Chapter 27: The Princess, The Detective, and The Projectionist

"Dear thing~"

Mindy snapped herself awake the second she heard his voice.

She took in a few panicked breaths as she scanned her surroundings with utmost caution.

Someone had changed her into a flowing white nightgown with a carnation sash tied around her waist, and she found herself in the guest bedroom of 221B Baker Street underneath the minty green sheets of the bed.

She noticed Jiminy Cricket asleep in the chair beside the fireplace. His squishy face was cupped in his hand as he leaned on the armrest. A trail of drool dribbled from the corner of his mouth and spilled into a puddle on the floor. He snored obnoxiously, and his body twitched intermittently in the candlelight.

It was a disturbing sight, but Mindy envied him nonetheless for being in such a deep slumber.

She rubbed her cheeks as she glanced up at the grandfather clock in the corner: 12:32 A.M.

Ultimately deciding that sleep was a pointless cause, she silently crept out of bed, padded out of the room, and tiptoed down the stairs into the parlor. Mindy wasn't phased in the slightest when she found Dakota snoozing in Basil's red armchair, and Peter sprawled across the sofa with an ice pack on his injured leg.

Instead of settling in the opposite chair like a normal functioning member of society, Mindy chose to collapse back-first onto the fuzzy blue rug and watch the flames dance across the hearth in the fireplace. Despite her efforts, she wasn't able to hold back the few tears that had welled up in her eyes.

You're such a coward.

The sound of someone clearing their throat caused her to snap her head straight forward only to meet the upside-down countenance of none other than Basil of Baker Street.

"Did you have a pleasant rest?"

Her silence was confirmation that it had been a stupid question to ask.

"Oh…I see." He rubbed the back of his neck, "Care to talk about it?"

"You don't wanna know." Mindy shuddered, "Let's just say it's something magic-related."

"If it's causing you to interrupt my early morning rituals, then I have no choice but to be involved." Basil elaborated as he settled next to her, "Though, I am curious as to what this magic-related thing has to do with your rather inconsistent sleep schedule."

Mindy yawned as she sat up, "How did you guess?"

"Oh, it was mere speculation." His eyes lit up as he delved into another one of his aggravatingly long-winded explanations, "To put it quite simply, there are heavy bags under your eyes, indicating that you haven't had a good night's sleep in quite some time. Your complexion is reddened which suggests that you've either sneezed or have cried recently. Judging from the miniscule tear stains on your cheeks…" She flinched when Basil unexpectedly cupped her face. His cheeks tinted pink as he retracted his hands with an awkward chuckle, "I assume it's the latter… the question is what has caused you to torture yourself by staying awake for such a lengthy period of time?"

She was still a bit weirded out by the sudden physical contact from earlier, but just interpreted it as just an eccentric mouse detective getting a little too into his deductive monologue.

Mindy rubbed her tired bloodshot eyes…she needed to tell someone. "Ever since I've arrived in the Dremesphere, The Projectionist has been contacting me through my own subconscious mind. I can't even close my eyes for fifteen seconds before I see him looming over me and spouting evil mumbo jumbo in my ears to make me doubt myself. You have no idea what it's like to have another living being inside of your head! It's both mentally and physically exhausting!"

"I cannot even begin to imagine what that must be like." Basil admitted, "Have you told anyone else about this?"

"You're the only one who knows." She drew her knees in closer to her chest, "My team already has enough to fuss about in matters concerning me, and I don't want to add on to that list. Yeah…I feel guilty, but this isn't the first time I've repressed my feelings in order to not be a burden to the people I care about."

"When was the first time?"

"Um…when my mom died."

Basil sputtered for a correct response, "Oh my… princess, I'm so sor-"

"-Don't be." She replied in a disturbingly nonchalant tone, "I never even knew my mother. The only thing I know about her is that her favorite color was purple. Sad huh? My dad spent the majority of his grieving period sobbing and wallowing in self-pity twenty-four-seven instead of taking care of me. It got to the point where I had to look after myself. He's the one who ultimately taught me that vulnerability was dangerous. Being vulnerable is what led to him becoming hollow, and now he can't even pay attention to his own daughter because he's too blinded by the past... but I digress. The point is, I've been attempting to bottle up my emotions in order to not let anyone see how vulnerable I am and to not be a burden to the ones I care about. And that's why I'm not going to let anyone from my side see how The Projectionist's little nightmarish scheme affects me."

"Bottling up your emotions and acting as if nothing is wrong doesn't seem like the best approach in this scenario." The detective pointed out, "In fact, it will only make things worse."

"How do you know this?"

"Well….err-I know how the mind operates!" Basil tapped his temple with his index finger with an anxious gleam in his eyes, "And when you practice repression, it only makes your inevitable demise all-the-more painful. Besides, depriving yourself of sleep is definitely not healthy for your mind."

She knew he was right, but decided to remain silent this time.

The detective's eyes clouded with pity as he stared at the exhausted girl before him. He pondered how to further console her, then an idea popped into his head. Mindy's brows shot up as the detective offered her his teacup filled to the brim with caffeine. Despite the fact that she wasn't much of a coffee drinker, she snatched it out of his hands and downed the steaming liquid in less than ten seconds.

"If this is your decision, I won't stop you." Basil turned to eye her curiously, "You know, you are without a doubt the strangest girl I've ever met."

"That's hilarious cause I'm the most average person I know." Mindy replied, "Of course you wouldn't think that considering I talk back to men, I have weird magical powers I have no idea how to control, and I have the stuff of little children's' nightmares inside of my head… guess that makes me the female protagonist who's quote-on-quote "Not like other girls." in this narrative."

He held his hands up in surrender, "I meant no offense."

"You don't have to apologize." She insisted with a laugh, "I trying and failing to make a joke."

"Oh…alright then."

For a while, they sat in silence…

"If you don't mind me asking, what did The Projectionist tell you this time?" Basil inquired.

"I didn't even give him the chance to say hardly anything." Mindy answered before turning her attention back to the burning embers, "As soon as he started talking, I yanked myself awake… it's only happened twice, but it was even worse than the first time. It started off as calm as it could be and then we played a game of chess…no I mean literally a game of chess. I of course, was failing miserably and he proceeded to tell me that my problem was that I didn't stop to consider every possible outcome before I made a decision, and I'm…I'm starting to think that he was right."

He tilted his head, "Why do you say that?"

"I didn't tell you this, but I'm the reason why Olivia was kidnapped." She confessed, "I managed to use my telekinesis (yes I have telekinesis, stop giving me that look) to keep the bat from leaving. It was reckless of me, but I couldn't just stand there and do nothing! That was how he recognized who I was, and why my grip on him loosened just enough for him to escape. And that's only one example of how I don't look before I leap… I'm sure you can name a couple of other instances from today like breaking out into a sprint to rescue Scarlett despite having no clue where she is. I can't seem to balance out my impulsive side with my tactical side. I wish that I could think more like you. Do you know how much easier my life would be if I was more left-brained than right-brained?"

Basil was a bit taken aback, but also flattered.

His lips curled into a devious smile as he rose from the carpet and dashed to a chest in the corner. He started muttering incoherently to himself as he rummaged through the clutter. Eventually, he withdrew a wooden cigarette case with a triumphantly musical laugh. He then gestured for her to follow him as he disappeared into the kitchen.

Mindy was a bit perplexed, but decided to humor him anyway as she followed him inside, "Hey pops? When I said that I wished I could think more like you, I didn't mean for that to be interpreted as give the teenage girl a hit."

She froze when she entered the kitchen and saw him setting up a game of chess on the island.

Basil's eyes never tore away from his task, "Go fetch us some chairs will you?"

"What's the magic word?"

"Circumlocution."

"Close enough." She gave a salute before ducking into the dining room, grabbing two wooden chairs and placing them on opposite sides of the table. "What makes you think I'll be a worthy opponent?" Mindy slumped into one of them right as Basil completed setting the pieces, "You'll finish the game in like ten seconds."

The detective settled into his seat, "You make a fair point, but the reason why we are doing this is to exercise your mind."

"And how is stroking that already big ego of yours gonna help me?"

"It will provide you the motivation to do better the next time around." Basil straightened up, "Now, black always goes first because smoke comes before fire."

Mindy looked down, and grimaced when she noticed the ebony pieces spread out before her, "Hehe…what a gentleman."

He merely gestured for her to move in response.

Remembering The Projectionist's mantra, she moved her knight to A3. To her surprise, Basil instantly mirrored her move by placing his own knight at A6. Mindy raised an eyebrow at this, but the detective only brushed his knuckles against his shirt collar without paying her any heed. Shaking her head, she moved a pawn to B3. Once again, Basil copied her, and slid his pawn to B6.

She glanced up for an explanation, but instead received an all-too-innocent shrug from her opponent. Narrowing her eyes, Mindy blindly reached for a piece, and experimentally moved her other knight to F3. She was astounded when Basil did the same, moving the knight's counterpart to F6.

"Okay, what the actual heck do you think you're doing?" She blurted out.

"Carrying out my plan of attack." The detective tapped his fingertips together as he elaborated, "Unlike you, I am anything but impulsive. This may be a game, but in my mind, I picture it as if I'm the middle of a battle field, and if I don't use the correct tactics, everything I care about and hold dear will be obliterated into the confides of the Earth never to be heard from again…" When he noticed how she shifted in discomfort, he tugged at his collar sheepishly, "Forgive me for being so morbid…I believe it's your turn princess."

"Call me Mindy."

"Mindy…" he tasted the word on his tongue for the first time, "What a peculiar name."

Rolling her eyes, she moved her knight to E5. Basil hopped his own knight to E4. Getting bored of his antics, she erroneously moved the same knight to C6. Letting his mouth curl into an impish smirk, the detective killed off her precious knight with his pawn.

Mindy stuck her lip out in a pout, "I hate you."

"I cannot say that the feeling is mutual."

Basil burst out laughing at the shell-shocked expression on her face, "What? What is it? Why is it so surprising that I would admit to enjoying your company?"

"Probably because you're a selfish, intolerant, unfeeling robot with a heart made of platinum and who's also kind of a sexist, hypocrite, and highly functioning sociopath." Mindy answered in a heartbeat, "Plus I'm pretty sure you've hated my guts ever since I showed up with my crew, so there's also that."

"I never hated you! I just, well…thought you were a spoiled entitled princess that wanted to play with her toys-I mean, creations again! I-I don't get involved or pay attention to the politics of The Dremesphere."

"And yet you chose to house a wanted fugitive…huh, maybe you aren't as unfeeling as I originally thought."

the detective put a hand to his chest in mock offense, "You've cut me quick to the core!"

He made a gagging noise as he clutched his robe in a vice-like grip. Mindy tried her best to maintain her composure as he slid out of his chair and convulsed on the floor. She couldn't take it anymore and covered her mouth as a giggle escaped her lips.

He resumed his little spaz-attack until he fell backwards in a lifeless heap.

She made her way around the table whilst slow-clapping before offering him her hands, "I didn't know you had it in you to beso melodramatic… you're quite the showman."

"I've been told countless times that I should consider a career in the theatre." Basil revealed as the girl helped him to his feet, "Alas, the only reason I know how to act is because of my ability to observe body language and mannerisms." The detective cleared his throat, and gestured for her to move, "Your turn Prin…Mindy."

Her lips formed into an appreciative smile.

She took her time to thoroughly inspect her side of the board for once and hesitantly moved a pawn to F4. Basil scrutinized the board carefully. He tapped his chin as his eyes darted back-and-forth, his mouth forming into nonsensical words that Mindy could barely hear him mumbling under his breath.

After what felt like an eternity, he slid his queen to D4.

Gnawing on her bottom lip, Mindy grabbed her castle and moved it to B1. The detective's eyes lit up at her sense of urgency, and proceeded to place his knight at B4 in response. Unsure of what her next move was, she decided to play it safe and moved her pawn to G4. In contrast, Basil immediately moved his knight to F2. When Mindy attempted to kill off the knight with her king, Basil grabbed her hand to stop her mid-move.

Her cheeks reddened as she glanced up at him, "Is there a problem?"

"Are you certain that you wish to move there?"

"Um…why wouldn't I?"

"Well, any competent individual would know that taking my knight would result in your king being in check with nowhere else to escape which might I add, is the objective of the game. You're fortunate that I was generous enough to stop you from making a monumental error." Basil replied with an entitled smile.

Mindy couldn't help but huff in annoyance, "Glad you're here to save me from being incompetent."

"Wha-oh my no!" He stammered, "No! No! Not that you're incompetent or anything! I-I just meant that-"

"-Here." She slid her bishop to G2, "Let's just forget it…your turn."

Basil looked as though he wanted to press the matter further, but held his tongue and instead took her castle with his knight at H1. Mindy cursed under her breath before immediately taking down the knight with her bishop.

The detective leaned forward and rested his chin in his hand with an amused chuckle, "Are you quite satisfied by your little revenge plot my dear?"

"Yes, yes I am Sherlock."

"Ohoho, you are going to regret that!"

"I highly doubt it."

"I beg to differ." She opened her mouth to ask what he meant, when Basil confidently moved his queen to G1, "Haha! Checkmate!"

"What?" Mindy's jaw dropped as she stared dumbfounded at the board, "Nope, I wanna rematch!"

"Of course. But before we do, let's review what we've learned shall we?" The detective's once haughty expression shifted into one of contemplativeness, "What do you think you could have done better during this round?"

"Obviously, I need to stop acting on impulse."

"Can you elaborate on that?"

Mindy sucked in a breath, "I should've died on multiple occasions leading up till this point. Some people would say that it's been luck alone that has gotten me this far. But ever since I've arrived, I've made careless mistake after careless mistake, and now I'm starting to think that it's stupid to take action only for the sake of taking action."

"What you are saying is true." He nodded, "It's unwise to act upon instinct alone but-"

"-go ahead." She threw her head back to stare at the ceiling, "Tell me I'm an idiot."

Basil looked at her for a moment in genuine astonishment, "Mindy, I have encountered a plethora of idiots throughout my distinguished career as an amateur detective so believe me when I tell you that you are the furthest thing from an idiot that there is."

Her eyes briefly widened in surprise, then she looked away with a half-smile. "Thanks."

There was a moment of comfortable silence between the two…

Basil snapped back into teaching mode, "Now then if I may, I would like to go over some things you did during that game that could be improved on."

"Yes?"

"For starters, you say that you are concerned with not "Looking before you leap." However, I believe that there is a simple remedy for this." Mindy perked up as he leaned forward with a knowledgeable glint in his eyes, "Instead of focusing on moving for the sake of moving, focus on your surroundings at all times. Now, this also applies to your quest that you are on… if you ever find yourself in distress or peril, always be aware of everything. Use the resources around you to your advantages including your instincts…but more importantly, use the physical items you see with your own two eyes. If your mind is set on it, and you apply your knowledge, you can get out of any dilemma you're in."

"I will definitely keep that in mind." she nodded in understanding, "Are there other pointers you'd like to give me?"

Basil's eyes twinkled with delight.

For the rest of the evening, the princess and the detective continued to battle each other in rigorous games of chess. They laughed, bantered, and just all around enjoyed each other's company. During each game, Basil would teach her one of his many strategies, so that she could apply it to future rounds. Every loss filled her with the determination to do better the next round, and over time her performance steadily began to improve. However, every time she was close to defeating him, the detective always seemed to have another trick up his sleeve, and would best her at the last minute.

Mindy didn't mind losing to him though.

It was entertaining to see how ecstatic the detective got whenever he outsmarted her, and she would simply applaud him on his many successes. Despite how clever Basil was, Mindy gave him a run for his money on more than one occasion. She would throw moves that stunned him speechless, and sometimes genuinely stumped him to the point of delaying his turn. Basil would pretend to be frustrated, but ultimately wouldn't be able to hide his impressed grin. Each time she pointed it out, he'd deny that he was doing such a ridiculous thing, and they'd continue their game.

"Ha! Ha! Take that you treacherous little thing! Checkmate!" Basil exclaimed as he beat her for the umpteenth time in a row. He then began to put the pieces back to their original positions, "Now for this next round remember to…" he trailed off when he glanced up at the girl, only to discover that the exhaustion had finally caught up to her.

Mindy's head rested in the crook of her elbow with her tangled tresses draped neatly over her shoulders. Her eyelids fluttered a bit as her chest rose-and-fell in an unshakably drowsy rhythm.

Basil chewed on his bottom lip.

He considered waking her up, but knew that her body was in desperate need of sleep. At the same time, he didn't want to just leave her there in such an uncomfortable position. Eventually, the detective rose from his seat, and scooped the princess into his arms. She moaned a bit in protest, but he shushed her and carried her bridal style up the stairs and into the guest bedroom.

Basil laid her down on the mattress, and gently pulled the sheets over her body.

The girl hummed and rolled onto her side with a contented smile.

The detective's eyes shone with sympathy, "You need this… no, you deserve this…and if that fiend of a projectionist lays so much as a finger on you, do whatever it takes to get a good night's sleep tonight not just for my sake, but the sake of your followers as well."

He then tiptoed out of the room, and shut the door behind him before heading back to the kitchen to clean up the abandoned chess game…


The Projectionist admired himself in a crooked looking glass just outside the girl's Dreamscape.

He fiddled with his tie. Sweat beaded down his forehead as his fingers sporadically danced up-and-down his chest. He gave up with a frustrated sigh, and stared at his reflection with distaste apparent on his animated features.

The suit was now horrendously wrinkled, and the tie was still tilted at an unbearable forty-five degree angle. No matter how hard he tried to look perfect, there was always something off about him. He knew that he couldn't change the unappealing physical aspects of his body (the thought itself was ridiculous), but he figured that he at least held some form of control when dealing with his attire.

To his chagrin, he didn't.

Such was the life of a Perfectionist.

The familiar whoosh of the vortex, snapped him back to the matter at hand.

The Projectionist took one last look at himself in the mirror before he cracked his knuckles and reentered the sitting room as his usual condescending smirk slithered across his face, "While I am impressed by your persistence to evade my company, I must admit that your behavior has been quite childish as of late." He shut his eyes as he collapsed onto one of the armchairs, propping his legs up onto the coffee table and spilling a bit of ink onto the pristine white surface, "I'm a man with little patience, and I can't be bothered with such mild disrespect. Having said that, I would like to start off by apologizing for revealing my true form in such an unorthodox manner. Now, why don't we just forget that whole threatening-to-make-you-suffer-instead-of-killing-you-thing and we can continue on with our little…"

His eyes popped open, only to notice that the room was devoid of his victim.

For the first time in what seemed like eons, The Projectionist was stunned into silence. His crooked head tilted slightly, and stayed in that position until the quiet became almost deafening.

His smile didn't falter for a second, "Have you learned another trick?"

When there was no response, The Projectionist rose from his seat and stalked towards the far end of the room, "As nifty as it is for you to turn invisible out of free will dear thing, I simply haven't the time for these games."

He stopped mid-stride when he spotted a sliver of movement out of the corner of his vision. The Projectionist's brow rose in puzzlement as he padded around the sofa and glanced down.

Princess Mindy was sprawled out on the carpeted floor in a traditional yet stylish nightgown. Her hair was strewn across her face and flowed down her chest in thick chocolate waves. The girl's complexion was pallid as a sheet, and her delicate lashes fluttered spastically in the darkness.

The Projectionist couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the sight.

He had never seen anyone look so serene, so vulnerable, so…so... beau-

Shaking his head, he kneeled down to lightly caress her cheek, "Tragically weak."

His crimson eyes widened slightly as she leaned into his touch. Something stirred inside of The Projectionist's chest that he had thought had been dormant for centuries. He had been without this sensation for so long that he had forgotten what it was called entirely. One thing he knew for sure was that he wanted it to go away.

The villain's smile twitched before warping into a vicious sneer.

He was about to wake her up, when Mindy hummed in her sleep.

The Projectionist stood stock-still… a memory flashed in his mind. One that caused him to stare incredulously at the girl before him… He contemplated his options for a bit, before he groaned and swept her into his arms. He then plopped her down on the sofa, grabbed a woolen blanket, and threw it over her trembling form.

He then stepped back to observe his handiwork.

Mindy nestled deeper into the blanket, and continued her tranquil slumber as if nothing had ever happened.

The Projectionist crossed his arms with a defiant glare, "Don't get comfortable dear thing. It's no fun to interrogate you when you're too tired to fight back."

With that, he stormed out of the room and entered the void outside The Dreamscape. He didn't bother questioning why he had felt the need to leave the girl alone this particular night, and instead wiped the series of events from his memory.

Surely she wouldn't remember his unwarranted act of kindness the next time they spoke, and if he didn't either than it was as though it had never even happened in the first place.

And that was perfectly fine by him…