Freedom and Imprisonment

'Hellooooo. Wake up.'

'Who's calling me?'

'Squee!'

"Who are you?'

'WAKEY-WAKEY, DREAMBOY!'

Todd jerked up, looking around wildly. He found himself sitting on a narrow plateau above clouds. "What...? What's going on?" he asked aloud.

"An awakening, I'd imagine."

Todd whipped around and 'squee-ed' when he saw what looked like an older teenage boy covered in thick scars. His eyes were blank of any color, with raw red rims around them, but Todd could see that they were plainly staring at him. The boy grinned familiarly. "Hey, Dreamboy," he said. "It's been awhile."

"S...Shmee?" Todd stuttered. "How...where...?"

"I've been here, Todd," Shmee replied. "All along, I've been here." He gestured around him. "But I've been blocked out of your consciousness. The part of your mind that dilutes the horrors of your life - the part where I dwell - was blocked from use. It made you susceptable to the Doughboys' influence, and without me, you fed them your imagination. And you, Todd, have the power to turn imagination into reality."

Todd stared at the form of Shmee, understanding what he was saying. "...Did I do the wrong thing, Shmee?" he asked.

"I cant say, Shmee replied. "You were destined to be a waste lock, regardless. I was created as a means to keep your sanity until puberty, when you would be able to hold your own mentality. But I was blocked, and that's why you were tapped so early in life."

"How did you get out?" Todd asked.

"Same way the Doughboys did. I fed from what was left of your imagination after they used it, and little by little dug myself out. Now, I'm here to help you."

"How?"

"BY speaking with conscious and logic. You need to break free of this place. You need to leave."

"But...what about Moose? Mr. Eff and D-Boy? I cant just - "

"Yes, you CAN," Shmee cut in. "There IS a way out. You just have to find it."

"But - !"

"You might want to wake up. You've stopped breathing."

Todd woke up with a gasp. He was lying in a large room in a lower level, one where there was no instruments of torture and killing. It looked more like a waiting room, really. He stood up and walked up the levels, wondering what Shmee meant that there was a way out. WHAT way out?

He trekked up to the floor with the Wall and paused when he heard voices.

"...please...take care of Todd. Dont let him turn out like me." Johnny?

"You done yet?" Mr. Fuck's voice said. "Good." Todd turned the corner to see the door open and a horrid scene unfolding.

D-Boy was blocking the doorway so that Devi couldnt escape. Johnny was sitting on his knees with his wirsts chained, making escape impossible. His eyes were clenched shut and his head bowed. Mr. Fuck was standing behind him, a large butcher knife raised and poised to strike.

"EFF! NO!" Todd ran into the room, knocking D-Boy over. He ran up to Eff and knocked the knife out of his hand. "What are you DOING!"

"It's for the best, Squee," Mr Eff replied, bending down to pick the knife back up. "Johnny here just traded his life for Devi's. And quite frankly, the Wall needs feeding anyway."

"NO!" Todd cried. "I dont CARE if the Wall needs blood! Dont take Johnny's or Devi's!"

Mr. Fuck scowled. "They are in the way of your job, Squee! Johnny would have taken you away! He just asked Devi to do the same! You BELONG here!"

"Dont listen to them!" Johnny shouted. "They speak lies! Just go with Devi, Todd! Get out of here - !" Mr. Fuck hit him in the back of the head with the hilt of the knife, cutting him off.

"Irritating mental tick," he muttered. "Squee's OUR boy now, Johnny. We've only a little more time before we're real, and I WONt let you screw this one up for me!" He raised the butcher knife again and was about to swing it when Todd leapt forward and shoved him hard, tackling him up to the Wall.

Mr. Eff's head struck the Wall hard, and the butcher knife sailed through the air and spun right into D-Boy's chest.

The world seemed to stop for a moment. Nobody moved or made a sound for the longest time. D-Boy shakily reached up to grab the handle of the knife, then pulled it out of himself with a 'shlick'. Crimson blood poured from the wound.

"...Shit..." Mr. Eff muttered. "...You're..." D-Boy fell to his knees before Eff could finish his sentence, coughing up blood. "You're DYING!"

"...No - *HACK* - shit, Sherlock...!" D-Boy sputtered. He put a hand over his wound. "Fuck...didnt think...it'd hurt this much...!"

Todd stood up and ran over to D-Boy, tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry!" he cried. "It's...it's my fault...!"

"No," D-Boy replied weakly. "...It's not." His eyes shifted to the ceiling, as though in pensieve thought. "...Todd...why do you think I wanted to be real?"

Todd wiped his eyes. "...I dont know," he replied, sniffling. D-Boy only grinned.

"So I could die."

Todd's eyes widened. "Wh...what?"

"Dont be so surprised, now," D-Boy said, putting a bloodied hand on Todd's head. "I was created..by the manifes...manifestation...of suicidal thought..." He took a moment to cough more blood up. "...It's only natural that...my sole meaning of existance...was...to cease to exist..."

Todd let out a fresh sob, and Mr. Fuck got to his feet. "You son of BITCH, D-Boy," he growled, wincing as he put a hand to his head. "You made me think that you had stopped this 'I dont want to exist' crap, and NOW I find that..." He paused and brought his fingers up to look at them.

They were covered in blood. Mr. Eff paled and whipped around to see a small bloodsmear on the Wall where his head had hit. "...Oh...oh fuck, no...!"

Johnny turned his head to look and blinked. "What's the big deal?" he asked. "You just got some blood on the Wall."

"IT'S NOT SO SIMPLE, YOU IDIOT!" Mr. Eff screamed. "Now I really AM fucked!"

Todd blankly wondered why Mr. Eff was freaking out so badly.

-'It's one of the rules of the Barrier,'- Shmee's voice said. -'Mr. Fuck is human now. And when living human blood is given to the Wall straight from a living source...'-

"...They're the new Lock," Todd finished.

"What?" Johnny asked.

"Mr. Eff is the new waste lock," Todd replied, running up to Johnny and unlocking the shackles. "His blood on the Wall - it's tapped him!"

"NO!" Mr. Fuck screeched, pounding his fists on the Wall. "NO! I JUST GOT DONE BEING A SLAVE! I DONT WANT THIS! NO!"

"...There's no choice," Johnny said, standing and rubbing his wrists. "...You're always a slave to something." He turned to Todd. "...Let's go, Todd. You're free from this."

Todd bit his lip and looked around. Mr. Fuck was wailing to the Wall to let him go. Psychodoughboy was bleeding to death on the floor. Devi passed out from the shock of it all. And Todd knew that NOW was his chance to finally be happy. He wiped his eyes and nodded, and Johnny picked Devi up.

"Todd."

Todd looked at D-Boy, who he knew was right at death's door. "...You're free...from this..." he gasped, struggling to speak. "...But...you'll never...truely...escape it...You can repress it...you can ignore it...but it's always there..." His body went limp, his once-spiraled eyes now plain black and cloudy with death. Todd clenched his eyes shut and willed himself to not cry.

"Come on, Squee," Johnny said softly. Todd nodded and followed Johnny out of the basement and into the living room, where Johnny put Devi down on the couch. "Wait here with her," he said. "I have something to do."

Todd watched Devi quietly, waiting for her to wake up. He didnt have to wait long. Devi woke up just a few minutes later, rubbing her eyes. "...Devi?" She jumped a little. "Sorry, sorry!" he cried. "You're okay!"

She sat up and looked around. "What...the hell happened just now?" she demanded. Todd wrung his hands.

"...I'm free," he said. "I'm not the waste lock anymore. Mr. Eff is the lock now." He explained everything from the time she passed out. She groaned and leaned back on the couch.

"...What now?" she asked Todd. He shrugged.

"I dont know," he said. "...Johnny said I could go live with him. I think...I'd like that."

"You would?" she asked skeptically.

"Yeah," Todd replied. "He told me about his new life now. He says he lives in a nice neighborhood, has a good job, and he really likes his life." He paused. "...Devi, do you like art?"

"Yes," she replied. "I'm a painter." Todd got up and walked over to a wall, then plucked a painting off and handed it to her. "This is amazing," she breathed. "Who...?" Her eyes trailed down to the insignia - J.C. "...Johnny?"

"He used to be amazing," Todd said. "There are dozens of these around the house. He painted these before the Wlal took it from him. But he's getting it back. He's really trying." He looked at the painting with her.

"...I never knew," she murmured. "...Johnny always did have an unusual appreciation for art, but I never knew he was THIS good...I'm nowhere NEARas good as this!" She stared at the painting for awhile before Johnny came back in.

"I got us a hotel for the night," he said. "Just pack what you need, and we'll..." He paused, seeing Devi. "...Hello, Devi."

Devi lowered the painting. "Hello, Johnny."

Awkward silence.

"I'll...go pack," Todd said, rushing to the bedroom, leaving Devi and Johnny alone. Johnny shifted awkwardly where he stood.

"Devi - "

"Johnny," Devi cut in, holding up a hand. He closed his mouth. She took a deep breath. "Johnny...I forgive you."

"...What?" Johnny said, looking incredulous.

"I forgive you. For everything." Devi's fingers stroked the sides of the canvas in her lap. "It's no use trying to keep hating you...After what I've seen tonight..."

"I hated myself, you know," Johnny added. "I never forgave myself for hurting you. I feared that if I kept wanting you, that I'd do something else to hurt you. That's why I left. But I never forgot you. Never stopped caring for you." He took a deep breath. "...Even if never seeing me again keeps you safe, I'd be happy knowing you were better off."

Devi sighed and shook her head. "You give me your nothing," she quoted. "Funny...it sounded like total bullshit then..." She glanced around the room, noticing more paintings like the one in her hands. "You're going to take care of Todd?"

"Of course," Johnny replied.

"He's a smart kid. You better make sure he stays in school!"

"There's a good middle school near where I live, with competent teachers, so that's no problem. I live in a good neighborhood, nice people, low crime rate...no residential homicidal maniac..." He paused. "...There's a very nice bookstore there, too..."

"Dont do that, Johnny," Devi said, gently but firmly. That was all she said. Johnny ran a hand through his thinnning hair and then took a pen and paper out of his backpack. He wrote something down and handed it to Devi.

"Here," he said. "...In case you want to come visit...Todd...if you want."

Devi pocketed the paper. "I'll think about it."

"I'm ready." They both turned to see Todd standing in the doorway, holding a large rucksack of items, Shmee tucked uner his arm. Johnny took the rucksack and slung it over his shoulder.

"Me too," he replied, looking at Devi. "If Eff comes after you, kick his ass. Stay safe, Devi." He put a hand on Todd's back and led him out of the house. Devi followed and got into her car, noticing that the sun was coming up. Todd and Johnny got into the car Todd had hotwired some time ago and looked over at Devi before driving away.

Devi sat in her car for a moment, then looked over at the house, nearly jumping when she saw Mr. Fuck staring out the window at her. She stared back, then looked away and drove off, away from that house forever.