Scar saw Cub crossing the Great Bridge from Pix's empire, eyes still sunken and glowing. He'd been trying to help with wrangling all of Joe's cats, but that was proving impossible, given he wasn't Joe, and the cats just did not care for him at all. Indeed, Joe had given up an hour ago, leaving Scar to feed over a hundred cats all clamouring after the fish Joe had left him with. Feeding a few cats was fun! Feeding this many cats was a nightmare.
To be fair, though, it had been a welcome distraction from Cub. Scar had grown used to always knowing where he was, because he could always find him through the hivemind. But he'd been cut off a few days back, probably when he got corrupted, and Scar hadn't expected that would hurt. Perhaps not seeing much of Cub helped the pain dissipate, along with all the work he was doing in Jimmy's base. Let his mind think of other things, his hands do other work, rather than think about Cub. He'd be fine, though, right? Cub knew what he was doing.
That thought lingered as Cub approached. His demeanor seemed… cheerful? He waved and jogged over, seemingly happy to see him. Scar, to his credit, was happy to see him too. He was just confused by what had happened and why he'd been kept out of potential prankage.
"Scar! Hello there!" Cub called as he fought his way through all the cats. "It's like season five all over again! Are these all yours?"
"Oh, no, no! They're not mine! Sir Joe of the Hills bred all these cats. I forget why now. I'm not sure he even remembers. I'm sure it was for something important, though," Scar said. "Haven't seen you in a while either, Cub. Been busy, hey?"
"Yeah, yeah, something like that," Cub said. "Just had some stuff to do, you know how it is."
"You've been spreading skulk all over the place, or so I've heard," Scar said.
Cub smiled. "Maybe, maybe. It's the best kind of prank, though, because it's invisible. You can't see what's causing the skulk to spread, just that it's coming from somewhere. It's genius."
"Genius, yes, and also very annoying. It's very you, Cub, I'm proud of you coming over this new server and pranking everyone just for fun. Right?" Scar said.
Cub laughed, and it wasn't a laugh Scar found reassuring. "Gotta spread the skulk, Scar, gotta spread the souls, and welcome the darkness, my friend."
Scar was afraid he might say that. Clearly someone had to intervene, and he wasn't sure anyone but him could get through to Cub. "Yeah, see this? This skulk possession thing? That's a problem. And it's not just my problem, but your problem. The Vex are so angry, Cub, because the skulk took something that rightfully belongs to Them! And even beyond that, I miss you! I can't feel you anymore! I want my Vex buddy back! Surely you're not going to throw away all our years of Vexing together away for skulk, right?"
Cub looked confused. "But I-I didn't… I didn't choose this, Scar. I didn't! I just- Shubble sent me into the fog, and I came out with all this extra power! And all we did was spread catalysts! There's nothing wrong with that, right?"
"We are holy vessels for the Vex, Cub, and that vessel has now been desecrated! And you're just going to laugh it off as a prank? Nothing serious? You are the greatest Vex magician the Vex have ever known. Come on, Cub, you're better than that. This isn't you. Come back to the Vex. Come back to me. I can't live without you, Cub. We've been through too much together. Please," Scar said, unsure if any of his words would work but unwilling to keep quiet about it. "How much of the last week do you even remember?"
Cub gazed away, scratching the back of his head. "Bits and pieces. But it's like that with the Vex. What's the problem? Also, once again, I didn't choose this, Scar. I was taken. I don't even remember how! I just walked into the fog, and walked out looking like this! I don't know what happened! And I can't fix it if I don't know how it happened, alright?"
Scar crossed his arms as he looked him over. Part of him didn't think Cub was lying. But Cub was good at lying about things just like he was. It's why they got on so well. "Do you actually want to fix it, or are you just saying that? Because you look pretty happy to me."
"In the lucid moments, yes, yes I want to fix it. I just-"
Cub was suddenly grasping his throat, and Scar panicked, grabbing hold of him tightly. "No! No, we're not doing this. Not today, skulk!"
Scar summoned some Vex magic and sent it all to Cub, focusing on burning back the skulk corruption as best he could. It was an imperfect spell, of course; Cub was the master of this stuff. But it did seem to work a little bit. Some of the skulk on Cub's skin did seem to retreat, and Cub collapsed in his arms, breathing heavily.
"Alright, skulk, you've picked the wrong vessel to infect. The Vex are coming for you, and you can't win," Scar said as he lifted Cub into his arms and carried him back down the bridge.
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