Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Deliverance ❯ A message ( Chapter 3 )

Deliverance Part 3

“As long as you continue to exist. I cannot awake from my nightmare. You are my darkness” Cloud, Kingdom Hearts

 

 

-

 

A soft luminosity brushed through Shadow and lingered within his sub-conscious. It wasn't long before he realized that he was dreaming. A wide-open field lay before him. But it was a barren and dry field with no vegetation or flora. Finding this odd, especially to dream about it, Shadow took a step forward through the field and soon stopped short. A swirling within his being soon littered him and the voices returned, even stronger. Forcing himself to be rid of them, he tried to block out their raspy and taunting voices and continued on.

Pausing in his steps, a faint and sweet scent caught his attention and he looked around for anything that could produced such an aroma. And there, right beside his right foot were two small flowers. One was white, while the other was a dark blue, almost black.

Not realizing the significance in contrasting color, he knelt down to examine them. How could flowers so full grown in such a dry place? They just came out of the cracks in the ground—no other catalysts whatsoever. As he neared closer to them, the voices increased and double in alarm and malcontent.

The weight the voices had on him brought Shadow to both his knees and soon, to all fours. Irritated, he shut his eyes and gripped at the flowers without knowing. He clenched them so harshly, that he ripped them from the ground. And quickly, the moment they left their source and became clutched in his heavy hands, they wilted and soon became ashes and dust.

And as soon as they vanished---the voices….stopped.

Amazed and bewildered, he looked at his hands and his eyes widened in horror as he beheld the dripping blood that ran from them.

Screams, that sounded close to those of children cried out to him and in utter shock, he dropped his palms to his sides and collapsed.

--

In sheer and absolute terror, Shadow awoke with a fear in his heart and a sickness in his stomach.

Clutching his heart, his chest heaved deeply and rapidly as his eyes raced around his surroundings.

He could make out the blurriness of trees…a forest… Then his memory returned to him and he recalled staying in this place the night before. And so had Rouge.

Rouge?

Frantically, he looked to his left side and saw an empty patch of grass next to him. It was clear that someone was there. Their weight had been instilled on the grass and it swayed slightly bent in the soft wind.

Automatically, he touched the spot and discovered it to have mild remnants of warmth.

Taking time to catch his breath and slow his violent heart beat, Shadow took deep and short breaths. Once his body had relaxed enough, he wiped the sweat from his brow and got up, intensely scanning the area for Rouge as he passed through.

“ROUGE!!” he called, his pace picking up more speed by the second. “ROUGE! ANSWER ME! WHERE ARE YOU—“ he stopped abruptly, immediately clutching his side. He wasn't sure he saw it correctly, but there in the grass before him was a small splotch of red liquid. Trailing his eyes upwards, he witnessed a thin trail oh more splotches. Feeling his heart twist and wrench in his chest, Shadow ran faster to find her.

It wasn't long before he heard the distinct sound of water being sloshed around—and a soft voice to go with it.

Slowing his pace to gain a better listening, Shadow crept closer to the source and identified the vocals to indeed be Rouge's.

She was singing. But it wasn't a desirable song at all. It sounded so sad and painful.

`I didn't know she could sing…' Shadow found himself thinking. `I never knew she was serious about it.'

As the song became louder by the lack of distance between it and Shadow now, he gently pressed his hands against two largely overgrown pieces of flora and was immediately relieved to see the woman he toiled recklessly to find.

“Rouge…” he uttered softly, not meaning for her to hear him. But she did.

Her song stopped and she continued to sit near the edge of a spring. Her back to Shadow, she hunched over and brought her knees slightly upto her chest. Still allowing her feet to dangle carelessly into the water, Rouge shivered as a light sigh rippled from her.

For a good 2 minutes, the two stayed distanced from the other, not saying a word. His eyes lingered on her, while her own dwelled in the clear surface of the spring at her own reflection.

Neither of them knew what to say, but Shadow took a step forward, crushing the grass beneath his feet. “Rouge…”

“Don't come close to me Shadow…” she whispered, not wanting to believe her own words.

Taken aback, Shadow hesitated. But his features hardened as he disregarded her warning and neared closer to her and even sat down next to her.

Watching her with keen and serious eyes, Shadow narrowed them as he searched to find any hindrances from her.

Avoiding his eyes, Rouge continued to stare off into the spring, not bothering to make note of his presence next to her at all. But she couldn't help but acknowledge it.

When she said nothing, Shadow, growing impatient as much as he was worried, didn't take his eyes from her. “Let's try this again…” he stated sternly “…Rouge…what is the matter..?”

Saddened, she shook her head. “Nothing.”

“…Don't lie to me Rouge… You…you don't have to hide anything from me…” he trailed off, then lowly added, “I already saw the blood…”

Alarmed, Rouge threw her attention to him, her eyes wide with pain and hurt.

“So… … … So you know… then…”

Shadow allowed a blink to pass before asking her: “Do I know what…?”

“That I'm pregnant…!” she blurted out, hiding her face in her arms. “I'm pregnant, Shadow…!”

Not wanting her to hide from him, Shadow lightly placed his hands on her shoulders and tugged on them to get her to sit up and face him. But she refused. Sighing, Shadow stopped trying and leaned back on his hands, looking elsewhere.

Then softly, he spoke. “You don't have to hide from me Rouge… I… I already knew…”

A sharp intake of air emitted from Rouge as her body suddenly became very still. Lifting her head slightly, but still not looking at him, she shuddered. “You what…”

“I said, I already knew, Rouge…” Shadow repeated gently, looking over at her. Slowly, she lifted her head completely and dared a look at him. It was evident she wanted him to say something more; her lips quivered but she didn't make a sound.

Knowing how she could be feeling, Shadow inched closer and rose an arm beside her shoulders as she fell into his embrace on her own. The moment she did, his arm encircled around her shoulders tightly and he kissed her multiple times on her forehead and nose.

She was frightened that he would be upset with her if he found out, but he already knew all along? She felt so foolish, but the pang of guilt she carried before seemed to simply melt away in his arms.

“Oh Shadow…Shadow I--!”

“Shhh, just relax, Rouge…” he cooed, nuzzling her cheek and hugging her. `I'm not leaving you again.' He thought.

Patiently, we waited until she cried herself to sleep and gently laid in the thick grass with her held securely in his arms.

-

As the moments passed, Rouge awoke to find herself laying on Shadow's chest. Looking at him carefully, she could see the distinct expression of worry across his slumbering features. Her heart twinged with the slightest hint of guilt for it being her fault that he had gotten into this mess. Because of her, he chose to stay.

Because of her, he chose to love.

Because of her, he chose to be with her and care for her, knowing he was suffering inside.

She hated to admit it, but there were times when she thought about how things would have been if Shadow actually had passed on that highway—if he never came back into her life…

Her body began to tremble as the thoughts consumed her mind and filled her with guilt.

If he never came back, they would have gone their separate ways and he would be someplace away from the President, away from the suffering and away from the grief she had caused.

She didn't care if it was all involuntary, she still continued to hurt him, no matter what she did.

But then she decided—that that was simply how life went.

Still grateful to be with him no matter what, Rouge let her eyes linger over his body and she clawed lightly at the patch of fur on his chest.

“Shadow… Shadow wake up…”

“Mmmm…muh…?” he answered in a drowsy tone. “What is it…?”

For the first time that day, Rouge smiled and laughed a little while tugging at his fur even more. “Just get up, please?”

“I already am…” he stated bluntly and Rouge immediately caught the double meaning.

Shaking her head, she nudged at his shoulder. “Wake up!”

“Allright allright… I'm awake…” he said, slightly sitting up, propped on his elbows. Smiling, he kissed her on the lips briefly. “What's up…”

Expecting the question, but not prepared to fully answer it, Rouge looked down and nervously bit her lip. “I…I just…” she sighed. Seeing her difficulty, Shadow sat up and lightly hugged her. Resting his chin on the top of her head, he encouraged her to keep going. “Take your time, Rouge…”

Feeling relief and relaxation instantly wash over her from his care, Rouge closed her eyes and basked in his warmth. “Well, I wanted to say I was sorry…for everything. I already know you're going to say that I didn't do anything wrong, but I'm venting right now.”

Shadow smiled and chuckled softly. “Allright.”

“Yeah. And also… well… about what happened before we got here…In that…hospital…” she began, her eyes narrowing and her voice wavering at the word, “…Do…do you know exactly what happened?”

Fully expecting the question, Shadow said nothing for a moment, but simply rubbed her gently behind the ears. He wanted to tell her no, that he didn't know a thing of what happened back there, but the truth was, he did know.

He knew his extracted genes were put into her among other things. He knew it all. It was just a hunch. It felt like more than a hunch, but he had to admit one of those voices a few days ago was right.

“She's a part of you now…”

Yeah…he had to agree. But just how much of himself did she share? He had the feeling he was bound to find out sooner or later.

And what of the children she held within her womb?

When was their due date?

What if the process was to be accelerated or even slowed?

Shadow didn't want to think of the chance, but there was always the possibility. He didn't trust the President, or his hired doctors.

 

“Shadow…?” Rouge's voice called softly, but he didn't hear her. He had become too lost in his thoughts.

Rouge knew this kind of situation would be hard on him, but she never knew how far he'd take it. She was constantly haunted by the thought of the children within her not even being his and cringed at the thought of some human child growing inside her.

 

Shadow never got the chance to tell her about his little secret, and Rouge never really got to completely tell him about hers.

 

But that aside, that fear always bothered her. And it probably would always bother her.

 

“Shadow…” she called again, tugging at his fur and looking up at him. But she was amazed at the expression he wore. Instead of fear or hatred, it was---anger? Was he angry at her?

Hesitating, Rouge swallowed and parted her quivering lips to speak, but before she could utter a sound, Shadow had pulled something from behind her ear.

Rubbing the spot he pulled it from, she eyed what was in his fingers and gasped.

 

A tracking device!

 

“That DOG!” she shouted, taking the transmitter from Shadow and looking it over. And just as she thought, the President's side company label was etched on its underside.

“I should have known he'd try something like this!” she seethed, preparing to throw the item, but Shadow took it from her and casually slipped it between two of his fingers.

“I think I already know what he was planning.” He stated, glancing at the device. “But in that case, we'll be ready to deal with him, this time.”

“What are we going to do?”

“Crush him.” Shadow replied, crushing the tracking device between his two fingers and grinding it into particles and dust.

 

“Hmm” Rouge commented, watching the pieces as the fell from Shadow's hands and became caught in the wind. She also made a mental note as to how powerful his fingers were…

 

“Come on…let's get out of here…” Shadow said, lacing an arm around her waist. As he led her out and away from the spring, a strange entity caused him to look back at it. And mentally, he made a note of the exact location of the spring.

Then soon, they both disappeared into the oceans of trees before them.

 

-

 

-Mel