wc: 1678

NOTE: FROM HERE ON OUT I WILL NOT BE USING SPECIFIC TRIGGER WARNING TAGS. I think it has too many spoilers. HERE IS A LIST OF TRIGGER WARNINGS THAT WILL BE HAPPENING:

blood
gore
death
violence
hunger
panic attacks
loud arguments
torture
experimenting

I will most likely add to this list as I go on. 

This chapter was kinda empty ngl but the next one will HOPEFULLY be up sooner. Ik my uploads have been very inconsistent sorry :( 

enjoy!

Prison was silent.

Mumbo's stomach was eating itself inside out. From his count on the walls, it had only been almost two weeks, but that was enough to let someone who had grown up in a nice neighborhood with plenty to eat feel like they were starving. He'd tried the chorus fruit a couple of times, but the way his stomach heaved dangerously whenever he nibbled on a piece told him that if he ate any more, he'd merely throw up the little food that was inside of his stomach.

This was all he could think about for however long he was in here. Ever since Grian disappeared, all his brain would say was food. And, of course, Grian.

He missed that comfort that Grian was closeby. Even if he couldn't get out of the cell, Mumbo just...

He just didn't want to die alone

And Mumbo didn't know that was something he'd have to worry about. But now, it looked like everything was about to end for him.

For a while, Mumbo curled up on the ground, watching the guards occasionally walk down the hallways. They seemed bored too, their idle conversation barely making it to Mumbo's ears.

On day 15, everything changed.

Mumbo was sitting on the floor, squeezing the juice from a chorus fruit and drawing on the floor. The purple stains spiraled across the concrete.

For one of the first times, there was a noise throughout the hall. No, it wasn't the thud of chorus fruit hitting the floor of the cells, and no, it wasn't the thumping of the heavy boots worn by the guards.

It was more of a... ripping.

There was some clamor at the end of the hall. Mumbo rushed to the bars of his cell, straining his ears and eyes. He saw a glint of silver from across the corridor, and then everything went eerily silent. Only for a moment, however, as soon the prisoners started shouting.

Hope blossomed in Mumbo's chest. The prisoners were shouting thanks, were praying for freedom. Perhaps an angel had come to save them all.

As these people rounded the corner, Mumbo's heart lifted further. These people were better than angels.

Xisuma and Scar walked down the hallway at a brisk pace, looking back and forth. Fellow captives reached their hands out through the bars, grasping, begging.

"X-" Mumbo managed. His voice was raspy and hoarse from disuse. The little water that had been given had quickly been drunk, and water was only given to them once a day or two.

Somehow X heard, and a moment later him and Scar were crouched in front of the bars. "Oh, thank goodness," X murmured. He and Scar quickly went to work on the lock. The sound of the bars creaking open was the best sound Mumbo had heard in a while.

"I'll free these other people," X whispered to Scar. "You get some food and water to Mumbo." Scar nodded and pulled out some bread.

Mumbo inhaled the slice and chugged the water, his stomach desperately aching for it. Scar handed him a golden apple, and he quickly went to work.

The sounds of prison doors breaking open rang throughout the hall. Scar didn't seem to have enough room for the entire hall, but he pulled out all of the bread he had, distributing it to the grabby hands.

"Scar," Mumbo rasped, "We should- we should go."

Scar grit his teeth. "We just need to give these guys some food, and we'll be good to go."

"You don't have anymore," Xisuma said, walking by and dusting his hands off.

"Well, we'll make some more," Scar said. He dug into his pocket and extracted a box, setting it on the ground and opening it.

It was full of dirt.

"That's great and all, Scar," Mumbo said, his frustration growing, "but I don't think an apple tree is gonna grow in less than five minutes. Even with bonemeal."

"Then you would be thinking wrong," Scar replied. He put out his hands, and Mumbo watched, stunned, as golden and emerald sparks flew from his fingertips. A small sprout emerged from the soil; it grew, and grew, and the smallest apple tree Mumbo had ever seen sat in the middle of the hall.

Large red fruits dangled from the branches, and people surged forwards to pluck one from the tree. When one disappeared, it didn't take long for another to grow.

X and Scar quickly grabbed both of Mumbo's hands and pulled him towards the door. The world spun around him for a second, the lack of physical activity while stuck in a cell dragging on him obviously.

"Wait," he panted, grabbing onto X's shoulder to keep steady. "A little slower."

"We have to go," X murmured.

"I know," Mumbo said, squeezing his eyes shut. "I just- have no energy."

Scar offered his arm for Mumbo to lean on, which he took gratefully. X backed up, took a breath, and then kicked the door down. Swirls of golden admin magic accompanied his boot as it dented the flimsy metal. He touched the edges of the dent, and sparks quickly dissolved the edges. A hole formed just large enough for the three of them when they crouched.

A dozen guards looked up, very caught off guard.

X and Scar leapt into action. Mumbo covered his head and crouched in the corner.

"Mumbo, it's over," X said with a chuckle. Mumbo looked up and sighed as he saw the guards littered over the floor. "Let's go."

They helped Mumbo up and the group half ran out of the room.

And then it was a mad dash for the door. Perhaps escaping through the main entrance wasn't the best idea, but as X and Scar deflected attacks and shielded Mumbo, it worked for now. Adrenaline pumped through Mumbo's veins, and he darted for the door, body slamming it open.

There was a shout further down, and then a rumble as a few dozen prisoners leapt through the hole that X had made. X and Scar used the distraction to drag Mumbo down the road and into an alley.

There was a moment as the group took a second to breathe.

"Are you okay?" X asked finally as they sat down against the wall. The streets were fairly empty. The world seemed to be painted in gray, and Scar and Xisuma's brightly colored outfits stook out like sore thumbs.

"Yeah," Mumbo said breathlessly. "Have you- you guys seen Grian?"

"No," Scar said with a furrow of his brow. "We were hoping you knew where he was."

~~~

Grian winced as Xayla helped him stand. He almost immediately fell forward on to his face, groaning when Xayla caught him.

"I can't do this," he groaned. "I can't walk without the wings. It's so weird not having their weight."

"I know," she said sympathetically. She handed him two crutches, attaching the cuffs to his forearms. "But this meeting is important. Once you've healed up a bit more, I can help with a spell or two that might add an imaginary weight to your back, which should help you walk. But we have to do this first."

Grian only sighed in response, digging the ends of the crutches into the ground and leaning heavily on the handles. He still felt weirdly unbalanced, as if someone had put him in a slingshot and had pulled it back, but not quite released it yet.

Not to mention the stinging pain in his back; Xayla had given him some painkillers, but he was still aware of the throb. They slowly made their way down the hall, passing a few Listeners. Some nodded their heads in respect. One person even bowed; Xayla had laughed and nodded back. Grian had smiled too.

They finally reached the door. Xayla gave him a light pat on the shoulder. "It'll be fine. Remember you have more power than any of them."

Grian smiled awkwardly. "Yeah."

She knocked.

"Come in."

Xayla pushed open the door. Grian straightened up (as far as he possibly could) at the sight of the people sitting at the end of a long wooden table. He bowed his head. The other people in the room murmured to each other.

"Hello, Xelqua," one of them said. He looked to be rather young, with pure white hair. All Watchers had either black or white hair.

Grian shivered. "You can call me Grian. I prefer not to use the other one."

The Listener nodded. "Of course. I'm Xerion. This is Xenex-" he waved to the man on his right- "and this is Xorial." He motioned to the woman on his left. "Now, I believe we'd like to hear anything you've learned so far."

There... wasn't much that Grian had found out. He had been in a completely isolated world from the Watcher universe for a while, and then had come back to be trapped in a dark cell.

"No," Xenex interjected. Kleenex, Grian thought to himself and suppressed a smile. "Let's just hear everything from the beginning, so we don't miss anything that could potentially be important."

Grian faltered. "From... the very beginning?"

Kleenex nodded, leaning forward. "Xe- Grian, I'm sure you know that you're a very special person." Grian felt the gazes of everyone in the room. "You have power and skill sets that no one else does. I'm sure... I'm sure that the Leaders told this to you."

The cold pinprick of metal in his wrists. The beeping. The cluck of Xeluph's tongue.

"So start from the beginning. From the beginning of your life. How did your powers work? How did you gain them? Tell us everything." Kleenex's gaze bore into Grian's.

Cold sweat dripped down Grian's neck. He stood before the people he had turned his back on, legs barely able to hold his weight up, expected to pour his entire life story out?

Didn't seem fair.

But...

When was life ever fair to Grian?

So he took a breath and started from the top.

thank you for reading! have a good day or night, wherever you are!

-Ete