CHAPTER 40: There You Are!
"I still think you shouldn't have answered me," Tails said, looking at the floor.
"It's just how I was brought up," Cream said. "I've always been taught to answer questions when I'm asked, and to answer honestly."
"Like that time you were on the news and your bus got wrecked?" Rouge asked.
"Uh..." Cream began, hesitating.
"Don't answer that," Rouge said.
"How much longer?" Cream asked.
"We'll be there in a minute," Rouge said. "It's just another block or two."
"I hope that mechanic can figure out what's wrong with Amy's car," Cream said.
"I still think she should've let me fix it," Tails said.
"Stubborn little punk, aren't you?" Rouge said.
"Where the hell is she?" Shadow said to himself. He'd been trying to get in touch with Rouge ever since his little trip to the library, and so far had not had any success. Standing outside her front door, he peered in through the window for the umpteenth time, even though he knew perfectly well that he wouldn't be able to see through the curtains anytime soon. After a few more minutes, he sighed and gave up, then turned to head for home- just in time to see Rouge's gold Camry pull into an empty parking space. Inside, he saw Tails and Cream, but he paid them no mind, since he was more worried about talking to Rouge.
"Just so you know, there's really not much to do," Tails was saying as they got out.
"It's fine, I don't mind just sitting around and talking," Cream said back.
Looks like the kid's finally got himself a girlfriend, Shadow thought, grinning. Or at least, he's heading in that direction. Took him long enough.
"See you guys later," Rouge said, waving to Tails and Cream, who were headed toward Tails's apartment. The two of them waved back, then Rouge turned and looked toward her apartment, where she finally noticed Shadow.
"Hey Rouge, how's it going?" Shadow called. Rouge grinned and walked toward him, waving again.
"Been pretty good," she called back. "How've you been?"
"Decent," Shadow said in a more normal tone, as Rouge was within hearing distance. "Just been doing nothing since I got back from my little world tour. I'm thinking about challenging Sonic to another race pretty soon. But enough about me. What have you been up to?"
"Loads of things," Rouge said, reaching her front step, where Shadow was standing. "Wanna come inside and catch up on things?"
"That's what I had in mind," Shadow said.
"How long have you been waiting?" Rouge asked, reaching above her door frame for her key.
"About twenty or thirty minutes," Shadow said. "I've been trying to reach you for days because I've kinda been wanting to see you, but it's been tough to do."
"Needed some social interection, huh?" Rouge said, removing her key from the lock and opening the front door. She placed the key back on top of the door frame, then stepped inside, followed by Shadow.
"Nice place," Shadow remarked, even though he already knew what it looked like. "Makes my place look like the Ritz. And I admit that somewhat begrudgingly."
"Never seen your place, so I'll have to take your word for it," Rouge said. "You want something to drink?"
"No," Shadow said, sitting down. "Like you said, a little social interaction will do for me."
"Okay," Rouge said. "So, what exactly do you wanna talk about?"
"Well, for starters, I'd like to know where you've been the last few days," Shadow said. "I've been trying to get in touch, but no dice until now."
"Well, that's kind of a long story," Rouge said. "It started one night when someone was killed in Amy's restaurant, and-"
"I know about the murder and the attack," Shadow said. "Sonic told me."
"Okay, that shortens it a bit," Rouge said. "Well, I kinda fell for Knuckles, and went to visit him the other day. I got there and found out Sonic had decided on the same thing. While we were chit-chatting, another robot tried to kill us. We took care of it, then took it to Tails to check out."
"I wonder..." Shadow said, his voice trailing off as he rubbed his chin.
"What?" Rouge asked.
"Nothing," Shadow said. "Just trying to think who it could be this time around. Everyone knows Eggman bit the big one, and last time I saw Omega, he took Metal Sonic off. Said he wanted to rip him apart in peace. I didn't have any objections, so I let him go about his business."
"Yeah, I know about all that," Rouge said, nodding. "Anyway, like I was saying, when we got that thing to Tails's makeshift garage, he cut it open and started checking out its insides. Well, Sonic found this glass vial, and Tails pulled it out. He had to take his glove off, though, because it slid off when Sonic tried to take it out. He cut his finger on the vial because it broke, and he got the shit inside it all over his finger. About twenty or thirty seconds later, he passed out, and Sonic had to rush him to the hospital."
"Damn!" Shadow exclaimed, an astonished look on his face. "What was it?"
"Something totally new," Rouge said. "Never seen before. It gave him a high fever, made him sick to his stomach, and made him really moody. He beat the hell out of Knuckles for no reason. As for how this ties into me not being around this whole time, they asked us to stay because they didn't know if it was air communicable or not. They had to make sure we weren't infected. Well, we weren't, so they let us go once they got the test results, and here I am."
"And, is Tails still sick, or did he beat it this fast?" Shadow asked.
"They determined that the only way to catch it is through contact with bodily fluids, so they decided to let him go and see what happens," Rouge said, rubbing back and forth just below her bottom lip using her middle and index fingers. "I'm guessing that he's probably still gonna be moody, if nothing else. Just as long as he doesn't bite anyone, he should be okay."
"Or kiss anyone," Shadow said. "You realize he's alone in his apartment with a girl right around his age group, right?"
"She's aware of the situation," Rouge said. "I don't think she'd let him get close enough."
"Wow, that looks complicated," Cream commented, looking at Tails's blueprint over his shoulder(her chin actually resting on his shoulder).
"As soon as I figure out where I can get my hands on the right raw materials, I plan to build it," Tails said.
"Well, if she winds up in the hospital, we'll know you were wrong," Shadow said, shaking his head. "Are those two going out, or this kind of a new thing?"
"It's kind of new," Rouge said. "As in, it-started-while-we-were-in-the-hospital new."
"Oh," Shadow said. "I see. By the way, I wanted to ask you something."
"Shoot," Rouge said.
"Do you know all the myths and junk about the Emeralds?" Shadow asked.
"Off the top of my head, yes," Rouge said. "Why, which one you interested in?"
"Uh, I read in a book that the Chaos World, as I call it, changes whenever something's threatening the world," Shadow said.
"Yeah, that's right," Rouge said. "Sonic can tell you all about that, since he's seen it so damn many times."
"Well, how does the world know when to change?" Shadow asked. "I mean, something has to drive it to do so, right?"
"There's a story about a so-called 'Chaos Guardian' that guards the Chaos World in much the same manner as Knuckles guards the Master Emerald," Rouge said. "Except that this 'Chaos Guardian' also has the power to manipulate the Chaos World to anything it sees fit. Long half-pipes; long, bending full-pipes and the like."
"Including arenas?" Shadow asked. "Full of crazy shit that can burn you bald, also leaving behind a burn that disappears when you go to sleep?" He pointed to the bare patch on his leg.
"I think it's your turn to do some explaining," Rouge said. "What were you doing in the Chaos World?"
"I decided to see how many Emeralds I could gather in one try," Shadow said. "Just for fun. Didn't have anything better to do."
"I see," Rouge said shortly. "Well, tell me about it. What's new this time?"
"Blobs of energy, huge frogs, massive arenas, and burns that go away when you go to sleep?" Rouge asked fifteen minutes later, just to make sure she had understood Shadow.
"Yeah," Shadow said. "I decided to look up why the Chaos World always changes, and the book I found said it did when the world was being threatened. What sort of threat, it didn't say. Also, it didn't say how it knows when to change, which is why I asked you." Before Rouge could say anything else, her phone rang. She got up and checked her caller ID, but she didn't read off the name.
"Don't know 'em, and don't care," she said. She let it ring, but rather than sit back down, she rubbed her forehead with her left hand.
"Something wrong?" Shadow asked.
"No," Rouge said. "I just don't feel so hot all of a sudden. I think I need to take a hot shower and lie down. Actually, I need a shower anyway. I haven't had one in days."
"Sounds like fun," Shadow said, standing up and walking toward the door. "I guess I'll leave you to that, then. How about if I call you tomorrow, and we can find something to talk about that's not related to someone getting sick or injured?"
"Sounds like a plan," Rouge said, nodding. "I guess I'll see you later then."
"See you," Shadow said, opening the door and skating out. Rouge closed the door, then leaned on it.
"Wonder what they're calling me for," she said. "I quit a long time ago."
Mkay, shorter chapter, I admit, but there wasn't very much for me to put in that had any relevance whatsoever. Not much I can think of that needs to go into this little epilogue either, besides review away.