Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ The Life and Adventures of Rouge the Bat ❯ Cold stories ( Chapter 5 )

Rouge lay in bed, staring at the dark clouds covering the sky through her window. Rain was pouring down like a waterfall. Shadow was out there, she knew, riding his motorcycle through the rain. Shadow never told Rouge where he would go, just that he’s “Going out.” He continued to go out more frequently now.

Shadow would probably be coming home soon, now that it was raining. But within the following ten minutes, Rouge neither heard a motorcycle or an opening door.

Rouge looked up at the white ceiling. There was a big crack through which water was dripping, making a wet stain on the floor. She’d have to fix that when she could fly. But, the bullet that pierced her lower torso had also ripped a hole in her right wing.

She turned over and struggled into her wheelchair. Rouge was patiently waiting for her wound to heal. Then, she’d be able to walk. It would be another few days until then, though, and she’d have to use the wheelchair before that.

Rouge headed to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate for Shadow when he returned. But it still didn’t seem right for Shadow to be out in the cold. He could get sick, although that’s never really happened.

Rouge prepared some hot chocolate for herself, too, and sat at the counter, waiting for her black hedgehog to return. He could possibly be at Tails’, getting help with an appliance. Most people did anyway. Tails is like a master of technology.

It was an hour later when Rouge heard the sound of Shadow’s motorcycle again. By then, Rouge had reheated Shadow’s hot chocolate at least fifteen times. Shadow walked through the door, soaking wet. He sneezed. Rouge went over to him.

“Are you okay?” Rouge asked.

“Yeah,” Shadow answered, “Just wet. I went down to Tails’ place so we could go over the blueprints of our new home.”

Rouge went and retrieved a towel for Shadow. Shadow dried off and went to the bathroom to take a shower. It was a warm shower, and Shadow felt better. After all, a fall rain is cold. He returned to the kitchen where Rouge had just finished reheating his hot chocolate for the sixteenth time. She handed him the warm, steamy drink and Shadow drank gratefully.

“Thanks.” Shadow said. He sat down in an armchair, and Rouge sat on the couch next to him.

Shadow decided to light a fire in the fireplace and that made the room feel more cozy.

They sat, staring at the fire for a while. They were both silent. Finally, Rouge broke the silence with “So, is there anything you want to talk about?”

Shadow was quiet for a moment. Finally, he came up with an answer.

“What about some of our life stories?” Shadow proposed. “I have so many stories, and I can’t keep them in anymore.”

Rouge agreed. “Why don’t you start then?” Shadow accepted and began.

“It was about fifty years ago, you know, when I was, I don’t know, young. You‘ve probably never had a childhood as bad as mine. I, being the Ultimate Life Form, had to undergo many tests. I was abused, tortured, whatever you can call it. I had to take strength tests, and cardio tests, but me, being young, I couldn’t handle it. Were you ever forced to lift up countless numbers of weights, and had to run and run and run to the extent where you think your heart would burst, and still had to keep going? I could hardly handle the other scientists, laughing at me when I failed, and even because of my size. But I was a child, it only makes sense for me to be so small, and for me to fail many tests. And the worst part was, I had to take tests every single day. I was beat, yelled at, and still treated like a weapon.

“And there was only one person who I could trust, to take care of me, to believe I was actually a living being. And that person was- Maria. She cared for me, healed me when I was hurt. She spent lots of time with me. She shared secrets with me, and I would keep them. She even told me her greatest wish- to go to Earth. But even when she tried as hard as she could to get Professor Gerald to stop torturing me, her grandfather would still hurt me even more.

“There was even one day, when I was beat so much, I thought I might die. But that’s impossible. I am the Ultimate Life Form, who isn’t supposed to die. Anyway, professor Gerald beat me and tortured me, and for no reason. It was like he felt he could take out all of his anger on me, a weapon. I couldn’t stand it, and even though I hadn’t perfected it, I used Chaos Spear on him. I ran away, to Maria’s room, and she covered up my wounds and helped me settle down. But it was almost impossible. I was so worked up, so frustrated, that it took me days to settle down. Maria spoke to professor Gerald, and after that, he didn’t beat me… too hard.”

Rouge was now hugging Shadow, feeling pity for the poor black hedgehog. “That’s terrible.” she said, stroking his quills.

“But there’s a little more.” Shadow said, and he continued his story. “Anyway, my life went terribly, except for the times I was with Maria. The years went by, and I was happy to celebrate Maria’s birthday, but there were no birthdays for me at all. Just some kind of abuse, like ‘looks like your weapon’s getting older, Gerald.’ or ‘be careful, or that thing could explode on you.’ No holidays for me, nothing, except for when they were spent with Maria.

“The only real important information I learned was from Maria. She taught me how to tell time, how to do math, even how to read calendars. I only learn certain things from the professor, like to watch my temper, or I might kill everyone. He was so mean to me. It got worse as I grew older. Now that I was able to withstand more strength, that I was so much stronger myself, he could hurt me even more, he even shot at me a few times.

“Finally, after all of that pain, torture, and abuse, came the worst day of my life. After helping rid the ARK of the Artificial Chaos, the GUN soldiers came aboard, killing everyone- because of me. Even they saw me as a weapon. Then came the worst moments of that terrible day. The GUN soldiers were chasing me, and Maria and I fled. The followed us all over ARK. Finally, they had us trapped. We were in the open. The GUN soldier fired. He shot- killed Maria. In her last moments of life, she encapsulated me in a pod. She told me to promise her to keep all of the people on Earth safe. She ejected me. I had finally been to Earth, but without her company. I was found and placed in a pod in Prison Island where I hibernated for many years.”

Shadow finally stopped. “So there you have it. All of my worst times, condensed into as small of a bundle I can get.”

Rouge, still holding Shadow tight and stroking his quills, sighed a deep, pitiful sigh. “That’s so terrible, being treated like a weapon, instead of a living being. And there was only one person you could trust. But she’s dead.”

“Yes, that may be true,” Shadow agreed, “but there is still someone I can trust. And that is you, Rouge.” He kissed her on the cheek, before she released him.

“I guess it is time to tell my story.” Rouge said. “It may not be as bad as your story, but I still think it is.

“I was born on the streets. I was cared for by my mother, my father I never knew. But I never really knew my mother either. She had only cared for me as a child, and the only reason I knew I had a mother was because I only remember an image of her comforting me. I was living on the street from the age of one. I was able to keep track of my age because I woke up one day with a piece of paper that had my name on it and a date- my birthday.

“I wasn’t allowed in school, sine I didn’t really have a scholarship, or even money to enroll. I had to stealthily learn with no one knowing. It was difficult, since there was no one to record my first word or to comfort me. People asked me where my parents were, and all I could answer with was ‘What are parents?’ It was terrible, not being able to do anything legally. However, I found that my ability to fly could get me into a vent, where I could secretly learn from. I was able to write, read, and speak properly. But still, I wasn’t able to learn as much as my age level required.

“I had to steal money to be able to go into school. It took a while, but I was soon learning at my age level. It was difficult for some things, since I faked that I lived in a nice home, and I also couldn’t do projects without supplies.

“When the weather turned rough, I learned to make a tent and I lived in somewhat peace. I bought food, and could even find some perfectly good food in the trash.

“I was always taking advantage of myself. My changing beauty could help me get boys to do my bidding. However, I had still needed clothes, since my three-year-old body could no longer fit into my old clothes. I was able to buy clothes with the money I found or stole. And, as I grew older, I was still more cunning and could steal jewels very well.

“By the time I hit my teens, I was as beautiful as ever. I could even get adults to do things for me. I had stolen a great deal of money, and that’s when I was spotted by the Government Spy Agency. I earned money the right way, and I was able to fund for Club Rouge. I was the most trusted spy of them all. I could do anything.

“But in time, I met you. You managed to do what others could not- weaken me. But not physically. My bold, secretive, cunning self became soft, and I fell for you.”

Rouge finally stopped. “There you have it. My life up until now. My story may not have been as long as yours, and that is because you have lived a longer life than I have. You even existed before me.”

Shadow was now seated next to Rouge, holding her close, stroking her hair. “Well, the end of both our stories has one thing in common.” Shadow noticed.

“What would that be?” Rouge asked.

“That we ended up with each other.” Shadow replied. He checked the clock and, seeing that it was 10:43, he suggested that they go to bed. Shadow pushed Rouge and her wheelchair back to her bedroom.

When they returned to Rouge’s room, they found that it had stopped raining. There was still a wet area on the floor where Shadow was going to sleep. He still wanted to sleep there, but Rouge wouldn’t let him.

“You should sleep in a bed. It doesn’t seem too comfortable down there.” Rouge said.

“But where will I sleep? What if you need my help?” Shadow asked.

“Well, there is always room in my bed.” Rouge replied. Shadow fell silent. “Okay.” Shadow said at last.

Rouge made room for Shadow, and he climbed in bed. “Ah, this is so much better on my back.”

Rouge smiled and she started to fall asleep. She felt the warmth of Shadow’s arm across her back. She soon drifted off to sleep, with her fiancé close by.