It's Halo's chapter, I know. But I do need to say this: You guys are amazing! Seriously! I'm shocked at how positive the reviews were. We got a lot of support and I can honestly say that I was expecting at least one horrible review and didn't get one. Some of you may have been tempted to leave one, but I'm so very grateful that you resisted the urge. Okay, now Halo can take over.
Surprise! Turns out me and Era waaay overestimated how long it would take us to pump out another chapter, so you guys are getting a chapter before the end of the year! Thank you all so much for not being haters- with the experiences I've had in the past regarding disgruntled fanfic readers, I was so worried that at least one of you were going to rage-quit this story. Y'all are the best!
Comments!
Juancastri111: You shall be remembered. [How could we forget one of our reviewers? I remember Mina, but she isn't one of those popular characters.]
UltimateCCC: … I don't know how to respond to that. [...um… I'm with Halo.]
Doomxdesire94: Thanks for the support! [... can I just hug you? No wait, that's creepy. Forget I said that. But thank you so much! I'm so glad you are enjoying the story.]
Zosonils: Thank you so much for the review and the support! You rock, Zosonils! [Australia does that? That makes SO MUCH SENSE. Note to self: write to congress. Then again it will never be read so never mind. I do love my co-writer. Anyway, I'm totally cheering that whole 'Knuckles has a girlfriend' with you so don't worry. And no. They don't break up. *spoiler comment*]
StarlightSparks: Aw, thanks! [Yay! Miles from Home! I'll PM you a little less complicated explanation to the Chaos thing when I get time. Promise. Thank you so much!]
Wafflesbelike-NYANCAT: Thanks for the offer! It didn't sound weird, I promise. [Not weird at all. Thank you so much!
Blue: Dang, that's harsh. [...wow I am so selfish. My apologies.]
Autumn: Thank you for understanding. [I hate Knuckles in Sonic Boom… Thank you for your support!]
Keep in mind, though, that these chapters are still going to be very slow-going. We'll probably be working on two or three at once to speed up the process, but don't expect any more than one every two to four weeks, circumstances permitting.
No more waiting! Onward!
Matthews's POV:
Rouge continued her interviews all that week. Turns out, she wasn't just using it as an excuse to interrogate me, as I had previously suspected.
I found myself hanging around the pawn shop's back room more and more often, even skipping out on prime opportunities for people-reading. Rouge had gone through just about every intimate member of the gang (we actually had dozens more members floating around the city- you just know the ones in our inner circle). I was still sorta confused by it all, but figured that it didn't really matter, long as I could hang around Rouge without her trying to smack me around- professionalism and junk like that.
I was hanging around outside the meeting room as usual, waiting for Rouge to finish up so that I could hound her for a date like I had been doing all week. Every time she told me to drop dead only made me that much more determined to snag that date with her. But I wanted to keep it quiet; this wasn't something I really wanted to brag about to the guys.
Sitting in the chair in front of the busted-up TV set blaring some plotless sitcom, I only half-heartedly paid attention to the stupid things the characters were doing.
"Oh, come on Angelica!" I shouted at the screen. "You know Brad ain't the one for you! Go with Terrence, dang it!"
"Dude, shut up and quit yelling at the TV," said Curtis, who was sitting at the other end of the couch. He had just barely finished up with his interview not even an hour before and had opted to stick around the shop with me. I sensed that he was beginning to regret it.
Waiting for Rouge to get done was boring, even with the TV on and Curtis keeping me company. I felt myself getting fidgety and anxious; I hated sitting still. When was she gonna be done?
Inattentively drumming my fingers on the arm of the couch, I stared off into space, only vaguely aware of the colors and sounds emanating from the television set. I wished that something exciting would happen, like a fight or something.
"So how was your interview?" I asked Curtis, not really caring but just looking for someone to talk to.
"It was okay. She just asked me a bunch of random questions about my criminal tendencies and how long I had been in the gang and stuff. What about you?"
"Oh, she was totally hitting on me. It was so obvious."
Curtis raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Yeah. Just the way she looks at me, I just know that she likes me, y'know?"
"No. No I don't."
"Well…" I said, leaning back and smiling at the ceiling. "I think she likes me."
Curtis sort of stared at me for a minute, then slapped himself in the forehead and letting out a string of unusually creative curse words.
"Aw, you've gotta be kidding me!" he burst out, rather loudly.
"What?"
"You!" he fumed. "I don't believe this! You've got the hots for Rouge!"
So much for keeping it quiet. "Pssh, come on, man." I smirked, holding up my arms in defense. "Me? Be serious."
"So you're telling me you don't like her."
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm...OH, IT'S TRUE!" I exclaimed out of the blue, throwing up my hands. "I'M IN LOVE, I'M SO, SO IN LOVE!"
Grabbing Curtis's shoulder and squeezing it, I stared off into the distance, beaming. "I've known it since the day she put me in a headlock and made me say uncle. I mean, wow! What a babe!" Turning to face Curtis with a frantic expression, I seized him by both shoulders and looked him in the eye.
"I think she's the one, man." I said slowly and seriously. "Couldn't you just be happy for me?"
He groaned, massaging the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb. "Well, y'know Matthews, I would be happy for you, except for just one tiny problem, SHE'S ROUGE!" he shouted suddenly, making me jump. "This is a girl who's so far out of your league, she's in orbit! Look at her the wrong way and you may as well slit your wrists right now! Now can we please get back to reality?"
"I know, I know!" I replied, holding my head. "It could never work! But-"
"Dude, have I taught you nothing?" Curtis interrupted. "Rouge is trouble! And not even the normal amount of trouble, either- she's the type of girl who'll drive a knife through your back while you kiss her then loot your pockets for cash when you're dead!"
My temper flared up at this. "And how would you know that, smart guy?"
" 'Cuz that's her job, Matthews. She is a government agent who is paid to make you think she's your friend when in reality she's stealing you blind. Tell me, Matt- has she made any romantic advances with you?"
"Well, not exactly, but-"
"Have you made any romantic advance with her?"
"It depends on how you define 'advances', but-"
Curtis groaned loudly. "You're dead, you're dead, you're so, so dead…"
"Dude, shut up. I am not."
"Five bucks, Matt," said Curtis. "Five bucks says that she's gonna get mad and get you alone so that she can tear you apart with no witnesses."
"I'll take that bet."
Barely a moment after I said it, my ears perked up at the sound of an opening door and I turned around. Ears protruded from from the meeting room, looking dazed and a little wary. Rouge followed close behind, clutching her clipboard with a look of stern sophistication etched on her features, her lips pursed and her expression cold. I opened my mouth, a quip right on the tip of my tongue, but she beat me to the mark.
"You're next." she said simply, gesturing me over.
"Sorry if it slipped your mind, angel, but you already interviewed me."
"Mr. Hedgehog, I believe I'm the one conducting these interviews. Now, I'll say it again, slowly- You're next."
"Alrighty." I got up from the couch, eying Curtis and shrugging. He shook his head slightly; I sensed he couldn't tell whether to be disdainful or satisfied with himself for being right. He mouthed the word 'bye' to me and I rolled my eyes.
Following Rouge back into the meeting room, I plopped myself down in the chair I had sat in last time, crossing my arms and smirking.
"So…" I said, wiggling an eyebrow.
"So what?" Rouge asked flatly.
"Come on, babe. We both know you don't need to interview me more than once. What's up?"
Rouge glared at me, then sighed, slamming her clipboard down on the table. "Okay creep, here's the deal," she glowered, looking me straight in the eye. "So last time it might have slipped my mind to ask you the questions I was supposed to-"
"Because of my disarmingly good looks?"
"Because I couldn't stand to be around your for one more minute."
Ouch. "Aw, you don't mean that."
"Mr. Hedgehog, I assure you, I mean it with every ounce of my being." she growled through gritted teeth. "Like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I brought you back in here because I was instructed to thoroughly interview every inner member of the Strikers, and unfortunately, you qualify as one. Now, I suggest that you shut that quippy little mouth of yours before it gets you in trouble. Capishe?"
"...Yes, ma'am."
Despite her dead serious tone and adequate excuse for coming back, I could tell that there seemed to be an alternate reason for her being here, but… I couldn't quite see what it was. Her mind was heavily guarded, as if she knew that I could read her. But even just a glance at her told me that that wasn't even a possibility.
Her questions were pretty standard: how long had I been a gang member (about five and a half years), how many times had I visited the inside of the slammer (Lost count about three years ago), etcetera. I didn't really see how any of this could relate to a GUN investigation, but then again, I didn't work for GUN.
"... and what exactly do you contribute to the gang's profitability?" she asked.
"Oh, uh, I'm a thief."
She raised an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"
"I dunno. What do you want me to elaborate on?"
"Well, what is your exact job description? Do you have any thieving strategies you use, or do you just wing it during jobs? Do you have any other skills besides just stealing?"
"Hey, hey, hey, slow down, angel. One question at a time, if you please." I tried to remember her questions; she had been talking so quickly that I was still trying to process everything she just said.
She sighed. "Let me start over. Do you have any particular strategies you use for stealing?"
I thought hard. Technically, yes, I did, but there was no way I was letting her know about my people-reading thing, and any pickpocket worth his salt knows how to work the art of misdirection to his advantage. That's nothing special- you honest people just think it is.
"Uh… not really." I lied. It's pretty easy to lie. Just don't look in the person's eyes; look at the spot between their eyebrows and above their nose. They'll think you're genuine and it's harder to be found out when they think you're for real.
Rouge stared at me a minute as if she wasn't sure whether to believe me or not, but shook her head and moved on. "What sort of skills do you possess other than direct stealing or pickpocketing, if any?"
If any? Do I hear the nasty whispers of doubt? Please, I've got more skills than this girl could imagine.
"Well, let's see, where to begin…" I said in mock-thoughtfulness. "I can hack computers with 128-bit encryption software, I've been able to drive practically anything on wheels since I was thirteen, I can pick Grade 1 security locks, I've been able to crack TL-15 andTL-30 safes, one of which had a Class M lock-"
"Okay, okay!" Rouge interjected, feverishly scribbling down my answer. I wasn't lying, believe it or not. I'm pretty proud of my technical prowess; crime is one of the only things that seems to come naturally to me, and I've spent years learning from the best and honing my thieving skills to near-expert level. I wouldn't give myself any credit I don't deserve. Besides, fifth grade dropouts usually have a lot of free time on their hands when they aren't evading the truant officers. I had to do something productive or I would've gone insane from boredom (and when you'd rather be in school, that's when you know that maybe you should jazz up your extracurriculars).
"Anything else? I got more," I said smugly. It's true, I did (I hadn't even gotten to the bits about my fighting skills). Rouge paused her note taking and glimpsed at me with an unreadable expression, then returned to writing.
She asked me a few more questions after that, just more cookie-cutter interrogations that I answered with ease. I figured she'd been done by now, so when another pause came in her questions, I got up to leave.
"Where do you think you're going?" she asked sharply.
"What, you're not done yet? How many questions do you have?"
"That's my business. Now sit down. I'll tell you when we're through."
"Pretty sure it's my business, too. How do you know I haven't been lying through my teeth this whole time?"
If the expression 'shooting daggers' was ever meant to be taken literally, I would've been stabbed dead by now. The hate in her eyes radiated so strongly that I was beginning to feel the urge to run in case she decided that I was more useful to her when I was buried six feet under. But behind that shield of contempt, I sensed a faint twinge of fondness that she was doing a very, very good job of hiding.
"Tell me, Mr. Hedgehog, have you ever been an asset in a burglary heist?"
"Duh, yes."
"Have any of those heists ever involved breaking and entering an official building, such as a museum or bank?"
"A couple times, yeah. Didn't really take much, though."
"Why not?"
"Well, not the bank. I emptied like four safes the last time I paid the a bank a visit. I just didn't take anything from the museums."
"Again, why not?"
"Eh…" How do I explain this? "Okay, see, what happened was that I kinda-sorta-maybe snuck into the museum in the dead of night and kinda-sorta-maybe disabled the security systems and cameras and kinda-sorta-maybe drew mustaches and devil horns on all the people in the paintings. Maybe."
Rouge gaped at me. "... And what exactly possessed you to do this, pray tell?"
"I dunno. I got bored."
"So you broke into a museum to vandalize priceless art because you were bored?"
"I have my hobbies, you have yours."
She looked as if she wanted to say something else, but she just shook her head, looking confused and little disgusted. I was getting used to that reaction by now.
"Moving on… what are you best at stealing? Do you prefer to take cash money or do you prefer actual items, such as jewels or artifacts?"
"Eh, I only take cash when the boss man tells me to. If I ever need something that normal people would pay for, I'll just shoplift it."
"So you prefer to steal jewels and items, then."
"Items, yes. Jewels, definitely no. I hate jewels."
Rouge looked affronted. "What?"
"Uh, yeah. I don't like jewels. Like, at all."
"Why not?"
"I…" The image of Locke's bleeding body sprawled out on the gritty asphalt flashed through my mind, him doing anything to protect that emerald, the one that, when I held it, made me feel like my insides were on fire, like I was going to evaporate in flame if I let it near me.
Locke died because of that stupid jewel.
"... I just don't, okay?" I said quietly, studying my shoes. I felt Rouge's eyes boring into the side of my head and beads of sweat began to form at my hairline.
"So like, you're just gonna give your future wife like a plastic ring from a gumball machine or something?" she demanded, incredulous.
I raised an eyebrow. "My, aren't we forward today."
You hear about people turning bright red, but you never think it actually happens in real life. I can testify that it does. Rouge stiffened and her orangey-tan complexion flushed crimson, creeping up the sides of her face and turning her pristine white fur a tinge pink.
"I-I didn't- you… no!" she sputtered. "I-I wasn't meaning it like… that."
I grinned impishly at her. "Just messing with you, angel. Don't sweat it."
Rouge looked as if she wanted to kick me out of the meeting room again like last time, but seemed to reconsider, taking a few short breaths and allowing her face to regain its natural coloring.
"Alright then… are you uncomfortable with just stealing jewels, or just being around them in general? Like, being in the same room as one?" I heard her mutter under her breath something that sounded suspiciously like '...ya freaking weirdo'.
"I don't care about being in the same room as a jewel. I just don't like holding or handling them."
"... Fair enough." said Rouge, eying me strangely. I couldn't pin that expression; was it fascination? Scrutiny? Did I have something on my face?
The two of us sat in silence for a bit longer, Rouge scratching down a few more notes. I absentmindedly began tapping my foot on the ground, my fingers quickly following suit.
"So… are we done yet?" I asked impatiently. Her pencil's rapid movement paused and Rouge glowered up at me. Guess we're not, then. Forget I asked.
I waited a few more minutes, counting the ceiling tiles and resisting the urge to jump out of my seat and start walking around.
I was seriously considering the possibility of bolting and hoping she wouldn't catch me when finally she set down her pencil and looked me in the eye, sighing.
"Alright scumbucket, here's the deal-" she said dryly, folding her hands in front of her. "This isn't really official GUN business, but…"
I perked up. "Whaddaya mean?"
"It's technically something that I'm not supposed to do since I became an agent. I could get in a lot of trouble if I got caught."
"I'm listening."
She clenched her teeth and averted her eyes. "As much as I hate to say it… I need your help. With a heist."
"What kind of heist?"
"Well… you know that one huge jewelry store uptown, Stephanie's? They just put on display a Loose Unheated Blue Cushion Sapphire, worth approximately $99,985. I want it."
"Great. So you want it. How does this involve me, exactly?"
"I'm not finished yet," she said, her brow furrowing in frustration. "This is a two person job. Stephanie's may not look like it, but it has one of the top security systems of any building in the city, besides GUN headquarters. They have billions of dollars worth of jewels there, each individually protected by a complex combination of high-security locks and alarms."
"Again, how does this involve me?"
"Well.." Rouge cracked a smirk. "If you're as good of a hacker that you claim to be, then your job will be to shut down the system temporarily so that I can get in, swipe the jewel, and get out without tripping any alarms or being caught on surveillance. I'd do it myself, except that I can't hack the system and steal the jewel at the same time."
"What's in it for me?" I asked suspiciously.
"Hmm, lemme think." said Rouge in mock-thoughtfulness. "How about… I let you live?"
"Okay. That's fair."
"Glad you think so. Meet me at exactly twelve o'clock tonight in front of the deli on Gerald Avenue. I'll tell you the rest of the plan then."
"Sounds good." I replied. "See ya tonight, angel."
"Would you quit calling me that?"
"No can do. Sorry… angel."
And there you have it! Manic's flirting is unfiltered as always, Rouge is lightening up just the tiniest bit, and you got to have a preview of Manic's technical skills (you'll see them first-hand in his next chapter). While Sonic might have his speed and Sonia her strength, neither can compete with Manic when it comes to technology.
So the next chapter (Sonic) will be coming soon, but after that, like I said at the top, new chapters will be slow-going. Be patient, guys.
Also, a little shameless self-promotion: I have set up a DeviantArt page and posted several artworks, including the cover art for The Long Road Home!
URL: www.
Please go check out my page and, if you have an account, leave a comment. I am ALWAYS up for constructive criticism.
I love our cover art… No, I'm not ashamed of admitting that. Now I just have to upload it… Also, I can't get over the fact that the jewel thief and the anti-jewel thief are going to steal a jewel. Anyway, the next chapter is practically done so expect an update in at least two weeks (I think.) Next up is the thing you've all been waiting for: SHADOW. Review please!