#Sean UWO | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dragonsdomain · 6 months

Text

Out of Office chapter 5

AO3

Chapter 4

Charlie was done with snipping her scissors. Now she was just sitting in the corner, hugging her knees, with said scissors held in a death grip in her left fist. The reasonable part of her understood that she was the guest here and this was a flower shop, but the emotional part was in charge right now and she wanted to scream at everyone in the room to get out and stop making noise. The two kids were back down there and bustling around and doing work like everything was fine.

Sean was not in the room. Charlie wasn't sure whether she felt a spiteful satisfaction at that or whether she wanted to give him a piece of her mind again. Maybe it'd feel good to just glare at him from across the room, putting little cuts in his conscience like the way she snipped at napkins. He wasn't there though, which maybe was good, since she really wanted to hit him over the head with something heavy.

Her hand tightened 'til she could feel every sharp edge of her scissors on her skin. Why did Sean tell Eugene about the ghost she'd run from? What made him think he had any right to rat her out like that-- or-- or to let Eugene go off by himself! What was that about? Was he stupid?

She'd already yelled all that Sean about all that, but she felt ready enough to do it again. And he was gonna try to defend himself again, saying, what was it, that Eugene deserved to know things, that it wasn't like there was someone better to take care of it. He hadn't said that she should go and fight it, which she distantly appreciated even though she was still unreasonably angry at him.

Charlie tipped sideways onto the floor and grumbled to herself. Sean could pull out that card at any time, actually. And logically, he would be right. Logic was so nasty sometimes. Why couldn't it be on her side for once?

Suddenly Sean burst down into the room and started fiddling against the front door handle. Charlie scrambled to her feet, making some affronted sound in lieu of any formulated words.

"You were right," Sean said without looking at her. "I shouldn't have let him go alone. I'm gonna go find Eugene."

"You're what?!" Charlie sprang after him. "Are you an idiot? What can you do!"

Sean got the bolt open and shoved through the door. "Whatever I can!"

He flew out at top speed. Charlie watched him through the glass door, wide-eyed, and he'd disappeared around the corner before the door had even slowly clicked shut.

"...Huh?" Charlie stood dazed. What. What was that.

Her scissors slipped from her hand and clanked against the floor.

Finley looked up curiously. "Scissor ghost?"

Charlie clenched her fist. She felt cold. She scratched at the last flecks of white on her chest. They were going to know. Eugene and Sean were both about to find out that that horrible monster was her father, that he was like that, that he was dead, because she'd murdered him.

Charlie stumbled backwards, trying to breathe, but she didn't have lungs. She was dead too. Maybe it was about time she started paying for her sins.

That thought made her freeze. No. She couldn't she couldn't. She wasn't ready.

Charlie gasped, grabbed her scissors off of the ground, and threw open the door to run after Sean. She had to stop Sean. She had to stop Eugene. She couldn't let them find out all the horrible truth about her, or she would lose the last few people in her life who were still around and willing to give her a chance.

Hopefully she wasn't already too late.

...

Getting to his body was slow going.

Eugene managed not to pass out this time, but he had to keep alternating between flying and walking. His vision was fuzzing at the edges again, and it hurt, a lot more than he'd even known spirits could hurt, but he had to keep moving. What would even happen if he didn't make it to his body? Would that be death? Worse than death? His mind conjured the worst case scenarios, years passing as Sean and Charlie had to collect the fragmented bits of his spirit until he was whole again, only to be left with no memory of who he was and a dead body.

Eugene shook his head at the thought, then had to fight off a wave of nausea. He would keep going.

He journeyed in a painful daze. It felt like a long time passed before he reached his body, even if he could hardly remember any of it in retrospect. Finally he managed to slip back down into his body, and he started feeling his human senses come to life again.

"-lo? Hello?" Eugene came to feeling an incessant tapping on his shoulder.

"H-huh?" Eugene hissed then, pain twisting through his torso. He curled in on himself and groaned.

"Woah, man, are you okay? Should I call an ambulance?"

Eugene pulled his head up. It was... Mike. The guy who'd asked for Charlie.

He was looking at Eugene in concern, which was probably reasonable. "Are you hurt?"

Eugene drew in a sharp breath, then pulled himself upwards in an effort to sit normally and offer Mike a polite smile to ease his concerns. He failed miserably to do any such thing, and Mike's frown deepened.

"I'm alright," Eugene assured him, not because it was true but because there was nothing he could do, and he didn't want to explain to anyone right now about how pathetically he had just messed up.

"Oookaaay," said Mike doubtfully. "Um. I was just wondering if there was any update about Charlie? I haven't heard from you for a bit."

Eugene tried to stand, but grunted quietly and sat back down. "S-sorry about that. Charlie said she doesn't want to see you, though she wouldn't tell me why."

"Oh," Mike's shoulders drooped. "Okay then. I guess... I don't know. I guess she's still mad at me."

Eugene closed his eyes. What would she have to be mad at Mike for? He hadn't sicced a massive evil spirit right towards her.

Mike sat down next to him and leaned over to try to look at Eugene's chest. "You really don't look very good," he said. "Why don't you at least go to a clinic and get checked out?"

Eugene abruptly stood up, gritting his teeth at the new rush of pain it caused. "Maybe I will. I'll be fine. I'll get back to you if anything changes with Charlie. Goodbye, Mike."

Mike waved doubtfully as Eugene stumbled out the door and towards the subway station. He struggled to the platform, finding a bench to sit down on. Twice in a row he tries doing anything without a bodyguard and gets seriously injured. Pathetic. He really can't do anything, can he?

He sat there panting and felt a slight annoyance when Mike sat down next to him, then an embarrassment as he realized that this was the only way out of the station.

The pain from his injuries gradually became bearable as they waited for the train. It would've been pretty embarrassing if Eugene had passed out or something, and there probably would've been no way to get out of going to the hospital then either. The silence was awkward though.

Mike eventually broke it. "Did Charlie mention why she doesn't want to talk to me?"

"No," Eugene responded. "She just said she didn't want to talk about it."

"Okay," Mike looked away thoughtfully. He started muttering to himself. "Would it be a bad idea to try to talk to her anyway...?"

Eugene watched him, wondering if he knew he'd heard him. "If you don't mind me asking, what were you wanting to talk to her about?"

Mike glanced at Eugene, then looked away. "I don't know if she'd want me telling people. I should probably leave that to her. I'll just say that something happened a while ago, and I want to talk to her about it. I haven't gotten the chance before." He looked somberly down at the ground. "For... reasons you can probably guess."

Eugene scrunched his brows. Why should he be able to guess the reasons?

Mike saw his confusion. "Oh, it's just... she died soon after. Oops, maybe that was too much information too. Um. Drat, I hope she's not upset I told you that."

"Okay," Eugene said. The subway approached as he thought about Mike's words, and he got on first, trying not to wince as he moved. Mike, giving Eugene one last concerned glance, went and sat down elsewhere.

Mike said Charlie had died soon after the event, but he worried that that'd been too much info. Had what happened between them had something to do with her death? And what did that towering evil spirit have to do with it?

...

Luke bit down on the flower and was immediately torn out of his seat and flung across the room and through the ceiling.

Luke made a baffled whimper as he found himself on his back, staring up at the roof of Joy’s kitchen, the room above the basement.

After pulling himself to his feet, Luke processed that somehow he wasn’t actually in any pain. He jogged over to the stairwell he’d somehow been flung through (how does someone get thrown by a blast in multiple directions? In a curve? This would change crime scene investigations), but stopped short when he found the door still closed.

“Huh?” Luke asked, then jumped at the sound of his own voice, weirdly echoey. “H-huh?” Yeah, he definitely hadn’t imagined that. The echo was slight, but distinct, like the sound characters’ thoughts make in movies.

Luke glanced down at his hands and shrieked. They were semi-transparent, and colored a gentle shade of yellow-orange.

“H-heh, uh, Joy? Oliver?” Luke tried to knock on the door, but his hand phased right through it. Luke should’ve felt sick, but he didn’t have a body, did he? “Joy? Oliver?”

Luke held his breath, then stepped through the solid wooden door. He gasped as he stepped out the other side. Had he phased through the floor too, been flung upwards after biting the flower? That would make more sense than a curved force. And also much less sense, because none of this made sense, because people don't go through roofs.

Thankfully walking down the staircase felt fairly normal, except for Luke feeling weirdly weightless, but he tried to ignore that.

"Guys?" Luke asked as he reached the bottom of the staircase, but rather than being greeted by his friends, Luke found himself floundering against a force pushing him backward. Luke fell backward and looked out on the room he hadn't been able to enter.

Joy and Oliver were looking expectantly at-- o-oh, uh, woah, yeah, that was his body over there. Luke was outside of his body. Okay. Wow. That's fine, that's okay, everything's fine. Ahem. Joy and Oliver were looking at. His body. Expectantly or in puzzlement. What really drew Luke's attention was the crucifix from Oliver's grandmother, which was glowing with a blue-hot radiance that overpowered the little light bulb on the ceiling. It felt bizarre that Joy and Oliver didn't seem to notice it. Had it been glowing like that before and he just couldn't see it, or had it started glowing when he left his body.

Luke pushed gently against the invisible barrier again and was pushed back just as hard, with the crucifix noticeably growing in brilliance. So. He wouldn't be able to get back in that room. That was probably what had thrown him out right when he bit the flower too. How was he going to communicate what was going on to his friends? And... how would he get back to his body?

Surely there was a solution to this. Surely there was no reason to freak out. Luke was freaking out. Well, drat.

Luke hummed frantically in an attempt at self-soothing as he headed back up the staircase. He reflexively tried to push the door open, but of course it didn't work, and Luke's humming increased in urgency as his arm fell through the door again.

He darted through the door quickly, finding himself again in the kitchen.

A desperate laugh bubbled out of Luke's throat. He stopped abruptly. "I need help. I need Eugene."

When he set his mind to it, Luke could do something that felt almost like taking a deep breath, and it did help him calm down, at least a little. He did a few more, willing the air to stay within him each time before he exhaled it.

Finally he was calm enough, so he walked towards the front door, steeled himself, then stepped through it.

Looking around himself revealed a familiar environment, except, that is, for the giant spindly slenderman walking down the street.

"hMMM," Luke turned the opposite direction from whatever that was and started walking resolutely toward Eugene's apartment.

Luke was distracted enough that he ended up bumping into someone. "Sorry--" he said, then froze.

"hMm?" a female voice said, sounding distracted as well. "Oh, you're so colorful. Like Eugene."

Luke stared at the woman. She wasn't shaped quite like a human. Her entire being was made up of greys and blacks and whites. "Who are you? How can I touch you? Where am I? What's going on?"

The lady curled back timidly. "Oh, I'm not good at this. Where's the Underworld Office when you need them? Oh... Eugene..."

"Huh?" Luke perked up. "How do you know Eugene?"

She made a nervous hum. "He's the living boy at the Underworld Office. They help ghosts." She tapped Luke's shoulder experimentally, then gave a nervous laugh. "You're not supposed to be out of your body. You're still alive."

"Yeah. Um. Okay." Luke swallowed. "Do you know where Eugene is?"

The sadness on the woman's face deepened. "He looked hurt when I saw him last. Maybe he's working too hard. He's always working hard, and now his coworkers have all left."

Luke frowned. When he'd last seen Eugene, he'd been really sick. "Where did you last see him?"

The woman tipped her head thoughtfully. "Mmm. He was going over that way." She pointed in the direction of the tall black monster lumbering along. "That monster went the same way soon after."

"So I. Have to go that way. Great." Luke gulped. "Okay, um. Thank you, ma'am."

She hummed one last time, then turned and floated off in the other direction. Luke's brain twisted at the sight, and he turned away quickly.

So... Luke started walking off in the direction of the tall, dark creature. He could guess at a couple of places Eugene might've been headed. Maybe he'd been going to Linda's flower shop, where the two kids they'd saved a couple of years back lived. Or maybe he'd been heading towards Station 00. Was that where the "Underworld Office" was? The woman had mentioned that his coworkers were gone. Maybe that was connected to why Eugene had been in such a depressed mood. Funny, Luke had somehow found out more about Eugene's double life in a one-minute conversation with a ghost lady than in years of being friends with Eugene personally. He wanted to laugh and cry at that.

Ideally, Luke would be able to check on the flower shop first, but the towering creature was still between him and it. Luke wasn't stupid, though. He ducked into a nearby side street, jogged down it and around, and popped back onto the main street in front of the tall figure.

Right in front of the tall figure.

Luke stared at it as it stared back down at him, and he thought that maybe he was, after all, a little bit stupid.

He screamed, then dashed off down the street at full speed.

Luke spotted another ghost as he ran, a chubby one this time. He was running towards him. "Hey!" Luke called, waving his arms. "Run! There's a monster this way!"

As they came upon each other, the ghost grabbed Luke's arm, eliciting a yelp, and pulling him to a stop. "Did you see Eugene over there?"

"Huh?" Luke said. "I thought he was over this way?"

"Who told you that? Do you know where he is?"

Luke pulled up his hand defensively. "I don't know! Some ghost lady!"

"Maybe... um," the ghost man cringed. "I can't be wasting time hesitating. He could be in danger. Bye, guy."

"Wh-- hey!"

The pudgy ghost man dashed off towards the towering shape coming ever closer.

Luke gritted his teeth. "He's crazy." He continued running down the street in the other direction.

Soon enough there showed up another ghost charging towards him, this one an all-black androgynous figure. "Outta my way!" She yelled as she passed him, but then she screeched to a stop. "Luke?"

Luke was surprised enough that he also paused in his dramatic flight. He turned around. "...Yeah?" He scanned the person up and down, but he didn't recognize her.

She blinked, then shook her head. "Ugh, forget it." She turned to run off again.

"Wait!" Luke cried, grabbing her wrist.

She froze.

Luke got the distinct impression that he'd done something wrong. Carefully, he let go of her wrist.

She turned back towards him slowly, a haunted expression on her face. "What?"

Luke held his hands up away from her. "Sorry. Sorry. I just... why are you guys running towards that thing over there? Is that where Eugene is? I'm trying to find him, 'cause he can probably help me figure out what's going on, and I'm kind of confused--"

The girl pointed a pair of scissors at Luke which he hadn't noticed her holding. "You better not go towards that thing, got it? I'm on my way to bring back Sean and whoever else you saw going toward it. So help me, do not ask me any more questions right now or I will cut something!"

"A-ah! Okay, I'll-- um, wait here, I guess, or..."

The round ghost man came running back towards the two of them. "Eugene's not there!" He yelled.

The scissor girl whirled on him. "What do you mean he's not there?!"

"I didn't see him! Run! Or else--"

A shadow covered the three of them, and time froze. Luke looked up, and found himself standing in the line of sight of the towering black figure he'd been running to avoid. It had caught up with them.

"chARLIE."

...

She couldn't move.

The grandfather clock was ticking, so slowly, next to her father's desk. His long fingers drummed on its polished wood. She couldn't meet his eyes.

"Charlie," he said. "Tell me what happened."

He knew what had happened. The teacher had already told him when she called. Charlie wanted to purse her lips and say nothing.

"Charlie." There was a sharper edge to his voice.

It snipped through Charlie's composure. She bent down, shaking. "I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't m-mean... I... I didn't..." her voice was so small.

"Stop groveling," he snapped, standing. "Tell me. What. Happened."

Charlie fell to her knees. Her uniform was dirty. She remembered a lot of things that had happened. She'd kicked a locker. She'd ripped up that girl's notebook. She'd punched a teacher.

She'd cut a slash across Mike's face. Blood everywhere.

She hated herself for all of it. She hated her father for making her hate herself.

Hot tears were coming down her face. Charlie gritted her teeth, and exhaled a hiss of air she wanted to be a scream.

"What did you do, Charlie?"

Her scissors were in her hands. There was blood all over the floor.

Charlie's voice was a tiny gasp, barely there at all.

"I killed you."

Drip.

Black, black blood slid off of the scissors' handle, from her father's chest, where it was impaled.

"Why did you do that, Charlie?" he asked, voice deceptively cool.

Charlie was panting, gasping for breath. "I--" I don't know. "I--" I didn't mean to. "I-I... I..." I... was... angry.

"Of course you were," Charlie's father sighed. "And it's always other people who have to deal with the fallout. It's always me. You're still a disgrace. You keep managing to top yourself."

He stepped around his desk towards Charlie. She gave a cry as he grabbed her hair and yanked her up to eye level. "Now you're not just a failure and a brat. You're a murderer too. Was it fun? Did it feel good to finally do everything you've ever wanted?"

Charlie was sobbing too hard to answer. She reached up to grab the hair that was being pulled, but her father shook it until she let go, crying harder.

"Well? Was it?"

"No," Charlie gasped out. "N-no, it w-wasn't."

Charlie's father finally let go of her hair. Instead he grabbed her head in both hands, and turned her face up to his, and she had to look in his eyes. Those sharp scribbles of eyes that cut just by looking. "Then what do you do now?"

Charlie didn't want those eyes to swallow her. There was a right answer to give. One answer her father wanted. An apology would be the wrong answer, one she'd already given, and it had not been enough. He didn't want a promise that she would do better. He wouldn't believe her, and neither would she.

There was no right answer.

Her scissors had slipped from her hand at some point. Where were they? She wanted them, for some reason. Maybe she would stab her father again. Maybe two wrongs would make a nothing. Maybe she could forget everything again, run to the other side of the earth and pretend none of this was real.

But her scissors were gone. She was weak without them. Powerless.

"Well?"

Charlie opened her mouth breathless, maybe with a plea for mercy on her tongue, but suddenly a slash lanced down through the dream, and she was awake again, back on the sidewalk. She blinked, looking around herself.

Luke had her scissors in his hand, and they were stabbed into the reaching arm of the monster that Charlie's father was. The fingers that were holding her pinned against the ground. A drop of black blood slid down her father's arm and dripped onto the one white spot left over her heart, staining it black.

Then the arm ripped back away from Charlie, and the monster screamed. Someone grabbed Charlie and started dragging her back towards the flower shop until other arms scooped her up and carried her there. They burst through the door to the shop, startling Tatum, and slammed it shut behind them. Sean clicked the lock shut.

Sean set Charlie onto her feet, looking dazed. Luke was panting. "Can someone... explain... what just happened?" Luke gasped wildly.

Outside the flower shop, the legs of the ghost of Charlie's father came into view. He crouched down, holding the sides of the shop and blocking out the sun through the windows. He peered in through the front door straight at Charlie.

Sean gulped. "That's probably not good."

#Underworld Office #Charlie in Underworld #my fanfics #Out of Office #Charlie UWO #Eugene UWO #Luke UWO #Sean UWO #Mike UWO #Charlie's father UWO #tw violence

11 notes · View notes

fulltidalwavecomputer · 4 months

Text

I found both games recently, so here's my first contribution to the fandom

An incorrect quote that doesn't fully makes sense with the timeline but it fits well enough (magnus protocol spoilers?)

River, to Eugene: Oh yeah. We're a real family.

River, pointing at herself: I'm your cool sister.

River, turning to Charlie who flips her off: Charlie's your uncool sister.

River, gesturing at Boss: Boss is your emotionally distant father.

River: Hayden's the uncle that just got another job. (he works at an animal rescue shelter too now. don't ask how.)

River: And Joan is the family's grumpy old war veteran!

#charlie in underworld #underworld office #cuw #uwo #incorrect quotes #Sean def fits the uncle part more but I like to think Hayden thinks of himself as an uncle to Eugene since he's been a ghost for longer #also I felt bad leaving him out #idk if I should tag with the characters #cw swearing #does flipping the bird count?

11 notes · View notes

ghostt-writerr · 10 months

Text

Boss: Hi, could I ask how exactly does one accidentally set a lemon on fire??

River: Microwave for 40 minutes. 😔

Eugene: Why were you microwaving a lemon???

River: I read boiling lemons helps cover up up bad smells (I wanted to cover up the scent of burnt oranges) but I didn't own any pots.

Joan: Did you burn an orange too? How???

River: Microwave for 40 minutes. 😔

29 notes · View notes

uwowrites · 2 years

Note

Ok sooo

I saw requests for fics where open, so i hope you dont mind me requesting one. But well, could you perhaps write a fic with Boss being a protective dad to Eugene?

It's actually been a year since i played Underworld Office, so i dont remember alot 😅 (i plan on replaying it after i finish Charlie in Underworld tho), but like, after the events of the game, from the true ending. The the time between UWO and CUW, if after the events, Boss got worried and more protective over him and all that but wont admit it

So take maybe Eugene getting in another dangerous situation, not as life threatening as before, but still something bad and Boss coming to rescue him

And add mom River to the mix maybe, bc she does mother him alot lol.She'd be more open on caring about Eugene and tease Boss after everything I'm sure.

But yeah, obviously all platonic, duh. But i thought it be nice and all. Just a small oneshot of that

It can either be the part of the dangerous situation and the aftermath, or to make it quick and short if you need it to, just the aftermath maybe. I'd like angst and fluff, hurt/comfort if you will

All in all, just need some comfort after playing my first round in CUW, and possibly more soon as i continue to play it YwY

But yeah, hope it aint much trouble to ask either, take your time!

Pair-enting

(Platonic River, Boss and Eugene)

Eugene listened carefully for the monster, closing his eyes as he tried to concentrate on finding out where the monster was headed. Opening his eyes, he looked down at the child in his arms, who looked no more than four years old. They had never expected their patrol would include having to save a kid from a monster, the latter extremely dangerous and bloodthirsty. Knowing that they couldn't risk endangering the child's safety, they opted to hide.

The monster growled and roared in frustration, annoyed that it couldn't find the two that had been hiding from it. The child flinched and hid it's face in Eugene's shirt, the mortal held the small of their back and held them closer. Holding their breath, Eugene waited for the monster to move along, praying that it moved in the opposite direction of the office.

Hearing the monster's footsteps fade gradually, Eugene immediately booked it for the office, praying that there would be someone who could help them contain the monster that was currently loose on the streets. The child giggled in their arms and Eugene felt themself smile at that.

Phasing through the walls of the office, Eugene looked around and noticed that the others weren't present. He wracked his mind to come up with a plan and decided to leave the child and a message with Sean while he tried to ensure that no other ghosts got hurt by the monster. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Eugene! You're hurt!" Sean exclaimed as he noticed Eugene fly towards him. As the ghost took a closer look, he saw a small girl in the mortal's hands.

"I'll be alright. But I wanted to ask, could you take care of her? And if you meet the others, could you ask them to fly South towards Blair corner?" Eugene rushed in one breath.

Placing down the flower basket, Sean took the kid from Eugene's hands, "Wait, you are still hurt. You-"

"I'll be fine! Don't worry!" Eugene yelled as they flew away.

As Sean was about to call after them, Eugene had already slipped out of his earshot.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Eugene was drained out from flying at their top speed. And although it took a long time for them to catch up to the monster, they still managed reach the place just in time. The monster was still thrashing around, and roared once it caught a glance of Eugene.

Eugene gulped and dodged one of it's oncoming tentacles. They were still at a loss of what to do when Boss' words came up in his mind.

'First, ensure all civilians have been evacuated. Determine the monster's preferred range of attack. Next, see if there are any nearby sources of light. Like ghosts, monsters are weak in the presence of light.'

"Alright. Let's do this." Eugene said with determination flowing through their veins.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "That was tiring." River stretched, placing her hands behind her head.

"I didn't think that it would have taken this long to seal the monster." Joan stretched and winced in the process as she felt her back ache from the bruise she earned during the fight.

Boss, noticing her facial expression change, suggested, "Ma'am, we could go and meet Sean. He could help relieve you from your pain."

"That sounds like a good idea. Plus, it's been a while since we asked about Linda." River pitched in, as she hovered over the ground while her partners walked.

"I guess we could go and see the boy then." Joan agreed. She disliked the idea of having to burden Sean but she could feel her back pain worsen.

"Speaking of boys, how do you think Eugene is doing on their patrol?"

"I am sure they are fine. I have confidence in their abilities." Boss spoke with a hint of pride in his tone.

"If only you could speak this positively about me behind me back." River wiped a fake tear from her face, prompting Boss to roll his eyes at her in amusement.

"If you didn't always start fights, then maybe I would."

"You say that like I pick fights as soon as I step out the door."

"You don't?"

The two engaged in light banter while Joan shook her head fondly. Boss and River, although very experienced in fighting monsters and helping ghosts, were children in her eyes (even though they may be in their late twenties and are mature). Children who died at a young age while having their whole life ahead of them.

Once the flower shop came into view, Joan noticed Sean's absence and found it odd.

"That's weird. Sean normally distributes flowers in front of the shop." River said, confused but deciding to not think to much about it. "He is probably inside-"

"I am so glad to all are here." Sean spoke, accidently interrupting River in the process as he phased through the wall of the shop. "Please come inside. I really need your help."

Boss frowned at the statement. 'Something must be really bothering him since he isn't hiding from me or stammering in my presence. But did it really have to take a crisis for him to not be afraid of me?'

The three followed Sean inside the shop and saw a small girl sitting on the floor, with flowers in her hair. River cooed as she walked towards the child and kneeled down, "Hey there. Those flowers look really pretty. Did you pick them by yourself?"

"N-no. Um, he gave them t-to me." she stammered nervously.

"Ah. Well, I think they look nice on your hair. What is your name?" River asked, offering a gentle smile.

"Ezra." The girl smiled back.

"Well Ezra, my name is River. The granny's name is Joan and he is Boss." River pointed to the ghosts as she introduced them.

"Sean." Boss called.

"Y-yes sir." replied Sean, wincing at his stammer.

'So much for not stammering.' Boss thought, "Where did you find her?"

"That's, uh, what I needed your help for. Eugene brought her in before going off again to fight a monster. At least, I think he is. He seemed to be in a hurry to fly there."

"Wait a minute. Eugene is fighting a monster on his own?" River stood up.

"I am not sure. He asked me to tell you to fly to Blair Corner."

Boss gripped his fan instinctively. Trying his best to control his worry, he ordered, "River, you and I will be going to help Eugene. Sean, could you help Joan? She got hurt while we were fighting a monster."

"Yes S-sir."

"Hold on a minute. I am coming as well." Joan stepped forward.

"I am sorry ma'am. But in your current condition, I cannot allow you to come with us. If the situation becomes too much for us to handle, we will call you." Boss countered.

Knowing that there was no way of convincing Boss, Joan decided to stay put. The ghost knew that there would be a chance that she might end up becoming a burden since she was hurt.

Boss marched out of the shop with River following suit. As soon as the two were outside, they took off and flew as fast as they could.

"Eugene will be okay."

"I hope so, River." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'The area is clear and no one is around. Except of course, me.'

Eugene continued dodging the monster's attack, praying that they wouldn't end up getting crushed by it.

Seeing the stadium come into view, they let out a relieved sigh, "Finally!"

Eugene could feel their body scream in exhaustion as they flew, the monster hot on their trail. The monster, sensing the mortal's exhaustion, swept it's tentacle at them, knocking them out of the sky. As they fell, Eugene close their eyes and tried to summon all the energy they had left, hoping they could try to catch themself from falling.

"Got you!"

Eugene opened their eyes as they felt a pair of arms catch them midair, looking up, they saw River smile at them in relief.

"River?"

"Glad to see you still in one piece newbie. Gotta admit, I am impressed you held your own against this thing."

Eugene chuckled as they wrapped their arms around River, thankful that the female came just in time.

Eugene's attention was drawn to the monster as it let out a scream in pain. They turned their head to see Boss mercilessly wrapping the ends of his hanbok around the monster and using his fan to chop off it's tentacles one by one. As they watched the fight go on, they noticed Boss growing tired.

'Must be because he was sealing other monsters in that haunted building tonight.' "River, take Eugene and get out of here!" Boss yelled, as he dodged an attack from the creature.

River nodded and took off.

"Wait, River-"

"Eugene, You are hurt and tired. No way I am letting you fight."

"We can't just leave Boss to handle that monster on his own. He looks exhausted. Which is why I am asking you to just hear my plan out."

River stopped in their tracks and looked at Eugene. In a split second, she saw Eugene's 15-year-old self. Perhaps it was the way their eyes flickered with determination, similar to how they were when they fought Jack.

'The newbie really has come a long way, huh?' River's face broke into a grin, feeling proud of their newbie.

"All right. Let's hear it newbie."

Eugene smiled briefly before speaking, "So, there is a stadium nearby. If we turn on the lights, that should be more than enough to weaken the monster. The only thing is, we got to lure it all the way."

"Pretty sure I can anger it enough for it to wanna chase me." River said proudly.

Eugene chuckled before he noticed a tentacle come towards her, "Watch out!"

River turned around just before Boss's hanbok cut the appendage off.

"Come one Newbie!" River said, keeping a firm grip on Eugene as they flew closer to the monster.

"Hey!" Eugene yelled, trying to catch the attention of the monster.

Boss, annoyed that River and Eugene were still there, yelled, "What are you-"

"Just trust me!" Eugene replied.

Although he was confused, Boss chose to trust Eugene's judgement and started to float from the ground towards the pair.

"Follow us." River told Boss as she flew straight towards the stadium, feeling tired but still determined to stop this monster.

The monster pursued them, Boss hoped that whatever plan Eugene had would work out.

Once they reached the football stadium, River let Eugene down while Boss landed. The monster phased through the bleachers and screamed, causing Eugene to cover their ears.

"I'll try to find the light controls. Could you two distract it in the meantime?" Eugene asked, hoping they didn't come off as bossy.

"We will be fine, Eugene. Just be careful." Boss replied, snapping his fan open.

Eugene ran, knowing they no longer had the energy to fly anymore. They frantically looked around for the control panel as Boss and River fended off the monster. Their head was throbbing but Eugene knew they had to pull through it.

After what seemed like an eternity to them, they finally found the room. Phasing through the wall, their eyes darted around the room before landing on the controls. Sprinting towards it, Eugene immediately hit all the buttons, hoping that at least one would turn on the lights.

The sound of the monster crying in pain captured his attention and he looked up to see the monster squirming about.

River took this as an opportunity and wrapped her hair around the monster, Boss did the same except for with his hanbok. The two of them pulled the monster as Boss readied his fan. The two of them were weak as well, since lights were a source of weakness for ghosts.

Eugene flew out of the room and closer to the pair battling the monster.

"Eugene, Catch!" Boss called out as he threw his fan.

Eugene caught the fan and looked at Boss, who was struggling to hold the monster down, along with River.

"Remember our training and use it!"

Eugene's eyes widened in surprise, "But... I- I can't."

"Newbie, Boss isn't-" River nearly lost her balance before regaining it again and continuing, "Look, if he is sure you can do it, then you can. I believe you can do it too!"

Gripping the fan, he looked at it before opening it. Boss and River stood at the opposite sides of the monster, trying to restrain it from moving. Gathering his courage, Eugene charged towards the monster. Bringing their hand back, they swiped the fan with all the strength they had left, effectively absorbing all of the monster's mass into the keepsake.

Once it disappeared, Eugene snapped the fan close and laughed in relief. Boss retracted his clothes and River, her hair. River fist pumped the air in triumph while Boss brushed his hair with his hand. As Eugene swayed on their feet in exhaustion, they felt their last ounce of energy drain away. Feeling the world spin, they fell back on the grass.

"Eugene!" the ghosts called out.

"I'm... okay. Just... really tired." Eugene panted. The two of them looked down at them, concern etched on both their faces. Eugene spoke up again, "Do you mind if we just... you know, sat for a while?"

Boss disappeared, and Eugene worried if they accidently upset the male. River plopped down next to the mortal and laid on her back and yawned. A few seconds ticked by and the stadium lights turned off. Confused, Eugene looked at River who shrugged in response.

"The longer the lights stay on, the more we risk garnering unwanted attention."

Eugene turned his head and jerked in surprise as he saw Boss staring at them. The head of the office sat down next to them, before slowly lying down.

The three lied down in silence. Taking advantage of the quiet after their tiresome battle. The events of tonight replaying in their heads as they relaxed.

"You did well, Eugene. I am proud." Boss said, looking at the sky.

"Yeah, newbie! Color me impressed." River nudged Eugene's shoulder.

Eugene laughed, exhaustion still eating at him, "I couldn't have done it without you both. Thanks for helping me out."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ngl, I really wish there were more family moments in ciu.

#Charlie in underworld #Underworld office #Boss #River #Eugene #Underworld office Boss #Underworld office RIver #Underworld office Eugene

24 notes · View notes

spookeyz · 2 years

Text

𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘷 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘸𝘰

#underworld office spoilers #underworld office #uwo eugene #uwo river #Uwo Luke #Uwo Hayden #Uwo Joan #Uwo Sean #Uwo jack #Fuck jack #uwo boss

55 notes · View notes

jellycreamjammedart · 3 years

Conversation

River: Aren't we all just trying to be Morticia Addams just a little bit?

Sean: Some of us are trying to be Gomez, actually.

River: Honorable. Respectable. Where would we be without you?

#uwo #underworld office #the underworld office #river #sean #chat #shitpost

42 notes · View notes

moyozz · 3 years

Text

i know i'm late but HAPPY NEW YEAR 🥳🥳🥳 here's an official little sean for u all 😿💞

y'all please support the uwo's team and follow them!!! :(

#underworld office #sean #happy new year #official art #uwo

272 notes · View notes

lisianthoma · 3 years

Text

sean :) birtay

#splat speaks #underworld office #uwo #uwo sean #sean #underworld office sean #team 344

41 notes · View notes

dragonsdomain · 1 year

Text

Out of Office, chapter 1

I’ve decided to start an Underworld Office longfic despite knowing the fandom is small and that I have never written a longfic before. Been working at it for some time now and have only now gotten it together enough to post it. Hope you enjoy! (Also if you do read it, say hi! There aren’t many of us Underworld Office fans.)

This chapter is mostly buildup, with Eugene struggling with his whole morality crisis while Charlie is generally angsty and Luke, Joy, and Oliver worry about Eugene. Set a couple days after the Charlie in Underworld “Charlie and Eugene” ending. Also on Ao3.

Station 00 is approaching. Please stand clear of the doorways.

The subway pulled to a stop at the station, doors sliding open. Eugene was the only one who got off there.

The place that used to be the station of the underworld office was silent, deserted. Bright yellow caution tape was strung across the entrance to the stairway and back and forth in front of piles of rubble. Eugene ducked under the tape and quietly stepped into the underworld office (or the information center, as it'd be known to the living).

Cracks splayed across the windows, but otherwise, the place was exactly like Eugene remembered it being for years. Except empty. Completely, horribly empty. Devoid of any form of life or death. It was still hard to comprehend what had happened just a few days ago.

Eugene walked over to the lost and found cabinet, his footsteps echoing loudly in the silence. He put a hand on the door, but didn't find the strength to open it. He already knew what was inside. Hayden's hat, unneeded by him once he decided to leave the office for good and stay with his family. Joan's cane, with her and the ghost she'd killed trapped inside for an indefinite amount of time. Boss's charm, which held many evil spirits inside, which he'd left behind after realizing he didn't need to guard the spirit door anymore and leaving. And then the braided lock of River's hair, left behind when she passed into the world beyond. Gone forever.

Eugene slid down the cabinet's door, sitting down at its foot and leaning against it. He felt so tired. He had no idea how he was going to take care of things all on his own now. Why did they all leave? Why did River feel so content passing on? Why did Boss put such an effort into keeping them all there only to leave as soon as he decided he could ditch his responsibility?

Eugene's eyes started to sting. What made Joan think that man she'd killed years ago needed her more than everyone who was still here, still alive? Why did she leave Eugene all alone? And what about Hayden? Was working with Eugene in the underworld office really so hard that he never wanted to see him again?

Eugene coughed to try to clear his throat and wiped at his eyes. The tears just kept coming though, and he couldn't stop the thoughts either. Was being with him really just a part of River's prison? Was she happier in the world beyond now that she didn't have to worry about protecting him all the time?

"Ugh." Eugene held his head in his hands and tried to will himself to calm down. Mostly by repeating a mantra of calm down, calm down in his head, which possibly helped a little bit, but probably didn't, since he was still choked up and feeling thick in the head. "Come on..." he whimpered, begging his brain to get ahold of itself. It had always been nice to have River or Joan to talk him through things when he got like this before. Maybe that was harder for River than he'd ever realized. Maybe that was what she was glad to get away from. He'd thought he was finally doing something meaningful, but turned out he was still just as much of a burden as he'd ever been.

There was a crash of glass shattering on the floor. Eugene's head flew up. A man with a large scar across his face was standing outside the door, looking in surprise at a piece of glass which had broken off of the cracked door and shattered on the floor.

"Oops," he said. "Haha, not a very solid door, huh?" The man winced. "I'm sorry. Will that cost me?"

Eugene stared at him for a minute, trying to get his thoughts together.

"...You alright?" The man tentatively opened the door, wincing as another piece of glass fell loose. "I'll pay for it."

"Augh, no. Sorry. It was already broken," Eugene wiped at his eyes, hoping he didn't look too horrible.

"Oh, thanks." The man slid the shards of glass against the wall with his shoe. He cleared his throat. "Should I come back later? I understand if this is a bad time."

"No, it's alright. I'm here anyway. What do you need?" Eugene jumped at the chance to be pulled out of his thoughts.

"Okay, so... is it true that this place has a history of the um..." He looked around, then whispered "...paranormal?"

Eugene leaned back. "Yes." He'd tried to keep things on the down-low, but he never wanted to lie to people.

The man looked down, uncomfortable. "There's actually someone I've been wanting to talk to, um, someone dead. If that's possible. Her name is Charlie."

Eugene sucked in a breath, his eyebrows flying up. "Died at about 17? About yea tall?" He put up a hand.

"Yeah!" The man perked up. "You know her?"

Eugene ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Well, yes, but... I'm afraid your timing isn't great. I don't know where she is right now."

The man wilted. "Ugh. Guess I should've known it wouldn't be so easy."

"I can't promise anything, but if I see her again, I could ask her about you. What's your name? And how do you know Charlie?" Somehow it hadn't occurred to Eugene that people from Charlie's life could still be alive.

"I'm Mike. I knew her during high school... something happened and..." Mike looked away. "I don't know. I want to talk to her about it if I can."

Eugene raised an eyebrow. Charlie still hadn't told him much about what she'd remembered from her past, so he mused about what Mike could be talking about. "Okay, Mike. If I see her again, I'll mention you."

Mike chuckled nervously. "Thanks." He turned to go, cringing again at the sight of the door.

"Wait, Mike, one more thing," Eugene stopped him. "How did you hear that you could get help with the paranormal at this station? I thought that was pretty private knowledge." Among the living, that is.

Mike glanced back, then looked away. "It... might sound weird. But I had a dream about it."

"A dream..." Eugene gazed into space thoughtfully.

"Well, anyway, thanks for your help." Mike paused as it looked like he realized something. He dug a business card out of his pocket. "Here's my number. Call me if you find out anything."

"Oh, right." Eugene took the card. "I'll tell you what I find out."

Mike flashed a smile and a thumbs-up, then he gingerly opened the door and stepped outside.

Eugene took a deep breath. "...A dream, huh?" Who would give him a dream about the underworld office?

...

Charlie sat in the graveyard, leaning against someone's headstone. It wasn't hers. She'd searched around to see if hers happened to be there, but really she didn't think she'd died in this town anyway, so she wasn't surprised to not find it.

Charlie groaned at the sky. It wasn't raining, but the layer of gray clouds made everything look gloomy, like she felt. Why was it that she just appeared and then managed to drive away every ghost who showed any interest in helping her within a few days? Of course it could be argued that none of that was technically her fault, but c'mon, who is she kidding? Her showing up was the only thing that changed before suddenly the whole underworld office fell apart.

She opened and closed her scissors with the satisfying sounds of metal against metal. Eugene was probably all depressed now because of her. He was probably mad at her too. Ugh, who wouldn't be? Classic Charlie, messing everything up just by existing.

She snipped off the head of a nearby dandelion. She'd thought about it, and it didn't seem like there was much she could do at this point but leave Eugene alone. I mean, maybe she could go and... what, apologize? She'd never been very good at that, as evidenced by the way she'd soundly ruined her life. Whether or not her father had been right in the way he treated her, the title of a bad daughter was definitely one Charlie deserved.

Charlie gave an overdramatic sigh, then felt annoyed that no one was there to hear it. Being ignored was the worst. Maybe she should just go confront Eugene even though he was probably mad at her. Anything was better than just being alone, wasn't it?

After jumping around for a minute in a failed attempt to learn how to fly, Charlie grumbled and then stalked off towards the subway station.

Charlie wasn't sure exactly what her plan was as she slipped between the living people at the train station and boarded. She only really put in the effort to realize that it was stupid to expect Eugene to be at station 00 right now after she had already stowed away on the train. Maybe he was at home. Or maybe he was actually injured from the explosion and was at the hospital. Or maybe he was off knitting with his gramma, she didn't know!

Charlie stashed her scissors between two seat cushions then took advantage of the fact that none of the mortals could see her to splay herself melodramatically across the subway floor and moan. It did help her feel a little better. Maybe overdramatic expressions of weirdome were healthy or something. Therapists would be interested to know.

Charlie pulled herself up and jumped around trying to fly again until the train pulled to a stop and she fell over. Station 00, please stand clear of the doors.

Charlie grabbed her scissors and walked right up to the door. It opened, and she casually-- jumped to the side in a frantic motion because Mike himself walked straight through the door.

"Nope," Charlie said to herself, then dashed out the door and away from Mike.

She wandered over to the wrecked-looking underworld office room and was surprised to find Eugene there, sitting against the wall before a poorly-cleaned-up spray of glass shards. He looked like he'd just had a whole crying angst-fest. Weirdo weak baby. Or, um. Ahem. She should probably try to be more empathetic.

Anyway, he was also sitting there all humanly, so that was a little frustrating.

Charlie walked through the door to stand in front of Eugene and started swinging her scissors around in his face. He startled and scrambled up away from them. "Ack! Charlie? Be more careful with those!"

Charlie rolled her eyes, though ended up paling as she remembered the horrible accident with Mike. She definitely did need to be more careful with her scissors, actually.

"I thought you'd left..." Eugene said absently, looking at Charlie's scissors. "You have your scissors. You don't need to stay."

Charlie rolled her eyes. "Leave your body, idiot, then we can talk."

"Sorry," Eugene said, almost like he'd heard her. "I'll head home now, then I can leave my body and talk to you."

Charlie cocked an eyebrow. "Great timing. The subway literally just left."

Eugene stepped carefully over the glass and found a seat on a bench in front of where the subway would stop. He checked that Charlie's scissors were still following him as she sat down on the bench beside him.

She rested her chin on her hand. "You're gonna have to teach me to fly at some point. Man, would've been cool to learn from River though. She was fast."

Eugene didn't answer, obviously. If he was mad at her, why wasn't he saying anything? Was this something Eugene did that she didn't know about yet? Give people the silent treatment when he was upset? He'd talked to Boss...

At length, the subway came. Charlie sighed, then stuck her scissors in Eugene's shirt pocket. He jumped, looking down at them in surprise. He looked around himself in confusion, then got on the train with Charlie following unseeable behind.

Eugene sat like a normal person as the subway chugged along. After a minute a middle school girl walked up to him and they chatted for a while while Charlie hung off of the bars making bored sounds.

At long last the group reached Eugene's stop and Charlie bounced anxious circles around Eugene while he walked to his apartment. At the glorious moment of truth, he lay down on his bed and put the guardian flower in his mouth.

Eugene woke up to Charlie bemoaning the pain of waiting. "uuUUUUUUUHH-- oh finally!" She stood up straight from the position she'd held splayed across Eugene's desk chair. "That took forever."

"Heh, sorry..." Eugene handed Charlie back her scissors. "Why did you let me hold your scissors?"

"Wha? Oh, I just didn't want to freak out the train people by floating scissors around." She rolled her eyes.

"You really trust me with...? Oh, nevermind." Eugene looked Charlie up and down, taking in her dark body again. "Why did you come back? I thought you were anxious to leave as soon as you got your scissors."

Charlie shrugged. "Being alone is boring." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Aren't you mad at me?"

Eugene stared. "For what?"

"Uh, duh? For ruining your life??" Charlie waved her hands helplessly.

Eugene frowned. "I missed the part where you 'ruined my life'."

"Ugh, well, fine, whatever," Charlie batted the topic away. "Glad you're not mad at me, I guess."

Eugene took a seat on the side of his bed beside his body (beside himself, hehe-). "Yeah. None of what happened was really something you can be blamed for. Anyway, since you're here, there's something I want to talk to you about. Someone came by the office today--"

"Uh oh," Charlie mumbled. Don't be Mike, don't be Mike...

"He said his name was Mike."

Charlie threw her scissors onto the carpet.

"Woah, are you okay?" Eugene put his hands up defensively, or maybe to try to calm her down.

"Yes! No! Ugh-- I dunno!" Charlie gripped her hair. "AUGH! I know I should talk to him, but I don't want to!"

"Why not? What happened between you two?" Eugene stood up, stepping towards her cautiously.

"You wouldn't get it!" Charlie said. She started pacing. "Ugh, can we just not talk about it?

"Well... okay," Eugene said. "Why did you come to me then?"

"Can we just do something normal? Like do a patrol or something? I'm so bored." Charlie collapsed into Eugene's chair.

Eugene cringed. "No, sorry. I'm actually going to meet my friends pretty soon, so I can't."

"Ugh," Charlie flopped backwards dramatically. "Being a ghost is boring."

Eugene shrugged. "You could go on a patrol yourself. Or make some friends."

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "And how'd making ghost friends work for you?"

Eugene flinched, and she regretted what she'd said pretty quickly. He stared at her for a second, then said quietly, "Maybe it'll be good for me to spend some time away from you."

"Okay, whatever," Charlie said, looking away. "Have fun with your human friends."

Eugene ignored her rather pointedly as he lay down in his body and woke up. He stood and left the room, leaving Charlie alone.

...

Luke glanced over at Eugene in concern. Joy and Oliver were chatting happily, but Eugene had been pretty quiet this whole time. Where everyone else's sodas had almost been all consumed, Eugene's was nearly full. Luke tried to catch his eye, but Eugene seemed lost in his head.

Luke elbowed him. "You alright, Eugene?"

Eugene jumped, then sighed. "I don't know. A lot has happened recently."

Joy leaned over. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Eugene looked torn. "I don't know. I... no. It's fine." He didn't look like he believed that.

Luke felt frustrated. Why wouldn't Eugene talk about it? He knew better than to push though.

"It has to do with the station getting destroyed, doesn't it?" Oliver asked. "Did something big happen with your work?"

Luke pushed Oliver. "Hey, he doesn't have to talk if he doesn't want to."

Eugene hesitated, then muttered, "Something about that." His eyes dropped down to his soda cup.

"Really?" Oliver snorted. "You have some crazy business happening with your Eugene-ish stuff. I wish I knew more."

Luke glared at him. Did he understand the concept of subtlety? Oliver caught his evil eye and only looked confused.

Eugene shook his head. "No, you don't." He drooped. "It's probably better that way. Maybe it would've been better for me too."

Luke glanced at Oliver and Joy, seeing they shared his concern. "Haven't you been working there for years? I thought you liked it."

Eugene curled in on himself, and Joy took the tipping cup from his hand before it could spill. "I liked the people there," he said wetly.

"The people?" Luke sat up straight in alarm. "Like Hayden? Did something happen to him?"

"Guys, I don't..." Eugene curled down, back, and Luke suddenly noticed that Eugene was surrounded. Luke slipped away off of the bench, and it was like a gate had been flung open. Eugene sprung to his feet. "I should go. I think I need some time to think."

"You sure? I mean, we don't have to talk about things that make you uncomfortable. We could just hang out, couldn't we?" Joy said worriedly.

"No, I'm..." Eugene backed away again. "N-not now. Sorry." He turned stiffly and hurried off.

The three watched him walk off. "Should one of us go after him?" Oliver asked tentatively.

"No," Luke said, with more harshness than he'd intended. He winced, then looked back at Joy and Oliver sadly. "Come on, guys. I thought you knew not to pressure him like that."

Oliver's eyes widened, and Joy hung her head abashedly. "Luke, we're..." Joy took a level breath, then met Luke's gaze again. "We're just worried. There's something going on in Eugene's life, and we want to help."

"He'll tell us when he's ready!" Luke reprimanded. "You can't push him!"

Joy's gaze softened for a second. Then it hardened again. "Like he's told us about what goes on at his job?"

Luke opened his mouth to counter, then shut it again. He had nothing to say to that.

"Just yesterday, he was caught in an explosion," Joy stated. "And we don't know why. Except that it had something to do with his job."

"It's not our place..." Luke trailed off as he remembered what Eugene had told him years ago. That his job was dangerous, that it might even kill him.

"As his friends, isn't it our responsibility to do what we can to make sure he's safe?"

Luke looked down.

Oliver tilted his head. "What do you mean? What are you suggesting?"

Joy looked the way Eugene had left and folded her arms. "I'm not sure yet. But we have to do something. If Eugene won't tell us what's going on, we'll have to find out ourselves."

"Spying?!" Oliver exclaimed, looking a little too excited.

"What? No!" Luke burst in. "What's wrong with you? We can't spy on our friend!"

Joy slapped a hand over Oliver's mouth. "That's not what I said, okay? We don't have to spy. We probably have enough information already that we could figure out a lot of things just by sharing info."

Luke frowned. "I don't like it."

"We don't have much of a choice," Joy said. She looked down. "It does feel weird. I know. And it's not ideal. But imagine if Eugene had been hurt in that explosion. We've waited too long already."

"I get it," Oliver said. "He won't like it, but it might be what's best for him anyway."

Joy and Oliver looked to Luke.

Luke avoided their gazes, trying to think. This didn't feel right. He treasured the trust Eugene had for him, and he didn't want to lose it. But what if being too much of a pushover made him lose him? Joy was right. Something about Eugene's work was dangerous, and for all they knew, it might get worse.

"Okay," Luke said, not looking at Joy as she perked up. "Fine."

"Thanks, Luke." Joy gave a relieved sigh. "I don't think we could do it without you. You know Eugene better than anyone."

Luke felt a stab of guilt. Was he really doing this?

Oliver checked his watch and cringed. "Actually, I've got to go right now. Can we do this another time?"

Joy sighed. "Alright, fine. Tomorrow at the latest."

...

Eugene lay down on his bed, guardian flower in his mouth. He wasn't so naive that he could really believe it, but he could almost imagine himself waking up as a ghost to be greeted by River or Joan, Hayden or Boss. That wasn't realistic though. They'd all moved on, one way or another.

Hopefully Charlie was gone by now. He didn't want to try to talk to her at the moment.

Eugene closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he was still alone.

Eugene habitually started flying towards station 00. After a minute or so, he stopped, realizing that he didn't have reason to go there anymore. There would be no one waiting for him.

"It's weird having no one to talk to," Eugene muttered to himself. Would talking to himself be weird? Hadn't he done it all the time when he was young? There was no one around to hear it anyways.

Eugene squeezed his arms. No, talking to himself didn't feel right. He didn't want to remember those days. This was too quiet.

Eugene flew off towards Sean's flower shop. Hopefully he'd be able to find the friendly ghost there (at least Sean hadn't left him). Alone, the ghost world seemed much gloomier than it usually felt. So quiet, so grey. Though maybe the quiet was a good thing? It meant no monsters were wreaking havoc, probably.

Distractedly, Eugene tried to slip through the wall of the flower shop, ending up konking into it. He bounced back, surprised, til he remembered that the lock of River's hair was still around the door, preventing ghosts from phasing into this building. He chuckled, then felt a stab of loneliness at how there was no one to laugh with him.

Eugene went around to the front door and tugged on the handle. Locked. Made sense. It was nighttime, after all.

So did this mean he should just give up? No talking to Sean for tonight? Maybe. It wasn't a big deal, it shouldn't be. Eugene used to be able to deal with being alone just fine. Mostly.

Eugene found himself staring at the coil of River's hair around the hinges of the doors. It had remained when she'd passed on. He absently wondered if ghosts always left behind their artifacts when they passed, if there were a bunch of them lying around the world, but he didn't really care about the answer.

"Eugene?"

Eugene jumped. Sean was on the other side of the door.

Eugene sagged. "Sean, hey. It's good to see you."

Sean clicked open the lock and pushed the door open softly so Eugene could come in. He turned back to Eugene, a look of concern on his face. "Are you okay?"

"Ye-" Eugene hesitated. He sighed. "Not really. But I dunno if... I dunno. I just don't want to be alone, I guess. Could you come with me on patrol tonight?"

"Oh, wow. I'm not sure how much help I'd be, but yeah, I could. But what about Charlie?"

"Not Charlie." Eugene shook his head. "She's not the person I want to be around right now."

"Oh, uh, okay," Sean worried his lips.

Eugene shook his head, then straightened. "We've got to get going. We'll have a lot of ground to cover tonight if it's just us."

"We're going to be careful, right?"

Eugene stared at the floor.

"Eugene?" Sean tapped his shoulder.

Eugene curled up. "Sean, how do you know what's right or wrong? How do you know what to do? If we decide what's good or bad ourselves, what does anything matter? How can we really be good? What's the point?" Eugene started pacing. "It's so unfair. Why do we feel the pain of our sins only if we're aware we did wrong? Why?"

"Uhh, hey." Sean laid a hand on Eugene's shoulder, stopping him. "Let's sit down and talk. Patrol can wait."

Soon enough the two of them were seated on a pair of stools behind the counter. Eugene tried to tap anxiously on the wood and was disappointed that it made no sound.

"So I don't actually know if this is true, I'm just thinking, but here's how I reason it," Sean said nervously. "Um, it might sound a little dumb. And maybe over-optimistic. But I don't think what kind of spirit you have here is the final judgement. I mean, we know this is an in-between space."

"What do you mean?" Eugene asked tiredly.

"Um, I don't think how dark a spirit is actually represents how bad they are. Or- we know that, I mean..." Sean froze for a minute, and Eugene waited for him to collect his thoughts. "I think it's how much the spirit wants to change."

Eugene sat up straighter. "What makes you think that?"

Sean looked down at his hands and twiddled his thumbs. "Like I said, I don't know really. I don't have evidence for this. But I feel like it'd be nice if we only passed on when we felt ready. 'Cause maybe the real judgement is beyond, and we'll get whatever reward we're ready for. If that makes sense."

Eugene looked out the window, at the moonlight streaming in. "...I guess that's a nicer way to think about it." He couldn't bring himself to really believe it though. Seemed too easy, like an excuse. The world had never been as nice as he'd come to believe.

Sean hunched his shoulders uncomfortably. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you guys earlier. About how dark a spirit is not matching how bad they actually are. I guess I just thought, um, from my perspective it kind of seemed like my way was a more complicated version of Boss' explanation. I didn't think it mattered, so I didn't want to stress you guys about it." He hung his head. "I guess this is all... kind of my fault."

Eugene sighed. "It's Boss' fault, Sean." Eugene rested his chin on his hand. "Or maybe it's my fault. You figured it out all on your own. I should've figured it out too. Maybe a lot of this could've been avoided if I'd just..."

"What? That's not any more fair than saying it's my fault." Sean frowned. "Anyone could have figured that out....I don't think it makes sense to blame you."

Eugene looked up at him for a minute, then looked down. "What does all this mean about the..." he made air quotes. "'evil' spirits we've been fighting this whole time? If they're innocent..."

Sean waved his hands. "Wait, that's not what I said. I mean, uh, I don't know. They could be innocent? Ish? But I don't know. We're not sure. Maybe."

Eugene dropped his head into his hands. "Hayden was about to turn into a monster just because he thought it was wrong to feel lonely and jealous. And he only thought that because..." Eugene felt sick to his stomach (even though it was ghostly and empty), "...I've told him that. I repeated to him what Boss said about how he needed to stay away from his family."

Sean's hands hovered over Eugene's back doubtfully, then drew back. "It turned out okay though, didn't it? He's okay now."

"...A-and why-- why is Joan... have the 'good' spirits I've helped really been good either? Joan knew the whole time that she'd killed that man!" Eugene gritted his teeth. "And she still got to be light because she somehow convinced herself that it was okay!"

"...Eugene..." Sean hesitated, glancing up and down Eugene's body, checking to make sure he wasn't getting darker.

"I don't know! I don't know anything! I don't know what it all means! AUGH!" Eugene gripped his hair. "What have I done?"

Sean twiddled his thumbs. "Maybe let's not go on patrol tonight. Sounds like you have some stuff to sort out."

Eugene laughed wryly. "You think? Sean... how many spirits who were just hurting have I helped seal in Boss'... fan..." Eugene looked up, eyes wide.

"What?" Sean looked at him worriedly.

Boss' fan. Eugene had Boss' fan. Boss had given it to him before he left. It was in the lost and found cupboard at the office.

"Eugene, are you okay?" Sean tapped him on the shoulder.

Eugene jumped to his feet. "Sorry, I just remembered something I have to do. Bye, Sean. Thanks for the talk. You're the best."

"But I didn't do anything," Sean said, watching Eugene hurry to the door.

Eugene waved goodbye, tugged the door open, and flew quickly off towards the underworld office.

...

Chapter 2

#Underworld Office #Charlie in Underworld #my fanfics #Eugene UWO #Charlie UWO #Luke UWO #Joy UWO #Oliver UWO #Sean UWO #Mike UWO #ma boy Mike doesn't have tags here or on Ao3 #Out of Office

19 notes · View notes