Chapter Text
Tango’s whole body ached like taffy stretched too thin. He didn’t feel any pain, mostly groggy, which, if he was hopped up on pain meds, would explain why his head felt cottony and his limbs felt heavy.
Where Jimmy got pain meds on a death server he didn’t know. He did know his Husband must be terribly worried. Tango couldn’t remember what happened, but usually the two used their potions pretty sparingly, so it had to be bad.
His eyelids felt heavy but he forced them open, squinting at the sunlight streaming in through a window. The ceiling looked different. Did Jimmy change it cause he lit it on fire again? Tango doesn’t remember torching the house recently. He blinked again, slowly feeling the brain fog recede. This isn’t the wilder ranch. Where is he? Where is Jim?
Suddenly the memories fell back into place. Going to get cherry wood, the server popping open like fizzy soda. Jimmy trying to fight them off with a sword. Tango running, falling, running faster, only to be too late. Picking up the sword Jim dropped and cutting his palms by accident as he sobbed. He lost his husband, and then he ran inside suddenly remembering their egg. Then nothing.
Now he was somewhere else. Off server maybe? Where was his egg? Did they take it from him? Who took his baby from him?! The rage boiled up, and he was sure that if he had an object to release his anger on, the sheets would burn alongside his aggressor.
“Ah good to see you’re awake Tango. I’m sure you have questions,” someone, something was talking to him, but Tango simply let out his best warning hiss. He isn’t playing games. This overworlder stole his pup. If the overworlder doesn’t return his pup, he will light everything ablaze. He let out a growling his, a warning before he moves to fire any flames.
“Calm down Tango, you are safe here,” He hissed again as he attempted to use his arms to help himself sit up. They trembled and ached but he pushed through, because now his head was very clear and his pup was missing. His flame mate is gone and he must protect their pup.
“Tango you’re going to injure yourself further,” Tango tried to spit flames at him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice told him that that wouldn’t work since he wasn’t fully Blaze, but Tanzo ignored it because even if he couldn’t spit flames the overworlder had moved within biting distance.
The overworlder let out a yell of both surprise and pain as tango sunk his sharp teeth into the man’s arm. A feeling of amusement passed over him as the overworlder attempted to dislodge Tango from his arm. Tango locked his jaw down harder.
A moment later a second set of arms were reaching for him, as a second overworlder had joined them. Tango let go and let out another of his best warning hisses.
“I know, I know, Doc bad. Let’s try something else here,” the first overworlder had backed off now, and the second one was holding his arms up in a placating manner. Tango began to struggle again. He needs to find his pup. The overworlders know he is stronger than them now, so he needs to find his pup that they took from him while he can. He frustratedly realized that most of his energy had disappeared, and while he was still sitting up, remaining so was a struggle.
Then the stranger let out a chirp. Tango whipped his gaze over to the overworlder next to his bed, and really looked at him for the first time. The overworlder had parrot wings and continued to chirp and whistle at him as he came up to Tango’s side. Avian, like his flame mate.
Once the avian was close enough to attack if he wanted to, he paused to look at Tango, smiling, before reaching into his sweater and pulling out a necklace. On the thin chain sat two feathers and some sort of charm. Looking closer at the feathers the blaze born noticed one was a green grey, and the other was canary yellow.
“See Tango, I’m flock.” Flock the avian said. Flock? The blaze born did mental acrobatics for a second before translating the stranger word. Scorch. They were scorch. Tango began to calm down. This avian was part of his scorch, and would know where the other overworlders had taken his pup.
He pointed to the feather that must have belonged to his flame mate, and growled.
“Yeah that one is Jimmy’s.” The blaze born let out a hiss of frustration realizing the other didn’t understand. He crossed his arms, tail flicking under the bed covers.
“Pup. Where.” He managed to force out in common. The avian tilted his head for a moment before understanding his demand.
“Of course! I’d be biting Doc too if I woke up and didn’t know where my egg was. Your pup is safe Tango, he’s just in another room right now.” Tango could feel his rageful fire dimming a bit knowing the pup was safe. But if scorched knew where his pup was, why wasn’t the pup here?
“Bring.” The avian bit his lip.
“I can’t do that Tango. Your baby is ok now, but-“
“Bring!” He said with more insistence, almost whining a bit. The member of his scorch sighed, and nodded.
“I’ll help Doc move your baby into this room as soon as we can do it safely. In the meantime I need you to rest and try not to bite the poor guy again, ok?” Tango nodded, even if it frustrated him that they couldn’t just bring him the egg now. How hard was it to move an egg anyway.
“Just try and sleep for a bit.” He watched as the two overworlders made their way outside. Adrenaline draining out of him, he fought to stay awake, but quickly lost.
“Grian this isn’t funny.” Grian continued to giggle as he helped Doc wrap his freshly bitten arm.
“It’s a little funny. Honestly, what did you think was going to happen when he was that far into his instincts?” Grian tied off the bandage. Then the two made their way over to the last minute NICU. The conversation faded as Grian stood back letting Doc do his checkup to see that specialized air mix his nephew needed was still flowing properly. Once the man was satisfied he beckoned Grian over and the two took turns unplugging things and readying the baby box for transport into the medical tent.
The silence gave Grian time to think, and he had a lot to think about. He could brush over the fact that he had never witnessed Tango’s blaze instincts until today, and didn’t know the hybrid even had any. He could spare a second to think about how terrifying it was when Martin told him they almost lost Tango and the baby in one fowl swoop. He could think about how his body jittered with energy despite the how exhausted he was from keeping a couple eyes open so he could see Tango while he watched over his nephew. He could worry about the future and how they would get his baby brother back.
But if Grian went down that path for the eighth time in the last few days, Mumbo would make him take a break. Scott would sick Martin on him like the traitor he is.
Mostly though, Grian didn’t want to spiral again because Scar seemed tired of pulling Grian back out. Grian could see how much it hurt him whenever Grian would spiral so deep into the negativity of his all that he would pull out feathers without realizing. Because all of this was his fault… maybe?
Grian didn’t know anymore. It was his fault because if the watchers were never interested in the first place then Evolution wouldn’t have fallen. It was his fault because he let them take him, even if he didn’t have a choice.
The death games, the winners, Martin being a watcher, it was all his fault, after all, he got the ball rolling. It was his fault, he thinks…
The survivors of Evolution forgave him for his mistakes as a young admin. They were sorry they couldn’t stop the watchers from taking him. They were thankful that he tried his best to protect them.
Hermitcraft welcomed him despite knowing what he was on some level, even if only a few of the hermits knew he was Xelqua.
The players of the death games didn’t blame him for his fun game idea gone wrong. They were sad to be trapped in a cycle of fighting each other to the death, but they understood that Grian had lost control. They didn’t turn away from him, but embraced him, because now the watchers had stolen something from all of them.
Mumbo didn’t blame Grian for cutting contact before the start of Evolution, or for anything that came after. From the second Grian crashed through the firewalls into Hermitcraft, Mumbo took him as he was. It didn’t matter that he was really messed up or that he was a watcher now, Mumbo was just happy to have his best friend back.
Martin didn’t forget him after he messed up Evolution, no, his brother chased after him. He willingly signed up for whatever torture the watchers put him through as their experiment, all for the chance to set Grian free from them. Then when thy finally broke lose, Martin didn’t forsake him for the fact that Grian was the reason Martin was Xilsees now. Instead he turned around and started the Listeners out of two traumatized ex-watchers and a couple of their friends who threatened to fight god for them.
Then there was Scar. Scar who started as his ally in the desert and became something more to Grian there. Scar, who forgave him when he tried to force them apart in the soulmate game, because even if Grian wanted to protect him from another cactus arena, he was cruel about it. Scar, who was so genuine in his emotions it scared Grian silly. Who was the first one to really see behind his walls and didn’t hate what he saw there. Who suffered under the watchers' manipulation the whole game of secrets. Grian didn’t help him. He didn’t even notice Scar was struggling until Scar was stuck in that game pressing that button again and again. Scar who came back changed but refused to let the Watchers or the games change who he really was. Who saw every flaw, every slip up, every breakdown. Scar, who had every reason to turn away from Grian and never look back.
Scar, who loved Grian anyway.
Grian wished it was all his fault. He wished it was that simple, but everyone around him told him otherwise, and he already was fighting off his brain on the bad days. There was no reason to fight his friends when they were telling the truth… maybe. Grian was still working on it.
Right now none of that mattered, because Doc finally gave the okay to move the little guy back over to his dad.