Whisper awoke with a start, clutching a sharp pain in her ribs. Someone had wrapped some tight bandages around her while she was out, and through bleary eyes, a look around the room revealed Lanolin and Tangle fast asleep in their own beds...With a Shadow Android looming over them!
Whisper rushed out of bed, wielding an IV holder like a club and swinging at the android, who just barely avoided getting hit. "Miss Whisper, PLEASE! You are in no condition to be-"
Another swing and a miss. "GET AWAY FROM THEM!" Whisper shouted, before the pain in her ribs became nearly unbearable, bringing her to her knees. "Get...Away..."
"Miss Whisper, I think you've loosened your bandages. I need to-"
"STAY BACK!" Whisper shouted, pointing the IV stand at the android before her, nearly blacking out from the pain now. The android held his hands up, trying to de-escalate the situation. "I can't force you to do anything, but as your doctor-"
"Doctor?" Whisper repeated, confused. Wait...It was coming back to her...What Tangle had told her earlier...
"Miss Whisper, please let Dr. Daniel help you. He's just doing his job." A very sleepy Cream said from another bed, bandages around her head. The Shadow Android, this Dr. Daniel, it would seem, shuffled over quickly and laid her back down. "Now, Cream, you know you need YOUR rest, as well!"
"And Cheese, too?" The rabbit asked, motioning to a bandaged Chao in a small bed beside her. "Yes, and Cheese too." Daniel replied with a chuckle, tucking the young girl into bed gently. Cream fell back asleep nearly instantly due to the medicine in her system, and Daniel turned back to Whisper. "Now, may we try this again?"
Whisper just grunted as she used the IV stand to help her back to her bed, where Daniel began to undo and redo the bandages around her ribs. "Don't worry. I understand your reaction."
"*you do?*" Whisper asked, back to her usual hushed tone.
"Of course. I experience it all of the time back in my village." Daniel replied. "Not from the locals since a little incident with anger-inducing nanites...*Long story there. But whenever guests come through, there IS some initial shock. Makes the job a lot harder."
"*then why do it?*"
"Because...I have this need, this...Compulsion. To help people." Daniel pulled a bandage taut. "Too tight?"
"*still a little loose, actually.*"
"Hmm. Just say when, then." Daniel resumed his work. "But yes, just because it takes a bit longer for patients to trust me, doesn't mean I have to give up doing what I love. I may have a harder road to tread, but I can still make a difference."
"*that's tight enough, thank you.* Whisper said. Daniel finished off the bandage, securing it into place. "*and...sorry about judging you before.*"
"You can make it up to me by following doctor's orders and getting some bed rest." Daniel replied, coyly. Whisper gave a light chuckle as she settled into bed. "*sure thing, doc.*"
Beneath her own covers, her eyes half open, Tangle smiled as she listened to this, before drifting off back into a deep sleep.
*The events of A Light Among the Shadows