Watcher's Admins

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The door softly thudding and clicking brought the group back to the present, and they nearly collapsed sighing. Scott was the first to say something after the long moment of silence. "He...I knew things were...different with him. Of course, he'd be different after returning here! But...That isn't-"

"DO NOT-!" Pearl started, loudly, before taking a breath, fighting tears. "Do not say that. That...he's still there! I know he is!" She stormed in front of him, jabbing two fingers against his chest. "Never say that Grian isn't there because he is. It's this place. Not him. My brother is still there. I know it." Her voice quivered, and even though her eyes were misty, they held a cold fire to them.

Scott quickly put his hands up. "Pearl, you heard him! You heard what he said! He meant it!" He couldn't stop the words from coming out. "He meant what he said and he said what he meant. You heard how he said it too! You saw that look. You cannot tell me Grian is not there!"

Pearl clenched her hand at her side, staring at him before turning around and taking a few steps away. Then she froze and spun around slapping Scott across the face causing him to stumble. "Do not tell me what I do or do not know." She growled. Scott put a hand to his cheek, looking at her with a gaped mouth, silent before slowly nodding. "S-Sorry..."

Martyn quickly stepped between them and gently pulled Pearl away as Xisuma walked to Scott. "Pearl...It's alright. Hey, It's okay. Grian's still there. It isn't just Xelqua in there." Martyn said softly, grabbing her by the shoulders gently. "Scott's just letting his pessimism get the better of him."

"I refuse to believe he's not the Grian we know." Pearl covered her face with her hands, bowing her head and sniffling. "I will not believe he is...this monster now!" She shook her head, taking a breath.

Xisuma put a hand on Scott's shoulder, pulling him to the other side of the room. "Scott. What you saw, what you heard, it wasn't vindictive of anything. Grian is there, the Grian we know. This is just because oh what this place did to him after EVO. Being back here is doing something to him." He said quietly, before glancing back towards Pearl and Martyn. "You saw what happened in the dead man's zone. The Xelqua of the past would not do that. Trust Pearl and her judgment."

"X, I wish I could, but even you said it yourself...this isn't right. He isn't himself. That wasn't Grian." Scott muttered, looking towards the desk Xelqua had sat at mere moments ago. "Martyn said he stabbed you for the gods' sake. Without hesitation and with malice."

Xisuma shifted on his feet glancing down at his side, before back at Scott. "He did that because I made the mistake of not stopping. I didn't stop pushing him. He wouldn't have if I kept my mouth shut." He shook his head. "Tensions are high right now. We are in his domain. You may have the Winner's Pledge, but the other professors will still hold you in a slightly better light than they will hold me. Since they are becoming scared of Xelqua himself...and they know our relations."

"I...I'll be careful then," Scott murmured. Xisuma nodded before motioning to Pearl. "You two should talk...apologise to each other. I didn't expect her to slap you, truthfully." He chuckled softly before walking to the closet to lay out beds throughout the room for them to sleep.

Xelqua sighed as he closed the door of his room hung up his robes and set his mask on the side table. "╎ℸ ̣ ⍑ᔑ↸ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ʖᒷ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷリ...╎ℸ ̣ ⋮⚍ᓭℸ ̣ ⍑ᔑ↸ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ʖᒷ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᔑℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ╎ᒲᒷ. リ𝙹∴. ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ||'∷ᒷ ⍑ᒷ∷ᒷ." He scoffed to himself and sat on his bed, rubbing his face before falling back onto it, covering his eyes with an arm. "If she hadn't gotten out in the first place, I wouldn't have had to do such a thing..."