NOTE: There will be two smaller chapters as opposed to one big one. The second half will be posted on Friday at the same time.

My legs almost gave out from under me as I ran down the stairs. As I reached the bottom I stumbled over myself and crawled to the big door that endlessly seeped out more tar. The main room of the tree house was entirely covered in that black tar now, even the walls.

On my hands and knees, I banged on the door as hard as my arms could.

"I know you're in there. I know you can hear me! Please. Stop this…"

A booming laugh shook the large door, and sent vibrations through the tree house. "An hour. Maybe two! That's all it took for me to get this strong. That's how fucked you let this head get!"

I stopped hitting the door and leaned my shoulder against it. "Don't talk like I'm the only cause of all this! You're not the one that had to worry about Kendall's safety." I began to break down and cry. "I was the one that had to make the tough choices."

"That doesn't excuse you for any of this!"

My shoulder slid down the door until I was laying at the base of the door. "I know. But you'd do the same thing in my shoes."

A long crack splintered my arm and tar poured out of it like a small fountain.

"Don't lump me in with you."

"I don't have time to argue with you. I know locking you away only made things worse. If you want to come out, then fine. I'll let you out but please. Please don't bring out the memories."

Another large crack ran down my chest. "Why should I trust you? You're just going to go right  back to repressing everything the moment it stops overflowing. I think Kendall's had to deal with you destroying her mental state long enough."

I dug my head into my hands as I sat against the door. "I never wanted to cause anything like this. Please. If Kendall remembers those memories, then she might end up back in the hospital. Or worse. What was I supposed to do!?"

A bang on the door so intense it almost broke the hinges off. "You're supposed to support her! You're supposed to show her what she's hiding from and comfort her through it!" 

"Then I don't know what I'm doing anymore. All I wanted to do was help." I tried to stand, but my arms gave out before I made it halfway up and instead fell face first onto the tar covered floor. "I was wrong. I know I messed things up, but please give me another chance. I won't repress anymore."

A silence hung over us that lasted long enough for cracks to break out down my legs and back. Until finally he spoke again.

"You're lucky I can tell you're serious about wanting to change, but if you want to prove it, then let me out of here!"

I didn't think anymore. Instead I reached up and barely managed to get my hand on the lock. "Before I do. Promise me you won't flood Kendall with everything in there all at once. Give her time."

"You really are stupid if you believed I was going to torture her like that. I was wanting to take it slow from the start. You might have learned that if you actually bothered to even try to understand."

"And what about that crystal?" I asked, looking over at Holly's gem that still tried to get inside. "Do we need to let that in too?"

"God no. Even I'm hesitant about that. We don't need to let it in. But we're damn sure going to tell her it's there."

"Kendall's going to freak out when she realizes it."

"Then you're going to do your job and work through it with her."

Another big crack ran down my face as yet more tar poured out.

"Better hurry up, or I'm going to have to break out of here myself, and it'll be a lot more messy."

With a single tug, the lock snapped off the door. Immediately I was sent flying back across the room from the force of everything inside, but it didn't pour out like I thought it would. Whatever made it hard for me to move my body took hold. All I could do now was look at that tar monster stare down at me.

"Everything's still neatly packed away. As I said, we'll do this slow. You, though?" He grabbed my neck and lifted me up off the ground. He was smaller than me before, but now he could barely fit in this room. "Are you even still there? Or has everything you repressed gotten too much for you?"

"I'm still here, but I can't move anymore."

"So you can't feel your body?"

"...No, I can't."

"That does kind of piss me off, but I guess you can't help it." He grabbed my head with his other hand and forced my head back, snapping my head off from my body.

"What do you think you're doing?" I barely had the energy to get upset anymore.

"Consider it my fuck you for locking me in there. If you're good and actually do your job though, then you'll get it back. Besides, I've been wanting to do this for ages." He held my entire body in his hand like it was nothing, and crushed it. It crumbled like old, rotted wood.

"You just said I'd get it back."

"Yeah," he said as my body reformed in his hand, "See? You'll get it back later." He crushed it again, and again, and he didn't stop for a full god damn minute. "You're like a stress ball. Just what I needed. Now then. Let's go say hi to Kendall."