The door closed, but Chris barely heard it.
He barely heard or felt anything.
He was…numb.
He dimly heard Maria's scream of fear, barely felt Shadow gripping his sides.
Barely felt the blood pouring out of his chest like a waterfall.
Shadow lowered Chris gently to the floor. Maria knelt behind him, gently lifting his head into her lap, like a pillow. Chris looked up at Maria's tearful face, finally registering the fact that he had been shot.
He had been shot instead of Maria, and he regretted…nothing.
Chris groaned and wheezed in pain, coughing out blood. Said blood was now forming a pool around his ever so pale form.
Chris wheezed loudly, feeling Shadow's gloved fingers pressing against his neck.
"Shadow…is he going to be alright?"
It was growing dark.
Shadow looked at Maria mournfully, and slowly shook his head. His eyes were suspiciously bright. He was crying.
If Chris hadn't been dying right now, he would actually gape at Shadow. Shadow never shown any emotion when he was taken to the ARK.
But that Shadow lost Maria. This one would have her.
The alarms were still going off. They weren't safe yet. With a long effort, Chris turned toward a window, and gazed upon Earth; the planet looking as if it was a diamond in space.
Struggling to take deeper breaths, Chris whispered raggedly, "L-Let me up."
Maria shook her head, her hands tightening on his shoulders. "No Chris. You'll lose a lot more blood that way."
"Maria…" Shadow looked gravely at her, a single tear falling down his cheek. "He's dying anyway. Let's respect his wishes."
Maria hesitated, then nodded slowly, finally giving in to tears and the truth. Together, both she and Shadow gently lifted Chris to his feet, murmuring apologies in response to his groans of pain.
"Take me to…those controls over…t-there…"
When they did as he asked, Chris held onto the lever weakly with both hands and looked at them slowly.
"B-Both of you…get…in…t -the capsule…"
Shadow gasped in surprise, and Maria immediately shook her head. "You want us to leave you alone?! No!"
Chris gasped for a few seconds, and his voice was reduced to a whisper.
"Maria…you-you have to…GUN won't stop until everything has been destroyed. P-Please…"
Shadow nodded respectfully, and gently grasped Maria's arm. "Let's go Maria."
Maria took one last tearful gaze at Chris, whispered her thanks, and went to the capsule. She immediately knelt down and wrapped her arms around Shadow, sobbing.
Chris took a deep breath, and using his remaining strength, pulled the lever.
The last thing he whispered before giving into the darkness was… "Goodbye…Sonic."
While Chris was lying down in his own blood, the blue gem on his ring began to glow.
A lone GUN soldier kicked open the door, and yelled in shock as a young boy's form began to disappear…