Hello! This is gonna be a fic representing a pair-up between Marl and Rouge (no its not official yet) though it may or may not show until the end.

News broadcast

"We're here in front of the Station square museum where we have received word that they are opening an new exhibit featuring some of the worlds finest gems. The corner stone of this exhibit is the 5 piety diamonds.

What is so fascinating about these is not how much they are worth, though they border on priceless, is that they are soft, and can be cut without the need of a diamond drill like other diamonds must be cut with.

The grand opening of this exhibit is tomorrow at 5:00. Security is so tight over these that even the news cannot see them yet, and they will be put into a vault under high security until the grand opening. This is Michelle Wallace, SS news."

The TV flickered off; it was situated in Club Rouge, where the ivory bat had watched with great interest. I must have those gems! The owner contemplated. The club had been closed down for the night, and Rouge had begun to think of a way she could get these diamonds, after all, think of what she could make with gems so soft they could be cut with an ordinary knife.

"Now then… I can probably charm my way past the desk clerk providing it's a male, if not then I can just take her out. Men are so pathetic." She muttered. She wouldn't have even seen the news broadcast had it not been for Knuckles.

She had tried to call him and ask if she could come over and hang out, but he had turned her down and said she was only doing this to get close to the Master Emerald. She wasn't that shallow… Was she? Rouge had used to think Knuckles liked her, but now she wasn't sure. Every other man she had met had just wanted her for her looks, and Shadow could care less that she even existed.

Marl had been walking through town. He needed some groceries. After all, the forest couldn't provide everything. All that the bags contained was a loaf of plain white bread and some slices of ham. As he walked past an electronics store he heard the same broadcast Rouge had on the other side of town. Humph, I'll be that bat will be there tonight to take them from right underneath those foolish human's noses. What was her name again? Rouge wasn't it? She's given me some funny looks but from what the rest have told me she does that to everybody.

Marl continued walking towards the edge of the city, and towards the beloved forest that was his domain. In there he could be at one with his thoughts, nobody could bother him. He hadn't told anyone that he in fact did have a house. It was just a two-room hut in the deep forest, so well hidden that even a spy satellite wouldn't be able to pierce the canopy of the green foliage hanging above it.

He entered the woodlands and began sprinting for he had to cross a large gap before he made it to the deep woods. The trees and bushes raced past, even though Marl wasn't nearly as fast as Sonic or Shadow, he could still pick up speed when he needed too, and his feet were so used to the un-even ground he passed over roots and vaulted rocks like nothing, as he approached the deep gap that was cut into the earth by a river he tensed himself to jump, but just as he was about to he thought of Rouge winking at him and stumbled, falling into the gap with hardly a hop, the groceries plunged into the water. Before he could fall headlong into the river he whipped out his larger dagger and stabbed it into the side of the rocky canyon and abruptly stopped his fall.

"What the hell…" He muttered. Gripping the rocks with one hand and using the knife like a piton he climbed back up to the top of the ledge. Walking further down he found a toppled over oak tree that he used as a bridge if it wasn't safe to jump, such as in the presence of high winds. As he entered the deep woods it got much darker as the dense foliage blocked out most of the sunlight, this didn't bother Marl in the slightest thanks to his excellent eyesight honed by years of using a bow and arrows.

This wasn't the first time this had happened, he had been having thoughts of the bat interfere with his life for about a week now.

I have to do something about these thoughts… But what can I do? I suppose ill just have to talk to her. But where? Marl thought back to the electronics store. The museum of course! But ill need a reason… Wait a minute, those diamonds. Those shouldn't be a problem to steal even with Rouge going for them as well.

Satisfied with his plan he found the hidden entrance to his house, a pile of tree's that had once fallen over in a heavy storm now overgrown with other plant life, and kicked the bottom one, revealing a small entrance for him to crawl through. He walked into his small yet comfortable home and pulled a sheet of paper off his bookshelf that covered one of the walls. Picking up a pencil he set to work thinking of ways to break inside and steal the diamonds, yet still somehow talk to the bat that had been haunting his thoughts.

Yeah yeah I know its short, but aren't most of mine? REVIEW.