Blaze froze in the doorway, her eyes going wide as she took in Shadow's battered form on the couch. The arrogant, powerful hedgehog she knew was almost unrecognizable beneath the dried blood matting his fur and the pallor of his sickly complexion.
"Shadow..." she breathed, her earlier irritation instantly replaced with gut-wrenching guilt.
The hedgehog met her stricken gaze defiantly. "I'm still alive, if that's what you're wondering," he said gruffly.
His tone was biting, confrontational - but Blaze barely registered it. She moved woodenly to his side, sinking to her knees beside the couch. Up close, the extent of his injuries was even more shocking. Hesitantly, she reached out a hand, then drew it back, afraid to cause him further hurt.
"This is my fault," she choked out, amber eyes shining with unshed tears. "Those gunmen were after me. If I hadn't been so arrogant, so sure of my own power, you wouldn't be..."
Her voice cracked, and the first treacherous drop escaped to trail down her cheek.
Shadow's expression hardened further at her words. "As I said before,don't flatter yourself, princess," he bit out harshly. "Those cowards caught me off guard - it hadnothingto do with protecting you."
It was a lie, and they both knew it. But Shadow wasn't about to admit his injuries stemmed from shielding her. His pride wouldn't allow it.
Blaze flinched as if he had struck her. Leave it to Shadow to lash out when someone showed concern for him.
"Why did you leave the hospital, Shadow?"
The hedgehog tensed, his jaw clenched tightly.
"I hardly think a GUN hospital is the right place to be." he growled lowly, each word carrying a dangerous weight. "Considering Im almost certainsomeonefrom GUN leaked my vulnerabilities to those bastards that shot me."
For a moment Blaze tensed, prepared for him to explode. But then, oddly, the fight seemed to go out of him. The ultimate life form suddenly looked...old. Weary.
"I just don't know who..." he said hoarsely, slumping back against the couch cushions.
An uncomfortable silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken thoughts. Eventually, Shadow's gaze slid away from Blaze's probing stare.
Rouge cleared her throat pointedly from the doorway. "As touching as this little heart-to-heart is, maybe we could pick this up another time?" She fixed Shadow with a look. "You're supposed to be resting, remember? Doctor's orders."
The bat's flippant comment seemed to shake them out of the heavy tension. Blaze rose abruptly to her feet, swiping at her eyes.
"You're right. I shouldn't have come. I'll...leave you to recover."
The princess stilled, not turning around. A moment passed, then two. Finally, she gave a small nod without looking back, and quickly let herself out.
Rouge watched Blaze's retreating form, then turned a critical eye on Shadow where he lay unmoving.
"Well, that was quite the drama show," she mused dryly. "Way to kick a girl when she's already down, Shadow."
The hedgehog didn't respond, his eyes distant. Shaking her head, Rouge left him to his brooding silence. Some things never changed - like Shadow's inability to handle emotions that didn't revolve around anger.
At least now he had a renewed drive to get some answers. Because if there was one surefire way to motivate the ultimate lifeform, it was to make things personal.
Rouge just hoped those answers didn't come at too steep a price. But somehow, she had a feeling that was just wishful thinking.
—-
That evening (while Shadow hadmiraculouslyfallen asleep), Rouge double checked that her stealth suit was zipped up properly, admiring the sleek black material that somehow managed to hug her curves perfectly. She may be going on an undercover mission, but that was no excuse to not look fabulous.
Giving her makeup one last critical glance in the mirror, she fluffed her head fur and headed for the door. Time to get this investigation into high gear and break into her workplace. Those clues on who the traitor was weren't going to find themselves.
Rouge palmed her doorknob and pulled the door open, ready to take off into the night. Instead, she came face-to-face with Princess Blaze, who was leaning against the wall directly outside wearing her own modest black stealth suit.
"Ahh!" Rouge's hand flew to her breast in surprise. "Jeez, hon! A girl could have a heart attack!"
Blaze arched an unimpressed eyebrow at the bat's overdramatics. "I've been waiting for you. We need to talk."
"Talk?" Rouge planted her hands on her hips with a sly grin. "Why Blaze, if you wanted some one-on-one girl time, all you had to do was ask."
The princess didn't rise to the bait, her expression serious. "I know you're going to investigate GUN for the security leak. I'm coming with you."
Rouge blinked, the playful smirk slipping from her lips. "Wait, what? No no no, this is a solo mission, sweetheart."
"Like hell it is." Blaze's amber eyes flashed dangerously. "Shadow was injured protecting me. I'm not sitting on the sidelines again while you two risk your lives cleaning up my mess."
"Your mess?" Rouge shook her head incredulously. "In case you've forgotten, we're the ones who signed up for this dangerous super agent gig, not you."
"And I never asked you to," Blaze shot back, tail lashing. "I'm perfectly capable of handling threats to my own world. But this time, whatever force we're dealing with has crossed dimensions and put my friends in harm's way."
She stepped up toe-to-toe with Rouge, her face set in a determined scowl that would make even the most hardened spy quail. "So I'll say it again - I'm coming with you. And something tells me it would be easier to just accept my help than to try to stop me."
Rouge studied the princess for a long moment, admiringly taking in her clenched fists and the flickers of flame dancing along her ponytail. The little pyrokinetic certainly had spirit, that was for sure.
With a resigned sigh, the bat threw up her hands in surrender. "Alright, alright! You can tag along, hot stuff. But this is still my show, got it? You just try to keep up."
Blaze nodded curtly and the two women set off down the dimly lit hall, Rouge's hips swaying with her characteristic sultry saunter.
"By the way..." The bat glanced sidelong at Blaze with a teasing gleam. "That little spy suit looks adorable on you. Very...demure."
The princess bristled slightly at the patronizing jab. "I favor function over form when the situation calls for it."
"Mmhmm, you keep telling yourself that, honey." Rouge winked roguishly. "I'll make sure we get you a proper catsuit before this is all over."
Blaze rolled her eyes but didn't argue further. Bantering with the infuriatingly flirtatious Rouge was a battle she knew she couldn't win. She would just have to focus on the mission at hand - getting to the bottom of who was targeting her and why.
No more sitting on the sidelines. No more letting her friends get hurt because of her. Blaze was determined to face this threat head on, no matter how many curves Rouge's outfit could throw her way.
The bat was in for a surprise if she thought this was just going to be another day at the office. Because a reckoning was coming - Blaze could feel it burning within her like an inferno.
And she was prepared to burn anyone who stood in her way.