Chapter 8: Adjustments
Shadow's pov
"Stop!"
I throw my head up as I hear the kid's screaming in the next room across the hall from mine. It's still dark,slowly getting out of bed,I walk to my door and head for his temporary bedroom...or at least I pray it's 'temporary'.
"Course he babbles in his sleep..why not?"
After Rouge and I found the scrawny twerp,she had me chaos control us to her house...only to pick up a mattress for him..the woman was sleeping with two mattresses,also she advises that I take him. Why the hell so? I don't know..something about him being a boy. Damn,I really don't see any good coming out of this...but apparently unlike a dog,you can't just leave a kid out and assume they'll be fine. If I didn't have a feeling things didn't go right,I'd just drop him off at faker's,but I bet it wouldn't be successful with my luck. Hm! If all fails I'll just blame Rouge...yeah that'll make all the difference.
Walking into the room,I see the kid squirming under his blanket,mumbling to himself while thrashing out occasionally.
"Stop!" He yelps out again,thrashing his head to the side.
Yawning,I go and nudge his shoulder with my foot.
"Please..I didn't mean to!" Now he's tearing up,still refusing to wake up.
Growling,I roughly nudge him a little harder this time,still no success.
"Kid,shut up." I try to get his attention,now sitting next to him on the floor...what? It's just a mattress,not a bed.
Normal pov
Suddenly leaning up,the gray ferret hastily wraps his arms around one of Shadow's and pulls himself to it,burying his face in it.
"D-dad.." He whimpers,only to immediately be cut off by a painful flick on the nose by Shadow.
"The hell?!" Shadow is thrown off by the kid's action of affection.
Screeching in pain,Darkness flinches awake from his nightmare to see two glowing red eyes glaring back at him,while roughly tugging away his arm from his.
*growl*"..well now that your awak-"
"Ahh-Satan!" The small ferret screams out,slipping off the mattress,now crying more. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! Don't take me away!" Shuddering,he shields his face with his arms.
"Kid!" Yells Shadow,now very irritated. "Shut up,and calm down already! Not only am I NOT your damn dad,but I'm also not a damned spirit either!" While yelling,he notices a strange scent,but he can't quite figure out what it is yet.
Finally looking up,he opens his eyes to see Shadow,still glaring at him. Memories come rushing back to him,as he sees his current surroundings...he's to stay here for now at the moment.
"I-I didn't mean to.." Darkness says,now looking down with a blank stare.
"Great to know. Goodnight." Shadow says,not caring to understand,now about to step out.
"...And I-I may have wanted to...but I didn't mean to. I didn't think it'd actually work...B-but I didn't mean it!"
"What now? What are you getting to?"
"I'm...I'm going to-to the bad place...aren't I?"
"What?"
"Aren't I?"
"Hell if I know." Groans Shadow,halfway out the door. "Now goodnight..uh don't let the bed mites kill,or whatever way it goes."
"Shadow.."
"What?" Shadow hisses.
"I-I did something bad.." Now he's blushing.
"So have I once,get over it." Shadow sternly states,closing the door behind him before he can say anymore.
As he finally gets back to his bedroom and back under his own covers he begins to close his eyes...when suddenly realization hits him as he remember the scent.
'Damn kid pissed the mattress!'
"Amy! Hey Amy!" Calls Cream as she knocks on her door,while holding her pet chao Cheese.
It's now the morning,as the sun has barely risen. Waiting at the door,the small young rabbit looks up in fright as Amy steps out.
"Hello Cream!" Greets Amy. "Dropping Cheese off already?"
"U-uh-huh." Cream's voice seems lost,as she tries to figure out what she's looking at.
"That's nice." Amy says. "I promise I'll take good care of him. So..you looking forward to your trip?"
A few weeks ago Amy had agreed to look after Cheese while Cream and her mother leave for the weekend to visit family.
"..U-uh-huh..." Clearing her throat,Cream asks,"A-Amy...what are you-what is-what did you do to yourself?"
A drastic change to Amy's usual look indeed,rather than her red dress,she had on a black one. Also,her boots were black and grey,and her headband was also black,with a matching bow attached. Not only that,but her quills even had black highlights in them.
"You don't like?" Amy asks,making a slight pose.
"Well...it's not bad,but not you either." Cream says. "Why do you look like that?"
"It's all apart of my plan of reverse psychology." Amy explains. "I'm just going to pretend to like someone else,and to do that,I also have to look the part."
"Oh,well who is this 'someone else'?" Asks Cream,now less frightened. "He must really not like colors."
"It's Shadow."
"Shadow?" Now Cream is scared again. "Oh but you can't! He'll be so mad. And he's a little unhappy most of the time. What if he finds out? He will be very angry."
"It's ok Cream." Amy says. "While he is grumpy most of the time,nothing seriously bad will actually happen. You've got to remember,while mean,he is on our side still,he's still a good guy. Not evil at all."
"Well yes,but he's a very mean good guy!"
"And he'll yell a little,I know." Amy says. "But besides that,everything will be ok. Now,you just focus on your trip,and I'll take care of Cheese. Ok?" Amy says with a reassuring smile.
"..Ok then." Cream says,handing the chao to Amy. "Hear's a list of things about him,incase you have any troubles,and a bag with his stuff he needs."
"Alright,I'll keep it close to me." Amy says,taking everything in hand. "Bye,have fun."
"See you later Amy,and good luck." Cream says with a wave,flying away.
"Chao! Chao!"
"Incredible...incredibly bad."
"Figured it out buddy?" Asks Sonic,his two tailed friend at the kitchen table inspecting two gems that Lacey brought home a few days ago.
"Yes,these are power sources alright,but they're enhanced power sources." Tails says.
"So Eggman's been improving fake emeralds it seems." Sonic says.
"I'm afraid so,but what gets me the most is the size of these things,they're tiny! But yet they hold so much power."
"Compact energy?" Asks Sonic.
"Very compact." Says Tails. "This can't be good..one gem is all it takes to power up something...so why is he making many? Just think of what he might need all those gems for. A weapon unlike the rest."
"Or an army,maybe those gems are powering up his robots. That could be a reason to have so many power sources." Sonic suggests.
"That's also a possibility.."
"Well maybe Lacey knows. Maybe she saw something while she was a hostage." Sonic guesses.
"Worth a shot."
"Lacey!" Calls Sonic.
"Yeah?" The brown ferret asks,walking into the kitchen.
"Did you see anything strange while you were trapped by Eggman?" He asks. "Anything that may involve these gems you brought us? Where did you find them anyway?"
"Hmmm,the memory's a little fluffy but..oh! While I was trying to escape the cell thingy,I saw this hand print scanner on the wall." Says Lacey. "When it denied my handprint,I started breaking into it,that's when I found the gems,but then it exploded in my face and...yeah that's all I know."
"Hmm,maybe he's using them to power up his HQ,along with his robots." Says Sonic.
"That's our best guess." Agrees Tails. "Thanks for giving me these Lacey,now we can use this new power source against him if he tries anything new."
"You really like them?" Asks Lacey,innocently happy. "I'm surprised,since I had those in my mouth-"
"What?!-"
"But I'm glad they're of use for you guys."
"Bla!" Tails drops the gems on the table in disgust. "Lacey! Why? Why were they-what were-why do you-...ughh never mind."
"Your welcome." Cheers Lacey,before skipping out of the kitchen.
"..well...at least she's finally grasping the concept of 'honesty'." Says Sonic,an uncertain look on his face. "That's something she has a struggle with."
"..Yeah.." Says Tails,wiping the gems down with a paper towel. "..wanna test these on something?"
"Yeah!"
*bssst* *bssst* *bssst*
"Hello?" Yawns Shadow,answering his cellphone under his covers,still in bed.
"Hey Shadow." Greets Rouge. "How are things going so far?"
"Hm?"
"The kid Shadow." Says Rouge. "How things going?"
"Hm! Irritating,the kid woke me up a few times last night." Groans Shadow.
"What was the problem?"
"He wouldn't shut up! All he did was talk in his sleep,and occasionally yell out."
"Shadow,he's scared. He can't help it." Rouge says.
"Neither can I. I just hope this isn't an every night type of thing."
"Well just have patience,and try to form an understanding,also when talking to him,try using nice polite words like 'please'. That'll help calm things down a bit."
"Yeah? And how would you know?" Asks Shadow. "Since when did you have kids?"
"I know because unlike you,I actually was a kid once." Rouge points out.
"..."
"What is he doing anyway? The kid?"
"Hmm...it's surprisingly quiet..sleeping I guess,not like he had any good sleep last night to brag about or anything." Says Shadow.
"Are you still in bed?"
"Yeah,what of it?"
"Shadow,children plus silence is never a good thing,you'd better see what's up."
"Rouge I seriously doubt anything drastic is happening right now." Says Shadow. "Like I said,he's probably asle-"
Suddenly the dark hedgehog is interrupted by a distant splooshing sound...followed by a clanking sound of a spoon hitting the wooden floor.
*growl*"I'll call you back."
Throwing off the covers,Shadow angrily rushes down the hallway and into the small kitchen.
"S-sorry sir!" The grey ferret cowers under the table.
In the kitchen Shadow sees a bowl of cereal on the table,and a spilt milk jug on the floor,accompanied by a spoon.
"I-I didn't mean to!" Blurts out Darkness. "I-it was too heavy,a-and it fell..I'm sorry!"
"..a jug of milk isn't that heavy." To be honest,if it wasn't Shadow's food or kitchen,he'd be laughing at the boy's weakness,however...
"It is to heavy!" Retorts Darkness,now crawling out from under the table. "Or..at least it was!"
"Clean it." Shadow orders bluntly.
"What?"
"Clean your mess." He sternly says.
"By myself?" Asks Darkness.
"Unless there's two of you,yes."
"But this mess..I need help." Says Darkness. "Please?.."
"...No." Shadow states.
"Why not?"
"Dammit! You're the one who made it! You're the one who cleans it!" Shadow yells,now losing the little patience he has left.
The yelling scares the kid,as he sniffs and begins crying on the floor.
"B-but I was hungry!" Cries out Darkness,more tears falling. "I didn't m-mean to waste y-your food!"
'Augh,god..' Groans Shadow in his head. "..Look kid," He says over the kid's crying. "Calm down,I'm not entirely mad at you,I just don't like your mess on the floor."
"Wahh!" Darkness doesn't hear him,as his cries get louder.
"Hey!" Shadow yells over the crying. "Darkness,shut up! I'm sorry alright? Just clean up the mess and stop your crying!...please?"
"My stomach!" The small ferret cries.
"Yes,you have one,what about it?" Shadow shouts out.
"I-it hurts! So b-b-bad! Wahh,it burns!"
"Chaos control!"
Having enough of this,Shadow temporarily freezes time,mops up the milk mess,throws away the jug,then sits the frozen ferret boy at the table with the cereal bowl,right before time slowly takes over again.
"Wahh-hu-what?" Sniffs the confused ferret.
"Here." Shadow hisses,shoving the spoon to the kid's hand. "Now eat it before the floor does."
"...W-what happened?"
"I briefly controlled a glimpse of time." Shadow irritably says,as if it wasn't a big deal. "Now eat up already if your hunger is what's making you irritating."
"Irritating?.."
*growl*"Moody I mean."
"Oh.."
"And bathe when your done." Shadow says. "You need it...a lot."
30 minutes later..
'What now?' Thinks Shadow,looking at the ferret kid sitting across from him in the living room,with only the coffee table separating them.
'Why are his eyes so red?' Thinks Darkness,staring right back from the other couch.
"So.." Shadow breaks the silence. "What all-"
"Why are your eyes red?" Blurts out Darkness.
"My eyes?"
"Yeah,why are they so red?" He asks. "Are you an albino?"
"Really? Do I look like I'm missing pigmentation?" Questions Shadow,pointing out the fact that he has color. "I don't know why,they just are."
"Oh...Are you evil?"
"No,why?" Asks Shadow.
"Well your eyes-"
"Again with the eyes? Ok fine,why do you have grey eyes? Are you lifeless?"
"What kind of question is that?" Asks Darkness.
"Exactly." Points out Shadow.
"..Why are you always mad?"
"I'm not always mad."
"Well you look like it,in fact right now you look like it."
"Well,I'm not." Says Shadow. "It's just my face,not everyone likes to prance around with giggles and hugs."
"Are you Sonic's brother?"
Now this makes Shadow's train of thought crash. "Hell no. What gives you that idea?"
"Well...you look like him..are you a fan?"
"Hey! I came into this world long before that faker did! 50 years before he did,if anything,he looks like me!" Shadow says.
"Ohh I see..are you his dad?" Asks Darkness.
"No!" Growls Shadow. "Far from it."
"So wait a minute..if you were here 50 years ago,then that means your old." Concludes Darkness in amazement. "You're an old man!"
"No I'm not,I'm 18." Shadow corrects. "I'm just...agingly challenged."
"Oh..ok then?" The small ferret doesn't bother to ask. "I'm bored."
"And I'm tired of my days off sucking." Shadow says.
"...do you have any games to play?"
"No...well maybe I do." Shadow ponders.
"Really? What is it?" Asks Darkness,his tail wagging.
"A slingshot,a few pebbles,and some cans and glass bottles." Shadow says.
"You mean like..shooting? But mom always said shooting was wrong."
"And burning corpses isn't?"
"...well-"
"Either that or nothing." Says Shadow. "Plus I need to let off some steam with some good target practice,this week's been a sucky one."
"Well...alright I guess." Says Darkness,an unsure tone present. "B-but I'll only watch..that's all."
"The hell kind of fun is that?" Asks Shadow,raising a brow. "Whatever,but on one condition first."
"What?"
"You clean that piss mess from last night,I have a feeling that my friend might be expecting her mattress back once I get rid of you."
"G-get rid of me?!" Yelps the ferret kid. "Why? Please don't kill me! I'm sorry! Get away from me!" He yells,jumping off the couch and hastily runs throughout the apartment,in and out of the walls.
"Graugh! Kid wait,I didn't mean it that way!" Growls Shadow,his hands slightly having a light yellow glow to them as he looks around the apartment,Darkness notices this. "You're overly paranoid!"
Whimpering inside a mirror,Darkness says,"Y-your going to hurt me!" referring to his glowing hands.
Finding him,Shadow growls,"I'm not going to hurt you. They just sometimes do that when people piss me off,now get your ass back out here!"
"No!"
"You can't stay in there forever." Shadow says. "..I'll break this mirror if I have to."
*hiss* "Leave me alone!"
Growling,Shadow punches the mirror into bits,only to immediately feel a sudden cold rush in his head afterwards. "Dammit,get out of my head before I wound you mentally!" Shadow sternly commands,realizing what happened.
8-15-13
Aw,poor Shadow,he's losing what little patience he has left.
Also,Shadow's hands glowing is just unfinished chaos spears,nothing he can't control. =)
Oh,for those of you who are wondering,yes,I know. I know Darkness doesn't act his age at all,and that 'Darkness' is a stupid name yes. Here's the thing,Darkness isn't normal,he has some extreme genetics passed into him,that includes his mind as well,keep that in mind. Also no worries,'Darkness' is only temporary,he'll get his final name soon enough.
Well this is all for now,if you've survived past the other chapters to this one,congrats! =)
...still typing by iPod...no fun.