I do not own any characters…except Lucy. She comes in later. The rest belong to SEGA. Enjoy!

Prologue: Realization.

Shadows POV…

I couldn't get the thoughts out of my head. Every one of them was of Rouge. Her perfect eyes, her wonderful voice, and even her amazing figure. Damn! Why cant I stop thinking of her? I looked up at the night sky. I was in an arch of a tree… in the park. I could barely see the signs of Club Rouge a few blocks away. Maybe I should go see her… No! She still thinks your dead! What would I say? 'Hey Rouge so funny thing…I'm alive! Yeah I survived!' Like that would work. It had been 3 years since the ark incident. Rouge was now 19. I wondered why I couldn't get her out of my head…

"Aw… I love you more!" My thoughts were interrupted by two love-struck teens strolling by my tree. I rolled my eyes and turned to look at them, forgetting I was in a tree. I fell and landed -quite loudly- onto the ground. The teens looked startled, and then ran away screaming.

"Hmph." I mumbled a profanity, then looked up to see the lights at Club Rouge dim down. Has it closed? I… guess I can go see if she's alright…Dammit. This would be easier if people knew I was alive. Maybe its time to tell them all…starting with Rouge. I stood up slowly, and started towards Club Rouge. I stuck to the shadows…(inside joke) and in 2 minutes I stood in front of Club Rouge.

In the front window, I saw the "closed" sign. I took a deep breath and then I thought, 'What the hell am I doing? Its 3:25 in the morning! But why am I here? Its not like I care for her…Yet now that I was here, near Rouge I felt…warm inside. What was this feeling? I reached my hand up to the door knob and then hesitated. What do I do? Do I knock? I decided it was worth a try. I knocked the door, harder than I meant to.

"Club Rouge is closed! " A familiar voice said from near the door. My heart pounded when I heard it. Why? It didn't pound like this 3 years ago…or did it? I knocked again, a little softer. The door swung open and I faced the owner. Rouge the bat. It had been 3 years since I saw her. She was in a fuchsia strapless dress, which had a slit up to her mid-thigh. Her hair was now to her shoulders and she had bangs. She was wearing purple eye shadow. She was gorgeous.

"Listen up this club is-" She stopped in her tracks when she noticed it was me. Her eyes opened wide, and her mouth gaped. Her hand flew to her mouth. I realized I was staring at her breast…because they had grown too. I quickly looked her in her eyes. The silence made me a little uncomfortable.

"Hello Rouge." I said. I realized there were tears in her eyes. Before I knew what was happening, she had grabbed me in a tight hug. The warm feeling in my chest turned to fire. Wait, was I blushing? Then Rouge spoke to me. Words that changed my life. And at the same time I realized she was wearing my bracelet on her wrist.

"Shadow? Oh Shadow! I-I Thought you were dead! *sniff* I thought I had lost you and I hated it Shadow cause I love you! I'm in love with you Shadow and I always have been!" Rouge told me. Its weird how 3 words can change lives.

Well chapter 1 coming up... CLIFF HANGER! lol sorry its short buts its only the beginning! stay tuned for more!