Victorious FF 3: "Vanishing"

"Chapter 4: Elegy"


A/N: Hello everyone. Welcome to the final chapter of Vanishing! This was a very interesting chapter to write, so I would love to hear what you guys have to say about it. I hope you enjoy it!


Robbie's eyes flicker open. It is very reminiscent of the day he first woke up in this room… This disgusting, filthy room. The days Robbie and Jade have spent here faded into each other, and it really isn't possible for him to count the amount of days, or even weeks they have been chained these walls. He just knows that there will be a man that brings in food, a man that tortures him, and a man who just visits occasionally, but pretty much does nothing. He stands in either the corner, or in between the too, sitting on an old wooden bench. He doesn't do anything to either of them, nor does he even speak to either of them, but just the presence of him there can be a bit frightening – especially after what he has been subjected to as of late.

The torture has gradually slowed since the first few visits of the masked man, but it still happens from time to time. The tortures aren't nearly as severe as they were, either. Now it may only be a few new cuts, or just reopening of the older ones that have started to heal – but nothing nearly as bad as the his first session. Though the sessions have been getting more and more lenient, Robbie feels weaker and weaker with each one. Even on days where he doesn't get tortured, he just instinctively feels weaker, until the weight of the pain pulls him out of consciousness.

One of the worst things about the torture sometimes isn't even the pain. It's just knowing the fact that Jade is on the other side of room, listening to each one of his screams, watching the blood, and tears drip down from him torso, and on to the floor, having to see the rips in his chest, and the distress, and misery in his eyes when he is brought back to his chains. He is happy for the fact that she doesn't share the same fate that he does, but it has to be affecting her in some way, right?

Since they've been here, Jade has shown quite the…unusual side. Sure, she is pretty unusual to begin with, but the way she's been acting since we've been here isn't the way I would expect someone to act in this sort of situation. She seems to fade in and out, sometimes as if she isn't in the room at all. It could be for the fact that she is quiet, but there are times when room feels void of existence. Where there is nothing but Robbie, and the frigid air around him. He is reassured, though, when one of the men comes into the room and lights the torch. There she is, chained up to the wall, either just staring in his direction, or unconscious.

Today is no exception to this behavior. It's dark, it's cold, and it's quiet. There is an unexplained emptiness to the room – one that couldn't be felt anywhere else in the world. Any ounce of light, heat, or noise falls down with a force of thousand pounds on Robbie's senses. He is lost in thought so much of the time; it feels as though even he isn't in the room. When that door opens and that torch is lit, reality crashes right back into him.

Robbie, while in this room, has had so much time to think. He has thought about everything he has done in his life. Everything he could remember, even back to his childhood days. He remembered all of his birthdays, and all of the things he has learned in life. Everything from his first day at school, to his first collection, the day his grandfather passed away and left Rex to him, the countless hours he put into learning ventriloquism, his fascination with electronics, and his most recent endeavor, hamboning. Sure, these things may mean nothing to everyone around him, but these are the things he loves, the things he enjoys. No matter how goofy he may be, he feels happy with everything he has done. He is happy of himself, his family, and of the friends he has made.

On that thought – he wonders - What are his friends doing? While Jade is with him here, what of the others? Have they noticed their disappearance? Are they out looking for them at this very moment? Robbie lets out a small smile thinking of his friends. Beck and Andre are probably out causing havoc trying to find them. The three guys have always been close. Beck and Andre being the strong people they are, are probably even leading the search themselves. Cat… The smile fades. She's probably in the worse shape of them all. She has always been really sensitive, even more so than Robbie. Though she had no part in what has happened, she is probably beating herself up over the fact that we are missing. Every night she probably cries…or sits up hoping that we'll return. It's hard to tell with Tori. She has always been strong herself, but also shows a lot of compassion. If I knew Tori any better, she's probably putting her fear aside to comfort Cat. These people…They truly are one of a kind. He wouldn't want to have any other best friends.

His family is one of a kind as well…

…And here it is…The crash back to reality.

The thoughts he had shatter into a million glass pieces, and dive to the floor. Robbie's eyes fixate back to the view of the room. The single door of the room just closes as his vision adjusts. The footsteps drum against the floor as whoever it is makes their way to the torch. The flare of a match lights, and then the torch itself is lit with the flash of orange and yellow glaring into the boy's eyes. It takes a quick second for his eyes to adept to the lighting, but unlike all of the previous times, there is no one there. There is no one there to feed them, no one to torture them, and no one there to just observe. The light just displays the emptiness that Robbie has felt. There is no…Jade. The chains hanging from the wall opposite to him are…gone?

A huge wave of relief makes it's way across Robbie's arms as they fall to his sides. Robbie jumps from the suddenness of his hands hitting his sides. Robbie simultaneously takes a step forward and turns around to examine the area he was just standing. His chains we're now gone as well…Still with no one in sight. He limps his way over to where Jade was standing. He swings his arm back and forth above the white "X" painted on the floor where Jade was chained.

None of this made sense to him. Robbie hobbled his way over to the wooden seat that the observer would always sit to relax his legs some. His eyes still scanned the room for anything, or anyone that may be trying to mess with him. Could this be some sort of new torture? Mental torture? Is that even a thing?

Robbie's eyes stopped and watched as the door – the border between him and escape creaked it's way open. He looked around the room one more time, and without a second thought pushed himself up off of the bench, and over to the door. The door emitted a very, very bright white light. Robbie's eyes fixated on the light as he slowly staggered in it's direction. The light intensified as he got closer and closer. He took his first step out of the room, and it all seemed to fade behind him.

Robbie's mouth dropped open, as he turned his head over his shoulder to see the room that he and Jade were locked in for so long disappeared before his eyes.

Robbie now stood in the complete opposite of the room he was just in before. The emptiness, however, was even more prominent than the dark room. This 'room' literally had nothing. No chains, no walls, no floor, no… anything. Pure white surrounded Robbie as he seemed to just float in midair.

Robbie looked up, as boxes of images filled whiteness.

Robbie stood there mesmerized, watching all of the screens displaying various parts of his life. All of the thoughts he had inside of the dark room filled the screens before his eyes. The screens played every part of his life, from child hood until the night he asked Jade to be his girlfriend. When the videos ended the screens collapsed from the air and fell into nothingness below his feet.

The screens cascaded down, but six remained. A wave of realization hit Robbie, tears forming in his eyes has he watched the final six screens.

In screen one, the events following him asking Jade out played. He watched as the yellow headlights swerved in the lane beside them, and into theirs. The sound of metal against metal as the two trucks collided filled the air. The screen panned to driver's side of the truck they were in. He watched as shards of glass propelled passed Jade's face, leaving small cuts and trails of blood in their wake. A small screech of her screaming replayed in his head…and then replayed on the screen. Jade let out a quick yelp as the airbag shot out. Robbie, in this white room, had streams of tears flowing from his eyes watching the events that occurred.

The first screen cut blank, and the second screen started to play. White and red lights filled the screen until an ambulance came into view. The screen showed Robbie, laying down in the gurney, being lifted into the back of the ambulance. He watched attentively - The video panned to his face, covered in blood and bruises – and then over to Jade as sat in the seat next to him - she watched with a worried look in her eyes down at the boy.

Screen two cut to black. Robbie shifted his eyes to the third screen, which then started up. This…however was different from what he remembered. He expected to see the events of the dark room, but on the screen he was in….a hospital?

Robbie watched as he laid in his bed, his face and chest bandaged, with just a small bit of blood making it's way through the bandaging. Jade, who also had a few bandages on her face sat in a seat right next to his bed. She hovered over the boy, and a single tear dropped from her eyes onto the boy's face. The screen cut to black.

The fourth screen lit up. The doctor walked in, he handed Jade some food from the cafeteria, and a tube was hooked up to my chest. Jade ate the food quickly, and I just continued to lay there. Jade continued to watch, but, time took it's toll on her, as she fell asleep in the chair. The screen quickly cut to her waking up the next morning. Hoping it was all a dream, Jade's face dropped in disappointment. She leaned in close, and put her lips against mine. A few seconds later, she pulled out of the kiss and looked intently at Robbie's face. A few words fell out of her mouth. "I'm sorry." She says, her head tilts downwards, and a few gasps of air escape her throat. "I am so…so sorry." The screen fades out.

Without hesitation, focus is put upon the fifth screen. This one started a bit differently than the other. The screen showed Robbie's point of view, as if he were awake at the time. There were blinding lights, and then a man's face made it's way into view. The man wore a surgical mask, and his green eyes looked intently down at him. The man moved down towards the torso area, and started to examine. A tray of tools were brought over to him, and he started to cut into Robbie's chest. Surgery. The man was performing surgery. Robbie was completely astounded by what he was watching. The man was performing surgery. Once the surgery was finished, he was wheeled back to his room, Jade still sitting the same chair she had been the entire time. Her eyes glowed in the excitement as she saw Robbie again. The look was almost immediately overshadowed with sorrow as she heard the bad news. "We are doing the best we can. There are still a few surgeries left, but at the moment, there is only a limited chance he will make it." The doctor made his way out of the room, and Jade looked back down on the boy. A pained look masked her face as she continued to stare. "Robbie…" She said. The unconscious boy, though still being unconscious, let out a very small noise from his lips. Jade let out a gasp at his reaction, and let out a soft, yet excited smile. "Hang in there…" "Stay strong." The fifth screen came to a close.

The five screens repeated the action of all of the others, and fell down passed Robbie's feet and into the white oblivion below. The sixth and final screen centered itself and began to play.

A few more surgeries played out on the screen. Each time Robbie was returned to his room, Jade looked up at the doctor – her eyes asking the question. "Is he going to make it?" Each time, the doctor replied "It's…still not certain." Eventually the day came where after a surgery; Robbie wasn't wheeled back to his room. The doctor returned to the room that Jade sat in, this time, however, the room included Robbie's parents, Andre, Beck, Cat, and Tori. – Jade knew the answer, but her eyes asked the question anyway. "Did he make it?" The doctor, with a sincere frown on his face, shook his head. The room was filled with silence, and then with sobs. Beck and Andre tilted their heads downwards, trying to hold it in. Cat cried into Tori's shoulder, as Tori let out tears as well. Robbie's parents hugged each other while tears fell down their faces. And Jade…Jade sat there. She sat there with a devastated look on her face, not knowing how she felt. Some sort of…Emptiness. Void of anything. A cold, frigid, stone-like feeling.

The screen faded to black. It shattered, and like the others fell down into the void below his feet. He watched it fall, and the white room began to change. He watched the white world around him change into the final scene. He watched himself down below, lying in an open coffin, Rex lying by his side, with the group of his friends standing around him. A feeling of lightness overcame him as he started to float upwards. He continued to watch – Tears still falling from his eyes.

The tears fell from the sky – one droplet fell directly onto Jade's shoulder. Jade took her attention away from the boy in the coffin for a brief second, and twisted her head behind her shoulder. She looked up at the sky with soft, teary eyes and smiled – and although she couldn't see it…Robbie looked back down to her with matching soft eyes, and returned that smile…


Thanks for reading!

-V