[AYO THE PIZZA HERE]
[I finally finished the next chapter! Was stuck on writer's block for ages, but finally got enough inspiration to write this. You see, most of the ideas I get for this story are from random shower thoughts.]
[An important thing to note: I changed a little something in the previous chapter, and you'd probably want to take a look since it has a big impact on the story later.]
[Anyway, enjoy the chapter! Hopefully the next one should come out sooner because I already have a good idea what to write. Welp, seeya!]
{Chapter 12}
This sucks.
…was the only thing I could think as I stood on the rickety wooden bridge beside Frisk. The (freezing!) wind whipped around us, causing the bridge to sway and creak constantly. I kept one hand tucked into my hoodie pocket, while the other gripped tightly onto my scarf to prevent it from getting blown away as I trudged across.
To sum it up? Acrophobia is a pain in the ass.
It took every effort to stop my legs from wobbling as I followed behind Frisk. Not to mention, it didn't help that I knew what awaited us ahead.
*Stop pushing!]
*I'm not-!]
I groaned as I tilted my head back to see Rasmus and Flamberge arguing again.
"Will you guys just quit it for five minutes?! I've got… ugh… enough problems as it is!" I snapped. "And aren't you ghosts? How are you pushing each other?!"
*THAT'S JUST HOW IT IS!] they both turned towards me and yelled in unision.
"Then just float or something! It's not like you can even fall to your death in this state!"
Rasmus stomped his foot on the bridge. *It's not that si- Wait a minute.]
I became increasingly worried as I saw a glimmer of evil genius flick over his face. Suddenly, Rasmus turned to look Flamberge in the eyes.
Flamberge scowled back at him. *What are you doing.]
Rasmus grabbed Flamberge by the shoulders, lifted him up…
*YEET!]
…and flung him off the bridge.
{Chapter 12:Desperate Measures}
-Or, the long-ass bridge
{by Zillowzest}
Orion, Jeston, Ink, Chara and myself stared dumbfounded at Rasmus. Rasmus, who just chucked Flamberge off a frickin' bridge.
Taking a deep breath to steel myself, I cautiously leaned over the side to see what had happened to him.
Flamberge seemed to be hurtling back up towards us, before he lost velocity and began dropping back down again. But before long, some invisible force sent him propelling back towards us like a bungee jumper.
Up…
*YOU-!]
Down…
…
Up…
*BITCH-!]
Down…
…and this cycle repeated.
Frisk, unable to see the whole fiasco, glanced between Chara and myself in confusion. "Wh…"
Chara ran a hand through their hair. "Don't. Don't ask…"
Eventually, Jeston took pity on the enraged spectre's plight and lifted him back onto the bridge(on the condition that he and Rasmus would shut up for the rest of the walk.)
"Finally, some silence…" I grumbled. The swaying of the bridge was beginning to give me motion sickness on top of my acrophobia.
Frisk chuckled. "At times like this I wish I could see them." Upon noticing my increasingly green face, their brows furrowed in concern. "Are you okay?"
"I will be once we get the hell off this bridge…"
Orion floated over to my side, his feet hanging over the empty space below. *If it's really too much, perhaps one of us could take over.]
I shook my head, trying not to throw up. "As… tempting as that sounds… here… isn't exactly the place to try that… oh. You figured out Jeston's floating trick?"
Orion nodded.*It's actually not as hard as I thought.]
*But I still can't do it…!] a frustrated Ink called from the back of the group.
Jeston floated over and patted the dismayed apparition's shoulder.*Heh, don't sweat it bro. I'll help you out.]
*Ah, thanks… wait, why'd you call me that?]
Out of the corner of my eye, I briefly registered Jeston's face shift to one of heartache before being masked by a grin once more
I silently made a mental note to ask-
"NYEH HEH HEH HEHHHH!!!!!!"
{Song: Nyeh Heh Heh! by Toby Fox}
As the music began to play, Orion awkwardly glanced at Papyrus, then at me.*Welp. Uh, good luck.]
With that, he gave me a pat on the shoulder before slowly edging back.
Ahead of us was the end of the bridge, and there Papyrus stood in his full glory. Sans winked at us from the side, enjoying himself.
"HUMAN AND OTHER HUMAN! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DEADLY CHALLENGE!" Papyrus declared, striking a dramatic pose. "BEHOLD…! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!"
On cue, an arsenal of very functional weaponry suspended by ropes descended from above us.
"WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE!!!"
I stole a quick glance behind me, not regretting what I saw. All the souls were staring slack-jawed at the contraption Papyrus had revealed. With the exception of Jeston, and even he was MUCH more wide-eyed than before.
*You have got to be fuckin' kidding me…] Flamberge muttered.
*Wait, is that a dog-?] Ink stammered, pointing at the dog dangling without a care in the world from a golden rope.
Rasmus pinched the bridge of his nose, before beginning to chuckle at the absurdity of the situation. *Just when I was thinking this guy couldn't make any real traps…]
Jeston and Orion simply gave me a look that said: how do you find this normal?
"ARE YOU READY, HUMANS? BECAUSE! I! AM! GOING! TO! ACTIVATE IT!" Papyrus declared as he whipped out a remote with a big red button on it.
The souls tensed up, though Frisk and I already knew Papyrus wouldn't do it.
A few seconds passed, and Papyrus's finger still hovered over the activation button.
"uh… that doesn't look very activated." Sans pointed out.
"WELL..!!" Papyrus began, "THIS CHALLENGE!! IT... SEEMS... MAYBE... TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMANS WITH!!"
Orion blinked. *Wait, what?]
Papyrus shook his head rapidly. "YEAH!! WE CAN'T USE THIS ONE! I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS! AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED!! THIS METHOD IS FAR TOO DIRECT... NO CLASS AT ALL!"
*This guy is hopeless.] Flamberge deadpanned.
"Well... it looks like you worked really hard to make this one, though?" I said in an attempt to comfort the fumbling skeleton.
"WELL OF COURSE!!" Papyrus cackled. He struck yet another dramatic pose, grinning proudly... and accidentally dropping the remote.
We watched in silence as the remote landed on the ground, pushing the button.
Sounds of whirring machinery filled the area, and all at once, the contents of the gauntlet began swinging right at us.
"Oh shit-!" I was interrupted as Frisk pulled on my wrist.
"Come on!" They yelled, snapping me out of my stupor.
Frisk dashed across the bridge, expertly dodging every swinging weapon while I half-ran, half-stumbled in pursuit. I ducked under a swinging spear, before leaping over a burst of flame and dashing past a spiked mace.
Once safely on the other side, Frisk sprawled out on the ground while I stood on the end of the bridge, hands on my knees as I panted for breath.
"HUMANS! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" Papyrus looked distressed to say the least.
"I'm… fine…" I wheezed. "Just trying to catch my br-"
POW!
Out of nowhere, the forgotten Annoying Dog swung towards me, crashing into the side of my head. I stumbled, and before I realised what has happening I had tumbled backwards over the bridge rope.
*ZILLOW!] the souls yelled, before also getting pulled over the edge as a result of their bind to me.
*Grk..!] Ink and Razmus tightened their focus, and for a second their spectral forms flared a little brighter.
From the collar of my hoodie, a tendril of ink shot up, followed by a glowing crystal chain from my left sleeve. Both wrapped around the bridge in an attempt to stop my descent, but they were too thin and snapped as my velocity continued to send me hurtling down.
From my position, I could see Frisk, Papyrus and Sans looking down from the cliff, though it was becoming too far to see their faces.
Time seemed to slow down as I begun to understand just how screwed I was. Is this how it ends..?
*Zillow.]
Snapped out of my thoughts once more, I turned to see Jeston in the air next to me.
*I can get us out of this. But I need you to calm down and focus.]
"Focus? Now?! Really?!" I was beginning to freak out, my fear of heights coming in in full force.
Jeston continued to look at me with a deadpan expression. *If you don't, we are going to die.]
I closed my eyes in exasperation, and tried to slow my breathing.
*Remember what's important.]
Finally, my breathing steadied and my heart stopped pounding in my head. I opened my eyes, and unknown to me, my irises had turned yellow.
*Now hold still. It's going to be a rough landing.]
Jeston reached out his left hand to phase into my right, and I felt my right arm tingle as he curled my hand into a fist, moving it up to point in the direction we were falling.
*And… there.]
In one swift motion Jeston splayed our fingers out, and what could only be described as a portal swirled into existence below us.
I closed my eyes as I fell through. When I opened them again, I was in a seemingly endless grey space, with nothing inside for miles except… Wait a minute.
A few meters to my right, a skeletal figure sat dressed in a light grey turtleneck and a black coat. His head swivelled in my direction, and his eyesockets widened at the sight of me.
Before I could do anything, though, Jeston opened another portal below us with the same method as before. Passing through, I felt my stomach lurch as gravity around me was reversed.
I shot out of the other side of the portal, launched a few feet into the air and back up onto the cliff next to my earlier company.
"Oof!" The air was knocked out of me as I landed in a snow poff next to Papyrus.
"Zillow?!/HUMAN!!/Kid?!" Frisk, Papyrus and Sans exclaimed in surprise. I turned towards them to flash a thumbs-up, before I suddenly felt bile rising in my throat.
Scrambling over to the edge, tears stung my eyes as I retched the contents of my stomach off the cliff.
All this because of a stupid bridge.
I groaned as I slumped down in the snow.