Dark was fading in and out of consciousness, vaguely aware of what was happening around him.
He felt completely listless, not caring to move even the slightest twitch of muscles because he just didn't care to.
A faint pinprick in his arm followed by a brief numb and burning sensation pulled him back into consciousness for a short while, just enough to realize that he was no longer on the cold hard floor, and the throbbing in his head was going away slowly but gradually.
The odd feeling settled in his chest still seemed to stay, regardless. His ears twitched slightly, and he could hardly make out the mechanical whirring sounds that were no doubt from the various robots the Human had as his assistants.
Cold metallic fingers reached under his head and lifted it up slightly as another set fitted some sort of breathing apparatus to his mouth and nose, increasing the flow of oxygen to his lungs, which had seemed to be not getting comfortably enough.
He could feel cold metal things being prodded at him, under his skin, sliding against it, and set on it for short moments before moving elsewhere. He was able to identify that as various tests (such as blood samples and listening to heart rate, for example...), which he logically tried to tell himself they were to check his condition, but his instincts screamed at him that he was being experimented with.
'They're taking your blood!' It called out frantically, fed by his core fear of modern scientific testing. 'They're putting stuff in you! They're studying you! You're their lab rat! Do something!'
... Not in the mood... Shut up... He countered those thoughts sluggishly. ... They're just stabilizing me... Waste of time, really...
He started to fade again, knowing that he was going to pass out once more... It didn't worry him much, as he knew that he was suffering a moment of severe weakness right now. He was aware that he have never reacted before in such a way to anything, but then again, a lot had changed over time.
But was he being irrational..? Sure, it had been a shock of grand proportions to discover that the hedgehog had not died from the head injury and being left in the snow in such a bad state... Dark had to admit he had assumed the worst, in fact...
But perplexing of all were these simple questions for himself: If Mephiles had indeed been alright all this time, then why hadn't he come to rescue Dark yet..? It's been well over a month, was he trying hard enough..? Why was he with those people, and even protecting them when it was well known that the hedgehog would freeze up and need to be the one saved..?
Before he let his mind wander further, he reasoned with himself that Mephiles would never just give up on him. The hedgehog was willing to even ignore house rules if it meant things would be in better favor of Dark even in the slightest... He even risked angering Shadow by taking Dark's side on things... How could the hedgehog NOT care about him..? Not after all he did for Dark...
Then another thought came to mind...
Mephiles was alive! He didn't die because Dark had ignored his pleas to remain out of the alley after all! Dark didn't indirectly kill him! Dire could no longer use that leverage!
All sound and senses stopped suddenly, and Dark fell into a state of total loss of awareness...
Picking himself off the ground slowly, he lifted his head and immediately saw Dire there, leaning with his back against the glass tank that held the shadowed monster inside. Krad was in it's wolf shape, laying on it's side in a position to suggest it collapsed, which was both odd and somewhat alarming to Dark, who knew that creature was very unlikely to do that.
He looked back at Dire.
"What did you do?"
Dire grinned slightly.
"What makes you think it was me..?" He responded calmly, folding his arms. "Besides, you said yourself you hate the thing..."
"It's still a part of me! Hurting it hurts me!" Dark snapped, baring his teeth.
"My! Aren't you a bit grouchy today?" Dire tilted his head back and smiled that small smile that never seemed friendly. "Too bad that hedgehog isn't here to cheer you up..."
"Maybe not... But I learned today that he's not dead at all!" Dark shouted clearly and confidently, trying to show Dire that he wasn't going to fall for that anymore. "Ergo, I can't be the reason he's gone! I didn't cause his death because he isn't dead!"
Dire blinked calmly before saying in a level tone: "Okay... So when does he come to save you..?"
Dark's fierce expression died swiftly. He had no answer for that, and Dire could easily pick that apart the same way he did before...
"... S-soon..." Dark lied, dropping his gaze to the ground and effectively giving his lie away that way.
Dire sighed and shook his head in mock concern.
"Oh, Dark... He's not coming, is he..?" Dire managed to make a common concerned tone sound so malicious, without even changing infliction, that Dark felt sick just hearing it. "... What's the matter..? Did he have something better to do..? Did he get hit so hard in the head that he forgot about you..? Or..?" Dire paused as he stopped leaning against the tank and stepped towards Dark, who immediately grew tense at this. "Or... Maybe he's finally rid of you..? I mean, it's been over a month since you got separated... And this is first you've heard of him since that time..? Now..? Was he even trying..?"
Immediately, Krad's eyes snapped open and the shadowed creature sprang to it's feet and started to bark viciously, paws splayed out, limbs set far apart as it braced itself against the ground of the cage, tail curled under and shaggy fur bristled down it's back. It leapt at the plexiglass wall and slammed it's head into it before backing up and pawing at the barrier frantically with both front paws, claws scratching against the material.
Dark watched that closely before looking back at Dire again.
"What did you do..? Normally, it wants to attack me... It's directing all this at you..."
Dark was answered by a simple wave of the hand, to which Krad suddenly froze, barking cut off with a sharp yelp as it stumbled back, shaking it's head back and forth as if something had caught it by the neck.
Dark watched in horror as the creature morphed back into the form that resembled a shadowed Dark, and clawed desperately at it's own throat as if suffocating. It's eyes held a flicker of anxiety, even.
As much as Dark hated his old self, he couldn't stand to see it reduced to such a helpless state. Krad didn't acknowledge that Dark was there, and didn't even look at him.
Right when it seemed as if the creature was done for, Dire waved his hand again and Krad inhaled sharply before dropping to the floor in a heap, eyes glassy and face void of even the slightest bit of hatred as it's body forced it to try and make up for that short bout of lack of oxygen.
"... How..?" Dark managed after the shock wore off.
"Shadow Energy... I'm made of it..." Dire explained without pause. "And being that I have easily eons more years of experience behind using it than you do, I can do more than you can even dream of."
"... But... I don't... I can't even... What..?" Dark was still stunned, and could only stutter.
"What are you... Like ten..? Eleven..? Years..?" Dire shrugged indifferently. "I'm at half that denomination in the thousands. You aren't the first one I've had to deal with, man."
"... Thousands...?" Dark responded with a good degree of shock. "... That puts you at... You've been around since..."
"I'm older than Chaos himself, if that's what you mean." Dire added for him. "And as such, I have much more control and power over my abilities. I can take any form I want without needing a template, unlike you... What do you have so far..? That..." He gestured to Dark's body in general. "... A shapeless pile of goop... A mouse... And... That's about it, really. A mouse..?" Dire started to snicker, causing Dark to bring his hands up towards his face as if trying to hide behind them. "Quite fitting, actually. That's a prey creature... Always having to look out for danger so it doesn't get snapped up... One mouse can't hope to do anything... It's too unimportant. They spend their whole lives running and hiding... Kinda like what you're trying to do now..."
Dark stared in shock, mouth hung open before clenching it shut and squeezing his hands into fists, eyes narrowing, and ears back.
"No! You're just a liar!" He shouted, glaring. "Why should I believe anything you tell me when I know all you to do is feed off my misery and hurt me!"
Dire rolled his eyes before tossing something on the ground, making Dark jump back as it slid. It was one of the small locks that had been on the tank. The locking bar had been snapped off.
"Because if you want me to stay away from these things..." Dire said calmly. "You'll keep me from getting bored, if you know what's good for you..."
It was hard to tell if Dark's already sickly pale face had gotten anymore so this time. He looked at the ground and lowered his arms.
"Ah, good... Good..." Dire nodded in approval. "Maybe you are smart after all. I don't have to be the bad guy here, if you don't make it so I have no other choice. Oh, how about a game? It'll be like Simon Says... You just have to repeat what I say a few times... Do it wrong, and I get to take off another lock... No..?" Dark had shook his head quickly at this, so Dire added to the deal. "Oh, right... You don't get much of a prize for this... How about if you do it right, I'll leave you alone for three days. That should give a chance to pull yourself together, after all..."
Dark looked as though he wasn't sure if he had a better chance at playing along, or if he tried to oppose. His ability to See ahead was practically garbled right now, as if something was preventing him from using it. He shuddered silently, looking quite helpless again.
Dire smirked.
"Trust me, things will be less difficult if you say 'Yes'... Less difficult to me, and less difficult for you to mess up any further..."
Dark didn't answer, so he reached for a lock behind him, prompting the shadow to squeak and nod quickly to get him to stop.
"Ah, very good... I knew you could do it..." Dire grinned before slowly lifting his fingers from the lock and letting it go. "Alright, now... It's very simple, just repeat what I say..."
Mephiles braced himself, knowing that Sonic was about to restore another Gaia Temple. He should have known by now that he had no real reason to freak out, but he couldn't help that every time the ground was going shake, his primal instincts told him to do what every animal should do in preparation for a natural disaster. Run.
"S-so, where are we going next..?" He asked Tails, trying to keep his mind off the coming quake.
"Well, reports have said there's another Temple in Empire City..." Tails pulled out the map, put it in the lighting of a nearby lantern and pointed to a circled area. "That's the next closest place.."
Mephiles noticed that only three of the seven circles were not crossed out, which meant there was only three places left to go. They were well beyond half way, which meant he was getting closer to reuniting with Dark.
"I don't know where that is, but I just know it means that Dark's gonna be saved soon..." The hedgehog smiled at the thought and grabbed a corner of the map to pull it closer to him to better look at it. "So I guess Empire City is a city type place... What's Adabat..?"
"It's got villages built on water." Tails said without pause.
Immediately, Mephiles looked even more nervous
"What do you mean by that..?"
"There's wooden piers and docks, with huts and houses built in the shallow waters... Ever seen those vacation commercials for the tropical places..?" Mephiles nodded in response as Tails continued. "Well, I think it's kinda like that... I haven't been there yet, but I've come across it on some researching."
"... I can't swim..." Mephiles reminded him anxiously, as if that had been forgotten.
"Don't worry, we'll have something ready for you by that time." Tails assured him. "In fact, we've already ordered a life vest for you, and we can pick it up at a shop in Empire City when we get there. Hope you don't mind the color orange..." He added. "Orange just looks brighter against blue, and we figured you wanted to be a visible as possible if you fell in so we'd notice."
"Orange is fine, th-thank you..." Mephiles smiled nervously.
"Also, it should be resistant to your crystals' sharpness, so it'll keep you floating, even if they dug in somehow..."
"Sure I won't be t-too dense to float..?" Mephiles asked further. "My crystals are kinda dense, and make me sink like a rock..."
"We picked out one of the higher quality ones, taking that into consideration..." Tails folded up the map. "I have no idea what substance that coating is, but it seems to have similar properties to several I've seen before, so I made sure to account for that possibility, too..."
Dark's eyelids lifted with difficulty as he groaned weakly while he came to. One eye lid half closed from exhaustion as he tried to make heads or tails of what was happening...
A plastic bubble-like thing was fitted over his mouth and nose...
He forced his eyes open more when his eyelids started to droop again...
What looked like a needle of some kind was set in the bend of his arm, attached to a tube that seemed to feed into a bag of clear liquid that was hanging from a stand for it near the bed...
... What's that doing there..? He questioned no one, turning his attention to straight ahead, but squeezed his eyes shut when the florescent lighting agitated a headache that was forming in his head. If that wasn't enough, his stomach was starting to twist in knots as well, adding to the unpleasant feelings and making him feel helpless, because he had no way to ease up the discomfort other than laying perfectly still and hoping he didn't cause it to go further.
Inhaling sharply from a sudden but mild wave of nausea and tilting his head, he found the identical one, huddled in a nearby chair, looking as though he might have fallen asleep there.
Dark couldn't help but crack a small smile at that sight. The flame had his arms folded, his feet on the seat cushion, head hanging slightly downward, body somewhat curled, but everything seemed loose and indifferent to instinct... While Dark might curl up tightly to protect his vulnerable spots, Iblis here was curled up almost leisurely, as if it was just more convenient to do so.
Dark wanted to reach a hand out to him, but he was just out of reach, the shadow's fingertips hardly brushing against his arm as Dark struggled to hold his arm out.
A headache flared up viciously and he squeezed his eyes shut, crying out weakly in agony as he drew his hand back and used it to clutched the side of his forehead that was experiencing the pain.
At that sound, Iblis' eyes snapped open. He stared for a moment as if trying to comprehend what just happened and what was going on, before easing his gaze to Dark. He gasped and jumped to his feet.
"Dark! What's wrong!" He shouted as Dark flinched at the sudden loud tone.
Dark shook his head carefully with a pained moan, trying his best to explain without words that he would prefer it if the talking was kept to a minimum until his head didn't feel like his brain was being run through a blender. He couldn't muster much more than something resembling a vowel, dragged out on one breath as he curled inward, as if hoping to ease it.
No matter how many migraines he had had before in his life, the "experience" he had from having them never made them any less painful or crippling. In fact, the only method of relief he knew of that had the highest success rate in easing it to a more tolerable level during an episode was the hedgehog's ability to take some of it away. Without that, he would just have to wait until the migraine died down, which could take a while before he was able to think clearly.
Seeing that Dark had his eyes squeezed shut and his head turned the best he could from the overhead florescent lighting, and even had his arm raised slighting to shield himself from it, Iblis wondered if the lights were causing this (he didn't really understand how Dark's migraines worked, only that the headaches were capable of turning the usually tough acting shadow into a quivering, crying ball of quills in a matter of minutes...).
He crossed the room to the light switches that controlled several of the total florescent lights in the large recovery room and flipped a few until he got the ones in Dark's general area off, leaving that place dimly lit from the other ones around them. When he stepped back to where Dark was, he noticed that Dark didn't even realize that the lights had been dimmed, as he still kept his eyes squeezed shut.
"... Dark..?" He said in the softest tone he could do, which wasn't easy. "... I turned down some of the lights... Does that help any..? Dark..?"
The shadow managed to force an eye open slightly, which appeared to be staring blearily and unfocused, and continued to stare ahead before shifting in Iblis' direction.
"... Mmm..?" Dark managed to hum out weakly, not wanting to take valuable effort at the moment to properly pronounce the entire statement he wanted to voice. Iblis could figure that he meant to ask him what he had said... Whatever trace of confusion that managed to work passed the painful look in his eyes voiced that clearly. He hasn't heard him until his name had been said the second time...
"... I said that I turned some of the lights down... Does that help at all..?" Iblis repeated in a low voice, ears perked forward slightly to try and catch any of Dark's soft responses.
"... Mmm-hmm..." Dark closed his eyes again and gave a slight bob of the head. a weak nod really, and the corner of his mouth twitched a little in a small smile to express how grateful he was for that action.
Then suddenly, he shuddered as the smile faded, and his uninjured hand flew to his mouth, pulling the breathing mask off so he could clamp his hand tightly over his mouth, chest heaving up and down as he gasped, face paler than before and trembling body damp with sweat.
"Aw, geeze! What's wrong now?" Iblis groaned in worry as Dark started to try and push himself up from the bed, not caring that he was pulling at the IV as he did. "Hey!" Iblis reacted swiftly; quickly and carefully pushing him back into the bed. "You shouldn't be trying to move right now! You're ill, and your blood pressure had dropped dangerously low earlier! You need to stay down!"
"... Errm... Gonna... S-sick..." Dark managed between heavy gasps, still trying to get up.
"... Eh..?" Iblis didn't quite understand why Dark was being so persistent, but was still nevertheless worried. "I don't really... OH!" He finally got it as soon as Dark's cheeks puffed before the shadow swallowed back the terrible feeling with difficulty. "Oh! You're going to vomit, aren't you!"
The look Dark gave him would have almost been comical if not for the situation. It was very sarcastic and clearly said (sarcastically): "No... I'm perfectly fine, I just love acting like this..."
Iblis quickly located an empty wastebasket and shoved it in his hands.
"Here, this should-Oh... Ooh... Yeah, I think you got it..." Iblis' face turned red from awkwardness as Dark pulled the wastebasket from him, threw his head in it, and proceeded to empty his stomach contents in it... Which wasn't really much, but still enough to make it as unpleasant as it looked.
Lifting his head up when the barfing stopped, Dark looked at Iblis with a pitiful expression, and what he said almost made Iblis laugh.
"... That was my favorite kind of food, too..." He groaned, looking as if he was going to cry, but only for the reason that he had thrown up the food he had enjoyed, not because he was sick.
Iblis took the wastebasket and shoved it into a corner, then took the empty tray from earlier and placed it on top of it to cap it, as he was sure it was going to start to smell foul later, which was something Dark didn't need at the moment.
"... Feel better now..?" He asked as Dark wiped frantically at his nose, looking, if possible, more disgusted.
"... I think some of it got in my nostrils..." He groaned, but sounding much more coherent than ten minutes before.
Iblis found a tissue box on one of the shelves, and handed it to him.
"Will this help any...?" He said as Dark snatched up a wad of tissues and blew his nose into it, causing Iblis, who had never really seen something like that before, jump back in shock, disgusted at what he spotted on the tissues, which Dark didn't seem to care much about at all. "What was that!"
"... Clearing my nose... It's normal..." Dark explained, slightly amused as he balled the tissue up and tossed it on the nightstand. "... I'd go into explanation, but I don't think that's the right time right now..."
"... Eh... Well, do you feel any better..?" Iblis quickly steered back.
"... I still feel like crud... But my headache isn't as bad now, and I don't feel like I'm going to be sick, since I already have..." Dark muttered, trying to stifle a yawn, looking a bit sleepy still. "... What happened earlier..? I just remember seeing that picture of..." He trailed off before suddenly gasping and appearing as though excited but a mix of other emotions as well. "Mephy! He's alright! He's alive!" He burst into tears as it sunk in completely. "I don't-I mean, I saw him get hit! Th-there was all that blood! He wasn't moving! But he's alive! I sh-should have known! He's lived through worse! He's got healing powers, for Chaos' s-sake! Why did I just assume th-the worst! I've been j-just hurting myself over nothing! I sh-should know by now he's t-tougher than he looks!"
"... You're forgetting how quickly that all happened..." Iblis reminded him carefully, a little stunned by the sudden wailing from the shadow. "... I mean, you said that you didn't have much time to assess everything... All you knew was that he was hurt, and you had to get both of you out of there..." He noticed that Dark was wheezing each time he took a breath, and immediately brought that to his attention. "You're sounding out of breath... Please try to calm yourself and take a few breaths through that air thing until you feel better... You might pass out again if you don't..."
For once, Dark didn't object to being told to do something so seemingly obvious. He fumbled for the oxygen mask for a moment, as it had fallen to hang loosely around his neck, and pulled it back up to his mouth and nose, breathing in deeply and holding it for a moment before breathing out, eyes closed and head hung as he tried to compose himself.
It was getting difficult to act like he normally did, now. With the fresh memory of being so weak and helpless, crying out as a migraine caught him up swiftly, before losing what little food he had managed to get into his stomach, then sobbing like an ignored infant... He wondered if he ever be able to live that down... It was even more embarrassing to be the way in the presence of (a figment of!) his brother who had rejected him for showing similar weaknesses.
Pale face flushed around the cheeks and bridge of his nose and ears drooping, Dark looked at Iblis meekly, as if waiting to see what he had to say about all this. Iblis just stared before sighing softly and reaching over to try to help ease him into a better recovery position, which made Dark flinch unexpectedly.
"... I'm not going to hurt you..." Iblis reassured him, trying to get him to lay on his back. "... You'll get more of that to your lungs if you lay back, and tilt you head up more, instead of curling in like that..." When he finally got him to lay back like he suggested, the flame reached under his brother's chin and lifted it a bit to help tilt his head back like he had explained. Upon feeling the older one's fingers so close to his neck, Dark's breathing hitched and his body went completely rigid with fear.
Seeing Dark shiver, squeeze his eyes shut and clench his jaw to try and stifle a cry of fright, Iblis quickly withdrew his hand, realizing what he had done wrong: deep down, Dark was still anxious, if not downright scared, of him, and bringing his hands that close to such an important, vital spot had triggered an immediate terror response in Dark's weakened state. Dark might have not meant to, but it still had come forth almost naturally. Dark didn't seem to mind as much having his chest, back, arm, and head touched...
Thinking about it further, he was able to recall a few times in which he had caused Dark to be hurt quite badly around the neck and throat area. Dark was just being cautious...
"... I won't hurt you..." Iblis tried to explain to him, wondering if he even believed him in the slightest. If he didn't, Iblis didn't blame him, to be honest. "... Bear in mind I've been tending to you since you woke up... I don't want to see you get hurt... Not again..."
Dark blinked and tilted his head to look at him more clearly. True... Iblis had been trying his best to make it easier for Dark... And Dark hadn't seemed grateful, not even in the slightest sense...
Feeling like a brat, Dark looked away for a moment as if thinking about something. Then, carefully, he tried to push himself up again, Iblis reacting quickly, despite having drawn away from him initially.
"You're by far the most stubborn kid I've ever-!" He scolded as he stepped forward to push him back down, but cut himself off when he saw Dark flash a now rare grin and the shadow threw his arms around him when he was close enough. "D-Dark! What on Mobius-! Did you do that on purpose!" Iblis stammered, completely thrown for a loop.
"... Mmm-hmm..." Dark hummed, still having not caught his breath enough to speak clearly.
"... You're so unpredictable sometimes..." Iblis huffed, letting his own arms go limp. "... It's often difficult to catch when you shift moods... You managed to go from nauseated, to embarrassed, to indifferent, to upset, to terrified, and to this in the span of almost an hour alone..."
Dark "hmmed" another response, and pressed himself closer, as if enjoying that he could nuzzle against something furry.
Iblis sighed, shook his head, and smiled slightly before noticing something else.
"... For someone who's been sick for a while and hardly taking care of themselves..." He pointed out as he tried to loosen Dark's hold a little. "... You've got quite a grip... When did you get so strong..?"
Dark snorted, and managed an "... Always been..."
"... Really, now..?" Iblis had to smile slightly at Dark's currently childlike demeanor. The shadow was soaking up the warm and positive energy that had started to radiate between them like a sponge, sighing contentedly. "... I remember you being such a feeble thing when you started existing... Couldn't even move until I gave you a good shove to get started..." Iblis snorted lightly at the memory. "... You also pretty much picked out the first names we had..."
"... I did..?" Dark mumbled sleepily, starting to doze off again, but forced himself to stay awake a little longer.
"Of course..." Iblis blinked, a little surprise Dark had forgotten, before taking into account that not only had Dark suppressed many of his early memories, but he had sustained enough head injuries over time, that it was surprising that he didn't think he was the Queen of France or something else just as outrageously confusing. "... You said 'A Brother is someone you grow with... I learned that today... I'm going to call you that, now.'... So I called you Little Brother, because you were smaller and younger than me... You were so thrilled at the idea of using your suggestion."
"... I wish I could remember... But I don't..." Dark murmured miserably, pulling away from Iblis to look at him sadly. "... I know it happened, and I feel it... But I just can't remember..." Then he added in a softer tone, looking at the floor as he did: "... Part of the reason I have migraines... Is because they try to break through the barrier, but almost all can't... If they do, it's only a fracture of the memory..."
"... How much do you really remember, then..?" Iblis asked gently.
"..." Dark lowered his head again, hiding his face from view as he stayed silent.
"... Dark..?" Iblis tried again before realizing Dark was swaying just a little, and decided it was best to stop asking questions and gently eased him back down on his back. "... I should say right now that one of the side effects of what's in that bag thing is drowsiness, along with nausea... which I think you must have figured by now..." He explained as Dark yawned again and stared at him blearily. "... It's supposed to help get your system back on track, from what I heard. It was about as strange as it was terrifying, earlier..." Iblis added, explaining about what happened when Dark collapsed earlier. "Your heart was beating really fast, but suddenly slowed down more than it should of... I heard your blood pressure just plummeted after that. That bag right here..." He gestured to the IV drip. "Is supposed to have something in it to help restore and replace chemical imbalances in your body to try and stop that from happening again. When you feel better later, I want you to try and eat something, okay..?" He added somewhat desperately. "... It doesn't have to be a lot, but just something with a bit of substance..."
"... Dire says he's gonna leave me alone... For a few days..." Dark managed to say, trying to keep himself awake enough to speak clearly.
"... That actually sounds suspicious..." Iblis blinked and frowned slightly. "Why the sudden relenting..?"
"... Said I could have a break... If I just repeated what he said..." Dark shifted a bit to get more comfortable.
"... Dark... Don't let your guard down..." Iblis said seriously. "He's trying to get you to be more vulnerable by manipulating you..."
To his surprise, Dark grinned slyly.
"I know... I don't fall for that trick at all..." He smiled smally.
Iblis blinked before mirroring the same smile.
"Good boy..." He whispered, reaching over and patting Dark on the head before he could stop himself.
Dark simply beamed at the praise before nodding off again.