Child of the Multiverse: Chapter 2

Chapter 2

https://youtu.be/Z9-UjagkUHI

With scraped, bloody knees I rose to my feet after what seemed like hours. Whimpering, I brushed rocks out of my knees and glanced up at the sky. I had been outside all day and the sun, my one beacon of hope and comfort, was starting to set. I wrapped my arms around myself and slowly began to walk with no destination in mind, guilt and fear clawing at me as I dragged my feet. I felt afraid of my situation, unsure if anyone or anything outside would leap out of the woods and attack me. I felt guilty that the other children were still trapped by that Hypno and I hadn’t been able to do a thing to save them. I was a mess.

“Is anyone out there?” I mentally called out, wishing deep down the strange voice I heard from before, the one who had set me free from Hypno’s control, would speak to me again and tell me what to do. I craved for someone, anyone, to appear and help me…

…but I was quickly learning that the world was cold and cruel—as if my Murder Game experience hadn’t taught me that already. Not all strangers were going to be kind to me like Sir Sans, Sir Papyrus, Miss Ryan, or Sir Minato.

I squinted, watching as two men appeared out of the woods. They dressed in all black and wore funny white hats, azure sideburns visible beneath them. For the most part, I couldn't really see what they looked like either; they wore bandanas over the lower-halves of their faces. While my instincts told me not to speak with strangers, another part of me knew I couldn't stay alone outside all night. So, hesitantly, I approached them.

"P-Please can you help me? I'm lost," I whimpered, looking at them both with my pitiful blue eyes.

"Yo, yo, yo, what do we have here B?" one of the men said with a snicker, clearly unsympathetic to me.

"I dunno, A, who's to say? Looks like a little tyke who's lost her way. How'sa 'bout we call her over and see if she wants to play?"

The men approached, giving off a not so friendly vibe. I gasped, feeling one of them grab me by the arm. “I wish not for any trouble. Would ye good gentleman be so kind as to aide a young lady in need?”

The men looked at each other before they burst out laughing. “Homie, you clearly don’t know who your messin’ wid. Kind and good just ain’t our game. So listen and listen well, kid. We go by Team Skull, remember the name.”

“I-I don’t understa— Ack!” I shouted, surprised when they would pull me closer to them.

“Instead of us helping you, how about you help us, homie? Give us all your stuff, or you’ll be cruising for a bruising,” one of the men threatened, his spit flying in my face as he spoke.

I whimpered, trying to pull back from them as I wiped my face off. I hardly had any belongings on me, save for the sword Sir Papyrus had given me, the sword my father had made for me, and a few other small belongings from home. They were personal things I treasured, items I didn’t want to just give away to a couple of thieves. I had to be strong! I wouldn’t give in to them!

I stood up tall, raising my voice to them. “I am a princess! Royalty of Arendelle! I refuse to hand over my belongings to the two of you. Thou art horrid men and I will see to it that you both are punished when my mother and father find yo— AH!”

I found myself cut off by a painful backhand from one of the men. “Oh, yeah, princess? You and what army? You’re cute, but Team Skull ain’t afraid to hurt no kid. So give us your stuff unless you wanna sleep with the magikarp tonight,” he said, his tone growing impatient and more stern than before.

I struggled, my heart starting to pound in my chest. “No, no! Let go! Please have mercy!” I exclaimed, wishing deep down my power of teleportation would activate and whisk me away from the men…

…but for some reason, it didn’t.

The thugs frisked me, taking every item I had on me—including my headband and cloak. “Much obliged, kid,” they said, kicking me onto the ground after they were through with me.

I erupted into pitiful tears, looking up to them with begging eyes. “Please, those are the only things I have!”

Ignoring me, they spoke amongst themselves.

“Ugh, talk about annoying, A. What should we do with the kid?”

“Well it wants something, doesn’t it? How’sa bout we use one of our escape ropes and tie it to a tree?”

“Oh, oh! I’ll do ya one better, A. Let’s tie it up to the tree and cover it with honey. Then maybe a few stuffel or a bearwear will show up and have themselves some dinner.”

They laughed at their plot while I only began to cry harder. I scrambled to my feet and tried to run, only to be kicked onto the ground by one of them. I could feel one of the men’s shoes pressing on the back of my head, pushing my face into the dirt. “Ah, ah, ah, you ain’t going anywhere, princess of Arenhell. Time to get tied up.”

They reached down to pick me up while I squirmed and kicked. “You cruel fools! My home is Arendelle! At least say it ri— OOF!”

One of the men punched me in the face, a blow so hard to my jaw that it actually knocked a tooth out. While I was thankful it was a baby tooth, it still hurt! Just as they had said, they clearly didn’t have a problem harming children.

I continued to fight the men in silence, squirming and kicking as they tried to get the rope around me. Before they had a chance to do so, however, a high pitched cry sounded through the woods. The men were so startled that they dropped me, turning around to see what had made the strange sound.

“U-Uh, B, what was that?”

“I dunno, A, sounded like an— Oh wait, there it is. It was just a pokémon. Looks kinda dope.”

I lifted up, my body shaking, as I tried to squint through the darkness to see what the men were looking at. Try as I might, I didn’t see a thing.

“You think its a rare pokémon? Betcha we’d score points wid the boss if we brought him back something rare…”

“Eh, I can’t tell if it’s rare or not. It’s wearing a rag, a stupid lookin’ costume. I think Imma take it off. Den we’ll know if it’s rare.”

I listened, hearing a bit of shuffling from the men. And then I heard…

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

My heart began to pound in my chest as I heard one of the most horrible screams erupt from the men. I froze in panic for a moment, horrified by the sound of crunching bones, choking, and gurgling. Unable to take the horrid sounds for very long, I finally rose to my feet and began to run, moving as fast as my legs could cary me. I wasn’t sure where I was going, I just needed to get away!

I ran and ran until I came across what appeared to be an old, abandoned building. I threw open the door and moved inside, my teeth chattering together. Already terrified, I flinched and let out a yelp when I heard a small creaking noise behind me.

“Kyu?”