Pandemonium

Stage Seven Part II

I just want Hector to know that I-

I'm not dead? I had closed my eyes, fully prepared to die, but no death came. Not that I know exactly how it feels to die but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be conscious? I open my eyes again and see Faust waving at me from the other side of the beam. They fell too? I look up and see the flimsy handcuff chain holding us together over the edge. That's insane! What type of idiot would do such a thing? Ah, well, I guess the same idiot that trusts someone who doesn't seem trustworthy with his life. Which would be me.

I hear a loud thud but I can't really see Hector that well from this angle. I can only assume someone used this gigantic distraction to knock him out and save Hector for me. "Excuse me, Faust, but did I give you permission to die?" Hyde steps out onto the beam and stares down at Faust (currently dangling off to the side).

"Hyde, sweetie, I'm in a bit of a pickle right now," Faust smiles up at them.

"This is a pickle you got yourself into, darling," Hyde shakes their head and sighs. "There were a number of ways to go about this but you just had to go and pick the most dangerous one."

"Would you be a dear and help us up?" Faust requests.

Hyde takes out the tie holding their hair up and re-does it to be more of a bun. They squat and grab the handcuff chain. One hand holding the side of Faust and the other hand holding my side. I stare in complete amazement as Hyde pulls us up with relative ease. They give us both a giant hug and then reposition us so we have good footing on the beam before letting go.

"Oh, I should've thought about this," Hyde stares at Faust and then turns to look at me in front of them. "I'm stuck in the middle now."

"You don't like that position?" Faust grins, loosely hugging Hyde from behind and giving them a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for the lift."

"Don't say such things in front of the children," Hyde blushes lightly but it soon fades. A slight chuckle escapes but Faust covers their mouth.

"Please don't laugh," Faust insists but once it starts it doesn't stop. Hyde continues to laugh, clinging onto Faust's arm, trying very hard to keep themself from laughing. Muffled laughter but the shift starts, so Faust removes their hand and sighs. Hyde stares at Faust and then looks to me, and then looks down. Big mistake. Hyde shrieks and jumps, nearly falling but Faust catches them. They cling to Faust, a nervous wreck.

"How are you so calm?!" Hyde stares at me. "We could die!" they shriek again and start shaking.

"Hyde, sweetie," Faust stares at them for a moment and Hyde thinks about what they've just said. They calm down a bit and release Faust.

"Oh, right," Hyde sighs but still doesn't look down. "Please keep walking. I don't like heights..." They gently push me forward and I resume walking. We're almost to the door now but it starts to rain. Well, we aren't outside so is this just water pouring? Some sort of liquid is falling but I can't really tell what it is. I turn back to look at Gilbert and Rose. They're about halfway now but Gilbert is too scared to really move that fast. I turn back ahead of me and climb into the doorway. Claude is lying on the floor.

"Did one of you knock him out to save Hector?" I ask, looking at Odette because Pandora couldn't hurt a fly. I was wrong in that assumption, apparently, because Odette shakes her head and points to Pandora.

Pandora chuckles awkwardly, "I know a thing or two about self defense but I don't like violence so..."

"Thank you for helping Hector."

Pandora smiles and gestures to the wall next to the start of the staircase. Resting there is a hook with a number of keys on it. I imagine one of them is for the cuffs. I start to move towards it but a scream causes my head to look back.

I watch as Rose slips and falls. The water made it even more tricky to walk on the beam. Gilbert grabs the chain of the cuff, holding with all of his might and using the beam to support him somewhat. But, he isn't that strong and his grip is fading.

"Hyde is strong right?" Rose points. "They just picked up two people can't they help?" she frantically looks from Gilbert to Hyde and then down. She screams again but tries her best to remain calm.

"Hyde isn't strong in this form," Faust confesses, fiddling with the keys to free their chain. "Just try your best to hold on, Gilbert," they say, trying one key one by one but each one failing. Until finally one works. Faust moves to go back onto the beam but it's tricky with all the liquid.

The chain connecting the handcuffs snaps and Gilbert scrambles to try and catch it. "I'm sorry!" he shouts at Rose. "You should've been paired with someone better," he manages to catch it and pulls with all of his might. Faust is nearly there now.

"Just remain cal-" Faust starts but more of that mysterious liquid falls. It soaks Gilbert's hands and the chain slips through. Gilbert scrambles to maintain footing but falls forward. He grabs the chain and pulls himself closer to Rose, hugging her.

"I'm so sorry," he apologizes.

"Why did you fall too? You could've managed if you just forgot abou-"

"I didn't want you to fall alone," Gilbert smiles. I look away, as they near the ground, and hear the noise. Pandora is huddled in the corner holding his ears and crying, remembering Fonso. Odette is sitting beside him, patting his back in a soothing matter.

"I'm so sorry," she starts to cry. "I told you it wouldn't happen and then-" she holds Pandora, apologizing over and over.

"Faust!" Hyde tries to get Faust's attention but they're standing, staring at the base of the room, and haven't moved an inch. "Faust! You big idiot! Can't you hear me? Faust!" Faust lifts their foot, dangling it over the edge of the beam, and then places it back down on it, as if a dangerous thought had just crossed their mind.

"Faust you promised!" Hyde starts shaking from the tears escaping their eyes. "You promised!"

Faust nods reluctantly and makes their way back to the door. Hyde grabs them the minute they get close enough and drags them in, holding them tightly, the door shuts and we sit down and take a breather. No one wants to drag Claude up the stairs so we wait silently for him to wake up.