TW: NEEDLES, SUICIDAL THOUGHTS.

———

It truly was never meant to be like this.

Our misfortune creates who we are today.

But a person can only take so much.

Eventually.

They'll snap.

Like a twig.

Hold on a little longer child.

Just a little longer.

———

Cobs left the room and slammed the door shut. The slamming of the door echoed throughout the hallway. He walked down the hallway with a smile, and towards the room Fan had been training in. He opened the door to the dusty, destroyed room. With the wave of his hand, the walls were filled back in with a cluster of darkness. He scanned his eyes around the room, his glasses flickered in the dim light.

Fan was nowhere to be seen. He sighed angrily, and placed his hands behind his back. Where could he have gone? He didn't sense Fan's presence anywhere around here. Which was trouble some. He walked down the hallway again. He stopped in front of the door that was filled to the brim with the shadow like creatures.

He opened the door and entered. Some of them were scrapping and fighting with each other. The smarter ones fighting verbally, and the more animalistic creatures scrapping and tussling.

He watched this for a few moments before growing annoyed. "ENOUGH." He bellowed. Which caused the room to freeze. And all of the creatures slumped back. The faint sound of glitching filled Cob's ears and he sighed. "I expect you all to guard the prisoner... And NOT scrap like dogs." Cobs snarled.

The leader of his army stepped, or, jumped forward. "Yes of course." The spring answered as its corrupted body glitched and distorted.

Cobs nodded and left. Down the hall into the main room. The door shut behind him. He stood in the main part of the Meeple before teleporting to the hitel, or at least near it. Where he presumed Fan left to. Like a fool.

Balloon was shaking violently. His face soaked with tears, he was hurting... It hurt. He hurt. He hated this. He wanted to leave. Why him? Who gave him these powers?! Who doomed him to this fate? Why was his life so horrible? The only good things in his life seemed to have been ripped away from him in an instant. He was going to be here forever wasn't he?

He cried harder. He'd do anything to go back in time. To just... Never join the show. Hell... He'd do anything to go back and never take that stupid train.

None of his life would be this horrible. He could be a happy, normal kid. Going to high school with a proper education. With actual friends. He could be happy.

If he had never got on that stupid train...

———

Rubber Ball directed the young boy, who had been running in circles on the platform, onto the subway train. "Come on Balloon, you're going to fall!" She chuckled and helped Balloon up onto the train.

"Thanks mom!" Balloon laughed giggling a bit as his tooth gap pretty obvious.

"No problem, now go sit next to your father, I'll be there in a moment!" Rubber Ball chirped explained.

"Alright... Do I HAVE to sit?" Balloon whined quietly.

"Yes... you do, you're too short to reach the handles bud! You're only six." Rubber Ball explained. Her green colour nearly blue in the lighting they were in.

"But I'm a big boy!" He said making a annoyed frown.

"Hahah... almost honey... Now go sit!"

"Okay..." he walked towards the blue subway seat and sat next to his father, Helium Tank.

"You okay bud?" Helium Tank asked as he looked down at Balloon. He lowered his magazine.

"Mom says I can't stand...! She says I'm too short to reach the handle bars up there!" Balloon frowned again.

"Well, you are! Heh... you can't reach yet."

"B—but...!"

"Hey, I'll let you play on my phone until we get home if you sit nice." Helium Tank bribed.

"Really?" Balloon's eyes lit up.

"Mhm, just don't tell your mother. It was me." Helium Tank added.

"Okay! Okay! Gimme!" Balloon said ecstatically as he reached his hands up

"Ah! Magic words?"

"Please...?"

"Okay bud." Helium Tank handed his phone down to Balloon.

Balloon immediately watched the downloaded cartoons his dad usually kept on his phone for Balloon to watch on long train rides. He seemed pretty content, he giggled at almost every little thing as most six year olds do.

Rubber Ball came and sat on the other side of Balloon. She gasped dramatically and looked down at Balloon. "Now who gave you that!" She laughed.

"Dad says I can't tell you!" Balloon answered.

Helium Tank and Rubber Ball both laugh.

"Whatever you say..." Rubber Ball giggled and patted Balloon's head.

Balloon flinched a bit as he felt the train began to move. He swayed his feet in his seat, as he watched the phone intensely. Like any six year old would... but something sounded off... the moment 5he train was fully going there was a loud CLANK that echoed throughout the whole train. The shaking was way too intense for Balloon to focus, he was starting to become scared.

"Wh—what's going on?!" Balloon shouted afraid.

"I have no idea j—just stay in your seat..." Helium Tank reassured.

"Mom?!" Balloon squeaked with concern.

"It's okay just... just shhh.. okay?" Rubber Ball smiled

"O—okay..."

Suddenly a loud rumble echoed throughout the train and a crash could be heard. Half of the train cart was taken out, the rushing wall could be visible from where the opposite seats used to be. The short screams of the objects that used to sit there was traumatic... Balloon's eyes filled with tears and he pressed his back further against his seat, and let out a terrified scream.

Rubber Ball and Helium Tank thinking quickly, grabbed a blanket from inside the bag they had and wrapped Balloon in it for padding before shielding him with themselves... they could feel their son shaking and sobbing fear underneath the blanket. If there was a harsh impact, even if they shielded the young boy he'd pop.

Helium tank told Balloon, "I need you to deflate a little bit okay?! I know it's uncomfortable... But please...!" He pleaded.

Balloon, scared out of his mind, did as he was told. After all, he didn't want to die.

Now, it would be more difficult for him to pop.

the train began to tip...

The two parents whispered prayers underneath their breath... they weren't religious but...they were desperate... desperate for their son to live... and the next thing they knew...

Silence and darkness...

The sound of rubble from the collapsed tunnel could be hear as little pebbles fell from the ceiling and hit the floor. A search team that had an hour after the crash had found mostly bodies of objects who had lost their lives...

But....

Miraculously...

There was one survivor. Shielded by two other objects.

He was small...

And so fragile....

Yet he was the only survivor.

And his name?

Balloon.

The search party, and the police searched for survivors. They found the young boy lying in the embrace of his now deceased parents. Of course Balloon himself was bruised up by the impact. It wasn't pretty. Not at all. But he was alive.

"I got an alive one!" Called one of the officers as they shined their flashlight on the unconscious bruised form of the young boy in front of them.

People rush over to see the miracle of a child lying in blood and rubble. They were impressed, who wouldn't be? Paramedics rushed him onto a stretcher and down the tunnel to the ambulance.

Balloon could smell the overwhelming scent of blood, mixed with a must and dust. Everything aches. His whole body was sore. He choked out a sob. He was so young, and this was the worst pain he had ever experienced.

He heard shouting, and his vision was so blurry... His head pounded, and no words could escape his lips. When light hit his face he flinched and winced at the pain the sudden movement had caused.

Shouting and people calling out to the paramedics filled his ears, though it sounded like it was underwater. He could barely comprehend what was happening. He could hear people calling out to their loved ones in way that sounded like he was being swept away by a river. He was escorted out of the subway towards an ambulance. The only thing that was engraved in his mind, was the sign he could barely read.

'Doorknob's Subway Station'

He was rushed into an ambulance. Sounds rushed through his ears and clustered together into inaudible noise. He managed to get a few words out. Nearly choking on blood he could feel filling his throat.

"M-mom-my...? D-d-ad-dy...?!" He called out. He wanted his parents, everything was hurting. Why weren't they hugging and holding him like before?! Where did they go? He cried louder, blood leaking from his mouth. He didn't understand what was going on.

He hadn't even learnt what death WAS yet!

Where was his mom and dad?!

He felt the paramedics poke his arms with needles. And put IVs in his mouth. They were to drain the blood so he wouldn't suffocate, but how was he supposed to know that...?! He was scared. What was going on?!

"Can you hear me...?" Said one of the paramedics working above him.

His vision began to clear up, his head was pounding and the sound of the sirens wasn't helping. "Wh—a-...?"

"Shhh... Hey. Listen, can you tell me your name little girl?" The paramedic asked.

"N-o... Bo-y." He corrected, feeling discomfort from being called a different gender. Though some of his physical characteristics signified his sex was female, he'd always believed he was a boy since just after he turned five. It felt right like that.

"Boy? Okay buddy, we'll what's your name? Can you remember?" They ask, being polite.

"B-ball-oon..." He muttered through his pain, the IV tube in his mouth muffled his speech a bit.

"Balloon? Alright, how old are you?" They asked.

"S-si-x..." He whimpered through his tears.

"Jesus..." The paramedic looked up at their partner. "He's so young..."

"Yeah... Poor boy." The other responded.

"Start the report, I'll try to stop the bleeding."

"Copy."

Bleeding?! He was bleeding?! Balloon began to panic. He tried to look through the pain and weakness.

The paramedic pushed him back down. "Stop moving! You'll hurt yourself worse!" They shout.

Balloon began to panic. He cried and squirmed around trying to look.

"Scratch the report for now! I need to sedate him before he hurts himself!" They yell in panic.

The other hurried and grabbed a syringe and taped it to make sure there were no air bubbles. They then press the needle into his arm, and inject the sedative into the young boy.

Balloon began to get drowsy and felt his eyes slowly rift shut... Everything faded back underwater, and his vision got dark. And, he began to drift off to sleep.

At least nothing hurt too bad anymore.

———

Balloon couldn't take much more of this... He hated his life. Everyone was out to get him. How did he know anything was real? What was even the point of thinking everything was fine?! These powers ruined everything more than they had been already.

He wanted all of this to go away. He wished he'd just... Peacefully fall asleep and never wake up. Not die... More like a coma. A coma that would last forever. Which was essentially the same thing, but he was trying to ease the blow of the idea.

After all dying sounded a bit extreme.

The friction of the chains were beginning to rub the skin off of his wrists. His body ached, and he could only cry. He didn't really know what else he was good for...

What else could be done...?

———

Nickel managed to get the hot air balloon floating. He, didn't remember how to get there, but he remembered the general direction from the competition. And if winging meant getting Balloon back, he'd take those odds.

The wind high up in the sky was strong. So the hot air balloon was difficult to navigate. Nickel used the the claws to try and keep himself on track. Another thing he also forgot since the last time he was up here was the cold. God, it was so fucking cold.

Nickel tried his best to continue further, luckily he managed to find the building. He spotted the building that he could've sworn wasn't hordes in a mass of shadows and glitchy madness. God knows what's inside, but he needed to make sure Balloon was okay.

Nickel steered himself to the MeCloud, and managed to hop off of the hot air balloon. He ran towards the entrance, there was no huge Mephone that prevented him from entering like last time. Which was good...

He ran towards the front door and entered.

He had to find Balloon.

———

Yes!!! I copied and pasted part of this chapter from another one of my books— BUT... TEHRES NEW LORE! An new part to his backstory yay!

Anyways—

Hope you guys liked this chapter!!!

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