Work Text:
Poe stood in a corner, slumped over with his head in his hands. His head ached and there was a pounding in his ears that wouldn’t go away. He clutched his head, harder and harder even tearing out some of his hair but the pain wouldn’t go away. ‘damnmit’ it hurt too much to think straight and the room seemed to spin. He collapsed to the floor, his head buried in his lap. Suddenly he heard a voice whisper in his ear. “It’s all your fault” it said, “Why don't you just do me and Mushi-kun a favor and kill yourself?” Poe covered his ears and began to tear up, “No no no no no, I-I didn't mean to I, I’m so sorry” he cried, knowing full well it was his fault. He decided to join the rats, he betrayed his one and only friend, he believed the lies that Fyodor told him, and he and he alone trapped Mushitaro in that unfinished novel, for all he knew Mushitaro was dead and that scared him. The mere thought of what he did scared him. It terrified him. To think he would kill Ranpo just like that, it scared him. “Stop being a little bitch and look at me. Look at what you’ve done” Poe raised his head and screamed at the sight of Ranpo’s mutilated corpse standing before him. “Are you proud of yourself? You followed his every order, you traitor” tears began running down Poe’s face and clutched his ears tighter, “Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up shut up!” he sobbed. He felt himself gagging, nearly throwing up because of how much he was coughing and sobbing…
“Please…”
He choked out,
”Pathetic, I thought you were better than this.” Ranpo scoffed, “You’re no rival of mine, you're far too weak” Poe tried to close his eyes, tried to forget that face but he saw no matter how much he tried. He couldn’t breathe, his chest tightened and his heart beat like a drum.”I tried to warn you. I told you not to trust that rat but you didn't listen did you?” “This is just a dream. Right! It's just a bad dream…” Poe muttered, pinching his cheek, seemingly hoping he’d wake up and this would be over. But, no… this was real. And now he had to deal with the consequences of that. Ah, a pitiful sight he was. To the mentally sane, he looked like a fool screaming to himself and himself alone. One might have assumed he was crazy (which was wholly the truth in this instance) but if you would have asked him yourself you’d find that he’d deny madness and simply state that, in that moment, he was consumed by emotion and an incredible pain in his head. However, he was the kind of man that was prone to sudden and intense bouts of madness in which his sense of reality is warped to the point of visual and auditory hallucinations and impaired reasoning, which would drive him to commit dishonorable acts under a lens of doing what he assumes is right without spearing even a second of a thought for the consequences. He sat there, for a very long time. Eventually he fell asleep and thus had found solace from his torture. Or so he thought. In his dreams he found, not respite, but horrible visions of the things he’d done. All the people he hurt or out right killed. Especially the ones he held closest. His mother’s eyes cut through him like daggers. She’d playfully call him by the nick-name she did when she was alive and held him delicately like something rather fragile. She laughed when he cried, revealed in his pain. “Eddie~” she’d say in her playful tone. Upon hearing this Poe’s mind flooded with memories from his younger years. “ You still remember what you did, don’t you” she’d smile to herself at this remark. Her cruelness made her feel like she had won, like this continuous mockery of her own son could make up for the unjust murder of her husband. “You know what you did. Murderer” he screamed and protested, “I swear I didn't mean it! I, I’m sorry. I’m so so so so so sorry. I didn't mean to, I didn't, I, I d-didn't mean to hurt father. I SWEAR I DIDN’T!!!!” He continued, sobbing and barely choking out his words. He hated every second of this. But what could he do know? Everything had already been done. He couldn’t go back. He couldn’t undo all the pain he caused.
This was his punishment after all.