After what felt like hours, Lord Hater finally stepped out of the doctor's office. The doctor whispered something before he waved goodbye. The commander of the watchdogs rushed to Lord Hater's side. "And, what did he say? Are you alright? Will you be alright?" "..." Lord Hater simply shrugged his shoulders. He looked ashamed; or embarrassed. He didn't even bother to look at Peepers in the eye.
"Pardon me, are you Commander Peepers?" the doctor broke the silence.
"Yes, I am."
"Follow me to my office, please."
Commander Peepers wondered if the doctor could hear how fast and loud his heart was thumping in his ribcage. Was it terrible news? Was it the reason why Lord Hater was oddly quiet and didn't dare look at him the eye? Oh no, oh no! Lord Hater's busy dying and the Skelettian was too scared to say anything. What will he and the watchdogs do then? Oh glorb...
"Mr. Peepers, are you alright?" the doctor's voice pierced his thought bubble. "Yes, yes, I am fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Oh, well. You do look quite nervous for someone that shouldn't be worried."
"Oh?"
"Lord Hater's son will be fine. It's normal for Skelettians his age to lose his 'baby horns' before his adult horns start to grow. It's still good that Lord Hater wanted his son to be check up to be on the safe side; and that he wanted me to explain to you, his commander, what his son is going through."
"Uh..." What was the doctor talking about?
"I'm simply saying that Lord Hater's son will be fine. He's simply going through puberty; although he's an early bloomer..."
"...I'm sorry, are you saying that he's going through puberty?"
"Why, yes! You see, his race have long lifespans...so they hit puberty at a later age than you and I. They first start getting growth spurts, lose their 'baby horns', the voices of the males crack and they have better control of their powers.
"I see. So, him losing his horns isn't as life-threatening as that of a fully-grown Skelletian?"
"Nope, not at all. He may have headaches and may lose control of his powers, but he'll be fine."
"Great. Thank you, doctor. If I may ask, how old his 'Lord Hater's son', according to watchdog years?"
"Ummm, let's see...I'll say that he would be the equivalent of an eleven-year old watchdog."
"Thank you for your assistance, doctor." Commander Peepers gritted his words.
Commander Peepers took deep breaths as he left the doctor's office. He stopped dead in his tracks when he caught Lord Hater staring at him...anxiously.
"Did the doctor explain everything, Peepers?" Lord Hater whispered as the watchdog approached him. A curt nod answered him.
Even when they arrived on the ship, not a word had been spoken between Lord and Commander. The other watchdogs and even Captain Tim could sense the tension. Commander Peepers finally gained courage as soon as he was certain every watchdog had gone to bed. The commander rapped his knuckles on Lord Hater's door and was surprised when Lord Hater opened the door and gestured he must enter.
"Lord Hater, I-"
"Peepers, did you tell anyone what you had discovered?"
"No, sir. Didn't tell a soul."
"Did you post anything on the 'net?" "Not a word, sir! Believe me, I won't tell a soul."
"...Good."
"Sir, I am just so confused. Are you really that young?" It explained so much about Lord Hater's personality, but he still couldn't believe it.
"Yes, I am actually a lot younger than I look. I am quite big and tall for my age as well. It really helped me stop bullies from picking on me before you found me back then..."
"Sir, why didn't you tell me? Didn't you trust me? Did you think I would use it against you?"
"I don't think you would respect me anymore if you knew. I was already hoping none of the villains on the Galactic Villain Leaderboard would figure it out either. I think Wander already figured it out; and that's why he doesn't seem to be that scared of me."
Oh, so could be the real reason why he's so obsessed with Wander?
"So, do you still want to work for me?"
"Of course, sir! It didn't change much. You were doing very well before I knew. I will be loyal to you. I won't tell any of the watchdogs, or any of our enemies at all."
"Good, let's go to bed. We will resume our plan to conquer some planets tomorrow; and hopefully stop Wander once and for all."
"That sounds great, Sir!"
It may have been odd to discover his boss is actually the youngest on the ship, but he was more than willing to help him. After all, someone needs to watch his back.
The End.