M.O.S.S. Headquarters, Outskirts of Central City, United Federation
September 16, 5:17 p.m.

The sky was lit in bright orange as dusk began to settle in the region. The transport had reached the base by the time the night shift personnel rolled in to relieve their day shift counterpart, and Gadget stood up from his seat. He stretched his body for a bit and began to walk the airfield towards the headquarters without missing a beat. On his right, the red wolf observed dozens of anthropomorphs and humans conducting rigorous training on the ground while others in the service kept every available aircraft or vehicle properly maintained for combat. On his left, he could see the base's perimeter wall with mounted anti-air cannons at the top (to which he considered necessary due to the base being located in a mountainous region and overlooking the United Federation's capital city) and a few buildings that he came to recognize as the Motor Pool and some storage facilities. Once he had enough to view, Gadget proceeded to look forward and saw that he reached the main administrative building of the base. He opened one of the doors nearest to him and entered the place.

Inside the building, officers and administration staff conglomerated the hallways as they walked from one place to another with documents, supplies and other equipment in their hands. The environment around the offices was always lively; whether it be phones ringing, consoles beeping or people chatting, there was never a moment of silence unless an emergency or a high-priority mission was taking place. Gadget smiled a bit, never getting tired of hearing chatter around him in this place.

"Hey, Gadget!"

Just as he was about to climb the stairs, a voice called out to him. He turned around and saw two figures he recognized. The first figure was a female hedgehog with pink quills, peach skin and a red dress; the second one was a male hedgehog with black pelt and quills, sporting red stripes in each one of them. The female anthropomorph had a smile in her face while her male counterpart carried a neutral look as they approached the red wolf.

"Amy! Shadow!" Gadget spoke. "Good to see you both."

"Gadget", Shadow greeted him, "I heard about the ambush on Green Hill."

"Yeah, we didn't expect D.E.R. units in the vicinity. But we beat them, though!"

Amy nodded at him. "And now we hear that Director Fritz wants to see you! Do you know what for?"

Gadget shook his head at her. The ride from the City to the base gave him time to think about what the Director's reasons were to request him at his office but he couldn't come up with an answer. And now that he was a few flights of stairs away from his office, he started to feel a little anxious on what is about to come.

Sensing the wolf tensing up on the subject, Shadow interjected, "I'm sure it's not something bad. You have dozens of commendations for what you did back in the Resistance until now."

"I hope so", Gadget said, feeling thankful to Shadow for calming him down. "Anyway, I'll catch up with you guys later. Don't wanna keep the Director waiting for too long."

"Alright. See you later!" Amy waved goodbye to him and walked back to her desk, Shadow following behind her.

Gadget climbed the stairs to the third floor and walked down the hall hurryingly. He observed the symbols on the doors he passed by until he found the one labeled 'Dir. Joseph Fritz, Mobian Operations and Security Service' on the glass pane. He opened the door and was greeted by the secretary that was seating in the reception desk. He picked up the phone on his right and informed the Director of Gadget's arrival, to which he immediately signaled the red wolf to the door on the left side of the room. Gadget walked to the door and entered the room.

Upon seeing the Director seating in his desk, Gadget saluted the man. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

The Director, a gray-haired man with brown eyes, lifted his head from the file he was reading and smiled. "Ah, yes. Have a seat."

The red wolf nodded and sat down in one of the chairs near the desk. He rested his hands on his lap as he waited for the Director to finish reading the document in his hands. Everyone in the force knew that the Director was a man of action who would prefer to be on the field than to be stuck in an administrative position, something that struck Gadget as an odd choice of leadership. But given that his no-nonsense attitude and tactical approach of command has given M.O.S.S. and its military allies swift and decisive victories against Eggman and his forces in the last 9 months, his concerns about the man were laid to rest.

After a few minutes of silence, the Director exhaled slowly as he closed the envelope and placed on top of other files in his desk. He then looked at Gadget and spoke, "I have finished reading the AA Report regarding the ambush on the Green Hill Zone. Good work on eliminating all hostiles in the area. More so on the diversion you set up in the gorge."

"Thank you, sir", Gadget replied. "Though everyone else did contribute in the plan to lure them into the crevice."

The Director nodded. "True, but Espio and Tails reported that you came up with the plan when they submitted their separate reports, to which Sonic, Vector and Charmy backed the claim. So, I praise you for your quick-thinking."

Gadget froze for a moment, looking at the Director in the eyes as he said those words. He reminded himself to thank those guys when he gets to see them next time. Still, he felt that there was more to those words than what he was been lead in. "Sir, may I ask a question?"

"Go ahead."

Gadget straightened himself out and cleared his throat. "Why am I really in here? I don't think you would request my presence just to offer me appraisal for my actions."

At this, the man gave no immediate answer to the red wolf. The Director was also renowned for being emotionless most of the time when dealing with other people unless something caught him off guard. He simply kept looking at him in the eyes for a minute or two until a smile sprawled on his face. "Didn't expect you'd be getting straight to the point. I guess I should've expected that from you."

"Anyway, yes, you're correct. I called you in for another reason," the Director said as he pulled out a few files from his file cabinet. "You ever heard the rumors going about in this place?"

"Yes, sir, I have," Gadget responded, "All day and night around here. I think it has something to do about the possible formation of a new unit or something like that."

The Director nodded. "You are correct. We are forming a new operation unit consisting of selected members from our task forces and other organizations. I would like for you to become the leader of this unit."

Gadget's jaw almost dropped to the floor at the sudden offer. He readjusted himself as he carefully considered his next words, "I see. But may I ask why me? Why not the others? They would surely make better leaders than I would."

"True, but they have flaws," the Director explained, "The best candidates were either Shadow or Espio, but they both have obligations of their own, with Shadow alternating between us and G.U.N. and Espio handling missing cases with Vector and Charmy. Other contenders were Sonic, Blaze, Silver, Rouge and Knuckles."

He continued, "As you know by now, Sonic is pretty much a popular choice to assign him this role, but he tends to slack off on his duties every now and then. Knuckles was considered due to his role as commander of the rebellion back in the war, but I feel apprehensive with the character of his judgement. Rouge, on the one hand, is versatile and adept in the field; but in the other, she is an unpredictable wildcard to everyone. Not to mention the fact that she may become more of a distraction to other agents, especially the males. And both Silver and Blaze are from the distant future, so that poses a bit of a problem."

"What about Amy and Tails?" Gadget asked.

"Operator Rose may not have the necessary leadership skills we're looking for this assignment and Tails is more efficient as a researcher than a fighter."

"I see," Gadget responded, suppressing his assessment of his friends. "I think now I understand why I was chosen."

"Indeed," the Director spoke, "Now, will you accept this role?"

Gadget thought for a moment or two about this. He knew that it was a huge responsibility to lead and train a team for dangerous missions. But he also knew that this may be his one and only chance to guide other agents and help maintain order in the world. After much debate, he stood up from his seat and placed his right hand in his heart and his left behind.

"I accept the offer, sir," Gadget said with a firm voice.

The Director nodded, "Good to hear. You'll meet your team tomorrow at 0600 hours. You are dismissed."

"Thank you, sir."

The red wolf exited the office and walked out of the building towards the Mess Hall, his stomach grumbling with deep hunger. But this did not stop him from smiling; he had been promoted to a leadership position and would receive his own team of agents. He was so excited at the news that he almost jumped in the air in front of a few recruits that were passing by.

He couldn't wait what tomorrow entailed for him…

Location unknown
September 16, 7:30 p.m.

Two men in white coats walk down a bright-lit corridor at an even pace, carrying with them medium containers of nitrogen and oxygen in their arms. One of them, a lean man with average height, argued with his friend, who was bulky and taller than him, about the morality of what their current task involved.

"… Wouldn't this pose a problem for us, Seth?", the first man asked.

"Nonsense, Lucas! What makes you think that it will?", the second man, Seth, responded.

"We're about to turn the man who built this empire into an ice cube. He would automate our skins for committing treason! Doesn't that bother you?"

"Not at all. He's tied to a metal table, guarded day and night, with no allies to call on and no weapons at his disposal. Currently speaking, he poses no threat to us anymore."

"All the more reason to worry about," Lucas argued, "A caged animal can still be dangerous."

Seth sighed and looked at Lucas in the eyes. "Look, if it bothers you that we're doing this, you can always leave it to me. You know that, right?"

At this, Lucas averted his eyes elsewhere as a faint blush creeped on his face. "I know. But then again, we don't have choice but to obey that... madman."

Seth sighed again and smiled somberly at his friend before they resumed their walk. Eventually, they reach the room they were looking for and begin to work. The room was filled with multiple screens and consoles in every corner, each displaying anatomical readings. A large crystal pod stood in the middle of the room connected to a power generator on the right side and a ventilator on the left side. The ceiling was covered with a few stalactites made of ice as the floor displayed small heaps of snow, indicating that the room's primary use was that of a cryogenic chamber.

Both men finished installing the supplies they carried in their respective machines just in time to see Metal Sonic and a group of scientists enter the room. Following behind them, another group composed of reprogrammed Egg Pawn Badniks entered the room carrying a metal bed above their heads. Upon close view, Seth and Lucas saw Eggman struggle to undo his chains to no avail. Metal Sonic directed the two men to lift Eggman from the bed and place him inside the pod, to which they both complied silently. Once they placed him inside, the pod's door slid shut and everyone began to prepare for the cryostasis procedure. While they were implementing the necessary data codes and protocols in place, the cloaked figure entered the room sporting a devious smile on their face at Robotnik's misfortune.

The same figure that captured him in the first place.

"Oh, my dear Dr. Robotnik," the figure spoke with dramatic flair, "You have no idea how pleasing it is to see you squirm like a caged bird."

"You rumbustious pest!" Eggman shouted, his voice slightly muffled by the pod, "I will have you skewered for this treason! All of you!"

The figure laughed, "Interesting offer, but quite meaningless. Especially considering you'll never get out of your predicament, doctor."

"Just you wait and see," Eggman responded menacingly, "Just wait and see."

Every person in the room held an anxious breath as the figure smiled at Eggman's threat, knowing full well the doctor always had an edge on his sleeve to play to his advantage. The figure stepped away from the pod and looked at everyone as they spoke the following words, "Begin cryostasis."

Lucas gulped as he pressed the button to start the procedure. He monitored the increasing levels of water inside the pod while Seth observed the neuro and cardiological readings of Eggman until the pod was completely filled. Then Lucas pressed another button to allow the oxygen and nitrogen start freezing the liquid inside the pod. Three minutes later, the procedure concludes and the pod is frozen solid.

Along with Eggman inside it.

"Good work, everyone," the figure spoke, "Now that that's out of the way, resume your duties. Metal Sonic, please escort this pod to Containment Block C. No use in leaving him here."

"Understood," Metal Sonic responded.

And with that, the figure left the room with the scientists in tow. Metal Sonic ordered the Badniks to carry the pod and exited after them, leaving only Seth and Lucas in the room. The latter kept looking at the space where Eggman had been frozen, repeating the threat Eggman laid out in his mind over and over until the former tapped his shoulder and nodded towards the door. Lucas sighed and walked out of the room with Seth behind.

And returned to their experiments...