wwait woah ?! jjust realized that diluc drabble hit 100+ notes 😦😦😦 hhello ???

Reunion

 The undead monstrosity that overpowered the unlikely trio had begun to loom over them. 

Laddegus couldn't feel his feet, nor one of his arms, and Gieg couldn't risk losing much more of himself and was hiding to try and at least save his lover's core. Even after the dreaded Chromidas had wandered onto the scene after tailing the duo, it had been knocked flat on its back by the might of the creature, even having its bandages torn asunder from the jagged blade-like bone that coated its arm and was unresponsive. As Laddegus looked up in horror, all he could do was try to crawl away. It pinned him down with its foot and snarled at him. But after hearing Laddegus scream in pain, Chromidas snapped awake. As it scrambled to its feet and took its blade in hand, It didn't snarl. It didn't scream. It yelled.

"LEAVE. HIM. ALONE."

It punctuated each word with a heavy, unnaturally fast slash of its blade, as if it had the weight of a feather. The tail. A leg. An arm. Even after the creature had been wounded, Chromidas didn't stop slashing. It cut the sewn-together abomination into finer, indescernible shreds than it had been assembled from, its clodded blood staining the bare grass outside the castle it had emerged from.

As Laddegus turned around to see what had been going on, he and by extension Gieg, saw the sight. The hunter only turned to face them after it was sure the monster had truly stopped moving, and unwittingly gave them a good look at its face.

 The bandaged hunter in dried-blood-brown armor had finally been unmasked. But the glimpse of a face underneath did not fill Laddegus or Gieg with terror. Not entirely, at least.

Faded blue hair, with a face split down the middle; one side with typical grey skin and a functioning orange eye. The other resembling dried carrion with teeth protruding from the lipline and a grotesque amount of eyes, with only the centermost one focusing on the two while the rest appeared to spiral around in the socket to allow it to move.

Within Laddegus and Gieg, a memory resurfaced. And together, they had uttered something under their breath.

"...Chromad?"

Its single antenna seemed to perk up at this name. And then droop as it covered the mutilated side of its face with its claw. With its free hand, it pointed to Laddegus...

"b... rothhh...er."

...and to the bracer containing Gieg.

"s-...sol...lan."

Laddegus, very slowly, crawled towards it before sitting upright. Gieg disengaged to help try and piece the archlich back together as they... tried to, at least, talk.

"I... We were siblings, the two of us."

A weak nod.

"What... happened?"

"c-... cant... remmemrrrrrh..." it growled as it clutched its head.

"... That is fine. We can help you sort through it later once we get you hel-"

"NNNNRRRRNGHG... Nnno."

"...I'm, sorry?"

"Nno. C-cant. risk, it. Can't. Think."

They shuddered before abruptly slamming their head into the dirt and growling in pain to themselves to nurse a headache. Laddegus winced.

"Looks like they're pretty messed up." Gieg noted, reattaching Laddegus's feet. "Whatever attacked 'em must've given them some kinda virus. I could try to take a look if y-"

"RRRRRRRRRRR" Chromad growled loud enough to wake the dead, causing Gieg to scramble behind Laddegus like a frightened cat.

"okay noted ill stay away"

The archlich gave his boyfriend a reassuring scratch behind the horns before turning his attention back to his sibling. He didn't remember that much of them yet, but he recognized the gentle choking noise as their way of stifling a sob.

"You... you do not have to hide like this. We can get you help."

"...nno, jeod... i... ddeserv... this..."

The archlich's eyes dimmed. "I... why would anyone deserve this?"

Chromad raked their claws against the dirt as they slowly sat back up. A green-ish fluid formed beneath their good eye. "ff...failed. to s-ssssave, our town. nnothing. lrft." As they looked back up at him, they noticed he'd brought his hands stretched out to his sides. It took them a moment to process this as their eye twitched. They collapsed and hugged him, limp at first, before tightening their embrace.

"Whether you feel you've failed or not... I know now you are still my sibling. And I am glad to know you are still among us."

Gieg curled up where he was, staring away from the two. It was then that he noticed a trembling claw, palm turned upward, reaching towards him slowly. His forest-green eyes darted over to it before hesitantly, but ultimately, leaning his head into their hand.

"sss...srry. fr y-yelling."

"...It's fine." he said. "You've, probably had enough demons messing with your body for a lifetime." His speech gave way to a low, gravelly hum as they gently ran the knuckles of their hand down his back.

The three sat there for a while as the sun began to set. Though they would eventually have to part ways, they took solace in knowing that they had finally met eachother once again, as a family.

JHB '81 Episode 28 as a series of incoherent Discord messages

Episode 28

[8:12 PM]Jang Suk Won woke up from the whipping

[8:12 PM]She fell intoa deep sleep

[8:12 PM]Inhyeon hears about it

[8:12 PM]Inhyeon: Is Suk Won awake? What a relief?

[8:13 PM]Kim Suk Ui: I told you, you don't have to worry

[8:13 PM]Inhyeon: Why shouldn't I worry about her if she fainted?

[8:13 PM]Suk Ui: She's faking for sure

[8:13 PM]Inhyeon: Even if she did, whipping her was too much

[8:13 PM]Suk Ui:No, that was well done!

[8:13 PM]Inhyeon: Jang Suk Won served the King way before all of us

[8:14 PM]If I were her, I'd react the same

[8:14 PM]Suk Ui: So you're saying I have to visit her instead?

[8:14 PM]Inhyeon: Yes

[8:14 PM]Suk Ui: No! I'm way higher than her!

[8:15 PM]Inhyeon: That's exactly why you should do it

[8:15 PM]Suk Ui: But she's from a different party!

[8:15 PM]"We must beat her"

[8:16 PM]Inhyeon glares, Kim Suk Ui leaves

[8:16 PM]Lady Oh: I'm afraid we've brought in a tiger

[8:16 PM]Inhyeon: Nonsense

[8:16 PM]"did the Grand Dowager hear about this?"

[8:16 PM]Lady Oh: Yes, she was quite displeased

[8:17 PM]Sukjong is waiting at Ok Jeong's bedside

[8:17 PM]Suk Ui's chambers

[8:18 PM]Suk Ui: He's still at her beside? the wicked wench

[8:18 PM]"She fainted on purpose, even her sleeping is on purpose"

[8:18 PM]"And yet the Queen tells me to bear it - she's so stupid"

[8:18 PM]"Now go spy on Jang Suk Won more!"

[8:19 PM]Ok Jeong finally wakes up

[8:19 PM]Sukjonog: I'm sorry you had to go tnrough succh humiliation

[8:20 PM]"If the Queen weren't so nice, it could;ve been worse for you"

[8:20 PM]Ok Jeong: I'd rather be thrown out

[8:20 PM]"I'd rather die than hear you'd never visit me again!"

[8:21 PM]Sukjong: It was a moment of anger, yet I hurt you so much

[8:21 PM]"I should know you'd be a little jealous, yet I hurt you with my words - I regret it"

[8:21 PM]"I was rash"

[8:21 PM]Ok Jeong: Now I can die with no regrets!

[8:22 PM]Sukjong: Why would you die? When I love youso much?

[8:22 PM]Ok Jeong: I'm so pitiful

[8:23 PM]"You'd leave me for a minister's daughter because I was a nameless court maid"

[8:23 PM]"Because she was selected but I was favored..."

[8:24 PM]"I'm nothihng compared to someone who had a full marriage (The Queen)"

[8:24 PM]"But even if I'm the lowest concubine, I served you first"

[8:24 PM]"Yet they want to order me around!"

[8:24 PM]Sukjong: What SukUi did was terrible!

[8:25 PM]"Adn it's all the Noron and Soron's fault!"

[8:25 PM]"I regret throwing out the Southerners instead of just Heo JEok"

[8:25 PM]Ok Jeong: Someone will hear-

[8:25 PM]Sukjong: If it was Heo Jeok's granddaughter instead of Kim Su HAng's, ,she'd have never done that to you

[8:26 PM]"I'll give you anything you want"

[8:26 PM]Ok Jeong: Please raise my rank to So Ui (Upper 2nd Rank, one above Kim Suk Ui)

[8:27 PM]"Please promote Prince Dongpyeong and Jo Sa Seok too"

[8:27 PM]"Please move my chambers, somewhere far away from the Queen and Kim Suk Ui"

[8:27 PM]Sukjong: No problem, I'll give you your own hall

[8:28 PM]Ok Jeong: The Court wouldn't allow it, please build it secretly

[8:28 PM]Mor escandalous hugging

[8:28 PM]Kim Suk Ui is abandoned byt he King and spends her nights alone

[8:28 PM]Jang Suk Won is back in favor

[8:28 PM]Jo SA Seok and Ok JEong's mom visit

[8:29 PM]Mom: "You look so happy"

[8:29 PM]Jo Sa Seok: "Rumor has it Kim Suk Ui's been abandoned"

[8:29 PM]Ok Jeong: That's right

[8:30 PM]Mom: I can't believe it

[8:30 PM]Ok Jeong: Me neither!

[8:30 PM]"I have good news. The King is thinking of bringing back the Soutthereners"

[8:31 PM]She tells them what happened

[8:31 PM]Jo Sa Seok: Then we'll be back in power soon?

[8:31 PM]Ok Jeong: How long has it been since we pledged to share fortune and misfortune together? It'sll be worth it now

[8:32 PM]Inhyeon's mom is here to see Inhyeon

[8:32 PM]Inhyeon's mom: "You seem ill. Are the rumors true?"

[8:33 PM]Inhyeon: I should've never chosen Kim Suk Ui, now she's in such distress

[8:33 PM]"Suk Won is full of resentment"

[8:33 PM]"Think of if her son was on the Throne, the nation would fall into disaster!"

[8:33 PM]"I'm not trying to stop her out of personal jealousy!"

[8:33 PM]Her mom: Don't lose hope

[8:34 PM]Inhyeon: I must have a Prince, be it mine or Kim SukUi's

[8:34 PM]But I'm afraid it'll be JAng Suk Won's!

[8:35 PM]KKim Suk Ui's taken up drinking

[8:35 PM]"My situation is so pathetic"

[8:35 PM]"The King liked me so much"

[8:35 PM]"I was a Minister's granddaughter, how'd I end up becoming a concubine?'

[8:35 PM]Lady Go: What if someone hears?

[8:36 PM]Kim Suk Ui: I don't care, I have nothing to lose now

[8:36 PM]"I should've never entered the Palace"

[8:36 PM]"I resent everyone involved"

[8:36 PM]"I hate the Queen so much!"

[8:37 PM]"If it weren'nt for the Queen, why would I endure such humiliation?"

[8:37 PM]"I'm the highest concubine in the Palace rn, but what use is it?"

[8:37 PM]"I hate the King even more!"

[8:37 PM]"He once told me to have a Prince as soon as possible"

[8:37 PM]"Let me drink!"

[8:38 PM]Lady Go: Please maintain your dignity!

[8:38 PM]Kim Suk Ui: I won't leave Jang Suk Won alone, I'll make her cry blood!

[8:39 PM]Lady Go: They're building a new building in secret, it might be for Jang Suk Won

[8:39 PM]Kim Suk Ui: !!!

[8:39 PM]Kim Suk Ui runs to Inhyeon

[8:39 PM]and tells her everything

[8:39 PM]"I'm so frustrated!"

[8:40 PM]Inhyeon hadn't heard about the construction, which I find weird

[8:40 PM]"They're already halfway done!"

[8:40 PM]"Are you going to just sit and watch? We have to get rid of Jangn Suk Won!"

[8:41 PM]"The King could easily build somethig if he wanted to, why build it so secretly unless it was for Jang Suk Won?"

[8:41 PM]Inhyeon: I can't lose my dignity or the King's just because I hate Suk Won

[8:41 PM]Suk Ui: He's making a big mistake!

[8:41 PM]"Please talk to your father and get the Court to support you"

[8:41 PM]"What are you hesitating for?"

[8:42 PM]Inhyeon: t's nont my duty to disclose Palace matters to the Court

[8:42 PM]Song Shi Yeol andt he Noron find out

[8:42 PM]"Whys he spending so much on a concubine's chambers?"

[8:42 PM]"It's the end of times!"

[8:43 PM]Min Jeong Jung: Please stop him

[8:43 PM]"And have him throw Jang Suk Won out"

[8:43 PM]Song Shi Yeol: IT's not so easy

[8:43 PM]Min Yu Jung: Let's use the fact that her uncle was exiled during the 1680 Purge

[8:44 PM]A criminal's relativevv can't be a concubine

[8:44 PM]Min Jeong Jung: Her mother's also involved with Jo Sa Seok

[8:44 PM]Song Shi Yeol: Okay, let's use that

[8:45 PM]Lady Cheon's eavesdropping on Lady Oh

[8:45 PM]Ok Jeong finds out

[8:45 PM]Sukjong decides to go to Ok Jeong's chambers

[8:46 PM]Ok Jeong hurriedly packs away monk robes

[8:46 PM]Sukjong: What's that?

[8:46 PM]Ok JEong: Nnothing~

[8:46 PM]Sukjong: How strange that you have monk;s robes

[8:46 PM]Let me tell you a story...

[8:47 PM]Story's about Kim Bo Seong, who brought a new woman home every night

[8:47 PM]His wife sewed monk's robes to threaten to leave or something like that

[8:48 PM]Ther is no point ot the story, he continued bringing woemn home

[8:48 PM]Ok JEong immediately starts crying

[8:48 PM](I would too lmao that's such a shitty story)

[8:48 PM]Ok Jeong:Well I'mm going to be a monk too

[8:49 PM]"I'm so distressed!"

[8:49 PM]Sukjogn:What's going on?

[8:49 PM]Ok Jeong: The Court's talking about throwing me out bc my uncle got exiled in 1680

[8:49 PM]"I'm not worthy to be a concubine"

[8:50 PM]"Rules are rules, I'll leave and-"

[8:50 PM]Sukjong: I know your uncle's exile was my mother's fault

[8:50 PM]"I'll just exonerate him"

[8:50 PM]Ok Jeonng: "They're saying my mother's involved with Jo Sa Seok too"

[8:51 PM]"My mother's being framed!"

[8:51 PM]"I should just go to a monastery"

[8:51 PM]"If you love me, please throw me out!"

[8:52 PM]Back at Sukjong's hall

[8:52 PM]He gets the first appeal talking about this from

[8:52 PM]an official

[8:52 PM]Sukjong yeets all the appeals

[8:52 PM]Jangryeol hears about the appeals

[8:53 PM]The appeal says something like "the people are screaming to throw the criminal out"

[8:53 PM]Inhyeon hears about all this

[8:54 PM]Kim Suk Ui hears about it

[8:54 PM]The Southerners hear about it

[8:54 PM]The Noron keep planning

[8:54 PM]Jang Suk Won is planning too

[8:55 PM]Right, it was Lee Jing Myeong who sent the appeal, as well as Lee Guk HWa

[8:55 PM]They both impeached JAng Suk Won

[8:55 PM]End of episode

THE AMBULANCE ATTENDANTS ASKED MY mother if Steve was diabetic or epileptic. She wasn't sure but didn't think so. They also asked about allergies and everything, but she explained that she wasn't his mother and didn't know. I thought they'd take us with them in the ambulance, but they said there wasn't room. They got Steve's phone number and the name of his mom, but she wasn't home. One of the attendants asked my mother if she'd follow them to the hospital, to fill out as many of the forms as she could, so they could make a start. She agreed and bundled me and Annie into the car. Dad still wasn't home, so she called him on his cell phone to explain where we'd be. He said he'd come right over. That was a miserable ride. I sat in the back, trying not to meet Annie's eye, knowing I should tell the truth, but too afraid to. What made it even worse was, I knew if I was the one lying in a coma, Steve would own up immediately. "What happened in there?" Mom asked over her shoulder. She was driving as fast as she could without breaking the speed limit, so she wasn't able to look back at me. I was glad: I don't think I could have lied straight to her face. "I'm not sure," I said. "We were chatting. Then I had to go to the bathroom. When I got back..." "You didn't see anything?" she asked. "No," I lied, feeling my ears reddening with shame. "I can't understand it," she muttered. "He felt so stiff and his skin was turning blue. I thought he was dead." "I think he was bitten," Annie said. I almost gave her a dig in the ribs, but at the last second remembered I was depending on her to keep my secret. "Bitten?" Mom asked. "There were a couple of marks on his neck," Annie said. "I saw them," Mom said. "But I don't think that's it, dear." "Why not?" Annie asked. "If a snake or a... spider got in and bit him..." She glanced over at me and blushed a little, recalling her promise. "A spider?" Mom shook her head. "No, dear, spiders don't go around biting people and sending them into shock, not around here." "So what was it?" Annie asked. "I'm not sure," Mom replied. "Maybe he ate something that didn't agree with him, or had a heart attack." "Children don't have heart attacks," Annie retorted. "They do," Mom said. "It's rare, but it can happen. Still, the doctors will sort all that out. They know more about these things than we do." I wasn't used to hospitals, so I spent some time looking around while Mom was filling out the forms. It was the whitest place I'd ever seen: white walls, white floors, white uniforms. It wasn't very busy but there was a buzz to the place, a sound of bed springs and coughing, machines humming, doctors speaking softly. We didn't say much while sitting there. Mom said Steve had been admitted and was being examined but it might be a while before they discovered what was wrong. "They sounded optimistic," she said. Annie was thirsty, so Mom sent me with her to get drinks from the machine around the corner. Annie glanced around while I was putting in the coins, to make sure nobody could overhear. "How long are you going to wait?" she asked. "Until I hear what they have to say," I told her. "We'll let them examine him. Hopefully they'll know what sort of poison it is and be able to cure him by themselves." "And if they can't?" she asked. "Then I tell them," I promised. "What if he dies before that?" she asked softly. "He won't," I said. "But what if..." "He won't!" I snapped. "Don't talk like that. Don't even think like that. We have to hope for the best. We must believe he will pull through. Mom and Dad have always told us good thoughts help make sick people better, haven't they? He needs us to believe in him." "He needs the truth more," she grumbled, but let the matter drop. We took the drinks back to the couch and drank in silence. Dad arrived not long after, still in his work clothes. He kissed Mom and Annie and squeezed my shoulder. His dirty hands left grease marks on my T-shirt, but that didn't bother me. "Any news?" he asked. "None yet," Mom said. "They're examining him. It could be hours before we hear anything." "What happened to him, Angela?" Dad asked. "We don't know yet," Mom said. "We'll have to wait and see." "I hate waiting," Dad grumbled, but since he had no other choice, he had to, the same as the rest of us. Nothing else happened for a couple of hours, until Steve's mom arrived. Her face was white like Steve's, and her lips were pinched together. She made straight for me, grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me hard. "What have you done to him?" she screeched. "Have you hurt my boy? Have you killed my Steve?" "Hey! Stop that!" Dad gasped. Steve's mom ignored him. "What have you done?" she screamed again, and shook me even harder. I tried to say NNothing? but my teeth were clattering. "What have you done? What have you done?" she repeated, then suddenly stopped shaking me, let go, and collapsed to the floor, where she bawled like a baby. Mom got off the couch and crouched beside Mrs. Leonard. She stroked the back of her head and whispered soothing words to her, then helped her up and sat down with her. Mrs. Leonard was still crying, and was now moaning about what a bad mother she'd been and how much Steve hated her." "You two go and play somewhere else," Mom said to Annie and me. We started away. "Darren," Mom called me back. "Don't pay attention to what she was saying. She doesn't blame you. She's just afraid." I nodded miserably. What would Mom say if she knew Mrs. Leonard was right and I was to blame? Annie and me found a couple of video games to keep us busy. I didn't think I'd be able to play but after a few minutes I forgot about Steve and the hospital and got caught up in the games. It was nice to slip away from the worries of the real world for a while, and if I hadn't run out of quarters, I might have stayed there all night. When we returned to the waiting room, Mrs. Leonard had calmed down and was off with Mom, filling out forms, Annie and I sat and the waiting began all over again. Annie began yawning about ten o'clock and that set me off, too. Mom took one look at us and ordered us home. I started to argue but she cut me short. "You can't do any good here," she said. "I'll call as soon as I hear anything, even if it's the middle of the night, okay?" I hesitated. This would be my final chance to mention the spider. I came very close to spilling the beans, but I was tired and couldn't find the words. "Okay," I said glumly, then left. Dad drove us home. I wondered what he'd do if I told him about the spider, Mr. Crepsley, and the rest. He would have punished me, I'm sure, but that's not why I didn't tell him: I kept quiet because I knew he'd be ashamed of the way I'd lied and put my own well-being before Steve's. I was afraid he'd hate me. Annie was asleep by the time we got home. Dad lifted her in from the backseat and took her to bed. I walked slowly up to my room and got undressed. I kept cursing myself under my breath. Dad looked in as I was putting my clothes away. "Will you be okay?" he asked. I nodded. "Steve will recover," he said. "I'm sure of it. The doctors know their stuff. They'll bring him around." I nodded again, not trusting myself to answer. Dad stood in the doorway a moment longer, then sighed, left, and stomped downstairs to his study. I was hanging my pants up in the closet when I noticed Madam Octa's cage. Slowly, I pulled it out. She was lying in the middle, breathing easily, calm as ever. I studied the colorful spider and wasn't impressed by what I saw. She was bright, yes, but ugly and hairy and nasty. I began to hate her. She was the real villain, the one who bit Steve for no good reason. I had fed her and cared for her and played with her. This was how she repaid me. "You stupid monster!" I snarled, shaking the cage. "You ungrateful creep!" I gave the cage another shake. Her legs gripped the bars tightly. This made me madder and I yanked the cage roughly from side to side, trying to make her lose her grip, hoping to hurt her. I spun in a circle, whirling the cage around by the handle. I was swearing, calling her every name under the sun, wishing she was dead, wishing I'd never set eyes on her, wishing I had the guts to take her out of the cage and squeeze her to death. Finally, as my rage reached its boiling point, I hurled the cage as far away from me as possible. I wasn't looking where I was throwing, and got a shock when I saw it sail through the open window and out into the night. I watched it flying away, then hurried after it. I was scared it would hit the ground and break open, because I knew if the doctors weren't able to save Steve by themselves, they might be able to with the help of Madam Octa: if they studied her, they might find out how to cure him. But if she escaped... I rushed to the window. I was too late to grab for the cage but at least I could see where it landed. I watched as it floated out and down, praying it wouldn't break. It seemed to take forever to fall. Just before it hit the ground, a hand darted out from the shadows of the night and snatched it from the air. A hand?! I leaned forward quickly for a better view. It was a dark night and at first I couldn't see who was down there. But then the person stepped forward and all was revealed. First, I saw his wrinkly hands holding the cage. Then his long red clothes. Then his cropped orange hair. Then his long ugly scar. And, finally, his sharp toothy grin. It was Mr. Crepsley. The vampire. And he was smiling up at me!