Shadow and Rouge crested the sandy cliff overlooking Eggman's base. It was night, the moon was full, and the only light for miles were the floodlights of the metallic base. Rouge was scanning the base with a pair of binoculars.
"I think Eggman's lost his touch. Security looks pretty lax. Guess he's not expecting any company," said Rouge, peering through her binoculars. Shadow huffed.
"Just don't lose focus," he warned. "We have no intel, only a rumor to go on. There could be anything waiting for us." Rouge removed the binoculars from her eyes and shifted her gaze to Shadow.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. It's always business with you," Rouge teased. "But with security so relaxed like that, there's no way we'll have any trouble sneaking in!" Shadow shifted his gaze from the base to Rouge.
Despite his calm demeanor, Shadow was suspicious. He didn't like how little security there seemed to be. He knew Eggman wasn't a total dunce. This felt like an open invitation. He rolled a Chaos Emerald in his palm, anxiously.
"Just don't let your guard down," Shadow said, turning to walk down the slope. Rouge rolled her eyes.
"I'm a professional."
Shadow and Rouge carefully snuck to a side door, hugging the walls to avoid spotlights and sticking to the shadows. Rouge pulled out a small handheld gadget. She pulled a small cord from it, connecting it to the port on the keypad. She quickly typed in a series of commands. Suddenly, the door slid open. Rouge quickly entered first, ducking into the first cover she could find. She scanned the room briefly, before turning and waving Shadow in to follow. Shadow wasted no time.
"Stay close," Rouge whispered. The pair sneaked across the room, quickly accessing what appeared to be a long hallway. Their movements were deliberate; the only sound was the soft click of Rouge's heels. After a careful creep down the corridor, they came to a door with a small window. A faint glow radiated from within. They took positions on each side, Shadow carefully peeked through the window. It was a small computer room. Perfect for hacking.
Shadow turned to Rouge, giving her a quick nod. She wasted no time connecting her gadget to the keypad's port, quickly popping the lock. They carefully entered the room and closed the door behind them.
"Now," Rouge began, "let's see what the good Doctor has been up to." She quickly took her place at the console, her fingers making quick work of the keyboard. Shadow leaned against the door, crossing his arms, scanning the hall with his crimson eyes. It had been easy so far, but he was not going to let his guard down. The computer beeped and chimed with Rouge's actions.
"Well, well, well!" she chimed. "Says here that Eggman is preparing some kind of 'Ultimate Weapon'." She smirked at Shadow. "I wonder what it could be." Shadow shrugged, removing his eyes from the window and meeting her gaze.
"Does it really matter?" Shadow asked. "It can't be a good thing." Rouge nodded, returning her gaze to the computer screen.
"I just think it's funny he's calling it the 'Ultimate Weapon'." she teased. "Feels like he's infringing on your turf, there." Shadow smirked.
"Nothing is as ultimate as me," he gloated.
The computer beeped again, catching Rouge's attention.
"Well, what do you know?" Rouge remarked. "Take a look at this." Shadow, picking himself up from leaning on the door, strode over. Rouge pointed to the screen, a map of the base illuminating under her finger.
"According to this, Eggman has a Chaos Emerald hidden in the base." she remarks.
Shadow quickly skimmed the map of the base. The silhouette of a Chaos Emerald blinked on the screen, deep within the bowels of the base. Shadow raised an eyebrow.
"Where is this so-called weapon supposed to be?" Shadow inquired. Rouge clacked on the keyboard. A blinking dot highlighted an area of the map.
"Looks like he's keeping them apart," Rouge pointed out. "Must be powerful if he doesn't want an Emerald close by." Shadow narrowed his eyes.
"I don't like this," Shadow confessed. "It feels like Eggman is baiting us. This has to be too good to be true."
"But if it's real, we can't let Eggman keep it." Rouge countered. Shadow clenched his fist.
"Why don't we split up?" Rouge offered. "I can grab the Emerald and you can destroy this 'Ultimate Weapon'. We'll keep our comms open. If anything happens, the other drops what they're doing and helps the other." Shadow narrowed his eyes.
"Tsk. Fine," Shadow relented. "Just watch your back. Don't take any chances." Rouge giggled.
"Sure thing. I'll go after the Chaos Emerald." Rouge chimed. Shadow rolled his eyes.
"Of course you will."
Rouge quickly hopped out of the vent she was climbing through. She had managed to sneak her way down into the bowels of the base. Security seemed increased down here. A good sign. She slowly lurked in the dark corners of the complex, sticking to the shadows for cover. Rouge was making her way to a vault-like door. The perfect place to protect something precious like a Chaos Emerald. She pulled out her gadget and plugged it into the port of the keypad. As she was starting to type commands, she suddenly perked her ears.
Click.
Rouge turned around. She was suddenly swarmed by Badniks. Guns were directly pointed at her. Rouge sighed. This was not going to be easy. A familiar cackle radiated through the speakers of the Badniks.
Shadow carefully skulked down a dark corridor. Alone. He did not like the idea of splitting up with Rouge. She had a habit of getting into trouble when he wasn't around. Shadow couldn't deny that she had a good point, though. Eggman was definitely up to something big if he had already obtained a Chaos Emerald. Despite how quiet their mission had been up to this point, Shadow could not shake the feeling they were being toyed with. Shadow glanced at his comms, a map of the base radiating from its screen. He was getting close to the location of this supposed "Ultimate Weapon".
Shadow carefully rounded a corner. A large set of double doors awaited him at the end of the hall. The location of this "Ultimate Weapon" was dead ahead. He approached cautiously. The doors activated, quickly sliding apart. The sound of their hydraulics hissed. Shadow raised an eyebrow. The door... was unlocked? Why was something so precious under such low security?
His instincts were screaming at him. Telling him that something was wrong. Shadow tightened his grip on his Chaos Emerald. He had a job to do. He had to go in there and find this rumored "weapon". He took a tentative step forward into the room.
It seemed to be a lab. A large "cat walk" hung from the rafters, connecting into a room, lined with windows, overlooking the floor. The lights were dim, except for the faint glow of a large red orb sitting inside a large contraption at the end of the room. The orb's glow was haunting, unnatural. As Shadow gazed upon it, the more he felt his quills stand on end. A cold shiver ran up his spine. This must have been the weapon.
"Ah, Shadow!" A familiar, eerie voice rang out from the speakers in the room. The doors behind Shadow quickly slammed shut. Shadow glanced behind him. He gritted his teeth. A trap. The lights flicked on, quickly illuminating the room. Shadow shielded his eyes from the changing lights.
"So glad you could join us!" That familiar voice exclaimed. "I've been waiting for you." Shadow squinted up at the room overlooking the lab; a familiar silhouette stared down at him from above.
"Doctor," Shadow acknowledged bluntly. "I should have known you wouldn't make things easy."
"I'm a little disappointed, Shadow," mused Eggman. "I thought you were much smarter than this. Did you really think I would actually let you two waltz into my liar?" Shadow's eyes widened. Eggman grinned, turning to pace along the side of the windows.
"Yes, I knew about Rouge too," he gloated. "I knew a Chaos Emerald would be too tantalizing for her to resist." Shadow was stunned. It was like he was reading them like an open book. Shadow readied his stance, gripping his Chaos Emerald tightly in his hand. Eggman spied the emerald and grinned.
"Oh, Sage~!" The Doctor sang. "Execute Protocol 3!" Shadow narrowed his eyes. Who? A soft, but stern, childlike voice replied.
"Engaging: Protocol 3."
Suddenly, the panels of the walls opened. An army of Badniks spilled out from the openings. Shadow didn't hesitate. He moved quickly, using the power of the Chaos Emerald to snap from robot to robot. He ripped, kicked, and punched through each droid in his way. Shadow couldn't help but gloat.
"Doctor," he started. "An army of your robots might be a problem for Sonic." He tore through another batch of droids. "But I can do this all-"
Clank!
Shadow was suddenly knocked off his balance, falling to the floor. He quickly sat up. Something had grabbed onto his neck, but he couldn't see what it was. He used his free hand to quickly feel it. It was metal. But before he could inspect further, he felt a sudden, painful jolt.
Shadow seized. Electricity shot through him, crackling in the air. As quickly as it began, it stopped. Shadow pulled at the metal around his neck. Before he knew it, another shock! And another! Shadow gritted his teeth. He fell to his knees, desperately clawing at the contraption bound to his neck. Another shock! His vision started to blur.
Eggman grinned, walking down the steps of the catwalk to the lab floor, a remote clutched in his hands.
"Come on, Shadow~," the mad doctor cooed. "Drop it. Drop your precious emerald." Eggman continued pressing the button on his remote, sending more electricity coursing through Shadow's body. The shocks wouldn't stop. Shadow's eyes rolled back into his head. He desperately clung to his Chaos Emerald. He was becoming delirious, his seizures racking his body. He tried to draw from the emerald's power, but the shocks clouded his mind.
Suddenly, it slipped from his grasp. The shocks stopped. Shadow collapsed to the floor. His vision doubled... maybe even tripled. He groaned in pain. He was numb. All he could perceive was the sound of Eggman's maniacal laughter and the sound of footsteps approaching. Shadow tried to adjust his vision to see his attacker, but he couldn't focus. The boots of his assailant strode into view. A gloved hand carefully wrapped its digits around the lonely Chaos Emerald.
"You won't be needing this anymore," Eggman mused, carefully picking up his prize. "Poor little Shadow. Not so 'Ultimate' now, are you?" the Doctor kicked his victim triumphantly. A sharp pain shot through Shadow, knocking the wind out of him. Eggman strolled with his new Emerald to the machine with the glowing red orb.
"I can't wait to test my device on you, Shadow," Eggman spoke coyly. "If it works, I will have the 'Ultimate Weapon'!" Eggman quickly tapped on the keyboard of the ominous contraption. Shadow suddenly felt cold metal wrap around his extremities, slowly lifting him off the ground. He weakly struggled against his new restraints. He felt himself being moved closer to the ominous red orb.
"I-" Shadow stammered. "I'm the Ultimate..." Eggman grinned.
"Exactly."
Rouge was crawling back through the ductwork. She managed to outmaneuver those Badniks and break into the vault. Alas, no Chaos Emerald was to be found. She pouted. All that work for nothing. Rouge tried her comms again.
"Shadow, do you read?" Static.
"Shadow, my cover was blown. There's no emerald. Do you copy?" Nothing. Rouge grew anxious. She continued through the ventilation system.
She was about to descend out of a vent when she suddenly heard the sound of mechanical footsteps. She quickly shot back into cover, peeking out from between the slats of the grate.
Two large robots carried a stretcher, Eggman cackling as he trailed behind. A large red orb rested in his palm.
"I have to say, Sage," Eggman commented. "Our plan worked beautifully!"
"Of course, Father," said the stern, childlike voice, coming from a speaker in one of the robots. "We managed to keep ourselves one step ahead the entire time."
"More like five steps," Eggman joked. "They never saw it coming!"
Rouge's eyes narrowed at the stretcher. She suddenly gasped. Shadow, with his eyes rolled back into his head and his mouth ajar, was being limply carried down the corridor. Rouge quickly covered her mouth with her hands. She turned away. Her body began to shake, her eyes squeezed shut, and her heart was beating out of her chest.
"He..." She whispered. "He's dead..." Tears started to prick her eyes. "He killed him..." Rouge could feel the walls of the vent closing in on her. She pressed her hands tighter to her mouth, as if she was trying to suffocate her grief. Suddenly, she swallowed. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.
"Get it together, Rouge!" she scolded herself. "If Eggman has a weapon that can kill Shadow, then you can't afford to sit here and feel sorry for yourself." She quickly righted herself and made her way further into the vents.
"I need to get to Omega."