ACT THREE

"Hurt? How do you mean?"

"..." Suddenly finding the light gray floor interesting, Henry's gaze was a glaze as he lowered his head down onto the bed.

Ellie coaxed, "Aw, c'mon. You can tell me. Whatever you've got going on behind the scenes, I won't say anything." She placed a hand on top of his and gave an affirming squeeze.

But as though her hand burned, he flinched and tore his hand out of hers. He tightly gripped one of the blankets as he choked out something low and painful.

A startled Ellie recovered after Henry's jolty move. "What? Of course they want you around! Didn't I just say that Reginald and Right Hand Man have been helping you? And so have the other Toppats, they haven't been hindering you."

He shook his head so fast and hard Ellie feared it would snap off. "Had to. Not wanted to."

Almost forgetting Henry's abandoned tea cup on her lap, she set it back on its place on the nightstand and inched closer to him. "Hey, what Reginald did was wrong - making some sick joke about dropping you and no one else knowing. I would have found out sooner or later." Her steady river voice held back a raging typhoon. "But he sees you as a leader now. And so do the rest of the Toppats! Why the other day I heard - " Henry's head shaking interrupted her.

Her temper started to flare. The urge to snap impatiently arrived and Ellie bit the inside of her cheeks to prevent it from escaping her lips. Instead she managed her temper by asking, "Okay, let's try it this way. Did you know that Thomas Chestershire thinks very highly of you?"

What? Henry lifted his gaze up from the floor and rested his eyes on Ellie's, his mouth slightly ajar.

Pleased that she got his attention, she elaborated, "It's true. I was trying to tell you that I heard him talking to Geoffrey the other day about you. Thomas said that he thinks you're, and I quote, 'a pretty good leader'. He was bummed when you went missing. He even thinks you're better than Reginald in leading the clan." She smiled kindly. "And Geoffrey agreed with him. Said that you're a brave man of action and that he's with you all the way in your leadership.

"So you see, they think you're the cream of the crop. Besides me, of course." She gave him a pretty wink.

Henry... didn't know how to respond to that. Those two really thought he was a great leader even if his reign started off short and unorthodox compared to Reginald's? A huge revelation to say the least. If they thought he was great, then that meant Ellie's argument held water - he was worthy of leading the Toppats. He made a mental note to talk to Thomas and Geoffrey and reward them for their loyalty later.

But soon his cynicism scoffed off his hopes. Even if that rang true, why didn't they or any Toppats who cared come for him when he needed them? Why didn't they wait for him to come back or look for him? Why didn't they-?! His mind banged loudly against his skull with question after doubt after question after doubt.

He pressed his head into the bed as though he had a headache. Suddenly he wasn't so brave in coming clean to Ellie.

But Ellie, taking this as a sign to keep prodding, placed her hand on his again. This time, he didn't pull his hand away. "Believe me, Henry. I'm telling you the truth. I'm not a liar... not like you." She took this chance to smirk and punch him lightly in the arm.

It worked - Henry chuckled again. It wasn't quite as hearty as before, but she succeeded in getting him to lighten up a little and that was enough for her. But soon, she began to wonder if she went too far. The chuckle shook itself into a shudder and then into a gag.

Henry's voice constricted and soon he found his voice unable to cooperate at all. And he did something that Ellie, and no other Toppat, had seen Henry do before.

Silent teardrops fell as he sniffled. He sealed his eyes tightly and hid his face into the pillows. He hated Ellie seeing him like this - so vulnerable and weak.

Ellie now gaped at this sudden shift in mood. It was true she had not known him since the beginning of time, but together at the Wall, their partnership bloomed into a friendship that seemed to echo through the ages with them knowing each other inside and out. But this marked a new side to Henry's personality she never knew anything about - the helpless side. "Henry? Henry, what's the matter?! If it's something I've done, I'm so sorry! I was trying to cheer you up and I didn't mean to upset you -!" The next thing she knew, he was clinging onto her elbows and sitting upright. He shook his tear-stained face.

He pointed at her and gave her two thumbs up. She did good in his eyes.

In turn she was gladdened by his appreciation and understanding.

But now the poor man opened his mouth and struggled so hard to say something of great weight.

Ellie gripped his arms. She urged, "Yes?" So close and yet so -

"They LEFT me!"

As though he ran a marathon, he breathed heavily. He stammered, "Th-they moved on. I was imprisoned and they just... left me."

Ellie's eyes widened.

He knew she was confused. And he also knew that now was the time to rip the bandage off and just tell her the whole truth; the sooner the better. Breathing in very slowly, very deeply and very shakily, he dried his tears and steadied himself. And then he spoke into her ear.

From that point on, Ellie remained still as Henry wove his side of the story to her into a battered tapestry threaded by blood of frustration, sweat of second-guessing and tears of neglect. The tapestry depicted the king missing from his throne, kidnapped by corrupt prison officials and tossed into the dungeon. And when that happened, his subjects were left in the dark of his whereabouts and handled the situation by picking up from where the last king's reign left off with seemingly no search party sent to find the last king to fully confirm his absence. Everything else after that Ellie knew and seen. Or at the least... she thought she did. Now she understood that something deeper was going on with Henry's rule within the clan and its tangled threads. He regained his crown, yes, but complete support of the people? Especially when a majority of them appeared to prefer to redirect all of that positive energy towards the former king, leaving the new one to wonder about his own self-worth, abilities and ripple effects?

The crown... Henry glanced down, suddenly remembered that his hat was still on his lap. He picked it up and brought his knees up for the hat to rest upon. His finger brushed not against the necklace this time, but the outside brim.

"Hen... They didn't know where you were. I'm sure Thomas or Geoffrey would have wanted to come after you. Even Wallace Pemberton had he known you were at the Wall." Ellie tried to be as careful as she could with this truth, although her mind wondered about the communication between the clan and their undercover Wall agent. Negative critiques formed in her head at the lack of competency seemingly present.

Henry agreed, much to her surprise. Yes, they didn't know of his disappearance and imprisonment at the Wall, so he held no contempt for their lack of knowledge about that. And he decided that although he may have been annoyed at Reginald for taking the crown and moving on with the rocket plan without Henry's say, someone needed to step up and look after the clan while he went missing in action.

"But I'm still an outsider. Despite everything I did for the clan... I know you, Thomas and Geoffrey are with me, but none of what I've done in the short amount of time as leader is enough to convince everyone else especially Reginald and Right Hand Man no matter how much they say I've earned their respect. Reginald's popular, sneaky, tactful, experienced and everything else these guys love about him. And Right Hand Man is respected, even if he's part machine. They're loved; I'm... an expendable replacement." Five of the longest and harshest sentences he uttered. But those would be the last long sentences he would say as of now- his own voice started to strain with each attempt to speak fully. But a part of his soul felt open and exposed now that someone knew the evident truth. He was no career leader; he held no connection to the Toppats' rich history or elite unity. He was a fresh newcomer who took a chance to be part of something bigger with his own gifts to share with fellow thieves and change their lives forever. But was it all worth it, knowing Reginald's own influence and his own fear of the man's aspirations, even when Henry's own raids and strategies bore rich fruits?

He sighed. There seemed to be a lot of that going around. The whole thing was a big mess. Sometimes he wondered what would have happened if he didn't take Reginald on his deal back at the airship. Then maybe he wouldn't have had to deal with Toppat politics. The word 'politics' alone made his brain suffer. It was a reason why he joined the clan and betrayed the government.

He gave the hat a discouraged frown before he tossed the hat aside as though it was a piece of trash, sick of seeing it in his sight. It landed on its side in front of the porthole. Feeling his emotions threatening to overwhelm him again, he buried his head into his knees and hugged his legs close to his chest.

He never felt so small and insignificant in his life.

Ellie could almost feel her heart break for him. Seeing Henry like this - a colorful and healthy plant withered away into a pitiful and gray state?

She realized that for all of his incredible tricks, confidence and knack with fickle luck, he was still only human. He still had that one need that everyone else, no matter if they were part of the Toppats or the military, desired often more than they realized - connection. Belonging. Rapport, whatever it may be called. In some ways, it render himed more fragile and burdened than the rest of the clan. And she was going to have to protect that precious necessity to help him recover.

But where to start?

Her instincts drew her to the disregarded top hat on the floor. She cast a long gaze upon it, as if it were a rare and wild animal caught in action. And she stood up. Henry didn't notice she left the bed to walk over to the hat, pick it up and sweep off dust and debris. She looked up to find a spot to set it down when she spotted the perfect place where she - and Henry - could see.

She reached the beechwood dresser stationed against the wall and placed the hat on top of it, eclipsing the large mirror attached to the dresser's back. A single tulip sat in a small terra cotta pot next to the hat. Marveling over the flower's beauty for a moment, Ellie touched a few of the soft petals. She hadn't taken Henry to be a flower type, but with all the things she was learning about the man today, she couldn't be surprised anymore.

"You never told me you were growing a tulip. You like tulips?" In the mirror, she saw Henry peeking out of his arms. When their eyes met, he simply nodded before retreating back to his hiding place.

And she knew where to start. She picked up the flower pot, figuring Henry wouldn't mind. "You know, you're full of surprises, Henry. Then again, I guess that was sort of a given when we escaped the Wall together." Careful with the tulip in her hands, she continued, "I never met anyone quite like you. Just when I thought I had you figured out, you prove me wrong. I thought you were virtually indestructible with your wicked cool options and crazy plans. But now I see that it's not the case."

Although she couldn't see it, Henry frowned and held his breath. He was waiting for her to scold him, tell him he was overreacting and wrong.

"Now I see that you're like this tulip. You started from basically nothing when you were first sent to infiltrate the airship, but when the choice to grow into something bigger came, you took root and slowly nurtured yourself, and the garden around you, into something amazing that the world can't help but stand in awe at with your colorful patterns. Yeah you did have your stunted moment of growth when you were stuck at the Wall, but even in winter it's easy to let the darkness take hold of you and make you think you're never going to see the sun again. I know... I almost thought the cold would do that to me when I was in that same cell with you."

Henry raised his head a little like a curious yet shy child. Ellie never mentioned that to him specifically. But then again, the sadness on her face alone didn't need any explaining when he first set his eyes on her in that frozen cell.

"If I were to compare the complex to anything, it'd be like Dante's Inferno." She gave him a fleeting glance. "You know that story?"

Rolling through his processing library, he tried to recall anything about it. When he did he found his knowledge limited - he only knew that the story centered on Dante and his adventures deep into the pits of torment within the Earth. But Ellie was only asking of his familiarity with it, not an in-depth discussion. So he nodded.

"Well, it was like that for me. But if hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have been able to see the beautiful sunshine that was waiting for me outside the snow. Heck, I never thought I would actually see the sun close up! Or as close as we can get without being pulled in and burning into crisps. But you helping me after I helped you is something I'll never forget. We managed to flee the complex and make it to the secret base in the jungle. Winter turned into summer. And then you sprouted back to your place as the leader of the Toppats. You survived the cold and came back to power in the warmth and rose even higher than you did before when you completed your mission and saved the clan from the military raid. And now? Well you're still blossoming and growing in the garden, and helping everyone else in it grow in ways that work for them. Just like when you made me your Right Hand Lady."

She shook her head in amazement. Carrying the delicate flower over to Henry, she set the pot down on his nightstand. She wordlessly reached out for his wrist.

Before Henry caught onto what she was doing, she smoothly slid her hand down from his wrist to his finger tips. Lightly holding them in her hand, Ellie got down to one knee by Henry's bedside and took her pink top hat off. Bowing down with her hat close to her heart, she declared, "And I swear to you that as your second-in-command, you not only have my loyalty, but you also have my confidence in your cultivating leadership."

Henry blushed at this vow.

She looked up and smiled to her king. "You already have my support and the support of Thomas and Geoffrey even after all this time. You may have planted... unusual first impressions on everyone, but the more we got to know you and see who you were growing into, the more we liked you and championed you to keep going in your reign. I personally can't speak much about Reginald and what he was like as the leader before I joined, but I believe Thomas is right.

"You are a better leader." She found her feet and ascended back to his bed. As if on automatic, she immediately grasped Henry's face into her hands. She wanted to make sure he was not going to shake his head and speak ill of himself. "Don't say you're not. Just please hear me out."

Henry gawked momentarily, but he relented and set his facial expressions in a more neutral setting. He was listening closely.

"Yes, Reginald is all of those things you said. I can see why the clan likes and respects him. But I know what he's not. Perfect."

Henry widened his eyes in thought. He hadn't thought of that before.

"He makes mistakes like everyone else. He might be good at hiding them from others, but he does make them. And yeah, his own leadership had its merits. The clan seemed safe under his wing and introduced a whole new level of class to the clan. Yeah, he might not have been too happy about giving up the throne at first when it was an effort to save everyone's skins. He has good ideas and the know-how on things. But as I've said many times, he respects you now - he's a believer. Your leadership is unique, different. You're a man of action - you don't make cheap talk or let others do your work, you go out and make things happen. You're also selfless; you put yourself on the line many times. For me and for the Toppats. You're... also kind." She smiled warmly. "You were kind to me and saved my life twice from Grigori. You let me tag along with you to the Toppats, even if I wasn't sure what to think of them at the time. You let me consider if I wanted to join and when I saw just how cool the base was and how the Toppats built the rocket and everything else, I said yes to the adventure. And for all of that, I followed you all the way to outer space and you gave me a high ranking. Not bad for a once measly criminal, eh?" She grinned in pride and Henry? The corner of his lips flew up a little. She was reaching him.

"And as I promised you, I'll be loyal to you for all time. You have my faith in you. You're not an expendable replacement, you're a one of a kind rarity. And above all else, you're my friend, Hen. Please don't think anything less about yourself. Don't ever think that about yourself." She grasped his arms tightly, as if afraid Henry would disappear.

"..." Henry sat still, staring into her eyes for some time. The gears in his mind spun as he registered and mulled over everything his lady in shining armor was telling him. He never had anyone strongly believe in him like this before. Not the kind of faith that could restore Tinkerbell to her glory with nary a round of applause. It felt so strong and overwhelming like a tidal wave fell upon him. It felt so good.

Well, almost. There was that one sole seed still attached to his being - seed of doubt. "Can't kid myself - can't do this alone. Long road ahead."

Ellie shot him a spirited grin. "Who said anything about going about this alone? I'm going to make sure you or anyone else will never forget this: you're going to lead the clan to new heights as our garden grows and expands beyond the stars. When they see how awesome you are as Toppat king, even they can't help but be impressed by your ability and they'll come to see that you're the right choice for the job and stand by your side no matter what happens. Only this time, I'll be with you. Every step of the way. I want in to make this clan the greatest criminal organization the world - the whole galaxy even - has ever seen. And we are the best. You're the best."

For the first time that whole day, Henry gave her a real smile. Not the fake smiles thrown on to fool everyone else into thinking he was fine, but a genuinely heartfelt smile. His eyes glistened in gratitude. He reached out to her and pulled her in for a hug, which she gladly reciprocated. He sniffed as his emotions bubbled up again, but he kept his tears from flowing down his face.

The two of them sat there on the bed, safe in each other's arms and oblivious to everything else. Henry closed his eyes as Ellie rubbed his back in comfort to signify that things would be okay somehow. She might have been a little shorter than him, but she managed to make him feel like he fit into her arms like a glove. And it made him feel all the more connected. Like he belonged there. Like he had rapport. Everything that it could be called. He was NOT expendable. The negative seed in his core was squashed.

She pulled away from their hug, but not before she kissed him lightly on the forehead. They held onto each other's hands as they once more looked into each other's eyes, beaming. Henry no longer looked sick - he looked vibrant and healthy as the tulip next to his bed.

But he still looked exhausted. The medicine he indigested earlier worked its effects into his system, and one such effect? It made him exert a great big yawn.

Ellie took this as her cue to put him to bed. "You should get some shuteye. It's been a long day and you need your rest." Placing a hand on his chest, she encouraged him to recline. He didn't resist. Slowly did he finally relax into his pillows.

She stood up, took hold of his blankets and pulled them up to his neck. She patted and tucked them in close to his being while being mindful of his shoulder, and also while smiling back at him as he watched her.

After she was done, she stretched her limbs. "Feel better, boss. I'll be back later to check up on you." She was about to turn around when she felt her hand snatch onto her wrist. She almost froze but calmed down once she saw Henry's near frightened face. "Henry?"

He averted his eyes once, as if in embarrassment. But he snapped out of it and pointed to her with his other hand before pointing to the floor.

"The floor? I don't understand what you're... wait. Are you asking me to stay here for awhile longer?"

He pinched his forefinger and thumb together. So only for a short period of time.

Ellie thought it over and approved it, but with her own deal. "Tell you what. I'll stay with you until I'm sure you're going to have a good night's sleep. And then I'll let you be and make sure you're not disturbed. Deal?"

This delighted Henry so much he looked like a happy puppy. He nodded and released her hand.

Ellie went off to retrieve Henry's desk chair kept in the corner and while she went about doing that, Henry settled into his bed. He was finally ready for that trip to Slumberland now. But not before he had one more thing to say to his best lady friend. "Ellie?"

"Yeah?"

"...Thank you."

"Hey. No problem, chief. I'm here for you." She exchanged smiles with Henry once more before the latter nuzzled his head into the pillows and drifted off to sweet sleep.

Meanwhile, Ellie set her eye on the tulip and admired its beauty once more. An idea struck in her mind. She took her phone out from her pocket and set about reading up on tulips. She gained a newfound interest in planting them next to her lilies in the greenhouse.

Meanwhile, Henry dreamed of flowers and outer space and jewels. One tulip towered above them all with a beautiful lily lovingly curling its leaves around his.

Fin.

A/N: And the seeds of love have taken root. Now it's time to let our friend Henry sleep as Ellie watches over him.

Thank you to everyone who has read the story and kept up with it! I appreciate it a lot and your patience as I focus on my other tales. When I started out, I planned to make this a two-parter, but the more I wrote this conversation piece between our two stars, the more I realized there was a lot for me to explore and say between these two. One prime aspect I explored was about the political sphere within the Toppats. As much as the Toppats are fun, I wouldn't want to be dealing with the ugly political circus that goes on behind the scenes in criminal organizations. I prefer to eat popcorn and watch.

I also wanted to write Ellie's own view about the whole situation. With the exception of one particular ending, she is very tight with Henry so of course she'll believe in him even if she doesn't know what things were exactly like with Reginald as the leader. She and Henry both know that this is not an easy situation to sort through with their own mixed feelings on Reg - he did what he had to do to secure the safety of the clan and while they're not upset about that, they are unsure about other things he did. I don't personally believe Reginald's reign was necessarily better; he led the clan in a style that somehow appealed to them. It's taking a little while longer with Henry's reign. He knows that he's still got a long way to go in impressing the other Toppats, but that doesn't mean he isn't less hurt by the point of fact or how they may view him. I reckon wanting to do something grand for a clan that seems to gloss over it can feel like one's work can be in vain. But his efforts aren't in vain despite what he thinks. Just like plants take their time to grow and blossom into their own beautiful forms. :)

I went back and forth about discussing some important symbols in this story, but I might save that for my blog. For those who don't know, I have a writing blog where I talk about my stories and thoughts on writing The link is in my profile, but I am embarrassed to say I haven't updated it in quite a while so please don't go looking for it. XD I do plan on writing something there to fully explore my thoughts on the three 'bad' endings in Completing the Mission and why Revenged is the most criminally underrated of them all, but that'll happen once I finish "Through Smoke and Bitter Distance". There's only so much I can talk about in these end notes. Or maybe I'll discuss this on a new blog and take it from there. Who knows.

I also tried not to make Henry speak as much, keeping in touch with his silent persona as much as possible, but even Tom and Jerry spoke when the situation called for it despite their quiet reputations. In this case, the emotional tension building in him ultimately required him to say something. I think I did okay in balancing out silence with speech though.

References:
-Many callbacks to the The Henry Stickmin Collection. The first one?
1) From Toppat Civil Warfare: "Th-they moved on. I was imprisoned and they just... left me." What?! Reginald, have you no honor?! No dignity?!
...Also from TCW, Thomas and Geoffrey questioning why Henry should be tossed overboard. Personally speaking, I find that whole scene dipped in many shades of grey but again, that discussion will be saved for another time. At least Ellie's on his side here!

2) Like Charles, who possesses more than just a keen eye in the sky and a knack with helicopters, also possesses knowledge of the fourth wall as he looks to us and states the title of the game. Ellie doesn't have this awareness, but that doesn't mean she can't say the names of the other games!

-Dante's Inferno is not strictly a video game. It's part of a narrative poem composed by Dante Alighieri in the 14th century. It tells the story of Dante as he explores the nine levels of torment in the Earth - AKA Hell, and it's said that the ninth circle is not a fiery pit of despair, but a cold and frozen wasteland. What does that sound like to Ellie?

-"Not the kind of faith that could restore Tinkerbell to her glory with nary a round of applause." Clap your hands if you believe in fairies! This comes from the play Peter Pan when the audience is told to clap if you believe in fairies to revive Tinkerbell before she perishes. Henry may not be a fairy, but Ellie will clap hard for him.

-Nemo's not the only one who's visited Slumberland. So have I, thanks to the famous comic strip Nemo in Slumberland.

-I don't think the Toppats have a greenhouse in canon, but what's not to say they can't have one in fiction?

Next up, either another poem set in the world of sticks, a museum guard's close encounter with the military kind or a one-shot set in another canon. Enjoy and thanks again! :)