Darkiplier had warned him this would happen, but that didn’t make the sudden influx of memories and emotions any less frightening or overwhelming.

It had started with a deep ache in his very being. The Convict, or Vic as Dave had called him, could see the worry in Dr. Iplier’s face. He’d seen the glance the Author and Dark had shared when he’d shown up for breakfast.

None of it prepared him for the all encompassing agony he would wake up in, in the middle of the night. The complete and utter terror that consumed him had the Convict on his feet and out his bedroom door before he even thought to move.

He might be screaming, he couldn’t tell. The Manor would silence it anyway. He was hurt and he was scared.

>+<

Dave knew something was wrong, a whisper in the back of his mind telling him that he needed to do something. He stood, listening closely. The Engineer, Engie, had once described the voice as something trustworthy, and though Dave was still skeptical, Darkiplier had simply said to treat it like a well meaning Old Friend.

So Dave followed the whisper, down the Manor’s winding corridors until he heard it. Someone was crying.

“Hello?” He called out, soft enough to avoid startling whoever was crying, but loud enough to be heard over their cries.

The sobs didn’t stop, but it sounded like they were being muffled now. Dave frowned, looking around the room. It was fairly empty with only a few old armchairs, and a shattered ornate mirror over a desk. The muffled cries came from under the desk.

Dave ignored how out of place the mirror looked in favor of kneeling to peer under the desk. “Hello? Are you okay under there?”

It was the Convict.

“Vic? Hey man, you okay?” Dave asked, worried. He’d never heard the other make a sound before, and now they were crying.

“Simon.” Their voice was hoarse, like he’d been screaming. “It’s… Simon.”

“Simon.” Dave sat down across from his friend. “Alright, that’s a pretty good name. Can you come out from under the desk, Simon?”

Simon had stopped crying now, only a wayward hiccup escaping every now and then. He shuffled out of the cramped space and Dave barely managed to stifle the gasp that left him.

Simon’s left arm was gone.

He couldn’t focus on that yet though. Dave held his arms open and was relieved when Simon let himself fall into the hug.

“You’re okay Simon.” Dave murmured, just holding his friend for now. “You’re in the Manor now. You’re at home with me, and all the others.”

“I know.” Simon whispered. It was strange hearing his voice now after the couple years of silence. “Thanks Dave.”

“For what?”

Simon didn’t respond but eventually he uncurled from the embrace and Dave was able to get a better look at him. Cuts and burns littered the man’s face and remaining arm, nothing Doc wouldn’t be able to fix, but for now Dave could help him out.

“Let’s get you patched up, yeah?” He stood, holding out his hand to his friend.

Simon hesitated before grabbing it and pulling himself to his feet.

“I’ll grab the first aid kit real quick and-”

“Can you do it outside?” Simon interrupted, looking antsy, shifting from foot to foot.

Dave nodded. “Yeah, yeah no problem. You want to head out to the pool while I go grab the kit?”

Simon nodded, smiling faintly at the mention of their favorite hangout spot.

Dave smiled back. “Alright, I’ll meet you there.” He watched Vic-Simon head out before he took a detour to grab the first aid kit.

>+<

When Dave stepped outside, he saw Simon at the edge of the pool, but was surprised to find Engie there too. It was the middle of the night, he hadn’t expected anyone else to be up.

Engie seemed to sense his presence, twisting around to wave at him. “Hey.”

Dave nodded back to him, sitting on Simon's other side and opening up the first aid kit. “Hey E, what are you doing up?”

“Couldn’t sleep.” The spaceman shrugged, leaning back on his hands to go back to staring at the stars. “I was wandering around and found, uh, Simon.”

Simon himself hummed, leaning against the engineer a little while Dave started to dab at the cuts and burns on his face.

Engie had joined Dave and the convict not long after the two had started hanging out by the pool at night and the three had become a trio that Wilford had jokingly, or maybe seriously, dubbed the Apocalypse Trio.

“I wanted to believe they were still there.” Simon broke the silence with his whisper, eyes trained on the stars while Dave worked on his arm. “I hoped they were.”

Engie and Dave shared a look, understanding passing between them. They stayed silent as their friend told his story in broken whispers.

“I just wanted to live.”

Engie couldn’t help it, he pulled the other into a hug. “I’m so sorry.”

Simon hugged back, grunting out a laugh when Dave sandwiched him. “Yeah. Me too.”

>+<