Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"-and I will slime you later!"

Clickclickclick.

Charlie pressed the button to end stream and took a sip of his water. He had to end a little earlier so there was still time to get ready for tonight, but he didn't stream for too long anyways so he was sure his viewers wouldn't mind.

About an hour to go until he needed to be there; that was pretty good, honestly. He still needed to get changed and, y'know, actually get there, but that part wouldn't take too long. First he wanted to check the arrangement he had, though.

◯ Slimecicle Today at 23:59

Hey so am I still good to pick you up tonight?

◯ ranboo Today at 23:59

sorry late response was messing with moonzt but yes if its still alr!

◯ Slimecicle Today at 23:59

No worries I'll be there >:)

He put down his phone and stretched his hands over his head before he stood up from the desk. Being in LA was great, it was good to be able to hang out with everyone in person, going out for dinner tonight sounded like it would be really fun! Nothing too fancy, although admittedly the place they'd be going was a little fancy. Meeting up with everyone would be worth it, though. He had a small headache, but it would probably clear up by the time he got there.

What should he wear for it, though? Charlie hopped up the stairs and pushed through the door to his room, sighing as he tugged his wardrobe open. It was so hard to decide when it was kind of a formal event. He was gonna be among friends, so it didn't really matter- he was sure they wouldn't mind even if he came in a shirt and jeans, but he'd rather give the impression he put some effort in.

Oh, that was weird- was this shirt a little-

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There was only one shirt in his closet, a grey top with a little pocket and no design. It was perfect for something like this. Not too casual, but not overly fancy either.

He finished putting the new shirt on, but quickly froze as he heard something moving around downstairs.

There wasn't anyone staying in his house right now.

Oh no.

Charlie crept up to his door, peeking through into the upstairs landing and at the top few steps that were still visible from this point. There wasn't anything out there, but he continued hearing the occasional bump and step downstairs, even clearer now that he was closer to the door. Oh god. Not good.

What did he do now? Did he call the police? But then he'd be dealing with them and he was too tired and his head was throbbing, plus he'd end up being too late to pick up Ranboo and Moonzy- wait, was that really more important right now, what if this guy was here to kill him?!

Probably not, he's probably just getting robbed, which is still pretty bad actually, but not quite as bad. Wait, maybe it's a bird or something, he left some downstairs windows open, so it could've gotten in through there! He could check first, at least. If it was just some animal there was nothing to worry about, none of his plans would be delayed, everything would be good. If it was an animal. Which he really, really hoped it was.

Charlie took a breath, stepping cautiously towards the banister and leaning over it to steal a glance downstairs. There wasn't anything he could see from here, but the noises continued.

"...hello?"

A chittering noise came from downstairs and Charlie was immediately relieved. Well, not really. There was still an animal in his house, but at least it wasn’t someone with a knife coming to kill him or something.

But yeah, he should still probably try to get the animal out.

He walked down the stairs cautiously, but a bit less scared then he’d been before.

He peeked into the kitchen and the first thing he saw was two beady black eyes and ragged ears sticking out of his open trash. He had to admit, it was pretty cute, but Charlie was still terrified at the implication that a wild animal had gotten into his house. 

“H-hey, c’mon, buddy, get outta there. Please?”

Charlie resisted the urge to name it, since he didn’t want to get attached. It was definitely a Pablo, though.

It was weird though, he didn’t know raccoons lived in this part of LA. Maybe he’d ask someone who’d been here longer when he arrived for dinner.

Pablo just looked at him before quickly grabbing a can of coke and directly at Charlie.

Charlie, who had very much not been expecting this, quickly fell to the ground as Pablo ran past him to somewhere else in the house. Shit, that would have to be a problem for later. He pulled out his phone and checked the time. 

11:59

“Shit..” he mumbled, quickly picking himself up and running to the door. He was supposed to pick up Ranboo and Moonzy at 17:30, and Charlie was already 3 minutes late. How the hell had time passed so quickly without him noticing? 

Before leaving the kitchen he went over to the cupboard and popped an Advil. Hopefully his headache would clear up by the time he arrived.

He felt like he could barely hear the car starting as he turned the keys, but he felt the rumble and pressed down on the pedals to get it into action.

The drive to Ranboo's house seemed to pass without happening, if that made any sense. Not in the sense of ‘his mind was too busy with other stuff so he got lost in his thoughts’, moreso that he blinked as soon as he started up the car and suddenly he was there. Damn, maybe taking the Advil wasn’t the best idea. But it would be fine, everything would be-

"Hey, Charlie, you made it!"

Moonzy's voice was enough to make him jump pretty noticeably despite being muffled through the glass.

"Oh shit, sorry, shoulda tapped or something," Moonzy laughed and let themself in to the back seats. Charlie froze as he heard a clickclickclick from the back of the car before Ranboo got in from the other side.

"W-what was that?" Charlie asked him, trying to keep his voice steady.

"What was what?” 

Charlie blinked. “I- I dunno. Nevermind.”

"Alright, then. So are we all ready?" Ranboo asked.

"Yeah dude, let's just go eat!" Moonzy excitedly announced and Charlie laughed along with them.

"Yeah, let's go!" he got the car moving and they were all on the way again.

He couldn’t explain it but… there was something itching at the back of his mind. Like there was something he’d forgotten. Maybe it was just the situation with Pablo this morning. God, he’d have to call pest control or something after-

"clickclickclick"

“FUCK-” Charlie slammed on the brakes. It was coming from behind him, it came from right fucking behind him.

"Whoa- hey, you good, dude?" Moonzy started a little annoyed as she'd been thrown at the back of Charlie's seat, but then turned to concern as they wondered why they'd braked at all. 

"I- raccoon. I saw it- run across, I mean, it ran across, so I- fuck, sorry. Fuck."

Ranboo exchanged a glance with Moonzy, "I guess we don't wanna crash into anything on the way, don't worry about it."

Charlie was worrying about it, "yeah, I won't," something about that noise seemed so fucking familiar and it only made his head hurt more thinking about it. He felt like he was forgetting something important .

But he straightened his back and continued driving. It was fine. He was just being paranoid. 

God, this felt like the worst outcome for this night.

Charlie parked the car. They were at the restaurant.

"I think Yakko and the rest are already there, we can probably just head in," Moonzy told them. The three got out of the car.

"You alright?" Ranboo checked.

"What? Yeah, I’m fine, why wouldn’t I be?" he nodded to them. Ranboo and Moonzy nodded back, and Charlie avoided their faces as he followed them inside.

This really was quite a nice place; it was fairly busy tonight, sounds of chatter, clicking, and cutlery filling the space, almost to the point it was overwhelming. At least the lighting was dim, reminiscent of candlelight with all the red décor, but that then made it a bit more of a struggle to locate his friends.

Someone waved to him and he traced down the arm to see it belonged to Quackity.

He grabbed the last seat- of course he was last to get there, ugh- and sat down. But he'd made it, at least. This was going to be a completely normal night. Charlie tried to ignore the pounding in his head and all of the feelings of deja vu and how something kept telling him he’s been here before.

"Hey, how's it going, Charlie?" Yakko patted his shoulder as a greeting from the seat beside him. Ranboo was on his other side, and around the rest of the table was Moonzy, Quackity and Grizzly.

Charlie laughed in a deliberate attempt to be casual, "yeah, LA's good, I've been alright."

"I think we've all formed a chronic escape room addiction," Grizz informed Quackity.

But Charlie couldn’t really hear them over the buzzing in the back of his head, like a whole colony of wasps had made a hive in his brain. Something was wrong, something was wrong , he had to get out, he had to-

c̷̢̧̬̥̙̞̳̪͉̖̲̲̠̦̼͊̎̎́̀̈́͠l̶̡̜͖̗̘͖̞̅͆̍ī̶̡͍̱̍c̸̨̨͔̘̙̤̻͔͆̊̌̋̉k̴͚̼̾̆͛̕͝ ̷̜̱̤̤̗̣͍͔͋͛̀̈̉̍̿͛̍̑̾̕̚c̶͈̹̟͂k̴̹̳̎̊͊͐͑̆̽c̶̒ͅk̶̨̨͚̖͖̤̦̫̣̘͙̿̉͜ͅc̷̡̛̩͍͎̻̲͈̻̈́́͐k̷̩̯̤̫̗̯͇̫͈̬̈̏̀̈́́c̷̛̙͍̯̖̻͈͌̀̄̔̈͑̔̍͊́͛̕͘͜͜k̶̡̈́́́̕ ̸̡̞̤̫͍̀̃͛͌̔̀̿̒̅͋̊̃̎̈́͜ç̴͔̬͙͇͎̪̮̗̦̥̞͍̬̆͌͛̍̾̚͝ḱ̵̼͎͕̲̮̹̂͗ċ̵͚k̴̞̰͔̲̈́̉̈́̈͘͜ ̴̨̡̺̙̜̟̥͛́̆̔͒͑͝ć̷̥̰̤̪̼̈́̉̽͗͑͂͊̾͛̿̚k̶̬̪̜͕̖̈́̿̚c̵̢̺̠̦̜̓̅͐͗͌͊̃́̓̋͝k̴͓̜̖͚̱̘̭̼̊̅̀̉̾͠c̵̨̨͓͔͖͈͙̯͚̘̑̒̐͜k̵̦͉͍͔͚̝̟͙̫̕̕ ̴̧̧̧̼͍̝̲͙̠̘̹̫̯̚ͅ.̸̡̻̯̫̜̤͍̖̯͇̘̠͙̈͑̑̿̇͛̂̾̎̑͆͐̕͝ͅ ̷̫̟͕̯̓͂̀̈́̏͛̀̋͝c̵̡̘̠̫̫͇͓̟̎̽͝k̸̢̲̼̥̻̤̝͈̟̟̻͈͒̉̊̂̔̍̕̚c̶̡̧͖̞̟̰̥̮̙͎͙̠͓̗̎̃̃̈̃̈̅̽̓̉̕k̴̘͈̰͖͑̈́̎̓̓̑̓̌͘͝ ̶̻͉͍͖̦͔̟̔́́̈͐́̇̐̔̎͘͘ĉ̶̛̗̠̞̳͙̗̝̞̳̮̪͓͈̗͌̑͋̊̏̏̈͊͜͝ǩ̸̢̨̡̞͈̘̠̪͙̳̍͂̿̂̓̔͗͛̚͠͝ć̵̨̬̪̜͇͍̗͎̳͇̥̪́͑ͅķ̵̨̛̯͂͑͌̀͐͂͌͑̆̑̋́͒c̶͎̙̪͎̰̈́̇̈́̃̓̊̋̅̎ͅͅk̵͎̰͌̆͒̈͆̈́́̐̄̈́̽̈́͘ ̴̘͙͉̜̯̱͎̰̞̦̞͙̭̐̓̽̈́̔̋͒͜͜͝.̴̡̪͕͔͙͔͙̯̄̏̀̂̽̔̉͝ ̵̙̩́̆̓̏̈͑̌̽̌͠ç̴͓͙͚͇͋̆̆̏̐̐̕͜k̶̛̛̹̼̥͙͗̓͆̿̎̈́̚c̸͍̺̤̻̞͌l̷͍̪̟̗̼̝͒̆̈́̃́̅͐́̏͊̒̿͝ĭ̵̧̧͖̫͙͕̹̘̬̤͖̻̬͑̆̆̅̑̒͜͝͠ĉ̵̠͗͛͛̏̇́̂̚ḱ̶̭̤̝̩̞̭͚͐̚č̸̡̛̥̹̞̰̀͐͗̈́͆̊͘̚͝l̶̨̨̯̩̲͙̼͔̫̼̦̏̃̇i̵̧̯͎̠̗͚̖͔̥̯̿̎̓͗̆̈͗̊͘͠c̵͓̖̗̳̫̙͚͓̘̏̈͋͒̀͒̚̚k̷̬̖̪̜̱͉̫̀ ̸̡̨̢̢̗̘̹̝͇̫̰̬̭̹̒́̾̓̉̐́̐͂͋̾̕͠c̷̢̢̱͚͔͍̣͓̤̻͚̝̥̉͝k̷̨̰̠̭̝̻͈͔̬̠̬̠̠͔̮͌̋͂̔̂̓̓̀̓̇̆̒ć̶̨̝͕̹̙̔̕ķ̷̠̼͛̎̀͛́͆̿̀͛̓̆̌̕c̵̨̳̯͚̺͇͛̂̈́͊͂̌̊̄̄͛̀̈́̒k̴̙̫̩̭͒̀̃c̸̛͕̍͑͌͑̔̑͑̑̅͌͛̚͘͝k̴̻̖̍̍̐͐̇̌͌ ̸͙̼̝̮̥͋̂̃̓̐̉̀̂̓͋̑͛̕c̴̢̧̥̫͓̠̮̰̰̻͆̇̉͊̊͌̿̊̕͘̚͝k̶̖̦̩̪̀̔̇͊̐̊̍̌͘̚͝c̴̗͔̠̘̚l̴̯͚̖̟̞͓̟̲̜̻͕̻̣̕͜ͅį̴̯͖̖̬̳̯̟̬͌ḉ̷̢̹̲̻̭̰͇̤̭̠̺͕̫̈̈̔̉̊̅̄̈́̌̚̕ḱ̸̢̜̯̝͖̞͓̗̬̻̱̖̣̙̄ͅ ̴̢̧̢̢̡̛͖̠̥̪̭͚͈̱̟̝̅̾͑͌͌͒͑̈́̀̉̋̔͠ç̷̧͈̝̹̘̠̪̹̬͓̒̊͑̓͗̂ĺ̸̮͙̘̙͕͕̼̈́͌͆́̈̒̃̾̈̓ì̷̡̛̘̫͍͉̖̱̀̎̐̌̾̐̓́̊̕c̶̢̣̟̥̘̝̭͇͙̞̮̹̊̓̆̄̽͗́̒̀̓͠k̷͉͙̮͇̲̃͛͐͊̐̚ ̸̞̟̝̣̫̘̙̩̞̣̂̾͂͌̿̇̆͝.̸̖͔͕͉̌́̅ ̵̢̻̣̱̝̠̹͕̘̺̠̯͙̊͐͐̀̓̈́̔́̒͑̓͜͜c̵̫̰͐̇̌̈́̒͛̿̂͠l̵̢̡̪̦͙̱̭͚̻̤̹͙̣̂̇̃̄͂͐̒̃́̑͜i̷̧̭̤̖̯̤̦̥̳͗͋̑̆́͆̋̿̚͠͝͠ͅç̸͈̞͂́̍̾̓̒̌͊̔͝k̸̛̛̛̞̫͕̹͓̪̱̬̈́͗̅̔̔̑̇̆̀̊̂̕c̸̼̫̗̻̝̟̘̍̍̌̄͑̈̾͝͝k̷̻͓̝͉͕̪͙͚̩͌̔̋̓̊͆̍͐͜c̴̢̛͚͕͎͇̟̲͕͑̔͒͋̀͛̚͜ĺ̷̟̖̻̲̱̲͈͈͍̲̼̝̼͕͙͑̄̄͒̾͋̄́̈́̕ḭ̸̧̬̗̭̻͇͉͎̣̜̽̉͋͑̍̒͑́́̈͗̈́̓̔͝c̷̢̢̛͎͈͙̘̠͈̪͖͈͈̤͎̆̇͐̀̑̍͠k̶̠͌c̶̨̭̞͇̺̐͗͊l̴̜͉̬̖̟͚̞͒͌̔̋̀̆̃̎͋̽̂̇̚i̴̠̣̋́͂̈́̒̾̿̈́̏̾̐̑͝͠ͅc̷̢̛͎͖͚̜͚̤͕̫͉̄̌͐͜k̸̤̩̼͉͚̹̬̎͛̒̈́̂̚͘ ̷̭͍̠̠̥̹͔͊̾̈́̊̾̍̾ç̴͙̣̟̝̜͔̳̳͖͖̯̺͆̽̂͋̀̀l̸̗̭̦̟̮̑̍͆̿̋̒͂̏̓̚ͅī̵̡̡̱̱̰͔̱̬̯̗͈̣͍͎̇͋̀̅̆͒̂̀̋͝c̵͉̿̽͛͋k̸̢̢̥̞̹̬̭̥̓͛̑̉̓́͠ç̵͈̳̱̦̹̪̼͔̀̿ḽ̷̬̄̕̚į̵̢̛͍̰͇̼̳̩̳͕͓̼̲̻̆͊͑̓͑̽͆͝c̶͍̻̜͍̜͈̩̓̂̓̑͗̀̔̐͋̀̚̕͘̚k̷̛͓̣̫͍̏̅͛̀̀͐̃ͅć̴̨̨̼͎̼̘̗̹͙̪̤͈̫̕l̴̛̹̙̜͚͉̼͈̱̘̟͔̣̻̲̓̋̏͜i̷̢̩͔̜̳̜̘̙̼͍͖̟̩͚̖͋̍́̃̐̏̾̚c̷̣̯̯̥̪̯͕̙̰̳̦̲͊̀̚̚͜ķ̷̛̪̻͎̱̪̼̬͔̼͊̅́̿ ̶̧̨̜̠͈̼͉̙͉͚̟̗̮͕͂̅͒ͅc̶̬̣̤͒̈̔́͐̈́̽̐͝k̵͕̪̝̅͌̓̄̅̈́͗͑͐̌͂̿̈͊̕c̴̨̘̯̣̻͚̏̄̌͛̌͗̓͌̄̏͝k̵̢̧̮̣̜̗͔͓̞̻̦̣̿̒̉̒̈̉͊̑̇͝͝͝c̴̹͔͇̰̦͇̯͎͍͒͛̈l̴̨͈̺̻̫̳̲̞̼͓̦͛̈́͂̎͐͂̊̍̍͘̕į̵̛̰͉̤͂͑̋̀̈́̓̏̾͐͆̊̌͒̕ć̵̨̛̩̪̺̗͉̲͙̹̼̫̲̗͈́͌̓̉k̶̡̗͈̣̭̠̥̞͓̱̲̈͂̏͛͐͒͗̓̎ ̶̩̯̺̲̑̓̂́̿̀ͅ.̷̦̖̽̈̍͆̓͂̄̏ ̸̱͖̅̃͌̑̈͌͠c̶̝͙̝̮͇͕̮͈̜͙͇͙͇͋̇̏̌͋̽̿͝k̷̛͈͖̔͑̍̿̈́́͘͠c̷̤͖̲̦͙͖͈̊̄̈́̅͑͊̓ļ̸͚͕̭̜̙̱̖̔́̒͛̓͑̉̈͐̑̒͘̚į̴̛͎̼̻̼̠̩̬̰͚̗̥̥̣̾̀̚c̴̡̟̩̗̗̣̪̦̩̲̰̟̗̐͐ͅͅk̶̝̻͕̦͈̟͉̆̊͑͝ć̵͙̀̍̐̓̒̓͛l̸̨̩̰͈͍̱͎͇̫͙̗͈̜̒͜͜ḯ̶̡̫̞̽̎̆̾͛̃̀̅̇͝c̴̢̲͍̯̼̦̱͖̰͇̟̭͕̻̈́͐͑͌͑̏̀͋͝͝ķ̸̨̭̳͍͎͇̪͕͔͓͙͙̖̰͗̐̏̄̌̂̓̒́ ̴̨̡̜̩̪͍̼̜͚̤̱͊̾͊̓͊̔̀̎̄̀͐͝͝ͅͅc̶̛̛̩̟̰̏́͐̐̈́̑̅͂̔̽͠ḵ̶̨͚̭̳̲̂̿̎̀͆̎͗͗̇͂ç̶̯͚̘̝̫͇͖̦̫̭̥̟̐̒ľ̸̯̞̱̣̖̮̰͎̜̞̞̦̗̊̿͌̌̓į̷̛͇̤̫̿͗̈́̽͒̓͗̈́͝c̵̦͍̼͍̹̺͔̗̹̱͔̳̦̒k̸̰͍̖̟̟͍͚͂̔̆̓̈̾̿̂͐̓͐̈́̈́̚ ̵̧̢̭̹̮̝͙̦͇́͐̇͒̍̋́̄̌͆͐͌ĉ̴͉͙͕̭̬̮͓̗̙͓͉̹̐̓͝ľ̸̞͍̮̮̭͙̙̬͎̙̳̭͙͓̍͛̊̔̚ï̸̢̜͖͉̪̭͐͌̄͑̓͠c̴̛̱̰̔͛͒̕k̸̪͎͍̣̟̈́͒͘̚c̷̨̠̩̟̙̈́̓̆͝ͅḱ̶̛͓̤͊̊̑ͅ ̷̨̺̹͇͉̲̯̠͐̏̒̍͋͌͠c̵̹̤͖͚̼͈͓̞̖̤̺̪̬͂͒́́̑ḻ̸̨̧̛̻̟̘̼̞̙̠̙̫̻̊̈́͗͛̒̓̍̉͜͜í̴̪͇͂̔̿͂̈́̓͗̃͌̈́͘c̵̬̞̮̜̦͚̮̙͑̎͗k̸̢̥̙̹̭̺̺̞̯̰̏̌̐̉̋̚͜͜͝ ̷̗̫́̂̏́c̸̡̓̾̐̀͌ḱ̴̡̙̟ ̷̣̫̊̈́͑̀͐c̵̦̭͎͓̖̲̙͚̗̩̆̿̍̔̉̀́̿ͅͅl̵̗̈́̂̈́ͅi̵̢̡̨̲̘̗̙̤̰̠̩̜̭͐͆́͌̑̇̈́͌̑̑̿͗̕ͅc̵̗̟̪̑̐̅͌́͠k̶̨̛̛͆̒͑̌͋́̎͝c̸̻̻̝̮̗͐̅̄̍̆͑̈́̈́k̸͍͉͖̤͕͖͕̘͔̺͊͗́͌̇c̸̪̙̬̬̳̯̼͓̬͚̫̺̦̖͈̽͘ķ̶̢̡̨̬̯̝͔͍͎̝̽̄̒̊̏͌̕ ̶͖͚̪̪̲̹̝͚̩̦͎̒̌̎̍͜͜ͅc̵̨̡̛̥̣̭̺̘̝̫̝̼̗͈̐̄̈́̀͊̃͋͝k̵̛͓̩̻̗͔͓̱̝̞̎̎̐̾̔̽̚c̵̛̦͍̤͚̝͇̦̳̹͍̺͚͐̀̒̈́̌̊̿̍͑͘͘͜͝͝͝ͅl̶͓͆͗͠ͅi̷͙̩̳͓̣̫̭̾̈̔͆̏̃̏̆͒̎̾͛̚c̵̢̘̤̠̱͇̞̝̼̺̄͛̀̄̓͝ͅḵ̴̪̱̭͍͂̿̂̔͝ͅc̵̣͔̦͆̐̃͂͗̑͛̀͐̌͋̑̏̚k̵̢̭̝͛̂̈́̌̽̑̈c̸̢̢̹̙͎͍̯̪͓͚̘͒̉̈́̇̈͊͒̈́̄̑̈͝͝l̶̮͚͎̑̈́́̿̾̐͗͠i̶̛̫̭̟͍̗̭̥͕̼̬̬̝͓̎́͜͝͝ç̷̛̺̞͉̮̿̎͒̀̄̌͊͗̔̾̈k̷̙̀̔̂̓̾̓̊̋́c̴̢̨̨̛̛̼̜̘̤̰̤̼̳̗͙͖̑̃̀͂̂̚k̸͙̠̙̻͙͙̙̜̞̳̝͍̞̫̱͗̉̀͗̌̾̉̅̀͌̍̚c̷̡̡̦͖̦̹̹̖̗͋͋̉l̷̘̱̙̯͌͑̑͛̋͝į̴̥͕̙͎̩̲̣͎̐̔͛͝c̶̙̞̟̫̉̋̑̇̎́͊̓̉̆̉̒̃̃͠k̸̩̣̺̮͍̬̼̖̞͖̀͂͒̿̉̈́̋͝͝ ̷͔̳͋̉̀̐̔̅͆̋̈́.̸̢̤͓̘̣̬͍̗͉͛͊͋̇̕͝ ̷̛̼͈̼̠̝͌̊̃͠c̸̢̢̥̀̾̈́̽̾̋̋̿͝k̷͕̕c̵̢̧̛̳͈̘̲̮̬̼̟͉͜l̶̨̨̨̘͚̘̙̀̀͑̏͑́̄̈̑́̚̕͘͜͠͠į̷̠͍̺̼̩͍̊͊̏͆͆̃͌̀͜͜͠ͅc̴̱̈́̆̅́́͗͘ķ̴͇̥͉̗̘̘̫̠̊̈́̈́̅̈̀ͅͅč̷̬̩̟̪̱̝̬͔̰̻̩̞̂̃̂̌̂͑̌̑͝l̷̺̞͓̥̹͙͈͎̘̝̳̐̿i̶̧͈͔̦͎̦̣̤̮͇̻̰͚̙̐͒̃́̎̏̊̑̌̓̕͜ç̶̯̜̘̐̈́̀̿͝k̶̖̺̩̠̤̼̳̮̯͊̀͗̋́͐́͌͆̄̕̕͠ ̷̟̲̝͐͒ć̶͇͎̼̺̜̹̈́́͑̎̈́͒̈́̒̒͘͝ͅǩ̶̙͓̝͚̪̬̥͇̓̏͛̇̅̾͌̌́̋̒́́͘ͅ ̶̹̦̝̼͋͋̌͂̾̋̈͑͗͂̇̅͝.̸͈̙̱̥͚̺̝̌͜ͅ ̴̢̧̲̟͎̣̱̬̩͖̦̈́̑̎̃̂́̕͠͝c̷̹͙̯̬͎͑̓̾̿̃͋̑̿̕͝k̸̨̨̡͚͖͙̱̰̞̤͈̰̰͎͈̿̋̉̏̈́̋̆̉̈́͋̽̒͘͝c̶͔̙̀l̵̛̙̭͈͈̬̟̖͐̈́͐̓̊̓̈́̿͋̐͑̾̋ͅį̷̡̛̘̣̮̒̇̃́c̸̮̥̼̻͂k̷͓̟͉̟̞̙͆̉̈́́̔͐ͅ ̸̨̭̣̀c̶̫̘̥̗̱̫̻͇̱̥̜͔̲̙͂͊̑̐̕k̸̤̤̍̄͝ç̴̧̓̎̆͆̓̏̄̈͐̏͂̂̄̐̇ḻ̵͈̭̃̎̾̈́͋͛i̸̳͖̬̪̰̲̖̪̅̓̿̈́̀̃̉̒͌͑̾͝͝͝c̷̢̨̬̮͚͙͈̻͇̻͐̄̂̏̓͂͊̏̄͜͜͠͝k̸͙̠̯̺͓̬̼̙̼͖̉͐̀̇͊̋̾̏̅͋̅̀̚͠͝ͅc̸̢̨̻͎̙̝̪͓̲̹͇̯͍̑̀̆̽͒͗̽̒̿̅̌̓̃k̶̘̣̆̀͛́͑̇̂̓̔̃̌̇̅̕͝ ̴̙̜̄͌̿͊͒̏̉͝c̴̡̟̣̘̗̟͔͙̱͎̤̼̬̈́͂̔͊̑͆̄ͅḱ̵̗͓̩̙̰̟̣̘̑̓̌̀̽͌̚͘̕͠͠͠ͅ ̶̟͉̏͑ͅ.̸̱̘̠͉̪̘̺͒́̃͆̌̇̊̒̇̽͝ ̵̡̫̜̹̬͙̮͐́̑̌̃c̸͍̻͇̙̺̫̞̹͎̟̦̃̋͋̆̏͊l̸̢̦͈̠̬̻̝̱̲͕̏͊͆͛̀͒͝ī̴̡̢͖̗̦̭͜͜͠ç̵͎̜̯̻̹̥̖̳͉̱͚̪͚̑̒͛̆̽̚̚͜k̵̰̓̐̉̐̏̍̑̏͂͂̕ ̸̢̜̣͖̼̤̭̥̳͊̎̂̈́́͆͒̆͗͠ͅc̵̼͐͋̑ḱ̷̨̟͓̟̅̒͂̄̽̃̃c̴͈̭͈̣̱̤̹͕̲̺͙̾͑́͆̚̚̚ĺ̶̠̻̝̫̞̺̟̱̇͂̃͝ȋ̴̧͕͙̫̰͙̗͌͋c̵̨̛̛̱͙̗̝̮̝͚͙̎͒̀̃̒̌̂̾̅̈͊̓͝k̵͚̤̻͙̺̦̃̇̏͜͝c̵̛̰̮̘̀̒̓͐̅͋̋̎̎̈́̀̈́̕͝k̵̛͚̀̉͌͛̋̊̍̈́̒͋̐̆̋̚ ̶͕͗̋̆ç̸̻̯̈́l̷̨̧̖͖͖̠̜̻̝͛͛͌̾͂͑̕͘ȋ̷͇̩̾̎̑̃̏̾͝c̸̡͚̫͖̤̺͓̝̃̌̃͐̓͑̐̏͜k̸̨̰͎͇͎̪̲̥̫͙̳̀̎̆́̀͛̈́̽̒̋̀c̸̛̻̤̼̰͊͑̾̏̃̾̑̑̓̌̏̒͘͝k̸̲̞͖̺͋̄̐̀̓̿c̸̨̤̻̪̖̥̘͓̱̋̈́́͂̈́̄̑͒́̒͝ĺ̴̺͔̬̣i̷̡̨̻̰͓͙̮̔̈́̍͑̏̽̊̆̆̆̒̕͘̕̕c̴̡̡̛̛̣͈̩̼͖̜̖͕͗̍͐̐̓͌̚̕͝k̴̨̘̜̪̙͓̜͇͔͉͝c̴̛͎̎̾͊̔̎̂͐́̉̃͝l̴̬̂̇̈́̎̒́̀̓̂̿̈́̈́̚͠î̵̛̲̔̍̊͐̚ç̶̫̦̞͇̦͍͆͆̓̀̆͆̎̽̇̑͐͗͠k̵͓͕̙͕̇̄̉̋̓́̆̋͗͗͝ ̷̼̟̫̘̉́̐͛ĉ̵͎̝̋̐̉̃͌̔̋̈́̐̚k̷̘̼̖̠̤̑̎̏́̓͆̓̕c̷̡̡̧͕̰̮̩̺͖̪͉͕̗͎̅͐͊̔͋̿̃̚ḵ̴̻̞̤͉̯͈͋̅͐̈́͜ ̸̼̺͚̦͍̩͆̾̈̌̆͂̆͘͠͠c̸̢̨̛̯͎̜̼͚͎͍̟̳̪̉͋̒̒͜ͅl̸̛̟̄̓̓̽͊̐̐͌̑ḭ̶̦͉̭̳͙̥̠̖͂̊̋̃̎́̋͛̏̈́͊ͅç̴̲̤͈̠͓͚̱̜͉̮͊̕ķ̶̢̠̪͕̯̒̑̀̊̐̊̂̂̃̂̾̄c̷̢̦̤͙̦͍̫̮̻͚̝͇̯̳̥̃̀̒̀͒́̒́͝k̸̘͔̓̐̊̐́̆̀̄̊̓̚͜͝ ̸̧͕̼̥̠͓̬̥̼̮̝̤̋͛̾͒͘͜͠ç̶̰̻̬̱̠̲̥̜̲̦͙͔̞̋̔̈͗̒̆̈́͒͋́̚͝͝ͅl̸̛͎̯̭̭͔͙̭͉͚̙͈̮̂́ͅi̷̥͉̲̖̺̰̙̭̺̗̝̮͖̓̉̐̅̉̑͝c̵̢͍̭͇̤͆̿̆̉͆̐̊́͘͘͝͝͠͝ͅķ̷͈̹̺͔̞̦̓͌̆͐̈̀̚̕̚c̶̟̣͍̟̺̱͔͕̦͙͇̤̥͕̓̈́̎̉̈́̋̋̇̌͗̚͠͠͝l̸̛̠̯̰̐͌ͅi̴̡̺͍͇͉̗̤͉͓͇̎̒̈́̊̽̈́̍͆̒͆͒́͗̔͘c̵̰͎͖̦̼̖̋͗͐̐̈͆͒͗̈͝ͅk̵̮̍̂̇͂͠͝͝c̸̜̲̜͆͆͌͋͐̓̔̇͝͠k̵̤̮̊̆̊̈́̀̇̌́͆͘͝ ̸̢̨̢̯̮̣̥̱̗̊̄̑̈́̈́́̌͜.̶̨̡̛͕͕̲̱̫͉̭̰͛̌͑ ̶̢̡͕͚̗̝̺̦͈͑̐̓̆̏͘ͅc̷̢̘̤͍̈̇͋̎̏́͘͠l̷̢̡̧̜̮͔̟͙̱̣̬̮̬̜̉̃̑͛͂̒̌̌̑̽̒̄̈́͝͠ḭ̷͗̍̈̿́̓̈̐̇͘c̷̛̯͖̻͉̖͖̮͇͑̏̒̃ͅk̴̤̓͗͑̐̑͠ ̵̨̪͉͙͕̭̞͙̦̙͍̍̍̈́̾̃̃̓c̷̨̹̰͓̠̻͕̼͔̩̰͓̈́͆͑̏͊̃̃̕͘̕͝l̴̞̗̞͙̽͊̒̍ǐ̴̡̨̗̮͕̭̭̞̜͋̃̎ç̵͉̟͒̃̈́͂͆̊̀̌̃̇͜k̸̛̹̲̐͋c̶̘̙̗̦̗͍̠̼̼͓͍͛̐̌͋̃̅̏͝l̷̦̳̠̻͔͔̃̐͗̈̒̅̏̆̐̾͐̕͝ï̶̢̨̲̜͔͎͉̎̈́̃̽̊͆͘c̸̨̡̢̛̱̺͖̤͚̟̞̹͑̅̒͐̔̈̉̓͒̒͝͠͝k̸̮̋͐͝c̵̛̛̝̩͖̝̭͂̅̽̇́̑͘̕l̷̳͕͔͎̤͇̱̩͔̜̲̥̿͛ͅi̷͔̟͕̟̫̝̤̟̓͆̀̍ç̷͉̤̦̰͈̤͖̒̽k̸̢͚̪͙̖̝̣̹̙̯̠̘͓͎̥̄́͋͑̉̀̚͝ ̷̛̛̗̩̳̺̮̯̼̙͎͖̝̦̜̈́̋̓̔́̈͋̄̿̇̆̾̚.̷̺̩͙͈̳̰̝̩̈̔̄̍̔̌͑̀̔̂̽̋̈͜ ̷͇̜̱͙̞̤͇̭̥̬̜̭̻̃͂c̶̛̠͇̯̏k̸̡̨̜̳̻͕̗̗̘̘̒̒͒͐̂͛̎̋̌̎̑̔c̸̥̬̬̜̪̰̗̩̟̗̈̾͑͆͊͂̂̊̒̄̀̀̚͠ͅk̴̡̠̦̲̬̣̜͚̟̟̝̯̓̆̄͂̓̑̀̑̍̽̕͝͠c̸̢̓̑̒̊̈́̔͌̒̀͗̕̚k̷͓̙̘̘͎̝̘̇̄͂̒̄͝͝c̶̡̠̦̠͍̬̑́̽̌̏̂̃̃̕͝͝k̶̨̨͎̪̹̙̹͍̝͓̮̹͔̮͙̒́͊͘ ̴̧̡͉̺̯̮̪̩͔͙̻̂̀͜c̷͔̿͑̑̊͊͂̃͝k̸̭͉̯̓̀͊͊͊͗̽̒̀̂͛͘̚͝͠ ̵̼͐̀̓̆͐̅͂̂̈́ć̴̛̭̰̟̎͋̆̿̌̌͊k̵̻͔̦̱̮̄̋̈́̍̉͐c̷̭̲̓̀̋̏̉̃̆͋̅̊l̷̡̛̝͓̬̙̬̫̞̝̹͍̖͕̓̅̑̈́̀͛̚̕̚͠͝į̵͇͔̙͚͔̖̗̝̟͍̆̾̋͊̕c̶̪͕͙̣̘͚̥̘͈̔̉̔̒̉̇̎̇̑͜k̷̜̫̦̗͕͙̠̼̪̦̲̔͐̄͑̒͘̚ͅͅͅc̶̪̰̦̥̯͂͑̂̊̕k̴͙͈̞͕͔̞̻̏͐͐̌͐̈́͌͆̔̔͠c̶̝̝̺͈̘̲͎̀͌́̌͐͋̕͘͝k̵̰̝̘̾̀̽̔̔͜ ̷̼͇̩̙̺̩̫̰͚̜̈́̌̑̒͗̃̔́͋͘͝͝c̴̨̛͕̦͓̃̓̈̀̇̄͊͒̉̕̕͠͠͝ķ̴̖̪͐ͅͅč̶͙̝̟̦̤̥̦͚̿͒͌̕l̷̡̛̯̩̬̱̳̫̬̏̊͌͛͋̄͂̓̊̈͆̋̚͝į̵̩͔̟̫̐̎̂͊̐̐̾̄͋c̵̻̰̲̤̦̜̳͎̰͕̅̾̋̏͒́̚̚͝͝͠k̶͙̻͔͈̯͈̝͖̗͆̉̍̅̓̒̃͗͌̇͆̒͌̐c̵͚̰̗̏l̴̟͓͓͍͙͔̊͆̈́͂̐̊͒̃̅͜͝ͅi̶̺̩̎̍͋̑̕͝c̴͍̣̮̬̈́̽̎̀̈́͂̅͗̄͛̂̉̕̚͝k̶̡̙̹̆̅̂̊̓͊̉̉c̶̡̩̖͇͎̬͉̙̫̮̆̀ķ̸̤̩͔̼̲̮̈́̉̂͆͊̊̀̎̏͠ͅ ̸̺͕̮̰̼̠͔͙̱̞̥̖̪̰̘̑͗͑̎̍̈́͐̂͠c̶̢̡̲͔̥̬̙͖̈́̓̑̓̽̋̓͒̈̉̕͝͝k̸̛̳̙͈̭̩͇̑͗́̅̚̕ͅc̴̡̫̤̰̣̣̻̏̉̿̕l̶̬̖̭̾̿̓̂į̶̖̫̥̰̩̪̙̗͖͙͕̓̓́͊̒̒̓̊̀̈́̕ͅͅc̴̡̟̱̲̭̘͓͔̖̞̤̦̖͈͆̃̑̌́̂̚͘͜͠͝k̵͔̲̰̗͕̱̪̯̞͂̊̎̾̚c̵͕͕͇̃̂̏̔͐̏̑̊̇͆ǩ̶̨̺̟̳̘̰̹̤̮͖͆̌͋̅̈͐̌̓̾̚c̴̡̧̘͍̗̱͕̜̣̟͓͓͈̀̈̉͑̊̌͑͜l̴̢̺̻̖̦̥̺̥̜̜̓́̋̈́͠ḯ̵̺̩͈̬͊͗̾͋c̴̡̡̺̭̜̫̬͇̝̜͓̣̹͖̪̄̓̀͒̐͛͌́͐͋̋͗͌k̷͕̈́c̶̡̧̰̰͐̐̆̔ͅk̶͚̪̯̳͓͛̃̓̾̉̾̿̄́̇͂͝c̵̞̦̱̱̓͋̓́́́̀͠ĺ̷̟͕͙̜̹̰̯̬̰̖̯̥͍͍͖̿̔͌́͒̚į̵͇̲̝̜̙̦̜̋̄̅͐́̊̃̂̉̋̀c̶̹̯͍̾k̷̡̹͓͓͉̫͚̩̙͍̠̮̳̍͂̓͋̂͋̓̋͝

"Charlie, you ready?" Quackity asked.

Charlie's head snapped up. What. Oh, shit, his order- that's right, his order, what was it, uhh...

"Uh, yeah, um, could I get this one? Please?" he pointed to an item on the menu that he wasn't entirely sure was what he originally wanted to get. But it was enough for the waitress, who noted it down and started pushing her trolley away. He ignored the way it sounded like she made a clickclickclick sound.

He was pretty sure everyone had been looking at him when Quackity asked that, but when he next checked they were back to talking amongst themselves. Only Ranboo gave him a look as they tapped his arm, "are you sure you're alright, man?"

Charlie started to nod before he'd even finished the question, "yeah, I'm fine, I just..."

Fuck, everything was too overstimulating right now. He… he just needed to think somewhere quieter.

"...I just need to go to the toilet real quick," Charlie finished and immediately stood up, drawing a little attention with the sudden moving but he didn't stick around and quickly turned to head for that doorway. He saw that was also where the back entrance was, which he assumed was how … what? Why the hell was he thinking of one of his fucking D&D characters? God, he really was out of it. His vision focused in on it, the noise of the restaurant started to fade and meld into a buzzing and clicking before he'd even made it through the door and shut it behind him.

And there he was, away from the noise. 

And it was quiet. Well, not silent, but at least the pounding in his head didn’t make him feel like he wanted to throw up.

“What the fuck is happening-” he grumbled into his hands, leaning against a wall and sliding down. 

He hadn’t admitted it to himself, but the whole time his mind had kept wandering to things that didn’t make sense. He’d walked into his kitchen earlier and expected to see the walls coated in slime, or he’d opened the door and expected Gillion fucking Tidestrider to be standing there. Was he losing it? 

And there was still that damn buzzing in his head-

He jumped as the door slowly creaked open.

"Please, just go awa-" Charlie's throat closed up and cut off his words as his eyes landed on Ranboo, who looked at him in turn.

No, no no no. He wasn't dragging anyone else into this, this wasn't supposed to happen, Ranboo wasn't supposed to be here. But now they were looking right at each other and Charlie had no idea what kind of an expression was on his own face right now, and when he looked at Ranboo's he couldn't begin to imagine what the other person was thinking.

"Charlie...who the hell are they..?"

Wait, no, they hadn’t said that. They’d asked if he was okay. Why had he expected him to ask that? Who was ‘they’?

Charlie didn’t want to answer. He just shut his eyes and hugged his knees. He- he couldn’t do this again.

But just as he shut his eyes, he began to fall, and again he was nothing, he was falling into nothing. There was so much nothing that it hurt, but even in the back of his mind, he still heard that god damn clicking .

Wait, no, he wasn’t hearing it, it was… it was coming from him. And then, a familiar voice cut through.

“Let’s try this again, shall we?”

Chapter Text

Drowning.

That all encompassing feeling of nothing that he felt like he was almost getting used to.

Oh god that was awful to think about.

The one thing that seemed different this time was that he could actually think . Not that that was entirely a welcome change.

So he did what any rational person would do in that situation. He panicked. Though it was a bit hard to hyperventilate without a body.

He remembered everything that had happened that night. The characters, his friends getting involved, everything…

And something happened after that. It was-

He was-

They were all-

He… he couldn’t think about it. He tried and tried to just fucking remember what it was. It was something important . Something to do with his characters.

His characters. He… what characters? Charlie realized that no matter how hard he tried to remember a single one, there was just… nothing.

Before he could panic more he hit the ground. But the ground felt like glass. There was shallow water that went up to his ankles.

He turned around and expected to find his tormenter, but… nothing. Who was even keeping him here? It was… it was one of his characters, wasn’t it? But why weren’t they here? 

And the illusion started to slip away, and he was… he was back in the office. He really had hit the ground, and it wasn’t a pool of water beneath him, it was… 

Charlie threw up.

He shut his eyes. He couldn’t force himself to look at the shriveled tendrils around the room. But there was a distinct lack of… someone. He didn’t know who, but he knew that there had been someone here . 

Was he still back there? Was any of this even real?

Well, whether this was real or not he had to get the fuck out of here as soon as possible.

He felt around for the door, still refusing to open his eyes.

He stumbled his way down the stairs and opened his eyes and was surprised to find… no one. But… weren’t Grizzly and Ranboo here before? No- Ran was… a bug? God, it was too much too fast and he couldn’t make sense of any of it, he just had to get out of here.

But then he saw something familiar.

A stain of purple goo on the kitchen counter.