Never Ending Nightmare (Sunsinger!Male reader)

Chapter 18 - Fragments of Four; Six's Miscalculation

Three days had passed since Twelve had his rude awakening, talking to Six did as much as he had expected; Nothing at all.

Six was determined to keep hiding his past from him no matter what. Twelve knew talking to her was a dead end entirely, if she could get him all the way to the number Twelve, she could string him along as long as she needed to. And he wasn't going to waste time trying to pry the information out of her if she wasn't going to spill.

Six was good at keeping her secrets. Too damn good for her own good.

He was in the depths of the Maw at the time, the silent creaking of the metal shell was the only audible sounds to mix up the pacing of his footsteps and the dripping water. His wings lit up the hall as his figure walked the halls. Nomes scattered around with the children that were old enough to be allowed out of the Child Sector with RK. Now they had bunk beds and individual rooms with each other, it was a peaceful, collective environment where everyone treated each other like siblings. Many of them were soon to reach their teens and puberty, the knowledge that Twelve knew he, Six and RK did this, brought a bright smile to his face.

Or at least until IT happened again...

...Twelve felt another shockwave throughout his body that shook him to his core, it was so sudden that it forced him to all fours as he doubled over. He barely caught himself on the ground as his head began to throb painfully, it was the same as last time. His mind began to swim in a sea of thoughts once more, the view of bright pink and crimson flesh all around him, the floor, the walls, even the ceiling. The children around flocked to him, catching him before he could reach the ground, easing his descent as he sat.

For Twelve, It was like a flesh room he'd been locked in with Eyes all around, watching him. Observing him. And he hated it, being stared at, it made him uncomfortable to no end. His skin burned uncomfortably, nothing like before and certainly nothing like his flames.

He blinked, the fleshy interior gone and replaced with the familiar sight of the teen sector. Faces crowding Twelve's view. He stood up, wondering why his healing had done nothing for him here. The damage wasn't physical, it was something else entirely. And despite the unchanging oppression of the Maw's atmosphere, it chose to leave Twelve to his own demons instead of taking advantage. Something Twelve was very grateful for despite being unable to recognize why the Maw had done it.

Maybe it thinks he's going through enough right now?

The kids had begun to ask what happened, was he okay? Why did he collapse like that?

Twelve's resolve burned brighter as he regained his strength, he patted one of the kids on the head as he stood on his own. "Sorry for scaring all of you like that, I got a stomach cramp and lost my footing there for a second." He lied. Hiding the real reason why.

He hated worrying the kids about his health, he was meant to be their protector, and he has been ever since he made the decision to stay in the Maw with Six and RK. He was the Vanguard to push back any force coming their way. And to see him reduced to a panic induced mess really didn't help calm them.

Not too long after Twelve walked out of the teen sector he passed Six's storage room in a different hallway, just a bunch of junk if you'd ask him but she says that stuff is important. But as he walked past it, an eye appeared on the door, a fleshy one...It gave him a bit of a scare, making him flinch from the sudden appearance.

It blinked at him, unlike the unblinking eyes from the flesh room he saw earlier. Curiously, Twelve placed his right hand on the eye, it blinked four times, signalling a number for him. "Four? So that's who those memories are from." The eye disappeared once the message was conveyed, it was as if the Maw itself wanted him to know this information.