Chapter 11: Close Calls and Looking Back
== Be Jaalas.
You continue to search for more salamanders, yet so far you have found none. What the hell is up with that? You don't even see any Imps as well, and it's starting to become concerning. Maybe you should just get the fuck out of here and get back to Eridan, before something weird happens.
== Jaalas, teleport back to Eridan and be him 10 minutes after you arrive.
You can't remember anything else besides your name and how come you now feel like total shit right now. You would have been damned to let Captor beat you in something as trivial as pissing him off with your presence. Seriously, what's his deal? You technically haven't done anything wrong, yet here you are, being apparently dragged by two people you can't identify yet.
Everything is so fuzzy and distant to you, with the exception of pain that you feel throughout your body. You and Captor had passed out from your fight, and you're proud to say you did more damage to him than he to you. You just hope you won't get an earful from Jaalas. She would freak the fuck out if she sees you like this. But, you have a weird feeling that she already knows…
As you regain your senses, you can conclude three things.
1. You are being dragged by Jaalas, who was chatting quietly with Feferi about things that you couldn't quite hear.
2. If you so much as show that you're awake, you're sure that both you and Captor, who's being dragged by Feferi, will regret doing so immensely.
3. It's best that you go back to La-la Land.
Just as you were about to follow the third conclusion, disaster hit. Captor apparently had decided he wanted to wake up. Loudly. "Wha- FF? JL? What the fuck?" The girls halted before they slowly –almost mechanically- turned around, eyes gleaming in malice. Oh shit.
Next thing you know, both of you received a powerful punch to the head, slamming down to the ground in pain. This is not helping your injuries at all, though you may or may not have deserved it. Fuck, you think you hear ringing.
"What–" Feferi starts, cracking her knuckles. "do you think–" Jaalas growled out next, and you're starting to silently pray for mercy. "YOU'RE DOING!" They both roar at you, looking conflicted to either beat you to a pulp or kill you two right then and there. You desperately hope that it's neither. Luckily they settle for shaking you two in anger.
"Why the ever-loving fuck did I have to find you both half dead when I only have been gone for just a little while?! Fuck, you scared the fucking shit out of us! Did you know just how much?" Jaalas was shaking you to the point that you glasses –or what was left of it- was knocked off, making your whole world go blurry. Captor wasn't fairing much better with Feferi, who took the time to slap him repeatedly.
"You had just died! Why did you have to pick a fight with Eribubble?! Do you know how much it hurt to see you both like that?! Do you?!" You can start to see wetness from both of their eyes, making you feel guilty. You seriously didn't want to upset them like that, and you sort of regret fighting him, even if he sort of deserved the nasty feedback.
They cease their actions gradually, barely holding you two up from their bowed figures. They are start to shake uncontrollably, soon making you realize that they were crying as tiny, wet drips of fuchsia came from their eyes. Fuck, what were you even thinking? They must have been really broken up about it, especially when they thought you two had killed each other.
The girls seemed to break down slowly, having you both you and Captor panic. What the fuck should you do in this kind of situation? Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. You hope to god you are not being a total idiot as you sweep her up and pet her head, rocking back and forth as she clutched onto you. Captor, for once not being a complete douchebag, took Feferi in his arms and started to comfort her as well, rubbing her back gently as he sent an accusing glare towards you. Asshole.
Mouthing a 'Later', you concentrate on calming Jaalas down, and you think you're doing something right as she quiets her sobbing. She still clung to you even after she stopped crying, yet you let her cling to your shirt as you stood there. You would desperately want to know what is going through her head right now, but you know that may never be possible until she snaps out of it.
== Eridan, be Jaalas.
You don't know what exactly had happened, but you're sure the situation was drastically similar to something that happened a long time ago. Yet, you can't recall anything like that happening in your lifetime. It's confusing and even scaring the hell out of you that you can't remember why seeing Eridan prone on the ground like that would strike a nerve. Maybe you had mentally blocked the memory? It's quite possible given the weird weapons that you had hunted down for a year or two.
You find yourself still clutching on to Eridan like a baby koala would to its mother, but you can't bring yourself to look at him yet. The idiot just always has to give you a scare doesn't he? For now, you're just glad he's not dead and is still able to function as normal. It still makes you wonder why you love this goddamned idiot so much.
Raising your head, your gaze meets his concerned one. You are slightly conflicted of hugging the shit out of him or shaking him some more, so instead of doing either of those you insist staring into his eyes, silently pleading.
Please don't scare me like that.
Don't make me go through that again.
Just, please.
He seemed to have gotten the message as he turned to Sollux, slightly agitated as their eyes met. Stumbling slightly from their injuries, they each hauled you and Feferi in opposite directions; Sollux tugging Feferi towards what must be his hive while Eridan carried you towards the gates.
You nuzzle back into his chest, feeling a little sleepy from all the excitement. You really wonder if Eridan would choose the right gate… If not, you might just ignore any pleas for help and just sleep…..
== Jaalas, be the sleepy dragon hours later.
Your name is Dojo, and you are running ragged from all the flying around. So far, the place you have been transported to is pretty friendly, aside from the random shenanigans that the local populace goes through repeatedly.
You wonder when these kids will let you take a nap.
"Dojo?!" You snap out of your stupor and notice the ground quickly rushing towards you. You jerkily pull up in panic, feeling the Monks tighten their hold on you as you readjust yourself. Huh, you must be more tired than you thought. "Are you alright Dojo?" You glance over your shoulder, your gaze meeting concerned ones as you respond. "Just–" you yawn, and wow a nap sounds really good right now. "sleepy."
You turn your attention back in front of you, not wanting a repeat of your almost crash. "I really need to take a nap." You yawn again. "How much longer till you're done sightseeing?" You could feel the guilt radiating from Omi. "I'm sorry my friend. We didn't realize that you were so tired. Maybe you could land over where that red glow is?"
You look around in confusion, surprised there was a bright, green light ahead of the black sea below you (It could be a large lake or a small ocean for all you know, but that's not the point!). The light seemed to getting brighter and brighter, which was weird since you were going at a slower pace than usual. You wonder…
Your eyes widen once you have gotten closer, realization starting to set in. A large, catastrophic fire was spreading rapidly across the ocean, getting bigger and bigger by the second. Holy cow, how in the world did you not notice that?! And why is the water on fire?! Last time you checked, water wasn't flammable, so why…? You suddenly felt like you were falling rapidly, probably due to your shocking discovery.
The water wasn't water at all…
"Dojo!"
It was…
"DOJO!"
Fucking OIL.
"DOJOOOOO!"
You snap out of your terrifying realization. Just avoiding dunking yourself into the oil below. You start going the other way as fast as you can, feeling panic course through you as the fire started to rapidly catch up to you. You risk a glance back, putting in more effort to speed up as much as possible. Godfuckingdannitwhydidyouhavetozoneoutlikethatand-
Good god, it's turning green! Is Wuya behind this? If so, why is she risking to burn the whole planet? Either way, you have to get the kids out of here, or all five of you will be turned into charred, burning corpses. Shivering, you keep going as the green death spreads behind you, not at all noticing the way its singing your tail and, ow, is starting to hurt badly…
'Come on, come on, come on…'
Suddenly, a large blast of wind pushes past you, feeling vaguely hot yet not to the point it's burning your flesh, and soon takes you spiraling around uncontrollably. What the heck's going on? And why are there so many fireflies swarming around you? You let the wind take you, knowing that if you start struggling, you and the kids are screwed if you arrange yourself in the path of anything tall enough to be banged against you.
Thankfully, the wind soon subsides, letting you regain your baring and fly back down below the reforming clouds. You are not sure what the hell that was all about. Why-?
You look around yet again, and probably brake a world record by how much you let your jaw drop. The green, flaming, deadly mass that was there… is gone, disappeared, vanished. What in the world just happened?...
Oh, fuck it. You really don't care anymore as long as both you and the kids are safe. Giving a well-deserved sigh, you cautiously go back to where you were heading before, preparing for any re-dos that may still happen.
== Dazed Dojo, be Eridan.
You are now Eridan and you feel guilty as hell. Jaalas has finally worn herself out from all the previous excitement, so she's sleeping in your arms as you travel back to your hive. Luckily, you had chosen the right gate and just closed the deck door. Jaalas' position made it a little hard to navigate the stairs to your respiteblock, but you manage barely by sidestepping and poking about with your foot to locate the next few steps.
When you finally reach your room, you strip Jaalas' outfit off, making sure to neatly fold them and put them on a nearby chair. Lord knows what may happen if they are carelessly torn and crumpled into a disorganized heap. You also make sure to set her lusis' skull on top, quickly checking for any chipped surfaces before turning your attention back to Jaalas.
Miraculously, she hadn't even stirred, regardless of how a light sleeper she is. Picking her back up, you gently set her down into the recuperacoon, partially submerging her in the green, blessed slime. At least you know she will get a well-deserved rest… Shaking yourself out of your thoughts you decide to do something that you have never done before:
== Use a first aid kit.
You proceed to take out a first aid kit and open it, staring incredulously at its contents. You spot some things you hare somewhat familiar with –such as the pink binder-bandages, band-aids, and alcohol wipes–, while the other things you have no idea whatsoever of what they are.
You decide to suck it up and use what you think will help.
== Skip twenty minutes of fumbling, flinching, and downright stupidity.
Okay, you know that you suck at this, but you give yourself some credit that you know to disinfect your cuts and to put bandages on them (albeit sloppily). You probably look like a total dumbass with these large bits of gauze taped to your skin, but you're too fucking tired to care as you lazily strip and join Jaalas in the recuperacoon, arranging her between your legs just so she won't down in the spoor (which you were a dimwit for not propping her up earlier, but you don't look a gift-hoofbeast in the orifice).
== Eridan, go to sleep.
You proceed to doze off, slipping into times of the past, times that you somehow remember even till today…
~Sweeps ago~
You remember struggling out of a cramped, enclosed place that was dim as hell and oddly slimy, but you think that was the egg you came out of. You're not exactly sure if it was though since the memory is a little fuzzy, but you soon forget about that as you look at your new surroundings. Everything was, well… HUGE. The whole cave was spacious and incredibly cool, yet oddly dwarfing you in size despite the rocky hangings that were above you.
The floor was padded from corner to corner with glowing, green moss. Looking closely, you see a lot of things that looked like you, but they came in a spectrum of colors that ranged from a darkish red to pinks and purples like you. You can even pick out one bright red here, though you are a little disappointed that there weren't any more of that color. It was quite pretty, if you say so yourself, though the thought may be unreliable since everything was so blurry.
You can see bits and pieces of the hard casings that came in the same amount of colors that you see, and even whole ones that haven't broken yet, like the deep pink one next to yours. It was very pretty despite being in the shape of a rock, and you're curious on how the other would look like. Would it be a girl or boy? How would his or her head things look like? Would he or she be your friend? The suspense is killing you, and is making you a little hungry…
You wonder if there's any food around here.
Setting your concentration on finding something to fill your belly, you sniff around in hopes of catching a whiff of anything appetizing. Many scents assault your undeveloped nose, some yucky, others okay but not particularly interesting or appetizing, but-
You sniff deeply, honing in on one particular scent that was deliciously salty. You follow the scent as you crawl, encouraged by the scent as you travel the vast floor. You barely take notice of the large, separate piles you pass, varying from things that looked slimy or watery to stuff that was really hard looking. None of them smelled appetizing to you, and you found it weird many others seemed to enjoy eating the variety of stuff. Oh well, who are you to judge what they like? For all you know, the other piles may actually taste good.
Finally, after the hard work of locating where it was coming from, you find the source of the scent. It… is not what you expected. It was a large, deep pool filled with tiny, wriggling things that were constantly being chased by a few others like you, disappearing as they pass, twist, and wriggle around. You are unsure how you would be able to do what they are doing, but you never know until you try…
Taking a deep breath, you jump right in and quickly realize something. This. Is. AWESOME! You ignore the weirdness of how your body reacts to the strange substance and gleefully swim back and forth in excitement. You feel in your element, happy, exhilarated… and still incredibly hungry.
Focusing once more, you copy the others that are getting their fill, soon getting a good mouthful of the wriggly stuff. The food was delicious, being crunchy and slightly salty yet so filling. You wonder how anything could be so delicious, but you dare not question it as you fill yourself up to your content.
It was after getting full did you realize that you had no idea how to get out. You don't panic, however, and just wait for one of the others to finish and get out.
…None of them are getting out…
You watch as the others pace along the division where they came from and where they are, unsure like you as to how to get out. You refrain from freaking out, since something like a voice is telling you it's not good to do just that, especially since you are not specifically in a bad place to be trapped in. Thinking back, you had thrown yourself in here in hopes of catching on to what the others were doing. So, maybe if you try jumping back…
You steal yourself as you fling yourself out, going unexpectedly high into the high before dropping onto the solid floor and tumbling a few times before ending up on your back. You blink incredulously as you realize you made it out, messily but out none the less.
The next thing you know, you hear a chirrupy giggle some ways away from you, making you quickly flip back up hurriedly with your face hot. You're not really sure what the feeling is, but you want it to be gone quickly as you glance towards the source of the sound.
Before you was probably one of the prettiest of all the others, being a pure white color with shiny, bright eyes that glowed faintly in its fuchsia color. Her head things were somewhat rounded yet had a sharp look to them, though that may She smiles at you, having her fins perk up in happiness as she chirps at you. You chirp back at her, suddenly feeling very warm inside. It is much better than what you were feeling earlier, though it still unsettles you how it flutters through you.
As you chirp back and forth at each other in a garbled language only the others can understand, your conversation went something like this:
"Hi!" "Hello." "How did you do that?" "Do wwhat?" "Hehe, that landing." "You mean the tumbly thingy?" "Yeah, that!" "It was nothin' really…" "But you were like 'Swwoosh', 'Pam', 'brbrbrbrbrrrr', 'skiiiiid'. It was awesome!" "You think so? I just winged it." "Really? That's so–"
CRACK!
"Huh?" You look beside you, and realize that you landed back where you were, right next to the large pink blob. But, you notice a big difference. That of which is a large crack located at the side of it.
Crack!
A smaller, but noticeable sound escaped from the blob again, having the crack widen with it.
"Get me out of here!"
You jump in surprise, feeling confused at this development. Since when did big blobs talk? Sharing a look with the other with you, you can tell she feels the same way.
"Come on, it's really dark in here!"
You turn your attention back to the blob in wonder, not really sure what to make of this. It looks like something is trying to get out… Your eyes widen in realization, understanding what exactly was happening. You were in the same situation just a little while ago, and you feel foolish for not realizing earlier.
You start hitting at the crack as well, making sure to hit the middle with as much force as possible. The other one must have come to the same conclusion as she joined you in hitting the blob.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
It wasn't until the fifth hit that you started to see who was inside. She looked a lot like the one next to you, yet she was a base pink with the same pretty pink eyes, but her head things were different from both of yours as it curved outwards towards the back. You admit that she's pretty, but not as much as the other one.
By the time the hole is big enough for her to wriggle out, both you and the other were panting in exhaustion. You don't really want to do that again, but at least you helped the pink one out. Said pink one smiled at both of you, probably glad to finally be out of that cramped space.
"Thanks! It was starting to be really bad in there!"
You smile back at her, glad you helped her escapade. "You're wwelcome! But–" you tilt your head in confusion, not sure how to put this. "wwhy wwere you in there? Did you get lost?" She giggled. "No silly! I just ended up there!" You sweatdrop. "So you havve no idea?" She grins. "Nope!"
Okaaaay… She's a weird one, but nice. You are still confused how she ended up in there, but it doesn't seem to be important once something growls. Loudly.
You turn back to your new companion, who looked slightly perturbed. You are sure it came from her, though she doesn't look like she did it purposely. Maybe…?
GRROOWWL.
Realization suddenly hits you, and you feel idiotic for not figuring out she was hungry. The pretty white one smiled at her, probably realizing it as well. "You hungry?" The pink one nods enthusiastically, her hair bouncing with her head. "Yep!" You turn towards the piles that you passed, trying to gesture with your nubs.
"There's a lot of food over there, so maybe you can try sniffing out for what you like?" She nods, before starting to make big, loud whiffs that make you chuckle. She sure is funny in her weird way, and you think that you three might be sticking together for a while.
Who knew you would be dead wrong?
~End Memory/Dream~
You wake up with a slight jerk from the feeling of something being peeled off your skin. When you open your eyes, you meet face to face with an amused Jaalas. She giggles tiredly. "Why did you think tape would make good bandages, you weird guppy?" You rub your nose in embarrassment. It probably wasn't such a good idea to use scotch tape instead of medical tape, but you didn't want to waste supplies.
Maybe you should have just stuck to Band-Aids.
She smiles at you as she tugs on the tape more, making sure to not rip it off and make it sting. "You look like a mummy reject Eri. Come on." She quickly hoists herself out of the recuperacoon, shedding sopor off like water, and turns back to tug at you. You comply, getting out of the sopor as well and landing next to her. She pulls to the middle of the room, plopping down on the floor before getting out a first aid kit. You sit down in front of her, watching how she sets out supplies in an orderly line.
"Let me fix you up, you big goofball."
Hello everyone! In case of any of you wondering why I don't clear other trolls and kids roles more, it is because most of what they do is kept canon (following the main plot line). I only involve interactions that are important to later on and somehow make a difference to the original storyline and character interactions, such as Eridan turning out to be good and the uneventful involvement of the Xiaolin Monks (plus Chase and Wuya). If you have any opinions or suggestions on how I'm doing, please let me know!
From,
CupcakesREvil.