//------------------------------// // Endgame // Story: Aria and Sonata Have a Prank War // by Glitch Hooves //------------------------------// Date: 9/24/2014 7:24 AM Endgame... Groggy, cold, and damp. These were definitely not the words Aria would use to describe the condition in which she slept last night. Heck, she slept fairly well yesterday all things considered, they had almost an entire high school under their control, and after today, they'd finally go back home... So why was she waking up in the basement? She was hanging upside down from the ceiling in the center of the room by a chain wrapped around her feet, her hounds were even bound behind her. She could feel the blood rushing to her head which is what woke her up to begin with. She looked around and saw a skeleton hanging by its wrists on the wall. Right next to it was the skeleton of a cat in the same exact way. Wrists and all. 'Why is their the skeleton of a cat chained to the wall...? Wait? Why are their skeletons on our walls?!' In front of her was an assortment of containers, each one holding inside either a bug or reptile. Snakes and lizards, wasps and even some Hissing Cockroaches. Some animals even she assumed went extinct, and that's saying something! She could see a large drape covering something in the corner of the basement, anything else behind her she couldn't see. Can't say this is the strangest place she's woken up in... She was wearing the same clothes she went to sleep in, a black tank top and boxer shorts. Both of which were experiencing the results of gravity. 'Great... what else could go wrong?' "Helloooo, sister," a voice said from the darkness. 'Ughhhh... why me?' "What do you want, Sonata?" Aria groaned. "Oh... nothing," she giggled innocently, still shrouded in the darkness that surrounded Aria. Aria gave a dirty look into the patch of darkness the voice was emanating from. "Okay... fine" Sonata whined, emerging from the darkness. She was wearing the same clothes as yesterday. She was even wearing the same knee-socks as before, doing a good job of hiding her secret shame. "So; you know how we kinda have the entire high school under our spell?" "... yeah?" Aria answered, unsure as to where this was going. "I mean, we were just there yesterday, and we have to go back today to finish the job," Aria answered. "Well, since the girls from Equestria will do whatever want after today, and after we become queens, I thought we would become busy. You know, like bees," she explained. "I guess...? But that doesn't explain why YOU HAVE ME CHAINED TO THE CEILING!" Aria burst suddenly, lashing at Sonata. Sonata didn't even flinch from the sudden outburst. "Well, I started thinking-" "Wait? You started thinking?" Aria mocked. Sonata put on a grumpy face before continuing. "I thought that after today, we'll never be able to continue this little game between you and me-" "Yeah, real shame," Aria continued to mock. "So... I figured: if we're not gonna keep playing, why not finish it today?" she asked rhetorically. Sonata started to walk towards Aria slowly. "What does that mean?" Sonata walked right past her and Aria could hear screeching wheels in the next moment. Sonata came back into view, and she was pushing in front of her a large whiteboard. The one from the school, no doubt. She positioned it in front of Aria and pulled from her pocket a dry erase marker before pointing at the board with it. She started to draw a human head. "Today, we're going to learn about the human brain!" she said excitedly. ... ... ... Aria stared, dumbfounded. She'd be lying if she said her jaw hadn't... risen? Was she serious? This was her coup de grace? Aria couldn't help but to start laughing. "A-Are you kidding me?" she chortled. "You're 'master plan' was to bore me to death?" Sonata either didn't hear her or didn't care cause she just kept talking and drawing. She began drawing a squiggly circle in the cranium after announcing the subject. "You see, the brain is an amazing organ, Ari. So many of its capabilities are unknown; even to us! Some of these things we have a basic idea of, but we can't understand completely, and may never will. Such things like: Sleep, morality, personal preferences... and pain..." her voice turned crooked as she suddenly pressed down on the board and the lines became sharper. She drew a lighting bolt inside the brain swiftly as a few cracks began to show up on the actual board. That sly smile on Aria's face was wiped off nearly instantly. "Any questions?" Sonata asked, turning to face her. She had an entirely new outlook, her mascara was now running, giving the illusion of black tears, and a few strands in her hair were loose, but that smile... that goddamn smile. She swore it looked like someone took a pair of hedge clippers and slit it from ear to ear. Aria refused to speak. "Good! Now we can move on to the demonstration!" she said cryptically. She started to walk behind Aria again. But this time she heard a strange clanging noise from behind her, and then the sound of rusted wheels trying to move forward. Aria felt a presence beside her, she turned her head just slightly to address what she assumed was Sonata. Right next to her face, looking in the opposite direction, was a blow-torch. It let out a spurt of flames that fired away from Aria. But close enough to feel the heat. She let out a scream, pulling away from the flames by shifting her body weight. The torch pulled back behind her, but now she was swinging from left to right. She was panting heavily as she tried to turn loose from her hanging prison. But as one would imagine, this proved futile. She felt a hand stop her and she settled to her original resting position as Sonata's head appeared by her side. She was cradling the blow-torch like it was a child in her arms. "Amazing thing, isn't it?" she asked rhetorically. "This beauty is able to spit out flames at a whopping three thousand and five hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Simple astounding," she praised. "What's, 'Astounding,' is how far my foot will go up your *%! if you don't cut me down right now!" Aria barked, struggling against her binds. Sonata gave a disappointed look at Aria before that smile came back. "Temper, temper, dear sister. I'll be sure to curb your... enthusiasm" she purred. She walked in front of her, that ear-to-ear smile boring into Aria's eyes. "Look at me," she said. Aria turned her head away. "I SAID LOOK AT ME!" Sonata roared, she suddenly reached for something behind her and suddenly smacked Aria with a small Salmon. She dropped the thing and suddenly cupped one hand around Aria's temple and forced her head around to stare into her eyes. Sonata inched closed to her sister, that smile never leaving, her eyes bearing a message of macabre. Her breathing was steady and warm, it brushed off into Aria's forehead. giving a cold feeling when it came into contact with the sweat on her brow. "You are beautiful." Aria pulled away from her grip quickly and started to thrash more before calling for help. "ADAGIO! HELP! SHE'S F!*&#$} CRAZY!" A voice rang down to the basement, Aria's spirits lifted up exponentially. Until she heard the message they brought. "GET SOME SLEEP FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" "It's no use; once I told Dagi this was guaranteed to end this game, and give her peace, she gave me the go-ahead," Sonata cooed, walking around Aria in circles. "You're bluffing!" she called. "Care to try me?" Sonata dared. "How about another lesson in biology?" she grabbed the marker, but the board was cracked and broken. So instead she resorted to drawing on Aria's exposed stomach. Aria couldn't see what she was drawing, but it felt as if she were only writing scribbles. "That little torch is so hot, that when exposed to flesh, the synapses, the little nerves that respond to pain, die, and go into shock," she explained. "It's strange, really. Cause you don't feel a thing, except something really, really cold! And maybe even the smell of burning flesh to accompany it," she stopped suddenly and dropped the marker on the floor. "Isn't science fun, Ari?" she waited a moment, as if expecting her to answer. "ISN'T IT!" "You let me down, NOW!" "You'll smell burning meat, and then it'll start to hurt," she acted as if she hardly even heard her. She went back behind Aria and then she heard the sound of something scrapping against the floor. It sounded like a chair. She could hear Sonata taking a seat behind it. "The situation is very simple, Ari. All you have to do is surrender to me, and acknowledged me as the best, and we can all go back to sleep," she explained. "Screw off!" "Tsk, tsk, tsk... guess it'll be a long night," she muttered. A small chuckle sounded off next. "Strange, isn't it? Felt like only yesterday I marked my words, huh?" "I hope you choke!" "'It was Aria Blaze who fired the first shot, but it shall be Sonata Dusk who fires the last'." she said with a nostalgic smile. Aria could hear the sound of the torch going off. But that was it. She could hear the sound of something sizzling, and the realization made her sick. She couldn't feel anything. She just bore witness to the sound of burning flesh and that was it. Than she could feel her nerves wake up as the feel of something freezing spread across her back. Like she was lying down naked on the arctic. She started screaming like some mad thing. Aria was thrashing about, the continuous sound of burning flesh and the feel of the cold. It drove her mad. "STOP IT!" she screamed, feeling some pride drain away with the words. Sonata stopped, allowing Aria a moment of respite. "All you gotta say is three simple words, Ari," and with that, she went right back too it. She started thrashing again wildly. The adrenaline in her mind made things difficult on a reasonable standpoint, so all that she was left doing was screaming profanities at her sister. The sizzling noise was becoming god-awful as a foul stench filled her nostrils. "WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY!?" she managed to scream. "Well it's very simple, really. All you have to say is 'I give up'," she said. "Say those three words, and we can finish this." "%$!@#*& FINE! I GIVE UP!" she screamed, hoping that this would end. Sonata stopped for a second, considering her words. Just a second. "I'm not yet satisfied," she said before turning it back on. "WHAT THE HELL?!" she screamed "I want you to refer to me as 'The Best,' for once!" Sonata demanded. "ARE YOU %$@!*& KIDDING ME!?" "Oh look! I think I'm starting to melt body fat!" Sonata cried out enthusiastically. "OKAY! YOU'RE THE BEST!" Aria shrieked, thrashing wildly still. "Hmmmm..." she hesitated, turning down the flame's power. it still remained on though and the immolation of Aria's back was reduced to a flambeing. "OH COME ON!" "That didn't sound authentic," she muttered. "WHAT THE HELL ELSE DO YOU WANT?" "Sing for me..." Sonata purred. "WHAT!?" "Sing the song." said Sonata huskily. "Please, n-!" Aria was suddenly cut off as the flames grew louder in a very short time span and the cold feeling on her back was pressing down even more! "YOU'RE THE BEST! AROUND! NOTHINGS EVER GONNA KEEP YOU DOWN!" "You're mine now, Ari," Sonata chortled. She turned off the Blow-Torch and began to slowly walk in front of Aria, device still in one hand. Aria was practically heaving her breaths that continuously quivered in its wake. She hadn't even realized she'd been crying. "You're a psychopath! A %$#@!*& psycho- hmm!" she suddenly felt something being shoved into her mouth. It was cherry flavored... It was a half melted Popsicle stick. And now that the panic was draining away from her, that smell she was smelling. It was pork... Sonata was roasting pork. She was confused at first, and it must have showed on her face if Sonata's muffled laughter was anything to go off of. Then she realized it. Sonata hadn't even laid a finger on her. It was just a ploy, a bloody game! There was no flames licking at her back! She was just lathering the Popsicle stick on her! Aria spit out the Popsicle from her mouth, the half melted treat's taste still stuck in her taste-buds. She looked up at her sister with a look of utter disbelief; which slowly merged into pure malice. "You son of a @#$%!" she bellowed. She was afraid to use the W word just in case. Sonata was now keeled over laughing like a mad-woman. Her deranged laughter, echoing across the basement, and bouncing off the walls. She was laughing so hard that she began to snort whenever she took in a breath. "D-Did you see even hear yourself?!" she asked through small breaths. "You were all like, 'No! Please! Stop! AHHHHH!'," she began her tirade of laughter once more. "I did not sound like that!" Aria protested, trying to swing herself at Sonata. This proved to appear more comical than threatening Sonata had wiped a tear from her eye before reaching into her other pocket. She pulled out a tape-recorder. Making sure Aria got a good look at the device, she pressed play. *Click* "NO! PLEASE! STOP! AHHHHH!" it played. "..." Aria was giving her a defiant glare as Sonata burst into more fits of laughter. "I suppose this is the end of an era, dear sister," she said whilst picking herself off the floor. "Go screw yourself," she spat. "Well then, now to make sure nothing like this ever happens again, I need to leave you with my ultimatum," "You're gonna threaten me?" "What? No!" she suddenly looked up the stairs leading to the living room. "DAGI! DAGI! RELEASE THE MONKEY!" she called out. There was a brief moment of silence. "I SAID GET SOME SLEEP!" Following shortly after that was another awkward pause. "Wait? There's a monkey in Adagio's room?" "I thought there was..." Sonata murmured. Now there were loud crashing noises coming from upstairs, as well as an assortment of, 'Ooh ahh ahh's!' and high pitched screaming. "WHY THE HELL IS THAT HERE! SONATA!!" they heard a voice cry. "There he is," Sonata smiled. There was a brief pause as the two listened in on the carnage upstairs. "I'm sure she'll be fine,' Sonata assured with an embarrassed tone. Aria noticed a shadow crawl over to Sonata's foot. She thought it was a giant rat until it started to crawl up her leg, it revealed a patch of grey and white fur. It was just Bom, Sonata's newest rodent. He crawled up her leg and to her shoulder where his worm-like tail hung down. She put a finger on his chin as she began to scratch and pet him. She was simultaneously walking towards the large object that was covered by a drape. She grabbed a handful of it and turned to Aria. "Since my little monkey plan failed. I must now resort to plan B," she said, a hand still on Bom's chin. "The hell is plan B?" Aria asked, with the adrenaline fading from her body, she felt exhausted and her eyelids were growing heavy. "Only the most horrid of horrible horrors! Prepare your bladder for imminent release!" she cackled maniacally. "Nuh-uh!" She pulled over the drapes revealing just what exactly they were hiding. It was a large cage, and inside it was a 27x40 poster of Sonata's tattoo. "Oh my G-!" Aria cut herself off and turned away. "I never actually got a good look at it till today..." "Does this not fill your bladder with terror?!" Sonata exclaimed with a crooked hand in the air. "Not really, but... oh God! Why do I have piercings... there?" "I dunno. Ask Dagi about that one," Sonata said. "Oh! I almost forgot!" she went behind Aria once more and grabbed something. Aria could hear rustling and then she appeared once more with a weird looking object... or device. It looked like it could fit around Aria's neck and on each side was a metal wedge with two prongs on both sides. "The hell is this?" Aria asked as Sonata began to fit it around her neck. The prongs now dug into her shoulder and the underside of her chin. "A little incentive so you don't look away," Sonata explained. "If you relax your head or turn you head around-" she suddenly jammed a pointy finger into Aria's stomach, not enough to hurt her, but it definitely surprised her a bit. "You get the point!" "This things gonna stab me?!" Aria exclaimed, becoming stiff as a board. "What? No! It'll just feel really uncomfortable," Sonata answered. "Than I'll just close my eyes!" Aria exclaimed. Her lids were suddenly forced open and she could see Sonata holding something in one hand. It was tape. "Oh really now!" Aria groaned, disgruntled as her eyes were taped open. Sonata took one final look around Aria's face to make sure everything was in place. After assuring herself that nothing would fall out or the tape wouldn't dry up too soon, she gave a happy smile to Aria. "Well! Goodnight!" she exclaimed. "Wha-! That's it?! Goodnight!?" Aria shouted, her eyes furrowing in more rage. "Yep! Goodnight!" Sonata gave a quick hug to Aria before turning around and heading for the steps. As she climbed up the steps, she sang a little song to herself in the silence. Aria was now forced to stare in mild discomfort at an explicit image of her in graphic and clear detail. She winced whenever she noticed something she was unaware of earlier. "I didn't even know it could do that..." she muttered.