The skulk’s presence grew stronger the deeper into the city they got. Cub could feel the veins winding their way around his limbs, felt the skulk itself sticking to him and dripping from his fingers again, hear the sounds of Wardens dying and Vex shrieking. Rot filled his nostrils.
He turned back to make sure Tango and the High Priest were still following. Tango startled as he caught sight of Cub, backing away slowly. The High Priest was eyeing Cub cautiously, hands clearly ready to summon Vexes if necessary.
"Are you okay, Cubby? What’s going on?" Tango said.
"Oh I’m fine, Tango, why wouldn’t I be?" Cub said.
"Oh, no reason, just seeing the skulk growing all over you, I’m sure that’s fine, right?" Tango said.
"Well, you wanted Wardens for Decked Out, right? They like the idea of all the death. They just hate that you’re a Vex," Cub said. Kk
"But you’re a Vex too! How do I know all of that-" Tango gestured at Cub, "won’t happen to me too?"
Cub walked over to him and Tango shied away at his glowing eyes and how utterly unlike himself he seemed. Cub took his hand. His skin felt cold and slimy and his eyes were just hypnotic.
"I am Vex, I am skulk, they are here, Tango. They are here for you too!" Cub said as he pulled Tango forward towards a large area of skulk.
Tango could see the skulk moving but Cub’s grip was too strong. The skulk was already covering his boots and veins were winding their way up his legs. "Cubby, no! Not like this! I thought you said there was a mother plant!"
Cub grinned wickedly as he pulled Tango further into the skulk. "I’m the mother plant, Tango, and the skulk are happy to have you!"
"No! No! Not like this!"
Tango couldn’t move. He heard Vexes shrieking and the High Priest summoning. Cub stood there covered in skulk, watching as Tango struggled and failed to get free. The stench of the skulk was almost overwhelming now but Cub seemed impenetrable to the Vexes sent to harm him. They all seemed to shriek and retreat as soon as they touched him, as if the skulk was burning them.
The High Priest’s angry eyes bore right into Cub as he turned to him, skulk veins extending from his outstretched hand. "Traitor! Black fire! Your masters will hear of this betrayal!"
Cub laughed. "I’m sorry, High Priest."
Tango didn’t quite grasp what was happening, but Cub knew. He pulled the High Priest into h to the skulk and watched him be dragged under, the Vexes he’d summoned chasing after him and meeting a similar fate.
"Cub, did you just kill him?!" Tango said as he vanished from view.
Cub simply shrugged. "He’s not a Vex. You, on the other hand, very much are, and the skulk are so happy to find another so sympathetic to their cause."
Tango could feel something inside his head, something that wasn’t the Vex. Something icy and cold crawling it’s way up his spine, and a voice he would never forget.
Your hands reek of all the death you will cause! The skulk will spread far and wide with your work!
"No! I didn’t- not like this! Cubby, please, not like this!" Tango cried as the infestation got under his skin.
Cub was right in his face then and touched his cheek, leaving skulk behind. He kissed him softly, and Tango froze, too many things flooding his brain all at once.
"Oh, Tango, this is only the beginning of what we can achieve in this world!" Cub said. "Now, come on, don’t fight it. Let the mother plant birth another child into the world."
8 notes
·
View notes
Abandoned by the man whose legacy you helped build, whose reputation you defended in the face of scrutiny and scorn from everyone you knew, whose dream you believed in even when he himself doubted it, whose family you safeguarded without complaint and with the utmost loyalty. A man you looked up to, a man you held so high he blotted out the stars, your man, your Albrecht.
Not knowing why he left, why he asked you to make sure he never comes back, why he didn't say those simple words, not once.
Why, why, why.
But knowing that he didn't take you with him. He left you behind, alone and burdened by all the responsibilities you've shouldered for him in your long years together, so everlastingly committed to him that you would not dare betray him, even in your bitterness. Waking up to find your entire world gone, and needing, despite everything, to still be in service to him, his plan, his ideals.
Were you ever good enough? Or were you just useful?
But you still fought for him, for what you built together and what he-you believe in, you fought for that one sliver of hope that one day, somehow, he'll come back, and tell you he loves you. You devoted every fibre of your being to upholding that legacy, that dream. His and your dream.
And then you find out he left because of you. Albrecht loved you so much that he chose to sacrifice himself, the one you hold most precious, so he can save you. And it still wasn't enough. You are worlds apart, fighting the same foe, with no certainty that it'll be enough, no guarantee of success. But you still have to try.
211 notes
·
View notes