Chapter 29: Don't Gotta Ask

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REECE

Once we arrive back at the hideout, we find Aeryn and Lucian waiting for us expectantly by the front door with Caliber and Juniper.

"Took you long enough," Aeryn huffs and throws a hand over her shoulder before shifting her pose to having her hand on her hip, "What took you so long?"

"Yeah," Lucian darts his eyes in Aeryn's direction, no doubt recalling the torture that she put him through whenever we were gone, "What took you so long?"

"We were starting to get worried," Juniper says.

"Did Katsuro get back yet?" I ask as I glance between the four of them.

Juniper and Caliber exchange a glance before Juniper finally answers.

"Um," Juniper starts, "Katsuro is in the medical room resting. He got back about a half hour ago and he came in to help us, but right when he opened the door there was an explosion of dust and he didn't have on the protective gear that we did, so he inhaled it. Thankfully, it wasn't toxic, but it made him kind of..."

"Kind of?" Clattonia rises a brow.

"He had symptoms of delirium, impulsiveness, bluntness, and overly-affectionate behaviors," Caliber finishes, "He began coughing upon the initial inhalation, but soon acquired a fever that brought on those symptoms, which was shown through the flush of his skin, his words, and the way that he clung to Juniper. It should wear off in six more hours, if my deduction is correct."

I raise a brow at Juniper and she shifts around uncomfortably as she glances down at her hands, which are clasped together, and a blush rises to her face.

"Um, alright," I clear my throat, "Did either of you find out anything that could be helpful in understanding Nightshade's attacks more?"

"Yes. I can go fetch the lab reports," Caliber says and hurries off down the hall.

"Well?" Aeryn sighs impatiently, "Are you guys ever going to answer me?"

"We found out some vital information," I start, "We should wait until everyone's here, but, simply put, we found a new ally, among some other things, as well as something that will require every one of us to beat."

Aeryn raises a brow and goes silent as everyone else in the room suddenly seems to focus their attention on us, Ink and Indigo entering hesitantly through the kitchen.

"What's going on?" Ink asks.

"Is everything okay?" Indigo asks worriedly and grabs on to Ink's arm anxiously.

"You might want to take a seat," I say and the two exchange a glance before heading towards the couch and sitting down as Aeryn leans against the arm of the couch and crosses her arms while Lucian takes the third seat on the couch.

Meanwhile, Caliber comes running back with the lab report and she hands it to me before she goes over and stands next to Aeryn.

"We found out that the dust Nightshade uses can have deterrents to it in order to counteract it," Juniper starts hesitantly, "The one that causes delirium is one that we made an antibiotic to, which is how we're treating Katsuro. If we didn't have the medicine for it, it could still be treated, but the side effects would be harder to contain and it would take much longer."

"Harder to contain in what sense?" Clattonia asks.

"He most likely wouldn't be able to walk straight or think of anything except for the fever consuming him, aside from incoherent thoughts, and his senses would be entirely messed up," Juniper explains, "As of right now, it's as if he has a horrible cold, but he still can't function properly."

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