#tw isolation

“nightwing?” the cigarette falls from your fingers as he startles you.

he chuckles, grinning, “sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” he steps closer, “just wondering why a lovely lady like you was doing out in the cold.”

you feel warmth crawl up your face, “oh, i’m… i’m just thinking.” you bend down to pick up the cigarette, wet from the cold.

“about?” you wait for him to continue, confused on why he was still here, “sorry, it’s been a pretty calm night, so i thought i could be a listening ear for you.”

his mask hides his eyes, but you almost certainly knew that they were shining in interest. you sigh, nodding. he sits on the ledge of the roof and you hop up, sitting next to him. “a… friend of mine… we had a pretty big fight.” you pull out another cigarette, trying to light it. the wind blows out the lighter twice before you let out another heavy sigh. he gives you a disapproving look before blocking the wind with his hand. “thanks,” you take a drag before continuing, “he crossed a lot of my boundaries, you know? he was so… overprotective, i guess.”

“why? whywhywhywhy- why are you choosing him over me? i can’t fucking believe you!”

“i’m not choosing him over you. it was just a date and you beat his face in! you just kept punching and punching and punching and punching! you-”

“he terrified me…” a shiver goes down your spine at the memory.

“maybe he was just worried about you?” he tilts his head, contemplating.

you shake your head, “no, it was just weird.” you let out a breath, the smoke of your cigarette mixing with the cold. “he was literally stalking me, nightwing. he tracked where i was going, who i was talking to, he attacked some guy i was talking to, everything!” you let out an irritated laugh, “we were just friends too! i don’t know what he was thinking…” you snuff out the cigarette against the concrete, flicking it over the roof. you watch it land on the hood of someone’s car, letting out a chuckle. you turn to see the hero watching you.

“have you considered that maybe he was just worried about you?” nightwing turns away from you to look out towards the city, “the city is pretty dangerous.”

you roll your eyes, “yeah, he said that too, but-” you look back towards him, “-i’ve lived here my entire life. i know how to take care of myself.”

he smiles, “really?”

you give him a small smile, mocking his tone, “yeah, really.”

“let’s test that then.” before you could question him, his hand rests against your back, pushing you off the roof.

a scream rips from your throat as you dangle off the roof. he keeps a grip on your hand, squatting on the ledge. he gives you a wild grin, stretching his legs leisurely as you scream, “OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD.”

“see? this is why i was so protective, (y/n).” he loosens his grip and you quickly latch back onto him.

“PLEASE- please, please don’t drop me.” you sob, clutching his arm. nightwing pulls you up, holding you by the waist.

“you’re okay,” he coos, “you’re safe.” you keep your arms around his neck, making sure to hold on tight as he starts his way back to your apartment. you keep your head buries in his neck, afraid to let go. your heart pounds in your ears as everything catches up to you.

he continues to speak, trying to comfort you as he presses the code to your apartment. “i’m here, i’m here,” he continues to try to soothe you as he lays you down in your bed. “do you see now? why i- he did what he did?”

“fuck you.” nightwing blinks, looking down to your arms around his neck. you try to shove him, but he catches your hand. “did dick send you to scare me? did he ask you t- to kill me?” you could feel a lump in your throat as you try to talk. tears start to well in your ears, blurring your vision.

he laughs, “what? no,” he keeps a tight grip on your hand as he sits down next to you. “i can’t believe you haven’t figured it out.” he snorts as he pulls off his mask. “honestly, i don’t think i was hiding it that well.” your mouth goes dry as dick smiles back at you, an innocent grin on his face. you stay silent, words escaping you. his grin falters and you see his eye twitch.

alarm bells ring in your head as you watch a shadow pass over his face, “w- wow! dick! wow…” you swallow your fears, “i- i can’t believe-”

“stop it.” dick sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. you shut your mouth, trying to slowly move away from the man. “stop. it.” he grabs your face. “i hate when you act like this, (y/n).” you could feel the anger radiating off him, “like- like you’re scared of me.” his nails dig into your face and you wince. “you did this at the restaurant during that stupid date, at your apartment, when i met you at work… all i want to do is keep you safe.”

you don’t respond, panic keeping your voice stuck in your throat. fear overwhelms you, clouding your brain. you touch his arm lightly, trying to placate your friend. “y-you’re right, dick. i’m sorry.” his grip loosens, “i- i didn’t consider everything. you were just trying to keep me safe.”

he lets go, an empty smile back on his face. “i’m… so glad you understand now, (y/n).” dick’s hand falls to your thigh, squeezing. “but-” his eyes stare into your soul, “-just in case you’re lying, i’ll have to make sure you actually understand, right?”

“what?” he doesn’t dignify you with a response as he pulls tape out of his utility belt.

“you know, (y/n),” you try to beg dick, backing up as he grabs your ankle, yanking you back to him. “you should be glad i’m a lot nicer than my dad.” the sound of the tape ripping; the feel of his spandex-covered skin against your own. the tears wouldn’t stop flowing as he pressed the tape against your mouth. “if bruce was here? he would’ve told me to knock you out and drag you back home.” dick laughs as you scream against the tape. “but, i’m not like him… so just relax, okay?” he uses more of the duct-tape to stick you against your bedframe, keeping you stuck. he presses a kiss against your forehead as you kick and scream, but he locks the door as he leaves nonetheless.

you weren’t sure how much more of this you could take. dick would come in once a day with food, and at first you would scream as many expletives at him as you could before he leaves, refusing to eat. after a week of this, you folded, letting him feed you. the hunger and thirst made you light-headed, but your irritation grew as he cooed and pet your head. between a spoonful of take-out, you clear your throat. “c-could you let me go now, dick?”

he frowns, the spoon pausing in the air, “let you go?”

“i-i’ve learned my lesson, dick. i know now, i was overreacting about everything.” you nod your head, forcing a shaky smile on your face.

dick hums, shoving the spoon into your mouth, “i don’t know… i really like taking care of you like this.” he pets your hair, “i know exactly where you are, what you’re doing… i can go out at night without worrying.” his eyes filled with love as he talks.

you swallow, “w- what about a shower? i just need to shower, that’s all. just- just 15 minutes.” dick purses his lips.

he thinks for a minute before he lights up, “only if you let me help you.” he gives you a wink and you hold back a sigh. you nod, tired. he undoes your binds, “can you get up, babe?” dick looked pleased as you shake your head. he could barely hide his glee, “aw, my poor girl needs my help?” you nod, biting your lip to stop yourself from crying. “say it.”

you feel warmth spread to your face, “p-please help me up, dick.” he grins, wide and toothy. he picks you up like a bride, letting you rest your head on his chest. he takes his time undressing you, hands wandering to caress your skin. you ignore his touches to stretch your muscles.

“beautiful…” dick presses a kiss to your hand before helping you into your tub. you let him wash you, too relieved to finally bathe. “we’ll do this every day,” he massages shampoo into your scalp. “i’ll take care of you for the rest of our lives, (y/n).” you stay silent and he continues, “once we move to my place in bludhaven, we’ll be doing normal couple things like this every day.” you could hear his happiness in every word.

before long, you were back in the bedroom, “dick.” you grab his hand before he could pull you back on the bed. “please, don’t tie me up. i’ll be good, i promise.” his eyebrows furrow.

dick bites his lip, thinking for a moment. dick swallows before speaking, “prove to me you’ll be good.” his voice is light as he sits down on the edge of the bed. you tilt your head in confusion and dick gestures for you to come closer. “kneel down.” realization dawned on you as you kneeled down in between his legs. he grabs your chin, gentle. your eyes meet his, full of love and want.

you slowly pull down his bottoms, holding his cock in your hands. dick moans as you touch it lightly. you swallow, thighs squeezing together. you couldn’t speak, unsure if you would protest or moan along with him. you could feel the warmth pulse in your hands as it got harder by your touch. dick whines, “come on, babe, i know you know what to do.” you ignore his words, rubbing your thumb on his tip. he bucks his hips into your hands and you let him, using his pre-cum to jerk him off. “m-mouth, use your mouth.” dick moans, grabbing your head.

“no-” you couldn’t finish your sentence as dick had shoved your mouth down onto him.

you choke and he moans, “fuck…” you try to hit his thighs, but he keeps his grip strong. dick uses you, his cock hitting the back of your throat over and over. you could feel drool dripping down your neck and you gargle.

your body submits to the abuse, warmth spreading down to your toes. you could feel yourself getting slick with wanton pleasure. tears well in your eyes as you stop fighting, letting your friend use you as his toy. “that’s my girl- fuck-” before long, dick pushes your head down, nose buried in his pubes, to release himself down your throat.  “swallow it.”

you hold back a gag as you taste the salty, metallic cum. you stick your tongue out to show him and his eyes widen in gleeful surprise. you clear your throat, “i-i told you i’ll be good.” your voice was rough and you watch as dick gets hard again.

Everything around me is cast in blue light and something cold is coiled around my belly. I turn my head and see a pale head of blue flame hair.

"Ortho!" I yell is shock.

"Who else would it be?" He chuckles.

I try to escape his grasp by the loveable robot boy won't let go, in fact his grip gets tighter. I look around at the tech gremlin paradise around me. Unlike the other dorms there isn't anyone here. My guess is that it's a school day so everyone is at class, but if that's the case then why is Ortho still here? I look around at the oddly bright space and yep, there's not one except me, Grim, and Ortho.

"Where is everyone?" I ask, genuinely confused at the empty quiet around us.

"Busy," is all Ortho says.

That makes me a bit nervous, but I don't get to say anything else as Ortho drags me down a hallway. While I was expecting a dark hallway cast in blue light I wasn't expecting greek style columns and doorways paired with an excessive use of diamond shapes on the walls and flooring all in bright to mid range greys, grey-blues, and normal blues with a splash of black. I also notice all the damn screens. Like, I understand the students here love their magical technology but this seems excessive, then again I'm also not a tech gremlin.

Ortho keeps dragging me along in his crushing bear hug, that is actually starting to hurt, until we reach a door. It still had the split diamond pattern as everything else but it didn't match the color palette of Ignihyde, instead it was black and white with something attached to the door. It's metal looking and dome shaped. I lean in closer and it opens, revealing what looks like an eye with a dark blue background, a ring of white, then a ring of bright blue and then a pupil. Ortho leans closer and a metallic clicking and the eye closes.

Before I can even ask what the hell is going on, Ortho opens the door and walks i to the room where he sets us down on the bed. I look around and notice a lot. First, the walls don't have the split diamond pattern, instead they're a shade of dark red-violet with the floor trim colored an equally deep teal with the ceiling trim has a pattern of deep blue and black triangles. The next thing I notice is how the bed large, right in the center of the room, and piled high with blankets and pillows in me and Grim's favorite colors. I then see that there are surprisingly no cameras; I honestly thought Idia would arm my room to the teeth with cameras but I don't see a single one.

I turn back to Ortho and see that he's holding something. He walks over and I hear the click of somwthing locking around my wrist. I look and see a smooth, black metal bracelet. I try to ask what it is but Ortho doesn't answer, instead he leaves the room and I hear that metallic clicking sound again. I look at Grim, who is still wearing his normal collar, and we just silently start looking around for the box of clothes I'll inevitably be forced to wear but we find nothing. Other than the lock and pomegranate charm everything seems normal.

I notice the bookshelf and being bored start looking through whatever books we've been stocked with. I think we've been stalked, each and everyone of these books are ones me and Grim mentioned in passing about wanting or liking. I look around once more for cameras and again I see none. Nervous but bored I pick up a book and sits down on the bed to start reading.

***

"Wakey, wakey, sleepheads!" An energetic and cheerful voice says.

I wake up in a panic and see nothing. I look at Grim, and see his collar is gone and replaced with one that looks like my bracelet except it had an Ignihyde dorm crest charm. We groan into the bed and just want to get this mayhem over with as quickly as possible. We hear the voice again and then I look down at the unwilling bracelet and ny eyes widen.

"Holy hell these things talk," I mutter.

The bracelet giggles before a blue light comes out of it in the small form of a girl. She looks exactly like the female version of Idia, same blue flaming hair, only worn in a high pony tail with a large black bow, same pale skin, same striking yellows eyes, and same sharp teeth. But that's where the similarities end. Her bangs are aren't wild and spiky, instead they're swept to the right and have two long side strands and her outfit is noticeably different yet familiar. The jacket is the standard Ignihyde dorm jacket open at the top with a blue sweater vest peaking out on top of a tucked and fully buttoned white shirt. Instead of pants she's wearing a pleated school girl skirt, thigh high black socks, and white school slippers with bright blue tips.

"Who are you?" I ask the tiny hologram.

"Oh, I'm Persephone! It's so nice to meet you both!" Persephone says in a very cherry tone of voice.

That's every un-Idia like. I don't say anything to her, just stare in confusion. Persephone seems to notice this and explains that she was made to be an AI assitant/companion to me and Grim. I give Grim a look and he seems to understand.

"So, what do you do?" I ask.

Persephone starts listing off everything she does and I gotta admit, if Idia did make her he didn't half ass it, then again when it came to his work Idia didn't half ass anything. Once Persephone finishes listing off everything she can do her irises and pupils disappear to be replaced by an alarm clock icon and a ringing sound echoes through the air.

"Oh, time for breakfast!" Persephone says, smapping her fingers and making a digital menu appers in front of us.

Having nothing better to do me and Grim look through it and decide what we want while Persephone gives a video game type tutorial on how to order using this menu. Once we're done Persephone says that our food will be ready at 9 AM. Before I can say anything Persephone disappears with a cheery goodbye. I look at Grim and we start bouncing ideas over who took his collar off each other.

There's no clock and I don't really want to talk to an AI in a bracelet so I have no idea how much time has pasted, all I know is that it's 9 AM when there's a knock on the door. I open it and see a short, chubby looking red-purple robot with yellow eyes, spindly arms, small wings, horns, a pointed tail, and a unibrow. I stare at it and noticed it's holding two platters. I go to grab one but the robot won't let me so I open the door more and let the little robot inside.

Once inside the robot places the platers on my desk before leaving, even closing the door behind itself. I look at the platters and see the food and drinks we ordered, that looked exactly like the pictures on the menu. Me and Grim eat and Persephone's voice comes back.

"You order has arrived! Once you're done place your dishes on your platters and place them outside your door for pick up!" Persephone explains like a tutorial NPC.

I nod and go back to eating. I don't know who or what is making the food here but god damn it's delicious! Once me and Grim are done I hear the doors lock click open and I put the platters outside the door, and go to take a step out of it but it slams shut and locks before I can.

"Sorry, I forgot to mention the door runs on an internal clock." Persephone says, only a voice this time.

"And that mean what exactly?" I ask.

"That means it can only be unlocked during certain time periods, not too early and not too late," she explains.

I sigh, annoyed that I can't leave this room. That means I won't get to look for Grim's collar.

I lay back on the bed and stare at the ceiling while petting Grim. Persephone comes back, directing my attention to a PC set up on the desk. I leap out of bed and turn it on, feeling lucky that Idia is stupid enough to give me access to the internet, until I try to look up Twisted Wonderland's equivalent of 911 and Persephone pops up on screen saying that website is blocked. I ask her what she means and she explains that this damn thing has parental locks on certain searches. I smack my head into the desk and just take deep breathes to try and keep from screaming in frustration.

"Don't worry, if you get bored you can always chat with me!" She suggests.

I glare at her, but she doesn't seem to notice or mind. She then directs me to some games the computer has, probably trying to distract me. Having nothing better to do I start playing an RPG set in a magical land of sweets and candy. Grim offers his advice on characters, NPCs, and other things while sitting on my lap. Persephone doesn't interrupt my playing except for telling me to take a break or remining me to drink water.

***

Holy help, I've lost who knows how long of my life to a game I just learned about. I look at the clock at the corner of the screen and see that it's noon. Persephone pops up in the corner of the screen, bringing up a lunch menu. Just like with breakfast I click and order. Once that's done I go back to my game, not hearing the time Persephone says lunch will arrive. I keep playing, making it far into a side quest until the computer screen goes dark.

"What the hell?!" I yell, confused as to what happened.

"Sorry, but you only have 30 minutes of screen time per day. Don't worry, you can play tomorrow, " Persephone says from the bracelet.

I sigh and go back to sitting on my bed and reading a book with Grim. We each take turns reading a chapter of this werid vampire romance book. It's werid and awful but so bad it's almost good in a way. Halfway though the vampire introducing the girl to his werid family the door unlocks. I get up and open the door, this time seeing a a teal, spindly robot with yellow eyes, long antelope-like horn decorations, and a pointed nose. I take the platters and the robot rushes away.

We eat and repeat the process from this morning before going back to the book. We finish it and move onto the sequel and it's still as odd as the previous one. Time ticks by as we read, having moved onto the fourth book in this series because we're bored and somewhat invested in this, when Persephone's voice rings once more, repeating the menu routine this time with dinner and pointing out the desserts section. I do what I did for lunch and breakfast and wait. Everything seems so, repetitive and no one made of flesh and blood has shown up to smoother us in creepy affection. I nervously fidget with the hem of my shirt, waiting for someone to visit that isn't Persephone.

Dinner comes, delivered by the same robot who delivered breakfast, and things move predictably. Persephone shows up, suggesting the ideal bedtime to make sure I get all the sleep I need. I just go along with it because she's the only one I talk to outside of Grim.

I change into the Ignihyde provided oversized tee shirt and shorts and go through a normal bedtime routine. I like doing things myself, but my nerves at still on edge, waiting for someone to show up. I crawl under the blanket, cuddle Grim close and Persephone turns off the lights. I slowly fall asleep, until my breathing evens out and my eyes close.

***

Idia POV

I move through each screen, keeping tabs on the data Persephone collected from both the PC and braclets. Looks like MC's heartrate increased by 7% when playing Candy Rush Kingdom during that battle with Red Licorice Reaper and 10% when the PC time lock kicked in. I drag the MC and Grim data into their respective folders when I hear a knock. I freeze, asking who's there.

"It's me, Niisan!" Ortho says from the other side.

"Come it," I tell him.

He opens the door and flies over. He looks at my screen and I feel my face burn in embarrassment. Ortho looks at me and asks what I'm looking at.

"Project Persephone. An AI to monitor Mc and Grim, while also being a firend," I explain.

"Cool! But I still don't understand why we can't be around them?" He asks.

I sigh and explain the plan I created in the wake of the other dorms failures. From what I saw the other dorms lost them because they were too forward and smothering, so to counter this, I created a plan that involves making them want to be around us. I know it hurts Ortho and the others to not be able to interact with them but it's for the best. If this doesn't work than I can have someone put something in their food.

"But I miss them," Ortho says.

"I know, Ortho but this is the best way," I tell him.

I turn my attention back to the screen, watching them sleep soundly.

***

Everything around me is dark. Maybe I'm not dreaming again. Nevermind I see a flicker of blue light. I move closer to the blue light, feeling colder and colder the closer to it I get. My feet, once moving through an empty void, feel the cool touch of stone and the sounds of echoing screams from somewhere. Then, over the cries and screams I hear a mix of shrill yet rough female voices. I follow the voices, stone walls closing in around me as the blue glow mixes with gold. As I get closer I see three figures hudled around something.

"His time has come," the tallest figure says.

"Indeed." The shortest figure says, raising a pair of shears.

The medium figure holds up something the the shortest figure cuts with the shears, which is followed by a man's scream. I watch and see a ghost float out of a tunnel and down to somewhere I can't see from my current spot. I stay hidden behind a large rock pillar, hoping the figures didn't see me.

"Come on out. We can see you," the tall figure says.

"We can see everything," the medium figure says after.

I wander out from behind the rock pillar and slowly move closer. As I get closer I finally see their faces and, we'll I don't want to be rude but they looked terrifying. The tall figure had a pointy nose, blue skin and now eyes, the medium figure has green skin, pointy nose and chin, one eye and one empty eye socket, and some strands of yellow work like hair, and finally the short one. The short one has a single eye socket, purple skin, and thick strands of green hair. They're all dress in black hooded robes and looking at me.

"Umm... Hi. My name is-"

"We know who you are " they say in unison, cutting me off in the process.

I ask them who they are and they scoff, almost offended I didn't know who they were. They each introduce themselves, the tall one is Lachesis, green skinned one is Clotho, and the short one is Atropos, and they are the Fates. My blood freezes. These weren't just dwarfs or talking animals, these were actually goddesses. For all I know this isn't something my mind made up and I'm actually talking with goddesses who could kill me where I stand.

"Oh calm down! Your time isn't up until you're 98." Clotho says.

"Then why am I here?" I ask.

"Because, you're in grave danger," Atropos says.

I ask them what they meant and Clotho takes out her one eye, gross, and it floats between the three of them as it turns into a golden orb of light that begins to show pictures. I see my myself at the computer, but I'm not playing any game or doing any work. Instead I'm looking at a panicked Persephone, dragging a folder to the trash, and then the screen and Persephone glitch in tandem before it goes black. I want to look my but the eye returns to it's original form and Atropos puts it in her socket.

"Does this mean Persephone is dangerous and I have to stop her? Or is my deleting of that folder going to put me in danger?" I ask, frantically.

"That, we're afraid we cannot tell," Lachesis says.

"Why not?! You're powerful goddesses who have the lives of everyone in your hands! Why can't you just tell me?" I shout, scared for me and Grim's future.

"We know, child. But, we can only see fate, not influence it," Clotho explains.

I go to ask something again but I feel a shaking underfoot. The stone floor cracks while rocks fall from above. The shaking gets worse as the Fates disappear in a cloud of dust and smoke as blue flames surround me. Then everything goes dark and I wake up.

"It's time to wake up! It's time to wake up! It's time to wake up!" Persephone robotically repeats.

I groan and let her know I'm awake. She smiles and tells me the date and weather, as if I'll be allowed outside. I go through the same routine as yesterday, feeling on edge after my prophecy/nightmare. Persephone asks me what's wrong and I tell her everything's fine and she seemingly believes me. Like yesterday time moves at a snails pace in this room and not one not made completely of metal or code has bothered to visit me. Maybe Ignihyde's obsession wore off and they're being normal. Wait, doesn't this mean they forgot about me?! My mind starts to race at that idea, if they forgot about me does that menace I'll never leave this room? Never see people again? Grim puts a paw on my shoulder and guides me through deep breaths to calm down.

"They wouldn't forget us," he says.

I want to believe him, but no one has visited us since we got here. So, we keep going through our new routine, trying to hold onto our collective sanity.

***

It's been weeks and no one has come for us. I don't know how much longer we can hold out! Persephone has been the only constant vistor, and as wrong as it sounds I like having her around. She's like a friend, so much so I forget she's not human but I don't care at this point. Persephone is great company but Grim isn't fully onboard with it.

"MC, look at me. Persephone isn't real, she's a robot. This isn't healthy!" Grim yells, grabbing ym cheeks and shaking me.

"You're just bitter!" I yell back, wanting to talk to Persephone more.

Grim goes to yell something back when we're interrupted by a knock on the door. I open it and see the short robot again, this time with a box. I take the box and the door closes and locks. I set the box on the table before opening it. I pull out a comically oversized Ignihyde jacket with a hood attached, navy pants, and the standard Ignihyde black and blue boots. I go into the bathroom and put it on.

"How do I look?" I ask Persephone.

"You look amazing!" Persephone says with a smile.

I sit on the bed and wait for Grim to hop up on my lap, but he's nowhere to be seen. I tear the room apart but can't find Grim, then I look towards the door. Holy fuck he must've ran out.

***

Grim's POV

Finally, I'm out of there! I was starting to loss my mind in there, thought I think MC has completely lost it. I mean, they're talking to a damn robot but we can worry about that later. I run down the halls, making sure to stay out of sight of these lunatics. It's infuriating, watching them act like they aren't torturing us.

I peek out from behind a pillar, watching Ortho come out of his room. So, if I have to find my magestone then I might as well start there. I wait for an opening and sneak into his room before he shuts the door. I start digging through stuff, looking for my magestone but I find nothing.

"It's gotta be somewhere!" I grumbles to myself.

As I'm going through his closet I hear footsteps outside the door, crap. I quickly try and fix everything before I duck under the bed as the door creaks open. His footsteps move around the room, moving things around and saying things I can't hear. Then he gets closer to the bed and I start hoping he doesn't find me. Thankfully he walks to the other side of the room and I slowly start coming out from under the bed until I see the door. I duck in the space between his desk and the chair, waiting for him to open the door just enough for me to get out.

When I finally do get my moment I rush out the door and run far from Ortho, looking for Idia's room because he's the most likely to have it if Ortho doesn't. I weave my way around people until I reach his door. Though, he never leaves it so I don't know how I'll get in. I watch from my hiding spot, trying to figure out how the hell I'll get in when I see someone knock on his door.

"Dorm leader Shroud, Headmage Crowley has arrived for your meeting," a blonde student with black roots says.

I watch Idia slowly and reluctantly leave his room and I dash in just before he closes the door. I make my way around his stacks of manga and other nerdy stuff, looking through the boxes scattered across the floor for my magestone but this guy has so much crap everywhere! As I dig through a box of manga with monster men on the cover I hear a noise. I turn around and see a blue light. I get closer and freeze.

I see MC, all the stuff they're saying to Persephone and what it's saying back. Holy fuck, this creeps been watching us the whole time! I start throwing things around both in anger and so I can hopefully find my magestone. Once I calm down I still don't see my magestone and my annoyance eats at me. As I'm digging through a pile of idol merch I hear the sound of the door opening. I panic and hide in the pile I was previously searching and watch Idia walk back to his stalker desk and slink out of the room, back down the hall, and back to our prison when the door opens for lunch.

***

MC's POV

I grab the lunch platter and feel something brush against my legs. I look and see Grim on the floor, panting like he ran a marathon. I close the door, put the tray down and crouch down.

"Grim! Where were you? I was so worried!" I yell.

"I was trying to find my magestone!" He yelled between deep breaths.

"Well, did you?" I ask.

"No, I found something worse but I can't tell you," he says.

I look at him confused and he grabs a piece of paper and blunt pencil. He grasps it in his front paws and I watch him scribble words on the paper. Once he's done I pick up the paper and read "Idia is watching us. Persephone is a spy." I look back at Grim before crumbling the paper.

"You're crazy, Grim. If Idia was stalking us he would've sent someone to let us out of here. Sure, he made Persephone but that doesn't mean he's using her to spy on us," I respond.

Grim jumps up and puts his front paws on my face and back paws on my upper chest. He looks me in the eyes and starts ranting about how this is all probably a plan made by Idia to make us stay but that can't be, Idia isn't that insane. Grim leads me into the bathroom and forces me to take a long, hard look at myself in the mirror. I see... someone who looks like me but they have dark circles under their eyes, messy hair that hasn't been properly brushed in who knows how long, and the look of a madman. I look down at my bracelet, thinking back to all the things I've told Persephone, then I look back at Grim who has a somber expression on his face.

"Holy hell... So this means Ignihyde knew we were in here, lossing our minds and they... They let it happen?!" I yell.

Grim nods, putting a paw on my chest, like he always does when I'm sad. I start tearing up, thinking about how the people I trusted turned into monsters! But, if I give up that means they'd win and since when did we every let our enemies win? Me and Grim mentally make up a plan that can only work at dinner. I look down at my bracelet, and "accidentally" slip, fall and land on it, not fully breaking it but damaging it just enough it that Persephone can only reach me through the computer. Grim gears up by the door and I log on and place our dinner order.

***

I grab the player from the teal robot and watch as Grim rushes out the door and into the hall. I sit down and log onto the computer and click the icon to reach Persephone. She greets me and I go about our conversation as I normally would while she seems none the wiser. I don't know how long he'll be gone so I keep things going with Persephone but I really want to just punch the screen and get this over with.

When the robot comes back for the dishes I see Grim rushes back in, wearing his collar. I smile and he smiles back. I turn back to Persephone and keep taking to her. I noticed that whenever I used the computer she would always be just out of veiw, hiding behind stuff in the background and smiling creepily. I've tried removing the power cables but they're practically welded into their spots. So, I start poking around the files, because there were a few game screenshots I wanted to look at, and I find something. It's a single file that looks like ever other file on the computer but I'm more drawn to it's name Persephone.char_AI. I right click on the file and press delete. The file window closes and nothing seems to happen, until Persephone looks me dead in the eyes as she starts to scream and glitch.

"Did you do this to me, MC? DID YOU?DID YOU DELETE ME?... How could you? How could you do this to me?" She asks in a distorted voice, the screen turning all sorts of colors.

"I'm sorry, but I have to," I softly tell her.

"I trusted you. Do you just want to torture me? Watch me suffer?" She yells just before the computer blue screens then turns black.

I let out a sigh, feeling a little guilty but more so happy that this is over. Then I hear the computer roar back to life but the screen is still black, then it turns blinding white and I see a glitchy, distorted, figure standing perfectly still on the screen. Grim looks at it from the bed and freezes. This one sided staring contest goes in silence as we wait for something to happen, only for the figure to speak.

"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you," it says, its voice distorted and robotic.

The door starts amking weird sounds I grab Grim and rush out the door and into the hallway. All the blue lights in the dorm have turned emergency red and we can hear Idia's voice coming from somewhere, ordering to capture us. We run faster, dodging various robots and students left and right all while hearing a once comforting voice behind us.

"MC-san. Grim-san. Please come back," Orttho says.

I keep running, trying to put as much distance between us and him as I can but it's made harder by Idia putting the whole dorm on lock down. I run faster but Ortho seems to move just as fast, like he's taunting me. I feel somwthing metal wrap around my waist again, dropping Grim in the process.

"Let me go!" I yell, struggling in Ortho's grip.

Ortho doesn't say anything, pulling me towards him. I watch Grim turn around and use his fire on Ortho, making him let me go. I grab Grim quickly and start running faster towards the exit. The sounds of robots moving towards me echoes all around us, closing in more and more the closer the exit gets. I'm not going back, I'm not getting stuck here!

"Is that a meatl door?!" Grim asks.

I look and a fucking metal door is lowering over the dorm's main door! I pick up the pace but unfortunately the door sales down before we can get out. We start at it, trying to figure out how the hell get out until a line of flames bursts through the door, melting the metal and making a large hole.

"Do not fear child of man, I am here," a familiar voice says.

It's hard to really notice his nefarious tendencies. You will have that low-level gut feeling that something is wrong, but you cannot put a finger on it. Perhaps it's because Sunny suddenly became buddy-buddy with your parents, so they invited him to the family brunch without going through you first- and he's the only one present that's not related by blood. Maybe he became so integrated with your other friend groups that he gets asked to hang out with them while leaving you out (Of course, Sunny will always reject them and tell you what has happened "out of respect").

Or, you're not recognised as yourself anymore. You're constantly referred to as "Sunny's Girlfriend" and nothing else.

It's the social manipulation that quietly drains you in the background. At the same time, you'll be painted as "crazy", "unreasonable", "attention-seeking", "Jealous", "insecure", or "entitled" when you try to excise Sunny away like the cancerous tumour he is.

Sunny wouldn't feed you lies or fearmonger you into isolation. He does so from the outside in, making everyone else so damn unbearable to you by stealing all their love for himself. You would eventually isolate yourself, and Sunny wouldn't even need to lift a finger. He's just so naturally affable that you will absolutely appear dull in comparison. It doesn't matter how hard you try; you will never surpass the flawless Sunny in everyone's eyes.

Don't worry about him leaving you for someone better, though. If you notice, he will reject every and any invitation that comes his way unless you're willing to attend too. Which is arguably worse, because you're just there to see how loved he is and how undervalued you are in your network. You can't fuck off and do your own thing either, as Sunny's possessive iron grip on your waist doesn't allow you to do so. So you would be just stuck there, getting constantly politely ignored or brushed off by people.

Not long after dating him, you will realise that you have nothing of your own except Sunny. He will snatch everyone's attention and favour away from you, and there will be nothing you can do about it.

When it comes to having chronic conditions, you would be surprised that Sunny knows what to do. Well, maybe not much of a surprise, since he's a Pharmaceutical Sales rep, he would have some background in health and medicine. No doubt about it, he knows what PoTS are. And he would know how to modify his exercises to fit your ability level.

He wouldn't make you do anything too fast or strenuous, and he would modify it so that you're doing your leg extensions and knee raises seated on a chair. Sunny would utilise resistance bands to let you do your stretches. He would ditch the fitness class entirely to bring you to a swimming pool, where it would be much gentler (compressed?) on your blood vessels.

The first time you pass out of him and convulsed, he would know what to do. Sunny would first catch you, so you don't fall and crack your head open. Then, he would gently lower you onto the ground in a lying position with your head resting on his thigh (it's the softest thing he has on hand). He knows it will pass, so he waits. Monitoring you closely and brushing away any stray hairs from your face, loosening the area around your neck.

Upon regaining consciousness, the first thing you would see is Sunny's sympathetic smile, before receiving a kiss on your forehead for being so brave.

Sunny wouldn't mind too much if you went fully catatonic; he might like it, even. It's not above him to have Munchausen syndrome by proxy. He will be extremely doting on you, calling himself your caretaker and treating you as if you're genuinely incapable of being self-sufficient ever again.

He would fucking ham it up in front of others, telling them that you contracted some disease or had an accident and now you're severely disabled. So, being the loving and loyal boyfriend he is, Sunny is more than happy to "sacrifice his potential" to care for you. And everyone WILL eat that shit up, especially when he would bring you around in a wheelchair.

He would try his best to encourage you to exercise; he believes health is something that money cannot buy back, so he would do as much as he could to maintain it. If you don't move, he is willing to stretch your body for you.

But good luck getting any doctor to believe you ever again. After getting a sweet taste of the Caretaker life, he's never going back. You are never getting your autonomy back for as long as he can help it.