Piper didn't like the pain that Zarya felt. She didn't like the bitter feeling of her friend being injured, barely being able to move. She didn't like talking to Zarya anymore. It only reminded her that her friend was still in pain; still suffering. Seeing her lie in the hospital bed, screaming as her body ached.
She remembered that night when the Mysticons defeated the Spectral Hand. Although it meant that the Mysticons didn't have to deal with the evil threat anymore, she just wished that Zarya hadn't killed it. She thought that as long they were still fighting for Gemina, she'd still have her best friend. Now that Zarya basically lived in the hospital, she doesn't know who to talk to these days. Em was always at her house with Eartha, and she never saw Arkayna in the morning because she always left early to be there for Zarya. No one was ever there for her. No one assured her that everything was going to be okay. Arkayna promised to tell her anything that was going on with Zarya, and she hadn't even done that. She hated the fact that the team treated her like a child. Sure she was a child in elven years, especially before she became a Mysticon. But she had changed. She started to understand a lot more things than before. Things that the gang would be shocked to know that she understood.
She sighed as she walked into the room. She picked up her orange toothbrush and the toothpaste, trying to squeeze it onto her brush. When the toothpaste finally landed on the toothbrush, she put it down on the sink as she put the toothbrush in her mouth, after which the tube of toothpaste fell to the ground. After a few brushes and spits later, she picked up the toothpaste from the ground and put it in its container along with the toothbrush. She walked out of the bathroom, turning the light off.
She walked outside to the kitchen, seeing Malvaron and Em talking about something. She waved at them, not even bothering to say good morning. She walked past them, opening the fridge and staring at its contents.
Malvaron and Em looked at each other. No one was used to Piper's behavior. They didn't like seeing Piper act this way. Although Doug and Choko tried to cheer her up, she was always not in the mood for being... happy.
"Um... good morning Piper," Malvaron greeted. He turned around, holding a plate. "I made breakfast."
Piper looked at Malvaron, then walked over to him, taking the plate from his hands "Thank you" she whispered. She walked over to the kitchen table, pulling out her chair, and sitting down.
Emerald and Malvaron sat down beside her. Emerald sighed. "Piper, we don't like you being so... glum. Normally, you're the one that gets us in a good mood. It's just... weird, that's all," she said. Piper didn't respond to her. She took the syrup from the table and squirted some on her pancake, putting it back in its place.
"Piper? Answer me" Emerald called her again. Piper didn't respond. She continued to eat her breakfast, ignoring her at this point.
Choko jumped on Piper's shoulder, chirping happily. Piper didn't respond to him and shrugged him off. When he swatted his tail on Piper's face, she did nothing but used her hand to soothe the pain.
Choko leaped over to Em, pouting. "I know you want her to acknowledge you buddy, but I don't know what's wrong with her today." She tore off a piece of her pancake, giving it to Choko, which he happily took.
Malvaron called Doug, and he walked into the kitchen with his Twinkly Mare. He sat around the table, making a huge thump! sound. He looked at Piper and started singing the song from the Twinkly Mare ad.
"She's got sparkly hair and so much flare. Her heart's filled with care, she's got a saddle to wear. So if you dare, why not buy a pair? And fall in love with Twinkly Mare."
Piper didn't even look his way. She just continued eating her breakfast.
Emerald was starting to get frustrated. "Piper, this attitude doesn't help anyone. Not even yourself. We're trying to help you, but you won't even let us do that!" she shouted.
Piper looked up from her plate, staring at Em. There had been awkward silence for a time before the gang heard the coldest voice from Piper.
"If you can fix my best friend, my... caregiver, then I can be giddy and talk to anyone I want. Until then, I'd rather be alone."
Emerald widened her eyes, looking at Piper in shock. She had never heard that tone of voice from the elf, and it was very scary. She remembered the day Zarya left the team, and how scared and broken Piper had been. She knew they were close friends, but it seemed as if Piper thought of her as a blood relative. But...
"Caregiver?" Emerald frowned. Piper looked at her then sighed. "Yes. Caregiver. Zarya was... different than the other people on the street. While everyone just walked past me, she... saved from a car. I almost died, Em! If something happened to Zarya, I... I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."
Emerald knew she couldn't argue with Piper on that. Zarya had talked to her one night about the incident, and how she met Piper. She told her that she promised Piper that everything would be alright and that she would take care of her. Now that she's in the hospital, Emerald could only assume that the reason why Zarya was so... depressed was that she can't do anything now. She didn't like people feeling sorry for her. And she made that very clear to Emerald when they had first met.
"Is that why you don't want to talk to her?" Emerald asked.
Piper nodded. "It hurts seeing Zarya so... helpless. She couldn't even hold the phone herself when she was talking to you the other day. It's like she... regressed all the way to an infant."
"Regress?" Emerald was certainly taken aback by this. Zarya had the toughest skull on the team. To hear Piper calling her an infant was just... mind-blowing to her. But she hated that she was right. Arkayna talked to her the night that the queen left the hospital, and how coincidentally, Zarya's surge became worse than the days before. She understood that the queen could never leave the hospital until Zarya was cured. Although Arkayna had made it clear that it wasn't the queen's absence that caused Zarya's surge to be worse than the others, she had also told her that the only one that could calm her down was in fact, her mother.
Emerald didn't say anything after that. She didn't know what to say. She continued eating her breakfast, and only looked up when Piper arose from her seat, washed her plate, and walked back to her room. She jumped in her seat as she heard Piper's room door slam behind her.
Zarya sat in the hospital bed, pouting. She looked at her mother, and the queen did nothing but shrug. She held a bowl in her hands, stirring its contents.
"I told you I don't like porridge" Zarya whispered.
Melody scoffed. "And I told you that I don't care. You have to eat something. This is all the chefs made this morning."
"Not even some oats. Just damn cornmeal" Zarya growled.
Melody raised an eyebrow. "Listen. If I were you, I'd be glad the chefs actually came to work today. Some of them looked really annoyed when I walked into the kitchen."
"Well, thank goodness for the chefs here" Zarya rolled her eyes.
Melody narrowed her eyes at her daughter for a time, biting her lip. "Your behavior irritates me, Zarya," the queen told her.
"How does my behavior irritate you?" Zarya asked, raising an eyebrow.
Melody scoffed. "I don't know. Because you've already broken ninety percent of the glass in this hospital. Broken glass that I have to pay for. These doctors are trying to help you. And all you do is lie here in bed all day talking about how you're... afraid of them? Don't you think everyone's eardrums have already burst because your screaming?! And now you're sitting here pouting like a damn five-year-old, telling me that you hate porridge!"
Zarya didn't say anything. She just looked at her mother trying to control her temper.
"Everyone's trying to make sacrifices for you, and you just..." Melody sighed. She stirred the spoon in the bowl, not knowing what else to say.
Zarya had never seen her mother in that kind of rage. Although she had only spent one full week with the queen, she never thought her mother could get that angry with her. All because she couldn't control herself. All because she was hurting and she didn't know how else to cope with the pain.
"Mom, I..." Zarya started to say.
"No, don't. I understand why you hate the word sorry now" Melody muttered.
Zarya didn't say anything after that. She reluctantly continued to accept spoons of porridge until she eventually finished it. Her mother put the plate aside, sighing as she still tried to control her temper.
A few minutes later, the doorknob turned. Zarya tilted her head as her focus remained on the creaking door. The figure was revealed to be her sister, holding a box in one hand.
"Good morning" she whispered as she closed the door with her free hand.
"Good morning" Melody and Zarya whispered as Arkayna walked up to them.
"Guess what I have?" Arkayna raised an eyebrow as she looked at Zarya.
"What do you have?" Zarya questioned as she stared at the box.
"I said guess" Arkayna frowned.
Zarya scoffed. "I dunno, chocolate?"
Arkayna grinned as she developed a Scottish accent. "Chocolate? Chocolate?! Chocolate!"
She chuckled as tears started to form in her eyes as she quickly wiped them away. "But, no. It's not chocolate," Arkayna whispered as she opened the box. "I bought donuts."
"Oh," Zarya said simply.
"Well don't act so excited," Arkayna said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.
"Thank you for getting me donuts," she said in a child-like tone as she grinned. "But I just finished eating breakfast, so I can't have them right now."
Arkayna shrugged. "Alright," she said as she rested the box on the table beside the door.
"You don't mind being in here alone for a few minutes, do you?" Melody asked as she looked at Arkayna.
Arkayna shook her head. "I'll be fine... as long as you don't turn off the light" she assured.
"Oh, well I guess I'll turn off the light then" Melody joked.
Arkayna pouted as she rolled her eyes. "Mean" she muttered.
"Oh, yeah. I am so mean. It's not like I'm the one that gave you life" Melody said sarcastically.
"I'm sure that had to have been a difficult process" Arkayna muttered.
Melody scoffed. "I don't have to tell you that. Your sister had a dream the other night, remember?"
"Right," Arkayna muttered as she rolled her eyes. "Wait, why are you asking?"
"Zarya needs to take a bath," Melody told her. A few seconds later, she heard someone groan and turned to Zarya who folded her arms and started pouting like a four-year-old.
"You... you don't want to take a bath?" Melody asked.
"I can't be bothered. It's all fun and games until you pick me up off the hard ground. My head starts to hit everything and you know it" Zarya muttered.
"Uhh... okay. I'll try to be careful this time" Melody coaxed.
Zarya raised an eyebrow at her. The queen sighed. "I meant from now on."
"Better" Zarya whispered.
Melody rolled her eyes as she set her arms under her daughter, picking her up, and adjusting her in her arms. She walked over to the door, picking up the towel and the rag from the hook.
"Close the door behind me," she told Arkayna as she walked out.
Piper laid on her bed, crying into her pillow. She had been doing this recently to 'let it all out' as Emerald would say. She tried listening to music to block her mind from the pain, but.. the pain just wouldn't go away!
Choko popped into her room occasionally to check up on her, and each time he had, she was crying in her pillow. Somehow, he knew that he wasn't supposed to nuzzle beside her, as she would just push him away like she had been doing with everyone else.
She didn't understand how one night could change everything. Zarya was perfectly fine a few weeks ago! Now she was... helpless. And the worst part was that Zarya didn't even understand what was happening to her. No one understood. And that made the pain worsen.
Her words from this morning repeated in her mind. Regress. Infant. Can't do anything on her own anymore.
"Oh god," she muttered. "How did I manage to lose my best friend?"
Whenever Piper was down, Zarya was always there to cheer her up. She always did it in a way that no one else could. And now she had no one to cheer her up. Or at least, she could do nothing except shut everyone else out.
She turned over as she flung her arms on the bed. She sobbed silently as she tried to wipe the tears away.
"One night changed everything," she muttered.
She thought about the day when the queen left the hospital. "Surge was coincidentally worse. Emotion affects the surge" she muttered.
She needed to find a way to get her mind off Zarya. She laid there for a few minutes, thinking.
"A walk would do me some good" she whispered.
She slowly sat up as she scratched the back of her hair. It reminded her of all the times that Zarya would mess with her. She smiled as she thought about the memories. The time when Neeko was fixing her broken knee, Zarya ruffled her hair to assure her that the pain would go away soon. And it did when she hugged her best friend.
She walked over to her bedroom door, slipping her shoes on. She turned the knob on the door as she walked out. And her furry friend was waiting for her just on the other side.
"Choko. Hello buddy," Piper greeted. "I'm going out for a walk. Do you wanna come?"
Choko's chirps and jumping up and down confirmed his answer. Piper smiled as Choko leaped and took his place on her shoulder.
Piper chuckled. "That's a yes" she whispered as she petted the foz.
She walked into the living room, seeing Emerald reading a magazine. Emerald looked up at the sound of her approach.
"Hey, Piper. Looks like someone's ready to come out of their nest," Emerald smiled. "Do you wanna watch some Drake City's Got Talent with me?"
"Uhh, no. I... was just going out for a walk. I... need to clear my head" Piper told her.
Emerald stared at Piper for a few seconds, "Alright. Don't stay out too long."
"I won't" Piper assured as she walked out.
Piper breathed in the fresh air as she walked, enjoying the lavender smell that followed her around the park.
She stopped at the hopscotch area and looked for a small rock in the grass. She picked it up and threw it, the small pebble falling on the number nine.
She hopped all the way over there and picked up the rock, lightly throwing it in the air. She hopped all the back to one as she cheered in victory.
"Hahaha. Alright!" Piper exclaimed. "See. I can have fun, right Choko?" The pink-haired foz chirped in agreement.
She threw the pebble again as it stopped on a block. As soon as she hopped in the number one, a newspaper floated onto the rock, blocking the path for Piper.
"Aww," she pouted as she went to pick up the newspaper. She gasped as she saw Necrafa on the cover. She read the newspaper over as Choko perched onto her shoulder trying to read it as well.
She sighed. "Let's go, Choko," she told him as she gave him a reassuring smile.
Melody walked inside the room, holding Zarya. She closed the door behind her, hearing a vibration from the lampstand. She set Zarya on the bed, pulling a strand of hair behind her daughter's hair before answering the phone.
"Hey, Em. What's up?" Melody greeted.
"You're gonna... laugh when I tell you this," Emerald said nervously. "Is Zarya with you?"
"It's not like she'd leave me" Melody muttered.
"Good. So uhh... this morning I was... talking to Piper. Because I've been sick of the way she was acting lately," Emerald started.
"How has she been acting?" Melody questioned.
"Just... not herself. Not the Piper that we used to know. She's very devastated by the fact that Zarya's in the hospital and she's not able to see you," Emerald informed.
Zarya cringed so hard at this. She knew that she was hurting everyone by hurting herself since her mother had made that very clear to her this morning. She knew that she was hurting everyone around her. Especially due to the fact that she had to watch doctors and nurses clean up debris every time she screamed. She was literally destroying the hospital.
"But that's not really why I called. And trust me..." Emerald laughed nervously. "You are going end up dying, from laughter," she said talking to Zarya in particular.
"Tell me what?" Zarya asked raising an eyebrow.
"Well, she said that it feels like you... regressed. To precisely an infant," Emerald told her. She immediately raised her hands in defense. "Her words, not mine."
Zarya blinked. "Uh, okay," she scoffed. "How would she know that?"
"Well, you're not exactly acting like yourself" Emerald pointed out.
"And how would you know that?" Zarya barked.
"Well, first of all, you're... afraid of yourself. You can't do without your mother, Zarya. You literally made her promise you that she wouldn't leave. She promised that she wouldn't come home and rule a kingdom until you think you're strong again," Emerald pointed out. "And she carries you around."
"Because I can't walk! That reason is justified" Zarya shouted.
"Neither can infants, Zarya!" Emerald countered.
"Damn it" Zarya muttered. She knew she couldn't argue with that. She rolled her eyes.
"Zarya, you just need to talk to her. You need to reassure her that you are your old self, except... not really," Em whispered. "Do you understand?"
"Yes. I understand" Zarya nodded slightly.
Emerald stood up and slowly walked to Piper's room. She gazed at the closed door. Hesitantly, she knocked on it, knowing that she wasn't going to get an answer.
She sighed. She slouched as she slowly turned and walked back in the direction from which she came. But she stopped when she heard Piper's lock click, and she twisted as she saw Piper walkout, frowning.
"What do you want, Em?" Piper asked.
"Uh, Zarya wants to talk to you" Em answered as she handed the phone to Piper.
Piper sighed as she reluctantly took the phone. She walked back into her room, slamming the door in Em's face.
She plopped down on her bed and sighed obnoxiously. "Hi" she whispered as she lied down.
"Hey, Pipes," Zarya smiled. "How are you?"
"I've been better," Piper muttered. "How have you been?"
"Oh, me? I uh... I've been... in pain," Zarya said awkwardly. "I still am... in pain."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Piper whispered. Something in her eyes flashed as she immediately realized what she said. She sighed, closing her eyes.
"Just please come home. I... I can't function without you" she whimpered.
"Can't f-function?" Zarya furrowed her eyebrows. That's not something she thought Piper would say. Piper always had this bubbly spirit. If she was bored out of her mind, she would find something to do. That was the thing with Piper. She always knew how to keep herself occupied, and now she... couldn't function?
"I... before you came and... saved me... I was alone. I had no one to care for me. I don't remember my parents that well, and... everywhere I went, everyone just seemed to pass me. They acted like I was thin air. You were the only one who acknowledged me back then. I think they all just assumed I had... parents" Piper explained.
"The o-only one?" Zarya quivered. Piper nodded.
"I'm depressed, Zarya. It's like I can't function when you're not around," Piper admitted. "I know that's not something that you would want to hear since you're the one feeling the body pains, but..." Piper smiled. "It's true. I'm... nothing without you. Nothing but a deep, shallow hole."
"Deep, sh-shallow hole?" Zarya had never heard the elf child use such... depressing words. Piper had always been a happy child. Even in dark times, even when she saved her and knew that her parents were probably already dead, she still managed to maintain a smile. Even when Zarya had almost died, she still managed to be the wacky child that she was, and get Arkayna and Malvaron to focus on the mission. It was times like those where Piper really had grown up. And now this was the final stage of being an adult: depression.
Zarya sniffled. Indeed she was on the verge of tears. "I-I'm sorry," she quivered. "I know this whole hospital thing has taken a toll on everyone, but... I thought you of all people would... at least try and make yourself happy. Try to find things to make you forget about the pain. But... I was wrong. And you are the last person I want to see come to this hospital. I don't wanna hurt you, Piper. And you know that. So this is the only way I can make sure everyone's safe; to make sure I'm safe."
"I know," Piper whispered. "But it doesn't make the pain go away. No matter how many pep talks you wanna give me."
Zarya chuckled. "I won't promise that I'll be okay. Because I know that... tomorrow, I am going to scream my guts out. And it's going to the same thing the next day. What I'm trying to say is... I might not come home right away. I'll be here for a while. The doctors made a point that they won't let me out until I'm healed... and I don't think I should go out there until then. I don't want to be the villain. I just want what you want: to come home."
Piper looked at her. "You don't want to be the villain? Clearly, you haven't been watching the news."
"The news? What's on the news?" Arkayna asked.
"All over everyone's news feed and discovery. People have made articles about you, Zarya," Piper whispered. She got up, collapsed her phone on the bed, and walked over to the closet. She scavenged the dark, tight space before pulling out the newspaper she had found at the park.
She brought the newspaper closer to her face and started reading aloud to Zarya. "'Local headlines: Is Mysticon Ranger the new Necrafa? Everyone seems to Believe So.' Uuh, down the bottom on page 16, it says: 'Although Princess Zarya destroyed the strong force known as the Spectral Hand, people are still raising questions as to whether or not the princess will become one of the forces of the Spectral Hand. We know that the Spectral Hand can manipulate people who have been lonely or have been tortured their whole lives, but scientists predict that the Spectral Hand can also seek out people with strong abilities, thus using this person for its own evil bidding.' Obviously, they don't know about Captain Kaos and what he..." she trailed off at the weak yet frantic hand signals Zarya was trying to give her.
Piper looked at the Ranger, furrowing her eyebrows as she slowly got the message that Zarya was trying to convey. "Sorry," she whispered as she put the newspaper beside her. "The point is, well... everyone's afraid of you. Whether you like it or not. So..."
Zarya sighed. "I know Piper. Thank you for telling me" she smiled.
"Yeah, uhh... for the record, I have no idea why I just... didn't want to talk to you" Piper chuckled.
"Yeah. I might have been avoiding you too. I'm sorry" Zarya whispered.
"It's alright," Piper assured. "Are we good?" she asked.
"Yeah, we're good" Zarya nodded.
"Good," Piper whispered. She looked at the queen who was sitting beside Zarya and smiled awkwardly. "I'm gonna hang up now. It looks like you got some explaining to do. Later."
Zarya sighed. "Later, Pipes" she whispered as Piper hung up.
She handed the phone to her mother who had plugged it in her charger before resting it on the table stand.
"Who's Captain Kaos?" she asked as she stared at the door.
Zarya looked at Arkayna who gave her a 'you're gonna have to tell her sooner or later' look. Zarya sighed, knowing very well that she was unable to talk herself out of this conversation.
"I didn't want to tell you... now at least," Zarya frowned. She let out the air she didn't know she was saving. Finally, she spoke.
"Captain Kaos... is the pirate that took me from my home. He's the reason why my parents are... gone. He's the reason why Maya's gone. I don't why he came to my village, or what he wanted, but... he destroyed it. He killed everyone. And... he took me, my best friend and her brother away. And he forced us to become sky pirates.
"I was a sky pirate. I knew it was wrong, but... he said he'd throw us overboard if we didn't listen. So we... obeyed him, and did what he wanted... for a time. After a couple of months we... beat him at his own game? I don't know. But what I do know is that he's gone. Forever. I didn't want to tell you because... I guess I always just dreaded your reaction. I knew it wasn't going to be a good one, obviously, but... recently I've been having nightmares about that too."
Melody huffed. "Okay. You do realize that's a lot to take in, right?"
"I know. That's why I wanted to wait until after this whole screaming thing. I wanted to tell you when I eventually got out of this hospital. I'm sorry" Zarya whispered as she pouted.
"It's okay," Melody assured. "How did he hurt you? Or is that question too much for you?"
"It's too much for me right now," Zarya admitted. "But if I can, I'll try to open up a little later."
Melody nodded. Awkwardness filled the atmosphere, which was soon broken by the queen's sniffles.
"What's wrong?" Zarya questioned as she looked up at her mother.
"I could've done something to prevent that raid. I-I didn't know about it. I could've sent guards. Maya wouldn't be dead if I had" Melody whispered. One cough turned into a breakdown, and Melody sobbed in the pillow beside her.
"It's okay. You couldn't have known. No one else would've lived to tell the tale" Zarya whispered.
Melody whimpered, sinking her head deeper into the pillow. "That sounds like a man who had a pretty messed up childhood. He was most likely abused" she inferred.
"You'd just... assume that? He's bad, Mom" Zarya whispered.
"On the contrary, no one is born bad. Things probably went downhill with his parents. Maybe they abused him, or they're... gone" the queen whispered.
Zarya had never thought about it like that before. She had always called Kaos bad, but she had never questioned his past because she never really cared to know. Kaos was a quiet person and all he ever really cared about was torturing her and her friends. It had never occurred to her that maybe he just needed help. And if he had gone to seek it, no one would help him anyway because, well... he's a bird.
"Okay," she whispered. "Now that I think about it, that might be the reason why he has so many scars."
Zarya absentmindedly stroked her mother's hair, which caused the queen to lean into her touch as she enjoyed the comfort and warmth of her daughter's hand.
"Thank you" she muttered as she closed her eyes.
Zarya looked at her, and suddenly realized what she was doing. But she didn't want to remove her hand. She felt comfort while she stroked her mother's soft hair. It felt almost... reassuring.
Her mother started to hum as she sort of squirmed in her seat. It felt nice hearing the tune. And Zarya herself closed her eyes, enjoying the hum.
Until she felt a tingling. And she gripped onto her mother's hair as she froze in the bed. The queen hissed as she looked up at her, and could easily tell that her facial expression wasn't a good one.
Melody sat up before wrapping her arms around Zarya, dipping Zarya's head into her shoulder. She rubbed her back trying to calm her. Zarya screamed as loud as she could, holding her mother tightly for comfort. She didn't want to hurt anyone today, but the surges always got the better of her. And she didn't want what happened last week to happen again.
"Shh," Melody whispered. "It's alright."
She saw doctors rush into the room, staring at the mother and daughter. Melody knew she couldn't do much except wait for the surge to end. And the doctors knew this as well. It was sort of a routine for them.
The queen rocked her daughter as she felt something warm and wet trickle down her shirt. Blood. She stroked her daughter's hair as she sighed. She didn't know how to stop the surge. She didn't know how to make the pain go away.
"Ahh!" Zarya yelled as tears streamed down her face. Her body hurt all over as she gripped onto her mother for reassurance.
The doctors watched as the mysticon screamed her guts out, not sure what to do. In a situation like this, they had to just let nature take its course. Even if they knew the princess wasn't going to die. Or was she?
Anyway, that's it for today. Leave a vote, comment, and/or share. Peace!