Your Choice

21 - Everyone's Favorite Ragdoll

A/N: I don't actually have anything to say, it just feels a bit unnatural to have a chapter start at the very beginning of the page and not have a small part before it 🤷

"Y/N, what am I gonna do with you?" Ragatha sighed, holding your now-unconscious form limply in her rag doll arms. She headed over to the debris from the sugar brick wall of the prison cell, and let out a relieved sigh as she finally saw the light of day once again. Now, all she had to do was find Caine and help you. 

She limped slightly from the uneven distribution of your weight, and her pace was slower than it usually was due to her exhaustion of the day. The jail was attached to the main castle, but through many long, winding corridors that were more like a labyrinth than a passageway. Her hair was ragged. Kind of ironic however, due to the fact her digital character was a Raggedy Ann doll. The slight breeze that brushed her shoulders felt foreign. 

She couldn't recall what exactly happened to her sleeves. She ripped them off and gave them to you, one to protect you from biting your tongue and the other to protect your wrist from the freezing cold of the makeshift icepack, but once the corruption began they disappeared without a trace. The only likely explanation would be that they had somehow glitched out of existence. And Ragatha believed that that possibility was terrifying. 

Right turn. Right turn. Left turn. Straight. Right turn. Straight. Ragatha stumbled through the maze as you slept peacefully in her arms, not disturbed in the slightest. She smiled each time she looked down at you, glad you were safe, as the thought of you abstracting gave her a heart-stopping fright. 

Left turn. Straight. Left turn. Left turn. Right turn. Voices. Straight. Left turn. 

Ragatha stopped for a second, processing that she had actually heard voices and wasn't alone in this network of walls. She turned around trying to recall which way she had came. She had gone straight, then a left turn, so in reverse that would be...

She heard the voices again, this time in the other direction, and she dashed towards them. "Hello?!" she urgently cried out. They stopped talking. Feint footsteps could be heard as they bounced through the halls. "Hello?" she called out again. 

Ragatha heard no response, not even the minuscule comfort of footsteps. Her arms started getting tired, and your body felt heavier. She didn't know how much longer she could carry you.

"Ragatha?" A voice finally replied. "Where are you?" One pair of footsteps, thumping against the ground in an uneven pattern as they ran. Another pair of footsteps, much quieter, and barely making contact with the hard floor beneath. The farther into this labyrinth Ragatha went, the less sunlight was able to make it in. The only unroofed part was the exit of the cell. The singular reason the two of you weren't engulfed by complete darkness was the occasional torch that had been littered throughout the walls randomly. 

The voice was a familiar one that Ragatha had been able to place easily, as she had spent so much time in the circus and had become accustomed to all of its residents. It had a slight feminine twang, yet somehow managed to be one of the lowest pitched in the circus. "Zooble?!" Ragatha replied. Their voice got louder.

"Zooble? Y/N and I need a little assistanc-" Ragatha started, before having the air knocked out of her when she turned a corner and ran directly into the abomination of shapes and colors. Barely holding onto you, she stumbled a bit and fell onto the floor. 

"Ow, son of a- RAGATHA! Everyone's been worried sick about you and Y/N! You weren't here with us and then we went to find you and we couldn't so we split up to our teams and... holy s- CRASH, are you two alright?!" As Zooble began to rant, Gangle managed to catch up to her teammate who had one hell of a stamina. She tried to catch her breath. 

"What... what... hap... penned..." Gangle gasped between exhausted heaves. She wasn't used to running. She noticed you and her eyes widened.

You looked peaceful in Ragatha's arms, and compared to her current state you were doing amazing. But by yourself... not really. You had a couple scrapes and bruises throughout your body, as well as soot on your face from the explosion. The tips of your fingers were also very slightly darker than the rest of your hand.

Ragatha slowly placed you on the floor as her arms were mere seconds away from giving out. "Please... help them..." Zooble, who was more concerned about their friend, insisted on helping Ragatha first. Gangle tried her best to help you.

"What happened to your sleeves?!"

"Gave them to Y/N..."

"Your hair?"

"Really long story. A summary: prison and explosions." 

"What the- actually, I won't question it. What about the mark on your face? Does that hurt at all?"

"I can barely feel it."

"What's your total average pain on a scale of 1/10?"

"Umm..." Ragatha thought for a second before responding, "3/10. I'm more concerned about them right now though..." She gestured towards you. 

As if on cue, Gangle turned towards Ragatha and Zooble with a concerned look on her face. "Bad news, they won't wake up." As if in a demonstration, she shook you softly. 

"IS Y/N BREATHING?!" Ragatha shouted, rushing over to your side as if it would help. She put her head against your chest, and luckily felt it rise and fall slightly. Next she checked your pulse. It was a bit slow, but it was still at stable conditions. 

"I think they're fine-" Gangle began, before whispering quietly, "I hope they're fine..."

"The best way for us to help you is for you to tell us everything that happened. From the arrival to now," Zooble informed. 

"Can we be positive that Y/N is okay though? I swear if anything were to happen to them... I know it would be my fault..."

"Listen Rags, I highly doubt that any of this is your fault, but we know nothing about this situation. I can assure you though, Y/N is gonna be fine. We'll monitor their condition for a bit, and we'll also have Caine's assistance once this adventure is over. Let's just stay calm for now, alright?" Zooble comforted. 

The rag doll slightly nodded her head, still looking at you as if you would disappear at any second. And knowing what she had to do, not just for you but for herself, she began to speak.

A/N: ughhh its filler againnnnnnnn. I bet at least a third of you skipped this chapter cause it don't got nothing good. but we can't have the really good juicy chapters without the boring dry ones. AND I PROMISE Y'ALL WILL BE FEASTING SOON CAUSE SHIT ABOUT TO GET REAL (or so I hope; y'all [and the wheel generator] are the ones making the choices)