This story is a roleplay done by myself and LadyAmethyst001 on Deviantart when she did a picture of Lance having allergies. She asked me to turn it into a story and I am more than thrilled to do so. :)
Balan Wonderworld belongs to its respective owners. I only own Rachel. The movie "Inside Out" is mentioned her and belongs to its respective owners.
Note: The Rachel in this story is different from the one that is Balan and Lance's niece. And the story is told from her POV.
Looking Past What I Physically See
It's amazing how one's life can change in two years or something that they didn't expect could happen. I can certainly attest to that myself as I took a deep breath before going to the Isle of Tims. I found Balan near the tower with Cass, who looked really upset and I couldn't blame her. She had run into the theater crying moments ago due to some of the boys at school being mean to her. They had dumped apple juice all over her at lunchtime and then stuck her face into the serving of coleslaw she had before dumping that on her head and what was the worst part was that the bullies had filmed it, causing Cass to feel humiliated.
Balan was doing his best to comfort her and he suggested she get cleaned up. "You'll feel better afterwards and I'll make you some hot chocolate," he promised.
"Okay," she said softly as Balan guided her back to the theater so that he could make her the promised drink in the kitchen while the young girl went to the bathroom to clean up.
I took a deep breath and decided that after I was done helping out Lucy, since I was heading to her part of Wonderworld, I would bring Cass something to cheer her up. I entered the portal, not knowing I would be in for something I wouldn't expect.
I was gathering drops and hitting switches to turn the mansion in every direction and finally got to a wall that was a light purple. From experience, I knew this meant I'd be face to face with Lance again. I had seen him a few times around the stages and instead of being afraid of him, I was curious. I had asked Balan about Lance and he had told me the tendriled being's story, a bit surprised to know I wasn't afraid of Lance. He said most were afraid of Lance, but I didn't feel that way. Not to mention, I noticed how even his Negati acted when they popped up. Lance never stuck around long, which I wondered why.
I now took a deep breath and took a step towards the wall. Just then, Lance appeared and he glared at me. "None shall pass until you fight me! Lance, the maestro of nega-ah-ahh! KACHOO! KACHOO!"
"Bless you," I said politely before looking a bit worried. "Um, Lance? I know I'm supposed to fight you, but...are you okay?" I asked him.
He sniffled. "Fine. Never been better. I don't feel groggy whatsoever. Ah-ahh-KACHOO! KACHOO!"
One of my eyebrows rose as I saw he could barely talk due to sneezing so much. "You sure? Because it sounds like you have allergies or possibly a head cold," I replied.
"Don't even start, I was about to… Uh… Wait, hold on."
He thought for a minute until he sneezed again and flung himself backwards. "KACHOO!"
"Okay, that's it," I said, shaking my head. "You're not well enough to fight and I'm not going to fight someone who is ill. That's both cowardly and dishonorable." I looked up to see he was just managing to stay afloat. I made up my mind again, this time to help him. "Come on. Come down from there and I'll help you get to bed, okay?"
Lance looked surprised. "But that can't be true. Why would… Why would…," he trailed off as he groaned. "Alright, you win. I can't even rhyme properly anymore."
He shakily slumped down to the ground and sat down with a sad look on his face after saying this, not looking so evil or scary anymore. I looked at him with sympathy. "Come on," I said as I went up to him and helped him up to his feet, putting one of his arms around my shoulders and we start walking. "Where is your room?"
Lance snapped his fingers, to which a door appeared in front of us. "Right here. Augh… all of a sudden my head just started pounding," he said, looking very unwell now.
"Okay, easy now," I said, hugging him tighter before managing to get the door open and leading him inside, bringing him over to his bed. "Okay, lie down, nice and easy."
I held onto him as he sat down before he went to lay down. I reached over and cradled his head with one hand, guiding it to the pillow gently for him. He was soon resting on his back and he began to look a bit worse.
"I feel horrible. My eyes are itchy, my ears are ringing, my hands are clammy, and I can't stop sneezing. KACHOO!" He sneezed loudly, covering his mouth and nose with his arm.
I nodded and hummed thoughtfully. "Itchy eyes, ringing ears, clammy hands, and sneezing a lot," I said, placing my hand on his forehead, finding his skin to be cool to the touch. "Okay, no fever, so that tells me you are suffering from a bad case of allergies," I deduced.
"It's making me feel like I want to melt into a puddle and perish. KACHOO… Ah-ahh-ahhh KACHOOOOOO!" He sneezed, flopping back on the bed. "Blast me," he said, snorting as he tried to breathe.
I managed to hold back a chuckle at seeing that. "Alright, I'm going to get you some tissues, nasal spray, and something to eat, okay? I want you to stay in your bed."
I look up in time to see a bulky Negati coming up to us, looking curious. "Your master isn't well. I'm going to get some things to help him. Please make sure he stays in bed," I said, hoping the Negati would listen to me. It was honestly the first time I tried to negotiate with one since I usually had to battle them.
The Negati trilled in agreement, to my surprise, but I quickly headed out to get the items while the Negati stood next to Lance, giving him a handkerchief to use until I returned.
Lance looked at his minion. "You expect me to use that? Don't you know handkerchiefs are full of germs?"
The Negati squealed in response, to which the tendriled being frowned. "Even if it's clean, it's not a good ahh-ahhh…KACHOO!"
The Negati covered Lance's mouth with the handkerchief, seeing as its master couldn't stop sneezing for a bit.
I returned with the items and had to chuckle as I saw the bulky Negati took my words very seriously. The Negati turned to me and nodded, to which I nodded back. "Good job," I said as I set down the items and reached over to give the Negati a gentle pat on the head, to which it looked happy before I turned back to Lance. "Okay, I got the stuff, though I had to explain to Balan why I was looking for soups that were good for an ill person."
Lance sighed in relief. " Finally. Now I can blow my nose without collecting germs." He took a few and blew into them, sighing in relief a moment later. "At last. I can breathe. As for the soup, I will take just about anything," he said, throwing the used tissues into a trash basket beside the bed.
I chuckled softly. "At least you're not as bad as some of the children I babysit when they get sick. That can be an adventure," I said, handing him a bowl of chicken noodle soup. "Here, the warm broth should help and I got some oyster crackers to go with it." I smiled. "Oh, and I'm not certain, but you might have Balan visit you later to make sure you're okay."
Lance looked a bit exasperated. "You seriously told him about this Well, there goes my stone cold reputation. I'm never going to hear the end of it," he said, eating a spoonful of soup.
I crossed my arms with a smirk. "Stone cold reputation, huh?" I chuckled. "Lance, I don't know if you noticed, but I was never afraid of you. Cautious, yes, but never afraid."
As I was speaking, I took a seat beside him. "Besides, there's no shame in needing help now and again," I continued, saying this part gently.
"I suppose you're right. But I really am a mean and despicable creature at heart you know. It's so difficult to...(sniffs)...really change," he said.
"Mean and despicable?" I asked before shaking my head. "Lance, if you were truly that, you would have hurt me long before now. You have the ability to, yet you never tried to hurt me," I pointed out.
"And sending my Negati after you didn't count?" He asked, curious about my answer.
I chuckled again, shaking my head gently. "Nope. The same applies to them. They only tried to stop me, but didn't hurt me. Yeah, they would bump into me and knock me down, but didn't try to hurt me."
I gave him a serious look. "Face it, Lance, no matter how you try and paint yourself as a bad guy, I'm never going to see you as that. Misunderstood, yes, but never as a bad guy"
Lance was a bit stunned by the truthful words that had just come out of my mouth. "Y-You… You really think that?" He asked, his eyes starting to glisten as some small tears began budding at the corners of his eyes.
Smiling, I nodded. "It's true. When I first saw you, I was intrigued, but not afraid. As I learned more about you, it made me realize why I'm not afraid of you," I said, placing my hand gently on one of his hands. "You're not evil and I don't care what anyone says, I will never see you as evil." I pulled him into a hug. "I love you as equally as I love Balan. And if you wanted to be friends with me, I'd say yes in a heartbeat."
I meant this truthfully and Lance had tears of joy running down his face as he sniffled. "Oh, look at me. My allergies are getting worse," he said, trying to rub the tears out of his eyes.
But I wasn't fooled and giggled. "Nice try." I gently wiped away his tears all the same. "But I meant what I said, Lance. Every word."
I turned to the Negati standing beside us. "Can you get your master some more tissues, please? Along with a bowl of warm water and a washcloth?" I asked it.
It squealed as it left to get the items I asked for and Lance took the last tissue in the box, blowing his nose a little louder. "You have no idea how much it means to me to hear that. I became negative because I grew too close to the humans." He sniffled again. "It feels good to have some of that affection back."
I reached out and held his hand. "I know you feel that you can't get close to humans, but I'm here to prove otherwise," I said, now taking both his hands in mine. "Humans need positive emotions, yes, but we also need some negativity to balance things out. If there's no balance, then that's dangerous. There are trials we humans must overcome, but a lot of times, we need help to do so, someone to help balance us out." I smiled at him. "While Balan helps us regain our happiness, we need someone to help keep the negative feelings in check too."
I then paused a moment and smiled, recalling the movie "Inside Out" and I looked back at Lance. "You know, Balan wouldn't be able to help us without you," I pointed out.
"You think so? Do you really think I'm that important?" He asked, a bit surprised since no one had ever told him that before.
I gently squeezed his hands. "Yes, you are. When our negativity becomes too much, you arrive because you can feel that we are at our lowest point. In a way, you guide Balan to us so that he can help us," I said, looking him dead in the eye now. " You've never lost your love for humans, but rather, you've become the person they need to help them when they are sad. You're worried that if you don't interfere, the negativity will become too much for us and all hope will be lost. You stop it from becoming too much, which gives Balan a chance to help us." I smiled again. "This theater needs you both. You can't have one without the other."
I saw something out of the corner of my eye and I turned to see the Negati returned and I accept the items from him. "Thank you," I said, giving him another pat on the head before turning back to Lance. "Lie still for me, okay?"
Lance was having a hard time holding back his tears. "You just really know how to tug a man's heartstrings, don't you? Forget the cold, you're making me feel warm inside. At this point you're going to have grab a tear bucket too," he sniffled, trying to hold another sneeze.
I chuckled a little and handed him a tissue, which he sneezed loudly into. "I'm just speaking the truth, Lance, but I'm glad I can help."
I proceeded to dunk the washcloth in the warm water and wring it out before gently pressing it near the tendriled being's nose. "Breathe in carefully. The warmth should help with your sinuses and help your nose to not become so dry from the constant blowing," I said gently.
Lance did as I suggested and while his sniffling was still a bit thick, it was definitely improving. "This helps," he admitted.
I smiled again. "My mom taught me this trick when my allergies got bad," I said, dunking the washcloth in the water again and wringing it out, this time gently wiping Lance's face. "There's that handsome face. I was wondering where it was hiding," I said teasingly while smiling.
Lance hid a chuckle. "I suppose I owe you one for this. When you go back to the stage, you can just go through the gates. No fighting required. I'll even call off my Negati and tell them to let you pass," he promised.
"Thank you, Lance, but I didn't help you just to get something in return. I helped you because it was the right thing to do," I said, taking his hands in my own again. "Do you think we can be friends?" I asked him hopefully.
Lance sat up and pulled me into a hug. "That's all I ever wanted," he admitted, his voice soft.
I hugged him back. "That's what I want too," I said, smiling as I feel happy that Lance accepted my offer of friendship. "Thank you, Lance."
"No. Thank you," he said before letting me go as he felt like he was about to sneeze again. "Ah... Ahh. AHHH!" He took a tissue and let out a softer sneeze. "Ka-choo."
He sighed. "Pardon me," he said.
"Bless you," I replied before we heard a knock on the door and turned to see Balan there and he was smiling, making me wonder how long he had been standing here.
"I was wondering why things were so quiet in here," he said with a grin.
"Balan? What are you doing here? I thought you were at the stage," Lance said to her counterpart.
Balan smiled again. "When Rachel told me you were unwell, I decided to see what the matter was. A few of the cast have been having allergies as well, so the other cast members and myself did some spring cleaning. Hopefully with that out of the way, your allergies should subside," he said.
"Good," I replied with a smile.
"I'm surprised it hasn't gotten to you yet. What with all the pollen and dust in the air. But I guess I'm having the worst of it," Lance said, groaning a little.
I smiled at him gently. "You'll feel better soon, Lance," I said as I hugged him again. "Cause I'll stay with you until you are better," I promised.
"Thank you," he said to me before a yawn escaped him.
Balan chuckled gently at seeing this. "Get some rest, Lance," he said gently before looking over at me and seeing that I'm looking sleepy too and another chuckle escaped him. "Looks like you're ready to visit the dream cloud too, my dear."
I smiled sleepily before a yawn escaped me. "Yeah," I replied softly.
Lance nodded. "We could all use some rest. Hopefully when I wake up I won't be so congested anymore," he said, blowing a bit more gently into a tissue, his sinuses beginning to clear up, something he was very grateful for.
I nodded and looked at Lance. "Is it okay if I crash in your room tonight, Lance? I did make a promise to stick by you until you got better and I plan to keep my word," I said.
He smiled. "I'd be happy if you did. Here."
He snapped his fingers and made an extra mattress, pillows, and blankets appear on the floor next to his bed. It looked very cozy. "This is the least I can do, since you're willing to help me."
I smiled and hugged him, giving him a friendly kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Lance," I said.
"You're welcome," he replied.
I settled down in the cozy bed while Lance settled down and we both drifted off to sleep. Balan chuckled softly and turned out the lights to allow us to both sleep peacefully. "I sensed something about Rachel when she first arrived and now I know. She looks past what she can physically see. As a result, it's granted her a new friendship with Lance," he said as he walked down the hallway, a few Tims following him. "Even the Negati earlier listened to her. Perhaps her friendship was exactly what Lance needed. He needed a human willing to open their heart to him, without fear."
The top-hatted man smiled again while Rachel and Lance continued to dream as the evening turned into a calm night.
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GoldGuardian2418
