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He hated this.
He hated it so much.
He shouldn’t be lying here in his domain, scratching at scales and waiting for the dry aching in his throat to inevitably suffocate him! He was strong, resilient, the infamous Saboteur! He clawed his way out of the deepest depths with his own bare hands, so why must his own body betray him now after so long?!
“Yep, you definitely have a fever, Mijo.”
Maria looked over the thermometer her mutant son had in his jaws just a moment ago.
Sebastian could only just grumble. He despised the idea of feeling weak and helpless.
At least it gave him a reasonable excuse to reschedule the court hearing. As much as he wants those freaks to suffer, he couldn’t exactly do that while dripping snot now could he?
Well, he could. But it would look better without a sniffling sea serpent.
Hours later, it was now dusk. The golden hues lightly sift through the blinds over Sebastian’s windows. A computer monitor on the table began to whirr and buzz to life, the original program for MS Paint booting up.
Things have definitely changed for the AI once the duo escaped from Hadal, but it was a good change!
Speaking of his partner, Painter booted up the webcam attached to the computer, aiming it towards Sebastian.
They would never admit it to his face, but they loved watching their friend get the much needed rest he deserved.
And it was a little silly how his bed now no longer looked like a bed. It had been torn apart and reshaped into a nest! Though they couldn’t complain much, their friend was happy and he was resting well.
The AI remained silent, they couldn’t help but observe their beastly friend. It was an unusual sight to see him so weak and unguarded. Painter enjoyed it though, it gave them a glance from another side of their friend they had never seen before.
They decided to go back to their art.
He felt like he was drowning.
It was pitch black, not even his own bioluminescence or night vision could give him any hint to his surroundings.
He attempted to swim up, but it felt like several chains were wrapped around his tail, it ached like it too.
He looked around frantically, and tried to wiggle his tail free to no avail. That’s when he heard it.
The familiar stomps of the trenchbleeders, the subtle clicks of the deep fauna, and the screams that could oh so barely reach him from this far out in the water.
That was when he felt the chains pull harder.
“No no no No NO! NO! I EARNED MY LEAVE! I’M FREE! I CAN’T GO BACK! NO!!!”
The trapped beast screamed out, a roar echoing from his throat. The chain began to tug down on his tail, and it coiled up around his body like a serpent, tugging around his gills as it pulled him down. He attempted to claw his way through the water until-
A hand grabbed his.
It was significantly smaller, it appeared more frail and cast in shadow with a subtle green glow, yet it was strong and firm, even stopped the chain from pulling down.
“Oh my, this will not do. Stress does not make for a good recovery, what a miserable state to be in.”
Sebastian shot up, awake in his bed and growling, teeth bared as his eyes turned to slits. He scanned the room, his chest heavy and filled with snot dripping from his gills, and he turned to see his mother standing there, gently holding his claw, rubbing it. As she did so, his breathing began to slow, and his eyes softened.
“It’s okay, Mijo… Everything is going to be okay. It was just a bad dream.”
“How… How did you know-…”
“Painter called me, said you were having a nightmare.”
Sebastian glanced over at the computer, where said AI had finished making a get well card, their face on another tab drawn with a concerned expression.
“Kid… Thank you.”
“Don’t, I’m just glad you’re alright, Seb.”
Sure, yeah. Alright was a way to put it.