Roblox Piggy Book 3: S.A.V.E

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐨

Zizzy took Pony and I to the entrance of the mall, and I was able to see a few of the lights inside without actually being there. The place seemed even more surreal from the inside. It felt like I was inside of a movie or a TV show. "Woah... this place is amazing!" I cheered as I twirled in a few circles. For a moment, I felt like a little kid again. There looked to be around three or four floors, each consisting of stores that had a variety of items, such as clothing and home goods. Maybe some of the food in the food court was still good. There was only one way to find out.

"Alright, Cindy," Zizzy spoke, snapping me back to reality. "We're going to start from the bottom and work our way up. You can go off on your own, but don't go too far, got it?" A huge smiled formed on my face, and I was sure that there were stars in my eye, as well. I tried my best to contain the joy I was feeling as I gave Zizzy a thumbs up. That meant that I didn't have to beg for Zizzy and Pony to let me go on my own. They trusted my abilities and knew that I was worthy of taking care of myself and others.

"Got it!"

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Soon, I found myself inside of a large furniture store.

Before that, the three of us had successfully went through many stores that contained many different things, such as clothes and toys. We were now going through the last two or three stores on the first floor. If I remembered correctly, Zizzy and Pony were currently exploring around another clothing store. Some of the lights, including the ones on display, were still working, but I still carried my flashlight out for a bit of extra light.

I had just finished looking at different room decor to see if anything caught my eye for the room Georgie and I shared. So far, the only thing I managed to pick up was a box of fairy lights that seemed cute to me. I was about to leave to go to another section of the store when I noticed an oddly interesting looking mirror from the corner of my eye. The gold framing around it seemed older than time itself, and the glass in the center was somewhat dusty.

I walked over to the mirror before wiping the dust off of it with my sleeve. Once I was done, I narrowed my eye at the glass, causing my reflection on the other side to copy my actions. The silence that filled the furniture store made it difficult to keep my composure, and I found myself bursting into laughter after a few seconds of having a staring contest with my reflection. "Oh, man," I realized as I ran a hand through my short hair. "I never realized how boring my life would be without all of the constant action. I'm starting to miss running around going on a hunt of keys and tools."

I never admitted it to anyone, but looking back at all the drama and events that occurred, I found myself happy that my life took a drastic turn. While the price that I had to pay for that change was bigger than I expected, it wasn't as though I couldn't afford it. It was all behind me now, and I was finally able to pick myself up and move on with my life the best I could. I gave my reflection a determined smile, but that quickly went away when I noticed that one of my boots was untied. I set the box of fairy lights down by my feet and tied my laces back together before standing back up.

Once I was up, I let out a gasp.

Everything about my reflection was still the same except for one thing; my eye. Instead of it being its usual shade of brown, it was now and oddly familiar shade of orange. In addition to that, my scleras had also changed from white to black. The reason why the eye looked oddly familiar was because it was the same eye that tried to lure me in three years back. The eye belonged to the very person that ruined the lives of everyone in Lucella. The eye belonged to the person who had become my number one enemy.

The very person I failed to kill.

"Lucinda~!"

At the sound of that familiar voice singing my name while stretching the last syllable out, I let out a gasp as I took a few steps away from the mirror. I bumped into something, but it wasn't the shelves behind me. I knew that shelves were cold, but they didn't feel this cold. I also knew that shelves didn't make loud breathing sounds. I felt my hands clench into fists as I narrowed my black and orange eye at the mirror in front of me.

"You again?" I asked. "Was bothering me nearly everyday for the last three years not good enough for you, TIO?" I took a few steps towards the mirror before turning around to look behind me, and there he was, looming over me. At that moment, I found myself surprised. Usually, he would simply appear in mirrors and puddles from the rain, but this was the first time I had seen him outside of his "prison". Regardless, I refused to let him see my current state and merely crossed my arms.

TIO narrowed his eye at me before his furious look turned into a smile. "Don't think too much of it, my dear. I was simply... making preparations," he responded. I moved my arms from my chest to my hips. "And what exactly are these 'preparations', TIO?" I pressed on, making air quotes with my hands. At my question, the supernatural entity bent his upper body downwards until he was at eye level with me. I had to admit, I was slightly weirded out by his actions, but I didn't visibly show it.

"You and I have some... unfinished business."

I nodded. "I know we do, TIO," I responded before stretching my arms outwards. "But we can't exactly settle our matter inside of a cramped furniture store. Besides, I didn't come here alone." TIO realized that I had a point before going back to his normal posture. "I suppose you are right, Lucinda. I do want this conflict to be kept between us," TIO acknowledged. "Very well, then. I will take my leave for now." I let out a sigh and allowed for my arms to drop down to my sides.

"However..."

I didn't even get the chance to breath when I felt a large hand violently grab me by my throat and pin me against the mirror. The hand wasn't trying to choke me, but they did manage to keep me in place. I realized that TIO was the one holding be after snapping back to reality. "Know that a part of me will always be with you, even if you do not realize it," he threatened. It reminded me of the threat he made back in Doveport. The only thing I could do was narrow my eye at my arch nemesis.

"He's just trying to get you to falter, Cindy," I convinced myself. "Don't fall for his tricks!" Just then, I felt a sharp pain inside of my head that continued to spread throughout the entirety of my body. I could feel the sweat forming on my forehead as my breaths grew heavier. "You remind me of someone I despise. Therefore, I will stop at nothing to take you down, Lucinda," TIO continued to promise. "Mark my words, sweetheart. Mark. My. Words."

With that, he disappeared.

The amount of pressure he was putting in caused the glass from the mirror behind me to shatter into multiple pieces. Said pieces fell down around me as I sank down to my knees, my hands clenched into fists on the ground while I tried my best to calm myself down. I knew it. I knew he would try to come back and kill me when I least expected it. What I didn't know was what he meant that he would always be a part of me. After picking up one of the shards of glass, I noticed that my eye was back to normal.

I was certain that fairy lights were the only thing I needed after that.