When Commander Towers had called in Shadow for his newest assignment, the Ultimate Life form hadn’t been in the best of moods.  The ebony hedgehog had recently returned from a rather tiresome stakeout mission in the desert.  

It was so recent in fact, Shadow had yet to file a report much less sharpen a pencil to write the damn thing. 

He was annoyed.

He had known that within a few days the location of Eggman’s base would have been revealed.  All he needed was a bit more time to home in on the specific location.  However, he had been called back – his request for additional time denied and the sour taste of failure repugnant on his tongue.  Now, to add insult to injury he had been assigned a new mission with hardly any rest.

Not that he, the Ultimate life form needed rest, but it still annoyed him that he couldn’t even get a power nap in.

That, and he was still picking sand out of uncomfortable places.

Towers called this mission an emergency.  It had been the reason behind drawing him away from his previous mission.  Apparently a horde of Eggman’s robots had attacked the coast by Station Square, rendering Shadow’s search for the doctor useless.

Another annoyance.

Shadow was irritated.

Angry that his time had been wasted, Shadow could only seethe with annoyance as he recalled the parts where he was being sent were Sonic’s stomping grounds.  So not only would the problem undoubtedly have been taken care of by the time Shadow arrived, he would see his blue rival again. 

Sonic the Hedgehog.

Shadow did not want to see him.

Shadow grumbled as he pulled open the door to the GUN vehicle and hopped out onto the sandy beach.  He looked down at his feet and let out a low groan.  Sand.  More.  Damn.  Sand.  His skin itched under his fur at the sight of it.

If he saw so much more as a grain of this crap after the mission, he’d go to every desert and chaos blast the hell out of them.

Breathing evenly, Shadow took off down the beach, kicking up a wave of sand as his jetshoes ignited in a fiery stream.  In the distance he spotted a familiar fleck of blue perched on a twisted piece of metal and angled his body in that direction.

 Might as well get the greetings over with.

His thoughts drifted back to his blue rival of their own accord.  A sudden surge of warmth struck Shadow firmly in his chest and he had to swallow thickly around the lump which had decided to appear in his throat. 

The same strange feelings always happened whenever he thought of Sonic or was near him.  They were warm and soft.  Buzzing pleasantly in the back of Shadow’s head like the constant stream of chaos energy that flowed through his body.  It was like the two rivals somehow had a bond Shadow could never figure out – and he disliked to even think about it.

Shadow couldn’t quite describe what the connection he had with Sonic was.  Since the time they had both turned Super aboard the ARK, Shadow couldn’t shake the feeling that he and the blue hero had somehow connected.  Through the beams of light, the chaotic power had they flowing freely between them, and the lumbering form of the Final Hazard, Shadow suspected that both he and Sonic had been bound to one another in some way.  They had felt through one another, sensed each other’s lagging energy and instinctively bolstered one another’s spirits.

Even now, Shadow thought he could still feel traces of Sonic’s familiar chaos energy sparking through the back of his mind.

The ebony racer roughly shoved the thought aside as ridiculous.  There was little point dwelling on odd nuances when work was to be done.  He slid gracefully to a stop in front of the very object of his thoughts, the sand shifting underneath Shadow’s jetshoes even as he cut them off.

A flicker of surprise flashed over Sonic’s eyes and Shadow couldn’t completely suppress the feeling of satisfaction for catching the blue racer off guard.  It was a short lived victory as Sonic quickly recovered from the shock of Shadow’s sudden appearance and sprang to his feet.

“Hey Stripes!” Sonic grinned in greeting, “Come for the party?”

“Not exactly,” Shadow replied and quirked an eyeridge as he cast his gaze around the destroyed beach.

It must have been some party he missed.

“What’s the situation here?” Shadow continued, keeping his eyes glued on the destruction and never once turning to look at the other.

Sonic gave a snort of laughter and Shadow had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from snarling with annoyance at the other.

“Ha, it figures you and GUN would show up when all the heavy lifting was done! Thanks for the help slowpoke.”

Shadow fought for patience and merely gave Sonic a bone chilling glare.

Sonic laughed it off.

“Alright, alright Mr. Angst,” Sonic held up his hands in defense and grinned at the sour look on Shadow’s face, “I’ll give you your mission briefing Master Chief.”

Not for the first time, the Ultimate Life form was left wondering why he had been assigned to this damnable assignment.  Dealing with the infuriating Sonic was the last thing he wanted to do and it seemed as though Commander Towers was enjoying putting Shadow through this cruel and unusual punishment. 

Shadow did not want to be here, especially with the thoughts he had recently been harboring about the other racer.  Shadow didn’t need the real, physical person to tease him when his mind had been doing a damn fine job of that all by itself – thank you very much.

“Knuckles and I did a full sweep of the beach, thrashing Eggman’s robots and pulling out survivors.  There were a few scrapes here and there but no one was seriously injured. “

Sonic scratched a hand through cobalt quills and cast his impatient gaze towards the sky, “Knux already ran off to slobber all over the Master Emerald, so now I’m waiting for Tails to come back from dropping off a few kids.”

“He’s been gone for about an hour now.  How long is it going to take?”  His foot tapped against the ground in a high speed blur, causing a small wave of sand to be kicked up and hit Shadow’s shins in the process.

The dark racer’s scowl deepened as the sand crawled down his legs and filled his socks and shoes.  He took a pointed step back to avoid further spray.

Shadow brushed the sand from his pelt and looked at Sonic dryly, “I’d imagine that he already left the area.  GUN did a full perimeter sweep and saw no sign of Tails,” ruby eyes flicked up to emerald, “We caught sight of Knuckles leaving and he promptly stuck a few grunts heads in the sand when they tried to stop him from returning to the island.”

Sonic laughed outright at that but soon returned his expectant gaze towards the skies, “Still it’s weird for Tails to leave without saying bye – or even without telling me if the kids found their mom alright.”

Before Shadow could reply, a shout from further up the beach caught his attention.  A black ear swiveled in that direction and from his peripheral vision Shadow could see Sonic straighten up with wary curiosity.

Almost immediately a beeping noise sounded on Shadow’s wrist and the dark hedgehog opened the link in his communicator, “Shadow here.  What’s the situation?”

There was a static filled pause and Shadow waited impatiently for the message to get across. 

“There’s a body sir, up the beach,” The voice of a grunt, young and anxious drifted through the speaker.

Shadow swore softly at the news and turned to look back at Sonic, wondering if the blue hero intended to follow him to find out what was going on.  Ruby eyes blinked in surprise as he saw that the other was already gone.  A blue blur, gust of wind, and pile of sand swirling around Shadow’s ankles – much to his dismay – were the only signs that the hedgehog had ever been there.

Apparently Sonic to investigate for himself.

Withholding a long suffering sigh, Shadow tore off after Sonic.

By the time Shadow caught up with his rival – a three second head start really did matter between the two of them – Sonic was standing absolutely still, green eyes focused on the unmoving body of a little girl.

Blue ears flicked as they heard Shadow’s approach but Sonic made no other move to show he had heard the other.

“Looks like the hero missed one,” A nearby grunt said carelessly.

Shadow could see how Sonic’s quills flexed with minuet grief but the blue racer said nothing, acting as if he hadn’t heard the comment.  He hadn’t been fast enough to save this one.  His speed had failed him.  Shadow could tell the guilt tore Sonic down to his very soul.

“Show the deceased some respect Private,” Shadow said flatly.

He  broke apart from the gathered group and moved to gently drape a nearby towel – which he had snagged off a turned over table – over the girls face.  He didn’t do this out of kindness for Sonic or out of true grief.  He had done his share of grieving to last a lifetime already.  Rather, he moved out of sympathy.  He knew what it was like to feel responsible for another’s death.

Furthermore, the sight of a little girl’s dead body was. . . haunting.

As Shadow set the cloth over the girl's face, his fingertips accidentally brushed against her skin. He had to suppress a shiver at the sensation of ice sliding against the short fur on his fingers. Odd, Shadow thought, her body shouldn't be so stiff and cold. She hadn't been dead long enough for Rigor Mortis to set in.

Shadow frowned in surprise at the feeling and drew away the fabric from the girls' face to further inspect her. He was using his intuition and experience to go off of a gut instinct.

"Shadow," Sonic's voice came from the side. It sounded somewhat strained, setting a gloomy edge to the normally cheerful voice, "What're you doing?"

Shadow ignored Sonic in favor of checking the body a second time. He took the girls head in his hands and twisted it to the side gingerly. His eyes widened as a small incision on the back of her neck drew his attention.

What the...?

Shadow's eyes narrowed and he peered closer. However, as soon as he drew close, something sparked dangerously close to his face and he was forced to draw sharply away. Shadow growled and with no care, he turned the girl over. His actions promptly elected a yelp of surprise from the spectators.

"Hey Faker!" Sonic darted over towards Shadow, "What happened to 'respecting the dead'?" He demanded, his quills flexing with agitation.

Shadow, noting that Sonic looked about ready to kick his face in, raised a hand to the other to halt him.

"That would be the case if she was actually dead," Shadow said without missing a beat.

That bit of news stopped Sonic in his tracks.

"What did you say?" the blue racer breathed in shock and dropped down to his knees beside his rival. He edged over to the body.

"See for yourself," Shadow pointed to the small tear he had found.

Sure enough, when Sonic peered closely at the neck, he saw what Shadow had. A sparking wire poked out from the back of the throat, leading way to a series of complex wires and electronics.

"She's a robot!" Sonic said happily, his breaking out in a smile, "I never thought I'd be so happy to see one of Eggman's bots!"

While Sonic was inquisitively poking at the body, Shadow backed away to brush himself clean of sand. Sonic had once again managed to spray him with half the beach in his haste to get to the girl. A muscle in Shadow's muzzle twitched with irritation.

"This robot is actually pretty amazing! Look at how realistic this is! Tails would have a field day with this," Sonic crowed.

As Shadow moved away, his foot collided with something metallic and hard buried in the sand. He ignored Sonic's happy prattling and bent down to collect the item. When GUN's choppers arrived, they had probably buried the object when they landed.

Shadow straightened up and began to clean the metal object off, revealing it to be a case of some sort.  Frowning, he uncovered an orange insignia stamped on to the side. Two tails, curled around one another in a familiar design. Shadow's eyes widened and he opened the case to expose a row of drill bits neatly organized by size.

This was clearly Tails'...

"Hey Shadow..." Sonic began again, his voice turning soft and questioning. Almost as if the racer had realized something, "I think I know this girl..."

He turned around to look at Shadow, "Yeah, I think I sent Tails with her and her brother to find their mother-..." He trailed off as he spotted the case cradled in Shadow's hands.

"That's the present I got Tails," Sonic said slowly, "He's been wanting those drill-things forever." Green eyes sharpened on his rival, "Where did you get that?" He demanded.

Wordlessly, Shadow pointed to his feet nearby. Sonic quickly abandoned the girl and looked over the place carefully.

Sonic felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach and he looked wildly over at Shadow, "You don't suppose--..."

"The Doctor has him?" Shadow shrugged and shook his head, "Possibly." However Shadow thought that was highly unlikely. Taking prisoners was never Eggman's style. The doctor seemed to prefer overwhelming his opponents than subtly kidnapping them to use for whatever purposes.  Shadow didn't even see Eggman using Tails as a bargaining chip.

Seeing that Sonic's body was tensed in a racers stance, Shadow's hand shot out to grab his rival's arm to stop him before he sped blindly off. He grabbed the blue racer in the nick of time, causing Sonic to take off and land on his ass in a rather comical manner.

However, Shadow's amusement didn't last long as Sonic climbed back to his feet, rubbing his tailbone. As expected, Sonic whirled on Shadow, green eyes blazing with anger.

"What did you do that for?" He demanded furiously. Shadow narrowed his eyes, feeling the eyes of GUN soldiers on them. The Ultimate life form grabbed Sonic's arm again and dragged him away so they could get in a private word without running the risk of being overheard.

"Have you yet considered the possibility that Tails could have just gone back home and simply dropped the drill bits by mistake?" Shadow hissed and pressed the case back into Sonic's hands to make his point.

"And if he didn't go back?" Sonic shot back, "I could lose time by running back to the Mystic Ruins to check."

"It would only take you a second," Shadow snapped in response, "Or have you somehow managed to break both your legs in the thirty seconds it took to walk over here?"

Sonic stowed the drill bits carefully away in his upper quills before he reached out and gripped Shadow's shoulders tightly, "I don't know how long he's already been gone!" Sonic growled, "I'm going after them now!"

Shadow gave the blue hedgehog a bland look and shoved the other's hands off of him, "And pray tell me Sonic because I'm so curious -- Where would you be going?"

For a moment Sonic could only stare at Shadow before he deflated a bit under Shadow's logic. However he was only dismayed for a second, because his ears promptly perked up and he looked at Shadow with a grin, "Well you're going to tell me where I'm going!"

"Pardon?" A glare.

Waving off Shadow's glare, Sonic merely grinned at the other and slung his arm over the other hedgehog's shoulders. "You have access to GUN's files Shadz, you have to know where ol' Egghead's lair is!"

Shadow narrowed his eyes but this time didn't move from under Sonic's arm. He found the added weight somewhat comforting and Sonic would just replace it anyway. Shadow looked into the expectant green eyes less than a foot away and felt a lump knot in his throat.

"That information is classified," Shadow intoned dryly, trying to ignore the flash of disappointment in Sonic's eyes as he denied him, "It would be against my orders to tell you that information—”

Sonic deflated again.

“—But I would see nothing remiss if I were to be followed to his base,” Shadow muttered, unable to resist the kicked-puppy look Sonic was feeding him.  He mentally groaned as he saw Sonic’s ears perk and his face brighten.  Great.  Somehow Shadow had been suckered on going on another mad quest courtesy of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Fantastic.

“Alright then!”  Sonic grinned broadly, snagging Shadow’s arm and forcibly dragging him away, “Let’s get going!”

The ebony hedgehog growled softly as Sonic pulled his resisting rival by the arm.  The Ultimate Life form took a little comfort in the fact that he didn’t know the exact location of Eggman’s lair, just the baser coordinates.  When his companion found that little fact out, it would undoubtedly drive Sonic in circles for a while, but at least it would serve as entertainment.

Not wanting to waste any more time than had already been ruthlessly squandered by GUN, Shadow tapped on his communicator and keyed into Rouge’s frequency.  Soon, his partner’s sultry voice drifted across the line and Shadow sighed with relief that she had actually decided to pick up for once.

“Hey hon, to what do I owe this pleasure?”  Rouge hummed over the frequency.

“I need a favor.”

There was a pause, followed quickly by a telling sigh, “Of course you do Shadow.  What can I do you for?”

Shadow hummed and looked over at his wrist, “I’m currently being abducted by Sonic who is too hard headed to follow my advice and is instead taking me against my will on a wild chase.”

“My my, he’s certainly doing a poor job of kidnapping you if he’s letting you talk on your communicator,” Rouge teased, “I don’t hear to fighting back.  Sounds like you’re willing to go with Sonic hon.”

Ignoring his partner’s comment, Shadow continued, “I need you to check in any places Tails might be or is known to go.  He’s missing so we’re going to look for him.”  Shadow waited for a moment while Rouge listened intently.

“Of course Shadow, anything else you need?”  Rouge asked, a small note of worry creeping into her voice.  Shadow resisted the urge to roll his eyes.  Why was everyone getting their tail knotted up in such a small issue?  The fox cub was missing, sure, but he’d turn up.  This wasn’t a national crisis.

He smirked slightly as he looked over at the destroyed beach, a sudden idea coming to him, “Yeah Rouge.  There’s one more thing you can do for me.”

“What is it?” She asked curiously.

“Write up my last two reports and file them for me,” Shadow smirked, “Since I’m so busy rescuing someone who doesn’t need to be rescued, I’m not going to have the time.”

Sonic snorted at the comment but continued to drag Shadow away, pointedly ignoring the conversation.  His ear twitched as he heard Rouge’s snappy and profanity riddled reply before Shadow promptly closed the link.

“Now, shall we?” Shadow nodded his head over towards the west side of the city.

Sonic grinned fiercely at Shadow and nodded, sinking into a crouch, “I’ll race you to—” He stopped and looked over his shoulder at Shadow, “—where is it that we’re going?”

Shadow smirked and took off, ignoring the startled yelp from behind him, “Desert Zone!”  He called over his shoulder as he tore off in a blaze of chaos energy, with Sonic hot on his heels in pursuit.