Chapter Text
Knees cracked as he hit the floor, limp body slumped into his cell.
“What did you do to him?!” Cleo yelled, watching as their admin collapsed into a heap of limbs and wounds. Strap marks stood out starkly against his pale skin, track marks in the elbow they could see, and burns marks on his upper arms. Blood leaked from somewhere behind the mask, coating the interior of the plastic in deep burgundy. The purple on his cheekbones was unnervingly pale, and eyes closed to the world. His breathing at least seemed steady.
“Nothing he couldn’t handle.” The guard responded.
“Watch it!” the other snapped, banging his cattle prod against the bars nearest to him. Scar flinched back at the strike. “Or one of you will take his place!”
With that both guards turned on their heels, guns braced as they left the room with a clang that shook the cages.
“X?” Jevin whispered hoarsely, trying to reach through the cell walls to the fallen Voidwalker.
Cleo watched on, seeing the struggle in both Jevin and Scar as each tried to touch their admin- their friend. Neither could quite reach him, and so there he stayed, unconscious and with blood slowly dripping onto the floor beneath him from somewhere unknown.
“Shit they did some damage,” Doc commented, taking it all in.
“When he wakes up we need to convince him to go lay down,” Cleo said, not able to rip her eyes away from her injured friend. “And when we get food we need to try and give him whatever meat we get.”
“I think that’s just you and me Cleo,” Scar commented, looking up at them. “I can get mine to him no problem, how are we going to get yours over here? And convince him to eat it?”
Jevin jumped in.“You can slide it to me. I can then get it into him, I think.”
“It’s a plan then,” Cleo stated, finally looking up from Xisuma’s fallen form to the rest of the captured Hermits.
She tried to ignore the increasing dread sinking into their stomach.
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The world slowly faded into focus. Pain hit him first, followed quickly by the cool wind up against his face, making whatever was dried over his lip itch uncontrollably. He groaned slowly as each ache flared to life, left hand dropping to his stomach. Something sticky coated it.
He maneuvered his leg up under him and used it to slowly turn himself onto his back, a huff of air escaping his lips as he did so. Blood rushed in his ears as his head thumped back against the concrete floor.
“Owwwww.”
“That’s kind of what we expected,” a whisper said. Xisuma turned his head towards the source, Scar with a strained smile on the other side of the bars.
“Hi.”
“Hi to you too,” Scar whispered back. “How’s everything feeling?”
“Sore. Weirdly sticky? I’m just… I’m fine.” Xisuma focused again on his breathing, a rib groaning in protest as he did.
“Uh huh. The others are asleep, I couldn’t manage it.”
“How long was I out?”
Scar shrugged, looking down at his full tray. “A few hours at least. They brought food in maybe two hours ago? The others slowly fell asleep about half an hour ago? I kept some food for you though.”
“No, you need to eat,” Xisuma responded, though his stomach growled and rebelled against him. Why is he nauseous now?
“Xisuma, you’ve just taken an insane beating, and it looks like they’ve taken blood from you too. Take it from me, you need to replenish your stores. I’ve just been sitting here.”
Xisuma held his gaze, the sheer determination in Scar’s eyes clearly not going to back down anytime soon. He finally laid his head back, queasiness quelling for the moment. “Fine. But I’m not taking any more of it after this.”
Weak.
He needs it, you would take it from him?
He knows you are weak. He knows what you are, and how much of a disappointment you’ve become.
X managed to hoist himself up just enough to scoot towards Scar, who pushed the tray up against the bars so X could reach the food. The weird pink sludge was the last thing Xisuma’s stomach was calling for, but it was all he had, and given the prolonged period of not eating he had been experiencing he was quick to eat what little was on the tray. The mask over his face was quickly removed, the thick air hitting his nostrils and airways before he dug in. Canines flashed as he forced down bite after bite. The flavour left much to be desired. It was hard to describe, but vaguely salty and tasted like how chemicals smelt would have been the best way he could put it.
He could see Scar observing him from out of the corner of his eye, but after the first bite hit his stomach he no longer cared about his audience, feral instinct taking over to ensure the body was no longer starved.
He wouldn’t have been so hungry before being taken if he had just done his damn job, but no, he couldn’t fix the bugs to a satisfactory quality, and so he had not earned food yet. And now here he was, stuck on the floor of a cage like a rabid beast, scarfing down mouthfuls of this unknown sludge that had just enough meat in it to stop his body from repelling it.
Once the tray was cleaned Xisuma sat back on his hunches, a harsh wipe across his lips with the back of his hand to make sure none of the sludge was left there.
“Thank you, Scar,” he said, sincerity making his voice wobble slightly.
“Of course, don’t need you wasting away on us!” Scar chuckled as his eyes roved up and down X’s body, clearly taking in the damage Thimber managed to do. His voice shrunk, a softness rounding out any edges. “What has he been doing to you X? Surely he can grab me tomorrow inst-”
“No.”
It was firm, absolute. There was no arguing with that tone. X’s head lowered and shadows covered his eyes behind his hair. “There is nothing he wants you for. At least if it’s me then there is a purpose to what he is doing, and he won’t want me dead. I-I can’t promise the same if he were to take one of you in my place.”
They are more valuable than you by a thousand times.
Is it even wrong if this is what you deserve?
“X-”
“I said no Scar!” he snapped.
Movement flickered from the other side of the hall.
Wings fluffed and perked up before a head followed, hand still rubbing sleep from his eyes. “Wha’s goin on?” Grian grumbled, looking about as awake as he sounded.
“Don’t worry about it,” X replied as he moved himself back over to his foam pad, away from the offending empty tray and Scar’s questions.
“I was just making sure Xisuma had something to eat. Go back to sleep, Grian,” Scar answered for the ruffled parrot.
“Okayyy…” Grian rolled over, restrained wings thumping down on top of him as he fell back asleep.
“Thanks,” Xisuma murmured, knowing Scar could have been harsher in his answers to Grian.
Scar simply nodded and pressed his own back to the wall. “It wasn’t untrue. I did want to make sure you were fed. But if I could convince you to let us have a turn that would also be great.”
“I promise I’m fine Scar. I can handle it, it’s nothing new.”
Scar’s eyebrows turned down at that. Shit, he had said too much. The Hermits can’t know, they can’t.
Cat’s out of the bag now.