Ending The Game

Toppat Trouble

Henry ran out of the room, the outside world looking...different. Darker, maybe. Things were in the wrong place, too. He could see both The Wall and the Toppat launch site from where he stood, which...frankly, shouldn't even be possible. The Wall doesn't appear in this game, and...

The timelines are mixed. It's the only real explanation. Things had changed, in ways that don't necessarily make sense. That would explain the room, at least. 

Whatever! He had to focus. No getting sidetracked by questioning the strange reality he's been thrown into. All his focus has to be towards making sure Charles and Ellie are...are...

Something shiny. In the window of a store nearby. He felt naturally drawn over, eyes sparkling as he stared at the jewel in the window.  A sapphire. Massive, too. And there didn't seem to be any guards around either.

Just one quick stop....then he can get back to saving his friends. They probably wouldn't mind him being a little late...

Yeah. That sounds about right.

He scrambled in his pockets, trying to find something he could use to get into the shop. The place was empty, from what he could see, so as long as he had a good plan, he could easily break in. In and out, no problem. 

Okay, what has he got? A sick of gum, a hammer, a hair pin and...another teleporter?! No! Why must these things haunt him wherever he goes? 

He threw the teleporter away in a garbage bin, and got to thinking. He could pick the lock, but there isn't a lock here so that's redundant. He had no idea what he was gonna do with the gum, so that only leaves...

He smashed the shop window open with the hammer, grabbing the sapphire before making an escape. There were no possible negative repercussions from this decision!

...idiot.

Suddenly, he was punched from behind, the sapphire snatched from his hands. The attacker pinned Henry to the ground as he tried to escape.

"Looks like this guy did all the hard work for us." The woman grinned, staring down at Henry. He couldn't believe his luck and misfortune all at once. Ellie had found him, but she didn't seem to recognise him at all...

He opened his mouth, but no words came out. It was stressful beyond belief, being attacked by your former best friend who...doesn't seem to know you, and is definitely a Toppat now and-

"You got a name, thief?" She asked, once the Sapphire was safely away from Henry's greedy grasps.

He wanted to talk, say something, anything! But he didn't...feel safe to. He didn't trust her anymore. He was panicking inside, staring into her cold eyes as she adjusted her top hat.

"Nothing? Really?" She pulled out a gun, pointing it at Henry's head. "Maybe some motivation will help."

He shook his head, quickly signing as best he could. He hadn't had to use sign before, having become comfortable with people's presence easily over the different timlines. The fact they weren't really real added to the safety he'd felt, meaning he was comfortable talking when he had to. But now it was all real, and...and that means talking was suddenly a big issue for him.

"...mute, huh?" She muttered, watching him sign. "Anyone able to tell what he's saying?" 

"I can" came a voice from the middle of the crowd. "My brother's deaf, so-" catching Ellie's bored look, he coughed awkwardly. "A-anyways. His name's Henry Stickmin. He was looking for you, but got distracted by the sapphire,  and-"

"I've heard enough." She shrugged.  "I don't know who this is, but-"

"He said he met you in The Wall." The translator continued, nervous. Ellie was stiff, clearly shocked by the mention of that complex, but masking it to the best of her abilities.

"...I think you're thinking of someone else." She frowned, pulling away from where she had Henry pinned to the ground. Whilst somewhat relieved, he was still worried. This was bad, and he didn't have any idea on how to prove that they've met before.

He tried signing again, but Ellie just snapped at the translator. Telling him not to keep translating, and just leave him. "We have what we came for."

He couldn't...he couldn't let them slip out from his fingertips! He'd only just found Ellie, and now she's just going to leave?! He had to do something! But what?!

In a moment of blind panic as they prepared to break up onto the space station... he started to dance. A stupid little distraction jig. While he looked like he was having the time of his life, internally he was considering slapping himself for his stupidity. 

But. Slowly, the Toppat clan members noticed him. Danced alongside him. As Ellie just...stared. As the only person with any kind of braincell in the Toppat Clan, she'd almost expected something like this to happen...but everything had been going smoothly!

If you can't beat them...join them. She joined in the dance, slowly making her way over to Henry. Before grabbing his arms, tying them behind his back. "Fun's over, everyone. We need to get back. Even if it means we have an extra prisoner."

And as the clan members sighed and groaned, Henry couldn't help but grin. He's a master escape artist at this point. He's not going to fail this mission.