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Rouge: Chapter 3

When the bat had woken up, she spent a good ten minutes looking down at her charge in a strange mixture of awe and confusion. The bat really hadn't had time to prepare for the extra person in her room, so she had offered the bear a comfortable spot in her bed next to her, where both women managed to sleep rather soundly.

The instant Rouge looked at the young bear when she woke up, she realized that the she-bear bore an uncanny resemblance to Banjo. Before she had gone to bed, the thought hadn't crossed her mind. But now that she was able to see the she-bear immediately after seeing Banjo... She couldn't help but think that perhaps this broken figure was the honey bear's long lost sister. Everything screamed it clearly to Rouge; the facial structure, the eyes that she suddenly found in her memory...

The bat was almost certain that even if they were not brother and sister, Banjo and her charge were definitely related.

However, Rouge decided she would not probe into the she-bear's past until she consulted with Banjo that night. She didn't want to upset the poor bear before she was certain, and she didn't even get to know whether Banjo's sister had blonde hair or not. But the nagging doubt in Rouge's mind was that this bear she had saved the day before was definitely related to Banjo.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her charge stirred in the bed next to her, slowly sitting up and looking up at Rouge.

"Good morning," said Rouge tenderly as the she-bear sat up in bed. "How was your sleep?"

The bear simply did nothing, instead turning to Rouge with as worried an expression as she could do with pain-filled eyes.

"We... We didn't do... anything... sexual... did--?"

"Sexual?" cried Rouge, jumping out of the bed in disgust as the covers subsequently went flying away from the bed. "Sexual? First of all, I don't lean that way, second of all, I'd be a horrible guardian if I did that, and even if I wanted to, you almost died yesterday! Where the hell did you get that idea from?"

The instant she stopped her rant, Rouge covered her mouth, realizing how offensively her charge could take what she just said. Her eyes widened in horror as she gazed at the bear.

Instead of storming out of the room as Rouge had expected, however, the bear simply smiled. It was a very disturbing smile what with how crooked her teeth were, but Rouge saw the intent behind it. She instantly sighed in relief.

"You're not... any worse than some... I've known," replied the bear as Rouge sat back down in the bed. "I've met many... people..."

"I'm sorry," replied Rouge, bowing her head down. "I shouldn't have brought it up..."

The bear shook her head. "You're the best... guardian I've ever had..." she said.

"Because we just slept?" asked the bat, looking towards the bear. "And did nothing else?"

"Yes," replied the abused woman. "I wish everybody had done that..."

Rouge nodded, understanding in an instant. She was not going to press anything about the past, mostly because she didn't want to rush anything and she didn't want to ask anything until she had asked Banjo what his sister had looked like.

"What would you say to a nice, warm bath?" asked the bat, trying to lift the mood a little bit.

The bear gave a confused glance, almost as if she had forgotten the meaning of the term 'bath'. But then, her dull blue-gray eyes lit up and she nodded.

"Please..." she said.

The bat then stood up and pulled the covers back onto the bed before beckoning to the teenage girl.

"Come with me then," said Rouge.

The she-bear stood up. Rouge gingerly took the bear by the wrist and grabbing a towel from one of the drawers in her desk. The two of them were then seen walking down the corridor to the only showers that Robotnik had cared to install in the entire base, and unfortunately for Rouge she had to pass the prisoners' room to access the baths. She thankfully was able to go by without too much trouble, but she knew that the second time she passed there Sonic would give her a great amount of grief.

For then, though, the bat and the bear were able to go by without any troubles. Rouge was hoping more than anything that this bath would help her sort things out in her mind, and in addition it would get the grime out of her charge's body.

Rouge was the first one to get out of the shower. Her charge was still busy trying to wash all of the grime that had accumulated over the years, even as Rouge had gotten fully dressed. Now, the bat locked the door behind her as she left; Rouge had told her charge not to panic if she couldn't open the door and that she would come later to get her out if she couldn't. Rouge knew that with Eggman acting the way he was, she couldn't afford to keep an eye off of her or an unlocked door between the bear and a robot when she was not around. Rouge also did not want the she-bear to get involved with where she had been going at the moment, as she knew plenty of nastiness would occur.

Thus, she entered the chamber where Sonic, Amy, and Cream were being held captive, straightening her bangs as she did.

"Ms. Rouge, what happened?" Instead of the blue hedgehog yelling at Rouge, though, she was greeted with an inquisitive tone by the little rabbit girl.

It was a jilting surprise, but it was not a completely unwelcome surprise. The bat was actually just a little relieved that Sonic was not the first one to speak when she entered the room. She was slightly alarmed by the fact that Sonic was pinching his skin with his still gloved hands and that he looked like he was biting his bottom lip, but nevertheless she was grateful for the respite from the hateful yelling.

"Well, when I went to talk to Eggman yesterday, he was... well, you know, being secretive," replied the bat. She heard an audible groan come from Sonic, and she noticed the slightest twitch that showed the hedgehog was pinching himself harder than when she entered the room. "So, I told him I would steal the Chaos Emeralds if he didn't tell me what was going on."

The force of Sonic's pinch lowered itself significantly, and then he raised his arm up in the air.

"I knew it!" he cried, pointing at Rouge, his smile both accusing and gleeful at the same time. "You were gonna--!"

"Shh!" cautioned Amy, her finger going to his mouth.

Rouge shrugged at this as she advanced close enough to be able to whisper audibly to the hedgehog so that he could hear it but the security microphones that were in the room couldn't. "Yeah, blue, I'd rather not have my cover blown right now," she whispered. "I mean, he's got the tools to throw me in with you guys. And since I fell out of his best favors yesterday I don't want to risk a whole lot. Especially since some things have happened that could make me your only ticket out of here."

Sonic blinked in surprise at this, but by the way he clenched his fist Rouge could tell he was getting ready to launch a barricade of hate upon her. His surprise slowly turned into anger, and he growled in a way that slowly intensified.

"And don't you think for one second that I'm being prideful here!" she cried, effectively silencing the blue hedgehog as he resumed his expression of surprise. "I saved a teenager's life yesterday thanks to you three pointing that thing out!"

Sonic blinked in surprise, and Amy and Cream were both somewhat speechless. Rouge had a feeling that the male hedgehog had calmed down by this point, and as his expression softened the bat could not help but think this was the case. Amy, however, was not convinced, and something in her emerald eyes told Rouge this quite readily.

"Well, then, where is she?" asked the rose-tinted hedgehog as she put her hands on her hips.

Rouge nodded, looking out to the doorway to make sure that the robots weren't watching before advancing to the door. "I'll be right back," she said. "And Sonic, if you yell at me while she's in here, so help me Chaos I'm gonna increase the voltage on your bars!"

Before Sonic could reply, Rouge was out of the room. Quickly, she moved towards the bathroom that the two women had used that morning. She quickly unlocked the door and went inside to see the she-bear dressing herself. Rouge noticed that the blonde hair on her head was actually rather good-looking when cleaned of most of the grime.

"I couldn't get it all out..." said the bear, pointing to a spot of grime in her hair.

"That's fine," replied Rouge, patting the bear on the back as they walked out of the bathroom. "We'll get it in another session. Listen, I've got some... people I want you to meet. Okay?"

The bear stopped in her tracks, causing Rouge to stop as well. When Rouge noticed the look of fear in the bear's dull blue eyes, she put on a tender smile.

"Don't worry," she said. "They're behind bars, they can't hurt you. Even if they weren't, I know them, and they wouldn't dare touch you until they got to know you. I'll also be right next to you the entire time. So if you get afraid, just stay close and I'll make you comfortable, all right?"

Rouge had a feeling this would not be enough to assuage the bear's fears. The only action she saw from her charge was that she gulped in fear of what would happen next. But when the teenager nodded to her caretaker, Rouge realized something that hadn't been there before.

"All right..." replied the bear. "I'll trust you..."

The bat smile as she led them to the room where her three friends were being held captive. "Okay," she said.

And then the two of them entered the room, Sonic having shifted positions while Rouge had left. Upon the bat's reentry, the hedgehog suddenly leaned forward on his hands and knees before Amy or Cream could point out the presence of the two of them in the room. There was a rather tense silence filling the air as the cobalt rodent looked at the ear intently. Rouge dared not say anything lest Sonic yell at her, and Amy and Cream dared not say anything out of fear of angering the hedgehog. Rouge also knew that Sonic might take it as a fabrication, but given that Robotnik, Tails, Rouge, her charge, and the three captives were the only organic people in the entire base meant that she also knew the blue hedgehog might consider that to be the case.

"Wow, you weren't kidding!" exclaimed Sonic, finally breaking the silence. "I thought I saw those bots take her around, but damn, I didn't think they were gonna try and kill her!"

"I didn't even know she existed until Eggman thrust me on her," replied Rouge with a shrug. "But now that she's here, I'm just glad she's still alive."

"Ms. Rouge?" asked Cream, pointing at the spot of grime in the bear's blonde hair. "I don't know if you noticed, but--"

"Oh, trust me, I noticed," cut in Rouge, knowing that Cream was alluding to the grime that still clung to the bear's fur.

"You should've... seen me yesterday..." added the bear timidly. "I... I was much worse then..."

Amy's right eyebrow arched up at this. "Wow, you were beat up worse than that?" asked the pink hedgehog, now on her knees right next to where Sonic was. "I can't see that!"

Rouge shrugged in reply before Sonic added, "You weren't held by Eggman for all this time, were you?"

"N... no..." replied the bear, sniffling slightly as she looked at the ground. "I... I can't..."

While Sonic may have been very impatient, he knew when he had crossed his bounds, and so he recoiled in his cage, hugging his knees as his expression softened.

"Damn it, I shouldn't have asked that," he said. "I'm sorry."

"Well, it's not like you pressed it, so it's not that big a deal," replied Rouge as the bear looked back up, some water lighting up the younger woman's dull blue-grey eyes.

"No..." replied the girl with a shrug. "I've been with... others..."

Amy's eyebrow rose in curiosity. "Others? As in, crueler people?"

"Yes..." replied the bear.

Sonic shook his head sadly. "Ouch. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be..." replied the girl softly. "I don't... I don't... What's the word...?"

Cream, who was kneeling as the bear said this, stood up slightly, fighting the urge to put her hands on the bars. "You don't deserve it?"

The bear nodded softly. At this, everybody visibly stiffened visibly, even Rouge, who was standing close by the bear. Amy shook her head at this, thinking that this was not right for the bear to be thinking of herself so lowly. She suddenly launched herself at the bars, but Sonic ended up having to restrain her to keep her from touching the bars.

"Don't be silly!" she cried. "You're a person! You ever tell your family if you don't deserve the apologies?"

"Damn it Amy, don't aggravate her more than you have to!" cried Rouge.

The bear shook her head sadly at this, and then she uttered a few words that everybody in the room would dread.

"Family...?" she asked. "I don't know... I don't know who they are anymore..."

"What?" cried Sonic, almost losing his grip on Amy in his shock. "What do you mean, you don't know?"

"I think... I think I had one once..." she said. "I don't know anymore... I don't know if they're alive... if they're dead... but I don't know my own family anymore..."

The bear almost broke down crying right here, and Rouge looked about ready to jump to the poor bear's side. However, the bear simply shook her head, denying herself the comfort of tears in front of everybody in the room. She simply knelt on the ground, shaking the tears away with a look of determination.

Damn, thought Rouge. I didn't think she was this strong. I've gotta give her a little more credit after this.

"That's... That's terrible!" exclaimed Sonic.

"It is!" said Amy. "We'll help you find your family!"

"What, stuck behind bars like that?" pointed out Rouge. "No offense, but I'm the only one here who can find her folks."

"Well, then, you start looking!" cried Amy. "Why haven't you done that yet?"

"Are you kidding?" replied the bat angrily. "I only became her guardian yesterday, I might remind you!"

The pink hedgehog would've retorted when Sonic suddenly patted her on the arm. He then pointed to the bear, who looked like she was ready to burst into tears. Noticing this, the pink hedgehog retreated into the cell, looking deeply apologetic.

"I'm sorry," replied Amy softly. "But I don't care what she says, we're gonna help find your family. What's your name?"

Rouge visibly stiffened at this. She had somehow managed to blackmail Robotnik, keep the girl from wondering into the sights of a few robots alone, and she was able to piece together that her charge and Banjo had some sort of connection, but it was not until Amy asked that Rouge realized she never explicitly asked for a name.

"I..." replied the bear slowly. "I... don't know... I don't remember that... either..."

At this, everybody in the room was leaning towards the bear. Sonic looked like he was going to ask the girl something, but then he thought better of it as he looked down at the floor of his cage.

"You... don't know?" asked Amy. "Why?"

The little bear shook her head, sitting on the ground as she thought.

"I..." she began, nervously, her eyes darting around the room. "I've been in... so much pain... for too many years... I don't know who I am anymore... And... It scares me... I don't know why... but it does..."

It was around this point that the first tears came and the bear hid in her own paws, sobbing her heart out. Rouge and Sonic both glared at Amy, Rouge heatedly and Sonic reprimandingly, and then the bat walked over to the bear and offered her shoulder for the bear to cry on. The young teenager took this almost too gladly, hugging the bat hard as she cried. Cream just sat in her cage, looking on the scene with a strange kind of sadness. The blue hedgehog's expression softened when she looked at the bat and the bear down on the floor.

However, Sonic was not ready to admit defeat to Rouge. The bat knew this just as well as anybody else. What happened to Tails was definitely something that should have been avoided, and she knew that the blue hedgehog was nowhere near done with reminding her of that yet. For the time being though, Sonic's emerald eyes looked at her in a more pitifying light than an accusing one.

Slowly, the bat carried the sobbing teenage bear out of the prisoners' room, with Sonic's gaze lingering on her for quite a while. Nobody really said anything for a while before finally Sonic spoke up.

"Y'know, Amy?" he asked. "I figured something was up with Rouge. I didn't think she'd save a girl, though..."

"Are you sure she didn't make it up?" asked Cream.

Sonic looked over to the little rabbit girl, shaking his head. "Well, Tails, Rouge, that bear, Eggman, and the three of us are the only real things in here that aren't made of metal," he said. "So it's kind of hard to make that stuff up, you know?"

"And how do you know that?" she asked.

Sonic shrugged. "Past events," he said. "It's always been his tendency to fill his bases with robots and nothing else."

The pink-tinted hedgehog nodded at this. "My question is, who is she, and what happened to her?" she asked. "I mean, that's pretty extreme to not remember your own name, you know?"

"Extreme?" replied Cream from her cell. "Extreme is an understatement, Amy!"

Sonic nodded solemnly. "But that won't be enough for me," he said. "It'll take more than saving some little kid's life and being in it for yourself to convince me to like her. Besides, I can't believe she thinks she'd be able to get us out of here!"

The rose-colored hedgehog next to him patted the blue blur's shoulder passively. "Well, you never know..." said Amy. "We'll see where she goes from here."

Sonic only hoped that Amy was right about the former G.U.N. agent, and so he looked at the TV screen where he saw Tails slashing targets with a very sharp katana much in the same fashion as the day before. As he saw this, Amy turned to the blue blur, a pensive look on her face.

"You know, Sonic, you've been really nice to me lately..." she said. "When the Nocturnus came... when we went to the Twilight Cage... When we came back... When Eggman caught us..."

Sonic nodded to this, patting his companion's shoulder softly. "I... I don't know how to put it..." he began. "But... well..."

Amy looked intently into her friend's green eyes as they closed behind cobalt eyelids. The male hedgehog rubbed one of his ears softly, a slight blush forming on his cheeks.

"It's because you really do care about me, isn't it?" asked Amy softly.

"Yeah," he said. "I wasn't kidding about what I said in the Twilight Cage. I just... You've been so great to me these past three days."

"Aw, Sonic!"

Before the blue hedgehog could reply, Amy had glomped Sonic, his head nearly making contact with the bars as he was tightly hugged. At first very surprised, Cream suddenly noticed a smile come to Sonic's mouth as he returned the pink hedgehog's embrace.

Rouge, listening in from the safety of a security station that Robotnik had set up across the hall from where the prisoners were. There were no TV screens erected for some reason (all of the cameras were wired Her charge had also listened intently, wiping the tears that had stopped coming a few seconds ago. Even though Rouge couldn't see what had happened, she could figure out what had happened, so she smiled lightly.

"You see?" asked the bat as she came away from the wall. "They're not bad people at all."

"I see..." said the bear softly. "Uh... Mama Rouge...?"

Rouge rolled her eyes at this brief moment of feeling rather old. "Yes?" she asked.

"You... Why are they there, then?" asked the girl innocently. "You said... they didn't do anything wrong..."

Rouge nodded as she looked to around where Tails' larger cell was. "Well, some people will do anything to get what they want. And the person holding them wants to take over the world."

The bear nodded, still thinking about how it was wrong that they were imprisoned. "But why... Why is he so... bad...?"

The bat shook her head at this, looking at her directly in the eyes as she spoke her next words. "Trust me, I think it's bad, too," she said. "But I think his point of view is that after so many attempts to conquer the world, he wants this one to go without a hitch. He's just..." Here Rouge took a rather lengthy pause, trying to find exactly the right word that would suit the state of Robotnik without really offending him. Finally, she sighed. "I think you know what I'm trying to get at here."

The bear nodded slowly at this before looking at the door. "I want... I want to go back... to the room..."

"Sure," she said, taking the girl by the hand and leading her out of the security station. As they passed a few robots moving about she slowly wondered what Banjo would say when he found out about the fact that his sister was possibly under her protection.