Rouge's Brothel-Reconcile

Chapter Sixteen

By the time evening had set in, word had gotten around the brothel about Cosmo's origins and the arrival of the few survivors composing her race. As everyone gathered in the bar for the party, excitement buzzed at the prospect of meeting Cosmo's sister and their fellow Seedrians.

"What do you think they're like," Amy inquired Blaze. "Do you think they're like Cosmo?"

"I would imagine they might have differing personalities," Blaze replied.

"Are we so sure they're not here to conquer Mobius and replace us with plants," Fiona spoke up. "I just find it a little suspicious that they show up now out of the blue."

"According to Cosmo, the Seedrians had to search for other possible survivors as well as look for her," Blaze said. "The galaxy is a vast place to search, you know."

"Fine, I'll give you that," Fiona said. "But can we be so sure they mean us no harm? We don't even know them."

"That's why Rouge invited them," Amy pointed out. "So we can get to know them. Besides, if they really wanted to conquer our world, they wouldn't bother with niceties, now would they?"

"Still," Fiona said.

"Come now, Fiona," Blaze admonished. "You really need to stop being so mistrustful of people. At least wait and meet them first before judging them."

Before Fiona could respond, Rouge entered the bar, and following close behind her was Galaxina, along with several other Seedrians, all of different coloring and sizes. Amy counted at least a dozen.

"Is that all of them," Amy whispered to Blaze. "Wow. There's even less than I was expecting."

"Perhaps some decided to remain with their ship," Blaze surmised. "I doubt they'd want to leave it unguarded." Still, even she couldn't help but wonder if this was indeed the entire remnant of the Seedrians.

"Everyone, may I have your attention, please," Rouge spoke up. Immediately, everyone grew quiet to hear what the Brothel owner had to say. "As you all know, tomorrow, Millie will be leaving to return to her home world. I remember the day she first came into our lives. A girl wandering the streets with no home and no memory who would become part of our family here at the brothel. And while I will miss her, I am glad that she now knows who she is and where she comes from." She raised a glass and nodded at Millie. "To you, Millie. Thank you for your contribution to this establishment, and more importantly, thank you for being a good friend, not just to me, but everyone else here as well. To Millie!"

Everyone raised their own glasses, echoing Rouge's sentiments.

"Thank you, Rouge," Millie said, wiping tears from her eyes. "I really appreciate everything you've done for me. And I'm grateful for all the friends I've made as well. Thank you all. And just know that I love you all dearly." She smiled at Fiona and Lien-Da. "And, yes, even you two."

That brought a chuckle from everyone present.

"Yeah, well, you're alright, Millie," Fiona replied, hastily swiping a tear from her eye.

"Now then," Rouge spoke up. "Before we officially begin the party, I would also like to introduce some special guests. No doubt by now you've heard from Cosmo about her own origins and her newly discovered people, the Seedrians. They have been searching for a new home, and have decided to settle here on Mobius. As it is, I invited Cosmo's sister, Galaxina, and her fellow Seedrians to join us in tonight's festivities. So be sure to make them feel welcome. And that being said, let's get this party started."

Tony pressed play on the radio and music filled the room. Everyone spread out, helping themselves to food and drinks, while some danced to the music. The Seedrians, for the most part, kept to themselves, uncertain of their surroundings.

"Hey, why are you just standing here," Rouge asked, noticing their reluctance. "It's party. Your people know about parties, right?"

"Yes, we are aware of them, Rouge," Galaxina replied. "It's just...this is so much to take in. There are so many people. And such unusual music."

"I see," Rouge said. "No need to be shy, though. Everyone here is nice. Besides, check out your sister over there. Look how much fun she's having."

Galaxina glanced over at Cosmo, who was dancing with Tails. Indeed she certainly seemed to be having fun. Galaxina noted the smile on her sister's face as she and Tails danced together.

"You don't want her to think her big sister's a party pooper, do you," Rouge asked. "Go on out there and mingle. Since you're going to be our neighbors, it only stands to reason you should get to know everyone here."

"I suppose you're right," Galaxina conceded. "We won't accomplish anything being wallflowers." She turned to the others. "Come, everyone. Let's go and meet everyone and have some fun."

At that, the Seedrians spread out among the crowd, some checking out the refreshment tables, while others struck up conversations with the various party goers.

"By the way, Rouge," Galaxina said. "Who is that young fox dancing with my sister?"

"His name is Tails," Rouge replied. "He really likes spending time with Cosmo. Along with Cream and Millie. He's quite the gentlemen and, speaking from personal experience, quite a lover in bed."

"So he's been with my sister already," Galaxina asked. "Has he been able to...satisfy her needs?"

"Yep. And you know, besides Tails, there are the other guys," Rouge said. "That blue hedgehog is Sonic. Then you have Knuckles and Shadow over there. There's Tony, my bartender, and then we have Ray."

"And they are just as satisfactory as Tails is," Galaxina asked.

"And how," Rouge replied. "I've actually been with each of them. If you and the others are looking for some good men to satisfy you, then they are worth it."

Galaxina cast an appraising gaze over the Sonic and the other guys. She had to admit, they looked promising alright.

"Wait. What about that one," Galaxina said, pointing.

Rouge glanced in the direction she indicated and saw she was pointing at Elias.

"Oh, yeah. That's Elias," Rouge said. "He's Sally's brother. I can't really say much about him, as I've only just met him. You probably won't get anywhere with him, though. He's in a committed relationship with that girl there. Her name's Megan. Unless she's down for it, chances are you won't get anything from him."

"I understand," Galaxina said. "Back before the disaster that destroyed our world, we had mates of our own. Sadly, none of them survived. At least as far as I know, none did. We've searched for them as well, just to be sure. But we have found no trace of them. I feel that the sickness especially effected them. Perhaps something to do with their biology. It does differ a bit from the females. That may be why some of us managed to survive."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Rouge said. "Did you have a mate?"

"No. Sadly I have never known a man's embrace," Galaxina replied. She glanced at the guys. "Though, hopefully, that will change soon."

"I was meaning to ask," Rouge said. "If you do mate with others that are not of your species, will you have, like, hybrid children?"

"No. Nothing like that," Galaxina said. "We would simply give birth to seeds that would grow into new Seedrians. We just require fertilization. Though I suppose it is possible that the new Seedrians might inherit some traits from the male partners."

"Hmm. Well, Sonic is super fast," Rouge mused. "Who knows? You might end up with a super speedy Seedrian."

"Now that would be something," Galaxina said, chuckling.

"So, on behalf of everyone here at the brothel, I'd like to welcome you to Mobius," Amy said, addressing two of the Seedrians, who had introduced themselves as Starla and Daisy. Amy couldn't help but notice that Daisy resembled Cosmo, though her hair was an olive-green color and she had brown eyes. Perhaps she and Cosmo were also sisters. "I hope you'll be happy here."

"Thank you, Amy," Starla replied. "We really appreciate the warm welcome and hospitality you and Rouge have shown us. What's more, we're grateful you and your friends have taken good care of Cosmo."

"I hope you aren't upset about her...well, working at a brothel and having sex with customers," Blaze spoke up.

"It was a bit surprising to us when we found out," Daisy said. "But she seems happy to be here and everyone treats her well. As it is, we...well," She blushed slightly. "We were kind of hoping to experience it ourselves."

"Oh! I see," Blaze said, surprise evident in her voice.

"Well, if that's what you're looking for, you'll definitely find it here," Amy said, just as surprised as Blaze.

"We've noticed some of your male companions," Starla said. "Would they be willing to help us?"

"Ohh, I think they'd probably be willing to help out in that regard," Amy replied.

"Wonderful," Starla said. "Our race may yet be saved."

"W-Wait! What? You mean you want the guys to...," Amy stammered, her face turning bright red.

"Yes. We're hoping they can help us repopulate our species," Starla said. "Is that a problem?"

Both Blaze and Amy were totally speechless. Neither one had expected this!

"Holy shit. I can't believe I just heard that."

The four of them turned to see Fiona had just arrived, drink in hand and a smirk on her face.

"At first, I thought you plant girls were just horny as fuck," Fiona continued. "But you actually want the guys to knock you up?"

"Fiona," Blaze hissed. "Watch what you say around our guests." She turned back to Starla. "Sorry about that. Fiona tends to be blunt with her words."

"I call it like I see it," Fiona replied. Then she turned serious. "But all joking aside, I guess I can understand where you're coming from. Cosmo told us how your species was nearly wiped out by some plague or something. You want to save your people, I get that. And, hey, I won't judge." She turned to leave but then stopped and turned back to Starla. "One thing though. If the guys do help you out with this, don't look at it as an obligation. Make sure to enjoy yourselves. Mix business with pleasure." She winked and then sauntered off.

"Honestly. That girl," Amy huffed.

"Don't worry," Starla said. "We take no offense. And perhaps she's right. Maybe we should also enjoy ourselves when the time comes."

"Um, if and when the time comes, perhaps maybe you shouldn't mention anything about procreation to the boys," Blaze suggested. "It might make them uncomfortable."

"Hmm. A good point," Daisy agreed. "We certainly don't want to make them feel uncomfortable."

All throughout the night the party continued, and the Seedrians had grown more comfortable around the others. Galaxina met with Tails, along with Millie, whom Cosmo introduced. Sonica, meanwhile, told Knuckles and Shadow about her home world, and how she had two lady friends that were just like them. Others took to the dance floor, while Tony, along with Elias and Megan, fixed up drinks for everyone. Standing off to the side watching the festivities, Rouge sipped at her own drink. Despite the cheery mood, she could hardly bring herself to get into the swing of things. Millie's departure hung over her, as well as the earlier slip of calling Noir ''mom''. She still hadn't had time to process that. She spotted Noir across the room talking to one of the Seedrians. Rouge had no doubt Noir had noticed her little slip, but so far had yet to broach the subject with her. Should she just go over and talk to her? Get it out in the open and see what happened? She wanted to. And yet, that damn stubborn pride of hers still held her in place.

"God. I can't do this," she whispered.

She turned and exited the bar, heading for her room.

Noir noticed Rouge leaving. She excused herself and pursued after her daughter. She made it to Rouge's door just as it shut. Noir stood before the door and raised her hand to knock, but then hesitated. Noir was probably the last person Rouge wanted to see right now. Maybe she should just...NO! She wasn't going to back out. She raised her hand and knocked on the door.

"Whoever it is, just go away," Rouge's voice called out.

"Like hell I will," Noir said, opening the door and entering Rouge's office.

"Hey! What part of go away did you not hear," Rouge protested.

"I think you and I need to talk," Noir said, taking a seat in front of Rouge's desk.

"There's nothing to talk about," Rouge said.

"That's bullshit and you know it," Noir replied. "It's not just Millie leaving that's bothering you, it's what you called me earlier. Yes, I heard you call me mom."

"I figured you probably did," Rouge said. She opened up a drawer in the desk and pulled out a bottle of alcohol and two glasses.

"What's this," Noir asked.

"It's obvious you're not going to leave unless we talk," Rouge said, filling one of the glasses. "And if we are going to talk, then I'm going to need a little liquid courage to get through this." She passed the glass to Noir.

"Well, then, I guess that makes two of us," Noir said, accepting the drink.

Both took a swig of their drinks then sat in silence for a moment.

"So, do you want to go first, or should I," Rouge asked.

"Rouge, I'm not trying to get my hopes up here," Noir said. "But I have to know. When you called me mom...did it mean anything to you? Anything at all?"

Rouge could hear a note of pleading in her mother's voice. She really didn't know how to answer her question. Had it meant anything to her? How had she felt after realizing what she had said? Now that she had a moment, she reflected back to earlier, trying to figure out if it did mean anything. If she were honest with herself, it had felt right. It had felt...natural. But it shouldn't have. After all, her mother had been absent from her life for the last 20 years.

Just how long are you going to keep clinging to that, a voice in her head berated her. Yes, she messed up and had to leave you, but she obviously missed you. She asked Tony to keep an eye on you for her. She came back and wants to make up for it. Don't forget, you've made some pretty bad decisions yourself, and one of those mistakes had serious consequences.

Rouge couldn't argue with that reasoning. And the more she thought of it, the more her reluctance and resistance crumbled. As she pondered more on it, her gaze inadvertently fell on the picture of her Uncle Dusk. What would he have done in this situation? Would he have been so willing to forgive his sister so easily? Even though he had never told Rouge what had actually happened with Noir, not once had he ever said a bad thing about her. Even as his health had failed him, even in his will or even the video message he had left her, not once did he ever say anything bad about her. Perhaps it was time for her to just admit the truth to herself. She really had no reason to hate Noir, nor even reject her. And with Millie leaving tomorrow, she needed her mother now, more than ever.

"Rouge?"

Rouge snapped out of her contemplation, not even realizing how long she had been thinking on her answer.

"S-Sorry," she said. "I was just...collecting my thoughts. I suppose in answer to your question, I...I just..." To her dismay she felt tears welling up in her eyes, and, unable to hold it in any longer, broke down crying.

"Rouge," Noir exclaimed, concern in her tone. "What's wrong?"

Not even waiting for an answer, she immediately got up and rushed around the desk, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. To her surprise, Rouge embraced Noir, sobbing into her shoulder. Noir, feeling overcome by maternal instinct, embraced her daughter, comforting her.

"I'm so sorry, mom," Rouge sobbed. "I've been so horrible to you!"

"What? No, Rouge," Noir said. "You haven't..."

"Yes, I have! I shouldn't have been so god-damn stubborn," Rouge said. "I finally got you back and all I could do was treat you like some stranger and act so cold towards you."

"Rouge, I'm the one who's at fault here," Noir said. "It was my dumb mistake that led to me having to leave you behind. Something I've regretted for the last 20 years."

"I know," Rouge said, starting to calm down a bit. "But...I had no room to judge you. I made dumb mistakes, too. And it nearly got everyone I cared about killed."

"How about we agree that we both messed up," Noir said. "And at the very least we're trying to fix those mistakes. We can't go back and change things, nor can we recover that lost time, but at least we have a second chance to make things right."

Rouge pulled back from her mother's embrace, sniffling and wiping her eyes.

"God, I haven't had an emotional breakdown like that since the Casino incident," she said. She sighed, taking a few deep breaths to compose herself.

"Feel better now," Noir asked.

"Yeah. I do," Rouge replied. "Thanks...mom."

Noir smiled. "You actually called me mom."

"And I meant it," Rouge said. "I hate to admit it, but Tony was right. I did want to make this work. And...I do need my mother."

"And I need my daughter," Noir replied. "We both need each other."

"Okay. Let's not get too sappy here," Rouge said, smiling. "Anyway, I do feel a bit better now. But...I'm still pretty bummed about Millie leaving."

"And that's understandable," Noir replied. "I wish there was more I could do in regards to that, but..."

"There's only so much you can do," Rouge said. "I'll just have to cope."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Rouge said.

The door opened and Sally, along with Tony entered.

"Hey. Is everything alright," Sally asked. "We noticed both of you were missing from the party."

"We're fine, Sal," Rouge said. "In fact, you could say we've had a bit of a breakthrough just now."

"Wait. You mean and Noir..." Tony asked.

"That's right, Tony," Noir replied. "We've come to an understanding with each other. I don't know if it's 100%, but..."

"Let's just say, most of that tension and mistrust is gone," Rouge said. "And I'm willing to call her my mother now."

"Well, I'm glad to see you two are now on better terms with each other," Sally said. "And that being said, you coming back to the party?"

"Yeah. I suppose I should get back there," Rouge said. "I don't want Millie to think I bailed on her."

Rouge exited her office with Sally following. Tony lingered at the doorway as Noir approached.

"Glad to see things are working out between you two," he said.

"You have no idea how glad I am," Noir said. "But now the question is: Where do we go from here?"

"Well, give it a bit more time for both of you to adjust to this," Tony suggested. "Then, take it one day at a time."

"I suppose you're right," Noir said. "Anyway, let's get back to the party."

The next day...

Standing outside the brothel, Rouge, along with Sally, Tony, Tails, Cosmo, and Noir, were seeing Millie off. The young vixen was trying her best not to cry, knowing if she did, then she'd never be able to leave. Standing next to her was Sonica, holding the device that would take them back to their home world.

"Well, I guess this is it," Millie said. "Rouge, thank you once again for all you did for me. I'll never forget you."

"Take care, Millie," Rouge said, hugging her. "Just know you'll always be welcome back here."

"Funny you should say that, Rouge," Sonica spoke up. "I'm going to talk to my friend, Rota, and see about setting something up so we can drop in and visit every now and then. If that's not a problem."

"Not at all," Rouge said. "Please do so. You both would be welcome back here."

"Perhaps we can bring some of our other friends along, as well," Sonica said. "I think they'd like this place."

Millie then approached Tails and Cosmo, embracing them both.

"I'm going to really miss you two," Millie said. "Tails, you were so kind and caring to me. And Cosmo, you were my first friend when I had none. And I'm glad you've been reunited with your people. I love you both."

"We love you two, Millie," Cosmo said. "Please, take care."

"I hope we'll see you again someday," Tails said.

"I hope so, too," Millie said. She turned her attention to the remaining three people. "Sally. Tony. Miss Noir. I'm glad I got to meet you as well."

"We'll miss you, Millie," Sally said, wiping her eyes. "Take care."

Millie turned to Sonica. "Okay. I'm ready now. Let's go home."

"You got it, Millie," Sonica said, activating the device.

A portal appeared before them, and through it, they could see the alternate Mobius waiting.

"Later, everyone," Sonica said, as she stepped through the portal.

Millie waved good-bye and then followed her friend through. After they had entered, the portal closed up and vanished.

"Well, there they go," Rouge said, heaving a sigh.

"Well, look on the bright side, Rouge," Tony said. "We probably haven't seen the last of them."

"True," Rouge said. "I guess that makes it a bit more easier."

Everyone turned to enter the brothel. Rouge and Noir were about to head in when a deliveryman approached them.

"Excuse me, ladies," he said. "I'm looking for someone named Noir. I was told her mail was to be forwarded to this address."

"I'm Noir," Noir spoke up.

"Ah. I have a package here for you," he said, handing her the aforementioned package. "Sorry it took so long to get to you, ma'am. It took the post office some time to track your whereabouts, and then we learned you were staying here. If you'll just sign here, please." He held out a clipboard and Noir signed it. "Thank you, ma'am. And have a nice day."

After he had left, Noir studied the package in her hand.

"I wonder who sent it," Rouge mused.

Noir read the label on the package and her eyes widened in surprise. "Rouge. It's...it's from my brother Dusk."

End of Chapter Sixteen...