Chapter Text
Blood.
Blood filling his mouth, his nose, ears, eyes, everything. It boils his skin, like molten lava. He cries out, the blood filling the sub fast. He screams again, it’s in vain. Instead, the blood rushes in, bubbling up in his throat. The man lets out a choked sob, the pain was overwhelming. He felt like a fish out of water struggling to breathe. Ironic. He was in quite the opposite situation, he was drowning. He was drowning in smoldering hot blood.
Until a new equally painful sensation starts up. Glass shoots into his side, little blades that dig into his ribs. The glass starts to expand and grow. Puncturing his ribs as it claws its way into him. He now realizes it feels more like the bark of The Last Tree. It rips through fast as lightning, he barely has time to register it as a blinding light sears his eyes.
The man gasps, finally able to breathe again. He looks down at himself, he is seemingly uninjured. The pain agonizingly withers away until he feels like he’s floating. Maybe the God Eden always preached about was real. Maybe he has saved him, and he could return to the soil. He floats there, minutes turn into hours, at least it feels like they do. He stays in this blissful light until his vision rapidly darkens. The man desperately reaches out, he doesn’t want to go back. Don’t make him go back, did he say that out loud? He thinks it doesn’t matter as his eyes grow heavier and close. The last thing he can hear is the sloshing of waves, they sound lighter; How water on Earth might’ve sounded. He thinks of Earth, how nice it would’ve been to see it.
Whatever, he’s grateful the pain has stopped. He’s grateful he doesn’t have to last another second in that damned joke of a “submarine.”
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Grace takes in a deep breath, staring at his computer playing some random new show. Grace is on the third episode but could not tell you the main character's name. This piece of tech has literally every piece of media ever, but Grace still finds himself bored.
Every day he starts a new show, or movie, or game. All attempts to cure his utter lack of- of what? He has everything! He teaches the eridans, hangs out with Rocky and Adrian, works in the lab, and in his free time he entertains himself with every work of literature ever. So what was he missing?
Grace lets out an annoyed huff, waddling his way off the couch and into the kitchen. He looks out the window, at his “ocean.” The artificial waves crash into the shore. The blonde rolls his eyes, it’s the same scene he’s seen about a million times. He thinks about leaving, maybe going to the lab and working some more with Rocky. Yet just as he goes to turn away, something glints at the bottom of the body of water. Grace flicks his head back to the water, staring at it. Maybe something new the bio-dome team thought to add? Grace eyes the light, growing brighter by the second.
A rumbling starts shaking around his empty coffee mugs scattered about the living room and kitchen. Clink, Clink, Clatter. In the blink of an eye, a towering tree sprouts from the water with an ear-splitting BOOM. Water flies up and splashes onto the window. Grace simply stares, bewildered.
His body is already moving before his mind catches up. He’s running out the door and tripping down the stairs. Grace tugs his sweater around him, the breeze is unusually cold today. He huffs as he darts across the sand, maybe he should start working out. He skitters to a stop, ending up standing in front of this miracle of a tree.
Grace's breath stops, taking in the scene before him. The tree is a deep red, similar to the color of dried blood. He now realizes it smells slightly of blood. The bark is brittle and it juts out at random points of the tree like knives. He focuses his gaze upwards. As for the leaves they look to be some sort of maple- although these too are red, but a lighter shade. Grace examines the tree hurriedly, his eyes rushing across the entire tree like a bullet.
His hands tremble at his sides as he starts to wade into the water, not caring about his current wardrobe. The tree isn’t so far from the shore, it sprouts up at the 3-foot zone give or take. As Grace reaches the tree, he sees that there is blood. It’s seeping out from the roots and cracks in the tree. He’s momentarily stunned until his gaze trails down, down, down. Underneath the roots is a dark silhouette of- a man? Grace scrubs at his eyes, knocking his glasses out of place. Maybe he’s lost a little too much sleep these days. He thinks, probably, his mind is making up human company so Grace doesn’t go utterly crazy. He doesn’t know, and frankly doesn’t care, all he does know is that a man is drowning.
The realization dawns on him and he hesitates before diving under the surface, straining to keep his eyes open in the curated salty water. Grace doesn’t take the time to survey the man before he’s lifting him out from under the roots, and dragging him back to the shore. Ryland struggles to pull him out of the water, probably from his squishy life on Erid. Grace doesn’t know what to do, he’s so bewildered he can hardly think or see straight.
Grace is snapped out of his thoughts by the man in front of him. The man in question violently coughs up a mix of blood and water and curls up onto his side. His soaking face contorts into something that reflects grueling pain. Somehow, the man blinks open his eyes, they are glazed over and they blearily slide to Grace’s. The crimson eyes lock onto Grace and widen. The blonde notices one eye has a reddish tint, and glows just a bit. The man looks like he’s about to say something, just before his eyes roll back and he slumps onto the ground.
Just as Grace starts to panic again he hears the familiar trilling of Rocky. He whips around to see the five-legged alien scrambling up to him, spouting something like,
“What happen, question? Grace okay, question? Heard loud noise. Bad, bad, bad! Sound like-“ Rocky does his best to copy the booming sound, it comes out like a smash of piano keys. Grace ignores him and turns his head back toward the new arrival. Rocky follows and turns the ‘face’ of his carapace in the same direction. The alien makes a shrill noise and then, “New human! New human! Grace, new human!” Rocky jumps in his xenonite suit, making little clapping sounds by opening and closing his claws. The blonde nodded along, finally getting a chance to take in this disheveled man.
This stranger had the build of a soldier, with shoulder-length hair that looked like running ink while wet. His clothes were run down and looked as if they had been repaired at least a hundred times. They were soaked, red with what smelled faintly of blood. Grace didn’t acknowledge the way his face heated up when he noticed the lack of a shirt. Instead, his shirt was replaced by a black harness that wrapped around his chest and then his armpits.
He wore scrappy pants that led to black combat boots. The man also carried a leather bracelet that was connected to what looked like a shattered circle of glass on his wrist.
But what Grace really noticed was the lack of an arm. The man’s arm was shredded and looked almost like the bark of a tree, with the way the flaps of skin drew into sharp points. What was even more bizarre was the wound that crossed his lack of an arm and exploded onto his chest. The skin there looked like it was bubbling. It looked painful. This phenomenon continued up his neck and onto his defined face. Then followed by black vein-looking lines running throughout the mangled patch of skin.
Now, closely examining his face, there was something that could only be described as a second mouth. Teeth stuck out and perfectly fit with each other, every so often they would open and you could see the inside of the man's mouth.
And then there were the fish-like mutilations. The ear of this dark-haired man resembled more of a fin, with dark spikes that were connected by translucent red webbing that sparkled in the light. Further down there were gills on his neck with the same frilly material the ‘ear’ had on it. There were two that occasionally would flutter.
“Not normal, question?” Rocky warbled, noticing the deeply concerned look on Grace's face. He clicked his claws together nervously.
“Not normal at all Rock,” Grace admitted leaning back and fixing his displaced glasses, “…Actually we should probably get him to Armando, now.” Rocky chittered in agreement as Grace used all his strength in picking up the fish-like man and running as fast as he could towards the house. Rocky stumbled through the sand close behind.
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The blinding white light comes back. This time it’s slow and it doesn’t immediately induce worry into the man. He lies there for a bit, in the warm embrace of this blanket- blanket? The man tries to jerk himself up, to no avail. His body feels like it’s made of lead. Maybe he had hit his head on the sub and actually made up all that drowning. But then why would the light be back? He fights away the drowsiness and forces his eyes to open.
“Eye movement detected”
The voice is calm and sounds feminine. The brunette jerks, surprised that there was someone else here. No, not someone else, there is some weird robot hand way too close to his face.
“What is two plus two?”
He’s confused. Where the hell is he, did the C.O.I decide to finally bring him up? Did they think he’d be more useful somewhere else? The man ignores the robot, preferring to evaluate his surroundings instead.
He seems to be in some kind of bedroom, a circular window to the right of him and to the left a door. There’s not much in the room, the bed accompanied by two side tables opposite each other. Then cornered in by the wall is a desk, a small computer atop it almost hidden by a flurry of papers. Some small shelves rest on the walls but not much decorates them. The room is also relatively small, for one person probably.
The man gains the strength to move his hand just a little.
“Hand movement detected. What is two plus two?”
He almost rolls his eyes at this needy robot before a new voice speaks up.
“…Two,” It’s a male voice. The brunette snaps his head to follow the sound, what he sees is… unexpected to say the least.
In the now open doorway stands a man. He is lean and tall, missing a bit too much muscle for a C.O.I bastard. Not to mention his clothes- they look clean, and they look new. There isn’t a single patchwork spot on them. The brunette evaluates the shirt, it says some stupid science shit. ‘Ah! The element of surprise’ plastered on a red shirt. This man has sandy hair that matches his scruffy beard. Some glasses dangle off one of his ears.
The brunette scans over the man, deeming him not strong or scary enough looking to be a threat. The blonde glances around, he looks more nervous than the other man.
“I-I’m Grace!” he says quickly, “Well technically it’s Ryland Grace, Dr.Ryland Grace!” He chuckles to himself a bit before gesturing out to the man in the bed, “And what about you?”
The man stares at the blonde- Ryland. He considers, names racing through his head ‘Butcher’ ‘Convict’ ‘Brother’ ‘Eden scum.’ He tosses the names out the window.
“…Simon.” He starts, eyeing Ryland, “Where am I right now? What ship am I on?” Grace hesitates for a moment, mulling over the word ‘ship.’
“Simon! Alright, cool, names!” Grace cringes at his awkwardness but barrels on, “You’re in my, uh, my room! That sounds weird because then you would be in my bed- but that's not the point. We’re on Erid, it’s like… around 16.3 light years from Earth.”
“Funny joke,” Simon retorts, but he has an inkling of suspicion that Ryland isn’t joking at all. “D’you think I’m stupid? You must be C.O.I. And this must be a fuckin’… recovery center or somethin’. You’re probably checking if I know where I am or some shit. I know- we know that all the planets along with the stars disappeared. Stop tryna fuck with me.” Simon finishes his sentence with an annoyed huff, but when he looks at the pure confusion on Ryland’s face he starts to reflect the emotion.
“N-no I’m not C.O.I or whatever? Is that some type of government, like the C.I.A? A-and what do you mean the stars disappeared? We saved them! I know we did.” Simon is starting to get irritated, and lucky for him he’s gained some of his strength back. He sits up, swinging his legs off the bed, there’s no immediate weapons around him so he opts for his hands. “Whoa! You just woke up, maybe it’s not the best idea to be up just yet-“
Grace is cut off by Simon walking up to him and grabbing Ryland's face. The scientist’s breath hitches.
“Look, I really don’t want things to get… physical. But I’m not in the mood for these mind games you’re trying to play. So tell me where the fuck I’m at.” To punctuate his sentence he squeezes Ryland’s face and jerks it towards his own.
Grace reaches up and grabs Simon’s wrist. His eyes look relieved, somehow. Simon jerks Ryland again, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Oh! No, I promise we’re on a planet! Look!” Grace squeezes the wrist he’s holding before removing his grip and pointing out the window on the opposite side of the room.
Simon rolls his eyes, turning around to see the vastness of space- no. Sunlight. It pours in through the window and illuminates the room. The brunette lets out a gasp, releasing the man in his grasp and stalking up to the window.
The scene before him is like nothing he’s ever seen. It looks like they are sat upon some cliff, overlooking what he knows must be a beach. The textbook sand that shifts in the wind and gets lapped up by the cool blue waves. Looking at the water makes him a little dizzy, to be honest. But he is righted again when he sees the mountain of a tree in the water.
Simon's eyes well up with tears, but he shoves them down. He doesn’t want a suspected C.O.I doctor to see him cry. Simon goes to put both hands on the glass so he could inspect the outside better, when he fumbles and slams his left side into the glass.
“Simon! Are you okay?” Grace rushes over as Simon turns his back to the wall, leaning on it for support. Grace hovers around the man, reaching out to help but Simon shoots him a testing glare which prompts Ryland to back off.
Simon looks at where his shoulder and- oh my god. Where is his arm? Simon's breathing quickens as he reaches over to grab the stub. How hadn’t he noticed he’s missing his arm!
“Wh-what the fuck. What. The. FUCK.” Simon turns sharply to Grace, who is crouched down in front of him. “Where is my FUCKING arm?” The words are full of venom and accusation. It causes Ryland to stumble back and land on his palms.
“I don’t know! When we found you in that tree you were like that already! Armando fixed you up though so you should be fine!” Grace rushes to explain. Scooting a little further back.
“How don’t you know?” Simon spits before his head is pounding. He reaches up into the roots of his hair. It feels like someone is smashing his head with a hammer. Flashes of the sub come back to him. Veins that crawl along the walls and grab his arm. Then, a flash of tearing flesh, excruciating pain that's white hot and shoots through his arm. Teeth that bite through the sub and let blood shower in. Simon's face pales as he remembers, and as fast as the headache came it fades.
Grace watches as the brunette's face shuffles through pain, shock, fear, and something akin to familiarity. Simon looks at Grace. Realizing he must’ve saved him from the submarine. And Simon was threatening him! Accusing him of his predicament! Simon swallows his shame.
“I-I’m sorry… I just want to live. I don’t know how I’m alive. How am I on this planet? Why am I here? Is the black box safe? Did I save them?” Simon spews questions that make little sense to Grace, but Simon's breathing is picking up and his eyes are frantic.
“Hey, hey,” Grace gulps, crawling towards the man who is now pulling at his hair. “I know this is probably… a lot! Right now. And I can totally explain everything the best I can but, I really think you should get back in bed.” Simon tries to calm himself down so he can comply but he just can’t. He thinks of the sub and how he just wants to live.
“Okay, Simon, look at me.” Grace holds out his hand to Simon. The brunette glances at the offer and he slowly pulls his own hand out of his hair and lays it on Grace's. Ryland offers a gentle smile and pulls their hands up to his chest so Simon's palm is on Grace's heart.
“Okay now I want you to try and match my breathing, can you do that?” Ryland speaks gently. Simon nods, focusing on the feeling of how Grace's chest rises and falls. Simon matches the breathing and shifts his hand, pressing down on the other's chest. Grace holds his breath.
“You.. you are real. Ohmygod, you’re real,” Ryland breathes. Simon nods gently, realizing he was using the contact to see if this was real too. Simon watches as a tear falls on their interconnected hands. He looks up at the blonde, he was crying silently. Simon jerks his hand away like he was burned. What had he done wrong? This was one of the only humans that had been nice to him in forever, and he made him cry? What a piece of pathetic shit he was.
“S-sorry, I just- you’re the only human I’ve seen in.. in forever. You’re the only touch I’ve felt since..” Grace cuts himself off and Simon raises an eyebrow. Only human he’s seen? Does that mean-
“Whatever it doesn’t matter.” Grace chokes out, taking off his glasses and rubbing away the tears. “I-I’m sure you have a lot of questions that I can hopefully answer. I have a lot too but I won't push you to answer anything!” He sets the glasses back on the bridge of his nose and gestures for Simon to get up. He goes easily, trusting Ryland at least for now. Grace heaves him up and stands on his left, supporting him as he leads Simon over to the bed. Simon sits down and so does Grace, on the chair to the desk that he turns to face the scarred man.
“Okay, let’s talk,” Grace smiles.