They realize - Outsders SMP - Reunion Arc - Completed

~18~ Owen

TW: Self harm, blood.

A/n: I'll be providing the morse code for copying and pasting in the comments, as well as a decoder link on the comment attached to this for anyone else who wants to attempt it lol. Hope you all like, and sorry for the lack of consistency recently.

°•~°•~°•~°~°•~°•~°•~°•~°•~

He killed. He killed someone.

Guts.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

▪︎▪︎▪︎ ▪︎- -▪︎ ▪︎▪︎ - -▪︎--?

Apo stood in the doorway to Gut's house. His heart had gone through so much it felt dead. He could feel the threads of his mind loosening,

Red was holding him back.

Apo's sense of self was waning by the second. All they knew was that he needed to see Owen. They needed to.

Apo ran down the ladder, Red grabbed his shoulder.

Why was he so resistant?

Why couldn't he let Apo get closure?

--- ▪︎-- ▪︎ -▪︎ got his.

"RED, LET ME GO."

Apo hadn't raised their voice in so long he'd forgotten what it sounded like. Why was he so hostile all of a sudden? They felt bad for hurting Red... but didn't he deserve it?

He laughed. "Sorry. I just... I need to see him. Please."

Red sighed. "Apo, I read don't think you're in the mental state to be seeing him. Owen should be considered dead at this point. He's a lost cause."

"Please Red. It's one thing."

"...I can't for your or my own wellbeing let you see him alone. You go down first, but I'll be right beside you the whole time, okay?"

Apo nodded. They weren't sure if he could handle Owen alone either. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he came down the ladder, finally.

On the last three rungs he froze.

Owen touched his head gently. The wall was smeared with his own blood. A water canteen had spilled all over the floor, watering down whatever dripped to the floor. It created a mesmerizing pool of shifting and swirling color, pinks and reds blending into a flowering symphony

Owen dropped to his knees, staring at the water. He swirled it around with his finger, then stared at his hand and laughed.

Blood pooled around him. It felt natural. Disgusting.

Red finally came down the ladder and saw what was happening.

Red handed Apo the keys and they rushed over to the door.

Owen had stood up again. He was rambling about a maze. He started to drop to the floor, hugging his knees and lying in the mess.

Apo caught him.

"OWEN!"

Owen's eyes opened. He looked at the cell door and made a move to approach it, then cringed. He closed his eyes again and slumped over. Apo dropped to his knees beside him, trying to stop the bleeding as best he could.

▪︎▪︎▪︎ ▪︎- ▪︎▪︎▪︎- ▪︎▪︎ -▪︎ --▪︎ / ▪︎- / -▪︎- ▪︎▪︎ ▪︎-▪︎▪︎ ▪︎-▪︎▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎-▪︎

How ironic.

Owen apperently struggled to open his eyes. But he did. He opened them and he opened his mouth and he made a sound that resembled more a gurgle than anything, but Apo recognized it.

"A-"

Apo. He was trying to say my name.

Owen couldn't tell. The blood continued to roll down his face, and he was more torn than ever.

"•- •--• ---"

"--- ▪︎-- ▪︎ -▪︎?" ▪︎- ▪︎--▪︎ --- whispered, more lost and riddled than ever.

He choked on his words. He wasn't supposed to say that word to himself.

Why?

- ▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎ ▪︎ -▪︎-- / -▪︎-▪︎ --- ▪︎▪︎- ▪︎-▪︎▪︎ -▪︎▪︎ -▪︎ ▪︎----▪︎ ▪︎/ ▪︎-▪︎ ▪︎ -- ▪︎ -- -▪︎▪︎▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎-▪︎

The word was his friend.

His -▪︎- ▪︎▪︎ ▪︎-▪︎▪︎ ▪︎-▪︎▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎-▪︎.

"Hi~" Owen gurgled through the blood. Apo frowned, then acknowledged Red for the first time. They'd forgotten he was there. Red handed him a bunch of bandages.

"I got these, should I..?"

"Get help please Red. He dosent deserve to die like this. Not yet at least."

Red hesitated.

Would he agree..?

"Right."

Why did Owen think demons weren't right?

"You are a disease on the face of this earth."

Owen had said that. It was true.

He bandaged Owen's head as best he could, the blood spilling onto his hands scaring him. He had a vivid flashback to all those years ago... he had killed someone too.

Owen opened his eyes again.

"Apo," he whispered.

"Apo, Apo. Apple... Apo."

He got ever so slightly louder every word.

And then Owen passed out.

Red came in.

Apo put him down.

And he stood up.

"Magic just discovered that the floor is turning to lava. We have maybe a day tops before it overflows. Everyone is ready to leave. Are you..?" Red asked, concern in his face (mask?) And voice.

Apo's voice hardened. He had never been surer.

"I'll pack my things."