literature

Acclimation - Chapter 2

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The blue hedgehog burst through Rapha's front door.

"Honey, I'm home!"

The door slammed against the wall and the resulting noise woke Shadow with a start. He gasped as he shot up in bed, eyes wild as he frantically looked around. It was only a second before he saw Sonic standing in the doorway.

"Faker..." he glared, regaining his composure, "What are you doing here?

"Is that any way to greet me, Wannabe?" Sonic walked towards the bed, "I think a better question would be 'What are you doing here?'"

"It wasn't my choice. The turtle-girl brought me here while I was unconscious."

"You know what I mean -- How did you survive?"

Shadow looked down, "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? How can you not know?!"

"It's not like I meant to survive..." Shadow muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing... It's none of your business."

Sonic was about to explain just what his business was when Rapha came in.

"I hope you're no bothering him, Sonic," she warned.

"Nah," Sonic shook his head, "We were just having a friendly discussion, right Shadow."

"...Whatever," Shadow just gazed downward.

"Okaaaay... well, you two just play nice or I'm gonna have to seperate you."

"Fine with me," Sonic snorted, "I got better things to do than hang around with a fake hegehog. I'm outta here."

Rapha looked at him, "You're leaving already?"

Sonic was halfway out the door, "Hey, I saw what I came to see," and then he was gone.

The turtle just shook her head, "He's so strange..."

"Good riddance," Shadow mumbled.

"Oh, don't be like that. I know Sonic can be annoying sometimes, but he really was upset when he thought you were dead."

"Yeah, he seemed all choked up about it."

"I'm serious. He was sad, but that's Sonic for you. He never lets himself get wrapped up too tightly in emotions. He just, huh?" Rapha noticed that, instead of paying attention, Shadow was holding his head, "Are you all right?"

"It's... nothing..."

"Does your head hurt?" she asked.

"I told you, it's nothing!" He didn't want to admit it, but his head was throbbing.

"I don't believe you. Maybe I should have Dr. Quack take a look," Rapha reached out towards him, but he pulled away.

"No doctors!" he snarled so fiercely that Rapha jerked her hand back for fear of losing a finger.

"All right, all right... calm down. It's okay... I hate doctors, too. I know how you feel."

"You couldn't possibly understand how it feels to grow up in a lab with doctors all around you, poking and prodding and researching..."

"It makes you feel more like an experiment than a person... and even though everyone is nice to you, you always feel like you're nothing more to them than a project... You never feel loved..." she spoke sincerely.

Shadow's angry expression melted away. "Okay... maybe you do understand..."

Rapha smiled at him, "I was raised in a lab, too."

"But why?"

"In case you didn't notice, I'm not from around here. I came from another dimension. On my world, I'm a freak. I was brought up in a lab, but once I left, I found that humans don't accept my kind. I live here now because the Mobians treat me like one of their own."

"That's fine for you, but you didn't try to destroy their plan-uhhhng!" The hedgehog grabbed his head.

Rapha slowly moved her hand to his brow. This time he didn't resist her, but he shifted around uncomfortably the whole time she was checking over his head.

"There's no sign of any injury. Maybe you're just tired. Sometimes I get a headache when I'm tired or... hungry! I almost forgot!" Rapha picked up the bag of chilidogs, "I brought you these."

"What are they?"

"They're chilidogs, uh... food... but they're ice-cold now. Just let me heat them up," Rapha put the 'dogs in the microwave and punched a few buttons. In no time, they were hot again. She placed them on a plate and gave them to her guest.

He picked one up, sniffed it, and made a face, "So you're telling me there's dog in this?"

"No, no," she laughed, "They're just called chilidogs. They're not made out of dog. Try one. They're really good."

Shadow sniffed it again and then took a tiny bite. He chewed and swallowed. Rapha waited for his reaction.

"It's... delicious," he finally said. "I've never tasted anything like it."

Rapha was relieved, "I'm glad to hear it. Have as many as you want."

The black hedgehog quickly finished off his first and started on the second. "This is the best thing I've ever eaten. They never gave me anything like this on ARK."

"So you were raised in a lab on that space colony Sonic was telling me about?"

"Yes," Shadow nodded, "and I was never allowed to eat anything unapproved. My food was designed to provide me exactly what I needed to be the best I could be. The humans' food was strictly off limits."

"Man... you were deprived. The people at my lab let us eat all sorts of crap."

"Well, aren't you the lucky one..." he said in the same cool, nearly emotionless tone he always used, "but you weren't being raised as the ultimate life form." Shadow swallowed the last of his chilidogs, "Do you have any more?"

"Sorry, that was the last one. Geez... when was the last time you ate?"

He thought for a second, "The day before I went into cryo-sleep."

"Sonic mentioned something about you being frozen... but that was..."

"Yes... it was nearly 50 years ago."

"You're telling me you went almost 50 years without eating!?"

"Nutrition isn't necessary during cryo-sleep," he explained, "The body ceases to function. It's really more like death than sleep -- cold, unfeeling death... unngh!" Shadow grunted.

"What's wrong? Your head still hurt?"

"No... now it hurts... inside..." he clutched his stomach, "I've never felt pain like this before... What's wrong with me?"

"You've never had a stomachache before?"

"I'm immune to disease. This must be your doing. What have you done to me?"

"Hey! Hold up a sec there, mister! I didn't do anything to you," Rapha said defensively, "I'm not the one who crammed three huge childogs down your throat."

"You gave me the chilidogs."

"If I had known that you hadn't eaten in 50 years, I wouldn't have let you stuff your face like you did. The fact that you're not used to this kind of food doesn't help, either. You should have taken it easy."

Shadow just moaned and curled up under the covers.

"Look, if you're gonna puke, you better not do it in my bed."

He looked up at her with a very uncomfortable look on his face, "Puke?"

"Yeah, you know, throw up... vomit? You look like you're going to."

"I'm not going to do that," he protested, suppressing a gag.

"Get into that bathroom right now!" she screamed.

Rapha was suprised when he did exactly as she told him. He got up and walked toward the bathroom with his arms crossed over his midsection. Unfortunately, he was only halfway there when he fell to his knees and wretched on the floor. When he was done, he looked up with the most mortified expression on his face. He was so pitiful, Rapha couldn't stay angry.

She took a deep breath and sighed, "Do you feel better now?"

He only nodded silently and looked away.

She helped him back to the bed. "You're sure you're not gonna do it again?"

"Never..." he groaned, "That was the single most revolting experience of my life."

"Just lie down... I'll get you some medicine."

"You mean you can cure me?"

"Maybe not cure you, but it will help settle your stomach. It's only indigestion. The pain will pass in a few hours."

As Rapha dug through her bag, looking for the bottle, Shadow mused aloud, "I'm supposed to be immune... This isn't supposed to happen."

"Apparently, your creator made you immune to diseases, but neglected to give you a cast-iron stomach. Ah, here it is!" she pulled out a bottle of pink liquid and poured some in a spoon, "Drink this. It will help." Rapha sat down on the bed and handed him the spoon.

Shadow eyed it suspiciously for a moment and then put the spoon in his mouth and swallowed the medicine. "I don't feel any different."

"Give it a little time, Shadow," Rapha laughed.

"So, you're not mad at me?"

"No... I'm not," she said, "I'm sorry I yelled at you, but you practically accused me of poisoning you and then you almost ralphed in my bed."

"I'll clean up the mess I made," he apologized.

"You just get some sleep. I'll clean it up."

"I'm not sleepy."

"Well, then maybe you can tell me a story to take your mind off how you feel... and take my mind off what I have to do over here..."

"A story?" he asked, "About what?"

"Sonic told me what happened over the last few days, but I get the feeling he only knows one side of it. You might know more, so I want to hear your version."

"Are you sure you want to hear it? It's very long and not very uplifting."

Rapha mulled over the task before her, "Compared to this, anything would be uplifting."

"All right. I'll tell you."



(Shadow's Side Of The Story: www.deviantart.com/deviation/3…)



"I only have one thing to say after hearing that," Rapha said.

"What's that?"

"Your command of the language is so much better than Sonic's. It's not even funny."

"That's it?"

"No, I actually have a question. When I found you in the forest, you mumbled the name 'Maria' and both you and Sonic mentioned her in your recounts of the past days' events. I'd like to know more about her."

Shadow lowered his eyes, "If it's all the same to you, I'd rather rest now," he said quietly, "I'm a little tired from all that talking... and my stomach still hurts."

"Oh..." Rapha could tell he was exaggerating, but she didn't want to force him, "It's okay. Maybe you can tell me some other time. I have a lot of stuff to do anyway... I mean I'm just moving back to Mobius and I'm going to have to get this place feeling like home again."

The black hedgehog was already feigning sleep, but Rapha knew better.

"I'll be going into town a little later," she said, knowing he could hear her, "so don't be surprised if I'm gone when you wake up."

Shadow remained silent, so Rapha went about unpacking her bag. There wasn't a whole lot in it: a toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, a hairbrush; it was mostly toiletries. She took the whole bag into the bathroom and left it there. In the kitchen, everything was dirty and the refrigerator was empty. Faced with the overwhelming task of cleaning up, Rapha chose to retreat. As she walked toward the door, she noticed Shadow's shoes in the floor next to the bed. She grabbed the golden ring fastener from the top of the left shoe and headed out the door.

~*~*~

Several hours later, she returned home. Before she had even opened the door, she could hear commotion coming from inside. She peered in, "Shadow?"

The black hedgehog was still in bed, but he was tossing and turning violently. He cried out in his sleep, "MARIA!!!"

Rapha put down her bag of groceries and rushed to his side, "Shadow..." she shook his shoulder, "Shadow, wake up!"

"MARIA!" he screamed, "MARIA, LET ME OUT!" He sat up abruptly, panting and sweating. His teary eyes focused on Rapha's face, "Maria?" he said in a trembling voice.

"Shadow, it's all right," she cooed, "It's me, Rapha. You know... the turtle-girl?"

"...Rapha?" He blinked a few times, willing himself to come to his senses, "I... I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Boy, those chilidogs must have given you one bad nightmare."

"It wasn't the chilidogs... and it wasn't just a nightmare... It was a memory... from a long time ago. Don't worry. It's very rare for this to happen more than once in a day."

"Then you've had this dream before?"

"Almost every night since the tragedy on ARK."

She was shocked. "Almost every night?!"

"You know the best thing about cryo-sleep? You don't dream."

Rapha looked at him sadly.

"Don't look at me like that, turtle-girl. I don't want your pity."

"It's not pity. I'm just concerned."

"Concerned about what? This is my problem, not yours."

"It will be my problem if you make a fuss like that every night. How am I supposed to sleep with all that racket going on?"

"What?"

"You are staying here, right? I mean, where else are you gonna go?"

"I hadn't thought about it."

"Well, you're welcome to stay," she smiled, "as long as you don't wake me up all the time."

"Do I really make that much noise?"

"You were calling out to Maria again."

"Oh..." He looked downward.

"Do you want to talk about it? It might help."

"I've never told anyone what happened up there..."

"No wonder it haunts your dreams... You've kept it inside for so long."

"It's mine to keep."

"Maybe so, but what's worse, telling me the story once or having to relive it every night for the rest of your life? I promise I won't tell anyone else. I just think it would be better for you if you let it out."

Shadow looked up into her eyes. There was something about her that made him trust her, but he didn't know what. "Okay, I'll tell you, but this is crazy."

"Would it be easier if we talked over dinner? I brought home food... if you're up to it."

The hedgehog climbed out of bed and stretched. "Now that you mention it, I do feel a little hungry again."

"Good! I got cans of soup. That should be easy on your stomach. Stupid me, I went shopping and totally didn't realize that they use money here now. It didn't used to be that way. I had to ask a friend in another dimension for some supplies. She's plenty rich, so she didn't mind giving me some stuff."

Shadow grabbed the bag and followed Rapha into the kitchen. He picked up a can and looked at it. "What's this weird writing?"

"It's Japanese. My friend lives in Japan. Don't worry, though. I can read it. Sorry about it being in a can. I'm not much of a cook, so most of what I eat comes from either a can or the freezer."

"It's okay."

Rapha smacked herself in the forehead. "What's wrong with me today? I can't remember anything." She reached into the bag and pulled out two gold rings. "These are yours."

"My rings?" Shadow took them, "Why did you have them?"

"You never even noticed that one of them was gone? Sonic told me that it fell off when you guys were up in space. I took the one you had left to the metalsmith and had him forge a duplicate."

"But you just said you didn't have any money. How did you pay for it?"

"I borrowed the money from Sonic," she laughed, "but I didn't tell him what it was for. I'll pay him back once I get some money of my own. I saw my friend, Bunnie, in town and asked her if she wanted to start up a business with me. We're gonna teach martial arts lessons. There's always so much trouble on Mobius, I'm sure tons of people would like to learn how to defend themselves."

"Well... uhhh... thanks," he fumbled with the rings, "but you didn't have to go though all of that trouble for me."

Rapha poked holes in the can with one of her sai. "It was no trouble and besides, I can't be seen in public with a guy who's shoe is falling off."

"Who says you're ever going to be seen in public with me?"

She pried the lid off. "You can't stay locked up in here forever, right?"

"I can try."

Rapha took a dusty pan out of her cupboard and washed it. "There's a beautiful world out there that you've never seen."

"Yeah, a beautiful world that I almost destroyed! Do you think those people out there will forgive me for that?! I almost killed every one of them."

By now, Rapha had the soup heating on the stove. "Stick with me, Shadow. We'll prove to them that you've changed your ways."

"You say it like you know it for a fact. You don't know anything."

"I know you're not bad."

"You only just met me this morning."

"It doesn't matter." She stirred the soup slowly. "I don't need to know you to know that you have no evil intentions. I can sense the emotions of anyone I'm near. If I'm around someone long enough, the bond becomes stronger."

"Do you mean that if I'm around you for too long, you'll be able to read my mind?"

"I'm not that good, but if I was to bond with you, I would be able to feel your emotions no matter how far away you were from me. I would also be able to track your location, but I can tune it out, so I'm not constantly bombarded by the feelings of others."

"That kind of power might come in handy."

"It does... and it will. I want to help you, Shadow, but you have to let me."

"What do you feel from me now?"

"Sadness, pain, lonliness... confusion," she said, piercing his heart with her reptilian eyes, "and hunger." She placed a bowl of soup on the table in front of him and then sat across from him with her own bowl. "Sit down and eat... and tell me what happened all those years ago."

Shadow sat down and took a taste. "It's good," he said quietly.

"I agree. My compliments to the can. Now, about that story..."

"Where should I start?"

"The beginning is good."

Shadow sighed, "It all started when I was born. I use the term loosely because I was wasn't created naturally. Every strand of my DNA was engineered with a purpose. I began my life in a test tube and later, a maturation chamber. The original plan was to allow me to reach my full growth within the chamber, but my creator, Professor Gerald Robotnik, thought it would be better for me to be nurtured and cared for through my childhood and so, I was born.

"The professor's granddaughter, Maria, was charged with my care. It took only a few short weeks for me to reach maturity, but during that time, Maria taught me about love and how to care for others. She was always happy, which was something I never understood. Maria had spent most of her twelve-year life on ARK because she had a serious disease. I am immortal and can't fathom how that sweet girl could be so cheerful, knowing that her life could end very soon, while I, with all the strength given to me, never could grasp the simple concept of being happy.

"Professor Gerald had told me that his work was dedicated to making people happy. Maria said that one day we would be able to go down to Mobius and do just that. Mobius was a world of wars in those days. Mobians and Overlanders fought constantly. The professor thought to put an end to those wars with his work, but the government thought differently.

"I'll never forget the night the soldiers came. They stormed though the halls, killing everyone involved with the professor's work. On the way to the escape pods, Maria and I were separated from her grandfather. She told me to get into the pod and I obeyed her. While she was setting the launch sequence, the soldiers burst into the room. As I attempted to exit the pod and defend her, she closed the hatch on me. I pleaded with her to let me out, but she wouldn't. One soldier warned her to step away from the console, but she refused. Instead, she hit the manual override switch and started the emergency countdown. The soldier fired and Maria fell to the floor. With her dying breath, she made me promise to fulfill my purpose for being -- to make people happy. The pod launched and I never saw her again."

Rapha was silent for a few moments and then she spoke. "That's terrible..." she said very softly, "I knew humans were capable of things like that, but to hear it from someone who was there..."

"Maria was the only friend I ever had. I loved her, but she was so young and I was too new to the world to understand my own feelings. I never had a chance to tell her how I felt... or to find out how she felt about me."

"She gave her life for you, Shadow. That should be all you need to know."

"If she had released me, I could have saved both of us."

"There was no guarantee of that. I'm willing to bet you're not bulletproof. Maria didn't want to take any chances. She loved you, Shadow... probably as much as you loved her."

"I'm the ultimate life form!" He pounded his fist on the table, "I should have done something!"

"There was nothing you could have done."

He looked up at her, choking back tears.

"Will you stay here with me?" she asked, "I'll help you in whatever way I can."

Shadow nodded as a tear slipped down his cheek and landed in his bowl of cold soup.
"Nothing Can Surprise Me"

Chapter 2 :giggle:
© 2006 - 2024 Rapha-chan
Comments2
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Katyboo89's avatar
Aww...

Favorite bits:
"You know the best thing about cryo-sleep? You don't dream."

"I agree. My compliments to the can. Now, about that story..."

And I'll just be faving this now. ^_^