Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was late. 

Late enough to be early in the morning. The time on the digital alarm clock that sat on the desk said 3:17 AM, a time when the PC was supposed to be silent. Alan had probably turned off the lights outside the desktop, because it was dark. 

The little nightlight that Red liked to keep plugged in cast a soft glow around the room, flickering every so often. The only sounds were Orange’s peaceful snoring from his floor bed and the rustling of sheets as Yellow tossed and turned in his sleep. There was the occasional inaudible mumbling from Red as he talked in his sleep and the periodical snork-snork from Blue. 

The sound of a phone ringing pierced the silence. Orange jolted awake, eyes wide.

“DON’T DELETE ME PLEASE –” he shrieked, panting, then stopped. “Oh…a dream – Green, is that your phone?!”

Green opened his eyes. Sure enough, the soft vibrating was coming from under his pillow. He yawned, pulling it out. “Yep, it’s mine.”

“Green, how many times do we have to tell you to keep that thing on silent?” Yellow muttered, sitting up. 

“Who would call you at a time like this?” Blue asked from the top bunk that he and Yellow shared.

“Not sure.” Green swiped to answer, holding the phone up to his ear. “Hullo?”

Static…

“What’s goin’ on?” Red mumbled sleepily from the top bunk that he shared with Green. 

“Green’s on the phone with someone who’s crazy enough to call people this early,” Blue said, throwing a pillow down at Green.

“Shut up, I can’t hear.” Green dodged it, still listening. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

“...Help!..”

The voice was barely audible, but Green recognized it immediately. He sat up straighter when he heard the distress.

“Purple, what’s going on? Are you good?

Everyone in the bedroom went silent, looking at Green with a silent question in their eyes.

Purple’s voice was mixed with loud static. Green strained his ears to listen.

“...Hurry, please!...

“I’m afraid it’s gonna be too late by the time you arrive!

“They’re taking over!”

Green was on his feet now. “Purple, wait, slow down! Please tell me where you are so we can come see what’s going on!” 

“They’ve taken King…”

“What?! They have him? Who’s they? Where did they go with him!?” 

Now Orange was standing, and so was Yellow. Blue and Red sat on their top bunks, listening to the broken conversation between Green and Purple.

“Not…sure…” 

More static.

“I think they might be –”

“GREEN–!”

Then the line went dead. 

Green stared at the screen, his eyes wide with fear. Moving quickly, he texted Purple, his hands shaking.

[Purple! Hey, Purple! Are you okay? Did u mean to call me?? And is King ok??]

No answer.

If Green knew his friend well enough, he would know that she normally answered her phone right away.

“Green…is everything okay?” Blue asked with concern.

“I…I don’t know,” the latter replied shakily. “She said something about ‘them taking over’...oh great, now I’m panicking…”

“Calm down. We’re gonna figure this out.” Yellow stood and turned on his laptop. “Maybe we can track down Purple’s phone on a satellite or something.” He cracked his knuckles and set to work.

“Is that even possible, Yell?” Blue asked from the bed.

“No, but I’ve always wanted to try.” Eyes glued to the screen, Yellow’s fingers danced over the keyboard. “With a few tracking signals, I will be able to track Purple’s phone down, and I’ll be able to find her location with a satellite…therefore, I can easily determine where Purple made that call.”

Green and Orange traded glances. They resisted the urge to roll their eyes at each other.

Yellow clicked a few more keys. “Annnnd, there.” He leaned back. 

Red hopped out of bed, nearly landing on top of Orange. He walked over and stood near Yellow's desk. “Look, there. That little red dot. Is that it?”

Yellow was silent as he stared blankly at the computer screen. “Oh, it’s…getting signals from beyond the Outernet boundaries,” he said quietly. “Which can only mean… er, let me see.”

He typed a few more lines of code, before finally straightening his glasses, and rubbing the back of his neck. “Oh, shoot, that’s not good.”

”What’s not good?” Green demanded. “Yell?”

“Ah…nothing, but the interference signals…they’re coming from outside the Outernet boundaries,” he stammered. “That’s, uhm.” He sniffed awkwardly. “The…Dark Web.”

Silence.

Blue sat up straight. “The Dark Web??” he shrieked, breaking the horrified silence that had filled the room. 

Yellow gulped. “That's what this says, unless it's some kinda joke.”

“Why in the PC would Purple go there??” Orange asked. “She should know it’s dangerous.”

”Purple wouldn’t go in there if she was joking!” Red argued. “She’d never put herself in that type of situation.” He stopped. “Would she?”

“Oh, hush.” Green smacked Red’s arm nervously. “She wouldn’t. You know she wouldn’t.”

Red just gave him a doubtful glare. 

“Don’t you think we should probably just go check, just to make sure she’s okay?” Orange asked. “I mean, if she’s fine, we can just come back home. I’m sure we’ll find out this is a big misunderstanding and we can all go back to bed.” He grinned cheekily.

“But then, if she is in the Dark Web like her signal said,” Blue countered slowly, “what then?”

Orange inhaled. “…I don’t know,” he confessed. 

A wave of uncomfortable silence washed over them. Fingers steepled under his chin, Yellow watched the small dot on his computer screen blink on, off, on, and off. 

“Ugh.” Rolling his eyes, Green grabbed the sword and fishing rod that was leaning against the door and jogged out to the desktop. Trading glances, the others hopped up and followed him.

“Green! What are you doing??” Orange cried. 

“I'm gonna rescue Purple!” Green called back.

“Rescue her— Green, you don’t even know if she’s in any real danger.” Orange crossed his arms. “Get back here. Let’s formulate a plan or something.” 

Green ignored him and continued to strap on his holster. “You guys can stay here if you’d like. But I’m gonna go see if Purple’s okay.”

“Do you know what you're doing?!” Yellow shouted. “This is the Dark Web. The most dangerous place on the Internet!”

“Exactly. How do we find it?” Green demanded.

Orange froze. “Uh—” He squeaked out. All their attention was diverted to him.

“Orange?”

“Nothing,” Orange stammered. “It’s just that, uh, I think I might know someone who can help us.” 

He sat behind the fallen rubble of the building, panting. His arm throbbed with pain. His heart was pounding heavily in his chest. The vision in his left eye was blurred by a steady trickle of blood coming from a cut on his forehead. He sat there, alone, trembling in his little hollow of safety, however safe it was.

He glanced around groggily.

The city was deathly silent. 

It was only him — only him and the remaining bodies of people who’d been brutally killed by the creatures who’d emerged from the shadows.

The attack was all too sudden. He didn’t even have time to think. All he could do was simply sit and watch in fear as the beasts clambered into the city, ripping people away from their loved ones.

All he could do was sit and stare as his friend, his brother, was snatched away. 

He didn’t know what to do.

But he knew he had to do something. 

Slowly, painfully, he stood to his feet, stumbling clumsily. He walked – or, rather, limped – away from the rubble. He glanced around, his heart aching at the sight of the destruction.

His head pounded painfully, and he winced. The heat surged through him, and he felt his hands light up. The fire burned the wound in his arm, but he ignored the pain.

Wordlessly, he was lifted into the sky, flames sputtering under his palms as he searched for survivors.

“What…what happened here?”

Blue's voice cut through the eerie silence, sending shivers down Green's spine. He regained his posture.

“I knew something bad happened,” he muttered, fighting the anxiety to keep his cool. 

The city looked awful. 

The gang silently gazed out at the ruin — cars that had been overturned, streetlights that had been toppled over, windows that had been shattered, roads that had been crumbled. 

“Where is everyone?” Red asked. “Like…where’s all the people? There’d at least be bodies, right?”

His question wasn’t answered, along with the thousands of other questions that were whirling in Green’s head. He breathed deeply, trying to think. 

“We should start looking for Purple. I mean, survivors,” he said, clearing his throat. “Watch your six.”

They moved forward, careful not to trip over the rubble. Yellow visibly winced when he saw a demolished computer on the ground. Blue gazed longingly at an abandoned bakery.

Red curiously peeked inside an overturned street corn dog cart to see what was inside.

Scuttle-scuttle…

The cart shuffled. Red gasped lightly, backing away from it, hand on the hilt of his sword.

“Er…guys…?” Red’s voice was tight and quiet. He stared into the dark…

Two crimson eyes gleamed right back.

“Guys!” Red shrieked, stumbling back as a huge, hideous-looking beast crawled out from under the cart. He was knocked onto the floor with a grunt.

The monster was terrifying – red, soulless eyes staring down at them from a small head, huge wicked-sharp teeth, and four spider-like legs for limbs. It reeked of a foul stench, almost immediately giving a headache.

Acting out of instinct, the gang drew their weapons – Orange, a bright green sword; Green, his fishing rod and katana; Blue, his bow, arrows, and a few potion bottles; Yellow, his loyal command block staff. 

“Stay away from him!”

Blue was the first one to act, wasting no time at shooting an arrow, its tip dipped in potion of weakness, at the beast. The arrow found its mark, piercing into the monster's flesh at the side. The monster shrieked, its loud cry echoing through the silent city. As it was preoccupied, Blue moved to help Red from the ground.

Green was the next to move, using his fishing rod to swing himself onto the monster's back. Furiously, the beast stumbled forward, bashing its head into a wall but quickly recovering to focus on its prey.

“Green! Get down!” Orange yelled, swinging his sword aimlessly at the monster’s legs.

“Yellow, watch out!” Blue shrieked.

They now saw that the monster not only had four spider-like limbs, but a long, ugly tail. The beast spun around, whipping its tail like a bat, and before Yellow or Blue or anyone else could think, swept Yellow off of the ground, tail wrapped around his ankle. Yellow cried out as he was lifted into the air, dangling upside down. The beast stared at Yellow with scarlet eyes, whipping out its tongue as it opened its fang-lined mouth…

“Don’t you dare!” Blue shrieked, loading his bow.

“You big bully!” Red yelled, furious, turning even redder. 

Yellow covered his face, ready to meet his end.

The ground reverberated when a loud explosion rang out. Sparks rained down, bouncing off the floor. A fireball whizzed down into the beast’s back, making it shriek with pain. Green jumped off, stumbling onto the ground just before another fireball hit him.

Another stick figurelanded with a heavy thud in front of Orange, his hands heated up with fire.

“Chosen???!!” Orange shrieked, his eyes wide with a mix of confusion, bewilderment, and plain fear as he gaped at his brother.

“Stay behind me!” Chosen yelled, lighting another fireball. He aimed and threw the hot ball of fire, striking the monster on its side. The creature stumbled, its grip on Yellow loosening.

“Blue, give me an arrow!” Chosen said, and Blue did as he was told. He lit the arrowhead on fire, instructing Blue to shoot at the beast's head.

“But what if I hit Yellow?!” Blue cried, uncertainly drawing the bowstring back.

“JUST SHOOT!” Chosen yelled.

Caught off guard, Blue released, hands trembling. The arrow whizzed through the air, leaving smoke in its wake, and found its mark — right on the tail where the creature held Yellow.

SKKRRREEEEEEEE! 

The monster let out an unearthly sound, writhing with pain, releasing its grip on Yellow, who tumbled to the ground, landing with a thud.

Chosen lit another fireball. “Back off,” he said with a warning tone. “Back off!”

The monster stared, creaking noises escaping its throat. It stepped nearer, twitching, and it let out a screech.

“No,” Chosen said firmly. “You’re done. Go away.”

Skreeeee! 

With a battle scream, the hideous beast lashed out once again, very nearly cutting Chosen with its teeth. Out of instinct, Chosen lit his hands, spewing out flames into its ugly mouth. The monster, burning pain searing through its body, stumbled back, falling to the ground with a sickening thud. It let out a defeated groan, finally going still.

It was silent in the city again, save the labored breathing from Chosen. 

As Orange stared in bewilderment, the black hollowhead dropped to his knees, staring at his scarred hands. He traded silent glances with his friends.

Out of concern, Blue stepped closer, placing a hand on Chosen’s shoulder. “Chosen? Are you okay?”

“Um…I’m fine.” He stood painfully to his feet. “That took a lot of my energy, that’s all.”

“Where’d you get that cut?” Red asked, coming closer. “I didn’t see that monster cut you.”

Chosen glanced down at his arm. An ugly gash had found its way onto his skin. He just shrugged, then took Orange’s arm. “What are you kids doing out here?” His voice was hoarse.

“Our friend needs help,” Orange replied. “And this…this is probably why.” He glanced around.

Chosen nodded. “I know where those beasts came from.” He scanned the wide-eyed, fearful faces of the younger sticks. “…It isn’t pretty.”

“Where did they come from exactly?” Yellow asked. 

Chosen bit his lip before grimly replying, “The Dark Web. … They came from the Dark Web.”

Chapter Text

3:15 AM.

“Yo Cho, is there any more pizza left?”

Dark’s voice cut into Chosen’s thoughts. Interrupted from his book, Chosen looked up, eyeing him. “Why do you want pizza? This early in the morning? Go and get some sleep.”

“You and I both know I can’t sleep.” Dark rolled his eyes. “I’m hungry. Lemme have a little snack before the sun comes out.”

Chosen shook his head, exasperated. He’d had enough of Dark’s shenanigans for one day. “Fine. But save some for me.”

He continued to quietly read his book, listening to the sound of Dark’s awful singing has he made his way into the kitchen of their apartment. He heard the sound of the fridge opening, then closing. The microwave beeped.

“Are you heating up a slice for me, Dark?” Chosen asked.

“Shut up. Heat up your own slice.”

Chosen pouted before closing his book and making his way into the kitchen.

However, the explosion stopped him from going any further.

It was all completely unexpected — at first, he thought Dark had thrown a fireball to heat up his pizza faster. But no — the source of this was much, much, much bigger.

Chosen was thrown onto the ground when it happened. A massive figure loomed above him, having dropped from the ceiling and into his living room. He couldn’t identify what it was, but he could definitely tell that it wasn’t where it was supposed to be.

A shrill cry interrupted his thoughts. Head pounding suddenly, Chosen covered his ears, wincing from the horrible sound.

“Chosen! Move!”

Dark had left his post at the microwave to see what was happening. He was trapped on the other side of the room, blocked by the unidentifiable creature who’d invaded them.

Chosen, discombobulated, just crawled under a table and hid there, completely unsure of what was going on. He motioned for Dark to follow, but by the time he’d reached his hiding place, he discovered the creature (whatever it was) had wrapped up the hollowhead, strangling the struggling figure of Dark.

“S-stay back!” Dark cried.

“Dark! No—!”

The table was smashed over Chosen. He shielded himself, wincing when a splinter of wood scraped his skin painfully. Rolling away from the rubble, Chosen stood.

The beast and Dark were gone, completely out of sight. Chosen peered up into the hole in the ceiling, and took off, chasing whatever that thing was outside.

But when he got outside, he was met with complete and utter destruction and chaos.

The people of Stick City were running from the awful creatures to no avail. They were swept away, screaming and fighting, into the outskirts of the city, being taken to who knows where.

And all Chosen could do was watch helplessly.

Chosen shuddered when the memory replayed in his head.

He’d tried to stop the viruses from taking everyone — but he was too late. There was no stopping them. They were weak to his fire, but they were too fast for Chosen to throw a flame at them. He hadn’t been able to save anyone.

Finally gathering his courage, Chosen explained hoarsely to the young stick figures:

“I don’t know why they suddenly got out from the Dark Web, but I do know that they’re extremely dangerous. This should not be taken lightly. If they destroyed an entire city, they could very well destroy you, too.”

Four of them nodded in agreement; Green just stared into space, his eyes wide with fear. Chosen didn’t know what thoughts were brewing in that kid’s head, but they probably weren’t the best ones.

“The first thing we should not do is panic,” Chosen said, trying to keep his own voice calm.

“That rule’s been broken several times,” Orange murmured. His friends agreed.

“Look,” Chosen said with a sigh, “we can’t really do anything unless we formulate a plan of some sort of…plan.”

“We need to rescue Purple!” Green cried. “And everyone else for that matter.”

Chosen rubbed his tired temples. They were prodding him too much. He didn’t know how to deal with teenagers like these guys but he most definitely knew how to make a plan.

“I need you guys to stay calm. And follow me,” Chosen instructed. “My apartment is safer than out here. Those viruses could very well come back for seconds if we don’t get moving.”

Crouching behind some broken rubble, her ribs hurting from running too fast and breathing too hard, she hid.

She didn’t know what else to do.

Hiding seemed like the best and safest option.

Her mind swirled with panic. Just when she thought she was beginning to calm down, her heart started beating faster and faster from the anxiety.

They took him they took him they took him they took him—

She held her head in her hands, trying to breathe, at least breathe. She whimpered, thinking of how much he’d struggled to keep her safe, screaming at her to stay hidden, before being swept up and taken away. She survived, but that didn’t seem like it mattered.

This wasn’t the first time she’d experienced someone precious to her being taken away. But this felt different. Like a piece of her own heart was being taken away, slipping away from her fingers, lost in the shadows. She hugged her knees close to her chest, sobbing bitterly.

You failed… you failed.

The voices in her head were too loud. She couldn’t just ignore them. The sound of her own pathetic sobbing was enough to drown them out, at least.

There were other voices, too. Somewhere in the distance. Not in her head.

And they sounded familiar…
She stood weakly to her feet, her knees quivering, to look over the rubble she was hiding behind. She saw a group of six sticks.

Green was among them!

And Orange and Red and Yellow and Blue! She didn't recognize the person, a black hollowhead, in the front, but she'd recognize her friends anywhere.

They’d gotten her call.

Gathering her strength, she climbed on top of the rubble and shouted their names.

“Green! Orange! Hey! I’m up here!”

They all stopped. They turned their attention to the voice who’d broken into their conversation, their eyes widening.

Green (of course, why wouldn’t it be him) was the first to move, pushing the others aside to rush to Purple. “Purple! Thank Alan you're alive!” he cried.

Without thinking, she leapt down from the rubble, flinging her arms around Green’s neck and sobbing bitterly into his shoulder. She’d never been so relieved and so panicked at the same time. She didn’t know what else to do other than cry her eyes out into Green’s jacket.

The others joined into the hug, surrounding Purple with warmth. Eventually, her sobs died down, and she took a deep, shuddering breath.

“Are you okay?” Green sounded tight and panicked. “Are you hurt?” His eyes darted to a cut on her arm. “How did you call us? We traced your signal to the Dark Web…how did you…? Did you escape?”

“P-pay phone,” she said quietly, wiping her tears. “I used the pay phone.” She let out another sob. “Th-they took King away, I d-don’t know what to do, I—!” She gasped for breath, shoulders shaking.

“Hey, hey, hey. Shh.” Green pulled her in again. “We’re gonna find him, okay? We’re gonna find him.”

Purple could only nod weakly. She felt Red reach for her hand and give it a gentle squeeze.

“Er, guys, I hate to break up this sentimental moment,” the black hollow head cut in. “But we gotta run.”

Purple looked up with confusion. She pushed away from Green, cocking her head at him. “You’re…the guy on the posters. The Chosen One.”

Chosen bit back a snide remark. Orange stepped in. “He’s my brother,” he said.

“Oh? His…you’re…” Purple looked incredibly confused.

“It’s complicated,” both Orange and Chosen murmured.

“Here we are.”

Chosen opened a heavy metal door, motioning for the others to follow him inside. The hall was dark and empty, so Chosen ignited his hand as a makeshift torch while Green pulled out his phone to turn on the flashlight. The small light on top of Yellow’s flickered on, lighting the way.

“Follow me,” Chosen said. “And stay quiet.”

The group trekked forward cautiously. Purple stepped in a puddle of something, making her let out a small yelp. Green caught her from falling with a grunt. Everyone froze. The sound echoed eerily throughout the empty hall. Purple pressed a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening.

“Uh… sorry,” she gasped.

“SSSHHHH!” everyone hissed, listening to the silence so deafening it was painful.

When nothing happened, Chosen’s shoulders relaxed. He motioned for the others to follow him once more, his heavy footsteps echoing through the corridors.

And then it happened.

Skreeeeeee!

The unearthly scream pierced the eerie silence, and Chosen’s head whipped to the right, where a creature was emerging from the shadows in another empty hall.

A stray virus.

“Run.” At first, Chosen’s voice was quiet and low. Then, his paced quickened and he shouted over his shoulder, “RUN!”

They ran.

The creature ran too, bounding after them, but thankfully due to its size, it wasn’t able to run very fast in the low ceiling.

Chosen skidded to a stop at the stairs. C’mon, up here!” he yelled urgently. “I’ll distract it while you guys run! My apartment is 217!”

“Go-go-go, hurry!” Orange cried. He let the others go before him, tripping up the stairs right behind Red.

Chosen lit a fireball, hurtling it at the creature. It exploded in mid air, the beast letting out a scream. Chosen turned on his heel and ran up the stairs, following the others with speed and urgency. He thought about flying, but decided to save his energy for later.

Once he finally made it to the top of the stairs, he discovered that everyone else was anxiously waiting for him.

“Why are you just standing there??!” he shrieked. “FRICKIN’ RUN!”

They ran, tripping down the hall towards room 217. Chosen burst the door open, motioning urgently for the others to follow. Purple lingered behind to make sure the creature wasn't following them.

“Purple! Come on!” Green shouted, grabbing her arm.

They then discovered that the beast could climb stairs. Apparently it was more agile than they'd anticipated. And it was running to its target.

Purple.

“PURPLE! RUN!” Green screamed as the creature bounded nearer and nearer.

They ran as fast as they could towards Chosen’s room, tripping inside the doorway. Purple fell forward on her face, her ankle caught by something. The virus hissed with satisfaction.

The creature had its tail wrapped around her ankle!

“GREEN!” she screamed, falling to her knees. She reached for Green’s outstretched hand, desperately trying to pull out of this horrid trap.

“Purple!” Green shrieked. “C’mon, pull! GUYS, HELP!!”

Yellow took a hold of Green’s waist, and Blue helped Yellow. Chosen lit a fireball again.

The creature stepped closer, one of its wicked claws piercing into Purple’s leg to immobilize its prey, triggering a scream from Purple’s lips. Blood immediately smeared all over her leg, and her hand went limp in Green’s.

Chosen threw the fireball at the creature’s head, causing it to shriek. Its tail unwrapped from Purple’s ankle, allowing Green, Yellow and Blue to pull her to safety. The creature, head on fire, fell back into the wall, and it rolled around, struggling to put the fire out before eventually going still.

“Go! Inside.” Chosen directed them all to step inside his apartment, Purple using Green and Yellow as crutches, her face pale and leg bleeding.

Closing the door, Chosen made his way inside the room. They’d set Purple on his ugly couch, her leg still bleeding immensely.

“Keep pressure on it!” Blue was saying. He was pulling a few things out of his satchel — a bandage and a bottle of what appeared to be a potion of healing. “Purple, I need you to look at me.”

Green obeyed by pressing his hands over the area where Purple’s leg had been impaled, wincing when Purple groaned from the agony. Blood stained his hands, but he didn’t care.

“No, don’t look at it,” Blue ordered. He finally dripped some healing potion into Purple’s mouth, and eventually, she stopped struggling against Green’s hold. Once she was calmed down a bit, Blue moved to bandage the wound. Red helped by taking Purple’s hand and giving it another squeeze.

Orange watched from across the room, feeling sick to his stomach, feeling beads of sweat trickle down his neck. The panic and tension in the room was overwhelming, and the sight of blood didn’t make it any better.

This was a dream. Soon he’d wake up and find himself in his own bed, surrounded by his friends and eating some of Blue’s pancakes. But no — this was very real. The thought alone was nauseating.

He nearly jumped out of shock when he felt Chosen lay a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey. Calm down. It’s just me.” Chosen looked at Orange straight in the eye. “Are you okay?”

“F-fine as I’ll ever be,” Orange stammered. “I didn’t exactly expect … this … to happen tonight.”

Chosen sighed. “I know.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. Though it seemed like hours of agony had passed, it was only 4:15. He tried to form a plan in his head, but his thoughts were muddled, preventing him from thinking straight. Finally, he went into his bedroom to find something they’d probably need.

Across the room, Purple’s breathing had steadied again and she had relaxed on the couch. Red’s hand was still clutched around hers, and Blue was finishing wrapping the wound with bandages from his satchel. He’d dressed the cut on her leg and now she was fine, but Blue didn’t want to risk the cut opening again. Yellow sat beside Blue, tinkering with his staff. Green paced anxiously around the room.

“We need a plan,” he said. “Purple’s dad is probably being held hostage. We need to rescue him.”

“Which is why I have this,” Chosen spoke up, walking in the room with a large piece of paper. Clearing the table, he spread it out and waved his hand at it. “A map to the Dark Web.”

Everyone leaned in to look. The map was intricately designed and illustrated, displaying each crack and crevice of the endless halls and corridors of the Dark Web.

“Where in the World Wide Web did you obtain something like this…?” Yellow breathed. Chosen couldn’t find the strength to reply, so he just shrugged.

Red gulped. “That sounds scary,” he said. “Isn’t it kinda, y’know, dangerous?”

Chosen’s only answer was a single nod.

After gazing at the map for some time, Chosen clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “All right, that’s enough of that. Everyone, get ready,” he said, standing to his feet. “We leave in an hour.”

Chapter Text

Somewhere deep inside the Dark Web

“So. You from around here?”

King opened his drowsy eyes to turn his attention to the stick who was seated beside him. He cocked his head, trying to register the words, then tried to sit up. His back protested, however, and he didn’t succeed.

“Whoa there, guy. You’ve been hurt.”

King blinked at his surroundings. Everything…everyone was blurry. Why does my head hurt so bad? Where am I? What happened…?

He let out a small groan. “What…where are we?” he croaked, facing the stick figure, deep blue in color, who was sitting patiently beside him.

“Dunno. Been stuck here for hours.” The stick shrugged, then held out a hand. “I’m Indigo. You?”

King only glanced at the hand, then back at Indigo. “Call me King,” he said skeptically. His eyes widened suddenly, realizing what was missing, and sat up, ignoring the back pain. “Purple–! Where is–! Purple!!”

Indigo patted King gently on the back. “Wherever this Purple of yours is, I’m sure they are fine,” he said.

“No. You don’t – you wouldn't understand.” King stood shakily to his feet, wincing from the pain in his back, stumbling to the cell door. However, when he touched the bars, a shock greeted him, and he jumped back, yelping. “Yipe–!”

“Oh yeah. I was gonna warn you about that,” Indigo said, nonchalantly.

King stared at his slightly-singed hand and glanced back up at the bars. Okay, so, they were trapped. He felt his pockets. Drat. No phone either. He wasn’t sure if there was service here anyway.

“We’re stuck, aren’t we,” he mumbled.

Indigo nodded. “We sure are,” he said.

Green watched intently as Purple slowly wrapped leather wrist guards around her forearms, taking her time, as if to make sure every inch was perfect. He tapped his fingers against his leg, heaving a sigh and glancing around the room.

Chosen had lent the Gang Dark’s bedroom so they could clean themselves up after their virus debacle. Green didn’t really see the point in all this cleaning up — they’d probably end up getting dirty again anyways, but he didn’t argue.

Purple finished wrapping, then moved to the next wrist. Green had lent her the leather wrist guards — in fact, he’d made them himself, with a dark, brilliant purple scrap of leather he’d found in his chest. Originally, he was planning on giving her these wrist guards for her birthday, but there wasn’t a better time than now.

“Do you like them?” he asked dumbly, breaking the quiet. Purple looked up, her face blank. He pointed at the wrist guards. “The…those,” he murmured incoherently. He found it sort of difficult to stay focused when both of them were so stressed.

“The…?” she glanced down at them. “Oh. Yeah. Thanks, yeah, they’re…” She didn’t finish her sentence; just blinked awkwardly.

“Good,” Green finished with a clear of his throat. He sniffed, then scratched the back of his head. “I, uh, thought you’d need them.”

She finally looked up at him with a tiny, timid smile. “Thank you,” she said quietly.

He nodded. “No problem.”

Things had been awkward, to say the least. Before Purple’s phone call a bit over an hour ago, Green had been thinking… quite a lot about her. He often found himself thinking about her as he fell asleep, or bringing her up in conversations when it wasn’t necessary. And the funny thing was, the mere mention of her name caused a smile on his face.

It wasn’t really funny, actually. It was serious. Green loved Purple; he cared very deeply about her, just like he did with all his other friends. And he took those feelings very seriously. He’d do anything for any one of his dear friends. But Purple…

He couldn’t explain it, but it felt different when he thought —

“You’re staring.” Purple snapped him out of those thoughts entirely. “How do I get it to stop?”

Embarrassed, Green shuffles away. “Sorry,” he murmured. “Just zoned out there for a bit.”

She smirked, but it was gone in a second. “Thank you,” she said, after a moment of silence. “For coming for me.”

“Of course.” Green placed a hand on her shoulder, then unsure of what to do with it then, took it off and cleared his throat. “How’s your leg?”

“Better.” Purple smoothed down the bandage on her thigh. “Kind of tender, but it’ll be fine.”

“Heh…yeah.” He chuckled lightly. Purple was so tough sometimes, it made him laugh. Except, now probably wasn’t the best time to laugh. He felt it would maybe lighten the room a bit. Obviously, Purple wasn’t in the mood for laughing. Or smiling.

The poor thing was shaking in her boots. She’d been terrified, no doubt, when the viruses attacked the city. It must be scary to have your father being taken by an apocalyptic mob, Green figured, as he studied Purple’s face. Her eyes were unfocused, distant, and swirling with panic. She kept a straight face and posture, unwilling to show any implications of fear or anxiety.

Just then, the door opened. Purple gasped, jumping back. Green nearly pulled his katana, it was so sudden.

“Yikes, you two. Chill.” Red gave a scoff. “It’s only me. Did I interrupt something or…?”

He glanced awkwardly between Green and Purple, biting his lip. Green rolled his eyes.

“No, Red. You didn’t,” he sighed. “What is it?”

“Chosen thinks we should leave,” Red replied. “Are you two ready?”

Green thought for a moment, before glancing straight back at Purple. She was staring at Red, her lips parted with a reluctant yet forgotten answer. Her eyes spoke a million words — “No, Red, I’m not ready. No, I’m not ready. This is a suicide mission. This is the Dark Web we’re talking about.”

But she didn’t say anything. She just shut her mouth and studied her fingers. Green didn’t blame her. He couldn’t find the right words to express his feelings to Red either.

Apparently, Red couldn’t wait for an answer. “Well, then,” he said, “Let’s go.”

“Welcome to the Dark Web, folks.” Chosen remained unenthusiastic as he waved his hand toward the entrance — a single tear in the translucent wall of the hemisphere that enclosed the Outernet from the rest of the websites. Inside the tear was darkness and a strange, eerie, pulsing sound that reverberated every few seconds.

Chosen didn’t want to explain how they’d made it here, nor how they’d found this place. Let’s just say it wasn’t very hard, given the fact there was a trail of virus code leading them here.

Purple gulped. “I don’t like this.”

“They brought King in here,” Green said, “I’m sure of it. We’re going to find him, I promise.”

“Remember, they didn’t only take King,” Chosen reminded them. “They took the entire city. I don’t know why, but keep in mind that this could be more than just a kidnapping.”

“More than just a kidnapping?” Red squeaked. He couldn’t keep the tremble out of his voice. Stuff like this didn’t normally scare him, but this? This was terrifying.

He didn’t have time to get an explanation, however, since Chosen was already stepping through, with everyone else reluctantly following.

Inside was just as you would imagine — dark, creepy, and foreboding. Passage after passage led into more passages, into a labyrinth of nothing but confusion and darkness. There were walls lining the passages, higher than the trees in the Outernet they’d left behind, probably taller than the buildings in the city, too. The sky above was completely black — the void of the edge of the Outernet, no doubt. The same eerie pulse rang dully in every stick’s ears, delivering a message that wasn’t quite audible.

“Get out. Get out. Get out. Get out.”

“Watch your six,” Chosen murmured. “There could be anything and everything around these corners.” He ignited his fingertips, and a tiny flame was kindled. “Viruses hate light. Anyone got a flashlight or something?”

Green’s phone flashlight was on in seconds. The light on Yellow’s staff glowed warmly, enough to light the path a few feet in front of them.

Purple was gazing around with bewilderment. “How big…is this place?” she breathed.

“Big enough,” was Chosen’s answer. He was studying his map, gaze intense and focused. “If my theory is correct,” he said, mostly to himself, but loud enough for Orange to hear, “the viruses come from this. The Motherboard.” He tapped the middle of the map. “So, all we have to do is follow this path through the Hedgemaze, navigate our way around the void, try to stay alive, and, uh, rescue everyone.” He looked up and grinned.

They all stared back, wide-eyed.

“Did you hear him?” Blue finally spoke up. His smile was forced. “A Hedgemaze. This should be fun.” His sarcasm was evident. Red poked him in the ribs with his elbow.

Purple groaned.

“You might regret saying that,” Chosen murmured, then started to walk. “Everyone, follow me. Get ready to fight.”

“What did he mean by that??” Blue hissed to Green, his hands moving to load his bow.

“I don’t know!” Green held up his hands. “Do the bow archery thing or whatever.”

“What will you be doing?”

Green sucked in a deep breath. “I’m gonna be watching my six,” he muttered.

Somewhere even deeper inside the Dark Web

He opened his eyes. His head pounded painfully, aching with a fierce, gnawing migraine. He blinked. He coughed. He groaned. His arms were numb. He couldn’t breathe.

Dark’s sleepy gaze drifted to his hand. His wrist was in a cuff, linked to a chain, linked to a metal pole and wires. He glanced at his other hand. The same. Both his arms were completely numb.

It took him a moment to realize, but he was literally hanging from chains.

Drowsily, he tugged.

And tugged again.

And again.

The chains just clinked together like a set of house keys, and Dark couldn’t get free. It was infuriating.

“...Gah,” he managed, after a few useless attempts to break the chains. He couldn’t quite form words; his brain was still waking up.

Why was everything so blurry?

He tugged again, harder this time. Still, nothing happened. Limply, Dark stopped to catch his breath.

“Fighting will never get you anywhere.”

The voice came out of nowhere, and it startled Dark even more than the chains did. He looked up to see a figure, a few places away, squinting to try to make out who it was. His vision was so blurred he couldn’t have been able to tell, so he just gave up.

“I know who you are.”

Oh great, here came the death threats. Dark just let his head drop, not wanting to cause any arguments with whoever this person was. He was normally very stupidly stubborn, but right now, he just wanted to sleep.

Sleeping apparently wasn’t on the agenda today.

As soon as he thought it, the wires attached to his arms began to crackle. Before he could think, electricity was surging through his veins, making his entire body jolt uncontrollably. He gasped before letting out a strangled cry, arching his back from the pain.

The surging stopped after a moment, but the burning pain still lingered. Dark struggled once again to breathe, feeling strangely weak.

“Does it hurt?”

Dark shook his head involuntarily. Of course it hurt. He definitely wasn’t writhing uncontrollably with searing agony.

The man gave a vicious sneer. “Pain hurts, doesn’t it?”

A rhetorical question. Dark wanted to vomit.

Casually, the man pressed a few buttons, and gripped a lever. He glanced at Dark before chuckling dryly. “Let’s see how much you can stand, shall we?”

Dark yelled. “No—!”

The lever was switched. And suddenly, pain was all he could feel.

Chapter Text

“A Hedgemaze. This could be fun.”

Blue so regretted saying that.

They’d been walking for what seemed like hours and hours and hours, like the dreams one has of walking, but they’re never really getting anywhere. That’s just how Blue felt. These passages were endless, and it wasn’t likely that they’d reach what Chosen called “the Motherboard” anytime soon.

This wasn’t fun at all. This was the complete opposite of his idea of fun. His idea of fun was cooking in his nice, comfortable kitchen, or playing Minecraft or sparring with the boys. His idea of fun was definitely not this. He wasn’t at all planning on wandering around the most dangerous and forbidden part of the Internet, following a guy he barely even knew and working alongside his very best friends.

Blue was glad they were with him, to say the least. If they weren’t, he’d be terrified. (He already was terrified, so what difference did that make?)

But Chosen? He didn’t know. He trusted him and all, but he doubted Chosen’s physical abilities to lead them through the Dark Web. For one thing, he looked exhausted. His hair was messy, and his eyes were shot. He looked as if he hadn’t showered in days, now that Blue studied him.

Chosen didn’t look so focused anymore. His eyes were darting between the map and the path in front of him, all while making sure everyone was safe and the area was virus-free. All while doing so, he appeared as if he would fall over and go unconscious, he looked so tired. Blue peered at him. He should probably give him a potion, just to renew his strength. That’d help, at least.

Blue was just about to offer a potion when Chosen spoke up.

“Slight problem,” he said hesitantly. He clenched the map with anxious fists, biting his lip.

“Oh, no,” Orange groaned, shoulders falling slack. “What is it this time?”

Chosen coughed out what sounded like a forced chuckle. “Uh, it appears we have, uhm, taken the, uh…wrong path.”

At this, everyone groaned. Chosen winced.

“It can’t be that hard!” Red exclaimed. “Remember? Just follow the Hedgemaze till you reach the end! It’s that simple, right?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Yellow stepped in. “It isn’t quite as simple as you might think, Red. Navigating through a maze is strategic, not easy.”

“Okay, nerd,” Red retorted. “So, how do we get, like, un-lost or something?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” Chosen folded the map and put it in his pocket. “Splitting up.”

The Gang erupted almost immediately.

“Absolutely not,” Orange snapped. “We aren’t gonna do that.”

“We’d cover more ground, at least,” Green countered. “And, maybe, this whole thing ends in the same place! You never know, after all.”

“Yeah, exactly, you never know.” Blue shoved Green lightly. “The best way to solve this is to stay together.”

“Green’s right,” Yellow argued. “Hypothetically, we’d cover more ground if we split up.”

“It’s too dangerous.” Orange was firm. “I’m not doing it.”

They started talking over each other, in loud, clamoring noises. Chosen stepped in a few times, telling everyone to settle down so they could solve this rationally. They didn’t settle down; they just got louder. Silently, Purple watched, unsure of what to say.

She hated arguments. She hated this. Seeing the boys fight like this wasn’t like them at all. Not in the slightest. Was it because they were tired? Or was it… something else?

Had they been in here too long already? Was the Dark Web corrupting their minds and making them turn against each other, just like the rumors said?

No, she was definitely overthinking.

Hopefully. 

Finally, when their shouting grew too loud, Purple stepped in. “Stop!” she cried.

Pathetic, really. Her little “stop” went in one ear and straight out the other. So, she tried it louder. “Stop, stop!!!”

That worked. This time, the arguments and scrambled words faded to silence. All eyes turned to Purple.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” she admitted. “I’m just as scared as you all are. But the last thing we need is arguments. We can’t be mad at each other now. We have to work as a team.”

No one replied; they just looked guilty. Purple sighed before continuing.

“And I think the best way to work as a team is to listen to our leader.” She gestured at Chosen. “And if the leader says to separate… we should separate.”

The Gang started to fuss. Purple waved her hands, telling them to stop.

“I don’t know if I trust Chosen either,” she confessed, starting to get desperate. She didn’t know how much longer she could hold on to their attention. “But I do know that he knows what he’s talking about. So please. Work together. That’s all I’m asking.”

Purple scanned them all, standing in a huddle. Red, Orange, Blue, Yellow, Green, and Chosen. They traded glances of uncertainty, doubt, and fear, but also consideration and agreement. Orange let out a sigh after a few moments.

“Okay, Chosen,” he said. “What’s your plan?”

Chosen nodded, then straightened. “Everyone should be with someone,” he instructed. “We’ll split up, down these paths here, and look for the Motherboard in separate groups.”

Green was the first to move. “I’ll go with Purple,” he said quickly. He stopped when everyone turned to stare, questions in their eyes. “I mean, uh,” he stammered, “I can go with Purple, if no one minds.” He grinned at Purple.

Purple rolled her eyes. She appreciated Green’s confidence very much, but he could be so incredibly stupid sometimes.

Chosen raised his eyebrows. “Alright then, if that’s what you decide,” he said. “Everyone, hurry up. We need to get going.”

An exchange of decisions was held then, the Gang turning into their little huddle to decide who went with who. Green and Purple were already taken care of, but the rest were harder, because everyone loved everyone and didn’t want to leave anyone behind. But after a moment, it was decided that Blue was with Yellow, and Orange with Red.

“What about you?” Red asked Chosen.

Chosen searched for an answer. “I think it’d be better if I went alone,” he said. “Four ways is better than three. The more ground is covered, the more questions are answered.”

Green nodded. “I see,” he said. “Will you be alright on your own?”

“Don’t worry about me.”

Green studied Chosen’s face — grim, vacant, and focused — before turning back to his buddies.

“...No one leaves their partners behind,” Orange was saying. “You hear?” He sucked in a deep breath. “If they fight, you fight.”

They all nodded solemnly in agreement. Blue reached up and squeezed Orange’s wrist, which was resting on his shoulder.

“Come here,” Orange murmured. A group hug commenced, and he squeezed everyone tight. They squeezed him back even tighter. “I love all you,” he whispered. “Come back in one piece, okay?” He chuckled. That wasn’t the best joke to give at the moment, but everyone gave a snicker anyway.

“We love you too, man.” Yellow patted Orange’s shoulder. “And we’ll try.” Orange nodded.

Blue and Yellow turned to their designated passages without another word. If they stayed any longer, it’d be impossible to leave…

Just as Green was about to escape, Red stopped him.

“Take care of her,” Red murmured, gesturing to Purple. “Please. Keep her safe.”

Green knew Red cared about Purple just as much as he did. He grinned. “I won’t let anything happen to her,” he said. “I promise.” He patted Red’s shoulder, giving him one more lingering look, before escaping down the passage with Purple. Neither of them looked back once.

“Guess that’s that, then.” Orange chuckled lightly to himself. He spun around. “Chosen, are you sure this is…?”

No use. Chosen had vanished, probably down the path he’d designated to himself.

“...Oh,” Orange whispered. “Guess he’s gone.” He turned to Red. “We should get a move on,” he said.

Red gulped. There were no fireballs to protect him now. Fireballs or not, there were people that needed saving, and he’d be one of the people to save them.

He straightened, and placed a hand around the hilt of his sword. “Let’s go,” he said.

King stared at the wall in front of him, having no motivation to move at all. His back hurt, his legs hurt, everything hurt.

He didn’t know how or why he was hurting so much. He hadn’t been doing anything before to make himself feel sore or stiff. He’d been watching a movie with Purple after dinner just a few hours ago, in fact, relaxing. Relaxing shouldn’t make one sore, should it?

Then, he figured, the virus must have had something to do with it. Perhaps he’d been hurt by one and didn’t even notice it in the panic. He hoped that wasn’t likely. People lived in fear of getting infected by a virus. He didn’t want to be one of those people.

Or maybe he was just getting old.

Whatever the case, King prayed to whoever would listen that Purple was safe. As far as he knew, she had managed to stay hidden from the viruses and was on her way to ALANSPC, where the Color Gang lived, where she could get help and food and rest.

It was an unwritten rule in their house that if something happened, like an apocalyptic virus attack, Purple and King would immediately travel to Alan’s computer for safety.

He certainly hoped Purple remembered that rule.

Movement across the cell from him caught his attention, and he snapped back into the present. His cell mate, Indigo, was just waking up from his little snooze. (King couldn’t comprehend how Indigo could even close his eyes in a time like this.)

“How long did I sleep?” Indigo yawned and stretched.

King thought for a moment. Of course, he wasn’t timing him, and for some odd reason, his watch wasn’t working. “Twenty minutes or so,” was his final estimate.

Indigo hummed in response. “Yeah, I wasn’t really asleep,” he said. “It’s this place. It makes you feel physically exhausted, but just when you try to sleep, your mind goes elsewhere.” He shuddered, as if uncomfortable. “It’s like it’s manipulating your brain.”

“Yeah, well,” King said with a chuckle, “That’s the Dark Web for you.”

King remembered reading an article about this place a while back. It was all true, though he didn’t want to believe it.

“Never any rest, never any slumber. Just uncomfortable silence, like something’s watching your every move, like someone’s tracing your steps. If you turn around for one second, you could be dead the next.”

He chewed his dry lips. Just that thought made him feel even more uncomfortable.

“So, you’ve got a kid?” Indigo asked. His question was something King was grateful for, as it was a way to take his mind off of the more negative thoughts.

King nodded. “Yeah, Purple.” He wasn’t about to mention he was technically just her guardian, though she called him “Dad” and hung out with him and asked him for advice like he was her actual father. No, he loved that kid, so technically, yes, she was his child.

“I’ve got little Byzantium,” Indigo was saying. “I had a picture, but I dropped it somewhere.” He chuckled, as if embarrassed. “How old is your Purple?”

King searched for an answer, and suddenly discovered he forgot Purple’s age. He blanked out, going silent for a moment. “Er, fifteen,” he stammered. That sounded about right.

“Did you forget how old your own kid is or something?” Indigo looked amused; King just looked embarrassed.

“No,” he said. “They just, eh, grow up so fast, don’t they?” He smiled sheepishly. He’d have to confirm Purple’s age with her when he saw her again.

If he saw her again.

“Is it just Purple or do you have another kid?” Indigo asked.

This time, King didn’t reply. He just felt the sudden pang of grief gnawing at his chest. Indigo was completely innocent and oblivious to King’s background, but he didn’t feel the heart to answer.

Yes, he had another child.

Had.

He missed Gold every day. He missed his little boy. Every day, the ache grew stronger and more painful. He never fully got rid of the grief of losing his son, didn’t he? There wasn’t a moment that passed when he didn’t miss Gold.

He inhaled a shaky breath before finally turning to Indigo. “Yes,” he said quietly. “A son.” He had to prepare himself for the next part of his answer. “He was killed in an accident a few years back.”

King didn’t want to mention that it was his fault that Gold died. He wasn’t ready to face the guilt — he’d allowed Gold to go in that Minecraft simulator. And because of that, he lost him.

“Oh. Oh, I’m sorry,” Indigo said. “That must’ve been hard.”

King laughed only to hide his tears. “Heh, yeah,” he said. “I… I, uh…”

I, what? He didn’t know what. Suddenly, he couldn’t take his mind off of Gold. He missed him. So, so much.

“If you don’t want to talk about this, you don’t have to,” the other man prodded gently. King gave a shaky nod.

“Yeah.”

The two sat in awkward silence for a few moments before King shuffled to get more comfortable, suppressing a groan, concealing all the signs that he was in terrible pain. He liked Indigo’s good nature, but he wasn’t particularly in the mood for it.

“I think I’m going to get some rest,” he murmured. “Wake me up if something happens.”

“Alright then,” Indigo responded. “Also, I’m terribly sorry…”

“It’s fine.”

It wasn’t fine, King thought as he shut his eyes. It wasn’t fine at all. Losing Gold was hard enough.

He couldn’t lose Purple too.