God... I am so late on this one. Several reasons actually... 1) Catching up on my last two classes for school graduation requirements. 2) Taking a short break from this. 3) Trying to hang a little with my cousin, who complains I take too much time on this series. 4) Readjusting my eyes to endure sunlight again. And 5) Believe it or not... but I actually had writer's block for 2 days!
This chapter was not as long as I wanted, but once I get past a few things I need to do for this fic, I should be dishing out the long ones again... the final climax scene I have prewritten is over 8 pages long on paper!
Just so you know... I'm still here... so you won't have to worry about me disapearing for over months or something like most fic writers. Another note: who really updates and adds anymore? I have over 350 favorites... and many haven't been updated for as long as two years! I hope they're okay...
Hope you like this chapter then...
It wouldn't be until morning when Mephiles would regain consciousness again.
His eyes fluttered open, and he contemplated whether or not he should just lie still, lest Dark would try something new.
It was an iffy guess… but he figured for the sake of the rising concern of his friends to at least show some signs of life and move a little…
He moved his hand back a little and leaned into his arm to sit up, his other hand pressed to his forehead.
"Augh… I feel terrible…" He groaned, shaking his head a little, but regretting it instantly when his headache grew a bit worse. "Ah… that hurt…"
"Oh, you're awake now!"
Mephiles cringed. Loud voices weren't helping either…
"Please don't do that…" He murmured. "My head hurts enough as it is without help…"
"Sorry…"
He lifted his hand to look at who was talking. Shadow.
"Given the circumstances… I need you to prove you're really there…" Mephiles narrowed his eyes. "Say something that only Shadow would say…"
Shadow raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, okay… er… actually… I don't say much of anything anyone doesn't say…"
"Good enough for me…" Mephiles forced a small smile. "How long was I out?"
"All night…"
"That's not too bad…" The shade nodded slowly, paying mind not to further his headache. "At least it wasn't like the other times…"
Shadow nodded in agreement.
Pause…
"My mind's a bit fuzzy right now…" Mephiles started to frown a bit in confusion. "But… what exactly happened? I remember feeling dizzy… then I must have fallen, because you were holding me up… and then I could barely make out Rouge standing over me, telling me not to give up or something…" He furrowed his brow slightly as he tried recalling the last thing he remembered. "That's all, really..."
He waited for a reply. The growing silence was becoming a bit unnerving.
"Please tell me I didn't start freaking out…" The shade added with a hint of pleading in his voice.
"You didn't…"
Mephiles breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh, okay… but what happened?"
"… You… fainted… and then ran a high fever…" Shadow decided not to tell him the whole of what had happened after he passed out before the nurse could come. From the looks of it, he started to have febrile convulsions as a result of his suddenly high fever, twitching and shaking uncontrollably for at least a good quarter of an hour before falling limp again with a weak moan, this time half conscious, and spouting out random blather like a fool until he tired himself out and fell asleep from exhaustion. It was best that he didn't know about that…
"Is that all?"
"Yep…" Shadow lied, fixing his attention back to a magazine he had been reading earlier.
Mephiles frowned.
"Are you lying to me?" He said slowly.
"What? Of course not!" Shadow waved a hand carelessly, wondering how he could have even guessed. "What makes you say that?"
"I dunno… It just sounded like you said that fast, or something." The shade shrugged. He turned his head a bit to glance out the window, before forcing a laugh. "I know… it sound's silly…"
"I suppose in your situation… it's pretty logical…"
"Think so?"
Shadow nodded, determined not to look up from his magazine, having learned over the past few months that Mephiles had a pretty uncanny ability to detect dishonesty if he stared at you long enough, most likely because he used to be such a good liar himself.
"Well…" Mephiles started. "It's not like you'd lie to me, or anything… so, I trust you…"
Shadow almost cringed, but countered it before Mephiles could notice.
…
…
"Uh… Shadow?"
"Hmmm?"
Pause.
"You're… uh, you're reading the book upside down…"
…
…
…
"I knew that…"
After a whole afternoon's worth of testing, which Mephiles was very reluctant to do… it was decided that he was allowed to go back home, so long as a close watch was kept on him. Also reluctant about being watched, the shade agreed as long as it meant leaving the medical facility. Like it was said before… he downright hated hospitals. No questions asked.
He was also a bit anxious to see his Chaos, having spent a whole night away from them, so there wasn't a doubt in his mind that Krystal and Sharpe were probably going to be a bit mad for leaving them alone. Sharpe might have even got into trouble around the house, perhaps even leaving lights on, clawing on the couch, or strewing the toilet paper like streamers all around the house.
Once home, it was discovered that Sharpe had instead shredded up Mephiles' pillow he kept by the couch when not asleep. Pluff balls of polyester stuffing strewn across the floor, littered like badly fallen snow. Raising an eyebrow, Mephiles picked up the scrap of fabric he had assumed must have been the part of the pillow that held the stuffing… fifty-something pieces ago…
"… I honestly don't know where he gets these destructive tendencies…" He muttered as he tried to pick up what was left to call at least something resembling that had once been a pillow. "… Can't have gotten it from me…"
He didn't notice the snort of laughter Shadow muffled with his hand, as well as Rouge looking up at the ceiling, also trying not to laugh.
As it turned out, Krystal had been hiding between two couch cushions, apparently staying out of her brother's way when he had mauled the pillow. When Mephiles had picked up at least half of the mess, she crawled out of her hiding place, rubbing at her green eyes, obviously having been asleep. She blinked and with a happy cry, she pounced from the couch onto Mephiles' head, nuzzling hers into his quills.
"Hey, there, Krystal… have you seen Sharpe?"
With a nod of the head, she pointed down the hallway with a "Chao…", where Sharpe was currently pulling towels out of the closet and throwing them haphazardly at the wall, where they fell in a messy pile.
The Chao only looked up when he heard the sound of a throat clearing, and he tore his attention from his task. It was evident in his red eyes that he knew that he was totally busted.
"Sharpe… can you please explain this?" Mephiles held up the shredded remains of his head cushion in one hand, a frown on his face.
Sharpe looked around and considered his options.
…
…
There seemed to be only one…
"Chao?" He looked up questioningly, though he knew full well what the shade was talking about.
"This…"
"Chao…" Sharpe shrugged before throwing a puppy eyed face, trying to get himself out of trouble.
Mephiles frown stayed on his face, but a hint of a smile was beginning to show.
"You're just too cute for your own good sometimes, y'know that right?"
"Chao!"
"But, what am I gonna do about this?" Mephiles asked Shadow and Rouge, holding up his handful of stuff again. "It can't be used now…"
"We'll just get another one…"
"But… I've had this one for a while… It won't be the same…"
"Sure it will…" Shadow assured… or tried to. "It's just a pillow after all…"
"But… it was my pillow… mine…"
"We'll just get another one…"
"But…"
"We'll get another one." Shadow narrowed his eyes in mild annoyance at Mephiles, who flinched slightly.
"Okay… I see…" The crystalline hedgehog sat down slowly, his ears flat against his head, making Krystal bat at them. "I-i get it… Sorry…"
As a new pillow was being gotten, Mephiles was sitting with his hand to his forehead, his headache a bit of a dull twinge. As he thought about Dark's next move, Krystal was burying her eggshell covered head into his chest fluff.
Dark could get me at any given time… so I should be sure to take extra care in what I do, so I can't get hurt more…
He was silent for a while before muttering: "Plastic cups for now…"
Plastic cups... because they won't shatter if he drops them...
Poor Meph... his life's gonna be tough for a while.
Hope this chapter wasn't a bore...
See ya next time :D
RaeLogan