CHAPTER 6

THE LAST FAREWELL

Much later at Shadow's house, Shadow was laying on his bed with a pillow over his face while Rouge angrily paced around the bedroom they were in. With Rouge's angered expression and her relentless ranting, it was safe to say that she was still not happy with the way Shadow had acted at the party. He let out a heavy sigh into the fluffy pillow that was over his face while Rouge continued to argue with him.

"I can't believe you acted like that!" She said in an angry tone, "You were flirting with that stupid girl and you got drunk after when you said you wouldn't!"

The hedgehog took the pillow away from his face and sat up from the bed he was laying on. He sat on the bed and rested his hand on his forehead from the uprising headache he was getting. "Okay first of all, I'm pretty sober now. Second of all, Lien-Da and I weren't flirting! She was just being really friendly! How was that a crime?"

She stopped in her tracks and faced Shadow with her arms crossed over her chest. "I saw her giving you drinks left and right! She was trying to get you drunk!"

He shook his head slightly when he knew that she was trying to over think the events that had taken place earlier at the party. "Okay now you're just jumping to conclusions here. She just gave me one little glass of wine. The rest was all me." He looked up at the not so happy bat woman. "You saw me throw down on the booze practically the entire time we were there. Besides, I came there kind of tipsy anyway. To be honest, I pregamed a little before we left…"

Her mouth hung open when she found out that Shadow had a few drinks even before they arrived at the party. "Oh what the fuck, Shadow!"

He constantly shook his head as he regretted drinking before they left for the ball. "I'll admit that I was feeling a tad bit uneasy before we went there. I thought I needed a little something to help me become a little more social."

Now it all came to her. Now she knew the reason why Shadow was acting so out of character. He was way too talkative and being extremely open. Not only that, she could now see why he said certain hurtful things to her. "I can't believe you! You can't stop drinking for one second!"

He felt like he couldn't look her in the eyes so he looked down to the floor shamefully. "…I know. I'm sorry, Rouge."

Rouge didn't know if she could accept his apology for over drinking again. She knew Shadow still had slip ups with his recovering alcohol addiction and it caused problems between them before. She was determined to try to work through it with him regardless. However, it wasn't the easiest thing in the world.

When he looked back at Rouge, he could tell she was really frustrated and it made him feel even worse for putting her through his intense drinking problem. "Look Rouge, I know I've said some crazy things tonight and I didn't mean to."

"Oh? So you do remember some things?" She spoke in a bitter voice.

"…I got drunk. Not wasted", he spoke in a low tone. "Anyway, you know I didn't mean to call you a psycho bitch. You were just trying to look after me." He watched as she sat down on the bed beside him. He placed his hand on her leg and gave her an apologetic look. "And if you felt like I was trying to get in Lien-Da's panties, I'm sorry for that too."

A small giggle escaped her, "Okay maybe I did perhaps…overreact a bit but it's not like I had no reason to! I mean…she was fucking gorgeous!"

He arched an eyebrow towards her, "…And you're not?"

She formed a light blush, "…I don't know…I've never felt this way before towards another woman who's super pretty. And now that you're leaving the Chaotix, I won't be working next to you everyday…she will…"

He was shocked to actually hear this coming from her. She actually thought that there would be a chance that he would leave her for Lien-Da.

"…I just don't want to lose you, Shad." She suddenly felt Shadow's hand caressing her cheek. She placed her hand over his and looked into his red eyes.

"After all the crap we've been through together, you think I'm just going to turn my back on you and leave you for another woman?" It actually hurt him to know that Rouge felt like he would be the type to leave her for a woman he barely even knew. "Don't be so stupid. I love you, Rouge. You're the only woman I want in my life."

It made her smile in relief when she heard those words coming from him. She knew deep down that Shadow would never betray their relationship. It was just the jealousy that put all of those thoughts in her head. "You really mean that, Shadow?"

He made a small nod, "Of course I do. You're my everything. I need you in my life." He noticed her smile widen and watched her lean in to kiss him. While the two shared a passionate kiss, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him.

She took her lips from his continued to smile warmly towards him. "I love you, Shadow."

He lightly kissed her forehead, "Back at ya, babe." His smile faded as he began to remember why they had this entire conversation in the first place. "I just wish I could stop drinking so much…"

"Well, you stopped at one point."

"Yeah and I started it back up again." He sighed heavily, "It's really hard but I'll try to stop."

She held his hands gently. "You can do it, Shad. I know you can."

He smiled warmly at her and kissed her once again.

It was early the next morning at the Chaotix and Vector had made his way into Shadow's small office. When stood in the doorway, he watched as Shadow was placing some office supplies and other things into small brown boxes. He looked around the empty room in sadness. "I can't believe this is happening…"

Shadow had paused from placing his things in the box and turned to the crocodile.

"I remember like it was yesterday…when you first joined the agency, you were so young but you grew up a lot over the years."

He saw him walk over to his messy desk and pick up one of the photos that were scattered all over the desk.

Vector stared at a photo that appeared to be taken a few years back. Shadow, Rouge, Espio, Tonya, Charmy, and himself were grouped together and standing in front of the X-jet. "You got stronger and wiser. You've matured from just a simple detective to an amazing team captain." He placed the photo back down on the desk and glanced down at the other photos. Each and every photo contained fond memories of Shadow's brightest moments while he worked for the Chaotix. Some were of him when he was just a teenager and others were fairly recent. He was surprised to even find a few photos of Shadow and his first real girlfriend, Faye.

Shadow saw how emotional Vector was getting as he saw him staring at all of the photos. He cracked a small smile, "For God's sake Vec, don't cry on me."

Vector looked away from the pictures and turned to the hedgehog with a small smile. "You were the best captain I have ever had."

The hedgehog chuckled a bit. "I was the only captain you ever had."

"Yeah", he made a nod and formed a small smile. "But I don't regret it. You went through some tough shit before and after Faye left us. You were in a bad place one time. You became an alcoholic and a drug addict when you thought the world turned against you. But I didn't give up on you, me and the guys helped you through it and now look at you…you're stronger than ever."

He crossed his arms and formed a sly look. "You wouldn't be trying to guilt trip me here are you?"

A small laugh escaped him while he shook his head. "No way! I mean it sucks that you're leaving but at the same time, I'm proud of you. You worked so hard to get where you are and it's because you never stopped fighting for what you care about."

A warm smile formed on his lips. He suddenly felt it hard to swallow and his hands started to shake slightly. Tears were beginning to swell in his eyes. He looked away from him as he didn't want Vector to see his expression.

Judging by Shadow's behavior, he knew he was about to break down crying. He continued to warmly smile at the hedgehog. "…I not only thought of Charmy as a son but I felt the same way towards you too, Shad."

A sniffle came from the hedgehog while he continued to look away from Vector. "…It's not like I'm moving or anything, you dumbass."

"I know but this place was like a second home to you. It's just going to be…different now that you're gone." Tears started to swell in his eyes as well, "You better believe we're going to miss you being here, Shadow."

When Shadow could no longer hold himself back, tears streamed down his face. He placed his hand on his forehead as he started to quietly sob in happiness. "I'm going to miss you too…all of you…" He watched as Vector suddenly embraced him with tears streaming down his face as well.

While the two were saying their goodbyes, Tonya, Charmy, Espio, and Rouge were watching the two from the doorway in happiness and sadness.

Tears ran down Charmy's face as he saw Vector hug Shadow. "I'm really gonna miss Captain Shadow…"

Tonya made a small nod and rubbed the kid bee's shoulder. "We all are, Charmy. We all are…"

In The Next Chapter...

Shadow: I'm a military lieutenant now so that means we won't be seeing each other every day like we were.

Rouge: So this is the part where we start distancing ourselves from each other...

Shadow: My love for you will never fade. Don't ever forget that...