The Crimson Affair Chapter 36

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, SEGA and Archie comics does. Sorry for the long update. Thank you so much guys for the support all throughout the chapters. You guys rock!

(Shadow's POV)

Rouge, where are you?

Hours have passed and here I am still outside Elysium Garden searching all around the place to see a trace of her. I feel like a desperate FBI agent who is still looking for more clues while ignoring the fact that the effort of my search would be futile in the end.

Dead bodies being taken away, injured people, nosy bystanders; I've been seeing the same sight over and over again but she's still nowhere to be found.

A part of me kept chanting that she's gone and it's all because of her saving Darius from that bullet like my father's business associate told me.

If that were true, if she did died saving him, I would indeed seal the fact that Darius has taken everything from me. My life, my future, the truth, my mother's sanity and now, Ms. Rouge, but until now I still refuse to believe it because another part of me tells me that she's alright.

My feet are getting tired, my lungs were slowly being filled by smoke from the burning building and my mouth thirsts for a nice glass of fine wine as the clock ticked. Despite being physically fit enough to work out for hours, it seems that I have breached my stamina level easily due to my rising anxiety and my constant inhalation of smoke but I let all of those thoughts leave me just to see her.

"Sir, I apologize for voicing out my opinions but you appear to be completely exhausted. It would be best if you take a rest for a while," Espio suggested but I just ignored what he said and kept marching onwards.

"Mr. Hedgehog, with all due respect, would you kindly listen to us? We are only concerned for your health and safety. It's already-"

Right now, I could barely make out what Vector is trying to tell me as if my mind is currently keeping me preoccupied with a lot of things that would make me forget what happened.

I'm lost. I'm completely lost within my thoughts that I couldn't hear anything except my heart wildly pounding within my chest coupled with this unpleasant feeling in my stomach like my gut is trying to squeeze through my throat and the dark spots floating in my field of vision is beginning to disrupt my balance.

Then I felt something inside me gave way. I felt so nauseous and dizzy that I halted on my tracks and fell down on my knees. I finally felt exhaustion taking over me and my body knows that too well but my mind kept convincing me that I need to get back on my feet.

I can't give up now. Chaos, I have to find her!

It's funny how your mind could trick your body into doing things you can no longer do physically. It's just like how betrayal works; one moment you thought everything is alright until you get stabbed in the back when you're least expecting it.

A heard a couple of steps walking towards me then I felt strong arms holding me upright. I could barely tell the presence from the light headedness I'm currently feeling but I was distracted when I felt a plastic container being held against my mouth.

Seeing that it was a water bottle, I took a sip in it.

Cold water, just what I needed.

I could feel myself reverting back to my normal state coupled with cold sweat engulfing my body and that's when I was able to clearly see Espio and Vector beside me; one of them holding a bottle.

"Are you alright, sir? Can you hear me?" Espio asked and I just nodded indifferently.

"Here Mr. Hedgehog, chew on this," Vector gave me a hard candy, "Your blood sugar must have dropped from the exhaustion. We really need to get out of this place, sir. Danger could be lurking nearby and given that your father was attacked just a few moments ago, it's plausible that you might be, too."

I could barely make out what Vector told me for I was still too distracted about Ms. Rouge's disappearance. I just took the candy as he suggested and chewed it until I gradually felt my strength recovering.

"Sir, we suggest that we take you home now and delegate the task to the secret service. Let them search for Ms. Bat instead," Vector once again tried talking some sense into me and that's when I finally found the reason to respond.

I shook my head in disagreement, "No, I have to find her myself. I know she's here. I know she is."

Once again, it was my willpower talking and not me. I don't even know if I could still drive myself home but my brain tells me I can.

I stood up and pulled myself away from my bodyguards' grasp and continued to walk on with all of my strength.

"Mr. Hedgehog!" Espio called out but I just held up a hand as though telling him to back off.

"Just go and leave me be. I'm going to find her and there's nothing you could do to stop me."

I did my best to get away from them as much as I could until I heard Espio yelled that caught me off-guarded.

"Contact!" he shouted and the next thing I know, Vector acted as my body cover and I was hastily being dragged away by him towards a safe zone that they have arranged should an assault occur.

"What the?!" were all the words I was able to blurt out before I was pushed into the escape vehicle.

Everything was going so fast that the last thing I heard was a deafening explosion that made my ears ring and lastly, a strong force that sent the vehicle I was in flying in midair before it made a strong collision with another solid object that violently shook the vehicle in the process.

Then I lost track of reality.

(Rouge's POV)

"What was that?" I wondered upon hearing a barely audible explosion with the ground shaking a bit.

"Thunderstorms are coming. Forecast is said to be grey today," Kragok just shrugged his shoulders.

I decided to ignore the noise and probed towards the subject at hand instead.

"Never mind. Anyway, what happens now?" I asked.

"We're just going to wait a little more until Darius comes out of his shell. When he does, we would proceed with Plan C. For now, make the most of your time being 'Rouge the Bat' while you still can." Kragok was about to make his way out of the door when I stopped him.

"Wait," I shot a glare at him. "Once Darius is dethroned like you said, would my nephew and I be free as promised? Would the person who ordered Sapphire to be killed be punished, too? Since you appear to be going against your sister's plan, how can I be sure that you will keep your word until the end?"

Kragok didn't say a word and instead just stared at me with a sly look on his face.

"Answer me!" I snapped at him.

"That depends IF you won't betray us in the end by playing hero like the one you did in the conference hall. I know how sappy you women could get. The sooner I realize you're developing feelings for that fucking dictator, you won't see the light of the day again and the boy…let's just say you won't even live to witness what his fate would turn out but I'm telling you, he'll be as miserable as the next homeless man you see that eats nothing but leftovers from the garbage cans. If that's how you want things to turn out then go ahead, screw up this plan, I won't stop you."

Kragok threatened me once again with his choice of words. The future that awaits for me and Flint sent a shiver on my spine but it didn't stop me from being enraged from his words.

"You're such a horrible bastard." I simply stated. "Someday, your words are going to bite you straight in the ass."

He smirked at me. "Heh, you amuse me once again with your empty threats. To make this conversation short, I brought you here for a reason and that is to forget who you are enough to leave everything behind."

I snapped a glance at him. "Leave…everything behind?" I was shocked at his statement, "What do you mean by that?"

"Your work, your home; the people you've got involved with, everything. To put it simply, 'Rouge' needs to 'disappear' during the course of the plan," He flashed a mocking grin at me.

"For what?! Why would I leave my life behind? Can't I just pretend to be my sister at the same time be myself?"

"What are you, fucking nuts? You can't do that."

"And why the hell not? I have a life, too. I deserve to live my life like everybody else even if I'm going with this cruel plan of yours!"

"Let me explain this as clearly and as easily as I could for the sake of that inferior brain of yours. You're Sapphire. Your sister, the slut! You can't be Sapphire if you still think you're Rouge. You see where I'm getting at? Rouge is gone, get that into your head, for chaos' sake! You can't be two different people at the same time like you can't serve two masters at a time. One wrong move and Darius would suspect that something's off. It's better to play our cards right. You can't win poker by just luck alone, you've got to keep that poker face nice and believable until he would be the one to fold his cards first. Now, are we on the same boat or not?"

I frowned at his horrible words then I did my best to avoid his gaze.

"Yes…" I calmly muttered that made him grunt in response.

Fuck you, you heartless piece of shit! I hope the heavens would smite that fucking face of yours.

"What? Sorry, kind of hard of hearing here with all that mental cursing you're doing right now"

"Yes, okay, I get the picture. Now would you kindly leave this house now?! I've had enough of crap for today."

Kragok gave me once more a conniving smile. "Good girl. Now that's how I like it. We'll see each other again soon."

With that, he left for good leaving me in deep thought all by myself.

I paced around my sister's room as I held her favorite hair ornament in my hand.

I shivered at the thought of Darius seeing me as Sapphire.

For once in my life, I'll admit that I am really frightened with the whole 'plan C' thing Kragok has told me about. Faking my identity so he could trust me enough so I could take advantage of his weaknesses? The plan is just so horrible. I feel like I'm getting sick just merely thinking about it.

What if Darius finds out? It's impossible that he wouldn't find out after all he and Sapphire has been through.

What about Flint? Does he even know about him?

Oh Sapphire, what should I do? You were always the one who knew what to do. Now I don't know who to look up to anymore. What would you do when you're in my shoes?

(Shadow's POV)

My head is spinning, I couldn't make out what's going on and yet I'm hearing a lot of barely audible voices around me telling me to wake up while some voices spoke in numbers and terms I'm not so familiar with.

"Bring him in."

I could feel myself being moved here and there but I couldn't find the strength to move or even say a word and worse, I couldn't open my eyes at all.

"One, two, three!"

"O2 sat's dangerously low. Systolic pressure's dropping to 60. PR is dropping to 65, RR is sixteen. Hemorrhagic shock imminent. Start O2 and secure an IV line, stat!"

I feel contraptions being placed in my body. My face, my limbs, and even on my chest as I hear machines beeping all around me.

"IV established. Pushing 1 mg of Epinephrine. Come on, we're not giving up on you so don't you give up on us."

What is it they're giving me, it felt like I've just ran a mile. My heart's beating so fast, it's uncomfortable. I feel like I'm in an endless spiral room. I feel so dizzy and nauseated as if my brain is floating outside my skull.

"Vitals are still unstable and the ICP is increasing. Prepare the patient for OR, stat!"

I lost track of reality after hearing those words.

All I could see is darkness until my consciousness gradually faded away.

(Shadow's POV)

In my slumber, I could hear these strange voices in my head speaking to me.

"…I…started to become aware that it was the presence and not the presents that define…"

"…still here to ensure that this certain young boy turns into a well-refined man"

"…hope to see those crimson eyes stare back once again…"

With a sudden jerk, I opened my eyes and I was met with a bright light that if I didn't have lids, I would have been blind by now. Then slowly, my eyes began to adjust from the lighting.

I was lying in a hospital bed in a wide, spacious room with white walls, a television in front of me and a little lounge just beside my bed.

The first thing I noticed is a mild headache that doesn't go away no matter what I do. Not only that, I could also tell that there are thick bandages tightly wrapped around my head and looking to my left, I saw an intravenous line connected to my wrist.

What the...I'm in a hospital?

Then I noticed that my mouth and throat felt dry and there's an uncomfortable foreign object jammed inside it. One thing's for sure, there was a tube inside my throat and the moment my brain noticed its presence, I started to gag from it.

I panicked at that sudden feeling and did my best to seek for aid and that's when I caught sight of the call button just beside my hand.

I was later on attended by a couple of people dressed in white gowns and they quickly removed those breathing contraptions from me while the others checked on my vitals.

"You're finally awake. Welcome back, Mr. Hedgehog." Greeted a much senior amber furred mobian hedgehog doctor that came in a few moments later after my vitals were thoroughly assessed. "I am Dr. Donovan, head of the Department of Neurosurgery."

I didn't say a word from the bewilderment and confusion that's currently plaguing me. I could still myself partially dazed from my slumber and seeing this doctor before me is enough proof that something is wrong with me.

He leaned towards me and put out his pen light and with a swift motion of his hand, he aimed the light in my eyes. "Hmm, your pupillary responses seem good. Alright, I'm going to perform a little Neurological assessment on you to see how far you have recovered. I want you to follow this penlight I'm holding with your eyes."

I did as I was told and followed his hand gestures in six directions then he gave me a satisfied look.

"Good. Now I want you to close your eyes and point at the body part that I ask you to point." He instructed and I just nodded in response.

"Point to your ears."

I pointed as specified.

"Now, point to your mouth. Good, now your left eye, and right. Good, good. You're doing great. You may now open your eyes."

I opened my eyes and judging from the doctor's expression, the results seem good.

"Okay, now I want you to squeeze my finger as hard as you can."

I did as I was told and squeezed the doctor's finger as hard as I could.

"Excellent motor responses. You're recovering quite well, Mr. Hedgehog. Now let's check your verbal responses. Right now, how are you feeling?"

I was unable to respond at first. Right now, besides the pounding headache and the dryness of my throat, I am quite feeling alright.

"I'm well." I simply replied, unable to think of a better response. My voice was still a bit hoarse from the breathing tube that have just been removed.

"Good. Can you tell me your name?"

"Shadow," I quickly responded, earning a smile from him.

"When is your birthday?"

"The 19th of June."

"Do you know where you are?" he asked again.

"In a hospital," my eyes wandered around, "…but I'm not sure what hospital I'm in…"

"You're in Mobius General Hospital," he kindly responded. "Do you know why you're here?"

Although I am familiar with the place, there's one thing that's baffling me; I don't remember why I'm here.

"No, why am I here? And why do I have these bandages?" I asked that made the doctor look at me with a bit of bewilderment.

"You don't remember?" he asked and I just shook my head in disagreement.

The doctor was about to speak when I heard the door opened.

"Shadow?" I followed the sound of the voice and looking by the doorstep, I saw a blond furred hedgehog with crimson eyes.

"Mother?" I immediately recognized her presence.

Seeing her presence after all I've been through made me feel good inside.

She quickly ran to my side and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Oh my poor dear boy, I'm so relieved that you're finally awake." She gently cupped my muzzles, "You know, I immediately flew back to Mobius when I found out you were hospitalized. Sweet Aurora, I thought I was going to lose you but Dr. Donovan here saved your life. Thank you so much for taking care of my only boy, doctor."

"We're doing the best we can, madam," he replied with a smile.

"Flew back? That's ridiculous, mother. As far as I remember, you never left the country." I immediately responded, thinking that she had been drinking again and forgetting things all the time and from that, my mother's expression suddenly changed.

"Honey, I went to Hawaii to take a vacation. Do you remember the talk we had at my office along with Ms. Lien-Da before we went to the massage parlor?" she asked as she tightly gripped my hand. "Do you, dear?"

I looked at her with confusion then I shifted my gaze to Dr. Donovan.

"No, I don't and I couldn't recall anything about us going to a massage parlor. On top of that, I don't know who this Ms. Lien-Da is. Maybe it was Ms. Lana you're talking about…" my eyes wandered once again, looking for another presence. "Speaking of her, where is she, if I may ask? Isn't she always with you?"

My mother's jaw hung loosely at my response as her grip on my hand began to loosen its strength.

"Doctor, what's wrong with my son?" a look of apprehension was present in her eyes that made me worried.

"Mr. Hedgehog, what's the date today?" he suddenly asked and I thought for a second then I simply answered the first thing that came into my mind. "June 12"

This time, Dr. Donovan gave me a mildly skeptical look. "I see..."

A tear fell from my mother's eye and it immediately broke my heart seeing her upset.

"Mother, why are you crying? I…I don't understand." I was confused, I didn't know what else to say.

Why would she cry? Was it something I said?

I stared at Dr. Donovan with a puzzled look. "What's wrong with me, doctor? Why was my mother so upset?"

"Mr. Hedgehog," Dr. Donovan placed a hand on my shoulder. "You have suffered an epidural hematoma from a vehicular collision that occurred three weeks ago. To put it simply, blood has pooled between your skull and the outer membrane of your nervous system called the dura mater. Bleeding is much faster and more fatal if left untreated so we had no choice but to immediately perform an emergency surgery on you."

I was unable to speak upon hearing what the doctor just said. Things suddenly became too weird for me and doctor seem to have noticed it.

"What I'm trying to say is, surgeries that involve the brain would often induce a couple of post-operation side effects including confusion, poor coordination, incoherence, muscular weakness, speech problems, personality changes and the most common of all, temporary or permanent memory loss."

A/N: Chapter finally finished! :D Long update again so I apologize for that.

Seems like Shadow was the one who lost something precious to him.

*On a side note, how was the hospital scene? Sorry if I made some mistakes because I am not a med student or anything but I took some time to read some medical books, a couple of journals in the net and asked some friends and relatives who work in a hospital to be able to write this chapter. In addition, this is a little shout out for another story that I plan on writing which involves a medical field setting because the theme is fascinating.

Acronyms used:

Stat – ASAP/fast

PR – Pulse rate

RR – Respiration rate

ICP – Intracranial pressure (Pressure inside the skull)

IV line – Intravenous Line

OR – Operating Room

O2 – Oxygen

02 sat – Oxygen Saturation