories, and I also assume that this happened before he could document them. Nevertheless, I would like to know how you have managed to recreate this power.''

''We don't really know,'' Touka replied, noting the irritated look Commander Williams gave her.

''I suppose it was on pure instinct,'' Shadow added in a calm tone, drawing the Commander's attention. ''Touka and I do have a strong bond, so this power might be a manifestation of that.''

Touka's eyes shifted towards Shadow, and she had to admit that he wasn't wrong. Chaos Surge depended on the bond and trust between them, as she was the one willingly putting her own life in Shadow's hands and leaving him to decide what his next move would be.

Commander Williams hummed in interest. ''I see. I suppose this might have something to do with your unique nature, as I haven't gotten a report about any other Irregular being capable of doing that.'' He gave them a stern look. ''From now on, you will train to hone this power. It will be useful in your future missions.''

''Yes, sir…'' Touka and Shadow muttered in unison. They felt a sense of relief once the Commander dismissed them and when they exited the office, they suddenly found Rouge and Omega standing in front of it, clearly trying to eavesdrop.

''What happened?'' Rouge asked.

''We'll tell you once we get somewhere private,'' Touka replied in a hushed tone, with the group quickly leaving the hallway. Once they were far away enough and they made sure no one was around, she turned towards them. ''The Commander knows about Chaos Surge, but believes that only Shadow and I can use it. No one else.''

''That's a relief,'' Rouge said. She knew that, if anyone at ARMS knew about the rest of Team Neos being able to use Chaos Surge, they too would be forcefully drafted into the organization or worse.

''He doesn't know the full extent of our abilities, so he wants us to train to sharpen our skills,'' Shadow added, his eyes narrowing.

''If you need a sparring partner, I am available,'' Omega offered. Shadow shook his head.

''I don't think-'' He was about to respond when Touka suddenly interrupted him.

''I think we should do as the Commander says,'' Touka said, much to everyone's surprise. Shadow cast her a questioning look.

''Why?'' he asked. Touka sighed.

''Let's be honest here, I am the weakest in this team, and my only contribution is my BioEnergy, while you're the one who fights and protects me,'' she stated.

''Touka, that's not-'' Shadow, bit stunned by this comment, tried to protest, but Touka shook her head, silencing him once again.

''No, that's my purpose. I heard it from Sakamoto, I heard it from Williams, and I heard it from Manilla. I'm supposed to be a literal Living Battery, as everyone put it, for you to use whenever you need a power-up,'' Touka said in a firm tone, only to smirk smugly. ''However, they don't know the full extent of what Chaos Surge can do, and I believe that neither of us know that either, let alone the rest of Team Neos. I want to take advantage of our time here and try to see how far I can push myself with Chaos Surge and learn whether I can go beyond the established limits.''

''I see.'' Shadow had to admit that, while he didn't want to put Touka into any dangerous situation, he was interested to see whether it was possible to bypass the current power and skill level they had with this ability. ''From what I know, using Chaos Surge properly does require some experience, else both users will become quite exhausted quickly. So long as you don't strain yourself too much, I suppose that we could try this.''

''Right!'' Touka fist-pumped, looking genuinely excited for their training. She then turned to Omega. ''You're free to join us, Omega.''

''I will accomodate you with the appropriate firepower,'' Omega said in approval.

''I assume that's code for 'I'm going to blow something up','' Rouge said in a deadpan tone.

''Correct. However, the probability of blowing up the room we'll be training in depends on its sturdiness,'' Omega explained. Touka giggled as she heard the response.

''Honestly, the way I feel now, I'd also want to blow something up,'' Touka admitted.

''I approve of you,'' Omega told her, sounding quite happy. Meanwhile Rouge sighed, pressing the palm of her hand against her forehead.

''Omega, you can't just go and blow up the training room. We're supposed to stay out of trouble,'' she said, glancing at Shadow for a helpful comment. The ebony hedgehog furrowed a brow.

''Considering we'll be working with Chaos Spear and Chaos Blast, there is no doubt we'll be putting a few holes in the wall,'' he said.

''Seriously?! I thought you'd be the one with some sense of reason here, Shadow,'' Rouge said, completely exasperated, while Shadow just gave her a smug smirk. He knew well that they weren't in a situation where they could afford to relax, but he wanted to blow off some steam. Rouge, realizing that she wasn't going to get anywhere, shook her head. ''In any case, we'll be stuck here until the your teammates get the necessary data, so we might as well find something to occupy us.''

''Is there anything you plan on doing, Rouge?'' Touka asked.

''I still need to do something about this,'' Rouge pointed at the golden ring around her neck. ''Although, I might also just get some rest. You?''

''I require maintenance,'' Omega said.

''I suppose I could accompany you to the technician,'' Touka said. ''I wanted to pick up some tools to work on the hoverboard I got.''

''Why?'' Rouge asked curiously.

''Because the hoverboard I got is really off balance. Usually, when one buys a hoverboard, it typically gets adjusted to the rider, mainly their weight and height to keep it stable. The one I got was pretty generic and I have to keep my center low to make sure it's balanced. Not to mention the fact that it's way slower than what I'm used to,'' Touka suddenly started to rant, letting out a moan of dissatisfaction. ''I miss my custom hoverboard! I worked on that for months, paint job included!''

''Too bad you couldn't bring your hoverboard along,'' Shadow said, taking note of Rouge's questioning look. ''I don't have anything on mind, but I suppose exploring more of this facility might be useful for our plan.''

''Right…'' Rouge inhaled sharply, taking note of the fact that they entered a more crowded area, and lowering her tone. ''We'll meet up again at your room. Hopefully, we'll get some good news from the other side.''

xXx

''Ho ho, finally! I've been wondering when they would start to analyze the data,'' Dr. Eggman said, grinning as he opened the file, which was supposed to be slowly filling up with stolen data from ARMS systems. However, just as he was about get into it, he was met with a different screen. ''A password?! What the hell?! I didn't put this there!'' He slammed his fist against the table, only for his eyes to narrow when he realized what happened. ''Prower and Taylor… of course, they would be the only ones capable of doing this.'' He huffed indignantly. ''Fine, I can also play this game!''

xXx

Sonic took a deep breath, exhaling as he was lying on the soft grass in Eden, staring at the blue sky above him. He had been wondering how Shadow was doing, wishing that he could've joined him and the rest of the group, but for obvious reasons, he was pretty much trapped here. He hated this waiting game, even though he knew that this was the only thing he could do.

''You don't have any news from Shadow and Touka, right?''

Sonic looked up as Silver walked up to him, holding a can with water he was using to water the nearby rose bushes. Sonic shook his head. ''I wish I did, though, but I can't even call Shadow now, since ARMS might be spying on him. I have to wait for him to call me. It's really frustrating.''

''I'm sure that they will be fine. We know that Shadow is quite capable of holding his own,'' Silver said in an assuring tone. Sonic sat up, crossing his legs.

''Yeah, you're right. Still, I wouldn't mind joining him,'' he replied. Suddenly, there was a flash on his AR Visor, with Sonic realizing that it was an incoming call from Lucas. The same happened to Silver's AR Visor, but the grey hedgehog joined Sonic as he answered the call.

''We have some good news!'' Lucas said, being on the same screen with Tails and Warren. ''Touka, Shadow and Rouge have completed their mission and we got access to the ARMS file.''

''That's geat!'' Amy said excitedly, clasping her hands, with the rest of the team also murmuring happily.

''Yeah, but we kinda ran into an issue. The file is locked under four passwords and we need to figure out what the hints mean to access the file,'' Warren said.

''Then, don't let us wait,'' Lily said. ''What's the first hint?''

''It says 'My full name','' Tails said, looking at his teammates. ''Any clue what that means?''

''Maybe it's referring to the person who wrote down the hints? How many tries do we get?'' Minami suggested.

''Only two before the file gets locked,'' Warren replied. ''Tails and I didn't want Eggman to access anything.''

''So, whose name should we write?'' Tails asked.

''Let's go with Touka Kageura. If it doesn't work, we'll have to choose between, ah-'' Warren said, a smile forming on his lips as he realized that this was the correct choice. ''Three more to go. Next one says 'What did I take from you, Guardian?' I think this one was set up by Rouge specifically for you to decipher, Knuckles.''

Knuckles' eyes narrowed as he thought about it for a moment. ''It was a red jewel.''

''Are you sure, Knux?'' Sonic asked. Knuckles nodded.

''I'm confident that she was referring to what happened at our first meeting,'' he said. Tails typed in the password, only to smile when he got to the next one. ''Okay, so this one is a bit weird. It says 'Sonic Heroes Team'.''

''That's a reference to the Sonic Heroes video game, which features four teams of three as playable characters,'' Minami said. ''Team Sonic, Team Rose, Team Dark and Team Chaotix.''

''So, which one should we go with? Team Sonic?'' Silver asked. Lucas shook his head.

''No, I think the answer is Team Dark, since Shadow and Rouge are part of that team. Not to mention, Dr. Eggman did mention that this Egg Base contains the E-100 Series of robots, and if my gut feeling is correct, they might run into E-123 Omega there,'' he explained.

''Is that a good thing or a bad thing?'' Amy asked.

''Well, in the video games, Omega wants to get revenge on Eggman, and if this version is the same, then this is a really good thing,'' Minami explained.

''Okay, last hint,'' Warren announced, raising an eyebrow. '''What is our relationship, Hedgehog?' That has to be set up by Shadow for…''

''It is rival, teammate, friend… In that order,'' Sonic suddenly said. He couldn't help but grin as he recalled his conversation with Shadow. ''We kinda had a conversation... I can't believe he would use that as a password.''

''It worked! All right, we'll sift through the data here, but it will take a while. Wish us luck!'' Tails said. The holographic screen soon closed, with Sonic and Silver exchanging cheerful glances. It seemed that things were finally working in their favour.

xXx

Shadow narrowed his eyes as he walked past a few Irregulars, taking note of their human partners who kept a careful eye on them and glanced suspiciously at Shadow. Unlike the Irregulars, who needed direction from someone due to their current condition, Shadow didn't need any supervision, and he knew that this was why the human agents were giving him a side-eye. They knew that, unlike the other Irregulars, he had all of his mental and emotional senses, and that made him dangerous. He may not have been as aggressive as a typical Irregular, but that meant nothing to the other agents. He wasn't going to make any friends in this facility, and he didn't care. After all, he wanted to leave as soon as possible and it's not like he could interact with any of the Irregulars, even if he tried to.

Shadow took note of just how submissive the Irregulars were, even taking orders from regular ARNavs. Unlike the regular ARNavs, who were treated like employees, the Irregulars were treated like tools, or rather, like weapons. As he walked past a room, Shadow took note of an ARNav and a human agent shouting at an Irregular for something, albeit he didn't know what the topic was. He could only watch the Irregular as she was staring ahead with an indifferent look on her expression, as if not hearing them. Perhaps, she really couldn't hear them… or she just didn't care. It was hard to tell.

''Hey, what are you doing here?'' Suddenly, the ARNav and human agent turned towards Shadow, whose expression remained impassive.

''I was merely passing by. Is there any problem?'' he asked.

''No. This is none of your business.'' The human agent then slammed the door in front of him. Shadow could hear muffled voices behind the door, but continued to walk. The image of the Irregulars in Team Neos suddenly popped into his mind, and he was left wondering what would've happened if ARMS had taken them as well. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Silver… A chill flowed down his spine as a dark thought entered his mind, a possibility where his teammates had also been kidnapped and treated the same as the other Irregulars in this facility, being stripped of any sense of self. His gloved hand clenched into a fist, and he could feel anger bubbling inside him, mixed with pure disgust. He may have kept a distance from his teammates, but there was no way he would ever let something like that happen. Not to the people he cared about.

Shadow rubbed his temple, trying to push that thought away. After all, this was a scenario that didn't happen, and will never happen. Instead, he focused on investigating more of the building, trying to remember where the exits were, as they would need to know that in the case of an emergency. Afterwards, he would be meeting up with Touka and Omega for a training session. He figured that letting loose through a proper battle wouldn't be a bad thing, only to remind himself that he wasn't someone who would do reckless things. As a matter of fact, he was quite proud of his ability to keep his own emotions in check, but he couldn't deny that there were times where he got overwhelmed by his own negative emotions and became a danger to himself and everyone around him.

I had changed since then, didn't I… The world I live in remains the same, though. Touka and I had our lives constantly controlled by people like Sakamoto and the Commander, and even if we escape them, there will be more like them. That's why I wanted to end things…

Shadow suddenly realized that he arrived at the garage section of the facility, where the vehicles ARMS agents were using were parked. He knew that this was another way to escape the building, and one could easily hide between the cars and vans. He also spotted the mechanic, an older man, working on one of the cars, and wiping the sweat off his forehead as he picked another tool. Shadow figured that this was a place he shouldn't be at, but he still wanted to explore a little since he had some free time left. He stopped at a section where there was a row of motorcycles parked, taking interest in them.

Admittedly, he always had an interest in motorcycles, ever since he read a book about them back when he was still living at the Codex Research Facility, and always imagined himself driving one. However, he knew that that would never happen, since there was no way that he would ever gain access to one, so he never mentioned anything about it, not even to Touka, although he had figured that she probably already knew that. Nevertheless, it didn't hurt taking a look at them.

''I'm afraid that those are a bit too big for you to drive.'' Shadow's quills bristled and he turned towards the mechanic, who took note of his interest. He shrugged, not too bothered that the hedgehog wasn't happy about his intrusion. ''Most, if not all ARNavs here aren't interested in driving any kind of vehicle, let alone a motorcycle. Do you even know what kind of motorcycles those are?''

''They look to me like street motorcycles, designed for urban riding, commuting and short-term travel. They can range from 125cc to 1800cc, if not more, and they typically have minimalist fairings, and lack luggage options or protection. They are mainly generic bikes that are easy to master and are recommended to be used by beginners,'' Shadow rattled off all of the information he knew about this kind of motorcycle. The mechanic whistled in awe.

''Huh, where did you even learn all of that?'' he asked.

''I read it in a book,'' Shadow responded in a curt tone, although he had to admit that he was proud to show off his knowledge in that field.

''Do you think you'd know how to drive one?'' the mechanic asked.

''Yes, I would,'' Shadow replied confidently.

xXx

Rouge took a deep breath, having tried to find the keycard that would grant her freedom, but the room she was sure she would find it in was filled with other agents, and she knew that, despite being the greatest spy in the world, she couldn't get past all of them without raising any suspicion. So, instead, she decided to go to the training room, just to see how much of a mess Shadow, Omega and Touka had created.

What she found was Touka dodging a missile from Omega, throwing a Chaos Spear towards the robot, only for Omega to dodge it, leaving a scorch mark on the wall behind the reformed Badnik. Rouge's jaw dropped slightly when she saw that there were a bunch of scorch marks on the thick walls in the room, turning to Shadow with a questioning look. ''Don't tell me that this had all been caused by Touka.''

''Omega and I had a sparring match after he came back from his maintenance, so most of the damage is from that,'' Shadow explained. He observed as Touka suddenly warped away, dodging another attack from Omega. The robot was quite restless, if not excited to be fighting against two opponents in a row, while Touka felt her energy slowly being drained. She had been keeping up the Chaos Surge for a while now, falling on one knee and breathing heavily as the exhaustion caught up to her.

''That's enough,'' Shadow said in a firm tone, stepping in between them. He turned to Touka. ''You've lasted much longer than usual, but I'm not going to let you push yourself too far.''

''I had figured I'd be able to keep up just a bit longer,'' Touka said.

''Your skills are above average for a weak human,'' Omega said. Touka nodded in acknowledgement, with Rouge approaching them.

''I hope you guys know what you're doing,'' she told them, examining the damage they had caused.

''If this were about some kind of gem, I'm certain that you wouldn't care if we get into trouble or how much damage we cause,'' Shadow pointed out. Rouge rolled her eyes.

''That… wouldn't be completely untrue,'' she said, placing her hands on her hips. Shadow exchanged glances with Touka and Omega, who were also slightly amused that she acknowledged that she wasn't above causing trouble. It was certainly nice to be able to find some common ground.

xXx

Shadow glanced towards Touka's bed, knowing well that she was quite exhausted from using up most of her BioEnergy and hoping that she was already fast asleep. Still, he laid awake for a few more hours to be sure, since he didn't want her to eavesdrop this conversation. After all, they had already discussed matters earlier with the rest of Team Neos, introducing Omega and telling them about the Commander knowing about Chaos Surge. Lucas, in turn, told them how he, Warren and Tails got an angry call from Dr. Eggman, who chewed them out for their stunt with the passwords, but they didn't care much. They assured Team Dark that they would sort out the data as soon as possible and cut the call. Still, Shadow had one more call to make, as per his promise.

''Shadow!''

''Keep quiet, Hedgehog!'' Shadow hissed at Sonic, peeking under the blanket to make sure that Touka was still asleep before returning back to the call. Sonic gave him a sheepish smile.

''Sorry, Shads. I'm just happy, and surprised, that you decided to call me back,'' he said in a hushed tone.

''I had a promise to keep. However, I don't have much to tell you about our raid on the Egg Base,'' Shadow replied. ''Omega destroyed all of the Badniks inside, and while we had a brief fight, Rouge quickly ended it.''

''That's fine. At least you have something to talk about, while I don't,'' Sonic replied. ''Nothing has happened today, and I feel really bored.''

''You could just leave and go somewhere to have an adventure if you feel like that,'' Shadow suggested. Sonic shook his head.

''And miss any upcoming action? No way. This is just a lull before the storm,'' he said, his emerald eyes sparking with excitement. Shadow furrowed a brow, sighing.

''I suppose that this is an answer I should've expected,'' he muttered under his breath, pausing for a moment. Sonic still had that stupid grin on his expression, and Shadow decided that it was time to wipe it off his expression. ''So, what was that about missing me?''

Suddenly, Sonic got really flustered. ''Uh… I- It's nothing! It was just a slip of the tongue.''

''Was it?'' Shadow had to admit that seeing Sonic losing that cocky attitude was quite amusing. It truly felt like another of their challenges, except this one required some proper thinking and wording to leave the other a complete mess.

''Y-Yeah!'' Sonic had no clue why he got suddenly so flustered, but he didn't like the look Shadow gave him. It felt as if the dark hedgehog was reading his mind, clearly not believing any of his excuses, and Sonic hated that he got rattled so easily. Admittedly, he was also fascinated by Shadow's ability in being able to match him not only in a battle, but also in their conversations. Any quip Sonic would make would immediately be countered by a remark from Shadow, whether it was the blunt truth or an actual quip, and Sonic loved how these kinds of conversations managed to keep him on his toes. He was also certain that, despite Shadow's aloof attitude, his rival was also enjoying these kinds of conversations and he wanted to keep them going as long as possible. Sonic then smirked, realizing what the perfect response to Shadow's question would be. ''Why are you even asking? Wait, do you miss me?''

Much to Sonic's amusement, Shadow huffed in response, clearly trying not to show that he was also slightly flustered by this question and deciding to not dignify it with an answer. Sonic, on the other hand, knew that he won this one and decided to add another layer to this conversation. ''Aww, you do miss me! I feel so honored.''

''Why would I miss someone as irritating as you?'' Shadow replied in an irked tone.

''If you actually thought of me as irritating, you would've ended this call a long time ago. But, you didn't, which means that you like to talk to me,'' Sonic teased him. Frankly, he really liked getting this kind of reactions from Shadow.

''I could end the call right now,'' Shadow threatened. Sonic's ears folded for a moment, showing that he clearly didn't want to end this yet, only for them to perk up again.

''You could… but you won't,'' he said, issuing another challenge. Sure, this one came with a risk that Shadow would actually make good on his threat, but this was just too tempting and Sonic wasn't someone who would shy away from taking any kind of risks, especially if it made him feel this excited. Surprisingly, Shadow kept the call going.

''Keep telling yourself that,'' he said. ''After all, you need me to keep yourself entertained.''

Sonic opened his mouth, only to close it again, feeling as if he was just kicked in the gut. What Shadow just said was indeed true, even if Sonic didn't want to admit it, but instead of getting riled up, he decided to take it in stride and counter attack with a remark of his own. ''Fine, I'll admit that that's true, but only because you won't admit that you also need me.''

''What are you talking about?'' Shadow responded, his eyes narrowing. He didn't like the smug grin Sonic was giving him.

''Don't tell me that you also didn't get bored without me around to keep you company,'' Sonic teased him. Shadow just rolled his eyes, but then the same dark thought from before entered his mind. He fell silent, and Sonic's smile faded as he realized that his rival got serious.

''It would be better for you not to be here,'' Shadow said.

''What's wrong?'' Sonic asked, now a hint of concern in his voice.

''ARMS knows that you and the rest of the team are Irregulars, and if they learn that you are also capable of Chaos Surge, they would turn all of you into their weapons,'' Shadow told him in a grim tone. He wasn't too surprised when Sonic gave him a confident look.

''Don't worry, I'm sure that we could handle that,'' he said. Shadow shook his head.

''Not if they attempt to destroy your sense of self. Rouge and I may be exceptions, but there is no way of predicting of what they might do to you,'' he explained.

''I understand. I'm not going to be reckless unless the situation calls for it,'' Sonic said, with Shadow being genuinely surprised by his mature response. To see and hear him take things seriously for once did leave a warm feeling in his chest.

''Let's just hope that things will turn out right in the end,'' Shadow said.

''I'm sure they will, Shads,'' Sonic replied, smiling confidently and giving him a thumbs up. ''Just hold on a little longer.''

Shadow nodded in response, and he couldn't help but smile a little at the assurance he got.

xXx

''Commander Loki, we need back-up! We-''

It was late in the night when Unit Alpha, led by Loki, was heading towards a section at Souto, having gotten a call from Unit Delta about an Irregular attack. They sounded like they were in a lot of trouble, and Loki didn't want to waste any time. However, he and his Unit were met with a grisly scene once they arrived at the battlefield. Unit Delta was completely massacred, with only one member remaining somewhat alive, albeit impaled on a crystal. Everyone else were just frames of distorted data, slowly dissolving into nothingness.

''Wh-What happened?!'' Loki was in shock, realizing that there was no way of salvaging the situation. The Irregular Hunters of Unit Delta were dead, and one was barely clinging to his life. He quickly ran over to the survivor, but he was already dissipating. ''Who did this?!''

''I-I don't-'' The Hunter cried out in pain, every movement he made sending a wave of agony through his body. Loki put his hands on the crystal, wanting to remove him, but hissed in pain as his hands got burned. It was clear that there was nothing that he could do. ''Th-They said… t-to send ARMS…''

''Please, hang on!'' Loki pleaded, but the Hunter fell over, dead. His lower body started to dissolve, leaving only a distorted frame of his legs and torso. ''Damnit!''

''Commander Loki, everyone in Unit Delta is gone. What should we do?'' a Hunter from his own Unit asked him, clearly worried. Loki fell silent, feeling frustration, anger and sorrow bubbling inside him, with the dead Hunter's last words still haunting him.

''We need to find out who did this…'' he muttered, looking around for any answer to the questions that formed in his mind. I don't understand. Why ARMS?