Chapter Four: Asylum/An Unwanted Memory
AUTHORS NOTES:
I will be posting chapters less often because I ended up only having the first few chapters planned out, and the rest not so much. I will attempt to post chapters as often as I can, but don't expect them to come out every day like Unforgiven and Deception.
You see, you have failed. Failed your girlfriend, failed yourself, failed me. There's only one body, and you won't keep it much longer…
"Ugh…"
Fox stirred from his unconscious state, letting out a light yawn. Everything around him was blurry, but as his sight cleared up, he noticed that the color white stood out a lot. When he attempted to move his arms, he found them to be stuck in one position. Nothing was making sense to him, until he looked down and saw a straitjacket over his torso.
Padded walls now replaced the white marks before him. A small bed and an extremely unsanitary toilet were crammed into the corner of the room. In a way, the vulpine was not surprised where he was, but he had wished that he was able to find out how he got there. The room was so quiet that Fox could hear his faint heartbeat.
"Hello?!" He cried out, knowing he would get no answer.
To his surprise, he heard something. A creaking noise, he looked over and saw there was a slit in the wall. Something could be seen moving around on the other side. Fox crawled over to it and saw a small tray being slid through the opening. On it was some eating utensils, a pile of mush that could easily be mistaken for mashed potatoes covered in vomit, an apple, a tall glass of water, and a metal container which confused him the most.
"Umm, how am I supposed to eat this?" He yelled out at whoever was on the other side. The shuffling of feet could be heard again. The slit now had opened up into a door. Three orderlies entered the room, a lynx with a cut on his face, most likely from the other patients, a black cat, and a dark green chameleon. The cat stood by the door, while the other two took hold of the vulpine and unrestrained him. They nodded at him, and quickly scurried out, shutting the door behind them. Fox immediately opened the container and saw that there were about ten pills strewn around it. Among them was that little red and black capsule known as Harbadine.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me…"
Also in the container was a note…
Fox McCloud,
These are pills that you must take each day. If you fail to do it yourself, we will be forced to make you ingest them. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated…
Cooperation eh…that went over great at Dr. Marco's! HAHAHAHAHA!
Fox growled for a moment, but then relaxed. He really couldn't do anything about this, so he might as well just remain calm and act normal. Maybe they'd let him out, it was doubtful, but stranger things have happened before.
"But how am I supposed to take these?!"
The same way you did that night! The vulpine showed uneasiness. He knew that from now on, he would take the pills, only to throw them up later.
"Fine…"
He looked over the food and played with the mush, shoving his fork into it. Right before he took a bite, he froze.
Wait, I should let myself throw up before I eat…
He took half of the pills, and threw them into his muzzle. After taking a sip of water, he took a quick breather, and then ingested the rest. The feeling that remained in his throat afterward once again, nearly brought him to gagging.
"Oh fuck me…" He squealed, sticking his tongue out.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT KRYSTAL SAID THAT FATEFUL NIGHT TO ME! I CAN STILL FEEL THE BLOOD, SO WET!
"SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He threw his fists and head against the soft wall and slumped against it. A single teardrop trickled down onto the floor, It was now that he realized he was back to where he was almost half a year ago, alone. Fox was alone once more. He wasn't sure how to deal with the thought, so he held in his emotions until he could find a way to express it the right way. He shut his eyes, but quickly opened them back up. His pupils were black again.
" Now Fox McCloud has resorted to holding in his deepest thoughts?! How manly! You see, it's not that hard to let go of the people you cared about! All you have to do now, is join me…"
He blinked, going back to green eyes…
"Never…" Fox whispered. He let out his emotions right there, all of them…
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was noon, half of Krystal's dream had become reality, the apartment was silent. She walked through, touching every little piece of furniture, hoping to feel Fox somewhere. But he was all around her, in the walls, the pictures, the couch, the bed, everything. It pained her to know that her lover was locked up in some crazy house. She could sense he was struggling with Ordo more than ever now. Krystal wanted to see him so badly, but in the delicate state he was in at the moment, she thought it would be better to wait until he was ready.
"Oh Fox, why did this have to happen?" She thought aloud. Both Krystal's and Fox's world were spiraling out of control and she could do nothing about it but try and ride it out.
The vixen laid down on the couch and thought about the events that had unfolded.
Everyone has a weakness, but what's Ordo's? It started to happen only when Fox was angry, but now…it's pretty much happening at all times I think…It happened when we were making love for god sake! It was as though they were all happening at a high poi-
Krystal quickly sat up and widened her eyes.
"That's it!" She got up and realized what she had to do. She knew it would be an extremely horrible thing to do in the short term, but if she was right, then it would pay off in the long run. She ran out the door like a speeding bullet. One moment she was laying down, the next, she was gone…
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fox laid down on the bed in his cell, tossing back and forth while covering his ears with one of the pillows on it. Ordo was giving him an onslaught of violent images.
"Why do you have to reject these images? Just letting them in will make things so much easier…" Fox covered his face with the pillow and screamed into it, hoping something would make him go away. Suddenly, he could feel the pain in his gut again.
"Oh come on!" He screamed. He jumped off the bed, knocking the unused pillow off, and sprinted over to the toilet. The vulpine began to break into a cold sweat, and his breathing was labored.
"Why won't you leave me alone!?" He shivered as an image ran though his head.
"You have no sense of logic do you? A simple little pill you pop into your muzzle won't do shit to me! I have control of you even if you don't know it, I'm going to make you squirm and beg for death one day and I can't wait for it!"
He threw up, afterward, he felt a little better but he could still feel more coming.
"Time to dig deep Fox, very deep. Back eleven years…"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There was a knock at the door, a much younger Fox McCloud walked toward the door at an alarming rate. He knew that Peppy needed to see him, but he wasn't sure why. In the doorway was Peppy Hare, numerous scars were covering his fur.
"Peppy! You look horrible, what happened to you?" The vulpine worried.
"Fox, what happened to me doesn't matter, it's about your father!" Fox froze. He feared hearing these words but he never expected them to be said. The hare led Fox to his room and shut the door, only making him more worried. He sat the young vulpine down and took a deep breath.
"Fox, Pigma betrayed us at Venom helped Andross capture your father." He could see Fox's eyes beginning to squint, in an attempt to hold back the tears. "I barely managed to escape capture, but obviously I didn't get away scotch free." He studied his scars for a moment. "Andross sent out a message a few hours ago, saying that…that…" He tried his hardest to keep his composure in front of Fox. It's what James would have wanted. But it was impossible, Fox knew what he was trying to say and ran at him open arms. The vulpine buried his face in Peppy's trench coat. Muffled cries could be heard from Fox. Peppy put one arm around his late leaders son, while the other was covering his face. They stood there for about a minute before Peppy finally leaned in and broke the silence.
"I'm always here for you…"
Fox came back from the vision, and immediately threw up once more, a bit more this time. He knew this time it was done for good. He flushed the toilet and slumped next to it. He gasped for breath as he let out a stream of tears. Once again, Ordo vanished…
