Chapter Text
Everything was quite boring. It’s puppets were used to this torture by now. Any satisfaction it had previously had completely dissolved. Sighing, it swiped past each of them in it’s mind. Guest. 1x1x1x1. Noob. 007n7. John Doe. Azure. Elliot.
…
Hmm.
Perhaps it had an idea..
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A round had just ended, and we were all sitting at the table with leftover tea. There wasn’t enough for me though, so I opted to take the purple Enchanter's Nightshade on the counter to make my own tea. Taph had offered to let me have his, but I politely refused. There was only enough for one cup anyway, so it wouldn’t be a nuisance to finish. It didn’t take long, and soon I was sitting alongside my friends again.
“Has anyone checked the machine for something new?” Guest asked as we all shook our heads.
Sighing, Builderman leaned back.
“There hasn’t been anything happening recently. Not that that isn’t a good thing, but..” he trailed off.
“Well, m-maybe that is a good thing? The Spectre could be getting b-bored with us?” Noob offered as Chance laughed.
“Ya seriously think it’d let us go that easily? There’s some other purpose for us bein here, I’m telling ya hon.” He mused, Noob blushing in embarrassment.
Taking a quiet sip of tea, I felt it sting the back of my throat. Hmm, this one seemed more potent than the usual Enchanter's Nightshade, and it tasted quite sweet. I hadn’t recalled adding sugar to it.
“What do you think, Elliot? Pineapple on pizza, or not?” Shedletsky asked, freeing me from my thoughts. Scoffing, I cross my arms over my chest.
“Without pineapple obviously. Pineapple on pizza is a disgrace to my Italian heritage!” I blurted in a thick Italian accent. Everyone seems to chuckle from this, and I smile too.
Except.. I feel kinda tired now. And, was it just me, or did the lights feel awfully bright? Maybe it was the tea, or just the exhaustion from a chaotic round.
Either way, I needed to rest. Sipping up the rest of my tea, I stood up slowly.
“Well then, I'm going to go get some rest, if that’s alright?” I asked as everyone nodded.
“We should all go to bed, that would be wisest.” Dusekkar added as I walked my cup to the sink.
“Taph says we should plan a little more.” Guest said, translating what Taph had to say.
I already knew basic sign language, but other than me and Guest, no one else did. It made it quite difficult for the others to converse with him, but Taph never really did mind.
As I walk towards the staircase, I hear Chance call out to me.
“We'll fill you in when you wake up, yeah?”
“Got it!” I yell back before heading up the stairs and into my room. Locking the door, I turn towards my bed.
Except, it doesn't sit quite right. It’s shaking.
Examining my hands, I realize that I'm the one shaking. Taking a couple steps towards my bed, I feel myself falter. My vision was distorting, twisting as a purple tinge filled my vision.
Groaning softly, I slowly lowered myself onto the ground. As my eyes drifted closed, I felt everything go blank.
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Shivering, I woke up cold against my floor. Sitting up slowly, my vision was blurry, my whole body shuddering as I took a breath.
Pushing myself up, one glance at the clock revealed it was 10 o clock. T-Two hours till the round.
Stumbling over to my door, I felt my stomach churn. The others were likely awake now, sitting in the living room after breakfast. Speaking of..I wonder what they ate? Stepping out of my room, I manage down the steps, hands twitching slightly as I look into the living room. Sure enough, everyone was there. Talking about..something, I assumed.
Except, they weren't talking anymore. They were all looking at me.
I felt myself heat up. Whether from the eyes on me or bright, painful lights, I didn't know.
“Elliot! Where’ve ya been kid? You’re usually up before 8!” Chance greeted, smiling at me as I stumbled over. Suddenly, it felt like the room was tilting, and my steps slowed.
“Uhh.. Elliot?” Shedletsky asked, concern edging his voice.
Before I can remark with an I'm fine or it’s okay, I feel my feet give way. Crumpling to the floor, I feel my head hit the wood. In an instant, I hear my companions run over to me, hushed voices and blurry figures drifting in and out of my visuals.
Strong arms lift me up, and I let my eyes flutter closed.
As my eyes squinted open, I gripped the blanket on top of me tight. I had been drifting in and out of consciousness, head feeling as if it was being rammed into the ground repeatedly. My ears rang with a high pitched screech, making my headache somehow worse. Feeling a soft hand rest against my forehead, I mumbled incoherently. Something was in the back of my throat. Suddenly sitting up, I blink.
“Ucket..ket..” I mumbled, face growing paler.
“What is he saying?” 007n7 asked confusingly.
“I don’t know? Ucket?” Chance mused with a chuckle.
“Don’t joke about that.” Guest scolds Chance. Meanwhile, I feel the feeling in my throat get worse, and worse.
“Ucket? Hmm..” Dusekkar muttered, turning to Taph as he shrugged. Suddenly, Noob burst up with a wild expression.
“BUCKET! GRAB A BUCKET!” He yelled, just as Builderman slid one of Shedletsky's empty chicken buckets by me. Almost as soon as it slid over, I retched. I could feel someone’s hands circling my back, probably Guest. But soon enough, my eyes are closed and I’m back under the covers. Occasionally, I feel a hand on my forehead, checking for my temperature. And I can just barely make out the conversations the others are having. God..what was..happening?
Feeling my vision distort again, I groaned softly, eyes flickering open. My face was slick with sweat, body overheating despite the cool wind outside.
“Eli? You alright kid?” Guest asked, sitting on the coffee table that was pulled close to the couch.
“Fiiiinee..I.. fine..”I slurred, eyes threatening to fall closed again. I hear Guest mumble something to the others before Taph peeks into my view. He signs something to me, but my head hurts too much to fully register what he’s conveying.
“Whare..s.. da medcone..?” I mumbled questioningly as 007n7 suddenly nodded.
“Yes. Where’s the medicine?” He asked, slower so that I could understand. Nodding, I felt my eyes close again, pulling the cover over me.
“Wait Eli! Where is it?” Shedletsky asked again, yanking the covers off as I groaned. The lights were.. so bright. And.. was it just me or was the world spinning?
“Elliot. We require that you tell us where the medicine is. We can’t help you any other way.” Dusekkar urged as my eyes flickered open again.
“Hot..I…ice..” I mumbled, my body burning up suddenly. “Hot.. ice?” Noob mumbled confusingly.
“Yeah uh.. as far I’m aware, ice can’t be hot.” Chance chuckled softly as Guest sighed. Leaning closer to me, I felt his hand rest against my forehead again.
“We’re gonna need you to explain.” Guest asked as I took a heavy breath.
“Drink.. I water..” I mumbled, Two Time’s eyes lighting up a little.
“He requires water! Hm, I shall go grab it. The Spawn would be pleased.” He says, grabbing a glass of water before returning quickly. Handing the glass to Guest, I feel him put it up to my lips.
“Drink.” He says, tipping it up slowly so as not to spill it all over me. As the cool water hits the back of my throat, I feel my eyes fluttering shut again.
“Forehead..hot. Icicle..bag..” I mumbled, eyes closed. After a few minutes of discussing, I felt something cool pressed against my forehead, the incoherent words from my friends slurring into an indecipherable conversation. I only manage to pick out one word. Round. Round was a silly word. Round. Hehe. Suddenly, a brief buzz from my watch causes me to startle. As my eyes flit open, I realize that I'm not on the couch anymore. Instead, I'm in Planet Voss, laying behind one of the rocks.
As reality sits in, I feel myself tremble.Groaning, I sit myself up, fumbling for the pizzas in my bag. I needed to go.. help.. my team. Pushing myself up onto unsteady feet, I start walking to the center, seeing Guest duel with Azure. Stumbling, I groan, leaning myself against a pillar.
”G-Guest!” I called out weakly, the soldiers gaze flitting to me in surprise. Throwing the pizza, I wince as it hits Azure in the face. The pizza slides down to the ground, and Guest manages to break free of Azure’s grip. Turning towards me, I hear a low chuckle escape his lips.
“Why the long face?” He taunted, inching towards me as Guest scrambled for the pizza. Swirling his tentacles out from his back, I felt my heart rate quicken. Fuck. N-Not.. again..? Stumbling backwards, I felt myself thud to the ground. As Azure peered down at me, I saw a weird expression pass his face. Confusion? Vision blurry and contorting, I groan, squeezing my eyes shut. When I look up, Guest has jumped in front of Azure, holding him off with bare fists.
“Go!” He yelled, motioning for Chance, who had just popped in, to help me up. As he grabbed my arms, I felt him drag me behind another rock formation.
“Ya alright kid?” He asked as I winced.
“Fine..” I squeaked, nails digging into the grass.
“Alright. We should prob-” Suddenly, Chance jumps up, pulling out his gun.
“Get back, ya fiend!” He yells heroically, as I see Azure stalk closer. He doesn't seem to be afraid of the gun pointed at his chest. As Chance smiles, I watch him pull the trigger.
Except.. it blows up. As he collapses to the ground, a faint whimper sounds from me. Too..too late.
Scrambling to my feet, I tried to run, but I knocked into a rock structure and crumpled to the ground again, head pounding.
“Don’t worry. Your guest friend is a little occupied. It’s just you and me.” The botanist mused, wrapping a tentacle around my leg as he pulled me up.
Examining my face, he cocks his head slightly. I can feel my vision start to swirl, sweat dripping from my forehead as I shuddered.
Feeling my eyes drift closed, I waited for death to rip through me, but it never came. Instead, I heard some unintelligible remarks from the being, only being able to catch one word.
“Nit…shad..?” I mumbled as Azure’s eyebrows furrowed. Before he could correct me, he suddenly roared, sword stabbed through him as I fell to the ground.
“Build, get Elliot out of here!” I hear Shedletsky yell, leading Azure towards him as Builderman drags me away.
“Nit.. shad..” I mumbled as he pulled me towards Noob and 007n7.
“What?” He asked, but we were back to the cabin.
Except..by then, my eyes were already closed.
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It had been another night of drifting in and out of consciousness. For the few minutes at a time I was awake, I could hear two people talking.
About.. me?
…
Nit..shad.
Niht..shad.
Night..shade.
…
NIGHTSHADE?
Startling up, I felt my vision blur from the quick motion. Guest and Two Time looked over at me, surprise flickering in their faces.
“Elliot. You should probably lie down. The Spawn would advise-”
“D-Did you say..n-nightshade?” I stuttered as Guest nodded slowly.
“Yes. Belladonna to be precise. But TT is right. You should lie down.” He advised.
Mumbling to myself, I felt my head spinning. I was gonna be sick..
Guest, noticing this, slides a bucket towards me as I retch again. Coughing, I felt as if I had thrown up my guts. Grabbing a towel from Two Time, I wiped my mouth before laying back.
“The question is, how in Spawn’s name did you ingest Nightshade? It doesn’t grow in these particular conditions..unless..” I watch his face blanch, eyes taking a harsh look.
“Two Time..?” Guest asks, moving to put his hand on his shoulder.
“Azure.” He mumbled, shuddering before glancing at me.
Guest’s eyes widened slightly, following his gaze to rest on me.
“When did you start feeling sick? I need you to really remember.” Guest asked firmly as I took a shaky breath.
“I don’t..I don’t remember..” I faltered, feeling my heart rate spike as I grit my teeth. Codedamn it. My vision was..was blurring.
No.
No, no, no.
I have to..
Have to remember…
Remember what I…
...
And then I was out again.