Bad Luck in Wonderland

One second you're engaged in combat, slinging spells at an electrified direbear, the next, you are falling to the floor. As your mind scrambles to process what has set you off balance, you hit the ground hard, leaving you in complete darkness, devoid of all sensations.

Waking up, you notice first the ringing in your ears, then the pounding in your head, and finally, pain.

Every other time you've been injured on a mission you've felt a somewhat familiar, sharp stabbing that dulls with time. This however is unlike anything you've ever felt before. This pain is an all-consuming one, it doesn't diminish with time. Instead, it makes you wish you were still numb to the world around you.

You scrunch up your face and slowly exhale, an attempt to get through the pain.

Seeing your grimace, Merle takes your hand and softly squeezes it. " Taako can ya look at me? I need to see those eyes."

You turn your head toward Merle's voice slowly and force your eyelids open. The bright neon lights of wonderland hurt your head.

You see both Merle and Magnus looking down at you with tears in their eyes.

"W-" you start to question and your lungs wheeze. 

"Don't try talking yet," Merle says, "We um- we don't know how bad your injuries are. I'm not gonna lie to you though, it doesn't look good.

"Yeah, it doesn't feel too good either." You think.

Another wave of pain washes over you and your exhale is cut short by a coughing fit. Every cough makes your ribs flare in pain. You begin choking on your blood.

Magnus is right there beside you, hand encasing yours, trying his best to comfort you despite the look of terror on his face. Merle is there too, flipping frantically through the pages of his Extreme Teen Bible, trying to find a good spell to heal you with. You find yourself wondering if this is the end. If this is truly how Taako goes out.

Merle puts his hand on your arm and casts cure wounds.

Your coughing eases and the blood coming out your mouth slows. You relax and take a moment to wordlessly thank Merle. Before he can respond though, you all hear a voice from the speaker in the ceiling chime in, "Hold on there, what do you think you are doing? It says, "That's cheating!"

Your moment of relief suddenly ends and you are yet again filled with pain as your body falls into another coughing fit. The room tilts and spins leaving you dizzy.

Magnus shakes his head furiously, "No Healing?!  That's bullshit!" He turns to Merle, " There's got to be more we can do."

"Well, there is always the old fashioned way," Merle says. "I carry a first aid kit with me for when I'm out of spell slots. I'll try my best to fix this, but I'm no miracle worker.

He digs in his bag for a minute and turns toward you with a vial in hand. " I need you to drink this, bud. It tastes like shit but it will help to stop the internal bleeding."

"Ok," you say dryly. No witty jokes or comebacks, you're far too tired to make that kind of effort.

Magnus helps you to sit up slightly, and in between your coughs Merle presses the vial up against your lips. "Drink up." He says.

You chug the liquid down like a shot. You gag and Magnus puts his hand over your mouth. You close your eyes and try to focus on what he is saying. He is there reassuring you that everything will be alright. You aren't quite sure that you believe him but soon your coughing dies down.

"Atta boy!" Merle says, "Now let's get this big chunk of metal off of ya."

They both work at getting this giant machine off of you, and within minutes you are free from its clutches.

With your body now uncovered, Merle begins to examine you from head to toe, scanning for injuries. His eyes stop at your stomach.

You feel exposed lying there helplessly.

He pulls out a needle and thread from his bag and gets busy stitching you up. You feel the poke of the needle, and let out a small whimper. Magnus responds to this by wiping your hair out of your eyes and tells you how good you are doing and how brave you've been.

You certainly don't believe any of what he's saying. If only he knew how scared you really were. Merle pulls and tugs at your stomach a little bit longer before he says, "It's all done. How are ya feeling bud?"

You smile weakly, "M' not dead, " you say, choosing to ignore how your words slur together.

Merle nods and says, "Good, not dead is good."

He continues his search for injuries and a look of sympathy passes over him, "Your leg is broken, we're going to have to splint it."

You quietly groan in response. You've seen many broken bones in your adventures so you know how this part works.

He counts down from three. "Three. Two." On one he twists your leg into position. You scream. Black dots cloud your vision and you hear Magnus cry out, " I'm so sorry." He says, "I know it hurts. I'm so so sorry." He strokes your forehead, it is covered in sweat but he doesn't care. "That's it bud, that's the worst of it." He says.

You close your eyes, "M'glad that's over with." You say.

"Don't let him lay down flat," Merle says. "You can wrap him up in his cloak to keep him upright."

"But M'tired." You say.

Magnus offers a weary smile as he wraps you up in your cloak. "You did good Taako." He says, and he hoists you onto his back.

Exhausted from the pain and blood loss, you respond with a, "Mhmm" and lean into his back.

You drift off to sleep quickly, reveling in the fact that at least for right now, you are safe. Your friends have got your back.