A/N: Gah, this took me so long! -shot-
I apologise deeply for all those that have been waiting, and I thank you all for staying faithful even though it's been so long!
Dark Huntress, are you sure Rouge's white fur is actually a mask? It seems like her fur to me!
Oh, and I haven't properly checked it, just basics, really. I'll do a proper check and change any mistakes and stuff tomorrow! =D
"Miss Rouge?"
The voice attempting to rouse her from her slumber seemed awfully familiar. Kind, yet confused.
"You need to wake up now, Miss Rouge..."
It was so familiar, but Rouge just couldn't be bothered to open her eyes to find out who it was.
Knuckles? Shadow? Eggman?
Rouge quickly opened her eyes; she didn't want Eggman to watch her sleeping, thank you very much!
Rouge was pleasantly surprised to see Big standing above her looking concerned. She yawned sleepily and stretched her arms behind her head before looking up at the cat again.
"Miss Rouge, you said you were... noc... noc... sleeping during the day! So why were you asleep at night?" He looked quite worried.
"I was just very tired. Yesterday was... stressful in many ways. And you can call me Rouge. None of this formal stuff. Usually I'd like it, but for some reason, I don't feel like it right now."
"Okay. So, should we do the fishing lesson now Miss Rouge?"
Rouge thought for a moment, before shaking her head, and saying
"Could I just freshen up first? A lady has to look her best."
"Er, okay! I'll go back home, and when you're ready you can come find me, okay Miss Rouge?"
Rouge nodded, smiling.
"And don't you come back here before then!" She yelled at his retreating figure. "No spying on my while I'm not dressed!"
Rouge heard no reply, and snickered softly. His brain probably hadn't registered anything...
She quickly rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and reached to pull off her boots.
. .
"Froggy? Where are you, Froggy?" Big asked as he peered under the bed. "Where have you gone, Froggy?"
Big stood up straight again and looked round his cabin in confusion. Where was Froggy?
A quiet ribbit came from outside, and Big turned to see Froggy bounding away into the bushes, heading towards the lake. Big paled.
"Wait!" he yelled after his friend. "Froggy, don't go! Miss Rouge said not to go there!"
Big bit his lip, hopping between his two feet; should he stay and risk Froggy seeing something he shouldn't, or go after him and try to stop him before he got there and risk himself seeing something he shouldn't?
After a few more moments of indecision, Big decided; he had to save Froggy!
He started running through the bushes where he last saw his little green friend.
As Big rushed through the bushes, he hoped that he wouldn't be too late to save Froggy from seeing... That...
"Froggy!" Big had at last caught a glimpse of him, right about to enter the clearing in which lay the lake. The small amphibian croaked in shock, and looked round at Big for a second before turning back towards the row of large bushes that stood between him and the lake.
"Frooooooooggyyyyyyy!" Big exclaimed as he leapt through the air with the same amount of grace as a drunk elephant.
Gloved hands outstretched, Big dived at Froggy, and as he hit the ground, his momentum kept him travelling forward. He entered the bush headfirst, and closed his eyes tight as the twigs and leaves hit his face. When he stopped moving, Big noticed that his face no was no longer in contact with the bush; the top part of his body had entered the clearing. To make matters worse, he hadn't been successful in his capture of Froggy, who was bounding away towards the crystal water of the lake.
He was sorely tempted to call out, but if Rouge caught him, he would be in a lot of trouble.
There was no way to save Froggy.
Unless...
Big spied Rouge's fishing rod on the ground a few metres away. It was a long shot, and very risky, but he had to try and save Froggy!
Shuffling hastily atop the soft grass, Big reached for the pole, the tips of his fingers grazing the end of the wooden handle. Desperately he scrabbled at it, knowing full well that if Rouge appeared, he was as good as dead; girls seemed to have a problem letting others see them without a top on, and he was sure Rouge would go even more crazy, seeing as how her chest was much bigger than others'-
Big hastily clapped his free hand to his mouth. He hoped no one had heard that thought! Why was he even thinking that? Sure, Rouge was pretty, but he shouldn't be thinking about her chest! He shuddered slightly at his thoughts; he had never had any like them before.
All the more reason to get Froggy and himself out of there!
The sound of a familiar shriek and a sudden splash caused Big to freeze momentarily, before putting his hands over his eyes and curling up into a ball, preparing for Rouge to shout at him.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't see anything, I promise!"
There was silence for a moment.
Rouge, hastily hiding her body under the water level and trying to slow her heartbeat, took a few deep breaths before shouting
"What the hell are you doing there?! I should've known you were a pervert like all the rest of them!"
"No, I wasn't looking, I promise! Froggy came here and I was trying to save him from seeing you... you know... naked."
"Great, so now you're a pervert who's blaming things on a frog?"
"No really, I was just trying to catch Froggy!"
There was a quiet rustle in the bushes.
"If you came here to catch Froggy, what's that in the bush? You weren't trying to get Froggy at all! Get out!"
Big, with his hands still over his eyes, ran back through the bushes, tripping up in the process. He hit the ground with a loud 'Oof' and then cautiously looked around. Froggy was squatting next to him, and the little green amphibian let out a proud croak.
"What did you do that for, Froggy? I could have seen Rouge's... you know... That was very dangerous!"
The frog hopped away towards the cabin.
. .
Hearing Big hit the ground made Rouge wince, but she was still in shock. She couldn't believe that the large cat had really been spying on her.
Had she really been that wrong about him? He had seemed so upstanding, if a bit slow. She really thought he was different from your run of the mill guy.
Still, he had seemed genuinely shocked when Froggy appeared in that bush, and he had seemed very sincere when he exclaimed that he was trying to save the frog... Wait, save the frog?
Save the frog from seeing her naked. That's what he'd said. And he'd seemed very uncomfortable about saying the word 'naked'; was he really that immature?
Well, Big had lived in the jungle his entire life, with no female companionship... He'd never really experienced life in the outside world. It was expected that he couldn't really deal with topics that had a remarkable way of finding their way into Rouge's everyday life.
Maybe he really hadn't been spying after all...
Rouge decided to mull it over for a bit. She swam around in circles and relaxed, letting the freezing water refresh her body.
After a few minutes, she really began to feel a chill, and climbed out onto the bank.
The trees gave cover, so there was no sharp wind, but it was freezing nonetheless, and Rouge quickly dried herself and changed back into her clothes. It was in pulling on her gloves that she noticed her reflection in the surface of the lake. She walked over to the bank and stared at her face. It was somehow different than usual.
And it wasn't that her cheeks were red from the cold, nor that her eye shadow had come off and her lipstick had faded. It wasn't even that the cold water had made her fur go frizzy, meaning her white locks were now curled. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something had changed.
Rouge started to wander back to the cabin, unsure about what she would say to Big. That she didn't blame him, or that she had been wrong about the situation, or that she knew he hadn't meant to be there, or...
She put a gloved hand to her head. She was sure it was something she could sort out.
Silently creeping towards the cabin, Rouge peered through the bushes, trying to decide the best way to approach the situation. Big was sitting on the bed, staring forlornly at the ground. His facial expression was hard to read, as usual. He seemed to have the same dopey look as he normally did, but his eyes showed something different, although Rouge couldn't figure out what.
"Big?" She quietly asked as she stepped through the bush. "Are you okay?"
The large cat jumped at the sound of her voice, leaping to his feet in worry. His cheeks were red and his hands were shaking.
"I'm so sorry!" He exclaimed at once. "I promise I didn't see anything!"
"Big! Calm down. I asked you a question."
The cat stopped fussing and looked at Rouge in confusion.
"Huh? You're not mad at me?"
Rouge slowly took a couple of steps forward, scratching her hand gently.
"Big, I believe your story about Froggy. I've never met anyone quite like you before, Big. It seems you're one of the only creatures I can trust. So no, I'm not mad at you."
One can hardly describe the change that was undergone by Big during Rouge's speech. It was like he had swallowed a happy pill; his ears, up until that point flattened, suddenly perked up. The anguished and surprised look on his face turned to one of joy and surprise, and his heart... It seemed to be beating faster than usual...
"So, you're alright, Miss Rouge?" His yellow eyes bored deep into Rouge's.
"I'm fine, thank you Big. I still consider us friends."
Rouge smiled as the large cat stood up, grinning. She had meant it this time.
"Miss Rouge, should we do the fishing now?"
Rouge looked at her friend in exasperation.
"Of course, but please Big, for Solaris' sake stop calling me Miss Rouge. I'm your friend, not your teacher."
"Huh, okay Miss-"
"Big!"
"I mean Rouge. Let's do the fishing now, M-, I mean, R- Rouge."
Exited, Big grabbed his fishing pole and headed out through the bushes, humming a jolly tune to himself. Rouge watched him go with a smile on her face, before making her way towards the lake behind him.
. .
"This is Mystic Ruins search unit five. I've spotted something odd near the lake; a little round hut. Requesting intel. Are there any jungle residents on record? Over."
"Copy that, unit five. Query will be relayed to mission control. Over and out."
. .
"Hey big guy, there's something tugging here."
The large cat sitting on the ledge gazed up at her. He was surprised. It felt as though she would never get a bite. Although he hardly ever got a bite either; he just sat there waiting for the day to end, which it was on the way to doing now. The sky was dancing with the different colours; pink, blue and orange.
"You got something?"
"Maybe. How do I pull it in? You never told me! There's no way I'm letting my prey escape!" She pulled back on the fishing rod, a look of determination on her face.
"Hey, you did get something! Good for you!"
Rouge took a deep breath before addressing Big.
"Great, I got a bite! So let's just real it in already!" She tugged on the fishing rod harder, and felt the soft wood beginning to bend under the strain.
"Miss Rouge! You're doing it wrong, let me show you!"
'Finally!' Rouge thought in exasperation.
She frowned, looking down into the water. Whatever it was she was attempting to capture, it was making one hell of a fuss. The usually clear blue water was so opaque with mud and pebbles, it almost seemed as though it was buried.
All of a sudden, Rouge felt something that seemed like a static shock on her hand, and almost dropped the fishing rod in shock. How surprised she was when she realised the feeling like a spark had been from Big's hand touching her own as he tried to reach whatever that spinny thing was. Big had explained to her, but she'd quite forgotten.
Rouge felt her cheeks turn warm as she started to slowly remove her hand from the rod to let Big take over and felt Big's hand press down on hers slightly.
"If you let me do this alone, you'll never learn, Miss Rouge." The cat's yellow orbs met with hers, and although she knew he was right, she did feel odd being so close to the large creature. Not comfortable, yet not necessarily uncomfortable...
Big's eyes snapped back to the lake. "I think if we let this loosen a bit..." He moved his thumb to let the reel unwind slightly. "Then wait a few seconds... Then pull back hard," He yanked on the rod, winding the reel furiously and causing Rouge to almost fall back in surprise, her hand slipping from Big's grip. However, as she fell she reached out to grab something so she wouldn't hit the ground so hard, and accidentally grabbed Big's large, fluffy tail.
Now, any cat will be shocked when their tail is grabbed, and Big was no exception; he yelled out in pain, dropping the fishing rod in the process. The sudden shock and the unexpected extra weight of Rouge caused him to topple over, but cats always land on their feet, and so it came to be that Big landed with his hands either side of Rouge's head and his knees, bent, either side of hers. He managed to stop himself falling forwards and squashing her.
Rouge looked up into the large cat's eyes, her heart beating faster than she'd ever known before, and trying to slow her breathing but failing miserable. Part of her wanted to scream and push Big away, but another part of her, alarmingly dominant, was quite content to lie on the grass and stare into Big's eyes.
Big looked down into Rouge's emerald eyes, his own widening in shock as he realised what it must look like to Froggy. He was confused. Why wasn't Miss Rouge yelling and pushing him away? Maybe there was something wrong with her! What if that fall had left her par- paara- not being able to move?
He was surprised to see what seemed to be a small smile forming on the beautiful bat's face, and one of her hands, that had up until then been frozen next to his, slowly move to touch his. It was an odd feeling; no one had ever touched his hand deliberately before.
"RIBBIT!"
The load croak from Froggy snapped the two creatures back to reality, and Big immediately rolled onto his side and up onto his feet away from Rouge in one swift movement. His usually dim looking face was most definitely on the pink side.
Rouge, breathing heavily, lay still facing the patch of sky that had previously been blocked by Big's face. She could hardly believe what had just happened.
"It's okay!" Big exclaimed happily.
'What?!' Rouge thought as she sat up. What was okay? She noticed Big sounded kind of flustered, and his breathing seemed heavier than normal.
Big bent down and picked up the fishing rod, but there was something odd about it. It was an umbrella.
"As I fell, I opened it up and the umbrella part got caught on the rock so it didn't fall in. That's good; I hate water."
Rouge sighed dejectedly; the irony of that sentence was just too much; he hated water, yet he was fishing his entire life? And what about what had just happened with their falling over? Was it such a bad memory he was trying to block it out immediately?
"Good thing I have fast reflexes, or your fishing rod might have been lost. Looks like we lost the fish though."
"Oh don't worry about that. After all, I've never tried fishing before; I didn't think I'd catch one first time." She swiftly pushed herself up from the floor, flapping her wings for extra height, before dropping to her feet elegantly. She took a few steps towards Big before suddenly stopping with a surprised gasp.
Big spun round to look worriedly at her.
"Is something wrong, Miss Rouge? Are you okay?"
Rouge stared at her ankle in disbelief.
"Yes, I am fine, Big. Literally; my ankle's better! And my wing, too!" She flapped it in proof. "Yes! This means I can go-"
She looked up at Big, a sad and slightly bewildered look forming on her beautiful face.
"It means... I can go home."
But where was her home?
The abandoned warehouse made a good base, but it wasn't homely.
The Government would probably have her head thanks to her losing a Chaos Emerald that she stole from a trusted ally of theirs anyway.
She wouldn't be welcome at Sonic's home.
The last time she'd seen Shadow, he'd disappeared, running off into the sunset to who knows where.
Even if she could get lodgings in Eggman's ship, she wouldn't want to stay with that moustached madman.
She had no home.
A couple of days ago, she would have been happy to stay as a lone wolf; she didn't need anyone else. Had she changed that much that she would feel lonely?
She would get used to it. She had got used to being around Big, so she could get used to being on her own again.
Rouge was snapped back to the present moment when she heard a slight shuffle. Realising she had been staring at her feet, she looked up to see Big's ears drooping, and his once bright eyes darken in his sorrow. She stepped in front of him, putting her gloved hand on his arm gently and noticing him stiffen slightly.
"Why so glum, Big guy?"
She scanned the cat's face.
"Miss Rouge, you're leaving?" He was attempting to keep his voice steady, but failing. The emotion in his voice broke through, causing Rouge's heart to sink lower than it already was.
"I have to go and sort something out, Big. I've been gone for so long, and the people at G.U.N. will be wondering why I haven't reported in for two days."
"You'll come back, right? Froggy will miss you a lot."
"Froggy will miss me, huh? Well..." She looked up into Big's eyes, smiling kindly. "Big, you tell Froggy that I'll miss him too. Tell him I'll miss him a lot."
She moved her other hand up to touch Big's other arm, and tightened her grip slightly. "You tell Froggy that I'll miss him-" Failing to keep the emotion in her voice from coming through, Rouge choked on her words slightly, before another step closer and wrapping her arms around Big's shoulders, hugging him gently.
Big registered the hug in surprise; no one had ever hugged him before. He knew what a hug was, but could never find anyone that would hug him. Well, he couldn't find anyone in the jungle. He was unprepared for just how happy he felt with someone hugging him. It was as though nothing could go wrong, apart from the fact that Miss Rouge was leaving. She was so pretty, she would probably never come back. He felt very sad about that, but happy that he had met Miss Rouge, and that he was getting a hug. He tentatively put his arms around her, surprised at how weak she felt. Her head only came up to his chest, and he could squeeze her too hard if he wasn't careful.
Was this how all hugs felt?
Rouge let a solitary tear slip from her eye as Big finally returned the hug. She slightly opened her eyes, looking up into the eyes of her friend. She'd never felt so sad about saying goodbye before. It was so unlike her to show so much emotion; strong women didn't show emotion.
A sudden gleam caught her eye, and her attention snapped to the lake. She froze, hardly daring to believe what she was seeing.
The mud that had been thrown up by the tussle with the fish was clearing, and the gleam off a familiar yellow gemstone held her captivated.
The Chaos Emerald sat stationary, slightly embedded in the mud.
Rouge's jade eyes narrowed, and her mouth curved slightly.
'The Chaos Emerald! It was right there! Finally. She could get it and be done; be off to add it to her collection of beautiful gems at her base, which had been her reason for coming to the Mystic Ruins anyway.
The Chaos Emerald was there. She could get it after all that time.
That was all that mattered to her.
Pulling away from Big, Rouge dove into the water, grinning hysterically. She finally got within reaching distance, and grabbed the stone violently, wrenching it out of the mud in which it lay with ruthless vigour. She held it to her chest, then pulled her head out of the water and stared at passionately. It was finally hers.
Big, still concerned about the fact she'd suddenly pulled away from him and jumped into the lake, blinked in confusion as his friend seemed to be hugging a rock. It was a pretty yellow rock, but what was so important about it?
Rouge swam to the side of the lake and climbed out, never taking her eyes off the beautiful gem that glowed in her hand.
A sudden gust of wind caught her off guard, and a large G.U.N combat vehicle much like the one that attacked her in the vault where the Chaos Emeralds were kept.
"This G.U.N.! Special agent Rouge, you are hereby under arrest for breaking and entering, and wilful thievery of Government property! If you do not surrender, we will use force!"
Rouge smirked, and was about to let loose a cheeky comeback, but Big stepped in front of her.
"Go away!" He shouted. "Miss Rouge hasn't done anything!"
"Anyone who does not comply will be removed! Step aside and let us apprehend the bat!"
"No! I won't let you hurt my friend!"
"Very well, you leave us with no other option! Entering combat mode! This is Spidertroop Dark Bear reporting to base. We have engaged the enemy, and we've found the forest's mysterious inhabitant; it's a large purple cat! It shouldn't be too long, prepare to receive prisoner for containment!"
The large battle machine released a few large missiles, directed at Big. The large cat reacted quickly, putting up the fishing rod umbrella. The missiles hit the umbrella, causing an explosion and pushing Big backwards, but not harming him.
"Quick, Miss Rouge! My fishing rod's over there! Use it as defence against the rockets!"
Rouge narrowed her eyes; she didn't need anything but the Chaos Emerald now. Big would distract G.U.N. long enough for her to conveniently escape. Too easy.
She quickly turned tail to face the forest, and started running.
"Miss Rouge?" Big asked, looking around. "What are you doing?"
Rouge kept running, and Big stared after her.
Using Big's moment of confusion, the battle machine sent out another batch of missiles, and Big realised a second to late to put the umbrella shield back up, instead putting his arm up over his face.
The missiles made contact.
Turning her head to see what the explosion was, Rouge witnessed Big being thrown off his feet and through the bushes, where it seemed he was slammed against the tree that stood behind.
Terrified, Rouge kept on running through the trees, before lifting off the ground and zipping through the air to escape from the scene. There was no way that G.U.N. could follow her; she was able to fly at over four hundred miles per hour, though she didn't think she would have to exert herself that much. She already had a headstart on the machine, which wouldn't have noticed her run away anyway.
Clutching the Chaos Emerald to her chest, she kept flying. With a sick feeling she remembered the confusion on Big's face that had been evident even in the dark of the evening, having been lit up by the fire of the explosion, and the sickening thud as he had hit the tree.
She had to get away from it. She had to get out of the Mystic Ruins. She had no idea where she was going, but anywhere was fine. She was a bat; she would find comfort in the night, where the lights and noises of the people wouldn't reach her.
As she entered the airspace over the city of Station Square, she caught sight of the bright lights and decorations, and realised with a sickening jolt of the heart that it was Christmas Day.
And what gift had she given to her 'friend'? The gift of death.
She had to land. She had to find somewhere to be alone.
Coward.
No, not coward. Simply cow.
She'd abandoned him.
Abandoned him to face an enemy there was no way he could hold his own against.
Abandoned him to die, hidden from civilisation by a bush.
Abandoned his most likely broken, battered body to lie forever by the tree.
Or maybe G.U.N. would take his body for testing.
Desecrate it in some Godforsaken laboratory.
Finding a place in the shadows atop a skyscraper, Rouge slumped against the wall and let herself slowly slide to the floor.
She felt a twinge in her ankle, and realised with a jolt she needn't have spoken about leaving. She was going to stay with Big until she was better. But she wasn't better. There was no need for that embrace that led to finding the Chaos Emerald.
That Emerald! Something in her changed when she saw it.
It was like Chaos Control; using the power of the Emeralds to change something using the positive energies within. But there was that other side, wasn't there? The negative energies. Maybe they affected her. Made her into this foul creature who would sacrifice an innocent, trusting creature for her own gain.
But that couldn't be true. It wasn't the Emerald, it was her.
And Big was the one who had changed her for the better.
But no more.
And never again.
There was no way that the undefended cat could have survived the explosion.
He was dead, and what a tradition. Wherever she roamed, disasters occurred, and not even Christmas could escape from her kiss of death.
A/N: Don't worry, there's another chapter yet!
Yep, I know what you're thinking (maybe), and if you would like to look at the genre for this story, it doesn't say tragedy.
Please review!
Gah, that took me too long to write!
Oh yeah... Energy or Energies? I'll change it if need be; I'm not sure which one is correct for that context.
Next chapter should be the last, I think.
xX
Kat, if you're reading this.... high! (Yep, deliberate mistake there =] )