"I'm coming to you live from the National Museum where the officials say that the world's largest diamond was stolen here late last night." Scarlet announced. "Long-enforced authorities are baffled by the outbreak of precious gem robberies, but private sources tell SSTV News that they believe that this was merely the biggest in a series of jewel thefts that have plagued Station Square in recent days."

"I think I know who the jewel thief is." Penny told Cream as they sat together on bean bag chairs.

"Who do you have in mind?" Cream asked.

"It's gotta be Rouge." Penny said. She smiled. "I was wondering if she came here. If there's one jewel thief able to escape with a large gem that stealthily, it's Rouge."

"You may be right, Miss Penny." Cream said, putting the pieces together herself.

Penny sighed as she glanced back at the TV. "That bat has to learn someday..."

The attic door opened, and Amy's head poked through, holding a pizza in her hand. "Hey, Penny, Cream, have you two seen Sonic?"

Penny shook her head. "Not that I know of, Amy. I think he might have gone for a run."

"No." Cream said. "That was this morning. The last time I saw him he was with Chris and Tails, but I'm not sure where they went!"

"Chao!" Cheese responded.

"That's too bad..." Amy sighed, glancing at the pizza. Her sad gaze turn into a smile as she handed the pizza to the girls. "Hey, feel like having some pizza?"

"Seriously?!" Penny grinned, quickly standing up and pumping her fist in her hands. "I will DEFINATELY go for a slice!"

Cream nodded eagerly in agreement. "Yes! Are you sure it's okay?"

Amy smiled. "You bet it is! Sonic's loss is your gain!"

Penny and Cream jumped up, cheering excitedly.

Chris hummed to himself as he added red paint to his painting. Francis grinned as she looked at the boys' painting. "Hey, I bet that's that Chaos Emerald you and Sonic have been trying to find, right, Chris?"

Chris grinned at her. "Kinda!"

Danny looked over Chris's shoulder. "It looks like that?"

"Let's keep the talking to a minimum and focus on the painting." Mr. Stewart said suddenly, startling the trio of kids.

"Ah, right!" Both boys said, and they quickly turned to their paintings. Mr. Stewart glanced curiously at the red Emerald Chris was painting. "What's that you're painting, Chris?"

Chris jumped slightly. "Uh, an Emerald!"

Mr. Stewart frowned in confusion. "But I thought all Emeralds were supposed to be green."

Chris chuckled nervously. "Uh, you're right. Funny. I'll just start over." He was about to put the paintbrush back into the cup, but Mr. Stewart stopped him. "No, Chris, your Emerald can be any color you want it to be." He hummed thoughtfully. "A matter of fact, I heard a red Emerald was found somewhere recently in around Silky Heights."

"WHA?!" Chris yelped in excitement. The boy abruptly stood up, accidentally knocking over the chair. It fell to the floor with a clang, startling everyone else in the room.

Chris rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry..."

Mr. Stewart continued. "In fact, if I'm not mistaken, they found that Emerald in an old dilapidated factory not too long ago."

Rouge chuckled as she hung in a tree, listening to everything. "Hmm, who knows what interesting little tidbits you can pick up if you hang around long enough."

She chuckled as she disappeared in the trees.

"I'm home!" Chris called as he walked into the house.

"Hi, Chris!" Penny grinned, running up to the older boy. Noticing his friend, she glanced curiously at him. "Who's your friend?"

The black boy grinned widely at the Mobians. "Hey, I'm Danny. Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Penny. Chris told me all about you!" Penny grinned, shaking Danny's hand.

Amy quickly pushed Danny away and shook his hand. "Hi there, I'm Amy, and this is my friend, Tails!"

"Hi!" Tails grinned.

"Hey!" Danny grinned back.

Chris glanced around. "Uh, where's Sonic?"

"He left already." Penny said.

"Yeah!" Tails said. "And it's about time I head out too!"

"Let's take off!" Tails announced once the gang was all buckled up safely in the X Tornado.

The plane lifted off the ground, and Danny cheered in excitement, right in Penny's ears. "All right! Yeah! This is the coolest thing EVER!"

"Okay, cool it, Danny." Chris said.

"Yeah, please tone it down, you're yelling in my ears!" Penny winced.

"Sorry..." Danny muttered, quickly lowering his excitement.

Penny sighed, and glanced over at Tails' shoulder and pointed down to Sonic. "There's Sonic!"

Sonic stood there, waving at the plane, and darted off. The X Tornado flew after him, knocking down a arrow sign. Rouge chuckled as she poked her head through the bush, a pleased smile on her face. "Hah! They fell for it!"

She took off and flew until she spotted the abandoned warehouse, and landed in front of it. "That's it! Now, to see if I can find another Emerald."

She lifted herself off the ground and flew into the warehouse. She walked for a while until something shiny caught her eye. The female bat hummed curiously as she took off and landed down, picking the shiny object in her hands. "Well, what's this?"

She let out a startled grunt as bright light suddenly filled her vision, and the next thing the bat knew, soldiers surrounded her.

Rouge stood up, glaring at them. She put her hands on her hips. "My, my, trying to trap me?" She asked sarcastically.

"Don't make a move!" A feminine voice ordered, her gun raised in a readied position. The female agent walked over to the bat, and Rouge giggled, lifting her hands in the air. "Whatever you like."

The female agent grabbed a pair of cuffs from her belt and was starting to arrest the bat lady when...

"You know, you're pretty tough for an old lady!"

At that remark, the human woman blushed fiercely as the rest of her partners burst into laughter. The woman growled at them. "What are you clowns laughing at?! COMMANDER!" She yelled.

The commander quickly stopped, and coughed into his fist.

"I'm not going anywhere." Rouge smirked. "Matter of fact, I kinda like being in the spotlight."

"Forget the cuffs!"

Rouge turned to the commander as he walked towards her. "What's your name?"

Rouge smiled at the commander. "I'm Rouge. Rouge the Bat."

The commander raised his eyes. "Hey, I've seen you somewhere...that's right! You were the one who snuck into the National Museum and stole that diamond, aren't ya?"

"Who, me?" Rouge smirked.

"We set up a trap to catch Sonic, and who do we wind up with but a jewel thief?" The commander chuckled in amusement. "Funny how things work out that way!"

Rouge just smirked.

Rouge soon found herself seated in the President's office, feeling bored. "Boy, I could really go for a cup of coffee."

The female agent who was next to her growled. "What?! Listen, missy. This isn't a country club. You're in deep trouble!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, so I've heard. But all I want is a cup of coffee. Don't be such a nag!"

"What?! A NAG?!"

"Hey, give her a coffee, Topaz."

Topaz grunted at the Commander, but headed to the coffee stall anyway. "She doesn't deserve it, if you ask me!" Topaz grumbled, pouring the coffee.

Rouge hummed. "My, my. Topaz, eh? Isn't that the name of a gem?"

The door opened, and the President walked in. Surprised by his sudden appearance, Topaz accidentally scalded herself with the coffee. Startled by the sudden burn on her hand, Topaz dropped the cup, hissing and shaking her hand.

The President sat himself in front of Rouge and glanced at Topaz. "Case of the jitters, Topaz?"

Topaz quickly grabbed a cloth, picked up the cup, and started cleaning the mess. "I'm sorry, Mr. President, sir."

The President's aide glanced at Rouge. "So you're Rouge."

Rouge smirked, leaning into the chair and sarcastically waving her hand at him. "Hi!"

The aide continued. "Well, Rouge, I imagine you must be wondering why we've bought you here today."

"Uh huh."

"Listen, Rouge." One of the agents spoke up. "We'd like to make a deal."

"A deal, hmm?" Rouge hummed.

The President glanced at her, excitement in his eyes as he spoke. "We are willing to offer you complete immunity from your crimes. That is, of course, if you decide to join our team."

Rouge glanced at the President curiously. "Join your team? As what?"

The agent who spoke to her about the deal spoke. "You'll work as an undercover agent for the President."

Rouge's eyes went wide, and she leaned forward in excited interest. "Wow! Imagine me, a real life secret agent!" She smirked teasingly. "Tell me, why would you ever want a naughty little jewel thief like me on your team?"

The President's excited expression turned into a stern glare. "That is none of your business, young lady! Do we have a deal?"

Rouge smirked, leaning against the chair's armrest. "Ummm..." She began, but in her head she was thinking, "Who knows? Working as an agent I just might get closer to the Chaos Emerald."

Rouge straightened her position and grinned. "Mr. Pres, you've got yourself a deal!"

The President stood up with a smile. "Congratulations, agent! Welcome aboard!"

Rouge chuckled and was about to shake his outstretched hand when she thought of something, and she frowned at him, putting her hands to her hips. "Err, does this mean I can't keep my diamond?"

The President coughed a little and turned to his aide. "Oh, right. Well, what do you think?"

The Aide glanced at him. "Well, the case is still considered unsolved as long as she promises not to talk."

The President turned to Rouge with a smile. "There. You have it."

Rouge smirked.

...

Rouge now found herself seated in a helicopter next to a bunch of GUN agents. Topaz took Rouge's wrist and securely snapped a gold band on her wrist. Rouge glanced at it curiously. "What's this thing?"

"That is a bomb." The commander sneered.

Rouge glared at him. "A bomb?!"

The commander held a remote in his hand, his thumb just a few inches over the button. "If we push this remote here, it's bye-bye batty. See, we don't fully trust you, so you be a good little girl and maybe we won't have to use it."

Rouge frowned. Topaz, who was fixing her helmet, smiled at her. "Just think of it as a bracelet!"

Rouge glared at her. "A bracelet that explodes?"

"It's supposed to be functional, not fashionable!"

"Looks like something an old lady would wear. Why don't you try it on?"

"What does that mean?!"

"Just what you think it does, grandma!"

"Ladies, please!" The commander groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Approaching drop point, commander!" The helicopter pilot announced. "Straight ahead!"

"Roger!" The commander turned to his men. "Get ready."

One by one, they jumped off the helicopter and snuck around to a spot where they could spy on Eggman without getting noticed.

Penny yawned as she glanced tiredly around the workshop. It was around nighttime, and she was beyond exhausted. Sonic and Tails glanced around. Penny frowned, her tired eyes shifting around the room. "I don't like this place," she muttered, leaning over Sonic. "It's creepy and weird..." She glanced up at him. "Now what? There's nothing here."

Tails frowned. "Something seems strange here, Sonic. Who could've moved that sign?"

"Beats me." Sonic shrugged.

Penny let out a yawn and collapsed on the ground, startling Tails and Sonic. They glanced at her to see she was curled up on the ground, asleep. They glanced at Danny and Chris and sweat dropped. They too were sound asleep while standing up.

After finding the perfect scouting spot, they began scoping the area. The commander gritted his teeth, scanning around Eggman's base for an entrance to sneak through. "I don't see an entrance anywhere! C'mon, where is it..."

Rouge huffed in annoyance and snagged the rope from the commander's belt. "Ugh, do I have to do everything?" She secured the rope around her shoulder and flew up to the top of Eggman's base.

"Oh, yeah?" The commander hissed, reaching for the button on the remote, but Topaz stopped him, her eyes narrowing in determination. "Hang on, follow me."

Topaz latched the rope to the door she found and tossed the rope to the GUN agents. She smirked down at them, shooting them a thumbs up.

Topaz shot her a thumbs up back, and they continued. Once inside the lair, the selected agents ran down the halls. They paused at a corner, and Rouge glanced ahead. "Follow me."

She was about to take off when the commander grabbed her. "Hold on, where are you going?"

Rouge glared at him. "Don't be so jumpy. You want me to help out or don't you?"

The commander glared at her. "No funny stuff?"

Rouge shrugged him off her. "I'm on your team now!"

"All right, just checking." He turned on his tracker and nodded. "Okay, let's move in!"

It took a lot of running, but they were almost near the top. The commander took out his tracker. "We don't have much further. Now, if only we could just find the power output sector."

Topaz glanced at Rouge, her riffle in hand. "Any idea where that might be?"

Rouge smirked. "I guess I must've left my map at home!"

Topaz checked her watch. "Well, it's almost dawn. What do you think we should do, commander?"

"We don't have much time, let's keep looking." he responded.

They took off. Rouge was about to follow them when something caught her eye. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Commander!" She called.

They turned to her.

Rouge continued. "Mind if I have myself a little look around?"

"Are you kidding?" The commander grunted. "How do I know I can trust you?"

Rouge smirked. "You can! I'll be right back!"

"I'll go with her, just in case." Topaz announced. Rouge glared at her. "Whatever!"

"All right, then." The commander handed Topaz the bomb controller and tracker. "Remember, don't do anything reckless!"

"Yes sir!" Topaz said, saluting.

"Aye aye!" Rouge smirked, imitating Topaz, who glared at the bat in annoyance. The girls left the men and they continued on until they came to a door. Rouge smirked. "This could get messy. Especially for an old gal like you."

Rouge sliced the doors with two mighty roundhouse kicks, and the door crashed to the ground. She and Rouge glanced around the room.

Something shiny caught Rouge's eye, and the female bat walked over to it. It was another Chaos Emerald. "My, my..." Rouge hummed happily. She flew up to the container and pressed her hands to the glass, her eyes sparkling. "Why, hello!" She cooed. "It's beautiful..."

Topaz walked around, frowning. "I have the strangest feeling we're being watched..." She let out a startled scream as a giant claw picked her up. The other claw reached for Rouge, but the female bat was quick on her feet and managed to dodge it before it snagged her.

"Please help me, Rouge!" Topaz grunted.

"Hang in, girl!" Rouge growled. She was about to launch an attack when a loudspeaker popped out of the robot, and an earsplitting alarm burst out. So loud, that it tossed Rouge backwards. Rouge and Topaz both screamed. Rouge grunted as she landed on the ground. "That sound is hurting my ears!"

Rouge forced herself to stand up and glanced at the robot, who pushed a button, causing the alarms to burst out even louder than before. Rouge and Topaz screamed.

"I can't take it anymore!" Topaz screamed. "Please help me!"

"I'll go insane...!" Rouge grunted. She heard another robot approaching and turned to it with a glare. Two other robots joined it and they fired. Rouge quickly leaped to her feet and managed to dodge the missiles.

Topaz covered herself from the debris, her eyes wide. "ROUGE!" She glanced over at the crater one of the missiles created, and gasped at the sight of the generator.

"The power generator!" Topaz gasped, narrowing her eyes.

Rouge once again tried a roundhouse attack at the robot, but once again it attacked her with an earsplitting alarm. Rouge fell to the ground, cringing from the loud noise. Rouge grunted and pushed herself up. "I've had enough of this!"

The robot fired. Rouge managed to use her skills to attack the other robots, but one missile launched itself at the container holding the Chaos Emerald, and Rouge gasped. "Oh, no. I've lost the Chaos Emerald!" She let out another scream as the robot burst it out again,

Rouge growled. "All right, you're fooling the wrong girl." The bat glanced at her wrist bomb and had an idea. With a slice with her hand, she managed to chop the bracelet off her. She dodged the robot's attacks and jumped into the air, tossing the bracelet at the alarm robots' speaker. The noise soon stopped,

"PUSH THAT BUTTON!" Rouge yelled at Topaz. Topaz reached into her pocket and grabbed the controller, and pushed the button. The robot exploded and Topaz fell to the ground. The robot exploded, and Rouge quickly carried Topaz out of the building before it exploded as well.

Topaz glanced at Rouge in awe. "Rouge, I don't know how to thank you..."

Rouge glanced back at the burning building. "I do. Lose some weight!"

Topaz grumbled.

Chris and Danny, both exhausted from the late night adventure, snoozed on their desks. Mr. Stewart frowned and walked up. "Uh, Chris, Danny..." he put his hands on the boys' shoulders, and they jumped in fright.

The class glanced up at them in surprise. They turned to Mr. Stewart and chuckled sheepishly. "We're sorry!"

Mr. Stewart leaned in towards them, whispering. "Now, Chris, I get the feeling you and Danny didn't get enough sleep last night. It's okay to have adventures, juts make sure to get to bed on time."

Chris's eyes widened. "Huh? How did you know that, sir?"

Mr. Stewart chuckled. "Just a wild guess."

"Thanks, Mr. Stewart." Danny and Chris said sheepishly. They glanced at each other, and burst out laughing.