James was snipping off his second blueberry harvest when Marnie and Shane entered his farm. "Oh, hello ma'am! What's up, Shane?" James called out, standing up with his harvest basket.
"Hrmph. I didn't expect a warm welcome." Shane grunted. Marnie glared at him.
"Anyway, we're here to give you a gift!" Marnie said. "Shane, get the wheelbarrow!" She added.
"…What's that?" James asked, placing his basket down.
"It's hay! It'll be enough to feed you two chicks for a month!" Marnie replied. Shane returned with a wheelbarrow overstocked with hay. He proceeded to load it into James's silo.
"Well, I can't be thankful enough! First the chickens and now hay?" James asked.
"It's all in a day's work, James! Neighbors and Friends should help each other!" Marnie beamed. "Well, we have to go now. Good luck with Antares and Rigel!" She said as she and Shane struggled through the tall grass near the south.
"Clean your farm, for pete's sake!" Shane shouted. James laughed as he continued with his harvest.
James entered his coop after he was done with his usual chores. He saw Antares and Rigel dashing to him to greet him. They were chirping away like puppies. As he placed down hay on their feeding trough, he noticed something on Antares's face. He knelt down and picked the chick up to inspect. He noticed a purple streak of feathers. 'Interesting!' James though as he placed her down. He took his time in his coop lying down while the two yellow feather balls swarmed up to him. 'This is true heaven!' James thought as he stroked Rigel. He exited the coop, leaving the hatch open for the chicks to breathe fresh air to check his mailbox. He saw two envelopes inside. The first one was a letter from the mayor.
I need a bottle of truffle oil. Don't ask why. –Lewis McLengst-
'…What's a truffle?' James asked himself as he searched it up on his phone. 'Huh. Interesting.' He thought as he found a Wikipedia page about it. He decided to take note on it and placed the envelope in his pocket. He opened the second envelope.
Come to my house by 8 o'clock. I want to show you something. –Abby
James felt the surge. Something was wrong. Ever since he first met this short purple-haired girl, he had been feeling something creeping up on him. Now, the surge was starting to creep closer to his chest. Besides, as time passed, the surge was getting warmer and warmer. 'Eh, probably some kind of IFF malfunction. I'm gonna have to ask Clint about this.' James shook it away and placed Abigail's letter on his desk. He looked at his calendar to see that today, the 16th of Summer, was his medical check-up day. He felt fear whenever Doctor Harvey passed him by. He was one of the few that knew James's true form. He checked the clock. 10:03 AM. Twenty-seven minutes until the doctor would be waiting for him. James changed into one of his thin hoodies and set off for the clinic.
"Hello, is Doctor Harvey here?" James asked Maru behind the counter.
"Yes, but he's with another patient. I believe that your appointment is ten minutes from now?" Maru replied. James turned to the clock. It was 10:21 AM. 'Well, looks like I've come too early.' He thought.
"You know, you can sit there and wait." Maru said, pointing at one of the waiting chairs. James nodded and sat down on one of them. He submerged himself into deep thought. The light blue granite walls, ceiling and floor gave him the perfect mood for it. The whirring noise of the ventilation fan reminded him of the Gorgon Base especially in the infirmaries. As he went deeper down to his thought, thinking about his surge, Jade, a solider simply known as 14 or Alex… He suddenly thought. 'What if Maru knows who I am? What if Harvey told her about this?' His mind was filled with nothing but fear. He started to shake. He heard voices but his paranoia deafened his senses. All of it seemed to run away from him as someone smacked him on the head. It was Harvey. Maru was standing next to him looking worried.
"James? Are you alright? You were sweating and hyperventilating! Not to mention shaking!" Harvey exclaimed.
"Yeah? I'm fine. All is good. Is it time for my checkup, doc?" James asked, shaking his head to focus.
"Well, yes. We're really worried about you ever since that incident!" Harvey replied. "Follow me. Let's begin your checkup." He added. James nodded and followed him into a room with a medical bed. "Take a seat." Harvey said. James did as he said.
"…I have a question." James said. Harvey was all ears. "…Did you tell Maru of this?" he asked, rolling up his right sleeve. His cybernetics were clearly visible.
"No, James. Your right arm sleeve didn't leave your body during the surgery. Maru was outside with her family when I dressed you in your hospital outfit." Harvey assured. James gave a sigh of relief. "Now, would you mind taking your shirt off? We need to begin your inspection." He added. James complied and pulled his shirt off, revealing his highly muscular body. Harvey connected some sensors near his heart wired to a BPM machine. As he turned his machine on, the beeps were rapid. The monitor stated 121 beats per minute. "My, your heart is beating fast!" Harvey exclaimed.
"Well, I'm nervous. You know, the feeling of regret of the one chocolate I wasn't supposed to eat last night." James jokingly said.
"Well, I guess! You are an enthusiastic patient! It's okay to eat a little bit!" Harvey chuckled. "Anyway, looks like your heart is beating fine. I expected a much higher reading due to… well, personal reasons." He added, removing the sensors from James.
"Are we done?" James asked, picking up his shirt.
"What? No! We've got a plethora of things to do!" Harvey replied, tapping on his papers. James gave him a jokingly horrified look.
"Oh god." James jokingly said. Harvey chuckled at it.
"Relax. It'll be over soon! Anyway, when was the last time you have received vaccines?" Harvey asked.
"Vaccines? The last time was… 12 years ago!" James replied. The fully sanitary facilities of the base meant that no infection was possible.
"I see. I suppose that was for… mumps?" Harvey asked. James nodded to the question. "I guess you are fine with personal medical questions, correct?" He continued.
"Well, I have nothing to hide from you, so… I guess I should let the questions flow!" James replied.
"Very well." Harvey said as he pulled his pen out from his coat pocket. "Here's the first question: are you sexually active?"
"Well, my sexuality button has never been touched before." James replied. Harvey gave out a laugh while writing something down on his papers.
Two hours had passed when James replied to Harvey's last question. "Okay, I guess that does it for the questions. I'll refine your answers to get the best medications. For now, you may go." Harvey said. James wore his shirt again and left the clinic after paying the money. He decided to take a walk around the beach to remove the nightmares he was facing back at the waiting room of the clinic. The waves of the Gem Sea soothed him until he thought of the ships clashing against each other with their crew blowing up into pieces. He pushed it away. Right now, he is enjoying his life. That's all that matters. As he said hello to Elliot and Leah sitting beside each other on the pier cuddling, He saw Sam and Vincent playing on the sand.
"Hey, Sam!" James called.
"'Sup, bro!" Sam called back, waving his hand. "We're just playing in the sand, nothing special!" He added.
"Well, that's good to know! Brotherly love always gets me for some reason!" James chuckled. "Hey, Vince!" He said to Vincent.
"Oh, hello Mr. James!" Vincent gleefully said.
"You know, you can just call me James." James replied.
"Okay!" Vincent nodded and continued making his sand castle. It was giant, but it lacked in detail.
"So, how old is your brother?" James asked Sam.
"Him? He's seven. Anything else you wanna know?" Sam replied.
"Well, I haven't seen your dad since I came here for the farm. May I ask where he is?" James asked.
"Dad's… he… damn, I don't know how to say this, but he left for the war the day after you came here." Sam replied hesitantly. James's heart sank. He wanted to say sorry for all of the things he had caused during this stay in Stardew Valley. The War, the Graceful Mercy and now Sam's father. He lowered his head and gritted his teeth while quenching fists. "Hey, are you alright? Did I say something bothering for you?" Sam asked, patting James's shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm fine." James replied, shrugging his hand off. Vincent looked at the two as if he overheard the conversation.
"Sam, you know about dad… he'll come back, right?" Vincent asked Sam.
"Of course he will, brother! He'll bring you ALL the toys you want when he gets back!" Sam replied enthusiastically. Vincent seemed to be the complete opposite.
"…But, but… I remember mommy watching the news yesterday saying..saying… saying that our soldiers were getting era..di…caped but the Gotoro soldiers… It said that their soldiers were… special?" Vincent said with tears welling up in his eyes. James could see genuine sadness growing in Vincent, but something was growing in James, too. It was remorse, regret and sorrow. The special soldiers that this little kid was talking about seemed to snap in James's mind, but he didn't know what.
"D…don't worry, Vincent! Our soldiers are stronger than them! We've even got the world on our side!" Sam replied, trying to soothe his brother's sadness with the United Nations' support. He then turned to James when he confirmed Vincent's smile. "James, I'm not sure if I did the right thing, you know… about telling lies to children." Sam whispered to James.
"Bro, you did the right thing. Your brother deserved some optimism! Don't be so worried!" James replied back with a whisper. Sam nodded at the response.
"Thanks, man. I've always hated myself whenever I had to do this to him." Sam said. "You're a life saver."
"All in a day's work, bro. Say, about your… I mean, our band, when are we going to officially start practicing and composing?" James asked.
"The band? Well, I've composed a few songs, but I don't think they're enough. I need you guys' help for us to make an album." Sam replied.
"Hmm. Interesting. Maybe we'll all hang out in your house one day again." James said.
Sam and James had been talking with each other while keeping an eye on Vincent playing on the sand until the sun didn't seem to exist. James parted with Sam and Vincent as they walked back home together. He checked the clock on the general store to find that it was 8:24 PM. He walked in to find Pierre preparing to close the door.
"What brings you here, James?" Pierre asked, turning his head to James.
"I'm here to do Abby a favor. Is she in her room?" James asked sweating.
"Yes, she's in her room." Pierre glared at him. James thanked him and entered her room. The room was dark with a very dim light illuminating the room. The room smelled like burning wax. He looked around to find Abigail lighting candles while chanting something. It gave James the creeps. She didn't seem to notice his presence.
"Uh… Abby?" James called.
"Oh, James! I didn't see you come in!" Abigail replied, startled. She tripped and fell on her posterior.
"Here, take my hand." James said, holding out his left hand for her to grab. She blushed when she took hold of it and stood up. James's surge intensified at the same time. "Anyway, what's all this?" James asked, pointing at a wooden keyboard-like object surrounded by five candles.
"That's a spirit board. I normally use it to channel the spirits to communicate." Abigail explained. "They work better with multiple people. Sebastian and Sam thinks I'm weird so you're the only one I can count on." She added, blushing.
"This is… interesting." James said. He could use some magic in the form of plasma, but he couldn't feel spirits. He could only see them during nightmares, especially the ones who died due to him. He shrugged the thoughts out of his way.
"Here, come sit down near the board!" Abigail cheerfully said, dragging James into the candle circle. The temperature around it seemed to rise slowly. He knelt down with Abigail on the other side of the board. "Now, place your hands on the plachentte with me." Abigail instructed. James did as followed, placing his hands on Abigail's hands. His surge seemed to overload, but he threw the feeling away. "Now, the spirits should guide us to the letters. O, spirits, what did you see from my mind?" Abigail called out silently. Just then, the plachentte started moving on its own. James could feel a cold burst of air radiating near the candle circle. "LOOK, IT'S MOVING!" Abigail explained. James was actually surprised.
'Holy mackerellosynthesis, this is really happening!' James thought.
"Look, they're guiding us to… 'I'…" Abigail read out the letter. The plachentte then moved to a hollow heart symbol "…Then to the heart…" She continued. Finally, the spirits guided the two to multiple letters. "Look at it go! It's spelling out a name! It's J…A…M… I 'heart; Jam….?" Abigail paused. She quickly kicked the spirit board over.
"What was that for?" James asked. The spirit board had hit his body.
"Whoops! Accidentally knocked over the board! It's just a child's play." Abigail laughed. James faked a laugh. "Well, uh… I have something to do. It's nine o'clock, too. Bye." Abigail said, facing the wall blushing. James took a look at the girl one more time before leaving the General Store and back to Cerulean Farm. The surge was too strong for him to handle.