TYLER DIDN'T know that he fell asleep until he woke up with his arms still tied around the pole. He sighed heavily, his consciousness instantly reminding him of the pain he had gone through.

He pressed his forehead against the prop again, his eyes closed as he inhaled the sweet scent of his own blood.

He weakly lifted his head from the dirt-coated ground to stare around the dimly lit room, his vision too bleary to see anything. A small groan escaped his lips, his wounds sending a sudden shock of searing pain throughout his body each time he shifted.

He heard the door creak open before slamming shut. Tyler couldn't turn his head to see The Man enter the room, but he could hear his footsteps moving closer. He heard him fumble with something from the other side of the room, and Tyler's heart raced when he heard the sound of metal clinking together.

His breath was heavy and his heart was pounding in his throat as he anticipated The Man's next move. He ground his teeth together and tried to use his body to rip his hands free from the rope unsuccessfully.

All he could do was listen to The Man's footsteps near closer and closer. Tyler continued attempting to rip the rope from his wrists by yanking his body back, the rope bending against the pole.

The Man stood over him, but Tyler couldn't see him to know what he was doing. Tyler's eyes squeezed shut in anticipation as suddenly, the wounds coating his back began to burn.

The blistering sensation was so overwhelming that his back arched and he screamed out his pain, though not much sound escaped his chapped lips, as his throat was so raw from screaming it only ached with each attempt.

A bottle of salt was dropped to the ground in front of Tyler's eyes, the white grains pouring out as if to taunt him. He was too exhausted to react to the paralyzing pain that enveloped him.

He felt the pressure of The Man leaning over his back before another glass was forced against Tyler's lips. Tyler shook his head in refusal, burning tears falling down his cheeks.

The Man grabbed his hair and tilted his head back. The water was poured down Tyler's throat and although he wanted so badly to refuse it, the feeling was instantly relaxing. His eyes rolled back in his skull as he began to swallow the liquid desperately.

Strangely, The Man stayed silent. He only stepped away from Tyler once he was finished and picked the salt up.

Tyler whimpered in pain, the salt intensifying his torment. The Man leaned over him from behind, using a sharp knife to cut at the rope that restricted his thin and cut up wrists.

"P-please..." Tyler choked out. "Leave me alone." His words were raspy as he cried out in pain. "Please, please, just let me die," he continued to beg.

Tyler was freed from the pole, still lacking control of his limbs. He was then flipped over onto his back, where a familiar pair of chocolate eyes matched with a feminine face stared down at him.

"Shut up," Tyler thought he heard... Emily say?

He blinked a few times, but she was still staring down at him. She straddled his stomach, her legs bent on both sides of him as she took a roll of thick, black tape between her thin fingers.

Tyler's heart dropped to his stomach as he noticed a crazed look in her eyes that were once so terrified.

Tyler figured that he had to be hallucinating, or hopefully dead. He knew that there was no way Emily, would actually be sitting on top of him with control of her limbs and a roll of tape in her hands.

"Emily?" He asked, trying to study the way the darkness shadowed her high cheekbones.

Unfortunately, he couldn't possibly be dead since he felt her sitting on top of him. He felt the stinging sensation in his wounds and he felt Emily's long hair tickle his chest. He was beyond confused, but something inside of him refused to believe it was actually happening.

Her eyes gazed into his. "Yes?"

"G-get off of me! Emily? What's going on?" he struggled beneath her. She took her palms and held him down by his chest.

He noticed there was no gauze covering her hands anymore, and there was no bloody hole in her hands either like he had expected. She was completely fine.

She was clad in underwear only, shivering as she held him down.

"You seem a little confused," she mused as she massaged her hands against his chest spitefully.

"How are you... what..." he couldn't even finish his thought, his mind was racing and each time he went to speak, his words were incoherent. He couldn't fathom what was going on.

"I don't have to explain anything to you," she told him. She went to rip a piece of tape off the roll with her teeth.

"You... You can't be... Tell me what's going on," he tried to demand, but his voice was too unsteady and weak. His chest heaved desperately, but his lungs couldn't seem to hold the thick air he was forcefully inhaling.

Emily smiled down at him, her eyes sparkling with twisted enjoyment as she watched him struggle beneath her.

"I was told that I would finally be able to see my brother if I helped our creator turn you into the perfect Puppet Boy," her voice was incredibly calm. Tyler flinched at the way she referred to The Man as their creator.

"Or you could help us find a way out," he suggested, his voice weak and gravelly. He wasn't even entirely sure if he wanted to find a way out anymore - what was the point?

Her laughter was mocking. "Right, so he can catch me, kill us both, and I don't get to see my brother? Good idea."

"Can you please get off of me?" he asked quietly, his teeth gritting together in frustration and discomfort.

He was in so much pain, and she knew that. She ignored him and smiled a sadistic and crazy smile.

He struggled underneath her again, but she just continued to press him to the floor. "I will do anything I can to see him, even if that means helping him torture you."

He stared up at her blankly, his lips parting to help him breathe as she leaned a little closer to him. "Emily-" he tried.

"I said shut up." She rolled her eyes and slowly brought her thin fingers up to push her hair behind her ear. Her cold lips grazed slowly over his ear, her hot breath heating his body. "Now you're going to help me out and stay quiet. Got it?"

He exhaled heavily, still refusing to believe that she wasn't a figment of his imagination.

"You don't have to do this," Tyler said in anguish, turning his head to stare away from her. He couldn't even look at her, he felt so betrayed that he was sick to his stomach.

"I do have to do this, because he told me that if I help him with you, I'm one step closer to seeing Andrew," she told him.

Tyler couldn't handle how confused he was, his mind was racing a mile a minute and he couldn't keep up with each thought. He was too mentally and physically drained to continue attempting to figure out the situation.

"So... you've been pretending this entire time?" His voice was subdued.

He didn't understand how she could turn on him like that. Tyler was sure most of his bones were broken - he was beaten to practically nothing, most of the time it was because of her, and yet she was the one losing her sanity.

"Not the whole time. Our creator told me to so that I could weaken you, make you feel like you weren't alone..." she leaned a little bit closer to him. She still seemed very frail and weak despite her confidence. "You know, he wanted me to make you feel like you had a chance of getting out of here. It was a nice thing. He really cares about us."

Tyler groaned, his head falling back and hitting the ground in frustration. "He doesn't care about us, he's-"

She cut him off. "Stop, I have to put this piece of tape over your mouth before he comes," she sighed.

"Wait, wait!" Tyler said as she leaned over with the tape, stopping her movement. "He.. he's not going to let you see your little brother, Emily. I know that he won't," he warned her shakily.

Emily recoiled for a second, her eyebrows furrowing in anger. "What do you know?" She shook her head, attempting to move her knotted hair away from her eyes. "You're just mad, mad because he's going to let me go back to my brother and he doesn't give a fuck if you see your family or not."

Tyler's gaze softened as he tried to get through to her. "Emily, he's psychotic. How could you believe anything he says? He's not going to-"

She slapped him, hard across his face without missing a beat.

"He will!" she protested, and Tyler swore he saw a tear fall from her eye. She sniffled, "He's going to! Don't say that again!" She pushed the tape harshly against his mouth.

Tyler tried to talk, but the tape was restricting his words. The door creaked open from across the room, and Tyler turned his head to find The Man in the haunting mask strolling towards him. Great.

"Good, Puppet Girl. Thank you for your kind assistance. I will take care of him now. You can go sit at your vanity and wait for me to put your makeup on. Remember, you're going to see your little brother soon if you keep up the good work," he praised, making Tyler shake his head in disbelief.

Emily smiled, glancing at Tyler once more before she kissed his cheek. "See you at the show, Puppet Boy."

_

A.N.

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