This was the fifth night In a row a didn't sleep. The nightmares are too much to bear. I don't want to wake Shadow again and come up with an accuse as to why I was screaming. So hear I am sitting on the roof of my club starring at the night sky. It has to be past midnight by now, maybe even past one, I don't know. Suddenly a gust of wing blows by me, pulling at my short white hair and ruby red nightgown. My nightgown goes about three inches above me knees, the bottom and top inches of my attire are a black lace design and so are the spaghetti straps. My normal sky blue eye shadow is off so my natural tan eyelids are lazily resting above my sapphire eyes. My wings sway with the cool breeze of the night.
*sigh* "Can't a girl get any sleep around here?"
"I believe I should ask you that question." I spin my head around to find a black colored hedgehog with red streaks on his quills. His gloves and air shoes are off but his inhibitor rings are still there. My eyes stare at the golden bracelets on his wrists. He some how managed to get another one because I still have the one from the ARK. My gaze slowly looks up to his crimson irises. They could tell anyone that the owner of the eyes was not to be messed with but what surprised me was that, they weren't menacing as usual but looked full of concern.
He walked closer to me and sat down to my right. His worry filled eyes not leaving mine.
"How long have you been up here, Rouge?" He asked.
"How long have you, Shadow?" It was a fair question in my opinion.
"About five minutes. Now answer my question." Why did he want to know so badly? Usually he could care less.
"That depends, what time is it?" He automatically knew I had been here for a few ours if I was confused on the time so he went for a different question.
"Why?"
"Why, what?" I decided to play innocent.
"Don't you dare even try to play innocent with me." His eyes changed to that of which you would see in a sibling if you were teasing each other. I was utterly confused. This is Shadow right?
He must have noticed my silence, he sighed and said, "Why are you even up here?"
I flattened my ears and looked back to the stars."I can't sleep."
"Why not?"
"And here I thought I was the nosy one." Once again I look at him only this time with a smirk on my face.
"You are, I'm just being curious and taking your advice."
"Advice?"
He raised an eyebrow, "Are you not the bat who told me to be more social?"
My smirk widened. I can't believe the big bad Ultimate Life Form, listened to a mere jewel thief.
"I've been having..." I mumbled the last bit.
"Having what?" He leaned closer and perked his ears up. They weren't as sensitive as mine but definitely better than the average hedgehog.
I lowers my voice to a whisper, "Nightmares." He seemed shocked. His eyes shot open and he went back to sitting in his perfect posture. He himself used to have nightmares about Maria. I was always their for him and eventually when he wanted to talk about it (a good three months) I was all ears. They stopped maybe two months ago, a week after we talked about it, but now it was my turn to have nightmares.
"I can honestly say I know what that's like but what I don't understand is why?" His eyes were definitely kinder now that he knew what I was going through.
"It's complicated and personal, Shadow" He started to laugh a little, I started to wonder if he was a Shadow android.
"That is exactly what I said to you." Okay not an android. "So now I guess it's my turn to quote you, if you keep it bottled inside of you, your tops gonna blow." I couldn't help but smile at him and join in on the laughter. Those were the exact words I spoke. Honestly I'm surprised he even remembered.
"Well my past may not be as confusing as yours but it's horrible all the same." This made him stop laughing and we went into two minutes of complete silence until...
"Tell me."
I sighed, I never wanted to tell anyone, but if I had to tell someone, it would be Shadow.
"Get your tissues ready,it's a tear jerker."
*FLASHBACK*
A white long haired bat walked out of the hospital with a young white bat in her arms. The child was maybe two hours old. She walked to a rundown looking building and picked up an empty box. She placed the child inside the box and wrote a note:
This is Rouge the Bat, take care of her, she is safer here than with her father. Whatever you do, make sure she's happy.
With regret,
Her mother
The woman placed the note next to the child and the child giggled at the new object given to her. The mother let a tear roll down her cheek and stain the piece of paper in her child's tiny hands. She faced the door and knock as hard as she could manage with the little strength she had. When she could here footsteps, she lifted off the ground with her torn up wings and glanced one last time at her daughter before flying to the roof.
A gray mouse opened the door. She looked really kind with here grass green gown and light pink sweater. Her name was Marly and she owned this orphanage. It wasn't titled but it was known as Marly' s Angels. She looked down at the little bat. Her sapphire eyes swimming with innocence. She looked around than back at the child. She picked her up and brought her inside. She noticed the note and read it, noticing the tear drop near the bottom right corner.
"Hmmm... Rouge. What a peculiar name. Sounds French."
*Eight Years Later*
"I'm gonna miss you so much, Rouge." Rouge was currently hugging a nine year old, chocolate brown possum.
"Milky, why do you have to go? You got here two years after I did and we've been friends since. This sucks! First Kyra, then Flippers and now you!"
"I know it sucks but you'll make new friends and I will have a family!"
"You're right, Milky! I hope you have the best time ever with your new family." They released each other and the possum went to a car where two minks were waiting. "Bye Milky Way!" The possum waved back and got in the back seat of the car. The bat stood on the newly finished stair case and stared in the direction her friend drove away. Suddenly a hand was on her shoulder. She looked up to find Marley with a warm smile on her face. The young bat just sighed.
"Why do people keep leaving me, do I smell funny?" Rouge started to sniff herself while Marley just laughed at the confused bat.
"Child, you don't smell. Your keep getting adopted, it's natural."
"Yeah but not even my mama wanted me." The young bat began the silently cry.
"That's not true, Rouge." Marley tried to cheer up the sobbing bat.
"How do you know you never even met her. You told me you heard a knock on the door and when you opened it you found me with a piece of paper that told you my name." The growing anger in Rougevoice was very noticeable.
Marley sighed,"I think it's time you saw the note." And with that, Marley led Rouge to her office where she pulled out a draw filled with paper. Each paper had a different style of hand writing on it. One had cursive that looked like it belonged in the Victorian era. Marley that note up and handed it to Rouge. As she read it she noticed the dries wet spot on the paper.
"Marley did you spill water on this?"
"No child, I found it like that. Your mother brought your here to keep you safe. It was probably the hardest thing she ever did."
*Two Years Later*
How did this happen? They were supposed to be nice. Right? Families didn't whip each other or not feed each other. Was this what my mom was protecting me from? No more, I don't think I can take another minute of this.
Rouge was in a freezing basement. She was adopted two weeks after being shown her mother's note. He was a rhinoceros with bull grey eyes and one hell of a temper. He treated her like a slave and enjoyed beating her to unconsciousness. Over the years, the beating made her stronger and slowly took away the innocent look in her eyes. Now they were fierce and filled to the brim with rage.
She began to pull on the chain that connected her to the wall. After thirty seconds, the chain broke. It hung from her neck and fell all the way to her ankles, even then, there was a good foot of chain following her. She ran to the window. Her hair was cut with glass when it had got tangled with the chain so what remained intertwined with the chain was turning brown from the mud on the ground. Her close were town to pieces and barely covered her correctly.
She remembered the rhinoceros had a daughter. She didn't even know Rouge existed, let alone was kept beneath her feet. Rouge decided to pay her room a visit for proper clothes. The trick was to avoid her father.
Slowly she ascended up the steps to the trapdoor. Ever so gently, she pushed it up. She was in a closet. She silently opened the hatch all the way and pulled herself up. She was insanely flexible because of the many ways the rhinoceros would bend her. Her strength, endurance, flexibility and wits had all sky rocketed since she's been here. Something she found hard to believe but never the less, it was indeed helpful in this situation.
Ever so slightly she turned the door knob and opened it. She found a hallway and not much to her surprise, she was under a staircase. This reminds me of those books Marley used to read to me. What were they called?...Harry something?
After listening for a little she opened the door all the way in the con inclusion no one was around. She tip-toed her way upstairs as quiet as possible. When she came across a pink door, she assumed this was the room she wanted. She, of course, was correct.
A little digging in the closet and she found a light pink tee shirt and short, athletic, black shorts. She slipped them on along withsocks and some worn out tennis shoes she assumed wouldn't be missed. While hurrying towards the front door something caught her eye.
Perfect.
She grabbed a wallet and counted the money. She remembered being taught many thing from Marley. She removed the credit card and useless gift cards because she wouldn't be able to use those. She totaled $374. She bolted for the door and never looked back
*Four Years Later*
A fourteen year old Rouge flew from rooftop to roof top. After stealing from that good for nothing rhino, it became easy to just take. She grew rather fond of jewels and they were by far her favorite to steel. Eventually she became a world class jewel thief with her signature card stating it was she who took the lost item. Tonight, she stole a Chaos Emerald from G.U.N. HQ and was currently running for her life.
She dropped down into an ally in hopes of losing the G.U.N. soldiers on her tail. She didn't.
"Freeze! Come out with your hands in the air! We know your here bat!"
Rouge smirked. "My, my, seems I got some company." She stayed in the shadows away from the soldiers.
"Out in the open where we can see you! You know all to well you can't escape! Maude if this was your first heist, but you are guilty of too many to just be let off with a warning!"
"400 on the nose to be exact! This Chaos Emerald is my reward for all my hard work."
Just then, the yelling soldier's wrist communicator went off."Bring her back to HQ alive and unharmed. I have an idea."
"Commander you can't be serious"
"I am"
The soldier sighed. "Yes sir, everyone, you heard the man. Let's carry out the orders."
*Two Hours Later*
"Commander!"
"Yes, avant."
"We have the bat."
"Good bring her in."
They saluted each other and the soldier left, only to come back with a fourteen year old, white bat, who was smirking.
"She hasn't stated a name yet sir."
"I will when I want to. Weren't you taught to not give out information to strangers."
"Shut it, bat. Your in big trouble."
"Now that's no way to treat a lady."
"Why I odda-"
"Agent! Please leave the premises." With a dumbfounded look on his face, he slowly turned towards the door and opened it. He turned his head back to the commander who simply nodded, with that, he left the room.
The commander looked rather old with two different colored eyes and a stunt face. None of which stopped Rouge from making herself at home. She lazily plunked down in a chair and quickly found out it could spin. She used her feet to propel herself in circles, shocking the commander while doing so.
Out of know where he spoke,"I want you as an agent."
Rouge stopped spinning and faced the commander. He continued.
"With your skill and the proper training, I believe you could be an important asset to this age"
" Isn't there an age limit or something? I do believe fourteen year olds aren't suppose to be doing this stuff."
He looked at Rouge in disbelief."You're fourteen?"
"Yeah."
"Incredible! G.U.N.'s most difficult target, is a teenager. So you started when you were?"
"Ten"
"This is why I believe G.U.N. could use an agent with your ability. Maybe you could mold our agents to be like more like you."
"Trust me," Rouge looked at the name plate on his desk it read, ABRAHAM TOWER,"Abe? No one wants the training I went through." Memories flashed through her head but she shook them off to stay focused.
"Never the less, I still want you as an agent. What's your answer?"
Rouge thought about it for a minute then stood up. She out stretched her hand."Abe, you've got yourself an agent."
He matched her and shook her hand."That's good to here agent...?"
"Rouge, Agent Rouge the Bat."
*End Of Flashback*
"...and you can guess the rest."
"What does any of that have to do with nightmares?"
"In nightmares I relive it but I don't make it out of the rhinoceros' house. Instead I get caught and the dream continues to what my life would have been like." My ears dropped and my eyes fell to the streets below. Shadow noticed this and once again had sympathetic eyes.
"Not a happy ending, huh?"
"No." My eyes were glued to the pavement a few stories down.
"What brought it all up?" This one was an easy answer.
"I saw her on Monday."
"Her, who?"
"The daughter. She doesn't even know our connection but if she's here, her father can't be far behind."
Then, the unexpected happened. Shadow hugged me. I didn't argue, in fact I wrapped my own arms around him and buried my face into his chest fur. It was so soft, who knew the big bad Ultimate Life Form had a soft spot. I could have sworn I saw him smile.