The Turf War Twisted

Sike! There's More at the Cave of Contraptions

After everyone had parted ways, it felt like a wave of relief was overcoming all of them. All of them except Grian. He'd realised after walking back that he had to message Bdubs asking how Scar was, so he did. It was a very short and simple message, but he wanted to see Scar again as soon as possible.

Bdubs, now a bit more trusting of him, let Grian know that Scar was at Zedaph's base and Grian dashed over there like his life depended on it. He flew with determination, determination to actually make it to Scar that time. Whatever was wrong with Scar, he knew Zedaph was crazy enough to get to the bottom of it, but whether he could find a solution was his biggest worry.

Grian landed in the Cave of Contraptions, the dim lighting seeming almost eerie as he entered. Bdubs sat on the floor, tapping his foot impatiently. He perked up upon seeing Grian, who was walking over to him.

"Where's Scar?" Grian asked, not bothering with small talk and only wanting to go right to the point. He looked around, seeing if there was any sign that he was there and Bdubs wasn't possibly going to send him on some wild goose chase.

"Zedaph said he wanted me to wait here and he's going to do blood tests to see if they could find out what's wrong. He told me there was no way he could find a cure if he doesn't know what he's dealing with," Bdubs responded, almost mumbling his words out. His voice and face had a slight pout, along with saddened eyes.

Grian sighed, sitting across from Bdubs. He stretched his legs out, leaning backwards onto his arms. "Are you feeling alright?"

Bdubs turned his head away. "Pssh, as alright as I can be finding out in the same week that the person I love is a traitor and also seriously sick."

"Ah, that is difficult," Grian replied in a soft voice, looking down at the floor. "I don't think Scar meant to betray the HEP, he just didn't want to be on either side. Scar wouldn't want to hurt your feelings on purpose." He paused for a moment, looking up to see Bdubs. Bdubs had his knees up to his chest, hugging his legs and burying his face into them. "I don't know what to do about the sickness... we just have to hope Zedaph has a solution."

Bdubs didn't move, just kept burying his head into his knees. As much as he felt like he should have, he didn't cry. He just sat with a heavy heart, listening intently to Grian's words. He wanted to say something, even a 'thank you', but he felt like there was nothing that needed to be said in the moment.

It felt like an infinite amount of time had passed when Zedaph finally went back to the main room. Both Grian and Bdubs perked up when Zedaph walked in. Grian stood up quickly, bracing himself for whatever news he might receive. Bdubs sat up, looking up at Zedaph also awaiting the news.

"Grian," Zedaph said, making Grian immediately straighten up and almost fear for what he would say next. "How much time did you spend around the mycelium and mushrooms?" he asked, looking down at a clipboard he was holding and setting his pen down.

The question shocked Grian, making him double-take his thinking. "Uhmm- quite a bit I'd say. I had a lot of exposure in our first base since it was pretty much all made of mycelium, but there was still a lot in the other bases."

"Hmm," Zedaph hummed as he wrote something down on his clipboard. "I was also told you had a pretty serious injury?" Zedaph looked up from his clipboard to look at Grian for confirmation. He nodded his head and Zedaph continued. "Was that in a base with a lot of exposure?"

Grian thought for a quick second before nodding. "Yeah, I'd say so. We had a ton of mycelium in there, including the source block." He paused. "Is there a reason you need to know this?"

Zedaph nodded, putting his clipboard to his side and under his arm. "I might have to run some tests on you as well if you're okay with that. Scar let me know that you guys have been in contact for a couple days." He began to walk back from where he'd entered, waving a hand at Grian. "If you're okay with me running some tests, doing some quick observations, then I'd suggest you come back." He didn't even look back at Grian, he just kept walking.