[Bad End/Good End Crossover] Words keep tightening the cord around my neck

[pressurecooker]

[There's too much noise.

That's the first thing Hero realizes when he wakes up. It's never this loud when he drifts back into consciousness. His family knows better than to enter his room. Even Kel has stopped trying.

Kel's probably still furious at him, really. He'd have every right to be. So... why can he hear his snoring? And even more breathing, quiet mumbling, a 30 second piece of music playing on repeat...

He opens his eyes. He's on a couch. His friends are curled up on the floor in front of the flickering TV, showing the DVD menu for some cartoon. Kel is sprawled out like a starfish despite Aubrey's knee in his gut. Next to them is a tuft of blonde hair... and he remembers how Basil would wrap himself up in a cocoon every time he slept over, running just a little colder than everyone else and needing to hide himself away until his metamorphosis next morning.

It can't be... but he sees the lump next to him, curled up in a ball like a little cat, looking so peaceful and gentle with a soft smile on his face.

His face is still intact. He remembers cradling the pieces of his skull, but here, he's unbroken.

He's going to be sick. He presses himself into the back of the couch, inching himself as far away from the others as he can. He tries to slow his breathing as he pinches himself, over and over, and scrubs his eyes, hoping the illusions fade.

He needs... to take his mind off it. Work on something. He never does any work lately. He slides off of the couch and pads into the kitchen, turning the hot water handle all the way to one side and leaving the cold handle untouched. He loads the dishes into the sink, squeezes dish soap over them in a lazy spiral, and then starts scrubbing, ignoring the way his hands scald in the water, and the way the plates clack together from his trembling.]

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[pressurecooker]

But you... you did.

[He swallows hard. It practically causes him pain, but he eventually pulls his hand out of Sunny's grip.]

We all saw you fall... I don't know if it was the roof or the window, but we all saw you. I-I ran, but I wasn't fast enough. When I got outside, you were on the ground... all broken into pieces.

I couldn't stop the bleeding. The bones were jutting out and I, I knew that meant the shock meant you were already gone but I kept trying, and it wasn't enough, it was never going to be enough...

[His hands are starting to tremble, and he takes a step away from Sunny. Looking at him now, he can't... see him whole anymore. Half of him is missing, obscured by blood and viscera, and he covers his face, resisting the urge to vomit.]

[lastencore]

[Sunny's eyes widen, and even without Hero's graphic description, he feels sick. How would Hero know about what he'd been thinking about doing back then? Worse, why was he talking about it as if Sunny had gone through with it?

With such detail...it. It felt too real.]

That... That didn't happen.

[He reaches out, grabbing Hero's arms, practically clawing into them. His voice is almost frantic.]

Hero, that didn't happen! I'm alive, alright?! I'm right here and I'm alive!

[He's nearly yelling by the end, no way at this point he hasn't caught the attention of the others.]

[pressurecooker]

[That hurts. Nails dig into his skin and he hisses in pain, but it almost feels like a relief. If he feels that... if this was a dream, he would have woken up by now. Sunny's still in front of him, and he seems... okay. He seems to be telling the truth.

As the others wake up and stumble into the kitchen in their shock, they'll find Hero holding Sunny tightly in his arms. Once again, he's pulled the younger boy close, trying to speak through his tears.]

You really are... you're alive, you're alive, you aren't... you won't leave us, right?

[lastencore]

[He shakes his head, tearing up himself and clinging onto Hero.]

No, I--I swear I only thought about that. How did you...why did you know? Even if you know, I would never--It wouldn't be fair to Mari...she'd be so mad.

[persistencepays]

[As Kel looks in on the confusing scene, he frowns. Something was definitely very wrong right now; especially with Hero. Somehow the same brother they'd been joking around with only hours before looked an absolute wreck right now. His hands were overly red and...he could barely hold it together. It was just like back when Mari died.

And he didn't like that one bit.

On top of that, Sunny was upset as hell.]

Uhh...guys? What happened?

[pressurecooker]

[...He's not quite sure why, but seeing Kel looking at him so worried gives him pause. Maybe it's just because it's been a long time since Kel had bothered to worry about him. Maybe it's because he knows he doesn't deserve it. But... even with Sunny starting to get emotional, Hero finds himself unable to explain.

It's better if he just waves this off. Pretend he's just like everyone else... Pretend he isn't the only one who's broken.

He smooths Sunny's hair back and gives Kel a soft smile.]

Sorry, everyone. I just... had a nightmare. Sunny caught me at the tail end of it and I probably said something that freaked him out. It's all okay now.

[persistencepays]

...A nightmare? Is that really all?

[The air in the room felt emotionally raw somehow. It seemed like an awful lot for just a nightmare.]

[lastencore]

[Sunny's fingers dig into the fabric of Hero's shirt, knowing it's a lie. There's no way Hero could have known what he'd considered doing back then. And for it to effect him so deeply, so suddenly...it took much longer for a dream to take root like that. Sunny knew from experience.

But, there was no other reasonable explanation. Nothing else to explain why Hero would suddenly say such things and act like that. So, Sunny wants it to be true. That it was all just a nightmare. More than anything, he wants to believe that.

So, he doubles down on the story.]

Just...a bad nightmare. It's fine.

[pressurecooker]

[...This was fine. Sunny looks a bit distressed, but Hero knows he'll be fine, as long as they get to talk alone later. That's not going to happen if Kel interferes. Besides... it's better for him to be oblivious. Hero certainly doesn't deserve his worry after everything.

Even if he technically hasn't done anything wrong here. It's confusing... maybe what happened to Sunny was a terrible dream.

Or maybe this was the dream itself. His grip tightens on Sunny momentarily.]

Sorry to wake you, Kel, Sunny. You know how it is... when I upset myself, I just like to keep myself busy. Thought I'd clean up the dishes. But it's probably better if I try to rest.