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The fire burned and crackled around Moe, consuming every piece of furniture in its path.
Moe tuned out the distant screams; soon, they became nothing but a background ambiance.
The flames rose higher and higher, eventually fully engulfing the house in its fiery embrace.
Despite that, Moe didn’t back away. She stood in the doorway, watching as the fire danced in hot flicks and wicks.
The screams grew louder, soon Moe couldn’t tune them out. The heat began causing sweat to bead down Moe’s forehead, dripping down her cheek to her chin. Still, she didn’t dare move. She didn’t dare utter a single word.
It wasn’t long before the fire gradually approached her. The fire had no thoughts, just an everlasting hunger to consume and consume.
It approached and Moe made zero attempts to move. It was pointless after all; all actions would lead to the same fate anyway.
The fire burned Moe’s clothes, and then her skin. Her arms began to swell, blisters forming over her skin. As the heat intensified, a warm white liquid began seeping from the already existing blisters.
The pain overwhelmed all thoughts on contact. The heat left a throbbing sensation on Moe’s skin. Her skin was throbbing, creating an awful stinging sensation.
The distant screams were gone; the pain had fully blocked it all out. All Moe could focus on was the intensifying heat eating away at her body.
Moe choked back a pained sob, tears swelling in her eyes, adding to her blurred vision from the smoke.
As she took a breath, smoke poured into her lungs. It was hot and unpleasant, burning the inside of Moe’s mouth.
Moe knew the pain wouldn’t last long, it never really did. The fire continued to eat away at her body, her body shot up in pain like needles digging into her skin.
The air reeked of burnt hair and flesh; the scent filled Moe with disgust.
The heat left a stinging sensation in her body; as it intensified, it became more numbing.
It was almost like the pain began subsiding, being replaced with a cooling numbness.
Then her vision darkened, and for a moment it seemed the world around her had slowed.
And then Moe shot up.
Cold sweat streamed down her forehead like a bullet, smearing the white clown makeup she forgot to wash last night.
It was just a nightmare, Moe reassured herself.
Just a nightmare.
Nightmares were always quite common for her, but since Ze’s disappearance, it felt as if they had become more frequent.
It was normal for Ze to be gone for a few Minecraft days; he was busy after all. However, this time it felt different. Ze was gone for way longer than usual, which was worrying both Moe and Regect.
It was just about a week, with zero signs of Ze.
Moe missed him terribly, and she knew Regect did too.
Normally, whenever she had nightmares, she would walk to Ze’s room, and he’d welcome her with open arms.
But now that didn’t happen.
Regect was rarely ever in his room now; he usually spent a lot of time outside waiting for Ze.
Sometimes she’d wait with him, but it never made a difference. Hours of waiting proved to be pointless; it just gave false hope to both of them. Moe tried explaining that to Regect, but he remained determined.
Tonight was one of those nights where he’d wait. Then again, that was pretty much every night. If he wasn’t waiting, he was searching, and if he wasn’t doing either of those, he was passed out in his room.
She knew Regect was stressed, but she didn’t want to add to it with her nightmares.
Moe pulled herself out of thought, eyes drifting off to her scared hands. It was all a constant reminder.
“You are inspired by their imperfections.”
All a reminder.
“But, what would they think of yours?”
Of that house, and that day.
Moe swung her feet over her bed, sitting on the side. Her arms rested on her thighs, fingertips digging gently into the skin. She was in a grey pair of sweats and a black tank top, she would have to change into a sweater if she went to Ze’s room.
Burn scars were scattered all across her arms and torso; even if Ze was still missing, she wouldn’t want to risk Regect seeing them.
Moe stood up from her bed and walked over to her dresser, taking a white sweater off one of the racks and pulling it over her head.
Even though Ze was gone, she found comfort in his room.
Sometimes, usually after nightmares, she’d go and sleep in Ze’s room. On the rare occasion, Regect would join her.
Moe stepped out into the hallway, gently closing the door behind her. Regect’s room was right next to hers, and then Ze’s. It wasn’t a far walk at all. The floor creaked under her as she walked to Ze’s room, opening the door and then closing it behind her.
It was exactly how he left it, nothing was changed except for the slightly ruffled sheets from Regect and her sleeping in his bed.
The room still smelt like him, which Moe was thankful for.
She made her way to his bed, lying down and pulling the blanket up over her head. Moe curled herself up, bringing her knees to her chest and hugging them tightly. She closed her eyes, darkness enveloping her in its embrace as she fell back asleep.
Sunlight peeked through the curtains over Ze’s window, waking Moe up. Before Moe could get up, she felt a weight in the bed beside her. As she turned over, the familiar figure came into view. Regect. She had to admit she was surprised he came in,she was sure he’d wait out there all night again.
Moe carefully swung her legs over the bed, trying to avoid waking Regect up. He was likely getting some very much needed rest, she’d never forgive herself for disturbing that.
He hadn’t been getting much sleep ever since Ze just vanished, and she hadn’t really either. The constant nightmares kept her up long into the night, or waiting outside for Ze with Regect. On the rare occasion, Regect was up late into the night and then slept for most of the day; sometimes, he didn’t even sleep, and she’d find him passed out outside.
Moe was really worried for Regect.
Moe was worried for Ze, too.
She missed the sound of his voice, his laugh, everything.
She missed when Regect and Ze would playfully fight over the most unserious things.
She missed them both. Even if Regect was still here, it didn’t feel that way. He didn’t feel like Regect.
Moe tiptoed out of the room, gently closing the door to be as quiet as possible. She then tiptoed back to her room. She didn’t bother to close the door since Regect would probably be passed out for the majority of the day anyway.
She walked to her dresser and pulled out one of the colourful jester outfits, her eyes caught by the bright yellow and green colours.
She slipped off her sweater, her eyes faded to the scars that littered her body.
It was disgusting, all of it was disgusting. She was disgusting.
After years of healing, the scars remained, and their condition barely improved.
She wanted to cover up as soon as possible.
She slipped on the colourful fabric, doing up the buttons and zippers. She picked up the white gloves by her desk and pulled up the material over her hands. She, arguably, felt way better covered up. Sometimes the fabric of her clothes would brush up against her scars and give off a weird tingly sensation, but she grew to
Ignore it.
She turned to her vanity, without Ze around to help, and applying her makeup became quite the challenge. At times, Regect would try to help, but he never got it right. Moe knew how to do it herself, even if it looked much messier without the help of Ze at times. She grabbed the white powder and applied it onto her face, then she moved on to eyeshadow and the rest. Some days, she only did the white powder. But she was feeling rather motivated and went all in. The change was nice and she felt more like herself.
Next was her hair, she put it into two braids the night prior so it wouldn’t bother her when she slept. Doing her hair on her own was also difficult, she counted on Ze for her hair sometimes, too.
She could do it alone, she was perfectly capable. But it was easier to ask for help, Moe grew to realize that the more she hung around Regect and Ze. Whenever Regect got up, she’d just ask him, even if he was gonna be asleep for a while. He wasn’t all that good at styling her hair, but his help was much appreciated.
Sometimes he’d tug too hard, or get her hair all matted, but she knew he meant all well. Sometimes it was funny to watch him rage over hair. It reminded her of how he acted before Ze’s sudden disappearance.
She came to the conclusion to just leave it be and ask Regect for help later. She knew he wouldn’t mind since neither of them was busy at all.
She headed out of her room, still tiptoeing down the hallway. Just as she was reaching the end of it, she heard the familiar squeak of a door opening behind her. She stopped to snap her head around. Regect? Why was he up? Had she been too loud? He should be getting more sleep.
Regect looked rough, a hand rubbing at his yellow eye and then yawning. Seems like he hadn’t even noticed Moe yet.
“Hmm, oh. Hey Moe.” Regect’s voice sounded almost surprised, as if he wasn’t expecting her to be awake.
“Honk honk!” She squeaked back, backtracking to make her way over to him.
“Why am I up? Jeez, it’s not that early. Sleeping in all day gets really boring, y’know, Moe?”
“HONK.. Honk..”
“I wasn’t even out that late! I’m fine, Moe. You worry too much, dude.”
“Honk.. HONK..”
“Yeah, yeah. Any sign of Ze at all? I think there are a few caves we haven’t checked yet. We should try those.”
She knew he would mention Ze eventually, that was expected. With how much he asks about the guy, you’d think he actually cares about him despite his constant denial of ever doing so.
“Honk.. Honk…” Moe responded, her eyes fading to the ground.
“I mean, who knows? Even if we’ve checked most of the caves, this one could be way different. Cmon Moella, waiting around isn’t gonna change anything, now is it?”
She had to admit he was right, but it didn’t change the amount of dread she felt. She didn’t want to see the look of disappointment on his face once more, even if he didn’t really have much of one.
“Honk! Honk?”
“Oh yeah, the sorry excuse of a cave outside is something we could check! It’s more like a hole, though, kinda creepy.”
“HONK.. Honk. Honk!”
“Alright, don’t need’a yell at me! We’ll eat before we leave, ‘kay?” He reassured, but Moe knew he’d probably just rush through breakfast to get searching for Ze.
She couldn’t blame him, though; she was likely going to do the same.
The pair began walking out of the hallway and downstairs to the kitchen with various furnaces and crafting tables. They really didn’t need that much, but Regect always insisted otherwise.
“So? You do know how to cook, right, Moe?” Regect playfully questioned.
“HONK.. Honk. HONK.”
“I wasn’t trying to deny your cooking skills! Alright, I’ll leave you to it, Chef Moella!” He raised his hands defensively, even the invisible one, even if Moe couldn’t see it. Regect then gave a smirk to Moe and headed out of the kitchen.
“HONK.” Moe let out a grumbled honk, clearly displeased with Regect’s teasing. But it did make her a bit happy, she was glad he wasn’t moping around waiting for Ze.
Right before Moe could even start cooking, the click of the front door opening caught her attention. Moe snapped her head to the door, and she also saw Regect peek out from the dining room.
There was a familiar figure standing in the doorway, someone who both Moe and Regect knew very well.
”ZE?”
“HONK?”
Regect raced to Ze, and Moe followed behind him. Immediately, Regect and Moe pulled him into a hug.
“ZE! Holy shit, where have you been!?”
”HONK! Honk.. HONK.”
”Oh- yeah. Sorry for being gone for so long..”
”Dude!? Seriously, where were you? We’ve been worried sick!”
”You guys were worried?”
”Yeah, man! You were gone for like 15 days!”
”Oh- shit. Really sorry about that, I can explain later why.”
”Yeah! You better!”
“HONK. HONK.”
Both Regect and Moe continued to hug Ze. Moe was extremely thankful. After days and days, they’ve finally found him. Days of looking, days of wondering, it was relieving to see him okay. Especially after a fake Ze appeared a while ago, which was a terrifying experience to say the least. It was obvious, though, that this was the real Ze, Moe could see it as clear as day.
Eventually, the two pulled away from the hug, giving Ze some room to breathe.
The three of them sat down at the kitchen table. It was a sweet moment, or at least to Moe. Finally, they were all together, and Moe was really glad.
Ze told Regect and her about the hole and where he’d been all this time. Regect seemed to tense up when Ze mentioned these strange eyes taunting him. Moe had a feeling she knew the answer to that. Moe also had a feeling she knew the eyes Ze was talking about, which terrified her a lot. She was lost in thought for a bit, eventually coming back to reality. She didn’t miss a lot, they were still speaking about Ze and the hole.
”Moe and I saw other holes around, too. What are we gonna do about them?”
”Cover ‘em up. I think that’s all we really can do anyway..”
Regect nodded.
“Honk!”
“Mhm, yeah. We could ask Fante about it, see if he knows anything.” Regect suggested.
Ze nodded in agreement, and Moe honked.
Moe was glad they could all be together again. Regect seemed much happier now that Ze was back. Moe even heard a few chuckles from Ze a few times. Right now, it was almost like Ze never disappeared in the first place. Despite that, there was this odd feeling in Moe's chest. A weird feeling of dread that she couldn't exactly place. They were all talking, she shouldn't feel this way. Moe couldn't understand why she felt so unhappy. Ze was back, Regect was happy, so why wasn't she? Why was this happening now, out of all times?
The feeling carried on until the next day. Both Ze and Regect were out, meeting with Wakafante to talk about the weird appearance of those holes. Moe wasn't all that interested in that, but she wouldn't have minded helping. The pair took off without her, though. She didn't hold it against them; a lot was going on now that Ze was finally back. With those holes, the apparent eyes Ze saw, and even fake versions of all of them. Ze and Regect both spoke, and knew each other well enough to figure out if one was a fake.
Moe wondered what it'd be like if a fake version of herself showed up. How would they tell the difference between a fake and her? All Moe could do was honk, nothing very original whatsoever. So, for a fake of her to appear, it'd be nearly impossible to tell. She knew Regect and Ze well, but they really didn't know her. She was Moella the Clown to them, a rather cheerful clown who enjoyed entertaining others. There was so much more they didn't know, and Moe wasn't sure if she ever would tell them. Obviously, they all had their own secrets, but you can't keep something from your friends forever. Regect was obviously hiding something. Moe wondered if he thought about telling Ze or her. Maybe Regect was in the same boat as her, fear also eating away at him.
Regect and Ze would be disgusted to discover who their beloved Moella truly was, or who she used to be. Moe liked to say she was different from then, but every now and then her thoughts would convince her otherwise. She wanted to keep that buried deep in the past, thinking about it only brought her more grief.
Maybe Regect and Ze would understand. Just maybe, it would all fall together, and they'd all be okay. Moe hoped so, she couldn't risk having another instance of Ze disappearing. That was terrifying, and she refused to let it happen again, she assumed Regect felt the same.
Then, her thoughts faded back to an imposter of her.
Would Ze and Regect search for her relentlessly? Stay up late, waiting and wondering? Drive themselves to the point of exhaustion for her, like Regect, and she did for Ze. Silly, of course they would. They are your friends, no? she thought to herself. They're her friends, if they didn't at least try to search for her, then Moe would suspect something. She thought about it for a while. A lot of possibilities flashed through Moe's mind. She could've been doing better, more productive things, but instead she chose to just think. A soft voice tore Moe from her thoughts.
"Moella?"
A soft voice called out Moe's name. Which was a bit nerve-racking considering only Ze and Regect knew her full name. Unless.. No. That's not possible. The voice was gentle and sweet, but Moe couldn't recognize it. Maybe she was just hearing things, she hoped so.
"Moella? Hello?"
To her disappointment, that gentle voice spoke again. It sounded like it was coming from the hallway. Investigating wouldn't hurt, right? Moe pulled her legs over her bed, stood up, and made her way towards the door. Moe hesitated, hand hovering over the handle for a moment. She took a deep breath and opened the door. There was no one there. Maybe she was hearing things? Probably. Moe didn't have a history of hearing things, so it was a bit concerning. Then, she heard it, that same soft voice speaking.
"Moellla! I'm here!"
The voice had repostioned itself; now Moe heard it from downstairs. She was supposed to be alone, Regect and Ze were gone. This was getting creepy, she had to have been hearing things. Right? But checking wouldn't hurt. Moe walked down the stairs to the kitchen, and it was just as she expected. No one was there. Moe walked to the door and, with a familiar click, opened it. She looked outside for a bit, seeing no one there, and she was about to go back inside.
"Moe!"
Ze!? Moe snapped her head back to where she heard the voice. It was coming from the hole in front of their house. The same hole Ze was missing for days in, Moe wondered why he and Regect didn't cover it up first. How could he even be back in the hole? He knew the dangers, hell, he experienced them first hand! Where was Regect? Wasn't he with him? Moe heard another yell from the hole; it sounded so much like Ze. If Ze was really back in that hole, Moe would never forgive herself for leaving him. Without thinking about it any further, she jumped in.
Moe met the ground with a hard slam. That was to be expected after jumping into a giant hole. Moe pushed herself off the ground. Her entire body ached, and she winced. This was by far one of the dumbest things she's done in a while. The hole had a long hallway, leading to a door. There was no voice and no Ze. Maybe he was in the room? He had to be. Moe made her way to the door slowly; the whole situation was just now sinking in. She hesitated in front of the door. What if Ze wasn't in here? What if he was? Moe couldn't risk it. Her hand trembled before the door and opened it. Inside, it was pitch black. Just as Moe was going to close it, a force pulled her into the darkness.
Moe could barely see her own two hands in front of her, let alone anything else. The door that was just behind her was gone. She was trapped in a dark, cold abyss. She really played herself, didn't she? Might as well find an exit now, though. That was her only hope. She doubted Ze or Regect knew where she was; they would've never guessed she was led by a voice that sounded like Ze into the hole. A cold breeze gave Moe goosebumps as she walked. Despite being fully clothed, it was really cold. The sun had zero chance of reaching such a place, maybe that's why. She traversed the darkness, which felt and looked endless. No matter how far she got, it was all the same.
In the distance, Moe saw a light. A small orange glow in the black abyss. Maybe Ze was really here! Moe ran to the light. The closer she got, the more disappointment she began to feel. Eventually, the light fully came into view. A small fire stood before her. It twitched and flickered. Moe's eyes were glued to it. She watched its movements in fear. Moe was never fond of fire. After watching it for a bit, she scrambled to put it out. Darkness surrounded her afterwards. Then, Moe heard a voice.
"Moe? Oh, Moella!" Moe couldn't place the voice in the darkness. Moe honked and twisted her head around frantically. No one was there. The voice had a sweet touch to it that scared Moe. "Moella! Oh, look at you. So grown." A pair of eyes appeared a few feet in front of Moe. If it had a mouth, Moe guessed it would've been grinning. Moe honked back in response. "Moe! Don't act like a stranger.. Moellaa.." Moe backed up and honked again.
The eyes just got closer when she backed up. Her desperate honks reached no one. It was just her and these eerily creepy eyes. "Moe... Moellaa! What's the matter?"
Moe shook her head and honked in response, "HONK. Honk."
"I expected better of you, y'know, Moe? Didn't take you for pretty stupid. Pretty girl, of course. But, you knew better than to wander off in the same hole your friend did."
"HONK." Moe wondered why they were mentioning Ze. These must've been the eyes he talked about.
"Hmm.. No, this isn't about Ze. You're our star this time! As you call him, fake Ze didn't work out too well. So, I had a thought. What about a 'fake' of you?" Moe's eyes only widened. "Oh? No response?"
Before Moe could react, a hand tore away her horn. Moe's eyes widened further, and she raced to try to grab it. It was a pathetic attempt that got her nowhere. An eerie laugh reupted from the pair of eyes. It was satisfied with Moe's misery.
"Oh, Moella, how sad you are." Moe couldn't respond. "But I'll be needing this." Moe backed up, and this time the eyes didn't approach. "It's terrible, isn't it? Poor Moella, so fearful about the past." Moe shook her head, and the eyes giggled. Moe couldn't argue. After all, she was scared. Dread from the past haunted her. No matter what happens, how much she tries to grow, she'll never forgive herself. How could she?
"Wonder what those other two will think. Though I'm sure you already think of that plenty." Moe frantically shook her head. A terribly pathetic attempt to try to convey her emotions.
The eyes giggled once more. With that final laugh, they were suddenly gone. Moe was back alone in pitch black darkness.
She was in the worst case scenario ever imaginable. She was stuck with no way of calling for help. Who knew if Ze and Regect would notice the clone wasn't her. Who knew if they'd even be able to find her. Neither of them would assume she was here. She wouldn't even guess she'd be here.
With nothing else to do, Moe sat down and curled up. She wrapped her arms around herself and brought her knees to her chest. It kept her a bit warmer. She burried her face in her knees and let the darkness consume her.