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Amidst all the chaos around him, Sword can only focus on one thing, one inphernal. He feels the adrenaline rush through his veins with every hurried step, running as fast as his legs will carry him. Ever since he saw those bluish horns in the distance, his mind has been solely focused on reaching him. Rocket is here. Amidst all the destruction, Rocket is still here.
But Sword's poor head was so instantly happy to recognize his dear friend that he wasn't able to notice certain...things. Not until he was quite close and his walk descended he could see everything. His clothes weren't in the best condition, which he assumed was common given everything that had happened and Rocket had gone through the same thing. Was Zuka with him? Were they accompanied by someone? Sword hoped so. But besides that, his posture looked slumped. Let's just say Rocket isn't the most upright of them all, but his posture is usually good. Now his back was hunched and his legs were almost resting on each other for support. And finally...his horns. Deities. How could he not have noticed? One was broken and the tips of the rest were stained green.
"Rocket...?"
At first there was no response, not until the called one slowly turned, and Sword felt his own world crumble even further. It's Rocket, but not his Rocket anymore. His expression had changed, eyes drooping and mouth slightly open, both green like his horns. And the most horrifying thing? The bite mark on the side of his neck It can't be. Venomshank would never do something like this to Rocket, but at the same time, it could have been any zombie. Rocket is zombified like the rest, and Sword doesn't even know how to react.
Should he cry? Scream? Desperately call for his guardian? Grab Rocket and go find Zuka? Where is Zuka even? Is he alright? But the fact that he's not glued to Rocket in this situation...doesn't bode well.
So, with his heart sinking and a lump growing in his throat, he tries to speak to him again.
"Hey Rocket...? I-It's me, Sword! I'm back!"
But there wasn't a noticeable reaction either, just Rocket tilting his head to the side as he looked at him. Those pretty eyes that Sword loved to get lost in while listening to Rocket talk were now covered by a curtain of poison. It seemed as if there wasn't a soul behind them.
Feeling his eyes begin to water, which was honestly about time, Sword carefully took another step forward, not wanting to alert Rocket or scare him into reacting badly.
"Come on, Rocky?"
To his surprise, the zombie took a step toward him, and then another, slowly moving until it was standing right in front of him, and suddenly, his head was resting on Sword's shoulder, his face burying itself in his neck. A smile formed on the swordsman's face, perhaps too quickly, just like the speed with which his arms wrapped around his friend. On another occasion, he would have squeezed him here until he couldn't breathe, but now he was careful, controlled. His body looked fragile, and Sword would hate himself even more if he were to hurt him.
A tear fell. But it was one of calm and happiness. Rocket didn't respond, didn't return the hug, and didn't do much else. But he seemed to recognize Sword, and that was something. There was a part of Rocket still here, a part that wasn't lost to the infection. Sword cuddled his head in his shoulder too. Rocket felt so cold compared to his usual warmth, which Sword had grown accustomed to, but that didn't matter now. Rocket was here. Sword had been expecting the worst the moment he set foot in Crossroads. He didn't even know how he was going to apologize for all of this, how he was going to face Venomshank, or even if his relationship with his mentor could ever be the same after all this.
The fear, the stress, the anguish seemed to fall silent for at least a second for this unusual embrace.
Sword wants to hold on to Rocket and not let him go. Oh, Rocket. How worried must he have been when Sword left without a word? How scared must he have been when Venomshank surely went straight to him to ask about him when even Rocket didn't have an answer? How must he have felt about this whole situation? These are things he clearly won't know. Rocket seems to have lost the ability to speak, the ability to even have a stable consciousness.
At least...he's still alive, in a way.
Sword needs to take him to Zuka right now; he needs to know Zuka's whereabouts first, even though his mind is already racing with the worst fears.
Even so, selfishly, Sword stays here. Embracing his best friend's body as everything crumbles around him. Clinging to the illusion that Rocket recognized him, that Rocket knows it's him. A false illusion that lasted too long to give Sword any hope.
It happened so fast. First, he felt Rocket lightly sniffing his neck, and then he felt teeth touch his skin. They didn't quite sink in because when Sword barely felt the bones, he reacted quickly, grabbing Rocket by the shoulders and pulling him away, more roughly than he would have liked.
"Rocket?!"
Rocket tried to bite him. Rocket tried to bite him, to infect him too.
Seeing his plan thwarted, the zombie growled, trying to pounce on him this time. His hands found his clothes, pushing him to the ground. Well, even though his body seemed weaker, Rocket still seemed to have his strength. And it didn't help that Sword had stumbled a bit, giving him an easy path to be on top of him, pinning him to the ground with his body while doing his best to attack his neck with his teeth. Sword started panicking, He tried to push Rocket away with his hands, but the zombie seemed resigned to attacking him no matter what. Sword tried calling him, saying his name repeatedly, but Rocket obviously didn't respond at all. He probably couldn't even recognize his own name anymore; if he turned around earlier, it must have been because of the sound of footsteps and a voice, not because of what that voice was saying.
Against all odds, and despite his own pain about it, Sword punched Rocket in the stomach to destabilize him and knock him to the ground. Rocket let out a cry of pain that pierced Sword's heart. He hated having to hurt him, but he couldn't let him attack him either. To prevent this, he grabbed Rocket's arms, pinning them to the ground and pressing down on the rest of the zombie's body with his own to keep him from moving.
Seeing him like this, Sword can't stop the tears from falling on him. His best friend, his closest companion, his soulmate and eternal crush, reduced to a soulless, mindless body that moves without any control. An inphernal who already suffered too much in life and now will suffer even more in death. And it's all his fault. All his own fault. Not only that, but the rest of the Inphernals that were transformed, the destruction and despair of Crossroads, is also his fault. Everything falls on him and he doesn't know how to let it go except with tears.
Rocket's life is ruined, not only his but Zuka's too...if he's even still alive, and if he isn't, then Rocket's last moments must have been miserable, having lost his father and having to face this alone.
Even in this situation where everyone is suffering, Sword's mind can only focus on Rocket now; it seems the blow destabilized him enough to calm him down again.
"I-I'm so sorry Rocket...I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm-"
The apologies come out broken with tears; he can barely speak properly.
There's no memory of Sword in his head now, it's empty. There are no memories of Zuka. No memories of good times. Nothing.
The hands that had been holding Rocket's arms moved to intertwine with his hands instead. They had done this hundreds of times before, intertwining hands, embracing, being close. And despite all those moments of closeness, Sword had always been a coward and could never tell Rocket everything he felt for him, and even now, everything he still felt, even in this way.
"I gonna fix this- I promise you...Rocket"
There has to be something. There has to be a solution. Some way this can be reversed somehow.
Or is this really the end...?