For how Long will the Red Rose Grow

Unexpected Visitor

The next couple of weeks were practically the same. The weight had reaffirmed itself deep in his chest, constricting his once powerful lungs. The days had been rather peaceful after Eggman's defeat in Green Hill, aside from Tails's tinkering with his inventions and searching for the other Chaos Emeralds.

No luck yet. Sonic snuck cheeky holds of the powerful emerald whenever he could, enjoying the deeper breathing he could accomplish with the gemstone's power. On test flights with the Tornado (of which there had been two), he found it more difficult to retain his consciousness when they flew to higher altitudes. It was even difficult socializing, as he never knew when he'd need to bolt for the bathroom to dispel petals. The more he had to deal with it, though, the easier it became to manage.

It remained mostly the same since Tails nearly caught him disposing of flower petals one Sunday afternoon. It remained mostly the same when he met with Amy and Rouge to head to see the new chick-flick they'd been dying to watch. It remained mostly the same when he joined Silver's jaunt around the mall looking for things to give to Blaze for their one-year anniversary.

It wasn't the same, however, when he met with Shadow at his front door early one morning. A harsh knock on the front door had roused him from his peaceful slumber at six-thirty that morning. He knew Tails was asleep in his workshop, as he'd tucked him in when sneaking out for water at midnight. He got out of bed, scowled at the red numbers flashing on his alarm clock, and stomped out to the door. He wrapped himself up in his favorite blanket, a fuzzy wool blanket with cute tassels on the short ends in his favorite color, blue, as he made his way down the wooden stairs and crossed through the living room. It startled him to see it was Shadow he saw through the peephole, and he could feel his heart fluttering into his throat. He opened the door and gave him a sleepy, surprised look.

"Shadow." He yawned, biting his tongue to try to stop the action. "What an unexpected surprise. Come in." Sonic stepped to the side to allow his rival to enter.

"Thank you for getting the door." He said bluntly as he stepped inside and walked promptly to the couch. "And I apologize for my sudden intrusion."

"It certainly was impromptu." Sonic agreed, closing the door and walking over to sit in the chair across from him. "So, what brings you here?" He was too tired to come up with funny quips or remarks, rather quietly waiting for Shadow to answer.

It was obvious Shadow was expecting some kind of snippy joke, as the silence drug on longer than Sonic cared to admit. When he did realize that Sonic wasn't going to joke around with this, he cleared his throat. "I'm sure you're aware Eggman's looking for the Chaos Emeralds." He started.

"We are, yeah." Sonic replied, looking in the workshop's direction. "I found one in Green Hill after driving the Eggster off. Tails has it in his workshop. We're looking for the other ones, especially if Eggman's after them."

"So you got it, good." Shadow murmured, looking down at a device in his lap. "We were hoping you did after we couldn't find it in Green Hill. G.U.N's looking for them as well, presumably to keep Eggman's grubby paws off them." Shadow looked back up at Sonic.

Sonic nodded his head slowly, licking his lips with his parched tongue. He hadn't had the time to drink some water before getting the door. "Why's he looking for them?"

"Beats the shit outta me." Shadow snorted bluntly. "Clearly some evil robot to try to take the world over."

"He did that once," Sonic groaned, "hasn't he had enough?"

"Nope. He'll never learn."

"And he'll get his butt kicked by a blue hedgehog. Again." Sonic grinned confidently.

Shadow snorted again, his ears flattening. "You're really full of yourself."

"Only 'cause I'm tired." Sonic shrugged. "You did wake me up out of a perfectly good dream."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. You wanted to know where the Emerald went, and if we knew about Eggman's plan."

Shadow nodded. "Partly."

"Partly?" Sonic echoed, his voice quiet. He could feel his throat tickling.

"Silver mentioned you were a bit ill when you went shopping with him." Sonic's heart sank at Shadow's words. "He said you coughed a lot. You feeling okay?"

"It's just the changing of the seasons." Sonic dismissed hastily. "Hay fever's no big deal. Everyone gets it."

Shadow narrowed his eyes at Sonic's quick dismissal, though he said nothing about it. "If you say so."

They sat in silence long enough that Sonic swore he was dozing. He only woke when he felt the familiar tightening of his stomach signaling his need to cough. He clears his throat harshly, pushing the feeling away and earning a strange look from Shadow. His heart fluttered again, and the petals rose back in his throat. He could feel them fluttering and catching with each inhale.

Shadow thankfully got the memo after a few seconds of studying Sonic's worn-out face. "I'd better get going." He stood up, walking towards the door again.

"Thanks for dropping by and letting us know. I'll relay the info to Tails when he wakes." Sonic replied, his voice tight. He needed to the bathroom now. "Have a safe trip back home, or to work, or whatever."

"Thanks," Shadow opened the door, "sorry again for waking you."

"You're fine." Sonic grinned as he stood. "I'm gonna head back to sleep for a few hours." He walked over to the door and held it open as Shadow stepped out.

"Right. I'll see you later."

"Gotcha. Don't be a stranger, Shads!"

"Hmph." Shadow turned and left, walking down the gravel path that led to Tails's workshop.

Sonic closed the door as nonchalantly as he could, locking it and zipping back upstairs at full speed. He barely made it to his bathroom sink before he started hacking, coughing hard and wet. It sealed his airways off as he choked and gagged and retched, clearing his throat as best he could as he could with the flowers lumping together.

He eventually got himself to vomit, throwing up blood and petals and stems alike. He coughed and gagged as he expelled them from his body, harshly retching at the vile taste of blood and bile. His eyes had started up, and the tears started rolling down his flushed cheeks. Sonic wrinkled his nose and wiped his eyes, opening them and blinking away the tears blurring his vision.

It had gotten worse. In the sink alongside the petals was a bulb. A little green rose bulb split through with red petals. The green leaves on the flower head were bathed in blood, his blood.

There was more than one of them, too. A full flower was sitting beside some petals, severed from its stem with its own petals painted deep red with his blood. It was hardly recognizable against the ruby red of its petals, but Sonic could see and smell it there. His stomach lurched, and his head spun as he filled his lungs with oxygen again.

His knees were trembling and weak, his mind racing as fast as his heart. It's gotten worse, he thought to himself, was seeing and speaking to Shadow enough to make it so? I'm not sure how much more of this I can take.

Sonic threw the flowers and petals and thornless stems away with trembling hands, washing his sink clean of his blood and bile. He stumbled back out to his room and collapsed on his bed, trying to calm the shakiness in his legs and arms.

He wasn't close, he knew that. But the pain was already unbearable. Shadow couldn't know. Tails couldn't know. No one could know. They couldn't know he was dying, or when he would die. He wasn't sure he'd know when his time was up until it was. When it was up, he knew exactly what he'd do.

He'd scamper off and die somewhere all alone.