Gem

Gem blinked open her eyes and was greeted by hazy red vision.

What...?

She reached her hand up to her face to wipe it off, and when she looked, it was blood.

Dammit! she swore in her mind, hurrying to her feet. Not again. She tried to shake the blood off of her hands, but it hardly did a thing. She looked at her surroundings. She was standing in the cave behind her pumpkin patch, the only light being a dim campfire. Scattered around her were several hooks, lots of string, a needle, and a bleeding heart.

Wait, what‽ She stumbled backwards, trying to look away from it, but somehow she couldn't. What did I do? What did I do to Etho? I must've killed him. Bloody devs, I think I killed Etho.

Rushing backwards out of the cave, she flew to Grian's base, calling his name desperately.

"Grian, help," she called shakily, crying. "Grian!"

He arrived beside her in a few moments. "What is it? What's wrong?" He looked down to her hands and his eyes widened. "Did you...?"

"I don't know what I did this time," she sobbed. "Please, go check on Etho. I- I think I might've killed him. I woke up in a cave and there were hooks and strings and a heart and I think I killed Etho and I don't know what to do. Please make sure he's ok. I don't want to go near him, I don't want to hurt him again. I don't want to hurt anybody. Grian, you should just kill me now, before I can do this again. Please, please, just...."

"Gem, breathe," he told her gently. "I'll go check on Etho, I promise. And I'm not going to kill you. This isn't your fault. We'll find a way to stop this." Grian stood beside her, but she pushed him away.

"Go check on Etho, now," she ordered him. "I'll be fine."

Grian nodded, but hesitated. "What do you mean, there was a heart?" he asked after a moment.

Gem reached into her inventory and, taking a deep breath, took the heart out. The texture was smooth and horrible, and blood poured down her hand like slow, red waterfalls.

"Oh, my devs!" Grian exclaimed. "You really, really didn't need to show me that."

"Just go check on Etho," Gem insisted, putting the heart back in her inventory before any more memories could come into her mind. It wasn't my choice this time, she tried to convince herself. I didn't have control.

"Right, I'll go check on Etho," Grian said. "If you feel the demon deer coming, type something in chat. Anything, it doesn't matter what." Gem nodded, and without another word, Grian flew off towards Joel's base.

Grian pov

Grian landed at Joel's doorstep, knocking on the door but not having enough patience to wait for an answer.

"Etho?" he called as he opened the door. "Etho?"

"We're in here," he heard Joel's voice call.

Grian rushed into the room and let out a breath of relief when he saw Etho sitting next to Joel.

"Oh, thank the devs!" he exclaimed. "Etho, I thought you were dead."

Etho let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, so did I."

"What do you mean?" Grian asked, his anxiety returning.

"It's...hard to explain," Etho said. "I remember the demon deer taking my heart out and killing me. I was dead. Am dead. I don't even know anymore."

"Well, you're here now, and that's all that matters," Joel added.

Grian noticed that there was blood on Etho's face, though it seemed dry and faint. "What, um, what happened to your face?" he asked awkwardly.

Etho looked away, breaking eye contact. "The demon deer happened," he mumbled. "I'm just a shell of a human now, nothing else."

"That's not true," Joel told him gently. "You're human, and we all care about you. Remember that." Etho looked up at him and, Grian guessed, smiled.

"Gem's going to be happy to hear that you're alive," Grian told him. "Do either of you need anything?" he asked. "Medicine, pain killers, anything?"

Etho shook his head. "No, thank you," he responded. "And make sure Gem knows I don't blame her."

"I will," Grian said. "And if either of you end up needing anything, let us know and we'll help." Grian was about to take off when Joel exclaimed, "Wait!"

"What is it?" Grian asked him.

"I need to talk to Gem," Joel said.

Grian considered this for a moment before agreeing. "Okay," he said. "She's waiting at my base. Come on."

"I'm coming, too," Etho added. "I assume you're talking to her about what she did to me, so I should come too. And I'm also not letting you face an ex-demon deer on your own. You know, just in case."

"Thanks," Joel responded with a smile. "I wouldn't want you to be waiting here alone, anyway." Joel helped him up and, a few moments later, they followed Grian towards his base.

When they landed, Grian called, "Gem, I'm back!"

"Hello," she greeted him, coming around the corner of a building. As soon as she spotted Joel, she stopped.

"Um. Hi," she said awkwardly. She looked towards Etho and her eyes lit up. "Thank the devs, you're alive!" she exclaimed. "I was so worried. I thought I'd killed you."

Etho met her eyes and quickly looked away. "It's not your fault," he told her. "I'm fine, really."

"It's alright if you're scared of me," Gem said apologetically. "I understand if you are." Etho nodded in acknowledgement, but didn't say anything more.

"Gem, I need to talk to you," Joel said after a few moments of silence. "Grian, I'd like this to just be the three of us."

Grian hesitated, but then said, "Okay." He looked around for somewhere to go and decided on the shopping district.

Joel pov

"I'm not going to shout at you this time," Joel started to Gem. "I just need you to hear this." Joel took in a deep breath and said, "Every time you turn into the demon deer, you end up hurting Etho in some way. First, you strung him up, then you removed his organs, and now you've taken his heart. I know you don't have much, if any, control over it, but you - we - need to find a way to stop it. It's getting out of hand. I can handle small bits of violence here and there, but hurting Etho this badly is where I cross the line. This needs to stop. I'm not shouting at you, I just need you to understand that this can't go on."

"Joel, you don't need to defend me like that," Etho mumbled. "There's nothing we can do about it now."

"But we can stop it from happening again," Joel told him fiercely. "I'm not letting her, or anyone else, hurt you again, okay?"

Etho looked up at him and said quietly, "Okay. And thank you. For everything." Joel smiled and held his hand for a moment before letting go and looking back up at Gem.

She raised an eyebrow. "Um," she started, but didn't say anything else.

"Do you understand?" Joel asked her.

She nodded. "Yes, I understand. Trust me, if I had any ounce of control over myself while it was happening, I'd stop it. I don't know what we're going to do, but we'll find a way, because I will not let myself hurt anyone again."

"Good," Joel said. "I believe you. Thank you for at least trying."

"Of course. I'm not letting anyone else get hurt," she vowed. There was a pause for a few moments before she said, "So, um. Were you two...holding hands before?"

"Oh. U-um," Joel stuttered, trying to come up with a good excuse.

"Just tell her," Etho told him quietly. "I don't think she'll mind. Plus, she'll figure it out eventually, anyways."

Joel looked up at Gem and explained awkwardly, "So, um, Etho and I. We're, uh...a thing now."

Gem's eyes lit up once more. "Congratulations!" she exclaimed. Then, she added teasingly, "Honestly, it's about time. Really, though, I'm so happy for you two!"

"Gem, I hate to break it to you, but I think Joel out-obsesses you now," Etho joked, and both Joel and Gem laughed at this.

It's nice to have a break from things every once in a while, Joel thought. A break from...well, everything.

Wait, Joel realized, I don't think I've had a negative thought about myself today. A strange feeling grew inside him that he wasn't sure he recognized. Is this what it feels like for everybody else?

"Well, Gem, that's all I wanted to talk to you about," Joel said after the laughter died down. "We probably need to go and get the wires on Etho's face removed."

"Yeah," Gem agreed. "And, again, I'm really sorry for ever hurting him."

"There's not really a way you can control it," Joel told her. "I don't really blame you, and I don't think Etho does, either." Etho shook his head.

"Okay. I promise I'll do whatever I can to stop this from happening," Gem promised. "You should probably go get those wires removed."

"Yeah," Joel agreed. He waved goodbye to Gem, and he and Etho flew back towards his base.

When they landed, Joel sent a quick message to Cleo asking if she could come over to remove the wire again. They responded quickly, saying that they'd be there in a few minutes.

"Cleo's gonna be here soon," Joel informed Etho. "Hopefully, she'll be able to remove the wires on your face." Etho nodded, but didn't say anything.

"I noticed you didn't say anything to Gem," Joel said. "Are you afraid she'll hurt you again?"

"I don't know," Etho responded quietly. "It feels wrong to be upset at her when she doesn't have any control over it, but it also feels wrong to dismiss it like nothing happened." He paused before continuing, "And, plus, if anyone notices that I'm talking without even moving my mouth, they'll think I'm a monster."

"Etho, I promise you they won't think you're a monster," Joel assured him. "So what if you talk a little differently from us? That doesn't make you any less human. You're one of us, and you belong here."

"I really do want to believe you," Etho whispered. "It's just hard, you know, when everything you are is thrown away in a matter of minutes. But I am trying to believe you."

"It'll get easier with time," Joel told him. "Just remember that you're human, no matter how many organs you lose."

Etho laughed. "Good to know that my number of organs doesn't contribute to my being."

Joel laughed in return. The two spent the next few minutes making organ jokes until Cleo showed up.

"Hello," she greeted them. "How can I help?"

"Etho has some wires on his face that need to be removed," Joel informed them. "We figured you'd be able to help."

"I can," Cleo said, "but I don't think I should."

"What do you mean?" Joel demanded.

"I mean if I keep giving Etho these surgeries only for the demon deer to put more things in his body - or take them out, for that matter - then right now, I don't think I should," Cleo explained. "I want to help you, but I also don't want to screw up your face with so many stitches. So, until we know for sure that the demon deer is under control, then I won't remove any wires."

"I guess that makes sense," Etho mumbled. Joel knew exactly what he was thinking - that Cleo didn't want to help him because he thought he wasn't worthy anymore.

"Cleo, can't you at least try?" Joel protested. "This is really, really hard for him."

"Yes, I know it is, but removing the wires right now would only make things worse," Cleo insisted. "This is going to be better for him. Trust me."

Joel opened his mouth to protest again, but Etho cut him off, saying, "Cleo's right, Joel. I'll be fine."

Joel looked at Etho, then at Cleo, but stayed silent this time.

"I promise I'll get them removed once the demon deer is gone for good," Cleo promised, "but for now, I shouldn't."

"Okay," Etho agreed dispondently. "Thank you for coming."

"Yeah, of course," Cleo said, and after saying goodbye, she flew off towards, presumably, her base.

"I'm really sorry we can't have the wires removed right now," Joel apologized. "I know how awful they make you feel."

"It's okay," Etho responded unconvincingly. "It's not like it matters, anyway."

"Etho..." Joel started, but he only sighed. "I just want you to remember that I care about you no matter what, okay?"

Etho looked up at him shyly and said, "Okay. Thank you."

-

Sorry it's been two weeks y'all. The ADHD is hitting hard.