Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog and Co.
A/N: If you care, I made everyone about six years older for this story. Just do the math and you'll be fine. If you don't care, then kudos to you, but still, I hope you enjoy this story. I honestly couldn't stop laughing while typing it. Now, let's begin.
Tonight was the night - her final night.
After extraordinary work as an agent for GUN, Rouge was promoted to a higher rank, and with the new status came a new mission. A new mission that involved relocation, but before departing, the GUN executives at Rouge's current location had wanted to bid farewell to the bat, who served many successful years with them. They arranged a little get together to formally say good-bye. Oh, who were they kidding? An extravagant gala was a more fitting description.
The Grand Ballroom of the Empire Hotel was filled with GUN associates in black and white tie attire. The awkward attempts at conversation, discussions about the weather, and other talks on matters not particularly interesting had turned into a buzzing sound throughout the room.
The harsh flash from the photographer's camera stung a pair of emerald green eyes.
Sonic shuddered. "Sorry, can we try that again?" He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. It seems as if the hedgehog had blinked in the shot; this would be the seventh time of him doing so.
Amy Rose, who was clinging onto his left arm, giggled at his foolishness, while Tails, situated on the opposite side of him, groaned.
"C'mon, Sonic!" The kitsune rubbed his eyes, trying to make the spots of different colored lights fade away from his vision.
The photographer, with the camera sling around his neck, let go of the camera and rolled his eyes. "I really don't mind these retries since I'm getting paid for this, but you're holdin' up the line, buddy!" He motioned to the line of guests impatiently waiting to get their pictures taken. The man was hired to play a paparazzo for the night, purely for the fun of it, but here was the heroic hedgehog unknowingly taking the fun out of it.
"Sorry, guy. This is the last time." Sonic avoided Tails' glare. "I promise."
The photographer held up the camera to his face. Amy tilted her head, Tails flashed a cheerful smile, and Sonic struggled to keep his eyes open. "Alright, ya ready?"
Sonic nodded his head and did his signature thumbs up towards the camera. "Ready."
1,2,3.. Click !
"GRAZIE!" The photographer shouted in praise. The line of guests applauded, glad that the pesky blue hedgehog and his friends were finally giving them their chance for a photo.
"We did it!" Amy jumped up, and squeezed Sonic's arm in excitement.
"Heh, heh. I knew we could." Sonic responded in an uneasy tone. Amy's grip was so tight that he swore that he was losing circulation in his arm.
The party of three walked off into where the socializing mainly took place.
A waitor carrying glasses of champagne on a gold tray was approaching them.
"Hey Amy, not to be rude or anything, but could you let go of my arm?" Sonic eyed the sparkling wine intensely as if it were an escape from Amy's grasp.
"Sure thing, Sonikku!" As soon as Amy released him, Sonic quickly picked up the glass of bubbly off the tray before the waitor passed him. Tails made a grab for a glass, but Sonic nudged his hand away.
"You're only fourteen."
Tails was about to counter, but there was a soft vibration coming from his suit jacket. He took his cellphone out of his pocket, and without looking at the caller ID, answered the phone. "Knuckles, please drop it. We're not interfering with Rouge's decision to leave with some last-minute scheme."
Sonic took a sip from the glass, and shook his head at his echidna friend's desperation to keep his love in town.
"I'm gonna go check out what they're serving tonight. See you boys later." Amy walked off, leaving Sonic and Tails to deal with Knuckles over the phone.
Tails handed Sonic the phone. "Knux, you gotta understand. If Rouge is happy with her choice, then you should be happy for her." Sonic set down his glass on a nearby table.
The fox shot Sonic a glance, and whispered, "Okay, love guru."
Sonic winked at his little "brother," and was about to continue giving advice until he saw a figure making their way through the crowd. "Listen, I gotta go. How 'bout we chat later? Matter of fact, how 'bout you show up!" With that, he snapped the phone shut and handed it back to Tails. "Let's get a move on."
Tails scrunched his face, not fully understanding the hedgehog's orders until he looked where Sonic had been looking before. There, at twelve o'clock was the GUN Commander advancing through the crowd in Tails' direction with one and only one intention: to convince Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower to join a GUN division.
Tails sped away, following in Sonic's hastened steps.
Sonic had spotted the ebony hedgehog from across the ballroom floor. Shadow stood by himself, refusing to engage in pointless small talk with others. In his hand was a glass, and it seemed that it had gone untouched the whole time he was there since it seemed to be full.
"Sup, Shads?" Sonic slinked an arm around Shadow's shoulders.
Shadow remained silent. He didn't even flinch at Sonic's unexpected arrival beside him.
Tails followed shortly. "Hey Shadow." He gave a short wave, before looking over both shoulders.
"Of course, Tweedledum goes nowhere without Tweedledee." Shadow remarked. The "brothers" shared a grin. "We're in one space for about five hours. Yes, it's quite spacious, but that doesn't mean that you'll avoid the Commander."
"But after how many times we've told him that we just want to remain vigilantes, we have no other choice." Tails sighed.
"He's sure one stubborn guy." Sonic piped in, and rested his head against Shadow's. It didn't take less than a second for the ebony hedgehog to remove himself from his rival's embrace.
He dusted off his shoulder. "You two look like penguins." Sonic and Tails let out a laugh. As if they didn't already feel like clowns in their suits, especially since all Shadow wore was a black bowtie.
Sonic shrugged his arms. "Well, this is us tryna be all fancy shmancy. Don't blame us!"
Amy returned to them with a small plate of hors d'oeuvres in hand. "There you guys are! Sonic, Tails, the Commander wishes to speak with you." She popped half of a deviled egg into her mouth. "Just thought I'd let you know," she said with the food on one side of her cheek.
Tails slapped a gloved hand against his forehead. "Great," he muttered.
Shadow stepped forward, and took hold of Amy's free hand. "My, my. You look beautiful tonight, Rose."
Amy's eyes widened and she swallowed her food in one gulp. "Oh, Shadow." She said in a breathy voice.
"Oh, Shadow!" Sonic imitated in a high-pitched tone. He pretended to fall back, and clutch onto his heart, as if it beat at an abnormal pace due to Shadow's "suavity."
The dark hedgehog ignored Sonic's antics, but Amy snapped her head in his direction.
"Will you stop it, Sonic!" Amy then faced Shadow once again. "At least Shadow knows how to be a gentleman." She smiled genuinely at him.
Shadow returned her smile with a smirk. "I'm afraid I have to go for the time being. I'm off to check up on the lady of the night." Still holding onto her hand, he pulled her close and placed a kiss on her cheek.
Sonic felt a strange sensation in his stomach. Was he jealous? Couldn't be. But whatever that darn hedgehog was doing, it was working. Sonic knew one thing was for certain. Shadow definitely knew how to get under Sonic's skin.
Amy swooned as Shadow walked away from them, watching his every move until he disappeared into the crowd.
Sonic cleared his throat, making her whip her head in his direction and blush slightly. Tails could only chuckle at the scene.
Rouge sat at a brightly lit vanity desk in a hotel room, floors above the Grand Ballroom. She was in the process of reapplying her make-up, for she had ruined it earlier with undesirable tears. The images of an argument that took place earlier that day kept replaying in her head. It was violent, messy, and disastrous. It made her feel miserable.
Only he could do that to her. That Knucklehead.
The red echidna was raging. "I can't believe you're still going through with this." He said through gritted teeth.
Rouge looked at him in disbelief. "Why can't you?"
"Because," He paused to regain his posture, but found it difficult to. Instead, he acted out. Rouge jumped as a vase fell to pieces on the floor and the sounds of shattered ceramic filled her ears.
She shoved the echidna into a wall. "What is wrong with you! Why did you even come here?"
Knuckles roughly grabbed her, and held her in front of him. "Why does something have to be wrong with me if I don't want you to leave? If I lo-care for you so much that I can't imagine how I'll get on without you here!"
Rouge tried to shake off his hold, but couldn't. He was stronger than her, but that didn't stop her from trying. She kicked him in his shin, causing him to release her. "If you came here to change my mind, I suggest you leave now." She walked away from him, but he caught her wrist. "Knuckles, let me go!"
He pulled her towards him again, and forced her to look at him. "This is what you really want, huh?"
"I care for you, too. I really –"
"Cut me the bull."
Rouge noticed a tear forming in the corner of her eye as she put on mascara. She set the wand back into its tube and took off her glove. She pressed her index finger on the corner of her eye, hoping to block out the tear.
A knock was heard at the door.
"Who is it?" Rouge called out.
"It's me." A deep voice responded from the other side of the door.
Rouge instantly recognized the voice as Shadow's. "I'll be right there, Shadow darling." She stood up from her spot at the vanity, and descended down the short hall to the door. She let out a sigh before opening the door.
"Shadow, baby!" She greeted, enclosing him in a warm hug. She walked away to resume her seat at the desk, now beginning to apply blush to her muzzle.
Shadow followed, and seated himself on the single bed that was in the room. "I could've sworn you were going to the Oscars."
She swirled the brush around in its palette, and looked up at the hedgehog. She smirked at his reflection, "Don't you charm me, Shadow the Hedgehog."
He laid backwards on the bed, and turned away from her. "So this is where you're staying tonight?" He closed his eyes, envisioning the ivory bat not bothering to face him, but still busily applying makeup – makeup that he felt wasn't needed for someone as appealing as she was. But even as she put on her makeup, Shadow admired how she did it with such grace. She casually allured him.
"Mhm, the lovely people over at GUN are paying for this suite. Nice, isn't it?"
Shadow lifted himself from the bed, and sat on the side closest to where she was. Sitting directly behind her, he placed a comforting hand on her back.
After closing the compact and placing the brush in her bag, she watched him in the mirror. "It seems that our days as a tag team have come to an end, but every cloud has a silver lining. I got my promotion!"
In this moment, Shadow saw the motivation in her eyes. Rouge had green on her mind. She saw this promotion as a way to obtain her coveted riches. She may be a government agent, but her mindset as a jewel thief will always remain with her.
"I'm glad you did." Shadow was offered that promotion many a time, but denied it and never once thought about accepting it. As much as he would like to think of himself as a lone wolf, he was emotionally attached to a certain female. The same female seated in front of him. The same female who was more concerned with putting on another face with gunk than paying full attention to him.
Rouge got up from her seat, and looked at the hedgehog in her presence. She gave him a small smile. A sad little smile. She leaned in and kissed him. A short kiss, but sweet and meaningful, nonetheless.
"I love you." The three words escaped from her lips. The tone in which she said them in reminded Shadow of a child. She was vulnerable, and he could tell from how her eyes looked like they were going to burst with tears any minute.
He slid a single hand on her neck, his thumb smoothed against her cheek. "Why would you love someone like me?"
Rouge wanted to give him the "real" answer, the answer that would send her in hysterical sobs and cause her to put on her makeup for the third time that night, but she chose the simplest one that came to mind. "I love you for you."
Shadow, with his thumb still rubbing her cheek, "Don't be phony."
Normally, Rouge would've disregarded her friend's comment, knowing that it was a part of his demeanor, but not tonight, not in this moment. In this moment, Rouge felt unguarded and tender, weak even, and she was not going to let Shadow get away with dismissing her feelings just like that.
She threw his hand off her, and walked to the closet to retrieve her purse. "I really hope you order the jerk tonight, because you are what you eat!"
Shadow frowned and made his way over to her. "I've always loved your sense of humor."
"Whatever."
He sighed, grateful that they were in the privacy of the hotel room, or he would've never said this. "I love you, too, Rouge."
She appeared from behind the closet door, a devious grin present on her face. "Was that so hard ?"
Shadow grabbed her by her hand. "Let's go."
Meanwhile, back at the Grand Ballroom, all of the guests were seated at their assigned tables. The circular tables were draped with fine linen tablecloths and were gathered outside of what would be the dance floor. At Sonic's table sat a red echidna, sulking while he ate from the appetizer dish.
"If I knew he was going to mope around like this, I would've just told him to stay home!" Sonic whispered to Tails, who sat on his left.
In front of them was Amy Rose, who was seated on Knuckles' right. She heard what Sonic said, and wasn't pleased. "Would you stop it?" She chided.
The room became quiet, and the guests' heads were turned to the front of the room, where Shadow stood holding the hand of an ivory bat who glimmered under the lights of the chandeliers.
"Everyone, I present to you, the lady of the evening: Rouge the Bat."
People rose from their chairs to applaud her, except for Knuckles. He remained seated, not even bothering to look at the bat.
Amy stomped on Knuckles' foot. "Rude!"
Sonic could only give the pink hedgehog an "I told you so" look without receiving any bodily harm from her.
GUN associates swarmed to where Rouge was to congratulate her and give her recognition. She wasn't able to greet the people properly, because each time she was let go of a hug, she either was locked in another one or someone took hold of her hand to shake hands with her. All she could do was keep a toothy grin plastered on her muzzle.
Shadow watched her amusingly, knowing that she loved the attention.
People gathered on the dance floor as the live orchestra started to play a jive tune. Rouge took this as her cue to walk over to the table where her fellow anthropomorphics were seated. She strode to Knuckles first.
"You haven't said a word to me this evening." She said with a half-lidded expression and captivating smile.
Knuckles kept his silence, and stabbed his fork into the steak, cutting the meat savagely.
Rouge lowered herself so that her lips were only a few inches away from his ear. "What's the matter? Cat's got your tongue?"
Amy looked over to Sonic and Tails hopelessly, clearly affected by her friend's despair. She silently begged them for help.
Tails wore a pained expression, and Sonic's chest deflated.
The young fox stood up from the table. "Rouge, I'd like to apologize for what I'm about to do. I hope we can still be cordial with each other despite what might occur in the near future."
Sonic facepalmed at his brother's folly, but quickly covered for him. "What he meant to say was," a soft sound from the woodwind section of the symphony gave him an idea, "he'd like to dance."
Rouge smirked at the boy, somehow taking the hint that there was a second meaning to his statement, but went along with it. "Well, you could've just told me."
As Rouge and Tails waltzed, Knuckles' head sprang up. "What are you guys planning?"
"He speaks!" Sonic joked.
"We're doing this because we care about you, Knux." Amy placed a reassuring hand on Knuckles' shoulder.
"Yeah, well before we do anything, we gotta take out one other person." Sonic eyed Shadow from across the floor. He appeared to be studying Tails' every move suspiciously.
Amy straightened her back, and began to rise from her chair. "Allow me."
"No," Sonic pushed her back and she fell clumsily into the seat, "Allow me." He winked at her before leaving the table.
She and Knuckles shared a confused glance. "I will never understand that boy."
To Rouge's surprise, Tails knew how to dance very well, but she wasn't going to let him distract her from whatever he was planning. Hello, she was a GUN agent, who was getting promoted! She knew these kinds of things. "You do realize that you're in a room full of highly-trained GUN officials, correct?"
"Thank you, captain obvious."
"Then why risk it all, fox boy?"
"Because I care about my friend."
Sonic picked up a champagne glass, and swallowed half of it in one gulp. Sonic was cunning. Sonic was smooth. Sonic was –
"Oof!"
A fail.
The blue hedgehog lost his footing, and tripped, leaving the sparkling wine to fly out of the glass and onto Shadow's face.
"Hedgehog!" Shadow growled as he wiped the remnants of bubbly off of him.
"Oh, sorry Shads."
Rouge peered at Tails knowingly. "So, this is about Knuckles?"
"I'm sorry, Rouge, but –" Tails stuck the tranquilizing syringe into Rouge's thigh. "I had to. You're breaking his heart!"
"You little.." Rouge collapsed into Tails' arms. He tried his best to hold her up, and continued to "waltz" out of the room, avoiding any weird stares in the process.
Sonic handed Shadow a napkin. "Use this."
Shadow dabbed his fur with the napkin, but abruptly stopped. Something in his head went off, and he scanned the room vigorously. "Where's Rouge?" His red eyes pierced into Sonic's emerald pair. Sonic could only shrug his shoulders.
A shriek came from the guests surrounding them.
Shadow swiftly turned the hedgehog around, and now held Sonic up against the wall by his neck. His hands wrapped in an unbreakable death drip. "Where is she?"
Even in this deadly situation, Sonic displayed his trademark grin, much to Shadow's annoyance. "She's in a," he wheezed before finishing, "comprising position."
Shadow dropped him onto the floor, and advanced to where Knuckles and Amy were sitting.
"Wait, I'll tell you!" Shadow turned around only to meet with Sonic's fist; it successfully knocked him to the ground.
The guests cried out once more.
"I'd love to stay and chat but -" Sonic was interrupted by a hard tapping on his shoulder.
"Sonic the Hedgehog, it's nice seeing you here."
The Commander.
"We've got to do something!" Amy stood up from the table. "Knuckles, stop brooding! We're doing this for you, anyway."
Knuckles removed the napkin he had wrapped around his neck like a bib, and threw it on his plate. "Alright!"
As a result of fast decision making, Tails ripped off both of his suit jacket sleeves. They served as ties for Rouge's hands, which were behind her back, and a mouth gag to keep her silent for whenever she woke up. "I'm usually not the one to do this, so please forgive me." He said to her still body.
He heard footsteps and quickly shut the closet door, but was relieved to see that it was only Amy and Knuckles.
"Phew, had me worried there."
"New style, Tails?" Amy gestured towards his once suit jacket, now vest.
Knuckles pushed past him, and opened the door, "What the hell!" He was disturbed by the sight of Rouge on the floor, passed out and tied up, but at least she was in good hands… right ?
"How's Sonic holding up?" Tails asked.
Amy bit her lip. "Not good. He got past Shadow, but he forgot one factor."
"Let me guess, the Commander?"
Knuckles shut the door, and joined the conversation, but one couldn't pass up his confused expression. "So, now that we have her. What do we do with her?"
Tails and Amy looked at each other searchingly. They hadn't developed that part of their last-minute plan. This whole event tonight was centered on Rouge's departure, and if she wasn't there for the last half of it, then people would start to get suspicious.
"I don't know." Tails replied honestly.
"CHAOS -"
"We better think fast!"
"SPEAR! "
The three of them darted away from the bolt of chaos energy that would've delivered bloody consequences.
Once the smoke cleared, Knuckles leaped up. "How 'bout you put the magic tricks away, and let's do this mano y mano!" He charged at Shadow, fists aimed right at him.
Amy stifled a giggle, "Mano y mano?"
Shadow dodged Knuckles' punches with expertise, but once he got used to his jabs, Knuckles used the opportunity to uppercut him in the jaw. The ebony hedgehog flew back, but landed on his feet skillfully. He sped up to the echidna and roundhouse kicked Knuckles upside his head, causing him to fall on the floor.
While the two scuffled, Tails went to check up on Rouge, but found out that the door wouldn't budge. A hammer soon materialized in Amy's hands.
"Have no fear, Amy Rose is here!" The hammer hit the door at full speed, and soon enough, the door became unattached of its hinges. It fell forward, in Tails' and Amy's direction; they sidestepped out of the way.
The loud bang it made when it hit the floor awakened Rouge out of her trance. After seconds of going back into consciousness, she began to squeal, and tried to free her hands from the knot they were in, but failed.
The males stopped fighting once they heard her muffled cries. "Rouge!"
Shadow pushed past Amy and Tails, and entered the closet. He knelt down to where Rouge was on the floor, and untied her, freeing her hands and mouth.
The ivory bat pouted while she rubbed her wrists. "That's definitely not how you treat a lady!"
Tails stepped forward. "I really am sorry!"
Rouge stood up, and towered over the young boy. "Can it, kiddo." She walked out of where she was held captive, Shadow following suit. She stopped in front of Knuckles. "And you," she lowered her voice in a hushed tone, "you act like this move isn't going to hurt me as much as it's going to hurt you."
Knuckles crossed his arms, "That's because it's not."
Rouge pressed a sharp finger into his shoulder, "You're wrong about that, mister. It is, but you should at least be happy for me. I understand that it hurts, but c'mon, Knuckie, can't you try?"
His eyes softened. "I'll try."
They looked at each other affectionately, their connection so apparent to everyone present in the hall.
Shadow scoffed at the happy ending playing out before him.
"I have a wager for you." Rouge began, "Why don't you spend my final night with me, tonight? In my suite?" That seductive spark returned to her aqua blue eyes, and they made Knuckles' knees weak.
Tails looked disgusted, but Amy's excitement was clear. Shadow, who was usually stolid, reacted with surprise.
"He'll be there!" Amy butted in. She pulled Tails and Knuckles along to the end of the hall so that they could go back to the Grand Ballroom. Knuckles' dumbfounded expression stayed on his face.
Rouge looked back at Shadow. "I hope you don't think I'm playing with your heart."
Shadow lowered his head, and returned his gaze to the bat. "I know."
Rouge gave him that smile, again. That sad little smile, and tugged on his hand. "C'mon, let's go."
And that is the end of "You're My Sensation." I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review, aha.