I jolt awake.
Silence.
How long have I been here now? A day, at least. Or perhaps only a night? Maybe two. . . three? Maybe more? Who knows. But regardless, one thing is for sure: I've got to get out of here. And soon.
My awakening is immediately justified as a harrowsome steel groan echoes loudly throughout the building, grinding every ounce of serenity into inexistance and rattling the walls around me. I find myself squinting even beneath the blindfold, and clenching my teeth. If I wasn't fully awake before, I surely am now. The screech alone is so painful to hear that I'm surprised I don't cry out myself. The sound just seems to drag on and on, and I can't help but wonder if it's ever going to end. Until, at last, it does, and is followed by a loud bang, as though some sort of ginormous door has just been shut.
And just like that, the silence returns.
It's deafening.
It is not long at all before two voices can be heard inside the building, and the sound of hurried footsteps drift quietly through the wall from just outside the room. It's hard to determine whose voices they are, but I'm assuming one of them is probably Undyne, since I'm about ninety-nine percent sure at this point that she's the one who is keeping me here. I mean, who else could it be? All I know is, honestly, it could have been worse. And I'm grateful that it wasn't, I'm just hoping it will stay that way. Why she might be doing this, I honestly couldn't guess. That's something even I can't figure out. She did say that she was doing this for her own benefit, not mine, which I probably would have figured out anyway. But she also said she was doing this for someone else, too, so who could that possibly be? And why? This situation just keeps getting more and more frustrating. Right when I thought I was finally figuring things out, right when things were finally getting back on track. . . this happens. And now, that just puts so many more unanswered questions onto my plate. And, speaking of plates, if what Undyne said was true, that my body is still being declined of energy, then that certainly doesn't leave me much time to figure all this out. Sure, I want answers, but staying here for even a single day too long could leave me with far more crucial consequences to worry about than just being trapped.
The noises in the hallway gradually grow louder, until the door finally opens to the room I am in, and one of the two people enter. Probably Undyne, seeing as she was the one who came in here last time. I seriously doubt she would just let some random person walk in here, especially with someone like me being contained in here. I don't even think she turned the lights on, just open the door and walk straight ahead. As she approaches, I pretend like I'm asleep, hoping she'll just ignore me and walk right past. Pretend-sleeping turns out to not be the best choice I probably could have made, as she instead delivers a hard slap across my face and yells for me to wake up. Still trying to play it up a bit so she doesn't know I was faking, I act like I really have just woken up and that I'm still feeling way too drowsy and disoriented to really understand what's going on. At this point, that's the only thing I really can do in this situation.
She continues to move around the room, fiddling with various items, until I hear her ripping something. I am beginning to grow nervous as she places a thick piece of duct tape over top of my mouth to prevent me from talking. It's not like I was planning to do so anyway, but it worries me to know that something is about to transpire of which she does not want me making noise during. It takes everything I can muster not to cower away as she approaches me again, and I can only hope that this time, by some miracle, this really is a good thing.
Then, to my amazement, she begins to untie my hands.
The absolute second the ropes are off, I instinctively whip my hands away from her, suddenly having the urge to defend them as though they were my pets. I cradle them protectively against my chest, not wanting to let them go. I have to struggle against her force as she grabs them again, and somehow, I can't help but feel a strong sense of defeat as she fights to pull them back behind me again, and wins. She then proceeds to re-tie them not behind the chair, but rather, just behind my back. Then, she gets onto her knees and begins untying my feet from the bottom two legs of the chair, first my left, and then followed by my right shortly after.
Still gripping the extra ropes, she gets to her feet. I technically could just get up right now and run right out the door, seeing as my feet are no longer tied, but with her right behind me and that person still positioned just outside, I surely wouldn't get far. Especially due to the fact that I'm blindfolded, and don't know my way through any of this strange building, whatever or wherever it may be. In this situation, I honestly just don't think that running would be a very wise thing to do. In the end, it would most likely just get me into far more trouble than I've already gotten myself into, with this situation.
Undyne then begins leading me out of the room, and rather forcefully at that. She does not touch me, but rather pulls me by the end of the rope that binds my hands together. Yet, despite my extreme skepticism, I follow without a word. Still, my anxiety grows as I am led out and into the hallway, into my surely impending doom. Where else could she possibly be taking me?
Soon, we enter into another open space, and she pushes me against a wall at some point near the middle of the larger room. "You try to run," she threatens, "and you'll be dead before you make it ten feet." Again, it's not like running would do much to help me at this point in the first place.
I can hear her walking away, and from across the room, the same muffled voices from earlier resume. From out here, there is no denying it-- I know exactly who the second voice is. After everything that's been going on lately, how could I not recognize a voice like that?
Magnus.
Why he is here, I don't even want to know. He's everywhere, it seems. Yet, somehow, I still have an awful feeling about what is going to come next. I don't know how, or why. I can just feel it.
But, the worst thing in this moment, is that as I'm sitting here, awaiting the fate that is surely inevitable at this point, I just can't help but notice several haunting similarities between my current situation and the situations that I had left Sans in so many times before. Even the one so recent, the day after he had snuck out to Grillby's and I had for whatever reason decided it would be a smart idea to leave him tied up in an unfamiliar place and punish him in ways that I could not ever imagine doing to him now that I've had my wake-up call. I know I should not have put him through those things, and to be honest, I can barely say I still blame him for sneaking out like that. If I were in that situation, wouldn't I have done the same at some point as well? Not to mention so many things beyond his control that only added to his struggle. There are no words to describe how ashamed I am of myself for what I did. No matter what happens, I will never be able to forget who is at fault here. And I doubt he would have, either.
Sure, I did wake up tied up in an unknown place, but that is not the only thing that is troubling me. Even the smallest of details, like Undyne talking down to me, knowing she is stronger, and me simply obeying because I am well aware of just how powerless I am to escape this horrifying situation, or the fact that she dragged me out by the rope, just like I used to do to Sans with his chain. All of the emotions I've been feeling all this time, I can only imagine how much worse those must have been for Sans, since he was almost constantly thrown into situations like this where he was left utterly powerless, alone and afraid. This is only a small taste of what he had been experiencing all of this time, just another reminder that I am selfish and narcissistic for pitying myself when in reality, I know, this is nothing. Nothing at all. Because no matter how much pain and suffering I could possibly go through, it will never make up for the things I did to him. Never.
Maybe all this really is just a bunch of karma. Payback for everything I've done, not just to Sans, but to everyone. Everyone I've ever tortured, fought, injured, offended, abused, disowned, defied, judged, abused, mocked, teased, hurt, sabotaged, defeated, enraged, saddened, destroyed, beaten, controlled or punished. I've built up a large pool of debt over the past couple of years when it comes to ruthlessness, and it's about time I paid my retribution. And that's something I think everyone here can agree on. If there is anything I know about the well-known myth we call Karma, it is that she always has her way, and whenever she finally does, she always makes sure the job is done well. No matter the circumstances.
And so, if that is truly the case, then I guess that is just the price I'll have to pay, and I am completely and utterly okay with it.
If this is what it would take for me to be forgiven by even a single one of the people I have hurt over the course of my lifetime, then I could not possibly be more at peace with this wonderful idea. Karma. I love the word.
Undyne and Magnus finally seemed to have finished their mutterings over in the opposite corner, and I just can't help but wonder how the two of them know each other. Surely they must have known each other before this, or else why would Undyne so willingly let him in on this secret that could very well send her to jail if the wrong person found out. Just another mystery that I'll probably never solve, I suppose.
The room fills with the rhythmical sound of footsteps as one of them comes up to me and picks up the rope, ensuring that I do not escape. I shiver as I feel someone's breath on my neck, and suddenly, Magnus' voice begins to whisper where my ear would be:
"Hey there, 'Captain'," he snickers, and I can practically hear the smirk in his voice as he speaks, "or maybe, if you so prefer. . . 'Boss'?"
I fight back the urge to curl up into a tiny ball and never get up again.
Magnus laughs. "Well, regardless, I hope you enjoyed your little victory dance, 'Captain'. Because I can guarantee ya, you won't ever be dancing again after this. And you can feel free to gather whatever meaning you want from that statement-- trust me, it has multiple. But do choose wisely, because that's the last taste of freedom you're ever gonna get-- especially after everything you've costed us."
He may be coming off as aggressive based on his choice of words, but in this tone of voice, he is speaking to me as if I am a young child, not yet able to comprehend the heaviness of his statement. I don't know what he's trying to do here, but I don't like it. And I most certainly don't want to find out.
I stumble as he pulls on the rope so hard that one of my wrists pop, and hurry to regain my footing and follow him so as not to get myself into any more trouble. Not knowing what this Monster has in store for me is troubling enough, but being blindfolded and mute in this situation only adds to that feeling of terrifying discomfort. I struggle to keep up as he makes a beeline for the exit, and Undyne comes running up behind him, catching him by the shoulder.
"Wait!"
He whips around, and the rope scrapes against one side of my wrist, making it sting. "What?"
She steps back, her voice immediately turning from loud and aggressive to almost a whisper, like she doesn't want me hearing this. I don't know why she even bothers, since I can hear her anyway, and even if I did care enough to actually tell someone about this, it's not like I could in the conditions I'm under.
"I need the stuff! Do you have any idea how hard it was to get my hands on this guy at all, let alone tie him up and contain him for all this time? You really think I'd hand him over for free, just like that, after all the shit I went through just to get him here? Come on, Magnus, you know me better than that."
I mentally snicker at that statement. It wasn't an effort to get her hands on me. I practically collapsed at her doorstep. And tying me up was no different-- I was asleep for like, three days before even talking to her! At that point, there was nothing I could do to fight back. Once she had me, she had me. I'm sorry Undyne, but on everything you just said, I have absolutely no choice but to call complete and utter bullshit. It wasn't hard to get me here, and we both know that.
Magnus sighs, as if he is the one doing the bigger favour to the other, not her. "Well, I guess if you insist," he states, pulling out a bag of some sort from his pocket, "then I guess it's only fair. But don't forget what I did for you before this transaction, because you certainly still owe me for all that."
Undyne snorts, catching the bag as Magnus tosses it to her. "This ain't exactly a friend-help-friend world we're living in here, Magnus, in case you can't tell. Ha, if anything, you were just using me all that time to get out of work, for all I care."
"Tisk, tisk, Undyne," Magnus replies, shaking his head. "Tisk, tisk. You already know what's coming for you next, and yet still, you just can't possibly be satisfied?" He finally starts backing towards the door, and I follow, not wanting any more rope burn than I've already been left with. "So what'll it be next time, a lizard on a red rosen platter, if you know what I mean?"
"F*ck you," she replies, though a lot more playfully than I would have expected from someone like her. Obviously these two are pretty good friends. How did I ever miss this?
The two exchange their goodbyes, and Undyne exits through a door on the other side of the room from where Magnus and I are still standing. I have no idea how close these two are, but Undyne clearly trusts him, if she's leaving him to find his way out of this place all on his own. Personally, I don't know if I'd trust him to leave the building without taking anything or rummaging through things that he shouldn't. Not that I have any idea what's in this place at all. Even the idea of him venturing around the place without her permission does not seem quite so unlikely. Being blindfolded and all, I actually have no idea if the path that he took to the exit was completely direct, or if he really did take some unnecessary turns along the way. By the time we do reach the outside of the building, I find that Paul has also been let in on this ahead of time, as he is standing just outside the doorway waiting. Magnus fills him in briefly on what occurred during his time in the building, though with very little detail, since he obviously knows I can still hear him. After that, they start leading me down another path, but anything after that point sort of just fades into a blur. I become lost in my thoughts far too quickly to gather up any more details from the journey, and quite honestly, I'm surprised I was even able to take in everything I did. I was trembling through all of it, though from lack of energy or just pure panic, I really do not know.
By the time their pace finally begins to slow and I hear the unlocking of a new door just in front of us, I can process but one thing, and one thing only:
I don't know what these Monsters are up to. I don't know what they're going to do to me. But I can only imagine that it will not be good, and that as soon as I find out, I'll wish I never did.
And that will be a memory to last me a lifetime, however much longer that will be.