Snypo: Jeez I'm lazy…

Demon: I'll say, you're replies to my messages are so sporadic

Snypo: Well that's partially because my email is stupid and doesn't like to notify me on anything.

Sally: Excuses excuses.

Bunnie: Ah apologise for the fragmented link on the last chapter, Ah was not aware that Fanfiction did not support outside links.

Snypo: (Glares and shakes his head) anyway, not too much of an intro for this, it's Chapter 3, hope you like it

Rouge: Here we go!

CHAPTER 3: Respite and Removal

Rahv awoke to the sound and feel of light bouncing upon his bed. Opening his eyes slowly, he saw the wooden ceiling of his small hut that the Freedom Fighters had cleared out for him, until proper living conditions could be arranged. Rolling over slowly, he saw the source of the bouncing. It was the small, blue Chao that Cream had been holding last night, jumping happily on his mattress and giggling when Rahv's eyes began to follow him. "Chao! Chao!" It meeped happily. "Okay Cheese, that's good, come back now." He heard Cream say. Rolling the other way, he saw the small rabbit standing just outside his window, watching him. "Mister Rahv, Sally told me to come get you, she said that miss Rouge wanted to talk to you about something!" Rahv nodded and sat up, thanking the small rabbit. She gave a soft giggle and waved as she held Cream and ran off to join Tails, who was working on some sort of engine. Standing slowly, Rahv felt his joints creak and pop as he stretched, evidence of a good night's sleep. "Mmnh.. Haven't slept like that in awhile." He muttered as he pulled his trench coat on and buckled his boots. "I'll say, I've never seen you sleep that good, mate." Jasper said, floating in the corner where he was plugged in to the outlet to charge. "You coming along?" Rahv said, glancing to the small bot as he opened the door. "Naw, you go on ahead, I'm just about done charging." The small sphere said. Rhav nodded and stepped out into the cool air of the Village. Making his way to the "village square", Rahv noticed Amy and waved her over. "Whatcha need Rahv?" The pink hedgehog said, shifting her hammer from one shoulder to the other. "Can you tell me where Rouge is?" The Crimson 'hog shrugged, showing his lack of knowledge on the location of the bat. Amy nodded with a sly smile, "Ohhh I see, well, she's over by the showers, I do recall her asking Cream to go get you." She giggled softly, that same sly smile on her lips. Rahv raised his brow in suspicion, "What're you getting at?" He asked, cautious. "Oh nothing. I just hope living here doesn't turn out to be 'exhausting' for you." She giggled, Rahv thought it seemed a bit perverted and shrugged, thanking the girl and heading towards the showers.

Upon reaching the shower area, Rahv looked around, finding no one. He felt the collar hum slightly and braced for a shock, but instead he heard a crackling in his mind and a voice, the voice of the Doctor. "Nod your head if you can hear me, hedgehog." Rahv nodded slowly, his eyes focused into a glare. "Good, now then, From my knowledge, the Freedom Fighters have a meeting every morning to assign the day's duties and chores. You had better be there, or you'll pay the price!" Robotnik shouted, causing Rahv to wince. A small shock was delivered to remind him of the pain he could go through if he did not obey, nodding and blinking tears away, he felt the connection terminate and heard a landing behind him. Feeling a tap upon his shoulder, Rahv turned to find Rouge, standing with her hip cocked and a hand resting upon it. Her face had that same, half-lidded, seductive smile that she had given him the previous night and he again felt his face warm as a soft blush crossed his cheeks. "So, I saw the craphole they've got you in." She said, matter-of-factly. Rahv nodded, "Its fine for me, Rotor says he'll get to building my house within the week." Rouge shook her head and clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "Now now, that'll never do. You've got to have somewhere nicer to live than that hut for the next few weeks. Say, I have an idea…" The bat said, drawing closer. Her busty, curvaceous frame came close to his, which caused Rahv to swallow nervously, though he didn't show it. "How about you come live with me? It'll be more beneficial to the whole group that way. It'll save Rotor the resources, and I won't have to come home to an empty bed anymore." She said with a giggle that made Rahv's heart skip a beat. Raising a brow, he asked, "What are you saying? I hardly know you." At this, Rouge rolled her eyes, the smile still upon her face. "I see, you thought I wanted you in bed hm? Such a little pervert." She said, pinching his cheek lightly with her gloved hand. Rahv's face burned with embarrassment at how she had turned the situation around on him. Rouge saw this reaction and laughed in her sultry way. "No, I'll have an extra bed brought in for you, it's just nice to have company around." Winking as she lifted off, Rouge called out, "Come to my place tonight, if you accept my offer!" As she disappeared, Rahv was left with a reddened face, and a heat within him that the female had caused. Shaking his head, he gripped Natasha for reassurance and figured he'd at least give it some thought.

Stepping into the Great Hall, Rahv noticed everyone sitting around a large, ancient stump serving as a table for the Freedom Fighters. "Ah, Rahv's here, now we can begin." Sally said, smiling and gesturing to a seat between Sonic and Knuckles. Stepping over and sitting in the chair, Rahv was nudged by Sonic. "What took ya so long hm?" He whispered jokingly. "I was talking to Rouge…." Rahv said quietly. Sonic blinked a few times and chuckled, "Oh man, she's got you now." He said as he discreetly pointed to where Rouge was sitting, her chin resting upon her hand as she stared, eyes half-lidded at Rahv, ignoring Sally's directions to the rest of the group. "-And Rahv…Rahv are you paying attention?" Rahv's eyes darted up to Sally, who had a slightly confused, yet serious look upon her face. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sonic stifling a laugh and his cheeks burned with embarrassment. "Sorry princess…" Rahv said, slumping slightly in his seat. She nodded in acceptance and pointed to Cream. "You and Cream are going out foraging today. She needs someone to protect her and I figure you and your sword could do the best job." Rahv nodded and looked to Cream who had a happy smile upon her face. After the rest of the duties were assigned, Rahv stood and moved over to Cream, who was waiting with a basket, a backpack, and some various foraging tools. "Follow me, Mr. Rahv, I know the perfect place!" She said excitedly as she took off for the entrance to Knothole. Rahv sighed as he saw the same energetic spirit in Cream that had been in Luca before…Well.. It didn't matter now, Rahv had new people to take care of and he couldn't get caught up in the past. Running after her, he scooped her up in his arms and took off faster than she could have to the ladder that led to the stump in the Great Forest, Cream giggling the whole way.

Upon exiting the stump, after checking to make sure the area was clear of course, Rahv was following Cream down a path with shrubs lightly grown about. After about a mile or so, Cream went off the path and Rahv followed, checking their rear to make sure no one had followed. Soon, they came to a small clearing with trees and bushes dotted about, each bearing a different type of fruit or vegetable. "This is the garden that my mom and I planted before this all happened…" Cream said, a touch of sadness in her voice. Rahv raised a brow, recalling that he had not seen Cream's mom back at Knothole. "What happened to her?" He asked, a slight tone of concern to his voice. Shrugging, Cream answered, "I don't know…We got separated after the attack and…I haven't seen her since…" Rahv noticed a tear trailing down her cheek and he stepped forward, kneeling down and brushing it away. "Cream, I know it's hard without your mother. It's hard losing family in general…But you've got a whole group of people back in Knothole who love you and want to make you happy." She nodded, a soft smile coming to her lips as she looked up to him. "Mister Rahv…would you be my… 'Brother'?" She asked. This hit Rahv hard and his eyes widened softly, his heart melting at the question. Noticing this, Cream tilted her head. "I know that you lost your sister, I don't want to be a replacement but, maybe I could fill the gap.." She said. Rahv smiled and set a hand on her shoulder, "I know that Cream, and yes, I would love to be your 'brother'." Smiling happily, Cream wrapped her arms around Rahv's neck in a death-hug, causing him to gag. She let him go and giggled, which made him laugh. "My, My, what an adorable scene!" Said a voice, making Rahv's stomach clench. Turning around, Robotnik was standing up in one of his floating machines and smirking. "What do you want Robotnik?" Rahv shouted as Cream took cover behind him. "Why, to move on to my next step of killing all of the Freedom Fighters!" Robotnik said with a manic laugh. Pressing a button on the console of his machine, robotic arms shot out and directed themselves at Cream, hurtling towards the hedgehog and rabbit at break-neck speeds. Quickly unsheathing Natasha, the blade gleaming in the sun, Rahv took a defensive stance and was able to slash off four of the arms before he fell to the ground, writhing in pain when Robotnik's collar kicked on. "Foolish hedgehog! I told you, you couldn't win!" Robotnik cackled as an arm seized Cream, responding with a scream. "RAHV! HELP!" She cried out as she was dropped into a pod. Rahv could only look on through the pain as he writhed and convulsed with the collar kicking up it's voltage every few seconds. Robotnik let out another cackle and floated off. Rahv could only muster enough strength to push through the collar paralyzing his vocal cords to shout one word, "HELP!"

Tails and Sonic were out on patrol, things had been fine. A few Buzzbombers had come up here and there but they were dealt with easily by the duo. They were just about finished and ready to head back to Knothole when Tails' ears perked up at a voice shouting a very distant "Help!"

"Hey Sonic, did you hear that?" Tails said, pointing in the direction the voice had come from. "Sure did little buddy, let's juice and see what's up!" The "Blue Blur" Said as he grabbed a hold of Tails' wrist and shot off at top speed.

Rahv's vision had become tunneled from the shocking and his body was almost limp from convulsing and writhing. His arms and legs twitched as electricity coursed through them and Rahv could feel his last moments slipping away. Then, suddenly, the electricity stopped. Rahv instantly shot up, gasping for air and holding his neck, which felt numb from taking the brunt of the energy. Taking a few minutes to breath in deeply, he then proceeded to look around for who had saved him. His eyes fell upon Tails kneeling in front of him and Sonic, dangling the cut collar from his index finger, a thoughtful look upon his face. "How did you-" Rahv's voice cracked and Tails put a hand over the crimson hedgehog's mouth. "Don't talk, you've taken a lot of electricity, if Sonic hadn't gone into a Sonic Spin and cut you free, you probably would have died."

Nodding slowly, Rahv looked over to Sonic who was looking to and from the collar to the hedgehog. "Funny, I don't remember seeing this thing on you when we first met… Tails turned and stood, taking the collar from Sonic and pointing to a small bump on the collar, "Camo-generator, Eggman's been testing these out to eventually stealth his SWATbots.." Sonic nodded and tossed the collar in a brown satchel strapped to his back. "Well, that's one less thing to worry about…But…Where's Cream?" The blue male said, looking about with a worried expression. "She's…been captured.." Rahv croaked. Sonic's eyes widened and he knelt in front of Rhav. "By who?" His face said he already knew the answer, but didn't want to believe it. "Robotnik…" Rahv said with the last of his strength, fading out of consciousness and passing out, his body falling limp on the forest floor. Sonic began to pace, then dropped to his knees, fists in the air yelling "GOD-DAMMIT!" Tails, with a tear falling down his cheek, stepped over to Sonic and placed a hand upon his shoulder. "We'll get Cream back, Sally won't let her be roboticised, but first we have to get Rahv back and get him medical care!" Standing slowly, Sonic nodded and walked over to Rahv, grunting at the weight Natasha put on the hedgehog, and sped off toward Knothole.

Snypo: Welp, Chapter 3

Demon: Jeez dude, this story keeps getting more and more depressing, though I will admit, the part with Rouge was fairly funny.

Rouge: (Stepping in with a smile) I rather enjoyed it too.

Bunnie: Ah sense a romance hea.

Sally: Hey, as long as I can have Sonic, it's all good.

Amy: (Bursts through the wall, fire in her eyes and hammer in hand) WHAT'D YOU SAY BITCH?

Sally: (Turning and stancing defensively) You heard me!

Snypo: Uh…why don't we move on over there guys…?

Demon: (Sprinting toward safety) YOU GOT IT!

Bunnie: (Following Demon) Don't worry, Ah'll keep him safe..

Rouge: (Floats above the two girls) This should be interesting.

Snypo: Alright, see you all next chapter. (forgets that Amy is right by him and takes a hammer shot to the face, flying out the window) WAAAHHHH!

Demon: Oh snap! Read and Review!

Bunnie: All characters, (Except Rahv, Rahv's family, and Jasper) Belong to SEGA, Story idea belongs to Snypo.

Amy: NO FLAMING!