Mephiles was on the ground, cowering at the strange ape-like bristle-backed blade-nosed neon monster that loomed over him. It looked about ready to attack him, as it had already knocked him on his back when the hedgehog tried to slip passed unnoticed. In fact, the creature had already been trying to attack him, but Mephiles was making his bubble shield to protect himself, shuddering as the impacts vibrated through the Aura dome and his body.
He didn't know how much longer he could keep it up, because it required a lot of energy to make and maintain, and he could see it falter and weaken in some places, and he was starting to feel lightheaded and shaky.
Suddenly, the monster lurched sideways as red and white shoes collided with it's face, the yellow-orange fox having propelled himself into it with his tails boosted flight just as Mephiles' shield fizzled out.
Tails jumped off the creature and hovered in the air for a moment to gloat at his self earned victory, then touched down next to Mephiles, who was gasping and panting from both fright and overexertion.
"You okay?"
"... N-never used my s-shield th-that long..." The hedgehog wheezed, trying to sit up, but was trembling considerably. "... T-too much f-focus... Not exp-perienced enough t-to do th-that long..."
Tails tried to help him to his feet, but Mephiles couldn't stand for very long, as he was just too exhausted from his defending move.
"... S-sorry... I c-can rec-cover quickly... But it st-still takes t-time..." Mephiles muttered an apology, pale face blushing in embarrassment. "... Th-thank you, by th-the way..."
"No problem. You obviously needed help." Tails said, waiting for him to be able to at least support his own weight. "... How much do you weigh? I can carry Sonic, so maybe I can carry you until you can move?"
"... Last I ch-checked... Sixty-s-seven p-pounds..."
"... You're about ten pounds lighter than Sonic." Tails said, raising his eyebrows. "... Are you sure? You're almost as tall as him, are you supposed to be that light?"
Mephiles nodded slowly, cracking a small smile of amusement.
"... I g-get that a lot..." The hedgehog explained in a stutter. "... But I have a f-fast m-metabolism... Th-that's my average weight..."
He inhaled deeply, trying to catch his breath. He felt as if he had been running laps nonstop for a quarter of an hour, right down to the sweat coating his skin, the air against it making him shiver.
"... I'll b-be f-fine in a half hour..." He added, looking up wearily.
"Well, we can't take too long... I don't know if Sonic needs help or something..." Tails nodded and reached for his arm. "Here, I'll carry you on my back if I need to... We'll move faster that way..."
"... Won't th-that make it hard t-to use your t-tails..?"
"I don't think we need to fly or anything right now... I think we've passed most of the platforms and grappling..." The fox explained, helping the tired hedgehog onto his back. Mephiles was quick to cling, as if he had done this thing many times before. "... I don't know if any more of those monsters are going to show up here, so we should keep moving."
Mephiles grunted softly in agreement, sighing and resting his head on the fox's shoulder.
"You gonna be alright?"
"... Very likely... I j-just fall asleep if I wear my-s-self out or s-something..." Mephiles mumbled, trying not to yawn. "... Th-that's not a p-problem... Is it..? Sh-shadow and Rouge think I have n-narcolepsy... I might... B-but we've never t-tested for it yet..."
Tails was about to ask further, but his ears twitched at a light snore. Had the hedgehog already fallen asleep..?
"... You still awake..?"
No answer other than a late mumble, and a shifting of grip.
Tails groaned in annoyance, and decided that he should start heading in Sonic's direction anyway.
Iblis stayed in a state of mute shock for a while.
Dark didn't care about anything anymore? Was he really that convinced that the hedgehog was no longer alive and that he would never be able to escape... And if he did get free, was he so sure he had nowhere to go..?
It all seemed to bank on the whereabouts of Mephiles. If the hedgehog was near him, Dark was easily calmed down. If he had to spend any amount of time away from him, he grew steadily reclusive and withdrawn. Dark seemed to rest easier when Mephiles was close, and was more willing for help and treatment if the hedgehog was the one encouraging him. And only the hedgehog.
It had been two days since Dark realized that "Shu" didn't exist at all, but was merely an alias that Iblis took on, because Dark seemed more willing to pay mind to him that way. It had also been two days since Dark had last consumed anything solid or liquid, much to the concern of both the flame and the captor.
Knowing that he could not be seen by the Human, Iblis listened as Dark had been informed that if he continued refusal, drastic measures would have to be taken to attempt to reverse starvation and dehydration, such as an IV drip.
Dark's only response was simply staring at him, scoffing and saying the Human was sadistic for prolonging his suffering before curling up on his side miserably.
Regardless, Dark was given twelve hours to attempt to eat and/or drink what was left out on the side table before an intervention was to take place. He didn't care.
Once they were alone again, Iblis finally spoke for the first time in hours.
"You really should try to..." He said in a low voice, unsure of how to sound encouraging. He took a deep breath and added: "If you don't, you'll probably get really sick and even die..."
"... So..?" Dark sat up, looking disinterested.
"... I'm sure Mephil-"
He didn't finish because he was struck hard across the face. Dark had done so, and despite being underweight, frail looking, mangy and an otherwise mess... The shadow still managed to look livid beyond all reason.
"How dare you?" Dark growled deeply, thinned fur and quills bristling as best they could. His tone rose steadily in fury. "How dare you try to drag him into this! I don't care if you're real or not! But I will NOT allow his name to be spoken by such a horrible, foul, evil, heartless monster!"
Staring in the direction he had been slapped into facing, stunned to a degree, which really showed in his wide eyes, Iblis didn't answer.
Perhaps it was because he was so shocked at what Dark had done... The shadow had NEVER stood up to him like that before.
Panting and gasping in rage, Dark raised his hand again, ready to backhand him this time around. Iblis jolted back into awareness and caught his wrist inches from his face.
"I don't know what's gotten into you..." The flame said in a low, warning voice, narrowing his eyes. "But beating the snot out of me isn't going to fix anything, you spoiled brat."
"Oh! So, now I'm a brat!" Dark laughed mockingly. "Last I checked, spoiled brats are selfish little blighters that have had everything handed to them without work! I got nothing! My work always goes up in flames! If being overprotective of ONE little stupid hedgehog makes me a rotten child, then by all means, beat me with a stick!"
Groaning in frustration at Dark's outbursts, Iblis let his wrist go and rubbed at his own temples at this. It had to be that Dire creature that was doing this... Yes, Dark was often sour about something, but not to this extreme.
"... Be reasonable... I was merely commenting on your recklessness..." Iblis shook his head once he removed his fingers. "That being said, I didn't realize mentioning the hedgehog would infuriate you so much..."
"Because he did a much better job at being a brother than you!" Dark snapped, baring his teeth. "You don't deserve to say anything about him to me!"
"For someone who said that he doesn't hate me..." Iblis shot back. "I'm still sensing a lot of hostility and resentment here!"
"You honestly expect me to just forget it!" Dark narrowed his eyes more. "After all that time in the Scepter before my mind broke, wondering why you left me behind?"
"I've already admitted I was wrong..." Iblis growled, growing tired of Dark's refusal to let it drop for now. "I know I messed up and all that, but I'm not the reason you got caught and trapped. In case you've forgotten, I was caught and trapped, too." Iblis reminded in a low tone. "If you had stopped trying to hide, and actually did something about it, you might have not-"
"I only got caught because I was looking for you!" Dark cut across him sharply, rendering the flame temporarily mute. Dark managed to stop yelling for the first time in five minutes. "I had glimpse a layout of the place and knew the way out, but hearing how much Mephy was concerned about his family being left behind dawned on me that you might have been in trouble too... I only got caught because I didn't hide that time. But, considering how I got treated both before and after... I should have just ran... You said you could do better without me anyway..."
Iblis didn't realize that had been a possibility. Despite all he did to him before they were split, Dark had still wanted to find him and risked certain capture to do so.
"I suppose the real tragic part isn't that I got caught..." Dark added, scoffing a bit while shaking his head with an unsettling small smile. "But that you'll never know that, since I'm really just conversing with a visual and auditory hallucination..."
Pause.
"Can't you just pretend so if it makes you feel better..?" Iblis tried to help a bit.
"What's the point..?" Dark shook his head. "I know it's not real, and trying to make myself think otherwise just shows that I can't face reality... I know it will never happen, so why bother..?"
Iblis looked over at the plate that had been left behind. A banana and simple sandwich with peanut butter and a fruit spread were on it, obviously for the reason that both items required little effort to chew and had a good amount of healthy stuff in them that might jolt the shadow back into realizing that he was letting himself get sick and needed to fix that. A sealed bottle of bright blue liquid claiming to be some sort of berry flavor said it was a sports drink, and claimed to be more effective than water in rehydration.
Snatching up the fruit, Iblis held it out and said: "Eat this."
"No." Dark shook his head.
"I'm not asking you."
"Oh, and what are you going to do? Force me?" Dark said defiantly. "You can't make me swallow it even if you shoved it in my mouth. I'll just spit it out. I don't want it."
"You selfish, stubborn little-!" Iblis cut himself off and flustered a bit on words before adding: "What would that hedgehog say if he came here to rescue you and you had yourself on the verge of death?"
"Assuming he does show up... If he's still-"
"What proof do you have that he's dead?"
"What proof otherwise...?"
"None. And you?"
"Likewise..."
Iblis huffed in annoyance.
"But say that he does show up... How would he feel if you had let yourself starve?"
"Simple..." Dark said, not changing expression. "He's probably burst into tears, blame himself, apologize for taking so long, manage to coax me into eating, and ask me not to do that again... Making me feel like a jerk for having him go through that..."
"Alright, then... Do you really want to have that happen?"
"No. But I don't feel like eating." Dark shrugged.
"How is that even possible?" Iblis seemed astounded. "It's been two days since any consumption of solid or liquid... As scrawny as you are, you can't tell me you're not even the slightest bit hungry."
"I am not scrawny!" Dark snapped defensively, folding his ears back and baring his teeth. "I just look thin because of-!"
"You look underweight and frail." Iblis cut him off. "Compared to another Mobian hedgehog, you must be at least twenty percent less in weight as opposed to matching it. Your skeletal structure stands out where it shouldn't. Many of your quills are brittle, which they shouldn't be. It's a medical marvel right now that your immune system hasn't been compromised, or you might collapse under something as simple as a cold..."
Dark didn't respond and simply glared, before folding his arms and turning away.
"... I've been doing fine so far..." He said edgily.
"If by 'fine' you mean 'totally let yourself fall into a state of disarray'... Then yes... I think you've done a wonderful job..." Iblis pointed out, for once not keeping that sarcastic tone.
Dark paused before responding, in an almost mute way. He just lowered his head and sighed.
"Look... You don't even have to eat all of it..." Iblis was actually getting desperate, but showed no trace of it in his voice. "... Just try at least half. It's been at least two days since you've last eaten..."
"... If I do... Will you leave me alone..?"
"I can't guarantee that..." Iblis said truthfully. "Especially if you keep trying to starve yourself."
"... He won't shut up..." Dark said in a low voice, looking quite weary as he looked over his shoulder. "... Every attempt I've made to block him out ends with him drilling past with practically no effort... As if he knows how to exploit the chips in my personality..." Blinking, he looked away again, this time at the ceiling. "... Normally, such words do not affect me so much, but the way he goes about it... He's figured out how fond I am for Mephy... And keeps pointing out how my foolishness has led to his injuries..." Still looking at the ceiling, he added: "Truthfully... I'm the only reason he gets hurt, whether directly or as a result..."
"... You really shouldn't be so hard on yourself..." The flame said, still holding the soft fruit in both hands carefully, trying not to bruise it. "You seem to overlook how much you've protected him... He would have no place in this timeline in this year if it wasn't for you..."
"True... But I ended up taking him away from his family..." Dark lowered his head.
"You're willing to let yourself come within an inch of death if it meant he'd escape it." Iblis added. "You won't even do that for yourself if you could. You overlook that often..."
"... Because I've been conditioned to be a failure..." Dark said quite plainly. "... I've never won anything, let alone come close to it by myself..."
"Technically speaking... You've won that hedgehog's approval, did you not?"
"I really don't have to work hard for that at all..." Dark lifted his head slightly. "I could hand him a rock, and he'd be thrilled with me..."
Without another word, he reached over and took the banana, peeled it with one swift slide of a claw, and bit into it boredly.
After one bite, he said: "... I'm only eating because I don't fancy the idea of being force fed, which I'm sure will happen eventually if I continue this..."
"... Better than starving yourself..."
There was a pause before Dark added: "... Keep talking so I don't have to listen to him... Real or not, you're still better than being stuck with Dire..."
Iblis almost let a small smile show.
"... I'll try..."
