Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there!
Organises script...
Uh, hello and welcome to Chapter 17 of Count It Up, the story where the title still doesn't actually fit the story one bit-
This chapter is actually a giant milestone, as 17 is also the amount of sports in both Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort combined! Hopefully you will celebrate this with me. Since it's an odd numbered chapter, it's Ness's perspective.
Enjoy!
Chapter 17: Night Terrors
Duster leads me into his guest room. "Come, you can sleep here tonight. You are a guest in m' home, m'chap, so you're more than welcome to ask for anything you need!"
Bemused by his kindness, I smile. "Of course, I will. Thank you for your hospitality."
"Ah, it's naught trouble! Sleep well, tonight."
He leaves the room, and closes the door, leaving me to think. If I'm in Tazmily… well, that's dangerous. Porky's plan is sure to be coming to fruition, soon, so I may have to leave imminently. Tomorrow, I must be sure to allow Porky just the slightest glance of me - perhaps, just to unhinge him, and annoy him a little, to make him lose his cool, in front of the crowd that he's seemingly brainwashed. 'Secret Weapon…' Duster had said. I wonder vaguely just what it could be, but I'm not sure I want to know. Though, I do have an idea. A very nasty idea.
I sit on the bed. It's not exactly comfortable, but it'll do me just fine. I've gotten away. I notice a newspaper sitting on the side of the bedside table - interesting. I haven't been up to date in the news since departing…
I take it.
Onett has declared War on Tazmily.
So Porky's plan has officially begun.
I look around me. There's bright colours, flashing lights, and I'm dropped, somewhere… I spin around, looking for a sign of anything that I might recognise, but there's nothing. Grey buildings rise either side of me. I assume this is some forest, but I'm not sure what I'm doing here… It's the dead of night. But I'm not alone - Lucas is opposite me - okay, that's good. I think I'm dreaming - everything looks kind of fuzzy. Something rustles in the trees, and instinctively, I move towards Lucas, protectively. We've got company...
Out of the forest steps The Face! It's been a while since we've seen it, and, it's still worse than any Future Humans, or any other threat - its face still mangled, sickeningly, hair still long, dangling grotesquely, its dark, shadowy body elusive in the shadow, I don't know why it's here, and I don't know what it is - Lucas and I step back in haste, but it's coming for us, it's so powerful, its arms are raised, ready to smite us - what does it want! Fear courses through me. This isn't happening. This can't be happening. We're forced back against a tree, and there's something rising inside of me - Lucas tenses beside me, and suddenly my hands erupt with fire - Lucas's too - and the fire engulfs the face, and the forest, and the trees, and everything is ruined - everything damaged, everything destroyed, reduced down to mere ashes.
It's just us left.
I wake suddenly, panting, and so does Lucas - did we share another dream? That dream… my head spins. The Face. Fire. It's dark outside - pitch black. It's still the dead of night.
I turn slightly in the bed, Lucas's hands gripping mine. There is no need for words. I'm certain that for the second time in our history, we shared the same dream. But it was just a dream. It's fine. The Face is not here.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The echo of the knocking at the door last night plays again in my mind. But there hadn't been anybody there. It shouldn't bother me this much, but it does. There's something off. Lucas feels it too, I can sense that he feels it too in his occasional twitches, and his eyes, that are darting everywhere, like frenzied fish. His eyes are so.. alive with movement, with paranoia. I never knew I was so tuned in to the smallest elements of his character, but I see everything. Yet he's so secretive. Is it wrong to observe him? Am I trespassing upon him, by looking at him? No, I'm just looking out for him. There's danger surrounding us.
Lucas slowly pulls the covers off of us - something's set him off. He's noticed something. He gets like this sometimes, getting little premonitions about this and that, and they usually turn out to be correct…
On the train. Lucas tensed - he knew something was wrong, and then the face appeared.
Last night - Lucas demanded that we search the room, despite no obvious signs of something being wrong.
He's funny. Funny as in unusual - though, funny as in humorous as well. I've thought it before, but I bet he's really funny inside his own mind.
...Yesterday, I kissed him.
Dammit - yesterday, I kissed him!
At the truth or dare, Toon Link had asked Lucas if he'd ever been kissed. "No," Lucas had said. So, maybe, in all the chaos of the rockfall, I got lucky. Lucas didn't notice it. Does that mean I'm in the clear? Possibly. But… does that mean I'm in the right?
Of course not.
There's a sick twist in my stomach.
Be quiet, Buttercup.
Yesterday I told Lucas that I might be... gay. That was scary - so scary, but Lucas accepted me. He told me that it was okay, he'd still hugged me, hugged my disgusting self - he's always given me more than I ever have deserved, but I was a fool to think that Lucas would ever not accept me. We're best friends. I could've murdered someone, and Lucas would've still stayed by my side. Not that I would ever murder someone... I'm scared of weapons, and I'm scared of blood.
Weak.
Every weekday, after school, I'm starting therapy with Rosalina - I feel a rush of shame returning to me. If Father knew… But heaven knows I need it. Lucas is right - the breakdowns have to stop. I'm hurting, and broken within, and I can't bear it any longer.
"Sensory check," Lucas whispers in my ear, out of nowhere, lurching me back into reality. I look around the room - pitch black. The candles must've gone out. We really should have put them out before going to sleep, but I guess no damage was done. The sky seems to be devoid of moonlight tonight, so no light comes in through the window, save a faint glimmer from a few stars. A little light trickles under the door from the gas lamps outside. All normal. I can faintly smell the sweetness of the candles still, which is to be expected. I listen closely, for anything unusual, but all I can hear is Villager, faintly snoring in Toon Link's bed. What are the other senses again? Taste, but that's not really important here. Touch - I feel Lucas's warmth, I feel… tired, actually, really tired… I drift back off into slumber.
When I wake again, it's slightly lighter. Lucas sleeps soundly against my chest, and it must be the crack of dawn... Red lies sprawled out on the floor - an undoubtedly weird way to sleep, but that's just him, I guess. Villager's body is highlighted against the window's light. He's sound asleep too.
Toon Link, however, is absent.
I shift, letting Lucas's weight fall onto the bed, instead of onto me. He moves in his sleep, grabbing onto the pillow, hugging it tight. I worry that he's having a bad dream... But I tiptoe out of the bed, careful not to wake him up. My feet make contact with the floor. I turn back, and study Lucas, taking the blanket, and carefully tucking him in. He's inhumanly cute when he sleeps, I swear - ack! No. I can't think those thoughts about him.
He's your best friend.
I need to find Toon Link. I creep out of the room, leaving the room in silence as I close the door behind me. It's cold in the halls, but the gas lamps provide a small amount of warmth. I'm glad that at night, the caretaker only extinguishes the lamps in the rooms, and not the hall lamps; a lot of our nighttime wandering wouldn't be possible in complete darkness. I spot Toon Link a little way down the corridor, walking away, walking swiftly. Curiously, I follow, not wanting to interrupt him quite yet - I wonder faintly where he's going. He heads out of the corridor, down the stairs towards the main corridor. He walks along, and takes a turn into the… music room? The music room is an unusual place. Instruments of various shapes and sizes line the jet-black walls. Stands surround one half of the room, and the other half only contains the podium that Professor Sebastian Tute conducts from. I creep in, keeping to the side of the wall, still curious. Toon Link sits on the percussion stool, and I make my move.
"Hey-"
Toon Link's hand flies to his heart. "Holy hell - Ness, did you follow me?!"
I nod slightly. "Yeah. I was worried."
I take the piano stool, and draw it up next to Toon Link. "What are you doing in here?"
He rubs his eyes. "Insomnia. I had to get out, I had to just go… somewhere."
I nod. "Did you get any sleep at all?"
"Not really."
He yawns.
"Why not?" I ask. It's probably a stupid question.
He blushes. "Nerves, I guess."
Nerves… maybe his 'thing' for Villager is a little more than just that… I'm not really sure what to say, so I stay quiet.
"It's 6am," he says, shakily. "I'm so… tired, but far, far too tired to fall asleep."
"Wanna jam?" I suggest.
"Jam?"
"You play the percussion, I play harp. I'm feeling musical."
He shrugs. "Why not... I guess."
I take my position by the harp, warming up my fingers. My slightly odd plan is to play some kind of lullaby on it, that might just send Toon Link to sleep. It probably won't work, but still. I like playing the harp. Nothing lost.
I let my fingers glide over the strings, following my instincts. I'm an instinctive musician - my hands have learnt what notes sound good when, so I sort of, just let them play. It works wonders, as I play sweeping melodies, that fill the music room with vibrant notes. Toon Link comes in with the percussion - a steady bass-heavy beat that accentuates every note that I play.
We head back up to the room. My harp unfortunately didn't manage to put Toon Link to sleep this time, but I refuse to let him go sleepless at all for a whole night. We enter back into Toon Link's room - it's all just as we left it, with Lucas tucked up, Red on the floor, and Villager sleeping in Toon Link's bed.
"Buddy, you've got no reason to be nervous," I reassure Toon Link, as he joins Villager again. "Villager is cool with you. He'd have no problem with you being there. He wouldn't judge you."
"Right you are," Toon Link smiles. "It's… why I like him, after all." He blushes, even more. "Goodnight." He tucks himself up, and in minutes, he's snoring.
"Goodnight," I echo, smiling, just a little bit.
I carefully climb over Lucas, getting back into bed. I'm not too tired… but I could do with some bonus sleep, regardless. I stare up at the ceiling, trying to empty my mind.
Knock, knock, knock.
The knocks keep replaying in my mind. Ngh! Why won't they stop!
Maybe there's something here…
Buttercup - please, don't. I want to sleep.
It could kill you. Knock… Knock… Knock!
Ngh! That's it - I'm going to have to look around the room. Under every bed, in every nook and cranny. I stand, in trepidation. I have a nasty feeling that I might unearth something, or someone, very unpleasant. I suddenly regret talking so loudly about the mystery with Lucas last night… we certainly could have been heard by something that we definitely wouldn't have wanted to overhear anything.
Under Link's bed - naught. Under Toon Link's bed - naught. Ok. Under the wardrobe-
Oh.
Oh?
There's something small, out of place under there - I'm not sure quite what it could be, and I reach under the wardrobe, taking it into my hand, and- and-
Where am I!
I stare around at the sudden scene, appalled - I'm in some giant building, a cathedral perhaps?! Song pillars, engraved with images of mythical creatures pile upwards, towards a domed roof, approximately 100 metres in the air. But there's so much room here… How did I get here!
The object in my hand drops to the stone, tiled floor with a clatter. It seems to be something... round, like a golden egg or something. I pick myself up off the floor as well, shaking, bewildered, frightened. It's icy cold in here, wherever here might be, whatever this- this temple might be.
I'm alone. The thought slices through me like a hot knife through butter - usually Lucas is by my side, Lucas is my voice of reason… A prickle of fear starts to invade my thoughts…
I close my eyes.
Knock, Knock, Knock.
Toon Link opens the door - there's nobody outside. Toon Link closes the door, but it doesn't close quite right…
We're staring into the wardrobe, when there's a thud… The thud of someone throwing the golden egg inside of the room, landing on the wooden floor. It rolls under the wardrobe…
My eyes fly back open again, and I look from left, to right, from forwards, to backwards. I'm hesitant to call out for anyone… I wonder if someone is listening.
I pick the egg back up off the floor again. Touching it must've brought me here…
But that's impossible!
So are Steel 'Future Human' Men, so is the Face, so is the grave… The boundaries of what we know are slipping away. This world has some weird stuff to offer. But how does the egg work? I shake it - there's some kind of rattling. Weird. I guess I'd hoped the egg might take me back to where I was before - which brings me to where the hell is this!
I close my eyes again, in panic. What would Lucas do?
I'd do a sensory check.
…
I hadn't been expecting a response. But, a sensory check seems like the safest thing to do for now… Dizzy, I stare around the grand hall, looking for anything out of place. I try to settle my breathing. There seems to be some kind of a golden box, in front of me, a few metres away. It's just as tall as me, and it stretches lengthways just as much. I approach it, cautiously - it seems to just be solid, a solid block of gold. Maybe it's ornamental, or something. Beyond it, there appears to be some kind of choice, of three doors. Great. I pick the middle one, swinging it open timidly, in case of anything nasty inside… but I'm merely met with an ominous passage.
Something's wrong.
I freeze - I swear, I'm hearing a voice in my head… it's not Buttercup, I believe.
I close my eyes, probing, inside of my mind.
I say in my mind: 'Hello?'
There's a little pause, before there's a response. 'Hello.'
I open my eyes again, thoroughly panicked. What the hell! I close them once again.
'Who is this?!'
'Ness- it's me, Lucas.'
My eyes fly open again. Am I going crazy? Is this some elaborate trick, played by Buttercup to drive me into further misery?
'How can it be you?'
'I'm not sure... How did you get there, wherever you are?'
'I'm not sure! There was a golden egg, and then- then- I was brought here-!'
There's another pause. 'What can you see?' I ask.
'I can see - I can see you, it's like it's the third person… I can see where you are.'
I'm silent, trying to process this. How can any of this be possible?
'Lucas, I'm scared.'
'I know, Ness, so am I, I don't understand at all, this is- this is all so impossible-'
'What do I do?'
'I guess, explore, I don't know - I'll stay with you.'
'Okay-'
I traipse further down the corridor - the floor is smooth, slippery and it takes a lot of skill to keep my balance. Unusual.
'I know what's wrong,' Lucas says, suddenly. 'Where's the light coming from?'
I stare around the place. Sure enough, the corridor is illuminated… but there's not a light source in sight.
'That's weird,' I reply, hesitating. 'That's impossible.'
So is mysteriously arriving in a cathedral, Lucas cheeks, and I grin, in spite of myself.
There's a door on my right, with the number 1 on a placard - I open it, and it leads me into a mysterious room. There's ominous silence inside - it's just a small, square place, completely devoid of anything… I enter. There's just blank walls, no windows, no nothing, but there's light. Why is there light?
I blink.
Suddenly, I'm plunged into darkness - so much for light - I back away, but I can't see a thing, I panic, blundering into a wall, falling down-!
A mangled voice comes out from the darkness, all around me, echoing horribly-! "Ness."
I fall, abruptly, onto the floor. My voice comes out high. "Who- Hello-!"
"Heh, heheh! Ness, it's so good to finally speak to you…"
'Lucas, can you see anything?!' I ask frantically.
'It's pitch black - what's that voice?!'
'I don't know!'
"Who's there!" I call, feeling around on the ground for anything that I can hold onto, but it's all so… bare.
"You know who I am."
"What is this place!" I cry out, fear stinging my words.
"Let's play a game! I love games."
The voice is almost childlike - yet terrifying, scrambled somehow, beyond recognition. I hold myself, in the darkness, with bated breath.
"What's the game?"
"Let's play hide and seek!"
Chills run down me. "I don't want to play with you."
Lucas probes my mind. 'Ness, don't move, anything could be around you.'
"Can you find me, Ness?" It asks, in some kind of sing-song voice.
I can hardly speak, as the light floods into the room again, and I'm left, alone. I try to calm my breathing as much as I can - I stare up and - oh hell - a creature, of course, there's always a creature, cloaked unceremoniously in ragged, white robes, with no visible face or body… only, floating robes, and webbed, grey claws, reaching out of them... it glides, with no sign of fear, or mercy, towards me…
'Ness, run!'
Lucas's call gets me on my feet, and I sprint out of the room, into the corridor, slamming the door shut behind me, turning the key that very conveniently appears to be in the keyhole, trapping whatever it is inside. I sit, breathing heavily.
'You know who I am,' the voice had said… but who? Who is it, who's trapped me in this place? Why?
I close my eyes.
'Lucas, what do I do?'
"Explore, I suppose. Find a way out. If you can get in, you can definitely get out.'
'I'm scared.'
'I know you're scared. I'm scared for you, too. I wish I was there, in person…'
'I'm glad you're not. This place seems dangerous.'
I open my eyes again and - HELL - IT'S REACHING OVER ME - THE CREATURE - I - I -
My eyes close again, like lightning, in absolute panic, I'm dead, I'm dead, it's got me, it's-
Everything freezes.
'Ness.'
Through the darkness in my mind, I can make out a figure, a mess of bright, blonde hair. Lucas. He stands opposite me, holding out both of his hands in front of me, palms up. I take them, staring into his bright eyes. He smiles.
He whispers. "This is the bit where you tell me how you're going to get away."
"I don't understand - are we dead?" I reply, notes of panic echoing through my voice.
"We're not dead. We're just… here, inside your consciousness."
"How do you know?"
He shrugs, grinning shiftily. "Sorta got a feeling, I guess."
"That happens, sometimes," I note.
"Yeah… now, first things first, we need to work out how you're going to get out of this tight spot."
"How? I'm done - I'm dead, I'm sorry Lucas, I'm scared, I-"
Lucas's face grows worried across the table. "Ness, don't give up, please! Think - what do we know?"
"Nothing."
"What does the floor feel like?"
"The floor? Slippery, I guess?"
"Then slide! Slide under the monster, and run."
He's right. "You're right!"
I open my eyes again, suddenly, and the creature continues to reach - I grip the wall, pushing off of it… and I slide in between its legs, from under its impending reach -
'RUN!'
My pulse races - I race down the corridor, as it twists and turns, becoming a labyrinth of paths that all look the damn same - but it's not chasing - it's not coming for me - it's- I check behind me. I've given it the slip.
Lucas's voice sounds in my mind again. 'Next step - escape.'
"How?" I ask, accidentally speaking aloud.
'Explore - there has to be a way out somewhere.'
He's right. I stare down both ends of the corridor I've found myself in - the walls shine a brilliant white, with chandeliers hanging down sequentially, across the ceiling. There's carpet - it's some awful maroon and bottle-green pattern, that I would never put in any building. It's completely out of place with the temple-like room that I'd initially found myself in… it's almost like some kind of hotel, the ones that the super-rich stay in when visiting cities. As soon as I think this, I notice maroon doors embedded across the walls - all numbered… had those been there before? Perplexed, I start to walk down the corridor. There's another slight chill in the air, there always seems to be a chill in the air. I come to the end of the corridor, and I'm met with a T junction - I choose to turn right. The new corridor continues exactly the same as the last… slightly unnerved, I continue. Another right, and another. I realise that would lead me in a square, but there doesn't seem to be any-
'Ness, stop!'
"What is it?" I ask.
'That door - it had your name on it.'
I freeze, turning back. He's right - on a placard, where the room number is in the other rooms, the name 'Ness' is written… Curiously, I test the door, and it swings open. My hand tremors very slightly, as I open it to reveal… a bedroom. It's just a normal bedroom. I enter, exercising caution still, trying not to completely freak out about literally everything. There's a double bed, two bookshelves either side of it, a neat wooden desk on one side, and a wardrobe on the other. There's nothing special here… but then, why was my name on the door? I exit the room again, swinging the door back open, and I check again, on the placard.
It's changed.
It now reads: 'You Will Never Escape.'
I stagger backwards, coughing suddenly - and plunge back into the room again. What the hell - what the hell! Questions burn in my mind yet again - HOW IS ANY OF THIs EVEN POSSIBLE!
'Ness, you're really tense, please, be careful!'
How can Lucas be in my head?! I collapse onto the bed, feeling pressure rising up inside of me - I'm going to burn, going to explode, this isn't right, this is impossible, this is- this is-
I break into light sobs, curling up on top of the patterned quilt. What if I am going to be stuck here forever? Alone? What if thanks to me touching the egg, I've imprisoned Lucas inside of my head, and, and, I've trapped him, forever, and-
I bury my face into the white pillows, blemishing them with my tears… ruining everything pure, as always… The room turns dark.
'Ness, I promise, you'll get out of there.'
'I won't! I won't ever, and I deserve it! Maybe this is some kind of prison, for everything wrong with me.'
'Ness, there's nothing wrong with you! Don't say things like that. I don't understand any of this either, but stay strong!'
'How can I?'
'I'm here with you, Ness. I'm trapped too. You're not alone.'
'But it's my fault that you're trapped!'
'No, Ness, it's not. It's the fault of whoever's trapped you here.'
'They must've trapped me for some reason or other. I must've done something wrong to deserve this.'
'Ness - oh, Ness! I wish I was there, to hug you, to tell you that it's all going to be okay, because- because I believe it will be! Because hope is one thing they can't take away, so you have to hold onto it, tight.'
'...I guess…' I open my eyes.
"Ness."
The mangled voice again. I'm stuck here, with this awful voice, forever, forever and ever…
"Neeeeeeeessss!"
It's taunting me. I'm funny - I'm stupid and emotional, and I'm hilarious, to whoever it is that's brought me here. I feel the golden egg pressing against my thigh, in my pocket.
"C'mon, you're no fun. Why don't you wanna play my game?"
"GET THE HELL OUT!" I scream, suddenly, surprising even myself. My heart pounds, and I sit up, on the bed. "WHY HAVE YOU BROUGHT ME HERE!"
"Because you're fun to play with!"
The echo of the knock on Toon Link's bedroom door plays in my head, yet again.
"Now, play! Find me."
"No."
"You have a day. If you fail… You will never escape. You can never leave. If you find me… I might just let you go!"
I refuse to answer.
"How about... Let's play some music!"
Awful, discordant organ music starts blaring out of who knows where, pounding into my skull, clouding my thoughts…
"Much better!" They shout, over the organ. "Good luck - actually, I hope you fail horribly. Heheeee!"
"WAIT!" I shout. "Where is this! Tell me more - tell me where I am! How did I get here!"
But there's no response, and the room brightens again. However, spurred on by the voice's taunts, I stand. I will get out of here. I will find them… and I will, I will make them tell me how to get out of here! In stoic defiance, I kick at the desk, causing one of the legs to collapse off. I pick the leg up - a good weapon, for any other horrors that may be hiding in this place… I scan the room, turning fear into anger, and courage. I have to be strong. But how to find them? What would Lucas do?
'Lucas, how do I find this person?' I try to speak over the organ music.
'Explore - but quick. This room is important, I think. Search the books on the bookshelves.'
I turn to the bookshelves, and with a striking realisation, I realise that every book… is the same. I grab one - it's entitled 'The Cloak.'
'What's inside?' Lucas presses, intently. I open it up, to page 1:
The Cloak is the deadliest creature in existence, due to its immortality, and its fatal touch. It appears to float, but it seems to be slow… It never accelerates, never decelerates, always coming. For you. You are its target. It will not give up, until it has reached you. No matter where you hide, no matter how far you go… it will always come. If it touches you, you die. It is immune to any damage. Even walls do not stop it. So run.
Because you'll be running for the rest of your life.
Frantically, I turn a page, and I see a picture of that cloaked creature that I encountered before. I turn again, but the rest of the pages are all the same picture, and I swear the picture is moving, I, I, I-!
I slam the book shut, shaking. If I don't get out of here… Everything's suddenly changed, so fast. One minute in school: maths competition, Bayonetta's party, Talent show, Business Plan, The face, future human, friends, chaos, virus, war declared on Tazmily, mystery, but then suddenly, plunged into this… this world. I refuse to believe it. I stare blankly, at the bookcase, and in a burst of anger I strike all of the books off the shelf, using the leg of the desk, onto the floor - they fall with an almighty thud.
The thud of the egg hitting the floor, back in the bedroom, echoes through my mind - playing in slow motion. I'd been so stupid, so curious, to see what it had been, under the wardrobe, even 7 hours after it had rolled there… and now, I will serve my dues. There's no hope for me.
'Ness.'
'Lucas?'
'You're giving up. Stop giving up.'
He's right. I shouldn't give up. I need to get out of here - to save Lucas himself, if anything! So I stand, I steady myself. I stare at the empty shelf, and turn around… to see a hand reaching through the door… the hem of a cloak rippling through...
It's here.
Panicking, I grip the desk leg, like a baseball bat. It feels familiar… I haven't played baseball in so long…
Onett primary school.
"Ness, welcome to the team!"
I smile, nervously, looking at all of the bigger, stronger boys around me. Father commissioned me to join the team - and who am I to disobey him? Miraculously, I got in. I'm a slow runner, though, which worries me… and I'm not very good at catching, but I reckon I might be okay at swinging a bat! I'll try my best - that's what Lucas always tells me to do. I'd asked if he wanted to join, and he'd gone pale, and mumbled something about never doing sports ever. I wish I could be nice and lazy, and sport-proof, like him…
"Today, we're going to practice," the coach says, jauntily. "Say, Ness-ter!" He claps me on the shoulder. "How would you like to go ahead and bat first?"
"O-okay-"
I'm ushered to the batting position. The bowler is, of course, the biggest bully in the school - Captain Falcon - with his rocket-powered aim… I have to do this. I have to hit it, well.
The ball flies towards me.
CRACK!
"The furthest shot, in 40 years of this school's baseball team," Lucas marvels, faintly, later on. "That's… wow."
I glow, with pride. "Yeah."
I grit my face with determination, raising the desk leg over my shoulder.
The book had said: 'It is immune to any damage.'
That doesn't mean I can't strike it out of the way.
Lucas's nervous voice fills my head. 'What's your plan?'
'Watch and learn, Lucas.'
I'm scarcely confident- this is new to me. It stretches a hand. 'Don't let it touch you!'
I won't.
It all occurs in a blinding sequence - duck - strike! - run! I'm away - I slam the door open, and reenter the corridor. The creature slowly turns, but ever so slowly. It's slow. I'm fast. Well, not fast. Maybe just… not as slow… heh. I sprint, finding a stairway downwards - and of course I'm out of breath already, but I don't care. I laugh! I laugh, despite the fear, despite this place. How do you like that, o malicious voice? Mood swings are a blessing and a curse. The organ music seems to have stopped, at some point, fortunately.
'I did it, Lucas!'
'That was brilliant!'
I know the owner of the voice is watching me, from somewhere. So, maybe… I need to use that to my advantage. Ha - I'm thinking like Lucas now. Good. He's smart. I want to be more like Lucas. I look around, thinking, hard… what now? Where to go? I'm still in the hotel-esque corridors, but there has to be a way out of here somewhere. I walk down, and down further, and I turn out of a corridor, into… the outdoors. Odd. It seems to be some sort of garden… but it's not a nice garden. There's thistles and weeds climbing up every available post or pole, seeking to snag onto anything they can. The trees are leafless, and barren, and the garden is surrounded by a solid stone wall - no hope of escaping through it. I scramble over the weeds, inquisitive… this might be a good place to look for an exit. I notice a dark protrusion amongst some ivy - aha! I pry apart the leafy constraints, and I find…. a shovel?
"What's this? I hope I don't have to do any gardening!" I shout, aloud. There's no reply.
Lucas's confused voice sounds in my mind. 'A shovel?'
'I don't understand it either,' I admit. I turn back, dropping the desk leg and instead taking the shovel with me, just in case I need it. But - something has changed about the garden. There's an abrupt red cross seemingly painted onto a specifically barren patch of grass. X marks the spot. So, following my instincts, I dig. It takes half an hour or so, but eventually, I reach the prize - a little box, buried 6 feet deep in the sand. I'm quick to open it - and I find a… placard? Hm. I read it.
Room 47.
Oh - it's one of those door placards. But why would it be buried here? Perhaps… I need to find that room! Maybe that's where the owner of the voice is hiding! I close my eyes and explain my theories to Lucas.
'That sounds good! I'm keeping my eyes out for you. Stay safe, Ness.'
I close the box, and I pocket it. It might be useful later, I reason. Back into the building I go, and again, the corridors stretch out lazily, sprawled everywhere. But, it should be a simple matter of counting along the rooms, I think. I look at the door closest to me - room 680. Okay - that's quite far away from 47. I check the room next to it. Room 358.
Oh.
So, the doors aren't sequential. That's- okay! Possibly. Probably not. I'll - I'll - I don't know, I'll just wander along. It can't be too hard to find it.
An hour has passed. Okay, no luck so far… every corridor just looks exactly the same, and I'm fairly sure some doors have come up more than once, which is slightly disturbing. There's not been any signs of the entrance back into the temple building - I have the mildly unnerving feeling that these halls might actually move. I haven't seen The Cloak, fortunately. I must be moving faster than it is. But I have a whole day! There's no chance that I'll fail.
Two hours have passed. Every hour, a large chiming noise sounds, telling me how long I've been here. I'm feeling a little tired, but I know I can't rest- or The Cloak will catch me. I've seen door 69 multiple times. One time it appeared next to 420 - but other times, it's not been next to any rooms at all, so I'm certain that the corridors are moving now. I never see them move, though. I saw The Cloak once, at an intersection, but I managed to get away.
4 hours have passed. I'm tired, I want to stop, I want food, but there's no food. I have to keep going, or I may never get out!
20… hours have passed. I'm weak. My legs scream with every step. I've been walking for 20. Hours. I've tried to talk to Lucas, but conversation fizzles out easily. I've seen The Cloak multiple times. I think it's catching up to me. I fall onto the floor, almost ready to quit. I'm stuck here. What if this is my life now? Eternally hiding from The Cloak - never sure of its location, always searching for a room that probably doesn't even exist. This dry monotony can only last so long… A day. A day, or I'm trapped here, forever, for good. I'm stifled by the blinding reality that that may well be the case, that this might be my eternity, this might be where I spend the rest of my days… Everyone back at school will easily forget me. I'm not special, I will disappear, dust to dust, ash to ash, just another missing student for the records, another disappearance, surplus to all requirements. I am lost, lost in a cold reality of hopelessness, drowning in the depths of time itself, I-
'Ness?'
'Yeah?'
'What if Room 47 is inside a different room?'
How, how did it take 20 hours for either of us to think of that?! Buoyed by a new idea, I stand up, and swing open the nearest door, door 502, stepping inside with renewed hope. It's another ordinary hotel room. Ngh. Ngh! I turn to leave the room, but to my horror, the door has gone! I shout in alarm, stepping back. The light flickers again, and lumps suddenly seem to be rising from the carpet - something's coming up through the ground - oh no - panicked, I open the wardrobe, to hide, but a swarm of bats fly out, suddenly, surrounding and I scream, the organ music starts again, even louder than before, as the lumps in the carpet form figures, figures with hands, and vicious faces - they're going to get me - they're going to kill me! Their eyes are glassy, and they're writhing around, and they're rising, and they're all floating towards me, and there's screaming, and roaring, and I turn back, in horror - the door has returned! I force it open rapidly, throwing myself out of it, panting, slamming the door shut behind me. Everything stops - the organ music, the bats, the rushing noise - it's perfectly still outside. Hesitantly, I take a glance through the keyhole, and I see that the room has, somehow, become just as normal as all of the others, yet again.
'What was that!' I cry out, to Lucas.
'That was nightmarish. But weird,' Lucas notes. 'All the clues… everything being so dramatic… it's as if all this for show!'
'The voice did say they liked games and drama,' I comment, wearily. 'I'm its toy. I'm entertaining it, I believe.'
'So, we need to get into their head,' Lucas calculates, logical as ever. 'They've set out clues. They want things to be dramatic. So, therefore, every room probably has something terrifying inside of it. But if that thing kills you… that's the end of their fun. So… I'm guessing, the stuff in the rooms probably won't be too quick to kill you.'
'Reassuring…' I deadpan.
'Just, watch out for The Cloak. I think it's very, very dangerous.'
'I think so too,' I agree.
I open my eyes again. The only thing to do is to try new rooms. Room 58 - I open it. Again, it appears normal. I step inside, staring around, expecting something to happen. The desk suddenly collapses - the ceiling suddenly starts descending - fear strikes into me, yet again! I'm going to be flattened underneath it - images of the rockfall slice into my mind. Images of Dark Pit… The ceiling lowers, and I lay down, flat, on the floor. I try and turn for the exit again, but the ceiling has lowered below the door handle - oh no - oh no - but I turn, and I see a space in the wall - I slither through, out into the corridor again, breathing hard.
I'm not sure I can face all of these rooms… what if I slip up in one, and I die?! Panic builds, and my lungs burn, I want to scream, suddenly worrying about the time limit. How many rooms can I check before time is up! What happens when the time is up? I look down the corridor, devoid of hope - and oh great, it's The Cloak, gradually floating towards me, once again- maybe I can, maybe I can do something clever - but I can't think, I can't think clearly, so I turn, and I run. I'm sick, sick and tired of this awful place. This… prison. It's like a torture chamber! Everything is designed to hurt me - to exploit me, to torment me. But why! I don't understand - I don't know why - and, and I've been here so long! For hours! I want to see my mom and my sister. I want to see Lucas. I want to see my friends again. It feels like the walls are closing in - my chest is compressing, painful, there's a rising feeling inside of me, a desperation as the claustrophobic thoughts mind batter me, as I try not to weep, with despair.
'Ness, you're doing it again!'
'Doing what?!'
'Giving up.'
Yeah. I am. It's a lost cause… and I drag myself into another room. Maybe this time, this time, I shouldn't leave. This time, I should let whatever it is going to be in here kill me… my eyes are so glazed over… everything is tinged with purple… I stagger, this has to be the end. But there doesn't seem to be anything horrible in this room - why not!? There should be! I stare up at the wall. There's a clock, but there's 9 hands, spinning rapidly around. I don't… understand. I haven't understood for the 20 hours I've been here.
Dong.
The clock chimes - seemingly that's what chimed every hour - 21 hours have passed, then, now. I feel so, so faint… I'm thirsty, I'm hungry, and I'm so, so tired. I step further into the room, and I turn back to face the door - there's… my family? Why is my family here? But- but, The Cloak - it's reaching through the door - I stand up, in alarm.
"Watch out!" I shout out, but I'm slow, I dash forwards, but The Cloak reaches out a greying hand, plunging it onto my mother's chest, killing her stone dead.
"Tracy!" I turn, pleading to my sister, that she might be free, that she may run, but The Cloak makes swift work of her too…
"Father," I call, trying to still the bitter sting of tears. "Father, get away from it!"
He turns, angry again. "There's nothing there, Ness."
"Yes there is!"
"You dirty liar. You LIAR! You disappointment. You've failed me, Ness-" he's cut off by The Cloak pressing a hand to his heart, too, knocking him down to the floor, where he dissolves into nothingness - no - no - no - it turns to me, and I stand back, and collaps to the floor, screaming, the horror, the horror of it all, Tracy, Mother - I want to be sick, but it's coming, it's coming for me, I- but I want to die, I should let it get me, I should allow it to catch me, I should-
'Ness!'
But Lucas.
Tears drip down my face, as I face the creature, backing into the corner, but, but there's something else, in this corner, a door.
Room 47.
Panicking, I force it open, jumping inside, slamming it shut behind me, unable to process, to process everything-
'Ness, you should sit down.'
'Sit down!? It's coming for me!'
'Ness, I've figured it out.'
'I don't care! Mother - Tracy - father-!'
'Ness, please, hear me out!'
The Cloak's outstretched arm starts to come through the door, and I back away, facing it.
'Ness, the strange clock, the light without a source, the unending passageways, things seemingly appearing, and disappearing, where have you seen all of that before?'
'I don't know! Please, just tell me!' I back further away from the door, tears still pounding my cheeks
'It's a dream! This is all a dream!'
'How can it be a dream!'
'Every bit of this is impossible, Ness.'
'It feels so real.'
I breathe heavily. If it is a dream… My family is still alive. So, I decide, it must be a dream… but then how do I wake up? My tears slow slightly, as I step back further from The Cloak. I turn, to see what's actually inside this room 47 - it's a grand looking room, with, of course, a golden throne at one end, and in it, sitting… a hooded figure. I swallow the lump in my throat, and I fry my eyes. Now is the time to look strong. I feel Lucas's calming presence in my mind
"Ness, you won! You made it!"
"I know what this is!" I state, proudly. "This is a dream."
They stand, mock bowing. "Oh, clever Ness, who's a clever boy? Oh, well done! Aren't you smart, poppet?"
I stamp my foot. "Let me wake up!"
"Ah, see, I can't do that."
"You said if I found you, you'd let me go!"
"I said might. Which means I might not. Which means I won't."
"This is my dream! How did you get here?"
"Look on my works, Ness, and despair!"
"No! How did you get here!?"
"Ah, hah! Well, check your pockets."
"Wha-?" I place my hand in my pocket, drawing out the golden egg. "This?"
"My invention… When you touched it, it hacked your mind, putting you right to sleep, allowing me to fabricate a dream, to create a world… just suited to you."
"That's impossible!"
"I've always called myself an inventor, hehe! It worked so well on you. All the darkness, all the sadness, all the self hatred in your mind… making you very susceptible to new horrors, what fun!
I stand right in front of them. "Who the hell are you!"
"Oh, Ness… you know who I am!"
"Just tell me! And let me go!"
"Hmm.. I could tell you. But the best thing about knowing is not telling you!"
"Why me! Why pick on me! Why send me here"
"Because, Ness… I HATE you."
"And why's that?!"
"You don't even know how much I hate you. But your suffering… it almost makes up for what you've done."
"I haven't done anything!"
"Keep telling yourself that."
"Why won't you just tell me who you are!"
"That's no fun… I like to keep it a mystery! You get to play my game!"
I turn around, and I see The Cloak gliding gradually along the floor, getting ever closer.. I point. "What is that thing, then!"
"Ah, my idea! I thought it seemed like something awful that would keep you on your toes."
"So, what, do I stay here forever, then?"
"You can't wake up, so, yeah!"
Lucas gently pokes my mind. 'Ness, he doesn't know about me, I think. He doesn't know I'm here.'
'I don't know how you even can be here, Lucas.'
'Well, we've shared dreams before! This must be no different.'
'But why? How do we share dreams? How does that work?'
'I dunno… maybe just because we're best friends. But anyways, you can get us out of here, Ness! I believe it. Keep your eyes out for anything you can take advantage of…'
I stare right at my oppressor. "Tell me more about your golden egg."
"Why should I?"
"Well, you seem awfully proud of it. It's such an impressive creation."
"Fine. It's ingenious - it sends a signal into your brain, that connects me to it, on my end, and I can imagine the scene, and imagine everything that happens, and it happens here, it's built here, in this imaginary world."
"Very clever," I nod, drawing the golden egg back out of my pocket. "But why is the egg still here with me, in my hand?"
"I don't know, don't expect me to know everything!"
I shake it. "It rattles."
"That's because I put something else inside of it! Hehe. A fun little surprise. Another game!"
"Another game. I see."
"Sadly, the egg can't be used more than once… but I can easily, easily make more… heh. Fun!"
I think, trying to get my wording just right. "Have you ever invented… anything else?"
"Hehe, you and your little friend Lucas would know better than anyone, Ness. I've invented the future of humanity itself!"
"Future Human! It's you, who made them."
"I am an inventor."
"Who are you!"
"Not telling."
"What about The Face! Did you make that too?"
"...The Face? I don't know what you mean."
'Don't ask about the grave,' Lucas says, suddenly, urgently. 'We don't need to give them any more information.'
Suddenly - an idea. Oh, oh yes - I can get out of here! But I have questions - more questions, and then, maybe, I can finally leave this hell…
"Are you someone at school?"
"Why, yes, I am, heh. But what fun! You can't find out who!"
"Why do you hate Lucas!" I ask, intently. "Was it you who attacked him in the shower?!"
"Heh, that was me. And I do not hate Lucas."
"All of your Future Humans go after him, and him alone."
"I send them after him."
"Why!"
"I'm not telling. I'm not telling YOU anything else."
"Well, neither am I."
"What?"
"I'm not telling you anything either."
"What would you have to tell me!"
"Nothing at all." I fold my arms, grinning, almost daring them.
"What!"
"Fine… if you must know…"
"Tell me, now!"
I glance behind me, again, seeing The Cloak just metres behind me. "You are really stupid."
"Explain yourself!"
I bring my voice down. "It's my dream. And you told me exactly how to work this place."
"Exactly what do you mean by that?"
I stare at where The Cloak is, and close my eyes, imagining the scene without The Cloak there. I open my eyes, and it is gone. "I mean... that you've made a big mistake. You're not the only one in control here."
I stare right next to the throne, and I imagine Lucas, standing right there - and there he is-
Lucas jumps up, happily. "Ah- Ness! You genius-!"
I envision a million daggers, all flying towards the hooded figure. "Ready to set us free yet?" I ask, cheerily.
"You- you're NO fun! I will get my revenge on you! I will come for you. There will be no escape."
I nod, falsely. "That's what you said earlier. Know this - I will keep Lucas safe from you."
"Then, you will die!"
"Yeah, right. Whoever you are, release us, or these daggers kill you - and I'm guessing, if you die in here, you die in real life too… so do you want to find out?"
"Grah - just, get the hell out of here!"
The room crumbles- everything around me crumbles- and everything turns to a brilliant white, and suddenly, I'm back, on the floor of Toon Link's room-
Thud.
The egg drops from my hands, making an almighty noise - Lucas sits up abruptly from his bed, and Villager opens an eye sleepily.
It seems that no time has passed at all.
Lucas jumps out of bed, and grabs me, pulling me off the floor desperately, pulling me into a hug. "Ness!"
I breathe, heavily, my mind flooding on overload. "Lucas?"
"You did it - you got us out -"
I eye the egg, nervously. "No, we did it. You kept me strong."
I hug him tight. He hugs me tight. I don't want to ever let go. I'm safe! We're safe!
"I don't know how we shared a dream like- like that," Lucas muses.
"I've been wondering…" I begin.
"Wondering what?"
"...Ryu's ideas, about magic… everything's been so weird, and impossible… what if magic is… real?"
Lucas thinks. "You know, that actually makes sense. Those books I got you - we should read them! To see if dream-sharing is mentioned."
I nod. "Yeah! You're right, we can check them… but first," my stomach growls. "I'm hungry."
A/N Woah, this chapter kind of became... abstract, but I'm happy with it! I hope you enjoyed reading it. The mystery finally seems to be starting to unravel. But who do you think was behind this? Who is the hooded figure? What else could be going on here? I wanna hear your theories in reviews, uwuwuw-
Next chapter will probably be more of a normal one, as I believe there's some character development that needs to occur with quite a few characters, actually. But hopefully you enjoyed this! It was kinda long too, which is always nice.
With length comes strength.
Notes:
Everything that occurred was orchestrated and set up by the mystery person. Therefore, Ness's family isn't dead! Hooray.
"Look on my works, (Ness), and despair!" is a quote from an old poem called Ozymandias. I felt it was quite appropriate, given the nature of the poem c:
Reviews:
Guest: "I literally died at the mysterious ticking noise reference. It was hilarious! I can't wait to see what happens next."
Thank you! I'm fairly sure that you would not have expected this craziness to be what happened next. To be fair, neither did I, until I kinda wrote it-
Extra bonus section:
So, to clarify what's going on with me and with the world, and with, ultimately, me writing this:
Big bad coronavirus has shut school. Which means I'll be able to write more!
I still have schoolwork being set online tho :c
If anyone is worried about the virus, or anything going on, or just wants somebody to talk to in this tricky time, feel free to talk to me! It's all very uncertain, and scary at this time, and it's ok to be scared - I'm scared. My discord is Redtedmelonface#7175 (don't judge the name-) , and I'm always active on there, and happy to chat or listen to anything you have to say!
Thanks again for reading!
~ReadyForTeddy
