Chapter Text
“What do we think about that, audience? Has he earned his rest? Or do we want to see him play yet again…” Hetch’s sinister voice echoed in the control room.
Ranboo didn’t want to hear him speak anymore, never again. They wanted to die. It was the better alternative given the current situation. Live, and continue to be a puppet to this fucked up, corrupt organization keen on torturing people to the fullest- or, die. Die and be released from this living hell they somehow managed to survive.
They pulled at the wire restraints uselessly- a false sense of hope crawling up his head. Ranboo was so tired . Who knows how long they’d been there, stuck under Showfall’s sick mind control? Who knows how long he’s been torturing his friends, his “fellow castmates”? Charlie?
God, they felt so guilty. Such guilt that made them think that death wasn’t enough for them. Perhaps living would be the greater punishment for everything they did to Charlie. To Sneeg, Niki, Austin, all of them. He let them die. He did nothing as he dug around Charlie’s torso, searching for a key that was never there. They were all under control at that moment, but to Ranboo, it didn’t matter.
They kept being called “The Hero”. Heroes didn’t tear apart their best friends. Heroes didn’t ignore their calls for help. Heroes didn’t ignore their agonized screams, their pleas to live. A hero saved his friends. Ranboo was no hero. They were far from it.
They leaned forward, then abruptly lurched their head back into the metal box. The stinging pain was only a fraction of what he deserved. Still, they pleaded, “I can’t live with this… I saw. Everything. I saw everything,” they breathed out, tears forming in their eyes.
From further into the room, behind the control panel Ranboo once stood behind only a mere hour ago, Hetch stood. The mastermind. Controlling. Watching this supposed live audience as they voted for his life. Ranboo didn’t understand how Hetch was even alive, or why Hetch betrayed them. It was so hard to listen to everything the man was saying when you were being held up by wires instead of your own legs. “And you’ll see so much more,” Hetch said, almost like cooing to a child.
All Ranboo could do was continue to tug at the restraints and flop their head from side to side, not even caring about the metal spikes of the box as they were dangerously close to nicking their face- and babble, “no no no, no… Just let me die!”
They noticed how the floor reflected a solid white color. They stopped thrashing about, heaving in place and trying to keep the tears at bay. They were miserably failing. The tears fell anyway as they thought of everything they endured. Everything he lost. He mourned for the people who would never get to live again, never get to see the sun or live a full life. They all lost out on those opportunities… because of him.
“Well it seems the audience has made their decision, Ranboo,” Hetch exclaimed excitedly. Sadistically. Then he lowered his tone, like he was a game show host presenting the answer to the final question. “Are you ready to hear it?”
The tears streamed steadily down their face as they sobbed, as it was the only thing they could do. He hated the red glow emitting from the mask, reflecting onto his haphazard hair. He hated the smell of copper that encased itself in his mask as he sputtered out more blood, feeling it seep into the mask and his own skin. Everything hurt, everything was painful, nothing was going to save him. He didn’t deserve to be saved. Not after what happened that day. They leaned their head back against the cool metal. One of the last things they’d feel.
Ranboo hiccupped and choked on his own tears, not even paying attention to Hetch anymore. They didn’t care what that stupid audience voted for anymore. The buzzing in his ears grew as Hetch began talking again- though it just sounded like muttered gibberish to Ranboo.
Then, Hetch went silent. Ranboo raised their head slowly, the exhaustion creeping into his neck. The doors behind Hetch were open, letting in a white light that shone brilliantly on the tile floor. It was cruel. A freedom right in front of Ranboo, a freedom they worked so hard for just sitting there- and they couldn’t get to it. Devastation washed over Ranboo. If the wires weren’t still holding them up, they definitely would’ve fallen over at that point.
Through the white light cut in two shadows, one distinctly a female and one a male. Ranboo’s head fell, his eyes locking onto his dirty shoes until they could muster the strength to look up again. Hetch was frozen, staring at the figures in the doorway. Ranboo couldn’t tell if this was a good thing or not, as their vision was blurred by a new onslaught of tears.
“...at? How is this possible-”
The female shadow moved, her arm extending, holding a weapon Ranboo could only guess was a spear. “What? You scared that your worst nightmare came back to haunt you?” he heard her taunt. Her voice was a little raspy, and a little deep for a woman, but Ranboo was grateful to hear someone other than Hetch nonetheless.
“You!-... and you ! You died! This is not part of the script-”
Ranboo couldn’t hold themselves up anymore, no matter how desperately they tried. Who was this worst nightmare? Who died? They wanted answers just as badly as Hetch did. They heard the shuffling of footsteps, the squeak of tennis shoes on the shiny floor. The beginnings of a fight.
“Let them go! Now!”
What the?...
Ranboo forced himself to look up again at the sound of the familiar voice. The two figures had moved, the woman pointing her spear at Hetch’s throat menacingly and the other standing behind the man, an ax pressed against his back. Though the room originally had dim lighting- the open doors provided enough light for Ranboo to see the intruders. They sobbed, breathing heavily through the blood and spit in the mask.
It was Charlie. Charlie stood, alive, threatening Hetch with his bloody and shredded shirt, bandages wrapped around his torso, a look of utter fury on his face. Ranboo had never seen Charlie this upset before.
“Let him go?” Hetch repeated. Then, he laughed. Sinister, cackling. It sent unwanted goosebumps down Ranboo’s arms and legs. “Let him go?! No! The audience has chosen, and this is how it will be. Always, and all through time! Our hero will play again!”
The woman poked her spear against the man’s neck, her eyebrows lowered dangerously over her hooded eyes. She too wore a mask, all black clothing and a heavy duty black backpack hung over her shoulders. She was tall, too, from what they could see. Probably taller than Charlie. Over six feet would be his guess. Her brown eyes were fierce, alit with a fury that matched Charlie’s. Her hair was pulled into a snug bun, showing the underside of her hair that had been shaved to just above her ears. A black band rested across the back of her head, attached to the legs of her thick black framed glasses.
“The fuck you goin’ on about?” she questioned, her eyes flickering down to the control panel. “Give it up, Hetch. You’re dead if you don’t let the kid go.”
But Hetch just laughed again, somehow even more maniacally this time. It was eerie as it echoed in the somewhat empty room. Charlie scowled, pressing the ax further into Hetch’s back.
“My dear, we’re all dead,” Hetch said, leaning in close to the woman’s face. Even from where Ranboo was positioned, they could see the shameless, gleeful spark in his eyes. How was this man even human? “We just happen to fall at different times.”
In one swift movement, Hetch reached for something on the control panel, but the woman beat him to it. She dug her spear into his wrist, earning a cry of pain from Hetch. Blood spilled from the wound, and Hetch looked angry. Furious.
“You won’t mess this up! Not after everything it took to get this perfect!” Hetch roared as he attacked. He lurched for the woman’s spear, but she sidestepped with ease, slicing at the man’s leg and earning another shout.
Charlie stepped in when Hetch fell to one knee. He raised the ax, swinging it into Hetch’s shoulder with all his strength. The man roared in agony as his blood began to stain the pristine floors. The ax was embedded in his collarbones, yet Charlie didn’t seem bothered by what he was doing. His eyes were overcast, almost empty of any emotion. Ranboo wanted to look away. This was wrong. But it was also self-defense. Karma, if you will.
Still, Hetch raised himself to his wobbly feet, eyes locked onto Charlie, who was now backing away slowly. Hetch heaved as he reached up and grabbed the ax, ripping it out of his own body and dropping it. Ranboo could see the inside of his flesh, the blood and bone, and he wanted to throw up at the sight of wires protruding from the muscle fibers.
“You think you can stop what was already set in stone? You’re a fucking idio-”
The woman sprung into action again, raising her spear and slashing Hetch’s back. The fabric of his clothes tore, as well as his flesh as another wound was added to his torso. “Nothing is ever truly set in stone, you fucking idiot.”
Hetch roared in fury, seemingly unfazed by the new wound that was bleeding profusely. “Get out of my way!”
The woman’s brown eyes flashed, the way one’s eyes do when they have an idea. As she blocked Hetch’s oncoming kicks and punches with skilled ease, she called back to Charlie, “hit the red button! NOW!”
Hetch looked back, ready to pounce, but was tackled to the ground by the woman who had abandoned her spear in favor for a fist fight. Charlie moved instantly, the fear coating his features again. He looked on the control panel, seeing what Ranboo had seen earlier. Ranboo knew there was no red button on the console.
“There’s no red button!” Charlie exclaimed, looking back at the woman.
She and Hetch were in a wrestling match, rolling all over the ground, punching and kicking each other. Hetch’s blood smeared all over the floor as he thrashed. The woman landed a good punch to Hetch’s mask, and a sickening crack resonated through the room. Hetch’s mask cracked right down the middle. The man yelled out in pain, coming back and hitting the woman in the stomach full force.
“Not on the console! Under it!” she screamed back as she quickly pushed herself onto her feet. She and Hetch paused for a second, heaving, eyes flickering to Charlie and back. Who was going to make the first move?
The woman raised her fists and began bouncing back and forth. “I know you wanna go, Hetch, come on. One match.”
Hetch looked behind him, spitting onto the floor. “I’ve wanted to do this for so long.”
“Now’s your chance. Gonna waste it?” she taunted as she began to walk in a circle.
Hetch followed her example, and Ranboo was beginning to think this was some sort of extra taunt to his face. One last show of entertainment for him before he died to the box attached to his head.
But without warning, the woman pounced.
She lunged forward, twirling once before jumping, one leg raised high in the air, aimed for Hetch’s head. Hetch dodged, but not quick enough. Her leg landed on the shoulder Charlie hit earlier, inducing further damage as Hetch’s flesh came apart at the shoulder. His arm was still functioning, albeit shakily. His entire right shoulder was swinging with every move involuntarily, as the wound had spread from his collarbone down to his abs.
“Why won’t you just die ?” the woman yelled as she dodged a punch, coming back and hitting him with her own. A chip of the mask flung to the floor, showing part of Hetch’s eye.
“I’ll die when the founder wants me to!” Hetch retorted, finally landing a punch to the woman’s face. Her glasses stayed on her face, though they were crooked.
Ranboo’s eyes filtered back to Charlie, who was still struggling to find this button the woman was talking about. He ran a hand through his hair as he panted, eyes darting around furiously as he thought. His eyes landed on something, and he leaned down, coming up a moment later with the bloody ax. Charlie looked at the fighting pair before rushing over to Ranboo, jumping over the numerous wires littering the floor.
“Holy fucking shit, this is fucking crazy,” Charlie rambled to himself as he rushed over. “‘Push the red button’, there is no red button!”
Ranboo finally let their head fall away from the fight, unable to hold themselves up anymore. Their limbs were numb with exhaustion, and they knew they wouldn’t be walking themselves out of that mall if Charlie managed to undo the restraints.
“Charlie, I- I can’t-” Ranboo stuttered, flinching at the sound of Hetch’s angered yells and the pounding of fists to faces. They forced their eyes shut. “I can’t do it-”
“Shhh, save your strength,” Charlie said, sneaking a glance back at the current fight before turning back to the wires. “She’s fucking crazy, I dunno who she is! She just came outta nowhere!”
“Charlie, hurry up!” the woman yelled. She bent one knee, lowering her entire body using that one leg and extending her other, sweeping that leg under Hetch’s knees, sending him toppling to the ground. She was holding her own completely fine, but she was breaking a sweat.
Hetch noticed Charlie. “No no no! You’re ruining everything!” he tried to rush to Charlie, only to be stopped again by a punch to the gut from the woman. He wheezed out, temporarily stunned. “Stay out of this! Get away from him!” the man yelled uselessly, though his speech seemed to add more fuel to Charlie’s fury- if his expression was anything to go by.
“Hey! Eyes on me, bucko,” the woman snapped, stepping into his line of vision and managing to push the fight back away from Charlie. Her voice was intimidating enough, but her muscular stature was a whole other factor to consider when she practically shouts at you.
Charlie started cutting the wires with the ax, albeit very carefully, as they were threaded into Ranboo’s skin. Through the top of his hands, in his palms. Every wire Charlie moved or cut through, Ranboo could feel under his skin. It was extremely uncomfortable as it was painful. The stinging caused a few pained groans to escape Ranboo’s copper stained mouth.
“I’m sorry, man, I’m sorry,” Charlie apologized over and over.
“No, I- ah!” Ranboo yelled out in agony as his left hand was freed. Blood oozed from the various holes in his hand. They were beginning to feel dizzy. Everything was looking fuzzy again. Charlie looked so far away. Maybe it’s the blood loss kicking in. “I’m… I’m sorry for… leaving you behind, Charlie. I should’ve-... looked back-“
“Stop it, Ran. It’s okay, I forgive you. I forgive you, but I need you to live for me, okay? I didn’t deal with this crazy woman’s nonsense talk just to not make it in time. I need you to survive, okay? I…” Charlie fell silent, his misty eyes focusing on the other hand.
Ranboo understood though. They both lost everything to this stupid fucking company. They made it this far, they lost their friends along the way. They couldn’t give up now. They were in this together until the end, because in reality- right now they had nobody else but each other.
“Okay…” Ranboo breathed, still squirming under the discomfort of the wires moving. “I’m trying.”
“That’s all I can ask for.”
A grunt from the woman brought Ranboo’s sluggish attention back up. Half of Hetch’s mask was missing, showing a gruesome face. The woman had done extensive damage. His nose was completely bashed in, the blood and bone splattered around the man’s face. His eyes were bloodshot, a few teeth were missing. The skin around his eye was turning an ugly purple.
Despite all his fatal injuries, he was somehow still standing, which made Ranboo question if the man was even human still. At this point, he really couldn’t be human. Hetch had grabbed the woman by the top of her hair, painfully lifting her back up to her feet. She kicked his torso, his legs, anywhere she could hit.
“You were never a nightmare of mine, bitch,” Hetch seethed, spewing blood onto the woman’s face. “More like a nuisance.”
“A nuisance that’s smarter than you,” the woman replied coolly. Ranboo could tell she was smiling under her mask. She stomped her left foot down. Her spear was launched up, right into her hand. She thrust the spear into Hetch’s chest.
The man screamed in agony, instantly letting go of her hair and crumbling to his knees. She twisted the spear, smacking away his hands that were grabbing at the weapon. She towered over him, and even in Ranboo’s state, he could feel the menacing air around her.
“Stay dead, Hetch.”
She moved, the spear slicing right through his heart and exiting out his other shoulder. Hetch instantly fell to the floor, unmoving as his own blood pooled around him. His body was mutilated, to say the least. Ranboo wasn’t focused on that. He was focused on the mysterious woman coming towards him. The woman who was covered in blood and bone, and… is that muscle tissue?
Ranboo was instantly on alert. Well, as alert one could be in his state. “Charlie, she’s-”
“Not bad, Ran. Surprisingly,” Charlie replied.
Ranboo blinked. “We can’t trust her. We can’t trust anyone.”
The woman stopped a few feet away behind Charlie, watching Hetch’s body for any movement as she cleaned off her bloody spear with the bottom of her coat. It was unsettling. Like she’d done this before.
Ranboo put a bloody hand on Charlie’s shoulder for support as the man cut the wires around their waist. “Charlie, come on. Look what happened with Hetch. It’s history repeating itself! She’ll help us and then she’s just gonna kill us in the end! We can’t trust her!” they argued.
Charlie cut the wires as fast as he could without nicking Ranboo, but it was getting difficult to do so with the kid swaying on his feet. “We can’t argue about this right now, no matter how much we want to. Our only option is to run. Who knows if those employees will come running back? Or that monster?....”
The wire finally snapped, and Ranboo’s world instantly tilted. They collapsed to the floor, Charlie falling with them with an exclamation of, “woah!”
The cool tile was a nice change from the bloody box. It smelled like disinfectant instead of the copper that seemed to surround Ranboo. Their body felt like lead. They couldn’t even raise their arms, let alone their feet. There was no way he was getting out of there now. And after all the trouble Charlie and this mystery woman went through to save him. He’d just be a burden to them.
Charlie hoisted him up under the arms, helping him into a sitting position. “Shit, you ok? I mean, shit, obviously not-”
As Charlie rambled, Ranboo made eye contact with the woman- who he was just realizing looked a lot younger up close than from afar. She looked no older than him, perhaps a few years younger if you took away the bloody eyebrow and crooked glasses. She looked down at him sadly, a gleam in her eye Ranboo couldn’t decipher. But just looking at her, he could see what Charlie was talking about. She took a hell of a beating for him and all he did was question her motive to help. But you could never be too cautious in a place like this.
Ranboo hoped Charlie was actually right about her not being bad. It’d be nice to have someone in their corner for once.
“Please,” they begged, hating the ever-present taste of blood stuck in their mouth. “Help Charlie get out. I’ll only be a burden to you.”
Charlie balked, “what? Ran, no-”
“Ranboo, I didn’t just kill that bitch so that you could lie here forever and be cast in later shows,” the woman- no, girl, said. She sighed wistfully, a foggy look overtaking her eyes. “I’m not letting any more shows happen again. Which means you’re getting out of here.”
Any more shows? With a different cast? Ranboo looked at her, a desperate spark of hope in his chest. “Are there others? Sneeg? Niki? Anyone else?”
The girl glanced at Charlie, then at the doorway. “No. I’m sorry. I was too late.”
And suddenly, the world’s grief was back on Ranboo’s shoulders. It really was his fault. Everyone was dead because of him. He did this. The tears flooded their eyes again, plopping onto the spotless floor in front of them. They hiccupped as a pained sob escaped them. He felt Charlie’s arms tighten around his torso, not too tight like the wires, but comforting.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get here in time to help your other friends,” she apologized. “It took longer than I thought to find this place. You two are the last ones left.”
“I did this to them…” Ranboo whispered painfully.
“No. Stop thinking like that,” Charlie said, trying to hide his own tears. “It wasn’t your fault. It’s Showfall’s.”
“Speaking of… we need to leave. Now. Before the employees come back,” the girl said urgently. “I hate to say it, but that fight took most of my energy. I don’t think I can last long in another fight, especially against that many employees.”
Charlie nodded. “Okay. Come on, let’s get you up.”
“I can’t, Charlie-” Ranboo sobbed, being sluggishly tugged up by Charlie. Between the knowledge the girl just dumped on them and their own exhaustion, Ranboo almost didn’t want to get up. He didn’t deserve to leave when the others couldn’t.
In one swift move, Charlie was carrying Ranboo over his shoulder. It wasn’t completely agonizing, but it definitely hurt.
“Sorry, man,” Charlie said, patting Ranboo’s calf in apology.
“Follow me,” the girl said.
She led them out of the control room and back into the mall, easily ignoring the crime scene that was Hetch’s body. Looking around, Ranboo didn’t like how silent it was. There were no employees in sight. There was no sign of that TV monster. It was like pushing the button had paused everything in the facility. Ranboo couldn’t even hear the streamers talking animatedly from the food court. And they were pretty loud.
The girl continued onward, towards the escalators when she suddenly paused, pushing Charlie into a doorway of a store. She followed suit, putting a finger to her lips and peeking her head around the corner. Multiple footsteps echoed in the mall. Once they receded, the girl signaled for Charlie to follow once more, booking it for the escalators.
It wasn’t ideal to be out in the open for that long, they all knew. Just because it was silent didn’t mean that the employees weren’t lurking. They had to get out of there fast. She ran down the unmoving escalator with grace. Ranboo couldn’t even hear her footsteps. They made it down a level before an employee spotted them. The employee was silent as it trekked towards them robotically.
“Uh- miss, girl? They found us!” Ranboo said, still confused on how to address the girl.
Charlie snuck a glance back before cursing. The girl just moved faster towards the stairs in front of them, leading to a set of bolted glass doors. Chains wrapped around the handles, completed with a padlock on the front of it.
“Okay, fuck fuck fuck, what do we do now? They’ll be on us any second,” Charlie rambled nervously.
The single employee kept walking to them slowly. It made Ranboo’s heart catch in their throat. While it was just one employee, they couldn’t underestimate even one of them. He’d seen it himself- they were quick. They could easily overpower the injured people.
The girl shrugged her backpack off all while keeping her eyes trained on the employee. “Shit, they locked it behind me,” she muttered as she searched the big pocket of her backpack. She produced a pair of bolt cutters, handing them to Charlie. “I’ll take care of him, you take care of that.”
She handled her spear, meeting the employee halfway. She slashed the employee across the chest. Wires peeked through the dress shirt, and the employee fell to the ground without protest. Ranboo didn’t like how easily it went down, or how easy any of this was. Surely something was going to happen.
They wish they didn’t think that. All across the balconies, leaning over the railings of the floors above, were the other employees, staring down at them and extending their hands.
“Charlie….” Ranboo warned. The man was struggling holding Ranboo and cutting the chains, which rattled with every movement. The man’s hands were shaking under the intense pressure.
“Sorry.” Charlie carefully set Ranboo to lean against the door and got to work on the chains.
The girl backed up to the doors. Ranboo felt dread as he looked at her face. She was pale, fearful. Hetch’s fight had taken a toll on her. She was wheezing through her mask.
“Any day now, please,” she said to Charlie, her eyes trained on the escalators. “They’re coming!”
Hundreds of thunderous footsteps echoed through the mall as the employees rushed into action. They were tripping over each other in the scramble to get to them. Ranboo watched in horror as the crowd fell down the escalators, landing flat in a heap on the floor.
“Shit shit!” Charlie yelled as he frantically cut the chains. They clattered to the floor.
“Come on!” The girl yelled, opening the doors.
Charlie quickly dropped the bolt cutters and picked Ranboo back up. Ranboo’s heart raced, watching the employees running for their lives to get to them. He hated how quick they were.
They didn’t even have time to appreciate the feeling of the wind blowing around them, the fresh, cool outside air against their neck. The employee at the front of the line reached out, his hand barely grasping Ranboo’s hair.
“Holy fucking shit!” Ranboo said. “Run!”
“I’m trying!” Charlie yelled back. Ranboo could feel Charlie’s muscles tensing and instantly felt bad for yelling at him to do more when he was clearly at his limit.
They were running across a parking lot, the lights of the mall becoming distant in the dark night. From what Ranboo could see, forest lined the mall, truly hiding it from the public. You’d have to go searching for the mall to actually find it in the thick woods.
“We’re almost there! Keep going!” The girl encouraged.
The employees were right on their tails, their feet smacking against the pavement and kicking up pebbles. The girl’s footsteps came to a sudden halt, and the sound of a door opening filled Ranboo’s ears.
“Get in!”
They didn’t need to be told twice. Charlie carefully set Ranboo in the car, then forcefully scooted him over to get in himself. The girl shut the door behind them and got in the driver’s seat, locking the doors as soon as she sat down.
The employees banged on the car windows, their masks making up the windows. The Showfall logo was the only thing they could see. Charlie was practically heaving in his seat, looking like he was going to throw up.
The car suddenly whirred to life, jerking forward when the girl pushed down on the gas pedal. The employees clawed at the car, running after it to the best of their ability, but it wasn’t enough. Soon they were just shadows on the horizon, lost to the woods.
Charlie actually heaved this time, holding his head between his bloodstained hands. “Oh my God-“
“If you throw up in my car, so help me-“ the girl said frantically. She whipped the steering wheel to one side, sending Ranboo flying into the other window. They groaned as the mask was pushed further into their face. “Sorry,” she apologized, as she continued to drive like a maniac.
“I fucking-… oh my God, I killed-“ Charlie had to stop before he actually threw up. Speckles of Hetch’s blood stained his cheeks and glasses. It was all he could see, smell, fuck- even taste .
The woods around them blurred together. Ranboo couldn’t believe it. They couldn’t for the life of them believe that they escaped. That wretched mask was still on, and it still stunk like blood and saliva and sweat, but they were out. They were out. Not quite yet free, but it was the best they’d get at the moment.
They rested their head on the window, watching the trees as they passed by. Though they were still very suspicious of the girl who helped them, he was grateful for her help. Without her, they would’ve never seen the outside world again.
And even though they were going to have a long road ahead of them, Ranboo had a feeling they could get better. He allowed himself to close his eyes, and let the exhaustion finally take over.