to nagrme2702: yuep.
Still a few more chapters left before I will be run dry again. However, you guys could be a great help helping me past that little obstacle, but let's talk about that after this chapter.
the song Runnin' is made by Adam Lambert
The next day, Theo hasn't recovered from his traumatic experience and was too much in pain to worry about his self-made image being a tough guy. He wanted both Chica and Bonnie around, he wanted the comfort they gave him.
It didn't help with the pain, but it sure made it more bearable.
Lying against Chica's leg with her stroking his hair and Bonnie resting a hand on his shoulders in a sign of encouragement. Theo does wonder if this is how a good parent would've been? He likes to think so.
Soren approached him at some point, which made Bonnie tense up. Theo is not entirely sure why, but he kinda likes how the adult rabbit got protective over him. Theo eyes meet Soren and is surprised that the boy shows no sign that he wanted to tease him being babied like this. Instead, the boy says genuinely, "I'm sorry, I… I didn't mean to hurt you." and out from his pocket, he pulls out a handful of game coins and puts them down on the floor right before him.
Theo is confused. Not by the coins, he did, after all, win the bet. But by the apology. "Why are you saying sorry?" He asks Soren and wonders out loud, "Did you know it would hurt me?" if that was the case, then no apology or coins will ever be enough for Theo to forgive Soren.
Soren shakes his head that he didn't know, musing weakly. "I thought it would be like running against a wall… "
Oh, well, they both have tried that. Did it when tried to see if they could run on walls like in those cartoons, didn't work on them though. Theo nods slowly and takes the coins, only those he won through the bet, rest he pushes back to Soren.
Bonnie and Chica, who both have been quiet during the kids' exchange, they share a confused look at Theo's wordless response to Soren's apology but the young Medium seems to get the meaning behind the bear's action. Soren smiles, takes the coins and with a: "See you later." he leaves to which Theo replies with a soft; "Yeah."
The two adults exchanges another look with one another and both quietly agree that this is probably how Theodore and Soren show they have moved on from this horrible experience.
Bonnie smirks, for he can now see that those two boys have become friends and just have a funny way of showing it.
Chica still looks confused and he mouths quietly to her that he will explain later. She nods and both return back to give Theo the comfort this still hurting child is going to need.
Meanwhile, Mike and Rena visit detective Williams at the police station, it takes a while before they can get a private audience with the man but when they do. Mike explains the station while he hands Nathan the pouch with the strange spirit repelling dust.
The detective takes the pouch, "I will let the people in trace check it out, might take a while." both Mike and Rena nod they understand. Nathan then asks, "How's Jeremy doing?" Mike didn't say much, but this young man has never been good at hiding his true feelings. He's worried about his fellow co-worker. Nathan's eyes soften ever so slightly at his next question: "How bad is it?"
Mike lets out a small sigh. "I don't know if he will ever recover from this… the Twisted One really messed him up."
Nathan wishes he could help, but guns don't exactly work on something such as spirits- hey hold on, he might have something that can help. "Let me check something." He tells the two and leaves. Nathan heads to where all the evidence from at the moment cold cases are stored and fortunately, they haven't thrown out that small box for the case about Vincent out yet. He signs the papers to take the box and with that set. He claims a specific book that had been useful before. It was the one that made him realize the truth about the animatronics at Freddy's. With this old book in hand, the detective returns to the two and hands the book to Mike. "I found this book at the same Mansion where Vincent got killed. Your sociopath puppet wanted me to have it."
Ignoring the title Nathan called Marion, Mike reads this ancient-looking book. It's clear that several people have written this book with the many different writing styles and paper used. He stops for a moment at the pages that explains about a seal, he wonders if this is the trick Marion used to trap the spirits inside the animatronics? He flips past that, about to stop at a section about Mediums but decides to check that later and finally finds something. This page is torn, so some of the tests are missing. He reads and realizes that what is missing is what they need. "It says here that this protective dust can keep any spirit from entering or touching certain objects."
Rena takes the book from him, carefully checks the cover of it and says in small surprise. "This book has the same dust, does that mean spirits cannot touch it?" She wonders out loud.
"I suppose, Marion said he couldn't touch it." Nathan replies.
Rena then reads the section Mike was reading before she took it. "The ingredients to this dust has been torn away. But this:" she points at a text having a drawing of some sort of amulet beside it. "might be what Jeremy needs. It says it protects the wearer from being possessed. "
If it works, then Jeremy definitely would need such a thing. "Worth the try." Mike says and thinks, "Maybe we all should have one, if it works that is." Rena nods in agreement, closes the book and asks the detective, "Could we borrow this for a time?"
"Unfortunately I cannot let you leave with the book," Nathan tells them, for letting two civilian leave with evidence will get him in deep trouble. "but I suppose I could let you take notes." Right after he said that, Rena grabs a blank piece of paper and begins to copy the text for this amulet. She flips through the pages and stops at one that shows a drawing of a black monster. She hesitates but does also write the text down from that section. When done, she returns the book back to him and she puts the paper into her pocket.
Nathan would like if they stayed a bit longer, but he has patrol to be on in a few minutes. "I will see what this protective dust is made out of."
Rena is quick to understand that it was his cue for them to leave. She gets up from her chair with a confused Mike following her example. "Thanks, we will be seeing you soon." The detective nods that he will keep in touch with them and the two leaves.
Rena and Mike agree on paying Jeremy a visit at the hospital and after the nurse has left them inside his room. They see Jeremy already got a visitor. Mike takes a seat beside Spring's human form while Rena shows the bandaged man the amulet they read about in the book. "We don't know if it's legit, but it is worth the try."
Jeremy stares at the text for several moments, then with a weak voice, "Better than doing nothing, I suppose…" so unlike his strong and, at times harsh voice.
Martin eyes his brother with a pitiful look, but does tells him: "we won't give up on you." Jeremy does not answer.
Mike cannot feel sorry for the blond, he's too worried for him to do so. It's tough to see Jeremy like this, broken and a shadow of his former self. It does make him the more determined to help Jeremy get through this. "We will go straight to work." He tells the man, wishes him a quick recovery and leaves. Mike prays to whatever god that this amulet is legit, for he does not want Jeremy to be taken by the Twisted One. He does not want to lose more people to the monsters of this world.
He and Rena head out to buy the things needed for this amulet. They needed wood from the cypress family for the amulet itself. Rena, way keener on plants than him, found a tree inside someone's garden and without getting spotted. She broke off a good-sized branch and they swiftly drove away when she returned to the car. They got the plants needed inside a large botanic shop, Mike must admit that the plants didn't look like something that can protect one against spirits but he trusts Rena to know what plants the text said they needed and simply paid for them. After that, they went to a sort of spa, here they got several salt crystals.
"We could've made some ourselves, but I thinks having some that are more like rocks are better." Rena voices to him after they leave the building with their purchased items.
Lastly, they bought a thin leather rope, mostly so the amulet couldn't be torn off that easily.
With the ingredients set. The two return back to Freddy's. Here Mike lets Chica do the wood carving since she knows best how to use a knife for such a task.
Rena does a bit of research on runes along with Soren, who knows his fair share of the spirit world. Meanwhile, Freddy kept an eye on Chiara and BonBon as they sew a small pouch to hold the drying plants.
The plants drying and the wood carving were what took the longest, but a couple of days later, Mike puts the whole thing together but again, he has no idea if the thing works.
Freddy reaches out for the amulet and the moment he touched it, he flinches away. Mike stares confused at his friend, and Freddy explains while caressing his hand. "It works. The amulet tried to force my soul out from this body." Mike nods but does fear that a bearer of such an amulet cannot make contact with a possessed robot. He takes it on, warns Freddy and puts a hand on the bear's arm.
Freddy shakes his head, "Nothing." that is good.
Mike takes it off, quite relieved that this thing works. "Maybe now Jeremy will be safe from that monster's grip."
"Let us hope." Freddy simply replies.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Like any other night, Jeremy's mind is tainted with nightmares and terror from the Twisted One influence, for although he seems safe, his mind is still trapped by its touch. He is loosening the grip of who he is, replaced with only his darkest and most depressive thoughts, making the grip from that black spirit even stronger.
He wants to fight but he just no longer has the energy to do so…
the scene keeps repeating itself. He is home, the place is utterly destroyed and the black spirit tortures him. This time, however, no help comes for him. The scene of he being forced to mangle himself keeps repeating, over and over. He cannot get out of it and for each repeat, he loses the sense of himself.
He is about to cut his face all over again, but then, a person dressed in a dark cloak appears. Takes the knife and he finds himself on the couch with a bottle of whiskey.
'Steel to my tremblin' lips
How did the night ever get like this?'
Which he without arguing pours down, he sure hell needs it right now.
'One shot and the whiskey goes down, down, down'
The cloaked person walks past him, he can see two white glowing eyes underneath that hood.
'Bottom of the bottle hits
Waking up my mind as I throw a fit'
He would love to fight this intruder, but he's just so tired…
'The breakin' is takin' me down, down, down'
Suddenly he finds himself standing before the destroyed shelf that held all of the memories about his family.
'My heart's beating faster
I know what I'm after'
The cloaked person appears beside him.
'I've been standing here my whole life
Everything I've seen twice'
And the cloaked one guides his hand to the shelf
'Now it's time I realized
It's spinning back around now'
Slowly the shelf, the pictures repair themselves by his touch
'On this road I'm crawlin'
Save me 'cause I'm fallin'
He takes up one of the ruined pictures that is slowly repairing itself in his hands.
'Now I can't seem to breathe right'
Twisted Ones suddenly appears and he takes the run for it. Running out, into the darkness.
'Cause I keep runnin' runnin' runnin' runnin'
Runnin' runnin' runnin' runnin'
Chased by the terrors Twisted One has tormented him with.
'Runnin' from my heart'
The darkness shatters and he falls flat onto the floor. He gets up and finds himself at a bar he used a lot of time in back when he "dealt" with Martin's death.
'Round and around I go
Addicted to the numb livin' in the cold'
He gets a drink and pours the glass right down the throat.
'The higher, the lower, the down, down, down.'
He feels like he does not have any control over his own body when he waves the bartender for another drink.
'Sick of being tired and sick
And ready for another kind of fix'
The next glass goes down as well.
'The damage is damning me down, down, down'
At the third glass, a pair of slender black hands stops him. He looks up and sees Marion.
'My heart's beating faster
I know what I'm after'
The puppet waves his hand, and the scene change, back to his home.
'I've been standing here my whole life'
Leading him back to the shelf.
'Everything I've seen twice
Now it's time I realized'
Now filled with more pictures than those of his family, he sees pictures- memories from his time at Freddy's.
'It's spinning back around now'
Ne's not sure what Marion is trying to tell him. The darkness is too dense around him.
'On this road I'm crawlin'
Marion pushed him hard, and he falls.
'Save me 'cause I'm fallin'
As he fall, like film, he gets flashbacks of everything good about his life.
'Now I can't seem to breathe right'
He feels solid ground and begins to run, all the time with the memories flashing past him.
'Cause I keep runnin' runnin' runnin' runnin'
Runnin' runnin' runnin' runnin'
Twisted One appears and he stops before the looming monster.
'Runnin' from my heart'
Marion appears beside him and gives him a look he has never seen before.
'Oh, I'm coming alive'
But he knows what it means and charges at the monster.
'Oh, I'll wake up now and live'
Twisted One strikes but he refuses to let it stop him reaching the light.
'Oh, I'm coming alive'
Marion joins him and they both strike the remnants of the black spirit, it roars in rage, but the light dissolves the monster.
Jeremy snaps his eyes open, finding himself in the hospital and turns to a small radio playing a familiar song. Besides the radio sits Marion, watching him with those glowing white eyes.
"A life that's always been a dream
I'll wake up now and live.
I've been standing here my whole life…"
Through the pain from his wounds, he slowly sits up, but after such a long time being stuck in a living nightmare, he can finally see the light again. "Thank you." But gets no reply from the puppet, instead, Marion turns his gaze outside the window. Jeremy follows his example by merely watching the night sky. For the first time in weeks, he feels at ease.
For someone who seems determined to stay away, Marion sure likes to meddle a lot.
Now to the help you can give me, see in this story, it is nearing Christmas but I don't have any good ideas for a Christmas chapter, only on parts that will happen in Spring. So if you would like a Christmas chapter, you gonna have to help and give me some ideas. Otherwise, I think I will do a time-skip.
till next time