Rouge's Lodge - Echoes of Confession

[Jamie Lee]

The door quietly creaked open, allowing twin peridot eyes to peek through the resulting crack. A moment of pause allowed them to inspect the room that laid beyond, and the door parted further, allowing the light from a small lantern to spill inside. Rob's eyes shifted over toward the bed, toward the snowy white figure who had clearly not moved since he had placed her there over a day ago. Frowning, he set the lantern down and flicked on a small lamp.

"Rouge?" he called out.

Nothing.

He figured as much.

Sighing softly to himself, he returned to the chair he had set beside her earlier and rubbed at his face. It was going to be a looong night, and despite the stinging sensation that begged his eyes to shut, he was far too anxious for rest. The princess' arrival, the mission ahead of him... Rouge's health.

He frowned, closing his comparatively larger hand around hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. She hadn't eaten or drank in all this time. If it weren't for the steady rise and fall of her chest one could have easily concluded she were the newly dead.

Would she be okay? Would they still be able to help her? Or was it already too late...

The thought that there was nothing they could do sent a sharp jolt through the archer's chest, causing him to gasp softly and cringe as he grit his teeth. The stinging around his eyes intensified, and he bent forward, grasping her hand tighter. After a moment he released his breath and reopened his eyes, finding himself staring down at the floor. This was tearing him up more than he was willing to admit.

Releasing his grip, Rob's hands found their way down to one of the pouches attached to his belt. As he rummaged, his fingertips brushed against the object he'd been seeking, causing him to freeze. Carefully his fingers wrapped around it, and slowly out drew a small light blue stone. It glowed softly in his hand as he brought it up to study, tinting his face and spilling through his fingertips. Rouge had always been an admirer of jewels and particularly interesting stones. Rob had been fortunate to find the small glowing treasure by chance during a hunting trip, and he had every intention of presenting it to her... if he could only find the right moment... the right words...

Would he ever find that chance now?

Shifting his sight from the stone to Rouge's face, the pain in his chest persisted. Taking her hand once more he turned it over and gingerly placed it into her palm.

"You're so beautiful," he said softly. "What are you dreaming about? Better times, I hope..."

[Leda]

Cold blasts of air blew up her spine, leaving her snowy shoulders to shake and shiver in a fierce attempt to keep her warm. Rouge rested her chin dolefully against her knees and stared into the water at her feet.

Grey. So deeply and utterly grey.

As were the clouds, circling overhead and brewing up a storm by the sounds of it. The bat's sensitive ears twitched at the bombardment of thunder, but apart from that didn't acknowledge the weather. It could rain, it could hail, she could even be struck by lightning. It didn't really matter.

Her eyes peered at the murky liquid beginning to tarnish her perfect fur. It's rising, she realized. One would think it would be a prime opportunity to use those wings of hers to fly for higher ground, but she'd come to a conclusion: she was tired of running. No matter how far she fled, that darkness was soon to follow, threatening to envelop her in the abyss. There was no point in continuing to try to escape. It just wasn't worth it.

And the dark water crept up to her calves.

[Jamie Lee]

In the world of the waking Rob continued to squeeze her hand around the stone, his eyes once more having slipped closed. By now he could no longer hold back the dampness that had begun lining his eyes, and they spilled over his cheeks as his sinuses tingled.

"Please be okay," he barely squeaked. "I'm going to save you. I... I... Please don't leave me..." Wiping at his eyes, he looked down at her through his now blurring vision. "I need you... I-I need you so much right now... I..."

...

"I-I..."

He hiccuped and rubbed at his face again.

"I should have said something sooner. I-I... Iloveyousomuch..." he finally managed to squeak out. Just saying it seemed to make his heart sink even further into his chest. "I-I know it's silly. I don't even know if you feel the same way. I... I don't even know if you already knew that... like everyone else seems to... I just... I... I've been waiting for so long for the right moment... You're just so, so beautiful, and kind, and s-special, and I... I c-can't help but l-love you for it and I... I s-should have told you s-sooner... sh-should have..."

He gasped sharply, his face by now becoming drenched. Leaning forward he took to resting his forehead on his hand as he continued to cradle hers.

"Please don't leave me."

[Leda]

The putrid water had risen to her shoulders. She could've easily lowered it were she to simply straighten her posture, let alone get up and flee, but Rouge remained as still as the rock upon which she sat. The darkness was frightening in many ways, yet in others, it had become very desirable. She would never catch the light, she realized, no matter how long she chased it. And in the darkness, there was no more pain. Terrifying or not, it held the promise of release.

Rouge's muzzle began to dampen as the murky ripples lapped at her fur. There was a piece of her that still had the instinct to pick her head up and retreat, but even that part of herself had gone quiet in that moment. It'll be over soon. Just a little while longer, and it'll all be gone.

As the dark water approached her eyes, the bat closed them, and reflected back upon her failed life. It was a painful blow to know she could never apologize to her poor mother, but then, when would she ever be able to do so, anyway? It's not like they were ever going to succeed in their endeavor. All they were really doing was prolonging the inevitable. There was no point to it all, really. So what if they somehow managed to reclaim Mercia? It would simply fall into Robotnik's filthy hands again in a year or so. Why had she even bothered to resist for so long in the first place?

Only her ears remained exposed to the world. And had they been flattened to her head rather than left in their natural positions, Rouge may never have caught the quiet, almost inaudible, message that came floating along the wind.


"Please don't leave me..."


In spite of herself, the bat looked up, and glanced around for the source. That... had been Rob, hadn't it? Clearing away that water that had made it to her ear cavity, Rouge stood and listened more closely. It was feint, but it was still most definitely there, although she could no longer make out the words. To her own surprise, a great ache began to manifest in the bat's breast; while she still felt certain that to continue to resist was rather pointless... she had grown rather fond of Rob over the years. The idea of leaving him behind suddenly made the idea of disappearing into the abyss far more arduous than just a moment ago.

Rob's voice came again, louder than before, begging her not to go. Rouge's face twisted with conflict, her gaze falling to the ever-rising waters. The level rapidly approached her midriff. With a sudden unplanned flinch, Rouge beat her wings against the air, and lifted herself from its chilling grasp. Her focus then turned on following that voice. Even if it was all meaningless, even if she still decided to succumb later, she wanted to see him again. She wanted to see him one last time.

"Rob!!"


------------------


As the hedgehog wept, a most peculiar thing happened in that moment: Despite her continuing coma, Rouge's delicate fingers grew tense, and latched a loose hold against the archer's palm.

[Jamie Lee]

Feeling her hand close around his, Rob jolted up with a quick gasp. For the first few moments all he did was stare intently into her closed eyes, as though any second they would flutter open and look up at him. They didn't, of course, and the archer's adrenaline slowly eased back.

"Rouge?" he called out. "You can... can you... can you hear me?" he asked, not expecting an answer to be returned. Looking down at the still loose grip in his palm, his lips slowly parted, and he simply stared. Had that... had that only been a reflex? He didn't want to believe that. No, he wanted to believe that, somehow, she could hear him, and this was her only way of acknowledging that...

Feeling larger tears begin to well up around his eyes, Rob lifted her hand up, the light of the power stone clasped between their palms glowing softly, and gently nuzzled the back with his cheek. "Rouge... if... if you can hear me... please..." he said, looking back toward her. "Please hang in there. I will save you."