Honey shivered as he walked into the shed. Stretch had said he'd found Berry in a weird state, but Honey wasn't prepared to see what he saw. The shed was sparkling clean without a single mote of dust in it, but that didn't seem to be stopping Berry. He was on his hands and knees, using his own bandanna to scrub at a patch of the floor that looked just like all the others. Honey gently touched him on the shoulder. Nothing. He tried shaking him. Nothing.

Honey felt himself shaking like a leaf in the wind. "fuck. berry, what- no, you can't hear me right now, can you? stretch, do you remember anything about what the shed looked like when you found him earlier?"

Stretch shook his head. "sorry, honey, there's nothing else i can say. why? what's wrong with him? he's just stuck in his cleaning mode, isn't he?"

Honey fought hard to resist chewing on his phalanges. "you don't get it. he hasn't done this in years; it's his response to extreme stress. like, someone-just-died stress. it can take him days to get out of it on his own!"

Stretch's eyes popped out. "wha? blue does this all the time, though."

Honey gulped. That scared him more than Berry ending up like this. "then your brother has some serious stress in his life right now. when you get back to him you should ask him if there's anything you can do to help."

Blue didn't remember much of the fight with Fellgore. The others told him later that it went better than they'd expected. His sedative magic had knocked the King out in less than a minute. Unfortunately, it had taken him two tries.

The first try, Edge, Red, and Felldyne brought him close by having a "tea party" with the King. During it the King seemed almost… normal. He looked sad and confused, like he was expecting someone or several people to be there who weren't. It made him wonder about the Queen of this world. Was she really dead? Had Fellgore really killed her? He wanted to double check. It wasn't that he didn't want her to be dead, it was just… a feeling. Like the feeling he'd gotten when he'd talked to the voice behind the door.

Red had to nudge him under the table to break him out of his reverie. He smiled and shifted his focus to sedating the King. He wanted to do it slowly so that he wouldn't feel it, but he must have messed that up, because his concentration was suddenly interrupted by a hand smacking into him and sending him flying through the air. He heard shouts, but the only thing he had time to think of was that at least he would die quickly and not make the others suffer over having to put him down.

Then he hit the wall, and that train of thought vanished. If he'd hit anywhere else than where he did he would have been dead. As it was, he hit the wall on his right side, right where the joint between his frontal and parietal bones would have been. The sound of something hard shattering into a hundred pieces or more filled the room.

He fell to the ground, shaking and stunned that he was alive. Somewhere near where the table had been he heard the sounds of fighting. He pushed himself up. He was supposed to stop the fighting! His friends needed him! At least, the people he wanted to be friends with.

He pulled himself up with all his energy. His phalanges bumped against a fragment of something, and he held it up to his left eye. It was a slightly curved piece of textured ceramic. His hands started shaking. When he found the bit on the underside with a serial number he dropped it entirely. No, no no no! His trembling hands reached up to feel the curve of his skull that created and stretched back from his right eye, the one that hadn't functioned for a long time. The curve of his skull… it wasn't there. His phalanges dipped into the magic in his skull and he shivered, yanking them out.

He wanted to cry, but he knew it would be pointless. It wasn't like it was new. It had been years since he'd had an actual skull there. It had been years since that eye had been able to see. And it wasn't like crying would fix his prosthetic. No, that was going to be far more expensive, just like the last 12 times. He should stop mourning it and start being grateful that that had taken the force of the impact for him. If it hadn't, he would be dead.

Blue swallowed and opened his inventory. There, where it always was, was his emergency box. It had his most precious things in the left side and emergency supplies in the other. He slid it open, ignoring the left side, and pulled a faded navy beanie out of the other side. He slipped it over his head, and, with a bit of magic, convinced it to pretend that he still had a skull there.

After he'd put the box away, Blue stood up and turned towards the battle. He was relieved to see that none of his friends had injuries until he realized that Felldyne was clutching her side with her free arm. He sucked in a breath. Someone had been hurt because of him. They would never want to be his friends now. At least he could be useful, though. He closed his eye socket, sorted through the auras he saw until he identified Fellgore's, and shoved so much sedative magic into it that Blue himself almost passed out. Luckily, Fellgore did it for him.

When Blue opened his eyes he saw the others panting and watching Fellgore with distrust. The first one to look away was Felldyne. Her eyes searched the room until they found him. It took everything he had not to flinch. He just knew she'd be mad at him, he knew it! She looked… relieved, though. Happy? Why would she be happy that he'd messed up? Didn't she get that it was his fault she'd been hurt? She should be mad at him!

Then he blinked, and she was over by him, picking him up and bringing him back over to the others. She loudly said, "Look, bozos! He's alive!"

Red and Edge whipped around to face him, gaping. Then they ran over and all three engulfed him in the hug that he should be getting used to by now. They were all talking, and he couldn't hear anyone, but he remembered that Felldyne was injured so he just… focused on healing her instead. He didn't deserve that hug. He just… didn't.

Finally, they let him go… well, the brothers did. Felldyne just hugged him tighter. "I need to have a talk with Blue here. Are you two good to deal with Fellgore?"

They saluted her. Blue couldn't identify the expressions on their faces. "YES, FELLDYNE!"

Then, with a wisp of air across his face, Blue found himself sitting on the counter in a kitchen. His legs didn't touch the floor by a long way. There was a sink next to him on one side. He couldn't see what was on the other.

"Okay, Blue, show me the damage. What're you hiding beneath that hat? I can help you clean it up, at least. That shattering sounded bad," Felldyne said, her arms crossed over her chest.

Blue tried to back up with one hand and pull his hat down with the other. "DAMAGE? THERE'S NO DAMAGE. I'M FINE, FINE! I DEFINITELY DON'T HAVE A MISSING SECTION OF MY SKULL BECAUSE MY BROTHER PUSHED ME DOWN THE ST...AIRS..."

He really did flinch that time. He was a horrible liar and always had been. Why did he even try?

Her hands were gentle as she pulled off his hat, exposing the hole to the breeze. She didn't say anything, just studied it and swiped a calloused finger across the ragged edge. "Your brother did this to you? On purpose? Blue…" Her voice sounded upset.

Blue raced to put words into that gap and absolve his brother of guilt, but his soul wasn't in it anymore. He ended up spilling everything. "IT'S NOT HIS FAULT… AT LEAST, I DON'T THINK IT IS. AT LEAST, I DIDN'T. WHEN HE WAS LITTLE, DAD'S BOSS, DR. RIVER, RECOMMENDED ONE OF HIS KIDS AS A BABYSITTER. DAD TRUSTED HIM, AND HE TRUSTED ME TO WATCH MY BROTHER. I ONLY LEFT FOR A GLASS OF WATER, AND WHEN I CAME BACK… THE MONSTER HAD A KNIFE, AND HE HAD CUT MOST OF THE WAY THROUGH STRETCH'S SOUL. IT SEVERED THE EMOTIONAL REGULATION LOBE COMPLETELY, AND BADLY DAMAGED THE HAPPINESS CENTER. HE'S NEVER BEEN RIGHT SINCE THEN."

"I TRIED TO RAISE HIM WELL AFTER DAD'S ACCIDENT, BUT… HE WAS A HAPPY KID! HE ALWAYS SEEMED TO BE HAPPY. THAT IS, UNTIL HE FOUND OUT THAT I SOLD MY BODY AS A KID TO GIVE HIM A HAPPY LIFE. I ALWAYS TAUGHT HIM THAT IF HE KEPT THE RULES HE WOULD BE GOOD AND SAFE! UM… I THINK THAT WAS A MISTAKE. ONE OF THE RULES IS AGAINST PROSTITUTION. HE GOT REALLY MAD. HE DIDN'T MEAN TO BREAK MY SKULL LIKE THIS! HE JUST… LET HIS ANGER GET THE BETTER OF HIM."

"HE, UH, LETS HIS ANGER GET THE BETTER OF HIM A LOT. EVEN AFTER HE MADE ME BE HIS BOYFRIEND, HE… STILL HURT ME. I REALLY DON'T WANT TO GO BACK, BUT I'M WORRIED THAT HE'S HURTING SOMEONE ELSE NOW! OR, LIKE, HE'LL COME BACK AND HURT ME EVEN WORSE! I DON'T WANT THAT. I WANT TO BE LOVED. I WANT TO HAVE FRIENDS. I WANT TO HELP PEOPLE. HE WON'T LET ME DO ANY OF THAT!"

"Blue," Felldyne said, calmly. He looked at her with his one working eye light. She looked serious. "What he did to you was absolutely his fault. Violence is always a choice, even if our emotions aren't. For some people that choice is easier, but that doesn't mean he should make it. He shouldn't make it in regards to anyone, let alone his brother or his boyfriend! You deserve better than that- No, don't try to argue with me. You deserve better and I will do everything in my power to make sure you get it. If that means tying you down to a chair so you don't go through some portal, I'll do it! If that means killing some asshole who hurt my friend, I'll do it! Cause that's what friends do!"

Blue froze. "WE'RE… WE'RE FRIENDS?"

Felldyne stared at him with an open mouth, then threw back her head and laughed. "Yes, you doofus, we're friends! Now, do you know what shattered against the wall?"

Blue nodded glumly. "MY PROSTHETIC SKULL PIECE. IT COST ME SO MUCH. IT WILL BE AGES BEFORE I CAN AFFORD ANOTHER ONE. I HOPE MY HAT DOESN'T WEAR DOWN TOO FAST. I'VE HAD TO REPLACE IT A FEW TIMES BEFORE… I USED TO THINK STRETCH COULDN'T REMEMBER HOW MUCH THE PROSTHETICS COST, BUT NOW I'M SURE IT'S BECAUSE HE DIDN'T CARE AND WANTED TO HURT ME."

"Um, yeah?" Felldyne said, "Also, you don't need to worry about replacing it by yourself. I can cover it, you just pay me back when you can! Also, you're going to make a lot of money once people realise how good of a healer you are. You knocked Fellgore out flat, did your sneaky little disguise thing, and healed me! All in less than an hour!"

Blue blinked at her, then he blushed. "IT WAS NOTHING, REALLY. I'VE ALWAYS HAD HIGH RESERVES."

Felldyne laughed. "Kid, that was amazing! Once we get this whole voting thing over with I'll either make you my Lead Healer or put in a word for you with whoever does win. You've got a gift, and I'm going to make sure it's protected and cherished. Got it?"

Blue nodded and smiled nervously. "I THINK SO."

She smiled back at him. "Good. Now, let's go see what those two bozos have been up to, huh?"