Work Text:
Dragon sat in his chair by his computer, struggling with his thoughts.
There was a loud ringing in his ears.
He didn’t know what to do about it. He gripped his head, trying to focus. He had invited Sixty over to his house today, to talk about.. all the recent events that had happened. He would’ve invited Purple over as well, but she didn’t want anything to do with him as of now.
Perhaps talk wasn’t the word for it. Maybe scream? Argue? Who knew.
The influence was the only thing he could think about. The influence, and Ace.
Ace had already been taken. There was nothing he could do except for wallow in his own guilt and sorrow. The influence would likely come for him next, as well as other members of the Anti-Night.
Not if he could help it.
He would STOP the influence. Find a way to make everything go back to normal.
If only his friends would stop pushing him around, telling him to stop.
He’s doing this for the greater good.
The ringing in his ears had reached a crescendo.
He panted, attempting to take focus on anything besides the horrible throbbing in his skull.
Suddenly, he heard the doorbell ring.
Sixty had arrived at his house.
With little to no care, he jumped out of his chair and stumbled to the door. He fumbled with the lock, and opened it to see Sixty standing on his front porch, fidgeting with his sleeve.
He had a black and blue jacket on, jeans, and a backwards navy cap, clearly thrown on in the nick of time.
Sixty didn’t seem as confident as he usually was. Normally, he’d be happy to be at Dragon’s house for a hangout.
This wasn’t a regular hangout, though. This was more serious than that.
“Dragon..? Uh-“ He started.
Dragon grabbed Sixty by the arm, tugging him to his room. He squeaked slightly in surprise, but followed behind.
Dragon practically threw him in his room, slamming the door shut behind them and locking it tight.
Sixty sat on Dragon’s bed nervously, already expecting an argument.
Dragon flopped on the bed angrily next to him, making it creak slightly.
“So? Why did you side with HER?! I thought you were with me for this! Don’t you want to just.. have everything go back to how it used to be?”
Dragon was referring to when Purple and Sixty had tried to persuade him to stop investigating the influence. Why did they get to tell him what to do? He was SAVING them. At least, trying to.
“Dragon, I-“
“You have to understand, I’m HELPING you guys! I.. I’m helping EVERYONE! We need to know more about the influence so we can stop it! What I’m doing is a benefit, and you should.. should.. just.. stop telling me what to do. I’m not stupid.”
Sixty glanced up at him.
“Dragon, you’re.. you’re hurting yourself! You can’t keep doing this, it’s not good for you!”
“GOD, Sixty! I-“
“We get that you want to help, but.. we’re losing you, Dragon! You passed out once! Your memory’s getting worse and worse..” Sixty interrupted before Dragon could scream at him.
“My memory hasn’t gotten worse, it’s perfectly fine! You just want to stop me from doing this because you don’t want me to help! Both of you don’t! You’re just all some-“
“Dragon!” Sixty yelled.
Dragon paused, steaming.
“Dragon, when was the last time all three of us hung out..?” Sixty tried.
Dragon stopped, looking down.
“You.. that happened forever ago! That’s unfair!”
“No, no it didn’t!” Sixty choked out. “T-that was just a few weeks ago..”
Sixty held back a sob.
“You don’t remember anything, do you?” Sixty managed to utter.
“Of course I remember! W-what do you take me for, some old guy with dementia? I can remember stuff!” Dragon felt as if he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince Sixty.
“Dragon, you’re not yourself.. you’ve been acting so different because of all this.. influence stuff..”
Sixty looked down, sniffling.
“You.. You’re not the person I knew before. You’re so rude and snarky now, and you always yell at us for trying to get you to stop risking your life! Me and Purple just want you to quit this, please.. P-please, please, please..”
Sixty grabbed Dragon, hugging him tightly.
Dragon glanced at him in surprise. He was clutching him like a lifeline. Seeing the once so positive and humorous boy reduced to trembling and sniffling in his arms made him rethink something for once.
Maybe he was too standoffish? Too self-centered?
Dragon shook himself.
He was doing this for a good cause.
The thought of losing himself in the process was scary, he’d admit, but not enough to stop him.
Still, reluctantly, he wrapped his arms around Sixty, unsure of what to say.
Sixty gripped Dragon’s shirt, white-knuckled.
Dragon simply looked down at him, staying silent.
He wasn’t going to stop.
He couldn’t.
But he wouldn’t tell Sixty that. Not yet.
Perhaps all this stuff he was doing was too risky for a teen like him, but he didn’t care, as long as he’d save people.
He would still go snooping around Roblox, whether they wanted him to or not.
“Zach, please.. please tell me you’ll stop playing Roblox.. It’s not even safe to go on the game anymore..” Sixty mumbled.
Dragon flinched slightly at hearing his real name.
“I can’t promise anything..” he sighed.
He knew that he would still go on the game and investigate regardless, but he tried to sound like he was considering stopping.
“And.. just call me Dragon for now.”
Sixty still seemed shaken and miserable, but Dragon’s answer was good enough for him at the moment.
“We.. we can play other games.” Sixty mustered. “It’s safer.”
Dragon nodded, even though he knew he would get back onto Roblox shortly after Sixty left.
Dragon broke the hug, and Sixty scooted away from him slowly.
“And.. try to fix things up with Purple, alright? She’s really mad at you, for uh.. being a jerk lately.” Sixty started. “I’m sort of mad at you, too. Mad and scared. Mostly scared..”
Dragon huffed and pulled his legs to his chest, resting his chin on his arms.
“Mad at you for not listening to us, and scared because you might die.”
“I’m fine, Sixty.” Dragon grumbled.
“You’re not! You say you are, but you’re not!”
“Listen, I don’t feel like doing this right now, alright?!” Dragon almost yelled, but forced himself to keep his voice down.
“Can you just.. leave? Please?”
Sixty looked down at his shoes for a minute, then reluctantly stood up.
“Please, just.. consider what I said. Don’t go on Roblox anymore.”
Sixty walked out of the room, and Dragon could hear him exiting the house. He looked outside his window, seeing Sixty shakily get on his bike and ride away.
Dragon zoned out for a moment, slouching at the windowsill.
Dragon wasn’t going to listen to them.
It was pointless of them to even try to convince him to stop.
Dragon peeked out the window again.
It was getting dark outside, and Dragon could hear a storm coming.
He could see rain begin to fall in small rivulets, gradually becoming bigger and bigger droplets.
Would Sixty be alright? Would he get wet..?
Dragon tried to ignore it, trudging over to his gaming chair. He sat down, turning on his computer. After a short wait, he logged onto Roblox.
Though, no matter how hard he tried, the thought of Sixty getting soaked in the rain without an umbrella kept eating at him. He grabbed a pen and clicked it, trying to distract himself.
Suddenly, Dragon turned off his computer and stood up, scrambling to the hangers in his house.
He grabbed an umbrella, hastily put on his shoes (without bothering to tie them), and ran outside. The wind buffeted him, and the rain soaked through his clothes. He turned at a corner, completely sodden, seeing Sixty’s silhouette in the distance.
“SIXTY!” He yelled. “SIXTY, HEY! WAIT!”
Sixty had heard him and stopped his bike, turning around to see Dragon getting drenched with rain, holding an unopened umbrella.
“Dragon..? Is that for me?” He called out over the distance between them.
“Yeah, yeah, just.. take it.”
Dragon ran over to Sixty, shoving the umbrella in his hands.
“..Thanks. Thank you, Dragon.” Sixty muttered.
Dragon nodded, turning away.
“Don’t forget to give it back!”
Dragon ran back to his house. He would melt if he stayed out any longer in this weather.
Panting from the run, Dragon entered his house again, dripping water on the floor.
He skittered over to the bathroom, grabbing a towel and wiping himself clean, wrapping it around him afterwards. He went over to his gaming chair, sat down, and logged onto Roblox again.
As he was playing games, he felt sort of happy for helping Sixty.
Sixty needed the umbrella, after all, and he was glad he stopped sixty from becoming a wet rag.
The happiness didn’t last for long, though, because Dragon decided it was time to begin his descent into investigation once more. Perhaps he would visit the library again? Or attempt opening another one of those strange doors?
Regardless of what he did, he would still document it.
He HAD to fix things, whether his friends wanted him to or not.
He HAD to change things, whether he would survive or not.