Man, this one took a while. I'm sure it's obvious that the action sequence is why- I ended up replacing an entire portion that I thought wasn't gelling (in particular whether or not to have any hits below the belt- spoiler alert: I decided NO.) I also had to throw my Virtua Cop readers another chapter first because they've been waiting a lot longer than that. Plus, some seasonal Youtube vids that couldn't be delayed or else I'd look stupid. I ALSO even went and made some changes and additions to earlier chapters along the way (FYI the updates were all uploaded a month ago.) I may later redistribute the chapter contents to fit my original outline (though this might dwarf the others) but not until much later on so as not to confuse y'all. Good news is I doubt the remaining chapters will be anywhere as hard.

"You said you can fight, right kid?"

"Yeah..." he answered, though not nearly as confidently as he wished. He COULD fight, though it was questionable how well, especially compared to Sonic or Knuckles, who did most of that. His personal best efforts were aided by explosives. Also, that was against robots or machines and not living creatures. He may have enjoyed action movies where heroes racked up triple-digit body counts as much as the next guy, but he wasn't so keen on hurting people himself. Even if these guys were likely not good citizens, technically they were just protecting their own office from unidentified (and illegal) intruders. Am I not supposed to reveal we're GUN?

Somebody made the first move and stepped forward. Rouge took one step of her own and with a hop kicked him straight in the head, easily managing the feat on someone nearly twice as tall. He stumbled backwards into his comrades, who caught him before going down. Someone else moved in and got put down by two almost casual-looking roundhouses upside the head. The next to engage approached in a cautious stance, looking ready to either duck or block. But he wasn't ready for her to spin a full 360 and kick straight to the gut, sending him staggering back before keeling over in a gasping heap. The rest of the men spread out but held back, none wanting to be next. If anybody had a weapon they surely would have drawn it by now. Luckily it seemed yakuza believed in the Japanese spirit of honor.

Tails could only stand and take in the show. Whoa... She's awesome... She may not have had super speed, spiked fists capable of busting rocks, or even a giant hammer, but she was totally wrecking these guys. I wish I could kick like that... While he probably possessed the required flexibility his much shorter legs just wouldn't have the reach- he couldn't even punch these guys in the face without jumping. I wish I knew some martial arts...

The biggest thug present pushed a couple guys aside and stepped forward: well over 6 feet tall, 300 pounds at the minimum, built like a sumo wrestler, and in general was a mean-looking dude that almost made Robotnik small by comparison. He nonchalantly approached as if daring her to take the first shot. She didn't turn the offer down. Too tall to headhunt, she went for the stomach instead. He tried to block but couldn't match the smaller bat's speed. Not that it mattered; the hit didn't seem to have any effect besides feel unpleasant for a second. It didn't even halt his advance, and she nearly toppled over backward from the opposite force. She recovered and immediately kicked again, this time a roundhouse to the side. It had even less effect. Undaunted, she simply tried again. And again. The giant eventually managed to deflect an attack, knocking her completely off balance. She staggered, spun, and saw HIM just standing around. "You gonna help me out here or are you just gonna watch?"

"Uh..." Everyone else looked at him as if they had completely forgotten he was there. He stepped forward. Three guys started running towards him. He stepped back. The first to reach him didn't slow, charging in with a downward punch. It was an awkward way to hit an opponent less than half one's own height; he easily ducked/sidestepped and the man went stumbling off balance from the whiff, looking so dumb he smiled despite the situation. Unamused, the man came right back with more punches that were easily ducked.

Then the man kicked. He almost managed to block in time, the tip of the foot connecting with his stomach. It made him cough out a chunk of wind but he kept enough to block the follow up properly. He was doing well blocking or dodging even more until one of the other thugs decided to stop sitting back and taking turns. Now he was swatting away legs from opposite directions with both hands. Apparently the Japanese spirit of honor only went so far.

Eventually he caught a wingtip to the temple and stumbled. Another foot hit square in the back and sent him tumbling forward. He rolled and came back up on his feet, fists raised- the pacifist approach had gone out the window. "Okay, that's it!" His attackers acknowledged the exclamation by pausing... then promptly dismissed it and advanced. He stood his ground, only to end up having to dodge a kick before throwing a punch to the stomach. The impact was solid enough to drive the man back but fighting head-on was clearly a bad idea: his reach couldn't compete with the humans' longer legs.

The man recovered and tried again. He ducked completely underneath the attacker and hit the other leg in the back, sending him crashing to the floor. Tails turned just in time to catch another incoming foot. He twisted the limb painfully, causing its owner to turn along with it and hit the floor facedown. Maybe he DID pick up a little martial arts from all those movies. You target the enemy's weak points...

Then the fallen man kicked out with both legs and sent him sliding across the smooth floor... directly to another, who kicked him in the head. He rolled over but a foot planted itself on his back and stayed there, holding him down for the other two to stomp on. He managed to roll out from under the foot and onto his back, but it didn't really help since now all three were pummeling him. He curled up, using the arms and legs to protect himself while regaining his senses. The hits stopped, then somebody grabbed his wrists.

The grabber stood directly in front. He kicked out with both legs right at the shins, prompting the grabber to let go. He rolled away and back to his feet. The other two were coming. He launched forward to deliver a dropkick to one, getting a topsy-turvy view of the guy staggering and falling down. In retrospect it wasn't the best move to do under the circumstances as generally the deliverer does not land gracefully. Not an issue if the recipient was floored, but possibly if there was another opponent to deal with.

He was unexpectedly assisted in rising to his feet by a hand on his upper arm. He looked to his helper, who was winding the other arm up for a punch... Thinking fast, he grabbed the holding arm with both his own, then hopped and curled up like a ball. Unprepared to suddenly hold a forty-pound weight, the man fell onto his knees and free hand. He didn't let go even when pulled flat on the floor however, so Tails bent the arm back about as far as it could go, eliciting a cry of pain that segued into recognizable words. "Son of a-"

He increased the pressure slightly, turning the vocals back to unintelligible. "You leave my parents out of this." The other two thugs hesitated at the sight of their friend in submission. There was another cry of distress, this one female. If this was the first time Rouge had taken a hit then she was doing way better than him. He looked over to see she had been knocked down, but quickly adapted to sweep an attacker's legs clean out from her prone position before rolling back onto hers. Also noted were several guys on the floor, a couple completely motionless. Yep, definitely doing way better than me...

He returned attention to HIS attackers, one of which was now moving in. He released the arm to leave the owner rolling around nursing it and faced the thug with the wounded shins, instinctively backing up before deciding to attack. Wounded Shins paused in surprise as the fox leapt in a high arc descending upon him, one arm pulled back and face locked in a muted war cry... before being punched square in the face and going down. Tails rubbed his hand, the minor ache outweighed by satisfaction.

Dropkicked Man was charging full steam his way. Anticipating what was coming, he jumped at the man as well. This time he turned sideways in the air, the man's leg passing harmlessly underneath, before delivering a kick upside the head that put his opponent down. One attacker nursing an arm; another the nose; the last shaking off the blow and getting back up.

The man didn't make the first move this time, raising his arms to seemingly gesture COME ON. If you insist... He jumped even higher this time. The man strained to look up as his small opponent leapt high enough to easily clear him, but instead landed upon his shoulders, his legs simply folding underneath. Tails fell backwards too, landing on the man's stomach in what would make an awesome wrestling move. Three guys down for the moment now.

Somebody bellowed. Tails looked just in time to see the big guy charge Rouge, pick her up in a bearhug grip, and slam her to the floor in a brutal impact that left the bat stunned surrounded by enemies. He yelled, "ROUGE!" and ran towards her... and by extension her attacker, who turned to face him. He jumped at the giant with an arm reared back once again... who put up his own arms and deflected the diminutive fox off to the side like a volleyball, crashing to the floor by Rouge with a head-rattling impact. "Ow..."

The giant went hmph and sarcastically asked, "You guys need a little help with him too?" The humbled thugs didn't answer.

"My own little guardian angel," Rouge sighed.

"Not now," Tails snapped back.

There were a few snickers from their audience. The giant said, "Get them up."

Tails asked, "Would it matter if I mentioned that we're GUN agents?"

"No."

A pair of men each flanked the bat and fox, grabbed an arm apiece, and pulled them up to their feet. Tails played docile and tried to think of a plan. Rouge on the other hand wasn't having any of it. "Get your hands off me!" she exclaimed, not giving any time to oblige before stomping a boot down on one of their feet. The unlucky owner yelped and let go. She tripped the other thug and freed herself.

Here we go... Tails copied her escape plan. Tripped Leg followed the script but Stomped Toes didn't let go and held him back. He grabbed the holding limb with his free hand... which was in turn grabbed the other guy's free hand. Tied up and surrounded by eager attackers, he did the only thing to come to mind, jumping away with a sideways flip. The man holding on flipped as well but crashed onto the floor while he landed perfectly on his feet. The others froze, their expressions all saying the same thing as the dazed man on the floor: what just happened?

He cracked a grin ala Sonic. Martial arts are just a specific application of basic physics... He ran up to a thug and jumped onto him grabbing around the neck, pulling the man downward with his weight and momentum. As Tails' feet touched the ground he threw the man clean off his. The other two still stood stunned. He repeated the move on one of them, then turned to the last one, who snapped out of shock enough to put out the arms in an attempt to physically keep him away. This time he jumped only slightly, grabbed the outstretched arms instead, and swung between the man's legs, who hit the floor in a brutal (albeit unintentional) faceplant. The plan was a flip, but no sense complaining about a knockout.

The others were getting back to their feet. He ducked underneath a leg, caught it on the way down, pivoted to grab the other leg... then yanked both out from under their owner, who hit the floor facedown as well, though at least with the benefit of free hands to break the fall. He simply sidestepped the next guy and hooked one arm around the waist, then secured a hold with the other. He jumped with man in tow and slammed him flat on his back. Another one seemingly out cold- this was going well now. He turned in time to see someone launch at him before being tackled, ending up on his back under the heavier human, who raised a fist... He jerked his head to the side as the man punched hard tile and yelped in pain. Distracted by the hurting hand, the man didn't see a right hook coming. Another out cold for sure- this one particularly satisfying.

The last of his opponents standing was hesitant to tango with the little fox now, and frantically looked around the room, eventually running to a suit of samurai armor on display and pulling a sword out of its sheath. Whoa, seriously? The weapon was swung around in a manner straight out of a Japanese ninja flick. The display was unskilled and nowhere as intimidating as it was meant to be, but a sword was still deadly.

One wrong move and they won't be calling me Tails anymore... He scanned his half of the room for possible weapons: a vase; some paintings; a bench; a bust of someone who might have been the current emperor of Japan for all he knew... No fair, his side has all the cool stuff... The swordsman slowly approached. Well, if Jackie Chan can fight with a stepladder, I can fight with a bench... He grabbed an end and lifted the furniture bigger than himself, the sight giving the swordsman pause. Unfortunately, made of smooth wood and lacking good gripping points, the bench quickly slid through his hands and hit the floor. He was pretty sure Jackie Chan never wielded a bench in a film; maybe that was because Jackie Chan knew all about these sorts of things.

Swordsman recognized what was commonly known in fight terminology as 'an opening' and lunged. He grabbed the bench again, this time by the slats on the back, and lifted it up as the sword came down, the blade notching the wood. Thinking fast he simply rammed the oversized object into Swordsman, then shifted position to swing it in an overhead manner with his best war cry. Swordsman raised his own weapon in a parry... Unsurprisingly Swordsman got clobbered by the heavy wood fixture and flattened into the floor, weapon clattering nearby.

He looked around, realizing it got pretty quiet all of a sudden. The other fight had paused and everyone was gawking at him. He gave the bench a slow but graceful twirl over his head before bringing it to a sort of parade rest behind him- Jackie Chan would be proud. The thugs seemed intimidated except for the giant, who simply said, "I'll handle him. Stay on her."

The giant approached with no fear. As soon as he got close enough Tails jabbed him with one end of the bench. It knocked him back all of two steps. On the second swing he grabbed the other end. Tails tried to pull the bench back but Colossus held onto his end... and then lifted the furniture upwards, the light fox coming along for the ride.

Helplessly dangling, Tails let go and dropped to the floor... then jumped back as the bench was slammed down where he had just been. The big man stepped forward and raised the bench for another swing... Realizing the bench provided a visual shield, he dove forward and slid between Colossus' legs as it smashed down, unnoticed.

If Rouge's hits weren't hurting this guy, he doubted he could either. Different approach: he jumped on the giant's upper back, wrapping his legs around the torso and an arm around the neck in a chokehold. Colossus dropped the bench and grabbed the arm to wrench it away. He wrapped his other arm around the neck in replacement; it was grabbed and wrenched away almost as easily with just one oversized arm. Not good... With both arms gripped by the wrist, the titan bucked and tried to throw him overhead, staying put only because his legs remained firmly locked.

"MOVE." That was Rouge's voice, simple and firm. He was able to take in that she had finished off all the other mooks before she jumped up sideways, one leg winding up... Limited in any sort of mobility, he ducked his head back behind Colossus' for cover as her foot made contact. It was like a sledgehammer wallop across half his head. Dazed, his legholds ceased along with the giant's grip and he fell to the floor in a heap. As sense returned, he rolled around trying to smother what felt like a fire on his muzzle with cupped hands. He sympathized with all the other guys laid out on the floor. Rouge didn't. "Hey, think you're getting back up anytime soon?"

"Think you're gonna kick me again?"

"Toughen up, kid!" she said with no hint of remorse.

"Smarten up, Batgirl!" was the somewhat lame comeback.

"DON'T call me Batgirl, kid."

"Yeah well don't call me kid, Batgirl."

"Help me out and we'll see, Foxboy."

The ongoing fight gradually came back into focus. Rouge was dishing out kicks, most of them landing, while dodging the slow giant's occasional attack but it was hard to say she was winning when her opponent was unfazed by anything. Eventually he managed to catch one of her quick legs, leaving her awkwardly balancing on the other before being pulled off it. He dragged her across the floor before turning and swinging her around with enough force to lift off the ground and slam into the wall, the impact leaving a hole where she hung for a moment before tumbling onto the floor. The giant allowed her a few seconds to slowly rise on all fours before punting her over.

"ROUGE!" Tails got to his feet with equal difficulty. Gigantor turned and simply waited for his attack... which was still in planning. Being disproportionately strong for his size was useful but didn't change the fact that his opponent was disproportionately bigger, namely many times heavier. Throwing this guy was a dubious prospect. His only hope of survival was to use his size to stay out of reach of his opponent's arms. As for actually winning the fight... maybe he could take out the legs and pound on the fallen giant, David and Goliath style, hopefully with Rouge joining in. He ran in, sliding past the giant legs, and punched one in the back of the knee. Gigantor wobbled slightly. He full on grabbed the leg next, jammed a foot behind the knee, and personally forced the titan to take a knee.

He suddenly remembered about staying out of reach when a backhand swing knocked him flat. Big hands grabbed, lifted, and slammed him into the wall. He retaliated with a puny kick to the chest- no swinging room. He did it again anyway. Gigantor responded by pulling him away from the wall and then SLAMMING him back into it; once, twice, thrice... at least. At some point the wall had given way to a crater. He went limp in the giant's grasp and quickly formulated a 3-step plan.

Step 1: Play dead.

Step 2: Hope he stops hitting you.

Step 3: Formulate another plan.

Step 1 was easy; he almost didn't even need to fake it anyway. Step 2 was even easier. Step 3 was the hard part. Fortunately the first two steps seemed to work. Head lolling and eyes mostly shut, he snuck a glance at his opponent and saw that the big guy was looking away. He turned his head as well. Rouge was back up and looked very angry. YES! She broke into a run towards them. The big man turned and shotput the fox at the charging bat. She slid to a stop but was unable to get out of the way. They both reached out as they collided. She caught him... partially. Specifically, she caught his upper half. But his lower half threw off her equilibrium and spun her around. After a valiant struggle she ultimately fell over backwards. Somehow he managed to use his near-perpendicular position to land on his feet and 'catch' her in a reversal of position.

She looked confused, no doubt wondering why she hadn't hit the floor. "I got you." Her expression turned even MORE confused. Wait... He could have sworn that she blushed but their attentions were shifted back to the sizable attacker coming towards them. Reacting instinctively if not exactly chivalrously he practically launched her back onto her feet directly at the approaching enemy. She literally rolled with it in a handspring sending both feet into the giant's chin. The hit was hard but left her falling onto her back in front of the giant, who already recovered enough to raise a foot to simply stomp her...

At which point Tails jumped over Rouge to dropkick the distracted man in the face. He practically rolled down the giant's front on the way down, doing nearly a full backflip before landing in a less-than-graceful 4-pointer. Gigantor regained footing to stumble back forward, a bit unsteady. He rose in preparation of a yet-undecided attack when a hand came down on his shoulder. He looked up just as Rouge flipped overhead, using him as a tripod, and delivered another kick to the head on the way down.

She landed gracefully facing him as the titan crashed to the floor behind. She didn't even look back, not that she needed to; the local seismic activity center probably knew this guy went down. They shared a look. He put out a hand for a high-five. She looked at the offered palm as if she had to consider it. Just as his expression dimmed, she smiled and put out her own hand after all... which went right past his and instead landed on his head to ruffle the fur. "Hey!" he snapped even as a smile crossed his face, conflicted between being annoyed or amused; unsure whether she was being patronizing or playful. But somehow he felt inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt.

A groan came from behind. Atlas wasn't down for the count just yet. The bat turned, ready to keep going. He caught her arm. "Uh, Rouge? We don't actually HAVE to beat this guy, you know."

She looked back at him hard. "Yes we do." The voice of a woman who knew what she wanted.

"Or we could just simply escape now that he's alone and not very fast," he meekly suggested.

"Come on, don't wimp out now, kid."

"I'm not!" he responded indignantly. "I'm just saying we have other options. And better strategies," he added with his own edge.

She crossed her arms and looked at him with an expression that read this should be good. "Oh really? You know a better way to fight, Mr. Genius? And you've just been holding back this entire time? I am all ears." Atlas was amused by the whole exchange, enough so that he waited and didn't interrupt.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, simply hitting him isn't really working here, so maybe we should try a better application of our strengths here."

"Like what?"

"Well... I'd say this guy can't weigh more than, what, 350 pounds, tops?" Atlas raised an eyebrow, clearly wondering where this was going. "I dunno about you, but I can lift that much."

"Hah!" Rouge scoffed. "I'm a lot stronger than you, kiddo." Now Atlas' face went say what? "But why do that?"

He put on his best kung fu master voice. "If you want to break a rock, you don't hit the rock. You smash the rock against something harder."

She smiled. "I think I like this idea."

The endorsement of the plan taken as approval, they stepped away from each other for more room. Atlas looked considerably less certain than he did a minute ago. Rouge spread her wings; Tails crouched down into a sprinter's position, snaking out his concealed namesake before remembering there was a reason he hid it in the first place- oh well. "You wanna go low and I go high?"

"You go low, shorty."

He considered explaining that his suggestion was based on tactical reasoning that his tails might require more vertical clearance than her wings but figured debating with her was not worth the trouble. He fired them up. "Fine. We'll bum rush him at the same time. Ready?"

"Oh I am ready. Are you?"

"On three: one, two, three!" They shot forward, Rouge perhaps jumping the gun a little. Atlas put up his arms in some vague attempt of repelling what was coming but to no avail as they swept him right off his feet. The three were airborne for about two seconds before slamming into the wall with a massive crash, leaving behind a crater much bigger than the others. The massive human body absorbed most of the impact. Tails and Rouge ceased flight and dropped onto their feet with their captive held above, stunned but still conscious.

"Okay, what now?"

"Let's go up," he replied offhandedly. They took off vertically this time, putting their overhead cargo through the ceiling. They came back down amongst a rain of broken plaster, shattered florescent bulbs, and a thick cloud of what was hopefully just dust. Rouge shifted the heavy body off to the side and unceremoniously dropped it. After a moment's thought she stepped around and took over one of the legs that Tails was still holding. Glances were exchanged. Thoughts ran telepathic. Sadistic grins formed. With a heave they swung the massive man overhead to slam face down on the floor. They waited a minute to see if he stirred before declaring victory. "That. Was. AWESOME. It was like Yakuza up in here."

"They WERE yakuza."

"No, I meant the game... Yakuza."

"What's that?"

"It's a game... about yakuza." He sighed, realizing she probably would have NO idea what he was talking about. "You get to beat people up. You'd probably like it." Before she could respond he segued into, "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"In fights," the bat replied as if she thought nothing of it.

"You mean you're self-taught? You were amazing-" He almost covered his mouth- don't swoon.

She smiled and put a hand behind her head while striking a modeling pose. "I'm pleased that you noticed, sweetie. Though I don't think any other boys admire the same things you do."

He wondered what things those were. Highly competent? Strong? Athletic? Smart? Confident? Funny? Cool/awesome/badass? Who wouldn't? Her attitude could improve, though his gut feeling was that she was ultimately not really bad at heart. Sonic would probably like her... He tried to steer the topic off her with a mutual compliment. "We made a pretty good team there fighting."

That was a miscalculation. "We? You mean me." There it was: the negative side of her that reared its head without warning. One moment she was nice and another downright mean-spirited.

He wasn't going to let that one go- maybe beating up a bunch of guys made him a touch more combative. "I meant we, as in both of us."

"Really? Let me see... One..." She counted off while pointing in seemingly random directions, though he knew immediately what she was doing. "...two, three, four..." She finally pointed at the fallen titan. "Eleven. Out of-"

He thought fifteen and dryly interrupted, "I helped with the big guy."

"Ten and a half," she corrected, "out of-"

He cut her off again. "It sure looked like you needed help when they were all gonna..." He trailed off, fully aware he didn't have the upper hand on this exchange.

She pounced on it. "Yeah... I wonder why they would gang up on the girl instead of the guy."

He crossed his arms and looked away. "Maybe they couldn't tell."

She snorted. "Oh yes, they obviously didn't realize what a manly little fox you are."

He sighed at the backfire. While painfully aware he wasn't exceptionally masculine at his age, he sure hoped being mistaken for a girl was in the past. "Well, at least I didn't kick you in the face." He rubbed his nose, now thus reminded.

"Are you STILL complaining about that?"

"It STILL hurts."

"Come on, you've fought a mad scientist with missiles and bombs but a hit to the face hurts you?"

True: it was nothing compared to injuries sustained fighting Robotnik, but a kick in the head was an unpleasant time at best. "Well, yeah, but... it still really hurt." She looked unimpressed. "You hit me RIGHT in the nose." Actually, the big guy's head was driven back into his nose and his head had caught the tip of her boot on the side, but clarification was omitted in hopes of getting SOME sympathy from the bat. "Us canines have sensitive noses," he whined despite his best efforts. "It's like our Achilles Heel."

Her face didn't change. "Just put some ice on it."

"Great idea. Would you brush some off for me?"

There was a beat before her expression turned amused. "Aw, you really think I'm cold? I've got a better idea then."

He was startled by her entering his personal space. "What-," was as far as he got before her hand grabbed his muzzle- again.

"Let me see." Tilting his head upwards, she gave his snout an uncomfortably close onceover, though it was doubtful she had any real medical knowledge. After a while she went hmmm, then lightly kissed the tender nose. "There... Feel better?" she cooed in a sweet and motherly tone.

He did, among other things. He tried to say, "A little." It came out something like, "Mfphflml."

She let go and stepped back. He looked down with a hand back to his snout, heart thumping a thousand beats per minute and body feeling like it was about to self-combust. His mind tried to process thoughts. She was totally messing with him, but in a friendly and good-natured way... He'd even say affectionate, if she was actually understandable. A finger snap right in front of his face nearly made him flinch. "Hey, you still there, kiddo?" She had that sly smirk of hers.

Realizing he was just standing around blankly with a dumb smile and tails wagging for who knows how long, he answered, "Yeah... I was just... thinking."

"Uh huh. Thinking really hard by the look of it. About what?"

"Uh..." He flailed for a lifeline, grabbing one seemingly out of divine providence. "I was just thinking... that you're doing this wrong."

"Really? How so?"

"Well, for someone who's supposed to be such a hardcore criminal, you're actually kinda nice."

She laughed. "Sorry to disappoint but you are wrong there, cutie. I only made an exception for you."

He cocked his head slightly at that. "Well I'm honored."

She caught it. "Don't get the wrong idea. You've just been such a nice guy that I thought I should... what did you say... reciprocate?"

"Being nice to someone being nice is still being nice."

"Oh shut up," she said with only a hint of annoyance.

He was smiling until his gaze fell upon an electronic device mounted on the ceiling. "Aaaaawwwww crap..." He pointed at it for the benefit of the confused bat. "That's a security camera."

"Is that what those are?" she asked as if genuinely ignorant.

"You don't know about them?" He was surprised that a thief could possibly not.

"I know to avoid them."

"Huh." It made sense- top of the line alarm systems back home were probably tin cans on string. It was impressive how she adapted to another world's far more advanced technology. "Did you by any chance see any rooms marked as 'security'?"

"Yeah. That way." She pointed, and after a moment added, "Out to the right, left, and right again." Retaining details about the floor's layout unrelated to her task, she was clearly smarter than previously thought. "Why?"

"Just figured I'd cover our tracks."

"Okay..." she said, clearly not concerned in the least. "I'll just wait here." He could guess why but just smiled and went on his way. He followed her directions (and wall directories, which only slightly diminished the feat of memory) and found the labeled door. It was unlocked; the setup inside a single PC on a desk- this place wasn't exactly Fort Knox.

Lacking both time and proper tools, he simply grabbed the CPU off the desk, the power cord coming out but the monitor and peripherals dragging along for the ride, which he yanked out along the way. He walked back to the big hall and was about to dump the computer into the fountain/pond when he noticed it contained wildlife. Hey, is this a koi pond? He went ahead and dunked it, spooking the fish. It should suffice- he doubted these guys were going to send it to a forensics lab. Hopefully the big guy wouldn't remember his attacker too well. Rouge looked up from whatever had been holding her interest until now. "What are you doing?"

She probably wasn't asking about the technical merits of the disposal method. "Wiping the hard drive."

"That's how you do it?"

"It's one of the fun ways. What are you doing?"

"Just admiring it." While not able to see what antique trinket she was holding, he suspected she was trying to extract the most valuable part of it.

"C'mon, they're not gonna let you keep it."

"We'll see. What about you? Are you not gonna let me keep it?"

"Well..." he began, treading carefully around the challenge, "under the circumstances."

"Really?" she asked skeptically. "You mean you don't have a problem with me stealing?"

He calculated an answer that would avoid any possible fight between them without looking intimidated by her... truth notwithstanding. "Well... I object on moral grounds, but I figure it serves a greater purpose by depriving criminal elements of financial resources."

"Interesting... Does that mean you've got a bad side?" He was about to deny it purely out of hand when she followed up with, "I think I'm starting to like you."

He scrapped his original answer. "Well... a little."

DVD Commentary: I hope this chapter was more fun to read than it was to write. I considered breaking my narrative structure to give some focus on Rouge fighting but how many different ways could I think of how to kick people? I'll probably tweak the chapter later because I'm still not entirely happy with it but I figure it's good enough for now.

Funny how things sorta write themselves... My interest in this duo was born purely out of curiosity about what antics these two antithetical characters would possibly get up to and how they'd get along with each other. No such stories seem to exist here, so I made my own. I never entertained the idea of shipping (not my scene at all) but this story certainly is ticking a lot of the boxes and I'm having fun with the chemistry here... but no sense spoiling the audience's fun guessing.

Yes, 'home' is my euphemism for 'Sonic's-not-officially-named-planet'. I'm kinda loyal to cannon like that. I personally would use it as a gag that the planet's not named because nobody that lives there ever thought it needed to be, so characters can never give any helpful answers about it. Hopefully Sonic 2 doesn't contradict me on it being technologically primitive.

Also yes, the use of yakuza ultimately in the story largely exists for a punchline (and because I didn't know who else to use.) Coincidentally I just reviewed and played Yakuza 4 on my Youtube channel. If you thought that quote in chapter 1 sounded familiar... Though in retrospect Tails would probably have thought of Kazuma Kiryu before Jackie Chan. Now that guy knows how to use ANYTHING as a weapon.