Riddle Middle Two

Chapter 22: The Truth

Phil (1st person)
The night of Smiley acting weird, I woke up in a pitch black room. I couldn't see anything. I seemed to be alone. I figured I'd
better wait to explore until I was able to see. After what felt like hours, a door to my left opened. The bright light flooding into the room hurt my eyes. The demon girl. She was carrying Smiley and Phred, both of which seemed sedated. "Oh, you're awake," she said, looking to me. "Yeah, I have been for a while," I said. "Hm," she said. She carelessly dropped my friends and made her way back to the door. "When are they gonna wake up?" I asked. "I dunno," she said, before leaving and closing the door. I waited around for my friends to wake up. They did, but only after me shaking them. I woke Phred first. "Ugh... Phil?" He asked. "Are you alright?" I asked. "I guess... Is Smiley here?" He asked. "Yeah, but she's not awake," I said.

"Okay. Why'd she try to kill us?" He asked. "What?" I replied. "Don't you remember? She pushed me out the window!" He said. I blinked. "Never mind... Where are we?" he asked. "I don't know, probably back in the humanoid place. That demon girl dropped you and Smiley in here," I said. "Ah," he said. Smiley groaned. "Smiley?" I asked. She slowly raised her head. She still looked sleepy. I got up and walked over to her. "Are you alright, Smiley?" I asked. She yawned. "...Yeah, I'm fine..." she said. She didn't look fine. Her breathing also seemed a bit off. The demon girl came back, this time with Pico and Zack. She held Zack upside down. She dropped them onto the floor and closed the door. "Why are we here?" Phred asked. "Because," she said. "What did you do to Smiley?" I asked, who seemed a bit traumatized. "Oh, I just borrowed her," she said. "For what?" I asked.

"To kidnap you. It was less risky," she said. "What, so you possessed her?" Phred asked. "In a way," she said. "What's wrong with her?" I asked. She shrugged. "She's probably just in shock or something," she said. "Oh... Smiley?" I asked, waving my hand in front of her face. She blinked, then turned to face me. "Yeah?" She asked. "Are you feeling okay?" I asked. "Yeah, I'm alright," she said. The door opened, and A-A-A came in. I found it unsettling how her organs jiggled when she walked. The demon girl immediately turned to the door. A-A-A just stared at her. "Oh, it's you again," she said. A-A-A didn't move. The demon girl slowly approached A-A-A. A-A-A looked like she was preparing to run away, but the demon girl grabbed her neck.

A-A-A let out a small whimper as the demon girl dragged her inside. "Well," the demon girl said. She pinned A-A-A a few feet up against the wall. The demon girl had to be at least seven feet tall. Me and my friends stayed silent. Zack and Pico were still unconscious. Smiley still seemed a bit spacey. To my horror, the demon girl plunged her hand into A-A-A's chest, which split like Jell-O, and secured her clawed hand around her heart. A-A-A frantically tried to pull the demon girls hand off, but it was obvious she was too strong. I wanted to help, but I couldn't think properly. I needed time to think of a plan, but I didn't have any. Zack yawned.

"Zack!" I said. "Hm?" Zack asked sleepily, raising his head. "Quick, help A-A-A!" I said. "What? Where?" Zack asked, rubbing his eyes. "Right there!" I said, turning him towards the demon girl, who was caressing A-A-A's heart. Zack blinked, then seemed to realize what was going on. "Crap," he said, standing and running over to them. He immediately head-butted the demon girl. His fire didn't seem to do much, but he was able to knock her off balance. She let go of A-A-A. I signaled for A-A-A to leave, and she staggered away. I didn't know why she came in the first place.

The demon girl pinned Zack to the wall. I don't know what I was expecting. She raised her tail. I assumed she was like a scorpion, in the fact that she could sting with her tail. She seemed to change her mind as she lowered her tail. Zack looked terrified. "Never do that again, understand?" The demon girl said. Zack didn't respond. "Understand?" She asked, louder. Zack still didn't reply. She slowly raked her clawed hand along Zack's chest, tearing his shirt. Zack sucked in his chest. "I guess you're not as dumb as I thought," she said, tossing him across the room to wear I was. I immediately crawled to Zack. "Are you okay?" I asked. "Y-Yeah..." he said, looking a bit pale. "We've got to go somewhere else, where we can be alone..." the demon girl said. "Why do we need to be alone?" Phred asked. "Well, I wouldn't want to be caught," she said. She approached us. She grabbed my shoulders. "Wh-what are you doing?" I asked. "It'll hurt less if you stay still..." she said.
Zack (1st person)

I don't remember exactly what happened, but I ended up in the future again. The humanoid demon thing threw me across the room, then did something to Phil. Anyway, I was back in the room me and my friends usually slept in. I looked around, but I was alone. I didn't know what time of day it was, but I felt tired. I stood and walked to the door, which was open. I went into the bar area, but no one was there. Next, I decided to try my variants room. I wasn't sure if he was in there, but the door was locked. I didn't want to burn the door, since I could accidentally set everything on fire pretty easily.

I didn't know where Pico's variant would be, so I didn't bother looking for him. I tried Smiley's variant's room, but she wasn't in there. I didn't necessarily search her room, since there was trash, clothes, and cockroaches everywhere. I tried Phred's variant's room next, and he seemed to be charging. I don't know why else he would be plugged into the wall. I tried turning him on, but I had no idea what I was doing, and I didn't want to accidentally break him. I figured the next thing I should do was check Phil's variant's room. I went into the hatch, and he was there, along with Smiley's variant, who seemed to be sleeping on the couch. Phil's variant turned to me and jumped. "Where'd you come from?!" He asked. "The trapdoor," I said.

"Well, I guess that makes sense," he said. "Where is everyone?" I asked. He shrugged. "I went up there a while ago, and everyone was gone, including your friends," he said. "Well, what about Smiley?" I asked. "I can't be sure, but I think someone, or something, kidnapped everyone. Smiley was still asleep upstairs, so I hauled her down here," he said. "Oh. How'd you get her down the ladder?" I asked. "Well, it certainly wasn't easy. Anyway, you should probably stay here with me," he said. "Aren't we gonna look for everyone else?" I asked. He shrugged. I obviously had to save my friends and their variant's, but I couldn't go alone. I needed to convince Smiley and Phil's variants to come too.

"What about your variant? If something happens to him, you'll die," I said. "You're right. Okay, well, let's not waste any time," he said. "What about Smiley?" I asked. Smiley's variant snored loudly. "Can't we just leave her?" He asked. "What? No!" I said. "Well, good luck getting her to come," he said, making his way to the ladder. I went to Smiley's variant and shook her. She yawned. "Smiley?" I asked. She seemed a bit confused. "C'mon, we have to go," I said, grabbing her arm and attempting to pull her up. She was too heavy. "Where? Why?" She asked. "We have to look for everyone else. I don't know where," I said. She grunted and stood. She stood by the ladder. "You first," she said. I went up the ladder with Smiley's variant following close behind me. Phil's variant was waiting in the bar.

"Wait, I need to get my sword..." she said, leaving the bar and heading to her room. "How'd you get her to come so easily?" He asked. I shrugged. "Well, I guess she just likes you. It would make sense; she injected with your variant," he said. "Did she tell you that?" I asked. "No, I walked in on her," he said. "Oh... Should we bring Phred's variant too?" I asked. "Nah, he's still charging. He's useless when he's charging," he said. Smiley's variant came back. "Finally," Phil's variant said. She'd only been gone for like, a minute. We all went outside. It was night. "Should we wait until day? It's hard to see, even with my fire," I said. "It's too hot during the day," Phil's variant said. "Oh, right," I said.

"Where are we going?" I asked after a few minutes of silence. "The Cybervex base," Phil's variant said. "You think the Cybervexes took them?" I asked. "Yeah, it would make sense," he said. We got there a while later. Smiley's variant cut a large hole in the wall with her sword. Phil was right behind the wall that Smiley's variant cut. Luckily, Phil had moved in time. "Oh, there you are!" Phil said. "Where's everyone else?" I asked. "Through there. There's a door somewhere," Phil said, pointing at the back wall. "I wonder why they kept you separate," I said. Phil shrugged. Smiley's variant cut another hole in the wall. Pico, his variant, my variant, and Phred were behind the wall. They seemed glad to see us. "The cybervexes took Smiley over there," Phred said, pointing to another wall.

Smiley's variant cut through that, and there was a hallway. We looked around for a bit, and eventually found her in a small room. Phil and the others had stayed behind, so it was just me, Smiley's variant, and Phil's variant again. Two large cybervexes were holding her by her legs. Smiley didn't look hurt, just scared. I expected the cybervexes to attack us, but they just stood there. "...Just let go of her," I said. I figured it was a stupid idea, talking to them, but I still tried. To my surprise, they let go. Smiley's variant killed them anyway. "Why'd you do that?!" I asked. "They aren't on our side, and they never will be," she said. "But they were," the demon girl said, seeming to come out of nowhere. "Where'd you come from?" I asked. "The 'humanoids', as you call them, made the cybervexes. They didn't mean for this to happen. They wanted them to erase the corruption of this world, but it obviously didn't work," she said.