'No… this isn't right!' Sachi thought as she heard the terrified and painful screams in the cold air and ran towards the alleyway… she jumped back as she saw the much younger version of her dad attacking a man with his fists and a tiny and familiar brunette with her eyes closed tightly.
Ignoring the chaotic scene going on, 6 year old Sachi walked to the injured girl nearby, praying it wasn't her aunt… until those hazel green eyes snapped open.
"This is no place for kids, little one." 13 year old Gionna whispered, trying to get Sachi away from the madness.
"Why… why did someone hurt you, Auntie Gio?" Sachi asks.
"He was mean… he just… wouldn't stop…" Gionna said through her tears. "Please, baby girl, you've got to wake up and forget this… I don't want you to be traumatized…" She says.
"And I… I just leave you alone? But… you're hurt!" Sachi says.
Gionna tried to stand up but fell to the ice and snow unconscious, Johnny stopping and turning his attention to her… unaware of Sachi as he held Gionna in his arms.
"Why did you get so… violent, Daddy?" Sachi says quietly… and then, the instant Johnny looked up, Sachi was startled by a huge sound burst that was almost like an explosion but from inside her eardrums…
Sachi's first reaction was to scramble around in the bed until she found and held on tightly to her stuffed bear that always laid on her pillow beside her, then looking around the dark room. It was raining outside, though nothing too strong, just a regular shower.
"Don't be scared, Custard… it's just dark." Sachi says, her bear having gotten that name for it's colour being almost identical to that of custard cream biscuits. She sat there for a few moments, trying to calm down but then remembered something, reaching over the edge of her bed and finding the glowstick that Sam had given her the previous week, twisting the top and shaking it until it cast a bright green light across the room. "There… now we can see." She says.
Sachi started hearing something, a noise coming from another room in the house. Cautiously, she got out of the bed, glowstick still in hand, and crept through the house, a glance into her parents' bedroom telling her that Carly and Johnny were both asleep, as they usually would be at the time Sachi saw on the clock, 2:23 AM.
Proceeding through the house only made the noises louder until Sachi found herself in the kitchen, seeing what the noise was coming from… obviously in a very tired state, Carly had actually left her old SNS pistol on the kitchen countertop, a gun she'd not used in years. Sachi had never seen it before, only ever heard brief mentions of 'tiny's pistol' or 'the little SNS' and this discovery drove her to place her tiny hand on the firearm…
The instant her hand made contact, Sachi cried out as a deafening noise sounded all around, the kitchen seeming to fall to bits and being replaced by a rural country lane on a chilly winter's morning. Sachi was scared stiff as all around, she could hear noises, like echoes of some past spoken words. She then realised that this rural country lane was covered with snow… and a Rancher XL SUV was speeding towards her, Sachi turning and running as fast as she possibly could, the world breaking apart again as a pursuing police car slammed into a tree.
Now it was the thick of the night and snow was falling lightly from the sky across the graveyard. Sachi didn't have to look for long to see Trevor there, digging up a grave with a pickaxe in hand… and then he stopped and looked at her, eyes boring right through her as he aggressively started walking towards her.
Sachi shielded herself as Trevor raised the pickaxe, turning around only to find herself in yet another place, this time a humid desert with farming fields dotted around. The wrecked and burning plane nearby and the younger versions of her mother and the silver haired demon nearby caught her attention.
"You'll have to do a hell of a lot more to get any screaming from me!" Carly growled, eyes burning right through Ivory's as he raised the crowbar again.
"LEAVE MY MOMMY ALONE!" Sachi screamed, Ivory turning to see her and stepping back in shock.
"Who the hell… damn, she really is a slut, huh? How old was she when she had you, like… 12?!" Ivory says, Carly slamming her left fist into his nose and right eye socket. Sachi became overcome with anger and ran at the silver haired demon, only to briefly black out and crash into someone completely different instead… herself. Another Sachi of the same age, her wrist being tightly gripped by Trevor.
"Oh, quit it!" Trevor growls.
"COME BACK! NO!" The other Sachi screams, Sachi turning around to see a cargo plane flying away before it shone bright red. This time, the world didn't break apart, but rather faded into a snow covered Paleto forest.
Sachi now saw this as a chance to escape, there didn't seem to be anything happening here apart from her own terror so she started running, just like she'd run from the Rancher XL… and stopped in her tracks when right near her, Trevor walked out, holding a knife in one hand and a shotgun in the other, both pointed at her…
In so much terror, Sachi didn't take any notice of where she was next or who the two people near her were, despite that she was home and it was Carly and Johnny, who were both shocked and terrified to see their daughter in so much terror that the moment Carly tried to touch Sachi, Sachi darted across the room and was holding the SNS out, her whole body shaking violently.
"Hey… baby girl, it's us, look… it's Mommy and Daddy." Carly says, Sachi taking a moment to notice before dropping the gun and collapsing to the floor, tears streaming down her face. "Shh… it's okay, Sachi… it's okay." She says, Sachi wrapping her tiny arms around her mother as soon as Carly picked her up, Johnny putting the pistol away.
"Sweetie, why didn't you come wake us up?" Johnny asks after walking to Sachi and Carly, lightly brushing Sachi's tears away.
Sachi buried her face into Carly's shoulder and sobbed, Carly cradling Sachi close to her and lightly rubbing her hand up and down Sachi's back.
"Sachi, what happened?" Carly asks after Sachi had stopped sobbing.
"I… I had a bad dream but I cuddled Custard and I felt better… then I heard noises. I saw you were in bed, so… I looked and found the noises coming from the SNS… but… when I touched it, I saw things that… I never want to see again…" Sachi says, stopping as just thinking about what she'd seen was making her hold back tears already.
Johnny kissed Sachi on her forehead and Sachi looked up at him.
"They hurt both of you…" Sachi says.
"Nobody's ever gonna hurt you, Sachi… Daddy and Mommy won't let them." Johnny says softly, Sachi climbing into his arms and resting her head on his right shoulder.
"But they did hurt you… and Auntie Gio… in that alleyway." Sachi says, finding the nightmare itself surprisingly easier to talk about than what she'd seen afterwards.
"That was a long time ago, baby girl… and while scary, it's in the past. It can't hurt anymore." Johnny says, Sachi seeing the faded scar on Carly's forehead.
"Scars tell stories… but they're less scary as you get older, Sachi." Carly says, Sachi lightly running her tiny fingers along the scar.
When all three were in the master bedroom and Sachi was in between her parents, Sachi reached over and wrapped her arms around Carly again.
"Want me to sing a song to help you fall asleep?" Carly asks, Sachi nodding and Carly singing the familiar lyrics to Mercy Street.
Hours later, which only felt like minutes to the family, the sun was shining through the window… and Sachi opened her eyes to see her parents awake.
"Feeling better, sweetie?" Carly asks, stroking Sachi's blonde hair.
The loud knock at the door made Johnny stand up, Sachi reaching out for him.
"No, Daddy! Don't go!" Sachi pleads, Johnny crouching back down to her.
"Open up, Klebitz family!" Trevor yells drunkenly.
"Do you want the crazy man to leave, Sachi?" Johnny asks, Sachi nodding and letting Johnny go answer the door. "Now's a bad time for you to show up here drunk, Trevor. Sachi had a rough night." He says.
"Nightmares? Kids get them a lot at that age… and I'm not drunk, you damn biker prick!" Trevor says, feeling offended that he wasn't being allowed to see Sachi today.
"You don't leave and sober up, you're not getting anywhere near mine and Carly's daughter, Trevor! Now I know why Michael never let you near his kids while you were blind drunk!" Johnny says, trying to keep his anger under control.
"Mommy… does that pistol of yours still work?" Sachi asks, Carly looking at her.
"Sachi… are you saying that you want me to shoot Trevor? I stopped using guns before you were born, kiddo, they're not safe… and don't pick one up again, okay? That really scared Mommy and Daddy." Carly says, Sachi nodding as Johnny walked in.
"Is he gone, Daddy?" Sachi asks.
"He left, baby… he's got some things he needs to straighten out before ever coming near all three of us again." Johnny says, kissing Sachi on her forehead.
The little family would deal with Trevor at another time… Carly and Johnny were more worried about their little girl.