Chapter Text
Legs’ island partner was acting weird. That was kind of a constant with M1g, but Legundo had noticed things getting stranger over the past few weeks. The rose-haired man always had the tendency to say odd things and space out, but he had been dissociating much more frequently, and frankly, it was getting a little alarming.
Legundo watched from the top of the RV as his island partner fussed around in the messy chests, likely looking for something that Legs had tossed somewhere randomly. He had been able to put together by now that in most cases, M1g usually “spaced out” when he was particularly confused or overwhelmed, so he was half expecting another episode soon, especially given the frustration evident on the man’s face. Could Legs sort his items into the chests properly? Yes. Was he ever going to? No. M1g usually fixed it within a few days, anyways.
As expected, he noticed M1g’s movements slowing a bit as he stared into an open chest, his lashing tail going still. Legs couldn’t see his face from the RV, but he could imagine the blank expression and unfocused eyes.
There was a moment of awkward silence before Legs gave in and called out, “M1g? You awake over there?”
M1g’s lack of a response was enough of an answer for him. Legs sighed, then slid down the ladder and headed across the bridge to the neighboring island. He didn’t exactly understand what kind of story M1g was involved in, but he guessed that he just had to deal with any little side quests he was dragged into.
Tapping his partner on the head, Legs asked, “Anyone in there?” When he was given no response, he rapped on the man’s skull a little harder, causing him to yelp and seemingly snap back into it.
“Agh- Legs! Uh- What happened? I think I spaced out again.” M1g chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his head where he had been hit. His tail immediately started swaying again, and his pointed ears twitched slightly.
“No kidding.” Legundo laughed a bit, then crossed his arms. “You might need to get that concussion checked out.”
After glancing around, M1g just sighed, “Yeah, but I don’t think any of the kingdoms have a doctor. Uh- It’s probably fine, though. I’ve got you to space me back in most times, so I’m good. I’m fine.”
He gave Legs a small, vaguely forced smile, as if trying to reassure him that he was okay. Legundo didn’t exactly believe him, but he had bigger problems, so a maybe-broken island partner was a problem for Future Legs.
***
It had barely been a month since they had started when Legundo encountered the next… Odd occurrence.
He and M1g had recently gotten the first block of the city done, and as he strolled around the street outside, he noticed his island partner standing up on the roof of one building.
He was about to call out to him, but then noticed M1g’s loose shoulders, still tail, and general lack of movement. It seemed he was spaced out again, and as much as Legundo would love to just leave him to sort himself out, he was keenly aware of the fact that M1g was dangerously close to falling off the roof, and so, with a long sigh, he headed into the building and towards the roof.
“Really, man?” Legs murmured to himself as he climbed up a ladder.
He didn’t know what M1g’s deal was, and now that he was thinking about it, he didn’t even know what the man was. He had just kind of assumed that he was some weird elf, fae, or hybrid, and hadn’t really questioned it. Maybe that had something to do with his episodes. His oddly purple eyes were very telling of some sort of End species, but nothing else really made sense. Legundo got the feeling that M1g likely didn’t know either.
Up on the roof, Legs found the man in question staring blankly at the sky, an odd look in his eyes. He didn’t exactly look like he was having an episode, more like he was lost in thought.
“...Are you awake, or am I gonna have to smack you?” He asked with a half-hearted chuckle, and surprisingly, he actually saw M1g’s left ear swivel towards him, clearly listening despite the lack of a reaction otherwise.
Legundo blinked, paused, then just shrugged. “Well, I’ll… Take that as a yes?”
When he still got no response, Legs slowly shuffled to be in front of M1g, but the man didn’t really look at him, just staring straight through him as if he wasn’t even there. He couldn’t help but feel like M1g wasn’t actually listening to a word he was saying, but he kept talking anyway.
“I’ve actually been meaning to ask- and don’t take this in the wrong way- but what are you? I mean, your eyes, ears, and tail are pretty telling that you’re definitely not just human, so…” Legundo continued, getting the awkward feeling that he was talking to a brick wall.
Surprisingly, though, M1g blinked, then made direct eye contact. He didn’t answer the question, instead just coldly staring at Legundo and staying unnaturally still.
Legs blinked rapidly and shifted his feet, slightly unsure of what was happening, but hoping for some sort of answer.
When none came, he tried again, “...So what are you? What’s your deal?” There was just more tense, uncomfortable silence from his island partner, and the unblinking eye contact was making his hair stand on end.
The way M1g was looking at him made Legundo feel like a small prey animal being stalked, and despite him knowing that he was completely safe, as M1g was unarmed and had never hurt anyone (to his knowledge, at least), he couldn’t help but take a small step back, one hand shakily starting to wander to the hilt of his sword. Legs’ heart rate had started to pick up, and he could feel an inexplicable sense of dread wash over him.
It felt like he was staring a predator straight in the eyes.
Legundo glanced to the sides, then behind him, before he forced out a small laugh. “Hey- So- What’s happening right now? What- What’re you looking at?”
After a few more long seconds, M1g's eyes narrowed and he actually answered, but not in any language Legundo knew of.
“ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ᒷ||ᒷᓭ.”
M1g's expression stayed completely blank despite his ominous tone. To Legs, he sounded vaguely like an enderman, but his voice was a lot less harsh.
“...Ah. Well. Is that so?” Legundo responded awkwardly, trying his best to lighten the mood as he fidgeted with his hands. “Well, I see that you’re doing fine here, so-” He didn’t even take the time to finish his sentence, immediately dropping straight off the roof and down the water column on the side of the building.
The conversation- if it could really be called that- left him with more questions than answers, but with the way M1g was looking at him, he had decided that life was much more important than his curiosity. He would have to ask M1g about that tomorrow, because he was not about to risk getting stabbed.
Legs shivered as he stepped out onto the path, glancing over his shoulder to check that he wasn’t being followed by a pissed-off whatever-M1g-was. Thankfully, it seemed that he was safe for the time being.
He headed down the path away from the building, still checking behind him a few times before forcing himself to relax. Legundo didn’t even fully understand why he was so concerned that he was going to be attacked.
His island partner had never hurt him before, and even if he did get killed, it’s not like he had much to lose. He’d lose a tool or two to the void if anything, but it was nothing to get so stressed out about.
There was just something so distinctly wrong about M1g’s expression, his eyes, and that odd language he had spoken.
Sure, Legs had dealt with odd things before, and he was definitely going to have to deal with more if the man behind the screen got his way, but up until that point, he had never felt so distinctly, intensely threatened. M1g had been unarmed, but he still had gotten the feeling of having a freshly sharpened axe to his throat.
For a moment, he considered getting help from one of the others, but eventually just chose to wait it out. This was a Jungle Kingdom problem, and Jungle Kingdom would deal with this later, decidedly. This was once again a Future Legs problem...
Future Legs probably hated him by now.
Legs chuckled to himself at the thought as he ducked under the RV and pushed past a few of the hanging vines. He thought that he might as well start grinding materials for the next city block while he waited for his possibly crazy island partner to go back to normal.
The next several hours were spent running cobble and basalt farms, farming potatoes, and trading with villagers. It was, quite frankly, completely mind-numbing, so Legundo was so spaced out that he didn’t even notice the sound of wings folding closed and footsteps approaching from behind him.
Legs practically leaped out of his skin as he heard someone clear their throat only inches away from his ear.
“I- Hey! Whoa!” Legundo cried out in alarm, whirling around with wide eyes. It was Fool, standing calmly behind him with one eyebrow raised and an amused expression.
“Hi.” Fool responded casually, causing Legs even more confusion.
“Hi?!” He yelped, blinking rapidly. “Fool- I- You can't just do that!”
Fool just smiled and chuckled, “Well, you sure are on edge today.”
Legs couldn't help but feel silly getting so freaked out over something so small, but he felt that it was warranted given that his island partner had been speaking in tongues and staring him down only a few hours prior. He surely had every right to be jumpy.
“Well- Listen, today's been weird. I woke up in a cobblestone box, I fell through the floor, and M1g was spacing out while speaking in tongues. I’m tired, I don't even know anymore.” He sighed, running one hand through his hair.
Fool laughed, then tilted his head to the side. “Speakin’ in tongues?”
Legs shook his head and stared off into the void. “I don't know how to explain it… He sounded kind of like an enderman? But, like,” He glanced back at Fool with a slightly helpless expression, “Also not? I didn't know people could make those sounds, actually. I don't- I think… I don't know, it's been a long day.”
From the incredulous look Fool gave him, Legs knew that he sounded a bit crazy.
“Uh, yeah…” Fool began slowly, still giving him an odd look. “This is not what I came here for at all, but I'd say that your predicament is far more interesting than potion advertising… Sounded like an enderman, you said?” Legs nodded, and the Nether Kingdom man continued, “Well, my best guess would be Standard Galactic. How M1g can speak that beats me, but you could certainly ask Anathra to translate anythin’ for you. He has before mentioned that he understands the language.”
Legundo blinked, surprised that he was given an actual answer.
Due to being around people like Avid, M1g, and Viking so much, he had nearly forgotten that Fool was a sensible human being (the human part being questionable), and was expecting either a joke or a bullshit answer, not helpful advice.
“Oh. Thanks.”
Fool cracked a small smile again and chuckled, “Well, you're welcome. I hope I made your day less weird.”
“...More weird, actually.” Legs sighed, hanging his head. “Standard Galactic? Isn't that, like… That language the End races use? Why would M1g…? I… Am going to think about that later, decidedly. Thanks, though.” He nodded and gave Fool a grateful look. “I’ll go check with your island partner. Good luck… Doing whatever you're doing?”
“Advertising. We need money.”
“That's fair. Good luck advertising, then.”
With that, Fool waved and shot off with a firework rocket, soaring in the direction of Spruce Kingdom. Legs watched him shrink into a little dot in the distance before sighing and turning back to the farms.
He likely would pay Anathra a visit later on, but he currently just didn’t want to deal with more confusion and chaos today. Legundo was tired, and he still felt just mildly threatened by his maybe-broken island partner, so he made the executive decision to go bother Nether Kingdom in the morning.