Chapter Text
The sun shone through the clouds, blanketing the island in a warm light. Birds flew from tree to tree, calling out to each other in a familiar song. A small family of deer crowded in one of the clearings between the trees.
Schlatt was kneeling, packing the dirt around a fresh oak sapling. His dirt-stained hands supported the sapling as he evened out the ground. He rose from his spot and crossed his arms, a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. The tree was one of the many he’d been planting recently.
Schlatt brushed the dirt off his hands and turned, walking down the path and back towards his house. He walked up and opened the latch to his mailbox. Shoving his hand inside, he roughly pulled out a small circular object wrapped in paper.
Schlatt squinted at the small tag stuck on it. Schlatt groaned when he saw a small smile drawn messily in ink. :] He slowly unwrapped it at arm's length, scared something might jump out at him.
“Oh my fucking god!” Schlatt didn’t dare move an inch. The mine in his hand, half wrapped, had a blinking red light. He slowly brought it closer and pressed the flashing light. When the light turned off, signaling it’d been deactivated, he sighed in relief.
Schlatt was about to discard it in his pocket when he heard a familiar smug voice behind him. “Schlatt! What’s up?” Schlatt turned to see Quackity sauntering over with his hands in his pockets, sporting his iconic beanie.
“What's up? What’s up is that your little prank nearly got my arm blown off!” Schlatt glared daggers at Quackity.
Quackity grinned, “So you got my gift?” He laughed at Schlatt’s expression. “Come on, man. It was just a prank.”
“I should really ban you from my island,” Schlatt said. Crossing his arms and sighing.
Quackity’s grin widened further, “But you wont.” He said confidently.
Schlatt sighed and shook his head. He pocketed the mine and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it and putting it in his mouth. “So, what do you want?” Schlatt asked bluntly.
Quackity laughed, “Can’t I just be here to hang out with you?”
“That would be a first.” Schlatt deadpanned. He paused to take a drag of his cigarette. Smoke wafted from his mouth. “So you’re just here to annoy the shit out of me then?”
“More or less,” Quackity said, shrugging. “Katie told me she’d be here earlier today too. I don’t know if she still is.”
“Great. Another one.” Jschlatt sighed. “She’s probably wandering aimlessly. I’m honestly surprised the Federation haven’t kidnapped her or some shit yet.” He shook his head, voice exasperated but with a hint of worry buried deep.
Quackity’s grin faltered. “Yeah, being kidnapped by the Federation sucks.” He froze when he saw Schlatt raise an eyebrow.
“Why do you sound like you talk from experience?” Schlatt asked. It was more of a demand for answers than anything. He pinned Quackity with his gaze.
“Oh, you know…” Quackity rubbed the back of his neck nervously and avoided Schlatts eyecontact. “When you’re on the island long enough, you tend to hear rumors about the Feds. Only secondhand.”
Schlatt frowned and his eyebrows turned down, “Sure,” Schlatt said, clearly unconvinced. “You are a terrible liar. Anyone ever told you that?”
Quackity was about to respond when he was cut off by a loud voice from the direction of the waypoint stone. “Mr. J! Quackity! What’s up!” Katie waved and grinned brightly, walking over to them.
“Katie, nice to see you!” Quackity latched on to the opportunity for a change of subject. He grinned at Katie, ignoring the frustrated look Schlatt gave him.
Schlatt side-eyed Quackity as he took another drag.
“I was just coming to see if Schlatt here had received my thoughtful gift!” Quackity announced.
“Whatcha get him?” She turned curiously towards Schlatt who looked just about done with this interaction already. Katie gasped when Schlatt pulled the small mine from his pocket.
“Nearly took my fuckin’ arm off!” Schlatt said. “Managed to disarm it, though.”
Katie’s eyes sparkled as she studied the small thing, a cautious curiosity. “How’d you manage to do that?”
Schlatt pointed to the small light that was currently off. “You just pus-”
A loud roar sliced through the air. The trio looked around confused and in alarm. The trees began to sway as a strong gust swept through the clearing, leaves flying and animals fleeing. The roar grew louder and louder, until it was almost deafening. A sleek white air ship came into view a couple hundred feet above them.
Schlatt narrowed his eyes against the wind and saw something drop from an opening in the bottom of the ship. His eyes widened when he realised what was happening. He quickly grabbed Quackity’s arm and reached for Katie’s. He looked around in alarm when he found Katie no longer there.
Schlatt turned to see Katie sprinting towards the center of the clearing. Right where the bomb was dropping. “KATIE!” He yelled urgently.
Katie didn’t stop and it took Schlatt a second to realise why. There was a small creature curled in a ball, tucked between long strands of grass. He couldn’t see exactly what it was. He screamed Katie’s name and heard Quackity beside him doing the same.
It was too late, the bomb hit and the exposion blasted out. Schlatt pulled Quackity closer to him and stepped between him and the blast. He felt a sudden burning force hit his back and throw him forward. He grunted when he hit the ground, Quackity in his arms.
Everything was a blur of pain. He heard a ringing in his ears and had to blink a few times to make out the shape of Quackity above him. He heard Quackity speaking, but it sounded like he was underwater.
The ringing in his ears began to fade, as well as the fog from his vision. He felt Quackitys hands on his shoulders, shaking him gently.
“Schlatt! Schlatt! Can you hear me?” Quackity’s voice was shaky and Schlatt felt something wet hit his face.
Schlatt pulled himself up to a sit and groaned, rubbing his temple. “Quackity? Are you alright?” He looked up and met Quackity’s eyes. Schlatt’s eyes widened when he saw the fear on Quackity’s face.
Quackity’s rose on shaky legs and sprinted towards the clearing of the explosion. “KATIE!” He yelled frantically.
Schlatt jumped up, ignoring the burning pain on the back half of his body, and rushed after Quackity. He froze in his tracks when he saw Quackity stop. Quackity’s knees seemed to buckle under him and he hunched over something Schlatt couldn’t see.
Schlatt walked over, trying to prepare himself. He felt his heart sink to his feet. “Katie?” His voice broke. In front of Quackity, Katie’s bleeding body lay. Burn’s covered her body and a stream of blood dripped from her mouth.
Schlatt dropped down to his knees and his hands hovered over her, as if looking for some way to help. Some way to save her. It was hopeless, Schlatt knew. Katie wasn’t breathing, and when Schlatt checked her heart beat, it was silent.
Quackity was staring at her, tears beginning to travel down his face, and land on the scorched earth beneath them. “Katie? Wake up. Wake up, please! Stop pretending! You can open your eyes now, your not tricking us!” He grabbed Katie’s shoulder and shook her frantically.
Schlatt felt a tightness in his chest as he watched Quackity. He put a hand on Quackity’s shoulder and turned Quackity to face him. Quackity’s eyes were wide as he looked at Schlatt. Schlatt shook his head hopelessly.
Quackity choked on a sob. Schlatt let Quackity fall into his embrace, shaking violently. Schlatt didn’t let his own tears fall, determined to keep it together. He looked around the clearing. The ship was long gone, but the clearing in front of his yard had a miniature crater in it, small fires lining it.
Schlatt sat there for a few more minutes, holding Quackity as the man sobbed into his shoulder. When he was finally sure Quackity wouldn’t fall into a panic attack, he turned back to Katie.
Schlatt hadn’t realized it before, but she seemed to be curled around something. He reached out to gently move her burnt arms to the side, wincing at how easy it was. Schlatt paused when he saw a small ball of fur curled underneath her. It was the creature she’d gone to save.
Schlatt reached his hand out and scooped up the small bundle. The creature shifted in his arms and made an alarmed sound. Schlatt set it down and it stood up. He could see now that it was a fawn.
The fawn’s head swiveled around, looking between him and quackity, and finally Katie. It’s ears droop.
Schlatt ignored the fawn and turned back to Katie. The shock from the explosion was starting to wear off and he felt an overwhelming dread creep into him. With shaky hands he picked Katie’s body up and rose to his feet.
Quackity rose with him, “What- What do we do?” Quackity’s voice faltered.
Schlatt stared numbly down at Katie before looking back at Quackity, “I don’t know.” His voice was hollow. Schlatt took a second and breathed in a deep shaky breath, before beginning to walk towards his house. He stumbled every few steps, but caught himself. He was cautious with Katie, feeling slightly nauseous as her blood dripped down his arms.
Quackity followed by Schlatt’s side, a distant look in his eyes. Tear stains covered his face, but for now the stream had stopped. Though, ever few seconds he would sniffle. Schlatt saw the small fawn trailing them from the corner of his eye, and decided to worry about it later. He could care less wether it followed or not.
When Schlatt reaced his door, he tried to open it. Quackity helped him when he couldn’t open it and hold Katie at the same time. He entered briskly and set Katie down on the couch.
Schlatt walked into the kitchen, leaving Quackity with Katie. He leaned forward on the counter, trying to keep his breathing even. He brought his hand to his face, but instantly retracted it when he felt Katie’s blood smudge on his face.
The nausea began to rise up again and he rushed to the sink. Schlatt turned the water on and began to scrub his hands aggressively. The soapy water in the sink began to turn pink. He scrubbed even when it started to become painful.
It felt like the blood stained his hands, even when they were perfectly clean. The feeling of it on his palms and dripping down his fingers remained.
Quackity grabbed his wrists- when had quackity gotten there?- and forced him to turn away from the sink. “Schlatt, stop, please. You’re hurting yourself.” His eyes were wide as he stared at Schlatt. Schlatt blinked, feeling numb.
Quackity brought schatt to sit down on the floor of the kitchen. The coldness of the tiles soothed Schlatt’s burnt hands.
“Just stay here Schlatt, OK? I’ll take care of cleaning Katie.” Quackity rose again and returned to the other room.
Schlatt sat there, lost in his head. The world became a blur around him. Quackity would occasionally break through the fog, either to clean and dress his wounds or check up on him.
Schlatt felt useless. He should be helping Quackity. But he just couldn’t find the strength to pull himself from the void in his mind. After a while, Schlatt began to feel the exhaustion settle like a weight over him. It didn’t take long for him to succumb to the pull of sleep. Darkness enveloped him and he welcomed it.