Eggman sat in his pyramid base, located miles away from the town of Shamar. The exterior of the base was unassuming, just another pyramid from any outsider's point of view. But the interior was decorated in his likeness, his face and glorious mustache plastered onto every wall. It was like a little piece of the empire smack dab in the middle of Erigypt, one of his many enemy countries, his home away from home. He was watching the UF news through his supercomputer's monitor. He wanted to see the citizens' reactions to his latest and greatest escapade, releasing Shadow the Hedgehog from Iron Gate.
"Yesterday at 8 o'clock PM, there was a break-in at the Federal-Reserve Bank in Central City. The dark hedgehog who committed this crime has been confirmed as an accomplice of Sonic the Hedgehog, who was convicted only an hour later and sent to Prison Island. GUN is currently hunting down this Sonic look-a-like and his theft of the famous Mutual Mandolin. Please stay tuned for more information," the news anchor stated over some footage of Shadow atop the Golden Gate Bridge.
"Shadow… I see he's been spending his time wisely," Eggman muttered. "An accomplice of Sonic, eh? He and I will have to talk when I get to the ARK." Eggman walked over to an old space teleporter. It was going to be used for the Robodoom upon its completion. Large and loud space shuttles just wouldn't cut it in the scenario the station actually became known as a superweapon worldwide, he would have needed something far more secretive if he wanted to travel to and from Erius for supplies after that point. However, it would do nicely if he wanted to travel to the ARK.
Eggman spent a few hours reworking the teleporter. "And… that should do it! Hah! A working teleporter to my grandfather's abandoned outer space research center," he exclaimed. "The UF government tried to keep their raid on the colony a secret, but I know better. After all, I was one of the only people targeted after the attack that survived. They wanted me to keep quiet… but the great Eggman NEVER goes quietly!" Eggman stepped onto the teleporter, and was transported to the ARK in a flash of light. Just as he did, somebody stepped out from around the corner. The bat girl.
"... And he never shuts his mouth," she chuckled. "I came here looking for any shards he may have found with his little Badniks… but he ended up leading me to something bigger." She whipped out her phone and called her commander. "Looks like Eggman has found his way to the ARK… orders?" A violent drowning blubber from the other end of the line. "Chase him down? Roger that." She stepped onto the teleporter, and was whisked away to the ARK. "Chasing this guy to space just keeps getting easier and easier! Watch out, Eggman. Here I come!"
…
Eggman stepped into a large and dark room in Space Colony ARK. The place was practically a maze. "This looks important!" He murmured, stepping towards a large cannon in the center of the room. There was a terminal attached to the cannon which had a large conical slot just above it. As Eggman walked up the stairs to the terminal, something… or someone… rounded the corner.
"Eggman, I see you've finally arrived," Shadow said, coming face to face with Eggman.
"Hello there, Shadow. Would you mind telling me what this device is?" Eggman asked. "It's very fascinating!" Shadow placed his hand on the cannon, wiping some dust off with his glove.
"This is the Eclipse Cannon. It is the strongest weapon known to man, capable of piercing the stars and leveling entire nations in one shot," Shadow explained. Eggman gasped in wonder. Shadow smirked. "However, activating the cannon requires a lot of power. Power only held by one gemstone… the Master Emerald."
"Whoaaaa…" Eggman whispered, grinning. "Lucky us, I've already collected some of the shards of the Master Emerald. A little red menace named Knuckles the Echidna broke it apart when I had the whole emerald in the palm of my hand, you see." Eggman chuckled. "Thank you for guiding me here, Shadow. This will be very useful to us both, I feel." Shadow stared up at the Eclipse Cannon as Eggman placed the shards into the slot. "However, I caught word of a rather unsavory rumor while watching the news down in my Egg Quarters." Shadow raised an eyebrow. "It said you were working with Sonic. Is this true?" Shadow crossed his arms.
"No. I had my own reasons for being there. Sonic just so happened to get caught in the middle of the fight," Shadow muttered. "Tell me, Eggman… what is it about him that you despise so?" Eggman looked down. "He just seemed like any other hedgehog. Definitely better than most of the hostile, self-destructive lifeforms on that wretched planet."
"You'll figure it out eventually," Eggman grumbled. "I heard Sonic was being taken to Prison Island. Some of my undercover Badniks there are detecting shards of the Master Emerald being kept in an underground vault. GUN must have stolen the pieces when Knuckles broke the emerald apart." There was a glimmer in the darkness overhead. Eggman walked off to the teleporter back to Erius which appeared when he used the one in his base to get to the space colony. "See you soon, Shadow. I'll be right back once I get those shards."
"Wait!" Shadow exclaimed, reaching for Eggman. Eggman turned around. "I need to go with you."
"Why's that?" Eggman asked.
"I want to make them pay especially for their crimes against me. For confining me on that island for the past fifty years," Shadow growled. "Besides, last time we were there, you would've been killed by that mech had I not intervened. They're ready for you, but they aren't ready for me." Shadow and Eggman turned to the sound of wings flapping. "What in the world…?"
"What is that?!" Eggman asked. Then, he saw a familiar person float down. "It's you! The bat from Shamar."
"You really think it'll be as easy as waltzing in and taking the Master Emerald shards?" She asked. "Please. This is a delicate job. You're going to need someone who specializes in these sorts of heists… Someone like me." She landed on her feet and looked up towards Eggman. "I'll help you break into Security Hall, that's probably where they're keeping the shards."
"How do you know all this?!" Eggman asked.
"I go there all the time. Not once have I been spotted. It's their highest-security vault on the whole island… if it's anywhere, it's there," she boasted. "Your big loud mech won't cut it, and neither will somebody who already got caught and locked up in the same facility." Shadow shot a glare her way. He knew she was right, but he didn't like it one bit. "So let's make a deal. I help you fix the Master Emerald, and you…" Eggman and Shadow awaited her terms. "... You let me visit it on weekends when it's complete."
"... That's it?" Eggman asked.
"Yeah," she replied.
"I agree!" Eggman exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. "Welcome to the Eggman Empire… you…!"
"Right. I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Rouge the Bat," the bat girl stated. "But I'll let you call me Rouge."
"Very well, Rouge," Eggman replied, giving them small communicators before continuing his walk to the teleporter. "We may be working together, but I don't want anybody teleporting into my top secret base. You'll have to find your own ways back to Erius. We'll meet in Green Forest Zone, then we'll go over the plan."
"Shoot," Rouge sighed. "Guess we're taking the escape pods, eh, Shadow?" Shadow felt his heart skip a beat. "Aw, don't look so scared! It might be a little fun." Rouge walked off.
"Hmm… you're right," Shadow whispered, leading her to the escape pod room. She giddily stepped into a pod, and was shot down to Erius. Shadow accessed the rusty old terminal, calling another pod. He hesitantly stepped forward towards the open pod doors, fear coursing through his bloodstream. He took a deep breath, and leapt into the pod. He slowly turned back to the terminal as the doors slowly closed. He sat down and curled up into a ball, barely looking out the glass as the capsule flew down to Erius.