Disclaimer and author notes: First off, I do not own the leading characters. Secondly, this story will have romance between a human and an anthropromorphic hedgehog/alien. If you're still going to read it, thanks for giving it a chance.
Trying Not to Love You
Chapter One
Abraham Towers sighed again. A plane had gone down a few days ago, and they were supposed to go find out what had happened and get the survivors out of the mountains. They hadn't even reached the crash site yet, and he already had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Still not liking your first job?" Abraham looked over in surprise to see John standing at his side. The dark man gave him a smile and a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. We'll be at the crash site soon, and we'll know what happened then."
Abraham gave the other soldier a nod and they continued their trek up the mountain. When they came to the crash site, it was what they'd been expecting. The plane was down, laying in ruins on the rock surface. What trees could live in this altitude had been destroyed by the plane's descent. The Captain looked around at the wreck before motioning for them to take a look. That feeling in the base of his stomach still didn't go away as Abraham looked around the wreck. One of the plane's wings were off, found farther down the mountainside when the group looked. None of the passengers were anywhere to be found, though an observation of the surrounding area gave a pretty good idea where they had gone.
"Let's get moving," the Captain said. The group followed the snowy trail to the temple they had seen in the distance. It was the most likely place for the survivors to have gone. As they walked, Abraham couldn't help noticing that the Captain seemed to be searching for something.
By the time they reached the temple, everyone was glad to be out of the cold. There were a few torches lit, but they didn't cast much light. An eerie feel was in the air as they walked. Goosebumps rose under Abraham's uniform as he looked around. He didn't want to be there another second.
"All right," the Captain said. "Spread out and take a look around. The survivors have to be in here somewhere."
Everyone went different directions, John opting to go with Abraham. The two ascended the staircase on the left side of the large room. Abraham looked around as they walked, admiring the paintings hanging on the wall. They were old and faded, but he could make out the scenes they depicted. Near the end of the hall, both of them noticed something on the wall. Some kind of substance was sticking to it.
"What is that?"
Abraham scooped some off with his fingers and got a closer look. It didn't smell any better than it felt. He wrinkled his nose at it and tried to get it off. The sticky substance clung to him until he wiped it on his pants. John drew his gun and motioned toward the door. Abraham nodded and went to the other side, also drawing his. On three they opened the door and went in guns first.
Light from the window shone on a strange sight. Egg shaped things filled the room, reaching the ceiling on the back wall. That substance from earlier covered both them and the rest of the room. Abraham looked at John to see his disgust reflected in the other soldier's expression. John lifted the radio on his hip and contacted the captain.
"We've found something, and we aren't sure what to do with it. ...Looks like some kind of eggs, Sir. ...All right. We will." John put it back and looked at Abraham. "We've been given orders to destroy them."
The two raised their guns and fired. The bullets destroyed the eggs on impact, each of them bursting and spreading more slime. A loud, echoing screech filled the temple and they looked at each other.
"Figures mommy would still be around," John mumbled. The sound of gunshots not their own reached their ears moments later. Then, they heard the Captain over the radio.
"Don't shoot it!"
The radio had no sooner clicked off again when John was thrown across the room. Abraham turned toward the door. Before him was a creature he swore he recognized. Two long horns extended from the sides of its head. Three eyes glared at him from the black face between them. Its entire body was concealed by long brown robes. A three-fingered hand rose in front of him and he dove to the side as energy shot out at him. John was recovering, groaning and slipping in the stuff.
"You killed my children," a deep growling voice echoed in the room.
More energy was shot from the alien, narrowly missing both of the humans. John raised his gun and fired at the alien. All of his bullets were caught and thrown back at him. Abraham couldn't do anything as they tore through his comrade. Before he could make any moves, there was a loud gunshot. The alien fell to the floor. Behind it was the captain, just putting his gun away. He looked at Abraham.
"You all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. But John's..."
"I know." The captain stepped over the alien and locked a collar around its throat. "That's why I told you not to shoot it."
"Sir, what is that, exactly?"
"You'll find out when we get back to headquarters. Press that button on the back of the collar after I leave. Once it's done changing, bring it outside." The captain went over and picked up John. He carried him from the room and Abraham looked back at the alien.
He pressed the button and waited. A glow of energy enveloped the alien as he watched. Loud snapping filled the room so suddenly, Abraham flinched. Under the long robe, he could see something shifting. Blood stained the floor beneath the alien, and Abraham soon saw clawed feet showing from under the robes. Low whimpering came from the creature and Abraham couldn't stop himself from placing a hand More blood stained the floor as four of its fingers split, and the alien now had five clawed fingers on each hand. The head changed as much as he assumed the body had. Both horns fell off, surprisingly not leaving bloody holes in their place. Black and red quills started pulling out of his head, quickly forming what Abraham recognized as a Mobian hedgehog's version of hair. All four of the outer quills curved upward. A muzzle took shape on its face as ears pulled out of the top of its head. Slender and black, the nose seemed to pop out of the top curve of the muzzle. From the back of its shoulders grew two more sets of quills, ripping through the thin brown cloth covering him. Black fur covered the gray skin. Red tipped all of the quills in a flaming pattern. Then it started growing smaller in size, with its clothing somehow doing the same. Abraham turned the creature as soon as it had stopped. He estimated its new height to be around three-foot five. All three eyes opened slightly to look at him before closing again. Abraham lifted the new hedgehog from the floor. White fur extended over both shoulders from beneath the robe. Despite what just happened, Abraham had orders he had to follow. He sighed and carried it outside.
"So that's what it looks like now?" The captain looked at the hedgehog in Abraham's arms. "Still looks demonic."
The hedgehog whimpered in pain and moved closer to Abraham. One of its slender hands gripped the uniform on his shoulder.
"Looks like it likes you." Abraham looked at the comrade who had spoken. An amused smirk was on the other's face.
"Just because I'm holding it." Abraham looked down at the hedgehog. It was starting to feel heavy. "Can I set it down somewhere?"
Everyone looked up as the helicopter landed nearby. The captain looked at Abraham and smiled.
"Get it onboard with you."
Abraham and the captain got in the helicopter as the others went back into the temple. The hedgehog was taken from Abraham's arms and sat against the wall. It was secured in place as Abraham watched.
"I'm putting you in charge of it. Stay with it." Abraham nodded and sat beside the hedgehog. The captain left the helicopter to check on the other's progress.
Looking at the creature, Abraham couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen to it now. Clearly, the captain wanted it alive. A sigh slid from his lips as he leaned back against the wall. The hedgehog suddenly snapped to a straighter position, starting to snarl. Abraham looked at it in shock as it started yelling.
"Those are my babies!" The hedgehog tried to pull itself from the wall. Abraham moved away. "Stop killing them!" All three red eyes were suddenly looking at Abraham when the hedgehog turned to look at him, growling now. "Why aren't you doing something? Don't just sit there!"
"Calm down." Abraham tried to put authority into his tone.
"You're telling me to calm down?" The hedgehog's voice had risen to a screech again. "Do you even know who you're talking to?"
"Who?" Abraham sighed.
"Black Doom, King of the Black Arms!"
"I'm Abraham Towers, Majesty." Abraham hoped it was good enough. "I'm sorry, but I can't free you, nor can I help your children."
Black Doom scowled at him before looking away, slumping in his chains. If Abraham was any judge, he'd say the hedgehog was about to cry. The soldier had to look away before he started to pity the creature.
-Hours later, G.U.N. HQ-
The Captain finally came out of the office. Everyone that had been in the mission stood with a salute. He returned it and they dropped their own.
"None of you are to say a word about this to anyone." The Captain looked around at everyone. Then, his gaze returned to Abraham. "Towers, you come with me."
Abraham looked at the others in confusion before following the Captain. Worry filled Abraham's thoughts as they went down hallway after hallway. Finally, they came to an elevator and got in. The Captain pressed the lowest button and stepped back as the doors closed. Silence filled the elevator for a few moments.
"Sir, may I ask what you need me for?"
"The creature seemed to have taken a liking to you." Abraham sighed a little as the Captain didn't elaborate.
When the elevator doors slid open, they were in a section Abraham had never seen before. A long white hall was before them. Doors stood out against the white walls. The Captain motioned for Abraham to follow him and they walked down the hall. At the fifth door down, they turned and went inside.
The walls were white, causing most of the objects to stand out. A door was on one of the side walls, presumably leading to a bathroom. A dresser stood across from that. Other than a ventilation duct for air, the only other thing was a bed. On the bed was the hedgehog. It was pushed against the far wall, glaring at the men.
"We need you to help us," the scientist said. "The creature won't cooperate."
Abraham moved toward the hedgehog.
"Will you talk to me?" He received a glare and sighed. "It will be over sooner if you'd just speak."
"I refuse to explain anything about my family." The hedgehog put his nose in the air. "And I know what your people will do to me. I'll be used in experiments, tested on, and killed. I'm not stupid."
Abraham looked back at the others. They motioned for him to continue.
"I promise we won't do any of that." Somehow, Abraham found himself believing the hedgehog more.
"No. I refuse."
The Captain growled. "Why don't we just force it to tell us? It would be over much soo-"
"This is an alien species," the scientist interrupted. "We have no idea how effective it would be. Why don't we just leave Abraham with it?"
Abraham looked over in alarm. The Captain grumbled something but nodded. As they left, he spoke to Abraham.
"You have an hour to get something helpful out of it."
The door closed and Abraham looked back at the hedgehog. All three eyes were staring at him. Abraham smiled slightly.
"To start with, I'm a male. And royalty."
"Understood. Anything else you would like to tell me?"
"I don't like it here. Your prison is unusual."
"It isn't a prison," Abraham said. He looked around for a place to sit, but the only available space was on the bed. So he didn't upset the hedgehog, he remained standing. "It's an underground section of G.U.N. Headquarters."
"I'm not allowed to leave the room, so it's a prison. They made that quite clear as they dragged me in here." The hedgehog sighed as Abraham just stood there staring at him. "You don't have any questions for me?"
"About a hundred, but you seem irritated." Abraham smiled in the hope that it would help to calm down the other. A slight smile met his.
"I think I like you. You aren't like the other humans." Black Doom leaned back in the bed. "Ask away."
"Why do you have three eyes?"
"All Black Arms royalty have them. We can see anything and everything that happens on our colony. It also shows superiority."
"Why don't you ask me a question? We could take turns."
"All right. Your eyes. Why are they different colors?"
"I have Heterochromia. It's some kind of genetic problem, I think. Next question... What were you doing in that temple?"
"I was hiding from the humans. What made you join this group?"
Abraham looked at him in confusion before answering his question.
"I want to protect people. I thought joining G.U.N. would be the best way to do that." Abraham smiled at the hedgehog. The smile faded when he saw the look on Black Doom's face. "What's wrong?"
"They may be the military, but that doesn't mean they're a group to think so highly of. Do you have any idea what they do to people?" Black Doom stood and walked away from Abraham.
"They protect people... Why do you hate humans so much?"
"Hate?" Black Doom turned to look at him. "Yes, I suppose you could call it that... They haven't given me much reason to feel anything else for them. Killing my children, locking me up like some kind of animal, the entire incident on the ARK..."
"You know about the ARK?" Slight excitement filled Abraham as he got to his feet as well. "Can you tell me about it?"
Black Doom looked at him. Confusion was once again on his face. Abraham looked too young to know anything about that.
"What do you know about the ARK?"
"Alright, time's up." The captain walked in and pulled Abraham out of the room. Once the door had been locked shut, he turned to the soldier. "What were you doing in there? We're trying to learn about its species."
"I figured he would be more willing if I talked to him first. If he trusts me, he'll be more open with things."
"Abraham, we need to know about its species, not its life story. Honestly, who cares about things like that, anyway?"
"No offense Sir, but if I get him talking about things, he might let something slip." Abraham's mind wandered back to the ARK. The alien clearly knew something.
"The incident on the ARK happened fourteen years ago. There's no reason to bring it up."
"Of course, Sir." Abraham nodded.
"I believe Doctor Kintor could use your help with the creature. Go down the hall, and it's the third door to your left."
Abraham saluted the captain before leaving. When he reached the door, he knocked. A voice invited him in, and he entered to see a man sitting at a desk. Most of his form was hidden by the white coat he was wearing. A mess of black hair was on his head. It was a few minutes before the scientist turned to reveal a face with blue eyes behind large plain glasses. Other than those, he wore a slight smile on his face.
"Abraham Towers. I could use your help with the alien we recovered."
"So I've been told."
"I want to put you in charge of defending it. Watch over it, and make sure nothing happens to it. If you can get it to tell you something useful, that's even better." Dr. Kintor fixed his glasses. "If I need you to do anything else, I'll let you know."
"Of course. I'll give it my best." Abraham smiled as the scientist began explaining how he was to watch the hedgehog. Now that this mission had come up, he might actually get some answers.