Summary: Team Dark is forced to work with a mysterious person called the Phantom Rider by G.U.N. For reasons completely beyond his control, Shadow immediately starts competing with the masked Mobian.

Nonspecific point on the timeline/AU where G.U.N. made the Phantom Rider suit, not Eggman

Trigger Warnings: Violence (against robots)

Ships: Sonadow (Shadow x Sonic)

Part 1 of 1

—

The late summer night retains much of the heat that coated the city when the sun was high above the steel and glass skyscrapers, but the wind is cold as Shadow zooms through the streets on his motorcycle. It ripples through his fur and quills, tugging at him like hands trying to pull him off the leather seat. He tightens his grip on the handles. He grits his teeth to maintain speed without letting the drag tear him away from his ride. Normally, he would not be this determined to go fast. Although he cares for speed, he also cares for his personal safety. The whole reason he's driving his motorcycle instead of gliding on his air shoes is because he's trying to conserve his energy for the upcoming fight. Putting himself in danger now instead of later is pointless and counterintuitive.

He can't help it, however. His competitive instincts have been riled up by the figure driving right beside him. Well, 'driving' isn't an appropriate word. The Mobian in the mechanical bodysuit is standing on a hoverboard with G.U.N.'s logo between the soles of his blue and white boots. His arms are spread out, and his body is hunched over, tilting the helmet on his head towards Shadow. They are constantly neck-in-neck, both pushing their chosen mounts to the extreme in order to beat one another to the base they need to investigate. The buildings are passing by them quickly. Other vehicles and pedestrians are roaming the street, just barely avoiding getting hit by the two competitors.

There is no reason for the two of them to be racing because they are— technically— part of the same team. For this mission, G.U.N. has told Team Dark to work with the Phantom Rider (as he's called). Shadow is already someone who is not a fan of working on a team, and he especially cannot stand being around someone he doesn't know. To make matters worse, he knows nothing about the Phantom Rider. He knows they are Mobian based on a phrase they muttered before the group set out, and he knows they have some affiliation to G.U.N. considering the hoverboard they are using. Other than that, Shadow, Rouge, and Omega are out of the loop. The Phantom Rider hasn't exactly been forthcoming with his identity, only putting a finger over where the gray metal muzzle over their mouth under the dark red face shield.

Shadow isn't certain at which point their drive to the investigation site turned into a race, but he understands now that it was probably always going to turn out this way. He is content to say the Phantom Rider certainly started it. Shadow will take the responsibility of finishing it. It does not matter if he is testing his limits against a certain blue hedgehog or if he's racing against the unknown G.U.N. agent. Shadow is going to win. He is going to prove once more that he is the Ultimate Lifeform.

"Are you having fun?" Rouge's voice fills his head through their communication devices. Based on how many clicks precede and follow her words, Shadow knows she is using a private channel with just the two of them. Omega might also be listening to this, but he rarely engages in small talk when a mission is right on the horizon. His functions start focusing on the task at hand like adrenaline filling an organic creature. Rouge is on the opposite end of the spectrum. She becomes even chattier when she is on her way to fighting opponents or sneaking into a location to steal something.

Shadow grunts in response. Rouge's laughter echoes in the channel all around him. Shadow's momentary distraction with her reaction to the race causes him to start losing it. Shadow takes a deep breath. He leans forward against the handles even more as he pushes down the throttle. His motorcycle rumbles louder like a predatory animal ready to strike. The Phantom Rider pushes his foot down on the back of the hoverboard to send the front half rising into the air. He continues doing this until he lifts up and glides over a random car. He gains even more of an edge on Shadow who must go around the vehicle. The Phantom Rider lands with the front half of his hoverboard nearly grazing the asphalt. He nudges his electric cape with a white-to-blue gradient. He points at Shadow, and even with the helmet covering his entire head, Shadow gets the feeling the Phantom Rider is smirking at him from his position in front of him.

"Make sure to leave some robots for Omega and I when you two get there," Rouge says in the communication channel open to all members of the team. Shadow doesn't know where she and Omega are, but he and the Phantom Rider have passed into the suburban area of the city. They are headed towards the forests surrounding the city, and Shadow can see some of the trees peeking over the uniform houses.

"No promises. I've been itching for a fight in this suit," The Phantom Rider responds immediately. Shadow can glean nothing from his tone because of how electronic it sounds. Even Omega can put more emotions in his voice than the Phantom Rider can. Shadow wonders if that is the rider purposefully doing that or if his helmet is designed to keep his voice unrecognizable.

"Great. They've sent us an amateur," Shadow mutters as he drifts around a corner. His nose twitches with the scent of burning rubble. He nearly touches the asphalt himself as his motorcycle straightens back onto its wheels. He passes right through the churning smoke to see the Phantom Rider performing a few kickflips like he's riding a skateboard instead of a hoverboard.

"Trust me, dear, I'm no amateur. But hey, I don't mind if you consider me one. Makes it so much sweeter when I beat more robots than you," The Phantom Rider retorts. Shadow winces slightly as a garbled noise fills the communication channel. It must be whatever voice modifier is keeping the Phantom Rider's voice a secret picking up on his laughter.

"It matters not if you are an amateur or an experienced veteran. You are not defeating me," Shadow says with all the confidence in the world. He has, of course, earned every drop of self-assurance after his many exploits. He has defeated opponents far greater than the Phantom Rider. He has overcome much harder obstacles than a dozen or so robots waiting to be turned into scrap metal. Still, Shadow is a little grateful for the Phantom Rider. Without a little bit of competition— even if Shadow is certain it won't be much of a competition— this mission would have been exceedingly boring.

"Big words for the person in second place right now," The Phantom Rider's chuckle sounds marginally better than his laughter through the filter. The Phantom Rider glances over his shoulder as he speaks. For a moment, the street lights filter through his face shield at just the right angle for Shadow's superior vision to see his eyes. It isn't clear enough for Shadow to recognize the Phantom Rider, but they are familiar. Perhaps it's the look in the Phantom Rider's eyes that is familiar, not the eyes themselves. "You're the first loser, baby, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Let's see if you prove to be a better fighter than a racer."

Before Shadow can make any comment about the nickname (for which he has several potential remarks to make— not all of them what he would ever want to admit), Rouge's voice cuts into their back-and-forth. "You are about to. The base is to the left of you. Remember, try to keep collateral damage to a minimum."

Shadow glances around his surroundings. Dozens and dozens of trees surround the two-lane road with dark brown bark and a light shade of green forming the leaves. The Phantom Rider glances down at one of his elbow-length white gloves. The pieces of the gray hexagon snap away to reveal more of the red screen on the back of his hand. He follows the instructions illuminated in a pale red-pink color to ride into the forest. He goes left as Rouge, and Shadow, unfortunately, follows after him on his motorcycle.

Although Shadow's motorcycle is designed for any terrain, he has to admit that his vehicle isn't better than a hoverboard that can levitate over many of the obstacles Shadow is losing momentum over. He manages to keep the Phantom Rider in his sight, however— mainly because of his blue boots and cape along with his starkly white gloves (since the rest of his outfit is a dark gray that fades into the forest's darkness)— so Shadow takes some amount of pride in his position relative to the Phantom Rider, even if second place does sting. He will just have to stay true to his word and finish off more robots than the Phantom Rider.

The Phantom Rider stops when he reaches the base, and Shadow drifts into place right beside him. The base looks like an industrial complex barely hidden behind a chain-link fence. There are two main buildings on opposite sides connected by a breezeway. One building is larger than the other with more stories and few annexes. The other building is squat and compact, but the energy signature from that building is infinitely more than the larger building. There is a symbol hanging off a sign beside the main gate. The Phantom Rider hops down from his hoverboard. He scans the symbol with the red screen on the back of his palm. He taps one of the three yellow buttons right beside the gray hexagon. His hoverboard rushes over to him like a loyal pet.

"This is the place," The Phantom Rider confirms, turning to look at Shadow from over his shoulder. He puts his gloved hands on his hips, right underneath the gray utility belt cinching the dark gray bodysuit beneath the accessories and armor. "Are you ready to knock some robo-heads, or do you need a moment to catch your breath?"

"I have no need to catch my breath." Shadow's quills bristle as the accusations. He throws one leg over the side of his motorcycle to stand on the beginning of a dirt path that never extended beyond the facility's gate.

"Come on, now, you can be honest with me. I've seen you gawking at me," The Phantom Rider chuckles again as he steps forward. He tucks his arms behind his back. He very pointedly tilts his head back to look up at Shadow as he nearly gets into the ebony hedgehog's personal space.

"While your words are misguided, I hope your self-confidence stems from somewhere other than vanity," Shadow puts his paw against the side of the Phantom Rider's helmet to shove the G.U.N. agent aside. Phantom Rider swerves to the side easily, twirling on his heels to keep from diving head-first into Shadow's motorcycle. Shadow does not care. He keeps his eyes off the Phantom Rider as he squats down onto one knee and puts the pads of his gloved fingers against the ground. He shoots forward a second later, curling into a spinning ball. In the moment right before he hits the chain-link fence, the chaos energy inside his synthesized form expands. He blinks from existence, reappearing on the other side of the fence. He slides into a halt. His air shoes skid across the ground, kicking up a fair bit of dirt.

The Phantom Rider whistles as he leans against the side of Shadow's motorcycle. Shadow rises to his feet to twist the golden inhibitor rings around his wrists to confirm they are in position. As Shadow reaches his paws into his quills to fluff them, the Phantom Rider laughs openly. Shadow refuses to wince at the staticky noise. The Phantom Rider gestures to Shadow. "Look who's showing off already. Are you going to open the gate for me?"

"Get through yourself," Shadow tells him, narrowing his eyes at the Phantom Rider and crossing his arms over his chest. Without a face to look at, Shadow doesn't know how the agent is feeling. He does, however, hear a strange noise coming from the helmet's filter. The Phantom Rider shrugs to himself. He pushes off Shadow's motorcycle to stand and stretch his arms over his head. His hoverboard comes to float between him and the gate a few feet above him. The Phantom Rider's arms drop to his side. His paws close into fists. The way he tilts his head to the side makes Shadow think the agent just winked at him. Shadow scoffs.

The Phantom Rider puts one boot on the side of Shadow's motorcycle. He uses it to kick himself into the air. He grabs onto the side of his hoverboard. He swings himself over the side of it. He gains additional height. He uses this to grab onto the top of the gate. He loses no momentum as he immediately pushes down on the gate to bring his body upward. His legs tuck against his chest, swinging over the side. He releases the gate, heading towards the ground. He is about to crash into Shadow, but the ebony hedgehog— for some inexplicable reason— instinctively catches the Phantom Rider in both of his arms. The Phantom Rider's arms wrap around Shadow's shoulder. He moves one paw to tap Shadow's nose with his finger. "I knew you were a sweetheart. Thanks for the assist."

Shadow growls under his breath as he moves to drop the Phantom Rider. The agent throws his legs into the air. He places his paws on the ground. He maintains his handstand for a long second before he pushes off the ground. He spins and twists until he lands in a squat beside Shadow, elbows nestled on his knees. He gives Shadow a thumbs-up oozing with cheekiness. Shadow rolls his eyes. "Stop with the games. We have a mission."

With Shadow's words, the garage doors on the ground level of the buildings start to pull open. Instead of vehicles, there are rows and rows of robots. The designs with the clunky main body and the spindly limbs are familiar. Eggman must have sold a few of his designs to terrorist organizations. Shadow tucks that piece of information away as he prepares for a fight. The Phantom Rider lazily rises to his feet, hitting a button on his bracer to bring his hoverboard over the gate. When it drops down right beside him, he leaps onto it. "On the contrary, the game has just begun. Winner takes all, huh?"

"I will win."

"Prove it."

Like a gun firing to indicate the beginning of a race, those words set the two into motion. Shadow air shoes lift him off the ground in a similar way the hoverboard keeps the Phantom Rider suspended. He pumps his arms as he zeroes on a specific target. He drops down into a roll. He spin-dashes into the first robot. Before it can even start tipping over, Shadow is slamming into the next one. He combos five of them before he lands back on the ground. His chaos energy leaves a dark orange streak behind him, and it becomes an afterimage of where he once was as he immediately slides out of the way of a miniature missile meant to blow him to smithereens. It, instead, breaks apart the ground. As rock chunks lift off the ground, Shadow hurriedly kicks two of them in quick succession to bring down a pair of robots like bowling pins.

Shadow turns around to grab the fist of a robot ready to punch him. As Shadow's fingers shatter the metal encasing, the Phantom Rider appears to punch the robot himself. His fist goes through the robot's head. Exposed wires cackle with electrical sparks. The Phantom Rider pulls his fist back through. His white gloves are stained black with oil stains. The other stains either blend into his body suit or slide right off his metallic armor. The Phantom Rider pays little attention to it as he brings his leg up to kick the robot's side. It topples over in one direction, knocking a few others over. Shadow glares at the agent who stole his enemy. The Phantom Rider gestures to a trail of robotic bodies left in his wake. "I believe I'm winning. Not a surprise, but it must really wound your pride."

While Shadow is uncertain if he would normally warn the Phantom Rider, he definitely isn't going to tell him about the robots sneaking up behind him now. Shadow turns to deal with his own next batch. He doesn't particularly care to hide his smile as he hears the Phantom Rider make a half-surprised, half-choked noise as his hubris catches up to him.

Shadow, unfortunately, loses his enemy for a second time when a bullet fires right through the robot's head. Shadow glances to the side. Omega is standing in the molten remains of the chain-link fence. Rouge flies above him. She smiles and winks at Shadow as she flies toward the topmost floor in this entire complex. She uses her heel to smash a window open. She flies inside, gathering the information they came for. Defeating the robots isn't necessary, but Rouge has often told them that she can handle the technical business while they keep her safe from the goons, including robots and human or Mobian minions. This time seems to be no different. Shadow would have helped her, though, if it wasn't for the Phantom Rider goading him on.

A fabric brushes against the side of Shadow's face, drawing his attention. It was the Phantom Rider's white and blue scarf/cape. The Phantom Rider is right beside him. The agent has brought his hoverboard up and folded his body into a ball. He uses the hoverboard as a shield to protect himself and Shadow. The Phantom Rider's legs straighten, and like a spring, he crashes shoulder first into a robot. As it goes down, he puts a paw on the shoulder to swing around the back. He snaps the head clean off. He takes the head with him as he runs over the back to the chest. He throws the head over his hoverboard to hit the robot that tried attacking him. The Phantom Rider jumps down from the chest to the ground beside Shadow. He taps the hedgehog's nose once more. "Pay attention."

Shadow's chest flares with anger and wounded pride. He reaches out to grab the Phantom Rider. He roughly shoves the agent behind him. Shadow grabs the fist that was aimed at the Phantom Rider's head. Shadow twists it, knocking the robot to the ground. He listens to Omega fighting against a few more of them. As he turns around to look at the Phantom Rider, he notices Rouge flying out a different window, heading towards the other building. Shadow looks at the Phantom Rider's red screen guard. "I could say the same to you."

"I guess only one of us needs to be," The Phantom Rider chuckles. He twists his body around to join the fray once more. He leaps around the back of one of the large robots. He removes his digital cape. He wraps it around the robot's head. He ties it quickly. The robot's panic is immediate. The Phantom Rider swings over the shoulder to drop onto the arm. He grabs onto the wrist. He starts tapping away on the screen until rockets appear. The robot fights him at every turn, but the Phantom Rider's laughter echoes from his helmet as he aims the rockets at different enemies as best he can given his position and how much the robot is spinning around.

Shadow shakes his head to snap himself out of his reverie. He avoids the rockets, tossing the robots into the line of fire when he needs protection. The laughter, strangely enough, reminds Shadow of Sonic, despite the laughter literally sounding like a computer after coffee was spilled on it (which was not an accident. Shadow still hates computers, especially when they make weird noises at him. G.U.N. is lucky he didn't smash his and everyone else's computers rather than just pour Rouge's coffee on it. He'll do it again, too). With this thought in mind, Shadow might have started looking for other similarities because he's finally noticed that the Phantom Rider's fighting style is familiar. Sure, Sonic is faster, and throws in a lot more spin-dashes, but when you strip away the supernatural speed, Sonic does the same things the Phantom Rider does in hand-to-hand combat. Frankly, the Phantom Rider is a little more reckless than Sonic.

Shadow pushes those thoughts aside. He needs to stay focused on the fight. He can worry about the Phantom Rider's connection with the Hero of Mobius later.

"I'm done here, boys. How are you doing?" Rouge asks through the communication devices. She sits in the windowsill of a building, a variety of goodies spread out in her hands. Shadow is about to answer her when he hears, feels, and even partially sees a particularly large explosion. Shadow shuts his eyes and waves his paw in front of his face. When the smoke clears, he opens his eyes to find Omega standing in the destruction of several robots with a cracked ground all around him. Phantom Rider stands on his hoverboard a few feet away. He points at Omega with boisterous laughter filling the air in the aftermath of the explosion.

"ALL HOSTILE UNITS CONFIRMED TO BE ELIMINATED. INITIATING A SWEEP FOR SALVAGEABLE PARTS." Omega's voice doesn't grate on Shadow's ears nearly as much as the Phantom Rider's laughter does. Omega starts stomping through the robots left dismantled on the ground with a sweeping device extending from one arm and the other one forming a claw that can pick out whatever he needs.

"Don't forget to check inside. I dealt with a few hostile units myself," Rouge taps the window she's sitting in front of. She leaps onto the ground, letting her findings move to the crook of her elbow. She saunters over to them. When she sees Shadow's body language, she smiles at him, "Nothing I couldn't handle, but I appreciate your desire to help."

"We should start heading back," The Phantom Rider adds as he glides over to them. He taps his foot against the hoverboard (another familiar habit).

"Here, take the stuff. We'll meet you back at HQ, yeah?" Rouge tells him as she drops the items. The Phantom Rider darts forward to catch them all before they hit the ground.

"Yeah, see you there. I'll probably be checking the security footage to figure out who won," The Phantom Rider responds, gesturing between him and Shadow. He turns his hoverboard around. His cape billows in the wind behind him like chaos energy following certain Mobians when they activate their abilities (usually speed-based ones).

Rouge puts her elbow against Shadow's shoulder. One of her wings moves around him as if to protect him from some unknown threat. "What did you think of him?"

"HE IS AN EFFICIENT FIGHTER. HE DEFEATED A SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE OF THE HOSTILE UNITS," Omega answers her question. Rouge smiles at him over her shoulder, but her turquoise eyes return to Shadow soon enough.

Shadow shuffles, avoiding eye contact. He crosses his arms over his chest. "I do not understand why G.U.N. assigned him to us. He is arrogant and reckless."

"So, exactly your type?" Rouge's giggling echoes in his ear.

He glares at her from the corner of his eye. "Stop."

"Stop? Hun, I haven't said anything yet."

"Stop before you start."

"You know, I'm not hearing a denial," Rouge hums conspiratorially.

Shadow rolls his eyes. He pulls himself away from Rouge. She catches her balance quickly to trail behind him as Shadow heads toward his motorcycle. When he looks over his shoulder at her, she gives him a bright smile. "I'm riding with you, m'kay? I'm a little tired from all this flying and fighting."

"As long as you do not bring up any of your nonsense," Shadow begrudgingly agrees. Rouge gives him an expression that is meant to invoke honesty and promise, but Shadow has known her long enough to see the undertones that imply she is going to be teasing him the entire ride back to the G.U.N. headquarters.

—

Since Omega is looking for salvageable parts, Shadow and Rouge enter the meeting room alone. Rouge flies over to a chair, dropping down into it immediately. Shadow remains standing between her chair and the neighboring one. The Phantom Rider sits at the end of the table with the retrieved items spread out in front of him. He turns to salute them. Rouge smiles as she returns his salute with a wink. Shadow makes an annoyed noise under his breath. Commander Abraham Tower stands at the head of the table, watching a G.U.N. agent pick through some of the flash drives to plug into their computer.

"Was the suit test a success?" The commander asks, turning his heterochromatic eyes toward the Phantom Rider.

"It was! The suit worked really well. You can ask Shadow. He saw me ride the hoverboard and fight with it on," The Phantom Rider replies. He rises onto his feet. His chair slides away from him. He reaches his paws to the sides of his helmet. He pulls it off in one smooth motion. Shadow, honestly, shouldn't be surprised at all to see Sonic's sweaty face, but the blue fur does cause his eyes to widen minutely. Sonic tucks the helmet beneath his arm. With a voice Shadow knows all too well, Sonic continues, "How was everything on your end?"

"Fine. The clarity of the security camera should be fixed, but we were able to determine your location, the relative position of your body, and your health status with ease," The commander explains, gesturing to a tablet left on the side of the table with a schematic of the Phantom Rider suit on it. The helmet flashes red, perhaps because Sonic took the helmet off. The commander taps a button to silence the beeping.

"Blue, I didn't know you were joining us," Rouge admits, putting an elbow on the armrest. She settles her chin in her palm to stare at him with glittering turquoise eyes. While she doesn't seem like it, Rouge loves a challenge as much as Sonic and Shadow do. She just prefers her challenges to be in the form of a mystery. Shadow gets the impression that while Sonic was one of her suspects for who could be beneath the helmet, she dismissed him as a possibility. Shadow understands why. The Phantom Rider might have been fast on his hoverboard, but he didn't use the natural, bodily speed Sonic is known for.

"I didn't know I was joining you guys, either! The commander here asked me for a favor testing out a new suit they want to start giving their Mobian recruits. I knew he was going to send me on a mission, but I didn't know it would be with Team Dark. I'm not upset, though. I love hanging out with you guys, and I always have fun competing with Shadow," Sonic notes. He puts his arm on the back of the chair. He leans forward, nestling his cheek against his forearm. A smile spreads across his face.

"Shadow feels the same way," Rouge answers for Shadow. He glares at her. She only laughs. Shadow turns away from her, and he regrets it when he sees the brilliant smile stretching across Sonic's face. It's so large that his eyes are halfway shut. With nowhere else to look, Shadow glances at the commander. The G.U.N. operative seems confused with the flow of the conversation, but he quickly fixes his expression when he notices Shadow staring at him.

"If you feel the test has been finished, you can change out of the suit," The commander says to Sonic directly.

"Yeah, that's probably for the best. As much fun as riding on a hoverboard was, I prefer being on my feet," Sonic chuckles. He sets the helmet on the table beside the terrorist's old stuff. The other G.U.N. agent in the room picks the helmet and the tablet up, taking them with her to the computer she was putting flash drives in. Sonic walks around the chair. He stops when he's between Rouge's chair and Shadow. He puts one paw on the back of the chair and the other on Shadow's shoulder. He leans in close to Shadow's face. "No offense. You look great on a motorcycle."

As Sonic pushes off the chair and Shadow's shoulder to jog out the room, Shadow is reminded of the plethora of nicknames and comments the Phantom Rider made throughout the night. Rouge rises to her feet with a low whistle. She moves through the space between her chair and Shadow. As she reaches the door, she glances over her shoulder at him. "You had a crush on the same guy twice."

She giggles as she enters the hallway. Shadow's face flushes with embarrassment as he hurries after her with several denials on his tongue.

Left in the room, the commander murmurs, "What—"