I want you to know that the whole summary of this story is in my profile. Thanks Crystal (Water Goddess). Glad ya like the beginning. Now, onto the first part of the actual story "behind the music"! It's the first songfic chapter. Lyrics are from "Vermillion" by Slipknot. Interesting on how I transitioned from Rouge's POV to Shadow's POV here. The lyrics, by the way, are and will always will be in bold letters. As well as my author notes, of course.

Part One: Rouge's Close Call

She seems dressed in all the rings

Of past fatalities.

So fragile yet so devious

She continues to see it.

It was a good night so far. The dogs were asleep. All the guards were inside. Perfect, thought the silent glider, silhouetted above the street lights. The jewelry in there will be mine. In reading about them in the local newspaper, San Francisco's large museum had Nephriti's jade necklace, some Chinese earrings and bracelets from the royal women who lived during the first dynasty, and other nifty little artifacts, all safe and awaiting to be in Rouge the bat's hands. They will be hers. Oh yes, they will be hers… Jewelry collecting was her most dedicated hobby. The government wouldn't approve of this. Ever since she found Shadow the Hedgehog, she had felt inspired. The U.S. Government was like a leash. They were using her. Saving the world? Tch. There were plenty of heroes. Rouge just didn't feel like one of those types. Heroes wouldn't act like she would act. She just wanted to be free and not have to worry about a thing, like Shadow. In a way, he had opened her eyes. …Not that she's told him about this or anything. She's kept this to herself, as a secret.

Now, the full fledged renegade treasure huntress landed on the roof, near the glass, and pulled off a glove. If Rouge was going to sneak in, bashing the window apart would not only blow her cover, but get herself hurt. So that was stupid.

Climatic hands that press…

With a set of five claws, Rouge carefully removed one panel of glass and placed it down on the concrete surface of the roof. This took time, but patience was a virtue. Besides, she had all night. She planned everything. Rouge then attended to the cable she brought with her, tying one end around her waist, and the other around the bars that once held the piece of glass. I know this feels so cliché, like Mission: Impossible, but it's the only and best way that this operation can be done. The length of the cable was plenty long enough for her to swing and sway to those display cases, quietly remove the glass, and then get the hell out of there.

Slowly with ease, she filled the warm summer air into her wings, gently parachuting down into her target, one of the fancy displays inside the museum.

Enter the night that she came home…

She went over to Nephriti case first. Too easy. Her feet didn't even touch the lasers on the ground level security system. No one was prepared for a treasure hunter such as Rouge herself. Yes, oh yes! This will be worn around my neck quite nicely. Cutting into the glass, she nabbed it. Then hopped a foot into the air and swayed to the right. She went in and snatched all of the Chinese jewelry.

She is everything and more…

Rouge got to the Thailand artifacts, putting on the jewelry to be able to carry them. This was too easy. Easier than it took her to find those Emerald pieces. Then, she had to let them go or else the argument between her and Knuckles would've gone on and on for a very long time. Damn echidna… But really, she had no regrets. The Master Emerald pieces were too much of a burden. Plus, that red nuisance didn't know where Rouge was. All the better.

…Footsteps. "Hey, just what do you think you're doing!" A male security guard came into the room. "Gotta bail," she silently hissed to herself as she began to flap her violet bat wings back to the hole in the ceiling. The alarms then started to blare. "Hey, you! Stop where you are! Hold it!" BANG, BANG! That fat bastard was shooting at her now. A bullet nicked the tip of her right wing, causing her to jerk in midair, but she maintained her balance. Rouge used all the strength she had to get out of the place and head on back to her secret hideaway.

As she landed a few feet away, hidden in the shadows, it was the time to catch her breath. That was TOO close. "I'll just have to try to think things through more carefully, won't I," she said, but wasn't too mad at herself. She got the goods, didn't she? Wincing in pain of the pain of her right wing, the risk of getting caught was not forgotten. But it was just a scratch. She'll live.

Hard to say what caught my attention…

Rouge, however, wasn't alone…yet again. Someone, a semi-familiar silhouette had been within her field of vision. It could either be Sonic (oh, no) or- "Thieving again, I see?" The low, uncaring and less enthusiastic tone told her that it was Shadow. It was too dark to see him now, but it was clear that the two were facing each other. Rouge felt a smirk creeping across her pink, glossy lips. "…You were following me." The hedgehog silhouette nodded once, and silently. "Why? It's not usually like you to be curious like this." Rouge forced out a soft laugh. "You're just full of surprises. Ever since I first met you…" "I don't want you to get myself in trouble. You lucked out again, but you may be caught one day," Shadow scoffed. Rouge could just imagine the scowl on his face. Since when did he become a parent all of a sudden?

Shadow, on the other hand could not believe this. "Coming, father," he heard Rouge say, mainly to give him a hard time. Rouge was just an small acquaintance, a small window of opportunity to keep him and his better acquaintance, Omega, to be left alone. "…That's not funny," Shadow muttered to the irritating jewelry addict. Almost all the time, Rouge always grated his nerves.

I won't let this build up inside of me.

I won't let this build up inside of me.

I won't let this build up inside of me.

I won't let this build up inside of me.

"Of course it is, Shadow," Rouge laughed and flew off into the night. He let her get a head start back to their hideout, located in a renovated motel to which they made sure to leave no trail of evidence for the local authorities to attend. The problem was, this time, someone saw Rouge. Now he had to make sure he wasn't around her for a while.

I'm a slave and I am a master.

No restraints and unchecked collectors.

I exist in my need, to self oblige.

She is something in me, that I despise.

Tonight's weather felt rather nice and perfect for the hedgehog to be left alone. That's what he preferred most of the time. To be left alone. And during his spare time, he'd think a lot about all the memories he's regained not so long ago. Mostly about Maria. About her promise. He saved the world once. But something was haunting him. Shadow just didn't know what. Was he still supposed to save Earth? Eggman was history, for now at least. He'd accomplished what was asked of him, right? "Then, why am I still here," he asked himself. He soon shook those thoughts off, not wanting to get lost in them. He felt lost enough already.

I won't let this build up inside of me.

I won't let this build up inside of me.

I won't let this build up inside of me.

I won't let this build up inside of me.

That was enough thinking, Shadow decided. He had to get back to the others, and keep watch with Omega. Maybe catch something interesting on the old TV that the robot had repaired, so they'd be able to see what all the world is up to. What a nifty piece of technology, the television…