Justin made his way back into the day room, feeling completely rehabilitated. For once, the mentally scarred 23 year old man felt some sense of relief in his recent phase of turmoil.

Zoey, Lillian, and Sarah walked up to him, not knowing what to expect.

"Like, how did it go?" the goth asked, wondering if her friend was finally OK.

He looked at all three of them, giving off a genuine smile, as opposed to the nervous or awkward one he was known for.

"It went as smooth as it needed to be. I actually feel like something worked for a change."

The cyber chick closed her eyes and went into deep concentration. She knew he was telling the truth this time, despite his appearance still being the same as before.

"Justin Dark," she said, giving off an optimistic expression. "Welcome back."

"Are you feeling sugoi now, Senpai?" Sarah asked.

He smiled at her. JD then swooped in for a hug.

"Yes, Suki. I'm feeling sugoi."

She buried her face into his chest, happy that her self-proclaimed lover was back to a more positive state.

"I feel your energy." the cyber chick said, joining in on a group hug.

"Me too! He feels so warm and cozy, like a body-pillow of my husbando." the weeb added.

Lillian shrugged, debating on whether or not she wanted to join in or not.

Do I REALLY wanna embarrass myself like this? the goth thought to herself.

"Oi! Come and join us, Lily -chan. We're a super duper happy hug-sandwich!" the weeb said, encouraging her to join in on the group hug.

Fuck it!

She then joined, completing the bundle of four. JD was now back to his normal self. Everyone smiled, finally feeling like things were about to start shaping up in their lives.

"Alright, guys. It's time for group therapy." David said, interrupting this wholesome moment.

They all let go of each other, knowing how participating in the groups was essential to their treatment plan (and would also let them discharge earlier).


"Alright, everyone. We're gonna begin our group session." the nerdy staff said, looking at his chart.

"Alright. Before I do a role call, I just wanted to thank everyone for actually showing up this time. I really do appreciate it."

Most of the patients shrugged, as they weren't exactly participating voluntarily, but rather because their rooms were all locked.

"For anyone new: My name is David Joiner. I am the main nurse/tech/counselor of BMH. I have hearing issues and ADHD, so I ask kindly that nobody interrupt-"

"HURRY UP!" Morris shouted, feeling impatient with the odd counselor, who already knew everyone there.

"Right..." he said, feeling a bit intimidated "Anyways, I was also informed that a couple of you are scheduled to discharge very soon "

He eyed Justin, knowing that he was first in line.

"Am I gonna discharge?" the weeb interrupted, also feeling impatient, considering how long she's been in this place.

"Sarah Stevens, you are scheduled to discharge some time next month if you're on your best behavior."

She smiled, knowing what her goal was for the next month.

"Mm, okay! I'll be on my BEST behavior." she said, feeling very peppy for what the next month might look like.

"Several of you are supposed to discharge next month, as a matter of fact. But, let's not get distracted. I'm gonna do a roll call and I want a feeling word."

Everyone nodded, understanding how this went.

"Okay, Lillian Aurawell?"

"Like, I'm right here." the goth said, raising her hand up.

"Ah," he said. "Feeling word?"

"Hmm... Like, I guess I'm horny."

Ha! Good one, Lillian.

"Okay..." David said, nervously writing that down as her feeling word.

"Morris Cortez?"

The Dominican raised his hand, feeling a tad on edge.

"Feeling word?"

"Bitter." he mumbled, giving David a tough time hearing him.

"Better?"

"No," Morris exclaimed. "BITTER."

"Oh." the staff said, realizing that he was getting a tad frustrated.

"Uh, Cassie Curtis?" he said, continuing the role call.

"Right here, man." the red haired Satanist woman said.

"And your feeling word?"

"Hungry." she said, being blunt.

"Same." Lillian said, agreeing with the Satanic chick.

"Okay. Dinner should be ready in an hour."

One hour? God, PLEASE kill me. I'm fucking starving! Lil thought to herself.

"Justin Dark?"

"Here." he casually said.

"Alright. Hey, I'm proud of your amazing progress, Sir. Dr. Spengler told me good thins about you."

Nice.

"Yeah. Thank you, David."

"Don't mention it. What's your feeling word?"

"Neutral." he said, being open and honest.

"Okay. Pablo Gill?"

"Right here, Buddy. The buff and handsome prince Pablo, at your service."

More like handsome prick.

Everyone looked at him awkwardly, feeling major cringe from that statement alone.

"Okay, Prince. Feeling word?"

"I could name many, MANY words to describe my feelings right now."

"Just stick with one, please." David said.

"Alright, alright. The best word I can say right now is... Concerned."

Wow. It's a wonder he knows that word.

"Okay. Denise Greene?"

"I'm right here. And I prefer the name Zoey." the cyber chick stated.

"Ah, that's right. Well, Zoey. What's your feeling word?"

"Hmm..." the cyber chick thought. "The word that best elucidates my current emotions would be 'content'."

"Content. Gotcha. Next, Scott Grossman?"

The obese disabled man grunted, feeling more stable ever since he spent a week in solitary confinement.

"Are you feeling better, Scottie?"

The man nodded, acting much more happy than before he went on a rampage that one day.

David silently wrote 'better' on the clipboard.

"Clyde Kimmi?"

The Korean raised his hand, not saying a word.

"Any feeling words for today, Mr. Kimmi?"

"Vengeful." he mumbled, glancing towards Pablo.

"Nani?" Sarah exclaimed, not sure what was wrong with him.

"Alright. Mel Rosenberg?"

"Uh... Who?" the man with faded clown makeup said.

"Mel, what's your feeling word today?"

"Ugh... PINEAPPLE!" he shouted, being extremely wacky.

"Okay. And last but not least, Sarah Stevens?"

"Oi! I'm here, Mr. David." the weeb said, being her usual self.

"Feeling word? And PLEASE don't say that word again."

She frowned, not knowing that he was annoyed with that term.

"Okay, I'm... I'm uh..."

He sighed, knowing she didn't want to use any other word unless it was weeaboo-based.

"Okay, let it out." he said, ready to hear the cringeworthy cry of an obsessed weeb.

"SUGOIIIII!" she yelled, sounding as if she had hit a sexual climax.

Everyone felt the overwhelming amount of cringe coming from the weeb's mouth. Morris even stepped out, not wanting to deal with her right now.

Justin just had a huge smirk on his face, thinking their reactions were funny.

They weren't the ones who had to do three-ways with her. She did that every freaking time.

"Okay, let's try to put this filth behind us." David said, wanting to move on with the group therapy session.

"So, I'm gonna try to keep this session as short as possible. So, I just want each and every one of you to give a brief description of what you were like, mentally, before you were admitted into Blackwing and then make a comparison to your mental states now. We'll start with you, Lillian."

The goth sighed, not liking the fact that she was picked first.

"So, like I was put in here for attempting suicide multiple times. I also cut ties with the woman who I thought was my mother, though she was really just the one who evicted me from my first home, if you know what I mean."

"We know what you mean, Lillian. No need to explain in vulgar detail." the staff said, not wanting to continue any sexual talk in the hospital.

"Anyway, me and Zoe actually went through a bunch of shit, so we decided to admit ourselves for long-term treatment. Honestly, I'm feeling a lot better than before I ever stepped foot into this place. I like, HAVEN'T thought about cutting myself. Yeah."

"Very good, Lillian. Alright, next we'll go to Cassie, since Morris decided to bail on us."

All eyes were now focused on the homicidal, red-haired Satanist who always had a devious look on her face. However, this was the time for her to open up a bit more about why she's the way she is.

"Alright, so I was admitted in here on behalf of my family back in February. I had done a bunch of juvenile things, even a few crimes. They gave me an ultimatum: Jail or an institution. So, here I am."

"Here you are." David said, nodding. He was pretty familiar with her, knowing she was here for the long haul. "Would you mind explaining some of the things you had done?"

Cassie shrugged, not feeling comfortable going through EVERYTHING she had done that resulted in her being admitted into a place like this.

"Eh, let's just say I committed arson, theft, and MAYBE animal abuse."

Animal abuse?

"Alright. Next? How about you, Zoey?"

The cyber chick have off a clear explanation, while also keeping her usual, emotionless tone. "I was admitted for severe trauma regarding an unnamed individual. I'm here to potentially quell the disturbing imagery I had to witness from them. So far, I'm doing much better compared to my first day."

"That's great, Zoey."

"You have my gratitude, David Joiner."

"Good to know. Pablo? You wanna go next?"

The tan man stood up, thinking this was his big debut in Blackwing Mental Hospital, as if it were some sort of big-screen movie premiere.

"My name is Pablo Gill. I am a tragic man, living with the abuse of women who can't stand a big buff man with smokin hot ABS like me! Anyway, I've recently fallen off ever since I failed to write a book, as well as being spat upon by a false idol, Damien Flamingo."

Everyone gasped, as some of them didn't know that Pablo and Damien had crossed paths.

"Did you REALLY meet that asshole?" Lillian asked.

"Yep." the tan man stated. "Me and him were supposed to make a big Hollywood deal. He offered to get me off the streets because he saw potential in me, or whatever. Unfortunately, while this was going on, that AWFUL video of him verbally abusing the LOVELY Cassandra Crimsonn was leaked, killing his reputation. Ever since July, he had gone missing."

Everyone nodded, remembering that the famous food critic had literally dropped off the face of the Earth, never to be seen again. He probably went crazy and decided to live off the grid. That video literally KILLED the TV star.

"Ouch." David said, thinking that must've been hard.

"My thoughts exactly. But after Damien spat on me, I realized something: I can do better. I can BE better. I chased my brother off, his girlfriend and cousin both hate me, and even one of our local models can't stand me. So, I'm in here to fix myself and try to make amends with Vin."

"That take a lot of courage, Mr. Gill. Maybe, if you put in the work, it'll pay off." the staff said, giving him some words of encouragement.

This was baffling to hear, considering that their previous encounters were all but pleasant. It all started with the incident at El Coretti last year.

"Can I go next?" the Korean thug asked, speaking up for once.

"Oh, sure. Go ahead, Clyde Kimmi." David said, caught by surprise.

He let out a huge sigh, ready to express his frustration between him and his old friend from Glenberry.

"The reason I'm in here is because THAT guy. Yes, YOU, Pablano Gill, caused a bunch of unnecessary bullshit to happen to me while I was trying to pay back my debts to the mob."

"Hey, it wasn't personal. How was I supposed to know that Bernie Boy was working for them?"

He shook his head. "You weren't. That's not the point. My point is that you put a CHIP in my drink and have stalked me ever since I was 22 years old. You are a FREAKING stalker."

Damn, that sounds like something Cyd would say.

"Settle down, Clyde." the staff said, trying to keep everything civil.

"No, because this motherfucker is the reason I'm in here. It's YOUR fault, Pablo. YOUR FAULT!"

"I'm sorry, okay? What else do you want me to say?" the tan man stated, not sure what else he could do for his Korean friend.

"I'd really prefer it if you didn't say ANYTHING. Because of you, I now have a tracking chip in my blood cells. You are a piece of shit, Pablo! FUCK YOU!"

The Korean walked out, just like Morris. Everything shifted to an awkward silence. It was pretty obvious that the Pablo and Clyde feud was very deep and they both had unresolved feelings towards each other.

"Okay, let's move on. How about you, Mel?"

The clown-man stood up. "Melons, the great MELONCOLIC clown, is depressed. Worse than Pagliacci ever was. He's longing for his best friend, Harry McHaroldson the wacky lunch sack. I had lost him some time ago. If I had my pineapple, I'd throw it at the hospital! HA HA HA!"

That sentence alone weirded everyone out, especially JD. Okay, this guy is completely insane!

"Okay, good enough. Scott?"

Scott simply shouted, doubling-down on his volume. Both Mel and Scott were obviously the most mentally confused out of everyone in the mental hospital. One suffered from severe schizophrenia and the other was just mentally deranged, yet became overpowered if getting his hands on something as simple as a trash bag.

"Alright, last but not least: Sarah."

The weeb stood up, ready to go on a stream of consciousness weeaboo rant. This was going to be a mouthful...

"My name is Suki. I was put in here because my boss said I was being a bad girl. I'm just being a Yandere, that's all! MMHMM! Anyway, I'm a lot better now. Ever since Mrs. Belrose decided to put me in here, I've never felt so peppy and alive. I hope that whenever I get out of here, I can watch anime again. It'll be super duper fun. I miss watching my anime and reading my manga and COSPLAYING!"

"Okay, okay." David said. "We get it, Suki. Please sit down and settle down. No need to get so worked up."

"MMKAY!" she replied, sitting back down.

David looked at his chart, realizing he had accidentally skipped over Justin.

"Oh lord. I almost forgot about you, Justin Dark. Even though you're supposed to discharge tomorrow, would you mind sharing your experience in Blackwing for us?"

He stood up, ready to give a brief summary of his stay in the mental hospital.

"Before I came in here, I was a mess. I had attempted suicide two times in a month's time, had attempted homicide a time or two, maybe more. And overall, I was a mess. Looking in that mirror, I didn't see myself, but rather a former shell of Justin "JD" Dark. My face is still a bit hairy and unfortunately, my hair is also still that ugly black color."

"Hey!" Lillian shouted, taking some offense to that statement.

"Not you, Lil. Black looks good on you. But on me? No, this isn't my style. I'm supposed to have brown hair, a cleaner face, glasses, and a purple button-up shirt with black pants. The man in my head altered my appearance to suit his needs instead of my own. Now that I've received treatment, the first thing I do whenever I get home is shave, wash this dye out, if I can, and put on the clothing that really says Justin Dark."

This little speech he gave was pretty inspirational. Although he had gone down a dark path in recent months, making his fake spiritual awakening almost pointless, everyone knew he was being real. Zoey could feel his energy. He really was a changed man.

"I'm very proud of you, Justin. You've come a long way in the last few weeks. I'm going to miss you once you discharge. Hopefully, we shall cross paths again in the near future." the cyber chick stated.

"Yeah, like we wanna see you as soon as we can. I'd sooner see you than the bitch who conceived me." the goth added.

"I wanna binge-watch anime with you, Senpai!" the weeb also added, putting in her ten cents to the conversation.

He chuckled, flattered that these three girls wanted to spend time with a guy like him once they were discharged. They must not have anything better to do.

"Alright, everyone. That concludes our group session. Thank you to those who participated. I'm seeing tremendous progress in some of you. Others, not so much."

David ended the session, giving Justin the rest of the day for free time, besides the time when they were all supposed to eat dinner.


Later on, they had dinner. The last meal for the 23 year old was a great one. It was a load of noodles with a choice of either spaghetti sauce or alfredo. Of course, he chose the alfredo, as he couldn't stand spaghetti. It was also accompanied by garlic bread and he had green tea to drink. It's almost like they know it's my final day, so they served my favorite meal for dinner.

After they got back up to their unit, Zoey decided it was finally time to let Justin in on their homemade game of D&D as a final bond with their good friend.

"Justin?" the cyber chick said, getting his attention.

"Yeah?" he answered.

She grinned at him. "Since you're slated to discharge tomorrow, how would you like to play Dungeons & Drama with us as one final bonding activity."

He smiled at her, thinking this was a great idea. Although he was never a fan of the whole D&D thing that a lot of younger adults were interested in, he figured that this was the way to have his last dance with the three friends, who were supposed to discharge in December.

"Let's do this." he said, sitting at the table with Lillian, Zoey, and Sarah, or rather, "Lillandra", "Blake", and "Cera", as that was their roleplaying names.

"Okay, like before we get into the game or whatever, YOU have to pick a name for yourself." the goth said to Justin.

He sat there for a moment, giving it some thought. He could have any name for his character that he wanted, but only one was required out of all the names he liked in his life.

After giving it some deep thought and consideration, he made his choice.

"My name in this D&D game is Varan, a knight in shaded armor."

The three girls looked at him, interested in this unique name he had given himself.

"Like, Varan?" the goth said, never hearing of this odd yet unique name.

"Yeah," he replied. "Varan. He is vengeance, he is the twisted dark knight, he is the VIGILANTE, slicing any predators or sociopaths he may come across with his mighty sword."

They all looked at him, accepting this interesting persona he made for himself.

"Then it is settled. Varan, welcome to the Dark Coven. We are happy to make your acquaintance." Zoey said, welcoming Justin, "Varan", into the D&D session of the three friends.

They began their fun, bonding activity by playing their home made D&D game. Justin used the black knight chess piece as his character, which made a lot of sense.

"Alright, like today we're gonna go to the woods, right Blake?" Lillian said to Zoey, referring to her by her character's name.

"Yes, Lillandra. The woods are a place of relaxation and tranquility. However, a great evil lingers in this once peaceful domain."

"Varan" was intrigued. Wonder who's causing chaos in my woods?

They then started to roll the dice. The goth always had trouble winning in this game, so she begrudgingly rolled, knowing she was probably going to lose again.

"Eight." she said, moving "Lillandra" eight times. She landed on a chance card. The goth grabbed it, wondering what she was going to get.

"Receive 10 XP from the other players. Fuck yeah! Cough em up, losers!"

The weeb, the cyber chick, and the ex-playboy all gave her 10 XP, leaving each of them with 90 while Lillandra now had 130.

It was now "Cera"'s turn, rolling on four.

"Shi!" Sarah shouted, proceeding to move her piece. She landed on a weapon.

"Ooh! The chaos sword. It once belonged to the chaotic knight. Super duper effective!"

She then looked at JD, knowing this would be a perfect gift for his character.

"Merry Christmas, Senpai!" she said, handing him the card for the Chaos Sword.

"Oh, thanks Suki, I mean Cera." he said, showing gratitude towards his weeaboo friend.

She smiled at him, feeling all warm inside.

"Blake" was now given their turn. They rolled the dice and managed to get a perfect 12.

"Twelve" they said, moving the piece 12 spots.

"Looks like I've landed on a chance card. And… Oh dear, looks like I'm locked inside the dungeon."

Zoey had grabbed a jail card, now having to be in timeout. When the battle comes on, she wouldn't be able to participate.

"Damn, that sucks. Sorry Blake." "Varan" said, comforting his non-binary friend.

He then rolled the dice, hoping he could get something good.

"SEVEN!" he shouted, getting one of his favorite numbers (besides 69). He landed on a community card.

"You and another player shall receive 50 HP. Okay."

Justin looked at Sarah and Lillian. The goth always struggled to stay alive during battle. However, both him and Suki had 90 HP while "Lillandra" had 130.

"Here, Cera. 50 HP for you." he said, handing her the card.

"Arigato!" the weeb shouted with joy.

It was now time for a battle. "Blake" was still in timeout, so "Varan" had to cover for them.

"Like, shit. Looks like we're going up against a bunch of lumberjacks."

Catfish and his cousins?

The pieces resembling wooden chess pieces acted as the lumberjacks, who were all responsible for the deforestation of these woods.

"I know you're a noob and everything, but try not to get us killed, okay Varan?" the goth said, hoping that the newcomer would be able to handle a group of angry lumberjacks.

He nodded, knowing that winning this game was crucial.

"Lumberjack A used his ax. Cera lost 30 HP."

"NOOOOOOOO!" she shouted, upset that she had lost over half of the HP that her senpai had just given her.

"Varan uses his Chaos Sword on Lumberjack A. It's super effective! He lost 100 HP."

Damn, for a noob, he sure knows how to play the game right. Lillian thought to herself.

"Wish we could have your help right now, Blake." the goth said, talking to Zoey.

"It's quite alright. I predict that Varan shall be a spiritual successor to myself." the cyber chick reassured.

God, I hope she's right.

"Lumberjack C used the woodchipper on Lillandra, instant death."

"Like, really?!" the goth shouted, outraged that she had an instant death after getting all of those health points on her first turn.

"Phoenix Down." JD said, putting out a card he crafted himself.

They all looked at him, now knowing what this was.

"Phoenix down?" the goth asked, wondering what that was.

"Yep." he said. "Phoenix Down. Lillandra is now revived. Watch yourself from now on, okay?"

Isn't that like, cheating? I'm not complaining.

"Oi! Cera uses protection on Lillandra-chan." the weeb said, using her move to further protect the unlucky goth chick.

"You all don't need to baby me." she said, using her familiar statement.

"We're not trying to baby you, we're making sure our Dark Elf friend doesn't die." JD said.

The goth smiled, now ready for her turn.

"Alright, I have enough XP to finish this once and for all. This is payback for damn near destroying me. Lillandra used BLACKHOLE!"

That move was powerful enough to completely wipe out the army of lumberjacks.

"Damn." he said, impressed with her handiwork.

"There, the game's over. Lillandra gained 200 XP. Cera gained 200 XP, Varan gained 200 XP, and Blake gets none cause they were locked up in the dungeon or whatever."

Then, Lillian flipped the board over again, this time for seemingly no reason.

"What was that for?" Justin asked.

"Like, I do it every time. It's a good way of saying 'ha! In your face! I survived a battle for once.' Yeah." the goth said, smiling for once.

He chuckled, seeing how surreal it was for her to have a smile on her face that wasn't nervous. It was good to see the little goth start to be happy, even after all of the crap she had went through before being admitted into Blackwing.


It was now time for everyone to settle down for the night. This one final bond with the three girls was quite therapeutic. He almost felt bad having to leave them here. But knowing that they were scheduled to discharge next month made him feel a lot better.

Justin was supposed to be discharged tomorrow. He could get his phone back, put on some fresh clothes, and talk to Tiffany again. Even if Stefano was still lurking around the internet, at least his mind was in a better state as opposed to a few weeks ago, ready to tackle his next challenges he was about to face.