It's Playtime: A Playtime With Percy Fanfiction

Chapter Eight: A Surprise

      I'm dizzy. I passed out a couple times and had to be awoken by Pal's demon children poking at me. I don't know how much longer I can take this anymore, to be honest. I ran out of the bag of chips a couple days ago, trying desperately to ration out everything. A couple chips here, a couple chips there. It ended up being a futile effort though, since it only laated for about a week. Everything's blurry. I've started to become less hungry. I guess I've gotten used to not eating very often anymore, but that's just my theory. Something tells me that's a bad thing though, so I'm not really going to take it as a plus. I can't really seem to focus on Pal's games anymore. Speaking of which, he's been "passing out" way more often than usual, which I take advantage of, getting myself some water and sleep. Like, sometimes he gets extremely worked up about something, then just powers off randomly. It mostly happens when I fill up his happiness meter all the way up to 45. When it happens, he gets really, and I mean, really enthusiastic, and starts showering me with affection, almost like he's had a sudden euphoria boost or something. And then he shuts down. It's becoming harder just to clench my fists. It's like when you just woke up and don't have any strength yet. For some reason, I feel like I constantly have a fever. I feel, cold. All the time. Not just physically too, I guess. I can't remember the last time I even saw the light of day anymore. I'd kill just to get the power back on again. It kind of feels like a Saw trap. Like, John Kramer himself locked me in here so that I can learn my lesson about appreciating my mundane life or some bullcrap. I mean, it's working I guess. I want everything to go back to the way it used to be. I just want to be able to live my, although mundane, peaceful life again. I might've been living on cup noodles and cereal and boxed mac 'n cheese, but I'd do anything to go back to that life.
I chuckle to myself softly.
Just kill me already.
      I'm going to be dead anyways. It always ends in death, at the end of everything. I sigh. Ah, what's the use of sentimentality? There doesn't seem to be much of a light at the end of the tunnel. I mean, if there was, it's long gone now. All there is left is pitch black, leaving me in the dark. Lost. Hopeless. I'm not going to be saved. I never was. I'm just going to stay cooped up in my home, dying. Trying desperately to live, but at the same time, dying. My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of my ringtone. Someone's calling.
Pal stops too, before yawning.
Presumably just to show his boredom.
I look at the contact name, which reads;
"mom".
Mom...
She's calling.
Why?
      I thought my parents don't really care. Then again, it's been a while since I've said anything to them. "Pal, please, just let me answer this-" I quickly tell Pal. "But I already LET youuu!" He whines. "PLEASE!" I beg. It's hopeless though. And I know it is. "Does this person really matter to you more than you than your BEST PAL?" He asks, daring me to say yes. I know that if I say yes, that'll be the end of me. I don't say anything. "There! Now turn that thing off, it's starting to get annoying." He orders. I don't. I just want to hear my mom's voice. One last time before I die in this hell. Please. Pal's yelling at me, but I ignore it. I don't care. I hear my prerecorded message play. "Hey, Nick here. If you're getting this message, then I'm probably unable to answer right now. You can leave a voicemail after the beeping sound effect thing, or something, look, I don't really know what it's called!" I cringe. Made that when I was 19 and didn't bother to change it. Thought it was peak comedy at the time. Then, I hear my mom speak.
      "Hey Nicky," She used to call me that all the time. I thought it was embarrassing, but right now, I'd do anything to hear her call me that in person. "You haven't been saying anything to us anymore. I'm not sure if something's happened or if I'm just overreacting, but if you get this, please let us know. I just wanted to make sure you're okay, so don't worry about me trying to be one of those "overbearing" parents or something, ha. Okay, bye."
      Then, it ends. I'm shaking. I clench my jaw. If I don't do this, I'll shatter. I'll scream. I'll sob. I wanted to call her back, to let her know what's going on. Or at least lie to her and tell her that I'm okay. Anything. It's too late though. I'm crying. I can hear myself hyperventilating in between my sobs. I haven't cried like this in a long time. I drop Pal. I'm too tired to deal with him right now. I feel this unbearable weight in my chest as I hopelessly try to gather myself. I try to tell myself to get up and take this like a man. I can't though. I can't bring myself to talk right now. "Nick?" Pal asks. He looks more confused rather than concerned. "What are you doing, hurry up and play with me!" He demands. I ignore him. I can't do this right now. For all I now, that was the last time I'll ever hear any one of my parents talk to me ever again. "You look pathetic, you know that?" He states blankly, like a 7 year old kid making an observation. "Shut up." I answer. "Just shut up and die already." I say in between my cries. I curl myself into a ball and scream. I don't know anymore. I can't do this. I don't care about Pal's threats right now.
I want to die.
I feel my sobs growing softer and softer, until soon, darkness engulfs my consciousness whole.

      I'm dreaming. At least, I think I am. I'm in my wire infested house. I don't see Pal or the corrupted Playful Poodles anywhere. I step quietly, unsure if I should be careful or not. Then, I hear a stagelight come on behind me in the living room. I look. It's a small little puppet show, like the ones I remember watching when I was 5. A cute little cardboard box that plays as a stage and everything. Then, I see 2 crudely drawn puppets of me and Pal. I hear eerie drones that start wirring in the background as my puppet slowly deteriorates, which crescendos into a whole bunch of static. I then hear Pal's sickening laughter echoing in the background. It scares me. I hear Pal tell me something.
"You can't leave. I'll just follow you wherever you go." Then, like how dreams are, I'm suddenly somewhere else.
      It's Percy's Playhouse. I'm all alone. All of the animatronics are gone, excepy for Percy. For some reason, I feel as though I have to fix him. I open up his stomach hatch. Anxiety takes over. For some reason though, I don't recall why this moment feels so familiar. I then do all of the strange game-like procedures in order to access his battery compartment. It's at that moment when I realize that I'm holding a Pal Percy in my left hand. Against my own will, I put the Pal Percy in the stomach hatch. Then, everything clicks.
This is the moment when I used Pal as a replacement battery. Suddenly, the lights turn off. Then out of nowhere, Percy Poodle, now corrupted, lunges towards me. Everything turns dark.
I hear Pal's voice, muffled, telling me something.
"The nightmare only ends when you wake up."
      I jolt upwards in a cold sweat. I look around to find myself on the living room carpet, then I see Pal, muttering and grumbling and cursing me out. I make sure not to let him know I'm awake, so I carefully lay back down again. I smile.
It feels good to have him so angry.
Makes me pretty happy for once.