𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚕𝚎𝚢 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 [𝙽𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛 𝚡 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚕𝚎𝚢]

2

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THE END IS NEVER THE END IS NEVER THE END

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The Player came back in the middle of Stanley's broom closet time. Couldn't they just leave him alone?!

No, he supposed they didn't know Stanely existed outside of the vessel they rudely took over when they came back.

Stanley didn't get to give The Narrator a break, unable to go through with the story. He was jerked back into his office without so much as a loading screen. After the last dreadful time he'd lost control, he'd become numb to the now very odd sensation of losing control of his body.

The player continued going about, collecting endings, collecting achievements, and doing everything they could possibly do within the bounds of the game. Stanley couldn't think of any other possible paths The Player could follow. Surely, they'd done everything and would leave Stanley alone now. The Narrator had even made the observation that they had found all its endings.

The Player finally left after that.

Stanley stood in his office for a couple of minutes that time; The Narrator was quiet too, as opposed to its usual humming and shuffling between runs of its game.

Finally, after a few minutes, The Narrator sighed and said "I don't think they're going to be back again." It sounded melancholy.

Good. Stanley thought. He didn't want to be trapped again. He let out a deep sigh. He needed to get out of this building.

During the hours The Player had been online, they'd only ever followed The Narrator's story once. It would be a nice chance for both of them to take a break and get some fresh air before the player came back (Stanley had a feeling they would.).

Walking through the halls, Stanley wondered if there was a way to communicate with The Narrator. It was the only person Stanley could reach, other than that voice in the blindingly bright museum (The Curator, Stanley had dubbed her, as she ran the museum.).

The Narrator told him to go through the door on the left, and he did. It seemed almost routine for Stanley to follow The Narrator's story every time he had control over his own body. At this point, it seemed The Narrator knew there was a difference between The Player and Stanley. Well, he'd known this for a while; ever since The Player unplugged the phone whilst following the right door.

The run went perfectly smoothly, and every line was delivered perfectly. Stanley loved The Narrator's story. Stanley inhaled deeply and waited for the reset. He wished he could stay there forever, but he knew the rules.

But the black screen never appeared.

Minutes ticked by

There was a sigh after a while "Look, I'm going to be honest here Stanley; I don't really want to reset the story." It paused, seeming to collect its thoughts, "We've been doing this for so long and I'm getting bored of it and I have no doubt you are too. We can go back in a bit of time but just... not right now."

It sounded exhausted. It was only a voice, how could it get tired? This was its story how was it bored of it? It could do nearly anything it wanted with the story, couldn't it?

Stanley supposed there was nothing he could do about it. Well, he could return to the mind control facility, but why would he? He hadn't been outside like this in ages.

There was a cool breeze in the air. It made him shiver when it passed through. The sun kissed his skin, engulfing him in the closest thing to a hug he's felt, well, ever, probably.