Knuckles' ARK

            Chapter two… ooh, things are starting to get exciting, no?  I thought not ::pout::.  Okay, just a couple of things different here.  1.  These aren't all going to be Knuckles talking to the Master Emerald; there will be journal entries from other characters, and a few 'fly on the wall' perspectives.  2.  There will be a few scenes with co-ed bathing (not all in this chapter), all of the same gender, however.  No, there is no sexual innuendo in that.  In several places, a group of females or males taking a bath together is perfectly acceptable, and it is in my story too.  Just thought I'd warn everyone.  Hm, I think that's it!  Enjoy, please!

    Space Colony ARK:  Day 6, 7:30 P.M.—Fly on the Wall.

            The dark figure entered the room, easily recognized by the silhouette.  It approached the larger shadow in the back of the small cell.

            "I came as fast as I could," It panted.  "Is there something wrong?"  The larger figure turned and regarded the other in the dark room.  It spoke.

            "You're the only one on this whole colony who understands me, you know," It began, "and as thanks, I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  You see, things don't always have to be 'work work work'.  A man needs a little fun in his life, you know?  Especially in a situation such as ours: stuck up here for who knows how long."  He had risen during His speech and walked to the back corner of the room.  Carefully, the smaller figure followed.
            "What's this?" the small one gasped as the other figure hit a switch and lit a monitor mounted into a desk.  On the monitor was a plain bedroom, like all the others in the colony, except that it was currently occupied.

            The figure watched with a sense of satisfaction deep in his core as the other took in the sight before him.  True, the plan was a bit crude, and a bit risky, but the figure felt that if he could turn the other, then he would be that much closer to showing up his rival.  He hadn't exactly lied when he said that the other was the only one who understood him, either.  The figure rubbed his chin and watched the screen thoughtfully.  As the smaller one turned away, He bared his teeth in a smile.

    Fifteen minutes later on floor 6, block C—Ladies Bathroom

            "Come on, Rose!"

            "No."

            "Why not?"

            "I don't feel like it."

            Rouge threw her hands up in exasperation.  She'd forgotten how difficult little girls could be.

            "The doctor rationed the water Amy.  If you want the supply to last, you'll follow the rules and come with me," the bat persuaded.  Amy Rose stomped her foot down hard on the steel floor.

            "If you want the supply to last, you'll wait and take a bath later," the pink hedgehog shot back.  Truth be told, she didn't trust the woman at all, and most certainly didn't want to share a bathtub with a complete stranger.  "You go first.  I'll take one tonight, just don't drain the water."  Rouge put her hands on her hips.

            "By then the water'll be all dirty and cold.  Just come on, I won't bite you," she winked. 

            "I don't find that very reassuring," Amy muttered, staring at the floor and walking past the older woman and into the bathroom.  Rouge followed.

            "God, this thing takes longer to fill up than I thought," the bat complained, wrapped up in a purple towel and standing at the edge of the huge tub.  "It's apparent that when the colony was built this particular tub was meant to be used for all of the women on the ARK."

            "Kind of like now?" Amy asked, also watching as the water poured into a bathtub mounted into the floor the size of a moderately large swimming pool, if not as deep.

            "Exactly.  No wonder Eggman is making us bathe together, filling this thing up too often, even considering ARK's water supply, would deplete our reserves far too quickly.  At least the guys have to do the same thing."  A few moments later, the bath was filled with steaming water.  With an eager smile and half-lidded eyes, Rouge slipped out of her towel and into the water, leaning back with a sigh.  "I don't think I've ever had a bath that felt this good in all of my life."  She cracked an eye open and saw the twelve-year-old hedgehog still standing by the edge of the basin, looking at her warily.

            "What?" she asked when she noticed the bat looking at her.  Rouge sat up and matched the girl's glare.

            "What's your problem?" she demanded, "If you're worried that I might be into girls, forget it.  I have a long list of people who would assure you I'm not."  Amy looked taken aback.

            "It's not that, Miss Rouge."  The treasure hunter looked at the hedgehog intently.  The girl swished her toes around in the steaming water and looked at the wall, seeming hesitant to voice her question.  "Would you really have let him kill me?"

            "What?" Rouge demanded; this hadn't been at all what she was expecting.

            "Eggman, on Prison Island.  Would you have let him shoot me?"  Rouge released her breath harshly and turned to face Amy.

            "The truth, Rose?  Yes, I would have."  Amy's eyes grew cold.  "It isn't anything personal.  It was my job to tail Eggman and find out what he was up to.  I couldn't risk blowing my cover.  Criminal Investigation is a very dangerous business; if Eggman had suspected at all that I wasn't with him completely, I would have been in big trouble.  Besides," she shut her eyes again, "do you know how much the President is paying me for the two tasks I completed?"

            "How much?" Amy asked, her curiosity overriding her anger for the moment.  Rouge smirked.

            "Let's just say that I no longer need my plans for the theft of the Hope Diamond."  They were quiet for awhile- Rouge relaxing in the steaming water that just came up over her chest, and Amy still swishing her toes in it from the floor.  Rouge's left lip quirked up slightly as she heard the sound of Amy Rose easing herself into the tub next to her—that had been too easy.  Now for the slightly more difficult part.  Without opening her eyes, the white bat spoke.

            "Why don't we get to know each other a little better, hm?  We girls have to stick together, ya' know."  Amy looked squeamish.

            "I… don't really have anything to say," she said dipping her head under the water and shaking it dry once she'd resurfaced." 

            "I'll go first then, and you can talk as you think of things," the treasure hunter said, opening her eyes and sitting up so that her upper body was above the water.  "I was born in a small town near Baton Rouge one June twentieth to a French white bat and a Spanish black bat:  Mr. Blanc Bat and his lovely wife Kohl.  The two others in my litter were still born."

            "I'm sorry."

            "Don't be.  Three years later, my mother gave birth again, this time two babies died, and two lived.  My brother, Akai, and my sister, Mascara, were the survivors that time.  The other two died shortly after birth."

            "You have a sister?  What does she look like?" 

            "She has grayish-white fur and is incredibly overweight."  Rouge said matter-a-factly.  Amy looked appalled.

            "How can you say such a horrible thing?" she demanded.  Rouge laughed.

            "My mother favored my younger sister, you see," the bat explained.  "Kohl Bat had always wanted a big family, but was rather barren in the womb, and, as a result, my siblings and I were hard to come by.  My mother blamed me for the in-the-womb deaths of my litter's siblings, and I was loathed for what she had called 'stealing all of the looks'.  Mother was a little crazy in my opinion."

            "What about your brother?" the pink hedgehog inquired, looking for all the world that she wanted a happy ending to this story.

            "Akai?  He works in New Orleans in my father's fishing business supporting my mother and sister.  As a side job every year, he makes fireworks for Mardi gras, and my sister makes necklaces.  Now, how about you Rose?  Where're you from?"  Amy looked a little shocked that Rouge was asking questions, but she decided that if the bat had opened up to her, she should do the same.

            "I have an apartment in Station Square," was the short reply.  Rouge rolled her eyes.

            "Any siblings?" she prompted.

            "Two; Josh and Jake."

            "Older or younger?"

            "Older."

            "Color?"

            "Brown and white with brown."

            "Parents?"

            "Amanda and Jonathon Rose."

            "Occupations?"

            "Housewife and engineer."

            "I see…" Rouge trailed off.  The two sat in silence, until Amy thought up a question.

            "Was being a spy your first job?" she asked shyly.  Rouge blinked at that.

            "No, actually.  Aside from treasure hunting, when I was twelve I worked as a waitress at a bar down the street from my house," the bat said, shifting slightly in the water.  "Would you hand me the shampoo?"

            "What?  Oh, here," Amy blinked, handing the shampoo to the treasure hunter.  "Did you work anywhere else?"  Rouge nodded, scrubbing her fur furiously.

            "To bring in some extra money, I did a bit of modeling."

            "Really?  For what?" Amy asked, eyes wide.

            "This and that, mostly swimsuits or underwear for catalogues," Rouge explained, still working the soap into the fur on her head.  "But I wouldn't recommend it.  Modeling pays well, but you can't get very far unless you're willing to take your clothes off every once in a while, at least in my experience."

            "Well of course, in your experience," Amy said a little bitterly, "Who wouldn't want you to take your clothes off?"  Rouge didn't answer; instead she dunked her head underwater and rinsed off the shampoo.

            "How about you, Rose?  You ever had a job?" the bat asked, grabbing a sponge and cleaning her wings.

            "I had a job in the burger place in Station Square.  Other than that, I baby sit and help out at the Chao Gardens," Amy confided, lifting one foot out of the water and inspecting her toenails for dirt.  The bat nodded.

            "I hear you're good with chaos, and I bet you work well with kids.  Is there any soap in here?" she asked.  The pink hedgehog handed it to her wordlessly, and Rouge climbed out of the bath and began to cover her body with the white foam.  Amy continued to stare at her foot.

            "How did you become a spy?"

            "That," Rouge smirked, twisting her torso around to clean the backs of her legs, "is a story I don't mind telling at all."  The bat finished scrubbing and hopped back into the still warm water, rinsed off, and began her tale.  "I was thirteen and had finally realized that what I wanted out of life was gems, gems, and more gems.  My mother didn't understand it, and rather than try, she forbade me leaving to look for treasure, insisting that my sister needed me to look after her.  I ran away three times, and every time I came back I brought money from my escapades and stories that I told my siblings, despite Mom's orders not to.  After a while, she stopped caring when I left, and every time I came back, if I didn't bring money she didn't let me into the house."

            "That's terrible," Amy gasped, grabbing the soap from the edge of the tub and washing between her toes.

            "It only happened twice," Rouge shrugged.  "Anyway, after a while, I could locate jewels on a feeling, and it was this feeling that got me my job in the government.  The president was meeting his wife at the biggest hotel in New Orleans, and had just happened to have a gift for her."

            "Let me guess; he brought gems," Amy interrupted.  The bat smirked.

            "Diamond earrings.  HUGE diamond earrings, actually.  I was in the city with my sister selling her necklaces, when I saw his car.  I knew there were gems on board, so I tried chasing his limo down the street but decided that I'd need a vehicle to catch them.  I stole a motorcycle from some guy who hadn't bothered to lock it up and pulled ahead of them."  At this, the pink hedgehog quirked an eyebrow.

            "Stole a motorcycle?  It seems to me that you need to work on your morals, Miss Rouge."

            "Cut the 'Miss' crap, Rose.  My name's Rouge and I need no respectful introduction.  Continuing on, I got ahead of the limousine and climbed the wall of a building in their path.  When the car passed by, I jumped down through the sunroof and landed right in Mr. President's lap.  He was, without a doubt, rather surprised."  A knock at the door interrupted the conversation.

            "I hope you two are decent, because we're coming in!"  The door flew open to reveal Sonic and Shadow dancing around like three year olds who really had to go to the bathroom.

            "SONIC!" Amy shouted, curling up and ducking further into the water.  Rouge shook her head and sat exactly as she had been.

            "What brings you two all the way down here?" the bat asked nonchalantly, crossing one leg over the other and giving them both a piercing stare.  Sonic stared directly at the floor and Shadow alternated between staring at the tiles and the treasure hunter.

            "We were on a r-run, and suddenly realized we needed to use the bathroom.  The men's room was too far away, so we came here.  I h-hope you don't m-mind," Sonic stuttered, glancing at the bat then back at the floor more quickly than he could run.  Rouge rolled her eyes.

            "Toilets are to your right.  Make it quick.  And work on that stutter blue boy."  Sonic ran off to the stalls quickly, while Shadow nodded his thanks and went on his way as well.  "This seems like a good time to hop outta here, don't you think so, Rose?"  Rouge climbed out of the tub and picked up Amy's pink towel.  She spread it out, back to the toilets, and wrapped it around the hedgehog as she got out.  The bat then retrieved her own towel and proceeded to tie it on.

            "Uh, thanks for the conversation, Miss Rouge," Amy said, looking shyly at her feet.  Rouge flashed her crooked smile.

            "No problem Rose.  And stop with the 'Miss' thing already."  Rouge left before Sonic and Shadow were done, and Amy followed close behind.

    Space Colony ARK:  Day 7, 10:30 A.M.—Diary of Amy Rose

            Dear Diary,

            There seems to be a never-ending supply of food in this place.  I almost got lost looking through the food storage this morning.  I don't really mind cooking for everyone; I actually like all of the complements they give me on the food.  Anyway, breakfast is done and cleaned up.  Tails helped me today before running off to the labs to work on some new something-or-another.  He's really started to act strangely.  He stays up late, barely eats anymore, and he never stops by to talk to me, or even Sonic!  I'm starting to worry about him, Diary.  Miss Rouge and I had a nice conversation during a bath yesterday.  She has a very interesting, if not a little depressing, past, but it doesn't seem to bother her any, so I won't let it bother me.  During the bath, Sonic and Shadow busted in on us to use the bathroom.  I thought I was going to die of embarrassment, but Miss Rouge just sat there, cool as a cucumber (does she have no shame?).  The encounter doesn't seem to have bothered Shadow much, but Sonic barely said anything to me today and he won't even look at Miss Rouge.  She (Rouge) doesn't seem to care at all about the whole thing, and just spends all of her time talking with Knuckles (about the Master Emerald, no doubt) or off by herself, wandering.  That brings me to an interesting point.  Knuckles doesn't seem to be doing very well.  He's used to being alone on an island nearly impossible for the normal person to find, and he's used to being outdoors.  All of the change seems to be taking a toll on him.  Not to mention the fact that he's very shy, and all of the attention he's getting from Rouge is just adding to his stress.  I should tell her to leave him alone for a while. 

            Moving on, I only see Dr. Eggman at meal times, which is just fine with me, so I don't know how he's doing right now.  I've spent most of my time in the kitchen or trying to get a moment alone with Sonic.  I haven't really had the chance, though, because he's spending all of his time with Shadow.  Tails is always off with the doctor (which worries me) and Knuckles is either wandering, in his room, or with Miss Rouge.  To top it off, something doesn't feel quite right up here.

            I feel very alone.

    Space Colony ARK:  Day 9, 3:27 A.M.—Knuckles

            There's something wrong here, Master Emerald.  I feel it in the air, in the walls, and in my feet when I leave my room.  Sonic says I just miss the outdoors, but I think that's a load of bull.  I go walking at night sometimes, just to be alone, and I hear things.  I hear Amy crying in her sleep, I hear Sonic shout in his, Tails' room is always silent along with Eggman's, Shadow sleeps deeply at night, and Rouge walks around in her room.  Occasionally she hears me and comes out to walk as well.  We don't talk much, but being able to travel the cold, empty halls with the sound of another's footsteps is comforting. 

            But back to the subject, things are changing in our little group.  Sonic spends all of his time with Shadow.  I normally wouldn't care, except that Tails now talks only with Eggman and the last thing I need is another evil genius that knows about the Master Emerald and where it's kept. And, Master Emerald, I think Amy Rose's mind is starting to go.  She spends all of her time in the kitchens, either cooking, exploring, or staring off into space.  Cabin fever? Lonely?

            I myself would prefer to be lonely, instead of spending so much time with that bat.  She's either in her room, bathing, or with me, and I don't like company much.  Truth be told, I don't trust her, Shadow, or Eggman.  The way they're separating all of us… pulling us away from each other, it seems a bit suspicious.  I can't say anything of this to Sonic, however, because in his opinion if I'm not busy being gullible then I'm being paranoid. 

            Wrong or not, I'll keep an eye on Rouge and follow my instincts if some situation does arise.  I just wish I could get the eerie feeling to leave me alone.

            Okay, that was a weird chapter… just to let you know, all of the things said by Amy and Rouge are purely fiction.  I don't have any real basis for any of it; so don't think of it as fact.  Next chapter, even more weird (and finally exciting) stuff happens… yay.