Discord
It’s quiet at first, but you can tell something’s wrong.
The feeling only grows worse as you hear it, distant but echoing-
A key being wound, pauses in between the sounds of something tightening.
That was the sound before the chaos came.
Your line of sight travels upwards, and you see it break through the mess of pink and yellow clouds as the winding stops, a consistent whirring whine replacing it- a meteor, with a slowly-spinning key protruding from its back.
You don’t have anywhere to move. You barely fit on this pillar.
A pillar which extends so far into the sky,
you can't see anywhere close to the ground from atop it.
There's no room to even adjust your footing beyond assuming a batter’s pose, swallowing as you feel your flippers close to the edge.
This is it.
You have to end this.
but where did it start?
Laughter, familiar. A whirring sound and a hearty chuckle- your two best friends. One a mentor, the other something more.
The feeling only grows worse as you hear it, distant but echoing-
A key being wound, pauses in between the sounds of something tightening.
That was the sound before the chaos came.
Your line of sight travels upwards, and you see it break through the mess of pink and yellow clouds as the winding stops, a consistent whirring whine replacing it- a meteor, with a slowly-spinning key protruding from its back.
You don’t have anywhere to move. You barely fit on this pillar.
A pillar which extends so far into the sky,
you can't see anywhere close to the ground from atop it.
There's no room to even adjust your footing beyond assuming a batter’s pose, swallowing as you feel your flippers close to the edge.
This is it.
You have to end this.
but where did it start?
Laughter, familiar. A whirring sound and a hearty chuckle- your two best friends. One a mentor, the other something more.
SANDY: …we really scored today, huh?
????: Yeah, can’t believe how good we got it!
????: Isn’t that right, Polly?
You can’t remember their name.
A pause in the whirr.
A pause in the whirr.
????: Cmon, Polly, don’t you think we did good?
????: I thought you’d be happy to find new clothes. You keep going on about them.
POLKA DOT: I…we were too close to-
The whirring becomes overpowering, a metallic whine piercing your ears and clouding your own voice.
????: Huh.
????: Guess I never pegged you as a worrywart.
????: Silly Polly….
The key winds, tightening.
SANDY: ...I didn't see you take that bag, actually.
SANDY: Did you pick it up right before we left? It doesn't even look scuffed.
POLKA DOT: No, I-
The scene changes.
Dim, vertical bars of light shine throughout the makeshift shelter,
cutting between the strips of corduroy cloth.
A wind-up key turns and turns in front of you,
as you follow them along,
to a blanket on the floor.
A toy.
Liquid-filled.
You don't know the kind.
And it's dark in here.
They reach for your wrist with their clamping hands, guiding you forward.
When they speak, it's a breathy whisper that distorts and changes on every word, gentle at first.
Dim, vertical bars of light shine throughout the makeshift shelter,
cutting between the strips of corduroy cloth.
A wind-up key turns and turns in front of you,
as you follow them along,
to a blanket on the floor.
A toy.
Liquid-filled.
You don't know the kind.
And it's dark in here.
They reach for your wrist with their clamping hands, guiding you forward.
When they speak, it's a breathy whisper that distorts and changes on every word, gentle at first.
????: You ready for this?
POLKA DOT: I...I don't know.
????: Cmon, yknow we have to...
????: You can't back out on me now.
????: You've already come so far.
POLKA DOT: W-why can't you do it?
????: I've already got three kills under my belt this week.
????: You have one.
????: We'll never reach a hundred at this rate, and I don't want to leave you behind...
Their voice gets a slight tinge of ice to it.
????: You wouldn't do well alone.
POLKA DOT: ...
They step back once you're right in front of the sleeping toy, strangling a nervous squeak rising up in your throat as you see them stir, just slightly.
????: Go on.
You raise your bat high over your head.
It looks like their body'll smash easy.
It looks like their body'll smash easy.
????: What are you waiting for?
????: Go for it-!
You look down.
Their eyes are open.
You-
Colors
swirling,
singing,
foaming together.
Sopping wet- Splashing,
strangling moisture,
of motion,
spatters on-
splatter over-
Coating new canvases,
in new coats,
of new-
-Colors-
Unlocking,
upholding,
unbolting a new
blue
hue
for-
Blurry eyes.
You can't see.
The bat's wet.
Stained with orange and violet.
Dripping on the floor.
You can barely hear-
You can't make out their voice. All you can do is wheeze, sobs choking through your squeaker. You can tell there's paint mixing in with the splatters of fluid on your face, on your clothes, everywhere-
Metal clamps onto your shoulder and you recoil, caught off balance.
Their eyes are open.
You-
Colors
swirling,
singing,
foaming together.
Sopping wet- Splashing,
strangling moisture,
of motion,
spatters on-
splatter over-
Coating new canvases,
in new coats,
of new-
-Colors-
Unlocking,
upholding,
unbolting a new
blue
hue
for-
Blurry eyes.
You can't see.
The bat's wet.
Stained with orange and violet.
Dripping on the floor.
You can barely hear-
You can't make out their voice. All you can do is wheeze, sobs choking through your squeaker. You can tell there's paint mixing in with the splatters of fluid on your face, on your clothes, everywhere-
Metal clamps onto your shoulder and you recoil, caught off balance.
????: Get a grip!
????: You did it! See, I knew you could-!
Metal clangs across metal,
and you only see your companion as they're falling to the floor.
In the dark,
a long, heavy wrench raised at you,
trying to see through the dark to make any part of them out.
A loose tie hanging from their neck,
a glint of glass in the light,
and the wrench.
They're poised to swing,
but their shaded head tilts toward the end of your bat,
then the floor.
Their hold on the wrench loosens.
and you only see your companion as they're falling to the floor.
In the dark,
a long, heavy wrench raised at you,
trying to see through the dark to make any part of them out.
A loose tie hanging from their neck,
a glint of glass in the light,
and the wrench.
They're poised to swing,
but their shaded head tilts toward the end of your bat,
then the floor.
Their hold on the wrench loosens.
POLKA DOT: I-
Your companion speaks up from the ground, their wind-up legs still cycling.
I remember-
I remember-
D?????: W-what are you waiting for?!
D?????: GET THEM-
You take a step back from the body, from D??????, the ground feeling as if it warps underneath your flippers.
POLKA DOT: I'm so-
POLKA DOT: I'm sor-
Their gaze holds at the floor,
only for it to pop back up towards you with a sudden shift.
A downward swipe of the wrench comes fast,
seemingly aiming at your skull,
only for it to arc further down towards your right arm.
You cry out as the metal connects- while your body only physically dents in response, it feels like something shatters, failing to keep your grip on the bat completely.
It falls into the mass of plastic shards and swirling, horrible liquid pools, and you collapse, looking up at your assailant with wet eyes.
It takes a few blinks to realize they've already moved away from you,
kneeling to the toy on the mattress.
There's a loud BANG before you can react or reach out-
One you've heard many times before.
The stranger staggers and turns around,
raising the wrench up and tossing it at the wind-up toy.
It makes contact with their head, your metallic partner collapsing with the impact.
You're frozen.
It wasn't supposed to go like this.
The standing figure is shaking,
now clutching their side as their body hitches.
They turn back around to face the figure on the floor,
only for the both of you to realize that they're gone,
presumably left at some point during the chaos.
You see their head turn to you one last time.
only for it to pop back up towards you with a sudden shift.
A downward swipe of the wrench comes fast,
seemingly aiming at your skull,
only for it to arc further down towards your right arm.
You cry out as the metal connects- while your body only physically dents in response, it feels like something shatters, failing to keep your grip on the bat completely.
It falls into the mass of plastic shards and swirling, horrible liquid pools, and you collapse, looking up at your assailant with wet eyes.
It takes a few blinks to realize they've already moved away from you,
kneeling to the toy on the mattress.
There's a loud BANG before you can react or reach out-
One you've heard many times before.
The stranger staggers and turns around,
raising the wrench up and tossing it at the wind-up toy.
It makes contact with their head, your metallic partner collapsing with the impact.
You're frozen.
It wasn't supposed to go like this.
The standing figure is shaking,
now clutching their side as their body hitches.
They turn back around to face the figure on the floor,
only for the both of you to realize that they're gone,
presumably left at some point during the chaos.
You see their head turn to you one last time.
POLKA DOT: I-
POLKA DOT: I didn't-
They don't stick around to listen.
They're gone before you know it.
Leaving you
alone with-
The key turns.
They're gone before you know it.
Leaving you
alone with-
The key turns.
D?????: ...you're going to have to explain this to Sandy.
POLKA DOT: But! It was-
D?????: What, my idea?
D?????: This is for us, Polly!
D?????: You're just as deep in this as I am-
D?????: And if you didn't falter, if you didn't fuck it all up, they wouldn't have gotten away.
They mutter something under their breath that you can't catch.
Anger starts to burn in your chest.
Anger starts to burn in your chest.
POLKA DOT: What? What is it?!
D?????: ...nevermind.
They start walking up the steps to the safehouse, pausing on the veranda.
D?????: You're just going to slow me down.
You can't react.
Piercing, stabbing pain.
It's dark.
Winding, tightening, more and more.
And then it's too bright.
You stand in front of a staircase,
looking at the door it leads to.
The bottom floor of this
home you don't recognize is
bright in so many colors that it
hurts your eyes.
Too much vibration.
Exhausting.
The upstairs door opens,
then shuts.
Before you know it,
you're at the top of the stairs,
standing in front of it.
You're nervous,
tense for reasons you don't understand.
You open the door anyway.
The room is dark.
Anything could be hiding.
Any outcome for you.
Probably bad.
Afraid.
Horizontal beams of orange light pierce in from the blinds in the window,
washing over everything in the room,
tainting all of it with stripes of color.
Thin, but
enough to be noticeable.
The first thing you notice.
Something tells you to stay anyway.
Your eyes adjust.
A giant bed at the center,
a closet,
a fan in the corner.
Roots have sprouted up through the far side of the bed,
thorned and twisting.
Your legs don't want to carry you anymore.
The jagged roots look sharp.
You don't want more holes.
But you're tired.
You need to lie down.
Carefully,
carefully,
you slide up into the bed,
keeping distance from the thorns,
wincing as you expect to be punctured.
But it never comes.
It's almost more frightening that way.
One wrong twitch, and More Holes.
But it never comes.
You listen to the cool wind whistling outside.
The fan in the corner blows across you.
You hear the tiny, occasional click as the fan switches direction.
Eyes close.
And open.
There's a skylight above you.
But,
the roots have unfurled the next time you look.
Less sharp.
No longer leafless at the top, either.
You see a little greenery growing.
And you look through the skylight above you.
And you look at the moon.
And you watch the stars glow in the black-blue sky.
You breathe.
You hadn't known your breath was held.
But now,
you breathe.
Relief.
The fan blows something into your view.
Flickering like embers in the light.
Tiny.
Red.
You reach out and catch it.
A petal.
It's fragile,
but it's soft.
You look over in the direction it came from.
The far side of the room.
Two tiny buds have sprouted from the greenery.
One red.
The other-
A click, once, and then twice, something getting caught-
Surrounded by plastic trees, holding a familiar hand. There's other figures around you, but you can't make them out.
Just hers.
Piercing, stabbing pain.
It's dark.
Winding, tightening, more and more.
And then it's too bright.
You stand in front of a staircase,
looking at the door it leads to.
The bottom floor of this
home you don't recognize is
bright in so many colors that it
hurts your eyes.
Too much vibration.
Exhausting.
The upstairs door opens,
then shuts.
Before you know it,
you're at the top of the stairs,
standing in front of it.
You're nervous,
tense for reasons you don't understand.
You open the door anyway.
The room is dark.
Anything could be hiding.
Any outcome for you.
Probably bad.
Afraid.
Horizontal beams of orange light pierce in from the blinds in the window,
washing over everything in the room,
tainting all of it with stripes of color.
Thin, but
enough to be noticeable.
The first thing you notice.
Something tells you to stay anyway.
Your eyes adjust.
A giant bed at the center,
a closet,
a fan in the corner.
Roots have sprouted up through the far side of the bed,
thorned and twisting.
Your legs don't want to carry you anymore.
The jagged roots look sharp.
You don't want more holes.
But you're tired.
You need to lie down.
Carefully,
carefully,
you slide up into the bed,
keeping distance from the thorns,
wincing as you expect to be punctured.
But it never comes.
It's almost more frightening that way.
One wrong twitch, and More Holes.
But it never comes.
You listen to the cool wind whistling outside.
The fan in the corner blows across you.
You hear the tiny, occasional click as the fan switches direction.
Eyes close.
And open.
There's a skylight above you.
But,
the roots have unfurled the next time you look.
Less sharp.
No longer leafless at the top, either.
You see a little greenery growing.
And you look through the skylight above you.
And you look at the moon.
And you watch the stars glow in the black-blue sky.
You breathe.
You hadn't known your breath was held.
But now,
you breathe.
Relief.
The fan blows something into your view.
Flickering like embers in the light.
Tiny.
Red.
You reach out and catch it.
A petal.
It's fragile,
but it's soft.
You look over in the direction it came from.
The far side of the room.
Two tiny buds have sprouted from the greenery.
One red.
The other-
A click, once, and then twice, something getting caught-
Surrounded by plastic trees, holding a familiar hand. There's other figures around you, but you can't make them out.
Just hers.
CROSSBONE: Hehehe...
CROSSBONE: You said you wouldn't be scared of the dark.
POLKA DOT: I'm not!
CROSSBONE: You're squeezing my hand!
POLKA DOT: That's not-
POLKA DOT: I'm just gay, alright!
Someone's foot skids behind you,
pushing into the dirt and dragging.
You turn to check.
pushing into the dirt and dragging.
You turn to check.
POLKA DOT: Stone in the way-?
Just in time to see them stumble,
and fall to their knees,
trying and failing to catch themself.
You can't see them.
The trees cut lines through the moonlight,
keeping them in shadow,
you can only see the shape of them,
as they collapse onto their side and writhe.
and fall to their knees,
trying and failing to catch themself.
You can't see them.
The trees cut lines through the moonlight,
keeping them in shadow,
you can only see the shape of them,
as they collapse onto their side and writhe.
POLKA DOT: Hey, wha-
Before you can move to check on them, your wing-hand is caught in a vice grip, enough to bend the rubber.
You whip around and see Cross' face glitching, pixels spreading out in distorted slices.
You whip around and see Cross' face glitching, pixels spreading out in distorted slices.
POLKA DOT: Cr- W-willow?!
CROSSBONE: I- It's-
She staggers back, clutching her head-
You watch as it cracks like an egg, wide open, from the left side of her face to the right.
All you can do is freeze in horror as her hands burst, plastic replaced with glowing flame. The halves of her head fall like a hood around her neck, a horned canine skull unfurling. She's getting bigger, towering over you, wings spreading and growing large enough to surround her body. Her chain tail lashes and shifts, splitting into three, the round bit at the end turning into spade shaped spikes-
You watch as it cracks like an egg, wide open, from the left side of her face to the right.
All you can do is freeze in horror as her hands burst, plastic replaced with glowing flame. The halves of her head fall like a hood around her neck, a horned canine skull unfurling. She's getting bigger, towering over you, wings spreading and growing large enough to surround her body. Her chain tail lashes and shifts, splitting into three, the round bit at the end turning into spade shaped spikes-
CROSSBONE: I...
POLKA DOT: H-how do I help-
CROSSBONE: D...don't worry...about me...
She barely manages to point back behind you.
CROSSBONE: Knew...it was coming for me-
CROSSBONE: But not for-
A sickening crack echoes from behind you.
You swivel,
finding the figure still wreathed in shadow,
its form distorting as it begins to turn bright red.
Some shape unfurls,
but it's all blurry,
as the red color is growing more pronounced across it,
brighter and stronger.
A vague approximation of a head pushes forward enough to leave shadow,
only to stay in some incomprehensible shape.
There's a sound,
something cutting through air at top speeds,
whistling-
THWACK.
Loud enough to nearly knock you backwards,
something's in your eyes,
you wipe the red away, stinging,
and gaze down to find-
The head
popped open
Colors
as before
in the damp remains of the exploded skull,
you find a heavy wrench-
Dug so hard into it during its pulverizing plunge
to have stuck itself into the ground,
standing tall
red in your eyes
on your hands
your hands-
Holding the bat.
The meteor's ticking, approaching faster and faster.
You blink and try to shake off the blurry, bleary feeling- you feel like you've run a marathon, everything cascading into this moment, right here, right now-
A rumbling pulls your attention away,
turning your attention as a tower - just like yours - rises up into place not far from you
a figure at its top.
Obscured by an unnatural dark
clutching the wrench
stained with red at its end.
Somehow,
you know their featureless head is staring at You.
You can't find the words.
Every part of you wants to apologize, but there's no time, the meteor's coming straight for you-
Your hands are losing their grip.
The figure breaks into a sprint,
raising the wrench as they get closer and closer to you.
All you can do is brace yourself, holding the bat out like a miserable, useless shield.
You ready yourself for impact.
Your eyes close.
There's a slick noise of shoes sliding on glass.
You swivel,
finding the figure still wreathed in shadow,
its form distorting as it begins to turn bright red.
Some shape unfurls,
but it's all blurry,
as the red color is growing more pronounced across it,
brighter and stronger.
A vague approximation of a head pushes forward enough to leave shadow,
only to stay in some incomprehensible shape.
There's a sound,
something cutting through air at top speeds,
whistling-
THWACK.
Loud enough to nearly knock you backwards,
something's in your eyes,
you wipe the red away, stinging,
and gaze down to find-
The head
popped open
Colors
as before
in the damp remains of the exploded skull,
you find a heavy wrench-
Dug so hard into it during its pulverizing plunge
to have stuck itself into the ground,
standing tall
red in your eyes
on your hands
your hands-
Holding the bat.
The meteor's ticking, approaching faster and faster.
You blink and try to shake off the blurry, bleary feeling- you feel like you've run a marathon, everything cascading into this moment, right here, right now-
A rumbling pulls your attention away,
turning your attention as a tower - just like yours - rises up into place not far from you
a figure at its top.
Obscured by an unnatural dark
clutching the wrench
stained with red at its end.
Somehow,
you know their featureless head is staring at You.
You can't find the words.
Every part of you wants to apologize, but there's no time, the meteor's coming straight for you-
Your hands are losing their grip.
The figure breaks into a sprint,
raising the wrench as they get closer and closer to you.
All you can do is brace yourself, holding the bat out like a miserable, useless shield.
You ready yourself for impact.
Your eyes close.
There's a slick noise of shoes sliding on glass.
????: ...Polka Dot.
????: Are you alright?
You look up, shaking.
Roulette stands over you,
leaning down a little to check on you.
It's wielding your claw hammer in both hands.
Roulette stands over you,
leaning down a little to check on you.
It's wielding your claw hammer in both hands.
ROULETTE: I know you aren't ready, no one could be.
ROULETTE: But I need to know if you can try.
POLKA DOT: I-
POLKA DOT: What are you doing here? It's not safe!
It stands, processing for half a moment.
ROULETTE: ...If the other option is obliteration-
ROULETTE: -being burned down into scraps...
ROULETTE: ...Then there is no choice I have but to try.
ROULETTE: You can sit this out if you need to.
ROULETTE: But I think our best chance is together.
You hesitate.
Your wing shakes-
But you raise your bat again.
Your wing shakes-
But you raise your bat again.
POLKA DOT: Okay.
POLKA DOT: Let's do this.
It takes a few steps beside you,
raising your hammer in the same stance,
with the opposite hand - the two of you across from each other.
The meteor looms closer.
You might be melting.
You can't quite tell.
Roulette's chassis is brewing smoke.
The whirring is overwhelming, every turn of the key sending shock waves down your back-
It's your turn to wind up now, readying for impact despite the pain.
raising your hammer in the same stance,
with the opposite hand - the two of you across from each other.
The meteor looms closer.
You might be melting.
You can't quite tell.
Roulette's chassis is brewing smoke.
The whirring is overwhelming, every turn of the key sending shock waves down your back-
It's your turn to wind up now, readying for impact despite the pain.
ROULETTE: ...if...
ROULETTE: ...if I don't make it through this...
It wipes its forehead, and lowers its stance.
ROULETTE: Tell Devo-
ROULETTE: ...
ROULETTE: ...tell him not to look at what's left.
POLKA DOT: Don't...think like that.
POLKA DOT: We're getting through this- together, like you said!
The meteor's here.
It says something else.
The meteor is too loud.
Roulette swings.
You match its movements.
You squeeze your eyes shut as both weapons make contact, the heat boiling both of you at this point.
It's so much pressure, it's too much, you're going to die here-
The whirring stops.
No more turns.
You wake up in a cold sweat, eyes wide open.
...you don't tell Tim or Cross about this one.
It says something else.
The meteor is too loud.
Roulette swings.
You match its movements.
You squeeze your eyes shut as both weapons make contact, the heat boiling both of you at this point.
It's so much pressure, it's too much, you're going to die here-
The whirring stops.
No more turns.
You wake up in a cold sweat, eyes wide open.
...you don't tell Tim or Cross about this one.
...
.....
Another week passes.
Your sleep has been dreamless, to the point where it scares you a little. Work is good, your friends are great, and you've got a regular work schedule now. Monday through Thursday, weekends off.
You can tell Cross is restless, though. Something's on her mind, every time you're together.
What do you ask?
.....
Another week passes.
Your sleep has been dreamless, to the point where it scares you a little. Work is good, your friends are great, and you've got a regular work schedule now. Monday through Thursday, weekends off.
You can tell Cross is restless, though. Something's on her mind, every time you're together.
What do you ask?
![[Image: TCP%20customs.png]](https://pile.randimg.net/3/13/190751/TCP%20customs.png)
