Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

' ' The End Of Eternity ' '

                 ' ' At the edge of the universe, the end of time, I stand alone with nothing but the.memories we made together. . . ' '

That's what Slimecicle would have said to Quackity, but words like those just aren't enough to explain the way he felt. It was too hard to say that, say anything at all even. Words have no meaning to the Slime, only actions. The actions of that duck were cruel, heartless, but that never stopped Slime from staring.. from staying close to him.

If only staying close hadn't been the cause of his own death. Slime had gotten caught up in a war he had no part in.

And as the lava burned the slimy surfaces of the creatures skin, he couldn't help but smile. "Thank you," Slime said, hugging Quackity close. "For teaching me what it's like to be human." The phrase almost seemed human, at least, to Slime it did. As if it were a bad dream, Slime slowly let go and sunk into the orangish liquid, not to be seen for months on end.

"That's what happened a long time ago" The mob had thought, cleaning his glasses with the edge of his button up shirt. "No point of dwelling on it now." He whispered to himself. It seemed to comfort him. But no matter how small he made it seem, the past would always haunt him. That very day of death replaying again and again. Maybe it was a way of coping. Maybe it was just the trauma ringing in his ears begging for him to listen. The topic of the past.. such a funny subject. A topic that's frowned upon depending on who you speak to. That person.. being Charlie Slimecicle, a slime hybrid who has just now walked away from his best friend (now ex-love of his life) and whatever sad nation the duck had built. Maybe, just maybe, it was dumb of him to love someone who was power hungry, lost in the universe he built for himself. But at least he wasn't stupid enough to stay. Or else he'd be dead by now.

Standing in the rubble of what used to be "The Glorious Nation of Las Nevadas", Slime could only help but tell himself how stupid he is for even caring for that maniac. 

"I just don't get it." He mumbled. "You had the potential to be good.. great, even. But you are lost in power and greed.. the thing that made me leave in the first place." He crouched down to face a tattered white button up. Picking up a piece of it and sighing. "So.. " He began, rubbing the charred cloth between his index finger and thumb. ".. This is all that remains of the ever so great Quackity of Las Nevadas. I can't help but be disappointed." He shook his head, turning to face the broken entrance. Slime then witnessed a chunk of the rubble drop to the floor, dust exploding in the small area it had landed. 

"This place is a dump.. I really need to go before it all drops onto me." And with that, he let go of the burnt cloth and walked out into the desert, staring at his feet. "One foot, and then another.." He would say to himself, believing it enhanced his ability to walk. "One.. after.." His voice trailed off, looking up to the sound of.. a train? Slime didn't remember any trains being near this place.. nowhere near. From what he recalled, all that was nearby was the old nation of Manburg.. or whatever its name was. 

"Probably just my mind playing tricks on me" He thought, continuing his journey to.. where was he going? What possible place could he even go? There's no other places to explore. No new life to follow to their death. Only himself.. and the mysterious train that keeps whistling. 

Pausing, Charlie took a minute to weigh his options, then, without another moment to spare, he swiftly made his way to the unknown.. a train-station in the middle of the desert, thriving with life.. not. It was quiet, empty, and yet the train whistle still screamed throughout the build waiting for someone to board. Perhaps this person could be the human mob. 

Putting that thought aside, Slime wandered to the desk, reaching behind it for any items he could grab and stuff into his pockets. But, to his disappointment, he only could find a singular ticket. The ticket shined in the light, showing a name: "Charlie Slimecicle". Interesting.. but, there's a possibility that this'll be his metaphorical ticket out of this area.

With doubt being planted in Slimes mind, he approached the stationary train, contemplating his next move before approaching the trains doors. He stood still for a moment, examining the doors and their design.. quite an interesting choice for a random bear pattern, no?

"It may just be the logo or something of that sort" He thought, standing upright and listening for any sort of passengers or staff only for the doors to whoosh open in one quick movement, startling Slimecicle. He almost fell back, something grabbing him by his collar and speaking. If Charlie hadn't been caught so off guard, he would've been able to hear what the figure was saying. But unfortunately, everything went dark before he could even push away or even fight back.

Charlie groaned in a groggy state, lifting his head up. 

Had he always been sitting down? Had it always been so loud where he was.. ? Wait.. "Where the hell am I?" The mob hybrid said just a little too loud, someone answering Charlies question. "Cállate y disfruta del viaje." A black bear with sunglasses responded, crossing his arms. "What are you even saying.." Slime retorted, looking offended.

A buff man with spiky hair and purple clothes wrapped his arm around the shoulder of the rude bear, smiling weakly. "Please forgive me." He said, his accent making his words more articulated. "He means no harm. Just barely got any sleep." He explained, waving his free hand at Charlie. This didn't seem like the case guessing by the expression the sunglasses wearing person had, smiling in an evil manner at Slime. This only made Slimes eye twitch, shaking his head with a calm voice. "I understand. I'm a little out of it myself." He turned to look away, a collected smile on his face, reading the room. "I don't even know where I'm going!" 

As he said that, everyone in the train cart stared, some whispering, others just staring.

Slimes eyes darted around the room, looking back at the rude individual. He put on his fakest smile yet. "So please, ignore my bitterness, kind sir. You may be just like me.. confused." And as those words traveled to the mans face, he made an angry expression, showing that he understood what Charlie had said. "Hijo de-" 

Then, someone rushed to aid Slime, a blonde man who seemed as if age had gotten the better of him. "Hey! So we actually all wanted to introduce ourselves over by Quackitys booth if you guys don't mind postponing this for a quick chat!" The blonde seemed nervous, as if he knew what the bear would do if pissed off. And on queue a balder man went to grab Slime and lifted him to his feet, whispering. "Don't say anything and they won't notice us saving your ass from Spreen." His teeth were gritted, making it seem like his was just smiling.

Slime noticed the mans figure and nodded, whispering back; "What could you possibly saving me from? A bear hug? That guy is all bark no-" He stopped mid sentence, staring dead into the eyes of someone he thought he had left behind. ".. bite." He finished, looking at the floor. 

' ' What the hell is Quackity doing here.. and how is he alive ? ' '

Chapter Text

' ' Familiar Faces ' '

' ' What the hell are you doing here?! ' '

 

Slime shook. He couldn't fathom it.. Quackity was alive but.. he looked different. What was with the getup? Charlie didn't remember the last time Quackity looked like he did, shorts, a blue jacket. "That's not him" He comforted himself, mind racing with thoughts only that one small thing keeping him from bursting into slimy tears and hugging the guy.

Then he snapped out of his trance like state, the bald man waving his hand in front of his face. "Hello? Anyone home?" Slime then stepped back, looking scared. He could feel his human form start to slip, green sweat starting to form. "I'm. ." He closed his eyes, looking down and clearing his jumbled mind. "Sorry, I apologize. That guy just looked like someone I used to know. Before I went to.." He looked around, seeing water in the windows and used context clues to fit in. ".. this getaway." He said, taking a shot in the dark, hoping from the bottom of his goopy heart he was right. 

The balding human chuckled and patted Slime on the shoulder, nodding. "Happens to the best of us man." He would pause, then tilt his head, still smiling. "Say, I never caught your name. You got one?" He then backed off to stand next to the blond man. Slime thought, then nodded. "Right, my name. It's Charlie. But I'd rather be called Slime. . It's an old nickname my.." he would pause, picturing Quackity from Las Nevadas. A moment as still as a statue, clinging to the back of Charlies mind. He smiled softly. ".. my business partner, and great friend, gave me that name before I left him." The words were heavy, dripping of longing. But the words had an impact, the three people in front of Charlie frowning.. why? He'll never know. Maybe it was pity.

"Alright.. Slime. I understand." The bald one spoke softly. "I'm Fit," He said, making a hand gesture. "FitMC." He then pointed to the blond. "That's Philza," Phil lifted his hand in a calm manner, smiling. "And this is-" Slime cut in, stepping towards the duck hybrid. "-Quackity. I know your face." He said, Quackity making a puzzled expression and shuffling back into the booth which he sat. Charlie noticed his mistake and immediately stepped back and looked away, clearing his throat. "And uh.. what about the others? The guy who was speaking. .?" Fit then chuckled, shaking his head then pointing to a guy in a red hoodie who was now sitting where Slime sat, next to another who had a bun and a black hoodie. "That's Roier, and that's Maximus.. and the two you were originally talking to were Spreen and Vegetta."

Slime nodded and stared, examining the people. "The one in red is Roier.. black is Maximus.. purple is Vegetta, and.. that asshole is Spreen. Correct?" He faced Philza, who nodded. "You got it, champ." Somehow, Slime could see that Phil was also a clone of someone from that place he came from.. this can't have been a coincidence, not at all. "Thank you Phil fro- um.. Phil." Yikes, a bad habit of calling people by their name and where they come from. He'll have to get rid of that before his cover is blown. Knowledge is crucial for this backwards place, there's no good in blowing his cover now.

Phil patted Slimes back and smiled, "no worries bud. I know, I look familiar too, yes?" Slime then nervously smiled and nodded. "You all must be famous. The way I noticed is funny." He said, laughing it off. They all agreed, Fit taking Slime off to the side for a chat. 

Fit spoke quietly, crossing his arms and raising a brow. "You seem nervous man, but really, you have every right to be.. that Spreen guy has been staring at you this entire time, and it seems like he may just attack you anytime now." He explained, a tranquil expression planted onto his face. Slime leaned to the side, taking a peek only to see the black bear staring right back at him. Charlie felt chills, thinking about the next possible outcomes. He spoke back to Fit, still looking at Spreen. "So he does bite, thanks for letting me know." Almost like telling that joke to Spreens face, he got even more upset, talking to Roier with a huge frown. Fit noticed and smacked Slime gently on his left arm, hushing him. "I would watch the fuck out, man. You may be cool to the rest of us, but Spreen looks like he wants to bite your damn head off, and I, personally don't want to see any deaths on our first day on vacation." He rolled his eyes, sighing at the mob.

Slime pondered the possibility, then spoke. "I guess, but the guy was rude to me first. He needs to learn that not everyone is going to cater to him just because he has some unresolved anger issues." Slime was talking way too loud, loud enough for everyone to hear in fact, like he wanted them to hear. And hear they did. Everyone heard him and his loud mouth, making Fit scoot closer to Slime. He whispered in his ear, "don't move, he's coming this way." 

Immediately, Slime turned to face the angry bear, faking a tough guy look to possibly scare him off. He noticed Roier right behind him, mumbling something Slime couldn't quite make out. Roier said something to Spreen in a language Slime didn't know, swallowing hard. Roier then said; "Spreen says, he wants you to apologize for being rude." Then, just then, did Charlie notice the spider eyes on Roier. "Why can't he say it himself, like a man?" He looked at Spreen, furrowing his brows. Roier translated for Spreen, watching his expression grow dark. Roier seemed to try and calm him, but was pushed aside, looking upset. He grumbled what seemed like curse words under his breath. 

Spreen spoke, struggling to get the right words together. "You need to apologize" He stammered, each word a few seconds after the other, as if he had never spoken a lick of english his whole life. "Bitch." Spreen said, spitting onto the mobs face, who now was getting close to the animal. "You aren't getting shit from me. You were rude first.." He then took a minute the remember swear words Quackity had taught him in Spanish. "Pendejo." He spat.

The room was quiet, until Phil and Maximus stepped in, both of them taking their own and apologizing to the other. "He means no harm! He is just a cuddly teddy bear!" Max said. "Same with this guy!" Phil nervously laughed, sitting slime on the other end of the train cart. The older man then sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, a disappointed tone paired with his face. "Charlie, you can't be picking fights with people when you JUST got here." He muttered. "I-" Slime sighed. There was no point in fighting with this guy, everyone seemed too pussy to do what Charlie dared to. Spreen would continue to torment these guys and Slime would be in the wrong for even standing up for himself. It was all just so stupid..

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' ' Stupid. ' '

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Slime stood up, balling his fist up. He approached Spreen with a angered look, feeling someone grab his shoulder but then let go.

Slime pushed people to the side and then was face to face with the bear, lifting his fist and then swinging. He made contact with the man's face, hearing a crunch sound and then the sound of someone dropping to the floor, wailing in pain. Just then, did Slime realize the severity of the situation, looking at his bloody palms and being pulled away. 

Quackity had grabbed Slime, dragging him away from the scene in a rush. He had taken him to another cart with some new people, facing Slime, Quackity held his shoulders. "Stay quiet and try not to come back." He said in a hushed tone. The kindness made Slimes heart skip a beat, holding onto his chest in pain. The pain of knowing who this guy was and what his morals were..

No. Not now. Not ever. Quackity won't ever change, and Slime stood by that statement. It's not possible for a man whose own demise was himself to ever find a place in his heart to be a different person. The thought was nice, but not reality. And after telling himself that over and over again, Slime gripped his shirt tighter and nodded, a cold expression on his face, as if he was just accepting defeat.

The duck smiled and then adjusted his beanie, turning and walking back to the old cart. The way he walked made him look like he had not a single thought that made him want to look back, no memories that would cause him to hesitate, no history to dwell on like Slime did. That way of thinking is only going to get Charlie hurt.

"That's not my Quackity.." He repeated again and again, starting to shake, his mind is stressing thinking about this entire situation, feeling his skin get slimy. Goopy tears formed and flowed each tear that fell created more stress, the pressure weighing down more and more dropping to his stomach and dancing around. His knees were weak, and his chest heaved back and forth for air. Reality began to warp and change, turning to colors and smooth shapes, spinning around without a care.. 

Then, black dots formed, covering and blurring the mobs vision, panicking him even more.

"I can't.. I can't do this!.." Screaming, BEGGING to be heard.. to be seen. The hope slipping through the now slimy finger tips of a broken man. Dropping to the floor, he could feels eyes all on him, spawning in the dark.

"Hello?.."

"Mister!!"

Someone was calling out to Slime, an entity that seemed to outshine the darkness that was Charlies world. An outline made itself present, being still, but having a worried aura. Time finally went to normal.. unlike any other time this had happened. What could possibly make this world so..

Normal?. . .

"Eh.. si-"

Slime gasped for air, falling forward and landing on his stomach. "Fuck!" He shouted, feeling a gentle hand on his head, shivering at the touch and scrambling to see who could've gotten him out of his.. panic? Charlie didn't know what the hell it was, but he knew it was bad.. and this person had to be something special to even have the worry to care for him.

When he looked up, he made eye contact with another person wearing glasses and with darkish brown hair and a face that made Slime go bright red. He stumbled for words, stuttering and tripping over his own words. The man was stunning, gorgeous, a personified angel (if they existed). Slimes mouth was wide open, covering his face and ducking his head. 

The man like angel gently put his index finger and thumb onto Slimes chin, turning him to look at him. "Are.. you.. okay? You dropped to the floor and were crying, i just- oh!" 

Slime hugged the man close, tearing up and sniffling. He could feel the warmth of the other being, rubbing his back and looking at everyone with a concerned look. "Um.. sorry, what's your name?" He asked, Slime looking up and sighing. "Charlie.." He mumbled, watching the other smile happily.

"My name is Mariana.."

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"Oh.. wow.." Slime smiled. 

' ' I really like that name. ' '

Chapter Text

' ' Love In A War ' '

' ' An angel.. gracing the earth with you beauty. ' '

Slimes POV: 

God is real, sure. I've seen what he does to those who don't bow down to his will and follow the rules. They get banished to whatever hellish dimension or placed in a zombie apocalypse to spend 100 days just surviving. 

His angels are all just people who aren't tempted by that sweet golden apple, unlike me.. so imagine an angel, honest, pretty.. everything I'm not, helping out a sinner up to their feet.. how.. nice. Is he even heaven sent? He has no wings, nor a halo. But does that mean anything at all? The thought is what counts, and who really cares if he is anyways? He's just a man.. just like the rest.. like Fit.. like Phil.. like Fit.. 

Did I say that twice? Am I staring for too long? He's looking at me.. what do I do??? I need to say something or else this man won't like me! Just.. compliment his look! "You look.. dazzling.." Fuck! Was that too far?! Why is he staring at me.. I knew it!.. He already hates me. I should just give up on talking forever because of this..

My body is stiff, shaking. Then, in my moment of weakness, the brunette speaks in a soft tone, chuckling.. at me? I would hope not. 

He said something along the lines of: "Slime, was it?" He laughed, making my face go a slight pinkish, warming my cheeks. "You are very flattering, in fact, I would go as far to say you are more handsome than I." His words wrapped around my throat, making me choke on any thoughts that ever dared stumble from out of my mouth. I could feel a flip in my stomach, clutching it tightly enough to make me wince.. I felt sick, like my lunch was about to come up and cover me and Mariana. 

For some dumb reason, I want to impress this guy that I just met. His presence felt like everything to me. A familiar feeling.. something I've felt. Then, I remembered the first person to ever make me feel like this, the same man that forced my hand. I could feel my throat tighten, like a barbed fence was poking its way further and further down, my vision blurring. What was once a warm comfort of familiarity changed into shackles that chained me down. Keeping me from moving on from a doomed love. 

Quackity never was my destiny, never was the end to my story, and yet when I'm faced with a new love, a new flame to kindle and nurture I can't help but think about the day I melted into Quackitys touch. He keeps a hold on me that stops me from breathing. Stops me from moving on. It's that kind of thing that you lay awake thinking about. What you could've done differently. What would've stopped this all from happening in the first place. The kind of memory that haunts you no matter how much you say ' ' I've moved on! ' ' It just lingers and awaits 

Maybe, it's not him who has me, but it is me that cannot let go of what he should've been. I was stupid to think someone of his nature could ever change for someone like me. Not then, not now. He couldn't, and he shouldn't. No one should change just because I want them to..

And the sooner i accept that, the sooner I can move on.

Like now.

I pulled away from Mariana, standing up and patting myself down for any dust. No more dwelling. I said I would give up on all that junk. I can't stay in the same spot forever, there's no point. So I take a moment to gather my thoughts. Then I thank Mariana for his kindness. He doesn't deserve me and my past. No one deserves to be put through the pain of picking up the pieces of my broken heart. It isn't worth anything anyways.

"Thank you, Mariana.. But I should get going.. I don't want to miss my stop." God.. I'm such an idiot. If I'm as "self aware" as I say.. then why can't I fix my flaws? So many unanswered fucking questions.

When I thought he would just let me go and leave my life forever, he gently grabbed my arm and tugged at it for me to return to him. 

“Wait!” He said, sounding upset. I turned to face Mariana, watching the background blur, focusing on him and him only. “Uh..” I looked at him. What could he—

“Can we maybe.. see each other again? You are just so nice.. and I have very few friends here.” His voice was soft, articulating his words, stumbling on them a few times.. I knew he wanted to say more, but just couldn’t get the right words. 

Even then.. me? He wants to befriend me? I guess.. I guess we could be friends..

“That would.. be nice. We’ll meet again.” I said, seeing his face turn to worry. He looked scared, scared of losing.. me..

I could feel my face shaping itself into a look of concern, slowly pulling my arm away. “.. I promise.” I muttered, lifting my hand to wave, and walking away.

The look on his face broke me. He looked like he didn’t believe me.. like the moment should have lasted longer. There were so many other options that I could’ve gone with, but I chose to just let it be. I left him.. alone.

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As the train approached the island, I prepared myself for whatever was on the other side of the doors. Gripping onto a small piece of cloth in my pocket, I fiddled with it. Never thought I’d be nervous for this, but I didn’t get enough time to scope out the place beforehand let alone see the personalities of my peers. This is the first time I’ve had to go into a new world completely blind.

I saw people leaving their train carts, chatting and laughing.. so i decided to blend in, placing a smile on my face and adjusting my clothing. When I felt I looked “vacation ready” I joined a group of chatty people. Roier, Fit, some girl, a guy with blue hair, and Phil were all talking and giggling amongst themselves. I took this opportunity to insert myself with this crowd.

My name is Charlie.. I’m just a guy looking for a good time.. that’s my story.. that’s my story.. tha—

“Hey! It’s the green guy! Charlie, verdad?” Roier approached me, then wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “You’re the bold bastard that stood up to Spreen! You’re like a legend already! Haha!” His face didn’t look angry.. so I just went with it.

“Yeah man, that’s me! That guy was just pissing me off so I did what any hero would do.” My voice was confident. I can’t pull the dumb card this time, it was my downfall. Not again.

The girl gasped, looking star struck. “You beat up that angry guy?! Cool!!” She bounced up and down with excitement, her fists out in front of her, shaking with what I’ll assume is excitement.

Fit patted the girl on the shoulder. “Yeah man, everyone knows about you. But hey, you don’t know these two; this is Jaiden, and that’s Dan. Guys,” he faced Jaiden and Dan, “this is—“

This is my moment to shine.. my moment to stand out and make a name for myself. I looked around for anything that could help me make a good impression on these people. So I did something miraculous. 

“You can call me!” I made my left hand into a thumbs up, pointing it at my chest and standing up straight. “ElBackflipo!!” I said, taking a deep breath and bending my knees. With that, I took a leap of faith, backflipping and SOMEHOW landing it!! Holy shit!

Everyone in the group roared in cheers, Roier shaking me with excitement. I had done it. 

I made a name for myself here.

Now it’s time to keep that name.

I just couldn’t fucking believe it! I actually landed that shit!

Jaiden was waving her arms as if to catch everyone’s attention, screaming. “Holy shit this guy’s insane!! He just did a backflip!!” Quickly, all eyes were on me. Every person was staring at me and my group.

I swallowed hard, chuckling nervously. Fit pushed me to the center of the train station, yelling and pointing at me. “Guys!! This is the new guy! Charlie! Otherwise known as!..” He glanced at me, giving me a reassuring smile and nodding.

I shook a little, forcing a smile back. Another one?! I didn’t even think I could land the first one, yet alone another one!!

Fit saw me hesitate, whispering. “I know you can do it.. I’m counting on you.” He said with a wink, and let go of me.

He’s counting on me.. my fate is now in my own hands once more. I just need to land another! How hard could it be!?

As I readied myself, I caught a glimpse of Mariana staring with slight excitement. Then I yelled out. “My name is Charlie! But you all will know me as.. ElBackflipo!!” My voice echoed through the station, hearing my shoes squeak as I flipped into the air, noises growing quiet, ears ringing.

Sound comes back to me eventually. I probably blacked out, because I opened my eyes to almost everyone shaking me, cheering and clapping. My trick worked perfectly.

I could hear people calling me by my newfound name, praising me.. saying I was epic. I’ve never felt this good since I first met..

And in the crowd of people cheering my name, I see.. Quackity, cheering me on.

After.. years of him never once hyping me up. Never once acknowledging my worth. At this moment. I felt like I could cry. Maybe this was a new start. A new Quackity that will do things right. This one won’t be like the one I knew.

This one cares about me.

Yeah!.. He cares!..

But then again.. I see Mariana, fighting through the crowd just to see me. Fighting. Quackity won’t do that for me. So maybe I’m just lying to myself again. 

Mariana snaps me out of my trance, hugging me so tight I could barely breathe. I laugh and hug him back.

Life is good. It’s balanced. I can let go.

As good as times were, the TV in the station went off, and a bright yellow duck named Pato started talking about a bunch of important shit.. it was super boring, something about the island and its isolation.. I don’t know, don’t ask.

Then, he said something about a giant wall with a huge button, which immediately caught my attention.

Although that didn’t prove any use, the duck told us NOT to press the button.. which, in a lot of our minds is BS.

But hey, that didn’t stop literally EVERYONE from trying to press that big ass button. Especially Jaiden. She had to be taken to some hospital or something.. an infirmary? I hope she’s okay.

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Day 1: 

After a long introductory day, I finally can start my vacation right. That begins with my clothing.

I put on a red Hawaiian shirt with some jorts and red sneakers. (Don’t ask how I got that stuff.) Right as I was ready, I grabbed my bag and rushed out the house. Today I needed to go mining with some people; Roier, Mariana, and Fit. They all offered to help me get some things so I can relax later in the day.

My pace was quick, avoiding any ash and rubble from the broken wall. All three people were waiting on me.

Fit was the first to notice me, loudly making my presence known. “Hey!! Flipo! My man! We’ve been waiting on you!!” He said, ruffling my hair.. I just did that.. dammit.

I fixed my hair quickly, waving at Mariana and Roier. “Hey guys! I’ve been super excited for this!” Which was true. I’m super excited. I’ll be able to make a bond, and get some essentials while I’m out. And, the cherry on top of it all, is I get an excuse to hang out with Mariana. Something I’ve been anticipating since we all agreed to go out.

I took out my stone pickaxe, seeing the handle was a bit beat up and sighing. “Guess my stuff really does need a repair..” I say quietly. As I’m wrapping the handle with white grip tape, Roier hands me an iron pickaxe. “Here, amigo.” He says with a smile, his spider eyes looking happy. “I have a spare, so you can keep this one.” Wow! Just my luck!

“Thanks! I appreciate it a lot!” I take the pickaxe and grip it like I normally would. I twirl it around with a smirk, trying to show off. Mariana giggles, Roier jokingly fawning. “Pendejo..” Mariana whispers, a hint of happiness in his tone.

Fit chuckles deeply. “Nice going, slime. You’re the talk of the island man. I’m impressed.” Im..pressed? Ah.. ha.. I’m flattered. And my face shows I am.

Fit punches me playfully. “I’m just messing with you! No need to get red on me.” He jokes, grabbing his bag and starting off North. “Cmon! Before it gets dark!” He calls out, the two Spanish speakers following.

I shake my head and run after them, panting as I do. 

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In the mines, I was setting up camp just in case we would have to stay the night in the cave. While setting up my green bed, my stomach rumbled loudly. I paused. Shit.. I forgot food.

Placing a hand on my stomach, I took a minute to think about my options.. Then, Roier walked up to me, holding out a piece of bread. He was making some kind of goofy face that made me cheer up a bit.

“Mariana wanted me to give this to you.” He said. “Mariana? Really?” I asked, reaching out to grab the bread.

Roier swiped away the baked good, laughing loudly. “No! I just saw you were hungry and I wanted to help.” His voice seemed genuine, so I snatched the bread and hit him on top of his head, he stumbled back, yelling and causing a scene.

Mariana started cursing him out in Spanish, shaking his fist in joking anger. I munched on the bread that was gifted to me, enjoying the taste for as long as I could.

Fit walked up to me, hand on his forehead (if he even has one?? He’s bald.) laughing. His other hand was on his stomach. “Dude!” He exclaimed. “You guys are too fucking funny!” He said in between breaths. 

That made me feel more confident, patting the guy on his back. “Be careful man, or you’ll choke.” I said, then walking off to the beds, trying to ignore the two Mexicans on the floor fighting(?) maybe they were just playing around. They do that a lot I guess.

I fixed my bed, then fluffed the pillow, checking my bag for all the ores I mined during the day.

Seems like I mined quite a few iron, a good enough amount of coal, and a handful of diamonds. That’s a first for me.. I’m usually not too good at mining. Or getting any resources at all. It’s a bad quirk of mine.

As I closed my back, Mariana approached me, spooking me. “Boo!!” He shouted, making me jump. I whipped around to face him. His face was super close to mine, making fun of me. 

My face went pure red, heat emitting from my cheeks. “Fuck man!” I pushed him away in a playful manner. He grabbed me by the shoulders and held me close, flopping onto my now messy bed.

I tried to squirm from his grasp, kicking and flailing around. “Let gooo!” I protested, finally being let go of and dropping to the cold cave floor. “Ah!—“

Mariana saw me fall and stopped goofing off, helping me up. “Sorry man! I was just playing!” He said, cleaning my glasses.

Fuck.. he’s so cute when he’s worried about me. I can’t stop looking at him and his stupid face.. he’s saying something to me but I can’t make it out, must be Spanish..

“It’s okay, Mariana. I know you were joking.” I shrugged, taking my glasses back and putting them on. “No sweat.” He looked confused, tilting his head. “No.. sweat?” He questioned. Roier explained what I said in Spanish. Wait.. HOW LONG WAS HE THERE?! 

My eyes darted to Roier, who was now also looking at me.

“What?” He asked. “How long were you there?” “Long enough.” “What do you!—“ 

“Hey, guys!” Fit called us over, pointing at some kind of weird ore. “I found something, but it won’t break with my pickaxe.” He explained, scratching his head in a confused state.

I walked over, examining the ore with a cautious eye. “Maybe we aren’t meant to mine it? I say we stay away from it for now.. who knows what the hell this island has.” I crossed my arms. I don’t trust whatever this island has to throw at me. It’s all still super suspicious to me, even if I’m getting along with these people.

Roier nodded in agreement. “What he said.. but hey, it’ll get dark soon, we should get going.” He's right. It’s not the best idea to stay here when that ore is here. So I quickly gathered my things and grabbed my bed.

“Alright then..” I said, double checking. “.. we ready?”

“Oh? Just when I’m getting here? What’s the rush guys?” A voice said from afar, walking towards our area.

Roier and Mariana both waved, greeting the figure in Spanish. I turned to see my worst nightmare.

No. It’s not Spreen. It’s worse than that hellish creature. It’s Quackity.

His walk was cocky, like he knew this place like the back of his stupid hand. I immediately felt my confidence draining, stepping to be closer to Fit. Fit noticed my change in mood and whispered. “Don’t worry, they can stay with him. I’ll go with you if you want.” 

My eyes lit up, whispering back. “You’d do that?” I questioned, to which he nodded. “Anything for a bro.”

“A.. bro..” I muttered to myself. My thoughts were interrupted by the duck and his voice, who had approached me while I was thinking. He brought his face close, so I moved mine back with a slight disgusted look on my face.

“Hey Mr Flipo.” He said in a tone? What kind of tone? Does his tone mean something?? Do I even care?? Why would I care for that prick anyways?!

“That’s Charlie.. to you.” I said, a hiss in my voice. My arm hairs stood up.. but I’m not afraid of you. I don’t fear you.

He scoffed, his back now turned to me. “Okay, someone’s in a bad mood today.. I see how it is. But hey, no hard feelings, okay? I’m cool.” He explained briefly, then went back to socializing.

God I can’t stand his brief words.. they never have enough substance to give me a real feel on his emotions. What a jackass.

.

I just feel like I’m lying to myself. Acting like not even a week ago I was ready to get on my knees begging for him to love me. I’m such an idiot for thinking a feeling like that would go away that easy.

I can act mad all I want, but deep down that soft spot for him never left. 

.

.

.

On the way home, I’m holding my chest with my right hand, breathing in a certain rhythm to keep myself calm. 

I guess Fit noticed and decided it was a good time to ask about it, speaking in a cool tone.

“So.” He said slowly. “You and Quackity, huh? Are y’all exes or something?” His eyes looked at me for a moment, then back in the direction we were headed. 

“What—.. n-no!! Me and Quackity?!” I heaved, gripping my chest tighter. We aren’t exes. Tell him we aren’t exes.

“We’re old business partners.” I muttered loud enough for him to hear.

He obviously did hear it, because he stopped walking and faced me. “Business partners?” 

“It’s a lot to explain.. and I don’t feel like explaining what went down.” 

“So you just resent him.. for that reason?”

“No. I resent him because he’s my past, and I would rather relax and forget what happened..” I paused.

“Seems like he already has.” I said with a slight spike in my throat, messing with my speech.

Fit sighed and nodded. “I get it. You and Quackity have a rough past..” His sentence trailed off for a moment, as if he were searching for the right words. 

“But maybe if he’s found it in himself to put it aside and make nice.. maybe you should too?” That suggestion sounds like hell.. but I’ll do anything to get over a failed attempt at love. If he doesn’t care.. then I should learn not to either.

“You’re right. I’ll.. find it in me to.. forgive him.” More like forget him. That bitch isn’t getting any more time out of my day.

And as if the world acknowledged my words, we made it to the wall, where people were yelling over some kind of.. house? It looked better than whatever I was living in, so I peeked my head in.

.

Oh fuck no. That bear thing is there..

In fact, most of the Spanish people are here.. and Jaiden. Wait?! Jaiden!! 

My eyes widened, rushing in and getting in front of Jaiden. “Leave her alone you assholes!!” I said, eyes squeezed shut. 

Silence..

I opened my eyes to see everyone staring. Most of them had instruments.

Jaiden tapped me on my shoulder. She said, “we’re celebrating this house.. not fighting over it.”

.

.

.

WHAT???

“Excuse me?” I said, relaxing my body. Spreen shrugged. “Nos gusta la música.” He said nonchalantly.. then I noticed he was also participating in the ‘band’ that was being formed here.

I blinked and sighed out of relief. “Right.. right.” I said, shaking my head. “I apologize.. I’ll go if that’s what y’all are doing.” 

Rubuis stopped me, laughing. “Don’t worry, mi amigo. We have room for you.”

He placed some maracas into my hands. I shook them, chuckling softly. “If you insist..” I said nervously.

They all agreed, having me sit next to Jaiden. I happily sat and glanced at her. She had no instrument..?

“Where’s yours?” I looked at her, who was kicking her feet to the music. “Oh me?” She pointed to herself, then smiled. “I’m the vocalist!!” She said proudly.

“Oh shit—“ I smiled back, then started to shake the maracas to the beat, nodding along.

What a great end to day one.

I made friends, I’m in a band.. I have a temporary house..

Hell yeah this is sick as shit.

Then Quackity burst in, yelling. “Something happened!!! There’s a new building near the wall!!”

.

Son of a bitch I spoke too soon.

Chapter Text

' ' Give it all to me. ' '

' ' Tell me, is this how we’re supposed to live? ' '

Day two: 

Slimecicle was shaking maracas, jamming to the rhythm that the Spanish speakers had started, all singing along to Jaiden’s vocals.

It seemed as if maybe this life wasn’t so bad! No worries that could touch Charlie anymore.. a calmness that hasn’t been felt in YEARS. A nice change.

Slimecicle sat back, spots on his skin slowly going green. He closed his eyes and began to spin the handheld instrument, kicking his legs and dancing in place.

Years of worrying about what would get him next. Thinking about the inevitable death of his friends. Laying awake at night watching time fly by. A feeling that very few people experience.. survivor's guilt but ten times worse.

A boost of confidence was all he needed. A time to shine. Eons of waiting to show off his talents that slowly accumulated with each second he was alone. Left with no one but his thoughts and the fear of death.

He dropped the maracas and grabbed Jaiden, lifting her to her feet and spinning her around. He laughed as they spun, the tension in his muscles fading away. Thousands of years worth of stress.. gone.

“Wait!! Charlie!! Haha!” Jaiden exclaimed, gripping his hands tightly as they danced. 

Today would mark a celebration. Celebrating this amazing island and its peace. No one could POSSIBLY take this from them. Nothing could stop them from partying.

.

.

.

Except for Quackity.

The duck hybrid burst through the front door, panting as if he ran for miles on end.

The music stopped, and Slime froze. He dropped Jaiden. “Oof!” She yelped, landing on the floor. She held her head, dizzy.

It was quiet, everyone staring at Quackity. In the moment, the duck was some kind of unknown entity that would tarnish this sacred place with its presence.

Maximus coughed, Vegetta smacking him upside his head. 

“Uh.. am I interrupting something..?” Quackity stood there in an awkward stance, looking as if he just said something cringey.

Spreen sighed and put his guitar down, getting up and walking towards the duck. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “What.” He spat, his thick accent making him seem a bit peeved at the other.

Quackity cleared his throat and took out a small box, pressing a button. Each person then had a bubble above them.. then spoke. 

“There’s some kind of building being built in the wall not too far from here. I was worried it was something dangerous and would like someone to volunteer to help me check it out!” 

Spreen squinted his eyes, reading the bubble and then taking a moment to process. While he did, Rubius raised his hand. “What if we make the Flipo guy go? He’s got a superhero cape on like Walmart Superman.” Some people chuckled at the last comment.

Jaiden agreed. “Right! ElBackflipo can help us! Can’t you? Maybe put the musica down for a sec and explore! Live a little!” She dusted herself off, putting a hand on her hip.

Slime looked at Jaiden with his jaw wide open. “Bu—.. me..” He closed his mouth and gulped quietly. “Uh..” 

He pondered the pros and cons, thinking about the image he had already made for himself.. he dug his grave, time to lay in it.

“Sure!.. ElBackflipo isn’t scared of nothing!” He put his hands on his hips, forcing a smug expression. His heroic act was working for the most part.. he could just pretend to go and say there was nothing!.. 

“Great plan..” he muttered to himself, then walking past Spreen, who tried to reason with Charlie.. he was ignored.

Quackity straightened his posture, jokingly saluting to Slime. “Thanks for volunteering.. Charlie.” He hesitated, saying Slimes name in a nervous sense.

“.. I was too harsh on you..” Slimes heart felt like it was breaking, a slight pain making itself known. “.. call me ElBackflipo.. if you’d like.” 

Cracking, breaking, crushing.. Charlie’s heart is in pieces, trying so hard to keep a poker face but it’s no use.. there’s no point in trying. He’s only making it worse for himself to heal.

But like Fit suggested, he would put his pain aside to attempt at another shot for a better chance at a successful friendship.

Slime adjusted his red cape. He needed a minute to mentally prepare for whatever thing was going to try and jump out and scare him, or worse.

He soon left the building with Quackity, staying quiet.

.

.

.

The two hybrids slowly made their ways to whatever place Quackity was referring to. The silence was enough to suffocate anyone who dared try to speak or make conversation.

But hey, that’s never stopped these two idiots from trying.

“I don’t really understand your anger towards me. But I at least want to have some kind of idea as to what I did to you that made you.. so upset.” The duck didn’t once look at Charlie, his eyes dead set on the path ahead.

Charlie forced one foot in front of the other, reaching for his sword as they finally made it to their destination, a white building built into the wall.

He drew out his weapon, getting in a stance that would ready him for whatever was to pop out at them.

It was quiet.

The only sound was the sound of nature living around the two.

“.. you reminded me of someone I knew. Nothing huge.” Slime shrugged, creeping towards the entrance.

Crouching slightly, Quackity couldn’t help but not accept that answer. He pressed on.

“Yeah, but what did he do that made you so pissed that even the thought of someone who looked like him ticked you off?” He tried to sweeten his words. “.. you seem like a chill dude, but you’ve been nothing but passive aggressive with me, and I just don’t understand.”

Slime stopped and quickly turned to Quackity. He pointed at the others' faces. “It doesn’t matter. You aren’t him. There’s no point to me explaining myself when you could just.. DROP IT!” He stomped his foot, hearing a loud echo.

Slime jumped, pushing Q back. The mob stumbled, struggling to keep his balance. 

It was obvious he wasn’t as brave as he claimed to be, practically shaking violently.

Quackity felt a wash of guilt, sighing. “You’re right. But, that also means you need to stop taking your anger out on me because of something I can’t control. If I’m not that guy.. then why hold a grudge?”

Slime was surprised, almost dropping his sword out of shock. His mouth was agape for a moment, closing and furrowing his eyes. “You..”

As much as he hated to admit it, Quackity was right. Everyone has been right. Slime.. needs to move on. 

He failed. And that’s what life is. You fail, then you try again.

“Dammit..” He covered his face, dropping his sword. “Fuck!..” he exclaimed, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. 

It’s time to let go..

The realization was heavy. It’s been weighing on Slime for days, something you don’t just get over.. but he’ll try. He’ll try for Quackity. 

“You’re right.” Charlie said, hiding his face. “It’s time to let go.” He sounded hurt, his voice breaking. “It haunts me.. no matter where I go. But, I’ve done nothing to make it stop.. and that..”

He sniffled. “.. that’s only made it worse.”

Quackity took a minute to examine the other being, sighing and walking up to him. He uncomfortably patted the slimes back, nodding. While he did so, he kept an eye on the arch of the building.

He then walked off to go take a look at something that had caught his eye, a white figure running across the floor. Whatever it was, it was good at being quiet.. which might be dangerous.

Slime was still covering his face, making himself look vulnerable to whatever was out there. He was battling every single thought that had plagued him all throughout Quackity’s death. He then heard a scream and snapped out of it, stumbling back in shock.

“Q—.. Quackity?!” He fumbled to grab his sword, rushing to the scream. He struggled to get a grip, his hands too shaky to properly hold the weapon. 

Then, when he was engulfed in darkness, he felt an ominous presence behind him.. just.. watching. “Come out!! I know you’re there!!” He screamed, turning around every few seconds to scan the darkness. This was a failure though, it was too dark for him to see.

A hand placed itself onto Charlie’s shoulder, making a noise. Slime panicked, turning to face the figure with a shrill shriek. It was about as high pitched as a woman’s scream. He reached a hand out as gravity took his body over.

Quackity grabbed Slime’s hand, using his other arm to hold the mobs waist to ensure he wouldn’t fall. The two stood there for a moment, feeling the air wave their hair around. They stared at each other, Slimes mouth slightly agape.

The lights flipped on, blinding Quackity. “Shit!” He let go of slime, rubbing his eyes with a pained expression plastered onto his face. Slime stood up and fixed his cape, adjusting the clip better onto the collar of his shirt. The room was nicely lit, the lights just a bit bright for comfort.

Slime looked around the area. He took notice of the ticket generator that stood in the middle of the room, randomizing tickets nonstop. He put his hand up to the glass of the machine and examined the tickets closer. “These are.. letters?”

Quackity looked up, facing an entity. “Slime?..” he whispered, making eye contact with.. an egg? 

A little egg with a bow stood in the small crib-like container it was placed in. The egg held up a sign; “feed me.” The sign read.

Slime turned and gasped, his eyes widening. He ran to the egg that caught his attention the most, a smaller egg with glasses, looking sad. He looked in awe as the egg lit up and held up a sign. 

“Quackity.. these are..” He muttered, hearing more people approaching the building. Soon, everyone was here getting tickets and matching up with the person who held the similar letter to them. Slime was confused, but quickly picked a ticket and ran to the glasses wearing egg and whispered to it.

He looked eager, but gentle, trying to show he was fit to be with the fragile being. “I’m going to take you in.. you’re just like me, okay?” He smiled when the egg jumped up and down in what seemed to be excitement. 

A screen came on in the middle of the room, showing the yellow duck from the first day of the island. It explained in greater detail that these eggs were to be cared for in teams of two, otherwise known as “parents”. The teams would be assigned via ticket letter.

Slime looked at his ticket and then glanced back at the egg. He pocketed the item and picked up the egg, carrying it away from the others. “Cmon bud. You and I can wait for whoever my partner is.” He was confident the last person left would be the co-parent..

Then, when the crowd cleared and mostly everyone was out with their new kids, Slime spotted two people without an egg or partner. He adjusted his hold on his egg, and walked towards them. When his vision adjusted, he saw Quackity and Mariana standing alone.

He saw them both with different letters.. so one of them must be his partner. He placed the egg down and looked at the paper, then looked back up.

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.

.

He approached Mariana and smiled. “We seemed to have the same letter.. I think you and I are partners.” He chuckled and brought the egg closer. “This is our egg.. look! He has glasses like us!” He poked gently at the egg's glasses.

Mariana chuckled and nodded. “Sí, it appears so.. I get stuck with the crazy backflip guy.” He shook his head and held out his arms to hold the egg.

Slime gave the egg to Mariana gently, scooting closer to be near them. “Yeah.. in fact? I think maybe.. our kid could be named after me? Yknow.. maybe.. Flippo?” He laughed, obviously joking.. but Mariana didn’t seem to understand that, nodding.

“Juanflippo. That’s his name.” He took Slime's hand and walked out to the grass. “He will have my last name though.” He said, smiling back at Slime.

Charlie giggled and agreed, gently playing with Juanflippo. He turned back to see Quackity all alone, holding an egg with a frown.. it.. it seemed so sad to see him all alone trying to enjoy the time he had with his new child. But just as Slime was about to go back to spending time with his “family”, Quackity and him locked eyes, staring for a while.

The duck seemed to have mouthed something, but Charlie couldn’t quite make it out.. so he frowned and turned back to Mariana, who had put Juanflippo down and was already teaching him things.

The clouds slowly covered the sky, going gray. The new family already getting familiar with one another. Slime was squinting, reading the sign that Juanflippo held up that had the word “feed” on it. He pondered what an egg like him could even eat.. then Mariana walked up with a seed, putting it in front of the child proudly.

“Comes.” He said with a smug expression, chuckling to himself. Slime stood up fully and turned to Mariana. “Eh…” He was at a loss for words, then smacked the other man gently. “You idiot! He needs something other than some sad seeds! He’s got allergies!!” 

Mariana rubbed the back of his neck, groaning quietly. “Pendejo.. he’s an EGG. There’s no such thing.” The man seemed to not understand that the egg was also right there in front of them. Slime picked up Juanflippo and started off to his house, not waiting for Mariana.

The cape wearing human ran after, yelling at Slime, who seemed to ignore him.

Slime was trying hard to conceal his true feelings, acting rude to hide the fact he wanted to kiss the brunette. They would arrive at the house inside the wall, crafting a green bed and making some food for flippo.

Slime noticed a shortage on food and offered to go out and hunt for something to eat..

He reached outside, shooting down a chicken with a bow when a figure approached him. A dark demon with a small egg with a tall top hat stood next to Charlie. 

“Charlie? Mr Flipo?” He asked, tapping Slimes shoulder. Slime turned to them, holding his bow low so he wouldn’t shoot them. “Uh.. yes?” He examined the two, adjusting his glasses. “Hi! I’m Badboyhalo and this is Dapper! We were wondering if maybe you would be interested in a play date! Dapper has yet to make any friends.. and I would really appreciate it if you guys would be so kind as to let us get acquainted!”

The demon smiles widely, his tail swaying with the wind. Thunder rumbled from a distance.. 

“Uh..” He wondered if Mariana would even want anyone to be near their kid.. but maybe it would be good to get to know the other eggs and parents.

“.. sure! I just don’t hope you mind the house being a me—“ Badboyhalo lit up. “Oh it’s not a problem! Lead the way!” This caught Charlie off guard, nodding while chuckling nervously. “Yeah man.. follow me.” He muttered, walking back to the house, where Mariana was sitting on the floor with their egg, singing quietly.

“Honey.. I’m home. I brought..” Mariana cut Slime off. “Slime. Our son is our daughter now.” 

Slime froze, staring at the two sitting on the floor, Mariana braiding her hair. 

He was processing what just happened, feeling a hand on his shoulder, it was BadBoyHalo.. “Hey man, you okay?” A tear went down Charlie's face, making his new daughter's face go pale.

“I’m..” He clenched his fist, shaking. 

“… I’ve never been better!” He said with a smile.