I'm a Healer, But...

17

404 gasps and screeches in pain as the Withering kicks in, the most emotion Techno has ever heard from him. Tommy just glares down at him, not a hint of regret or empathy in his eyes.It sounds like he never got that from 404, either, so Techno can't begrudge him that.But he's fucking thrown. Tommy, their healer, is- torturing someone. Right in front of him. With Withering , one of the worst pains in existence.Oh, god. Tommy is going to fit into the Syndicate too well."Take that off him," Techno says, and when Tommy looks up at him, betrayed, he continues. "Wither Roses only aren't fatal because people physically can't hold onto them long enough to die from it. Leavin' it on him will kill him, and we need information.""...oh." Tommy picks it up, returning it to his own head. 404 is still writhing, tugging at the restraints as the Withering slowly fades. He falls limp when it's over, gasping for air."Good," Techno murmurs, and Tommy turns his head to the side, not fast enough for Techno to miss the way he smiles at the praise. "Now. 404-""His full name is George Lore," Tommy tells him, leaning on the back of 404's chair. 404 leans away from him desperately, almost falling off the chair in the process.Techno hums. That could be useful if they ever ran into him again after this- he promised Ace he wouldn't kill him in the interrogation, but no promises for later. 404 will suffer for his bystander apathy. "Thank you, Theseus. George Lore. What do you know about Dream stealing JSchlatt's belongings?"He's still catching his breath, so Techno gives him a few moments before he gestures for Tommy to bring the crown down again. As soon as he realizes, 404 twists around to try to avoid it touching him. "Wai- wait, I think- I don't know, he just showed up at home with a ton of shit one day-"Tommy huffs and twirls the flower crown in his hands. "Your house, right?""Yeah," 404 confirms with a fast nod. "He wanted to store it with some of his other stuff. The only thing he took with him to Headquarters was that book.""The book," Techno says. "The same one that mentioned resurrection?"Surprisingly, that makes both of them tense up. Tommy he understands- he maybe shouldn't have brought it up so flippantly when Dream threatened to kill him and bring him back with it- but 404?"...yeah," 404 says weakly. "That's the one.""He loved that stupid book," Tommy says, crossing his arms over the back of the chair. "He read it all the time. I didn't think he could use it, though.""Eh," Techno shrugs. "Old Magic is weird about who's capable of it." Despite his casual response to Tommy, he keeps watching 404. He looks pale as they keep talking, and Techno reaches out, removing his goggles. There's some drying blood on them, and removing them reveals trails of blood dripping from his head- probably from the Roses' thorns. "What was in the book, George?""Just... just revival. Different... kinds. Binding ghosts, or... bringing back people." 404 looks nauseous talking about it."...who did he bring back?" Techno asks. 404 doesn't answer, and after a long pause, Tommy doesn't wait for Techno's cue, dropping the crown back onto his head.404 screams again, shaking his head desperately- the flower crown flies off his head and, out of pure instinct, Techno grabs it. He drops it instantly, of course, but the damage is done, and he tenses to avoid giving 404 a similar reaction as his hand burns furiously, the sensation crawling up his arm as his nerves scream in pain.Tommy rushes to his side, resting a hand over his, a new Wither Rose sprouting as the pain quickly disappears. "Fuck, sorry, I didn't think- I'll put it on him harder next time so it can't come off like that-""It's fine," Techno reassures him. "Stuff like this is a learnin' process. You shoulda seen my first few interrogations on my own- I ended up killin' a lot of them out of embarrassment."That gets a small laugh out of Tommy. "God, I can't believe the Blade is a huge dork that sucks at torture.""Hey, it was millennia ago. Give me a break.""I don't think I will, Blade.""Theo, what the hell is wrong with you?" 404 gasps out, interrupting their nice moment. Tommy tenses his shoulders before turning to look at their victim. 404 has finally fallen out of his chair, curled up on the ground partially under the table. There's more blood dripping from his head, as well as pieces of blackened skin laying around him."Fuck do you mean, 'what's wrong with me'?" Tommy snaps at him."You- you're a healer! You're not supposed to be-" 404 looks him over. "-like this, you're like- a sociopath or something-""Yeah, and heroes aren't supposed to beat the shit out of their healers, but uhhh, hey, look at my fucking childhood- ""Theseus." Tommy's angry look fades as he looks over at Techno. "Try not to let him rile you up. You have the power in this situation, lettin' him get to you is givin' up some of that power." Tommy frowns, but gives a little nod, and scoops up the Wither crown from the ground. "Let's give that a rest, I still haven't learned anythin' Ace is gonna want." Techno steps over to 404, carefully not-careful as he steps on 404's leg.404 yelps when he puts his weight on it, not quite hard enough to break the bone yet, but enough to hurt. He yanks on his leg, trying to free it, but Techno doesn't let him, stepping harder."George Lore," he growls. "Who did Dream bring back from the dead?""M-me, obviously!" It's clearly the truth, but it's not enough information, and he doesn't lighten his weight, letting 404's leg bend awkwardly underneath him. "I- Warden stabbed me, a few- a few weeks ago, Dream- I bled out, and he- he brought me back-""What was it like?" Tommy asks, his voice oddly... innocent. A little weak, worried- Dream had described it as a personal hell, something Tommy could have dealt with- something he may deal with, one day."It-" 404 takes a quick breath. "It was bad. Alone, felt like I was dying over and over again so I had to fight to get away from the pain, but it was endless - I couldn't even just let it take me because giving up made the pain worse- and it was-" He swallows. "It was Dream's fault."Techno snorts. "What, you had a imaginary Dream torturing you?"404 squirms, trying to get out from under Techno, and he lets him, a small gesture to make him more talkative. "No. No, I mean- someone- I was told that if he didn't resurrect me, I would have- I would have actually moved on. To a better afterlife. But because Dream... because Dream brought me back, I went through hell for- for I don't know how long. Days." He tries to pull himself to sit up, but Techno kicks him back down- he's not being that kind."What else did Dream leave with you?""Uh, I don't know-" Techno holds his knife a little more aggressively, reminding 404 of its existence. "-uh, no more books- a bottle collection, some weird ender eye necklace, and he gave me some jewelry.""Jewelry?""Not magic or anything, I mean- some valuable stuff JSchlatt had, I think. Um, gold armbands, necklaces, a bunch of useless pretty shit.""Just like you," Tommy snorts, and 404 groans."This is why no one likes you, Theo-"Techno flips the knife in his hand, bringing it down in one smooth motion and plunging it deep into 404's shoulder. Before he can even scream, he twists it, severing more nerves and rending that arm unusable- unless Tommy chooses to fix it. Which Tommy doesn't have to do. It's entirely his choice.When the screaming trails off, taken over by pained sobs, Techno speaks up. "You don't speak for everyone, 404."He doesn't respond, still gasping to breathe through the pain, but Tommy looks surprised, then pleased, though he tries to hide it. Just an employee, Techno reminds himself idly. One who's eager to learn and responds well to positive feedback. Just an employee."We'll need an address to pick up those things, Lore," Techno tells him.404 shudders, then yelps at how the movement twists his shoulder. "I'm- not telling you where I- live-""If you tell us, you can always move," Techno points out the obvious. "But if you don't tell us, you'll die, and we'll find it anyway because we have your name. Sounds like a pretty obvious choice to me." When 404 continues to hesitate, he continues. "You know, you might bleed out either way from this," he says, tapping his shoulder and ignoring how 404 screeches at it. "But the sooner you say, the sooner you can get out of here.""The- it's- 44 Amanita Street, in- in the Greater Essempi.""Are-?" Tommy stops himself for a moment, but continues anyway. "Are my discs there, too?"The vinyls. How had he forgotten that Tommy said 404 could have them? He wants those far more than he wants any of JSchlatt's things, if this could kill two birds with one stone-But 404 is shaking his head as much as he can without exacerbating his injury. "No, it's- Pandas had them."Another hero to hunt down, but Techno may as well finish off the trio, then. Maybe it could be Tommy's next lesson- from the way he looks angry at this information, he assumes Pandas was equally terrible to him. "We'll get them," he tells Tommy, who just crosses his arms with a huff."Can- is that all?" 404 asks, almost hopeful."Ehhhh..." Techno drags it out. "This time.""Then- Theo, my shoulder-""Hold it," Techno says sharply, though Tommy's already reaching out to 404. "Theseus. You don't have to heal him if you don't want. Ace can get someone to give him normal stitches." He wouldn't be able to use that arm without a lot of physical therapy, if ever, but he wouldn't die. Probably.Tommy pauses, looking between them. 404 has the sense to not demand help, though he clearly wants to, and Tommy huffs before kneeling down and resting a hand on his arm. "Only because I wanna know how hard it is to fix," he mutters. It takes a minute, but 404's shoulder sews itself back together.Techno nods in approval when it's done. "Leave him here. We have to go let Ace know."Tommy follows him out the door. As soon as they've left 404 behind, he's grinning, happy in a way that Techno feels he hasn't seen yet. "That- that was good, big man.""Yeah?" He didn't expect... any of that from their healer, but it's... good. Their healer can be just as cruel as them. "You did well.""I know," Tommy says smugly."...don't tell Phil I let you do that.""Bribe me."Techno sighs. "Uh... there's a water ice place nearby.""What? Why water ice? ""Because you haven't eaten in days and I'm not gettin' you ice cream so you can throw up in the car." Tommy grumbles, but seems to accept the deal, and Techno leads the way as soon as he's debriefed Ace- and promised to speak to him later about secretly inviting a child to join in on an interrogation.It's probably a ridiculous sight, the Blade buying water ice for himself and a random child, but the cashier cleverly treats them normally other than giving them more than they paid for. Tommy snatches it out of Techno's hands. "Thanks, Blade.""You, uh." He starts leading the way back to the car. "You can call me by my name, by the way. I mean, not right now, in public, but in general."Tommy eyes his warily. "...why?""It's gonna get annoyin' to hear my alias even when I'm just relaxin' at home. Plus, I don't like bein' the odd one out, and you've been callin' everyone else by their names, so...""....yeah. Sure-" Tommy suddenly chokes, almost dropping his water ice, but Techno shoots a hand out to catch it. "Fuck- brain freeze, " he hisses in pain."...can't heal that, huh?"Tommy tears up. "What's the fucking point of having healing powers if I can't heal this? ""Just stick your tongue to the roof of your mouth," Techno tells him calmly. "It'll stop sooner." Tommy can be so overdramatic, just like a little brother.Wait- no. He meant just like his little brother- like Wilbur- Tommy is just an employee. Not like a brother, just someone who works for them, that's all-"Was I put on this Earth just to suffer?!" Tommy wails as he continues to be plagued by brain freeze. Techno can't help but wonder the same thing.