(Rachel's POV)

My mouth dropped open in pure awe as I gaped at the female bat standing before me. Her hand was lazily rested on the curvature of her waist as she batted her lengthy eyelashes back at me. It was bewildering; the fact that another anthromorphic animal was on the Egg Carrier now. I took a good long look at her, absorbing every last detail which included her odd choice of attire.

Her clothes consisted of a greyish black jumpsuit with a giant pink breast-plate resting over her chest. Her gloves were elbow length and rimmed with thick strips of saturated pink, and her shoes were knee high white boots that had shiny pink hearts centered on the toe areas. I averted my eyes to what was behind her and noticed the webbed, arching bat wings that protruded out of her back. They weren't moving right now, but I had no doubt in my mind that she was capable of flight just as any bat was.

Might I add that her whole outfit was also very, very revealing. It didn't just hug her curves...it squeezed the living daylights out of them. It was a marvel she could even move. Her breast-plate was also placed a bit low on the upper part of her figure. It definitely didn't look like something you would wear out in outer space. But then again, look at my clothes.

I couldnt precisely explain why, but there was something suspicious about her whole presence. I made sure to stay on my guard.

Rouge seemed to be totally at ease with herself. I knew that I, on the other hand, was far from ease. My eyes were still bugging out of their sockets, and my mouth was hanging open, taking on the formation of an O. There were thoughts scrambling around in my head.

The name Rouge the Bat sounds kind of familiar. Though I'm sure that I've never seen or heard of her before.

Could someone please tell me what the heck is going on! How did someone like her get all the way out here in outer space? How did she happen to find us? What am I missing here!

Rouge flashed a gentle smirk at me and dropped her heavy, shimmery eyelids farther down over her blue-green eyes.

"You mean to tell me that you're Rachel Tower?" she asked, twitching one of her enormous white ears. "The Rachel Tower?"

I gulped. How did she know my name?

Shadow turned away from her to face me and waited out my response to the obvious question, possibly for the reassurance that I hadn't fainted from shock or something after the bat's arrival. As soon as I felt his eyes burning on me, I took a short breath and attempted to loosen my expression.

After what happened a few minutes ago, there was so much tension between the two of us it was starting to physically hurt. I was almost a bit relieved that this mysterious Rouge the Bat had come in out of nowhere and interrupted our conversation before it had a chance to progress. I mean, what else would have been said and done had there not been any disturbances for us? Would I have eventually told him about the nightmare I had pertaining to him? And how would he have responded, assuming he'd even care at all? And then what?

Nonetheless, I avoided his eyes at all costs and just pressed my glare back at Rouge. She looked slightly bored now. "Hm...I'm gonna assume your quiet demeanor means yes," she hummed, stepping into the room while scanning me carefully. "When you first saw me, I noticed how your eyes were wide as plates and your lower jaw fell ten feet low. So I take that as a no for Shadow's question. You've clearly never met me before."

Not that I would've anyway, but before I had a chance to reply, her smile grew and she continued. "That look of astonishment is the typical reaction I get from most people who see me for the first time," she said, twirling a finger around one of the short, curled strands of fur hanging off her head. "But can you blame them? What with my assets and appeal, I definitely put all the other bats on Earth to shame. If you can even call those squeaky, sorry excuses for rodents bats. Just sayin'."

I stared at her quizzically for a moment before gasping lightly. Her whole 'introduction' hit me like a ton of bricks.

So that's why I feel like I've heard of her before. Rouge isn't some sort of alien or extraterrestrial. She's from Earth just like me! We share the same home planet...and that's how she knows who I am!

But then, I suddenly felt the edges of my mouth starting to weigh down.

Okay sure, I had only met Rouge a few moments ago. But I could already tell that it would take a lot to get me to like her, if that ever could happen. Of all the people to travel millions of light-years away from planet Earth and find me, it had her?

She knew I was Shadow's hostage, yet didn't even show any kind of care, or have a reaction whatsoever! She acted so casual towards me, like I was just another person on the Egg Carrier in the middle of some unknown galaxy, innocently going about their life. Like it was a natural thing.

Hellooooo, I'm a hostage here! I was taken against my will! Don't act like this is so normal! I wanted to yell.

I could tell by her blunt attitude that she had no intention of helping me. So she definitely wasn't here to rescue me or anything. Of course what were the odds of THAT happening?

"...Uhm...Who are you supposed to be?" I asked her quietly. My voice was caught up in that ocean of surprise again and had its difficulty returning back to me. But as soon as the question was out, the bat bounced her eyebrows and nodded towards Shadow, who continued looking in my direction. I still avoided his gaze.

"Mm? I thought Shadow here already clarified that for you. I'm Rouge the Bat," Rouge said matter-of-factly, jabbing one of her thumbs against her chest and winking. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Rachel."

Instead of returning the greeting, I shook my head. "No, that's not what I meant. I meant who are you, as in what is it that you do or want for that matter? And uh, how do you and Shadow..."

I finally forced myself to look up at the hedgehog. He was already looking my way, as if he'd been waiting for me to make eye contact with him. Just as I predicted, the moment our sight was exchanged, a clash of nervousness struck through me. Something about the emotion that was swimming in those crimson orbs gave me the chills. It even made me slightly sick to my stomach.

"...er...how do you know each other..." I choked out.

Rouge was clearly oblivious to the discomfort between me and Shadow. Her candy-pink lips curled even farther across her muzzle. Her eyes darted to the back of Shadow's striped quills and she let out a low chuckle.

"Shadow and I? Oh boy, we go way back..." she said. "I met him on the Space Colony ARK over sixteen years ago. He and Eggman were plotting the usual world domination, or something along those lines. Ah yes, working for the bad guys. Those were the days..." she trailed off, seemingly lost in her own bank of thoughts.

"Yep. Ever since then, we've been partners in justice...or...crime...whatever! Our goals always changed, so it depended on the situation, really. Sure we separated lots of times, and you couldn't say we were official partners. But we always worked together on missions and fought for or against anything that was thrown our way. We benefited each other countless times. To me, it's almost like we were made to be team! Isn't that right, Shadow?"

Shadow was silent for a moment, but then he suddenly whirled around to look in her direction. His face was ridden of all serenity. If anything, he looked annoyed and even downright angry. I didn't understand how though. These two seemed to be very fond of each other.

"Sure. Whatever you say, Rouge. But you're leaving out a huge fragment of our history together," he said, shooting a narrow glare her way.

Despite the hostility in his voice, Rouge continued smiling. "Oh, is that so? And what would that be, former partner?" she said almost flirtatiously while putting emphasis on the word 'partner'. I found myself instantly feeling out of place, and rubbed the side of my arm awkwardly.

Oh gosh. Don't tell me these two dated in the past. What, is that the 'fragment of history' that's missing? Rouge is his ex-girlfriend? Great...just perfect. More drama is exactly what we all needed!

But now that I thought about it, I couldn't see Shadow being with someone like her. Heck, I couldn't see him being with anybody at all. It was almost like he was incapable of showing another living being affection. Or maybe that wasn't entirely true. He was a good friend to Maria...I assumed. But I didn't reckon he'd been kind towards anyone since then. I wondered if that was his fault, or the world's fault for making him that way.

Shadow hardened his eyes at the bat. "Don't go playing stupid! The first time I met you, you betrayed us. You were working for us just so you could spy on us for the organization that you really worked for," he said, dousing his words in venom. "After manipulating the Doctor as well as me into trusting you, you turned on both of us for your own selfish ambitions. I haven't been able to completely rely on you since then. You know that."

Even though I had already been listening, my ears picked up more on their conversation. Rouge the Bat is a spy? Yeah, some spy she is! Like I said before, she didn't even care that I was Shadow's hostage!

Rouge let out an exaggerated scoff. "Oh you've got to be kidding me. Come on, Shadow. Let it go. That was ages ago. You can't hold that over me forever! I thought we were allies! Maybe even friends."

She then puffed out her chest, crossing her arms over the front. "And besides, I no longer work as a spy or an agent. I resigned a few years ago. As of now, my main focus is simply being an independent treasure hunter like I always have been. I scope out nothing but the most beautiful jewels, which happens to include the Chaos Emeralds."

Barely a second after Rouge said 'Chaos Emeralds', her eyes dimmed mischievously. I couldn't help but notice her stature. She was definitely plotting something.

Shadow digressed. "Forget it. You're not getting any of the Emeralds we have here. If that's what you came all the way out here for, then there's no point in you staying. You might as well clear out now before I have the chance to kick you out myself."

Rouge grinned, showing off her pearly teeth and walked closer to him. "No need to be so rude, Stripes. I don't see how I could be a bother. If anything, I only want to help you guys."

"Yeah, right. But that's not the whole story, is it?" Shadow said, sounding as if he was testing her.

Rouge lifted an eyebrow. "Huh. Now you're using my own words against me? I'm surprised you remember that conversation after it's been more than a decade...but continue on with whatever invalid point you were making," she said tiredly.

Now they had lost me.

Shadow took her up on the invalid point making. "You always have a scheme planned out for the people you negotiate with. I know you better than you think." he retorted.

Rouge sighed, batting her eyes again. "No no no, I promise this time is different. I'm not after your Chaos Emeralds, so rest assured I won't take them from you. But, I could always help you find the rest. You're forgetting about my cunning treasure-hunting skills! I originally came here to tag along and go to these alien planets with you. Foreign galaxies might hold all kinds of amazing gems. But while I'm here, how 'bout I assist you guys in your little hunts and halve the time it normally takes for you to track down just one Chaos Emerald? This is a rare opportunity for all of you. You'd be a fool to pass it up!"

Shadow scowled. "Then call me a fool. Thanks, but no thanks. We don't need your help. We have a tracker to help us find all the Emeralds."

But alas, Rouge neared him once more. I gawked at the both of them and their interactions. It was like watching an interrogation out of a really intense movie. And it was totally unreal to see how comfortable Rouge was around Shadow. I wished I was a bit more like her in that sense.

"True," she admitted, "But I bet that fancy little tracker doesn't pinpoint the Chaos Emerald's exact location. At least, I remember it was like that last time. Which is beyond me. Didn't Eggman say he was a genius? And yet I'm able to outwit his little toys. It must be quite the hassle for you to search high and low for each one, using nothing but cold instinct."

My heart sank at the sound of that. High and low.

I remembered Tragaria, and then that weird club Shadow went to where he nearly got himself killed and where I was almost 'sold' to a mind reader. Who knew how hard it would be to find the next two Chaos Emeralds out here in the universe. And who knew what other lives would be altered because of them.

I didn't like messing with the balance of things just so we could acquire these stupid gems, whose power I had yet to see. I'd only witnessed their use when Shadow harnessed their energy during Chaos Control. They had to be good for something else. Because as far as I knew, they were only rocks.

What else did they do that made them so special? That's what I would like to know.

"You know, maybe she's right, Shadow," I said.

They both turned to look at me, acknowledging my presence for the first time since their petty argument started.

I continued on hesitantly. "I mean, we've caused more than enough destruction necessary to every planet we...or you...have visited so far. Maybe Rouge could do more good for us than bad. You're the one who said she was a spy. If that's true, then she must have great instinct when it comes to finding things. The whole treasure hunting part being a hobby of hers makes it even better. Think about it."

The sooner we got the Emeralds, the sooner I got to go home.

Shadow let out a light scoff. "Tugh, Rouge being useful. That's definitely debatable."

Rouge didn't pry her gaze away from mine and nodded in agreement, ignoring his snide comment. "Yes! Exactly! I like how you think!"

She laughed softly. "I must say, I kind of admire you, Rachel Tower. You've been stuck here on Egg-head's Carrier in the middle of space for nearly two months, with nothing but a bunch of know-it-all boys as your only company. But, I bet the truth is that you have more sense than any of them, just because you're the girl here. Everyone knows female brains are the ones that reign superior over knowledge, compared to a man's brain at least," she said, holding her index finger up in the air.

Shadow crossed his arms while staring at her. "Rouge, I don't think you have any idea what you're talking about..."

She ignored him again. "I'm glad you haven't lost that sensible instinct in you after hanging around with these headaches for so long. If I were you, I would've lost my marbles a long time ago."

I found it in me to let out a hearty laugh at her statement. "Oh believe me, I'm getting there. I come closer to insanity every day," I said between giggles. It was like a breath of fresh air to have another girl to talk to. She seemed to understand me a whole lot better than I thought she would. Maybe liking Rouge wouldn't be that hard after all.

Shadow darted his eyes away from her and instantly looked at me after taking in the sound of my laughter. I could tell he was noting on how well I was adjusting to Rouge. I figured it was impossible for him to understand why I was so joyful all of a sudden, but I pushed my wandering thoughts aside and pressed on my conversation with her.

"So, Rouge, you will help us after all then, right?" I asked with a wide grin.

She swiftly nodded in response, smirking back. "It would give me no greater honor than to be of your assistance while you embark on this noble quest, Ms. Tower," she said tauntingly, bringing a stiff, open hand to the side of her forehead in a mock salute. I laughed again at her sarcasm.

But then, Shadow suddenly jumped in between the two of us, cutting the lighthearted moment short. Instead of turning to Rouge, he faced me dead on.

I thought he was going to lunge at me or attack me judging by his stance, so I threw my hands outward to momentarily brace myself. But instead, he stood perfectly still, frowning up at me. I gradually lowered my open palms.

"Did you not hear me, Rachel," he said. "I was serious. Rouge is not staying here and she's not helping us. So you need to get that out of your head. Got it?"

Rouge smiled mischievously. "Uh, I hate to break it to you, but you're not captain of this monkey ship, Shadow," she said mockingly. "Eggman is. Therefore, the final decision lies with him, the Head Monkey. Not you."

She then looked up to meet my eyes, while still directing her speech at him. "And don't worry. It's not like I'm gonna steal your precious hostage from you. You can still have as much time alone with her as you did before."

My heart skipped a beat. Shadow whipped his head around so that we were both gawking at Rouge.

"What!" Shadow yelled, while I gasped quietly.

Rouge only brushed us off and continued. "Both of you calm down! No need to act so secretive. I'm not an idiot. I can see the chemistry here. And all I'm saying is I'll be sure to stay out of your way, if Eggman's choice meets my expectations that is."

Shadow grimaced, shooting the bat a death glare.

"No. Don't say that ever agian. Rachel and I...no. That would be THE last thing that I would ever-"

"Au Contraire, Stripes, you can't tell me that I'm wrong. What the heck was going on in here when I first arrived then, huh? You two were just feeling up on each other and it meant nothing?"

I flustered, feeling my face turn scarlet red. "Rouge! Stop! That's not what happened!"

Shadow unraveled his arms and stepped towards her defiantly. "I was telling her something important!"

Rouge's eyes sliced to the side and she hummed to herself innocently.

"Mhm. Must've been veeerrryyyy important..." she snickered.

I made a noise out of disgust and turned away, hiding my face behind my hair. I could feel myself heating up from the embarrassment, and didn't want either of them to notice.

This is so wrong. How can she say something like that so openly! Shadow is a hedgehog, I'm a human. To say that we're doing...whatever she was implying...is just sick. Even if Shadow was a human, it wouldn't change a damned thing! Because I...I could never be with him period.

But something deep in the hidden realms of my heart told me that was a lie. It wasn't the truth, but I still didn't know if my assumption was an actual fact.

He wasn't entirely a bad guy, but he sure as hell wasn't good either. Rouge was wrong. There was no chemistry between us whatsoever. Unless you count bubbling and boiling over from rage like some kind of poisonous potion, then yeah, give it an A plus. If only I could've brought myself to say something like this out loud.

Shadow wasn't blushing like me. He was outraged. He growled and reeled his arm back, not in a punching manner, but more like he was about to strike a Chaos Spear at the nosy bat. "Shut that mouth of yours!" he shouted. "And get out of here now!"

Rouge laughed. "And leave you two alone again? Hah. You wish. How about you get out of here, and while you're at it, go ask Eggman if I can stay...pretty please with caramel on top?"

She gestured towards the door. "Last time I checked, he was in the robotics room working on one of his new projects. He said something about needing to," she made air quotes, "'briefly converse with you' about the next Chaos Emerald. In fact, if I were you, I'd ask him about that before you ask about me staying. It seemed pretty important. Bokkun said you guys are already close to the next galaxy where the fifth AND sixth Emeralds are being kept."

I looked up from behind my dark hair with big, hopeful eyes.

"Did you say fifth...and sixth?" I asked barely above a whisper.

She nodded happily. "Yep! That means that after you visit this next planet, you'll only need one more Chaos Emerald. You do know where that one is...right?

I blinked slowly. A huge smile suddenly broke out across my face.

The last Chaos Emerald is on Earth. It's at home. And the deal was after we have all the Chaos Emeralds except for the last one, they would bring me back.

Shadow saw the evident relief on my face, and gaped at me for the third freaking time, and also for what felt like forever. I looked back at him quietly, my smile suddenly fading.

I couldn't help but notice how angry he looked after Rouge said this. What, was he angry about me leaving? Yeah, that's likely. I decided not to think too hard about it. Shadow looked angry most of the time anyway. That's just how his face was.

He stiffened and turned to face Rouge. "Fine then. But you're coming with me to go talk to him."

Rouge's content expression instantly morphed into confusion. "Huh? Why?"

He gave her a bland look. "Because I'm not leaving you alone with her," he said, looking back at me for a second.

Rouge guffawed, completely baffled by his attitude. "You're joking, right? Oh come on now, that's ridiculous! I thought I'd earned your trust! What the heck do you think I'm gonna do, fry her up and eat her?"

"It's not what I think you'll do, it's what I think you'll say," he said. "You might tell her things I don't want her to know."

My eyebrows knitted together. "What...you mean to tell me you have more secrets?" I asked him.

But the real question I wondered is why he didn't want me to know any of them.

Rouge clearly wondered this too. She smirked. "What's the matter, Shadow? What are you so afraid of? I thought she was just another human to you?" she said.

Now she was the one testing him.

Shadow glared at her.

"She is," he said harshly.

Rouge nodded. "Exactly. So you have nothing to lose anyway, right?"

She then pointed to the door again. "Now hurry up. Go ask Egg-head what he wants! You could've been there and back by now, but nooooo you just had to waste valuable time with your whining and accusations! Stubborn little Shadow the Moodyhog."

Shadow didn't budge. She sighed angrily.

"Please just go already. I won't tell Rachel anything that I know you wouldn't want me telling her. I don't even know what that would be. So how 'bout I just keep my mouth shut altogether like you wanted? You have my word."

Shadow dropped dead silent. The bat then dragged her pinched fingers along her lip and mimed a zip. He gave her another long stare-down.

He was still suspicious, but finally gave in and turned to leave. "Fine. I'll be right back."

My body suddenly relaxed. I hadn't realized how tense I'd become.

He then stopped and shifted his eyes to meet mine for one final time. "I mean it," he said, as if it were a threat.

"I'll be right back."

And with that, he turned around and ran off, leaving me and Rouge alone.

Once he was gone, I contemplated berating her for talking about any possible romance between me and Shadow, and then demand that she never do it again. But instead, as soon as his footsteps were out of earshot, I let out a long, drawn out sigh and dropped down onto my bed, letting everything sink in.

"Gosh..." I breathed out. "You know you're right. It's a miracle I'm not crazy by now. I'm not sure how much longer I can take Shadow and his mood swings. I thought I was the teenage girl here."

Rouge said nothing. She didn't even look at me.

I slit my eyes at the floor, heaving in another breath. "But no matter. There's only one more galaxy to visit. One more galaxy. One more planet. Two more Chaos Emeralds. And then...we're done. They'll take me back to Earth. I'll be home soon."

Rouge stared at the open door silently, then whisked around to face me. I saw her boots turn around and lifted my head to meet her eyes with a pause.

She wasn't smirking or grinning, or looking at me with that easy-going cockiness. Now, her eyes had darkened multiple shades, and were widened slightly. There was a look of rush, but also determination swirling around in her ocean colored eyes.

"A lot sooner than you think," she said promptly.

I looked back at her. "R-Rouge? Are you okay?"

A small smile played at the corner of her lips, but it quickly fell. She suddenly reached one glove down her shirt, between the valley of her cleavage.

My eyes widened. "What the-...what are you-?"

She then pulled a badge out from under her breast-plate, holding it out in my direction so I could see it. I hesitated for a moment then leaned closer, reading the black, bolded letters at the top. My eyes widened.

G.U.N.

"That would Agent Rouge to you, sweetheart. G.U.N. Agent Rouge." she said softly and hurriedly, making a double-take towards the door to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. She then faced me again. "And again, you'll be home sooner than you think."

My hand nearly flew around my mouth out of instinct, but I kept it nailed to my side. My heart was thudding loudly in my chest.

Is she saying what I think she's saying?

I jumped off the bed. "No way. Please, if this is some kind of joke-"

"It's not," she cut me off instantly. "I know you're skeptical, but I swear it's not. I lied when I said I'd resigned. I'm still an agent. G.U.N is the organization I work for. Your grandfather sent me to rescue you because he knows about my history with Shadow, and knew that if he sent anyone else, Shadow would turn them away without a second thought."

My mouth fell open.

She then grabbed my sleeve and prompted me towards the door.

"Come on," she said quickly.

"Let's get you out of here before Shadow finds out we're gone."

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(A/N) Okay, so it's nearly 5 in the morning over here and I'm gonna hurry this along. Reason for the delay? My laptop crashed. It won't log onto my profile where all my files are. For a long time, this chapter went unfinished and remained only halfway done.

Not knowing how long it would take for my laptop to get fixed, I started a new story called Lavender Light. It's a NiGHTS story.

If you don't know who NiGHTS is, have you ever played Sonic Adventure and gone to the casino level? NiGHTS is the purple guy that has his own pinball stage. I was gonna hold off until I finished this story before I started a new one..but like I said, I didn't know how long that would take. Please check it out if you get the chance. The NiGHTS category isn't exactly booming with stories like the Sonic category is. But you would have to know the whole story behind NiGHTS to understand what's going on. And if you've never gotten into NiGHTS or had the opportunity to, I insist you check him...or her out. (NiGHTS is androgynous)

The story and characters really are beautiful. It has great music, great character design and so on and so forth. Believe me when I say you'd be missing out. I would NOT start a whole story over it if it wasn't worth obsessing over. It's actually moved me to tears. o.o

Okay, done rambling.

The only thing that got me to finish this chapter was YOU guys. I was scanning through my reviews last night, and reading all the old and new feedback led to me staying up til 4:59 desperately turning my house over, looking for a USB cable so I could transfer all my files to my family computer. I finally got them on a hard drive, emailed them to myself, and instantly got to work. I know this chapter's short, but I was kind of rushed. The next one will be longer.

By the way, Merry Late Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope 2012 is a great year for ALL of you, your families and your friends.

Review please. Thank you~