Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ruth bounced in the car excitedly, headgear clacking as she did so. “Mamma Mia! Here, in Hatchetfield!” Some spit flew out her mouth from how fast she talked, landing on Pete’s shirt, making him grimace. He grabbed a napkin and wiped it off as Richie leaned in front of him from his right side to talk to Ruth. “I know. Nothing cool ever happens here.”

“You count that as something cool?” Pete asked as he threw the dirty napkin into a plastic bag shoved under one of the seats in Ruth’s dad’s car. 

Ruth glared at him playfully. “Do you not?”

Pete shrugged and shifted his glasses. “It’s not uncool, it’s just,” He shrugged again. “Kinda whatever.”

Both his friends looked at him in judgement for a few seconds. “If you aren’t excited then why did you agree to come?” Richie asked, confused. 

“It was between coming with you guys to watch a musical or sitting in my bedroom and feeling very lonely.”

Everyone grew quiet for a moment and stared at Pete, sandwiched between the two. He felt very, very judged, growing a little hot under the scrutiny. The only sound was the generic pop music filtering out the radio and the car rolling on the asphalt. “Y’know, Pete, you really need a hobby.” Richie insulted, unintentionally. 

Pete sighed. “Yeah, I know.” The car came to a stop, brakes screeching slightly. “Alright, kids, we’re…” Ruth’s father drifted off his sentence as he looked at the commotion before him. A large sized crowd of people milled around the Starlight, as least, what used to be the Starlight. The walls were still standing, mostly. One wall had a huge hole in it, stretching all the way down to the ground.

Firefighters and cops stood around, trying to control the crowd and keep them away. Ruth’s eyes grew wide in both surprise and interest before she stepped out of the car. Her friends followed her out and they all walked closer together. 

There was a loud murmur over the crowd as the three pushed through the crowd. None of them could make out what anyone was saying clearly until they reached the firefighters who were closer to the hole. “Nothing to see here. Move along.”

A particularly indignant blonde mother raised her voice. “I come out all the way here and you’re just canceling the show?!” 

The firefighter she yelled at grew red. “Ma’am, we can’t let you inside.” Their voice shook with nervousness. “It’s dangerous.” 

“Oh, I’ll show you dangerous.” She exclaimed. The lady started shouting several indignities and more firefighters went over to try to calm her down. Enough people were no longer blocking the large hole in the wall for the three to spot a gap for them to slip through. Curiosity got the better of Ruth and she slipped past. She wanted, no, needed to know what all this commotion is.

Richie followed her with no hesitation but Pete gave a small sigh before doing the same. 

The inside looked a thousand percent worse than the outside. Everything was wrecked to shit, seats and chair fluff sprayed everywhere, the stage was hanging on by a thread, a few ashes floated around in the air. Ruth hoped she wasn’t breathing in any. 

Sitting in the middle of the wreckage was a huge rock. “Whoa,” Pete spoke under his breath. He raised his arm and gave a harsh cough into it but still looked at the rock. It almost looked like it was glowing under the moonlight. Their legs seemed to move themselves, pulling them ever closer to the rock. Richie pulled out his inhaler and took a puff after he had his own ribs rattling cough. 

Each of them just stared at the rock in awe. “Is this a fucking meteor?” Pete asked. 

With a giggle, Richie ran up within arms reach of the meteor and placed his hand on it. It was shockingly cool. “Look at me. I’m touching something that was in space.” His voice shook with excitement and he had the widest smile that his friends had ever seen on him. 

“Give me a turn.” Ruth shouted as she pushed Richie out the way. She touched the cool stone with a smile of her own as Richie noticed there was a lot of strange blue dust on his hand. Wiping it off on his shirt, he turned to Pete. “Wanna touch it?”

Pete lightly tapped the meteor with his finger before pulling away. “This is a hell of a lot cooler than Mamma Mia.” He said, dumbstruck, laughing a little in pure shock. 

Ruth pulled her hand away and she noticed the blue dust on her hand, as well. “Ew, what’s that?” Her nose was scrunched. 

Richie shrugged and showed off his blue tinted hand. “Dunno. Came off on me too.”

Ruth raised an eyebrow with a playful smile. “ Came off?”

Her and Richie shared a laugh as Pete stared at the blue dust on his own hand. “We should probably wash our hands. This could give us, like, cancer or something.” The two ceased their laughter.

Richie started talking. “Yeah, we prob-” His words were cut off by a sudden wave of nausea hitting him. Everyone else seemed to feel it, they all stumbled back and raised a hand to their head in unison. Their heads throbbed in dull pain and each of them twitched their fingers slightly. 

“Shit, we’re dying.” Ruth complained as she straightened herself and shook off the fading pain. 

“We’re not dying.” Pete argued playfully but there was a hint of unsure in his voice. He stood up himself and stretched his arms. "Would be a cool way to die, though."

“Hey, kids!” Someone yelled. “Shit!” They all shouted at the same time in harmony. Their hearts pounded in time to some unheard beat as they ran out the front door, far away from whosoever screamed at them. 

They ran to Ruth’s dad’s car, the driver himself standing right by it. “Go,” Ruth yelped as they all funneled in. Her dad, confusedly, obliged and sputtered the engine on. It sprung to life as Ruth peered out the window. No one was following them, thankfully, and they drove off. 

“Sorry they canceled the show, sweetie.” Her dad said. Ruth shrugged. “It’s fine.” Funnily enough, it was genuinely fine. For some reason, she wasn’t upset. She knew she should be but it’s like the sad parts of her brain couldn’t work. She didn’t really mind it, admittedly. Honestly, she actually felt really happy. 

That night, Ruth didn’t dream. She just heard this really catchy song in her head all night and she really wanted to sing along. Once she woke up, she couldn’t fight that urge anymore. The lyrics to some nonsense song spilled out of her mouth. Ruth got ready for her day with a particular bounce in her step. She danced her way downstairs and exited the house. Waiting there was Richie, smile wide and hollow, eyes strikingly blue, arm outstretched. 

“How’re you doing on this la-dee-dah-dah day?” He spoke with a particularly singsong lilt. She linked his arm with his. “It’s like the first day of school, yeah.” She sang. The two walked down the street, arm in arm, and continued their song. 

Chapter Text

Jerry stood outside the wreckage of the Starlight Theater, pestering the cop who stood outside. His knuckles were white as he hovered his pencil over his notepad; his face was turning red. “Come on, just tell me something.” He whined. 

The cop had his arms crossed and shook his head. “I said no.” Jerry slumped over a little at the disappointment. Another cop walked over to the first and jerked her head backwards. “Hey, Bailey. Chief’s on the radio. Wants to talk to you.”

Bailey, apparently, groaned as he walked off. “Now what?”

Jerry tapped his empty paper with his pencil, very annoyed. “Psst.” The cop standing guard hissed out the side of her mouth and grabbed Jerry’s attention. “Wanna sneak a peek?” She questioned as she moved some police tape out the way, making a hole large enough for Jerry to sneak through. He eagerly nodded, crouched down to fit inside, and went in.

Jerry whistled when he moved his eyes around the shadowy interior and they grew wide when they landed on the huge shadow in the middle. His hands fumbled as he opened the bag dangling off his side. Shaky hands reached into his bag and he felt the cold metal of his flashlight. 

Pulling it out, he clicked it on and it shimmered on a three-person sized rock. “Is that a meteor?” He asked, breathless and excited, a manic smile fighting its way on his face. Oh, he’s definitely going to get that promotion over Michelle. Their epic and great rivalry will finally come to a close with him as the winner. 

He felt the cops thud his hand on Jerry’s shoulder. There was more strength behind it than he thought there would be, causing a small “oof” to escape him. “Yes and no.” The cop said with a smile. 

Jerry raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the cop. “What?” He asked. 

The cop ignored his question, staring deep into his eyes, and asked her own in turn. “You said you wanted to see this, to get the scoop before anyone else. But, is that all you want?” 

He laughed awkwardly, face twisted in confusion. “What?” He once again asked. 

The cop moved her hand to his other shoulder, draping her arm over him. “You tell yourself you want a job, success, but what do you really want, Jerry?”

He furrowed his eyebrows and started pulling himself away. “I never told you my name.” He spoke suspiciously. 

The cop’s hand moved to Jerry’s arm, holding him in a vice grip. Jerry flailed wildly, trying desperately to get away but to no avail. A blue something or other dribbled from the mouth of the cop, spilling onto her chin. His heart pounded loudly in raw fear. 

“ What do you want, Jer? ” She sang and it freaked Jerry out. Why is she singing? The flashlight fell out of his hand, hitting the floor with a loud clack. He breathed in and out, deeply, trying to calm himself down. “Let me go.” He demanded as he thrashed about. 

The cop frowned in playful disappointment, still not releasing him. “Oh, Jerry. Still not ready to admit it?”

The fear filling his veins made his tongue feel like it was struck by lightning. “Wh-what do you mean? A-admit to what?” He slowly stopped moving, gradually getting paralyzed by his emotions. 

The cop tutted, clicking her tongue in a metronome like manner. “Jerry, lying is a sin, you know?” She made an O shape with her mouth. “Oh, but that’s never stopped you before, has it?” She was still smiling. 

He went completely stiff, frozen solid, face pale. Once he stopped moving, the cop let his arm go and started circling around him, drawing a finger on his shoulders. He just stared forward, face etched in panic. “Stop lying to yourself.” She stood behind him and thrust her hands on his shoulders, singing into his ear. 

“ Something you pine for, maybe someone who keeps you lusting. ” The music of a keyboard started playing in his head, urging him to sing as well. There was something more he wanted, something he has always wanted. If he just sings, he could get it. If he sings, he won’t care what anyone else thinks anymore. He’ll be able to hold her again. 

A soft blue light filled his eyes as a note escaped his mouth. 

The high pitched ringing on the kettle sounded in Jeri’s kitchen. She ran in to take it off the stove. As she poured it into the mug with a tea bag sticking out, the steam billowed in her face. The warm feeling put a quaint smile on her face and she wrapped her hands around the cup. She blew on it gently as she heard a knock on her apartment door. 

Placing the mug down on her counter, she walked over to the door curiously. It’s 10 PM, who would be here at this hour? When she opened the door, she beamed. “Boy Jerry!” He was leaning on her door frame, smiling wide. “What’re you doing here? I thought you were working.”

He didn’t answer and pointed behind her. “Can I come in?” She nodded. “Sure.” When he stepped inside, he took his jacket off and rolled up his sleeves. As he did so, Girl Jeri couldn’t stop herself from looking at him. 

She shook her head and ran over to the counter, chugging her underprepared tea, scalding her mouth. Keeping her gaze firmly away from him, she repeated her question. “What, uh, brings you here?”

She felt his arms wrap around her middle, face nestled in the crook of her neck. Her face went bright red, going hotter than her tea. Still refusing to look at him, she stammered. “B-boy Je-Jerry, what’re you doing?”

He picked his head up, still keeping his chin on her shoulder. “ Hey, boo. Daddy needs a little of that dirty soup. ” The excitement in Girl Jeri ebbed away to concern. “Are, are you singing?”

His hand moved up to her arm; she noticed how cold he felt and she wasn’t feeling his breath. “ Slice me off a piece of that saucy you. ” She wanted to melt into his arms but she knew she shouldn’t. Against her truest wishes, she pulled herself out of Boy Jerry’s grip and turned on him. 

Shaking her head wildly, her voice was shaky and filled with worry. “Boy Jerry, we said we’d never do that again.” 

His face lowered into a smirk, eyes strikingly blue and hungry. “ I swear you got me hypnotized, you looking all filthy like, you know it’s wrong, I know it’s right. ” 

She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, trying to resist his siren song. “It is wrong, it’s a sin. We can’t do… that.”

He reached out and gingerly ran his fingers down her arm, causing her to shudder. “ I’ll never ever tell ya to behave. I am expecting you to be-betray me. ” He grabbed her arm and gently pulled her closer, her face softening as she moved closer to his. 

“ I’m only in if you’re over it. A one way ticket power trip with no room for censorship. ” Girl Jeri swallowed hard as he kept on singing. “ Babe, imma love ya all night long, but ya gotta do wrong, yeah, you gotta do wrong. ”

She felt herself melting in her lover’s grip, excitement pounding in her heart. His other hand moved to hold her back up and she could feel the saliva in her mouth pooling. “ Oh, dirty, dirty girl, will you sing for me? Will you love me like you don’t care? ” His gaze flicked up and down her before he continued. “ Dirty, dirty girl, will you pray for me while I push and pull on your hair? ”

She raised her hand to his face, barely aware she was doing so. Rubbing her thumb tenderly on his face, her voice oozed pleasure. “Oh, yes, I will.” Pulling his hand off of her arm, he held her head and smiled at her for a moment. He shoved his mouth onto hers. She was so caught up in the euphoria of the feeling, his lips on hers for the first time in years, she didn’t notice the disgusting feeling of something sliding into her mouth. 

When she opened her eyes again, she joined in on his song.

Chapter Text

The homeless man stood in the pitch black alley, rifling through the dumpster, being hit with rotten smell after rotten smell. Due to the flash rain earlier tonight, most of everything was disgustingly wet. He’d be bothered by it if he had higher standards. But beggars can’t be choosers and he’s been a beggar as long as he can remember.

At least, he thinks he remembers. Memory has never been his strong suit, even a few minutes ago felt a bit faded. Though, sometimes things were clearer but never for long. Every now and then, he’d recognize a face for a while but before he could ask them if they recognized him, the thought was gone. 

Suddenly, the sound of a haunting cackle echoed throughout the alley he stood in. Dread curled around the homeless man’s heart. No, not him. He started shooting his gaze, left, right, up, down, every which way he could possibly be. But nothing. A first in years. But if he isn’t here, then why does he hear him?

“Hey,” A stranger’s voice distracted the homeless man temporarily from his fear and he whipped his head to the source. Some random kid wearing suspenders and a fucking bowtie with glowing blue eyes smiled at the man. 

“Who’re you?” The homeless man asked. 

The teen chuckled, musically and hollow, and inched closer and closer to the man. “You don’t recognize me?”

The man’s face twisted as he tried to think, tried to grasp at the memories in his mind but they fell through his hands like sand. “No… should I?” He asked cautiously. 

The stranger was getting ever nearer, almost within arms reach of the homeless man. Some weird glowing blue gunk dripped down his chin, illuminating his wide and plastic smile. “I’m your brother.” 

A small shocked gasp escaped the man as he jerked away from the teen. “I… have a brother?” There was cautious optimism in his voice. 

The teen nodded his head rapidly as he stopped walking, now able to reach out and touch him, if he was so inclined. “Yeah, you do.” 

Tears of joy started to fill the homeless man’s eyes. Finally, he had someone, he wasn’t alone any more. He reached out with his shaky hand, placing it on the teen’s shoulder, needing confirmation he wasn’t hallucinating again. The hand collided with cloth and the man just about collapsed on the teen. 

He pulled the teen in for a rib crushing hug, one that the kid reciprocated, yet it somehow felt tighter than the man’s. Suddenly, the sand in the man’s hand didn’t fall out for a moment, long forgotten memories became clear, though probably not for long. “Pete.” He whispered, trying out the name that appeared out of nowhere.

“I’m sorry that it took me so long to find you.” The teen, Pete, said, grip around the homeless man growing even tighter. The homeless man let himself sob a little while he shook his head. “No, don’t be sorry. Spankoffskis are never sorry.” That word, Spankoffski. It felt familiar and foreign all at once. 

As the two held each other, the homeless man realized the memories weren’t fading. Normally, they’d already start to be covered by the fog but they weren’t. In fact, more things were becoming tangible, ideas out in the open, ready for him to touch and to hold. Maybe, with his brother now here, he’ll remember every- 

The thought was cut off by a sharp pain Ted felt in his side. A small “Ow” left him. Pete’s grip was growing stronger. “Hey, dweeb, lemme-” Cut off again, by an even sharper pain. It was now Ted realized he couldn’t breathe. Gasping in and out uselessly, his brother still wasn’t letting him go. 

He weakly slapped Pete’s back several times, trying to either inform Pete that he was killing him or maybe even stop him. It didn’t work. For agonizingly long, he stood there in his brother’s arms, suffocating in his own lungs. Every now and then, his failing body would rattle in a cough, blood shooting out his mouth, even getting a little on Pete’s shirt. Everything in this dark alley slowly got even more dark, black spots covered his vision as he heard that laugh from earlier again. His last thought is about whether or not he had anything to do with this.

Chapter Text

When Hannah woke up, something felt wrong. What exactly, she doesn’t know but something is wrong. With dread in her stomach, she trudged into the kitchen to see her sister shoving cereal into her mouth as her boyfriend was trying to make pancakes. Based on all the smoke and the several open windows, it seemed he was failing. Lex’s brows were furrowed deep in thought but once she saw Hannah, her expression softened. “Hey, banana, how’re you doing?” 

A gentle voice started ringing out in her head and Hannah couldn’t help but repeat the words. “Apotheosis, meteor, mat.” 

Lex stared at her curiously as Ethan exclaimed, “Yes!” He quickly flicked the stovetop off and pulled the pan away as fast as he reasonably could. Hannah took a seat as he dumped the golden brown pancake into a plate, still steaming and clinked that plate onto the table. “Bone apple teeth.” He said with a smile. 

Lex chuckled. “Ethan, that’s only one.” 

Ethan rubbed his hand on the back of his neck sheepishly. “I could only get one right.” Lex smiled as she pushed the plate over to Hannah. “Eat up, Hannah.” She grabbed the piping hot plate and blew on it, making the steam dance around in the air. Ethan pulled out a chair and it squeaked deafeningly. He grabbed the cereal box and shoved his hand inside. Pulling out a handful of cheerios, he shoved his face into his hand and started chewing. 

Hannah guessed they used the last of the milk on Lex as she sank her teeth into the burning pancake. “So, how’s school going?” Ethan asked through a mouthful. She shrugged in response as she chewed. “Hey, banana, have you seen mom?” Lex asked her. 

Hannah tilted her head at her words and shook her head. “Why do you give a shhh… crap about your mom?” Ethan asked.

“I don’t.” Lex remarked. “Just, normally, she’s sleeping on the couch or hungover in her bedroom or something.” She shrugged. “It’s weird.” 

“Huh,” Ethan mumbled as he finished off his handful. As if on cue, the trailer door swung open and Pamela Foster walked in with a bright smile. “And how are my little angels doing?” She exclaimed as she moved over to the table. Lex's face creased in confusion. “What?”

As Hannah looked at her, she felt that dread come back with a vengeance. She noticed that her eyes were bright blue, they weren’t normally that color. “Fake.” She proclaimed. Her mother ignored her. “Can’t a mother care about her children?” She sounded a little offended.

“Not this one.” Lex said, still clearly confused, even inching away from her. “Well, I promise to start now,” She said, still smiling wide. Lex shot out of her seat but kept her eyes squarely on Pamela. “Han, let’s get going.” 

Hannah shot out of her seat as well and started to book it to Lex’s side. Before she could far, she felt the vice grip of her mother on her arm. “Where you going, sweetie?” She crooned with that hollow smile. Goo started dripping from her open mouth. Hannah screamed as she tried to pull her arm away. 

Acting on pure instinct, Ethan tackled Pamela to the ground, forcing her to let go of Hannah. “Run!” He yelled to the other two as Pamela decked him in the face. Lex wrapped her arms protectively around Hannah as she ran out the trailer as fast as her legs would let her. The only car in sight was Ethan’s but he still had the keys in his pockets. Lex turned to the witchwoods and booked it in there. 

Ethan stumbled from the hit and fell on the ground. Before he could even think about recovering, Pamela was already on him, hands wrapped around his neck. His mouth gaped open as he tried to breath in vain. She hovered her mouth over his and blue goo fell out hers. It landed in his open mouth and Ethan gagged so hard his entire body convulsed. 

The goo shoved its way down his throat and, suddenly, his pupils dilated. He stopped struggling, even going fully limp. She pulled her hands away and Ethan sat up with bright blue eyes and a wide smile. 

Lex ran and ran and ran through the thick bush and dense trees of the Witchwoods. Hannah tripped over a stray tree root at one point and she yelped in both surprise and pain. “Hannah!” Lex screamed as she knelt down next to her. “Are you ok?” She asked urgently. 

Hannah stared at her bruised ankle. She tried to put pressure on it and winced. She shook her head. Lex grabbed her and held her close. “It’s ok, it’s ok, it’s gonna be ok.” She whispered, more to herself than anything else. Hannah felt tears starting in her eyes as she grabbed onto her sister’s shirt. 

“Lex! Hannah!” The two heard a familiar voice shouting for them. Lex let out a relieved breath. “Ethan! Over here!” She shouted. That dread in Hannah’s stomach came back again. She even started shaking as she heard Ethan get closer. 

He reached them after 30 agonizing seconds and knelt on the ground next to them. “Ethan, Hannah’s hurt, she can’t walk.” Ethan nodded as he brushed a loose strand of hair on the trembling Hannah’s head. “God, what was wrong with her?” Lex exclaimed. 

Ethan shifted as he reached a hand into his back pocket. “Absolutely nothing.” He said with a smile. Lex’s eyes grew wide. “Ethan?” She started leaning backwards. He pulled out his pocket knife and flicked it open. Before Lex could do anything, he leapt over Hannah and jammed the knife into Lex’s stomach three times. 

She screamed in pain and shock. He stood up, looming over her as she wrapped her arms around her bleeding torso. It soaked her clothes, pouring out onto the warm colored leaves on the ground. He whipped his head around to the frozen Hannah. When Lex saw this, she weakly reached her hand out. “Han…” She struggled out. 

Hannah’s jaw was drooped open and her face was pale white. He still smiled as he walked over to her. The blue glow in his eyes grew stronger until they were nothing but glowing circles. She scrambled away from him using her hands but she quickly bumped into a tree. A terrified whimper came from her trembling mouth. 

He crouched down, right next to her and stared into her eyes. “If you’re still watching, Webby, I hope this hurts.” He jammed the knife in between her ribs, right into her heart. She let out a throat tearing scream, the earth shook a little as she did so. The light slowly left her eyes and was replaced by a soulless blue when she woke up again.

Chapter Text

Infected swarmed around Emma, harmonizing, reaching out with their jazz hands. “ The apotheosis is upon us! ” Paul sang as he stood in the middle of them all. He had become the leading man, face broken in a heartless smile, and the sight broke her robotic heart. She felt synthetic tears filling up her eyes. Seriously, the one guy she likes has to go and die on her? 

With a deep sadness in her heart, or circuit board, technically, she grabbed hold of a random hive member and chucked him into several others. They all barreled over and she ran past the befuddled group to the door. She swung it open violently and ran off as fast as she could, which is rather fast. 

Her legs swung up and down and she ran into Colonel Schaffer. The colonel held out her hands to stop Emma. “Kelly! What’s wrong?” She asked urgently. 

“Paul’s infected.” Emma instantly answered, not even bothering to pretend she’s out of breath. 

Schaffer went white and froze in her spot. “Fuck.” She whispered. Her hand shot to her waist and she grabbed her gun. Readying her weapon, Schaffer jerked her head to the side. “Go.” She started running to where Emma came from, pulling a walkie talkie from her belt and yelling into it. “Code blue, repeat, code blue!”

Emma, not seeing any reason to stay here, whipped around, ready to get as far away as fast as possible, to leave this whole thing behind, to make it a faded memory. Her face dropped in shock as Paul slammed her into the wall. “How the fuck are you here?” She asked as he chuckled. 

“You’re not the only fast runner.” He said with forced mirth. His hands were tight around her arms but Emma didn’t feel in danger. There was basically nothing he could do to her and he knew that. Since that whole helicopter thing, he’s known she wasn’t human. So, why is he threatening her?

“You’re gonna lose, you know.” She barked at him. “Schaffer’s gonna kill all you fucking things.” He grinned at her. “Do you really think all of our numbers are in this building?”

Fuck, that’s a good point. Even if every infected in the hospital gets killed, there’s still a metric ton out there, infecting others. It’s basically impossible to eradicate this disease now. She grew mournful for a moment. All this time, growing attached to this world, loving what it had to offer, and now it was being taken from her. 

Emma was barely aware of Paul’s cold hand moving up to her chin. She was shaken out of her thoughts as she felt his thumb brush against her cheek with a croon. “Oh, don’t cry.” Emma didn’t even notice she was crying. “This isn’t the end of the world. It’s something better. A peaceful, beautiful world where everyone speaks in one, singular voice.” He was still smiling and Emma wanted to punch his stupid face in. But there's no point, he was right a moment ago. She's lost.

“Why haven’t you killed me yet?” Emma asked, genuinely curious. “Or, at least tried to?” Frankly, she thinks at this moment she’d let him do it. There’s nothing much left to see now.

Paul’s face fell for the first time. “Do you think I want to kill you?” He sounded offended and shocked at the mere insinuation. 

Emma raised an eyebrow. “Do you not?”

“Of course not.” He said. “What I want…” He noticed a loose strand of hair in Emma’s bun and tucked it tenderly behind her ear. “Is you.” 

Excitement grew in his eyes and Emma swore she saw him again. The real Paul, somewhere deep down inside him. His hands drifted from her face, wrapping around her own hands. “I want to show you what I already know. To understand what I see.” He shook his head. "I know I can't make you see, so this has to be your choice."

Emma felt her body producing those tears again. It was heartbreaking, seeing the man she loved becoming the very thing he hated. She pulled her hand from his gentle grip and held his cheek. He’s so cold now. She couldn’t see his vitals anymore. This isn’t him, she knows. But as she looks into his soulless eyes, she can’t help but wonder. 

What if? What if they met long ago and she’d gotten to love him for real? What if she’d been able to tell him about her life? To trust him with her secrets. Now, that can never happen. 

Or can it? A voice in her motherboard argued. Sure, he’s not the real Paul but you're not the real Emma either, are you? You can pretend. Emma dropped her hand and her head. She took a steadying, albeit useless, breath. Emma raised her head, staring into Paul’s eyes and she nodded. 

“Ok.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. He beamed. “Ok.” There was genuine joy in his tone. They squeezed each other’s hand and walked out together. 

After around 2 weeks, there was no one on the planet other than Emma who wasn’t either dead or infected. It was peaceful, honestly. No more conflict, hatred, violence. Sure, everyone breaks into song and dance every few minutes but you learn to tune it out. Emma had to in order to keep her sanity. But she put up with it, with all of it, just for a chance at happiness with Paul. 

He was always doing these grand romantic gestures for her but Emma preferred the quiet moments. When they’d be alone, holding each other close. In those moments, she forgot he wasn’t the “real” Paul and he was just her Paul. Even though she wasn’t under the same mind control as everyone else, she was still happy. And that's enough.

Chapter Text

Wiley stood on top of some random tall-ish building and watched the chaos unfold. Singing, dancing, and death, what a show to behold. And behold he had. Most of today, he just sat back and enjoyed the bloodbath. As much as he wanted to just sit here and see all the remaining voices get snuffed out, become one with the Singular, the earth rattling explosion from across town caught his attention. With a malicious grin, he blinked and he now stood in its rubble. 

Heat still radiated in the air and off the crumbling rocks. With cracks and rushes, the ceiling and walls fell more and more. Wiley walked to the epicenter where a large meteor oozing beautiful blue ooze sat. Flung far away from it, a tall man covered in blood lay on top of some drywall. His right arm was around two feet away from the rest of his body. He made his way to the man and grabbed his face. 

The man’s face was covered in burns and blood; he looked through Wiley with empty eyes. Yep, dead. Wiley let go and grabbed his detached arm. As he slammed the wet flesh onto the man’s stump, his mind drifted in thought. He knows who this man is; the names, personalities, and life stories of every prophet are burned into his mind. This one was Paul Matthews, a man of insanely little note. He liked coffee and hated musicals and that was basically it. 

That’s why Pokey likes him. He’s so simple and boring. A man that has nothing and wants nothing. Sure, His prophet could be someone like Linda Monroe, a woman who wants and wants and wants, or Henry Hidgens, a man who understands Pokey’s vision for the world. But those are easy, they’d choose apotheosis. Plus, Linda tended to be Wiggly’s favorite.

Claiming Paul, the one man who wouldn’t fall to Pokey’s power, who died trying to “save” others, turning him into a loyal servant of that which he once hated, that proved something. No one is immune to Him, even the strongest, most unbendable of wills are nothing compared to His strength. 

The lifeless body started to shift, his eyes fluttered open weakly. Wiley let go of Paul’s arm, now back where it belongs. His eyes housed the brightest blue glow out of everyone, shining like spotlights in the dim light of the Starlight. “Wh-who’re you?” He mumbled out through a mouth filled with blood, strenuously. 

Wiley crouched down next to him. “Don’t worry your pretty little head ‘bout me.” Paul groaned quietly. “M’kay.” 

Wiley jammed his fingers under Paul’s head and gently raised him up a little. Paul leaned into the touch, feeling some sense of comfort from it. “How d’ya feel?” He asked him. 

Paul groaned again, louder this time. “Hurts.” His entire body shook as he ached more and more. It felt like something was tearing him apart from the inside out.

“Y’know, it’ll stop hurtin’ if ya listen to the music.” Wiley advised. 

Paul’s eyebrow raised very slightly, the most he could muster at the moment. “Really?” His voice was barely above a whisper. 

“Really.” Wiley said emphatically. Paul closed his eyes and all grew still. Wind blew through the large hole in the wall, whistling in his ears. Moonlight sparkled on every surface of the theater. The meteor started glowing a brighter blue. His face scrunched and he weakly shook his head and the rock grew dimmer. 

“No, no, can’t.” He took in a sharp breath and a small whine left him. “Not… want…” Wiley started rubbing his thumb against the top of Paul’s head and he saw him practically melt, face softening rapidly. His lips twitched up and down at the ends. “What do ya want?”

The million dollar question. The one Paul has never had an answer to before. But this isn’t before anymore, is it? “Em…” He mumbled as he shifted to place his cheek into Wiley’s hand. Wiley let him while a smirk grew on his face. There it is. A brief moment, a simple one syllable that’s doomed the entire world. 

“You can see her again, y’know.” Paul’s eyes fluttered open again. The glowing light shifted on and off, fighting for control over him. “All ya gotta do is give up.” Wiley stated. 

Paul tried to shake his head again. “No… can’t give… up.” Wiley suppressed a groan. Man, this guy still has fight left in him? He'd be impressed if he wasn’t so annoyed. Wiley shifted so that he sat right above Paul’s bloodied head. His hand stayed on his cheek and he placed his other hand on the other cheek. 

He secured Paul’s head as the room filled with pure, bright blue light. “Do you see Him?” His voice was laced with sinister excitement as Paul’s face twisted in confusion. He didn’t look confused for long, however. Soon, his eyes and mouth shot open wide and he started writhing around in fear. 

Above him, in the gaping hole in the roof, far into the night sky, he saw him . A billion pieces of rocks shifted around constantly, forming one giant mask. Infinite pinpricks of light, brighter than the sun but somehow unharmful to look at, dotted around what the eyes presumably were. They dashed around in sync, hypnotically, to some unheard song. Except Paul could hear it. It was beautiful.

The empty star filled sky around the mask shifted, as if its mere existence bended space. He could have sworn the moving sky was getting closer and once he watched as the distant inky abyss filled the room, he realized it did. 

The entire theater was practically gone, nothing in sight beyond these things… hands? Is that all the vast expanse of space is? This being’s hands? Stars and meteorites and comets and planets surrounded him, all being born and dying and becoming a new nebula or aimless rock floating around in an instant. Time meant nothing anymore, everything was happening all at once. This was all more than a mortal mind was supposed to be able to see. He was unaware of the last of his red blood pouring from his nose, a little bit trickling down his ear. 

“ Do you know what you are? ” Countless voices spoke and sung in perfect harmony, practically deafening him. “Nothing.” His voice no longer wavered in pain, all the fight from him gone. How could he continue fighting this thing, this God? “ Good. ” The voices shouted, cheered, celebrated. Clapping came from somewhere, where exactly you couldn’t pay Paul to know. 

He shot out of Wiley’s grasp and stood up, a blank and dumbfounded expression on his face. Wiley stood up next to him and slapped a hand on his shoulder. “How ya feelin’?” He asked eagerly. This was always the most fun part.

Paul’s face broke out into a huge smile. “Happy.” His voice shook in pure euphoria. 

Chapter Text

Duke’s car rumbled against the dirt road as trees zoomed past him, the green blur broken up by the occasional silver trailer. Taking care in case any stray rabbit or deer ran out in front of his car, he slowly but surely came to a stop in front of the Foster residence. There isn’t much of anything to say about it, it’s a regular old trashy trailer with one car out front. Duke’s eyebrow raised in confusion.

“One?” He muttered under his breath. The only car ever at the Foster’s was Ethan’s and he should’ve taken Hannah to school a while ago. Growing slightly worried, Duke clicked open the car door and exited. Slamming it shut, he shot an instinctive hand to the phone in his pocket, ready to call for help if needed. 

“Hello?” He asked cautiously. He got his answer in three people dashing out of the Witchwoods, all breathing way too heavy. The smallest person ran over to Duke and wrapped their arms around his middle, making him jump in surprise. “Duke!” One of the others exclaimed, whom Duke now recognized as Lex Foster. She was wearing her boyfriend’s jacket, something he’d never seen before, as said boyfriend leaned against her shoulder, heaving way too many extra breaths. 

“ Cool it. ” She reprimanded him mentally and he obliged, breathing a bit more normally. “Lex? Hannah? What’s going on?” Duke asked urgently as he started patting Hannah’s back. “No time to explain.” She exclaimed as she ran to Duke’s car. 

“Drive.” Lex demanded as she entered the back seat, Ethan following suit next to her. Duke, heart racing from the mere urgency the three were radiating, brought Hannah to the passenger’s side seat and helped her in. He dashed over to his seat and started driving where he came from, a bit more speedy than before. 

“What’s happening?” He asked as their surroundings grew even more blurry. “Is it your mom?”

“Pam just, like, flipped out on us.” Ethan answered. “Started ranting ‘bout some kinda nonsense and attacked us outta nowhere.”

Duke’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Pamela has never tried to actively hurt someone before but he supposes he wouldn’t put it past her. “Oh my god, are ya’ll alright?” He asked, giving them all a passing glance before shooting his focus back to the road. 

A small smirk grew on Ethan’s face as he responded. “Yep, we’re great.” Lex elbowed him harshly with a side eye. She shot her attention to the window and noticed that they were much closer to town. Tapping Duke’s seat rapidly, she spoke up. “Hey, you can drop us off here.”

Duke grew confused but obliged nonetheless. “All the way out here?” He said as his car squeaked to a stop. Lex’s expression grew thoughtful as Ethan exited the car. She tilted her head as he slowly made his way to Duke’s door. 

“Yeah, we’re within walking distance to town, get to work there, set some stuff up here too.” She smiled joylessly. “Can’t leave any stone unturned, eh?” Ethan slammed himself into Duke’s door, propping his back against it, making Duke jump from the sudden loud noise. 

Duke stared at Ethan in shock as the quiet Hannah leapt from her seat, reaching out towards him. He yelped as he raised a defensive arm, which Hannah merely grabbed. She yanked it aggressively and pulled it up to her mouth. Opening wide, she bit down onto his arm, hard. He screamed in pain as she broke through the skin, his blood dripping onto his car seat. 

With his free hand, he grabbed the door handle and tried to push it open. However, Ethan was pressing his entire strength into the door, making it impossible for Duke to get past him. That didn’t stop his trying as he pushed as hard as he could. Suddenly, Duke’s arm felt cold, very cold and he shot a glance at it. 

Traveling up his veins was some strange blue liquid, quickly making its way up his arm. “What the shit?!” He exclaimed as Hannah pulled her mouth away. She was smiling and it showed off Duke’s blood on her teeth. The second Hannah left his arm, he pulled it close to his chest. His heart pounded deafeningly loud in his ears as he examined the wound. 

The liquid kept on traveling up his shirt and onto his torso. Duke started feeling lightheaded and his eyes struggled to keep open. No longer seeing reason to stay there, Ethan pulled away from Duke’s car door and opened the door for Lex. She smiled as she exited, Ethan holding her hand. “C’mon, banana.” She said. 

Hannah leapt out the car and ran around to grasp Lex’s hand. “Hey.” Lex said as Hannah’s cold hand held hers. Lex pulled her hand away from Ethan and she motioned to her lips. “Got something on your face.” 

Hannah started licking her lips clean as the three of them started making their way to town. Inside the car, Duke stopped breathing and his body went limp. After a moment in this state, he shot awake, smiling.