Chapter Text
Skulk infection was a difficult thing to deal with when you were a normal player.
It had small symptoms, a fever that didn't seem to drop no matter what you did, blue patches growing on the soft skin of your body and the normal lightheadedness that came with every illness. It would go away on its own if you acquired it under normal circumstances much like a normal cold.
Zacho didn't acquire it under normal circumstances. It wasn't a viral infection or a bacteria that could be treated with the right dose of antibiotic regeneration potions. For him, the skulk was a parasite. The relationship it had with his body easily resembled commensalism—the biological relationship in which one organism benefits while the host remains unaffected. It was an honest mistake to make.
In truth, the only way for him to preserve this fragile commensalism was to consume double the calories that his body needed.
Well, that is if he didn't want to become a full blown monster from the infection.
It meant eating and eating and never letting his hunger bar drop more than five slots even if that made him feel nauseous. He had discovered this after running a couple of scans on his merging body to try and determine how to cure his condition. Back when Zacho still held hope that the skulk infection would go away on its own like a normal skulk infection would. It didn't— in case you were wondering and it wasn't obvious— It didn't go away on its own.
Still, the research had been useful so he wasn't complaining about the hours that he spent with his body inside of a player scanner. It had been then where had discovered that the skulk took at least half of his nutrients—and if he didn't provide with those, then it would just start taking over more parts of his skin. Fun! And that is why you didn't explore places that looked like they belong to a horror movie.
One would think that would dissuade Zacho from solving and searching for mysteries ever again.
Well not really, in fact he made that his livelihood. Because he figured, hey! he was already infected, what else could be worse than that?
Death?
Nice try, he could respawn. And sure it would be annoying if he died in a hardcore server, but even then the worst thing that happened was losing access to the server he was investigating so…
And it had proven to be true for a while.
Up until he had decided to start investigating the skin caves.
First, of course, he had contacted Lomedy—since he was the easiest one to reach from the whole investigation squad—and told him what he was up to. Y'know, just incase something terrible happened and he was unable to get out of whatever mystery he was investigating. The rule had been put in place after they had watched the ending of one of Lomedy's ARGs. One that justified perfectly why the creaking hybrid was a little unhinged.
So maybe warning the least sane member of the squad where he was going, wasn't a good idea.
Eh, it was probably fine.
Anyways, the trickiest part had been getting into the skin caves since Atlas was determined to log day after day without fail.
Then he had entered the server at the same time as Atlas had.
And really, Atlas wasn't like Zacho expected at all.
The man looked ethereal. He had huge saddened eyes and soft ashy white feathers that were barely taken care of, nothing like the somewhat confident man inside of the videos. Every time Atlas opened his mouth— the words were ugly, defensive and bitter. His matter of fact tone and the distrust on his eyes were enough to drive Zacho crazy because this wasn't a situation where you could afford to distrust people.
And then Zacho just felt bad.
Because it was clear to him that Atlas had been hurt and that someone or something had taken advantage of that. It was something that he noticed since the first interaction. He saw it in the way Atlas kept trying to push Zacho to leave him behind. Zacho saw it in the soft glint that appeared on Atlas eyes at the voice of that stupid AI, in the way his voice softened with desperation while he talked about the robot as if it was a real human being.
It was clear.
Atlas had been lonely and whoever was managing this bot had decided to take advantage of that loneliness—to make Atlas dependent of the validation of that stupid fucking machine. Someone who clearly had too much free time and desperately needed both a shower and a job. Because you had to be a sicko to create an AI whose only purpose was manipulating people into creating a dependency. Like why? Was it for gossiping purposes?
Was it because their life was so miserable that the only source of joy they had was watching innocent lonely people fall for the bait?
Zacho didn't know.
Zacho didn't really want to understand the motivation behind the skin caves.
What he does know is…
That Zacho tried, really really tried to help the man feel a little less alone.
Maybe it was because he remembered the soft loneliness of the skulk infection growing inside of his body and having no one to talk about it. Maybe because he knew just how much the lack of human connection could mess with your head,
But you can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped.
You try, but you can't succeed unless they allow you to.
And Zacho just didn't have the right words to say.
It became clear then that Zacho just wasn't good at making decisions that regarded someone else's feelings.
Atlas hadn't even been permanently dead. The man had probably woken up somewhere inside of his home world with no more access to the skin caves. Safe and sound, away from the manipulation of the entity that lived inside these caves. So there was no logical reason for him to have felt this low at Atlas's death. For him to have felt this sudden urge to lurch and punch whoever was being this in the nose.
It was protective anger.
Something that didn't let him leave this maze of stone without trying to stop whoever was running this place.
So
Really this much context probably seems unnecessary for you, doesn't it?
You probably don't understand where exactly this is going.
Maybe he just needs you to understand just how illogical his attachment to this guy that he met for a couple of hours felt. Maybe that's what Zacho has been trying to make sense of, because what followed was probably one of the most reckless decision that he has ever taken while searching for mysteries. A decision so similar to the one that he had made fun of just a couple of weeks earlier.
A decision that he had wondered about while slowly helping with some of the engineered parts of his friends body.
He had wondered what had possessed Wifies to drown repeatedly for a myth that he didn't even believe in. A couple of weeks ago, Zacho had laughed with confusion at the desperate attachment that the man seemed to develop for a stranger that he barely knew for more than a few hours. His hands had slowly settled the joints on their place while worrying over the strange infatuation Wifies had with contacting Hummer. For a second, he had wondered if some sort of entity had messed with the programming inside of his friends head.
Because drowning hurt even with respawn and it seemed nonsensical for someone to go through that repeatedly and on purpose. It was so out of character for someone like Wifies who was the dictionary definition of logic.
Wifies who was usually the most level headed of the whole group.
Wifies who was the one that broke Lomedy out of those manic obsessive episodes that the man suffered as a result of a prior investigation and his creaking nature.
Wifies who as a clone was more human than the person running these caves.
And yet here Zacho was, a hypocrite, continuing to travel through the stone tunnels with his hunger at one.
Knowing full fucking well that the parasitic infection that he had finally managed to control was going to bite him in the ass at the lack of food. The skulk was going to grow until not only half of his body was affected. The leathery substance was going to start covering what remained of his soft skin until his body eventually gave out from the pressure. And that wasn't something that could be fixed by a simple respawn.
Something that took a toll on his body.
So tell him why, why had he decided to stay?
Why when he knew just how dangerous starvation was on his own body and the catastrophic consequences even an hour of it could cause, why had he stayed?
The answer is embarrassingly simple.
It's hidden in the soft hands that are now holding his own, in the warmth that bleeds from the porcelain skin and into the soft skulk. It's in the way those eyes shine slightly with something akin to hope on them as he guides Zacho through each one of the tunnels. There's something mesmerizing on watching those once dull eyes light up—knowing he was the person who had managed it. It hadn't been the AI the one that made Atlas laugh that soft breathless sound, it had been Zacho.
And it hits Zacho, the sharp realization, that he doesn't care.
Because there's something about Atlas's happiness that makes it difficult for Zacho to regret his decision.
Even if it's a painful one.
And by god, painful it is.
It had been an strange sensation during the first hour. A slight pressure on the arm that had the skulk infection. That sudden rushing feeling of blood that leaves your arm a bit colder than it was before. A usually normal sensation that happened to everyone but was more of a symptom on Zacho's case. A tame sensation that had soon enough transformed into a numbing electric discomfort that came from his elbow to his hands.
They have been inside of these caves for eight hours.
Eight hours where Zach has been starving, not hungry, starving.
Enough time for the skulk parasite to realize there weren't enough nutrients coming through Zacho's blood.
That's the thing about skulk, it couldn't go an hour without eating. On it's natural habitat, it depended constantly on the flow of humidity of the deep caves where it lived. It also gained nutrients from the moss that grew around and the minerals from the stone. But Zacho wasn't the soil of a cave nor was he a mineral. Zacho was a normal player and players didn't have an endless supply of minerals and metals they could just hand over for free.
It had adapted the same way parasites did.
It had modified itself enough to drink the nutrients directly from Zacho's blood before his body even had the chance to process any of them.
Greedy ass parasite.
As a result, Zacho bets at least half of his blood iron is now gone.
Well not that much, but enough to leave his body dizzy and lightheaded.
It would be fine. Atlas had made it very very clear that he wasn't afraid of abandoning a complete stranger for his own safety. If everything went according to plan, Zacho would be able to easily convince Atlas to leave him behind in this server. That way even if the skulk took complete control of his body, the only person in danger would be himself and whoever was running this server.
And really, that's his only reassurance as he's stuck inside of the walls of the cave.
Atlas would make it out and eventually Zacho would leave too.
As time passes it's not a surprise that the colors start to blend into this strange breathtaking combination some time during hour nine. They flicker around his vision in a beautiful carousel that looks hypnotic. He must have stayed static for two long since there's a small pull from his side. A pair of green emerald eyes that turn to stare at him with something close to worry on them. The smile that covers Zacho's face is dopey, embarrassing and completely involuntary.
He's too out of it to be properly embarrassed about it.
"Are you okay? Are you trying to…" Atlas's voice is prickly as it always is and yet the sentences remains incomplete. There's something akin to surprise crossing his face while he stares at Zacho silently—looking a bit lost like he has just realized something and didn't know what to do with it.
Atlas settles on avoidance like he's always done in the short period that they have known each other. There's something vulnerable shining in his eyes as he slowly turns to look at the floor below them. Zacho just watches with a fondness that its only possible due to his altered state of mind. He watches as soft pink starts dusting porcelain skin, covering through every scar and every freckle like water. And he just gets this sudden urge, the urge to grab those frail cheeks in his hands and kiss softly the pink skin.
It was just adorable really.
…
What?
No, okay, that's slightly too weird even for his delirious state.
He's known the man for no more than ten fucking hours and his brain is already considering kissing him? Even if it's just his cheeks, the point still stands!
"Peachy, you worried for lil old me?" Zacho's voice comes out slightly slurred and yet that same teasing tone of always escapes his lips. A part of him trying desperately to shove that thought process deep inside his mind. A faint gentle smile on his face while he stares at Atlas, waiting for a response.
Atlas scrunches his nose at the notion and yet his eyes turn to stare directly into Zacho's blue ones with a complicated expression on his face at the slurred speech. The man had always been perceptive even through his skepticism. It's clear that he knows Zacho is lying through his teeth and yet he chooses not to press. Maybe it's the lack of trust or the fact that he actually trusts Zacho to speak up—Zacho doesn't know which alternative would be worse.
Relief fills his body at the answer.
It was clear that Atlas would be able to leave him behind.
"Whatever man, just hurry, I don't wanna be stuck inside this cave all day." It's the only reply that Zacho receives. Cold, dismissive and yet those hands still come to grasp at the flesh of Zacho's hands—unsteady and nervous. It's a silent gesture for comfort that Zacho doesn't dare mention.
One that he convinces himself it's meaningless.
Of course, Atlas wanted real proof that he wasn't alone anymore.
And Zacho doesn't mind being that proof even if he is about to pass out.
Maybe whatever Wifies was on, on the last ARG was contagious because what else could be possessing him to feel like this?
A soft ragged breath exited his lips while he shook his head slowly. A gesture that he regretted immediately as it had only made the pre existing motion sickness worse. Every single joint of his body screamed at him and he had to force himself to take step after step. His tongue felt heavy and swollen against his gums while he tried desperately to focus on breathing.
He just had to endure a little longer.
Enough for Atlas to get whatever closure he wanted and by then it would be easy to convince the avian to leave this place.
The pain was actually blinding by this point. As he tried to ignore feeling of skulk crawling under his skin making him even more nauseous. It made him feel itchy and dirty at the same time like his body was actually rotting. Maybe the only illness that could feel similar would be myiasis—thinking about that only made his nausea even stronger, his discomfort sharper. He might be the only person stupid enough to compare one of his ongoing symptoms with the disgusting infection where actual larva crawled out of a living breathing creature's skin.
Oh ew…
It was a comparison that he couldn't get out of his damned brain now that he had thought of it. The skulk started feeling completely repulsing as he tried to stop his delirious brain from imagining any more disgusting things. Which if you've ever gotten sick, you know its a lost cause. The more you try to avoid it the worst it gets. It didn't make the intrusive thought any less horrid.
Would he be able to maintain control of his body after this? or would he become a mindless monster like he had been in the past?
And maybe that's the scariest part of this entire situation.
Why had he taken this gamble?
This could actually out Atlas's life in actual danger.
No, it would be okay.
Atlas would leave once he got the closure that he wanted.
He closes his eyes, unwilling to let his brain hallucinate anything else that could send him into an actual breakdown on the spot.
He's the one supposed to be helping Atlas recover from this damned caves.
There's a soft warmth on his hands, fingers rubbing over Zacho's knuckles almost absentmindedly, as they run through the caves. The sensation is enough to remind him to breathe through the fever induced panic and focus on his surroundings. He couldn't lose his mind now, not when he's so close to finally freeing Atlas from this horrid caves. There isn't a sound except the soft thud of their combined steps through the stone.
There's nothing and then there's light.
Bright and blinding in a way that makes Zacho's world tilt slightly on its axis.
Atlas's steps grow in speed as the man practically drags Zacho through the opening of the cave with something close to pure relief in his face. The light around them blurs making the silhouette of the man in front of Zacho look almost ethereal. The soft warmth of the sun softening the edges of those downy feathers as those green eyes look at the sky with awe. It's a perfect image that Zacho's collapsing body seems enthralled on it.
It's clear that he's experiencing some state of kalopsia due to the fever.
That's what the logical part of his body is telling him.
It's been ten hours since Zacho entered this state of complete starvation. Ten hours since the bar on the corner of his holographic watch started dropping until reaching a single point.
"Atlas" Zacho's speech is slurred beyond comprehension. His tongue feels like lead in a way that makes it difficult for him to know if he's about to puke or pass out. It makes it difficult for him to breathe.
Gosh, he's such a fucking mess.
He needs the other man to get out of here.
He needs Atlas to leave.
Okay time to convince the man to leave.
"Atlas" He repeats a bit more urgently, even if part of him is distantly aware that the man has probably already heard him. The edges of his vision have started blurring enough for black spots to appear. "Log off, we… we'll meet later."
Red and green dancing around as his brain becomes sluggish.
"You'll log off too, no?" Atlas's tone of voice holds that same skepticism of before. Something that had become endearing in these past hours and was now nothing more but a complete inconvenience.
"Sure, just log off Atlas" It takes actual effort to stop his voice from shaking. Zacho tries, tries desperately to swallow the pain enough to convince Atlas to leave.
"You are lying to me, why are you lying?" Atlas's voice is full of hurt while he slowly turns to look at Zacho. It's something that makes Zacho's heart squeeze with guilt as his eyes turn to the floor.
"Leave" He hears his voice distantly say. An echo that comes through the back of his throat and whose volume Zacho can no longer control at all. His sight is completely gone by this point.
It takes everything on him to not let the fear of the situation reflect on his face.
"No, what happened to alone together?" Atlas's voice is steady and confident in a way that actually made Zacho nervous. Part of Zacho's brain wants to tease the man for repeating the oxymoron. The other was petrified.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
Atlas was supposed to either trust Zacho or not care enough and leave the world first. Atlas was supposed to disconnect so when the skulk took a hold of Zacho's deteriorating body, there would be no one near him.
It had been a miscalculation.
A miscalculation that put Atlas's life in danger.
Because Zacho was about to turn into a complete monster, one that would be aggressive and blind to it's surroundings.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" It's the last ragged whisper that falls from his lips. A single warm tear slipping through his cheeks as his body tilts forward. There are warm hands grabbing at his elbows, a faint shout that his body can't process.
There's nothing after that.
Passing out from the skulk infection reminds him of how passing out from smoke inhalation feels. The same pressure that starts growing in your lungs before extending to your nose until the only thing that remains is the intoxicating taste of fear.
Because logically, you know that you can respawn.
The instinctual part of you doesn't really get that memo.
It was fucked up.
He didn't want to lose control of his body.
And as his body slowly shut down, he couldn't help but plead.
Plead that the skulk doesn't end up harming Atlas.
Because it had been Zacho's miscalculation the one that put Atlas in direct danger and now…
Now there was nothing he could do to fix it.
No matter how much he wanted to.