Author's note

Irl friend: So, I've got a cup of tea.

Me: Cup of tea. Cup cup, of tea...

Irl friend: (-sips tea-)

Me: Sips of tea. Sip sIPS OF TEA-

Dedicated to @OdalRune314 , as I'm helping Odal senpai finish her playlist with this songfic ;3! This is another sad attempt at me writing angst, YAY???

(EDIT: AHHH FINALLYYYYYY. Was supposed to do this and many other things ages ago... Whoopsie...)

Short (very!), melancholy (not really) and with a touch of losing your mind, someone's... Not ok.

Oh, and TRIGGER WARNING! I'm not entirely sure what to put, as most subjects are only briefly implied (and I tried keeping xxxxx to a minimum), but I don't want to take any chances of hurting anyone :<!

Headcannons in this chapter
- Tango is a demon. This makes him extra aware of emotions; mostly others' emotions, as he can obviously understand his own pretty well... Because he owns them...
- Biffa is sorta... Connected to his C.P.S.T? I'm not sure how to describe it... But yall'll understand at least one aspect of this better later in the story!
- Speaking of the above point... In the chat, everyone has a reason to be awake at stupid o'clock. I was gonna put a few others, but it would've been too long... Can you guys guess what the reason is for the existing peeps though :3?
————————————————
'They send me away to find them a fortune:
A chest filled with diamonds and gold.'

He felt off.

Well, it would be unfair to say that it was just him. It wasn't. The atmosphere, the tension, the entire go-lucky aura that always surrounded him seemingly vanished into thin air. Again.

Was that when the so called 'warning bells' started ringing?

Who knows?

'The house was awake, the shadows and monsters,
The hallways, they echoed and groaned...'

He didn't mean to be suddenly so irritated. It just... Happened...

As the demon walked aimlessly, almost blindly, through the server, he started thinking. Moving in an almost mechanised manner, Tango whimpered.

It was coming, and he could feel it coming...

But there wasn't anything he could do about it.

'I sat alone, in bed till the morning;
I'm crying, "They're coming for me",

It came a bit at a time. Tiny thing by tiny thing.

Suddenly avoiding everyone. Becoming frustrated over simple redstone. Drowning himself in stupid thoughts, stupid euphorias, stupid black darknesses that were so wonderfully numb that he despised needing to leave.

They dragged him in before and now they were pulling him in, down and down and down, again, little by little.

He had to get out of here.

'And I tried to hold these secrets inside me.
My mind's like a deadly disease.'

And all of a sudden, Tango was bolting.

Bolting, running away, eyes wide and teeth clenched, bolting away, away, to nowhere in particular except away. He had to get away. He had to get away, the voices, the voices were starting, they were starting to talk again.

All sound was becoming amplified yet muffled at the same time, like everything was a blur of fuzzy noise heard underwater. Colours, colours started to bleed into one another, shapes didn't matter, names mattered less.

He couldn't hear.

Smells and feelings has started to numb, except the constant pressing against the sides of his head. His hair was being pulled, yet without this pressure from his hands, he felt like he would surely scream.

His horns and claws had started growing. Tail whipping around lifelessly behind him, he still ran, desperate to escape from them, to escape them, run, run, run faster-!

He couldn't hear.

Still, he ran to wherever away -that magical place- was, ignoring how he could feel his predatory reactions and instinctive transformation occurring.

'I'm bigger than my body,
I'm colder than this home,
I'm meaner than my demons,
I'm bigger than these bones.'

Heart rate was pounding. Was it always this loud? No. No, no it shouldn't be. Yet the thumping was intoxicating, even, level thumping. Thump thump. Thump thump.

He couldn't see.

Thump thump. Thump thump.

His leg muscles were starting to ache from the running. Vaguely, in front of him, he saw the outlines of a slightly shadowed building. Well, of course it was slightly shadowed: if his mind started reeling at twelve o'clock, it would be early.

The golden glow and dusty hue would've interested him if he could think of the right emotion.

'And all the kids cried out, "Please stop, you're scaring me!"
I can't help this awful energy!
Gosh darn right, you should be scared of me:
Who is in control?'

Thump thump. Thump thump.

It was amazingly silent. Quiet. Loud.

A sweet silence.

Tenebrous.
Dark.
Shadowed.
Eyes.
Watched.
Thump thump.
Turned.
Tripped.
Thump thump.
Lost.
Cold.
Hot.
Torn.
Thump thump.
Free.
Trapped.

Thump thump.

He couldn't feel.

Or was it loud? Was he alone, or was he not? Did the night shield eyes, watching, waiting, smiling? Smiled? Smiling at misfortune? Bleakness? Or was the bleakness an asset? Asset? Aid? Help? Helped others? Help himself? Help wanted? Wanted? Wanted, wished for, necessary, need-

Was he needed?

Thump thump. Thump thump.

'I paced around for hours on empty,
I jumped at the slightest of sounds.'

Thu ump thump. Thump thump.

Torn.

Shot.

Burn. Throb. It had torn clean through.

Well, not quite clean, but clean as it could be.

Then the sting came. The initial sting, harsh, empty but so filling. The sharp sting. Followed by the throb. The soft throb.

Thump thu mp.

Gentle, level. Burn. Burning. It burned.

Why did it burn?

Why was it burning?

Why did it hurt? It didn't hurt?

Thump thum p.

It did hurt? How did it hurt? It shouldn't hurt?

WHY DID IT BURN?!

WHY DID IT BURN?!

WHY DID IT BURN?!
WHY DID IT BURN?!
WHY DID IT BURN?!
WHY DID IT BURN?!
WHY DID IT BURN?!
WHY DID IT BURN?!
W H Y D I D I T B U R N?!

Thump thump. Thump thump.

'And I couldn't stand the person inside me;
I turned all the mirrors around.'

What did they want?

... Tango? Tango what are you doing?

What do they want?

Thump thump.

Tango! Hey, Tango!

What are they doing?

Tango!

Who are they?

Tango!

Thump thump.

Why can't we see them?

Tango.

WHERE ARE THEY?!

TANGO.

Thump thump. Thump thump.

WHAT DO YOU WANT?!

Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump.

'I'm bigger than my body,
I'm colder than this home,
I'm meaner than my demons,
I'm bigger than these bones.'
————————————————
Zedaph: Hey, guys? Has anyone seen Tango?

Mumbo: No, sorry!

Xisuma: Not recently... Shouldn't he be asleep by now? Actually, shouldn't ALL of you be asleep by now?

Ren: Uhhh... Nope. D'you need him, Zed?

Zedaph: I haven't seen him for a while. I think he went out some time ago.

Ren: Are you sure you need to worry? What if he's just doing... Demon stuff, or... Something...

Zedaph: I don't know... Impulse is still asleep and I don't want him to worry if he finds both of us missing... I kinda have a bad feeling as well...

Xisuma: Do you need some help finding him?

Ren: I'm outside anyway. May as well.

Zedaph: That would be great, thank you!

Mumbo: I'll keep an eye out!

Biffa: WHY ARE YOU ALL TEXTING THIS LATE?!

Xisuma: Oops.
—————————————————
'And all the kids cried out, "Please stop, you're scaring me!"
I can't help this awful energy!
Gosh darn right, you should be scared of me:
Who is in control?'

Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump-

"Hey."

Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump.

"... Did... Did... You...?"

"No."

Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump.

"... I can... Smell... It... It's... Aci-"

Thump thump. Thump thump thump thump. Thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump-

"Listen to me... Ok? Listen to my voice. You're ok. You're fine. You're safe. It's ok. You're going to be ok."

"No."

Thump thump thump thump thump-

"Yes, you are. You're going to be ok. I'm here."

"No-"

"It's ok."

"No!"

"... You're going to be ok..."

"NO! SHUT UP! SHUT... SHUT UP! SHUT UP AN-AN-AND GO... GO-ET LOST!"

'I'm well acquainted with villains that live in my head;
They beg me to write them so they'll never die when I'm dead...'

"..."

Thump thump. Thump thump.

Eyes. Burning? Yes, they were. But they weren't. And now they definitely weren't? Was... Were they... Why...

Cold... Moving. They were falling. Slowly. Now faster.

So silent and fluid, it was almost missable.

And then they were disappearing. Wiped away by a gentle hand. Now they were coming faster, faster... Again, faster...

Yet still so fluid, giving no lingering feeling except the emotional pain flowed out. The pain tearing out, little by little, travelling away, away, away, down every winding path.

Past the flick of the lash, the soft curve of cheek, tip of lip and jut of chin. Some took a detour: already, hints of salt had been instinctively stolen away by tongue.

It was nothing like the harshest palpitation- composed of wounded, shattering, crazed grief; this was silent, and small, energy slipping away slither by slither.

Then the sobs came. Quieter in the sleepy ambience of late yesterday; early today. Small sobs, coming out easily, only stumbling when they came too fast and meekly choked up.

Thump thump.

"... I... I... I'm... I'm so..."

"Take your time."

"So-Sorry... I... I wa... I didn't... I..."

"It's alright."

"Sorry... Sor... Ry-"

"... Shhh... It's ok..."

'And I've grown familiar with villains that live in my head;
They beg me to write them so I'll never die when I'm dead.'

Those attempts were brushed away by the same gentle hands, the gentle voice, gentle tone.

Not even collapsing into his arms happened fast. Not all a frozen, defeated fall; more of a tired drift. Because suddenly, the atmosphere was very, very sleepy.

It was sort of a melting sensation. It always was. A warm kind of numb though, starkly differing from the empty, addictive kind. And then it was gone.

Mindset and usual thoughts returned, they were soon filled to the brim with exhaustion.

"... Sleep well... Ok...? I'll keep your secret until you're ready to share it... Trust me..."

Trust... What... What a funny sort of word. Or feeling. Whichever one worked best... Trust... Totally truthful...

... Tired...

They were...

So...

...

'I'm bigger than my body,
I'm colder than this home,
I'm meaner than my demons,
I'm bigger than these bones.'

Tango sighed. Standing up and carrying the still body of his friend, he started making his way to where they were supposed to reside. There, he hoped would provide enough feelings of attachment for them to be better soon.

As he was making his way back to Zed and Impulse, he met Ren, who was surprised to see him.

"Oh. Hey man. Zed was wondering where you were... Why are you out so late?" Ren asked, eyeing Tango's evident rush to get out. Tango was literally still in his sleep ware.

(Author's note: Now, I see a black tank top/ vest and sweatpants. What do you guys see?)

"Eh. Demon stuff." He mumbled, waltzing away and leaving Ren... In the dark.

Zed didn't believe a word of this excuse, but promised to question Tango in the morning, when it was less moonlit. The demon shrugged (completely relying on the fact that a sleepy Zed is a forgetful Zed), knowing he didn't have too much to worry about.

Tango was right.
————————————————
Author's note
I swear I'm working on stuff. Forgive me if I'm being awfully slow. I have requests I really should've done ages ago, lol, whoopsie... So sorry! :'>

As chu guys can see, angst ain't my strong point. Sorry if this happened to upset anyone, regardless. I don't want to assume things, after all : D!

So yeah. Trigger warning on this entire chapter. I feel kinda bad for writing this and possibly hurting someone... I'm so sorry if this was the case...

And... Please... Don't say 'mood' or 'same' or 'relatable'... Maybe? I know it's a weird, sorta silly request but... It... Makes me feel... Guilty...

————————————————
'And all the kids cried out, "Please stop, you're scaring me!"
I can't help this awful energy!
Gosh darn right, you should be scared of me:
Who is in control?'

"... W... What are you doing...? Weren't you done?!"

"Not yet."

"Come on... I let you with the other thing... Can't I just sleep?"

"Not yet."

"... This is going to start hurting a little. I can feel it now... It still feels like it's moving... I... It hurts a little... It won't stop unless I fall asleep... Can I-"

"Not yet."

"Why not?"

"Don't question me. Question yourself. I'm merely doing 'the best I could possibly do'."

"... No... No sleeping just yet then..."
—————————————————
'And all the kids cried out, "Please stop, you're scaring me!"
I can't help this awful energy!
Gosh darn right, you should be scared of me:
Who is in control?'

...

...

...

"... Sorry."

"Pathetic. Are you done?"

"You were the one that-"

"Snivelling freak."

"... Fair play. And yeah, I think so."

"Can you leave me alone? You're just a waste of my time, you know. I don't know why I put up with you."

"... What do you think?"

"You already know my answer, pig."

"I want to hear you say it. It makes me feel... Something... I don't know..."

"'It makes me feel something?' That's both useless and stupid. Congrats on proving how much you leech onto others again. It's disgusting."

"... So is wanting to hear you say it again."

"Dirty, shallow beggar. What selfish requests you scream. You're so jealous too; just because someone had a similar idea, but made it better? You're so petty, it's almost pitiful."

"..."

"It is it out of the sympathy you always fake I let you hear this. Not yet."