A black silhouette shot through an already dark sky at the speed any observer would miss. Shadow the Hedgehog made quick progress when he landed, speeding towards theMystic Ruins.
Ideally, this was an in and out venture that would end before the next morning. It wouldn't be a problem. He was faster than anything or anyone. With no expected enemies oranyone expecting his presence, it would be even easier. Maria's diary would be with him before he knew it.
A simple sprint through the outskirts of Station Square brought him to the Mystic Ruins, and he sprinted passed the worn down tracks of the carts and was on a hill overlooking the jungle.
His blank expression twisted into a frown and he couldn't stop the groan from exiting his mouth. The temple described by Eggman was visible, but far from deserted. Gun Helicopters circled and soldiers were stationed as far as right below the ladder he stood above. It was occupied.
'That will complicate things,' he thought to himself feeling the wind blow his quills lightly.
He could just blaze by them all, but that would alert them to his presence. But if he went stealthy, he risked being in an unknown situation as well as drastically decreasing the speed at which he wanted this quick operation to be done.
Not wanting to alert the humans to his presence, Shadow begrudgingly decided stealth was the superior option, albeit the one less desired. He leaped onto the nearby cliff and leaped to the top of the tree, being sure to pick a sturdy one as to not alert the patrolling GUN soldiers.
The temple got closer and closer at a rapid rate, despite the slowdown. Although fooling the humans was easy. That wouldn't be true if the pair he saw seemingly leading the expedition at the temple's entrance. The familiarity Shadow had with them told him that. The first's bright white bat ears blew with the wind while the other's metallic body made him oblivious to just how chilly the air was. Rouge and Omega wouldn't be the easiest two to get around especially given their awareness of his tactics. After all, they had saved the world together twice now.
He carefully observed the two of them from behind a tree while also dodging the incoming lights by the GUN helicopters which seemed to be taking laps around the temple. Anything he did would alert either of them. Both could be an issue if they found him for various reasons. Omega would be harder to talk down while Rouge...she'd want to socialize. That, Shadow would not do.
He looked to see if there was any form of path he could speed passed without being detected by the two of them to get into the temple. He picked a route that looked optimal and streaked through it, barely even seeing the environment around him. Shadow didn't know where he was going within the temple, but ran through the dark corridors, thinking to himself the temple looked far smaller on the outside than the labyrinth he was running through.
'Where am I even going?' he thought to himself.
As soon as Shadow thought he had some sense of direction, he heard sirens from the outside.
"Damn it," he muttered to himself.
His risk had not paid off. GUN had detected him and no doubt Rouge and Omega would be on their way in likely with an amount of humans he would have to refrain from harming. The matter was made worse when he reached a dead end in the temple, seeing a massive cave painting of what he remembered Gerald describing as the liquid God, Chaos whose likeness created the artificial ones that used to roam the ARK.
"Well, well, well...I had a feeling you'd show up," a voice Shadow instantly identified as Rouge said from behind.
"Rouge, we must first identify if this is one of Eggman's robots. Don't forget that," Omega said behind her.
"Hmph," Shadow uttered turning, dreading having to converse even though he loved the two of them.
"Is that all we get? After all this time? Some sister I am to you."
"Rouge, do not forget primary objective," Omega chimed in again, but was silenced promptly by his sassy partner.
"Everything seems to be going well down here without me," Shadow said. "You have it under control."
"Shadow, you are such an idiot," Rouge said approaching Shadow and extending her arms out.
Shadow awkwardly accepted and reciprocated her hug before turning to Omega. "Don't worry. I'm the original."
"Valid. Eggman's robots would not give a hug," Omega replied.
Rouge's wings flapped and she flew around Shadow. "Where have you been? How have you been? I simply have to know everything."
"Rouge, this is kind of a bad time, don't you think? I'm on a mission and you're running some kind of operation here. What's going on?"
"We're studying the area for any trace of that silly old Egghead. When we learned that Gerald made frequent trips to this entire area, we figured Eggy must have as well!"
"Any trace of Eggman must be found and eliminated," Omega added.
"Omega, you're such a one track mind. Aren't you happy to see Shadow?"
"Shadow, you're return is acceptable," he said.
"Good to see you too. Pardon me, but how did you know I would show up?"
Rouge smiled. "I assume you would like Maria's diary that we found here at the temple?"
The black hedgehog said nothing.
"It is currently at the headquarters within the city of Station Square. You will have to come with us if you wish to examine it," Omega said.
"I don't want to just examine it. I want to take it and bring it back to its rightful place aboard the ARK. It's hers. Not GUN's."
"Hold up, big brother. Didn't you hear me? I said we're here investigating Old Egghead. That isn't just for nothing. His return is on the horizon and we're looking into everything associated with his bloodline that could give us a clue to his intentions."
Shadow crossed his arms. "Its the Doctor. We both know his intentions. How's Maria's diary going to help you do that?"
"All Robotniks must be examined for a potential link. That is the mission," Omega said.
"Omega, let me," Rouge replied. "It likely isn't, Shadow. But those are GUN's orders and we simply have to follow them. We are doing our due diligence to protect the planet from anything Eggy might wanna hit us with. "Commander Tower is just being thorough."
"That's ridiculous and you know it."
"Of course I know it. I'm supposed to be on date with that irritating echidna right now. But instead I'm stuck here. How do you think I feel?"
"Hmph, when did that start?" Shadow asked curiously, a grin forming on his face.
"You're the first one I wanted to tell, but you left your sister all alone."
"I'm sorry."
"You're not leaving me again. You understand right?"
"We'll see how quick this journey back to your headquarters goes and if I get that diary. If I get it within a timely manner, I may consider visiting you more often."
Rouge smiled. "Come on, Omega. We're taking Shaddie back to HQ."