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Reddoons was no stranger to hallucinations, though he liked to think of them more as flashbacks. But this couldn't be one, could it…? He hadn't gotten any in years.
But he couldn't be staring at Owen, that's not possible. Owen's dead. And even if he had escaped, how would he be on Lifesteal?
Everything suddenly felt too loud, his breath staggered as Owen smiled at him with that stupid grin. He was taunting him. No, he wouldn't let that bastard escape death twice.
Why wasn't Owen speaking? Why wouldn't he show recognition of what he did all those years ago? The terror he caused.
Redd couldn't breath, he felt as though his mask was suffocating him, but wait. He hadn't worn his mask in years either, ever since Parrot re-coded his appearance. Did he dream that? No. NO.
He could hear someone talking to him but couldn't comprehend anything. All he knew was that Owen was in front of him and he was too scared to move. His heart hammered as he attempted to find his voice.
He felt someone pull on the sword in his hand, trying to disarm him. Owen snickered. He wouldn't let that man laugh at him after everything.
Raising his sword, he nearly grazed Owen's ear, but as he gasped in surprise, Redd realized that wasn't Owen's gasp. A shadowy figure grabbed his arm and pulled his weapon towards the floor, he recognized the voice. That was…Ash?
“Reddoons! Chill out!” Ash grunted as he struggled to keep Redd's weapon down. Zam was staring at him with wide-eyes.
“I…Sorry, man.” Redd said awkwardly, breathing still shaky. He dropped his sword as he attempted to collect himself.
“Are you both ok?” Ashswag asked, letting go of Redd's arms as he stared between him and Zam
“Yeah, I am.” Zam tried to brush off the sudden attack.
“...Yes.” Redd blinked several times, feeling as though his reflexes were failing him. “Didn't mean to, nothing personal Zam."
Zam shrugged half-heartedly, still unnerved. The scene ended quickly, all of them going their separate ways.
Reddoons didn't question why Ash came to check up on him the next day.
“Hey man. Just wanted to hang out for a bit.” Ash was never very good at hiding true intentions.
“Mhm.” Redd tilted his head slightly as he reorganized his inventory.
“Look. What did you see yesterday?” Ash asked.
“You mean with Zam?” Reddoons looked up, returning Ash's gaze.
“Yeah.”
“I…I'm not sure man…I think I'm seeing things again.” Guilt laced Redd's tone. “I don't know. He. I swear it was…Someone else was there.”
Ashswag looked at the floor for a moment, clearly trying to find a kind response.
“You know, I might not know much about earlier in your life, but I remember when we first met, you'd talk about..You know, hallucinations.” Ash's posture straightened. “You think that's happening again?”
It couldn't have been that. No. If it was, why were his senses telling him otherwise? Right after escaping, he felt as though he was going insane, to say that it was happening again would be like admitting what happened in that maze was real.
“But it was so real…” Reddoons knew that answer made him sound like a toddler.
“But it wasn't, man. Look, I'm just trying to help understand. Zam is now on alert about us, and I don't even know what happened.”
Redd stayed silent for a moment.
“Even if you don't want to tell me anything, just know I'm here for you when you need it dude.” Ash gave a slightly crooked grin. “I don't care what it is, just know I'm here.”
“Cringe.”
“Cmon man!” Ashswag elbowed him with a snicker.
Even if Redd wasn't ready to admit it, Ash's words meant a lot to him. They meant enough that he began talking to Ash when things got worse. Just someone trying to understand can sometimes be enough.
:)