Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Deliverance ❯ Deliverance ( Chapter 9 )

A/N: THIS IS THE FINAL CHAPTER
A/N: There is a lot of gore and violence in this chapter. And surprisingly, there is some odd humor too O.o
Enjoy.

--

Deliverance: Final Phase

“Here's a lullaby to close your eyes. Goodbye. It was always you that I despised. I don't feel enough for you to cry. Oh well. Here's a lullaby to close your eyes. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye.” -Silent Hill 4 “Room of Angel”

--

A wavering existence echoed through an illuminated surrounding of nothingness.

Inhale

Inhale

Exhale…

Inhale

Inhale

Exhale…

A soft silken cloak of radiance encircled her lithe form as it began to take shape. Curled in a ball, levitating in mid-air, the essence known as Rouge began to `awaken'.
The effects of her chaos control manipulation slowly began to lessen in longevity as her materializing form began to stabilize within the GUN ship.

Witnessing the chaotic and bright display before them, the startled and bewildered GUN soldiers took hesitant and staggering steps backwards.
The two on either sides of the dispatching area instinctively reached for their weapons, while the solitary soldier near the opening hatch stood in shock and awe.
His mouth spread wide in an oval-shaped gape as his flighty eyes shifted all over Rouge's form.

Like a smooth and light feather drifting weightlessly to the ground, Rouge's right foot extended downwards, balancing effortlessly on balls of her feet.
All the soldiers stared in unison, not knowing to fire at such a mysteriously beautiful creature or to visually devour her beauty.

It would seem they chose the latter.

As Rouge's weight became balanced on all of her toes, slowly her illuminated head turned towards the soldier near the hatch.

And there, her opinionated physical sublimity ended as her glazed eyes narrowed into slits towards those who stood before her.

…GUN soldiers…

….Just another disgusting remnant of the rest of the President's most trusted and “genuine” unit.

Just seeing the very sight of one within such a close distance made her stomach turn.
To her, they were no longer the highly respected guardian unit she was once a part of. Now they were nothing but bitter and despicable traitors—the very same that she was now labeled as by them.

And to think at an earlier point and time, she was thrilled to be chosen to become an agent for them.

Never again would she make that mistake of trusting a GUN soldier ever again.

After the last few wispy hints of her body utilizing Chaos Control dissipated, her unnatural and eerie glow remained.
She hated using Chaos Control. Everytime her body was exposed to the time-bending warp, she could feel something hot within her consume just a little bit more of her being.

The thought of it being her unborn children seeped callously through her mind, but she quickly disposed of that.
But the very second she had, a sudden ripple of nausea swept through her and her hands instinctively went to her belly.

Part of her wanted death—her own death, while the other wanted to wipe out those who opposed her.
Unknown to her, the spirits dwelling within her and towards those that were even trapped inside of her. wanted her dead. Now that her unborn children's growth was accelerating at such a rapid rate, those stray spirits could freely nurture them until the were matured enough to claw their way out of her body on their own.

But at this current point in time, her life and well-being was something she could care less about. Her enemies in front of her were her new target to dispose of.

Ironically, there was one thing she wanted to request of them
And ever-so gradually, her lumina-garnished eyelids lowered into tiny crescent moons.
Full lips quivering, they struggled to form words as they silently curved, voicing silent vowels.

The soldier she beheld took a step backwards as the enveloped venus clasped in a cascading glow made her unstable advance towards him.

“Kill me….” A faint voice squeaked, barely audible. “…Kill me…” `Kill me now…' she inwardly pleaded.

Unanimously unsure of what action to take, the three guards quickly exchanged bewildered glances at the other.
This was the woman they were ordered to secure, wasn't she? They heard of her and of her mission directly from the President to hunt down and capture the Ultimate Lifeform.
She was said to be potentially dangerous and cunning---but the image of her they beheld now showed nothing of the sort.
This woman---appeared as nothing more than a delicate and clumsy maiden than a threat.
But unknown to them, this woman would be the very unraveler of their undoing…

Inside the cockpit, the young pilot realized the radar signals he once picked up from Rouge had jumped drastically from a mild blip to a very loud and constant beep.
Leaning in closer at the display his gray eyes flittered about the information and a hint of his breath was stolen from him in a sharp gasp.
“She's onboard the vehicle?!” he acknowledged in an ascending and shrill voice then immediately grabbed the intercom microphone.

“ATTENTION ATTENTION! Calling all units of GU56! Nullify the rebel agent, but do not kill her!” the urgent cry of the pilot rang heavily throughout the craft, instantaneously gaining the soldiers attention.

Alarmed at the sudden intrusion of his voice, Rouge stumbled backwards awkwardly and fell against one of the steel walls of the ship.
A sharp and searing pain shot through her like photon bolt of lightening as her beaten and broken wing gave an unsettling crunch against the metal.
Crying out, she clenched her head roughly and doubled over—her weight suddenly becoming unbearable.
Everything became a blur and every sound in the room intensified a thousand fold—the sound of the wind whipping across the outside frame, the deep and ragged breathing of the soldiers, the heartbeats of the children continuing to swell and develop inside her—
Everything
“ I repeat!”
Everything was becoming too much…
“ Warning, I repeat! Do not---“
It had to stop…

BOOM

Jumping at the explosive sound, all three of the soldiers threw their attention immediately to the ship's intercom as it fell to the floor in flaming pieces.
Alarmed, their searching and frightened eyes unhesitantly darted to Rouge. Laying against the wall with her legs absent-mindedly spread and firm hands clawing at her head, her body shuddered unstably.
`…Can't take it…' she murmured in her jumbled mind `I…can't take it!!!'
“Kill me!” she cried, not realizing the pleading emphasis in her voice. “Kill me!”
Not thinking twice, the soldiers all drew their handguns and aimed them directly at her.
Her body still shivering and shaking as if it would crumble at any moment, Rouge's grip only intensified—as did her glow.
The chaos energy that she had absorbed from Shadow was responding to her rushing adrenaline, but instead of aiding her, it did the exact opposite.
The President's experiment in hopes of her becoming the vessel to harness the powers of the Ultimate Lifeform had failed. Rouge's life was draining away with each passing moment and with each bit of chaos energy that attempted to course through her to calm her frantic system. But by doing this, all of the power and energy that was sent out to help mend her was tearing her DNA structure to shreds as her system continued to deny that power.

And her children…what was to become of them?
Rouge didn't know…and at the moment, she didn't care. She just wanted to end it. In her mind she forced herself to believe that she had already lost Shadow. She wanted nothing more to do with him. She wanted him out of her life…
Not because she wanted to just forget about him, but because she was putting his life in danger. Again.

She was always doing that to him, yet he continued to allow her company.
Why? Why??
`Because he loves you!'
“No…” she whispered, denying the truth. `I don't want… him to love someone like me…Not anymore…'
`Stop doing this to yourself! You need him! He needs you!'
“…No…he's better off without me…”
There was a slight pause as if the voice in her mind was battling with unseen emotions and considering what to say.
Rouge knew who it was… She knew that the ethereal girl was only trying to help, and she was.
Only, Rouge didn't have time for it anymore.
Reluctantly, her heavy lids fluttered open and to her surprise, her eyes met with the cold hollow barrel of a pistol.
Blinking warily at it, Rouge glanced over the weapon, noticing it had already been cocked. Blinking naturally, she gazed up at the soldier before her.
Feeling as if her fear was merely fabricated as it washed away, Rouge continued to stare blankly at the male and slightly pursed her lips.
“…What are you waiting for…?” she murmured in a thick and mysterious voice. “…Get it over with…”
In the back of her mind, her pride flinched from the very thought of pleading for someone from GUN to take her life. …Pleading for double-crossing dogs to strip her away from this world.
She turned down one mission and became labeled as a traitor. Becoming a traitor for exercising one's rights?
But now, these units of GUN, no, all the units of GUN were the real traitors.
It had become obvious to the soldier the possible content of the nonverbal loathing she was dumping on him by the glazed and cold gaze in her eyes.
Yet he tried to mask his discomfort beneath a mocking sneer.
“…You wanted to die…right…traitor?” he seethed, pressing the cold steel to her luminous forehead.
Almost welcoming the weapon's tactility against her, Rouge's eyes dropped to the floor, then slowly closed.
“What are you doing?!” one of the wayward soldiers called.
“Our orders were to sedate her and bring her in, not to kill her!”
“I know that!” the other retaliated, tightening his grip on the weapon.
Her glow steadily intensifying in brilliance, Rouge's body began to loll backwards as she began losing control of her actions.
She was running out of time.
A pulse of pain pounded through her head and her body gave a quick jolt in reaction.
An instant rush of cold prickled into her veins and began numbing the sensation of feeling within them.
She could feel her vision fading as she opened her eyes slightly. Clouded green opals fleeted around in random spots on the floor as her breathing heightened in intensity.

Inhale

Inhale

Exhale…

Inhale

Inhale

Exhale…

“…Stop wasting time! Do it now!” she vociferated, her voice once again not being her own.
Startled, the soldier hesitated and Rouge immediately looked up. The second she did, he pulled the trigger.
A loud shot rang out and its resounding timbre echoed sharply throughout the craft.

Turning quickly to the possible gruesome scene they expected to see, the two soldiers winced in realization at what they saw.
The soldier lay on his knees, huddled over in a shaking heap. Fiercely he gripped his leg. A dark and oozing substance had already begun to seep through the slits his fingers attempted to cover.
“What happened?!” one of them shouted
“Did you shoot yourself?”
“No, look!” the other solider exclaimed, pointing towards a corner of the room. There the pistol lay, smoking and pointing directly at the spot the shivering male held.
Grimacing through his open display of pain, the man angrily looked up at Rouge. Her calm and composed features rested peacefully about her softly lit face.

The moment he pulled the trigger, the chaos powers within her warped the weapon away from her face and into the corner. And within that exact moment, it fired.
Glaring up at her, the soldier spat at her and grinned darkly. “….You want death? You'll get it…you filthy government slut…!”
The words didn't even need to register within her. Her body began to react on its own. Within a mere split second, an unseen entity had picked up the soldier roughly by his neck. As he squirmed and struggled to get free, the invisible grip only tightened.
With her surrounding glow continuing to grow in brilliance, Rouge effortlessly stood to her feet. As she did, the helpless body of the man before her rose as well.
Smiling grimly, her eyes narrowed and a lithe hand rose in front of her.
“…The next time you try to execute someone…” she began, eyeing the suffocating soldier through the small slither of gaps between her fingers. “…Do it right…”
And with a quick flick of her wrist, a disturbing and moist cracking sound was heard as the soldier's neck suddenly twisted to its breaking point. Not yet satisfied, the illuminated figure continued to toy with the corpse. Clenching a fist only resulted in the harsh breaking of more bones and twisted flesh echoing through the room.

The remaining soldiers could only watch on with sickening gazes as the woman lifted his dangling body higher into the air before smashing it back down to the floor—again…and again...and again.

Spurts of crimson gushed out from the greatly contorted body; spilled down ragged and torn bits of bone as it ripped through the muscle. It pooled onto the hard floor, turning its dun blue color to a thick and soupy dark rose.
When his broken and battered body no longer gave the sound of elaborate crunching as would that of a crisp fresh vegetable being snapped or cut in half, the delirious woman tossed his worthless corpse towards the dispatching hatch.

Met with such a force, the hatch immediately flung open and all the contents, including the other two members of GU56 proceeded to fly out into the night air like refuse.
Her glazed eyes watched intently as the first one flew out without any struggle. But the second actually attempted to grab a hold of the corner of the door.

As the force from the blistering wind nearly tore his body apart, he struggled with all his might to aim his pistol at the glowing witch before him.
Watching him and quite amused, she glanced towards the flapping door and forced it to slam into him, breaking his body in two.
As the dismembered parts of him were torn away by the unmerciful quips of the wind, the woman winced for a moment and looked down.

A small, slick trail of red slid almost elegantly down her shoulder. Her eyes widened at the sight of her own blood and by this happening, the adrenaline in her body heightened, as did her unnatural glow.
But she had a mission to fulfill. Placing all other distractions aside, her body once again became adrift in midair as she eagerly made her way towards the cockpit.

“Rouge….” Shadow croaked, his voice now ragged and hoarse. From the second Rouge had teleported away from him, he strained all the strength he could muster yelling and calling for his lover in vain.
And though she had already left him, a shaky hand still remained extended as it grasped the dancing remnants of her radiant chaos control.
Staring at it as the last frail photons of light disappeared, a sudden sadness swept over Shadow's features.

All of this was his doing. All of it was his fault.
Thinking he could live an actual life, opposing his “true” reason for creation as a weapon—
Falling in love and continuing through with that love regardless of the consequences—
Still being alive—

“…Dammit…I'm such a fool!” he shuddered, lucent and tepid tears stinging his liquidy eyes. “I never should have stayed…!”
His whole body quivered as his hands dropped to his sides, and soon to the ground.
He was barely unable to withhold his own bodyweight now that the majority of the chaos energy had been sapped from his body by Rouge.
But he didn't hate her for that… No…he could never hate her…
The one individual he couldn't stand right now was himself.
Hot tears rolled down his muzzle and dribbled along his nose as his empty sobs began to consume him.
He hated himself for allowing things to get out of hand. He hated himself for actually believing he had a heart. He hated himself for live, for existing…

And in the back of his mind, faint cackles and twisted words began to rise into his ears.

It's not to late…

End it…

End it now…

“…”

End it…
That is your destiny…
Nothingness…

“…Nothingness…” Shadow echoed barely above a whisper.
This was the one time he agreed whole-heartedly with those voices in his head. Nodding slightly, he slowly brought his heavy body up, and allowed its weight to force his back against a tree behind him.
Laying there, an aimless flurry of thoughts ran through his mind—all of them somehow relating to Rouge and himself in some way.
What they had…what they were to each other…
Was that all completely gone now?

His body flinched and he shut his eyes as the hateful words she spat at him prior to her departure came seeping back to him through cracks of denial.

“I hate you!”

Something inside him snapped at that moment and he roughly brought his hands on either side of his face. Clenching and clawing through his flesh, he prepared to bring death upon himself by twisting his own neck.

`Rouge is gone….Those spirits have her…my power is too limited to do anything about it! …Without her I'm nothing! I'm dead!' “I'm dead!!” he yelled, his voice still hoarse and scratchy. And just before he ended everything, a sudden loud mechanical click forced him to open his eyes.

And they instantly widened to find the cold black void of a gun barrel staring dead-straight back at him.
Frantic clouded red opals searched around the weapon for the beholder and chuckled without knowing to find it to be a GUN soldier.
But little did he know that this `soldier' knew him a lot more than Shadow acknowledged.

Smiling faintly at the irony of Gun always coming to disturb something in his life and now wanting to interfere with his attempts of suicide, Shadow sighed.
`…Always following me…' he mused inwardly to himself. Placing his hands slowly at his sides, he shut his eyes and prepared for the possible. There was no reason to fight anymore. Why did it matter how his life was taken as long as it was?

Saying nothing at first at the presented opportunity, the GUN soldier just glared at Shadow, his lip in a disgusted curl.
Grunting in disbelief at that this hedgehog was attempting to do, the soldier forced the gun closer to Shadow's face.
But the nonchalant expression across the hedgehog's dead-pan features showed no fear of death by his enemies.
He no longer cared.

He had given up.

Realizing this, the soldier hesitated, not knowing whether to shoot or kick some sense into Shadow for giving up.
Frowning, he parted his lips to speak, but before he could, his walkie-talkie rang out a burst of static.
“AT—N-TION! RED AL-RT! CALL-NG ALL GUN UN-TS! ATTE-ION!”

A distress call?

“What the hell--?” the soldier questioned, eyeing the noisy instrument before snatching it off his belt and holding it in front of him.
Slightly bothered by all the noise, Shadow's ears twitched towards the sound. Nonchalantly, he lifted his head to the little device. But hearing only the broken words of another member of GUN due to choppy reception, his head once again began to lower.

Until the small sound of a light voice he knew all too well floated mysteriously over the device.
“…Kill me…” it wavered; it's timbre fluxuating. “…Kill me……..”
“Rouge!?” Shadow desperately inquired as the solider in front of him spat “That WOMAN!” simultaneously.

Glaring at the other, dark wild pupils searched disgruntled dim rubies.
“You---!” Shadow growled, narrowing his eyes. He knew exactly who that was in that human body, now…
Surprisingly relieved that his identity was found out, Apallagi grinned faintly only for a moment, then brought a finger to his lips. “Shh!!”
“ATTEN-ION! I REPEAT! RED A-RT! THE REBEL AG-NT HAS----urk!!”
“What happened?!” Shadow demanded, only to be abruptly shushed again.

“….You're all the same…” Rouge's threatening tone rose sharply, nearly bleeding through the static of the walkie-talkie. Then she cackled, causing Shadow's body to tense in terror.
The worst had happened as he had feared. Those spirits had manipulated her somehow.
But then, in the back of his mind he wondered if it really was their doing or did she add to it as well herself?

As if an answer to his question, the static-infested sound of a struggle popped through the speaker as the hurtful and excruciating cries and gasps for breath by the GUN soldier were heard.
“Do you want me to stop…?” Rouge asked with no emotion in her voice whatsoever.
Another painful yelp was heard from the soldier and he continued to gasp for air.
Both Shadow and Apallagi could only imagine what was unfolding as the scene took place.
--
The helpless soldier kicked his legs wildly as his hands continuous grasped at the invisible force tautly encircled around his neck. His bulging face was turning redder by the second as all the blood from his head remained overlapping upon itself from being unable to travel past his neck.

Seeing his useless struggle, Rouge raised a wary eyebrow, then half-frowned. “…Are you done yet? You're only going to make it worse for yourself like that… …In fact you should be losing the sensation of feeling in your arms and legs soon…” she stated in a droning tone, contrastingly different from her normal voice.

A gurgle passed by the soldier's mouth as he fought to form words, still flailing his appendages.
“…I…t doesn't…mat..er! I…am making sure…this plane…get..s….to…the hos...p..tal…!”
Eyeing him with a dim emptiness in her lucid eyes, Rouge narrowed them and raised a fist.
“…You weren't listening to me…Here let me help you…” she whispered and roughly jerked her arm downward.
Not another second passed within that moment as a loud and disturbing sound of a moistened fulmination echoed throughout the small control room. An assortment of crimson and carmine splattered across the windshield; speckled fresh dapples of dahlia and garnet about Rouge's face and form; spilled amongst the control panel…
Not caring in the least at the display, Rouge's eyes narrowed and she tossed the remaining battered bits of the body aside.
Suddenly a sharp pain shot through her and she grabbed her head, screaming.
She didn't have much time.
Unbeknownst to her, with such a liquidy mess on the control panel, the auto pilot feature began to frizzle out. The plane began to lose altitude and control and before she realized what was happening, it took a straight nosedive downward.
Her whole being had been engulfed with so much throbbing and intense pain, she didn't notice the crash. She didn't notice her body being thrown and jostled around within the small area.
She didn't realize her body struggling to stand and walking out into the open air.

When her body and vision were granted to her and only her yet again, a haze of blurred colors was all she could see in front of her before she limply fell to her knees, and then on her stomach…
Then everything …
Went
Black.

--

The sudden chaotic popping of static from the walkie-talkie caused both Apallagi and Shadow to exchange glances.
“The hospital---!?” Shadow croaked. Grimacing from the pain that had been inflicted upon him from both his lover and Apallagi, it took nearly all the strength he could muster to attempt to push himself too his feet.
He didn't even get the chance to make it mid-way before a shot rang out and nearly pierced him in the shoulder.
Startled, he fell back against the tree and glared up at a tight-lipped Apallagi.
Frowning at Shadow, Apallagi blew the dissipating smoke from his gun and cocked it again.
His eyes teeming with disappointment, his brows furrowed.
“… You're not thinking of saving that woman, are you…?” he groused in a calm and steady tone, aiming the weapon at Shadow's arm.
Panting from all the stress that had been wrought upon his body, Shadow sincerely gave Apallagi direct eye contact.
“…Of course I am…” he responded in a hushed voice.
Hearing him sound so defeated and pathetic led a faint flicker of a smile across Apallagi's stern features but a small frown soon took its place.

It would seem that in addition to a great amount of his energy being absorbed, this fool had also nearly damaged his voice just to call out to that woman.
` How sweet…' Apallagi internally quipped sarcastically.
Half-smiling, he raised the gun up a bit higher, and wasn't too thrilled to see Shadow do nothing but glance at the barrel, then return his dejected eyes back to him.
As much as he despised Shadow and that woman, he truthfully couldn't stand to believe that Shadow would be willing to take his own life. He wanted to have the honors of doing that!
Still…he knew they were all running out of time.
His temporary dwelling in a human body wouldn't last another day because the body itself was already near death.
He knew that woman didn't have long to live either. And from the looks of it, Shadow wasn't that far behind in joining them.
He wasn't sure what could be done, but what he did know was he couldn't let Shadow die just yet…

“…What are you waiting for…?!” Shadow urged. Hearing his raspy declaration, Apallagi seamlessly drifted out of his trance.
“ Are you going to kill me here or aren't you…?”
“… I can't kill what's already dead…”
Shadow winced for a moment as confusion littered his features.
Expecting this reaction Apallagi lowered the gun and knelt down to meet Shadow's height.
“…Did you forget? Wasn't it you who attempted to kill himself just minutes ago? Wasn't it you who said you wanted to die? You wheezed it!”
“—That was...”
“And now you expect to just get up and save that woman? Not that long ago, you gave up and wanted death…Didn't you…”
To this Shadow was silent and guiltily his eyes fleeted between Apallagi's then adverted his gaze to the dark grass below him.
Apallagi said nothing as he watched a good portion of the grass get pulled from the ground in Shadow's aggravation.
Amused, he inwardly whistled to himself, but continued on.
“…As far as I'm concerned, a corpse can't save a life. Couldn't save its own.”
“….”
“If this woman means so much to you, do you really think you can save her…? …She's going to die you know…”
Shadow's whole body jerked at those words and he pounded a fist into the ground. “She isn't…!” he wheezed. “You don't know that!”
But he did.
Gritting his teeth as he resumed to push his body upwards, Shadow continued his words. “...I'll save her…as long as she's still alive we have a chance…. I...” Shadow shivered as he forced himself to one knee. “…I have to save her…Chaos Emerald power or…or not…! …For our sake… If she dies….then I'm dieing with her!”
Apallagi slowly stood up and then shook his head. If Shadow didn't be quiet and stop wasting more of his limited energy, then he'd be going sooner than he thought.
“Shhh! Save your strength, would you? Look, that woman may have absorbed a lot from you, you still possess the Chaos Emeralds don't you?”
Not giving Apallagi respectable eye contact, Shadow nodded.
Apalligi nodded as well. “Allright. We're going to need to you to use Chaos Control…”
Shadow shook his head. “I'm too weak to do that.”
“Shut up with that!” Apallagi snapped. “We need you to use them to get to the hospital. I thought you wanted to save her?”
To this, Shadow couldn't argue with. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and concentrated.
A dim multicolored glow began to emanate from him and slowly he clenched his fists to contain the power.
Apallagi noticed the emerald's full spectrum glow wasn't white and figured it was because so much was taken from them. …That would mean that woman had contained both the negative and positive energies of the emeralds inside of her.
And she was still alive? That was quite a feat…
Through the wavering display of the nebulous colors, Shadow slowly began to lift his lids; at first midway, then completely.
Looking to Apallagi with determined and tired features, he gave him the okay. “…We're leaving…” he mouthed. The second Apallagi stepped closer into the time-bending light, they disappeared in slithery wisps of a pale aurora.

--
Mama
Mama…
Lifeless...< br> Nothingness…

Rouge…

`Mm…?'

…Rouge…Can you hear me?

`Who's…calling me…?'

Floating within the secluded void of her subconscious, the entity that responded to that name `awakened' inside herself.
Opening her eyes, the brightness of the void didn't faze her in the least, as she had become familiar with it.
She knew that when she ended up here, that meant that she must have fainted and lost consciousness.

Rouge…

Looking around and behind her, she saw nothing, but knew that voice. Once her eyes returned to the front of her, her eyes met face to face with Maria's.
`…Who…who are…' she trailed off, catching herself before she continued any further. Squinting, she recognized the young girl standing before her.
`You're…Maria aren't you?' she asked, hints of uncertainty littered throughout her voice.
Slightly surprised that one so close to Shadow didn't know much of her to recognize her, the young girl closed her eyes and lightly clasped her delicate hands in front of her.
`…Rouge…there is a very important matter that I must speak to you about…'
A little shocked the girl suddenly became so business-like, the confused bat gave her a funny look, but then listened to what she had to say.
Choosing her words carefully, the girl took a breath, then cautiously gave the bat her full attention.
Worry wavered within her glossy eyes as she spoke.
`…Rouge… I'm very sorry to say this, but…your time is running out…'
Hearing this, she blinked in awe. She didn't know anyone else knew.
Not knowing how to respond, her eyes trailed downwards in disgrace. `I know…'

`You do…? Then…You must know that Shadow is on his way to save you… but…'

`Shadow?' she exclaimed, her voice instantly heightening in exasperation.
Seeing her display of what she thought was happiness, the young girl's blue eyes slightly narrowed in thought. Just moments ago her love for Shadow was being forced aside and minced. She claimed that she hated him and it sounded pretty convincing that she meant it.
Or perhaps, she was being manipulated somehow?
`…Apallagi…' the girl whispered under her breath `Is this your doing as well…?'
Having such great hearing, the girl's words were picked up immediately.

`Apallagi? Who are you talking about?'

`..Forget I said anything about that. I only came here to warn you.'

`About Shadow?'

`Yes… with him coming here, he had to use Chaos Control to do it…and because of the experiment the president ordered to have done on you, you have become the next Ultimate Lifeform.'

`I-I have?'

` Yes but, because of that, you unknowingly took a lot of Shadow's power away from him. …Not to mention the battles he's been in...' she trailed off, biting her lip. She intentionally left out the part where it was Rouge herself that aided in beating Shadow down as well after his battle with Apallagi.
And from the disbelieving awe that was dressed across her face, it was apparent that she may not have remembered it very well.
Perhaps she was manipulated.
The young girl wondered about that.

`Rouge, there is one thing I need to make clear to you…'

`What…what's that?' she asked, as the void began to shake.
Looking upwards frantically, she searched for the source and cause of such a happening, but the girl did not react the same.
She knew what that meant.
Rouge was regaining consciousness.
At this moment, the bat was beginning to lose her sense of stable balance within the void and almost toppled out of her sedated mental state when a hand grabbed her wrist.
The girl had reached out to her at the last second, still having a message to relay, but there wasn't enough time.
`You have to believe me! You mustn't hate Shadow. He's extremely weak right now.'

`What?!'

`If you feel any kind of hate towards him the emeralds within his body will resonate with the energy your body absorbed and he will--!'
When another tremor rippled through, the girl's grasp was lost and all she could call out before Rouge's essence disappeared was: `Don't let him go!'

--

Feeling as if she had been returned to her body, Rouge jumped from the sudden realization but barely moved.
Forcing her eyes to open the first thing she saw was white.
Stark white walls surrounded her.
But she still couldn't move.
Looking down she found herself to be strapped down to a chair.
Immediately beginning to wriggle this way and that way to break herself free, she had already begun to panic.
She was inside the hospital now, in a very small room. It was so small, it seemed like one of those isolation rooms.

Hospitals…she hated hospitals…

Attempting to take a deep breath, all that she gained was a thin intake of sticky and nasty tasting air.
She immediately tried opening her mouth, but no avail.
It was taped shut! Ducktaped.
Really starting to panic, she began kicking her legs as best as she could to push herself out of the heavy chair.
But a burning and ripping pain tore through her causing her to scream.
Shuddering, her body constantly shook as she cautiously became more aware of the excruciation.
Hesitantly her tearful eyes trailed downwards and widened at what she saw---or rather what she didn't see.
Her swollen belly was gone.
All the throbbing pain she felt had come from the C-shaped stitch etched across her abdomen.
And it had been done not that long ago. Speckles of dried blood could still be made out.
It hurt. It hurt so much. Not just the pain itself, but the fact that her body had been tampered with again without her knowing. And probably from within the exact same hospital.
Hot tears stained her dispirited face and dribbled down her chin.
This was it, wasn't it…
She had lost Shadow, she was losing herself, but now her children too?
A soft sound seeped from her and gradually increased into a wail that repeatedly collided against the walls.

In the midst of her sobbing, she failed to notice the two figures that stood in the doorway to the left of her.
One of them was none other than the President himself, while the other was the same beady-eyed doctor that had operated on both her and Shadow.
The President had also received the distress call from the pilot of unit GU56, as did everyone in GUN in conjunction with this project.

The muscle in the President's jaw began to tense as he watched Rouge, taped and strapped down, struggle and bawl like a baby.
Which to him was highly ironic since her babies had already been extracted from her just minutes prior.
The beady-eyed doctor was the one who operated on her just as before.
When she collapsed from the crash, she coincidentally ended up on the entry pavement to the President's secret laboratory/hospital.
There was a multitude of experiments held there and Rouge was just another addition.
Since her belly had grown quite large and she had already been greatly suffering from taking in so much Chaos power, the lab scientists, the President and the beady-eyed doctor all agreed to extract the babies from her via a C-section. That was what the President ordered beforehand, after all.
Along with a bleach injection…

The children were sealed away in a special lab where they were incased in large sized tubes filled with liquid.
They were littered with microbes that monitored their every vital sign applicable.
Outside the lab door and throughout that section of the hallway was a set of infa-red sensors.
Anyone with a bypass scrambler could get through these beams to study and work on the new lifeforms, but any unauthorized personnel without a scrambler would set off the alarm.
And when that would happen, the whole lab would begin a self-destruct countdown.

The President had pride in himself for such an “ingenious” concept, but he never took into consideration to when and if that particular concept would backfire in his face…

Turning towards his beady-eyed cohort, the President opened his hand.

The doctor knew exactly what he was asking for and placed the

3 ounce needle of the injection in the palm of his hand.

With a courteous smile, the President nodded to the doctor and stepped further inside the room.

Watching him confront the delirious woman, hiding the needle from her, the doctor sadly shook his head and lightly closed the door behind him.

Alone with his rebel agent, the President walked suspiciously around her, enjoying watching her squirm.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you, agent…” he mocked almost sarcastically. “You wouldn't want to reopen those wounds of yours…”

Hearing that was all it took to get her attention.

Glassy red eyes flashed as she sharply turned to acknowledge the embodiment of dissimulation.

Accepting her cruel gaze as a form of flattery, the President casually strolled over to her.

Stepping in front of her, he roughly grabbed her chin to get her to face him.

Scarlet tinted eyes of pain narrowed at him. A small film of tears glossed her eyes and swam hesitantly before beginning their decent down her stained face.

Even in his malcontent towards his rebel agent, the President still thought she appeared rather beautiful tangled in her anguish.

Nearing closer, he pressed his lips against her eyelid, only to cause Rouge to scream and struggle even more.

But without knowing, she twisted her body too much and wailed from the pain that tore through her abdomen.

Shaking uncontrollably, the tears continued to flow like a small body of water.

The President watched her ruefully. His mouth twisted into an acidic smile.

Moving back slightly out of her space, he lifted a hand and struck it sharply across her face.

Before she could make a sound, he did it again and again and again until a spurt of crimson gushed from her skin.

There he stopped.

“You've cost me a lot of time and money, agent…” he spoke in a steady tone. Glancing at the smeared blood on the back of his hand, the President wiped it off roughly against the top of her fur-matted forehead.

When the tortured woman gave no response, his hand rose in preparation to strike her again, but for some reason he stopped himself.

Instead, he grabbed the end of the tape around her mouth and fiercely yanked it off.

Her neck jerked roughly from the action and her head heavily dropped to her chest. Coughing, but too weak to react to it, Rouge remained there, sulking and beaten.

The source of her problems was sneering right in front of her and she couldn't do a thing. The only satisfaction she got was having the thought of tearing him to shreds once she got out of that chair.

Her body was too weak to be manipulated as well. So those “accidents” that she wrought upon unit GU56 were now invalid to reinitiate.

Still not giving him a response, the President's expression malformed from impatient to delirious.

“Answer me….” He growled, his grip tightening around the syringe behind his back.

Still not saying a word, Rouge meticulously trailed her moist eyes to him, then led them elsewhere.

Furious now, but fighting to suppress it, the President continued with what he had to say.

“…You have no idea how much this experiment was worth and because your body resisted the Ultimate Life's genes, not only were you a failure but so were your children!”

Children?

Rouge's ears perked up at this, but just as quickly, they folded downward. Her children…were a failure? What happened to them? Where were they?

“…m…my….my…chil…dre…n&# 8230;wh…..what…” she breathed, barely audible.

Interested now that he had hit a sensitive spot, the President smiled curtly.

“Yes…that's right. And with them being failures, our entire experiment was a waste. And you are to blame. You sterile woman… I should have stuck with the original plan to execute you for turning your back on GUN…

“You no longer have a use…”

He paused, his eyes roamed between hers, checking for any realization or responses. Her eyes were slightly widened, but appeared almost lifeless and defeated.

Narrowing his eyes at her, he brought out the syringe and released some of its pressured contents through the needle to make sure they flowed properly.

Catching glimpse of the substance, Rouge's breath was caught in her throat and her eyes shot open as wide as possible.

Chuckling sadistically, the President stepped closer to her.

“…This time…I'll make sure you don't get another chance…”

--

Out in the hallway, sparks and slight flashes of light were seen as Shadow's Chaos Control materialized into view.

Two forms gradually began to emerge from the display until they manifested fully in the hall.

As soon as the warp ended, a decrepit Shadow dropped to his knees and then to his hands.

Apallagi said nothing as he watched Shadow struggle for balance within his own body and failing.

He narrowed his eyes. One solid blow was all that was needed and he could almost guarantee that Shadow would not get up again.

Actually that almost didn't sound like a bad idea.

He had already used Shadow to teleport to the hospital to assimilate with his children so they could take over Shadow's body and devour his existence.

Without that woman, Shadow had nothing left to believe in, nor fight for.

What the perfect opportunity…

Taking a step towards the nearly relinquished hedgehog, Apallagi took out his gun. He actually didn't approve of the way these weak humans had to resort to weapons such as this to execute one another, but he wanted to make sure Shadow would not be coming back. This body was much too weak to engage in his type of combat.

His breath now shallow and ragged, Shadow's body ached more than he realized before. He felt so heavy, so tired.

He had gotten this far to save the woman he loved, but in his state, what could be done now?

Allowing his lids to crumble to a close, Shadow declared to himself that this was it…

He had no acknowledgement of Apallagi's motives and even if he did, he wouldn't have believed he could do anything about it.

Suppose what Apallagi said about Rouge was right?

If she was going to die, then Shadow had no complaints or retaliations about joining her.

Defeated, Shadow's fingers curled into fists on the cold floor and his body began to shake.

A tepid burning sensation pierced the back of his eyes and he squeezed them shut even tighter.

He felt so pathetic. Here he was, the ultimate lifeform drained, dying and unable to save his own love.

And now he was shedding tears about it—empty, worthless tears.

Those spirits were right…he was nothing.

Shadow! He heard an urgent voice call.

Instinctively looking up, his blurred vision hindered his perception of his surroundings. But through the midst of the liquidy obstruction, soft and familiar colors of light blue and tanned gold appeared, complimenting a delicate face…

“Ma—Maria…?”

Annoyed, Apallagi scoffed. “Shut up, you're just hallucinating…” he groused, despite the fact he could see her too.

Hearing his attempt at getting Shadow to ignore her, she tossed a stern glance Apallagi's way and he instantly recomposed himself.

Then he grumbled when she looked away.

Disgusted that Maria had the guts to actually show up at a moment like this to interrupt what he was going to do, Apallagi frowned with a grunt and put the weapon away.

Irritated, he watched the two.

“Shadow…” the gentle blonde coaxed “Shadow please stop this…!”

Gazing up at her as if she were the one that bore him, Shadow's features contorted to a heart-wrenching sob.

Neither Maria nor Apallagi had ever seen him like this.

Watching her beloved friend shiver and squall in lament, the girl closed her eyes in remorse, then shifted her soft gaze towards Apallagi.

Her features hardened slightly at him as if to silently scold him for his actions.

And reluctantly, he accepted that.

Seeing his reaction, a small curve of a smile graced her lips and she nodded towards him. “You know what you have to do.” She mouthed to him “ The children are in a special room in this hallway. There are also alarms set to go off if the sensors detect any activity.”

He nodded, heeding her every statement. He really didn't approve of her doings, but without her, he was as good as gone.

Wait a minute…

The body he was in wouldn't last much longer anyway and when that happened, unless he could reclaim Shadow's body again or even that woman's he would be able to `live' a bit longer.

But if they died, what did he have left?

Figuring if he was going to leave the world, he may as well leave with a bang…

So, with a crooked smile, he accepted what Maria informed him, having ulterior motives in the back of his mind.

Of course, she knew he was upto something, but decided to allow him to have his way, as long as he handled the children to keep them away from scientific clutches.

“Apallagi…” she began, speaking in a low tone now, “Also, if Shadow is unable to do it, please save Rouge.”

He grimaced. He KNEW she was going to say something like that.

“Please… And one last thing…”

“Yeah what…”

She paused, then smiled faintly. “…It would be wise for you to choose life over death…. And don't even think about tampering with theirs.”

With a `hmph' Apallagi neither agreed nor denied to this.

Her wishful gaze lingered upon him for a moment, then returned to Shadow.

His sobs had calmed considerably during her talk with Apallagi and to her amazement, he was laying collapsed on the floor with his hands in grasping claws.

This definetely wasn't good.

“Shadow…” she whispered sadly, beginning to fade. Looking to Apallagi with sincere trust swimming in her eyes, she nodded to him.

“Please do the right thing…”

Her voice quietly echoed until she had faded completely.

Once she was gone, Apallagi stole a cold glance towards Shadow.

What a pathetic sight. He would have loved to end it now, but, he had another idea. Not even bothering to wake the hedgehog up, Apallagi began to make his way down the corridor, looking for any indications of tiny machinery that would produce an “invisible” beam.

Upon finding it, he had to push setting off the alarms on purpose aside and started searching for the laboratory door.

Ironically enough, he was standing right in front of it.

Discarding how easy that was to the back of his mind, he glanced at the control panel next to it. It needed a keycard of some sort.

Not knowing if he had one or not, he searched all the pockets and small utility belt for a card of some sort. Surprisingly he found three and swiped one.

“Access Denied.”

“What?! …I guess I swiped it the wrong way…” he mumbled, flipping the card around and scanning it again.

“Access Denied.”

Growing irritated by the second, he tossed the first card over his shoulder and swiped the second card the in the same fashion.

“Access Denied.”

“Access Denied. One try left remaining before temporary lab lockdown.”

Frowning deeply, Apallagi looked at the remaining card in his hand, and then back at the small control panel.

This could be the card he needed all along, yet, Apallagi wasn't one to believe in hope and lucky chances.

So to save time and possible failure, he threw the key card aside, whipped out his gun and popped 3 shots into the panel.

Sparks frazzled out of it as it began to flash in alternating colors of green and red.

“Access DeAccess GrAccessAccess” the automated voice scrambled in overlapping responses.

Then seconds later, the light remained green and the door slide open with a heavy mechanical swish.

“Hmph, this stupid contraption actually does have a decent use” he mused and placed the gun back in its holster.

His heavy boot steps echoed throughout the room and resounded from the floor with a thick click sound.

Taking in his surroundings, discomfort swiftly engulfed him from all that he witnessed.

There were rows upon rows of different and odd appearing clumps of masses floating in countless tubes.

He assumed they were bodies of some sort.

Passing through them, he came to the conclusion that every form of ”life” in this lab was pre-mature or underdeveloped in some way.

And with that being the case, that said a lot about those children.

He honestly had no idea how he'd find them. It wasn't like he could tell one altered form of mass from the other.

But as he passed the 4th row, he felt something resonate within him.

Stopping in his tracks, he turned to his right and saw 2 large tubes with seemingly identical forms floating within them.

Nearing closer, he could make out the primitive forms of a bat's ears on one and a hedgehog's quills on the other.

Sad to say, their appearances were so deformed, it took him a while to barely even make that out.

Their bodies weren't fully developed and their skin hadn't reached its potential thickness.

He could clearly see the rapid beatings of their little hearts through the thin layers of skin.

They weren't going to make it.

Sympathetically, he placed his hands against the glass and allowed his forehead to gently follow suit.

There was no way he could assimilate with them like this. They were too premature and incipient.

Although there was nothing he could do to help them mature, he was willing to get them out of there.

Moments later, the door to the lab swished open and Apallagi briskly but carefully walked out, carrying the two embryonic tubes under both arms.

Pausing in his steps, he looked down either sides of the hall, contemplating where to go next.

That woman still needed saving and Shadow was still probably unconscious to be of any use. Besides, he wouldn't want to risk carrying her and the embryos. They were more important to him than she was.

Not sure what to do but wanting this situation to end, he casually went over to a set of infa-red beams. A hint of determination flickered within his dark eyes as he lifted a leg right between the invisible beams.

And not a second later, the lights in the hall dimmed drastically, and a loud clamor of a wailing siren went off.

As Apallagi hurried towards Shadow's location, he grinned.

“This had better wake him up…!”

--

15:00:00

“ATTENTION ALL PERSONNEL. ATTENTION ALL PEROSNNEL. THE FACILITY SELF-DESTRUCT COUNTDOWN HAS BEEN INITIATED.”

“Wh-what?!!” The President exclaimed, looking upwards.

The lights continued to fade in and out as the automated alarms continued to blare.

“THIS FACILITY WILL DETONATE IN APROXAMATELY 15 MINUTES. I REPEAT—“

“Dammit!!!” The President growled, knowing whoever set off the alarm had some affiliation with Rouge.

Glaring down at her his wild eyes raced. The execution procedure would take over 5 minutes to go through with, not to mention another 30 to make sure it worked! He didn't have enough time!

Panicking, the President glared at Rouge, who appeared to be suffering from the extreme volume of the alarms and pressed her folded ears closer against her head in an attempt to block it out.

Not knowing what to do but wanting her to die for the treason and failure she had committed, he quickly lifted his foot off the floor and sharply connected his boot with her abdomen.

With a high-pitched bloody shriek, Rouge's body jumped upon impact but she was forced back down into the chair by a heavy stab to the neck from the needle.

Pressing on it callously, the President released as much of the substance as he could into her neck, eager to see the bulging skin that the liquid began to fill.

A loud rumble vibrated through the sector of the facility and the same automated message repeated.

Unable to take the possibility of risking his life, the President left the needle in with only half of its contents submerged within Rouge's neck and clumsily ran out of the room.

Her body exhausted and mutilated, Rouge's mouth was caught in a gape as her pupils began to dilate as she struggled to stop her eyes from rolling to the back of her head.

Shadow… her mind pleaded as her vision began to blur. …Shadow…I'm sorry. …I never …hated you…

Slowly, her lids began to lower.

I… I lo…ve…

…

…

…

--

09:30:58

“WAKE UP!!” Apallagi yelled, bounding down the corridor to Shadow.

Apparently, he wasn't unconscious enough to be deaf from the blaring alarms and had begun to stir.

Weakly sitting up, he had to allow his eyes to adjust to the oncoming form before him.

Was that…?

“You again…” he grumbled to himself, his voice slightly audible now.

Seeing the hedgehog was able to move a little bit better now, Apalligi picked up his speed. Once he reached Shadow, he dropped to one knee and placed the two tubes gingerly next to him.

Alarmed by the way they looked, Shadow winced and looked to Apallagi for an explanation.

From the thin-lipped expression that returned his quizzical gaze, Shadow understood immediately what they were.

“…Its…it's…not possible…!” he denied, grabbing the tubes and holding them close to his chest.

But sure enough he could make out the same characteristic features as Apalligi had.

Knowing Rouge must have been devastated if she saw them, Shadow hugged them gently for the both of them.

Standing to his feet, Apallagi shared in Shadow's lament for a good few seconds, then turned on his heels.

“Wait!!”

“What is it?!” Apallagi snapped back.

“Let…let me go with you! I have to find Rouge…!”

“Save it! You can't be her hero today, you idiot! You've been unconscious for practically an hour! You get out of here and meet us outside!!”

“But--!”

“5 MINUTES REMAINING UNTIL FACILITY SELF DESTRUCTION. I REPEAT, ONLY 5 MINUTES REMAINING UNTIL FACILITY SELF DESTRUCTION.”

Nothing more had to be said as they exchanged tense glances.

Shadow nodded and held the cylinders of the embryos close as he headed for the building's entrance.

Apallagi nodded as well and dashed off in the opposite direction to find that woman.

--

3:25:00

It had to have been sheer luck that he found the room she was in. It was the furthest room down the hallway and the door had been left open.

Risking a step inside, he nearly jumped back from what he saw.

A motionless Rouge sat slouched over to the right side of the metal chair she was strapped to. Rivulets of blood and the contents from the needle were splattered in a spontaneous pattern about her body.

Rushing close to her to examine her better, Apallagi's eyes stayed dead-on the needle embedded in her neck. Carefully removing it, he could tell that whomever pierced her with this was no doctor. They had missed her main artery by a mere half-inch.

Someone really wanted her dead and much worse than that, they had beat him to it.

Regardless of the circumstance, he quickly undid her restraints and scooped her cold body into his arms.

She was still breathing, but barely.

Slightly relieved that he didn't have to lug dead weight around, he left everything else in the room behind and sprinted out as fast as he could.

--

1:57:28

“Where are they…” Shadow pondered, impatiently waiting to see any sign of either of them come running out.

After making it outside, he had begun to feel weak and drained again.

But he did manage to find an isolated top-down Jeep to rest inside, and hot-wire, with the children safely in the backseat.

A thunderous rumble erupted from the bowels of the facility, as more of the lights began to flicker at a much rapid pace than before.

“ONE MINUTES REMAINING BEFORE FACILITY SELF DESTRUCTION. I REPEAT—“

Fear claimed Shadow's heart as a cold ripple snaked up through his body and tensed every muscle.

But as if a miracle was granted from the heavens, the fast moving silhouette of Apallagi was clearly made out from the entryway.

But where was Rouge?

Starting to get out of the vehicle to search for her, Shadow opened his mouth to speak, when a hefty bellow from Apallagi interrupted him.

And at that same moment, a rumbling boom was heard and parts of the building began to explode.

“GET IN THE CAR!” Apallagi vociferated, but his words were lost within the overpowering bursts of the explosion.

But Shadow stood his weary ground—until his eyes fell upon the shadowy figure in Apallagi's arms.

And as familiarity struck through Shadow, his eyes widened as her unraveling appeared to move in slow motion.

Her limp body lay unanimated in his arms. As the flickering alternations of light and shadow dappled over her form, different areas that were stained with her wounds came into view.

Her abdomen, her face, her neck…

Shadow's vision went red as the heavy realization hit him. His voice rang out in deep grievance, only to be swallowed up by the fiery blasts not that far from him.

Apallagi continued to yell at him to get in the car, but as he passed him, Shadow took Rouge into his arms and dropped to the concrete on his knees.

Apallagi growled.

They didn't have time for this!

Angered and disturbed, Apallagi wiped the sweat from his brow and was about to knock Shadow unconscious when the softly intricate form of Maria appeared. Placing a light hand to Shadow's forehead, his eyes closed and right before he collapsed on Rouge, Apallagi caught him.

“Put them in the truck!” the girl exclaimed, her voice heard perfectly clear in Apallagi's mind. With no time to argue with being given orders, he did exactly what he was told, jumped in the driver's seat and tore off into the night.

--

Once word reached the President's Intel that their special laboratory had been destroyed, they quickly brought up an analysis on Rouge and her children's vitals.

They also picked up their location.

It seemed as if they were traveling back into the forest, but the course that was being taken was very unstable.

“Someone must be driving!” one of the scientists exclaimed.

“And not very well…” another added.

“This is terrible! Our lab has been destroyed with all of the other experiments inside it!” Another exclaimed.

The scientist the President often conversed with simply stared warily at them, all.

“It's allright.” He replied. “We don't need those experiments. The ones we do need are on that monitor right now!”

“Someone should get the President on the phone!” Another scientist exclaimed.

The President's lackey nodded. “Yes. I will inform the President. Someone else get GU57 on those fugitive's trails now!”

--

Luckily, just as the explosions went off in the building, the President managed to escape through the back door. Risking a look back over his shoulder, his sprint quickly slowed to a run as he turned and stood in awe at his beautiful facility ablaze with flames and crumbling debris.

A fit of shock tore through him as he beheld the destruction of yet ANOTHER laboratory that he had ordered to be built.

“Damn that agent!” he spat. “All of this is your doing! I hope you rot in hell for this!!” he vociferated towards the building.

Seconds later, a rippling tremor shook the very ground he was standing on as another portion of the building flew apart and landed a good few feet in front of him.

The sound was so loud, that it temporarily deafened his ears. Looking up in horror at what happened, his face was grazed with spreading embers from the debris and he quickly shut his eyes.

As he struggled to open them again, all he could see was darkness.

“I'm blind!! I can't see!” he yelled, but no one was around to hear him, and he certainly couldn't hear himself.

Partially impaired and trembling with fear and panic, the President attempted to escape from the scene, but another blast propelled him 5 feet into the air. Rolling along the ground once he landed, his body crashed up against some rusty trash cans in a nearby back alleyway.

Struggling frantically as would a fish out of water, the President scrambled to his feet, only to bump against a wall that threw him of balance.

Unknown to him, his communicator began to ring, but its tone literally fell on deaf ears.

Crying out about his impairments, the President stumbled around aimlessly with outstretched arms.

“Help me!!!” he called desperately. “HELP ME!!”

Unable to gain any type of coordination with his direction, his lack of navigation led him out into the middle of the darkened street.

Oddly enough, he could feel the ground vibrating beneath him. In a fit of fear, he ran towards the oncoming traffic, not knowing any better, and was mowed over by a truck.

But not just any truck…

“Unit GU57 reporting, sir! We are enroute to tracking down the—“

BUBOOMP

“What the hell?!!!” the soldier on the intercom device shouted.

“What did we hit?!!” one of the GUN soldiers exclaimed

“Hit? We ran OVER something!” the driver confirmed.

Stopping the truck, they all jumped out and took a look at the front and underside of the vehicle.

“We'll call you back, Intel!” the messenger stated, clicking off the receiving end to the device.

Jogging around to join his other teammates, he paused as he beheld the unexplainable horror written across their faces.

His eyes fleeted between them both, waiting for an explanation when one of them stood up and stepped back.

All he had to see was the bloodied right hand and the cuff of the suit the President wore and his eyes grew as large as saucers.

“OH MY GOD, WE KILLED THE PRESIDENT!”

--

Speeding and swerving through the seemingly endless rows of trees, Apallagi swore continuously each time he had to move out of the way of a tree—which was often.

Shadow and Rouge both lay unconscious in the backseat next to the containers of their offspring.

Apallagi glanced back to them every now and then to make sure none of them had gotten thrown out of the vehicle due to his untrained and reckless driving.

He didn't want to admit it to himself, but he found himself looking more at the couple than at the embryos.

He told himself that it didn't mean anything. Their lives meant his too. If they died, he would have no place else to go.

Yeah that was it.

Still keeping at the same speed, Apallagi soon came to a clearing. Recognizing the area briefly, he noticed the vehicle began to slow down.

Thinking he may have been letting up on the gas pedal, he glanced down to find his foot still firmly placed on it.

Frowning, he looked at the different gauges on the front panel and noticed that the gas meter was on E.

“Dammit!!” he cursed bitterly and continued forcing the Jeep until it stopped completely.

Jumping out, he slammed the door behind him and headed to the back.

His gaze immediately fell on the prone figures in the backseat and his mouth thinned into a line.

“Do you know where this place is?” A soft voice questioned.

Knowing who it was, Apallagi sighed and shook his head.

“No…I don't. But I'm sure you're going to tell me.”

Throwing a scolding glare his way from the front seat, the young girl phased through the door and floated over to him.

She watched him as he sternly eyed the figures in the vehicle.

Rouge's body covered most of one half of the backseat while Shadow's was draped over hers. The children were still in their tubes, continuing to levitate in the liquid as if they had never been removed from the lab.

Apallagi's fist clenched as he looked at them. There they were in heaps and neither had very long to live. He doubted Rouge was even still alive. But he could still see her chest faintly rising up and down.

He half-frowned. She was a lot stronger than he thought.

“Apallagi…” the girl spoke softly, gaining his attention.

He gazed at her with an expectant expression.

“…This place, I believe is near a small spring that they had once visited.” She spoke softly.

Catching on to where this was going, he dejectedly adverted his gaze back to the couple and their children.

Yet, she continued. “…I think….that this place would be a rather suitable burial site for them…”

Apallagi flinched at the words `burial site' and shook his head.

“It doesn't matter anymore does it.”

She blinked in misunderstanding. “Huh?”

“…All that we've gone through for them…It doesn't matter….”

What? Wasn't he bent on merging with the other spirits to devour Shadow's soul? She may not have said anything about it, but she was keen to his plan.

She was fortunate to the way the events had turned out, despite the fact she may be losing a friend, his lover and their family in the process.

“I know what you're thinking, Maria…” Apallagi spoke up. Looking to her with a small grin, he nodded. “And yes, I was going to devour his soul. I still would if those kids weren't so…bad off…”

Saying nothing but staring at him with a warm and forgiving smile, the girl turned and made her way near the spring.

“It's time to go…” she whispered and to this Apallagi could not argue.

With a sigh, he turned back to the group in the car and slowly began extracting them. Shadow and Rouge were handled one at a time, while the children were carried under both his arms.

Several tense minutes passed as they were placed into the clear and calm waters of the spring.

It rippled faintly, on slightly distorting the stark reflection of the moon above it.

The girl's crystal blue eyes lingered in the faint luminance of the water, then trailed upwards once her friends and their children were placed side by side.

She and Apallagi both agreed that it would be best to release the children from their encasings and they too floated alongside their parents.

Standing next to Maria, Apallagi glanced down at her, then to the family.

“…They look so peaceful…” she murmured.

“Yeah…” he agreed, his eyes trailing over to the babies. Sadly, he led them to the reflection of the moon.

One short ripple passed through it's pale image, then another.

Curious to what was going on, Apallagi stepped away from Maria and stood closer to the water.

A soft glow emitted from Shadow, while a quiet one emanated from Rouge. Both rays of light gradually spread into a multicolored swirl of light and soon began to resonate with the bodies of the children.

Soon, their tiny heartbeats pulsed in unison with the resonance of the lights originating from their parents.

“What…what's going on?” the confused girl gasped, covering her mouth, only to be shushed by Apallagi.

Suddenly a mysterious force passed through him and he instinctively looked upwards.

Tiny voices spread into his mind and spoke in a language that only he and the other spirits could understand.

To those that made us

To those who gave us life

We offer new life through means of our sacrifice.

“Wh-what?!” Apallagi exclaimed, taking all of this in.

“What is it Apallagi?” the girl asked eagerly “What did you—“

“Shh!”

With this gift, we may save

Two small lives

Or one large life

Before death claims us, this is the best we can do.

Apallagi's eyes widened instantly at those words.

Before he could make a move, the emeralds emerged from within Shadow's body and hovered above Rouge. There, the power that she had absorbed from them while they were embedded within Shadow was retracted back from whence they came.

Without the powerful aid of the emeralds and their power, both Shadow and Rouge started to sink within the spring.

The girl gasped as this unsettling scene took place and she turned to Apallagi.

“Apallagi, we have to do something to—“ she trailed off as the body of her dependant collapsed lifelessly onto the rough grass.

Gasping, she looked around for him, only for her eyes to be led right back to the spring.

His spirit form was still battered and beaten from his battle with Shadow earlier and part of him had begun to catch into the wind.

He was fading. But he didn't let that stop him. Treading closer to the children, he lightly placed his left hand on the both of them and nodded.

If he didn't have much a life to live anymore, the least he could do was give it so those children, and even that woman and Shadow, could have another chance.

Glancing upto his `mother' Apallagi smiled faintly. “You gave me this name for a reason, right?”

Glistening tears delicately traveled down her cheeks at his words and she nodded deeply.

“Well, be glad I'm putting what you said to good use” he smiled.

“Choosing life over death…” she reiterated silently.

The two shared one last longing gaze at the other before Apallagi turned away...with the smile still remaining on his face.

Closing his eyes, he concentrated as the Chaos Emeralds swirled above him and the children.

There was a soft blooming of a white light, then another rippled right behind it. Soon the luminance grew to an outstanding multitude, engulfing the 3 spirits, both Shadow and Rouge, Maria, the entire spring, and nearly half of the entire forest within it.

--

3 Years Later…

In a park near one of the new towns in the city, two little children played in the sandbox.

One was an enthusiastic girl, while the other was a cute but mischievous boy.

Their father told them not to play in there, but since he went to check on their mother, they decided to take their chances.

“I'm making a bunny!” the boy exclaimed, patting his little hands around in the sand to form his interpretation of a bunny.

Laughing, the girl playfully pushed him with her shoulder, but was careful not to mess up the placement of the bow she wore.

“You can't make a bunny in here! But daddy says that bunnies goto the bathroom in these.”

“Ewwww!!! No they don't!” he retaliated.

“Yes they do!!”

“Nuh uh!”

“Yah huh!”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah!”

Silent for only a moment, the two siblings playfully glared at each other then called in unison: “DAAAAAAAD!!!”

A heavy sigh drifted through the warm summer air as an older dark and crimson hedgehog lounged on the slide.

Crossing his arms and opening one eye at them, he smiled faintly. “What is it…? And didn't I tell you two not to play in that sand box?”

Surprised at how nearby he was, the two children jumped out of the sandbox and quickly dusted themselves off.

“Sorry daddy! We didn't know you came back so fast!” The girl explained.

“It was her idea!” the boy tattled.

The girl glared at him. “No it wasn't! Daddy, don't believe him!”

Chuckling to himself about his naughty little children, the hedgehog stood to his feet and grinned at them.

“Jirachi! Javelin! What did your mother tell you about getting your new clothes dirty??”

Both children exchanged glances and smiled at the other, deciding to change the subject.
“Where is mommy?” Jirachi asked, a cute smile on his face.
“Yeah” Javelin chimed in.
The two exchanged looks again and giggled.
Catching onto their little trick, Shadow laughed, his voice once again rich and sonorous.
“Your mother is visiting the graveyard today.”
“Ooooooohooohoooo!” Jirachi and Javelin responded in spooky voices.
“Is she going ghost hunting??” Javelin asked while her little brother happily jumped up and down. “Yeah, could we go too??”
Shadow couldn't help but laugh at them and nodded. “Sure, I don't see why not.”
“YEAAAH!!”
“ALLRIGHT!” The children cheered as they ran upto their father and clutched his hands.
Peering warmly down at them, Shadow smiled and nodded again.
“Ready?”
“Yeah!” they responded.
“Allright.”
“Chaos control!” they all called and disappeared in a bright photon of light.

-
In the graveyard, at a particular headstone, the daring and voluptuous bat, Rouge sat on her knees.

After the events of what her and Shadow went through while on the run from the President and GUN, the both of them deemed it necessary to start all over. A while after they were able to settle down, they were blessed with fraternal twins Jirachi and Javelin. Both were a mix of hedgehog and bat, but Javelin shared more bat attributes than her brother as he had more hedgehog attributes than her.

Both Rouge and Shadow couldn't recall exactly everything that happened, but they did remember Maria's interference and Apallagi's sacrifice.
They had made a grave for him and both she and Shadow visited it every other day they were in the neighborhood.

She had already visited that one earlier, but at the present moment, she was visiting the grave of another individual…

Just as she was finishing up, the soft and bright luminance of a familiar light flashed out the corner of her eye.

And before she could even turn her head, small arms threw themselves around her arms and shoulders.
“MOOOOOOOOOOOOOMYYYYYYYYYY!!” tiny voices chirped as they hugged her.
Nearly toppling her over from the force of their strong embraces, Rouge hugged her children and kissed their foreheads.
“What's going on? You guys come to check on me??”
Jirachi and Javelin nodded eagerly.
Smiling warmly, Rouge tussled in their hair. “ Aww how sweet of you!” Glancing up, she looked for her husband and her smile grew even broader.
“Hey…” he grinned, stepping closer to her.
“Hey!” she called back, standing to her feet and hugging him gingerly.
Chuckling, Shadow rubbed his wife's shoulder and kissed her on the cheek.
“Oh no, you're not getting off that easy” Rouge giggled and slipped her fingers under his chin and gave him a moist and sweet kiss on the lips.
“Ewwwwwwwwwwww!!” Jirachi and Javelin teased.
Softly breaking the kiss, Shadow chuckled lightly and laid his forehead against hers. “...Delicious.”
“Mm of course!”
Laughing, Shadow gave his wife another squeeze and trailed his hand down to hers. “Everything done here?”
Rouge nodded. “Yeah. I'm done. Let's go.”
Hearing this, the children bounded cheerfully over to their parents and held both their hands.
And in a stark flash of light, they were gone.

The particular tombstone Rouge had been “visiting” had been none other than the President's himself.
Not to pay respects, but instead, to give him a little payback.

The now altered epigraph on his tombstone read:
“Here lies (Worthless), the (bastard) of the United Sates.
Born November 8th, 1957,
(Killed by his own unit) on May 23rd 2004
(the dumbass)”

--
“…I can't believe she actually etched that on his tombstone…” a sarcastic voice wavered.
Sighing, the delicate blonde girl only shook her head at him. “As much as I hate to say it, the man deserved it, Apallagi.”
“Yeaaaah Yeaaah he did…” he agreed with a chuckle.
Although both Maria and Apallagi had the chance to gain new bodies and have new lives like Shadow, Rouge and the children were able to, they both decided to linger within the void that was in-between-worlds. Maria felt that it was her place, and since Apallagi had nowhere else to go, he ended up there as well.
Needless to say, neither of them would be along anymore.
Giggling, the girl smiled dearly at him then continued to watch the family below.

End

-

The names Jirachi and Javelin were suggested by Haley. Thanx Haleeeyyy!!!

-This is the end of the story. THERE WILL BE NO SEQUELS.