Linked fate

ch 2; Anger and happiness

Knuckles and Shadow had been on a date while Amy and Rouge were babysitting the triplets.
It was late afternoon when they came back home.
Shadow had only opened the front door a little when he heard Tikal's loud crying.
The ebony hedgehog's ear twitches from the sobbing.
"Oh?-... It seems Tikal is sad..." Shadow points out and hates hearing his daughter to cry. Especially when she is the most cheerful of the children. And the bossy one, where she could get upset in the blink of an eye, when she doesn't get what she wants.
Knuckles hums thoughtfully.
"I wonder what has happened?..."he says while they walk inside.

Amy sits on the couch with Tikal on the lap while embracing her, where she tries comforting her.
The pink hedgehog shushes while rocking her.
Rouge stands ashamed in the corner next the window.
In the end, she couldn't find Shade. And now Tikal is devastated to has lost her best friend. While Rouge is blaming herself. Since she was the one to lost him...

Shadow walks toward the living room with Knuckles following him, shortly from behind.
The dark furred hedgehog's red eyes give Amy and Tikal a short look, before they look confused at Rouge.
Noticing the bat seems bothered over something. Something she seems ashamed of.
"What has happened?" Shadow asks.
Tikal was about to break free from Amy, when Rouge suddenly runs toward him instead.
"I'm so sorry Shadz!!!" Rouge says in a bit louder voice and throws herself over him with the arms around his neck.
Shadow blinks confused and gasps.
"R-rouge?" He asks and can't imagine what Rouge could be sorry about. What could she had done who caused Tikal to cry? Or there are two things that have happened?
Rouge trembles with furrowed eyebrows.
"I lost him... I'm so sorry... I tried finding him... But I couldn't..." She let's out and makes Shadow very confused.
"Lost, whom?" Shadow asks with increased heartbeats. Not sure if he wants any answer.
The bat embraces him harder and inhales a little sniffly.
"S-shade-..." She answers and caused Shadow's heart to skip a beat.
Shadow froze.
Rouge swallows hardly.
"I'd said a few words to Amy since she had to take Tikal to the restroom... And a few seconds later when I'd turned around... Shade was gone!... I'm so sorry... I've tried finding him in hours... But I couldn't..." She explains better.

Knuckles stares shocked at her and couldn't believe his ears. Is Shade really gone? Their child?! Is their child gone, for real?!
The thought of not having Shade here, sounds kinda surreal. Like a bad dream.
A dream he wants to wake up from.

Rouge flinches when she doesn't get any respond from Shadow.
She starts pulling apart from him to look asking at his face.
"Shadz, Are you al-..." She starts asking when Shadow snaps out from his shocked state, and grabs her throat.
"DON'T YOU DARE ASK IF I'M ALRIGHT... 'CAUSE HELL I'M NOT!" He shouts angrily and lifted her up with the hand around her throat.
Rouge squirms in the air and tries pulling his hand of her, while making a few choking sounds.
"Shadz... I'm S-s..."She tries to apologise, while the others in the room except Shadow, jolted from the sudden dispute.
Shadow narrows the eyes at her while growling.
"HOW COULD YOU LOST MY CHILD!? I'VE TRUSTED YOU AND AMY..." he growls angrily and made Amy to flinch when she heard her name.
The pink hedgehog embraces Tikal who had stopped crying from the shock.
Rouge keeps struggling to get the hand of her. It feels as she is really choking. As it gets harder and harder to inhale any new air.
Shadow squeezes the hand tighter around her throat.

When Knuckles sees how Rouge seems getting pale and inhales a few and shaking breathe from choking, he flinches forward.
"SHADOW STOP! OR SHE WILL DIE-..." the echidna shouts and puts a hand on Shadow's shoulder.
The ebony hedgehog stares blankly over the shoulder at his husband.
"She lost Shade!" He hisses.
"...S-..So-...rry..." Rouge apologies with teary eyes while she slowly is starting to black out.
Knuckles wides the eyes from getting the nonchalant answer.
"SHE IS YOUR FRIEND! STOP OR SHE-..." The echidna shouts and glances with fear at Rouge whose eyes start losing life in them. Looking awfully dull where the bat stops trying to pull Shadow's hand away from her.