Chapter Text
Noah woke up, surprised to find himself in chains. He huffed and attempted to free himself, but he was unsuccessful. He wondered who had done this, and if he was being pranked. How long was he going to be here? Most importantly, why would someone do this? His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a door open and shut. He looked up, only to glare at his captor.
Ellie wore a calm expression. Her gaze, however, was warm, almost inviting. Noah wondered if this was her way of getting revenge for what he’d done to her... what was it? About nine, ten months ago by now? It had really been that long, hadn’t it? Ellie quietly cleared her throat, shifting her notebook in her arms a bit.
“... I hope the chains aren’t too uncomfortable.” She said, filling the heavy silence between them. He sighed at that, before tugging on them again. They weren’t that bad, he supposed. At least they weren’t tight.
“Why am I here?” He asked, squinting at her. She didn’t seem too surprised by the question, and only sighed, before sitting down. She set her notebook next to her, putting her hands in her lap.
“I wanted to talk with you. Seeing as you’d probably attack me if I went anywhere near your house, and teleporting might have the same effect, this felt like a better option. You’re in a dream, Noah. I assure you, though, that I am real.” She said, her voice quiet. He glared at her even more. Why did she want to talk to him? Was she going to explain how she was going to torture him in yet another way?
“What did you want to talk to me about? Are you going to apologize again for things that happened in the past? Laying out an idea that could get me killed?” He asked, a sneer on his face. Ellie simply shook her head, and gave him a blank look.
“No. I need to ask you a question. Have I ever, in any way, hurt you physically?” She asks, tilting her head. Noah rolled his eyes.“Yeah. In that one dream thing you did? You made me die.” He says, huffing.
“Dreams don’t automatically happen in reality, Noah. Have I ever hurt you physically, besides the dream thing?” She asks, sighing. He thought for a moment, before sighing and shaking his head. Ellie nodded.
“Why am I the villain, Ellie? Why me? Did you make me the villain, just so you could waltz in and save everyone?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at her. She tensed up, before gulping. This was a difficult question for her.
“I didn’t intend for you to come to life, Noah. You need to realize that.” Her voice is quiet now. She looks at the ground instead of him.
“Bullshit. You meant for me to come to life. I’ve seen how you act. You love saving all your little friends from me. I’m the bad guy here. You had to have a reason for creating me.” His voice raises a bit, now trying to get closer.
“I don’t have a good enough reason for you, Noah. I made you out of creativity, out of a simple idea I did. There’s no real rhyme or reason to it.” She sighs a bit, looking at her notebook now.
“If I’m the villain, then you’re the hero. You have to be the hero if I’m a villain. That’s how it seems to have been, and that’s how it’s going to be.” He squints at her, trying to figure out if she’s lying. Her eyes showed only truth.
“I’m not the hero. If heroes exist, I’m not exactly one of them. I’ve done bad things.” She says, sighing softly.
“Oh really? Please, do tell me all your damn sins. Go ahead.” His voice dripped with sarcasm as he looked at her.
“I’ve killed people, tortured them, even.” Noah let’s out a giggle at that. Ellie keeps a straight face, looking a bit annoyed that he interrupted her.
“You? Kill someone? Adorable. What’s your death count, then? Now that I’m thinking about it, what were the names of your victims?” Noah asked, looking amusedly at her. Ellie gave him a bit of a cold smirk.
“Counting the whole dream thing, it’s eight. Not counting that, it’s six. The dreams would include you and Elaine. The others were mainly killed off via. backstory. Chase, Waffle, Marcia, Moony, and Iris and Sam’s parents. I never really bothered to remember their names.” She kept a sickly sweet smile on her face the entire time. Noah’s face fell, a bit shocked.
“How did you kill them, then? Who’re Marcia and Moony?” He asked, tilting his head. He was intrigued now. Ellie gave him a smirk.
“Story for another time. You’ll find out who they are soon enough. You’re going to need to wake up soon, but I’ll leave you with something before I do go.” She said, chuckling a bit, before turning serious again.
“I don’t save people. I may create them, but when they get into danger, half the time, I can’t save them. At that point, it’s their story and they control it.” She looks straight at him as she says this, and she stands up, brushing herself off.
“You don’t have to be a villain, Noah. I may write you as one, but you don’t have to be one. You can choose your own story. If you want to be the villain, I won’t stop you, but I am certainly NOT your hero. If you get yourself in trouble? You’re getting yourself out of it. If you die, I’m not coming back for you.” She turns on her heel, and scribbles something in her notebook, walking away from him. He slowly starts to black out, feeling lightheaded and dizzy. The chains loosened, and faded away, leaving him alone and unrestrained in the darkness. He fainted, wondering who she could have made the hero of her little story.