Chapter 24: A Way to Heal
Sollux moaned lightly when his eyelids seemed to be blocking a bright light in front of him once his consciousness finally settled in. He tested his movements with a light shift of his fingers, and when that worked in his favor, he shifted his head with immediate regret. Holy shit, this light headed migraine was splitting, and fuck did his entire body feel sore and battered! And… that was undeniably blood in his mouth still, nothing had changed there. His body felt very stiff too… oh those were bandages tightly wound around various parts of him. The floor was also really uncomfortable, nothing compared to being in Saruna's arms, and he couldn't move very much to save his life.
Slowly, his heterochromatic eyes cracked open, squeezing shut again when they were greeted with bright sunlight. He almost hissed at the sun, and frankly he would have, if it didn't hurt so much to do it. Simultaneously, seeing the sun was a blessing, as it meant Erebus was not around. In the distance he could hear voices, faintly recognizing them as Karkat and Terezi, followed by a few clangs of metal hitting metal. Sollux tried to lift himself to see the source of the noise, but it ended with him growling in pain and allowing his body to lay as limp as it possibly could. Aradia had really given him a good beating, but it was his own fault for refusing to protect himself. He still couldn't believe it; Erebus had actually found a way to bring her back, and if his dream was right, the dark troll was bringing back the others as well very soon.
It was rather surprising that Saruna was not currently at his side, and he wondered where she was, wishing that he could do more than curl his fingers, blink repeatedly and breathe stiffly. He tested his voice.
"Hi." He cringed, disgusted with how weak and rough it sounded. "Hello."
Needless to say, he gave up on that test quickly, mainly because he felt stupid doing it. He was obviously still enervated; physically, mentally, heck even spiritually. Glancing upwards at the blue sky, Sollux pondered over how long he had been sleeping. He doubted it had been just one day, two would have been okay, and three would start pushing it. Erebus said he would return in seven days, but how many days actually remained now?
A sound of light footsteps caught his attention, and he carefully turned his head in the sounds' direction, wincing gingerly as he realized there was a massive kink in his neck. The steps halted, and he met the similar heterochromatic eyes of Saruna staring wide eyed at him. He offered her a smile of greeting and she let out what sounded like a happy wail, racing to his side while calling out for Karkat and Terezi. She dropped to her knees, shaky fingers brushing over his cheek as she spoke rather incoherently through her tearful blubbers. Karkat's boisterous voiced trumped hers for a moment, then Terezi's chirp rang in his ear, worsening his migraine, but he was pleased to see them alive. Sollux slowly turned his head to see the three trolls looming over him, faces elated to see him awake and responsive again.
"Does anything hurt?" Saruna ran her fingers down his neck to his chest, watching him with intense eyes. "Can you feel this?"
"Yeah," Sollux said, surprised that her feathery touch didn't hurt him. "I'm… fine. I have a splitting headache but… that should go away eventually."
"Gog, don't make us flip the shit out like that again Sollux!" hissed Karkat. "We thought you were going to die on us. Fuck, it's good to see you awake again."
Sollux smirked teasingly at the Cancer troll, but it was short lived as a painful throb in his head made him cringe. Saruna leaned over him in worry, but Terezi waved her off, insisting she give him some air to breathe. He didn't mind, it honestly didn't make very much of a difference. His eyes overlooked her, and he noticed that her forehead was no longer wrapped up, a partially scarred cut running healthily just under her hairline. Her upper arm was wrapped up now, slightly stained red. She appeared to be well otherwise, a little spooked, but for the most part relieved and healthy.
"Guys… I had a dream about Erebus." Sollux wanted to break the news quickly, so he informed them about the seven remaining days and of their deceased friends. Based on the lack of surprise, Sollux eventually trailed off slowly until Karkat sighed heavily and nodded at him in complete understanding.
"Yeah, Saruna told Terezi and I about this." He grumbled in disdain, baring his sharp teeth at the thought. "She said Erebus told her right when she saved you from Aradia. We only have five days left until he comes back with the others…"
Five days.
So that meant he was unconscious for two of the days, technically about two and a half since he fell unconscious in mid-day. That also meant he had known Saruna for twenty days now, and the fateful battle would fall on the twenty-fifth day. Nonetheless, Sollux knew he needed to be recovered before the five days were over, or the fight would be near impossible to win. A long and tired sigh left him, and he weakly glanced at Karkat, then Terezi. He had an idea pop into his mind, but he wasn't sure how the others would react to it, nor did he have the certainty if there were enough days to pull it off. Additionally, he felt rather selfish for even coming up with the idea.
"You have that thoughtful look Sollux, what are you thinking about?" Saruna, as usual, was right on target with her facial reading. He reprimanded himself for having such conspicuous expressions that she could pick out in seconds.
"Do you remember those blue flowers we ate back on Terezi's planet?" He watched their curious reactions carefully before continuing. "One of you… or even two, could go back there from the transportalizer on the other island and find some of them. If Erebus is really coming in five days, we need to be at our full strength, and I doubt I will be fully recovered by then. Plus, you guys could probably use them too."
"But… they only heal small injuries and numb pain, right?" Saruna contemplated. "They won't help very much."
"They can speed up the process of healing though." added Terezi. "If we hurried we could probably find them." She stood, and Sollux immediately knew she had accepted his idea, choosing to embark on her own. "Will you guys be okay without me?"
Karkat jumped up in alarm, "You're not thinking about going alone are you?"
"Of course I am." The blind troll smiled innocently at him, fluttering her eyelashes at him in an attempt to fluster him. "I know my own planet the best, I can find the flowers easily."
"And how the fuck do you expect to cross the ocean by yourself?" He crossed his arms and smirked when Terezi's smile died a little. She had neglected that part of the journey, and now she was stuck. Either Karkat would go alone, or he would have to accompany her. "I'll go by myself, you stay here with Sollux and Saruna, in case something bad happens before I get back."
Sollux felt the hairs on his neck rise with paranoia. Erebus had apparently consumed planets in darkness, who was to say that Terezi's planet wasn't gone already? Letting either of them go was a risky and absolutely selfish request for him to ask them for, but going alone was a possible death sentence. He refused to let his friends potentially die all for his sake of getting a little better.
"Never mind, don't go." He said lowly, changing his mind on the matter completely. "I can't risk either of your lives just for my small recovery. Don't worry about it."
They became silent, but Sollux could see their conflicted expressions upon hearing him drop the idea. Saruna seemed to be the most torn from it, her breathing coming out in puffs, like choked, breathless sobs. Her eyes flitted between him and the others, a sense of disbelief coming from her. Before Sollux knew it, she was shaking her head, before she suddenly spoke.
"No!" Saruna cried, her voice full of panic as she looked desperately at Karkat and Terezi with pleading eyes. "Sollux can't recover in time, not in five days. I can protect him if anything happens here, I know I can! I would go by myself in a heartbeat to find those flowers, but I don't know where anything is like you two do! I'm begging you, Karkat, Terezi, please find those flowers for Sollux…"
"Saruna…" Sollux dropped his voice to a light whisper, unable to bring himself to speak against her. He knew she would have gone alone if she was stronger and more confident in her abilities, but with her unable to fly or protect herself as well as he could, he wasn't planning to let her anyway. Then again, she did save him from Aradia by herself. She was more than capable… but Sollux honestly didn't want her out of his sight. He gazed up at Karkat, observing his expression from her heartfelt plea.
Surprisingly, the cantankerous Cancer troll was straight faced, his ruby eyes locked on Saruna. Terezi, holding a similar expression except for her slight head tilt in Karkat's direction as if feeling for movement or reaction from him, was mute as well. Karkat would be the ultimate decider in this in the end… he was the only one that could lead Terezi to the island or go alone.
His eyes drifted onto Sollux suddenly, and he nodded without a word, turning on heel and embarking on his newly accepted quest. Saruna gasped softly as he made his departure, watching as Terezi followed behind him after giving her a light grin and tediously shifted her cane in her hand. Sollux felt a pang of guilt as they faded in the distance, but he knew they were doing it not just for his sake, but for Saruna as well. The battle with Erebus would be hell in itself, if they had any hope in winning, then it was up to the Cancer and Libra troll to make a speedy return to them. There wasn't any assurance that they would be back before the five days were over. They would either return in time, or Sollux and Saruna would face imminent death against Erebus and eight of their possessed friends.
As their silhouettes disappeared to the eye, Sollux heard Saruna whisper in a broken voice, "Please be careful…"
She was trembling, scared like he was. And if Sollux knew anything about her, he knew she felt just as guilty sending them out there as much he did.
He made sure to say his own prayer of safe return for them.