#re!buggy

You: Are a stylish journalist, clicking your pen impatiently as you wait in the Reindeer City police department for an interview with the chief regarding rumors of unethical experiments in the area.

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Buggy: Is in a holding cell, waiting to be questioned about the museum heist he was just caught conducting. But there are some really strange noises coming from the room next to his and he's getting desperate to leave.

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While you search for answers about the sudden apocalypse that has taken over the city and try to connect it to your life's work, Buggy is getting less and less confident that there's an exit in this hell hole. You work together more by accident than anything and at the end of this horribly long night you wonder if you can get the job done without him.

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This dialogue and scenario may change in the final product! But for now enjoy your first meeting with Buggy in the fic, as a treat!

the teaser is 1.7k words :)

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The first thing the room does is stink. Its rotted stench of decay, shit, and blood chokes you near tears as you push the wooden door open. 

The second thing the room does is startle you, sure you were worried about running into officers while going on your unauthorized tour, but you don’t think the people stumbling around the room are capable of pointing you towards the bathroom if you used that lie on them.

The three officers are all pressed against the cell on the far side of the room. Leaving their dark desks and green spinny chairs unattended in favor of gnawing on the rusted bars and taunting someone. 

“Hey I heard that door open! Come get your friends offa me!” the person calls from inside.

Before you can reply to the stranger's nasally voice, the officers turn to you, groaning from deep within their stomachs as if they’ll cough out their hearts with a bit more effort and shuffling towards you. Their skin is glazed over with sweat and tinted into an unhealthy hue, their eyes are hazy and unfocused yet they lock in on you. They snap their jaws as they approach and their green tinted teeth practically break with each attempted bite. 

“What's wrong with them?!” You call, reaching for your gun and stepping back into the hallway.

“Hell if I know! You’re the cop!”

“I’m not a-” You  cut yourself off with a shot from your gun, straight into one of the three officer’s skulls as he lunges towards you. 

His dull nails nearly dig into you as he falls, two more come in quick succession all three lie at your feet twitching and creating puddles of blackened blood to soak in. 

The putrid smell is strengthened by the fresh death and makes both you and the imprisoned man gag in unison.

The third and final thing the room does is provide you an opportunity. Swallowing down your lunch, you assess the room again and shut the door, stepping over the dead officers to inspect a locked bookshelf on the left side of the room. There must be something related to these strange occurrences in here. 

While fumbling with the lock you hear the stranger's voice again.

“Hey! Thanks! Now lemme out of here!”

You huff and turn, before you stands a clown. You’ve seen his wanted poster somewhere before, but everything besides his bright blue hair, matching eyes, and of course, his large round nose, has faded from your memory. 

For him to be here he must be worth something, but you can’t possibly tell if he’s more of a footnote or a headliner from a glance. 

“Not so fast, who are you and what are you here for?” You start, opting to look around the room to imply disinterest. If he thinks you’ll leave him here he might get desperate enough to be interesting.

“What does it matter!! you wanna leave an innocent man here with those things?!”

Your gaze travels from the framed photo of the creatures that you killed prior to their descent into death, all the way over to the man in the cell. 

You take in his slightly disheveled state, hair pulled high into a sweeping ponytail, painted red smile smudged around the edges, striped shirt untucked, teal trousers… And a pair of light seastone handcuffs keeping his hands in front of him. 

They don’t have enough of the sea in them to make him loopy, but they should keep any powers he has at bay for questioning.

He frowns under your skeptical gaze and shakes his head.

“Well I’m partially innocent, all this is a big ole misunderstanding! Just let me go and I'll explain everything!”

“You could be even more dangerous than the creatures in here.” 

“Well, that's.. flattering I guess, but I clearly don't have any weapons or anything on me and I swear I won't hurt you, so be a good…” He pauses, it's a struggle, but you don’t pull your sights from the photo in your hands as you feel his eyes wash over you.  “fashion student? And let me go.”

“I'm a journalist.” You scoff, grabbing a file from one of the desks.

“Right of course, silly me, be a good journalist, and let me go! … Please.”

“How do I know that you won't run off as soon as I free you?”

“So what if I do! you seem awfully comfortable walking around in this shit hole! just lemme out and we can both go our separate ways!”

“I don't know… If I let a wanted criminal free I could lose my job”

“WHAT JOB?!? The world is ENDING!!” He cries, finally close enough to grip the bars of his cell, avoiding the spots that were being chewed on by the officers.

“You don't know that.” You start calmly. “Based on my findings, this outbreak should be contained in the city. No one outside its borders knows this is happening. I need to be the one who gets this story out there and I can't do that if I'm known as an accomplice to some clown.” You explain, walking away from the desk and kicking the creatures to ensure that they won’t bite while you check their pockets.

“It's Buggy, and who cares! I won't tell! Scouts honor, promise!”

“You're not understanding, Mr. Clown.”

“Captain.” He interrupts, voice strained into a hiss.

“Uh huh, what I'm saying is that this entire outbreak has been planned. There's no way that you're here due to coincidence, and if you're that important then I'll need you to complete my story.”

Your casual manner finally seems to strike fear into him. He shakes the bars of the cell making everything sound like a baby rattle made of scrap metal. 

“What no! no no no! I was just robbing a museum nearby! This was all an accident! My crew left me and I got caught, silly mistake! Learned my lesson!”

You stand back up with a pair of keys in your hand. Ignoring his desperation despite the way it overpowers the room. 

“Maybe… But there's something about this that-”

“Okay okay!” He cuts you off, voice crashing against yours. “Say that I'm here for some grand reason! what you should do is let me free to throw off the organization behind this and-and find my file!”

Bingo. You spin to face him, making sure that the keys jingle in your hands as you approach the cell

“Your file?” You ask, finally gazing into those blue eyes.They soften a bit as his face falls into a smile 

“Yes! if im some sort of sacrificial lamb or whatever, the big brain behind this must have some sort of log with all my relevant info! so go find that and you'll have your damn story.”

“That's an interesting theory… And if that's the case it's all the more important that I keep you close because you might know something. You have information that isn't in your file so they captured you.”

You hold in a smirk as his jaw drops, he shakes his head frantically, hair swaying over his shoulders and down his back. 

“You can't be serious, look I may be a cheat and a thief but you're gonna risk my whole life for a news article!? That's just plain old heartless!”

“I- I'm not risking it, you are! You're safer here than you are wandering around.”

“Sure! Until I die of starvation or something! Come on, I may be a pirate but this is pretty harsh!”

You falter, you’ve heard things like that before. Life ruiner, career ender, coldhearted cunt, and every other name under the sun. All for the lengths you've gone to for an inside scoop. He stares at the keys in your hands, panicked eyes flickering between them and the tense expression you’re sure is on your face. Before he can speak you turn your head away from him and nod.

“If you look for information while finding an exit, do you promise to meet me in the lobby and tell me what you found before you go?”

“Yea yea sure of course!!” Buggy beams, big teeth glinting in the stale electric lights that buzz overhead. 

“Okay, but you have to give me your pants.”

“Alrigh- I HAVE TO WHAT?!?” He screeches, voice harmonizing with the shaking bars. 

“Relax!” You insist, crossing your arms. “It's just so that I can make sure you come back.”

Buggy scoffs, rattling the bars harder.

“Are you insane?! why would I walk around creatures that BITE ME with NO! FUCKIN! PANTS ON?!?”

“Okay okay, a shoe then.”

The clown grumbles, and soon something is dangling in your field of view. His purple hair ribbon. 

“How about this? It's a family heirloom, no way I'll run away without it.”

You stare at the strip of fabric and shake your head. 

“A family of gerbils? This looks like it's been chewed to hell and back.”

“Fine! No hair tie! How about my hat! I'll definitely be wanting that!”

You scan over the large orange hat that hangs from a hook by the door. Next to it is a jacket in a similar color with a white fur lining and many pockets.

“Doesn't match my outfit though…” You hum, walking to the hook and stepping over the dead officers. 

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?” Buggy roars. 

“Calm down. I'll take it, I was only joking.”

“Ha. Ha. Now let me outta here!” 

You take the captain’s hat off the wall and lay it on your head. It's a bit chilly, and the lingering scent of the sea wafts off of it, but it's not that bad overall.

Waltzing to the cell, you unlock the door with one key from the ring in your grasp and undo the cuffs with the other. Buggy practically pushes you to the side as he rushes for his jacket, and apparently, the eight daggers that were hidden in it.

“Thank-”

“Wait! Got a watch on you?” you ask.

“In one pocket or the other, why? You trying to rob me now?” he hums, a tense smile greets you as he whips around.

“No, just meet me at the lobby in three hours. If I find an exit while looking around I'll lead you to it.”

“Fine. See ya!” 

“Go to the left! and stay quiet!” You call, but you’re not quite sure he heard you.

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Masterlist and more to be added soon!