The Ultimate Lifeforms

Agent Rouge

Making his way through the crowd, Knuckles pushed his way through the much taller humans until he finally reached his destination. If he had to give credit to Rouge for one thing, it would be that she certainly knew how to throw a party.
A few months ago, Rouge had gone out of her way to open a casino and night club, the Club Rouge. The humans came at first simply because she was an anthro whom did not make public appearances often and they wanted a chance to see her. They kept coming back after the great time they would have with all of the events Rouge would constantly have in her club.
He hated every part of it. Knuckles only even entered Club Rouge when he had no other choice. To him, the music was too loud, the humans too obnoxious, the lights too flashy, and the owner too much a pain in his rear to want to see every day.
Spotting Rouge, Knuckles pushed his way to the bar.
Rouge floated behind the counter, preparing drinks for her guests and conversing with some of the patrons. Though she had a bartender on her payroll, and a whole staff to run the place for that matter, she still chose to do some minor work in her club every now and then when she wasn't saving the world with G.U.N.
Finally arriving, Knuckles seated himself as he hopped onto one of the barstools.
Upon noticing her newest patron, Rouge turned her attention to Knuckles. She gave him a wink, as she served the drink she had just prepared to someone who was clearly on their last drink.
"Hey, big guy," she said in her usual flirtatious matter as she drifted to Knuckles, settling down slightly so they were eye to eye from behind the bar. "What can I get you?"
"Some aspirin. Why is the music so loud?" He practically had to shout to her.
"It's not loud, you're just a grumpy old man."
"Old? We're the same age!"
Rouge scoffed in a playful manner. "Are we talking in spirit or body?"
Gritting his teeth to keep his temper under control, Knuckles got straight to business. "Is there some place more... private we could speak?" It probably wouldn't be a good idea if the humans learned their great hero, Sonic, had gone missing. They did have a tendency to panic over the smallest things.
"Oh, Knuckles," Rouge continued to mercilessly taunt him, placing her hand over her chest as if she were taken aback. "I couldn't possibly now, I'm working. But if you really want, you can always meet me later tonight in my room..."
Having had enough, he slammed his fist on the bar and cursed her out, shocking the humans around them. "This is serious!"
Rouge dropped her act quickly, frowning at the red echidna. "All right, all right, don't scare my customers away." She looked past Knuckles, onto the club floor. Getting the attention of one of her attendants, she motioned for the young woman to come over. "Find Carl and tell him to take over the bar for me. I have something I need to attend to."
As soon as the young man returned to his post as bartender, the two anthros made their way to the back of the club and entered a door marked 'Employees Only.'
The back of the club was much quieter, soundproof as a matter of fact, considering it was where Rouge stayed. The club may have been open all night long, but even she needed sleep. And her employees needed a place to relax when they were on break.
Knuckles followed Rouge to her own private office at the very far end of the hall. He took a seat in the chair directly across from the desk as Rouge closed and locked the door before shutting the blinds.
"Are you sure you don't want anything?" she asked as she seated herself across from the guardian. "I can phone the chef and have him bring something up for you."
"I'm fine, Rouge," he responded coolly, finding it easier to control his nerves when there wasn't music blasting so loudly.
"All right, so let's get to it. What's going on?"
"It's Sonic. No one has seen him in two weeks. Tails said that Shadow told him that he and Sonic would be gone for a while, but didn't say where they were going. He stole a Chaos Emerald last night and left a message that implied that Sonic was dead."
Now Rouge's interest was really piqued. "And you don't think he really killed him?" She had experience working with Shadow. She knew he was capable of ending a life, but he refuses to kill the innocent. Rouge also knew that Shadow had been growing a soft spot for Sonic. Plus, she noticed that the two boars seemed to be growing pretty close to each other since Mobotropolis. Yet at the same time, she knew the ebony hedgehog had to be up to something. He usually came in the club at least once or twice a week to say hello. He had not showed up for about two weeks, fitting the timeline of Sonic's disappearance.
"No. Sonic wouldn't go down that easily. Besides, we haven't found his body yet, so we can't rule out the possibility that he's still alive. Plus, you've noticed how close they've been lately. Since Mobotropolis, I've only seen Shadow without Sonic once."
"So what do you have to work with?" Rouge asked.
"Quite frankly... nothing."
"Nothing?" That wasn't what she wanted to hear. Both she and Knuckles were expert treasure hunters, but no amount of skill could help you when you have no leads or clues. "Well, you came to me for a reason. What is it you wanted from me?"
"Well... you have access to resources. Resources none of us have. Resources we could use to find Sonic."
Rouge knew the echidna was referencing her connections with G.U.N. "So you basically want supplies and information from me?"
"Yes. What do you say?"
Rouge was silent for a moment as she thought it over. "All right. Sonic's saved my behind on several occasions, so I'll just consider this favor a repayment for those times. Count me in."
"Thanks. I'll let the others know. We'll keep you updated on anything we find." Knuckles stood up, preparing to leave.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay for a drink? On me?" Rouge offered once more.
"Not tonight, Rouge."

("Eyecatch" Card)
Name: Prince Sonic Speed (the) Hedgehog
Age: 18
Species: Hedgehog
Height: 3' 3"
Weight: 77 lbs.
Fur Color: Cobalt Blue
Eye Color: Emerald Green
Skin Color: Tan-ish Peach
Power: Hypersonic Speed, Enhanced Reflexes, Supernormal Strength, Enhanced Hearing, Enhanced Vision, Enhanced Smell, and Chaos Powers
Titles: Crown Prince of Mobotropolis/Lost Prince of Mobotropolis; Fastest Thing Alive; Knight of the Wind; Blue Blur/Blue Wind; Ultimate Lifeform

("Eyecatch" Card)
Name: Shadow Dark (the) Hedgehog
Age: 18 (Biologically) 53 (Chronologically)
Species: Hedgehog/Black Arms Hybrid
Height: 3' 3"
Weight: 77 lbs.
Fur Color: Black, Red, White
Eye Color: Ruby Red
Skin Color: Tan
Power: Hypersonic Speed, Enhanced Reflexes, Supernormal Strength, Enhanced Hearing, Enhanced Vision, Enhanced Smell, and Chaos Powers
Title: Ultimate Lifeform; Black Wind/Black Blur

Scourge the Hedgehog (whom Eggman has also recruited and is Sonic's evil counterpart from another dimension) leaned back in his armchair, flipping the page to the magazine in his lap. He wasn't much of a reader himself, hence the fact he picked out a magazine in a library filled with books, but the pictures were pretty cool to look at.
The metallic doors slid open as a blue blur ran past the green hedgehog, the force of his speed sending a burst of air to his face, turning the page of his magazine in the process.
Not phased at all, Scourge turned the page of his magazine back, continuing to read the captions underneath the pictures.
A few seconds later, the blue blur returned, coming in from the opposite direction and causing Scourge's magazine to flip pages again.
With a sigh, Scourge closed the magazine in his lap and set it aside on the table beside his armchair. This had been going on for twenty minutes straight. Sonic was just running back and forth nonstop, and it was making it hard to do anything. "Blue..."
Sonic ran past him.
"Blue..."
Sonic ran past him the other way once more.
"Blue!" Scourge stuck his leg out, tripping Sonic as he came back into the library. "Relax, will you?!"
"Relax?!" Sonic picked himself up and faced his green counterpart. "I'm going crazy in here!"
He may have been free to roam the ARK, but it turned out he only had access to about half the station. He learned this through mostly trial and error, approaching a door to see if it would open for him or not. Eggman must have been trying to keep him from reaching anything that could help him potentially escape, or he would have given him complete access, like he did with Scourge and Shadow. Unable to cope with his frustration, Sonic rolled up into a ball and began bouncing around the library.
"I need to run!" he shouted as Scourge ducked to avoid him. "I've been stuck in that medical bay for so long!"
"Then just go tell the fat man you'll work for him." Scourge leaned back into his armchair.
Sonic stopped in front of Scourge. "I'm not going to work for him! In case you haven't noticed, I'm a good guy!"
"Just do a bait-and-switch. Say you'll work for him then make a run for it."
"In case you haven't noticed, that man's an evil genius. You really think he hasn't thought I'd try something like that? He'd probably stick a tracking device on me or take someone hostage to make sure I don't disobey any of his orders." Exasperated, Sonic dropped himself into the armchair across from Scourge.
Both ideas were actually on Eggman's list of potential ways to get Sonic to work for him, but Scourge figured he better keep his mouth shut and not freak out the blue hedgehog even more. "Here." He reached over to the box below his arm chair and grabbed a can before tossing it to Sonic. "Unwind for a bit."
Sonic caught the can, checking to see what it was. Beer. "I don't need to unwind!" He tossed the drink into the library's garbage can from his armchair. "I need to find a way out of here!" In a flash, he was out the door again.
"That was a perfectly good beer you know!" Scourge could have walked to the garbage can and gotten it himself, but that would mean having to get out of his chair. With another sigh, he picked up the magazine he had earlier and placed it, open, over his face, hoping to fall asleep.