Chapter XXXVI: The Picture Show

Long story short, Conner was a freaking mess.

Really, though, I couldn't blame him. Losing a parent must be horrible, but having to be reminded of it has gotta be just as bad. I tried comforting him before he told me to leave and give him some space. I did that gladly. I wanted the best for him. He didn't deserve this. Anon wanted me, not Conner. So I did the responsible thing.

When I got home, I email Anon.

Anon,

Keep Conner out of your game. I'm the one you want, not him. Leave him alone.

Howard.

I expected to hear back from him soon, but didn't. I went back on Futures to see if anything had changed, but everything was the same as before. I had expected Blackfield or something to have gone on there and mess around since we have a goddamn week before we move onto the next NPC. Since I had plenty of time on my hand at this point, I decided to try my hand at piecing together what information we had. I wrote down all the things we had with us at this point as a list and it came out like this:

1) Notch and Johan are related to each other somehow

2) Disc 11 was formerly called "Ballad of the Night" and I assume it to be written by Notch rather than C418

3) Xanadu = Blackfield; Anon = Me; Aeon = Conner; Rapture and Grief = ?

4) The crosses that we found at the end of each server plays some part in what's going on

5) Death and the future is a common theme throughout this whole thing

6) Anon is trying to make us realize something. Was he posting the home videos?

A lot of these things didn't really make sense. I initially thought that Anon had posted the videos for us to see, but then I began thinking that Notch might've included the videos. If so, then he was trying to show us something. At least he was trying to tell us about Johan. Despite this, I had no idea how Johan was even freaking relevant to anything. #3 was basically proven to be a result of the duplication program, so I didn't need to worry about that. #2 was only a theory since it couldn't be proven. However, it was a likely theory since I don't think C418 was brought on at this point in development since I hadn't listened to any of his songs. #4, #5, and #6 all seem to be connected to each other.

All this stuff slipped my mind by the end of the day. I hid the notes so my parents didn't question what was going since they still didn't know what was going on. I was beginning to wonder whether I was doing the wrong thing by keeping them out of the loop. Blackfield told me that I wasn't alone on this, but I felt that way. That's why I didn't tell many people. Well, I didn't tell people because I didn't want them to get involved.

Maybe it wasn't that I felt alone. Could it be that I wanted to be alone on this?

The next day was strange. I felt normal, but no one else did. It felt more like real life, but something felt abnormal. I hung around with Ed and Garth like usual and went home like usual. It was nothing special or memorable. When I got home, though, I suddenly remember the discussion I had with Blackfield. You know, where he told me the inspiration for his name. It was some band or something. I decided to look them up and see if I could have the same connection that he apparently had.

Instead, though, I found that Anon had sent me an email. He finally responded.

There was an image attached, though.

The image was a butterfly under a cloudy sky. It looked sort of apocalyptic in a way. I thought it was raining or storming or something.

There was a message attached, though.

Wes,

Feelings are evident in all

Life. Perhaps it is

You that doesn't know this.

When you watch him die

In the future, do you

Think that there will be

Hope for you as well?

Just consider that

Out of everyone you know,

Hate is within them

And it is all directed at you.

Now, fly.

Anon.

Damn, he's making no sense again. It seemed like all these NPCs were cryptic bastards. I saved the image for future reference and went on to listening to Blackfield which I rather enjoyed. I got them on my iPod and listened to them throughout the day. I dunno, it felt like their music fit what was going on with me as well. I couldn't blame Blackfield for picking such a name.

The next day I told Garth and Ed about Blackfield (the band) to see if they knew them, but they didn't. I decided to bring them over to my house to introduce them. Hopefully this would also rekindle our friendship that was pretty much dead at this point. My parents were happy to see them again, though. They knew how depressed I had become. They just wanted the best for me, though.

As I got on my computer, I noticed I had another email from Anon. Another image was attached, too.

The image was a freaking hippo. Like, a hippopotamus. What the hell did this mean?

The email went something like this:

Wes,

Could you keep it down?

Let people sleep, perhaps?

Over in your corner of the world,

Up and upon your throne of ego

Dies a child that never lived.

Can you please stop speaking?

Up and Upon your bed of lies

Lives a child who knows the

Truth and accepts it.

Anon.

What did this mean?

Garth and Ed were too distracted by other things in my room to see how paranoid I had become. It wasn't until I read it for the fifth time that I saw some sort of message hidden within it. The message was "CLOUD CULT." I didn't know what that meant, so I looked it up and found it to be another freaking band. Lo and behold, they released an album a while ago called Advice From the Happy Hippopotamus. Was that what the picture of the hippo meant? Anyway, from what I learned about the album, it was about the lead singer's reaction to his son's death. Rather sad, but it dealt with a lot of stuff. Like, the singer knew his son was dead, but wondered if he was still out there somewhere.

Garth and Ed listened to Blackfield, didn't like it, and went home. Were they even my friends anymore?

The next day they didn't even go to school. I was left alone, really. When I got home, I found yet another email from Anon.

The image was of a sun either setting or rising. I couldn't tell. It was rising/setting behind an ocean. The email read:

Wes,

Dying is of beauty that you need to

Open up to. You see it as a scary thought, but

No one thinks that way. They embrace life as a

Treasure that not many have.

Being yourself is all you can do.

Everyone knows this.

After all, all you can do is

Find your path in life and

Take it. That is the destiny that

Everyone is left with. You have to

Respect the future, not fear it.

Anon.

When I finished reading it, I didn't have much time to analyze it. I got a call from Conner asking me to come over. I did and felt happy seeing that he was being much happier now. He was in a much better mood than before. I was glad, too. He didn't deserve this. I wanted to say "I'm sorry" so badly. I brought him into this, technically.

The next day, Thursday, I got yet another email from Anon.

The image was a silhouette of a mother or father holding hands with their child, or a child. The email went like this:

Wes,

Caring is what

Helps the world grow

Into a more friendly environment.

Let yourself understand just how

Damaging it is to someone to watch someone go away. Have you

Relied on anyone before? What if they just disappeared? Would you

Expect it? Don't lie since I know you.

Now, run.

Anon.

Again, Anon was making no sense.

He said "CHILDREN" this time. He made no sense whatsoever.

I don't wanna talk too much about these past four since the last one, on Friday, was the most crucial and sudden.

The image was a heart. Not an actual heart, but a cartoon heart. That was all. The email went like this:

Howard,

Can't you see the words? Can't you love

Again? Solstice knows you want her. Conner

Now sees your worth. Blackfield

Can't get you off his mind. Are you what

Everybody wants? No, you're not.

Really, you're what no one needs.

Anon.

The message...

What did that have to do with anything?

It took me a while to cope with what was going on.

Howard Answers:

thesexyfox: FMP updates daily since I've written out most of the content. The deus ex machina is a term for things that occur that solve a problem, but was never really explained.

generaltemujin: No, Conner's mom is not related to Notch. That child in the home videos wasn't her either. That child was Johan.