Chapter Text
O soft embalmer of the still midnight,
Shutting, with careful fingers and benign,
Our gloom-pleas’d eyes, embower’d from the light,
Enshaded in forgetfulness divine …
...
“Wake up, sleeping beauty.”
You mumbled something incoherent, tossing away from the voice. Your brain turning on with the swiftness of a turtle.
The voice sighed, and suddenly the warmth wrapped around you was quickly removed, exposing your body to the cold air.
You jerked up, your mind was numb but you still swore. Why was it so damn cold??
Your eyes suddenly adjusted to the light. The room was entirely black, ceiling and carpet included. Large and spacious, that smelled vaguely of a victoria secret cologne. Besides you was a blond figure, wrapped in a minty green bathrobe.
The boy stared at you with an annoying smirk. You stared back, frazzled eyes wide in shock.
“Breakfast is re-”
You interrupted him with a kick straight to the throat. Without any hesitation you jumped onto him, pinning him down onto the floor and lifting his surprised face to meet yours by his blonde bangs.
He coughed violently onto you, flecks of spit falling onto your exposed neck.
“Who are you?!” You quickly swallowed, acutely aware that your voice was much higher than it should be. “What are you-”
His pale face was slightly flushed. “Rosie, what the hell are you doing?” He shouted horsley.
You pushed his head into the floor with as much force as you could. “ Who is Rosie ?? Explain what the fuck is going on you little creep.” Your wrist bend awkwardly. “WHY AM I SO SKINNY?!” Your once normal looking arm looked like it had been whittled down, like a barbie doll that hadn’t eaten in weeks. How long had you been out??
He thrashed under you. You grabbed his neck with your free, equally boney hand, and lightly squeezed. “Get choked out or explain. ” You glanced around. This place was oddly clean for what you could only assume was a prison cell for kidnapped teens. You blinked heavily.
“...Am I wearing mascara?” You lifted his head up and slammed it onto the ground again, hearing your fist rip out some of his hair. “Did you put makeup on me you freak?! You think that’s funny? You think i’m just gonna sit here and let you take advantage of me? I’ll rip your tiny nuts off your stupid body .”
Suddenly you froze, hearing heavy footsteps approaching. There was a door on the opposite wall (with a My Chemical romance poster?????). There were others, and judging on the noise they made you knew they were bigger than you. Especially now.
“Yo Ben, what’s taking so long?” Someone called from beyond the closed door.
The guy, Ben, gagged something in response. You released his golden locks and instead pressed your palm flat against his mouth. You didn’t have a plan, but if he called for help it would be two against one.
You leaned down against his weirdly pointy ears, hissing lowly for him to be quiet. He didn’t make a sound. Though he did grow redder.
Did he like having you on top of him? Gross. If the stranger would just leave you could get as far away from this little creep as you could.
For a few tense moments there was just silence. Your heartbeat thudded against your chest, as even your captor watched the light shining from under the door.
“Ben? Ben what are you doing in there?” The voice was clearer now. Raspy, but unmistakably young. A boy, maybe around your age.
You both stayed quiet, Bens hot breath making your hand uncomfortably wet. The metal doorknob lightly rattled, like whoever on the other side was testing it. Unluckily for you, it was unlocked.
“Ben are you-” He paused, then huffed angrily. “Are you doing something to her?! You better not be-”
The door slammed open, bouncing off of the opposite wall with a clatter. There was a hallway, high ceilings and antique looking floor trimmings. Standing in the doorway was a tall, pale boy. Intensely scruffy black hair, white hoodie and-
You jumped, nearly falling backwards against the bedframe. “DUDE WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE?”
It was... gorey , was the best word. Like he had seen the Joker and decided that he wanted his permanent smile, but worse. Something was off about his eyes. Their quizzical expression was undercut by how off-putting large they were.
He stood still, mouth agape slightly, just looking at the position you were in. Oh god, now he knew you were up and kicking. Shit, this guy really looked like a monster. His hoodie was baggy, so you couldn’t tell if he was muscular, but someone crazy enough to walk around like that would definitely have insanity strength.
Finally, he cocked his head angrily. But he wasn’t looking at you.
“Ben...who said you could touch her?”
What?????
...Was he stupid? Unless you were covered in bruises that you couldn’t see, it was clearly the blonde manlet that was getting attacked here. Kinda insulting honestly.
You leaped upwards off of Ben, watching cautiously as the stranger pounced on him in your place. The two began to fight. Apparently forgetting about you.
While they tussled you stood up, still slumped over to avoid their attention. They didn’t seem to notice, the newcomer mercilessly trying to pound his fists into Bens face. Ben was too fast through. He had apparently been hiding some talent for dodging.
You glanced around. They were blocking the door, but maybe there was still hope. You jumped to the large window and slightly drew back the black curtain. Sunlight streamed through, making you squint.
“Jesus christ.” You swore softly. Branches. Thick, jagged branches. You were somewhere in the middle of a dense forest, nothing but trees covering the horizon. And worse, you seemed to be able to see above all of them. You were far up, maybe three, four floors of this huge house beneath you. There was no hope of getting down this way.
A loud thunk echoed out into the hallway as Ben pushed the other into the wall, shaking a shelf of photos. One fell and clunked him on the head almost comically.
You stuck close to the wall as you tried to form a plan. Between you and the door were a few obstacles. A dresser, a makeup desk covered in sparkly lights, a few pairs of shoes strewn about, the brawling boys…. And beyond the door, who knew. This place was huge, there could have been dozens of others, who wouldn’t be so easily distracted.
A confusing, and treacherous situation. But surely in this entire place there was a phone. It might take them forever to get here, but resucing missing kids was the one thing the police were supposed to be good at. Hiding would be hard, but you’d have to try and get help.
You took a breath, steadying yourself. You had to go, now .
You stuck to the wall even closer, tiptoeing over a sneaker. You eyed the pair, out of breath, one now brandishing a knife. Terrifying, but even more of a reason to run.
The mirror was next. You gently stepped around the desk, careful not to rattle the many tubes and palettes that littered the open drawers.
You glanced over at your reflection, and froze.
It took a moment for your brain to fully register what was wrong with this image.
You let out a shrill shriek, in the voice that wasn’t yours.
This wasn’t you. The person in the mirror wasn’t even close to you. Her skin was maybe the same color, but she was so boney...so pretty, but not at the same time. You blinked. She was definitely wearing makeup even though you had just woken up, with heavy lashes and thick eyeliner. Her hair was parted to the side, with one clump of it hanging in her face like an emo girl from ten years ago. The ends were dyed in stripes of hot pink.
You felt dizzy, not even noticing that the two had stopped moving and were watching. You stepped backwards, as if you could run away from the unfamiliar reflection. She stepped backwards too.
It was all too much. The new smell, the weird room, whoever you had become, it was too weird, too dangerously unspecified. You felt your head grow heavy. You knew what was coming, and tried to move towards the bed, instead just collapsing into the wall behind you.
Everything went dark.
…
Explain again what happened to her?
I don’t know, she just fainted! Ben musta done something to her.
Shut up no I didn't. She was freaking out, I tried to wake her up and she just attacked me! Then Jeff came in and stabbed me.
Jeffrey... why ?
Okay to be fair, I thought Ben was touching her. I swore to protect her, didn’t I?
She was choking me, like she didn’t know who I was! I tried to be nice and wake her up for breakfast and suddenly the entire mansion’s at my throat.
L-Literally.
Shut up Toby.
All of you be quiet. I’ll look into her conscious. Something may have happened during her last mission, she doesn’t seem to be in her normal state of mind. Maskey, please escort them out.
Don’t touch me, me and my knife can escort ourselves out.
On the subject of your knife, please stop stabbing people Jeff. I’m the one who has to deal with the wounds you cause.
Just because you have a doctor license doesn’t mean you have to let them live, EJ.
…
Darkness. Or was it light? I don’t think my eyes are working. So it's probably neither.
Where….What was I about to ask?
I’m nowhere aren’t I? First I was somewhere, and then I was somewhere else, now I’m nowhere.
Kinda peaceful. Why was I so panicked about? Was I somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be?
No worries...I’ll just sit here in the dark-light. Rest awhile…
……….
“Hello there child.”
Oooh a mysterious voice. Disembodied, my favorite flavor.
“Do you not recognize me?”
No? I mean I can’t see you,,,so,,,,
“What we’re doing right now is something called intertemporal communication. It’s a way for me to talk despite your unconsciousness.”
Oh sick. So you can hear my thoughts right now? What if I thought of a song? - Need a bucket and a mop for this wet ass pussy -
“All you’re doing is thinking, Rosie. And yes, I can hear the song. Please stop.”
Oh that name! Everyone keeps calling me Rosie. What’s up with that?
“...Excuse me?”
That name, what you just called me. I can’t exactly remember who called me it before, but I know someone did. It’s weird!
“...This is odd. When humans are in a state of unconsciousness I’ve noticed that they can forget the outside world a bit, the underbelly of your brain not entirely in connection with the rest of it. But I’ve never seen someone forget their own name.”
Rosie’s my name? Since when?
“...What do you think your name is, child?”
Y/n. I don’t think I’ve ever been called Rosie in my life .
“...”
Hey why does my forehead feel cold? Also why can I suddenly feel my forehead?
“Oh, I was checking to see if you had a fever. You seem delirious.”
Rude. Am I sick? I don’t feel sick.
“How do you feel?”
Panicky for some reason. Sleepy. Kinda hungry.
“...Okay. We’re going to do a little exercise, alright? I’m going to have you imagine something.”
What are you a therapist? Because I kinda need one.
“No, I’m more of a god among mortals. Anyways, I want you to imagine yourself. Even if it’s just pictures you’ve taken of yourself, or the color of your hair, or the house you grew up in. Anything that shapes the way you perceive yourself.”
Oh, okay, that’s easy. Let’s see,,,,, I think I got a few things. It’s like making a pinterest board, but of me. Is this what you were looking for?
“...Ah. I had assumed those are very foreign things to you. You... you aren’t Rosie at all, are you?”
Probably not. I’m Y/n, remember?
“Well then. Y/n, you are in a body that is not your own. I don’t know how this happened, but it did. I’ll let you rest, and hopefully you’ll awaken soon without the same reaction. Then we can find a way to get her back.”
Sounds good. Oh, do you have any coffee?
“Goodnight, Y/n.”
I’ll take that as a no. See you later, mysterious voice!