Battle Scars - A Watcher-Grian AU story

Chapter 26 - The admins are amazing.

TW: Trauma, Truth spells, extreme awkwardness (This might be the lightest amount of TWs we've had in a chapter in a bit!)

"Solar, we're ready for you..." The guard called.
The voice shook Grian out of his thoughts as he remembered the fake name he was using. Ironic, wasn't it? Hiding his identity again behind a fake name, to save his friends, the ones he originally lied to...
"Solar?" The guard repeated.
"OH- Yeah- right-" He pushed himself off of the wall, following quietly behind the guard.
They walked through the halls, before standing in front of a door.

"So, in here you'll speak to an admin, who'll verify your information isn't lies, before they figure out who is qualified to hear all of it. Just... don't try to lie." The guard warned.
"Alright." Grian replied, nerves rising. He'd already lied... The guard seemed to be speaking of something beyond just 'Oh no, don't lie to us'...

The guard opened the door and Grian cautiously examined the room. It was plan, other then a table with two chairs. At one end of the table, an admin sat, admin panels tinted a light grey open before them. They had short black hair, wore armor of a darker metal, and had a stern, no-nonsense expression.

"Well this is certainly going to go well." The Voidling - Seven, he supposed he should start thinking of them as - piped up.
"Oh shut-" He hissed mentally, stepping into the room. He felt a slight shift in the aura in the room... Was there something magical on it? His guard pulled up even farther, and he clutched the necklace in his hand on the off-chance he had to escape.

"Greetings, I was told your name was Solar. Is that accurate?" The admin asked.
He tried to reply with a simple yes, but his throat seemed to close up.
"Ooo truth charms, fancy." Seven commented.
Grian sighed. A truth charm. That was unexpected, but not at all impossible. Truth charms were rather common enchanted objects, but only really good on players and admins, as they were easy to unravel. From the aura he sensed it was a weaker one, even he could shatter it if he wanted to, but he'd need to reveal himself to do so.

"The guard should have warned you." The admin closed the admin panels with a swipe of their hands. "Theres no use lying. It's one of the few magical artifacts from the watchers we have left. This is a room we use to talk to people who claim to know information about the war. We cannot risk misinformation. Now, what is your name?"

He took a deep breath, before replying. "I'd prefer to remain anonymous." He said quietly, dancing around the bounds of the spell.
"It is required. What is your name, unless you have reason to hide your identity..?" The admin said sternly
He sighed. "I am known as a few names, which would you like."
"The one the majority of players know you as."
"Ask him if he means in the hub-" Seven asked.
"OH I know where your going with this now."  Grian replied mentally, before speaking out loud. "You mean like in the hub?
"Yes! Sure! The name most players know you as in the hub! Whatever!"
"Solar."
"What the heck-"
"The majority of players in the hub know me as Solar." He shrugged. "Don't know what to tell you."
"Whatever. Are you a admin or a player, 'Solar'?" The admin asked.
"How would that effect the information I wish to share?" He tilted his head.
"It's required protocol!"

"Don't lie about this." Seven suggested. "They need to know."
Grian sighed. This was a horrible idea. Let's hope they didn't murder him... "Neither."
"Wh-" The admin's eyes widened almost comically.
"I'm a watcher, but I mean you no harm-" He started, when the admin interrupted him, as he kind of expected.
"Does this mean your not even under the effect of the charm-" The admin asked suspiciously, which, honestly was better then what he was expecting, which was them running, screaming and/or murdering him.
"Well I mean I could destroy it but I'd have the weave the spell first, but the charm still effects me."

"Alright..." The admin was clearly still suspicious.
Grian sighed. "Go ahead, get someone higher up, I really won't do anything."
"Well- I'm going to put you in magical binding handcuffs to ensure nothing happens-" The admin was clearly searching for some sense of control over the situation.

They were just being cautious, but... the memory of his magic being bound- He began to shiver. "I- I P- promise...I won't d- Do a thing, just... D- don't bind my magic..." He whispered, raising his hands defensively, staring at the admin like they suddenly would pounce at him.
"Xelqua, calm..." Seven spoke urgently. "Listen to me-"

The admin stared at his panic, looking a bit shocked by the dramatic reaction. "I have to, I'm sorry..."
"I- I'll go w- with you- Please- Anything b- but that" He begged, panicking. The weakness it came with... The pain associated with the memories- Tears began to run down his face as he begun to spiral... They'd weaken him, lock him up- Just like the rebels, they'd be just as bad as the rebels-

"Hey- Alright- I'll send another admin I guess-" The admin nodded at one of the guards by the door, who sprinted out. Frantically, the admin looked completely lost at the sight of the panicking watcher, and moved to soothe Grian. Grian jerked back as if burnt. The admin decided to contend themselves with awkwardly staring at the ceiling twiddling their thumbs while waiting for someone qualified to deal with this to arrive.

"Xelqua, focus on me. Deep breaths- They aren't going to do it. They're going to listen..."
"H- how do you know..." He thought, gasping for breath
"They don't want the destruction of their own kind. Players and admins tend to prioritize themselves over others, and they know in a war the watchers would destroy them."
"B- But..."
"No buts about it. Don't argue with a Voidling, it'll never end well. Or prehaps it will. Prehaps the universe will implode." Grian could hear the cheer in Seven's voice
He chuckled, causing the already concerned admin jump, who then resumed their practice of 'out of sight out of mind'. "Your not being cryptic at this point, your just messing with me."
"Well I cheered you up, didn't I?" Seven shot back.
"You know, I didn't expect a Voidling to be so relaxed..."
"I didn't expect a Watcher to be so inelegant." The voidling chuckled

Grian bit back another laugh, not wanting the admin to think he was even more unhinged.
"To be fair it would be accurate." Seven replied to the thought.
"Yeah but I don't want THEM knowing that. We want them to believe us." Grian replied with a grin.

The door creaked, causing Grian to jump, as another admin entered.
"AH GREAT- Nova, your here now I can leave- Bye-" The admin jumped up, pushing by the new admin and rushing out into the hallway. It was odd to think he'd been intimidated by this being mere seconds ago. He swore he could hear a quiet "I don't get paid enough for this..." from the hallway where the original admin fled to. The two still in the room snickered a bit, and Grian heard Seven chuckle in his mind.

"Why hello person who sent my coworker fleeing down the hallway at super-sonic speeds!" The new admin spoke, grinning and waving. They had short blond hair, brown eyes, and dress quite casually with a baggie yellow sweatshirt and jean-shorts. "As my friend there said, I'm Nova! She/Her Pronouns!"
"Er- Hello." Grian replied, unnerved by the energy and cheer the admin was showing.
"So, who are you?" Nova tilted her head. She seemed a lot more friendly then the other admin did, but he still didn't let his guard down.
"... I told them I'm Solar, and I'd prefer to go with that. I have... reasons. He/Him."
"That's fine. We get anonymous reports a lot, particularly about the watchers." Nova smiled at him. "Now... They told me, you were a Watcher, and you wish to share information about the Watcher to us?"
"... Yes, if you'll let me." He decided the floor looked quite interesting... This was going to be an awkward conversation.

A/N:
I swear the admins in this chapter are my spirit animals- Especially the first one. I don't have too much to speak about this time, but we're really getting close to the end. :D
Also what the heck is the read count- WE HIT 500 A FEW DAYS AGO- CHILL- PLEASE I CAN'T PROCESS THIS T-T
Wc: 1466
- Xera