Chapter 21
I wasn't sure about what the meanings of the flashbacks were. Based on Stan's and Wendy's previous reactions, they must have gotten some kind of message. As we ascended the tower, Ray kept pestering them why those two acted so weird to him, but neither would say anything, not even once. Along the way, we had a few snack breaks and bathroom breaks (none of us really cared about stinking up the lighthouse, after all, it's already virtually uninhabitable).
"What I don't understand is why that statue back there didn't work with me," I remarked, "like aren't we all Catholic?"
"Maybe it's a paladin thing," Ray replied. "This place sucks. I swear, we're on a road to nowhere or something."
We went through another hallway then to another bridge, but there was a beam of white light that rose up from the middle of the tower. The bridge in front of us was broken. "Oh no." Stan was quickly flipping through the book that he carried the whole time - the book that was about the Stick of Truth I got from the South Park Elementary library. "This means Terrorblade already used the stick to open the portal."
"Wait, we're too late?" Wendy grabbed the book from Stan to read it. "No. This can't be." She handed the book back to Stan and he put it away in his backpack.
"We gotta hurry...um...how do we cross the bridge?" Isaac looked at us, shrugging.
I looked to my left first, and what caught my eye is another alien antennae embedded into the wall at about our height. "Look. Over there. Ray, use the anal probe."
Ray wasted no time busting out the anal probe from his ass. "Gather around, everyone." As we huddled close to Ray, I felt myself shrink into another particle. My soul whipped in a semi-circular motion going clockwise, and moments later, I found ourselves on the other side of the broken bridge as Ray's anal probe crawled back in his ass once more. "Well, that went well."
We ascended a few more yards upward then we circled into another room the size of the previous rooms used for the Stan's and Wendy's "tests". Like the previous room, the doorway in the back was sealed. This time, however, instead of finding a statue, there was a golem made of rock and stone that faced away from us. The earth elemental had its head in its hands, and it sounded like it was sobbing. I looked over to Stan, Wendy, and Ray, and they only shot me confused and puzzled looks. "Um...I didn't know rocks had feelings." Stan's voice was as confused as his expression.
"Hm, let me try." Isaac stepped forward. "Hey...are you alright?" Isaac walked closer to the elemental. "It's alright. We just want to help."
"I think the elemental is faking it." Wendy shook her head, following Isaac. "I really don't like this, Isaac."
"I think I can handle this, thanks Wendy. This is an elemental, it seems like this is my kind of job." Isaac didn't stop for Wendy, he just kept going until he was about ten feet away from the elemental. "Please stop crying, whoever you are." My heart made a thump. Maybe Wendy is right, as far as I know, she's very perceptive about others, and honestly, I trust her judgement over Isaac's. Especially since, as Stan had said, rocks don't have feelings. Rocks shouldn't have feelings. I peered over to my right to see Ray and his elemental readying themselves for a fight. Ray's got the right idea, I don't like this at all.
The earth elemental stopped sobbing. "Oh shaman...never let your guard down when dealing with elementals." Immediately after, the elemental immediately turned around and threw a tan boulder at Isaac. Isaac was too close to see this coming so he got smacked from the front. The boulder carried him off, almost crashing into Wendy, but Wendy jumped to the right just in time, landing on the ground on her side.
Isaac crashed into the ground near the doorway we just came in, and the boulder itself rolled downstairs. Isaac slowly got up, healing himself with cleansing waters. "What the fuck was that for?"
"What's wrong? Aren't you going to stop me?" At the end of the elemental's words, Ray tossed a frostbolt at the elemental's face. "Ow! You'll pay for that!" The next thing I saw were chains of steel circling themselves around Ray, and the next thing I knew, he took out his staff and smacked his own water elemental in the face with it, instantly causing the elemental to explode in water and die immediately. Ray then tried to swing his staff downwards at me, but I dodged the attack.
"What the hell?" I shrieked. Are the chains causing Ray to attack me? Is he being mind controlled?
"Sorry, dude!" Ray tried to jab at me with his staff but I jumped back again. Ok, so now I know he's not being mind controlled, but his body is.
"Oh, this is fun, I can do this all day!" As the earth elemental snickered and laughed, I found myself being bound by the same steel chains. The only thing I can feel now is my own head. I twisted my neck to see Stan and Wendy also wrapped by steel chains as well. "Well, Shaman?"
"I won't do it, I won't fight you." Isaac shook his head. "I don't think I can do it."
"You attacked Ethan Stkrdknmibalz first earlier." Stan reminded.
"But this elemental is like a part of me, I can't explain it, and I'm not sure how to pass this test! I don't know if I should attack!" Isaac shook his head again then glared at the elemental. "I won't if I can help it."
The earth elemental laughed again. "Are you a man, or a pussy, shaman? Either way, hope you enjoy running."
All of a sudden, I found myself bringing out my staff for the first time in a while. I tried to resist grabbing a hold of my staff, but I couldn't help it, the elemental was in complete control of my body. At least it's not my mind, otherwise I'd have completely different thoughts right now. Then, I found myself be lifted off the ground, and then I began to fly at Isaac towards the entrance to the room. My staff was straight outwards, as if I were trying to impale my staff into Isaac. "Isaac, look out!"
"What the shit?" Isaac rolled over to my right. "Oh crap!"
Stan, under control of the elemental, lept into the air, making a downwards strike at Isaac. "Isaac, watch out!" Although Isaac stood up and blocked it with both his weapons, Stan's attack was with such force that he tore cuts into Isaac's hands. "Oh no! Sorry Isaac!"
"Ow! Shit!" Isaac put away his axes and grabbed his own hands. "Ow, ow, ow! Fuck, that hurts!" He tried to heal his own hands, but Stan kept on chasing Isaac with his sword. Unfortunatley, I couldn't help Isaac due to being bound. Then, all of a sudden, I found myself charging at Isaac with my staff alongside Stan.
"This rock is such a fucking asshole!" Stan complained.
Isaac ran the perimeter of the room clockwise along the walls with Stan and me closely tailing behind. We went to the left back corner, past the sealed doorway, then to the right back corner. We continued in the same direction only to see Ray with his staff out coming from the other direction trying to Isaac off. "Augh!" Ray shouted. "Damnit!"
"Oh crap!" Isaac dropped another earth totem, and immediately after, thick green roots sprouted out of the ground, holding my own legs and preventing me from moving anywhere. I turned to see Stan and Ray also rooted down. It was the totem of the Earthgrasp, which sprouts roots.
"Watch out!" I turned to my right, hearing Wendy shout those words. With her sword out, she almost thrusted it into Isaac's neck, but he bent forward and tumbled over, standing up.
The earth elemental laughed again. "Hahahahaha! I can do this all day!"
Wendy swiped her sword around a few times at Isaac, trying to get in a good hit, but Isaac dodged every blow. "Let me go, you fucking asshole!" she screamed.
Isaac sweeped his left leg towards the right, tripping Wendy and causing her to fall to the ground face first. "Sorry, Wendy!"
"It's alright!" Wendy replied.
"Yeah, don't worry about it dude!" Stan added.
"Oh hohohoho! I can still do this all day, but I'm sure you don't want to, Isaac!" When the words left the earth elemental's mouth, I suddenly jumped over to near the front left corner of the room via the elemental's control. I was forced to turn my entire body around, only to face Ray from across the room. Stan, Ray, Wendy, and I were positioned similarly to corners of a rectangle in that exact order going clockwise. "Don't hurt your friends, Isaac!" The four of us drew out our weapons and pointed them at each other. I found Isaac directly in front of the earth elemental. "But more importantly, don't let your friends hurt each other!" Stan, Wendy, Ray, and I then started flying towards each other with our weapons.
"No!" the rest of us all shouted. Of all the ways that I could possibly die, this is perhaps one of the worst. Being gored to death is already bad enough, but being gored to death by my own friends due to forced body control sounds completely wrong. I closed my eyes, feeling the rapid winds as I traveled across the room ready to meet the other three.
Of course, I felt my body come to a sudden halt. I could feel my inner organs lurch forward, wanting to burst from my front. I slowly opened by eyes to feel and see myself land on the ground on my feet, only inches away from my own friends, who were no longer binded in steel chains. "Holy crap!" Stan cried.
"Wow, that was scary!" Wendy admitted.
"Guys, look!" I followed Ray's gaze to see Isaac with his bloodied hands out as if lifting something up, but he was physically lifting nothing. The elemental itself, however, was being bound in steel chains as it got lifted towards the ceiling.
Isaac said nothing the entire time. He was in complete concentration. That's the thing about Isaac, he is usually distracted by something, often from all the pretty girls at our school, but when he can concentrate, boy does he concentrate. "Oof! Ah! Put me down!"
"Don't...touch...my...friends!" Isaac was groaning as if he were lifting a heavy weight.
The earth elemental had been lifted at least ten feet off the ground before its head banged on the ceiling."Ow! I give up! I give up! Please! Put me down!" Isaac then jumped back and put down his hands and arms and bowed down. The earth elemental dropped to the ground, making a large clanging sound. "Oof!"
Then what happened next was that Isaac bent down to his knees, grabbed his own hands, and began to cry. "Ow! This fucking hurts! Ow! Cole!"
"Yeah, I'm coming." I slid next to Isaac's right to see the back of his hands wounded by sword cuts from Stan. Can't really blame Stan, to be honest, since Stan attacked Isaac against his own will. I knelt down and put my green, glowing hands on Isaac's. "Don't cry no more, man. You'll be alright."
"I'll help, too." Wendy knelt down next to me and put her hands on Isaac's as well, her's glowing with holy light. Her sweet, soothing voice must have calmed Isaac down a little and made him stop weeping. "You're alright, Isaac."
Stan put his right hand on Isaac's left shoulder. "Hey, sorry about cutting you up back there." Ray walked over next to Stan.
"It's alright," Isaac replied, "you all were forced against your will."
From the corner of my right eye I saw the earth elemental get up. "Well, at least now I can say the shaman isn't a pussy no more."
The five of us kids turned to the earth elemental. As far as I know, I was at least one person to give the earth elemental a deathly glare. "FUCK YOU!" we all shouted at the elemental, likely red with rage. What a fucking asshole, the elemental insults us all the damn time. How can anyone stand it?
"You're an dick," Stan added. I peered to Isaac's hands to see them completely mended, thanks to Wendy's help.
Ray shook his head. "You're nothing but a bully."
"What the hell was that?" Wendy stood up. "Did you really think that was funny? Making us your slaves and trying to have us kill each other? Are you just an asshole? Is that it?" The elemental said nothing. "Well? Tell us!"
"Listen." The earth elemental seemed unphased by Wendy's angry tone. "What the shaman did to me - it took real guts. That's exactly what I wanted to see from him." Ray raised his hand to try to say something, but the earth elemental stuck out its hand to stop him. "Silence, Dovahkiin. What which I can say is that every experience is built around a core experience of Dovahkiin's friends." The elemental put its right arm on its left hip and sweeped it to the right, and a flash of light came from its torso, the same as the previous two flashes.
The next place I found myself I immediately recognized it as my own home. It was dark, and I could hear screams in the distance, the very screams I heard from two nights ago when the Nazi Zombies attacked South Park. "Home."
"Yep." Isaac's voice came from behind me, and I saw the spirits of my friends standing next to the front door.
"Your home's alright," Stan's spirit remarked.
"Is everyone's house the same structure in South Park?" Ray's spirit asked.
"Yes," Wendy's spirit replied.
Footsteps cam from a hallway and from it came Isaac's and my own past selves. The half-front door was kicked down, revealing a Nazi Zombie. "Du gehörst mir jetzt, Kinder!"
"No! Please!" Past Isaac staggered back and cowered behind Past Cole, holding both his shoulders. "Leave me and my brother alone!"
Past Cole turned around and grabbed Past Isaac's shoulders. "Isaac, you're a Shaman who's skilled in melee combat! You can kill the zombie! You have to kill the zombie!"
"But what if I die?" Past Isaac cried. "What if you die?"
Past Cole sighed for a moment before words familiar to me left his mouth, the words I would treasure to Isaac and the rest of my friends. "I'm a healer, I promise you I won't let either of us die."
"But I never won a fist fight at school before, how am I going to kill a zombie with two axes and magic I've never used?" Past Isaac cried again, and Past Cole sighed in response.
Then, the Nazi Zombie charge straight for Past Cole with his hands out. Past Cole pulled out his staff to block the charge, and the zombie grabbed it. The zombie put his entire weight on Past Cole, causing Past Cole to stumble back into the wall, holding on for dear life as he choked out his next words. "Isaac...please...do...something..."
"I - I don't know!" Past Isaac panicked.
"Please!" Past Cole tried to push the zombie back, but of to no avail. The zombie was much heavier than my past self.
Anger came onto Past Isaac as flames gathered around his left hand. Past Isaac directed it at the zombie, letting loose a bright orange spark of flame, and the zombie let go of Past Cole's staff, staggering back and screaming. Past Isaac then charged in with both his axes. "Get away from my brother!" He rushed forward with his left axe back. The axe ignited on fire, and Isaac made a sideways slash onto the zombie, a trail of flame following the motion of the axe. A burst of flame struck the zombie and the zombie staggered back again, screaming. "Die, you racist zombie!" Past Isaac lept a bit into the air, drawing his axes behind his back. He made a downward swipe with both of his axes, lightning trailing both, and dual strike of Lightning struck as the axes did, obliterating the zombie, the zombie falling back and into the TV, the screen breaking and glass spraying everywhere. "Fuck! Off!" Past Isaac was huffing.
"Didn't think you had it in you," Ray's spirit remarked.
"Yeah, neither did I," Isaac's spirit answered.
Past Cole went over to pat Past Isaac softly on the back. "It's alright. It's over for now."
"That felt...that felt great." Past Isaac sheathed his axes on his hips. "I killed a monster, and I feel like no one will stop me!"
Past Cole. "Alright, let's not get carried away. We still gotta get outta here." Then everything faded to white again.
The five of us stood in front of the elemental inside the Sol Lighthouse. The elemental folded its arms as it directed its chin at us. "So now you see. Bullies don't play by the rules. You have to stand strong, Isaac."
Isaac shook his head. "I get what you're trying to say, but you didn't have to control my friends and nearly make them kill themselves."
"Yeah, well I'm sorry you got hurt, Isaac, and I'm sorry I traumatized you all, but life isn't about sparkles, and sunshines, and rainbows. There is hardship, obstacles, and terror that will try to stop you. Fat little lumps that will try their hardest to keep you down. That I will say no more, for this memory was Isaac's journey."
Ray looked at us, then back at the elemental. "Can you tell us why you're here?"
The elemental shook its head. "That I may not say, not until you complete the final test."
"That's you, Cole," Stan said. He's right, I haven't had an experience yet. It seems that the memories have gone in order of when it occurred, so I wonder what my experience will be.
"The door is open. You are free to pass." The elemental showed us the open doorway with its right hand.
"Thank you," Isaac said. As the five of us began to leave, Isaac looked back. "By the way, what's your name?"
"You may call me 'Striker'," the elemental said. "Run along, little shaman. End Terror."
The five of us began to ascend the lighthouse once more. That kept me thinking - what would be my experience? It would have to be after the Nazi Zombies attacking the town and before us entering this lighthouse. Could it be me fighting with Stan and Wendy back at Stark's Pond? Or could it possibly be at North Park Elementary? Maybe it could be me encountering Harry Potter? I don't know, there can be quite a bit of opportunities, even if it were something I'd not expect.
"This is pretty annoying, why won't they say anything?" Ray looked at the rest of us.
"I'm not sure," Stan replied, "I really don't know."
The next room was a much smaller, rectangular room where our doorway and the opposite sealed one were the short sides of the rectangle. In front of the door laid a sleeping dark brown bear armored with bones. It snored loudly.
"Oh shit, I hate bears." Stan's voice quivered with fear.
"What are we supposed to do?" Wendy looked back at me, and I could see the nervousness flash in her eyes finally. It was one of those rare times Wendy showed fear. "Should we kill him, Cole?"
I took a good look at the bear. It was peaceful. It was serene. Nothing and no one was bothering it. It made out a little yawn before going back to sleep. I smiled, it almost reminded me of me because whenever I'm calm and no one was bothering me, I could feel almost as bliss as the bear right now. "I'm not sure."
"Well we gotta go through," Isaac said, "Let's see if the bear has a key or something."
Ray rolled his eyes, showing obvious sarcasm in his voice. "Yeah, let's go pick at the bear, good idea."
Stan shook his head. "I don't like this. I want no part of this." Stan was right on. No one was bothering this bear. Maybe this is part of my test.
"Well what can we do?" Wendy gripped Stan's hands tightly. "Oh God, I don't want to fight the bear, but I don't think we have a choice. We can't stay here, Terrorblade is probably already in Sovngarde."
"If we wake up a sleeping bear, it will kill us," Stan said.
"Well then I'll make sure I get the first jump." Wendy gulped as she took out her shield, now glowing with light. The more I looked at Wendy, the more I wanted to shout and stop her. This wasn't right, we shouldn't be bothering the bear.
"Wendy, stop!" I reached out to grab Wendy.
However, Wendy already threw her holy shield at the bear, bouncing off the bear's face, and returning back to her. The bear made out an injured groan. "RAHHHHHH!" The bear immediately charged at us, and taking Wendy to the ground and tried to thrash her with its claws. Holy crap, this bear showed zero restraint, it was trying to completely eviscerate Wendy as I quickly chained various heals at Wendy to keep her alive while she tried desperately to block with her shield.
"Oh crap!" Stan thrusted his sword into the bear's butt and pulled it out. The bear screamed in response and mauled Stan in the face with its right paw. I healed him too.
Ray summoned a water elemental which started pelting the bear with waterbolts, but the bear quickly charged and bashed Ray's skull with its left paw, knocking him down to the ground. "Ow! Damnit!" The bear then bit into the water elemental's head, killing it off.
Isaac let loose explosive flame onto the bear and tried to attack it, but in response, the bear got onto its hind legs and slammed Isaac down onto the ground, Isaac letting loose a scream. I couldn't do anything - there were too many people to try to heal, not to mention the bear was looking at me now, ready to pounce on the attack. The bear then charged at me and gashed at my ribs with its right paw, knocking me back a few feet, and I could not shapeshift in time. My ribs stung so bad, I just wanted to lay over and cry. Holy crap, this bear is fast and aggressive as fuck. Why did my test have to be the one with the bear trying to maul us all? Why did my idiot friends have to go and attack a bear? I quickly raised magical roots to entangle the bear to the ground.
My friends back themselves into the sealed doorway. All of us were cut up and bleeding in multiple places. Isaac laid down in a ball in the left corner. Ray was shivering as he spread himself out on the sealed doorway. Stan closed his eyes, holding Wendy in his bloody arms in the right corner as she softly cried in his arms. The bear broke from my roots and slowly came towards us, choking out battle lines, and making it clear that the bear was male due to his deep voice. "You kids are assholes. I just wanted to be left alone." The bear's words hit me in the heart. I finally realized what these tests were about. This bear was like me, he was like an extension of me. Like me, the bear wanted peace and to be left alone, but we pushed it down, and now it wants to lash out and kill us. Like what I did previously to Stan, Wendy, and Harry Potter previously.
The bear made his final charge at us. I stepped forward from my friends towards the bear. "No!" I stuck out my hands and closed my eyes, casting one spell at the bear in a last ditch effort to try to save us. Ten seconds passed and I didn't feel anything, and the only sound I could hear could be my soothing spell. I opened my eyes to see the bear lying down in front of me. Waves of green transferred from my hands. I did it. I soothed the bear.
"Ugh." The bear looked into my eyes. "Forgive me, druid."
"That was too much, dude!" I scolded. I was about as angry as I was most of yesterday. Getting bound in chains and force against our wills is one thing - but nearly getting mauled by a bear and now possibly bleeding to death is something else entirely. I made it a point to let that bear know I was not happy with it bleeding us. But this was exactly how I was like previously - like that bear. "I know we attacked you, and it was a dick move on our part, but you're insane!"
"Yeah, I know." The bear turned its head away. "I merely wanted to rest for the day, regain my strength for tomorrow. Druid, you must know how it feels like to be mistreated for no reason, right? I always get holy-light monsters interrupting my rest, coming to try to kill me. That is precisely why I freaked out on you - I thought you were an enemy. It was in my nature just like how it's in your own, you and I."
I opened my mouth, then looked down at my shoes, while I gripped my bloodied chest with my right hand. It still physically hurt as hell. "I-I know. I've been there before." I didn't have to remind myself of it, I know about all the times I didn't get along with certain people in my class, and in retrospect, it was about 30% my fault. My retaliations weren't very clean, and sometimes I sought out revenge.
"Well then the least I can do is heal you and your friends." I tilted my head to my side as I looked at the bear again. It can heal us? "Just lay down and rest. Let the flashback take you while I mend you all." I turned and nodded to my friends, and they all sank to the ground. I sat between Ray and Isaac and then a flash of light consumed me once more.
I found myself in a familiar tent - the one where I was in PETA for the brief period of time when they tried to eat me. A little to my left and in front of me was my past selt digging through his backpack, then putting it on and shining a flashlight towards my right, revealing a wooden post of the body of a single girl no older than I was. Her skin was torn up and mutilated. Her wizardry robes were tattered and stained with blood and tears, signifying that she probably came from North Park. Her body was severely battered with many broken bones, especially the extremities. Her light-brown hair was chewed up, and there was a large open wound in her stomach that continually spilled blood and revealed part of her kidneys. It was Natasha Emerson.
"Holy crap!" The voice of Stan's spirit from behind me sounded horrified at the sight of Past Natasha.
"Sheesh, what happened?" Ray's spirit asked.
Past Natasha rose her head to meet Past Cole's gaze. "What...are you doing here?"
Past Cole's eyes opened in amazement. "You're...alive!" Those words left his mouth in awe.
"You-you...have to...leave here...this place...it's a trap." The girl struggled to make out her sentences.
"Wait, tell me what's going on," Past Cole said.
"PETA is cannibals...they'll eat anyone who won't join their cause...but they will save animals...an elderly man...and his three-year-old grandson...were here...when I got here...they were the PETA member's afternoon snacks..." Past Natasha stated.
"Well...I honestly didn't expect PETA being cannibals," Stan's spirit said.
"I tried to fight them with wizardly magic..." Past Natasha continued, "there were too many...they disarmed me...snapped my wand in half."
"How did you end up here?" Past Cole asked.
"Me and some other people...when the...Nazi Zombies...when they came to North...North Park...we ran...here." Past Natasha coughed up and spat out blood, which landed in front of Past Cole's feet. He inched back slightly. "They wanted to go further, but...I didn't like the people I was with...we hated each other...when they offered to help me...I told them to fuck off...I came all the way here...I thought PETA would shelter me...from the Nazi Zombie chaos...but I'm wrong."
"So you refused to get along with your peers and that's how you ended up here?" Past Cole asked.
"Yes," Past Natasha replied. I was dumbfounded, but I couldn't say anything since she went on. "I know it sounds stupid...but had I gotten along...with my group...I wouldn't have been in this mess."
There was a short pause before Past Cole said his spoken piece. "I'm sorry. I mean, I kinda got here the same way you did. I didn't get along with my group of...friends. I was being stubborn, I should have seen the signs. And well...I regret every mean word I've said about and against them." Past Cole shook my head. "If I ever make it out of this somehow...I'll change my ways. I won't be an asshole to my friends, I'll listen to them, I'll treat my group with kindness and respect." Past Cole exhaled again.
"Have you ever been ostracized by your peers?" Past Natasha asked. When Past Cole nodded yes, she continued. "I was...I held a grudge against many of my peers...have you?" When Past Cole nodded again, so did she. "It's not easy...it's not easy to be cheerful and bright...when there is so much darkness that happens to you...but stay strong."
"I think you might be right," Past Cole replied. "I feel the same way."
"You're not from here," Past Natasha remarked. "You're...you don't look like wizard."
"I'm from South Park," Past Cole replied.
"Oh...that place..." Past Cole coughed out blood again. "It's a petite town. Humble...and quiet."
Her statement made my past self, my friends' spirits, and me chuckle. "South Park isn't that quiet," Past Cole countered.
"Compared to North Park? You'd...you'd be surprised." Past Natasha looked up at me again. "What is your name?"
"Cole Dimmons."
"I'm Natasha Emerson." Past Natasha groaned loudly. "My time...is up...get out of here while you can...Cole."
"No." Past Cole shook his head. "I can heal you." His left hand, the one not holding the flashlight, began to glow green. He placed his hand on her stomach to try to heal her, but of to no avail. The damage was too much. She was mortally wounded.
"It's too late for me." As Past Natasha gazed at Past Cole, tears flowed down her eyes as she muttered her next words weakly. "Bless me...for I have sinned." Then her face went pale and all life and emotion flowed out of her. Tears ceased to drip from her eyes. Her eyes then closed and her head limped downward with lifelessness. The open wound in her stomach no longer bled.
"No. You can't - you can't die. Not like this." Past Cole shifted his flashlight to his left hand and reached out with his right hand to the right of her neck to try to feel a pulse. Of course though, he couldn't have felt anything - she died. "No!" He let Past Natasha go, stepped back and began crying and sobbing.
The world faded to white again. But as I felt my soul being lifted out of the memory, the bear's voice seeped into my head. There's darkness in this world. The world is full of mean people, people conspiring to kick you down and laugh at you. It's not easy to be cheerily bright when nothing but darkness conspires to bring pain and hurt to you. But don't you let that let you down. Nothing is forever. Even a single candle can hold back complete darkness, and friendship can light a million stars.
I immediately woke up from my slumber. The bear stood in front of me staring into my eyes. "I - I think I understand your message...um..."
"Ursoc," the bear said.
I couldn't feel any injuries, no stinging, cuts, nor bruises on myself. I turned back to see my friends, who began to awake from their slumber, completely mended. The stood up and looked at Ursoc. I looked at Ursoc. "So what's the point of all these flashbacks? Why did each of us have flashbacks? Are there anymore tests?"
"There's no more tests," Ursoc replied. "The point of these flashbacks is to show how each child here has grown throughout this year. It is to relate to the child's character and strengthen the friendship bonds between them and Dovahkiin. And all of us know who here is Dovahkiin." Ursoc gazed at Ray, then turned back to me. "We all have had rough experiences in our lives. These experiences tested the character, strength, and alacrity of each of Dovahkiin's friends. The intent is for Dovahkiin to realize how his friends got him through his struggles."
"Do you know our exact personalities shown in each flashback?" Wendy asked.
Ursoc shook his head. "That I cannot say. It's not my place to tell you. But I will say that Dovahkiin here will meet another like himself."
"Where?" Ray asked. "Is he still alive."
"Well no...he's dead," Ursoc replied. "Died some time ago from a freak accident. But don't you worry, you'll meet him in Sovngarde, in the Hall of Valor."
"Hall of Valor?" Stan asked.
Ursoc faced Stan. "The place of past heroes in Sovngarde where heroes dine and drink. It's like a branch-off of Heaven, only Sovngarde itself has more communication with the living world. Consider Sovngarde as the preliminary to Heaven."
"What about you, Ursoc?" I asked. "What will you do now?"
"Me? I shall rest here. Perhaps we may meet again...uh..." Ursoc looked at me.
"Cole. And thank you for telling us what you know," I put my right foot back and leaned back a little, pointed my index fingers at Ursoc like a 60's suave guy, and grinned, "because that's what I wanted to hear."
"Thank you for understanding, Cole the Druid. The gate to Sovngarde has already been opened. Good luck on your endeavors, children." Ursoc nodded once more. All of us waved goodbye at Ursoc before passing through the doorway outside.
The pathway outside circled around the perimeter of the tower and the clouds have parted from the sky, revealing the May midday sun. The horizon revealed beautiful twisting rivers, frozen grass, and lush mountains. And how could the view be any better when we're standing near the top of a golden lighthouse? The five of us took a quick break munching away on power bars. The time was 12:20 pm: for a bunch of 4th graders, we scaled the tower upwards pretty quickly. "Beautiful," was what came out of my mouth.
"Wow, the view is amazing." Wendy had her mouth wide open in awe. "I'm glad I could be here with you Stan."
"Yeah..." Stan didn't sound very sure of himself however.
Wendy gazed worryingly at Stan. "What's wrong?" Something tells me this isn't going to be good.
Stan closed his eyes and sighed. "That flashback I had about the list and what Sentinel told me...it made me realize something...throughout the past few days, I-I don't...I don't know..."
"Stan?" Wendy took Stan's hands and held them up as she inched closer to him. "Please tell me what's going on."
"When we broke up back in December before Christmas, I couldn't let you go, I still thought it was my fault that you left me. And now here we are, dating again." Stan sighed again. "I don't know. I feel like...I can't let go of my own mistakes. I feel like I'm nothing to you, I feel like I don't deserve you."
"Stan..." Wendy lowered Stan's hands as sadness overtook her. Tears started forming in her eyes.
"Oh, no!" Fear flashed in Stan's eyes. "Wendy, please don't cry!"
"I-I know what y-you're saying." Wendy sobbed louder. "I-I should have been m-more sensitive to you. I-I keep f-forgetting how much I hurt you when I b-broke up with you, or made y-you jealous of that Bridon k-kid, or, you know, I just wanted to t-trust you, I never meant to h-hurt you..."
Wendy wrapped her arms around Stan and cried into her shoulders. Stan hung his head as he uttered his next works. "Oh no, I shouldn't have said anything. I'm so stupid."
This was very uncomfortable for me to watch. This was like back at Stan's house. I don't know what to say. I don't know what I can say. But Isaac stepped forward to the two. "Guys, it's obvious you love each other, but you both need to forgive and trust each other and not bully each other." Both Stan and Wendy calmed down and faced Isaac. "We make mistakes, but we need to learn from them. You both taught me that a relationship is like having that brother besides you-" Isaac put his hand towards me. "-who smacks you when you do something wrong, but is always willing to listen and will be there for you in the end." That was a pretty interesting way to relate that to relationships. "And by the way Cole, I told you that back at Stark's Pond two nights ago."
As Isaac continued to counsel them, Ray tugged me on my shoulder. "Hey Cole, I need to talk to you for a minute."
I turned to face Ray. "Hmm? What's up?"
"Come." I followed Ray a few feet away from the rest of my friends. "So Stan and Wendy broke up before?"
"Yeah, they did," I replied, "but that flashback about the cutest boys list - that was when they got back together."
"Then that confirms my suspicions are correct." Where is Ray going with this?
"How so?" I tilted my head to the side. Ray must have figured something out. He must have connected dots I didn't see.
"Those flashbacks. They all were about how each of you guys grew from past mistakes. Stan was hurt by Wendy when she broke up with him, but when they worked together on the cutest boys list, it all eventually devolved into Stan forgiving Wendy for breaking his heart. Just like how Stan forgave Sentinel for almost killing him. And Wendy - that hostage situation at whatever the hell fieldtrip you went on - I mean from what it seems, Wendy seems like the type of person who wants to be in control. But back in the fieldtrip, Stan had the right idea how to take care of the terrorists, but that meant he would risk his own life, and Wendy had to put her trust in Stan. Just like how she had to trust Avengelyne in making sure we're ok and not eaten by those shadow fiends earlier. And Isaac always struck me as the type of guy who gets walked over on by bullies. So he had to stand up to the Nazi Zombie because that zombie was going to murder you, and Striker was the embodiment of a bully. You know how bullies like to turn their victims' friends against them?" I nodded at Ray's question. "Think of the forced body control as if a bully turned a victim's friend against them. Like how we started thinking badly of Isaac, but Isaac stood up to Striker like how he stood up to a bully. And you." Ray pointed at me. "You're the bear. You wanted to be left alone, but people were assholes to you, so you became a jerk, but you realized the error of your ways like how the bear did his. Like in the flashback."
That was the most insightful thing I've heard out of Ray. Hell, it almost made me sob as hard as Wendy did just now. I didn't even see the symbolization - how could I? Interpreting literature was never exactly my strong point in the 4th grade, I'd just make up bullshit and pretend to know what I'm talking about while I surf the internet on my phone during "reading time". But damn, Ray saw it first, I don't think anyone else did. "Damn," was all I could form out of my mouth. It hit me. None of us were perfect. We all have our problems and faults, and I was too selfish to see it, hell, none of us saw it, but Ray.
Stan's voice came from behind me. "Ray, you're totally right." I turned around and there stood behind me was Isaac and Stan, who had Wendy in his arms, no longer crying. "Isaac, you were right too. I guess I'm just...really insecure about Wendy."
"It happens," I shrugged. "I'm not trying to downplay your problems. Sorry, I suck at this fluffy-feely stuff, but if there's one thing I do know, it's that relationships are sacred. Like you can't just push two people together and expect them to instantly get along." And this isn't me talking out of my ass either. I remember the times when my dad would always tell me to treasure my friends and family because they won't be around forever. Guess that's a product of losing mom when I was young. But I don't completely understand relationships, since I have never been in one before. I don't know the feeling, but if there's one thing I do know, I know it takes commitment.
"It's kind of what I've done with Tweek and Craig at school." Wendy sighed.
"Well to be fair, you never drew that Yaoi," I countered.
"But me showcasing all the Craig-with-Tweek art to the entire school was what caused all the problems in the first place." Well, that part is true, Wendy did fuck over Craig and Tweek, made everyone at school think they were a gay couple for a few days. All I could do is nod in response.
"That was pretty funny." Isaac let out a soft laugh, then he turned back to Stan. "But Stan, you came this far. You can't just give up on Wendy because you're uncomfortable with yourself." Stan looked down at his feet, his face full of shame.
I lightly tapped Isaac on his shoulder. He seemed a bit insensitive there, I can see the hurt in Stan. "Ok, Isaac, maybe-"
"No, Isaac is right." Wendy shook her head, then faced Stan. "I know you're uncomfortable with yourself, and I know we made mistakes, but Stan, please, you-"
Stan never let Wendy finish. He did something that blew us all away, or at least blew me away. He kissed Wendy in the lips for about five seconds, and when the kiss ended, he never threw up. "I'm the type of guy...who just...you know...needs to show everyone how cool I am."
"I know that feeling." Wendy placed her right hand on Stan's left cheek and smiled. "I've been there. But promise me that you'll be completely honest with me, and in return I won't judge you."
Stan nodded. "Thanks, Wendy."
The five of us continued forward, and the pathway went back inside the tower leading into a circular room. In the middle was a single stone circle that was colored in a sickly pastel-white color. More of those hieroglyphic characters could be found on the plate as it were on the walls. In the middle was an image of a kid farting away armies of men. "This seems like a teleporter, I can feel it," Ray said. "And I know what to do. Get on the circle, guys." We all did as told.
"Hey, wait." I turned to Ray. "Ray, I know you don't get much credit here, but I just wanted to say thank you for understanding us."
"Yeah..." Ray scratched his head. "One thing I fail to see though...how would this help us overcome our next challenges? I'm pretty sure we'll still have to fight more people." Ray doesn't talk much, he only says something when he has something snarky to say. But he's a great listener, and boy does he understand. He shrugged. "Eh, I guess we'll figure that part out soon." And so, with a huge rumble and a Nagasaki fart, the five of us teleported out of this room.
