Just A Chemical || Joshler //

Chase

||Tyler||

I surface for air, drawing damp oxygen into my tired lungs. My eyes are wide with exhaustion. As I begin to paddle my arms to stay afloat, I feel something brush my feet. Panic begins to set in, and I start swimming what I think is North. Or is it South? Perhaps it is West. Suddenly, a light, first red, then yellow, illuminates the sky, the atmosphere. True East. It looks like a sun in the sky void of moon, stars, and clouds. I swim towards it at a brisk pace, feeling more creatures move under the water.

Finally, after what feels like an hour of swimming towards the flare, I finally reach what feels like land. I walk out of the water, and collapse on the beach. Looking at the light that continues to shine on True East, I scoop some of the material coating the beach into my hands. It feels like sand, but it's black, and almost clings to me. A sharp pain begins to spread throughout my palm.

As I dust off the sand, looking closer, I realize it's not sand - It's glass and dirt. Small shards of broken, jagged glass cutting into my hand. That's...great. Just great. Now I can't even pick up anything without hurting my hand. "Thanks a lot, Bishops!" I shout at the sky. "Tyler! Shut up, they'll hear you!"

My eyes widen and I scream even louder than before as a voice eerily similar to my own speaks out in the blackness. I look to my right, and see a dark figure approaching me. He looks sort of like me, with yellow duct tape on his jacket and pants. He has a red beanie on, but his face is obscured by shadows.  As the figure comes closer to me, I hold out my arms protectively. "W-Who are you?" I ask. The figure holds out his hand, and I take it gingerly, getting to my feet. "My name isn't important. What's important is the reason you are drawn to True East."

Suddenly, the man's eyes widen, looking towards the black smoke-liquid ocean. "We gotta go," He says, grabbing my wrist and running towards the dark, looming cliffs that frame the lingering sun. I am taken by surprise, but run with him anyway. "What? Why?" I ask. "It's them," he replies, pointing to huge shapes in the distance behind us. They're advancing towards us somewhat quickly. They have hoods, similar to that of the Bishops, but instead of crimson, their hoods are a dark red, redder than blood, but capable of spilling it. It looks like they're riding on shadows.  

"Who are they?" I question. "They..." the man says.

"They are the Archbishops. 

"They rule the realm of the mind, and capture anyone who comes out of the Smoked Ocean. They are more ruthless than every Bishop of Dema combined - more dangerous than Nico. Now, we need to run, because if they catch you, you will never go back to reality. Yellow is what protects the Banditos from the Bishops, but the Archbishops are colorblind. They see either traitors, or those who support Vialism." I had a million questions after that, but didn't ask any, with fear rendering me speechless. 

"Luckily, you're one of the Few." I was able to find my voice and get some words out. "W-who are the Few?" "They are the Proud and Emotional, and they seem to have some resistance to the Archbishops' power." 

I feel the glare of one of the Archbishops, and a high-pitched screech rings throughout my head. I collapse on the ground, my knees buckling beneath me, and the man tries in vain to help me up. "Tyler! TYLER! WE NEED TO GO!" He yells at me. I look at him, feeling the same hopeless feeling I did when I was in the Smoked Ocean. When I choked on smoke.

"Tyler, we gotta go." He realized I was not going to get up, and began running towards the cliffs. "Tyler, I'll-I-I'll come back for you, remember whatever you do, don't let them get to you, make sure you head True East, and please," -he shot one last desperate look at me- "Don't forget-"

 He threw something yellow and green at me, and it landed in my lap. He sprinted toward the cliffs, fading into the shadows. I picked up what he threw at me. It was my forest green jacket, striped with yellow duct tape. I put it on, just as the Archbishops appeared in front of me.

The lead Archbishop holds out his hand, speaking in a deep, distorted voice. "Tyler Joseph, you are hereby accused of failed perimeter escape and treason against the Community. Resistance is useless."

As the Archbishops grabbed me, I saw the light fading...or was it my vision? It felt like I was being pulled under the Smoked Ocean again, it felt like I was filling up with water, I felt heavy and tired.

The last thing I saw before I closed my eyes were red, black, and white dots, and the figure from earlier running towards me.