#moonfur writing

[moonfurthetemmie]

There’s fireworks going off outside for reasons beyond me and I suddenly remembered a thing I wrote ages ago for Dreamswap

I have no idea when anymore, though I think it was around when Fatal Flaws first became what it is now; with and Vick, Ellie, and Crystal being girls. So…a few years ago now, I think. I posted it on Quotev.

But I wanted to share it here

It sounds like a headcanon, but it’s less of a headcanon and more of a “hm. Hear me out; what if-“ type thing. I’d claim it as a headcanon, but honestly I haven’t thought about it since writing it JAJSHSH

Anyway here it is:

Nightmare Doesn’t Like Fireworks.

Nightmare doesn't like fireworks. He never liked them to begin with; they were too loud and sudden. He assumed it was something he'd get used to.

Nightmare still doesn't like fireworks. He's heard about so many horrible accidents with them, with people who were too stupid to follow the instructions correctly, thinking they could make their New Years or Independence Day better if they spiced it up a little. He likes to fuck around, but not at the expense of someone's life, or safety. And they're still too loud for him.

Nightmare never liked fireworks. But now he's found something that he likes even less. Something just as dangerous, and loud, and sudden, but even worse, because they're supposed to hurt people.

Nightmare can't handle fireworks. Their popping reminds him too much of gunshots now. He's been chased by cops so many times, cops who don't care that Dream wants him alive. A dead criminal is much better than an alive one, to them; and even if Dream gets mad, they can surely find a convincing lie to tell him.

Cross likes fireworks. They're so cool. In her original AU, they only ever came in white and purple. She was excited to see other kinds, when she got out. But Nightmare never wanted to go watch fireworks, and it was safer for them to stick together, so she didn't go that much.

Error likes fireworks. The first New Years' she spent with Cross and Nightmare, she asked if they were going to go watch a fireworks show. Cross and Nightmare knew she probably wouldn't go if they weren't going to. Cross said she'd like to go.

Nightmare is afraid of fireworks. But...it had been a long time since he'd been around any. And he wanted to hang out with his friends. So he said he'd go. They were both happy to have him along, until they realized how nervous he was. When the first one went off, Nightmare flinched. After a few more, he was shaking. Cross and Error took him home before he got any worse.

Nightmare doesn't like fireworks.

Cross and Error think they know why now.

[moonfurthetemmie]

ok actually I’m not done going insane about this yet. my brain made up a story for how they got here. idk if you had something in mind already but I’m gonna just leave this here

Mario kart night was interrupted by someone’s phone buzzing. As none of the three serial murderers generally spoke to anyone outside of their little group, never mind befriending anyone, they were all very confused.

Then Slash realized it was her phone.

A shit-eating grin spread across Pluto’s face. “Dude. You did not. No way.”

“Shut up,” Slash grumbled, pulling her phone out of her pocket.

“What’d you call him in your contacts? ‘Angel Boy’?” Byte asked innocently, with a matching grin.

“I’ll gut you both and hang you from your entrails,” Slash hissed. Byte and Pluto just snickered. “For the record, it’s ‘Feathery Asshole.’”

I have just received word that a small organization has been forming; one which directly opposes JR and seeks to destroy it. Normally I would simply ask Gouge, but I was wondering if you would like to join me in getting rid of them?

Slash had to reread the text a few times before the words made sense.

“…Is that a good look or a bad look?” Pluto asked. The way Slash’s eyes had slowly widened as she read the message was concerning him.

“He just asked me out on a date to go kill people.”

“Wait, seriously?” Pluto leaned over to see. “Oh my god, he did.”

Byte leaned in too, not that she’d be able to see. “Anyone in particular, or…?”

“Some group of people apparently trying to bring down JR.”

“I can count the number of times I’ve seen him do his own dirty work on one hand,” Pluto said, then laughed. “Holy shit, he’s down bad. What the hell did you do?”

“I don’t-“

Bzzzt.

“Oh, fuck off,” Slash groaned, as her friends wheezed.

My source tells me that they will be having a meeting this coming weekend. It would be an ideal time to strike. Having said that, we would be outnumbered. They appear to have some combat training, though I don’t know the extent of it. It would be quite dangerous. But I have seen you dispatch a team of some of my best soldiers, so I don’t imagine they’ll be much of an issue for you.

“This mother fucker,” Slash muttered. She ignored Pluto and Byte’s questions and texted back:

promise u won’t fuck w/pluto and byte again and u got a deal

The response was immediate.

You have my word.

Well. There went her weekend plans.

Slash groaned. “Guys, I gotta go kill some people with this feathery fuckhead to keep him from messing with you.”

“Okay, girl, whatever you say. Have fun. When’s your date?”

“I’ll stab you in the throat.”

“Oh, look at you, all dressed up.”

“I would rather not get my business clothes bloody.”

“I’d call bullshit, but you really are that much of a clean freak.”

“It’s better than having bloodstains on every piece of clothing I own.”

“I don’t have bloodstains on everything. We do try not to be conspicuous when we go out for normal errands.”

“You do?”

“Oh, fuck you. Where are these assholes we’re looking for?”

“They should arrive soon. Do you have-?”

“Of course I do. Did you seriously think I’d just leave it behind? You know how much shit I could get into with this?”

“Not as well as you do, I’m sure. I did tell you it was yours, yes?”

“No?”

“Ah, my apologies. You’re welcome to keep it as long as you like.”

“…Thanks.”

“You’re very welcome, my love.”

Dancing with the enemy ❤️

[warriors-rewritten-chaos]

Random Warriors AU: Good! ScourgeTigerBroken

This is an AU I’ve been brainrotting over for a while now and I wanted to write it down.

So the events go as follows:

In ShadowClan, as in canon, Brokenkit is raised by Lizardstripe alongside her own kits. He is picked on constantly and has no friends besides the clan’s Medicine Cat, Yellowfang. He wants more than anything to become a Medicine Cat Apprentice when he comes of age. That way, he can spend all day with the only cat besides his father who likes him and maybe his clanmates will like him then too. Except Raggedstar disagrees. He wants his son to be a Warrior and believes that Yellowfang is trying to steal their son back from him. He threatens to banish her if she makes Brokenpaw her Apprentice, and she reluctantly chooses Cloudypaw (Runningpaw) instead. Brokenpaw and his father get into a fight over it and Raggedstar slashes his son across the face in a fit of anger, partially blinding him.

The injured Brokenpaw runs away from ShadowClan and finds himself in ThunderClan territory, where he begs Sunstar to let him stay. Brokenpaw is quickly drawn to the Medicine Den and impresses Featherwhisker with his knowledge of herbs and he is allowed to become his apprentice. He also befriends Tigerkit, with them both bonding over their not-great dads. Sunstar makes Tigerpaw’s mentor Thrushpelt instead of Thistleclaw, having his suspicions that something is wrong with Thistleclaw. One day, a small kittypet is found wandering the border. Thistleclaw viciously mauls the poor kit, almost killing him if Tigerpaw hadn’t stepped in.

Tigerpaw gets his nose scar (and several others) as a result of trying to fight a grown cat. Bluefrost shows up along with Sunstar, who is pissed. Thistleclaw is banished on the spot and Tigerpaw and the kit are rushed to the Medicine Den. Thankfully the kit, who is named Tiny, survives the ordeal. He decides to stay in ThunderClan because he still thinks that he’s going to be drowned by his Twolegs (thanks Ruby and Socks). He is renamed to Icekit and is fostered by the ThunderClan monarchs. Since Thistleclaw is gone, Spottedpaw debates whether or not she still wants to be a Warrior now that her “love” (*cough* abuser) is gone. She decides to become a Medicine Cat and joins Brokenpaw and Featherwhisker in the Medicine Den.

Snowflower still gets hit by the car but survives and eventually becomes mates with Thrushpelt. They have one litter together, both toms: Starlingclaw and Stormeyes. Whitestorm is the best big brother to his little sibs.

Since Thistleclaw is gone and there's no competition for Deputy or threat to her kits, Bluefrost keeps their three kits in ThunderClan and all three grow up to be great Warriors. Flurrykit (Mosskit) becomes Flurryfeather, Moonkit (Stonekit) becomes Moonfur, and Sunnykit (Mistykit) becomes Sunnybranch. They suspect that their father is from another Clan but don’t know who exactly he is.

Also down the line, Brokenpaw and Spottedpaw get their Medicine Cat names: Brokenheart and Spottedleaf. Tigerpaw becomes Tigerfoot (after his mama Leopardfoot). Icekit becomes Icepaw and is mentored by Bluefrost. He soon passes his Warrior Exam and becomes Icefang. Tigerfoot and Goldenflower fall in love and have their first kit together- a tomkit named Leopardkit (Longtail). Icefang becomes part of the relationship later, with the three being a triad. Goldenflower’s next litter is Icefang’s: Swiftkit and Quincekit (Lynxkit). The third litter is still Tiger’s and their names are the same as canon.

When Firepaw joins the Clan, he and Icefang talk because they’re both former kittypets and it’s like “Hey how’re my old housefolk? What’s changed over there?” And Firepaw casually mentions his dad and Icefang is like “wait your dad is who” and that’s how they find out they’re related.

As for plot, I don’t really know the finer details. Thistleclaw pulls a canon!Tigerstar and just steals ShadowClan after Raggedstar finally dies. Ruby and Socks (now Ruckus and Shatter) become BloodClan’s leaders after being abandoned by their housefolk and partner with Thistlestar to try to take over the forest. Yellowfang is still exiled because Raggedstar is a bitter asshole and joins ThunderClan after meeting Firepaw. She and Brokenheart are overjoyed to see each other again. She eventually tells him that she’s his bio mom and there’s a Thing there for a little bit. Bluestar’s kits also probably learn who their father is after one kills him in a battle because the angst potential on that is amazing.

[raccoon-in-a-dumpster]

someone please take my drawing privileges away

Horror!DS was created by @moonfurthetemmie and @wheezethebluejay!

this was kinda inspired by the writing of moonfur in which the character is in the horror squad's funky backrooms shed which are linked here and here (heed the warnings)

dreamswap - @/oneBizzareKai

[wcamino-confessions]

Phantom talks to damn much

Seeing how the clan leadership reacts to the confessions blog isn't surprising. In fact,I I'm stunned that a screenshot leak hadn't occurred  sooner considering the popularity of the community. However, I can say it's very easy to judge what the community and its participating members are when sitting in an onlookers perspective. Before the discord chat in particular, it was more common to find people who viewed the confessions community as a location of pure toxicity and mindless hatred. I have had Moonfur speak to me in a conversation in the past about my own and others usage of the blog.

At the time, we used it mostly to vent and I can say that the blog has evolved in it's silent and progressing evils. These are toxic and generally harmful members of the confessions community. Denying that is the same as denying the foundation in which the blog itself was built on. However, this toxicity is born from the community itself. The blog did not come from nowhere. Keep in mind that the WA leadership team IS ACTIVE in the discord. The true community are the ones who come off anon and participate actively within the discord and uphold rules that prevent immense negativity. In fact, the mod actively manages mindless witch hunts by removing the ones that contain obvious bullying with ZERO reasons behind it [though I do enjoy the ones that go, “this person sucks, don't argue or @ me about this because I don't want to hear it”].

However, negative comments regarding dissatisfaction with certain existences within the community is not by any forms of “bullying”. It's very easy to mess up, but it's a thousand times more difficult to redeem your public view once a standard has been set. Confessions send warnings of caution to users to re-examine and consider relationships and the personalities of those in question. Some are obviously bullshit if we're being realistic about it. “This person's commission prices are too high,” or “such and such a person treated me poorly, but there are probably some hidden circumstances that we're not mentioning.” These exist everywhere in day to day life and it is the fault of viewers if they take everything they hear at face value. Anyone who has seen Fox News versus CNN should be aware of how everything that is stated can be biased and questionable in context. You always hear number 45 mentions taking down CNN and the New York Times because they broadcast a different view than they would like to see printed. Another example is the ever so popular Pkrussel argument that swamps the Warriors community as of late. Some claim that Pkrussel's “critiques” are valid and become defensive when others point out the other side of the argument.

The reality is, there will always be a separate viewpoint that may make others unhappy. Yes, they may paint users in a bad light. However, recognizing that you've changed or the whole story isn't being told is on YOU. It's not the fault of the users who speak out to make sure they are 1 on 1 buddy buddy and know everything that's currently going on in the lives of the person they're speaking of. Hell, what happened to Astro should prove this well enough! There were people being SCAMMED while those who were close to and defending Astro potentially didn't know. That's not to say that Astro is not a great person outside of what they did, but is it hard to understand why others might see things differently? People who had run-ins with people on bad days will have a different perspective and understanding than others who didn't since first impressions do mean everything. Another good way of looking at it is school. Ever heard an F is heavier than and A? You could be a straight A student, but I assure you if you don't do too hot on a few assignments that will change really quickly. Doesn't mean you're a bad student, but that's just how it works. You have to be held accountable for your failures and it's up to you to make enough A's to win back favor.

It's also not anyone's job but the followers of the blog and maybe their parents [if you really want to play that game] to ensure that kids are aware of how to judge the truth of a situation. I don't give a hot diggity god damn what regular members say about leadership team activity of clans or WA itself because we have no way of knowing if they aren't focusing more on management of higher issues that we have know way of knowing about. Maybe it's an age or experience thing, but it feels like common sense to take certain things with a grain of salt. Now if another LT member starts talking, sure I'll listen. They are someone who is a far more reliable resource than LittleBittyKitty69 the whateverclan warrior because they have access to the information that under normal circumstances, no one else in the clan would know. Why do you think people are always asking for screenshots on the blog when people start claiming stuff is going on? Because more people than you think get that taking everything you see and hear at face value is far more idiotic than it may be presented. Remember Lionclan and the edited screenshots that Nightfur, Four and Goldeneyes presented to incriminate Primal and Rain without revealing the context behind what was really going on behind the scenes? The cultish mindsets that they put in the members to make them vulnerable and more open to their influence? The way they victimized themselves without ever showing their own or others responses? Sure, there are people who will lie to you on this blog, but really it happens everywhere. If you can’t make decisions yourself on how to handle these presented issues then honestly you probably need to take a break from the internet and examine the important details you might have missed as of late.

Finally I’m going to be real with you. If anyone views Warriors Amino Confessions as a blog centered around “bullying”, I’m terrified to see how you handle real bullying. Everywhere you go, people are going to call you out on mistakes. WA Confessions may be a blog dedicated to prioritizing problems within the community, but that’s not to say that we don’t do the same on a day to day basis. Complaining about rules and negative experiences that we witness and deal with are the way to protect yourself in this community of thousands of users. Scammers, pedophiles, disturbing content, individuals with potentially dangerous viewpoints and more can be tracked within this blog. Sure, there’s definitely hate, but at its core, the blog can function as a clear and concise support system that benefits far more than harms. Yeah, there are people who are only here to cause harm, but when have you not seen the blog turn around and call them out on it.

1-800-boi is a flawless representation. This was a new member no one knew, who was targeted because someone had their own opinions on their artstyle. They were an asshole about it and the good majority of the blog called them out on it. The blog has a system, even if onlookers can’t view it themselves. As an “active member” of sorts, it’s much more clear. You’re entitled to your own opinions and no one is going to judge you for confessing what’s on your mind. However, if you attempt to harass, verbally assault or discriminate against, manipulate or scam anyone, you will be called out for it. We argue amongst ourselves all the time, but at the end of the day we have more than enough sense to recognize problems. The Mod [our great saviour, Lord Eris] actively limits openly recognizable attacks on a person(s) that may be hazardous or unlawful in nature, along with people who are clearly just trying to start things. The discord is legendary for actively calling out and being aware of users and opinions that mean nothing but trouble and the Mod doesn’t hesitate to subdue these problematic topics. If anything, confessions community is a thousand times safer than the amino itself BECAUSE the users aren’t afraid to tell you how it is. The regulars are more than certain to do a bit of digging to ensure they know as much as they can before they dip their toes into issues that they may not be fully able to comprehend at face value.

The community hold no power. The only power we hold is over ourselves and what we choose to perceive as the truth. Users of the Warriors Amino app have a right to know where or towards whom we need to be aware of; stop acting like this is some sort of political game! If the community chooses to side against you because you cannot prove yourself to them, are you even in a position to feel wronged? No one is holding a loaded gun to anyone’s head or threatening them and telling them that they have to believe everything stated on the blog or else. If so, the leadership team would be very quick to deal with publicizing the incident like they did with Lionclan over a year ago. No one has the right to claim the entirety of this blog to be an uprising of evil when they do not witness the full conversation. A few assholes want to do something to make someone else miserable, then focus your emotions on them. It’s illogical and restricting to forcefully disregard an entire peoples based on your emotional standpoint towards a minimum. There are 200 or so followers of the blog compared to the 1608 members active on Warriors amino at the time of me writing this essay of a response, and that’s disregarding the listed 172,867 members in total. Some of these members are banned, former members, and random users scattered across the interface. Some aren’t even in clans or positions of leadership.

If I were to compare the blog to anything, I’d advise members to watch episode 1 of an anime called Kino’s Journey [spoilers for those who haven’t watched]. It presents a country where murder isn’t illegal and a man Kino encounters who longs to seek asylum within its walls due to his rebellious nature and desire to disregard the rules implemented in society. Within the walls however, the city is strangely tranquil and Kino finds little to no security measures in place despite what he imagined would be a place of endless brawls and bloodshed to meet an end. The only oddity is that everyday citizens carry weapons and acknowledge that they are all meant for murder. When Kion encounters the man later, he has become a citizen of the town and targets Kino as his first murder victim. However, before he can fire his gun, other citizens of the country pull out their weapons and kill the man, protecting Kino. Why? The answer is simple. Legal does not equate to socially acceptable. In order to keep the peace of the nation, those who murder, have murdered or intend to murder must be eliminated before they disrupt the harmony of the nation. If a person is presented with a place where you can commit murder without legal ramifications and suddenly are willing to do it, are they really in the right?

Note: I’m not coming after anyone when I say these things, however those messages do rub me the wrong way as someone who has grown to love our small blog home despite the hiccups and less than welcome posts that do appear. Have your own opinions, but don’t conspire to eliminate those who see things differently than you based on your own emotional standpoint. As a member of a volunteer leadership team, there shouldn’t be a reason to start such a witch hunt just because some less than desirable people are showing out. Be better than them and PROVE them wrong with your actions. It’s hard to overlook these comments are simple “lies” when you are incapable of standing up straight and performing without melting down over a collected group of silent opinions. Let them talk. The ones whos opinions matter are the ones judge you for your actions over a bunch of silly chats on a confessions blog.

TL;DR: WA confessions is its own separate entity from WA that follows its own set standard of rulesets. However, do not be deceived by outward appearances. If you come of our community with the mindset that you are free to be toxic and controlling, you are incredibly misinformed. We protect ourselves and our rights by flushing out those with malicious intent. If you cannot handle that what happens here can be a bit rough, that’s fair, but bullying, harassment, discrimination and abuse IS NOT WELCOME HERE. We don’t want you, nor do we tolerate it. If your feel hurt by what is said here, reevaluate your own shortcomings and work hard to overcome the stigma that you potentially dug for yourself to prove those opinions wrong. No one is here to damage you, but it’s unfair to silence the viewpoints that you are too shamed or simply unwilling to acknowledge and address because you don’t like them.

[moonfurthetemmie]

Untitled.MP4

Previous | Next | First (with warnings)

Part 18

1.2

Zuli still hadn’t gotten used to the wet squishing sound his footsteps made through the mold. He wasn’t sure he ever would’ve, even if he wasn’t going to die in a few minutes. The manor was far too quiet, and the moldy squishing and squelching felt like the loudest thing in the world. But that didn’t matter now.

Zuli hadn’t visited Jade much since the others had dragged him outside for the last time, but he found that he remembered the way to him rather well. 

Against the wall, on the lowest landing in the stairwell from the ground floor to the second floor, a huge mass of mushrooms had grown so big that these stairs were almost unusable. In the center of it, though it was almost impossible to see him, was the blonde-haired guardian.

Jade’s eyes were covered by the mushrooms completely now. He didn’t seem to be alive, but the whole cluster trembled with his movement when Zuli called his name.

“Z-Zuli?”

His voice sounded so hoarse, pained. Hopeful, uncertain, anxious. Zuli swallowed the lump in his throat.

“Hi. H…how are you feeling?”

Jade was quiet for a moment. It was impossible tell what he was feeling. “...Numb, now, mostly. The pins-and-needles kind, like when you’ve been sitting on your foot and cut off the circulation. All over. …It’s weird feeling it in my head. I don’t…like it.”

Zuli knelt next to him, and pulled a kitchen knife from the small basket he’d brought with him. Much to his relief, the mushrooms weren’t as bad as he’d thought. “I’m…I’m going to try to cut you out, okay? At least a little. I…don’t think I have enough time to get you all the way out.” He didn’t say why. He knew the Colony had full access to Jade’s mind, and what he heard, or saw. Mostly heard, now. He couldn’t risk the Colony trying to stop him and Mercury now.

The mushrooms on the upper part of Jade’s face shifted. Zuli could imagine the surprised look on his face.

“Th…the others aren’t nearby. But they might- they might start coming over, in a second.”

Zuli sighed. “I know. Just…hold still, okay? I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.”

Jade silently obeyed. The mushrooms were easier to cut through that Zuli had thought, for their size. Zuli did a little more ‘pruning,’ and soon Jade was able to sit up. He did so, his arms shaking from the effort. 

“Zuli, I-“

His voice cracked. He reached one hand out, and Zuli took it without hesitation. Jade’s grip felt so weak, especially through the thick glove of the suit. 

“It’s going to be okay.” Zuli set the knife aside. “We're all going to get out of here, okay?”

“…I don’t think we can get out anymore,” Jade said softly.

Zuli squeezed his hand. “We will. Soon. I promise.”

Jade was quiet for a moment. Then he started sniffling. Something wet rolled down his cheek.

Zuli reach forwards to try and comfort him, and then stopped. He stared at the rear for a second.

“…Are…are you crying? I thought…the mushrooms on your eyes..?”

“Huh?” Jade brought a hand up to his face. “…Huh. I…I think my eyes are the only things that aren’t hurting or numb right now.”

Zuli slowly picked the knife back up. “Can I…try to cut them off? You’ll have to be very still.”

Jade quickly let go of Zuli’s hands and propped himself up. “Please. I’ll be still, I promise.”

Very, very carefully, Zuli shifted into a kneeling position in front of Jade. Hopefully no one comes and startles him while he’s doing this, he thinks.

“Okay. I’ll be careful. If it hurts at all, tell me.”

He cupped Jade’s face in one hand, and began to carefully cut away the mushrooms.

Soon he realized that the mushrooms hadn’t grown out of his eyes; only over them. One bright green, slitted eye blinked and squinted at the sudden light.

“Zuli-!” 

Zuli bit his lip. “Hold on. Just a little bit more…”

Jade closed his eyes, but a smile crept onto his face. Zuli kept going, taking great care not to cut Jade’s skin. Some of the mushrooms were starting to turn the same color as his skin. …Or maybe he was getting paler and starting to match the color of the mushrooms’ stems.

Trunks? Stems? Zuli didn’t actually know what the right word was. Oh well.

There were still little stumps from the mushrooms along Jade’s brow, but Zuli couldn’t find it in him to care. Jade could see again. He couldn’t imagine how scared he had been, not being able to see or move around in such a dangerous situation. 

“There.” Zuli set the knife down again. “You can open your eyes now.”

Jade did. He met Zuli’s eyes and gave him a huge, happy grin, and pulled him into a hug. “Thank you! I thought they were in my eyes, too, but-”

He pulled back and gently held the sides of Zuli’s head. It felt strange through the suit. “I can see you again. I can see you!”

Zuli hadn’t seen him this happy since before all this happened. When it was just Obsidian to worry about. Zuli pulled him into another hug and held him tightly. 

They stayed there for a while. Zuli didn’t know how long.

His mind swirled with all sorts of thoughts.

He needed to set the final part of his plan in motion, and soon. If the others came and found the other thing in his basket, they’d fuck it all up.

He missed Jade so much, though. So much had happened, and Jade hadn’t always been the greatest, but they’d still been friends. Jade had still tried to protect Zuli from some things Obsidian did, even if he didn’t realize how bad the rest was.

How long until the Colony realized that Zuli and Mercury were infected? 

…Did it even know? Mercury said he’d take off the hazmat suit once he’d placed the bombs. But unless he’d run into the others, and told them Zuli was infected…

Huh. Maybe it didn’t know after all. 

Maybe…maybe Zuli needed to encourage it to come in.

“Jade, I have to tell you something.” Zuli pulled away, and reached to the zipper behind him.

Jade’s eyes widened. “Wait, what are you-“

Zuli unzipped the suit. A rush of damp, suffocating air filled it, and he nearly gagged. It smelled awful in here. The suit didn’t smell very great, but outside of it was even worse.

“Zuli!” Jade grabbed his arms, not that there was anything he could do now. He looked terrified. But Zuli just shook his head, pulling the suit off of his upper half.

“Mercury’s infected. I was in his office with him when we realized, so I probably am too. The suit was just delaying the inevitable.” 

Jade’s lip trembled. All the joy and delight had vanished, as if it was never there to begin with. Now all that was left was hopelessness and despair.

“...Oh, god, it’s coming,” Jade said suddenly, his head jerking to the side. His eyes seemed to see something beyond the wall next to him. “It’s coming.”

Zuli pulled a small plastic box from the basket before wrapping his arms around Jade again. His eyes stung.

He didn’t want to die. Not like this. 

But it was the only way…

“I’m-” he choked. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t give you what you asked for the last time I saw you. It probably would’ve been easier than this.”

Jade hugged him tight. “I’m…I’m sorry too,” he said softly. “I haven’t been a great friend, have I?”

Zuli laughed shakily. “That’s okay. I’m…I’m glad you were here. You still made it better, a little.” 

“It’s not going to kill us, you know,” Jade said, though it sounded more like a warning. “It’s just trying to merge with the manor.”

Zuli took a shaky breath, and held out the remote in his hand. Jade hadn’t seen it. “I-”

The building shook. The fungal growths around them and along the walls shuddered, spores falling from the ceiling, the mushrooms around them.

“I know,” Zuli finished. He clenched his teeth. “I’m going to do it.”

He pushed the button.

Another, larger tremor spread through the manor, and Jade tensed.

Zuli heard a deep, distant moan. It sounded…unearthly. He shuddered.

“You…You’re going to burn the place down,” Jade said in a hushed voice. “...It’s spreading so fast…The others are already trying, but they aren’t going to be able to put it out.”

Zuli chucked the remote to the side, and held Jade tight. He was starting to shake.

“Mercury couldn’t- he couldn’t find a cure fast enough. It- It’s the only thing I could think of. To keep it from spreading.” His vision blurred. “Fuck, why am I afraid now?”

Jade pulled back slightly and pressed his forehead to Zuli’s. He looked so calm. “For what it’s worth, I think you did the right thing.” He offered Zuli a small smile. “It’s going to be okay. It’s going to hurt, but you can hold on to me. Or, if you’d rather, and you think you can make yourself do it, you can use the knife.”

Zuli looked over at the knife. The idea made his stomach churn. “I…I don’t think I can.”

Jade closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he said, “Then hold on to me. As tight as you want. I don’t think I’ll feel much of it.”

Zuli did. The fire hadn’t reached them yet, but he was so scared, now that it was actually happening.

It was so easy to think and talk about duty and sacrifice. It was much harder to actually commit to it. Even if he’d managed to push the button, every nerve and neuron in his body told him he should run. Run away, escape, get to safety. But he couldn’t. Even if he wanted to. 

“...Can we try again next time?” Jade asked. “Being friends?”

Zuli smiled. “That…that would be nice. Maybe we can make silly snowmen again.”

“Or bake cookies!”

“You burned every batch of cookies you made when you stayed with us.”

“Not the last one! I was getting better!”

A strange sound was approaching. 

“...Huh. I can hear Obsidian now.” Jade looked up. “He’s been silent for ages. …He says ‘thank you’.”

Zuli huffed. “Tell him I hope the fire follows him to the afterlife.”

“...He thinks that’s funny. And fitting.” Jade took a breath. “...It’s funny, you know. After something much worse happened, I finally realized how awful everything was here. For me. For you. He didn’t actually bring you out of the basement like he said he did, did he? He left you down there.”

Zuli nodded. “The whole time.”

Jade buried his face in the crook of Zuli’s neck. “...I kind of wish I’d gone back down there. He told me not to, and I know all it would’ve done is gotten me in trouble, but a part of me still thinks I could’ve done something.”

Zuli ran his fingers through Jade’s hair. It was dirty, oily, and the fungus had started growing in it. Zuli didn’t care.

It was getting hard to breathe.

“It’s too late for regrets,” Zuli muttered. It was getting hot, too. “For any of us.”

“I hope the others don’t come to their senses before they die,” Jade said. “I think it’d be better to die angry about foiled plans, then overwhelmed with guilt about what they did.”

“Yeah…I hope so too.”

The flames appeared around the corner, at the bottom of the stairs. 

“...I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“I think we mean it in different ways,” Jade said with a sad laugh. “But I don’t really care. I’m…I’m glad you’re here.”

Zuli wasn’t sure what Jade meant. But he said, “I am too. I’d be too scared to face this alone.”

The fire took no time in rushing up the stairs.

Soon enough, it had engulfed them.

[moonfurthetemmie]

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Part 25

yoo we made it to the end

2.3

Peridot let out a long sigh. 

The videos were very short, but it felt like she’d been watching a two-hour horror movie. She was relieved to see that they’d survived and were making a recovery. 

Despite her and her organization’s mission to find and put an end to Obsidian and his reign of terror, she couldn’t find it in her to be glad about what he’d gone through. Certainly not his team, not after what Mercury had said about them all. They had suspected for a while that some of Obsidian’s team might’ve been being blackmailed into working for him, but the confirmation from Mercury was helpful.

She didn’t bother opening the folder of pictures; she’d review them with Grey and the others before they went to investigate.

And they would investigate; they needed to be absolutely sure that these videos were legitimate. But first, Peridot needed to gather a team for this. They’d need to find a place that could help them with the actual medical parts; somewhere that can keep an eye out for this disease elsewhere, and can provide a team of doctors for Mercury to collaborate with. 

And, of course, Peridot would put her own people on it. They had to do something. 

As she started drafting an email, a new one came in from the same address as the first. It was a message from Mercury and Zuli, along with their coordinates. Peridot was impressed that the pair of them knew how to get their multiversal coordinates; it was a lot harder than your earthly longitude and latitude. 

The message said,

Hi Peridot; it’s Mercury and Zuli again. 

Hopefully you’ve seen at least some of the videos we sent you before you read this, but we basically just want to give you a quick update. 

We’ve found a place to stay; though it’s really just a nice clearing we decided to set up camp in. Jasper and Paraiba were recovering well, so they put on the hazmat suits and went to find some camping supplies. We’ve got some tents set up, and once Paraiba recovers from that exertion, we’re going to get food. The surrounding area has some food we can scavenge, and Zuli thinks he’s up for hunting, but the scavenging definitely won’t be enough long-term. 

Mercury has a quarantine tent set up for the ones still in recovery–which is basically everyone. We’re hoping we’ll be able to get people in their own tents, but they’ll need to recover more before then. 

If you haven’t watched the videos yet, please do. They’re not pleasant, but you’ll at least know what the heck we’re talking about. 

Peridot quickly made note of the coordinates. Once she’d put a team together, she’d send a few of them out to check out those coordinates. Make sure it wasn’t a trap, scope out the situation to see if it was safe for Peridot to get directly involved…

She didn’t have to, she supposed, pausing in her typing. Even if Obsidian was just as bad off as Mercury and Zuli said, it would still be incredibly risky for her to go herself, especially if they all knew that she (or the team that came before her) were part of the resistance. Nevermind that Peridot was the leader.

Still…she couldn’t just leave things like this. If there was anything she could do to help, she’d make sure it got done.

[moonfurthetemmie]

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Part 22

July 1, 20XX_TL_2

Mercury is sitting in front of the camera. Just behind him is Zuli and Jasper, the latter of which is in a hazmat suit. He looks tired, but relieved. As Mercury pulls his hand away from the camera, Jasper gives a small wave.

“So the manor is probably a lost cause,” Mercury starts. “We’re going to find some place to camp out that isn’t here, but first we’re sending everyone out in pairs, once they wake up and I can give them a little check-up, to get anything that they might want to try and salvage. After that, we’re burning the place down.”

“The mold and stuff has done too much structural damage,” Zuli explains. “It’s too risky to try and clean it up. But it’s worse to just leave it like this, even if we are leaving, so…”

“And there’s no food,” Jasper says. His voice is raspy. “Mercury and Zuli said they were living on some of the mushrooms, but the Colony was using those to sustain those of us who were infected. They were meant to help it keep us pumped full of spores, too. Zuli and Mercury are insanely lucky they managed to cook them enough to get rid of the infectious…bits.”

“Even without that, we’re more than happy to give them up,” Mercury says. “In light of the impending exodus, we’ve taken lots of pictures, and I’m preparing extra doses of the vaccine, just in case. One of them I’m going to carry on me, partially to see how long it takes for it to expire, and partially in case of an emergency. Science, and stuff.”

“You know what’s weird?” Jasper suddenly says, his voice quiet. “I think the…the telepathic mushroom thing that we would ‘talk’ to each other on is still there. I can still hear the others’ thoughts and stuff sometimes. Most of them are having nightmares, I think.”

The other two are silent. Jasper looks over at the new ‘wall’ in the office. 

“...I hope that’s not a bad sign,” Mercury mumbles. “The last thing we need is for this thing to come back because the psychic fungus phone network wasn’t destroyed when you got the cure.”

“I think it’s fine?” Jasper sounds unsure. “I certainly can’t hear the colony anymore. I think we are disconnected, at least somewhat. It’s like a…a closed network, I guess?”

Zuli visibly shudders. “That’s horrifying, thank you.”

Jasper looks apologetic. Before he can say anything, a voice comes from the walled-off area. A female voice, by the sounds of it. They sound tired and confused.

“Ugh…Where the hell-?”

The three perk up at the voice. 

“Paraiba’s up!”  Mercury begins gathering things. “Once I’ve given her the OK, you two can go get your stuff. I’ll see about setting up a sink or something in there with peroxide so you can clean off anything you find that you want to keep.”

Jasper nods. “Okay. I’ll keep an eye out for anything Jade might want, too; I don’t think he’ll be able to walk for a while.”

Zuli’s face falls. As Mercury gets up and moves off to the side, Zuli takes his spot at the table in front of the camera. Jasper watches Mercury as he goes.

“Right…So, while he’s doing that…” 

Zuli drags over a laptop from off-camera. “This is going to be the last video, but we want to send our location once we find a place to stay. We want to stay away from populated areas, and hopefully somewhere without a lot of wildlife that can get infected–just in case–but Mercury’s got a recipe or whatever for the vaccine, or cure, or whatever you want to call it, and we’re not going to keep it to ourselves. We know there’s more of this thing out there somewhere. There has to be.”

“Mercury wants to collaborate with other doctors to improve his thing, too,” Jasper says. “Something about not having time to do proper refinement?”

Zuli nods. Mercury, now in one of the hazmat suits, walks back to the new wall, and disappears behind it.  “He said we didn’t have much choice in our case, with our impending doom on the horizon, but if this thing is going to suddenly explode, he wants it to go through testing to make sure it’s 100% safe. Maybe even improve on it in other ways, though I have no idea how that would work.

“So, short version: Peridot, if you’re a person in a place to do something, please reach out to us. If not, see if you can find someone who is. A big health organization or something? I’m not really sure. Obsidian’s apparently been unresponsive for weeks now, so I doubt the fungus leaving his system is really going to get him up and doing his shit again. Even if that were the case, I’m hoping this experience has put the fear of god in him enough that he’ll let us coordinate to find and destroy the rest of this.”

“We’ll send our location, but we’re hoping to avoid meeting anyone in-person,” Jasper pipes up. “Mercury’s not sure if we’re still contagious or not, so anything we can do digitally or online would be best. But if someone does need to come to us, they should wear a hazmat suit or something, just in case. Hopefully it won’t be needed, but. Yeah.”

“I think that’s it, for the most part.” Zuli rubs his chin. “I mean, for the most part, everyone’s doing okay. Aside from Obsidian’s specific deal, the fact that he and Jade’s infections seem to have tried to take their bodies since it couldn’t take their minds, and Koroit, who’s been infected the longest, they’re all recovering pretty well. But Mercury says he’s not surprised Koroit’s case is the worst, since she was infected first. He’s worried about Jade and Obsidian–’worried’ used loosely in Obsidian’s case–but at this point we can’t do much besides wait for them to wake up.”

“I think Mercury said Obsidian’s mental health took the hardest hit,” Jasper muses. “Knowing him, I wouldn’t be surprised. He’s always been weird about control, and he hates the mere idea of seeming weak. And after a certain point, there wasn’t even a way for him to fight back. Probably took a heavy toll on his mind.”

He doesn’t sound particularly sympathetic, or apathetic. He sounds like he’s talking about a stranger who’s misfortune was on the news. Zuli looks just as disconnected from it as Jasper. He makes a vague humming sound of agreement before reaching towards the camera.

“Alright, then. That’s uh…That’s it. Mercury and I look forward to hearing from…whoever’s hands these land in finally. Peridot, someone else…whoever.”

The video ends.

[moonfurthetemmie]

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Part 21

June 30, 20XX_TL_2.2

Mercury and Zuli are sitting in front of the camera. They both still have their hazmat suits on. They look ecstatic.

“We fucking did it.” Mercury looks as if he’s going to get up and start dancing. “No shots wasted. Everyone’s recovering. And now Zuli and I have taken ours, so we’re fine.”

“And the thing outside is gone,” Zuli adds. “I nearly set myself of fire trying to kill it, but I didn’t. And I didn’t start a forest fire or set the manor on fire, so I’m honestly very happy with my handiwork.”

Mercury pats Zuli’s back.

“And since that damn thing’s gone, you can get your own goddam clothes!”

Zuli snorts and starts laughing. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind lending you mine, but my clothes are far too big for you.”

“I think I’ll need someone to take me,” Zuli says, still laughing. “I can’t make portals.”

“Ah, right. I forgot about that.”

“For now, though,” Zuli says, looking back at the camera, “we’ll work on sanitizing the room. The others had shed most of their mushrooms on the way over, but we’re not going to risk the chance of them bringing more spores in. Hence why we’re still in the suits. We’ll probably do one more update before sending these out?”

He looks at Mercury, who nods. “We’ll take some pictures of stuff, too. Zuli got a picture of the Colony outside before he torched it, so that’ll be in there. Just some things so that whoever gets these knows what to look for. We’ll send those with the videos.”

He reaches forwards.

The video ends.

[moonfurthetemmie]

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Part 8

June 22, 20XX

Zuli is working on something just off-camera. There’s a sizzling sound, like a hot pan. Mercury, sitting in the center of the camera’s view, is removing his hand from the camera.

“This smells…weird.”

Mercury looks over.

“Does it? I’ve kinda gotten used to it.”

“It smells like a mix of beef and wet mulch. The beef smell is great, but the mulch smell is equally bad. Net 0 hunger gained. But somehow I still want to eat these less now than I did yesterday.”

Mercury snorts. Zuli straightens up, and turns. In a frying pan are some of the mushrooms. He looks much healthier now, and calmer. …And cleaner. His eyes are brighter, his hair is combed, he’s put on more weight. The mushrooms seem to be doing him good, for better or worse.

“Would you like your gourmet, unseasoned, pan-fried infectious mushrooms, sir?” Zuli has a fake british accent. 

“Ah, yes; thank you, chef.”

The pair snickers. “It’s very hot, by the way. Don’t burn yourself.”

“Yes sir.”

Mercury picks up a small mushroom on what appears to be a bamboo skewer. Zuli moves away from the camera, soon returning with his own mushroom skewer.

“Right. So.” Mercury takes a bite. He makes a face, but continues eating. Zuli seems to have to work up the courage to eat his.

“Obsidian is still around, as I thought. He’s locked in his room. It seems like they intentionally tried to fill his room with spores, because there’s more mushrooms and mold growing in there than anywhere else except the kitchen.”

“And the only reason the kitchen is so full is because someone left a bunch of food out,” Zuli says. “Mercury said he hasn’t been in there since everything started, but judging by the looks of it, it had been out for more than just a few days. My guess, given how high-functioning the others are, is that they intentionally left it out for the fungus to grow on, so that any food in there would be unsafe to eat for anyone who wasn’t infected. 

“Some of the food in the fridge has small amounts of mold from this fungus growing on them, in addition to your average spoiled food molds and nastiness. It was probably contaminated for a long time, but clearly, it didn’t look it. It was probably an intentionally laid trap.”

Mercury takes another bite of his skewer as Zuli speaks. He finishes it quickly, and throws the stick away.

“Zuli’s got a good instinct for things. I’m extra glad he hasn’t gotten infected.” Zuli looks away.

“A lot of it is just pessimism.”

“Look, if it keeps us safe, I’ll take it.” Mercury pulls a notebook over. “Back to Obsidian for the moment, since we all love talking about that fuckwad-”

Zuli tries not to laugh with food in his mouth. Mercury gives a slight smile.

“He’s way, way worse off than Jade was. I’m not sure if it’s the time, or if they’ve been trying harder to infect him than Jade. It’s been about a week since I’ve seen Jade, so I can’t say for sure. Either way, he’s absolutely covered in the mushrooms, far more than anyone else, and their infections have been getting progressively worse as time goes on. They’ve almost completely covered his eyes, except for one small spot. He seems to be mostly immobile, and he didn’t talk much.”

Zuli finishes his skewer, and discards the stick.

“He barely even reacted when we came in. We almost thought he was dead, but when he heard our voices he looked over.” Zuli shudders. “He didn’t move his head that much, but it sounded like it hurt. He might literally be attached to his bed, now.”

Mercury shakes his head in dismay. “I can only imagine how much pain he’s in. I almost feel bad. It’d probably be a mercy to kill him now, and it sounds like he wouldn’t object.”

“Maybe we should check on Jade at some point?” Zuli suggests. “Might help us get a better idea of how this thing works if we can compare them.”

“I’d like to, but I’m not sure we could,” Mercury says. “His room was almost as ‘guarded’ as Obsidian’s, last time I was there. And they might’ve added extra precautions. It’s been a whole week since I’ve seen him.”

Zuli considers this, folding his arms. “I’d suggest going myself, but I don’t really think either of us should be alone out there if we can help it…Even if it does give you more time to work on the cure.”

“Yeeah…It’s safer to go together. If we really, really have to, we’ll see about…solo missions?”

Mercury looks uncertain, but Zuli gives a small laugh. 

“Solo missions. I like it.”

Mercury snorts. It’s clear the company has done a lot for his mood and mental health. 

“We might need something to defend ourselves, though. I’m not sure what we could use that wouldn’t need serious decontamination every time we go out with it.”

Zuli scratches his chin. Mercury stares at him for a moment before putting his face in his hands.

“Two weeks, and I never thought about finding a weapon.”

Zuli purses his lips. 

“...There’s a joke to be made there about the doctor’s creed. ‘Do no harm.’ You didn’t even think to find a weapon.”

“Shut up.” Zuli laughs. Mercury mutters something unintelligible and reaches forwards.

The video ends.

[moonfurthetemmie]

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Part 7

June 20, 20XX

Mercury looks excited. He keeps his voice down as he speaks.

"Zuli's alive! I- Oh my god, he's alive, and he's not infected, and-"

Mercury breaks into a relieved laugh, tears falling down his face.

"Okay. Okay, I'm fine. I'll be fine. So. Zuli's trying to find some clothes right now; our only options right now are whatever I have, so it's not going to be great, but it's infinitely better than what he had. Which was almost nothing. He's a little sick, and he doesn't have much strength, but whatever shit he's got is twenty times more preferable to the nightmare outside. At least his thing, I can treat. And it won't turn him into some feral zombie thing."

Mercury shudders violently.

"Ugh. Anyways. 0 progress has been made on the cure, but, hey, keeping someone from dying in a nasty dank cell in the basement is still saving a life. …God, is it obvious that I’m starting to lose my mind?”

In the background, a humanoid blur appears. It comes closer. A short, sickly-looking pale human with black hair, looking rather nauseous.

“Um…Mercury? Who are you talking to?” 

Mercury turns around quickly.

“Oh. Hi, Zuli. Come on over.”

Zuli nervously comes forward to stand next to Mercury. He’s wearing a long-sleeved shirt that is too big for him. Mercury moves over slightly. 

“I’ve been making a record of everything that’s happened. I think there’s half a dozen so far? I haven’t been recording one every single day. Mostly because I forget.”

Zuli eyes the camera nervously. His eyes are sunken. He looks like he hasn’t eaten well in a while.

“Are you going to send these to someone, or are you just hoping someone will find them eventually?” “I’m going to try to find somewhere to send them. If I can, I want to try to send them to the resistance. They probably have the most far-reaching influence and can warn people quickly.” 

Zuli furrows his brow. “I’m pretty sure they don’t deal with contagious diseases.”

Mercury shrugs helplessly. “They deal with us, though. As far as I know, there’s not a multiverse-wide version of the World Health Organization, but maybe I’ll find them when I’m looking for the resistance. If not, the resistance can send it to them.”

Zuli rubs his arms. “...How long has this been going on, again?” Mercury blinks. He’s silent for a long moment before he frowns and says, “About two weeks, I think…? I started these on the seventh, and Koroit was showing symptoms before shit really hit the fan…”

“All of this in two weeks?” Zuli sounds horrified. “Oh my god…”

He stares off in silence. After a moment, Mercury reaches for the camera.

“Why don’t you let me look at that cough you have?”

The video ends.

[moonfurthetemmie]

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Part 16

June 30, 20XX_TL_1

Zuli is sitting in front of the camera. There’s a mess of wires and vials before him, off to the side of the camera’s view. He seems shaky, but solemn. Resolve is clear in his voice. There’s no sign of the tears he’d had yesterday.

“We’re blowing up the manor.”

He pauses, working on the device in front of him. 

“Mercury’s infected. We noticed the white patches on his skin as he was working on the cure. Here, in the office. I’m sure I’m infected too. The cure is nowhere near done. If I worked on it, I might make it, but I don’t know anything about how chemicals mix, nevermind medicine. And this sickness advances way too fast; I’d probably only have a few hours at best. We’re not going to make it out of here. The least we can do is make sure this thing doesn’t, either.”

Something clicks into place in the device on the desk.

“Before I was kidnapped by Obsidian, I was training to be part of an elite military force in my universe. During that time, I learned how to make explosives. We’re going to make a dozen or so pipebombs and firebombs, hide them around, lure the Colony in close to the manor, and set them off. We don’t have a lot of time. Mercury helped me make a few, and he’s setting them out now. Still in a hazmat suit; the more spores he breathes in, the faster he’ll go, and we need all the time we can get.

“Some of the failed cures we found did slow the progression of the disease, so I had him take any that weren’t deadly. And some were. He said that’s a common problem when trying to treat fungal diseases, so I’m kind of impressed how many were safe, even if they weren’t ever quite enough.”

Zuli carefully wraps his contraption in gauze and medical tape. He grabs more supplies from off-screen, and gets to work on another.

“We know the Colony has done something to make creating portals impossible. We don’t know how, but we know it has. And we know that it wants to infect everyone before it lets anyone leave. Koroit probably could, but it doesn’t want her to. I don’t know why; with how advanced her case is, she could probably infect a town in just a few hours. But, it sounds like it’ll try to absorb the manor into its own structure once it’s sure the last few people in the manor are infected. So…all we need to do is convince it we’ve been infected. And that won’t be too hard. 

“This is the last video. None of us are going to survive this. The fungus burns easily, and burns fast. Anyone who’s infected will die quickly, if painfully. But as long as we can get the big thing outside, this will also help make sure that there’s nothing infectious here; as long as we can get the whole place to burn. Mercury thinks we can. I hope he’s right. If this thing gets out…”

He shakes his head, and finally looks right at the camera.

“Peridot, whoever you are, and whatever it is you do, we’ve dropped a pretty big weight on your shoulders, and I’m sorry. If you’re in a position to do something directly, do it. If you can’t do anything, send these to someone who can. Anyone who might know what to do.

“If someone needs to investigate here, they need to wear good hazmat suits. And they need to make sure they have a way to decontaminate their suits before they leave. We’ve been using strong hydrogen peroxide, but Mercury says that it’s a bad idea for use long-term, so hopefully whoever comes knows something better. 

“We’ve taken more pictures, as many as we could, and we’re sending them with the videos. Pictures of everyone. Mercury’s current symptoms. The mold and fungus on the walls and floor. The…the thing outside. Anything to help you–or whoever you might have to send these to–know what to look for.”

Zuli finally takes a breath. He turns back to the unassembled bomb on the desk, and begins working.

“This is the last one I have to make. Once I’ve placed them, I’m…I’m going to go see Jade.”

His voice cracks.

“I should’ve killed him when he asked me to. It would’ve been so much less painful than this. And I think the fungus will have covered him too much for me to cut him out and give him an easier way out before the bombs go off, and the fire spreads. At least if I’m near him without a suit, it won’t take long for the spores to get to me. I just need to last long enough to be able to set off the bombs when the Colony closes in.”

Zuli slowly reaches forwards. There’s tears in his eyes.

“Peridot. You are our only chance. I’m sorry this has been pushed on you, and I know that this being sent from people who live with Obsidian–one of whom works for him–is going to make you wary of helping. But this isn’t about Obsidian. This disease, wherever it came from, is a much bigger threat than Obsidian could ever hope to be. Unintelligent life suffocates from the mushrooms. Humans–and maybe monsters–are made living agents of infection, who live only to serve the Colony and spread it’s reach. It’s alive. It’s sentient. It can be multiple places at once. And it makes anyone it comes into contact with willing conspirators. Obsidian is an agonized mass of fungus and mold because of this thing. 

“You can’t save us now, but you can save others. Don’t let what happened here spread.”

The video ends.

[moonfurthetemmie]

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Part 15

June 29, 20XX.2

Mercury sits in front of the camera. His eyes are bloodshot. Most of the lights are out.

“Zuli…Zuli’s asleep.” Mercury rubs his face. He’s clearly exhausted. 

“He hasn’t really gotten better since he saw Jade this morning. Not that I can blame him…That sounds fucking horrific.”

He sighs, and stares off.

“I…Don’t have anything important to say, really. I just…I’ve been thinking about everyone. How they ended up here. Zuli’s been asleep for a while now, and I need someone to talk to, so…”

He looks up at the camera uncertainly.

“No one- except for Koroit, sort of, no one wanted to be here. No one. I got dragged here because Obsidian realized he’d need a doctor. Zuli was put in a cell for reasons unknown to me, but Jasper said he was put in there alone, and Obsidian usually does, like, batches of prisoners. I didn’t know there was anything unusual about it until he told me, when we were coming back from sealing the basement from the infection. He told me the only reason Zuli comes up as often as he does is because Jade found him down there, brought him up, and was banned from the dungeon but told Zuli could come up if he was good and ‘asked’. I don’t think Jade knew Zuli was still down there. I think Obsidian told him Zuli was let out for good.

“Jasper hasn’t talked about his story, but he’s been here longer than anyone, even Zircon. Zircon refused to join Obsidian on the first offer, and now his spouse is dead and Obsidian’s holding his daughter as blackmail- assuming he hasn’t actually killed her and was just saying she’s alive to keep Zircon compliant. He implied his home was destroyed, too.”

Mercury props his head up on the desk with his arm. His voice fills with emotion as he continues. 

“Koroit he found in the Anti-Void. She barely even remembered her name, but he told her she worked for him, and she’s been working pretty willingly ever since. I don’t know where she is from, but I’m sure he hadn’t known her before then. I don’t think he even fully trusts her, either.

“I don’t think Silver’s ever talked about how they got here, except maybe to Paraiba, but I remember when they first got here. They were so miserable and nihilistic. They weren’t even part of the team at first; I think Obsidian was just absorbing their negativity. They only became part of the team because Paraiba showed up, became friends with them, and taught them to fight so Obsidian wouldn’t kill them when he got tired of them. Now they stay alive as long as they’re useful and do as their told.”

“And Paraiba- despite how much she likes to talk, she doesn’t talk much about how she ended up here. I know her AU was different from most of the ones we’re familiar with. I’d call it a sort of…high-fantasy AU, based on what she’s said. I think Obsidian killed her friend–or maybe sibling? I’m not certain what exactly they were to her–and he brought her to the manor after she tried to fight him. If she doesn’t do as she’s told, he’ll kill her.”

His voice starts to shake.

“Jade was locked in his room for a very long time when he first got here. No one was allowed to interact with him except for Obsidian. Even Jasper was only allowed to bring him food, and nothing else. When he was finally let out, he…he didn’t seem to understand that he was being abused.”

Mercury takes a few deep breaths. He stares off for a moment, lost in thought.

“...God, I’m even starting to feel bad for Obsidian, in a weird way. I mean…I don’t think I’ve ever seen him happy. Not genuinely happy. He’s always angry or irritated or bored, and it’s…it’s just kind of sad. He’s doing all of this, causing all of this suffering, and it’s not even really making him happy most of the time. I don’t think he even realized it. And now he’s probably living one of his worst nightmares.”

He laughs dryly. 

“He deserves some of it. But it’s…This thing is starting to get to me, god. I can’t believe I feel bad for that bastard.”

He runs a hand through his hair. He’s starting to look even more tired than before.

“...I should probably go to bed. Sleep deprivation isn’t going to help us any.”

He reaches out his hand.

The video ends.

[moonfurthetemmie]

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Part 14

June 29, 20XX

Mercury is in front of the camera again. Zuli is unseen, but his crying can be heard. Mercury looks solemn.

“Zuli found Jade, again.” Mercury’s voice is quiet. “He said Jade’s stuck in a corner in one of the stairwells, covered in mold and fungus.”

Zuli sobs loudly, and Mercury’s face falls.

“...He said Jade can’t move, and barely spoke. He hasn’t said much else about it. I…Imagine he looks much like how Obsidian did.”

“He-” Zuli’s voice is interrupted by another sob. “He was begging me t-to kill him. I-I couldn’t- I couldn’t do it. I c-couldn’t. He looked like he h-hurt so much and I couldn’t-”

Mercury looks behind him when Zuli starts speaking. He seems to pale, even as the other man devolves into incoherent sobbing. 

“I’m going to try my best to speed things up with the cure,” Mercury says after a moment, turning back to the camera. “I can’t promise anything, but I’m going to try.”

He reaches forwards as Zuli continues to cry.

The video ends.

[moonfurthetemmie]

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Part 12

June 25, 20XX

Zuli is in front of the camera, with Mercury working on something in the background. Mercury now has gloves and a face mask on. He seems entirely occupied with his task. Zuli looks like he’s in the middle of something.

“We found an email for someone named ‘Peridot’ in the bathroom across from Silver’s room. It was on a little post-it note hidden in a case of hair stuff. I’m surprised it survived, and more surprised it was still in there.”

Zuli holds up a sealed plastic bag with the note inside. There’s a good deal of slime and mold on the paper. Anything written on it is too small to make out.

“It also has ‘R-E-S’ written on it. Mercury’s very sure that means ‘resistance.’ He says Silver usually shortens things in various ways to get the point across faster. So…We might have a contact for the resistance. And if that’s the case, Silver’s been hiding this from Obsidian, because it was rolled up and hidden in a little side pocket in the case. They don’t want to be here more than anyone else, they wouldn’t try to hide it to make sure only they get credit for finding this stuff out.”

Zuli looks more excited as he talks.

“We’re insanely lucky to have found this. We were just looking for anything we could break down into some base chemicals for the cure, but this is- We don’t even have to waste time looking for someone anymore! We have someone! Even if Peridot isn’t actually part of the resistance, maybe they’ll know how to get into contact with them. Or, maybe they can send the videos to some authority that can do something about all of this.”

He sets the bag down and reaches forwards.

“Okay, that’s all I had to say. Bye.”

The video ends.

[moonfurthetemmie]

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Part 11

June 24, 20XX

Mercury is in front of the camera. Zuli is sitting behind him, much like Jasper had in the first video, and seems to be shaking.

“Jade…might be dead.” Mercury’s voice is shaky. “We saw everyone dragging him off, and we decided to follow. No one seemed to notice us. They brought him outside, and we thought to make a run for it, but-”

“It’s outside. It’s surrounded the manor. It’s…it’s huge.” 

Zuli still doesn’t look at the camera. He sounds terrified. Mercury takes a shuddering breath.

“There’s this…this ring of mold and fungus outside, like three stories tall. I…think it’s the Colony. They’ve started calling it ‘Master,’ too. They did while they were outside with Jade. They were talking to it.”

“They threw him at the thing and he tried- he tried to run-” Zuli chokes. “And it- it- it grabbed him, with these awful mushroom tendrils, and pulled him in. It made a little pocket for him and absorbed him. We could hear him screaming for help, and the others just- just-”

He sobs. “Oh, god…”

Mercury looks grave. “They’ve still been trying to chase us off from the front door. I don’t think we could get to Jade to get him out of there, and I’m not sure it wouldn’t find some way to get us out of our suits.”

Zuli sobs again. Mercury gets up and comes to sit next to him. He comforts Zuli for a while before moving to turn off the camera.

The video ends.