Change and go to sleep

Arrest... Trial... False **** accusation...

"You’re a… **** now?” Your best friend stuttered over the phone. You have just explained what had happened to your entire friend group, but they all immediately believed the lies and turned their backs on you.

“I’m not! I already told you all, I did nothing wro-” You begin, shouting over the phone.

“Then why did she say you did?!”

You got into so much trouble for no reason...

You scowl at the memory of that incident. It was early March.

Police just came in and said some woman said you **** her. Thankfully, nobody showed up to testify and without any evidence that you **** anyone, you were acquitted.

Unfortunately, that was only the start of your troubles. Somehow, word reached the school. While some of the teachers did try to convince the principal otherwise, their attempts fell on deaf ears and you were expelled.

You grab your phone to set the alarm, and raise an eyebrow when you see a weird eye icon looking bad at you... Hm, a weird app has somehow ended up on your phone... You drag it to the trash, make sure your alarm volume is turned up. You shove the phone back into your pocket and then lower your head so it rests on top of your pillow. Tomorrow, you'll see what this brand-new school is like, and hopefully start convincing Connie that you are not a violent ****. You are going to need all the luck in the world. Your eyelids are starting to get heavy... You yawn loudly and then close your eyes, feeling far too exhausted to stay awake any longer. Within seconds, you are fast asleep.

You open your eyes to an unfamiliar place. The walls and ceiling looks to be blue velvet fabric in a diamond style and a few chains dangling from the ceiling, swinging left to right to left. You hear the faint rattling sound it makes. An open toilet drips with water and iron bar where a door should be, however no door is present. W-Where are you? Is this a prison! You look down at yourself, now in tattered striped prison clothes. Panicking you jump off the bed only to feel your hands shackled with iron chains and an ankle brace attached to a ball.

You stare at your restraints, taking note of how cold and heavy they feel.

This is a nightmare, right? It has to be b-but why does it feel so... so real? You must be more stressed than you previously thought... You grasp hold of the bars and look around to see identical cells to those around you in a circular room. Panopticon. A deep blue velvet colour shimmers around the room almost like a fog. But then in the centre of the room is a clean desk with various things on it and a velvet blue rug underneath. At each side are what look like identical twins boys with pale skin, and golden eyes. They're dressed in blue, wearing an outfit that resembles a prison guard uniform and a black eyepatch with the letter "V" over one of their eyes. The two of them stare at you.

You notice that there's another person nearby. Sitting at the desk is a man in a black suit with white gloves. It is not a man. Its features are too wrong. However, his grin is much wider than a human, spreading across his face, its teeth too sharp. It is a caricature of a man, a farce, an impostor. His eyebrows look almost like a length of thorns and his nose and ears are knife-like and too long to be that of a human. The top of his head is bald with some white hair along the back of his head. But his bloodshot eyes focus intensely on yours. It meets your eyes, and its grin grows just a bit wider.

The old man greets you with a gloved hand. "Trickster..." he says with a deep almost menacing sounding voice, "Welcome to my Velvet Room."

What the fuck? what kind of freaky nightmare did you walk into?!

The soft, opera like music that is playing on the speakers above you does not help either.

"Wha- Velvet Room?" You push and tug on the iron bars, ratting the chains across your wrists, in the hopes of making an escape. It's to your dismay that you find the bars will not budge, no matter how much **** you apply of them. "What is this!?"

The two twins take point either side of your cell. "So you've come to, Inmate," one of them speaks. His expression is stern and his tone is harsh.

"The you in reality is currently fast asleep." The other boy is the exact opposite of his twin. His expression is devoid of any emotion and his tone is calm and almost monotone. He clutches a clipboard, giving you a cold stare. "You are only experiencing this as a dream."

"You're in the presence of our master. Stand up straight!" the first twin-the harsher and aggressive of the boys-barks out an order to you. You comply.

"M-Master?"

The man at the desk begins to speak again. "Welcome. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those bound by a 'contract' may enter." The man leans nonchalantly on his left hand, his right tapping the desk in front of him. You look at the chains on your wrists as he continues, "I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well. I summoned you to speak of important matters. It involves your life as well."

"Important matters?" you ask. You frown and tug forcibly on the iron bars of your cell, "Why must be life to more affected than it already has! Let me out!"

The twin walks over and smacks his baton over the bars, sending out sparks making you recoil back way from them. "Know your place, Inmate! Who do you think you're talking to!?"

Igor doesn't give an answer and instead, chooses to chuckle as he looks over the room. "Still, this is a surprise..." Igor says. "The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such. You truly are a 'prisoner' of fate..." Igor's faze falls back on you. "In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you."

"Are you kidding me?" you ask.

"Haha, worry not. There is a means to oppose such a fate." Igor says. "You must be 'rehabilitated'. Rehabilitated toward freedom... That is your only means to avoid ruin... ...Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"

"...Wait, what?" It's a lot for you to take in on such short notice. "Distortion of the world? I'd rather avoid ruin. As much as it had already happened anyway..."

"Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation." Igor says. It is at that moment he twins turn to face you.

"Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others." Igor rests his chin on the back of his hand. "To your right to William."

William nods only once in affirmation.

"To your left Ernest." Igor gestures to the quiet boy. "They serve as wardens here."

You look at them both. "R-Right... Nice to meet you, I think..."

William huffs, tapping his metal baton against the palm of his hand. "Hmph, try and struggle as hard as you like."

Ernest remains calm next to him, holding a clipboard in his arm. "The duty of wardens is to protect inmates," Ernest speaks-almost as though he is continuing for William. "We are also your collaborators. ...That is, if you remain obedient."

"I shall explain the roles of these two at another occasion." The twins turn their back to you and face Igor. "Now then, it seems the night is waning...It is almost time. Take your time to slowly come to to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually..."

"B-But, I don't understand-"

A loud bell rings through the prison room, startling you in its abruptness.

William smacks the bars with his baton. "Time's up," William states. "Now hurry up and go back to sleep."

Everything then goes black.