The Death That Follows

Cat Out of the Bag

TW: DNF, WNF(?), Mention of Abuse, Mention of Death, Mention of Gore

Wilbur

"Ranboo, what is going on?" I asked, staring at my old friend. He was completely blank, all emotion wiped from his usually handsome, expressive face.

Ah, awake, are we? A voice, the one I heard at home, said, and the only door in the all white room opened, leaving me gawking at the . . . thing that came in. He was covered in vicious scars, though half of his face was hidden behind a hideous, demonic looking mask.

"What the —-?" I swore, practically screaming.

Ah, Mr. Soot, I presume? The thing said, its mouth not matching the words. We have not been properly introduced yet. Dream XD, destroyer of hearts, and conqueror of worlds, at your service. He said with a strange, pompous bow. You are probably wondering why I brought you and Mr. Boo to my beautiful little Wearhouse. I expected a response, but I was thoroughly confused with this —---, that I didn't say anything.

I would like you to know that it is for no reason at all. I don't give an actual, measly little —-- if you live or die, I just want to see you suffer. You see, I am all the hate, and pain, and fear Dream has had lodged in that pretty little head of his. And, after his dabble in. . .lets just say darkness, I became, well, sentient! He did another little dance, and I didn't know if I wanted to kick him, throw up, or die. But there is another feeling I have. Lust. Lust for power, or for revenge, but, most of all, lust for that pretty little boy of yours. Now, I can't have him yet, it is too soon. But, I can mess with you. I can revel in your memories of him, while watching you suffer at the hand of your friend. He said with such venomous joy, that I wanted to pour bleach down my ears to burn any memory of him from my brain. But then I remembered what he said about my friend.

"You mean Ranboo?" I asked, and XD grinned wickedly. "He would never hurt me." I said with as much confidence as I could muster.

Ooh, that was a great lead on to our next activity. Ladies and gents, torture time! And, just like he appeared, XD was gone, leaving me in the plain room with my old friend.

"What did he do to you?" I asked, rushing forward to Ranboo, but, with one robotic swing of his arm, I flew back, hitting my head against the other wall.

"What the —-, man? What has gotten into you?" I asked, but he either was ignoring me, or couldn't hear me. XD had said something about a puppet. Did he mean Ranboo? Was he controlling Ranboo?

A swift, firm punch to the stomach answered that question for me, and I got back up from off the ground, wiping a bit of blood away from the corner of my mouth.

"Ranboo, buddy, come on. Don't you remember me?" I asked, well, pretty much begged. "I went to your wedding, you comforted me when I broke up with Sally. Remember?" I tried, but it was futile. Soon enough, he had both of my arms pinned to a wall, my feet brushing the ground. "Please, Ranboo. Snap out of it." I begged, but he backed up his fist, aiming directly for my head. "Please." I whimpered, but it snapped forward, sending my head ricocheting into the wall. Ranboo was no longer my friend. He was XD.

Tubbo

"Toby?" I heard the voice from far away, my dreams distorting it into a faint echo.

"Hello?" I called out. I was staying with dad while we searched for Ranboo, who had gone missing only a day before. The whole of the last twenty four hours didn't seem real. One second, Ranboo and Michael were playing together, the next, he was just. . . gone. But, here, in my dreams, the feeling of panic, and pain, and terror was muted. Like I was in a tiny little air bubble, watching as the world slapped against me, trying to drown me. But I was safe here.