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The Boogeyman has 1 minute to get a kill if they have not already
mercury sighs and shoves their communicator back into their inventory, ignoring the constant notifications of the rest of the server talking. usually, they'd be just as chatty as the rest of them, curled up at green-top and feeling content with their week, maybe teasing and poking at kirin to try and get a reaction. but, here they are instead - in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, with phantoms circling overhead. home hadn't felt safe enough. not for them of course, but kirin had trusted them enough to go to sleep early, despite knowing about the curse thrumming under mercury's skin. as much as they had faith in their self control, they hadn't wanted to risk it when he was defenceless. the curse was - tricky. far worse than being red, they think. it feels hot, like a fever that you can't sweat out, one that runs as deep as your bones. the red sparks at their feet don't help, filling the corners of their vision and reminding them constantly of their need to kill, to make someone bleed. mercury's hands curl tighter around the hilt of their sword.
one particularly brave phantom swoops at their back, screeching its awful cry and making the hairs on mercury's tail puff up on instinct. they slash a wide arc behind them, relishing in the way the creature falls to the ground in a puff of smoke. it only sates the curse for a second though. it burns in their gut, almost a hunger they associate closely with when the ani is running low on fuel.
it hurts.
the phantoms start to get more aggressive as the night gets darker, moon hidden by sudden clouds and mercury finds themself running and ducking into the nearest cave, pushing cobble up against the entrance to keep the pesky things out. it's not the nicest place to spend the night, dark and damp, but it's already been lit up and it's certainly not the worst place they've had to sleep. well, that's if they can manage to sleep. they take a peek at the time on their communicator, grimace at the ten seconds left before the boogey curse ends and takes their one extra life with it. mercury closes their eyes. the last time this happened it was through respawn, through death that the changes happened. it was quick and clean. they have a feeling this time won't go the same way.
they take a deep breath, mouth the final seconds of the countdown and brace themself, muscles taunt and face scrunched with anticipation.
it hits just a second later than they anticipate, just enough time for their guard to lower - it feels like a punch to the heart. they double over with a gasp that ends up being more of a choking cough, hands clutching at the fabric of their shirt hard enough for seams to tear. their heart is still, no longer beating at all and the shock of it sends them stumbling forward, one - two - three steps before their legs give out and they fall to the cave floor, knees cracking harshly against the rock before the rest of their body follows. the metal of their arm creaks and scrapes against the floor as they curl into a tighter ball, gasping and wheezing for breath with wide eyes that can't seem to focus on much of anything apart from the red sparks still trailing up and into the air. it's like they're back in the last world, in that split second before respawn again where the explosion tore them apart and the pain was their entire world. gunpowder smoke fills their lungs, coats their mouth and suddenly they're choking on that instead, phantom pains lighting up every nerve ending in their body, vision filled with the bright blast of tnt.
as suddenly as it stopped, mercury's heart starts again and sends a new wave of shock through their body as it begins to function as normal. they don't quite realise under the layer of panic clouding their mind but breathing gets a little easier and their hands don't feel as numb anymore.
the ringing in their ears doesn't stop even as the rest of the phantom sensations do though and mercury finds themself pressing their forehead to the stone beneath them, whining high in their throat like some kind of wounded animal. it hurts, is all they know, it hurts and they want it to stop. their claws, newly grown and sharp as diamond, cut grooves when they scratch at the floor. the next few minutes pass in a haze of pain and fleeting awareness. they're pretty sure they throw up at one point, pain fuelled nausea not mixing well with the phantom taste of gunpowder and sand in their mouth, and that at one point they start crying but nothing really sticks in their memory.
it's a blessing, they'll decide later, that they weren't more lucid for the change.
when mercury finally comes-to enough to be aware of their surroundings, the first thing they notice is the new weight of fangs poking out of their mouth, curved outward to pull their smile into a more permanent grimace. the second thing they find is their hair and face sticky with blood, along with their nailbeds. it doesn't take them long to find the source of it, fumbling hands knocking against still sensitive horns where blood is still seeping out from where it connects to their forehead. they wince at the sharp flare of pain when they knock into it with still stiff hands. forced growth, mercury concludes as they feel the new curve at the top and ignore the sick feeling in their stomach, the same story with their nails more than likely.
bloodlust has settled in their bones like an old friend, warm and comforting compared to the curse's hot frenzy. they hate how familiar it feels. last time, they were red for barely hours before they were killed, barely had time to come to terms with and experience the true feelings of violence and bloodlust. it shouldn't feel like this, they think, it shouldn't feel - good, why does it feel right -
mercury throws up again. it takes a good minute before they gather the strength to move away from the mess on shaky legs, sliding down the far cold wall of the cave to sit, curled up still. the chill soothes feverish skin, the first actually good feeling of the night that mercury welcomes with open arms. in the morning, they'll check the servers chat. in the morning, they'll clean themself up in the river nearby and head home and face kirin and hope he doesn't kick them out for showing up looking even less human than they did before.
briefly, as they drift to sleep, they wonder if monroe and nadir would recognise them anymore.