Monachopsis

Chapter 20

The bat went sideways on Ranboo's last swing, hitting Markus as if it was a slap. His head was bleeding, dripping onto his face, getting into his eyes and mouth. This hit broke his nose, and Ranboo panted as he kneeled next to him. They scooted up, getting blood on their pants as they placed two fingers on his neck.

"He has a pulse." Ranboo whispered. He didn't know if he was happy at this realization or not. Looking at their father angered them. Shaking his head vigorously, as if to shake away any emotions towards his father, he scrambled to reach his mom. Doing the same thing, he placed two fingers on her neck. "No. No no no no..." Ranboo's anger fell, leaving only grief. They sobbed as they held their mother, blood soaking the top half of their shirt and the shins of his pants. After a while, when Ranboo thought he had no more tears to shed, he kissed his mom's forehead and apologized.

"I'm sorry for leaving. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry-"

As he left the house, he grabbed a backpack and grabbed as much of his mom's stuff as he could. Walking on the sidewalk got them attention, so they opted to use the alleyways. After ages of walking, he saw the base. The adrenaline had worn off, so they were wincing with every step they took. The glass from the phone screen, from the bottle he hit his dad—no, Markus—with, and the bloody glass around his mom had all dug into his ankles and shins, making every step hurt. His right hand was under immense pain as well, from the bat hitting his wrist and then the splinters from holding his dad off with that hand alone looked rough. Their left hand ached, but not nearly as bad.

Walking up to the front door of the base, he knocked on the door. "Who is it?" A guard asked before inhaling sharply at Ranboo's state. "Glitchbreak? Highness?! Papa J?!?" With every name they became more panicked. Dream was the first one there.

"What?"

"It's, um, Void. Sir."

"What do you mean? He was visiting-" Dream stopped in his tracks a he got to the guard's side, finally seeing the figure outside clearly. "Mark!" Dream whispered as he panicked. "Go get dad." He turned to the guard. "Now." The person bowed before rushing off. Dream ran up to his friend.

"Oh my Gods, what happened?!" The two heard a gasp behind them as Dream analyzed Ranboo's state.

"Markus and I had an argument, I went on a walk to let of steam, and then-" Ranboo's voice broke as tears started streaming once again. "When I came home, she was..." A sob escaped the back of their throat.

"It's ok Mark. You can say it." Papa J encouraged from the doorframe.

"...He killed her. He's...um..." Another sob interrupted them. "He's unconscious now." They heard footsteps and they stopped at the door, accompanied with a gasp. Papa J moved so that Eret could stand in the doorframe. Dream moved slightly to the side so Eret could see Ranboo. Papa J started yelling orders to get people at the Beloved household as soon as possible. This left the trio alone.

"Mark, I-"

"That's not my name anymore." Eret and Dream looked to one another before nodding.

"Ok," Dream put a hand on Ranboo's shoulder. "We'll find something else."

Eret walked to Ranboo's left and hugged them. Dream went to his other side and rubbed Ranboo's back as he cried and screamed. Eret held Ranboo's hands, and used an Ischia—a magic relic—to heal their wounds from the bat and the glass shards. The Ischia's beautiful material shimmered in the moonlight. The cloth was warm, but didn't sting on Ranboo's sore hands. He could feel the tingle of the rag's healing properties restore moisture to his sore and dry skin. Eret visibly paled as the relic used her energy to heal Ran.