Hey everyone! RandomFieryDragon here. This is going to be my first real story, not just a oneshot. I'm still a little worried about how good it's going to be, seeing as this is my first actual story with chapters and everything, and I had a hard time coming up with the idea. I love writing; ideas just don't seem to come to me that easily, though. Oh well, this is my first attempt, so I guess it can only be but so good.

Anyway, this is just a prologue, really. I apologize for its shortness. Basic summary: Shadow and Rouge are sent on a mission by G.U.N. that they (Shadow, mostly) aren't so sure they can do, and Shadow will be forced to question his own morals, along with many other aspects of his life. And yes, Sonic and the others will make big appearances. I don't really want to spoil anything, so I'm not going to say anything else.

Pairings: Knuxouge, definitely. There are others that I'm still on the fence about at the moment, but we'll get to them as they come.

All right, well...here it is! Enjoy! Sorry for the long Author's Note.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shadow, Rouge, Knuckles...or anyone for that matter. SEGA does. I wonder if they know how lucky they are.

The poplar trees were swaying back and forth in the gentle breeze like waves in the ocean. All kinds of birds flew low over the grass, chirping their contentment. The sky was a bright blue dotted with puffy white clouds, and in the middle of it all, the sun stood in the center of the sky, beaming warmth down on everything. It was your average great summer day, perfect for daydreaming in a beautiful, lonely meadow, one of those days in which nothing could go wrong…

Suddenly, static crackled through the peaceful meadow and a sharp voice rang out.

"G.U.N. HQ requesting an audience with their agent, Shadow the Hedgehog. Do you copy? Over."

The birds had stopped chirping and gone to hide in the branches of the trees, startled by the foreign noise. And now another voice rang out, startling them all over again.

"Ugh…" groaned Shadow the Hedgehog in obvious distaste for the situation. The midnight hedgehog was lounging on his back in the midst of the soft grass, having been quite startled himself by the sudden noise over his radio, which had been built into his left glove. Dark eyelids slid open to reveal crimson irises, which now rolled upwards in disgust.

Why can't they just leave me alone? I just want one day. One day. Is that really so much to ask? Shadow the Hedgehog thought to himself, reaching a hand up to brush across his forehead. Ever since he became an agent for G.U.N. six months ago, they had had something for him to do for them every single day. Sometimes Shadow had to wonder if he was their only agent.

But that couldn't be true, seeing as one of his closest allies-Rouge the Bat-was an agent herself. And this in itself led Shadow to wonder if Rouge had somehow convinced G.U.N. to only bother Shadow with missions now. Knowing Rouge, she was probably too busy treasure hunting…and flirting with that idiotic echidna, Shadow added to himself in his head.

Heaving a long sigh, Shadow raised his left wrist closer to his mouth. "This is Shadow the Hedgehog. Over."

After a moment, his radio crackled to life once more. "Shadow the Hedgehog, you are ordered to report to HQ immediately for a meeting with the Commander. Status is high-priority. We expect you here in no more than ten minutes. Over."

The black hedgehog almost grinned to himself, wondering if they gave all agents this amount of time, or if it was just him. And the sad thing was he only needed about two minutes, and that wasn't on one of his better days, either.

Sighing once more, Shadow pulled himself off the ground, lamenting the fact that he had only been able to spend about five minutes in the meadow. He'd finally found the perfect place to hide from the rest of the world, and yet G.U.N. had still managed to bring him back to reality. Placing his right foot a little ahead of his left and leaning forward slightly, he activated his skates, which burst into life at his command. And then he was off, gaining speed all the while, the meadow disappearing behind him in seconds. Raising his left wrist back to his mouth, Shadow spoke into his radio once more.

"Copy that. En route to G.U.N. HQ now. Over." There, Shadow thought angrily, increasing his speed even more as he dodged trees and bushes. I'm on my way, now that they've managed to ruin one of my few good days. Pathetic humans…

Elsewhere, on top of a large stone shrine in the middle of a floating island, two hot-headed treasure hunters were engaging in some sick form of cat-and-mouse.

"Oh, come on, Knuckie!" sang the voluptuous Rouge the Bat in her trademark seductive, playful voice. "Don't you ever get tired of guarding your precious gem?" Flapping her wings, she flew over to sit on top of one of the pillars, crossing her legs as she smiled down at the embarrassed, confused and totally smitten red echidna.

"You're insane," growled Knuckles in a threatening tone, although he was blushing furiously. "You only ever come here to try and take the Master Emerald off my hands. Do you ever come here for anything else? And besides, do you not realize how much danger we would all be in if the Master Emerald were to fall into the wrong hands?"

Rouge shrugged, holding her hands out to her sides with the palms up. "Who says it would fall into the wrong hands? Haven't I promised you a thousand times that I would take good care of it? You can trust me, you know," said the bat smoothly, leaning down ever so slightly and widening her grin just a bit. "I'm a treasure hunter just like you are. If anyone knows the importance of taking care of jewels, it's me!"

The red echidna smiled and shook his head, eyes closed. "No can do, batgirl. Sorry, but it's not gonna work, just like it hasn't the past thousand times you've tried, and just like it won't the next thousand times."

Sighing impatiently, Rouge flapped her wings and jumped off the pillar, landing a few feet away from Knuckles. "Just what would it take for me to earn your trust, Knuckie?" The echidna's blush was almost as red as his own fur as he laughed nervously at the comment. Rouge grinned at him slyly, her hands folded behind her back as she twirled a little on the spot, trying to look as cute and irresistible as possible. "Well?"

"Well…maybe…" But Knuckles was cut off by Rouge's radio, which chose that moment to come to life.

"G.U.N. HQ calling its agent, Rouge the Bat. Do you copy? Over."

Rouge, never taking her eyes off Knuckles or the sneaky grin off her face, raised her right wrist to her lips. "This is Rouge the Bat. Over."

"Rouge the Bat, your presence is required at a meeting with the Commander in fifteen minutes. We expect your arrival at HQ in no more than ten minutes. Over."

"Copy that. I'll be on my way shortly. Over," said the bat, nodding at her radio as if it itself was talking to her.

At this, Knuckles chuckled ever so faintly. Rouge glanced up at him sharply. "What's so funny, cutie?"

At being called "cutie," the red echidna was thoroughly embarrassed all over again. "Well-it's just-it's funny. You're like their pet or something. I can't imagine having to answer to someone like that all the time," said the scarlet Guardian. The curvy she-bat shrugged and grinned.

"It's not that bad. It puts money in the bank…and, of course," Rouge added as if she had suddenly gotten a brainstorm, "I get to see Shadow a lot, too. Almost every day, in fact. We make a great team, him and me, wouldn't you agree?"

Suddenly Knuckles' fists were clenched, and he turned away from Rouge, back to the Master Emerald. He sighed in exasperation. "Yeah, sure…whatever. Guess you should head on over to your job, to see Shadow," the echidna said through gritted teeth.

Rouge flashed him a brilliant grin. "Quite right, Knuckie. I'll see you later, though, and then maybe I could earn your trust somehow, hmm?" The echidna, now more embarrassed than ever before, could barely even choke out a reply. Winking at him, the bat unfurled her wings and took off into the sky, calling back a seductive "Bye!" to the still-spluttering Knuckles.

Leaving Knuckles behind, and feeling as though her heart would beat out of her chest with happiness and adrenaline, Rouge sighed happily to herself. I wonder what they want, she thought…but then she decided not to worry about it. She would find out when she got there. In the meantime, she would daydream about her latest encounter with that adorable echidna…

Yep. Not my best at all, but I'm going to try my very hardest to make it much better. There's much, much more to come. Please R&R! I love feedback! See any errors, something you'd like to see in the story, anything...please let me know! Don't be too mean, though, I get my feelings hurt pretty easily unfortunately. So, yeah!

PLEASE R&R! (: