A Disaster of Fugitives - an MCYT D&D AU fanfiction

13: Doc

...and what's better than an angsty chapter than an even angstier one of reactions after?

:)))

Grian's going to die.

It doesn't matter what I do. I don't have the materials or spells to help him. All I can do is try and comfort him as he lies in front of me, dying.

'Doc.' He forces out my name, fumbling to remove the canary necklace. I can only shake my head, tears blurring my real eye. 'Give... Give this to Tango. Tell him about Tim.' He breaks into another bout of deadly, bloody coughing. There's nothing I can do.

'You'll be ok...' I lie. He knows it's a lie. There's nothing else I can say.

'No... No... Just... give this to Tango. Tell him I'm sorry. Tell Joel sorry. What- what happened... Get Scar back... Get Scar back...'

'NO!'

'CUB, CALM DOWN!' I glance up to where Cub's still fighting against Ren and Martyn. Trying to get to the boat sailing away. 'PLEASE! WE'RE GOING TO GET HIM BACK!'

'Doc...' I return focus to Grian. 'Doc... Goodbye...'

'No... No you're not... This isn't the end.' I take his hand as he tries to give me the necklace. 'Grian, hold on... Hold on please...'

But he's already dead.

'GRIAN!'

'What HAPPENED out here? Why is everyone shouting?! Is the other boat gone?' Joey the coward interrupts, Scott and Lizzie close behind. I look over, taking Jimmy's canary necklace as I slowly rise to my feet. Cub's fury shifts.

'You... You let them-'

'SIR! We didn't do anything!' Retorts Joey. 'You lied to us about who you were... You brought this upon yourself!'

'Cub... Don't do anything...' I hear Martyn mutter, struggling to hold back the tiefling 'Please. Don't. Don't do anything.'

'Grian's dead.' I have to say. 'Your BOYFRIEND'S crew killed him.'

'He was lying to us! Constantly!'

I don't see when it happens, but one moment Cub's held back, the next he's running at Joey,  pinning him to the wall, hands around his neck.

'CUB STOP!' Ren runs forwards to stop him. 'CUB THIS ISN'T HIS FAULT!'

'YOU COULD'VE HELP US! YOU COULD'VE SAVED HIM!'

'GET AWAY FROM HIM YOU PSYCHOPATH OH MY GODS!' Scott finally manages to produce actual words, shoving Cub away. Joey falls to the ground, massaging his neck. The tiefling growls back.

'Scar's gone. Grian's dead. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill this coward too.

'We're going to get Scar back!' Ren insists. I just watch. Joey could've helped. All of them could've. It's their fault this happened.

'Seriously... Just step back, breathe... We'll get him back when we're all calm and rational...'

Joey stands, pointing to the water.

'Get off my ship, sir. You've caused enough problems already. Find your friend. Drown. I don't care. You're the only reason they even came here.'

Cub punches Joey.

'I know! I KNOW it's my fault! This is all my fault! If I hadn't... I... I'm sorry.'

Unable to elaborate, he pushes past Scott and Joey, disappearing inside and slamming the door behind.

'He's right. This is your fault. You could've helped.' I spit. 'Instead of hiding.'

'We should've left y'all in Seadragon Port to be captured by Bdubs.' Mumbles Joey furiously through his nosebleed. 'Criminals aren't worth it.'

'Alright, I've had enough of this. Give us some respect or get off the deck.' Martyn snaps. 'You two can swim... I should hope you can too, since you're a sailor, but I don't care if you can't, you're all going overboard in a minute unless you learn some respect.'

'We never wanted this!' Scott insists.

'Grian is DEAD! Scar's been taken captive by the same people who hurt him before! Believe me, we didn't want this either.'

'Lizzie, come on. I'm not arguing with them and risking another tiefling trying to kill us.' I watch as the two tritons jump off the boat back into the water. Joey's left glaring at us before storming below deck.

Me, Ren and Martyn are left in silence.

I crouch next to Grian again, unable to fight my sobs. The two bards approach.

'I'm glad they decided to go... Hitting people with guitars is a lot of mess to clean up. Believe me.'

I can't even smile at Martyn's humour. The one person in the party who understood about Beef... Gone. Dead. Just like that. Ren puts an arm around my shoulder until I shake it off, standing.

'I need time alone... Tell me if anything happens, ok?'

'Alright, dude. Take it easy.'

Wary of Cub, I creak open the cabin door enough to peer in. He stops crying, glaring over from where he's curled up on his bed. But his gaze softens upon seeing it's just me, turning away again. I take my own, staring into the middle distance unable to stop seeing Grian there. And Beef... Cub's crying again. I see a flash of fur, realising it must be Jellie. Scar's cat.

I bury my head in my hands, unable to look any longer. We need to get him back. We've got a week until they kill him anyway. To give them the dragon egg we never had...

We have a week to find the dragon egg, or Scar will die.

But I don't want to give it to them. I don't want to reward them for taking Scar hostage. For killing Grian...

'...Doc?' I look up as Cub speaks. 'Did I... Overreact?'

'No.' I reply honestly. 'They had every opportunity to help us. You were upset about Scar.'

'They didn't cause True to come here.'

'They could've done. Joey and Scott have contact with Xornoth.'

'It's my fault.'

'It isn't. You've done nothing wrong.'

'You don't know what I've done.'

'True wanted the egg. She saw Scar and Grian allegedly had it. They went after us. It's not your fault you knew them before.'

'But...' Cub stops himself saying something. 'But they... I don't know. I could've done more to fight them off. I could've stopped them from taking him. They only knew we were here because I let Xornoth see him.'

'There was nothing you could've done, Cub. Believe me, I know how you feel and it's not your fault. Now get some rest. We're planning how to get Scar back tomorrow.'

'What if we fail?'

'We won't.'

'But what if...'

'We won't.' I repeat. And know I believe it. 'We're getting him back. And won't stop until we do.'

Hehe angst