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"I don't… I think… Dangerous… Monsters…"
Wilson stopped dead in his tracks, careful not to jostle the cardboard box in his hands so it wouldn't make a sound. That was Vox's voice he just heard, right? What about dangerous monsters? He hesitated a few seconds, before lurking towards the slightly ajar door, ear perked.
"Because they usually come out when the light is low, it's been hard to spot them," Elira answered, her voice tense. "I'm pretty sure they have those weirdly long necks with too big a mouth, but…"
"I know what you mean," Nina sighed. "I keep trying to track them but they always escape me at some point. We need to get people to explore the area and try to take care of them before they become a real problem…"
Wilson didn't hear the rest over the intense beating of his heart. Monsters? With a long neck and a big mouth at the end of their appendage? He knew those. He saw them at his previous place. A bead of sweat rolled down his back as he gulped, very concerned. He escaped before the Pack Chiefs could spot him, mind swarming with bad memories.
***
He knew those. He saw them, and even fought with them as a test. Never figured out if the test was about the monster's efficiency or his own martial prowess. Probably both. But the description summoned pictures of white walls, low-light corridors, and lots, lots of bruises. The only time he met the monster the chiefs were describing was in A.S.H headquarters. He sighed and ran a hand through his bangs, frustrated.
How did they escape the headquarters?? Vanta, Zali, and he barely managed to get out, and only thanks to their wits! How could stupid monsters like those wander around in the wild, and so close to their new Pack! Unless… unless it was to track them down and bring them back. Unless A.S.H was planning to attack the Pack and was just trying to gauge their reaction. He stopped breathing for a second, considering his options.
Should he just leave the Pack Leaders to deal with it? After all, their goal as Krisis was to stay hidden now, and avoid making waves. What if the monsters were equipped with trackers and cameras? Everybody in A.S.H would know where they were, and people would come for them. That would obviously put their under-armed pack in danger.
But at the same time, could he really just leave it be? He knew the special features of those creatures. He and his teammates were the only ones who had actually fought them before.
"What's got you all broody, Wilson?"
He startled at the flick against his forehead and jumped back, his vision expanding brutally as he came back from his dark thoughts. Vanta was looking at him with a small smile, and Zali, who was walking ahead, stopped to turn towards them.
"You've been spacing out like crazy since yesterday," Vanta went on, crossing his arms against his chest.
He stopped to think again as Zali nodded. Seeing both of his best friends all worried about him made his chest warm, and it filled him with a sense of confidence. They had already done this before. They could do this again. They knew how to be quick, efficient, and discreet.
"Okay, gather up and listen!" He ordered as he grabbed them both by the shoulders to form a tight circle. "I overheard a conversation between the leaders and I think we can help…"
Soon enough, he had told them all about his plan.
***
The very next morning, they were diving into the forest, in full hero gear. The morning sun filtered through the canopy, littering little patches of light on the ground, and the dew was just starting to dissipate, leaving the forest humid. Zali watched his teammates go on, looking for any traces of the monsters they knew.
When Wilson first told them about them, Zali had felt a great sense of dread. He was no stranger to fighting monsters, but the risk of A.S.H finding them again was dreadful. He squeezed his bag's strap, worried but determined. They all agreed: the sooner they would deal with the threat, the better.
Something on the ground caught his gaze and he crouched down, signaling for his teammates to wait. He plucked the plant from the ground and examined it carefully.
"Found something?" Wilson asked.
"This plant usually has more stems on it, I think some beasts bit into it. And its chemical components are similar to something we- A.S.H used to craft enhancing pills."
"Meaning…"
"The monsters ate it, yes. We're getting closer."
Wilson breathed out, relieved they were going the right way. Vanta caught up to them quickly, calling for their attention.
"I found some prints further away! It fits their size and weight". He was tugging on his coat, trying to get the twigs and leaves out of it. Zali was glad he left his cape back with the Pack.
They all shuddered in tandem, feeling the adrenaline settle in their veins. Zali tugged on the bandages around his arms, ready to attack any second. With a silent nod, Wilson handed his rifle and sword to Vanta and started climbing up a tree. Zali hovered on the ground, ready to catch him should he fall, no matter how unlikely that would be. Wilson flashy outfit disappeared into the dense foliage and they waited.
A few minutes later, Wilson jumped on the ground, hair full of leaves and face full of resolve.
"I spotted them," He said as Vanta gave him back his weapons.
He strapped his gun on his shoulder and grabbed the handle of his sword, just as Vanta adjusted the armor plate around his arm. It was as much armor as it was a weapon, a full-hand knuckle duster with which Vanta could knock down opponents twice his size!
"We do not take risk," Zali ordered. "Especially you, Vanta". He glared at the man, trying to bring him to reason, but the resolute glint in the one eye not hidden behind Vanta's mask gave him an answer before his teammate even talked.
"Sorry Zali, but it's my job to take the hits".
Zali sighed and gestured for them to get in position: him behind, Vanta in front, and Wilson far ahead, alternating between scouting and guarding them. A familiar cry resonated in the distance, giving them the final hint about their target's location.
***
Wilson came back quicker than ever, signaling with hand gestures that the beasts were just up ahead. Vanta nodded and grabbed his teammate's arm before he could dive forward again.
"Let's attack from there," He pointed in another direction. "If they smell us in the wind, we'll lose the surprise effect."
Wilson nodded and they all crouched, walking as quietly as possible. Then finally, they found a good position, and Vanta got a clear view of the creatures in the clearing they had claimed.
A shudder traveled along his spine as the monsters he only found in his memories came back alive, huffing and grunting and very much a threat once again.
As tall as wolves, the four-leg furry creatures were almost peaceful. However, he could never get used to those long and stretchy necks, at the end of which too big mouths stretched in a smile and drooled. Their eyes and noses weren't visible, and Vanta wasn't sure they had any to begin with. There were five of them, and one extending its long neck towards the sky, maybe starting to sniff the air.
He gestured wildly for Wilson to hurry, and the former hitman unstrapped his rifle, sliding it across his shoulder. He put his finger on the trigger, aimed…
The shot resonated in the air along with the cries of the creature. A sharp shriek that called all of the others to fight back.
Immediately, Vanta dived forward with a cry of war. He braced his fist for impact and struck the beast Wilson had injured as hard as he could! The creature stumbled back, wounded and knocked down, presumably dead, just as Wilson finished strapping his weapon back to his shoulder and unsheathed his sword, diving in as well.
Okay, good! The first assault went well! Now was the time to see if they could keep up.
A cacophony of angry howls resounded and Vanta widened his stance, eyes darting everywhere to keep track of them.
"Let's keep them clustered!" Wilson shouted.
One of the beasts charged straight for him and Vanta lunged in his path, grappling its long neck. The monster glitched. Just like in his memory, the sensation of having something in his grasp flickered as the beast attempted to teleport, unable to do it properly.
"Stay. Put!" He grunted as his feet dragged on the ground for a few seconds.
Part of his mind was running a mile an hour, relieved to notice that those monsters were no better at teleporting than they were before, just able to glitch for a few seconds and zap themself out and back into existence on a single-meter radius.
Wilson jumped to the side and sliced its head clean off. With a huff, Vanta threw the disgusting thing away just as Zali called for him.
"Vanta, end this one!"
His head whipped around and he noticed that their medic had used his magic bandages to hold one of the creatures in place. The beast was writhing in desperation, and Zali was struggling to hold it down. He brushed against a button on the inside of his wrist and spikes emerged from his armed knuckles.
"On it!" He screamed as he swung his fist.
It landed right on the beast's stomach, puncturing it. A gush of slick blood poured out of it and he retracted his arm with a disgusting squelching sound, retracting the spikes.
Alright, only two more to go! His ears picked up the sound of clattering, rushing towards him. On auto-pilot, his body whirled around, bracing himself. Zali was right behind, no way he was dodging this!
He noticed too late that the monster was rushing head-first towards him. Mouth first.
Three rows of hungry teeth flashed with a dangerous glint, much too close to his head. He smelled the putrid breath down his neck, closed his eyes, raised his arms because he'd rather have his arm bitten off than his head…
The shrill sound of clothes wrapping around skin resonated. The next second, he opened his eyes to Zali's bandages strangling the monster. Zali pulled hard, wrenching the impeding mouth of doom away from Vanta, before it could touch even a strand of hair.
"Hurry!" He called.
Vanta reacted at once, punching the life out of the beast before it could escape. The both heaved, Zali doing complex hands movement to bring back his bandages to his arms.
"Where is Wilson?!" He yelled.
They both turned towards the last sounds of battle at the other side of the clearing, just as Wilson sliced the remaining beast in two. He breathed heavily, making eye contact with them.
"Hey, we won! Piece of cake!" Vanta cheered, swinging a fist in the air.
"Let's not cheer too fast!" Wilson chastised with a shout.
And just as he said it, his face turned pale, his expression morphing into one of terror.
Vanta turned around immediately, noticing Wilson had looked behind him, and he couldn't have missed it even if he tried.
A giant version of the monsters they had just thought emerged from the woods, marching towards them.
"That's their leader, we just have to take care of it and we're done!" Zali instructed, the most knowledgeable about everything A.S.H's experiments-related. "They only come out when they are cornered!"
Vanta fully faced the creature. When the others had reached his stomach, this one was as tall as them, its long neck a dirty color, mouth drooling enough to hear little splatters of spit along the rumbling of its steps. As slow as it was right now, Vanta saw the shifting of the muscle, the slightly too-slow movement, meaning it was preparing itself to charge.
It's okay, he thought to himself to get his nerves under control. We have the ideal setting. Zali's right behind me, I am in front, and Wilson is far enough that he can shoot safely from a distance. We can do this.
And just as he thought, the creature disappeared. He barely felt the movement of the wind and it was no longer there.
"ZALI!"
Wilson's piercing scream drilled his eardrums. Or at least, it felt like it, charged with agonizing dread as it was. What happened? What happened?
***
One second, the monster was in front of Vanta. The next, it was in front of Zali. The medic let out a gasp, and his mind kicked into overdrive. Protect what is most important. Protect what can heal them! Just as the creature reached for him, he twisted his torso, pulling his medicine bag and throwing it out of reach. Then, he felt teeth bite into his skin, into his flesh. He did not shout, he only let a choking breath escape the barrier of his teeth before he collapsed.
***
What happened?
In slow motion, Vanta turned to the side, Wilson's way. He saw the former hitman put a knee to the ground, ripping its gun out of its straps, propping it against his shoulder before aiming.
He kept turning, his movement still feeling as sluggish as his mind, and he saw it. The gigantic monster had teleported behind him. How the fuck did it do that?! It's not supposed to do that!! He could only see the dark fur of its back, but he could hear. He heard the cracking of bones, the tearing of flesh. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Zali's bag tumbling to the ground.
"ZALI, NO!" He screamed in turn.
***
When Wilson had screamed, it had felt like flipping a switch. Suddenly his body was too quick for his brain to follow, overwhelming his nervous system with information and instructions. Zali was hurt, it said. The monster glitched exactly two meters forward and calculated the angle of its head with the intent to snatch Zali and run away with his body, it said. Zali somehow offered up his flank and the monster bit into it, releasing its grip as quickly as it attacked and drawing back, restraining Zali to the ground, opening its maw, aiming for the head, it said, and you have to do SOMETHING!! It screamed.
The next thing he knew, his gun was in his hands, his eyes aiming, his finger on the trigger, and he didn't get the time to feel himself pull it that the bullet was already flying towards the jaw.
POW.
With a disgusting crunching sound, the beast's lower jaw flew in the air just as Wilson felt his gun almost stab his shoulder because of his awful posture.
He threw his gun away and made a run for Zali, eyes unable to focus on anything other than his injured teammate. In his peripheric vision, somehow, he saw Vanta climb on the beast's back before it could dive for Zali once again. Wilson saw him attempt to struggle.
He did not think about the year-long partnership that allowed him to trust in Vanta and his ability to end the monster. He did not think about the pain as his knees slammed into the ground next to Zali. He only thought about how their medic's side was rapidly getting redder and redder with blood, and he was struggling to breathe.
"Zali! Can you hear me, do you copy? I-… fuck, what do I do?"
Wilson's hands hovered, unable to decide what he should do. He was not the one used to treat people!! It was Zali's job, but how could he help when he was the one in a dire situation!?! Zali's breathing was ragged, broken by strangled fits of coughing. He was barely moving, his body writhing slowly as he held his side, trying to contain the pain. Wilson flinched when a cough stronger than the others turned the bandages around Zali's mouth from white to red.
"Zali! Okay, wait, I… I'll help, I got this."
He needed to help him breathe, first. With trembling fingers, he scratched at Zali's cheeks and managed to pull down the cloth. His teammate took a big gulp of air but returned to clenching his jaw from the pain right after, eyebrows knit and teeth grinding as he suffered. What else could he do, what else??
"I'll-hold on, Zali, I'll press on the wound! So the bleeding won't… so you won't bleed too much!!"
Fuck, why were his fingers so slow, why were they trembling!? He was usually so steady! He managed to untense Zali's hold on himself and pressed methodically on as many puncture wounds as he could, gulping down as if he could swallow Zali's cries of pain.
"VANTA! The bag!" He called.
Why had he even screamed like that? Oh, that's right, he couldn't hear any sound of battling anymore! That must mean Vanta took care of the monster, right?
What if it meant the monster had won and Vanta had died?
His head jerked upwards with terror, and he felt his eyes get blurry as he noticed Vanta, safe and sound, breathing heavily and wiping the monster's blood from his face. His big coat was covered in it. As soon as Wilson's cry reached his ear, he nodded, disregarding even the idea of catching his breath and dove for Zali's bag, half of its content on the grass.
Wilson anxiously watched him gather it all up, until he heard Zali's breath quiet down, escaping his lungs in soft sighs.
"Zali…? Zali, stay with us!!"
"Here!" Vanta screamed, practically shoving the bag against Zali's other side. Wilson's eyes zeroed in on the drops of monster blood that splatter on Zali, sizzling. He saw red.
"BACK OFF!"
He felt like the muscles on his face would tear under the strain of the anger and the panic. Vanta flinched violently, almost falling back. Wilson did not dare take a look at his face.
"The coat, take it off!" He elaborated when he regained half a mind. "What if the blood is poisonous?! He's wounded!"
"r-right, on it."
Vanta's voice was small, but he complied immediately, ripping his coat off himself and throwing it away.
"F-Find the potion!" Wilson ordered again. His hands were getting really wet from his effort to press against the bleeding wound. How could Zali lose so much blood? What if something else had been damaged? What if a rib burst the heart? He used one of his hands to wipe away the medic's sweaty locks from his face.
"I'm trying!" Vanta yelled.
The tyrant hero was going through the bag's content at lightning speed. As the tank and the one who got injured the most, he was most likely to remember which potion was for what use, right? Wrong. All of his memories of Zali healing him jumbled together, mixing the name, the color and the purpose. And what's worse, he could smell Wilson. The beta usually smelled like nothing at all unless he experienced really intense emotions, and sure enough, the sharp and acidic smell of too-ripe grapefruit permeated the air, assaulting his nose and his brain with the need to help, help, help.
Vanta was rapidly losing his mind.
"Vanta, can't-can't we just use the ones on his waist? They're for emergencies, right?!"
"I don't remember!"
"He's losing too much blood!"
"I know!"
Here! This one! The potion was a light blue, and he absolutely remembered Zali using it first on a wound he got from something that stabbed him. He held it over and Wilson held out his hand. And even though he already had his hands full, Vanta felt compelled to let him do it on his own. Willing his fingers to remain steady, Wilson cradled Zali's head and brought the potion to his lips.
Vanta saw the moment Zali opened his eyes and noticed the potion. With great effort, the medic turned his hand away from the bottle's neck.
"No… no…"
It was barely as loud as a whisper, and Vanta wouldn't have heard it had he not been straining his ears to listen.
"W-What?" Wilson mumbled, unable to comprehend the refusal. "Zali, what…"
"Pour it, you have to pour it!" Vanta screamed, finally understanding.
With great haste, he reached for the wound and did his best to tear away all the clothing that was still in the way. Wilson brought the bottle to Zali's side and spilled the content rather than pouring it. Zali's reaction did not delay: he let out his first piercing scream, his whole body convulsing with pain as he attempted to pull himself away from the burn.
"What did you make me do?!" Wilson shrieked, tears finally spilling from his eyes as he threw away the bottle. It shattered miserably on the floor.
"It's a disinfectant!" Vanta rationalized. He was no better, as he was feeling the rumbling of a nervous laugh simmering in the pit of his stomach. "It's supposed to CLEAN the wound!"
Time proved him right, as a soft light shimmered on the skin area, working away at all the impurities. They could now see the wound as clear as day, and Vanta felt queasy in his stomach. It was one thing to see it on himself, it was entirely another to see holes the size of giant teeth in his friend's side.
"D-Does it, do you think it…" Wilson started and gulped, unable to finish his sentence. "You think it needs to be sewn back?"
"I-I have no idea how to do that?!"
"Me neither, what do you think!?"
It was no use screaming at each other, but not two of Vanta's brain cells were willing to connect properly. He was tugging at his hair, desperate for a solution.
"Let's- Let's wrap him up in bandages, at least!" He tried. "To properly stop the bleeding… A-And then… then, I… I don't…"
"Y-Yeah, good idea. Get the bandages and the compresses!"
Vanta dived back into the bag as Wilson kept talking to Zali. "Do you hear me, Zali? We-we're going to wrap you up. It's probably gonna hurt a lot, but…"
That's only when Vanta started unfolding the bandages that he noticed how badly his hands were shaking.
"You do it, I-I can't."
Wilson noticed his trembling and nodded. He grabbed what Vanta was handing to him and slowly, with all the care in the world, they started bandaging him. It was a tough work of slowly lifting Zali so they could pass the fabric around his back, and pull hard to make sure it would hold, but not too hard unless they wanted to risk worsening it. The whole time, Vanta talked to Zali.
"It's gonna be okay. We'll get you out of here, okay? We'll… we'll save you, it's all gonna be okay."
On his side, Wilson poured all his will into remaining steady. As time passed by, he managed to reduce the shake of his fingers to an absolute minimum, but it was very hard to estimate whether he was doing a good job or not. When he was finally done, he looked at Zali's face and noticed his expression was much less tense. He was still covered in cold sweat.
"He's passed out? Please tell me he's passed out Vanta or I swear to-"
"I can hear him breathing! It's fine, I promise it's fine."
"What do we do now?!"
They both rolled their shoulders back, pulling slowly away from Zali to take a look at their surroundings. Wilson felt the exhaustion tugging at his limbs, urging him to lie down next to Zali and take a breath, but the monsters's corpses wouldn't let him have it.
"We absolutely have to get him out of here," Vanta mumbled. "We need to go and get help."
"I'll go, I'm the fastest. You stay here and protect him."
Vanta's head whipped around to glare at him.
"NO! You're going to put yourself in danger too!"
"But we can't move him! It will worsen his wound!"
They both gasped for air, glowering at each other. Wilson distinctly felt his heart fall down the pit of his stomach as he realized how stuck they were. He paled, face going slack as he shuddered.
"We'll never get him out of here…"
"WE WILL! Just-… I don't know, I'll carry him on my back!"
"Did you not hear me?! I said it would make his wound worse! He will die!"
"WILSON!" Vanta grabbed his friend's shoulders and managed to get his full attention. "The monster blood. It's going to attract tons of other beasts. We cannot stay here or we're dead meat. We have to move anyway. So let's strap Zali to my back, and you scout ahead to make sure we don't run into a pack of wolves or something."
Wilson nodded weakly, and Vanta almost feared he would have to also help him up until Wilson shook his head and the determined glint was back in his iris. "Here, let me help."
Together, with great effort, they managed to make Zali sit down (and it broke their heart to see his head lifelessly loll to the side) and lean him on Vanta's back. They used the remaining bandage to tie him up and did their best so Zali's front was completely flushed against Vanta's back, not straining his stomach and not deepening the wound. Then, Vanta put a knee down and got up, wincing at the weight.
"I'm good," He answered Wilson's silent question.
"I'll go scout."
Wilson grabbed his gun and strapped him back then ran forward, back to where they came from, as Vanta began the long hardship of carrying Zali back to the Pack.
***
They walked for a worrying amount of time. As much as he wanted to rush, Vanta could under no circumstances run, not when every jostle dragged a pained moan out of Zali's mouth. At least, with his friend's mouth so close to his ear, he could easily keep track of his breathing. It had stabilized since the start, breaths a bit too quick and sharp for his liking, but stable. No, what worried him was the feeling of dampness on his back, as the blood from the wound seeped onto his own clothes. He wished he could say it was the sweat from the effort.
He wished Wilson would come back already, telling him the Pack was close and he just had to take a few more steps. He could hear him firing his gun a few times, and rushing back and forth, but aside from that, it was just him and Zali. Perhaps dying slowly. He had no way of knowing when that breath would be his last, and it was more exhausting than the dead weight he was starting to struggle with.
"Hhhh… Lia…"
He was so shocked that he stopped in his tracks. Did Zali just speak? Did he just…?
"Lia…"
Yes, that was his sister's name alright. Vanta adjusted his grip on Zali's thigh before the knot forming in his lungs could squeeze too hard and force him to cry. Before his legs would just give way and force him to give up.
"Don't leave me yet!" He ordered to the void, his voice wet with unshed tears.
"Wil-…son… Van…ta…"
"No! Stop talking, dammit!" He cried as he picked up the pace, legs burning under the strain.
"S'… al-ight…"
"Fuck!"
What do you mean, he was still trying to reassure them when he was at Death's door?! It was so unfair! Why would he do that when he was the one everyone should be worrying about?!
"We're getting you out of here, I fuckin' swear!" He bit back angrily.
Just as he spoke, Wilson came back, dashing across the vegetation.
"Almost there," He huffed, out of breath. "What… What happened?"
"He talked in his sleep," Vanta said between his teeth. "He said… He said that it's alright."
He saw the moment Wilson understood those words, his face shattering in both sorrow and determination. As Vanta kept walking, he fell in pace with him, falling slightly behind to look at Zali's face, pushing away his bangs. "It will be alright," He promised fervently.
He pressed a hand against his head and frowned. "He has a fever."
"I know. His forehead is burning my neck."
"I'll hurry."
And just like that, Wilson rushed forward again. Vanta exhaled and inhaled, summoning every last bit left of his strength.
***
Never had Wilson been happier hearing another person call for them.
"-eeey! Heeey!"
"Here, we're here!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, rushing for the source of the voice. It did not matter whether it was one of their friends or an enemy. It only mattered that it was a human being.
He almost slammed into a bewildered Aster, righting himself just in time.
"What happened?" Aster demanded as soon as he saw the state he was in. "I could smell your distress from so far but I couldn't pinpoint it!"
"Zali! Help!" Wilson barely managed to utter, the urgency rushing forward once again as he tried to convey all the important information. "He's hurt, we need to heal him!"
He grabbed Aster by the arms and the slightly shorter male hesitated, reluctance painting his traits. However, he seemed to make up his mind as he grabbed Wilson by the shoulder and exclaimed: "I'm going to go fetch Hex! Bring him to his house! Stay strong!"
Then, he hit Wilson on the back and dashed out, impossibly faster than Wilson thought he could be at the moment. He still rushed back to Vanta, and found him gasping for breath, slower and slower.
"I met Aster!" He shouted. "Hex is going to help!"
Upon hearing that, Vanta's energy renewed itself and he picked up the pace for the last time, doing his very best to reach the place as soon as possible. Wilson honestly had no idea how Vanta had been able to hold on all this time.
"It's gonna be okay," He promised again to Zali, grabbing his back to help Vanta and lift a little of the weight.
As soon as the house was in their line of sight, they noticed Kotoka waving at them. "Over here!" she said as she kept the door open. They almost ran there and stepped into the safety of the house, winded. Inside, other members of XSoleil had brought an entire bed down to the first floor, Doppio standing proudly and Ver trying to catch his breath. Hex was standing on the other side of the bed, signaling towards it with his chin as he rolled back his sleeves, face grim.
"Wilson," Vanta urged. "Can you cut the bandages, please?"
"Yes, yes, on it, of course."
Wilson took a knife from his belt and unsheathed it, bringing the blade to the straining fabric keeping Vanta and Zali tied together. The problem was just that… he couldn't feel his fingers anymore. The relief of finally being with friendly faces sapped the rest of his strength.
"I'll do it," Melocco said as she pried the knife away from Wilson. "Pull yourself together!"
Wilson recoiled, letting her steady aim cut through the bandages. With a sigh of relief, Vanta leaned forward. Hex held out his hands and helped Zali down. Even Doppio held onto Zali's feet to help, but Ver waved him off. "Get your clumsy hands off him".
As soon as Zali was laid down, Vanta's legs buckled and he collapsed to the ground. The medic was breathing harshly again, every exhale locked behind the tightness of his ribcage, pushed out of him only because of the need to gulp oxygen.
"I'll get started now," Hex announced, sitting on a chair beside Zali and taking hold of his fingers.
"Hurry," Ver pressed. "His soul is starting to fade".
Hex didn't answer, but he grabbed Zali's hand with both of his and pressed it against his forehead in a silent prayer.
***
A long moment passed as Kotoka gave Wilson and Vanta some water. They refused the food and the shower, too preoccupied with Zali's state. At the same time he was regaining color, Hex's grunts of pain became progressively less sporadic and more of a constant string of heavy exhales. Melocco put a hand on Hex's shoulder and murmured: "Remember, take only half the burden, please. There's no need to heal him if it still means we have to deal with a heavily injured person."
"I know," Hex groaned back.
"Thank you so much," Wilson told her. " I don't know why I couldn't even cut some dumb bandages."
Vanta's hand found its way to his and squeezed.
"It's okay," Melocco answered gently. "With my job, I'm used to the sight of blood and injuries like these."
And Wilson could argue back that he also saw his fair share of body horror and heavy injuries, but he didn't. Because he lost all his will and wits in the face of Zali's injury, and he knew Vanta wasn't any better. Their buff friend was struggling against sleep and exhaustion even as he still held on to Zali's other hand.
"I have tea and blankets!" Kotoka returned with a cheerful smile. "Here."
"Did you brew it properly?" Melocco asked.
"It was teabags, I can't mess that up!"
That brought a small laugh from everyone in the room, and Wilson and Vanta let themselves smile slightly, warmed by the atmosphere.
***
It was much later that Hex declared he was done. Zali's face was healthy again, cheeks red from the warmth of the room, no longer sweating buckets. Even the fever was gone.
"Now," Hex started. " He just needs res-ah!"
"Hex!"
Doppio caught the man before he could fall and they all sighed as they saw him clench on his side with a trembling arm.
"It was just half, I promise," He argued to Ver, who simply held out a hand.
"Thank you, Hex!" Vanta sprang up, rushing to hoist the man up and help him in return. "Thank you so much!"
"Yeah, thank you so much!" Wilson echoed as he came up to him as well. "We can't… I don't know what we would have done without you!"
"It's okay," Hex breathed slowly. "My life's been much easier ever since Zali's been here, it's only right I pay him back."
Silence invaded the room as all who could reminisce about the day before Krisis came into the picture: Hex, their only healer, in charge of every heavy injury anyone sustained, all on his own. Scratches and bruises were mostly ignored, but it also led to some people trying to hide how much they hurt to avoid burdening him. Now, they could all safely turn to Zali and his potions and medical proficiency with a clear heart and a clear mind.
"Can we…" Vanta hesitated, but spoke up when he saw the encouraging face of the others. "Can we move him back to the Krisis house? I want him to be in a place that's comfortable and familiar when he wakes up."
His omega instinct to protect, shield, and shelter had been quiet so far, hidden under all the stress, but now it was back in full force. His instinct had always been to protect and shelter, and that's probably why he was the tank of the team. They weren't at odds with the intimate workings of omegas, but the way they worked reflected how similar both alpha and omega instincts were. In a pack, it was always about protecting each other no matter what. And so, he wanted to protect Zali's mind. To make sure not a moment of distress would be experienced once he regained his senses. They all understood that, and they all nodded.
"I'll help carrying him, V-bro," Doppio offered.
"But do not forget," Hex warned as he straightened himself. "Once he wakes up, you three are good for an earful. And you will have to explain yourselves."
A tiny bit of alpha voice made its way around the end of his commanding sentence, overpowering and assertive, and the two conscious Krisis members gulped, nodding fast and already dreading the moment.
***
Before Zali could even open his eyes, he already knew where he was. His nose picked up the scent of his own bed, of his room, the muted chalk scent that he usually would lose under layers and layers of chemical products. He smelled Vanta and the comfort of wood burning, the warmth of a house hearth. He scrunched his nose when he caught a barely-there whiff of grapefruits, but it smelled good, so he assumed Wilson was happy. Sluggish, his mind dragged itself out of Morpheus' embrace and his body came back to him, with all that was going on.
He winced when he tried to move his side, a stabbing kind of ache preventing him from agitating himself. He sighed when he felt both of his hands, clammy with the warmth of another's. His ears picked up on his friends' breathings and his heart, which almost beat out of his chest upon feeling the unfamiliar pain, settled back in his ribcage. Finally, he opened his eyes: Vanta and Wilson were both sleeping, each on one side of his bed, holding his hands. Wilson was drooling on his own arm and Vanta's face was almost entirely smushed in the bed. He smiled and squeezed their hand.
The result was immediate: they stirred awake, yawning and turning their head. The second they noticed his eyes were open, they dashed towards him, throwing their arms around his head.
"Zali!"
"You're awake, finally!"
He now had his arms full with two grown men bawling their eyes out as they put their hands all over him, checking for pain.
"We thought we lost you!"
"What happened?" He asked with a happy laugh. "Did you save me?"
"That we did!" Vanta cheered. "Or, at least, Hex did."
And then, they both started crying again, trying to tell him all about what happened between sniffles and hugs. Zali did his best to pat them both on the back, feeling his neck damp with their tears. At some point, he rubbed his scent gland against the top of their heads, trying to express without a word how reassured he felt that they were all alive and that he did not mess up. When the teeth pierced his flesh, he truly thought it was the last mistake he'd ever made, and he vaguely remembered, during the time he was conscious, how scared he was that they would die because he couldn't protect himself.
"I'm… I'm happy we're all here," He whispered to himself, but they still heard him.
"Zaliii!" They both cried even harder.
He laughed and tried to reassure them, with calm words, with gentle pats, with a comforting scent, until eventually they got it all out of their system. Wilson retreated to blow his nose and Vanta kept wiping his face with his arms to try and contain the remaining tears.
"It's alright now," Zali smiled. "We're all alive, thanks to Hex."
Now that he had a full rundown of the story, he really needed to come and thank him. At the mention of their senior's name, both his teammates tensed suddenly.
"Hum, by the way, we should go get him," Wilson hesitated.
"Do you go get him or do I go get him?" Vanta asked.
"There's no need to go get anyone," A voice resonated from the doorway. "I'm already here."
Wilson and Vanta both erupted in spluttering words of apology and even Zali felt nervous under the man's gaze. On reflex, they all sat down on Zali's bed.
"Glad to see you're all better," Hex nodded towards Zali, who responded in kind before his gaze sharpened. "Now. Whose idea was this?"
The full brunt of his alpha voice was hard to bear, and Zali gulped. However, not a word escaped their lips. Hex sighed deeply.
"Did you think it was a good idea?"
"No…" they answered in tandem.
"Do we warn others when we go on an impromptu patrol?"
"Yes…"
The weight of his words did not only lie in the raspiness of his voice or the potent power of his sub-gender but also in the genuine anger and frustration it displayed.
"Do we pass around any relevant intel about our enemies?"
"Yes…"
"Do we ask for help from each other before any disaster happens?"
"Yes…"
"Did you do all that?"
"N-…No…"
Had they not been blinded by overconfidence, all of them, maybe something would have happened differently and they wouldn't have to go through that. Zali thought about the additional guilt Wilson was bearing, being the one who suggested the whole thing. He wanted to make sure his friend wouldn't fall into a pit of self-loathing after that.
"Will you ever do it again?"
"No!"
"Good."
The pressure released itself as soon as Hex stopped using his alpha voice, looking at them with a tired smile on his face. "Please take care of yourselves, boys."
And just like that, he left to the sound of their reassurance. They were left bewildered but happy to only get scolded for such a short amount of time.
"I was so sure he was gonna blow our head off…"
"Zali, we should change your bandages."
It sounded like a signal because as soon as Wilson said this, they both started hovering and fretting over him. They made him sit up straight as Vanta brought him water and Wilson removed the bandages, and Zali took the first proper look at his injury. It was, in all honesty, really ugly, with marks of holes surrounded with bruises, but it was not bleeding anymore, at least.
"Vanta, can you bring me my bag, please?"
"Yes, right away!"
He snatched the bag from its place on the ground but stopped in his tracks shortly after, surprising Zali.
"What's wrong, Vanta?"
"I… I can't believe that bag was more valuable to you than your own life…"
Zali knew immediately what he was referring to: had he not turned to throw his bag away, perhaps he would have been able to defend himself and not get that injured. But the thought of all the hours he spent on preparing those potions going to waste, all the injuries it couldn't heal, filled him with a dread greater than that of death.
"It's because all of our lives depend on this bag." He answered, his voice steady.
Vanta nodded like he was already expecting his answer, and Zali knew he agreed with it.
"Maybe you could…" Wilson started. "Maybe you could start labeling the bottles?"
"That… That is a good idea, Wilson, actually." Zali agreed as he chose a potion inside his bag, popped it open and started drinking it.
It was a painkiller and something to accelerate the healing process, but it also made the drinker very tired. Zali was already due for another nap, but he didn't want to separate from his friend just yet.
"Maybe we could… bring the beds together?"
No sooner said than done! A few minutes later, there three beds were in Zali's room, smashed together, and their occupants ready to nap together. They cuddled under the covers, comfier than ever, finally safe and sound all together. Zali sighed in contentment, feeling Vanta's heartbeat against his shoulder and Wilson's breath against his collarbones. They were all safe. Melting into the mattress, they let sleep take away their consciousness.
***
"So? How are they?"
Without a sound, Luca peered his head inside and took a good look at the three heroes of the day: Vanta had held out his arms so Zali and Wilson could use it as a pillow, his hand cradling the back of Wilson's head. Wilson, in turn, had wrapped his arm around Zali's middle, his fingers latching on to Vanta's shirt. In the middle, Zali slept peacefully, his face occasionally scrunching when one of his teammates moved in their sleep.
"All good, I think. We should let them rest."