It's Playtime: A Playtime With Percy Fanfiction

Chapter Four: A Punishment

         It's the next morning since that dreadful day. I'm sitting at the dining table, stuffing my face with a heavy load of scrambled eggs and bacon witn some buttered toast. Quite the breakfast if I do say so myself. Didn't really expect the boss to be a cooking guy, alongside a gardening guy. "I think we need to talk about this... Situation of yours." I hear him say. I look up at him, my mood shatters. "I know I have to come back and confront Pal soon, I get it man. I just want to have a breather." I say tiredly. "I know son," The boss says, surprisingly gently. He always calls me "son" for some reason. "But you can't really stay here forever, I mean, you got bills to pay and I've got work to do and a life to get back to, so I suggest you get back to yours sooner than later." He explains. I stare at him in disbelief. "You know, this isn't just some existential crisis phase I'm in right?" I ask.
"Yeah, I know, I believe you. A Pal Percy toy went insane and almost killed you, threatened you to take him home and almost killed you again. I'm just saying, you might need a backup plan for a backup plan."
I stare down at my half empty plate. I haven't felt this hopeless since the last time I went on a date, which isn't really saying much since that was only a couple of weeks ago and I happened to get over it in about a week, but my point still stands. I know that I can't stay here forever. I know that I have to face Pal eventually.
      I know that I'm probably going to die today.
      "Well," John begins. "I guess it's time you finish up breakfast and skedaddle, I've got a meeting at 7:30 today." He explains. He doesn't realize the danger he's sending me to.
He doesn't know that I might not come back alive if he does this.
I don't have anywhere else to go. My parents are in the next city, a 4 hour drive away, but my car is parked in front of my house, and you know what else is at my house?
PAL AND HIS DEMONIC CHILDREN.
I can't do this. No. Not after everything that's happened.
My eyes widen as I come to a realization. 'Pal can still access my phone. He probably knows where I am already.' The thought terrifies me, but I know that it's true. 'Even if I stay here, he'll find me eventually.'
I guess I'm screwed one way or another. I might as well get it over with. I sullenly finish eating and head out. I nearly forget to thank the boss for everything he's done. I step a couple steps back from the front door and call out to him, thanking him for letting me stay. Then, I head off to my death.
      I try to walk as slowly as I can to delay my meeting with Pal. I think if I keep doing this, I'd have to meet him in an hour from now rather than 10 minutes. Thank goodness no one else is here. I wouldn't want anyone to see how pathetic I am right now. I mean, look at me. I practically have the word "desperation" written all over my face! 'Now's not the time to argue to myself about my dignity.' I remind myself. I'm going to die today for crying out loud! At least my last meal was a well cooked breakfast from my boss. Im glad he did that. As I see my house growing closer and closer, a part of my mind starts urging myself to run the opposite direction and hide. My heart is thumping so loudly that I'm afraid others can hear it. I squeeze my eyes shut and shake my head, regaining my grip on reality. 'Just get this over with.' I repeat to myself as though it's some sort of chant. 'You can't do this and you know it, but just get this over with.' I slowly approach the door, inserting the keys into t2he lock and unlocking it, twisting the knob open as quietly as possible.
      That same old familiar sight seems to induce me in a sense of dread. Wires are hanging from seemingly everywhere, just as they did yesterday. Pal is no where to be seen thought. 'Strange.' I comment. 'Isn't he supposed to be awake by now? Maybe I overreacted, maybe I won't die today.' I look around, not daring myself to take a step further. Just as I turn back, giving up hope and exiting. I notice that the door's blocked up again. 'So he does know I'm here. Oh no.' I slowly look behind me, scared to pieces. There he is, the man himself, Pal. He isn't in his animatronic though, I mean he still is, but not in his stomach hatch. Pal, rather than being inside of Percy Poodle's stomach hatch, seems to be outside of it, attached to a couple of wires wrapped around him, connecting all the way back to Percy I assume.
Pal looks angry.
Very, very angry.
      "NICK!" He yells loudly. I can almost feel the house shaking. "Where WERE you yesterday!? I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO PLAY WITH ME FOREVER AND EVER! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?!" He screams at me angrily. "WHY?! Why? Why..." His voice becomes softer and saddened. I would've felt a little sorry if it weren't for the fact he's been trying to kill me for the past few days. "You were supposed keep your promise Nick, but you broke it. I gave you a second chance Nick, I REALLY DID! " He's practically fuming at this point.
"Do you happen to know WHY I did any of that?!" I yell back.
"You've tried to KILL me, you've THREATENED me, you've HURT me, and you've made a fool out of me! I'M NOT DEALING WITH THIS ANYMORE! From the moment I made that promise, I knew, from the very beginning, that I had just made a huge, huge mistake." I just let it all out. Pal stares at me through squinted eyes. "Wha... What do you mean?" He asks. "ARE YOU BRAINDEAD? I HATE YOU! IT MEANS I. HATE. YOU. GET IT THROUGH YOUR SKULL." I screamed at him. These might as well been my last moments. For a couple of seconds, Pal actually looks a little hurt, until his face contorts into fury. I feel the thick black wires wrapping around my limbs again for the third time. I don't care anymore. "What? This again?" I yell, mocking his strategy. The wires then string me up like some sort of puppet. I can feel the sharp metal tips of the wires poking at my wrists, causing them to bleed a little bit. I wince. "What are you doing now?" I ask Pal sternly. He looks pleased with himself, as he throws me against the wall using his wires. "OW!" I yell, dropping to the floor. I see Pal walk up towards me, now in his actual animatronic body. "Aww, what's the matter? Did you fall d o w n?? No, no, no..." I hear him say, until of his wires grab me harshly by the arm and drags me to the storage room. It slams my back against the wall as I hear Pal mocking me. "D O N ' T G E T U P ." He says, before slamming the door shut and, assumingly, blocking it with the wires.
'Oh, crap!' I think. Although the power might be out, Pal seems to have forgotten that I have a phone. I turn the flashlight of the phone, shining it throughout the room. Looks the same as ever, small, cramped, full of supplies and all that other stuff that I'm not sure I need. Just as I think I'm in the clear, I feel something latch onto me. "ACK!" I say, jumping in surprise. I flash my phone light on it.
'It's one of those things Pal created..." I realize. I quickly throw it off of me. 'Don't tell me he locked me in here with a lot of them.' Seems to be the case however, as I hear more and more coming through the vent above me. 'Oh no...' I think to myself. A dozen of them land on me, all crawling on me and trying to obscure my vision. I feel their legs, which just so happen to be made out of wires, peircing through my skin as they crawl, leaving tons of small needle pricks all around my skin, most of which have some minor bleeding. They just keep coming and coming.
I need to get out, and quick! But how... I look above me. The vent! I could use the vent! I grab a screwdriver from my toolbox that I keep in here and unscrew the vent as quickly as possible, standing on a couple of cardboard boxes to reach the ceiling.
      At last, it's open. I crawl above through the cramped, small space, using my mouth to hold the screwdriver as I crawl. I pass by a couple rooms, all of which are inhabited by wires and some of Pal's creations. I shiver involuntarily. Those things always creeped me out.
I continue crawling, until I spot the vent which leads to the bathroom. It isn't very likely Pal would check this room anyways, so I approach the vent and start unscrewing again. It's hot, cramped, and dark, and I am on the verge of having a full on breakdown. I have to continue on though, if I wanna make it out of here.
      'Finally!' I exclaim, after unscrewing the final screw off. I crawl out, free at long last. All I have to do now is make it past Pal, who's probably guarding the front door. I sit on the toilet seat, head in my heads, laughing in relief.
I made it out of that cursed room! Alive too! I sigh a contented sugh before heading back to the bathroom door, slowly opening it to make sure I don't make a sound.
Then, I hear laughter coming through the vent.
Pal's laughter.
'No...'
      Out of the ventilation, comes Pal, all giddy and excited. "Hey Nick!" He says in that same forced happiness he used before. "How did you manage to...? Wha..." I can't even speak in full sentences. "How did I find you? It's quite simple really. I heard the sound of moving in the vent while I was outside of the rooms, followed the sound, and hear I am!" He grinned. "No... No, no!" I say, dropping onto the ground, no longer holding my screwdriver. "Say, Nick," Pal begins as he circles around me. "You know what I said about giving you a second chance?" He says. I nod nervously. "I calmed down a little, and figured it's no fun if I end this friendship, so why not try again?" I blink in surprise. Again? What? "Are you, keeping me alive?" I ask. "Yep! One more slip up like before though... I guess you know what happens!" He smiles again. "What was all of that before, the storage room and all that..." I manage to ask. "That was meant to punish you. You were being a bad friend back thrre, so I set that all up just for you!" Pal explains gleefully. I stand up again, knees wobbly. He can do so much more now.
I never stood a chance against him in the first place.
"Whaddya say, Nick? You wanna try being my best pal again?" Pal asks. I don't have much of a choice anyway. I nod feebly.
"Great!"
      Yeah... Great. I mean, I'm not sure what this will mean for me anymore, but I'm still alive and that's all that matters, right?

A/N: BTW I used a Flowey reference inside of one of Pal's lines, so you can find it if you want-