The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters - Chapter 5: Reality
Jung stared blankly at Jeanne, loosening his grip on that poor Drowzee. What? How? What was going on?
Jeanne grabbed Drip's arms, taking him away from Jung. Drip sniffled into her chest.
"Jeanne… I'm… I… help…"
"Drip, please, listen to me—"
Drip covered his face and shook his head.
"Listen to me." Jeanne's tone was calm yet firm. "You're gonna be okay. Now, hide in one of those beds." She pointed to the nearest mattress.
"But—"
"Nobody's going to hurt you as long as you stay there. I guarantee it." She smiled — Jung could tell she forced it. "And if they lay even a finger or claw on you, I'll make sure they regret it. Alright?"
Drip locked eyes. He stared for a moment, blinking away the tears. Then nodded.
"Good." Jeanne led him to the bed, almost tugging his arm. She tucked him in. "Keep the blanket over yourself. Pretend you're sleeping. Cover your ears. Whatever you do, don't get out."
Drip reluctantly pressed his hands against his ears and curled up in a fetal position. Jung stayed where he was, watching this unfold, his blood turning colder and colder with each passing second.
He'd entered bedlam. This was complete madness. In all these years, putting up with being a Hypno, he never had to deal with this situation. Was this what they regularly had to go through? The rangers. Why were they here? Was this a raid? What did the Hypno do to them to deserve this?
"Jung, not you too." Jeanne knelt down and grabbed his shoulders."Pull yourself together."
Jung didn't respond. He tried to. Whatever words he had for this situation only came out as random sounds. But he knew he needed to act. He managed to give her one tiny nod.
"Can you stand?" she asked. He supported himself up by using the wall, though his feet felt like clay again. "I need you to come with me. Can you fight?"
"F-fight?" he spluttered, "no, I swore I wouldn't—"
"Tough shit." She grit her teeth. "We're outnumbered. We need to stop those guys otherwise we're all gonna be captured."
"But—"
Jeanne pinned him against the wall.
"D'you think they're gonna stop? We're Hypno! I can barely get through to 'em myself, but you speak human all the time, don't you?"
Jung blinked. He started to see what her approach was. "Yes."
"Then talk to 'em. Tell 'em what's really happening."
"But how if they're fighting the others—"
I don't know how — I'll make a distraction or somethin', but we need to get their attention first. So will you help me?"
Her gaze could've turned him to stone. He didn't want to stay in the dorms and hide. But he didn't want to go either. What would Jung contribute? He was a writer, not a fighter. They would outnumber him in seconds. What was the alternative? Turn tail and abandon everyone? There was no way he could do that, not after getting to know them for a day. So, steeling his resolve, Jung took a deep breath.
"Yes, okay."
"Good." She slapped his shoulder. "Now follow me."
He tailed Jeanne, following closely behind her. Each step Jung took into the hallway made him want to throw up. Everything was so dark except for the flashlights and the purple and orange flashes of attacks coming from the front. Sounds came from the lounge room. Something banged, smashed and clinked against the walls.
"Get out!" Brie screamed. "Stop bothering us!"
Jung was about to run when Jeanne stopped him. They continued traipsing towards the hallway as that awful banging and clanging continued. Then Brie screamed from afar. Something thumped against the floor.
"Oh god, what are they doing to him?" Jung whisper-shouted, only to get shhed by Jeanne. Another flashlight pierced through the darkness of the hallway. Jung froze. Where could he hide? What could he do? He couldn't hide. They had Pokemon. They would sniff them out. Oh god, he was dead. They were gonna die.
Jeanne held out her hand. She lifted a loose floorboard with her telekinesis and flung it against the source of the light. The person holding it grunted. Then a Houndoom slipped out, sprinting towards them with bared fangs that emitted smoke.
Jung fell backwards as he flinched at the rapidly approaching dog, but Jeanne dove in and punched the Houndoom in the jaw with a glowing fist. He lost balance and fell to the floor, groaning in pain.
Wow, she could certainly pack a mean punch. Focus Punch, perhaps?
They didn't have time to savour that victory as a black ball of energy exploded in Jeanne's face, blasting her across the hallway. It came from a Gengar who popped out from the shadowy ceiling.
Oh, so they had Gengar too. Great. Just great.
Everything was happening so fast. Jung was useless here. Why couldn't he fight? Come on, do something!
"S…stop," he croaked. It fell on deaf ears as several rangers ran towards Jeanne, throwing an Ultra Ball at her. With a white flash of energy, she disappeared. In the midst of this ranger rush, everyone ignored Jung. Why? Weren't they going to capture him too? No, wait, he was already assigned to a Pokeball; that wouldn't work. So what did he have to lose?
Jung stood up, clenching his fists.
"Stop."
He spoke so quietly that nobody heard him, but standing up got their attention as a couple of the rangers bolted towards him. He held out his pendulum, hoping to dissuade them, but he was cornered — Gengar to his left where the lounge room was, another Houndoom to his right where the other end of the hallway stood. He recognised that Houndoom. Fabian's Houndoom. Oh god, he was here too? His hand shook as he gripped his coin. This wasn't going to end well for him.
A yellow blur zipped into the room. A black bolt descended upon it with gnashing teeth. Screaming.
The Houndoom's fangs sank into Drip's arm.
No.
They didn't.
Who would do something like this?
"Reg, stop!" Fabian yelled, diving in to get that stinking dog back in his Pokeball, away from that helpless Drowzee. Everyone stopped to witness this unfolding. The rangers halted. The Pokemon stopped charging. They forgot about Jung. Drip's agonised cries flooded the room as he clutched his mangled arm, flailing and shouting. All that escaped his mouth were incoherent screeches of pure, unfiltered agony.
That was no mere bite. That was an attempt on Drip's life. The life of a child.
This… No. Jung couldn't accept that.
Wouldn't accept that.
Unacceptable.
Jung rushed into the fray. Hands raised to grab that ranger. Jung pounced on his back. Put his fingers to his temple. The pendulum was just a vessel, not the source of one's power. Jung had that power in him all along. As soon as it happened, his mind linked with Fabian's.
What? his mind yelled. What happened?
I happened. I'm sorry. Now, walk up to your teammates and speak to them through me.
I… Okay…
Jung jumped off the human and joined Drip, shielding him from whatever would come next. The other rangers stared as Jung flicked his wrist, as if conducting an invisible orchestra. One step. Two steps. Fabian glowed white with the onslaught of torches illuminating his body. Jung raised his hand. Fabian raised his hand.
"What are you doing?" Both of them said. "This… I'm utterly appalled by this. You have harmed an innocent child. A child." The Drowzee's cries weakened into sniffles. "His name's Drip. We Hypno give each other names too, just like you. He likes bonbons, he has a family, and he has dreams, just like any kid would. Whatever reason you have for invading his home, this is absolutely barbaric."
The rangers spoke in hushed tones. Their Pokemon stared at their feet.
"Do I have your attention now?" Jung pointed to himself. Fabian pointed at Jung. "I can speak the human tongue. We don't need this pointless violence or this farce. I won't attack if you won't, all I want to do is talk."
Jung laid his hand on his heart. Fabian laid his hand on his heart. He awaited their response. One of the rangers, the one who commanded the Gengar, stepped forward and nodded. Then the rest nodded as well. Jung still kept his distance from the human he hypnotised — he forced him to rejoin the group before he would sever the mental link.
Thanks for letting me use your body, even though you didn't have a choice.
Okay… where was I? You… I recognise you. You just hypnotised me.
I did what I had to do to protect my kind. I'm sure you understand.
I think I do… oh god, what've I done?
That's enough. Go back.
Jung released his grip on those invisible strings, handing Fabian's mind back to his body. That ranger collapsed into the arms of another, clearly overwhelmed by what he just experienced. Drip licked his wounds, trying to mitigate whatever damage that mongrel dealt him. Jung sharply turned back.
"Oh, for Pete's sake, help the poor kid already! Do none of you morons have a potion on you?!"
One of the rangers immediately went to Drip's side, only to get more screams in response. Drip backed up against the wall, burying his head in his lap, whimpering all the while. Jung wanted to take that potion and shove it down that human's throat. Instead, Jung snatched it off of him with no quarrel and took matters into his own hands, gently taking Drip's bad arm. Drip only nodded — still not in a speaking state, and who could blame him? He allowed Jung to spray him down, which made him wince with the stinging sensation, but quickly healed his wounds. Once that was done. Drip didn't move. He continued curling up into a ball, even shutting out Jung's attempts to console him.
Jung wanted to help him right away, but he needed to explain his business to the rangers. He presented himself before the team and straightened his dirty, tattered longcoat, retrieving an ID from the wallet in his pocket.
"My name's Jung Hypno, junior therapist at Anistar. I'm not a part of this dwelling. I only came here because I'd heard a bunch of Hypno were caught up in this kidnapping fracas. People back home thought I had something to do with it, and I got harassed, so I wanted to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that my kind wasn't responsible for this nonsense. Which they're not." He gestured to Drip. "In fact, they're the victims of this as well, not the perpetrators as you've most likely been informed. I assume that's why you all came here."
"We…" Fabian started. "That's what the commissioner told us, yeah. That this was high priority and that if we saw any Hypno, we would take them all back for questioning. And the first Hypno we saw tried to force us away, so we assumed there was a reason for it."
That was probably Moony.
"But you automatically assumed this was their wrongdoing." Jung sighed, pointing to the Ultra Balls on the belts of the rangers. "You captured them without giving them a say first. If you spoke to them instead of trying to fight them on sight, then none of this would've happened."
"But—" the ranger commanding the Gengar interrupted—"they're not supposed to be here either, this is private—"
"Shut up, you halfwit. These Hypno have nowhere else to go, because everyone has rejected them. Where else are they going to stay other than an abandoned building where no one can bother them?"
"Then why were they seen near the hotspot?"
"Because Drip's brother is missing!" Jung didn't care if he shouted, he was completely done with this. "They were all out there, looking to find him, not kidnap him! Are all of you really this dense? Just ask any of the Hypno you captured what they were doing out there!"
That disarmed him for now. Another fished out one of the Ultra Balls and drew it out. Jeanne emerged from the white light, on her knees, about to raise her hand when Jung stopped her.
"No, Jeanne, it's alright!" he called. "They won't fight you anymore, they just want to talk."
Jeanne blinked at Jung. He couldn't tell what went through her head then. "What do they want?" she whispered through clenched teeth.
"Tell them what your situation is. About Drip's brother disappearing. Why you're here."
Jeanne closed her eyes. She looked as if she was about to collapse in Jung's arms. But she sat up and faced the ranger team.
"I…" she spoke in human as well. "We… live here. With each other. We don't hunt. Don't go out. Know not to bug humans. Droop's missing. We looked. Couldn't find him. Gone. Drip…"
Drip crawled to Jeanne's side, hugging her for comfort. She saw the dried blood on his arm and stood up, holding him in one hand, raising the other.
"You bastards! What did you do to him?!"
"Jeanne!" Jung yelled, blocking her view. "Don't!"
"Give me one good reason! We've stayed in our own lane this whole time, and these monsters come in and treat us like animals! They're the animals!"
"You won't get through to them like this!" He dropped his human act. "Please, for Drip's sake, let's save the fight for later — I don't know how much more this poor boy can take."
Drip buried himself in her neck tufts. He seemed so peaceful there. Jeanne glanced at him and lowered her hand.
"Look. Search this place." She gestured to the rest of the building. "You… you'll find nothing. Just books. And blankets. And cake… we made some earlier. Brie's good. A good cook. Just… don't…" Her face crumpled up. "Don't take this from us. Please…"
Jeanne dropped to her knees, sobbing into Drip's head. Jung tried to save his tears for now, looking at the rest of the ranger team. They wore a mix of reactions on their faces — some detached, some guilty-looking, some even started rubbing their eyes. He hoped this was enough to ward them away. They started talking amongst themselves. Varied whispers of 'what should we do?', 'do we take them back?', 'do we leave them be?', and all of that. Then Fabian stepped up, clutching his arm.
"We'll search the place. That's what we should've done to begin with, but in the meantime, we need you all to cooperate. And while we search, we'll heal up everyone, then we want you to tell us everything that's happened. When this Drowzee went missing, what all of you have been up to in the meantime, everything. Does that sound agreeable, Jung and, er, Jeanne?"
Her ears perked up at the mention of her name, as did Jung's. So he did listen after all. Jeanne dried her eyes and nodded, handing Drip back to Jung. The Drowzee didn't settle as easily as he did in Jeanne's embrace, but at least he wasn't crying. For now.
The next moment went by quickly yet slowly all the same. The rangers picked up a portable healing station from one of their vans outside and patched up everyone they captured, including Drip for good measure. Despite this, Drip still wouldn't talk, and wouldn't leave Jeanne's side either, shaking in her arms.
Once they finished up, they gathered all of the Hypno outside, releasing them one by one while explaining the new situation to them. It was a miracle none of them retaliated against the rangers, though they would've been justified. Most bizarrely of all, Hoothoot entered the scene, shambling out of the doorway. He saw the commotion and tilted his head.
"What's going on?" he said, scratching his beard.
"Oh, hey, I wondered where you were." Jeanne grumbled. "Could've used your help earlier, you know."
"I'm a heavy sleeper! And yes, I saw all of the ruckus in the living room. So these humans really tore up the place, didn't they?"
"Yeah." Jeanne sighed, grabbing his arm to help walk him to the group of Hypno. "Just talk to them, though, and they'll leave us alone."
"Well, yes, I should think so!"
One by one, they all recounted their stories. Jung recalled visiting the dwelling under Moony's supervision, as well as what he did there and how the Hypno made him feel at home. He didn't mention the dream-eating stuff. While Drip couldn't speak about his experiences, the other Hypno and Drowzee chipped in, telling them when his brother went missing, where he was last seen, and where they looked to try and find him.
"Just out of curiosity," the Gengar's trainer started, "why didn't you report this to the police or one of us?"
Brie stomped forward and shouted at them all, though it fell on deaf ears. It was Jung's turn to translate, though he had to paraphrase and leave out all the insults.
"He said: 'Isn't that obvious? You people hate us. Do you really think we were gonna come up and tell you? That's suicide!'"
The trainer tried to speak, but ended up cutting himself off. Hoothoot stepped up next, speaking through Jung.
"You humans have to understand that our kind has faced resistance wherever we've gone. We've been chased out of our homes. We've been hunted by wild Pokemon just by virtue of being Hypno. Trainers will seldom take any Hypno in. There are all sorts of other superstitions both humans and Pokemon have about us.
"Drowzee fare a little better in your world, and some trainers bond with them, but once they evolve into Hypno, a lot of them are no longer wanted. They're released back into the wild, sometimes to their demise, without the humans really knowing their struggles or wanting to understand them."
One of the rangers shifted positions, nursing his temple.
"I've seen it all happen in my life as a Hypno, and more. I've lived for as long as you rangers probably have, perhaps even longer. So, can I ask, do all of you rangers see us as vermin? Pokemon to be cast aside and forgotten about?"
The ranger team turned to look at each other. They didn't seem to have an answer for that from the blank and puzzled expressions on their faces.
"Alright, I'll make it simpler for you." Hoothoot raised his paw. "Raise your hands if you've ever met a Hypno before tonight."
Out of the dozen or so rangers there, none of them had their hands up.
"Right, I see. You don't know us, so how can you even judge us for what we do?" Hoothoot closed his eyes. "Of course, we know about the Dreamdivers too, so even I can see cause in your fearmongering, but we are not them. That's all I have to say."
Hoothoot sat down on the rocky floor, supported by Jeanne. Silence followed. Only the chirping birds, the susurration of the branches and the wind whistling through the cracks in the building filled the void. His stomach ached again. The thought that so many Pokemon, none of which did anything wrong, could be subdued that easily made his blood curdle. And all for those humans to back away so easily...
This never should've happened. How did it happen? Did they happen to spot Moony on a leisurely stroll? Was this planned? It must've been if there were so many rangers coming in.
Or what if Jung's intrusion alerted them all to their hideout?
He'd never be able to live with himself if he was responsible for driving them out of their homes. But he had to know.
"Ahem." Jung glanced at Moony, who slept soundly curled up in her impromptu cape. "So, I assume you caught Moony first. How did you spot her?"
"We didn't," Fabian said. "She must've spotted us. She tried to hypnotise our team."
Jung looked to the rest of the Hypno, who didn't bat an eye at this confession. Although he hated rudely awakening someone, Jung pulled the blanket from beneath her, stirring her from her slumber.
"Lemme sleep," she groaned, rubbing her eyes. "I had such a good nap."
"Moony, please, tell me, did you try to hypnotise them all?"
"I only wanted those dummies to turn back. I wasn't gonna drive them off a cliff or anything. That's what I've done with humans in the past, just make them go about their day as if nothing happened, no harm no foul. I've done it before with groups and we've been fine."
"But hypnotising them all at once? How powerful are you?"
"I told you I can put up a fight." Moony closed her eyes again. "Is that all?"
"Yes, that's all."
"Alright, see you in the morning then."
And just like that, she fell back to sleep, snoring and kicking at the air in the midst of a dream that tasted like marshmallows and mooncakes. It sounded like she needed the rest. Jung relayed this back to the ranger group.
"Aw, jeez, that's all?" A younger ranger stepped up. "I nearly crapped my pants, I thought she was gonna kill us."
"Well, now you know she had no intention of doing so. But before that, you were planning on coming here anyway. What drove you to this spot?"
"We followed you."
Jung's heart stopped. He suspected the worst, but he still wanted to believe otherwise. The instant he said that, he felt the eyes of the other Hypno group boring into him, aside from Jeanne, Brie and Hoothoot. But which ranger alerted the team to their presence? The only person he could think of was—
"Fabian, did you tell them?"
"Yes."
Right. Of course. Just like the heat of the Houndoom's breath, a fire stirred in Jung's belly. Fabian, that snake. Jung didn't have the energy to snap at him right now, so he tempered the flames within him.
"So you suspected me after all."
"Well, yes. I admit, I still wasn't that convinced, but you seemed good enough at hiding it, whatever you were doing. And I needed to know about the Hypno. Hell, we were told to follow any trace of their whereabouts, so we didn't have much say in the matter — any clues about the kidnapper were better than none. And my Houndoom sniffed you out, finding you in that building." Fabian sighed. "Sorry, it was nothing personal."
Jung wasn't entirely convinced either. But never mind. He just wanted this whole ordeal to be over.
"So, what happens now?"
After the ranger team briefly huddled, Fabian stepped forward.
"We don't know. We were told to clear you all out, but we found nothing suspicious in the building, so I don't feel like it's right to give you the boot. You are, however, still trespassing on private property since this is a heritage site."
Jung didn't have time for this. "And nearly ripping a poor Drowzee's arm off is an act of severe misconduct — you are responsible for controlling what your team does. This is assault, no matter whether it's done to a human or a Pokemon."
Fabian blinked, nursing his Houndoom's Pokeball.
"We'll continue this later once I report back to the rangers at the top. Until then, you're all free to stay here." The group of Hypno let out a collective sigh of relief. "Not only that, we'll tell them about the missing Drowzee and we'll do everything we can to try and find him. We have dozens of cases like this, so we're not going to abandon them."
Jung didn't know how useful they'd be. But the Hypno were finally given a voice, which still mattered.
"And, er, Jung, you live in Anistar, right? We're reporting back there in the morning anyway, so we can drop you off if you want. How does that sound?"
Jung looked back to Drip, who sat, rocking back and forth. Jeanne looked like she had something to say to him. The rest of the Hypno glared at him. Jung knew he had overstayed his welcome, but he couldn't leave that child like this. Now he had time away from dealing with the rangers, he could focus on bringing Drip back to earth.
"Do you mind waiting a little while?" Jung asked the rangers. "I need to check on the Drowzee quickly, make sure he's okay after— you know, that happened."
He spoke the last part with a lick of venom to his voice. None of them chose to argue with him. Jung worked his way through the gathering. Everyone had their eyes on him. He was about to approach Drip when one Hypno blocked his way and grabbed his coat by the collar.
"Do you know what you've done?" he spat. "We all got along fine until you came here! What are you, some human in Hypno's clothing?"
"Hey hey hey!" Jeanne stepped in between the two. "If Moony thought he was gonna be trouble, she wouldn't have let him in!"
"I don't care about that. I just want him gone — the sooner we get them out of here, the better."
Jung took a deep breath. It wasn't personal. "I don't plan on staying here much longer, but I can't in good conscience leave if Drip's in shock."
"Eh, he'll be fine, it's just a matter of time."
"But I'm trained to deal with situations like this. I've dealt with Pokemon who have gone through heaps of trauma, and this is a highly traumatic accident for someone like him." Jung brought his hands together. "And it's the least I can do after all of this mess I caused."
"No, Jung, you haven't done anything wrong." Jeanne's ears drooped. She shooed the other Hypno away, who seemed to drop the argument, and she led him to Drip. Jung knelt down to meet him.
"Alright, Drip. I'm sorry about everything that's happened, but I need you to cooperate with me." Jung gently grasped his paws. "Can you understand what I'm saying?"
He'd said this in an especially slow and gentle tone. Thankfully, Drip nodded.
"Okay. Now, focus on your surroundings. Take note of what you see. What the ground feels like beneath your feet. What my hands feel like. What smells are in the air. How cold the wind feels against your fur."
Drip's eyes moved around, gradually looking from left to right, down at his feet, up to the sky, then back to Jung.
"Alright. Focus on your breathing. Try to relax. Sit down if you must. Breathe with me, like one, two, three, like this, see?"
Jung held his breath for three seconds, puffing up his chest, then letting it all out. Drip did the same with his shaky breaths, one two three, then exhaled. They repeated the process numerous times, and throughout each time, Drip felt more animated. He didn't move so stiffly. He breathed in and out with more vitality. Even then, he still wouldn't talk. What would bring him down to earth? Some food? Did they have any? Oh, right, he remembered!
"Brie," Jung said, "can you get that plate you saved for him, please? I think it will help."
Brie rushed in and out of the building, bringing out the samples of madeleines and cheese for Drip to try. He remained by Jung's side as he handed him one of the cakes.
"He made this, by the way." Jung held it on the flat of his palm. "It was an experiment, but it's something you might like, anyway."
Drip sniffed and prodded at the cake. He inspected it, then cautiously brought it up to his mouth and took a bite. Small chomps. He hummed and took the rest, then picked at more of his plate. Drip took one piece, then another, then crammed the rest in his mouth, chewing with increased vigour.
And then Drip burst into tears, bawling into Jung's chest. The other Hypno continuing eyeing him, possibly not understanding Drip's outburst of emotion — Jung didn't entirely know if it was positive or negative yet.
"I'm—" Drip blubbered. "I'm sorry, I was so scared and wanted to help but that—that Houndoom… he's—"
"Ssh, ssh, it's alright." Jung started sniffling too. "He's gone now. They won't hurt you anymore. You're fine."
Jung gave Drip the time he needed to let it all out, after hours of agonising silence. It took a moment before Drip finally calmed down, drying his eyes. Some of the other Hypno and Drowzee joined him, kneeling by his side to make sure he was okay. He smiled in their presence.
"How do you feel now?" Jung asked.
Drip glanced at the other rangers, then hid behind the Hypno crowd again. "I'm still a bit scared. But I'll be fine. I think."
"Right. Make sure to get plenty of rest." Jung handed the rest of the plate over to him. "There's more there. I don't know if you're a fan of blue cheese, but if you need some comfort food, it's there."
"Yeah, okay." Before he took the plate back, Drip hugged Jung one last time, and Jung carefully embraced him, trying not to drop any of his food. Finally, Drip took his share and went back to the Drowzee and Hypno.
What a relief. Well, it remained to be seen since he didn't know how it would feel long term. But at least now, Drip seemed stable. Now it was time to face the music with the other Hypno he'd intruded on. He met Jeanne, Brie and Hoothoot again, who all huddled together. Jung stared at his feet, unable to look them in the eye.
"I'm sorry—"
"Ah, come off it, Jung." Jeanne smiled. "If it hadn't been for you, we'd all be in the slammer. Or whatever they have for Pokemon."
"I would've faced them off myself." Hoothoot scratched his beard. "I can lift cars off the ground."
"You missed your chance to show off, gramps."
"I know, curse my old age." Hoothoot embraced Jung, rubbing his back. "Thank you for helping us, and for the tasty nightmares. You're always welcome here."
Jung had waited so long to hear those words from anyone. He'd never had this level of hospitality before from a group of complete strangers, except maybe a few of his patients. But this was different, much closer. Brie joined in the huddle, ruffling Jung's ears.
"I'll keep making those madeleines. I swear, they're going to be really good by the time you get back."
"So you don't mind that an outsider almost forced you out of your home?"
Brie shrugged. "I mean, I do, kind of, but you also got them to back off a little, so it balances out. It'll be much easier to get in and out with anyone bothering me."
"And I bet Moony will get a bit more rest," Jeanne said, eyeing the drowsy Hypno.
"I'll take that, then." Jung stepped back and bowed before them. "Thank you all for making this a pleasant day, I wish we got to spend more time together under better circumstances."
They all waved him goodbye, but before Jung turned back, Hoothoot cleared his throat.
"Remember to take it easy. You don't need to be so hard on yourself."
"I'll try not to." He didn't know how much of it would stick. Jung needed to work, and the wellbeing of his patients mattered above all else. These nightmares would just sort themselves out on their own.