(Peeks out from the corner) Hello…
Gosh, it's been so long since I've updated this fic. Almost more than 10 months. I would like to ritualistically apologize for such a long wait. I wanted to finish "Saving Sonic" first and then work really ramped up in the past couple of months. Work still is ramping up this month and will most likely continue to do so.
But this story is still going. Spoiler Alert: I'm planning on writing two more episodes for this fic before moving on to some one-shots then another multi-chapter, which should be exciting.
For everyone's who's read and enjoyed this fic so far, thank you for your patience. Who's ready for some excitement? Because we've got some familiar faces dropping in in this chapter ;)
NOTE: I OWN NOTHING HERE EXCEPT FOR MY OC, FAITH.
Episode 11: Little Gemstone
"Muahahahahaha!" Dr. Eggman cackled as he watched the villagers flee from his Badniks. His new and improved Octopus Bot was gleefully hovering over Hedgehog Village and spewing copious amounts of ink everywhere. Meanwhile, Cow Bot mooed as it fired cud missiles at the village's well and Meh Burger.
Faith's heart felt like it was stuck in her throat as she led the villagers to the relative safety of the beach. 'Eggman's really going all out today… I hope they're gonna be okay,' she thought, glancing over her shoulder to see Team Sonic fighting. Seeing Sonic and Shadow working in tandem to keep Eggman's forces at bay, she swallowed her fear and focused on her task. People were counting on her! She wasn't going to let being scared keep her from helping them! Bee Bots tried to cut off their escape route, but were fried in an instant thanks to Faith's lightning.
After making sure the people had evacuated without any signs of Eggman's Badniks chasing after them, Faith looked back again. Team Sonic was engaged in battle, taking down as many of the evil Doctor's robots as they could.
"Time to get serious," Eggman declared, tapping on his wrist communicator.
"Heads up!" Knuckles yelled while he and Sticks wrestled Octopus Bot into submission just as Mega Bot rolled its way into the village square.
Sonic tucked into a ball and smashed his way through a couple more Mantis Bots before standing in front of Mega Bot. He glanced to his right and saw Shadow, Amy, and Tails cutting a path towards him. Cracking his knuckles, Sonic grinned at Mega Bot. "Let's see how many hits it'll take to bring you down, bolt head," he said coolly.
Just after Sonic said those words, a loud synth track started playing followed by some heavy metal.
For a moment, everyone looked at each other in confusion. The track continued, now combined with somebody singing.
A shadow of myself, just who am I?
Scans horizons
A tragic mystery
You could have left me here, sealed inside the pod
No one would ever know – the Chaos Control
My true identity
The power that is me…
Shadow grinned as he heard those lyrics.
"PRIMARY OBJECTIVE REVISITED: ELIMINATE ALL INFERIOR EGGMAN ROBOTS."
"Oh, crud…" Eggman muttered as bullets were suddenly fired at him and his Badniks. If it hadn't been for his Egg Mobile's new shields, he would have been dead on the spot.
Faith was a few yards away from the battlefield so she was the first to spot the two newcomers flying in from the horizon. Her eyes widened as a white-furred bat wearing a plum bodysuit with a pink heart on the chest and a backpack swooped down from above, carrying a heavy-looking robot with a yellow head and a black-and-red body.
"Special delivery, Dr. Eggman. Hope you're ready!" Rouge the Bat sucked in a breath and hurled E-123 Omega at Mega Bot with all her might.
"TARGET ACQUIRED." Omega's speakers pulsed as the theme song of Team Dark played.
We all danced in fire
Trapped in this machine
Don't know how long we've waited
As the Eggman's watching
We all danced in fire
Looking thru the screen
Don't know how long we've waited
As the Eggman watches
"Dramatic entrance much?" Shadow fondly rolled his eyes at his partner who came to a landing beside him.
"Learned that from you, hun." Rouge winked then kissed him on the cheek. She saw Sonic and grinned. "Hello, Big Blue! It's been too long!" she said, waving to the blue hero.
"Long time, no see, Rouge," Sonic chuckled and punched an incoming Badnik that was aiming for his face.
"Duck!" Rouge shouted all of a sudden. Sonic ducked, allowing her to throw a few heart-shaped mini bombs at an incoming Cow Bot. Looking behind him, Sonic let out a whistle. The treasure-hunting former spy had never lost her touch.
"While I'd love to do some catching up," Rouge smiled at Amy and Tails who cheered Omega on as the robot laid waste to Mega Bot. "Omega and I would prefer to do that over mimosas and lunch. What do you say we show Eggman that Team Dark's still got it?" she grinned at Shadow, who grinned right back.
"It would be an absolute pleasure," Shadow replied, summoning a Chaos Spear. Then his keen eyes spotted a lone child near the battlefield.
Faith stared at the two newcomers talking to Shadow, mouth slightly open. 'I recognize those two from Shadow's photos… Those are his adventuring partners!' she thought in awe. She snapped out of her stupefied state when Shadow called out to her.
"Head back to the house, sweetie! Keep an eye on the civilians for us!" Shadow was aware of Rouge looking in his direction and knew that his best friend was probably going to ask about Faith later.
"Okay!" Faith called back and turned around to start running towards the beach.
"Good call sending Faith home," Sonic told his boyfriend as all of them faced Eggman's robots.
"With all the ammo Omega's firing, it's safer for her back at the house," Shadow said, watching his trigger-happy friend launch a few rockets at Mega Bot.
"Looks like Omega's got the heavy ones handled. Let's clean up the rest of this mess," Rouge said and flew into battle.
With Rouge in the fight – electric lives
Change surroundings
A jewel in history
A treasure disappears – as she goes
Miss her as you look away – and no one knows
This power is a key
This power changes me
Knuckles couldn't help but sneak glances at Rouge as she fought off Badniks with the grace of a dancer. Rouge executed a Screw Kick in midair before doing a power dive to pluck a Motobug off the ground to punt it over to Shadow, who skewered it with a Chaos Spear. At some point in the battle, while dodging Sticks as she swung from rooftop beams and shrieked as she attacked, he found himself standing back-to-back with Rouge as they were surrounded by Motobugs.
"Missed me, Knuckie?" Rouge gave him a flirtatious wink.
"I'll tell ya after we get out of this…" Knuckles mumbled, his cheeks turning red as his fur.
E-123
You didn't know – now I'm gonna show you
The power that is me
You try to take me down – stop the show
Seems you've never tasted fear – or loss of control
The power lives in me
The power lives in me!
Meanwhile, Tails noticed one of Omega's guns stalling. Zipping through obstacles, he reached the reformed E-series robot. "Hang on, Omega. I got it," he reassured his robot comrade, taking out his wrench to quickly fix the stalling issue.
"THANK YOU, TAILS." Omega nodded at the fox, unleashing more of his wrath on Eggman's forces.
Eggman covered his ears as the song continued to play. With Shadow's partners-in-crime, he knew that it was over. All of his minor Badniks were down and Cow Bot just crashed behind him, courtesy of Amy Rose's hammer launching Sonic into the air.
As for Mega Bot, it came toppling down as the song played the final chorus.
We all danced in fire!
Trapped in this machine!
Don't know how long we've waited,
As the Eggman's watching.
We all danced in fire!
Looking thru the screen,
Don't know how long we've waited,
As the Eggman watches.
Shadow wouldn't admit it but he sang along to the chorus as he, Rouge, and Omega respectively hurled a Chaos Spear, a heart bomb, and a missile into Mega Bot to deal the final blow. Team Sonic cheered as the Badnik exploded into bits.
"Great… Now I've got those three to deal with... I'll be back, Team Sonic and Team Dark!" Dr. Eggman yelled before making his escape.
"Come back as many times, Doc! We'll be waiting!" Rouge called out, winking.
Shadow rolled his eyes fondly at her. His partner was still as sassy as ever. Rouge met his gaze and squealed, pulling him in for a hug. Omega clunked over then lifted the two onto his shoulders.
"Team Dark is back in business!" Shadow whooped, high-fiving Rouge. "Chaos, I've missed you two crazies," he admitted.
"Oh, my! Shadow the Hedgehog? Missing us?" Rouge put a hand to her chest and then looked at Omega, her teal eyes glimmering with amusement. "Omega, honey, kindly do a scan on this man to see if he's the real deal, will you?" she asked.
"SCANNING… THIS MEATBAG IS 100% OUR SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG," Omega beeped.
Shadow chuckled and leaped off Omega. "What? A guy can't mellow out while he's on vacation?" he asked rhetorically.
"I'm teasing. And we've missed you, too," Rouge said and flapped down from her perch. Amy ran over to the bat to give her a hug. "It's been so long since we've had a girl's night out. Oh! And this is Sticks," she said, introducing the brown-and-orange badger.
"Well, nice to meet you, hun," Rouge greeted Sticks who merely shrieked, "No! Get away, government spy! You'll get nothing out of me!" and hid behind Knuckles.
"Ex-spy, darling. I'm a proprietor now," Rouge informed her as they all headed to the beach with Sonic leading the way.
"Oh, yeah. How's Club Rouge doing?" Shadow asked as they fell into step together.
"Business is booming. You all should come visit soon. I might consider giving discounts on the drinks," Rouge proposed with a grin.
"As long as we don't have to pay you in jewels 'cause we don't have any," Knuckles mumbled, earning a sly look from Rouge.
"I'm surprised you decided to leave your island. I thought that after," She looked at Sonic who flicked an ear in her direction. "certain events, you'd double down on protecting that gorgeous emerald of yours."
"Yeah, well… being isolated gets boring," Knuckles admitted before glancing at Tails and gently bumping his arm against the fox's. 'And I realized that there are more important things to protect…' the echidna thought.
The gang arrived at the beach where they found Faith playing with Stratford and the other village kids. Upon seeing Sonic, Shadow, and the rest, she excused herself from the game they were playing. "You guys won! Awesome!" she whooped before going to Rouge and Omega. "Hi! I'm Faith. Nice to meet you, Miss Rouge and Mister Omega. Shadow's told me lots of stories about you two," she said with a polite curtsy.
Rouge smiled warmly at the little tenrec. "Nice to meet you, too, Faith. So Shadow here's been telling you about us?" she asked, patting Faith on the head.
"Mhm! Shadow told me that you three were government agents who went on super-secret missions! And you're an amazing spy who could sneak into Eggman's territory to relay information to The Resistance. And you've got a huge jewel collection. That is so cool!" Faith nodded enthusiastically.
"I see my reputation precedes me." Rouge knelt so she was at eye level with Faith. "Tell you what? If Shadow allows it, we'll go to my place and I'll show you my jewel collection," she offered, resisting her urge to squeal when Faith looked at her with sparkling eyes.
"Really?" the little tenrec gasped.
"Of course. I can tell you'll be able to appreciate the beauty of every gem's facet," Rouge assured her with a soft smile.
"Thank you, Miss Rouge," Faith said, giving a little hop of excitement. She then went to Omega and looked up at the former Badnik's glowing red eyes. "I heard that you're one of the good Eggman robots and have been helping destroy all the bad ones. How many weapons do you have? Ooh, can you fire laser beams? Can I look at your claw hands?" she asked.
Omega stared at Faith before looking at Shadow. At the dark hedgehog's nod, he carefully extended his right hand to Faith. The little tenrec carefully patted her palms against his fingers, avoiding the claw tips. "You got a really cool design, by the way. How many Badniks have you fought?" she asked, looking at Omega with curiosity.
"I HAVE LOST COUNT. BUT SO LONG AS EGGMAN CREATES MORE, I WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT TO PROVE MY SUPREMACY AS THE SUPERIOR EGGMAN ROBOT."
"Cool! Do your best, Mister Omega!" Faith cheered, fist-bumping the robot.
Omega was fairly certain that, if he was human or Mobian, he would have blushed. "SHADOW, I WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING IF IT MEANS PROTECTING THIS CHILD."
Chuckling, Shadow scooped up Faith and carried her the rest of the way back to Sonic's shack. His boyfriend and Amy were going around, telling people that it was safe to return to Hedgehog Village. He noticed Rouge looking back and forth between him and Faith. "Rouge and Omega will be staying here for a little while, sweetie. You can ask them for more stories later. Right now, Sonic and I have to go and talk with them at Amy's house, okay? Knuckles and Sticks will look after you," he told her, nodding to the echidna and the badger.
"Okay. Mr. Knuckles, Ms. Sticks, you guys wanna play Tomatopotamus?" Faith piped up.
"Sure thing, kid," Sticks said, following her into Sonic's shack.
"Tell us everything later." Knuckles spared a look at Rouge before following Sticks inside.
Sonic and Amy finished making their rounds and met up with Team Dark and Tails. Rouge looked at them all, glanced at the shack where she could hear Faith's laughter as she played video games with Knuckles and Sticks, then at Shadow. "So she's why you called me…" she said before giving Shadow a light punch in the shoulder. "I can't believe you! Keeping that precious cinnamon roll to yourself!" she exclaimed.
"Faith was pretty excited to meet you two after hearing Shadow's tales. I'm glad you and Omega like her," Sonic said with a relieved smile.
"She is a darling, Big Blue. Unlike her father…" Rouge grimaced. "I did what Shadow asked and dug up as much information as I could. It might be better to discuss this somewhere private," she told them in a low voice.
Amy led them to her house. After giving Rouge a moment to refresh herself and another moment to get Omega to a charging port, they all sat down in the living room. Rouge opened the backpack she'd been carrying around and pulled out a dossier.
"Joshua Tenrec. Address: No. 4, Thornwall Street, Empire City. He's made a name for himself in certain social circles, particularly in the academic field. He's a reporter for several magazines that focus on archaeology and history. He was married to an archaeologist, Alexandra Clade," Rouge began, pausing when she heard a sharp intake of breath. She then noticed Sonic's hands flying up to his mouth. "Big Blue?"
"Alexandra… Faith's been having nightmares of her mom's death. She told Shadow and me that that was her mom's name," he revealed.
Rouge's eyes widened before she quickly shook her head. "Well, that helps me move on to what I found next. Alexandra died in childbirth. What really got my attention was that she was never admitted to a hospital. There's a birth certificate for Faith that Joshua signed, but that was found in a hospital in Spagonia. Not in Empire City. So I did a little more digging. I talked to some of the people in Empire City and they… well, they told me some rather concerning stories…" Rouge said, her wings unfurling to cover her shoulders as she took a deep breath.
"Oh, dear Chaos, he abused his wife, too?" Tails murmured in horror.
"Not physically. But, from what I heard, Joshua was the more dominating in their relationship. When she got pregnant, the neighbors reported hearing the two of them often shouting at each other at night. Apparently, Joshua didn't want her to have the baby so she left him," Rouge told them.
Sonic covered Tails' ears in time as Shadow growled, "That fucking bastard…"
Rouge sighed. "I don't know where Alexandra went to get away from Joshua, but evidence suggests that she stayed somewhere in Spagonia and died there after Faith was born. A few years later, Joshua's neighbors saw this little girl who definitely looked like Alexandra's kid wandering around looking for scraps to eat. Some of them tried to talk to Joshua, but he kept insisting that his daughter was just doing it for attention. What makes it suspicious is that the kid wouldn't be found on the streets for days on end every time the neighbors came forward with their concerns…" she then looked at the rest of the team. "How did she even get here?" she asked.
Sonic gave the former spy a brief summary of what Faith told them. Rouge covered her mouth with her hand, her ears drooping slightly. "Oh, that poor baby… Having her trust broken like that…" she murmured. Her eyes became cold as she opened the dossier and pulled out a few papers.
"Good thing I already hated this scumbag even before I met your sweet little roommate because I found something that will help us in indicting him. A couple of agents back at G.U.N. have been keeping an eye on this particular group of researchers for a while now. Rumors of unethical experiments being done in their labs have been circulating. I managed to sneak off with copies of some of the evidence G.U.N.'s hoarding during a little friendly visit to Commander Topaz," she said as she spread out the papers on Amy's coffee table for the gang to see.
Shadow looked at the documents closely. Apart from lists of standard research supplies being shipped to the labs, everything looked harmless. Until he got to two specific papers that were transcripts of wire-tapped conversations between Joshua Tenrec and an unknown researcher.
It was all shorthand but the subject of the conversations between Joshua and this mysterious research organization was clear. The organization was looking for a "live specimen of a Chaos sensitive" and Joshua had one he was willing to sell.
Shadow closed his eyes and took three deep breaths before counting backward from ten. He opened his eyes and noticed Sonic and Amy glaring at the documents. "Okay, it looks like we've got sufficient proof. What now?" he asked as he handed them back to Rouge.
"Here's where we have a problem." Rouge looked at them, frowning. "Not long after Faith ran away, Joshua went off the grid. No one's seen him since he checked out of the hotel he was staying in. If we want to put him behind bars, we need to find him," she said.
Sonic sighed and ran a hand through his quills. "Of course, this won't be easy. Okay. How are we gonna find this dude?" he questioned.
"We could ask some of our friends back on the mainland to keep an eye out. I can call up Jewel and have her send out an alert to the Restoration. We could also look into Alexandra more and see if she's got any relatives we can contact," Amy suggested.
"Hold up, honey. If we call in the Restoration, they'll want to know why. And I'm sure some people here," Rouge glanced at Sonic and Shadow. "will want to wait a bit before they introduce Faith to new people. We can plan this a-hole's downfall later. Now!" she said, clapping her hands together.
"Any chance a lady could have some refreshments and catch up on some hot goss? Omega and I hitched a ride on a yacht and flew the last mile here," she said with a grin.
Shadow chuckled as Amy bustled to the kitchen to prepare some drinks and snacks. "Be careful with my glass unicorn, Omega!" the pink hedgehog reminded the robot in her living room, who was currently holding one of the many glass figurines displayed in the house in his claw hands.
"I WILL NOT BREAK THE GLASS SWORD HORSE, MISS ROSE." Omega stared at the little trinket with interest.
Rouge took a seat on the couch and waved Shadow over, patting an empty spot next to her. Once Shadow was seated, she looked at him with such intensity that he briefly wondered if she was angry.
"Now… I want you to tell me all about Faith. I need to know what her favorite food is, her favorite colors, her favorite gemstones, favorite everything," Rouge said, pulling out her phone and opening her notes app.
"Strawberries. Black, red, blue, and green. I'm not sure if she knows enough about gemstones to have a favorite but I'll ask," Shadow readily answered.
"Her favorite anime is 'Little Witch Academia'. And she likes watching lighting storms," Sonic added.
"And running! She beat you in a race before!" Tails chimed in.
Rouge nodded as she took down notes. Shadow sneaked a glance at her phone and couldn't help but smile at what she typed as the title for her notes.
My Niece's Favorite Things
Faith immediately latched onto Rouge and Omega the minute they came back from the serious adults' talk at Amy's house. She asked the pair about the adventures they had had with Shadow, eager to learn more about spies and what they did. Meanwhile, Knuckles and Sticks had joined the rest of Team Sonic in what Rouge was sure was a strategy meeting to find Joshua and give him his just desserts before he got his hands on Faith again. While Rouge wanted to join the meeting, she couldn't say no to spending time with the precious little angel her best friend and his boyfriend had decided to take in. So while Team Sonic discussed strategy outside under beach umbrellas, Rouge, Faith, and Omega spent their time inside Sonic's shack.
"Do you guys get to sneak into evil lairs and fight minions? Ooh! Are there traps like those red lasers that set off alarms?" Faith bounced in her seat while she made daisy chains for Rouge and Omega to wear.
"Well, we've certainly busted into our fair share of evil lairs. And Eggman did have those kinds of traps during his early days. Lately, it seems that he's upgraded his security system," Rouge told her, adjusting the daisy chain made around her neck. "As for the other aspects of spying, I'm afraid I can't share all the secrets, honey. Spies deal in secrets after all," she added with a wink.
"I understand." Faith nodded then looked at Omega. "Do you like your daisy chains, Mr. Omega?" she asked.
"THEY SERVE NO BATTLE FUNCTION THAT I CAN DEEM USEFUL. BUT THEY ARE AESTHETICALLY PLEASING," Omega replied.
"That's his way of saying that he likes them," Rouge translated for Faith before showing the little tenrec pictures of her jewel collection. Faith "oohed" and "ahhed" at the sparkling gems. "I'm looking forward to showing these beauties to you in person someday, sweetie," Rouge said as she let Faith sit on her lap and scroll through the pictures on her phone.
"You have so many jewels, Ms. Rouge! You must be the richest lady in the world," Faith remarked before stopping to stare at a picture of a ruby necklace and a pair of emerald earrings. "Ooh, I like these. The gems are red and green like Shadow and Sonic's eyes."
"Ah, those are rubies and emeralds. They're actually gifts from Shadow and Sonic. I treasure those accessories the most," Rouge said with a fond smile.
"I bet you look really pretty wearing them, Ms. Rouge." Faith smiled then twiddled her thumbs. "You've known Sonic and Shadow for a really long time, right?"
"I've known them for ages, darling." Rouge ruffled her quills.
"What were they like before? Have they always been so nice?" Faith looked at her, wine-colored eyes blinking curiously.
"Sonic's always had a heart of gold and it's easy to approach him. Shadow… was a bit hard to reach. Even I had a hard time befriending him. But I don't blame him. He went through some really tough things that made him scared of making friends," Rouge admitted, remembering how closed off her teammate used to be.
"Really?" Faith's brows furrowed, an image of Shadow hanging out with Tails and Sonic, discussing science and machinery with the former while joking with the latter, flashing through her mind. "Shadow's so nice and he likes hanging out with everyone in Team Sonic…" she said thoughtfully.
"You can thank Sonic for that. Out of all of us, he was the most determined to break down Shadow's walls and befriend him. Now, look at them now. Together as a couple for two years, madly in love with each other, and already raising a sweet little girl," Rouge said, booping Faith's nose at the last part, making the little tenrec giggle.
"Sonic and Shadow are the best. I wish I could stay with them forever…" Faith's smile faded and her ears drooped. "But I'm scared that my Daddy's gonna find me and take me away. I don't even want to call him my Daddy anymore," she mumbled before looking at Rouge and Omega.
"Ms. Rouge, Mr. Omega, I've got a secret. Is it okay if I share it with you?" she asked quietly.
"Of course, sweetie. On our honor as former spies, we promise that we won't tell a soul," Rouge promised.
"I WILL CARRY WHATEVER FAITH SAYS TO MY METAPHORICAL GRAVE," Omega promised.
Faith breathed a sigh of relief and said in a soft voice, "I want to call Sonic 'Dad' and Shadow 'Papa'."
Rouge resisted the urge to burst into tears at the sweet kid's confession. "Well, what's stopping you, hun?" she asked instead.
"I don't want them to feel weird. They take care of me while they already have so many important hero duties. If I started calling them Dad and Papa, then they'll feel like they have another responsibility to handle and… I'm scared that they'll get mad at me for calling them that," Faith admitted, covering her muzzle with her quills.
Rouge held Faith to her chest, smoothing down her quills. "Oh, honey… I'm sure they won't mind it if you call them Dad and Papa. In fact, I bet they'll be really happy," she told her.
"You think so?" Faith asked as Rouge placed a finished daisy chain around her neck.
"I know so," Rouge assured her. Faith nodded slowly and fiddled with her daisy chain. "Okay… if they're okay with me calling them that… Do you think the others will be okay if I call them my aunts and uncles? Th-that's usually what kids call their parents' siblings or best friends… at least that's what I've heard in the movies I've watched," she mumbled.
"I'm sure they'll love it if you call them Aunt or Uncle, Faith." Rouge placed a hand on her chest. "Tell you what? For practice, you can call me 'Auntie Rouge' so you can get used to it," she suggested.
"Auntie… Auntie Rouge… Auntie Rouge…" Faith tested the words on her tongue, smiling brightly as she said them. "You're my Auntie Rouge!" she proclaimed as she held Rouge's hands.
"That's right, hun!" Rouge lifted Faith into her arms and flapped her wings to bring them both up a foot into the air, delighting in Faith's squeals.
"Yay! I have an Auntie now!" Faith cheered when they came back down. Then she looked at Omega and asked, "Can I call you Uncle as well, Mr. Omega?"
Omega was silent for a few seconds. Then he said, "FILING NEW TITLE OF "UNCLE" INTO DATABASE."
Rouge chuckled and pressed a soft kiss to Faith's forehead. "Congratulations, sweetie. You now have a beautiful Auntie and an uncle who's built like a tank." A mischievous sparkle filled the bat's eyes. "And as your Auntie, I've got to teach you some important stuff that'll be useful in life," she said before getting her bag and bringing out a printed map.
"I've heard rumors that there's a treasure hoard stashed in one of the Ancients' temples. Imagine the jewels just waiting to be unearthed. What do you say, Faith? Ready to learn some treasure hunting pro tips from your Auntie Rouge?" she asked Faith.
"Yes, please!" Faith nodded then looked at the map. "Hey, I know where this is. Miss Amy's been doing fieldwork there. I've been wanting to visit the site with her," she said.
"And she hasn't let you visit?" Rouge tilted her head to the side.
"She says it's still too dangerous. She and the other archaeologists are still digging there. Sonic and Shadow won't let me go either," Faith admitted, looking disappointed.
Rouge smiled mischievously. "Well, I'm sure it'll be alright if it's just the three of us going. With Omega's heavy artillery and my treasure hunting expertise, we can definitely find the treasure safely," she told the little tenrec.
"But… wouldn't that be sneaky?" Faith asked, frowning slightly.
"I'll admit that it is…" Rouge held her palm flat in front of her and lightly moved it from side to side. "But! Imagine how surprised everyone will be when we return with the treasure. And everyone loves surprises," she said.
"Hmmm… that's true…" Faith nodded then smiled. "Okay, Auntie Rouge! I'm in!"
"Wonderful! Now, pack some supplies, hun. Our adventure begins!" Rouge clapped her hands. While Faith hurried to pack a bag, she went outside and found Team Sonic deep in discussion.
"Hope you don't mind if Omega and I go for a little walk with Faith. I think she's excited to show me around the island," she said with an innocent smile.
"Sure thing, Rouge!" Sonic gave her a thumbs up while Shadow narrowed his eyes at her. "Just a little walk around the island?" the Ultimate Lifeform asked.
Weaker men and women would have caved under Shadow the Hedgehog's imposing stance. But Rouge the Bat, who knew the black hedgehog better than most people, was a master at keeping any ulterior motives she had hidden from him. 'It's not like I'm taking Faith anywhere dangerous. The ruins are nothing more than dusty old catacombs that have long been abandoned. I'm sure there's nothing in them that will pose a risk to Faith's safety. And, if there is, Omega and I will be there to keep her safe,' she reasoned with herself as she gave Shadow a confident grin.
"Just a short walk, hun. We'll be back before you know it," she said brightly.
Finally, Shadow sighed and nodded. "All right. But keep an eye on Faith. She likes to explore," he told the bat.
"You can count on me. By the way," Rouge smirked. "when are you and Big Blue going to adopt Faith? She's already calling me Auntie, you know?" she asked and left, relishing in the surprised exclamations from Amy and the others. Looking back, she giggled at the sight of Shadow and Sonic's equally red faces.
The three of them headed to the site of the ruins, which were located deep in the jungles beneath the mountains. The archaeologists had already left so Rouge, Faith, and Omega were able to walk in without being stopped.
Rouge had Faith stay with Omega as she scoped out the area. "Hmmm… Looks like we have a standard tunnel layout judging by the entrance," she hummed as went inside the tunnel first and inspected the support beams. "Recently put up…" Taking out a torchlight, she shone a beam of light down the tunnel. Her teal eyes widened as she spotted two pairs of footprints.
"Well, well, looks like we have competition," Rouge remarked, motioning Faith and Omega to join her. She pointed at the footprints and smiled. "First rule of treasure hunting, sweetheart: Always expect competition. And it looks like we've got a pair who already have a head start," she told the little tenrec.
"So we're on a race to get to the treasure first now?" Faith asked, eyes glimmering.
"Exactly, my dear. So we better pick up the pace." Rouge nodded and began leading her treasure hunting team down the tunnel. The walls around them were inscribed with ancient runes that, every now and then, Rouge paused from walking to inspect. "My Ancient is a little rusty, but I believe they're warnings of the traps within this tunnel system," she said while Omega scanned the runes and ran them through his database of lost languages.
Faith looked at the runes inscribed on the walls and then said something that made Rouge turn her head.
"It looks like English to me."
"Come again, hun?" Rouge blinked while Faith started reading the runes out loud.
"Enter seeker of riches but take heed of the trials that await you. Prove your mettle and the treasures are yours. Proceed to the first chamber for the trial of the mind," Faith recited, her eyes roving over the runes as if she was just reading a page from a chapter book.
"TRANSLATION OF RUNES COMPLETE. THEY SAY EXACTLY WHAT FAITH JUST SAID," Omega announced to Rouge's surprise.
Rouge knelt in front of Faith so they were at eye level. "Faith, you can read these?" she asked, gesturing to the runes around them. The little tenrec nodded and cocked her head to the side. "Is that good, Auntie Rouge?" she asked.
"In this type of situation, yes. It's extremely good." Standing up, Rouge held Faith's hand as they continued down the tunnel until they reached a large chamber. There was a single stone door that had a silver disc. The walls on the sides had large holes that made Rouge's wings twitch. "It's either fire, poison darts, or smashing pillars that will come out of those…" she muttered and picked up a stone.
Faith watched as she threw it across the room. Her eyes widened as water came spewing out of the holes on the sides of the walls.
"Darn it! It must be coming from one of the rivers!" Rouge picked up Faith and, with Omega hurrying behind them using his jet boosters, flew towards the doors. The water was swirling around Omega's legs by the time he made it to the door. "CALCULATING CHAMBER FLOODING TO BE COMPLETE IN 2 MINUTES AND 15 SECONDS," he told Rouge and Faith.
"Trial of the mind my foot… this is more of a trial to see how long we can hold our breaths underwater…" Rouge muttered before noticing that the silver disc was encircled by two circles with several symbols.
"THE CIRCLES ROTATE," Omega announced, spinning the outer circle.
"Auntie Rouge, fly me up higher!" Faith pointed to the top of the door where there were more runes etched into the stone.
"Hang in there, Omega!" Rouge shouted before flying to the top of the door.
"As day is to night, so is dark is to light. The path is clear when aligned right," Faith quickly read the runes aloud.
'The symbols!' Rouge realized and quickly flew down to Omega. "Omega, do you see any symbols that look like the sun and moon?" she asked as she already noticed that the water had reached the robot's upper torso.
"I SEE THEM ON THE OUTER CIRCLE," Omega replied.
"The path is clear when aligned right… Okay, the sun should be on the right side and the moon should be on the left," Rouge said while she and Faith searched for the symbols representing light and dark. They found them - with the symbol for dark simply being a small panel that was rusted over and the symbol for light being a panel made of white stone - and quickly rotated the inner circle until the light panel was on the right and the dark was on the left. Omega rotated the outer circle until the symbols aligned.
To the trio's relief, the stone door lifted up and they went through as soon as Omega could fit. As soon as they were out of the chamber, a gush of water following them, the door closed tightly behind them.
"Are you okay, Uncle Omega?" Faith asked worriedly as Rouge put her down. Water sloshed around her and Rouge's boots as they approached the E-series robot.
"MY BODY HAS AN EFFICIENT DRAINAGE SYSTEM. NO INTERNAL DAMAGE DETECTED," Omega reassured her while water dripped out of his chassis.
Rouge looked at Faith worriedly. "Are you okay, Faith?" she asked, beginning to regret her decision to bring Faith along.
"I'm okay, Auntie Rouge." Faith smiled before looking at the tunnel road ahead of them. Her eyes widened as she took in the magnificent murals painted all around them. "Whoa, these paintings are so cool!" she exclaimed, running back and forth as she, her Auntie Rouge, and Uncle Omega walked.
"Intriguing…" Rouge took in the details. She could make out figures of robed Mobian-like figures doing a variety of activities from the mundane task of baking bread and tending to orchards as well as evidence of their advanced technological feats. 'All these depictions of ordinary life for the Ancients don't seem to match up with what's usual for a temple. Perhaps my sources for wrong… Could this place be a tomb, perhaps?' she wondered before hearing Faith's voice.
"Brave Azu, free as the wind, accepted the gifts of the tribe though he had no use for them. He gave most to the poor and only kept the most precious treasures that reminded him of the lost child he had loved."
Faith looked up at the mural depicting a hooded blue figure that had its arms spread out to the sides, gold and silver cups, jewelry, and coins being presented to a crowd of Mobians and humans who all raised their hands to receive the gifts. She looked at the hooded blue figure and smiled at the color the ancient artists had used. 'That Azu must have been a very kind and generous person. Just like Sonic,' she thought before she felt a hand tap her shoulder.
"Yes, Auntie Rouge?" She turned her head to look at the white-furred bat who was also examining the mural and the runes inscribed around it.
"How are you able to read this, hun? Did Amy teach you?" Rouge asked.
Faith shook her head. "Nope. But I can read them because they all look like English," she answered then tilted her head to the side. "Do they look different to you, Auntie Rouge?" she asked.
"Quite different." Rouge pulled out her phone and drew an Ancient symbol that she knew represented 'sky' and showed it to the little tenrec. "This took me a whole year of studying the Ancients' writing system to understand. What does it look like to you?" she asked.
"It says 'sky.'" Faith looked at the screen intently. Rouge blinked then quickly erased the Ancient symbol and typed in the word 'sky' and showed it to her. "And what about this?"
"Sky," Faith answered. That confused Rouge even more. The written language of the Ancients was complex and there were still more symbols in their lexicon being discovered. On top of that, Faith couldn't have possibly been exposed to much of the artifacts Amy was studying. Unless the pink hedgehog had shown the little tenrec some. She was going to have to ask Amy later.
Still, how was a six-year-old able to read a forgotten language as if it were plain English?
Rouge's thoughts were interrupted by a small tremor. "Omega, can you get a read on that?" she asked, picking up Faith and cradling her in her arms.
"SEISMIC PATTERNS TOO CONSISTENT TO BE A NATURAL EARTHQUAKE," Omega reported.
"I think it's time to go back…" Rouge muttered only for Faith to shake her head.
"But we could be so close to finding something, Auntie Rouge!" Faith said and looked further down the tunnel.
"Second rule of treasure hunting, sweetie: if Mother Nature decides that you're not getting the treasure today, best to listen to what she says and try again another time," Rouge told her.
Faith opened her mouth to protest before a loud boom echoed throughout the tunnel, cracks forming on the murals. She looked up at Rouge with wide eyes, the bat looking back at the way they came. Rouge's muzzle paled as she remembered that nothing but water waited for them on the other side and the only way out was forward. Taking a deep breath, Rouge looked at Omega and nodded, the dependable robot readying his arsenal.
Looking ahead, she decided to give Faith one more bit of advice.
"Third rule of treasure hunting: never give up until you claim the prize."
Faith nodded and bravely set her gaze forward. 'Auntie Rouge is smart and she's done this hundreds of times. Uncle Omega's big and super strong. I can help with this treasure hunt, too. I'm… I'm good at reading what's written on the walls here? Yeah! I'm good at reading. And if I have to, I'll use my powers in case there's trouble!' she told herself as Rouge held onto her as she flew down the tunnel with Omega propelling himself forward with his rocket boosters.
At the end of the tunnel, they were startled to find that a set of traps had already been triggered in the next chamber. Massive steel beams swung back and forth like pendulums, repeatedly smashing against each other with deafening clangs. Up ahead were a set of stone doors where they could hear louder explosions coming from within.
"Looks like our rivals are just past this new trial," Rouge said, wincing as the incessant sound of crashing metal assaulted her ears. Faith whined, covering her ears. Putting her down, Rouge covered her ears as well. "Omega, we can't hear ourselves think with this racket. Think you can guide us through this one?" she asked.
Omega took a long look at the steel beams, his eyes scanning the room, before saying, "I HAVE A BETTER IDEA. COVER YOUR EARS."
Rouge and Faith only had a second to follow Omega's orders before the robot started firing bullets at the cables holding up the beams.
"THE ROAD IS CLEAR," Omega announced after the tremendous racket of dozens of steel beams clanging onto the floor ceased. He turned around and saw that Faith had curled up into a tight ball while Rouge was on the floor with her hands covering her ears.
"You couldn't have waited for us to back away?" Rouge asked him, her right eye twitching.
"THE ECHOES WOULD HAVE REACHED YOUR POSITION EITHER WAY." Omega's arms gestured in the robot's best imitation of a shrug. Faith uncurled from her ball form, rubbing her ears as they walked past all the fallen beams. The explosions grew louder and more frequent as they approached the doors on the other side of the chamber.
"Stay behind Omega, sweetie," Rouge cautioned the young tenrec. Once Faith was safely behind Omega, Rouge went to the doors and pushed them open. Another explosion rocked the room but proved to be a good cover for the trio's entrance.
"All this security for a tomb… Honestly, why would the Ancients care about people coming to steal their treasures? They wouldn't need them in the afterlife…"
"It's a cultural thing, honey. It's customary among ancient civilizations to leave behind offerings to the dead to ensure a comfortable journey to the afterlife."
Rouge clenched her fists as she saw a brown female goat clad in a long green dress and a winged harness and a light blue-furred desert rat in a mech suit. Both were attempting to break down a steel door with a combination of brute force and energy blasts. But the door refused to yield, which frustrated the goat more.
"Augh! Charlie, can't you decipher any of the runes here? What if they hold the key to opening this door?" Belinda asked while glaring at the door.
The desert rat in the mech suit sighed and turned around. That's when he noticed Rouge, Omega, and Faith. "Oh, dear. Honey bunny, looks like we've got company," he mumbled.
"Oh, Charlie, that's a cute rhyme," Belinda giggled then turned around to face the treasure hunting trio with a wicked grin.
Faith frowned. "You're the lady who tried to steal Cherie's dress! What are you doing here?" she demanded.
"Oh, joy. Sonic and Shadow's kid… Go back to playing kickball or something, young lady. This is no place for a little girl," Belinda said condescendingly before looking at Rouge. "Ah, and Rouge the Bat. Figures the legendary jewel thief would be here to steal one of the Ancients' treasures." She smirked.
"Auntie Rouge isn't a jewel thief!" Faith jumped out from behind Omega, glaring as fiercely as any six-year-old can.
"Oh, you sweet summer child. Your "Auntie" Rouge clearly didn't tell you everything about herself," Belinda told her and took to the air while Charlie readied his mech suit's blasters.
Rouge bit her lip and looked back at Faith, the little tenrec's glare dropping at Belinda's words. The little tenrec's burgundy eyes trained on her, filled with uncertainty. Sighing, Rouge turned to Belinda and Charlie. "You're right. I was too ashamed to tell my niece that her aunt made some pretty bad choices in the past. But not anymore," she declared, assuming a fighting stance.
"Omega! Get Faith out of here, now!"
The former Eggman robot snatched Faith up and made for the exit while Rouge flew towards Belinda and Charlie. Dodging an energy beam from Charlie's mech suit, Rouge aimed a screw kick at the desert rat only for Belinda to charge at her.
"Hmph. I've faced bigger odds than you two," Rouge muttered as she and Belinda grappled in the air. Flying high, she slammed the heel of her boot down only for Belinda to grab it before it made contact with her head. Belinda spun and threw her into a wall, bits of stone raining down onto the cavern floor. Dazed, Rouge staggered in her flight. Shaking her head, she saw Belinda coming at her and performed a power dive to narrowly dodge an energy blast.
"You've already got what's probably Mobius' biggest collection of jewels! It's Mama B's turn to have her own!" Belinda yelled and took aim at Rouge while the latter dodged her husband's mech suit's punches.
Rouge screamed as a concentrated beam from Belinda's harness tore a hole through her left wing. Crashing and skidding roughly onto the floor, Rouge winced as she tried to get up only for Charlie to grab her and pin her to the door to the next chamber. Pain flared from her wing and she swallowed a cry to glare at Charlie as she squirmed.
"Sorry. Nothing personal, ma'am. Just doing what I need to keep my wife happy," Charlie said in a tone oozing with fake remorse as he reared back his suit's left fist. Rouge swallowed and closed her eyes. 'Looks like my treasure hunting days are over…' she thought, bracing for the final blow.
The rat-a-tat-a-tat of bullets was suddenly heard followed by an enraged shriek.
"GET AWAY FROM MY AUNTIE ROUGE!"
Opening her eyes, Rouge saw Omega rocketing towards Charlie, firing bullets at Belinda who swooped and dove to avoid getting shot down. Perched atop Omega was Faith, her quill tips and eye markings glowing a bright white.
"LAUNCHING NIECE PROJECTILE IN THREE… TWO…" Omega lowered himself and tilted his upper torso slightly forward. "ONE!"
As soon as he was just a few feet away from Charlie, he suddenly leaped into the air. At the same time, Faith jumped and sailed over Charlie's head. Faith's entire body crackled with electricity and a huge purple lightning bolt formed in her hands which she used to slice through the arm holding Rouge. Rouge only felt a slight tingle from the electricity before she fell to the floor.
Once she saw her Auntie Rouge was free, Faith turned to face Charlie who was panicking as his mech suit malfunctioned, sparks flying out of its decapitated left arm. "Stay away from my Auntie Rouge, you big meanie!" she yelled and charged towards the desert rat with her right fist ready. Sparks danced across her knuckles and, jumping high with a mighty "HYAH!" Faith punched Charlie's mech suit right in its metallic crotch.
At the same time, Omega had run out of bullets but was successful in riddling Belinda's wings with holes. "APPROPRIATE PUNISHMENT FOR BLOWING A HOLE THROUGH ROUGE'S LEFT WING ACHIEVED," he said as Belinda crashed to the ground.
Belinda coughed and staggered to her feet, her wing harness damaged beyond repair. Charlie climbed out of his mech suit and the two of them took one look at Faith and Omega before turning tail and running.
"Auntie Rouge!" Faith ran over to the wounded bat who was already wrapping her injured wing. Tears spilled from her eyes as she saw the blood slowly blossom across the white cloth Rouge had used as a bandage. "I'm so sorry! I know I should have listened to you, but I told Uncle Omega to come back here b-because… w-we heard you scream and I-I wanted to help…" she whimpered, the white glow of her quill tips and eye markings fading.
"I TOOK THE LIBERTY OF MENTIONING TO FAITH YOUR FOURTH RULE OF TREASURE HUNTING: NEVER LEAVE YOUR TREASURE HUNTING PARTNER BEHIND," Omega told Rouge, helping her up.
Rouge managed a smile and leaned against the robot. She reached out to ruffle Faith's quills. "You two did a fabulous job fighting those two crooks off. If anyone should be apologizing, it's me," she sighed and shut her eyes. "I never should have taken you here, Faith. Not without checking first to make sure this place was safe…" Opening her eyes, she looked at Faith with guilt.
"And Belinda was right about me. I stole jewels from anyone who had them, from anyplace that had them, because I believed that all the world's jewels were mine to keep. It was selfish of me and, honestly, I'm still working on changing my ways. That's why I've shifted to treasure hunting nowadays. But I guess even that can be considered stealing since it means taking treasures from the people who used to live in places like this," she admitted.
To her surprise, Faith hugged her, burying her face in Rouge's jumpsuit. "You're working to change your ways and that's good. And I still think you're amazing, Auntie Rouge. Please don't feel bad for taking me here. I really liked going treasure hunting with you and Uncle Omega today," she mumbled.
Rouge felt tears well up in her eyes. Whether they were from the pain of her injury or from the sheer emotion she felt upon hearing her sweet niece's kind and forgiving words, she wasn't sure but didn't care. Hugging Faith back, she smiled. "Well, hun, it looks like we're almost at our goal. What do you say we find out what's on the other side of that door?" she suggested, pointing to the steel door.
Omega lifted both girls up onto his shoulders and walked over to the door. This was when Rouge and Faith realized that the steel was etched with jagged, branching patterns from top to bottom with a single round indentation connecting both sides. The round indentation was surrounded by more of the Ancients' runes and, thanks to them being at eye level with Omega, Faith could read them out loud.
"Through this door, I pass on to the next realm. Where I may dwell in the sky my child loved so much," she read, her eyes then focusing on the patterns etched into the door.
"These patterns…" Rouge traced a finger against one of them. Her eyes widened in realization. "They look like… lightning," she said before looking at Faith. Sonic and the gang had told her about Faith's electrokinesis, but she hadn't expected the little tenrec to be that powerful at such a young age. Looking at the patterns a second time and recalling what Faith read from the runes, she got an idea.
"Faith, try feeding a little bit of your lightning into the door," she suggested and pointed at the round indentation in the door.
Nodding, Faith placed her right hand over the indentation and let a light current flow through her fingertips. To her and Rouge's amazement, the lightning bolt patterns glowed a faint purple and, with a heavy groan, the door opened to reveal a small chamber. A small square measuring about the size of a coffin had been carved out in the ceiling to reveal a slice of a clear blue sky.
'Too bad I can't fly us all out of there…' Rouge grimaced and looked at her limp left wing. The three of them looked around the chamber and found nothing that could be considered treasure-worthy. Tall clay jars that held remnants of grains and beans that had been mostly picked clean by wild birds and woven baskets for holding produce that had long since rotted away were tucked away in a corner of the chamber. In the very middle was a raised platform that had a faded brown cloak. If there had been bones, they had long since degraded into dust.
"Well, I have to admit that this is kind of disappointing…" Rouge sighed once they'd finished inspecting everything in the chamber except for the platform. "But at least there's nothing here those two earlier could have stolen," she remarked.
"But we got to explore these ruins, solve puzzles, saw those really cool murals that told us a story about the Ancients, and fight off bad guys!" Faith grinned and hugged Rouge. "This was the greatest treasure hunting adventure ever, Auntie Rouge!" she declared.
Chuckling, Rouge kissed her niece on the forehead. "I'm glad you enjoyed this adventure, hun. You've got the makings of a great treasure hunter," she said with a wink.
"Not as great as you," Faith giggled before she noticed something glimmering in the sunlight on the platform in the middle of the chamber. Approaching the platform, she noticed a small lump beneath the folds of the old cloak.
'Whoever was buried here, I hope you don't mind if I just take a look…' she thought as she carefully moved the cloak to uncover a small figurine of a Mobian. Faith picked up the figurine and carefully turned it over in her hands. It depicted a girl Mobian. Of what species, she wasn't sure. The figurine was only 4 inches tall, made of lapis lazuli, and studded with tiny amethysts. It was the one thing in the chamber that could be considered a treasure.
"I found the treasure, Auntie Rouge!" Faith said excitedly as she held up the figurine.
Rouge's eyes glimmered as she inspected her niece's find. "Oh, my… what a find. How does it feel, hun? Is it heavy?" she asked.
"A little," Faith said as she carefully felt the figurine before looking at Rouge. "We should show this to Miss Amy. Oh! And we should take pictures of the murals from the hallway, too. It'll help with her research on the Ancients," she piped up.
"I'll make sure to let my team of archaeologists know that, Faith."
Faith and Rouge jumped at the very familiar voice and turned around to find Amy, Tails, Knuckles, and Sticks with Belinda and Charlie tied up with their Ener Beams. While the couple was fearful, the members of Team Sonic were all frowning with disappointment and disapproval.
And in front of them were Sonic and Shadow, both hedgehogs looking pointedly at Rouge.
"HELLO," Omega greeted them with a wave.
"Hi, guys…" Rouge sheepishly smiled and wiggled her fingers in an attempt to defuse the tension that had suddenly manifested.
Shadow looked at his best friend with a cold gaze before he noticed her injured wing. "You're hurt," he murmured and went to Rouge.
"You can thank those two," Rouge accused Belinda and Charlie who merely glared back at her. She hissed as Shadow untied her makeshift bandage. "How did you guys even know we were here?" she asked.
"You three took a long time to come back from your "little walk" so we went looking for you. We just so happened to bump into Cliff who told us that he saw you three headed in the direction of the ruins." Sonic folded his arms across his chest. "Decided to take Faith on one of your treasure hunts, huh?" he asked rhetorically.
"Well, I can never say no to my dear niece when she wants to learn a thing or two from me," Rouge said before yelping as Shadow's fingers probed the hole in her wing.
"You need to retake those first aid classes G.U.N. required us to do before…" Shadow muttered as he inspected the small hole that had been torn through her wing. Wisps of Chaos Energy flowed from his fingers and worked to mend the damage done. "We'll stop by the hospital just to make sure." Shadow glared at Rouge. 'And we're going to need to talk about this,' were the unspoken words, which Rouge sensed and she gave a resigned nod.
Faith, on the other hand, was showing the rest of the gang the figurine she found. "This must have been Azu's most prized possession, Miss Amy," she gushed.
"Azu? Who's Azu, sweetie?" Amy asked her.
"The guy who was buried here. The murals in the hallway tell a story about him giving away all the treasures to the people. But I guess he kept this one because it reminded him of his kid," Faith explained and gave Amy the figurine. "Do you think this should go to a museum?" she asked.
Amy glanced at Rouge, wondering what Faith was talking about. "I'll explain later, darling," Rouge told her as they left the chamber. As they headed back to Hedgehog Village, Faith told the whole team all about her big treasure hunting adventure with Auntie Rouge and Uncle Omega, thankfully oblivious to the tension in the group.
Tails, Knuckles, and Sticks took Belinda and Charlie to the police station while Amy took Faith back to Sonic's shack. Sonic, Shadow, and Omega took Rouge to the hospital to get her wing checked out. Once the doctor had told them that Rouge's injury was healing thanks to Shadow's Chaos Energy and she just needed to take it easy for a few days, both hedgehogs took the opportunity to really lay into the bat.
"I cannot believe you took Faith on such a dangerous heist! I can turn a blind eye to whatever schemes you cook up on your own time, Rouge. But when my kid is involved, that's where I draw the line!" Sonic exclaimed as his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
Rouge's ears flattened against her head. It was rare when Sonic got mad and it was considered a mark of shame among the gang if the blue hedgehog ever yelled at you in anger for doing something stupid. The blue hedgehog was the epitome of laidback so him getting angry at her… Rouge knew that she seriously messed up.
Looking at Shadow, she cringed because her best friend had yet to say a single word to her, letting Sonic do all the yelling first.
"The gang and I had a hard time getting to you guys thanks to all the traps in the ruins, one of them involving water! I swear to Chaos that I almost had a heart attack in that chamber because I thought Faith could have drowned in there! What if we hadn't gone there? What if we hadn't heard from Cliff that you three went to the ruins? What if you, Faith, and Omega weren't able to get past all the traps?" Sonic pulled at his quills, causing Shadow to gently grip his wrists and pull his hands away from his head before he could rip out any of his quills.
"I'm sorry, Big Blue. You're right… I never should have let Faith come with me even when she wanted to. I should have protected her… We should have just stayed at home," Rouge apologized before looking at Shadow.
"Shadow? Hun, please say something," she implored.
The black hedgehog sighed and looked at the bat. "You took Faith on a treasure hunt in an unmapped ruin in the jungle. Normally, I would have been fine with it because Faith is a curious child and she has a thirst for adventure that both Sonic and I are supportive of. What angers me, Rouge, is that you took Faith with you with the ulterior motive of taking whatever treasure you found. You may not have meant to, but you manipulated Faith in order to get what you want. She doesn't deserve to have her trust taken advantage of like that. Had it not been for Faith already considering you as her aunt, I would have kept you away from her for fear of you being a bad influence," he told her, his tone grave.
Rouge winced and bowed her head in shame. Her throat felt tight with tears as Shadow's words sunk in. She had taken advantage of the little tenrec's trust for her own selfish reasons. She essentially committed the same crime Joshua had done. And sweet Faith trusted her so openly and had looked at her with such admiration…
Chaos, she felt like a total monster.
"I… I'm… I am so sorry. I never meant to do that to Faith nor did I ever want to put her in harm's way. I will do whatever it takes to earn her forgiveness and yours," she promised.
Shadow glanced at Sonic who relaxed and placed his hand in his. Finally, his boyfriend exhaled and told Rouge, "Alright. We'll give you a chance. For starters, you help us find Joshua and put him behind bars before he can get his hands on Faith again."
"Second," Shadow squeezed Sonic's hand. "the next time Faith wants to go treasure hunting with you, we come as well. But Sonic and I are going to tell her later that we won't go treasure hunting for now," he added.
Rouge nodded then managed a small smile. "Already calling Faith your kid, huh, Big Blue?" she asked Sonic who blushed.
"Well, we already have the adoption papers ready. But w-we need to find Joshua first. Shads and I can't gain full custody of Faith until we can prove that Joshua doesn't deserve to raise her," he admitted.
Rouge nodded in understanding. Remembering what Faith told her prior to going on their treasure hunting adventure, she hoped that her niece would soon gain the courage to let Sonic and Shadow know how much they mean to her.
Amy let Rouge room with her along with Omega. While she had been disappointed in the two for letting Faith go on a treasure hunt without letting her and the team know, the pink hedgehog had been amazed at the trio's find. She and Cliff were now heading a full expedition to study what was now called "The tomb of Azu". The figurine was now housed in the history museum of Seaside Island and had reignited archaeologists' interest in the Ancients, Amy included.
But what really amazed Amy was Rouge's account of her treasure hunt with Faith.
"Faith can read the Ancients' language?" Amy asked as she showed Rouge examples of the Ancients' text. Both of them had devoted a significant amount of time to studying the Ancients and their written language. To this day, they were still studying and had only scratched the surface.
"I'm not entirely sure if she can decipher the runes themselves. She said that the runes look like English. I even showed her the rune for 'sky' and she read it as s-k-y sky. I think it's like the runes automatically morph into English when she looks at them," Rouge theorized as they pored over the texts.
The two were halfway through translating a scroll when there was a knock on the door. Omega clunked over to open it.
"Hi, Uncle Mega!" Faith said cheerfully, holding her hand up.
"HELLO, FAITH," Omega answered, gently high-fiving the little tenrec.
Rouge smiled as Shadow and Sonic entered Amy's house. She still had a long way to go before the two hedgehogs could fully forgive her for her stupid stunt, but at least they weren't keeping her niece away from her.
Speaking of her niece…
"How's your wing, Auntie Rouge?" Faith asked as she sat next to the bat on the couch.
"Much better, hun. I should be able to fly again in a few days," Rouge replied, stretching her wings lightly.
"That's good." Faith smiled shyly and pulled a little wrapped gift box out of her quills. "I got you a get well present," she said, presenting the box to Rouge.
"For me?" Rouge took the gift box with a soft smile. "Aw, sweetheart…" she said as she untied the little purple ribbon and opened the gift box.
Rouge blinked then pulled out a heart-shaped pendant. It was one of those cheap costume jewelry pieces with an almost garish pink heart set in a silver-plated mold. Looking at Faith, who was nervously fiddling with her front quills, Rouge knew that the little girl still didn't know the difference between real gemstones and fake ones. She made a mental note to teach Faith how to identify gemstones when she showed the little tenrec her jewel collection in the future.
"D-Do you like it? I picked it out because it matches the heart you wear," Faith said, her cheeks pink.
Rouge felt a single tear fall from her eye as she embraced Faith, nuzzling her and giving her a big kiss on the cheek. "I love it! Oh, Faith, this is so beautiful. You have such good taste," she thanked her niece before proudly putting the pendant on.
It was cheap and an imitation. And Rouge the Bat hated imitation gems.
But this? This was the exception for it was a gift from her niece.
"I will treasure this forever… my little gemstone," Rouge said, smiling lovingly at Faith who giggled and snuggled into her arms.
Holding the heart pendant to her chest, Rouge knew that she had to step up in her efforts to help Team Sonic find Joshua Tenrec and put him behind bars. She, Sonic, and Shadow will not rest until they were sure that Faith would never get hurt by him ever again.
On top of that, she needed to find out when Faith's birthday was and start planning her shopping trip.
Only the finest gifts for her little gemstone, after all.
Auntie Rouge and Uncle Omega have entered the chat! What did you guys think? Let me know in the reviews. Constructive criticism is welcome.
- GuardianDragon98