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Janus came to sitting in a chair. First of all, it was incredibly odd he woke up in a chair, as he never was able to sleep in chairs ever unless someone was with him to lull him to sleep with their body heat. And Janus was simply alone in the chair, no familiar and comfortable presence of his friends. The second thing Janus noticed is that his position in the chair was incredibly uncomfortable and he felt something around his wrists, pinning them behind him.
It took a little longer than normal for Janus’s mind to finally catch up and realize that this was not a joke or a misunderstanding as his brain realized he was not in a good situation at all.
He’d been kidnapped.
Janus inwardly sighed, not wanting to signal to whoever had him that he was awake, hopping they would pass his previous small movement against his bonds as simply unconscious movements.
Great. Wonderful. Magnificent.
His mind drawled, sarcasm dripping of it even though it was within Janus’s head.
Thankfully, Janus had not attempted to open his eyes when he was confusedly waking, thanking his lucky stars that he never immediately opened his eyes when he woke up normally.
Janus attention turned outwards at a small groan to his right, a million things running through his head on what it could be, both things for or against him until he realized, limbs growing cold, that whoever took him probably was more lucky in getting people than Janus thought.
Making sure he still looked to be as unconscious as possible, Janus cracked one of his eyelids open enough to just make out a sliver of his surroundings. His heart shot up in his throat when he saw the unmistakeable silhouette of Patton beside him. What froze Janus’s heart into place was the fuzzy figure of someone standing beyond Patton, who Janus felt as if they were looking directly at him.
Janus remained lax despite his instincts telling him to tense up and prepare for what the person was doing, hoping whoever it was would truly think he was unconscious.
Unfortunately, he watched as the figure moved out of his tiny sliver of perception, only having his hearing to rely on to determine where they were. Janus internally screamed at Patton as Patton groaned again, moving his arms as if he were trying to rub his eyes, opening his eyes almost immediately after realizing he couldn’t raise his arms.
Patton...no....
“Wha-? What’s happening? Oh, hello!” Patton looked around confused for a long moment before looking at someone out of Janus’s perception, a confused uncomprehending smile on his face.
The other person did not respond, which didn’t deter Patton as he tugged at his bonds.
“Yeah, uh, kiddo? My hands are tied, could you maybe untie them? They’re in a really uncomfortable position right now.” Patton said, his smile growing more and more concerned as Janus saw that what was happening wasn’t sitting right with Patton.
A long pause persisted until an unsettling yet disturbingly gentle laugh came from right in front of Janus, nearly startling him into flinching, but Janus just managed to keep the reaction internal.
“Oh Pat, you’re never going to get out of here, I assure you that.”
Janus winced, his heart aching as he watched Patton’s expression fall, confused and now hurt, cause no doubt the voice was really convincing. Hell, Janus’s own mind struggled a moment to try and focus on getting out of there. Thoughts like that were fulfilling prophecies. Though something pertinent irked him.
How in the heck did this guy know Patton’s nickname?
It didn’t help that Roman was next to wake up, hearing Roman groan to his left before crying out indignantly at the figure who was surely in front of Janus still, as Patton had not changed his gaze as well as through Roman’s words.
“You get away from him, villain! He is unconscious! Your outfit may not be menacing, but you have tied us up and I will not stand for that.”
That same soft chuckle nearly cuts Roman off, Janus hearing the disbelief in Roman’s breath, knowing the offense in Roman’s face like the back of his hand, though having gloves most of the time, it was not as apt a comparison.
“Oh Princey, Princey, Princey-”
Janus heard Roman and Virgil beyond Roman quietly whisper in unison “What the fuck?” in response to the nickname that Virgil always gave Roman.
“For one, you’re not standing for anything with those little bonds of yours. Second, who said I want to look menacing, surely that’s not nice...”
The person trails off, Janus hearing a small metal clink, seeing Patton suddenly tense, face filling with horror at something Janus still couldn’t see.
Though, Janus didn’t have to wonder long, as he was suddenly forced to lean forward, eyes flying open despite his previous ability to not react. Something about the grip just took all the pretense out of Janus.
Suddenly, he was face to face with a surprisingly nice and soft looking man, a pristine white lab coat on, open revealing a soft cardigan, a soft pink tie and a clean dress shirt under the cardigan. At a glance, his expression looked gentle as well, you wouldn’t think the sickeningly sweet yet also veiled callous tone was coming from this man.
But Janus saw through the man, as he himself had experience with facades, seeing the inconsistencies in the man’s expression that other’s would miss. The man’s smile became wider as the man saw Janus opening his eyes, looking as if you had just been gifted a puppy.
However, when Janus glanced at the man’s other hand, the one he didn’t use to pull Janus up, his face no doubt pales a few shades seeing a syringe in the man’s hand.
In doing so, he also caught a glimpse of the man’s name tag, which was odd if it truly belonged to him, as revealing your name when doing something like this was no doubt foolish.
The name tag read: ‘Emile Picani Head Scientist’
Janus started to struggle, seeing a dangerous glint appear in the ma- Emile Picani’s eye.
“Third, who said your friend over here was asleep? Oh, well he might as well go back to sleep, wouldn’t want him to see the fun we’re going to have.”
Janus started to squirm against his bonds even harder, trying to find some sharp surface to cut his bonds on. But he could find nothing as Emile stepped to the side, out from in front of Janus to right beside Janus. Janus’s neck felt exposed, his head suddenly being held in place by Emile’s iron grip.
He heard everyone, even fucking Thomas, which made Janus’s blood boil at capturing sweet Thomas, and everyone he ever cared for cry out for Emile to stop, if only his blood could get hot enough to melt his bonds.
“Stop it, you fiend!”
“Hang in there Jan-Jan, we’re gonna figure out something! Just hold on!”
“Don’t you dare touch him or I will personally knock you into a black hole, erasing your very atoms from this plane of existence.”
“JANUS! Fuck you, you scientist! Get off of him!”
“I WILL DISEMBOWEL YOU ALIVE IF YOU LAY A HAND OUR SNAKE!!!”
“Janus, please don’t leave us, try and fight whatever he’s giving you.”
“I will personally throw you into a vat of boiling coffee, feeding your essence to you children if you touch Janus!”
Janus desperately fought against his bindings, but as he felt the pinch of the syringe, he knew he was done for.
Patton cried out, being one of the closest and able to see what was happening in addition to Roman, likely seeing Emile stick him with the needle.
Roman roared unintelligibly, Janus hearing something large and metal slam multiple times against the ground.
Janus didn’t feel anything at first, feeling the needle finally retreat, the pinch gone. But no sooner had Janus opened his mouth to say something, the world around him began to spin.
He heard Patton crying his name, forcing himself to look over at Patton despite the world spinning like a top. His vision was already growing fuzzy, making out Patton’s distraught face, looking at Janus in horror at what Emile did to him. He forced his face into his genuine smile he only held for his friends, against the ever stronger force pulling him downwards
Even in his dizzy state, Janus knew he needed to say something, his brain screaming at him to soothe his friends, to help them, to make sure they knew...
And even though Janus’s face felt like it was growing increasingly heavy, Janus slowly forced out the words he needed his friends to know.
“Every- thing’s- gonna be fine. We’ll- we’ll get out of this..... together....”
Janus felt his body sag as the weight of his body felt like it was pulling down into the ground, hearing his friends yelling something, he couldn’t tell if they were yelling at him or Emile Picani. He did feel a distant grip on his cheeks, foggy eyes opening enough to vaguely see Emile’s sickening face full of gentleness, also hearing Emile Picani distantly say, “Oh, why would you want to leave me, I am a part of your FamILY after all...”
Janus foggy mind knew there was something wrong with what Emile Picani said, but all Janus could do was listen to the fading sobs of Patton and the yells of his friends as he finally gave into the darkness...