Shadow watched as the blue hair dye dripped from his quills down the shower drain. He picked up his bottle of Head & Shoulders, poured a glob into his hand, and proceeded to apply the shampoo to his, well, head and shoulders. No one ever told him that you're only supposed to apply it to your head (and not your shoulders).

Shadow turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, where a fresh towel awaited him. He dried himself off, hung the towel back up, let out a sigh, and stepped out of the bathroom. Rouge was waiting for him, sitting on the couch in the living room area of his luxury apartment.

In addition to having delivered Shadow the Chaos Emerald, she had helped out by turning off the electricity to his apartment complex while the robbery took place. That way, no security cameras were able to record Shadow leaving from or returning to his apartment.

"Five hundred thousand in cash, and a few bars of gold, which are probably worth a quarter of a million each," said Rouge, laying out the stolen assets on the floor, "Good job, hot shot."

It is worth mentioning that all the blinds in the apartment were closed.

"I would have grabbed more gold but my backpack was full," Shadow said, "Oh well."

"Why didn't you grab just gold instead of all this cash, anyway?" said Rouge, "It's worth a lot more, you know?"

"Well…" said Shadow, "For one, Dr. Robotnik needs cash, not gold. For two, it'd weigh me down, and thus, slow me down. So I decided for a mix of cash and gold."

"You did well," said Rouge, licking her lips, a wry smirk on her face, as she stood up and began to approach Shadow.

"You know, there's nothing more attractive…" she said, leaning in to whisper into Shadow's ear "…than an alpha male who's got a lot of fucking money."

Shadow pushed her away. "What do you want from me?" he demanded.

"Oh, nothing," replied Rouge, "I'm just saying… with all this money..."

"I have to send Dr. Robotnik $2,000 to pay his rent," said Shadow, "First and foremost.

Rouge burst out laughing.

"Is that what this is all about?" she cackled, "Two thousand measly dollars? I knew old man Robotnik was down on his luck, but I didn't know it was so bad he couldn't scrape together two K. Haha!"

Except this observation was lost on Shadow. See, Shadow had no notion of how much was "a lot" of money. In fact, he had no idea of the magnitude of the crime he had just gotten away with. Nor the fact that the feds were after Sonic because of it.

"I must deliver the money to the professor," he said, "As I promised."

"All of it?" said Rouge.

"Only what he requires," said Shadow, "Which is $2,000."

"I see," said Rouge, "Well, what are you going to do with the rest of it, then?"

"None of your business" growled Shadow.

"Whatever floats your boat," she said, "Say… changing the subject, is it hot in here, or is it just me? Mind if I open a window?"

"What about the mo—" Shadow started.

"I'll make sure it's out of view," interrupted Rouge, shoving the money aside so that it couldn't be seen from the eye-shot of the window, "Besides, we're on the twelfth floor, I doubt anyone will be able to see it."

Shadow let out a grunt.

"Fine," he responded.

"You know…" said Rouge, making her way over to the window, "it's not fair you get to walk around naked all day. It must be nice."

"Yeah, well," said Shadow, "The ultimate life-form doesn't need to wear clothes."

"Oh, is that so?" said Rouge, opening up the window, "What about Sonic, then? And that friend of his, Tails?"

Shadow was at a loss for words.

"Well, hey, what about that Chaos Emerald? What'd you do with it?" said Rouge.

"I… I think I left it in the bathroom. Why?" said Shadow.

"I have to deliver it back to the professor," said Rouge, "Boss's orders."

"Dr. Robotnik clearly told me to include the Chaos Emerald in the package I was to send to him," said Shadow, crossing his arms in an outward display of impatience, "What are you getting at, Rouge?"

"Ah, never mind, forget I mentioned it," said Rouge, scrambling, "But, uh, hey, you mind showing me the emerald real quick?"

"Why do you need to see it?" said Shadow.

"Oh, nothing," said Rouge, "I just wanted to show you a neat trick. That's all."

"Do you take me for a fool?" said Shadow.

"No," said Rouge.

The two sat in silence looking at each other for a few awkward minutes. Shadow couldn't tell if he found Rouge attractive or not. He was too busy thinking of Maria. Yes, Maria from West Side Story. Although, it turns out that, coincidentally, the name of the actress was also "Maria." Funny, right?

Maria was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid his eyes on. She had long, dark hair, coffee-colored eyes, and silky-smooth caramel-colored skin. He had asked her out on a date after opening night, his confidence at an all-time high, but she flat-out rejected him. She said she'd prefer if they were "just friends." What good would being the ultimate life form be if he couldn't have the girl of his dreams?

"Well, uh…" said Rouge, breaking what seemed like an eternal silence.

"Yes?" said Shadow.

"Oh, it's nothing…" said Rouge, biting her lip.

"You sure now?" said Shadow.

"Positive," said Rouge.

Another few awkward minutes passed, Shadow daydreaming about Maria and Rouge plotting… something. She began to shake her leg up and down.

"You look uncomfortable," said Shadow, "Do you have to— ?"

"I gotta pee," blurted out Rouge, "Mind showing me to the bathroom?"

"Of course," said Shadow, "Down the hall and to the left."