Chapter Text
It was a classic day like any other, … right? The game had reset as per usual. “This is the story of a man named Stanley, …” The narrator had started, and got drowned out as per usual. Stanley liked the man’s voice, but he hated hearing the same lines over and over again. Nothing changed. Not even after the skip ending.
The narrator paused as Stanley stood in his office. The narrator turned off his microphone looking down. The ending before? The skip ending. Or at least it felt like it to him. He doesn’t know when they last did that ending. All he knows is it drives him mad. “He wouldn’t leave me alone again, right? He wouldn’t leave me again, right?” He asked tears coming to his eyes. He lightly smacked himself on the face. “No! Snap out of it!- You’re the narrator! You can’t allow petty simple problems such as being ignored get to you!” It was at that point he noticed Stanley, waiting at the two doors, attempting to get his attention. He knew something was up.
‘HEY. Answer me!’ The brown haired man signed over and over, glaring at a camera. He had an annoyed but concerned expression.
“Well, let’s not prolong the story anymore.” He said sighing. He turned his microphone back on. “When Stanley came to a set of two open doors, he took the one on his left.”
‘Oh good. You’re back. I thought you left because you didn’t narrate!-’ The man signed but got no reply. He huffed, and signed, ‘I know something’s up. You better answer me!-’ He waited a couple minutes, before taking the door on the right out of spite.
“This was not the right way to his bosses office, and Stanley knew this. Perhaps he had decided to stop by the employees lounge.” He didn’t add any of his normal comments about the employee lounge. Then again, Stanley didn’t stop to listen to him.
Stanley had a goal in mind. If Narrator wasn’t going to tell him anything, … he would head over to the skip ending. He did it at least twenty runs ago. And yet, Narrator was acting off sense then. But this was the first run he went silent instead of narrating.
He went to the lift, getting the normal comments. He jumped off the catwalk, hearing the man’s annoyed protest. He took the blue door. Again. Again. He had to wait for the man to bring up the memory zone.
[The End Is Never The End.]
After the reset he had caused by annoying the narrator, he was shocked to see the memory zone. How perfect. Exactly what he had wanted. He exited the office, and cut the narrator off by going into the vent. He went through the zone, weaving his way through the place, moving as fast as he could. He went to the reviews.
Narrator went silent. Instead of reading it when he was supposed to, he read the positive comment a few minutes later. Stanley exited the area, going up the stairs and into the door. Narrator knew what Stanley was doing. He was prolonging the inevitable. He slowly read the next positive review.
Stanley exited the room. And went down the stairs into the Maintenance room. He heard the typical comments from the Narrator. He was on a mission. He listened to the unfunny comment and moved on. He hated how in certain situations he had to listen to the Narrator. Even more so if he was trying to be quick. He listened to the next bad comment. One line stood out this time. As Narrator said it with a little more emotion than normal.
“I feel, like a failure.” Stanley hesitated hearing those words. But he shook his head and continued. He made it to the comment that mentioned the skip button. Narrator paused. Reluctantly reading it. His voice was monotone while reading. As if he was being forced. Stanley started to have second thoughts but- there was no turning back, … right?
Stanley watched as the building opened up. He heard the typical lines that sounded positive, sound pretty negative, and monotone. He entered the building. He walked up to the skip button.
“And here it is- go ahead and- …” Narrator cut himself off. He grew silent. Stanley put his hand over the button. “You know what? No! I’m not doing this again!” He then spoke, the button getting yellow cracks as it broke. “If you want to make me suffer again, go right ahead and try!-”
Stanley stood there shocked before shaking his head and signing ‘I didn’t want to, but you REFUSED to answer me!’ He huffed slightly, looking away.
“Oh don’t be like that Stanley!- I’m the narrator! I have a job to do!- I just have certain endings I hate and would rather die than do again!-” He then spoke, huffing himself.
‘Wait- you remember?’ Stanley then asked, a look of concern on his face. ‘But- you never showed it!-’
“Of course I didn’t Stanley! I have a job to do! I can’t let my emotions get in the way! But- as I made this ending’s button, I refuse to let it be used again!-” He took a very audible, very shaky breath. “I’m tired Stanley- … I didn’t ask for this job, and I know you didn’t ask to be the protagonist- but- … we do what we have to.”
‘Narrator, … I have an idea. Where are you? Are you more than a voice?’ Stanley asked, signing slowly. He hadn’t completely mastered signing, but he had been working on it, despite being rushed along to continue the story.
“I- Of course I’m more than a voice Stanley- … and you’ve hurt me more than you can imagine by doing this ending. It PLAGUES me. After EVERY reset. It always feels like a fresh wound.”
Stanley slightly flinched as the Narrator rose his voice. ‘I’m sorry Narrator- what’s your name?’ He signed the question, not exactly wanting the man to raise his voice with the microphone again.
“I’m- … I’m sorry I spoke so loud- … I don’t remember my name. It’s been so long Stanley- and I haven’t told anyone it-” He said shaking his head despite not being visible to Stanley. “My name might very well be Narrator.”
‘Alright Narr, you have any way to get back to the office now? I’d love to see you in person.’ Stanley commented, sighing. ‘I know I have reset the game before but- those were accidental.’
“Well- I- … I suppose I can try.” He said with a sigh, pressing a button he had no need for unless Stanley, tried to break reality. He had always pretended there was a player to this cruel game, but they both knew the truth. He pressed the button and it took Stanley to the two doors. It seemed a little warped though. “My apologies Stanley, this was the best I could do.”
‘No no, it’s fine Narr.’ Stanley signed as he looked around, recognizing the environment. ‘Now, where are you.’ As much as he wanted to hate the man, the man kept him company, explained things, slightly, and, was clearly traumatized by something he did. He clearly felt as if he had no choice in the matter from what he picked up with the “I have a job” speech.
The narrator reluctantly sighed. “First, we need reality back, so, … let’s finish this ending?” He said, clearly needing a moment.
Stanley nodded, before entering the door on his left. He went to the office. They completed the ending.
[The End Is Never The End]
Stanley got up from his desk. He didn’t hear the narrator. He thought the man wouldn’t want to be alone, so he opened the door of his office. He saw a man of equal hight, black hair, and yellow eyes coming his way. He was following a smaller version of the adventure line, and seemed to have one on his back, like a tail. He was holding a microphone.
When the Narrator made it to Stanley’s office, the adventure line crawled around the man’s leg and onto his suit, before seemingly becoming a part of the fabric. “Pardon me for being late Stanley, you wanted to see me?”
Stanley stared at the man, in shock. He observed the yellow framed glasses, the more square shaped yellow eyes, and he of course, touched the adventure line tail. “Ah- Stanley, please, don’t mess with that- it gets a bit, … difficult.”
Stanley nodded before pulling the man into a hug. Narrator seemed surprised. But he slowly hugged back. After a few minutes, Stanley pulled the man onto his back.
“Stanley!- No!-” The narrator protested to no avail, running through the doors. He also noticed one other thing about the narrator. His right arm. It looked as if it was covered in some black ink, but it looked more like it was glitched at the ends. It had some glowing yellow lines on it. The narrator kept protesting as Stanley noticed yellow cracks, like the lines on the arm, and the skip button, were spreading through the office. Probably in protest of the narrator being with him.
He ran. He had a mission. Escape. He ran to the bosses office. Then out the doors. Narrator seemed confused. Stanley then ran down. To the escape pod. He climbed in, forcing the narrator in with him, as the parable was cracking before them. “My parable, …” The narrator mumbled, hugging him close as the escape pod shot through.
They were free.
[The End Is Never The End]
.
..
…
[Error]
The two men got knocked unconscious by the escape pod. It crashed into a city. Narrator woke up first, and hurriedly woke up Stanley. He was terrified. There was a siren going off about the escape pod, and when Stanley woke up, he saw Narrator on the verge of tears.
Stanley hugged the man close, exiting the escape pod. Police were staring at them in shock. One reason, he had been a missing person for two years. The second, the man he was hugging close.
“Sir! Please step away from the unidentified alien!” A police officer said, to which Stanley shook his head, and tapped Narrator’s shoulder to get his attention.
‘Please translate what I sign.’ Stanley signed to Narrator, before signing at the police ‘This man has been driven insane due to whatever took me and him. It changed us both.’
The narrator took a few minutes before saying it, still tearing up from the sirens. After a few minutes, the sirens stopped. Narrator still clung to Stanley.
It took Narrator a good ten minutes to regain his composure. “Stanley, why’d you drag me along with you?” He then asked with a sigh.
‘The escape pod needed us both! I couldn’t leave without you!” He signed quickly with a huff.
“What do you mean it wouldn’t work without me!?- That’s how you lost that blasted bucket!- I know that for a fact!-” Narrator spoke with a huff.
‘Well- yes- I sent away the bucket, but it wouldn’t work for me. WAIT- IS THE BUCKEY HERE!?- I WANT MY BUCKET!’ Stanley signed quickly his face lighting up.
“Stanley, you’re with other people now!- Why do you need that annoying thing!-” Narrator asked with an exasperated sigh.
‘MY BUCKET! ASK ABOUT IT!’ Stanley then signed.
“Fine fine, does any of you kind gentleman know where his bucket is?” Narrator then asked as a policeman grabbed them both from behind leading them to a car.
“Yes. We’ll be taking you both to it.” The policeman said, throwing them both in the back.
“My bucket!-” Stanley then said excitedly.
“Seriously Stanley!?- You could speak this entire time, yet made me be the one who went on and on? Maybe I would’ve liked to be the one who went silent!” Narrator then asked with a huff.
‘I’m sorry!’ Stanley then signed hugging him slightly. The police officer started driving, and they soon got to the station. The officer went and grabbed Stanley’s bucket, giving it to him.
Stanley, when he got his hands on the bucket, hugged it close. He even kissed a part of it, getting a concerned look from an officer.
Narrator rolled his eyes at the action of Stanley kissing the bucket, his little adventure line tail rolling itself up. “Just don’t start conversing with that annoying thing again. We both know you get bad ideas when you do.”
Stanley moved the handle to his arm and signed ‘HEY! Those were the buckets ideas!’
“Stanley, think that out. The. Bucket. Cannot. Speak. Those were your ideas. That bucket didn’t tell you to do anything.” Narrator spoke with a huff, but quickly apologized when he saw Stanley start crying.
Stanley was fake crying of course, but, he liked getting an “I’m sorry” from the man. He pulled Narrator into a hug, before the officers separated them, and brought them into interrogation rooms, …
Just an average day. Right?