Zach's POV
Today is the day, my teammates and I are going to pick up Mat from the hospital. Ben got his clothes consisting of his usual minimalist outfit. It is a blue shirt, a khaki jacket and blue jeans. He also brought the pair of high-cut converse shoes Mat usually wears as well as socks. We left the dorms and started walking to the hospital.
Freddie: Do you guys have to walk all the way to the hospital?
Zach: Yeah, that's what we usually do.
Tommy: You know that we visit the hospital frequently because of how many times we've been sick and injured?
Aimee: A lot, no surprise.
Toby: And due to some of us having cystic fibrosis, we're used to going in and out of the hospital.
Freddie: That's horrible.
Bill: Had to do that to get more insulin shots.
Raphael: You got diabetes?
Bill: Yeah.
Raphael: Same. Luckily, I got an insulin pump synced to my amulet. Ryan also has diabetes so he also got it installed.
Bill: How can I get it?
Ryan L: You need to ask Brad if you want to get it. It'll be more convenient because of the constant battles you'll have. And plus, your amulet always alerts you if your glucose levels are high or low.
Bill: That's cool. I wanna know the genius who coded it.
Zach: That was me.
Tommy: As usual.
Bill: Really?
Mr Tan: Yeah, even though Zach is dyslexic, he can still code and he's one of the top Computer Science students.
Oli: You're amazing.
Zach: Thanks.
We reached the hospital and managed to find our way to Mat's room. Once we got there, he is still on oxygen and a feeding tube but he's sitting up and there's no IV attached to him. He is slowly starting to recover from the many deadly diseases.
Ben W: You've gotten better.
Mat: Kind of, yeah.
Brad: You lot are just in time. I had just released Mat today.
Larry: Cool.
Ben W: So he can change, right?
Brad: Yeah.
Ben W: C'mon, Mat. But how is he going to change with the feeding tube and nasal cannula on?
Brad: He'll have to take the nasal cannula off, the feeding tube, keep it in. Just hold on to him so that we won't fall. Because of the amount of time spent in the ICU, he might need to get used to walking again. I'll text you if he needs a tube change.
Ben W: Got it.
Zach: Hope Mat isn't that stubborn.
Mat: I am not stubborn.
Larry: Oh yes you are.
Brad: Just be careful.
Mat and Ben went to the bathroom so that Mat could get out of his hospital gown. After that, Mat and Ben went out of the hospital with Mat sitting on his bed again. Brad put his nasal cannula back on and now, I could barely recognise him anymore. For a month, he was wearing a hospital gown while intubated and now, he's wearing casual clothes with just a simple nasal cannula and a feeding tube.
Zach: Wow, I could barely recognise you.
Toby: Yeah, just a month ago you were dead.
Karl: Coma.
Toby: What's the difference?
Brad: A coma is a state of unconsciousness where a person is unresponsive and cannot be woken. It could take a while, could be years.
Toby: What about death?
Brad: Your organs stop working so you're dead. When you're in a coma, your organs still work, you just can't respond. I was in a coma before because I almost got a stroke.
Tommy: After your lung transplant?
Brad: Yup.
Mat: That must be awful.
Brad: It is, but my lungs have been getting stronger because I'm a Zodiac hero. Obviously, it didn't cure me because cystic fibrosis is a terminal illness. But I can be close to other CF patients because of my immune system.
Larry: That's cool, I have a shit immune system.
Raphael: I was also in a coma when we were in New Zealand when Dark Syndrome first hit me. Probably the same for Ashton but he's not part of our team anymore.
Mat: Where is he now?
Luke H: Australia.
Calum: Seriously? Nobody's gonna talk about the time I was also in a coma years ago?
Wendy: Oh yeah, Luke passed out on this one.
Luke H: No I didn't.
Michael: Yes you did.
Zoe: Oh yes, secondary school memories.
Brad: Guys, Mat will need some time adjusting back to who he was before Andrew shot him because of the post-sepsis syndrome. Because he was also treated in the ICU, he might also experience post-ICU syndrome as well.
Ben W: At least you're okay.
Mat: I guess.
Brad: You can go back to your dorms now.
We left the hospital and it seems like Mat is trying to adjust to walking again. Luckily, Ben was able to help him by doing the human crutch. I tried to help out as well. Just halfway between the hospital and our dorms, Mat grew tired of walking. So we sat on the grassy areas that connected the 2 places and with Yuansu Park right next to us.
Mat: Oh my God.
Ben W: You alright?
Mat: I haven't walked this far for a month.
Toby: You need a wheelchair?
Mat: I think I'm fine.
Zach: Why don't we take a break? We're just halfway to our dorms anyway.
Mat: Cool.
Aimee: So, how were you guys formed?
Luke H: The original team members consisted of Calum, Devan, Collins, Troye, me, Shawn, Michael and Wendy along with Ashton. We were all transferred to New Zealand and that's how we first met Simon who looked like an old man at the time.
Bill: Really? He seemed younger right now.
Troye: Well, he drank an ageing potion by accident which is why he looked old. But it wore off and now he's young again. Anyway, we were in this mysterious house called the Arch Hill Chase and it was so creepy at night and we fell down a trap door which made us more scared.
Wendy: And that's how we became Zodiac heroes with constant additions to the team.
Oli: Where are Collins and Devan now?
Daniel: Devan's dead. (as Devan) I'm still here, in Daniel's body. And Collins went back to America.
Oli: Weird.
Danna: Imagine having a boy in your body. (as Blake) Am I right?
George: S: It's not all weird, Blake passed away last year.
Carm: (as Bailee) Same for me, it's Bailee.
Bill: Dead spirits in other spirits? What kind of phenomenon is that?
Mr Tan: It's called Spirit merge, whenever a Zodiac hero dies, their spirit merges with another. It's really rare because after a Zodiac hero dies, they'd usually either go to heaven or hell or reincarnate.
Zach: And that's why we remember our previous lives.
Freddie: Are you sure you're American? Cuz you have an accent.
Zach: Yeah, I'm from Texas. But because of the amount of time spent here in the UK and the fact I have a British boyfriend, I'm starting to get a slight British accent.
Ranboo: You're going through an accent change.
Zach: I am.
Nick: Well, I'm also from Texas. But my family and I moved to Florida and then the UK.
Delilah: Same for me but we moved to California and then the Philippines.
Aimee: You guys move a lot.
Zach: Yeah, first I was in Texas and then in California and then in Australia. And then got stranded on Norfolk Island for 5 years and then now we're here.
Luke H: We Zodiac heroes move a lot but now we settled in the UK.
Karl: Feels a lot better than being in America all the time.
Ben W: Hey, I'm from America.
Beau: Really? But your accent-
Ben W: My mum's from America and I used to travel back and forth between Buckinghamshire and Ohio. I just happen to have a slight American accent.
Bill: What time is it?
Zach: 4 pm, we got Mat out of the hospital at 3:30 pm. Why?
Cassie: Guess how long have we been talking, look at the sunset.
We all looked at the sun setting below Yuansu Park, and the sky became beautiful. And then I realised that we had to be back in our dorms after sunset for the sake of our safety unless we have to have dinner so we continued walking. I decided to talk along the way just so that we won't walk in awkward silence.
Zach: So, where are you guys from?
Aimee: Wales.
Cassie: America. I'm the only orphan here who's from America.
Bill: England.
Oli: Sussex.
Beau: Scotland.
Freddie: Nottingham.
Ryan L: Cool.
Aimee: Where are you guys from?
Calum: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Troye: Born in Johannesburg, South Africa but raised in Perth, Western Australia.
Luke H: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Shawn: Toronto, Canada.
Zoe: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Michael: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Robert: Queensland, Australia.
Wendy: Born in Guangzhou, China but raised in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Raphael: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Kan: London.
Aidan: Boston, Massachusetts.
Rena: New York.
Bindi: Queensland, Australia.
Brad: Birmingham.
Connor B: Scotland.
Jamie: London.
Annika: Auckland, New Zealand.
Brent: California.
Bea: New Jersey.
Caleb: California.
Lexi: California.
Jacob: Virginia.
Toby: Bognor Regis.
Tommy: Nottingham.
Yuto: Born in Japan but raised in Montreal, Canada.
Noah L: England.
Tanya: Malaysia.
Ben A: Texas.
Ken: Russia.
Sheryl: Hong Kong.
Thaiyo: Japan but I'm half Chinese.
Sierra: Pennsylvania.
Crystal: Georgia, the state.
Reece: Lancashire.
George S: London.
Ankit: London.
Danna: Mexico.
Aiden: London.
Harvey C: Kent.
George D: London.
Carm: London.
Niki: Germany.
Shion: California.
Charlie M: Melbourne, Australia.
Cara: New York.
Camila: Cuba.
Corbyn: Virginia.
Jenny: Vietnam.
Sung Mi: South Korea.
Audrey: Australia.
Ranboo: California.
Jonah: Minnesota.
Jack: Pennsylvania.
Zach: Texas.
Wilbur: Brighton.
Zak: Ohio.
Daniel: Oregon.
Alex: Mexico.
Jenna: Thailand.
Lavender: Florida.
Meg: New York.
Ryan H: Texas.
Grace: Kansas.
Connor: Texas.
Joanna: Wellington, New Zealand.
Hannah: Illinois.
Johnny: Toronto, Canada.
Edwin: New York.
Zion: Ottawa, Canada.
Karl: North Carolina.
Grayson: Virginia.
Brandon: Texas.
Jack M: East Midlands.
Taegan: Singapore.
Harvey M: Berkshire.
Max: Berkshire.
Denis: London.
Luke S: County Durham.
Josh: Northern England.
Henry: Surrey.
Eddie: Surrey.
Cooper: Kent.
Ryan L: Newcastle.
Nick: Texas.
Sam: Texas.
Floris: The Netherlands.
Mr Tan: Birmingham.
Noah B: Ohio.
Maggie: Texas.
Charlie D: Vermont.
Darryl: Florida.
Delilah: Texas.
Taka: Japan.
Mei: China.
Mat: Born in Malaysia, mum's from Essex.
Larry: Brighton.
Louis: Thailand.
Martha: Birmingham.
Alice: Coventry.
Tina: South Korea but raised in Nevada.
Ben W: Buckinghamshire.
Eryn: England.
Jim: Sussex.
Andrew: Sussex.
Tom: Sussex.
Oli: Those are pretty interesting places.
Cassie: Yeah and you guys came from many different places.
Louis: We are a diverse team. Everyone came from different places.
Yuto: Yeah, from America and Canada to the UK and Australia.
Bill: I also noticed that there are many Asians here as well.
Shion: I don't even know Japanese.
Thaiyo: Same.
Yuto: 君たちはもう日本語を知っているはずだ。(Kimitachi wa mō Nihongo o shitte iru hazuda.) (You guys should know Japanese by now.)
Taka: うん。 Thaiyo、あなたは日本で生まれたと思いました。(Un. Thaiyo, Anata wa Nihon de umareta to omoimashita.) (Yeah. Thaiyo, I thought you were born in Japan.)
Thaiyo: I am from Japan, I just don't know much because my mum is Chinese.
Shion: I also don't know much Japanese because I was born in America. Now that's the life of an overseas Asian.
We continued walking until we reached our dorms. I used my amulet as the key card to unlock the door as we went in. It feels nice coming home during sunset, the lights are dim and the only light coming out is the one from the window.
Mat: Feels nice to be home again.
Ben W: It does.
Zach: It's been a month since you were back here, we didn't celebrate Valentine's day or celebrate anyone's birthday in February because you wouldn't be there.
Mat: Cuz I didn't wake up.
Toby: Yeah, at least you're with us now.
Mat: Time to start this rocky recovery.
Larry: Recoveries aren't supposed to be that rocky unless you're a stubborn ass.
Mat: Stop reminding me.
Zach: Anyway, we'll all be in our rooms.
Eryn: Aren't you aware that some of us are changing roommates?
Zach: Yeah but can you tell me your new roommates?
Tommy: Eryn.
Toby: Ranboo. Our room is now next to Mat and Ben's.
Tommy: At least you're next to my room now, Tubbo.
Eryn: Then who will Mei stay with?
Mei: I'll just stay with Tina. She's the best.
Tina: Yeah.
Zach: Cool, anyway, we have to go to the cafeteria for dinner. Tomorrow, we'll be going back to courses.
Aimee: Does that mean it'll be our first day?
Mr Tan: Yes.
Zach: Let's settle in our rooms and then I'll text you when it's dinner time.
We went our separate ways and entered our rooms in order to settle. Today's been a good day, the past month as so stressful, filled with a comatose Guardian and our frequent hospital visits. And now, he's out of the hospital and going through a recovery which would be a rocky one. Dinner time came and we all went out of the dorms and walked towards the cafeteria. Of course, Mat didn't eat solid food because of the feeding tube. Brad and Connor also came to eat with us.
Brad: So, how's my patient doing?
Mat: I'm fine.
Ben W: Can he eat solid food?
Brad: Not at the moment, his stomach is still not used to solid food because he hasn't been eating for a month and he's still used to the feeding tube. Once the feeding tube is out, which should be about a few days, he'll stick to a liquid diet until he's confident enough to eat solid food. He'll just have broth at the moment and some juice for hydration and nutrients.
Ben W: Alright, Mat, I'll go get you some food.
Mat: Okay.
Ranboo: Didn't know your dad had an age regression.
Toby: Shut up, Ranboo, don't assume shit about my dad.
Tommy: Tubbo also gets age regressions whenever he's sick.
Ranboo: Well, like father like son then.
Larry: Not to mention, he's the youngest in his family.
Brad: Well, Mat might act a bit like a teenager, it's not part of PSS but due to the massive amount of his teenage life spent on spiritual and military training, he might act like a 21st-century teenager
Zach: Like he'll be all grumpy and sassy and stuff?
Brad: Yeah. He'll mature over time, he's still recovering from a life-threatening disease
Toby: Kind of like how we matured over time.
Brad: Sort of. You guys still act like children.
Zach: But I'm the leader and I'll be 19 soon.
Jacob: Welcome to adulthood.
Zach: Thank you.
Toby: Why didn't anyone welcome me to adulthood?
Tommy: Tubbo, you'll be 19 in December.
Toby: Yeah.
We continued having a conversation while eating our food. After dinner, we kept our plates and then went back to our dorms with Brad and Connor going back to the hospital to cover their shifts. What a long day today and I can't wait for Andrew's execution tomorrow morning.
Oli: So, what will we be doing tomorrow?
Zach: Andrew's execution is tomorrow so we're going to pow our Fire-based powers on him.
Bill: Execution by firearm.
Zach: That's correct.
Larry: I was almost executed by firearm back in World War 1. Luckily, Martha and Charles came to rescue me.
Beau: That sounds like a reverse damsel in distress story.
Larry: That's why I married Martha.
Martha: Yeah, he's my second husband. My last husband was the worst. He pushes me around and made me act like a proper woman when I'm different from those women.
Alice: She was a suffragette as well. So do I.
Freddie: You guys are pretty interesting.
Tommy: They're the Guardians. Ben and Mat are Tubbo, Eryn, Mei and I's new adoptive dads.
Bill: You guys are finally adopted? Awesome.
Toby: Actually, Wilbur originally adopted us for the sake of protecting us from Philza. Philza loves being the powerful one so the reason why he felt like we betrayed us is that he feared that we Zodiac heroes are gonna be more powerful than him. Now the guardianship went to Ben and Mat.
Zach: Tomorrow's gonna be another day. We'll be going back to our courses and things would be as they should be right before we left for Australia.
Aimee: But there are some people from Australia.
Wendy: That's true, we were originally based in Australia before we relocated to the UK.
Aimee: Wow.
We soon reached our dorms and went up to our rooms to wash up and go to bed. After I showered, I did my breathing treatment while waiting for Ryan to be done with the shower. While doing my treatment, I set my alarm to 7 am so that I could wake up in time for my courses. After Ryan's done with the shower, Noah went in and he also did his treatment while I'm done with it.
Ryan L: Wow, that was fast.
Zach: I know.
Ryan L: Why aren't you using your vest anymore?
Zach: I decided to do my treatments the British way instead of the American way. In fact, I decided to stay in the UK after we get married instead of going back to America.
Ryan L: Oh, okay.
Zach: I'm setting the alarm for 7 am just in time for our courses.
Ryan L: We might have an assembly welcoming us back.
Zach: Yeah, the one last month that coincided with Chinese New Year. It didn't go well and now Jackie and Sir Simon are leaving, going back to Singapore and Australia respectively.
Ryan L: Let's just hope nothing goes bad tomorrow.
Zach: Yeah.
Ryan L: Let's go to bed after Noah showers.
After Noah took a shower, he put on his nasal cannula and then we all went to bed. Tomorrow's gonna be another day for us as we're going back to our university courses. I just hope nothing bad happens, especially when it's the middle of the night.
Mat's POV
It is the middle of the night and I'm starting to get night sweats as another nightmare came in. This nightmare had my son, Tubbo, killed and Andrew laughing at me like a maniac. I later woke up and had a panic attack to the point my lungs aren't getting enough oxygen. Ben noticed and tried to coach me to breathe with the nasal cannula that has been attached to me since I woke up from a coma. I even teared up at this point and I heard footsteps coming here from the other rooms.
Ben W: Shh... shh... It's just a nightmare.
Mat: I'm scared.
Ben W: It's okay.
Toby: What happened?
Karl: What's going on?
Ben W: Mat got a nightmare.
Tommy: PTSD.
Mei: Oh my goodness.
Tina: I feel so bad.
Ben W: What's the nightmare about, my love?
Eryn: Please tell us, dad.
Mat: Tubbo was in that nightmare. Andrew shot him with his gun and I could've saved him as I should back in 1943.
Karl: That's World War 2.
Toby: That was the day I got executed.
Freddie: How are you still alive?
Toby: Reincarnation.
Ben W: Mat, look at me, Toby's standing right in front of you. It's going to be okay. Not gonna lie, you do look like Toby.
Toby: That's my birth name. I mean, Tobias is.
Mat: That was my son's birth name as well.
Zach: What is going on here?
Nick: Mat had a nightmare because of PTSD.
Zach: Brad was right about PTSD being part of PSS, that means Mat needs more time to adjust to not being in the hospital.
Mat: I guess.
Toby: Dad.
Mat: You're gonna go to your classes, Tubbo.
Toby: That doesn't mean I'll leave you, it'll only be half-day anyway. That goes the same for Tommy, Eryn and Mei.
Eryn: That's correct.
Mei: Yeah.
Mat: Thanks, guys.
Zach: Let's go to bed, y'all.
The end...