Chapter Text
Chapter 3
Travelling back to the base Team Dark had visited last took less time than Rouge had anticipated. She could feel the Hedgehog’s stare on her, but decided to ignore it for the time being and focused on the surroundings. Tails got close to the coordinates Rouge had given him and decided to let the Tornado not too far away, but not to close either.
“Alright boys, let’s do some planning before we go in. I have no idea what we might find once we get to the base.”
The duo of heroes turned to her and listened closely to her instructions, not wanting a repeat of Rouge’s last visit there. Once they had a plan, they got to the building. As expected, most of it had collapsed, but the tower where Rouge had found the computer with the files seemed to be in good shape. It was decided that the members with flying abilities would go first and make sure the structure was safe. Sonic would go around and make sure they had no unwanted visitors.
One hour later, all three of them were inside the lab, with Tails inspecting the computer.
“Okay guys, I think I can fix it, but it might take a while. Why don’t you two see around if we can salvage anything?”
“On it Lil Bud!”
A while later, while Tails busied himself with fixing the computer, Sonic glanced in the Bat’s direction as she was checking the room for anything relevant to bring back. Spotting a chair, Sonic grabbed it and dropped it beside Rouge.
The Bat turned back to him at the sound of the chair’s legs hitting the tiled floor. She raised a brow at him and Sonic crossed his arms, tapping his foot.
“Take a seat Rouge, get a breather while I search the place, alright?”
“You are not the only one getting angsty, you know that Blue?”
“Yeah, I know. But I can tell you are still pretty tired.” Answered the azure hero.
“You do know how to make a girl feel good.” Retorted the Bat with an eyeroll that would have made Shadow proud.
“Seriously though, are you alright? Do you guys ever take a break? You know you three are welcome at HQ whenever you need it, right?”
“We do have an apartment Blue. An we can usually get there easily, and quickly.”
“Not answering the question, Rouge.”
“Sonic,” sighed the treasure hunter, “You know very well what our situation entails. We take a break whenever we can, just like you and Tails. We’ll be fine, like always. Yes, we need rest, and we will get whatever rest we can get. While Shadow recovers, Omega and I are likely to be sent on other assignments, together or not. You of all people should understand this.”
At this, the Hedgehog looked away. Yes, he understood what Rouge was saying, but it didn’t mean he had to like it. Him being tired was one thing, his friends being overworked was another. He’d never seen any member of Team Dark so exhausted. Omega being a robot, he didn’t get tired like everyone else did. Rouge was the “normal” member of the team, he knew she got tired, but just like him, she never let it show. And Shadow… Heck, he hadn’t even seen his rival before leaving with Rouge and Tails, because he was still knocked out. So yeah, Sonic was worried.
The woman watched the younger Mobian and couldn’t stay irritated for long. She knew he meant well, even if he was being a bit of a hypocrite. She also knew how people saw her Team, and them literally crashing in the lunch room had shaken up many people. Rouge let out what felt like the thousandth sigh that day and put a reassuring hand on Sonic’s shoulder.
“We’ll be fine Blue. We were simply overworked, it’s not like we were injured. Shadow will recover in no time and he’ll be back to his usual brooding self. And besides, we do know we have a place at HQ, Shadow did transport us there after all, and I’m ready to bet it wasn’t a conscious decision.”
Emerald ayes met teal ones, and Sonic smiled, finally reassured. He nodded and they both went back to searching the room for anything worth bringing back.
*** LINE BREAK***
Back at the Restoration HQ, the last member of Team Dark groggily woke up. Knuckles had gone to get Blaze, having heard the change in the Hedgehog’s breathing just before he awoke. The cat was now sat beside the bed with a book, patiently waiting for Shadow to properly come to his senses.
The dark furred male sat up after a moment, sleepily rubbing his eyes with his hand. He had recognized the chaos signature at his side as being the same as the one present when he had last gone to sleep.
“How long was I out?” he grunted by way of greeting.
Unfazed by his seemingly rude manners, Blaze stared at him for a moment, trying to evaluate how he felt. After a moment, she clicked her tongue and answered him.
“You’ve been at HQ for a little under tree days, but you’ve been sleeping for less than ten hours since you woke up. Do you remember anything?”
“Huh… Yeah. I vaguely remember the echidna… and Amy?”
“Indeed, they were both present. Your teammates have gone to your boss to report. Sonic and Tails decided to accompany them.” She explained quietly.
Shadow grimaced at the mention of the two brothers. He hoped Rouge wouldn’t get in trouble for bringing them with her.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Yeah… I guess.”
“You guess?” asked the cat, frowning.
“Got a migraine…”
“Would you like something to eat?”
Shadow frowned, unsure. He technically didn’t need to eat. However, he very well knew eating actually did help recovering his energy faster. He still felt week, had a migraine, and was a bit nauseous. The thought of eating didn’t feel appealing at the moment. He looked up and met the Fire Princess’ eyes and shrugged.
“I can have someone bring you some soup, if you’d like. Perhaps it might help with the headache?” she offered patiently.
Deciding it shouldn’t hurt to try eating, he nodded. Blaze got up and went to get him something. She came back shortly after, as he was still sat in the bed, rubbing his temples in an attempt to soothe his migraine. She decided to let him be for the time being and settled back with her book while they waited for his food to be ready.
It didn’t take very long for someone to bring a steaming bowl of chicken broth with veggies, a choice Shadow appreciated. Once he started eating, the Hedgehog realized he was actually hungrier than he thought, but decided against eating any more than the portion he had been served. No need in eating too much, he would only feel more nauseous.
“I suspect I probably have a concussion...” he murmured after some time.
“What makes you think so?”
“I’ve been asleep far longer than is normal for me. Migraine and nausea are a good giveaway also… And I’m no stranger to concussions.” He said, staring tiredly at her.
“Then I would suggest you get some more sleep.” She started. “I promise to wake you up when we get news from your team.” She added when he went to argue.
Shoulders sagging in defeat, Shadow resolutely nodded and lied back down in the cocoon of blankets. He was out like a light in a matter of minutes.
*** LINE BREAK ***
Espio and Vector were quietly enjoying a late lunch when Shadow showed up in the break room. Vector stared, as he had never before seen the Ultimate Lifeform looking so worn out and disheveled.
“Oi Shadow!” he hollered, earning a hiss and a glare from the dark male.
“Vector, not so loud.” Chastised Espio in a low voice.
“Right, super hearing. Sorry.” Cringed the Croc, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.
“Care to join us for a snack?” suggested the Chameleon in a smooth voice.
After a moment of hesitation, Shadow shrugged and joined them, seeing as they were the only other people present at the time. He knew they wouldn’t pester him, so he saw no point in refusing. Taking the seat next to Espio, Shadow grunted a greeting to the Chaotix, then put his arms on the table and lowered his head on them.
His migraine had worsened, but he was fed up of lying in bed. Besides, he had a report to write and send to Tower. The sooner he got to it, the less he would get chewed when he got back to G.U.N. HQ. Dealing with everything at work was already a pain in the ass, so he didn’t need to have to deal with his boss being in a bad mood on top of it. His relation with Abraham Tower might not be as tensed as it had been in the beginning, but he didn’t feel like testing his patience either, even if involuntarily.
Deciding he was better to get to it before he fell asleep at the table, Shadow asked the Chaotix duo if they knew where he could have access to a secured computer. At this, Espio got up and said he’d be back shortly. Vector got up as well and went elsewhere.
The clanking of a plate on the table startled him awake. Vector frowned deeply at his reaction, but didn’t comment on it.
When he and his team had come back to the restoration base, he hadn’t been made aware of Team Dark’s presence. The detective would grill Knuckles on the subject later. For now, he had an exhausted Hedgehog to keep an eye on. Said Hedgehog blearily eyed the light lunch he had brought him and cautiously sniffed the food. He seemed satisfied with what he had, and dug in. Vector nodded approvingly. He leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed and waited for the other detective.
By the time Espio showed with a laptop, Shadow was halfway done with his meal. Nodding his thanks, the Hybrid turned the device on and got to work, munching absently on the rest of his lunch.
An hour later, he was almost done with his report when Knuckles showed up and joined them at the table, food in hands.
“You still look like shit, should you be out of bed?” Bluntly stated the Echidna, which earned him an irritated grunt. “Want me to do another energy transfer?” He asked more politely.
“No thanks. At this point, it wouldn’t help.”
“What if we got you an Emerald?” Suggested Vector.
“It wouldn’t help either.” Answered tiredly the dark male, posing in his typing to rub at his temples.
Sensing the confusion of the other three, Shadow sighed and closed his eyes.
“Let me finish this section, then I’ll explain.”
And explain he did. He not so patiently explained how he doesn’t absorb the energy of the Emeralds, but taps in their power to use his technics instead of using his own energy. How he also cannot leech energy around him, and instead have to wait for his system to produce his own Chaos Energy. Having an Emerald now would allow him to use Chaos Energy based technics, such as Chaos Control, but he would be just as tired as he currently was after using the technic.
“So basically, using an Emerald allows you to save up your energy.” Mused the Chameleon.
“Exactly. I still get tired even with an Emerald, but it takes more time before I feel exhausted. My attacks are also more powerful if I tap more into the Emerald’s power, and I can teleport more often and farther away.”
“I always thought you couldn’t use Chaos Control without one.”
“It takes a lot of energy, so I refrain from doing so.”
“No wonder you passed out when you teleported your team here then.”
At Knuckles’ comment, Vector and Espio went silent and stared questioningly at him. He shook his head in a “We’ll talk later” manner and stood from his seat, going back to whatever duty he needed to attend to. Both Chaotix shrugged and Shadow went back to his report.
*** LINE BREAK ***
Sometimes in the afternoon, Shadow migrated to the couch with the laptop to use the close by electrical socket. At one point, Blaze silently joined him on the couch and she quickly noticed he was still shivering. Discreetly, she moved closer to the Hybrid and focused her energy. Slowly, her body started emitting warmth. Satisfied Shadow hadn’t said a word, she went back to her book.
Movement in her peripheral vision made her pause a few chapters later. She turned her head and noticed the tall Detective putting a blanket over the Hedgehog, while Espio was putting away the computer previously present on Shadow’s lap. She smiled in acknowledgement to them and went back to her book.
*** LINE BREAK ***
A couple of hours later, Shadow awoke to a now hammering headache and a crick in his neck. He massaged his neck and rolled his shoulders, but it didn’t do much to alleviate the overall soreness of his limbs. He frowned deeply as he got lost in thought.
“Something’s wrong.” He muttered in irritation.
“What is it?” questioned the lavender Cat, who was still seated beside him on the couch.
“I feel worse than I did earlier. With as much sleep as I’ve had, I should have regenerated a good portion of my reserves.”
Blaze frowned, thinking. Deciding it was worth mentioning, she got up and went to get Amy, Knuckles and the Chaotix. On the way to the break room, she repeated what the Hybrid had just told her. They joined Shadow and were discussing when Jewel interrupted them.
“Amy, the scouting team just came back. Those two robots Sonic reported are getting closer.”
“Fuck.” Swore the dark Hedgehog. “How close are they?”
“Whisper estimates they are both within a twenty kilometers radius of the base.” Answered the Beetle.
“And you said there are two of them?” Shadow groaned.
“Yes.” She nodded, and at this, the GUN agent let out a string of obscenities that had several people openly gap at him.
“Shadow! Language!” growled Vector, while Espio covered Charmy’s eyes. “Good thing Cream isn’t here!”
“Whatever. No wonder I couldn’t regenerate my Chaos reserves.” The Hedgehog grunted irritably, then his gaze turned deadly serious as he turned to Amy. “We need a plan to destroy those asap. Have anyone who can fight come here. We’ll have to prep in case we have to evacuate.”
The pink Hedgehog nodded her understanding and she went out the room. Fifteen minutes later, she was back with a few more people, including Tangle and Whisper. While she was gone, Shadow discussed quick strategies with Knuckles, Vector and Blaze.
“You said Rouge, Omega and yourself barely managed to destroy a single one. How are we supposed to destroy two without approaching them?” Said Vector pensively.
“Omega destroyed the protective plating of the armor using his plasma beam.”
“Shame Omega isn’t here now.” Mumbled Espio.
“I could try getting close enough to…” started the red furred male.
“No. You have high chaos energy reserves, just like Sonic.” Cut Shadow. “You too,” he added, turning to Blaze. “If any of you two touches those robots, you’ll be giving them even more energy to charge up those canons of theirs.”
“And what about you?” asked someone.
“At this point, if they get to me, they might very well kill me.” He answered flippantly. “I have no intention of getting close and pass out in the middle of what will likely be a battle field.”
“So, we can’t get close to destroy the chest plates.”
“What about explosives?” Asked Espio.
“Mmmm… This might work.” Mused Shadow. “Does Tails have a workshop in here?”
“Yeah, what do you have in mind?” grunted Knucles.
“I can rig some of Omega’s ammunition. With the right materials, I can create something with enough concussive force to maybe rip off the chest plate.”
“You guys have explosives inside the base? Are you crazy?” Yelled a yellow furred Mobian Shadow didn’t recognize.
“Those are stored in safe crates. Tails knows how to safely manipulate them and does so with cares.” Rebutted Amy, staring him down, hands on her hips in an annoyed pose.
“Like I was saying,” continued the GUN agent with a growl, “I can rig something to explode with enough force.” However, I can’t have them explode on impact.”
“Why not?” wondered someone else.
“Imagine if you drop one of those beside you.” Replied Vector with a pointed look.
“Right. So not on impact. So how do we detonate them?”
“Can we use the Wisps?” asked Tangle.
“Don’t they use Chaos energy as well?” Asked Amy in turn.
“Ho… So no Wisps”
“They might get caught in the explosion anyway.” Added the Croc.
“We detonate them with a bullet.” Shadow grunted as he fished his pistol from inside his quills. “Espio. You’re the only one likely to manage enough precision and strength to throw the explosives close enough to destroy the chest plate. Your ability to camouflage could help you, but they are likely to sense you when you use your cloaking techniques.”
“If it gets to this, I can use my flames to detonate the charges. I need Chaos Energy to create fire, but a simple flame isn’t made of it.”
“Okay, so we have a plan to expose their week points. Then what?” Added Vector, then all eyes turned to Shadow.”
“I’ll see what I can do using Tails workshop and Omega’s spare parts. I want Amy, Knuckles and Vector on standby in case we need brute force. Everyone else should be on evac duty, just in case.”
“Shouldn’t we contact Sonic and the others?”
“No. They are on a mission with Rouge. They might be facing troubles themselves. Distracting them could be dangerous.”
“Shadow’s right.” Nodded Knuckles. “Between us all, we should manage to get rid of them. Let’s just be careful with our next moves.”
*** LINE BREAK ***
An hour later, the group of Mobians tasked with the destruction of the Chaos Leeching Mechs were outside, waiting on Shadow’s directions. He dispatched everyone to their position and they waited for his signal. Blaze went with Espio and was to follow him from a distance. Amy and Knuckles tagged along, that way the pink girl could support the Echidna if he ever needed to get in close combat. Wisper offered to stay with Shadow, in case he needed her to shoot for him. Since she had training with weapons, he readily accepted. Vector was stationed with them, offering cover in case they needed to defend themselves quickly.
Luck was on their side for once, the two robots were still both within the twenty kilometers radius, but one had moved away from the other. That meant they had a chance to take one out before the other spotted them and attacked them. Shadow’s team positioned itself near the closest one and waited for Espio’s signal. Amy and Knuckles went closer to the second one; they would try to distract it if they needed to.
The GUN agent had managed to rig enough bombes to give plenty to Espio, and a few to Amy. In the end, he had used some of the explosives Rouge used and had added other components to them to increase the concussive force. However, he hadn’t been able to find anything useful to get enough force to destroy the weak point. They would need to use the makeshift bombs to manage that as well.
From there, everything went mostly according to plan. Espio managed to get close enough to be in a respectable range for throwing the first bomb. Shadow positioned himself and gave the okay, waiting on the Chameleon’s signal. The Ninja’s throw was perfect, and the responding shot was dead on. The purple Mobian got behind cover just before the bullet impacted with the device, the resulting explosive force almost knocking him of off his feet. The Leeching Mech went immediately on high alert and the other did as well. Blaze was quick to react, throwing another explosive straight in the red and yellow monstrosity’s face and ignited it with a wave of her hand. The effect was instantaneous and the robot was thrown back a few meters. It pointed its canon to her, but Espio took the opening to throw a second bomb, straight to the Mech’s weak point, followed by a kunai. The device didn’t explode, but it got stuck in the opening. Espio moved to his left and kept the robot’s attention on himself. Smirking, he kept the robot’s attention on himself as he made it turn on itself as he waited for Shadow’s signal. As soon as he got it, the Chameleon jumped out of the way. The third explosion had the Leeching Mech stagger. Knuckles saw an opening and shoved a nearby boulder with all his might straight at its chest. A shrill sound could be heard within seconds and they all moved away.
Amy had stayed away and was now shoving bombs at the other mech. So far, Shadow had managed to detonate only one of them, but not close enough to damage the chest plate protecting the weak point of the robot. Deciding enough was enough, Amy grabbed her hammer and used it to hit her last bomb toward the front of the Mech. Shadow’s quick reflexes kicked in and he shot it just as it made contact with the steel. The concussive force resulting made the three meter tall steel monster back away a bit.
The GUN agent signaled the other Hedgehog to move away from the robot as Vector contacted the others to know if they had any other bombs left. Not a moment too soon, the Fiery Princess showed up in a torrent of flames, just as the Leeching Mech was closing in on Shadow and Vector. She directed her fire at the mech, intent on melting the weakened metal away.
When he heard Shadow curse over the commlink, Knuckles whirled around and sprinted to the striped Hedgehog’s location. He got there just in time to see Blaze jumping away as the massive Crocodile punched the second robot with a booming roar.
Sparks started to run over the open weak point and Shadow yelled for them to take cover.
“IT’S GONNA BLOW UP! TAKE COVER!”
The resulting explosion shook everything around. Vector got up, and almost tripped on the Wolf when he went to grab Shadow, who looked on the verge of passing out. His ears were ringing loudly and he couldn’t hear whatever the Echidna was shouting. Securing the Hedgehog in his arms, he quickly checked him over to make sure he wasn’t injured, then looked around. So far, everyone seemed safe and in one piece.
“Everyone alright?” He asked, once his hearing was somewhat back.
“All good here. Just tired.” Answered Blaze with a sigh.
“What about you Knux?”
“Same. Will have a bruise on my shoulder tomorrow, but I’m good. Just need a nap.” Yawned the warrior.
“Everyone else?” he asked, and all the others gave him affirmative answers. “Mission accomplished, everyone is safe and uninjured. Get some sleep, we’ll take it from here.” he murmured to Shadow.
The Hedgehog blinked owlishly and promptly went limp in Vector’s arms as he passed out. Blaze gave him a worried glance, but he shook his head reassuringly. Amy contacted Jewel to let her know of the outcome, and with that, they all began the walk back to base.
*** LINE BREAK ***
Shadow woke up in the infirmary a few hours later, feeling better than he had in days. He was still sore all over, but he wasn’t feeling as cold, nor sluggish. He sat up in bed and smiled lightly when he realized his migraine was now to a tolerable level.
He went to the lunch room and met the others there. Blaze immediately noticed he didn’t look as tired as he did in the morning. When she mentioned it, he simply grunted in acknowledgement, and let out a huge yawn. Blinking sleepily, he turned to Vector and nodded in greeting as the Croc dropped a plate of food in front of him. Knowing the leader of the Chaotix could be as stubborn as Rouge with this, the dark furred male rolled his eyes and sighed in defeat. He started eating silently, while the others around chatted quietly, mindful of his sensitive hearing.
*** LINE BREAK ***
At the same time, Rouge and her temporary team were back at GUN HQ, waiting for the Commander to let them in his office. A moment later, his voice sounded, letting them in.
The Team of Mobians entered the office and greeted the tall man sitting behind the desk. Their report was brief, as they had managed to retrieve the intel they needed and hadn’t encountered any enemy force.
“Good work. Thank you all, you are dismissed. Rouge, Omega is ready to leave, go get him and meet up with Shadow to the Restoration.”
“Any news from him Sir?”
“He submitted his written report, but I haven’t contacted him yet.”
“Of course Commander. Thank you.”
“Ho, and Sonic, stay back please.”
Tails threw a look at his brother, but the Hedgehog winked at him reassuringly. The Fox nodded and followed the white Bat out of the office.
*** LINE BREAK ***
They arrived at the Restoration HQ later in the evening and went directly to the lunchroom to get a well deserved warm meal. Rouge spotted Shadow immediately and went directly to him. She noticed his still tired posture and bags under his eyes, visible through his dark fur. Worried, she put a hand to his forehead, checking his temperature.
“How long have you been up? You should be sleeping!”
“Rouge… I’m fine.” Grunted the Hedgehog, batting her hand away with a not so annoyed gesture.
“Hey guys, you all look like you just pulled three all-nighters in a row.” Sonic said, frowning. “Did something happen?”
“Yeah. Had to take down two of Eggman’s robots.” Yawned Knuckles.
“What? Tell me it was not the robots Sonic mentioned before we left.” Rouge said in a cold voice.
“The very same.” grunted her teammate with a yawn of his own.
“Shadow! You were still recovering from your fight with the previous one! You could have been killed! Any of you could have…” shrieked the Bat, distressed.
“Calm down Rouge. We had a plan, thanks to Shadow. We managed to destroy both of them and no-one got hurt. Shadow himself stayed out of their reach, and I was covering him.” Soothed Vector, putting a calming hand on the agitated woman’s shoulder.
She looked at him and nodded her thanks, sighing in relief. The Croc didn’t need her to say anything, he knew what she meant, Thank you for looking over him . Shadow was off the hook. At least for now.
“Good news guys, I just checked the intel we found, and it seems only three units were ever built.” chirped the young inventor.
“Great news! Good work Tails!”
The newcomers took a seat at the surrounding tables and the chatter took over once more. At one point, Shadow’s communicator started ringing, causing the striped male groan in frustraion.
“Commander.” Shadow gruffly answered, using the speaker.
“Agent Shadow. I thrust you are doing better?”
“I’m conscious.” was the flippant answer. “Got a new assignment for me?” continued the Hedgehog, not without a hint of irritation.
“I can tell. I have a new assignment for Team Dark,” answer the commander, just as sarcastic.
At this, many groans could be heard in the room, one of them being Rouge. However, Shadow’s eyes widened when he heard Tower’s chuckle over the communicator.
“I want Team Dark stationed at the Restoration, effective immediately, and until further notice.”
“What?” grunted Shadow, incredulous.
“You heard me. I just had a chat with Miss Jewel. Team Dark expertise and versatility will be of use to the Restoration effort. Until further notice, you are to answer to her and report to her. I want a weekly written report, unless I ask for a verbal one. Further information concerning your current assignment will be sent to you through the usual means. I thrust Omega and Rouge heard as well?”
“Yes Sir.”
“AFFIRMATIVE.”
“Very well. Tower Out.”
Shadow and Rouge looked at each other, speechless. Suddenly suspicious, the Bat turned to the blue Hedgehog and Sonic gave her a cheeky wink, grinning widely.
Jewel joined the group and welcomed Team Dark to the Restoration. Her first order was to take a couple of days off and get some actual rest, which earned a snort from Shadow and snickers from many others.
“I will have rooms ready for you soon, so you can rest and have your space.”
“No need for separate rooms. We only need one big enough for all three of us.” Interrupted Shadow.
Jewel blinked in surprise, but Knuckles butted in, saying he and Amy would take care of it.
*** LINE BREAK ***
A few hours later in the night, Vector and Blaze quietly knocked on the door to the room assigned to Team Dark. Hearing no response, the Croc silently opened the door to check on them. He couldn’t refrain from smirking widely at the sight. Rouge and Shadow were passed out in the same bed, the Bat on top of the Hedgehog. Both were snoring softly, clearly at ease. Even if they each got a bed, he wasn’t surprised to see them like this. Omega flashed his eyes in warning, and the Crocodile chuckled lightly. He gave a thumbs up, and let Omega to watch over them, providing background white noise. He closed the door just as silently and saw the satisfied smile on the Cat’s muzzle.They turned and continued their round. They had a feeling they wouldn’t see any of the members of Team Dark for a couple of days…
END