i am not dead
just busy
keep in mind i am working on no particular schedule

"I think the older guy took it." Rouge sighed, plopping down on a box. Amy scooted next to her.

"I'm sorry I don't have anything to repay you with…" The bat trailed off. Amy placed her small paws onto Rouge's.

"That's okay." She smiled. "We don't expect anything in return."

"I don't think you understand." Rouge grumbled standing up.

"I owe you guys, seriously."

Knuckles looked at Tails, who merely shrugged. Amy shot the boys a look while Rouge took a few steps away from the group.

"Saving my life is something I can't let go." She sighed. "I have to repay you."

She then turned and faced the group with an entirely serious face.

"If I can't give you an Emerald in thanks, then I offer you my services as a thief."

Knuckles looked at her incredulously, eyebrows raising in disbelief.

"A thief? Why would we need a thief?" He questioned. Rouge planted her hands onto her hips, somehow extenuating them to make the echidna more uncomfortable.

"I have pretty good pickpocketing skills and I have broken into several high security banks." She huffed. "If you want help getting the Emeralds, I'm your gal."

Hands brushed away more dirt on the denim overalls. Rouge continued to dust herself off as the three others looked at each other in silent conversation. After one largely quiet minute filled with facial expressions and gestures, the gang came to an agreement.

"Can you fight?" Squeaked Tails, standing up from his cinder block. Rouge nodded.

"I grew up on the streets, learned from the best." She affirmed, winking her left eye.

"But how can you help us on our current quest?" Knuckles asked, still skeptical of this strange and pretty girl. Rouge merely shrugged.

"I dunno, but I can try." She answered. "You're looking for someone, right? If you want to know where he's going, then you should go where he's been. Momma always taught me to look in the places you know."

Tails nearly jumped three feet into the air. An excited look of planning and processing grew on his face as the fox whipped out the receiver and started to fiddle with it. At first, Rouge was confused by the boy's sudden reaction, but by judging the others' chill behavior about it, she deemed it nothing to be worried about. A few minutes later, Tails held up the device with pride.

"I looked through the history and programmed it to show on the map. Now we can see where he's been and track it!"

"Well, what are we waiting for!" Amy shouted excitedly. "Lets go!"

The group wasted no time in following Tails out of the little alley and into the city. Tails led them through the dwindling crowd and up a steep hill. They rounded corners and dashed across straight roads. It took them very little time to find the next place Sonic had stopped.

"Central City Federal Reserve Bank?" Knuckles asked, slightly surprised by the destination. Tails shook his head. He walked around for a bit confused.

"The device says he was here for around 20 minutes." He mumbled. "Why would he be here for this long, I don't get it."

Amy began to look around. Perhaps he was fighting something? Sonic tended to get himself in trouble, but what would he be doing around here? Something wooden caught her eye.

"Hey guys?" Amy called out. The group responded in various ways, ranging from a half-hearted grunt to a full on response.

"I found something I think you should see."

The pink hedgehog picked up a wooden board and handed it to Miles. Taking it in his hands, Tails' blue eyes dashed over the board before looking back up at the group. Disbelief and unexpected understanding reached his face while the rest looked on expectantly. The fox read it aloud.

Hey Tails

Got in trouble

Need assistance

Find Chaos Emeralds

Space ARK

Shadow

Eclipse Cannon

Find Chaos Emeralds

We = 2

Hurry please

Sonic

"That doesn't make any sense." Knuckles snorted.

"But it sounds like he's in trouble." Amy corrected the echidna. Rouge merely stood in thought.

"Space ARK sounds familiar." Explained Tails. "I'll have to do some research."

"We clearly need to find the Chaos Emeralds." Amy emphasized. "Why else would he write it twice?"

"Regardless of what it means, I'm taking this with me so I can try and de-code it a bit." Tails concluded, tucking the wooden note under his arm. "Do you have any input Rouge?"

"I can help you with the Emeralds no big deal." She answered. "However, the Shadow part of the note seems familiar slightly."

"I have no idea what that means." Knuckles pondered.

"I should consult the cards on some of this." Amy announced.

"Sounds like we have a plan going!" Rouge giggled excitedly. "I've never been on an adventure before."

"It's fun!" Tails smiled back. "Let's all head back to my workshop so we can do some preparing."

"Then it's settled." Knuckles decided. "Me and Rouge will look for Emeralds while you and Amy will look for Sonic."

"Okay then!" Tails squeaked. "Let's go!"