Almost Gone
By Shadow's Girls
Disclaimer: Affy owns Affy, Taffy owns the hospital, the nurse, the doctor, and herself. Sega owns everything else.
Taffy grinned evilly. Shadow had gotten drunk again, and now she and Affy were going to "play" with him.
"Sp what should we do with him? Tell him stuff and see if he believes it?"
Affy nodded. "Yeah...heh heh."
The albino hedgehog laughed. "Okay, you go first."
"Umm...Shadow, your tail is gonna eat you."
"Nice one."
Shadow looked at his tail in his hand. "WhAt? AAAHHHHH! GETITOFF GETITOFF!" He started to scream and run around.
Taffy fell to the floor, giggling insanely.
Her brother slammed a rock on his tail. "There, now it won't eat me! HAH!" He paused for a minute, then threw it off. "OWWWWW!"
The female on the floor started turning a light shade of blue as she laughed harder.
Shadow had an abrupt change of emotion. "Did yOu KnoW thA-hic thAt I once kept A liVe saLamAnDer in my mOutH for A WhoLe MonTH?"
Taffy darkened to a deeper shade of blue.
Affy's eyes went wide. "Even I didn't know that!"
Coughing was heard as Taffy started choking on, seemingly, nothing.
"Ewwwww! I kissed him!"
Taffy was now coughing violently, almost unconscious. She was still sitting on the floor, but holding herself up so she wouldn't fall over.
Noticing her friend's predicament, Affy turned to her. "Taffy?!"
She didn't reply, as her coughing slightly grew worse.
"KNUX! TAFFY'S CHOKING!" Affy screamed, running to her friend's side.
Before the echidna got to them, Taffy had passed out, now completely on the floor. When he did get there, he checked on Taffy, making sure she still had a pulse. Finding she did, but wasn't breathing, Knuckles started performing CPR on her.
"C'mon! BREATHE!"
Taffy coughed slightly, slowly coming to. Shadow looked down at her.
"Is it naptime?" He asked stupidly.
Ignoring Shadow completely, Affy dropped to her knees beside her. "Are you okay, Taffy?"
As she opened her eyes, Taffy gasped suddenly then started coughing horrible, trying to get enough oxygen to her lungs.
"C'mon Taffy...you can do it..." Knuckles soothed, almost in tears.
Her eyes started to flutter closed as she still gasped for air.
Knuckles started to push hard on her chest. "DAMN IT, BREATHE!"
Taffy coughed hard a few times, bringing some blood to her lips. "Knu...ckles..." She mumbled weakly.
The guardian continued pushing on her chest. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5!" He leaned down and gave her some air. Sitting back on his heels, tears started running down his face. "DON'T LEAVE ME!"
Not far away, Affy was crying, holding onto her tail like a stuffed animal.
The albino hedgehog gasped again and started to breathe slightly easier.
Knuckles smoothed her bangs away from her face. "Good! Good! Keep breathing!"
Taffy coughed, bringing blood to her lips again.
Shadow was still standing there, gazing stupidly, when he snapped out of his drunken phase. "Oh my God! What's wrong with Taffy?!" He hurried over and helped Knuckles, Affy still behind them, crying harder.
His sister made a gagging noise and she struggled to sit up. Blood was stuck in her throat and she was trying to get it up. Knuckles patted her back, helping her get it up. She spit it out and coughed more, now crying in fear for herself.
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!" Shadow demanded, distraught that his little sister was having so much trouble.
Getting enough breath, Taffy managed to whisper, "Shadow...I'm...sorry..."
He looked back down at her. "What? Sorry about what? Don't be sorry..."
"Sorry being a brat..." She started gasping for breath again, having stretched what little she had so far.
"It's my fault!" Affy wailed, still crying. "I made you do something that made Taffy laugh and I guess she laughed too hard."
Taffy looked at Shadow. "I love you, Shadow," she whispered.
Shadow took her hand and tried to smile. "But you're my sis! It's okay if you're a brat," he said, attempting to cheer Taffy up.
"Thanks for being my big brother." She reached weakly to hug him.
"Taffy! Don't leave me! I don't want to lose you like I lost Maria!" Shadow started crying as he hugged her back gently.
"Don't cry, Shadow. Not for me."
Shadow hugged her a little tighter. "I won't let you go."
Knuckles looked at her, eyes full of tears. "Taffy...I love you..." The tears began to roll down his face as he finally broke down completely.
"I love you, too, Knuckles," Taffy gasped out, crying as she wiped away Shadow's tears. "But don't cry for me. It's not you to cry."
Making up his mind, Shadow picked up Taffy, both still crying. As Shadow concentrated on his target, Taffy went limp in his arms. "CHAOS CONTROL!"
Shadow ran into the hospital, carrying Taffy carefully. "I need to see a doctor NOW!" He rushed through the people standing or walking around until he came to a doctor. "You better fix my sister or else I will KILL YOU!"
The doctor called for the Emergency Room and a few nurses rushed out, bringing a stretcher. They took Taffy from his arms, placed her on the stretcher, and hurried her away.
Knuckles came running into the hospital as fast as they could and stopped next to Shadow. The hedgehog tried to follow his sister, but was stopped by the doctor.
"Sorry, you can't come right now. We'll let you know how she's doing soon. He started to follow the stretcher when Shadow burst out,
"What?! But I want to be with my sister! SHE NEEDS ME!"
The doctor looked at him sadly. I'm sorry. Please wait out here. It will be a help to us all right now." He went through the double doors after the stretcher.
A few hours had passed since Taffy had been taken in. Shadow had been pacing the whole time in the waiting room, Affy watching him while Knuckles stared into space, obviously thinking about Taffy.
"Sir? Are you Shadow?"
He turned and saw a nurse standing there, dressed in white and carrying a clipboard. "Yes? Is she gonna be all right?"
The nurse smiled sadly at him. "Your sister will, hopefully, be fine. But right now..."
Shadow, Knuckles, and Affy all stared at her. "What?!" They asked in unison.
"Right now, she has a low chance of surviving. She went so long without oxygen, and that hurt her lungs severely. But the doctor has given you permission to see her now."
The group rushed to where the nurse said Taffy was being kept as fast as they could in the corridors. When they arrived, they nearly broke into tears at the sight before them.
She was lying in the bed, looking so helpless, wearing a hospital gown. Her glasses had been removed and were not seen anywhere. The hedgehog was hooked up to an IV, a heart monitor, and an oxygen tube. Shadow stared at his baby sister in shock.
Going over to her, her quietly said, "T-taffy?"
Her ear perked a little, registering the voice. "Shadow?" She whispered weakly.
"It's gonna be okay. We're here," he said.
Knuckles came over and took her hand. "Every step of the way."
She shifted and the blanket came off of the end of her tail. All color was gone; it wasn't glowing at all.
"I can't open my eyes." She tried to find Shadow by his voice. "It hurts if I try."
Affy stood at the end of the bed. "Don't try, just rest."
The furry in the bed turned in the general direction of her voice. "Affy...thank you."
"Thank me?! For what? Getting you into this mess?" She started to cry as she finished.
"Thank you so much, Affy."
Affy looked at her. "But I just got you into this whole thing."
Taffy shook her head weakly. "No...It was my idea that started this. I'm the only one to blame."
"I shouldn't have gotten so drunk!" Shadow cried. "I should have just gone to the bathroom and came back!""
"It's okay, Shadow." Taffy smiled slightly. "I understand." She coughed and leaned back into her pillow.
He gawked at her. "Wha...? Y-you forgive me?"
She nodded. "I can always forgive my big brother." Reaching out, she touched his hand slightly.
Shadow didn't say anything as a tear rolled down his cheek.
"Knuckles?"
The guardian sniffled. "Y-yeah Taffy?"
"I know I've told you this before. I love you with all my heart and soul."
I..." Knuckles wiped away his tears. "I love you, too."
Taffy motioned for him. "Come here."
Knuckles nodded. "Sure." Shadow moved aside as the echidna came closer to Taffy.
The albino sat up and reached out, trying to find him. She touched his cheek and as she figured out where he was, she leaned forward and gently placed a kiss on his lips.
He gently kissed back, not wanting to mess up anything hooked up to her.
A light started to glow to the left of the bed and they broke apart. They watched in shock as Maria appeared.
Shadow's jaw dropped. "M-maria?"
She nodded. "Shadow, I know how much you love her, and how much you want her to be all right."
"Y-yes," he replied, a tear rolling down his cheek.
"I can help her. But I need your help. All of you."
Shadow nodded, eyes locked on the angel before them. "Anything, Maria."
Maria nodded. "All of you think of your fondest memory of her and concentrate really hard on it. I'll take care of the rest."
Silence, aside from the slow beeping of the heart monitor, filled the room as everyone thought of a memory. Affy started to cry again, having calmed down just a few moments ago.
"Okay Maria...we're ready..." Shadow whispered.
The angel closed her eyes and everything started to glow. Taffy glowed rainbow colors, oblivious to her surroundings. A gently wind started to blow and soft music played, coming from an unknown source.
A few moments passed like this before Maria reopened her eyes and everything stopped.
Shadow looked down at Taffy, then back up at Maria. "Is she okay?"
"I have done what I can. At the moment, the worst thing is she'll be disabled somehow. But the chances of that are very low."
He came around to stand next to Affy. "Maria! Don't go!"
Maria smiled at him sadly. "I have to, Shadow. But remember me and I will never leave you. Hopefully, when we meet again, it will be in happier times. Come here, Shadow."
"O-okay...Maria..." He sniffed and approached her.
She knelt down as he came to her and embraced him lovingly. Shadow hugged back, trying not to cry.
"I don't want you to go!"
"I must. But good-bye isn't forever, Shadow. We will meet again." Maria stood up as she started to fade. "Good-bye, Shadow."
Shadow's eyes went wide as tears started to fall. "I...I won't let you go! Noo! MARIA!"
Maria had faded away completely. "Remember, Shadow..."
MARIAAAAA!" Shadow cried, sobbing.
Silence once again filled the room. Shadow had fallen to his knees, crying silently into his hands. A small moan made him look up. Realizing it was Taffy, he stood up quickly and went to her side.
Her ear flicked as she slowly woke up. "Shadow?"
He wiped away his tears and looked down on her. "Taffy? Taffy! You're okay!" Shadow leaned down and hugged her.
Taffy moved carefully as to not mess up anything and hugged back. "I guess I am...A miracle, I guess, huh?"
Shadow smiled. "Yeah, a miracle..." He lowered his voice to an almost-silent whisper. "Thank you, Maria..." In his normal voice, he declared, 'Taffy! From this day on I am gonna be a whole lot nicer to ya!"
Taffy snuggled against his fluff. "I guess...everybody can change at some point, can't they?"
He chuckled. "He, yeah! I guess so!"
Knuckles came over and joined in the hug. The albino grinned. "Even though I can't see right now, I know you guys are smiling." She moved over and hugged Affy, and then snuggled against Knuckles. "Thanks, Knuckles."
He looked down at her and wrapped his arms around her. "Hm? For what?"
"For loving me, like nobody else can."
Knuckles smiled and pulled her a little closer. "You're welcome, Taffy...I love you."
She cuddled against him and started to fall asleep. "I love you, too."
End