Do You Get It?

Fighting for Control

The Creator

I feel myself tied up with strings. Unable to fight along side Error in this one sided battle.

When I became conscious after the fall, I couldn't see this monster. All I could see was Error trying to find the way through the darkness. Conflicted with his surroundings and himself. I had tried to confront him about his fears. But all I could do was watch.

And it tore me up from the inside out. I saw him fall onto the floor of darkness unconscious. And unable to see if he was even alive. I tried to walk towards him but I could feel myself tied up with strings. They were bound around my ankles, wrists, neck, and worst of all...my soul. I didn't have control over my actions. So when I forced myself to run to Error, I was pulled in the opposite direction.

I was forced to confront the puppeteer. A monster bigger than all of my fears and more powerful than my own strength. I didn't know how to do anything else but tug at the strings and worry. This monster is unlike any I have ever seen. Obviously not of this Multiverse I wonder where he came from. And what he wants from us. Cause obviously he wouldn't have shown me Error if he didn't want me to.

I struggled as he pulled me towards him. I tried to move my legs backwards, to use my arms to slide them out. But all I did was walk forward. The only thing he had let me control at that moment was my mouth. 

"What do you want from us?" I ask, trying to stop thinking about Error on the floor, alone. He creeps in closer, the strings slacking just a little. I refuse to look up to his face, and it's not too hard because he is several feet taller. I know his hand looms overhead and he looks with a melted smile down on me. And all I can do is stare strait ahead, void of emotion, into the darkness that he is.

I want to rip the strings off of me. I almost feel as if I am choking on my own strings of tears. Almost as if my sorrow and pain has been used against me. A sick metaphor that the pain controls both of us.

The strings start to pool around me more as the monster gets closer. I stiffen my body, refusing to meet him in the eye. But what I don't expect is for him to crouch down far enough to make eye contact with me. His face shows the same stubbornness that I hold in my soul. He hold the strings in a fist, almost in a taunting kind of manner.

I hold my breath in a demented twist of anticipation. I try not to think of the things he could do. What powers he had. As Error, I can wipe out entire universes, with all strings attached. He speaks wordlessly and I fall to the floor, darkness filling my eyes.

I open my eyes to something...new.

I awake to a room filled with light, my eyes burning from the difference in setting. I get up off the floor, and before I move my gaze up from the floor I stare at the tiles. Surprise shakes through me. I snap my head up and feel my neck, free from the strings. But not free from my curiosity.

I take a shaky step forward. Why am I in the True Lab? A headache starts to grow and I eye the door. If I run now, there may be a chance that I can escape. I try to make a run for it, but someone slams the door open. The sudden noise makes me jump and wonder where could hide. The figure that comes into the room makes a mad dash to the desk, and walks right through me. I grasp at my shirt and wonder how this could be happening.

I walk over to the person sitting at the desk. The monster appears to be a skeleton, but none that I remember. Their face, full of tension, feels familiar. Before I can contemplate more on where I remember this figure, he starts to mumble to himself. I get closer to try to hear what he has to say.

"Why won't this formula work?" He asks himself repeatedly. His voice has some sort of accent to it, an accent that I have never heard before. I lean over the monster's shoulder to see the computer screen. It shows pages of the same symbols that were on the papers that we had been translating. If only I had memorized the key, I would be able to read through those forgotten files. But instead I have to hope that the scientist read them out loud.

Since he can process the symbols, I would have to assume that this was the illusive Royal Scientist that we have been searching for. I try to get a glance at the papers in his hands, but I only get a good look when he stands up. He pushes himself out of the chair and walks to the other side of the room. I try to grab at the papers, but my hand is pulled back. I lift my hand up, eye level with my face. I guess the strings still tie me down.

I glance over at the papers, even if I can't get them. They are the same notes about Determination. I turn around to the Royal Scientist and wonder. Why am I being showed this? I quietly walk over to him. On the desk stands a set of vials. All of them clear. He holds a box in his gloved hands and a set of tweezers. He cautiously takes the lid off and gets the materials out with the tweezers. In the box are shards of some sort of glowing red substance. He takes a small piece and drops it in the liquid.

Shards of glass and red liquid spray everywhere. I protect my eyes with my arm, but the pieces go right through me. Even being stuck with pin pricks of glass, he continues with the experiment. Through shouts of frustration, he works. And eventually the lab goes silent.

I make my way around from behind him, to next to him. I see one vial, not shattered. The glowing red liquid pulses with life...and Determination.

He looks like he has hit is first Eureka moment ever. He dashes around the lab, most likely trying to get paper to write his findings down. But all I can do is stare at the vessel of Determination. From here he is going to start the trials. He will go on to inject it into multiple innocents. All of those experiments will result in dead ends and melted dreams. I hear him shuffling through his desk. And in a split second of pure instinct, I grab the vial.

Shoving it into my pocket, I step back away from the desk. When he returns, he puts both hands on the edge of the surface. I hold my breath, expecting him to start shuffling around. I expected for him to search for it. I expected him to bring assistants in here to yell at. I expected him to question everyone in the lab. I expected him to try to search for the missing Determination.

But what I don't expect is him to turn around and stare at me right in the eyes. His melted, distorted face is showing one of pure pleasure. I stagger back, unaware of how to respond to this monster.

The strings reappear the moment I step back. I yank my hands against the tight string. But all it does is rub painfully against my bones. With one sharp tug, I am pulled forward. His melted grin burns into my vision. And with a sickening laugh, I fall unconscious.

When I wake up, I stare into my own eyes. They are aflame with anger, and cracked with confusion. Upon further inspection, I realize that it is Error that I am staring at, not a reflection. A reflection would have the strings attached.

I feel a smile grow on my face at the sight of my friend, but I only see his frown deepen. With a sharp turn of my head I try to figure out why he is mad. But all I get as a response, is a face full of burning red paint. Why is he attacking?

I try to vocalize my question, but am unable to do so. I am mute to the strings tied around my neck. All I can do is wipe the medium off my face and smile. The smile is forced by the puppeteer, contradicting how I feel.

I try. I try so hard to tell Error I don't want to fight him. But the monster above me pulls at the strings now. With a tug of my right wrist, I fling an attack of bones at Error. My eyes glow with the power of destruction. I know I can't make a peaceful move with the strings attached. So all I can do is try to surprise my power as best as I can. I try to bottle as much as I can.

But I don't know how much I can hold before I burst. I want to shed my own share of strings. But I am afraid this monster will use it against me. I want to tell Error to keep fighting. Don't hold back if I am giving it my all.

Don't give a warning shot, if I am aiming to kill.