Sheriff Fox Episode 31: Shadow of the bat

Sheriff Fox and Inspector Barby are standing in front to a partially rebuilt Town Hall, the supporting structure and the floors are finished. The burnt wood was removed and any Sally's belongings was recovered and delivered back to her. “Will you be sad when Sally move on to the new Town Hall?” Barby asks out of curiosity

“Sad? Me? Of course not! I'll be happy for her” Fiona replies

“There is no difference, right?” Barby jokes

“No” Fiona and Barby burst out laughing.

“But what is this?” Sally show up behind the two girls. “Are you two happy that I'll soon be leaving your house?”

“Nah! You are already pretty much a resident from there” Fiona tells.

“Hehe, that's true.” Sally finds it hilarious. “Hey, Baby, how's going the foot and the eye?” She asks

“Great! Thank you for asking.” Barby gladly answers

“You’re welcome”

“I am getting hungry, let's go to the saloon and eat something.” Fiona suggests

“Good idea” Barby agrees.

So, they begin to walk toward the saloon, without knowing they are being watching by someone up there in the sky. “How interesting!” A female white bat – wearing a pink heart-shaped chestplate and a mini-skirt – says. “This completely changes my plans. And what is this?” She noticed a familiar face, holding hands with the chipmunk mayor and using a sheriff star. “I never thought one day I would use my charm in a woman, especially her.” She smirks “This might be fun”
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In the Chuck's Saloon, Fiona, Sally and Barby are all sitting in a table eating a delicious plate of food. Sonic and Tails are in another table not very close to the girls' eating their own food, the hedgehog is eating his so loved chili dog. The other clients are either drinking or playing poker or dart board; it is a typical scene in the saloon.

Then, the batwing doors are gently opened, some look toward that direction out of curiosity, only to being open mouthed when they see the most attractive woman in all the Wild West. A bat, with white fur, perfect curves and a slim body, she shakes her hips from one side to another; soon, everyone laid their eyes on her.

“Who is her?” Sally asks

“She’s pretty” Barby comments

“She is a winged rat!” Fiona says in contempt

The female bat approaches the balcony and pulls a chair to sit. “May I have a drink?” She speaks with a seductive voice that made the old Chuck sweat like a fat man in the desert; and that seductive look only worsened.

“Y-y-yes, Miss Sexy – I mean – Miss…lady…” Chuck shuffled up all and feels embarrassed by it; he goes quickly to serve the drink. “There you go!” He put a glass of drink in front of the bat lady

“Thank you” The bat start to drink as everyone look at her, the male clients stare at the sexy bat, already desired her and wondering what they would do if she was them; the girls also look at her, but with a very different way

“Do you know her?” Sally asks

“I do. She is the most cynical, manipulative and treacherous person I ever met, Rouge the Bat!” Fiona reveals who the bat is.

“You always say the nicest things” Speaking of the devil, Rouge decides to go to girls' table. “Fiona”

Just look at that bat lady already makes Fiona's blood boils. “Come on, Sally” Fiona grabs Sally’s hand and pulls her away; Barby goes with them.

“Some things never change.” Rouge comments
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Back to their house, Fiona is sitting on the couch with a headache, the angry she is feeling toward the bat is making her feel sick; Sally is sitting beside her, worried.  “Here’s some tea” Barby come out the kitchen with a cup of tea

“Thanks” Fiona gets the tea and drinks it, hoping it will cure her headache; Barby sits next to her

“Care to explain how you know this...Rouge the Bat?” Sally asks, she and Barby want to know more about this bat and why Fiona seems to hate her so much

Fiona stops drinking her tea. “She is a treasure hunter. When I was still a treasure hunter, along with Nic, Rouge the Bat was our main competition. Several times she beat us, always one step ahead, getting all the treasures and making us eating dust. Even when we work together, she trick us and leaving us behind to face any trap or guards” She explains everything

“Oh, don’t being so harsh on yourself.” Rouge the Bat show up at the door, leaning herself against the door frame with one arm. “Sometimes you managed to beat me”

Fiona jumps off the couch and pull out her laser gun. “GET OUT MY HOUSE!” She shouts as loud as she could

“Wow, Fiona, calm down” Rouge put her hands in the air, she isn't feeling intimidated by Fiona's hostility. “I didn’t come to cause any trouble” She uses her foot to close the door, hitting in the process.

“Fi, please, let hear what she has to say” Barby asks; Fiona lowers the laser gun

“I don't have too much to say, darling. I was just flying around here, decide to take a drink and I ended up bumping into you” Rouge explains how she ended up in this town. “And my, oh my, look at you! Never thought you would end becoming a sheriff, and you ever got a new partner” She smirks about Fiona's new lifestyle. “What happened between you and Nic? Did you two fight over a gold nugget or what?”

“You know what? Hands on your head! You are under arrest!” Fiona declares.

“Fine by me” Rouge is willing to give herself up; she places her hands behind her head.

Fiona walks toward Rouge, but Sally run to the front of her. “Fiona, wait! The chipmunk prevents her enraged fox girlfriend from going to the bat lady. “I get it. You really, really hate her, but still, you can't arrest her. She didn't anything wrong here yet.” She explains

“What?! But she is a treasure hunter! A thief!” Fiona protest.

“So were you” Sally crosses her arms and stare at Fiona with an eyebrow raised.

“Yikes!”

“Burn”

Heard that let Fiona upset. She and Rouge are birds of a feather, but Sally forgave and accepted her even so. “Rouge, you are free to go” Fiona declares. She put her laser gun back in her belt and walks to the stairs, intending to be alone in her room.

“I'm so sorry about that” Sally apologizes for what happened.

“It's okay. She never liked me anyway” Rouge replies without losing her good humor.
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Later on, Sally is back at the construction site of the new town hall, supervising everything. Fiona hasn't left her room yet, so once again, Barby has to take care of things in the police station; let's hope things doesn't get out of control, this time.

Sally can't stop thinking about Fiona, maybe she was a little harsh with her, especially when she reminded her about her past. She knows how much Fiona is ashamed about her past and tries everything to compensate it. She should go to her and apologize, but on the other hand, she was very hostile against Rouge; Fiona may hate the bat lady with passion, but that isn’t excuse to tries shoot or arrests her without reason.

“Hey, darling!” Rouge’s voice is heard

Sally turns around and notice Rouge landing in front of her. “Rouge, what are you doing?” She asks

“I just came to say hi” Rouge replies casually. “What happened here? Did someone blow up a stick of dynamite?” She asks

“Kind of. It's a long story.” Sally says. “By the way, we haven't been properly introduced: hi, I am the mayor of Knothole, Sally Acorn” She introduce herself to Rouge

“Sally Acorn? The daughter of the President Maximillian Acorn?” Rouge asks surprised

“He-he, that’s me…” Sally replies a little embarrassed, feeling like a celebrity in so long.

“It's a big pleasure to meet you, Miss Acorn.” Rouge shakes hands with Sally

“The pleasure is all mine.” Sally replies. She and Rouge stops shaking hands

“You know, I've been to the capitol before” Rouge tells

“Really?”

“Yeah, a pretty nice city. My favorite part was the museum, the exposure of the monarchy times really got my attention.” Rouge tells. “Speaking of monarchy times, I noticed a crown that was supposed to have three jewels, but only have two. I heard your father gave to you before returning to the capitol.”

Sally soon realizes the direction the conversation is going. “Oh, sorry to tell you this, but it was all an excuse” She think in a way to deceive the bat. “You see, when it was sent to cleaning, one of the employees let it fall and...it broke”

“WHAT?!” Rouge is unable to hold back. “I-I mean…how unfortunate” She tries to disguise.

“Yeah, how unfortunate…” Sally agrees. They remain in an awkward silence

“I…got to go now. Bye!” Rouge takes flight; Sally simply smiles and wave

“I need to talk with Fiona” Sally thought to herself.
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In the police station, Barby is sitting at the sheriff's desk, clearing her sheriff star with her scarf. “There, good as new” She says proudly as she finish to clear her sheriff star, that is now so clear that even reflect, she re-attach it back to her chest; suddenly, the front door is opened by Fiona with a sad expression. “Oh, hey, Fi! Are you feeling better?” She asks

“Hey, Barby” Fiona greets Barby. “Yeah, my headache has passed.” She tells; she approaches the desk and leaning herself against it.

Fiona's headache may has passed, but Barby realize there still is something bothering her friend. “Is there something wrong?” She asks worried

Fiona sighs and turn around to Barby. “Have you ever met someone who you dislike so much, to a point you can not even look at this person's face?” She makes a question to the Inspector

“Well, I do know someone who I dislike very much…” Barby tells. “…but to being frank, I wouldn't act so hostile like you did”

“I imagined” Fiona says gloomily. “I think I should apologize for my behavior”

“Knock, knock” Then, the door is opened, this time, by Rouge; when Rouge showed up, Fiona's blood returns to boil out of hate.

“Can we help you, Miss Rouge?” Barby asks formally as she gets up

“No big deal, I just want to know what happened to the town hall.” Rouge wish to know

“It was a fire.” Barby tell the truth partially.

“I see. Oh well, I can only imagine all the damages caused, all those valuables damaged by the fire. It would have been better if Sally had put them in a vault or in a bank like anyone. Bye-bye!” Rouge leave, way too happy.

“You saw that?!” Fiona says

“Yeah, she acted a bit suspicious, especially when mentioned about ‘valuables’.” Barby replies, according with what she herself saw

“Exactly!” Fiona turns toward Barby and hit the desk with her hands. “She's up something!”

“A robbery?”

“Definitely! And she steals only one kind of valuables: jewels.” Fiona reveals

“Sally doesn't seem to be the kind of woman to like jewels.” Barby mentions

“But she does have one jewel and is this jewel Rouge want to steal for herself” Fiona tells. “Goes to the bank, say you need to check the mayor’s vault” She turns around. “I will go see Sally. I hope she believe in me” She walk toward the door; but then, the door is opened, luckily, by Sally. “Sally?”

“Fiona! Good that you are here. Close the door.” Sally says rushing as she come in

“Is about Rouge?” Fiona guesses as she close the door

“Yes, she's up something and I think I know what exactly is...” Sally confirms

“Let me guess…”

“…the Third Jewel!” Fiona and Sally says simultaneously

“The Third Jewel?” Barby, of course, doesn’t what they are talking about

“The Third Jewel is a jewel originally part of the Crown of Acorns. When I won the first election of Knothole, my father gave it to me as a gift” Sally explains. “I put it in a vault, located under the town hall, but as you might have guessed, I moved it out of place. Now is located under our house.”

“What are we waiting for? Let's cut out her wing and throw her in the coldest and dirty prison cell we have!” Fiona says determined to put Rouge behind bars for good.

“Wait! Let's not acting without thinking. She doesn't know the vault's location” Sally points out

“She probably think it is in the bank” Barby mentions

“Exactly. Can use it to our favor” Sally got an idea, and soon, she start to explain it to Fiona and Barby; without they know, Rouge is actually outside, listening to the entire conversation, smirking
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Later that night, Sheriff Fox and Inspector Barby are in the bank watching over the vault, more precisely, inside the vault. So, when Rouge comes up, they will arrest her. They have a table and two chairs for each one respectively; Barby is playing patience while Fiona is walking from one side to another, impatient nervous.

“Where is she? Why is taking so long?” Fiona grumbles out loud

“You said she is one of best treasure hunters you ever saw” Barby mentions as she places a card in the table. “Maybe she's just taking her time.”

“No, infiltrate in a hideout full of dangerous criminal is take time. Here, it's like stealing candy from a baby” Fiona replies. “I should check out Sally, see if everything is okay there.” She suggests

“Fi, there is a force field protecting the house. I sure she is fine.” Barby points out

“You don't know Rouge.” Fiona says. “I hate to admit, but Rouge the Bat is the greatest treasure hunter of all time!”
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At Fiona's house, Sally is on the basement sitting in a chair with a shotgun in hand. She is watching over a vault that contains the Third Jewel, even with the force field on, Sally doesn't want to take risk and decide to stay all night watching; however, she began to feel asleep

Sally tries to keep her eyes opened, but the temptation to fall asleep is very attractive. So, she tweaks herself on the arm in order to keep herself awake, which doesn't work too much. She is feeling her own eyelids kind of heavy, she begin to daydream about her comfortable bed, with that nice warm blanket and with that pillow so soft; Sally couldn't handle anymore, she closed her eyes, but doesn't fall asleep.

Sally remains with eyes closed for awhile, she doesn't hear anything, which mean Rouge didn't infiltrate in the house yet. But just in case, the chipmunk open her eyes, only to find out Rouge trying to open the vault. “Hands on your head!” Sally jump out the chair, shouting out and pointing the shotgun to Rouge.

Rouge takes a fright. “My gosh, don't scare me like that!” She turns around toward Sally. “Weren't you supposed to be sleeping?”

“I said hands on your head!” Sally shouts out again

“Okay, okay, I heard the first time!” Rouge places her hands behind her head. “Geez! You are sounding like Fiona now”

“I told Fiona she couldn't arrest you because you didn't do anything in this town, but now that you have...” Sally says as she approaches the bat

“Yeah, I know. I am a bad girl” Rouge replies as she turn around. When Sally approaches enough of the bat, Rouge disarm her by using a spinning kick; the shotgun fall away, hitting the wall.

Next, the bat run toward the chipmunk and grabs her arms and step over her feet; preventing her from moving. “Let me go!” Sally demands as she struggle to free herself

Then, Rouge, as a thief she truly her, steals Sally's lips in an act of pure daring; the chipmunk's eyes widened out of shocked. “You know, darling…” Rouge stops kissing Sally, but remains holding her. “…usually I don't use my charms in women, but since you and Fiona seems to have something going on...” She approaches her face toward Sally's. The chipmunk interpret it as she was going to be kissed by that creepy bat once again, so, she turn her face away, which is exactly what Rouge wanted and start to kiss the chipmunk's neck

“Oh, no! She is doing just like Fiona!” Sally thought to herself. “Come on, Sally! Don't give in!” She desperately tries to free herself, but for she is feeling weak; it must be the fact she didn't rest enough.

Rouge keep on kissing Sally's neck, but soon begin to move down; it's really getting hard for the chipmunk to hold on. “Like I suspected: looks like daddy's little girl has a little thing for women.” Rouge thought to herself as she reaches Sally's breast

“Sally! Are you okay? The force field was somehow deactivated and...” Then, Fiona and Barby shows up running downstairs, right in time to see Rouge taking advantage of Sally; and of course, seeing that scene, Fiona is consumed by an uncontrolled rage

Fiona quickly pulls her laser gun and shoots without think twice. Rouge quickly jump backward to avoid the shot, luckily it didn't hit Sally by accident. The enraged fox shoots successively, but Rouge manages to avoid every single one and advance toward Fiona in order to use a spinning kick in her. But Fiona manages to block the kick with her arm and take the opportunity to shoot Rouge's leg; the bat is feeling a lot of pain, but doesn't scream.

Then, Fiona grabs Rouge by her hair and lifts her. “You bitch!” She hit Rouge’s face against the wall, breaking her nose. “How dare you?! I don't care who you flirt on! But if you dare lay a finger on my Sally, I will kill you!” Sally and Barby look shocked as Fiona is willing to kill Rouge, right here and right now; with a shoot in the back.

However, Rouge hit her head against Fiona's, giving the opportunity to run away while she can. She taken flight and goes upstairs, Fiona tries to go after her. “Leave her!” Barby shouts out; prevented Fiona from continue; which leave her frustrated.
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Moments later, the mayor and the two police women are in the living room, Sally and Fiona are sitting in different sides in the couch and Barby is standing in front of them. “Wow, Fiona! What was that?” The koala says impressed

“Yeah, I never saw you that angry before. Kinda scared me.” Sally adds

“I’m so sorry. I…” Fiona apologizes, feeling bad for what she did. “…I couldn't help myself. When I saw that despicable bat and you...” Just thinking about Rouge, Fiona's blood boils like melt metal. “When I get my hands on her, I will...”

“Enough” Sally demands as she get up. “It's late, let's go get some sleep.” She and Barby begin to walk toward the stairs; Fiona remains sitting in the couch. “Fiona, you will not come to bed?” Sally asks as she stops and look to Fiona

“Wait, you aren’t mad at me? For, you know, my fit of anger” Fiona asks

“Of course not!” Sally replies smiling. “In fact, I would have done the same thing if I was in your place” Barby gulped nervously at heard that. She looses up a little her scarf because of the cold sweat. “Now come on! I need to get that bat taste out of my mouth” Sally says excited; Fiona simply smiles