Chapter 4: Invasive Action

The sound of heavy footsteps resounded through the metal hallways of the base. Agents John and Smith followed behind a large, extremely muscular rhino wearing a bright yellow military uniform. The rhino's muscular frame bulged against the cloth of his uniform while an angular pair of black sunglasses rested over his eyes. As the echoes of his footsteps resounded around him, the rhino thought back to the meeting that had led to this very moment.

"You asked to see me, sir?"

Mr. Bright smiled as the uniformed rhino entered into the company founder's office. The rhino briefly looked around the room, a single eyebrow raised. The entire place was decked out in sunshine themed furniture and artwork. A large sun shaped rug dominated the center of the floor, with chairs, couches, plants, and sunlamps positioned in an organized fashion around the walls of the room. Numerous brightly colored paintings were hung upon the walls, some realistic depictions of cheerful scenes such as puppies tossing a frizbee in the park while others were more abstract arrangements of brightly colored hues in rhythmic patterns and undulating shapes. Mr. Bright's desk sat in front of the large series of windows which made up the back wall of the room, letting the light from outside stream freely into his office.

"I see your tastes in furniture are as...bright as ever." said the rhino in a deep voice. Mr. Bright laughed.

"It's good to see you too, Captain." The rhino walked across the room, standing at attention in front of Mr. Bright's desk. "So, how have you been? Anything new?"

"With all due respect, sir." intoned the rhino. "I don't believe you asked me here for small talk."

"Need I remind you," said Jackson, standing beside Mr. Bright's chair. "That you are speaking to the person who pays your paycheck, Captain, and that it would be wise not to dismiss his words so easily."

"And need I remind you, secretary boy, that I have more important things to do for Mr. Bright that participate in idle chit chat." the rhino retorted angrily.

"Now, now, settle down you two." said Mr. Bright smiling. "It probably is best to get to the point." The bulldog clasped his hands in front of him as he smiled. "You see, Captain, I need to ask you a little favor. I need someone strong and authoritative to lead a...special group of people on a top secret and very risky infiltration mission. I won't give you the details now, but just know this mission is a top priority for the company."

"What sorta of mission are we talking about?" asked the rhino, his interest clearly peaked.

"Well..." began the bulldog, smiling a bit nervously.

"You'll be leading a group of highly trained specialist on an infiltration mission deep into the jungles of Angel Island." said Jackson. "The specialists have already been told their duties, and are fully equipped to handle the task. All you have to do is get them in and out safely and make sure they aren't discovered before their mission is complete."

"Now that's what I'm talkin' bought." said the Captain, smashing one fist into the other. "It's been a while since I got some real action at this company."

"Remember." said Mr. Bright. "We want confrontation avoided at all costs. This must remain a stealth operation. Got it?"

"Sir, yes sir."

"Good. Agents' John and Smith will be meeting you at o' twenty hundred hours at the hanger to give you the details on you mission. Good luck Captain."

The rhino saluted, a grin of enthusiasm on his face, before he started to exit the office. As he turned he noticed Mr. Bright and Jackson share a secretive smile, though was quick to dismiss it. He had more important things to do, like prepare for his newest mission.

"Are the troops prepared?" asked the rhino in a gruff voice.

"Yes sir." said Agent John.

"They've been assembled just as you requested, sir. Now, about the details of your mission..."

"Later." interrupted the muscle bound figure. "We can talk about it after I address the troops."

"But sir, I..."

The rhino burst through a large metal door, his boots echoing ever louder as he marched his way straight into a large airplane hanger, leaving the Agents to stare onwards nervously from the door frame. Several black airplanes were positioned around the hanger, being prepped for take off, the sounds of their engines revving up pleasantly brushing against the rhino's ears, filling him with the thrill of battle already. Out of the corner of his eye he glanced at his soon to be soldiers, though he avoided looking directly at them for now, a little trick he'd learned to help inspire respect from soldiers back in his days in the military.

"Soldiers." intoned the rhino in an authoritative voice as he slowed to a stop in front of the group, staring straight ahead of him without looking at the group. "Tonight you embark on a dangerous mission."

"Sir, yes sir!"

The rhino began to pace before his troops. "You will be infiltrating a highly guarded area."

"Sir, yes sir!"

"You're objective is to avoid detection at all cost while you fulfill your mission," The rhino turned on his heel, pacing back towards the direction he'd come "Is that understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"I do not know the details, but I am told you are the best of the best in your field of expertise, whatever that may be. Is that correct?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Good! If what you are telling me is accurate, then we should have no problem executing this mission, right?

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Good! Now let's get ready to moooooooove out!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

The rhino turned towards the assembled group for the first time, his face bristling with a confident smile. His smile quickly faded however as he actually started looking at his troops. Before him stood numerous cheerful looking people wearing brightly colored T-shirts that read "Shimmer Brigade" on the front in big, bold letters, each smiling as they held their hands up to their heads in a salute. Slowly the rhino's jaw started to drop. He shook his head before bellowing angrily.

"JOHN! SMITH! Get you matching suit wearing booties over here PRONTO!"

The two suited men walked over nervously, each footstep sending a metallic echo through the room. "Sir, I,"

"WHAT, in the name of all things good and pure, am I looking at!"

"These are the Shimmer Brigade volunteers, sir. They..."

"The WHAT?"

The two men flinched in unison. "The Shimmer Brigade, sir." said Agent John slowly.

"They're volunteers that help with several of the Bright Corps charity organizations."

"And, why, if I may be so bold to ask, are they standing before me in a military grade airplane hanger?"

The two flinched again. "They're the ones being deployed...sir."

The rhino's massive hands reached down and grabbed the fronts the agents suits before lifting them up into the air.

"I was told," said the rhino in a deep, menacing voice. "That I would be leading a team of highly skilled specialists on a top secret stealth mission for Mr. Bright."

"Yes, sir." choked out the agents.

"And what exactly does this bunch of pansies specialize in? Flower planting?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

The rhino turned his head to stare at the smiling group, still holding attention. His jaw slowly started to drop again before he turned back to the agents with a growl. "This...had better be...a joke."

"The flower planting is just part of the mission, sir." choked out Agent John, trying desperately to breath.

"The other part is an intel gathering mission." said Agent Smith. "Very high priority sir."

"Indeed. You're also to keep tabs on Knuckles the Echidna, guardian of the Master Emerald and renowned fighter. If your caught, you might have to face a very skilled opponent."

"There's a chance you might not come back alive."

The rhino drew the two closer, staring deep into their eyes from behind his shades. The agents prepared themselves for the worst, the Captain's steaming breath practically burning against their skin. Eventually he snorted before dropping the two agents to the floor. "That sounds more like it," he muttered angrily. "BUT I WANT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THESE FLOWER PLANTING HIPPIES DRESSED IN FULL MILITARY ATTIRE ON THE DOUBLE!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

The rhino turned his back, marching away with an angry stomp as he grumbled something about not being paid enough to deal with a bunch of brightly dressed flower children, leaving the two agents to rub their necks from where the rhino's tight grip on their suits had been restricting their airways. Agent John turned to his partner.

"You don't really think Knuckles would actually kill anyone if he found out we were spying on him, do you?"

"If it keeps Captain Blowhard from crushing our skulls, then as far as I'm concerned Knuckles the echidna is the world's foremost kickboxing, judo chopping assassin with the power to shoot nuclear warheads out of his nose holes."

"I believe it's pronounced..."

"Bonehorn! That's Captain BoneHorn! Get it right, you maggot!"

The now black clad general grumbled to himself as he sat in the back of one of the black planes as it soared through the night skies. Around him sat numerous smiling Shimmer Brigade volunteers, all eager for their new assignment.

"Are you sure it's not Broadhorn?" Asked a green cat. "Because I know a guy that has the last name Broadhorn, though he's a giraffe, but still, maybe you..."

"How in the name of all things sweet and sugary could I actually mistake my own name? And furthermore, NO, I am not related to any giraffes! Now keep quite until we get to our destination."

"Can you believe we get to go skydiving?" asked a blue monkey to a nearby ferret.

"I know! At the last organization I volunteered for we just served food to the homeless."

"Oh! Was it the Soup for the Soul charity?"

"No, no, that's affiliated with the Main Street Church. Mine was Knishes for the Homeless. We're affiliated with the West Side Synagogue. We serve traditional Jewish foods to feed the impoverished of Central City."

"Oh, I've read about that one in the newspaper! I've heard you guys stay really busy."

"We get to feed a lot of people, but still, this is the first charity I've ever gotten to go skydiving at!"

"Oh, I know right? This is so..."

"THIS IS NOT SKYDIVING!" Captain Bonehorn breathed heavily in fury, causing the volunteers to immediately quiet down. "You are about to be deployed from five thousand feet in the air into dangerous enemy territory with only a piece of cloth between you and existence as tree hugging, flower planting PANCAKES!"

There was a long moment of silence as the group considered his words.

"I don't think we could plant flowers if we were pancakes."

Bonehorn cried out in fury before turning to talk into an intercom attached to the wall. "How much further are we from the drop site?"

"We're nearing it now, sir. Drop in T-minus 60 seconds."

"Finally! I've had enough quality time with these hippies as it is. Everyone, parachutes on!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

The Shimmer Brigade members strapped on their parachutes. As they were doing so, the back of the plane started to open. Far below the surface of Angel Island could barely be made out in the night.

"Remember." said Bonehorn as he rose out of his seat,. "Once you jump out of this plane, you're on your own. This is enemy territory, which means it's everyone for themselves. I won't lie, some of you may not come back alive. Your parachute may not open. You may fall onto the top of a pointy tree and be impaled. You might miss Angel Island entirely, and drop straight into the ocean where you may tread water for days, if not weeks, hoping that maybe someone comes to save you before you either lose the strength to swim and drown, or you die from lack of thirst surrounded by salt ridden, undrinkable water. Any questions?"

There was a moment of silence before the ferret stood up.

"Can we go out for cocoa afterwords?"

Slowly the rhino's jaw dropped. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? I just told you that you might DIE on this mission! Why are you so happy?"

The volunteers all smiled at each other before saluting.

"An attitude of gratitude with sunshine in your heart!

Never from a cheerful spirit shall we ever depart!

Hope and joy and peace and love, we aim to be the light!

Ever shall the Shimmer Brigade be super super bright!

Goooooooooooooooo Shimmers!"

As the Shimmer Brigade volunteers all cheered Bonehorn's eye began to twitch behind his glasses.

"YOU'RE ALL OUT OF YOUR MINDS!"

The rhino screamed as he suddenly jumped out of the back of the plane, flying down at the jungle below. Immediately after numerous laughing figures leapt from the plane towards the jungle below with barely muffled excitement. Bonehorn looked back at the group almost fearfully before pulling his cord with all of his might. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a little too much as the cord ripped completely off without activating the parachute. The rhino looked at the torn cord in his hand before screaming even louder as he plummeted though the air until he finally crashed into the jungle floor below. Above him the volunteers all pulled their cords with a touch of cheerful flair, causing solid black parachutes to unfurl above them. They all did their best to contain their giggles of glee as they drifted silently and safely to the ground.

"That was so much fun!" whispered the blue monkey, trying his best to be quiet lest the surprise for the island's main resident be ruined.

"I know!" replied the ferret in a hushed voice. "I now officially love skydiving!"

"Hmf hm hmf hm hmf..."

"Did you say something?" asked the ferret.

"Nope." The two looked around for a moment before the ground began to shift beneath them. They quickly jumped to the sides as a bruised and battered Captain Bonehorn slowly rose.

"I said." began the rhino. "That it is not skydiving!"

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~!" They both replied in unison. "We have to keep it down or the surprise will be ruined."

"Speaking of," said the ferret. "I wonder where the flowers we're going to plant are?"

As if on cue, a massive crate labeled 'flowers' dropped to the ground directly on top of Captain Bonehorn.

"There they are." replied the monkey. He smiled for a moment before taking out a glow stick from his pocket and cracking it to activate it. The volunteer shook it to cause the glow to spread throughout the tube before he started waving it around. As if in reply, more glow sticks began to shine in the dark, indicating where the other groups of volunteers had landed.

"Okay, they've got our locations." replied the monkey. "Now let's start unpacking."

The front of the crate suddenly fell open as a bedraggled Bonehorn walked out covered in the orange flowers from inside the crate, several pots of them unconsciously cradled in his arms. The two volunteers beside him smiled before each taking a pot.

"That's our Captain." said the monkey cheerfully.

"Always one step ahead of the game."

"Hippie...flower...buncha..." The hardened general swayed for a moment before finally collapsing to the ground. The two volunteers beside him looked down at his prostrate form.

"Skydiving must have taken a lot out of him." whispered the ferret.

"Let's let him rest a bit. He'll need all the strength he can get for planting."

"Howdy, ho~." The two volunteers turned to see a human with brown hair walking towards them from the dark, a yellow canary by his side.

"Hey, Troop Master Brady." said the ferret in a hushed voice.

"We saw your signal light." said the apparent Troop Master. "Now, let's get unpacking. We have a lot of planting to do before sunrise."

"Yes, sir!"

The man smiled before looking over at the fallen Captain. "What happened to him?"

"Skydiving." said the monkey. "Took a little too much out of him."

"We thought it best to let him rest." added the ferret.

"That's a bright idea." said the man smiling. "Just prop him up on those trees over there. That should give him a safe place to rest until he recovers."

"Sir, yes sir!"

The two volunteers struggled as they tried to drag the massive rhino away.

"He's...really...heavy..." said the monkey in between grunts of effort.

"He...must really...workout..." replied the ferret. Despite the indicated spot only being about fifteen feet away, it still took the pair ten minutes to move the massive figure. When they finally got him to where the troop leader had indicated, the two of them fell to the ground, panting.

"Okay." said the monkey in a hushed and slightly breathless voice. "We got him to the spot."

"Now let's cover him up to keep him warm while he rests."

The two nodded, smiling even as sweat ran down their faces. They began gathering large leaves from the jungle trees, layering them across the captain until his entire body was concealed from view. Just as they were about to lay down the last leaf, the ferret noticed something from the corner of her eyes.

"Hey, look." whispered the ferret. The two volunteers turned their eyes towards a dark figure walking down a nearby path.

"What are they doing?" asked the monkey in a hushed voice. "They're wide out in the open! They might ruin the surprise!"

"Plus the flower crate is the other way!" added the ferret.

"We have to stop them."

The two silently started wadding through the foliage, trying desperately to make their way towards the figure while still being stealthy. It was slow work, but the two eventually managed to make their way to the path, and run after the figure. The mysterious person had a large lead on them, but the two ran as fast and silently as they could to catch up. After ten minutes of running they managed to catch site of the figure right as they neared the edge of Angel Island.

"There they are." said the ferret.

"Good, now we just need to get their atten..." The monkey was cut short as the ferret suddenly tackled him into one of the nearby bushes. The two struggled for a moment.

"What are you..." A hand slammed over the monkey's mouth, increasing their struggles for a moment before the ferret finally managed to pin the blue monkey to the ground.

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~!" The ferret slowly lowered her head, the warning look in her eyes causing the monkey to cease struggling. Without so much as a word, the ferret pointed ahead of them towards the figure. A moment passed before the waxing moon peaked from behind the clouds, causing a single moonbeam to shine down upon the figure. The monkey's eyes widened at the sight of crimson dreadlocks, drifting across the strong back of Angel Island's guardian. He started to struggle, which meant the ferret had to try all the harder to keep him still. The guardian glanced back in their direction, causing the struggle to come to an immediate halt. Both volunteers froze, holding their breath as they hoped not to be seen. After what seemed like an eternity, the guardian turned back towards the edge of the island. He paused staring below for a long moment before taking a deep breath. In one swift movement the guardian leapt over the edge of the island, gliding on the air as he made his way down towards the surface and out of view.

The two volunteers sat frozen for a long moment after he dove over the edge. The ferret stared after the figure for a moment before a series of muffled cries from below caught her attention. She looked down to see the monkey's cheeks slowly turning the same shade of blue as the rest of his fur. The ferret quickly removed her hand from his mouth, letting the monkey finally get the oxygen he had so desperately needed. The ferret was quick to get off her companion's back, allowing him to finally sit up.

"That was Knuckles!" said the monkey finally after several deep breaths.

"I know!" said the ferret. "We're lucky we didn't get caught."

"I wonder where he's going?"

"I don't know." said the ferret. The two sat for a moment pondering before the ferret smiled.

"You know what this means, right?"

"What?" asked the monkey.

"Now we can plant flowers without any fear of being discovered!"

The monkey stared for a moment before his eyes began to shine with renewed excitement. "You're right! We have to go tell the other!" The two practically climbed over each other as they rushed back through the jungle, eager to tell their companions of their newest flower planting opportunity.

"Ms. Rouge."

The ivory haired bat turned as a buff bison in a black suit and dark sunglasses cautiously entered through the door. She sighed before looking at the bison with a frustrated glare.

"How many times have I told you to wait until I say you can come in before opening the door?"

"M-my apologies, ma'am." The bison stuttered as he went back out and closed the door. Rouge maintained her glare for a moment before the knock came at the door once more. Slowly a smile played its way across her face as her features softened into a more mischievous expression.

"Who is it?" she called lightly.

"It's Jean ma'am."

"Why Jean, how wonderful of you to stop by."

"May I come in ma'am?"

"I don't know." said the bat, looking upwards as if she were mulling over his statement. "I'm kind of busy."

"Please, ma'am. I just need to check a couple things before we open."

"Oh, all right. But just cause you ask so nicely."

The bat smiled as the bison once more entered into the room. The bouncer looked around for a moment, his eyes adjusting to the dim light of his employer's bedroom. The room was decked out in midnight blue wall paper and carpets, the only lighting coming through the glass doors leading out onto the balcony. A large, extremely cushy, four poster, queen sized bed stood directly in front of him, gauzy black curtains hanging around the bed. A black, silk comforter and heart shaped pillows rested over pink sheets, and a heart shaped headboard with bat wings stood prominently against the wall. Beside the bed sat a rather curvacious black nightstand, with a bat winged lamp sitting directly on top of it, though he knew that the lamp was mostly for decoration. A heart shaped couch sat across an ornate black coffee table from a pair of heart shaped armchairs, forming a sort of sitting area in the middle of the room. Several paintings, and ornaments decorated the walls of the room, the most prominent of which being a massive picture of Ms. Rouge flying away from a large explosion alongside a black hedgehog and a large, dangerous looking red robot, a playful smile across her face. The bison watched his employer take a seat at a large, heart shaped vanity with with black bat wings elegantly curving along the sides, the room illuminating somewhat as she flipped on the rosy pink lights that surrounded the mirror and began to do her makeup.

"So, what's going on?" asked his employer, paying more attention to her eyeliner than him.

"Well ma'am," began the bison. "The chef's just want to confirm..."

"Chocolate coffee cake. Give them a dollop of whip cream on top, and finish with a strawberry." interrupted the bat doing her mascara nonchalantly.

"Alright...And the DJ was wondering..."

"Start them off with sets five and seven for the opening, and then transition to tracks three and twelve around one a.m. After that, tell him to just go with whatever feels best. I'm giving him a little freedom tonight, so he better not blow it."

"...I don't suppose I should..."

"I've already talked with the waitresses." said Rouge as she moved on to lip gloss. "Any patron touches them, and they have full permission to pour ice water straight on their heads. That's the one warning they get, and then I want them thrown out on their ear. I'll be out tonight, so I put Larry in charge of doing the throwing. Also, I don't serve alcohol here for a reason, so if anyone comes thinking this is a cheap place to get drunk, or, worse, shows up drunk, give them a black eye on the house, compliments of the owner. I don't want any repeats of last week."

The bison smiled. "Yes, ma'am."

The ivory haired bat caught sight of his expression in the mirror. She turned to him, crossing her legs as she put the cap on her lip gloss.

"Impressed?"

"As always, ma'am."

A smile played across the bat's face at his response before she shrugged, putting on a nonchalant expression. "Well, really, Jean. You should be used to me surpassing expectations by now."

"Of course, ma'am." The bison paused as Rouge turned back to her mirror. "If you don't mine me asking, where are you off to tonight, ma'am."

"Just running an errand." said the bat casually.

"You seem to have quite a few errands lately."

"I'm a busy girl." the bat stood up from her vanity as she walked across the room to look out the ornate, glass doors. Outside, a long line of people stretched from one corner of the street, down the sidewalk, under her balcony, and to the next corner before curving around the corner of the building and out of sight. Jean walked up behind his employer to look out the window with her.

"Seems like it's going to be a busy night." said the bison.

"A busy night means a large sum of cash for the club." replied Rouge with a smile.

"And for you."

"Well, naturally." Rouge turned on her heel as she made her way back over to the vanity, continuing where she left off. "Now, be a dear and go open the doors, would you Jean?"

"Of course, ma'am."

The bison left the room, the door closing behind him with a click. Rouge paused in her makeup application, her keen ears listening intently as Jean's footsteps grew softer. When she was sure he was at a satisfactory distance, she arose from the vanity to lock the door, making sure there would be no more intrusions.

"Now, let's get ready for our errand shall we?" The thief smiled to herself, making her way across the room to a large, curvacious wardrobe.

"She didn't!"

"No, I am totally serious! She did!"

"Girl, are you for real?"

A large blue cow in club attire nodded to her similarly dressed purple cow friend.

"On the last episode of Rosa por mi Amor, Juanita actually confronted her childhood friend and current boyfriend's evil twin on the balcony of the tropical resort they were staying at, telling him that she knew that he was the evil twin and not really her boyfriend, and that she planned to expose him for the fake that he was, but at that exact moment a tsunami,"

"A tsunami?"

"Girl, a tsunami! It just rolled up out of nowhere, and smacked the resort, causing Juanita to fall over the balcony, and into the ocean. Now everyone is trying to find her to see if she's still alive, but, as everyone was searching, Juanita's best friend, Cecilia came up to who she thought was the boyfriend of Juanita but was actually the evil twin, and told him that she was in love with him!"

"Oooooooooh, snap! Who she think she's trying to fool? Everybody knows that she's still in love with Richo from the surf shop."

"Nu-uh." said the purple cow. "Not after he cheated on her with that little floozy who runs the lemonade stand down by the pier."

"He did?"

"You didn't see that episode?"

"Girl, you know what? That must have been the episode I missed when the power went out at my apartment complex. Tell me what happened."

"Well, you see, it started when Richo..."

Knuckles sat with his arms crossed as the train rattled down the tracks towards his destination. He and the two cows a couple benches down were the only ones riding in this compartment. He had to admit, intentionally riding a train into the city to see Rouge was probably the last thing he ever expected to be willingly doing. As he got closer to his destination, his stomach slowly started to knot with nervousness. He had tried pushing it aside, but the feeling kept coming back no matter how many times he shoved it away. Almost every time he had seen Rouge, it had either been her coming to annoy him, or him trying to get back something she stole. The very idea of going to her to ask a favor was enough to make him fidget.

The echidna turned to a small, cloth bundle that sat beside him, reaching inside to pull out the card that had inspired his journey. Rouge had used a similar looking card to distract him on one of her escapades to steal the Master Emerald. He knew it was a long shot, but if she could give him any information about the card, where these types of cards were made, or, better yet, if she actually knew someone who used cards like the one he was holding, then he would be one step closer to find out who was trying to frame him. However, he still couldn't get over the nervousness that ate away at his stomach. This was Rouge. She wasn't just going to give him the information. What if she wanted something in exchange, like the Master Emerald? Or what if she really was upset about the other night and wouldn't even talk to him? For some reason, that was what had been worrying him more than anything. He hadn't seen her since the night she overheard him talking. How would she react to him when she saw him? Would she be her normal batty self? Would she be angry? Hurt? He still couldn't imagine that anything he could say would ever hurt the batty thief, but what if...

He tried to stop thinking about it. Worrying did nothing to help the situation. Whatever would happen would happen, and he'd just have to wait until he saw her to figure everything out. The echidna returned the card to his bundle and went back to listening to cow's chatter. They had spent the majority of the train ride talking about some sort of soap opera, and, much to his surprise, Knuckles found himself interested in the dramatic plot twists and strange turns of event that they were discussing.

"Next Stop: Night Babylon."

The echidna looked up at the glowing sign above the doors reading where they about to stop next. The words Night Babylon glowed against a black background. The train started to slow down, causing Knuckles to grab onto one of the nearby safety poles so he didn't fall over. The train came to an abrupt halt as they entered the station.

"Please watch your step on the way out, and have a nice day."

The two cows stood up as the doors opened, still wrapped in their conversation. Knuckles grabbed his bundle as the cows left, and quickly followed to exit the train before the doors could close again. As soon as he stepped out of the train, his eyes widened. Before him flashing lights burned against the night sky, making it appear almost as bright as day. Bright neon colors were everywhere, and signs advertising casinos, restaurants, and clubs of every shape and size flowed with glowing letters. Music from the various attractions boomed out into the streets, mixing with the chatter of the nightlife who walked the busy sidewalks, preparing for their night time fun. It was the guardian's first time in Night Babylon, and needless to say he was a bit stunned. As he looked onwards at the explosion of light and color that stood before him, a horrible realization dawned upon him. This was his very first time in Night Babylon. He had no idea where anything was or how to get around the area. He only knew Rouge lived here because he had overheard her talking about it once, but he had no idea where in Night Babylon she lived! How was he supposed to find her in all of this?

The echidna felt suddenly overwhelmed as a sense of apprehension gripped his stomach. The bright lights before him drifted out of focus as the realization of how truly unprepared he had been for this journey sunk in. He shook his head, trying to clear the fear from his mind. Slowly the warrior steeled himself, staring at the flashing lights with a glare of defiance. He was Knuckles the echidna. Last in a long line of brave warriors that had come before him. It didn't matter how big this place was. He was going to find Rouge, no matter what it took. With the fire of fresh determination burning inside him, the echidna stepped forward against the neon lights and booming music, his resolve stronger than ever before as he moved onwards towards the unknown.

"Ooooooooooooooh~! Wet my feathers and call me John! Won't be long 'till all the dust's gone! I'll sweep it clean, and keep it neat. When it comes to cleanin' I won't be beat~!"

The duck laughed to himself as he continued cleaning the floors. He stopped a moment, whipping his forehead.

"A janitor's work is never done, though I do get to go home after I sweep this here lobby. He-yuck, he-yuck, he-yuck!" The janitor was about to go back to cleaning when he noticed the sound of sweeping coming from somewhere within the lobby. He looked around for a moment, squinting in the dim light, until he saw a figure in a janitors uniform sweeping some distance away.

"Hello?" he asked, curiously.

"Hey."

"Who are you? I thought I was the only one who worked this shift."

"Name's Cuffs." said the other janitor in a deep voice. "They recently hired me on to help out with cleaning here. They told me I'm supposed to lock up tonight. Do you mind?"

"Mind?" asked the duck smiling. "'Course I don't mind! This gives me a chance ta work on my dissertation on molecular physics! I'm just one semester away from gettin' that there PhD I been workin' for for so long. My mid term thesis got me an A, so I'm a hopin' ta get a similar grade on this and finally be done with all my education. Just make sure ta turn off all the lights when ya get ready ta leave, okay?"

"Sure thing." said the figure, giving a brief wave without actually looking behind him. The duck squinted once more, trying to get a better look at the other janitor, but could only make out long hair flowing out from underneath a baseball cap. The duck shrugged.

"Well, nighty night then Cuffs." The duck waved once more as he exited through the doors leading out of the building. The person calling themselves Cuffs turned around, lifting their cap as a single beam of moonlight shone in through the open doors, briefly illuminating the features of a certain ivory haired thief. The thief smiled as she lowered her cap back down over the red dreadlocks now resting atop her head and continued sweeping, slowly making her way out of the lobby area and deeper into the midst of the building.

Author's Note: Hi Hi peoples! Sorry this chapter is so late. End of the semester school work ate all of my free time. (It was so traumatic! It didn't even use a fork. It just consumed greedily right before my eyes. The horror! T.T) Still, I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. I went over it like five times, editing, rewriting, and just trying to get it to feel right to me. I'm not sure how well, I did, but I would love to hear any feedback you can give me. Thanks a bunch for reading, and, since I didn't get to say it before, A HAPPY BELATED CHRISTMAS, AND A HYPER HAPPY NEW YEAR! *launches fireworks for the beginning of 2012!*

P.S. Sparkling_nexis137 does not own anything of the Sonic franchise, except for the plot of this story. I am however considering getting a wig of red dreadlocks. I'm not sure I could pull it off as well as Rouge, but you never know. ^^