tw: mentions of suicide, gore, violence, and foul language.

bold: writing

'single quotation': thoughts

slanted/italics: memories.

underlined: underlined sentences are basically commands and thoughts of those who's thoughts are still completely controlled by the mask.

single quotation dialogue is basically belongs to a person who isn't a mask or has gained a bit of freedom from the command and can retain their own thoughts..

.

.

.

.

~" 𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘺 "~

◤━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◥

3rd pov:

The day had just begun. The crisp night air warmed when the sun rose up and illuminated the buildings, mixing together pinks and bright oranges that reflected off of the their glassy exteriors. Butcher mask would have stopped to enjoy this mellow view; maybe even sat down and stared at the pretty clouds if he wasn't running for his life. 

While on his regular patrol, he purposefully bumped into a strange, almost naked mask in swimming trunks who was eyeing a group of humans. He apologized with a head bow and hoped his distraction worked, but unfortunately it worked too well. From the moment he lifted his head, the masked swimmer didn't seem to accept any form of reaction except for fear or anger.

Right now, it was fear. He was currently sprinting down the halls of an office complex, trying to lose the maniac who was hot on his heels.

'crap' he swiftly moved to his right in order to avoid a punch that barely missed him. The punch landed on the wall he was near, and it gave in from the crushing force.

'Find somewhere to hide. You can't run forever.'

Butcher mask didn't pay the punch any mind and took the one second delay gratefully. He forced himself into a tiny storage closet and held his breath in order to hear the muscular man's movement. The swimmer's heavy foot steps boomed away in the opposite direction.

He exhaled in relief and relaxed his tense shoulders. He turned to examine the room, but stopped when he made eye contact with a human to the corner. 

'Push humans to the edge of despair.' His hands twitched madly to reach for the cleavers that hung at his sides in leather pockets. 

'I don't want to.' He turned his body to face away. His muscles trembled and he held his arms down with force.

'I can't.' His hand reached for the doorknob, but an all too familiar stomping halted all movement. 

'Shit, he's smarter than he looks.' 

'Push humans to the edge of desp-'

'You're not helping.' He gritted his teeth and dug his gloved fingers deep into the flesh on his arms. The pain helped distract from the numbing urge to take the boy's life, then and there. 

No one moved in that tiny room for a few minutes. The boy clung onto his sledge hammer in unsureness, but ultimately decided to not act in any rash way. Once he decided it was safe, Butcher mask flung the door open, nearly ripping it off its hinges, and ran out the enclosed space. He needed to escape that room as soon as possible for the human boy's safety. If he had stayed there any longer, who knows what would've happened.

'Asshole.'

'...'

A 'tch' left his mouth, a sound he had learned to express annoyance or agitation (Baker mask had been starting to teach him new gestures.)

He stopped to catch his breath on a rooftop. The sky was now a pretty hue of light blue and a few clouds wisped by. The scenery helped calm him down significantly, and once he deemed it safe to advance, he decided to momentarily rest. The encounter from before had slowed his stamina, and he was starting to feel exhaustion prick at the corners of his strength. Only a little, though.

He relaxed his body and stretched, then, with a few satisfying pops, went on to his usual route. Ever since he decided to go against the despair command, his command voice would nag at him quietly, but still constantly, to follow through with his orders. His body was getting a bit easier to control, but the shrinking voice still had an overwhelming control over his brain.

He could ignore humans that were a few feet away from him, but it got harder to hold himself back if they were any closer than a meter, at least. That's why he had been struggling in the closet. 

(haha, puns)

He shook his head with a grunt and made his way to the meet-up building. 

'An advantage...' His mind replayed the internal dialogue from a few nights ago. Helping humans from a far is the best he can do right now. It isn't his fault his mask won't let him do more. That's enough. 

Right? 

Then why was he feeling so...useless? He can't do anything else at the moment, but why did it feel like it was his fault?

"Yoohoo! Look who made it on time! I'm so proud of your punctuality!" Baker mask's cheery voice pierced the dark atmosphere that embodied itself around Butcher mask. 

'You shouldn't worry about that now.' His head told him to brush the thought off.

'I shouldn't worry about it now.'

"Let's go to the next marker tower. I've noticed more masks gathering around there, so we have a pretty good chance of stocking up on resources." She stated matter-of-factly and waltzed forward and up the staircase.

'A new area?' He noticed that they were walking in a new direction to a completely different portion of the "city." 

They entered a tall business building and continued to the new meet-up tower. A familiar buzz filled Butcher mask's head. 

'a human.' 

When they turned the corner, the boy from the storage closet froze and then lifted his sledge hammer. Baker mask lunged to attack, but Butcher mask threw himself onto her and wrapped his arms around her to pin her hands to her sides. He made sure to send the boy a whistle and head jab, desperate to get his "Get out of here" through to him. The boy seemed to understand (or took the opportunity) and run away. Baker mask quit thrashing in his hold and stood limply. He took this as the 'ok' to let go of her and unwrapped his arms. 

"Thanks." She cut through the thick silence and they continued to cross roofs and bridges.

When they took a break on a nearby wall, Butcher mask decided to lighten the mood with useless conversation. 

(a/n:  just so yall know; (f/c) = favorite color)

He hurriedly took out his (f/c) notepad, which he borrowed from a corpse after filling up his first one, and wrote rapidly.

'I've been meaning to ask you something since we met.' He stuck the paper out to her face.

"Hmm? what is it?" She turned her head from the view of the distant ground from the railing she was leaned against. 

'Why are you dressed like that?'

"..."

"...the hells wrong with how I dress, punk?" 

Her full attention was now on him.

Realization hit him like a ton of bricks and he frantically waved his hands.

"Relax, I'm just messing. Mm, well, to be completely honest, I don't really know either. But I have started to remember a number of things recently. I can't tell you much now, but I can 100% assure you that we were friends back then."

That wasn't the complete truth. Baker mask knew more than a few things about their life before all of this madness happened. She knew small details, like what clothes she wore on her last night in her normal life, and even the last name of one of her classmates. But every time she tried to tell him about it, her mask would send her into splitting headaches. The guilt of this knowledge burned a hole in her head, and she knew she had to keep this information hidden. To the mask, at least. If only she could leave little hints to maybe jog a memory in his head. Maybe she would get the chance to tell him the truth about their past. The truth about his mother.

Butcher mask looked satisfied with that response and didn't push any further. A simple hum started the calm ambience that settled as they arrived to the building.

On the roof, they separated to different bridges that connected a taller building to the rest. 

"Alright! We'll join up here at 7 pm. You have your phone, right?" 

He raised the device for her to see.

"OK! Remember to stay on guard! This is new territory! Please stay safe, (y/n)-"

She quickly slapped her hands over the smile on her mask. Shock made Butcher mask's ears ring and his eyes blur briefly as he walked slowly to Baker mask.

"Behave yourself!"

"Yeah, yeah. Do you really have to keep telling me that? I'm 20."

"Yet that doesn't seem to stop you from coming home all beat up, brat. Just- Please stay safe, (y/n.)" Sincerity laced the familiar girl's voice.

"Yes ma'am." A sarcastic voice replied.

"Butcher mask, I-" A glimpse at his eyes quickly shut her up. Shock and desperation shown through the crimson-specked eye holes of his mask. He wrote on his notepad.

'How do you know? Who was I? Who was I supposed to be?'

 He gripped her shoulders firmly, but still maintained a gentle touch. 

'Even now, he's gentle.' Her eyes soften. 

"Look, I-I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you. My mask wouldn't allow me to."

"I'm tired of keeping secrets. How about this; I'll tell you when we get back to base. We'll discuss who you- who we both used to be. After that, you can go. You can take whatever you'd like, it's the least I can do after lying to you for so long-"

'What makes you think I'll leave the only person who makes me feel sane?' He brought her into a hug. 

'This girl...she reminds me of my little sister.' He thought bittersweetly.

Sister.

Sister?

"Let's pinky swear on it. When we get back home, we'll share all the memories and information we have. Then we'll make the best damn omelette this fucked up world's ever seen."

Home.

The two intertwined their pinkies. 

"Pinky promise, if I lie, I will drink 1000 needles, and cut my pinky."

"Ok, it's settled then. No more lying!" She pumped her fists in the air (Butcher mask took note of the new gesture. He would have to practice it in his free time.)

She walked to her bridge. "Cya in a few hours!" Her hand waved enthusiastically and she made her way to the other side of the bridge.

Butcher mask was dying to know who he was. He was eager to find something to do on the other side of the bridge to pass the time faster.

He hurried to the other side and went on to explore. Collecting resources should be his #1 priority. 

'Maybe some fresh produce. It's been depressing, living off of canned tuna and tap water.' He shuddered at the thought of ever having to take another bite of the tangy fish product.

'No, you should look for humans-'

'-Right after I find some eggs.'

He wandered into the building and started to look for some kind of kitchen. He spotted double doors in an abandoned hall.

'Bingo.' He pushed the doors open and took in the sight of lunch tables and chairs that seemed too neat to have been in contact with any other person. Hopefully, the kitchen is as untouched as the cafeteria.

He moved to the back of the large room where the metal doors of the kitchen were. Everything was also in place here, so he had high hopes in finding something good. Inside the fridge, he found vegetables and other refrigerated goods that had been left in there to preserve their quality.

'Finally, some good fucking food.' 

Huh? What does that even mean? Was that a joke? Did he quote someone just now?

'Gordan Ramsay quote.' Woah, wait how does his command voice know that?

'That wasn't funny.'

He felt disappointed. '...I know...'

(a/n: I hate myself please forgive me)

Wait, how did he remember that, but not his name?

'(y/n)...' He stared at the eggs in his hand before placing them in a cooler bag, one that was conveniently placed by said refrigerator. 

'That's my name, right?' The name didn't trigger any kind of memory in Butcher mask. Was it supposed to? It was familiar, like a word on the tip of his tongue, but it stayed locked away in his mind.

'Do you know anything, Command?'

The voice didn't reply.

'I'll have to wait until we get back to base.'

His eyes landed on a good stove.

'A little cooking wouldn't hurt. Baker will probably be hungry after her exploration.' He hummed and brought the necessary kitchenware and ingredients. Whistling a forgotten tune to himself, he prepared a couple of bento boxes with rice, sausage, pork, and vegetables. He assorted them to look like animals.

'What are you doing? We should be leaving to carry out the despair command.' The voice barked and broke the calm atmosphere.

Butcher mask's calm expression turned sour before returning to expressionless. 

'What does it looks like? I'm cooking.'

'Yeah, yeah, whatever. Get a move on.'

Butcher mask had started to realize that his Command voice was starting to sound a little like him. Short conversations started to happen more often, like this one, and usually began with a smart comment from the voice.

'How odd. You're starting to sound human.'

'No, you are. I am simply an extension of your mind. These changes only occur because of your deviance from the rules.'

'buzzkill.'

He finished quickly and began packing his things in a book bag he found earlier. 

He strode out calmly and let his eyes wander around the premises. Everything was so calm today, not a human in sight. The sun kissed his (s/c) skin as he passed by a window. He was...calm.

A familiar buzzing stopped him in his tracks. Bile rose in his throat and stung his tongue. An overwhelming dread sank deep into every cell in his body. His body refused to take in any air and he let out a strangled gasp. The buzzing filled his head and nauseated his senses. He found a burst of energy that pushed him to frantically ran down the halls of the building he was exploring. 

The feeling of dread turned into unbearable terror as he neared the building Baker mask went to. For the first time, his surroundings seemed to blur. There was no time to observe the scenery. There was no time to look at the fight happening between the sledge hammer boy and the sniper a few roofs away. There was no time.

'Keep going.'

'You're almost there.'

He sprinted into a corridor and stopped when he saw the blood. He felt like vomiting. On the ground, he saw a chainsaw, abandoned by its owner, who laid unmoving. A large man in green overalls and a pink handkerchief neared her figure, completely ignoring the butcher's presence.

His mind cleared of any thought or feeling he had before and he prioritized one thing over everything else: Baker mask.

He bolted ahead just as the mask was going to bring down his katana and swiftly blocked it with both cleavers. He pushed the mask back with his foot and ran over to Baker mask's collapsed form. A pool of blood surrounded her, thick like rancid honey.

'She's losing too much blood. I need to get her out of here. There's no way I can take that mask on with just cleavers.'

The scooped her up and weaved through the monochrome halls to escape the chubby mask chasing them both. Despite the state of panic Butcher mask's mind was in, a memory from a few days ago resurfaced.

"There is a doctor."

The image of the bow wearing girl flashed in his mind.

"Come when you need help."

'That katana girl knows a doctor. It's on the other side of the city, but that's our best chance.'

He continued to push his body forward with struggle from the extra weight.

The heavy footsteps behind them started to get duller and far.

'Look for humans.'

'Shut up.'

'That mask is severely cracked. I suggest you leave her and continue searching for-'

'I DON'T CARE ABOUT HUMANS! SHE IS INJURED! SHE IS MY TOP PRIORITY!' A fiery pain spread throughout his head to his toes. He couldn't stop to think about the pain or the abrupt silence of the commands that plagued his mind up until that point.

He made it to the rooftops. They had lost the mask a while ago, but the trail of blood that Baker mask left called for urgent attention. He removed a glove and looked at her fractured mask to check for breathing through the carved smile. Labored breaths fanned on the hand he placed near her mask.

'She's still breathing. I need to get her to that doctor.'

He crossed the bridges to their hideout. A strange mask stood in a offensive stance on the roof he needed to pass through, but it didn't matter. Only she matter right now.

When he sprinted across the roof, the hostile mask greeted him with skillful attacks. The monk mask sent a powerful kick towards the two, not giving Butcher mask he chance to move away in time. The force sent them both to the ground, with Butcher mask protecting Baker mask with his body as they landed hard on the roof. He laid her on the ground and eyed the cleavers that were now on the ground from the impact. The distance was too far to sprint over and still be able to protect Baker mask.

'She's getting bad. There's no way this mask will let us pass. I need to fight.' He put his body in-between the mask and Baker and took a defensive stance.

'What's that mask doing?' A boy with tied back hair looked down at the events taking place on the roof lower to him. His eyes widened a fraction and he hurriedly stopped the mask's movement. 

(a/n: really sorry if anything is inaccurate. im basing a lot of this on my memory, so please let me know if something doesn't make sense.)

Yelling echoed through the building and the mask stopped. "Hey! Wait!"

'It's hesitating. Now's my chance.' He jerked forward and picked up Baker mask along with his cleavers. He ran quickly through the bridges and rooftops. 

Time seemed to slow down and every second became crucial to their survival. To her survival. He ignored the aching pain in his muscles and the way his body screamed at him to stop. 

"...(y/n)...stop." Baker mask's voice was barely more than a whisper. The use of his name made him freeze on the rooftop. His legs felt like lead. "...Lay me down..." He couldn't keep his hands from trembling as he placed her on the roof of the building. His knees were weak all of a sudden and forced his body to kneel next to her.

"(y/n), I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to tell you what I know. I wish I'd done it sooner." The silence was smothering. Something in his head swelled at the unfamiliar feeling that was brewing in him.

"I want you to do something before I go." Her head bopped up and down and she held onto the sliver of conscious present dimly in her body. "Promise you'll do something. I know that you're special. You have something that many others don't have. Sympathy. Remorse for humans. Whatever it is and for whatever reason you have it, please, help put an end to this cruel world. Protect humans. Protect those who need you."

Her words started to become dimmer in the hot, dry air. The taste of bile crept in Butcher mask's mouth again. "Help make a change. I sure as hell didn't." A bitter chuckle rang weakly in her throat.

She brought her hand up. 

"...take my apron. There's a chance you'll forget some things once you're done with the installment. I didn't know what it was then, but I think this will help you more than it could've for me." She jerked her hand to grasp his hand and tapped his mask gently. 

"I'm glad I got to meet someone as bright as you, (y/n)." Her hands grabbed his cleaver and she slammed it into her throat repeatedly. The blood touched everything around it and stained the blank walls an ugly red. Her blood. Butcher mask couldn't move for a long time. His glossy eyes, wide, and (e/c) orbs fixated on the mask's holes that showed glimpses of her hallow eyes. They used to be a brilliant (e/c), but had since lost the curiosity and liveliness they once had. But his gaze seemed to be stretch elsewhere. His hand hovered over the spot on his mask she touched. 

This world is merciless. She wanted for him to change it? How?

A deep panic of realization caught in his throat with the regret and stomach acid he had been trying to suppress. 

How could he fulfill her dying wish? 

There was a hardness in his palm when his hand twitched. 

'Huh?'

In his palm laid a small green square.

'A computer chip?' He brought it closer to examine. 

Why would she give him something like this?

'She said I should take her apron. But why? Forget? Why would he forget?'

He pulled the bloody apron off her body and took in the details. 

'"Kiss the cook," huh? You were always so cheesy.'

The words were embroidered neatly. They brought a sense of comfort to Butcher mask, and he felt himself give a sad sigh. 

He slipped the piece of clothing on and inspected the chip. 

'Wait, this looks like the stuff on the back of my mask.' He unclipped the mask and held the two side by side.

A sudden twitch of his hand urged him to place the chip in the center of the mask's computer coding. 

Upon doing so, a cold darkness overtook him. For a moment, there was no feeling, no touch, no bile. It was nice. Such a comforting cold. Green blocks greeted him when he opened his eyes again. He was somewhere else. But still there?

"What the hell?" His voice caused him to jump and slap a hand over his mouth.

'I can talk?'

'Mouth???' He felt around his face. There was no mask.

"Where-"

"We're in your head, dumbass." His head snapped to the figure standing to his right. He sighed. "You know, for such an observant person, you're still pretty clueless."

"It's you! Me?" He pointed accusingly at his doppelgänger.

He (his mask self? his clone?) stood there with the same (h/l) (h/c) hair and (s/c) skin. He was wearing the exact same thing Butcher mask was wearing before waking up in the weird emptiness; A bloody apron and black plastic gloves, but he had his mask on. 

'Where the hell are my clothes?' He realized he was naked and glowing, which isn't normal in any circumstance. 

"Why are we here? Is it even possible for this to happen? Also, why do I not have clothes?" He broke into a cold sweat when he realized his past expressions and dialogue.

"How am I so...emotional?"

"This is your brain. You are yourself and I am your mask self. I am you, but you are not me. Here, your human expression and thoughts are not as tampered with or censored like they would be out there." He pointed his finger up smartly. 

He looked around. 'The chip Brough him here.' 

A voice spoke through the endless space. 

"You are a suitable candidate for the Human Aid and Protection Program." 

(omg im so sorry for my shit story writing. I couldn't think of anything else)

He turned to the floating green thing in the abyss. "HAPP is a program designed to help those who are not close to God, along with those who are, in order to aid in the multiple efforts to create a desired world from a neutral perspective. The normal commands' coding is scrambled just enough to not attack humans, however, they are still present and in control. The likeliness of limited free will is greatly decreased, but still remains."

"This is starting to sound a bit too convenient, even for my standards." Butcher mask- (y/n)?- was beyond confused about this whole 'save the world' schmuck. How did Baker mask even get her hands on this chip? He had read enough fiction to know where this was going.

The voice seemed to disregard his statement. "The willingness to protect humans depends on the candidate's own will to help. Good luck, candidate."

"Where- Who made this program? How is this able to exist in this world?" He was waving his hands around, exaggerating his confusion. 

"I cannot answer that at this moment." The toneless voice replied.

He turned to the masked figure to his side with a perplexed expression, but he only got a shrug back in response.

"Installation will start now."

"I have a question." He raised his voice and straightened up.

"Will I forget my memory after this installation?" He had been dreading that since he woke up in this realm. He didn't want to forget everything he and Baker mask had gone through. 

"Yes. A majority of your memories will be erased, as they would for a cracked mask."

"Isn't there another-?"

"Installation complete. Booting new information."

He was once again consumed by the bitter darkness. His head was in excruciating pain for several minutes. He could only find comfort in the feeling of warmth from the outside. The outside! Sunlight!

.

His head shot up and his eyes darted across his surroundings. He was on a roof. There's blood everywhere. There's blood on him? He didn't feel injured, just the soreness in his muscles from running. Why was he running again? 

The sky was darkening. Things were harder to see. 

'A dead mask?'

A woman- no, a high school girl - was laying stiffly on the floor in front of him. The injuries were self inflicted.

'Why am I here?'

◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢

.

.

.

.

finally! the prologue is over! sorry for the late chapter, pollen allergies hit me hard and sucked my creative juices. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! we'll finally be able to get into the anime's storyline and time stuff.

thank you for bearing with me.