Ian Hecox
Reunited...almost, only half of the abducted people were inside the room; and now we're one member short of our extraction team, Link was nowhere to be found.
"Link! Come in!" I called for him in my headset, there was no answer. "Link!" I repeated. Still no answer.
"Link left the moment you guys went in the room." My mom radioed in, "—I saw him go upstairs."
I had no choice, "Anthony, lead the others back to the van, if anything goes wrong, protect them at all costs." I said, "I'll find Link."
"What about you?" Brittni asked, her eyes filled with concern.
"I'll be fine. You need to get out of here now." I smiled, looking into her eyes, "I'll be fine."
"Just be careful." She gave me a hug, so tight that it felt like she never wanted to let go.
"I could come with you." Billy cut in.
"No Billy, they need you more than I do." I smiled.
"You sure you don't need company?" He added.
"I'll be alright, just get them out and we'll catch up later." I gathered up the captives and motioned them to leave but they initially refused, they wouldn't leave without me.
"I can do this." I said, "Go."
Anthony, with much hesitation, decided to take charge, he walked to the double doors then pushed it outside a little for him to take a peek. He gestured them to wait for a moment as he slowly slipped his entire body through the door and went outside, checking if the coast is clear.
A few minutes later, he yanked the doors open, "Let's go. Connor, lead the way back." He said.
The assassin drew out his tomahawk and hidden blade then took the lead. Meanwhile, Billy followed the others, bringing out the hilt of his lightsaber and detracting the blade, illuminating the hallway in purple. They went around the corner back to the stairs.
But Anthony stayed behind.
"You should be leading them." I said. My best friend gave me an unexpected hug, "Oookay, this is unbelievably gay." I laughed, still in the embrace.
He let go and shook my shoulders, "Look after yourself."
"Yeah, I will." I grinned. Anthony nodded and turned around, I could feel his growing concern over me. He took out his sword and followed the rest, going around the corner. I was left alone in the room, the dark and silent studio.
Here I go.
I took a deep breath, then walked along the hallway and turned left, opposite where Billy and the others went.
"Link, where are you?" I spoke to the headset, "Mom? Any sign of Link now?" I asked my mom.
"No, and I have no coverage of the upper floors." She said. I went up another floor and found myself along a different hallway with a huge glass window to my left and light coming from inside it. I went past the door beside the big glass pane, crouched down.
"The others have escaped?!" A raspy voice came from inside the room, stopping me in my tracks. It sounded familiar, "Find them." He ordered.
"Yes sir." Another voice replied, followed by footsteps walking towards the door behind me. I scampered behind a potted plant as the door creaked open: The same goon wearing shades and blonde hair that led the surprise attack in our first hiding place walked away from where I was, disappearing deeper into the hallway.
I peeked inside the room which was brightly lit, the interior walls were painted in white and inside it were a few equipments, but these things weren't the usual ones I'd find in a record company: there were ovens, pans and bakery apparatuses.
At the center of the room was a huge mixing bowl and a man was standing beside it, watching it do its job. He was wearing a long brown robe with a hood over his head. On his arm was the Power Glove, the grey rubber glove and its Nintendo buttons.
Then it struck me… It was the man from the video who kidnapped Brittni.
Anger fused within me and I could no longer contain myself. I burst inside, "HEY YOU!" I growled, holding the glowing blade above my head as I overflowed with the thirst to strike, "WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT FROM US?!" My eye twitched, prepared to hit him with all I've got.
The man's hands slowly made its way on the sides of his hood, grasping its fabric and pulling it down, revealing his true identity: A round face with a little button nose.
Stevie?!
I gulped, I was about to say something but Stevie pointed at something behind me and I quickly turned around.
SLAM! A metal object hit me across the face, the whole world shook, I spat out blood from my mouth. I screamed on the top of my lungs, the hit was agonizing. My vision swirled and I fell on the ground. Everything slowed down as my face hit the cold tiled floor and the thud echoed.
I rolled over with the feeling of numbness taking over half of my face as I touched it, cheek throbbing erratically with blood dripping from my nose and cracked lip.
"Ian, Ian? Are you alright?!" My mom called out, ringing through my bruised ear.
"Ian? Something wrong, buddy?" Anthony also heard my agonized scream.
I felt another powerful blow across my face, the unknown attacker had thrown a jab at me. I groaned in pain as more blood flowed from my mouth. I could only hear my heavy breathing and rapid heartbeat.
He then snatched the earpiece from me and pinned me back down on the ground with his foot.
"I'm alright, mom and Anthony. I just had a run in with Stevie. I thought he was the bad guy, so I accidentally hit him with a frying pan." The figure chuckled.
Surprisingly, the man's voice sounded exactly like me, and was enough to convince my mom.
"Have you found Link yet?" My mom asked, I was still dazed but I overheard the conversation.
"Not yet, I'll give you an update once I do." He replied, turning off the headset afterwards and putting it inside his pocket.
"Wha—" I spoke through my swollen cheeks.
"We've been expecting you, Ian." He said. The two blurred figures surrounded me while I lay spread eagled on the ground still disoriented from the blow.
I blinked my eyes, the clouded vision went away and I was able to make out the face of the second guy: brown wavy hair, a black cap over it, wearing a black jacket over a black tank top, complete with black shorts. Crooked nose, blue eyes, light stubble, it was like I was staring into a mirror.
Not again...
"A-Adrian?!" I weakly exclaimed, seeing his familiar face gave me goosebumps.
A menacing smile formed across his face, "Miss me?" He kicked the lightsaber from my hand.
I rose up and supported my body with my elbows. I rubbed my aching head, "I-I don't understand... Anthony wiped your memory."
"Yeah, he did." He said before placing his foot on my chest and pushing me back on the ground. "—but someone helped me regain it." He said, "You."
"Wh—what?" I was at a loss for words
"Well, technically you, but from the future." I remembered that Evil Ian went back to the past before disguising himself as Billy, "I almost forgot that I really hate you so much, I really do."
My mouth just remained open.
"I wanted to ruin your channel, but I realized that why not aim for something bigger?" He smirked, leaning on his knee that was on my chest, "—it's about OWNING ALLOY DIGITAL, your parent company. It was all falling into place, I had your loser friends captive, but I know that you and that idiot Anthony will come and save them."
I weakly pushed off his foot until finally he did so himself. Adrian snapped his fingers and two different sets of hands pulled me to my feet then grabbed both my hands then placed them behind my back. I got a chance to look at them: one had short curly hair, wearing a pair of glasses while the other had bright yellow hair and big round eyes…
Joven and Lasercorn.
"What the-? Joven?! Dave?! Let me go!" I struggled as their nails dug into my sleeve, getting a good grip. Their faces were blank and expressionless, irises were not their usual brown, they were fiery red.
Then two more guys walked in front of me, the short guy was wearing a red, blue and white checkered buttoned-up, long sleeve shirt with faded blue jeans and a red cap, holding a plastic pink lawn flamingo while the taller guy had spiky hair under his Pokémon cap…
Benny Jean and Ash.
They also had the same red eyes and blank expressions and all four of them forced me on a rusty old wheelchair, tying my feet on the footrest and then my hands on the armrest with a length of rope.
"You like my new henchmen?" Adrian boasted, "They'll listen to everything I'll say, like this: Lasercorn, kick Joven in his privates."
The yellow-haired guy did as he was instructed: he kicked Joven in the crotch. I cringed; the poor bespectacled man rolled on the floor in pain but soon stood back up as if nothing happened.
My brother cackled, "Like puppets, Strings Attached." He saw my pained look, "I'm gonna show you something beautiful, you'll probably like it." Adrian ordered Ash to push the wheelchair, following his boss. I shook myself from the binds but it was bound firmly that I wasn't able to breathe normally.
We stopped in front of a huge oven. Adrian turned around and glanced at me, smiling so big that it made me uncomfortable.
"Why do all of this?" I ranted, keeping my firm and unafraid face.
"Reasons. Lots of them, but never mind that, feast your eyes on this!" He pressed a button on the table next to him and the oven doors opened, a giant pink frosted sprinkled donut was at the center, as big as a human being.
"What's that gonna do?" I scoffed, insulting him.
"You'll see." My evil twin said before throwing a rock at the huge donut, hitting its side then bouncing off of it.
It started moving, various lumps randomly appeared everywhere on its surface, as if something inside it was desperate to break free. A pair of feet made out of bread burst out of its side followed by a pair of arms.
I was in for the shock of my life.
The donut slowly stood up, until it has planted both of its feet on the ground.
A great big pair of black eyes lacking pupils opened on the pink frosting, creating a menacing stare. Then a lipless mouth emerged, dripping pink frosting as it took its first gasp of air. I was scared shitless, it was Food Battle: The Game's Mutant Donut in the flesh.
"No." That was all I could say as I watched in horror.
"We have more of them." Adrian gloated, "—but sadly, the donuts won't listen to me or anyone else, they only take orders from one person, and that my dear brother, is YOU."
"M—me?!" I blurted out, "—but that's only in the game."
"Oh believe me, they will listen to you." He pushed me away from the newly born donut. Stevie used a long stick to poke the donut into a room filled with the others. "I knew you will lead the rebellion against me, so I made an army just in case you'd get this far as I was supposed to keep the prisoners in captivity forever but seeing you were making progress, this is gravely needed." He explained. "—and wouldn't it be cool if I had an army to cause world domination?"
"You know, I could just order them to beat the shit outta you, right?" I gloated, struggling from my restraints, "We'll beat you." I teased him.
"How will they defeat me, when they will be busy fighting you?" He said in a dark tone.
I gasped.
"That's right my brother, YOU will lead the donuts against them." He raised his voice, boasting loudly, "Pretty neat huh? Friends fighting against each other! What's a more beautiful way to end Smosh than this?" He laughed. "And what made it better is that you and your friends had walked into my trap."
I opened my mouth to reply but Adrian pinched my lips close, "I know what you're gonna say, 'Adrian you bastard, I won't do it,' blah blah blah, I've got a trick up my sleeve."
He pushed the wheelchair inside a room, in the center of it, was a metal box with a huge tube connected to a helmet.
"Remember the brain switcher from your Food Battle?" Adrian grabbed the helmet and placed it on my head, wrapping a belt around my chin and securing it.
"Turn it on, asshole." He yelled to his assistant.
"Stevie! How could you?!" I cried.
"You were never nice to me." Stevie's small nose scrunched. He smiled then pulled down a huge lever on the wall. The machine started making noises, warming up the whole system.
"You might wanna bite on something; The results could shock you." Adrian took a step backwards then left the room with Stevie.
I started struggling even more as the sounds grew louder, shaking my hands from the armrest but the binds were too strong and firm. I desperately tried shaking the helmet off, it won't budge one bit.
"LET ME GO! ADRIAAAN!" I bellowed loud enough to scratch my throat. I screamed at the top of my lungs, "ADRIAN!" I tried tipping over the wheelchair but it was too heavy.
The sounds grew even louder.
It's ready.
"NOOOOOOOO!"
After a loud beep, the machine sent powerful surges of electricity through my whole body. I shook violently on the wheelchair as the current traveled, my teeth gnashed against each other as the pain was worse than anything else that I've endured. I was being tortured as one by one, the memories of Smosh and my friends vanished into oblivion...
"AAAAAARRRGGGGHHHH!" I closed my eyes. I didn't know what to do...except to succumb to it.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"