Right on schedule. See? Told you!
This chapter gave me a hard time and was the reason there was such a long hiatus; I tried my best, though, so I hope you enjoy!
-Laz
Indecency was not to be tolerated in Black Doom's mind; if Shadow were to accept his invitation to the Black Arms, he vowed, he would have something made to cover up that scrawny body of his. Since his own childhood, he was taught to respect one's personal space, including his own, and since a certain mysterious tragedy in his younger years, he had taken that moral to a whole new level. Physical contact was not something to be taken lightly. To him, it showed weakness, compassion – it was a way of downgrading or humbling one's self to the other's level, something he would never do.
Within the two millennia of his life, Black Doom followed this personal oath closely and carefully, promising to never break or stray from it. That entire afternoon, that vow seemed to tumble down with each passing moment.
He was literally dragged to where Shadow had gone before, as his legs were as good as useless; even if he could have walked, he would have had to been dragged. Never could he imagine undressing himself in front of someone (especially one who was lower than he), let alone Shadow, the bastard traitor who nearly killed him a day prior.
"At least try to pick up your legs," Shadow mumbled, adjusting the weight of the alien about his shoulders. The hedgehog in question did nothing to ease Shadow's burden.
"If you would have let me see if I could focus my healing powers, you wouldn't have to do this in the first place," he muttered under his breath.
Although both knew that Black Doom's current form altered and complicated the way he could use any of his special abilities, the alien himself knew it even more than Shadow. He could feel everything rearranged; all his figurative locations of his power sources felt askew. It was as if they had been stirred around inside of his soul – Chaos Control, Chaos Spear, Swift Strike – all of them. What if he could never focus and find them all again? His stomach dropped once the thought dawned on him. He almost expressed the new worry in words to his biological son, but he restrained himself. He was almost three millennia old; he could do things on his own and he would.
"I doubt you'd be able to do it in amount of the time we clean our injuries up," Shadow growled, his shoulders beginning to ache. "It's just easier in my head this way. Besides, if your powers are so scattered, you might hurt yourself in the process, and – "
The brief mention of Shadow's concern for Black Doom's safety caused both the ebony hedgehogs' hearts to skip. Shadow cleared his throat, fighting off a small warm sensation from his cheeks. "A-anyways, I heal fast on my own, so you probably won't be like this for too long…"
The alien leader raised a brow in doubt. "So why are you forcing me to 'clean up' if we will heal quickly?"
"Earth isn't exactly all that sanitary."
Black Doom scoffed sarcastically in his native tongue. Shadow picked up on it, brow furrowing. "Listen. Seriously, just be grateful I'm preventing you from ending up ridden with disease."
The alien, although not open to showing gratitude, did silence himself. Shadow was sacrificing a lot for him; in a strange, twisted way, it was as if his wish of Shadow becoming his own slave was coming true. Granted, he would have wanted less sarcasm and insults, but he was indeed doing things for him…
A light trickling noise made Black Doom's new ears twitch. A little fond of the sound, the hedgehog brought his head up and over Shadow's shoulder to see where it was coming from. His eyes suddenly widened, actually stunned at what his eyes beheld. It appeared to be a source of a small creek, and as dull and boring as it seemed, this particular landform held something of significance. It could have been the angle of light at that moment, or that it was certainly more aesthetically pleasing to look at than the countless dying trees they passed; whatever the reason, however, this place was…different.
The sight, he had to admit, was nothing short of beauty. The clear water glimmered in the late afternoon sun, trickling softly against its shallow banks. The floor beneath the surface, though distorted, looked to be of smooth stone. His three eyes could not stop staring at the source, attempting to identify the elements he had read about in one of his books about this planet or simply taking in the overall appearance.
Without a word, Shadow began shifting Black Doom off of his shoulders and onto the ground. The alien steadied himself, following suit, holding Shadow's arm loosely as a crutch to ease down to a sitting position. His body ached, wounds echoing with dull shocks of pain, yet he refused to vocally protest. Whining would get him nowhere.
"It's nice, isn't it?" Shadow said indifferently, noticing the alien's eyes inspecting every inch of the new surroundings. Black Doom quickly turned his head at the comment, pretending to remain unimpressed.
"Much more tolerable than the rest of this dull rock."
Shadow chuckled softly, knowing full well what Black Doom truly felt. It was strange how something as simple as a change in setting could turn this stubborn ruler's mood completely over, he thought. Come to think of it, he realized, Black Doom seemed to be the type that hated any sort of modernization or transformation in society. He never truly expressed it in words, but his overall disposition in the past week implied hatred toward the humans for destroying their planet. He seemed fond of nature, but never thought that the slowly-dying Earth would have an inch left of thriving flora.
With this in mind, Black Doom seemed calm (perhaps even happier) now, Shadow noticed. This would be the most ideal time to start in on getting him ready for the first step in the healing process. He reached for the cotton sleeve, already hating what was to follow, but maintaining a stern and determined demeanor. Upon Shadow's gentle grip on the coat, Black Doom gasped, realizing the hedgehog's intentions. Suddenly, the peaceful alien turned back to his deadly, angry self; he smacked his creation's hands away with power just shy of knocking them off their wrists, shooting glares like daggers at Shadow. In response, the black blur mimicked his expression.
"How dare you…!" Black Doom started, voice shaking and cheeks flushed. The mere thought of someone undressing him, no matter how tattered or inadequate the garment, was outrageous.
"Calm down; I'm just trying to help you!" Shadow shouted, brow furrowing. "If you don't clean up, your wounds will worsen and – "
"I don't need your help!" the alien replied a pitch louder than Shadow. His cry echoed throughout the area, shattering the tranquil silence about them. The sounds of birds fluttered high in the tree tops, leaves rustling as they left their homes in fear.
Then, the silence returned, but it was all but serene.
Shadow was motionless; not only had he never heard Black Doom so angry, he heard more of the alien growling voice than he did this new smooth one. He could tell that exclamation held more meanings than one. But was he frightened? Absolutely not. He simply turned away, scoffed, and settled himself into a position that was most comfortable by the bank.
"Suit yourself; I just figured you might appreciate some assistance in your current situation." Shadow said sharply, glaring into the crystal clear water.
Silence fell again. Black Doom did not feel bad about his outburst, nor did he feel ashamed; but he did feel a twinge of guilt, for indeed, Shadow had offered gracious assistance, and he harshly cast it aside. Not only that, but now he was expected to do all of this – whatever it was – by himself. He humbled himself, realizing that there was no possibility that he could manage. He didn't even know what this clear, shiny liquid was before him.
After a moment's hesitation, the alien's ears fell slightly, dark crimson eyes cast to the side in a pitiful yet angry glare. "F…fine. Just at least let me do most of the work…" he mumbled beneath his breath. Shadow half-nodded, barely able to hear his biological father's decision.
"I'll be here if you need help," Shadow added, turning himself to the water's edge. That is, assuming you'd get over yourself enough to ask me for it.
Black Doom never heard the thought, or if he had, he didn't pay heed to it, as his own mind was completely engulfed in the foreign ideas of doing such…primitive things. On any normal circumstance, he would have easily healed himself, disregarding and simply avoiding painful processes altogether. Now his powers were concentrated in different places, perhaps even unattainable, he feared. Following Shadow's actions would unfortunately have to do.
Upon recognizing that Shadow's attention was focused elsewhere, the alien carefully shrugged off the oversized human clothing, mindful of his aching abdomen. That part, he realized, was the easiest; now that his arms and abdomen were bare and cold, there was the matter of figuring out what in the world this stuff was.
He had half a thought to test it himself – dip a hand in, or perhaps he should find something to cast into it to test for acidity. Trying not to move too much, he peered over at Shadow, who was carefully washing the gash on the side of his head. The liquid seemed to only ail him slightly, but was it his wound that was causing him pain? Black Doom was confused. He finally sighed, giving up and staring down at the small pond of water before him. There was no way out but to ask.
"What…does it feel like?"
Shadow turned his head after wiping excess water off of his face, glancing at Black Doom before realizing what he had truly meant. The alien's three eyes were staring warily at the water before him, brimming with both curiosity and uncertainty. Shadow blinked, easing back. He had probably never felt water in his life, and come to think of it, Earth may have been the only planet he had visited that had it.
"Water?" Shadow confirmed. The alien made a small hum of confirmation. The black hedgehog slowly made his way to Black Doom's side, looking at the same area in the water the other was. Shadow reached down, dipping his hand in and lifting it, letting the liquid trickle down his palm and fingers. What exactly did water feel like? "It's…well, this water's on the cold side…low viscosity, as you can tell…"
Black Doom furrowed his brow, distrusting the liquid more than the hedgehog. Shadow certainly lacked in explanations, the alien grumbled in his head.
"Just put your hand in." Shadow said, bringing his own back to his side. "It won't hurt you."
Black Doom waited for Shadow to repeat his last statement, confirming that it indeed would not burn or consume anything on his person. He slowly dipped his hand in, wincing at the liquid's contact. The coldness stung, yet intrigued him. A small shiver ran down the alien's spine, one of both chill and excitement; how curious this liquid was. He lifted his hand back out, and in a sloshing sound, it resurfaced, dripping with clear beads.
"Ah…" the alien breathed, blinking, holding his hand up and out in the air, watching as more droplets fell. He had seen liquids with the kind of consistency before, but never clear; in fact, he was more fascinated with the fact that this filthy planet made such a beautiful element, and that he had never come across it during the invasion.
Shadow watched him, a small smile making its way upon his face. From where Shadow was, Black Doom looked like a child seeing the world for the first time. Just as Black Doom was about to ask more about the water before them, Shadow spoke up, returning them both to the situation at hand.
"Do you need help with your bandages?"
The alien, snapping out of his daze, nodded only once after a hesitant pause. Shadow swallowed, moving closer to him and undoing the lose knot on the hedgehog's back, gently unwinding the gauze. Upon lifting a layer off of the alien's stomach, Black Doom winced, making a small noise of pain. His fists dug into the earth, snapping his eyes shut.
"C-careful…" he muttered. Shadow continued to move the bloodstained gauze off of him despite the pleas to be gentler and slower. In his eyes, he was being gentle; Black Doom was being spoiled.
After being yelled at countless times for being too rough and hasty, all the alien leader's bandages were off, piled neatly behind Black Doom's back. Neither said a word. The alien fought shivers from running down his back; he was so adapted to a comfortably warm environment back home on the Black Comet. Without any robes, he felt as if he might freeze.
"Come on,before I freeze to death…" Black Doom trailed off, hugging his shoulders. Shadow exhaled, looking back at the water's edge.
"It looks deep enough to get into." Shadow started. Black Doom said nothing for a moment, mind engulfed with the thoughts of blankets, fire, and glorious heat. Suddenly he scoffed, fully comprehending Shadow's words.
"If you think I'm going to get into it, you're mistaken," the alien said, his three eyes shutting in disgust. "It's much colder than the air, and I'm already cold."
"It'd be easier if you just get in entirely, but if you feel so strongly about it…" Shadow said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
Black Doom was stubborn in his ways, but he was already tired of spending so much time without anything covering his body that he was willing to compromise. Black Doom lowered his feet into the chilled water carefully. At some point later, he thought, he might try to fully submerge his body in this liquid, just to see what it felt like, but here, he would not. Perhaps when Shadow wasn't near…
Black Doom craned his neck, deeply curious to see the effect of this action. He saw and felt the water around his ankles, yet it did not hurt him. Interesting, he mused. Slowly, he allowed his shins to submerge. The alien blinked as the water seemed to kindly welcome his entrance. His legs dangled beneath, the gentle current distorting their appearance into streaks of ebony with flecks of deep ruby. It almost gave him the sensation of being in his previous form, legless and all. He fought a thankful smile from forming.
"All I'm doing is just rinsing myself off," Shadow said, seeing that Black Doom had proceeded in getting used to the water. Gently the alien hedgehog scooped water into his hand, pouring it over his scraped arm. It was cold, yet refreshing. Strange, he thought, that something from Earth could be so…lovely.
Quietly, both continued to wash their wounds, mindful of one another. Shadow occasionally peeked at Black Doom out of the corner of his eye to check up on the progress; all seemed well with him. Black Doom did his best to keep his eyes off of the other hedgehog and on his own injuries. It was tempting to scold Shadow for looking at him so many times, but every time he formed words in his head, something on his body throbbed, begging for more of the foreign liquid.
The last instance Shadow glanced at the three-eyed hedgehog, Black Doom had lost his patience. If there was something the half-breed needed to say, he thought, he ought to spit it out. Black Doom turned his head toward Shadow grimly. Feeling a sharp glare in his direction, Shadow's eyes darted away, feeling a strange sense that his father had enough of it. Black Doom was so overly sensitive, he growled in his mind.
Suddenly, Shadow felt a pressure on the back of his skull, something holding tightly onto his quills. Just as he was about to yell out, his head was pushed down into the water. Breathless, Shadow jerked his head upward, only to feel the same resistance push back down on it. He began to wave his arms around above the surface. With a final shove to his head, the hand was gone. Almost instantly Shadow flung his head backwards, gulping the air. He coughed and sputtered, rubbing his eyes as a hearty laugh encircled his ears.
After rubbing his eyes dry of excess water, Shadow glowered to the source of the laugh.
"That was much too easy of an opportunity…" Black Doom smirked, hugging his knees.
Shadow, however, was certainly not amused by the action, the heavy gash on the side of his head now stinging and throbbing in protest. He merely began to wring his quills dry, staying quiet and sending silent deathly looks at Black Doom.
"Mm…I feel better already," the alien smirked, heaving a sigh. His abdomen, however, bled with a different opinion.