Chapter Text
It was over, and had been over. And not in the way it was supposed to be.
They had tried! The heroes had really tried! But it wasn’t enough. After ascending to the top of the tower, it was over.
At first, Boss couldn't believe it. It had shattered the four so-called heroes into pieces. Finally! Those nuisances always trying to stop him were gone. He could do whatever he wanted to.
And then… boredom. It set in slowly. The days dragged on, and with Boss completely in control of everything and getting whatever he wanted… it was boring.
So something had to be done.
Boss walked into one of the rooms of his tower. This one housed all of his trinkets and other things he had acquired over time. Like the four glass cases he had, displaying the shattered remains of four familiar shapes.
They had been kept in those cases in order to avoid them reforming and piecing themselves back together. Boss hated when they did that. It wasn’t exactly fair for them to always come back, was it?
“Alright, which one of you…” he muses, looking at all four options. “Green one? Nah, you’re too quiet. Yellow? Too annoying. I mean, all of you are, but you especially. Orange… hmm. No. Which leaves you.”
His sights settle on the cyan shards of Square. This one had always been the most fun to fight. They had been easy to rile up, to get angry and determined. Which made fights (that Boss won) way more fun. So bringing them back- and only them- was a great idea!
Boss opens the case, scooping out the shards and then dumping them on the ground unceremoniously.
Nothing happens.
“Hello?” it says, crouching down to poke at the remains. “You can come back now. I’m not gonna stop you.”
It pauses before speaking again.
“Yet.”
Still nothing!
“What the hell? Why won't you come back! You always do every other time!” Boss complains, poking them again. Maybe he had kept them locked up for too long. Maybe they aren’t coming back ever. That’s a good thing though, right?
Remember: the boredom. Eugh.
Oh that just wont do.
Boss takes off his crown, removing the pink piece of the Treeangle from it. And using it just like glue, starts to put the pieces of Square back together.
It’s a tedious task. This is probably the most careful and focused he’s been in a long time.
“Shit! Stupid idiot shape!” he curses when one of the shards slip out of his claws. He picks it back up, and uses more corruption to glue it to the rest of Square, who was starting to look like a normal shape again!
“Finally!” he exclaims as he puts the last piece into place. He puts the piece of the Treeangle back onto his crown. Where it belongs.
It’s not a very good job. It’s messily done, and there’s missing pieces, corruption filling in where there wasn’t blue. But hey- it’s SOMETHING. This better work.
He places the now complete Square in front of him, and waits.
The shape starts to shake, lighting up, and then-
Square’s back!
And they look AWFUL!
Well, awful to anyone except for Boss. The corruption covering them is an improvement, actually!
There’s cracks all over their shell, the pink holding them together. Their clothes are now a dark pink too. But they’re still bright blue, that nauseating cyan color Boss had hated.
“About time,” he says, standing back up. “I was starting to think you were gone for good.”
Square doesn’t say anything. Not a word. They just sit there, trembling slightly.
“Uh, hello? You’re back to life now? A thank you would be nice,” Boss frowns, and pokes them again.
No reaction.
Maybe using corruption to heal a shape that was the opposite of it was a bad idea?
Boss sighs, and picks Square up by the back of their shirt, standing them up. That’s when the broken shape catches sight of what else was in the display cases.
Square starts shaking more, actually making a sound this time. A sort of strained sob. Oh. Ew..
Boss grimaces, and then picks Square up again, since they don't seem to be all that there.
“Alright, I’m putting you somewhere until you’re back to normal,” it says, Square tucked under its arm like a sack of potatoes. Except they weighed way less, it was like holding a bunch of grapes.
As expected, Square doesn't respond.
Boss is careful when he carries them, he doesn't want them to shatter into tiny little pieces again and then all his hard work goes to waste.
There are many, many empty rooms in the tower. He had made waaay more layers than he needed, and there were only so many rooms that he could come up with. Boss kicks open a door to one of the empty rooms, and places Square on the ground.
“There. You stay here until you decide you’re ready to be normal again,” he says. Then, he walks away, leaving back the way he came through the door.
It slams shut, and Square is left alone in the dark, their usual comforting glow gone. They curl up on their side, and begin to sob quietly.
…Outside the tower, a bird flies away. It has seen something important, and knows what to do next.