Stealing the Spotling [CLASSIC SONIC AU]

[H-Man]

The morning sun shone brightly over South Island.

Located far from the main landmasses to the East and West, the small island was only a few hundred kilometers in size, just enough to be marked on a map. It had been blessed with quite a beautiful nature, between the marvelous coasts with a sand so clear and pure, the lush jungles filled with great trees and beautiful animals, or even the ancestral mountains at the very north end of the island.

Many people would have loved to spend a vacation there, were the island a resort, but it had never really been considered a prime location for such devices; like much of Mobius, the island was inhabited by common, unevolved critters who had never reached proper civilization and thus, simply enjoyed a peaceful life like so many animals did.

That was all the information she had, as she drove the boat through the sea, the motor creating a thick trail of white behind her.

“South Island... the only known location of the Chaos Emeralds.“

She wasn’t very tall; just one meter and five centimeters at most, counting her ears (without them, just one meter). The white fur clashed against her tan skin and black suit, not helped by her white gloves and boots, or the pink heart-shaped breastplate and linings on the boots and gloves. Her black wings were closed up for now, as usual when she didn’t need them to be spread out, and she was staring at the map in her paws with interest.

She had heard tales of those emeralds. The most sacred relics in their world, each one had a different color based on the nature of its power. And above all... there were only six of them in the world, all resting within the same island.

She knew that many had attempted to find them before; the island was peaceful, but not that much. The rumors were known enough that it was safe to say that the jewels were still within the island, and she was sure that if anyone had managed to find them, they would undoubtedly have brought even one of the Chaos Emeralds back.

She planned on taking all six of them in one go. Now that would be a prize.

As the small boat crossed the ocean, the youth looked at the distance. She already could see the island, though it was still too far away for her to be sure. She was glad; her food and fuel stocks were low enough as it was, and she had spent an entire week in this journey from her homeland. She would need to replenish them before she went back, and once more did she feel glad that someone had developed an engine that could take in so many types of matter as fuel.

Prower products were one of the greatest things Sapients had access to, and she had yet to consider the cheap prices.

She frowned. It was such a clear sky, yet there were dark clouds in the distance. It... it didn’t fit her knowledge of South Island, little as it was. She had heard that the island was as idyllic as no other, and that meant there were rarely such dark clouds in a beautiful day like this. It just... felt weird.

The youth frowned, as she put the map back within its secret location. She didn’t like it, not one bit.

But Rouge the Bat, who was soon to become the greatest jewel thief in the world, was undeterred. She would find the Chaos Emeralds, no matter the cost.

–Stealing the Spotlight–
==Rouge the Bat==
=Chase the Blue Trail=
Prologue​

The motorboat reached the shore easily. Rouge turned off the engine as soon as the waves became strong enough to drag it further by themselves, before taking the rope sticking from the front end of the boat and spreading her wings. Her initial hop was enough to make her boat shake, but as she flapped the wings as well as she could, the bat girl was able to keep a healthy distance from the water, and dragged the boat to the dry coast.

She landed carefully on the ground, after being sure it would be dry and the sand would not stick to her boots. If there was something she hated, it was getting dirty without any reason to do so. The boat was then tied to a nearby tree, and she examined her surroundings.

The coast was nice; she might be sick of seawater and being surrounded by it, but even she could not deny that the scenery was quite lovely to look at, the way the sun shone against the sea and the calm sound of waves. The island was truly idyllic...

...which was why the distant clouds were so bothersome. Even from this far, she could see it cover the mountain tops, at least several hundred kilometers away from her. The dark was unnatural and even frightening, yet all it did now was steel her mind to her actions.

“I can’t be afraid, not if I want to become the world’s greatest jewel thief..." she thought to herself, glaring at the clouds. "Now... I must be patient. The Chaos Emeralds cannot be easy to find, or someone would have already done it. I'll have to search very carefully if I want to make it back with them."

'Soon,' she mentally added, smirking to herself. She had little doubt that she would succeed in mere days where many adventurers had spent years in, just like any overconfident novice at their first mission. That it wasn't her first mission didn't matter; she was still young, and a novice nonetheless. All her money had gone on her wardrobe and the supplies for this trip; if she did not hit payload, she would have no money when she returned.

The beach area had a few trails leading onto the forest beyond, past which she could see an open area. This part of the island was vast, taking up most of the southern side, but hardly a space so wide she would be lost for long. No, the issue would be to find her Chaos Emeralds soon and earn her title of greatest jewel thief in the world by the end of the month.

After picking some tasty fruits from the nearby trees for her journey, Rouge took off... only to see the most unusual of sights near the open trails she was headed to.

A sign.

'NOW ENTERING: Green Hill Zone' was written in it with big letters, followed by a message in even bigger letters: 'NO VISITORS ALLOWED'

"Well, huh," the bat girl said, paws on her hips. "And here I was thinking the islanders were all long gone." She patted the sign gently, noticing it was made of metal. "Still, I didn't know metal became Mobian fashion so far back... and this is rather new-ish, on all accounts. Barely has any dust, in fact."

Her eyes grew sharp. "Someone else is here... I doubt they aren't looking for Chaos Emeralds, as well. Which means I had better get on with it, too..."

Kicking some sand, she ran past the woods, getting closer to the prairie where, supposedly, the 'Green Hill Zone' would be. It was time to start her hunt.

...​

AU story, which is why there are only six Chaos Emeralds. Probably some other details, too. It's somewhat of a novelization. I hope it'll be interesting.

 

[H-Man]

Chapter One, Part One

Invaders​

Only a little past the beach landing, the sound of what few animals had been about - only those bugs and beetles who were too small to be noticeable - had already disappeared, giving way to an odd silence. Checkerboard-patterned dirt had replaced the sandy coast right past the woods, grass patches spread over paths formed by natural inhabitants.

So far, all the information Rouge had on the island was clear and right, as she passed by one of the few trees growing on that one particular patch of land.

The oversized mechanical ladybug making its way towards her? Completely out of place instead.

"Now what would this be?" she asked herself, just as the machine turned to face her. As soon as she was seen, its optics went from white to red, the machine swinging a pair of oversized blades from its arms in her direction. Rouge frowned. "How rude."

She wasn't sure what it wanted, but nothing with such arms or fangs could be up to anything good, especially if it was making such noise. Gracefully, the bat leapt over the attacker, who was unable to stop its forward momentum and, as such, proceeded forward even as it started to let out a different set of noises, ones clearly indicating confusion compared to the aggressive ones from before.

Rouge landed silently behind it, already running ahead in hopes of escaping the strange critter, but a whirring sound came just as she got past the hill. Looking back, she realized that the buggy thing had already turned around, running at her at full speed.

The problem was, whatever it was fueled with made it definitely faster than she was, much to her displeasure. Only one second and it had made twice the distance she had, now swinging its arms at her feet. Rouge threw herself to the side, rolling with the move, figuring it could not do a turn as well as she could.

Indeed, the machine skidded on the dirt, giving her a better look at its underbody. It only had a single wheel to sustain itself, even if said wheel could spin so fast it was letting sparks out, and the rocket propellerss placed on the sides were apparently inactive, but whatever had built it was good enough to make the machine not simply bank out of control and crash after losing its balance like that.

On the other hand, although Rouge was still able to leap over it when it tried to rush her again, she soon realized this was not the best strategy. Running back down the path, she found a rocky plateau formed only a bit away from it, and leapt at it as soon as she heard the machine dashing towards her once more.

Her wings took action at once; at first riding the breeze to drag her along, she used them for a quick updraft, the partial boost enough to make her reach the plateau's flat top at once. A quick scan of her surroundings revealed no paths up the plateau other than through climbing or jumping, which meant the bug could not pursue her any further.

Rouge turned to face it with a smirk, once she had landed. "Too bad for you, sweetie! Toodles!" she teased the machine, before heading on forward.

She did not expect to see the machine already on the other side, facing her with those nasty red eyes.

"...well, darn."

...​

 

[H-Man]

Chapter One, Part Two

It took Rouge some time to figure out what to do. A part of this time was spent catching her breath, but what took most of it was actually planning her next move. The giant mecha bug was maybe unable to attack her through means other than its scythes or running over her, but she wasn't willing to let it continue tracking her down like that.

A solution quickly appeared, however, once she took a look at the totem pole built on that small plateau, by whatever civilization had lived in this island in the very distant past. At the bottom of the odd-looking totem were many pebbles, coming in small, sharp, and round varieties. The bat girl grinned after taking them, measuring their weight carefully by tossing them in the air, one at a time.

"Oh, sweetie!" she called the machine, looking back down. Indeed, the ladybug robot came to a halt, turning to face her, eyes still red. Still smirking, she threw one of the stones at its optics, watching as it dumbly spun out, letting out angry and disturbed noises and try to ram its way up the wall.

"Have fun!" she said, before leaping as far as she could, not using her wings in case she was heard. She landed on a hillside, sliding down along to build up further speed. She had thought about going on at full speed, but those plans came to a halt along with her, as an energy orb nearly slammed against her.

The bat managed to stop herself in time, but the 'damage' was done nonetheless; her eyes were sensitive enough that such a strong light nearly blinded her, and she now found herself keeping them closed. Taking a few steps back, she focused her ears briefly, doing her best to figure out where any other such energy orbs would come from before she would move on.

The next few shots were better noticed after that, and Rouge did her best to sidestep them as she walked forward, the undeniable sound of machinery moving coming to her now. The heated orbs were coming closer, she realized soon enough, and after a quick dodge almost cost her a wing, she opened her eyes to face her opponent.

This time, it was a robotic crab that was staring at her, its four pointy feet lodged on the soil in a way that made it more of a turret. The crab had lifted its claws up for now, but it did not take long before it lowered them once more, ready to shoot more energy orbs at Rouge's direction.

Another stone to the optics would have dealt with that if the machine wasn't a faster draw; the thrown pebble was melted into nothing after an orb struck it, and Rouge was forced to close her eyes again lest she get blinded by the strong light. Her teeth clenched together as she tried to think of a plan, before the machine got lucky and hit her with those things. If the rock melted like that, what'd happen to her?!

The bat counted silently as she focused on dodging, waiting until she heard the telltale noise of the machine 'reloading'. Opening one eye just enough to see it, she threw the next pebble right on the head, the optics bugging out as well. This only resulted in the machine going haywire and starting to shoot at her, using its working eye to track her.

The rapid bursts flew so fast that she found it to be an even worse idea than before, forced to roll and dodge the shots as she maneuvered to get around the robotic crab while it spun to face her. The uphill run did not help it either, the shots coming so close she felt the heat burn against her back and sides sometimes, but eventually Rouge made it out of range. The bat was so focused on dodging that she did not even notice the small greave on the ground, which trapped her foot in for long enough to trip and fall on her face.

"Ow..." she groaned, exhaustion finally creeping in. Looking back, she could see the crab robot insist in firing in her direction, even though its aim remained terrible and its shots fell too low in the end. Scrubbing some of the dirt off her face, she grimaced as she took into account the high amount of robots in this supposedly pristine island. Combining that with the metal sign from before, and her suspicions only increased.

Someone was building these robots and had deployed them in the island to chase off intruders - or possibly worse things. And considering how she had been attacked so far, she had her doubts as to this machine man's inventions.

"A treasure hunter shouldn't have to deal with robots, of all things..." she cursed, taking one of the fruits from her hidden pouch and eating it. She'd need her strength if she wanted to deal with those things, that was for sure...

...​

 

[H-Man]

Chapter One, Part Three

The large hill ahead gave Rouge a good view of the region known as 'Green Hill Zone'. In the distance, she could see odd, hollow square-shaped structures, but she wasn't too sure of how exactly one was supposed to make their way through there. Even if she wanted to, the path she had taken led her to the other side of the lake, and she wasn't exactly planning on going back simply to see how those were supposed to look.

The sky was quite bright on this side, though she was starting to doubt whether it would stay so. Those nasty clouds forming on the distance looked unhealthy, and as much as she dreaded a sudden rain, there was also the way it made the mountain look... well, ominous. She wasn't aware that there was a volcano on South Island; was this why the island was abandoned?

That should've been an answer, but something about it didn't fit. She wasn't too sure about it, but something about the whole situation gave her an unpleasant feeling. After all, just like that smoke, nothing about those robots was natural... and speaking of them, she could see another one of those crabs, not too far away from the hill. It would be harder to make it past the crab and towards the other side, if she were planning on running past it again.

With a smile, however, she realized she didn't have to. She reared her arm back, throwing another pebble at it, just to test her aim; she wasn't aware how good with those things she was until this point. The pebble flew at the beast's leg, much to her displeasure; she had been aiming for its eye again.

"Hmph. I suppose I need to get closer to them if I want to make a good hit," she grumbled, taking a few more pebbles as ammo before heading down the hill. Before she could get within the crab's range, however, she used the impulse of her run to jump as far as she could, until she felt her body start going down. It was easy for her to glide on with her wings, landing on the other side safely and out of range.

"Whoever invented those things should've improved their range if they wanted a threat," she joked to herself, before heading on. There was a pit further ahead, near the lake, but Rouge skid to a halt before she got to the very edge.

"...what's going on?" she wondered, as she looked at the bottom. A full set of sharpened spikes had been planted at the very bottom, looking rusted and nasty. "The robots were one thing, but now there's pit traps too?" It was impossible for her to make a safe crossing on foot; if she tried going down the pit she'd get pierced by one of those spikes one way or another. The lake water was one possibility, but honestly she'd rather keep the baths at a minimum; she hardly had a lot of extra perfume and make-up with her, and she also didn't exactly like the smell of the water. The other side wasn't safe either, what with it having a growth of trees with nasty-looking bark, the kind usually filled with nasty bugs. And again, she refused to turn back when she was pretty sure that this was the right path.

'There's only one real way to cross this path.' Taking a few steps back, she ran for three steps before jumping forward, starting to glide at the apex of her jump. Even then, she could not make it even close to the edge, and instead she focused on hitting the wall. The wind was strong enough that it pushed her forward, leading to a grunt as she came to a halt - but still, while the spikes were so close that a slip would make her fall right on them, she wasn't afraid.

Though her nails were nice, and even one of the names she could've picked for herself once she decided on this career, she didn't want to risk them. That was only one reason why she had those gloves, if the most obvious one. The other one was the sharpened claws at the tips of each finger, which she had been interested in. So far, however, she had never truly needed them - most of the places she had 'visited' had natural grips of some kind.

This was the time where they were supposed to prove their worth. 'They are definitely paying off,' she thought to herself with a chuckle, as she climbed up the pit's wall. It was thankfully not that wet; the water had not splashed up very high, recently, and so she had the ideal grips for her climb.

The bat easily pulled herself up, brushing some of the dirt that had accumulated in the process. "Well, I'm glad this is settled," she said, somewhat to herself. "Now, what's next?"

The annoying, whirring sound that came right after was not a pleasant response. Nor was it the arrival of an oversized mechanical bee, painted in blue of all colors, with some kind of tube on its bottom that, at first glance, reminded her of the crab machines from before.

And, indeed, when it pointed the 'stinger' at her, it was to fire something at her.

"I just keep opening my big adorable mouth, don't I?" Rouge grumbled, before rolling for safety.

...​

 

[H-Man]

Chapter One, Part Four

Evading the stupid bee took too long, altogether. The thing was built for mobility, and being so high in the air wasn't a problem when it could just shoot energy balls towards Rouge. They were thankfully not very explosive, but again the problem with her sight came, making it more of a hassle than it should be.

But although it was fast enough to avoid a thrown rock, its patrol range was awfully small. After a point it simply stopped following her, even if it did insist on firing, just as she slid down a hill. She was just about to take a breath when another set of energy balls flew at her, the bat girl forced to do some tricky movement to avoid getting hit initially.

"More crabs?!" she cried out, just before having to duck and weave past a new volley of shots fired by the three crabs on the way, her expression turning fierce. She could see a ramp just behind them, leading onto the trail forward, while the path to the side led to another spike pit. The pit wasn't too wide, and she could see a higher mountain of some sort right past it - at least relative to her position.

Then one of the shots tagged her on the left arm.

Rouge yelled in pain, her arm thrown back by the impact even if the orb had so little inertia that her body barely felt it. She felt it burn, just before two more shots struck her in her black suit's lower area, the sudden ache mostly absorbed by the material. She could feel the energy spread further, her arm and one of her legs feeling... useless, as the burning ache simply spread over, the bat girl falling to her knees.

Breathing had become difficult, already, much to her displeasure, and she knew she only had until they had finished reloading to escape them, but her aim with the pebbles was only good for one of them at a time. Still, she did not hesitate much; taking one of them quickly, she threw right at the central crab bot, causing it to spin out as its optics were trashed.

The next pebble hit the one to the right, leading to a fritz as it got stuck on a gear. Just as the crab tried to lower its arm, the gear twitched repeatedly, letting her know that both arms were controlled by the same gear system such that they had to move together in order to work.

Unfortunately, her last pebble went off the target; the aching feeling had already overtaken her shoulders, making Rouge miss by a good deal. She closed her eyes as soon as she saw the crab aiming towards her, unwilling to face her incoming defeat.

The nasty noise of the energy orbs being fired, however, was not aimed in her general direction. After a few seconds, she managed to open her eyes, surprised at the actual sight; the crab she had struck first was shooting its own ally, its energy orb having apparently shorted out the machine's resistance for a short time... or something, she wasn't exactly aware. The other crab screeched as its arms spun out of control, unable to fire while they were trapped like that.

With effort, Rouge managed to push herself up, laughing at the sight. "See? You shouldn't have messed with... me!" she mocked them, as she dragged herself forward, the aching feeling on her arm starting to fade. It was still red from the impact, but she wasn't bleeding and her lungs were starting to work again.

She tried not to think about what almost happened. That was so embarrassing!

The bat girl managed to drag herself up the hill slowly, seeing the larger hill ahead of her come closer. Much to her displeasure, there was another pit right after, making Rouge groan with displeasure. "Oh, for crying out loud! What's with this place and spiked pits?!"

She would've jumped forward again, but she didn't like the way she was feeling, so she forced herself to take another break. Another fruit helped her regain some energy, but she knew she didn't have that many left. She hadn't expected to be digging into her supply so fast, after all. Although she still could pace herself, she was going to have to pick up more as soon as she could, unless she wanted to starve herself in the long run.

Once she was sure she could use all her limbs properly, Rouge ran at the pit, using her wing trick to glide at the wall. Climbing it didn't give her any trouble, and the lack of extra robots was a good thing as well, to the point where the bat girl felt quite comfortable with her luck now that she was getting further into the 'Green Hill Zone'.

Then she saw one of those ladybug robots on patrol. An annoyance, but one she had been able to handle the last time she encountered one.

Except it wasn't alone.

"Oh, come on!"

...​

 

[H-Man]

Chapter One, Part Five

A whole bunch of motorized ladybugs started dashing towards Rouge, about five or so total at least. The bat girl turned around and ran as fast as she could, knowing that any jumps she made would slow her down and not willing to rely on her glide just yet.

She couldn't make it past them at first, so the bat had decided to retreat down the hill. She glanced back as she ran down, doing her best to avoid slipping and falling, hoping she'd have a chance to see the robots before they came too close.

Much to her shock, however, the sound of grinding against the ground disappeared just as the engines roared louder, and her glance revealed an astounding sight: the first robot was running so fast it actually jumped when it started going downhill!

She would've said something, but nothing actually came. Her jaw simply hung loose, as her eyes widened more and more, and she slowed down enough. She knew there was a flying robot, but she guessed it was because of its wings; those stupid bugs had none, and they were jumping so high she couldn't understand how.

Of course, even as the other bugs jumped as well, she only realized one of them was landing now. She was forced to dive out of the way, groaning as she lost her footing on the downhill and fell on her face again, the soil starting to give way and pulling her down. Rouge didn't have much time to deal with that, however, as the next few bugs were already coming her way. Rolling wasn't easy, as she already heard the first machine spin in an attempt to turn around, and her wings were in the way now; it was all she could do not to get stabbed by a machine's pincers or trampled by their spiky wheels.

She turned back to face them, once the last one had passed her by, and the shock remained as she saw the ladybugs skid out of control; this hill was so unsteady that the wheels simply could not remain stable as they tried to turn around and face her. There was also inertia on her side, as the machines' initial high speed meant they had to do just as much force to turn back - and close to the edge as they were, it was impossible to do so in time.

The bat girl smirked, again, as she saw the last robot fall. "Hmmm! It would seem luck has not given up on me just yet!" she joked, as she made her way to the edge of the cliff. Sadly her outfit wasn't getting any cleaner, all the dirt she was facing being a problem already, but she ignored it as she made her way back up. Still, she wouldn't mind washing her face on the first opportunity, now.

The next pit wasn't too far away, right before the end of the hill, but there was another rock plateau for her to climb on and get some extra height. This time, she didn't need to latch on to the wall, the bat girl grinning as she made a successful landing. And from there, she could see the last set of crab robots deployed as defenses, though they were still inactive as she had not approached them just yet.

A series of throws aiming the rocks at their glassy eyes was enough to mess with the robots, and soon they were ringing out alarms and trying to am at targets they could no longer see. Rouge made her way past them easily, their reliance in visual systems being their downfall.

"This was too easy! I can't believe I was getting worried!" she declared, once sure she wasn't close enough to be attacked. Ahead of her, she could see a big and, at least from her angle, square hill of some kind, so tall that it would probably take her a good climb to go over, and she couldn't see any paths leading around it just yet.

"How strange," she quipped, getting closer so she could examine it. Her eyes were sensitive, but they were also sharp enough to tell the wall's details from a bigger distance. "This wall looks awfully sturdy, and also rather slick. I wonder why"

Her thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly stepped on the wrong turf of grass, her foot digging in. She didn't have time to think further when she not only started to sink but the ground around her did so as well, and the bat fell quite far down.

...​

 

[H-Man]

Chapter One, Part Six

It took Rouge a little time to get back up, dirt and grass covering her all over. "Ugh... what happened?" she groaned, spitting out some stuff in her mouth. "Why did the ground break like this? I thought it was more stable than that!"

Although she did think that, the missing land bridges - or just plain bridges - and the greaves on the ground so far were signs that there had been more damage than just that, but even if she knew this, Rouge still wanted to complain. "I think I have grass in my ears... oh, I need a bath any time soon..."

Cleaning herself up was difficult for a while, and it cost Rouge several minutes, but soon she was only slightly dirty and grumbling about wanting a bath. It was only after that point that she actually bothered to pay attention to her surroundings, noticing the general lack of light, other than in the area directly beneath the opening above. She seemed to be in some kind of cavern, one leading deeper undeground and with a far more natural look to itself.

"So, there was something like this in South Island..." she uttered, making her way to the only other direction available - forward, and apparently deeper underground. "I guess the ceiling entrance must have been worn out through rain and erosion, but this grass grows quite fast. It shouldn't have been ruined so easily..."

She had planned on using her wings to control her landing, but a sudden jolt distracted her; one of her wings refused to move as she wanted. The bat girl was forced into an emergency landing, teeth clenching as she used both feet and hands to press against the ground, before she wiped her forehead clean with one hand. Sweat, even though it wasn't so hot...

"I need to get used to this," she grumbled, before checking said wing. It didn't hurt a lot, so she guessed it wasn't broken, but it was certainly bruised. If she were to guess, she wouldn't be able to fly for a while, something which she had suddenly grown nervous at. This was the first time she had ever injured a wing before. The very need to fly was a part of her, being a bat, and although she was quite skilled at running - 100m in 12 seconds, in the last test - she had always felt more confident about dodging enemies and traps by getting over them, and not just by outrunning them.

Despite her initial lack of nerves, however, Rouge steeled herself. Whether she admitted it or not, this was a dangerous mission to begin with; not that many people had ever returned from South Island in years, increasing the mystique of those who did return from their quest for the Chaos Emeralds empty-handed. She wasn't going to be a victim, but she couldn't say she didn't know this wasn't as easy as she had first thought.

The bat girl tested her motions a bit, finding the ones that didn't bother her injured wing as much, and once she was sure she headed on. There was a small gap leading deeper down, but the sound of machinery was also louder at this point, and Rouge simply ignored it to go over the gap and further ahead. There was a wall in front of her, with another gap between itself and the floor she was in, and this time Rouge decided to climb down. That little gap did not need her to glide if she wanted to make it, after all.

It was impossible for her to go up that way, so all that was left was down. As she was doing so, however, the sound of the machinery just grew louder, until she actually turned to face it.

There was one of those crab turrets in a small entrance right beneath the one she had just come from.

"Oh CRAP!" Rouge yelled, as she was struck by its energy orbs, falling all the way down into a pit filled with water.

...​

 

[H-Man]

Chapter One, Part Seven

For several seconds, she thought this was it; the stunner had hit her right on the chest, right in a rather unprotected area, her body fell so hard she actually sank to the bottom of the pit, while the water splashed so hard that she couldn't hear anything, and the impact had done the rest of the work for the energy orb.

So she was surprised to find her body turning to face up, air finally entering her lungs after she had become unable to breath prior to the fall.

"W-what the...?" the bat girl groaned, as she floated on the very surface of the pit, a nasty headache still making her head ring. "Did I just...?"

It took Rouge some effort to get up, in part because her body still refused to listen to her, but it wasn't before long that she was now standing back up. The water wasn't very clear, but even so it was at least helpful enough for the bath she wanted. As feeling returned to her limbs, she did her best to wipe clean all the dirt she had accumulated, even if she couldn't just take off these clothes she was wearing.

Rouge thought about going ahead, but as she looked around, she noticed something odd. The cave wall had been quite sturdy, as she climbed down, the kind that wasn't going to break down for any given reason. Given her situation, she could have made one of those ladybug robots run off a cliff and bash against it, and it wouldn't have a very wide hole.

So why was she feeling an air current of some kind?

Her eyes stopped on the wall that, she believed, was the one she had tried to climb from. At the time she had landed, she couldn't see it, but she knew she had made quite a splash. As such, most of the walls around her were covered in water, glistening a little to her vision, so used to the darkness.

Most... except for a small area. The wall wasn't actually wet, there.

Making her way there, Rouge placed her hands on the wall. It wasn't too surprising that nothing was there but air, once she paid good attention to her surroundings. The stone these walls were made of was made of a strange, dull brown, one that seemed to capture and the light around it. When it was dry, the walls looked identical to each other, no matter the location; although one might be able to see this place when it was wet, she had her doubts that most people went into such a place with enough water to make a splash.

Meaning it was used to hide something.

Rouge pulled herself out, dripping wet, and took a few seconds to dry a little before heading in. Despite her ability to see in dark locations, however, there was no light reaching into this room, to the point where she couldn't even tell where the walls were anymore.

But she wasn't afraid, at all, as she took in a deep breath.

Most of the Sapient races had some sort of natural ability that only their kind was able to do, based on certain natural qualities. For instance, small mammals, the likes of hedgehogs, mice, and rabbits, were good runners, often the ones to set records. Bigger mammals or reptiles, like cheetahs and crocodiles, had tougher bodies and bigger body strength. Birds traded away their pure flight abilities for unparalleled balance and agility.

A bat, meanwhile, had the ability to fly, but it was not its greatest strength; their wings were so small that they could not collect enough updraft. Instead, it was their voice that had the best of uses, given their innate echolocation ability.

The sound Rouge let out was unaudible to most ears, other than the machines nearby. Her ears twisted as the sound bounced through the air, spreading in a full zone around her and giving her a good idea of her surroundings through its continuous echoing. She took a few steps further in, reaching the center of the room, her eyes focused as she advanced carefully.

She could hear an altar in the center of the room, given the general rectangle shape and a thick build, proven as she moved her fingers down its side. Rouge felt the handles placed upon its top surface, built to hold a large object, four of them in the same way. And she could see the prize resting atop its surface, as her eyes finally and completely adjusted to the darkness.

"A Chaos Emerald..." she whispered, placing one finger over the jewel. The shape grew brighter shortly after, starting to glow with a pure, white color. What had at once been a quiet response was now turning into a larger grin, the young girl's face brightening almost as much as the jewel did.

"Yes! I finally found one!" she cried out, unable to contain herself. She lifted the stone from its pedestal carefully, and much to her relief it was not actually part of any trap. She knew of lesser adventurers who had found their demise due to such traps, but as far as she had seen, traps like this were not things she, herself, ever had to deal with.

And thankfully, this meant she had enough time to put it within one of the containers for jewels she had brought with her in this trip. It was already hard not to carry it on her own, but for once her pragmatism won out; if she had her hands full, doing the types of athletic feats that would undoubtedly be required of her, after the hour or so she had spent in this island already, would be nigh impossible.

Besides, if she needed to take a look at her prize and enjoy it, she could just open the container if necessary. It was hers now, after all.

Before she sealed the container shut, however, her eyes paused on a device that that had had a glow when the emerald was revealed. It wasn't easy for her to really look at it in this light, and a part of her wanted to throw it away after taking it, but well... it seemed more than a bit weird in a good way. Pocketing it as well, she felt the light fade from the room as she closed the container, storing it back safe and sound.

The bat girl was humming as she walked back out of the chamber, satisfied at her success. Before she could even make it back out, however, light filled the bigger chamber she had come from, barely missing her. "What the?!" Rouge cried out, barely able to see; desperate, she let out one of her echolocation screeches, receiving the response very shortly after.

There were lots of crab turrets out there. Like, at least ten, or a dozen.

"Ugh... can things get any worse?!" she groaned, just before getting hit by a stunner right on the stomach, falling into the water face first.

...​

 

[H-Man]

Chapter One, Part Eight

Using her arms, Rouge did her best to stay underwater as long as she could, her lungs doing their best to hold her breath. She knew she couldn't stay there forever, but with her legs in that state there were few good options and plenty of bad ones.

For now, she swam towards the crabs. She wasn't sure about it, but the fact that they didn't try to shoot the water, to her, implied they weren't able to target her while within it. That wasn't a bad thing; if she could make use of their inability to shoot at her, then this meant she wouldn't be injured any further. Of course, she knew she'd have to breathe, and she guessed they were waiting for her to resurface.

They didn't know how good she was at swimming, however. She remained as close to the cave's floor as she could, taking the time to examine it, while moving forward. There would be a point where she'd have to come higher, and she was planning on getting as close as she could to them as possible. At least their feet were sticking underwater, giving her a good preview of the robots' current locations.

By the time she was running out of air, her legs were feeling better now, and Rouge decided to take this chance to get out. Readying her wings, she pushed forward with all limbs, performing a dolphin-style dive over the crabs. Unfortunately, she had dropped all her pebbles at some point between falling into the cave and falling into the water, and so had no way to defend herself at the moment.

Still, she didn't even manage to land before her wings ached again, the injury not having healed yet; Rouge was forced to roll in a nasty way, barely avoiding the shots that tried to track her down, before she landed on the water pool on the other side. The bat girl didn't manage to hold her breath for very long this time, and so she swam near the surface, only her ears and nose poking out for now.

She could hear the shots flying, but although they came close, whatever electricity formed the orbs was not as dangerous to water as normal electricity, or maybe it was just too weak for it to spread out properly. Rouge grimaced as she felt the energy orbs come closer with each shot, still, and forced herself to take a deep breath before diving back down. Some water came in as well, much to her displeasure, but there was nothing she could do about that but hold it in until she got out of their range.

The youth eventually made it to the other 'shore', too far from their range to be attacked. Once her head surfaced, she immediately gagged and started coughing, some water coming out. Her body felt awful; she could feel water in her ears and lungs, her wings were a mess, she couldn't even stand up very well now, and her body was demanding so much air she was forced to lie on her back, eyes closed as she tried to recover from this.

"I... hate this place..." she groaned, her stomach grumbling. Normally her break-ins only took so long, so she was often well-fed shortly after them. Right now, she was already regretting taking so little supplies with her from the boat; she didn't know how long she was going to take to find the rest of the Emeralds, but she also doubted she would be able to make it so as quickly as she first guessed, now.

That doubt was immediately replaced by anger, as her mind focused. No, she couldn't doubt it; Rouge was smarter than all those failed adventurers. She had heard of those who had no issue with taking only a small part of the treasure they were looking at, and that was something that she simply could not accept, or even understand. Why go on a treasure hunt if she wouldn't get any treasure she was looking for? That was utterly idealistic nonsense! All or nothing was all she would ever accept, that was for sure!

Rouge would've camped at the shore, but unfortunately she could already hear sounds of more of those nasty robots, coming from the same side she had come from. As she pushed herself up, the bat girl realized she was quite close to another opening to the cave, once more coming from the above. As she scurried towards it, she realized that there were visible markings on the walls, indicating actual wear and tear. Usually this came from water, just like the one that was flowing into that pit she had been inside so far.

And that meant an actual surface!

Getting up there required not a small amount of skill, with her wings still injured, but Rouge was nothing if not inventive. She managed to use the walls around her to her benefit, kicking off one to get extra height, and then swinging herself off what felt like a stone pole just so she could go farther than normal. Climbing back up wasn't easy, but she refused to give up until she actually made it back up, her arms and legs feeling almost like lead at this point.

"I hope I can make it out of here safely, now..." she groaned, before looking out the entrance. It looked like she was inside a canyon of some sort, with two tall walls placed apart while she was staring up from the very bottom. Once more, she could have headed towards the lake to find a different path, but frustration was already mounting; Rouge made for the other wall, so she could climb her way through.

Unfortunately, that's when the nasty sound of mechanical buzzing came from the sky.

"Oh no...!" she groaned, just before seeing bee robots flying in, from the sides of the valley. "By the creators, this is so not funny!"

The only good thing about them, she thought as she jumped back at the wall closest to her and farthest to them, was that their shots were slow. But then again, so was she right now.

...​

 

[H-Man]

Chapter One, Part Nine

Once she climbed up the wall, Rouge found herself in a really unpleasant situation; right in front of her, inside a cave, more crab robots were lined up in a defensive line, even if they were only three or so. As it was, she wasn't in the mood to deal with them, not with a bunch of bee robots pursuing her from behind, so she decided on a surprisingly unreasonable course of action.

The bee robots had yet to fully rise to her level. As such, it was no real problem for her to grab one of them, hanging from the stinger area, and force it to jolt and dive due to her weight. She heard the shots flying near her, the sudden changes in height almost putting her in the path, but she wasn't planning on letting things be for long.

There was a panel on its underside which Rouge managed to grab onto, pulling it off with all of her strength. Cables of many colors were connected there, along with other mechanical bits she didn't know about. She couldn't really tell what the cables were for, and at this point she wasn't in the mood to find out.

Grabbing on tight, she pulled as hard as she could, tearing a few cables off. The bee's eyes turned red, just before it swung so hard to a side that the youth was thrown back against the other wall, holding on just before she did fall. She was out of breath, but even if she had any she would've lost it immediately, as she saw the bee robots point their stingers at her; hitting that wall had been enough to daze her a bit, in this state, and there was no way for her to avoid the shots now.

And then one of them got slammed by the bee she had damaged, the three robots hitting each other in the process before falling to the ground, smoke pouring from the damaged parts.

Rouge finally found the chance to breathe, after that, before going up. She might as well get this over with, since going back into the caves was a terrible idea...

By the time she got out, the bat girl was at least dry, but her outfit felt just as dirty as before. At the very least, the 'bath' she had had when she fell into the water pit was meaningless after this climb, and she could feel the dust from the dirt around her getting on the way.

She checked her food supplies, groaning as she realized the last few fruits she had were ruined by the water. "Great." She was tired and hungry, and really hating this island at this point. Why the hell was everything so messed up?!

The youth had arrived at the top of another hill, from where she could oversee this side of that zone as a whole. There wasn't much left on that side beyond another large hill, and then Rouge could see another patch of woods. For now, she slid down the hill, heading to the very bottom, where there were no robots but a few trees.

"I'm almost done here. I just have to find the next Chaos Emerald, though if it's going to stay like this..." she groaned, before sitting down by a tree. "There has to be an easier way of finding the Emeralds, but how?"

She wasn't really thinking when she did it, but now she had that device she had found inside the Chaos Emerald chamber on her hand. Taking a look at it, she realized it was more than a strange mechanical doodad, at least given the clear, if odd screen she was looking at.

"Is this... a radar?" she wondered, before fiddling with it. The batteries fueling it seemed to be just fine, despite her last bath; no leaks or anything. The cables were not fully connected, but it wasn't that hard to mess with them. Some more working on it, and the screen suddenly cleared. There was one big dot on the center, right where she was, and a few more spread around.

"Hah! Now we're talking!" Rouge declared, smiling as she took a good look at the radar. "Now I can find the rest of them much more easily!"

The bat girl was so satisfied with herself, she didn't even notice she was resting against the tree, eyes drooping slightly. Maybe some rest would be good, now...

...​

 

[H-Man]

Chapter One, Part Ten

The base was completely silent.

That was perhaps not the correct thing to say. There were machines hard at work in there, their CPUs completely focused on the construction and development of robots. There were machines that were scanning the island's surface, looking for all sorts of hidden nooks and crevices, going from one different scan type to the other. All of these machines were making sounds; it wasn't possible for them to be completely silent.

Truthfully, one would say that the base was practically silent, as none of these sounds came out of their containers. The machines worked in stoic silence, always in the same way, never out of order. It was the absolute peace desired by their creator, a peace that could only be ensured by a world where everything was mechanical and obedient.

For once, however, one of the monitors started to make legitimate noise, releasing a loud and echoing sound that rang throughout the entire base before it would actually stop. The monitor was completely focused on a specific section of the island, its southeastern area to be specific, a light marking was zoomed in automatically as the satellite placed far above in the sky tracked its target. The readings were unmistakeable.

A Chaos Emerald had been found.

The distinction was made clear from the natural resources of this island. Early scans had shown a distinct lack of energy within the soil and water of this island; although it was full of life, it had caused a few issues with the scanners. Enhancements to their processing power had uncovered the truth: the island generated some kind of field that made it difficult for his scanners to track down any other signatures. Just capturing every single living being in this island had been quite difficult a task as it was.

Which was why the Chaos Emeralds remained hidden, even at this point. Not even the greatest technology in this world could locate them in the little amount of time they had been here, and that was why the focus had been on absolute roboticization. Green Hill Zone had been basically conquered, but unlike the other Zones, there had been no plans for stripping it down yet.

Maybe it was due to the more promising results of the other Zones, during the exploration's starting point. Ruins of the old civilization had been the most promising grounds of exploration, and that was something Green Hill Zone lacked. Or, at least, that was the initial assumption.

Clearly, there was an error. One that would be corrected immediately.

...​

 

[H-Man]

Chapter One, Part Eleven

Rouge wasn't sure how long she had slept, after the break she had taken. The sun was higher up on the sky, but she had found a good shade and, as such, she wasn't sunburnt at all. In fact, she doubted that she could even get a sun burn, after all her beach trips, and so she just got back up, testing her limbs again. Finally, her wings were no longer in pain, so Rouge was sure that she could use them to glide once more.

Not that she'd have a chance to try it out; she was already close to the nearest wall, which was easily climbed from the ground level, and ahead she could see only one last large hill. This was the very edge of the lake, and there weren't that many ways around it at this point.

There was only a small pit with spikes at the bottom, which she quickly evaded, and one last path going down that led only into the water and a pit of spikes. No, the only thing left was the hill she was climbing, the bat girl easily making it to the top of the mound. Not a single enemy robot in this area, much to her luck.

As she was about to cross it, however, a noise drew her attention; it was a weird, high-pitched noise, much like that of something flying through the air at high speeds. It reminded her of the robots from before, but it was a different tone, and it had a different pitch entirely. Not a thing that would be noticed by most people, but then again, she was a bat. Being able to hear the few differences between specific pitches and sounds was one of their unique skills.

She didn't have to wait long to find out, however, as the machine approached fast. It was some sort of flying sphere, apparently able to move on its own without the need of propellers, similar to the robot bees but also different. Rouge waited for it to approach, not quite sure how to deal with it just yet.

Unlike the other machines, there were no oversized, robotic eyes to see, nor silly expressions in their face locations. There was an actual person there, by all accounts, but they were moving so fast that she could not completely make them out. The most visible facial traits were two large, completely black eyes, with a very big nose and moustache between them. It was only once the machine came to a complete halt that she realized those eyes were actually glasses or goggles.

"A Human, here?" she asked him, figuring that was the gender; female Humans weren't the kind to have facial hair like that. "Are you related to those machines from before?"

"I should ask you the same. A Sapient, here?" the Human asked, looking her over. "How strange. I thought this island was deserted."

"So did I. No signs of life anywhere, it seemed," Rouge said, looking up. "There's trees, sure, and a bunch of plants, but no Sapients anywhere. And no Humans, either."

"Oho! So we both agree that the other's presence is highly unusual, then," the male Human said with a chuckle, and Rouge decided that she did not like this person much. There was something in his tone that bothered her. "Have you had fun making your way through this island?"

"Certainly," the youth smirked, closing her eyes. "It was only a skip and a hop, so far. It seems to me like there is some new fauna around to mess with intruders."

"Indeed! They are just, shall I say, watching so that nobody gets hurt. You know how islands like this one can be, so full of dangers and so easy for someone to get hurt." Once more the Human chuckled, a sound that felt so mechanical it bothered Rouge enough to make her lose her pose. "You should be careful! Why, if you did not see where you were going, you might hurt yourself!"

She stared at him. The amusement of this meeting was dying now. "Was that a threat?"

"Oh, no, simply a warning. We are very busy here, you see, and I would not want to see you get hurt needlessly. No need to ruin a good specimen." He waved her off. "Why don't you go and fly back to your home, wait a few seasons, and let me finish conquering this island in peace, hmm? Won't you be a dear?"

"Thanks, but no thanks." Rouge was no longer smiling. "I'm a treasure hunter, see, and well... it so happens to be that this island is the home to the Chaos Emeralds. I'm not planning on leaving without them." She patted her hidden compartment's area. "I already have one, after all."

"The Chaos-" the Human gagged, before glaring at her. "Why, you! I've been turning this entire damn island upside-down while looking for them! How dare you say you've found one of them already?"

"It's the truth, Human. You might not like it, but it is what it is." She smirked again. "I'm going to be the first to collect all six of them myself. You can go back to playing with your little toys."

Maybe it was the wrath from hearing this, or maybe he simply was ill-tempered from the start, but the Human's reaction was a scowl. "Silence, wench! I am no mere tinkerer! You shall call me Doctor Robotnik! Now, surrender your Chaos Emerald, or prepare to be eliminated!"

"Not interested." Rouge saw the machine start to circle around her, picking up speed in no time; she couldn't find an easy way around it, as she tried to make her move. "Hmph, so what? Calling yourself a doctor... I don't particularly care about that, Human!"

"Stop it..." he growled, only for her to have a nastier smirk on her face. "You know not who you are dealing with, wench!"

"If you say so..." Just as he finally rushed towards her, she performed a full leap, going as high as she could. He was surprised; bats were not the type of Sapient to jump so high in a single leap, as their flight did require a little updraft to be so effective. And yet, to see one doing so despite no updraft...!

Of course, Rouge hadn't taken such an advantage on her own. The terrain here was flat, but one of the sides still led back onto the same pathway she had come from, and she had used it to her advantage here. Unfortunately for her, even as she landed, she realized he would rush back at her, as soon as he had slowed down.

She hadn't realized he'd need to turn until she saw him doing so, forcing the machine to enter a particularly wide curve. "Hm? What's wrong, Human?" the bat girl teased him, as she watched the way he was pulling on the control sticks. "Having trouble hitting cute little me?"

"Why, you little-!" he snarled, starting to surround her again as his machine accelerated. "I'll make sure your mouth is no longer useful when I'm done with you!"

"Nice threat. But can it really keep up with me?" She wouldn't be able to dodge as she had done before, but there were other strategies available for her. One of which involved one of those totem poles that were placed here and there in the Green Hill Zone. She made her way towards it, just as the machine tried to chase her from behind.

"You won't get away!" Doctor Robotnik snarled, slamming at full speed. Such an impact was enough to break her wings and ribs by crushing her against the totem pole, but as he found himself jerked forward, the Human realized he had missed his targed by far. Rouge had used the totem pole to vault over the machine, one hand gripping the flat top tightly. It was hard for her to stick to it, even with her claws, as whatever material it was made of was meant to be quite sturdy. But in a way, that was to her benefit.

It was true that her grip would not be enough to break it, but it could at least add weight to the totem. And from what she could see, the Human's machine had been much nastier than any impact she could give it. The cracks emerged quickly, breaking the very front side of the totem pole in such a way that it would bend forward on its own, no longer straight.

All it needed was a little weight on the weaker side, such as a bat girl hanging from it, and it would fall forward... slamming onto the old man's head before he could react. A very nasty crunching sound came as the pole slammed onto the machine, and while she could see that he wasn't seriously injured - by her guess, his head was tougher than steel - he was still quite dazed, and the glassy protection for the flying machine was broken, giving her access to its controls.

"Allow me!" Rouge said, moving in for the 'kill', so to speak. She started to randomly push and pull buttons while he couldn't see, including some loose cables that had been dislodged from the impact. By the time Doctor Robotnik had realized what had happened, he felt his machine suddenly jerk back up, flying too far from the ground.

"What the-?!" he let out, a little dazed. Things got worse right after that, as he was suddenly flung forward and back repeatedly, while the machine jerked back and forth in every other direction. "C-curse you, wench!"

"Having a little trouble, Human?" she teased him, from the ground. "I would never guess you wouldn't be so fond of heights!"

"Why you-had you not done anything to my Egg Mobile, I would-!" Whatever he sought to say, he wasn't able to; her messing with the flying machine meant it no longer responded to his commands. "Bah! I have no time for this! Activating Emergency Mode!"

"Emergency Mode activated," the machine replied, a dull mechanical voice resounding. The machine's propulsion finally stabilized, leaving it standing still a fair distance away.

"You have made a grave mistake, bat! You should have never made an enemy of the great Doctor Robotnik!" he declared, once everything stopped spinning again. "Even if you have found Green Hill Zone's Chaos Emerald, you will never find the remaining five Emeralds, or a way out of this island! You will regret this!"

"I'm sure of it," Rouge replied, quite confident. "In the meantime, however, you might want to make sure your little egg can actually handle me." The Human scowled, before retreating.

Rouge waited until she was sure she could not hear him any longer, before taking the Chaos Emerald from its safe spot. She took a moment to look at it, caressing the jewel softly. "Only five more left... and when I do, then I'll have everything I ever wanted..."

Her smile was a little sad, before she stored it back inside. No time to think about this. She might allow herself a little rest, but she had to get the other Chaos Emerald before that ugly man and his nasty machines did.

This was her objective, after all.

...​

 

[H-Man]

Chapter One, Part Twelve [FINAL]

The report was not positive: the Chaos Emerald was indeed found, but not retrieved. An invader had appeared out of nowhere, possibly from the mainland, seeking the jewels. Whether it was out of some misplaced sense of duty or out of greed would be ignored; the motivation did not matter. The results mattered.

And the results, quite clearly, were that this invader was capable of fighting back against them, unlike the other creatures they had imprisoned. Most of them had already been converted into living batteries, but the need for combat machines was necessary. After all, to think this invader might have overcome their defenses for so long was unpleasant.

No, beyond that. It was a mistake. It had been several hours since the first Motobug drone had been deactivated, and although this was no invincible foe, the fact was that they had spent far too long unaware of it, far too focused on the search for the Chaos Emeralds and stripping this island for its resources, and this had allowed the invader time enough to do what they had not.

No sound of irritation filled the base. No sign that something was off with their leader tipped off the robots. Only the lights, blinking as they did, showed any sign of such things.

Troops were dispatched and redirected. Intercepting the invader before any headway could be made was a new priority. Capturing the Emerald that was already found overruled every order.

They would not fail. Not again.

Never again.

...​

As Rouge left the small plateau, she saw another sign in front of her, just like the one she saw at the very entrance. 'NOW LEAVING: GREEN HILL ZONE' it read, in a similar font, with another sign to the side having Doctor Robotnik's ugly mug on it. She stared at it for a few seconds, before taking a look at its other side. It was funny how the sign was mirrored, having the exact same shape and color on both sides, but with no design drawn on the back. Not only that, but it had a strange shade on it, making it hard to see otherwise.

"Hm... perhaps I should leave a calling card, after all." She grinned, as she considered it. A prize such as a Chaos Emerald certainly merited one of her unique cards... but well, she had found it within an abandoned shrine room, which the Human was completely ignorant of. No use going back for it if she could just leave a message elsewhere, correct?

In her hand was one of the few resources she had kept safe and sound: a marker pen. Flipping the sign around, she proceeded to sketch on the blank yellow canvas, drawing the best she could considering her lack of experience in such matters.

All things considered, what came out resembled her well enough to her tastes, and she even emphasized her breastplate with the other marker pen she found. To the side, she had written a short little and amusing ditty.

Thank you for your kind donation.
I will make good use of the Chaos Emerald I've taken. For instance, I basked in its light while I improved this poor, poor little sign.

-Rouge <3

P.S.: Was that the best you could do, sweetie?
I could run laps around those machines easy-peasy!
Why don't you try harder next time?

It was a pity she had no other colors left, and she doubted the Human had anything of the sort. But it was okay. She had enough ink in these to suffice for now, and besides... how many more of these signs could be there?

"Well, I've had my fun," she told herself, as she walked away; now, no one would be able to see Doctor Robotnik's expression in the sign anymore, unless they flipped it again. "Now, where do I go next...?"

...​

Well, this was the first chapter, complete! I hope you've all enjoyed it. There will be more, but I wanted to get this done with so I could focus on other projects for now. I'm glad I at least got the first real chapter done and over with!