HQG WKLV DJRQB [Rewrite & Reader]
You witness something you're not supposed to, and Rewrite falls apart at the seams.
Type: Oneshot Genre: Horror, Angst Content Warnings: Death, Violence, Abuse, Manipulation Stage: Active 2 Rings
[Link to Rewrite & Reader Masterpost]
───{⭕⭕⭕}───
It was an ordinary day, like any other.
Except, Rewrite wasn't pestering you for once. They were bothering either Ekiduna or Miles instead, you imagine. So you took the opportunity to go for a walk, hoping it would be peaceful enough to clear your head.
The sun shines down, the warmth settles in your skin. Clouds lightly dot the sky. The wind blows gently. The flowers, trees, and bushes animate gently in the wind. The flowers in particular spin around cartoonishly. It's almost endearing, despite the circumstances.
You absentmindedly walk towards the lake, hoping to sit next to it and enjoy the sounds of the waves… But you're brought to a complete halt when you see Rewrite there already. Instinctively, you hide behind one of the cliffs, hoping Rewrite didn't see you.
They're standing near the edge of the lake, over… Ekiduna, who was lying in the grass.
You stare at him, watching for any signs of movement or life.
But there are none. He's dead.
A twinge of fear, sadness, and despair all fill you at once. Yet, a small voice in your head reminds you:
He's fine. He's okay. He'll respawn. This happens all the time.
Rewrite has killed Miles on multiple occasions. He would respawn every time, in an endless cycle of torment. As unfortunate as it is, it wasn't unusual. Surely, the same would happen to everyone else, right?
…Though, Rewrite hasn't killed Ekiduna before.
Why start killing him now?
You watch in confusion, peering around the cliff wall. Rewrite's back is turned towards you. And slowly… A red, spinning ring slowly ascends from Ekiduna's body.
You... recognize this. Before you got trapped in here. When you first played this game... The same thing happened when Miles died. A red ring emerged from him.
What's happening? Why didn't this happen every time Rewrite killed Miles?
Despite the feeling of wrongness and the impulse to leave, you can't bring yourself to step away.
You feel like this is important. You have to keep watching.
Rewrite raises a hand, and taps the ring with a single finger. It disappears in a flash of light and reappears on their wrist. They look down at it, rotating their arm to admire it from different angles.
「うまくいくはずだったのに…」 They mutter quietly. You briefly think they're speaking to you, but their voice is too quiet to be directed at you.
Their model flickers for a second, as if blipping in and out of reality… And so does the ground around them. You start to look around anxiously, trying to figure out what's going on.
「…ど、どうして… まだこんなに空っぽなんだろう？」 Their tone of voice is oddly hushed and broken. A sense of wrongness fills you. You're definitely eavesdropping on something you shouldn't be.
Without warning, Rewrite's head snaps towards you. Your heart drops and you back away, noticing them shiver where they stand, and you think you see them collapse, but;
Fog closes in all around you all of a sudden, completely diverting your attention to your surroundings.
The ground under you… Colorful strobing, flickering, breaking. It's glitching. A loud buzzing static hits your eardrums. It cuts in and out rhythmically, like an alarm.
What is that?
Your brain is confused. There's too much to focus on. You back away even more, barely able to see through the fog. Yet, you can still see Rewrite through the fog; They're protruding from the fog in an unnatural way, their model visible through the fog as if it's not rendering properly.
And they're staring right at you.
Their model is breaking apart. Their colors flicker and crackle, and they become a distorted, incomprehensible glitched mass. The world around them glitches with them, objects disappearing and appearing. Everything is breaking.
You should be running.
Adrenaline fills you as you scramble to turn around, making a mad dash in the opposite direction. Every step sends an electric, pulsing shock up your legs. Something is very wrong.
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A horrible, jumbled screech rings out from behind you, like a malfunctioning speaker. Like screaming.
You feel a pressure of static prickling into your back, dangerously close, as if trying to grab you.
You can barely breathe. You don't know if your body can keep up with this pressure.
You can barely comprehend an odd beeping from behind you.
「待って！止まれ！止まれ！」 Rewrite yells something you don't understand.
The buzzing static sound in your ear fades, just slightly. The distortion is lagging behind you, you think? The world is becoming more stable. The grass under you is green once more.
As you keep running, slowly, the static dissipates completely.
Only then do you finally dare to turn around.
Rewrite is several meters behind you. They're twitching violently. Parts of their body glitch in and out, flashing and being replaced with objects you don't recognize. Their limbs keep snapping off their body and duplicating.
The rocks and bushes near you, closer to Rewrite, glitch in and out of reality. Small chunks of grass flicker and flash different colors. It's noticeable, but not as bad as it was when you were close to them. It's like they're emitting an aura of corruption.
What's happening to them?
Your eyes are drawn to the two red rings on their wrists. They emit a foreboding red glow against their body. Their hands—half a dozen hands, you realize—are covering their eyes. Through their fingers, they stare at you with dark, oddly shaped pupils.
As you stare at them, their hands move to hold the side of their head and they shake their head violently.
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An oddly soft, garbled sound emits from them. Quieter than all the rest.
...And then, with a crooked, broken gait, they walk away. The glitching of your environment dissipates as they leave.
They're leaving.
...What the hell. What the fuck. What. what. what.
…
…
…
You don't remember when you started the walk back to the forest. It's like your legs are taking you there without your input. All you can think of is hide. Hide in the trees, away from Rewrite's eyes.
You know it won't protect you. But you feel more obscured. More safe.
Maybe you could find one of the others, if they're still alive.
Walking through the fog is nerve wracking. You can't see very far ahead of you. You constantly cast glances over your shoulder and all around, constantly expecting to see Rewrite following you. You can still see them through the fog, and every time you check, you can't tell if they're getting closer or further.
A terrible thought crosses your mind.
They could be following you, and keeping their distance.
Why? What are they doing?
You quickly turn away and keep walking. You have to keep moving.
As you walk, you notice how awfully quiet it is. It's unnerving. All you can hear is your own ragged breathing and your heart pounding.
No wind. No birds. No music.
You stop, and watch, and listen to the world around you.
…You don't hear anything.
You don't see anything moving.
Nothing is happening.
Nothing is happening. There's no sound. The flowers aren't spinning. The sun, which you can see shining through the fog, isn't moving.
Whatever's going on, it's not just affecting Rewrite. The whole world is frozen.
All you hear is your own ragged breathing and your heart pounding.
Just keep moving. You have to keep moving.
You take another step forward, and keep walking.
A rock near you glitches out of reality for a second. You freeze and look behind you, where Rewrite was, expecting it to signal their approach.
But behind you... You don't see them.
You stop and look around frantically, trying to figure out where they are.
You turn back around, and see them in the distance, in front of you now.
…
They're cutting you off, aren't they?
Your blood runs cold. You stare at them, watching, seeing what they're doing.
Their figure starts getting smaller.
They're moving away from you.
Is it safe? Can you go back to camp?
…You don't want to move closer.
You stand there, motionlessly, watching Rewrite leave. As if any movement will somehow draw them closer to you.
…
Only once they become a small figure in the distance, do you feel safe to take another step forward.
Quickly, familiar trees come into view. The forest.
You made it.
An odd feeling of relief washes over you. Miles is probably nearby, you can probably find safety here. You can find your guys' picnic blanket and rest there. You can think of what to do there.
It's fine. You're fine.
As you start walking towards the picnic area, you come across Miles, laying in the grass.
He's not breathing.
…He's fine. He'll respawn. Probably. Just keep moving.
You keep going. You come across another Miles. His arm is missing.
You look past him. You see another Miles. His body is warped and distorted. You can't tell how many limbs he has.
You see another one hanging in a tree. One hidden in a bush.
…
There's corpses all around you.
Rewrite did this, didn't they?
Something terrible is happening. This isn't normal. Rewrite doesn't kill to this extent.
When did they have the chance to do this?
You immediately start to back away and look out into the fog, observing closely.
This must have just happened.
Have you just wandered into a trap?
You frantically scan around, looking for any sign of them.
You spot them. Not too far in the distance. They're no closer than they were before. You're only a little relieved.
What the hell are you supposed to do now?
You can't do anything about this. You're completely powerless against Rewrite. You already were powerless against them, and now, when they're like this?
A heavy feeling in your heart, you simply sit down on the picnic blanket, legs tucked to your chest.
The red, checkered pattern gives you a small feeling of comfort. You try your best to ignore the body near you. Try your best to not think about the fact Rewrite is probably about to try to kill Ivo next.
Your mind wanders back to the scene you stumbled across. Flashes of Ekiduna's corpse enter your mind. Rewrite murmuring to themself. Collapsing.
You weren't supposed to see that.
Ekiduna was killed. And that ring… This started because of the ring, right?
Rewrite has only had one ring this whole time. Except, once, they didn't.
When you first played the game. Before you were brought into this world. Rewrite—or Sonic, as you knew him as at the time—had no rings. Yet, once Miles died and... a similar red ring spawned from him. And when you woke up here, Sonic looked different. He had a red ring on his wrist.
You remember thinking, "Huh, that's weird." and then you never thought about it again.
He's had it this whole time. And now, he has a second one, and something is happening. Things have gotten worse.
Is that what's causing this? The rings? It doesn't make a lot of sense. Yet... What else could it be?
If the rings made things worse...
Would taking it away from them stop this?
You look back out into the distance, staring at Rewrite. They're still there. You could probably catch up to them.
...That's a stupid idea. Of course they can't be removed. You would be stupid to even consider that.
You slowly start to stand back up.
It was worth a try, wasn't it?
No. No, of course not. You would get killed for even trying.
Yet, you're starting to walk towards them anyway. You're not sure why.
You're just... curious. You'll just think about it.
You wouldn't actually do something that stupid.
If it fails, you'll die.
If it works, it will save you, Miles, Ivo. This madness would end.
You start picking up the pace. You're running now. You need to catch up to them before they reach Ivo, if that's where they're going.
You've distracted Rewrite before. Ekiduna once had you distract them while he searched for a way out. They can be appeased. They can be flattered. You've done it before. You've flattered your way out of punishments and threats from them.
You can do this.
But not when they're like this!
What the hell are you doing?
You can see them now. You're catching up to them. Random rocks, trees and debris are starting to glitch around you. You're getting closer.
Dread and fear fills your heart, threatening to burst.
This is a terrible idea.
But you have to do something. You have to. You can't just stand here and watch this happen.
You start crossing into a rocky area as you reach them. They were going towards Ivo, you realize. Chunks of terrain under you flickers and flashes different colors.
To your surprise, you actually reach them. How? Why? Were they waiting for you? Are you going right into a trap?
It's too late to question now, because you see them. And they see you.
They've stopped, and they're watching you. You stop too.
Their eyes pierce through you. Their oddly shaped, human-like eyes are striking. There's a faint static sound in the air. Their glitching and distorting fills you with fear. Anything could happen.
Alright. Deep breaths. Just... Just keep their attention on you. Don't let them leave.
"Hey, Sonic..." You breathfully start, tone of voice very high pitched and soft as if talking to a rabid cat that could attack at any second. "You, uh... You've been busy."
Rewrite says your name in a hushed whisper... A voice you've never heard from them before. You perk up, surprised.
"You are stupid." They add with a whisper.
Well, that's... A start.
"Yeah. Yeah, I am." You agree between bated breaths. I don't even know why I'm here, you think, but don't say. This is stupid. This is a stupid idea. Even they think so. Why are you doing this?
Yet, you stand firm, unmoving.
You have to keep trying.
You notice something in front of you. Between you and Rewrite, there's a notable divide in the terrain. A line, between unglitched and glitched terrain. As if that's where their distortive aura begins and ends.
.-- .... -.-- / .- .-. . / -.-- --- ..- / .... . .-. . ..--..
You turn your attention back to them. They're emitting odd beeps again. From the pattern, you realize it's… morse code? What the hell? Why are they speaking in morse code?
Regardless, you don't understand them. You just have to ignore it and hope for the best.
"...You've been acting differently." You state the obvious. You observe them closely, trying to gather anything you can from their movements... But their twitching and glitching is so random and unpredictable, you can't hope to glean a mere idea of what they're thinking or feeling.
You can't even tell if they're about to attack you.
...Still, Rewrite doesn't respond to your statement. Is that good? Bad?
You inch forward, careful not to cross over the line of glitched out terrain, but getting close enough to touch it. They don't react to this, so you speak again, choosing your words carefully.
"...Do you know what's going on?"
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A sudden, distorted screeching sound plays from them, and oddly, they move back and away from you, spasming even more violently from the motion. They're about to run?
"Wait!" You call out without thinking, moving forward to follow them.
This... This is weird. Are they afraid of you?
...Do they know you're trying to take their ring?
You stop chasing them, holding out your hands defensively. "It's... It's okay. You're okay." You try to soothe them. The words feel immensely wrong. They're not your friend, why are you trying to comfort them?
...To your surprise, they seem to settle a little. Their glitching hasn't stopped, but it's softened now. And now they're just... watching you. Curiously, maybe?
...You test it with another, larger step forward. You take a single step into their space, stepping onto the flickering terrain. The ground inside it sends a tingling sensation up your leg, like electricity. It's uncomfortable.
You watch them and their movements again. They're… not even looking at you. They're staring at the ground, still twitching. Hunched over, looking oddly small. They're... Calm, maybe?
God. You can't tell.
They're not saying anything. But they're not screaming at you again.
...You just have to keep trying.
You take one more step forward, this time, stepping fully over the line. A loud, buzzing static washes over you, filling your eardrums. A strange, odd pressure comes over you, like a weight is being put on you.
It's fine. You're fine. You're not dying. Your heart is beating in your chest. Hard, and fast. But you're fine.
...God, what the hell are you doing?
"I told you not to follow me." They abruptly whisper, catching you out of your stupor.
Did they? You wonder. Is that what they were saying in Japanese before? Christ. You wish you understood it.
"...I'm sorry. I had to." You respond despite not fully understanding what they're talking about.
...Did they try to warn you? Are they trying to spare you?
No. They're just… That can't be it.
Focus. You almost lose yourself in the thought and have to refocus your attention on why you're here.
The rings.
You oh so subtly eye their rings from the corner of your eyes. While they have multiple duplicate limbs, only two of them have rings. Their limbs are jittering around, teleporting... The rings never stay in place.
Your heart drops. You didn't think of that. This is going to be difficult.
Of course it is. Stupid. Stupid. You're going to get yourself killed.
You watch their movements more closely, trying to think of how to do this. Their hands disconnect from their wrist, you notice. Maybe, you can hold their hand in place, and…
As you're planning, you hear something new. Murmuring. Rewrite is whispering to themself. The same thing, over and over.
「いやいやいやいやいやいやいやいやいやいやいやいや」
Their body twitches and shivers, and one of their hands is wrapped around themself... As if trying to soothe themself.
For once, you feel like you're looking at someone in need of help. The disturbed mind of a human being, breaking down on the spot.
They're not human... You knew that.
You just... didn't think they were capable of suffering like this. A twinge of empathy settles into you, and you almost want to try to comfort them… But you shake it off.
They're not your friend. They've trapped you here. Killed your friends.
Yet… You don't fully understand them. You've never seen this side of them.
The words come out before you can stop yourself.
"I'm sorry… It's going to be okay."
Rewrite freezes for a split second. Then, their head limply rotates slightly to look at you. Their eyes have completely disappeared. Their smile is so wide it stretches off of their model.
"What gam̸̮̈e are you playing?" They ask, their voice getting louder and glitching out as they speak. "Don't be stupid. -̶生きたまま食べて-̴̱̌やるよ。」
You're frozen in place. They continue staring at you for an uncomfortable period of time.
That... Sounded a lot like a threat.
And their glitching is starting to get more violent, you notice.
Yet, they go back into a limp position. Staring at the ground, and not you.
They're losing patience. Or you're running out of time? You don't know. You can't possibly know.
But their behavior changing means you're pushing your luck. You can't risk it.
You have to act fast. You have to do something before they do.
You have to start moving now.
Damn it. Damn it damn it.
You take the two steps forward it takes to close the gap between the two of you. You think you notice Rewrite flinch, but it's hard to tell. They're still glitching violently.
Stupid stupid stupid. What the hell am I doing?
You focus on one of their hands with the rings. It's laying limp at their side. You can reach it.
There's no way it's that easy.
You have one chance.
They're going to kill me.
You have no other choice. As quickly as you can, you grab their hand—they immediately and forcibly return your grip, and an intense, searing pain shoots through your hand. Yet you hold their hand in place, and with your other free hand, you tightly grab the ring, and pull it away from them as hard as you can.
Truth be told, you expected to not survive this.
But you're holding a free red ring. It gives off a numbing, tingling sensation in your hand.
In front of you, Rewrite's model collapses, reforming itself into the familiar, blue form of Sonic. The glitchiness around them seems to collapse into them as well, the environment returning back to the orange, unaffected color.
Your hand is still grasped in theirs. And it's searing. Burning, as though you had been stabbed with a burning, red hot knife. You struggle to free yourself, but their grip on you is too strong. They don't react to your movements.
They're not moving at all. Their smile isn't even visible. It's like they're frozen... Or... Rebooting.
It takes a long second for their eyes to finally blink, and then immediately lock onto the red ring you stole from them. Their pupils dilate dangerously. Instinctively, you move it slightly behind you, as if you could hide it out of sight. You briefly notice the fog slowly lifting around you.
"You were losing it," You desperately tried to explain. "Y-You were destroying everything. I had to."
As you speak, their eyes dart to the hand that's holding yours and back at the ring. You're a bit unsettled how you can see the gears are turning in their head. Even more unsettled that they won't let go of you no matter how much you try to pull away.
After what feels like an eternity, their eyes lock onto yours. Their smile returns, and their pupils return to their normal, oblong shape.
"You've made a stupid mistake," They begin, their tone lifeless and robotic. They almost seem angry. "But it's okay. You can make it up to me."
That sentence fills you with dread.
Their free hand raises, palm upwards.
"Give it to me."
You hesitate, your eyes widen. You didn't do all of this just for them to transform back. "But you'll-"
"Don't argue. It's not for me."
Your heart is pounding. Rewrite stares through you, palm still outstretched, their grip on your hand unyielding. You can't escape.
You have no other choice.
You place it into their hand. Their fingers curl around it and they tug on the hand that's holding yours, pulling your arm forward.
They press the ring against your wrist, and... It phases through it, sending a painful, tingling sensation through your arm. They cusp your hand in both of theirs.
Then, your whole arm goes numb. The searing pain slowly fades, and then vanishes completely.
What's it doing to you?
"There we go!" They say, some of their chipperness returning, apparently happy with this. They release your hand, still holding it in the palm of their hands, and-
"What the hell?" You utter. You're injured. There are cracks in your hand that you can see through, like your model is sliced apart. Inside, there's a red, pulsating static.
Your eyes flicker up to Rewrite. They're staring down at your hand still, face unreadable.
"What the hell is that thing doing to me?" You pull your hand away from them, tone alarmed. You stare more closely at your hand. It looks like it should be painful. Agonizing. But you don't feel any pain.
"It isn't the ring."
You stare at them exasperatedly. Their eyes have met yours.
…It dawns on you. Earlier, when you grabbed their hand. That burning pain was them doing this to you.
Just how badly did they hurt you?
...Do they feel bad?
You stare into their eyes, trying to read their expression.
It's the same, empty smile they always have.
"Does it hurt?" They inquire with a point to your hand.
"N-No. It doesn't." You stutter, surprised they care enough to ask. Maybe they do feel guilty... "It did, but…"
"Wonderful!" Their eyes close cheerfully. "That means it is protecting you. This is my gift, to you."
They then grab your hand with both of theirs and lean closer to you. "Keep it safe for me, won't you?"
"S-Sure..." You uncertainly agree. You open your mouth to question it more, but they speak again before you can.
"Thanks a million! You're a sweetheart." Their arms quickly wrap around you as they pull you into a hug.
"...You're welcome." You respond from their clutches, confused and with a million questions.
What was that? Is Rewrite okay? Are you okay? What's the ring doing to you? What did the ring do to them?
…What did Rewrite do to you?
"Rewrite, what-"
"I'm Sonic!" They immediately interrupt you with that retort, pulling away from the hug. "Forget about that, we have a celebration to celebrate! Meet me and my friends in Mystic Forest to join the party! Don't keep us waiting!"
Before you can even respond or ask what they're celebrating, they're already zooming off, disappearing into the horizon.
They're trying to distract you, you darkly realize. For your sake, or for theirs?
…Are you in greater danger than you were before?
Was this a mistake?
All of this uncertainty settling into your core, you look more closely at your injured hand.
The red ring adorns it, glowing faintly.
You gently try to take the ring off. But it doesn't budge.
You try to rip it off. You wince as a sharp pain shoots through you, and… It doesn't budge.
You're stuck with it. With this injury. With the knowledge of what happened. With the consequences of this encounter with Rewrite.
What did you get yourself into?
