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The tyrannical leader of Las Nevadas has been quite busy repairing his country. Dream and Purpled left the land a horrible mess. Flames dotted the many craters that ate away at the desert sand. Unfortunately, it was up to Quackity and his citizens to fix it.
But during his busywork, Quackity couldn’t forget one key moment that happened after those terrible explosions were set off. Or one key person, to be more specific. Quackity pushed away these thoughts, saying that he cannot change the past. But after a couple of days, he couldn’t take it. The lonely king was tired of being at the top, watching the weak praise him from below. He knew that his place on the throne should be shared with someone else.
Late in the afternoon, when the work for the day was satisfied, Quackity began his search. Sadly, he didn’t know where this person was going to be. It was a possibility that Quackity would go on a wild goose chase, searching for a man that was probably avoiding him. But Quackity didn’t care. He just wanted to see if he could catch this man possibly roaming the streets of Las Nevadas.
Quackity searched everywhere. The casino, the hotel, the pool, everywhere. Quackity even checked under the tables and the shelves, his panic slowly rising as he was met with emptiness everytime. It may seem silly to be checking these small corners, but Quackity knows this man better than anyone else. It was how he met this slippery fellow in the first place.
~~~
Finally, Quackity decided to check the slime factory. He didn’t think he would have much luck, but it was the only place he hadn’t checked. Quackity hurried his way over to the factory, his patience wearing thin. When he approached the building, he noticed the lights shining through the small windows. Huh, that’s odd. Quackity doesn’t remember leaving the lights on. Well, Quackity has been having trouble remembering a lot of things ever since the explosions. Oh well, he’ll just turn them off when he’s done.
Quackity steps on the two pressure plates, walking through the opened double doors leading inside. He takes a minute to readjust his vision from the blinding overhead lights that decorate the roof. As soon as he does, Quackity freezes in his place. At the other end of the laboratory, back turned against him, Quackity sees…
“Charlie?”
~~~
Quackity’s past friend quickly turns around. He wears the same shocked expression as Quackity. He didn’t expect to be caught, especially at a time like this.
“Oh, Quackity. I… didn’t expect you to be here.”
“Wh-what are you doing here?”
Charlie shouldn’t be surprised that Quackity asked him that question. But he feels guilty nonetheless. He knows what this lab was designed to do. And he knows that Quackity knows too.
“I was just… looking around. I came across it on my way home and I wanted to... check it out.”
Quackity doesn’t buy it, “Actually, I shouldn’t have asked you that. WHY are you here? What are you still doing here in my country?”
Anger bubbles up in Quackity’s chest as he stomps a few steps forward. He feels himself losing control of what he’s saying, “I thought you had enough of me after you KILLED ME!”
Charlie slightly jumps at the change of tone. He isn’t shocked that Quackity is mad at him, but it’s still so hard to be faced with his consequences. Even if Charlie felt like he did the right thing.
“I didn’t think I would see you here, Quackity. I didn’t plan on staying here for long, I was about to leave.”
Quackity scoffs. He slowly strides another couple of steps towards Charlie, “Well, I’ve caught you anyways. And I don’t think you’ll be leaving here anytime soon.”
Charlie narrows his eyes. He feels his throat tighten as he starts to worry, “What do you mean by that?”
~~~
Quackity answers, “I wanted to talk to you about what happened. About what you told me. You told me that I wasn’t a good person, that I never followed my own rules. I poisoned your brain with my... stupid rules. I expected you to blindly listen to me without letting you grow as your own person. I raised you to be a spitting image of me.”
Quackity’s voice breaks a little as he says his last sentence. Charlie feels his heart strain a little, but he hides it beneath a stoic expression.
“Yeah, I figured that out years ago. I knew what you were doing to me. But I pretended to be the nice, innocent little Slime the whole time. I knew you wouldn’t take any imperfection about me lightly.”
Quackity winces at this stab. It pained Quackity to know that Charlie was putting on a facade during those few years. But Quackity was too caught up in his own head to really notice this in the past. He hated to admit it, but sometimes he enjoys the sound of his own voice a little too much.
“You’re right, Charlie, and I’m so sorry. I was so strict with you, I was strict with everyone. I thought I was being a good leader. But… I never was. I’ve hurt so many goddamn people in the process. Especially you.”
Charlie can see Quackity’s eyes shine with tears from where he was standing. He drops the stoic expression and lets his mouth droop slightly. Charlie wanted to accept Quackity back into his life so badly. Even though he put up a facade, Charlie misses those good old days when he worked in Las Nevadas. He admired Quackity, seeing him as the best leader in the world. He genuinely believed Quackity’s teachings at first. But overtime, Charlie picked up the bitterness of the leader’s sweet words. This deception rotted their friendship overtime, leading them to where they are right now.
Charlie spat his venom at Quackity’s pitiful words, “It took you long enough to realize that. But are you really going to change, Quackity? Do you really think I’m just going to forgive you right now, after everything you did? What do you want-”
“I want you back.”
~~~
Quackity spits out his truth before Charlie could finish. Quackity was letting out shaky, heavy breaths now. He was drowning in his own grief, he could barely keep his head up. All of the build-up stress from earlier today came crashing down on him. Charlie notices Quackity’s change in demeanor. He feels bad for his previous bitterness, so he answers in a sweeter tone, “What did you say?”
“I said I… I want you back. I miss you so much, Charlie. I miss you everyday. When you were in Purpled’s dungeon, I made you a grave. I visited it everyday and I would talk to you. I didn’t know if you could hear me, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to talk to you as if you weren’t dead at all.”
Quackity’s grief was clogging his throat. It was hard to make out a single word he was saying now. But Charlie could hear everything so clearly. He has always been a good listener like that.
Quackity slowly drags himself towards his friend as he continued, “It’s why I built this entire laboratory. It was so hard to run Las Nevadas when you were gone. It was so hard to convince anybody to come. Everyone was busy with their wars and conflicts, I was so sick of it. I just wished that everybody could be like you. Peaceful, patient, optimistic. Hell, I took my wish literally and made clones of you! I did it because…”
Tears spilled down Quackity’s cheeks as he uttered his final words, “I wanted my best friend back.”
Charlie’s eyes burned with tears as Quackity said this. He couldn’t believe it. The cold, angry voice in his head yelled at him to not believe it. He knew Quackity wasn’t a good person. He told this to Quackity right before his death. But could this tyrant really have the guts to change?
Charlie tried to gather a coherent response, “Quackity, I-”
~~~
But before Charlie could continue, he sees Quackity run up to him and collapse at his feet. Quackity buries his face in Charlie’s pant legs, staining the material with tears. How pathetic it was to see the confident leader of Las Nevadas in this state. Kneeling at the feet of the only man who trusted him. Begging for one final chance, despite all of the evidence that he didn’t deserve it.
“Please, Charlie. Please come home. It’s not the same without you. I’ll change, I swear I will. I’ll listen to you this time. I’ll let you be your own person for once. Give you the freedom you’ve always deserved. I’m sorry for everything. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me, Charlie. I want to be friends again.”
Charlie looks down at the painful sight in front of him. He lets out all of his tears in the moment, watching them drip onto Quackity’s black beanie. The angry voice that previously argued with him has been silenced. All that Charlie could think about was how much he reciprocated Quackity’s feelings for him. He missed his best friend too.
Charlie kneels down and wraps his arms around Quackity’s shoulders. Quackity readjusts his hands and hugs Charlie around his waist. They hold each other like this for some time, sitting on the cold floors of the slime factory. All that could be heard was the sobs of the two boys and the quiet whirring of the factory’s machines. All except for this one final plead,
“I want to be friends again too.”
~~~