It was about six thirty in the morning when Rouge began to stir. She opened her eyes and looked out the window she saw that they were right over Paris. She smiled as she turned back to Knuckles to see him still asleep. 'He's so cute when he's a sleep.' She leaned over and started kissing him gently on the lips but to her surprise Knuckles felt the kiss and returned it with much more passion. She pulled away very slightly. "I thought you were asleep."
"I was but you woke me up, when you did this." He started reenacting the kiss. He released her with smile on his face.
"We've landed now, let's go." She unhooked her seatbelt and walked down the isle with her 'shadow' following her.
They had just gotten out of the airport, when Knuckles started up conversation. "Rouge how are we goanna find Amy and Shadow in Paris it's not exactly what you call a 'small town'?"
"Well I have a plan." Rouge answered as she stopped in front of a random motel. She entered and looked around. "Good the only staff on this floor are the front desk people." "Knuckles."
"Yea?" He was busy looking around the lobby trying to figure out what they were doing there.
"I going to need you to be a distraction." She grinned devilishly at him.
"What kind of distraction, how am I suppose to do that?" Knuckles asked not sure he liked the sound of this.
"Well what you do is..." She moved close to him and whispered some instructions to him.
Knuckles smirked at Rouge when understood what he had to do he walked casually across the lobby and stopped at line of luggage carts, he looked up right in front of him was a glass wall and on the other side was the indoor pool. He pulled one of the carts out of the line like he was going to use it and then with his advanced strength he shoved it toward the wall and it went right through the glass and splashed into the pool. People were screaming and scrambling out of the pool, and in all the commotion the front desk staff had raced to see what had happened. Rouge saw her chance and jumped over the front counter. Knuckles had hid behind the other carts and when the coast was clear he ran and jumped over the counter next to Rouge. "Okay you got your distraction now what are you doing?" He was watching her as she pulled a small handheld computer from her bag and then took a wire and hooked it up to the hotels main computer.
"Well Knuixe, not many people know this but all hotels are connected by a special link so that the government can search them all at once if necessary and I'm going to use that to my advantage." She pressed a few buttons and typed in the name 'Amy Rose' she found the name under one hotel. "Okay I got the info now lets move, before we get caught." The two ran out of the hotel and a few blocks down the street. "The computer gave a hotel with Amy's name it's a one room and two occupants, that's gotta be them." Rouge turned off the small hand held. "And it's just our luck that the place is only a few blocks away let's go." Knuckles and Rouge were almost there when the hotel came into view. Knuckles yawned as he took Rouge's hand. "Come on the sooner we get there the soon I can get some sleep, we haven't slept sense the nap on the plane and it's already morning." That was true the sun had rose about two hours ago.
The two finally reached the entrance of the motel and went in. Rouge pulled Knuckles toward the elevator; the doors slid shut as Rouge pushed level 5. "They should be in room 1401." Rouge yawned as she heard the sound of the bell ping to indicate the elevator had reached its stop. They walked down the hallway to the room and knocked on the door.
Amy and Shadow were already up and Amy walked to the door to answer it. She could hardly believe what she saw when she opened the door. "Rouge, Knuckles? What are you two doing here?"
"Hey Ames can we please crash here we're beat?" Knuckles asked as Rouge leaned sleepily on his shoulder.
"Yes of course come on in." Amy stepped out of the way so the two could come in.
Knuckles laid Rouge down on the bed where she fell asleep instantly. Knuckles yawned as he sat down on the bed as well.
"Knuckles, you still didn't tell me what you two are doing here." Amy stood next to the echidna wide eyed.
"Well I just followed Rouge cause well I…I" Knuckles sutured a little.
"Cause you love her." Amy finished his sentence with ease.
"Yea…but the only other thing I know is she came because of some sort of promise or something." Knuckles turned to Rouge and ran his palm down the side of her face.
"Look you just get some sleep." Amy started to walk away from the bed.
Knuckles laid down next to Rouge and put his arm around her waist in a possessive manner. "Hey Amy just one more thing, where's Shadow?"
"He's out on a little morning run he said he'd be back soon." Amy walked out of the room and onto the balcony leaving the two to sleep. She leaned on the balcony as she thought about what Knuckles had said. "Rouge couldn't have possibly have come all this way for that promise not after she got everything she wanted." "I mean last I heard she got out from under the FBI's thumb and got the echidna of her dreams or at least that's what Tails told me I gotta stop calling him for info he doesn't have the whole story sometimes." Suddenly Amy's ears perked as she heard the sound of someone land behind her. She didn't turn to look she knew who it was. "Hey Shadow have a nice run?"
"Yes" Shadow glanced through the window and noticed the two sleeping on Amy's bed. "What are they doing here?"
"They found us somehow Knuckles said that they were here because of Rouge." Amy looked down at the street still not turning to face Shadow.
Shadow walked over and stood next to Amy his hands down by his side as he looked downward as well. "Amy I told Rouge where we would be."
Amy's eyes sifted to him. "But why?"
"Because she practically begged, and I owed her that much…she wants nothing more from you but your forgiveness Amy she feels responsible for what happened back on the roof that day." Shadow seemed too drifted off into space as he told her what he knew.
"Thanks Shadow…for telling me what you know."
The two walked back into the room and Shadow allowed Amy to sit on his bed with him senses hers was taken by the bat and echidna.
Time pasted slowly but soon around eight clock or so Rouge began to stir. She sat up and stretched and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She saw Amy and Shadow sitting on his bed watching TV. Amy waved at her and offered her a seat on Shadow's bed. She quickly took up the offer. Rouge sat on the bed in front of Amy her eyes seemed full of sadness. "Amy…could you ever forgive me."
Amy put a hand on her shoulder. "There's nothing to forgive."
"Thanks Amy." Rouge smiled.
Shadow wasn't paying one bit of attention he was busy flipping through the channels on the TV being his usual unemotional self.
"Rouge could I ask a favor of you?" Amy asked.
"Absolutely." She replied enthusiastically.
"Shadow and I have a problem and I think you can help us, you see we found a chaos emerald but we're not sure how to get it without being discovered and I want to keep this under wraps for as long as possible less trouble that way."
"Where's the emerald?" Rouge asked with curiosity.
"It's goanna be on display in the middle of a crowded ballroom tomorrow night in an air tight laser protected, and bullet proof glass."
"Eww that is going to be a bit trick isn't it?" Rouge said as she began to think.
A few hours had past Knuckles had slept the whole time, Rouge who had been trying to think of a way to get the emerald would casually sit down beside the sleeping echidna and stroke his forehead, but now she wasn't even there she had left and the only thing she said to indicate where she was going was that she might have found away to get at the emerald. Amy was sitting next to Shadow on the bed as they watched the TV screen flicker every time Shadow changed the channel. Amy wondered when Rouge was coming back she had been gone a while, and Knuckles had woken up while she was gone and had not stopping ask 'where's Rouge.' Amy thought Shadow was really goanna chaos control Knuckles butt right to the surface of the sun. Knuckles had finally stop talking after Amy threatened to tie him up, gag him and lock him the bathroom if he didn't shut up. Finally after about another half-hour Rouge had landed on the balcony outside.
"What did you find out Rouge?" Amy was the first to ask.
"Well I think I figured out away to get the emerald but like I said it's a little tricky."
"Well let's hear it." Knuckles said as he took a laid back lazy position on the bed.
"This is how it should play out." Rouge began. "We'll all casually attend the party, Amy with Shadow as her date, and Knuckles will be mine." "Knuckles and I will unnoticeably disappear to the second floor of the building where all the security is, while Amy and Shadow stay downstairs and just have fun for the first part." "Then once Knuckles and I get into security I warn Amy and Shadow to start getting very close to the emerald, next I'm goanna disarm all the defenses around the emerald and right after that Knuckles will kill the power making the lights go out, that should give Shadow plenty of time to grab the emerald and Chaos control himself and Amy out of there, Knuckles and I will get out through a window on the second floor."
"Wow Rouge where'd you come up with this?" Amy questioned.
"I was able to get into security easy, scenes I am from a higher branch of the government."
"But Rouge you're and x-spy." Knuckles blurted out.
"Yea but they don't know that." Rouge replied a sly smile on her face.
"Um Rouge, I only see one problem if you and Knuckles are going to be upstairs when you kill power and stuff how are Shadow and I suppose to know when to be ready?" Amy had thought that was the only flaw in the plan.
"Not a problem I told you I have this all worked out." Rouge walked over to the bag she had brought with her and began to dig through it. She pulled out a small leather jewelry box she walked over to Amy and opened it inside was a pair of longish white ear rings, and a necklace with a small gold heart on it. "The earrings are for you, and they aren't any ordinary ear rings they are a two way radio." "I ware the necklace and will be able to talk to you, I made sure to have a few of my spy gadgets for myself just incase I ever did leave the government." "Now there's only one more thing to do." Rogue smiled at the thought.
"What's that?" Amy asked.
"My outfit of course." Rouge said happily.
"You're welcome to one of mine, I went on a huge shopping spree and I have plenty to spare." Amy walked to the closet to get her bags from before.
"Oh Knnuuuxxiiiee." Rouge said in a slight tune.
"Oh no you don't, you are not going to get me in a tux just forget it!" Knuckles knew that question was coming and he his answer was final.
"But Knixe." Rouge moaned.
"No, Amy isn't making Shadow dress up and I demand the right to make my own decisions!" Knuckles folded his arms in protest.
"Fine, you're cute in whatever you ware anyway." Rouge winked at him before walking over to Amy who as going through her shopping bags.
The night finally settled on Paris, and Shadow and Knuckles were about to go out of their minds! "How long dose it take for them to get ready they've been in there for 3 hours?" Knuckles asked in board tone as he rested his head in the palm of his hand, he was laying on the foot of the bed while Shadow sat at the head flipping through the channels again.
"They are females; it's a flaw in their design." Shadow answered in an intellectual tone speaking as if he knew everything about everything.
"Figures." Knuckles said in the same tone as before, then suddenly he heard the turning of the bathroom doorknob. He looked toward the door, and what emerged from it amazed him.
Rouge walked out gracefully, she was dressed in a beautiful light pink dress that was made out of very soft satin the shoulders were made of silk and sat just on the edge of her shoulders, the dress really showed off her figure, she had on a pair of pale pink heels and of course the necklace. Knuckles was staring so hard that he fell of the end of the bed.
Rouge giggled a little as she approached him. "Don't fall all over yourself now." She said as she extended a hand that was covered by a long white glove.
Knuckles took her hand very gently making sure not pull on her. "You, look, you look…" Knuckles suddenly lost the ability to make sentences.
"Wow can't even form sentences uh?" She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She then released him and took his hand and started to lead him toward the door.
Shadow had gotten up and was following but then he noticed that Amy had not left the bathroom. "What is Amy doing?" He asked.
Rouge was standing at the door and Knuckles was standing just outside she motioned for Shadow to come on. "She needed a little more time is all she'll join us shortly."
Shadow although not showing it was confounded by this but walked out the door following Knuckles toward the elevator. Rouge watched the two reach the elevator and Knuckles pressed the down button. She walked to bathroom door and tapped on it. "Amy we're leaving now, you sure you're goanna be all right?" Rouge knew that Amy must be scared and afraid but she wouldn't mention it to anyone else.
"I'll be there." Rouge heard Amy's faint words through the closed door.
Rouge walked out of the room hoping that everything would be alright.