Loose Threads Episode 6- Tied Noose

Voltareon2012

PIKACHU
Pikachu sniffs through the building. Everything is covered in neon lights and screens. He stares at one that said something he cannot read.
Images pound through his head. A battlefield. Cheering his name, though he can’t make out what it really is. A friend who’d give her life for him… who was she?
A bright glow. He clutches his ears. The glow pounds again like a heartbeat.Who are you?A brighter glow.Who are you? Do I know you?It shines like the sun.Talk to me! Who were you to me?!“(Who am I?!)”
Pikachu’s eyes burst open. He heaves breaths, looking around.
“Are you… okay?” Sonic asks. “You seem kinda… ehh.”
Pikachu’s fur bolts on end before he smooths it out and snaps, “Pika! (I’m fine!)” Sonic throws up his hands. “Geez, back off! You just seemed a little out of it. And more importantly, I found someone.” He gestures to a tall, Inkay-like person with yellow tentacles for hair. In her arms is an Eevee, who hangs completely limp. Sonic shrugs. “You know either of these two?” Pikachu shakes his head. The girl sets the Eevee down.
“Do you have any idea how to help her?” she asks. “She… lost her soul or something… she might be…” she strokes the fur. Sonic crosses his arms. “…ah. Can’t say I know what to do for a lost soul.” Pikachu stares the Eevee, her legs curled up toward her and her tail flimsy. Sonic leans down and feels around the Eevee’s heart. He pulls back his hand after a moment. “I… don’t think there’s anything I can do.”
There’s a long moment of silence. The girl sniffles.
Then the door breaks down. All of them jump. Running a blurry set of feet is a strange person with a cup for a head. He comes to a screeching halt next to them and starts panting for breath. The girl whips out a giant blaster-like thing. The cup-headed person lifts his hand. “Just lemme catch my breath.” He catches a sudden gust of wind and swallows it whole. “Whew. Much better.”
The girl keeps her giant blaster trained on him. “You GOT her contract. Why are you back?” Cup-head steps over to her. “Oof, she doesn’t look too good.” The girl points the blaster right between his eyes. “Don’t come anywhere near her!”
Sonic raises his fists. “Hold up, are you a bad guy?”
Cup-head pats a hand to himself. “No! I’m trying to make things right!”
Braid cocks the blaster. “Prove it.”
Cup-head reaches into a nonexistent back pocket and produces a slightly crumpled paper. “There! Give her that!” Sonic snags it and starts reading it. “‘Be it known that Party A, henceforth referred to as The Holder, and Party B, commonly known as ‘Vee’, do enter into this most solemn and binding pact. The purpose of this agreement is simple yet grave: The Holder shall possess, claim, and forever retain ownership of the Signer’s immortal essence, commonly referred to as ‘the soul.’ The Signer agrees, without hesitation or complaint, to surrender said soul in perpetuity. The Holder agrees to safeguard, exploit, or otherwise utilize the soul in any manner, whether for amusement, profit, or anything deemed fit. Open return of this contract the signer’s soul might possibly be restored.’” Sonic ruffles the paper. “Seems legit.”
Braid snatches the paper and shakes it rapidly. “How do you use this clammed thing, Cuphead?!” Pikachu makes a mental note that the cup-head’s name is in fact, Cuphead. Cuphead facepalms and wipes his hand down his face, dragging some of his face with his hand until he lets go, then it bounces back into place. “Give it here!” He snatches the paper back, than holds his hand over it dramatically, wiggling his fingers, then shoves his whole arm into the paper like it’s a magic portal and pulls out what looks like Vee, but ghostly blue, with two paws crossed over her chest as she sleeps, and a cartoon pink heart beating inside. Cuphead shoves the soul right into Vee’s body rather forcefully, then slaps her across the face. Braid snaps, “HEY! You could hurt her!”
“Everyone needs a little whack back into consciousness when their soul gets taken out. It’s happened to me before too! Several times!” Braid gets ready to snaps something else when Vee coughs. She gasps a breath before finally her soul and body fully overlap. Then she bursts awake. “Arceus, I had the worst nightmares…” Cuphead says, ‘see, it worked’ but Braid doesn’t pay him any mind, hugging Vee tightly. “Oh my cod, that scared me so bad! Are you okay?”
Vee curls up when Braid sets her back down on her back. “Physically I’m alright. But those nightmares were terrible… I dreamed that my best friend was caught by a mob… they were yelling and wanted him dead, even though we helped so many people…”
“That doesn’t sound very fair,” Pikachu puts in, barely noticing he isn’t speaking in just ‘pika-pika’. Sonic points at both of them. “Why can they talk?” Cuphead pulls out a Pokedex and shrugs. “This doodad lets them speak English. The rest of the time its ‘vee-vee-voi’.”
Vee turns to Pikachu. “You’re right, it’s not fair at all. We must’ve helped each of them with something or other… but almost every one of them wanted to kill…” She suddenly looks him in the eye. “…you!”
“M-ack!” Pikachu doesn’t even get a word out before the Eevee suddenly tackles him to the ground. Sonic zips over. “Hold on, what’re youuu… oh. Geez, now I feel like I’m intruding on something.” He turns away. Cuphead turns his head around backward. “I dunno what I’m not supposed to be seeing, but I’m not seeing it!”
Vee licks one of Pikachu’s ears again viciously. “When did you get so dirty?! You’ve got scratches all over! Who were you fighting?! I’m so glad you’re alive and I found you again!” She kisses his cheek, gets electrocuted on accident, before doing it again like nothing happened, despite her fur sticking up on all ends. Pikachu can’t say anything. He’s winded from the tackle-hug, and his face is covered in her neck fur half the time. Finally he manages, “Can… you… get off me?” Vee leaps off of him. Her fur is floofed to the point that she just looks like a fluffy brown-and-white ball with ears, tiny feet, and a face. She shakes herself to get most of it back to normal. “I missed you so much, Pikan!”
“Is that my name?” Pikachu asks, wiping his cheek and patting down his ears. Vee’s face falls. “You’re joking, right?”
Sonic zips over. “Um, sorry to have to tell you, but… he’s lost his memory. He probably doesn’t recognize you.”
“What?” Vee half-whispers, almost teary. Pikachu wonders how he had so close a friend that she’s moved to tears almost instantly just by being told this.
Cuphead turns his head back around. “Wow, drama!” Braid elbows him so hard his arm bends into his body. “Ow…” He pops it back out again and gives Braid a dirty look.
Vee nuzzles herself against Pikachu. “Nothing? You don’t remember anything? Not our rescue team? Not all the people we helped? Not the little house I gave you? Not…” she sniffles. “…me?”
Pikachu feels strange at her touch being so clearly normal to her, but unfamiliar to him. “…all I’ve remembered is this glowing light. It shone in my face, like it was talking, but I couldn’t hear…”
Vee gasps. “You would talk about those dreams…” She thrusts herself at him again. “Maybe you can remember!”
Cuphead watches, tapping his foot and rubbing his chin. “Dang, didn’t think this adventure was gonna be part romance.” Braid kicks him. “Quit that!” Cuphead turns toward the camera. “Anyway, time to get on with the show!” Braid yells, “WHO THE FISH ARE YOU TALKING TO?!”

CUPHEAD
Cuphead walks through the casino. “Hell-o-o-o-o! I did it! All seventeen!” His feet tap against the solid floor with an echoing sound. Cuphead throws up his hands. “Y’know, if you’re gonna have me go through all this, you could at least show up on time!”
“Oh, I’m here!” The Devil bursts from the floor. “HELLO, Cuphead! I knew you’d take care of that fox. Almost too easy, compared to what you’ve seen, eh?”
“Whatever. Gimmie me and Mugsie’s contracts back, and I’ll hand over your seventeen!”
“Let’s see them.”
Cuphead reaches into his pocket and fishes out a crumply wad of papers. “Ta-da!”
The Devil snatches them and counts them one by one. “…fifteen… sixteen… seventeen! Excellent! Then here we have eighteen, nineteen!”
Cuphead’s eyes grow to giant size. “Hey, those are me and Mugsie’s!”
“I’m going to offer you one last deal, little cup,” The Devil grins, leaning down toward him. “Join my crew.”
“Huh?”
“Join me! You’re heartless enough to exchange seventeen souls for two! You’re strong enough to best some of the most powerful bosses around! You’d be perfect!” The Devil gives a flourish, spewing flames about.
Cuphead steps back. “Join… you?”
The Devil cackles. “Well, did you have something better to do? Mugman can, too! Anyone else you want, even! Thanks to that power in your magic fingertips.”
Cuphead realizes what he means. “Oh, no no no. Elder Kettle told me never to deal with the Devil. I messed up once, and won’t again!”
The Devil frowns. “Perhaps you think you’re being a hero.” He stands to his full height, looming over Cuphead. “You’ve never been any sort of hero! In fact, you’re ruthless and cold! Didn’t even think about exchanging seventeen souls for two right up until the end!” He sneers. “Even I think that’s just a tad cruel.”
Cuphead points his finger at The Devil. “Okay then, I’ll take them all back! Right here, right now!” A light blue glow starts forming.
The Devil swings first, smashing his trident into him. He spins a blue gemstone that looks the size of a bug to his enormous size on a fingertip. “If that’s what you want to do,” he cackles. “Oh, wait! You can’t as long as you’re bound to me!” The Devil snaps. Cuphead’s soul starts to separate from his body. He tries to clutch it inside. “Woah, hey, what’re you doing?! You can’t do that!”
“As long as I have your contract, I can do whatever I please! You sold your soul to ME! No turning back now!”
“Yes… I… CAN!” Cuphead shoves the cartoon heart that threatened to pound its way out inside. He leaps into the air and sends a massive blast. The Devil twists out of the way. “Whoa! Close one.”
Cuphead leaps on him and peppers the back of his head with a spray of purple spikes. “Hand them over!” The Devil throws him to the ground. “QUIT THAT!”
Cuphead vanishes in a puff of smoke, before reappearing above him at his side, stretching out his mouth, sticking his tongue out (which whips about, entirely loose), and crossing his eyes. “On your left!” The Devil fires a golden blast from his trident, but Cuphead vanishes again onto his right shoulder. “Boy-hee, your breath reeks. Ever consider mints?” The Devil swings his hand to swat Cuphead, only for him to parry it away and fire a spray of peashooter bullets at his eye. “How do you like that?!” The Devil shakes himself, sending Cuphead falling toward the ground. “Woah-woah-woah!” He smashes against the ground and suddenly finds himself pinned between two points of the Devil’s trident.
The Devil sneers down at him. “Nice try, little cup. But even if you stood the ghost of a chance before, I’m stronger than ever in this world, and in this casino!” Cuphead goes limp, body caught perfectly. “Any last words?” The Devil cackles, “For Mugsie and old man Kettle?”
“…psych.”
The Devil squints. “Wha? Speak up!”
Cuphead’s soul bursts from his body, growing enormous muscles and spinning straight and the Devil. “PSYCH!” The soul wallops the big black brute in the face, making him stumble back. “GYAH!” His hands loosen. Cuphead’s body wriggles free of the trident, and mimicking movement, the soul rips a few papers from his hand. The Devil screams, “NO! THOSE ARE MINE!” Cuphead turns tail and runs, feet becoming a blur of nonsense as a cloud of dust emerges behind him. The Devil trains a blast on him. He aims just right for a blow to make the cup spilled milk.
Suddenly a strange slash goes through him. “W-w-w-who-o-o?!”
He becomes dust. A human figure walks out, carrying a thick sword. They sheath the sword and taste the freedom.
Heartless.

KIRBY
Kirby watches the horrid creature emerge. It looks like a dead animal’s skull, with hollow eyes, but it moves, a horrid show of animated death. The sky rapidly turns orange before sinking into a terrible red like the color of fresh blood.
Kirby does not like this.
Luigi steps forward. Rayman swings his fist back. “Alright, alright, we can fight this thing, can’t we?”
It roars, and the world cracks. It comes toward them and opens its mouth wide, seemingly growing bigger and bigger to swallow all of the island they stand on. The whole world tilts, plunging them toward the sky below.
Kirby swallows air and floats in the air. Rayman’s hands shoot out and grabs one of his feet, and the other grabs Luigi before he plummets down below. They hang in midair, suspended, for a long moment. Down below, they watch the skeleton’s mouth close. Kirby bounces in the air and lands on the now sideways world and burps to release all the air.
Rayman dusts himself off. “Well. That could’ve been worse.”

Luigi sputters, “Wha?! Aytapotato!!! Mamma mia!”
Rayman shrugs. “Sure, we got swallowed by a giant monstrous skeletal head that defies reality. But we aren’t dead.”
The mouth rumbles, and the whole world falls toward a black hole like space where its throat should be. Kirby yells adorably as he plummets into the hole.
They float around in a weird space. It’s nothing but black. There seems to be infinite in every direction. An infinite number of broken islands- starting to repeat when they look fall enough. Rayman turns himself upright. “Now we might be dead.”
The head emerges from the islands, its jaw creaking as it moves up and down.
“Are you… laughing?!” Rayman snaps. He swings his fist at it, which doesn’t reach. So he grabs onto one of the islands in attempts to throw himself at it. Kirby follows, walking on nothing.
Rayman finally makes it there and swings every blow he can at it. It doesn’t even bother to stop him. Each blow does nothing to its shell.
Kirby walks closer.
Rayman tries to smash into it. Nothing works.
Kirby walks over and opens his mouth.
A massive inhaling sound fills the infinite. Kirby strains slightly. The skeleton head shrieks.
Kirby swallows. Rayman and Luigi stare. Kirby chirps cheerily, “Poyo!”
Then the entire infinite disintegrates itself.

COSMO
Cosmo walks into her old room on the Blue Typhoon. The Knight follows behind. She sits down on her old bed and sighs. The Knight stiffly stands in place in front of her. She giggles. “You don’t need my permission to sit down, little ghost.”
The Knight sits on a beanbag chair.
Cosmo fiddles. “I feel like… everything I remember is starting to slip.”
The Knight glances up.
Cosmo picks up a photo that seems to be of her and Tails. “I… remember Tails. I remember all of them. But only… vaguely. It’s like… I remember everything I know about them… but no memories. The few memories there are, are hazy.”
The Knight turns down to a little notebook he draws in with a feather pen.
Cosmo continues, “And I don’t get why I’m… here. I…” She curls herself up, lying down on the bed now. “Shouldn’t I be dead?”
The Knight looks up at her. Cosmo looks back. “It feels strange, little ghost.”
The Knight scribbles a little more.
Cosmo turns onto her back. “And I’m a little scared that…”
She breathes shakily. The Knight looks at her with hollow eyes.
“…If I don’t see them again…”
The Knight doesn’t take his black holes off her glittering blue eyes.
“…I’m scared I’m going to forget about them.”
The Knight bows down, looking down toward his book.
Cosmo sniffles. She wipes her eyes, but tears start to fall anyway. “…I… I need to see them again before I forget.”
The Knight sees her tears and walks over. He lifts up the end of his cloak and wipes them off. Cosmo giggles, still crying. “You’re so sweet for someone who doesn’t talk.”
Cosmo picks him up and clutches him against her, crying onto his helmet. “I’m scared, little ghost.” The Knight doesn’t move and lets himself stay. He stares up at the one withered rose on the left side of her head and then looks down and away.

FRISK
The glitching Darkrai is confused. It tries again and again to find the little girl’s nightmare and comes up empy.

Frisk draws her knife, wondering what kind of strange monster this is. This run through the Underground has been incredibly interesting. The monster shrieks. Words echo in her head.
where… are… your… nightmares? Frisk prepares to attack.
Look how many sins you’ve committed… look at every heartless kill and mindless RESET… look at every swing of the knife… Frisk leaps up and brings the knife down, making a red arc.
Why aren’t they nightmares?! Frisk won. Frisk got 15 EXP and 5 G.
Nia, Ralsei, and Midna fall to the ground, released from the weird bunches of shadows holding them. Ralsei gets up, then helps Nia up. “Are you all alright? What was that?”
Midna floats up, clutching her arm with her other hand. “…Frisk seems fine.”
Frisk stares at the three blankly.
Nia says, “None of you… saw what was going on in there, did you?”
Midna looks confused. “Hold on, why should you care?”
Ralsei clears his throat. “That creature was showing us all our nightmares. We each saw something different. Whatever you saw, Nia, we didn’t. And we won’t pry!”
Nia rubs her arm. Midna smirks with a bit of wild look in her eye. “Hey, fluffy. What was your nightmare?”
Ralsei flinches. Nia hisses at Midna. “You jerk! What’s your problem?!” Midna snaps back, “What’s your problem? You’re the one who got embarrassed we might’ve seen yours! What, afraid of spiders or something?” Nia growls. “Are ya asking for this? What’s wrong with privacy?! You’re just cracking at everyone else to avoid talking about yours!” Midna laughs coldly. “Oh, I could say the SAME about you!”
Ralsei says softly, but loud enough to break their argument, “Stop fighting. Midna, it showed me things that I never stop thinking about.” His eyes are tired. “Is that enough?”
Midna tchs and waves a hand. “Whatever. I don’t really care.”
Nia picks up Frisk. “What kind of nightmares would that monster have shown a little kid? Hope you weren’t afraid of monsters under the bed or something?” Ralsei mutters in the background, ‘hey, I’m a monster…’ Midna snaps back, ‘shut up!’
Frisk stares back at Nia. She reaches in her pocket, hold the knife handle and think back through RESETs.

“timelines stopping and starting… jumping back and forth…” Sans mutters as he avoids a swing of the knife. He closes his eyes, then opens to all black. “that’s all your fault, isn’t it?” A sea of bones bursts from the ground. Frisk leaps from platform to platform, finally leaping down onto Sans from above. Sans dodges again. “y’know, nothing about the surface really appeals anymore.” Frisk charges and throws the knife at him. He sidesteps again with a wink. The knife zips back to Frisk’s hand. Sans shrugs. “we’ll just end up right back here, won’t we? thanks to you, of course.” Frisk’s SOUL bounces in perfect timing to the rhythm of the bones Sans throws from the sides, and makes another slash. Sans slides back, unharmed. “all i know is, seeing what you’ve done… i can’t afford to just stand to the side anymore.” He begins to sweat. “heh… heheh… you, uh, really hate me, don’t you?” Frisk tightens her grip on the knife. This is attempt number 37. This is further into the fight than ever. Maybe this is it. A sudden rumble comes through everything. Sans closes his eyes. “heheh…” A crack opens in the floor. Sans opens his eyes and watches Frisk fall. “see you six feet underground, kid.”

SONIC.EXE
Sonic.exe jolts in pain and holds his eye. A string has just been fully severed from his control. “wHaT wAs ThAt?” He can’t see the otherworld heroes anymore. “HoW aRe ThEy…”
He clutches his head suddenly. Glitches run through everything. Someone is breaking in. He mutters, “ÐęÃťĦçØðĘ.” It stops. He vanishes in a flutter of light.

Someone pounds the table. “No! Dangit…”

Voltareon2012

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Oh, and @RitattakDiva, you might like this…