Chapter Text
". . ." The gang sat opposite from the scholar, staring in shock at this revelation. An uncomfortable silence fills the entire room while they all try to gather words, save for the sound of Sandy nervously tapping his teacup. Tang stared back in a nervous manner as he takes a sip of tea, hoping for the drink to calm the unsettling bundle of nerves nestled deep into his stomach. Unfortunately, the brew seemed to only add to his anxiety as the heat made his nerves prick and sense stay on edge. The silence bled into minutes as no one seemed to be able to respond properly. More minutes past and the thick silence is finally broken by none other than Pigsy.
"All this time. . ." He starts. "You've been one of them ALL THIS TIME!?!??" He shouted.
"N-Now Pigsy," The scholar stuttered out. "Let's try to- to stay calm-" He continues, however he's cut off by the other.
"NO, I WILL NOT BE CALM RIGHT NOW!!! YOU'VE BEEN WITH THE ALL THIS TIME! YOU'VE KNOWN ALL OF THEIR PLANS, IN CAHOOTS WITH 'EM, THE ENTIRE TIME!! THE KIDNAPPING, THE FESTIVAL, YOU'VE KNOWN ALL OF IT!!!" The demon gives a frustrated growl as he slams his hands on the office desk separating the two. "WE TRUSTED YOU!! AND YOU'VE BEEN LYING ABOUT WHO YOU ARE THIS ENTIRE TIME!! YOU HAVEN'T EVER BEEN ONE OF US HAVE YA!?? YER JUST ON OF THEM!! WE SHOULDN'T HAVE EVER TRUSTED YA, WE SHOULDA SEEN THROUGH YOU BUT INSTEAD WE LET YA GET CLOSE TO US!! AND NOW WE SEE WHY WE NEVER SHOULDA TRUSTED A NO GOOD,-"
"Uh Pigsy-?" Mk says quietly.
"LYIN, BACKSTABBING-" The pig demon continued, ignoring the other.
"Pigsy, maybe you should calm down-" Mei tried instead, slightly louder than Mk.
"FREELOADING, UNTRUSTWORTHY, FRAUD!!" He finished off.
"ENOUGH!!" Sandy yells out, sounding uncharacteristically loud and frustrated. "Ahehe, oops-" he says with a nervous chuckle. "Pigsy, maybe we should give Tang a chance to explain himself-" The river demon tries explaining calmly, before being cut off by the scholar in question.
"No Sandy, he's- he's right. . I shouldn't have gotten as close as I did." He stutters out, trying to hold back a choked sob. "I kept lying and I- I hurt you all. I let myself get comfortable and now I'll face the consequences. I'll try and make amends. I can go away and you all won't have to deal with me ev- ever again." With that said, he rushes to grab his books and hurriedly goes to grab his bookbag and run out the door. Unfortunately for him, a certain pig demon has other ideas. Pigsy jumps up and grabs the others arm before he has a chance to leave. With a yelp, Tang looks back and Pigsy shouts,
"NO!! I WANT ANSWERS AND I'M EXPECTIN 'EM NOW!!"
"LET GO OF ME!!" The newly discovered spider demon screeches out, causing the pig demon to freeze for a moment in shock. He takes the split-second of a loosened grip as a chance to get free. Tugging his arm out of the others grip, he rushes out of the door and soon, out of the building, leaving the gang to stare in shock at where he once stood. Soon, the others jump into action, rushing over to Pigsy and trying to grab his attention. The demon in question can only stare at the door, frozen where he stands.
"Pigsy? Are you ok-?" Mk tries asking quietly.
Minutes pass, and with his bottom lip trembling, Pigsy finally says, "I- I said such horrible things to him. . I hurt him!!!" His voice contains a sound of horror, as if he's only now realizing the reality of his angered speech towards the scholar. The scene replays over and over in his head, from the harsh and hurtful words, to the breaking look on the others face, to the guttural scream he heard from the noodle loving man as he broke free from the demon chefs grasp and ran. "We hafta go after him!! We gotta find 'em now!!" he suddenly shout, and with that, the gang rushes out of the building in order to find the spider demon. Of course, the man in question is already long gone and far out of sight of the building. Guess this search will take a while then.
~~Timeskip~~
With Sandy having been sent to check Pigsy's Noodles, the trio arrive at the apartment complex that they're sure they'll find Tang at. They hurriedly rush up the stairs of the building until they reach Tang's floor, and even then they don't slow down as they run towards the numbered door belonging to the professor. Each shoot their shots at knocking rapidly, only to receive no response. It's then that panic pools in Pigsy's stomach, until he remembers the spare apartment key he was given in case of an emergency, and this definitely qualifies as an emergency. Fumbling through his pockets quickly, he unlocks and opens the door with shaking hands and walks inside, Mk and Mei following right behind him.
"Mr. Taaaaang???" Mei calls out, hands cupped around her mouth.
"Dad!??" Mk yelps in a panicked manner, already fearing the worst for his father figure. The man may have been revealed to be a spider, but he's still the same person that would take care of Mk (alongside dadsy of course) and spend time with him.
". . . Tang?" Pigsy calls out weakly. The further they all wander into the apartment, the more apparent it becomes that many things are missing.
"OH NO DO YOU THINK SOMEONE ROBBED HIM!??" Mk yells out worriedly.
Pigsy opens the door to the professors room slowly, eyes widening as he looks inside. "No kid. . I don't think he got robbed. . ." All of Tangs clothes and personal items are gone, the room is stripped bare of any personality or remnants of the man. All besides a note sitting on the now bare mattress. Pigsy walks over and picks it up carefully. Unfolding it, he reads the note, scribbled lines making it look like it was written in a hurry.
"To whoever is reading this, hopefully Mk, Pigsy, and the rest of the gang. I've decided to leave this place, as another way to go and leave you all alone as apologies for the web of lies you all got caught in." The note reads. "I hope one day, you can all forgive me for this entire situation, even if only a little bit. Until then, do not try to find me. ." Pigsys hands shake as he reads off the rest of the note.
"So. . he's really just gone?" Mk says as he looks to Pigsy, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.
"Yeah. . he is kid. ." The pig demon responds, voice laced with heavy guilt and regret. If he hadn't yelled, if he'd reacted better, if he'd done anything different then this wouldn't have happened!! Anger and frustration stirs in his chest, all directed at himself.
~~Meanwhile~~
Tang knocks on the door of the Spider Queens (Queenie as she now likes to be called) new apartment with several heavy bags in hand. Within a few seconds, the door opens and he's met with the surprised look of SQ.
"Tang?" She says, surprised. "What brings you all the way out here?" She asks, concern evident in her tone.
"U-uh, I'll explain everything to you, I promise. Can I please just come in?" Tang says with a shiver, the night air being particularly cold that night.
"Of course of course-!" She says quickly, ushering the other inside the warm environment she calls her new home. Tang walks inside quickly, setting his bags down and sitting on the couch with a tired sigh.
"So here's how it started." He began once Queenie sat on the sofa next to him. His explanation drags late into the night and Queenie is left in shock by the end of it.
"Oh. . Oh Tang I'm so sorry- Tell you what, you can stay here until you find a new place, and I'll make sure those guys can't find you." She says, patting the others shoulder.
"Thanks Queenie. . ." Tang lets out a yawn and the ex queen quickly drags him to the guest room so he can rest.
Now laying down on the guest bed, Tang lets the memories of today stew around in his mind until his eyes finally shut from exhaustion. He might not have everything planned out now, but surely everything will be fine tomorrow. . . Tangs body shoots up, sitting up completely straight as he remembers, 'Shit. . the lesson plan. Guess I'm not getting sleep tonight after all. . .' With a yawn, he gets to works, passing out on a pile of books at dawn. Now surely, everything will be fine. . tomorrow. . .