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Chaos Rising	By : TerminusEst Category: +S through Z > Sonic Views: 1284 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Sonic The Hedgehog game series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 16
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Chapter Sixteen: What Price Freedom?
“A doctor sitting next to me
He asked me how I feel
Not sure I understand his questioning
He says I've been away a while
But thinks he has cured me
From a state of catatonic sleep
For thirty years
Where have I been
Eyes open
But not getting through to me
Medicate me
Infiltrate me
Side effects appear
As my consciousness slips away“
--Dream Theater - Octavarium
Riptos groaned as he opened his eyes, feeling a crushing, dull ache that filled his entire body. He didn't have the strength to sit up or even hold his head up. Night-light strips along the floor and ceiling of the room he was in cast the room in a dim blue light. The caduceus adorning the ceiling and the tube that was in his throat made it clear that he was in a hospital room.
Even moving his eyes to look around the room seemed to take all the strength in his body. A calendar hung on the wall near his bed, displaying the date. December 15, 2566. It had been four days since the battle for Mobius, four days since he had decided to eject from his fighter as it hurtled towards the Earth flagship. The fighters autopilot carried it down the barrel of the enemy ship's main cannon. Seconds later, the ship had exploded and the blast wave had knocked him unconscious.
He surveyed the various machines that were hooked up to him. A ventilator sent air into his lungs through a breathing tube. An IV drip slowly dribbled nutrients, medication, and fluids into a vein in his arm. Electrode leads on his chest and arms were connected to wires that ran into a heart monitor, across which a twitching green line scrolled perpetually. A brace held his back rigid, which meant that his spine was probably damaged. With great effort, he reached up, and pulled the breathing tube out of his own throat, gagging and coughing as he did so. He gasped a few times before his breathing steadied. With the horrible feeling of a rubber tube in his throat banished, a new sensation reached his mind, or rather, lack of sensation.
He could not feel his legs or anything below his waist, nor could he move his lower body. It was as if half of his body were dead. Then he remembered the back brace. Spinal fractures. Nerve damage. Paralysis.
Oh shit! was his first thought as he grabbed the buzzer on his nightstand and pressed the button frantically. Within seconds, Bookshire dashed into the room.
“Riptos?” Bookshire said. “You're awake?”
“Of course I'm awake, you fool!” Riptos groaned. His eyes were wide, and sweat dripped down the bare skin of his muzzle and chest. His mind raced with panic.
“Did you take that breathing tube out yourself?”
“Shut up and listen to me!”
“All right, all right, what's wrong?” Bookshire said as he placed a hand on Riptos's chest. “Please calm down.”
“I...I can't feel my legs. It's like there's nothing there!”
Bookshire discreetly took out a small vial of diluted sedative medication and emptied its contents into the bag containing Riptos's IV solution. “You need to get control of yourself, Riptos. Relax. Breathe in deeply. That's it. So you can't feel your legs.”
Riptos was a bit more coherent now, probably because of the drugs. “No. I have no sensation in my legs, my feet, or my buttocks. I noticed the back brace, and then I kind of put two and two together. Oh, God, Bookshire, tell me that this isn't what I think it is.”
Bookshire let out that particular kind of sigh he always made when he was about to deliver bad news. “Riptos, when we found you in your ejection pod, several pieces of equipment in the cockpit had come loose, and one of them hit you in the lower back and...broke your spine. The nerves there are destroyed. You can't feel your legs because you are paralyzed from the waist down.”
For Riptos, it seemed as if time stopped at the moment Bookshire finished his sentence. His stomach churned. His head pounded. He felt like vomiting. A terrible understanding entered Riptos's mind. He would never fly again. He would never walk again. He would never even be able to control his own bowels again. His career and his life as a productive, independent person were over. A couple of tears rolled down his face, and then he started to cry.
Bookshire stroked Riptos's head, knowing no words could console his friend. The black hedgehog was always proud of always being the one others turned to, the rock that supported his friends and family. Now that was gone, and his spirit was broken just as surely as his spine. “I'm sorry,” said Bookshire at last. “We've already contacted your family. Elena is on her way here right now. Rex has been worried sick about you, and I'm sure he'll want to see you.
The emotional pain that hit Riptos when he thought of Rex was so terrible that he could almost feel it in his flesh and bones. “When I was coming unhinged and about to attack the Earth flagship, I...threatened him when he tried to reason with me. I threatened to kill a man I had known and loved as a brother for years, who had put his complete trust in me! How can I look him in the eyes?” He started to cry again.
“You weren't in a sound state of mind when you said those things, Riptos, and I still don't think you are right now. Rex doesn't hold anything against you, and he wants very badly to see you. Please talk to him. I'm sure he'll understand.”
“I'll try,” said Riptos. “I feel like shit. I'm paralyzed, my future is destroyed, and I almost murdered my best friend in cold blood. December 15, huh? Only ten days from Christmas. Merry fucking Christmas.”
“Riptos, paralysis doesn't necessarily mean that you'll never be able to do anything for the rest of your life. There are many, many things that you can still do if you summon the will to try to do them. But I think we should leave that for later. I put a sedative in your IV drip that should keep you calm. Just get some rest and we'll talk this over again when Elena gets here, OK?”
“Fine.”
“I'll see you again in a few hours. Rex will probably come to see you soon.”
“I can't believe I cried right in front of you. Like a little fucking girl.”
“I've seen many people cry, Riptos, and I've seen people cry much longer and harder than you did. Don't feel so bad about it. It's a release, and letting those emotions go is a good thing. I'm not going to look down on you for seeing you cry when you're in such a terrible state. Bookshire wiped the tears off Riptos's face with a towel held in one hand, and rubbed him between the ears with his other hand. “I know how hard it must be for you right now. If you need anything from me, even if it's just a shoulder to cry on, you can ring that buzzer and I'll be right over.”
“Thank you, Bookshire.”
“You're welcome,” said Bookshire as he stroked Riptos's head. “Rest well.” He pulled the covers up over his friend's shoulders and turned to leave the room.
“Just one more thing,” said Riptos. “What happened in the battle after I blacked out?”
“We're not quite sure. The Earthers just left without any explanation. The war is now over, and Mobius is still free. Don't worry about it. Keep your mind on getting better. Use the buzzer if you need anything.” Bookshire left the room, closing the door behind him.
Feeling a little better after Bookshire comforted him, Riptos closed his eyes and tried to relax as best he could despite the dull ache that seemed to come from everywhere, or at least every place whose nerves were still connected to his brain. He wondered how he could carry on with his life after this. For certain, his life would now be vastly different from what it was.
--
Adrian lay on the couch in his room, naked under the blanket draped over him. He and Stacy had decided to go to his quarters instead of hers. Memories of things that had happened after that shone brighter than the sun in his mind, the afterglow of carnal knowledge leaving him dazed. She got up and left almost immediately after it was over, as if they had just had a quick chat. How could anyone do that? Their encounter had left him nearly catatonic.
Of course, now that the war was over, he would have to return to Mobius within a few days. But before then, he would make a call he had wanted to make for months. He picked up the phone on the end table and called his parents.
“Hello?” said his mother, Natalie Spencer, as she answered the phone.
“Hi, Mom,” said Adrian. “They finally restored phone service between Earth and Mobius. It's kind of strange to see the war just end suddenly like this. I've made it through it all safe and sound, before you ask.”
“It's so good to hear you're all right, honey,” said Natalie. “You sound like you're pretty tired.”
“I had trouble sleeping for a while after the battle because I was a bit shaken up,” Adrian lied. He wasn't going to tell his mother that he had just had sex with a woman he had barely met. “I'm fine, and they've ended the station lockdown, so I'll be back on Mobius in a couple of days. God, I want to get out of this can.”
“How was it aboard the station? Being locked in a space station for five months doesn't sound very pleasant.”
“Boring. They had requisitioned most of the network infrastructure for the military, so I only had some basic services on the computer. Drinking was the only real thing to do there, although I managed to avoid doing it too much. And I also made a friend.”
“Oh? Who is he?”
“His name is Rex Christensen. He's one of the fighter pilots, and a really nice guy. He also grew up on Earth. Maybe I could get him to visit you with me one day. How does that sound?”
“I think it would be wonderful, Adrian.”
“There's also something else I want to talk to you about. Rex first brought this up with me, and I've been thinking about it a lot ever since. I've always had the feeling that I've not been doing enough with my life, and that I've never really had any goals besides finding a job that makes a lot of money. I guess I just don't feel fulfilled by the way I've lived my life so far. What I'm really trying to say is that I'm seriously considering joining the navy through the officer training corps.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“I'm absolutely serious. My plan is to become a physician assistant, which would require four years of college as opposed to six to become a doctor, and if I want, I can attend proper medical school and get my MD later. Since it would be in the military, I wouldn't have to do residency.”
“Oh, Adrian, why the military? What if you get hurt? There are millions of people in the military who died in this war, Adrian. I don't want that to happen to you.” Natalie sounded horrified by the prospect.
“And there are millions of civilians who died as well,” said Adrian. “I'm sick of being afraid of everything, mom. Afraid of meeting people, afraid of going into the world, afraid of my own shadow. I feel like a prisoner in a prison I built myself.”
“But why do you have to resolve this by joining the military? Don't you know how dangerous that is?”
“Mom, we just came out of a huge war. Both us and the Earthers are in no position for another. Can't you calm down instead of worrying about me constantly? I'll be all right, I promise.”
“Please take care of yourself, honey. You know how much you mean to me and especially your father.”
“So how is Dad doing?” said Adrian as he wrapped his blanket more tightly around himself for warmth.
“He's been doing fine, although he wasn't so happy about his boss deciding that the company should contribute to the Earth war machine. I'm sure he'll be very happy to know you're all right. Would you like me to ask him to call you when he comes home from work?”
“Sure. Well, I think I'd better get some rest. Bye.”
“Good-bye, honey. Take care.”
“Of course.” He put the phone back up on the hook and curled up, waiting for sleep to rise up and take him.
--
Riptos looked up as he heard someone walking into the room. Rex was walking over to him, and he immediately noticed his old friend's new commander insignia. “Commander Christensen, huh?” said Riptos. “Too bad I couldn't have been the one to pin that badge to your chest.”
“And I suppose you're now Mister Calavera,” said Rex. “I'm sorry about what happened to you. I can't imagine what it must have been like to go through something like that.”
“No,” said Riptos. “I'm the one who should be sorry, for what I said to you before I attacked that Earth ship. I feel like such an asshole. We had fought together and put so much trust in each other, and I threatened you like that. How could I do such a thing? Oh, Rex, I'm so sorry!” He started to cry, unable to stop the tears from flowing.
“It's all right,” said Rex. “I understand completely. It's all in the past now, Riptos. Don't be so hard on yourself. I can't forgive you, as there is nothing to forgive.”
“Truly?” said Riptos, his eyes widening.
“Truly,” said Rex, stroking Riptos's head.
“If I could get up, I'd hug you right now.”
“I think any hugging should wait until your back heals up, or heals as much as it can at any rate. By the way, Captain Parks has authorized me to give you something?
“What is it?”
Rex pulled out a small box similar to a jewelry box and opened it. Inside was the Mobian Legion of Honor, the highest decoration that could be awarded to a Mobian soldier or officer. “Congratulations, Riptos.”
“Oh my God.” Riptos gingerly picked up the medal and examined it. “I...I'm speechless.”
Rex placed the medal back in its box. “I'll put it in your nightstand for safekeeping. You've also been awarded the Mobius Victory Star, just like everyone else who participated in the battle.”
“This was no victory. It was an act of mercy.”
“I know. But still, it's not every day you get two medals at once, never mind a Legion of Honor and another medal. You're a hero, Riptos.”
“I don't feel like a hero.”
“A lot of people who do great things don't feel like they accomplished anything great. Just trust me on this one. The people of Liberty Gorge owe their lives to you.”
“Please God don't let them interview me.”
“Well, that's between you, your family, and the press. They've been talking about you constantly on the news.”
“Just what I wanted, to become a helpless crippled man being harassed by journalists. Why don't you put some cyanide in my IV?”
“Don't let everything get you down like this, Riptos. You're like a brother to me, and it hurts me to see you like this. This can only destroy your life if you let it do so. If you need me, I'll be there for you. We may no longer be comrades in the military, but you're still my best friend, and I'm here to support you just like you've supported me all these years.”
Riptos felt strange, as if all of his emotional controls had crumbled away, and he was being led on a roller coaster of emotions, through despair, guilt, joy, and a feeling of intimate friendship he had never before known. He took Rex's hand in his and said the only words that seemed to do justice to his feelings. “I love you, Rex,” said Riptos, as more tears rolled down his face. His feelings for Rex differed in kind from his feelings for his wife and children, but not in degree.
Rex smiled and gently scratched Riptos behind the ears. He had received this gesture from Riptos many times, but this was the first time he had returned it, now that he was the one providing support. “You're going to be back home with your family soon. Just focus on recovering for now, and then decide what you want to do with your life after that. You're the best friend I've ever had, and I'll never abandon you. This I swear.”
“Thank you, Rex,” said Riptos as Rex pulled the covers up to his shoulders. “How much longer do you have to spend with me?”
“I'm off duty for the next few days until the squadron gets fresh officers to replace the people we lost. I'll be here as long as you need me.”
Riptos felt a crushing fatigue fill his body as he lay with Rex sitting by his bedside. His conversation with Rex had left him emotionally exhausted, and his mind drifted in and out of focus. He could not reckon how long he lay there half-conscious until he finally fell asleep, no longer aware that Rex had himself fallen asleep, slumped over in his chair.
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Chaos Rising