Rouge the bat stepped out of the casino near her home in Night Babylon, flipping through the greenbacks that she had earned.
"Another successful night," she sighed, exhausted. Rouge was infamous for cheating and stealing from others, especially on her casino nights. Although she was a trained agent for G.U.N, the law enforcement and military organization, Rouge was also a professional jewel thief, being an uncanny lover of shiny things. Stuffing the money into her pocket, Rouge rolled up her glove to check the time. 1:15 A.M. Another deep sigh. "I've been trying to get more sleep in lately. Oh, well." She glanced up at the flashing lights that surrounded the streets.
Rouge cast her gaze upon a darker building, one that was not brightly lit or colorful. It was a rounded metal building with smoke emerging in black clouds from the pipes that protruded from the roof. From the back, it didn't look like much, but from the front, the gray building was the shape of a face—a face with circular glasses, a pointy-haired mustache, and large square teeth that served as windows and the front doors. Only one person would build something in such a shape—the notorious Doctor Robotnik.
Rouge yawned, deciding that she didn't want to go to bed yet. I need some excitement, she thought, heading towards the gray building, some sorta thrill. I'll head over there for some fun.
Gimme Shelter—the darkest building in all of Night Babylon. Rouge crept to the door, and, with a short scan of the area to check for robot guards, she rapidly typed the code on the keypad that rested on the door, having learned it by heart. The teeth-doors slid open smoothly; Rouge peered inside and then flipped off to the side wall. Empty, she thought after scouring the area. The old man is probably sleeping somewhere else. Relaxing since she didn't have to sneak around, Rouge jumped up and fluttered her night-black wings to silently glide across the room full of robotic prototypes and parts that were laid out on sleek counter-tops and tables. She passed by the Mother Computer—a supercomputer that was capable of accessing government files and top-secret material with the touch of a button. At least, this is what Rouge had previously used it for. The Mother Computer was the center of information in the entire area, which was useful for Robotnik especially.
Rouge flattened herself out on the wall next to another sleek metal door labeled, "Project Shadow-Top Secret". Not a robot or Phi in sight! Rouge smoothed out her short white hair in her pride and then tapped the passcode into the next keypad. Breaking into a lab was a task that Rouge had learned over and over, making it the easiest part of being a thief and a spy. Once again, the door slid open and Rouge glided into the next room.
A single light shone in the very center of the room, where a large glass tube was protruding in the center of the floor. In the tube, there was a dark figure, suspended in some sort of liquid. Project Shadow.
"Wake up, Shadow . . ." Rouge muttered as she tapped a button, " . . . I'm gonna bust you out."
The liquid drained from the tube, all running to the bottom like a whirlpool. The glass ascended into the metal cylinder that held it steady from above. Steam poured out from every direction, causing Rouge to cough.
"Dramatic, much?" she uttered through the steam.
"Hmph." Once the fog cleared, the dark figure stepped forward towards Rouge. Black and red spikes protruded from his head and back. Shadow the hedgehog.
"Well, Shadow, how do ya feel?" Rouge set her elbow on his shoulder playfully. Shadow shoved it off with force.
"Fine, Rouge. Why did you wake me?"
"I felt lonely and needed some company to hang out with tonight. I was only trying to have a little fun."
"Ha! 'Fun' . . . what a ridiculous word. Surely you aren't intending to take me to help you steal, are you?" Before Rouge could give an answer, an alarm went off and robots suddenly flooded into the room, backing Rouge and Shadow against the wall. Rouge went into a fighting stance, eager and ready to battle. Shadow merely stood his ground with a scowl on his face. "See what you've gotten us into?" he said, gesturing to the swarms of robots. Rouge shrugged.
"Excuse me for trying to help you," she retorted. Shaking his head, Shadow grabbed her by the arm. "Hey!"
"Chaos Control!" he shouted. There was a flash, and then the robots stopped in confusion. The two figures had vanished.
Rouge and Shadow reappeared on a beach-Emerald beach. The sound of the waves was soothing, even in the dark. Rouge broke the quiet feeling of the sandy coastline.
"Why did you do that? I was ready to fight!" she exclaimed, frowning and crossing her arms. Shadow produced his Chaos Emerald, tossing it freely.
"I wasn't about to start any trouble with those metal beasts. Eggman's been making them more powerful, you know," Shadow smirked. A mist of waves cut the quiet atmosphere of the night, roaring every time they crashed into the shore.
"Well, that was my idea of fun," Rouge remarked. Shadow shrugged.
"Obviously a dangerous one." he said. Rouge sighed.
"Well, now what?"
"You tell me. I'm not about to find something productive for the two of us to do. You released me for a reason, so find one, even if the reason is made up." Rouge paced in a circle, thinking and trying to devise plans for the rest of the night. Shadow began to create ripples in the sand gently with his mind, which was controlled by the Chaos Emerald. There was a smooth ripple every time . . . Shadow shut his eyes, still moving the sand. Gently and slowly the grains lifted and descended . . . smoothly. It was a very relaxing sensation.
All at once, a disturbance, not in the beach itself, but in the sensation, occurred. Shadow's red eyes snapped open and the sand waves stopped. They weren't alone on the beach.
"Rouge, I need you to follow me," he called out. Rouge, exasperated, threw up her arms and sighed.
"I guess I have no other choice, Mr. 'I'm-not-finding-anything-productive'," she thought, fluttering her black wings and trying to keep up with Shadow.
Shadow used his Chaos Control to find the disturbance. It wasn't too far away—just another sixty feet. Rouge panted, her eyes watering from the sand being kicked up under Shadow's air shoes. She flew higher to avoid any more sand in her face. Shadow started muttering to himself.
"Why the rush?" Rouge called down. Shadow, without looking up at her, responded.
"There's something over here." Shadow halted at a massive cliff. There was a cave entrance where Shadow and Rouge had stopped. The waves echoed through it. Shadow took the opportunity to walk into it without hesitation. Rouge did hesitate, however.
"Shadow, what are you doing?"
"I'm investigating this crevice," he replied, his deep voice already echoing through the cave, "and I'll need you to watch my back."
"Nothing like the feeling of being wanted," Rouge muttered under her breath. She descended into the cave behind Shadow.
Shadow had stopped running, and Rouge had dropped to the ground. She still had every intention of picking an argument.
"What did you sense while I was pacing? Some sort of joke, maybe?" Shadow gave her a glare.
"Do I seem like the kind to joke around?" he asked threateningly. Rouge, knowing him all too well, was not taken aback by his intimidation.
"Well, then, what was it? A waterfall? Or an alien invasion?"
"Shut up. I don't know what it was, so stop the questions." Rouge decided that it was pointless to continue arguing with him, so she shut her mouth and walked along with him.
Shadow stopped walking. He paused and looked around. There was a gap in the wall; another opening that led to the beach. More calming waves were throwing themselves over the sands. Shadow narrowed his blood-red eyes.
"Over there," he mumbled. Rouge gave him a questioning look.
"What? What's over there?"
"It's . . ." Shadow, for the first time, hesitated to approach whatever it was. " . . . I don't know. I'm going to find out. If something should happen to me, don't try anything. Just go back home." Rouge stepped back.
"Oh, please, Shadow. You're overreacting." Without warning, she flew over to the shore. Shadow growled.
"No," he hissed, "you ignorant-"
"Shadow! Come here!" Her yell was faint over the waves, but Shadow heard it clear as day. He glided over to her. Rouge didn't seem alarmed, but instead in awe . . . or shock. Shadow stopped and looked at what had caused the disturbance in his sensation. Washed up from the shore was a figure with a drenched blue dress. It was . . . a girl.