Chapter Text
Mind breathed in, and opened his eyes.
Chirping of birds, light drifting through the slightly ajar curtains, and wind blowing by.
The birds and the wind were fake, of course. Nothing really existed beyond this house sans the occasional oak tree. Soul had just added ambient noise to the world to keep them from going a bit stir crazy. Ah well. They had lived their entire lives here. It’s not like they had much to want outside of it.
He sat up, and calibrated his prosthetics, stretching out his hands and staring at the spaces between his fingers. Another same-ish day.
He and Heart had been arguing less, at least. It seemed Heart had finally decided to look at things from Mind’s point of view for a change, and…Mind couldn’t say he.. wasn’t doing the same. He could never admit that, of course. While he was poise, he knew Heart would use that admittance of weakness as some form of ammunition.
Taking the time to see things from their perspective, though, did change some things. He no longer got as angry as he used to. Obviously that creature was still annoying, but Mind found no worth in fighting anymore. Either he was becoming nicer…or just burned out.
“What’re you doing?”
He jolted, and dropped his still outstretched hands.
“ Hey, Soul, ” Mind breathed a sigh, and leaned forwards slightly. Frazzled, electrified hair fell over his black and cyan eyes. One pupil a hollow triangle, the other…also a triangle, but upside down. Together? Stella octangula. Of course. “ Just…zoned out for a moment. I’m fine. ”
“Mh.” Soul turned, and walked off. It was clear he was still tired. It was not much of a morning person, after all.
Mind eventually made his way out of bed, changing out his clothes and tugging on his necklace. Just a black t-shirt and jeans, for today. He was exhausted. The night before, the Whole had stayed up for hours, just scrolling through random Wikipedia articles. While gleaning no meaningful information, the brain still had to commit it to short-term memory, and as such, unlike the emotional Heart and the charismatic Soul…he had to stay up along with them. Whatever.
Shuffling into the kitchen, he made his way to the coffee machine, starting it up and leaning on the counter as it worked. Soul was sitting on the couch, a leg folded over the other, staring out the window. Heart was still asleep, as he often tended to be. Strong emotions were not needed in the mornings.
“ Coffee? ” He looked over to Soul.
“..nah.” It shrugged in reply.
“ I expected that. You don’t drink coffee, you drink…carbonated glucose. ”
Soul just shot him a glare, not dignifying that quip with a response. Mind rolled his eyes.
“ Gooooooood morning! ” Heart chirped from the hallway, stretching his wings as he tilted his head towards the coffee machine. They always seemed to listen to the smallest of noises.
Mind sighed, and pulled the pot from the machine, beginning to pour it into a mug. “ Hey. ” He muttered.
“Yo,” Soul called from the couch, now hanging by his legs from the top cushion. “You’re in high spirits, eh?”
“ I guess you could say I am.. ” Heart replied with a shrug. “ Iunno. Whole’s feeling okay so I’m feeling pretty good! ”
“Good for you!” Soul smiled a bit, moving so the other could sit without issue. Mind just grumbled something, moving to sit down as well. “You say something, Mind?”
“ No. ” He replied dryly, pressing the mug to his lips.
It was quiet, for a few moments, before Heart reached over, slowly and silently. Then, he flicked Mind on the ear. Instantly, the assailant giggled and scooted away a few feet, as Mind shot a glare that could kill 200 men at once. It wasn’t like they could see it, duh, but it’s the thought that counts.
“ You’re insufferable. ”
Yet, their smile, something about it…
Mind felt weird. No, weirder than weird. Not only did he have this odd feeling…but he felt something pressing against his neck. He shuddered, and sat his mug down on the coffee table with a clack .
“ I'm going back to bed. ”
“You never go to bed right after you wake up…? And..you just had coffee.” Soul raised a brow, falling down onto the couch and sitting up.
“ I just feel off. ” He waved the two off, as they both stared at him quizzically.
Inside his room, he shut and locked the door, before moving over to an empty wall. Snapping his fingers, a mirror appeared in front of him, and he leaned closer, pulling the collar of his shirt down just slightly. That odd pressing feeling got a little worse, but it didn’t hurt.
Sure enough, there was a bump.
A small one, but nonetheless, it was there. He ran his fingers across it repeatedly. He shouldn’t… have odd protrusions. He didn’t have much actual flesh or bone or muscle, just robotic parts under a thin layer of skin. Had something fallen out of place? Mind sucked in a breath, dread beginning to seep from his stomach. That couldn’t be good. Still, there was something else tugging at his brain.
That odd feeling.
Whenever he spoke to Heart, especially recently, under circumstances that weren’t an argument…he felt weird. It wasn’t bad, but he always felt lightheaded…and a bit jittery? Maybe he was becoming too soft…that could be a problem when trying to put his foot down. He couldn’t start giving up at every conflict.
Still, it wasn’t bad. And that confused him. Whatever. He’d deal with it later.
Mind tread over to the door, setting his hand on the doorknob. He’d just ask Soul if it had felt weird lately too, and maybe Heart if it came down to it.
Then, though, a searing pain filled his lungs and his throat.
For his lungs, it felt like a barrage of tiny needles, poking and prodding at each nerve.
For his throat, instead it burned like acid. Like bile. Was he going to throw up? Fuck.
He rushed out of his room, and to the bathroom, bending over the sink as he began to gag, and then, retch. Mind heard two quick pairs of footsteps beginning to approach, and concerned sounds of speech, but he could hardly process what they were saying.
He retched again. He felt vomit rising from his throat.
Heart and Soul entered, both frightened, trying to ask if he was okay. He didn’t reply.
He felt Heart’s unnaturally warm hands on his back, almost trying to force him to get it out. They didn’t want him to choke.
He finally vomited. Instead of bile, though, because he didn’t have any, it was blue and black. Blood mixed with…whatever other fluids he ran on, as an automaton.
Along with that, a petal.
A hydrangea petal. He couldn’t tell what color it was.
His knees buckled, and he fainted.