Ying opened his eyes with a start. He stared for a second, and then blinked a few times. No… this couldnt be right. He was in a room of nothing but darkness. He looked around, and called out into the blackness.
"Hello!?" His voice echoed throughout whatever chamber he was in.
As he looked around, he saw someone standing behind him, not 10 feet away. They looked equally confused, and were staring away from Ying. As he looked closer, he saw that the person standing in front of him was a short young boy, with hair that was half black and half white… Ying's eyes widened as he realized who it was. It was him, only slightly different. The other him's clothes were different, still wearing the old lab coat that the real Ying had thrown into the ooze. Their hair was different too, longer and wrapped up in a ponytail. He called out to himself again, and then suddenly heard a voice from behind him.
Ying swiveled his head around and found himself staring at another version of him. This 3rd Ying had turned to face away from Ying, as if he also heard a voice from behind him. His hair was shorter than the real Ying, ending in an undercut. His clothing was different too, more punk and with pierced ears. That reminded Ying, he still had to pierce his own ears… as Ying examined further, he saw that his alternate selves both made the same movements as him. They moved in unison, perfect replicas of one another. Then… Ying realized something.
He leaned backward, and looked down past his alternate self. he could just barely make it out, but what he saw stunned him to the core. There was an infinite line of him extending off past the horizon, all making the same movements as him. How peculiar. What was going on? He began asking his questions out loud, but to no avail. They all just asked the same questions. He sat down and began to think. What was this place? Why was he here? Why was there more of him? Just as he said that he felt a hand on his left shoulder and whipped his head around to see.
Ying sat straight up in bed and crashed his head directly into Francis's face. Francis reeled in pain, and stumbled backwards. Ying looked around, dazed. He held his head for a second, and then figured it out.
"Ohhhh… it was a dream." He sighed.
Francis began to cry a little as he held his bleeding nose. "Ow ow ow… It really hurts! Why would you do that!?"
Ying's brain snapped back into focus as soon as he saw Francis's pitiful face. He rushed over to help his comrade.
"Shit, I apologize. Are you badly injured?" Ying said, a little anxious.
He wasn't good at comforting people, especially not this human stuffed-animal with a nose bleed.
Francis sniffled a bit and wiped his tears. "I'm okay I think… Could you get some ice?"
Ying sighed with relief and teleported downstairs. He grabbed a bit of ice from the industrial sized freezer and warped back to Francis.
Ying handed Francis the ice shamefully. "Here. This should help with any swelling and perhaps dull the pain."
Francis quickly put the ice on his nose and patted Ying on the shoulder.
"Its okay buddy, stuff happens." Francis reassured Ying. "Wait a second- are you okay? You just collapsed at the nest, we didn't know if you were gonna be alright."
Ying paused for a second as he tried to recall those past events."I've been meaning to ask about that. What happened? How did we get here? How are we alive?"
Before Francis could answer, Ying had answered his own question.
"Adrian." They said in tandem.
"He flew us here?" Ying guessed.
Francis nodded. Ying finally began to understand the situation. He had been flown back here and put in bed until his recovery.
Ying turned to Francis. "Thank you for dragging me all the way up here, I don't know how you got me up that latter but I do appreciate it."
"I didn't drag you up here," Francis said, confused, "you're too heavy for me to carry like that."
Ying was once again completely lost. How did he get here then?
It was as if Francis could hear his thoughts. "I just assumed you teleported yourself up here at some point. How did you get up here?"
If it wasn't Francis, and it wasn't him, then… Ying's mind flashed to Adrian. He must've carried Ying up there. Suddenly, a little trace of… positivity flashed in Ying's mind. As he continued to think about Adrian, how he finally did something good for Ying, he lost a bit of his negativity. His hatred lowered slightly, and he felt a bit of fluttering in his stomach. It all happened in an instant, and Ying quickly tried to kill those feelings as soon as they came about as he often did. However, this time he couldn't manage to snuff them out. He stuffed them down as far as they would go, but that little spark of hope remained.
In those few seconds, Francis watched Ying's expression change over and over. First anger, then softer, almost like hope, then back to anger.
"…You okay?" Francis asked, a little concerned.
Ying shook it off and nodded. "I'm alright. I dont know what caused me to pass out like that, but I seem to be-" As he was speaking, Ying realized something.
Before Ying passed out, he felt indescribable pain in his chest. He put 2 and 2 together and quickly took off his shirt. Francis covered his eyes with one hand as he kept the ice on his nose with the other. Ying stared down at his chest, and his eyes widened with horror. The tumor had grown. Instead of being a small indent where his heart was, it was now much larger. It covered more area, and instead of being faint, it was now extremely prominent.
"Shit…" Ying said through gritted teeth.
"What? What's wrong?…" Francis asked, becoming more worried.
Ying's tone became more serious and concerned. "It looks like that power has a price. My hypothesis is that this… thing can somehow harness the latent energy of the void. While it gives me temporary power, it also allows this tumor to grow. A double edged sword."
"What tumor? What's the void? You're scaring me, darnit!" Francis was beginning to fidget with worry.
Ying quickly put his shirt back on. "Nothing. Dont worry about it, just… science stuff."
Francis calmed down and nodded. "Okay, sounds good. I'm gonna go have lunch."
"Wait- that's it?" Ying asked as Francis began to climb down the ladder. "No questions, suspicions? You're just gonna let it go?"
"Yeah." Francis nodded and smiled. "I mean, it was a little weird, but what do I know about science? That's your specialty. Plus, why would you lie?"
Francis looked at Ying with big, trusting eyes. "We're in this together, right? I trust your word. I hope you can trust me too."
With that, Francis climbed down the ladder out of sight, and Ying began thinking to himself again. Okay, so the tumors were bigger. No problem. The tumor did not cause much of a problem besides cosmetic unpleasantness anyways. And then… Ying felt a rumbling in his stomach.
Suddenly, a wave of hunger began to seep its way into his gut. He clutched his stomach and winced. He hadn't eaten in a long time and he was starving. His body was craving meat more than ever before. He wanted protein, fat, blood. His mind flickered in between images of juicy steaks and crispy bacon. He had been avoiding this meat craving because all the meat in the world had most likely expired by now. If he wanted some, he'd have to kill it himself. He didn't particularly enjoy that idea, but he was beginning to consider it.
For now, he needed to eat something else. Anything else. He headed downstairs and began rummaging through their food supply. Eventually he discovered an untouched bag of beef jerky. His eyes lit up with joy, and he immediately ripped it open. He quickly gobbled down the first piece, and a rush of relief and satisfaction ran through him. He gave a contented sigh as he sat down and continued to munch down the dried beef. It was like heaven. The spices and marinade complimented the meat perfectly. He was about halfway through the bag before a hand ripped the bag away from him.
"The fuck're you doin with my jerky!?" Adrian demanded.
Ying's anger returned as soon as he heard Adrian's voice. "Eating. Or at least I was until you stole my lunch."
Adrian picked Ying up off the ground and set him on his feet before getting in his face.
"This here? This is premium peppered jerky that I was saving, and you ate half the damn bag! Is a man's food not sacred!?"
Ying scowled. "I, was, enjoying that. And if you were a man, I might consider your food 'sacred'. But you're too immature to be a man. You're a childish little boy, fighting over food."
Adrian snickered, and backed off a bit. "Keep your panties on, sunshine. No need for all the hate, just apologize…" Adrian held the bag of beef jerky high in the air tauntingly, "and I'll give it back."
A wicked grin crossed Adrian's lips as Ying grew angrier.
"Why are you such a douche all the time!?" Ying exploded. "I was craving some goddamn protein, I found a snack, you had failed to label it, and I decided to eat it! That's your fault, dont punish me for it! Gimme back the jerky!"
Adrian grabbed at the jerky bag, but Adrian quickly avoided the swipe. Ying growled and teleported above Adrian, reaching for the bag as he did so. Before Ying could get a good hold on the bag, Adrian shoved Ying into the wall and held him there.
"Fuck! Stop doing that, it's freaky!" Adrian yelled in surprise.
Ying quickly blinked out of Adrian's grasp, and gave another grab at the jerky. Adrian dodged again, and quickly began eating what was left of the bag.
"No!! Goddamnit stop it!" Ying hit Adrian a few times, but Ying had never been particularly strong. Before Ying could grab what was left of the jerky, Adrian had finished the bag.
"Oopshie." Adrian said gleefully through a mouthful of peppered jerky.
Ying's hatred returned with a vengeance. That little spark of hope for Adrian inside his heart began to fizzle out and die. All Adrian had to do was not cause a problem for 5 minutes and let Ying satiate his hunger, but he couldn't even manage that? Ying felt his blood beginning to boil over, and he clenched his fist.
Adrian began to laugh. "Awww look who's getting all angwy. Is the wittle scientist gonna-"
Before Adrian could get another word out of his mouth, Ying teleported right in front of him and hit him square in the nose.
"You selfish bastard!" Ying cried as Adrian reeled in pain. "That jerky was gonna hold me over for a while! I was finally gonna get some relief but nooooo! You had to ruin it just like you ruin everything else!"
"Fuck!" Adrian spat. "That punch wasn't bad… goddamn that stings!…"
"Everything you touch goes up in flames, literally and metaphorically!" Ying continued. "Why do you insist on taking and ruining everything that brings joy!?"
Ying shoved him angrily, but only succeeded in pushing himself backwards and making Adrian take a couple steps back. Adrian was surprised at Ying's sudden tenacity.
"The hell's gotten into you?-" Adrian said, his smile fading.
Ying shoved him once more, a little harder this time.
"What, are you surprised someone is standing up to your bullish behavior!?"
Adrian looked Ying up and down angrily. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
Ying finally shoved Adrian into the closest wall. "I can't believe I actually felt thankful to you! You probably just carried me so you could steal from me!"
Adrian's anger faded for a moment, as a look of complete surprise came across his face. His brow softened, and he stood there for a moment just looking at Ying. Ying felt himself pause noticing Adrian's change.
"…You felt thankful to me?" Adrian finally managed to cough out.
Ying's own expression changed as that bright, bubbly feeling returned again. Ying couldn't place his finger on it, but it felt wrong somehow. He shouldn't feel any positivity towards this immature delinquant.
"…Only for a moment." Ying mumbled, his eyes darting to the bottom right.
Adrian felt extremely confused. Thankful? That certainly wasn't what he was expecting. Adrian also felt a small bolt of joy flow through him. He was so used to relishing in others anger or sadness, he had almost forgotten what it was like to be appreciated. Sure, Francis always thanked him for things, but he surely didn't count. Adrian had seen Francis thank a mosquito for not biting him. But this… this was different. He felt himself become lost for words. He didn't have a snarky comeback or a mean comment towards something so sincere. The two stood there in silence for what felt like eternity, until Ying finally broke the silence.
"A-Anyway my point is I shouldn't have been thankful because you suck, and don't warrant any appreciation." Ying said, trying to regain his composure.
"I- uh…" Adrian paused, trying to find some words for the situation.
Instead of speaking, Adrian just flicked Ying in the forehead and walked away.
"Ow! Hey-" Ying started, but Adrian was already gone, and so was the moment.
Ying kept feeling that warm, bubbly feeling after Adrian left. It was only a hint compared to his anger at Adrian, but it was still there, a little prickle of positivity that Ying couldn't name. He stood there for a moment, contemplating what had just happened. His mind kept going back to Adrian's surprised expression. He had never seen Adrian so… relaxed. Adrian's face was always over the top, either smiling like the devil or scowling like a thug. This time though, it was different. After around a minute of pondering, Ying caught himself thinking about Adrian, and kicked himself back into gear. He wouldn't waste another thought on that scumbag.
Ying decided to kick off the day by going about his schedule. He made breakfast and fed Sunflower and her chicks to start. Sunflower's chicks had matured quite a bit. They were still just babies, but they were a lot bigger than when they first hatched.
"Hello, Ms. Sunflower." Ying smiled as he gave her a soft pat.
Sunflower cooed and flapped around a bit. Her babies were all curious to see the new presence in their nest. They pecked and prodded Ying's hand, exploring the new creature. Eventually they seemed to adjust to Ying's presence a bit. In total there were 3 chicks, all with slight variations.
Ying played with the chicks, nudging and petting them lightly. "Awww good to meet you everyone! I'm sure you've heard a lot about me from your mother."
He spent probably 30 minutes out there before heading off to the city to scavenge. His trip was largely uneventful until he got to the old clothing store. He hesitated a bit before heading inside. He still needed one thing from this store. He blinked inside and began looking around. Eventually he found what he was looking for. He found a piercing kit in the back, hidden away in a storage closet.
"Perfect…" He said gleefully.
He was a bit nervous since he didn't know what to do, but luckily there were instructions in the kit. After reading them thoroughly, he positioned himself in front of a mirror. First he doused the needle in rubbing alcohol just to be safe. The instructions said to have another person do it, but he certainly wasn't going to let either of his comrades pierce his ears. He lined it up carefully, braced himself, and…
In a few seconds, it was over. He winced a bit each time, but overall it wasn't that bad compared to the dozens of needles he used to have in his shoulder. He nervously checked his work in the mirror. To his surprise, it looked pretty good. The piercings were symmetrical as far as he could tell. He quickly went and picked out a nice pair of small, abstract looking emerald earrings with beautiful silver cracks running through them. He had to keep a pair of earrings in his ears at all times for a while so his piercings didn't close up. He slowly put them on and eagerly checked the mirror. He was ecstatic. They looked fantastic. He did a few poses in the mirror and gave a huge smile. This is exactly what he needed.
As he was relishing in his newfound good looks, his mind unconsciously wandered back to Adrian. What would he think of the earrings? Would he like them? What if he makes fun of them? What if- Ying shooed those irritating thoughts out and just focused on his earrings. Why did he care about that fool's opinion? Ying didn't care, of course he didn't. Why would he? For now, he was happy.
As he was leaving the store, he felt a horrible feeling wash over him. It was cold and uncomfortable, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He blinked a few times trying to get rid of it, but the feeling remained. Eventually, he figured out what it was. He felt like he was being watched. He looked around, wondering if any gremlins or maybe survivors were eyeing him. No, it couldn't be. The streets were empty- hold on. The streets were… empty? The streets were never empty. They were always crawling with gremlins. Where had they all gone?… out of the corner of his eye, he could've sworn he caught a glimpse of something white, something with long limbs… something with a piercing eye, and long hair… when he turned to look though, it was gone. He was starting to become paranoid, and decided to blink home as quickly as he could.
It was getting late, he had spent plenty of time in town today because he didn't want to go back. Facing Adrian again after their awkward interaction was gonna suck. He knew what was gonna happen, Adrian would poke fun and call Ying names like normal. He decided to just teleport up to his room and avoid the whole thing.
He spent the rest of the day just relaxing, thinking about everything that was going on. What was going on with his tumor? What was that dream he had? What was watching him in town today? And most importantly, what was that feeling he felt with Adrian? He couldn't make sense of any of it. He was so sick of nothing making sense. He wished his brother was with him. His brother was always so emotionally intelligent, whereas Ying was just intelligent. That's why they worked so well together.
Ying covered his face with his hands and collapsed onto his bed. He missed Kadie and he missed his brother. He didn't know what to do, and he couldn't rely on his moronic teammates for anything. The creatures could create their own portals which meant they were most likely screwed. He decided to get some sleep. Hopefully a bit of rest (and
maybe another dream) would help him figure things out.