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He couldn’t remember existence before the past few days. Hell, he didn’t even know if he existed before the past few days. But that didn’t matter, not when his one and only purpose was given to him by the glorious counsel. He didn’t understand the purpose but he knew it was important. It was life or death for him.
He did what he was told. Pray, preach, walk the streets, talk to the citizens, sway the public. But was it necessarily swaying them if he was telling them the truth? He was telling them the evils of outside the walls, how lost and hopeless they would be if they left the glorious city of Dema. And he truly did believe that. He’d never been outside, but if the glorious counsel said it was dangerous and evil then it was. It had to be. Unless they were lying. But why would they lie to him when they said he was all they needed to succeed in their god given mission?
“Blurry, are you paying attention?” One of the glorious snapped at him. It was Nico, head of the nine bishops (aka: the glorious ones), who was standing at the front of the meeting room. He fidgeted nervously with the hem of his jacket.
“Uh,” he looked around for any clue of what they were talking about, but found nothing. “I’m sorry, I don’t. What were we talking about?”
Nico glared at him.
“We were discussing the recent break in.”
Blurry stared at him blankly. There was a break in?
“Are you really that dense?”
“I’m sorry…“ he whispered tensely.
Nico sighed. The rest of the bishops stared at him annoyingly.
“I told you Tyler wasn’t prepared for this…” Keons leaned over and whispered in nicos ear.
“Tyler?” Blurry perked up. The name sounded familiar. Tyler, tyler tyler tyler. Where had he heard that name before?
“He's not your concern.” Nico directed. “We're moving on. There was a break in the night before you arrived here at 11:34pm in the eastern sector. Here on the table are images taken from the security cams.” Blurry leaned forward to examine the blurry photos. There were five people. The one in the front looked familiar, maybe he was a former citizen. He definitely wasn't dressed like one though, an oversized hoodie and X over his chest definitely was not city regulation. “The suspects are already logged in the system.”
“Who are they?” Blurry quirked an eyebrow.
'Why do you wanna know?’
“dunno,” he shrugged, “just curious.”
“They call themselves the Banditos. They’re the rebels who live outside the wall and terrorize our beautiful city. The people in the photo are Ashlynn Watts, Jessica Monei, Clancy Charleston, and their leader, Joshua Dun.”
Blurry nodded. But why were there five people in the photo if he only listed four names?
“Well, I’m ready to go home for the night. If you’re all done bickering, I am headed out.” Sacarver sighed, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes. She cut him off before he was able to ask his question about the extra person.
“fine. Meeting dismissed.”
Blurry was relieved, pushing his chair out and buttoning up his jacket to compensate for the cold walk to his room in Nicos tower.
He recalled his first moments of consciousness as he made his way back to his residency. The room was cold, the frigid metal table he was laying on biting at his bare back. His nails clawed at the cold surface as he fought against whatever was holding him down. His vision was blurred, the only thing he would see was the red light casting in across the room. Sharp pain pierced every inch of his skin: it felt like his body was waking up from being numb. He wanted out. It didn’t feel right. It felt like fire was being pumped into his veins.
The peculiar thing was, he remembered looking down at his hands once his vision started to clear and feeling unsettled at the sight. They were pitch black from his fingertips to his wrists, and slowly the black faded away as his eyes trailed up his arms. This doesn’t feel right. That’s what he remembered thinking. Later, after he got settled in his new room, he saw himself in the mirror for the very first time. He had brown hair that was clearly dyed blonde at the ends. His nose was sleek and angular, like the mountains that you could only see if you climbed to the roof of the tallest tower. His neck matched his hands to his surprise. He ran a washcloth under the faucet and tried to wash it off, but it wouldn’t even smudge. As much as it looked like paint, he had a feeling it was forever part of him.
The other unusual thing was that his eyes weren’t brown or blue or any other color that the citizens had. They were a stark, bright red. A red that he knew was forever burned in his brain.
Blurry had been thinking so long, he hadn’t realized he had made it to his room. He reached for his keys, pulling them out and shoving it into the lock. Click. He nudged the door open with his foot. Tossing the keys on the counter blindly, he heard them clink as he reached for the light switch. He flipped it, shedding bright white light onto his residency and-
That was not there before.
Standing in the middle of his living room was a man, standing tall and confident. Curly brown hair peaked out from under a black knit beanie. He wore an olive green hoodie with yellow tape crossing from each shoulder to the opposite hip, crossing over his heart. Yellow tape also adorned his right knee, bunching up the camp pants a bit. He looked… familiar.
“Who are you? What are you doing in my apartment?!” Blurry screamed, grabbing his keys from the counter and pointing them in self defense. The man surged forward, cupping his hand over the blonde's mouth.
“Tyl- Tyler! Calm down, calm down, it’s me! It’s just me!” The strange man exclaimed.
“Who the hell are you?! Who’s Tyler!?” Blurry screamed, gripping the man's wrist as hard as he possibly could, digging in his nails and ripping it away from his mouth. The man groaned in pain, grabbing where the dark hand had ripped into his skin.
“It’s Josh!” He stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Blurry froze. Josh was one of the name’s Nico mentioned. The X, the oversized hoodie… it was the same man from the footage. The leader of the rebels.
I have to report him, Blurry thought urgently. He reached for the door hurriedly, but the leader grabbed his wrist and yanked him further into the apartment.
“Tyler! What are you doing?” Josh cried.
“Who is Tyler? Who are you- what is happening?! Why are you here!” Blurry screamed as he stumbled back, holding his keys out in defence once again.
A look of sadness washed over Josh’s face.
“Do you not recognize me?” He asked timidly, much quieter than earlier.
Blurry was shocked by the sudden shift in emotions. He cocked his head to the side, trying to get a read on the man. This is weird, this is an emotion he’d never seen before. Why was he making that face? His eyebrows were raised in concern, and his mouth was agape.
“No, I don’t.” Blurry responded just as quietly.
Josh’s face fell further. He walked over to the couch, crashing down on it defeated. He put his head in his hands and let out a huff of air.
“What are you doing?” Blurry asked.
“I’m sitting.”
“Why are you making that noise?”
The green clad looked up.
“Because I’m sad?”
Blurry cocked his head in confusion. Sad? That word was new.
“Do you seriously not even remember what sad means?”
Josh was clearly frustrated with him. He cowarded back a little bit, scared.
“I haven’t been taught that. Sad. What does it mean?”
“I don’t know how to explain it. It just is.”
Blurry nodded, interested.
“Could you tell me why you're sad? Maybe an example could help me- um- understand.”
Josh nodded.
“I’m sad because I failed you- well, not you but technically you.”
“I’m not following.”
“What’s your name? Your full legal name.”
“Blurryface.”
“Right… right. That’s what they told you it was.”
“Because it is!” Blurry defended.
“But it’s not. You probably don’t remember anything from before a few days ago.”
“I didn’t exist a few days ago.” What was happening? Why was this guy acting like he knew him? He didn’t. His name was Blurryface... right? No- No it had to be.
Josh stood up.
“Your full name is Tyler Robert Joseph. You’re my best friend in the whole world. You’ve been living with me and your friends in Trench, the outside world, for the past year. Six days ago we broke into the city for a supply run and the bishops caught us. We were able to get out but you stayed back to hold them back and- and you didn’t make them out.” Josh rang out his hands nervously, “I promised I’d come back for you… so here I am.”
Blurry started to hyperventilate. It didn’t make sense… it- it couldn’t be true. All the evidence though: the fifth person in the picture, the feeling of being unfamiliar with his own body, not looking like the citizens. Hell, he recognized the name Tyler! It all fit together but he didn’t want to believe it.
“Is that who the fifth person in the photos was? In the security footage?” Blurry asked, voice shaking.
“Yeah, that was you.” Josh took a step forward, toying with the edge of his sleeve.
“Is this what sad feels like?” A tear rolled down his cheek and onto his stained neck.
Josh didn’t answer, but simply stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the shaking boy. He rested his head against his chest, letting the dam break and sobbing into the soft material of his hoodie.
“Why would they lie to me?” Blurry choked out.
“Because they know they can use you when you’re in Blurryface form.” Josh soothed him, running his fingers through the shorter’s hair.
“I- I want my memories back! I want to know who I am!”
“Why are they like this? Why does this damn city even exist!?” Tyler sunk to the floor, bringing Josh with him.
“It wasn’t always like this.” Josh smiled at the thought of distant memories.
“Like what?”
“ Bad. It was better… way better. There was freedom and laughter and- and even happy. Before the bishops came in and stole the town.”
“What do you mean stole the town?” Blurry furrowed his eyebrows, his tears finally not flowing freely.
“It wasn’t always called Dema. This place was originally called Hometown. It was a small society, but a great one. Then people were nice, some of the best you’ve ever met. They were creative and caring, and you couldn’t turn a corner without hearing the sweet sound of music. And no one individual ruled the town. No one was power hungry. It was… peaceful.”
A pause.
“So what happened?” Blurry asked, almost inaudible.
“The bishops saw the peaceful society and wanted to exploit it. So they built the walls, they built the nine towers to loom over everyone- to install fear in them. It’s like it happened overnight. Any sign of what was here was erased. There’s rumors out in the bandito camp that the bishops have been doing this for years, moving from town to town trying to find the perfect one to force their ‘godsent mission’ onto. If that’s true, then who knows how many people are suffering out there.”
Blurry nodded. He had never felt this emotion before. He felt… sorry for the rebel.
“I’m sorry, that sucks.”
“Thank you. It does but… that’s why I’m here. To make it not suck as much.” Josh tried to crack a smile, resting his head on the smaller’s shoulder.
“Is that why you’re here? To take me to the outside like you did the other citizens?” Fear spread across his face, his eyes expanding wide.
“It’s a bit more complicated than that. You have to want to leave. I’m not gonna force you Ty- Blurry.” Josh reached out and brushed his pale hand against the opposing black stained one.
“I don’t even know what’s out there.”
“You don’t have to. I didn’t.”
Blurry nodded. The man seemed brave, trustworthy even. He wondered why he trusted him so much.
“I’ll go with you.” Blurry tried to smile. “To Trench.”
“Good- Great!” Josh gasped and then smirked softly, “because I wasn’t gonna leave without you.”
Blurry laughed. He laughed! He had never laughed before. Tyler probably laughed… Did that count? He decided it did.
the rebel leader leaned down and reached his hand out for the other to take.
Blurry grasped it, pulling himself up. The rebels hand was rough and calloused from years of experience in the wild, but oddly comforting in the sense it was warm and human. Very different from the bishops unnaturally cold ones that were always pushing on his shoulders and making him feel trapped.
Josh led him to the apartment door, hand still intertwined with the darkly stained one. Blurry would usually question that sort of thing, but he didn’t. Maybe it's because he was selfish and liked the comforting touch. He held tighter, squeezing Josh’s hand.
Together, the two of them made their way out of the apartment and down the winding stairs that ran to the basement of Nico’s tower. They reached the formidable metal door guarding the basement and pushed through as if it were a piece of paper.
Blurry was terrified. He was absolutely horrified at what he was doing. What would happen if they got caught? What would they do to him? What would they do to Josh? He may have only known Josh for an hour but there was something that made him trust him. Maybe because he did- well, used too. Because the truth was he wasn’t Tyler anymore. He didn’t even know who Tyler was. He only knew himself as Blurryface, and as far as he was concerned that's who he was. But memories of Tyler, specifically the feelings he felt, slipped through to who he was now. And he supposed that was why he trusted Josh.
“Do you hear that?” Josh whispered, stopping in his tracks?
Blurry sat and listened for a moment. He closed his eyes and focused in and-
“Yeah. There’s a weird buzzing noise coming from down the hall.” Blurry opened his eyes, pupils dilating to adjust to the dark.
“Do you know what it is?”
“No, I've never even been down here.”
Josh furrowed his eyebrows in thought. He gripped Blurry’s hand tighter and made his way toward the sound.
As they got closer to the source, Blurry’s head started to buzz. It hurt severely. He wanted to collapse to the ground in pain the closer they got, but he pressed on.
“It’s coming from this door-” Josh looked back at Blurry, who had his free hand pressed to his head. “Are you okay?”
“Ye- yeah… the buzzing though… It hurts. Let’s see what it is and get out of here.”
Josh nodded and turned back to the door. He slowly turned the handle, pushing the door open.
The door creaked loudly. Josh took a timid step into the room it revealed. In the center of the room was a single glass tube, or a vial, as the bishops referred to it. It glowed neon white, bathing the room in a painful light.
“What is a single vial doing in the basement of a bishop's tower?” Josh questioned.
“It’s funny you ask!”
That was not Blurry’s voice.
The two men whipped around to see who had spoken.
Clad in red stood Nico, a calm expression on his face. It was too calm, so much so that it was unsettling. He stood with his arms straight by his side and his posture tall.
“And look who it is.” The bishop grinned maniacally. “Joshua Dun, feet planted on grip tape with his shoulder square and his back straight. Ready to steal away my precious protege.”
“What is this place? Why don’t I know about it?” Blurry asked, voice shaking.
“It’s none of your business, Blurryface. Now, go to your room and I will take care of this menace to our great society-”
“No, NO! I know what I am… who I am! You took me away from my friends and took away my memories!” Blurry cried. “I’m leaving with Josh, and you can’t stop me.”
“But I can!” Nico laughed. “That vial already proves it.”
“You’re gonna let us go. You’re not gonna chase us, and you’re not gonna send out a search party after us.” Josh huffed angrily.
“You’ve come so far, it’s cute. You even found your precious little Tyler… I almost feel bad having to do what I’m gonna do.”
And then it clicked.
“Those are my memories… aren’t they. The vial, the buzzing. It’s calling me.” Blurry turned his face back to the buzzing light. He was right. He knew he was.
“Well, aren’t you smart.” Nico’s voice dripped with disdain. Behind him appeared two of his guards, looking menacing and out for blood.
A tension hung in the air. The tension of a fight about to break out. The old man wouldn’t fight, he would get his ass handed to him. But at least it was a fair fight. Unless Tyler was in a weakened state when he was Blurry, then it would get dicey. But with adrenaline and a protective instinct running through his veins, Josh knew they could come out on top. He dropped Blurry’s hand, not wanting to give the guards a chance to knock them both down.
The watcher to the left of the bishop lunged first, going in to knock Josh down. He side stepped though, letting them hit the ground. But the second one took their opening and lunged onto his back, knocking him off balance. He was able to shoulder them off but not before the first one was up again, swinging their fist at Josh’s face.
Meanwhile, Blurry stood in front of the vial. The world faded away as it called to him, buzzing louder and louder. It was unbearable. He sank to his knees as his eyes watered. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Voices were muffled. Josh was screaming for him but he couldn’t make out what he was saying.
He reached for the vial. It burned his skin as it graced his finger tips. He didn’t care because he knew what he had to do. He grasped it and lifted it from its stand. The white contrasted so brightly against his dark hands. Blurry stood up shakily, the vial burning through his veins.
CRASH.
Glass shattered like birds flying from their pray, flying in all directions as the vial made impact with the wall. The neon light swirled into a smoke as it’s case fell away. Blurry inhaled deeply, letting it fill his lungs.
Josh gasped as it happened. In the blink of an eye, Blurry had inhaled all the light in the room. He stood still for a moment, body swaying. The guards squinted in confusion, holding their attack off.
Suddenly, Blurry reaches his hand out, releasing a powerful blast of magic towards the bishop and his guards. Josh ducked instinctively to avoid it. It knocked the bishop back into the hall, rendering him unconscious as soon as he made contact with the wall.
As soon as the blast cleared, Blurry collapsed to the ground. His hands slid against the jagged ground, ripping his silky skin open even more than it already was from the glass. Josh rushed to him, scoping him up in his arms. Blood dripped down the smaller palms, shards of glass sticking to them like snow decorating a field in winter.
“Stay with me!” Josh yelled, reaching for his hand, making sure not to touch any of the wounds.
He was taken aback though. His hand wasn’t stained black anymore. They were pale and soft like the ones he was so familiar with. Sure, they were stained red, but they were like they used to be.
Blurry slowly opened his eyes, vision slowly coming back into focus. His irises were brown, like…
Like Tyler’s.
Josh smiled in relief, hugging the smaller man tighter.
“Ty...” Josh murmured.
Tyler looked up to see the face of the one he loved so dearly.
“Mmmm… Josh… what happened?” He moaned groggily.
Josh just laughed, “It’s a long story… I’ll tell you as soon as we get out of here.”
They had gotten back to the bandito camp at dawn, Josh just finishing his recap of the past few hours. Ash, Jess, and Clancy greeted them excitedly, crying at the sight of their friends' return. All was well again.