Chapter 39: Reconvening At The Hospital! A Risky Ritual!
"Tell me his condition," Gosha insisted as Alex drove through the streets of Cherryton. Alex sighed.
"It's looking pretty bad. He suffered a lot of head trauma, and a ton of internal injuries. I don't understand the full extent of it, but what I do know is that if he doesn't wake up within the next 48 hours, his brain's going to start to deteriorate," Alex told Gosha.
"Oh my god…how are we going to get him awake?" Gosha gasped. They arrived at the hospital and Alex parked the car.
"My mother has performed several studies on comatose patients and there was an astonishing amount of data that suggests that loved ones and friends speed up the process. In some cases, just the arrival of a cherished friend or lover has managed to wake them up. Other cases have had the loved ones and friends spend hours on end with the coma patient, passing the time by telling stories of said patient," Alex explained.
Gosha nodded, before he and Alex got out of the car. Alex was surprised to see the Shishigumi van pulling up to the front, and the side doors opened up. He was shocked to see both Louis and Haru step out of the van. He hung back, seeing Agata join them and they entered the hospital. Alex stood there for a few minutes.
What was Haru doing in the Shishigumi van? Perhaps Agata had gotten her and taken her to the manor to fetch Louis… but that wouldn't explain the outfit. She was dressed like something out of a kinky movie. Then a sudden realization occurred to him. She went to the black market by herself to grab Louis! Gosha tapped him on the shoulder. Somehow, Alex hadn't realized he had frozen. "Let's go in, shall we?" Gosha suggested.
Alex nodded slowly and walked through the hospital doors. They walked through the corridors of the medical facility before reaching the hall with Legosi's room. Outside of the room, Louis, Haru, and Agata were talking with each other. The black Congo lion saw Alex coming towards them. "Hey Alex. Who's your friend?" Agata somberly greeted.
Louis turned to see who it was and his eyes flashed with rage. "YOU!" Louis growled. The deer charged at Alex, his left paw clutching the wolf's throat. Using all of his strength, Louis pushed Alex backwards and pinned him against the wall. Alex kicked and thrashed around, but none of his strikes were able to reach the deer. Curse his long arms! With his spare right paw, Louis removed one of his fake antlers from his head and pointed it at the wolf, bringing it closer and closer to Alex's head.
"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't ram this antler through your eye and kill you right now! You're the whole damn reason Legosi is half dead!" Louis screamed, pure hatred and anger in his eyes.
Everyone else was horrified at this sudden change in Louis. Even Bill didn't think Louis was capable of threatening to kill his friend, yet he had the antler poised like a sword, ready to plunge into Alex's head and eviscerate his brain. "Louis, NO!" Bill, Els, and Sheila yelled out.
"B-BOSS!" Agata cried out in horror.
"You don't want to do this! Legosiwouldn't want this!" Jack pleaded, stepping forwards.
"Doing this won't bring Legosi back!" Collot, Voss, Durham, and Miguno called out.
"Drop the weapon!" Judy yelled and fired up her taser, aiming it at the deer's back.
Haru knew instantly what had happened to Louis- the red deer had finally broken. She knew that it was always possible that he might end up snapping, how he had been raised to serve as livestock and had no future before meeting Oguma, how every day he wondered if he was going to die. And becoming the boss of the Shishigumi must have taken its toll on Louis. She couldn't imagine what nightmarish things he must have witnessed while leading the gang of lions.
She knew she had to act before Louis did something that he would end up regretting. She ran forward and ducked between Louis's legs before punching him in the crotch, causing him to stumble backwards, causing him to release his tight grip on Alex's neck. The wolf panted, gasping for air. "Both of you boys need to stop playing the blame game! You're BOTH responsible for Legosi being like this!" Haru scolded the two males.
Louis looked down at his shoes, ashamed of himself. He nearly killed one of the only animals who truly understood him! "Shit, Alex, I'm sorry," Louis apologized.
"No, I needed that. It felt so sickening to have no one around me blame me for this… you blaming me and reacting that way made me feel better. Though I would have preferred it if you hadn't threatened to skewer my brains…" Alex replied. Louis cracked a soft, weak smile before fixing his antler back on his head.
"Hey Alex, who's your scaly friend? I thought you were going to bring Legosi's grandfather!" Bill pointed out.
"Actually, I am Legosi's grandfather!" Gosha announced. Everyone turned to look at Gosha and blinked, before everything devolved into chaos.
"YOU'RE LEGOSI'S GRANDFATHER!?" Many of the animals gasped. Gosha nodded.
"Yes. My name is Gosha, and Legosi is my grandson. It's nice to see that Legosi's made so many friends at Cherryton. Oh, and before you ask, I'm a Komodo dragon," Gosha explained. Haru, Louis, Bill, Els, Collot, Voss, Durham, Miguno, and Sheila all shook paws with the reptile.
They all then went into Legosi's room. Alex squeezed the gray wolf/Komodo dragon hybrid's left paw. "Legosi, it's me, Alex. I brought two people who I know are very special to you… your grandfather, Gosha, and your best friend Louis," Alex told the comatose wolf.
"We're best friends?" Louis scoffed.
"You went into the Shishigumi manor to save Haru alongside him. Of course he would think of you as a best friend!" Alex replied.
"Legosi, my grandson… it is good to see you again, but it pains me that you are not awake… I miss you so much, and I know that you distanced yourself from me as part of Leano's wishes in hopes that you could live a normal life. But I want to be a part of your life again. I hope you'll let me back in," Gosha murmured, gingerly clasping Legosi's left paw with his reptilian, scaly hands.
Louis gazed down at Legosi, and he was suddenly, inexplicably hit with a wave of sadness and anger. Who could have done this to him?! The red deer began to think about what Haru had said: that Legosi wouldn't have been attacked if he was still around to lead the drama club. He felt his eyes well up with tears, and this served to anger him even further. "Legosi, you dumb wolf, stop sleeping. We have work to do," Louis growled.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could swear he saw one of Legosi's digits twitch ever so slightly. "I know you can hear me, mutt! Wake up!" Louis snarled.
Everyone looked at him, shocked at how the deer was treating the unconscious Legosi. "WAKE UP, LEGOSI! YOU STUPID WOLF!" Louis then screamed, and brought his fist down on Legosi, but slowed it down so it would only lightly hammer the wolf's stomach. The tears began to flow from his eyes and stream down his face. "Please, Legosi… don't leave me…" Louis wept, burying his head in the wolf's fur.
They all sat there in Legosi's hospital room, telling stories about the wolf to pass the time. Voss, Collot, Durham, Miguno, and Jack told a story about how one time for Halloween the canines of room 701 had dressed up as the Power Rangers and gone trick-or-treating. Gosha told them adorable and cute snippets of Legosi's childhood, Haru and Louis supplied the embarrassing stories of Legosi in high school, and they all laughed. They even got a DVD of Cherryton's Adler production, playing the second evening's performance which Legosi had starred in as the titular character due to Louis being injured.
Gosha was impressed. "My word! Legosi never told me about this! I would have come to see him perform if he had told me he was going to be the star of the show!" Gosha murmured.
"We were working against the clock that day, all of the drama club was stressed out and worried. I'm surprised that the show didn't take a turn for the worse and come apart at the seams," Sheila commented.
Unwilling to leave Legosi in hopes that he might wake up in the middle of the night, everyone slept in their chairs. Morning came, however, and Legosi was still unconscious. They were running out of time- if Legosi didn't wake up out of the coma soon, his brain would start deteriorating and he would be reduced to a lifeless husk of his former self. It was time to call in a favor from an old friend, and Alex made the call during the wee hours of the morning.
5 AM Zootopia, Lionheart Manor
Leah Ashenwoole opened the door to her master's room. She knew the mayor wouldn't be happy but he would understand the reasoning behind her actions. "Kimba?" Leah called out, causing the white lion to stir from his slumber. He looked and saw the coal-colored sheep standing in the doorway.
"Good morning Leah. Though it's about a half hour earlier than I'm used to getting up… something is wrong. I can feel it. What's your reason for waking me up?" the current mayor of Zootopia asked.
"It's Alex. He needs my help, and time is of the essence. A life is on the line," Leah answered her best friend.
Dawn was still passed out- the former ex-mayor and Kimba's girlfriend was a heavy sleeper. "Then go, Leah. I'll keep your hours paid while you go and help our friend," Kimba told Leah before lying back down and cuddling some more with Dawn.
Several hours later…
Alex saw the familiar dark-wooled sheep coming towards them. "Leah! You came!" Alex cried out, and embraced the sheep. Alex then set Leah down and turned to face the rest of the gang.
"Everyone, this is Leah. She's one of the best mystics I know, and she's been a loyal servant of the Lionheart family. I called her here because she has a specific set of talents that I believe can help Legosi," Alex explained, introducing her to the others. They all surged forward to greet the newcomer, but Leah held up her paws and made a pushing motion.
"We can do the introductions and pleasantries later! Right now, time is of the essence," Leah hastily said. She went into the room and laid her head down on Legosi's chest, her eyes turning solid blue and glowing.
"Looking into his heart… yes, I can see it now! The identities of the seven animals who have impacted his life the most! Ah, but two of them have passed on from this world… no matter. Five is still enough," Leah muttered to herself. Her eyes stopped glowing and returned to their bright orange color.
"Haru. Louis, Alex. Jack. Gosha. Form a circle around Legosi, and sit down. Place one paw on Legosi's chest, right above his heart," Leah instructed. They pulled up chairs around Legosi's hospital bed and put their paws on his chest, all of them now connected. Leah then tied a rope around their other arm, forming a circle with the rope.
"Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?" Louis groaned.
"I'm preparing a ritual that will send your minds into Legosi's consciousness. There's likely some sort of repressed memory or side of him that is keeping him from waking up. You are to find Legosi within his mindscape, and ease his worries so that he is able to wake up," Leah said.
"But we're not ready yet!" Haru protested. Leah ignored their concerns as she yelled out a phrase in an unknown language. There was a bright flash of light that filled all of their eyes, and they felt the sensation of falling.
Alex, Louis, Jack, Haru, and Gosha find themselves within a strange void filled with floating platforms. Though the future seems uncertain, they must press forwards and find Legosi! They gain an insight into the gray wolf's thoughts...? Shocking details about Legosi's mother are revealed, and Legosi seems to be on the edge! He must find a way to surpass his limits and e volve himself! Be here for the fortieth chapter of BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!
Chapter 40: Dive To The Heart! Legosi, Awaken Your WILD SIDE!