Just realized that it’s am instead of pm
Someone should use the “are you flirting with the fucking minotaur” video thingy for prohibitedwish if it hasn’t been done yet
Don't be alarmed by the title, no one dies in this fic.
I wanted to do this for quite a while. Prismo has been constantly comforting Scarab. It's time for Scarab to return the favor. We're talking about Jake tonight.
And, this is my own catharsis. I've had more death and health scares in my close family in the past 3 years than I have my entire life. So... this is to them, I guess.
So... yeah. Enjoy you guys.
TW: Suicidal Ideation and Alcohol Abuse
Word Count: 2,700
Prismo was missing.
This was a new worry for Scarab. He was usually the one to disappear into the Time Room's lower chambers, usually to recuperate his aching shoulders.
But it was Prismo missing today. Scarab hadn't seen the Wishmaster nearly all day, not since the one wish maker wandered in. Even then, Scarab's companion seemed very... withdrawn. Quieter than he'd ever seen him, at least not since before Fionna and Cake.
Prismo's energy had been draining out of his spirit over the past few days. He started going quiet at random intervals, with seemingly no trigger.
Scarab was fretting.
He was not used to fretting. Prismo always seemed... untouchable, emotionally speaking. Unflappable in the face of it all, always a lazy sort of happiness radiating off of him. But... this was not anything the beetle was used to.
He wondered if he should search for Prismo... The Wishmaster had gone looking for him more than once, he should return the favor. But what if he didn't want to be found?
Hmm...
Maybe he'd go find Prismo, then back off if he wasn't wanted. Yes, that sounded like a decent plan.
He closed off to entrances to the Time Room for now and scuttled down into the basement.
Okay, where to look... Scarab's first thought was the pickle room, maybe he was just working on a new recipe? It wouldn't explain the melancholy, but it was a start.
So, to the pickle room Scarab wandered. He idly thought about how well he knew his way around this section of the Time Room now. Oh, how himself from a year ago would have cringed...
Okay, pickle room is empty. No evidence of it being used.
Come on Scarab, you're an Auditor. You've tracked down things that could teleport across the multiverse. You can find one messy Wishmaster who can't leave the Time Room.
He took another look around. There had to be something, anything in here...
Wait, there!
There was a missing jar from the shelf, a trail of brine on the floor. Bingo.
Scarab followed the trail, the faint smell of alcohol slowly seeping into the air. Or, maybe it was stronger, but he couldn't tell. Either way it was... concerning.
"Prismo...?"
Hmm...
He doesn't recall coming this way before. The walls of the Time Room seemed to be coming more unstable the further he searched. Walls with random notches in them, the floor becoming trickier to navigate, drop offs appearing suddenly, walls sliding into each other.
Wait a moment...
Wait, this was familiar. This was where the chase for the Crossovers ended in the Time Room.
Which means...
Scarab found himself staring at Prismo. Both forms.
Prismo, the Wishmaster, staring down numbly at Prismo, the Dreamer.
"...Prismo...?"
Prismo looked terrible, for lack of a better word. He looked tired. Scarab wasn't sure how a dream could look tired, and yet, here he was. He looked... empty. Just staring blankly at his own body, slowly drifting up to Scarab. And, even with his own crippled sense of smell, Scarab was smacked in the face by the harsh smell of alcohol and vinegar. There was a half tipped over pickle jar in the corner.
"...hey..." he murmured. Just like his gaze, his voice was... empty. He said nothing else, drifting his gaze back to his sleeping body. He took a silent swig from a bottle.
"Uhm... What are you doing down here...?"
"...Thinking."
Scarab made a few tentative steps closer to his partner.
"What about?"
Prismo remained silent.
"Prismo...?"
"...You... wouldn't get it."
"I wouldn't?"
"You don't... talk to people. Talk to mortals." His voice sounded wobbling, his voice trailing up and down. Drunk. Prismo was drunk.
Scarab had never seen the Wishmaster... drunk. Tipsy on Star Punch. Maybe a bit too loud and cuddly after a game night with the guys. But this was just... sad.
"You're right, I don't talk to mortals. But that wasn't what I was asking. I was asking what you were thinking about."
Prismo didn't look up. It was honestly making Scarab nervous.
"...You ever think about how long immortality is...? Like... compared to the shorts that pass by upstairs everyday?"
Scarab blinked, pondering.
"I do, sometimes. It's... inevitable with beings like us."
"Hmm... Beings like us..." Prismo sighed blinking tiredly. "They're like... like a blink... Like a spark and then they're gone..."
"I suppose..."
"...Why am I still... here, Scarab? Like... I'm what, hundreds of thousands of years old? I think that's too long, don't you? I died at some point... I sometimes... wonder if I should've stayed that way."
Scarab felt his chest seize, suddenly also very fixated on Prismo's sleeping body. He... he wouldn't right...?
"I... I'm thankful that you are still here, Prismo... More so than you might think..."
"Hmm..."
Prismo took another drink.
"...I'm only alive because of a mortal..."
"Really now...?"
"Yeah. It was... well, super off the books. Wasn't even pinged by the Organizer... Not supposed to get involved with mortals and all that junk... But... well, he was one of my best friends... and... well, that's all I've got left of him."
Scarab gave him a confused look, approaching Prismo's body. It was unnerving, seeing the warm, soft old man the beetle loved so fondly being so still and silent... Wait, was that... fur?
Yes, right there, at the edges of the beard and hair were little whisps of yellow dog fur.
"What on Glob...?"
"Yeah... I got killed, and he helped me with my backup plan. Long story. Complicated. But, a copy of him became... me. It's his dream and memory of me keeping me alive. And... well, the original passed away. A while ago. And... Well, this is all I have left of him. Just... staring at him, looking like me, but that's not even really me..."
Prismo was spiraling. Scarab could hear it in his voice, he was spiraling.
"Prismo-"
"And what was it for? He's... He's stuck here or he's dead or he's a monster or whatever else, and for what? For... me? For everybody's pal Prismo. What a joke."
"Love, what-"
"I got nothing, Scarab. I've tried to have something. But... what do I have to show for it? The banjo? Fucking pickles? A hot tub? I got nothing."
"Prismo" Scarab hissed, sternly, gripping his upper arm, stopping Prismo's spiral.
"Prismo... how long have you... thought about this?"
"...I dunno, man. It comes and goes again..."
"Prismo. You know I, and many others, would be... heartbroken if you disappeared. Many were the first time. Even when I had my grudge, I felt... empty when you vanished."
"I... I know, I guess... Maybe that's why I haven't... done anything. Not yet, at least..."
Scarab warbled, nudging his head against Prismo's shoulder.
"...I might not know much about your... mortal friend... but I don't think he'd want you... wallowing like this."
"Oh, what do you know" Prismo snapped, startling Scarab. "You don't know him! You don't know how this feels!" His eyes flashed purple, a black color pulsing through his whole body before returning to normal.
Scarab took a few frightened steps back, looking up at the Wishmaster with wide, uncertain eyes.
Prismo's eyes sparked with immediate regret. He looked at the bottle, then back to Scarab. He groaned in frustration, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hands.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I just... I don't know how to be when I'm like this... I've... I've never felt like this before Jake... I don't know man..."
Scarab chirped out a soft sigh, feeling emboldened to come closer. "...It is not exact, but... I do know a bit of what you're feeling, Prismo..."
"...You do?"
"Mhm. So. How about this. You tell me about this... Jake. And I'll tell you about Cricket. We'll mourn together."
Prismo seemed to be considering.
"...Can we... stay here with him...?"
"If that's what you'd like, love. But let's not loom over him, okay?" Scarab gently tugged Prismo's arm. And he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when the Wishmaster allowed to be tugged. The beetle retireved the pickle jar, and the two sat down, leaning against each other.
"So... Jake?"
"Yeah... Jake the Dog."
"...How'd you two meet?"
"A wish. His brother, Finn, they were chasing their universe's version of the Lich into my Time Room. The Lich wished for the end of all life, and I granted it. Finn wished for the Lich to have never existed. They both got warped to their new realities. And then there was Jake..."
Scarab tilted his head. He'd heard of the Lich. One of those beings he'd have liked to take in, but couldn't. Vital to reality and all that nonsense. He didn't know Prismo met him before the incident with the Citadel.
"Jake... Well, I think he was in shock or something. He... seemed confused. Didn't know what to do, what to wish for. He nearly wished for a sandwich, but I talked him out of it. Like, I could just make a sandwich, no need to waste your one and only wish on it. So... we just hung out. We watched Finn's wish altered reality for a while, and we talked. Mortals never really... stick around long enough to talk. To know me as anything other than 'Almighty Prismo.' He chilled with Cosmic Owl and me. He had some of my pickles, said they reminded him of his dad. And I just... couldn't stop smiling. Some... some human part of me hoped he'd never make a wish, just so he could stay..."
Scarab could hear Prismo's voice shaking, so he pressed his head against his upper arm and nuzzled, chirping quietly.
"But... Something in Finn's wish reality started going wrong... He started to panic. I... I definitely broke protocol on this but I talked him through his wish. The wish that would make things go back to somewhat normal, and he was gone. I sent him some pickles, invited him back, but... Well, I never thought he would. No one just comes back to the Time Room, not unless you're a god. He got his wish, why would he want to come back? But... he did. Again. And again. And again and again."
Scarab wrapped around Prismo's arm, nuzzling softly as the Wishmaster sounded on the verge of weeping.
"He became one of my best friends. He was... something special. He'd level with me like a person. He didn't have this... weird, distant respect that everyone first comes at me with. He treated me like a person and... well, that was special to me. More so than I ever really noticed... not until he was gone for good.
"When the Lich killed my human body, Jake was the one who volunteered to help bring me back. That's him, sleeping in the bed. It's him keeping me alive. And... I don't know, I don't know how I could possibly repay him for that... I can't just bring him back to life, he belongs to Death now... and I don't think he'd want it. He's on the highest Deathworld, and he deserves to be there. I'm not gonna take him away from paradise just for my sake..."
Prismo trailed off. Scarab assumed he was done talking now, as he gently massaged the Wishmaster's arm.
"Thank you for telling me, Prismo. He does sound special. And I'm sorry you have lost that."
"...I can't talk to the others about it... They'd just say I was stupid. It is stupid, getting that attached to a mortal like that. So... you're the first person I've told, I guess."
"Is this... Finn still around?"
"I think so... Humans live a lot longer than dogs. I see him on the screen wall every once in a while."
"Have you thought to talk to him? I'm certain he's mourning Jake just the same as you. It might be nice to share memories of him."
"I dunno... I don't know if my heart could take it if I got attached to Finn..."
"Hmm... That's understandable, I suppose..." He reached up, gently rubbing away the tears from Prismo's cheek, nuzzling it lightly, even trying his best to kiss it.
"So... Who's Cricket?"
Scarab hummed. Time to hold his end of the deal, yeah?
"Well... My situation with Cricket doesn't align exactly with yours... I knew Cricket from when I was still mortal, rather than meeting them in the middle of eternity. But... well, they were my best friend."
Prismo's eyes widened at that.
"Cricket and I were neighbors, in the mounds. You tend to bond pretty quickly with those burrows around you, but Cricket was my first and best friend when we emerged. They farmed mushrooms while I patrolled. Our routines would have us pass by each other a few times a day, and we'd both get into heaps of trouble for slacking off to chat."
Scarab chuckled at the memory, trying to picture Cricket's face... Glob it's been so long...
"I told them everything. We told each other everything. What we thought about our other friends, who we thought we fancied, what might've been up in the stars, all of it. Thinking back, they actually remind me of you, in a lot of ways. They had this... magnetism about them, it made it easy to talk to them, they were charming and relaxed in ways I wasn't. I... I suspect, if my life turned out simpler, we could've been mates."
Prismo gulped at that, leaning down to listen.
"But... well, then I saw the mouth in the void. They helped me research, they helped me train, they helped me get that audience with the Pantheon. They gave me a crushing hug when I went to go fight. And they were the last I spoke to when I ascended. I promised I'd come back for them someday..."
Scarab rubbed his mandibles together, hesitating.
"I... I've said I haven't seen my home since then. But... that was a bit of a lie. I did go back, once. But... I hadn't realized how much time had passed between me leaving and coming home. What felt like, maybe 5 years to me was... almost 70 for them. Eternity messes with your sense of time like that. I never saw Cricket again. It's been so long; I feel guilty I can't clearly remember their face... I remember a few things, though... they had a deep blue shell, their antenna were long and curled, they laughed loud enough to get neighbors to complain about our late nights... But I can't remember their face. Not clearly anyway."
Scarab sighed, leaning into Prismo's open arm.
"...Does it ever get easier" Prismo whispered. "Knowing you've lose someone that important...?"
"...I'm not sure if easier is the right word... It never really stops hurting, when you think about it. But... it becomes a part of you. A part that prickles and catches you off guard sometimes, but a part of you none the less. You eventually evolve the hurt. The hurt mixes with everything else you felt about them. The hurt of the loss blurs together with the warmth of memories."
"Oh..."
There was a long silence, as Prismo looked between the body sleeping on the pedestal, and the drink in his hand. He gently set it down.
"...I might not know much about Jake. But I can tell he was special. It's okay to feel that hurt when you lose someone special. But... don't let it drown the warmth you felt with them. Remember them. The hurt just... tells you how much they were loved."
Scarab felt the tingle of light as Prismo wrapped around him completely. He could feel the Wishmaster's chest struggling to heave. The beetle shushed him softly, petting his talons against what he could reach.
"...One second" Scarab whispered. He conjured both himself and Prismo a small glass of Star Punch. He picked his up. "A toast. To Jake."
Prismo blinked wetly, a shaky hand reaching for his glass. "To Jake. And to Cricket."
"To Jake and Cricket. Lost, but loved, forever and always."
The two clinked glasses and took their drink.
Scarab knew talking about this would bubble up old emotions. That cloyingly harsh coldness, fighting with an aching warmth. Thinking too long about his home did that, sometimes.
But, it was worth it. Worth it to remember his friend. Worth it to bring some comfort to his partner. Worth it to bring some light onto the peacefully sleeping body across the room.
Lost, but loved.
Forever and always.
Went to the fair today. My mom noticed a robot dude, so I said hi, and took a picture
Who else is excited for “The Book of Bill?” 👁️
This is my first time studying anatomy so I’m glad it turned out well
I kinda hate when people see someone say something along the lines of “I don’t support gay people”m and people are like “you don’t have to support as long as you are respectful.” Dude all being a supporter / ally is is being respectful, standing up for people when others are being jerks, listening to the community, and not voting in hateful laws / people. That’s it. That’s the bar. If they aren’t doing at least one of those things then it isn’t ok, and they are hurting the community. No one needs to know all the labels, buy rainbow stuff, go to pride events, or even know the history. As long as they are doing those 4 things they are good. They support / are an ally. Telling them that they don’t have to do those things, or that they aren’t in the wrong for not supporting so bad
Hello I’m Jayden. 20. I use He/They pronouns. I like games, anime, cartoons, drawing, writing, and alt rock music
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