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The quiet night landed its claws on the house once more, and, in its own way, was just as ominous as if it had been a real monster with claws outstretched. A lamp, that provides no warm, an empty place on the bed nearby and a puppet, trying hard to keep out tears. It was too late then Roy finally noticed the cruel reality of this place and all he could do now is lie under the sheets, waiting for something bad to happen.
He could hardly depend on his own recent memories, but the metallic and viscous taste in his mouth never truly left. It grounded him, in its own way. Assured him, that the horrors he faced were real. Every little glitch he saw, every unsettling thing that their Teachers did — it was so clear now, it took effort to not blame himself for his obliviousness.
Because, perhaps, if he'd done something…
He couldn't continue his thought without the urge to vomit. Roy mindlessly grabbed his middle and dug his fingers into his clothes, before rising up and opening the window wide. Air didn't help. He got back under the cover, turning the light off, sobbing and staring at the ceiling. He really should sleep. Everything always gets better in the morning.
After some time, the mind was slowly becoming more clear, painful memories dissolving in the wave of sudden fog. All this trauma, blood and gore seemed so distant, like something that only pained brain would imagine, just to scare you into safety. Like how sometimes you could see something moving in the darkness if you look for too long, or how the longer you stare in the sky the more plain it seems. Maybe air did help, Roy thought for a second, as his heartbeat calmed. He didn't mind sleeping alone anymore, after all, it's always been this way.
You'd think by now he should've got used to it.
Wait. Was he always alone? He could have sworn-
Before Roy had the time to freak out, suddenly, the bright light of a lamp hit his eyelids and cheerful music began to play.
"Someone's sleepy!" a voice cooed as he sprang upwards. Lamp, now having a mouth and eyes, giggled. "But that's silly!"
Confusion filled his brain once again, this time it wasn't the fact that something became alive. His gaze raced all around the other side of the room and was met with... nothing. The room was big enough to fit two beds and a table, but there was only one bed now.
His own.
"... How can you be sleepy if you don't know how to have DREAMS?" Lamp continued, begining to grow out legs.
Roy roared and lunged at the lamp, falling on the floor with a shatter, managing to rip off it's arm.
"What are you doing?? " it struggled, "s-stop that, PLEASE!!" teacher screamed until a black liquid flowed from the mouth and where the hand used to be, soaking into the boards and stuffing, lights flickering. Roy sat straight up, clutching the broken bulb in his palm and glaring at the small creature under him. In a single moment, the world changed from his room to a place full of lines and bright colors, with a new sense of calmness replacing everything else. There were no true calmness there, of course. Cheery music played as the surroundings changed rapidly to the beat. The boy stood up, squinting his eyes.
With every changing scene with no one to participate in them, Roy began to notice. He felt like he was losing consciousness, and the music became louder and sharper, until it sounded like an old song from the past, repeating endlessly, over and over again. His breathing grew faster and heavier, as if a weight was on his chest. The pain was unbearable.
When his head hurt the most, he saw something red on the floor. Roy yelped at first, looking at it again. No, this wasn’t what he thought it was.
The floor was ridden with red wires, some gray, some cut off entirely, lying there like snakes.
He touched the wire with his finger. They were sticky. There was something about them that seemed to give him an electric pulse that made him feel uneasy. Something was wrong, very wrong. Even more wrong than not remembering the name of the closest friend, more wrong than being awake in a strange animation with no one here but him.
This wasn’t the right place to be, and his thoughts kept coming back to that.
There weren’t any real windows. Only a bland door stood out in the cacophony of animation, always staying in one place when everything else kept disappearing and reappearing around it. He tried the handle, and found it unlocked. With caution, he opened the door, carefully shoving away from the wires.
It was a dark room, seemingly endless, only checkerboard-floor in sight. Roy hugged himself, slowly pacing forward.
Something important. This is something important.
He heard a faint sound becoming louder, as he anticipated.
It all felt wrong. Maybe he was better off with that Teacher after all. At least, it was something that he was familiar with. Something out of his control, so he wouldn't worry about irreversible consequences as much as he did now. Everything always gets better in the morning.
On the other hand, there was no hope to be found in that house either. He misses the times when the other one (what was her name?) was right by his side, protecting and leading them further. It wasn't always ideal, she was pretty dissmisive and rude sometimes, but without her, all the surviving and learning was pointless. This reminder about what happened made him a little nauseous, but he tried his best not to cry or throw up right here and now.
The darkness was suffocating, and he wanted to go home. But not the house. And not alone.
They come in a bundle of two. There was always only two of them.
There it was again, that noise. It was a tune, a song with a Lamp and everything, he could almost hear the lyrics. That sound came closer. Or did he come closer to it? It was near impossible to tell.
He walked towards it with unsteady steps.
There was a long red silhouette facing the machine in front of it, casting a shadow from the cold light of the monitors. Roy stopped in his tracks when he saw this figure. Some cables from its head trailed up and some, shorter, down, eventually connecting with the machine. The device itself was weird. Visually it reminded a computer, but with the addition of keys on both sides, for some reason. It was the source of music, but he can also see his room on one monitor, some looping pictures on others.
His gaze returned to the figure, flinching from surprise when he realized it was now facing him, returning the gaze. It was nothing like the teachers he had seen before, none of them were creepy and silent right off the bat, or this big and ominous.
His heartbeat accelerated, but before the feeling could reach a point where he could move, the person spoke.
“Oh,” he said, his mouth barely keeping up to the words, "hello there…uh, you."
Roy grimaced, immediately bashfully trying to hide it.
This red person looked absolutely miserable. Whether it be his hanging jaw with uneven teeth or the graying hair-cables, some of which are clearly have been ripped off with force. One of the eyes was half-lidded and staring into nothingness, while the other stared at the boy with dazed confusion. His fabric is faded in places, covered with pellets, he looked like the only thing keeping him upwards were those wires.
Well, now the boy was clearly staring with pity, without hiding it.
"Sorry," said red guy, as if it was his fault somehow.
They stood almost unmoving, the only sound being the continuous music from the machine and the noise of static. Monitors were flashing, changing the empty scene in an eerie way that was almost hypnotic. Was this guy watching... this entire time? Was he the one who controlled all of this? It may be irrational, but Roy didn't think that was the case. He seemed like he was in constant pain, as much as a victim as Roy and the other one was.
"Sorry, i-i don't..." red mumbled weakly, static on the monitors becoming more apparent, "you shouldn't be here. I mean, you're not supposed to..."
He stopped in his words when the boy came closer and carefully grabbed his hand. Red's eye widened as the boy squeezed his fingers slightly, reassuringly.
This interaction seemed familiar, Roy could almost sense the phantom warmth from the strange hand, only for it to be cold and stiff instead. Once again, the sensation felt so utterly wrong, like it was a bad dream that he never woke up from. On some level, he was convinced that instead of cloth, there would be another texture, but the puppet couldn't quite point what it should be specifically. It always happened to him, he always forgot important stuff. He had a feeling that this red-wire-felt creature would've understood this. Roy couldn't even begin to imagine what must have happened to them both, but he hoped they would find an answer together.
There was a brief silence between them before Red slowly turned his head to the side. Roy followed the direction of his gaze, suddenly noticing how all the wires come in one place.
A big plug in the socket on the wall.
Red was looking at Roy again.
There it was, a solution of some kind.
The boy fumbled with his fingers, carefully walking up to the plug and hesitantly placing his hands on it.
He could feel the strange energy at his fingertips, the low buzz coming through his arms, numbing them, somehow knowing that it wasn't just an electricity that was flowing through. What happens if he pulls the plug? Will this red guy... die? He seems connected, after all.
What will happen afterward? He was afraid that it would be the end of the world, but at the same time… wouldn't it be better?
Would the other one... Want that?
He looked behind, Red holding a thumb up to him. Well, whatever happens, it must be a right thing.
Roy pulled, suddenly losing his balance, as the plug got out way easily than he thought it would.
Before his back could meet the ground, everything disappeared at once.