The Turf War Twisted

Removed From Each Other Once Again

"Wait, Bdubs!" Scar called out right as Bdubs was starting to turn around.

Glaring, Bdubs looked up at Scar. "What is it, Mayor Scar?" He put emphasis on his last words, talking through his teeth with seething rage.

"I- uhm-" Scar hesitantly stuttered his words out. Without giving it away much, it almost seemed like a light bulb had lit up above Scar's head. With a small smirk, he made eye contact with Bdubs. His voice was more serious all the sudden, and Grian could only lay and watch. "I can't believe you fell for that." Scar glanced back at Grian. "And right when I was getting him to trust me, you had to blow my cover."

Bdubs crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow. "Cover? What cover?"

"Pssh, you think I actually care about the Resistance members?" Scar kept talking in full confidence, worrying Grian. That was until Scar flicked a small keychain behind himself and towards Grian, manoeuvring around so Bdubs couldn't see the exchange. "It was all mind games, Bdubs. I can't believe you ever doubted me." Scar put an arm around Bdubs' shoulder, looking down at Grian. He discreetly winked, which almost made Grian blush.

"How am I meant to believe that?" Bdubs asked, flinching slightly at Scar's touch. Scar quickly took his arm off Bdubs' shoulder, still grinning widely. "I just saw you help Grian."

Scar had never felt so confident in his improvisation skills, lucky that he could conjure up lies fast enough. "All part of the ruse. Grian had escaped the facility, so instead of just taking him back, I thought I could mess with him a bit. All harmless, don't worry. I helped him, because I may be against him, but I'm not heartless."

Bdubs glanced over at Scar sceptically, his eyes darting between him and Grian. "I would say you are pretty good at acting, enough to fool Grian." There was a small pause in his eyes shifting before they landed dead on Grian, stopping into a stare that did intimidate Grian in his prone state. "What now then? If he found a way to escape, we can't just take him back."

"Y'know what?" Scar said slyly, stepping closer to Grian. Grian scooted back slightly. "We can leave him here to crawl back to the rest of the Resistance. We'll send him off with a word of warning." Scar knelt down to Grian, whispering in his ear. "I'm sorry to be separating from you so soon. That keychain will help you out if you get caught again, or if anyone else does. I can also use it to track you, er- just in case, y'know?"

Grian, pretending to be alarmed by Scar's words, nodded swiftly.

Scar let out a forced chuckle, one still convincing enough. "See that, Bdubs?" he said, looking over at Bdubs with a smile. "He's scared, as he should be." Scar turned around quickly, giving one quick glance at Grian before doing so. He waved his hand forward, signalling for Bdubs. "Let's go, Bdubs. I'll explain everything to you, and he can relay that message to the rest of the Resistance." Bdubs hesitantly followed behind Scar, glaring back at Grian before catching up.

Once the two of them had flown off, out of view, Grian let out a sigh of relief. He was still frustrated that he couldn't seem to talk, but he had bigger problems. Grian had to deal with his arrow wound, not to mention he had to meet back up with the Resistance. He wasn't even sure where they'd be since the old headquarters had been blown up. Grian let out a quiet chuckle. Just within a couple weeks, he'd been blown up, captured, started abnormally growing mushrooms out of his head, and shot in the shoulder with an arrow. As much as it wasn't really something laughable, it was certainly interesting to him.

Grian pulled himself up, stuffing the keychain into his pocket. With his shoulder still throbbing, he deployed the elytra that Scar had generously let him keep. Though his shoulder was aching, he flew up into the sky, his eyes circling about the Shopping District. It had suddenly hit him that during his flight with Scar, he'd completely missed the island that housed the new Resistance base.

Man, they really do well even without me. His thoughts began proud, but then they'd slowly descended to sadness. Would they actually care if I just left the Resistance? It's not like I'm feeling the passion anymore. I could just settle peacefully, let the war go on without me. Thoughts just swirled around Grian's head as he flew towards the island. Instead of going inside, he decided to fly a bit higher, stopping on the roof. He sat down, pulling his knees into his chest. What would I do without them, though? He couldn't help but wonder. What would I do without Scar?

Despite all the troubles Scar had caused for Grian, he always helped him out of them. It felt weird to abandon him, but staying in the Resistance meant he'd be against Scar. All he wanted was for the war to stop. Scar wouldn't have to help Grian out of all his crazy situations if it wasn't for the stupid Turf War. Grian sighed, resting his head on his knees. The wind flew his hair back, letting it off his face as he stared over the Shopping District.

"I have to stop this war, and the only way I can, is to consult the Resistance."

---

The door closed behind Bdubs as he shut it. He watched as Scar nearly strutted into his office, taking his usual seat proudly. Bdubs took his usual seat as well, across from Scar, separated by his large desk.

"This is great, Bdubs!" Scar exclaimed, leaning back casually into his chair. "I got to experience what's going through the Resistance's head firsthand, so I know quite a bit now."

"Yeah..." Bdubs shifted in the chair uncomfortably. "You still haven't given me that explanation you said you would."

Scar fiddled with his rings. "It's not a really tricky thing to piece together, I'd think. I caught Grian before he could get off the Shopping District island, decided it'd be a smart move to get some information off him, acted like I was gonna be friendly, and then you came in and I figured it'd be an okay time to blow off my plan." Scar shrugged. "That's pretty much everything."

Bdubs sighed. "That can't possibly be everything," he said, slightly exasperated. "I wasn't gonna ask about it, but the mushroom stuff on Grian's head; you haven't explained that."

"Oh... that. Yeah." Scar's eyes widened and his lips pulled into a line awkwardly. "I have no idea what that is either, but apparently it's been bugging Grian." Scar leaned forward, opening one of his drawers and pulling out a handful of candies. "Want some?" he asked. Bdubs took one from the table, continuing to question Scar's casual mannerisms. "Anyways," Scar went on, unwrapping one of his own candies. "He doesn't know what it is either, so it's kinda just a mystery for now."

"Hmmm, okay," Bdubs replied with a nod. "So what kind of information did you get?"

Scar stiffened a bit, realising he didn't actually interrogate Grian or anything. He knew more than before, but not anything that would be of Bdubs' interest. He knew how Grian really was, how sweet he could really be. He understood what Grian was going through, and all the similar pressures they'd faced. But... none of that stuff was useful information for the war, nothing that Bdubs would want to hear. Scar had to come up with something believable, and quick.

As if he was being saved by the school bell, Tango and Xisuma came bursting through the office door. "Thank goodness! I knew you guys would be here," Xisuma said frantically as he stormed in.

"What's the matter?" Scar asked, suddenly alarmed.

"We have a bit of a situation," Tango responded, almost sheepishly. "Let's just say it starts with an Im and ends with pulse..."

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