Chapter Text
“COLIN! NO!”
The words swirl through his ears like a rushing whirlwind. It blanketed him like the chilly snow that led him to the cave, pulling him further and further out of the snowstorm.
Death is a cruel mistress, a far cry from the warm sunny days of living without a care. Though her fury and power burns like the bitter wind, her cold embrace is enough to comfort those who find themselves at her doorstep at the wrong time. She picks up the lifeless form of the broken and gives them a second chance; a second chance to meet her on their own terms.
That, however, couldn’t be said about the hand silently resting on her shoulder.
How long were you waiting for the canary to fall? He seems to be your favorite subject.
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Jimmy awoke to the sound of silence. The snowstorm that stalled over his mind didn’t show any sign of letting up, his mind slowly coming back to reality and settling into his body. He opened his eyes to blurred visions of pink, white, and the gorgeous dimly lit sky as the sun finished cresting over the hill.
Moving felt impossible, as if trying to move a brick wall with only your bare hands. He knew he was in bed; he had to have been. The slightly worn feel from the mattress and thick wool blankets reassured him that he was in bed, but something felt… Off. He blinked a few more times trying to get his bearings and let his vision clear before ultimately giving up and giving in to the silence.
A silence that coated the area like wax on copper; broken only by the piercing sound of glass shattering.
Footsteps pounded against the birch hardwood floors of his hot-pink and ivory-white dream house, maintaining the exact same pace as they sprinted from the kitchen and up the quartz stairs to the second level where the blonde was. He lay there unaware of who was coming to greet him. The footsteps continued until they found their way into Jimmy’s bedroom. Jimmy tried to face the visitor, but with how hazy everything felt around him he could only stare forward through clouded eyes as the figure cleared the threshold of the room.
“JIMMY!!” Scott cried out. The cry that left his throat reflected his broken state. He bolted across the room within seconds, racing to his lover’s side and pulling him as close as humanly possible. Jimmy clung to him like a moth to a flame, his fists burying themselves in the folds of his beige tunic. How long were they holding each other? To Jimmy it must’ve been hours, though it had only been a few minutes.
Scott was now kneeling on the bed, shaky hands breaking free from the embrace to cup the blonde’s face. “Jimmy— Jimmy are alright?!” The words poured from his mouth, mirroring the tears flowing from his multi-colored eyes and dripping on the bed below.
Jimmy pressed deeper into his mate’s palms, lazily turning his blurred gaze to face the man, his vision beginning to clear. “Scott…?” His voice softly cracked, speaking barely above a whisper. “What are… what are you doing here? Wh-where’s Martyn?”
“Forget Martyn—” Scott snapped, his stomach turning as soon as the name landed on his pointed ears and left his mouth. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?!” he frantically asked, scanning over what parts of him were exposed from the blanket.
“Scott, I don’t understand… What’s with you- I just, I just went to talk to ‘im.”
Scott opened his mouth to speak but closed it as he wiped his eyes with the back of his gloved hand. He froze, blinking a few times and scanning over Jimmy’s slender figure. “Jim… Wh-what are you wearing…?” Scott managed to choke out, staring at the blue and red pattern garment that stretched from his neck down to his wrists and torso.
Jimmy shifted slightly, letting his head sway to the side as a low mumble escaped his drowsy lips. “…is just m’ jumper.”
Scott pulled away from their embrace, managing to ground himself a little more before scanning over Jimmy for anymore abnormalities.
Something was wrong, very wrong.
He looked different somehow. His eyes were black and beady, a stark contrast to his gentle blue eyes, his hair messy and windblown, and his nose… His nose was small and black like a button, barely raised off of his face unlike his sharp, pointed nose. His ears, smaller and rounded.
Scott could barely contain himself, his shakiness returning and shaking him to his very core. He wanted to scream.
By now, most of Jimmy’s vision returned to him, though his memory was pretty spotty. He stared at Scott with mostly clear eyes, eyes that saw the way his partner was looking at him as if he was just crushed by a rock.
“Scott…?” Jimmy asked once to no reply. A nervous grin followed the second time he asked, shifting in bed to sit up fully and face the man but that’s when it hit him. A hot, sharp pain jolted through the center of his spine and echoing from his ribcage to his chest. He let up a strained gasp and snapped his eyes shut, letting his head fall limp against the headboard with a thud as he grasped his chest.
Scott pushed his jumbled thoughts to the side as he shrieked the man’s name, lunging forward to hold him once more. “Jimmy— hey, hey I’m right here-" he managed, his panic beginning to grow, looking around the room, he holds back a grimace. “Stay here, I’ll be right back with a healing pot. Try not to move too much, okay hun?”
Scott kissed the top of Jimmy’s head and left the room, sprinting downstairs and rummaging through the chests that sat awkwardly about. He wanted to chew the other out for his chest display, but that’ll have to wait. He pulls a Healing potion from the chest, giving it one last look over before spotting a Regeneration potion. “Bingo.” He murmurs to himself before darting back upstairs. He stands beside the bed, setting the potions on the nightstand with a clack before turning to Jimmy.
Jimmy looks up to him with tired eyes, blinking rather slowly with a slight smile across his face. Scott helped him sit up, this time not as painful as before, and passed him both bottles, one at a time. The blonde felt relief the moment the Healing potion touched the back of his mouth, going down nice and smooth. The Regeneration potion went down similarly to the Healing potion, with an underlying fizz accompanying it.
Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the weight on his chest and his back pain lessen. “That’s much better…” He trails off, meeting Scott’s gaze. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” Scott takes a deep breathe, centering himself. “Now, What’s wrong with your clothes?”
“What?” Jimmy blinks a few times before his eyes slowly drift downward. “For the last time, Scott. It’s just my normal… Jumper…”
Jimmy freezes the moment his eyes meet the blue, red and black clothes that he was now dawning. His heart sank, his confused expression shifting into panic.
“No, no this can’t be right.” Jimmy says, a shaky hand gripping the blanket before yanking it off of him.
The blue, red and black cloth continued downward, even to his feet. Like some sort of full body suit. Jimmy carefully rises to his feet, standing on shaky legs.
A strained gasps leaves Scott’s mouth the moment Jimmy stands.
“Jim… Wh-when did you grow a tail…?” He slowly asks, shock overtaking his features.
“What are you talking about, that’s stupid, I—” Jimmy stops dead in his tracks when he glances behind him. His blood runs cold, panic setting in. Not only was he wearing some sort of stupid suit, now he has a tail. He felt like he was about to faint.
The blonde rushes over to the mirror tucked in the corner of the room. Quickly scanning over every inch of himself. Letting out a pained gasp when he sees his face. Smushed in face, button nose and two black, beady eyes staring back at him.
“Scott…?” Jimmy’s voice quivers when he turns to face the other, who stood before him with the same look of dread.
Scott takes another deep breath. “We have to tell the others. We have got to figure out what happened to you.” He pauses, patting himself down for his communicator. Once he finds it, he swaps over to the main chat. Yet his hands hesitate over the keys.
What if Martyn takes his as an opportunity to attack? That is plausible… But would he attack such a large group of people all at once?
Scott takes a breath before finally typing a massage and hitting send. Who cares if Martyn sees, this needed to be solved and fast.
<Smajor1995> Everyone meet at Spawn. Now.
<Smajor1995> Something is wrong.