TW: Mentions of blood, violence, and injuries. Temporary sensory deprivation. POV: 3rd person Iskall Light slowly filtered through his closed eyelids as Iskall started to gain consciousness. And the pain was soon to follow. As soon as his mind registered the pain, Iskall’s eyes flew open and he sat up quickly with a gasp, only to slump back down and close his eyes again. His body felt as though he had been hit by a truck, and then thrown off of a cliff by a gorilla. Hehe, thrown off of a cliff by a gorilla. He moved his right hand up to rub his head, but regret came to him instantly. Fiery pain burned his shoulder and it felt like lava was slowly dripping down it. In fact, most of his body felt like that. As gently as he could, Iskall opened his organic eye, and instantly flinched at the harsh light in the room. Wait… room? Last that he knew of, he was… he had been fighting some guy… in Stress’ garden… to keep him away from the others… because… he had a potion. The potion. At that, Iskall was awake and focused in a second. The room was a little too bright, only as though you were staring straight at the sun, but nonetheless he kept his eye open at a squint. Carefully he pulled himself up with a pained grunt, and balanced himself with his left arm as he pulled his feet over the side of the bed he was on. “Come on-” he muttered tapping at his robotic eye to start. After a few tries, it flickered and powered on, allowing him to get a better view of the several different rooms he was in. Wait several? Focusing and refocusing his eye till it made him dizzy, Iskall brought his left hand up to it and gently caressed the green tinted glass, only to find harsh cracks in it. He sighed and brought his hand down. Looking around the room, he noticed that it was relatively empty, except for the bed he was currently sitting on pressed against the wall, the nightstand at the head of the bed, and the few drawers across the room, on the other side of the wall. The room was painted white, and there were small, vent-like windows near the top of the walls. Interesting. Iskall carefully pushed his feet down onto the cold, hard wood floors, as he shifted his weight to get up. It was easier said than done. As soon as he thought he had achieved balance and carefully stood up, his knees buckled and down he went with a thud. A few words may have slipped past his lips as he cradled his abdomen and arm with his uninjured one, trying to ease the pain before going into round two of standing up. Iskall carefully tried to push himself up into a standing position with just his legs, when the sound of hurried footsteps echoed outside of the door. He froze for a moment before patting his pockets hurriedly. Iskall always kept an extra pocket knife on him in case of emergencies, though it seemed that the universe didn’t think of this to be one. Digging his hand into them, they came out empty. “Dang it-” he muttered with his raspy voice., looking up at the door as the sound of footsteps stopped right outside. Holding his breath, he swallowed what felt like dry saliva as the doorknob turned and the door slowly opened with a quiet squeak. “Iskall mate! What are ya doing on the floor?! Yer supposed to be resting-” The familiar voice of the admin chastised as he hurried into his Swede friend on the floor. “I didn’t want to be on the floor- but gravity did-” Iskall said with a wheeze as Xisuma helped him back into the bed. Hearing this remark, the Brit let out a snort of a laugh, and sat him against the wall. “But still, what were ya doing?” “Trying to get up-” he said, leaning his head back onto the wall and closing his eyes. “...I need to find them.” “Stress, Mumbo, and Grian?” “How did you-?” “I heard the conversation. How do you think I knew where to find you, and what happened?” Iskall’s memory was jogging up as he remembered calling X, dropping his communicator, and getting attacked. Looking up at the admin, he realized that he wasn’t wearing his usual face concealing visor and his features were visible. Worry and nervousness shone in the admin’s violet eyes, though his scarred and freckled face remained soft, and his pointed ears against his head. Judging by his unkempt hair, he had either been sleeping, or had taken his helmet off before he came in. Iskall let out a sigh and shook his head slightly. “And you came to see what happened when it went silent?” “Of course.” “Why…?!” “Because I needed to be sure that you all were ok. And clearly you weren’t.” “But it could’ve been dangerous.” “...Are you saying I’m weak?” X said with a raised eyebrow, his teasing tone underlying his offensive one. “Wat?! No! I’m just saying that-” “You wanted to handle it yourself?” “Yes. I-I mean no! Well, I handled it pretty fine I believe. Did Stress and the others make it out?” “Their communicators weren’t nearby and I didn’ see em.” “Then I handled it fine.” (Notes and Credits)
(Con from Instructions) “When I found you, you looked like an elephant had sat on ya-...” Iskall barked a laugh and instantly regretted it as a fresh wave of pain overcame him, and he curled his left hand around his abdomen. X frowned and watched worriedly before getting up and heading to the drawers on the other side of the room. “ ‘Parently two health potions and a regen doesn’t do it hmm?” He commented, opening the bottom drawer and rummaging around. “You gave me two?” Iskall questioned, trying his best to scoot towards the edge of the bed to try and stand up again. “Well, a regen and health when I got ya back to the base, and then another health about three hours ago.” The admin said, setting down a bottle of the said pink liquid next to him, and rearranging things. Iskall made it to the side of the bed and gently placed his feet down on the cold floor once more. Gently trying to get up, Iskall’s plans were foiled by the simple ear flick from the admin. “Iskall get back in bed. Tryin’ to get up isn’t going to help anyone with anything-” “I- but I,, hmph.” The swede said, seemingly deflating as he carefully pulled himself back into bed. “You’re no fun… /dad/-” “Behave son.” Xisuma said with a smile as he grabbed the potion and stood up, heading back to the bed and his friend. Iskall chuckled, but his face hardened slightly when he saw the potion that X was handing him. His earlier thoughts coming back to him. “The guy I was fighting had a potion,” he said, gazing down at the blankets as he thought. “He poured it on me, but I think I blacked out after that. And splash potions affect the person in the same way… but from a farther reach. Mambo had glass in his arm when I found him…” “What are you going on about, mate?” X asked, his brows furrowing as he gently sat on the edge of the bed. Iskall looked back up at him before shaking his head a little and motioning at the potion. “That guy I fought, he used a potion on me. I don’t know what it was, but I have a feeling that something similar happened to Mambo and Grian.” The swede explained, absentmindedly fiddling with the bloodstained bandage he didn’t even realize he had on his shoulder. “Is that what you were yelling to Stress about? To get Mumbo and Grian out of there?” X asked, worry seeping into his voice. “What happened to them?” “Referring to…?” “The potions. What did it do to them?” Inquired the admin, handing the potion over to him. “Well…” Iskall said, taking the potion and uncorking it, “Grian wandered off and we found him as a cat,” He paused and took a swig, his face scrunching up in disgust. “A-and, Mambo’s a… toddler of sorts.” “...That would explain what is going on to your skin-” X commented, gently touching Iskall’s left arm. FInishing the potion with its unsatisfactory flavor, Iskall let out a cough at the sickly sweetness; setting the bottle on the nightstand. “What do you mean?” He inquired, looking down at where X had touched him. Through his veins ran a dark purple red. The skin around it was a paled grey. Following it up his arm, it continued to the point where he couldn’t see it on himself anymore. “How much farther does it go?” “Just up to yer eye, and around the cybernetic.” Xisuma informed, gently touching the area he had mentioned. “Also, yer eye is cracked.” The swede let out a snort and looked at the admin teasingly. “I didn’t know that. I was wondering why I see about 17 of you-” The two men chuckled until it died down to a peaceful silence. “So uhh… do you think Stress, Mambo and Grian will be ok…? Iskall asked as X got up off the bed. “Stress is tougher than she looks,” “Like I don’t know that. I snuck up on her once and she punched; thinking I was a zombie. I was bedridden for a few days. She bruised my ribs.” “There you go! And knowing that she has two others to look after, she’ll do anything to protect her fam~ eghu friends. She’ll do anything to protect her friends.” Silence hung in between the two for a moment before X started for the door. “I’ll let you rest a little, let the potion get its effects in, and then come back to fix up yer eye and redress yer bandages.” He said heading out, “Sounds good.” Iskall replied, watching him leave. The swede allowed his mind to wander for a bit before he shook his head. “Yeah she’s a tough cookie, but she can’t crumble. Not now…” ------------------------------------- New chapter!! This one's quiet a bit longer than the last few- Dadsuma by beloved I like to head cannon that since Mumbo is the youngest on the server, and Iskall's like his big brother, X kinda maybe adopted the two. Question of the Chapter: Had X been sleeping, or had he taken off his helmet before he came in? Thank you so much for reading, and I'll catch you in the next chapter! <333 -Opti
