Remind Me

Thirteen: The Pain

OK, so I got a LOT of guesses. Only one of you got it right. I had a totally different idea originally, but then... INSPIRATION FROM MY WONDERFUL GRANDFATHER! (Omg, nostalgia. I remember asking him about this... He's a genius.) And then this happened. When you get to the words "makes my head feel like it's imploding," stop reading and guess the cause of his pain. JUST DO IT. PLEASE. I wanna know how many of you put it together before it was revealed. :3

En-juh-hoy, Rulers.

Remind Me

Chapter 13

Sky's POV

"How did you know?" Seto asks.

Ty facepalms. Mitch throws his hands into the air and groans. Jason shakes his head disapprovingly. "Darn it, Seto," he mumbles.

I gape at them. "All of you?" They nod, looking guilty. "You're kidding." They shake their heads. I am silent as I try to comprehend all of this. I feel super dizzy. It's probably just 'cause I'm confused. I reach out and latch onto Jerome's arm for support.

"Biggums?" Jerome asks shakily.

Black dots swim across my vision, but I can still see Mitch shrug sadly.

I'm gonna fall over if I stand any longer, so I just sit down, criss-cross applesauce on the grass. I groan and clutch my head as I get a very painful headache that makes my head feel like it's imploding. Jerome, Ian, and Bodil crouch down beside me with wide eyes. "Sky! Sky, are you OK?"

I ignore them. "H-Hey," I stutter. "Didn't I let two of you inj-ject me w-with an 'antidote?'"

Ty and Seto look down. "Sorry, Sky," Ty says quietly.

Everything is so fuzzy. All the noises blend together to create an annoying buzz that won't end. I feel a sharp pain in my arm that quickly spreads to the rest of my body. I screech in pain. My head pounds. My legs and arms are numb. I can't breathe. I gasp for breath as all the air is stolen from my lungs.

"Seto!" someone shouts. "Help! Sky is – oh, snap. You're not on our team. DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WITH HEALING?"

No one comes forward. We were depending entirely on Seto for healing. Bad idea.

"P-Please," I choke out. "Help..."

The pain is unbearable. I can hardly even think. My lungs burn for air, but I can't seem to suck any in. My eyes sting. My throat feels like it's on fire. My ears are freezing cold. It feel as if knives are carving designs all over my skin. By now I am writhing in pain on the ground.

"Seto, you have to help him!" Ty screams. "We can't let him suffer like this, it's not right!"

"None of this is right, Ty, but it doesn't matter, 'cause we have to do it anyways!" Seto replies.

"We can still do the other part of the deal! Just help Sky!"

"I can't! My magic will only make it hurt more, and the poison is designed to be immune to potions."

Ty's shoulder's slump. He looks so sad, so helpless. At least he's not alone. I'm pretty stinking helpless, too.

Ty steps toward me, but hesitates to go any farther. "T-Ty... Please..," I whisper.

He walks up to me, dragging Seto with him. "Please," he begs, "just try, Seto."

Seto sighs. "It's not going to help."

Another burst of pain causes me to cry out.

Seto builds up magic in the palm of his hand. "Okay," he relents. "You have to try to stay calm, alright? It won't work if you're flipping out."

I take deep breaths (but I still can't breathe) and shut my eyes to try to block out the pain (but it doesn't really work). Seto gently touches a finger to my right hand.

I screech and scramble backwards. I put both knees on the ground and sit on the heels of my feet. Then I press my hands to my head, keeping my eyes closed. Shock waves of burning pain flash through my body, starting at the area on my hand that Seto touched. Suddenly, I feel myself freezing up. I sit completely still. The only sound is my rugged breathing.

"Sk-Sky?" Jason asks hesitantly.

My left hand twitches. I go back to not moving.

"Sky? Are- Are you OK?" Ty asks.

My left eye twitches. My eyes burn, but I can't blink. Pain continues to flood my senses, but I can't move.

"What'd you do to him?" Jerome growls.

"Nothing! It was a healing spell!" Seto replies.

"Healing spell, my foot! Look at him!"

"I tried to tell you, my magic angers the poison! I can't help him because I'm physically unable to!"

"Why'd you inject him with the poison in the first place?"

Seto falls silent. Ty says quietly, "We can't say."

Jerome growls and pulls out Betty. He advances toward the four traitors. Several others follow his lead, and soon the boys are surrounded. "Biggums?" I hear Mitch ask, sounding scared.

"Don't call me that, traitor!"

"Jerome, I-"

"Shut up, I don't want to hear it!" I hear the clash of iron against diamond.

"Jerome, stop! We can't fight each other, Seto disabled the respawn machine!"

"You deserve to die! I trusted you! We all trusted you. And you betrayed us. How could you do that?"

I hear Jason cry out. Seto shrieks and Ty yelps.

I take a deep (and useless) breath and force myself to my feet. Recruits gape at me as I shove through the crowd. Stars and member of the Dead Army and Fridge stand around, not knowing which side to take. I shove past them, too. I get to where the four are right as a recruit prepares to drive his sword through Ty. Ty closes his eyes and holds his breath, not even bothering to fight back.

I run forward and stand in front of Ty. The recruit can't stop in time, however, and he nearly kills me. Luckily, I'm awesome, and I manage to catch his sword in time. "Stop!" I yell out. "Don't h-hurt them!"

Jerome and Mitch stop fighting, and Mitch sighs in relief. Jerome is flabbergasted. "But- They- They-"

"What, s-so just because I'm i-in unbearable p-p-pain, I'm no longer your c-command-d-der? They are n-not to be h-h-harmed. Th-That's an order."

From behind me, Ty says quietly, "Thank you, Sky."

Somehow, I manage to grin. "No problem."

Then the pain takes over. I cry out as I collapse on the grass, unconscious.

?'s POV

"OK, the poison should be in full effect in 3...2...1..."

On the screen, Sky screeches in pain. "How much pain should I apply?" a squid asks.

"All of it!"

The squid presses his tentacles down on all of the buttons. Some are labeled "throat pain," "head pain," "loss of breath," you know.

I watch, disappointed, as Ty tries to convince Seto to help Sky. Seto knows he can't help. Ty knows he shouldn't help. Darn it, I knew they wouldn't be able to stay silent during this part. Jason and Mitch are doing a fairly good job. They're fidgety, but they're resisting the urge to try to help Sky. Of course, in the long run, it wouldn't really be helping him, it would just be hurting him more.

"Ma'am, my tentacles are getting tired from holding down the pain buttons," a squid says.

"Oh. Too bad. So sad."

"Ma'am..."

"Fine! Just put rocks on all the buttons or something."

"Yes, ma'am."

I laugh as Seto tries to heal Sky and ends up doubling his pain.

I'd like to see Sky lead an army feeling like that.