Work Text:
> Thursday, May 23rd, 2013
He knew he’d be back, as was routine for him by this point.
No matter how much time had passed, he still felt a pull to this place. The only place that he could pretend everything was still fine in.
The only place where he could talk to his best-friend once more.
—
Anguish washed over him as his character finally loaded in, still wearing the same black robes as he had on that day. The day he’d never forget.
Ozo took a quick glance at his surroundings before steering himself towards the direction now familiar to him. This was far from the first time he had been here.
Heavy feet carried him at a steady pace toward the only thing left for him of his best-friend. The “chat” NPC left by Brandon before his death.
As Ozo approached the NPC at a near enough distance to commune with it, he took his time to cherish each and every dialogue, knowing that the very words displayed infront of him were likely the last words typed by the one he missed greatly.
—
Once Ozo had finally gone through all the dialogues but one, a shiver went down his spine as he hesitated to continue on with the last option.
> Ozo is that you? LOL it must be! Hope you still get out there and pwn, so much fun
…
Silence.
And then, a single sob.
Then another.
Then more and more until his face was racked with tears.
The guilt, the pain, the anguish, the loss, the sadness— all of it came out at once. Loud sobs were the only sounds made as he trembled and cried, each tear trickling down from his face onto the ground he stood on. The ground before Brandon— No, before the lifeless husk of his former friend.
One last shiver and a choked out sob led to Ozo falling to his knees with a thud. As his hands desperately looked for purchase to avoid him completely curling to the ground in a weeping mess, they latched onto the robes of the figure before him, tugging them downward.
This, however, didn’t affect the NPC— it stood unshaken above Ozo’s trembling figure— smiling.
But not a genuine smile. It was robotic in a way that you could only tell the difference from close up. The emptiness of the eyes lit up only by a metallic sheen and the stiffness of the only expression it was capable of.
—
Ozo wondered if Brandon could see the mess he currently was.
But of course he couldn’t.
Brandon is gone. And forever will be.
Ozo was left alone, shedding tears until he no longer could and all that remained were red stains beneath his eyes.
And he would stay that way until Brandon was returned to him.
Though, he never would be.
Not this time.