CHAPTER 38

REDEMPTION

Rouge's eyes shot wide open in panic. She found herself laying in a hospital bed and spotted a male red echidna sitting by her side having his hand on top of hers. His head was tilted down in sadness it seemed. "Knuckles…" she spoke in a hoarse tone.

When the echidna heard her voice, he practically jumped out of his chair. "Rouge! You're awake? Thank God! I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Where am I?" She asked as she looked around the small white room.

"You're in the hospital."

When Rouge tried to move her neck around, she felt a sharp pain. She took her hand away from his and lightly stroked through the gauze that was wrapped around her neck. After touching her sore neck, she began to remember what had happened to her. She felt herself wanting to cry as she remembered.

After seeing the saddened look she had in her eyes, Knuckles figured that she was thinking about what had happened between her and Shadow. "Shadow…he…he almost killed you, Rouge. He almost took you away from me…" He saw her turning away from him by staring at the snow falling from the sky out from the window beside her bed.

He couldn't read her at all. He couldn't tell if she was angry at him or just thinking about Shadow. "Rouge, I know you've been through a lot but just hear me out. I don't know what you think of me or if you'll ever forgive me but I just wanted to say I'm sorry for ever hurting you. When I found out what Shadow was doing to you, I felt like right then I had already lost you." His eyes shifted over to her and he had noticed that she didn't even bother turning to him. "Please, Rouge", he begged. "Please forgive me…" Before he could hear a reply from her, he heard the door to the room being opened. He spun around and saw Espio standing there at the doorway.

A sign of relief had formed on the chameleon's face as he stared at the bat woman who had given him the same look. "Thank God! Rouge, you're okay!" He rushed over to her and embraced her happily.

"Espio!" As she hugged him, she felt like she wanted to cry all over again.

"My God! We thought we were going to lose you!" He pulled away from her and formed a warm smile towards her.

Rouge noticed that Espio was practically covered in bandages as well. He didn't look like he was too far off from being put in a hospital bed either. "Are you okay, Es?"

He made a small nod, "Yes."

"But what about the others? Tonya? Charmy? Vector?"

"They're fine. They're all fine. They're waiting out in the hall to see how you and Shadow are doing."

Rouge's body froze as she heard Shadow's name slip from his lips. "Shadow…" She murmured. She began to go into panic. "Oh my God! Shadow! Where is he? Is he…"

Espio rubbed her arms to try to calm her down. "Relax, Rouge. He's just down the hall from you. I just checked back with the doctors. He's very weak. Barely talking but they said he'll pull through."

She calmly rested her body back down onto the bed and formed a small smile of relief. "He's okay…thank God…"

Knuckles angrily stood from his chair. "What the hell do you mean?"

Espio turned to the furious echidna in confusion.

"Do you not remember what that bastard tried to do? He tried to kill us! All of us!"

"Knuckles! That wasn't Shadow! That demon was making Shadow do all of those things!"

"That doesn't mean shit!" He spat.

Rouge bit her lip lightly as she saw Knuckles getting enraged. "Shadow would never…"

"He raped you!"

Rouge knew that he was far too angry to even talk to so she sadly turned away from him.

Espio knew Knuckles was only angry over the fact that Rouge was practically killed. "He was helpless! He couldn't fight it!"

"He should've fought harder!" His voice was so loud it not only filled the room but the hallways as well.

Espio gave the angered echidna a cold glare. "You need to calm down, Knuckles", he growled. "Right now!"

Rouge was beginning to feel uncomfortable just being in the presence between Espio and Knuckles. It seemed like the two were going to start going at it any moment.

They were all interrupted when they saw nurses running up and down the hallway from the room. They heard multiple nurses talking.

"Doctor, come quick! He's gone!"

"Shadow The Hedgehog is missing!"

Rouge was once again full of panic as she heard his name again. She quickly rose her head up from her pillow and turned to Espio full of worry. "Espio?"

The chameleon looked back at the concerned bat woman. "Don't worry, Rouge. We'll find out what's going on." He turned to Knuckles, "Knuckles, come with me."

With Rouge looking so worried, he decided to put his differences with Shadow to the side for the moment to help look for him.

When she watched Knuckles and Espio rush out of the room, she looked back out of the window. She clenched the white bed sheets as she began to wonder what had happened to the hedgehog. "…Shadow…"

Much later on, an early dawn had approached. At the park, everything the snow had touched seemed to fade to a blanket of white. Even the sky had looked strange. It was dull, gray, and foggy like.

Shadow stood on a hill covered in a blanket of snow while he smoked a cigarette. He was dressed in a black winter jacket, black skinny jeans, and brown ankle military styled boots. He looked down at the city in front of him that was surrounded by the foggy and snowy atmosphere. He sadly sighed as he took one last puff before he flicked the remainder of the cigarette onto the white ground. "I'm sorry, Rouge…" He slowly turned away and picked up a dark blue backpack that was leaning against a tree near him. He put on the backpack and began to walk over to a red sports like motorcycle until he heard a familiar feminine voice call out to him.

"Shadow!"

He immediately stopped in his tracks and spun around only to find a white bat woman wearing nothing but a bloodstained pink jacket, pink knee high boots, and a hospital gown. "Rouge! Are you crazy? It's freezing out here! Go back to the hospital!" He knew what kind of condition she was in and it worried him that she was out and about especially in the cold weather.

The bat woman shook her head and slowly walked over to him, "No! I won't leave you Shadow!"

As she stood in front of him, he couldn't take his eyes away from her neck that was covered in gauze. "…You shouldn't come near me…"

"What? Don't be stupid…"

"Rouge, please…", he spoke as he took a step back from her. "I…I can't…"

She was lost. She had wondered what had gotten into him. "You…can't?"

"Rouge, I've done things…horrible things…"

She shook her head slightly, "Shadow, you didn't…"

"I know", he spoke in a hurtful voice. "That demon was controlling me. My every action…my every move. He took control of me and God…oh God…" His words began to trail off as he tried to fight the tears that was swelling in his eyes. "…I was still aware."

Her eyes widened in shock. She knew where he was finally coming from. The demon had full control of his body but it never controlled his mind. "Shadow..."

He shook his head slowly, "I hurt and killed so many people…Danielle…her grandfather…Tikal…"

Her jaw practically dropped when she heard him mention Danielle and her grandfather. She didn't want to dare think that he had taken their lives as well. "…What?"

"And Vector, Charmy, Espio, Tonya…and you…" Tears swelled in his eyes as he looked into her aqua green eyes. "He made me lie to you…he made me hurt you…"

It hurt Rouge to see Shadow so broken up. That demon didn't just control his body it made him use his feelings against her as a weapon.

"Tell me Shadow, were all the things he said…a lie? Did he lie about you being in love with me?"

He hesitated to answer her. He wanted to tell her how he really felt about her, but somehow saying how much he loved her sounded too soon especially after what they had all had been through. "…You know it's true…"

She wanted to hear him say it. "What's true?"

He remained silent and shifted his eyes away from hers.

She shook her head sadly. "Don't do this to me, Shadow. Not after everything that's happened…" She suddenly felt her hand being held by his.

"I promise I will never hurt you again", he spoke in a firm tone.

When she caught sight of his motorcycle and the backpack he had on, her heart skipped a beat as she began to think what was happening. "What do you mean?"

"…I have to go…"

She jerked her hand away from his and could no longer hold back her tears. "Go? Go where?"

"I don't know…I…I've done too much damage here. I can't stay."

"What are you even saying? You have to stay! We all need you here now more than ever!" Warm tears streamed down her face, "How could you be so selfish?"

"When that demon possessed my body, it made me realize that maybe I'm not as strong minded as I thought I was. I'm weak. I need to get stronger and being here talking about my feelings won't help me." He was suddenly caught off guard when Rouge delivered a loud slap to the face. He held his burning red cheek and sadly turned to the sobbing bat woman.

"You idiot! How could you think about leaving us? How could you leave me? Especially when I need you most! I need you here with me!" She continued to sob until she felt Shadow's warm body embrace hers.

"I'll come back…I promise…"

"When?" She asked with a sniffle.

"…Whenever I feel ready to face you and everyone else again."

After hearing that reply, she wanted to cry into his chest more. "Shadow, please don't do this", she begged. "I need you. I…I love you…"

He gently pulled his body from hers and stared into her watery eyes. He placed a finger to her cheek and wiped a tear from her face. "I know you do but I'm doing this for the both of us."

She watched him lean over to her and felt him press his lips lightly against her forehead. More tears flowed down her cheeks as she saw him slowly walking away from her.

He got on the motorcycle and started the engine to it. "Tell everyone not to worry about me and sorry for not saying goodbye. It just would've been too painful."

With her heart broken in two, she watched him turn away from her and began to drive away until he faded into the thick white fog. Deep down she knew what he needed to do but it didn't change how much she had wanted him to remain by her side.

Author's Note: Well, it took almost 2 years it seem but Possession has finally come to an end! I suppose you guys are wondering if there's going to be a sequel? Yes! Yes there will be a sequel made for this. It may be awhile before I actually get started on it because I'm still trying to get my ideas straightened out for it. And as for the ones who stuck with this fic since 2012, I thank you for your kind patience. I was going through a lot towards the end of that year and all of last year. But I finally got the motivation to get back into my work. I appreciate all of the love and support by my fans who have been by my side since the beginning. You guys mean the world to me. Anyway, I'll be posting 5 new fanfics since my absence was so long overdue. I feel like I owe you all some new goodies. So look out for some new stories by me! Keep it metal, guys!