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Scar pushed his shovel into the ground before leaning on it, eyes glassed over as he stared down at the grave he was digging. He only had one more to fill. Scar looked around him sunflower field, stones popping up in between the flowers with piles of disturbed dirt where he had removed the flowers. The flowers moving like waves on the surface of water from the breeze. Scar sighed, running a hand through his hair before he straightened his back. Scar then started to trek towards the ravine.
He needed to grab Pearl. She was the last one. He had to put her to rest.
As he walked through the young sunflowers, fingers fluttering from flower to flower, barely grazing the petals, he swore he could see the shadows of his friends, w̵̨̲͇̰̞̪͙͑a̵̫̬̰͙̥͓͖͂͋ͅt̵̲̒͊͂̔̉̕c̴̡̀͊͐̊̀͂ḥ̴͆i̵͇͌ň̶͍͋́͘g̵͎̯̦͖͙̺͙̙̊ and judging him. But Scar had learned. He just needed to ignore them. Ignorance was bliss. Even when he could feel their ghosting hands grasping at his shoulder, as if trying to pull him into the ground with them.
He had been alone in this barren world for almost a year now. He had harvested and regrown his sunflower field, he had grown his farm, he had finished fixing all of the builds that were ruined from the 'game.' All of the Wither damage was fixed by him, and the world looked like it had before the tasks became dangerous and the red lifes began to emerge. The landscape had been terraformed, beautiful trees built by his hands. Rivers and lakes etched across the land. It was beautiful.
In all it had been a successful year.
But there was a hiccup. He had lost what seemed like months. His plants looked wilted. He had dreams of another game, one where he teamed with Jimmy and Lizzie. A team destined to fail of course. He remembered they had fun, called themselves the Bamboozlers. He could feel the phantom touches on his body and the emotionl sensations of his teammates hands on him, he remembered the way Grian, Scott, Pearl, and Martyn just stared at him. He didn't know why though. He had accepted that the game had happened, yet he still wasn't free. He didn't put his all into the game, he didn't really care. He was just happy to be able to be around others once again, trying to spend his time around his friends. Trying to etch their faces into his memory, not knowing when he would see them again, if ever. Yet whenever he saw the shadows he couldn't place any faces to them even though he had tried his best to remember them.
He didn't even wonder if he should be alive anymore. He wasn't even scared of the possibility of death either. He had adapted, he had learned, and he felt… okay. He wasn't feeling perfect, nor was he feeling bad. He just felt okay. The dreams of the game he didn't have full memories of kept him going. Every night he remembered something new, something that he chose to cherish. Use to make himself stronger.
And maybe one day in this world he would feel even better, and perhaps he would be okay with dying in his sunflower field in his own grave that he would make before his time would come.
The spring turning summer sun beat on his face. It wasn't that hot yet, but humidity was beginning to show its ugly face. Which meant he didn't have much time until Pearl's corpse would start to reek of rot once again. He was lucky the others died when it was just starting to get chilly. He knew how bad rotting human flesh smelled in summer heat and humidity.
Scar couldn't help but smile when he made it the ravine. He had already carved out a staircase days before, just to be prepared. With a soft hum he made his way down the staircase, taking off his poncho and putting it in his inventory as he walked. He didn't have any shirt on as he didn't know if the remains would be messy, and he didn't want to have to make a new shirt that wasn't coated in Pearl's flesh and blood. Once he made it to the bottom of the stairs and was officially in the ravine, Scar started having second thoughts. His heart was pounding as he thought about facing Pearl again. Scar ran his tongue across the back of his teeth with a low hum.
He could still remember Grian's last words to him.
The last words he heard in this world…
…
"She's dead."
…
"You won."
…
Scar huffed, nervously laughing. "Really though," he rasped, "how did I win?" He looked up at the sky, the sun at its highest point. "I had the worst game out of everyone… and yet here I am…" Really though, why was he still here? There was another game that had happened, that he had been apart of, one that still was unable to free him from the cage that was Secret Life. Scar closed his eyes, the light of the sun penetrating his eyelids before he opened his eyes. Scar dug a hand into his pants pocket, looking down as he grabbed a small hand full of sunflower seeds that he had removed from their shells that morning. Scar popped them in his mouth before he dusted his hands off on his pants and headed towards Pearl's corpse.
If Cub was here he would scold him about handling anything rotten with bare skin. Void forbid eating something near a rotting corpse! Cub would fret and worry about disease, the possibility of Scar developing some rancid condition. And on top of his physical limitations from his childhood made Cub worry over him nonstop. Cub was like a worrying father at times, mother henning when he had any issues pop up. Cub would scold him for saying that though, but Cub couldn't stay mad at his Swarm for long. Scar missed his Swarm. He missed Cub and Jellie and…
Scar looked down at Pearl, tears welling up in his eyes as realization hit like a brick. Pearl was Swarm. His Swarm. And only his. He doubted Cub would want a fourth Swarm member. Vex Swarms consisted of three members normally, and both Cub and Scar had Jellie and as their third Swarm member. It had taken Scar years to convince Cub to let Jellie be the last Swarm member to ease both of their minds. It was also hardwired in a Vex's brain to only have three Swarm Members, but Scar blamed the fact that he now had a fourth on the fact that Allay's had larger Swarms and he was half Allay and half Vex. Maybe if he ever got out he could convince Cub that he needed Pearl to join them, and maybe if he used his puppy dog eyes Cub would secede to him.
Scar smiled at the thought as he looked down at Pearl's remains. Little to no flesh remained, pearly white bones shone through where flesh had been bare, the pearly white coming from being sun bleached. Bugs crawled over her body, some hair still clung to her scalp. Her clothing clung to her mostly decomposed body, the clothing dirtied and bloodied. Scar looked between her bones, seeing tendons connecting most of her bones still, so it shouldn't be hard to transport her like most the others. Scar inhaled stiffly, keeping his smile on his face as he kneeled down and slipped his arms beneath her neck and knees. Scar shuddered as he felt her rotten flesh rub against his bare chest, memories of his childhood tickling the back of his mind. Scar's smile tightened as he shuffled Pearl around and pushed her head into the crook of his neck. He slowly stood up, wobbling as his legs tried to get used to the new weight. Scar chewed on the inside of his cheek, being careful to not break the skin. With most of the other bodies Scar had to take multiple trips since they were so decomposed, some being just bones at that point. He didn't want to do that with Pearl.
Scar couldn't help but growl as he looked at the staircase, resentful of himself for causing Pearl to die in the ravine.
Scar paused. No, he couldn't think like that. He shouldn't be resentful of his past actions. He couldn't. Such thoughts lead to darker thoughts that could spiral into something else entirely. Scar clutched Pearl tighter and began the trek up the stairs and out of the ravine, all ready knowing he would be in a world of pain in the morning. Scar sighed as he walked, almost tripping over his own feet every few steps. He had to pause to steady himself, shuddering at the thought of falling over and getting his face full of Pearl's rotten flesh and bones and vile hoodie.
Scar could have cheered when he made it out of the ravine if it wasn't for the fact that he was exhausted, had nearly skeletal remains in his arms, and needed to go and bury said skeletal remains as quickly as he could. Scar dragged his feet towards his sunflower field, wind rushing from behind him. Scar squinted as his loose hair was flung around his head, some blocking his vision. He could see the sunflowers outside of his house, moving in waves from the strong waves. Scar's pace stuttered, his feet catching on each other beneath him as the wind pushed him forward. Scar frowned, wishing that he still had his wings and tail to help keep his balance. Despite the game letting him keep his teeth and ears, all of his other Vex features were missing. Scar squinted past his hair as he continued towards his sunflowers, heading in the direction of Pearl's grave.
Scar eventually arrived near the grave, a heavy weight settling in his chest as he glanced down at Pearl. He frowned. He didn't want Swarm to be put in the ground. Swarm was meant to stay with him. Scar's heart was hammering as he glanced around, teeth softly digging into his tongue. He needed Swarm to stay close. Scar's thoughts stuttered to a stop and he took a deep breath.
Pearl was in his sunflower field. That meant Swarm was nearby. Pearl needed to be protected, this was why she was being put in the ground. Scar was reasoning with himself. His instincts. His terribly possessive Vex instincts.
Scar swallowed heavily as he slowed his pace, seeing the empty grave in front of him as the flowers parted. Scar paused right before entering the small clearing around the grave, a chill going down his spine as he swore he saw the shadows of those who had fallen in the corners of his eyes. Scar clutched Pearl closer as he slowly moved to the foot of the grave, his heart hammering in his chest and blood rushing in his ears as he looked down at Pearl's mostly decomposed face, the bones stained with blood, her remaining hair matted and hanging heavy.
Scar closed his eyes for a prolonged period of time before he opened his eyes and began moving to the side of the grave. Scar loosened his grip once he was on the side. He let himself kneel besides the grave before he lowered Pearl's body into the grave, shuddering as he rotting flesh slid across his arms. Scar looked down at her before abruptly standing up. Scar then grabbed the shovel sticking out of the pile of dirt to the side and began to refill the hole, the grave. His body ached with each shovelful of dirt being transported to the grave. With each shovel of dirt the sun sank lower against the sky until the sky was bleeding into oranges and purples.
Scar felt numb as he covered Pearl, his heart hammering in his chest as he covered Swarm with dirt. Scar chewed on his lip, not caring that his teeth tore apart his own flesh and rivets of blood flowed down his chin, droplets falling down his neck, staining his bare chest, and other droplets dripped onto the dirt beneath him. Scar didn't care though. It quieted his mind.
Once Scar was done he walked back to to his house, feet dragging from exhaustion. Scar nearly tripped as he stepped up the stairs to Trader Scars. Half asleep already. He just wanted his bed. He didn't care that the shadows where in his peripheral vision.
Scar pushed his door open, the door swinging open slowly, before he limped inside. He shut the door roughly behind him, trudging to his bed in the back. Once he was there he flopped down onto the bed and passed put instantly.
~
Scar awoke with a huff, pulling his blanket up and over his head. He didn't want to wake up, not yet. Did he want to wake up? Scar sighed, pushing his head further into his flat pillow, his lame and lumpy mattress pushing against his body in all of the wrong ways. The morning chill made him ache.
Scar frowned when he smelled rot once he was awake enough to stop breathing through his mouth, realizing he never cleaned off before bed. Scar groaned as he rolled out of bed, grabbing some home made soap from his chest. It was crude and didn't work well, but it would work well enough he guessed. He shrugged as he put it into his inventory, pausing as he passed the armor stand that held his blood stained armor and weapons. His eyes traced the armor briefly before continuing out of his house, through the fluttering sunflowers that seemed to hug him, going to the nearest water source.
Once Scar was at the waters edge he stripped himself down. He needed to wash his body and his clothing. Scar ran his tongue across the back of his teeth, realizing he needed to clean them soon as he felt the buildup. Scar filed that thought away as he slipped into the water, shuddering as sand got stirred up, the cold water lapping at his tender scars making them ache, the cold water making his muscles also ache. Scar sat down and crossed his legs in the shallows. Scar looked out across the water, tracing his new scar's absentmindedly before shaking his head and grabbing his soap out of his inventory. He then took out a weaved bucket and grabbed his clothes and shoved them inside. He thumbed over the stitching before using the soap on the clothing, removing dirt, dust, blood, and rot. He squeezed the articles of clothing, applying more water. He rubbed the clothes against the side of the bucket, scrapping at the blood stains with a frown. He wanted them out. So badly. So, so, so badly. Scar decided he had done enough after a few minutes and pushed the bucket out of the water, said water leaking from between the weaving. He then grabbed each piece of clothing and rung them out, watching as the soapy and dirty water fall into the dirt. Once each piece was done he hing them over the edge of the bucket for them to dry slightly while he bathed.
Scar turned back, waded deeper, and dunked his head beneath the water.
~
Scar huddled close to the fire, his damp clothes chilling him to the bone, his hair dripping water down his face and back. He was looking right at the Secret Keeper don the path from the fire before he shivered, tightening his grip on his shawl and hugging it closer to his body. His thumbs ghosted over the flowers embroidered on his shawl.
The heat was comforting.
His eyes were slowly slipping closed despite his best efforts.
He felt a haze settle in his mind.
Everything was so quiet.
So relaxing.
So…
So……
So………
Ṯ̵͂̋̓̿̔̚͜ḩ̴̡̖̤̭̙͇̃e̸͚͐r̶̮̊̔̎͋͋͒̉̔e̷̪̻͚̪͎̖̊̋͋ ̶̧̧̲̻̦̹̣̠̰͊̿͘y̵̖̗̅̏̅̎̑̕͠ȏ̴̢̹̪̪̈́͆͌̒̚͜ͅu̷̙̩͖͚̲͚͕͊̂̉͂͛ ̷̡̡̛͚͔̟͚͙͈̻͛̃̏̂́͛͛̐ͅḁ̷̡̿̎͗r̴̡͈̹̾̈̈́̐̈̊̾̚̚ē̷̦͂̆͑͒̐̂̆͠͝.̶̳͖̝̩̇͛̃̔”̴̞̹͎͇̈́̌͌̐́̉͛͘͝
Scar jumped, the feeling of eyes w̵̘̘̐́͐̌̊͌̾̕̕͝ȁ̴͖ṯ̶̝̜̦̋̇̑͊͂̅̎̆͊̀c̷̙͔̠̲̞̤̩͠ͅȟ̶̢̗̮͉̞̪̦̈́̔̓̒͑̀̇́̚i̷̡̩͓͌̎ņ̴̨̺̫̳͎̳̇g̵̡͓͇̞͉̠͖͕̦̎̐͘ ̴̺̓̒̐͌͆̂̓̏͑̽ḩ̸̰͔͍̆̿͗͑i̸̠̟͈̲͍͍̿̾̊̂͊̒̂̚ͅş̶̛̜̯̟͔̻̮̞͌̉̓͌̀̓̓͜͠ ̷̡͔̹̺͙̾̂̒̍̈́ḙ̶̙̺͎̦̟̣̥̀̑̓́̋̆̊͘͠v̴͈̞̩̩̯̄̈͐̏e̵̯̹͉̠̱̫̟͉̻̻̒̈́̍͒̑̍̽r̵̛̮̞̝̫͓̚ý̷̭̦̓̈̄̅ ̵̧̗̙͈̬̞͉̊̑͌̿̆̒͗͛̄͝m̷̢̪̙̥̞̥̒o̵̼͓̯͔̪̍̉͘͜v̸̟̟̘̭̯̮̝̮̯̿̈́̆́̇͘͘͜ȩ̷́̿̃ made bile rise in his throat. Scar sucked in a breath, standing up as he looked around. His chest felt tight, his feet already moving before his brain could catch up, sprinting towards his house.
He needed… he needed his armor.
He needed his weapons.
His breath came rapidly, catching in his throat with every harsh breath.
Why did he f̴͉͕͓̜̺͚͉̟̩̔̿̃̏̿̅̅̍͝e̶͉͔͛̒̓̈̂e̴͇͎̪̊̈́l̸̺͍̘͓̉̀͐̾̎̚͝ ̸̼̖͚̥̿̉͛͒̒͗͊͂͠͠s̷̤͚͔͈̮̯̙͉̗̏͜ö̴̬̺́̓̍̊̚ ̷͙̯̯̘͗̋̄̀̽͘͜W̴͐͗͑͝͝ͅ ̶̡͈̜̥̆̌͌̂̌̏͊̆̈́ͅͅÄ̶̻̹͖́̂ ̶̡̫̠͙͚̼̠̖̄̃̋̾T̶̟͉̖̞͓͓̭̫̻̔̏ ̶̯͚̝̮̲͌̆̈́C̴̮̀̅̆̽́̃͝ ̶̢̣̫̟̦̩̩̹͝Ḩ̷͙͓͈̭̯̹͙̇̄̓̚ ̵̪̝̳̠̈̈́̄͗͠Ȩ̵̡̢̗̜̰̫͖̫͚͆̊͛̈́͌͋͠ ̵̡͚̊̂̍͗D̶̡̗̩̳̤̔͐͑̒!̵̜̟̻͛̈̃̒͘͝
His throat felt tight.
He could feel his eyes burning as he felt all of the eyes on him.
His chest was so tight.
Scar could have cried in happiness when he saw the sunflower field, his pace quickening. The flowers whipped his face as he went off the path.
Blood rushing in his ears.
His chest hurt to much. It felt like his heart was being squeezed like a grape, yet at the same time was expanding and preventing his lungs from opening fully. It hurt so much!
Scar's foot got caught on a rock.
Scar's foot basically screamed in pain, his ankle popping in a strange way that radiated even more pain that shot up his spine. Scar's body flung forward, arms outstretched to catch himself as he crashed into the ground. He felt jolts go up his arms, the feeling of nearly spraining his limbs shocking him still. His chest also hit the ground hard.
Scar couldn't breath.
He choked.
He wanted to scream, to sob.
Scar pulled at the ground, pulling his body closer to his home as he struggled to refill his lungs that ached. His muscles burned. Every time his right leg moved pain went up his leg like pins and needles.
His throat was dry, yet saliva was pooling in his jaw.
He felt bile rise, the acidic taste of the back of his tongue and all down his throat , burning his nostrils.
Scar bit his tongue as he pushed himself up, chest still heaving from getting the air knocked out of him.
Once Scar was on his own two feet, he limped towards his porch, safety within reach. His breathing was irregular, his lungs aching.
His hand hovered over the railing to walked up his porch…
He was yanked backwards.
Scar chocked on his own saliva.
“̴͚͈̩̜̝̖̟̰̯͘͜Ś̷̺͔͇̮͝c̷̨̤̭̤̪͖͚̯͓̐̒̓͂̚ͅa̴̰̰̤͕͍͇͗̉r̷̨͚̯͍͕̽͋,̷̡͕̻̼͈̲͚̓̒ ̵͔̫̆̈́͌̑̀͆̀̄͜ͅS̸̡̬͆T̸̨̝͗͌͒͠͠Ơ̷͔̹̮͔͕̌̎̑͒͊̂͌̽̈͜P̶̨̡̬͉͕̗̫͊̿̍͜!̵̖̝͖̩̩͉̖͂̌̆͑”̴͎͎̟̔̒͐͛͋ͅ
Everything around him was dark.
Scar hit the ground with a loud, echoing thud. The wind was knocked out of him again. He chocked on nothing , gasping for any air he could get, greedily sucking it in as he rolled over onto his side before finally kneeling on the ground.
He heaved, puking on the ground, yet it landed on nothing and continued to fall. Scar stared as it disappeared from view. Scar couldn't help but dry heave once more as pure unadulterated fear ran down his spine, his body shaking from stress and exertion, the vile taste of bile sticking to his tongue and the back of his mouth.
Scar shuddered as he drive heaved once more, curling over himself, using his arms to brace himself against the nonexistent floor, his still damp hair creating a curtain between him and the void. Scar screwed his eye shut as his stomach twisted in knots, dry heaving once again before choking on the saliva filling his mouth.
“̸̛̫̫͙͈̲̭͍̝̥̙̔͑͒͐̃̈́̎̋S̶͚̺̄c̷̨̟͙͕̽̌̇͛̑̕a̵̛͈͚̾̿̂́r̵̛̫̝̬͙̙̮̥̟͇̘͗̾̍̾̏̿…̴̲̆̄̚ ̴̛̦̹͈̝̳͙͔̪̝͑̍͐̏̉̒̂͠ͅö̴̧̺̬̖͆̔̎̀̀̎͝h̵̺̪͇̰͖̖̋́͒͒̆ ̷̬̖͚͉̿̍̇͋̀̾͘̚͝S̷̛̟̱̫̳̭͖͙̓̐̍̿͝c̸̡̛̦̟̰̱̥̔̌́̀͂̒͘ǎ̸̡̺̣̰̌͂̄̍͆̆̐r̴̢̛̮͖͕͕̟̙̯̩̥̿͑,̶̖̤̼̹̝̻̜͆̈́ ̵̫̪̪̭̮̣̌̈̊̅̒̓͑͘͜͝͝i̵̛̞͔͖̘̯̲͖̟̯͒̉̈́͜ť̸̘̻̞͎́͛́̈́̏’̵͍̼̲̠̗̋̋̐͊̓̄͐s̵̯̿̇̍͛̆̎́̋ ̴̢͚̙̺̮̼̱̙̤̝͋̈̋̃̈́͛a̶̭̝̟͕̪̙͋͋͛̈̈́͆̽̇l̴͇̲̺̼̦͒̊͂̂̋̿̇̅̅̈r̵̰̳͕̃̂̇̅͆i̴̗̟̝̩̗̪̅̓͒͜g̶̝̒́̉̑̿̋͝͠͝h̴̼̰̲̓͑̂̅̒̀͘͠͠t̷̡̝̘̯̥̞͈̝͉̰̄̑̄̋͆̾͑…̷̣̜͎̭̤̱͍̩̲͑͂̽̉̈́̉͛ ̷̧̠̮͔̠̟̈̏̈́̃̓͠c̶̨̨̮͈͍͓̙̞̮̮̿͑a̶̧͈̬̪̞͋͒͝ḷ̶̭̤̮̯̳̣̜̓̐̎͌̀̾̉͘m̷̨̧̪̝̠̜͔̱̬͂͛̒̋͂̍̐̈͝ ̷̣͕̝̘̠͋ḋ̵̨̻̠͚͗͌͛̿̄̕o̸̬͍̗͔̪̙͒̓̈́̑͌͗̎͆w̴̹͌̃̒͊̏̒̄̊̌̎ṅ̷̗͕͙̻̃̾̚…̸̻̦̲̭̀̏̄͘͝ͅ”̶͉̱̠̳̞̻͎̦̳̗͋̀̋̉̀̾͘ A soft voice whispered in his ear, a pair of hands clasping into his shoulders as he was coughing and hacking. Scar froze, a whine escaping him as his body shook. Fear coursed through his veins like ice, making him want to cry.
Scar slowly pushed himself up, extending his elbows fully. He turned his head to look behind him, his moist hair sticking to his face. He sucked in a breath when he saw a monstrosity behind him.
It was a ball of limbs and eyes. Eyes blinked one after another, wings sticking out at all angles. Twisted and crooked arms, thin and emancipated touched his shoulders, fingers all looking like they were broken hundreds of times and healed wrong each and every time. A white, porcelain mask covered the face. One that was eerily similar similar to the Secret Keeper.
The creature's fingers lightened their grip, slowly falling from his shoulders and trailing down his back briefly.
Scar screamed, pushing himself backwards, hitting the ground roughly, but he didn't care. He scrambled backwards, uncaring that his right ankle barely helped him move across the ground. The creature reached out but Scar slapped the crooked hand away with a choked sob.
“̴̡̼̥͈͖̌̍̈̿̄͛̊̀͌̊Ş̶̧̛̰̫̝̝̟̇̓̑̍̎͆̎͂c̴͉͈͌̌͛͛͑̕ͅã̶͍͎̼̩͕͙̮̪̓͒́̽̽͘͜͠͠ͅŗ̸̰̳͓̲͉̣̎̀́̐̉͗͗…̴̨̺͈̜͕̫̠͆̊̋̎̀͐̓̆͆ ̴̡̘̟̝͉̥̐s̶̃̂̉̎̉̋͊̂̀̚͜t̵̛̯̱̦̫̳͔̐̎̈͐͆̓̎͝ŏ̸̰͓̳͇̦̩̦͐̑̋̑͋̾p̴̨̤̤̠̹̌̆͘,̸̨̧̡̪͇̟̬̮͎̞̃̆̏ ̸̨̠̺̞͈̓̎͋̔͑̈̕͜p̵̬̖̯̯̹̭̏l̵̖̤̤͕̍̽ę̷͉̜̩͍͓͈̾ͅa̴̢̺͇̘̮̤̺̺͈̓s̵̩̲̤͕̠̖͂e̷̠̹̟͈̲̓́!̵̛̟̐̉̀̋̇́̇̈͝ ̴̠͉͋̓͂̄̔̽̀̌̇̆I̶͚͍̻͈̅̃̈̀͌̎͊̒͋ ̴̡̙̺̥̒̐̚j̸̡̜̜̥̫̥̱͛̐̀̎͝͠ư̷̡̲͎̼̟͕̲̫̹̿͗̓̈̕͘͘͜͠͠ş̷͖̘̙̦̑̏̇͒t̷͎̰͌̓̉͊̋͐͌͆̚͘ ̸̢̛̞̠̩͙̜͉͖̫͖̈́̇͝w̷̨̝̦̉̌́́̃͒͘͘ą̶̰͚̓̒͆̓̆̏̄̊͝ń̵̬̮̣̱̜̳̥͕̎̐̀̍͘͠t̶͎̖͛̏̅͆͑͑͐̾ ̷̢̺̮͋̄̿̍̅͆͛̆͒̋t̵̢̧͚̘̻́̀̋̕ǒ̸̧̧͓̯͕̳̫̝̘̉͗̀̂͐͘̚͘ ̶̛̩̳̺͂̋͂͆͒̎̚̕h̶̝̫̤͇̹̦̟̓͌̋́͝ē̴͙̼͚̿͋̿̚͠l̵̙̖̗͓͖̤͐̊͑͊̎̽̀p̴̬̽̏̌͑͑̑̈́͠ ̸̢͇͎̯̙͈̩̻͙͂̃̈́̒ŷ̵̜̳̘̝̳̮̤̺̰͖͛͠o̵͉̟̤̣̝̬̿́ú̶̢̨̼̩̖̺̯͆̇͛̓̓̉̑!̵̢̫̙̼͂͜”̷̖̏̅͐̓͋͌̍̀͠ͅ“
Scar couldn't help the broken laugh that came between quick breaths and sobs. He was insane, he was just insane! Scar sobbed, letting himself sit, his legs sprawled out in front of him as his hands gripped his hair, pulling at the roots. He couldn't help the wild grin that crawled across his face as he sobbed harder, tears falling into the darkness beneath him.
He looked at the creature, the creature seemed apprehensive. He couldn't help but giggle. "What are you waiting for…" he rasped. His throat burned, pain blooming in his dry throat. "Kill me… kill me already!" He screamed, laughing. "I know what you are… you are the same thing as the Secret Keeper! So you are just here to finish the job! So do it! Do it! Do it!"
He heaved, air struggling to enter his lungs after screaming.
“̸̫̲͉̼̺̻̾̒͛͋̽̇S̷̛̩̰̺̯͖̥̦͉̝͊ć̸̲̘͊͑̔͗̈̓̋ạ̵̧̡̘̜̝̥̠͖̈́̈̾̒̒͊̓̽̕r̴̛͖̝͉…̶̯̍͛̀ ̵̧͉̩̘͛n̶̩͓͔͚͙̫̂̔̋̌̃͛͗͝õ̶̧̪͓̙̝̠̊̓̌͌̌…̵̧̛̝͖̳̟͓̳̠̜͈͋̅̇̏͝ ̴̢̤͔͎̬͒̏̄̐͝n̴̡̯͎̜̤̠͂͐͠ơ̴̧̧̡̖̞̺̪̖͖͚͌,̵̲̙͖̪̮̎̒ ̸̞͈͛͝n̶̛͚̫̘̆̃͐̾̈́̄̚͠o̵̧͇͓̙͉̠͓̹̤͂͐̈́͗̒͜͝͝,̸̫͉͈̮̲͎̉̑̑̆̐̃̒̄ͅ ̴̧̛̺̘͖̞̍̑̓͒̉͘̚n̸̪̺͐̈́͌̎͐͛̓̋̐͜͝o̵̯̜̽́̒̉͘…̵̛̛̖̟̖͈̮̲̙̮͔͛͋̿͋̍ ̶̼̝͕͗̓̅̃̀͘͜y̵̢̨̛̯̫̩͖͛̽̀̀̅̓̇o̷͓̎͐̋̔̈́͠ṷ̵̫̠̅̉̒ ̵̹̙̩̬͊͊͠͠͝a̶̰̔̇͆̽͐̅͘͠r̸̬͖̖͇̙̥̉̈̏́͊̃̚͜͝e̵͚̮̟͖͊̾̂̂ ̶͇̗̹̬̓͋͒͊c̵̺̪̊͂̌̍̓̈́̇̎̋ō̸̯͇̩̝̅̀̍̉̽̔͝͝m̵͔̊͑̿͌͘i̴̡̛̦̥̟̼̝̲̿̾̀n̶͉͆͑̔̏g̴̳̘̦̤͎͙͚̩̫̖͗̍͑͛̈́̐ ̶̱̹̲̯͕̙͑̇h̷̢͊͂͘o̸̳͎̱̔͆m̸̙̥͂̎̊͛̈́̐̆̔̀̚ě̴͓̹̍̿̐̕ ̸̧͎̄̌̑̚͘t̸̡̡͚̤͍̏͂ǫ̵̢͔̖̘̩͗̈́̄̾̽͋̂ͅd̸̡̢̢̘̞̝̱̮̰̓͜a̶̝͎͔̦̥̠̱̬͔̥̓̌̓y̷̞͉͉̼̞͂̕͜.̷̳̲̭̻͚̱̑̀̿́͘ͅ”̴̡̡̰̝̹͙̀̾̏̊͌͜ͅ
The creature lumbered forward, Scar shuddering at the twisted legs that wobbled beneath the feathers and eyes.
Scar looked back up at the creature and couldn't help but flinch backwards as a hand reached out. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for death, but nothing happened. Scar slowly opened his eyes and looked at the creature, who seemed sad after everything. It inched closer, and Scar felt sick once more but refused to run. He stared up at it, shaking as the hand went near his head before closing his eyes once more, expecting pain.
The hand was suddenly in his hair, running through it and softly pulling through knots. Scar froze, his entire body freezing in place as the hand slowly removed itself, and suddenly a body was pushing against his back. Suddenly both hands were on the side of his head, nails running against his scalp and wings covering his entire body and pulling Scar closer to the creature. Scar opened his eyes, surrounded by complete darkness because of the wings
"Scar…"
No…
"It is okay…"
No…
"I am here to take you home now."
No no no no nononononononono not HIM!
The clawed hands that belonged to his Grian and covered his eyes, forcing them closed.
"Just relax, stop hurting yourself…"
Scar's hands flew up to the wrists attacked to the hands covering his face. They didn't feel contorted and broken and warped. They felt smooth, slim, human and oh so familiar… why was Grian here? Grian didn't like him. Griam hayed him… (both Third Life and Double Life confused him, such conflicting emotions that he now remembered after winning…). Grian needed to leave him alone. Scar weakly pushed as Grian's wrists, only to be shushed by Grian.
Scar's breath hitched as a thought hit him. Was Grian one of them? Was he like the Secret Keeper?
Scar couldn't help the way his grip tightened with fear.
"Scar… relax…"
Scar wanted to cry and sob. His body seemed to relax against his will, melting against the familiar small body of Grian, his hands slipping from his wrists. Grian's hands then snaked down his body and wrapped around him, his heartbeat radiated through Scar's back, making Scar's racing heart start to slow down.
"I am right here. You won't be alone again…"
Scar wanted to believe him, he really did.
But he didn't .
If Grian was here now…
His mind felt muddled and fuzzy…
Then that meant that Grian could…
Scar couldn't help the way that his body relaxed even more in an unnatural way…
Could always get here…
And everything went dark.