Chapter Text
As Spoke’s eyes fluttered open, he felt another soft bed below him. He rubbed his eyes as he yawned. He glanced around and found that it reminded him of a padded cell.
The walls were coated with large pieces of white foam. He reached back to touch one, and it was squishy with a wax-like coating on it. He looked around at the furniture in the plain white room he was in. There wasn’t much, though. There was an oak bedside table with a small white lamp on it. Other than that, there was barely anything else.
As he tried to stand up, he struggled. The weakness potion still had effects on him, even if it wasn’t much. He put his arm on the side of the bed below him to give him a helping hand. As he stood up, he looked around the room once again, noticing things he hadn’t before.
The bed he was lying on was made of oak and had white pillows and covers. There was also a large metal door on the right wall, there was a long, thin door handle, and below it, a small keycard reader. There were also small lanterns high up on the walls, lit up with a faint red-orange glow.
He walked over to the door, scanning for things like cameras in corners or anything out of place. He looked at the rim of the door, which wouldn't break or even dent. Looking closer at what he had guessed as a keycard scanner, he could tell it had been used quite a bit; the black paint in the middle faded.
As he turned to look in the drawers and under the bed, somebody opened the door. It was slammed shut with a forceful slam, making a loud slamming sound. Spoke ducked behind the bed, praying whoever opened it hadn’t seen him.
He didn’t dare peek above; he knew how that went last time.
He listened to the nearly silent footsteps as the person walked around the room. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the best luck with hiding. He looked up after getting lost in his thoughts as he saw a name he didn’t expect, Clownpierce.
“Oh, there you are. Not a very good hiding spot, though,” he said, his voice calm but deep. Clown’s clothes were covered in blood; his pants had red splotches all over them. His mace lay on his back, the dark hammer head sticking out slightly, just enough to see the leftover blood from after he had wiped it off.
Spoke started up at him, unsure of what to do. He took a deep breath, about to ask a question he hoped he would never have to say.
“Where’s Ash?” Spoke asked.
Clown looked taken aback by this question, “I mean… getting attached already? Aren’t I good enough for you?” Clown said as he rolled his eyes, “I knew you would get attached fast, not that fast, damn.”
“I-I’m not asking because I’m attached to him.” Spoke replied sternly, “I wanna know for my safety, dumbass.” Spoke rolled his eyes back at Clown.
“God. Why did he even want you? You’re kind of annoying.” Clown said as he took a few steps back to lean against the wall behind him
Ash wanted him? He couldn’t understand what that even meant to Ash.
“I’m sorry, he wanted me? The hell does that mean?” Spoke inquired, scared what that could even mean.
Clown glanced over at Spoke, who sat with his legs tight to his chest. “I’ve been working with him for years. You’re kind of his idol in a way.” Clown said, fidgeting with the dagger in his pocket, “He likes the way you work. You’re always thinking 10 steps ahead of everyone else. It’s clever, you make me actually think about how I plan. Especially if you’re a part of the equation.”
“Huh… thanks, I guess.”
Clown hummed in response, “Don’t tell him I said this, by the way, he’d kill me.”
“Sure? As long as you don’t kill me.” Spoke said, sounding more worried this time.
“Whoa, in my defense, I didn’t know it was you.”
As Spoke was about to reply, the metal door swung open. The loud slam sound caused both of them to bolt up. Spoke stood up and faced the person who had opened the door. It was exactly who he was looking for.
As Ash walked him, the mood in the room darkened. The weird thing was that Ash was… smiling. Spoke looked towards Clown, and even he was clearly weirded out.
Before anyone could say anything, Ash spoke up, “Hello Spoke! Hey Clown!” He said it so cheerily, as if he knew what would happen next, and he didn’t.
“Hello… Why on earth are you this happy?” Clown said. He was very clearly a little lost, he blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't going crazy.
“I think you know why, Clown, it’s finally time!” Ash chirped, “I got the potions!”
“What potions?” Spoke asked, " What had Clown not told him?
“Oh, right. I’m sure you’d know all about these. These are special, exploited potions; they’re kind of hard to find. But, I got a player who knows all about exploits… and he accidentally gave me a hint. You might know him… does the name JamatoP ring a bell?”
“H-he’s been missing for years… how did you…?” Spoke stuttered out. This entire situation was insane to him. How did he find Jamato? Which potions? How would this all come back around to him?
“Well, that’s for you to find out. Moving on…” Ash replied that he wouldn’t get him to explain anything if he wanted.
The tension in this room was high and dark. Things were about to get a whole lot worse.
“Clown, you’re dismissed. You know your next task.” Ash turned to Clown and said sternly. “I have work to do with Spoke.”
Clown did a slight bow and strided towards the iron door, pulling out an ID card from his pocket and scanning it on the dark scanner. The door clicked quietly as it unlocked, and he walked out, the door slamming behind him.
Spoke hated being alone with Ashswag. He knew he was about to do something bad… just not sure what it was yet.
“Now, here’s the fun part, you are a little… different from other players on this server", Ash started as he walked towards Spoke.
Spoke sat up quickly and scooted towards the wall, bumping into the nightstand in the process.
“Don’t touch me.”
“You know you enjoy it, though, why fight it? It’s the real you.”
Spoke hated that he was right; it was the true him. But he was using him for it.
He truly wanted to push him away, wanted to kill him right now. But… he didn’t.
He let it happen. He didn’t even raise his hands to push Ash away. He felt the warm embrace of scratches behind his soft ears. He shut his eyes and prayed that Mapicc and Leo would save him from this. Even if he was actually enjoying it.
“Now, this must feel nice already… Why not make the feeling stronger?” Right after hearing this, Spoke felt a needle prick into the side of his neck.
He felt himself flop down, black engulfing Spoke’s vision as he fell unconscious into Ash’s arms.
---
When he awoke once again from being sedated, he woke up lying against the headboard. He glazed around the room, his senses being leveled up to an 11.
He saw a familiar face, Clownpierce. He was wiping off his blood-covered mace with some wipes, not realizing Spoke had awoken. Though being shifty and fidgety, Clown being distracted didn’t last long.
Clown glanced over and noticed Spoke staring, “Glad you’re awake, how ya feeling?”. His voice was stern, but soft. He seemed to act differently when Ash was hovering over him and when he wasn’t. He seemed… kinder to him.
Spoke blinked out of his stare. It was odd, though… he didn’t usually stare and space out like that. He snapped back to reality, “Greattttt, not like I was just drugged… AGAIN”. He deadpanned while rolling his eyes.
“Yeah… it doesn’t seem fun. It’s happening to you quite a bit lately. Does that always happen?” Clown replied, snickering at his own remark.
“Oh, let me think… No,” Spoke sneered back. He wanted to strangle Clown right then and there, just to get him to stop talking.
Clown hummed in response, “Did he tell you exactly what he was going to do?”
“Well… no.” Spoke replied, “I’m guessing you’re supposed to tell me.”
Clown hesitated, “It’s not exactly what I… agree with.” He said. “He’s gonna… change your DNA, permanently.”
Spoke stared at him blankly, processing what he had said. He couldn’t accept that as an answer. “N-No. That… can’t be it.”
Spoke stuttered out, shuddering at how that could be even possible.
Clown’s voice was close to a whisper, “I’m sorry”. He turned around, grabbed his mace and blood-coated towel, and creaked the door open. “Turn them on,” he ordered the guard outside the door.
The door shut behind Clown, and he walked out, leaving Spoke alone. He heard the sound of high-pressure tanks releasing a gas of some sort, coming out of outlets in the corners he hadn’t noticed before. The gas filled the room with a soft, grey color. Spoke’s panic rising rapidly within seconds, his breath matching the pace of his heart rate.
“No no no no no…” He rambled on, reaching into the corner, attempting to turn off an outlet in the lower corner. He could feel himself slipping with the familiar scent of weakness, his hands losing strength slowly but surely. The outlets weren’t gonna stop, no matter how much strength he used.
“Shit.”
He stood up, his legs shaking slightly. He wasn’t sure if it was from the weakness being emitted or his immense amounts of anxiety. He ran towards the metal door, desperate to try anything– literally anything to get out.
Tugging at the handle with all the strength left in his body, it didn’t budge. Spoke collapsed to the floor below him. His body wanted so badly to pull at the door, to try anything. But he knew nothing would work. He already knew how ruined he would be.
He flopped onto the floor below him, his arms tired from tugging at the door and his legs from simply keeping his body weight off the ground. He simply lay there, trying to control his breathing and attempting to stay awake.
After what felt like hours, his mind started slipping along with his vision. The corners of his vision fading into a dark grey, colliding with the bright white room. He leaned against the wall with his back and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and allowing sleep to overtake him.
His brain turned off after a minute, and the next thing he knew, his arms and legs had too. The last thing he remembered before drifting off to a deep sleep was the metal door to his right open. He felt as if someone had lifted him onto the nearby bed. Then everything went truly black.
---
Spoke woke up just as he had fallen asleep, though in a different position. It was as if he had instinctively curled up in a small spiral shape. Remembering what happened before, he uncoiled the spiral position and sat up quickly. His long tail flicked back and forth, in a worried yet relaxed way– this had happened to him too much.
He took a glance around the room and saw Ash sitting in a chair in the corner. He was in more casual clothes than Spoke had ever seen him in. He had on a plain red sweatshirt and a pair of black jeans with a pair of black glasses. He was writing in a small journal. Spoke couldn’t read what it said, but it looked like a bunch of to-do lists.
Ash looked up and saw Spoke staring at him, immediately shutting the book closed. ”Ah, you’re finally awake”, Ash cooed, ”How are you feeling?”
Spoke stared at and blinked rapidly, ”Say that again? I… got distracted”. Spoke knew he was easily distracted, but it usually wasn’t that bad.
”How are you feeling?” Ash responded, almost as if he expected him to get distracted.
”Why would you need to know?”
Ash stayed silent for a second, being careful of what to say next. ”I just wanted to know if the effects were kicking in yet. That’s all.”
Ash opened up the notebook and clicked his pen as he wrote something down, unknown to Spoke. The sound of the pen clicking made Spoke’s ears twitch backwards– Ash did something to him.
”What do you mean by… effects?” Spoke asked, hesitating for a second.
Ash was a person to notice the small things about a person, the details they don’t even notice themselves. Things like which eye twitches when they lie, or simpler things like them fidgeting with their hands or a weapon they happen to be holding. In this case, he had noticed Spoke’s hands softly digging into the soft layers of blankets below him with his knuckles and palms down.
His black hands slowed as he realised what he was doing, it seemed oddly natural and comforting. The simple action of pushing his knuckles into the blanket was comforting, it brought him back to when he was happy. Truly happy.
‘‘You’re being extra fidgety today, you notice that?’’ Ash said simply, no smirk or anything. Just plain old Ashswag.
Spoke caught himself glaring at Ash after that quip, replying snarkily, ‘‘Yes– I in fact did.’’
He had been lying, though. He was usually a pretty good liar, but Ash could see through him like glass. It was a natural talent of his to tell liars even if they had been so unnaturally good at it.
A few moments of silence followed soon after Spoke‘s snarky remark. It was awkward, but Spoke knew he wouldn‘t regret saying it.
Ash coughed as he cleared his through before continuing the conversation that Spoke didn‘t want to be a part of. ‘‘Well then, do you remember what I said to you before?‘‘
There was a tense pause, ‘‘You talk quite a bit, which time?, Spoke asked calmly. Spoke was curious, Ash did love to monologue, but what he said was usually important.
Ash stared at him in disbelief, ‘‘I knew you had a bad memory… but wow. Just– wow.‘‘ Ash said, as let out a quiet amusing laugh. ‘‘Well, I‘ll just remind you then. I wanted the truest you.‘‘
As Soke this once again, he flashed back to the moment of panic he had. The same panic shot through what felt like the marrow in his bones, ‘‘You– you… actually did it.‘‘. His breath hitched at the thought of that fact he had even had the guts to possibly do something like that.
Ash simply hummed in response while nodding softly.
Spoke wanted to run, scream, beg him to fix it. But before he knew, he felt ash sit next to him. A simple scratch as the base of ear to make him fold.
He leaned onto Ash‘s shoulder and he sank into the touch. After a minute, a soft purr leescaped Spoke‘s mouth. Ash had taken notice and started scratching at the lower part of his chin. At this simple touch, he fell softly into Ash‘s lap.
It felt like 5 minutes for him, though it was probably closer to 30 minutes in real time. As time kept moving, Ash slowed his strokes on Spoke‘s ears and chin. He hasn‘t fallen asleep exactly, just let him guard down. He let his guard down.
Spoke didn‘t act upon the actions he wished to, but he was internally panicking. He was relaxing with him. This wasn‘t like him, at all.
Spoke had horrible trust issues, Jamato had left an invisible mark on him, and his soul as well. Spoke was just getting around to relaxing near Mapicc, and he just utterly folded to a person who used him as a tool.
As he tried to get up, he groaned. This was basically a nap for him, which he wasn‘t used to. As he blinked his eyes open and softly rubbed them, the first thing he saw was Ash’s face.
He jumped and squeaked as he was basically jumpscared by him.
“Did I scare you?”
He turned to see Ash, and the air felt… thinner in a way. He sucked in a breath as Ash chuckled and sat down just a few feet beside him.
“Did you… Really do it?” He asked. His voice was scared and nearly a whisper, like he was a little kid again.
Ash waited a second to respond, “Yes, I did.”
The silence in the air was tense and scary, but it was clear that Ash had zero regrets.
Spoke stared wide-eyed at the ground below him, he just prayed that it was a dream.
“I’m guessing you’ve noticed the differences by now, I mean… they’re pretty obvious.”
Spoke’s voice was quiet and creaking heavily, his voice cracking with every word. “...Yeah.”
He knew he was close to crying. I mean, wouldn’t everyone react like that?
“I’m guessing you want the list, so I’ll just give you the effects. Let’s start off with the obvious ones: Your tail and ears are more sensitive, along with everything else. You may have also noticed how distracted you get and how something so simple could catch your attention.”
He had noticed both of those, but he wanted to know the stuff he hadn’t noticed yet. “Maybe the symptoms I haven’t noticed yet.” His voice was more stern this time, though still creaking and cracking with every word.
“Well, there are quite a few,” he paused, almost enjoying the worry on Spoke’s face, “To list a few: the heightened hearing, the sleepiness, and being a little fluffier overall, too.”
The room went silent once again with a deafening tension. The realization of how permanent this would be. The thought of Mapicc seeing him like this… like a freak.
That thought shattered him. He felt his body grow heavier as gravity itself seemed to claim him.
“Don’t worry, Spoke, everything will be okay…” Ash cooed as he scooted closer to him, though Spoke was inching the opposite way. Ash reached for Spoke’s arm and wrapped his hand around it.
He yanked at Spoke’s arm, pulling him forcefully closer. A loud yelp slipped out of his throat as his arm was pulled, shutting his eyes tightly shut.
He felt his body fall into Ashswag’s lap, quickly being followed up by a soft, scritching behind his left ear. As he fell under the influence, he felt his limbs loosen. He felt himself flow into Ash’s touch, his body feeling lighter by the second. His worries drifted away as he calmed, his breath getting calmer and even.
He was so tired from everything that had happened to him. Whether it was the last week or his years' worth of unresolved trauma. As his body went limp again, a small whimper escaped his throat.
Ash wrapped his arm around Spoke’s frame, rubbing his side left and right. His quiet whimpers switched into soft purrs at some point, and he drifted off to sleep