Chapter Text
Shit
She was burning.
The room, nonono, fuck. There was lava, so much lava. The stone around her split apart, magna pouring out through the cracks of the walls and filling up the space around her. She didn't know what was happening. One moment she was with Quackity, taking evidence of the crimes the federation committed. And then, boiling gases scorched her lungs, stealing her breath before processing what happened.
Everything hurt. It was horrifyingly heavy, dragging at her body like molten glass. She could feel the lava biting away at her skin. It clung to her as she attempted to fight herself free, parts of her clothes fused against the burns. A foul odor of burnt flesh filled her nose as blisters formed on her skin. She screamed, the sound ragged and broken
"PEN-" The word tore through her throat, feeling the saliva bubble in her mouth
Nothing
"PEN!" She cried again, desperate
He was supposed to be there, he was just there, next to her.
Smoke and sulfur burned her eyes until tears blurred her vision. She couldn't focus, did she hear something? It felt so faint, so faded. She didn't know. it sounded so far. The pain started to numb, her consciousness slipping away. For a moment, everything felt slow.
And then, she was dead.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
Well she wasn't, permanently, atleast.
She'd respawn, just like she always have. The federation would never let an islander die like that, right? Thats the point of the island. Everyone is safe. She couldn't focus, they wouldnt.. no, they wouldnt have done that. They wouldn't have sent the lava knowing somebody was in there right? Did they think the room was empty? No.. No they knew.. they had to have known we went back, they would've been able to hear quackitys voice.. they would've had cameras..
They fucking knew.
She placed a palm to her forehead, it stung. Attempting to steady herself before the stress could build up any further.
Where was she? She could barely open her eyes, everything still hurts. She turned her head sluggishly, the movement alone made pain move through her shoulders.
oh right.
She's in the basement of the Dutch Cafe. Her spawn was set there, right before her practice fight with Ashswag. The Dutch cafe.. The Dutch.. Don. Don would be here.Thats all she needed. A flicker of hope. somebody to bring her back down to earth.
She tried pushing herself up. "fffuck.." she muttered under her breath, her body trembled violently as she tried to stand. The moment she put weight on her leg, a sharp, stinging pain shot through her and caused her to almost collapse back onto the bed. She steadied herself, trying to ignore the burns all over her.
Motherfuckers, she thought, If they can make it so that we instantly teleport back to the safety of our home after we fucking- die?? Why the hell can't there be some sort of, automatic healing
She knew that was stupid, or maybe she thought the federation was stupid. Did they make it like that on purpose? So they could kill you over and over again, and the pain would never leave you?
She limped slowly towards the basement's elevator, each step hurting. Once there, she stumbled onto the railing with a tight hold. Slowly collapsing onto the floor as she hit the "2" button. Her eyes closed as she was silently lifted up, it felt like forever. She almost fell back asleep until a loud–
"KATIE"
One second she was on the ground, the next, she was getting carried. Two pairs of hand grabbed her, unintentionally pressing against her scars. Multiple voices merged together as each sudden movement caused her to jolt out of agony. Was she screaming? She felt like she was, everything was too blurry and too fast to figure out the situation.
Katie tried to focus on each voice, on what they were saying–
"Fuck- what happened?"
"I don't-" Each word stretched together "-just found her like this!"
"Oh my god-"
She heard someone gagging, ha.. did the lava really mess her up that bad? The pain was unbearable, she wish she could just pass out again and let them take control of the situation, and maybe she'd wake up and everything would be fine. Only a small scolding from Don and concerns from the rest of the dutch and possibly Ash and Mr. J. They'd give her a drink and she would describe the scenery she saw on Pierres plane. They'd all laugh while badmouthing the Federation.
But that wasnt happening, everyone around her was stressed. And she was scared.
Whoever was over her didn't immediately start treating her. He was just hovering, staring at her as if he was afraid to hurt her even more. Then, he moved slowly, peeling back whatever fabric was left. Everytime she flinched, he stopped. And multiple small gasp came from behind him.
Katie tried to focus, he was submerging something, bandages? in some sort of container. Water? ointment? She couldn't clearly see. Everything blurred together. The thought of something touching her burns made her stomach twist.
He muttered something, probably reassurance but, she couldn't make out the words. The moment the cool fabric touched her skin, she sucked in a shaky breath.
"Don't move" he said softly, there was a hint of panic hiding. She recognized the voice, Don.
Don was right there, helping her.
Some of the tension left her body. The panic in her chest loosened. She'll be okay, the pain will go away.
The bandages were comforting, it gave her a sense of relief. The ointment was cold. She wanted to be cold, anything but the lingering memory of heat trapped beneath her skin.
Don moved slowly, working in small sections. Always watching her face to know when the pain became too much. The room was quiet. Katie could hear the groups uneven breathing, tense. The only movement being the faint rustling of bandages being prepared. Nobody spoke, nobody knew what to say.
Katie forced herself to glance up at him through blurred vision. His jaw was tightly clenched, eyes fixed on the burns. She could see the hesitation behind each thought, he kept his hands steady
"You're okay," Don said quietly.
"You'll be okay."
It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.
Katie swallowed hard. Exhaustion weighed over her heavier than the pain. Every part of her body throbbed, but the cold bandages and Don's voice gave her enough comfort to hold onto.
So, she let her eyes fall shut. And slowly fell asleep.