A/N: Yes, yes, yes. It is I, the great Queen of Aces.

….nothing else to say….

Enjoy!

Dedicated to Marianne

"I brushed against the freckles that I hated so…
But life goes on
And I heave a little sigh for you.
It's heavy,
The love that I once shared with you,
Then it dissolves like it was just a sugar cube!Now the little pain sittin' in my heart
Has shrunk in a bit,
But it really doesn't hurt me now.
Those silly horoscope signs,
Guess I can't trust them after all!"

-Ruroni Kenshin
Freckles (English version of Sobakasu)

The Queen of Aces


Never would Rouge have ever guessed that she could be frozen to the spot with a pair of eyes.

But then again, she had never seen the eyes of the pink criminal so closely before, or maybe she had just never really noticed until now. Looking into her eyes, Rouge felt herself die away, her limbs becoming granite as they formed fully while still holding onto the squirming girl. They were absolutely green, framed under her dark thick eyelashes, complimenting her tanned skin and the natural blush of her cheeks. Her body, finally done forming, was incredibly enviable. While she was not as curvy as Rouge had been, she was thin and perfect with shape. Her thighs were rounded, her stomach as flat as an ironing board, in a way hers had never really been. While Rouge had been a beauty that
attracted attention, Amy was a beauty that inspired.

She had a dancer's form, which could be seen through her sleeping shorts and tank top that revealed the small but desirable hills of her chest. She didn't seem to mind the freezing weather, or if she did, she didn't show it. Her hair was a rivulet of sunset pink that Rouge had never imagined for herself. Her hair had always looked better short, and once, Amy had agreed and told the bat that her hair just wasn't the type to look good grown out. But it seemed flawless, her small morning frizz making it look intentional, and made her look cute. She was stunning, to say the least.

Naomi slipped out from under her grasp while Rouge still stared. The little girl was embraced by her brother, who seemed to have taken onto the mood of his supposed mother. Amy gave her a look that told her there would be no mercy, even her eyes changed drastically. Her jade eyes turned into more of a callow green, as she clenched her fist. The bat managed to sit up, not breaking her gaze with the teen mother the entire time. They seemed total opposites, just based on their looks. Rouge had always more cultivated, a little more developed and mature. While Amy was a master at appearing jejune and childish.

This alone made the air around them tense, the probability of a fight increasing with every passing minute.

But when Rouge looked at the cowering Naomi hiding behind her brother, she thought only of her little girl. Ruby, who loved to wear her mother's jewelry and prance around in her Wiggles party shirt that she would wear every day if she could. She saw a child who could not peel an orange without puncturing all the juice out of it, who loved to play karaoke and play hopscotch and read her iSpy books. A little girl who depended on her to live, in more ways than one.

Rouge imagined her sunny face, her beautiful smile. 'I'm glad I came out of your tummy Mudder. Cause now I patect you.'

Tenderly, she put a hand out to signal her defeat. "I don't want to fight you." She told her arch rival with a voice that was raw from under-use. "I came here because I need your help."

As cold as Amy was, she seemed to grow even colder. She seemed to be so different from the clingy yet kind fan girl she had known all those years ago, as if a complete metamorphosis had occurred. With a sneer, she snottily replied. "Help you? I'll help you right into hell, where you belong."

Nathaniel smirked, excited and thrilled. Though he had approved of the bat just moments before. Even Naomi seemed smug about the strange woman being brought down. For children trust is often fleeting, and cruelty can come just as fast and as unprovoked as friendliness.

Rouge tried to imagine teaching her child the difference, and felt all of the color drain from her face. "You don't understand." She began whispering, watching the pink hedgehog with eyes that were filling with tears. The desperation in them was enough to make Amy soften around the edges. "My daughter is dying." She choked the words
out, before she began to sob and could not stop. Those words weighed heavier
than rocks, and hurt just as much. "You have to help me. She's going to die."

Amy raised an eyebrow. It was obvious by the look in her face that she did not honestly care. As she relaxed, her bored gaze focused on Rouge as she shrugged. "Not my problem." With finality, she grabbed the hands of the twins, she turned away from the jewel thief, disgusted. Rouge scrambled to catch up to them, but it seemed as though her muscles were shutting down, her mind dying off.

"Amy!" she called after her, her eyes narrowing. "Please, just hear me out!" when she kept walking, the bat lost control. "How can you let my daughter die!?" the words seemed to echo around them, until it surrounded the four animals and repeated itself constantly. There was a flicker of silence, where Rouge feared she was going to keep walking and leave her. She watched them, pleading on every God and angel she knew.

The flicker of doubt passed. The pink beauty coasted to a stop, before her eyes were the jewel-lover once again. Under those magnificent eyes, Rouge felt a little uneasy, even as Amy turned fully to face her. Her voice passed over her almost as easily as if it was just water in her hands. "To keep mine alive." Was her only reply. Amy squeezed the hands of her children hard, and Rouge looked up, seeing a flash of Knuckles at the way she was frowning, the way her breathing was slow and controlling.

Rouge could not help but spill out the truth, letting it all come, the first time she had spoken of it out loud. "Ruby's going to die unless your son saves her." Her eyes brightened, trying to get her to understand. "I need to give your son to Tails, so he can save my daughter." Her breathing went ragged with grief. "He needs to revive her again, like he did all those years ago! Like he did…" her voice trailed off as the two female fighters were left to wallow in the memory of their last encounter. After awhile, Rouge whispered. "I need your son to save her."

Nathaniel seemed bewildered, listening in carefully. His colored irises growing smaller as his eyes dilated, as he curiously pointed to himself. "Me? Save who?" he shared a glance with his sister, who replied with a pitched voice. "Like a superhero?"

Both twins were both equally lost, as they turned their gaze back to the adults, hoping more would be said. But it was almost like they had never spoken, from the way they were ignored.

Rouge clenched her hands into tight fists, before she fell to her knees, like she was praying once more. She seemed to have lost all dignity, begging pathetically, so that Amy could only feel pity for the poor creature. Rouge opened her eyes, her blue eyeshadow flashing as she explained again. "Tails just needs Nathaniel to help Ruby live."

Amy gave a disbelieving huff, her arms crossing as she gave a glare so hateful Rouge nearly jumped out of her skin. "I'm not stupid." She replied, her glare heating. "And assuming that, will get you killed. You don't think I know what you guys are up to?" she took a step towards the bat. Her jade eyes glistened in the angle the light hit them. "There are more things to be brought back to life, aren't there?" and in that instant her frown tipped into a sly grin, as she let her arms drop to her sides.

"Like…the dead, perhaps?" Rouge's reaction was everything she had hoped for, her breath lost in a shocked gasp while her face lost all of its color once again.

Nathaniel grinned wickedly, stomping his feat in excitement, interrupting their esoteric conversation. "The dead! Like zombies!" he stuck out his hands in an excellent rendition of every old monster movie known, chuckling as a ragged moan escaped his throat. "I eat your brains!" he made a slurping sound, still laughing. "Like spaghetti! Zombies like brain spaghetti!"

While Nathaniel continued to slurp, Naomi smiled and played along, but with a slightly different view on the conversation. "Like zombie tea party?" She twirled around, giggling as she managed to cry out. "Zombie zombie disco party! Yay!" The little toddler twirled around, her lips puckered as she let out a high note in song. "We have tea and cupcakes and-"

Nathaniel reached behind her and pretended to bite her hair. "And brain spaghetti!" he sang out, in a much more controlled and pleasurable voice. As he clapped his hands, he danced around to out-do his sister's steps. "Twirl it all up and munch munch munch!" he chewed at the air, before holding his belly and giving it a satisfactory rub. "Yum yum yum!"

Amy could not help but blush. Though she still held all the cards, it was hard to gloat when her children were singing loud enough to distract them. Not allowing her gaze with Rouge to break, she yelled out in a fit of frustration. "Guys! Knock it off! I'm dealing with something here!"

Nathaniel stilled, but his grin never faded. "Are ya' gonna sock 'er?" he began to uppercut the open air. "Go Amy! Teach that old hag a lesson. Be like, bop, bop, bop!" he started to kick, before giving an imaginary person the headlock of their life. "Like on Mobius World Wrestling!" he stopped, his body stopping as he gazed at his mother. "Are ya? Are ya?"

Naomi giggled, her arms rising in the air as her little hands formed around an invisible belt buckle. "And the crowd goes crazy!" she managed with a low voice like she had seen on television. But when Amy turned her head to glare at them, both twins immediately shut their mouths, until it was so silent that it seemed almost scary. Amy turned back to Rouge, who was still in absolute shock, as she was slowly recovering, blinking like she was trying to get rid of an image.

Breathlessly, she looked at her pink rival. "How did you know?" she asked, unable to say anything else. For someone who had not been a part of their lives for three years, she seemed to know an awful lot about their motives. Rouge's mind reeled at the possibilities. Had someone ratted out on them? Was Amy really so cunning as to guess their plan so elaborately?

To answer her question, Amy tilted her head to the sky, her bangs and hair moving with the chilly air around them, a smile that confirmed her last question.

Rouge sighed, her eyes downcast, filling with tears. The chilly breeze blew harder, making her skin grow cold, as she frowned. She had almost forgotten how cold it was, or that she was crouched down in snow. Nathaniel watched his breath turn into a cloud, while Naomi watched the scene before her with a very sympathetic expression. Absent mindedly, Amy set her hands on their shoulders, before pulling them closer. She looked back down at Rouge, looking like a goddess that was gracing the earth. Her children leaned into her, as if she carried a warmth that kept them bonded forever.

Rouge looked at Naomi, who then looked like a mirror image of her daughter, though the difference would normally repel any such thought. Her lip quivered as she lay in the snow, before she gave the smallest laugh. "I understand why you ran away." Rouge spoke finally, breaking the air of silence. She thought of the first time she had seen Amy with the twins. Looking tired but incredibly and unbelievably happy as she cradled the two bundles lovingly.

What she had mistaken for a burden was actually a great blessing in disguise. A blessing she did not realize until she held her own daughter in her arms and subconsciously thinking that there was no way she could ever let go.

Rouge watched Amy now, apologizing for what she did not know until it was too late for them both. "I could never let anyone take Ruby away. I understand now," she smiled weakly. "You did the right thing." Then her eyes shifted. "And I'm begging you to do it again. For my own daughter, for my little girl."

Amy flinched openly. How many times had she prayed for Naomi's safety using those same words? She ran a hand through the evergreen of Naomi's curls, as she hugged her tight, which Naomi returned by wrapping her arms around Amy's leg as if they were in danger of being parted.

Amy thought about the way Naomi loved the water, splashing wildly in the bathtub as Amy weaved her soapy fingers through her hair to apply the shampoo, the two giggling all the while. She thought about Sunday mornings, straightening Naomi's curls to look nice for church, or the way she prayed before every meal and before bedtime, because they needed all the help they could get. Amy remembered her birthday, letting confetti fall down upon them like all of their worries, or the way she blew too soft and could not
extinguish the flame on her candle. She could remember dancing to music on the radio, holding hands as they crossed the street, the heat of her skin as they sat together and watched Nathaniel play.

What if the positions were switched? What if Naomi was the one dying? Amy blinked away the image in her mind. But that was not the principal here, Amy knew. She knew that Rouge was really just planning a trade, Nathaniel for Ruby. And damn it all if Amy would let that happen. Her son meant more to her than anything, and there was no room for mistakes when it came to Nathaniel.

Amy turned away, as her children followed. Before she could stop herself, Amy whispered gently. "It's cold out here." Her words were smooth with confidence and reason. "I wouldn't want you to freeze."

And she left the bat to scramble onto her feet and follow the trio inside. They seemed like a single soul then, matching each other's steps perfectly. Naomi's little curls bouncing while Nathaniel's sneakers thudded in the same rhytm, matching Amy's breathing. While they came from the stairs, Rouge watched the children yawn, tired from so much excitement.

Amy smiled, turning to them. "Ready to take your nap guys?" she asked sweetly, while Naomi murmured. "Yes please." While Nathaniel shook his head weakly. "Nuh-uh, I'm not sleepy."

And as if Rouge was not there, Amy turned down the hall and led the twins to their room, tucking them both in her bed with the same amount of care. She kissed their foreheads, before she noticed Nathaniel looked troubled.

When he caught her gaze, he blinked. "Sing?" he asked, always comforted by the sound of music. Amy smiled, while Rouge could not help but wish that she could find it in her to be half as good of a mother as Amy was to children she did not give birth to.

Amy seemed so serene, as she nodded, reaching out to brush the bangs from his eyes. "Baby mine, don't you cry." She started, and Rouge shivered at the low pitched beauty of her voice. "Baby mine, dry your eyes." She sang so softly, that Rouge had to stand in the doorway to hear. Nathaniel was sighing, his eyes fluttering, while Naomi began to yawn once more. Amy smiled, as she kept singing. "Rest your head, close to my heart, never to part. Baby of mine."

Amy continued to sing until the little ones were snoozing. "Little one, when you play. Don't you mind, what they say. Let those eyes sparkle and shine, never a tear, baby of mine." Amy trembled. "If they knew, sweet little you. They'd end up loving you, too." As Amy looked down, her eyes shook slightly. "All those people who scold you, oh what they'd give, just for the right to hold you." Amy watched the faces of her saviors, her only true heroes, while Rouge tried to fight the tears gathering. "From your head down to your toes. You're not much, goodness knows." She smiled wider, laughing a little as she stroked Nathaniel's hair. "But you're so precious to me, sweet as can be," she paused to bow her head. "Baby of mine."

There was a moment of silence before she stood up. With a grace, she turned around to face her, both of them carrying unshed tears. The song hung in the air, all of its words and her melancholy melodic voice ringing in their ears. Both of them looking so incredibly forlorn and jaded. They cried silently for what seemed like forever, eyes glistening.

What was left of Amy Rose staring at what was left of Rouge the bat.

Once, when Amy had been a little girl, she created a monster that swallowed her whole.

Every night she would practically leap over her discarded toys and hop onto her bed, lining stuffed animals all around both sides, before she would tremble in fear and bury herself in her safe coven of fairy princess covers.

She never admitted to being afraid, for even when she was that young she was too stubborn to reveal this small little secret. And while Rose would slip into the bedroom to read her the rest of her story, Amy would put on a face that she imagined soldiers to conceive before they went to fight off in a war.

Being weak with grief, her grandmother would not notice the quick change of her aura as soon as she told her goodnight.

She imagined it with beady red eyes, and with a cold metal grip that was so cold it stung against her naturally warm skin. She would dream of it sneaking in between shadows, before finding a way past her fuzzy animal fortress and opening its jaws wide to eat her up. She imagined it could live in water, so that she even hated bath time, shivering when she had to close her eyes to wash out the shampoo in her hair. And when her grandmother would slip on her nightgown, before letting Amy grab her magic brush to comb her damp quills, she worried the monster could take forms and look just like all the people she trusted.

She lived in absolute fear for months, shivering at the smallest contact from anyone, coiling like a snake in defense.

One night, when Rose had been brushing her hair, she noticed the way Amy squeaked when she gave it a tug to put it in a pretty braid. "Did I hurt you?" She has asked, startled. Amy had shaken her head, her lower lip producing a pout. "Are you afraid of something?" she had tried gently, even more shocked when her little granddaughter had given a reluctant nod, her eyes reflecting the mirror image of the only adult who loved her.

Rose had blinked, recovering from this bit of news. "My, what ever are you afraid of?" she pried, watching the pink hedgebabe sink into her arms as she held her tight.

"The monsters." Amy had whispered, her face forlorn. Rose had merely smiled sweetly. "Monsters, you say?" she faked a surprised gasp. "Well, where are these monsters? I'll just tell them to leave you alone!" and she had played along, grabbing the baseball bat that was scattered among her pink legos fashioned into a castle that was magnificent enough to hold royalty.

As she swung the bat confidently over her shoulder, Amy had grabbed her favorite stuffed dinosaur in fascination. Rose gave a few taunting swings, laughing. "No monsters are gonna eat my granddaughter on my watch!" and while Amy had frowned, Rose waved her over. "Come on Amy! We'll find those monsters and beat them all the way to Little Planet!"

But when Amy did not reply with her usual gusto, Rose frowned to match the facial expression of the little toddler. Amy had tilted her head, not swayed. "But you can't beat these monsters!" she exclaimed wildly. "Cause they live in my mind!" and while Rose stared, Amy ran her finger along the plastic teeth of the baby dinosaur, which she knew was called a Tyrannosaurs Rex, the biggest and baddest of them all.

Rose was left to hold her until she slept, watching the little girl fight her own demons.

Years later, while Rose touched the baseball bat gingerly, she looked around the abandoned room, at the smell the renewed visit had left behind. She wished her granddaughter was here, with her. Was she still running away from Sonic? Would that explain why the blue hedgehog clung to her so? A subconscious replacement for the person he had lost? He seemed to be getting better, as if waking up from whatever disaster had left him so weak in the first place.

Such a kind gentlemen, helping her with the firewood, helping to round all of the horses and helping her son bring in all the crops that had survived the sudden blizzard. He seemed unable to make the connection, even looking straight into the faces of her closest relatives.

"Rose?" she heard a voice call. With the creak of a door opening, she turned to see him in the doorway, looking around the room in interest. "Whose room is this?" he asked curiously, looking then like a little boy who craved the secrets of the world. His side was still battered with bruises, and he was still short of breath all the time, but the cuts and bruises would eventually fade. And it was times like this that he seemed free of the burden of finding her dear Amy; a burden that they both shared, though he didn't
know it yet.

Rose turned around, facing him fully. "It used to belong to my granddaughter." Sonic's face grew blank. "I didn't know you had a granddaughter." He motioned away from him with a jerk of his thumb. "Leighton never mentioned-"

"My son never recovered at the loss of his wife." Rose stuttered, trying to cover up for this with the only way she could explain it. "She reminded him too much of her…he was never able to face his own daughter. He did everything he could for her, sent her money, left her in my care…but he could not bear to see her. She's an exact replica of her poor mother."

Rose figured that was enough, as she set the bat where she had found it, wondering if Amy had left it that way on purpose. If she had known that she would be gone again, so kept her preserved scene of childhood for Rose to remember.

Sonic looked around some more, perplexed by this simple fact that she had told him. He had been in this woman's care for nearly a month now, and considered her and her son good friends for saving his life, more or less. But this at least he understood perfectly, finding someone dear to you in the face of someone else, but he had to wonder if the granddaughter ever knew this. If she ever knew it wasn't her fault.

"What happened to her?" Sonic asked, as Rose blinked. Once again, she found herself caught between giving him a clue, or to save Amy's identity. Finally, she told him. "She ran away." This, she said with a broken voice. "She's off fighting her own demons."

Sonic paused as they made their way to the living room. With a last question, he watched her face to make sure he did not cross any lines. "Did she ever beat them?" he waited. "Her demons, I mean."

Rose sighed, before her dark eyes watched his face like he was doing to hers, surveying intently. "From the looks of it," she spoke softly. "She's still got a long way to go."

"You've done well for yourself," Rouge broke the silence, running a finger along a painted vase filled with tulips in the middle of the kitchen table.

Amy nodded, still not dropping her guard for a second. "I guess so." She managed, before taking a sip of the tea she had made. While Rouge winced, Amy sighed and decided that she could talk a little more. "It's been very hard. We've been moving a lot, I think this is the only home the twins have actually stayed in for more than three months."

Watching her image in her drink shake, she tried to imagine it was that easy to lock her weak side away. Where she could just drink it and digest it and never have its inconvienence again. "What about you?"

Rouge absent-mindedly grabbed her wrist, the whole raw region still exposed and stinging harshly. "Let's just say," she tried. "That I haven't been doing so well for myself."

She did not mention the crazed fox, or his alliance with the doctor, or even the incident in the kitchen and the dungeon they had trapped her in. Amy gave a sympathetic smile, before she sighed and felt the rim of her cup. Rouge watched in a sort of haze. "So…" she raised an eyebrow questionably. "Can I confide in you, hon?"

Amy blinked. "I wouldn't." she answered truthfully, only to hear the smallest pause before Rouge began to talk. It was as if she could not help herself, like there was something she desperately needed to say. She had missed the company of the caring criminal too much to remember she would kill her in an instant like she did with her own husband and best friend, and her own best friend. Rouge stared harshly into space, her voice drifted off. "I've been a mother for nearly as long as you have. The first time the
boy…"

Suddenly Amy's wondering gaze had turned into a defensive glare. "Nathaniel." She corrected.

Rouge nodded. "The first time Nathaniel restored Ruby, I knew that I was truly lucky."

Amy could not help but comment. "Considering that you killed her in the first place." Immediately after it registered, the house was dead silent. Even the ghosts of the past were absent and it was so quite that the lack of sound actually rang in their ears. Rouge was left to try and pick up the pieces of her heart that Amy had managed to shred into pieces with that one comment.

All those years ago, when she had been too pressured and had snapped. Rouge remembered just the moments after that terrible incident, looking down and seeing her daughter stiff and not breathing. Her aqua eyes dilated in horror as she managed to stutter out the first thing on her mind. "You don't understand…" she tried, but it was as weak and as unbelievable as she had become.

Amy huffed defiantly, knowing just as well she would not fight back. Years ago, their positions had been switched. But now she was the one with the power, and blessings. Now, she was the strong one, and Rouge was just the pathetic creature who was completely at the end of the line.

Amy shook her head, her lips forming a disapproving frown. "Your right, I don't think I'll ever understand. Personally, you don't deserve your daughter. You killed her and had my son fix your mistake, and now you've come back because you need his help again."

Her eyes were so icy, her words like ice shards slicing through Rouge's skin. Amy looked away, at something beyond the walls of her safe haven. "You were going to ask me how I can honestly let your child die, being a mother myself."

Rouge blinked. "You're the only one that can save her." She begged again, watching Amy as she frowned and looked down at her shoes. Inside, the pink hedgehog was thinking, her mind stretching past all of the opportunities.

She seemed outside of herself, as if she were merely watching this situation from a bystander's eyes. She closed her eyes and remembered the dream that had been taking over all of her thoughts lately. She thought of what Knuckles had told her, his eyes desperate. 'Something's coming. It's coming for Nathaniel. If you don't join forces with Sonic and protect the little boy…'

Suddenly she smiled.

"Rouge," she turned, her eyes snapping open in triumph. "I think we might be able to help each other out."

The bat blinked. "What did you have in mind, hon?" she asked, hoping.

Amy grinned. "How about, I agree to let Nathaniel see Ruby…" while Rouge gasped, she held out her hand, signaling her to be silent. "And in exchange, you tell me what that psycho fox is up to, and I mean all of the details. All of the plans he has, I want to know, down to every single step and every single stinking breath he considers taking." Her eyes flickered. "And you help me find a certain blue-haired bum."

Rouge smiled, standing up quickly. "Of course!" she exclaimed wildly. "You've got it!" and as Amy tried to exchange her hand to secure the deal, the bat wrapped the petite pink beauty in a hug. She wrapped her arms around her tight, nearly crying. "Oh thank you," she sobbed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Rouge began to invision her girl, as she invisioned the last time they had spoken, where she had whispered to her: Au revoir, ma fille, je t'aime. I love you my daughter. She imagined Ruby, looking up from her Muzzy Language videos and giggling back: Je t'aime aussi et bon voyage. I love you too, and have a great trip.

While Rouge held her, Amy wrapped her arms around her in return, but a sinister smile kept her expression far from friendly. Amy watched the fingers of her left hand, as her childish gesture came into light.

Throughout the whole bargain, her fingers had been crossed.

A/N: GACK! This is azngirlchibi, and I'm so-o-o sorry for not posting this in so long. The Queen of Aces got the chapter in on time as usual, but I've been so busy with school and life in general that I never got the time to post this up. You might find a few spelling or formatting mistakes in here, so I'm really, really, really sorry. And plus, a virus went into my computer and blew up all my files, so I lost this chapter when I finally found the time to post it up... I'M SO SORRY!

Oh, and I know that I never answered any of the reviews. I really don't have time right now, but we have read through every single review, and I must say that you guys have some really good advice! Not that it's surprising - you guys are great :D But we'll take it all to heart, and try to improve the future chapters as much as we can for you, m'kay?

Sorry again for not replying to the reviews, and the lateness of this chapter. And I really wanted to reply to these ones too...

And for people who don't know which chapters are written by who... The odd chapters are written by The Queen of Aces, and the even chapters are written by me. Plus, if I'm writing it, I write both author's notes, and if it's The Queen of Aces, the author's note on top is hers, while the bottom one right here is mine.

... Or, we could just add something on the top telling which is which...

Sorry again! And I kind of have a funeral to go to soon... Just a side note :)

The Queen of Aces

azngirlchibi