Chapter 10: The Bunny's Out of the Bag
"What do you mean it isn't covered?!" Chuck yelled into his cell phone as he paced around the living room. "You mean to tell me I spend over a grand every damn year, and yet you won't even help with my car?!" There was a pause as the aging scientist listened to the explanation from the emotionless customer service representative on the other line. "So you won't cover the damage because I drove into oncoming danger? Do you have any idea what a load of crock that is!? When I get my car fixed, I am canceling my insurance, good day!" Chuck threw his smartphone against the sofa, bouncing off the cushion and landing on the carpeted floor.
"I swear," Chuck continued, ranting to nobody as he stomped around the living room, "these car insurance companies are nothin' but a scam, and the government let's 'em get away with it! My senator's gonna have an earful when I write them a strongly worded letter!"
"Okay, Grandpa," Helen rolled her eyes, "you tried your best, right? Maybe it was time for a new car anyway? If we can't control what's done, then why stress about it?"
With a long sigh, the aging scientist sat on his reclining chair and brought a hand to his chin in thought. "You know, maybe I should just build my own car! A big project like that can keep the old brain fluids pumpin'! Sure it may not be road legal," Chuck concluded with air quotes, "but it'll be fun and…almost as safe as all the new cars." He turned to Helen, who watched him with a smile. "Would you like to help?"
"Would I?!" Helen replied, sparkles in her eyes as she clenched her fists. "Of course I'll help, it sounds fun!"
"Excellent!" Chuck exclaimed, raising a fist to the air. "I'm sure Tails'll want to help out, too."
"Oh yeah," Helen interjected. "Where is he, by the way? The Tornado 2 should've been fast enough to arrive back a while ago."
"True," Chuck replied as he folded his arms, "but remember what Tails said to you over the phone? He wanted to shake the fuzz off his tail so they wouldn't track him home."
"Oh, that's right." Helen scratched her chin in thought as she stared at the ceiling. "Maybe I should call him?"
"Nahhh," Chuck waved his hands nonchalantly, "I'm sure he's fine. What about you, though?" Chuck leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other. "What happened back there was a bit intense. You doing okay?"
"Yes, Grandpa, I'm fine," Helen replied with a chuckle. "It was scary, yes, but Tails came to save the day, so it was all right in the end."
"Except for the car…" Chuck grumbled under his breath before grabbing his smartphone from the floor, opening an automotive app to start adding parts to his cart.
Meanwhile, Helen pulled out her flip phone. "4:30 PM…I hope they're doing okay." As if answering her call, the young girl could hear the distinct sound of a spinning propeller in the distance. A smile slowly started to grow on her face as she wheezed in excitement. "Grandpa! They're here, they're here!" She started to roll to the entrance of the house. "C'mon, Grandpa! Let's go meet them out front."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm comin'," he replied as he placed his phone in his lab coat pocket and stretched. He proceeded to push Helen through the living room and out the front door, carefully rolling down the handicap accessible ramp to the driveway. Stopping at the entrance of the garage, Chuck input a four-digit code into a small panel on the side of the adjoining garage, causing the garage door to open. "And now we wait…"
As Chuck and Helen scanned the skies from the driveway, Tails was in the process of beginning his descent.
"It's about time," Knuckles complained with a grumble. "I'm not a seat, ya know..."
"Yeah, I realize that," Tails replied from the red echidna's lap, frowning as he peered into his rearview mirror. Miraculously, Sonic was asleep in Amy's lap, her arms wrapped around his torso. Cream, meanwhile, was dozing in Sonic's lap as she held her sleeping chao in her arms like a baby. "You could have it worse, you know." Tails nodded his head slightly, signaling Knuckles to observe the sleeping bunch in the backseat.
"Okay, I'll admit the front seat does look more comfortable," Knuckles replied with a grin. "Hey Tails, can I borrow your computer doohickey?"
"Ummm, yeah, sure, he replied with a nod, "it's right in my tails."
"You expect me to just go digging through your tails?" Knuckles replied with a slight blush.
"You expect me to take my eyes off the sky?" Tails countered.
"Good point…" With a sigh, the red echidna aimlessly pawed around the fox's namesakes until he found the portable tablet device safely stowed away. With a grin, Knuckles raised it above his dreadlocks and snapped a few pictures. Swiping through his photos, he chuckled at the snot bubble rising from the blue hedgehog's nose. "Hey Tails, get a load of this." Placing one hand over his mouth to muffle the laughter, he handed the orange kitsune his tablet with his other hand. Peering down, Tails burst out in a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
"Oh man, Sonic's not gonna like these!" Tails exclaimed.
"Not...gonna like whut, buddy?" Sonic asked with a yawn. Stretching his arms, he peered around the cramped quarters; Cream and Cheese were still asleep while Amy continued hugging the blue hedgehog from behind.
"Oh, nothing," Tails replied with a few chuckles.
"'Kay then," Sonic turned his attention to the pink hedgehog behind him. "Hey Ames, you comfy back there? I could always ride on the wing if you'd like?" She responded by tightening her hug, catching her blue boyfriend by surprise as she nuzzled her face against his shoulder.
"Oh no, I'm comfortable right where I'm at," Amy replied with a smile.
"I'm sure you are," Sonic said with a nearly indistinguishable blush.
"If you two love flickies are finished," Tails interrupted from the front seat, "we're about to land."
"Oh yeah, about that," Knuckles began as he peered down at the road below. "I'm no pilot, but doesn't it seem dangerous to land in a place like this?"
"Maybe for amateurs," Tails replied with a smug look of superiority, "but the streets are wide and empty enough to land relatively safely. Just need to make sure there are no oncoming cars…" As the orange kitsune furthered their descent, Sonic gently rocked his knee a few times, waking Cream and Cheese from their snooze.
"Wake up, Cream," Sonic said softly as the young bunny yawned, "we're here."
"H-here?" Cream tilted her head. "Oh, you mean Miss Helen's house?"
"Yep!" Sonic replied with a thumbs up. "We'll be staying with her for a little while until we figure out how to get home."
"Yay!" Cream replied excitedly. "She's so nice! I can't wait to spend time with my new friend."
"I'm sure we'll all get along with Helen just fine," Amy said with a smile.
"Yeah, she's fantastic!" Tails declared as the landing gear made contact with the street below. "Out of all the places for the Tornado 2 to end up, I'm glad it was her backyard."
"True that!" Knuckles said. "With everything that's happened since we arrived here, I don't think I trust the humans that much, but Helen…she's all right." The red echidna nodded approvingly.
Turning the biplane into the driveway, Tails slowly rolled the flying machine into the garage as Chuck guided him in with his hands. Signaling him to stop with his open palm, the orange kitsune fully parked the aircraft before cutting the engine and letting his passengers out. The first to descend from the backseat was Cream, who fluttered down with her flappy ears as Cheese floated alongside her. Next was Sonic, who dropped down casually, followed by Amy and Tails, the latter slowing his descent with his rotary namesakes. Knuckles was the last, landing next to the young fox.
"I see you all made it back in one piece!" Chuck observed. "Although with Tails' expert piloting skills, this outcome shouldn't come as a surprise."
Tails chuckled as he scratched the back of his head, a blush forming across his muzzle. "It was nothing at all. If anything, we should commend Knuckles for retrieving the Tornado 2 without any formal piloting experience."
"Yeah, way to go, bud!" Sonic added, patting the red echidna's shoulder with force, nearly causing him to fall over.
"Not a big deal, really," Knuckles replied, trying hard to hide his own blush. "I've seen Tails do it enough times, so it was a piece of cake."
"You guys shook the fuzz, right?" Chuck asked as he peeked outside the garage, looking around suspiciously.
"Are you kidding?" Tails asked as he itched the base of his nose, his namesakes fluttering from behind. "Their helicopters could never keep up with the Tornado 2, and I ran multiple scans on the way here to verify we weren't being followed or traced."
"I don't know why I was so worried!" Chuck replied, nervously laughing under his breath as he scratched the back of his head. "It's not like we have any illegal, schedule I controlled substances hidden away here. All we have are these secret alien fugitives!" The motley crew burst into a chorus of laughter, eventually dying down enough for the group to head into Helen's house.
Chuck took his place on his favorite recliner while Helen remained in her wheelchair. Knuckles leaned against a nearby wall, and the remaining Mobians settled in on the sofa, with Amy leaning against Sonic while Cream held Cheese in her arms. Tails sat on the floor next to the wheelchair to keep Helen company.
"So how long do we have?" Chuck asked as he crossed one leg over the other.
"What do you mean?" Tails replied, tilting his head in confusion.
"Until Eggman recovers from his defeat and devises a new plan," he clarified. "You've been dealing with him for years, right? How long does it take him to bounce back?"
"Good question," Tails said as he itched his head. "I guess it really depends. If it's one of his normal mechs, he can just go back to his hideout and pick out another. When we thwart his grander schemes, though, he may take months until he makes any major moves." Tails pulled himself off the floor and peered out the window in thought.
"Heh," Sonic chuckled as he crossed his arms. "Egghead must've been so sure of himself to think he could take down the humans in one fell swoop like that."
"That's the thing," Helen interjected, "if it wasn't for you, the police wouldn't have been able to stop him."
"His advanced mechanizations are extraordinary," Chuck added as he rubbed his chin. "Certainly much more advanced than what we've been able to achieve. I also noticed Eggman looks human himself, correct?"
"Correct," Knuckles replied, "all the more reason why I'm suspicious. Wouldn't Eggman want to support his own clan?"
"Maybe if they were echidnas, sure," Amy replied, "but humans aren't like that, right?"
"Humanity," Chuck declared, pulling himself off his chair and raising a finger to the ceiling, "is incredibly diverse! Some societies live in collectives while others are more individualistic. Some are more religious while others are secular, and so on."
"Either way," Tails noted as he continued staring out the window, the late afternoon sun warming his fur, "this is Eggman we're talking about. He only cares about his own interests. Even though we arrived on a planet with his own species, that doesn't change who he is: an egotistical madman bent on world domination. Mobius or Earth, it doesn't matter."
"But still," Helen added, "maybe seeing people like him will make him realize the error of his ways?" The Mobians, who knew Eggman better than anyone else, simply shook their heads. Helen chuckled as she ran a hand through her hair. "Well, at least I tried."
"Ummm…excuse me, Ms. Helen?" Cream asked as she raised her hand like an elementary school student. "I hate to be a bother, but can I use your restroom?"
"Sure!" Helen replied. "It's just down the hall. You can't miss it."
"Thank you," Cream replied with a smile and a bow. As she stepped away, Cheese leapt off her head and explored the kitchen, curious about their new surroundings.
"I wonder, though…" Tails said, blankly staring outside once more. "If Mobius exists parallel to Earth, and if Earth has native humans, it's quite likely Eggman came from this planet, perhaps suggesting a connection between our two worlds."
"As far as I know," Knuckles added, "only the Chaos Emeralds can teleport people like this, although I'm no expert on the whole parallel universe thing." He ran a gloved hand through his dreadlocks.
"In speaking of the Chaos Emeralds," Amy interjected as she stroked Sonic's blue quills, "where are the Chaos Emeralds?"
"Good question," Knuckles replied as he rubbed his chin in thought. "If we're here, then the Chaos Emeralds should be, too!"
"You don't suppose they're scattered around the planet?" Sonic asked the red echidna as he leaned back in the sofa with his hands behind his head, Amy cuddled alongside him.
"Probably," Knuckles replied as he shrugged his shoulders. He turned his attention to the orange kitsune. "Hey Tails, how's the Chaos Emerald detector? Does it still work?"
"No dice," Tails replied somberly, turning around to face the red echidna. "My detector relied on the unique properties emitted from the Master Emerald to function, so unless we were somehow able to bring Angel Island to Earth, the detector is now nothing more than a glorified paperweight." Tails peered down at the floor.
"Hey, cheer up, lil' buddy!" Sonic stood up from the sofa and approached the young fox, patting him on his shoulder. "Your detector helped us stop Eggman's plan last time, and if yours isn't working anymore, odds are Eggman's isn't either."
"I bet you're right, Sonic!" Tails replied, his spirits returning as they often do with a good ol' pep talk from his big brother. "Thanks, as always!" The young fox's beaming smile filled the room with a wave of positive energy.
"No problem!" Sonic said with a wide smile and a thumbs up. "Now how about we discuss our plan? We could jus' do what we did in the ol' days n' just run around the zones until we find the emeralds. I don't know 'bout you guys, but I vote for the running optio—" The blue hedgehog was interrupted by the sound of the garage door creaking open.
"Damn!" Chuck exclaimed. "Doug and Alicia aren't supposed to be back for another several hours!" The aging doctor rose to his feet. "Quick, we gotta hide you guys!" He dashed over to the basement door and opened it. "Everyone, follow me!"
"Right!" The gang replied. Sonic was the first to run to the basement, followed by Amy, Knuckles, and Tails. Chuck quickly shut the door, peered around frantically to confirm Helen was the only one left in the living room, and breathed a sigh of relief moments before the door to the adjacent garage opened.
"Doug! Alicia!" Chuck greeted, clasping his hands together with eyes closed. "How's my favorite son and daughter-in-law doing?"
"Uhhh, fine, Chuck," Alicia replied as she slipped off her shoes and threw her purse on the sofa.
"Great!" Doug added as he took his turn to remove his shoes.
"I see you two are off early," Chuck observed as he nervously eyed the basement door.
"Yeah, well," Doug began as he took a seat by Helen, who smiled in silence at the early return of her loving parents, "the store was pretty dead today, so my boss let me leave early."
"And my last couple clients canceled on me," Alicia continued, taking her place next to Doug on the couch, "so we figured we'd actually have a night with the family for once!"
"How's my little girl doin'?" Doug asked Helen from his side. Chuck had since returned to his chair, calmly sipping his coffee.
"Better now that you're home!" She replied with a smile. "I'm glad you could get off a little early for once, and you too, mom!"
"Same here," Alicia replied before returning her attention to Chuck. "By the way, why do you have a biplane in the garage?"
Chuck spewed his beverage across the floor.
"Oh, that, ummm…thing?" He wiped his mouth with his lab coat sleeve before rushing to the kitchen for a wet washcloth, using what little time he had afforded to him to devise a clever excuse. "Well, you see, that, ummm…I'm…borrowing it…"
"You're…borrowing it?" Alicia asked as she pushed her glasses up her nose, folded her arms, and crossed her legs, her blond hair reflecting the late afternoon sun pouring into the living room.
"Yes," Chuck replied. "My ol' work buddy dropped it off this morning, and I'll be takin' it for a little test run tomorrow."
"Really?" Alicia replied with a frown. "Wouldn't your work buddy just leave his biplane at the airstrip instead of, somehow, getting it here down residential streets, just for you to bring it back to the airstrip again?"
"Well, yeah, but…" Chuck was pulling at his collar, nearly at a loss for words as he tried to conjure up the perfect story.
Meanwhile, Sonic and friends were hiding in the dark basement, where Chuck had his bedroom and various knickknacks. They were hiding under the bed in the corner, though, listening to the conversation unfold upstairs.
"Man, Chuck's such a bad liar, isn't he?" Sonic asked as he nudged Tails in the shoulder.
"It's hard for honest folk to lie, isn't it?" Tails replied with a shrug.
"I guess." Sonic chuckled. "Either way, I don't see how he's gonna explain himself out of this one." The blue hedgehog clasped his nose as he contorted his face. "And what's up with that smell? It's like a skunk lives down here 'r somethin'."
"Okay, I am not hiding like a coward," Knuckles growled as he crawled out from under the bed.
"Hey, wait a sec, Knucklehead," Sonic replied as he grabbed the red echidna by the tail and pulled him back.
"What'd you d—" Knuckles protested, only for his tantrum to be muffled by Sonic's gloved paw.
"Quiet down or they'll hear us." Sonic replied as he placed a finger on his lips. Knuckles' face turned red from the combination of anger and embarrassment.
"To be fair," Tails whispered to his big brother, "if you pulled at my tails, I'd be a little pissed, too."
"Tails, language!" Sonic and Amy exclaimed simultaneously.
"Wait, what did I say?" Tails asked as he tilted his head in confusion. "Tails? That's not a bad word, that's my name, goofballs!"
"No, no," Sonic replied as he facepalmed, letting go of Knuckles' tail. "You said pissed."
"There's a…better way to say you're mad," Amy replied from Tails' other side. "It just kinda sounds…uncouth, you know? Totally out of character for you."
Tails thought about this as he rubbed his chin in thought. "Whatever you say, guys."
"I swear," Sonic sighed as he peered at the pink hedgehog between the orange kitsune's fluttering namesakes, "first he says damn and now this? What happened to his innocence?"
"I know, right?" Amy replied with a giggle. "He's becoming quite the potty mouth."
"I am not a potty mouth!" Tails protested with a huff.
"Hey, that reminds me," Knuckles interjected. "Didn't Cream say she was going to the bathroo—"
The gang froze as they heard the sound of flushing water coming down the old pipework of the small house. This, of course, startled the humans in the living room, especially Doug and Alicia, who thought they were the only ones home. Before the two could question it, out popped an alien, anthropomorphic bunny, walking around as if searching for something.
"Cheese? Cheese, where did you go, Cheese?" She called with her hands around her mouth. Doug and Alicia watched dumbfoundedly, and with mouths agape, as they witnessed the young Mobian walk around their house. Seconds later, they nearly fell over at the sight of a small, floating blue alien flying out of the kitchen, landing in the bunny's arms.
"Chao, chao!" they replied, a smile on their face.
"Are you having fun, Cheese?" Cream asked.
"Chao, chao!" they indicated, waving their stubby arms in delight.
"Ummm, Cream?" Chuck sternly called from his chair.
"What is it, Mr. Chuck?" she asked, peering over at him until her eyes drifted to the unfamiliar humans on the sofa. "Ohhh, hi!" Cream said with a smile before rushing over to greet her prospective new friends. "What's your name? My name is Cream the Rabbit, but my friends call me Cream. This here is Cheese, my pet chao! They're my best friend in the whole world! Say 'hi', Cheese!"
"Cha-chaooo!"
"H-honey?" Alicia asked her husband, the woman's face slowly starting to contort. "I-is that…what…is that?"
"I, ummm…" Doug struggled for words as the young bunny below stared at them with a beaming smile, staring intently with unblinking eyes. "I…don't…know?"
"Okay," Chuck stood up and cleared his throat, "I can assure you there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this."
"I'm gonna…be…" Alicia's eyelids started to flutter before she lost consciousness.
"Alicia?" Her husband shook her gently, but she remained down for the count.
"Are you okay, Miss?" Cream asked as she tilted her head in concern. "Here…" The young bunny grabbed the wet washcloth from the coffee table Chuck previously used to clean his spill. Crawling onto the sofa, she gently dabbed the human woman's face until she slowly opened her eyes. Cream pulled her hand away and watched as Alicia rubbed her forehead with her hand.
"W-what happened?" she asked lethargically.
"You passed out," Chuck replied. "It seems like our new friend here startled you."
Alicia turned to face the young bunny, who was smiling with rosy cheeks and closed eyes, her blue chao waving between her flappy ears.
She fainted once more.
"Ah geez, not again," Chuck complained with a facepalm.
The sun started to set over the horizon, painting the Station Square community park an orange hue as the park dwellers slowly retired for the evening.
Out of the sights and minds of the pedestrians below was Rouge the Bat, dangling upside down from the tallest branch of a tree situated in the middle of the park. She quietly observed the carefree humans walking down the winding paths of the park, the remaining stragglers still playing frisbee or otherwise relaxing on the various benches scattered throughout the multi-block greenspace located in the heart of downtown Station Square.
"A lady could get used to a place like this," she chuckled to herself, eyeing a high-end clothing store and jewelry shop across the nearest street. "Seems I have many more targets to choose from."
Rouge, quite frankly, didn't know what to make of her current predicament. She was transported to Earth the same way her friends were back at Eggman's headquarters on Mobius; the bat had originally infiltrated the evil doctor's base to steal the Chaos Emeralds for herself, but after learning of Robotnik's master plan – using the mystical gems with his energy amplifier to harness unlimited power – she agreed to help Sonic and friends stop Eggman. Despite the seemingly altruistic nature of her assistance, though, her own interests happened to align with the good guys at the time; if Eggman had control of all the Chaos Emeralds, after all, it would have been virtually impossible for her to claim the gemstones for herself.
As for why Rouge wanted the emeralds?
"The jewelry store has a fine selection," she said to herself with a sigh, "but they'll never beat the beauty of the Chaos Emeralds."
Indeed, the bat didn't seek world domination nor world peace; she just enjoyed nice things, and she decided long ago she'd stop at nothing to take what she desired.
"Oh well," Rouge said as she shrugged her shoulders, her knees wrapped around the tree branch. She pulled herself up and glanced over at an old bird's nest containing her recently acquired belongings. Her eyes glistened at the expensive diamonds and necklaces she obtained since finding herself alone in this new world. A pile of American currency, namely $100 bills, were underneath the jewelry, providing the bat more than enough cash to get by while she figured out how to get home.
After staring at her stash in deep thought, she ultimately decided to leave her collection behind, at least for now; she needed to find some nice accommodations where she could rest easy, store her goods, and get some good quality rest and relaxation.
With another sigh, Rouge shoved a few bills into her boots, covered the rest of her stash with some twigs, sprayed some perfume over it in the hopes the fragrance would keep away any birds or pests, and jumped off the branch, taking flight with her bat wings as she searched for the nearest hotel which met her high standards.
"It's nice to know Knucky made it here in one piece," she said to herself with a smile, referring to the red echidna she loved to troll and, occasionally, try stealing from while visiting his island. "Too bad Eggman's here too…I'm sure he'll complicate things, as per usual." She further reflected on the conversation she overheard while scouting Helen's home in the suburbs; the bat was able to track down the Mobians easily, thanks to her inherent skills as a spy, but she found it in her best interest, at least for the time being, to remain incognito. She would reveal herself to the rest of the party if and when it suited her.
The bat descended to the entrance of what appeared to be a five-star hotel, complete with gold-plated doors and an eloquent sign listing prices starting at $450 per night. She tried hiding her giddiness as she walked past an advertisement for their personal spa and massage therapy sessions.
"Good evening, how may I help you?" said the aging man at the front desk sporting a suit.
"I would like to make a reservation," Rouge replied as she pulled $500 from her boot and placed the small stack on the front desk.
"Most certainly," he replied as he began typing on his keyboard, "I'll just need to see some I.D."
"I.D.?" Rouge asked confusedly.
"Yes," the man replied. "All patrons are required to present a government-issued identification card before staying at our luxury hotel."
Rubbing her chin in thought, she snapped her fingers, remembering the card she always kept with her in a secret slot of her other boot. Pulling it out, she passed it to the man, who analyzed it closely with a suspicious glare.
"Ma'am, is this some kind of joke?"
"W-what do you mean?" she asked, stepping back as sweat formed on her brow.
"I've processed I.D. cards from around the world, and I've never seen one like this." He adjusted his glasses and studied it more intently.
"Ohh, ummm…" The jewel thief racked her brain for a good excuse. "Well, you see, this is a foreign I.D. from a small, obscure country you probably have never heard of! Yes, I'm not from around here."
"According to our records," he replied as he analyzed the results on his computer, "there is no place with this address anywhere on Earth. You are either lying, or you're an alien." The aging man peered down at the bat. "Now that I think about it, you do look rather peculiar."
"So am I getting a room or what?" Rouge asked, furrowing her brow in frustration.
"I'm sorry, miss," the human replied, "but unless you can present a legitimate form of identification our system recognizes, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"Okay, buster," Rouge jumped on the counter, pulled the aging man up by his shirt collar, and threw him across the other side, "I've had one hell of a day, okay? All I need is a little rest and relaxation, and I have the money, so get me a room, will ya?"
"Security!" The man yelled as he stumbled back to his feet. "Security! Escort this miscreant away from the premises at once!" Within seconds, three large men in black suits approached the bat, cracking their knuckles with smirks on their faces. Two grabbed her arms and started pulling her away.
"Hey, get off me, you brutes!" Rouge protested. Before she could be shoved out the entrance, though, she used her superior strength to twist herself around, taking down two of the men with a roundhouse kick and knocking the third unconscious with a punch to the face before reclaiming her money and Mobian I.D. and fleeing the fancy hotel.
Taking flight, the bat landed on top of a nearby building, breathing heavily as she wiped the sweat from her brow.
"Well, that was a bust." She looked up at the moon starting to rise, replacing the setting sun. "What am I supposed to do now, sleep outside?" The bat groaned as she sat on the ledge of the building, allowing her feet to dangle off the side as she pondered her predicament for several minutes. "This is hopeless…" With one final sigh, the bat stood up and retracted her wings. As she was about to take flight, however, she received a transmission from her wristwatch communicator.
"What? Who could that be?" She clicked on the screen, a holographic video feed projecting from the watch to display the evil scientist she knew all too well.
"Hello, Rouge," Eggman greeted with a smirk. "I have a proposition for you. Interested?"
"…will you offer room and board?" Rouge asked, her ears fluttering as hope returned to her.
"Why of course!" Eggman replied, clasping his hands together as his smirk grew. "We wouldn't want you to catch cold, now would we?"
The bat didn't appreciate the sass, but as the sun nearly disappeared, replaced by the ever-rising moon, she decided to ignore it. She may have been a creature of the night, but even she needed her beauty sleep.
"All right, Eggy," Rouge replied with a smirk of her own.
"We've got a deal."