Supernatural: Chronicles of the Order 8
Chapter 7: Lost in Imagination
(DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own Supernatural because it belongs to Eric Kripke and Warner Bros. So, enjoy the show! Rated M for graphic violence, adult content, and adult language.)
I was back at the castle on Skald Island after overseeing the relief in Rookpaw in the past few days. The feel of being back on one of the islands in the Skalvarg Archipelago was more than enough to be here as I was on the beach seeing the waves crashing on the wet shore. I was also busy watching over the older children in which I spotted Carly playing on the beach while dressed in autumn clothing complete with a coat. She was busy collecting seashells as she was ready to show them to me until I noticed Aora and Ghimru doing the same thing. Even though she will be turning ten in December, she had to make an effort into caring for the younger children as she saw them look for seashells, but all they found were a few sand dollars in the wet sand.
"Another sand dollar again?!" I heard Ghimru yell as he was wanting to get a seashell.
"You should be patient if you wanna find one in front of you," said Carly as she had a bag of seashells in her hand. "Sometimes, you have to look in greater places before you assume the worst."
"Don't berate him, fusspot," I said. "He'll find some seashells. Just give him time."
"I found one!" yelled Aora as he had a conch shell in his hands.
I rushed to my son as he had the large conch shell that he found. It was something that I never saw before as I noticed it to be native to the Skalvarg Archipelago. When I took it from him, I saw it to be very old as it had a bronze coloring all over it. By the time I gave it back to him, I heard Kanna screaming as I rushed towards to where she was at. When I saw her running, she ran into my arms as I noticed her to be scared to death after what happened earlier, for I had a gut feeling that something wasn't right when it came to monsters crawling all over.
"There's something in the cave by the old lighthouse," I heard her say.
"Calm down, Kanna," I said.
"I heard some growling in there. I think that there's a monster lurking in that cave."
I was ready to see what was going on as I was about to go towards the cave that Kanna mentioned, but the exhaustion that I had made it harder for me to do more. With my wheelchair near the shore, I sat down in it as I wheeled myself to where the cave was. I sensed that something was off as the growling didn't come from a monster, but a warg. Slowly getting up, I went into the cave as I saw a familiar warg growling at me as if it was protecting something. It was Femto as he was there in the cave in which he refused to budge, for he had his reasons to do so. When I got to him further, I saw him lunge at me as I placed my hands on his nose the moment he calmed down, for I wasn't afraid to tame someone who was once prized for winning in the Dynamite Warg Race.
"It seems that your handlers abandoned you, didn't they?" I said as I noticed Femto suffering from muscle pain. "It's been a while since I bested you with Barca, but now's not the time to gloat."
It wasn't long until I saw Femto grab at my kimono as he pulled me to where he was resting at. What I didn't expect was that he was protecting someone that I never knew about as it turned out to be a heavy-set man in a striped shirt, blue trousers, and rainbow suspenders. What I also didn't expect was that the man was aware of me as if he knew me from long ago, for he was shivering with cold just like Femto.
"Sam?" said the man as he got up on his feet. "It's you, isn't it?"
"How do you know me?" I asked.
"Don't you recognize me? It's me, Sully!"
"Sully?"
The name rang a bell as I read about his presence in which he played a part into the life of my past self in the Elder Days. What I didn't expect was that he on the verge of fading away as I had a feeling that he was in danger. Even Femto sensed him to be at risk as all he did was to protect him from harm. When I saw Sully walk towards me, he was starting to feel sad as he was afraid that I didn't remember him, for I had to remind him of what he was made for.
"You've come a long way, didn't you, Sully?" I said.
"Don't you remember me at all?" he asked in desperation.
"In the Elder Days, you were an imaginary friend for my past self back in the day. You even reached out for help when some of your other imaginary friends were being killed. The Sam Winchester that you knew was dead for centuries, but I exist in which I will try hard to protect you just as much as Femto has."
"Femto? Is that the warg's name?"
"Wargs have a sixth sense for looking for monsters and spirits, even imaginary friends such as you."
"I see what you mean… I was looking for you when I ended up on that planet, Maugrim, in which Femto's owner abandoned him the moment he was put into a field. I ran into him in which he protected me for a while. When that war started up, Femto had nowhere to go except for the forests that gave him sustenance. We travelled all over the place due to the many times that the surges of raw power teleported us to random places, but we landed here on Valinor in which I always saw Femto swimming in the ocean bringing me back greyfin tuna and other fish to eat. I was happy, but sad at the same time in which I thought that you forgot about me."
"Mr. Sam!" yelled Carly as she stood outside the cave. "There's some people from the Medical Corps here!"
I left the cave briefly as I saw Reuben arriving to see what was going on. The sight of me being in a wheelchair was concerning as he saw me wheeling out of the cave and onto the wet sand. I also noticed Carly and Kanna with the oldest twins as they were glad that I wasn't hurt. What I didn't expect was that Ghimru took off into the cave as he was curious about what was in there. When he found Femto, he wasn't afraid as the warg sniffed him the moment he placed his small hands on his nose. At that moment, Ghimru felt a mixture of my raw power and angelic abilities coursing within his small body as he healed Femto from the arthritis that he had. It wasn't long until Kanna ran towards him and took him out of the cave, but she also spotted Sully there as he never expected to see the children there before.
"It's been a while since I saw kids here," he said.
"Are you okay, mister?" asked Ghimru.
"I'm fine, but I'm glad that Femto didn't eat you for dinner."
"My name's Ghimru Winchester and my daddy's not feeling too well."
"Are you saying that Sam's your dad?"
"It's true," said Kanna. "Still, he's been recovering after saving Westeros from the clutches of Project Amaterasu two years ago. Even though he tries to help out with us, he still feels weak from the exhaustion that he has."
"I'm sorry about this…"
"Mister, I know that my daddy did so much for us and Mommy, but I want him to get better. I don't like it when he's feeling sick all the time. It's not fair to him..."
Sully walked to the entrance to the cave as he saw me getting an earful of Reuben's stern lectures. The sight of me being in a wheelchair made him even more sadder as he wanted to help me recover a little more in which he couldn't let me fade away. He wanted to be there. He wanted to make sure that I was mending a little faster as he heard Reuben telling me about how my health was getting critical after my missions in Balin and Rookpaw a few days prior.
"You can't be out in this weather, Sam," said Reuben as he was concerned about me.
"I can't leave the children unattended while they collected seashells on the beach," I said.
"I can understand that, but you need to go back in your room and get some rest. The older children are big enough to be taking care of one another, but you can't just hold their hands forever. There will be a time when they will grow up and leave their childhood behind in which they can't hold onto it forever."
"I know that feeling and it's very mutual indeed…"
I was wheeled from the beach by Reuben as we were on our way to the castle. With Kanna and the other children there following me, we were greeted by Paninya as she was holding her newborn baby in which it was a girl due to the pink blanket and swaddling clothes it wore. What I also didn't expect was that little Nerinya was there as she was dressed in autumn clothes like the rest of us, for she was the same age as Aora and Ghimru.
"It's been two years since Reuben forced you to take a long pause," said Paninya as she was holding her baby. "As for the war effort, the workload has gotten tough for him since Kazuo passed away."
"I haven't seen you in a while, Paninya," I said.
"I would've been here to see you, but I had a busy schedule due to the influx of patients coming and going."
"Are you feeling alright, Uncle Sam?" asked Nerinya as she looked at me due to my weakened condition. "Daddy says that you were forced to go back on the field by Captain Wickham."
"Well, Daddy says that you need to be helping out with your little sister," said Reuben. "Audranya was born a week ago, but she also needs a protector in her big sister."
"Still, there's been rumors about Femto being abandoned by his owners in which he resides in a cave," said Paninya. "From what I heard, some of the fishermen who tend to the old lighthouse have spotted him going in and out of the beach in which he is often seen with some of the big fish that are often caught in these waters."
I turned around as I saw the warg out of the cave as he was going towards the ocean to swim for his food. What I also didn't expect was that Sully was out there as he was waiting for Femto to come back, but no one else saw him except for me and the older children. I was aware of the presence of the imaginary friend from the Elder Days as he was feeling more sadder than normal. I didn't want him to fade away as I couldn't let him steep lower into sorrow, for he needed to be healed just as much as I did…
Later on in the evening, I was in my room as I had a bath earlier while dressed in my nightclothes. I looked out the window as I saw the ocean waves crashing near the shore of Skald Island in which I was worried about Sully and Femto being out there with the cold northern wind blowing outside. I wanted to find out more about why Sully was there the moment he was spotted by Femto three years prior. I had a feeling that he was most likely to be telling me something as I had to know more the moment I left my room and went downstairs dressed in my robe amd boots. When I went outside, I saw Femto running towards me as if he was about to tear at me until he grabbed me by my arm and was wanting me to go to the cave near the old lighthouse.
"Something's wrong, isn't there?" I said as I saw Femto sitting down on his haunches. "Is it Sully?"
The warg whined as he was concerned about his friend.
"I'll go there…"
I got on Femto's back as he sped towards the cave where he was staying at. By the time we got there, I got off of him as I went inside and noticed Sully laying on the rocky ground while in a sleeping bag with a campfire going. I had a feeling that he was about to fade away as I had to help him before it was too late. I couldn't let him suffer as I also had to help him from such an alarming fate, for he needed my help more than anything.
"Sam?" he said to me as he woke up. "Is that you?"
"It's me, Sully," I said. "I know that it's a shock to you, but I can't let you fade away so easily."
"I remember now… For years, I thought that your past self was still alive, but it seems that the one I was looking for was different. By the time I was about to meet up with you, you were already gone from Alecrast and off to Gehenna. I tried to reach you in that frozen wasteland, but when I caught up to you, you lost the rest of your childhood and ended up being a servant for the rest of your days."
"I didn't have any choice. My years on Gehenna weren't lollipops and candy canes, but endless snow all over a frozen wasteland. Now that I've grown up, I never have any time to reflect other than taking care of my family and doing field work in the Order."
"You had all that time to be doing that, but you never have any time to take better care of yourself. I heard about what happened to you after you destroyed Project Amaterasu two years ago. You overexerted that raw power to stop that thing from destroying Westeros in which it ended up causing exhaustion to the point of being crippled. I also know that helping out with family and doing mindful exercises to help you heal have did minimal for you, but it's not enough for you to have more joy in your life."
"That much is true…"
I warmed myself by the fire as I continued to watch over Sully and Femto in the cave. I had to make sure that they were alright until I felt myself being transported to a dimension that I never saw before. I was in the old Men of Letters bunker as I found myself in the kitchen once again. The sight of weird desserts in front of me were still there as I saw the same cake with cheese puffs on top of it. When I examined it again, I looked at it closely as I saw a hand emerge out of it the moment it seized me by the throat. The hand was strong as I had to get free until it let go of me the moment I heard footsteps coming. What I didn't expect was that a giant stuffed rabbit rushed into the kitchen as it used a banishing sigil to dissolve the hand that was in the cake. I was grateful that my rescuer came here as it was made from different types of fabric, button eyes, and a pink button nose. Whoever it was, I had a feeling that it was there to talk with me as it stood firm without attacking me.
"The Bellmarm's trickery is out of commission for now, Sam," it said to me.
"Do I know you?"
"Don't you recognize me? It's me, Dinsleigh. You made me out of old fabric and buttons complete with the cotton that Sylvanus put in your room. I was made and stitched with care in which I kept you from being lonely while being in the fort on Gehenna."
"I remember you… I made you because I wasn't allowed to play with Dean while he was studying to be in the Hunter Corps at the time. I played with you because it kept me occupied after I did my chores all over the fort. I wanted to keep you until Sylvanus took you away from me. I felt so sad in which I had no other choice but to leave my childhood behind."
"You didn't leave your childhood. It was stolen from you, Sam. It was taken away from you just like me."
Without warning, I saw the lights flickering as I felt a cold spot in the air. I noticed Dinsleigh looking all over the place as he spotted a middle-aged woman dressed in Victorian clothing complete with a riding crop in her hand. She meant business as she wasn't about to let me recover the lost childhood that was kept from me. Dinsleigh glared at her as he remembered her for forcing vulnerable children to grow up quickly and leave their childhood behind, for she was a force to be reckoned with.
"It appears that you grew up into the greatest weapon ever made," she said to me.
"It's the Bellmarm," said Dinsleigh. "She wants you to forget about the happiness and imagination that binds all humanoid beings."
"Yes, it's me! Therefore, I've come for the one who mourned you, Dinsleigh!"
"Don't you dare take Sam away! I won't let you!"
I saw various spirits from the Elder Days appear as they grabbed me and held me down in which the Bellmarm was there and ready to berate me. She didn't want me to embrace my whimsical side as she was ready to lay the smackdown on me, for she wasn't about to throw in the towel yet.
"You're trying to wriggle out of your true purpose as a weapon that is beneficial to put an end to the ones who started this war in the first place!" she yelled. "I won't let you shirk your duties, Sam. I won't let you slack off while others are doing your work! I didn't want to do this to you, but I can't allow you to abandon your duty as the greatest weapon ever crafted! It's the will of everyone, including your friends and family!"
"They're worried about my health," I said. "They want me to get better after I destroyed Project Amaterasu and got rid of Sawney Masbath two years ago."
"Oh, really? It's all about your health—your so-called condition—that keeps you slacking off like a bird and a raccoon playing around too much! I won't stand for it! We're in the middle of a war here, Sam! And do you know what will happen if you embrace this form of happiness?!" I see the scenery change as I saw Skald Island reduced to cinders and ashes. "This is what will happen if you don't pull your weight!"
The sight of Skald Island being reduced to fiery destruction scared me to death as I also saw a bunch of skeletons impaled from poles near the beach. I also saw a skeleton of humanoid on the shore as it was accompanied by another one that was shaped like a warg. The sight of them horrified me as I saw the skeletons to be Sully and Femto the moment I felt tears streaming down my cheeks. I failed them. I should've helped them when they needed me the most as I saw the Bellmarm standing in front of me, for she wasn't about to let me absorb the imagination that I abandoned over the years.
"This is the fate of what will happen to your friends and loved ones, Sam," she said. "This is what will happen if you don't resume your duty! Are you willing to do so, or do I have to remind you of this fate that awaits them?!"
I was put in a quandary as I had to thing up of something to get the Bellmarm away from me. The sight of Skald Island reduced to rubble and death alarmed me as I had to think of a way to turn this tragic setting into a happy one before it was too late. I had to try. I had to get out of this setting as I had to think of something before it was too late. The Bellmarm wasn't about to let me go as she was trying to prevent me from reversing the setting that was put in front of me.
"So, what do you think of this scenery of death?" she said to me. "Do you find it alarming because you made it that way?"
"I find it to be made of gingerbread," I said as I saw the scenery turn into a place that resembled a child's board game. "I also find it to be made of lollipops, candy canes, and tortilla chips drenched with frosting and candy sprinkles."
I escaped as I saw the Bellmarm being trapped in a licorice cage. Anger flooded her as she wasn't done with me the moment I returned to the scenery of the Men of Letters bunker where the kitchen was. I returned to the sight of the weird desserts on the table as I noticed the cake change into that of a decadent chocolate one with cherries on top of it. I stayed away from it until I heard footsteps coming. I feared that the Bellmarm would do her worst as I saw Sully coming the moment he saw me fearing for my life. He had to protect me as he didn't want me to fall under the cracks, for he also wasn't too happy with the Bellmarm right now.
"Sam, I'm here to rescue you," he said.
"I saw the Bellmarm," I said.
"You're not the only one who saw her. She's the eternal bane of happy childhoods in which she forced you to abandon all the happiness that you had over the years. You may had help from Ippei Mitani, but you can't combat all that sadness alone, Sam."
"Guess again!" yelled the Bellmarm over the intercom. "No one will bring Sam to his so-called 'happy place.' No one will ever allow him to be happy because he is needed in this ongoing war! And as for Sully, I suggest that you back off or else I will resort to extreme measures."
"Like what in particular? A suicidal teddy bear?"
"Even better because it's the worst fear that the Sam Winchester of Old is afraid of the most!"
NYEN! NYEN! NYEN!
The sound of a chainsaw revved up alarmed me as I saw the door opening up. It wasn't long until I saw a clown armed with a chainsaw coming into the kitchen as he was ready to kill me on the spot. I hated clowns just as much as my past self did as I grabbed Sully and left the kitchen. Making our way all over the bunker, we were hiding from the "killer clown" as we went into one of the rooms in which it was the one that my past self had due to the television set that was in there. We noticed a ward on the door as it repelled the clown with the chainsaw in which it was getting hard for our adversary to get into. When I sat down on the bed, I saw a remote as I turned on the television and saw an image of my past self from the Elder Days in which he was running from a group of clowns that were armed with chainsaws. The sight of him on screen being afraid of clowns was more than enough to have me face my fear, for I couldn't let it get the better of me.
"This is like the one that chased us earlier," said Sully as he saw the clown on screen.
"I remember reading this in the archives," I said. "The clowns with chainsaws that my past self faced were powered up by a sigil known as a tulpa." I see an image of it on the wall as I grabbed it the moment I used my raw power to destroy it. "Problem solved, but we can't get past the Bellmarm right now."
"I don't hear the clown breaking down the door…"
I opened up the door as I noticed the chainsaw on the floor in which all I noticed were nothing more than glitter and a pair of red clown shoes. I was happy that I destroyed the tulpa as the worst was over, but I had to be vigilant to the point of dealing with the Bellmarm in which I noticed Sully coming out of the room to see the mess that was on the floor, for he never expected to see a clown go down like that.
"You stopped a clown," he said.
"I really hate clowns," I said as I was shaking with fear.
"And I thought your past self was scared of them…"
"When I was little, I was busy cleaning the hallways in the fort on Gehenna in which I first ran into Severin for the first time. I wanted to be friends with him, but he talked down to me as if I didn't exist and do you know what he did? He locked me into the closet that had some creepy clown mannequins in it. I was scared out of my mind as I just wanted out of there."
Without warning, I heard footsteps approaching as I had a gut feeling that the Bellmarm would come up from behind and force another terrifying image towards me. I was worried to the brim as I later noticed a familiar spirit here as he was more than likely to be guiding me to what I missed the most. Sully was aware of him as he knelt in front of him the moment he saw him walk towards me, for he didn't want me to fall further from the cracks.
"You decided to get out of your comfort zone, didn't you, Sam?" he said to me.
"Ippei…" I said.
"The Bellmarm is known for forcing vulnerable children to abandon their childhood and embrace their torment. She targeted you because of the raw power being a weapon that you possess."
"I already know of it…"
"You can't give into fear and sadness forever, Sam," said Sully. "I can't let the Bellmarm take you away again. I know a way for you to stop her and I hope that you don't get mad at us."
I found myself in a room filled with a board game as it had a candy background on it. I knew of it to be Candyland due to the images of various candies on the board complete with some color-coded cards and game pieces shaped like gingerbread men. I didn't have time to play a board game as I feared the wrath of the Bellmarm, for she was watching my every move that I made.
"Oh, great; Candyland," I heard her say over the intercom. "Is this how you fritter away your time while dead bodies pile up on the battlefield, Sam?"
"Don't listen to her, Sam," said Sully cautiously.
"No, Sam; you can't be wasting time because of this ongoing war!"
"This is my imagination, not yours," I said as I was putting my foot down.
"Just to let you know, while you play that shitty board game, people are dying out there and the body count just can't stop! You can't put it off due to the fact that the Executive Division are trampling all over the place. Too many innocent people have lost friends, loved ones, and even their pets and you have the gall to defy me by playing a kid's board game?! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!"
"Enough, already!"
I sat down in one of the chairs as I grabbed one of the game pieces in which I began the game without further delays. What I didn't expect was that I saw everything in the room change into the board game in which I found myself dressed up in a weird wizard robe that had a candy-themed motif all over it complete with a wizard hat with gumdrops all over it. I was also holding a magic staff that was shaped like a candy cane as I had to follow the rules by following a rainbow path to the candy castle. With a card drawn, I saw a purple block as I walked towards it in which I travelled towards it. What I didn't expect was that the Bellmarm was trying her best to ruin my chances to get to the end of the game, for she wasn't about to let me get away just yet.
"You can't escape me, Sam!" she yelled.
"This is my imagination to harness," I said. "I won't allow you to interfere any longer."
"This game's useless because I took away the rules. No matter how many times you pick a color on that board game, I'll be the one who will negate it."
"We should see about that…"
"You'll never make it to the end!"
I drew another color card as I saw a double block the moment I went up the rainbow path of the game I was playing. I couldn't let the Bellmarm get the better of me as I went through card after card just to get to the candy castle. With a few snags along the way, I made it to my destination as I found myself in the candy castle as planned. I did it. I surpassed myself as I made it to where I needed to get to the moment I went inside of a castle that had gumdrops and gummy candy all over it. I was ready to call it a day until I saw the castle's infrastructure turn into a place of ruin. It wasn't long until I noticed my clothes change from a whimsical wizard outfit to that of tattered prison garb the moment I was knocked out by the Bellmarm, for she wasn't about to let me win yet…
I woke up as I found myself in a prison cell that was similar to a sex torture dungeon. Even though I won the game, I was no match for the Bellmarm as she entered into my cell and was ready to do her worst with the riding crop in her hands. Anger flooded her as she was ready to let me have it, for she was getting fed up with me trying to embrace my whimsical side.
"You think that you can play with children's games while the galaxy suffers?! Think again, Sam!" she yelled as she was ready to do her worst. "Take a good look! Take a gander at what is really going on here!"
I saw multiple images of my friends and loved ones being killed by the Executive Division in which I was forced to watch. The sight of the children being killed and placed on spikes scared me to death as I also saw Liesel surrounded by the soulless dolls and Ketch machines while triumphing in this ongoing war. I also saw the battle between Cain and Ailnoth commencing as the galaxy was being torn asunder in which no one was safe, for I was forced to bend the knee to my captor.
"Do you get the picture now, Sam?" said the Bellmarm. "Do you know what happens when you play with your toys and games for too long?! Everyone will lose this war and every form of life, humanoid or monster, will die!"
"I'll continue my duty…," I said as I saw the images disappear. "I'll even resume my field work in the Order so that no one else will die for my mistakes!"
"Are you ready to submit?" I hesitated briefly as I felt a tear rolling down my cheek. "Well, I'm waiting and it's very rude to keep a girl waiting."
"I… I—"
"Don't listen to the Bellmarm, Sam!" yelled Sully as he came to my rescue. "She's forcing you to choose your workload over your health! Don't let her do it!"
"Sully…" I was worried for his safety as I was struggling to get free. "You have to get out of here!"
"I won't leave you! I won't let you suffer from the Bellmarm's tricks in which she wants you to go over your limits. She wants you to put your work and duty over your health and I won't let that happen, not on my watch!"
I watched the Bellmarm craft a cage over Sully as she didn't want him to interfere with her plans to force me into submission. It wasn't long until I felt the sting of the riding crop on my back as I let out a painful cry the moment I felt more lashes all over me. Hit after hit, I felt the riding crop attacking my back as I wanted to be free. I wanted to have more fun during my recovery as I wanted to get out of my shackles and return to my imagination during my convalescence, At that moment, I was about to be put into despair until I shed more tears to the point of beyond help, for I was done for at the hands of the Bellmarm.
"Mister, I know that my daddy did so much for us and Mommy, but I want him to get better. I don't like it when he's sick all the time. It's not fair to him…"
Ghimru's words reached Sully as he broke free from the cage and rushed to break me out of the shackles I had. I saw him snatch the riding crop away from the Bellmarm as he broke it in half in which he was getting fed up with her causing sadness towards me. He saw me to be in bad shape as I wanted to stop the Bellmarm from doing further harm towards me. When I saw the Bellmarm backed in a corner, I saw her rapidly aging as she was in the form of an elderly woman that was on the brink of death. I was ready to put my foot down again as I felt myself fully healed and ready to have more fun in my life than just be depressed, for I was waiting to fight another day.
"Game over," I said as I saw the Bellmarm sprawled on the floor.
"How could you?!" she said to me. "How could you shirk your duty while others are dying?!"
"I know that the Executive Division will stop at nothing to cause chaos, but there are others who are heeding the call to stop them. I can't do the heavy lifting alone, for I have everyone to help me along the way."
"And you choose your whimsy over the fate of the galaxy, don't you? Your duty is more important than anything, including family and friends! It's your duty to uphold your position as a weapon to subjugate the Executive Division."
"You wanted me to choose the burden of overwork over the state of my health! For starters, if I want to get back to working on the field, I will put my health first, is that understood?!"
"Who gives a shit about your health?! I know I don't because of the fact that the needs of the many will always outweigh the needs of the few or the one! Your duty will always come first, is that clear?!"
"You're not the boss of me or my imagination! This is my form of imagination and it doesn't belong to you because of the fact that you see my sadness as a potential to mold me into a mindless weapon, but it's not working today!"
I saw the Bellmarm aging quicker as she turned into dust. Even though it was over, I turned around as I saw Sully standing there triumphantly the moment he was staring at the broken riding crop on the floor. He didn't want me to sulk further as he was more than glad that he saved the day in which I felt a heaping amount of gratitude to the imaginary friend who was more than just one of those typical Sesame Street Mother Teresas, for I wanted to do more than just fall into despair.
"Thanks for the assistance," I said.
"Don't mention it," said Sully.
I saw the sex torture dungeon disappear as the setting returned to the Men of Letters bunker in which I saw the kitchen table decorated with all the sweets that were there. The fixture of tortillas with icing and candy sprinkles were a feast for the eyes as I grabbed one and ate it in which I tasted it to be marshmallow cream. The sweet and salty texture was great and all as I also spotted the cake with cheese puffs on it in which I grabbed a plate and got a slice of it. With a fork, I tasted one of cheese puffs on top of the cake as I noticed that it turned out to be an orange cookie with sprinkles that mimicked the appearance of one. As for the cake, however, it was something that I never expected as I saw the custard mixture in it, for it was vanilla blended in with the dessert in mind.
"I made that cake, but I couldn't find the cheese puffs, so I made orange cookies that look like them," said Sully. "I'm glad that you're coming to terms with all the extra happiness here."
"I'm glad that I'm having more of my sanity back," I said as I finished up the cake. "Ippei was right about having me step out of my comfort zone after what I went through in the past two years and he wasn't lying."
"Sam!"
I saw Dinsleigh running towards me as he gave me a big hug in which I eventually hugged back. The battle against the Bellmarm was over as I was ready to return to reality. I couldn't forget about the imaginary friend from the Elder Days nor the stuffed rabbit that I crafted as I bade them farewell for another day. Just as I was about to return to the real world, I saw Ippei as he was happy that I overcame my sadness in which he was more than glad that I stood my ground in my own imagination.
"You did good, Sam," he said to me.
"Sully did the rest," I said.
"Not true," said Dinsleigh. "Your son's words reached him when he busted out of his cage and broke the Bellmarm's riding crop. You're taking charge of your happiness like Ippei said."
"I know…, but I have to go…"
I returned to reality as I was in a hospital room, but where? I found myself laying in a hospital bed as I noticed all the electrodes and intravenous drip all over me. What happened to me? How did I get here? Examining my surroundings, I saw that I was in a calming hospital room as I had a view of the ocean waves crashing near the beach. It was morning as I heard the sounds of seagulls cawing and seaships sailing in and out of the island in which it was a sound that was brought here by the aid of the northern wind. Sitting up, I heard the door open up as I saw Reiko arriving as she was worried about me, for she never expected me to be here after checking up on Sully and Femto earlier, for she was glad that I was still alive.
"Good morning, Sammy," I heard her say to me.
"I never expected to be here, but I'm still alive," I said.
"You were unconscious when the tide came in, but Femto was there to bring you to safety."
"Thank the gods…" I was still exhausted as I began to feel more lighter than normal. "I ran into Sully last night in which Femto protected him."
"He was that imaginary person from the Elder Days, wasn't he?"
"He knew my past self long ago. I even saw the desserts that he made in the form of marshmallow nachos and a cake made with orange puff cookies and vanilla custard. I also saw an old toy that I forgot years ago, but he was tossed out by Sylvanus and was never seen again."
"You mean this toy?" Reiko was holding a smaller version of Dinsleigh as she was holding him in front of me. "I never saw anything like this stuffed rabbit before in which he was made by various cuts of fabric. He's an original and he's also your treasure after all."
I saw Reiko give Dinsleigh to me as I remembered the love and care that I put into him. He was a rabbit made from bits of fabric and buttons as I was also too old to hold onto such toys like that. Therefore, I wasn't about to let him out of my sight as I knew of him to be a guardian angel who helped me see a little more than just my sadness. Still, I had to give him to someone rather than keep it, but I couldn't help holding onto the nostalgia that I had. Just as I was about to lay back down, I heard the door open as I saw Ghimru enter as he was worried about me, for he wanted me to get better like everyone around me.
"Femto is a good warg," he said. "He saved you from the tide that came in."
"I take it that you walked in here by yourself," I said.
"Femto's outside, but he can't go into the hospital because he's too big."
"You shouldn't be running all over the place by yourself," said Reiko as she scolded Ghimru. "You know that you need to have one of the older children be with you at all times, young man."
"But they're in the playroom playing a board game that's made for babies."
"What kind of board game?" I asked.
"It's a game called Candyland and everyone is playing it. Aora likes it, but I find it boring."
"You shouldn't call those games boring. Besides, you need a lot more than just everyday activities for you to do. When I get up, I'll play a game of Candyland with you. Besides, I can't just lay in bed doing nothing right now."
I noticed Ghimru sitting next to Reiko the moment I was ready to show him Dinsleigh. Still, I had to be vigilant as I had a long way to go in my recovery, for I also had to focus a lot more on my health as well…
To be continued...