Playing God (Newton X Reader)

Chapter 23 - Breaking News

(Name) had determined the time was afternoon, sometime after midday. She should be at school, but she didn’t exactly want to go there… So she had led Newton to her empty house and was flipping through some old science school books to show him how the human body worked.

The two had both had a long day, and found themselves gradually drifting off to sleep in the afternoon haze...

(Nae)’s mum came home later that day, shopping in hand as she dragged shopping bags full of food towards the kitchen. She sighed and wiped her brow, staring at a missing poster that had been placed in the shopping bag. It was of her own daughter, missing for a month now. The police hadn’t found any evidence of her being dead, so she was assumed alive. Although (Name) sometimes thought her mother didn’t love her, oh, her mother loved her so dearly… The poor woman had gone through rehab for a while once her daughter disappeared.

The woman strode into the living room, hoping to check the news to see if there was anything new. The stories of her had disappeared, but she remained vigilant. (Name)’s mother immediately noticed two figures laying on the couch.

(Name) and Newton were laying on the couch together, deep in the land of sleep and holding each other. The red workbook had been placed aside as they gently slept…

(Name)’s mother blinked. She was looking at her daughter for the first time in a month, after being missing, being possibly dead, asleep with a young man of about her age (it seemed). And this man was wearing rather odd attire… Bowler hat with a red triangle, with some sort of markings around the base on a white strip. Velvet neat coat, black boots, crimson shirt with oversized buttons, and dark brown hair… (Name)’s uniform was tattered and torn from wherever she had been.

(Name)’s mother had no idea what to say. She drew back her hand and smacked the young man on his pale cheek, causing his eyes to snap open and him to shudder violently.

“WAH!” The boy had jolted awake, sending (Name) tumbling out of her dream world, and similarly tumbling off the couch in a similarly violent fashion. She stared up at her mother, waking deliria clinging to her mind and slowly blowing away… Newton sat up and held his cheek, shuffling up and pulling his knees to his chest.

“Mum?” (Name) whispered, before quickly getting on her knees to assist Newton.

“Who is this man?!” Her mother screeched. “Did he kidnap you?!”

“Uh, well, so one day I was walking to school-”

“Did he hurt you? Is he going to hurt you if you say no?!” Her mother said, panicking. She then shot Newton an angry glare.

“You slap me then accuse me of kidnapping her!” Newton said hoarsely. He was then grabbed by the back of his precious coat by (Name)’s furious mother. She dragged Newton onto the ground.

“Out, NOW.” Her mother said, somehow managing to drag Newton kicking despite his resistance. Motherly instincts.

“Wait, no! He didn’t kidnap me! I promise!” (Name) called back, grabbing (Newton)’s foot. Newton tug of war.

“Just tell me what happened!” (Name)’s mother demanded, dropping Newton. He winced as his head hit the ground, sending a jolt of throbbing pain into his skull. As he tried to get up, (Name)’s mother proceeded to put a foot on his chest to keep him down.

“Look, chum, don’t do that, please…” Newton tried to reason with (Name)’s mother, before getting shot a death stare.

“Alright, so I was walking to school, then suddenly this white hole opened up, and I got sucked to another world called Bunkum which is made entirely from fabric and stuff.”

(Name)’s mother raised an eyebrow. “Look, please, I want to know what actually happened. That explanation is bunkum.” Her mother was skeptical.

“No, that’s actually what happened! Then I appeared in this giant world made from fabric, and he was there, but he was a lightbulb…”

“So, you were kidnapped and then force-fed drugs by a clearly rich guy.” (Name)’s mother replied, trying to rationalise the absolutely ridiculous explanation.

“No, I just needed the hero of Craftworld, and I got the wrong person!” Newton spluttered. His situation was better than back in Bunkum, but he knew nothing about this world, so… Where would he go if he was tossed out?

“Do I need to call the police on this guy? Or did you elope or something?” Her mother was very clearly irritated. It wasn’t the reunion she had hoped for…

“We just met by coincidence…” Newton whined, before feeling (Name)’s mother stomp down on his chest. (Name) could almost hear the air being forced out of his throat.

“I promise you, I got sucked into a white hole and went to this place called Bunkum. And even if so, I’m home, right?” (Name) tried to drag the conversation to a more positive side.

It was at that moment the TV began to display a bulletin in red. Breaking news.

“We have just received a special report from a woman in (town). The report states her copy of the video game, Little Big Planet 3, for the Playstation 3 and 4, began to exhibit odd behaviour, such as the game displaying odd signs of sentience, and new figures having appeared in the game.” The newscaster read out. “The woman reports that one of the new figures in her game bears a striking resemblance to the missing girl, (Name) (Last Name).”

“No…!” (Name)’s mother breathed, speed walking to the TV remove and turning up the volume. Newton sat up and adjusted his hat, before being pulled into a tight hug by (Name). (Name)’s gaze however remained fixed on the TV.

The newscaster cut to some low quality footage of the game, taken with a digital camera, possibly a phone. A familiar voice was talking as it showed (Name) in sackperson form, standing alongside Patricia as they walked through a snowstorm to presumably the Ziggurat.

The newscaster’s voice popped up again. “The woman would prefer to stay anonymous, but she has said that the game became corrupted once she finished the game. According to her, (Name) should be safe somewhere in the world, and would like to contact her.”

An email appeared on the screen. (Name) quickly grabbed a nearby notepad and pen, clicked it and jotted it down hastily.

The email faded from the screen as ads began to play.

“So, chum, are you going to email her?” Newton asked, wrapping an arm around (Name)’s shoulders. (Name)’s mother huffed slightly but was more inclined to believe (Name)’s seemingly ridiculous explanation for disappearing. That and this man didn’t seem too bad...