By Maikafuiniel
Interlude 1
Not all pain is gain.
It was dark… everything was dark. Everything was painful. He could feel it, the sun, the lights, trying to get in… but he wouldn't let it. No. Blissful black nothingness.
He couldn't deal with it. It hurt. His eyes, his face, everything. He could remember…
It had felt like he was crying, blood running down his face like tears, coming from his eyes. He could feel something… His lungs exploding as he screamed, but more then that...
He could feel his mutation kicking in, trying to 'fix' the broken bits and piences of his body. Fix what Shadow was trying to take away from him, even as he just sat there, staring. Forge knew he could only turn his arms into different tools, but his body still liked to make sure everything was working properly- that was why he hadn't aged when he was in the side dimension in the school. Only partly there, for forty years, and yet he hadn't aged a minute.
No, his body wanted things working properly. Even his eyes. Especially his eyes.
He could feel his eyes healing as Shadow did… whatever he did. All he could remember was the blood, running down his face… and it hurt so much…
Forge gasped, quietly, when he felt the touch of something on his face. A gloved hand.
"Wakey wakey," a slow, low, voice called, "You don't want to keep me waiting…"
Shadow. Shadow had done this to him. Hurt him. Laughed while it was happening… he had been so sure he would be blind, his eyes ripped right from his head… but they were there. He could feel them. Painful.
"Have you re-thought my… proposition?" Shadow asked.
Forge wanted to say he wouldn't do it. He wanted to tell him to go to hell. But his voice was weak from screaming, and instead he shook his head…
He had been trying to say no. He had tried to shake his head back and forth.
But it hurt so much…
He nodded.
"Fine," he rasped, "Fine… just…" he couldn't finish what he wanted to say. He didn't know how to say it…
"Just do as I say," Shadow finished for him, "And we'll get along just fine."
He could hear Shadow walking away, the heels of his boots on the metal floor.
And carefully, so carefully, Forge opened his eyes.
Light flooded them, and he shut his eyes quickly. There was a headache now… and it hurt all the more. Everything hurt.
But at least now he knew he could still see…
A Note from Maikafuiniel: Hey there people! I got a review from somebody (todd fan in fact, lol) asking if Forge was dead. Well, since this is an interlude I'm not going to dedicate this to anybody, but just so you know todd fan, this one was written with you in mind! Forge is alive, Shadow just wanted to... persuade him to do what he wanted. Get it? :)