I do not own Chaotic nor anything related to it. It belongs to TCDigital.
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the slippery mind
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It's so heartbreaking to... see Master Aa'une so frustrated after looking at the stories inside my head. Limb-breaking, too, but of course master would see fit to punish me when I cannot accomplish whatever it is he wants me to do. This failure was... apparently worth breaking both my arms in two places each.
"Fleshshaper's Shanty," Aa'une mutters as he floats out of my cell. I don't hear the rest of the chant.
The strange black light fixes my arms, and I rest against the back wall... of my cell, waiting for when Master will next need me.
A lot of time passes.
{are you really a tool, michael}
It's the Twins again, though I do... not see them inside my cell. Maybe they are outside?
{or are you simply an obstacle}
An obstacle? Me? Have I been holding Master back?
{oligarch aa'une's battle plans are deteriorating-}
{and he is sending M'arrillians to their deaths needlessly}
{{k'yall and pah'ziq do not like this, and they have determined that you are the cause}}
No... I can't have failed Master.
{{in your attempts to make your master happy, you have made him sad}}
No... no! How dare you tell me that I augh!
{escape, michael}
{be quick}
I glance at the chains keeping my wrists to the wall. They feel quite... loose. Perhaps my arms had slipped partly free when they were broken.
{run, you do not have much time-}
Silence.
My mind feels muddy, but the sudden stop in Twins's thoughts is chilling. I can't... worry about that, however. I... need to get out of here.
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This tunnel feels familiar...
"I know you're behind it!" Aa'une's voice roars. "I turn my back for an hour, and suddenly he's gone again! You had to have let him out!"
{Seeing-as-neither-of-us-possess-limbs...} Pah'ziq drones, {your-accusation-is-quite-amusing...}
...Here again?
Aa'une lets out a strangled cry. "Why?! Why are the two of you sabotaging me!"
"You are making us lose this war, Aa'une," K'yall growls. "You may be conquering location after location, but at immense costs. You are trying to fight in a way we simply do not have the personnel for!"
Aa'une lets out another wordless roar.
{Why...?} Pah'ziq asks. {Aa'une... why-continue-in-such-a-pointless-manner...?}
"War is about making the enemy submit," K'yall adds. "You seem keen on annihilation."
{Is-this-about-making-them-pay-for-locking-our-tri be-down-here...?} Pah'ziq sounds frustrated. {But-these-are-not-the-same-creatures... Two-thousand-solans-have-passd... Few-from-that-time-remain...}
Another roar from Aa'une, and then a hum of energy,
{Prince-Osiris...}
Of course they knew I was here-
"Run."
A light sparks into existence behind me.
...Oh crap.
I run.
A gray bolt of energy flies by my ear. I twitch in the opposite direction. Another bolt. Am I outrunning him? No, don't look back, look forward.
Tunnel exit! Leap through, stumble over an Underworlder minion. I'm so sorry! Keep running. Another gray bolt smashes against the wall behind me. Wow, Aa'une's aim is crap. Keep running!
"Stop him!" Aa'une roars.
Every servant and minion drops what it's holding. Oh crap. Run run run.
Which way? My mind is a blur, I can't remember. Go left. Another branch. Right. Kha'rall! Charge straight at it and dive between its legs and keep going.
Door. Locked. Dead end. No!
I turn around and press against the wall. My breath comes out in short gasps. There's the kha'rall, it looks like it's made of coral and pottery. Behind the kha'rall is a small army of minions. Behind them is Aa'une.
Everyone steps aside as Aa'une approaches. He looks murderous. Has he finally decided to kill me? No, he probably hasn't. I'm too terrified to think.
"Back to work, everyone," Aa'une orders in a hiss. The other creatures quickly hurry away.
I close my eyes. I feel Aa'une's hands grip my shoulders. I wait for my mind to stop belonging to me.
And wait...
...There's a soft breeze on my face. I open my eyes.
Aa'une's face is a foot away from mine. His eyes are narrow, his arms shake with barely controlled rage. His chest heaves, and his breath hits my face.
"You try my patience..." he growls. "I know that you are trying it. Your attempts to escape serve a double purpose. Either you succeed, or you fail and die in the process, or I catch you and kill you unthinkingly."
Aa'une is too close to me. I don't like this. I try to squirm away, but Aa'une simply holds me firmly against the wall.
"The physical punishments I have given you don't seem to be having any effect," Aa'une growls, "and neither does bending your will with my powers."
Aa'une puts his face closer to mine. All I can see are his glowing eyes.
"I'm going to break you," Aa'une hisses, "one way or another." He presses his forehead against mine, and his eyes widen. "You may be a dreamer, but you are not God."
My voice shakes as I mutter, "But I never said I was-"
A blinding pain-
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The next thing I realize, I'm back in the prison cell. I'm not chained the same way as before, this time with my wrists bound together and raised above my head.
Aa'une in in the cell with me, leaning against the prison door. His crown is missing, as well as the strange crest that's usually around his chest and the golden bracers on his arms. He's rubbing his knuckles.
"Good... You're finally awake." Aa'une's voice sounds dead. He stops leaning against the cell door and floats towards me.
I try to scoot away, but I'm already against the wall.
"You have a slippery mind," Aa'une growls. "A strong enough emotion, and brainwashing simply fails. At least, brainwashing of the M'arrillian variety."
Oh no.
Aa'une launches a fist at my stomach. I double over as air escapes my lungs.
"This is your fault," Aa'une says, punching again. "If you would just," punch, "listen to me," punch, "and do what I say," punch, "I wouldn't have to do this."
I think Aa'une broke one of my ribs...
"Why are you making me hurt you?" Punch. "You don't like this, and neither do I."
Yeah, right.
Punch. "But you won't listen." Punch.
I close my eyes and just take the blows. He's a dream, a smattering of chemical and electric signals in my brain given form. He's a crystal thread, a spot on a ball made of diamond.
Eventually the punching stops. I wait a while, then curiously open my eyes.
Aa'une is undoing his loincloth. The golden fabric falls to the ground.
My heart freezes. My lungs seize up. Wake up, Michael! Wake up!
Aa'une leans over me, placing a hand against the wall near my head, while the other hand strokes his glowing member. "Let's see if you'll try to run after this," he growls.
I scream as Aa'une prepares his body.
I scream as he forces me against the wall.
I scream and I cry and I beg.
And Aa'une doesn't listen as he claims me.
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Aa'une cleans himself up. He opens the door and leaves.
He had taken off my chains. He left the door open. He hasn't set guards. He's daring me to try to escape again.
I curl up into a ball and cry.
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Up next: The Potential Rest of My Life
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Like I said before, Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.
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