My eyes crack open, an involuntary groan escaping from my mouth. I first become aware of the incredibly parched feeling of my tongue and throat, but, as I open my mouth to suck in cooling air, I almost whimper in pain. Everything in my body hurts. My chest feels like it's being crushed, my skull might as well be splitting, and my legs...
My legs feel like they've been etched with stitches of fire in random patterns. They feel like they've been stuck with thousands of needles, all of which are made of salt. They feel like...
I let the thought trail off, too exhausted and in pain to focus on describing it. I let my eyelids slip over my irides, seeing splashes of black over my vision.
What happened to me? I don't attempt to get up, worried I might have been captured. All I remember is being shot, collapsing from the pain or wounds--I can't tell which--and being semi-conscious as I was picked up and bounced along for what felt like hours.
Am I in G.U.N.? Everything looks like the facility at the Guardian Units of Nations, but I can't be sure. Imitations are always possible.
I tense as the door chirps, a sound lock being opened on the other side. A man walks in, unknown by me but wearing official scrubs.
"Shadow," he greets, walking over. "I am Shaun Caraber, head of the Medical Department. It's nice to meet you."
"Likewise, Dr. Caraber. May I see your badge?" The question takes him by surprise, but he unclips his identification and hands it to me. It's a struggle even to raise my arm enough, but I look over it thoroughly until I'm convinced this isn't a trick.
Thank goodness. I breathe a large sigh of relief, relaxing into the pillows I'm propped up on.
"Here," says Caraber, pouring me a glass of water and holding it out for me. I take it, sniffing carefully. "It does have a few painkillers, but they're to help you," he adds, and I carefully take a sip.
Well, at least I can taste them. I would be worried if I couldn't detect them. I try to relax again, knowing that I can most likely trust this man. But, I'm cautious, drinking slowly as he asks me various questions. I feel my pain fading, but I can't discern anything else being affected. Feeling reassured, I finish my water and nod respectfully to the nurses coming in to change my bandages. I watch carefully as they unwrap my legs, which are covered in white gauze and padding.
Bloody Chaos. My eyes widen as I see how much fur is missing. Skin and muscle heals quickly for me, but my patchily bald legs tell me that I was severely wounded, with almost half the fur on them yet to grow back.
"What happened?" I ask, shocked. I hadn't suspected my injuries would be this bad.
"You were shot multiple times. We removed all the shrapnel, though we had to shave some parts. Most of the wounds have healed, but you'll want to stay off of them for a few days. We'll provide you with a wheelchair."
"A wheelchair?" I ask, disbelieving.
"Shadow, you were close to death when you were brought in. Just hours ago, your muscles and tendons were in shreds. You cannot strain them so soon after. I will not allow it."
"..." I resist the urge to argue, knowing it won't get me anywhere. Then, thinking of something, I open my mouth again.
"Who brought me back?"
"You don't remember?" Caraber asks in surprise. "It was another Mobian, the one with gray skin."
"Eclipse?" I exclaim, incredulous. He's not a Mobian, but I can't think of anyone else with that description.
"I don't know his name. But he waited all night to hear you were stable. Golden eyes, long tail, and two fingers per hand?"
"That's Eclipse, yes," I say, amazed. "I can't believe G.U.N. let him go after me." And I can't believe he even would.
"Well, he certainly saved your life. You should thank him."
"I will," I respond, nodding seriously. "Where is he?"
"I don't know. Regardless, you should rest before you do anything. That takes precedence."
"I'm fine. I'll even use the wheelchair," I plead, but the doctor shakes his head.
"Not for at least a few hours. You need sleep and repair."
Grumbling slightly, I relent, waiting for them to leave before turning on my communicator. My legs are unbandaged now, and I still can't believe the level of damage they must have sustained. It makes me all the more determined to thank Eclipse, knowing the danger he must have faced.
Working the buttons on my communicator watch slowly, I send Rouge a message asking her if she's free to talk. The response is immediate, and she replies that she'll be here in just a few minutes. So, I wait, passing the time by staring at my battered body, trying to reconcile the damage to my usual image of health. I perk up as the lock sounds again, announcing someone's arrival.
"Shadow?" Her voice asks from behind the door, and I sit up.
"Hey, Rouge. You can come in," I say, trying to not sound as tired as I feel.
"Shadow! Oh, how are you feeling, hun?" She flutters in, perching on the edge of my bed.
"Fine, I guess. Everything still hurts a bit."
"A bit?" She chuckles. "You're something else, Shadzster. But I'm glad you're awake."
"Heh, yeah. Me too. Is Eclipse doing alright?"
"..." I become concerned as Rouge doesn't respond. A sudden animosity seems to be emanating from her deadpanned eyelids, and I wonder what I did.
"Um, Rouge?" I ask cautiously, looking at her with concern.
"You go through all this and your first thought is him?" She asks, and I immediately feel guilty as I hear how choked up she sounds. "It's starting to feel like you care more about him than you do the rest of us."
"No, Rouge, it's not like that..." I reply, crimson eyes widened at her reaction. "I heard that he rescued me, and my legs look so horrid that I wanted to know if he was hurt."
"Oh. Well, I'm sorry. I just worry about you, and it's pretty upsetting, to be honest..." She tries to chuckle, but I can see that she is legitimately hurt.
It seems I've been letting everyone down. I have to rectify that.
"I understand. But, I promise you. He doesn't mean more to me than you do. I just..." I trail off, unsure what I want to say. "Rouge, what happened? I remember being attacked, but how did Eclipse end up rescuing me? Who allowed it, and how bad were things that G.U.N. would trust him like that? What's going on?"
"Well, it's complicated..."
"I've got time," I grunt, undeterred.
"Alright. But, you're probably going to have some mixed feelings on it."
"On what, Rouge?" I ask, impatient.
"Well, for starters, Eclipse is filling in for you on Team Dark right now. It's temporary, but Abe said we needed a Chaos Creature of your level for safety. Team Dark is also teaming up with Spider Troupe to form a raid unit. Gibbous Unit is the codename." She leans a little closer, dropping her voice.
"G.U.N. is preparing us to take down what they say is a big organization. So big, in fact, that only Abe, Topaz, Andrews, Eclipse, Commander Hara, Commander Sheer, you, and I even know about it."
"Why does Eclipse know? Surely the Commander doesn't trust him that much. Even I don't." I sense a slightly smug air from Rouge as she hears that last sentence, a smirk quirking her lips. I resist the urge to smirk, too, knowing that she's still my closest friend.
"Well, we can't exactly hide it from him. He's been caught up in everything that happened with these guys. And, well, Ayers says he's been placing off the charts on the intelligence tests. Scores as high as yours, sometimes even higher. Abe figured there was no way he wouldn't figure this whole mess out, and the Commanders have been using him to analyze possible movements and stuff. They figured, if he already knew, might as well make the most of it."
"Tower doesn't even ask me to do that," I say, surprised.
"Yeah, right? But, apparently the Black Arms had a lot of strategic knowledge. Kind of hard to believe, since they fought like brutes during the invasion, but the scenarios Eclipse has been run through show he really is incredible. The things he notices and can use..." She shrugs. "I don't like him, but I'll admit I'm impressed. I would never think of some of those, and I'm way above average on that stuff."
"So, he's been an asset?"
"Yeah. We're being cautious, though. Anything he suggests is analyzed down to the tip of his tooth."
I don't say anything, instead wrapped up in thought. I can't believe Eclipse has done so much for G.U.N., not to mention why this started in the first place...
"Wait, why did G.U.N. let him go after me?"
"Oh, right. Well, Eclipse was actually the one to first alert G.U.N. that you had been attacked. Something about you sending out an automatic physical distress call? He felt it through the hivemind, which can still receive thoughts even when the recipient doesn't have Chaos powers, apparently, and he told Ayers and Topaz. Topaz went to get a rescue team, but Ayers knew that they wouldn't assemble in time. So, she released Eclipse's powers and sent him after you. She took responsibility for it, and everything worked out, so ol' Abe wasn't too mad." She sighs, running a hand through her short, white fur. "To be honest, we've all been too worried to be angry. Even once we knew you'd be alright, we were too busy anticipating another incident. It's been so stressful." She looks up at me, smiling suddenly.
"But, you're awake now! You'll be back up in a few days, so we only have to hold out a little longer. I'm so glad; Eclipse may be powerful, but he's not the easiest person to get along with, and I don't trust him, either. It's been awkward," she shrugs. "Andrews might think that all creations are the same, but the difference is stark. It's just so obvious that he wasn't raised with Mobian ideas. He doesn't even know how to interact on a team! Andrews can complain about you all he wants--when Topaz has to come in and explain why using people as living decoys is wrong, that's just not okay."
"Did he suggest otherwise?"
"Yeah. I mean, he was offering to do the same kind of thing, too, if it was needed, but that's just not how a team functions, you know? That kind of attitude, it's only for the most dire of emergencies. You should never use your partners as bait, especially when you know they can't defend themselves. But, he didn't even consider that. He's so used to having soldiers be comparatively expendable--even himself. It's unnerving working with someone you can't trust to not betray you, whether he betrays your cause or not."
"I was under the impression that he cared a lot when Black Arms soldiers were killed," I respond, thinking back to our mission on the New Black Comet. "But, then," I add a little dejectedly, "he's changed a lot since then. I'm not surprised. I became a lot colder for a while after Maria's death." The thought of my old best friend hits me in the gut; I've been so focused on other things recently, I haven't spared her much thought. I make a vow in my heart to resume thinking about her every day. After all, she's the reason I originally joined G.U.N. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her saving me, and her wish is what gave me the determination to move on.
"Shadow, I want to know. How do you really feel about Eclipse?" Rouge looks me in the eye, serious. For a moment, I consider avoiding the question, uncomfortable as it is, but I know that would only fester mistrust. I need to show my teammate that I still trust her.
"I see him as the embodiment of everything that's happened in my life," I say softly, thinking back to my second confrontation with him, all those weeks ago. "He had his family taken from him at an incredibly young age. He had a purpose that he suddenly couldn't fulfill without hurting himself and those around him. He was lost, far too young to look at things with the backdrop of a life's experiences. So, he made bad decisions. Evil decisions. But, by some miracle, no one was irreparably damaged. He had a second chance, and he grew up to meet its challenge. He looked at what mattered most to him, and he took the steps necessary to protect it. And all of it, from the tormenting memories to the agony of loss, was forced upon him by me.
"Yet, I don't regret my actions. I know I followed my own values. I don't feel guilty for Black Death's death or the extinction of the Black Arms. We were essentially at the forefront of a war, and I took action to stop it. What I do regret is that I hurt him in the process. Because I caused it, I felt--and I still do--that I should give him the guidance and protection I never got during that time of my life. But, he didn't want it. Part of the reason I grew as I did, into the person I am, is my lack of a mentor back then. I had to find the path for myself.
"Even knowing that, though, I still wanted to help him. I felt so guilty, but it's become less that now. I guess I'm attached to him, by this point. On days we fight, I still can't help feeling impressed by how far he's come. In the end, I just couldn't do for him what I wanted to. Everything I tried to help with held him back more. I messed up." I gaze at the ceiling, smiling with a bit of a grimace. "I've never been too good at helping people."
"But, you've always tried. And you've never failed us when we really need you," Rouge replies, sparkling blue eyes glistening a bit. "You're the anchor that allows the rest of us to feel safe. We know you'll protect us, no matter how much you clash with Andrews or glare at the people who mock you. You're the best person I know. You never give up on anyone, no matter how they treat you. That's why we trust you, and it's why you'll always be the hero we rely on the most. Even people who belittle you rely on your abilities to keep them safe. And you know it.
"Shadow, you aren't the best at fine-tuned interactions, that's true. But, don't you ever say you're bad at helping people." She reaches in, wrapping me in her arms and hugging me close. "You're the only person I trust to defend me no matter who the enemy is."
"Rouge..." At a loss for words, I hug her back, burying my face in her shoulder. What she's said, it means so much to me, so much I can't even describe it. No words can express the gratitude I feel right now. Knowing she believes in me, after all of this, I'm so relieved. I've been so worried, and I didn't even realize how much weight was on my shoulders until she lifted it all away.
"And Eclipse relies on you too, even if he doesn't know it," she adds, smiling at me and hugging me tighter. "When I worry about you being around him too much, it's because I think you're too good for him."
"Well, sometimes I worry otherwise," I chuckle, letting her know she doesn't have to be concerned. "He really is a good guy. He just doesn't act like it."
"I'll admit I find that hard to believe. But, I'll try to take your word for it."
We talk for a bit longer, mostly focusing on catching me upon everything I missed. But, too soon, Rouge needs to head back to prepare for training. I send her off with a laugh, feeling far better than I have in months.
Thanks, Rouge. Eclipse, too. I promise I won't let you down.
Author's Note: Here's the chapter for those of you who were worried about our favorite black and red hedgehog. I hope you enjoyed it! Next week is a turning point for Shadow and Eclipse's relationship; be sure to drop by and find out how far they've come. It's something to look forward to, I promise! But, in the meantime, how do you think the two will react to each other in this new predicament? I'd love to hear your thoughts!