[SIDESTORY] Morbit Oneshots

[SHIVERS]

Red Ice - 2020
Como + Shivers, Punchclock Animal
Content warnings: violence, blood, injury, mentions of death, mild body horror
Bucket takes shelter in an abandoned cabin.

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A cabin in the woods. 
Hidden away from the main path and seemingly deserted enough during the day to appear a waste of time for any potential raiders. 

This was shelter enough for someone on the run as much as Bucket Judgment, former demon of Solitude's famous greater god. 

They spent the day running errands around the closest town in disguise, and at night set up shop with all their tools of living kept safe under the floorboards. 
It was certainly a downgrade, but a necessary one to keep hidden from the wrath of one particularly bloodlust-driven Spit. 

For now they sat inside, waiting until the sun was down before trying to get anything of significance done.

A thin, black, needle-like spear punctured through the wall of the cabin, missing Bucket's leg by mere inches.

Bucket scrambled across the floor toward the corner of the cabin, diving for their large bladed weapon leaning on the wall.

More spears followed suit, hounding the knight; each one a narrow miss. 
A splintered chunk of wood harmlessly bounced off Bucket's cheek from one of the impacts.

The dog grabbed the huge sword and shielded themselves behind it. "If thy are a bandit in search of goods to rob, reveal your form lest you confess yourself to be an assassin."

A voice from outside the cabin spoke, its direction difficult to determine.
"You know of bandits that can do this, Bucket Judgement?”
Four spears pelted the sword simultaneously, testing the dog's hold on it.
“I find that hard to believe."

"You would be surprised how high effort some of them manage to be.  It's impressive sometimes."
Bucket maintained their grip and charged the door directly, slamming through.

A spear was positioned just outside, low to the ground and horizontal. 
Just at the right spot to trip the canine should they not see it coming.

The dog clinked their blade directly against the spear, narrowly avoiding injury but staggering their movement slightly in the process. "High effort indeed...."

A black bat in a crimson cloak appeared from around the side of the shack, several more black spears hovering in the air around them.
Their eyes were closed, head down slightly.

"I feel the bandit assertion is presumptuous, and more than a little insulting."
They walked towards Bucket slowly, arms stretched out at their sides.

"I'm much more of a threat than that, Bucket."
The bat's eyes opened as they approached, a red glow emanating from both.

The dog made direct eye contact. They started swirling the large sword overhead in preparation.  "Then you're an assassin sent by Spit yes? I suggest you return where you came from."

They stood still about ten feet away, pearly whites showing in a grin.
"Or what, Bucket?"
A spear ejected itself out from the woods nearby, almost ripping the front of Bucket's shirt open.
"Do you have what it takes to kill me?"

Bucket started walking toward them unflinchingly, spinning the sword to cover them from the sides. "I'd really prefer not to if I can help it."

They laughed, clearly enjoying themself.
The figure raised a claw, seemingly pointing at Bucket.
One of the spikes hovering around them shot straight for Bucket's arm, though it was meant purely as a distraction for the thick, red ice forming along the ground behind the knight.

The dog swung to deflect the spike away from themselves.
It clattered down to the grass beside them just as the ice swept up Bucket's leg, forming a hold almost up to their knee.
The red ice was uncomfortably cold, already beginning to numb the dog's leg.

"You're going to have to try harder if you don't want to die, you know."

"Likewise." A force seemingly yanked the bat over right toward Bucket.

A wall of ice sprang up between the two in an attempt to catch the bat, one of their spears whistling around the side of the wall to make an attempt at striking Bucket's arm.

The dog tried to block the spear with another sword swing. The bat was being awkwardly dragged around the wall of ice.

The spear shifted around it just enough to nick Bucket's hand, swirling back around for another strike as the one Bucket had knocked away earlier swiped at the dog's other leg, the bat currently doing everything in their power to knock off the dog's concentration enough to stop being pulled.

Meanwhile, another wall of ice popped up against where the bat was being dragged, leading to them effectively being shoved safely against a corner.
The bat looked vaguely annoyed.

Bucket's concentration was broken for a moment as they focused on generating a protective wall of chains around themself.

The figure dropped off the wall of red ice, dusting off their cloak with a huff.
"Clever, but not nearly enough."
Their eyes honed in on Bucket once more.

The ice walls in front of them reshaped and advanced on the dog, one sliding itself up into a pillar to catch the dog's hands while the other skirted along the ground toward Bucket's unrestrained leg.

"I promise you, if I wanted you dead you'd be so by now." The bat's clothes were constricted tight as they were flung toward the approaching ice walls.

They growled in annoyance.
The ice going for Bucket's other leg stopped, now no more than a slippery patch on the grass, while two more - albeit much thinner - shaped up to cushion the bat.
Their body broke right through the first one, but stopped just barely on the next, several cracks forming in it from the impact.

Meanwhile, the pillar continued its pace and caught Bucket's wrists, freezing over them. 

The spears Bucket had been fighting against slowed and approached the dog.
One poked at their back while the other hovered right in front of their face.

"Not that it matters much." Their voice was muffled some by the ice, muzzle turned to the side to speak at all.
"Don't you want to live, Bucket? 
Apparently not, when you're holding back.
 
How disappointing."

"Then stop playing around." The dog's body rapidly cocooned in a mass of silk and chains, the mass of materials warding off the pillar from their body.

The spears pulled away, returning over to the bat as they dropped off the wall once more.
They stretched, squinting at the cocoon.
"You'll have to come out of there eventually. And when you do, I'll be here.
I can wait as long as you can."

After a while, the cocoon peeled away. The dog had transformed into a higher state, a mishmash of fabric and stitches, and teeth in odd places. 
"I'll be honest, I was hoping you'd get bored and leave..."

Their eyes went wide, but the expression didn’t read as fearful. The exact emotion on display was hard to place in the moment.
The bat laughed, showing their teeth again.
"How could I be bored? 
No need to insult yourself; you're nothing if not entertaining, Bucket."

A ten foot ice wall arose a few feet in front of the bat, spears at the ready behind it, the figure looking blurry through the thick, red ice.
"It's good to see you're stepping things up somewhat, but we both know you're still holding back."

Bucket blunted the ice wall with the flat end of their sword, making a large hole.

The bat raised an eyebrow, otherwise unflinching.
One spear flew straight through the hole, aiming for Bucket's arms, while another circled over the top, attempting to plunge straight down onto them from above.

The dog acrobatically jumped through the hole with tight precision, narrowly avoiding the spears as they did.

The bat still did not move.

Two of the spears hovering around them dove at Bucket while another circled back through the hole.

Bucket deflected the first two spears while taking the other one in the shoulder, unable to avoid the hit. Their eyes stayed honed in on the bat.

The spear in Bucket’s shoulder shot straight through, leaving a thin wound and dipping towards Bucket's hands.
Ice filled the wound, creeping across Bucket's torso.

The bat opened their arms.
"What's the matter? Lost your nerve?"

Suddenly, the bat was slammed repeatedly into the ground with frantic energy.
"I'm going to drain you out like a grape. Surrender."

The spear flicked through Bucket's wrists, red ice springing up from the small holes just as the ice on their torso creeped down the dog’s arms.
The cold masses joined in the middle and began to bulk up, weighing their limbs down heavier and heavier.
The rest of it made its way slowly up the dog's chin, encroaching towards their mouth.

The figure couldn't quite speak at the moment, but one of the spears hovered just in front of Bucket's face once more, as if threatening them.

The dog paused and held the bat in place for a moment. "I will take you with me. Call it off now and let me look at your injuries."

"Would you really, Bucket?"
The bat coughed. 

The ice continued, but its pace had slowed significantly.
"You're willing to die just to kill me? 
Come now..."

They looked up at Bucket with a smile, thin lines of blood trailing from their nostrils and several cuts on their face.
"...What would Chelsea think if she found out you'd died?"



"...Why do you know that?" Bucket's face frowned. "I don't know what you want. I'm tired and very confused. 
You're not an assassin because you've held back on chances to kill me. You claim not to be a bandit... I don't understand. 
Call this off and explain."

"Fine, but only if you do something for me."
The ice stilled for the moment, but didn't break away.

"I want a demonstration. And I have questions I'd like answered. Agree to those terms, and we--" 
They turned their head down to cough, wiping blood away from their muzzle as they looked back up at Bucket.
"...And we call this off."

"Please..." They placed the bat on the grass and loosened their grip.

The bat stood, looking shaky as they dusted themself off.

The red ice on Bucket's face fell away, but the rest remained.
"Now then, show me one of your illusions. The rest comes off after."

"I've been using them the entire time." 
The dog's appearance reverted. Visible scrapes, cuts, and bruises revealed that weren't there before made it clear Bucket hadn't quite avoided attacks nearly as well as things seemed. 
"I prefer a subtle touch with them."

The bat's eyes opened a little wider in surprise, before they smiled and laughed.
"Well done, then, if mildly disappointing."

The ice broke off and disappeared, the stranger looking like they were barely standing.

"They can get a little more extensive." The Bucket's appearance flickered to that of an old karacel hermit before changing right back. "I can do one other thing, if you allow me to place my hands on your shoulder for a moment."

"Oh, I'm aware. Feel free."
The bat lowered their arms.

The dog placed their hands down. With a glow of golden hue came the sensation of warmth. Pain faded quickly and wounds were patched up with ease.  "Don't move until I'm done. I still question why you know so much about me."

"Because I was tracking you."
Despite Bucket's warning, the bat gently raised their arm and touched Bucket's.
In a flash, the more severe wounds Bucket had suffered during the battle - such as the holes through their shoulder and wrists - closed up, but didn't quite heal fully.
The process was quick, but felt limited and messy. Most spots were still bleeding despite the dog feeling much more stable.

The bat now sported a grin miles wide.

Bucket blinked with surprise on their face. "You can do that too? Who are you exactly?"

"Toluca."

A hole miles deep opened up under Toluca and Bucket, wind felt on the canine’s face as a strong sensation of vertigo kicked in on instinct.

Bucket was unphased.

And just as it arrived, the illusion vanished momentarily, the bat looking incredibly pleased with themself.

"Did... Was this entire process simply to learn a few new tricks?" Bucket's knees were shaking with exhaustion. "Because if that's so, you simply could have asked."

Toluca similarly looked as if they might pass out at any moment.
"I'd say they're much more impressive than 'a few new tricks.' 
Besides, I doubt you would've demonstrated willingly if someone had approached you in the woods while you were deliberately hiding out. You would've thought I was a threat no matter what I said or did, so better to engage in a fight...”

The bat stopped to wipe more blood from their nose before continuing.

“...Then, either you notice I'm not going for the jugular and realize I'm not here to kill you, or you don't notice and give it your all so that I gain all your abilities anyways." 
“Either way...” They shrugged. 
“I get what I want.
More importantly, I got to see a scrap form in person for the first time, even if it was an illusion."

Toluca leaned in.
"That was your scrap form on display, wasn't it? 
I wouldn't think you'd have the foresight to come up with a fake one on the spot."

"It was exactly what you thought, fortunate for you I didn't give you a display of its proper abilities." Bucket sat down on the ground. "I really don't like using it."

"Why is that?" 
Toluca looked incredibly invested now as they sat next to Bucket on the grass.
"Is it painful?
Does it cause emotional stress?
Does the transformation take something out of you?
What would you say are its strengths and drawbacks?"

Bucket lifted up their sleeve to reveal their full arm, ringed with layers of off-colored fur like a tree. 
"It allows me to manipulate organic matter in quite an awful way. I can take parts from others to replace injuries, and place part of myself on someone else. As long as that part is attached to someone, should I choose so, I can monitor them, drain them for cells, and - should things get desperate enough - inflict a parasitic infection so horrific it becomes a liability to anyone within the same room. 
It's a grotesque bastardization of my healing abilities. I've had to use it more than a few times to keep people quiet, and I hate it."

Toluca studied their arm carefully, their crimson eyes moving up and down.
"Fascinating..."
The bat put a claw under their muzzle.
"How did you induce it the first time? Is the process different for subsequent transformations?"

"The first time it was a case of reaching a massive emotional height, with a lot of preparation...  It gets easier after enough times transforming. 
The abilities I gained during it; I just knew I had them and I felt a little repulsed at myself with how terrifying they were, but they've come in handy. I do not think that's something you'd like me to demonstrate for you."

They looked away, putting a claw to their chin for a few moments as they deeply considered the offer.

They turned back to Bucket.
"I would like to see it, but it causes you distress and I wouldn't be able to copy any of those abilities regardless. 
They're most likely tied to the form. That's my assumption, at the very least."

"So, better not. 
Wouldn't want you thinking I was heartless. You wouldn't answer my questions if you did!" 
They smirked and laughed at their own 'joke.'
"More to the point..." They stood up. "...I need to leave as soon as I can, or I may pass out on the way back. 
But, I do have something for you first."

They pulled a brass key from their pocket and tossed it to the dog, who quickly caught it.

"Head south from here about eight and a half miles. 
When you start seeing marked trees, follow them. 
Look for a large stone covered in yellow moss. It covers the locked trapdoor of a shelter.
It's the least I could do, seeing as..."
Toluca nodded in the direction of the cabin, and its many holes.
"I may be back with more questions, though, just so you’re aware."

"You had this all planned out from the start. You considered all angles and factors that would come of this." 
Bucket picked up their sword and leaned against it. 
"I suppose I can answer more, and can I assume a few inquire about accessing a form of your own?”

"You assume correctly.”

“I can't guarantee it'd be a overnight process."


“If not an overnight process, I doubt it would take much longer. I'm something of an expert in all of this, as I'm sure you saw!
Before that, however, I do need to make it back to where I'm staying. 
I could really... use..."
The bat was wobbling on their feet, knees looking as if they were about to cave.

"...Hell..."
Toluca toppled over onto the grass.

"Do you need someone to carry you back?" 
The dog reached down and offered a hand.

The bat did not respond. 
Toluca was out cold.

Bucket let out a small sigh and lifted Toluca over their shoulder.
"Thankfully, you provided directions to the promised shelter before passing out. 

We'll rest up over there. 

You certainly did make today interesting."