Chapter 1: The Introduction to a Broken Life
Chapter Text
Rage. Anger. Hate. Revenge.
Those were all the things flooding through Willow's mind in that moment. She didn't mess up her life, it was their fault! Everybody who ever wronged her is clearly in her debt. Or are they? No, they definitely had to be.
...
Right?
Willow had everything she could have asked for. Loving parents, an adorable little brother, and a roof over her head. They had barely any possessions, but that was alright. They had eachother, and that was all she could have asked for. They were always there for her.
At least, that is how things were before her parents were taken away from her.
She can hardly remember how that day was, because she chose to forget it. Thinking about the day her parents were arrested just felt... off. She always told herself that sadness meant weakness, and worrying about things that can't be changed is pointless. So in return, her and her little brother, William, chose not to speak of it if they could. At least, that's what Willow wanted. William barely remembered that day because he was only a few years old. Any time he tried to bring it up, Willow would hastily change the subject. She didn't like thinking about how terrible she felt, and how her life was practically ripped away from her. She could have been happy. She could have lived like all the other children she saw roaming around every day. However, whenever she thought about it, she turned her mind off and focused on something else. She didn't want to remember anymore. Things were different now. A kind shopkeeper named Daisy would take care of them whenever she had time off, and it always made her and William extremely happy. She would bring treats with her, which always put them both in a better mood. Willow refused to admit it, but she liked the extra company. William was young and wild, and Willow couldn't stand it sometimes.
Things had never been better since her parents left.
Every night was filled with laughter, and Daisy's happy-go-lucky personality was a nice change from the previously dull atmosphere. Willow felt happy... For the first time in ages. She loved seeing her little brother smile, and it just made her forget that something bad ever happened. Because it didn't. Things had changed, and they would stay that way.
It had been two years since her parents were arrested, and she was glad to finally have the weight of looking after William alone off her shoulders. They were a family now, and nothing could change the fact that they were living a happy life. Some days, Daisy would let them watch TV in her shop. And on the luckiest day of all, she gave William a scarf for his birthday. Seeing his face light up like that just made Willow ecstatic. Sure it was a hand-me-down from Daisy's older brother, but it meant so much to him. When William was happy, Willow was happy. And when they were both happy, Daisy was happy. Things were perfect. They couldn't get any better from here.
But when things can't get better, they can only get worse.
As soon as Daisy walked into their bedroom that morning, Willow could sense that something was off. Her smile had faded, and she was clutching a piece of paper in her hoof. William had noticed something was wrong by Willow's expression, and he immediately asked what was wrong.
"I have to tell you both something," Daisy said, letting out a sigh. Both of them knew that the news wasn't going to be good.
"I signed up for the military awhile ago, and I finally got accepted in. This is a massive opportunity for me, and well, I can't pass it up. Seeing as you are old enough to take care of your brother now, Willow, I was hoping you could finally step up to take care of him."
No. No. No. NO! Everything she had built up was gone. This had to be some kind of sick joke, right? Daisy wasn't just going to leave them. Willow had just turned 13! She wasn't old enough to take care of her 7 year-old brother.
Willow's face went pale.
"I... I can't..." she began, but was interrupted by Daisy.
"Willow. You can be strong for me, right? I know this is a lot to take in at once. But with this military position, I could save hundreds of lives. And you know the other reason why I want this so badly, right?"
She knew why.
When Daisy was little, her older brother Derrik was drafted for the military. He lost his life in the war, but Daisy always told Willow and William the stories that he would send her by mail of what had happened each day at camp. Willow had heard these stories many times, but she never really thought about how this had affected Daisy. William would never undstand why she had to leave, but she would. Willow knew what it was like to lose somebody, and she understood why Daisy wanted to do something about it.
She wished she wasn't too cowardly enough to even think about her parents.
Willow nodded her head, tear-filled eyes falling shut. She gave Daisy a gigantic hug. When she released, they both heard a sniffling behind them.
"But Miss Daisy, I won't want you to go! Y-you're my mommy!"
Daisy's eyes began to water. Willow knew exactly how she felt. How would she ever explain this to William? He was far too young to understand. He didn't deserve to live such a lonesome life at this age. Nobody deserved that.
"William, honey, mommy needs to go away for awhile. She might not come back... But if she does, she will give you the biggest hug ever for being brave. Alright?"
William sniffled again, and his tears fell on the scarf she had given him. He always refused to take it off, but now he unraveled it and handed it back to her.
"T-take it mommy, you need it more than I do." William replied.
Daisy smiled at him.
"You have it. It's something to remember me by while I'm... Away."
Willow knew Daisy might not come back. And she knew that Daisy knew that as well. It would all be worth it in the end, though. Even if she never got to see Daisy again, she knew that she would be happy doing what she always wanted to do.
"I'll leave in the morning, alright? You can say goodbye to mommy then," Daisy said, wiping away her newly formed tears.
William nodded, and ran up to her and hugged her again. Willow sat on her sleeping bag, unmoving. She had so many emotions coursing through her, and she didn't know which one she should be focusing on right now. Should she be happy that Daisy is going to avenge her brother? Or should she feel angry at her for leaving them? Willow tried to block out any emotions right now. She wanted to feel nothing, but she knew that was impossible. She repeated the mantra in her head.
Sadness means weakness, and worrying about things that can't be changed is pointless.
Is sadness really weakness though? That would be something that she would forever wonder.
She didn't get any sleep that night.
The next morning was tough. Willow hated waking her little brother up, knowing that she would have to take him over to Daisy to say goodbye. When William sat up out of his sleeping bag, the glisten in his eyes showed that he was hoping it was all a dream. Even Willow wished it was.
With a massive sigh, she walked over to the door. Daisy already had her suitcases laying next to her, and teardrops were falling down her cheek.
"Willow and William," she began with a heavy sigh. "Promise me you will stay safe, and always remember to be strong. I believe in both of you. You said you had a relative who could come take care of you while I'm away, right?"
Willow immediately regretted that lie. All of their family members were either missing or declared dead. But she refused to have Daisy send them into foster care, because she hated even thinking of the risk of being separated from her little brother. All she could manage was a nod.
"Well, no matter what happens, just remember that I love you both. You are the strongest little kids I've ever met, and don't you ever forget that," Daisy said, wiping away her remaining tears.
Willow knew that Daisy was struggling just as much as the both of them. She could read through her smile, though. Daisy was scared and worried that things would go wrong. Willow glanced over at William, who shot himself forward at Daisy.
"Mommy," William began. His words were almost inaudible due to his constant sobbing. "Promise me you'll come back, okay?"
The smile Daisy has struggled to keep up had faded from her face. She looked at him, and kneeled down so she was at his level.
"Honey, I... I can't promise that. But if I do come back, I will come right back here. Understood?"
William sniffled, but managed a slight nod. He was practically on the floor sobbing, and Willow was fighting back tears. She had no idea why, but she didn't want to show weakness. And then she remembered.
Sadness means weakness, and worrying about things that can't be changed is pointless.
Why is it so hard not to cry?
She bit her lip to stop the tears from falling.
Daisy opened the front door, and gave them both a weak smile.
"I love you both," she said. Those were the last words they heard from her that day.
As soon as the door slammed shut, William burst into tears again. He lay on the ground and curled himself up into a ball. Willow could barely imagine how he was feeling right now. He didn't understand it like she did.
She bent down and gave him a huge hug.
"It'll be alright, William. I promise."
"No!" he cried. "It won't be! I-I don't think mommy is coming back!"
She saw William's gaze suddenly shift to a piece of paper that was left on the ground, and he immediately snatched it. The paper read:
ORDER TO REPORT FOR MANDATORY MILITARY SERVICE
Congratulations! You have been accepted into the military service for your country. Once you have packed up your things, you should head up North to the base located there. You will need to catch a boat near the Doveport Docks in order to make your way to our base.
Thank you for your future service.
-Your future general, Pin.
William set it down almost immediately after he had read it. The gears in his head looked like they were turning, but she didn't understand what he could be thinking about. All of a sudden, he wiped away the tears on his face with his sleeve, and ran into the other room.
"William, wait!" Willow shouted, running after him.
When she saw him curled up in his sleeping bag, she knew she mustn't bother him.
Daisy's departure must be a bigger deal for him than me because he's so young, she thought.
Willow had already given in to the fact that she probably wouldn't be seeing Daisy again. She seemed to... Understand things better than other people. Willow always could read emotions just by peoples' expressions. It was one of her many talents. However, she decided that she would talk to her brother in the morning. William clearly wanted to be left alone.
Hours had passed since Daisy left, and the pit in Willow's stomach seemed to grow. Why was she still thinking about it? Shouldn't she have tried to forget about the situation by now? Then she repeated the phrase in her head again, and looked over at her little brother. She needs to teach him to be tougher. But does she have the guts to even try?
After wandering around the Alleys for awhile in search of something to keep her mind off things, she noticed a pie shop that had just opened that day. Little children were running out of the exit door, holding some freshly baked pies. There were giggling, and ran over to their mothers.
Glad somebody else is having fun while we're out here suffering, Willow thought sarcastically.
She tried to say it to herself as a joke, but it wasn't funny. The truth never is. She noticed a pie still on the windowsill, and immediately had an idea. She should get it for William in the morning to cheer him up! Willow was proud of herself for coming up with the idea. After feeling a great wave of self respect at her genius, she headed back into their "house". William seemed to have barely moved since she left. The sight troubled her.
As she progressed further towards her sleeping bag, she noticed William stuffing some kind of paper in a little sack.
"What are you doing," Willow asked. The sight raised quite the suspicion.
As soon as the paper had appearered, it had quickly vanished back into the sack. William stuffed something else in there, and tied it shut.
"N-nothing, big sis."
She raised an eyebrow at him, but ended up shrugging her shoulders and tucked herself into bed. Whatever he was doing didn't really matter to her.
The next morning, Willow wished that she would have taken another minute to think about what he was trying to do. The memory would taunt her forever. She would feel the one singular emotion she rarely ever felt: Guilt. She could have done something to prevent her forever loneliness, and her brother's disappearance.
After a relaxing and sleep-filled night, Willow had woken up feeling hopeful. Could Daisy's departure just have been a dream? Was all her worrying for nothing, and she would open her eyes and see Daisy standing above her, with William by her side?
As soon as she opened her hopeful eyes, she wished they had stayed shut.
Of course it wasn't a dream. Daisy was gone, and that pit in her stomach grew oncemore. After sighing, she looking over at the sleeping bag next to her. William appeared to be sleeping. Then she remembered.
The pie! How could I be so stupid!
After grabbing Daisy's old pink jacket and hastily putting it on, she rushed out the door. She was definitely going to get that pie for her brother! After using the little amount of money Daisy had left them, she purchased the pie. Oh, how marvelous it looked! It's cherry-filled center was oozing from the sides, and it radiated such a warm feeling. Thanking the shop owner, she grabbed the cherry pie and held it carefully in her arms. It had been an hour since she left, so William would definitely be awake by now. Humming a happy tune to herself, and opened the door. What she saw made her freeze in her tracks.
A silky black scarf lay alone in the middle of the room, as well as an empty sleeping bag.
William was gone, and it was all her fault.
She... She could have done something to stop him. If only she had just paid more attention to how he was feeling, she would have noticed something was wrong from the beginning. There was no note, but the scarf in itself explained everything.
William had gone looking for Daisy.
Willow knew it, but she tried to come up with lies in her head that said otherwise.
No, he's just... Shopping. Yeah. Shopping. And... And he'll be back by lunch, and I'll be able to surprise him with the pie I bought.
Every lie she told herself made her feel worse. He was gone; probably forever. And there was no way to get him back. Slowly and delicately, she placed the pie on the floor next to her. Kneeling down, she picked up William's scarf. Then she did the one thing she told herself she would never do again.
She cried.
Well, cried would be an understatement. She got on the floor and sobbed her heart out, clutching onto William's scarf with every last ounce of strength she had.
HE'S GONE. HE'S GONE. HE'S GONE. HE'S GONE. HE'S GONE.
That was the only thing she told herself. She repeated it over and over again, and eventually started screaming it out loud.
Willow didn't care if she sounded crazy. She didn't care if people heard her. All she cared about was him. Her little brother... The only living relative she had was gone. And even worse, it was her fault. She could have stopped it if she had been paying attention. Her thoughts went from William to herself very quickly. She called herself names, and started screaming at herself. To an outsider, she would appear to have lost her mind.
But deep down, she felt like she had.
Her parents were gone, her little brother was gone, Daisy was gone, and she had nothing.
Nothing, except for the scarf William had left her.
Little did Willow know that she would feel sad a lot in her future. To say the least, her future was a grim one. Willow was going to face a lot of hardships that she was completely oblivious to in this moment.
But all she cared about right now was her brother, and how she had already failed him.
She had failed everybody.
Chapter 2: Stop Following Your Demented Moral Compass
Summary:
Willow has to steal what she needs to survive, but that is making her the Lucella Police Department's biggest target.
However, things begin to look up once she meets Rash the raccoon. He seems to have some things in common with her, and they soon bond over their similarities.
Will Willow finally be able to forget about all that has happened to her, or will she be led down a horrendous path without even realizing it?
Notes:
Welcome to another chapter filled with angst and... BONDING?! Woah, I didn't sign up for some friendship!
I know, I know. Things won't stay like this for long. Remember, this is Willow we're talking about. Things are going to get dark very quickly.Keep in mind that this story from is from a villain's perspective. Everything she tells herself is wrong! It is never acceptable to do the things Willow will end up doing in this chapter, or any other chapter in this fic.
I am not claiming that this story is a theory; it is entirely fanfiction that is loosely based on the true events in Piggy.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Willow's heart was pounding in her chest.
Her hand trembled as she held up the gun. She heard faint crying, but her mind tried to block out anything that would distract herself from what she had to do. Willow kept telling herself that this must be done.
Stop this, Willow! Please... I have a daughter. If you do this, you're no better than him. You know that he did nothing wrong, but you're too scared to admit it. I know that you want revenge, but please just listen-" Tears were falling down her face.
Willow hesitated, but pulled the trigger.
Everything went black, and the deafening bang of the gunshot still rang through her ears. She could have sworn that she felt a stab of guilt, but only for a moment.
It had been two weeks since William left, and things were only getting worse. After coming to the quick realization that she had no money, Willow came to the conclusion that she had to steal to get what she needed to survive.
It's not wrong if I'm doing it to survive. Right?
She asked herself that question often. So much so to the point where she accepted it as fact. A twisted fact, but still a true one according to her.
Willow had to move from place to place in order not to get caught. She had already noticed her face appearing in some local newspapers, and realized that she had to skip town even further to avoid anybody reporting her to the police.
Bigger rewards were being offered for her arrest. Sure, she had stolen some food... And maybe a few other things that she didn't need here and there, but she felt like she didn't deserve this kind of treatment. As elusive as she was, nobody had caught her yet. That had to be something, right?
When she walked out of Lucella for the last time, she couldn't help but hesitate.
But what if William came back looking for me? W-what if... What if he couldn't find Daisy, and wanted to return home?
That's a stupid idea. He hates me, that has to be the real reason why he left. He couldn't bare to live with me alone now that he thinks that I dislike Daisy. It's not my fault that she had to leave. It's just... I couldn't stop her from doing it. I could see the real reason why she wanted to go. William can't; he's far too young. I didn't even really think how tough this is for him-
Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. Willow could have sworn that she heard somebody nearby...
"Argh!"
A raccoon, looking no older than her, jumped out of the bushes and pinned her to the ground.
"State your name, and why you are invading my forest you rotten little... Uhm... Wolf!"
I couldn't be less intimidating... he thought to himself.
Willow growled, and dug her claws into his skin. Without a word, she flipped him over onto his back and kicked him to the ground.
Nobody calls me 'little'. Who even is this guy?
"Ouch, I wasn't expecting you to have an attitude! And who said you could fight dirty? Release me, peasent girl!"
With a snarl, she sunk her claws out of his fur. He immediately put a paw to his bloody wound, but hid his pain as soon as she noticed this.
"The name's Rash," he began, trying to break the silence between them. Willow only stared at him back, with a determined expression. She wouldn't let him catch her off guard ever again.
"Mine's Willow. Now get out of my way or I'm going to do that all again," she replied, showing off her glistening fangs. Her claws were caked in blood, and she tried her best to wipe it off.
Rash only rolled his eyes back at her.
Willow finally got a good look at him. He was missing two teeth on the top of his gumline, and his fur was coated in dirt. He had massive bags under his eyes. It sort of reminded her of those days where she had bags under her eyes after she had to take care of William during the night while Daisy was working late hours. The thought made her momentarily smile, but she immediately tried to get rid of that momentary happiness. Though he appeared to have not slept in days, he still seemed to show an adventerous spirit just by his expression. He looked at most 14 years old, but that was just Willow's guess.
"So, why are you out here this late?" he began, trying to start up another conversation.
"That's none of your business. Now, like I said before, get out of my way. Or else I'll make you."
Rash laughed.
"I'll assume you're a 'bite now, question later' kind of wolf? I've met a couple like that out here. Aren't you interested as to why I'm out here alone? Y'know, it gets boring with nobody to talk to."
Willow could not believe this behavior. She had just tried to kill him, and now he was attempting to start up a conversation. This guy- Rash, if she remembered correctly, was definitely not used to meeting criminals out here. He probably only met the ocassional lost traveler. He didn't know what she was. Or maybe... Maybe he did know. He could just be trying to stall for time while the police came. They weren't too far from the edge of town, right? Whatever. She was not going to risk anything happening, so she decided to distract him while she made a run for it.
"Go ahead. Tell me."
Rash's face lit up as soon as she complied. Willow felt... Weird about using him like this. He clearly didn't get much contact with anybody else.
Hold up... Am I beginning to feel bad for this random guy I just met? He doesn't know me, and I don't know him. Why should I bother even caring about how he feels? He's just slowing me down. The police could be on my tail any minute now if he truly did notify them about finding me.
But for some odd reason, she didn't try to escape. She let him tell his story.
Willow would never end up realizing why she felt bad for him. It would forever be something she would question herself about.
"Doggy, I swear, if you and that detective don't figure out where this criminal is hiding, I'm going to have both of you fired! Hear that? Fired! F-I-R-E-D!"
Doggy sat back in his armchair, and rubbed his head to try and get rid of his headache.
The police chief was asking too much of him. Nobody had caught this newfound elusive criminal, so why would he expect him to know her location? The only thing he knew now was that she was on the run. They had managed to ask around and found her 'house', but it was completely empty. No clues, no witnesses, nothing. Even a detective as good as [PLAYER] couldn't find her! This was hopeless.
Plus, all she had done was robbed a few bakeries. Nothing too bad. Why was everybody so nervous? It's not like anybody had died or anything!
...
Yet.
For the first time in ages, Willow found herself enjoying another person's company. Rash's story about how he allegedly fought off 30 cops at once to secure his ownership of the forest was hilarious, despite him genuinely trying to get her to believe it.
"I swear on my life! It did happen!"
Willow let out a somewhat girlish giggle.
"Yeah right, Rash! If that's true, then pigs can fly!"
They both erupted into pure laughter. After sharing a few more not-so personal stories, the darkness surrounding them truly established its presence.
"Welp, it's been nice talking to you, Willow. Would you like to stay over for the night? I have an extra sleeping bag just in case my da-.... I mean a traveler or something wants to stay."
Willow considered this for a moment. However, that feeling in her head told her that she needed to keep on moving. Even though she had just taken a couple hour break, she still needed to continue on.
"No thanks, but thank you for the offer. I have to get going, though."
Rash's smile faded, but he ended up nodding his head.
"But, where will you go? It's definitely too dark to go out alone. You could use a guide!"
Once again, he was presenting Willow with more tempting offers.
His company wouldn't be bad. Plus, I could make him my sort of 'partner in crime'. If he's willing to be, of course.
"I... I guess so. I wouldn't mind having you as my guide," Willow said. Rash beamed back at her.
"Alrighty then! To Lucella, I suppose?"
She shook her head.
"Acutally, I uh... I need to go somewhere else. Anywhere but there."
Rash tilted his head in confusion. He wasn't one too ask too many questions, but this genuinely peaked his interest. The mystery girl he just met today was already keeping more secrets from him?
"Uhm, alright then. We could head back up north a bit, if you'd like."
At the word north, Willow stumbled backwards. Her heart felt like it had stopped. Sudden flashes of William probably freezing to death in the icy tundra began to fill her head, as tears streamed down her face.
Obviously caught off guard, Rash rushed over to her and put his paw on top of hers.
I guess this girl has got some trigger words. Alright then. I hope she tells me them in due time.
"Hey, hey. It'll be alright. We can go somewhere else. I won't ask any questions, I promise."
After realizing what she had done, Willow immediately wiped the tears off her face with William's scarf. That had become a habit for her at this point.
Sniffling, she sat back up.
Sadness means weakness, and worrying about things that can't be changed is pointless.
She was angry at herself for crying in front of him, and continued to repeat that in her mind until she felt numb. Rash just stared at her, dumbfounded. After a couple minutes of pure silence, he lightly patted her on the back.
"Hey now, it'll be alright. Nothing to worry about."
He helped pull her up, and they both sat down on a nearby log.
"I can get out my extra sleeping bag, if you'd like."
Willow shook her head, and pulled out William's old sleeping bag from her gigantic backpack.
"I have one already."
"O-Oh, alright then. Shall we uh... Go to sleep?" Rash said, clearly at a loss for comforting words.
She nodded her head and laid down. Rash ended up doing the same once he stopped staring off into the distance for a few minutes.
All night, Willow couldn't sleep. All she thought about was how she made a fool of herself in front of Rash. And she was never going to do that again.
Never show weakness.
Weakness was a bad thing.
...
Right?
The sun began to rise in due time, however, Willow was already awake at sunrise. In fact, she hadn't slept the entire night. She had just kept telling herself how stupid she was for her slip-up.
A short while later, Rash noticed that she was awake, and began to pack up his stuff.
"Before we leave, I'll need a minute. This is, well, the only home I've ever known."
Rash began to look down at his feet. Then a sudden thought went through Willow's brain: Was Rash hoping that a relative would come back for him, too? Willow almost instantly regretted even trying to take him with her. He definitely lived here for a reason.
"You can stay here if you'd like. I don't really need a guide or anything."
Rash shook his head.
"No, no. I need a change of pace for my life anyways. A new set of scenery, y'know?"
After grabbing the bare minimum that they both needed for this journey, she seemed to think that Rash wanted to stay with her. Maybe he was lonely? And maybe... Maybe whoever he was hoping would return had been gone for awhile, and that he had lost his hope, too.
Maybe she wasn't alone with these emotions?
No. You are. Nobody understands how you feel, and they never will. Don't let him pity you, and don't pity him, either.
She suddenly felt a wave of anger that she tried to flush out of her expression once Rash caught up with her.
"Hey there, wait up! Wowzer, I didn't realize that you were fast! I mean, I am definitely fast because I have to outrun the rangers who ocassionally try and kick me out of the forest. But it's mine! I never got to tell them the story about how I fought of all those guards."
He was trying to start some conversation, but Willow didn't respond. The only thing going through her head was that he hated her.
Why am I like this? He has done nothing but be nice to me. I think I'm losing my mind. I shouldn't hate on him like this.
It took awhile for her to notice that he had stopped talking. His smile had quickly faded after she began to ignore him, so naturally he thought that he had screwed up. Willow didn't mean to keep ignoring him; she was just lost in her own thoughts. Terrible thoughts filled with him trying to kill her. She felt like everyone was out to get her. But yet, she didn't know why.
"So Rash," she began. "Who is the strongest person you've ever had the battle out in these woods?"
His face lit up almost immediately.
"Well, there was this one family of coyotes that went camping in MY forest! Can't you believe it? Well, I gave them quite the scare, but their youngest son, I think his name was Filip, he got the upper hand. We had a full brawl in the middle of the forest! But, his family scurried off. The little cowards! You are the bravest one I've come across in these woods."
The comment made Willow smile, and she told him some stories about her experiences with a nasty old shopkeeper in the Alleys.
A couple of hours had passed when they had finally ventured towards a small town. The duo had agreed to spend the night there, and that they would camp out next to an old abandoned building.
After a couple of hours of not being able to sleep, Willow turned to her side and looked at Rash's sleeping form. He was curled up in a lazily-made ball, with his limbs askew. She smiled, and turned back onto her other side as she let her eyes droop shut.
Things were going to be alright.
It was 5 AM when Doggy got the call from the chief of his department. Yes, he knew that he was supposed to be looking up more information on Willow, but he had fallen asleep at his desk anyways. It was 5 AM, afterall! He grumpily answered the call, and was not surprised to hear his chief yelling at him.
"You have done NOTHING all morning! I have looked at your screen just to see you messing with some settings in your computer!"
Doggy just yawned in response, and muttered something about how he was going to be more responsible.
"No! You are going to listen to me right now, officer Doggy! You have made absolutely no progress whatsoever. I have some news to break to you, buddy! If you do not manage to catch Willow Wolf within the next 48 hours, your detective friend is going to be fired!"
Normally, Doggy wouldn't care. His boss threatened him with being fired all the time. But the fact that he threatened his best friend immediately woke him up. [PLAYER] was new here, and him firing her would ruin any chance that she had at perusing her career further! Now he really had some incentive.
After hanging up the call, he frantically tried to think of another officer that was on duty who could help him with the case.
Suddenly, it hit him. He was going to call an old friend.
Poley.
Notes:
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Yes, I know there wasn't a lot of angst, but I was in a good mood today so I tried to make this one more of a slower paced and more happy chapter. Trust me when I say that things are going to get darker, I promise!
I'm planning on uploading a new chapter every week, by the way.Anyways, there is a lot of foreshadowing in this chapter. Tell me if you can find some of it!
Chapter 3: Running Towards Doom
Summary:
Put your chin up and ignore the skeptics.
This is going to work. You're not doomed to fail, right?Right?
...
RIGHT?!
Willow has dealt with people doubting her plans ever since she has been able to make them. But she's sure this will work, and nothing is going to get in her way; even if it means a little bit of blood splattered on the walls.
Notes:
Oh boy, this chapter is going to be an intense one! No more fluff is allowed, mwahahahahh! (Okay, maybe SOME fluff. But I have to make some wholesome moments exist so that I can squash them with Willow's dark thoughts). Anyways, I can't WAIT to show y'all what I have in store for this story! Without further hesitation, I present to you chapter 3: Running towards doom.
Featuring the annihilation of any hope that is left for Willow or Rash.
Also, this fanfic is going to go completely off the rails from the Piggy storyline from this point forward. I'm basically just loosely tying together the Piggy story and adding in a giant heap of my own headcanon.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Her memories felt twisted. Willow could only see them in blips of a dream at this point. Forgetting was better than focusing on the sorrow parts, that was for sure.
So, she held her gun up high and shot her first bullet.
It felt good, but she couldn't explain why.
Poley was definitely better at tracking animals than Doggy was. Within the first four hours of Doggy asking for his help, Poley had already managed to pinpoint all the locations where Willow had last been seen. He had even deduced that it was probable that she would be heading further west towards the Ionca desert, but would most likely take a commonly used detour towards the Xion river.
If their chief wasn't impressed by Poley's skills by now, then Doggy didn't know what could impress him.
After working for hours, Poley suggested that the duo stop by a local coffee shop in order to take a breather. He always told Doggy that doing things one step at a time was always the better option.
Doggy was completely for this 'stopping every 30 minutes to eat a donut' rule, because it made him feel like he was actually doing something. (In actuality, he was merely spectating the genius of Poley's criminal-stopping methods.) Let's just say that Doggy was more of a fighter, and less of a thinker. He honestly didn't know how two animals so different got along this well. Maybe he was just that endearing somehow.
Regardless of their differences, the both of them had been friends with each other since childhood, and had grown quite close. Poley insisted on Doggy joining him for his college detective course, but Doggy always told him that he definitely did not have the kind of personality where he could sit at a desk all day and look at the same pieces of evidence over and over again. He had more of a 'I'll do the beating up while you sit down at your desk until 3 AM' kind of attitude. Yet, despite Doggy taking up a somewhat different career choice, Poley was determined on becoming a detective.
So, in the end, they were both happy with the positions they had chosen. However, Doggy wished his police ranking involved more fist-on-fist contact. Instead, he usually just arrested common muggers and car thieves. Nothing too interesting to him, but apparently it was a big deal to his chief.
Gosh, how much he hated his chief. Chief Death Bones (as he was nicknamed) was so invested in little crimes, because he claimed that it 'helped prevent bigger ones from occurring.' I mean, how much more boring could he get! Those little things didn't matter, it was punching criminals until they wound up unconscious in the backseat of the police car that was the fun part. However, he had only seen that in the movies. Doggy still wished he would get in on that kind of action one day.
Maybe I just have to prove myself to chief by showing him that I can deal with this small stuff before I get into the big stuff.
This whole Willow Wolf business was excruciatingly boring, because this girl wasn't even a threat! All she'd done is just occasionally steal some money out of someone's wallet, and take a random piece of food every now and again. Why was this such a big deal to everybody else?
Regardless, he still continued on with his search to find her.
Well...... It was mainly Poley doing the work, but at least Doggy was there as his moral support!
"Are you okay?" Poley began. "You look a little zoned out, that's all."
Doggy snapped back to reality.
"Sorry," he replied, sipping his afternoon coffee. "I've just been thinking about how BORED I've been recently. I mean, those action movies lied, man! I never get to go on actual chases. As far as I'm aware, there aren't even any criminals here!"
"Well, that means that you're doing your job. No criminals means that you and the other police are actually helping the community out by arresting them all."
He merely rolled his eyes back at Poley.
"Yeah man, but I want to actually go out there and do something with my awesome fighting powers! I could totally kick some bad guy butt right about now."
Poley laughed mid-sip, and almost choked on his coffee.
"I'd find it amusing to see you try and take on a 6'7 black bear with some brass knuckles, and a gang at his side," Poley replied, stifling another laugh.
He was often one who laughed at his own jokes. Though most of the time, Doggy couldn't even understand his humor because it was what he called 'smart guy' humor. Almost every other word that came out of Poley's mouth was either something about science, or something about his detective work.
The two both sat in silence for a moment as they ate the last bites of their donut. Typical of Doggy, he licked every last crumb off the paper plate.
Trying to start up another conversation, Doggy mentioned something that he knew would make Poley interested.
"So, any updates on that whole Willow Wolf business? I've grown pretty bored of it to be honest, but you clearly have been absorbed in this case."
Poley's form straightened, and he bit his lip a little. Something was clearly off.
"That was uhm... Sort of the reason I called you here. I didn't want to cause any more stress at the office by mentioning this around anybody else, but I have some bad news."
Doggy immediately felt a pit in his stomach form. If Poley was scared of something, that had to mean it was serious.
"An officer that was stationed nearby found the dead body of an officer on the trail that Willow is supposedly following. There was definitely a struggle."
He could tell instantly what Poley was going to say next.
"Do you think that Willow girl... Killed somebody? Didn't you say she was only 13?"
Poley's expression grew even dimmer, if that was possible. His body shook a little as he nodded.
"And even worse, we're pretty sure she has a partner in crime," Poley said, the unmistakable look of fear in his eyes.
"Do we know who it is?"
"Well, the DNA scent that was left at the crime scene was analyzed by some of the best detectives in Lucella, and well..."
He paused for a moment. The pit growing in Doggy's stomach had enlarged so much to the point where he wouldn't be surprised if it caused him to explode.
"It's Rash the raccoon."
Doggy didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear that horrendous truth. But yet, here he was, still shocked to hear those words escape Poley's lips.
"No... That's impossible. I know he was upset after his dad got arrested, but he wouldn't dare help a murderer."
"I know you're in disbelief because he's your nephew, but there's no way that was anybody else's scent. We had multiple people check it, and it matched the scent description his dad gave awhile ago. I'm sorry, but people change."
He still couldn't believe it. His own nephew has teamed up with a killer and a thief.
All the thoughts he had previously had about this case being boring were erased. Now the only thing going through his head was that to get to Rash, he would have to find this Willow Wolf character. He refused to let Rash follow in his father's footsteps, because his father made the same mistakes.
Doggy's brother, who is currently rotting away in a cell in the most securely guarded prison, had killed their parents. And he wasn't going to let Rash do the same to anybody else, because nobody deserved that pain. He had to stop him before he could do anything he would soon regret. Whoever this Willow Wolf girl was, she would pay for letting his nephew be the witness (and probably the cause of) a murder.
There was nothing stopping Doggy now. He would find them both, no matter the cost.
1 day prior to the events of the realization
Willow and Rash had been traveled at erratic paces so that it would be harder for them to be tracked. Some days they would travel at high speeds, but other days they would barely walk a mile. She couldn't help it, but Willow always felt like they were being watched by the police. Even though it was probably at a distance, she couldn't help but still feel anxious. Rash was always good company, but he had started growing suspicious as to where they were actually heading.
His constant pestering became such a nuisance to Willow, and she was praying that he would just switch the topic so she didn't have to make him. What would she do if he figured out that she was a criminal? Would he stick with her, or would he report her to the nearest police station?
Willow didn't like thinking about the options that she would have if he did try to report her (or grew too suspicious), but she knew it would have to end with him out of the picture. Even if it meant...
No. She wouldn't kill him. He was surprisingly good at directions, and she WASN'T becoming fond of his company, okay? And she definitely didn't secretly enjoy when his shoulder brushed up against hers... Or when his lighthearted smile made her feel a warm fuzzy feeling...
Suddenly, she heard a thud next to her.
Rash's clumsy stumble made her giggle a little. She had a sneaking suspicion that he acted like he was merely unbalanced on his feet so that he could hold her paw as she helped him up. However, she didn't mind it at all.
For some reason...
...
When they would walk through bustling towns during sunset, she would often forget about why she was even there. Willow would just relax in the moment, letting her shoulders lose tension. Rash often reassured her that they would get to where they needed to be without gathering any sort of unwanted attention.
When he said things like that, it made Willow suspicious that he knew about who she was. Yet, he didn't seem to care. Maybe he thought she had changed? Because if so, she knew he would be in for a rude awakening. They were running low on supplies, so Willow would have to steal something eventually. Rash didn't need to know, right? Maybe she could do it in secret...
Willow hadn't even begun to realize that the sun had completely disappeared out of the sky, and that everything was an eerie purplish-blue.
I have to stop going into these little fantasy trances. I keep getting... Distracted.
"Can we stop here for the night? We're going to be traveling through one more forest before we get towards the river I've wanted to show you, and I'd prefer it if we could go through that forest in the morning while there's some daylight."
Willow merely nodded, and put her backpack down. Taking a moment to look around her, she came to the realization that they were in the outskirts of some kind of small town. They seemed to come upon these often, so she stopped really paying attention. According to Rash, the scenery would change as soon as they made it to the Xion river and the Ionca desert. Apparently it was a beautiful place that he had dreamed of visiting. It didn't take much begging for her to agree to let them stop there for awhile, since Willow didn't have any plans of heading somewhere else anyways.
The two of them put their sleeping bags down, and Rash curled up into himself and fell asleep almost instantly. Willow enjoyed just looking at the stars for a bit before she fell asleep, because it helped her forget things she didn't want to remember.
Like how William is probably freezing to death in the arctic tundra right now, starving and lonely.
She shuddered. Those were the kinds of thoughts she needed to stop thinking of. But yet, she couldn't stop. Her mind always thought of the worst thing possible, and replayed it in her head.
William dying without me. Rash betraying me. My parents hating me for not getting them out of the mess they were in.
However, Willow didn't understand that all the things she thought of were about herself. She constantly thought of 'but what if he's dying because of me, what if it's my fault'.
That was her biggest mistake: She never took other people into consideration anymore. It had become a habit she had developed.
After feeling purely exhausted from the journey they made today, she finally let her eyes droop shut. Willow began to fall into a dream when...
"According to those officers in Lucella, that brat should be here by now! I don't want her robbing my store, that's for sure! And yet, none of them have even decided to go after her yet! Are they waiting for her to strike again before they actually do something?! It's ridiculous! I'm keeping my gun by my bedside every night until that kid is caught. Who knows what that monster is capable of!"
Willow's heartrate dropped.
The police. They were looking for her, and they knew she had to be here.
But how? I've done every kind of precaution! I don't think Rash tipped them off...
Her mind raced with possibilities, but she knew that they definitely had to have someone who knew their fair share about criminals to understand her plans. It wasn't her fault that she had done researching in the local library beforehand. Maybe looking up what she should do wasn't a good idea...
She knew that she couldn't leave tonight, because the townsfolk were most likely armed and at the ready in case they heard any movement.
Willow began to wonder why she was such a big deal to all of them. Weren't there bigger criminals out there, who could actually do damage?
I guess this land is just peaceful enough that even someone as low as a thief is a big deal. Pathetic.
After pondering on what to do, one thing that the man nearby had mentioned stuck with her. He said something about a gun... Maybe she should have one. That'll make things easy, right? She doesn't even need to use it, she could just threaten people and then take what she wants. Boom! No harm done.
So, after coming to the conclusion that she needed something to fight back with, Willow went to a store that was left unguarded, and stole a gun that they had up a shelf.
It was a dark gray that almost appeared black, with a gold streak running down the side.
It's perfect...
Willow hastily grabbed it and ran back to her sleeping bag, stuffing the gun deep into her backpack. Rash didn't need to know. In fact, it was better if he didn't know. But now, Willow felt more protected and safe. She would have something that could protect her from anybody who tried to take her away.
But away from what? She didn't have anywhere to go, so she supposed that she was thinking of Rash.
However, being worried of being separated from Rash gave her memories of being worried about being separated from William.
Taking a deep breath in, she finally laid down. That was enough overthinking for tonight. But with that extra sense of security hauled away in her backpack, she went to sleep calmly that night.
I'm safe.
But what Willow didn't realize was that she was the opposite from safe. She would be met with a choice tomorrow, that would end with suffering no matter which option she chose.
That morning, Willow awoke with a start. The nightmare she had awoken from was full of terrible screams- screams of agony and pain. And worst of all, William was screaming for her to help him. He was dying. Alone.
Jumping up from her sleeping bag and swiftly reaching for her gun, she came to the quick realization that it was all just a terrible nightmare. Her sigh of relief was apparently loud enough that it woke up Rash, but she had a feeling that he was already awake.
Willow made sure to zip up the pocket that her gun was held in tightly, and slung her backpack over her shoulder with ease.
Rash took this as his invitation to stand up as well, and stuffed his sleeping bag in his already stuffed bag. She still wondered what he had in there, and how he somehow managed to fit an entire sleeping bag in the main pocket without the backpack exploding.
Once he gave her a nod that signaled that he was ready to leave, they both set off without a word. Willow was one who cherished silence, but it clearly made Rash uncomfortable. Willow refused to admit it, but Rash was the one animal she would let break her precious silence.
"So, we're headed to the Ionca desert! I'm so pumped. I've wanted to go there ever since I was a little kid, mainly because there's a beautiful river that is nearby. We could stop there for a couple of days and relax by the riverside! I mean, if you want to."
Willow let herself smile.
"Of course we can," she replied, and tried to hide her flushed face once Rash beamed at her.
Since they were already at the edge of town, the forest was only a couple minute walk. The entire time, Willow caught herself looking backwards to see if anybody was following them. But clearly nobody was... Right?
Once they got into the forest, Rash began to pick up speed a bit. Willow knew he was excited, but she would have never though that he'd be THIS excited to see some random river.
Maybe it means something special to him or something.
Willow got lost in her thoughts once more, thinking of all the possibilities of why Rash was so excited to visit this place.
Apparently both of them weren't paying attention, because a gruff voice spoke, catching them both off guard. Willow instinctively jumped backwards, and reached for her the pocket that her gun was stowed away in. Rash seemed surprised to say the least. He had literally fallen off his feet, and awkwardly stood back up. After all the confusion, Willow finally looked up at whoever it was they had run into.
Her heart dropped.
A police officer sporting a blue and black uniform was standing right over them, eyeing the two carefully.
I KNEW SOMEONE WAS FOLLOWING US. He probably thought that we were far enough away from the town that it wouldn't cause any kind of scene.
The officer, who appeared to be a horse, stood silently for a moment. He clearly did not expect this kind of reaction.
"May I ask what you two kids are doing out here? This is private property."
"Sorry sir, but we were just passing through. We could just go another way-"
The officer cut him off, and put a hoof in front of him as he began to walk away.
"Sorry kids, but I'm going to have to take you both into the nearest station for questioning. I've been given a description of someone we should be looking for, and you look a lot like her, girlie."
Panic began to take over.
Before she could do anything, the officer grabbed Rash by the arm.
"Hey! Let go!" he yelped, trying to claw at him.
Willow didn't even realize what she was about to do until she stood facing the officer, her black and gold gun held up in her hand. She was shaking, but not as much as Rash was.
He trembled from head to toe, and the officer that had his hold on Rash's arm immediately let go.
The horse tried reaching for his taser, but Willow pressed the trigger.
Everything went white around her. She was floating... No, she was with her parents. Wait, was she with William and Daisy? She couldn't tell. But she wanted to wrap herself around them all, and give them some comforting words, but she had nothing left to say. Anytime she tried to speak, nothing came out. Willow felt... Empty. Alone. Cold. Wet. Wait. Why did she feel wet?
Suddenly, she snapped back to reality as a scream pierced her ears. To be honest, she couldn't tell if it was Rash screaming, or the officer's one last agonizing scream before his body thudded to the floor.
A gross, red liquid got all over Willow's clothes.
Luckily it didn't hit my scarf. Hey wait, what am I even thinking? I JUST KILLED SOMEBODY? DO I REALLY NOT CARE?
Willow tried to act surprised and horrified at what she had done. But yet... She didn't.
Why why why why why why why why why do I not feel anything.
Willow felt empty. Emotionless. It was like her emotions were bottled up and then washed away, destined to land on somebody else's shore.
Looking at Rash's face made her realize that she was supposed to act scared and shocked. However, she couldn't even fake it. She truly felt absolutely nothing. Not fear, not anger, not sadness... But she felt happy.
I'M A PSYCHOPATH. NOBODY FEELS HAPPY AFTER THIS.
She tried to rationalize it in her head.
I feel happy because I protected Rash. I feel happy because I protected Rash. I feel happy because I protected Rash. I feel happy because I protected Rash. I feel happy because I protected Rash. I feel happy because I protected Rash. I feel happy because I protected Rash. I feel happy because I protected Rash. I feel happy because I protected Rash. I feel happy because I protected Rash.
Nothing she told herself comforted her at all, because her emotions were stuck in a void at this point. Her hand trembled, and she dropped the gun. Then, after a long moment of silence, she looked down at what was under her.
Blood. Death.
And that made her...
A murderer.
Notes:
(CHAPTER 3'S NOTES)
Wow this chapter ended darker than I'd hope. I'm just trying to bring along Willow's darkside, and how it truly came to be. The 'doom' that she is running from (in regards to the chapter name) is the doom of forever being labeled at a murderer in society. No matter what, people who have done something that terrible really don't get any second chances in life, and I feel like I need to write about that.
Also, I swear I'm not edgy AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Chapter 4: Making all the Wrong Decisions (And you're not here to stop me)
Summary:
Willow feels sick and twisted.
She just keeps doing terrible things, mainly because she feels as though she can't turn back.
Will she ever change, or is she destined to live a life of horror, darkness, and deceit?
Notes:
Oh boy, this chapter is going to be a very dark one! Things just keep getting worse and worse for poor Willow...
Sorry for such a delay between chapters! I lost a lot of motivation, but I just got it back! I've been trying to do one chapter every week, although with school that schedule could change to one chapter every two weeks; it just depends.This chapter gets very gross, just a heads-up!
I always ramble so much in these author's notes, so without further hesitation, let's get into chapter 4: Making all the wrong decisions (and you're not here to stop me).
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
At first, Willow felt nothing.
And the she felt the weight of everything that she had done.
The feeling was unlike anything she had ever felt before. The moment that she had shot her first bullet, her brain flooded with memories. It almost made her... Happy. Then, as soon as her gaze shifted towards the limp and bloody body on the ground below her, she knew what she had done.
She had killed somebody.
Willow felt sick. She wanted to gag, to die, to just disappear from the face of the earth. The fact that she felt momentary happiness made her feel even more twisted than before.
An emotionally twisted murderer.
That's what she was.
Rash's horror stuck face was illuminated by an enormous blast of lightning, and his expression was clear.
He was scared.
Of... Her.
The two stood in silence for what seemed like ages, as the storm around them made the sky as black at it could be. The rain poured, and soon enough the blood began to wash away. Willow couldn't even stare at the dead figure below her. All she could do was stand there, ignoring eye contact with Rash. She wished that she could just go back in time and erase that moment from existence.
But instead, she was trapped in the moment. There was no going back now.
Rash was the first one to speak.
"WHAT THE... WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!" Rash shouted, finally breaking his gaze from the figure lying on the grass between them.
Willow didn't respond. All she could do was swallow the bile that was going up her throat, until she finally had the courage to look at him.
Tears were streaming down Rash's face, and his expression was a mix of terror and... Was that a hint of betrayal?
"I... I... I don't know what I just did..."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU JUST DID? WILLOW, YOU KILLED SOMEBODY! YOU'RE... YOU'RE A MURDERER, THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE!"
The words stung more than she thought they would.
Was she really a murderer? The thing was... She didn't feel different. Was this what losing your mind felt like? You do terrible things... But then you don't feel bad about doing them? The thought made her want to vomit.
Rash slowly began backing away from her.
And then Willow started to make excuses for herself in her head. Terrible, twisted excuses.
I was doing it to protect Rash.
I just wanted him to be safe.
There could have been a better way to handle that...
No. I was the one who took the initiative. I am the one who should be the hero here.
Willow finally managed to look down at the body.
There was an extremely bloody gash running down his chest, and his eyes were open without seeing. Most of the blood had begun to wash away in the rain, but there was no hiding that it had been there.
"We need to go," Willow finally said.
All Rash did was step away further. Was she saying the wrong things?
"Willow... I just... I thought you had changed. I saw the posters in every town we visited, but I thought the reason that you wanted to run away from Lucella was because you wanted to start a new life, and that I could help you. I thought you wanted my help. I thought that you wanted to change. Guess I was wrong."
His face was no longer terrified; it was contorted with pure rage.
"We can talk about t-this later. For now, we need to get out of here. Somebody will have heard the gunshot and will come investigating, Rash. You and I both know that going to prison isn't going to solve anything right now. We need to go somewhere. Anywhere else. We don't even need to talk to each other anymore, alright? We can both go our separate ways once we reach the Ionca Desert. Deal?"
She did make some valid points. Neither of them wanted to end up in jail or take the blame for this. Was her bargain of a temporary truce going to be enough to make him possibly change his mind about her...?
Rash's only response was a growl at first, but ended up nodding his head.
The walk to the Ionca desert was very quiet. The two of them never even spoke a word to one another. Rash was just too mortified and angry to speak to her, and Willow was just too upset and scared to speak.
The storm had managed to quiet down after the incident, so all that could be heard was birds chirping off in the distance.
Willow and Rash didn't even stop for a break once. They managed to walk all the way there in a little over a day.
Once they reached the Ionca desert, the two of them sat in silence by a nearby oasis. Willow managed to fiddle with the keychain on her backpack in order to distract herself while Rash filled up a satchel with some water. If she had to be honest, she had no idea where she was going to go after this. And she bet she he didn't know either.
There were two different trails that they could take, and they both made an unspoken agreement that they would travel on different paths. Willow assumed that Rash was going to go as far away from her as possible, but it still made her feel sad.
Once Rash had managed to get enough water, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and turned away from her. The fact that he didn't even want to say goodbye just... Hurt. Willow just couldn't even think straight anymore. Of course he was angry. He had ever right to want to avoid her at all costs; she was a criminal on the run. To be honest, she didn't even know if he was running from something himself.
Right before he walked away, he turned towards her. A tiny bit of hope flickered in Willow's heart.
Maybe he realizes that I was just trying to help him. Maybe he wants to stay with me after all.
However, his response was completely different from what she had hoped.
"I hope we never see each other again."
That just stung. He never wanted to see her again...?
I deserve it, don't I? All I've done is cause trouble. Everywhere I go, chaos ensues. Would I want to be around me if I were in his position?
But then that dark part of her mind took over.
No. He's just selfish and ungrateful. KILLING WAS THE ONLY WAY TO GET OUT OF THAT SITUATION, AND HE DEFINITELY KNOWS THAT. HE'S JUST SCARED THAT I'M BETTER THAN HIM, THAT'S WHAT.
Suddenly, she began to growl deep in her throat. Without even realizing what she was doing, she lashed out at him.
"I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN EITHER! YOU'RE PATHETIC, DID YOU KNOW THAT? WHAT, DOES SEEING A LITTLE BIT OF BLOOD SCARE YOU? HUH?" she screamed, starting to walk towards him.
Rash did not take this well, but Willow didn't even care anymore. Before he could spit out a reply, she jumped on top of him, her arms outstretched.
She dug her claws into his neck, and he roared backwards in pain. In retaliation, he spun her to the ground, stomping on her side. With all the power he had in his body, Rash started kicking her chest.
"SHUT UP! YOU'RE DEMENTED, THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE!" he shouted, stomping on her ribcage. Every word was ended with a kick to the ribs. She could have sworn that she heard a deafening crack every time he did.
Blood was pouring down Rash's neck, and Willow decided to attack him while he was still vulnerable.
She managed to kick him with the last ounces of energy left in her body, and while he toppled over she extended her claws and scratched every part of him that she could. Blood was everywhere, and neither of them could see anything anymore.
Blacks dots began to cloud Willow's vision, but she tried everything she could to stay conscious.
She wasn't going to let a dim-witted raccoon beat her in a fight.
Willow sank her teeth into the side of his arm, and he whirled backwards with a roar of fury. Rash thrashed around, trying to claw at every bit of Willow that he could get his paws on. The two of them began to roll around on the blood-stained grass, tearing each other apart. All of a sudden, Rash elbowed Willow in the face with such strength that it knocked her backwards, sending her flying into a palm tree.
She tried standing up, but her entire body was bleeding and broken. She had absolutely no strength left...
Willow managed to see Rash lying on the floor, his eyes wide with terror. At first she couldn't hear anything because her ears were ringing, but then she heard it.
Sirens.
The police had found them at last.
Willow couldn't tell if she was relieved or not, because the moment that they came storming onto the sand, she lost consciousness.
Right before her eyes fell shut, she saw the limp figure of Rash being hauled into a police car. She could barely make out what the police officers were saying, and all she could make out was a dog and a polar bear walking towards her.
She welcomed the darkness with open arms.
It almost seemed like she was caught in a dream.
Well, more like a nightmare.
Everything around her was dizzy, and holding onto anything seemed impossible.
Where... Where am I...
Willow turned her head, although even doing that gave her a strenuous headache. The fear that she had just been experiencing after waking up in an unfamiliar place was doubled when she saw Rash staring at her through bars.
"The police caught us two days ago. I was convicted of harboring a fugitive, whereas you were arrested for murder, theft, and fighting an individual."
He paused momentarily.
"We're both guilty. No trial needed. We've been sentence to a life in prison each."
It seemed like the world had stopped. Was... Was this the end of it all? Was she destined to live a life in prison, right next to the one who had caused her all this pain?
Willow only thought one thing in that moment.
She was going to get revenge on everybody that had gotten her here.
And nothing could stop her now.
Notes:
(CHAPTER 4'S AUTHOR NOTE)
Oh my GOODNESS this chapter was more angsty than I expected. I'm actually very proud with how this turned out tbh. I hope you guys enjoyed! Things are going to get pretty crazy from now on.
Chapter 5: Final Hour
Summary:
There's an end to everything.
Whether it's a happy or a sad ending is based on the choices you make.
As for Willow, she is going down the wrong path.
But there's no going back now.The clock is ticking.
Will Willow be able to move onwards, or is this really her final hour?Or...
Is it the final hour of somebody else's life?
Notes:
This. Is. Going. To. Be. The. Most. Intense. Chapter. Of. This. Fic. Hands. Down.
And no, this isn't the final chapter! Just a very dramatic one that is deserving of the ominous chapter summary I have bestowed upon it.
We're finally going to be getting into the main plot of this fanfiction! I am SO HYPED to show y'all what I have in store, because you will be mind-blown by the time of the finale.
I was thinking of splitting this chapter up into two different chapters, but I decided that making this one chapter would suit it better. So be prepared for a very long story, folks!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
The clock on the wall of Willow's office seemed to be ticking slower than usual.
Or maybe it was her imagination?
After what seemed like an eternity of clicking her pen simultaneously with the ticking of the clock, she finally heard it.
A knock.
She had been expecting it, but there was still that... Sense of disappointment. He had failed her. Willow knew that he was expecting a punishment, and that he had probably been standing outside her door for hours, slowly gathering up the courage to finally knock his knuckles on the mahogany door.
For the first time in ages, Willow's throat felt dry. She didn't want to do this to him, but he had it coming. She couldn't have the other members figuring out that she had a soft spot. Because she didn't.
"Come in."
Slowly, the door creaked open. The slim silhouette of a tiger stood in the doorframe, slightly quaking. He had always been terrible at shielding his emotions. That made him weak.
"You've failed," Willow began, her lips feeling suddenly dry. "Do you know what happens to people who fail me this many times, Tigry?"
He swallowed the bile that was rising in his throat. Of course he knew. Anybody who failed Willow as many times as he did either had their corpse found by another member weeks later, or showed up their facility the next morning unrecognizable due to the scars. What started off as respect had escalated into fear very quickly.
"Yes maa'm. I apologize, but it wasn't my fault!" Tigry blurted, trying to keep his gaze off her intimidating glare. He knew that look.
Willow suddenly shot up out of her chair and ran right towards him, with her claws aimed at his throat.
The unmistakable sound of a roar of agony pierced the silence, and Tigry doubled over, coughing vigorously.
Blood coated his throat, and he winced in pain.
But all he saw before everything went black was Willow's face, contorted into a grin. Did she... Enjoy this?
Because if so... She had really become a monster.
Every single night in her cell, Willow screamed until her lungs went dry. She wouldn't stop until blood would bubble in her throat.
It drove Rash borderline insane. He would have done anything to escape this torture he had been put into. It was all Willow's fault. He could have been blissfully unaware of her existence, and sleeping in the welcoming woods that he called home if it wasn't for her.
Instead, he was cursed with a life in prison, next to the one person he hated most.
The bags under his eyes had turned the darkest black that they could be, and Willow didn't look any better. Her knuckles were always red, due to the fact that she had punched the back wall of her cell so many times in a measly attempt to escape. However, they both knew deep down that leaving here was impossible.
Willow and Rash has been in this terrible excuse for a prison for 4 months, and he couldn't take it any longer. One more scream from the cell next to his, and he would practically roll over in agony. He wished she was still in her short-lived coma from when they first arrived. At least there was peace and quiet back then.
Every single day seemed to be a blur of the same thing over and over again.
Except... The day things changed.
Willow was back to her screaming again, shrieking death threats to the guards and yelling about whatever she found unpleasant that day. And that was usually everything. The only reason that Rash hadn't begun to turn into her demented self was because it was such a scary future to think about. Becoming the person he hated most?
That was the only thought that kept him from giving in to this awful life that was given to him. He had to prove he was better than her.
But today, he had finally caved in. He moaned in anguish, and finally heaved himself towards the eye-sized crack in the wall that separated their cells.
Peering back at him was none other than Willow, with her bloodshot eye meeting his gaze. She looked like she hadn't slept in weeks, maybe even years.
"Finally looking at me, huh? WERE YOU TOO SCARED TO MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH THE PERSON WHO'S LIFE YOU RUINED, HMM? WELL? TELL ME?" Willow shouted.
"You ruined my life, not the other way around. Don't you dare go twisting this around in your head. You're mental, that's what you are. You deserve to rot here."
The look in Willow's eye made it seem like that if they were standing side by side, she would have choked him right then and there. It was a murderous look. Something that sent shivers down his spine.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" Willow let out a cackle that resembled something out of a horror movie. "YOU HAVE LEFT ME HERE TO DIE, THAT'S WHAT! I'M ONLY SEEING THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH IS THAT YOU'RE A SCARED LITTLE BOY WHO MISSES HIS DADDY, AND YOU'RE TOO PATHETIC TO HIDE THAT. WELL GUESS WHAT, PAL? YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO SEE HIM AGAIN, AND YOU KNOW THAT DEEP DOWN. YOU ARE A PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A SO-CALLED 'FRIEND' BECAUSE IF YOU CARED ABOUT WHAT I WAS GOING THROUGH, YOU'D HAVE NOT GOTTEN US STUCK IN THIS PRISON."
Rash had never felt such hatred and anger before in his life. He wanted to dig his claws into her face and rip it apart, and by the look she gave him, he knew the feeling was mutual.
But nobody would DARE insult HIS father and live to tell the tale.
A growl rose in his throat, and he thrust his body towards the hole, trying to reach through it and grasp onto her. Though he knew it was impossible, he just wanted Willow to know that he felt the same way as she did.
A guard who was making his rounds noticed the two of them, and banged loudly onto Rash's cell to tell them to knock it off.
Before anything else could happen, however, a scream of absolute terror rippled through his eardrums.
This wasn't coming from Willow.
The guard, clearly alarmed by the shouting, turned to face the other way. As soon as his eyes laid upon whatever it was that was making these sounds, his heart seemed to stop.
What is it? What is he looking at?
Willow and Rash both leaned closely to the steel bars of their cells, and saw a horrific sight.
The guard was pushed onto his back by some kind of a prisoner with... Glowing eyes?
No, that isn't right. I think my desperation is making me hallucinate.
Turning to his side, he noticed that Willow must have seen it too.
Almost gracefully, the prisoner subdued the officer by slicing his claws carefully down his side. He roared in fury, and twisted sideways, kicking the creature off of him. It crumpled to the floor, unconscious, however the damage had already been done. The wound on the officer's side had begun to glow an eerily green, and he looked sickly.
Before Willow or Rash had time to react, another scream filled the air. It was scream after scream after scream. He could hear the sounds of wounds being sliced or bitten onto any officer or prisoner that was out in the open.
If Rash was being honest, he had never been so glad to be in his cell before.
The officer who had seen get scratched began to shake. Violently. Rolling back onto his side, his shoulders tensed up, and his eyes turned a dark orange. If it weren't for the dire situation at hand, Rash would have found this entirely fascinating. But it was horrific.
Something straight out of a horror novel.
What had once been a bustling and busy prison now turned into a quiet and still room. None of the prisoners dared to move. They all huddled in the back of their cells, staring blankly at the officers around them.
These weird... Zombie-looking creatures slowly made their way towards the cells of the remaining prisoners, and tried reaching into them.
Willow let out an actual scream for the first time in ages, and Rash couldn't help but sympathize for her. This was... The scariest thing either of them had experienced.
One by one, the remaining prisoners were attacked inside their cells by the creatures that had either busted their way inside, or slipped their claws into the cell. Soft moans escaped their lips, but nothing could take away from the sight of their eyes.
Different colors for different people, Rash realized. If their pupil color meant something, he wasn't even going to try and figure it out right now. They were both in danger.
Every single 'infected' (as he called them in his head) tried pushing their way into Willow's cell. He knew that he was next.
In a moment of desperation, he shouted at the infected.
"OVER HERE! GET ME, NOT HER!"
Not even realizing that somebody had been there, they all slowly turned their heads towards him. Rash couldn't help but tremble. All of these creepy eyes... Looking right towards him. They were ready to attack at a moment's notice.
Willow let out a slight sigh of relief once some of them stopped pounding on the bars, but immediately continued panicking once they eerily walked towards Rash.
Okay, she had to admit it. Though she disliked him, she didn't actually want him to die. Or especially turn into whatever those... Things were.
"Rash, what are you doing, you idiot! You're going to get yourself KILLED!"
"If I'd want to die for anybody, it would be you right now. I've already lived my story. You have a lot of room to change, and to grow. You need this more than I do. I'm sorry, Willow. But if one of us has to go, it'll be me."
She just stood there in shock. Did he... Forgive her? After all this time?
Or maybe this is just me misinterpreting it. Probably.
"Willow, I'll distract them long enough so that you can break out of your bars. When you escape, run away as far as you can. I have no idea what is going on right now, but you need to find shelter. Help anybody you find. Can you promise me that?"
All she could manage was a shaky nod. Was this really happening?
Rash stopped resisting, and let the infected break into her cell. He had to admit, their strength was pretty impressive. He would be more fascinated if the circumstances were different.
And then it happened.
One of the infected that was in the swarm around him bit his arm.
The bite glowed a bit, and he felt like he was going to be sick. However, he wanted to make it just long enough to see Willow escape. If she was the only one who survived all this, she could signal for help, and maybe even warn everybody else about what is coming.
He turned back up at Willow.
Her eyes were full of fresh tears, and they streaked down her face almost gracefully. Even in a state like this, he couldn't help but take into account how pretty she was.
"Willow, no matter what happens to me, run. Don't even look back. Not even once. Do you understand me?"
Her expression showed reluctance at first, but quickly turned it into a face of courage.
"Goodbye, Willow. In case we never meet again, I just wanted to tell you that-"
Rash was interrupted by a force that seemed to overpower him. He could not speak. He could not move. He couldn't control himself anymore.
He felt trapped in his own body.
He felt like a puppet, attached to the strings of somebody else, and that his fate was entirely in their hands. To others, this may be a comforting feeling. But not to Rash. It made him feel out of control.
Just like... Willow.
Following Rash's instructions, Willow ran. She ran until her feet grew sore, and she could stand no longer. Collapsing onto a heap on an empty road, she finally began to think about what had just happened.
And then it hit her.
She had lost the only person she still had.
Looking up wearily, she caught sight of the town that she had stopped in. Everything was deserted. And not in the kind of way that would remind you of a ghost town, but like everybody had just gotten up and left a few minutes prior.
Was this world she was stuck in from now on?
A cold, empty wasteland, where the streets were lined with blood and tears.
But then again, this would be the perfect time to reform this society. People in peril were easier to control. Their fear would be enough to let them become susceptible to pretty much anything. Rash had told her to help anybody she saw.
However, 'help' is a very broad term.
Maybe her own way of helping was a bit... Different.
Different in the sense of she would control the survivors with fear alone, and make it to the top of this desolated world.
No matter the cost.
Rash would have wanted this, right?
...
Right?
Notes:
This chapter was originally going to be longer, but due to time restraints I had to shorten it just a bit.
I know things seem very chaotic right now, but I'll explain everything so don't worry!
Anyways, I'm tired.I hope you enjoyed :)
Chapter 6: A Bloodstain on a Linen Cloth
Summary:
At first, Willow actually wanted to help people.
She knew how it felt to be alone, with nothing left.But then the power got to her head.
Without anybody to rely upon as the voice of reason in her head, Willow practically lived off of her own dark thoughts. Marinating in darkness, almost as though she had been falling down a hole that seemed to get darker and darker the longer she fell.
Her mind eventually wandered to revenge...
Because they deserved every little bit of the pain she was about to give them. IF ONLY THEY LISTENED, THEN THEY WOULD SURELY UNDERSTAND HER POSITIVE INTENTIONS. Sure, there would be blood lost. Did that matter in the grand scheme of things? An eye for an eye, if she remembered the statement correctly....
A bloodstain on a linen cloth...
The blood slowly dripping off...
Notes:
THANK YOU GUYS FOR OVER 100 VIEWS ON THIS FANFICTION. Your comments and kudos mean the WORLD to me, so thank you so much! Yes, this chapter took forever. I had writer's block for awhile, but I promise I will be consistent with these chapters from now on. Once again, your support means so much to me.
I have a lot of ideas for how this chapter will play out, so sit back, grab some popcorn, and begin reading!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was Pandy's eleventh birthday, and she had a blast.
Party games, presents-- even her own birthday cake!
The lingering smell of burnt candles wafted through the room, and Pandy gratefully breathed it in.
Her mother had been saving up for this party for months, and made it the best that it could be.
Pandy was skipping throughout the house, humming to herself.
Wow, today was the GREATEST! My mommy is the best, and I can't wait to tell my friends who couldn't make it how AMAZING the cake was! They'll be soooooo jealous.
Her abrupt thoughts were cut off by a scream from upstairs.
This wasn't just any scream... It was a scream of pure terror. It was the kind of scream that she would replay in her mind for years, and could never escape.
It... Sounded like her mother.
"Mommy? Are you okay?"
She got no reply. Waiting for a response, she stood at the base of the stairs.
She could barely make out a conversation going on upstairs, and strained her ears to listen.
"...Don't you call for help. You know what you've done, and you're going to pay for it. Understood?"
"Please... I have a daughter. If you do this, you're no better than him. You know that he did nothing wrong, but you're too scared to admit it. I know that you want revenge, but please just listen-"
Her mother's words were cut off by a deafening bang.
...
"MOMMY!" she shrieked, running upstairs as fast as she could. It couldn't be. No. This was some kind of a joke. Nothing bad could ever happen to her mother... She was funny, nice, and UGH JUST NOTHING BAD WAS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. OKAY, SELF? NOTHING BAD. I AM MISUNDERSTANDING ALL OF THIS.
But when Pandy reached her mother's bedroom, the blood that stained the walls was unmistakable.
Her mother had been murdered, and she did nothing about it.
I STOOD BY, TOO SCARED TO EVEN MOVE.
Before she knew it, she was erupting into tears. Her mother's lifeless eyes stared up at her, and there was nothing she could do about it.
She held the bloodstained cloth that her mother had been squeezing moments before her death. Pandy's mother always held onto that cloth whenever she was nervous or anxious about something.
WHO DID THIS.
WHO. DID. THIS.
Holding the bloodstained cloth in her palm, she sang a little song to herself.
"A bloodstain on a linen cloth...
The blood slowly dripping off..."
As the blood seeped into the fur on her paw, her mind raced.
Pandy knew from that moment onward that she would do whatever it took to find out who murdered her mother.
... And she would kill them.
It turns out that starting your own gang was a lot harder than it was in the movies.
The streets were either completely empty, or crawling with infected. If Willow had to be honest, she was surprised with how many people became infected this quickly. I mean, isn't it kind of obvious to abandon somebody if they are slowly turning into a brainless zombie?
She didn't know why, but it felt so... Easy to leave Rash at first. In the moment, all she thought about was her safety. But the more she lingered on the thought, the more she wished that she had insisted more on saving him.
Willow repeated her mantra, and told herself to just forget him. Do everything in his memory, but don't feel bad about what you've done.
I was being smart. I'm not one of these pathetic low-lives who refuse to leave a loved one in a situation like this. I'm better than them, and that's why I've made it this far.
It had been two weeks of wandering from town to town, trying to find survivors. Those that she found ran away almost instantly. Man, people were more annoying than she remembered. Can't they tell that her eyes aren't glowing? It's not that hard to differentiate between a red pupil and an ordinary one.
Eh, unless they're colorblind. Then she'd give them the benefit of the doubt.
Willow always had her gun at the ready. The number one thing you needed to be during an apocalypse was alert. You could turn a corner and be face-to-face with an infected, so you always had to be prepared.
Something still seemed to bother her, though.
Seeing families being separated, and watching children cry on the streets didn't made her feel upset anymore.
Did she even care in the first place?
Thoughts like that made her realize that there was truly no turning back from the things that she had done. Her heart was an icy wasteland, and was black to the core. It was rotten, and she used to wish that she could throw it out.
But she got used to it. She had a sense of... Respect for the person she turned out to be. Cunning, brilliant, strong- the attributes of a hero.
...
But also a villain.
The bloodstains that were left on her gun never seemed to go away, no matter how many times she tried to scrub them off. Then she realized something.
She was proud of the blood that seemed to ease itself into the cracks of her gun. The longer it stayed there, the more she respected it. The blood almost made her feel accomplished. Those deaths were towards a better life for the future. A life in which the youth won't need to go days without food, or spend every night crying and calling out for their deceased parents.
It will be a world full of equality, where hunger was no more.
But only if Willow was at the top.
Oh, the plans she had for the future. All people had to do was listen to her, and everything would be so EASY for them.
Sadly, controlling people wasn't easy. You either had to manipulate them or threaten them.
Sometimes she used a mixture of both.
With her ideas of starting a gang, she wanted to build up a group of people that were loyal to her. That way they would never try to rebel, or think that what she was doing was wrong. Less threatening equaled less tension. Less tension meant less suspicion.
If only the idiots she had encountered could understand her plans for this world.
Taking deep breaths in and out, Willow kept reminding herself of the mantra she always repeated.
Sadness means weakness, and worrying about things that can't be changed is pointless.
But this could be changed...
This broken world was able to be fixed, if only she was able to fix it HERSELF.
Breathing a heavy sigh, Willow continued her daily habit of checking the town she was hiding in for infected. It had become a chore at this point. Nobody ever came it. It was the perfect hideout. Still, she did it out of habit.
Habits were the only thing keeping her going.
Little did she know that today would change the course of her life forever.
This was the day that things were finally going to change.
The moment she turned that corner, she was face-to-face with a cat. Alone, scared-- susceptible to Willow's version of 'help'.
A wicked grin flashed on her face, but only for a moment.
"Hello, young one. Don't be scared. I'm here to help."
Willow only caught a glimpse of the cat's expression under the rays of moonlight, but it looked to be one of relief. Maybe she had found someone who would actually take the time out of their day to listen to what she had to say.
"Would you be interested in joining a group that I am starting?" Willow asked.
There was silence for what seemed like forever, but finally she responded.
"What is it?" she asked, skeptically.
"It's going to be a group to help the... Unfortunate during the infection. My only goal is to help us rebuild, and try to start a new life in this apocalyptic world. Would you be interested in joining?"
Once again, she was met with more silence. Honestly, it was getting a bit annoying. But obviously Willow didn't let that show on her expression.
"Does this group have a name?" the cat asked.
"Why, yes it does. The Silver Paw. Sure, we aren't perfect or gold. But we are silver, and that should be enough. So, are you in?"
This time, Willow was met with an immediate response.
"Yes. I have nothing left, anyways."
Willow smiled, and used her paw to life the mysterious cat up.
"Do you have a name?" Willow asked, helping her to her feet.
She nodded.
"My name's Kitty."
"Perfect, Kitty. Congratulations on being our first member! I have lots of plans for this group... We can find other survivors, and even invite some of your friends. After all, our only goal is to help aid those who aren't so lucky during this time of need," Willow explained.
FINALLY... SOMEBODY. Willow actually had hope for the future. It started with two, but she knew it would spread amongst those who were needy. Once they had nobody to turn to, they would have no choice but to make contact with her. Everything was coming along nicely.
Maybe this infection isn't so bad. So what if we lose a few people here and there? It's all for the greater good for the next generation.
...That was something that Willow often thought about in regards of William. He had to be out there somewhere, and she would do anything to find him.
If he isn't infected...
No. He wasn't. She knew William, and he was strong. She would build this regime from the ground up, and stop at nothing to get him back. They would rule together, side by side. Once that happened, everything would be perfect.
Just the way it should be.
1 MONTH AGO
William was tired of walking.
Tired of doing anything, really. There was no way that he would be able to catch up with Daisy. She had a massive head-start, and it was driving him crazy. He hoped that Willow would be okay on her own... He didn't tell her where he was going because he knew that she would try to interfere.
WHY couldn't she just understand his grief? She shrugged off Daisy leaving like it was nothing.
Maybe she was just trying to make things better on me. If those were her intentions, she failed miserably. I'm even worse than before, sister.
William kicked a pile of snow that lay in front of him, and angrily muttered things to himself.
Sure, Willow could be annoying (like the times where she wouldn't allow him to watch 'grown-up' shows because he was APPARENTLY 'too young', even though IT DIDN'T SCARE HIM! HE WAS OLD ENOUGH TO WATCH IT!), but that didn't stop him from loving her.
He had noticed a change in her behavior ever since... Well he couldn't pin-point the exact date, because she ALWAYS acted funny.
William just wanted Willow to go back to normal (whatever normal was, anyways...), and live with Daisy again.
Goodness, he missed her so much. She actually cared for the two of them, and that affection was something that William craved.
He honestly regretted lying to her about someone coming to stay with them.
William's thoughts were abruptly shut off when he noticed a blinking light in the distance. It was hard to tell what it was during the blizzard, but it sort of looked like it was... Flashing red.
What did they mean?
Carefully, William went towards the light. The closer he came, the more he realized that he was approaching some sort of a settlement. A... Military camp? What? All the way out here?
Daisy did say that she was going north, but I didn't think this far north.
Could this be here she was?
That thought definitely put some pep in his step. Almost running at this point, William approached the camp, gasping for breath. He peeked inside the bars, and saw her- Daisy! She was here! His searching wasn't for nothing!
"DAISY! I FINALLY FOUND YOU!" William shouted, trying (and failing) to scale the outer gates.
But the closer he came to the top, the more he realized that something was wrong. Weren't military bases supposed to be bustling with people? Nobody seemed to be there. If they were, they were all being eerily silent.
"D-Daisy?"
And then he saw it. Her eyes... They glowed pink. This was not normal. The more he looked around, the more he noticed colored eyes peeking out from beneath the snow, their gazes all fixated on him.
Slowly, he began climbing back down from the gate.
Apparently the sound of his feet softly hitting the snow was enough to signal every single creature here of his presence, because instantaneously a hoard of zombie-looking creatures leaped out of the snow, headed right towards him.
Including Daisy.
William began crying. Why was she acting so weird? She made no noise as she lunged towards the gate at him.
Hoards of creatures similar to her began trying to scale the fence, using their serrated claws to break it open.
"Daisy, stop this! W-what's wrong with you?"
He could have sworn that he saw a piece of Daisy- just a small glimpse- of her regular self showcased in her eyes, but it was swiftly removed. Before he could even move, she lashed out one of her hooves to scratch him on the arm.
And then everything became dark, as he swirled into the emptiness.
Notes:
Oooooh that ending! I LOVED writing the mini-epilogue to this chapter. William is probably my favorite side character to write about. His story doesn't end here, folks! I have a lot planned.
Once again, sorry for the massive wait. I promise to be more coordinated with chapter releases in the future.
Chapter 7: Stuck in a Nightmare
Summary:
Willow is plagued with nightmares.
Her loved ones are suffering in her dreams, and she is absolutely powerless to fix it. So, in the end, Willow decides not to sleep unless absolutely necessary.
Soon enough, the beginnings of her gang begin to form. The Silver Paw... Oh, the great things she has planned for them! If only they will simply bend to her will...
Notes:
This is going to be a VERY exciting chapter. Keep in mind that some time has passed since the previous one, so the whole group has been called to meet each other at this point.
I am completely changing some of them so that I will have more creative liberty with the plot itself. These are very unexplored characters to begin with, so I am going to have a lot of fun with this one.
I'd also like to thank you guys again for so much support. I never thought that this fanfic would receive over 150 views! It completely surpassed my expectations, and I know that you guys will be pumped to see what I have next.
I kept the summary of this chapter very vague, because I have tons planned. Anyways, get reading!
TW: Mentions of abuse / self-harm references (Mentioned, not shown).
There is also a scene at the end where a characters cuts off his arm. It is not shown, but implied.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Willow was holding her gun steady, though her brain told her that she was supposed to be panicking.
She stood there, almost mindlessly. It appeared as though she were in a trance, or someone else was controlling her movements. If she listened carefully, she could hear a clock ticking. Willow couldn't tell if it was her imagination or not.
The metaphorical stings that kept her still had suddenly vanished, and she had control for just a moment. Where was she?
Looking around, Willow looked to be in some kind of snowy abyss. Great. Was she lost?
Though... She didn't remember arriving here in the first place.
She did what any rational person would, and checked her surroundings. Nobody seemed to be present. That was a good thing, wasn't it? No. She should be worried. He was supposed to be here tonight.
Wait. Who?
Willow felt like she was... Expecting somebody. Whoever this mystery person that her subconscious had created was late. She told herself to be angry, though she didn't feel like it. Willow checked her watch, which she didn't even realize was there in the first place. That was... Oddly convenient. She didn't remember ever wearing a watch.
Brushing off that thought, she noticed that there were no numbers on it.
So, this random mystery watch is even more mysterious.
Before she could linger on that thought any further, a branch snapped nearby. Willow's head perked up, and she strained her ears to listen. Someone was walking towards her. Could this be the person she was expecting? Her heartrate began to spike up, though she had no idea as to why.
She tried to move closer to the sound, but her feet stood rooted to the spot. That was odd. She felt like she couldn't move, and the thought made her feel uncomfortable. Not being in control was one of her fears, especially after the murders she had committed. Willow felt like she was never in control of herself anymore. Some moments she would be relaxed, and the next she was pulling a bullet out of somebody's chest. Yeah. She had to admit that she wasn't exactly stable.
A sudden sense of uneasiness began to linger. The sound of someone approaching got louder and louder by the second, though Willow was frozen in place.
Tick... Tock...
The watch on her arm began to tick even louder than before, and she had the feeling that that was a bad thing.
A figure came out of the shadows, though she had to squint to make out its features.
Small, gray ears, and a big dopey grin across his face. Huh. That seemed familiar. Willow couldn't place where she had seen that before, though she felt as though she should remember.
"Willow! You're here!" the boy said, stretching out his arms as though he were about to give her a hug.
She tried to reply, but her mouth was glued shut. Hopefully this figure would understand, though it was doubtful. His eyebrows began to lower, and he looked quite worried. Willow hoped that he would just go away so she could be lulled to sleep by the hypnotic ticking of her watch. Mmm... It made her tired.
Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock...
"Willow? Are you alright?"
The only thing that she could move was her eyes, so she tried to communicate that she was stuck. He seemed understanding enough. But why was he worried? Was something wrong with her? Willow didn't feel like anything was wrong.
The tiredness that had started to consume her seemed to beckon her into the darkness. Maybe if she just stood here and ignored him, she could finally go to sleep. Wait. Why was she tired? Oh, right. The watch. Huh, it didn't seem tiring anymore. The ticking was very loud, and started to burst her eardrums. Why wouldn't it stop?
The watch became louder and louder, but the figure remained determined to get a reaction out of her.
"Um... Willow? Hello?"
TICK. TOCK. TICK. TOCK.
Willow could barely hear him over the ticking, but she could make out some faint cries from help from the boy. Okay, she kind of felt bad for him. He seemed like he was trying really hard to get her attention. Willow hoped that he didn't think she was ignoring him.
Everything around her began to get darker and darker... But the loudness continued. She tried to reach out a hand to grasp onto anything, but was unsuccessful. Down... The ticking sent her falling into a gigantic hole, as it progressively seemed to be trying its hardest to make her ears bleed.
TICK. TOCK.
"WILLOW!" the boy screamed, dragged her towards him.
Suddenly, she was pulled forwards. Her body collapsed onto the ground, still not used to having control over itself. Finally, she could move! She really should thank the boy for his help, maybe even ask his name.
After many failed attempts, her mouth opened.
"Who are you?" was all she managed to get out.
Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, because the boy burst out in tears. She awkwardly put an arm around his shoulder, but he flung it away.
"Y-you don't remember? It's me, Willow! It was only a few years... How did you forget about me?"
All she could do was stand there, puzzled. Well, this was certainly a misunderstanding. First off, he kept calling her by some weird name she had never heard before. Who was Willow? She decided to ask him.
"I'm sorry, but I think you have the wrong person. I don't know who you're talking about."
The tears still streamed down his face, and he let out a slight hiccup.
"This isn't funny, Willow! Please, don't you remember me?"
Huh. She wasn't trying to be funny. This kid must be nuts... I guess I'd better just leave.
As soon as Willow turned away from him, she noticed the gun in her holster. Oh, right. Why did she have that, again? The strings that had trapped her before suddenly took hold, and she stood there, waiting for it to do its thing.
Her hand reached for the gun, and loaded it. Willow stood there, uninterested. Her brain told itself to not panic, and actually found this entire conversation to be boring all of a sudden.
The gun was pointed at the boy, and he let out a whimper.
"W-Willow? What are you doing? It's me, remember? I'm William. Do you really not remember?"
It was weird, but in a moment everything seemed to click. She realized who he was, and was shocked by the fact that she had previously not known. Her brother! After all this time, she was finally reunited with him! Willow tried to reach out an arm to hug him with, but she was still stuck.
No. She wanted him.
With every ounce of strength she had, Willow tried to push herself away from the force that held her in place. Nothing worked.
Before she could process it, she had aimed her gun and fired. A deafening and unmistakable BANG resounded throughout the abyss, sending bits of snow flying. What had previous been a white wonderland had been bloodstained red. With a thud, the figure landed on the ground. In his final moments, he looked up at Willow.
"So the things I heard were right. You have become a monster. Y-you're not my sister anymore, and you never were!"
The world around her began to swirl. His unblinking eyes... His final breath...
It was too much for her. She wanted to cry, but she was unable to move anything. SHE DID THIS TO THE ONE PERSON WHO SHE STILL CARED ABOUT. THIS WAS HER DOING, NOBODY ELSE'S. IF SHE WAS BETTER THAN SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CONTROL HERSELF.
William's limp body lay there in the snow, leaving blood everywhere.
His last words rang throughout her mind over and over again. Had she really become a monster? She regained control of her body once more, but didn't even have the courage to do anything else but turn away in shame.
A monster... Willing to kill her own brother. Was there no way out of this mess?
The ticking of her watch abruptly stopped, and she everything turned black.
...
Willow woke up, sweat lining the sheets. Even though it was all a dream, she felt miserable. Every muscle in her body ached, and no matter what she tried to do to forget about what she had seen, Willow kept thinking about his final words.
She hoped that William wasn't dead. He deserved none of this, and he honestly didn't even deserve to be called her brother. He deserved much, much more.
Breathing a heavy sigh, Willow untangled her limbs from the sheets. Never in her life had she experienced a nightmare quite like this one. It seemed so real...
Willow looked over at her alarm clock, and saw through her hazy eyes (She had NOT been crying... Totally...) that the time was only two A.M. Well, she had nothing better to do, so she started her day.
She couldn't forget about what she had seen that night, and it would continue to plague her for the rest of her life.
The Silver Paw turned out to be a lot easier to form once she had someone else to help her out. Kitty only had a few friends, but they had their connections with people willing to join. Maybe things would finally be better, if she could forget about that stupid dream. William had to be safe. She knew him better than anyone else, and he had probably created his own shelter by now.
He just... Couldn't be infected. That wasn't a possibility. Nope. William was totally safe, and definitely not a brainless zombie.
Gosh, the thought of it made her heart ache. Why did he have to leave her protection? Willow often tried to rationalize her craziness by using the excuse of her poor childhood, but things just seemed to be her fault at this point.
The number one thing that Willow needed to be during these times was resilient. She wasn't going to stop creating a better world, even if she made some mistakes along the way. Sure, she had killed a few people, but did their lives really matter?
UGH! Those were the thoughts that made her feel like maybe she was missing a part of herself. Would Rash have thought like this? Maybe her whole worldview had just been contorted into something that would forever be broken. Just thinking about it made her get chills up her spine.
To distract herself, Willow remembered that Kitty had organized a meet-up with some people that her friends said were up to joining. Hopefully they didn't turn out to be total losers, like Kitty.
Sure, she was kindhearted, but her mind was just mush when it came to creating good ideas. Willow didn't want to hear a speech about friendship, or how forming this group would make a ton of people happy and blah blah blah. All she wanted was to find William again, and then she could be happy. For now, she just had to lay away at night and think about what a garbage world she lived in. Those weaklings wouldn't last a day out here without her help.
Willow and Kitty had spent the night in an old warehouse, but resolved that they needed a bigger establishment to hide in if they wanted to fit ten people together.
A part of her wanted all this to work out, mainly so she had something to distract herself with. All this worrying about finding food wouldn't be a problem anymore now that most of the local shopkeepers were dead. Sorry, infected. They looked just as good as dead, though.
It was all those idiots who still called them the "infected". She had looked some dead in the eye and seen nothing animal-like about them. They were merely shells of what they once were. The idea of having no control of themselves made Willow think about her nightmare again, but she immediately switched the topic.
"What time are we supposed to meet them?" Willow asked, trying to come up with something to talk about. They had rehearsed the plan multiple times, but Willow was asking the question again to either see if that peanut-brained cat could even remember it. And because she was horrible at small talk.
"Around noon. We still have around an hour to pack our bags and meet them there. We're going to the Old Oak, right?"
Willow nodded. The Old Oak... Her dream vacation spot when she was a pup. It had a ginormous tree that looked to be about a century old, and was inscribed with messages from past visitors. Even thinking about it made Willow crack a smile, because she always came up with plans with William about the funny things they planned on writing. Then again, Willow shouldn't have promised him that they would be able to go one day. She knew deep down that it would never happen, but she needed something to motivate him with.
Eventually Kitty's watch lit up, informing the two of them that it was time to go to the Old Oak and meet the others. Willow wasn't nervous, though she caught herself suspiciously eyeing Kitty's watch.
Seriously, she needed to forget that nightmare.
For the first time in Baren's life, he was actually nervous. All he got was a call from his friend asking him if he was interested in joining a group to stop the infection, and like any person would, he accepted the offer.
Other than that, he had zero background information. Who was coming? Should they even be trusted?
After everything that had happened in his life, he had every right to be paranoid. After all, his friends seriously tried to SACRIFICE him to a group of infected, thinking it would stop this madness and chaos. Seriously? Did they have any bit of common sense in them? They claimed that their idea was to give Baren up to the infected, and then they wouldn't attack them anymore. He was the strongest person they knew, so maybe that is why they thought he would be great to sacrifice?
Whatever their 'reasoning' was, the whole idea was COMPLETELY STUPID. He should have listened to his father, and never trusted anybody. Anyone can betray you, and he had to learn that the hard way. Baren honestly hoped that this group wouldn't be a pack of imbeciles like his previous acquaintances.
A radio... That's all the communication he had with the outside world. Baren thought that it would be a great idea to lock himself up in his father's old woodshed, but then he came to the conclusion that that was also a dumb idea. He didn't have nearly enough supplies to last the next couple years, even if this ever blew over. He had strength, but never the good ideas.
His father always told him that he should toughen up, so he did. Punching that woodpile made all his troubles go away, so maybe Father was right about one thing. The only problem was that he had to explain the bits of tender skin on his knuckles to anyone who was brave enough to ask.
Sure, he may look intimidating, but Baren also had to admit that he had a lot of flaws. Just let him punch his way out of this, world! The infection had been going on for what seemed like ages, and it turned out that trying to fight them didn't end well. He was honestly relieved when his father received the bite, because then he wouldn't have to deal with his constant scolding. Apparently everyone else shrugged off that thought, considering they knew a decent amount of his life before the infection.
His life felt empty, which was the main reason that he gave this whole 'save everyone' group a chance. He had done so many wrong things, and he needed to make them right. The scars that ran up his face... His father always told him that meant he was strong. But to Baren, it just showed that he was too weak to fight back. Dang, he wished that he had his punching logs. The splinters and the pain was worth the rewarding sensation of his anger being released.
So, with all the courage left he could muster, Baren headed out of his father's woodshed for the first time in a month. The daylight was almost blinding, and it was not something he would get used to for awhile. The streets were littered with infected, so he had to take the verbal route that the person over the radio described for him.
See, Father, I can do something good. Maybe it's not your definition of good, but it's something that doesn't make me seem like I'm self-absorbed. I'm going to help people, even if you didn't want me to. I'll make good use of my strength, and that's a promise.
Seeing ten people at once seemed to bother Willow. Her whole life she had only seen the same few people, and meeting this many new ones seemed to make her stomach squirm. No, she wouldn't describe it as fear, but she would classify it as being uncomfortable. At least these people didn't know the things that she had done. Maybe she had a second chance this time.
Willow had left her gun stashed away besides a nearby tree just in case things got ugly, but she hoped she would never have to use it again. She had resolved that she would become a better person, and thankfully nobody here could possibly be suspicious of her. To them, she was probably just some random survivor, and not a psycho murderer. Yup. Just an average person...
Snapping her out of her thoughts, Kitty tapped Willow on the shoulder. The aura around them seemed to be quite awkward, and nobody knew what to say. Heck, most of them probably didn't even know why they were here.
"So, thank you all for gathering here today. You can call me Willow. I'm just a survivor, like all of you. This infection has taken so much from us, but there has to be a way to fix everything. We can't give up now, so what do you guys say? Should we give in to all this madness, or should we take the stand and make things right?"
Willow hadn't had any time to practice a speech or anything, but she just used a lot of the things that Kitty would say in the minimal time they've known each other. However, it seemed to cause quite a great reaction. A few of them nodded their heads, but others clapped in agreement.
So far, things were going surprisingly well.
A few conversations began to break out, but someone raised their hand.
Willow beckoned here to come forwards.
"Miss Willow, what exactly are we going to do here? I mean, none of us really have anything left, so how will we build up a group?" the panda asked.
"Well, I have some ideas. There are a lot of abandoned buildings these days, and taking some of them wouldn't be too bad of an idea. We could colonize them, and do certain jobs there. I know it's not much of a plan, but I really only expected a few people to turn up." Willow replied.
The panda merely nodded, and stepped aside to look at the others.
Willow could have sworn that she looked familiar, though she couldn't place where she had seen her before.
From the group, Willow had started to overhear names and associated them with faces. There was Baren, who seemed to be a tough grizzly bear who could be the group's core strength for manual labor. Next was Kitty, of course, and Willow already found herself familiar with the cheery young kitten. She's pretty sure that the panda she talked to is named Pandy, though she doesn't know too much about her yet. Maybe she is the elusive type? That could be useful. Then there's Katie, who seems to be some kind of distant relative of Kitty's, though they don't know each other too well. She seems to be good with medical help, which could make her a valuable asset to the group. On the far right she could see a fox named Filip, who was making a few of the members laugh. A comedian, that's totally what they needed. It made Willow roll her eyes, but she would allow him in for now. Who knows, he may have something to make himself useful with. Another fox was somewhere nearby, though Willow could tell that they weren't relatives. He looked sullen and reserved, and just quietly leaned against a tree trunk. Maybe he could be useful for stealth missions?
One of the main two that caught her eye was a horse named Pony, who seemed to be quite fidgety. He looked like he didn't know why he was here, though Willow was suspicious that he could bolt at any second. He seemed to be the moldable type, and submissive towards authority. That was just what she needed, actually. Someone to bend to her will.
No. Rash would say that's a bad thought, right? Yup. Totally evil. He's just a normal horse that I will be friends with, and definitely not adjust so he fits what I have in mind for him. Haha... Nope.
The other was a quite thin tiger, who was also hiding from the rest. Instead of playing it off like Pony did, his fear showed on his face. Yikes, a worry-wart like that would be awful for the team. Hopefully she could do something with him, though Willow had no idea what. She was pretty sure that his name was Tigry, or at least something that started with a T.
Overall, the group just seemed eh. The only positive thing she noticed about them was that they appeared to just agree with what everybody else was saying, which would be perfect for when she commanded them to do things. All Willow had to do was just get one of them to agree, and the rest would follow suite. She could do something with this, she was sure of it.
And so, the group got settled for the night in the flimsy branches of the Old Oak. Even though it seemed like the branches would snap at any moment, Willow still tried to make herself comfortable. They all agreed that they would work out a potential hiding place in the morning, but for now they would just spend the night away from any known infected. Just to be sure, Willow decided to stay watch.
Mainly because she was too scared of sleeping because she never wanted another nightmare again...
But that didn't matter. Things were going quite well, actually. With a lot of reforming, these survivors could be turned into something special. Instead of the useless creatures they once were, Willow could turn them into loyal followers who understood how the world works. But for now, she needed to take things slowly. Wait until they depend on her for their basic needs, and then they can't disobey her. It was totally the perfect plan, right? Nothing could go wrong.
Willow sat down, and finally let herself relax. She hadn't even realized that her muscles had been tensed all day while the discussions were going on. Now that a good amount of things were worked out, she could finally think about what needed to be done.
More importantly, saving William. Rash could wait. He probably had no concept of time any more as that... Monster.
And so she sat down under the stars, and whispered to herself.
I'm coming, little brother. Once I find you, I'll be sure to let nothing bad ever happen to you again. We'll be a family again, no matter what. Keep fighting for me, please.
Gosh, she hoped he was alive.
William awoke in total darkness. His mind felt like mush he tried to swim to the surface, begging his eyes to open. Eventually, his fear won over the exhaustion. Where in the world was he?
Looking around, he could see nothing but black specks clouding his vision. Blinking away the grogginess, he sat up. William tried to recount the events of what had just happened, though they only came in flashes.
Daisy...
Daisy...
OH! THE CREATURES!
Then he remembered. William had been searching for Daisy, but when he reached the military base everyone was acting strangely. He decided that he would figure that out later, but for now he had to deal with the burning sensation in his left arm.
Looking down at all, William's pace went pale.
His arm was covered in gigantic gash marks, with blood oozing out from the side. It was a horrific sight that almost made him gag, but he maintained his composure. What to do... What to do?
As soon as the thought occurred to him, he wanted to be sick. Those monsters... Didn't they have scratches or bites, too? Did one of them... Do that to him? Was he going to turn?
All the thoughts were confusing, and almost made William cry from how stressful this was. All he wanted was Daisy and Willow... Why couldn't they be here now? And so, William did the only thing that he thought he could.
William had seen sneaked little bits of TV shows in Daisy's old shop whenever she wasn't looking, and one of them was a show about zombies. He couldn't remember the name, but the knew exactly what he had to do. To stop himself from turning... He had to cut off his arm. He searched through the snow, and pulled out a blade that one of the creatures had dropped.
Fear enveloping him like the beckoning darkness, he began to raise the blade...
...
The next day, William woke with a fever. If he was really sick, there was nothing he could do about it. He had lost so much blood, and even he knew that it was an unhealthy amount. The first thing he needed to find as soon as possible was water, and then figure out where to find a good food source. He had to build some kind of a shelter in order to escape those... Things.
What would Willow do in this situation? The thoughts of him running up and flinging himself in her arms again was the only thing keeping him going. He raised himself up with one arm, and looked down at the wound he knew he needed to cauterize.
Please, Willow. Please be safe. I love you so much, and I hope that you will stay strong. I-I'll be strong like you, I promise.
And suddenly, William began to regret ever leaving Willow's side.
Notes:
AAAAA IT IS DONE! I worked so hard on this chapter, so I hope you guys enjoy it. Things will begin picking up the pace, but this was mainly to get you guys familiar with TSP, and Willow's plans for it.
Sorry that it got kind of gross towards the end... I didn't include as much violence as I was originally expecting, but I did include that scene just to show how William is still alive.Don't ask me how William knows how to cauterize wounds...
I have no explanation :)
He is only seven. Yes... Not the greatest plot hole for me to be caught up in.
Chapter 8: An Update (NOT A CHAPTER, BUT PLEASE READ)
Chapter Text
I have somewhat sad news to share-- I'm taking a brief hiatus from this fanfiction. I am sorry for the lack of updates recently, but I have tried writing the next chapter over and over again and I have still been dissatisfied with it. I want to bring you guys the best fanfiction I can, even if that means taking a short break to collect my thoughts.
You will be getting an ending to this story, and I plan on finishing it! Only expect the hiatus to be around a month or two long, so don't get too worried. I just want to bring the best quality content I can to you guys, and it has been hard for me recently because this story has gone off the rails from my original plan. I do not have writer's block, but rather I need some time to think about how I want this fanfic to go from now on. While I work on this, I will be posting some short fics to my account!
Hopefully those will be able to keep you guys satisfied while I work on organizing the timeline for the rest of this fanfiction. I appreciate your patience, and I hope the ending turns out to be worth the wait!
I will be removing this update chapter once the hiatus is done. Once again, sorry for leaving you guys hanging for so long.
Chapter 9: Discontinued.
Chapter Text
It is with a heavy heart that I announce I am discontinuing this fic. It was a joy to write, and I appreciate all of your wonderful comments and support.
I made an update chapter in February about this, but I said that I would deleting the fanfiction and revamping my Ao3 account. While I do not like my past work, I've decided to keep it up just to see my improvement and allow others to still get to read what I had planned for this story. I've removed the original discontinued post just to avoid confusion.
I took a mini writing hiatus, but I do plan on working on some fics in the near future. I've mostly been writing about my own characters, but I honestly still enjoy making fanfiction. I can't wait to show you guys with the future holds!
AntagonistFanatic on Chapter 5 Mon 13 Sep 2021 12:55PM UTC
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