Apologies for this one taking so long, I had too much interference from that distraction called reality. Anyways, on we go!
Part Twenty-Four: True Motives
The time it took for Caimen to return stretched itself into an ominous silence, though Amy's mind was anything but quiet deep within its slumber so the absence wasn't really noticed anyway. Half of her thoughts traced themselves down the arm that idly rubbed the softer fur of her stomach as the full weight of the news was finally sinking in Twins… a boy and a girl! I wonder what they'll look like? What kind of amazing things they will be able to do…
The other side had long since defected from the Rose's mortal coil and was trying to touch his once more. As fleeting and weak as the feeling was, she knew her onyx warrior was still close by. She could sense the strength of his beating heart, the power he could wield with but a simple whim. Every aspect that was Shadow the Hedgehog was all but at her fingertips now, and while deep down she was still a nervous wreck, the young flower had every faith in her dark knight. And that faith allowed her thoughts to wander away from the grimness of the present and towards the nebula that was the future.
Then the image flashed across her vision like lightning of a landscape not unlike the shaded hill both hedgehogs took as sanctuary. The sun shone brightly and nature seemed to be frolicking there in all unison. It was just the serenity and peace that her last conscious days had been missing. Then, the sounds of innocence flooded into the wild as broken shadows began to articulate into the lives they portrayed. Firstly and the most prominent was Shadow himself, eyes closed in deep thought and arms crossed against his chest in the traditional pose. Even if the dream only focused on his profile, Amy's heart skipped ever so slightly at seeing him in such a natural state.
Laughter soon joined the scene, its high pitch and vibrant nature causing Rose's skin to flush all over. And to accompany their announced entrance, two miniature figures raced into the scene towards the taller hedgehog. Shadow himself turned to scoop up the two incoming bundles, and the smile on his face was the brightest and most genuine she had ever seen. Her emerald eyes tried to focus on the picture that wasn't really there, but the smaller distortions refused to clear. Still, there was little doubt in her mind that these bright young handfuls were hers, and the entrance of Amy herself into the dream seemed to prove it. The projected image of herself had grown her quills down to the mid-back and now stood only a hair's width shorter than her knight. She approached Shadow and wrapped both him and the smaller bundles into a warm hug, and as one youth shifted around to return the embrace, so did the ebony warrior slink a loving arm around her waist. Despite the fact it was only an illusion for know, the cherry flower's soul the felt warmth and comfort of his grasp entangle her, and it never felt so good.
Outside:
They had arrived at the hospital with no issues, other than the sheer delay in tracking down where exactly Shadow had teleported himself and Amy off to. Without the aid of airborne reconnaissance, they had to rely on stolen images from satellites and rumors filtered down from somewhere on high. Not to mention all this was done while nursing bruises, cuts and concussions alike. Finally, after seven extended days of searching and rooting, they had located an unusual energy spikes from a major hospital in the very downtown heart of Station Square itself.
"Hey guys, check this out!" Tails had announced earlier that day. The young kitsune had taken the brunt of the damage, save for Shadow himself. His bangs couldn't fully conceal the bandages wrapped his brow, and the kitsune's right arm had just been freed from a rather constraining sling, but his energy had returned in full.
"What now? Another ghost?" Sonic teased. Other than a minor gash from a lucky Raptor's swipe on his torso, the blue blur was as good as new. Which also meant he was impatient as ever and was not pleased it was taking this long to find Amy. Paired with the fact that the only way to find her seemed be through Shadow, Sonic had been quite the handful since the battle.
"You found them, Tails?!" Cream asked as she darted into the room. Needless to say, the way her bright kitsune had returned from the battle was not what she had expected. Instead of touching down on the streamlined Tornado in victory, Tails had been carried back inside his own home in the arms of an equally battered echidna, causing the innocent doe to drain of all color and almost faint. Luckily, Rouge had been there to offer a calming voice. Once Tails had been safely deposited onto the largest of sofas for treatment, Knuckles finally collapsed from his own exhaustion. Vanilla, Cream's equally tender mother, had been summoned to help mend the broken bodies and the combination of nurturing care and various herbal elements had played a vital role in the fighters' recovery.
"I think so, Cream. According to the satellite data I've been monitoring, there's an odd radiation spike coming from the Square, right here" he pointed to the glowing 'x' that marked the hospital. "And since I don't really have anything to compare this to, I can only guess it's him."
"You find somthin, hun?" Rouge asked as she approached from behind the commotion, the only mark still standing out on her being the slight droop of her wing. Everyone turned to answer her, only to be silenced by the voluptuous bat's choice of attire. Or lack thereof, as only a wide ivory towel sheathed her fur from collar to thigh. Water danced off her curls and curves, indicating the recent steaming shower and appropriate attire. The young doe lit up in a bright ruby blush and Sonic had to focus very intently on his shoes as to not stare somewhat slackjawed. Unfortunately for Tails, his blue eyes went wider than plates and a small drip of blood almost escaped his nose before the kitsune caught it. "Ummm, yea…there's a, there's a …energy spike..."
The ivory thief chuckled and patted the young twin-tailed stutterer on the head "You really are cute when you blush, I can see why Cream likes you so much." Grinning like a complete fool, the fox simply nodded as she moved past him to study the screen. Not so much the location of the reading, but the reading itself. Spiking up and down on the screen, it was a pattern she had only seen twice before, one at the headquarters for G.U.N the day that the onyx hedgehog first reported for duty, and then it's magnified state upon their first trip to the hospital as a group Yep, that's Shads alright. Good to see his little stunt didn't kill him. "Looks like Tails is right. Lemme throw on somthin suitable and let's go!"
"Right" Sonic seconded, before noticing a obvious absence "But first, where's the knucklehead at?"
Rolling her eyes, Rouge pointed at the couch, and the slumbering echidna nestled on top of it. Knuckles was still well out of it, through the slashes on his torso were healing nicely. That was, until he received a not-so-subtle wake up knock from the thief's delicate hand upon his cranium causing him to yelp in surprise and leap right off the couch onto his back.
"Oh good, you're awake too" Rouge couldn't help herself but smile devilishly.
The stunned guardian only growled in response, then stumbled over to the group "Foundemyet?"
Tails nodded and pointed to the map "We think so. Right there."
Shaking the sleep from his dreadlocks, it finally clicked in Knuckles' mind as to what the exact location was, and why it seemed so familiar "Ain't that the same hospital we went to last time?"
"Yea, it's the same alright. As soon as everyone's ready, we can head out, right Sonic?"
Nodding, the cobalt speedster seemed to be lost in his own mind Maybe this convinced her that Shadow is just too dangerous and isn't good enough for her. After all, I never got Amy in this kind of danger…
The journey into the city had been slower than usual thanks partially due to the lack of aerial transport. Still, the quartet had reached the citadel of medical care by the time the sun had dove beneath the horizon. It was a building they were definitely not expecting to see again so soon, but the group was lacking answers and needed to get them. Yet even before they could enter, odd circumstances played their it first hand with a familiar ash colored canine standing outside the main entrance, faint embers from his cigarette marking a bit of hypocrisy for a medicinal man.
"Evening doc. Whats up?" Sonic greeted.
"Good evening Mr. Sonic. I assume you're here to see Miss Rose. I must say I expected you all a bit earlier" he answered with his usually gruff tone. Only Rouge's well trained ears picked up on the wavering imbalance that shielded something unknown.
"Yea, well they didn't quite leave us a forwarding address, ya know?"
"Indeed, she and her partner do have a affinity for the dramatic entrance don't they," Caimen chuckled lightly, trying to ease the tension, "I'll take you up as soon as I finish this. In the meantime, feel free to wait in the lobby."
Everyone but Rouge went inside, leaving the two to swap one last detail "Sorry to keep dropping in on you like this Cale, but ol' Shads always a hard one to keep up with."
Dr Caimen smiled as he flicked a few dying embers into the breeze "GUN never did offer much training against failed experiments and supposed ultimate life-forms, did they?
"Nope. I surprised when I saw you last time. You assigned here now?" she queried.
He nodded in response "I'm just a lookout for the new and unusual. And this certainly qualifies. What happened to those two, if I may ask."
Brushing a few stray locks from her sight, the jewel thief's gaze wandered higher into the darkening sky "Eggman attacked us. Kidnapped both me and Amy with some kind of Shadow robot. The doctor even had Shadow's restrictors, probably stole them when Shads was saving Amy's life the first time. Anyway, I tried to fight back and got jacked up by that damm clonebot. Next thing I know, Shadow and crew shows up madder than hell, we escape only to get shot back down again by Eggy. Then Shadow goes ballistic on that fatass and the clone. Amy was lucky she wasn't killed in the blast!"
Dr Caimen had gone a bit wide-eyed about halfway through the story "I'd say so. She only suffered a concussion and a few scrapes and bruises. She was indeed fortunate."
There it is again! Whats Cale trying to hide? she thought. When they had worked together back at GUN, she had know him to be highly intelligent, but usually obvious and to-the-point. Neither deception nor obstruction seemed in his nature. "What about ol' tall, dark and handsome? How's he doing?"
The canine's smile dulled again as he produced the chart from under his coat and handed it to his former associate. He watched her cerulean gaze dance down the report, then suddenly widen as they reached the end "This...this can't be right!... It says…" her voice creaked out, strangled with collapsing emotions.
"I'm afraid it is. Cardiac failure occurred at 7:16pm this evening. Attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful. I guess he finally met his match after all. But it gets better still, read the other side."
Quickly, her fingers threw the sheet over to continue what had been the past few hours of Shadow's life. "'Despite complete cardiac and circulatory cessation, neural activity continues to spike at regular intervals, indicating some basic level of brain activity. Further analysis required for documentation'." She read aloud, hoping it would help her grasp the newfound gravity of the situation, which it sadly did not. Medical application beyond the Band-Aid were not in her palette "I don't understand Cale. What does all this mumbo-jumbo mean?"
Caimen could only shrug "To be honest, even I don't know. It's like his mind is trying to hang on even though his body is officially dead. I mean, we knew he was strong and all, especially in his unrestrained state like now, but to defy death itself this close? He must really be something else."
"You can say that again, doc. If anyone can beat mortality, it's Shadow" she chuckled out loud.
Then Cale surprised her again in a much more grim way "Still, I'm not sure if even Shadow is worthy of this fate."
A puzzling look locked Rouge's eyes with his, and the smaller note he was now staring at like a child confronted by a mountain of spinach. When she tried to peek in closer, he yanked it away, then hesitated "Rouge, you were the only one to really work closely with Shadow and have clearance to the highest levels of GUN's files. I have to know, did he ever discuss certain, more private aspects of his own physique?"
Tracing back all the times the two had worked together, even deep undercover or in deep trouble, her mind could not find a single unique instance of the midnight warrior breaking out of his shell to get personal. At least, not until that night at the club when he had saved Amy's life. "No, I can't. At least nothing recent. Why?"
Cale sighed and handed over the note, which was actually a blurred photo. The kind usually taken with a high-powered instrument "These are preliminary scans of Miss Rose's abdomen. Or at least, a specific part of it. Can you see my problem?"
She held the picture into the light of a streetlamp trying to decipher its meaning. To her, it looked like a grayish brown mass with to highlighted orbs of bright green. It seemed to resemble something familiar, and when she rotated the scene upside-down, the subtle hints clicked together "No way! This is impossible! I thought Professor Gerald didn't design him with those…capabilities!"
"You did, I did and so did most of the agency. I checked all the research logs and personal entries I could find and none of them mention reproductive potential. Yet it seems that Shadow has a few more surprises in him after all. And Miss Rose confirms that the children are his by conception. Which is why I'm out here, hoping the cancer will kill me before this does."
Producing one last sheet of paper from his coat, Rouge instantly recognized the shied insignia of her former employers. "Orders from the organization?" she asked, perplexed and somewhat worried at his hesitation and uncharacteristic gloom. When he didn't answer, she snatched the paper and read it. And what it implied only served to horrify and anger her. Echoing down from the highest echelons of political and military power, the sheet read as a preventative measure that was as drastic as it was cruel "They can't be serious!! They want you to destroy two innocent lives before they are even born!! Are they fucking insane?!"
"Welcome to my dilemma. They are worried about such power in the corruptible hands like a child's and are willing to take great strides to protect to planet from who knows what kind of unpredictable disaster that could result."
Rouge could feel a tear threatening to breach her vision. All this fighting, all the power and potential they had together, only to tear it from them like this?It just isn't fair, it's just too horrible…what will Amy do when she finds out?
Oh gods, what will Shadow do?!
"And yet, even posted here as both a doctor and a spy, I took the oath to do no harm," the doctor continued, blunting the last embers of his light against the wall and exhaling the last rings of smoke, "I can't predict what will happen when it comes time for them to be born, let alone beyond that. And who's to say that they will even be a threat at all?"
Cale cast his gaze away from his tearful company and outward into the waning starlight "Maybe that's why I'm not going to do it."
"You're… not…?" she gasped out in surprise.
"No. I can't bring myself to do it. Nor can I deny those two the same joys and pains that we are entitled to."
Rouge's arms quickly enveloped Cale's waist in a bone-crushing hug "Thank you Cale! Thank you so much!"
"Calm down Rouge! We're not out of the woods yet by any means" he grunted, signaling her to release her vicegrip, " I still have patients to attend to, not to mention the consequences if GUN ever finds out I disobeyed their orders, the latter I may need help with when the time comes."
"Well, you can count on me hun. I've got just the plan in mind." Rouge winked, as if the outburst moments ago had never occurred.
"My thanks. Now, I'm guessing your friends inside are probably growing impatient. Come, let's make someone else's day brighter."
Both nodded and headed back inside to the group. Tails had apparently struck up a conversation with one of the receptionists and the two were small-talking a storm. Sonic had paced a subtle, yet noticeable groove in the floor, and Knuckles was leaning against a post only half spaced out. When Rouge came back in, his violet orbs seemed to shine a little brighter "Took you two long enough, sheesh."
"Oh shush up knucklehead. Dr Caimen had a few questions only a lady can answer."
"Like what, someone get knocked up or something?" he questioned sarcastically, causing both the physician and his ivory lover to light up a hint of ruby. The inquiry was loud enough that the bright kitsune took notice and the responding blush was visible enough that Sonic also took intrest from his pacing. It was just the distraction the speedster's mind needed. "Well, congrats to you Knux! Looks like we'll need to child-proof the Master Emerald!"
"Wow! That's awesome! I'm so happy for you two!" Tails added, grinning just as brightly as his blue brother.
Caimen turned to Rouge "Should we?"
She simply shrugged "Might as well, I suppose. They're gonna find out soon anyway. I doubt even Amy will be able to keep this one secret."
Three confused utterances greeted them as the men turned to stare at them.
"Well, who said I was the one who was pregnant?" Rouge asked in return, allowing the three seconds needed for the male mind to put the puzzle together.
When the light bulbs finally clicked, each gave their own reaction. Tails simply gasped in amazement.
Knuckles looked too stunned to blink.
And Sonic the Hedgehog, hero of the universe and fastest thing alive, fainted dead on his feet.
This was soo freakin close to becoming yet another cliffhanger...still, I figured I owed you all better than that, as was my promise a few chapters ago.
PS: Check out my new piece "Lilium for a Shadow". Cause if this one grabs your attention, that one will knock your socks off! (I hope )
Reviews always welcome!