Chapter 74

Team Chaotix 2.0

Espio tapped his foot impatiently. The clock overhead read 11:55. Beneath it a television broadcasted the national news. A blonde woman in a strawberry colored coat spoke into a microphone. "Representatives from Chun-nan rave about the latest technology given to them by the U.F.. Projection shield bases are being constructed near all major capitals for the protection against any attack by the terrorist known as Metal Sonic. Internationally, several new policies by the U.F government have received applause. Recently, the U.F entered an agreement with Shamar to aid in reconstruction projects. The two nations also signed a shared energy bill which would see multiple desalination plants built within the often fresh water deprived coastal nation."

Mighty watched the broadcast with rapt attention. He sat on the center console with his legs cradled in his arms. No doubt he was reading between the lines, trying to piece together the truth from all the little half truths and subtle lies of the media. Ray had gotten bored some hours ago. The young squirrel snoozed on the ground.

Espio gazed back at the clock. It now read 12:01. Where is she? Rouge had gone to Angel Island to try and recruit Knuckles. Had she still been there when the island was destroyed? Espio pushed that thought aside. He could not afford to allow intrusive thoughts to disturb him.

"In the nation's capital, the senate has finished with their additions to a proposed bill that would extend and expand the emergency powers clause. The controversial amendment calls for a skipped election cycle to allow the president and their cabinet to retain their positions for an additional four years. The sponsor of the bill, long time senator Tomo Takata gave an impassioned speech before the house today as the representatives began to cast their votes on the proposal. Opponents of the bill are attempting to marshal a stiff resistance as many feel that the bill violates the charter of the U.F-"

"Turn it off." There was a sound echoing from above. Mighty muted the television and jumped to his feet. A kunai slid between Espio's fingers, ready to be thrown at a moment's notice. Suddenly, the sound faded. There was a brief pause and then the sliding doors hissed open.

Rouge the Bat walked in. She looked worn and exhausted. Her clothes had been torn and burned. She limped over to the center console and held onto it for support. "Are you alright?" Espio asked.

"Some detective you are." Rouge steadied herself and looked around the room. Her heavy lidded eyes blinked rapidly at Mighty and then Ray. "So this is the cavalry?"

"This is Mighty and Ray. Mighty used to be a member of Team Chaotix," Espio explained.

"And I suppose the other one is here because we are running a daycare in the back?"

The sound of his name caused Ray to wake up. He stirred before jumping to his feet. "Hey! Who are you-"

"Save it." Espio silenced Ray with a stern glare. "Rouge, what happened to you? Did you reach Knuckles in time?"

Rouge gave him a sardonic smile. "Of course I did."

"Well, what happened?"

She shrugged. "He doesn't want to help."

"But he's alive? You got him off the island?"

"O yes, and you'd think he'd show me a bit of gratitude for that. But alas, he's as stubborn and thick headed as you are. Knuckles wanted a noble death on his island, and I stole that from him. Now he has to find it elsewhere." Her exhaustion was evident. Rouge climbed onto the console and laid flat on her back.

"Ray, go get her something to eat." They had reached the pyramid base late the night before. It was not stocked with much provision so they had gathered what food and drinks they could. Ray left the room and came back a minute later with a sandwich and a water bottle. Rouge sat up and accepted them. She drained the water in one gulp and tossed the bottle aside.

"So this is the team then?" Rouge asked dryly.

"It's all we have," Espio said.

Rouge surveyed them. Her frown turned into a reluctant smile. "Well, that can't be helped. We'll just have to do the best we can."

"So what's the plan?" Mighty slammed his fist into his palm. "I'm ready to take down G.U.N."

"First things first, we need to find the Eclipse Canon. As long as G.U.N has that they are unstoppable."

"What about these projection shields?" Espio asked. "G.U.N is having them built all over the world. Could they really protect a city from the Eclipse Canon?"

"I bet they can. G.U.N will want to make a public demonstration of their effectiveness. But that doesn't matter. G.U.N will build the machine but they are the one's holding the key. Those shields won't protect anything if G.U.N decides it wants to hit its target. We won't really be able to face G.U.N directly until the Eclipse Canon is off the board." Rouge slid off the table. "I'm gonna need a minute before we continue. I'm tired, my clothes are torn up and I smell like echidna."

She left and Mighty gave Espio a sidelong look. "This is the agent you told us about?"

"She knows G.U.N inside and out. She knows how they think."

"But can we count on her?"

Espio frowned. "We don't have a choice. Rouge hasn't given me any reason to doubt her. She's tougher than she looks and I don't think she will let us down. She has her own reasons for getting revenge on G.U.N."

Rouge came back half an hour later, drying her head with a towel. She wore new clothes, sporting a black tactical vest over a tight red shirt. The only thing that remained the same were the long high heeled boots. "That's better, now shall we get on with it?"

Espio shook his head in annoyance. Rouge batted her freshly made eyelashes at him and sat cross legged on the console. "Well this isn't exactly a dream team. I know we probably don't stand a chance, but I guess someone has to try." She smirked at each of them in turn. "There are only two people on earth who I can say with certainty know the location of the Eclipse Canon. It won't be written down or accessible on any kind of computer. Those two people are President Alexander and Argus Smith. Smith would die before he talked which leaves us with only one real option."

"You can't be serious?" Mighty asked incredulously.

Rouge's smile spread from ear to ear. "Deadly serious. If we wan't to find the Eclipse Canon and shut it down for good, we are going to have to kidnap the president."

No one spoke. Espio closed his eyes and inhaled slowly. What was even the point of attempting such a venture? Again he felt tempted to call off the entire ordeal and focus all his efforts on tracking down Fang the Sniper. Even if Espio couldn't stop G.U.N he could at least avenge Charmy.

"Alright!" Mighty punched his fists together. "Sounds easy enough."

Rouge rolled her eyes. "Do you even know what you're saying? The president will be under the highest security possible."

"That just means more machines for me to crush!" Mighty relished the challenge with infectious optimism.

Ray sprang into the air with his fist raised. "Yeah! We can get this guy no problem!"

Rouge giggled and turned to Espio. "Well you certainly found quite the characters. I can't tell if they're extremely brave or just extremely stupid."

"Neither." Espio said. "They just understand what is at stake." Espio turned to address them all. "We are all that's left. The only thing standing between the world and G.U.N. We can't resign ourselves to a noble defeat. If we do this, we do it with the expectation that we will succeed." Espio held out his hand. Mighty immediately placed his on top. Ray hesitated before adding his. Rouge slid off the console and shook her head.

"This is the lamest thing I've ever seen." After a moment of indecision, Rouge added her own hand.

Espio looked around the circle. This was not the group he would have chosen, but in that moment he felt a deep sense of appreciation for all of them. "We take this Alexander, we find out what he knows and then we destroy the Eclipse Canon once and for all. This is the final mission of Team Chaotix!"