Chapter Text
“Hey Quacks! Hey! Hey Quackity!”
Quackity groaned and rolled over to face the screen. “Nnnnwhaaaat?”
“You wanna hear a joke about paper?”
“I… Sure?”
Vi coughed. “Never mind, it’s tearable.”
“Fuck you, that was terrible.” Quackity laughed.
Vi’s eye lit up at seeing Quackity laugh.
They’d just kind of been sitting in silence for a little while, occasionally interrupted by Vi asking if he wanted to watch a movie or something, completely oblivious to the fact that the reason Quackity wasn't talking to them was because he kept dozing off.
He’d accepted that he wasn’t getting any sleep tonight, but that didn't stop his body from trying. Christ, it had only been a few hours and his entire perception of how the world worked and what was and wasn’t possible was changed forever. And he’d only met Vi… What, 2 hours ago? And in that time he’d already had at least 3 panic attacks, blacked out once, destroyed his own TV, and made a promise to a computer virus that meant all of his friends’ efforts would be worth nothing. Not to even mention everything before that with Slime and the casino and everything else.
It had been a long day, to say the least.
Charlie and Ran were probably having a harder time, though.
At least he’d gotten Grizz home before all the shit with Vi started.
“Hey, uh, Vi, can you give me like, an update of what’s going on with Charlie and Ran and everyone?”
Vi blinked and glitched slightly. Quackity had assumed it was a sign of stress or discomfort, and Vi seemed to get very uncomfortable any time Quackity’s friends were mentioned, especially Charlie.
“Oh, uh… I-I mean… What do you wanna know?”
“I… I dunno, I just wanna make sure they’re okay? I saw Ran covered in blood earlier, Grizz got fucking SHOT AT, and Charlie-” He noted as Vi glitched again at the name. “He… Didn’t seem to be doing great the last time I saw him.”
“They’re fine, they’re FINE, for fucks sake. Jesus christ, do you EVER stop thinking about them for FIVE FUCKING SECONDS?” Vi snapped.
Quackity stared in disbelief. “Alright, sure, why don’t you try to stop thinking about your friends when they’re being fucking reckless and in danger, huh?”
Vi didn't answer.
Quackity pinched his forehead. “And you know what? They’re probably gonna be in more danger for longer if you keep this shit-”
Suddenly, there was a notification on Quackity’s computer.
Slimecicle is live!
Quackity blinked. Again? Why was he live twice in one day, and why today of all days?
He looked up at Vi, who also had a confused expression.
“Huh? Wait, that’s… That’s not supposed to…”
Vi pulled up the Twitch stream on the computer monitor.
Quackity looked.
He wished he hadn’t.
Charlie’s unconscious body was held up by long tendrils, in full view of the camera. There was blood on the floor, and Quackity felt bile rise up to his throat when he realized one of the tendrils was piercing through his fucking skull.
“What the fuck, Vi?? You said he was fine!”
Vi looked panicked in the corner of the screen, glitching everywhere.
“Wait fuckfuckfuckfuckFU-UCK! it wa-asn’t suppo-o-osed to go li-ike thi-i-is-s!”
“Vi, what the fuck is going on??” Quackity demanded, trying not to throw up. He didn't really want any more mess on his carpet today.
“Thi-i-is wa-asn’t-t s-supposed t-to ha-appen!! Th-i-i-A-AA4-A-4AAA-A4AA44-” Halfway through the sentence, Vi began to scream. It was an awful, glitchy, distorted noise of complete loss and panic.
“VI.” Quackity yelled, grabbing Vi’s attention. “Tell me what the fuck is going on, now.”
Vi looked like they were… Hyperventilating, somehow. Quackity briefly wondered how much of their cartoony form was just how they portrayed themself, and how much showed their genuine emotions.
They closed the Twitch window, but Quackity knew he’d never get that image of Charlie out of his nightmares.
“I-I-I… R-Ra-achel go-o-ot to hi-im. Fu-uck, I tho-ought he-e would be sma-arter than thi-is-is! The-e… The fu-ucking IDIO-OT, HE-E FUCK-CKING FELL FOR-R-R-”
Quackity slowly put a finger on the computer next to Vi’s glitching form, causing them to immediately shut up.
“Hey, hey, calm down, okay? I can’t understand you when you’re glitching and shit.” he tried to keep his voice even and low, but he couldn’t keep the trembling out. “Who the hell is Rachel?”
Vi hesitated and took a breath. “I… She-e’s one of your friend’s cha-aracters. She… She wants something from hi-im, and she’s going to keep searching his-is mind until she finds it. And knowing her, it can't be good-d.”
Quackity’s breath caught in his throat. What the fuck did Charlie of all people have in his mind that someone would go this far to get it? Was it how to get the characters home? But they’d figured it out already, it was the Gooblecks, wasn’t it?
Vi put their hand, though it looked more like a rough estimation of what one would look like, up to Quackity’s finger. Despite the limited facial features, Quackity had never seen so much pain on any face before.
“I ca-an’t-t feel-l y-yo-ou…” Vi whispered.
Quackity was so taken aback he almost forgot the situation. Almost forgot the image of Charlie. Almost.
He remembered what Vi had told him earlier. How his entire purpose was to be a one-dimensional character for a song. To be obsessed with someone, and never be able to touch them. That was all he was.
Of course he hated Charlie, he was the one who made him this way.
At the thought of Charlie, Quackity’s mind immediately went back to that image…
He pulled his hand away from the screen, and Vi looked off to the side, looking almost on the verge of tears.
“Is… Is there any way you can help him?” Quackity asked, though it sounded more like a plea. He already knew the answer.
“I… I can’t. There’s nothing I can do. Fuck, I… All I can do is make sure they don't reach you if they can't find what they're looking for in your friend.”
Quackity swallowed. “Right…”
He ran his hand through his hair. Fuck. He was powerless. He hated being powerless.
A few moments passed in silence.
“I’m sorry, Quackity.”
And that was when Quackity started crying. He wasn't one to cry a lot. Sure, he wasn’t the most emotionless person in the world, but he wasn’t a crybaby either. But here he was, openly sobbing on his bed in front of a computer virus with his friend’s voice. The friend he couldn’t save.
Quackity suddenly heard music and turned to see the computer was playing a video. He could barely make it out, but several colourful shapes were bouncing to the beat of… Was that fucking Weezer playing??
He rubbed his eyes and his suspicions were confirmed. It was one of those god damn dancing fruit sensory videos.
Quackity blinked. “Wha?”
“I, uh… I dunno, these things help babies calm down and I thought-”
Quackity just stared at the screen in disbelief.
“Don’t fucking patronize me.” he growled, and the video immediately stopped.
At that, Vi looked… Genuinely surprised.
“I-I’m sorry-y, I wasn’t-t tryi-i-ing to patroni-ize you-u…”
Quackity immediately regretted lashing out.
“No, no, fuck, I- shit, I’m sorry. This- this isn't your fault. I’m just… I don't know what the fuck to do.”
Vi’s expression softened and he put his hand on the screen.
Hesitantly, Quackity put his hand over Vi’s.
“I’m sorry, man, this is a really shitty situation all around.” Quackity rubbed at his tears with his free hand.
Vi let out a sad laugh. “Yeah, I… I’m sorry. I wish I could help your friends more and stuff but it's kinda hard to do anything useful when I'm trapped behind this goddamn screen.”
Quackity hesitated before asking the question that had been on his mind this whole time. “Hey, uh… Why do you care about Charlie anyway? I mean, you kinda seem like you don't like him, like, at all.”
Vi laughed hollowly again. “That's the thing, I don't fucking KNOW! I mean, I hate him, I hate him for dragging you into all of this, I hate him for making me such a flat fucking character, I hate how he’s been treating everyone else. And yet… I dunno, but… Something tells me if he dies, none of those character guys are going home. Which is like… I thought I was fine with that? That was my entire plan anyway, wasn't it? And yet…”
Quackity nodded. “Yeah, I… I get that. I just… I’m sorry.”
Vi tilted his head.
“What? Why the hell are YOU sorry? None of this is your fault, Big Q.”
Quackity sighed. “I dunno, I just… Fuck, I'm just sorry. It's a shit situation all around. I… I just want you to know you're more than what Charlie made you to be.”
Vi blinked, seeming genuinely surprised.
“Wh-what?”
Their stutter wasn't a glitch this time. It was a human sign of confusion.
Quackity took another breath. “I mean, Charlie made you for a song, but… You're already way more than that. You've said things Charlie probably never imagined you’d say when he was making that song because… You’re your own person. And I only met you a few hours ago, but… You’re my friend.”
Vi didn’t answer. Instead, to Quackity’s surprise, they turned the monitor off.
“W-wait, shit, I'm sorry, did I say something wrong? I-I didn’t mean to…”
After a few seconds, the monitor turned back on.
“Vi, I- I’m sorry if I did something wrong-”
Vi waved their hands frantically.
“Nononono you didn’t do anything! I just… I just had to do something.”
Quackity blinked. “What? What did you do?”
Vi sighed.
“I helped your friend in the only way I could.”
-
❍ quackity ›
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◯ quackity Today at 23:59
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◼️◼️.◼️◼️ TB
good luck man