UlTrRa SiK pRoDuCtIoNs pReSeNtZ:
LoVe'S bUrN
By: UlTrAa ShAdDow
Disclaimer: I don't own any of Sega's characters….but I'd be a very happy guy if I did!
"You can close your eyes to things you don't want to see, but you can't close your heart to things you don't want to feel."
Third person POV:
It was a brand new day as the amicable city of Station Square was slowly piecing itself back together like a puzzle. Millions of people came to witness the renewing of the bridge, whether or not they themselves were involved in the rebuilding process.
Construction workers quickly scrambled to revive their fallen bridge which was once a totem of their history, news reporters babbled on endlessly, and bystanders loomed in massive flocks taking in everything, inquiringly.
Rescue ships glided smoothly on the large outstretch of big blue ahead. Rescue volunteers saved victims and hoisted them onto docks and piers where they were cloaked with thick cotton quilts and handed bubbling, foamy hot cocoa.
A little ways from the great Bay Bridge stood the Blue Ocean. Powerful but tranquil waves rolled upon a white-sand beach's shore and revealed a midnight sky-colored hedgehog. A second gush of waves swirled with thick white froth brought the hedgehog into consciousness.
He forced the unwelcome water out of his system through a violent fit of coughs and upheavals. With what little energy he had left, he accumulated enough strength to drag himself out of the ocean's grasp and plopped into the sand.
He turned himself on his back to gaze up at the sky, contemplating what his next move was to be, 'Damn, how am I gonna get outta this place?'
Feeling dizzy, he spilled out another splurge of ocean water and fell on all fours. The dark hedgehog had always hated the weak, and the thought of himself being so pathetic made him even more infuriated.
Before he could express a nice, loud, juicy profanity, his keen ears picked up footsteps. His gaze fell upon a pair of black Mary Janes. He elevated his gaze; towering over the hedgehog was a butter-colored female hedgehog, returning his stare. "Umm, are you okay?"
Station Square Hospital...
As the hours passed, working with the ever faithful Doctor Laurel, Rouge had regained her confidence in walking again, but even as good as the doctor was, Rouge simply refused to come within meters of a swimming pool.
'A swimming pool? A swimming pool? That's the last thing on Earth I want see again...well...besides Sonic's face, at least...'
Sonic, on cue, flipped her off. Tails and Cream were back to their normal selves, skipping around the hospital wishing everyone a good morning. Sonic finally came to terms that for three weeks he would be in a wheelchair, and yet he taught himself how to perform a wheelie even though eighty percent of the time he would end up flying out of the chair.
Shadow was still unconscious but in stable condition and today Sonic, Rouge, Tails, and Cream would be allowed to visit Amy. "So, why'd we have to wait this long to visit Amy?" Rouge asked wistfully. "And who's helping her?"
"Doctor Hubert? Honestly...he usually works with patients who recover from a traumatic event in their lives; these things do take quite a while," Laurel answered.
"But...I think personally, he was just trying to heighten Amy's bill," Sonic spewed bluntly.
"Sonic, not everyone in the world is out to get you," Rouge sighed angrily.
"Well everyone's been after me except, my mom, my pops, Tails, Amy, Knuckles...wait, he tried to kill me twice..."
"Of course they've been after you, look at the kind of guy you are," said Tails lightheartedly.
"If you weren't pushing my wheelchair..." Sonic growled, shaking his fist at the young fox, who was beaming.
They cut around a corner of a hallway which lead to another string of doorways. Laurel quickly guided them to a door labeled A-104, and with a turn of a knob, they entered another room.
Before them all stood a chubby indigo wolf dressed in a white coat, who was blinking up at them, and Amy Rose, who turned to look at them.
Although her expression was placid, she looked just plain awful, like someone had reported Sonic's death. Amy's face was glossy from the tears her eyes spilt, and her eyes themselves were only a few hues lighter than Shadow's crimson streaks. Not to mention the fact that right below her eyes were drooping, dark bags. It appeared as if Amy had aged ten years.
"Whoa, Ames, are you okay?" Sonic asked, feeling worried from just gazing upon her. The plump azure wolf released his grip on Amy's hand and walked over towards the huddle of friends, each of whom looked deeply worried.
"Boy, this is the uneasy part of my job..." the doctor said, wiping his brow with a handkerchief. "Well, let me start by introducing myself; I'm Doctor Hubert J. Foggly. But please call me Hubert."
"Hello Doctor Foggly...Well...what's...wrong?" Tails asked carefully.
Hubert sighed, he wiped his face lightly with a handkerchief, "Well, Amy is---"
"IS SHE GONNA DIE?" Cream blurted out, crying. Everyone in the room but Cream at that precise moment would have had anime sweatdrops.
"There, there now, little lady, she's fine," Hubert said, shushing Cream who was still blubbering, "She just has..."
"I wanna tell them," Amy said slowly and quietly.
Hubert smiled. "Fine, as you wish, young lady, just don't work yourself up."
"I-I, I can't hear well anymore..." she said, with tears filling her eyes. "I'm sound deaf..."
Her voice trailed away and she burst out crying. Everyone's jaws dropped and Sonic looked especially torn apart. He averted his gaze and glared at the floor; only if there was something he could have done to have protected her better. Rouge quickly limped over towards Amy and hugged her; she too started crying.
"Hubert, is she really deaf?" Laurel asked in a hushed whisper.
"Not exactly, but the finer things she won't be able to pick up anymore, like whispers. If you put both of your index fingers in both of your ears, that's somewhere around how well she can hear," he replied softly. "There's absolutely no possible way she can hear us now."
Sonic stared into space blankly, 'This couldn't really be happening,' Then something snapped in him and he made as if to stand up and walk over to Amy, but instead, he fell flat on his face and Tails and Cream went to help him up.
"SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!" Sonic blared angrily, pounding the ground with his fists.
Once Tails and Cream reached him, they began to help him up, but Sonic refused their help and snatched his arms away from them. He turned his head and glanced at Amy determinedly. He was going to walk to her, come Hell or high water.
"Sonic, no," Rouge said as if she had read his mind.
Slowly, and with a grimace on his face, Sonic shakily began to clamber to his feet. Sweat dribbled down his face, and his legs were trembling, threatening to give way and collapse.
With every second he stood, his legs were scorching with a white hot pain; it felt as if someone had pierced thousands of knives into his muscles. However, with determination as his foundation, Sonic didn't plan on giving up today. Slowly Sonic raised his leg and took a step.
His foot landed hard and he could feel his bones grating. He took another step towards Rouge and Amy and the pain was magnifying. He gritted his teeth and took another step hearing and feeling the cracks and snaps of his bones.
Now, only within six good steps of the bed the girls were sitting on, Sonic stood, legs trembling, and sweat pouring on his face. He took his third step, landed wrong, and twisted his ankle. He let out a howl of pain but kept on going.
"Sonic...stop..." Rouge said with her voice breaking.
With his final efforts, he took three quick steps and dived in the air towards Rouge and Amy who stared at him in disbelief. Emerald eyes blinked in a mixture of awe and surprise.
"S-sonic?" Amy said in surprise.
As he was headed right for her, she opened up her arms. "SONIC!"
...However, Sonic ended up zooming right past her and pummeling Rouge and pile-driving his face straight into her bosom. It took everyone a matter of seconds to realize what happened, and when they did, all faces turned red. Sonic instantly scrambled off of Rouge who looked ten times more than furious.
"Oops, sorry Rouge I guess my calculations were off a..."
"CREEP!" she exclaimed.
And with her strong hand, she planted him across the face with a slap that could have sent him across the room.
A suburban neighborhood in Station Square...(3:00 PM)
The golden female hedgehog slowly opened the door to her luxurious three-story house. Were her parents home yet? Her brown eyes darted around every corner of her house looking for any signs of life. Nope, there wasn't anyone. Her parents wouldn't be home from their meeting until eight.
Feeling relieved, she smiled and turned back to the front door to retrieve the boy she saved at the beach. As she spun around, the dark hedgehog was right behind her with a chilling smirk and she screamed.
"This is your house?" he said, looking at her.
The tall male hedgehog was gazing at her intensely as if he was trying to stare right through her and whether he was doing this intentionally or not, she felt petrified, or freaked out.
'I really wish he'd stop that,' she thought, blinking up at him.
"Uh, yeah, this is actually my parent's place," she said, watching him wander off.
The male hedgehog was studying the girl's house, and picked up a family photo, inspecting it closely while the girl was curiously following behind him. It seemed that he had looked over every nook and cranny on her first floor. Just what was he doing anyways?
"Wow, you're feeling better already, aren't you? Just a few hours ago you were barely breathing! You were so weak!" She exclaimed. He felt his temper boiling over and he slammed the picture down. "Don't remind me, girl."
She jumped back a little. "I'm sorry! Don't take it out on me! And I have a name! I'm Daisy. What's your name?"
"Scythe," he answered indifferently. "I request your endorsement to use your lavatory facilities."
The girl blinked at him, "…A what?"
Scythe smiled slightly; ah yes, he had to remember that he was dealing with common simpletons now, this could take awhile to adjust to, due to the fact that he was used to the intellectual capabilities of his creator.
If he was going to accomplish anything, he was going to have to lower his standards to suit theirs. He'd have to be like a chameleon and change to fit in with his surrounding, no matter how crude they were, "Do you….have….a bathroom?"
The small hedgehog smiled; low, shoulder-length pig-tails bounced, "Yeah! Sure!"
"Direct me, then."
"Okay, when you go to the second floor, it's the first door you see, you can't miss it," Daisy said.
In a matter of seconds he had headed upstairs and found the bathroom. He flipped on a switch which lit a chandelier. Mentally, the hedgehog approved his surroundings. This met his standards nicely. Just as he stepped into the shower, he turned the faucet.
He winced slightly as the hot water burned his wounds. He closely his eyes as he was soon submerged in his own thoughts. Soon the drain was swirling with a mixture of blood and salt water.
He heard footsteps and turned his head to see the girl hedgehog looking him over from head to toe. The little heathen! How dare she! Where are her manners! "Do you mind?" he hissed.
"Oh, right! Sorry!" she said and she disappeared.
Scythe agitatedly watched her leave the room, then, knowing that she was gone, closed his eyes. The hot water was rushing through his fur and stinging his wounds on his tan skin. He removed what was left of his gloves and examined his bruised and bloody hands. He was resolved on paying Shadow back for what he did.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of the mirror and saw a little yellow hedgehog hiding behind a laundry hamper and peering at him. He lowered his eyelids and snapped around to look at her so fast that she jumped.
"HOW OLD ARE YOU!? THRITEEN?" he cried.
"I'm fourteen and a half, thank you very much!" She replied half startled and half angry.
"Whatever, half of nothing is still nothing," he said. And with that, he slammed the shower curtains closed.
At the Station Square Hospital...
Amy giggled happily, still oblivious to the situation that had just unfolded before her. "OH SHONIC! YOU'RE SO SWEET!" Amy cried, hugging him, "And you came all this way to see me! And are you crying?"
Sonic didn't respond, he only hung limply in her arms while his face burned from Rouge's slap. After a slap like that Sonic wondered why she so persistent with using her legs when she fought. She had enough savage power to rough-house and destroy any foe.
"If there's any tears...it's because I'm in great...pain," Sonic replied, glowering at Rouge.
Rouge rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I'm going to visit Shadow; at least he won't try anything!"
As Rouge left the room, Sonic retorted, "OF COURSE HE CAN'T TRY ANYTHING 'CAUSE HE'S IN A SOME KIND OF COMA!"
Deciding to ignore his comment, Rouge took the elevator and passed through a few corridors to reach Shadow's room. She slowly opened the door to see him resting peacefully. She walked up to his bed and sat beside him, running her hands through his quills.
Rouge couldn't help but smile when the hedgehog nuzzled his face into her arm. Then sighing slightly, she stared up at the ceiling, "You can't leave me here," she said softly.
She paused, thinking, "I love you. You're the boy I've given my heart to. Amy has her Sonic, now I want my Shadow. Please wake up...Please...you're the smartest, most handsome boy I've ever known."
Rouge closed her eyes, but she looked at the male hedgehog when she heard, "Oh really?"
Rouge sat up and blinked, almost jumping. She looked over to Shadow who was looking back up at her. His expression was neutral. If she wasn't so relieved, she would have had the life startled out of her.
"OH, SHADOW! YOU'RE AWAKE!" she cried.
Before he could reply, she locked him into a hug and kissed him multiple times. After she finished, Shadow stared at her wide-eyed and looked beyond bewildered.
Rouge smiled, this was one of the few times she was going to see him wearing that expression. Then she blinked, remembering her confessional before sleeping beauty awoke, "Oh!"
"Shadow! Umm...just how much of that lovey-dovey stuff did you hear, by the way?" Rouge said, with her face coloring like a beet.
Shadow smirked; he had heard the whole thing and sucked up the glory dry but he wasn't going to tell her that.
"Just enough," he replied.
"I'm so sorry for not listening to you at the bridge; you were right, I should have stayed on that island! But I was so worried about you!" she cried, grabbing his hands.
"You were?" he asked, looking surprised.
"Shadow, I love you! Of course I was," Rouge said, slightly blushing.
Shadow stared at her deeply, as if looking into a well, a light, joyful feeling spread through him. It was the same feeling he had had every time he gazed upon the bat. When the doctor had requested him to finish off the bat girl, his heart ached, unbeknownst to him.
He couldn't even think of harming her ;the idea had never passed through his mind; just as soon as Eggman had ordered him to kill her, Shadow had made up his mind to refuse the idea.
Shadow rubbed his temples; why did he feel this way? If he could find words to describe the way he felt when he looked at her, he'd use warm, captivating, enchanting, and…
And… he just wished he could…
The black hedgehog blinked, realizing where his last thought had been going; he turned to look at the white bat before him, who smiled at him softly, "Yes?"
"What is it about you that makes me feel this way? If anything happened to you, I feel like I'd go crazy…What have you done to me?" Shadow asked, searching her eyes for an answer.
Rouge smiled beautifully at him. He felt lighthearted and almost helplessly returned her smile. Before Rouge could plant another kiss upon the black hedgehog, the door was opened by Tails and Cream, who were more than happy to see Shadow awake.
"Shadow!" Both Tails and Cream cried.
They ran and hugged Shadow. Amy stayed behind Sonic, looking rather scared of him. But Sonic on the other hand looked extremely happy to see him.
"Shadow! Welcome back man! I'm so glad to see you!" Sonic cried.
Rouge arched an eyebrow, 'That's strange…'
He rolled over to the bed until he was within a few feet of Shadow. "Hey bud, I've got something for your welcome back gift!"
"Interesting. Well, let me have it then," Shadow said.
Sonic smiled deviously, "You asked for it!"
The blue hedgehog's smile inversed and he reeled back and then punched Shadow in the face, and he fell backwards, blacking out.
To be continued!
Chapter Thirteen Theme: "Little Miracles"-Luther Vandross