Chapter Text
thump
THUD
thump.
An exhausted object lies in their orange bed, unable to doze off with those muffled stomps coming from the upstairs neighbor.
"Okay, who the hell is doing that?" She whispered to herself, turning towards her alarm clock.
The clock read 3 : 12 AM.
Sighing, she gets up from her bed... and flips her switch.
--
THONK
[Ow.]
After about an hour of frustration, forced patience, and a pounding headache later, One faceplants right onto the wooden floor, dragging the soft yellow blanket down with them. Her feet still lie on the mattress, however.
Patience doesn't come to her naturally. The longer this took, the more frustrated she grew. But they couldn't do anything about it to speed up the process. She hates the idea of this, but she will have to take it slow right now.
Inch by inch, she will get out of here.
They flopped their feet on the floor, bending them forward and back in a little rowing motion in order to move. Her legs were still paralyzed, so this is what she had to work with right now.
However, every time she inched her way towards the door, the slower she got. The blanket was caught on the tip of her head and dragged along with her. This only irritated her more. Another nuisance to deal with.
At first, she tried to kick the blanket off of her out of aggravation, but this did nothing at all.
She paused, having to think of something else. She put the tip of her foot on the floor, tilting her up to an angle. Noticing this, she lightly kicked the ground, nearly flipping her over.
The kick wasn't strong enough, and she quickly faceplanted on the ground yet again. She still persisted though, doing it again with an even harder kick this time, finally landing back first as intended.
She doesn't want to spend another hour doing this again.
Click
Unfortunately, she probably has to now.
Just her damn luck. It seems like she woke someone up. It was probably Four, who has been laser focused on her the entire day.
It wouldn't surprise her if he was keeping a close eye on them while the hotel residents sleep. Where she can take that advantage of no one being around to spot her.
[He always thinks of the worse case scenarios from me.]
[But whose fault is that, One? Ugh..]
[...This is a waste of my time anyways.]
--
She hesitated walking in. Why would she walk in on someone and intrude their privacy anyways? Sure, she has the hotel master key, but she doesn't even know who lives in this room anyways.
Wait. Wasn't this room vacant? Why is someone in here?
...She should investigate.
The golden key lies in the keyhole. The very key that was given to her by Two in TPOT13 and was returned to her recently.
Taking it out, she opens the door carefully and slowly. It makes that annoying creaking sound.
She takes a peek into the dark hotel room, only to find not a soul in sight. She attempted to glance around the room from her position to look for anything suspicious, but she couldn't see a thing.
"Hellooo..? Anybody in here?" She called out quietly. "You keep making a bunch of noise and I can't sleep."
... Silence.
She shook her head and finally walks into the room. She heads to the wall and turns around, facing her back to it, before hopping backwards and sticking on the wall. She flicks her switch on. Click!
The lights flicker on, revealing the bare bed and the blanket on the floor nearby. However, the room still feels empty. Is it really just her in here?
She hops off the wall, nearly tripping on the landing and making a loud thud.
The blanket on the floor shuffled.
"What the? Oh, you're... under those blankets? Did I wake you up or something?"
No response.
"..Are you still asleep? Are you going to respond to me?"
Still no response. She walks over anyways. "If you're going to be weird, the most you can do is say sorry for all that noise." She raised the blanket to see the noisy culprit.
"Oh, my god-" She quickly drops the blanket and steps back.
One blinked rapidly from the light and squints her eyes. [What the hell? Who- Oh. It's..]
A memory came rushing back in her head.
"ARE YOU INSANE?!"
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT POWER I HAVE?"
[...That switch girl.]
"I do."
"The others got away."
[Her name..]
"I did my job."
[Liy, was it?]
"I thought those stupid rumors were fake. I.." She stepped back even more, in shock and disbelief. She couldn't mutter out a word.
There was a moment of silence between the two. One could only stare back. It only got more uncomfortable by the minute.
[Leave.]
If only she could hear her.
Liy inhaled, finally ready to speak. "Well... uhh... how's the floor down there? Doesn't seem like the best bed, but you do you I guess."
One grumbled in response. It made her throat sore. Liy chose to ignore it.
She inched away from Liy, before bumping her head into the nightstand.
[Ow. Damnit.]
"What... are you doing?"
[Stop talking to me.]
Liy puts her hands on her hips before looking around the room again. "I thought this room was vacant. Did Four or someone put you here?"
One heard the sound of waves in her head, and the sound of wet sand being stepped in... getting louder and louder.
She nodded slowly.
"Oh." She walks over next to One, before sitting down in front of the nightstand. "Why did you come back?"
[Did you think I would do that on purpose? Some residents here would probably murder me if they had the chance.]
[..I would do the same if I were them. I would want myself gone too.]
[It would be better if I were gone. My whole life is one big joke. Meant to be laughed at and ostracized.]
[I don't want to be here as much as anyone else. Now leave already.]
Liy didn't move an inch. She continued to stare down at her.
[That light switch has never been scared of me.]
[But why?]
They sat together for while, no one making a peep. It was probably for a couple of minutes, but it felt like hours to One.
She loses herself in her mind, her playground, yet again.
--
PLAYGROUND
"One! You're back!" Two yelled as they gave her a bear hug, squeezing her tight. Eight followed from behind. "Hey, you've been missing for a while. We were looking everywhere for you."
Seven pops up from the middle of nowhere behind her, scaring Two and making them slip out of the hug. "Yeah! We've been looking all over the place! We checked the seesaws, the Chart Marsh, even Ruler Woods! You can't have an adventure without us y'know!"
One giggles a little. "I'm okay! I just got lost was all." Two stood up. "You should go check in with Three. She's really worried about you, but she can't leave the blanket ever since she hurt her leg." They say with concern.
"Okay, where did she set up camp last?"
Eight pointed at the entrance to the Equation Forest. "We can come along with if you want."
"Of course! The more the merrier!" One chirped with excitement.
The group goes into the woods as One takes the lead.
Seven skips up to One. "Hey, One! Where did you go for so long?"
She looks away nervously. "W-well, I went to the Greater Than Garden to find some strawberries for Three, as she wants to make some homemade jam! ..But I got lost on the way there." Seven stared back in innocence. "OH! Man, you suck with directions. No wonder why you keep disappearing on us!" Eight grumbled at them. "Be nice, Seven."
He only raised his eyebrows in confusion. "What did I say?"
Two piped in. "You gotta think before you speak, or you might accidentally say something mean." Seven put his hand on his chin. "Well, I think that if you gotta say something, then you should say it! I didn't intend to be mean. I just said what was on my mind!"
Eight shook his head. "That's why you THINK before you speak."
Two shushed Seven before the conversation could go any further, as they heard a call. "One!"
One recognized who it was and called back to them. "Three!"
She rushed into the bushes and found the picnic blanket, adorn with patterns of rainbow angles, equations, and symbols on a white background. Five was sitting next to his best friend as he scarfed down a sandwich, before tapping her on the shoulder and pointing at the visitor.
Three squealed and rushed in for a hug. "One! You're-"
--
"-back."
7 : 38 AM. One's room.
The sun peaks through the blinds as One rests on her bed, all alone again. But she just got a visitor.
"It's me again, One. Four is serving breakfast but I'm not that hungry. You can have my plate."
Liy steps in the room, closing the door behind her and goes to slide the plate onto the nightstand next to her bed. "I don't know if you remember our talk after you woke up. You were very... defensive. And your voice... it sounded pretty rough."
One shuffled a little in her sleep, as if she was listening to her.
"I remember that question you asked last night, but you fell asleep before I could even say anything. But no, you've never scared me before. I'm not afraid of you when you're angry like some of the others. Your anger works nearly the same as mine, like it flips like a switch in your head, ironically knowing what I do... but learning to control it takes time."
The fan hummed as it usually did in the room. No response from her.
"I'll leave you alone for now, One. I don't know when you will speak to the others, but I hope you do... and soon. Not for me, not for them, but for your own sake." She heads to the door, before quickly pausing, and flipping back around. "Oh, shoot, I almost forgot."
"I asked about it when getting breakfast, that request you asked me for last night," She mumbled. "Two seemed upset when I asked about it in the cafeteria downstairs. But I did end up getting an answer out of them and they said no. They also know now that I know about you actually being here. So now they're on my ass about it."
The door flies wide open. "OH- Infinity! What are- how did you-"
Liy jumps in shock, then raised her master key to show how she got in here. "Right. I forgot that they gave you that." The red number shuts the door.
"Anyways, what are you doing in here? You need to leave." Three scoffed as she glared at the light switch, but Liy was not moved. "Oh, I woke up last night because of the noise. We had a bit of a talk.. just visiting her again to see if she was awake."
The number sighed. "Well I can't force you out of here. But I've been keeping a close eye on her. Even with her powers gone, she still has her ways of causing harm to others. She thinks she's slick."
Liy looked on in silence. "Since you know already, Two is going to keep One is this room for a long while. Don't leave that door unlocked, do you understand?" Three pointed at the door. "There are consequences to your actions. You and Two will be in a lot of hot water if you make that mistake."
"I get it." She muttered. "But why is she staying?"
"...Two insisted and made a compromise to me and Four. What happened yesterday is none of your business, however." She looked up at the ceiling fan, the light from the cracked blinds shining on it as it twirled.
"She will not leave this room. She will not become a danger.. not again."
"She is under my watch. I promise."
--
8 : 22 AM.
She flickered her eyes open, only to quickly gain back her headache. "Ow.. ow-"
"-oh god. is- is that my voice? Why do I sound so scratchy and horrible? When did I..." Then it was her throat. The more she spoke, the more it burned. Every word gave her a piercing pain, growing stronger and stronger. "When did I.. get my voice back..?"
"Ack.. aaugh... that burns..."
[I should stop talking...]
She pushed against the bed frame it to sit herself up, and scanned the room. [Doorknob is too high. The window is also probably too high... so where else, where else...]
Looking around the room, she noticed the vent on the wall to the right, down by the floor. [That looks big enough.]
Before heading over, she noticed the plate on her nightstand. [Right. Liy was here earlier. I think it was just her who came in..]
[Now, I can't open that vent on my own obviously, but there has to be something in this room I can open it with...] She glanced at the drawers of the nightstand, and leaned against the bed. She shuffled sideways until she was close enough to open them.
[Nothing in here, or here... Dang it, they cleared out both of the drawers. There's gotta be something else...]
She looked at the plate again, and the food that has long since gone cold on it.
The butter knife.
Without a second thought, she slips onto her feet on the floor, before-
--
SLAM.
"Shoot." Two blurted out.
At this point, most of the residents are downstairs having breakfast, except for a couple of stragglers who sleep in.
But that noise was awfully loud, most likely coming from the floor above.
Before Two could snap their fingers to the room they suspected to be the source of that noise, they heard to their right a pop.
Someone teleported.
--
Before she could even figure out what just happened, she heard a loud snap.
"Well that didn't sound good." She mumbled while faceplanted on the floor yet again.
"...Still can't move my legs."
pop!
"HEY! What are you doing in here?? Stop making noise! You-"
Four paused as he looked at One on the floor next to her bed. Her knees lie on the ground as she stiffens up.
The adrenaline is running out.
"What... did you do."
One turns her head slowly, and glares at him.
He steps forward, hands glowing blue.
[Oh- OH NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO]
She begins to sweat profusely, her headache getting worse every second. She quickly uses her feet to push back away from him, although in an awkward sideways motion.
Four only raised his eyebrows at this, and kept moving towards her-
-while her mind worked against her.
"Alone time for you is needed."
Her chest tightens. She can barely breath and gasps for air with her mouth.
"I can't let you hurt anyone else."
Her vision becomes blurry, tears roll down her face as he gets closer. She can no longer see his face. Only his body inching closer.
"You need to go away for a while."
"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"
Four stops in his tracks.. and raises his hand, which now contains a strong blue aura around it.
Her eyes widen and her sobbing gets more obvious. "NO! DON'T GRAB ME! DON'T PUT ME BACK IN THERE PLEASE!"
"What is wrong with you?" He scowled as he continues walking towards her. "Put you where..?"
Four's eyes widen. That's what she means.
"You aren't leaving this room, One. You aren't going anywhere, I'm not putting you anywhere," He said with haste.
"Stop freaking out and knock it off."
"Let's go."
She gets up on her knees and attempts to stand on her righthand foot, attempting to get away from him.
But when she puts the pressure on her leg, it feels like a thousand, hair-thin needles are stabbing right into her skin.
Too much pain. Too much pain. TOO MUCH PAIN.
"SHIT! AUGH!!"
She screams in bloody murder as she slips back onto her knees. She hasn't felt this amount of pain in years.
She wasn't used to feeling this again.
She wants it to all end.
[Why did it have to BE NOW?]
"Did you hurt yourself..?" He asked, in confusion. He wasn't too concerned if she actually was.
"NO! GO AWAY!" She sobbed and hiccupped from crying.
Four groaned in frustration and finally grabbed her with his powers, keeping her in place on the floor.
This only made her freak out more. She flails around in response, screaming every chance she gets.
"GUYS! He's gonna send me away-"
"-you know I didn't mean for this!"
[YELLING FOR HELP DIDN'T WORK LAST TIME.]
He walked closer to get a better look at her knee.
She kicked him right in the stomach when he got too close.
[BUT MAYBE FIGHTING WILL THIS TIME.]
He grumbled, and got back up, only to get kicked back harder.
He clenched his fists.
"Knock it OFF!"
He slams her back against the hard floor, making her squint in pain.
She began to tremble uncontrollably, her heart pounds and takes over any other sound in the room. The nausea makes her dizzy and lightheaded, as her chest tightens even more.
She pauses for just a couple of moments, shaking... before hyperventilating.
She feels like passing out, as she looks more pale by the second.
"Grrr... TWO!!" He snaps his fingers. pop.
"Huh-oh-what?" They turn around to see their friend holding down a panicked One. "Oh god."
Two quickly snaps their fingers and teleports in a first-aid kit. "Holy... what happened here?"
"Your guess is about as good as mine." He grabs the first aid kit as Two holds One in place instead.
Four sits down next to One with the first-aid, and looks at the knee she struggled to stand with. It seems to have some minor swelling, especially compared to her other knee.
"Two, go get an ice pack. Quickly, please." He asked as he grabbed a roll of bandage out of the box.
--
"There. That should do it for now." Four announced.
One laid back onto her bed, bandage wrapped around her knee. The ice pack Two got laid on top.
She had finally calmed down from her panic attack, but was still uneasy being around... him. She glanced over at him, and he looked right back at her.
She quickly turned away.
Two went back into the room with more pillows and blankets, and slid a pillow under her injured leg, raising it up. They plopped the rest of their tow on the bed, covering her with a ton of weight. Four only stared at them as they dump the blankets and pillows onto her.
"Mmmm. I just remembered," He turned towards One, who was covered in many layers of blankets thanks to Two. "Why do you speak again? Weren't you silent just a day ago?"
She ignored his question and tossed her body to face the wall. Two simply shrugged and walked out of the room, with Four soon following behind.
He looked back at the bed, and closed the door.
Click.
All alone again, and locked away.