Chapter 35: No One Will Ever Understand
Mindy awoke with a shriek.
She immediately touched her eyes to make sure that there was no ink inside of them. To her relief, they had returned to their normal state. She was even more relieved when normal tears started to form in them…
She winced when she felt a throbbing in her abdomen, forehead, and wrists.
Mindy fumbled to inspect her torso.
She was shocked to discover that the claw marks on her stomach had disappeared, but that the pain lingered for some bizarre reason.
It was the same for the rest of her injuries.
Her nightgown still reeked of the sickeningly repugnant water, but there wasn't valid evidence of it ever coming into contact with her. It even felt wet in some areas, but on the surface, it didn't appear to be soaked in the slightest.
Mindy released the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, and turned to look at the figure lying beside her.
Fortunately, Scarlett appeared to still be asleep.
Running her fingers through her tangled, oily hair, she climbed out of bed, and tiptoed into the restroom.
Mindy shut the door and pressed her back against it as the mask cracked again. She made sure to weep quietly so as to not wake the slumbering girl on the other side. After a few moments, she slid to the floor to bury her reddened face in her knees.
She didn't know how much time had passed.
At one point, she had crawled over to the toilet and dry-heaved into it for a few seconds, but nothing came spilling out.
Once she had gathered her bearings, Mindy reached a trembling hand out and grabbed the edge of the sink. Her lids scrunched up as she cradled her stomach in her opposite hand, and unsteadily rose to her feet.
As soon as she looked in the mirror, she didn't even recognize herself.
Her hair was a mess of tangles, knots, and was caked in snot, blood, and tears. Her lips were cracked, and she noticed that she was starting to break out around her left temple. Gaunt bags hung from underneath her bloodshot eyes, and her complexion was a gross, waxy hue of white. She sniffled when a glob of snot escaped her nostril, and she hastily wiped her nose with a sheet of toilet paper.
In short, Mindy looked like hell…and she felt so humid all of a sudden.
She ran the faucet, scooped water in her hands, and splashed it onto her face. She wiped her eyes on her sleeves and took deep breaths… the water hadn't been enough to cool her off. The room was starting to feel so restricting, suffocating, and downright nauseating. The long-sleeved nightgown certainly wasn't making matters any easier. She grabbed her skirt, and shook it in an attempt to fan herself off.
Mindy needed to get out of the apartment.
She shut off the water, and stepped out of the lavatory.
She quickly (but quietly) speeded out of the bedroom. Wrapping her arms around her shoulders, she powerwalked down the hall as more tears pricked the corners of her eyes. She briskly creaked down the stairs, and just about sprinted out the front door.
Mindy paced back-and-forth as the crisp night air swept over her body.
Despite the fact that her body temperature was more at ease, her panic-attack continued to escalate. She desperately clawed at her head as she struggled to breathe properly. The more that she tried to stop herself from crying, the more of a blubbering mess she became.
The sleep deprivation combined with her mental state caused her thoughts to spiral. How could someone be heartless enough to do that? How does he live with himself? What-what is wrong with him? Why am I asking these questions when the answer is obvious? He's a villain…but then, why did he sound so concerned when he pleaded with me to leave The Dremesphere? Was he trying to warn me about…? No…no…snap out of it! He doesn't care about me! It's all an act, and he just wants me to leave so he can-
"-Mindy?"
Her frantic steps came to a halt at the familiar voice.
"What are you doing out here? Are you-"
"-I'm fine."
"But you aren't-"
She spun around, "-I said I'm fine!"
Basil flinched in alarm at her unexpected outburst.
Mindy's hands flew to her mouth, "Sorry, sorry…I don't know what came over me, it's been a rough night."
She then plopped down onto the steps and concealed her face behind her hair in shame.
"It's alright." Basil found himself saying as he tried to recover from what had just happened. He bit his lip before he asked, "Is…is the Projectionist giving you more trouble?"
Her silence told him all he needed to know.
"Oh…" Basil settled down beside her, "Would you care to tell me what happened?"
"Not really." Mindy's shudder did not go unnoticed by the detective.
He struggled to keep his tone firm with his next question, "Did he hurt you?"
She looked up, and was taken aback when she saw that his fur was bristling, "Um…let's just say that he's a sore loser."
Basil's once hardened expression shifted into one of tenderness as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to frighten you… but please Mindy… if-if he's abusing you in any form then you must tell me. We've bested him before, and we can do it again."
"No we can't!" Mindy snapped, "You believe yourself to be the oh-so-wise detective who can solve any problem at the drop of a hat! What you fail to realize is that there are some forces in this world that are beyond your control. You know nothing about magic. I believe in your intelligence, and I do think highly of you as a person. But the fact remains that you can't do anything to help me when it comes to handling the Projectionist…no one can. This is between me and him and I can't risk anyone getting involved no matter how good their intentions are."
Basil considered this, "I-I used to think that I couldn't make friends because of my rather dangerous profession. As evidence from the mousetrap Ratigan put Dawson and I in, and how much pain he's caused the Flavershams and yourself I thought that it was a mistake to let other people back into my life. Then I realized, if your companions wish to assist you out of their own free will, then you aren't being a burden to them. Furthermore, you are not responsible for the consequences of their actions. You may not know it, but you taught me that when you came to my aid at Big Ben."
"This is different!" She insisted as the tears slid down her cheeks, "Even if I told everyone about me and The Projectionist… what could they do?! Read me a bedtime story?! Get me some milk and cookies?! Sing me a lullaby?! At the end of the day, none of those things would make a difference! None of you can see what goes on inside of my head, and even if you could, you wouldn't be able to physically help me and…" Mindy sucked in a breath to regain her composure as she fumbled for the right words, "…and even if-if I told you what happened, I can never truly make you understand what I have to deal with night after night…you can never understand what it's like to be me!"
God, she hated herself.
She hated herself with every fiber of her being.
Mindy waited for him to berate her for showing so much weakness in his presence. She wouldn't put it past him to do so. She was so ashamed, hysterical, and above all frightened. She had never experienced this combination of emotions before, and she hated every second of it.
She was beyond stupefied when Basil drew her into an embrace, "You're right…I can't."
That was when the mask cracked for the third time in a row.
She apologized profusely as she stained the back of his robe with tears. He assured her that it was alright, and that she could take as much time as she needed to let it out. She had honestly never expected Basil to be this accommodating, but she wasn't about to start complaining now.
Especially since he was the only one she could confide in about what The Projectionist was doing to her.
"S-sorry." Mindy rasped.
"Again, you don't have to apologize." Basil whispered as he rubbed circles on her back, "There, there, it's alright…everything is going to be alright."
"I'm just so…scared." The declaration sounded pathetic, almost like a baby trying to form words for the first time.
"I know, I know."
Eventually, she forced herself to take a shaky breath as she wiped her eyes. Seriously, I JUST cried earlier...I thought that I had already gotten all of it out of my system!
She sniffled as she came out of his embrace, "Thanks Basil."
"You're very welcome." He gave a soft smile before he avoided eye-contact, "I'm the one who should be apologizing to you… I kept pressuring you to tell me what happened, when I should have been more respectful of your feelings. You're right, I can never truly understand what you're going through and I can't do anything to stop whatever The Projectionist does inside of your head…I suppose all I can offer you is my support."
"And maybe that's enough."
"Enough to tell the others about-"
"-I can't." She interrupted as she buried her face in her hands, "I don't want any of them to worry about me, especially not Dakota…it's a stretch that I'm even letting you worry about me. The truth is I…I hate it when people are worried about me. It makes me feel uncomfortable and weak…. it's like I can't accomplish anything."
"But if you don't let them in, it will only make them worry about you even more." Basil pointed out, "Despite what you may think, you can't hide it from them forever." When she responded with a groan of frustration, he took hold of her hands and squeezed them tightly, "Mindy, I will respect your decision to not tell your friends yet (Regardless of the fact that I don't agree with it)…but please, promise me that you will tell them at some point. Don't wait until it's too late to ask for their assistance."
"I promise." Mindy swore, "I'll tell them when I'm ready."
"Thank you." The detective's eyes shone with admiration, "You're so brave…I can't imagine anyone else who could handle this situation as well as you."
"Who, me?" A teasing smile danced across her lips, "Naw, I think Scarlett is more cut out for this doncha think?"
Basil's cheeks reddened as he untangled his hands from hers and looked away, "Yes, well she does seem like a capable young woman."
"If by that you mean she's a hardcore badass then yes, yes she is." Mindy giggled, "Just so you know, Dakota and I were a bit weirded out at first. But, since we both agreed that this is most likely a temporary fictional character crush, we're cool with it for now."
"What?!" He exclaimed in a flustered panic, "No! No it-it's not…that is, we aren't-it's not…we haven't even known each other for that long and…what I mean to say is-"
"-Look." She cut him off, "I got the gist of it: It's not gonna work out. And if I or Dakota catch you guys doing questionable stuff while we're on the ship, I will lose all of my faith in humanity and in the laws of nature."
Basil tilted his head, "Wait… what did you mean by while we're on the ship?"
"Oh, did I not ask you?" Mindy played with a strand of her hair, "I guess given everything that's happened today, it sort of slipped my mind. Okay, I know that this might be a little jarring, but I would like to officially ask you to join Mediocrity at Its Finest!"
He was taken aback, "You…you want me to traverse across The Dremesphere with you all?"
"Why not?" She shrugged, "As of right now, we're all a bunch of inexperienced kids who have no idea what we're doing. With you there, we'll be a lot less stup-err, inexperienced! We'll be a lot less inexperienced then we are now! Not to mention that you've been a massive help throughout our time here. I'd say that you're more than qualified for the position!"
"I'm honored." Basil admitted, "But, wouldn't my size and stature only further restrain the group?"
"Jiminy and Tinkerbell are your size, and they bring a lot to the table." Mindy let out a small laugh, "You should see that fairy in combat! You do NOT want to mess with her when she's all riled up. Meanwhile, cricket is our collective therapist, and he is a great listener. Although, if I told him everything about The Projectionist, he would never be able to keep it a secret because he's just that honest of a person. But that's why we love him. The point is, you would be an asset to the team regardless of your size, and we would love to have you."
"I…err, that is to say-"
"-You don't have to answer right now." She assured him, "But will you at least consider it?"
Basil pondered for a couple of seconds before he replied, "I will sleep on it."
Mindy huffed, "Since when do you ever sleep?"
"When traumatized girls stop having emotional meltdowns at unholy hours of the night, and nearly wake all of London with their incessant wails, that's when!"
"Hey!"
The pair then proceeded to laugh until their sides were sore. She hadn't even realized that her amulet was emitting a golden glow until she opened her eyes to see that she was hovering a few inches off of the stairs.
Once they had stopped (and Mindy was back to normal), Basil wiped a tear from his eye and stood up, "It's getting late…we should-"
"-Basil…" He was caught off-guard by her unusually timid voice, "I…I don't think that I can go back to bed just yet. Could you…stay out here with me a little longer? Please?"
The detective stared down at the poor girl. If his stone-cold heart hadn't melted then, it definitely did when he took one glance at those glistening puppy-dog eyes.
"I can't leave you like this, can I?" He then released an over-exaggerated sigh, "Alright…but can we please go back inside? We'll catch our deaths if we stay out here."
"As always, you are correct sir." Mindy nodded.
Basil offered her his hands, and helped her to her feet.
His ears swiveled towards her when she let out a barely audible noise of discomfort. His puzzlement only increased when she hunched over while holding her stomach, her brows scrunching together in intense pain.
"What is it?" His voice laced with concern, "Are you alright?"
"It's nothing…really."
Basil crossed his arms, "Mindy."
She shrunk under his stern gaze before giving in, "The Projectionist…he…he may have popped both of my wrists out of their sockets while we were in The Dreamscape. But it's okay! I'm not actually hurt! I'm sure it'll go away…eventually."
"Did he do anything else?" when she hesitated, he pressed it further. "Mindy please… you can tell me."
"He made all of my nightmares come to life, and they started attacking me." She blurted out, "One of them hurled me to the floor, and another slashed my stomach and face… he was doing it to get me to leave The Dremesphere for good. But again, I'm fine! The pain I'm feeling is fake! And while I'm asleep, he can't kill me. It's just like having a really, really, REALLY bad dream."
"Just because he can't kill you, doesn't make the situation any less dangerous." Basil raised a brow, "And you still think that it's a good idea to not tell the others about this?"
"Yes…no? Ugh! I don't know!" Mindy threw her arms up, and winced… "I, I don't want them involved…not yet anyway."
"Alright." He surmised, "I trust you."
With that, the two headed inside.
On the way to the kitchen, Basil automatically grabbed the cigarette case from the bookshelf. Mindy helped him set up the board, and they started to play countless games of chess throughout the night. Obviously, the detective beat her every single time, but she was having too much fun to care.
When Mindy inevitably passed out onto the table, Basil once again carried her back to the guest bedroom, and tucked her in.
"Is she okay?"
The detective nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice.
He looked up and saw Scarlett Bloom peering at him from the open doorway of the restroom. She donned a similar nightgown to Mindy's, only it had a green ribbon and the sleeves were a bit shorter. Her amber eyes glistened in the candlelight, and her voluptuous shadowy lips were parted slightly.
She looked away as a blush crept onto her dotted cheeks, "Sorry…I didn't mean to scare you."
"You could never scare me."
Her eyes narrowed, "What?"
"I mean." The detective cleared his throat, "Mindy…she erm, was sleepwalking and when she woke up she confided in me about a terrible nightmare she'd had. I'm surprised that she didn't wake you up sooner what with all of the ruckus she was making."
"What kind of ruckus are we talking about?"
"Oh the usual…crying, screaming, but rest assured she's perfectly stable now."
"Uh huh." Scarlett eyed him incredulously as she leaned against the frame, "Listen, I'm currently studying psychology at school, and I know for a fact that if what you're saying is true, she was having what is called a night terror. And if she was having a night terror, it would have occurred earlier on in the night NOT during REM sleep…so…everything you're saying right now is not adding up."
Basil was speechless for a few moments…then he straightened up, "Impressive."
She leaned forward with a triumphant smirk, "What's going on fussput? Because if Mindy had a problem, she would have gone straight to me. So, the fact that she came to you makes the situation all-the-more bogus. She tends to not trust men, except for Dakota…he's, he's a different breed."
"She asked me not to tell anyone." The detective rubbed the back of his neck, "I am choosing to respect her privacy, and I suggest you do the same."
"What is going on? No one is giving me any explanations!" Scarlett huffed before fully stepping into the room, and counting off on her fingers, "First, I find out that we're inside of a Disneyfied fever dream, Mindy is actually a princess with floaty powers, and Dakota…Dakota's pretty much the same as he's always been… but I don't understand…" She started pacing back-and-forth while talking to herself, "After everything that's happened to us, why does she still feel the need to keep secrets from me? She said that she'd tell me everything later, but at this rate it feels like later is never gonna come."
"To answer your first question, it's simple." She stiffened as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "She isn't ready to tell you certain things about her past yet and-"
She speedily removed herself from his touch, and took a couple of steps backward. The detective was quick to notice her bottom lip quiver right as her eyes darkened in a threatening manner.
"This is your only warning." Scarlett hissed, "Do that again, and I'm gonna make you regret it."
"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Basil lifted his hands up in surrender, "That was the furthest from my intentions and I sincerely apo-"
"-It's fine." She pinched the bridge of her nose, "Let's just…let's just forget about it…I'm going back to bed now."
"Yes of course." He shuffled out of the room with an awkward chuckle, "Goodnight Miss-"
"-night Furry Barrie Ingham." Scarlett gave a tired lopsided smile before slamming the door in his face.
Basil stood there for a moment with his mouth agape…then he briskly walked in the direction of his bedroom to get some well-deserved rest, "And I thought Mindy was the strangest girl I'd ever met."
The Projectionist loomed over his theatre with fiery vexation apparent on his twisted features.
It was always a hassle for him to create even the simplest of objects, and since this was the first time he had introduced his victim to the circus of marionettes, he had worked tirelessly to ensure that the theatre would hold its structure for at least six hours or more.
Unbeknownst to Mindy, The Projectionist had strained himself to keep the charade going.
At first, he wasn't worried and was convinced that she would give in around an hour or so into it. What he hadn't been expecting was for her to play along for hours upon hours on end. Out of all of his previous victims who had to endure the puppet master's game, she was the one who had lasted the longest, and it irritated him to no end.
Beads of sweat dribbled down his chin as he switched back to his usual "handsome" form.
As he shrunk down to his regular size, the theatre collapsed onto itself much to his chagrin. To add insult to injury, the marionettes/monsters spontaneously combusted and melted into nothingness before his eyes. When the theatre reduced to a pile of ashes, The Projectionist stormed back into the sitting room, and paced the floor as he fumed quietly to himself.
That child…the bane of my existence that-that stubborn, immature, mettlesome, little nuisance thinks that she's cleverer than me when in reality she's so utterly and hopelessly foolish! He released a melodic sigh as he plopped onto the sofa, and crossed his legs whilst tapping his fingertips together, She's such an ungrateful brat…I gave her a golden opportunity to return to her safe, secure, reliable, (albeit mundane) but perfect life and she simply chose to cast it aside and instead stand up for her…creations…I will never understand that insufferable, loud-mouthed, rude, insubordinate, juvenile-
WHOOSH!
The Projectionist's brow cocked as he heard a thud from behind him.
"Back so soon?" His lips immediately curled into his signature grin, "I'm shocked that you're ready to have another go at it when you went to such drastic lengths to get away from me earlier…however, I regret to inform you that due to those said drastic lengths the theatre has been… dismantled for the time being. So we are simply going to have to improvise…something that you are particularly skilled at. But now the time has come to..."
As he rose from the sofa and turned around, he struggled to keep the annoyance from showing on his countenance… his already tense smile grew even wider and tighter than ever before when he saw Princess Mindy sprawled out onto the carpeted floor.
A sense of déjà vu enveloped him as a fragment of an emotion that he had thought he would never feel again overtook his mind. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to identify it.
And it frustrated him to no end.
The Projectionist was deeply conflicted by this. He knew that if he wanted to succeed in his task, he needed to wake her up…but every time he attempted to do so, he would retract his hand and curse under his breath. She was just too…too…
Innocent. His mouth pulled into a disgusted grimace, No…no she's the enemy…she's the furthest thing from innocent that there is.
He stared at the vaguely familiar scene in silent contemplation.
"You're lucky that I'm too tired to care about my moral compass." He scoffed before gathering her into his arms, laying her down on the couch, and placing the woolen blanket over her still form.
The Projectionist was about to wipe the series of events from his memory, when his ears caught the unmistakable sound of a whimper emanating from the girl. His confusion merely grew upon noticing her brows knitting together in discomfort. She writhed on the cushions as she mumbled something in a low, sleep-deprived voice.
Curious, he leaned forward so that he could better make out what she was saying: "No please…let me go…don't do that…pain…there's so much pain."
"Oh stop it will you?" He snapped, "You're being overdramatic…honestly, it wasn't that bad."
But he had still admitted that what he had done WAS bad regardless.
"Why are you the way that you are?" The Projectionist questioned even though he knew that he wouldn't receive an answer, "How are you somehow able to trick everyone into thinking that you are an innocent little lamb, when in reality you're nothing but an attention-seeking menace? Ohoho, I bet that if you were to awaken right now you would relish in this…well keep in mind that I am in fact not doing this for you. I'm doing this because I am exhausted from having to bend over backwards trying to make you see reason and-"
"-I know what you did." The girl's words from earlier came flooding back to him. "Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about. I figured it out by simple deduction, and just so you know it doesn't change anything between us."
He froze as the revelation hit him like a ton of bricks…he had tucked her in before.
The Projectionist prepared himself to erase the memory again, but stopped himself…no, he needed to remember this so that he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
The fact didn't change that she was the enemy, she was the cause of this mess, and she was the one who needed to deal with the consequences of her actions. She was a whiney spoiled brat, and didn't deserve what little sympathy he had to offer. Not to mention that the sickening thought that she was still roaming around in The Dremesphere made him almost wake her right then and there.
"I won't ever leave you…if I left now, I would lose everything all over again."
The Projectionist was genuinely caught off-guard as a fuzzy yet still tangible scene played inside of his reeling mind…He didn't know if it had to do with the fact that Mindy's words were so reminiscent of another person he had known, or that he was still slightly woozy from overexerting his creativity earlier…but she was starting to look almost…enduring in his eyes.
The Projectionist shook his head, Where did that come from?
Puzzled, aggravated, and embarrassed above all else, he vanished from the Dreamscape to plan his next move. Mark my words…one way or another I will convince you that coming back here was the worst decision you've ever made. Only when you are gone will stability and order be restored once again in this upside-down world, and I will restlessly count the seconds until that fateful day arrives.