When Pewdie awoke, he was in a little room with double doors ahead of him. He was puzzled to see that they were the only doors. How did he get in…? Unless, he thought, they trapped me in here?
That idea fizzled when the abnormally large doors gave way to his hand. His eyes widened and he gasped loudly at what he saw.
He was in the Inner Sanctum. Luckily, Alexander was nowhere to be found; but on the opposite side of the room was Stephano, sitting lazily in a sort of throne. Two bros stood in front of him and off to each side. He was toying with his sword, the tip on the floor, and his index finger on the hilt, moving it in circles.
"Stephano!" Pewdie said happily. "I'm so glad I found you!" He tried to approach his friend, but Stephano interjected.
"Don't come closer," he growled.
Pewdie looked at him in question. "What are you, drunk?"
"Tsk." Stephano smoothly hopped down from his chair and, sword in hand, approached the Swede with his chin slightly up, although it was unnecessary. "And I found you, stupid."
"I thought they trapped you?" Pewdie was, at this point, very confused.
"They did," Stephano replied, almost purring. "But after a while, they had no need to."
"Stephano, what're you talkin' about?" Felix demanded. "You aren't makin' no sense."
"Of course you don't understand, you imbecile!" Stephano retorted. "You really are just an idiot!"
Pewdie stepped back. "Hey, don't… don't be like that," Pewdie whined, his feelings hurt by Stephano's insults for the very first time. "We're bros, right?" Stephano gave him a look, then turned his back and took a few steps away from him, his cloak flowing behind him gracefully. "Stephano…?"
"You never thought to treat me right," Stephano began. "You didn't listen to me, you didn't ever ask if I was okay. You never… you never cared."
Pewdie's heart sank. "Of course I care!" he shouted back. "I…" He thought twice and didn't finish his sentence.
"You what, Pewdie?" Stephano said quietly. "You didn't know? You didn't think? You never realized? We both know that's no excuse. I have done everything for you. I would have given my life for you, and what do you do?" Stephano tossed his sword on the ground angrily. "You up and just leave me behind! Every! Single! TIME!"
Pewdie couldn't breathe. He knew none of this was true… was it? Self-hatred leaked into his mind.
"You don't care! You never did! I tried and tried to make you care, but I was disposable!" Stephano looked as if he were about to cry. "I loved you, Pewdie!"
Piggy had to resist the urge to yell, 'I KNEW IT!'
At this, Felix's heart leapt, right before sinking again. There was a short, piercing silence. "You what?" Pewdie said under his breath. Tears began to form in his eyes.
"Get him," Stephano said calmly, and the two bros became active in an instant. Pewdie's eyes widened and he started to run.
"Stephano, please! You can't…!"
"Oh but I CAN!" Stephano cried. "That Shadow we spent so much time running from is my newfound ally! And since you're one big fahking softie, you wouldn't DARE try and defeat your old best friend!" Stephano's voice was cracking noticeably, and tears streamed down his face. Besides, I have your friends…" A chain grinding against stone could be heard and three familiar faces were slowly brought down from the ceiling, their hands tied.
"Oh, come on! Was that really necessary?" Pewdie groaned.
"Pewdie, save me!" Jennifer cried. Piggy and Mr. Chair were both silent. What did he do to them?
"If I die, they die," Stephano explained simply, a mad grin on his face.
The room was circular and there was no way out; the doors Pewdie came in through were locked. Besides, he would be a sitting duck if he tried to hide in there. He ran past Stephano and bent down to take his sword.
"Hey! Give that back, you moron!" Stephano raged. Pewdie ran as fast as he could, as now Stephano was chasing him too. Stephano was faster than he'd thought. He caught up with a disoriented bro and stuck the golden sword in its back. It roared ferociously, unwilling to accept defeat. Alas, its fragile, sewn-up body gave out, and as Pewdie yanked the sword away, it fell to the floor, dead. Stephano caught up to him and threw himself on Pewdie's back, fighting to retrieve his sword. Pewdie spotted the second Bro and threw the scimitar throwing-star style and it lodged itself in the unsuspecting victim's deformed head. All those Happy Wheels sword-throwing levels really paid off.
Stephano let Pewdie go and ran to pick up his weapon. He wondered why Stephano never used that sword of his. It was mighty handy in times like this.
Stephano's eyes were fiery and his hands were clenched into fists, his nails digging into his palms. "You crazy bastard," he muttered through gritted teeth. Pewdie had to resist the urge to grin out of pride. The situation was no longer funny when his former best friend came charging at him, sword raised in the air. "I'll kill you myself!"
Pewdie didn't run, he didn't try to escape. He just closed his eyes and waited. He hadn't noticed, but his face was wet with tears.
Instead of the sound of his skull splitting, all Pewdie heard was a quiet hiccup. He opened his eyes to see Stephano kneeling in front of him, his sword left at his side. He was sobbing into his hands, as vulnerable as he could be. "I can't do it," he muttered angrily. "God damn it, Pewdie."
Felix tried to reach out to him, but Stephano slapped his hand away. "Get away from me," Stephano commanded, glaring at him in irritation. Stephano slowly stood, gripping his sword again, and once more lifted it above his head, threatening to strike. Pewdie stuck his hands in his pockets, awaiting his demise and almost welcoming it. He felt something in his pocket; that little bottle he had found earlier. He pulled it out and found the label he had missed before.
Amnesia potion.
Pewdie looked at Stephano. He had finally snapped. No more tears, no trace of regret, no going back. Before Stephano could bring his sword down on him, Pewdie uncorked the vial and pressed it to Stephano's lips.
His eyes widened in shock and he raised an eyebrow. He gladly gulped the potion down. "What good will a drink do for you?" Stephano teased. "Do you think that much will make me drunk? I assure you, I've drank much more than this and not gotten drunk." But soon, his smile faded. "What's happening? What was that… whatever it was… Ah, yes, the drink…" Stephano's face lit up in realization. "Amnesia potion…!"
Stephano's eyes slowly drooped shut and he fell limp. Felix caught him in his arms and lay him down on the stone floor. And then he waited.
Pewdie didn't know how much Stephano would forget. It had made Daniel forget his own name; that had to be bad.
Piggy, Mr. Chair and Jennifer had been released, with the help of Stephano's ridiculously sharp sword. They sat against the wall and talked amongst themselves, as Pewdie had asked them to leave him alone.
Stephano slowly stirred awake. "…How long have I been out?"
"About two hours," Felix replied solemnly.
"Where am I?" he asked, frightened. "…Who am I?"
"You are Stephano, the brave warrior."
"…Who are you?"
Felix's heart snapped in half. This is exactly what he had feared. All of those adventures, all of the things they'd done, been through; gone.
"I… I am Pewdie, your best friend." He choked back tears as he spoke.
"…Oh." Stephano sat upright and cross legged. He looked at his feet. "What happened?"
"It's a long story," Pewdie replied. "A very long story…" Felix reminisced. "A story of horror and intrigue and friendship. And barrels."
"…Barrels?"
"Yes. The evil barrels, my- no, OUR- arch-nemeses." He had failed trying to keep himself together and he broke down, curling into an upright ball and sobbing into his arms.
"Come on now," Stephano tried to assure him. "We can start over. We can relive everything, from start to finish." Pewdie didn't respond to him. Stephano put his hand gently on Pewdie's shoulder, making him look up. "I'm sorry."
Pewdie nodded. "It wasn't your fault. I will have to be more careful this time." He reached over and locked Stephano into a hug. Stephano hugged him back, still confused but deciding it was best to stay quiet. He felt safe in the Swede's arms and they stayed like that for a while.
The Shadow watched from above as the two embraced and he clicked his tongue. "So close."
(And that's the end.)