Cover of Night |A Vampire Mumbo Fic|

Price to Pay

"Grian's soul was taken when he became," Pearl paused, unsure if she should say. Grian looked at her, his eyes full of hurt. Not hurt from what she said, but hurt that this was what he had to deal with. Hurt that only came from loss.

"When I became a Watcher," he said bitterly. Doc's eyes widened.

Grian was nearly blacking out with pure anger. Pure agony. He silently clenched his fists, leaving deep, crimson imprints in his palms. Part of him wondered if the blood would wake Mumbo.

Pearl rested a hand on Grian, and he felt every drop of anger leave him. It was now replaced by bitter sorrow, and an ache in his chest. A few tears fell from his eyes.

"So, what do we do now?" Grian asked quietly. Helplessly.

Scar, who had been standing quietly to the side, stepped forward. "I can do it," he said, his voice sounding much more calm and even than expected.

Grian's head whipped up. "No, no, Scar," he said, "You can't do that."

Scar smiled quietly and rested a hand on Grian's shoulder. "Yes, I can, Grian."

Everyone stood in silence. Grian looked around at everyone, his eyes pleading to them. 'There has to be another way,' he thought desperately, 'Please, there has to be another way.'

Grian slammed his fists on the wall angrily. Stupid Evo Stupid Watchers Stupid Grian StupidStupidStupid-

"Are you sure, Scar?" Doc asked. Scar nodded quietly.

"No, Scar. No!" Grian exclaimed. Scar didn't respond, but instead gave him a small smile.

"Scar," Doc said, "I'm going to ask again. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Scar stood silent for a minute, thinking. Afterwards, he gave Doc a grim nod. "Yes. I'm sure," he responded.

Doc looked at him for a minute, before sighing and nodding. "Alright," he said quietly, "I'll start setting up."

Doc and Pearl left to begin "preparing" for whatever they had planned, leaving Scar and Grian alone in the room.

"Scar," Grian began quietly, "Why are you doing this?" Scar sat quietly for a moment, thinking. "Because," he answered quietly, "I owe it to you."

"You.. what?" Grian asked. "I owe this to you," Scar said again. Grian looked at him questioningly.

"Grian, you have done so much for people," Scar began, "I mean, look at this! You've been taking care of Mumbo for goodness knows how long, even when it was a risk to yourself."

Scar sighed and rested a hand on Grian's shoulder. "Please, just.. let me help you for once. And Mumbo."

A few tears ran down from Grian's eyes. Quietly, he nodded, and Scar gave him a small smile. Pearl stepped into the room and gestured for the two to follow her.

Both Scar and Grian's eyes widened when they entered the room. A table had been cleared and was sitting in the center of the room. Doc stood next to it and made a gesture to Pearl.

Pearl left promptly, returning with what looked to be a shining silver syringe. Scar gulped nervously at the sight of the large needle. Grian, meanwhile, took note of the small, blue tip of the needle. He could tell almost immediately it was made of lapis.

"Alright," she said, "The only thing left for us to do is move Mumbo onto the table." Everyone glanced around, seemingly waiting for someone to take up the job. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, and several pointed glances from Pearl, Doc let out a large sigh.

"Fine, fine," he said with a hint of annoyance, "I'll go grab him."

He left and shortly returned with a still-unconscious Mumbo slung over his shoulders. It was immediately worrying to everyone in the room once they saw how nervous Doc looked. If Doc of all people was nervous, then everyone else was downright terrified.