Chapter ???: If You Were a Worm…

Chapter ???: If You Were a Worm…🪱

A later on - side story  6/17/25

A.C.E. looked down at the worm in his hand with a difficult expression on his face. The worm, who was apparently Dicer, seemed a little apologetic as it wrapped itself in a coil to attempt to stand itself up. A.C.E. asks Dicer what happened and the worm murmurs back something only he can hear as A.C.E. holds him up to his ear. 

The nurse, Yuki, interrupts them with a whisper and says that it seems like the spell cast on him shouldn't last more than a day or so, but till it wears off there is nothing to be done about it. 

A.C.E. looked back down at Dicer and asked the nurse if  because he's a worm should he treat him like one. Yuki lets A.C.E. know that even though Dicer will probably have to stick to worm food, he can still hear him and is aware of what's happening, so treating him like normal might be best. 

A.C.E. thanks her and, after a little squirming on Dicers end, holds his partner up to wave their tail goodbye. 

A.C.E. proceeds down the hall back to his room and has a seemingly 1 sided conversation with Dicer about being more careful when out on missions. This catches T.O.M.O.s attention on the way back to his own floor and he comes over to them to see what was going on. 

A.C.E. sees T.O.M.O. coming and places Dicer on his shoulder for safe keeping. That motion draws T.O.M.O.s attention and he questions what A.C.E. is doing with a worm - asking if it's part of a new, weird hobby. A.C.E. says that the worm is Dicer and T.O.M.O. laughs and questions if this was one of C.O.C.A.s  convoluted love tests for that ridiculous -“would you still love me if I were a worm?” - Meme going around online. He then says that it's fitting since Dicer was already a worm and reaches for him. A.C.E. grabs Dicer off his shoulder and pushes T.O.M.O. away by the face, causing T.O.M.O. to stumble back allowing  A.C.E. to slip through a void in the floor.

A.C.E. and worm Dicer pop out again near A.C.E.s room and A.C.E. checks on Dicer who curls around his finger in lieu of a hug. A.C.E. finds this rather cute as he opens the door and precedes to place Dicer on his desk. Dicer pokes his head up and looks around the room while A.C.E. seems deep in thought as he seems to be trying to locate an item in his voids. Dicer notes that everything looks so different from his new perspective while A.C.E. finds what he was looking for.

A.C.E. places a small terrarium as well as a bag of soil next to Dicer. Dicer looks at it a little warily but A.C.E. says that because of his Worm-ness he would be safer in there and that even if he's lucky normally he still doesn't want Dicer to get stepped on when they are out. 

Dicer, who thought A.C.E. might opt to just leave him in the room, agrees and climbs into the tank with a little help once A.C.E. dumps the soil inside. 

With Dicer’s terrarium in tow, A.C.E. goes about his day as normal. Everyone he visits asks about the worm but he just tells them it's Dicer and moves on with their conversations like nothing's amiss. He lets Dicer out of the terrarium for lunch and looks up what he should feed Dicer - settling on some fruit after vetoing the majority of other options. He talks with Dicer much like he normally does and when they are done he packs Dicer up again. The second half of the day sees A.C.E. battling some Shadow Stitches all while holding the terrarium which Dicer finds both exhilarating and scary at his current size.

Later that night, A.C.E. and Dicer are found back in A.C.E.s room. He takes Dicer out of the terrarium and places him in a makeshift bath in his bathroom sink to clean up while he takes a shower himself and puts on his jammies. When Dicer finished getting the dirt off himself, A.C.E. picked him up again, but instead of placing him back in the terrarium he keeps him in his hand as he climbs into bed. 

A.C.E. and Dicer continue to talk about random things but after a while Dicers makes a sound and A.C.E not really understanding him, holds him close to his ear and he hears Dicer half joking ask “do you like me still even if I'm a worm?”

A.C.E. laughs a bit and asks him what he thinks. Worm Dicer blushes as A.C.E. says it doesn't matter to him because Dicer is still himself, and he always liked who Dicer was/is.  

A.C.E. then says it's late and turns out the lights. He closes his eyes and Dicer curls up in his hand  and they both fall asleep. 

♦️♦️♦️

In the morning, Dicer wakes up to find he's back to his normal body. He looks over to see A.C.E. sleeping soundly next to him and he regards him warmly, remembering how A.C.E. had cared for him even as a worm. He brushes the bangs out of A.C.E.s face and thinks that he has always liked who A.C.E. was as a person too. He then closes his eyes again and lets himself fall back asleep while holding A.C.E.s hand. 

Chapter end.

Shortly afterwards:

After a rain, A.C.E. finds Dicer downstairs on the garden level. He asks what the other is doing and Dicer replies that he is picking up the worms just in case they are someone else's loved ones and asks for A.C.E.s help. A.C.E. doesn't know what to think of that logic, but kneels down to help save the worms anyway.