The two sat in darkness on a sole platform, back against one another. A reflective screen of some sort hung from above the two, Andrew was the first to awaken.
“!?”
His eyes wandered slowly, then anxiously, then manically! Where am I!? Why can’t I see anything!? And who the hell is this pressing against me?!
All became clear as he heard a familiar voice underneath a heap of snores. It was Edward.
The last thing I remember was…
Blood.Blood and the feeling of complete submission. As that red thing had gobbled him up, he could feel his body stiffening as he lended all of his strength to it, as if he were being sucked dry for his nutrients.
His knees wobbly, he still attempted to stand in order to make sense of the two’s situation. Though before he could stand up from his crouched postion, he made sure to gently lay Edward on his side.
Can’t say I never did nothin’ nice for you… Even after…
He caressed his nose slightly, still flinching from the pain.
As he stood, his knees began to buckle, he sweat intensely underneath the sudden pressure this place had. He placed one foot ahead of the other, extending his arms to his side for leverage. He approached closer and closer to the edge of the platform, taking one more step, causing his entire body to flail sporadically as he tried to stop himself from falling.
There’s NOTHIN’, NOTHIN’!
He forced his body to fall backwards.
“Oh God…!”
He panted sporadically, but eventually built back up the courage to continue the exploration of this strange place. He approached the opposite side of the platform, once again nearly falling off, mistaking a trail ahead of him.
“W-WOAH! WUHH!”
Landing on his back once more, he earnestly tried the next side, then the next, still making the same mistakes, and still ending up with the same feelings of dissatisfaction and worry.
“Damn, DAMN IT!”
He slammed his fist onto the platform.
Andrew stared on hopelessly into the eye of the monitor in front of him.
“What the hell could it mean…?”
He thought of the last conversation he and Edward shared, about his identity. About his wife. He turned to him.
“Ed’s…”
Andrew reached his hand out to Edward, caressing his shoulder.
“ I dunno what I don’t remember- But I didn’t do anythin’… Why couldn’t you believe me…?! If you did then you’d be okay! Damn you! Stupid idiot!”
He punched his shoulder.
“O-ow…”
Andrew’s eyes widened as the half asleep Edward was beginning to wake up.
“Hey! HEY!”
Static played from the monitor, frightening both men. Edwards eyes shot open as Andrew’s voice was cut off by a sudden ocean of white noise that would have a strange voice underneath it.
“Hey- Hell-Loo?”
The static began to clear up, tightening the twos chests.
“Can You Hear Me?!”
Finally a face appeared. The face of a rooster. Its tone was lighthearted yet snappy in its greeting, though Andrew sensed a threat in its demeanor. His brows furrowed.
“And who the hell’re you!?”
The rooster paused, staring at the two with innocently confused eyes. The rooster scoffed at Andrew’s comment.
“What!? That’s how you greet your new battle system?! You Dead men are getting ruder and ruder by the century, you know that?
“Hey… No, we’re sorry.”
Still dazed, Edward used his groggy voice to the best of his ability. He cleared his throat, then struggled to stand up alongside Andrew as his knees were both, still stiffened from his long rest, and not yet accustomed to the effect the environment had over him.
“Gah…”
He groaned lightly,yet he pulled through,using Andrew's shoulder for support.
“My name is Edward. This…”
“I’m Andrew.”
He answered coldly, upset Edward had still not believed he was himself. Edward glanced at Andrew with a hint of annoyance, yet carried on.
“We’re just confused. Could you tell us where we are please?”
“... WELL. SInce you asked so nicely. You’re in the control booth of your fighting form.
“Fightin’ form…??”
Andrew's head tilted.
“YES. Every Deadman has the choice between fight or flight! You chose to fight the moment you were faced with an overwhelming obstacle! We are now helping you flee!”
“...LIke right now!?”
“YES.”
“But how’s zat even possible!? That red thing out there was totally different from me- If I’m apparently the dead man then-”
“Oh will you just cut that out already!?”
Edward snapped at Andrew, leaning off of him.
“You are a deadman- And you’re NOT Andrew.”
“We’re not doin’ this right now Ed.”
“Yes we are. You STOLE HIS-”
“HEY!”
The two of them turned their attention to the rooster. Edward’s legs were slowly beginning to give in as his sweat continued to fall more intently.
“Not that I get your human affairs, but that IS Andrew Campbell! The first operator! And YOU are Edward Matthews, THE SECOND OPERATOR! If you weren’t, how would I know that Matthews date of birth was 1998 of April 1st-”
“Wha-”
“OR that Mr Campbell once heated, and ate an entire can of chef boyardee in a public restroom!”
Edward looked at Andrew with a disgusted, ashamed look about him.
“Seriously-?”
“YOU TRY BEIN’ HOMELESS!”
“Yeah. I know virtually everything about your identities because both of your brains are connected to the control booth of me! Aulak!
“...So you’re telling the truth. Well then… How do I know you don’t have any ulterior motives or-”
“ALRIGHT! WHAT DO YA WANNA KNOW ED’S!? HUH?!”
He said, puffing out his chest and extending his arms.
“DON’T BE TALKIN’ TO THAT THING TO KNOW MY IDENTITY! YOU TALK TO ME!”
Edward thought for a few moments.
“... What’re your favorite chips to eat?”
“...For reals?”
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
He paused to think about it.
“Didn’t think you were gonna ask me somethin’ so stupid. I thought you’d ask me bout somethin’ deep and personal like you always do… What next? Wanna know If I like right or left twix?”
“...”
Andrew looked around nervously, not sure of how to answer. He never had any memory of eating chips, even if he was financially better off than before. All he did was fill himself with bread, eggs, and meat. He never ate snacks. So, Why? DId he give a fake answer before?
He looked around, sweating slightly.
“C-cheetos.!”
How am I spose to know!? No deli ever wanted a smelly bum like me around!
The two stared at one another in silence, Edward examined Andrews face closely, understanding his thought process, and actually sighing of relief hearing his fake out answer.
“... Before, you said you expected me to ask you that, because… You didn’t think I cared to know you so deeply…When I asked you that question the first month we met… You didn’t have a real answer. You gave me a fake one just so I wouldn’t feel sorry for you. You said “Cheetos”.
He smirked.
“You’re even making the same face… You’re a terrible liar Andrew, you know that?”
Andrew sighed.
“There… Glad you finally believe me, ya idiot…”
“Hey. You’re still an idiot for putting us here in the first place.”
“Wha- What’d I do now!?”
“YOU cheated on me with my wife. YOU, abducted me in this damn THING.”
“AULAK! My name is AULAK!”
“The deadman HQ- Whatever it’s called would’ve never showed up if you just kept it in your pants.”
“If it’s not one thing it’s another…And for the record- YOU were the one that messed everythin’ up! If ya just talked to me- YOU…”
He knew that look on his face. That look of condescension and self assuredness… What could he- Andrew Campbell ever know?
Andrew clenched his fist.
“Hey… Aulak was it?”
“Yeeees?”
“Ya got access to everythin’ in our brains, right? Well. tell Ed and me how I got to be a deadman. Was it really from some hanky panky with his dear ol’ wife?”
Edward’s brows furrowed deeply and his face skinned up.
“ There is no got to be. What are you referring to?”
“...”
“Yeah, like, become one.”
“Oh no! No,no,no,no,no! Deadmen aren’t made! They’re born!”
“What…?”
His face fell back into one of self assuredness and anger.
“What are you talking about? The deadman Hq specifically said in my situation- Where if a deadman exchanges fluids with someone, they can become a deadman! That’s how it happens-!”
“Hmph. Who died and made them the deadman encyclopedia!? That’s quite literally impossible! That’s like saying a bird could become a bear if they just drink enough honey! Or a mosquito could become a plane if they just fly fast enough! You are what nature makes you to be, and a deadman is born from genetic mutations that date back to billions of years ago.”
“YA SEE! SEE! I TOLD YOU I NEVER SAW-”
He paused, immediately regretting his gloating. A the look of pure horror formed upon Edward’s face.
“...No…”
His knees finally fell to the revelations being shot at him.
Dead Men… Aren’t… Made? So then… How was my wife…. How did Andrew….She…. Lied…!?
“Genetic signs of being a deadman 101!
Rarity: 3%
Typically, this genetic mutation comes to be, once a man or woman has received a serious injury that for a normal person, would result in their immediate death!
If the brain is left unharmed, the person will come back to life in a matter of four days!
However,
The body still continues to rot, not recognizing that the person is in fact still alive.
This is due to your brain being trained to associate a huge lack of brain activity with your body’s complete shut down.
Dead Men of the past often struggled with continuing the cycle of cells, and would forever be in torment as their body continued to decay, causing as you could imagine, terrible pain!
ALTHOUGH!
With me, AULACK! I am able to sustain each deadman’s life energy, and immortality through using their battle bodies!
With those bodies, anyone can collect all of the cells, organs, and blood they need to survive from other humans, or animals!
Each Deadman is connected through me! And so they all share the resources they’ve collected, and use it to continue living, forever!”
“OH MY G-god…!”
Edward covered his mouth upon the thought of his wife eating a live person. An acidic nasty tasting liquid began to fill his throat. He swallowed.
“I-I….”
“The hell’d you use such a cheery voice for, HUH?!”
“Well excuse me for trying to make the subject more digestible!”
“W-wait.. W-wait… So you’re telling me… That Andrews…. Our, “fighting battle-” WHATEVER Is out there killing everyone!?”
“...”
Aulack began to size Edward and Andrew up.
“Mmm….”
“IS THAT A YES!?”
“Dunno. That depends on the relationship you two have! I Deadmen are connected not only through me, but through their relationships. Their reasoning to enter a battle, or their partners can determine the level of hostility your fighting form will project.”
“That- that’s not… That’s not…”
Ethical is what he’s thinkin’.
Andrew thought while watching him. It was either now or never. Andrew had never seen Edward so anxious nor did he have any methods of calming him down. Though he knew that in this moment, that if he were unable to formulate some solution, Edward may very well shut down entirely.
He grit his teeth.
“Well then, send me back outta there! I’ll stop our fightin’ guy, promise!”
“N-no! No!”
Edward pleaded.
“You could die- I don’t want you to get yourself killed-!”
“No. once a fight commences, it’s either you take control of your fighting state, and spit yourselves out, or you wait for the malice you two unleashed to subside.”
“Hell no. We’re fixin’ this right now, ain’t we Ed’s?”
He nodded.
“R-right…”
“Then we can check out the situation with your wife… If what this thing is sayin’ is true, then she mighta be overreactin’ about the whole deadman thing. It’s 3% outta 7 billion… Coulda just been me!”
“… Okay…”
He took a deep breath, his eyes becoming more focused.
“Yeah, okay… So how do we fight?”
“ Jump. When you do, before you know it, you’ll be in the real world and in control of your battle body.!”
His eyes sunk, his knees beginning to wobble as Edwards had. Inching closer to the edge of the platform, Andrew thought back to his laptop back home. It had been one of the first things he had bought for himself when he started to earn money. It was a risky investment, and maybe one Edward may have deemed immature, but he needed it.
He turned his attention to Edward.
“Oh come onnn! What’re you scared of?! In this world no one can die, so don’t be such a puss!”
“Yeah, come on Andrew… We’ll do it together… let’s just make sure we don’t kill anyone.”
“Right…!”
He thought back to his first time operating a crane, the first time he had finished a project with Edward, the first time he enjoyed a meal in his own bathroom. But most importantly, the first time he had laid eyes on Edward. Something about him… Then… But even in this moment… It…
His eyes.
As he stared deeper into Edwards eyes, he paid attention to his own reflection. He caressed his facial hair, ran his fingers through his blonde hair, then turned back into the abyss.
He wrapped his arm around Edward.
“Hey- What do you think you’re doing- Andrew! Now isn’t the time for this!”
“Together in 3… 2…”
Goodbye. Me.
—---------
“Welcome back! —--!”
Aulak said in an especially cheery tone.
What? What was this place?
Edward and Andrew floated in mid air, as if they were still floating in eternal darkness.
“W-where are we!? What do we-”
“Aulak, give us a scope of the environment.”
“Huh…?”
Aulak did as such.
The two began to dance, the red creature charged at the deformed soldier with the same rigorous hunger as it did before, leaping towards him. As the soldier clapped a similar shockwave was sent in the direction of the red creature.
It narrowly dodged this through shrinking itself though most of its body burned and bloated underneath the intense amount of aura.
This made it easier for the soldier to catch him in the palm of his hand. Weakened, the red creature struggled to transform, scowling ferociously.
—---
“A-AH!”
Edward grabbed onto his shoulder, feeling the burning sensation the red creature had felt.
“Aulak. Turn off auto mode. I’ve got this.”
And so Aulak did.
—-
The soldier dangled him above his mouth, readying to absorb him, until more skin began to shed from the soldier's wrist, revealing a trail of an even darker red. The creature leaped towards the sleeve of the soldier's disguise.
With its fangs it began to charge at the red, catching the contents in its tiny jaw.
“A-AH!”
The soldier began to smack its right forearm, hoping to see the bulge of the creature's ever growing body. At the top of his lungs, he put his mouth close to his forearm and yelled- Debris rose from all around the trio. George covered his ears as blood began to roll down his jawline to the sides of his neck.
However, this attempt would not work as easily for the red creature. With its newly acquired nourishment, it ripped a hole through the soldier's skin, leaping out, and slashing his face. It would continue this pattern of this behavior, entering the soldiers skin, persistent to reveal all of the red it had hidden, only causing tears of frustration to well up in their eyes.
—---
“Andrew- What the hell are you doing! Back-”
Edward clenched his fist.
“Off!
—--
Finally it then ricocheted off of him and began spinning in mid air, continually bouncing from the larger debris, leaving the soldier confused for a few moments.
“YAYAY!”
It said while pointing in the direction it would be traveling.
“Wait- WAIT!”
—-
“Wait- That’s not what I meant! Aren’t we trying to escape!?”
“...”
“Andrew!”
—------
Disregarding George’s cries, he then leaped from the cracked office floorboards with a venomous look about him.
“AHHHH!”
The floor would sink as the soldier did this, causing George to fall onto the first floor- The debris following close behind him. Moments before the large debris could land on top of him, someone pulled him out of the way, while running out of the building. As George looked up at the sky, watching the two deadmen climb, and climb all the way to the helicopter above, he then turned his attention to the woman who saved him. Alvina. Her mischievous smile especially caused George to scowl as it was only highlighted by the incoming moonlight.
“WOOHOO! Deadman FIGHT!”
She held onto a camera zooming in on the red creature's face. George turned his attention to the remaining construction workers Alvina turned her back to. Their expression of disbelief and fear sent chills down his spine.
As the two would continue to travel higher, and higher into the sky, the atmosphere would begin to choke up the two.
—-
“C-can’t…!”
Edwards eyes would begin to sink into the back of his head as his skin began to turn blue. Though Andrew did not.
—-
Both the soldier and red creature would intentionally bloat their mouths, to collect more air.
The soldier once again sent shockwaves up to the creature. It would remain smaller to avoid any collateral damage, although it wasn’t afraid to repel his attacks by sending even smaller debris towards him.
As the helicopter above the two began to lower themselves, also holding a camera, the red creature would leap an extraordinary great distance onto the landing skid of the plane. The soldier looked up in a great amount of fear, both at the camera, and the audience captivated by his feats.
The red creature nodded, extending its hand to the soldier.
—----
Edward turned to Andrew livid by his contradictory actions.
“What the HELL do you think you’re doing!? ANDREW!”
—----
“STOP IT!”
The soldier sent one more shockwave from below himself, giving him a boost to clasp onto the red creature's hand. As it did, the skin from its body began to shed.
“MAC- A- GOTCHA!”
It then let go. The wind blew all of the skin from the soldier's body, including it’s armor.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?”
He yelled, while attempting to fight against the wind.
—--
He took a deep breath.
—--
“FREEING YOU! YOU ARE DEAD MAN! LET THEM LOOK AT YOU! BUT DON'T TRAP YOURSELF . ESCAPE WITH ME! PROVE THEM YOU ARE-!”
But before the red creature could finish, the naked soldier pushed them away, creating a great distance between the two.
—-----
His mouth hung open as he watched the soldier come crashing down. Edward’s cries could barely be heard in the background, as his reprimands were replaced his own thoughts.
Why’d I-?
What?
Huh?
Who?
Where?
WHY?
We needa- WE GOTTA TO GO! NOW!
“A-AULAK! GET US OUT OF HERE- DON’T LET US DIE! HELP!”
“Ah. I see. So you wish for flight?”
Still confused, not understanding at all what the system meant, both Andrew and Edward yelled out-
“YES.”
—
As Alvina recorded the red creature's body falling alongside the soldier, it’s body suddenly immaterialized into nothing but a few drops of blood. The soldiers closed their eyes. Waiting for their back to meet with the cold, unforgiving pavement floor. Though before they could meet, they smirked.
CRASH!
A trail of dust met the back of the soldier as they crash landed into the office, taking it down with them. George desperately called out to them, tears flowing down their cheeks, the remaining construction workers joined him, calling out for Edward and Andrew, though amongst the crowd of mourners, who continued to desperately hold on to any hope, Alvina laughed maniacally as the footage of Andrew and Edward’s battle body in action played.
