Chapter Text
The curse is supposed to hurt them, the curse is supposed to turn them into babies, as Checkerface later mentions, but when it comes time to change, Skull is the only one that’s screaming. It’s like he’s choking to death, and he’s so certain he’s going to die there, at seventeen-
Only to wake up in Giglio Nero’s nearest manse, throat bandaged and in an IV line stuck into the crook of his left elbow.
He wakes up in incredible pain and in confusion, and the moment he does, the convulsions begin.
It’s terrifying, to lose control of your body, and the IV line is ripped out of him, and he silently keens in pain. His vision is blurring and everything seems too loud, too harsh, too distant-
He doesn’t know how long he lingers there, unseeing and unfeeling, but when he comes to, it’s to see the other Arcobaleno surrounding him. Reborn is slowly threading yellow Flames into him, eyes narrowed in focus, and Luce’s normally serene face seems pale and pained. They’re the only two he can focus on, his mind bleary and unfocused.
His finger twitches and Viper hands him a glass of water. It’s harsh against his torn throat, and he can barely lift it up. His fingers are trembling by the end of it.
“What happened?” He asked, voice raw and unsteady. “I was screaming-“ faint, terrifying recollections of pain, and he flinches, drawing in a sharp breath.
“The curse…it…changed.” Luce begins with that, hands settled on her large stomach.
“The curse?”
“The strongest seven maintain the balance of the world, the Tri-ni-sette so that the world keeps turning. Our part of that was to be frozen in time as children, to walk the world unaged and unaging.” Luce bits her lip, frustrated, ignoring the bitterly angry looks that the others give her.
Luce stares into Skull’s eyes, unseeing yet piercing.
“Except this generation has a new aspect. Instead of reverting to children unaged, we have stayed adults. Perhaps we will still stay as we are, unaging, however-”
She swears, suddenly and fiercely in Italian.
“Instead,” Verde continues like this was a planned interruption, “all of our life forces are linked.” Skull blinks in slight confusion. Verde's eyes narrow slightly in irritation.
“But isn’t that what harmonization is, anyway?” His question is scratchy and low, and Reborn ups his flames. They’re on the edge of being far too hot, but he doesn’t complain.
“Yes, and no. Harmonization is more that you become more powerful among your companions, and sometimes a bit like marriage. It’s a complex relationship, but ours is more extreme. If one of us dies, the others will follow.” Skull parses through this information, mind whirling.
“But then…why was I…” Luce grimaces, and Viper gives him a blank, terrifying smile.
“You’re the most affected because the balance is uneven. If one of us dies, we still have time to find a replacement, no matter how painful. You die, and we’re all dead.”
Skull freezes, his mind blanking out.
“Viper-” Luce begins, tone disapproving, and Viper shakes their head, angrily.
“It’s better for him to have all the facts so he doesn’t do something stupid!” Viper cried out. “He’s going to get himself killed-”
And this leads to everyone speaking up at the same time.
“You don’t know that-”
“Lackey has to-”
“Well, the solution would be-”
“But how are we going to do anything at all, kora-”
“I don’t want to hear it from you, Luce-“
“It’s a most complex situation, we have to-”
Skull’s head swam, and he felt vaguely nauseous. He pinched his nose, gagging.
The arguing didn’t stop, and he tried to catch someone’s attention. He batted at the air, trying to get them to stop.
Something rose up in his throat, sickening-
But Reborn shot at Verde, whose eyes flashed green and everything devolved into a brawl, and Skull’s head felt like it was splitting open.
He couldn’t stop coughing, there was something stuck in his throat-
“Wait, lackey-”
And then he spit out blood, and his head felt heavy again-
Skull!”
The room was charred in placed and smelled like gunpowder and blood. Skull’s face was devoid of makeup, but chalk-white nonetheless. The Giglio Nero healer was slowly healing the overlying damage in his body as the others watched with anxious eyes.
“We cannot keep doing this.” They turned to the usually placid Storm. Fon was frowning, eyes worried.
Viper smiled, bitterly. “Do what? Argue? It’s not us unless we argue about everything.”
Fon exhaled softly. “If we cannot stay together without arguing then we should not stay together. We are harmonized, but we have always been in discord. Our increased aggressions only make Skull’s condition worse.”
“We can’t leave lackey here. He’ll get himself and the rest of us killed with that damned bike of his.”
“We could draw up a calendar, seeing who can take care of him.” Luce’s eyes were shadowed. “He will die within a year if he isn’t under constant supervision.”
Viper bit back their knee-jerk instinct to flee from the room. “So we just…watch over him? For how long?” Who is going to pay, what’s worth this, they think absentmindedly, focused on the prone body of their youngest element.
“As long as it takes,” Verde intoned, exhausted. “Skull’s condition is too precarious right now for him to even consider moving, so Luce will have to take the first watch. I will also stay because I need to find a solution to Skull’s depressed immunity. A common cold could kill him off right now.” Lal grimaced.
“We have jobs though. Most of which…” She trailed off, trying to imagine Skull at CEDEF and shuddering slightly.
"Well, it’s obvious that there won’t be a regular schedule. There will be jobs that change yearly, so the order will change as well.”
“Having a regular schedule is dangerous anyway, kora. We’re better off going with the flow so no one can pin a pattern and attack, “ Colonnello chimed in.
“Indeed.” The room was still tensed, Viper flipping through the medically reports idly as the rest tried to not look at the sickly boy or at each other.
“This is going to go great,” they muttered. “This isn’t going to go wrong at all."
Skull feels cold. The cold is a trigger to his awareness, and then he opens his eyes.
Everything feels heavy, and he’s alone in the hospital room. He slowly helps himself upright, wincing as his back spasmed.
God, he had to pee. He screwed up his face and slowly moved his legs to dangle over the edge of the bed, over the railing. He clutches at the blankets, wincing as his toes touch the cold floors. He shudders, gripping at the handle as he stares blankly at the door. The bathroom must be past that, but he can barely muster up the strength to even take a step.
He sighs, before summoning the strength. IV line holder in one hand, pressed against the wall, he slowly makes his way out the door, legs trembling in every step, and he finds the bathroom to the left of the bedroom.
He lowers himself slowly, taking care of his business, but his eyes catch on the mirror, and he drinks in himself. He’s wearing no make-up, so he can see the dark circles and the waxy, unhealthy tint of his skin, the bandages still wrapped around his body. He swallows, eyes growing damp.
What has he gotten himself into? He touches his lips, red and raw, when he stumbles, knocking into the side shelf.
“Skull! Skull, where are you-” Colonnello knocks on the door, and Skull winces.
“I’m inside,” he calls out, voice hoarse.
“Hurry up and come out then, kora!” He slowly moves towards the door, to see a glaring Colonnello.
“Um. Can you-” The blonde man moves out of the way, eyes unreadable as Skull slowly steps out, pressed against the wall. His legs are shaking badly, but he grits his teeth and slowly moves forward, breathing heavily from the exertion. He takes another minuscule step forward, and Colonnello snorts.
“God, here-” And Skull flinches back, losing his step and falling back when two strong arms catch him, holding him under the middle of his back and under his thighs.
“You’re so careless, kora.” Colonnello grumbles. “Hold onto the IV line, I’m taking you back to your bed.” Skull grips the handle and they slowly move, and Skull slowly un-tenses as Colonnello settles him back onto his bed. They are both silent as Colonnello pulls the sheets up around Skull.
“Thanks,” he mutters. Colonnello says nothing as he leaves the room.
He falls asleep within seconds.
The next few days are blurred. He sleeps a lot, only waking to eat and use the restroom. He sees people sitting by his bed, but he is too out of it to really care.
But he gets better, and he nearly cries when he can walk to the restroom by himself without being exhausted.
Things get marginally better until everything goes downhill.
The realization that he’s never going to be able to ride his bike again comes loud and clear when Viper snaps at him when he mentions a cool stunt he used to do, something he wants to work on in the future.
“It’s too risky, idiot! You won’t be able to-” Viper stops themselves, a moment too late.
His face must drop, or something because Viper suddenly looks uncomfortable, and an uncomfortable Viper is an upset Viper, and they snarl before leaving the room, and Skull feels something wet drip down his face.
Oh. He’s crying.
ʷ̢͖͙ʰ̢͕͜ʸ̢͖ ⁱ͓̦ˢ̦̠ ʰ̞̘͓ᵉ̝̦͜ ᶜ͎̙̟ʳ̢͙̺ʸ͍̙ⁱ̡͕ⁿ̼̞ᵍ͕͚, ʷ̢͖͙ʰ̢͕͜ʸ̢͖ ⁱ͓̦ˢ̦̠ ʰ̞̘͓ᵉ̝̦͜ ᶜ͎̙̟ʳ̢͙̺ʸ͍̙ⁱ̡͕ⁿ̼̞ᵍ͕͚-
Why is he…why is he crying?
It’s not like he’s dead, or something. It’s not like...
It’s not he’s an invalid, it’s not like-
He presses his hands into his face and he begins to quietly sob.
There’s nothing really...
He’s fine...
His entire life…is falling apart, and the rest of them...
ᵂʰʸ ᵈᵒ ᵗʰᵉ ʳᵉˢᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉᵐ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᵗᵒ ᵈᵉᵃˡ ʷⁱᵗʰ ⁿᵒᵗʰⁱⁿᵍ⸴ ʷʰʸ ⁱˢ ᵗʰᵉ ᵇᵘʳᵈᵉⁿ ᵒⁿ ʰⁱᵐ ᵒⁿˡʸ?
ᴵᵗ'ˢ ⁿᵒᵗ ᶠᵃⁱʳ⸴ ⁱᵗ'ˢ ⁿᵒᵗ ᶠᵃⁱʳ⸴ ⁱᵗ'ˢ ⁿᵒᵗ⁻
ʰᵒʷ ᵈᵃʳᵉ ᵗʰᵉʸ⸴ ʰᵒʷ ᵈᵃʳᵉ ᵗʰᵉʸ⸴ ʰᵒʷ ᶜᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵗʰᵉʸ-
ᴵ̓̓͠ᵗ̐̐͝'̐͋͝ˢ̈́͑͠ ⁿ̓̚͝ᵒ͛̓͒ᵗ̓͘ ᶠ̈́̈́͠ᵃ͆̕̕ⁱ͑͆͠ʳ̓͐͝⸴̾͆͝ ⁱ͊͆͝ᵗ͒̈́͘'̓͆̕ˢ͆̓͝ ⁿ͐͝ᵒ̽̒̐ᵗ͑͊͠ ᶠ͆͊ᵃ̾̓̓ⁱ̈́͆̐ʳ̈́̓̿⸴͘̚͝ ⁱ̔͌͆ᵗ͊͐'͌͘͠ˢ͌̔͝ ⁿ̽̓͝ᵒ̈́͘͠ᵗ̐̓̓⁻͋̈́
He imagines sensation fo flying through the air on his custom bike, the way he could flip off mid-ride, the exhilaration of flying through flaming hoops. He imagines the way it felt to press the accelerator and speed off with no regard for safety-
And then he thinks about how he can never feel that way again.
ʰ̫̼̪ᵒ̦̼̠ʷ̘̞͇ ᵈ̫͖̦ᵃ͙͔ʳ͖̠̝ᵉ͕͉̼ ᵗ̼̝ʰ̢̦̼ᵉ̟̻̠ʸ̡̙⸴̢̼͜ ʰ̠͓͕ᵒ͖̝̼ʷ͎͙̞ ᵈ̙̘̪ᵃ̦̙ʳ̠͔̠ᵉ͖̫̻ ᵗ̼̪ʰ̠͓̺ᵉ̪̺͓ʸ̢̦⸴̦͕͉ ʰ͕͎̝ᵒ̢͎͔ʷ̻̫͓ ᶜ͉̟͙ᵒ̪͉̞ᵘ̺̦̪ˡ͓͜ᵈ̼͚͔ ᵗ̡͙ʰ̡̦̻ᵉ̙͎̟ʸ̢̢̪
ⁱ͋̚͝ ʷ͆͐ᵃ̔͊͝ⁿ͛̈́ᵗ̒̐̈́ ᵗ͊͝ᵒ͊͛̈́ ᵈ̔̽̒ⁱ̈́͠ᵉ͆̿͐
'͆͝ᵐ͒̓͠ ᵈ̈́̕ʳᵒ͐͋̐ʷ̒̓͝ⁿ͑͘ⁱ̈́̽̓ⁿ̈́͐̿ᵍ͋̐͝
ʰᵉˡᵖ ᵐᵉ
He’s unresponsive for the next four days, practically catatonic.
He wakes up, feeling numb and not a little broken, and his fellow Arcobaleno flinch at the sight of him.