Chapter Two: Punishment, Thy Name Is Ruin
—-llllll-
*Outside the Babylon Bistro, about 8:30 pm.*
"Well, I gotta admit, their grub was great!" Knuckles said with a hearty nod as he and Rouge walked away from the restaurant. "I'd love to come back sometime! There were a lot of other things that looked good on that menu!"
"Sure thing Knux, glad to see you can be more cultured when you want to be," Rouge said with a soft laugh. The two walked down the sidewalks of Night Babylon, hands gently clasped. It had taken some practice, but Knuckles knew how to adjust his grip just right to keep a firm hold without crushing his girlfriend's hand at all. Now getting Knuckles to wear any kind of formal wear, that was a challenge. Tonight the echidna had agreed to wear a dress jacket, a bow-tie and nicer shoes than he normally wore. That alone was progress.
"Culture? I know a lot about culture!" Knuckles retorted to her comment. "Go on, ask me anything about Babylonian history, or echidna culture, or-!"
"Chill Red! That's… ah, it's fine, I was just joking," the ivory bat said with a weary laugh. As much fun as she'd had tonight, Knuckles' defensive nature and… unfamiliarity with certain meanings had been going on a lot during this date.
"Sorry Rouge. Chill, got it," the echidna said with a sheepish chuckle. "How about next week sometime we go back?"
"Sure, although I'll have to check in with G.U.N. first to-" As if on cue, Rouge's phone started going off in her purse. Sighing, she gave Knuckles an apologetic look and answered. "Agent Rouge here."
"Rouge. This is Commander Tower," a familiar voice spoke over the line. "I apologize for calling at this hour, but this is an urgent matter. We need to brief you and E-123 Omega as soon as possible. Please report to G.U.N. H.Q. as quickly as you can."
"Wait, really? It can't wait until morning?" Rouge asked, resisting the urge to groan. Most agents wouldn't get away with giving Abraham Tower, the Supreme Commander of the Guardian Units of Nations, any sass, but with her record a lot of allowances were made.
"I"m afraid not. It's sensitive so I need you here in person. Your's and Omega's ears only. As soon as possible, Agent Rouge. Don't keep me waiting. Tower out," the Commander ordered sternly before the call ended. Sighing again, Rouge looked over at Knuckles.
"Sorry… gotta go to work," she groaned with dramatic emphasis.
"Damn… sorry Rouge," Knuckles said softly, putting an arm around her. "Here, let me take you home first at least."
"Thanks Red. I need to get changed then drive up there quick-like," the master spy said with a sad smile. She'd been hoping to have more time with Knuckles tonight once they got back to her place… oh well.
"Did they say what it was about?" the echidna warrior asked as they continued down the sidewalk to Club Rouge.
"Nope… just that it was important," Rouge replied with a shrug. "Besides, you know I can't always talk to you about these things. As much as I want to."
"I don't like that… too many secrets is usually a bad sign," Knuckles muttered. "G.U.N. has always been too shifty, y'know?"
"You know I know that," she replied wearily. "Please, let's not talk about my job right now okay?"
"It's just… I wish they'd leave you alone, y'know?" he looked over at her with a frown. "They work you a lot and keep you in the dark."
"It's what I signed up for," Rouge said with a casual smile. "Yeah, it can get frustrating, but I know how to deal with them."
"Seems like a bad influence on you though," Knuckles started to continue, but Rouge cut him off.
"Please, can we wait until I'm back before we continue this?" the bat groaned pleadingly. Maybe it was because others had taken advantage of Knuckles' trust in the past, but he had mentioned how much he distrusted Rouge's employers many times since they'd been dating.
"Okay! Sorry, sorry," Knuckles apologized profusely. "Gotcha. How about that dress? Let's talk about how pretty it is!"
"You already have tonight… but don't let me stop you," Rouge said with a giggle, and planted a kiss on his cheek. Smiling giddily, he went on to compliment her dress however he could think to. Thankfully, the conversation didn't go back to G.U.N. for the remainder of the walk. Knuckles stuck around the club until Rouge had finished getting changed into her usual leotard and heart-top, and had gotten into her spacious, luxurious muscle-car, colored to match herself.
"Take care of yourself until I get back, okay Big Red?" she said to him as she backed her car out onto the street.
"Sure thing Rouge, you too!" Knuckles bid her farewell, waving his big hand as she slowly pulled away. With one more giggle, Rouge blew him a kiss, and finally drove away as Knuckles continued to wave.
'Now… let's see what's so damned important that G.U.N. cut my evening short,' the ivory bat thought with no small amount of frustration as she drove. She was going to demand a generous bonus if this was so urgent.
– —-lllllll-
*Later, G.U.N. Headquarters*
Shortly after parking in a hidden area outside, Rouge the Bat now found herself in the familiar halls of the most secure government base in the world. Officers, guards, and agents filed to and fro amongst the monitors and maps displayed on the various screens throughout the building. The ivory bat got a sinking feeling; the tension in the air was undeniable. From what her acute hearing picked up, nobody out here knew for sure what was going on. But whatever it was, it was "big". As in when Dr. Eggman was working with Shadow, the Time Eater arriving, Infinite and the Phantom Ruby's power "big".
The master thief sighed; it definitely was urgent. She felt she'd jinxed herself.
Making her way to the Command Center where Commander Tower and the top officers managing G.U.N.'s global operations were, Rouge spotted a familiar face. Well, she noticed his hulking frame first, to be exact. He seemed to be waiting outside the door to the Command Center.
"Omega!" Rouge called, waving with a big smile she couldn't help. "It's been a minute! How's my favorite rogue badnik?"
"I have been faring well, Rouge," Omega replied in his usual deep, mechanically-stilted tone. He raised one of his metal claws up in greeting. "Since our last rendezvous, I have eliminated exactly four-hundred and sixty-eight of Eggman's inferior robots. It has been good hunting."
"Heh, can't say I'm surprised," she chuckled, giving Omega a friendly rap with her knuckles across his red metal chest. The E-123 model's optics glanced at her and seemed to blink in confusion.
"I still do not understand these 'gestures' organics exchange," Omega referred to the use of his chest as a drum. "Observation: they are inconsistent. Other instances that would have been seen as hostile action. Query: is this the kind that I return?" He readied one hand to knock his own knuckles against Rouge.
"Nope! No, don't do that!" she cut in with a nervous chuckle. "Never change, okay Omega? I miss having your dangerous candor around."
"I do not intend to 'change' unless it is an upgrade to my arsenal," Omega stated, pausing a little on 'change' in confusion. "However… if you mean, as in 'change the status of our team', then no, I won't change that at all."
"Aww! You're getting soft on me big guy!" Rouge teased, though she genuinely loved hearing that from Omega. It had seemed in all of Team Dark's time together, somehow, by some miracle, Shadow and Rouge had helped humanize the deadly, revenge-bound mech. Perhaps a testament to Eggman's work, something more than that… maybe a little of both? Who knew?
Before Omega could rebuke her words with another technical statement, the door to the Command Center slid open, and two more guards walked out to stand next to the other two already guarding it.
"The Commander will see you now, Agent Rouge. Omega," one said with a respectful nod. Giving them a half-dismissive wave of her hand in thanks, Rouge led her mechanical friend inside. Immediately, the energy grew tense and charged with panic. More so than the G.U.N. staff outside. While only a few officers and agents were frantically on their feet, the staff on their computers were all talking in a loud buzz. Everyone's voice was heavy with stress even as they tried to remain composed.
The two of them turned as the guards and officers nearest them snapped off a salute. Commander Abraham Tower now stood before them.
"Rouge. Omega. Thank you for coming," he said with a small, polite smile. "I apologize for calling you both here on such short notice, but as I said this is urgent. At ease." Everyone dropped their salutes. "Follow me into my booth, we'll have an easier time talking amongst the three of us."
Once Rouge, Omega and Abraham were all inside the Commander's central booth overlooking the rest of the Command Center, the long-time G.U.N. agent led with the questions.
"So Abe, how much longer are you going to keep us in suspense?" Rouge asked softly, though "Abe" was well-aware of the bat's sass-ridden barb. The senior officer gently took a seat and pulled up a terminal.
"This morning, we received some… troubling images from our satellites, images that were barely within our scope to even see," the Commander explained, his tone growing more grave. "We scanned repeatedly, and found that a large object was approaching the Earth at a high-speed, and continuing to close in. The satellite images became much clearer within an hour." Abraham's terminal pulled up a hologram of a 3-D render of what they scanned. Rouge's eyes widened, and she gasped softly.
"No… is that a…?!"
"A Black Comet," Omega stated simply, his voice deepening a little. Anger? Dread? Hard to say.
Sure enough, the image portrayed a familiar, grotesque comet, dark and laden with the red-glowing growth of the Black Arms army. Tendrils ran along the length of the "tail," giving it a hellish, monstrous quality. Other than being shaped a little differently, and covered in larger, red icy crystals than its predecessor, this "new" Black Comet seemed nearly identical. The Commander nodded to affirm their words.
"Yes.. we cross-referenced it with our data from the last Black Comet, as well as the ARK's sensory data. We have every reason to believe that the Black Arms have a reserve force of some sort headed to Earth," Abraham said heavily.
"But how?! When Shadow defeated the Black Arms before, they all perished when Black Doom did!" Rouge asked, anger growing in her voice. After everything Shadow had been through, twice to get rid of these monsters, and they had the nerve to come back again? She certainly loathed the idea of having to fight another war with them enough as was, but to have to put Shadow through this all over again...
"Then, he blew up the whole Black Comet for good measure! How can there be any left?"
"We don't know any of that yet, all we can do is theorize," Abe replied with a shake of his head. "Our best guess is either Black Doom had yet another contingency to return, or there's another warlord akin to him within this particular comet."
"I don't understand why Black Doom would have gone through the trouble of everything with White Space if he could have returned with a whole other colony of Black Arms," Rouge thought aloud. 'Because he wanted control of Shadow? Was it that important to Black Doom to have Shadow? Bastard.' Not aloud.
"Regardless, all we can do is prepare to defend from them and deal with them as quickly as possible," Abraham continued on. "I've already begun mobilizing an elite unit of our best agents, as well as enacting countermeasures. Our scientists have ways of dealing with the Black Arms' paralyzing gas, and means of fighting their special units. We'll continue monitoring the Comet as it approaches and learn anything we can from it. In the meantime however, I have a mission for you two."
He stood up, hands folded behind himself as he took a moment, and sighed.
"Have either of you two… been in contact with Shadow?" Abraham asked gently.
"No. Haven't seen him in about six months," Rouge replied quickly, her tone sharpening a little. Now the bat felt a barb, albeit an unintentional one. As much as she missed the angsty hedgehog, she hadn't spoken to anyone about him in awhile. Even if she didn't want to be, Rouge was still bitter about "the talk" they'd had.
"Nor have I. I would have very much liked him to have taken me up on my offer to go on a bombing raid," Omega added after.
"I thought as much," Abraham sighed. "Well, in short, we need him. Shadow is one of the Earth's best defenders, and we need him present. Aside from that, I don't need to tell you how much of an advantage he gives us against the Black Arms; immune to their gas, Black Doom's mind-control, able to tap into their hive-mind, he's essential. If neither of you know where he is, I need you to find him. Immediately."
Rouge's senses all blanked, and her stomach dropped. Seriously? She'd thought a lot about what she'd do or say if given a chance to talk to Shadow again. Half the time she imagined it either going badly or giving him the cold shoulder. The other half of the time, she pictured them both apologizing, and finally, finally being a team again…
But now she was being ordered to find him?!
She opened her mouth to protest, but knew it was pointless. Abe was right; Shadow was their best shot to fight the Black Arms if they really were back.
Besides, as much as she didn't want to admit it… she was worried about him.
"Rouge? You two are the ones I trust the most to find Shadow," he asked after a few moments of silence. "You know him better than anyone after everything you've been through. Regardless of what you think, I know he trusts two both a lot more than anyone bearing a G.U.N. emblem."
"Well… any leads?" Rouge finally settled on asking with a sigh.
"Yes, actually," Abraham replied, and pushed a few buttons to bring up a map of a country to the north. "Within the last month, there's been a handful of sightings in Soleanna. Nothing solid, but more than we've had before. We tried approaching Shadow not long after the conflict with Infinite and Eggman, but he… clearly didn't want to be approached. Once Soleanna helped us establish an outpost there, we've been keeping an eye and ear out. No new sightings but, if it is Shadow, we have no reason to believe that he's left Soleanna yet."
"Anything more specific? A whole country is a lot of ground to cover for one hedgehog," Rouge pressed for more information.
"Agreed. Especially given Shadow's extraordinary speed and Chaos Control abilities," Omega added. "Narrowing our search by any means necessary would save precious time."
"I'm sorry, but the only thing we can say is that none of the sightings are in or near the cities of Soleanna," Abe said regretfully. "There have been at least two sightings in the Dusty Desert region, White Acropolis to the North, and along the beaches and countryside as well. But none near the densely populated areas. We haven't learned what Shadow might be doing there, or if it's even him. But it's the best lead we've had since our last contact during the war with Robotnik and Infinite."
Rouge and Omega exchanged a glance. Through electronic lenses and aquamarine eyes, they silently shrugged at each other.
"Very well. We shall search and retrieve Shadow for a new 'Team Mission', ASAP," Omega said with thinly-veiled gusto. Rouge sighed but managed a casual smile.
"Sure thing Abe. I'm sure it'll be like old times," she said with a seasoned mask of indifferent confidence. "We'll have ol' 'Moody and Broody' back before you know it."
"Very good," Abraham said with an assured nod. "We still have time; the Comet is still out of range of any ship or weapon. We estimate we'll have at least twenty-six hours before we can act against it. Once we have Shadow up to speed and the whole squad is ready, we'll fill you in on the plan. We're already working on one, and any input you'd have would be invaluable." He walked over to the door and looked back at them.
"There's a chopper on the roof, waiting to take you two to Soleanna. Landing pad five," he said. "Anything you need that you think will help on the mission, take it. As long as Shadow is here as quickly as possible and the three of you are ready to assist in engaging the Black Arms."
"Quick question Abe; obviously I'll keep everything on a need-to-know, but can I bring some help in?" Rouge chimed in. "I know someone who could help find Shadow fast."
"Very well Rouge, but do not mention anything about the Black Arms for now to anyone. If they know Shadow, feel free to say you're looking for him, but nothing about the possible invasion," Abraham said firmly. "Not even if it's… someone from Team Sonic or someone else we've worked with before. Our hope is to eliminate this Black Comet before it even has a chance to get close enough to Earth to threaten anyone. We don't want word to get out from anyone and unnecessarily cause any panic."
"I don't appreciate the insinuation Abe, but… understood," Rouge said with a sigh and a nod. She hadn't kept her relationship with Knuckles a secret, unlike a lot of things from G.U.N. she had to keep from him.
Satisfied, Abe nodded back. Rouge had never let him down in a mission, despite her indifferent demeanor.
"Very well then. For what it's worth, if things escalate we may very well bring Team Sonic in, and they'll likely know everything you do by then. The chopper will take you wherever you need before going to Soleanna. Just don't linger." Abe's expression softened and he saluted Rouge and Omega with genuine gratitude shining in his cyan and orange eyes. "Thank you, you two. Dismissed," he said, and went back to work in the rest of the Command Center. Omega bounced on his feet energetically.
"I look forward to fighting alongside Shadow again!" the mega-mech spoke in a tone that bordered on bubbly. "Our team efficiency is four-hundred and fifty-nine percent greater than when we fight independently."
"Try telling that to Shadow…" Rouge muttered bitterly.
"What do you mean, Rouge?" Omega asked, confusion again halting his tone.
"It's nothing, Omega," she sighed. "I just wish he were here in the first place… Come on, we should get moving."
"Are you referring to Shadow's long-term absence troubling you?"
Rouge felt her whole body tense sharply. Leave it to Omega to be as blunt as his fists. She huffed heavily, and turned to face him.
"Does it really matter, Omega? It's not like you to press for things like that!" Rouge said, rather more haughtily than intended.
"As a team, I've observed the more you and Shadow let issues 'simmer', as you put it, the more of an effect your collective organic emotions have on our mission effectiveness," the walking arsenal replied, rather chidingly for his usual-monotone drone. Rouge almost scoffed at her metallic friend's nerve. "Do not look at me like that. Back to my query; are you disappointed with Shadow for not being present more frequently?"
"Of course I am Omega!" Rouge blurted, and started pacing in the booth. Honestly it felt good to say that out loud. "He's our friend! I've been worried about him ever since the whole Time Eater crisis! But he was such an… ugh! Such an ass! I just wanted to help him, but…" The bat sighed and collected herself, rubbing her temples a little as her ears drooped.
"That doesn't mean I don't want to find him again, or that I've stopped being worried, I just don't know what to say when we see him again," Rouge admitted. Even though Omega was a robot, oddly enough, he could offer a friendly ear every once in a while. The huntress found it easy to talk to him after going on so many missions together.
"Speech is not usually necessary with Shadow," he replied. "He seems to prefer communicating through actions rather than with words. Finding him is our first priority. If you are worried about him, we must first secure him to assess his condition."
In his own way, Omega could offer some words of comforting, technical truths.
"Huh… well when you're right, you're right!" Rouge said with a small laugh, her ears perking back up with her mood. She clasped a hand on Omega's shoulder. "Come on Metal Muscles, let's round up a posse and go find our favorite edge lord!"
"This is true; I understand Shadow has mastered combat with the edge of a blade," Omega replied with several nods.
While Omega's words assured Rouge somewhat, a few fears still nagged at her; chiefly, would they be able to find Shadow before he gave them the slip? Would he even want anything to do with them?
But it didn't matter. Rouge the Bat and Omega had resolved to get their teammate, their friend, and bring Team Dark back together again. When this team collectively wanted something, they were impossible to deter.
—-llllll-
*Deep In Space, Many Miles Outside Earth's Solar System
Upon the cold, dark rock that blazed through the blackness of space, two beings mused on what served as the Black Comet's command bridge. Among all the enormous gaping rooms, long twisting hallways and various, shifting rooms and platforms, this room resided deep within the Comet, safest from outside attack. Aside from a faint light glowing from the floor, it was dark.
One was fairly short, a long, red-tipped barbed tail swishing from behind him. His skin was a similar red and dark-grey hue as the Black Arms, and despite his height similarity to a Mobian, he bore no resemblance to any animal equivalent. The other was a creature that resembled a hovering squid or spider of sorts, a grey hue that was fairly light around the large central eye on its body. Its hue darkened as it went down the red-striped tendrils. Like the Black Comet before this one, this Eye bore a strong resemblance to Doom's Eye.
At this moment, their sensors had recently gotten within range to bring up a clear view of their destination. The little blue planet glowed on their monitor, illuminating the faces of the two who observed it.
"So that's it… the place where my father died…" one of them hissed, his burning yellow eyes narrowing into slits in loathing. "The place where more than half of our race perished… it looks like such a delicate world. Had I not known my brother played a role in our father's downfall, I could scarcely believe its inhabitants posed any threat."
"That is dangerous thinking, Eclipse," the other being spoke, its large singular red eye finally blinking as it glanced at its companion. "Not only to underestimate an enemy, but to assume Shadow is any 'brother' at this point-"
"I know that!" Eclipse snapped back, balling the three large digits of his claws into fists. "Do not give me the mantle of leading our forces into battle if you doubt my abilities! Whether an enemy is weak or strong, I treat them all the same; with ruthless efficiency and without mercy. As Black Doom taught me, taught all of us. As for Shadow…" Eclipse's eyes softened just the slightest. "There are few enough of us left as it is. If we can bring Shadow back into the fold, we will. But if it comes down to either him, or the rest of us…"
Eclipse's hands glowed with a fiery, green energy, casting a haunting glow upon the blackness of his eyes.
"I'll kill him, and everyone else on that wretched little blue ball," the Darkling said with a wicked grin, his head tilting slightly as he fixed his gaze back on the image of Earth. "They took the lives of my father and most of our brethren. So now we'll take it all back, a hundred-fold."
"Forgive me Eclipse, but are you certain we're ready? If Black Doom and his Comet fell to Shadow and the world's other defenders, they may be more formidable than any other foe we've conquered." The eye blinked again, and one of its long tendrils reached forward to rest itself below the eye. It was as if putting a hand on one's chest.
"Even more so than the battle that restricted me to this form," the eye added sullenly, its whole form drooping slightly as it hovered above the floor.
"I… am sorry, Black Death," Eclipse replied softly, his gaze hardening at the burning reminder of his former master's current condition. "I wish you could have been in your prime for this day. But rest assured, we are ready." The Darkling brought up another image on their terminal, and a screen showing the feed of another area of the Black Comet hummed to life. It was a large, cavernous room filled with red eggs almost the size of Eclipse. Save for a few highly-capable guards monitoring the room, there was no movement.
"The Dark Arms, my pet project to evolve our race, are ready for their first real test in battle," Eclipse went on. "Already over a hundred of them are matured and fully trained. Once we… restock our supplies on Earth, these hatchlings will be ready to emerge in no time." A large, proud smile twisted his face. "To think, all I had to do was find a way to imbed enough of my Chaos Energy into their resting chambers to incubate them to get these results." He looked back over at Death's Eye.
"For nearly fifty years, every battle I've waged was for Black Doom and his cause to conquer the galaxy, and then beyond," the Darkling said in a low voice. "Even when that battle over ten years ago injured you so gravely, we pressed on. But when I learned Shadow, the one meant to be my brother, had taken Black Doom…" Eclipse chuckled and shook his head.
"No… it's more than that, now. Ever since that day, every battle was to get here. To this point! To train the Black Arms, surpass what they were capable of before. Find new ways to change, evolve, improve. So that, when we were ready, we could crush the Earth, the one place where the Black Arms were defeated. So I could confront Shadow victoriously. I will overwhelm him, show him that his only future is with the Black Arms. If Shadow refuses to see reason…" Eclipse's claws balled into fists again. "Then. He. Dies. Too! My powers have grown over the years while he slept in stasis! He has no idea what our Chaos powers are capable of!" Again, he laughed a little.
"Mark my words, Black Death… one way or another, everyone who stands against us on Earth will be punished… the full wrath of the Black Arms cannot be withstood. No… the fools may not realize it, but we know everything that happened when Black Doom came to Earth." He tapped his forehead for emphasis.
"Hive mind! Even across lightyears, we can share anything we want! Their Eclipse Cannon, their roster of filthy animal 'heroes', we'll deal with them all."
"Yes… I know you will, Eclipse," Death's Eye hummed. "Every world that's fallen beneath us, you have crushed remarkably well. The ruin you bring to our enemies is truly glorious to behold. Your strategies and skills have never failed us; that is why I granted you command of the hive mind when I was restricted to my Eye."
Grinning wickedly, Eclipse looked back at the image of Earth. From their estimates, they'd be able to make contact with Earth in less than forty hours. From there, it'd likely be less than an hour before they could enact their plan.
"I shall make both you and Black Doom proud, Black Death," Eclipse the Darkling swore. "Soon, the Earth shall cease to be blue… it will be brimming with red."