How about an Adventure? : Ch.10 shipping and handling

"Why don't we head into my private changing room and get dressed for the party?" Rouge asked.

I looked at Itchy with question as Rouge dragged me away by my arm. She walked me upstairs to her pent house and took me to the closet. She turned on the light to reveal rows of different clothes and accessories.

"Isn't it beautiful?" she asked

"Uh...yeah sure." I replied.

Rouge walked around the closet with a happy strut while looking at the exotic clothing.

"I got these lovely trinkets from all over the world."

"That's nice." I answered.

I don't want to be rude, but I really don't care about this kind of thing. I'm not that kind of girl who's all about designer dresses and stuff. I'll just play along and let Rouge have her fun.

"Now then" she said "let's get dressed."

Rouge started to unbuckle her chest plate and undress herself. I turned away to give her some privacy and look around. While I don't have an eye for fashion, I can still see that every bit of clothes in the closet seemed quite expensive. Each dress seemed very detailed and colorful. Each one was also covered in big jewels that seem awfully real. How could she afford all this anyway?

"So tell me, how do you know that fuzz ball anyway?" Rouge started.

"Do you mean Itchy?" I asked.

"Yes the dirty one, the one you walked in with." She added.

"We met when I asked him to fix my shoe, after that we met at Sanctuary where his brother was kidnapped along with the others. He wants to save those kids so I came with."

"Why didn't you just call the other freedom fighters? That communicator of yours seems to be working fine." I looked at the communicator on my wrist.

"I don't know, I guess I've been so busy I forgot."

"You know what? On second thought you probably shouldn't."

"Why's that?"

"Whoever took those kids knew what they were doing. They would have to keep a pretty good eye on the freedom fighters to pull off such a job. If they saw your friends moving closer and closer thanks to what you know, there's no telling what they might do. They may very well kill the kids."

I never thought about it that way before but she's right. Somehow they knew where Sanctuary was and somehow they managed to find Itchy and tried to kill him. They must have eyes everywhere and considering that they plan on getting rid of the freedom fighters, it would make sense they have eyes on them too.

"My advice would be to keep it to just you two. The fewer numbers, the less of a threat you seem. The less of a threat you seem, the less they pay attention to you. Now, how do I look?"

I turned around and got a good look at her outfit. She's wearing a midnight blue dress with white glitter resembling the night sky. She's also wearing a black belt and a necklace, both of which bearing the same design as her chest plate. She changed her makeup to a darker tone to match the dress and wore star shaped earrings she changed her gloves for some with a lighter color of the dress and a large aquamarine on the top of each hand. Her high heels were dark blue, nothing more, nothing less. The opening of the dress was awfully large, revealing a large amount of her cleavage.

"You look like the night sky" I commented.

"Thanks, that's what I was going for. Now what should you wear?" She looked around the room and pulled out a large heavily detailed dress that was definitely not meant for walking around and was a little too revealing.

"I don't know..." I looked around and pulled out another, more suitable dress. "How about this one?" The dress I grabbed was a simple light blue dress with a dark blue ribbon across the waist.

"Is that all? It's a little...plain." Rouge doesn't seem too happy with my choice, but she seems to go along with it. "Alright fine, but I get to choose the accessories."

About thirty minutes later Rouge was finally done with me.

"Ta-da! Sorry if I went a little overboard, I don't have a lot of girlfriends to play with."

I look in the mirror and saw...someone else. My quills were brushed and braided into an old Victorian hair style and tied with a light blue ribbon and a silver tiara with an emerald rested on my head. My lips are topped with bright red lipstick and my cheeks were tinted with blush. My eyelashes are curled upward and I am wearing pink eye shadow. A bright, white pearl necklace hung from my neck and red pearl earrings hung from my ears. This isn't me...so why does it feel natural?

"Now then, we need an alias." Rouge shouted "If we come in with our real names, we'll be stopped at the door."

"I can understand that. They may have already heard about me being a freedom fighter, but why you?"

"I'm very famous around these parts, for all the wrong reasons. From now on, call me Nails."

"Nails?"

"Yes, that's my alias. What's yours?"

I gave it a thought. A name for myself, what to use? I thought back to home, then to my computer, and finally my blogs. Then I decided.

"Call me...Lady Echo."

I noticed another thirty minutes has passed when I looked out the window at a clock on the sidewalk. The bright city zoomed by us as we drove through it in Rouge's private white limo. The limo seats were made of black synthetic leather and the floor was glowing blue with neon lights. At the back of the limo was a small bar filled with drinks and snacks with a fish tank filled with exotic fish at the center. At the other end was a large television screen and radio controls. Rouge and I sat in front of each other, we haven't said anything to each other until now.

"So is this your first time in a limo?" She asked.

"Yes it is" I answered "I usually just run everywhere."

"So you're a health nut?"

"No, I can run at high speeds."

Rouge seemed like she was reminded of something.

"Do you know a hedgehog named Sonic?"

My ear twitched at his name.

"Yes I do! Do you know him?"

"I guess you could say that."

"Do you know where he is?"

"Sorry honey, I haven't seen speedy in a long time. You wouldn't happen to know a hot headed echidna do you?"

I tried to remember, the only hot headed echidna I know is...

"You mean Knuckles?"

She smiled, I guess I'm right.

"So how is my little echidna anyway?"

"You know him too?"

"Oh please, I guess you could say I was his first date. We met plenty of times and played our little game of cat and mouse."

I giggled at the thought of an angry Knuckles chasing a laughing Rouge. It's amazing how small this world is.

"Madam Rou...I mean Ms. Nails, we are arriving." Said the driver.

"Alright it's party time. You remember the plan right?"

"Yeah, enjoy the party until you come up with an actual plan."

"And if anyone asks, you're my adopted sister."

The driver walked out of the limo and opened the door for us. We arrived at a large bright building surrounded by people. The building itself looked as if it was made of solid gold thanks to the lights surrounding it. The Mobians around it were nicely dressed and seemed like a much higher up class of citizen than I could ever be.

"Thanks honey, I'll call you when it's time to pick us up." Rouge told the driver as he drove off.

Rouge grabbed my hand and walked me to the front of the building where a large line was waiting to getting inside. We cut ahead in front of everyone. Understandably, everyone was angry, including the bouncer.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" The bouncer stopped us from walking in. He's a large black bull wearing a tuxedo and a large nose ring. "This party is off limits to the general public, invitation only." He spoke with a deep yet raspy voice.

"I think you'll find that we are in fact, invited to this party." Rouge reached into her glove and pulled out an envelope which she then gave to the bull. The bull took one quick look inside envelope and stepped aside.

"Right this way ladies." he escorted us inside until he eventually left to continue tending to the line.

"Did you really have an invitation?" I asked.

"No, but I did have the one thing cows love more than anything...green."

We took an elevator to the fifteenth floor as instructed by the bull and arrived at the party. Everyone there seemed to be a higher class than even the ones downstairs. The Mobians moved around talking to each other about business and other things wealthy people normally talk about. No one seemed to notice us.

"Alright, stick to the plan, have some fun, eat some appetizers, go dance, just stay here." Rouge said before she walked off.

I took one look around the party. The walls are covered with maroon wallpaper and furniture such as mirrors and portrait. There are tables everywhere with chairs for the people to sit and talk at. There are a few other rooms available too, but they're pretty much empty and no one is going in there. A small band was at the corner of the room playing a slow little tune.

After looking around for five seconds, I pouted and sat down on the nearest chair. This isn't where I belong. These people are too stuck up and busy with making more money despite already having enough as it is. In here, I felt encased, as if I'm in a large cage with nowhere to run. I belong out there running around as much as I want. I belong back at the forest where it isn't so crowded.

I must've worried myself to sleep until I was awaken when the band suddenly changed their tone of music to something with a bit more bounce. I look at the clock and saw that another hour has passed since I've been here. Where is Rouge?

"Excuse me..." A light tap on my shoulder snapped me out of thought.

I looked up to see a male Siberian tiger in a tuxedo with his hand out towards me.

"Would you like to dance?" He asked.

I look around to see the others are also dancing to the music. Rouge said that I had to enjoy myself, and right now a dance is the only way to stretch out my legs. I took his hand and he led me to the dance floor.

At first I had a little trouble dancing in a way I never danced before, but I soon got the hang of it. The dance was a simple one-two-step and at certain points of the song we would trade partners. After the tiger I danced with a panda, an ostrich, a rhino, and a female gecko because there wasn't enough male partners. I'm not going to say I was having fun, but I'm glad I was at least able to move around. The song seems to be coming to an end with only enough left for one more partner. The gecko handed me over for a fox, so I simply held out my hands for the next partner. They were greeted by a pair of very large and hairy hands. The white sleeves covering those massive arms are connected to a white coat which is worn above a pair of pants as white as the coat. Directly in front of me is the bottom of an elephants trunk, except it's covered in brown fur. The trunk is connected to an equally furry, large head with massive tusks and ears. Large, green eyes are staring right at me from way above my head. His name is Morgul.

"Well now, I never expected to see a young face in a place like this." He commented.

Morgul is famous around HQ but it's definitely not because we like him. From what I heard, Morgul has lived for thousands of years thanks to the power of a chaos emerald, a powerful stone that holds unlimited power. The freedom fighters first met him when he attacked Angel Island, the home of a certain echidna and the Master Emerald. He later broke free from our prison by threatening to kill three of our friends. I heard that he started up a casino but I didn't expect to find him here! Even if he doesn't know who I am, I hid my face from him.

"Is something the matter? Don't tell me you are intimidated by little old me?" He joked.

I didn't answer but when I took one look at his angry eyes filled with suspicion, I knew I had to say something.

"I'm sorry sir, it's just that I never expected to see someone as famous as you here. Its a little intimidating." that technically is the truth.

"What's your name little miss?"

"Echo, Lady Echo."

"That's an odd name for a hedgehog."

"My ancestors were bats."

He seemed to take the bluff and we continued dancing.

"I can't help but notice that your footing is a little off."

"Well I don't dance all that much."

"How strange, most children are taught this dance at such a young age. I'm starting to get the impression that I am not dancing with a hedgehog, but a fish out of water."

How dare he compare me to a fish! Mystic elephant who forgot to shave or not, that was just rude.

"So tell me, where are you truly from?"

"I'm from...Robotropolis." That's a lie, but if I told him I'm from New Mobotropolis he might get even more suspicious.

"You're a long way from home. How did you find your way here?"

"A friend invited me."

"Most higher-ups prefer to avoid Robotropolis, how do you have connections?" He's asking too many questions way too fast.

"That's because I used to be part of a wealthy family." Another lie.

"Then why are you living in Robotropolis?"

"Because...Robotnick caused my family to go bankrupt!" This is going too far.

"Where did you live before?"

"Grand Metropolis."

"Robotnick has never had power over Grand Metropolis. How did he bankrupt your family?"

"Because my family was working on something that could have changed the world that he wanted so he roboticized my family while I managed to escape to Robotropolis!" I'm sorry Itchy, it's all I can come up with.

It was then that we noticed the music ended a while ago. The entire party was staring at me after I had shouted that lie.

"I am terribly sorry, I had no idea it was a touchy subject." He said with a monotone voice. It was clearly a lie.

We stood there awkwardly on the dance floor. Thankfully a gorilla came up to Morgul and tapped on his shoulder.

"Master Morgul, you are wanted at the penthouse." He whispered, but with my ears I heard it loud and clear.

"Excuse me Lady Echo but I must cut our conversation short." Thank goodness for that "However I dare say I enjoyed our conversation" he pulled a card out of his coat pocket with his trunk and handed it to me" If you ever find the time, perhaps you could give me a call sometime soon.

The card was his business card. It was a simple white card with his full name in red, bold, cursive text with an emerald for a period along with his business information.

"Thanks..." Just go away already.

My wish was granted as Morgul walked off with his servant. I sat down at the nearest table and grabbed a small drink and a mini sandwich from a passing butler. I don't know what it is about him but even if I didn't know who he was, I'd probably still be afraid of him.

I was only able to sit down for about five minutes until someone tugged at my arm. I turned to see Rouge after quite a while.

"So did you enjoy the party?" she asked.

"It was interesting at least." That's an understatement.

"Good. Now come on, we're heading to the penthouse."

"So what are we doing again?" I asked.

"We're collecting information." Rouge replied.

"I know that. I mean where and how are we going to get it?"

"Are you familiar with a Mammoth named Morgul?"

"More than I wish..."

"Morgul is actually very famous around these parts. Somehow he has the most successful business in all of Casinopolis, and that pretty much makes him the theoretical king no matter how much Eggman claims he is. Anyone that wants to go through Casinopolis has to talk to him." She handed me a black bag, inside was a set of black clothes. "You said that whoever took those kids was using a train to transport them to, or at least through, Casinopolis. Someone was bound to notice those trains and they did. Morgul was instantly notified and demanded to talk to a representative of the company they claimed to be. Rumor has it that he's talking to that representative in the penthouse right now." Rouge dragged me to the ladies room and started changing again, I did the same.

"How do you know all this?" I asked.

"I always have my eye on Morgul, and when you mentioned the trains, I knew this is the information you're looking for."

"So how do we get up there?" I asked as I wiped the makeup off my face with a wet towel "The elevator is definitely going to be guarded."

"Who said anything about the elevator?" Rouge said as she applied makeup much like the ones she was wearing when we first met her.

She was wearing a black jumpsuit that completely covered her from her feet to her neck with a heart shaped chest plate which I pretty much recognize as her trademark symbol. She's wearing two bandanas to completely cover her head expect her eyes.

I myself have also finished changing. I'm wearing a black jumpsuit that goes over my boots with a black kimono and a white belt. Just like Rouge my head is covered with Bandanas that cover everything except my ears, eyes, and tips of my quills. Instead of tying them, they're held in place by a pin with Rouges signature emblem. I'm also wearing fingerless gloves like the one Itchy usually wears, in fact they kind of look like his, they're worn down like his too...they are his.

"Sorry honey but the gloves worked with the outfit."

"Alright so if we're not taking the elevator, are we going to take the stair?" I asked.

"Nope." She grabbed my hand and led me down the hall towards the window "We're going to fly up."

She opened the window and I looked down, it's a long way down. I looked up, it's a long way up. How does she expect me to climb the building?

"Here's the plan, I'm going to fly up while carrying you. Simple right?"

"You plan on carrying me all the way up there? Are you sure you can carry me?"

"Trust me, I lift. Besides you can't be that heavy, how much do you weigh?"

I didn't answer.

"Good, never reveal your weight, keep the boys guessing."

Suddenly she grabbed me and jumped out the window. We fell for a good five seconds until she opened up her wings and started to rise. As she rose I got a better view at Casinopolis, and it's beautiful. It looks as if someone grabbed a star, broke it into hundreds of tiny pieces, and turned each piece into a building. Something was missing though, the real stars. I looked up at the night sky and couldn't see any of them.

Sometime later Rouge safely lowered me onto the top of the building and pulled out a speaker with a plastic, see-through suction cup connected to it by a wire.

"If I just hovered us next to the window we're sure to get caught, so we're going to use this to eavesdrop on them."

She slowly lowered the cup to the penthouse window and gave it a slight flick, causing it to stick to the window. She then started fiddling with the speaker. At first it was static but proper English was slowly becoming clear.

"So...see...Morgul... We...on hoping to help with Casinopolis's funding problem by bringing in more customers in one easy step that would cost no one anything." Said a nasally voice of an old guy.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Said a deep voice that no doubt belongs to Morgul "And you still haven't explained why you tried to drive a train through my fair town with some...unusual cargo."

"Yes that. Well you see, our company was trying to sponsor some of the orphanages and they wanted us to move some of the children from one orphanage to another due to limited space."

"Then why were they in containers?"

"We had our shipment mixed up."

"A likely story, but when we looked at the children's information, we couldn't help but notice some of the children actually belonged to existing families."

"It's...it's a miracle."

"Yes. Well rest assured those children have been returned to their families and the rest are being held at a local orphanage until your sponsor comes to pick them up."

"I am...grateful" The nosy voice sounded quite annoyed. I can't believe I'm thinking this but thanks Morgul.

"Now, about your plan."

"Ah yes, it's very simple. We hold a grand contest that nobody can ignore."

"A contest?"

"Well to be more precise, a tournament, a fighting tournament. Like or not Casinopolis is filled some of the most ruthless brutes who would gladly punch in a defenseless old man for a penny. Why not put these ruffians to good use and make some money? The ruffians let loose all their rage for free and in a secluded area, and the people pay for admissions and bet on their favorite fighter."

"For a company that is sponsored by orphanages, your idea seems awfully brutal."

"Oh I assure you this is perfectly safe and well thought out. No one will be injured seriously and there will be a grand prize at the end. All the money will be given to your fair city so long as you sponsor us."

"What is your true motive?"

The other voice remained silent for a bit, he was probably thinking of an excuse.

"We wish to study the Mobian psyche is all. We study both neglected orphans and brutal thieves to see how the connection between them and find ways to prevent the change."

"A likely story. What was your company called again?"

"NEXGEN sir."

My ears twitched when I heard that name. Rouge noticed.

"I take it that's our guy?" She asked.

"No doubt about it, everything we heard was a lie." I answered.

"If this guy is under Morgul's suspicion, he's going to be under his guard until he gets what he wants."

"So what do we do?"

"Simple, we join that tourna..." Rouge was cut short as a large hairy arm wrapped around her mouth and lifted her in the air. Another arm grabbed me too. It was the gorilla.

"Looks like we got ourselves a couple of nosy rats." he grunted.

He dragged us downstairs and was joined by the Bull from the entrance who talked into his earpiece alerting his boss that we're coming to see him. We were soon in front of the meeting room doors.

"What the devil is this?!" said the old ostrich at the other end of the table with a nasally voice.

"My apologies Mr. Beak but it seems we have some uninvited guests." Said Morgul. "And I have a good idea who they might be."

He removed Rouge's mask "Rouge the bat, the jewel thief herself. I knew you would probably try to crash the party so I took every precaution. It's a shame too, all you had to do was ask for an invitation and I would've gladly given you one, along with a pair of pretty handcuffs."

"You're too kind Morgul." Rouge replied sarcastically.

"And you even brought a friend" He removed my mask next "Lady Echo? And I thought we became such good friends after our little dance."

"Don't listen to that bird brain!" I shouted "Everything he told you was a lie! NEXGEN kidnapped all those kids from Sanctuary for their evil purposes!"

The ostrich seemed taken aback by the truth.

"That is a serious accusation Echo, how would you even know about such a thing?"

"Because...I'm a Freedom Fighter! My real name is Sonar and NEXGEN attacked me and my friends when we tried to get the kids back. I was one of the fighters that stopped the other train from delivering the rest of the kids!"

Morgul said nothing. He just turned to Beak expecting an answer.

"I have no idea what she's talking about, we only have the one train and we never even heard of Sanctuary, let alone know it's location. If you ask me it seems you Freedom Fighters don't seem to be doing a swell job. Perhaps Mobius would be safer without you."

"Enough slander!" Morgul shouted "I'm not sure if I could trust either of you. At this moment each one of you are officially under my hold. The ladies will be sent to my personal Hotel where they will be under house arrest until further notice. As for you Mr. Beak, you will continue with this tournament but if I so much as hear any mention of your company outside this circle I will make sure your company will be terminated!"

We were all silent for some time, clearly intimidated by the upset Mammoth.

"Everyone including myself will take the elevator to the parking lot and we will leave quietly, UNDERSTAND?!"

We slowly walked to the elevator and remained quiet all the way down. We reached the first floor and headed out the door into the parking lot. Morgul and Beak walked towards some sort of old classic car while the bodyguards took us to a large black van carrying wine.

"Nice set of wheels Morgul. "Rouge commented.

"I prefer to collect these sorts of things. It's for the sake of nostalgia, you wouldn't understand. Take the ladies to the southern hotel and lock them in first available room nice and tight. And as for you Mr. Beak, you have some explaining to do."

He drove off while we were pushed into the van and drove off as well. About five minutes in we suddenly stopped.

"What's going on? We can't have reached the hotel already." Shouted the Gorilla.

The doors flung wide open and it is revealed that we are parked in an alley surrounded by Mobians wearing an all too familiar armor. They shot the gorilla on the spot and dragged him out like a sack of potatoes.

"It's about time you got here." said one of the grunts.

"Well sorry, we didn't expect these two to show up." Said the Bull, now revealed to be a double agent.

"Where's the Mammoth and the boss?"

"The Mammoth drove off with the boss. We'll have to kill him later."

"And what about these two?"

"It has to look like an accident. Let's take them out for a swim."

We've been driving for quite some time. We just sat there on crates filled with wine being stared down by large guns held by two grunts and the bull.

Rouge started to look at me and began to look at my back where my hands were tied much like her own. She started to elbow me very hard.

"Ow! What do you think you're doing?" I whispered.

"Sorry honey but could you tell me the time?" She whispered back

"It's not a watch remember?" My ears suddenly twitched. It's not a watch!

I started pressing the communicator's buttons.

"No man I'm straighter than an arrow." Bingo! That's definitely Itchy.

"Who said that?" asked one of the Grunts.

"That was me, sorry I was just telling her a joke to keep our spirits up. So we're in a black van tied up heading to our doom. Where exactly is that?" I asked.

"Shut up, we're taking you to the docks so you can swim with the fishes." Said one of the grunts.

"The docks huh? I guess that means we're taking Lady Luck Lane because that's the fastest way there right Sonar?"

"Oh yes, looks like we'll be drowned because we got caught after all with no back up whatsoever. Hey Rouge, do you mind helping me out? I feel like an itch has got my back."

"Funny way to say she's got an Itch. "Mumbled one of the grunts.

Who knew waiting for our deaths would be so boring. We've been driving for at least an hour and even the grunts don't seem all that excited either.

"So while we're waiting for our swim do you mind if I get a drink?" Rouge asked.

They didn't answer, no one answered. Probably because before anyone could, we were rammed at the side.

"What the hell was that?" The bull asked.

"I think we were hit." One of the grunts answered.

"I know that you numb-skull, I mean what hit us?"

Without waiting for an answer, the bull punched a hole in the wall where the Impact came from, looked out for a second, and jumped away right before another impact.

"We're under attack!" He shouted. "Shoot them down!"

The grunts followed orders and began showering the wall with bullet holes.

"They got guns!" A voice shouted from the attacker.

"Yeah well I got a plasma blaster!" Shouted a familiar voice. He came.

"I had enough of this, get on top and shoot them from there." The bull punched open the doors and all three of them climbed out on top of the van.

Rouge suddenly started rustling her arms and out of nowhere, broke free. She waved her hand revealing a small knife and started to cut my bonds too.

"Stick with me kid and I can teach you every trick in the book." She commented, and I might consider it.

We looked out the holes in the wall and saw the Scumbucket being fired at by the grunts on top. Suddenly the truck sped past the van and the bar keep from the casino climbed out from the trailer with a Molotov in his hand and lunged it at the front of the van. The van swerved around as the drive panicked and the grunts staggered. From the passenger side Tyler the kangaroo hopped on top of the trailer and jumped towards the top of the van, kicking one of the grunts off the top and onto the road. I couldn't see what was happening on top but a lot of gunfire was heard.

"Come on, let's show those boys whose boss." Rouge climbed up on top of the truck and I followed, only to see poor Tyler lifted by his tail, and tossed off the van.

"Is he...?" I asked as I watched Tyler tumble down the street.

"Tyler's a strong boy, he won't die without my permission."

"Rouge tackled the other grunt before he could fire while I had trouble climbing on top of the Van. A stray bullet nearly hit my head and I ended up hanging by only the grips of my fingers. Suddenly I heard a loud scream. It was Rouge, I think she's been...I didn't even have a chance to think of the possibility before I was suddenly looking down the barrel of a gun. I thought this was the end of my adventure. I never got to save those kids.

"Sonar!" shouted a familiar voice.

The grunt stiffened after a bright blue light flashed behind him and he just...disappeared. He fell apart into tiny little pieces like paper if it gets wet. I hung there surprised by what I just witnessed, I didn't even notice the hand being held out to help me until he shouted at me.

"Take my hand you air head!" I grabbed his hand and he pulled me on top of the van.

Rouge is still alive! She's currently engaged with the bull on the other side of the van but she seems to have a limp, she was shot in the leg. I hugged Itchy as hard as I could, then I slapped him.

"Ow! What was that for?" he asked.

"Because you're too slow!" I shouted. I then gave him another big hug.

"Excuse me, a little help would be fine!" Rouge shouted as she was in a lock.

Itchy pulled out a...hair dryer from his...overalls?

"Damn, it's not fully charged yet." He grumbled over the hairdryer.

"What the heck is with the hair dryer? And what was that bright light?" I asked.

"Oh right that, I built a plasma gun out of the goop gun from the train."

"What? How did that happen?"

"I was confused about it too, but looking at it, it's actually quite simple. You see..."

"Will you two stop yapping and help me here?!" Rouge was currently in a bear hug by the bull.

I tackled the bull as hard as I could, causing him to stagger back on the hood of the van and releasing Rouge.

"Rouge you've been hit!" I noted.

"You don't say!" She shouted.

I looked at the Scumbucket and saw the barkeep driving. I lifted Rouge and hopped towards the truck and lowered her into the passenger seat.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"You're in no condition to fight, stay here where it's safe."

"Don't worry madam Rouge, I'll take good care of you" said the barkeep.

I looked at the van and saw two more grunts climb out of the front and onto the top while armed with guns. I took no time to say goodbye and hopped back onto the van right between Itchy and the grunts.

"Nice to see you again." Itchy joked.

"So tell me, how did you make a laser gun again?"

"Well it's a long story." The grunts aimed their guns at us.

"Tell it as we go along!" I said as I kicked a grunts gun out of his hand.

"Well for starters, you may have noticed my outfit. I can now say I was once a stripper." He explained as he wrestled the other grunt for his gun "I pretty much rebuilt the whole casino back to working order for nothing" He continued as I began punching my grunt in the gut. "I ended up passing out and turned the goop gun into a plasma gun with nothing more than a few items." He tossed the gun off the van and put the grunt in a headlock.

"Wait, you built it in your sleep?" I asked as I kicked the grunt in the crotch.

"I tend to sleep tinker but more on that later. You see the thing is, the gun only had a small amount of goop inside it because that's all it needed. When the goop gets hit my electricity it starts to make more of itself and they used the buildups pressure to shoot the goop. Then when the goop meets oxygen, it starts to eat away at any matter it can find. The problem was that it wasn't very useful. It turns out the goop responds to electricity because in a way, it's solid energy, and if it's heated, it gets thinner. So I used a hair dryer to get it heated and used a laser pointer along with pieces of a disco ball so that when it expands, it will be concentrated forward and out of the gun because it will follow the laser light. I then used the goo from a lava lamp so that it stays in a plasma like state." He explained as he continuously punched his grunt in the face after knocking the helmet.

"So basically you got a laser gun now right?" I asked while I held my grunt by the throat with my legs.

"Actually it's a plasma gun. Also Tyler is gay."

"Oh I already knew that."

"Wait, you knew?"

"Yeah, it's a girl thing." I tossed my grunt off the van while Itchy tossed his.

We looked at each other with accomplishment in our eyes. Itchy gave me a thumbs up only to be punched in the head by, who else, the bull. He just grabbed me and climbed back into the back of the van where he pulled out knife and put it next to my throat. Itchy soon followed.

"Hold up there little man, one more step and this girl gets gutted."

"Don't call me a little man." Itchy pulled out his laser gun and pointed it at the bull.

"You wouldn't dare!" Shouted the bull.

"You saw what this thing can do, if it hits you, you're dead, and you're a pretty big target compared to her."

They stood there at a standoff until the bull began to talk.

"I give you the girl, but you give me the gun." He demanded.

"...Fine by me." Itchy answered.

The bull dropped me and pushed me towards Itchy. Itchy replied by putting the gun on the ground and sliding it towards the bull.

"Alright, you got what you wanted." Itchy said.

"You really are a dumb-ass, aren't you?" the bull aimed at us with the gun and pulled the trigger, nothing happened.

"Now who's the dumb-ass? If I could've shot you don't you think I would've? A weird, futuristic sound like a toy laser gun was heard, and the ball at the end of the gun lit up. "Oh crap."

"Dumb-ass" The bull took aim.

I woke up completely submerged underwater with no memory of what just happened. The last thing I remembered was the feeling of weightlessness on the van. I think I could figure out what happened. We must've finally reached the docks and drove off the edge and into the ocean. I looked around and noticed I was next to the wine boxes that have fallen toward the front of the van. The entire van was driven head first so the van was facing straight down. I looked to my left and saw Itchy trying to pull his leg out of the boxes. I swam over to him and helped him pull his leg out and we began to swim out of the van. I felt something grab my tail and screamed. I looked back and saw a large black hand grabbing my tail, it's the bull, and he seems pissed. I tugged on Itchy's leg and pointed towards the bull. Itchy looked around and found the laser gun on the floor. Without even the slightest of hesitation, he shot the bull and watched as he disintegrated while he seemed to be screaming in pain. I then began to feel lightheaded and was horrified to remember that I just screamed underwater. I must've lost pretty much all my air! I alerted Itchy and he seems to understand. For what seems to be no reason, he took off his shoes, grabbed my arm, and started to swim at an unusually fast pace. I looked up to the surface, it's awfully far out. Even at Itchy's speed I don't think we'd make it in time. My lungs feel like they're about to burst and I started to black out. I looked up to Itchy, I don't think he notices, either that or he did, he's just trying to make sure it doesn't happen. I know I'm dragging Itchy down, and really, he has more of a reason to see those kids safe than me. I let go of his hand and began to sink. I started to smile at the idea of Itchy finally hugging his brother, it's just a shame I don't know what he looks like, or his name. I closed my eyes as I sank. Goodbye my friends, I hope you're not mad about not coming back. Goodbye Itchy, I hope you find your brother. Goodbye...Sonic. I can almost see him, running towards me. I can see us running through the forest, racing towards home. I can see him buying me a chili dog while we watch the stars at night. I can see us standing on a hill while we hug, he's lifting my chin with his fingers and gives me our first, long waited kiss. We stand there and embrace each other's lips. He slowly fills my lungs with air...wait, that last part's not right.

My eyes shot open as I was given life again. My lungs began to inflate, but I'm still underwater. How is this possible? My vision soon adjusted itself and I was met with the face of a hedgehog, but not the one I wanted. It's Itchy, and we're kissing. He soon broke our seal and gave me a good look over to see if I'm okay. When he dubbed me well, he grabbed my hand and started swimming towards the ocean's surface and we actually made it! I took a deep breath of fresh air and looked at Itchy. He was blushing and wouldn't look at me.

"Hey you down there!" Someone shouted from the docks. It's Rouge along with the barkeep and Tyler.

We swam back to the docks where Rouge gave me a big hug.

"Don't you ever do anything like that again! I thought you were dead!" Rouge shouted. I swear she looks like she wants to cry, but is trying to hide it.

"I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't"

"Excuse me?"

"I did die, but Itchy brought me back." We looked at Itchy, who is currently getting a big hug from Tyler, much to his dislike. "Something bugs me though." I walked up to Itchy who suddenly blushed and started to look away. "You managed to somehow fill my lungs with air underwater even after how long it took to get to me. How did you have so much air?"

"I uh...I can hold enough air for ten minutes." He said while shying away.

"What? How could you do that? And how can you swim so fast?" I asked loudly.

He motioned towards his feet. I looked down and was shocked to see his webbed toes.

"I'm part platypus."

This is somewhat new to me, I always assumed he was a pure hedgehog because I never really saw anything past his clothes. This shouldn't be a surprise to me though, hybrids aren't uncommon, and even I'm one.

"Hold on now I thought you were part bird." Tyler commented "On the count of your tail feathers."

I was surprised by this sudden wave of information and looked at Itchy.

"Tail feathers?"

"Yes I have tail feathers and they're very sensitive so I hide them in my pants."

"Can I see them?" I asked. He blushed even harder.

"I think I'd like to see them too." Rouge added.

We crowded around Itchy, urging him to show his tail.

"Alright I'll show you!" He shouted. He unbuckled his overalls and let them fall to the floor.

He turned around and showed us his tail. It's pointed like a hedgehog tail but was covered with feathers instead of fur. The tip of the tail was black where the feathers are longer.

"It looks like a tiny feather duster." I commented.

"Alright you saw it. Can I put my pants back on?"

I answered him by pulling off a feather. He jumped in pain and looked at me with hot blood rushing to his face and anger in his eyes.

"Why you...!"

"That's so cute! I think I'll hold onto it." I put the feather in my pocket just before Itchy tackled me and tried to take it. Everyone laughed as he tried to wrestle the feather out of me.

"Alright everyone enough jokes, we got a job on our hands." Rouge said seriously.

"We got a tournament to attend."