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Ren stumbled out into the lobby as his fellow players swarmed out of the arena, halfway. He was almost done.
Ignoring whatever the players were rushing around to collect, he sat down on the closest bench imaginable and buried his head in his hands. This was not what he was hoping this would have gone today. As much as he wanted to sit out, his teammates were counting on him, and it was almost done anyway.
Breathe.
Breathing intentionally was never a good sign for him, and Ren hissed an exhale out trying to stop his teeth from grinding against each other, he didn’t even have the ability to think anymore, the only thought running through his head was how much everything hurt.
The laughter and shouting around him didn't make him feel better either.
Ren pressed his palms into his eyes, trying to distract from the pulsing in his temple. It hurt but everything hurt. It felt like his world was spinning as he took each breath.
He pulled his collar away from his throat and tried to breathe slowly.
And the break ended too quickly. Ren barely stumbled up the staircase and into the voting area before the walls lifted.
He stared at the egg in his hands as people chattered around him. What was he meant to do with this?
He couldn't remember. And as the floor fell out from underneath them Ren didn’t even think about letting go of it. His vision blurred as the icy water consumed him, and for a second the pulsing pain was elevated as shock jerked him back to the present, but as quickly as it let, it came back, leaving Ren shivering and sweating at the same time. Good combo.
And then the stomach-jerking feeling of being teleported consumed him and he was falling- or no he was standing shoulder to shoulder with people whose faces he couldn’t make out. And then he was alone, or not alone but he couldn’t feel them pressing up against him anymore and he almost let out a sigh of relief when a wall came running at his face.
A brief spike of adrenaline shoved him out of the way despite his worsened reflexes, but the quickness in which he moved made his vision spin and his stomach churn dangerously, and all Ren could do was breath and swallow the pooling spit in his mouth.
He was fine, he would be- SMACK!
Ren was bowled over by a wall he had forgotten was coming, sending him careening off the platform into the frigid water below him. He didn’t have time to realize he was wet before he was teleported up and was completely dry.
But the teleportation only made his vision go white as the pain in his temple screamed.
Ren moved painfully slowly towards where he thought the platform ended, afraid that if he moved any faster his stomach would betray him.
Eventually he knelt down, he could feel the bustling movement of people around him as he begged not to throw up. His teeth were chattering but he felt incredibly warm, and he thought he’d moved past the worst of the nausea when his stomach flipped and he was on his feet feeling people push up against him again.
He tried to keep his balance, his team was counting on him but when he was shoved into the water again he didn’t even have the ability to feel surprised. He couldn’t even will himself to stay standing after the teleportation yanked him out of the water. He buried his head in his hands as he tried to focus on anything else.
But he couldn’t open his eyes.
And there was too much noise around him.
And he was cold but burning.
And he could only taste metal.
And–
And he was standing again.
Oh god he couldn’t do this again.
But the universe didn’t care. And before he knew it, Ren was spiraling head over heels, his legs being taken out by a threat he didn’t even see.
He was forced to the ground, choking and gagging on nothing. He was dying. Or at least it felt like it. What else could explain the pressure in his skull?
“Are you okay?”
Ren blinked hazily, his eyes stanchly refusing to focus as he pulled his head out of his hands. He knew that voice though, but he couldn’t place her name. He swallowed a mouthful of something that tasted like despair and shrugged noncommittally as he tried to ignore the pulsing behind his eyes.
Why was it so bright here?
“Can you-”
And before the sentence was finished Ren was unceremoniously jerked away by yet another teleportation, his head screamed, and his vision was covered in stars.
“Ren? Ren?”
There was a hand against his back, and it burned. Ren clamped his hands over his ears and screwed his eyes shut- it was too loud, why was the world screaming?
A hand gently grabbed his fingers and began peeling them away from his scalp. They left painful whispers of his nails.
“Let’s try not to hurt ourself m’kay?” Her voice said again.
“I’m-” He started, but his words died in his throat and he was left blinking up at the face that he couldn't see. It was quieter now.
A cool hand cupped his face and then pressed against his forehead, “Talk to me, what’s wrong?”
Ren leaned into the hand, his eyes slipping closed again, but his thoughts were garbled and he couldn’t think how to make a coherent sentence.
“Did you get hurt in hole in the wall?”
Ren shook his head and the tension began to release from his shoulders as another cool hand took one of his hands.
“That’s good. Are you…” She trailed off. “No nevermind, I’ll see if we can find a sub,” She hesitated, “Or two.”
Wait, wait no that was exactly what he was trying to avoid. Ren shook his head and tried to say, “I can play, I can’t leave my team.”
There was a beat of silence, and then, “What did you say?” Her voice was closer to confusion than concern but concern was still dripping of every syllable.
Ren swallowed, “I can play.”
“Oh that’s not-” She paused and then said with a level of urgency Ren didn’t quite understand, “Can you open your eyes for me?"
Ren took a second to steal himself but when he opened his eyes, his vision was clear enough to see False kneeling in front of him in her yellow jacket that was matching his. She stared into his eyes for a moment before saying, “You scared me there. I thought you were concussed.”
“My head hurts,” Ren said softly as he pressed his fingers into his temple.
False squinted for a moment, “Hm. Um right. That’s not at all concerning.” She put his hands on top of hers, “Can you press down for me? As hard as you can?”
He did and it must have been the answer she wanted because False exhaled slowly, “Good. Can you walk?”
Ren nodded and False stood, extending a hand down towards him. “Come on, let's find somewhere you can take a break.”
He half noticed there weren’t any other people around as False led him to the small room with a couple couches. Ren almost fell into being horizontal, the sweet relief of burrowing his head in a pillow and blocking out all the light consumed him.
Gentle humming drifted through the air, as cool hands rubbed circles into his temples.