Amnesia: The Painter's Prison [An OSC AU]

RÉPONSES

The backpack let out a gasp when Paintbrush grabbed onto one of him straps. They pulled him backwards, causing him to fall to the ground with an "omph!" Finally having the mastermind where they wanted them, Paintbrush switched do autopilot, their voice turning to one of pure rage, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" They yelled at the backpack as he slowly began to get up.

"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK KIDNAPPING PEOPLE AND TORTURING THEM IS A GOOD IDEA, HUH?! I HAD TO KILL SOME OF MY CLOSEST FRIENDS CAUSE OF YOUR PSYCHOPATHIC ASS! DO YOU GET OFF TO SEEING PEOPLE SUFFER?! HUH?! IS THAT IT?!"

"...Paintbrush, please..." the backpack raised his arms up, "I can...explain this-" suddenly, he was grabbed by the sides and pulled towards Paintbrush's face, fumes already forming from the paintbrush's bristles. "YOU BETTER FUCKING EXPLAIN THIS, AIRY, OR I'M GOING TO SHOVE THIS FIREPOKER WHERE THE SUN DON'T-"

"No..."

"...No what?"

"That's not my name..."

"Look, I don't care what your name is! You better start talking, NOW!"

"Paintbrush-"

"NOW!!"

Backpack never really expected the reversal of roles between them. Now Paintbrush was practically threatening his life, when THEY were supposed to be fighting and trying to escape for their survival. He stuttered on his words a bit, before looking up at Paintbrush.

"I thought...it would be fun...I don't remember anything from before I came to the cellar, but...from what I've read...the people who used to be here seemed to have a lot of fun doing this...they've wrote it down in a lot of their books..."

"...You...did this cause you THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUN?! WHAT SANE PERSON WOULD THINK THAT'S A GOOD WAY TO PASS THE TIME, HUH?! And what about me?? What about Party Hat, huh?? Why didn't you make me like those THINGS you turned my friends into?!"

"...It's...kinda like a game, I guess. You...try to escape while trying to save your friends, I guess..."

"...You're kidding me. So I'm just like...some player for you?! Party Hat was just some PLAYER for you to try and control?! All those bodies I found were people YOU wanted to control like a video game character?! How did you even find these people?!"

...

Paintbrush found themselves standing next to Backpack as he opened up a new webpage on the computer, before typing in a link saying "Codes." What popped up was a long list of different links, each with random numbers followed by a decimal point near the end. The images next to each of the links were posters for other reality shows that they never heard of. Stuff like Battle for Dream Island, Object Terror, Showvember, Contest for Millions of Thousands, so many more. "...What is this?" Paintbrush asked. "I'm able to access different universes through this website...I don't know exactly what it is or who made it...or how it can even access all this...but it was here when I first came here, and I've been...using it ever since." Backpack said as he scrolled down.

"And where's my universe?" They asked again.

Backpack eventually came up on the link with the Inanimate Insanity poster beside it, double clicking on the link. The webpage that followed seemed to document almost everything about the show, its contestants, its host, its setting, its seasons...almost everything. "...How do they know all this stuff..?!" Paintbrush yelled, hands slamming on the table next to Backpack.

"I...don't really know. When I want to summon someone I just...left click their icon and select "bring to cellar" and...I do most of the rest from there."

"...And you've been doing this...to other universes...for how long?"

"At least 3 years."

"3 YEARS?! Why are you just targeting us now?!"

"Cause...I really dunno...I guess I just didn't really feel like it until now..."

Paintbrush pondered on their words a bit, before suddenly remembering something. They quickly dug into their bristles, pulling out the blue sticky-note that had the strange code on it. "What's this then?" Paintbrush asked, showing the code to Backpack. He seemed to trail off for a moment before taking the sticky note, assessing over it with his tired eyes. Paintbrush was vividly able to hear him whisper "oh...so it was a 3...how did I forget that?"

"What?"

"It's...a code I use when someone here dies. Before they're recovered I just...type the code into their file and they forget everything that happened in here...but...after you took it, I had to go off of memory...I think it may have caused a side effect in the recovery, but...I don't think it's anything to worry about..."

"...Side effect...?" Paintbrush said under their breath.

...

...

"Just lay down for a bit, Test Tube..." Fan said as he tucked Test Tube into her bed, covering her up with the blanket. "N-...No...I need to...I need to save Paintbrush...I need to save..." Test Tube was suddenly cut off by Cabby, who gave Test Tube a stern, almost motherly look.

"No, Test Tube. You need to rest...you've been staying awake for too long and it's taking a tole on your mental state...you just...need to rest."

"I can't...I can't...I can't..."

"Test Tube...Please...just...try to sleep, okay...? Please..."

Test Tube seemed to ponder it for a moment. She then laid her head down on the pillow, curling up into a fetal position as she tried to drift to sleep. Cabby sighed and held onto Fan's shoulder. "W-...What do we do, Cabby? Do we call the doctor...?" Fan asked as he looked up at the file cabinet.

"I...I'm not sure, honestly. With how long Paintbrush has been gone, I'm not quite sure if...either of them can be saved..."

"...Oh..."

"But even though Suitcase, Knife, and Lightbulb may have forgotten...there's still time to help them too, right? We won't let Paintbrush's disappearance go in vein...I promise."

"..."

"How about we call the doctor just in case? With how long she's been secluded in her lab, it's good to make sure she's not sick..."

"...Ok." Fan said before going up to Test Tube, putting a hand on her covered shoulder.

"Good night, Test Tube." He said as he planted a kiss on his best friend's cheek.