Back Stabber
Request or Prompt: (by @walkingtallyhallreference on ao3) “ can i request etho or scott x reader? reader is transfem, last life for scott, and limited life for etho ! thanks!! <3”
Pairing: Last Life! Scott x gn! Reader
Includes: Graphic descriptions of violence, graphic death, respawn mechanics, boogeyman, platonic/ambiguous relationship, angst, betrayal, the word “vomit” used once, slightly OOC Scott (sorry)
Words: 1.4k
A/N: I don't write femme readers, so I went with gn instead! Hope you don't mind <33
When the words echoed in your mind, you felt sick. Vomit threatened to escape your throat as bile rose. You trembled slightly, only enough for yourself to feel it. You took a deep breath, steadying yourself as you climbed the steps into the Scottage. You felt disgusted and angry. Why were you chosen? Why did you have to be the Boogeyman?
It was like a scene from a horror movie as your friends- your alliance- stood beside you, talking about the plans they had today, while your brain was locked onto the thought that you had to kill someone. Would you have the chance to venture out and find another lifer, or would you be forced to watch the life escape your friend's eyes? It would be fun, at least. A challenge.
You froze, foot on the verge of raising to another step. Fun? It would be fun to kill someone? The Boogeyman Curse was already getting to your head, it seemed. You could practically feel the bloodlust clouding in the back of your head, begging for the feeling of blood on your hands, sticky and thick.
You closed your eyes, forcing back the thoughts of carnage as you forced yourself to finish climbing the steps, emerging from the Scottage and facing your allies with a shaky smile. Despite the shakiness, neither of them questioned your apprehension, throwing you a look as they worked on their own projects.
Pearl sent you a toothy grin as she tightened her backpack around her, “Hey! I’m heading out to gather some resources. Be careful for the boogey kill.” She called, heading towards the ladder on the side of the fence. You spared her a nod, wishing her luck on her journey before turning to the other member of the team. Scott hummed softly as he worked on the garden, pulling out weeds from beside the carrots and wheat.
He seemed to feel eyes on him because he glanced up, sending you a smile, “Morning. Are you ready to start your day?” He asked with a huff, sitting up and walking towards you, shaking a carrot at you by the green stalk. “You said you’d help me with the garden.”
Right. The garden. You had forgotten you had promised that last night before you all went to bed. It seemed like such a long time ago. Would you be able to get out of doing the farming by telling him you had other plans? But what other plans would you have? The thought was slightly absurd as your brain racked through the different excuses you had stored away.
“You are not planning on leaving me on my lonesome, are you?” Scott asked, narrowing his eyes as you cycled through ways to abandon him. “Hey, we had a deal.” A joking smirk appeared on his lips, “Unless you’re the boogey?” Your breath caught in your chest and you avoided his eyes. His brows furrowed as his smirk fell. “Are you?”
You coughed, avoiding his eyes and shaking your head, “No, no, of course not. I can- I can help you.” Scott nodded slowly, as if he didn’t fully believe you. Regardless, he tossed you a hoe and gestured to the clearing.
“I’m setting it up there. I have a few buckets in that chest over there.” He mentioned. He walked over to the patch, kneeling against the dirt again and hoeing the ground. You took a deep breath, mentally counting down the minutes until you could be free of your ally and head off into the world to finish what you had to do.
Compartmentalising the ideals of the Curse was harder than you thought. Every time you looked at Scott, your bloodlust rose. It got more difficult to keep it under wraps. You wanted to head out and find someone to kill. The pressure in your head was getting worse. You wanted to be free of this stupid Curse. You just couldn’t get away. First it was the gardening, then it was the skeleton farm. There was nothing that would let you leave the compounds of this base. The want- no, the need for death was getting to your head. You couldn’t even look at Scott without imagining how his blood would pool onto the ground, coating everything in a sticky red substance-
You shivered. You took a deep breath. The plagued thoughts drifted to the back of your mind. But you knew it was only a matter of time before you went crazy with these thoughts. It made you unbelievably guilty, knowing that you had this curse and you wanted to hurt the people you cared about. You felt physical pain in your chest whenever you thought about anything to do with death.There was a second, according to the communicators. It made you feel horrible when you saw the chat. That the other boogeyman had striked and won the war raging inside them.
“Hey, so, I was wondering-” The voice made you jump. You spun around, seeing Scott standing there with his arms raised in mock defense. “Woah, I didn’t mean to scare you. What are- What are you doing?”
You looked at your hands, where his gaze was focused. Your sword was in your hand. Your other hand had been gliding against the length of it. You jumped again, dropping the blade. Scott blinked in surprise, glancing between you and your sword. “Are you okay?”
You swallowed thickly, “Yeah, I- uh, Yeah.”
He stared at you for another moment before sighing. “You’re a boogey, aren’t you? Don’t lie to me.”
“I- No, I’m not.” You insisted. He scoffed.
“Then why are you acting this way?”
You grappled for an answer. When you found no excuse you huffed, “You- I can’t. I don’t want to do it.”
He was quiet for a moment, nodding slowly. “I know. You don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“I don’t. But at the same time, I do. It hurts. I feel like I need to see them bleed. I need to hurt something. But I- I’m scared.” Scott didn’t respond. His brain was rushing, it seemed. His eyes scanned over the situation, over you and your sword on the ground.
“I can help you.” He said. “We can go up to Scar’s house, get him. The thoughts would stop, right?”
You stared at him. “You- You’d be willing to do that?”
He nodded, “You’re my friend. I want to be able to help you.” He turned, digging through a chest. “The sun is about to set, but we can-”
You moved without really meaning to. The lack of concentration on his part caused something to snap inside you. Your arm swung down, picking up your sword. You stabbed forward, plunging into his back. The blood trickled into the ground, coating the stone beneath him. You could hear his breath fade as the sword was retracted. It clattered to the ground as he fell. His body dispersed into a puff of smoke. His items fell to the ground. Not too far away, you heard him respawn in his bed, fast asleep as he recuperated.
The door slammed open before you could even focus on it. The footsteps that were quick stopped immediately after the door opened. “You- You killed him?!”
Your eyes flitted over to Pearl only to immediately look back down at the scene in front of you. As your mind became less frenzied and chaotic, you realized what you had done. Your hands shook as you held them up to your face, backing up and shaking your head.
“What- I didn’t- No, he was trying to help me. I just- Why did I-?” Your words came out randomly, seemingly nonsense to Pearl. She stared at you in shock. You fell backwards, leaning against the wall. Relief fluttered through you as your mind cleared from the haze of murder.
Pearl looked at you, “It was a boogey kill, wasn’t it? Why didn’t you tell us? We could have helped you.”
“I did tell him. We were on our way to Scar’s.” You murmured. She blinked at you in surprise.
“Then why did you kill Scott?” You leaned your head back to stare at her, “I don’t know. It just… felt right.” Despite the overwhelming want to feel remorse for your actions, you simply felt peace. The urge to kill had faded and you didn’t feel bad in the slightest for killing your ally.
