[FRAG] Grieve in Blood

Morning Star watched in silence as Cy groaned. The other's head rolled onto his shoulder, briefly, and then back onto his other shoulder before his eyes fluttered open. He tested the bindings around his arms as he blinked awake, finding them well and truly bound by some sort of glowing, rope-like material. He stared dully for a second before throwing his head back with a groan.

"Don't even bother trying to escape," Morning Star tried to keep his voice firm and intimidating, arms crossed over his chest, but the waver in his tone remained obnoxious. 

"I'm not stupid," Cy sighed, leaning forwards. "So what, you're going to interrogate me?"

Morning Star shared a nervous glance with Sterling. "Well, I do want answers. So please answer them."

Cy just made a tch noise. 

"Why did you harass me in my office?"

"It was not harassment," Cy retorted, lifting his head to stare Morning Star in the eyes. "Don't you dare put words in my mouth, got it? And second of all, it's not as serious as you think it was. I'm allowed to want to meet people!"

Morning Star narrowed his eyes. It definitely couldn't be that simple. Cy seeked him out, specifically, and asked about Magnotris, and gave him that coin. There was definitely something. 

"I don't believe you," he spoke slowly. 

"Can't really help that, can I?"

Sterling stepped forwards, gesturing with a lower arm, "Do you want me to punch him 'til he talks?" 

"Um," Morning Star glanced between the two. 

He hadn't actually considered the concept of torture. It left a bad taste in his mouth, especially after what had happened with Opalescent... there had to be a way to diplomatically solve this, right? Talk it out and get answers. There had to. He wanted to do this nicely, but the time for niceness had already passed.

Cy violently recoiled from Sterling, eyes wide. He jerked his head at Morning Star, babbling, "Oh, come on, you can't - you can't let him touch me, he's made out of gold! You know what that shit does to people like us!" he attempted to scramble away across the dirt, but simply fell onto his stomach instead.

Morning Star stared at the other. Nothing was clearer in Cy's expression than pure terror. He was terrified. Sterling, if he cared, didn't appear to mind: upper arms on his hips, lower pressed together. Waiting. He wouldn't do anything unless Morning Star asked him to.

With a few strides, Morning Star was at Cy's side. He crouched down. "He won't have to use gold on you if you answer my questions truthfully."

"I did! What more do you want from me!?"

"You asked me about Magnotris. Your visit couldn't have been innocent. You were acting shady!"

"No I wasn't - I wasn't trying to be!"

"You're lying to me!" Morning Star frowned. Cy flinched back. "You can't hide the truth forever!"

"Okay, stars, man, fuck off!" Cy banged his forehead against the dirt. "I just wanted to see who Magnotris was dating now!"

"That's not the whole picture, though, is it? Why would you care about who Magnotris was dating?"

Cy lifted his head, teeth grit, "Are you fucking dense, mate?"

"No," Morning Star retorted, wings pushing in closer to his body.

"I-I'm," Cy paused, averting his gaze for a split second, "it's none of your business, okay?"

"You made it my business!"

Sterling stepped forwards, leaning over Morning Star's shoulder, expression blank and waiting. 

Cy recoiled further. "Okay, okay! I'm - I'm just his ex, okay? I just - it was petty, okay? Like j-just wanting to see-"

"-Why did you give me the coin?"

"Same reason!" Cy squeaked out, "I just wanted to see who you were! The stuff you did! The kind of person you were when nobody was watching! That's all, I swear!"

Morning Star fell silent, staring at the other's expression. If Cy was lying, he was far more adept at it than Morning Star could've fathomed. The only thing he could read off Cy was fear; pure, unadulterated fear. The way his hands shook, the way he squeezed his eyes shut, clenched his jaw. Even now, he was still terrified that Morning Star would sic Sterling on him.

That wasn't the kind of person Morning Star was, though. He didn't hurt people. He didn't. He didn't.

"And what did you think of me?" he asked, slowly, eyes never leaving the other's face.

Cy blearily lifted his head, "I-I don't know, I thought you were okay?"

Morning Star glanced back to Sterling. Sterling stared back, holding his gaze evenly. No judgement. He'd break Cy's spine if Morning Star gave the word.

Morning Star slowly turned back to Cy. That wasn't who he was. He didn't hurt people. He didn't. He wouldn't. There were always other options. Always. There had to be. Always.

"Did you..." he paused, staring at his hands briefly. "The Fragment in the JH Timeline. Did you stage that?"

Cy fell deathly silent. 

"You did, didn't you?" Morning Star's eyes dragged to Cy's expression, now pale and empty. "They were Unnatural. From a Z Timeline. They had no reason to be anywhere near a JH. But they were, and they were corrupted. But you're not corrupted."

Innocent people talked. Guilty people didn't.

"Listen-"

"You corrupted them," Morning Star's voice was thin and slow, tense, "you corrupted them just to stage a reason to meet me."

Confined them to a lifetime of constant stress and torture, mind trapped in a body that wasn't theirs. Nobody else knew the cure yet. Cy didn't know the cure. He had made the decision to ruin someone else. In Morning Star's name. Forever. He had spilled blood onto Morning Star's hands.

"No, I-"

Morning Star stood, moving as if he carried too much weight on his back. Sterling stepped to his side, reaching to take his hand gently, comfortingly. He didn't meet Sterling's stare. He couldn't.

"You don't understand!" Cy's head flew up. He was crying, tears streaking down his cheeks. Remorse, or fear? "I had to do what I had to do! They were just a - you know! They weren't important! Their Timeline had three other Fragments! They wouldn't be missed, w-what I did was - more important-"

"-Save it."

Morning Star turned his back to Cy, placing a hand on Sterling's shoulder. The other stared back, waiting. Morning Star met his eyes.

He knew what he was about to do. And maybe, deep inside of him, he didn't want to. But he did. He did. Cy deserved it. He deserved it. It wasn't fair, for him to be so selfish and cruel, and to get away with it. Someone had to prove a point, someone had to fix this. If they let Cy go free, he'd never learn. If they arrested him, the torture wouldn't be enough. 

Morning Star gave Sterling a nod, a tiny motion of the head. Sterling slipped away, Morning Star's hands sliding off his shoulder. He stepped forwards, listening to the cacophony of Cy's hysterical "no!" over and over. 

He turned his head to the side, slightly, linking his hands behind his back. "Sterling?"

"Hm?"

"Don't tell Magnotris."

"I won't," the golden Fragment assured.

Morning Star returned his gaze forwards.