Enderoni, Loop 4

Chapter Forty:

Caged Tiger

-...-

Their chase went on for much longer then any of the three had wanted it to. Nothing Onity could do would get Seto off his back, and Unity somehow managed to keep up. Onity would find himself teleporting to other places in the mansion, and even teleporting to other mansions of other timelines, but Unity and Seto somehow always managed to follow him. It freaked him out. All of a sudden he was no longer on top and that was wrong.

Eventually, he was spending more time glancing back to make sure he wasn't being followed, and happened to lose track of his footing. There was a sharp pain running up his leg, but he honestly was to dazed to feel it right away. He didn't fall, but he snapped back to pay attention of what was in front of him only to find himself at the end of a hallway on the second floor of the mansion he was pretty sure was the right mansion.

In that split second of time, he froze suddenly. Not by his own command, but a bluish light glowed around him and that could only mean it had to have been the god awful sorcerer who wouldn't leave him alone. He cried out in surprise, struggling. And then the blue glow contracted around him, squeezing him for a just a second before it disappeared. He was let go, and he turned around to see Seto standing there, as if he cornered him. Onity huffed, but grinned, and then teleported away.

Only, he didn't teleport. He couldn't.

"What did you do to me?!" Onity hissed, glaring up at the sorcerer who had him cornered at the end of a hallway.

Seto was out of breath, but managed to speak. "Keep in mind that whatever you decide to do, your powers have been suppressed temporarily."

"What!?" Onity was shaking. "If you could pull shit off like that then why is this the first time you've ever used that spell?!"

"He had help."

Onity looked over to see a boy standing next to Seto, by the looks of it out of breath as well. He was recovering quicker though. The boy did not look at all familiar to Onity. He did not sound familiar. He stared at the boy, wondering who he was and how he was related to this all. The boy was a different species, the bo- Oh. A bit of memory appeared. He had awoken in the form of a different species, but that day was so blurry to him, as he'd awoken with blood loss and amnesia and he could hardly remember what he'd looked like at all. All he could clearly remember was walking the halls as a beast or as someone else.

"Who are you?" Onity asked the boy.

The boy just looked up at Seto. "What were you chasing him for?"

"I wanted to talk. He was the one who ran." Seto replied.

The boy picked up on tone of frustration from Seto and sighed. Seto wanted more answers and he was probably still upset over the death of Brice. He knew Onity was the killer and probably wants revenge. Unity stepped in front of Seto, having to give up the hope of completely avoiding his older self. H wasn't sure if it was safe, but he had no other logical option. Onity was already staring at him, hoping for an answer.

"Do I look familiar at all to you?" Unity asked Onity, deciding to get answers of his own.

Onity shook his head.

"Hmm." Unity frowned. "What is the last thing you can remember?"

Onity hesitated. He didn't want to be asked questions, he'd asked one that was ignored and now this was happening! But he knew what was best to do was to go along with this.

"The last thing I remember....it's not that great of a memory, but I woke up on the fifth floor surrounded by blood. Mine, I think." He paused. "I was really out of it when I woke up so most of what I remember is really blurry."

Unity looked over at Seto. "He's got amnesia."

Seto looked at Onity. "You can't remember anything from your childhood at all? You just remember waking up one day in this mansion and for all you know you've been here-"

"-my whole life? No. But I don't know where I came from, who I used to be, and I was alone. When I woke up, I was alone completely and there was nobody around and so I wasn't sure if I had a family or any friends or if I knew anyone at all." Onity cut Seto off. "And then they came."

Both Seto and Unity were listening now. "Who came?"

"A small group of people, though again this was sometime quickly after I awoke so my memory isn't clear as day. They were different people, and they were curious, exploring the mansion, talking in a language I knew, but at the same time had trouble understanding. I watched them, and soon they left. I never saw them again. I was left along for a period of time I didn't take note of."

"A language you knew but had trouble understanding?" Unity questioned.

"This area is pretty much all English speakers. Did you forget some English?" Seto asked. "Was that part of your memory loss?"

Onity shrugged. "Maybe, but I was able to recover that."

"English isn't my first language, Seto." Unity said. "It's easy to lose hold on a language you were not born with. I learned with translation spells and reading so so many books. The mansion is warehouse of books."

"That's how I recovered. Those people left and I had nothing to do but sit around and recover my strength and try to figure out who I was. I read books. I played the piano only to realize I couldn't understand the music sheets, nor would there be anyone else to listen to me. It'd remind me too much of the loneliness a mansion with one can hold." Onity said.

"He was lonely, Seto. Of course he was. Knowing me, I can only take being along for so long before going stir crazy." Unity went on. "I was able to help distract myself with my crayons and journal, but he is older than me. He has changed and the longer time went on it was harder to distract himself."

"If you were so lonely, why did you kill my friends the first time they appeared in your mansion?" Seto asked Onity.

"I was stir crazy. I don't know much about myself, but there are things that you just pick up on and you know, and I knew that my species, whatever it is, have a desire to lash out."

Seto looked over to Unity, hoping for more of an explanation. Unity nodded his head. "We have a desire to use up our magical energy. Some create shows or experiment and some choose to hunt or explore. Imagine a tiger locked in a cage, alone, with nothing to do to use up it's energy. Someone enters the cage, finally, and the tiger, out of it's right mind, had a brain that tells him to attack. It's a split second decision and we are the kind of people who are taught to work with what we've got. "

Seto began to say something but Unity was already prepared to answer him.

"I read it in a book."

Seto then turned back to Onity. "Why couldn't you have just left the mansion? There is a whole world out there filled with people and you stayed in here!"

"I was afraid." Onity answered. "I wasn't prepared, and when I was, I had a reason to stay. I had a game to play."

"That's when you'd found a role to play, a person to be. You'd found an identity." Unity said. "And you were no longer alone."

"You speak like you know me. You seem to know me more then I know myself." Onity spoke to Unity. "You didn't answer my question, which wasn't very nice of you as you clearly heard it. Who are you?"

Unity figured he'd have to come out eventually. Seto wanted to stop him, but Unity ignored his attempt.

"I know what I'm doing, Seto." He said, looking up at the adult. "Forgive me, I don't want to sound rude, but I do not believe that you do."

Seto felt hurt, but he understood. "You...you're right."

"Anyway, I am you." Unity stepped forward towards Onity. "Your past. I am the you that remembers, and I am the you that will have to face whatever happens that erased your memory."

"Oh." Onity stared, wide-eyed at Unity. And then he realized that the body he had awoken in must have been the one that Unity stands in.

"And your name?" Onity asked. He felt a lump in his throat. It was a question he wondered for a long time.

"Unity. Your name is Unity Cheri." Unity answered.

It was his name, but he couldn't help himself from objecting. "My name is Onity. Unity is who I used to be."

Unity nodded his head in understanding. The three waiting for someone else to continue the questioning. It took a moment for Onity to speak up.

"So what are you going to do now? You know your future, you've got my cornered. I assume you want something from me." His eyes rested on Seto, knowing all to well that Seto probably wanted to kill him, and the only thing holding him back was the fact that he was Unity. And Unity was right there.

"You've caused a lot of trouble and we want this to stop." Seto frowned. "You and Tyler have done nothing but kill and it is time to end this."

Onity shuddered at the thought of Tyler. "He didn't listen to me and it is his fault for the rest of the deaths that followed."

"You were the one who killed everyone!" Seto hissed. He couldn't believe this.

"I'm sick of nobody ever believing me! If he'd played the game without fucking up he would have lived and I would have kept my promise! But he failed and he brought the continuation of death upon everyone!" Onity fought back.

"I didn't think it was possible for me to think too logically." Unity whispered to himself.

"Don't you feel any emotion at all? Is this all you care about?" Seto asked.

"I feel emotions I don't understand. I feel emotions I've felt ever since I woke up here. I do what I know best." Onity answered. "I follow the rules I set in place."

"No wonder Tyler hates you so much! You've got no sympathy!"

"I do have sympathy!"

"I don't see it!"

Onity felt a growl in his throat. He understood how he worked but didn't have the words to explain it. He thought of it more of him holding back his unknown emotions to focus on his work. Right? Ugh, he never really had to think about this, but it all began to confuse him. He confused himself. Unity moved to pull Seto down to whisper something in his ear, and Onity watched, curious, and a little upset.

"It won't work."

"I know better."

Seto sighed, having nothing else to say, and stepped back. Unity turned to Onity and walked over to him.

"I have something to show you."

"Wha-" Unity reached out his little claw like hand and placed it on Onity's shoulder, and then they disappeared, and Seto awaited, impatiently, for their return.

Onity found himself standing with Unity somewhere outside, in a wooded area. It was warm and the sky was blue with a few clouds above, blocking out some of the sun. Onity heard voices, and found that Unity was tugging him to sit down in the bushes with him. He did as told, unsure about this. They sat in the bushes, and the Unity pointed, Onity following his motion to see that there was a clearing. A park, and a large table.

"Look."

The table was full of people. People he recognized as the people he'd trapped in his mansion. They were sitting, eating, talking, laughing. And then he saw Unity. A different Unity, but still Unity, sitting with them. He looked nervous, but happy, sitting beside....beside Seto and Tyler.

"This is the first time I met Seto. I didn't know anyone, but somehow he knew me. He saw me hiding here, right were we are, and he offered me a seat and food and treated me so nicely. He was the first person I got to interact with since falling through the portal. Now that I think back on it, this must be the last time he meets me." Unity explained.

Onity watched in silence.

"I didn't eat much. I was too scared inside to eat much. But I did draw. Seto told me he liked my drawings." Unity added.

"My point is, Onity." Unity spoke up, and Onity looked back over to the child. "These people were your friends. They were the first people to help you. I know you couldn't have remembered that, but it's true, and I hope this helps you in deciding what to do."

"Why didn't you stay with them? You could have avoided....avoided becoming me." Onity asked.

Unity shook his head. "I don't know if he is the Seto of this dimension, or another Seto who happened to know everything, but he's gone through everything. He already dealt with you, and he knew that if I stayed with him, time would trip over itself. It must have been hard for him to reassure me that if I went back to the mansion i'd find my way home, but that is what he told me, and he was so nice to me that I believed every word he said."

"He told you that you'd find your way home?" Onity felt a bit of anger. The man sent Unity to face whatever caused him amnesia, that's what!

"I know you're upset and I know you are not too fond of him right now, but he was right. Who knows what time would have done."

"Time would have split! You'd have created a separate time line where you lived a life of freedom and happiness with your friends! With him! Time would have split and there would be you who stayed and a you who went!" Onity argued.

"But do we-"

"We don't. We don't honestly know if that's how time works. I just...It's my theory, at least." Onity agreed.

"You see now why everything has come to this point. Do you understand the power you hold on how this all ends? We already know it ends, but then again, time can change and the future I saw could have all been hallucinations." Unity asked. "It could split away."

"..." Onity looked out to watch the picnic as it went on, and listened to their distant voices. He watched as Seto talked to Unity, as Unity drew things in his book, and he stopped on Tyler. Tyler was laughing, talking with his friends, and not at all crazy in appearance.

"You want me to stop chasing Tyler. You want me to leave them all alone." Onity said.

"We want you to-"

"To stop killing the people who were my friends. To bring them all back to life and then set them free from the tiger's cage."

Onity's eyes stared down at the ground now, and though Unity couldn't read his mind, he had a good idea on the thoughts inside and the words he wasn't going to say. Onity believed that they wanted him to reset the loop and with everyone alive again, set them free, and then what? Onity would have nowhere else to go. He could leave, sure, but to where? Where in the universe was he welcomed? Onity believed that they wanted him to make a decision that would cause him to be alone again. It was for the best, wasn't it?

"We want you to find a better future." Unity corrected.

Onity didn't say anything in reply to that.

"Onity." Unity nudged Onity. "You don't have to be the killer you think you are. If you end this, you can be who you really are."

"And who is that?"

Unity laughed. "You."

"Of course."

-...-

The two returned shortly after they left, and Seto was glad. He felt awkward sitting alone in the hallway, waiting for them. He stood up when they returned, Unity walking away from Onity to stand back next to Seto. He noticed something was different with the way Onity looked, and so hoped that Unity's plan had worked.

"How'd it go?" Seto asked.

"Let's see." Unity replied.

Seto looked from Unity to Onity, who looked like he was thinking. Seto walked over to him and the man shook his head, looking up at Seto.

"We need to find Tyler." Seto said.

Onity grinned. He stretched out his arms, having felt cramped form hiding in the bushes. "Oh, believe me, I've gotten pretty good at finding him."

Seto wasn't sure what to think about that grin or that reply. "How do I know I can trust you not to kill him?"

Onity sighed loudly. "The boy gave me a motive. A motive that I've thought about and decided I liked quite a lot."

Seto stepped back. "What motive? You're not allowed to kidnap anyone!"

Onity laughed. "You think Unity would suggest I kidnap Tyler?"

Seto shook his head. "Of course not!"

"It's a fun thought, but a thought only." Onity said. "No, The motive is to be who I am, not what I thought I was. I thought I was the tiger within the case, but in reality I was probably just a house cat who saw everyone within my house as a mouse." He then softly laughed. "God, what did my owners put in my food!"

"I...I think I see." Seto said.

"So, we must find the nerd so that you can talk to him?" Onity asked. "I'm still not complete on the situation, but that's what I have picked up on."

Seto nodded his head. "He's in hot water too."

"Well, as much as I know he really wants to kill me, I have no other choice." Onity leaned on the heels of his feet.

"It's what you brought upon yourself." Seto replied.

Onity nodded off, and without need of further instructions, teleported off, somewhere else within the mansion. Seto let out a deep breath, turning back to see Unity standing off. He was farther away then Seto remembered him being.

"We need to look for Tyler." Seto said, knowing Unity knew as well.

"You need to look for Tyler." Unity shook his head. "This is where we must part."

-...-

The longer he spent walking aimlessly around the mansion with a gun in his right hand, a journal in his left, the longer he couldn't wait for it to end. He'd looked everywhere, avoiding the safe room, to find Onity was not anywhere. In the end, he was shaking harder then he'd had for a long time, and found himself inside a room. A lone, medium sized room, with a large white square rug, bookshelves, a desk, and some plants. He couldn't care less what floor it was on. None of it mattered anymore.

None of it mattered anymore.

The thought had begun as a dream he'd had so long ago, but the longer his hell went on, the more and more he considered the dream to be a possible future.

Only difference was this time Kyle was dead.

He had a gun though.

What would it matter if he did it though? Onity only lived to make his life a living hell. The man was never going to allow him freedom. The man literally just killed his best friend and then used his phone to send him a selfie! There wasn't much Tyler's "friends" could do either. They were all going to die again and again and again, each time finding a reason to distrust Tyler. It hurt, a lot. He used to love these people but now all they brought to him was a reminder of how alone he was.

There was no negative to this decision.

If you had asked him before any of this happened if he had ever thought of doing this, he'd laugh and tell you that though he's had depressed episodes, he wasn't the kind of person to do something so serious. If you asked him now, he'd ask you what the hell did you think he was planning to do? Were you blind? Dumbass.

Tyler took a deep breath, tears in his eyes as he stared at the weapon while sitting on the cold, clean white rug.

Nothing had warmth anymore. Nothing felt at all comforting to him anymore.

It was perfect.

He gulped, letting go of the journal, which used to be his hope, but now only brought to him confusion. He held the gun with his shaking hand, and he tried so hard to relax.

There was no use in doing the impossible, though, so he let his tears silently fall off his face.

The escape, the end game, that he controlled, pressed against the side of his head. It was cold, but for a second, the man who could no longer think properly believed that he had felt warmth. He hesitated, hoping that the imaginary warmth would stay just a little longer.

Tyler flinched as he heard the door open and close behind him. His breath caught in his throat and for the life of him he could not find the strength to pull the god damn trigger. His hand shook more.

The newcomer did not say anything, instead walking over, Tyler wanting to flinch with each footstep he heard. And then the gun was snatched out of his hand and thrown to the floor. Tyler looked over to his side to see the gun laying on the floor. It took him a moment to stand and then turned to face the newcomer.

"Tyler."

Tyler felt anger when he saw Onity.

"I imagined you to be the type of person to enjoy this kind of shit. If I remember correctly, you had even asked once to watch me do this!"

Onity tried so hard to be calm."Tyler."

"I'm sick of you and I'm sick of all this! I'm sick of dealing with you and with them and running around getting nowhere! I'm sick of this journal and this mansion and i'm sick of feeling anything at all!" Tyler yelled. "I find it so hard to remember what it's like to be happy! To laugh and mean it!"

Onity frowned, stepping closer to Tyler who stepped back. Onity knew Tyler wouldn't listen to him, so he had to be careful. He hoped that Seto would find them soon.

"None of that matters though because you aren't ready for this all to end yet! I want this to end! I was so c-close!" He still had tears rolling down his face. "You took my escape from me because you want me to suffer more! Why can't you accept that you're alone in this want! You have been this whole time!"

"Tyler" Onity cleared his throat, stepping forward again. He wasn't going to fight back. He wasn't going to argue. He had to be calm. Stable.

"Shut the fuck up, shitface!" Tyler hissed. "You've talked enough. You've done the damage and you don't get any say in any of this anymore. I won't let you control this anymore. I won't let you continue to destroy my reality. If this even is reality. I don't even know anymore! I feel numb and tired and cold!"

Tyler stepped to the side, and Onity watched as Tyler grabbed the gun again. He flinched, ready to stop Tyler from shooting himself, but Tyler only aimed the gun at the ground. Tyler glared at Onity, his grib on the gun flexing.

"I feel numb and tired and cold." He repeated.

Onity found it harder and harder to keep calm with the words that Tyler spoke. He kept himself from shaking, but the many thoughts in his head jumbled together and he tried to speak.

"Wake up, Tyler. Please."

"I want to so badly, but it seems that someone believes I shouldn't." Tyler frowned. "And I'm sick and tired and numb to that somebody."

Onity tried to say something, praying to nobody in particular that Seto would hurry up. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold himself from speaking. He knew Tyler would react strongly, negatively, and he didn't trust himself fully to handle Tyler alone anymore. Tyler looked down at the journal on the floor, feeling hate in his chest when he looked at it, and in frustration, he kicked it across the room. Onity watched as he aimed the gun at it, his arms shaking as he wanted to pull the trigger. He wanted to badly to pull the trigger at something, and Onity braced himself because he was so sure Tyler was about to tare that book apart with a bullet. But Tyler didn't. He found that he couldn't. Not the journal.

He relaxed his shaking arm and aimed the gun back down, staring at the floor, thoughts running though his head. Why couldn't he do it? That damn journal was so confusing. He hated it. But it could protect itself. His hands gripped the gun tightly as he thought about his growing urge to shoot something, himself really. Shooting himself was a dream he wished he could live. He wanted to so desperately. Oh, that dream. It once frightened him but now it seemed so nice.

"Why? Why did you have to do that?"

Tyler's eyes snapped back open, Onity's voice angering him. Wouldn't he just shut up? He glared at Onity, wanting to make him shut up so badly. He thought about all the pain the man put him through and wished so badly that the pain could be shared.

A new desire overcame him.

The gun was heavy in his hand, but he held it up anyway, his arms shaking but not as badly as before. His breath calmed for a second but his heart beat loudly in his ears. His eyes stared down the gun, meeting the now terrified eyes of a man he believed to be more destructive then any caged tiger.

The desire to pull the trigger was no longer ignored.

-...-

"You're leaving?" Seto asked, not yet wanting to see Unity go.

Unity nodded his head. "I have things to do. We all do."

Seto frowned. "I was hoping you'd stay around a little more."

"I know, but I know what I must do now. I know how Onity becomes who he is, and I need to fulfill my part of the his story." Unity said, standing in the hallway, not moving In his spot.

"How do you know what to do from all of that?" Seto asked.

"It's all just an educated guess." Unity shrugged.

"I won't stop you then." Seto looked down at the floor. He knew that Unity would be facing something dangerous soon, and he hated to think about it. Unity seemed calm, but he knew that Unity was a kid, he was scared. They both were in a way.

"Don't worry, though. I will see you again. You will probably see me again more then once. Time works in an awkward way. There is a picnic you have yet to have and you mustn't forget that." Unity reminded him.

"I know I am not helping when I say this, but Unity, I can't think much about my own unknown future when you're about to go off and basically get yourself killed."

"I'm not going to die." Unity's voice shook a little.

"It...It feels like that's what is happening though. Onity might be you, but he isn't at the same time. I've seen the two of you and I still can't think of him as you. It isn't possible." Seto replied.

"He is me. All you have seen are the darkest parts of us, but if you get to know him more after this, you will realize he is just as curious as I am. He views things the same way I do. He has the same attention span and the same interests as I do."

Unity waited for a reply, but Seto did not give him one. Unity then kicked his feet.

"Don't worry about it to much though. Trust him with whatever decision he makes. It's what I would do in his situation." Unity said.

"B-before I go, though, I need to ask you for a favor."

Seto looked up at Unity. "Yes?"

"I need to you teleport back in time and put the code to the fifth floor door into Tyler's phone." Unity said. "I did not put them there, You did."

"I did? How did I know the numbers?"

"You knew because you remembered seeing the numbers and you put them in because I asked you to. I don't know where the numbers originally came from, but it's not important anymore."

Seto nodded his head. "Okay. I'll do that."

Unity gave a small, forced smile, and then began to walk off. But then he found more words in his mouth that he wanted to let out. Seto saw this hesitation.

"Unity?"

Unity turned back, looking up at Seto. "Seto, I do have one last wish."

"Yes?" Seto asked.

"I know he's done terrible things, but please help him make a decision that gives him the ending he deserves."

Seto could only nod his head. Unity didn't trust himself. The kid was too hard on himself. It make Seto feel sick. He nodded his head and saw Unity smile.

"Thank you." Unity dipped his head. "Thank you."

Unity disappeared and Seto stood in silence. The kid was gone and Seto worried. He worried about everything. He shook his head. He had to look for Tyler. He began to walk off.

He froze when he heard the gunshot.

-...-