When I opened my eyes, my vision was blurry and my mind was hazy. Falling in and out of consciousness, I could hardly see the face that hovered above me, but I soon realized it belonged to Xephos who was carrying me somewhere I didn't know. Though I wanted to reach out and ask where I was being taken, I slipped away again.
Minutes or maybe hours later, I opened my eyes to see a different view. I wasn't being carried, nor could I see Xephos' face. Sitting up, I found myself in the medical bay, recalling when I had been here after my bad trip.
Before I could get up, my nowhere to be seen best friend came through the doorway, clutching two cups in his hands, " Oh, you're finally awake. Please, don't get up."
"There you are... Yeah... I'm awake..."
He strolled over, and pulled up a chair beside me, "I got you a coffee!" Watching him lay down his first, he offered the hot beverage to me.
"Coffee?... You fixed the coffee machine?" I asked, taking it from him, apprehensive as always to drink something that supposedly came from that dodgy machine.
"I did. That makes you happy right? You've wanted me to fix it since the very beginning." He picked his up and sipped it cautiously, "It's perfectly fine now. Hot, but amazing."
As much as I trusted that he was telling the truth, I wasn't in the mood for coffee, "Thanks, but I'm not really thirsty. I'm more... lost if anything. Can you explain to me why you brought me to the medical bay?"
It was subtle, but he choked a bit on his coffee. It was almost too obvious that I asked something he wasn't willing to answer, but I didn't notice it, as I waited for an explanation. "Y-You're recovering..."
"From what?"
"You're just recovering. Does it matter?"
"Well-"
"Look, It really doesn't matter. I took care of it, and I'm taking care of you. Don't worry, alright?" He forced an innocent smile, trying to make me feel more at ease, and it did a little bit. "Just relax, Honeydew."
I would really love to relax, but there was just something very off with him and this whole situation. If I had simply gotten hurt or passed out, why couldn't he just explain it to me. I was grateful he was taking care of me, but why... why did I need to be? "Uh, I need... I'm going to get some air..."
"What? Wait a second."
Throwing the blanket aside, I stretched and stood up. "Some fresh air will help me relax."
"D-don't," He had stood up so quickly that his chair flipped backwards and made a terrible racket. Between me and the door, I was stopped from going further. "You don't need to get up. Just stay here."
"What's your problem? I'm just going to be right back."
Pushing past him, I felt him grab my wrist, "Please, you're very sick."
"Stop it!" I ordered, jerking my arm away, "You've been acting very weird. Just let me breathe alright?" Making sure he wouldn't grab me again, I finally turned and made my way out of the room to realize the halls had changed too.
There were no testificates, and it seemed eerily dark. In the time I had been sleeping, something had definitely gone awry, "How long... how long was I asleep for?"
"Only a couple days..."
"Everything seems... different."
"You're just imagining things..."
Passing room after room, there still wasn't anyone or anything to be seen. Quickening my pace, with him quickening his behind me, I just wanted to get outside. This place was just making me uneasy even though it was the Yoglabs I've spent so much time in. Soon, I was standing where the door would be... where the door should be.
He stopped in his place, and I put my hands against the wall that replaced the door, "Where... Why... There's no exit... How is there no exit?"
"Because I can't let you leave."
Turning back around to look him in the eye, I made a face of misunderstanding, "What... are you talking about?"
He stepped closer, "I let you wake up, and you still want to disappear. I was sure all doubt had been taken from you, and yet, you keep pulling away."
"I don't-"
He grabbed my hands, "I won't... I will not accept this. I'd rather put you back to sleep than go through this again..."
I was afraid of the darkness in his eyes, and I was confused by everything he was saying, "I'm not going anywhere..."
"I don't believe that! You told me you were my friend before, but you wanted to leave then too!"
"Then?" I said, puzzled, "I've never tried to leave you. I'm sorry, Xephos, but right now all I'm hearing is nonsense."
As he realized what he was doing, he let go and stepped away. Shaking a bit, he held his head in his hands, "All that work... All that time was for nothing."
Reaching out I wanted to help him in some way, "Xephos..."
"No!" He backed up, and I pulled back, "I'm going to keep you here forever. I'll just have to freeze you all over again!"
"Freeze..." Suddenly everything that had slipped my mind, began to fall together, and I recalled his voice from before. He had thrown me into a deep, cold sleep, never to unfreeze me again, and yet here I was, able to remember such a crucial thing. I felt overwhelmed by the new and old revelations, as I felt all color drain from my face. "That's right... You froze me... I tried to leave, and you froze me... I remember..."
As I backed away, he moved in closer once again, "I had no choice. I needed you..."
"No... You had no right to do that to me... Absolutely no right..."
"All I wanted was for you to accept me."
"And you want that acceptance by twisting everything around, and locking me inside? You told me I was sick... but the one who is really sick is you." My back against the wall, I wished more than anything that I could escape, "It hasn't been days, has it? No, it's been months... the coffee machine... the missing door... the strange absent feeling through the halls... You've spent so much time fixing and trapping us here, haven't you?"
He was now standing very close, his arms on both sides of me, holding me against the wall. "For us to be together again, I'd do anything. For you to be able to breathe and speak to me was all I really wanted. Everyone else has long disappeared, but you and I will be together forever."
"Disappeared?" My voice was shaking as the space between us grew thin, "What have you done, Xephos?"
Moving in as close as possible, his breath passed my ear as he whispered to me, "I've killed everyone but you..."
The sickening whisper sent goosebumps up my skin, and made me shake in fear. Between a wall and a maniac, I had barely any words left, "W... why?"
Moving away from my ear, he looked into my eyes with a haunting smile, "Because they weren't needed... All we need it eachother... You don't understand now, but you will in time when you wake up again. Don't worry, next time I won't make the same mistake... No, next time you'll never recall this side of me again."
"No-"
His lips pressed against mine, and I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. Losing consciousness all over again, I knew this time it was for good. There would be no waking up to remember. No, I wouldn't even remember the thoughts that ran through my mind as I slumped over his shoulder. Whatever I became after this would be all his doing. All ignorance... All innocence... would all be a fabrication. I'd look at him as I did a long time ago... A time where he really was okay. A time where this cursed place never existed.
