Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been a day or so since the other 3 had left the rental. They did not want to but Charlie and Ranboo made it very clear it was for their safety. And after they heard the two’s horrific testimony of their Showfall experiences, they agreed that it was for the best. Tommy had wanted the pair to join them, but Ranboo sternly declined, so everyone backed off. They said that somebody needed to know their story if things were to go downhill… Nobody else needed to get involved in their mess, especially not those who wanted to help. They had to face this reality on their own, no matter how painful it was.

They had been sitting there mostly in silence all day. Curled up in the living room watching crappy TV as an attempt to comfort their ever-so-strong nerves and distract them from their thoughts. Charlie ended up having a few recurring panic attacks throughout the day, so as a sense of calming him down, Ranboo let him lay his head on their lap and stretch out on the couch, Knowing that Charlie needed the comfort. How on earth Ranboo was holding it together so well was beyond Charlie, but he was glad one of them was kind of sane. He soon started to notice that Ranboo was lost in their head more than normal, maybe not the best way to cope but it was something.

They didn’t know what else to do, as Showfall made themselves very clear to the two: “We are always watching. Nowhere is safe. Nobody is safe. Let the games begin.” How did they find their rental? Ranboo and Charlie didn’t even want to know anymore, but they knew that the pair needed to act fast.

“They shouldn’t have picked that one, it’s obviously not the cake,” Charlie said. They had ended up binging is it real or cake? And they had started to play the game with the contestants.

“I think it’s the shoe all the way on the left, that’s the cake,” Ranboo replied.

“No… no see the stitching? It looks legit. I think it’s the one in the middle” Charlie shifted slightly so that he could point “See? The leather looks kind of painted if you look closely.”

Ranboo hummed in response, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. They then went back to sitting in semi-comfortable silence, only the slight hum of the air conditioning and the TV in the background.

Charlie had wanted to leave with the others, but Ranboo seemed very against the idea of it… it seemed like they wanted to face Showfall face to face after everything they had been through. He was not for that idea, but Ranboo refused to leave, and if Ranboo was staying then so was Charlie. So, Charlie reluctantly decided to stay since after all, he had made Ranboo talk to their guests about Showfall and Ranboo was extremely against that but did it anyway. So Charlie deserved to repay that through trusting them, no matter how much he didn’t want to.

Charlie glanced up to see Ranboo sitting with their eyes glued to the TV as they gently pulled at one of the loose threads on his mask. He could see the tension sewn into their brow, but besides that, Ranboo kept themselves pretty well contained with an almost bored expression. The domesticity of the scene brought a strange sense of comfort in the madness they were in. He didn’t know how much longer the pair had together so he clung to each moment like it was their last cause it very much could be. The lull of the TV managed to drift Charlie off to sleep, guess staying up all night finally caught up with him.

He didn’t know how long he was peacefully asleep before Ranboo jolted up and knocked Charlie onto the floor in a frenzy. Adrenaline pumped through Charlie’s veins as he stood up frantically, looking around for the source of danger.

“Ranboo… what’s wrong?” Charlie huffed as he reached for their arm.

“Shh” Ranboo hissed and held out their hand to motion Charlie to stop, and Charlie did as he was told. “I heard a commotion outside. And it didn’t sound like a raccoon rummaging through our dinner scraps.”

The pair stood in silence as they heard rustling outside and heavy footsteps, many heavy and rhythmic footsteps. Dread filled both of them as they realized it was time. Time for them to face their worst nightmare, again. Charlie grabbed the shovels the two had found while rummaging around late last night and prepared themselves, it was time.

Charlie tossed Ranboo one of the shovels before patting his hip to make sure his kitchen knife was still there. The two nodded at each other before returning to listening to the silence. They weren’t going down without a fight, that is for sure.

“We need to get out of here, we’re boxed in this house” Charlie whispered, and Ranboo nodded in agreement.

Ranboo gently peeled back the curtain slightly and peeked their head out to see what looked like 10-20 Showfall employees, masks in all, and two wire monsters in toe lurking around the rental. Fantastic, just what they needed, another one of those beasts. But as Ranboo looked at them, something was different about the monsters. They looked more… tame. They couldn’t put their finger on it, but the thing almost looked scared? Ranboo couldn’t even begin to understand because it was a monster made of wires that had a TV for a head.

“Charlie…. There are two monsters” Ranboo hissed.

“Oh my god you’re lying… we gotta get out of here. Back door. Now.”

Charlie grabbed Ranboo’s arm and led them to the door. Ranboo knew he was right, so they didn’t put up much of a fight. He gently swung it open to see nobody around, so they then snuck to the back of the house and were swiftly met with the thing Charlie hoped he would never see again, those awful masks. Charlie shut down his panicking thoughts telling him to run and let the adrenaline take over, letting the games begin.

Charlie glanced at Ranboo who had already started to charge one of the things with his shovel up, so Charlie did the same. Charlie charged towards one of the things and aimed straight for the head with his shovel up. The sound of metal hitting plastic rang as the thing collapsed onto the ground. Charlie then moved onto the next target, they had to start picking these things off one by one.

Ranboo on the other hand, was like an animal. Taking down mask after mask with grace and no remorse. Aiming for the head, and if they missed? Then they swiftly turned around in one fluid motion and pushed the mask to the ground before stabbing it in the chest with their shovel. Ranboo loved seeing wires spew out, another Showfall invention gone at their hands. It truly was a satisfaction like no other. They didn’t know where they learned to fight like this but they weren’t complaining. It wasn’t long though before more started to show up from around the house at the commotion and the pair were struggling to keep up with the masks currently at hand.

Charlie tried to move as swiftly as Ranboo but did not have nearly as much grace as they did. They managed to hold their ground but it seemed like the masks were learning their moves and adapting, and Charlie wasn’t liking that in the slightest. Eventually, going for the head as a “one shot” wasn’t working anymore. So Charlie had to get more creative and switch up what he was doing. As another enemy approached, he swung his shovel under the thing’s feet and swiftly knocked him to the ground.

“Hey Ranboo! I think this one is the cake!” Charlie yelled across the field, never missing an opportunity for a joke.

Smirking, he stabbed the end of his shovel in the thing’s chest, watching wires spew out.

“Oh darn I was wrong, maybe next time” Charlie laughed.

Ranboo glanced over at Charlie and shook their head with an eye roll at their friend’s always stupid jokes. But in that moment of cockiness, another mask had come up behind Charlie and scratched down his back. He yelped before swinging around and knocking the thing to the ground, stabbing its chest repeatedly out of pain. Charlie reached and touched his back and his hand came back covered in sticky, warm blood. He wiped his hand on his jeans and ignored the pain, nothing he hadn’t handled before. He just had to keep going, despite the stinging and screaming of his back.

Ranboo kept pumping through masks but it seemed like a never-ending flow of enemies, and Ranboo started to panic as they flew through what Ranboo thought was everything. They just kept picking them off one by one cause at this point that is all the pair could do. Ranboo attempted to strike one in the head again but the stupid mask grabbed their shovel mid-swing, blocking the hit. Ranboo tried to get it out of the thing’s grasp but it was too strong, it’s grip was too tight. The thing ended up winning their quick tug-of-war battle, causing Ranboo to stumble backward. The mask then tried to hit Ranboo with the shovel, but they swerved and tried dodging every hit. The thing was quick and smart, and Ranboo wasn’t liking that a machine was those things. Unfortunately for them, the mask was able to land a hit on Ranboo’s leg and they let out a hiss of pain. That was enough of this stupid game, Ranboo kicked the machine in the stomach, forcing it to the ground and losing its grip on Ranboo’s shovel, which landed next to it. Ranboo picked up the shovel and dug it through the machine’s chest before looking up to examine the battlefield in front of them... No time to assess the wound, they had to win this.

The field was now littered with wires and the pair had to be careful to not trip on them. But Charlie’s coordination had never been the best and he ended up tripping in the middle of a fight, causing him to go tumbling onto the ground. Charlie’s screech was more than enough to grab Ranboo’s attention across the field. The masks started to overwhelm Charlie and he couldn’t do anything but sit there and try to wearily shake them off.

“Hel…” Charlie tried to yell, but the masks cut him off

Ranboo looked up at the sound to see Charlie on the ground surrounded by masks.

“Charlie! I’m coming!!” Ranboo yelled.

One of the masks picked Charlie up by his shirt before violently chucking him back onto the ground. Charlie landed on his spine and could hear it crackling as they hit the ground. The rest clawed at his arms, his newly healed arms. He could feel the scars reopening and that was the worst feeling in the world. It made him want to peel his skin off, all that hard work for nothing… Charlie screamed as he frantically tried to knock the things off.

Ranboo threw the current mask off of themselves and raced over to where Charlie was. They took their bloody shovel and started hitting them, all he felt in that moment was anger so he took it all out. Took it all out on the thing that hurt him and the people he loved. All they saw was red, and they were ok with that.

Charlie watched in horror and mostly shock while Ranbo swiftly fought off every single mask that was just overpowering him a second ago. It was like watching some sort of warrior with precision and determination, but Charlie could see in Ranboo’s eyes that this wasn’t them. They were on autopilot…

Eventually, Ranboo came back to earth and their vision cleared up. Panting, they looked around to see wires and “bodies” (if you could even call them that) and Charlie sprawled out in the middle. It also seemed that they had gained some more injuries alongside Charlie. They scanned their arms to see a few long scratch marks and their head was pounding. Did one of those scraps of metal hit them over the head? They shook it off, no time to contemplate now.

Ranboo held out their hand and helped Charlie up and looped their arm under his, urging them forward. Charlie only groaned slightly before trying to pick up the pace. Luckily their legs weren’t injured, it was mainly his arms and back. So he was able to keep up with Ranboo’s tall pacing despite the pain that seethed through his veins.

“We gotta get out of here. There are too many.” Ranboo said and the pair booked it for the woods.

They had an advantage there as Charlie had walked those woods hundreds of times in the past few months, and knew it better than the back of his hand. Charlie took charge and quickly swerved them in and out of the trees. The sounds of heavy footsteps grew more distant as Charlie swiftly led them through his forest. Eventually, they found one of Charlie’s many favorite hiding spots. It was a huge rock ledge that, from above, looked like a cliff but if you took a certain path, it was a mini cave and a perfect place to sit and breathe on a hard day.

“Here!” Charlie gestured and led Ranboo down a small trail into the little nook.

The two sat in complete silence, holding their breath while they listened to the wilderness around them. Eventually, they heard something much more terrifying than the heavy footsteps of masked things. They heard the clanking of metal as it sprinted through the woods, the leaves loudly crunching under its feet. Whole trees sounded like they were being toppled over in the process. The two held each other’s hand tight and prayed to whatever to not let the beast find them. They didn’t even dare to let out a breath.

There was a long silence, the creature stopped somewhere above them. Charlie let out a slow, quiet breath and suddenly the monster poked its head down and screamed in the two’s faces. Charlie snatched Ranboo’s hand and rushed out of the cavern, continuing to weave through the woods. This time though, the footsteps didn’t grow more distant. No, they were approaching faster. They both tried to pick up the pace as Charlie weaved through the trees, trying to find a more fender thicket. He knew one up ahead; they just had to get there…

Suddenly, Ranboo felt an intense amount of what felt like vines pierce through their stomach. The pair instantly stopped running, as they looked down to see wires through his stomach and wrapping around him, and dread filled them alongside agony. They let out a sharp gasp as Charlie backed away in horror.

“Charlie… Run… Run!” Ranboo managed to get out over the monster’s screeches.

They watched Charlie contemplate his options before finally deciding to sprint in the other direction. There were more distant sounds of metal clanking from afar… Ranboo watched, thankful that their friend had a better chance of making it out than them.

Ranboo thought that the monster would chase after him too but he didn’t. He instead focused all of his energy on draining the life out of Ranboo. Ranboo could feel the electricity roaring throughout his body, making them want to peel their skin off. They could feel the monster dig its wires into Ranboo’s insides until it found their heart, after digging through their veins. Ranboo tried to squirm out of the horrific feeling, but that only made the pain worsen. He let out a scream before slowly growing limp…. Their eyes struggle to focus on their surroundings. That was when the world finally decided to be kind to Ranboo, and finally let them drift away into the darkness…

Chapter Text

Ranboo’s head pounded as they slowly came to. Their vision was tunneled and blurred alongside the deafening ringing in their ears. It sounded like a swarm of bees was living in their head. They tried desperately to gather where on earth they were, but it was proving to be difficult. Through their tunnel, they were somehow able to see that they were in what seemed like a main room out of an extravagant mansion. The walls were lined with half-wood paneling and a blur of what could only be assumed to be some equally elegant green wallpaper with gold accents lined up to the ceilings. There were also a few distant colorful blurs that Ranboo assumed were doors? They then saw 4 more colorful blobs so maybe the others weren’t doors. But then again, these blobs seemed to be moving while the others stayed perfectly still. Soon, they became more defined and Ranboo managed to make out that they were people, but who they couldn’t tell.

The ringing started to subside as well, which was a blessing as it was starting to get agitating. But, that small moment of relief did not last long as soon an even louder collection of a sounds met them in return. It was yelling, and a lot of it at once. It was a bunch of voices merged into a jumbled mess of sounds and all Ranboo could do was sit and wait for their senses to clear before they could truly assess the current situation they were in.

While they sat there, their mind couldn’t help but wonder. Memories of their previous encounters faded in and out and they desperately grasped at whatever they could to try and figure out what was happening. Memories of them and Charlie watching TV, to Charlie’s horrible jokes, to then Ranboo having to save Charlie from… the masks. Then like a punch in the gut, they gasped as they vividly remembered the wires wrapping through their insides. They could feel the pulsing throughout their veins and it made them want to rip off their skin. They even thought they saw the wires spewing out of their stomach when they looked down, but it was simply a flash and then it was gone. Great, they were back in Showfall’s grasp… They suddenly noticed that they were in a very nice red button-up with black suit pants and a vest. It was much nicer than they were used to. When had they gotten into this getup? It also wasn’t the usual bomber jacket that Showfall had loved to put him in. This was far too nice for Showfall so maybe they were somewhere else…

They should have listened to Charlie, of course, he was right. He was older than Ranboo and was the more level-headed one of the two so why did Ranboo have to talk the pair out of getting help? They just hoped that their actions hadn’t caused Charlie to get caught as well, he deserved a better fate than them.

Finally, their vision and hearing cleared up enough for their brain fog to disperse so they could be a functioning human again. They looked up to see 4 people standing over them, which was rather startling. They pushed themselves back, out of instinct, before slamming their back into a wall and letting out a small hiss. But they didn’t have any injuries. They had none from the previous fight that they so distantly yet vividly remembered all at the same time.

“Ranboo? It's just us, are you ok?” Tommy was wearing a brown corduroy suit with a white button-up and a gold pocketwatch that connected from his shirt to his vest as he held out his hand to them.

“No… No… Tommy, you shouldn’t be here, how did they..” Ranboo let out a small screech as a sharp shock that rang down their spine.

Their hand shot up to their neck where they felt loads of wiring and a cold, metal circle under their back hairline. They felt it more to feel an engraving… Of 12 small boxes with 4 triangles on the edges. This confirmed it, they were officially back in hell, or Showfall if you wanted to be fancy, and they had dragged the ones they loved along with them.

“None of us should be here if you asked me,” Sneeg said from behind Tommy, who was also rocking a navy blue suit with a matching blue fedora. Why were they all dressed up so nice? For a bunch of streamers, this was so against their normal sweats and a merch hoodie. Whatever it meant, it wasn’t something good.

“We need to get out of here.. Please we have to get home.” Niki’s voice shook slightly as she spoke. Her mustard yellow silky dress glistened off of the dim lighting as she moved around anxiously. She had a dainty gold butterfly braclet around her wrist with a red stone in the center that clanked while she paced. Her voice sounded just as desperate as she did on that carousel…

It was hard for Ranboo to keep any form of coherent thought process as everyone rose back to talking at and over one another.

“See! Like I was saying this was all your fault!” Charlie, who was also wearing a forest green suit with a bright green handkerchief in his jacket pocket, pointed sternly at Tommy.

Ranboo’s heart sank the moment they registered Charlie being there. They’re one hope of escape was now taken captive with them. And it was their fault. Those stupid monsters, why did there have to be two? Why did Ranboo also mess it up for the two of them…

“Charlie… I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.. I should have listened to you..” Ranboo said quietly, looking up at the person who had been their lifeline these past few months.

“No Ranboo, this isn’t on you! Tommy is the one who blabbed and now look where we are!” Charlie turned back to Tommy to continue convicting him.

No… no way. Tommy would never. They both made Tommy promise… this wasn’t adding up. The message from Showfall arrived the day that they told the pair their horrors. So it wasn’t even possible.

“I’m telling you I did not! Who would I even tell?” Tommy screeched, immediately defensive. “I have no clue what is even happening so how is this on me? Sorry for not being some pro in these twisted games!”

While all of this was happening, Sneeg was leaned up against one of the walls, seeming almost bored of this whole thing. Meanwhile, Niki looked tired and stressed of the two’s bickering already, and they were pretty sure that they hadn’t been in this small room for too long.

With their vision practically cleared, they were able to see the room more clearly. They saw 5 doors: One deep navy, one forest green, one dark yellow, one brown, and one rich, crimson red. Each of the doors also had what seemed like intricate carvings on the wood itself alongside weathered, gold handles.

“Can we just stop fighting, please?” Niki chimed in with a sigh, but the pair ignored her and went back to their yelling match.

Why were these two even arguing? At the rental, the two were practically terrified to talk to each other as if they were strangers and now they were in a full yelling match? Ranboo had heard them talk more to each other right now than they had the whole few months at the rental.

It was going to be ok, right? They just had to focus and make sure they made no mistakes. They weren’t going to lose someone else, this was up to Ranboo to get them out. They had to redeem themselves.

“Enough…” Ranboo said, but nobody batted an eye toward them, “ENOUGH!” Ranboo raised their voice as they slowly got up from the floor.

Now that caught everyone’s attention.

“Look, we are not in a good situation right now and you two idiots fighting is not helping anything!” Ranboo huffed, brushing off their red dress pants.

They tried to rub their eyes to see if that would cause the blurriness to finally completely clear up, but their hands quickly clunked up against metal… Fantastic, this stupid mask was back as well. They suddenly became aware of the red lighting that lined the bottom half of their vision. Their vision was clear, it was just tainted. They were at Showfall’s “mercy” once again. But if they had the mask, then how come they could remember everything? Was this intentional or a miscalculation?

So far, all remembering was doing was bringing them more pain than help. The memories only worsened their current situation if anything. Their past flew around their head while they tried to deal with how to get out of Showfall’s grasp again. It better be helpful in the long run, that’s all Ranboo could hope for at this point, if they could even still hope for anything at all.

“Ranboo is right. We need to figure out a way…” Sneeg was abruptly cut off by the sound of a phone ringing.

Silence fell over the group as they all turned toward the yellow door, which to the right of it had a small side table with a stained glass lamp and a bright red rotary telephone on it. They all looked at each other but none of them dared to move. Finally, Ranboo sighed and walked over to the table. Time wasn’t on their side and Ranboo knew that more than anyone. They put the cold receiver up to their ear and heard the crackle of someone on the other line.

“Hello?” Ranboo said.

“Welcome to the game, hero. We are so glad to have you with us again!” A young voice spoke from the other side. Despite the phone gimmick, the voice echoed through the room for all of the group to hear. Their words formed a pit in their stomach, it was not good to be back and it never would be.

“What do you want, Sho-” Another sharp pain shivered down their back, cutting off Ranboo with a sharp inhale.

“Watch yourself there, hero! We don’t appreciate the disrespect, especially with you abruptly leaving us last time.” The voice kept the same cheery tone as they spoke, but that comment only played into Ranboo’s ear, not the loudspeakers. With an ever growing eerie feeling in their gut, Ranboo stayed quiet.

“Aw, why so shy now?” the voice giggled, “Here you see your lovely 4 other competitors in a classic murder mystery game! But wait… there isn’t a murder yet to solve. My mistake! Let's fix that.”

That message played through the loudspeakers again, so strange…

Suddenly, the lights cut out and the room filled with complete darkness for a split second before Ranboo heard a yell and the lights flickered back on again. Ranboo twisted around with the receiver still up to their ear to see Tommy, sprawled out on the floor with their elegant brown suit now stained a bright 𝗿⃥𝘦̸𝗱⃥. Ranboo screamed as they stared at their lifeless friend. This couldn’t have been Tommy’s end… They weren’t supposed to get dragged into their mess, it was never supposed to be like this… They dropped to their knees, the phone shaking in their hand while they stared in horror. Another sharp shock rang down Ranboo’s spin as their knees hit the ground. They didn’t even flinch despite the pain now growing in their back. They had been the reason of another death. And this of someone they loved and remembered…

“Tommy.. No..” Ranboo’s voice broke in agony as they spoke.

Meanwhile, the rest of the room stared blankly at Tommy. Sneeg was even smiling? What kind of sick joke was this?

“Murder mystery sounds like a fun challenge! I mean, Tommy isn’t actually dead, nobody’s blood looks like that.” Charlie laughed and Sneeg laughed with him.

“Nobody bleeds green, this is just a part of this game show.” Sneeg bent down and touched Tommy’s stomach. His hand was covered in the sticky, 𝗿⃥𝘦̸𝗱⃥ substance but he only laughed more before playing with it in his hands like they were back in a 2016 slime tutorial. “See? It’s all fake.”

“What the hell are you two saying? That is so ob-” Ranboo was swiftly cut off by another shock down their spine, but this one was much more aggressive and debilitating. It made Ranboo drop the phone at their side as it knocked the breath out of them.

While Ranboo gathered themself, they tried to piece together what the crap was going on. This wasn’t like a game of Wheel of Fortune so why were they all so chill while Ranboo wasn’t? This is so vividly blood in front of them, so what were they going off about, how could they even…

Then it hit them. The filter system.

Ranboo and Charlie had some sort of filter over their perception of things the last time they were at Showfall, but it seemed like Ranboo had lost theirs while the others hadn’t. Even Charlie had the filter again, so was this punishment for the video Ranboo made announcing that they were alive? Tommy was right, they never should have made that video…

Suddenly their vision seemed to fade in and out for a split second as they stared at Tommy. The blood flashed for a split second to a gooey, black substance and then instantly back to the crimson red they knew all too well. What could all of this mean? it had to mean something…

“Hello? Hero? Are you there?” The young voice called again over the speakers.

Ranboo brushed themself off and picked up the receiver before standing up again, trying not to show any more emotions as their impulsive reactions seemed to be what was triggering the shock. They would prefer to avoid anymore injury or pain, despite how minor it was. What was Ranboo to these twisted people, a dog for them to torture for the hell of it all?

“As I was saying, welcome to murder mystery! If everyone would check their pockets and report what they see.” The voice echoed through the room.

Ranboo checked the pocket of their vest and pulled out a card and small pencil. After further examination, the card had multiple sections of “Suspects” which had Ranboo, Charlie, Sneeg, and Niki listed under it, another section labeled “Weapons” which had pistol, scalpel, remote, and rat posion, and then the final section was labeled “Rooms” which had kitchen, study, nursery, and 𝗠⃥𝘢̸𝗹⃥𝘭̸. The last option was smeared and basically not legible. They guessed they would all find out eventually.

“A card?” Sneeg said, confused yet also unbothered at the same time.

“Yes, fantastic job Sneeg!” The voice cheered.

“I don’t know if I would get that excited over a card.” Sneeg scoffed in return.

“Watch yourself there, you don’t want to get on our badside now do you?” The voice giggled before continuing, “You can use this to figure out who killed little Tommy there. I’ll ring if I have anything more to tell you. Good luck, I’m sure you all will be 𝑓̥̊⃝𝑖̥̊⃝𝑛̥̊⃝𝑒̥̊⃝.” The bubbly voice cut out at the end with a hiss, leaving Ranboo with an uneasy feeling in his gut, this was not going to end well. Then the phone in their ear clicked before returning to a constant hum. The call was over, and now It was up to them.

“Well, lets get out of here. A change of scenery would be nice other than this depressing, grimy room.” Sneeg said.

Ranboo cleared their throat before putting the phone down. They tried the yellow door’s handle next to them but it was locked. Of course it was. Everyone followed Ranboo and checked each door, which to nobody’s surprise were all locked.

“Shoot… we need to find a key then. Lets get looking.” Ranboo sighed, forever hating these stupid games.

“What if the doors are just a distraction?” Sneeg said, turning around from the blue door.

That was actually a really good point, it’s never this simple. But who knew, maybe it was this time around?

“Maybe… let’s just look around and see what we can find.” Ranboo sighed and started looking around the room.

They started with the table, which was the only real furniture in this strange room. Ranboo squatted down and looked under the table for anything odd, maybe something taped to the surface or a hidden compartment. They felt around and couldn’t feel anything out of the ordinary other than the smooth wooden surface. They then ran their hand down each of the table legs and felt nothing other than a smooth, wooden surface with a few divots here and there. They inspected them further to just see that it was usual wear and tear of older furniture.

They signed before moving onto what was on top of the table. They inspected the lamp, but there was nothing strange there either. Then they turned to the phone.

They picked up the bright red receiver and searched it to see nothing out of the ordinary. Then, they picked up the entire phone by the base and inspected it…

“I found something!” Niki declared from her corner of the room.

She had been searching a fake looking large potted plant by the green door. Ranboo placed the phone back onto the table and rushed over to where she was. The other 2 followed suit and they all gathered around to see their first clue to getting out of this hellhole.

Niki held up an older, weathered gold key. Embedded in it was a yellow gem that glistened against the dim lights as she twisted it in her hand.

“I bet it goes to the yellow door?” Charlie said, pointing to the yellow gem and then to the mustard door behind him.

“Yeah… that makes sense.” Sneeg said from behind him. “You wanna do the honors, Niki?”

“Uh… sure.” She hesitated slightly before making her way to the door.

“Makes sense since your dress matches the door.” Charlie smiled slightly as he followed behind her.

Niki walked up to the mustard yellow door. She put the key into the keyhole, but stopped for a moment and turned around to face the 3.

“Stand back, just to be safe.” Niki said, motioning for them to step back.

They all nodded and did as they were told. Niki closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before continuing. Her bracelet rattled as she twisted the key and with a satisfying click, the door opened. Niki cautiously walked in a looked around, and from behind her, they were able to see what looked like a kitchen? Dread filled Ranboo, this better not be another cooking challenge…

But before Ranboo could get an answer or anyone else could enter behind her, something yanked Niki inside and the door slammed shut behind her. Ranboo lunged at the door handle, but it was locked. All they could hear on the other side of the door was screaming.

Chapter Text

Charlie’s chest was aching but that did not stop him, nothing would stop his running.. Not his pounding heart nor the tears streaming down his face.

He would have stayed if he could, crap he wanted to stay, so so badly. But he couldn’t. He had to escape for Ranboo. Charlie was the only one who knew everything in its entirety and could potentially help save Ranboo instead of being helplessly captive with them. Charlie was no match for Showfall, they both knew that.

Charlie weaved his way in and out of the thicket, careful not to trip over anything during his frantic sprint. He could hear the clunking of metal behind him, hunting him. Despite the pain that was pulsing through his body, he went faster. He had to outrun this monster, but he had no idea how big this thicket was. He knew that the small town was miles in this direction, so hopefully he stumbled across that soon. That was his only hope.

Charlie could hear the metallic, clunking footsteps closing the gap between them. He somehow managed to sprint faster than he already was, which he didn’t even know was physically possible. He didn’t stop, he was pushing his body to the limit but he would do anything to never have to go back to Showfall. To never go back to hell. Showfall deserved to go to hell, not him and Ranboo. As the footsteps got faster, that reality seemed like a possibility. He had to find a way out and now.

Eventually, Charlie saw the light of what looked like a clearing up ahead. He could also hear what sounded like the occasional car.

Yes yes yes civilization

Echoed eagerly through Charlie’s mind. He finally managed to break free into a clearing that led to a road. It felt like he had just won and ran through the ribbon at the end of a marathon as he emerged out of the woods. He glanced back to see the monster lurking in the thicket, circling as if daring for Charlie to enter the woods again. Had he just won? Could the monster not go into the open? Charlie pushed his thoughts away and continued his trek to find civilization. He was not going to stay long enough to find out.

He stayed close to the side of the road, not daring to go too close to the woods. He kept up running as he heard the metal footsteps clunking alongside him. Despite the barrier of air between the two, the monster still stuck out its horrid, long claws from the woods to try and grab Charlie. But Charlie desperately dodged them all, before eventually sprinting across the road to the other side. Despite the screaming of his muscles, he never broke his stride.

Then suddenly, Charlie heard a sharp, high-pitched screech from the distance. Then, the clunking stopped from within the woods and sounded like it was growing more distant. Charlie finally came to a stop and put his hands on his knees.

Had Charlie really done it? No way did Showfall just given up, they never make it that easy.

Despite all of the screaming that radiated throughout Charlie’s body, he kept on trucking. He had to find a town. He had to find help, for both him and Ranboo. But how did he know that the local PD wasn’t working with Shwofall? Snowfall taught Charlie that you could trust nobody, and he wasn’t going to risk his safety after everything he had just been through to escape the dreaded company’s grasp. What was going to be his story then? Cause between Charlie’s busted-up shirt, misshapen back, and bloody arms, it sure did look like he had just been through a war. Charlie desperately tried to think of something but the pain that pulsed throughout his body made it very hard to focus on anything other than that.

He had never wanted to collapse onto the ground and curl up into a ball more in his life, but he couldn’t. Unfortunately for him, the world was usually never on Charlie’s side. And today was no expectation. He didn’t have it in him anymore to run, so he walked slowly, ignoring the sharp pains that shot his spin with each step. A few cars zoomed past him, but none of them dared to stop. This was oddly a blessing to him, as he didn’t really want to get into a stranger’s car despite his pain.

He could do this… for Ranboo.

What he kept telling himself, he had to save his lifeline. This couldn’t be the end… He had something to keep going for, and he had to save that. He had to save them, even if it killed him. Charlie buried himself deep into the back of his head as he stumbled along, pushing the pain as far away as possible. This was somehow semi-successful. He let his vision blur as his emotions seeped away, and he finally felt like he could do this as he floated into his head.

~~~~~

After what felt like miles of agnizing walking, Charlie finally could see the town in front of him. A few tears of pure relief streamed down his face as he approached the small, slightly run-down town. But despite all of the old, grimy buildings, to Charlie, it looked like heaven.

His back was screaming more and more with every step he took. But, there was a light at the end of the tunnel in the shape of a little grocery store that seemed to be run over with ivy called “Tim’s”. Despite the pain, pure relief and adrenaline rushed through him and he pushed it all away as he broke out into a sprint to the store.

He burrsted in and immediately fumbled into a basket holder as the pain caught up with him. Running again was not the smart thing to do, but here he was. He landed on the ground with a loud crash, followed by the sound of Charlie screeching out in pain as he landed on his burning arms. He tried to lift himself to sit up, but his shaky arms couldn’t support his weight causing him to slip back onto the ground.

“Oh my god sir, are you alright?” Charlie looked up to see a cashier rushing over to him. The whole store, of a whopping 6 people, had all come out of the aisles at the noise and were murmuring to themselves.

His body had taken the cool air of the store and him finally being able to sit down as an opportunity to let all of the horrific events catch up with him. And to his body, that meant forcing him to rest. He could see the edges of his vision beginning to blur and he couldn’t help but feel the temptation to fall into it.

“Help… 911… please…” Charlie slurred before finally succumbing to his pain.

~~~~~

Charlie swam in and out of consciousness. He remembered flashes of someone carrying him… flashes of paramedics over him… then a bright, white light before entering a dream-like state.

His dreams were unpleasant, to say the least. They were more like nightmares, but on steroids or something. It was like the worst parts of his life playing on loop, which was no surprise when Charlie felt dread rush through his body as his eyes opened up to see bright lights.

He tried to calm himself down as he waited anxiously for his eyes to focus on his surroundings, he needed ot get his barrings and quickly. He needed to know where he was, cause if he was in Showfall’s hands, then he needed to figure a way out and fast.

As his heart pounded out of his chest, he was finally able to see what looked like ceiling tiles above him and the rhythmic sounds of a heart monitor next to him. Heart monitor? Not a hospital.. No he couldn’t be operated on again. His stomach churned at the thought of someone digging through him again…

Charlie frantically looked around to see the average white, sterile hospital scenery that reeked of chemicals. He shot up in bed but was quickly stopped by a sharp pain that rang up his spine. He flinched, but pushed through the pain as adrenaline washed over him. He jumped out of the bed, but his body was quick to give out on him and sent him crashing into the rolling table next to the bed. He knocked down the table with a loud crash as he tumbled onto the ground.

A nurse quickly rushed in and her eyes widened as she saw Charlie’s sad state.

“Sir, you can’t be out of bed…” She rushed over to help him up but Charlie quickly shoved her away.

“Where am I?” Charlie mumbled as the nurse backed up to the door.

“Nebraska Medical Center. Sir please, I need you to get back to bed.”

Nebraska… Thats where their rental was last time he checked so maybe he wasn’t back in Showfall’s grasp? He couldn’t break the story him and Ranboo built up for months over his freakout. He needed to calm down…

“Right… Right.” Charlie said as he took multiple deep, shaky breaths.

Charlie tried to get up on his own, but his body was quick to fail him again as he fumbled onto his back and let out a sharp hiss of pain. The nurse offered out her hand and Charlie reluctantly took it. She helped him slowly get back into his bed before quickly leaving again.

Charlie dragged his hands over his face before letting out a deep sigh. What on earth had him and Ranboo gotten themselves into…

The nurse soon came back in with a doctor eagerly behind her. He had bright blonde hair and striking blue eyes, like some sort of main character. Yet his posture and expression were both very serious. He looked down at his clipboard before clearing his throat to speak.

“Hello, my name is Doctor Brown. Before we get into the specifics, I would like to ask you a few questions.”

Charlie nodded before letting Dr.Brown continue.

“What is your name?” He asked.

“Charlie. Charlie Dalgleish.” The doctor wrote that down before continuing.

“What is your date of birth?”

“August 12.”

“Year?”

“Right… my bad. Um, 1998.” Charlie responded quickly with a small chuckle, trying to counter the Doctor’s serious tone.

The doctor nodded before looking back up at Charlie for the first time since the conversation started.

“Ok, Do you remember anything about what happened before you got here?”

Charlie paused for a moment and chewed at his bottom lip in thought. He couldn’t tell them about Showfall, he didn’t trust them fully yet. He did come from the woods and had a sick scar running down his back and arms so maybe he could formulate something with that? He hated to lie, but he had to. At this point, it was for everyone’s protection.

“Um…” Charlie’s voice cracked slightly as he spoke, embarrassing, but he continued, “I was on a walk like normal, but something started to chase me… then I woke up here. It sounded like a bear maybe? It’s all foggy…” Charlie cringed internally as he lied straight through his teeth, he had always hated lying.

The doctor hummed in agreement as he jotted stuff down on his clipboard.

“Ok… Thank you, Mr.Dalgleish. Do you have any questions?”

Charlie sat there for a moment and just blinked at him. Yes he had questions, so many, but the doctor took his moment of silence as a no, and was now starting to get up.

“Yes, yes! I do. What’s up with all my injuries?”

“Oh, right. You have a thoracic burst fracture in your spine, or to put that in more normal terms, you broke 3 vertebrae in your middle back. We had to take you back into surgery but everything went well.” Charlie’s heart skipped at the mention of an operation, he could feel the flashbacks of Ranboo digging inside him at the edge of his brain, but he pushed his fear down and tried to remain focused, “You will need to wear that back brace for around a month or so while we monitor your healing. Your previous scars reopened on your arms from past injuries so we had to stitch some of those backup but for the most part those are ok. Considering the state you arrived in, you are healing relatively well.”

“Ok, that’s good to know. Thanks Doc!” Charlie smiled as he tried to steady his pounding heart. Had to keep up his spirits in this bland hospital.

“I will check in with you occasionally, but besides that your injures seem to be healing up relatively nicely. Please try not to move around much as we need your back to rest. We need to monitor you over the rest of the week or so and then we will be ready to discharge you. Was there anything else I needed to tell you…” The doctor tapped his pen against his clipboard in thought before giving his attention back to Charlie.

“Yes, there was. We pulled up your file and contacted your first emergency contact… Ranboo it was.” Charlie tensed up at their friend’s name but tried to shrug it off in front of the staff, but nothing ever wen unnoticed by doctors and he knew that. “They unfortunately did not pick up, so we tried the next one on the list. Someone by the name of Quakity. Your friends have rather strange names, Mr.Dalgleish, I must admit.”

“Oh… what did he say?” Charlie replied.

“He said that he was working out a way to get people here. We found your phone in decent condition considering your state and I can get Nurse Amy to get it for you. Please let me know of any further questions and Nurse Amy will be here all night to help with anything you need.” The doctor then stood up and gave a small nod before leaving.

Nurse Amy, who he assumed was the woman he pushed earlier, left briefly before returning and handing him his phone. The doctor was right, considering it was in the side pocket of his cargo pants during the whole battle, it was in decent condition. If anything, it was holding up better than him. To his surprise, it wasn’t completely shattered, just a collection of cracks on the top left corner that spidered down to the middle side of the screen and a shattered camera.

He turned it on to see a plethora of missed calls from Quakity, Philza, Tommy and few others. Philza being the main one, followed with multiple concerned messages on why he, and especially Ranboo, weren’t responding to their messages. Charlie really wasn’t in the mood for a dad lecture but he had to figure out his next steps before he could fully relax or else the anxiety would eat him alive. After taking a deep sigh, Charlie pressed Philza’s name on his notifications and put the cracked phone up to his ear. He subconsciously scratched lightly on his neck as he anxiously waited for Phil to pick up.

“Charlie? Mate, is that you?” Phil sounded semi-frantic, and thats when Charlie realized that it was probably around 2 AM in Brighton and that he had woken him up.

“Um… yes.” Charlie’s voice broke again at the sound of a familiar voice, second time today? Man, he needed to calm down. “I need your help.”

Charlie realized that he had not thought out what to say before dialing, and this was not off to a great start already. Usually Ranboo was the impulsive one but with him gone, Charlie had seemed to take on all of the roles. He didn’t want to though, he wanted their old dynamic back…

“Yeah yeah, we’ll do anything. Where have you been? Its been days and everyone is freaking out. Tommy went down to the rental this afternoon and the place was like a ghost town. Where the hell are you two?” Phil’s worried tone brought Charlie back to earth, unfortunately.

“Its a very long story that I cannot fully tell until we are in person. I’m ok and Ranboo will be, but they aren’t here. Don’t freak out. Don’t be extra and call the cops, either. I have it under control.”

The cops couldn’t get involved… yet. Charlie hated having them involved with their countless, apathetic questions when Charlie was clearly still in a fragile state. He swore that sometimes they lacked enough empathy to the point of being borderline soulless at times. He hated the whole process, and didn’t need them right now. He needed to get his barrings then decide where to go from here.

“What the hell do you mean ‘don’t be extra?’ You have been missing for days!! The cops have already been alerted that you two are missing, again! And where is Ranboo?” Phil huffed over the phone.

Charlie cursed under his breath before continuing, “Shoot… well I’m ok now. It was just a bear attack, nothing more.”

“You are a horrible liar Charlie, there is more to this and I know it. Where is Ranboo?!”

“I don’t know yet! I legit don’t, ok? I feel horrible enough as is and don’t need someone else making me feel worse! I am injured, Phil!” Charlie’s tone raised at the demanding tone over the mention of their close friend.

“Ok, I believe you. But once you get to London, I swear-”

“Wait London? Is that where Quakity is sending me?” Charlie cut him, curiosity taking over his anger.

“Yes, 'cause clearly America isn’t safe for you two.” It had been a while since Charlie had heard him this pissed off and it was scaring him slightly.

“Nobody has told me anything, Phil! I’m sorry for worrying you… I’ll explain it all later I promise… Just trust me, please don’t tell the cops anything more than a bear attack cause thats my truth.”

Phil sighed so loud that Charlie could have sworn he was standing next to his hospital bed.

“Alright, Whatever you say. Look, Tommy is in town and should be there sometime soon, let me tell him where you are.. Where are you again?” Charlie could hear Phil change to speaker as he spoke.

“Nebraska Medical Center.”

“Ok, I’m glad you’re ok Charlie but jeez you two worry the crap out of me all the time I swear. Rest up, see you soon mate.” Phil cursed a little more under his breath before hanging up.

Charlie did the same as he dropped his phone to his side. He let his other hand fall to his side and was quick to notice the blood that was now on the ends of his fingers and soon became aware of a slight burning sensation on the side of his neck. Shoot… guess that phone call was more nerve racking than he thought

Where was Ranboo when he needed him? Charlie didn’t know how on earth he was going to do this whole thing by himself, but he had to figure it out. For Ranboo. Everything he does is all for Ranboo, and that's what made it all worth it.

Chapter Text

Charlie had always hated hospitals, and he was pretty sure that was never going to change.

The meds that the doctors had been pumping into his system made him fade in and out of sleep. Which would have been fine, or honestly a blessing to his pain, if he didn’t wake up in a panic every time after even the smallest dream. The nurses had started to pick up on this, and were adamant on recommending him to speak to a psychologist but Charlie always refused. He could handle himself just fine. He had all the way up to this point, so how would it be any different now?

Charlie, was in fact, naive for thinking this and subconsciously he knew it. He was just too stubborn to let onto that.

~~~~~

Charlie was suddenly falling from the sky into the woods, where he crashed onto the pine straw and leafy floor. Everything was aching as he stumbled up, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He seemed to be in a small clearing that was surrounded by a sea of trees, a very comforting atmosphere, especially in the pitch darkness of night.

“Where… what-“ Charlie’s rambling was cut off by the sound of something dashing in the brush behind him.

He flipped around and saw a shadow weaving among the trees. The shape was hard to make out in the darkness, but it seemed like a tall and slender figure. He could hear it panting heavily as it lurked in the thicket.

Charlie’s gut told him to run and for the first time, he listened to it. He broke out into a sprint the opposite direction of the creature. He didn’t want to be around to figure out who… or what it was. He could feel his skin crawling as he heard the figure approaching behind him. Flashes of the monster’s cable claws scratching at Charlie raced through his mind and only pushed him to go faster.

Unfortunately, Charlie’s woodland navigation skills weren’t enough this time and he accidentally cornered himself as he stared up at a huge rocky cliff.

“Shi-“ Charlie flipped around and was instantly tackled to the ground.

“LET ME GO!” Charlie screamed out, but the thing only buried Charlie’s head into the ground. He could feel it’s knee pressed into his back, the bone digging into his spinal cord. He let out a screech of pain as his already damaged back screamed worse than ever before.

“Shut up!” Charlie’s breath hitched as dread washed over him. He could recognize that voice anywhere…

Charlie’s head was jerked up from the ground and he looked into the hazel eyes that he had once found comfort in. The hazel eyes were now tainted by a faint glow of red from a hunk of metal that rested below them. It was dizzying as he tried to focus on the upside-down figure of his friend who was ominously staring down at him.

“Ranboo… why… we’re supposed to be together here!” Charlie’s voice seeped with grief as he stared into his best friend’s angry eyes.

“You did this to me, Charlie. You left me behind…” Ranboo snarled at him like an angry animal, what had they done to them?

Before Charlie could respond, Ranboo released his knee, finally relieving the pressure on Charlie’s back. He let out a sigh of relief but that didn’t last long. As Charlie tried to stumble up, Ranbo dashed in front of him and picked him up by his shirt. Just like the masks had done…

“Ranboo… please this isn’t you…” Charlie quivered as his feet dangled off the ground.

“No! This is what you made me!” Ranboo screamed as he chucked Charlie at the rock wall in front of them.

Charlie let out a scream as he hit the wall and crumbled to the ground. He could feel his back and arms screaming as he tumbled down the rough edges of the rock. The gashes on his back and arms opening as they hit each ridge.

Charlie desperately tried to get back up, but Ranboo pushed him back onto the ground with their foot.

This had to be a nightmare, it just had to be. But if it was, then why did it all feel so real? Why did the pain radiating through his body feel so lifelike?

“It’s time for you to feel how I do, Slimecicle.”

The dehumanization that dripped from Ranboo’s tone made him nauseous. What happened to them in such a short time frame?

Ranboo picked up Charlie’s shaking body off the ground and carried him over to the side of the woods where a cliff now was. Had that always been there?

Ranboo was quiet as he dangled Charlie off the cliff. As he looked down and saw the abyss under him, he began to panic. This could not be how he went out, at the hand of his best friend.

“Ranboo… please! I never meant to hurt you!” Charlie began to sob desperately as he kicked and screamed for his life.

“Welcome back to Showfall, Slimecicle. It’s good to have you back.” A voice boomed from a distance.

Everything felt like it was suddenly going in slow motion as he felt Ranboo let go of his shirt. As he looked up, Ranboo’s piercing eyes met his. And that was the last thing he saw before he was plunged into darkness.

~~~~~

Charlie shot up in bed with a start, his mind spinning as he tried to understand where he was. He could vaguely hear the fast beeping of the heart monitor next to him. He didn’t know where he was, and he didn’t care much either. He needed to get out of here, no matter how injured he was. He needed out.

Charlie pushed himself out of bed. He looped his legs over the side of the bed and began ripping the multiple wires and other medical crap off and out of him. He quickly stumbled up, but shocking to nobody except Charlie, his injuries won and sent him crashing into the cart near his bed. He crumbled to the ground, as his back and arm screamed out in pain from the impact. He pushed all the pain away as he pushed himself back up.

He looked up to see a nurse now standing at his door, panic weaved in her face.

“Sir, please lay back down.” She said as she reached out to him.

Charlie wasn’t falling for this fake hospital crap anymore. He was done with Showfall.

Charlie quickly shoved her away and started to run down the hallway. He glanced back to see the nurse stumbling backward as she mumbled something into her coat.

Then, before he knew it a voice boomed over the intercom and he could hear yelling as he ran down the hallway. He could see the doors, he could see the light ahead of him. Come on Charlie, keep pushing…

But before he could make it, someone tackled him to the ground, and he screamed out in agony as he landed on his bad arms. His strength wasn’t fully gone, and he pushed multiple people off of him as he clawed his way to the doors. But his resistance attempts were no use as he felt a sharp prick in his arm and his body slowly grew limp…

~~~~~

After his aggressive nightmare incident, his hospital stay took a very sharp turn. And not exactly a good one. He could tell that they were walking on eggshells around him, almost talking to him like he was some poor, pathetic puppy. That expression of empty empathy left him feeling sicker than the pain meds already made him feel. To be fair though, he had woken up frantic multiple times and it was only getting more severe. Maybe Charlie needed more help than he was willing to admit…

After Charlie’s sad nightmare episode, Dr.Brown used his doctoral powers to make a psychologist come up and see Charlie. Which he couldn’t exactly argue was unfair. She was scheduled to see him sometime today, and he wasn’t looking forward to it at all.

He couldn’t help but feel guilty for all the drama his panicked self had caused to everyone else around him. That was never his intention, it always just turned out badly. It was always out of his control, and that was eating away at him like maggots at a corpse, as with his shape it wasn’t too far off of a metaphor.

“I don’t give a damn! I wanna see my friend!” Charlie heard a young voice echo down the hallway.

“But sir, he is in a very delicate place and needs-” Before the nurse could finish talking, Tommy stuck his head into the doorway and his eyes lit up as soon as he saw Charlie lying in his bland hospital bed.

“Charlie! My man! It’s so good to see you!” Tommy chuckled as he raced over to Charlie and was quick to give him a hug.

He flinched slightly at the touch, but soon kind of melted into it as he finally had some sense of familiarity. Tommy let go after a few seconds and took a step back, examining Charlie’s sad state. He could see the worry sewn into Tommy’s brow as he took in his more than poor conditions in front of him. If there is one thing Charlie had learned about Tommy, it was that he didn’t hide his emotions very well, no matter how hard he tried. That guilt in his gut only grew at the sight of his reaction.

“I’m sorry Mr.Dalgleish, I can call security if you want…”

“No, no. Tommy is good, I promise. He can come in whenever.” Charlie gave Tommy a very small smile as he nodded to the nurse.

“Man, we were worried sick for you two.” Tommy fumbled around as he reached for a chair, almost falling out of it as he pulled it closer to the bedside.

“Almost as sick as me?” Charlie laughed dryly as Tommy smiled in response before continuing.

“And it wasn’t easy finding you either, let me tell you. I came last night but I wasn’t allowed in. When I came back today they did it AGAIN. They wouldn’t tell me your room so I just went around peaking my head into rooms.”

“Well, I’m glad your game of peekaboo somehow worked.” Charlie laughed lightly in response, it was good to have someone treating him normally again. This is what he really needed, even if it was in the form of a loud, young teen.

“You better thank me for being so stubborn.” Tommy laughed back, “But uh hey man, how are you holding up?”

Charlie could tell in the way Tommy subconsciously fidgeted with his hands and the way his tone shifted that this was where the more real side of Tommy was shining through. He was worried, even if Charlie had always struggled to really remember who he was to his past self.

“I’m alive… somehow. I’m hanging in there, okish.” Charlie responded.

“Do you know how much longer you’ll be here? Shocker, worried Dadza was asking for all these specifics.”

“They said through the end of this week at least, but um I have a feeling it’s going to be slightly longer than that.” Charlie gave a small smile as his eyes subconsciously shot across the room.

“Ah… would it be mean to ask why?” Tommy hesitated before quietly responding.

“No, no… It just haven’t been healing as much as they expected. It’s been… rough.” Charlie chuckled dryly as he held up his left arm, the one that he had landed on and was now bandaged more than ever before.

Tommy nodded slowly as his eyes shot over to the arm.

“Well, I’m glad to still have you around,” Tommy replied, but Charlie could see the discomfort in his eyes…

“Anyways,” Tommy cleared his throat before continuing with his usual cheery tone, “Having you in Brighton with us will be fun, I swear it!”

Charlie smiled softly at their friend’s optimistic attempts, and they did not go unappreciated.

“Yeah, I hope my chances are brighter there than here.” Charlie joked in reply, which was met by the usual dry laugh.

He wished desperately to see Ranboo’s dumb smile and eye roll in response to his horrible puns. Or how they would nudge or hit him jokingly in return. If only he could go back…

“It will be. I think Phil said that you can stay with him and Kristin and my flat is always open too!” Tommy smiled, hope pouring out his expression. Hope that Charlie wished he could have.

Charlie flinched slightly as he heard a light knock at the door before Nurse Amy entered with a woman behind her. She had long brown hair braided to one side and wore a yellow blouse with a sunflower lanyard that said “Dr. Wendy Smith, Psychiatrist.” Those words made Charlie’s heart drop.

During their first hospital stay, he and Ranboo had very poor experiences with the psychiatrists. They were very pushy and the pressure of their questions always sent Charlie into a spiral. It always ended up with Ranboo being pissed and Charlie having a breakdown.

“Dr.Smith is here to see you, and she needs to speak to Charlie, alone.” Nurse Amy said.

Tommy stood up to dispute, but Charlie put a shaky hand on his arm which caused him to stop. Despite how much he didn’t want to do this appointment, he knew he needed to for the doctor’s to feel at ease, and he had already caused enough drama already. They didn’t need anymore.

“It’s ok Tommy, Amy you can get him when it’s done right? I think the waiting room has snacks and free coffee too.” Charlie said, giving one last weak attempt at a smile before Tommy reluctantly agreed and left with Nurse Amy.

“Hello, Charles it is, correct?” Dr.Smith said with a gentle tone as she sat down in the chair Tommy was in.

“Well yes, but please call me Charlie. No need for the fancy stuff”

“You know why I’m here right? I won’t play dumb if you won’t. Let us get through the formalities quickly, my name is Wendy Smith and I don’t mind being called Wendy. I’m here because some people are concerned about your startling behavior, would you agree?” She looked up at Charlie as she clicked her pen open.

“I guess so, yes. I don’t mean to cause any trouble.” Charlie said truthfully, although he did not know how long that truth would last.

“I’m sure you don’t, we never do.” She gave a warm smile before continuing, “Would you like to discuss what happened to you, Charlie?”

“I don’t have much else to tell you that I haven’t already told the doctors. I was taking a walk in the woods and was attacked by something, whether it’s a bear or not I don’t know. It’s blurry.” Charlie hated to repeat himself, but he tried to push away the agitation and walls that he was instinctively building. He needed to try and give this woman a chance.

“Mmm” Dr.Smith hummed as she wrote some notes on her clipboard. “We’re going to get into uncomfortable topics, please tell me when I need to stop or if I’m pushing a boundary but I am here to make you uncomfortable. That’s how we grow, Charlie.”

“Yes, I’ve heard this before. This isn’t my first rodeo with psychologists, I have ridden this bull before.” Charlie sighed, and Dr.Smith made more notes.

“Your companion, I have heard from the staff that he is very important to you… was he with you during that walk?”

Charlie opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself… he never really mentioned Ranboo or any companion. He wouldn’t be shocked if he had spoken of him in his multiple frenzies or if it was in a hospital report. It was likely from his past hospital because they were inseparable there.

Her words caused Charlie’s walls to build a fortress around him, and he knew that he couldn’t stop it. Any mention of Ranboo immediately made him defensive, and he wasn’t letting go of that.

“This feels like something more the police would ask, how is this relevant to my case?” Charlie’s jaw clenched as he avoided looking at her, trying to calm himself down.

“Well you too were close, correct?”

“Please, I need somebody to drop the professional terms and talk to me like a person!” Charlie huffed as his eyes darted around the room.

“You are avoiding my question, Charlie. This companion, tell me about him.”

“Them.” Charlie corrected her with a hiss, finally making eye contact with her, “And they have a name, Ranboo. And to answer your question, yes. We were extremely close. They are the best person I have in my life, Ok? Is that all?”

Charlie’s tone was becoming more exasperated as they went on.

“My apologies, can you tell me why you and them were on a walk?”

“Look, we just were. I love the outdoors, and I drag them along with me. You can ask Tommy. There really is nothing deeper here.”

There was something deeper, much deeper that she would be horrified to know. But that was none of her concern. And it never would be.

She hummed in response and wrote down more notes on her clipboard, at this point she was barely looking up at him as they spoke.

“I know that you two have been missing together in the past, we just want to make sure this isn’t triggering you or these instances are connected…” and the vague mention of Showfall and his past, even unintentionally, made him snap in half like a twig from his nightmares. She had no idea what weight the topic she was poking at had on him. Same apathetic questions, they really weren’t different, were they…

“That’s it!” Charlie slammed his fist on the bed, ignoring the pain that rang up his arm, “I’m done talking. It’s clear you don’t care about my well-being and are just prying, like every other psychologist I have spoken with. So I think it’s time for you to go. I’m done.”

By now a few tears were streaming down his face, mostly out of frustration. Dr.Smith seemed taken aback and her hand instinctively reached up to a button on her lanyard, the same button that the nurses clicked on him multiple times.

“There is no need for that alarm.. I am not some monster… I never meant to hurt anyone…” Charlie’s voice cracked as the room began to spin.

Maybe he was the monster. Why else would he be sitting in this hospital alone, without his best friend by his side? He never meant to hurt them…

“Charlie… please look at me and take deep breaths. Name some stuff around the room for me.” Dr.Smith tried to recover herself but Charlie was already checked out.

“It’s time for you to go.” Charlie turned his head to look out the window, avoiding her concerned gaze.

“I’m not leaving until you name one thing you can see and hear in this room,” Dr.Smith said, standing up to grab his attention.

“Fine! The TV that’s always playing impractical jokers for some reason.” Charlie sighed as he subconsciously began to shake as he tried to release all the tension that was radiating throughout his body.

“Now 2 things that you see. Describe their color and texture for me.”

“This is childish…” Charlie rolled his eyes, but Dr.Smith persisted.

“This is what will make me leave, Charlie.”

“That chair in the corner of the room, it’s a leathery texture and a bland white color. And um… those flowers in the corner. They’re colorful with lots of blues and yellows… and I bet are soft.” Charlie slowly seemed to be coming down to earth with each thing he noticed, it was a strange yet pleasant sensation as he could feel himself slipping back into his body.

“Alright, last one then I’m gone for now. What are 3 things you can feel? Describe them to me.”

“Ok… well I feel the rough texture of this blanket. And the cold plastic-ness of my bed frame… and um… the odd plastic shape of my bed remote.” Charlie’s breathing was still elevated but he could feel everything slowing down. Even his pounding heart wasn’t in his ears like it normally was.

“Good… good. I never meant to hurt you either, and I’m sorry. Sincerely. If you will have me again before we discharge you, I would love that. Have a good day, Charlie.” Dr.Smith said, but Charlie didn’t respond as she quietly left.

Charlie dragged his still shakey hands down his face, why did this always happen? But the remarkable thing from that whole session was that he wasn’t in a full breakdown… just borderline…

Now that was a new thing. An unfamiliar thing.

“Charlie?” Tommy hesitated as he peeked into the room with Nurse Amy behind him.

Charlie’s head shot up and as soon as they locked eyes he could see the worry seep into Tommy’s brow.

“Oh… Tommy… come in.” Charlie croaked, frantically wiping the tears from his eyes and trying to push down his emotions.

The night that he and Ranboo told him the horrific stories of their past, Tommy sat there petrified the whole time. He was completely silent as the pair struggled through their stories that had frequent pauses for one to comfort the other or take over completely. It was one of the hardest things the pair had to do since escaping, but they had to do it. After they had finished, Tommy remained silent before running to hug Ranboo. He cried into their chest for a long while, just repeating words of consolation under his breath. He ended up doing the same to Charlie, while Ted and Shlatt eventually came up to the pair and gave them a pat on the shoulder as a sign of support. Tommy seemed to absorb their pain in a way Charlie would have never expected from the never-serious, smiling kid he had grown to know at the rental. It was… eye-opening. Tommy was more than that.

So, he tried to put his tired smile back on as he entered the room. He took his seat with his coffee in hand, and looked at Charlie’s eyes with the same sense of concern as that day…

“Do you wanna talk about it…” Tommy asked, putting his coffee on the nearest cart beside them.

“There’s nothing to talk about, I’m fine. The appointment went fantastic.” Charlie gave a half-manic laugh at the end of his sentence, which was definitely not helping his case.

“Charlie… I could hear you screaming in the hallway… it’s ok to talk about things-“

“I said I’m fine.” Charlie’s tone shifted to one very serious, and he could tell from the startled look on Tommy’s face that it scared him just as much as it scared Charlie.

“Sorry…” Tommy sank back into his seat.

Charlie felt the guilt pool back in his stomach.

“No… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get like that-“

Charlie’s breath hitched as he was cut off by the sudden movement of arms wrapping around him. Tommy had lunged from his seat to his side and engulfed him in a hug. Charlie sank into it a bit, shedding a few tears at the much-needed comfort into Tommy’s shoulder. Hopefully, he didn’t mind that. Ranboo had always given the best hugs…

They stayed like that for a minute or so, before Tommy finally let go and sat back down in his seat.

“Sorry. You just seemed like a guy who needed a hug just then.” Tommy laughed it off, and Charlie laughed with him as he wiped at his eyes.

“Whatever, I guess I just have a very huggable aura about myself.” Charlie responded, finally feeling his heart rate slow to a more manageable pace.

Chapter Text

“Niki!!” Charlie banged his fists on the door, but Ranboo put their hand on his shoulder. The group needed to listen, but all they could hear was rustling and things breaking from behind the door.

“Let me go!!” they heard Niki struggling. “No… No!!” She screamed and they heard a loud, unsettling “tsst” and then the rustling stopped.

There was a moment of silence before they heard the most gut-wrenching scream Ranboo had ever heard. It was like something straight out of a horror movie and was quickly followed by the sound of glass shattering.

“What have you done? So much red… I thought it was all f-” Niki was cut off by the sound of a gunshot that echoed through the tiny space. Then, an eerie silence fell over the house.

“Niki?! Niki!!” Ranboo called from across the door, but there was no answer.

Suddenly, the door handle clicked as it gently pushed open to reveal a horrifying sight. Ranboo’s heart pounded in their chest and they could feel vomit building up in their throat. The once nice, clean yellow kitchen was now covered in crimson blood splatter. It covered some of the cabinets and ran up some of the wall. And there in the middleof it all, sat Niki’s lifeless body crumbled on its side. Ranboo’s vision faded in and out as their brain yelled at them to run.

Run far far away… the blood was too much. This all was too much…

Ranboo was pulled out of their thoughts as they noticed one minor yet very strange detail, Niki was missing her right hand. It was jarringly laid next to her, with her butterfly bracelet still attached to the severed hand. That seemed extremely unnecessary, why were two weapons needed for this? The more they were here, the more things puzzled Ranboo.

“Man, she is a really great actor.” Sneeg said, peering into the room.

“Yeah, that really was believable. Give the girl an oscar.” Charlie laughed slightly behind Sneeg.

“I mean with the fake hand too? We really are going all out here.” Sneeg replied.

“Yeah, this really is some cutting age technology we got here.” Sneeg rolled his eyes in return to Charlie’s horrible joke, but this light hearted tone made Ranboo want to strangle their friend.

And Ranboo hated that feeling, more than anything on earth.

Ranboo pushed back the vomit and anger that was bubbling inside them. They couldn’t lash out.. They just couldn’t. Getting shocked repeatedly was going to get damaging at some point, and it was already causing a burning sensation down his upper back long after the shock. They took a deep breath before continuing to investigate. They just needed to block it all out to get out of here. Push away the feelings; they could do that.

They ignored the two joking behind them and went searching for anymore clues. Anything was better than looking at a body, they were so tired of constantly being surrounded by death…

Ranboo stopped when they heard the crunching of glass under their shoes, and saw a clear glass candy jar shattered on the ground. Gumballs were scattered all across the kitchen.

“Hey!” Ranboo turned to face the two apathetic joksters behind them, “be careful. There are gumballs everywhere. We don’t need any fall risks here.”

“Ok, whatever, didn’t know we invited parent Ranboo to this game session.” Sneeg rolled his eyes and elbowed Charlie.

“Yeah, come on Ranboo lighten up! Why such the serious tone?” Charlie smiled up at him, but something seemed off to Ranboo about Charlie’s demeanor as he spoke…

Ranboo paused and stared into Charlie’s eyes, which looked much more lifefilled than normal. Charlie was no pessimist by any means, but he was never filled with this joy, even at his best moments. Something about it all made him barely able to recognize someone he has grown to adore. It was… unsettling.

“Ranboo?” Charlie’s expression changed from giddy to goofily annoyed.

“Yeah yeah… whatever.” Ranboo waved it all off, mainly talking to himself and not Charlie.

Ranboo went back to investigating but besides the damage of blood stains and glass shards, there wasn’t anything else of interest in the kitchen. The fridge was once again fully stocked, which Ranboo was quick to slam shut and move on. He didn’t have a good history with fridges here.

Ranboo did discover one strange thing. He quickly noticed that the cabinets were filled to the brim with LemonHead hard candies and lots of gumballs. Everything from the drawers, to the cabinets. Some even pouring out onto the floor when he opened them. This whole candy kitchen was odd and completely impractical.

“Hey, I think I found something…”

Ranboo turned around to see Sneeg holding Niki’s hand which at the end of it glistened something golden sticking out of the flesh. Ranboo was instantly flashed back to digging through Charlie;s insides. A wave of nausea washed over them and they stumbled back into the island to stabilize himself. They could feel the blood on his hands from that day… the horrible texture and warmth of it all…

They could hear the faint ringing in their ears, but whenever they tried to push it away, all they could hear were the two cracking more apathetic jokes at one another. So instead, Ranboo closed his eyes and tried to drift above it all. They wished it could all be over…

They shoved their hands into their pockets in an attempt to make the horrid feeling go away and felt a slip of paper in their pocket. They pulled out the clue card and began to mark some stuff off.

Now that Niki was sadly gone, they marked her off. Along with the pistol and kitchen since that’s where they were. They hoped this was somewhat logical.

Ranboo’s train of thought was cut off by the sound of a phone ringing, but this time, from directly behind him. They turned around to see a small, round wooden table with one chair beside it. On the plaid, yellow runner sat another bright red telephone. Ranboo sighed and yet again, put the cold receiver up to their ear.

“Good thinking, Hero! You always were the smart one.” The voice again echoed over the loud speaker.

“Now that you have started with your card, would any of you like to take a guess?” The voice never dropped its peppy tone, even as it talked about such a solemn thing like literal murder. “Remember, you need the person, room and weapon included. But you three are so smart and 𝗜⃥𝘯̸𝗱⃥𝘦̸𝗽⃥𝘦̸𝗻⃥𝘥̸𝗲⃥𝘯̸𝘁⃥ that I don’t even need to remind you!” The voice seemed to glitch slightly as it spoke, but then returned to normal. Odd, but Ranboo brushed it off.

Sneeg and Charlie looked at Ranboo hopefully. Like they were supposed to know something more about the mess they were in.

It wouldn’t be such a long shot to guess Niki, I mean this was honestly the only lead that they had so far. Whats the worst that could happen?

“Um…” Ranboo cleared their throat, trying to sound less broken, “It was Niki, in the kitchen… with the pistol?”

Ranboo let out a screech as a much more intense and sharp shock radiated down their spine. This was one was much more aggressive than any of the ones before. They could still feel it pulsing and burning down their back even after it was over.

The two just stared at them in confusion, seeming completely unaffected. Cause of course Ranboo was the only target here, that was Showfall’s favorite hobby after all.

A buzzer sound effect came over the speakers before the voice spoke again.

“Incorrect! You have two guesses remaining. Good luck, team!” The voice said again before there was a faint click in Ranboo’s ear.

They put down the receiver with a huff and turned around to see Sneeg digging deeper into the bloody hand, trying to grab something. Ranboo gulped as their eyes glanced around the room, looking for something more tame to look at.

“You ok, Ranboo? Scared of a little bit of slime?” Charlie asked, his normal smirk that he wore now haunting Ranboo. Where did all of this apathy come from all of a sudden?

Ranboo rolled their eyes in return, not even bothering to give any sort of proper response. Sneeg continued digging into Niki’s hand as he pryed the metal out of the flesh. Which was turning out to be a key. Ranboo couldn’t bear to watch it as they pushed it all away. They let the sides of his vision blur as they stared solemnly at the floor, desperately trying to block out the horrible sound of it all. They had to keep going…

“Ah, the green key!” Charlie said triumphantly.

Ranboo looked back over to see Sneeg casually wiping off the blood on his pants while Charlie wiped the blood off of the key on his suit jacket. Ranboo squirmed a bit before reigning themself in as he focused on the task at hand: escaping this nightmare.

“I guess the green key goes to the green door…?” Charlie looked around, as if for reassurance.

“No, it goes to the blue door. Yes, moron it goes to the green door.” Sneeg rolled his eyes as he stood up and stretched his legs and back.

“Ok, I will do the honors this time.” Charlie started to walk towards the door, but Ranboo grabbed his arm.

“No. Let me do it.” Ranboo said.

The last person to open a door had been killed right in front of their eyes. Ranboo was very sure that was not going to be the last death of this twisted game, and he didn’t want it to be anyone else. Ranboo had some strange sort of plot armor that nobody else had, so maybe if he opened the door nobody would die? It was worth a shot anyways.

“Dude you didn’t dig in that stupid slime hand like we did so no, you can’t.” Sneeg scoffed, always seeming like Ranboo was inconveniencing him somehow.

“Sorry, I was looking for other clues. Look, just let me do this one and then you can do the next.” Ranboo pushed more, they weren’t backing down.

“Come on, let me do the fun thing.” A spark lit in Charlie’s eye that Ranboo had never seen before.

“Charlie, just trust me here. Let me-”

“No! You always get to have the spotlight, but when is it my turn? Huh? ‘Oh poor Charlie, always the sidekick never the hero.’ It is all because you never let me have my moment, Ranboo! It’s always about you!” Charlie jerked his arm out of Ranboo’s grasp and continued forward.

Charlie had never exploded on them like that before, especially over something like not having enough attention. It took them aback, and so they quietly watched as he made his way towards the door. Had Charlie always felt like this and they had just never notice it before?

“I mean the guy has a point.” Sneeg shrugged as he walked past the shaken teen.

“Charlie… I’m sorry I never meant to-”

“Yeah, whatever Ranboo. Let’s just get this stupid door open.” The sharp glance that Charlie shot at Ranboo engrained itself in their head.

Ranboo sighed before joining Charlie and Sneeg at the green door. Charlie rolled his eyes as he stuck the key into the keyhole. The group heard the same satisfying click as he twisted the key. Charlie gently pushed the door open to reveal a room lined with bookshelves that were filled to the brim with older books. Next to one of those shelves was a collection of medical anatomy posters.

Ranboo could feel their soul leaving their body as they saw a big metal table in the middle of the room with a rolling cart of various tools next to it. It all looked extremely out of place compared to the multiple wooden furniture that surrounded it. Ranboo’s heart pounded inside of their chest as they quickly reached out to try and stop Charlie, but they were too late.

As soon as Charlie entered the room, the door slammed shut behind him. Just as they predicted.

Ranboo dropped to their knees as they banged endlessly on the door.

“Charlie! CHARLIE!” Ranboo screamed, but it was no use. The door wasn’t budging.

“Ranboo? I’ll be fine, it’s all fake remember…” Charlie was cut off by a violent “tsst” sound followed by what sounded like fabric ripping.

Ranboo shut their eyes as they listened helplessly to horrific sounds coming from behind the door. The sound of Charlie’s screams for help echoed in their mind, seeming to be never ending.

“But I thought… No… please… No… I don’t want to…” That was the last thing Ranboo heard their best friend say before they heard the most horrific and brutal sounds they wished they could have never heard.

They heard multiple horrid gushing “sqwelp” sounds that were accompanied with the piercing screams that echoed throughout the house. Ranboo desperately clawed at the door, trying to reach their helpless friend. Eventually the screams stopped abruptly.

“Let him go! Please he doesn’t deserve this… please. Just take me…” Ranboo’s screams eventually erupted into a sob “I’m so sorry… sorry..”

They pushed themselves back towards the middle of the room, before finally crumbling onto the ground. It was over, and they couldn’t save the person that they had loved most. He would never hear Charlie’s stupid puns again, even the morbid ones that he was cracking just minutes ago. Even the moments where he wanted to strangle him, Ranboo wanted them all back…

They hit something as they frantically scooted back, something small and light. Ranboo turned their head to see a small box labeled “rat posion” through their teary eyes. In a fit of rage, they chucked it across the room. They didn’t have time for anymore of Showfall’s twisted jokes…

Ranboo heard a loud sound of metal clinking and their breathing hitched as they frantically looked up. To their twisted relief it was the sound of package flap opening on the green door as a package dropped to the floor. Ranboo watched Sneeg look into the box and quickly curse before walking to the other side of the room.

“Nope. Absolutely not. Even fake thats still gross.. Ranboo, it’s all yours.” Sneeg said as he walked past Ranboo.

Ranboo sat up, taking a few moments to compose themselves and wipe away the tears and snot onto their suit jacket. They then shakily boosted themselves up and wondered over to the box. Everything had turned into one big daze as they put one foot in front of the other.

“What is so awful…” Ranboo’s heart sank as they peered into the box.

Staring back them were 4 bloody organs with a freshly bloodied scalpel, and green handkerchief. Charlie’s green handkerchief…

“What is it with this stupid place and digging through body parts?” Ranboo muttered angrily under their breath.

They looked around before finally spotting a camera in the corner of the room. They walked up to it and looked dead in the center as they spoke, anger seeping from their words.

“You want me to play your games Showfall? Fine! I’ll play your games!” Ranboo ignored the sharp burning sensation that ran down their back. If Showfall didn’t like what they were saying, then that means they were winning in some small regard.

Ranboo unfortunately knew exactly what they wanted them to do. That sick company wanted them to dig through these organs looking for the next key. They knew they would hate it. But now in Ranboo’s angry daze, they were determined to prove them wrong. For Charlie.

So, they pushed back the anxiety and nauesa that was building up inside them and pulled the kidney out of the box. They could feel themselves pulling back into their mind as the world shifted like they were playing a video game in third person. They’ve played horror games before, so this should be no differnt. Right?

They looked down at the bean shaped organ in their hand and didn’t hesitate to start squeezing it in hopes of finding a key. It squished in their hand, shooting out blood and chunks as they did so. It splattered on his crimson shirt, so they nonchalantly spun it the other way and continued. They kept focusing on feeling something other than the soft tissue.

They ran their hand in their hair, using the blood as a gel to keep it from getting in their eyes. They were aware it was twisted and it was honestly accidental helpful.

They eventually realized that the kidney wasn’t the correct one, so they laid it aside and picked up the long string of intestines. They swallowed the vomit that was pooling up in his throat.

For Charlie… They kept telling himself. It was all for Charlie.

Ranboo sighed as they stared down at the disgusting organ that was now dangling from their raised hand. They took in another sharp inhale before clamping their hand at the top of it and running their hand all the way down to the bottom of the long strand of intestines. It was surprisingly squishy and made horrid sounds as blood squeezed out the end, most of it landing in Ranboo’s lap. But only blood came out, no key or even any sign of a key, so they laid it aside and moved onto the next organ.

Ranboo had two options left and minimal knowledge of anatomy from high school as they stared down at a heart and liver. The liver looked far too flesh toned and made Ranboo shiver as they looked at it. So, they picked up the heart, hoping it would be the final one.

The heart was very slippery and flopped around in their hand as Ranboo tried to get some sort of grip on it. They squeezed it, trying to feel for anything not heart-like but it was too thick to feel anything. They rolled their eyes as they began to dig their fingers through one of the arteries. Blood seeped out around their hand as they dug deeper, trying to feel for anything. Eventually, they hit something hard. They felt around more to feel that it was definitely not something that was supposed to be inside of a heart. They tried to hook their finger around it, but it seemed like no use. It was just too slick.

They sighed shakily as they ripped open the artery, and low and behold, something silver shined back at them. They dug some more before finally getting it loosened free and pulling out a silver key that was covered in blood. Ranboo released a breath he didn’t even know he was holding as he put the heart down. They were quick to stand up and get as far away from the box as possible, trying to delay processing what they had just done.

“I…uh… Found the key, Sneeg.” Sneeg looked up from his corner witht he same bored expression.

“Finally.” Sneeg scoffed.

Ranboo wiped the blood off on their shirt to reavel that it had a red gem hidden within the blood at the top of the small, silver key. They sighed and looked towards the red door. A feeling of dread washed over them, knowing this was not going to end well.

“You can do the honors… you earned it this time, man.” Sneeg said, gesturing towards the door with his hands.

Ranboo’s sense of dread began to evaporate as anger filled its place. It was rushing through their veins like river rapids as they thought through everything they have endured up to this point, all for someone’s twisted enjoyment. The murder of many that they had called friends. The betrayal of many, against their will. The sick mind games, all of it made their blood boil. They could see the edges of their vision blur as they approached the door. They put they key into the lock and twisted it, letting the door gently push open. They peered in and all of their anger drained from their system as a sense of deja vu filled its place.

They walked into the one place Ranboo would never want to see ever again. They walked onto the crisp tile floor and approached the glass railing that sat high above the ground with escalators scattered below them. They were back in the Mall again.

“No… How…I-” Ranboo was quickly cut off by something tackling them to the ground.

They desperately tried to fight back, flailing their arms around and whipped their head back in some attempt to hurt the thing holding them captive. But it was no use, as Ranboo soon realized what it was as their feet began to dangle off the ground. The sounds of mixed robotic like groans boomed in their ear.

They tried to signal for Sneeg, but he was just nonchalantly standing by a pole, leaned up against it like it was a casual Tuesday for him.

“Sneeg! Help me!” Ranboo managed to say.

“There is no need, this is the end of this challenge, Hero. Let's see how you did.” From behind Sneeg, Ranboo managed to make out a figure that was lurking within the shadows, but they couldn’t make out any direct features of it.

“Let me go!” Ranboo screamed, but as they did so the monster tightened its grip around them.

They could once again feel the wires piercing through their stomach and digging for a connection to their veins. They let out an agnozing scream as they squirmed in the creatures arm. Ranboo could see red seeping from the monster’s wirey grip when they looked down. Their vision faded in and out as their head begin to spin. Then, suddenly, they were on the ground again, wheezing for air.

They gripped their stomach as their body forced them onto the floor. Red seeped through their grip as they desperately tried to regain any strength to look somewhat strong against Showfall. But it was no use, they just… couldn’t. The shock had somewhat drained the life out of them, and the pain was slowly starting to seep in and pulse through them. Snowfall had detorited them to exactly the pathetic state they wanted, and they knew that they were going to relish every second of it.

“Now, now. Its not very heroic to be acting like this.” The figure giggled from the shadows. It was the voice. “Hero, you have two guesses remaining. Wanna take a shot?”

Ranboo grunted in pain as they shifted their hand into their pocket, digging for that stupid card. Their vision was shaky as they tried to focus on the words on the card. This is when they finally pieced together what the smeared and distorted letters spelled. “Mall” stared back at them in the distorted letters. They should have realized from the start…

Ranboo thought to themselves for a bit. Only Sneeg and Ranboo were the ones left alive and now the Mall was off the card so it had to be the nursery? If Ranboo was remembering correctly. That left them with only one other option for weapon… remote? Yeah… yeah. Ranboo remebered the rat posion from earlier, meaning the only one they hadn’t seen was the remote. It was a better guess than nothing.

“It was Sneeg, in the nursery with the remote?” Ranboo said shakily, finally letting their arm rest at their side.

The same incorrect buzzer sound effect echoed throughout the massive and empty building. Ranboo could distantly feel a twitch down their back, but it barley fazed the distressed teen.

“Aw, I’m sorry, but that was incorrect! You have one more guess hero.” The figure giggled from the darkness. “Here, how about I give you some help. Hm?”

Ranboo watched as the figure waved their hands and two masks stepped out into the light. They were quick to grab Sneeg, who didn’t even try to put up a fight and shrugged as they restrained his arms. To Ranboo’s surprise, his demonour quickly changed as the masks pulled the navy fedora off of Sneeg’s head and tossed it to the side. Sneeg became panicked as he seemed to absorb his surroundings for the first time.

“What… where am I?” He eventually locked eyes with Ranboo and they watched horror fill his eyes.

“Ranboo? Is that you? What have they done to you? Why is it so much red… so much blood…” Sneeg was cut off by one of the masks, who twisted a knife into his stomach.

Sneeg crumbled onto the ground as the mask twisted it free from his stomach. They aggressively stood over Sneeg and repeated that process. Sneeg’s cries for helped pierced themselves into Ranboo’s mind as they watched helplessly from the ground.

Ranboo shut their eyes, trying to block out another murder. They heard the clanking of shoes approaching but their ears had begun to ring so it sounded more like whitenose to them. They felt something tightly grab their chin and force them to look up. They gasped as they opened their eyes.

Staring back at them was a figure in an older style tailcoat, dressed kind of like a butler. They also had a mask but theirs were… different. It was more round and this person seemed to be holding it instead of it being strapped to their face. They moved back the mask before speaking, so that Ranboo could finally see their face.

“It’s so good to meet the legendary Ranboo, the hero, face to face. Allow me to introduce myself, my F͛⦚a͛⦚t͛⦚h͛⦚e͛⦚r͛⦚ didn’t raise a mannerless heathen.” Their words glitched as they spoke, followed by a quick twitch in the person's demonor. Ranboo didn’t even know that a person’s voice could glitch like a computer… “My name is Squiggles, it’s a pleasure to meet such a twisted person.”

Squiggles had long, wavy white hair and looked like a normal human but their face did not. Their face was young but had raised triangles of flesh above their eyebrows. Like it had been stitched there. Along with long black lines that curved from the bottom of their eyes down to their cheeks, similar to their mask. They were like if a mask was personified and it was unsettling to look at.

“I…” Ranboo was cut off by Squiggles aggressively dropping Ranboo’s head onto the tile before standing up again.

They could feel their head spinning more now as their body begged to be let out of this misery, but something kept them from slipping into the peace of unconsciousness.

“Come on now hero, what is your final guess? I know that deep down you know the answer. That deep down you know who the killer here really is.” Squiggle’s smile dropped as they giddy tone was quick to morph into a dark one.

“I…” Ranboo cleared their throat as they tried to calm their swimming mind.

They did know the answer. They knew exactly what Showfall was getting at, even in their deteriorating state. Snowfall was calling Ranboo the killer. That Ranboo was the cause of all of the deaths today. Ranboo knew that they were manipulating them with this but they couldn’t help but feel the guilt wash over them like a tsumani.

And once it entered, Ranboo couldn’t do anything else but drown in it.

They shouldn’t have dragged Tomy into this, but they did. Tommy’s own curiosity was his downfall. If Ranboo had stuck to the original plan that they both made the night of their escape, maybe they wouldn’t be in this pathetic situation. Tommy wouldn’t have died at the will of other’s enterainment. Charlie wouldn’t have had to enter that damn operating room again, where it was yet again his death. Maybe then each of their screams wouldn’t be etched into their mind as strongly as they were. If Ranboo had been smarter… quicker… or even stronger, then maybe they could have saved them all. But they couldn’t. Cause they weren’t some strong, faithful hero. They were a failure of a hero.

“Well, hero?” Squiggles pulled them out of their thought process as they tilted their head to the side. That same stupid and hopeful smirk that they wore still shined through in the dimly lit mall.

“It was Ranboo… In the mall… with the remote.” Ranboo somehow managed to get out as the pain started to seep its way into every aspect of Ranboo’s being.

A upbeat ding rang throughout the mall.

“Very good hero. And don’t you ever forget that this is ȺŁŁ ɎꝊɄꞦ ӺȺɄŁȾ.” Squiggles voice once again glitched as they spoke.

Ranboo didn’t even get a chance to respond before their body finally succumbed to its pain and let themself slip away from this hellish reality. And they didn’t have it in them to fight anymore.

Chapter Text

This time around, Charlie’s feelings about flying were more sad and nostalgic than the usual excitement and fear of most people.

He let Tommy sit near the window seat since he practically annoyed the crap out of Charlie for it. Charlie almost felt numb to everything that was happening around him. From the people who brushed against his shoulder as they walked, causing him to shiver in pain, to the everyday chatter with the occasional cry out from a baby. The sounds of life still continued to move on despite the dumpster fire that was currently his.

Charlie stared at the empty seat to the right of him. The last time he was on a plane, he was with Ranboo. It was a whole new experience and he still remembered the way that the teen looked at them with a sad smile as they experienced flying for the first time. But now his best they weren’t here to experience it all with him.

Tommy jolted Charlie out of his thoughts with a light, but playful jab into his rib. His expression must have twisted again, whoops…

“You ok there?” Tommy asked with a smile.

“Yeah. Just uh, I haven’t flown much.” Charlie lied as he gave his friend a small smile in return.

Tommy just nodded before turning his attention back towards the window. Charlie checked his phone to see that they still had 20 minutes left until takeoff. An 18-hour flight was something neither of them was looking forward to, but Phil insisted and Charlie didn’t want to fight the people who cared so deeply for him.

They were lucky that because of Charlie’s injuries, they got priority boarding. Despite the surgery being relatively standard, Charlie was still very slow moving and it wasn’t exactly easy to get around quickly with his new forearm crutches. Plus the back brace he had to wear made him look very prim and proper 24/7. All new things that he was still barely getting used to.

Charlie adjusted his shoulders and winced as he tried to get somewhat comfortable. Lately, it was hard for him to be comfortable in any position.

Both Charlie and Tommy’s heads shot up as they heard a gasp from behind them. Charlie turned to see a girl probably in her early 20s who was looking very excitedly in their direction.

“Don’t freak out. But she probably recognizes us from YouTube. So, stranger incoming.” Tommy whispered to Charlie.

Charlie could feel a sense of dread filling his body. This interaction was going to go the same it did with his parents… confusing for him and saddening for the other party. He was tired of pity looks. And it was not going to be an enjoyable experience…

“Oh my god! Are you Slimecicle and Tommyinnit?” The girl said as she was practically shaking with excitement.

“Yes, yes we are.” Tommy laughed it off, taking the lead so Charlie didn’t have to.

“I knew it! I’ve been watching you two since the DreamSMP days! Can I get a picture? Please?” She asked, holding up her phone.

Charlie immediately shot a worried glance at Tommy, panic starting to fill the place of dread in Charlie’s chest.

“With me, yeah! But Charlie is uh… unwell right now.”

The girl looked between Charlie and Tommy for a moment. Charlie gave her a half smile as he tried to avoid her disappointing gaze.

“Oh… ok…. Yeah that works, I guess.” The excitement seeming to leave her body at the rejection.

“Come on man, it’s just a photo.” Some random dude sitting across the aisle pitched in.

Was he going to be the jerk here for not wanting a picture? He wished he could but pictures are what got Charlie here in the first place. Flashes of Ranboo getting stabbed in the chest flooded through Charlie’s head, knocking the breath out of him. He could still see that day so vividly…

Tommy gave a quick glance down at the panicked Charlie before diffusing the problem.

“Look, hand me the phone and I’ll take it from where I am!” Tommy said, trying to keep his peppy persona up.

As a line slowly formed behind her, people started giving the three annoyed glances, so she finally agreed. Tommy grabbed the phone, placed it in selfie mode, and was meticulous to leave any trace of Charlie out of it. The girl smiled before continuing on to her seat.

“Pretentious…” the guy across the aisle muttered under his breath.

“Wanna speak up?” Tommy shot him a sharp glance that could have cut him in half.

“Me? Yeah. Pretentious. Having fans and not wanting a simple photo? What’s the deal?” The guy turned to face Tommy, his eyes glancing back to Charlie.

“Our deal is none of your business. Didn’t you hear me? He is unwell.” Tommy said, pointing to the crutches tucked under Charlie’s feet. “We don’t owe you shit.”

“Alright, sheesh my bad.” The guy rolled his eyes and turned back to his book.

“Yeah. That’s what I thought.” Tommy scoffed as he sat back down.

Charlie stared at his lap as his entire vision began to go blurry. He needed this feeling of panic to go away… please he was so tired of it…

“Charlie? You good?” He thought that was Tommy’s voice but it sounded so distant.

It felt like he was floating above it all and he couldn’t move his fixated vision. He was just floating higher and higher like a balloon.

“Charlie!” Charlie jumped as he felt a hand on his arm. His head shot up to make eye contact with Tommy’s worried eyes.

“I said your name like 10 times, you good man?”

“Yeah.. yeah. Sorry, I’m here.” Charlie let out a long, deep breath.

Tommy gave him a small smile before leaning back in his chair. “If there is anything I can do, man just let me know. I didn’t fly to the States again for nothing, you know I hate it there.”

“Well… there is one thing I need. You grabbed my backpack, right?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah. It’s down here.” Tommy reached under his seat to pull out the plain black backpack Quakity had given them so many months ago.

He slid it over to Charlie who was quick to open the first small pocket. He dug his hands out and pulled out a black surgical mask. He had always kept some for Ranboo…

Charlie slipped it on his face, adjusting it to not touch his neck too much. He handed the backpack back to Tommy before digging into his pocket for his crappy airport headphones.

Tommy didn’t say anything and just put it back under his seat. Finally returning to looking out the window, but not before shooting a few more worried glances over to Charlie.

~~~~~

The two may have gotten priority boarding, but they didn’t get priority de-boarding.

They had to wait for everyone to exit before Charlie could waddle his way out. It was beyond embarrassing to try and do anything with these crutches as he hadn’t gotten the hang of them yet, despite having PT give him a crash course on it.

Once they were off, they saw both Kristin and Phil standing at their gate with their usual warm smiles. Their smiles never seemed fake to him, like so many others.

He was quick to give Charlie a gentle hug first before giving Tommy one. Kirstin did the same before helping them carry their stuff out to the car. She walked at the same pace as Charlie while Tommy and Phil had proceeded their usual stride talking about the flight and arguing about something mundane.

They eventually made it to the car despite Charlie having to make multiple stops to catch his breath or readjust. Luckily, and miraculously, he never fell and ate it. He still felt bad for slowing the group down, like it even mattered. But to him, any inconvenience to those helping him mattered more than anything else.

Tommy gave his stuff over to Phil before helping boost Charlie up to his seat and laying the crutches at his feet.

“We got you all of your favorite meals that you liked at the rental.” Kristin smiled as she turned to face him from the passenger seat. “Buttered noodles, pancakes and waffles, fried rice and a few other things we think you may like.”

The amount of care these people had for him, who was a shell of the friend they once knew, never failed to astonish him. The didn’t have to buy all these vegetarian (thats what Shlatt called his habits) options just for him, but they did. And they made it seem like it was never an inconvenience for them either.

“Thank you… you guys seriously didn’t have to, but thank you.”

“Of course we do! You’re our friend!” Tommy grabbed Charlie’s shoulder, causing him to wince. “Oh shit! My bad mate-“

Tommy quickly pulled his hand away and gently patted his shoulder like that would help. It didn’t, but the sentiment was still nice.

“It’s ok… gonna be in pain for a bit longer. We were so close to healing last time…” Charlie sighed before fixing his tone. He needed to stay positive, for them. “But that’s ok. At least we know how to handle it now. Hopefully it won’t be as scarring.”

Tommy and Phil gave their usual laugh and eye roll at the pun-filled comment. Ok, it seemed to work, somewhat.

They rode the rest of the way in relative silence with the hum of the radio in the background. Kristin turned the channel whenever there was a commercial, but it always stayed the same indie-type vibe. While the occasional conversation between Phil and Tommy would sometimes drown it out.

Eventually, the group made it to Phil and Kristin’s flat. It may have been considered standard in London, but to Charlie it was beautiful. Considering how boring their cabin was, this put it to shame. The complicated details on the outside of the swirling trim around the windows to the thick panels of dimension that separated each floor. This compared to homes in Nebraska blew him away.

“Wow…. This is beautiful.” Charlie said, still soaking in the details of the row of buildings that lined both sides of the street.

“Thanks mate, I swear it’s nothing much.” Phil laughed lightly in response.

“Compared to Nebraska this is a lot. Trust me.” Charlie smiled at Kristin, who seemed to have a soft glimmer in her eyes at the interaction.

“We cleaned out a room on the first floor for you.” Kristin said as she held Charlie’s crutches while Tommy helped him out of the car.

It wasn’t the easiest task as cars with his injuries were new. It was a very slow process of Charlie gripping onto Tommy’s arms while he shakily stepped to the ground and stabilized himself on Tommy.

Kristin handed him his crutches while Phil led the way with the boy’s stuff. When he opened the door they were met by a small set of stairs.

The flat was relatively simple and open with a white kitchen to the left and a living room/dining room on the right of the stairs. The place was cozy with bits of Phil and Kristin’s personalities sprinkled throughout with artwork to little figures on the bookshelves. It fit the pair perfectly.

Despite this fact, Charlie still felt uneasy in the house. All he had ever known, besides the cabin he grew up in, was the Nebraska rental. So now it felt odd being anywhere else.

“This way Charlie.” Phil said as he led him past the living room into a smaller room tucked into the back of the house.

In the room was a bed, a wooden nightstand, and a little chair tucked into the corner all under a nice rug. It all complimented the rest of the flat nicely, but what else could be expected from the adorable couple. Phil placed his 2 bags on the chair and smiled at Charlie, who was teetering slightly on his crutches. Standing still was not his friend at the moment.

“Here ya go. You can rest in here for a bit if you want, or come out and hang with us.” Phil nodded before heading toward the door.

He hesitated in the doorway before turning back around to face Charlie.

“And Charlie, we’re not going to force you to talk about anything. We’re just glad to have you here, alive. Somewhat.” Phil smiled at him.

“Thanks Phil, for everything.” Charlie smiled, and Phil nodded in response before leaving.

Charlie sighed and sat on the bed, looking around at what would now be his new home for the time being. Where he would go from here, he had no idea.

He turned his head to the right and saw a huge bay window that looked out into the other side of the street. Charlie shakily stood up on his crutches and walked over and pulled the blinds shut. His privacy was a delicacy he wanted protected at all costs, so that window would forever stay closed while he was there.

Charlie sighed as he slowly made his way back over to the bed. Right before he made it to the end of the wooden bedpost, his crutch got caught on the edge of the rug, causing him to stumble onto the floor. He cursed under his breath as he tried desperately to catch himself but failed, leaving him to land on his side and hiss out in pain.

He heard quick footsteps rush towards the back of the house and looked up to see Tommy standing in the doorway. Charlie smiled as he shakily tried to boost himself up but yet again failed and slipped back onto the floor.

“Charlie, are you okay?! What the hell happened?” Tommy rushed down and was quick to help him back up.

“Careful… the arms please.” Charlie mumbled in defeat as he tried to stabilize himself again on Tommy.

“Right right…” Tommy sighed before slowly leading Charlie over to the bed and helping him sit down.

“Dude, what happened?” Tommy said as he reached down and leaned Charlie’s crutches on the wall next to him.

“I was just trying to shut the curtains and I tripped… it was an accident. A stupid one.” Charlie sighed, gently rubbing his now throbbing arm.

“You gotta be more careful, man. Let me look at your arm.” Tommy sighed and reached towards Charlie’s arm, but Charlie hesitantly held it back.

“I promise I’m fine, it was just a little fall. I’ve endured much worse, trust me.” Charlie laughed.

This whole new dynamic where Charlie had to somewhat rely on Tommy caused conflicting feelings. It was truly a nice effort that the teen wanted to help him so diligently and with such a gentle and caring attitude to it all. But Charlie had just never known Tommy like that. Usually, Charlie would watch as they tended to have this attitude more towards Ranboo. They had practically avoided each other at the rental, so to now being best buds was just… scary.

Where things really got complicated though, was the fact that Charlie had only had one other person in their recent memory life that helped him in this way, and that was Ranboo. But they were instantly connected by a deep trust from their painful and traumatic history, so it was a different dynamic that Charlie knew he would never have with anyone else. And with Ranboo now missing in action… It was hard for Charlie to put any sort of solid trust in anyone as he didn’t want to replace Ranboo. Nobody could ever replace them, but he didn’t want anyone to fill their place. No matter their intentions…

“Charlie, your doctor is going to kill you and me if they get infected. And I don’t wanna make that hot nurse angry. So, hand it over, man.”

Charlie sighed and gently rolled up his sleeves, trying not to wince as his sleeve bounced over and hit each wound. He needed to start wearing short sleeves from now on, that was for sure.

The fall did end up irritating and damaging the wounds. Some even started bleeding and oozing again, staining the bandages that were wrapped around them. Tommy cursed under his breath as he gently held Charlie’s arm and tilted it to assess the damage.

“See? Nothing too bad…” Charlie laughed dryly, making a poor attempt to better the mood.

“Alright, let’s get you cleaned up.” Tommy went to the corner of the room and dug inside one of their bags.

He then returned and sat on the edge of the bed with a ziploc bag labeled “Charlie’s medkit.” He pulled out fresh bandages, tubes of ointments, and a pair of gloves. He slipped on the gloves and gently started to peel away the bandages and ointment patches that protected his wounds. Tommy once again cursed under his breath at the severity of the damage, but to Charlie it just made it seem like this whole thing was a chore. Charlie pulled back his arm, causing Tommy to look at him confused.

“I can do it. You don’t have to.” Charlie cleared his throat.

“Oh yeah? I don’t mind, but fine. Go ahead.” Tommy sat back with a smug expression on his face, knowing that Charlie was going to need assistance.

Charlie very shakily grabbed the ointment tube and squirted some onto his hand. He had to focus very intently on trying to get his twitching hands onto the wounds. He finally was able to make it briefly to his arm before his tremor caused him to spread the ointment onto the bed. Charlie huffed and gave his arm back to Tommy, not daring to look at him again out of frustration.

“You aren't a bother, Charlie. I just am shocked at how a fall caused all of this, like what did you fall from? The Big Ben?” Tommy gently took back Charlie’s arm and resumed the process as the doctors had taught him.

Charlie finally made eye contact again and gave him a small smile in return, a bit of relief washing over the sea of guilt that had built up inside of him.

The two sat in relative silence while Tommy finished up. Making a few random jokes and jabs here and there. Then, he tossed out the old bandages and laid the medkit aside. Tommy then stood up and made his way for the door.

“I’m going to go check on Grandpa Phil out there, yell if you need me.” Tommy said before closing the door behind him.

Charlie let out a shaky breath as he leaned back in the bed. He could feel the icky thoughts beginning to resurface now that he was finally alone with himself. And being alone with his thoughts was currently one of the scariest things.

Flashes of memories swirled through his mind. From the multiple walks he had dragged Ranboo to early in the morning, to how Ranboo helped Charlie whenever they had their first outing to a grocery store. The way that Ranboo had always known exactly what to do to help and bring Charlie back to earth. Now he was alone and had to t figure it all out on his own. While his best friend was kidnapped in a place worse than hell itself…

It's all your fault… they didn’t deserve this fate but you did… the horrors all by themselves… all the blood-

Charlie’s mind hissed at him as he curled up in on himself. He could feel his heart begin to pound in his chest as his mind began to drown him. He just couldn’t stop embarrassing himself, now could he? How was somebody who could barely stand, let alone walk, without assistance be able to face a giant mythical mega-corporation? How was Charlie in his pathetic state supposed to save his best friend? Tears started to form as he slid into his thoughts. He turned on his side and curled up into a ball, trying to find any source of comfort.

~~~~~

Charlie woke up with a start, frantically yet groggily sitting up and trying to figure out where the hell he was. His eyes jumped from the wooden bedframe to the chair in the corner with two black bags on it… this made him feel a small sense of safety. Then it hit him, he was at Phil’s which was safer than most other places. But despite knowing that, he couldn’t shake this feeling of extreme anxiety that had taken permanent residence in the heart of his chest lately. He had a feeling it wasn't going to be moving out anytime soon either, which was a pain considering it wasn’t exactly paying rent as it should be.

Distantly, Charlie heard an exchange of voices. Two were Phil and Kristin, who seemed upset, and then an unfamiliar voice. It seemed like a tense conversation happening and that only worsened Charlie’s anxiety. What could even be happening out there?

Charlie shakily grabbed his crutches and stood up. He soon started to hear a fourth voice enter the exchange: Tommy. And it didn’t long for Tommy to also get amped up and it sounded like his voice was getting closer to Charlie’s room. Charlie finally managed to stabilize himself and started making his way to the door. He opened it and stumbled out not so gracefully. Down the hall, he could see Tommy standing behind the couch yelling something towards the door.

“You can't just do that! He didn't do anything!” Charlie could somewhat piece together what he was saying.

Charlie slowly made his way to the end of his little hallway and into the living room. He saw Phil and Kristin standing at the door with someone else standing at the door. But he couldn’t see who…

“Tommy? What’s going on?” At Charlie’s voice, everyone flipped their heads around to face him. It was honestly unsettling, but Charlie pushed on.

“Charlie… Look you don't have to do anything you don't want to, ok?” Tommy walked over and placed his hand on Charlie’s shoulder, looking more serious than he had ever seen him.

“Yeah.. what's going on?” Charlie replied, only getting more confused as time went on.

“Are you Charlie Dalgleish?” The figure behind Phil said with a deep voice.

“Um, yes? Can someone please tell me what's going on?” Charlie huffed, frustration starting to rise in his tone.

“I'm going to need you to come with me.” That's when the figure pushed past Phil and Charlie finally pieced together what was actually happening. A policeman revealed himself, his gear clanking against his black utility vest as he moved.

Charlie stumbled back, and a flash of him and Ranboo hunting for weapons in a store raced through his mind, causing adrenaline to rush through his veins. Luckily the wall caught him but it did make a slight scene, which wasn't good.

“Charlie, it's going to be ok.” Phil said in his calm tone, “They just have some questions about your disappearance and… and of…” Charlie watched as Phil’s eyes skipped across the room, avoiding his next words.

“We need to discuss the disappearance of Ranboo.” Charlie’s heart sank at the mention of their best friend. How did he know he could trust this random man? Who wasn't to say that he was working with Showfall?

“There has to be another way to do this…” Charlie backed himself up more into his hallway and eventually dropped his crutches which fell to the floor.

The officer seemed to take this as an offensive action and lunged towards Charlie. In this process, he knocked Charlie onto the ground. Charlie landed on his chest which knocked the breath out of him as he could feel the pain shoot up his already aching back. He aggressively picked up Charlie by his arms, and of course, his hands were right over two of the worst wounds on his upper arms. Charlie screamed out in pain as his arms began to sting more and more. That's when any bit of a calm encounter went to complete and utter shit.

“Hey!” Tommy yelled and put his hand on the cop’s shoulder.

The cop swung his shoulder back, causing Tommy to hit the floor. Phil then had to physically step in between the two to stop it from escalating further. Kristin let out a scream, looking horrified down at Tommy, who was holding his knee.

“He is injured! Seriously injured! Don’t manhandle him!” Kristin yelled, anger seeping out of her tone.

“My wife is right, he has a broken back and very damaged arms, don’t hold him like that!” Phil said, anger also etched into his brow as he stood for the two. This must have been what Tommy meant when he said “dadza” cause Phil looked like a father ready to fight to the death for his kids.

“He shouldn’t have tried to run.” The cop said, pushing Phil back while shoving Charlie towards the door.

“Please move your hands…” Charlie began to cry slightly, the shock of everything hitting him.

The pain in his arms was starting to overtake every fiber that allowed him to function. He could feel some wounds reopening under his tight grip, causing Charlie to panic at the slight chance of regression. He could feel his heart pounding faster and faster in his chest… No no no…

“He can’t run! He physically cannot run! He is on crutches for fucks sake!” Tommy yelled, standing back up and making his way to the door. He managed to beat the cop and wedged his body into the door, pushing all his limbs against the door frame in a star shape with a cocky smile pasted on his face.

“Move kid, you don't want to mess with me.” The cop said, clearly annoyed.

“Adjust your grip, then I will.” Tommy said, standing his ground.

The cop rolled his eyes and ignored Tommy as he shoved him out of the door with his shoulder. Which caused Tommy to stumble back and fall into the garden off the entry landing. Charlie could hear him cursing under his breath as he tried to get back up. Kristin and Phil began screaming again in the background, panic filled the air as pedestrians started to give concerning looks their way.

Charlie eventually gave up and let himself drift away. The sides of his vision peacefully blurred as the ringing in his ears took over everything. There was nothing he could do as the pain in his arms started to make him more panicked by the second. Flashes of that horrid wire monster wrapping its wire tentacles through his arms made Charlie squirm under the cop’s grip which only made him tighten under the resistance. All he could hear was Phil and Kristin’s screams echoing in the background as the cop threw him into the car.

Chapter Text

Charlie sat on the table opposite from two investigators who, so far, had been much nicer to him than the first cop he encountered.

One was a woman with a warm smile yet stern face with long dirty blonde hair. She wore a chocolate brown suit with a lanyard strung across her neck that said “Skye Seymour| Detective Constable.” The other was a man with a much more serious expression that he could seemingly never drop. He was wearing a navy blue suit with a red tie and also had a lanyard around his neck that read “Ian Frazier| Detective Sergeant.” He was just forever grateful that it wasn’t the cop from earlier.

It was a fight for that cop to even leave Phil’s driveway as Tommy threw himself behind the car, refusing to let him leave. Kristin soon joined Tommy, staring straight into the backup camera. Phil then berated him until he allowed Tommy to accompany Charlie in the back while Kristin and Phil followed closely behind. The cop was apprehensive and refused at first, but eventually caved in and finally unlocked the backseat for Tommy to climb in. Phil was very persuasive, especially when one of his so-called kids was in danger.

The entire ride to the station, Charlie was a disaster. He couldn’t catch his breath no matter how hard he tried and alongside his heart which pounded in his chest. Through his dazed-like state, he could see Tommy examining his arms gently out of the corners of his eyes. He could distantly feel Tommy poking at the bandages, probably trying to readjust them. Tommy eventually gave up and placed his hand on Charlie’s knee, as a silent way of support/comfort. That small sign caused Charlie to finally look Tommy in the eyes. There was a deep sense of concern buried in his blue eyes. Charlie tried to crack some sort of smile for Tommy’s sake, but instead all that came out were a swarm of tears.

When they brought in the sobbing and anxious mess that was Charlie, everyone in the station stopped to stare. Like he was some sort of spectacle. And it didnt help that he could barely move on his own and was heavily relying on Tommy since the asshole hadn’t allowed him his crutches. As a cherry on top to all of this, when Charlie looked down at Tommy, his entire side was covered in blood. He then connected the dots that yes, the man had done more damage than anyone would have thought.

It took about an hour and a half before Charlie was finally calm and present enough to even say his own name. Then another hour as Phil and Kristin fought for them to bring in a medic of some sort to look at Charlie’s wounds and make sure he was in good shape. They weren’t in the best condition at all but the poor medic tried her best. He was definitely going to need to call his doctor after all of this…

And that's what led him here, sitting in a police station against his will, with his arms burning like a fire more than ever before. He had never wanted that damn ointment more in his life.

“So, Mr.Dalgleish, we are here to ask you questions about the night of your disappearance, do you remember that night?” Detective Ian said, clicking his pen open.

“Um… Yes… I do.” Charlie tried to stay as calm as possible but his body crawled with the need to move. So, he settled on allowing his legs to shake. They ended up shaking more violently than he thought but hopefully the detectives didn't notice it.

“Why don’t you tell us what happened that night. Anything you can remember will help us, Charlie.” Detective Skye gave a small smile followed by a nod.

“Well, me and Ranboo went on a walk in the woods near our rental that afternoon… then it’s mostly a blur to be honest…” Charlie’s eyes darted around the room as his stomach filled with knots.

“Are you sure?” Detective Skye said.

“Ye… Yes. Yes.” Charlie fumbled a bit as he spoke.

“Then how do you explain these stains outside of your rental, Mr.Dalgleish?” Detective Ian slid a photo across the table.

Charlie’s stomach dropped as he could feel the color draining from his face. The photo was a pool of blood-stained grass. Multiple patches of it, dammit Showfall…

“Does this help you remember?” Detective Ian’s tone became more stern as he spoke.

Charlie tried to speak but it quickly became hard for him to form words. Instead he let out a few shaky breaths as he tried to sort his mind. How did he know if he could trust these people? How did he know that they weren’t with Showfall? But also how was he alone supposed to face a mythical and powerful corporation all on his own? He knew better than anyone that he couldn’t do this alone, and even with Tommy, Phil and Kristin’s help it wouldn’t be enough. He needed to tell them everything. The whole story, from the beginning of his memories. Deep down Charlie knew that, but even deeper down was the fear of it all. The fears that he guessed he needed to face to save Ranboo.

“Mr.Dalgleish?!” Detective Ian lightly banged his fist on the table, violently knocking Charlie out of his thoughts with a jump.

“Yes sir… I… um… look-“ Charlie tried to gather his spinning thoughts. “I promise I’m not crazy. I need both of you to hear me out here.” Charlie’s heart pounded in his chest, was he seriously about to do this?

The two officers exchanged a quick glance, detective Ian looking more skeptical while detective Skye kept a stern yet empathetic look on her face. They gave a small, hesitant nod and gave Charlie their full attention again.

“The first time me and…” Charlie took a quick second to calm his shaking breath before continuing, “Me and Ranboo went missing, it was… horrific.” Charlie shook slightly in his seat as a shiver ran down his spine.

Once again, the haunting memories flashed through his mind in an instant. He shivered in his seat, becoming nauseous from the phantom feelings of poking and prodding that rushed over him. This process was never going to get easier.

“They tortured us… in the worst ways you could ever imagine. God sometimes I can still see all of the blood… and hear our screams…” Charlie ran his hands through his hair, he thought maybe moving would help this crawling feeling under his skin. It didn’t.

“Sorry… this is going to take me a while.” Charlie let out a shaky laugh as he looked back at the two officers.

“It’s ok, take your time Charlie.” Detective Skye gave a small nod of reassurance, which helped slightly but not enough.

“They made us do all of these… challenges. These games usually ended with one or all of us dead. From dissecting me open on a table to throwing me into a laser… and they live streamed it all to some twisted audience…” Charlie let out a deep sigh. It was too late now to turn back, so he continued.

“But every time I would ‘die’ I would come back. Every. Single. Time. Ranboo said they watched me die 3 times… and all three times were a massive blur for me.. I swear they were controlling my mind and memories. We both do. That’s why I have no memories of myself before.” Charlie huffed, trying to get past the hard stuff quickly while pushing away the dark thoughts that he would soon have to face.

“I know this sounds crazy, but Ranboo is in serious danger. I need you to believe me, please.” At that point, Charlie was struggling to contain himself and his voice steadily cracked as he spoke.

“Thank you for sharing, Charlie.” Detective Skye said, reviewing her notes in front of her. “So, when you say-“

“Hold on. Skye, can I speak to you outside?” Detective Ian said, giving a sharp glance over to Charlie.

“Of course. Charlie, we will be back in a bit.” Detective Skye said.

The detectives slipped out of the door, but Charlie could still hear Phil berating someone in the lobby.

"It was dehumanizing! I want an explanation for this, NOW! Something should be done about that bloody officer!"

Then the door slammed closed and Charlie was stuck alone in silence with his thoughts. He sank into his chair with a shaky sigh, desperately trying to hold himself together. How had today turned into such a disaster?

~~~~~

“What’s the problem, sir?” Skye finally said after following Ian to their superior’s office. She had a load of questions that she couldn’t wait to get answers on, so this better be quick.

“Yes, Detective Ian, what's the matter?” Chief Inspector Brown replied as he shuffled papers on his desk with a satisfying click.

“Inspector, I think the person we brought in for that recent second time missing persons case is not legit. He is spewing some stuff about mind control and resurrection? I deem it smart for us to disregard him and continue our investigation without his help.” Ian said as he stood in front of the desk.

“Detective Skye, what is your take on this situation?” Chief Inspector Brown gave a small nod and gestured for Skye to step forward.

Following instructions, she gave a small nod as she stepped forward. She cleared her throat before speaking.

“Inspector, I have to respectfully disagree with my superior detective. I think the information that Charlie has to offer is valuable. He claims to know who we are working with, and based on the Nebraska scene, we know it’s something different than we have ever dealt with before.” Skye responded.

A big part of her, despite how crazy this guy’s story seems, genuinely believed him. He was their only lead; their only witness and survivor of the whole mess. How could Ian just want to drop him like that? And so, she wanted to press more. She wanted to learn more.

But she could tell this statement upset her uptight superior Ian as he made a sour face at her before returning to his defenses.

“Inspector, she is a Constable and doesn’t have as much experience in cases like these that I have. I am telling you, this man is a waste of time.” Ian scoffed, taking another step forward.

Chief Inspector Brown nodded silently from behind his desk. She could tell he was confused on what the hell both of them were spewing, which was fair.

“Inspector, permission to speak?” Skye shuffled forward, not breaking eye contact with her superior.

“Yes, detective, you have my permission.”

“He says to know the type of people who we are dealing with. As well as saying they tortured him which lines up with previous injuries. Especially his diagnosed amnesia. I don’t want to rule him out yet as a possibility to help us. He was there with Ranboo the day he disappeared and shows no signs of psychosis, just that of someone distressed and in grief. I don’t see it wise to disregard all of that, Inspector.”

“I respectfully disagree, Inspector…” Ian cut his eyes between the two as he let out a frustrated huff.

“I do agree with Detective Skye, I admire her insight into this case. I would like for her to take over all other dealings with this witness. I do not trust your bias towards this man, Detective Ian.” Chief Inspector Brown replied.

“But Inspector…”

“I did not permit you to speak.” Chief Inspector Brown shot him a sharp glance, which instantly made Ian back down with an apology.

He then turned his attention back to Skye. “Now, Detective Skye. I would pass the whole case over to you but with your rank I unfortunately cannot do that. But I am dismissing Detective Ian from the case and going to have you heavily involved. I think your insight and observation would be beneficial. That is all. You are both dismissed.”

Chief Inspector Brown gave them a sigh and then gestured towards the door with a nod before returning to his paperwork.

Both detectives saluted before walking out the door. Once that door shut tho, it all went to hell.

“Are you serious?! Disagree?” Ian huffed as he glared at Skye.

“I only want what’s right for this case. I wanna bring this person home.” Skye responded, not letting her expression drop.

“How dare you, I have been with this department for 20 years!”

Skye didn’t respond until they made it back to the door where Charlie was in.

“Yes sir and I respect that. I have also put in my hard work with this department for the past 3 years to get here. Now, if you will excuse me I have a witness waiting. Good day, Sargeant.” Skye saluted before opening the door, the distraught expression of Ian forever ingrained in her mind. This was something she would relish forever with a smug smile on her face.

~~~~~

Charlie was pulled out of his daze when Detective Skye opened the door with her usual smile, but without the guy from earlier. He jerked his hand away from his neck, leaving behind another slight stinging pain that was quickly drowned out by the other pains scattered around his body. That was not a good habit…

He sat up a little straighter and cleared his throat, trying to somewhat pull himself together to get out of here ASAP. He just wanted to lay back down and curl up into a ball.

“Sorry, Charlie. Detective Ian has been dismissed from the case, and I will be the main one interviewing you. Is that alright?” Skye said as she returned to her seat across from him.

That was more than ok to him. He was tired of these uptight, sour guys who seemed to only want him to say the wrong things. They treated him like he wasn’t a human, just another grueling part of their days. He hoped that Detective Skye would be different, she was legit their last hope.

“So, shall we continue?” Charlie gave a small nod in return.

“Great.” Skye said, shifting in her seat.

The few sat in silence for a bit, Charlie’s nerves only growing stronger. Maybe this was a horrible idea…

“I don’t think you’re crazy. I want to hear every bit of your story, ok? I want to bring Ranboo home.”

Detective Skye had a glint of determination and curiosity in her eyes. It was the first hopeful thing he had seen in ages.

But this didn’t mean he instantly trusted her. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Showfall had conditioned him better than that. He only ever trusted Ranboo and that hadn’t changed.

Charlie once again nodded in response. For the first time all day, one knot out of the many finally untangled in his stomach. It was a start, a start to saving his best friend and that’s all that mattered.

Chapter Text

Ranboo’a vision once again phased in and out in a blurry haze. They were starting to grow too familiar with the aggressive ringing that came alongside regaining consciousness. All they could see through their patchy vision was a mixture of brick like walls? And some warm, dim light illuminating the space.

Ranboo stayed down for a few minutes or maybe even hours. Their sense of time was forever lost in Showfall’s manufactured reality. And they knew that’s how it wanted it.

Finally, they regained the strength to shakily sit up. They felt like everything was in slow motion as they slowly pieced together where they were trapped now. Lots of old damage surrounded them in a room so humid it was hard to breathe. The source of the light from earlier were massive steel framed windows that stretched from the floor all the way up to the ceiling that seemed to go up for miles. There seemed to be another story far above them as well, but no staircase anywhere in sight. Maybe it was hidden somewhere.

It was a factory. Just like they had thought the first time they were here… Were they even still in that mall anymore? What happened to that whole gimmick?

“Ranboo? Is that you?” Ranboo whipped their head back to see a blurry image of someone standing across from them.

It took a second for their vision to stop violently shaking before they could fully begin to process who it was. But the second it cleared they were up on their feet, tackling the other in a bear hug. More like a stumbling bear, but you get the point. They ignored the sharp ringing and dizziness that had accompanied the sudden change in position.

“Charlie… I thought you were dead….” Ranboo stuttered out, almost completely out of breath.

They should really know that death in Showfall’s world is just a plot point and until now has never been legit. But the fear of seeing a loved one’s blood staining your skin is still something that would shake anyone up. But Showfall could change their mind in a matter of seconds, they never knew what angle they were playing at. At least this time they were pissed and determined to bring more pain than ever. But as to why, they couldn’t yet piece together…

“Woah what? No, no… I’m fine, Ranboo.” Charlie did his usual breathy laugh as he wrapped his arms around the shaking teen.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Ranboo finally let go, examined their friend. He seemed to be in perfect condition, not even a bruise or scar anywhere in sight. Ranboo gasped sharply as they examined the hunk of metal that was on Charlie’s face. It was made out of a different king of metal, this one was clearly more banged up. It looked more like a gas mask than the futuristic one they had grown so accustomed to. Almost like this was a last minute addition, which was unlike the meticulous Showfall Ranboo had remembered. The red glow still lined the bottom of their vision. But why did Charlie suddenly have one? He did not have one last round so why…. Why now?

“Ch-Charlie… your face-” Ranboo stumbled back as their mind swirled.

“Oh… right. I don’t know, I just woke up like this. I bet it is a nice look on me though. Shitty metallic has always been my color.” Charlie lifted their head to the side as if showing off the monstrous device.

“What? How can you…”

Something wasn’t adding up, why was he not panicking at this? They knew the effects of these masks from Ranboo so why was he so casual about it all? The suffocating feeling of having every breath stay confined while cold metal is glued to your face. It was the worst trap of them all, that filter must really be doing its job then…

Ranboo looked at their friend as they started to wander around. Surely it wasn't his fault that he was thinking this way, he needed to be more understanding with how he is choosing to cope…

“Any idea on what’s happening? Besides the whole Showfall whatever I mean… Like where are we?” Charlie asked, scanning the room.

“It seems like a factory of sorts.” Ranboo shakily took a step back, another wave of dizziness washing over them.

The corners of their vision began to tunnel as they swayed on their feet. They shut their eyes for a second as they prayed to something-anything-for the pain to pass. Eventually it did, and they were left trying to catch their breath from it all.

Get it together, Ranboo jeez

Ranboo walked over to one of the huge windows that lined the walls. All that shined through was a blinding yellow light like they were in some void. They peered down to see rows and rows of windows that seemed to span forever. A whooshing sound knocked air up against the windows, but something about it sounded… off. Like it was too consistent or something. They had to be at least 50 feet off the ground. Ranboo stumbled back, well that was NOT an escape option. If there was one thing Ranboo did not like, it was heights. They did not want to be caught falling anywhere ever.

The place was littered with wooden crates, which were mostly plain except for numbers etched deep into the grain of the wood. The sawdust was still resting around the spot like it was newly carved. They looked around and the surrounding crates were the same. Ranboo raddled one and it didn’t budge. It definitely had something in it, but what they genuinely did not want to know.

“Ranboo! You need to see this!”

Ranboo looked up to see Charlie on the other side of the room. They quickly rushed over, shards of debris clinked under their feet as they ran. Lucky day to be wearing shoes, at least they were afforded that luxury.

Charlie was standing over a huge pile of pieces of glass that were about the size of their palm. They would have ignored it as just pieces from the window but they were meticulously stacked and lined up in about 3 different stacks. Ranboo bent down to get a closer look and noticed that each piece seemed to have something intricately scratched into them. What were they to make of this…

Ranboo’s heart sank as they heard the horrible echo of a phone ringing. They looked to their right to see a bright red rotary phone sitting on a crate. Showfall really did love their stupid dramatic gimmicks huh?

They walked over and lifted the cold receiver to their ear.

“Hello beloved hero and sidekick! Welcome…”

“He isn’t my damn sidekick. He is my friend.” Ranboo hissed, already pissed off at hearing the stupid peppy voice. Something about it just sounded so unbelievably punchable.

“Oh? Struck a nerve did I? My apologies, that is just what our daring audience knows him as.” The voice laughed into the ear, causing Ranboo to pull it away from their ear until it was done.

Of course this was being fucking broadcasted. Who in their right mind wanted to watch people brutally die? This is people’s real lives, not some horror movie full of poor plot points and fake blood for their entertainment. Ranboo gritted their teeth together trying to hold themselves together. Showfall will not be getting the reaction they want out of them.

“Welcome to the next round. So glad you could make it with us. In front of you are stacks of glass that make up the map out of here. Piece them together to find your way out, but be careful! They’re ꌗꃅꍏꋪꉣ!” The voice giggled as it glitched towards the end of its sentence.

There was silence for a second before the voice spoke up again. “Hm, I think that is all! Good luck!”

Ranboo slammed the phone down, nearly cracking it in the process. He didn’t care. He needed to find a way out.

“The stupid thing said this is some sort of glass puzzle that we have to piece together to get out. Just… be careful. It is actual glass.” Ranboo sighed as he pointed to the piles.

Ranboo nearly jumped out of their skin as they heard a loud ding echo through the empty factory. A hissing sound came from both Ranboo’s and Charlie’s mask. Ranboo noticed that it was slightly more suffocating than usual in this mask. What had that f….

Ranboo’s train of thought was cut off by the memorable ringing sound. They picked the receiver back up to their ear.

“What?” Ranboo huffed, not sure if they were ready for where this was going.

“Sorry malicious duo! I forgot to mention the catch, duh!” The voice giggled uncontrollably on the other end of the line, forcing Ranboo to pull the receiver slightly from their ear.

“Get to the point!” Ranboo yelled into the phone, they were not in the mood for these taunts.

“Every 20 minutes your oxygen will be cut until at around an hour and a half and well… then it's the end of the line for you two! Best of luck!” The voice giggled again in the same peppy tone before the line clicked, fading into distant static.

Ranboo slammed the phone down, this time busting the receiver's head off. Ranboo’s head was spinning as they let out a scream before picking up the phone and chucking it at the wall. They huffed as they stared down at the shattered pieces of that stupid phone on the concrete floor, the bright red being a stark contrast against the dusty concrete. Stupid stupid stupid…

“You sick fuck!” Ranboo screamed at the sky.

“Ranboo… what’s happening…?” Charlie asked, gently putting his hand on their arm.

Their friend’s concerned look, the first one of this entire damn game, finally grounded them. They needed to focus and get out of here, for the both of them. They took a deep breath, well as deep as they could, before turning to face Charlie.

“We.. we don’t have a lot of time. We have an hour and a half to put this stupid puzzle together but every 20 minutes our… our… oxygen gets cut. That's why you have that stupid mask on like me!” Ranboo scoffed, trying desperately not to take their anger out on Charlie. He didn’t deserve that or anything that was happening for that matter.

They have to save their oxygen. If they were doing the math right, then they had about 5 of those hissing sounds before their oxygen completely ran out. They need to stay calm so they can get this sorted before the lack of such a necessary thing starts to affect them. They’ve survived their twisted games before, why should they stop now?

For now, their biggest point of resistance is surviving. And they will abuse that point until they can’t anymore.

“Charlie, we need to move quickly. Let’s start piecing this together.” Ranboo sighed as they gently picked up the pieces of glass from one pile which totaled up to be around 6-7 pieces per stack. This was not going to be fun…

Ranboo carefully spread out the pieces from the first stack onto the ground and noticed it was mostly just lines. Not curated to any sort of picture, at least not that they could tell. They started by looking for the corners, they did more than enough puzzles in the confines of the rental so this should be nothing. Ranboo couldn’t seem to find any in the first stack so they moved onto the second.

“Alright Charlie, just like back at home… Find those corners first then we build off of that. Just… be careful.” Ranboo turned to Charlie who soon also started to disassemble each stack.

They were eventually able to find all 4 corners, after very carefully dissembling each stack. They then moved onto laying them out, each having what seemed like a different stroke engraved into it. It wasn’t enough to give them any sort of direction as to what this even was.

“Where is that little picture when you need it?” Charlie let out his stressed, breathy laugh.

Ranboo let out a sigh and nod in response. Anything besides these damn shards would be more helpful right now.

They then laid every piece out, just like laying the pieces face up. While Ranboo stood back examining the jagged pieces, they started to think that this wasn’t a picture, that maybe it was something else. Maybe numbers? A code?

Progress, this is progress… Yeah, yeah this was manageable… They could both do this…

Just as Ranboo had any sense of footing in this world, both of their masks hissed as they could feel air slowly seep out of their mask. That's when the fear began to set in.

For Ranboo it wasn’t just the fact that they were losing air that scared them, it was the mere thought that Showfall had that power over them. That they could take away a desperately needed resource without even batting an eye. Showfall knew that they could kill them at any moment, they just needed to remind Ranboo of that. To make them feel inferior, and they hated to admit that it was working.

They knew that the longer it took them to solve this the less their minds would function. The loss of oxygen would start to get to them, only making this slower and more confusing. They needed every bit of brain power they could salvage, and that was seeming to be fighting in a race against time. The logic of everything began to flood over them, they couldn’t lose. Not to one of the more simple puzzles they had seen.

Faster… we have to work faster…

Ranboo let out a shaky sigh as they began just piecing things together. If it looked even remotely similar then they frantically placed it near the rest. These careless actions were quickly followed by the sharp glass poking and slicing into their hand. At first it was nothing more than a little scratch, but some began to draw blood the more carelessly they moved. Crimson red began to smear on some of the glass shards, embedding themselves into the scratches of each one. Who knew dealing with shards of glass would hurt so badly?

Over their panic, Ranboo’s head shot up at the sound of a sharp hiss and sigh from Charlie. This was quickly followed by a shard of glass toppling to the ground with a loud clunk. He stepped back and held his hand tightly as he looked at Ranboo with sad eyes. Fantastic now they both were injured…

“Shit Charlie let me look…” Ranboo sighed while walking over and gently taking his hand into their own.

Ranboo’s breath hitched as they stared down at their friend’s hand. Instead of the crimson red that they were too accustomed to seeing, a jet black liquid dripped from his hand to the floor.

Chapter Text

Charlie stared down at his hand as a small red line dripped down through the curves of his palm. Tommy was sitting across from him cursing under his breath as he rummaged through Charlie’s medical bag.

“How you manage to get hurt just getting out of your own bed is beyond me, like bloody hell Charlie…”

“It's not my fault Phil’s taste in furniture is broken.” Charlie sighed, tilting his palm so as to not let the blood drip. All these two needed was a blood stained blanket on top of everything else.

Charlie’s hand had slipped when he was reaching for his crutches. And with Charlie’s brillant luck, he somehow found the only broken nail in the entire wooden bed frame. It was more of an annoyance than anything else. The pain felt so miniscule compared to everything else he had going on. The real pain was in his mind as the sight of even his own blood tugged at his subconscious. Just ignore it and keep trucking, that's all he could do right now. Even if that truck was currently suspended into space with no fuel.

Tommy gently took his hand and began to clean it with a disinfectant wipe. His eyes cutting between Charlie’s palm and face, which stayed unbothered. There was a slight stinging pain but nothing he hadn’t handled before. Ever since Charlie’s first encounter with the asshole cop, Tommy had been much softer with him. He basically hadn’t left Phil’s house since it all happened last week. The help had been much needed though as Phil and Kristen had returned to working full time and it was rather quiet in the house.

Charlie could feel himself getting pulled into the depths of his mind as his vision blurred, desperately trying to pull himself out of another harsh reality. Even if it was only a little blood, it was never going to be easier to see. Every time he thought he was doing better, the thoughts of those days would flood him again. And there was nothing he could do but wallow in the panic of being transported back. He couldn’t help it that all he could now see was the blood pouring out of Ranboo as they ran through the woods. How could a single person even have that much blood?...The only thing that was keeping Charlie even vaguely on this planet at this moment was Tommy’s cursing and mumbling as he worked on the injury.

Tommy gently tugged on Charlie’s arm which for some reason meant it was time for his entire arm to lock up from the shoulder. Tommy quickly let go, scooting to the edge of the bed. Charlie let out a sharp gasp before frantically readjusting by violently flinging his arm to the side until it made a satisfying “pop” sound. He let out a shaky exhale before allowing Tommy to take it again.

“Sorry…” Tommy sighed as he went back to gently putting a bandaid over the scratch. Did Charlie ever stop bleeding?

“There ya go. Better…ish.” Tommy said as he tossed the medical bag back onto the chair behind him.

Outside of the room they heard the front door slam and the rustling of bags. Tommy and Charlie exchanged a slight panicked look before Tommy poked his head out the door.

“Boys, I'm home!” Kristen’s voice echoed through the house, sending relief over the pair.

“It’s uh… just Kristen.” Tommy said, clearing his throat.

Charlie sat up, shakily reaching for his crutches. Tom was quick to rush over and hand them to him. The ability to move his arms had gotten significantly worse since that cop had tossed him around like a rag doll. Multiple doctor’s appointments sent him home with more ointments and bandages yet he was still struggling. More PT on top of his original plan, yay. It was better than the pain filled days following the cop encounter that he spent curled up in bed high on pain meds, but it was still a struggle nonetheless.

There was not much he could do besides sit in bed and rot for those weeks. Tommy and Phil ended up moving a spare TV in there for him to have some sort of distraction. So they watched more mindless crappy shows as a way to get the time to pass before Charlie could take his last dose of pain medicine and pass out. Tommy kept him a lot of company during that time, whether cracking horrible jokes with the shows or sitting on the edge of the bed editing videos. Charlie told him multiple times he didn’t have to, but nothing he would say to the teen would convince of anything else. The determination in his eyes always reminded him of the spark in Ranboo’s…

Because of his injuries, he hadn’t been able to leave the house and discuss the case with Agent Skye. He desperately wanted to get progress on this whole mess ASAP. He needed to find Ranboo before it was too late… Now that someone actually believed his insane story they could get to figuring it all out. They didn’t have long and that thought had been eating Charlie alive worse than the pain radiating through his arms.

The pair walked in silence into the kitchen where Kristen stood organizing something on their dining room table. Multiple little bags of beads in different shapes and colors were strawn on the table. Was Kristen hosting a craft night?

“What are you up to… oh!” Tommy’s eyes lit up as he rushed over to examine the table.

“I bought us some from the store and pulled out my old stash of beads so that way we have a good variety.” Kristen smiled at Tommy.

Charlie leaned up against the doorway, confused yet intrigued as he watched their excited interaction.

“They’re pretty stellar, what are they for?” Charlie said, pointing to the star bead Tommy was holding up to the light, examining it as if it were real.

Tommy just rolled his eyes in response before putting the bead back down. Success.

“Well, we had an idea. Since life has been… hectic lately.” Kristen hesitated, “We figured we would do something fun as a group. Make things a bit more bright. So… I bought some things that could help spruce up some of your stuff.”

Charlie looked back at her confused. Not a bad confused, just lost on what all she meant.

“I mean make some of your stuff your own. It may be helpful with everything…” Tommy echoed from behind Kristen.

That's when it clicked together. They were trying to nonchalantly help Charlie figure out who he really was. But it didn’t seem like they were pushing the agenda of getting their old friend back, or did it?

Charlie silently made his way over to the table, examining the supplies of stickers, beads and string strawn out on the table. There was such a wide variety of categories and colors from the stickers to beads that he struggled to see how they could be pushing an agenda. For crying out loud the stickers ranged from cars to puns to animals with barely any gaming ones. From what Ranboo had briefly told him, Charlie used to have a pretty successful gaming platform of some sort. It was a very nice gesture from the two that sent a warmness through Charlie. It was the type of thing he hadn’t seen in a long time, at least not since they went missing…

“This sounds… nice actually. Thank you.” Charlie finally turned back to face them with a small smile.

Charlie could see them both relax as their faces softened before Tommy pounced onto Charlie gently slinging his hand on Charlie’s shoulder, pulling him into a side hug of sorts.

“Ahh see I knew you would!” He chuckled before letting go.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang from behind them. Charlie’s jaw clenched as he flipped around, why was his heart still beating so fast every time he heard that sound?

“It’s ok, Charlie. I invited a friend of mine to help us out. He’s cool.” Tom reassured him as he rushed to the door.

He watched Tommy open the door as a man with shaggy hair stepped into the house. He was a decent bit smaller than Tommy and the two were quick to hug, Tommy slapping him on the back hard right when he entered. Their demeanor was quick to change though when Tommy shifted them away from the kitchen, murmuring something. Something about Charlie for sure as the man’s eyes softened when he glanced back and they locked eyes. That glance made Tommy quickly slap the man’s head before continuing the hushed conversation.

Charlie knew that Tommy was obviously giving the man a warning for Charlie’s sake, but that didn’t make the fact that his past life haunted him. A life that he had started to see too many mourn right in front of him. A knot of anxiety started to form in his stomach. Tom wouldn’t put him in a bad spot, right? Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all…

“Here! Charlie, have a seat and we can start.” Kristen cleared her throat before taking a seat.

Charlie nodded as he took a seat next to Kristen, scanning the variety of stickers and beads in front of him. He didn’t even know how or where to begin. He hadn’t really thought about who he was, who his version of Charlie was. All he could think about was either showfall or Ran. Maybe this would be good for him after all…

Finally the two boys made their way into the kitchen, Charlie glanced up with an awkward smile. Mentally prepping for the same weird introduction he had with everyone these days. Tommy sat across from Charlie while the other man sat next to him.

“Hey there… Im Toby or Tubbo.” The scruffy haired kid held out his hand to Charlie, with a warm yet anxious smile.

Charlie shook his hand gently from across the table.

“I’m Charlie, uh nice to meet you.” man he despised meeting people these days…

“Yeah… nice to meet you too.” Even if Toby wouldn’t admit it, Charlie could hear the twinge of disappointment in his tone. The grief in his voice that he lost a friend, a friend that Charlie would never really know anything about. Everyone could deny all they wanted but when he knew that when they looked at Charlie, all they saw was the shell of who once was.

So yeah, this whole decorating thing was Kristen’s best idea yet.

“Hard with so many options.” Kristen chuckled, glancing over at him, “Let's start with a simple question, whats your favorite color?”

To most people this would be a very simple question, like second nature. But Charlie genuinely had no idea, he hadn't ever thought about it until right now.

“I don't… really know.” Charlie said quietly, looking at the variety of colors in front of him.

“It’s green right?” Tommy chimed in, not realizing fully what he was saying.

“No!” Charlie snapped his head up at Tommy, the flashes of the green goop taking over some of his vision.

The whole room filled with a thin layer of tense silence. Like everybody was collectively holding their breath to see Charlie’s next steps. Like this was all on him.

Charlie took a deep breath before looking back up at the teen. “Um no, anything but that color please. Green and red are a no go… Forever. Please.”

Charlie left it vague, hoping nobody else would poke the bear that they definitely did not want to awake. And nobody did, they left it at that luckily.

“How about something neutral then? Like… Like…” Kristen said softly.

“Beige.” Tommy said with a small smile.

“What's beige?” Charlie tilted his head slightly, he hadn't ever heard that word before.

Toby shot a quick glance over to Tom and Kristen, of course Charlie noticed. Kristen smiled with her usual light chuckle before speaking.

“Beige is like a mixture of this yellow and this brown, like the walls of the bedroom!” Kristen laid two stickers in front of him for him to reference. She dug around the pile some more and pulled out a sticker with a slice of bread and laid it in front of him.

“That color.” Kristen pointed to the middle of the bread, to the pale yellowish color, “That’s beige. It goes great with basically everything, hence why we use it so much around here.”

Charlie nodded something simple, he liked simple. It was a rarity to him as of late as the investigation only grew increasingly more complex by the second. It stared down at the silly little bread sticker, he kinda chuckled at it before looking back up at Kristen.

“Yeah… Yeah I like that color. It's abeigeingly perfect.” Charlie said, a light smile on his face while he was met by light laughter and eye rolls.

Charlie could feel the tension break in the room, everyone returned to digging through the bead containers or digging through the stickers. Toby would hold one up that caused Tom to respond by again slapping him on the arm with a big, genuine laugh. Charlie was shocked that he had never heard much about Toby considering how close the two seemed to be. Charlie hadn’t ever seen him laugh that hard, ever.

Charlie turned his attention to the multiple sticker piles in front of him. He picked one up and felt the nice grainy yet smooth texture each had. He picked around trying to find something that appealed to him even a little. After a few minutes of digging, plus Kristen finding some beige ones and putting them by him, he stumbled upon a collection of sea creature themed stickers. He stopped, picking up the sand dollar one and admiring it.

He smiled as he was transported back to a few days ago, when in an attempt to help Charlie feel better, Phil decided to take the 4 on a day to the beach. It had been a long few days of doctor’s appointments and hours at the station. Charlie had only ever known the woods so this was a very interesting change of pace. There was something about nature that he could always get lost in, so when Tom showed him pictures of the beach on their drive over, he could feel himself getting antsy with some excitement, which was unusual for him. Plus Phil swore he was taking them to the most private part of the beach he knew, so that was also helping. Going outside was not Charlie’s favorite thing currently. Despite his energy levels still being completely drained and the heart palpitations that had been living permanently in his chest, he could feel a small smile forming.

He vividly remembered the sound of the crashing waves followed by the way his feet sank into the sand when they arrived. Once he and Tommy made it by the water, he could feel the cool breeze that blew sand against his legs. A strange tingling feeling but not a bad strange, just different. Kristen and Phil sat on a big towel on the shore chatting while Kristen had a book in one hand and some sandwiches Phil had prepared at the house in the other. He remembered turning back to look at them while him and Tommy stood by the water, watching it cover their toes. The couple were always smiling and utterly in love at all times of the day, and it was a nice change of pace from the panic filled dynamics Charlie was so used to.

When he turned back around Tom was deeper into the water as it was now at his knees. He was bent over reaching into the water trying to catch some little fish that swam circles around him. It wasn’t long before the teen got distracted by something and tried to sprint to another spot to the right of them. He was having no luck as he nearly fell over 3 times in the process. He was calling Charlie’s name as he dove his arm into the water, and he held up a brown circle with a star in the middle. Tommy rushed over and explained it was a sand dollar before telling Charlie to hold out his palm. He then placed the little being in Charlie’s palm where he felt the weird sensation of the sand dollar crawling very very slowly on his palm. It was odd yet so interesting he didn’t fully know how to take it. He was completely entranced by this silly little creature that was now in his hand. Tommy flipped it upside down, which Charlie said was mean but Tom ignored his concerns. The pair stood in the ocean water, letting it rise and fall up their knees as they stared at the moving little tentacle-like things on the bottom of the sand dollar. They moved quickly and with no real consistency, it was amazing to Charlie.

“Charlie, I found the sticker for you!” Tommy jerked Charlie out of the memory by slapping a sticker on the table in front of him, making him jump slightly.

“‘Puns are how eye roll’” Charlie laughed, shaking his head at the teen before putting it into the keep pile with the variety of beige stickers the group had found.

Tommy nodded, giving one of his random laughs before continuing to hunt for stickers. In the time he had zoned out, Toby was halfway through a bracelet while Kristen was actively tying one. The clear string bounced as she completed the small knot. Meanwhile Tommy had created a mini shrine of stickers on Toby’s arm, which Toby seemed to not even notice.

Charlie laid out all the stickers, before laying one of his crutches on top of the table. This was honestly the only thing to his name currently so it was the only thing he could decorate. Charlie ignored how sad that sounded and focused on the wavy art of the sea creatures stickers neatly laid out in front of him.

“I like blue.” Charlie said, holding up a whale shark sticker. “I love the ocean so I think it works”

“A beige and blue kind of guy? Good for you man.” Tommy echoed, seeming to be joking yet a hint of genuineness under the humor.

“I love nature, what can I say?” Charlie shrugged as he turned his attention to his crutches.

He picked out his favorites from the collection of stickers he had gathered, which he hadn’t realized how awesome stickers were until now. It was a wide variety of stickers that say “seal of approval” with a literal seal or “this is a stroberry” with an angry strawberry on it. He also had a wide variety of sea creatures from crabs to sharks to shells. Plus other silly ones like the bread slice.

He sat there tediously placing each sticker where he thought was the perfect spot. They were scattered randomly, yet rather evenly, on the legs of his crutches, leaving out where his arms were. He then did the same to the other crutch, letting their mismatch be a part of their charm. Just like him in a way. He then stood up, trying them out as he walked a little around the kitchen.

“Those look awesome! Much more fun, thats for sure!” Kristen smiled as she watched him around the kitchen.

That got the attention of the two teens who looked up, a smile instantly forming on Tom’s face.

“Ay look at you, man! Rockin’ it!” He echoed with a laugh.

Charlie did a careful little spin to show them off. Everyone nodded as he did so. He sat back down, leaning the crutches up against the table next to him.

“Hey if you want something extra, I made a few bracelets that you add on if you want.” Kristen slid 4 bracelets in front of him.

He smiled as he examined them. One was a mismatched variety of blue beads with a fish in the center, another one was beige that spelled “Charlie” in letter beads. And lastly there were two mismatched pair of beige and blue beads. It was the nicest thing anyone had done for him in a while, he didn’t really know what the right reaction to this great thing would be.

“These are awesome Kristen, thank you. They are definitely being added on.” Charlie smiled as he stretched them over the tops of his crutches so that they sat above the handle. That seemed like the right-ish reaction to him.

“Wait wait Charlie you have to add these ones too.” Tom smiled.

Tommy held up a bracelet set he made that spelled “Fuck” on one and “You” on the other with letter beads. Charlie let out a laugh as he nodded. Guess these were also being added.

He leaned back in his chair, admiring the crutches as a whole as they leaned against the table. . A small feeling bubbled in his chest as he found himself unable to look away. He had made that, well they all had. He had never really connected with something as being his own until right now, and it all made sense. This is what having an identity other than damaged was like. Even if it was stitched together like a frankenstein it was still a portion of him. The person who he was still getting to know. He felt proud of something for once in his life. Of something he had done.

“Looking pretty good, huh Charles?” Tommy joked across the table.

“Charles? That's a new one” Charlie said with a roll of his eyes. “But yes, I like them. A lot.”

Kristen, who had left the table to do some dishes, smiled and nodded as she looked at his new crutches. Giving a small upbeat hum of agreement.

“I think I have to get going now. Have dinner plans, y’know?” Tobbu said, his shaggy hair swooping as he stood up.

“Yeah we know what you mean Tubbs, get outta here man.” Tommy laughed as he landed another slap on his back.

“Bye Toby!” Kristen gave a smile and wave before she returned to the dishes.

Charlie trailed Tommy as he led Toby to the door. The two teens continued to joke more on each other right up until Toby opened the door, turning around quickly before he stepped outside.

“Bye! It was uh seriously good to see you, man.” Toby smiled and slapped Charlie on the arm, just like he did with Tommy. And he just happened to hit one of his wounds, causing Charlie to back and flinch in on himself with a slight hiss.

“Oh shoot Slime-Charlie. Charlie. I’m so sorry-” Toby sighed, but Charlie was barely in reality at that point. The damage was already done, even if the teen didn’t intend it.

He heard Toby talk more but none of it was processing through his mind. Charlie stared blankly into the kitchen, watching as Kristen scrubbed a bowl from dinner last night. He couldn’t help but see flashes of him screaming at Ranboo to cook using green goo, which shifted between that green and the horrid crimson color. When he looked down at himself he saw the same goop draped all over him.

“Uh, nice.. To meet you.” Charlie somehow managed to stammer in the middle of the chaos that was his brain.

With Toby's words all illusion of peace and distraction was shattered. The anxiety ridden sensations began to bubble back up, and there was not much Charlie could do. He just needs to leave. Now.

He was quick to turn away and make his way towards his room, this time accompanied by the memory of yelling which caused him to crash into the wall before his room. As he watched his hand fling into the wall to catch himself, he saw the smooth beige wall morph into the cursed wooden wall from that twisted fantasy cabin. All accompanied by the painful screeches that echoed through his soul. He shoved himself away from the awful wall as he stumbled into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

There was a loud bang as Charlie’s crutches hit the floor. The noise made Charlie’s breath hitch, seeming like he could still feel the thick humid air of a night in the woods. Why were the leaves so damn loud anyways? Why was everything so loud when you were running endlessly for your life?

The bang instantly seems to bring another horrific flashback of a mixture of blood and wires. He could feel them wrapping around his chest, suffocating him with each sharp breath he took. His legs were quick to start to give out on him, sending Charlie into the side of his bed before missing and crumbling to the ground. It was hard to have balance nowadays, much less in a panicked haze. He instinctively began scratching his chest and ribs, he needed air desperately and something was in the way.

He didn’t know how long he was scratching endlessly at his flesh before Tommy burst through the door, desperately trying to assess the situation in front of him. He normally could only standby and wait for the panic to subside, but the scratching was doing more damage than normal.

Tommy quickly wrapped his around Charlie, who panicked at the touch and lashed his head back and forth, trying to become free.

“Charlie, It's Tommy. You’re at Phil and Kristen’s, You need to let go of yourself. You are safe.” He repeated over and over again. But he didn't seem to be able to hear anything.

“Charlie, look at me!” Tommy yelled, Charlie’s eyes finally vaguely focusing on his. Good enough. “You are not in danger, you are safe and will not be in danger like that again. Do you understand?”

But he apparently didn't understand as he continued to fight. Charlie eventually won their one sided match which sent Tommy shoved off into the wall, barely missing getting a concussion it seemed like. Damn that man was so ridiculously strong and for what?

Realizing physically getting him to stop wasn’t going to work, he rushed out of the room. He sprinted into the kitchen, haphazardly grabbing a bowl from the sink and filling it to the brim with ice. Kristen shot him a worried glance but he didn’t have time to explain anything.

He entered back into the room to see blood now forming on Charlie’s shirt.

“Shit Charlie-” Tommy sighed and quickly poured the ice all down the front of Charlie.

The man gasped for a second before flinching back into reality. His arms finally dropped to his side as he pushed himself backwards. Some of the ice cubes scattering across the floor at the sudden movement.

“What on- Tommy!” Charlie huffed, clearly shaken and upset still but at least he was present.

“Welcome back.” Tommy let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“You don’t always have to be here, you know? I can handle myself!” Charlie’s voice began to raise, panic now morphing into anger.

“Charlie clearly you cannot, I mean just look…” Tommy let out one of his breathy laughs as he began picking up some of the ice cubes that had shot towards him.

“I’m not some fragile little deer! And you are never going to them, so stop trying to act like it!” Charlie screeched, finally feeling the endless need to itch out of suffocation leaving.

Tommy stopped what he was doing and stared. He wasn’t exactly offended by Charlie’s words as he knew he really didn’t mean anything in this state. He was just stunned by his words. Charlie shuddered, seeming like he was trying to release something off of himself.

“Charlie. I may not be Ranboo, but that doesn’t mean I care any less for you. I am not looking down on you. I just care for my friends.” Tommy said, sliding the bowl off to the side.

“I-” For the first time Charlie could actually take a solid deep breath. It was relieving for a second before he felt nausea bubbling up inside his stomach. Like a wave had just crashed over him. In an instant he was up and scrambling into the bathroom. Next thing he knew he was throwing up his breakfast straight into the toilet, pushing his hair back from his sweaty forehead.

He hovered over there for a while, nothing more than gagging at this point. He finally sunk onto the bathroom floor, the cold tile slowly becoming more like his best friend these days. Relief washed over him as he huffed on the floor, at least he had abandoned some tension in that toilet alongside his pancakes.

Charlie closed his eyes, trying to let the wave of sickness and anxiety make its way out of his system. His arms shook under him as he supported himself, the pressure of his weight feeling heavier by the second.

Soon after, Tommy appeared and leaned up against the doorway. They both existed in the silence for a little as Charlie tried to gather his bearings. He could barely remember what just happened other than him puking his guts up. All he knew is that he was glad that whatever happened was over.

“Charlie, again about what you said, I really don’t mean to replace-” Tom sighed but Charlie cut him off.

“What did I say?” His eyebrows scrunched up slightly as he looked up at Tom.

“What you said like 2 minutes ago… Do you not remember?” Tommy said, his face now looking equally as confused.

“No…” Charlie huffed, still struggling to catch his breath, “I just remember making my crutches and then poof, now I’m sadly here.”

“Oh. Ok, uh nevermind them.” Tom shrugged it off.

Charlie opened his mouth to question more but Kristen unintentionally cut him off.

“Tom? You two ok back there?” Kristen’s voice rang down the hallway.

“Yeah!” Tom yelled back before turning back to Charlie, “Let me get some stuff to clean you up.” He said pointing behind him.

With a sharp swallow Charlie just nodded, not wanting to speak anymore anyways. He leaned himself up against the tub, his head still reeling but at least he didn’t feel like he was dying now. Now he just felt like death, cause that's just so much better