The warm tendrils of satisfaction curled in Tick's chest, his teeth morphing into a wicked smile as he gazed down upon Rick. He knew full well that Rick wouldn't deny the offer, as foolish as it truly was. Seeing Rick suffer only gave him more satisfaction, and now that the man knew what was truly going on, Tick was more than willing to loom it over his head, the threat of ripping sweet Rickley away from him very real.
He curled a lip up in disgust at Rick's wet cough, sniffing and nudging him again roughly with his boot. "Jesus. Of course you will. Look at you, you're pathetic. And you just had to bleed on my fucking floor, huh?" Tick grumbled, turning on his heel to rummage through a set of off-white cabinets near his control panel. He pulled out a glowing blue syringe and sighed, looking wholly unhappy about needing to heal Rick at all. But, he didn't want to risk the man dying when he reconnected him into the simulation, and he really didn't want blood in the tank.
"I'll stop your leaking. It won't be pleasant," he said simply, thudding to his knees again next to Rick and jamming the syringe into his neck, pressing down on the plunger. The substance was a homemade concoction-- a mix of different broken bone serums and blood replacements but morphed with his own flare that Rick was sure to feel. Each tendon sewing itself back together, each drop of blood being squeezed back into his body was sure to be felt in a hellfire that was of Tick's design. His business was therapy, but his art was of cruelty.
"Heh! There, there," he sing-songed, voice lilting harshly as he tossed the syringe aside, the wolfish grin returning to his face, "Feelin' all better? All good enough be a big strong tough guy and lead Ley right?" he spat condescendingly, finally standing up and roughly grabbing Rick by his arms and tossing him back onto the cold metal table that sat next to the large sensory-deprivation type machine, "Gotta getcha all strapped back in!"
Tick's sharp hands jabbed at every nook and cranny of Rick's body, shoving nodes and wires in each sensitive area and along each scar. They stuck harshly, almost melding to the skin when applied, reddening the area around it. Finally, he placed the nodes on Rick's temples, and took a step back to admire his work, smiling almost warmly.
The unhinged look from before that Tick had was mellowed out now, seemingly dulled by his focus on his work. He sucked in a breath through his nose before placing a hand on Rick's shoulder, almost gently. "Oh, Rick. Just you wait and see. Once I'm done with Ley's therapy, maybe I will have something for you yet."
He didn't elaborate further, instead opting to pick Rick up again under his arms and haul him the short few feet to the tank. He dropped him inside unceremoniously and there was a loud splash and thunk to follow.
*
Rickley was stuck in a haze.
He was missing someone. He could feel it. Even when his eyes wouldn't open for his first few hours of consciousness, and even when his limbs wouldn't move after trying to will them over and over. When he thought about him, it was as if his mind came up blank. As if he didn't exist.
The waves were crashing angrily along the shore of the beach once more, an ominous song that loomed in the sea air. Rickley was vaguely aware of it, but his mind was still far off somewhere else, preoccupied with soft flashes of warm hands, a scarred shoulder, a tired look--
No matter how hard he tried, his brain was reduced to a pink sludge in his skull. He tried to roll in the bed of what felt like mountains of soft blankets, but found himself unable to. When he finally was able to open his eyes, he couldn't lift his head, so he just stared up at the ceiling and listened to the low rumble of threatening thunder.
The sky finally broke, and lightening flashed.
Rickley remembered.
Rick had been missing.
How had he forgotten about him?
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