TW: Red raspberry juice (+ this being the longest chapter) Sebastian and Purple arrived at an underground lake about half a mile from the Doctor’s system, down a tunnel made entirely of smooth limestone. Sebastian let Purple slide off his tail onto the floor, and set down his bag near a small stalagmite. He tapped his esca a few times to bring it to life. “Alright, let’s do this,” he said. He looked down at Purple, expecting a response. But she stayed silent, just sitting there on the smooth stone. “...You alright?” Sebastian asked. “Seb,” she said, quietly, “look up.” Sebastian hesitated, but then glanced up at the rock ceiling above them. Thousands of tiny, blue lights dotted the black stone. Water droplets fell from stalactites into the pool below, sparkling as they hit the still surface. “...Wow,” Sebastian said, in awe. Purple smiled. “That’s all you have to say?” “What, do you want me to give a rousing speech about the incredible wonders that can be found down in the depths of caves? Back when I was but a young fish-boy-” Purple cut him off with a laugh. Sebastian started laughing, too. “Alright,” Sebastian said. “Ready to get started?” Purple nodded. Sebastian flipped his tail up next to her, and she used it as support to push herself to a stand. She took slow steps along the length of his tail, then back, then repeated the process. This went on for about ten minutes, Sebastian helping her up each time she felt wobbly. “Good,” Sebastian said. “Now try without my tail.” Purple looked up at him in concern. “You’ll be fine,” Sebastian said. “If you’ve already gotten this far, you’ll be fine.” Purple hesitated, but then nodded. She let Sebastian pull his tail away, and stood there for a moment before taking a step. She furrowed her brow slightly, feeling a small sting of pain with the movement, but still continued. Sebastian slowly followed after her as she started down the shore of the lake. They walked together for a little while before Purple suddenly stopped, staring at something up ahead. Her eyes widened. “You alright…?” Sebastian asked, slithering up next to her. “...What is that-?” Purple asked, still staring forward. Sebastian followed her gaze to something laying on the smooth rock ahead of them. “...What the…?” Sebastian started, narrowing his eyes. “...Get on-” He flipped his tail out for Purple to climb on to, then moved forward towards the thing. The two of them stopped just a few feet away from it. They let out a gasp in unison at a figure curled up on the ground, absolutely drenched in blood. “[frick-]” Sebastian muttered. He leaned down to try to make out who it was. “They- Purple, they’re alive-” “They’re…?” Purple stared down at the body, then turned her head away, sliding onto the floor. “I-I- I can’t- You can deal with this- I-” “Will do.” Sebastian flipped the body up onto his tail, then brought them over to the water. He laid them down on the shore and shook their shoulder to try to wake them up. They suddenly came to life, rolling onto their side and coughing up more blood. Sebastian scooped them up again and brought them into the water, and they sucked in a breath before dunking their head under. They ran their hands through their hair and rubbed their arms, then came up for another breath, and went back down. They did this over and over for almost five whole minutes. The dark water became red with blood. Then they sat up, gasping for air, pulled off their soaking jacket, threw it out into the water, and proceeded to go completely silent. A few seconds passed. Purple and Sebastian shared a look. “...Are you okay…?” Purple asked, quietly. The person sighed. “Yeah. Yeah. Fine. Perfectly fine. Best day of my life.” He brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. Then he glanced around. “...Where are we?” “In a cave system,” Sebastian said. “Well, yeah, I knew that- …Where specifically? We can’t still be… Right…?”
He took a second to stare at the cave walls around him before turning to face Purple. “...You… That’s not… …What…?” His gaze shifted from Purple to the water in front of him, and then up to Sebastian. Then he suddenly flinched back, staring up at Sebastian in terror. He stumbled backwards in the water, breathing heavily. “Y-you- I-” His mouth hung open, but he couldn’t seem to say anything else. Another few seconds passed before he let his head drop low, and covered his face with his hands. Sebastian glanced at Purple again before lowering down into the water. “Hey, bud, we’re not gonna hurt you,” he said, trying to keep a calm tone. “I don’t know what you had to go through back there, but whatever it was is over now. You can relax.” The person seemed to hesitate, but then slowly brought his hands down, keeping his gaze held on the ripples in the water. He took a deep breath. “Now,” Sebastian said. “Mind telling us your name?” He hesitated. “...I go by Mark,” he said. “Mark,” Sebastian repeated. “Nice to meet you. I’m Sebastian, and this is Purple. We’re willing to get you help, if you let us.” Mark glanced between the two of them again, and simply nodded. He tried to push himself to a stand, but his legs buckled underneath him, and he fell back into the water. Purple winced for him- she knew the feeling. Sebastian moved forward and scooped Mark up in his arms. “You’re alright,” he said. “You just need time to get adjusted.” He glanced back at Purple and gestured to his tail with his third arm. She nodded and hopped up onto it. “Lucky for you, we’ve got a medical professional just a little ways away. Just try to relax.” Mark nodded, though the look in his eyes showed he was still terrified. Sebastian picked his jacket up out of the water, swinging it over his shoulder, and started back towards the tunnel entrance. “...Hold on-” Purple said as they got close to the tunnel. Sebastian stopped for her. She slid off of his tail, stumbling as she hit the ground, but quickly regained balance. She picked his bag up off the floor. “Almost forgot.” “Completely forgot,” Sebastian corrected. “Thanks, kiddo.” Purple smiled, hoisting herself back onto Sebastian’s tail. The three of them traveled back through the caves in silence for a few minutes. Sebastian knew Purple must be exhausted, and that Mark needed help immediately, so he moved as quickly as he could without hurting either of them. They came out into the massive chamber just under the Hub, that almost everyone down here had fallen into. The ground here was much more rocky and uneven, so Sebastian had to slow down. But then Mark’s voice suddenly broke the silence. “...[shoot],” he muttered. “What’s wrong?” Sebastian responded. He felt Purple perk up on his tail. “I’m bleeding,” Mark said, quietly. Sebastian glanced down at him. The white shirt Sebastian wore was stained red where he held Mark. His esca flickered. “We’re getting you help,” he said again. “Just hang on.” The group pulled up to the entrance a few minutes later. The huge rectangular door opened to the Doctor standing behind it. “Surprise delivery,” Sebastian said, nodding his head down to Mark. The Doctor looked down at him. “He’s hurt,” he said. It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. “Bleeding,” Sebastian said. “And in desperate need of a warm shower. You handle him, I can take Purple.” The Doctor nodded. Sebastian handed Mark over to him, who made some sort of confused sound that barely resembled English. Then Sebastian started towards the hallway. He came down the long corridor of curtains, stopping in front of Purple’s room and pulling the fabric out of the way. He gently lifted her off of his tail and laid her down in her bed. She glanced up at him. “...Breathe,” she said, quietly. “We’re back home, and all three of us are safe. You can relax.” Sebastian hesitated, but then took a deep breath. “...You stole my line,” he said. Purple smiled. She was exhausted. “We did good today. Right?” Sebastian nodded. “We did.” Purple nodded back, and took a deep breath of her own. Then she closed her eyes. Sebastian pulled her blanket up over her legs. “I’m gonna go get cleaned up, then I can come back,” he said. “If you want, of course.” “Always,” Purple said. “Alright,” Sebastian responded. Then he quietly left the room, pulling the curtain closed behind him. ~~~ Next: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1294448047/ Previous: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1291988279/
