(Author's Note: Sorry this chapter took longer to get out. Aside from school work taking up my time, since I'm now constructing my own plot and stories, it's probably gonna take longer than it use to get the chapters done. Plus I needed to read the original Alice's Adventures in Wonderland for later. You'll see why in the next chapter.)
"So these are your consciences?" Geppetto looked at the two crickets on the counter, then at his son.
"Uh huh," Pinocchio nodded, "Jiminy and Melissa have been with me all this time, and they helped me rescue you and become a real boy!"
Geppetto looked at the two crickets again with a smile, "Is that so? Well, I can't thank you two enough for helping my little boy."
"Aw, you don't have to thank us," Jiminy said modestly.
"Yeah really," Melissa shrugged, "It's what anyone would do, I would hope."
"Well I'm very grateful," Geppetto bent down at an attempt to be at eye level with the crickets on the counter, "As far as I'm concerned, you two are a part of the family now."
Jiminy and Melissa smiled at each other. They were now not only official consciences, but official members of this family.
"I guess you were right Jiminy, it was time to show ourselves," Melissa said to him.
"You see Melissa? Things are really starting to look up," Jiminy said.
Pinocchio picked up Figaro and showed him the two, "See Figaro, these are Jiminy and Melissa!"
Figaro was put on the counter as he stared intently at the two small insects, and unseen to the two humans he grinned at them much like a destructive child who's been given a new toy.
Melissa felt something in the back of her mind that she had to assume was instinct telling her to run as Figaro grinned. She could tell Jiminy was feeling it too, given how stiff he suddenly got.
There was a knock on the door, and Geppetto turned, "Oh, I wonder who that could be at this late hour?" He and Pinocchio walked away and left the three creatures alone.
Both crickets began backing away. As the cat loomed over them Melissa said, "Uh, what was that you said about things looking up?"
They jumped as Figaro pounced, and finally gave into the instinct to start running away.
"Oh, Emilio, Lorenzo, come in!" Geppetto welcomed in two men whom all seemed around his age.
"We're so glad you're back," a short portly man with a white comb over and comb mustache said, "You were gone for a worryingly long time."
"And we see you found your boy," the other man, this one lean, bald, and clean shaven, said.
"Yes," Geppetto smiled at the boy beside him, "My brave little boy here found me and save me from certain death!"
During this whole conversation, Jiminy and Melissa were trying to outrun the predator. They tried to hide behind paint cans, but were quick to run as soon as they saw his shadow looming over them. They tried hiding beneath a doll's hat, but Figaro was quick to sniff them out. He pounced on the hat to try and trap them, and then tried to reach in for them.
Jiminy saw the paw coming and pulled Melissa out the other side, "Okay, this is a bit of a setback."
"Setback? Becoming a cat's plaything and possible prey is more than a setback!" Melissa yelled.
Unfortunately this got Figaro's attention. They leaped and landed on the rim of Cleo's fishbowl. Figaro jumped down close and tried to paw at them.
SLAP! Cleo had jumped from her bowl and smacked the naughty kitten with her back fin.
As Figaro froze for a second, Lorenzo caught the action out of the corner of his eye, "Geppetto, I think your pets are fighting."
Geppetto turned and saw the kitten leaning over the fishbowl, Jiminy and Melissa trying to keep their balance on the rim. As Figaro glared at the little goldfish Geppetto shouted, "Figaro!"
Figaro flinched at that. Geppetto was at their side within an instant, picking up Figaro by the scruff of his neck and scolding him, "I've told you before, we don't eat family! Jiminy and Melissa are family now." He held the cat to the crickets, "Now apologize."
Jiminy and Melissa nearly lost their balance as they tried not to back away into Cleo's bowl. Jiminy waved a hand at that, "No no, that's fine Mr. Geppetto!"
"Yeah, no harm done!" Melissa emphasized by waving both hands.
Geppetto picked up Figaro and continued scolding him like a parent who caught a child stealing from a cookie jar, "You should feel lucky Jiminy and Melissa are so forgiving."
"So I see you have crickets," Lorenzo bent down to examine the two crickets perched on the rim of the fishbowl.
"Two crickets," Emilio observed, "That's twice the luck!" Emilio smiled at Geppetto, "Very cute new additions to the family."
"Seems like you'll have to do something about your cat though," Lorenzo looked at Figaro, who was pacing around them.
"Yes, I suppose I will," Geppetto rubbed his chin, then pounded his fist into his palm, "I know!" He looked down at Pinocchio, "I'm going to talk privately with my friends for a moment."
"Okay father," Pinocchio said, getting the two crickets off the bowl before they fell in. As the adults walked away he looked at the two, "Hey, Figaro didn't hurt you two did he?"
"No, we're both okay," Jiminy assured Pinocchio.
"Yeah, hopefully Figaro will listen to Geppetto," Melissa said, "At least he won't be around when you go to school tomorrow."
"Yeah," Pinocchio nodded, then looked out the window distantly and said, "I hope I can make good this time."
"Don't sweat it Pinoke," Jiminy said, patting the hand that held them, "Everything will be fine. We'll be with you every step of the way this time, we promise."
"And on the chance that we oversleep again, just remember to wake us," Melissa smiled a little.
Pinocchio smiled back at his consciences, "If you guys are there, I know I'll be fine!"
"Good," Melissa nodded, then she noticed the clocks sounding out eleven o'clock, "You should probably get ready for bed if you plan on getting up early."
Pinocchio nodded, "Okay." He set them back on the counter and hurried to get ready.
Figaro watched Pinocchio walk away, and when he was out of the room he jumped back onto the counter. But Jiminy and Melissa were already making their way to their shelf, starting with climbing up a cloth that was draped from the shelf. With one leap they grabbed the cloth and began climbing, Jiminy hooking his umbrella on his arm to keep both hands free.
"Can't believe Pinocchio's going to school tomorrow," Melissa said as they climbed up the cloth, "Do you think he'll be okay?"
"What do you mean?" Jiminy asked, looking at her. At this point Figaro had grabbed the fabric and was trying to reach them. The two just quickened their pace.
"Well, Pinocchio does have a way of attracting trouble," Melissa pointed out as they neared the top, "And this time he can bleed."
"I know we've had some trouble, but I think we're getting the hang of being consciences," Jiminy said as he climbed onto the shelf, "Pinocchio's gotten better at listening to us."
"Better? He completely ignored us when we tried to tell him how crazy going into the ocean was. That's the last thing I remember us telling him," Melissa retorted as Jiminy helped her up, "Face it, we haven't made any impact."
"Anyone tell you you're very negative?" Jiminy said to her, glancing down at the still climbing kitten.
"Anyone tell you you're overly optimistic?" Melissa said dryly, and then noticed the fabric beginning to rip.
Figaro noticed too late and with a loud RIP! he fell tail first into a can of paint. He wiggled as he tried to get out, Cleo giggling all the while at the predicament Figaro had quite literally landed in. Finally he got out of the can (had he been any bigger he would've been stuck), and now prowled away with a bright red butt.
"Poor kitten," Melissa sighed, gathering the cloth that was left on the shelf, "At least he wasn't hurt too bad, and he didn't hurt us. And now we have blankets."
"Way to be optimistic," Jiminy smiled as he followed her to their very first bed arrangements. The violin bunk bed made them smile as they remembered their very first night in this shop.
Jiminy yawned as he set up his sleeping area on the head, "Just like the night we came here huh? Still a nice place."
"Yeah," Melissa nodded, taking off her jacket and skirt in order to pad out the area beneath the neck, "But still, I wish we had proper beds. Or even a change in clothes. These are starting to reek."
"There might be some doll clothes somewhere on the shelf if you look hard enough," Jiminy suggested, ripping up the piece of fabric so they'd both have blankets.
"Good thinking," Melissa started searching, and after a couple minutes found a discarded figure that looked like it belonged on a music box. Though the figurine was wood, it wore a cloth nightgown. As Melissa took the clothes off she saw the fabric was meant to hide a mistake; a big dent in the side would've made it impossible to carve the nightgown from wood.
Melissa pulled off the cummerbund and started to take off her shirt when she felt something brush against her fingers. She felt at her back as her eyes widened. She looked around and saw a blue reflective jar, and standing with her back to it she lifted her shirt.
Jiminy, meanwhile, had settled down and was near sleep. After all the recent events, he was beyond exhausted and felt like he could drop in a second.
"Oh my God!"
Jiminy fell off the violin in a scramble and ran over, fast approaching the area she was in, "Melissa?! Melissa, what's wrong?! What-" He immediately stopped and turned around, closing his eyes as a blush grew on his face.
Melissa walked up to him as she pulled her shirt back down and picked up the nightgown, "Jiminy, I have wings!"
"Y-Yes, you do," Jiminy said, still not looking at her.
"All this time I had wings, and I didn't know!" Melissa was staring at him with wide, insistent eyes as if she'd just discovered the secret of life.
"All crickets have wings," Jiminy pointed out as he suddenly found the floor more important than looking at who he was speaking to.
"Well yeah- but I didn't know they did this world," Melissa explained, "I mean we have hands, eyes, mouths, and feet like humans... She then poked his back, which was turned to her, "So you've had wings under your shirt and jacket this whole time?"
Jiminy jumped a little and put a bit of distance between them.
"What's got your antennae all twisted?" Melissa asked sarcastically.
"Well I thought you were in trouble or something, then I come and see..." Jiminy's eyes flickered downward before he turned his head again.
Melissa glanced down also, then made a show of rolling her eyes as she went up and pushed him, "Oh come off it, like you've never seen a pair before."
"Yes-I mean that's not-I don't-" Jiminy then just closed his mouth and instead started heading back.
Melissa followed, continuing her small rant, "That's another thing. Apparently I have the same woman parts I had as a human. What kind of sense does that make? Isn't the point of being a different species to be, you know, different? Man, this anatomy makes no sen-"
"Can you stop talking about this? Please?!" Jiminy asked, abruptly cutting her off.
Melissa blinked, then went behind some books to change, "Geez, they're just breasts. Why is this such a big deal? You just outed yourself as a big philanderer."
"That's doesn't mean- I don't- you're seventeen!" Jiminy tried to explain with a fluster, "So just-" He fell silent again.
Melissa was also silent as she thought about that, and said no more as she came back out. The nightgown was sky blue, long sleeved and skirt, high neckline (which was fortunate given the recent events). It was slightly big, but bunching it and putting the cummerbund back on helped a little. Melissa hung the clothes up nearby to let them air out for the night.
Geppetto was now back and was showing his friends out, "Night Emilio, night Lorenzo. I hope it all goes well."
Pinocchio had come out as well, now in his own nightclothes, "What do you hope goes well?"
Geppetto bent down to his son and whispered, "Oh it's just a surprise for Jiminy and Melissa. But don't let them suspect."
"Okay father," Pinocchio nodded, then was led to bed as they both yawned.
Geppetto laid Pinocchio down, but before he could settle down Pinocchio piped up, "Father, what's school going to be like?"
"Oh it's a great place," Geppetto said with a smile, "You'll learn so many great things, like reading and writing, and you'll make friends with your classmates."
"What will they be like?" Pinocchio asked.
"Oh I imagine they'll be great," Geppetto assured his son, "Some of my friends' children and grandchildren will be your classmates. Young girls and boys, just like you! Well, not exactly, they weren't puppets like you were."
"Oh... will they care that I was a puppet?" Pinocchio asked curiously.
"Of course not," Geppetto said, finally getting to bed, "There's no reason for them to care about that."
"But... being made of wood got me into a lot of trouble before," Pinocchio said, looking down at his fleshy hands. He didn't seem to fully understand why though.
Geppetto thought about that, then rested a hand on his son's head, "Now Pinocchio, there's no reason to feel different or ashamed because you were made of wood. Why, you come from a very noble cut of wood!"
"I do?" Pinocchio was now looking at his father with curious eyes.
"Yes indeed," Geppetto nodded, "Why your grandfather was a noble old pine tree, that he was!"
"Tell me about him father!" Pinocchio asked, wanting to know more about his grandfather.
Geppetto took a moment to think before he begun weaving the story for young Pinocchio, pointing out to a forest near the mountains, "He stands up there on the mountaintop, and for a hundred years he stood! His giant trunk to the sky it climbs, a mighty made of wood."
Jiminy and Melissa had been listening for a while, and were now paying attention to the story as best they could as they drifted into sleep.
"Rhymes, of course," Melissa shrugged, her eyes half closed as she listened.
Pinocchio, however, was listening with rapt attention as he imagined the noble pine tree, which in his mind had the face of his father.
Geppetto continued, "The little birds, they visit him, bring birds from far, also near! The nests they build in his cozy limbs, and practice songs of cheer.
"Your grandpa, he watches over them when storms are in the sky. He folds his branches round his friends and keeps them warm and dry!" Geppetto straightened up and said, "When the mighty thunder shakes the earth, my golly it's grand to see! He bears his chest to the lightning flash and says, 'Come on, strike me!'"
He struck a strong, imposing pose as Pinocchio envisioned his grandfather standing up to the raging storms all by himself.
Geppetto then continued to build up the grandness of the proud pine, "There in the midst of a million trees, with a mountain for a throne! Strong and tall and brave and kind! Like a king, he stands alone!"
He then looked down at Pinocchio, and saw he was near sleep with a smile on his face. Geppetto smiled and patted the boy on his head, "Sleep well Pinocchio." He got up to get ready for bed, then for the first time noticed Figaro, who'd been standing by the bed and listening, "Figaro, what happened to your bottom?"
Figaro glared in Jiminy and Melissa's direction, but just pouted as he was carried away to get cleaned.
Melissa glanced at Jiminy from beneath the violin, "Nice story, been awhile since I was able to listen to a story while trying to go to bed."
Jiminy nodded in agreement, then turned over and murmured, "Sweet dreams kid."
"Yeah... not likely," Melissa muttered to herself, pulling the makeshift blanket closer.
