"I… I can't," Serna said softly. "But I'm sure Derlik can. And Cas and Zachary will stay with you too, and I'll come by every day, I promise." Derlik was almost healed by now, and when the machine finally finished, Derlik slowly sat up. He had his hands in his lap, glancing up at Nix. He teared up a bit when he saw the cat's injuries, standing and coming over.
Nix nodded weakly and rubbed at his eyes, looking up at Derlik when he came over. He shifted over to the other's arms and clung to him, choking on his sobs.
Derlik held Nix tightly to himself, his own tears falling with a choked back sob.
"I- I'm so sorry," he said softly, not even knowing about Nix having to go back.
"I- I'm so sorry she h-hurt you…"
"It's not your f-fault…" Nix whispered weakly. "It's m— m-mine… and she's— m-making me— g-go back to H— H-Halm…"
Derlik stiffened, and he held back a sob.
"N-No!" He said, holding Nix close to himself. "No, n-no, you can't- Nix, I can't- let you go!" Derlik was trembling, a defeated tone to his voice. He knew there was nothing he could do.
Nix hiccuped a few times. "W-Will you go— with me?" He asked weakly. "I-I'm scared… I don't— I don't— w-wanna go…"
"I– I'll go with you," Derlik promised softly. He tucked Nix away securely in his grasp, head resting on Nix's.
"I'm not– not going to let you face this alone."
"T-Thank you…" Nix buried his face in Derlik's chest, trembling violently. "W-Why she gotta make me— g-go back…?"
"I… I don't know." Derlik sniffled, trying not to cry anymore. "But- w-what I do know is that I won't let Halm lay a finger on you."
Nix nodded weakly as he clung tighter to Derlik. "I-I'm scared…" He whispered again. "I don't wanna go back… it's not safe there."
"I– I know…" Derlik gripped Nix tightly. "I'm going to keep you safe," Derlik trailed off, crying.
"T-Thanks…" Nix whispered, hiccuping a few more times. "We gotta be there in three days or she'll do something bad…"
Derlik frowned deeply, nuzzling Nix's head gently.
"I… then we'll take advantage of that time."
Nix nodded a bit. "I wanna stay here as long as I can… g-gotta prepare myself to go back…"
"We'll help you," Derlik said softly. He carried Nix out of the lab, still holding him close.
"Okay… w-we haven't told Cas or Zachary yet. Can… can you help me do that?" He asked weakly.
"I… Okay, Nix. Okay." Derlik gently rested his head on Nix's a moment, going to knock on Cas's door quietly.
Cas looked up when he heard the door. "Come in!" He called out.
Derlik quietly opened the door, hand going back to Nix.
I…" he just stepped in, holding Nix a bit closer for now.
Nix looked up at Cas weakly. "W-We have to go back to Halm…" He whispered. Cas froze and paled. "W-What? Why??"
"Our- the creator, she… if you don't go back in three days, she'll…" Derlik shook his head a bit. Zachary stiffened at the mention of the woman, arms going around Cas protectively.
Nix huddled closer, burying his face in Derlik's chest as he trembled. "I-I'm so s-sorry…" He whispered.
Derlik patted Nix's back gently, holding back tears again.
"I… oh, Nix," he said softly. "You didn't– this isn't your fault."
"It is my fault…" He hiccuped. "S-She said so… I… s-she said I encouraged him to do all the bad things, and that… and that I just left him in the dust as soon as he did anything to me and that he was j-just trying to h— h-help…"
Derlik sat down with Nix, gently rubbing his back.
"I… oh, sweetie, no," he said softly, keeping his voice quiet. "He did something bad to you, of course you left. It- it isn't your fault."