A Forced Arrangement

This is what happens when I get 0 hours of sleep and get up at 5 in the morning and my eyes burn and I think about how angry Kassiden is. Bloody Hell. I wanted to write. And this will contain swears since Kassiden and Kyrus curse more than the ancient pharaohs' hieroglyphs and has quite the speech impediment--of swearing constantly.

Chapter 01 - Irrationality
Usually, Radii and Kassiden never got along. Kassiden was irate, constantly fighting everything, almost never settling for anything without an argument. Radii was sunny and childish, as his young nature and innocence usually brought that wherever he went. They were complete opposites to each other, and more often than not Kassiden instilled overwhelming senses of fear and apprehension into the small Pseudo child whenever he goes to train with him.

Though, despite these obvious problems, that didn't stop Trigara when she prompted Kassiden and Kyrus to take care of him one day while she went out.

"Why." Kyrus hissed lowly.

Admittedly, he wasn't completely against the idea like Kassiden was. He was just busy. As self-promoted Chief of Household Security in the Pseudan home, he was constantly on the look out for humans, intruders, and attackers. He was no babysitter. Although Kyrus was far more lenient with Radii and had thus gained his overall respect as a mentor, he still didn't like the child's constant optimism and playfulness.

"Why can't you get Lockjaw to take care of the fucking brat?" Kassiden snarled, blatant with his displeasure in the proposition. "He's fit for it. And he's not busy with Cester."

"Aren't you fit for it as well?" Trigara prompted. "And Lockjaw is sleeping and still recovering. After that ... incident we had. I'm sure you remember."

Several days ago, Kyrusiden had caused mass chaos in the house. More specifically, he attempted to slaughter Kyrus and Kassiden, and anyone who dared tried to intervene. Lockjaw had been the first to attack the hybrid Pseudo, despite the extreme size difference between the 5"7 Lockjaw and the 6"11 Kyrusiden. This resulted in him not only sustaining severe slashes and cuts across his body, but also a smashed clavicle, a few broken or fractured ribs, and the lower half of his right leg had nearly been completely destroyed from the relentless butcher knife Kyrusiden had at the time.

"NO," Kassiden snapped. "Do you think I have time to deal with a meddly fucking brat? Or the tolerance? If you think I do--"

"Yes, I do think you do." Trigara interrupted, face conveying a clear level of practice with dealing with these type of situations. "Besides, he is already your student. You can deal with him outside of training, no? And also, you're using the term 'fuck' in the wrong context, dearest."

Kassiden was speechless. But he growled loudly, his eyes briefly blazing a bright red before he huffed, like a distraught boar. "Fine," he grumbled. "Don't blame me if the kid acts stupid and makes me want to kill him." He storms off towards the medical ward after making his proclamation.

Trigara turned to Kyrus, who had been silently watching.

"Please, make sure to take good care of him." Trigara says softly, taking her hand and patting the virus's shoulder. "I trust that you will be able to."

Kyrus nodded, and watched as Trigara turned away and walked out of the front door, waving good-bye at him.

" ... Kassiden you fucker, c'mon and hurry the fuck up so we can--" Kyrus abruptly halted his demand as he walked into the medical ward, and had slowed down when he saw Lockjaw forlornly sleeping in the soft white bed in the center of the room, alongside a row of empty ones. He stopped entirely when he saw Radii sleeping on the floor next to the bed, and Kassiden leaning against the wall, watching them.

Kassiden turned his head to Kyrus, glaring daggers. "What were you saying, bastard?"

Kyrus lowered his voice into a harsh whisper. "Get the fuck out," he hissed lowly. "I'll take care of Radii for now."

"There are no fucks to get out." Kassiden retorts, before walking out of the ward, his stare lingering at Lockjaw.

Kyrus stared at the sleeping Lockjaw, who still looked tired despite his current resting. He was hooked up to an oxygen tank that would gauge his level of pain and control his breathing so that he didn't breathe too deeply and hurt himself, possibly opening up the fractures of his ribs. Bandages were wrapped around his arms and partially concealed by the sleeve of his shirt, gauze poking out of the slashes in the fabric. His left shoulder and right lower leg were covered in a stiff brace.

"Hey." Kyrus said softly, walking over to Radii and shaking him gently. "Wake up, kid. Leave Lockjaw to sleep."

As if on cue, Lockjaw's heterochromatic eyes fluttered open, dull red and green eyes tiredly flitting around the room he was in. He raised his remaining good arm and tore the oxygen mask off of his face, breathing heavily in an attempt to even out his breathing. He sits up and stared down at Radii, fidgeting.

"Go back to sleep, Lockjaw." Kyrus hissed, noting the shadows under Lockjaw's eyes. "I'm taking care of Radii."

Kyrus is only greeted with Lockjaw's usual silence as a response. He watches the mute casually comb his fingers through his disheveled bedhead, eyes half-lidded and darkened with shadows that told of sleepless, painful nights where his injuries would decide to spike back up with aches and flares of splintering pain and cripple the mute until someone would check on him.

"I said go back to sleep, Lockjaw," Kyrus said, voice bordering on irritation mixed with tints of anxiety. "You are in no condition to--"

Lockjaw's brow furrowed, contorting his previously emotionless expression into a fiery glare, and he turned himself onto the side of the bed, as if about to get on his feet and go.

Radii, who was only half-awake before, snapped into action.

"Lockjaw, don't!" The small Pseudo squeaked. "You can't walk yet!"

The small Pseudo child scrambled up from laying on the floor and gently tried to usher Lockjaw back into the bed, trying to avoid touching the broken bones. Lockjaw glared hard at Radii--but his menace had no heat behind it. He was too tired and exhausted to put up any real fight, even to Radii. So he simply complied and lay on top of the sheets.

"Thank you, Radii." Kyrus offered a compliment, since Radii managed to get Lockjaw to go back and try to sleep. The child beamed at him, bright gold and yellow eyes glittering at him like gold coins. "Now, let's go. Me and Kassiden have to take care of you now."

Radii, upon hearing mention of Kassiden, stiffened noticably, but he asquiesced, following the virus out of the medical ward.

▪▪▪▪▪▪

When Kyrus walks out of the medical ward, the first thing he notices is Kassiden sat up and draped over the large arm of the couch, seemingly fast asleep. One arm dangles loosely over the end of the couch arm, while Kassiden's hand slightly twitches--seemingly impulsively grabbing for a weapon.

Kyrus motions for Radii to hush, knowing that Kassiden could almost be considered an insomniac--but the times that he even attempts to sleep are rare, albeit a very, very light sleep. Kyrus knew that Kassiden got extremely cranky whenever anyone woke him up.

"Come on," Kyrus hisses softly, as he tiptoes his way towards the kitchen to retrieve a quick snack for the small Pseudo he's been burdened to take care of.

"I can fucking hear you," Kassiden's voice abruptly pipes up, causing both Kyrus and Radii to jolt up in surprise, the latter yelping rather loudly. "Just get what you need and go away. I'm fucking tired of people's shi--" Kassiden abruptly hesitated on spitting out another expletive. "Shenanigans. Now just go."

"Can you calm down?" Kyrus snapped.

Kassiden glared at Kyrus for a bit, before watching the virus head into the kitchen to rustle about. Leaving Radii as subject to his simmering anger.

Radii, instead of hurriedly heading into the kitchen to avoid Kassiden's presence, stood his ground--staring at Kassiden's hardened red eyes with an underlying determination. Kassiden simply stared back rigidly at his unfortunate apprentice.

"What are you looking at me for?" Kassiden growled lowly, glaring hard at the small, 4"11 Pseudo child.

" ... Well ... " Radii began, shifting his weight back and forth on his feet, facade rapidly deflating. "A-aren't we supposed to train soon?"

"No." Kassiden hissed lowly. "Later."

" ... But Kyrus had said--"

"No."

Kyrus stepped back out of the kitchen, holding a plate that contained a perfect little peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Handing Radii the plate and guiding him to eat at the quaint little dinner table that sat near the wall, he passed a hard stare at Kassiden. He walked over to the irritated Hell-Type.

"You idiot." Kyrus hissed, voice low. "We're supposed to take c--"

"Fuck off."

"Kassiden I sw--"

"Kill yourself."

"For what?!"

"For existing. What happened to your previous malicious nature?" Kassiden snapped, standing up and glaring at the Virus. "Remember when you had kidnapped them? To KILL them? Now look at you. Baby-sitting a useless tot. You've gone SOFT, that's what you are now!"

"How dare you--" Kyrus snarled, eyes glowing fiercely.

"I dare!" Kassiden hissed, lips pulling back in a snarl, exposing sharp white teeth.

Neither of them realized how loud their quarrel had gotten. And in a brief bout of silence between their exchange, they heard the squeak of a chair scraping against the floor. They both turned their head to see Radii tentatively trying to leave, visibly shaking, holding his now cleaned plate.

Instantly, regret flooded Kyrus--he shouldn't have started on Kassiden like that. Especially in front of Radii. The shreds of caring he had for the small Pseudo had turned into landscapes over the months that he's been training Radii. And now he couldn't stand exposing him to anything bad.

He proceeded to punch Kassiden in the shoulder as hard as he could, before cautiously trying to approach the shaking child. But he didn't get the chance to. Flinching, Radii ran away from the kitchen and hurried up the stairs. Kyrus shrunk. The burn of anger, sting of the brunt of Kassiden's verbal assault, and regret made him turn around one final time to face Kassiden, glaring at him with as much anger he could put into one look, before storming off.

Kassiden only stood in the living room, eyes lacking any form of remorse for his actions.

Chapter 02 - A Heartless Game of Yahtzee.
Kyrus had never felt so irate at Kassiden like he did. First, he brought up an incredibly touchy subject that he knew he didn't want to hear about. Second--Radii. They both were put in charge by Trigara, and as a result of this--admittedly--forced arrangement, Kassiden had brought it upon himself to neglect the small Pseudo and force him under Kyrus's care.

What's with him?! The Virus grouched.

Honestly, the Virus knew how soft he had gotten. And he hated himself for it. He remembered his efficiency back then--back then in The Cybernetic World. Now he could only barely keep up.

He sat on the stairs. Trigara should be coming home soon, shouldn't they? He knew that the Pseudo's trip would be brief. Maybe, when she came home, this disaster of a baby-sitting would end, and Kyrus could trim off the ragged edges from his memory. AKA, all of it.

He was done with today.

Standing up and trudging up the stairs with heavy, dragging footsteps that were probably more akin to stomps, he dragged his sorry self into his room.

... And collapsed, onto the floor.

▪▪▪▪▪▪

Lockjaw miserably limped around the house, teetering dangerously with a crutch in his good arm, and his useless arm tucked in a cast, and parts of his body bandaged up. An IV pole followed him around, guided by a wire tied onto his shoulder. He had snuck out of the Medical Ward.

Hobbling around precariously, he approached the living room. There, he found Kassiden sleeping on the couch. Given how noisy his traversing was, Lockjaw thought that Kassiden would have woken up to snap at him for a bit. Not this time. From a fair distance, the mute could tell that Kassiden was out cold for the first time in a very long while. Deep in sleep.

Lockjaw proceeded to make his way out of the living room and up the stairs. It took awhile, with a lot of noise going on--much to his chagrin. But he managed to make it.

He went to Radii's room. He already knew that the Pseudo was fast asleep too, judging by the closed door. He went to Kyrus's room, the door was already cracked open for him to enter.

He found him passed out on the floor. Unconscious. Still breathing, but completely out of it.

The mute Pseudo made his way over, and poked the Virus Pseudo with his crutch. No response. Lockjaw, in spite of his constant, bored-looking appearance and lack of response, was perceptive. He knew that Kyrus often passed out or collapsed for unknown reasons. He had heard him arguing with Kassiden before he had noted the fuming cyan Pseudo leave. He didn't hear anything else. Not Kassiden, Radii, Kyrus, no one. It was uncharacteristically silent. So he thought that Kyrus lost himself and passed out because of stress and anxiety.

It's not like he could do anything to help him, though. He was injured, mute, and incapacitated.

Throwing aside his crutch, he let himself drop onto his knees, and he picked up the passed out Virus Pseudo with his good arm, and clumsily threw him onto his bed, no longer caring if he hit his head. He grabbed his crutch, heaved himself up, and left the room to go take a nap in the Medical Ward.

Lockjaw felt sick of this day, too. More than most days.

▪▪▪▪▪▪

For the next several days, the house was silent. During meal-times, the table was emptier. Usually, Kyrus and Kassiden would sit and watch, listening to the conversation. Now they didn't come out of their room entirely. Radii was quieter and less excited and joyful, but he still joked around with Origanna and Essence. Even Kyrusiden, the most demented out of the bunch, noticed the change. But he remained absentminded and never tried to say anything to the other K's, or intervene in the silence.

Mryminous, usually quiet and uninterested in the drama, couldn't help but feel like something was wrong with the two K's. He knew full well that they argued--they fought, and then the next few days were spent cooling off the fire. But this was different--at least, different than what he's usually seen. There was still the heat in the air. Shots were still being fired, somehow.

Esyure. He knew exactly what happened. Kassiden had triggered Kyrus's inner sense of anxiety. He felt it in his core. He knows what an anxious person looks like and does--because he knew how to look at himself.

Origanna sensed the tension. Radii exuded it like a sponge. The Pseudo child had seen something that he probably shouldn't have seen. He knew he had to intervene somehow. Kassiden never ate earth food and never truly took care of himself, despite many attempts at badgering him to do so--and this situation only made it worse. The stripey red and black Pseudo knew that Kassiden did morbid, horrible things with his alone time--he's noticed the signs. And Kyrus, he only took the bare minimum of sustenance that he thought he needed for the entire day. He didn't even come out to do that anymore. They were going to die at this rate, he thought. Whether it be starvation, negligence, or some other morbid cause. He had to do something.

After finishing up dinner, Origanna quickly retreated up the stairs. He went to Kyrus's room first.

Knocking on the door, he pressed an ear against it. He didn't hear anything at the other end. He knocked again, not wanting to barge in without waiting for another potential response.

Still nothing.

Adrenaline surging, Origanna grabbed the door knob--

And it popped off.

"Wh--" Origanna stared at the small brass door knob now clutched in his hand. He tossed it aside, noting how it bounced down the stairs with noisy clatters accentuated with tiny clinking from the loose screws. He knocked on the door again.

"Kyrus? Kyrus, are you okay?"

No response. Origanna was getting iffy at this point.

He banged on the door. Nothing. He even allowed himself to kick the door one time. Still nothing?

''   Fine. You want to play it that way? ''

Origanna methodically took out his deck of cards. Sorting through them, he picked out five different cards, and held them like a fan.

He proceeded to throw them all at once at the door, watching them impale the door like shurikens, before they started glowing. They all exploded at once. Miraculously, they only blew up the door. Running over and swiping up his cards and shoving them into the pocket of his coat, he entered the Virus's room.

It was a mess. Blue circuits lined the wall in long, geometric streaks. Innocuous things were burning and the air smelled like static-filled dust. Even his bed was singed and charred.

"Oh my goodness ... "

Origanna couldn't help but mumble to herself. She was disoriented by the sight. And what made it worse was that the Pseudo he was looking for was nowhere to be found. The only signs that could indicate their presence was the patterns of circuits on the wall like an eerie, painted-on design. And the outline of a crumpled Pseudo traced haphazardly on the carpet like a murder scene.

If Kyrus was like this, then Origanna shuddered at what Kassiden's room would be like.

▪▪▪▪▪▪

Origanna timidly left Kyrus's room. He had to get this over with.

Navigating himself towards Kassiden's room, his heart pounded. Adrenaline surged through him and he felt anxious. If Kyrus's room was like that ...

He stopped in front of Kassiden's door. He couldn't help but listen to Radii and Essence having fun downstairs, and Kyrusiden's occasional giggling that kept changing pitch. How had they not heard him just blow up the door? Maybe they did, maybe they didn't.

He knocked on the door shakily. No response. Origanna certainly did not want to break open this door like he did with Kyrus's. He tentatively knocked again.

Just as he was going to try the knob, a massive hand slammed itself onto Origanna's shoulder, scaring the absolute daylights out of him.

"Stop it."

Origanna fearfully looked back, and saw the hulking 7'0 form behind him. Kyrusiden.

"Stop it." The Hybrid said, his voice warping and pitch constantly switching. Jumping from high and screechy to low and demonic. "You don't want to see what's in there."

"W-w-w-what?" Origanna stammered.

"I said you don't want to go in there." Kyrusiden repeated. "Can you hear my voice right now?" His voice was warping, glitching, and kept switching pitches. "You don't want to know what's happening. Now get the fuck out of here."

Before Origanna could react, Kyrusiden roughly grabbed him by the back of the neck and dragged him back downstairs.

"Wait! But--" Origanna began to protest, struggling a bit. "But we have to make sure that--"

"I said STOP, Ori!" Kyrusiden snapped harshly, throwing the other Pseudo onto the floor once they were off of the stairs. His voice was glitching viciously. "You may think that you can save everyone--but no one here understands the reach of the situation. Not even ME! And I'm THEM spliced together, for fuck's sake!"

Origanna stared at the massive Hybrid Pseudo, stung.

"LOOK, you PRISS." He continued, hooking up Origanna by his high collar and hoisting him up so that Origanna was staring directly into the Pseudo's purple-pink eyes. Kyrusiden was distinctly aware that Radii, Essence, Esyure, and Mryminous were watching, so he cast a fierce glare at the four as a warning. "I don't know HOW the situation has gotten THIS bad between them--because all they do is argue with only few abrasions! But THIS? THIS?!" His voice warped harshly. "THIS IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! And you KNOW THAT!"

He dropped the other Pseudo onto the floor.

" ... You know what. Fine. If you really want to, go look." The Hybrid sighed in resignation. Origanna distinctly became aware that Kyrusiden's eyes seemed to changed to a more pink colour during his throes. But they were turning back into their normal balance of pink and purple. "I already know that something is wrong. And if you want to satisfy your damned curiosity, then fine."

Kyrusiden started to leave, before Origanna noticed the wry smile creep upon the hybrid's face. Seems like he's back to his normal, mischievous self, he sighed.

He turned to stare at the four other Pseudos who were watching the entire scene unfold. Radii looked traumatized. Esyure's eyebrows were raised, but his expression was blank. Essence looked like he just saw someone die right in front of him, while Mry appeared as if he was in a trance.

Chapter 03 - Just For A Little While
Origanna was increasingly tense. Kyrus was still missing, and Kassiden hasn't been seen in three days. He never got to check what could have been in his room, and Kyrus's destroyed door was clumsily taped together and put back into position, covering the room from everyone's sight. Kyrusiden reverted back to his mischievous self, remaining absentminded in regards to the situation. When Ori pried at him, Kyrusiden simply stared at him with his usual, half-lidded, relaxed stare, his defaultly, almost drunken-looking smile remaining plastered on his face. This deeply unsettled the other Pseudo, so he always stopped asking upon seeing his face.

Esyure sensed this emptiness and silence. However, he did nothing. What could he do? Tell off his friend? Confront Kyrusiden head-on and risk death? Sneak into Kassiden's room, investigate himself, and keep the secret for himself? Search for the two K's? He didn't know, and it unsettled him considerably that no one was doing anything.

He was sitting on the couch, fiddling with his recently acquired cell phone. Ori had gotten it for him. He didn't really know why he wanted it, but he had gotten it and it now serves as an object of comfort--he likes holding it in his hands and whenever he's anxious he tends to squeeze the bumpy phone case. Whenever he was angry or anxious, he always clenched his fists, so the phone gave his hands something to hang onto. He was almost grateful for this seemingly innocuous luxury.

Browsing through the Play Store and looking through random apps, Esyure noted the silence. Essence was outside with Mryminous, Trigara and Radii were out as well, probably watching the former's flight exercises. Origanna was sleeping on the couch next to him, and Kyrusiden was sitting in the nook where the couches met, leaving a square of space. He was sitting in it like it was some small cage, knees brought up to his chest and his elbows resting on them.