Chapter Text
Andrew sat alone at his desk, completely frozen. His eyes fixed to his computer as if he were trying to burn a hole straight through the screen.
He did it. He destroyed the bones. There was nothing left to do.
Smile was finally gone, and he had a good feeling he wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon. For the first time in years, Andrew wouldn’t have to deal with his constant torment anymore.
He should be happy…but he couldn’t bring himself to be.
Instead of relief, all he could feel was guilt. What came with destroying those bones caused its own special kind of pain, one he couldn’t help but feel responsible for. He had to do it, destroying them was the only way to defeat Smile, but the other end of that double-edged sword had left a permanent scar on him.
It didn’t matter how hard he tried, how desperately he called out for him, in the end, Chris never returned. He knew it was inevitable, that there was no way to bring him back, but it was still a hard pill to swallow.
Chris was dead, and that was just something he’d have to accept moving forward.
So with a heavy heart, he explored their world for the last time. Even if he wanted to come back again someday, he knew it would only remind him of something that would never return. Not wanting to stay for much longer, he used what little resources he had and built one last thing in their world.
A gravestone, built with only mossy cobblestone and a singular sign that read ‘I’ll miss you, Chris.’
As a final contribution, Andrew planted a blue rose onto the soil beneath, a somber goodbye as he shut off the computer. He’d been dealing with this for so long…now that it was all over, he wasn’t sure what to do.
He would usually get on with Chris by now, the two spending the night ranting about anything and everything together. He missed it, he missed him, but even though he wished he could’ve spoken to Chris one last time, deep down, he never wanted to see him again.
He didn’t deserve it. With all the times he’d lashed out and ignored his warnings, it was better off this way. Chris was better off without him.
That was the last thought Andrew could handle before completely breaking down. Loud sobs echoed off the walls of his room, the misery so overwhelming he couldn’t even bring himself to stand. It didn’t take long for the exhaustion to kick in, after all those tears shed, he could barely keep his eyes open.
All he could think of as he passed out on his desk was just how stupid it was for him to be crying over this. He deserved no pity, he didn’t deserve to cry. If only he skipped a few of those classes…maybe Chris would still be here.
He was never going to get over this, not for a while at least. He knew that already.
But as Andrew’s consciousness slipped away, another had stirred awake. Two pure white eyes blinked open inside of a familiar structure, one of the last remnants of a now abandoned asylum. Towering fence gates surrounded the entire building like a cage, warning tape strung around the entrance, tattered and barely legible. Overshadowed by the large ward sat the old brick well, a damp, dark tomb, where the spirit of an old patient had returned.
Chris didn’t even have to look to realise where he was, the brick-lined walls told him everything he needed to know, but it didn’t even begin to explain the rest.
The glow of the sun was the only thing from the outside that he could see, its garish light shining down into the depths of the pit. In an attempt to shield the light from his eyes, the rays simply passed right through his hand…
Something wasn’t right.
Andrew destroyed the bones, didn’t he? So why is he here? Why is he back where it all went wrong?
He doubted staying here would give him any answers, so he pushed his questions aside until he found a way out. The water had long since drained away, meaning swimming up was out of the question…but he was a ghost, right? Escaping should be easy enough. With no hesitation, Chris closed his eyes and confidently slammed straight into the brick wall, nearly knocking himself over.
There were more pressing issues at hand, but he couldn’t deny the disappointment he felt discovering he was still corporeal.
With that plan out the window, his next best idea was to see if he could float his way out, but no matter how hard he tried, it still failed. He couldn’t exactly call it a myth, but in his defence, hovering a few inches off the ground wasn’t that useful…
Much to his dismay, he had no other option but to climb.
On the bright side, it did give him some time to go over his unanswered questions. So, with his hands already clawed onto loosening bricks, he might as well start now.
His main question was obvious, why was he here? If he’s here, does that mean Smile is still around somewhere? He really didn’t want that to be the case. He would’ve questioned which well he was in, but outside of the game, there was only one real logical answer for him.
The realisation sent a sickening twist through his stomach, the dizziness causing him to miss the last dislodged brick and crash right back down to the bottom. He stared up at the exit hopelessly, he wasn’t sure if he even wanted to leave anymore.
What was the point anyway?
There wasn’t one, was there? He’s already dead, he has nowhere to go. But as much as he wished he could keep ignoring it, he felt a call, one that urged him to leave. He was hesitant, the last time he heard an ominous call it led him down here, but this pull felt different somehow. It felt safe.
Determined to follow it, he sprung back to his feet, latching his hands onto the bricks once again. He took it slowly this time around, stopping on occasion to breathe if the dizziness began to resurface, and with one final push, he was free.
Adjusting his eyes to the glaring light of the sun, he couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at his lips. He’d been trapped for so long that he forgot what the sun felt like, maybe now, for the first time in years, he could feel warm again.
His excitement quickly soured into disappointment as he stood there in the courtyard. The warmth he tried so hard to reach merely phased right through him. He wasn’t sure what else he expected.
Standing there alone with nothing but his thoughts, he finally began to realise just how surreal this all was. Looking down at his hands again, being able to see straight through them…it was almost nauseating.
A strong pull eventually snapped him out of his spiral, beckoning him to leave the facility. The call. He wasn’t sure where he’d end up or how far he’d have to go, but he knew he was being guided for a reason. Said reason was still unclear to him, but if it gave him the chance to finally move on, he was willing to risk it.
Even with this new distraction, that same question still prodded at the back of his mind: Why was he here?
Cursing his foggy memory, he tried to recall what little he knew about ghosts and the paranormal. He researched various creatures for his horror maps, maybe that could come in handy right now. With the amount of scrapped ideas he had, he was sure at least one could tell him something.
He filtered through his memories as he let the call guide him past the broken fences. He knew he was supposed to be searching for helpful information, but he couldn’t help getting lost reminiscing on the past, looking back at the life he used to live.
Despite the heartache, it calmed him down.
That ease didn’t last long though, as the more Chris searched, the more dead ends he ran into. Out of all his old creations and unused ideas, there had to be at least one clue. He refused to give up yet, even if his hope was dwindling.
Finally, after unpacking years of hazy memories, he found something…
A memory of an old voice call between him and Andrew. Back when he’d first gotten into map making.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
Chris was never one to be straight forward with his plans. He preferred to keep them cryptic, never revealing too much, especially not to Andrew. He wanted to make these maps for the experience, after all. How could he get an accurate reaction if his tester already knew everything? Plus, it was fun to keep him guessing.
However, this call was different. He tried to keep that air of mystery, but after a while, he couldn’t handle keeping his ideas to himself anymore. Not when Andrew seemed so invested.
Cut to about half an hour later, he had only just finished laying out all of his ideas, the sun now beginning to set outside his window. If it were anybody else, he’d feel guilty for speaking this much, but he knew he didn’t have to with Andrew. He was the only one who seemed genuinely interested in his work, willing to listen to whatever he had to say.
The call went silent for a moment, a slight anxiety prickling through Chris’ skin. Even with Andrew, he still never seemed to shake the fear of being too overwhelming, but he was quickly snapped back to reality as soon as Andrew spoke up.
Just as expected, Andrew sounded almost as enthusiastic about it as he was. It never failed to make him smile, knowing someone cared this much, so with that, the two continued their discussion. After a while, they both landed on a concept that seemed to pique their interest the most:
A map based on a ghost myth, where a spirit cannot move on to the afterlife if they still have unfinished business left in the real world…
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
Realising he’d actually found something useful, he cut the reminiscing there, partially for his own sake too. The last thing he wanted to think about was Andrew. He didn’t deserve to look back on those memories and smile, not after putting him through so much. Even so, hearing him laugh again…it was the first thing to ease the biting cold that clung to his body. Only for a moment.
Unfinished business, huh?
He could be completely wrong, but it was the only thing he could think of that made sense. This strange calling…it could lead him to what he needs to accomplish. The thought of it was weirdly exciting to him. That being said, he wasn’t really sure what it could be.
From what he remembered, the ghosts usually knew what their goal was already. Something that meant a lot to them, something they just had to see or experience. The issue? Chris had missed out on so much…leaving almost everything he had in his life unfinished. Narrowing it down would be a nightmare. It made him wish even more that he hadn’t cut his life so short.
He could rule out a few things at least. It couldn’t be something at home, the reason being he’s pretty sure he had already walked past it by now. That alone halved his options, but if it wasn’t at his house, where was it? Just how far would he have to go?
Before he could get lost in his thoughts any further, he realized there was no point in worrying about it anyway. All he had to do was follow the call. It was that easy. So, with that off his mind, he allowed himself to backtrack and answer some of his previous questions.
If this unfinished business theory was right, then he had a concrete answer as to why he was here, to finish what he left behind. With that also came a subtle reassurance that Smile wouldn’t be returning. He got what he wanted as far as he could tell.
Now it was his turn.