Chapter 34: Back in an Octopus Pot
Once more, Briar finds herself in the dark abyss of Azul's mind. So far, there's nothing in there.
Briar looks around and says, "I better go find Azul, and see if I can help him. Of course, I have to go through what I see in his past."
Briar begins to walk along the abyss to find Azul.
And right on cue, Briar hears Azul's voice, "The only place I ever belonged was inside an octopus pot."
Briar soon finds herself in a black and white scenery. There is also a clam-like stage with a platform made of stone and sea coral. There are also tables, chairs, and such. There are also a few fishes swimming around. Suddenly, Briar soon sees a few merchildren, and a young octopus merchild, and it looks very familiar and the color very familiar.
Briar softly whispers, "Azul?"
One of the merchildren says to Azul, "Hey, Frazzled Azul, ink-spewer!"
Then another merchild makes fun of him, "Aw, you gonna cry? Why don't you use one of your eight legs to wipe those tears away?"
The young Azul, who's in tears cries, "C-cut it out... Why are you being so mean to me?"
The Merchild calls out, "Run for it, quick! He's gonna ink us!"
"Aha ha ha! He couldn't keep up with us if he tried." The other merchild says in a mocking tone.
Azul sniffles and sobs in sadness.
Briar becomes stunned to see this. When Azul's a child, he was a victim of bullying. She then continues forward as she hears the original Azul talk around in the abyss.
Azul says, "Unlike other merfolk, I have lots of feet with suction cups. I'm an introvert, and I never assert myself. I'm hopeless in both studies and athletics. I'm always alone. A silly little octo-twerp."
Then another scene changes to the stage area again, and still, the merchildren continue to bully him.
A merchild says, "The water gets all cloudy when he's around. He spews ink every time he cries!"
"He's always the first to get caught when we play tag. Playing with him is just boring," A second merchild says.
Briar continues to hear Azul's voice, saying, "Ah, is that a fact? In that case, leave me alone. Keep running around in your little circles. Enjoy your utterly unproductive games! I have no tailfin to let me swim quickly. What I DO have are ten limbs I can freely control. I'll just transcribe five times as many grimoires as people with merely two arms. I can generate my own ink for inscribing magic circles. Just you wait. One of these days… I'll show every last one of you airheaded merfolk!"
Briar can tell that Azul shows a lot of resentment towards the merchildren for hurting him, just because of what he is, and how different he is from other merkids.
Then another scenery of Azul's past appears. This time, she sees two young moray eel children swimming by Azul. From their appearance, Briar can tell that the two eels are Jade and Floyd when they're little.
Floyd happily says, "Heya, Octy. Whatcha doin' all crammed in that teeny little octopus pot?"
"Shut up. Just leave me alone," Azul says, and begins reading books and doing his studies.
Jade looks with curiosity and says, "Wow. There are spells and magic circles drawn all over every shell here. A spell to change species, a spell to steal someone's voice… Have you been doing grimoire research with all eight of your tentacles this whole time?"
Azul takes his work close to him and angrily says, "Don't touch any of it! You're asking for an inking! I'm gonna study harder, and become as powerful as the Sea Witch herself! So go away and stop bothering me!"
Floyd and Jade soon swim away as Azul continues working.
"Octy here's pretty funny, Jade," Floyd says.
Jade nods his head, "I agree, Floyd. He's quite fascinating."
Briar watches and can see that the two twins want to associate with Azul, but Azul seems to push them away at first. Then the scenery disappears.
Azul's voice continues, "Then, after spending years studying everything I could get my hands on…"
At the school stage, it seems that Azul, Floyd and Jade have gotten a little older and the three seem to be talking to one another.
"I hear one merman in the class next door suddenly got a girlfriend!" Floyd says.
"Yes, and I hear that in return, his fine tenor voice now sounds more like a honking seal," Jade says.
"Is that right?" Azul questions.
Then Jade says, "I've also heard that someone got the silky-smooth, gorgeous locks they've always wanted.
"But the tradeoff was that they lost the big tailfin they used to dart through the water," Floyd says.
"Uh-huh. I see," Azul says, still studying.
Then Jade says to Azul, "Fascinating work, Azul. Assuming that WAS your doing, I mean."
"And why would you say that?" Azul questions.
"These foolish minnows couldn't hope to use such powerful magic," Jade says.
Then Floyd says, "But you've been brushin' up since you were knee-high to a guppy, Octy!"
Azul remains silent, and soon begins to chuckle, "...Heh. Heh heh... Heh heh heh!" And then laughs, "HA HA HA! Yes, I see. I wasn't expecting the jig to be up quite so soon.
"So, is this what we think it is?" Floyd asks.
"Yes, that's right. I've finally perfected it," Azul says, and shows them the familiar scrolls, "See this magic-infused contract scroll? I can take any power from someone, so long as they sign it. I call it, 'It's a Deal'! This is a spell I'll use to show them all who's boss! Your fortes will all belong to me!" and then maniacally laughs, "Aha ha ha... AAAH HA HA HA!"
And then the memory disappears once more.
Briar continues forward and soon sees the grayish pale blue light up ahead. She suspects that she'll find Azul, so she keeps walking.
Azul's voice continues, "I never forgot for a second. The sight of those who mocked me.
Those who bullied me. I've observed them for many moons. Now I have their weaknesses, their insecurities… I have it all! Once I know what foils him, I can take the tailfin of a fast swimmer. Once I know what troubles him, I can even take the voice of an adept singer. As long as I have this contract scroll, I am invincible!"
Soon enough, Briar sees Azul in his octopus-like form as she sits on all his legs and looks sad and depressed.
Azul continues, "I'm not the same silly, lonely little octopus I used to be. With this power, I will rule over all. I'll make everyone who ever mocked me quaver and beg for mercy."
Seeing his past and what he's been saying, Briar understands a little better, and sees that Azul has been hurting deep inside.
Briar walks over and calmly says, "Azul…"
Azul lifts his head and turns to see Briar, "Briar? How… How did you get here? And where is 'here'?"
"Well, that's a bit difficult to explain, but we're kind of in your mind, after an unfortunate event. Either way, I'm actually here to help you," Briar says.
"What can you help me with?" Azul asks.
"Well, again, it's hard to explain, but I kind of saw what happened to you when you're a kid. You're being made fun of and bullied for having ten arms, squirk ink and all that," Briar says.
"I… I see…" Azul says, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Um yeah. And how you started doing what you do to get back at the students who picked on you and wanted to erase your old self," Briar says.
Azul sighs and says, "That sounds about right."
"I'm sorry that you had a hard time, and I can imagine that it made you feel resentful. But… um, you shouldn't let what those do hurt you, even though it's hard. And I imagine that you did all this to get back at them, but well, I'm not sure if I'm the right person to talk to about it, but that happened a long time ago, so there shouldn't be any reason to worry about what happened years ago," Briar says.
"It just wasn't easy, especially of all the experiences that I've been through," Azul says.
Briar smiles, "Maybe you just need some help. So let's return to the others. I'm sure they're worried about us."
Azul nods his head and both of them stand and hold each other's hands. And once more, Briar begins to sing."
Briar:
Flower, gleam and glow
Let your power shine
As Briar sings, the bright gold yellow glow begins to appear on Briar's hand, and the aura begins to surround both her and Azul's body.
Briar:
Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine
Briar continues to sing as a golden flower appears below their feet as multiple roses of red and white blooms around them. Azul begins to feel at ease as Briar continues to sing and the gold yellow aura surrounds him.
Briar:
Heal what has been hurt
Change the fates' design
Just then, the black blotting ooze dissolves into gold dust, and Azul reverts back to his original human form.
Briar:
Save what has been lost
Bring back what once was mine
And soon, Azul's is free from the over bloat and back to his original self, and the black ooze disappears completely.
Briar:
What once was mine
Soon, the gold flower below them turns to gold dust as the grayish blue and white rose petals circle around them, as the song and the spell continues. Soon, everything fades into darkness, and the two soon black out.
Healing Incantation: Tangled
