Chapter Text
“Fuck!”
Multi likes to think he lives a pretty normal life.
Granted, he spends most of it inside his nuclear reactor, sometimes building bombs. And caring for an egg. And getting death threats almost everyday.
But that’s hardly the point.
Life is quiet there. Predictable. Machines hum exactly when they’re supposed to, radiation behaves according to how it should, when no one messes with it. His projects never judged him, never whispered behind his back, never called him insane, nor betrayed him.
People, on the other hand, tend to become a problem the moment he steps outside. Variables that make his quiet life turn into chaos.
So when a winged man literally fell out of the sky and crashed face-first into the grass a few feet ahead of him, after finally deciding that walking around wouldn’t be that bad, Multi could only sigh.
It wasn’t even surprising, if anything, it confirmed a theory he’d been developing for months.
Maybe he should just stay inside forever.
Still, it wasn’t in him to ignore someone who looked like they had just crashed into the earth.
Even if kindness rarely seemed worth the effort.
People had already decided what they thought of him, anyway. Apparently he was fucking crazy, a fucking weirdo with nuclear bombs in his basement. Depending on who you asked, he was also apparently poisoning the entire island with radiation.
Whatever, people were entitled to be wrong.
He’d always minded his own business. It wasn’t his fault the rest of the island insisted on making him theirs.
This one, though, looked new. He had never seen this wings before.
“Are you okay?” he asked, sounding far more confused than concerned.
The man lying in the grass groaned before slowly pushing himself upright.
Actually, confused wasn’t exactly the right word, curiosity, maybe. He was wearing all white, now tinted with green from the grass… Maybe a new fed worker?
The winged man looked up with an expression that suggested he’d rather be anywhere else.
“What do you think, asshole?”
“…Okay.”
Multi was no longer interested in whatever this was. He simply adjusted the strap of his backpack and resumed the walk towards his reactor.
“Wait, wait.” Footsteps hurried after him, he deliberately ignored them. “Multi, wait.”
That made him stop.
Slowly, he turned around. “…How do you know my name?”
His hand instinctively drifted toward the sword at his hip, not unveiling it yet. Maybe he should call Aldo.
The stranger stared at him for a long second before sighing dramatically.
“You’re so much stupider from up close.”
That wasn’t an answer, and it this guy was starting to get on his nerves.
Today was supposed to be a building day.
“I’m your guardian angel.”
“What.” Not a question, just genuine disbelief from Multi’s voice.
“Are you deaf? I literally took my eyes off you for like an hour, there’s no way you became de—”
“I heard you.” Multi rubbed at his temple, already feeling a headache forming. “I’m just… what are you saying?”
Katie already filled his life with enough nonsense, he really wasn’t sure he could survive a second one.
“My name is Quackity, I’m your guardian angel.”
This time, the man spread his wings slightly, as if that alone should settle the matter.
“…Oh. Okay.” He turned around again and kept walking, now faster.
This island was full of crazy people, Multi swears.
Behind him came the loudest groan he’d ever heard.
“God, you’re such an ass. You’re actually worse from up close.”
Multi decided that, whatever hallucination this was, ignoring it seemed like the best course of action.
It worked surprisingly well, no longer feeling his presence after he teleported.
Until it didn’t.
By the time Multi finished passing through the reactor’s decontamination chamber, Quackity was already standing inside, leaning against one of the reinforced walls.
“Literally, such a pain in the ass.”
“What the fuck?!”
Multi jumped back, instinctively reaching for his sword.
“You’re the first human— Or whatever you are now— That treats his guardian angel this shitty!” Quackity crossed his arms with a sulk. “Do you know how much shit I’ve saved you from? You should be thanking me, seriously.”
“What the fuck?”
Instead of attacking, Multi hurried over to take out his security footage.
The cameras showed himself, the room, the equipment, literally everything.
Everything except the winged man currently standing beside him.
“Are you some kind of ghost?”
“I already told you.” Quackity pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m your guardian angel. So only you can see me.”
That didn’t answer nearly enough questions, just created more.
“Why are you here? What do you want from me?”
He took another cautious step backward.
“Well,” Quackity began, “you happen to have a bomb connected to your death that could kill dozens of people.”
His expression turned openly judgmental, which only made the scientist more defensive.
“And neither my coworkers nor my boss are particularly happy about it.”
“Well.” Multi shrugged, trying to look as nonchalant as possible in front of this delirious situation. “That wouldn’t be a problem if they stopped trying to kill me all the time.”
“Well, sweetheart, you don’t exactly make it easy.” Quackity threw his hands into the air, a sarcastic smile in his face. “I don’t like them either, especially the stupid one with the dead daughter, but it’s not their time yet.”
“What time? What do you mean?”
“You know.” Quackity rolled his eyes. “Their time to die. It’s not supposed to be because you decide to nuke the whole fucking island.”
He looked genuinely annoyed now.
“Besides, do you know how many times I’ve saved you from dying because of stupid shit?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’ve almost been stabbed by your kid’s knife like ten times. Katie has offered you food twice that would’ve killed you because your organs are fucking shit.” He pointed directly at him. “Even now, you’re literally green, dude.”
Now it just felt like he was getting insulted for free.
“I’m healthy. I don’t know what you’re on about.”
Quackity just stared, judgemental, looking him up and down.
“I don’t even believe in God,” Multi continued. “So I don’t get why I’d have a guardian angel.”
The winged man let out the most exhausted groan Multi had ever heard.
“God, give me patience.” He inhaled slowly before speaking again. “It’s not an exchange, asshole. Everyone has a guardian angel. Even pieces of shit like you.”
He paused and mumbled. “Equality and all that shit.”
Multi finds this ridiculous.
“They wanted me to convince you, that’s all, that’s why I’m here,” Quackity sighed. “I’ll go away after. Just stop that nuke linked to your death and live your life in less dramatic ways.”
“I’m not going to.” The answer came without hesitation, his voice calm and eery. “I’m not going to die and let them live freely. If I go down, I’ll take the whole island with me.”
“You’re such a piece of shit.”
“Are you allowed to curse?”
“No. That’s why I got assigned to you.” Quackity frowned. “Maybe I should’ve traded with Jaiden. Katie is way more manageable than your suicidal ass.”
“You know what? I was trying to lock in. To build in peace and—” A loud crack echoed overhead.
Before Multi could react, an enormous boulder broke free from the cave ceiling and plummeted directly toward him.
Quackity didn’t even flinch.
With a bored expression, he lazily flicked one hand.
The boulder stopped midair, then drifted harmlessly to one side before crashing against the cave’s floor.
Silence.
Then his guardian angel looked back at him.
“This is what I’m talking about.” He sounded genuinely tired. “You almost died and took the whole island with you in the most uninteresting way possible.”
The angel takes a deep breath before finishing it off with:
“Who the fuck lives in a cave, anyway?”
Multi, for now, remains silent.
—
So maybe the angel had a point.
Watching someone physically stop death in front of him had a way of putting things into perspective, can’t really ignore it when it’s literally in your face.
It wasn’t as if the close calls were anything new.
He’d nearly killed himself on his own traps and machinery more times than he cared to admit. More than once he had almost snapped his neck after misjudging a fall. Every visit to KTB HQ somehow ended with either Coco or Mango testing a new vehicle at full speed while forgetting pedestrians existed.
And that wasn’t even counting the assassination attempts.
The only difference now was that someone was there to stop them before they happened.
Or, more accurately, someone had apparently been doing it all along. Now he just gets to see it.
And his angel wasn’t as bad as he thought. Annoying, yes, but he wasn’t the worst company he could have.
“I mean, just— Just think about it.” Multi adjusted another gear inside one of his machines, fixing the cooling system. “Being a scientist is the closest thing to being a God.”
“You’re being sacrilegious.” Quackity says, not even bothering to spare a glance from where he was lazily floating upside down near the ceiling.
“I’m not.” Multi stopped what he was doing and looked dramatically toward the sky, or well, ceiling. “I’m not!”
After observing his angel’s work, he’s learned to respect God. Well, that and he doesn’t want any more trouble.
Quackity burst into laughter.
Not the sarcastic snort Multi had grown used to, it’s probably the first time since they’ve met that he hears his actual, full blown, laughter.
It echoes through the reactor, warm enough that Multi finds himself smiling despite having absolutely no reason to.
He pretends it’s because Quackity looked ridiculous upside down.
—
It turned out that guardian angels weren’t nearly as graceful as one would imagine.
Or maybe Quackity was simply an exception.
“Multiii!”
Multi sighed before peering over the edge of the ravine.
Sure enough, Quackity was staring back up at him from the bottom, wings awkwardly folded beneath him.
“I fell.”
“I noticed.”
“I think this biome hates me.”
“The biome isn’t the one that walked into the only hole in a 10k radius.”
“Did I ask for your opinion?”
“No, but you should’ve.”
Quackity huffed dramatically.
“I’m coming. Wait.” The scientist grabs his spider backpack, using it as he slides down the cliffside, landing beside him with practiced ease.
The angel immediately held his arms out. “Let’s warp home.”
Without really thinking it too much, Multi reached over and brushed a few specks of dirt from Quackity’s feathers.
Somewhere along the way, curiosity had turned into habit and he kept finding himself touching the white wings. They were so much softer than they looked, impossibly so.
Quackity visibly relaxed beneath the touch, feathers fluffing instinctively as he began absentmindedly preening.
“…Spoiled.” It slips out.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You definitely said something.”
“I didn’t.”
“Liar.” Multi keeps his face neutral. “Scientist.”
“That’s not an insult.” He tries to restrain his smile, taken aback by his angel’s creativity for saying complete bullshit.
“It is when I’m saying it.”
Multi rolled his eyes.
“Can we go home?” Quackity looked up at him with an exaggerated pout, looking down at his ruined white uniform.
His pupils shimmered strangely, their shape was tiny stars suspended inside impossibly dark eyes akin to a night sky.
Every time Multi noticed them, he found himself staring for a second too long.
He guesses angel’s eyes are just different, it feels too powerful of a weapon. Divine creatures were so unfair.
“Let’s go.”
—
“Sometimes I wonder,” Multi said one afternoon while helping Quackity climb out of one of his own traps, “why don’t you have an angel?”
Quackity dusted himself off. “Oh, I had one.”
“Had?”
“He did his job correctly, but everyone has a time limit.”
The answer came so casually that it took Multi a moment to process it.
“I can’t die now, anyway.”
“Oh.” Multi whispers. “Sorry.”
He suddenly felt like he’d asked something he shouldn’t have.
Quackity only shrugged with a sincere smile.
“Don’t worry. We don’t really remember our past lives.” He wandered toward the couch, absentmindedly staring at the television, which was currently playing an overly enthusiastic cooking show about eggs. “Besides, Heaven’s way better. Being a guardian angel is a cool job.”
A tiny smile tugged at his lips.
“Lately, I’ve been really loving my job.”
“Sure.”
Multi looked back down at the blueprint spread across his desk. For some reason, that new information Quackity revealed stayed with him. The implications of humans who turned into guardian angels fills his mind, distracting him from anything else.
Long enough that he completely misses the way Quackity glances over at him.
Or the faint blush dusting across the angel’s cheeks before he quickly looks back at the TV.
—
For what if feels like the 100th time this month, the ground beneath them breaks, making them fall into a ravine. The only thing he can distinguish is the glowing eyes of the mobs getting closer, ready to kill.
“No fucking way.” He tries unveiling his sword, but it gets stuck.
The words had barely left Multi’s mouth before Quackity’s bowstring snapped.
An arrow shot past his shoulder.
A spider dropped dead behind him.
Another arrow, making a skeleton collapse.
Another, followed by creeper exploding harmlessly several blocks away.
Within seconds, the cave had gone quiet.
Quackity casually lowered his bow. “…There.”
Multi blinked. “…Thanks.”
“You were doing great.”
“I was about to die.” To that, Quackity just snickers.
Multi let out a long sigh before sitting heavily against the cave wall.
This was already the third time he’d nearly died that day.
He was getting tired.
“Am I really this unlucky?”
Quackity chuckled, lighting up the place with torches, shaking his head.
“Not really, no.”
Multi gave him the flattest look possible.
“I’m not lying, I swear.” The winged man stated.
“Then why do I almost die twenty times every week?” Multi rubbed at his face. “Is God trying to kill me just to mess with you?”
“Quite the opposite, actually.” Quackity’s smile faded into something more thoughtful. “Given how… catastrophic your death could be…”
He paused long enough to shoot another arrow into the darkness, right above the scientist, killing a venomous spider crawling across the ceiling.
“Ghouls are having fun.”
“Ghouls?”
“They’re nasty little things, vicious.” He shrugged. “They like tempting fate, trying to make accidents happen.”
Another shrug, aiming to look casual yet exhaustion slips through.
“Once I got assigned to you, more of them started showing up. They hate angels.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
Silence settled between them.
Multi looked down at his hands, feeling a bit useless.
“So everything is my fault.”
“Pretty much.” Quackity replies in a joking manner, smiling.
Multi doesn’t smile back.
The words settled uncomfortably somewhere beneath his ribs.
He’d built the failsafe to make sure no one could ever kill him without consequences.
But he had never stopped to think that merely having it could be putting everyone else in danger, even if they choose to keep their distance.
Or that it had apparently made someone else’s job infinitely harder.
He thinks about Quackity being in danger. Even though he can’t die, still…
He wasn’t sure how he felt about anything now.
—
“Maybe you’re right.”
“What?”
Quackity barely finishes the word before the metal catwalk beneath Multi gives way with a deafening screech. He feels himself falling.
Then, as usual, a hand catches his wrist; his fall comes to an abrupt stop.
Multi swings awkwardly in the air, looking up to find Quackity hovering over the gap, one wing beating lazily to keep himself suspended as he holds him with surprising strength.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” The angel sounds more tired than annoyed this time, but he still has a beaming grin on his face. “Again.”
As Quackity brings him back onto the platform, Multi notices something he’d never paid attention to before.
A few white feathers drift through the air.
He recalls then, that every time he came close to dying, Quackity seemed to lose them.
“Maybe I should disable the mechanism.”
His angel stops trying to fix the walkway.
“What?”
“I have a nuclear bomb I can send wherever now.” Multi dusts himself off once he’s standing again. “Something I can use while I’m alive instead of something that activates when I die.”
“Oh.”
For some reason, the usual brightness in Quackity’s eyes flickers. His smile doesn’t disappear, but it falters.
“I mean…” He laughs awkwardly. “That’s— that’s great, but you can—”
He looks away, avoiding the scientist’s gaze.
“You don’t have to disable it now, you know.”
Multi studies him for a moment.
Quackity is still holding onto his forearm even though they’re both safe now, his grip is tighter than necessary.
“Yes. Of course.” He nods, giving him a small smile. “I’ll do it later.”
Quackity smiles back.
It doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
—
He does it that same night.
Quackity disappears for what he casually refers to as his “daily work call,” one that never lasts longer than ten minutes.
Multi had never asked what happened during those meetings, he figured it was angel business.
His monitor right in front of him is staring back.
Turns out disabling it is almost disappointingly simple.
A few commands, one confirmation and it’s done.
It’s done.
Just like that.
—
When Quackity returns, he stops the second he walks through the wall.
His eyes immediately lift towards some space above Multi’s head.
His expression falls.
“You did it.”
Multi blinks.
For a moment he wonders if there’s some invisible halo, status bar, or divine notification hovering above him that only angels can see. Maybe a countdown. Something has taken away his chance to reveal his decision, but it’s fine anyway.
It’s too late at night to talk about this, tomorrow will come.
“Yes.” He offers a small smile.
Quackity doesn’t return it.
“You don’t need to worry about me—” He quickly corrects himself. “About that anymore.”
“I will always worry.”
The answer from his guardian angel comes immediately.
Quackity crosses his arms with a frown, stubbornly refusing to look him in the eye now.
Outside, rain begins hammering against the mountain, thunder comes, shaking the reactor walls.
The lights flicker once before stabilizing.
Neither of them says anything. And the silence between them feels infinite.
Eventually, they walk to Multi’s office, the closest thing the reactor has to a bedroom.
The silence stretches between them and it’s making him feel uneasy.
He notices then, that it’s raining for the first time ever. Multi glances toward Quackity and wonders if it’s related to him.
There’s something he’s been meaning to ask.
Something about Heaven.
About guardian angels.
About whether Quackity really likes his job as much as he says he does.
About what he really means to him.
Before he can speak, a warm hand settles gently against his forehead.
“Take care, Multi.”
“Wh—”
The word never leaves his mouth, the exhaustion hits all at once. It’s not the kind he’s used to feeling, the one bottled up, it’s more peaceful. Instant enveloping him like a heavy blanket.
His knees buckle before he can even think to fight it.
Darkness wraps around him, warm and impossibly gentle, pulling him downward no matter how hard he tries to stay awake.
“…Quackity…” He mumbles; fighting to talk, to be heard.
Maybe, to be saved. One last time.
He feels arms catch him before he reaches the floor. Steady and careful, as though he’s made of glass.
The last thing Multi registers is the soft brush of feathers against his shoulder.
Then—
Nothing.
—
The next morning, Multi wakes up sprawled across the couch in his office.
His neck hurts.
And the storm has passed.
But there’s an eerie feeling in the air.
“…Quackity?”
He gets no answer.
He sits up, looking around, getting more anxious with each second.
The office is empty.
“Quackity?”
Silence.
The village.
The laboratory.
The reactor.
The cave itself.
Nothing.
For the first time in weeks, Multi is completely alone.