Chapter Text
Searing heat tore through the very fiber of his being as he was pulled every which way in some limitless white void. He couldn’t move, the force was too great as he attempted to free himself from whatever prison confined him and held him in place. Time held no meaning, the seconds that dripped by melted together into years. All around him were disembodied whispers and conversations in strange tongues that threatened to tear at the fragile threads of his sanity.
He felt as though he were spinning in place and it made him nauseated. He closed his eyes and grit his teeth, brightly colored spots and splotches then dancing in a rapid swirl before him. They were inescapable. The pressure on his extremities made him feel as though he were being torn apart, and as he opened his mouth to speak, no sound came forth.
Then suddenly, there was silence, gravity disappeared, and Cortex found himself thrust face down in a pile of dirt. He lay there for a while to collect himself then, with a pained wheeze, he rolled onto his side and shakily wiped off his goatee. His vision was hazy, colors trailing and morphing as he struggled to focus on something in this terrible place.
Groggily, he slowly sat up and took in his surroundings. It was the same wasteland of rocks and sand, completely barren of any significant landmarks that he could see. Skeletons littered this place and around him hisses of electricity sparked off and on as tears in reality appeared and distorted the area around him. He gulped audibly and remained very still.
No... no, this place was different from the last, just ever slightly. The sky was an angry red with swirling clouds that funneled into a great maw. Large birds circled overhead unsteadily as one by one they, too, were consumed by the rifts that appeared, only to come out the other side, unchanged. He felt a prickling sensation in his right hand and looked down to see it distorted, but no damage was done as it returned to normal.
Cortex blinked, bewildered that he was still alive, and scanned around him once more now that he had better regained his senses. He glared ahead and furrowed his brow at the sight before him. In the distance, he could see something on the ground, something frighteningly familiar. His heart stopped as it simultaneously plummeted and leaped for joy.
“Nefarious?”
He was in a crumpled heap on the ground, time suit dented and damaged. Cortex got to his feet and stumbled a bit before quickly closing the gap between them. A strange feeling overcame him when the man did not respond, just merely lay there. It was a feeling he wasn’t familiar with, one he could not place. It was anxiety, and a squeezing tightness in his chest.
Instinctively, he clutched his hand to chest and felt his own rapid heartbeat increase the longer he stared at the unmoving form of N Tropy. After a moment, he tentatively nudged the man, “Nefarious…?”
This was their second attempt trying to escape from this prison, and both times were incredibly difficult. Tropy had discussed, at length, the danger of trying to break free from this hell, but both of them were desperate to get out of here. He shook the man again, more fervently this time, a strange desperation overcoming him as he continued the action.
The longer he jostled him and earned no response, the more panicked he grew. N Tropy was his only hope to escape, but there was something more to it than that. He couldn’t place this exact feeling, but whatever it was it threatened to push him over the edge.
Suddenly, a choking gasp reached his ears and Cortex sighed shakily as he stumbled backwards and sat on the ground to steady himself. He felt light headed and woozy at the sudden rush of relief. Nefarious was alive, the old man was still kicking.
The time master slowly stirred and maneuvered to a sitting position to mirror his accomplice. He rubbed his forehead in slow, soothing circles then carefully opened his eyes, glaring at the bright crimson surroundings. He grimaced and shook his head with a deep sigh, then glowered at Cortex once he became aware he was being watched. Nefarious hissed out, “What?”
“Nothing.” Cortex said in a delayed fashion and averted his eyes to stare at nothing in particular. His panic was subsiding and the ache in his chest left, as well. Was the feeling he had experienced fear? He glanced back to Tropy hesitantly then back to the ground. He cleared his throat and collected himself, “Well, that was a bust.”
“Thanks for the update, Captain Obvious.” Nefarious scoffed and rested his elbows on his knees, shaking his head, “I don’t understand… I’ve never been in a place like this before.”
He looked up into the great red maw above and stared at it with wide eyes, “What sort of hell have we been confined to?”
Cortex rolled his eyes at the dramatic description… but he had to agree. He had no idea how long they’d been here, but it was far too long. He held out hope they would escape. This was only their second attempt, after all. He looked around and grabbed a rock then made another mark on the large boulder nearby.
“Why are you keeping track of our failures?”
Why was he? He wasn’t really sure, but something about it gave him a sense of control over an otherwise totally helpless situation. Cortex shrugged and tossed the rock to the ground casually. Tropy muttered a bitter ‘whatever’ before shaking his head again and resuming his trance-like stare into the sky above.
“We need to find Uka.” Cortex pointed out. The two of them had been so wrapped up in their sulking, they had forgotten the most vital component in their escape. The mask possessed such immense, ethereal power, without him they were surely doomed to wander this wasteland forever.
Nefarious nodded and got to his feet, using his tuning fork as a makeshift cane to stabilize himself. Though he knew the man would never admit it, being thrown through the turbulent hurricane of the continuum was taking its toll. Even with the makeshift time armor Nefarious had crafted for him, his own body was struggling to maintain itself after that last attempted escape.
His whole body was buzzing with electricity and a strange current flowed through him that made walking dizzying and difficult. Cortex wouldn’t show weakness to N Tropy, however, and managed to carry on with minimal staggering.
Finding the mask in this landscape would be difficult, but they had no other choice. Without him, they would be trapped here for the rest of eternity, though the instability of this place made him question just how long eternity was. Together, they made their way forward through the wasteland as they began carefully scanning the area for any signs of Uka. Neither of them could hurry in their present status, but it was no matter. They had all the time in the world, after all.