Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The first thing Charlie noticed when he woke up was the amount of pain his shoulders were in. The second thing he noticed was that his glasses were digging into the bridge of his nose, the lenses cracked. The third was that Sneeg’s face was in his line of vision, just barely. He was saying something, too. But all Charlie heard was muffled nonsense as he watched Sneeg’s mouth move. He tried to tell Sneeg something, anything, but all that came out was a groan of pain.

Charlie tried to sit up, but as soon as his arms moved, a wave of agony rushed into his shoulders. He cursed and laid back down on the cold floor, feeling a sticky liquid pooled around him. His chest felt heavy under the bulletproof vest, which was soaked in that same sticky liquid.

He felt Sneeg’s arms carefully wrap around his torso, helping to lift him up. Charlie took a good long moment to find his footing, but he managed to mutter a ‘thanks’ to Sneeg while he was at it.

Charlie leaned heavily on him, his head spinning and his chest heaving. Sneeg was talking again, and Charlie had to focus as hard as he could to listen.

“-Ranboo?”

“Wh… huh..?” Charlie mumbled, trying to stand on his own. He stopped, memories flooding his mind. Ranboo. The last thing he had been able to do was point for Ranboo to push the button. And then Ranboo ran.

“Where is Ranboo?” Sneeg sounded urgent.

“He went to push the button.” Charlie tried taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm down his accelerating heartbeat. “I… he…” Where was Ranboo? Was he okay? Did they escape?

Charlie glanced around the set, trying to find words. He looked down and jumped back when he saw the ‘security’ monster, its TV monitor head face-down on the floor, the wiry body sprawled like it had fallen. Sneeg caught him, wincing when Charlie slipped on the drying pool of his own blood.

“When the button was pressed, it was deactivated. So was everything else.” Sneeg lessened his hold on Charlie slightly.

Charlie slowly nodded, his hands shaking. “Let’s just find Ranboo.”

“Yeah.” He helped Charlie get steady on his feet again, keeping an arm around his torso just in case.

—

Sneeg and Charlie had been searching the mall for about fifteen minutes. It was a relief when Charlie felt fine enough to stand on his own again. Still, Sneeg was worried that he might have lost a lot of blood. Charlie’s bulletproof vest had prevented damage being done to his torso, but his shoulders were blood-soaked.

But Sneeg wasn’t sure if it was even possible to die of blood loss here. Not under these weird circumstances.

“Sneeg, I think I hear someone.” Charlie whispered, interrupting his train of thought.

“Where?” Sneeg whispered back, listening carefully. He did hear a voice nearby. He scanned the empty store entrances. “Wait, I see lights coming from there.” Sneeg pointed to the glowing reflections of bright lights on the floor nearby.

Charlie nodded and the two carefully walked to the room, staying behind a wall so they wouldn’t be seen. Someone was talking, wearing a black plastic mask. Hetch. Charlie tensed.

Beyond that, the walls were filled with bright screens, all flashing different videos and images. And in the middle was a familiar figure, their arms and waist tied with wires. Around their head was an open box-like contraption that Sneeg couldn’t really distinguish from where he stood. When Sneeg saw Ranboo’s familiar mask and hair, his heart dropped like a stone. How was he going to help them?

“We need to get him out of there.” Charlie whispered shakily. “You could, I don’t know, be a distraction and I-”

“JUST LET ME DIE!” Ranboo screamed, fighting against the wires slightly.

Sneeg and Charlie froze, glancing at one another. If they were going to do something, they needed to do it now.

“-keep entertaining you, the masses!” Hetch said, speaking as if this were nothing but entertainment to him. Which, of course, it was. “Has he earned his rest, or do we want to see him play again?”

Ranboo begged and pleaded. They screamed for death.

“Well it seems the audience has made their decision, Ranboo. Are you ready to hear it?”

“I’m- I don’t know-” He sounded desperate and like he was crying.

Sneeg’s mind was racing. He needed to get rid of Hetch right now. Attack him, distract him, anything. But his body wouldn’t listen. He couldn’t move. He was frozen in place, watching Ranboo. His breathing picked up speed.

“The audience,” Hetch said, “has voted for you to die.”

The screens turned red.

Everything was silent for a split second, but it felt like an hour. The box closed around Ranboo’s head. Blood began to pour out the bottom. Sneeg still couldn’t move.

Chapter Text

Was this death? This feeling of unbearable pain, sightlessness, and the inability to scream? All Ranboo knew was that he couldn’t move. They felt hands on them, but they felt far away, as if they were separated by universes.

He coughed, feeling liquid come out of their mouth. He felt a constant stream of blood coming from somewhere in there, tasting like iron. They tried hard not to swallow too much.

Was this hell? It certainly wasn’t what he had expected. He thought the pain from dying would at least numb in the afterlife, if not stop altogether.

Vaguely, he felt his feet dragging along a cold hard floor. He kept moving like that for about a minute before he felt himself being lowered to the ground.

Who’s carrying me? They thought, before jumping back in pain. Is it angels?

They felt something being pried off their face, and a hand on his arm, as if to help keep him still. Oh right. The mask. He tried to calm his breathing and stay still as he felt the dead wires get cut. The metal mask started to come off, feeling raw where it had dug into his face. He felt cooler, the air stinging his cheeks where the blood was coming from. He felt the side of his mouth with his tongue and came across a hole. They quickly stopped, not wanting to know any more about their injuries. He tried to move his jaw to get used to the new, free feeling of being maskless, but it hurt.

The pain was preventing him from thinking straight, and he didn’t have much control over the words that were coming out of his mouth. He wasn’t even sure what he was saying. The angels must have heard him, because one wrapped their nice, comforting hand around his. They felt something cool and damp press against their face.

Ranboo realized that this entire time, he had been keeping his eyes squeezed shut. It was giving him even bigger a headache than he already had, so he opened his eyes slowly. But only their left eye seemed to be working. The other was completely dark.

Distressed as he was, he still kept his eye open to look at one of the angels. The first thing he saw was the familiar hand holding his. He moved his gaze upwards and saw Charlie’s face, a bright fluorescent light behind him like some kind of halo.

“Charlie…” His voice was hoarse, and it pained him so much to even move his mouth. “It hurts…”

Charlie said something, but Ranboo couldn’t understand. How could they, when they barely understood their own thoughts?

He closed his eye and let whoever was holding that nice, cold cloth do their work.

—

Charlie will admit, he was trying very hard not to throw up as he held Ranboo’s hand. It took all he had to look him in the eye. His face was a horrifying, bloody mess. There were holes in their cheeks, their right eye had been stabbed, their temples had similar wounds, and their once fluffy hair was drenched in blood, drying in clumps as the strands stuck together.

Charlie was terrified that his friend wasn’t going to make it, but he kept telling himself ‘if i could survive having my organs removed, Ranboo can survive this’. He clung to that thought like a life raft in a hurricane.

Sneeg was wiping away as much blood as he could so he could bandage him up. Ranboo kept muttering things, mostly about angels, death, and Hetch.

Hetch.

Charlie hated Hetch. He wasn’t sure what vengeful demon had possessed him the moment that box had closed, but he felt a burning anger in his bones, his blood, his soul. They had been fighting to be free. To be safe. To go home. All for what? For Ranboo to be killed?

He had ignored any worries of getting hurt, of getting under Showfall’s control again. He had pushed past Sneeg and tackled Hetch with strength he didn’t know he had. His memories were a blur after that, but at some point a monitor was smashed onto Hetch’s head as Sneeg ran to get Ranboo down from that disgusting wall. Charlie grabbed a large shard of glass, the largest he could find, and drove it through Hetch’s chest, quickly removing it.

“Charlie…” Ranboo muttered. “It hurts.”

Charlie squeezed their hand. “I know, but you’ll be okay. I promise.” He desperately hoped this was true.

Ranboo closed his eye and leaned his head back, which gave Charlie a mini heart attack.

“They're still breathing.” Sneeg said, wiping the last of the blood from Ranboo’s chin.

Charlie let himself breathe again, watching Sneeg bandage up Ranboo’s face, occasionally handing him things he needed from the first aid kit they’d found in one of the stores. He was feeling too stressed to say much. The stress not only made his heart pound so loud he was sure it could be heard throughout the whole mall, but it also made him forget about his own wounds. The pain turned into a dull, buzzing background feeling.

An alarm sounded.

They’re back, they’re back, we’re not going to make it out, Charlie thought.

“Quick, help me pick him up!” Sneeg’s voice was urgent.

Charlie and Sneeg put their arms around Ranboo’s torso, his arms draped across their shoulders. They ran through the mall, seeing some security drones start chasing them.

Charlie’s understanding of the situation was that for whatever reason, whether you’re useful or necessary, you didn’t stay dead in Showfall. He had yet to figure out how it worked. But now Hetch was back, ready to capture them, take away their memories, and ‘reset’ them.

They followed the exit signs, the amount of drones chasing them increasing. Sometimes they blocked off their path, forcing them to change course.

Wait, Charlie thought, if Hetch is back, if the security is back, then surely… the giant, wiry security monster is back.

Panic started to set in.

“Run faster.” He said.

“I don’t know if we can.” Sneeg’s voice was shaky.

“Wait, wait, there’s the exit!” Charlie pointed to a door with a bright red exit sign above it.

Sneeg pushed it open, and Charlie felt tears of relief come to his eyes. When he looked out the door, he saw the night sky and all its glistening stars. He gazed up, dumbfounded.

“Don’t just stand there, come on!” Sneeg said, pulling Charlie and Ranboo out the door.

Charlie snapped back to reality. They weren’t safe yet. Far from it, actually. How were they supposed to escape?

—

Sneeg shut the door behind them, shoving sacks of what was presumably sand in front of it.

Breathing heavily, he scanned the mostly empty parking lot. His eyes rested on a dull red car. It looked old, it was dented, and the front windshield was cracked. Next to it, someone was lying on the concrete.

“Come on.” Sneeg said to Charlie. “Hurry.”

Charlie dragged Ranboo to the car while Sneeg went to the unconscious person to look for keys. At least, he hoped they were unconscious. But he didn’t have time to check. It took about ten seconds before he saw the keys in their half-closed hand.

Something pounded on the door and it sounded strong.

“Go, go, go! Get in!” Sneeg said, quickly getting in the driver’s seat and trying to start up the car.

Charlie was able to get Ranboo in the back seat in a somewhat comfortable position before practically throwing himself into the passenger seat. Sneeg repeatedly turned the key, panicking when it didn’t work the first few times.

When the engine finally came to life, the door burst open. Sneeg glimpsed a clawed hand and an arm made of wires and pressed down on the gas pedal, trying to get out of the parking lot as fast as possible.

Chapter Text

Ranboo woke up with the side of his face pressed into what seemed to be the back seat of a car, the seatbelt buckle digging into his cheek.They felt it swerving side to side, and sometimes it went over a gross-sounding bump. Ranboo didn’t want to think about what that could have been. Next to him, they heard Sneeg and Charlie’s panicked voices, but he was still having a hard time understanding them. His brain still felt like it was wrapped up in a thick fog.

“HOW MANY OF THEM ARE YOU GOING TO RUN OVER?!” That was Charlie, loud enough to make Ranboo jump.

“I DON’T KNOW, MAN! THEY’RE TRYING TO KILL US!” And that was Sneeg.

Ranboo opened his eye and was greeted with a blurry view of a stained car ceiling. How had they gotten in a car?

“Crap, crap, crap, it’s getting closer-” Sneeg swerved the car, almost making Ranboo fall off the seat.

Ranboo closed his eye again, putting a hand to his bandaged head. It didn’t hurt as much as it had the last time he’d been conscious, but the pain was still less than desirable. The holes in their cheeks seemed to have closed up for the most part. They’d have to thank Charlie and Sneeg later.

His stomach lurched as the car swerved again. He knew they must have been in the middle of being chased, but couldn’t Sneeg be at least a little more careful??

As a realization hit them, they jolted upright, then immediately fell down when their vision got spotty. They were in a car being chased. Meaning they were escaping. They had hope. And he was, miraculously, alive. Why was fate suddenly deciding to be so kind to them?

Charlie kept glancing back at the road behind them as if he were worried that security was still following, which they definitely could be.

They continued driving for a long while, Sneeg and Charlie sometimes trying to figure out where to turn. Ranboo put his hands over his ears, trying to block out the panicked voices. He didn’t want to feel any more scared than he already was.

At some point they tried to sit up again, much slower this time. His arms were shaky and his breathing was labored. Whether it was fatigue, anxiety, or dehydration, it didn’t really matter to him. They looked out the window. Outside was a dark country road, a forest on one side and a field on the other. The yellow lines were extremely faded from what Ranboo could tell. Moonlight spilled over the field, showing off half-grown stalks of corn.

Sneeg was still going fast, not looking back and choosing to continue on and on. Ranboo started to get less worried about being chased by Showfall and more worried about crashing into a tree or a deer or something similar.

“Sneeg…” Ranboo’s voice was hoarse and it hurt his whole face to move his mouth. “If you keep going fast, we’re going to crash.”

“If we stop, they’ll get us. We can’t stop, we can’t go slower, we need to keep driving. Do you want to get captured? I don’t. I can’t.” Sneeg veered the car around a bend, forcing Ranboo to grip onto the seat.

—

Sneeg’s panicked driving was making Charlie quite nauseated. He kept swerving down one bend and then another, not listening to any protests. Sneeg looked too terrified to even consider listening to them.

“Dude if you don’t stop, I’m going to throw up,” Charlie said, clinging to the inner door. He wasn’t lying.

“I told you, we can’t stop.” Sneeg gripped onto the wheel so hard his knuckles were white.

Ranboo groaned in protest.

“Sneeg, they’re gone. I don’t think they’re coming.” Charlie glanced at the other two, trying to gauge how everyone was handling this situation.

Sneeg drew in a shaky breath. “We don’t know that for sure.”

“Dude just stop! We’ll be okay!”

A deer ran in front of the car and Sneeg finally slammed on the breaks. There was a thud in the backseat, followed by Ranboo cursing.

Without saying a word, Sneeg finally pulled off onto the side of the road. Charlie took this as an opportunity to exit the car and vomit his guts out in the grass below him. He immediately stumbled onto the ground and felt the sour taste rise up his throat. He closed his eyes tight and emptied his stomach’s contents onto the grass in front of him. On one hand, it hurt. But on the other hand, he’d been holding it in for so long.

He spent a minute taking deep breaths and trying not to gag any more. His chest felt oddly weighed down, which was when he looked down at his bloodsoaked vest. He made quick work of getting it off, his shoulders aching with the motion.

He pulled a sleeve up, looking at the damaged flesh. It was scratched up and slightly lumpy where the flesh had been removed. He could faintly see the cuts from the wires digging into his skin, and the gashes from the claws looked like they had just closed up. But it looked much better than it should have. His body was healing itself, and fairly fast. He wasn’t sure if he should feel happy or concerned.

—

Sneeg rested his head against the steering wheel. He wasn’t sure when he’d started crying, but he was. Charlie had quickly left the car, and Sneeg had half expected Ranboo to go after him. But his quiet friend was staring out the window at the stars. Sneeg sighed and wiped the tears off his face, glancing at Ranboo through the rearview mirror, making eye contact.

“You okay?” Ranboo asked quietly.

“Uh… yeah.” Sneeg sighed again. “Sorry about that. I- I wasn’t really thinking, I guess.”

“‘S okay.”

“Hey, uh, is there any water back there?” Sneeg asked, realizing just how dehydrated he was.

Ranboo turned around and stuck their head in the trunk. “Yeah, there’s two bottles.” They grabbed one and handed it to Sneeg.

“Thanks, man.” Sneeg took it and drank some of the lukewarm water.

Charlie came back in the car, looking pale. His vest was gone, and he reached up and took off his glasses. Ranboo wordlessly handed him the other water bottle. Charlie drank half in one go.

Sneeg leaned back, feeling the last of his adrenaline disappear. Crap, he was so tired. He wasn’t sure he could drive any further. Everyone was exhausted.

Chapter Text

Sleeping (or rather, trying to sleep) in the back of a car is uncomfortable, especially if you’re ridiculously tall like Ranboo. He was unable to stay still for longer than a minute, constantly shifting onto his side, touching his face, looking out a window, or running a hand through his blood-encrusted hair, flakes of it coming off on his fingers.

Wiping their hand off on their leg, they looked out at the moonlit road. Everything was quiet, aside from the occasional owl call or a mumble from the others.

They leaned forward and grabbed one of the half-empty water bottles from the front. The water soothed his dry, scratchy throat as he drank, but he was careful not to drink it all.

A bright light and the sound of an engine came down the road, making Ranboo jump. They swallowed the water, almost choking as the car sped past. Their heartbeat elevated even as it disappeared.

‘Showfall isn’t too far away. They could be on their way right now.’ Ranboo’s mind raced. He needed to wake someone up.

With shaking hands, he nudged Charlie. “Hey, Charlie…”

Charlie slowly opened his eyes and sat up, the moonlight shining on his tear-stained face. He stared at Ranboo for a moment, his vision probably blurry. Once he seemed to recognize them, he backed up as much as he could, pressing himself against the door.

“No, NO. Get away.” He said desperately, his legs moving to protect his torso and his hands in front of him to keep Ranboo away.

Startled and a little hurt, Ranboo gave him some space. “Wh- Charlie, are you-”

“Stop… stop…” Charlie hid his face.

They stayed silent like that for a few minutes, sitting in silence while Charlie tried to calm down.

Looking up, Charlie stared at Ranboo and his breathing slowed. He wiped the tears from his eyes.

“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to… do that.” He cleared his throat. “Bad… dream.”

From the way Charlie had looked at him and the way he was protecting his stomach, it wasn’t hard for Ranboo to guess what the dream was about. A vague image of an operating table flashed in their mind, and they blinked as if that would get rid of it.

“It’s okay,” Ranboo spoke softly, wincing when their sore jaw hurt.

Charlie offered him his hand to show that he wasn’t upset. Ranboo took it.

“So, uh, what did you need?” Charlie asked.

Ranboo hesitated, feeling embarrassed and a little stupid. “I know we all need sleep, but… Showfall could…”

A beat of silence, and then Charlie glanced at Sneeg, who still seemed to be asleep. “Yeah…” He looked back to Ranboo. “I… I think we’ll be okay.” But he sounded like he didn’t believe himself.

—

They were on the road again, any remnants of Showfall nowhere in sight. However, the car kept making noises. It was like every bump, turn, or hill brought it closer to death. To be fair, this car seemed a little old, and Sneeg had definitely pushed its abilities. To make everything even better, the tank was running empty.

Behind Charlie, Ranboo slept. Their legs were curled up in front of their torso as they rested their head on their knees. Charlie smiled whenever he checked on them.

Reaching into the little compartment in the car door, Charlie grabbed his glasses, their lenses scratched and a crack going through one of them. The world was no longer fuzzy smears of color as he put them on. Last night, it had been nice to allow himself to detach from reality, zoning out with no need or ability to see clearly. But he had to admit that he could only take it for so long.

The car squeaked again, followed by Sneeg muttering a few curses.

“Is the car okay?” Charlie asked.

“Gonna be honest, I have no clue.” Sneeg sighed.

The car made another concerning sound and they both jumped. Charlie’s eyebrows furrowed as the car seemed to slow down.

‘Crap, crap, crap, we need help,’ he thought, subconsciously rubbing his shoulders. He frantically looked out the window and spotted some houses. It looked like they were entering some kind of small rural neighborhood.

“Pull over right there.” Charlie pointed to the side of the road, overgrown with grass and yellow flowers. “We can ask for help and- and figure out what to do from there.”

Sneeg tensed up. “But what if they’re…” He trailed off and reluctantly parked the car. “How can we trust anyone?”

“Dude, it’s not like we have any other options.” While Charlie understood Sneeg’s paranoia, he knew he was going to be difficult to negotiate with.

“Well… that’s true.” Sneeg mumbled.

Charlie’s head shot up when he saw someone come out the front door of a nearby house, a tan one with a black door. He was young, maybe Ranboo’s age. His blond hair was sticking up slightly on one side, and he had a few scratches on his face. Oh, and he looked eager to see the car until he took an actual look inside. He stopped running to the car and frowned.

Charlie looked at Sneeg for a moment, then unbuckled himself and stepped out of the car.

‘Here goes nothing,’ he thought.

“WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU??” The boy immediately asked, looking confused and angry.

Charlie attempted to explain that they were trying to escape from… somewhere, but the words weren’t coming out exactly as he hoped, and the boy only looked more confused. Charlie practically dragged Sneeg out of the car to help him out.

“What did you do to my brother?” The boy asked sharply.

‘We don’t know who your brother is’, Charlie wanted to say, but he paused when he saw Sneeg’s expression drop. Oh no.

—

A head of curly hair facedown on the concrete. A hand half-closed around car keys.

Sneeg felt his mind fill with guilt as he realized the person he had most definitely stolen this car from was this boy’s brother.

Without thinking, he had left an innocent person at the hands of Showfall. The thought of helping him hadn’t even crossed his mind. What was wrong with him?? Stupid, stupid…

“Sneeg?” Charlie asked, bringing him back to the present. “Are you…”

Sneeg turned to the boy. “I am so sorry, but…” His hands shook slightly. “I don’t think your brother is coming back soon.”

Chapter Text

When Wilbur woke up, he was greeted with the feeling of firm hands on his arms. He was being escorted somewhere, but that was about as much as he could gather.

His brain was working much slower than he would have liked. Turning his head, he focused his vision on one of the people escorting him. They were wearing a white mask with a familiar logo on it, and they didn’t respond when he tried to mumble out a question.

Where was he and why was he here? He strained himself trying to remember, but whatever was messing with his brain was putting a solid barrier between him and proper though.

His mouth was slightly ajar and there was a dull, buzzing pain on the bridge of his nose. He closed his eyes and let himself be led to… wherever he was going.

—

Imagine your older brother impulsively gets up and leaves the house late at night, taking his old and beat-up car and not telling anyone. You know he’s leaving, however, because you’re staying up looking through your dad’s old record collection and you hear the front door open and close, and then the crunch of the gravel driveway as someone drives off.

Tommy was a little disappointed Wilbur hadn’t invited him to… wherever he was going. It was a ritual of theirs to sometimes get 7/11 in the middle of the night.

He put down the disc he was holding and went downstairs to wait for Wilbur on the couch. It was a little boring just sitting there in the dark, so he played Animal Crossing. He continually glanced at the front door, expecting his brother to come back in at any moment, muttering to himself about his band or sipping on a slushie.

At some point, Tommy fell asleep.

When he woke up, it was 10 AM and he had a quilt draped over him. He slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes, and saw his mother sitting in her armchair, sipping tea and reading a book that looked absolutely ancient. Her raven black hair was done in a long braid. It made Tommy think of his other brother, one he hadn’t heard from in practically forever.

“Uh, hey mum?” Tommy asked, pushing his hair out of his face. “Is Wil home?”

She looked up from her book, but hesitated, then shook her head. “No, I’m afraid not.”

“Did he say anything about where he went, at least?”

Again, she shook her head. “He’s not responding to my calls,” she closed her book, keeping her finger in as a temporary bookmark.

Tommy frowned. It had been… a while since Wilbur had ignored his family’s calls. “You don’t think he..?”

“I hope not. I don’t know what would have driven him to… do that again.” His mum set down her cup. “We’ll just wait to hear back.”

Tommy nodded, although his mind kept coming up with the worst possible scenarios. Wilbur getting into an accident. Wilbur getting wasted and driving into that ditch. Wilbur running away. Wilbur no longer caring about any of them.

Tommy pushed the quilt off of him and dragged himself up the stairs, his back hurting from his uncomfortable sleeping position. He stared down the hallway at Wilbur’s bedroom door, which was half open. He went over and nudged it open with his foot, peering in. The bed was unmade, as usual, his laptop closed on his desk, sticky notes everywhere, and a guitar leaning against the windowsill.

Upon closer inspection, the notes all seemed to be related to some kind of… what was it, a movie making company? Huh. Wilbur did have a mild interest in filmmaking. Maybe he was looking for a job, or just inspiration.

Is that where he could have gone? Tommy picked up one of the notes. ‘Showfall Media’. Never heard of it.

Suddenly having an idea, Tommy opened the maps app on his phone and typed in the name. He frowned when nothing came up.

Tommy went back downstairs to stare out the window. It was too humid to enjoy being outside, but at least it looked nice. He saw some of the neighbors walking dogs or getting mail. Leaning against the window frame, he sent a few texts to Wilbur, such as: ‘hey when are u getting back’, ‘mum is really worried’, ‘whats a snowfall media’, and ‘please answer, youre scaring me’.

He glanced up when a familiar car parked off on the side of the road. His heart jumped when he saw the familiar windshield crack (which looked a little worse than before). He excitedly flung open the door and ran outside, ready to give his brother a hug.

Oh.

He stopped in his tracks. There were two… no, three unfamiliar people in the car, Wilbur nowhere to be seen.

Who..?

—

Crunching bones and gunshots. Dying people. Panic and the need to survive.

And Ranboo couldn’t care less.

He watched himself go about, solving the puzzles. The guilt overwhelmed them as they screamed at this unresponsive memory of themself. He must have watched himself cut into Charlie a million times. The anguished screams didn’t stop him.

Why? Why?? How could they be so horrible?

He felt a gentle hand on his arm, and he was brought back into consciousness. He saw Charlie and felt the guilt resurface, feeling even worse.

“You okay?” Charlie asked.

Ranboo looked away, moving themself into a more comfortable sitting position. “Yeah, I’m… fine.”

Looking outside, they saw Sneeg talking to three unfamiliar people. They seemed to be in a small neighborhood.

Charlie noticed him looking and offered an explanation. “So, the car broke down and it turns out we parked in front of the house where this car came from. Heck of a coincidence, huh?” He laughed nervously. “Turns out we left their son at Showfall when we… escaped…”

Ranboo blinked slowly, trying to process this. “So this is… his car..?”

“Yeah…”

Ranboo nodded and got out of the car with Charlie’s help. They felt tired and thirsty, and they were pretty sure they were tasting blood in their mouth again. The headache came back, and he leaned on Charlie for support. He felt his eye close and his brain begin to shut down. They mumbled something about sleep, and welcomed the black abyss.

—

He woke up to the feeling of someone doing something to his face. He felt the bandages on his face being taken off. Familiar and unfamiliar voices were speaking, but he could only catch a few words. A gentle hand touched his face, one that didn’t belong to Charlie or Sneeg. He wanted to pull away, but his body and brain were feeling too slow to do so.

They felt the stabbing headache again and groaned. The nice hand touched their face again, as if to say ‘Everything is going to be okay’. They opened their eye and saw a blurry face and a kind smile. The woman taking care of them had dark hair, like a raven, spilling across her shoulders. She was saying something. Another angel?

As much as they didn’t want to trust anyone who wasn’t Charlie or Sneeg, they felt so safe. A feeling they hadn’t known in so long.

He hardly noticed that she seemed to be putting stuff on his face, he instead focused on the quilt around him. It had an oddly familiar texture. A dim memory flashed through his mind.

He was younger, maybe nine, laying awake and staring at the ceiling. He had one arm around an ancient Garfield plush and a worn quilt pulled over him. Rain pelted on the roof, followed by a flash of light and a blast of thunder. Startled, he hid his face in the fabric of the quilt. It smelled like lavender.

They looked past the angel and to Sneeg, who looked anxious and guilty and like he wanted to drive away in a car at 70 MPH on a country road again. Charlie was next to him, watching the angel take care of Ranboo. A boy with blond hair sat in an armchair and stared at Ranboo, but when he noticed they were staring right back, he looked away. They heard a voice coming from another room, sounding as if they were on the phone.

His head was hurting again and he closed his eye, allowing the angel to do what she pleased.

Chapter Text

Charlie and Ranboo were next to each other on the couch, one staring out a window and the other asleep. Charlie had fixed his gaze on a particular tree and blocked out the world around him, choosing instead to think about a place that meant a lot to him, in both good and bad ways. A cabin.

He bit his lip as he thought about his childhood. His weird, stupid childhood. All the roles he had played. One role in particular haunted him. He saw himself kicking down a door, covered in blood– no, slime– with horns on his head and a grin on his face. He felt powerful. But it wasn’t real. It never was.

He tasted iron in his mouth as he bit down harder. He couldn’t even see the tree he was staring at anymore. His mind could only focus on his past personas.

He was startled back into reality when Ranboo’s head fell onto his shoulder. He immediately checked to see if his friend was okay. He breathed a sigh of relief when Ranboo stayed asleep, their breathing even and calm.

He tasted the iron again, feeling something warm slide down his chin. He wiped it with his hand and saw a green substance on his fingers. He stared at it and felt his chest rise and fall much faster than he would’ve liked.

Blinking, it turned red. He looked away and wiped it off on his already bloodstained clothes. He rested his head on Ranboo’s and focused on a bookshelf. He looked at the colors of the book spines and tried to name them all in his head in an attempt to keep himself grounded. He was not going to have a breakdown in a stranger’s house. Especially since these people had been nothing but kind to them. Well, the couple, Kristen and Phil, were kind. Their son, Tommy, not so much. But that’s fair, Charlie thought. We’re three random people who show up in his brother’s car, with no guarantee that the brother is okay.

Giving Ranboo a little side hug, he let himself quietly cry. Leaning against him, he was able to match his breathing with Ranboo’s.

After a few minutes, he let go and leaned his head against the back of the couch, closing his eyes and breathing deeply.

Ranboo shifted and opened his eye. “Hey,” he said quietly, his voice sounding as if it hurt him to speak.

Charlie hummed in response, his eyes still closed.

“You okay?”

Charlie shook his head.

“Can-” Ranboo was interrupted by a violent cough. “Sorry. Can I help?”

“Dude, no, it’s okay.” Charlie said, worry in his voice as he heard how much Ranboo struggled to speak.

Ranboo didn’t argue. They probably didn’t even have it in them. They just hugged Charlie and closed their eye again.

—

Sneeg stared at himself in the steam-clouded mirror. His blurry face looked tired. He felt tired.

The injuries on his face had mostly healed; facial injuries healed quick, weird healing abilities or not.

However, the scratches and scrapes on his arms and hands were a different story. They kept bleeding and Sneeg had to wipe the blood off with paper towels and hide them at the bottom of the trash. Well, maybe if he stopped picking at them, they’d finally heal the way they were supposed to.

If he looked close, he could see a scratch on his hand knit itself back together. Obviously, the bigger cuts took longer to heal, but how long exactly? His interest piqued, he opened the cabinet under the sink and searched. Behind cleaning supplies and underneath a towel, he managed to find a small shard of glass. Perfect.

Almost as if he were in a trance, he took the shard and pushed up the sleeve, positioning the shard above his forearm. He dragged it slowly across the skin, making an inch long cut that gleamed an emerald green. It stung, but he couldn’t care less as he watched the skin slowly piece itself back together.

Intrigued with his ‘experiment’, he took the glass and made bigger and bigger cuts on his arm. They all healed at different rates, and none of them completely.

He knew he probably shouldn’t, but who could stop him? Charlie and Ran would never find out, and Showfall couldn’t get him.

He grabbed bandages and stuff from the medicine cabinet, wiping off the emerald green, wrapping the arm up and covering it back up with his sweater sleeve. He hid the glass shard exactly where he’d found it and stepped out of the bathroom.

He made his way back to the living room, seeing Charlie and Ranboo next to each other, right where he’d left them. Oh, and Tommy was there for some reason. The boy narrowed his eyes at Sneeg, which he responded to with a nervous smile.

—

Seeing Sneeg come back, Ranboo carefully pushed themself off of the couch to make their way to the bathroom for their turn in the shower. They were glad for the excuse to leave. Tommy was scary and kind of loud and asked a lot of questions, none of which they would respond to.

Sneeg smiled at him and he smiled back, although he wasn’t sure Sneeg could see it, what with the bandages and all that.

They walked along the hall, glancing at the pictures that lined the walls. They saw a small blond toddler, Tommy, sitting between two other boys who looked like twins. One had curly, short brown hair and the other had wavy, long brown hair, his hair falling just past his shoulders. Some showcased the angel, Kristen, and her husband Phil. Phil was nice. One frame was empty.

He pushed open the bathroom door and flicked the lights on. He winced when he saw his reflection. He looked like he’d been to hell and back. He felt like he had.

They closed the door and began undoing their bandages, avoiding their reflection in the mirror as much as possible.

When he was ready, he turned on the shower and stepped in, not even waiting for it to heat up. He let the water pour over his head, careful to breathe through his nose so he didn’t accidentally inhale the water through his nose.

He glanced at his broken and bruised body. Watching the dried blood come off and go down the drain.

As the water warmed, they sighed and cleaned themself up with shaky hands.

He subconsciously tapped SOS on his leg, his hands cold in comparison to the water.

They weren’t sure how long they left the water running, but at some point they shut it off and grabbed the red towel that was left out for them. Or was it green? They didn’t dwell on it.

He dried himself off and stared at his reflection, his hair dripping on his face and shoulders. He pulled on his old clothes. Kristen had offered to take them to a thrift store the next day for new clothes. They were hesitant to accept her kindness. Really, this family didn’t need to be as welcoming as they were. And what if they were going to take advantage of them? But eventually Sneeg and Charlie had said yes. Ranboo said nothing, just shaking his head. He didn’t like his voice. Besides, he trusted them to pick out something decent for him.

Their hair was still really wet, so the bandages probably wouldn’t work. They didn’t really want to go out there without a face covering, but what other choice did they have? They dried off their hair more.

He stepped out of the bathroom and shuffled quietly back to the living room. From the sound of it, Sneeg was talking about Showfall. When he came in, sure enough, he saw Sneeg talking to Phil while Charlie zoned out. Tommy wasn’t in the room anymore.

Charlie noticed Ranboo and got up for his turn in the shower. He smiled at Ranboo in passing.

Ranboo sat next to Sneeg and leaned against him, closing his eye. He was so tired.

—

Tommy leaned against the kitchen counter, staring at all the messages he had sent Wilbur. From what Tommy had gathered in eavesdropping on conversations, Wilbur was captured by what sounded like deadly theatre kids that could play with his mind however they wanted.

He scrolled through the messages. He doubted Wilbur had his phone anymore.

He looked up and met eyes with his mum, who was on the phone with Techno, his brother and Wilbur’s twin. Her brow was furrowed and she chewed on the corner of her lip, but her expression softened when he looked at her.

“Techno, I know, honey. But…” she spoke gently.

Tommy knew his parents were trying to get Techno to come home from college to help out with the Wilbur situation. He knew Techno wouldn’t want to. He knew Techno didn’t want to see him. Or any of them.

He walked quietly out of the kitchen and up to his room.

—

The next morning, Kristen had taken Sneeg and Charlie to the thrift store. Ranboo had stayed behind, as they intended. They were tired.

He sat on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and resting his head against the couch. Phil was upstairs in a virtual meeting (or something). Tommy was on the other side of the room, giving Ranboo a look. Ranboo avoided eye contact. The bandages covered his face again.

Phil had offered to take them to a doctor, but Ranboo had politely refused. There was no way they could handle being around a doctor.

Okay, the staring was really starting to bug him.

“Hi?” He said quietly.

“Hello.” Tommy said.

Ranboo looked away, unsure of where to go from here.

“D’you think you could help me?” Tommy asked, seemingly reluctant to ask for help.

“With what?”

“You know what? Just come with me.”

Ranboo glanced around the room. “O-oh. Are you sure?” They’d much rather sleep.

Tommy nodded and Ranboo slowly got up. He was led up the stairs and down the hall, into a bedroom. It was kind of messy, with an unmade bed, a guitar haphazardly leaning on the windowsill, and paper everywhere.

Tommy grabbed one of the sticky notes on the desk and shoved it in Ranboo’s face. “Tell me what this is.”

Ranboo backed up so they could focus on it, and stiffened when they were met with the familiar symbol.

“It’s- it’s Showfall’s logo…” The words tasted bitter on his tongue.

“Alright.” Tommy said, and went to sort through the papers on the floor. “Hm. No, that’s unrelated. And that’s a recipe?” He mumbled.

Ranboo missed Sneeg and Charlie. They held onto their own hand, rubbing circles into it, trying to keep themself calm.

Tommy stopped and picked up a picture, his expression falling. Curious, Ranboo went over to look.

In it, there was a tall man who was presumably Wilbur, standing with a few other people and smiling. Something caught Ranboo’s eye. A familiar, smiling face.

His breathing picked up.

He was looking at Niki.

Chapter Text

Wilbur nudged the door open with his foot and set down the bundle of blankets and pillows on his bed next to Tommy, who was playing Animal Crossing. They hadn’t spoken to each other much that day, they just hugged and muttered their ‘good morning’s. Wil didn’t mind the silence, and he was too scared to break it anyways. He felt like he was walking on eggshells with everyone.

He sat next to Tommy, peering over his shoulder. “Playing Animal Crossing instead of looking at universities, huh?”

“Shut up.”

Wilbur chuckled and watched his brother play for a few more minutes before speaking up again. “You don’t wanna be stuck at that… what was it, a restaurant?”

“I know. I just… need a break after… all that.”

Wilbur bit his lip, feeling the guilt in his stomach grow. “Ah. Yeah.”

In the week Wilbur had moved back in with his family, Tommy would come home every evening complaining about his job as a waiter in some local restaurant. It always managed to make Wilbur smile, whether Tommy liked it or not.

“Hey, uh…” Wilbur spoke up, hoping his voice didn’t sound as nervous as he felt. “You want to drive around tonight or something? Like- like just us, with no Techno or anyone.”

“Sure.”

When Wilbur had called to tell his dad that he needed to move back in, his twin brother Techno had come over to help with the moving and be moral support (although neither brother would admit it). He was probably downstairs, either reading or working on his laptop. Wilbur tried not to bother him as much as possible. He didn’t want to start another fight.

“Could we go to 7/11?” Tommy suddenly suggested.

Wilbur smiled. “Yeah.”

—

Flour covered the counters, their hands, their faces, and their hair. Messy bowls were everywhere, batter dripping off the edges. Ingredients and finished pastries were covering just about every surface.

Wilbur opened the fridge and grabbed a jar of strawberry jam, grimacing when he felt the sticky outside of the glass. He shook it around in his hand for a minute. “Hey, is the jam bad? It looks thin,” he called out.

Aimee abandoned a bowl of chocolate cake batter and took the jar from his hands, inspecting this. “Hmm, maybe? Or it hasn’t been in the fridge long enough. Give it a taste.” They handed it back.

“Are you kidding? I’m not eating possibly expired jam!”

Aimee shrugged and went back to their cake. 

Wilbur continued to look at the jar skeptically. He uncapped it and brought it to his face. It sure was a little dark for strawberry jam and– he fought back a gag as he was greeted with a metallic smell. He glanced at Aimee and Niki, then beyond the kitchen tables, only seeing bright lights and vague silhouettes of… other people..? He opened his mouth to say something, but felt a sharp pain in his neck, and then a wave of calm radiated through his brain. He looked back at the jam.

“Well, this sure seems expired.” He put the jar in the trash. “And no, I didn’t taste it.”

“Oh, we have more in the pantry.” Niki pulled a tray of cookies out of the oven. She set them down on the stove.

Aimee leaned against the counter, pushing their long dark hair out of their face. “You know, I think once we get my cake in the oven, it’ll be enough for the fundraiser.” They glanced around the kitchen. “More than enough.”

Niki chuckled. “I guess we got carried away.”

Cakes, cookies, and other pastries were everywhere, all made for a fundraiser. Wilbur had originally protested the idea of helping out with a bake sale due to his limited experience with baking. It was originally Aimee’s idea, but Niki was the one who finally convinced him. What was the fundraiser for again? Wilbur shook his head, his mind going fuzzy.

“Come on, we should relax in the living room,” Niki said, taking off her oven mitts.

“Sure.” Wilbur smiled, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling at the back of his mind.

—

It was amazing to see the sun and sky. Charlie had only seen it… how many times? Not enough, that was for sure.

The shopping experience had been surprisingly easy. The thrift shop was about fifteen minutes away, and Sneeg and Charlie had stared out the windows the whole drive there. Kristen was calm and nice the whole time, definitely keeping everything together.

When they got home, Charlie was the first to get to the living room. He paused when he saw Ranboo staring into space on the couch. They were covered in blankets and seemed to be holding their breath in ten second intervals.

“Hey. Are you okay?” Charlie asked quietly, sitting next to them.

Ranboo shook his head.

“Is it okay if I touch you?”

Ranboo nodded.

Charlie put his arms around them and pulled them closer to him, so that Ranboo was half laying on him. Ranboo closed his eye and let out the breath they had been holding.

Phil and Tommy were in the room as well, Tommy playing on some game console. He occasionally glanced over at Ranboo and Charlie, a look of guilt overtaking his face.

“Is he okay?” Sneeg asked Phil quietly.

Phil shook his head slightly. “He had a bit of a breakdown earlier. Tommy said he recognized one of Wilbur’s friends.”

Sneeg was silent for a beat. “Can I see them?”

Tommy put down his game and pulled out a photo, handing it to him. Charlie watched as Sneeg looked at the photo. His expression looked distant and slightly confused.

Ranboo started quietly sobbing, holding tight to Charlie. He gently squeezed their hand and after a moment they squeezed back.

“Niki was one of Wil’s closest friends,” Phil was saying. 

Charlie frowned, straining himself to remember who Niki was. The name sounded familiar but… he couldn’t think who it was. The only images that conjured in his mind was seeing a metal carousel. Vague figures were chained to it, their faces blurry and voices sounding the same in his head. And– oh, was he crying too? He touched his face. It was wet.

—

The house was dark and quiet. Ranboo and Sneeg were asleep on the couch. Charlie had been with them, too, until he was painfully reminded that he hadn’t eaten all day, so he forced himself to get up and walk to the kitchen.

His footsteps were slow and quiet. Stepping onto the cold linoleum floor, he stared at the glowing numbers on the oven. ‘2:23’.

The fridge greeted him with a cold white light, dimly illuminating the rest of the kitchen. There was a glass container that held the leftovers. When Charlie hadn’t eaten, Kristen told him he could heat it up in the microwave any time.

The thought of eating was making him nauseated, but so was the thought of keeping his stomach empty.

He made a quick search in the cabinets and drawers for a bowl and spoon, and scooped the food into it, as much as he thought he could handle. It wasn’t a lot.

He placed the food in the microwave, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling the appliance was giving him. He frowned.

Sitting down at the table, he poked the food around with a spoon for a bit, checking for anything unusual hidden inside. He couldn’t remember why he needed to do this.

He put a spoonful in his mouth and forced himself to swallow, ignoring how bad he felt. Another spoonful with a shaky hand. Maybe he needed to drink water as well. The small amount of food in his bowl was such a daunting task and he hated it. 

Charlie groaned and rested his head on the table, feeling sickness churn in his stomach. Come to think of it, when was the last time he’d eaten? He couldn’t come up with an answer.

The house was still dark and quiet. Charlie brought another spoonful to his mouth and it was able to go down without a struggle. Maybe he’d be okay after all.

He rested his head on the table again, the side of his face pressed into the wooden surface and making his glasses dig into his face.

The house was dark but no longer quiet. Footsteps came from the living room, and Charlie slowly lifted his head to see Sneeg enter. He hummed in greeting.

“Hey.” Sneeg’s voice was quiet. “Hungry?”

Charlie nodded. “Yeah… I didn’t eat.” He looked back down at the bowl as if weighing the pros and cons of eating more.

Sneeg sat next to him and Charlie immediately leaned on him.

“You’re eating pasta with a spoon?” Sneeg asked, chuckling.

“Shut up.” Charlie smiled and lightly elbowed him.

Maybe he’d be okay.

Chapter Text

When Sneeg had gotten up, he hadn’t noticed Charlie’s absence. He left his other sleeping sibling on the couch and stepped onto the wood floor. He quietly began making his way down the hall when he heard movement in the kitchen. Who else was awake at this hour?

Charlie was in the kitchen, trying to eat food. Sneeg sat next to him and tried to help him through it as much as he could, but his mind was only half there. The rest of his mind was taken over with thoughts of sitting on the bathroom floor and getting out that glass shard again. Or making a search for something else that was sharp but subtle. He made a few jokes to Charlie, but was hardly paying attention to anything that came out of his mouth. He rubbed at his bandaged arms.

“Okay, I’m… I’m finished so I’m gonna go back to the couch now.” Charlie got up and put his bowl on the counter. He turned to look at Sneeg. “Are you gonna come?”

Sneeg forgot to respond for a moment, but he looked up at Charlie. He saw the cracks in his glasses and made a mental note to remember to get him replacements somehow. “Nah, I’ll stay up a little later.” He smiled, leaning his elbows on the edge of the table.

Charlie nodded and almost immediately left the kitchen. Sneeg waited until he couldn’t see or hear him anymore before standing up and quietly making his way to the bathroom.

He’d hardly been able to sleep, his mind moving too fast at all times. All he could think about was leaving Wilbur at the hands of Showfall. What was wrong with him? He probably could have saved him if he weren’t so selfish. Why hadn’t he even thought of helping Wilbur? And now this poor family had to take care of them and he knew they’d all need to make the journey back to that mall.

He closed the door and flicked the light on, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light. He opened the cabinet under the sink and quickly found the glass shard.

He cut in the same spots he had last time. Either he was imagining it, or the cuts healed slightly slower than before.

He enjoyed the stinging, burning sensation. He knew he deserved it, and this punishment just felt so right. He couldn’t help but feel slight disappointment when he had finished, so he made another cut on his forearm.

He bandaged up everything, hid the glass, and went back to the living room, sitting next to his brothers. Ranboo was leaning into Charlie, with Charlie’s arm around them, his face slightly hidden as he rested his face on their head. Sneeg smiled.

—

Ranboo sat on the carpeted floor, wrapped in a soft purple blanket. Tommy was on Wilbur’s laptop, searching through google maps to try finding abandoned malls. He would show one to Ranboo every so often, asking if that was the one he’d escaped from. Ranboo always shook their head, but was slightly amused at the abandoned malls within a five hour drive of them. Tommy vaguely mentioned a number of abandoned stores and residences as well.

When Tommy came home from work that afternoon, he’d almost immediately grabbed Ranboo and dragged them upstairs.

Tommy, despite Ranboo’s initial impression of the guy, was funny and talkative in a way that made up for Ranboo’s silence.

As Tommy frustratedly searched the laptop, Ranboo looked up from the ground to speak. “Can you, um…” they cleared their throat, fidgeting with their fingers. “Can you tell me about Wilbur and… and Niki?” Saying her name hurt. So bad.

Tommy looked up. “Oh… sure. What do you want to know?”

“Just… anything.”

Tommy sighed, but nodded. “Niki and Wil were best friends since before I was born, so I guess she was like a sister to me? But they kind of stopped talking when… um…” he paused. “Well, Wilbur had some alcohol problems. It was a thing for a few years, and he got into a lot of arguments with people and didn’t want to reach out for help. He had a really big fight with Niki and she didn’t contact us anymore. Any of us. One day, months later, Wil tried to call her but she never picked up. He went to her house and found the door unlocked, and she was just… gone. He mentioned something about never getting the chance to apologize and I guess when he left, he was looking for her.”

Ranboo thought for a moment, picking at the carpet. “So… how did he know where to… where she was?”

Tommy shrugged. They lapsed into silence, only broken by the sound of Tommy typing on the laptop keyboard. Ranboo absentmindedly fidgets with the edge of their black mask.

Eventually, Tommy decided to break the silence. “What happened to her, exactly? If- if you want to say, that is.”

Ranboo took a shaky breath. “Um… she… she…” Why was nothing coming out of their mouth? Why were they shaking?

“Sorry. You don’t need to tell me anything.”

Ranboo bit their lip. They wanted to tell Tommy, he deserved to know, but the words got caught in their throat and choked them. They went back to staring at the carpet, blanket pulled a little closer around their shoulders.

“She…” Ranboo began again. “I don’t know how to explain this lightly… but she was shot. She could be alive, ‘cause, um… we can heal really fast or something, but…” they trailed off as Tommy stared at them, a look of slight horror on his face.

“... what ?”

“I… I’m not sure how to explain.”

Tommy opened his mouth, but closed it again, clearly unsure of what to do or say. He nodded and went back to the laptop. Ranboo made a mental note to come up with a better explanation.

A few more minutes of silence as Tommy searched, until he closed the laptop in frustration. “It’s probably not even on any map. This is going to take forever.”

Tommy was definitely upset, so Ranboo hesitantly opened their arms for a hug. Tommy glanced at them for a moment, then hugged them tightly, his face hidden in their shoulder. Either he was really shaky, or he was crying.

“Wilbur messed up so many damn times, but I can’t give up on him,” Tommy whispered. “He was getting better.”

Ranboo nodded and gave him a little squeeze. The two leaned on each other and let the tears spill.

—

Techno tapped on the steering wheel, listening to the radio and the sounds of the highway around him. The GPS said he’d get there in an hour and a half, and he was hoping he wouldn’t regret it.

He hadn’t told anyone he was coming, just in case he wanted to turn straight around and go back home. Like a coward.

Poetic, isn’t it, how someone will go great lengths to help the person that hurt them, even though they swore to never speak to them again. Such is his sibling bond.

He still didn’t understand why he was doing this. Wilbur always seemed to be in danger. Why did he even care anymore? How much did he have to go through before the pain finally numbed?

He hadn’t been entirely filled in on the situation, either. Apparently Wilbur was in danger, three traumatized strangers had coincidentally shown up in his car, and now everything was in disarray. His mom had wanted him to come home, and he knew this was hard on her. It always was. He just… he couldn’t keep helping Wilbur.

Techno turned up the radio to drown out his thoughts. An hour and twenty five minutes until he reached that country road.

—

Tommy had to admit, Ranboo wasn’t as strange as he seemed. Yes, he was quiet, shaky, and tall, but Tommy didn’t care in the slightest. He’d lost friends in the past few years, and he saw this as a new opportunity, as hope. Maybe something good could come from this whole situation.

He was sitting next to Ranboo in his room when he heard the crunch of the gravel driveway outside. He stood up and looked out the window. A familiar car came down the driveway, one that made him both incredibly nervous and ridiculously excited.

“Who is that?” Ranboo asked quietly.

“I think that’s my brother.” Tommy grabbed Ranboo’s hand and dragged him out of the room. “I haven’t seen him in ages.”

“Oh… okay.” Ranboo simply followed him in compliance.

Internally, Tommy felt the panic build up. He hadn’t seen Techno in months, and the last time they’d ever spoken was right before his big argument with Wilbur. He pushed down the thoughts as he reached the bottom of his steps to greet his brother.

Techno’s roots had grown out significantly, but they were still that familiar pale pink he always liked to have. He looked calm and almost expressionless as his parents hugged him. Tommy watched awkwardly as Ranboo tried to hide behind him, which wasn’t successful due to their height. Sneeg and Charlie peeked in from the living room.

When Phil and Kristen finally let go of Techno and he turned to see Tommy, the younger immediately ran and hugged him. After a moment, Techno gave his back an awkward pat.

Tommy moved back and gave Techno a confused look. “I didn’t think you’d– why are you here?!”

“I’m asking myself the same question.” Techno sighed. “I know I’m going to regret this.”

Tommy hugged him again. “Damn right you will.”

—

When Techno and Tommy took up residence in the living room to attempt finding Showfall, Charlie had fled and gone out into the woods in the backyard. The humid air was sticky and tiring, but it was nice compared to the dark days in the mall, where the only light usually came from LEDs and the air smelled of mildew in some places and cleaning solution in others. The occasional breeze felt funny on his skin.

As he walked further in, the dirt path became less and less prominent, and he began to walk on years’ worth of dry, crunching leaves and pine needles.

He picked up a pinecone and threw it, feeling the soreness in his shoulders but no real pain. They had definitely healed, but the skin would probably be a little lumpy forever.

Charlie subconsciously bit the corner of his lip with his canine as he picked up a moss covered rock about the size of his fist. It was a dull grey, with small shiny areas if you tilted it correctly in the sunlight. He really had missed out on a lot.

And all sound ceased.

Charlie looked up. Everything seemed normal. The sky hadn’t grown cloudy or dark, the trees hadn’t wilted into nothing, squirrels hadn’t dropped dead out of the trees. As he started walking again, he heard no crunching of the leaves under him.

“Hello?” He called out, hardly able to hear himself.

“Oh good, it’s working.” A voice, a familiar one, came from nowhere in particular. Charlie looked around desperately.

“What the f– oh no, no, no!” Charlie’s eyes went wide and his heart rate increased.

“Yep, that’s right! You didn’t think you got rid of us, did you?” The voice that definitely belonged to Hetch teased.

“Shut up, you’re not real. I’m imagining this.” Charlie could feel his heart in his throat. “Stop.”

“Now, Charlie, I have something I need to test real quick. I hope you don’t mind.”

Charlie took off, running as fast as he could in one direction. The lack of sound except for Hetch’s voice was just making everything worse.

Hetch sighed. “Are you running? It sounds like you’re running.”

“YES.”

“Alright. That’s not going to change anyth–”

“SHUT UP.”

“Charlie, this behavior is just going to make everything worse.”

“I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t–” Charlie was interrupted when he tripped over a rotting log, catching himself with his arms. The pain was only there for a moment, but he couldn’t help the tears that came to his eyes.

“Wait, one moment. There seems to be a… wardrobe malfunction … I’ll have to get back to you.” When Hetch went quiet, the sounds of the world were back again.

Charlie broke down.

—

Sneeg tapped on his arm, using his foot to gently rock the swinging bench he and Ranboo were sitting on. They were waiting for Charlie to come back from his walk.

A distant shout came from the woods, causing them both to jump.

“That was him.” Ranboo grabbed Sneeg’s hand and the two ran into the woods to find their brother.

Sneeg’s mind was racing as all the possibilities flashed through his mind. A panic attack, a broken ankle, maybe even a rabid animal, who knows?!

Sneeg’s grip on Ranboo tightened as Charlie came into view, sitting on a rock and tugging at his hair. He occasionally sobbed, seemingly unaware of the other two.

Sneeg approached. “Charlie? You okay, man?” 

Charlie looked up slowly to stare into his eyes, his breath hitching. He stood up and hugged Sneeg. “He– I h–” More sobs came out and he just cried.

“Hey, hey. Deep breaths,” Sneeg said, trying to keep Charlie from hyperventilating. Ranboo watched, fidgeting with his hands.

“He can talk to me.” Charlie whispered.

“Who- who are you talking about?” Ranboo gave Sneeg an anxious glance.

“Hetch. HETCH IS TRYING TO BREAK ME.”

Sneeg winced at the shouting, but rubbed Charlie’s back. “Tell us what happened,” he said, trying to keep a level voice.

Charlie was silent for a minute, then spoke. “Okay.”

—

Wilbur woke up when he wasn’t supposed to. He knew this because he was in a dark, cold, quiet room, and heard something coming from far away. It was an almost metallic banging sound. He blinked, his brain begging him to go back to sleep.

He subconsciously tugged at his choker as he got up from his bed. Why was he wearing a choker in his sleep? And why was he wearing casual clothes and not pajamas? Did he pass out drunk again? No, that couldn’t be it. He had promised Tommy–

Tommy. Where was Tommy? Where were his parents? Where was he? Wilbur looked around the room, immediately noticing it only had three walls. Outside of that was… someplace else. He stepped closer and looked out. The area looked like a combination of a filming set and an empty mall.

“Hello? Anyone?” He called out. His voice echoed. No response.

Was he dreaming? Was this some stupid nightmare? He tried to remember what he did before falling asleep. All that appeared in his mind were blurry images of two people, and then a dim memory of something bleeding.

Wilbur left his ‘room’ and began to walk through the rest of the set, passing a living room, kitchen, and other bedrooms.

Beginning to move faster, he left the area and found an unmoving escalator. He looked around frantically before hurrying down it. He needed to leave.

He ran through the mall, but stopped abruptly when he almost crashed into someone. They wore a mask, white with a familiar design on it. Wilbur knew he’d seen it before.

“Uh… lovely night, huh?” He asked nervously. “Where’s the exit?”

They didn’t respond, simply grabbing his arms.

“Hey, what are you–” Wilbur stopped speaking as they pressed the button on the back of his choker. His eyes began to close and he felt his mind go foggy.

His body went limp, arms holding onto him.

Chapter Text

The moment Techno had found Showfall on a map, Ranboo knew what he had to do. It hardly took any thought, really. The sleepy haze that always seemed to accompany their thoughts nowadays had vanished.

Their plan was only partially thought out and they were scared, but they had to do it. After all, weren’t they the hero?

Ranboo was curled up on the couch, occasionally glancing at his brothers, who were asleep next to them. Charlie wouldn’t sleep or be alone anymore, worried that the moment he was by himself Hetch would sneak into his mind. It was a horrifying thought, and it didn’t help that Charlie refused to give details.

There were bags under Sneeg’s eyes and his brow was creased even in his sleep. He held onto Charlie’s hand tightly.

Ranboo stood up and shuffled out of the living room, making their way to the stairs. A light was on up there, and they could hear Tommy’s voice.

Once they reached the top, they went down the hall and quietly knocked on the door before opening it. Techno was lacing up his boots and Tommy was holding a baseball bat. They stared at Ranboo, Tommy frozen in place. So they had the same idea.

“Hey,” Ranboo spoke quietly. “I’m coming with you.”

When they quietly went downstairs, Techno went into the bathroom to get the first aid kit. He mumbled something about being low on bandages before taking the others outside. He went to a shed and grabbed an axe. Ranboo blinked. Well, if Tommy and Techno were bringing weapons, it wouldn’t hurt to get his own.

Tommy went inside and when he came back, he handed Ranboo a small knife with a sheath. They attached it to their belt, ignoring the slight sick feeling they were starting to feel.

The drive was mostly quiet. Ranboo sat in the back, bouncing their leg and picking at their nails.

After about an hour, Tommy spoke. “I’m gonna kill Wilbur when we get there.”

Techno said nothing. Ranboo was scared of him. His silence and the fact that he looked strong enough to punt Ranboo was more than intimidating.

The plan was fairly simple. Get in, fend off security, grab Wilbur, and run. Ranboo knew so many things could go wrong, so they just prayed for the best. There wasn’t much else they could do.

He started to hold his own hand, pretending it was Sneeg or Charlie. Obviously they couldn’t bring them. He couldn’t stand to see either of them get killed again. If anyone had to die or get stabbed or dismembered at Showfall, it was going to be Ranboo.

But what about Tommy and Techno?

His anxiety shot up again. What if something happened? It would be worse than whatever could physically happen to Charlie and Sneeg, since they didn’t have those healing abilities.

They were beginning to have second thoughts about this whole thing.

As they opened their mouth to speak, Tommy’s phone rang. Ranboo watched as he fumbled for it.

“Shit. It’s mom.” Tommy looked from the screen to Techno.

“Ignore it,” Techno replied.

“But–”

“What are you gonna tell her? That, why yes, we are in fact putting ourselves in danger for no good reason? That we brought Ranboo with us? You know that wouldn’t help anything.”

“‘No good reason’? We’re trying to rescue our brother!”

“For the billionth time.” Techno scoffed.

“Just because you’ve given up on him doesn’t mean the rest of us have,” Tommy muttered. “And you haven’t either! You came here, didn’t you? You’re driving us right now.”

Techno didn’t respond.

Tommy’s phone went off again, and this time it was Phil calling. Tommy glanced at it a few times, but never picked up.

Ranboo rocked back and forth in his seat, regret settling in his stomach more and more.

—

When Charlie first woke up, his first thought was to shut off his brain and go back to sleep. He’d been doing that a lot. Ever since Hetch had started talking to him. He knew Hetch could somewhat hear his thoughts and talk to him, but it only happened when he was awake. It was safer this way.

He moved, feeling Sneeg’s arm around him. He reached out to grab Ranboo’s hand but only felt empty space. He opened his eyes and frowned when he didn’t see his sibling next to him.

Ranboo always slept awkwardly on the couch with them. Something was up. Were they okay?

He shook Sneeg. “Sneeg. Sneeg. Wake up, man.”

Sneeg opened his eyes slightly and put a hand to his face. “What’s up?” He muttered sleepily.

“Where did Ranboo go?”

Sneeg sat up. “What?”

“He’s not here.” Charlie grabbed his glasses and shakily put them on. One out of the two people he needed right now was gone.

“Maybe they’re in the bathroom or something. Let’s wait a few minutes. They’ll be back.” Sneeg took Charlie’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Charlie took a deep breath. “Okay.”

The room was uncomfortably quiet. If Hetch decided to talk to him or listen to him, he wouldn’t have noticed the world going silent at first. He moved to the windowsill, tapping it repeatedly to hear the sound it made. He was glad Sneeg didn’t question it.

A minute passed. Then another. And another. And another.

Finally, Charlie couldn’t stand it anymore. He stood up. “Can you look for him with me?” He asked, turning to Sneeg.

“Yeah, come on.”

All rooms downstairs were empty, including the garage. Maybe Ran was upstairs with Tommy and his brother. It… might make sense. They had finally found the abandoned mall where Showfall resided and had prepared directions.

As Charlie went up the stairs, he felt his heart sink. What if Ranboo had left? What if they died, or at least got as close to it as their body would allow?

Tommy’s bedroom was empty, confirming his fears.

“Shit, fuck, shit!” Charlie began to pace around the room.

Sneeg was saying something, but his voice had faded to quiet and another voice came out of nowhere.

“What’s the matter, Charlie?” Hetch asked.

—

Kristen had tried calling Tommy. And then Phil tried. Both times, there was no answer. They called a few more times, and Tommy either let it ring or pressed decline each time. Same results for calling Techno.

Charlie had insisted on being alone for a while, which added more stress to the situation.

Sneeg dug his nails into his arms, still blaming himself for everything. He should have woken up to stop Ranboo. He wasn’t even a heavy sleeper. Was he?

He sat on the couch, his head in his knees, trying to calm down and think rationally. But how could he when his sibling had gone on a suicide mission with two other people who wouldn’t answer their phones.

The only good option was to go after them. Apparently they’d left behind a marked up map with directions. All they need to do now is get in the car and chase after them. But who knows how close they are already? What if they’re already there?”

Charlie came into the living room, looking worse than earlier. His hair was a little messy and his eyes and nose were red. He looked at Sneeg blankly.

“You don’t look okay,” Sneeg said.

“Neither do you.”

—

As Techno opened the door, Ranboo kept a tight grip on the handle on their knife, preparing for the worst.

It opened quietly. The entrance looked completely empty, but Ranboo knew they shouldn’t trust it.

“Let me go first,” Ranboo said, glancing at Techno. “Please.”

“If you insist.” Techno stepped aside so Ranboo could go in.

Their footsteps had a slight echo. Not a security drone in sight. The three walked through the mall wordlessly, weapons at the ready.

Ranboo took a deep breath. Just get in, get Wilbur, and get out.

They repeated that in their head over and over.

They motioned for Tommy and Techno to follow him up the escalator. It was unsettling that nothing had happened. It felt so dead.

After some time of wandering, they came upon a set. It looked like most of a house, consisting of a living room, a kitchen, three bedrooms, and some mostly empty room that Ranboo couldn’t identify. They didn’t have a fourth wall. Just like the cabin. Ranboo shuddered.

And then someone came into view.

—

He looked… different. Happier, almost. Definitely less depressed. His hair was orderly, he had no eyebags, and a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. That’s what worried Tommy. Wilbur looked fixed and perfect, at least in comparison to how he’d been.

“Um, it’s a bit late. What are you doing here?” Wilbur asked, his voice soft as he smiled apologetically.

Tommy glanced at Techno, who looked as confused as he felt.

“Wilbur…” Techno said, his grip on his axe tightening ever so slightly.

“That’s my name, yes.” He looked at all the weapons. “Are you here to rob me?” He raised an eyebrow, not looking at all concerned.

“What are you saying? We’re here to take you home , dumbass!” Tommy said.

“I am home, though?”

Before Tommy could really process that, two people showed up behind Wilbur, one shorter with long dark hair, and the other… 

He tensed up. The other was Niki.

“Hello,” the long haired one said, smiling. “Do you know these guys, Wil?”

Wilbur blinked, looking from them to Tommy. He blinked a few times. “Um. N-no, I don’t. They kind of just showed up?”

Niki bit her lip. “Hmm.” She glanced at the weapons, but didn’t look worried. “Are they hungry? We have some leftover food from the bake sale.”

—

Ranboo’s breathing had definitely gotten heavier since Niki showed up. She was smiling just like she had when introducing herself on the carousel.

They hardly had time to react as she guided the trio to their kitchen. It looked a lot like it had been recycled from the cabin, which made the sick feeling in his stomach come back.

For some reason, no one was saying anything. It was quiet except for the fridge opening. Niki pulled out what looked like a cake pan.

“We have some leftover cake.” She set it down on the counter and smiled at them, her eyes glassy. Wilbur and the other person stood there idly.

Bile crept up Ranboo’s throat as he looked into the cake pan. First of all, it smelled absolutely disgusting. Second of all, it was soggy and green- no, red. Was that meat?

“Wh–” Ranboo fought back a gag. Tommy pushed past them to get a look himself.

“You’re hungry, aren’t you, Ranboo?” Niki said through her smile. “Or are you here for something else?”