By now, most of you know what this story is going to be about. Still, I can add a few unexpected surprises for you. Thanks for all the reviews this far. Now, let's continue this fic.

Club Rouge was busy as it usually was. As Knuckles and Silver arrived, they noticed a long line in front of the building. They knew that it would be very difficult to find Rouge in the crowd even though her face was everywhere. She had a neon design of herself on the roof of the building. Throughout other various places in the club, her name was written in cursive neon lights. This only proved what Knuckles had known for years: Rouge was full of herself.

Silver drove around the parking lot for about five minutes trying to find a spot. Adequate parking was always a problem here. He finally found himself a spot toward the back. As he and Knuckles got out of the car, they could hear loud dance music coming through the walls. The night crowd was always college students or high schoolers with fake I.D.s. Rouge had an age requirement of twenty-one, but she really didn't care who came in as long as they spent their money. Her philosophy was that if parents can't control their kids, they can't expect her to. Silver's tight shirt stuck to Knuckles' body. It made him look real sexy because his abs and biceps were poking through the tight shirt. On the other hand, some people gave him a queer look.

"Alright, Silver, here's the plan. We kindly ask to speak to Rouge. We don't want to cause a scene here, or she might be more reluctant to help than I already know she's going to be," said Knuckles.

"Sounds like a plan, but we might as well have some fun while we're here," said Silver.

"Business before pleasure, Silver," said Knuckles.

They patiently waited in line behind two other females. One was a gray hedgehog wearing a miniskirt and a shirt with Tweety on it and the other was a light-orange fox with teal mascara, a jean miniskirt, and a very tight top that exposed her perfect cleavage. The two females kept glaring back at Knuckles and Silver. Silver tried being suave and giving them a cool guy smile, but the two girls just laughed at him and turned back around.

"I told you that you weren't slick, Silver," said Knuckles.

Silver and Knuckles waited patiently until they were at the door, where they found themselves face to face with a huge red hedgehog bouncer.

"Ten dollars a piece," said the red hedgehog.

The two kindly paid their covers.

"Where can I find Rouge?" asked Knuckles.

"She's probably in her office," said the red hedgehog.

Knuckles and Silver were about to head into the club, but the red hedgehog held his hand in front of the door.

"No one gets to see Miss Rouge unless she tells us that she's expecting them. She didn't recall any names to me tonight; so no one goes back there," said the red hedgehog.

"I have business to discuss with her," said Knuckles.

"Yeah, that's what they all say. Don't let me catch you two trying to get back there or else we're going to get real damn acquainted," said the red hedgehog.

He moved his arm out of the way. He didn't even seem worried about them going back there. Knuckles guessed that people usually heed his warnings or wish that they had.

Knuckles and Silver walked into the club. At the time, the music from Club Rouge on Sonic Battle was playing on some loudspeakers, and some people were dancing to it.

"Here's the plan: We split up and look for her office separately," said Knuckles.

"That suits me just fine." Silver looked around and spotted the bar in the back of the club. "I'll start looking over here." In a few seconds, Silver had disappeared amongst the crowd of dancers.

Knuckles started looking around for himself. It was actually hard to see anything with all the flashing lights. As he looked around, he looked at the display. All of the tables were shaped in a heart that matched Rouge's chest plate. Every chair in the place resembled bat wings and had Club Rouge written on the back of them.

Knuckles noticed a balcony with more tables and chairs on it. Then, he saw a hallway of some sort. He ran up the stairs and headed for the hallway. The hallway led him to a lounge of some sort. It was the kind of place that couples could come if they wanted to escape the noise or be romantic. There were even booths for them to go into. At the back of the lounge, Knuckles saw a door.

"That's got to be where Rouge is," Knuckles thought aloud.

Before he took another step, someone grabbed him from behind. It was the red hedgehog bouncer.

"I thought I told you that you weren't getting back here to see Miss Rouge. I guess some people are just hard of hearing," he said.

"I know. It seems that you didn't hear me when I said that I have some important business with Rouge," said Knuckles.

"That's it! You're getting the hell out of here," said the red hedgehog.

"I'd like to see you stop me," said Knuckles.

The red hedgehog dragged Knuckles back to the main part of the club. Knuckles was able to break free of his hold. The red hedgehog grabbed Knuckles' arm, but Knuckles shook himself free and punched the red hedgehog in the nose. He flew back a few feet.

"You'll pay for that," said the red hedgehog.

The red hedgehog tackled Knuckles through one of Rouge's tables. Knuckles quickly threw him off of him and got back up. Knuckles picked up a chair and smashed it on the red hedgehog's head. By now, the attention of many of the club's patrons had been aroused. People started gathering up the stairs to see Knuckles and the bouncer tussle.

The red hedgehog put Knuckles in a headlock. Knuckles retaliated by elbowing him in the ribs and tackling him to the ground. Knuckles tackled him right through another one of Club Rouge's chairs. Knuckles began to go to work on his head, but the red hedgehog was strong, too. He pushed Knuckles back about four feet. Knuckles stumbled but held his ground.

At that moment, she appeared. She walked right between Knuckles and the red hedgehog and stood her ground. Neither of them moved. The people who had gathered to watch the fight went back to what they were doing before they were disturbed. She stood there in all her magnificence in her black and pink business skirt looking as if she was a mother about to punish her children. She looked straight at the red hedgehog.

"Sugar Ray, I pay you to enforce the rules of my club, but I didn't expect you to destroy my club in the process," said Rouge.

"I'm sorry, Miss Rouge, but this punk here refuses to leave the club after I told him to do so," said Sugar Ray. He pointed over at Knuckles, who had his arms crossed and was propped against a wall. His muscles poked through Silver's tight shirt.

A hint of curiosity could be seen in her cheeks. Her flirty smile also crept upon her face.

"Well, handsome, what brings you to my club?" she asked.

"I have some business to talk over with you," said Knuckles.

Rouge's smile began to widen and she giggled seductively. She walked over to him and pressed up against him.

"Does it involve my club or my heart?" she asked with a devilish grin.

"Knock it off, Rouge. I'm serious," said Knuckles. He was unaffected by her charm for the first time ever.

"Well, step into my office and tell me what's on your mind," she said. "Sugar Ray, get the maintenance staff to clean up this mess you made."

"Yes, Miss Rouge," replied Sugar Ray.

Rouge led Knuckles back into her office. Knuckles got a good view of a few couples making out, even though he really weren't interested in them. Rouge opened the door to her office and gestured for Knuckles to take a seat. The office was just what you would expect to see in a typical business office: a safe, desk, two chairs, computer, and a shelf. Despite its setup, you could still tell this was Rouge's office. Everything was either a feminine color or shaped like a heart. Rouge had her logo on all her things. She took a seat on her desk and crossed her legs.

"So what can I do for you, Knuckie?" asked Rouge.

"There's an emergency, and I need your help," said Knuckles bluntly.

Rouge couldn't help but giggle. "You need my help? My, that's a first!"

"This isn't a joke. I have the only thing that means anything to me at stake in this," said Knuckles with a little impatience.

"Easy, Knuckles. Just tell me exactly what you mean, and I'll tell you whether or not I'll help you," she said.

"My daughter has been kidnapped by some goons. They're holding her until I can pay her ransom of a million dollars. If I don't pay them in one week, they'll kill her," explained Knuckles.

"How long have you had a daughter?" asked Rouge.

"She's six now," said Knuckles. "I'm begging you to help me to get my baby girl back."

Rouge raised an eyebrow. Did Knuckles the Echidna just say that he was begging her? It must be serious for him to swallow his foolish pride.

"Okay, what do you need my help for? I don't do loans, Knuckles. Even if I did, I don't have a million dollars you can borrow," said Rouge.

"I didn't come here for a loan. I came her for some help," said Knuckles.

"Well, if you do not want to borrow the money, what do you need me for?" asked Rouge curiously.

"Well, there's more than one way to get something you want. You should know that better than anybody. If you can't get it by legal means, then you must resort to illegal ways," said Knuckles.

Rouge was really surprised by all this. "You don't mean that…"

Knuckles nodded.

Rouge stood up and started pacing the floor laughing. "This is too rich. Good guy and savior of the world, Knuckles the Echidna, wants my help to pull some heists? Stop pulling my leg, Knuckles."

"I wish I was pulling your leg, Rouge, but I'm not. This shit is real," said Knuckles in a calm tone.

Rouge stopped laughing. She knew Knuckles better than to call him a liar. She knew that he was telling the truth.

"Will you help me?"

Rouge gave it some serious thought. After a few moments, she responded.

"Where's her mother?" she asked.

"I have no idea where Julie-Su is, nor do I care. She chose to abandon her child to see the world; so that's on her. Sure, I didn't know a thing about raising kids, but I did a damn good job at it without her. I wouldn't dare ask her to help me," said Knuckles.

Rouge began to ponder again.

"Okay, Knucklehead, I'll help you out, but what's in it for me?" she asked.

"Name your price," said Knuckles.

Rouge smirked.

"You know that there's only one thing of value that you have and I desire," said Rouge. "I want your emerald."

Knuckles did not respond instantly, but he finally found his words.

"Normally, I'd tell you to stop talking nonsense, but in this case, I have no choice but to make an exception. Yes, the Master Emerald is important, but it pales in comparison to the worth of my daughter. Rouge, if you help me, you can have my emerald," said Knuckles reluctantly.

A big grin spread across Rouge's face. This was her big chance to finally get the Master Emerald. She's been after it for years. Finally, all that hard work was about to pay off.

"I never thought that I'd ever hear those words. You're willingly parting with it."

"That should prove to you how desperately I need your help," said Knuckles.

"Knuckles, my man, you got yourself a deal. We'll get started tomorrow night after I set everything up. Be here at sundown and don't forget MY emerald," said Rouge.

Rouge scooted Knuckles out of her office, blew a kiss at him, and slammed the door in his face. Then, she sat back on her desk and began to celebrate her victory.

Knuckles began to walk back downstairs to the main floor. He couldn't see Silver, but he already knew where he was. Knuckles walked through the crowd to the bar in the back. He could tell that Silver had been drinking.

"Silver, what are you doing?" asked Knuckles.

"I'm just getting my drink on and talking to these honeys. You know how I roll, Knux," said Silver in his slurred speech. He turned to a teenage bat girl that was sitting next to him.

"I think that you and I should get a little batty tonight. Maybe you can suck on my neck," said Silver.

The female bat slapped him across the face and walked off.

"Fine! Screw you, bitch," said Silver. He turned to Knuckles. "She'll be back."

"I think that I'm driving us back," said Knuckles.

Well, hope you enjoyed. The next chapter will be the first heist. If you have some insight, please let me know.

By the way, Rouge will be voiced by Kathleen Delaney. I know most of you hate her voice acting, but I personally don't see anything wrong with it. She plays Rouge with a very feminine and lady-like persona. Just because Rouge is 18 doesn't mean that her voice actor has to be. Her voice is perfect just the way it is. I know I probably lost some cool points on that one, but I'll get over it. One thing I'm not afraid to do is voice my opinion no matter what the public opinion is.

ICY KNUCKLES