Hello Everyone! Sorry the Chapter came out Very Late, I was at a camp for a week and It Really Threw me off Schedule. The next chapter will be out around the end of next month instead of the 15th, Enjoy!
Chapter 16 - There is no place quite like home.
-I am awoken by a Sharp pain in my forehead. -
"Agh…"
-I still feel a pain in my head, but it's lower than before, I feel that I'm currently in bed. I can feel the covers, but I'm uncomfortable, so I try to move.-
-I feel tired, and I try to stretch, but pain shoots throughout my body and I wince. It's mostly on my back. I then feel wet, like a warm sweat all over the covers-
"Jack, don't try to move, just stay there for a second," I hear someone say.
-I slowly opened my eyes, and rolled over to see who was talking to me. It was Missy.-
"I'm glad you're awake. You really scared me back there, No No wait, you didn't scare me, the faint di- agh nevermind.."
"You were out for a while… I didn't really keep the time. How are you feeling?"
"Pain." I bluntly responded
"Well, uh…that's expected. I don't really know what exactly happened, but you fell off a chair... maybe you slipped? Then you started to get all finicky, and you did something with your physic powers."
"I know. Don't need to remind me."
-Missy gave a sigh.-
"I'm going to go tell them that you're awake, you also need some water, and don't move. You could hurt yourself even more."
"Are you real?" I blurted out, before I could stop myself.
-Missy gave me a confused look over, then mumbled something about being concerned about my well being before walking out of the room-
-I then roll back over, holding my paw to my face, it's black fur is still there. I'm back to reality…wonderful. I look around to see what room I'm currently in, oh. I'm in the second-floor bedroom. Oh right, they don't have any guest rooms...-
-Well I should figure out a game plan on how to deal with this situation... maybe I should— Agh. Damn headache… I feel so uncomfortable, I want to move…but I feel sticky.-
-I look under the covers and I see that I practically ruined the sheets. They're covered in my damn poison sweat. No wonder I feel so uncomfortable, or maybe my current posture is sucky-
-but I'm tired as shit, and if it wasn't for the nagging headache and how dizzy I feel, I would've fallen back asleep by now, no matter how ruined the sheets are-
"Here Jack, please scoot up for a moment. I have some water for you."
-I look over to my side and I see my mother with a bottle of water. I can't wait to see how this turns out… I moved up so I could have some and I took the bottle with my paws before beginning to practically inhale it. -
-I take some breaths after basically chugging it and In a attempt to have some communication I say "Thank you."
-She then takes it from my paws, and places it on a nearby bedside table,-
"Are you feeling alright? Show me where it currently hurts"
I then point to my head, actively showing where it hurts, I don't really know what to expect from this. Is she mad? I mean her expression seems upset currently, I have to make sure I don't screw up this time, I have to seem happy, and normal. Happy and normal. If I seem too aggressive or weird, they might get suspicious of me.
"It's a headache, it hurts. But not as much as last time" I said
-Mom then looks to the side table and picks up an ice pack, holding it up to my forehead. She signals for me to hold it there, I choose to remain silent, mostly because I just need to figure out what I need to do. She doesn't even understand me, so what's the point in trying to talk?-
-Mom then sits on the foot of the bed, looking at me in a sympathetic and upset way.-
"What happened? You started to cry a bit, I tried to calm you down but you did something, what was that Jack?"
-I don't really know what to say really, if I open my mussel. She won't understand me and that will get her even more confused than she already is. I can't explain this to her. Should I act like I don't remember?-
"Jack…? I'm…sorry, I can't understand you. but are you in control?…or-or are you stable?" She asked with more force
"Who the hell knows at this point," I said, lowering the Ice pack and putting it at my side
-how do I seem normal right now? I'm tired and have a headache. I can't redeem myself right now, I take note of my mom. Look at her, she's trying to even have an idea what I'm thinking about right now. She can't, but I need to be the same…ugh…Why did I do that back there, showing my emotions will make it worse…I just ruined everything..! Stay conscious. I need to act normal and happy, that's how I'll get them to be calm-
"Jack, please stay with me. I know your mind is a mess, and I shouldn't even be here right now. I know your powers are unstable, and your actions showed that you can be unstable. But you're not dangerous, I know you're going through a lot…" she said looking more distressed.
"…I don't know what to do…i don't know how to make you feel better. I don't know how to raise you in this state you're in, y-you're a completely different species…"
-I feel bad now, I caused all this. If I just sucked it up and cried at home…did I actually cry?-
"Should I just let you do your own thing now? Just let you run out and about, you can't do anything else. You like to do your thing right?…-sigh- This isn't the time for that…"
"Do you just want to be alone right now? You want…no, please don't go back to sleep. I was so scared for you, why do you always faint? Are your powers that unstable?…"
"You just want to be alone for now, correct Jack?" Mom asked.
-I give a nod, and then I followed by a yes, please. She then gets up, but I could sense that she was still upset. then she leaves the room and shuts the door.
-I then use the current peace and quiet I now have, and just turn on my side to try at least feel better, did I respond the best I could? Did I do something wrong? I probably did when asking her to basically leave, ugh…I can't shake this feeling of my guilt-
-My headache started to hurt again, so I grabbed the ice pack and put it again on my forehead, should I try to think? or will it hurt more?-
-I start to stretch my legs, I'm currently still uncomfortable. Should I move? I won't spread the sweat even more will I? It's my mess, I did it. so I should stay where I'm at currently-
'Am I going insane?' I thought.
'I mean, would a sane person hurt the people around him? No…no I have to stay calm, getting worked up won't fix my problems.'
-I have to be the calm one… calm and collected. I shouldn't lash out because that will impact how they will see me as a person. I should be happy, I shouldn't have gotten my hopes down, they practically carried me through this. But I need to be one, who is normal, kind and…I don't know…observant?-
'I need to pay attention to their actions, when they're open, happy or sad. If I pay attention then I could act accordingly, and then I could prove myself human to them again…what does proving myself that I'm human have to do with this?'
'I'm an Umbreon, not a Human. Why should I try to be something I'm not? No, I don't want to get ahead of myself. That's crazy talk. Humans and Elementals both have consciousnesses, I have the same mind as them…'
'But I am an Umbreon, not a human. How should I act? I don't know how to be around others as this thing, should I try to have more motion with my paws? Use more facial expressions? I should act human…or else the situation I have with them will be worse and have more proof that I'm not the same.'
'Mom said she doesn't know how to raise me in this form…I wouldn't either. I still feel bad for saying that I wanted to be alone…'
'But she said something like letting me go on my own, Maybe I can be who I really am? Free from the worry and suspensions they have of me.'
'I could be free from being human and be who I want to be'
-I think for a moment-
'Actually…I shouldn't do that, they might think I'm becoming a wild animal, and the more I'm out on my own, the more time they can talk about me and how I'm not myself and I'm acting funky…man…am I really losing myself? '
'Maybe it would be better if I just do what I want? Not worry about what they think of me, who cares what they think. I'm Jack. Yeah I've changed, but it's up to you if it's a good or bad change.'
-I feel hot, and the bed's getting sweaty, not the poison sweat, like the normal sweat. I wish I had a fan…I then realized that I had an ice pack right beside me.-
-I picked it up and I put it on my head again. I'm still pretty tired and I would like to listen to some music with earbuds or headphones, but I don't know if they can even work with my ears.
'I wish I could just enjoy being an Umbreon and not have to be so concerned over what my parents would think of me.'
'I said, like a couple of days ago. That I wanted to see the world, I was pretty much in the same situation I'm In right now. I don't think I'll experience that, or at least not completely, but I want to make sure at least the world Is a better place…but it will never change sadly, I'm just an Umbreon who really can't speak to others.'
-I get from my spot on the bed, and move up a bit with my ice pack still in paw, I then think about my parents again-
'What could be some ways to make them happy? I could get some flowers? Maybe make a card…?'
-I scoff-
'How will they trust me? They trust me right? They trust me. They have all the right to be concerned, I just…showed my feelings too much back there. Ugh. I never told them about my psychic powers, great…now they will think I'm hiding things…'
-Another moment hits me, putting down the ice pack-
'Oh and the damn moon things…how will they understand that? If they walk into me…doing that…I don't know what to do with life…but, I need the moon. The moon is good. I never said anything about last night as well…I've lost so much track of time…I've been going…crazy?'
'How will they understand that? Oh yeah your son is having…what should I call it?…'
-I got an idea and if I was able to snap I would've done it-
'A moon high'
'I Should try to make them feel better…I know putting up an act will be good. If I'm calm and happy, they will be calm and happy, and that's all I want. Then I should try to be…productive? Do jobs for them. Even though they will be paranoid, and I'll probably be most of the time now as well…I know that they will be really scared of my power. I mean, I just showed it and they were scared…I'll never forget that…'
'So I guess using my psychic around them will be a no-go. It's disappointing, but necessary in the long run, I just can't change their entire perspective of my new self in minutes with my 'reveal' of my more complex powers'
-I look across the room for anything of interest, just an alarm clock with the date and time…I need to keep my sanity up. No wonder some people have gotten insane to this…I'm in a new body…New thoughts and actions, new needs…speech barrier. I need to make sure I'm keeping myself in check. I need to set rules for myself…I check the time. It's 5:47, August 26th, 2019, It feels so long, and just by reading that I'm sorta confused. I haven't been really keeping count of the days…-
'I want to go do things…I'm going to do an effort to go out and live my life! Yeah! Encouragement! But I want it…to be away from humans, I don't know how long I'm going to survive like this…and I'm just in bed all by myself! I'm now getting paranoid to even leave the room, sure…i could go home faster, yeah yeah, I'll say I'm fine and I just messed up and Shit. But…I don't want to because, well, I'm nervous of them, and they are nervous of me…Well. Maybe I could talk with Miss, but she has gone so much more crap than I've had. I don't want to burden her even more than fate had to do to her.'
'…I want to go back to that place…that abandoned factory. Maybe I'll feel safer there? Yeah…I know I'm not good with crowds and that's a bit of a thought change…but…it really is a place where you don't need to worry about the eyes of humans looking downwards onto you. There's no humans there, just my kind…'
'I should really try to hook up with that Cyan guy again, or maybe Rin or that Flareon! they seemed cool. Also Sylveons in general are cool, their ribbons are really useful, and can be used as long arms. Heh, too bad most of them are pink…but by now. I have enough information on my own kind to tell a gender apart…sorta. Yeah mind-blowing, There's a surprising thing called faces.-
'Battling…Is something I don't really see myself doing. I really don't feel the need to attack. Hell if any fight got out, I would focus on defense and running away.'
'Man…a life of adventure, but not really adventure since everything is currently going down the drain. More like, trying to live. But an adventure done the less, some people probably wish they could be me. If I really needed to, I could live simply on my own and fend for myself better than any human can' I thought, feeling pretty smart for thinking of that.
'Man…heheh I think I found my crowd…But my parents will be nervous about me going on my own, if they even allow it. I'm not wearing a collar. I will never ever do that.'
-I feel largely cooled off by now, my headache is still present but has lessened and I move over to another spot in the bed where my sweat was not at, curled up by a pillow, and started to fall asleep-
'I hope I'm not being a bother by being in their bed.-
-I feel a certain kind of warmth, I'm barely even awake…It feels like I'm being carried-
"Uuughh…"
-I then felt myself being pushed up a bit, and then my front side was hanging off, I then tried to reposition myself-
"Shh Shh…You're okay…"
-I then was restabilized on a shoulder, my limp body being carried away-
ka-thump
-I am awakened groggily, by a sudden movement. then im am slammed to the left of a softer surface, I then try to pull myself back to my senses-
"…Damn potholes…"
-I pull myself up, and try to get a hold on everything, I see that I'm back in a car. My mother is currently driving. She then checks on me and realizes that I'm sorta awake-
"Oh! I'm so sorry, that came out of nowhere."
"…agh…It's fine… W-Where am I?" I said groggily trying to get myself upright
"We're heading home Jack, you were asleep."
"…Asleep?"
"Yes, now please just calm down and relax, I just want to you to be quiet honestly," she said, still focusing on the road
"...And don't try to do anything as well, I'm getting real sick of all these powers, I thought I understood the basis of your abilities. I don't know what to do."
"I should hold off on the questions until we get home. You might accidentally trigger something and blow us up."
"Hey. I won't blow us up, at least on purpose. You just need to adapt better. I know what I am. Do you even really know what I am?"
"Hey, you may think you're being smart with you only speaking gibberish, but your tone still goes through, so watch it."
-I slump downwards, in disgust. I can't even have an opinion here, she's the one always asking me questions. How about I ask some? I peek my head up-
"Hey, uh, do you think I'm actually the true Jack? Like I'm just Jack with a changed mind?…Different?"
"…Remember Jack I don't know what you're saying. Best for you to be quiet until we get home. Your gibberish is not making things better"
'Great…Now I shouldn't even open my mussel now. I'll probably get in trouble, I can't even be the dominant one to speak…I'm an listener now'
'Think, think, I remember thinking things on being a listener. Ugh…i was fine with that and it seemed good. But in these situations I'm at the disadvantage.'
'But I have to remember the appeasement Idea. Ugh…that basically means I have to actually shut up now, better to do that than throw words around with no meaning'
'Ugh I thought I was actually going to do something useful today. But Then I started to cry because my dumb butt realized that hopes and dreams, and constant positive thoughts can really blind or hold a person From developing…it was a reality check for me really…and whatever the frick happened in my sleep, like holy shit, it's…really mostly a blur now,
'but I feel some sort of acceptance now, and i learned that I need to find out who I really want to be. Oh and that I need to make sure to keep others calm in order to save my tail, I guess I sorta failed that just now but I had a good reason to.'
-The rest of the ride was quiet, nothing interesting. I actually wished that I was still asleep, better to be sleeping and by myself than to feel the need to explain yourself, while having no chance to really do so-
-The entire time I was really just minding my own business. Though the quality of the areas that we were passing through seems to be deteriorating, lots of damages to houses…Generally a big mess. I would've asked my mom to go faster, but she could take the words as something else entirely-
-then we finally got back to the house, and I was actually pretty paranoid, I fricked up pretty much today, and I don't know if my mom is actually going to be lenient with powers, oh and my dad, I don't really know his stance about me in this new form, I just honestly just want them to be happy. I bet that's going to be hard with two human parents and an Elemental teenager-
-my mother then opened the door for me. When we went inside, my dad was on his chair doing his work, with some other supplies, everything is the same way it was when I left-
"Oh Hey, you two are back. I heard something went wrong?" He asked peeking up his head for a moment, I can't even respond to his question anyways…I'll just stand here awkwardly, per usual, waiting for my mom to say something
"Yeah, something went wrong…I can't even explain it all the way, Even in person." Mom said
-My mom looks down to see me, looking pretty defeated-
"But you, Jack. I don't know what to do with you. I don't know how to make you better…and your powers, I don't want you to use them, but you're going too anyways. I don't know what I should do, or what you can do currently."
'Of course I'll still use them, I have nothing else to use, I have paws, not your simple to use hands, I'm pretty much at standstill right now. I want to ask you something, get some truth and answers out of this.'
"Well, he must've been upset, and he is pretty unstable it seems? my dad said from his chair then turning to me "Were you upset?"
-I then nod-
"Well, if I was a four-legged animal…Elemental…thing, I would be pretty upset as well."
"Well, the powers are a problem, they are too unstable." My mom said
"But Jack," my mom said, turning to me. "You should get some rest, and just be in your room. Focus on something else. Just do anything."
-I glanced around the room, and there was nothing really else for me to say. I wanted to get out to do my own thing as well, so I agreed and went up the stairs, then realizing that I also didn't have my phone on me…that really sucks. -
-I would go back to get it, but I'm already halfway up the stairs and I can't think of a good excuse, so I just continue.-
Well, maybe talking is not currently an option, pshh, if I even had a chance. What crap can I even do now? Sleep? I don't feel like sleeping, I shouldn't even focus on my powers. I'll probably hurt myself'
-I made it to my room, and just basically let go of myself onto my bed, I just needed to just fricken relax. I put my head up abit and I started to focu—God damn it!, Ow…I shouldn't use that for awhile…damn it, I guess I actually need to get up to close the door, doubt I could've used my powers there, not even strong enough anyway-
-I get up, and gently close the door with my paw. It's…Interesting to use paws now. I took note of how much I use them now. They are still a source of fascination to me, even lifting up my hind legs is…interesting
'i don't want to bother anyone else for at least the rest of the day, I'll just hang out in here…no use anyways to even try to talk to them, I mean'
-I get on my bed to look at myself-
'I mean who wants to be with this?'
-I turn to the side-
'I mean, hind legs? I can't do most of the stuff I want to do'
'You look at me, and you see an Umbreon, possibly even an animal, but you don't see me…Or what humans try to think of. You don't see a 'person' per say, hell what makes it worse is that there's even less 'person' due to my speech…but…'
'But There are so many others who feel the same, other Elementals and those are the true Persons, hell…I'll go for a Elemental friend more than a human friend.'
'But we are the true humans. Who feels most in this situation? But I don't think Humans who think I'm just a mutt let alone deserve to be called Human.'
'Becoming an Umbreon is a lot to take in sometimes, the height difference, …the food. The stares…the entire thing with powers, and my inability to speak. When I learn even more powerful things, will I be accepted with them? Powers are awesome, but it's not like I have any other options here…They are my only leverage I have left'
'I'm an Umbreon. Jack the Umbreon. I never chose this life really, but it chose me. I guess I can feel proud of what I am, I will push through all of this, Through all the things that may be in my way. '
'for all the humans who will put me in their spite, I will prevail. For all the humans who want me gone, I will prevail. for all the humans who would rather me dead, I will prevail…Yes! I will prevail! No actually…it's we! We will! My species will prevail! We will survive!'
'We will Prevail through the fire and the flames.'