Finally! A chapter that took less than a week to type!
I'll admit, this chapter is not the greatest. I originally wasn't planning on having this chapter in the story, but I determined that it would be better than what I had planned. It's also shorter than the last couple of chapters I posted.
I hope you enjoy!
POV: Harvey
It was another normal day in the Rainforest. The sun shined brightly onto Harvey's skin, threatening to give it a sunburn. He wiped off the sweat on his face, standing back to admire his newest creation: a rocket engine!
"Finally! Now I can go home!", Harvey exclaimed. Many months of work had finally led to this moment.
Behind him, Aster marveled at the creation. "Cool! But, I have something I… really need to say".
Harvey cocked his head in confusion, but motioned her to talk. "Go ahead".
"I love you".
What? "E-Excuse me?", Harvey stammered out. This had to be some sick joke, right?
"But you don't love me back", Aster suddenly growled out. The sun in the sky disappeared, replaced by pure darkness.
Behind Aster, a large dragon flew in, with red eyes that signaled evil. Pure, raw evil.
"So I will make you love Aster", the large dragon snarled. It lifted a talon, glowing electricity shooting out of it. "Stand still".
Harvey didn't even hesitate bolting out of there. He dashed into the trees, running for his life. Unfortunately for him, the trees had minds of their own, with vine arms trying to grasp him. To make matters worse, they were speaking.
"How dare you kill your friends!".
"They were trying to help you realize the greatness of Darkstalker!".
"Your puny mind wouldn't understand".
And suddenly, Harvey emerged into a clearing. Not just any clearing; it was the field back at home, where he spent his darkest days at. It always brought a feeling of peace, with the single tree and the welcoming grass glowing green.
Except this time, that wasn't the case. The grass was dead, with a grayish color to it. The tree had fallen over on its side, the roots sticking out of the bottom. And right in the middle of the field was a girl that Harvey knew all too well.
"H-Hannah?", Harvey uttered out. Why is she here? And why is the field dead?
She turned to look at Harvey, a smirk growing on her face. Those eyes looked normal at first glance, but a closer look revealed no emotion behind it.
"I will never, ever date someone like you, not after what you did".
Harvey took a step back, those words sounding extremely familiar. It cut into a locked away memory, meant to stay away forever.
"Me? I'm not here to listen to your problems. It's your own fault for having no friends".
No. He had a friend. Xavier. Right?
"You would have been perfect boyfriend material, had you just agreed with the plan".
The plan. The one that would have guaranteed Hannah for him. The one that would have thrown everything else away. The one that made Junior year a living hell.
"Now you have no friends and no girlfriend. What are you going to do? Beg for my forgiveness? I dare you".
It broke him. The words were painful, it hurt his chest. Everything was already falling apart, just like how it had back in high school. At that point, he felt like wanting to die. There was no reason to go on.
And yet, he somehow did. Xavier was there to help him, followed by the rest of his friends. He remembered the next year, when Harvey was happy, how Hannah looked disgusted at how he managed to climb his way out of that dark hole.
"H-Hannah…. Fuck….. You…..", Harvey uttered out. He never said that at the time, but if he could go back, he would have said that line.
Suddenly, a dragon barged out of the Rainforest behind him and tackled Harvey. He recognized the scales on them, as they belonged to a Rainwing. Aster. This was not what he needed right now.
"It's time for you to love me".
Those words chilled him to his core. It was the sort of thing that belonged only in nightmares.
Well, only one thing to do now.
Harvey banged his head as hard as he could on the ground, knocking himself out before the nightmare could continue.
Harvey groggily opened his eyes, expecting to see the high ceiling of the room he fell asleep in. Along with the well painted walls and perhaps Cyclone being off to his side.
Instead, he woke up in mission control.
"What the..", Harvey trailed off, sitting up quickly to take in the sights. The computers sat in front of him, remaining purely decorational, as nothing showed up on the screens. In front of the room was a massive monitor, showing… the same room?
He moved his head to the right, only to notice that the screen was changing. Harvey looked back, and saw that the screen appeared to be following his eyes. How? There's no camera in front of me.
Unless…
There was a back entrance, which looked extremely familiar. Harvey came through the same entrance once before, in order to reclaim his own mind before magic could.
And he immediately knew where he was. He was back in the wrenched place where he had killed his friends, punched Jimmy in the face and witnessed falsified memories.
The Mindscape.
"WHY?! WHY AM I BACK HERE?!", Harvey cried out. He was confident that the moon rock was still in his pocket, so there was no magic shenanigans going on. All he remembered was that strangely vivid dream he had just now.
Even though his friends from memory lane were fake, Harvey still felt guilty from the killing. Combined with the resurging memories from his past, it was entirely possible that he was experiencing PTSD.
And of course, the whole Aster incident haunted him as well.
How do I get out of here? Last time I used that weird overwriter device, but what is there to "Overwrite" this time?
Well, maybe he could get help like last time. That Charles character seemed to know his things about the Mindscape. Perhaps Harvey could search for him again and figure out how to get out of this wretched place.
Harvey walked over to the back entrance, which looked the same as it did the first time. He strolled through the hallway, paying closer attention to the pictures along the walls. Pictures of his childhood home on Earth, the college he went to before joining the Pioneers and the Galactic Exploration Station were some of the highlights.
It was somewhat eerie wandering through the hall, thanks to the dark lighting. Floor lights and the occasional wall light were all that illuminated the place. It felt like he was walking into a movie theatre, which unfortunately weren't that common anymore.
After a few minutes of walking, Harvey stood in front of the door. There was a wheel on it, similar to how Submarine hatches were used. No signs said anything about how to use it, but Harvey had seen enough movies to know what to do.
The wheel was a pain to turn, creaking and refusing to move at times. But finally, after using his strength, the door slowly opened, revealing the same river from before.
Only difference is, as soon as Harvey stepped outside, there's a large amount of screaming.
"THE DOOR OPENED!".
"WHO THE HELL IS THAT?!".
Also, there's a gun pointed directly at his face. Whether it was like a normal gun, Harvey didn't know. Behind him, he heard the door closing.
"Identify yourself", a man gruffly said, who was holding the gun. He was wearing sunglasses and a suit, not unlike someone from the secret service.
Harvey gulped, before replying, "H-Harvey Winston". This immediately caused a reaction from the other people, who began muttering and staring at him in shock. The man in front of him, however, didn't seem convinced.
"Really? YOU? Don't pull my leg here, kid", the man said, chuckling. "No one is allowed to enter the core, except the owner. And the owner can't even enter the Mindscape in the first place".
Does he not know? "Did y-you not hear about me stopping an i-invasion?", Harvey stammered out. "I-I came down here to save my brain!".
The whole place erupted into laughter, as if he just told the greatest joke ever heard.
"Wow, that's probably the funniest joke I've heard in a while", the gunman said, wiping away tears from his face. "Now come with me, we'll figure out how you got in there".
Harvey's eyes widened as the man roughly grabbed his arm, gun on his chest. "Do you not have ANY memory of that?!", he exclaimed.
Another laugh. "Of course not. Why would I have a memory of something that never happened?", the man chided.
"Let Harvey go".
The gunman whirled around to see an old man arriving in a canoe. Harvey's mood brightened up substantially, because he recognized this man.
"Charles, don't tell me you believe this kid's story", the man exasperated.
Charles laughed at him. "I was there, Barry. You were busy being mind controlled by the invasion".
The man, who Harvey guessed was Barry, suddenly looked embarrassed. "W-What? You never mentioned any of this!".
"Are you deaf? I literally told it to every single worker here", Charles shot back. "And literally everyone said I was lying!".
Harvey looked around him to see the workers looking a little guilty, but they still seemed skeptical of the story. If they had no memory of the whole time he was there, then how could they convince the workers?
"Tell me Barry, what proof do you have that the kid is not who he claims he is?", Charles challenged, before giving a thumbs up to Harvey. He smiled back in return, internally shouting "THANK YOU!".
Barry was speechless, unable to talk back. Harvey was surprised how quickly Charles essentially disarmed him. Honestly, he could have thought of a way to rebuke that sentence.
"Exactly. Now let me have a talk with Harvey".
Barry reluctantly stepped off to the side, giving both of them a glare before lowering his gun and walking off. Charles gestured for Harvey to join him in the canoe, which he did. The workers gave them looks of surprise and admiration, although most seem aimed at Charles.
Once Harvey was safely in, Charles turned on the motor, albeit at a slow speed. The canoe began to move slowly around the core.
"Thanks for saving my butt back there", Harvey said, glad that Charles showed up at the right time.
"Anything to remind Barry not to be impulsive!", Charles said with a laugh. "Sorry about him, by the way. He's sort of like the police in these parts".
"The police? Interesting", Harvey mused. He didn't really think that police were needed in the mind of all places, but perhaps the Mindscape has troubles with people, similar to reality.
The canoe was about a quarter around the core at this point, with the workers seemingly all over the place. One of them waved at Harvey, before losing his grip on his spot and falling down below the core. There was some shouting, but it sounded like the worker was ok.
"So, tell me, sport. What brings you back to the Mindscape?", Charles asked.
Uh…. "I-I'm not quite sure honestly", Harvey replied. "I had a nightmare, knocked myself out in said nightmare, then I woke up inside the core". As he explained this, Charles gradually looked more and more confused.
"That's very unusual. The owner shouldn't be able to easily enter the Mindscape that easily", Charles muttered. Beside the canoe, there appeared to be small fish swimming in the river. It looked like something you'd see in a documentary about saving the oceans from the 21st century.
"I wonder if… because you came here before, it allowed you to make an easier connection to the Mindscape...", Charles mused, mostly to himself. His hands were stroking his beard as he thought. "Well, who knows! I assume you need to find a way outta here".
Harvey nodded. "Correct. Last time, I used that overwriter thingy you told me about-".
"So the legends were true!", Charles exclaimed, interrupting Harvey. "Whoops. Continue with your explanation".
"...But that was last time. There's nothing to 'Overwrite' this time", Harvey explained. "I was wondering if you people had any ideas".
Charles was silent for a few moments, apparently deep in thought. They were about halfway around the core at this point, just passing by another group of workers. One of them waved at Harvey, in which he waved back.
"Have you ever heard of 'The Mindscape Theory'?", Charles asked in a low voice.
The Mindscape Theory? "I don't recall it", Harvey answered.
"I literally live in your mind, kiddo", Charles insisted. "If you don't know it, then we wouldn't know it either".
"I never heard of the Mindscape before!", Harvey protested. Even so, the concept did make sense. Why would people living in his own mind know more than himself?
Charles sighed before speaking. "Moving on: The Mindscape Theory. I'm pretty sure your psychology teacher mentioned this in your junior year of high school".
That would explain it. Junior year was probably the worst year of his life. It was hard to pay attention in those times.
"It was made by Jason Hanges in the year of 2064", Charles went on, suddenly changing to a professor voice. "Jason made it up after-".
"I don't care about the history man", Harvey cut in, already feeling bored from that short explanation. "Just cut to what the theory is about".
Charles sighed again, but relented. "According to the theory, if one establishes a connection with the Mindscape, they could hypothetically connect with other Mindscapes", he explained.
That sounds interesting. "What does that have to do with leaving the Mindscape though?", Harvey asked.
"It implies that you can leave the Mindscape easily", Charles replied.
Harvey raised an eyebrow at that. "How so?".
"In the theory, it hypothesised that one can go to another Mindscape by simply going to the core and… thinking the right thing", Charles explained nonchalantly. "It sounds simple, doesn't it?".
It did. A little too easy. But it was the best bet he had.
"And you think I can escape by just thinking of returning to reality?", Harvey asked.
Charles nodded. "It sounds kind of lame honestly. No epic adventures to go on that warrants a whole chapter in a story", he joked. "But it works. Besides, you got adventures outside".
By that point, the canoe was back where they started. The workers were at work on the core, making noises as they swung their tools. Harvey hopped out of the canoe onto the dry surface along the core, while Charles stayed behind.
"Good luck Harvey. Just call my name if you need me", Charles said, smiling.
Harvey smiled back. "Thanks man. Boy, I'm glad that Barry guy didn't take me away".
"Ah, don't worry about him. Now go in the core and figure out what you're doing". And with those words, Charles drove the canoe away from the area, leaving Harvey alone to reopen the core door.
He walked up to the core, the texture looking just like the moon. Alright Harvey. How did you open the door last time?
Was it the quote thing? Or was it when he cried about keeping promises?
Probably the latter. The quote thing didn't work right away.
Harvey took a deep breath, sucking in the air around him. "I made a promise to my friends. I need to keep the promise", he spoke. It wasn't word for word, especially since he was pretty sure he never said that second line, but it was close enough.
He half expected the door to remain closed, but luckily for him, the door opened up. Harvey walked in and made sure the door closed behind him before continuing.
Once Harvey had reentered the mission control room, he began to brainstorm what he needed to say. It then occurred to him that he had no idea where to start.
Shit. Is it as simple as thinking "Take me back to reality", or is it more complex than that?
"Take me back to reality!", Harvey shouted out.
Nothing happened.
Ah poop. Harvey tried out a few other sayings, such as "Take me homeeeee" and "Let's a-go!". When none of those worked, he tried clicking his heels 3 times and saying "There's no place like home". He saw that in a movie once, but it didn't work.
Finally, Harvey walked over to a computer and sat down, putting his head into his hands. Nothing he did was working at all.
What am I supposed to do?! I don't want to be trapped down here forever!
No noise came from Harvey for a moment, with the whirring of a computer being the only sound in the room.
Wait…. why would there be a computer running? These are all decorational!
Harvey remained quiet, but stood up. The whirring wasn't very loud, so he had to strain his ears a little bit to hear it. He continuously moved around the room, stopping every few steps to listen to the noises.
After a few minutes of searching for the source of the sound, he stumbled upon a computer in the last row, second from the right. It looked just like all of the other ones, but the noise was the loudest here. The buttons and the dials were darkened, while the screen was currently off.
Once Harvey sat down at the computer, however, that changed. The buttons suddenly lit up, as if a switch was flipped. The computer screen slowly glowed to life, showing a drawing of a circle. Inside the circle was what looked like a brain. And covering the image were the words "Mind Mode".
Just 'Mind Mode'? Not 'Mindscape Mode'?
He didn't think much more of it, because the computer screen suddenly changed to a menu. There were three options listed: Return to Reality, Mindscape Express and Shutdown.
It was pretty obvious which one Harvey wanted to use, although he couldn't help but wonder what the other two meant. There were a few guesses going through his head, but there was no reason to find out now.
Using what appeared to be the arrow keys, he selected "Return to Reality". At first, nothing happened, making Harvey worry that the computer was broken. Then again, why would a computer-
A sudden flash of white light burst from the computer, enveloping Harvey in its grasp.
Much shorter than the last visit to the Mindscape, eh?
To make up for it, I typed up a short little segment below this author's note! I hope you enjoy it.
Before moving on, just want to let you know the next chapter might take longer than usual. I'll be gone for a few days.
(NOTE: IT'S NOT CANON TO THIS STORY. JUST A LITTLE EXTRA FUNNY THING)
"So, tell me Barry, why did you pick that outfit of all things?", asked Charles. He was questioning Barry on his choice to look like a secret service agent.
"...I wanted to fulfill my dreams", Barry admitted.
"Which is?".
Barry pulled out a gun and shot at Charles. The bullet missed.
"Be a stormtrooper".
Charles let out a long laugh, "Oh my god, you're joking right? Why not wear a stormtrooper COSTUME?".
Another missed bullet.
"I also want to be James Bond", Barry added.
At this point, Barry was embarrassing himself.
"Just get outta my room now", Charles said, laughing while facepalming at the same time.