A pretty white bat stood on the sidewalk in front of red double doors that would soon open into a night club. It was dark out, evening having fallen hours before, and the party going on inside the building sounded like it was in full swing; she could hear sinister electronic music bumping through the walls while red and yellow lights flickered and poured through the tall windows. She closed her eyes for a moment, scowling and mentally preparing to go inside. Rouge despised crowds, bright light, and loud noises – all things encompassed in one place when she visited her partner-in-crime, Shadow.
His business was bustling, dark rave music assaulting the woman's large ears the second she cracked the door open, then blaring overhead when she crossed the threshold into the lobby filled with people. Groups of patrons drank and danced too close to the entrance. She would've flown over them, but Shadow had built his ceiling dreadfully low, forcing Rouge to walk near the wall as she went around to the other side, where she would find the stairs. And, annoyingly, there were people blocking the bottom steps, three of them just standing and slurring their words while they talked.
Ivory brows furrowed and she looked up to the open space behind them, offering enough room to jump up and fly through to the second floor. Knowing Shadow, he would be lounging on a plush purple loveseat with a glass of red wine in one hand. With the other, he would likely be gesturing animatedly while conversing with his customers and lapping up their praise. The bat could see it so clearly in her head even before she got a good look around the second story.
The bar was packed, not a seat left unoccupied, and many of the comfy chairs sitting about were filled with groups of friends chattering away between taking their shot on the billiards table. As Rouge stepped farther into the lounge area, she listened for her teammate's voice. In a place as packed and darkly lit as this, she would likely hear him before she saw him; and it was true. Shadow's vibrantly smooth cadence was recognizable beyond the music when the woman got closer to his location. The deep rumble of his tone was amplified when he laughed, and Rouge soon found her confident counterpart through a break in the crowd.
He was indeed sitting on a loveseat, occupying the entire couch with his feet propped up on one side and his back against the other. She'd been wrong about the drink, though – tonight, Shadow was drinking something stronger than wine, the liquid in his square glass almost looking black under the wicked lighting, ice cubes clinking as he raised his cup to gesture at Rouge when he spotted her. A fanged grin widened across his muzzle and blood-red eyes locked onto her unwavering gaze.
"Rouge!" he greeted, causing the patrons around him to turn and look at her, too.
The bat's posture stiffened. She didn't appreciate being the center of attention in this setting. "Shadow, can I speak with you alone? It's important.
"Pleasure before business! Sit and chat with us," he insisted, swinging his legs off the loveseat. One gloved hand patted the cushion beside him, beckoning Rouge while dark eyelids lowered in an alluring expression.
But instead of obliging his request, the no-nonsense spy stepped closely enough to talk at a low volume into his ear, cupping one hand beside her muzzle to funnel the sound towards only Shadow. "I don't want to embarrass you in front of your admirers, but I won't be staying here. I need to talk to you about a mission; if you can spare the time for your job, meet me on the roof within the next ten minutes. Otherwise, I'll assume you don't want in and take the payout for myself."
With that, Rouge turned around and left the way she'd come. A couple of dirty glances were thrown her way as Shadow's adoring patrons thought she was being a bummer and couldn't understand why she wouldn't want to stay. But the hedgehog laughed it off, quickly diverting their attention back to himself and letting his partner skulk off to the roof.
Five minutes later, the ivory visitor was joined by her more charming counterpart on the flat gray slate of Club Shadow. Her hands were on her hips and she was gazing up at the sky, teal eyes taking in the sight of the moon hanging above the darkness; and it was the electric crackle of his Chaos energy that drew her attention. Rouge turned to see a few golden sparks dissipating around him as he stepped forward, his skates clunking against the concrete.
"Alright, Rouge, what's the job?" He stopped a few feet away from her and crossed his arms, jutting his hips to one side.
"More trouble in paradise," she answered, and began fiddling with the communicator on her wrist. "You would know if you'd heard the Commander's transmission."
Shadow looked down at the gizmo while she set it to play back the message Tower had given her earlier, remarking, "So I have to be at G.U.N's beck and call now? As if I'm going to wear my communicator every day just in case they summon us."
His partner shot him a glare as the human's voice cut into the air. Interspersed with Rouge's responses, the Commander described a disturbance of attack robots on Emerald Coast, which he believed to be the work of Dr. Eggman. And after first sending Omega to deal with them – as his desire to destroy Eggman's robots demanded – they found the mechanical minions were being continually deployed from the sky.
Tower wrapped up his briefing, "We believe Sonic will assist soon, as well, but we haven't gotten to assess the full scope of the threat; our men are being deployed as we speak. I want you and Shadow to help contain the threat while we track the airships that are dropping them onto the coast. They cannot be allowed to overrun Station Square."
A staticky version of Rouge's voice answered flatly, "With our strength, that shouldn't be a problem."
Then she stopped the recording and looked at Shadow, her expression deadpan. "If Eggman's behind this, he probably attacked at night thinking that would give him the upper hand in moving inland before his bots could be spotted."
"Hmm." The hedgehog tapped a finger against his lip. "Now, you mentioned taking the payout for yourself, but I didn't hear a reward being offered for this mission."
White brows furled and glossed lips pulled into a frown. "Don't mind my bluff. The reward is stopping Eggman from claiming more land for his empire. Do you want Station Square to end up as a hub for part of his amusement park, or one of his labs?"
"Not necessarily. But you've got this, right? You're strong, Omega's strong, Sonic will be there-"
"Shadow, if G.U.N is asking for both of us, they need both of us. I'm not going to let you neglect your part of keeping the world safe."
A gloved hand reached out and gripped the club owner's arm, pulling him as she began walking to one side of the roof. Shadow grunted and yanked his arm out of the lady's grasp, but continued to walk behind her. "Ugh, fine. But I will be having a word with Tower about compensation. And don't be surprised if I force you to stay for a lounge on the beach after we clear out those robots!"
"Hmph," Rouge scoffed, pausing at the edge of the roof and holding her hand out to Shadow. "We'll discuss that later if it comes to it. But I make no promises."
A sly smile etched itself onto his face and he firmly grabbed his teammate's hand to be carried on their flight. "Deal."
