this bad boy can fit so much Trauma

AU NAME: Ending Found

"...he got up from his desk and stepped out of his office."

Stanley stared blankly at the floor. He knew the blood and tears would all be gone, erased by the reset, but his hands were still shaking. He still felt cold and empty.

Was he really back here? Reunited with his Narrator?

He sat down cross-legged and leaned against the drawers of the desk. It seemed like Henry didn't remember the last cycle, but that was alright. He knew he'd understa-

"Stanley just sat there doing nothing at all," Henry interrupted, audibly irritated. "He seems to think I have nothing better to do with my time than to sit around and describe every fascinating little detail of his inability to do anything. This is why Stanley and I are on such good terms."

...Oh. That was odd. Stanley raised his hands and signed, <Are you okay?>

No response. He tried again, and this time the Narrator said, "Now Stanley was waving his... wait, is that sign language? When did you learn that?"

Alright, so the last run had reset to before they'd found the sign language book. That was fine. He could just write it down. He stood up again and tried to grab the notebook off his desk, only to realize that it was missing as well.

That far back, huh? Stanley sighed and picked up a pencil and a blank sheet of paper. He started to write, but he soon noticed that the pencil wasn't making any marks. It wasn't even leaving an indent; it just glided smoothly across the page.

This was where Henry chose to chime in again. "Stanley, what on earth are you doing? I haven't- I mean, how did you even know I was going to add that?"

His shoulders slumped. Really far back, then. Before he'd even started to communicate with the Narrator.

"Never mind," Henry muttered. "Let's just start over from the top."

Stanley's vision went dark, and after a few seconds, he heard the Narrator repeat the opening monologue. When it ended, he trudged out of his office obediently. No better time to start than now, he reasoned.

The bucket wasn't even there, nor was its pedestal. It almost felt like the universe was laughing at him. He'd gone from breaking the bounds of the game and going further than its creators had ever intended... to this.

Oh well. No point in complaining about it.