A/N: for character songs im gonna say rn that c!Nico's would be Body by Mother Mother and c!Eryn's would be New Flesh by Current Joys. I saw the fluff stream today and just needed to make a oneshot with them.
this turned out far longer then i anticipated
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Eryn had always been the more adventurous of the two. They always wanted to explore, obsessed with mapping out the maze, always going down the most unknown and dangerous paths. They'd come back to the Glade with scrapes all over and soaked in their own blood, sometimes even arrows stuck in their leg that they couldn't get out themself. But they always looked like they'd just won the lottery, sparkles in their eyes as they rambled to Nico about all the new places they discovered
Nico preferred staying in the clearing, building a tent for the two, playing medic for Eryn when they got hurt. He established a farm so both could eat well. He didn't want to go out into the uncharted maze like Eryn, he discouraged them from going. He believed they should live their lives in the clearing together, living out their days. He believed the names on the wall were the people that would soon join them, he wanted to wait, he wanted to help them.
Eryn wished to leave this place, Nico believed there was no point. It was the only thing they ever disagreed over. Eryn insisted that if Nico go into the maze with him, they could cover twice as much land, map it all out. Nico thought Eryn had simply been cheating death, narrowly escaping it and living out of spite, and that one day they would get themself killed.
After many months of living this way, Eryn promised Nico they knew a way out, a way that wouldn't get him hurt. They displayed the complete map, and Nico agreed. They were right, the path didn't damage Nico physically, mentally however, was a different story.
Nico had never gone in the maze, he wasn't used to the scarce water, the lack of light, sometimes not seeing it for days. He began to lose his mind, Eryn couldn't help, to help would be to turn back, and they'd gone too far.
On the walls he'd write signs, warning the future players, the others on the wall. He'd punch the wall until his hands bled, to write the messages in his own blood. Yet he continued, going on with his friend as Eryn desperately tried to help him. Nothing ever worked. So they continued on, going as fast as they could to get out, to try and revert the damage.
One morning, Eryn woke up to Nico gone, a knife taken with him. They searched for him for weeks before the truth hit them. There was no way for Nico to survive out there alone, he didn't know which way to go, he didn't know the patterns of the wall moving. The skulls seemed to double, appearing more frequently, their eyes always lingered on each of them for a bit too long.
Eryn spent years in the maze, or however long it was in their mind. Their memory went foggy after taking an arrow to the arm, causing red tendrils to snake around it. The only goal in mind was to get back to the clearing, live their days instead of surviving them, it's what Nico would've wanted for him.
They met a boy named Mohwee. He told them that he'd been left to die in here by his friends in his own clearing. They asked if he was the same Mohwee from the wall, to which he nodded. They explored together for many months, trying to find Mohwee's current home, and their old one. Mohwee told them stories of the people now in the clearing, nearly everyone from the wall was there now.
There was his best friend, Squidney. Graecie and Oeca, who despite speaking with venom laced in his voice, made it sound like they were friends. Ori, who was an angel, who he hated. Owen, who he also disliked, but a bit less then Ori. Rasbi and Apo, two demons that mostly kept to themselves that he knew nothing about. And Red, who walked around with a red ski mask and sunglasses on, a self proclaimed businessman. When Eryn asked about Spidey and Guts, the other two on the board, he said they hadn't come up the elevator yet.
One day Mohwee simply ran off, leaving no traces as to where he went, and Eryn was once again alone. Traveling to the place he'd found the goggle boy, assuming it couldn't be too far from the clearing in which he came, but to no avail. They didn't leave that sector again though. Mohwee couldn't have gotten through a sector by himself in two days. So at least that was something to go off.
After a year, creatures began to come out in the night. Chasing them. They learned that the creatures relied on noise, so if they stayed quiet, it would leave them alone. That's when they resorted to day only travel. They didn't want to end the same as Nico, for that isn't what the boy would want of them
After another year, a wall shifted in front of them. That wall lead to a large door that blended in with the wall, the next morning, the doors opened. In plain sight was the tent they had shared with Nico. People were there, they welcomed him.
They remembered everything Mohwee told them ages ago. Ori, who wore the halo with jet black hair. Owen, the oldest of the bunch, with overgrown brown hair. Those were the only two they remembered. There were two more demons, not matching the descriptions of Apo or Rasbi. One with crimson toned skin and crop top with a pale white skirt. The other had two toned red and black hair, long twisted horns that snaked around the back of its head. The first introduced themself as Guts, the one that hadn't come up the elevator yet. The other went by Krow, a name they weren't familiar with.
Krow explained to them the second clearing, where it and Magic, a girl with black and blue hair and green and blue eyes, came from. Apparently there were others too, Soup and Bek. All the others had died because of Bek pulling a lever of death. At the wall, three names had been crossed out, Squidney, Oeca, and Mohwee. They didn't know what it meant, but they hoped Mohwee was okay. The group didn't answer when they asked.
Apparently three doors had opened. Including one called the Dark Maze. It called for them, they couldn't resist, their side of adventure crushed long ago sprung to life once again. The maze called for them, who were they to deny, the maze had kept them safe for ages.
That night, Eryn went into the Dark Maze, never to return again. Burying the legacy of the first ever Outsiders, reduced to nothing but myths.
