Chapter Text
Slushly stared at the broken pieces of the eye on the grass. Dumb and Will stood behind him, Evpark in front. There were shards in his hand that had cut some of his skin. But the axolotl looked delighted. “Hm. That was easy. Almost boring. Not like anybody is gonna miss the guy, anyways.”
Slushly didn't answer. Or just didn't hear. He got on his knees, picking up the pieces. His only chance. To fulfill what Aspen would've wanted him to do. Crushed in front of him.
Electricity popped from his arms, violently, the lighting human forcing himself to stand. “You just gonna stand there? Menacingly?” Evpark teased, stepping closer while drawing out his axe. The chain tattoos on the restrictor's arm glowed red as he stepped close.
Slushly grabbed his own mace, getting ready to just charge it. Before he could, he felt the cold hand of metal grab his shoulder. “Slushly, wait!” The lighting carved man turned, brown eyes narrowed at the green android behind him.
“What?!” He snapped. His face looked nearly human, like a falcon getting ready to hunt prey.
“You're going to get yourself killed, you have to think, Slushly!”
“Think?! He just destroyed our only way to get my friend back!”
“Well, I think Nufuli would rather risk being there more than risk having you 6 feet under with him!” Slushly stared at Wyll in disbelief. But the green robot was right. They were outnumbered heavily and Slushly’s hands were shaky and sweaty, making it harder to grip onto the mace handle.
He looked back towards Dumb, whose eyes met his with a flash of real terror. They were immediately switched, looking more relaxed, but ready to fight if needed. “It's your call at the end of the day!” The demon heed, his tail flicking.
Slushly looked back at Wyll, who nodded. Though the android knew that fighting would get them killed, especially with a large group like this, he trusted Slushly. Trusted that what decision his friend would make would be the right one.
“Stop?” Dumb offered weakly, adjusting her grip on her sword.
Slushly sighed, nearly laughing, but not in amusement, “Wait?” They both looked at Wyll, who shook his head.
“Go.”
All three of them flew up. “Split up!” Slushly yelled, looking downwards, at the people under them who were already grabbing their rockets. “They can't find all of us!”
Slushly went towards the south, looking behind him to see where Dumb and Wyll were going. Wyll went east, the green robot easy to spot in the blue sky, until he disappeared into the clouds. Dumb went north, they were even easier to see, even as they slipped into the clouds.
Perfect. They just had to survive. And trust each other. Slushly didn't know if he could do that. What if one of them got hurt? What if Evpark found them hiding or followed them?
Especially Dumb.
That made Slushly stop and turn again, waiting for the worse. Dumb was the easiest to spot, because of his giant wings and red and dark colors in the sky. But, just as people were flying towards the demon, Dumb ducked down into the trees and forest.
Perfect, of course. The demon, nimble and quick, could easily find a place to hide. Slushly turned and continued on. Okay, maybe he could trust them. He also ducked into a forest, a pine forest. He found a small cottage and went inside, slipping under the bed. It was decorated with pink and green things, the house covered in plants like a greenhouse.
He heard rockets above and orders being shouted by a voice. It was a Awof, her voice not hard to tell from the other two. “Search this entire forest and question any player you see!” She yelled, her voice sounding closer by the second, “If they don't give answers, just kill them, we're not wasting time!”
Slushly flinched, thinking of all players that couldn't know anything and probably be killed. A knock at made him jump, his head hitting the bedframe. Another sound made him turn his head. Heels? They were maroon heels, decorated with gold sigils. The person stopped before the bed, waiting. When she didn't get an answer, she walked over to the door.
Slushly got a good look of the person from the back. She had long pink hair that reached about to her waist. She wore a dress, a long sleeved one. The dress was a dark green, with light green vines crawling up the arms. She looked like she came out of a documentary about nature spirits.
The alseid opened the door, Awof and a few guards standing beside her greeting the woman. “Hello, miss,” Awof started, smiling gently, “We just wanted to ask if you've seen anybody around. With brown curly hair, brown eyes, lighting on his arms, he has a brown sweater with strips around his waist and a sw-” Before Awof could finish, the alseid's stopped the sentence like a dam to water.
“No, I haven't seen anyone, I've been gardening.”
Awof's polite smile twisted into a glare. But she didn't advance to attack. She backed away, fixing her cap over her blonde hair. “Alright. Thanks.” The human turned around and walked off, the two guards following after. The alseid closed the door slowly. At first, she just stood there. Slushly scooted a bit more, trying to get a closer look, drawn in like a moth to flame.
Then she turned. Brown eyes met his. One green horn and one pink horn sat at her forehead. They weren't big, not at all, they looked alike to Doopter's horns, small and stubby. Slushly jumped so badly, his head hit the bed frame again. He yelped this time, loudly, his head burning.
“You know, it isn't exactly nice to come into somebody’s house without them knowing,” The girl drawled, her voice like honey. She walked closer, heels clicking. “Well? Apologize.”
Slushly stayed quiet, confused. The alseid waited, tapping her heel on the ground. “I’ll yell that I see you-”
“Okay, I'm sorry!”
The woman hummed, crouching down. She offered her hand, the lighting human taking it and letting himself be pulled out. Slushly stood up, legs wobbling from being in the same position for a long while.
The alseid looked him up and down, circling him. “Oh… you're hurt,” She mumbled, stepping closer. She took Slushly’s hand, holding it up. “This won't do,” The woman sat Slushly on the bed, looking around for healing supplies.
“Uhm, miss, I'm fine, really. I should go.” The lighting human inquired, looking a bit worried. He could hear rockets, but they were starting to become distant. That didn't cool his nerves.
The nature spirit got up and walked to the window, closing the pink blinds. She had a healing pot and handed it to Slushly. “Drink up, might sting a little.”
She just ignored me… entirely, Slushly thought, a bit offended. But he didn't say anything, instead keeping his mouth shut. He tipped the potion against his lips and drank, shuddering. It felt so nice, loosening all the pain in his body.
He blinked, looking at the nymph. She gave the younger one a smile. “I'm Harmony, by the way. Don't think you want to call me miss the entire time.” Harmony opened the door, letting air in.
As the adrenaline disappeared over his mind, he remembered what Evpark had done. The eye. The only way to get Nufuli back. He nearly felt tears come to eyes before he aggressively wiped them away. When his vision stopped being blurred, Harmony w, to the shoulder on the right, brought him back.
He turned, being met by the alseid. “What's wrong?” She asked, looking worried. Worried. For Slushly. This player barely even knew his name, and she was asking if he was alright. Slushly’s breath hitched once, twice, then tears fell out. He covered his face, sobbing into his palms. Harmony didn't say anything, just rubbed his back and hummed.
“H-He's gone- because of me- I got him k-killed!” Slushly cried, trembling. “And now my f-friends are gone! And I-I don't k-know where they are, I don't know i-if they're hurt, o-or worse, dead! All because of m-me…” Slushly choked the words out between sobs.
“No, no, it isn't your fault…” Harmony mumbled, “You couldn't stop Nufuli’s death. And, it was a good idea to split up with Dumb and Wyll,” Slushly slowly stopped crying, something slowly dawning on him. The lighting human looked at Harmony, brown eyes meeting brown eyes.
“I never told you about Nufuli's death.”
“Or about me splitting up with Wyll and Dumb!” Slushly stood up, looking down at Harmony. The alseid didn't look bothered. Maybe even amused. “How do you- have you been watching me?!”
Harmony laughed, standing up. “No, no, Slushly. I just know. A witch never shares secrets.” She walked over to a candle and picked three flowers. A rose, a marigold, and a zinnia. Harmony picked a red petal from the rose, a golden yellow one from the marigold, and a green one from the zinnia. The colors reminded Slushly of him and his friends. She dropped them into the candle, letting the flame change into the three colors.
“You are quite the interesting ones, you know?” The flame grew, into a mirror shape, showing a flashback, a memory, of him, Dumb, and Wyll talking at Spawn. She picked another of the rose petals and dropped it in. The scene changed to Dumb sitting in a tree, barely visible against the dark bark tree. Then Harmony grabbed a petal of the zinnia. When she dropped it in, the scene changed to Wyll in a hole, sparks from his neck.
The flame died off, flicking back to normal. Slushly stared, not able to speak. He…Didn't know what to think. It made him uncomfortable a bit, that this random player was snooping through their memories and lives, but it was also fascinating.
“So… You watched Nufuli’s death through your candle TV?” Slushly tried to joke, but his voice cracked from the tears. Harmony chuckled, her voice wispy. “Yes. The flowers showcase memories, you can look at them through a candle, a lake, a real mirror, somebody’s eyes… or go through them yourself. That is one reason I am happy you were the one that came here, after witnessing what happened to the eye, you were fated to be led here.”
Slushly didn't know what she meant by that, watching her walk to a garden of flowers, looking for something. “Aha!” The sound came from the alseid suddenly, as she picked a salvia flower. It was a dark, deep blue, that made Slushly think of Nufuli’s horns.
Harmony brought the flower over to the lighting human, giving a small smile. Then, words that Slushly never thought would be uttered to him came from her mouth, “Eat it.”
Slushly stared, blinking. “WHAT?!” He snapped in disbelief, blinking in confusion. Harmont laughed, but not because of what Slushly thought, “You are right! Do you have anything of Nufuli’s? I just need you to hold it and eat this-”
“Why do you want me to eat a flower?” Slushly mumbled, sparks emitting from his arms.
“So you can revive Nufuli! It's quite easy! You eat the flower, go through his memories, find his ghost and force him out, blah, blah, blah.”
Slushly and Harmony stared at each other, the younger man looking stunned, while the older woman looked content. Slushly took it in, thinking about it. This could bring Nufuli back? He would just eat a flower, find Nufuli’s ghost, and bring him back? That was it? He took the flower from Harmony, looking at it.
No.
It was too easy.
“What's the catch?” He asked, eyeing the calm nature nymph. She giggled, “Ever suspicious. There's only one thing. A time limit. If you don't bring Nufuli back before the time runs out, he'll fade away and lose all his memories. Of you, Doopter, Loonac, HD, Vanguard, the entirety of Wisp.”
Oh.
Slushly looked down at the flower before pulling out a purple book. It glowed, locked and the cover written in Latin. The Book of Knowledge. He decided to sit on Harmony’s bed. “You'll be vulnerable in this state,” She said, sitting beside him, “But I'll protect you. Find Dumb and Wyll. It's your call, at the end of day.”
The lighting human looked at her with a hopeful expression. “Here goes… well, everything.” and he took a bite. He immediately coughed, the flower giving a sour taste, but he forced himself to swallow.
He didn't feel much different. Just that his vision was…. Glowly. He blinked tiredly, but when he closed his eyes, instead of darkness, a light overtook his vision. He heard the distant yell from Harmony, saying one last thing, but it was muffled.
When he opened his eyes, he wasn't met by the house.
He was met by a field.