How many times can you die for a sadness that was never yours? - The White Dino
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Speckles franchise or any of its characters; I do not own the Jurassic Park franchise or any of its characters; I do not own the Power Rangers franchise or any of its characters; I do not own any of the words or ideas used in my stories or interviews; I do not even own the language these stories are written in. In short, I DO NOT OWN A DAMN THING!
"Er, Ahem." Spoke White Dino. "Clearly you own something or you couldn't access the Internet you TWERP!"
"Oh, great. Even more humor from himself!" Sighed Gareth.
"Look at it this way, I'm a Dino God who dwells in the mind of a middle-aged man who still lives with his parents! If anyone should be going mad it's ME!" White Dino replied. "Well I keep trying to book you a change of scenery." Spoke Gareth. "But here you still are. And would you please stop telling everyone my private stuff!" "Actually Gareth, you're the one doing this. You just keep using me for cover." "Fine then, we shall agree to keep driving each other nuts until this thing wears off."
That's right everyone. Gareth and The White Dino are back! And I think we all saw this one coming…
The Next Segment.
"So let me get this straight dad. You arrived at Gareth's time STEAMING mad. Found him half-crazed and deranged, about to slam our favorite asteroid into his own time. He then proceeded to have a face-off with his own alter-egos, turned the asteroid into some kind of fireworks display, you and he had a tremendous heart-to-heart. Then you collapsed together and had the biggest hug and cry in the history of dinosaur fiction?"
"That's about the size of it." Said Speckles. "Gareth sort of slept through the rest of the night, then told me all sorts of things about himself the next day." "Anything you care to share dad?" Junior asks. "No." Speckles replies. "That one I am definitely keeping to myself."
"We then had a very stern conversation about him not writing anymore stories about us, and not trapping us in anymore loops. I think he got the point!" "PHEW." Said Junior. "Does that mean we are now free to continue the roles the God of Dinosaurs assigned us?"
Blue-Eyes approaches the two. "It is so. Gareth is fixed and we are free to live as we please now. Being Mother Nature is hard enough without getting caught up in man's turmoil."
"Humanity Park is now an eternal paradise that humans can visit in their dreams. An idealized version of the modern world that is rife with conflict and suffering. The modern world's dark with our time's light, forever in balance. And it was all made possible because one man was so broken by my original passing, he turned himself into the Lord of all Dinosaurs to change it. God bless Gareth, and God bless all dinosaurs…"
"WOW mom, that was deep." Spoke Junior. "Yes." Said Speckles. "You even brought a tear to my old dino eyes. Truly, the fates wanted us to be together. I love you Blue-Eyes, and you Junior."
"I guess there's only one thing to worry about now." Said Junior. "What are we going to do for Gareth's birthday this year?"
Speckles and Blue-Eyes look at each other, jaws agape. They look to Junior and back at each other. They let out the most blood-curdling cries of their multi-lives…
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…"
White Dino's 45th Birthday!
Here We Go Again…
"Alright." Said Speckles. "We are going to have to do this old-school again. No dinosaur toys, no dinosaur cards, no dino anything. Just a cheap present and a card and we're on our way. And we remain human at all times. Anything that reminds Gareth/White Dino of Blue-Eyes' original passing and he gets triggered like a flipping Claymore!"
"Sounds a bit harsh." Spoke Junior. "But I see your point. Although, isn't it a bit early to be doing all of this?" "It's the White Dino son, his 45th birthday could be ANY time within the last 100 Million years. It doesn't matter when we turn up."
"Is there anything I can do?" Asks Blue-Eyes. "Just nod and smile and I am sure it will all be fine." Replied Speckles. "Just don't play dead like you did in our first movie! I can't believe we are still paying for that one!" "I know right." Said Blue-Eyes. "All I did was take some sedative, lie down, have a big yawn and go to sleep. It was a role, I was an actor. And he still thinks it happened for real?!"
Junior has another ponder. "I don't even think this has anything to do with our other movies. Gareth is so far down the rabbit hole and beyond. I think he will keep writing about us until he expires. Maybe that is how the White Dino is finally set free?"
"Dark son, dark." Said Speckles. "Now let's finish up here and get ready to leave…"
Some Time Later…
"Did you remember to bring a present this time?" Asked Blue-Eyes. "Yup, just some old phone charger I bought from Maplins!" Stated Speckles. "For God's sake dad, how old are you?" Laughed Junior. "That place tanked aeons ago." "WHAT!" Roared Speckles. "Next you'll be saying Blockbusters went down!" "Sweeties, this isn't 2010." Said Blue-Eyes. "NOW, are we ready?"
The three of them glow bright and open up a portal to the modern world, destination: Children's Playground opposite Author's Residence. But instead of a portal, a white hot ball of energy appears before them. "What the…that never happened before." Said Speckles.
The Arrival Part 2.
As the ball of energy grows ever bigger, two familiar faces appear either side of it. It is the White Dino and Time's Arbiter! They look at Speckles, Blue-Eyes and Junior with wry smiles on their dino faces. "Oh you have got to be kidding me." Shouts Speckles. They both throw themselves into this mass of energy and vanish. For a second it just sits there. Many people and dinos begin to gather around this energy ball to see what it means…
Then with a massive bang it explodes! Everyone is thrown backwards by this blast and lie there stunned. Many windows in the nearby buildings are shattered. This was as much damage as Time's Arbiter had once caused. Before them stands a very familiar figure. It is Gareth. I believe he needs no introduction!
"FOR CRYING OUT LOUD." Shouts Speckles. "Did you have to? Do you know how long it took us to repair this place after your humans rebelled? And why are you HERE? We would have come to you, you know." "Sorry everyone, so very sorry. I couldn't help myself. But do not worry, I am not who I was. This is the new ME. No longer troubled, no longer torn apart by sadness. After the events of Speckles 7 I was truly born again. Thanks everyone, I owe you more than you will ever know…"
Gareth clicks his fingers as so many do in the movies these days. Time suddenly jumps backwards and Humanity Park is reset to normal. All the dinos and residents continue on as if nothing happened! Speckles, Blue-Eyes and Junior are quite impressed by this.
"Are you joking?" Said Speckles. "You could have done that at any time?" "Er, not really." Replied Gareth. "Only after all we have been through together, could I achieve this level of control." "So you really are a God now?" Asks Junior. "No, I'm not even close to that. I just realized some things in the end. And I have returned to Humanity Park to come and tell you all. But it cannot be here. This place shall remain untouched by the perils of my time. We must return to that place of safety. Where none can hear what I have to tell you."
"Then, please." Said Blue-Eyes. "Take us where you will." Gareth snaps his fingers again. All four of them vanish…
Speech Time.
They find themselves in a familiar space, white, formless, but also calming. It is the Void Between.
"This is where I once sent you and Speckles to reconcile." Gareth speaks to Blue-Eyes. "To overcome all things and be one again. I have now brought us back here so that I can do the same. I have come to understand something. And I think it's important." "Please tell us." Said a very curious Speckles!
"I thought I was so noble and heroic back at the start. Offering my life to bring Blue-Eyes back. Thought it the greatest thing I could do with my life. So I took that offer to the power at the center of all things and I begged for the chance. And the power agreed. But not without hidden cost, for it seems the power is not without a sense of irony. For every time I sacrificed myself for Blue-Eyes…a new me was born and had to sacrifice again, and again. That was the real eternal loop."
"I thought the only way to end this cycle was to have Speckles kill me in the end. To be the final sacrifice. This is also because I was the first sacrifice. You see, I was the small, terrified dino running for its very life. Slain by Junior and consumed by Speckles. That is how I entered your world in the first place. Junior killed me that I may be born into your world as the White Dino."
"The White Dino died willingly, and was reborn again as the Author. The Author died willingly, and was reborn as Gareth. But I became Time's Arbiter and destroyed everything. So I had to die again, and again. Around and around this all went, until Speckles 7. I fully believed you had to kill me Speckles, to stop this cycle once and for all. So I pushed you into killing me by holding my own time to ransom. But at the point of my death, I realized something, and Time's Arbiter appeared to save us all. For time is neither good or evil, it simply is…"
"All of this happened because a very long time ago, I watched you die Blue-Eyes. And it broke my heart. And I came to wonder, how could I NOT be the God of Dinos if watching you die could cause me so much pain? This entire endeavor caused itself to exist."
"Oh Gareth, you are so sensitive." Said Blue-Eyes. "Bless you for being who you are, but it was all make-believe. You know it was just a movie right?" "I know, I was being ridiculous. It took me two years to fix myself after the events of May 2020. One thing I think we can all agree on…"
"I get quite emotional about my dinosaurs passing! There is but one more step in our journey, and then I can let you go." Gareth snaps his fingers again and they leave the Void Between.
The Writing Room.
Gareth, Speckles, Blue-Eyes and Junior arrive in a familiar room. This was the place it really all began. A box, in a house, on a street, in a town, in a country, on a planet. This is where Gareth made himself into the God of Dinosaurs, so very long ago. "I want this one to be special, I have prepared White Dino's 45th Birthday piece. And I want us all to upload it to FanFiction together."
The three of them stand behind Gareth as he does what he must. He adds his latest ramble to The Other Review Posts and it is done. "Is that well and truly it for us then?" Asks Junior. "I believe so, for now." Replied Gareth.
"You and Blue-Eyes may now return to your time. With all my love, we are never more than a heartbeat away from each other. I will always treasure the gifts you gave me, and I hope you will treasure mine? Now go, for I have one more conversation to have alone with Speckles."
Blue-Eyes and Junior are touched by this, they cannot speak. They ebb and fade into swirling dust and return to Humanity Park. All that remain are Speckles and his human counterpart Gareth.
"Now that we are alone, you may cry again if you wish." Said Speckles. "No." Gareth replied. "I'm done crying. I was selfish, I wanted you all to myself. I now know what it was all for and why I had to live in the end." "Then do tell, what was all of this really about, what was it all for?"
"Don't you think we have a responsibility to live now, for those who couldn't. Whose journeys were cut short, whose stories ended prematurely? We live for them now, to remember them and to honor that memory. For in our very existence, the fallen shall live on."
"It took dinosaurs to get me to see that. I cannot change humanity anymore than I can change the weather! I simply ask for people to understand one another better. And through that understanding we can help each other to live again. I really believe that now. This is who we are Speckles for better or for worse. We are Humans. It is our capacity to forgive that drives us ever onward. I really don't know what else I can say? I love you Speckles and Blue-Eyes and Junior. You will always be my family now."
Speckles has tears falling from his eyes, he can barely speak. "For God's sake Gareth. How do you come up with something like that? You are not who we thought you were."
"Well, I watched some very good TV shows I guess. They influenced me a lot!"
That Damned Song Again!
"Before you go Specks, there is one last thing I wish to do for you. I have learned that song from the end of your first movie. I wish to serenade you now!" "Er, okay." Said a very uncomfortable Tarbosaurus. Gareth begins…
"Away I go"
"My precious Love"
"With my aching heart"
"Leaving my essential rest"
"Leaving my world behind"
"My love"
"Away I…."
"Whoa, whoa there!" Yelled Speckles. "What the bloody hell was that?" "Er, singing!" Replied Gareth. "SINGING, it sounded like you set a cat on fire! Now can I please return to my time?"
"But I've got five more verses." Said Gareth. Speckles can take no more. "Er, Blue-Eyes, BLUE-EYES, BLUE-EEEEEEEEEYES." He disappears through a dino-shaped hole in the wall. With a flash of lightning and a huge bang he is gone.
The White Dino and Time's Arbiter come out of Gareth and they observe the hole together. "I have to admit, our encounters are becoming increasingly bizarre." Spoke White Dino. "Indeed, it may have to be a VERY long time until something like this happens again." Said Time's Arbiter. Gareth now has other matters on his mind. "Does anyone know the number of a good builder? I now have a buggering great dino-shaped hole in my wall?!"
This has little to do with my turning 45 later in the year. By then I shall be hiding in a cupboard! I believe words can change us all.
I shall still have a cheeseburger for my birthday!
