Chapter 20: Take A Trance On Me
Neon City, The SNaXX Dimension, 3023
The waiting room was quiet save for the ticking clock on the wall, the occasional bubbling of the water cooler and the sound of the receptionist behind the nearby service desk typing away on her computer keyboard at approximately a million miles an hour.
Come to think of it, it wasn't quiet at all.
Garnet sat on one of the chairs up against the wall, her fur-covered fingers clasped together as she glanced around restlessly. She was really here. She was really doing this. She had said that she would. She even wanted to… but that didn't stop the bat girl from being nervous.
A soft moan of anxiety escaped Garnet's lips, her left leg starting to gently bob up and down in a fidgety manner as she sat there. She couldn't relax. The anticipation was starting to get to her, along with some last minute second thoughts. She unclasped her fingers and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep it together.
"It's okay," she whispered quietly to herself. "This is good. You wanted this. She can help you." She glanced at the nearby door, reading the plaque on it for what must have been the fiftieth time in the last ten minutes:
Dr. Megumi
Hypnotherapy and Holistic Counselling
Garnet gasped, nearly jumping out of her skin at the sound of the receptionist's voice as it suddenly interrupted her thoughts.
"Barista Garnet? Doctor Megumi will see you now," the bespectacled fox woman said calmly, her green eyes looking slightly bigger than they actually were thanks to the lenses of her bulky, square-rimmed glasses.
"O-Oh. Right," Garnet managed, unwrapping her arms from around herself and getting to her feet both uncertainly and unsteadily. She quickly took a deep breath in, let it out in a long exhale and started for the very door she had been staring at for all this time, reached for the polished doorknob, hesitating for a split second, and then grabbed it and turned it, the door opening easily with a gentle click. Garnet all but stumbled into the room beyond, and as she stood there in her favourite white top and deep blue jeans, taking in the sight of the space before her, everything seemed to stop but for a moment.
The office was wallpapered a gentle mahogany colour, patterned with little images of pale blue flowers. Several ribbons of an honorary nature decorated the wall behind the desk in the far corner, surrounding a diploma that was displayed in a golden frame. Several portraits of white, sandy beaches, lush green landscapes and other such peaceful environments took up much of the remainder of the walls, save for one wall that was taken up almost entirely by a bookcase that displayed a veritable treasure trove of psychology-centric books. There was a large, rectangular fish tank directly across from the bookcase, several striped, brightly coloured fish swimming around in the simulated coral reef environment. A large, curved couch stood in the centre of the room, its fabric vibrant red and velvety-looking. Said couch rested upon a wide, circular rug patterned with blue and white rings. The sound of gentle piano music could be heard emanating softly from somewhere, and there was a faint scent of lilac in the air. Everything about this room was calming, comforting and inviting, almost as though Garnet had stepped into someone's recreational space rather than a licensed therapist's work environment.
The swivel chair positioned behind the desk slowly spun around to reveal Megumi, who was sharply dressed in a black and white suit with an azure tie that matched her hair, which was neatly tied with its usual white ribbons. She wore pink eyeliner and a thin layer of red lipstick, along with a pair of rectangular, blue-rimmed spectacles that Garnet had never seen her wear before. The bandicoot woman smiled warmly at the sight of her roommate.
"Ah, Barista. Please, do come and be taking a seat. I have been expecting you."
She sounded so professional, yet welcoming all the same. "Um, right," Garnet managed, stepping forward, the door gently swinging closed behind her. "Oh, wow," she murmured, fully taking in her surroundings as she approached the couch and sat down at the very edge of it. "This is a lot more cosy than I was expecting."
"It does tend to bode well to conduct therapy sessions in an environment that is, itself, somewhat therapeutic," Megumi said with a knowing chuckle.
"Heh. Yeah, m-makes sense," Garnet responded, giving a chuckle of her own, albeit a much more awkward one.
"You can be sitting back if you are wanting," Megumi assured her, moving her swivel chair out from behind her desk as she spoke, bringing the seat on wheels over and positioning it so that it was adjacent to the couch, allowing the bandicoot and bat to face each other directly. "You are more than being welcome to get as comfortable as you would like. You may even lie down if you wish."
Garnet leaned back somewhat cautiously, as though she thought the couch fabric might swallow her up if she came in too fast. "Ooh, that is comfy," she murmured aloud as her back met the plush, velvety fabric.
"I had it imported from Neo Egypt," Megumi stated proudly. "One of the fringe benefits of being a highly regarded hypnotherapist." She chuckled again. "Oh, listen to me; gloating like a teenager with their first hover-cycle. You came here seeking my counsel, so let us be focusing on such."
"Right!" Garnet said with a surprising amount of enthusiasm, her fist clenched and a determined smile on her face. That smile quickly faltered as she realised that she had no idea how to proceed. "So, uh… How does this work, exactly…?"
"Why don't you start by telling me a little about yourself?" Megumi suggested, prepping a notepad and pen as she spoke, holding the former in her left hand and the latter in her right. "Just anything that you feel comfortable revealing. Rest assured, everything that you might say in this session is being strictly confidential between yourself and I, so do not be feeling afraid to speak openly."
"But don't you already know most of…? Oh! Right," Garnet said, catching on; Megumi was trying to ease her into a conversation, making sure she was comfortable having one in a casual sense before they moved on to more elaborate and potentially sensitive topics. "Guess I'll, uh, start with the basics, shall I? Yeah." The bat girl cleared her throat. "My name, as you know, is Barista Garnet. I owe the latter part of that name to you, Doctor Megumi," she said, unconsciously putting a hand to the ruby garnet necklace around her neck as she spoke. "I'm female - best gender, fight me," she went on, earning herself a light laugh from the bandicoot woman. "I'm a mutant bat who was cloned, not born, and my age is… kinda hard to pin down, given what I just said," she admitted. "I like to think that I'm about twenty-two, but my ID card says 'Not Applicable' next to my age, so… you tell me." On that note, she burst out laughing.
"Yes, yes, quite!" Megumi exclaimed, allowing herself a brief bout of chortling.
"I used to live in an alternate timeline - the year 2008, specifically," Garnet went on more seriously. "I served as a minion at Evil Public School, hated every waking moment of it… and then I joined up with a group of bandicoots, who trained me in the ways of the Mojo warrior, with all the magical techniques and martial arts that come with that… and then I fell through a quantum rift into this world, where you found me huddled up in a big cardboard box in a rain-soaked back-alley while on your way home from work one day…" She cast her gaze downward for a moment, staring at the pattern on the rug. "You took pity on me and took me in, gave me a place to call home…" She looked up at Megumi once more, her blue eyes welling up with tears. "And I couldn't be more grateful." With an emotional sniff, she reached up and wiped her eyes. "Sorry, I just… really am grateful for that. Grateful for you."
"Do not ever apologise for feeling strong emotions, Barista," Megumi assured her quietly, jotting down notes on her notepad as she spoke, only looking up when she was done. "Expressing one's self emotionally is being an important step in maintaining good mental health."
Garnet let her breath out in a long exhale. "Right," she said, nodding in understanding. "Speaking of which, I think I'm ready to talk a little about what's been… on my mind recently."
"Whenever you are ready, Barista. Take as much time as you are needing," Megumi told her calmly, watching the bat girl carefully from behind her glasses, the bandicoot woman's purple eyes filled with understanding and compassion.
Garnet sighed heavily. "I… I've been having recurring nightmares ever since you left for the Hypnotherapist's Convention," she admitted. "The one you caught me having last night was just the latest; I've been having them on and off for a fair while now, and every single one of them has been about my past, about my life back in 2008. I see myself getting attacked by Titans like North, feel myself getting strangled by those whom I once got on the wrong side of… Hear my former commanding officer, a Brat Girl called Alpha, screaming as she falls into an endless, dark abyss while I reach out towards her, trying and failing to grab her hand and pull her to safety."
"I see," Megumi mused. "Has anything happened to you in the last few weeks, if not months that might've triggered these nightmares?"
Garnet bit her lip. "I'm… not sure," she said after a long moment of silent pondering. "I mean, I think I might have an idea, but…" She shook her head. "I'm not completely certain about it, and that lack of certainty hasn't been doing any wonders for my sleep patterns, either." She sighed again. "I should mention that those bandicoots I met while you were away at the convention… One of them, Tawna, said something to me that really stuck with me. See, I made a promise to my fellow Brat Girls that I'd come back and free them all from a life of servitude once I got my own crap together… but then I fell through that quantum rift with no means of going back. I was stranded in this world and there was nothing I could do about it. I thought I could just move on, accept my circumstances and carry on with my own life, but…" She sniffed, sounding tearful again. "Tawna said that I should've at least tried to find a way back to my own timeline, at least tried to go back and help my kin like I said I would, and I…" She hiccoughed, tears now flowing from her eyes. "I started to wonder if she was right, if it was selfish of me to just abandon that promise I made to my kin based on the hand fate had dealt me and…" The bat girl let out a small sob, her tears running down her cheeks and falling to land on the carpet. "The nightmares started getting worse after that - more frequent… and more terrifying. The one I had last night…" She let out a sad, animalistic whine. "It was the worst one yet!" On that note, Garnet broke down into a fit of weeping, her tears causing her eye make-up to run as she sat there, smearing every which way.
It was all Megumi could do to restrain herself; her compassionate nature made her want to just wrap Garnet up in a hug and comfort and reassure her, as she had done last night. Alas, she was on the job, and she knew that she had to uphold the standards expected of her. To be unprofessional in a professional setting was never a good look, after all.
"I… I can see that this matter has been causing you much stress, my dear Gar—" The bandicoot woman cleared her throat. "Barista," she corrected herself. "You are suffering from a sense of guilt and regret in relation to matters that are being beyond your control. Try as we might, we cannot be in control of every single aspect of our lives. That is the nature of the world… and yet, for many of us, that reality is often being difficult to accept." She brought her notepad to rest on her knee and locked eyes with Garnet. "As you know, I am a licensed clinical hypnotherapist, and hypnosis can be a powerful tool to assist in overcoming mental blocks and emotional hurdles. There are many misconceptions surrounding hypnosis, a number of which tend to scare people away from it altogether, but I can assure you that all hypnotic practices on my part are being professional, therapeutic ones that are used exclusively in the name of helping others."
"Hmm." Garnet nodded in understanding, letting out another sad sniff and reaching up to wipe her eyes once more. "You didn't really strike me as the type to abuse it, if I'm being honest," she said, allowing herself a smile in spite of her current emotional state. "You're way too cool and nice for that."
Megumi allowed herself another small chuckle at that. "I would certainly like to be thinking so!" she said, briefly closing her eyes and tilting her head slightly, a cute smile on her furry visage that showed her perfectly straight and shining white teeth. She then opened her eyes before clearing her throat again, trying to maintain an air of professionalism. "Indeed, there are those who have found ways to abuse or misuse hypnotism, often by using technology to enhance its effects and longevity. My practice is more traditional and, as I have said, therapy-centric. Hence, the 'therapy' part of 'hypnotherapy'," she explained. "My methods cannot force you to do anything that you are not truly wanting to do. Perhaps you are being familiar with the term 'hypnotic suggestion'?" she guessed. Garnet gave a polite nod. "The key word in that phrase is suggestion - as in, something taken under advisement and not as a command that is being obeyed without question."
"So, hypnotherapy in this context is meant to encourage someone to think or feel a certain way, rather than forcing that mindset upon them against their will?" Garnet summarised.
"Precisely," Megumi said, smiling and nodding.
Garnet sank back against the couch fabric, letting out a sigh of relief. "Well, that's my biggest worry about this whole thing off my mind," she declared. She then frowned slightly. "Hang on. If hypnotherapy can't force someone to think a certain way, then doesn't that mean that a client could just… disregard beneficial hypnotic suggestions and just keep wallowing in their own mental woes?"
"I cannot help those who are not wanting my help, that is correct," Megumi confirmed with another nod. "Hypnotherapy - or indeed any therapy - is being a two way street; clients must be helping me to help them. The fact that you are here today suggests to me that you have at least considered accepting my help, Barista, especially if what you were saying last night was being truthful."
"Yeah, I… I wanna give this hypnotherapy stuff a go," Garnet confirmed. "I mean, what's the alternative? Going back to the apartment acting like nothing's wrong, falling asleep and having another nightmare? I've been doing that for too long already." The bat girl sighed. "I need help, Megumi. I think I've known I needed help for a while now. I was just too stubborn and too scared to speak up."
"You are doing your best to address the matter now, and that is what is being important," Megumi assured her. "Admitting to a need for help is the first and perhaps most important step towards overcoming that which you need help with."
"Yeah, but I could've and probably should've addressed it a bit sooner," Garnet said, biting her lip and glancing down at the floor again. "A lot sooner."
"Perhaps, but let us be focusing on the here and now," Megumi said. "As established, you are struggling with acceptance in regards to circumstances that are being beyond your control. This is quite common, and hypnotherapy is just as commonly used as a means to help people find acceptance, to help them come to terms with their reality and achieve a sense of peace through that acceptance. Would you like that for yourself, Barista?"
Garnet hesitated briefly, and then she nodded. "Peace does sound pretty good," she admitted, smirking slightly. "Sounds better than the alternative, I'll say that much."
"Quite!" Megumi exclaimed, chuckling once again. Boy, did her roommate have a sense of wit. It was good to see Garnet employ some levity, though. It showed that she was starting to feel at ease, starting to relax, which was certainly ideal for hypnotherapy. Case in point…
Megumi got out of her swivel chair and walked over to her desk, soon rummaging around for something in the top drawer. After a moment, she pulled out what she sought and held it up. It was some sort of metallic object that had four steel balls hanging down from beneath a rod of metal, almost like clothing on a clothesline. One of the balls was positioned at an angle, seperate from the others. Megumi set the curious object down on her desk and turned her gaze to Garnet.
"This is called a Newton's Cradle," the azure-haired bandicoot elaborated. "When I push this lone ball here, it… Hmm. On second thought, perhaps an element of surprise will be helping to move things along at a faster pace." She straightened up, straightening her tie while she was at it. "Barista, if you are ready, we will begin your hypnotherapy session."
Barista bit back the urge to swallow apprehensively, silently reminding herself that she had wanted this, that she trusted Megumi, that she trusted her implicitly. "Okay," she said, managing to keep her voice steady.
Megumi turned off the small radio that had been playing somewhere behind the desk, picked up the Newtown's Cradle once more and brought it with her as she returned to her swivel chair, sitting down with the decorative piece of office equipment resting on her right knee. "I would like you to be lying down now, Barista, and getting as comfortable as possible," she instructed, her words a little quieter, a little softer than they had been up to now. Garnet obliged, slowly, almost warily allowing herself to turn her body and lean back, bringing her head to rest against the plush, supportive cushion on one side of the couch, putting her feet up on the far armrest. A thought then occurred to her. "Should I, uh, take my boots off?"
"If it will help you to be feeling more comfortable," Megumi responded in that same gentle, soothing tone. In truth, Garnet just didn't want to risk dirtying the bandicoot woman's expensive Neo Egyptian couch with her boots, but as she sat up again to remove them, she quickly became aware of how unburdened her feet felt without her boots on, her white socks allowing faint traces of air to filter through the cotton fabric to reach her fur-covered soles. As she set her boots aside, lay down and put her feet up again, she noticed that she was indeed more comfortable now.
"Oh, yeah, that's much better," the bat girl murmured quietly to herself.
"Good. Now…" Megumi pushed the angled ball of the Newton's Cradle, causing it to swing into the other three with a gentle click, causing the ball at the far end of the row to swing away from the rest before coming back to create that same soft but distinct click, the first ball swinging out again to start the cycle anew, creating a slow, steady, ongoing rhythm that caught Barista's attention as she lay there, gazing somewhat uncertainly up at the ceiling. "I would like you to just be taking some calm, steady breaths, breathing at a depth and at a pace that is comfortable for you," the hypnotherapist instructed, "And as you breathe in… and out… just focus your attention on the gentle clicking of the Newton's Cradle. Let it fill your mind, gently pushing away any distracting thoughts with its clicking, clicking, clicking…" she said, whispering the last word.
Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click…
Garnet blinked her eyelids as she lay there on the couch. She had expected the clicking of the Newton's Cradle to quickly grow distracting, as the sound of the receptionist typing out in the waiting room had been, but much to the contrary, it… soothed her. It actually soothed her. She blinked again, a slower blink that saw her eyelids remain closed for a second before they opened again, doing so almost reluctantly.
Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click…
"You may feel that your eyelids are starting to grow heavy, but do not be closing them just yet," Megumi said, her voice even quieter now, just above a whisper. "The longer you are waiting to close them, the better it will feel once they are closed." She paused briefly before continuing, "I would like you to move your attention to your body. Notice how your chest and stomach rise and fall with each breath. Notice how your arms and legs are positioned. Are they being comfortable? If they feel heavy, they are being comfortable. The heavier your arms and legs feel, the more comfortable they are. The more comfortable they are, the heavier they will feel."
Garnet noticed that her limbs did indeed feel quite heavy… and it was nice. It felt very nice, very relaxing, very… comfortable… She gave another slow blink, letting her breath out in a gentle, slightly prolonged whoosh.
Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click…
"With every click of the Newton's Cradle, your body is feeling more and more heavy," Megumi said, beginning to more directly guide Garnet into a state of relaxation, noting the bat girl's body language as she lay there, seeing that she was responding well to the hypnotherapist's suggestions. "Your hands and feet feel heavy… Your fingers and toes feel so heavy… Your head, neck and shoulders feel so very heavy, so very relaxed…"
Garnet let out a contented sigh, having positively sunk into the couch fabric. Her eyelids drooped closed and she allowed them to stay that way for several seconds before remembering that Megumi had said to keep them open, quickly correcting such, albeit with a slight feeling of disappointment; it had felt so good to just close them, especially since they, like every other part of her body, were so very, very heavy…
Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click…
"You are feeling very deeply relaxed now, aren't you, Barista?" Megumi asked softly.
"Yeah…" the bat girl responded, barely able to even get that one word out of her mouth. She didn't want to speak. She just wanted to close her eyes and indulge in this sense of bliss she was feeling.
"Yes, with every word I am saying, you are feeling more and more relaxed. With every click you are hearing, your body is growing more and more heavy. The heavier your body, the more relaxed you feel. The more relaxed you feel, the heavier your body."
Garnet felt almost as though she were sinking, albeit in a profoundly pleasant way, such was the sensation of heaviness throughout her body, such was her relaxed state. She hadn't felt anywhere close to this pleasant since Carbon had lulled her to sleep with his literal magic touch.
Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click…
"Your body is relaxed, but your mind is floating, Barista," Megumi told her, now speaking decidedly fast. "It is floating up, up, up while remaining tethered to your body. Now, in a moment, I am going to be counting backwards from five to zero, and when I reach zero, your eyelids, so heavy, they are so heavy… Your eyelids will be closing when I reach zero. When I am reaching the number zero, your eyelids will be closing, Barista, and you can keep them closed, for your mind will float away once they are closed. When your eyes close, your mind will float away into a blissful, hypnotic state. Your mind will float up, up, up and away into a hypnotic state, no longer tethered to your physical body. Your mind will be floating away because it is being safe for it to do so. It is safe for you to be going into a hypnotic state, Barista, for my voice will be there to guide you every step of the way."
"Safe… Float…" Garnet murmured, her eyelids already half closed. Oh, how she wanted to close them fully. She'd do just about anything Megumi asked of her, so long as she got to close her eyes, she just wanted to close them so dearly.
Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click…
"Five… four… three… two… one… and zero, your eyes are closed and you are very deeply relaxed, Barista. Your body is deeply relaxed and your mind is free," Megumi all but whispered, Garnet's eyelids positively slamming shut at the number zero, the bat girl appearing utterly serene as she lay there. "Your mind is free because you are in a state of hypnosis, Barista. You are in a deep state of hypnosis and your mind is free. Free to go deeper, free to float higher. Your mind is floating up higher and higher with every word I am saying, Barista. With every word I am saying, you mind is floating up higher and higher, and the higher your mind floats upward, the deeper into hypnosis you go, and the deeper into hypnosis you go, the more wonderful you will be feeling, Barista, and you want more of that wonderful feeling. You want to float upward, to go deeper, to feel more and more wonderful, because being under hypnosis is a wonderful feeling, the most wonderful feeling, and you deserve to feel wonderful. You deserve to feel so happy and free because you are a very wonderful person, Barista. You deserve to feel happy and free every day in every way."
"Wonderful… in every way," Garnet murmured in a whisper, a broad smile having formed on her peaceful visage, a couple tears starting to trickle from her closed eyes, such was this sense of euphoria Megumi had wrapped her up in. Seeing that her roommate was greatly enjoying her hypnotherapy experience, Megumi decided to allow her to just indulge for a little bit, bringing the balls of the Newton's Cradle to a halt and bathing the room in silence. The bandicoot woman set the Newton's Cradle down on the floor beside her and sat there quietly with her hands resting on her lap, just allowing the tranquility of the now silent room to simply be for a couple of minutes, the only sounds being that of her own and Garnet's respective breathing, the latter's as deep as it was rhythmic. Seeing the bat girl's joyous contentment was heartwarming to the azure-haired marsupial.
Before too long, Megumi glanced at her watch, deciding that enough time had passed and that this hypnotherapy session ought to start moving along. "Barista?" she asked quietly. "Can you hear me?"
"Yeah…" Garnet responded, sounding profoundly calm.
"How are you feeling?" Megumi enquired.
"Amazing," Garnet breathed. "This is the best feeling ever."
"That is wonderful, Barista, but I am needing you to be listening to my words carefully now," Megumi told her. "You are in a deep state of hypnosis, Barista. I have guided you into this state to help you organise your mind, to help you find clarity, understanding and acceptance, to help you let go of that which does not serve you. Are you understanding this?"
There was a pause. "Yes, Megumi," Garnet responded at last, sounding very sure of herself.
"Good. Now, I would like you to be doing something for me, Barista. I would like you to be visualising a place where you are feeling safe, a place where you feel you can always go to find sanctuary, safety and acceptance. Can you do that for me?"
"…Yes, Megumi."
"Very good," Megumi said. "This is your safe space, Barista. While you are in this hypnotic state, you are going to be exploring your mind with my guidance. On this journey, you may experience things that you find strange, or things that you may be finding challenging, perhaps even frightening to confront. Just know that if you are ever feeling overwhelmed while on this journey, you can always be coming back to this safe space in an instant. Nothing bad can follow you into your safe space, Barista. It is being a place of stillness and calm that only you can enter. It is like a home for your psyche, and you can always come home for a respite if need be. Do you understand?"
"…Yes, Megumi."
"Wonderful. Now, if I may ask, could you describe your safe space to me? You do not have to if you are not wanting to."
There was a short pause before Garnet answered. "It's… It's a small domicile with one bedroom, a bathroom, a living room and a kitchen," she elaborated. "I'm in the living room right now. There's a couch facing a large, flat-screen TV, with an ornate-patterned coffee table in-between. There is a small desk off to the side with a closed laptop on it and—"
"Wait a moment," Megumi said, realising what Garnet was describing. "You are describing my apartment, are you not?"
"Yes," Garnet confirmed. "It is the place where I feel the most safe, where I feel I can always go to find sanctuary, safety and acceptance. This is especially true when you are present, Megumi."
Megumi's eyebrows raised at that, a light blush appearing beneath her cheek fur. "Am I… present now? I-In your Safe Space, I mean?" she dared to ask, finding herself a little apprehensive as she awaited Garnet's answer.
"You are sitting at the desk in the corner. You have just opened your laptop and switched it on," Garnet elaborated. "You are dressed in your favourite pure white bathrobe and matching slippers, having just showered. Your hair is not tied back with ribbons yet, but it is very glossy and pretty thanks to the shampoo and conditioner you washed it with. I'm sure it smells nice, too. You always smell nice, after all."
Megumi felt her face growing hot. In her subconscious state of mind, Garnet was apparently as openly expressive as a child; no mincing words, no beating around the bush… She just stated exactly was she was thinking. "Barista, if I may, I would like to be posing a very personal question to you while I am having you under hypnosis, and I implore you to only be answering it if you are feeling most comfortable in doing so." She cleared her throat somewhat uncomfortably. "How… How exactly do you see me as a person, as a figure in your life?"
Garnet was silent for a long moment, and then she said something that surprised Megumi. "Are you sure you want to know? I don't want you to feel embarrassed, Megumi."
'I am already being embarrassed thanks to that comment you made about me always smelling nice,' Megumi thought to herself. "I will… I will take my chances," the bandicoot woman said at last, regretting her words even as she spoke them.
"You are the kindest, most wonderful and most dazzlingly beautiful person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting in my short existence," Garnet said. "You are beautiful both in body and in soul, and just being around you makes me all aflutter. You make me feel safe, happy, good about myself. I feel as though you would do anything for me… and I would do the same for you. To say that I love you, Megumi, would not even come close to doing my feelings towards you justice. You are the most important person in my life, even more so than North, and I don't want to even imagine a world where you are not a part of my life. You are the family I didn't know I wanted. You are the big sister I never knew I needed. You are a divine being in a mortal's body, your angelic light touching and enriching my life more and more with each passing d—"
"Stop!" Megumi all but yelped suddenly, holding up a hand to halt Garnet's words, even though the bat girl couldn't see it with her eyes closed. "Please! Just… stop, please," the azure-haired bandicoot woman pleaded. Garnet fell silent, saying nothing more. Megumi then exhaled deeply, trying to keep it together. Her entire face was flushed bright red and felt so hot that she was sure she could grill a sirloin steak on her cheeks. "Perhaps we should be discussing this topic at a later date. Much later. For now, let us just…" She cleared her throat. "Let us focus on your past. You mentioned earlier that you were trained in the ways of Mojo magic, and have demonstrated such by conjuring luminous orbs in your sleep and by storing North in your jeans as a literal pocket monster. I would like to be exploring this aspect of your past, for I believe it might play a key role in helping you come to terms with the here and now. Are you okay with sharing this aspect of your past, Barista?"
A short pause. "Yes, Megumi," Garnet said at last.
"Very good. Now, I would like you to begin by visualising the time and place you first started to feel a sense of mastery over these Mojo arts. Bring that time and place to the forefront of your mind, then step from your safe space into it. Remember, you can always retreat to your safe space if need be. Now, step into your past when you are ready and tell me what you see, what you are experiencing."
Garnet, or rather, the embodiment of Garnet's subconscious, got up off the couch in the visualised Megumi's apartment and started for the apartment's front door. She reached it, opened it, and stepped out not into the apartment building's hallway, but into the depths of an ancient building with stone walls, said walls lit by the flames of torches, moss and vines growing here and there. Garnet glanced behind her in time to see the door to Megumi's apartment, the door back to her safe space, swing closed, disappearing and leaving no trace that it had ever existed. She gulped, but pressed onward despite her misgivings. After all, Megumi had said that she could go back anytime she wanted, and she wasn't in any danger where she currently was. Not yet, at least. She turned and continued forward, following the path through the dimly lit corridor, her mind bringing it into greater focus and detail as more memories of this place started to come back to her.
"I'm walking through a stone temple, the walls made of bricks and slabs from a time long since past," the bat girl elaborated aloud for Megumi. "It's a little dark and kinda spooky, and yet, I don't feel scared, at least not especially. It's just so… familiar. I think… Yeah. It is. It's the Temple of Zoom."
Back in reality, Megumi raised an eyebrow. "The Temple… of Zoom?" she repeated, a little skeptical.
"Yeah. This is where I came to fully awaken my latent Mojo powers. I came here with—"
Garnet stopped speaking mid-sentence as a familiar figure clad in blue shorts and bearing orange-furred fists adorned with tribal tattoos appeared to her left, walking in stride with the bat girl, a confident look in his wild green eyes. On Garnet's right, a tribal wooden mask carved into a rounded shape and adorned with small, multi-coloured feathers and long green hair made of grass appeared, hovering at shoulder height. Garnet allowed herself a confident smile, both within her subconscious and upon the visage of her hypnotised form on Megumi's Neo Egyptian couch.
"No, I am here with my mentors, Aku Aku and Crash of the Titans…"
Temple Of Zoom, Wumpa Jungle, 2008
The sound of water dripping echoed softly through the stone corridor as Barista and company walked in silence through the temple. The air smelled damp and mossy, the bat girl's snout twitching instinctively as her sense of smell picked up on the moisture in the air.
"Lot of, um, precipitation in this place," she mused aloud, trying to break the silence. "Am I using that word right? Precipitation? Or am I thinking of condensation or—?"
Crash suddenly put out a hand to stop Barista in place, the bat girl having nearly walked off the edge of a platform to tumble down a steep slope that slanted sharply downward, said slope twisting around a corner and out of view.
"Hmm," Aku Aku mused, gazing down the slope, his wooden brow furrowed. "Time has not been kind to this place," he murmured, seeming to be speaking to himself. The floating mask then turned to his apprentice. "Only one thing for it, Crash."
Crash nodded, grinning eagerly, a hint of mischief in his green eyes as he turned to Barista.
"Oh, boy," Barista muttered, having seen that sly look on Crash's face many a time over the last handful of days alone. "What're you up to, Crash?"
Crash, as always, said nothing, only reaching forward to pluck Aku Aku out of the air before holding out his free hand to Barista. She eyed the bandicoot boy's tattooed appendage skeptically before slowly reaching out to meet his fur-covered fingers with her own. Crash then suddenly leapt forward, causing Barista to cry out as she was dragged along with him. As Crash leapt into the sloping passageway, he thrust Aku Aku face first down onto the brick floor, landed smartly upon the overturned mask, and then—
"Whoaaaaaaa!" Barista yowled as the three of them went careening off into the depths of the temple at high speed, bandicoot and bat perched most precariously atop the large magic mask, who was now acting as their toboggan or snowboard or some such. The former minion of evil wrapped her arms tightly around Crash's orange-furred torso and clung to him for dear life. "You're outta your pea-sized MIIIIIIND!" she shrieked as Crash shifted his weight on the pseudo-snowboard that was his mentor, causing them all to pick up more momentum. Crash made Aku Aku swerve violently around the next bend and Barista actually screamed, terrified of falling off and going sprawling into the damp gloom.
After a couple of minutes - though it could've been hours as far as Barista was concerned - the trio emerged into a large chamber, a great staircase erected before them, leading upwards. Crash proceeded to grind the mask/board to a halt and step off, allowing Aku Aku to get up and float before them once more, the ancient witch doctor spirit seeming no worse for wear after having his face ground against a rough surface for an extended amount of time.
"N-Never again!" Barista managed after several long seconds, trembling from head to foot as she continued to cling desperately to Crash, her fur bristled. "I'm never doing th-that again! Never, you hear me?!"
Crash just chuckled knowingly. The 'Aku Air Grind' was a Mojo technique he hadn't had to use in a while, but he remembered well just how exhilarating - and terrifying - it had been during his own first experience of such.
"You can let go of him now, Barista," Aku Aku assured the bat girl, the mask barely holding back the bout of laughter that threatened to burst forth from his painted lips.
"Not on your nelly!" Barista screeched in response, tightening her grip around Crash's torso, causing the bandicoot boy to roll his eyes, still smirking in response to the former Brat Girl's irrationality.
"We are not far now," Aku Aku stated. "Once we proceed up these stairs, we will reach one of the island's richest and purest sources of Mojo. There, you shall channel and awaken your true power, Barista."
An idea occurring to him, Crash reached behind himself, his fingers finding Barista's right underarm. That bat girl let out a shrill squeal as the bandicoot's digits found her most ticklish spot, quickly letting go of Crash and scrambling back.
"H-Hey! You don't get to touch me there!" she snapped, though her blue eyes were wide with panic; how had Crash known that she was extremely ticklish under the arms? Or had he just decided to tickle her on a whim to try and make her let go of him? Either way, she made sure to keep her arms tightly at her sides as she walked past Crash, starting for the stairs. Crash, having had many a tickle fight with Coco over the years, knew exactly why Barista was walking like that, that sly grin still firmly plastered on his muzzle. As the bat girl went to walk by him, he raised one hand and wriggled his fingers teasingly, causing Barista to ensure that she kept at least ten paces ahead of him as the trio started up the great staircase.
Key phrase, as they started…
Barista moaned. Then she groaned. Then she whined. And then—
"Oh, COME ON!" she wailed, having glanced back to see that she was barely even halfway up the staircase. "This is miserable! I'm miserable!" she declared. She turned her gaze to Aku Aku, who was floating effortlessly above the stairs just a few paces ahead of her. "Can't you just teleport us to the top?"
"This temple is meant to test the resolve of those training in the ways of the Mojo warrior, Barista," Aku Aku told her. "Teleporting you to the Mojo fountain would be completely missing the point."
Barista groaned, feeling exhausted. "But I'm tired!" she whined childishly. "And we're not even halfway up!"
"Then we'd best keep moving," Aku Aku said simply, again barely managing to keep the laughter out of his voice. On that note, the mask turned and continued floating upward. Barista gritted her canines in exasperation.
Crash stepped up beside Barista and gave her a reassuring - if not slightly patronising - pat on the back. She glowered at him.
"Wipe that smirk off your face, will ya?" she snapped before starting forward. "Thinks he's so cool just because he's done all this before," she muttered irritably. "Probably aced it on his first try, too, the lucky son of a— YEE!" the bat girl yelped as Crash's fingertips found her underarms again from behind. She rounded on Crash, who eyed her with one eyebrow cocked, the bandicoot no doubt having tickled her just now in response to her attitudinal muttering. "Stop! Tickling! Me!" she screeched shrilly. "It's not nice OR fair to take advantage of someone's ticklishness like that!" On that note, the bat girl turned and stormed further up the staircase at a decidedly brisk pace, soon wearing herself out and slowing down to a near crawl again. Crash rolled his eyes knowingly and started after her. As far as he was concerned, Barista needed to lighten up; negative emotions did invite the influence of Dark Mojo into a person's heart, after all…
It was with heavy panting that Barista finally emerged at the top of the staircase a short while later, Crash and Aku Aku at her sides.
"It's… about… time," she gasped, reaching up to wipe sweat from her brow before collapsing onto the hard ground before her, all but completely exhausted. She hadn't even noticed that the three of them were now outside, having reached the temple's pinnacle and emerged out under open skies.
Night had fallen, stars dotting the sky overhead, the light of the full moon shining down upon the scene as Crash, Aku Aku and Barista approached the great Mojo fountain that awaited them, its luminescent blue liquid(?) shimmering with an otherworldly glow. Even the weary and grumpy Barista was enamoured at the sight of it.
"It's so… mystical," she mused aloud, her words barely audible not because of her awe, but because she was hoarse from not having tasted water since long before climbing the enormous staircase that had sapped much of her stamina.
"Indeed it is," Aku Aku said, the floating mask giving a gesture that may have been a nod. "You have done well to reach this place, Barista… despite your complaining," he added in a quiet mutter.
"I heard that," the bat girl practically wheezed; she really was quite drained physically. Crash chuckled at her comment, but he also felt a degree of sympathy for Barista; he still remembered the first time he'd had to climb that infernal staircase. He was more than athletic enough to handle it now, but that first time was always the most daunting, not to mention taxing.
"There is only one thing left to do and then we can head home," Aku Aku stated. "Barista, you must bathe in the sacred Mojo fountain. Doing so will fully awaken your inherent Mojo and allow you to channel it via the tattoo on your wrist."
Barista glanced down at the tattoo in-question… and was surprised to find it faintly shimmering - in time with the Mojo fountain, no less. "It's… reacting," she realised. "My tattoo is reacting to the fountain!" she said excitedly, still sounding hoarse. Her face then fell, her pupils shrinking a little. "Wait, hold on. Did you say 'bathe'?"
Barista gulped nervously as she stepped up to the fountain's edge, her bare feet feeling the cold of the stone ground as she stood there, her arms wrapped around her torso.
Her bare torso.
She was completely naked.
A cool gust of wind blew across the pinnacle and Barista shivered slightly. She wasn't used to being totally unclothed out in the open, let alone somewhere so breezy. She glanced back at Crash and Aku Aku, the two of them having been decent enough to turn their backs to Barista while she had undressed, the two still facing away from her.
"You sure there's no ceremonial robe or, like, anything to keep the wind out of my—? Brrr!" she exclaimed suddenly, quickly moving her hands to cover her lower body, having just felt a decidedly chilly draught in a place that had never felt the open breeze before.
"Ceremonial robe? Hmm. That's actually not a bad idea," Aku Aku could be heard musing. "I'll have to remember that for next time." Crash, on his part, let out a loud groan, no doubt thinking about how his own Mojo anointment could've been less embarrassing for him if he'd had a ceremonial robe.
"Okay, Barista, here goes," the former Brat Girl murmured to herself, gazing at the fountain's shimmering contents apprehensively. She swallowed, feeling how parched her throat was as she did so. "Here goes everything, that is." With those words, she put one foot forward… and stepped into the Mojo.
The pale blue substance felt curiously warm around Barista's ankle. She had expected the pool of Mojo to be freezing cold, but it was surprisingly mild. Pleasantly so, even. Spurred on by this, the bat girl stepped fully into the substance, which felt nothing like a liquid. It had a wispy, velvety quality to it, feeling almost as though soft, silken curtains were brushing up against her feet and ankles. In fact, it felt like the Mojo was passing through her ankles like a ghost, but in a way that felt… comforting. Reassuring. Welcoming. The tattoo on her wrist started to shimmer more brightly and at a faster pace, the pool's glow matching it.
Barista waded through the Mojo, the mystical substance soon reaching up to her knees, then her waist. She remembered Aku Aku's instructions: She was to make her way to the centre of the fountain and then lie down in the Mojo, facing up towards the sky, and just be… present. She wasn't entirely sure what he'd meant by that last part, but she wasn't going to argue with the expert lest she should cause something to go wrong by going against his instructions; the last thing she wanted was to be sucked under the pool's surface and disappear forever or anything like that.
Reaching the centre of the fountain, Barista leaned back and allowed herself to float, not even sure if she would stay afloat as she did so, but she soon found herself gently bobbing up and down on the Mojo's surface, feeling curiously weightless - another unexpected and pleasant feeling.
Barista found the night sky to be beautiful, the many twinkling stars a deeply reassuring sight. For all of her apprehension prior to entering the pool, this was a genuinely liberating experience. She felt almost as though she might nod off floating here, her mind beginning to drift…
"Mmm… Huh?!"
Barista blinked and then quickly sat up, bewildered and alarmed. The Mojo fountain was gone, and all around her was a void of shimmering colours that seemed to stretch on infinitely in all directions. There were peaceful blues, vibrant yellows, luminous greens… It was surreal, yet oddly peaceful.
"Where am I? What is this place?" Barista wondered aloud, caught somewhere between being awed and having a full-on panic attack. She turned around in a complete circle, surveying the otherworldly scenery from all directions…
…And then she saw it.
Standing there.
Motionless.
Glaring at her with its glassy, dark purple eyes.
Scowling at her with its glassy, dark purple canines.
A glassy, dark purple double of herself, translucent and see-through.
A dark Barista.
The real Barista took a step back fearfully, not sure what to make of what she was seeing. The double growled softly, the sound seeming to echo through the strange void, sounding extremely vicious. Then, the double opened its mouth and screeched like a banshee, dark purple sound waves flying straight at Barista. She yelped and threw her arms up in a feeble attempt to shield herself…
But before the sound waves could reach her, two glassy, light blue figures suddenly leapt in front of Barista, these figures taking the brunt of the blow. They shattered like the glass that they seemed to be made of, their pieces scattering and soon vanishing into nothingness… but not before Barista recognised their silhouettes.
Those light blue figures… had been Crash and Coco.
Barista's dark double began to stride forward, a wicked sneer on her muzzle.
"THaT's YoU," the fiend stated in a distorted voice that seemed to be in a state of flux where its pitch was concerned, sounding like an amalgamation of Barista's own voice and several other voices, the result sending chills down the real Barista's spine. "YoUr PoWeR," the creature went on. "ThE dArK pOwEr."
Barista's eyes widened as she realised what her double was talking about. Her strange power. The one that had ties to the Dark Mojo according to Coco and Carbon.
Her supersonic bat screech.
"NO!" she cried. "I would never use that power to destroy! Especially not to destroy my friends!"
"…No ChOiCe," the dark double said quietly before it suddenly started running towards Barista. "No ChOiCe, No ChOiCe, No ChOiCe, No ChOiCe, NO CHOICE!"
"NO!" Barista screamed, catching the double by the wrist as it attempted to plough into her. "I won't use it like that! No one can make me use it like that!"
The double fought fiercely to break free of Barista's hold, to barrel into her, to merge with her, to become one with her… but Barista wasn't about to let that happen.
"You're really something else, you know, that? Maybe you're not so worthless after all… Barista."
Barista gasped, that voice wasn't her double's. That was the voice of Alpha. Glancing around as she continued to hold her dark double at bay, the bat girl saw a glassy, light blue figure in the splitting image of Alpha standing nearby, watching her struggle. The high ranking Brat Girl gave a curt nod of approval.
"I think you have potential. More so than you realise."
"C-Carbon!" Barista cried, her words strained; her dark double was persistent, the purple, three-dimensional silhouette baring its canines and growling and snarling like a wild animal as it fought to take control of the situation, to take control of Barista. Sure enough, a glassy, light blue version of Carbon was now standing next to the Alpha projection.
"That weren't no freestyle combo. That was a Norris Roundhouse, square an' true."
"Crunch…" Barista managed, seeing a light blue variant of the muscular bandicoot joining the crowd of spectators out of nowhere.
"We'll make a bandicoot out of you yet. Y'know, figuratively speaking… and stuff."
"Coco…" Barista managed, tears welling up in her eyes as another friend, another person who believed in her, appeared in the void.
"Woohoo!"
An encouraging whoop of a cheer met her ears and Barista didn't even need to look to know that a light blue version of Crash had appeared. She closed her eyes and smiled, tears running down her furry cheeks.
"They all believe in me…" she whispered softly. "They'll never give up on me… and I won't give 'em a reason to. Not now. Not EVER!"
Barista's eyes flew open and she suddenly shifted the weight of her hold on her dark double's wrists, causing the fiend to stumble forward, but even as it tried to make sense of what was happening, Barista jabbed a fist into the double's stomach, causing it to stagger back, momentarily winded. Barista followed up with a second punch, then a third, and then…
She leapt forward, twirling through the air in what seemed to be slow motion, landing a perfectly executed jump kick upon her enemy's stomach to complete the combo.
A Norris Roundhouse.
The dark double's glassy eyes widened, the fiend seeming unable to believe what had just happened, and even as it started to fall backwards, it began to break apart into thousands… no, millions of pieces, soon disappearing into nothingness without a sound.
Barista stood there in the silence, panting, her eyes wide. She turned to glance at the light blue, otherworldly versions of her friends in time to see them smiling at her. Coco then started to soundlessly applaud, the other spirits(?) soon joining in. Barista could only beam.
She had conquered her inner darkness… or whatever that awful thing had been.
The light blue figures then ceased their applause, each of them getting down on one knee, their heads bowed.
"BaRiStA oF tHe BrAt GiRlS, sPaWn oF mUtAgEnEtIc tEcHnOlOgY, wE rEcOgNiSe YoU aS aN aLlY oF gOoD, aS aN uPhOlDeR oF pEaCe," they chanted in perfect unison, their distorted voices sounding much less sinister than the dark double's had. "FrOm ThIs DaY fOrWaRd, YoU aRe A MOJO WARRIOR."
As those last two words echoed through the void, Barista's tattoo began glowing brighter than ever. It was so bright that it illuminated the void around her in a flash of blinding light, and then…
Barista awoke with a gasp, finding herself floating in the Mojo fountain. Dawn had broken, with the first rays of sunlight filtering down upon the temple. She saw Crash and Aku Aku asleep nearby, the bandicoot slumped against a stone statue, his arms wrapped around the witch doctor mask as though the latter were a teddy bear.
"Oh… my… GOSH!" Barista declared aloud, causing Crash and Aku Aku to jerk awake. "You will not believe the trip I just had!" the bat girl went on as she strode forward, soon stepping out of the pool and onto stone ground. "I was in this weird place with all these swirling colours and my evil twin tried to take over my body and then all my friends were there as magic ghosts or something and then I kicked my evil twin's butt and then the magic ghosts said I'm a Mojo warrior now!" she babbled very fast.
"Ah. What you saw were the spirits of Mojo warriors past," Aku Aku elaborated. "They appear before apprentice warriors in the form of those whom the apprentice in-question holds most dear. Crash saw the same thing during his own rite of passage."
"Mmhmm," Crash confirmed, nodding before reaching up with one hand to stifle a sleepy yawn, the bandicoot boy still not fully awake yet.
Barista looked down at her tattoo. It shimmered briefly with shining blue energy before returning to its usual black ink. She grinned broadly.
"So I'm really a Mojo warrior now," she mused in awe, her gaze becoming distant for but a moment. Then she shook her head. "Well, as a Mojo warrior, I say we get off this altar or whatever you call it and go get ourselves some breakfast!" she declared, pumping her fist into the air. Crash cheered in approval.
"I'll go along with that," Aku Aku said with a smile, which quickly faltered. "You, uh, might want to get dressed first."
"Huh?! YEEK!" Barista shrieked, quickly scrambling to cover herself with her arms as she realised she was still stark naked. Her cheeks flushed bright red underneath her facial fur. "L-Look away, will ya?! Freakin' perverts!"
"Oh! My bad…" Aku Aku said, quickly turning away. Crash wasn't quite so quick to turn, however; being a teenager still going through puberty and having never actually seen an unclothed woman before had left him momentarily dumbstruck. It was only when Aku Aku harshly hissed the bandicoot's given name that he finally averted his gaze, blushing almost as much as Barista herself. Barista, on her part, hurriedly went about snatching up her nearby clothes and pulling them on, muttering about 'insensitive boys' all the while.
I know that this fanfic has been focusing primarily on It's About Time and Mind Over Mutant up to now, but I wanted to throw in a reference to Crash Of The Titans just for good measure. Hence, the Temple of Zoom, which only appeared in Titans and not Mind Over Mutant.
And from now on, whenever you go back to play Titans and fight the Yuktopus at the temple's peak, all you'll be able to think of is my little coffee bat lying naked right where you're battling. You're welcome.