Chapter Text
Cold. It was cold.
“Ughhh.” You sat up rubbing your head in a sleepy daze. It’s pitch black, what time is it? You shivered again, not because of the cold, but because something felt very, very, wrong. You reached out in the area in front of you, and let out a gasp when your fingers brushed against something smooth and metallic. You reached for it again, and you were able to at least see the outline as your eyes were starting to get used to the lack of light. It was a flashlight. You turned it on, having the rather weak beam scan all over the area around you. There was nothing here that you recognized, a wooden ceiling, and an ugly green tile floor, and ... a bag with a note? You finally stood up and walked over to the bag, raising the note to the flashlight so it would be easier to read.
Hey there!
Sorry about not being there when you wake up. I’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions, but we had to get a move on. Here’s some supplies to help get you started. And also I think the notebook’s yours? Don’t worry, I didn’t look through it. Well, we’ll see you soon, I’m sure of it!
Good luck!
Michael
Well, the bag must have been left for you, might as well take a look through it. Several cans of food, a first aid kit, a pocket knife, a ... lighter? Why did it give you a sense of deja vu? You scratch your head in annoyance and confusion, you were sure you’ve seen this lighter somewhere before, you just can’t remember where. And how did you even get here anyways? You racked your brain, trying to figure it out. You could remember everything before showing up, your home, family, friends, school, but the events leading up to you waking up were nothing more than a fuzzy blur. “That’s … concerning.” You mumbled. You felt like you couldn’t be too loud, but it was nice to have something to fill the silence than just your breathing. The notebook didn’t prove to be of any use either, only being full of class notes and doodles. You better get moving too, maybe you could find someone who could help.
You wandered around in the dark for at least a minute before coming across a stage of some sort. You looked over the edge. It was meant to look like a backstage of sorts, with piles of black boxes with silver trim stacked high. There was also a piece of tape on each, possibly labels, but they were too small to read. Your eyes noticed something on top of the stage, and by second nature you picked it up. It didn’t look like anything special, just two pieces of wood stuck together to form a X-shape. It did have five strings, but they didn’t seem to be connected to anything. Weird.
As if on cue, a rather pretty puppet with a top hat made her way through the stage. You raised an eyebrow. She had strings, strings that should be connected to something, but it was so dark that even with the flashlight, you couldn’t see more than 3 feet in front of you, much less anything that would let her move. Not to mention that she felt familiar, but you couldn’t figure out where you have seen her before. Suddenly, she started to turn her head as she moved, as if looking for something or somebody and then opened her mouth to speak. “Hello there! Are we feelin’ shy? You don’t need to hide from me, poor little thing. It’s a big scary world out here, I know.” The puppet immediately perked up and rushed over to one particular box. It definitely didn’t look like anything special compared to the others, save for the rather large rip in the middle. What happened to it?
The puppet seemed to peer through the rip at whatever was inside, maybe just as curious as you were. “Oh my! It’s you. Well that is something. Let’s get you out of that box and out into the light.” She moved to the side of the box and placed a key into the lock. With just a few clicks, she swung the door open, but while you could see a faint outline of what seemed to be another puppet, you couldn’t make out the rest. “Oh my dear! Sure as my name is Lorelei Undertaker, I didn’t drag you back up here on purpose.” Of course, Miss Undertaker, now you remember! She was one of your favorite characters on the Showdown Bandit Show. While the episodes aren't on TV anymore, they definitely were online and it was fun to watch for a kid’s show from the 1950s. It was too bad it was just canceled for apparently no reason, it would have been nice for it to have a proper ending. “But, if you’re here, it must be what he wants.” Wait, he? Something about the way she pointed up and the lack of a proper name gave you a bit of dread. “Either way, I suppose we must get going! The show must go on!” Miss Undertaker stated, her finger pointed up as she marched away.
Your attention was drawn back to the box, when two hands reached out to pull the rest of the puppet out of the box, and while they did succeed, they did wind up collapsing onto the floor. Your wooden X, which you had long forgotten, managed to grab your attention once again, as the strings on it seemed to head towards the puppet below, attaching one at a time. The puppet definitely seemed creeped out by the strings, meanwhile you were freaking out as everything that had happened in the last couple of minutes came crashing down on you all at once coupled with the facts that the strings and the puppet were moving on their own and you just wanted to go home. The logical thing was to find the knife in your bag and use it to cut the guy free, but you weren’t exactly thinking straight and did the only thing that crossed your mind which was to hopefully snap the strings and thus you tried to yank the x away from the puppet as far as you could. This unsurprisingly proved to be the wrong decision as the puppet was yanked a few inches off the stage’s floor and let out a voiceless, but still chilling scream. And then came the headache, there was no idea you’d ever forget that kind of pain. The kind that made your eyes squeeze shut as they watered and the world spun. It was over as quick as it began, and then you realized you still had the puppet hanging in the air. You immediately placed him back onto the floor and you took a second to catch your breath.
You don’t know what compelled you to speak to the puppet, but you did anyways. “Uh, hi.” The puppet gave a startled expression, looking left and right, obviously still as on edge as you are. Actually, thanks to the spotlight, you could see the puppet much more clearly than before. And he was every bit as familiar as Miss Undertaker, being the Showdown Bandit himself and all. “I’m up here. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna hurt you.” Well not anymore than that tug already did. Hopefully that wouldn’t cause a problem. Seriously, what the hell was that headache about? “I’m, I’m (Y/N) and you’re Bandit, yeah?” Bandit gave a slight nod. You scratched the back of your neck. “I guess we’d better get going too, huh? Maybe we can find someone who knows what’s going on here.” The question was, how were you gonna make him move? He definitely seemed like he was tethered to the strings now. You could just pick him up and carry him, but something told you that was a bad idea. Suddenly, as if by second nature, you held out the X,and began making the motions that would allow Bandit to walk. “How-? Never mind, not gonna question it right now.” You already had too many mysteries. You led Bandit over to the nearby door. “You ready?” Bandit nods. You rolled your shoulders and prepared yourself for the next big surprise. “Let the show begin, I guess.”