Chapter Text
Grace knew something had changed. He remembered… He remembered dying. It wasn’t as dramatic as he thought it was going to be, honestly. He had just… gone to sleep. Ilyukhina and Yao had come to him when he closed his eyes. He remembered their voices, their touch. Their words.
“It’s not time yet, my friend. Live long, love!” Ilyukhina had cried, hugging him tightly.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t help you, Grace. But you honored us and made us proud.” Yao had nodded firmly, though with a faint smile as he patted Grace’s shoulder.
“Go home to family, yes? Be happy.”
And then they were gone, just as quickly as they had appeared.
He had cried for a while, alone in the dark. Happy tears. It felt like a proper farewell.
Then… things got weird. Very weird.
He felt a tug. Well, not really a tug, more of a pull. A yank. One minute he was lying peacefully in the void of black, then he was being shoved back into a body. And not a human body. Oh no, he was very familiar with what a human body felt like, and this wasn't it.
This body had five limbs, for starters. His mind felt sharper, quicker. He could feel little currents racing through his body, which he couldn’t move.
He didn’t need to move. He spent his time cataloging every minute difference he felt until it hit him.
An Eridian. He was an Eridian.
Holy smokes, he was an Eridian.
He needed to move. He gathered all his strength and shoved. It felt like he was ripping his limbs free from his body… which, in hindsight, was exactly what he was doing. But once he started, he just couldn’t stop. He was too excited. Once the rock pinning his limbs down broke free and crumbled away, more bits of rock broke off and freed his carapace and vents.
He shuddered and moved unsteadily to his feet. Heh. He had so many feet now. Hands? Limbs. He had many limbs. And claws. He flexed one, then startled when he realized what he was sensing.
There was so much noise. He tried to make noise back, but knew it came out all garbled. Fudgesickles. He hadn’t realized how difficult it might be to figure out speaking.
Then, he noticed it. A lone Eridian, one that looked suspiciously like…
“Rrrr… Rockkkk…kkkyyy?”
The Eridian froze fully in place. Grace knew immediately that they were shocked.
Grace gathered up his courage, since the Eridian didn’t reply, and tried to say his own name. It was a butchered approximation, but he was still learning to use new vocal cords!
The Eridian shifted, then signed no at him. No? No what?
He took a halting step back, trying to get used to moving with that many limbs. He, of course, still stumbled.
“Rrrockky. Rocky.” He was getting better at this! He lifted one limb and pointed at the other Eridian, who signed yes back. Boy, was he glad that he paid so much attention to the nonverbal aspects of Eridian language.
“Grace.” He pointed back at himself, more sure of both his pronunciation and usage of his vocal cords now. Hey, he was getting the hang of this! Maybe he should shoot for sentences next.
When the other didn’t respond yet again, he repeated himself.
“Grace. I… Am…. Grace.” The words came out slow and halting. “You… Rocky. Statement.” Well. He wasn’t going to be smooth and eloquent any time soon, but it was a start!
The other– Rocky, oh how good it was to know that was actually Rocky– twisted his carapace in a far-too-familiar gesture. It was one he picked up from Grace himself, a mimicry of a human headshake. There was only one response to that, of course, so Grace nodded his own carapace.
Rocky was still for a moment, then finally spoke.
“Grace, question?” Grace could hear every little warble in his voice, the way the notes came out hesitant and quiet. Rocky sounded sad. He didn’t like that.
Even so, it was enough to make Grace elated. Rocky recognized him!! He exploded with sound the way he had seen Rocky do before, just random sounds and tapping and a little dancing excitedly. He did jazz hands over and over, saying yes while his voice was otherwise occupied.
“Yes! Grace, statement!” Oh, how good it was to be reunited. Except..
Rocky was quiet. Grace tilted his carapace slightly in confusion.
“Rocky?”
“Grace dead. You lie.” Rocky hissed, plopping onto the ground like a petulant pebble. “Been dead long time.”
“... Not dead.” He was getting better and better at this talking thing. “Not dead, Rocky. Apology, apology apology.”
He could feel all of Rocky’s attention on him.
“Is Grace,” the other Eridian whispered, sounding desperate, almost frantic. Relieved.
“Am Grace.” Grace repeated.
The next thing he knew, he was being tackled by a smaller body at almost full speed. Grace stumbled but managed to wrap his two closest limbs around Rocky as the other clung to him desperately.
“Grace… Grace…” Rocky whined. Grace swore it was closer to a whimper.
“Rocky. I’m here. Have you.” Grace soothed, rocking back and forth slightly with the other.
They stayed there for a bit, just clinging to each other.
“How?” Rocky asked finally, confused but still happy.
“Don't know. Friends… said time not done. Said live.” He wanted to explain more, but he just didn’t know how to produce the words he needed. Grace made a frustrated sound, which prompted Rocky to tap their carapaces together lightly.
“Is ok. Explain later. Rocky take Grace to Adrian now.” Rocky replied easily. “Come.” He backed away and started walking off.
Grace started following, stumbling here and there but quickly getting the hang of moving about with his new body.
Soon enough, the two reached the edge of the biodome and the Eridian laboratory that stood just outside of it.
Grace stopped and was still for a moment. Rocky stopped a few paces ahead and waited.
“Grace? Ok, question?” Rocky asked. Worry. Grace knew that tone.
“...Not have words,” Grace replied. He couldn’t explain yet. But… The biodome. It had been his home for so long. The Eridians had poured so much effort into it, into keeping him alive. Now? He didn’t need it. Couldn’t live there. He.. wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
Rocky was quiet for a moment. Then, he came back and bumped his leg against Grace’s.
“Team not be mad. Be excited. This is new; this is special. Adrian be happy happy happy.” Of course, Rocky would know Grace’s apprehension. He always seemed to read Grace so well.
Grace hummed and returned the leg bump.
“Ok. Follow,” he trilled, signalling that he was ready to keep moving.
Rocky led him to the structure, then called out to his mate.
Within moments, a taller, gorgeous Eridian whom Grace knew immediately to be Adrian came bustling out of the lab, trilling concerns and worry and also delight that Rocky came to visit.
“Rocky, beloved! You’re up and about! Are you alright? Did you need something? Is everything alright?” Adrian fussed over Rocky, inspecting their mate physically by running a claw over his carapace.
“Yes, ok. Have surprise.” Rocky replied, though made no effort to brush off Adrian’s concern.
Adrian chirped in delight at hearing Rocky’s voice and rubbed their carapaces together affectionately.
“Surprise? What is it?”
Rocky gestured at Grace.
Grace waved back awkwardly.
“Is Grace. Grace Eridian now.” Rocky said.
Adrian stilled. Their voice became serious.
“Rocky. Not funny. I know you miss him, but—”
“I am Grace!” Grace cut in, stamping a foot. “Ask questions, I prove!”
Adrian seemed surprised. They hummed thoughtfully, stroking one of Rocky’s limbs. The smaller Eridian did not comment on this behavior.
“Why go to space?” They asked finally.
Grace shrunk down. Only Adrian, Rocky, and Grace knew the real reason Grace had gone to space.
“Not choose. Made. Angry, sad, hurt. Not remember friends.”
Adrian made a sound of acknowledgement and lifted an arm for Grace to come to them.
“Grace, my Grace.” They crooned.
Grace stumbled, then hurried forward, tumbling into Adrian’s larger, sturdier body with a relieved and desperate little trill. Both Adrian and Rocky wrapped a limb around Grace as the former human shuddered and made soft chirping sounds. It was as close to crying as an Eridian could get.
Neither partner said a word. They just held their third safely between them and basked in the feeling of having the third harmony to their melody returned after so long apart.
And if Grace clung just a little too tightly to the other two? Well. Neither was going to complain about finally getting to touch him.