#squig

… Just WHAT is Kalei doing?? Fia understood none of what just happened. Were they grovelling? Oh gosh.

Well, if there be a god up there somewhere, let them hear their prayers because they’re probably going to need it. A lot.

“I’m not- I’m not going anywhere, I- I promised her I’ll stay…” she wiped away the tears, even though she wasn’t really crying (it was from the pain, most likely) and the blood on her pants. Still shaking, she leaned against the tree and watched as Siege seemed far too arrogant for its own good. What did it think it was, to offer a “last goodbye” or something like this? How cruel and sadistic. It was sickening to watch, but Fia also couldn’t take her eyes off the scene. What if Siege swooped down and killed Kalei where they stood-er, knelt? Fia was utterly frozen and unable to help, shaking in terror. How pathetic.

She was too scared to even answer Siege’s question. This wasn’t like her, she’s usually so level headed and calm, able to push past whatever was thrown her way… but maybe all the isolation and psychological torture tore something like that out of her for the time being.

Did Squig just grab a fucking crowbar?? No, damn it, this was working. Kalei grimaced away from Siege’s touch, but didn’t rip their chin away. Thankfully, it let go soon enough, though they could feel crescent moons left behind from how it had dug its nails into their skin before shoving it away.

They let their head hang loosely, gasping for breath. When Siege said ‘final words’, though, they looked up. “I… you mean it? You’ll let us talk to her?” They needed Kat awake so the body wouldn’t be entirely under Siege’s control, this was good. “I… please. God, please, I’ll do anything. Do whatever you want with me-” Kalei knew Siege would believe this. It sounded exactly like something Kalei would actually say. As much as it hurt them to admit, it would be best if their pleading was desperate enough it tricked even Kat herself. “- but I need to talk to her one last time. I need her to know how fucking sorry I am.”

It was sickening to pretend to feel any sort of submissiveness towards this bastard, but it was clearly working. They moved their jaw around slackly, allowing some blood to dribble onto their lips. Look hurt, they thought. Look hurt, look petrified, look as though they’ve given up. Convince everyone. Wait until the last possible second, and then do… something.

Squig’s heartbeat was loud and heavy in her chest. She listened to every last word out of Kalei’s mouth with baited breath.

(Wait… Are they trying to die or…?)

Quietly, Squig swapped which hand held her crowbar and grabbed the letter as well.

She pulled out the paper and… Wait.

“What?”

A different full page of text was produced from her bag. She read the poem closely.

Trust in the clouds of

Dreamer’s moon

Painted False

Carcosa’s hues,

Trust in Self

And Quester’s bed,

Save waking worlds

And dreaming dead.

Trust in heart,

Trust in womb,

Trust will turn

You all from doom

Trust in me,

Trust the crew,

True Carcosa’s

Up to you!

“What the fu…?”

She looked back up, then down, a double take of both the scene before her and the page she hadn’t seen in her backpack until now. Her thumb caressed the final stanza.

(Trust the crew….? Does… Is Kalei actually not trying to die or be stupid for once?)

Squig’s eyes returned to Kalei’s form kneeled before Kaige.

(They put so much faith in me… They had no reason to. But… Fuck. They finally did, didn’t they? Bringing me here without explaining jackshit? Yeah. I owe them.)

Her grip tightened on the crowbar, just in case, just in case, just in case… But in her heart of hearts, Squig knew.

(If Kalei can believe in me, I can believe in them. I trust you Kalei. Don’t make me use this.)

“Hmm, alright, alright! You’ve satisfied me. You get… Five minutes. That’s it. That’s all you get. Then I, like, kill her or something. HA! Ha Ha. Oh boy, here she comes nooOOOWWWWW OWWWW!!!! OWWW!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!” Jesus.

It seemed she was back, because she was dropping from the sky and screaming as she had been all week. “OH GOD OH FUCK OH MY GOD AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

…Well, someone wasn’t quite able to land on her feet. Wasn’t that the norm for cats? : )

At some point, Fia had stumbled over to Kalei and stood by their side, checking to make sure they were alright. Thankfully there wasn’t as much blood as it looked.

“Kat?!” Fia looked up to see Kat, yes, the real Kat, dropping from the sky. Abandoning Kalei, she rushed over beneath the falling girl and barely caught Kat in her arms. It wasn’t as elegant as she would’ve liked, as the weight and momentum caused them both to fall to the ground in the end anyway. “Kat! Oh thank goodness, it’s you, it’s really you!” Fia scrambled out from under Kat and hugged her friend tight.

“I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry, I- I heard you, I promise I did, see, I didn’t leave! I promised I wouldn’t, and here I am! I’m sorry I couldn’t help you, I was so scared it would kill me if I stepped out of that room..” she sniffled and pulled away, afraid she was going to strangle Kat if she hugged the girl any tighter. “W-will you forgive me?”

It worked. It actually worked. Kalei barked out a laugh, half shocked and half a cry, before throwing themselves forward and crawling before they practically tackled Fia and Kat both in a hug. Their arms wrapped tight around the two’s shoulders, and they propped their chin on top of Kat’s head. She was shaking so, so hard, and she was so cold, but she was alive. They could hear her whimpering in pain (god, no, damn it), they could feel her trembles and quick breaths. “I’ve got you,” Kalei breathed. “We- we’ve got you- fuck, I didn’t think that would… oh my god. Kat. We’ve got you.”

There were no words, in that moment, to describe how relieving it was to have Kat in their arms. Kalei really, honestly hadn’t been a touchy person before Ness Anne- now, they almost wanted to cry at the thought of how they’d eventually have to let go. Everyone was not safe- no, far from it- but at least they were together. At least Kalei could pull Kat closer to their chest, rub a hand up and down Fia’s arm, and know that for at least a few seconds, they were together and alive.

…but only a few seconds. As much as Kalei wanted this moment to never end, it would be much preferred if they got rid of the damn demon causing all of this. To do that… they had to let Squig take over.

Kalei raised their head and met their eyes to Squig’s, face set in a tight grimace. Then, careful as to not hurt Kat by digging their chin into her scalp, they nodded.

“Alright, break it up you queer platonic love triangle throuple supreme!” Squig chimed, pushing past Fia and Kalei, the actual letter now relocated from her bag and in her hands, “We only have a limited amount of time, remember? We can save the hugs and forehead smooches for AFTER Kat survives this!”

Kalei and Fia stared at her. They had so much faith in a complete idiot like herself…

(NO. Now is not the time for this negative self-talk! C’mon Squig! I will not falter!!!)

A deep breath in. A deep breath out.

“Kat. I need you to listen to my instructions very VERY carefully, okay?”

"Ah- u-uh, okay!"

“First, I need you to remember what you live for.”

“Easy.. These two…”

“Then, Breathe in deeply.”

She took in a deep breath, quietly asking for some room to focus.

“Now it says… Pretend your body is a vacuum. Put the entity in that vacuum.”

“Uh-huh.. O-oh. My god?” Something… What was she feeling deep in her stomach? It hurt so badly. Worse than anything she’d felt this horrific week.

“And this part literally says, ‘Brace yourself, Kat; this is the hardest part.’ So, uh… Get ready.”

All she could manage was a whimper of acknowledgement.

Squig’s lips felt dry, but she continued to speak.

“Prepare your body.”

“Oh god- yup, yup, prepping it-”

“And… Make room for the entity's power once it is eviscerated…?”

(Wait…. Is the “it” in question Siege or..?)

Squig’s eyes went wide. Kat is in pain. Horrible, violent pain, isn’t she..?

(It’s Kat. It’s gonna kill Kat, THE LETTER LIED, IT’S GONNA - )

She feels beneath the once torn paper in her hand. The poem rested right behind it.

The poem…. THE POEM.

The FUCKING POEM.

Dreamer’s moon, save the waking world and dreaming dead, the “Quester’s Bed”...

Even the reference to Echeladders in the letter just above the cipher she read.

“Oh my fucking God.” Squig whispered, jaw agape as she watched Kat rise from her legendary nap.

“It’s a Homestuck reference.”

“Make room for.. Okay, here goes…”

She felt her stomach turn as she thought long and hard on how to ‘make room’ in her body, but regardless, she felt it. Almost like a second stab, this time to her gut. She could see how Kalei was gripping Fia’s hand like she was going to disappear. She could barely breathe. Deep breaths. In and out, in and out…

And then she could hear it. Begging. Screaming. Clawing at her throat and organs. She didn’t care anymore about Siege, caring only to free herself and her friends from the pain it had inflicted upon them all.

Then she felt the rising. Her feet dangling in the air as she rose.

She was almost so shellshocked all she could do was stare into the sky in front of her.

Markings had formed and wings bloomed on her back as she had finally freed herself and ascended to godhood.

The explosion of bright neon pink was just an extra bonus.

Fia hissed and shielded her eyes from the blast, blinking away the pink in her vision. Her jaw dropped at the sight of Kat, floating above them and now winged.

… what just happened?

“Uh—Kat?” she called out, her voice an octave higher and much more strained than usual. “Kat, um— are you alright??” What was ANY of that. “What— oh my gosh, you have wings now?? What- how-” Fia couldn’t process any of that. Or more specifically, her brain wouldn't let her. “... Kat?” no, what if it was Siege playing a trick on them again? It was bright pink after all, and didn’t Siege used to type in pink?

Fia scrambled up and turned to look at Squig, utterly bewildered and so, so confused. “Did- did you know this was gonna happen? Do you know what’s going on?”

Squig just stood there, staring at Kat and the poem that she had now shuffled in front of the letter in her hand. Her voice came out still in disbelief of what she was saying,

“It’s a Homestuck reference.”

…oh god. That was- ignoring Homestuck (why did the king’s infinite knowledge include that, anyway??), Kalei focused more on Kat herself. She was something else, now. That much was certain. But Kalei had been something else a couple times themselves too, and the point wasn’t if Kat now looked like some kind of… angel… cat girl… thing. The point was, was this Kat?

Taking a deep breath, Kalei released Fia’s hand, and (after bracing themself) looked up at Kat. “Kat? Kat, sweetheart, is that you?” The tenderness in their voice surprised even them. Maybe it’s because things seemed to be coming to a close. For better or for worse, this either was Kat… or it wasn’t. (The gun burned in their waistband, but Kalei ignored it. That wasn’t an option.) “Kat, talk to me. Talk to Fia. Please.”

It was Kat, it had to be. Squig’s secret letter-person had to have pulled through.

Squig’s mind raced in her stilled body.

It was a Homestuck reference. It was a HOMESTUCK REFERENCE. The mysterious godly letters that SEEMINGLY appeared out of WHO KNOWS WHERE and predicted JUST what was just about to happen next, made a series of HOMESTUCK REFERENCES and not only that! The references were RIGHT.

She followed the prophetic messages. She trusted these people, she… She watched Kat die. And then she watched Kat live.

She watched another person die today. One that was reborn right after, but…

Squig kept thinking (I NEED to stop thinking) Kat was just MAGICALLY thrown into the air before this, how was THAT stunt pulled off? (I need to STOP thinking), the fact that Kaige appeared RIGHT BEHIND HER as soon as she started to chew Kalei out (I need to stop THINKING) the fact that those wings are SO DAMN REALISTIC.

(I NEED TO STOP THINKING I NEED TO STOP THINKING I NEED TO STOP THINKING.)

Squig hit her own head with the crowbar.

And then yelped in pain, bringing her back to (relative) reality.

“SO DO Y’ALL STILL NEED ME HERE OR CAN I BREAK DOWN ALREADY?”

“Ah- Calm down, one at a time, everyone, haha!” She sounded so much more alive. So happy, and free. Was that an echo in her voice..? “Alright, let’s see here… Squig, You have done quite enough. Thank you. So very much, for everything you have done here today. It’s a truly formidable help you’ve offered, and I must repay you soon. Kalei, yes, it is me. Hah. It’s very weird to think about, but yeah, it’s me. Wings and all..? What a predicament. Hmm. And.. Oh, Fia. Dear, sweet Fia. How I’ve missed you, and our dear friend. I do indeed have wings now!”

She happily turned around, head still facing her friends and ally. “See? Look! Aren’t they pretty?” That was a rather self-indulgent question, but she continued onward regardless, turning back around. “I’m just… I’m so happy to be back, you know? I’m so fucking proud of you guys for weathering through this.” Kat smiled, tears welling up in her eyes and threatening to spill onto her pink-whisker scarred cheeks.

“Thank you all for saving me.”

Fia was at a loss for words. Homestuck? Wings? Just what is going on??

Clink. Crack.

Something broke. Or, broke further? Whatever the case, it was quiet. Barely perceptible.

“Yeah, they’re pretty, and we’re glad you’re back too but... uhm. Are you… still human?” Fia asked tentatively, almost scared. It was probably going to dampen the mood, but something told her that she should ask.

Kalei glanced between Fia and Kat. Oh, god, this wasn’t… this wasn’t going to go well. They wrapped their fingers around Fia’s wrist and squeezed, gently. “Fia, maybe we should go home,” they said. Their voice was barely a whisper on the wind.

Kat wasn’t human. Something deep in their gut whispered this, something both horrified and thankful. Surely, it would be much harder to hurt Kat now, but at what cost? Hopefully not a tall one.

This conversation needed to happen later. When Fia’s head was bandaged, and Kat was rested, and Squig was not here. Preferably.

But it hurt to keep this distance from Kat, didn’t it? They didn’t want to leave Fia, no, but she wasn’t approaching Kat. Never thought they’d see the day where the two kept distance. “Do you want to come with us, Kat?”

A crutch was shoved under their armpit hastily so Kalei had their other hand free to extend towards Kat. They hoped she couldn’t see how it trembled.

Squig watched as the others interacted, making Squig out to be a ghost on the sidelines (What else would I be? I don’t even KNOW these people? I’m just… I just came here to help, why am I..? I’m not important here, I just did what I had to, now I…)

Then, she noticed it. Squig’s vision was blurring, just barely to the sides of her eyes. Tears? No… The way the world began to swirl, just slightly, just enough, made her know exactly what was happening.

It’s starting. Another episode.

Acting fact, Squig swung her backpack around again, reached inside for a pill bottle, tossed a pill into her mouth, and swallowed it. (No water… Shit HURTS given how dry my mouth is, but if this keeps up, I’ll have to take another.)

She tossed the bottle back into her bag and took her tiny raccoon plushie keychain out instead. (First thing I grabbed…) She began petting it, but between the heavy sinking feeling in her lungs and the inability to even feel the fake fur of the plush, it wasn’t doing anything.

She stopped her teeth from chattering for just a moment to pipe up between the found family she was nothing but a distant relative to, her voice cracking with barely restrained panic and terror;

“I… I really need to go home, gang. Sorry, I just… I can’t be here. I need to go… Can… Can someone call me an Uber, or, uh, can Katty here still do the teleporty thingy?~”

Squig jested, she TRIED to jest. (Just ACT NORMAL. Get HOME. PLEASE. I… Wait. WAIT. FUCK. I used the nickname, didn’t I…? No no NO, that’s JUST gonna make things worse! Why the FUCK did I - NO. No, now is NOT the time to be thinking about that, I don’t have TIME to be thinking about that, the same way I don’t have time to think about the letters or the teleporting or the chaos or the fact that there’s still a child in the fucking hospital and the fact I have that kid’s birth certificate or the fact I have a letter that accurately predicted the EXACT moment the child was hit by a car, or - )

I NEED TO LEAVE I NEED TO LEAVE I NEED TO LEAVE I NEED TO LEAVE I NEED TO LEAVE

“The tele- ah, right.. Um… Squig, are you okay? Nevermind, probably not, ha.. ha.” Kat cleared her throat. “Yeah, I can take you home. Hold onto my arm.”

The girl walked over to Squig, an arm outstretched. “And, uh… Do you think you could DM me on tumblr when you're able to? I think we should maybe talk about… Well, I'll just leave it for then. It's not too important, haha. Do you.. Have Minecraft?” Why was she even asking this? What was the point of it?

… There was no time to really explain why she was doing what she was doing. Not right now.

“Ignore me, I'm rambling. Just… DM me, alright?”

Fia… really needed time to process. Kat didn’t even answer her question. Maybe it was a sore topic now.

Not like Kat needed to say anything. It was very obvious that she wasn’t human anymore. That… broke Fia’s heart, frankly. But she couldn’t say anything, not here, not now. She’ll ask later. She’ll…

…

That’s Kat, right? That’s still Kat, even if she isn’t human anymore? Right? They can still talk, still knit with each other, right?

“Y-yeah. Let’s go h-home.” she took Kalei’s hand and pulled them along, looking out the corner of her eye as they hastily made their way out of the woods and into Kat’s house. (Will Kat even live here now still?) Fia retrieved her sewing box, feeling the familiar weight in her hand, and didn’t say a word as she left for home with Kalei.

Right before they crossed fully out of Kat’s property, Kalei turned and shouted. “Kat! Meet us at the apartment, okay?”

Maybe having some… small time apart from Kat would make it better. Or worse. Either way, Fia clearly wasn’t doing well. They almost wanted to drag her to Canni’s, but Kalei could manage a head wound at home.

“I’ll help clean the blood out of your hair at home,” Kalei said. “It’s going to be okay now.”

They paused.

“It’s going to be different,” they said carefully. “But okay.”

Squig stood in place. Her brown eyes had begun to glaze beneath those tinted aviators. Her heartbeat slowed, but only ramped up in intensity. The beats were thick and heavy, the pumping of her heart could be felt in her bones.

Phase two is starting.

But before she can get worse, a word breaks through the numbness.

It takes a moment to compute in her skull, but as soon as it’s just Kat and Squig alone, she realizes what it was. The numb woman asks the newly born god a one-worded question, voice lifted just barely as she spoke; “Minecraft?”

Before a response is given, Squig forces back the numbness, a single ounce of hope shining through a voice on the verge of tears that she is still too numb to spill, “I… I have a… A server. Do… Do you? And… And those two, do you think they’d… Want to…? Uh…”

Kat smiled, her arm still outstretched towards Squig. “I'd be happy to join yours! As for the others, I think that'll be a question for another day. You know… I think, in my heart of hearts, you aren't as bad as you think you are. Just grab on, and let the rest of everything drift right past you. It's questions for other days. Okay?” Kat’s other arm went behind her own neck. Was she being weird? Maybe she should back off?

(Heart of hearts..? I… I thought that exact phrase… But that was when I grabbed my crowbar, and that was before she ascended??? Was that a coincidence? If not, then… Even within the limitations of the powers of this entity it doesn’t make… No, no, not an entity, JUST a person, a normal fucking person playing a character in an ARG who just HAPPENED to have a mental health episode that was resolved mere moments before the whole Seige thing was resolved, which ALSO resulted in teleportation, or maybe some kind of magic trick type deal? Like they use in stage magician shows? But don’t those usually have stunt doubles or secret hallways beneath the stage or something? So even THEN, how did - )

She hits herself on the head again. With the crowbar again. Harder this time. Hard enough for a slight bruise to form later.

“Kat. Please just take me home.”

Without another word, Squig grabbed onto Kat’s arm. (Wait, why am I doing this? I need to call an Uber, or have her call an Uber or look at the bus schedule or - )

“You wanna cut to the chase and stop wondering about figures of speech and accidental parallels? Hm, okay!”

Kat teleported them to their destination without further stalling. The realm in between looked like neon pink wind coursing past them at the speed of sound. “Sorry if I weirded you out.” Her voice had a much more present echo at this point.

Then they made it. The heavy echo was gone as fast as it came.

“Wasn't my intention, I swear… Something just told me you may need someone on that server of yours.”

Squig’s mind was blank.

One second, she was in Kat’s neighborhood. The next, she was in her own trailer park.

(How.)

(Fucking. HOW.)

(This isn’t something that can happen.)

(This isn’t physically possible.)

(This isn’t rea-)

Squig’s stomach turned. She let go of Kat then took a second pill out from her backpack. Swallowed whole without water once again.

“Uh… Thank you, Katty. I… Thanks, I, uh…”

She swallowed as best as she could with how dry her throat is. Her eyes shook within her eyesockets, teeth chattering. But the numbness started to return to her finger tips.

She could feel herself slip back from phase one into phase two of her pre-episode phases.

Squig forces the words out,

“I’ll DM you when I’m less…. In this state. Okay? Now… Go take care of Fee and Kal and… I’ll… I’ll…….”

She steps towards the door of her trailer, the same place she was so, so numb just a few weeks ago. She was trying to avoid an episode back then, but at this point? She felt as if one would start any second now. She grabbed the railing of the stairs, turning one last time to face the godling before her ascent.

“I’ll be fine. Just go, Katty. They need you, okay?”

“You got it, Squiggles! Take care of yourself, okay?” Kat crossed her arms and gave a small supportive wink.

Then she put those wings to use.

It was a difficult beginning, but eventually she had found a way to soar.

She only hoped Squig would find her own way to soar, too.

Squig watched for just long enough to see the catgirl ascend into the sky on wings Squig knew for a FACT could not support the weight of a human body.

She stood there. On the stairs. The same one she stood on the last time she nearly had an episode.

(Do I count the one after I was chased by Kat? No. That had to have been a full one too.)

She takes out her keys. She unlocks the door.

And when Squig opens it, she walks inside.

And then, she falls.

[VIDEO TRANSCRIPT END.]

Kalei slammed the car door shut and moved as quickly as they could to the back door. Thank god, they’d remembered to grab the other crutch for some stability. They moved a touch faster than they probably should have, given their circumstances, but the circumstances outside that allowed it. 

Kat was dying, most likely, and they refused to let that happen. After everything they’d gone through, after all of the hurt, Kat had to walk out the other side of this some version of okay. They wouldn’t accept it otherwise. They made it to the backdoor, and raised their fist to knock. The door slipped open before Kalei could make a noise.

Fia opened the door just as she saw Kalei through the peephole, quickly ushering them in before closing it once again. Her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying she had gone through. She definitely looked worse for wear, fidgeting nervously with her sleeve.

“There you are. C’mon, get in here.” she cleared her throat, surprised at how choked her voice sounds. “Sorry. It’s been a long few days.” Fia sighed, rubbing her eyes.

Stepping inside the house, Kalei glanced around. It was a wreck. Furniture thrown out of place, blood splatters (oh god) and broken glass, and confetti. So, so much confetti. That was- it could be worse. There could be a limp girl laying on the ground with eyes like marbles, but there wasn’t. Besides, Kalei had Fia, and Squig, and Canni on speed dial, and a backup plan. Oh god. Please let that be enough.

Kalei made eye contact with Fia- she looked terrible- and tried their best to give her a reassuring smile. It didn’t work at all. “Don’t even worry about it,” they said. “It’ll be okay soon. We just need to find her. She’s somewhere nearby, I’m sure.”

Hide and seek was Siege’s favourite game, by far! What a rush, trying to find the best spot to avoid those pesky onlookers. 

Her backyard was a great spot, from what it could currently tell. 

It ‘disappeared’ behind a tree, listening intently for any onlookers. 

“And then the Kat-Siege hybrid thingy chased me around their house for an hour or two and then I passed out in a bush and when I woke up the next morning, I found a SECOND letter, which was actually more of a letter this time and NOT just a weird cheat sheet thingy? Anyway, I followed the instructions on the letter, it brought me to the fucking HIGHWAY, saw a kid get run over by a car, saved the kid, not the driver, that guy died because of another car hit him and…. It was a whole thing.”

Squig informed the driver of her Uber, just now pulling into the street that Kat’s house was on. “I’ll… Tell you how it goes after the fact but… This is… Probably the strangest series of events I’ve ever lived through, even if half of it’s for a fucked up Truman Show-ish ARG type deal. Well. Minus the time a few weeks ago where I shot two people because one of them beat the shit out of me at a McDonald’s. Also that person I mentioned with one leg? Yeah, uh… That was me. I… I think I did that. Anyway - ”

“Ma'am, are you giving me the gift cards or not?”

“OH! Uh, yeah, sure!” Squig took two cards for the barbeque place from her backpack, handed it to the Uber driver as she got out of the car, “Anyway, I’m about to, I THINK fight a demon? Or like… Convince a person going through a mental health crisis to take their meds or something? I genuinely have no clue, but - ”

Squig didn’t get the chance to finish. The driver drove off as soon as she shut the car’s door.

“... Well fuck you too then. Gave you 200 USD worth of grilled meats and this is how you repay me…”

…but upon glancing around, there was nobody they could see inside of the house except for Fia and themself. “What the hell,” Kalei breathed. This couldn’t be a good sign… 

They walked through the living room, looking behind toppled tables and couches. Things were everywhere, but there wasn’t a Siege- Kat- Kaige- there wasn’t a body. (Don’t call it that, Kalei, what are you thinking?)

A stroke of pain pokes at Kalei’s temples. They’re about to make some snarky comment to themselves about how now really isn’t the time when they are filled with the strangest, most overwhelming feeling that they need to open the front door. “Go check the other rooms,” Kalei said to Fia anxiously. “I need to get the door for Squig.”

It was probably Squig, at least. They made their way to the front door and threw it open, glancing around outside as well. There was definitely a Squig there, but no Kat.

Shit.

Fia nodded and went around the house, opening doors and checking every room she hadn’t been in for Kat. There was no one. She even went through and checked every place twice, fearful she missed something. If Kat was in the house somewhere, then Fia wouldn’t hesitate to turn it upside down, comb through every last nook and cranny, for her.

But no, there was no Kat. Leaning against a wall, Fia blinked away the sudden nausea that washed over her. Oh goodness, now is really not the time. She looked up and saw that needle and empty bottle of painkiller on the table in Kat’s room, the very same that Canni gave to Fia to help with Kat’s pain. Kat’s pain, from when Siege was torturing her, frying her nerves like she was being zapped to death.

Dammit. That just made Fia feel sicker. Sure, it helped at the end of the day, but so did stabbing Kat, and look where they are now. It wasn’t even a permanent fix like they thought it was! Stupid. Foolish, idiotic to think that such an entity could be kept away so easily. Of course it would come back. Why did she think it wouldn’t? Sliding down the wall involuntarily, Fia sat on the floor and leaned her head against the wall, numbly staring at the floor.

She heard the door open, she heard talking. But she just… needed a second.

Squig took out her phone to text Kalei. 

Squig: Kalei, i’m here!!! Where are you rn??

Squig: Seriously dude, I have NO CLUE where you are but we gotta stick toewrther

Squig: *Together

Squig: But yeah! I’m here! I keep thinking it’s the house next door, but no, that’s the one I passed out in the backyard of

Squig: Anyway, when you read this, I’m out front, can you PLEASE text or call me back

Squig: Kalei PLEASE i am TRYING to help out here, where ARE YOU

Squig: KALEI PLS RESPOND i’M GONNA FREAK OUT IF YOU DON’T

Feeling the most irritating buzzing during a very important moment, Kalei picked up their phone to silence it. To their complete and utter disappointment, Squig was blowing up their phone.

Standing… twenty feet away. Kalei coughed. “Ahem.” And then once more, louder. “AHEM.”

She finally looked up.

“Oh. Howdy Kalei!~”

Without even the impression of a smile, Kalei raised a trembling hand and beckoned Squig inside. “We can’t find her,” they shouted. The desperation in their tone was concealed only by the strength they were forcing into it. “Hurry!”

“YUP! Hurrying!!” Squig called out, jogging to the front of the house.

She shut the door as soon as she entered the home. Scratching the side of her head, Squig spoke, “So ya can’t find her? That’s bad. Uh… Obviously. But… Which ‘her’ are we talking about? Fia or Kat or both of ‘em? Because if Kaige or whatever their fucked up demon fusion name is, uh, it’s obsessed with Fia, right? So you’re probably gonna find Kat trailing behind wherever Fia is. If we find one, the other’s gonna be close too, correct?”

Unfortunately that wasn't the case in the slightest. 

Siege snickered. How long had it been, again? They had been checking everywhere for so long, it could hear their panicked voices from inside those thin walls. It was a wonder none of her neighbours cared about the screams in the slightest, the more Siege thought about it. They happened. All. Week. 

How pathetic it truly was, being left with such a fragile host. One who was so kind, and caring, and yet the most healthily obsessive human it had seen so far. How UNFAIR it was, to need a human body to survive. Like some sort of parasite. 

These people didn't need to know that once it got a host, there was no way to get another. 

Kalei hated to call it by that name, but- “We can’t find Kaige. You’d think it’s by Fia, but I think Fia-“

Is curled up on the ground, visibly ill. Something churned in Kalei’s gut, tight and uncomfortable. “It’s… not by Fia,” they said. Kalei walked over to Fia and extended a hand down towards her.

Deep breaths. It would be okay, Kalei reminded themself. They just had to stay focused, stay put together. This wasn’t hopeless. (Kalei was never the optimist in any group, but they could be the most stubborn.) “Hey, Fia. It’s- we can fix this. Okay? I don’t like this either. But she- she’ll be okay. Okay?”

Without moving, Kalei called to Squig (in a noticeably less kind tone), “It isn’t in the house. That means it’s either roaming the street, or it got in the backyard.”

Fia blinked and looked up as a shadow was cast over her face from Kalei’s approach. Her face was pale and cold sweat beaded on her skin. Wiping some sweat off her forehead, she took Kalei’s hand and pulled herself up. That’s right, can’t give up now. Kat was somewhere outside, waiting for them.

“I’ve um, checked all over the house, twice. It’s not in here. Should probably check the backyard first before going out onto the streets, just in case.” she pulled on the scrap fabric tying her braid together, undoing the knot and using her hand to undo the braid. She fidgeted and pulled on her knotted brown hair for a bit before rebraiding it. “Hey Squig.” she greeted Squig tiredly, deciding she may as well acknowledge the person who’s still convinced it’s all an ARG. At least she’s helping, so it’s not just Fia and Kalei this time.

Fia wondered what they would have to do to get rid of Siege this time. Hopefully not as violent as last time. She wasn’t sure the alibi of “found her bleeding out in her house” would work again.

Squig waved, “Uh, howdy!~ Nice to meet ya, Fia! Sorry it’s under these, umm,” she gritted her teeth, (What do I say? Uh… Dire? Strange? Uh… Completely unethical given the fact that literally everyone associated with this ARG within a twelve mile radius has gone through a mental crisis within the past 24 hours, possibly more than one? Hmm. I’ll just go with the catch-all), “These fucked up circumstances.”

She walked a little further into the house, inspecting the place idly as she spoke, “So the Hellcat ain’t in the house, and they ain’t directly outside. So, we COULD go and look for them, but…” Squig tilts her head, finally looking into the eyes of the two people next to her, “Ain’t that just the thing? If Kaigey McHellcat wants to play, which, given what happened to me the other night, seems to be the case, I think the critter wants us to split up or have us go scramble around fruitlessly until it’s too late.” She pushes up the frame of her tinted glasses (GOD It’s gonna be so hard to see later in the LARP portion of this game because of these stupid things… My regular lenses better be delivered soon…), “In other words… If we do that, we’re just gonna play right into the game of it. And I’m far too genre savvy to let us be sitting ducks for a demon to pick apart OR for it to exhaust us to the point in which actually fighting them is twice as difficult.”

“In other words…” Squig pauses for dramatic effect, “Let’s do a Scooby Doo.”

There’s another pause. It’s far more awkward this time. 

“And… And by that, I mean we should create a trap and then lure Kaige out into it. Does... Does that make sense? Sorry, I’m… Trying to be a bit more chipper now that the kiddo’s awake but, I’m still worried and… Uh. Yeah.”

Kalei almost laughed at her. Almost. They would’ve, if not for the knowledge that Squig was dead serious. “I don’t want you to be chipper. I want you to think. Do you really think there is any trap we can set up it would fall for? For gods sake, the only thing it cares about is Fia, and I’m not using my friend for a goddamn honey pot!”

They groaned, and buried their face in their hands. Why couldn’t Canni have the mysterious knowledge to crack the cipher? Or literally anyone else besides somebody who managed to always make things-

(Hands on Kalei’s shoulder. Telling them to breathe. Forcing them to eat. Treating them like a random person, not the near stranger who’d wished the worst on her.)

(Kat. Smiling. She was looking at Fia, yes, but then she looked at Kalei and that grin went from lovesick to sheepish. She flushed in embarrassment, and shushed Kalei with a shake of her head. Kalei stuck a tongue out in response, and Kat’s shoulders shook with silent laughter.)

-it didn’t matter if she was annoying as hell. Squig was not a horrible person, damn it, and she was better than nothing. She had to be. “Right. Before we try this trap, we have to try and check the backyard. Can we- can we compromise on that? Fuck, we don’t have time for this…”

-

Fia didn’t understand a word of what Squig said. Genre-savvy? Scooby-Do? Was there context she was missing? Yeah, probably. But she could get it from Kalei or the internet later.

“I don’t…” she cleared her throat. Dammit, she really needed water. When was the last time she drank water again…? Whatever, it didn’t matter. “I don’t um, know if it would fall for any trap we could set up. Besides—” she dropped her voice to a whisper. “—It might be listening.” her brown eyes flicked around the hallway, as though worried there were hidden microphones or something around. She shook her head. “It’s weird. Maybe I’m being paranoid though.” Fia chewed on her top lip, thinking.

“And for the record, I really don’t mind being like… I don’t know, the person to lure it out or something. I mean, that’s what I’ve been here for all week, isn’t it? Partly to keep it from going after you in case it wanted to, but also, it… doesn’t want to hurt me. Well.” she paused, frowning. “That uh… might’ve changed, if Kat isn’t awake and Siege is fully in control as it probably is. Um, point is—I’m okay with being the bait, if we’re setting up a trap. B-but yes, we should go check the backyard. This way, let’s go.” she waved for the two to follow her and they went to the back of the house, where she opened the back door to the yard. It looked empty, but there was a good chance it wasn’t.

“Be careful, guys. It might be here. Stay vigilant.” she whispered as they stepped outside. “Of course, I don’t think I need to say that or anything, but still.”

“Alright, good,” Squig pondered to herself, “Hellcat’s more than capable of taking the bait so long as we stroke its ego and make it think like they’ve won! So I think we can trap it probably!~ And now that Fia’s agreed to be bait, all we’re gonna need now is something to capture it with! Nothing too dangerous, just something like a net or a rope. We don’t need to go TOO Scooby Doo, I don’t think we have the time to craft some sort of a convoluted Rube Goldberg type deal, much to the dismay of Mystery Inc’s resident himbo. Though I do think that we could - “

Squig looked back up. The other two had already gone outside amidst her insane ramblings. With no plan, no trap, just the idea of maybe using Fia as bait. 

(Well. I don’t blame them for being hasty. The Siege aspect is obviously a part of the ARG, but… Kat’s still not in the best state of mind. We all want the best for her. So… Just focus on helping Kat, Shelley. Follow the lead of the people who know her best.)

She paused. (And… And the letters. Follow the letters. Don’t THINK about them, don’t THINK about how they work, just… Follow them. That’s the best plan you can have, Shells. Now follow it.)

Squig coughed, put on a somewhat more cheerful expression, clapped her hands together, and then pursued the roommate duo outside. 

“Alright then! Improv! I can do that!~ Let’s, uh… Try not to do anything too dangerous towards her or ourselves though? Play it smart, we’ll all get out of this right as rain.”

They were finally outside. It was only a matter of time until it was found, huh? A soft laugh almost escaped their throat, but the thrill of the game always seemed to make it more and more enthralled as time went on. 

Tick tock, tick tock… Running out of time. 

A trap? Really? Did they know it could hear them from where it was hiding? Of course not, they had no idea where they were going to find the girl. Because she was gone. She was sleeping, yes, but Siege was holding her eyes shut ever so gently… It just needed one more moment to tease the gaggle of searchers before letting her take the limelight. 

One… More… Time. 

After that, poof! Lights out. End scene. The girl would be rewritten and crossed out, another scrapped individual who barely ever had potential to begin with. 

All she wanted was to shine, and yet she had adamantly made sure she was hidden. Isolation when things had gotten hard didn't ever work, so now she had to finally face the music. 

The final bell tolled for the girl. Kat. She was going to be a fuzzy memory from this day forward. A means to an end. 

Fia stepped onto the grass, looking back as Squig caught up to them. Brushing a strand of her brown hair that had fallen in front of her eyes aside, she approached the treeline and cautiously peeked into the thicket.

“Kat? Are you there?” she called out from the edge of the trees. Looking back nervously to check her friends—Hmm. Friend, singular? Fellows would be more fitting… oh well—were alright every so often, she tentatively stepped beyond the treeline. “Kat, we’re—we’re here to help, please? Are you here?”

Anxiously, Kalei made their way out. Even knowing that XIV would come if they called, this felt… unsettling. Something about this dreary backyard, left untouched compared to the wreckage of the house, made it feel like an arena prepared for battle.

Oh, whatever. This wasn’t going to be a physical confrontation. Deities don’t work like that. No, ones like Siege don’t even need to touch you to kill you. They just need to find what makes you hurt. What makes you- oh god. They gagged, spitting on the ground before throwing their head back up. Blinking through brown (and white) bangs, Kalei looked around for Siege. “Come out already, get this over with.”

Calling for Kat was the nicer option, but Kalei figured Siege would prefer for them to stroke its ego and call it by name. It seemed… airheaded, despite being relatively cunning. They looked at their makeshift party and felt the oddest combination of pride, disgust, and dread settle in their stomach. Fia was brave. Kalei didn’t deserve someone like her, nobody but Kat probably ever could. Squig was… well. She was something. That’s for sure. And Kalei tried. That’s all they could really give themself. They tried, and they bled, and (they killed) they fought, and they made it here, dragging themself on a dirty, dented, beginning to rust crutch.

This was going to go wrong somehow. Something whispered in their gut that this wasn’t the happy, easy resolution Kalei was hoping for. Maybe it was the king’s bullshit, maybe it was something inside Kalei that always knew they deserved nothing but the worst- either way, they only barely managed to hold back the urge to grab onto Fia’s sleeve to make sure she couldn’t disappear. “Don’t do anything stupid,” they said under their breath. Then, after a pause. “Either of you.” Kalei couldn’t live with that on their conscience. (Kalei didn’t think Squig deserved to die here, either.)

Squig trailed behind the other two. The two halves of her brain clashed, the side that wanted to keep treating this like the LARP it is, and the side that realized there’s a real human person suffering behind Kat’s phony supernatural cosmetics. (Okay… I want to win this encounter, but I know the other two know what’s best for Kat more so than I. Well… To a degree.)

She had the letter. The letter that told her what to do. Well… Okay, it didn’t say EXACTLY what to do, but it gave Squig the instructions to give to Kat! Which is… Something! And whoever wrote it had faith in HER of all people. Which… Made Squig doubt the letterwriter’s judgement somewhat. (Well… No. The letter said to trust myself. So… I guess I gotta do that? It is a lot easier said than done, but…) 

Squig adjusted her tinted shades. Fia and Kalei stood by each other, just a few feet ahead of her.

(They needed faith in something. In someone. They had that in each other, but not in a solution. And…) Squig took off her backpack, just to swing it to the front of her body and look inside. She put a hand in, touching the physical paper of the letter. A thin slice of duct tape had been used to connect the two halves by the back so that it didn’t block the words. Squig did connect the halves in the Uber ride here, took a photo of the page too. Which is why she doesn’t take it out. In fact, she hides the letter deeper into the bag, taking out her phone from the leather pack instead.

(I have that solution. It doesn’t make sense how I know this IS the solution, but… It is. And for some reason, it says I can help. So… Let them have the faith in me that I don’t have in myself. Let them have the faith in me that I don’t think they even really have… Let them have faith in… The letters then. Yes. That… That’s something worthy of believing in. Despite… How unrealistic it is for magical letters being able to guide you towards success. Just… I gotta stop thinking about this. Where the fuck is Kat?)

She opens the photo app on her phone, checking the picture of the letter again. As if looking at it would magically give her any sign on what to do now.

And at last, they were going to be found. The willpower it took to not simply peek out from where they were hidden and laugh at the lot was a tough draw. So very close, yet oh so very far from victory. Only fate could determine what would happen next.

At least that’s what it would say if it was a loser who gave up easy. Siege will tug on the strings of fate to its favour as much as possible. These people must have had some sort of motive or plan to have gone ahead and grouped up like this.

“Well this is interesting..” Siege muttered with a sickening glee. Time was a fragile concept, yet it seemed that it was running out rather quickly. Tick tock.. Find her if you dare, deal with the consequences.

Fia nodded. “Yeah, I won’t, don’t worry. Um, Squig?” she turned back at Squig. “Could you.. Stay behind us? Just in case? I don’t want you to get hurt.” she bit back the urge to say that Squig was never meant to be involved anyways. “Just… just in case.”

With that, off they went. Crunch, crunch, went the leaves and twigs under her feet as Fia wandered slowly through the woods, looking all around for the familiar figure that was Kat.

How much time did they have left? Fia had no idea. There was probably a time limit. How much time did they waste? … Was it too late already? Gosh, Fia really hoped it wasn’t. What wouldn’t she give to just hear Kat’s voice and know everything’s alright. What wouldn’t she give to hug her again?

Find her. Find her, and you’ll get all that back. That’s right. Don’t lose at hide and seek now.

Out the corner of her eye, Fia spotted something. A shade of brown that didn’t match with the tree trunks.

“Kat?” Fia’s voice hitched, though still quiet. “Is that…?” Abandoning all reason, Fia made haste towards where she thought Kat was.

Shit. “Fia!” Kalei hissed, hurrying after her as quickly as they could go. It made their armpit sore, and the muscle in their forearm felt close to snapping, but they made good speed behind Fia. They’d had plenty of practice, after all.

What was she even looking for? At first, Kalei couldn’t see a single thing. Maybe Fia had gone running for no reason, maybe things were-

There was hair twisted on the ground, some thrown on the roots of the tree and some braiding in with the grass. The hair was connected to a limp, still body that Kalei hadn’t seen in ages, and she was real, and Kalei did not care about the halo or the other markings because there were bloody tear stains and regular tear stains mixing on Kat’s cheeks and oh god, Kat, she’s right there.

Without even realizing what they were doing, Kalei was starting to kneel on the ground, reaching for Kat. A ringing sounded in their ears, something deep in their gut telling them bad idea, bad idea, bad idea, but god. Kat was there.

Was she… alive? “Kat,” they breathed. Kalei wanted to cry, but they were too busy trying to look for a flutter in her chest. Their hand hovered in midair, somewhere between grabbing for Kat’s hand and falling helplessly onto their own thigh. “Kat, you’re breathing. You’re breathing, okay? You’re-” They were choking like a puppet that had its strings ripped out and wrapped around its own lungs. This wasn’t right, something about this wasn’t right. Right?

Squig had to do a double take at everyone rushing ahead, but once she was out of her brief stupor, she rushed after the other two. “WAIT UP, JACKASSES!!! What HAPPENED to ‘PLAYING IT SMART’ and ‘HAVING A PLAN’???”

Nearly tripping over the leaves and twigs of some brambles, she somehow stumbled into where Kalei, Fia, and Kat were. 

(Wait… is Kalei..?)

“KALEI YOU ABSOLUTE DUMBASS!!!!!” Squig screamed, “That is the MOST obvious trap this world has EVER FUCKING KNOWN!!! How on EARTH do you claim to have read the play that gives you infinite knowledge or whatever, when you keep being so fuckin’ STUP - “

“Hey, little shits.” 

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!” Squig jumped out of her skin at the sudden noise from behind her. Turning back, she saw it was right there. Siege. (Err… Kaige? Kat during a mental health episode? Whatever… Fucker scared me, whatever their name is right now…)

“Took you long enough.” Siege was.. What the fuck? When did it get behind Squig?? It cackled, soaking in the sight of the startled woman. “I’ve waited so long to have an audience for my host’s eternal slumber. It’s too late, you’re all too LATE to fix this in any way you think you did before.” What- what huh how the hell was it showing up where everyone didn’t look?? When could it do that?

Only the whole time. The bumbling buffoons were playing riiight into its claws.

“You want her to be saved? You want her to live again with no CONSEQUENCES in the slightest? No setback, no uneasiness for all of eternity?” It started with elbows to their ribs, playful enough for an entity of Siege’s caliber. Then it got more severe. Tripping them when they tried to run up, shoving them away, lifting up Kat’s legs and letting her body float around just out of reach. “Doesn’t quite sound like my vibe… I think it’s time you all see what I’ve been planning this whole time, don’t you? Just think about how fun it could be if we all played a couple more games!”

No. No no no nono they couldn’t be too late. They can’t be. But also, since when could Siege do that? The floating thing wasn’t new, but teleportation? Come ON. Shoved down to the ground, Fia hit her head against a rock and felt the ringing return to her ears. Dammit, that hurt. It was dizzying.

“Ugh…” Fia grappled for a nearby tree to help her stand back up. The back of her scalp felt wet when she tried to feel for the damage, and her hand came away with red on it.

No. Wrong hand, wrong time, not her blood. Yours, your own. But is it really that different? As if she wasn’t dizzy enough, that just added to it. The rough bark of the tree cut into her palm as she pulled herself up.

“That’s not… ugh..” she couldn’t even say anything. What could she say? Every word that could possibly matter was gone. She’s tried so much over the past week, to no avail. Being in that house alone, listening to Kat’s screams and Siege’s taunts… it was pushing her to her breaking point.

She was foolish, an idiot to the very end. Was she really going to watch her beloved friend die in front of her now, unable to do anything while being toyed by such a powerful entity? What else could she do now? It was so, so hard not to lose hope. She nearly lost it just days ago, saw the wide abyss of despair and contemplated sinking into it. But surely, surely there’s hope, right? Kat wasn’t dead yet, she was in there somewhere. But Fia also knew that no amount of begging would bring Kat back, not while Siege was in control.

What could she do…?

Yes, they wanted her to live again, damn it! Kalei grabbed around blindly for their crutch and pulled it back to their side, leaning heavily on the tree to bring themself to a standing point. Kalei’s good leg trembled. Oh, shit…

This was bad. This was really, really bad. Kalei had gone on and on about how they could fix things, and this was a rag-tag group of fighters, but who were they kidding? Kalei wasn’t god. Kalei had a god on speed dial, but who knew if she would answer? That, and Kalei had no promise that XIV gave a fuck about Fia or Squig. That had to wait, not- not now. Not when things were so indeterminate.

With a gag, Kalei managed to get to their feet. This sucked- Kalei couldn’t give up. They couldn’t give up with Kat still so there, but was that even her anymore? Was that… was that the person they were fighting so hard for? She could be dead already. She could’ve died days ago, that body could be cold and rotting for all they knew.

A hand brushed over a bulge tucked in the waistband of their jeans. The metal was cold through the thin lining of the shirt they’d stolen (again) from Canni’s closet. Kalei didn’t want to use this, god, they really didn’t want to. They weren’t even sure if they could. But if Kat was gone, there was no fucking way they would let a doppelganger steal her body.

Moving forward, Kalei noticed that leaning against a nearby tree was Fia. She was staring at a red stained hand- oh god.

Half walking, half stumbling, Kalei managed to make their way to her. Their crutch kept slipping on grass made slick from (blood blood blood blood) dew, and their good leg was trembling and their still healing ankle was sore, but that could all be ignored because Fia was hurt. “Fia!” Kalei snapped. They stopped before her and raised a hand to feel around her head, seeing as how nothing else on her body seemed hurt. Their fingers felt something warm and wet, and they snatched the hand back. She was bleeding, all right, but… was she crying, too? “Fia. Listen to me.”

They grabbed her hand and squeezed it in their own, glancing back at Siege before meeting Fia’s eyes once more. Kalei’s own eyes were wide with panic, pale grey and bloodstained from too many late nights and migraines. “I can see that you’re hurt. But if you can still- if you can still be in this, you need to stop panicking and move. We can cry later. I’m sorry. If you aren’t able to keep going, take my phone, and leave.”

Okay. With that out of the way, Kalei turned their back on Fia (ignoring the paranoid whispers that she would be gutted like a fish by Siege the moment they didn’t have eyes on her) and looked up at Kat’s body once more. There had to be something they could do. This couldn’t be hopeless. Damn it, Kalei, quit being a hypocrite. Think. Think.

What did Kalei have? They had a Fia, with a head injury that could either be superficial or concussing her. They had a Squig, who knew what to do… but couldn’t tell them. Fuck. They had a gun. A gun that Kalei would honestly rather kill themselves than have to shoot, but… fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Was this where taunting would work? Or would Siege just hit them with a diamond like they’d seen? Fuck- did the others know she was capable of that? Surely, they did, but hell… Kalei hadn’t told them what exactly they’d seen. 

If taunting was too dangerous, maybe they… oh. Oh, how they hated this. How horrible this felt. Squig knew what to do, right?

…

………the look on her face told Kalei what they already knew. They were fucked. Okay. Time to take a page from Siege’s book (that thought sent a chill up their spine) and put on the show of a lifetime.

Right before they did, they locked eyes with Fia and, almost imperceptively, shook their head. It was all they could do to try and communicate that everything they were about to do was pure, utter, complete bullshit.

Kalei looked up at Siege. Grinning, maniacal, bloody, powerful, bitchy Siege… and dropped their crutch. Fell to their knees. Bit their cheek so hard it bled and got some saliva in their mouth before spitting, sending a red mess splattering on the grass. Made them look a lot more hurt where they are. “Stop it!” Kalei screamed, so loud their voice cracked. “Stop it, stop it, stop… oh my god…” With shaking hands, they reached for their hair. “Where is she, I don’t- stop, you’re killing her… you’re killing her… just fucking tell me where she is, god damn you!”

Squig panicked. Internally, externally, practically eternally.

Fia was down. Kalei was down. Everyone else that Squig could POSSIBLY consider someone who would know more than herself in this scenario has already given the fuck up. Well… Minus whoever wrote the letter. But… Considering they put Squig in charge of a huge part of the puzzle here? Yeah, that might’ve been a bad call. (I probably should have seen this coming, huh?)

(Welp. Guess I’ll prepare plan B.)

Squig reaches into her backpack and grabs her crowbar. Not taking it out. Just holding it. 

(Just in case….)

Siege tilted their head. “You’re actually grovelling beneath me? I almost don’t believe it~.. How sweet.” In a disgusting turn of events, the entity seemed weirdly… Pleased. It raised their head to look down at the pitiful sight below. “She is sleeping! You know. Again. What a sleepy girl she is. Ha, Ha.”

It floated down to Kalei, sympathetically gripping their jaw within two fingers that weren’t its. Attached to a body that would never be its. What a fucking ripoff. Whatever.

“Don’t you worry, you poor thing… I’m sure I’ll be able to let her out one final time before I kill her. To say her final goodbyes to the only three people who she’s talked to outside of that dingy library for the past decade. It’s only fair, I’m not THAT mean!” What a laughable remark, it was. To pretend it wasn’t an evil thing bound to be destroyed by the power of friendship or some shit. It let go of Kalei’s chin, in one swift and violent movement.

Then it turned to the others. “When would you folks like the finale to begin? That is, the final words you ever hear from her. Ha!”

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