#TWO mashups i am hoarse from screaming

[aqpippin]

hello it’s 2:30 and we just got home from the eras tour and i am so happy and sore and emotional and tired and loved

[dontbelievethehype-kj]

The Dawn of a New Era

{General TW. But added for blood/vomiting/kidnapping/death/Mild torture?/etc. Written by myself and @actualmania, the owner of @/cerebralthunder-1wayconversation}

❝You better let me go.❞ Was what Josh was trying to say to the robed figure that was dragging him through the sand, although, it came out more like a gargle as the sharp ringing in his head returned. ‘Tyler, where was Tyler?’ He couldn’t feel the other’s presence as he spit crimson onto the shifting ground. He knew the sand could move, of course, but the entire world felt flipped to him. East was up. Josh knocked his head against the sand for a moment, a silent cry escaping his lips as the ringing grew louder and louder. He doesn’t know when he blacked out, but he did, only wake up to the sharp jolting of his body being put on the back of a horse. “Wh- Tyler? Where-” That’s when he saw /them/, the nine bishops that hunted him and his family in the first rebellion, standing far enough in the distance that he could see the nine towers of silence behind them. “NO. NO- THIS ISN’T-”

Josh didn’t register the pain that fell over him until it was too late, leaving him a limp body over the saddle of the snow white horse. But--just barely--in the back of his subconscious, his mind was still racing. Question after question repeated over and over till he was tired of himself thinking. ‘Where is Tyler?,’ ‘Where am I?,’ ‘Why-,’ ‘HOW?’ Joshua mentally smacked himself, trying to fight the impending darkness as the sound of his own voice faded to the numb tones coming from the bishops around him. Back in that hell hole. The /last/ place he wanted to be. They had won, they had all gotten out, only to be dragged back when freedom was so close. It was a taste they’d never have the blessing of returning to without another rebellion. But there wasn’t a soul left that could help them to begin with. What he wouldn’t give for one last dance with the zones.  Or a hug from his sons, or a big, sloppy kiss from his dog.

Meaningless time passed by as he slowly opened his eyes, the pounding of his headache falling into sync with the sound of the horses’ hooves hitting the rocks. Rocks. Was- Was that running water? Trench. They had made it to the trench again. Half closed, mocha eyes focused on the black leather of the saddle, something that wouldn’t make the pain spark behind his eyes again. More time passed, and after awhile he had started humming--an odd mashup of Fall Away and Jumpsuit. Alas, it was short lived as one of the walking bishops reached up and slapped the back of his head, causing him to flinch and retract himself tighter against the saddle--retracting; flinching, it had been a habit he had finally quit, and it was slowly dragging him back down. He thought about looking back up, about trying to rebel again, but his will to do it wasn’t there. His will to fight was somewhere alone, or even worse, hurt. And against every instinct he had, he just laid there and cried. Cried until he couldn’t anymore.

Hours passed of himself drifting in and out of consciousness, but after he had woken up fully, he managed to keep some kind of strength. And boy, he fought and fought as they tied him up, arms pulled tightly against his back with the rope pressing against his ribcage. And surely, Josh struggled against the bounds around his arms and torso, fighting to pull himself into a standing position as one of the bishops tried to shove him to his knees. "GET YOUR MOTHERFUCKIN' HANDS OFF OF ME." His voice couldn't have been recognizable after the long journey of screaming and crying into a leather saddle, and the last quarter of the journey in a gag. His voice was so hoarse, unlike his normal, soft tone that (almost) everyone loved. "YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS TO LET ME GO BEFORE I START BITING.” After a brief moment of fighting from the man, a struggling figure was sat in front of him that seemed to look around in vain, a bag tied over their head. The person was clad in a black shirt, jeans, and combat boots, yet they were unrecognizable. And somehow familiar. When the struggling man finally collapsed, it was from the sharp jolt to the back of the neck that made a pitiful cry--a cry that no soul would ever hear--escape his lips. As he stumbled forward and onto his knees he finally, although blurry, caught glimpse of the figure in front of him. "Wh-What? You’re kidding me, who the fuck is that?” The man twitched in his seat, clearly in pain. Something about the little twitch was extremely familiar, causing a spark in the other’s memories. Before Josh could do anything about it though, a cage was placed around him, with glass and metal walls. The yellow and brown haired man jumped and let out a growl that sounded more animalistic than human. He knew exactly who the person in front of him was, and he was NOT happy about it. "TYLER!," as he shouted, he threw himself full force into the glass, only to fall back in a putty of crying, /his/ blood, and sweat. He looked like death had taken a human vessel.  "Give me back my boyfriend, now." When the hood was pulled off by a bishop, Tyler looked drugged and out of it. They had... done something to him. “Joshie...?” His voice was weak and hoarse. Tyler played the part of death with Josh. But now, Josh was back in an upright position, the sound of his nickname drawing out the worst in him as he started pounding on the glass--to no avail. "Tyler! NO, Let him GO!" ”Josh!” Tyler started struggled frantically against the ropes, hoping to break free. Instead, a Bishop smacked him in the side of the head and the glassy look in his eyes returned. Soon, blood dripped from his mouth as he let his head drop against his chest. If this wasn’t a terrifying sight, what was? Each time Josh threw himself into the glass, a sickening cry or crack escaped from the prison. "Tyler! Ty, NO!" And everytime the man screamed, he could feel his voice disappearing again, it wouldn't be long until he would be forced to watch the horrifying scene unfold, with nothing but his whines able to make noise. ”Josh, D-Don’t tell them anything... j-just please get out. I-I’ll be o-oka-“ Tyler was interrupted by a grey hand being placed against his mouth. A bishop had grown tired of his whining, and begging. A distorted voice spoke up. “Does he ever shut up?” But after hearing the distortion of the bishop's voice, it caused Josh to lurch forward, a frantic attempt being made to cover his ears in time as the nauseous feeling hit him like a car. It took him everything not to vomit from the pain. "L-Let him go. I-I'll tell you everything if you let him go-" The nine looked at each other and nodded. “Every important thing you tell us, he’s returned to you in a little better condition.” Tyler couldn’t take hearing it two times in a row in his condition. When the Bishop moved his hand, Tyler lurched forward and threw up on the ground. It was mostly blood and stomach acid, but terrible nonetheless. Tyler convulsed in his seat a few times before slumping back in his chair. "T- Tell me what you want to know. " Josh, after seeing the man vomit, emptied stomach on the floor behind him.  He leaned back up, a pitiful expression on his face as he looked to the Bishops. "Just tell me what you want to know. Who you want to know. I'll tell you everything I know." They considered, and One of them covered Tyler’s ears, making good on the promise. “Your accomplices, how you escaped, and how you got to California in the time you did.” Tyler had closed his eyes, leaning heavily on the back of the chair with a pained expression on his face. "My accomplices were kids and family that didn't want to stay here. I- I don't know where the rest of them are." He started to rock himself on the floor, tears running down his face. "There's a tunnel under the city. It leads from a home inside. I can show you where it is. A- And we,, We drove. We drove to California." The bishop nodded, rotating its thumbs in circles around Ty’s temples. “And where did you get a car?” Tyler flinched, as if the motion was hurting him. "I won't tell you anymore until you stop doing that do him." Josh leaned back on his feet, the distorted voices hurting him more than he let on. "You're hurting him." The bishop stopped, frowning noticeably. Tyler let out a small noise of discomfort. “Josh...” he sounded concerned. “The car, Joshua. Tell us more about the car.” Josh stood back up in his glass prison, mocha eyes screaming defiance as he pushed the yellow tips of his hair over his face to hide them. "An old friend left it out there for me before he was pulled into DEMA. He's dead, now." Four of the Bishops filed out of a secret door, leaving five surrounding Tyler. “Thank you, Joshua. That's all we needed to know.” There was a long, tense pause. Josh glared forward at them through his bangs, a soft growl escaping his lips. "Can we go now? I gave you all you needed to know-- What else could you possibly need?"Josh rocked on his feet again as one produced a staff from underneath his robes, and without warning, struck Tyler in the stomach with it. His chair fell to the floor onto his arms and a sickening crack came from one of the man’s wrists. Tyler let out a soft cry. Josh let out a little cry of his own, more because of the man falling than the cracking. As he struggled with his head a moment, Josh slowly pulled himself back to a standing position. "Y- N-" He full-on threw himself against the glass, cringing as the shards rained down around him. "Tyler!! No- N-No-- You said you wouldn’t hurt him!” The Bishop nodded to the other three and cut Tyler loose. Bleeding and weary, he tried and failed to crawl to Josh. “We said we’d hurt him less. It’s a good thing you told us what we wanted, or we may have killed him.” Tyler cried out as the staff was brought down onto his back. As if Josh had been the one hit, he fell onto his stomach in the glass, cringing visibly as he pushed his arm through the metal bars, desperate to even touch fingertips with his boyfriend. "Don't-- D-Don't lay another an-anything on him." Josh sputtered out the words, blood and tears running down his cheeks. "Ty--- Tyler, I'm so sorry" Tyler was kicked back over onto his back, panting as he reached for Josh. They struck him a few more times before dropping the staff onto his head and leaving. The ‘animal’ let out a frantic cry, starting to look for an escape route. Although, his hunting was for nothing, because as soon as the Bishops had left the room, the remaining metal bars lifting from around him. This left him to scramble forward to Tyler, panting like an animal. "Ty- Ty?!"  To his disappointment, Tyler could barely look up at him. A small puddle of his own blood had pooled around him and soaked his clothes. “Joshie...” his voice was weak and strained. "Ty- Tyler, Baby-" Josh ever-so-carefully tugged Tyler into his laps, soft crying ensuing as he held onto him. "I'm so sorry, I- I never meant for us to end up back here, I- I thought California would be safe for us--" Tyler leaned his head against Josh’s shoulder, gently moving his hand to his chest with his wrist that wasn’t shattered. “Y-you’re bleeding...” His face twisted into and expression of concern. “Y- You're so stupid. You're so much worse than I am." Josh leaned his head down, frowning. "Th- The worst I got was a little bit of glass." Ty hiccuped softly. “Your ba-bac-back...” Ty let his eyes close for a minute and drew in a deep, shaky breath. "Just from gettin' dragged through the sand and rocks, I'm fine--" Josh ran his hand through his own hair before carefully laying his hand right over Tyler's heart. "We'll get out of here, I promise." Tyler sighed softly, his voice laced with pain and exhaustion. “You h-ha-have to.” Ty was close to giving up, with ribs and his wrist shattered. "I- I've got an idea." Josh's voice cracked as he frantically glanced around--most likely to ensure they weren't being watched. "You've got to play dead. Th-They'll make me bury you out of the Trench. I- I'm armed. We can get away." He did his best to sit up, an effort clearly paining him worse. “You have to-to- to pr-prom-promise me s-something.” He sounded serious now, like his next words could be final. The man carefully wrapped his arm around Tyler's waist, supporting him enough so he could stay upright. "Y- Yeah, Ty?" He opened his eyes enough to lock eyes with Josh. “If I don't make it to the t-trench.... y-you- you- you have to go on carrying m-my body.” Josh, trying to hide the fact the words the other spoke just stabbed him right in the heart, choked out a cry and nodded. "I- I promise. C- Can-- If you don't make it, wh- where do I bury you? Ohio? O-Or--?" Tyler nodded. “You c-can’t carry th-that-that- that dead weight all the way home...” “B- But- But--” Josh sputtered over his words. “"T- Ty-- Our home is with each other-" The brunette let a little whine escape his lips as fresh tears rolled down his cheeks. "What am I gonna do without you?" He smiled and leaned on him. “People de-depend on you... you’ll f-fig-figure it out...” Tyler grinned sadly. "B- But I- I don't wanna live without you. N-Not anymore. I barely lasted two weeks, how will I last forever?" Josh rubbed his eyes as he choked out a sob. ”Our fr-friends... our /family/..” He gently pet Josh’s hair. “You need to-to- to bur-burn me, so you d-don’t try and t-take my- my- my body home..” He had closed his eyes again. "I- I don't- I don't want to- I-I can't-- I just won't let go till we both see the light." Josh let out another weak cry, hand moving to finally rub the tears away. "Please don't leave me." Tyler let tears slip from his eyes, cutting through the blood and dirt. “Friend, Please... y-you-you’re being cruel to me, Joshie...” He smiled, fading fast.

Soft words starting flooding from Josh's lips as the tears running down his face increase ten-fold. "I just can't believe it has to be this way, you know we say it seems to me that it was just the other day. I saw your face, I saw your light, you ran the race, you fought the fight, but now it's all being torn down for me tonight." Josh rocked with the body on his lap, wheezing for air. "Don't leave me. Pl-Please-- Please don't leave me, puppy.. Not again.”