Two Weeks And A Day

Day 4

Prompt: ConCorp have always managed by splitting the burden of Vex magic between themselves. Scar takes the physical corruption, Cub takes the mental. And then they swap bodies. And Scar conveniently forgets to tell Cub how to cope with either form of corruption.

Scar was flying over the Pirate District, specifically the town of Torch Uber. He waved to Cleo, but she didn't notice, since she was staring confusedly at a clock. He chuckled to himself - what could she be doing - and flew on.

It was as he was passing over the Pirate Train Station that he began to feel dizzy. His ears rang quietly, almost unnoticeably until he realised they were. His forehead began to throb with his heartbeat, and he was forced to make a sudden landing.

His vision began to fill with pink spots, eddies of flashing lights and white static. The wind rushing in his ears sounded grainy, like a poor-quality speaker. Pins and needles traveled up his arms and legs, and his head felt heavy. Everything was so distorted, he didn't realise he'd fallen over until he passed out.

Mea- Oh, sorry. Forgot the disguise. Meanwhile - actually, I think it's a Reverse Time Skip- oh whatever. I don't care.

Cub whistled as he worked, baking cake after cake. The smell of the baked goods swirled around ConCorp, filling the air. It made Cub smile, whenever he got into a serious baking mood. Which is why he was quite annoyed when a sudden headache yanked him out of The Zone.

He sucked his breath in through his teeth as he suddenly couldn't associate the whirring from the factory with the moment he heard each sound. He went outside to get some fresh air, but that just made things worse.

The sun seemed brighter than usual, and when he shaded his eyes, the light grey paths just kept glaring bright light. He squinted, staggering over to the grass. When he could see again, his stomach lurched. The world was spinning. He lay down to make it stop, but regretted it as soon as he did.

He desperately tried to keep his eyes open, but his eyelids were heavy. As his ears were filled with a rhythmic sound like the chopping of carrots, one eye flicked closed. As he fought to open it, the other shut, and he passed out.

Skippity Skoppity Odal's soul is my property. Time Skip!

Cub woke up with a gasp. He then realised a few things in quick succession:

1. That gasp wasn't his voice.

2. He couldn't feel the corruption from Vex Magic in his head anymore.

3. He wasn't at ConCorp.

He looked at his hands - he was still human. He seemed to be wearing a brown long-sleeved top. He felt a hat on his head, and took it off to get a better look. It was Scar's hat. Cub stared at it for a second, before putting it back on his head and looked at his hands again. Sure enough, there were small magical markings, travelling up his arms. 

He was Scar. And if he was Scar, and he couldn't feel the mental corruption, then that meant... oh no.

He stood up, but lost his balance. Of course. He'd forgotten that Scar, unless some magic had shrunk him, was an inch or two taller than him. He cautiously took a couple steps, trying to get used to Scar's gait. With that, he took off. Or, well, tried to. 

In actuality, he got a few feet off the ground, and then couldn't find balance. He went crashing down, hitting his shoulder as he rolled down the hillside that was the Rail station, and got a face full of sand.

He looked up, disgruntled, and decided to just take a boat. He opened his inventory to realise that it was Scar's. He felt bad about using Scar's resources like this, but he knew that it would turn out better for Scar if Cub just used that wood. He crafted up the boat, threw it into the water, and sailed over to ConCorp.

When Cub arrived, he wasted no time rushing over to the spot where he'd collapsed. Sure enough, there he was, just waking up. He rushed over to... himself? By Vex, this was weird. And then whoever was in his body began screaming.

"...Scar?" Cub asked himself, briefly surprised that his voice was like Scar's. His own eyes looked up at him, and Scar nodded.

"Cub... what are these voices?"

"Oh, those are the corruption from the Vex Magic. Like your scars. Just ignore them, they can't do anything."

The two chuckled, and headed into the Board Room. They searched up and down the shelves for a way to solve their situation. Their search gave no result. Frustrated, Scar rushed up a ladder to reach the higher shelves. However, he forgot that he was an inch or two shorter than the ladder.

He fell, and Cub reached to catch him, almost instinctively. The magic slowly lowered him towards the ground as lines of blue clawed across Cub's face. Cub let Scar fall the last centimetre or so, since he wasn't used to the pain.

Scar stood up, and saw the injuries. Scar hurried over to Cub, took his hands, and asked one simple question:

"How do I end it?"

Cub muttered the instructions to Scar, through the pain, and Scar tried his best to follow them. The injuries closed themselves over for the most part, but the center one left a large scar that wouldn't fade anytime soon. Scar opened his mouth to apologise but then gasped in surprise.

"Scar!?"

"The voices- They're getting louder!"

"How- how do I fix it?"

Scar was about to tell Cub when his eyes flashed bright white.

"Why should I tell you?"

Cub tried to approach Scar, but was met with a blast of Vex Magic and a glare. Scar ran off, and Cub was left standing in the board room, dumbfounded. He knew how things could get when the corruption was bad, so he decided that the best course of action would just be to find a cure.

He turned to the bookshelves, and sighed. There was certainly a daunting task ahead.

How is it Day 4 already!? I just can't believe it.

Cupra, signing off from the past!