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Show Me This Life (Alt. Timeline, Huge Spoilers In Early Chapters)


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About the only thing I can say right now is that, in a few chapters, the title of this tale will make a whole lot more sense. That and this goes way past the game's official "ending". :3 Any critique is greatly appreciated, as I am fully aware that this, like anything made by humanity, isn't perfect.

 

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Show Me This Life

Prologue

 

He's lost track of the number of times he's died and been forced to reawaken on this same isolated island trapped within an alternate, still unknown world. The many skeletons and items surrounding the land that he has found, he knew they were all his by now. He had been fighting the urge to just down and cry out in building insanity, but the lonely man knew that would just restart the cycle of life and death once more by drawing various predators with his tears. Even now, as he watched the flickering lights from the campfire in front of him, he still fought the urge, even as it gnawed away at his dwindling sanity.

 

As he did every night, while sitting cross-legged near the fire, he covered his eyes with open hands and focused solely on his breathing. For a fleeting moment, he had regained a spark of peace once more to help him combat the monster of insanity that was trying to break from its chains within his mind.

 

"I guess this is my punishment for being so greedy," the man commented to himself before removing his hands from his face and looked upon one of his palms, seeing the long scar going clear across it that has never properly healed. "Even if it was truly forbidden knowledge, it's never worth what happens in the end..." Looking up toward the sky, he spotted the sun slowly starting to rise higher and higher, revealing his appearance to any who could see him, not that it currently mattered, he was all alone...

 

He just wished that the next death would finally be his last; he was losing any will he had left to fight and survive...

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

"Uncle Wilson! It's time for....Uncle?" A young girl holding a well-loved teddy bear in her arms had emerged in the attic floor of the house of her scientific adoptive father, surprised for a second to see her uncle's body lying prone in front of the strangest machine she's ever seen him built. "Uncle?!" Running over to the man then kneeling beside him, she tried to shake him awake in hopes that he has simply passed out once more from a failed experiment. However, no matter how hard she shook, he wouldn't awaken. It was clear that he was still alive, however. He was still breathing. "WOLFGANG!" the little girl belted out loudly as she ran out of the house as fast as her legs could carry her. After roughly an half an hour, the girl reappeared with a rather burly man, his eyes falling upon the strange machine in front of the body.

 

"Willow, I think the machine worked..." What the man lacked in intelligence, he made up for in strength and instinct, and he was staring at the monstrous machine upon his entry fiercely.

 

"I need you to move Uncle into bed for me, Wolfgang. You know he's too heavy for me to lift," the little girl called Willow responded just before Wolfgang carefully picked up the unconscious Wilson before laying him back down on the bed nearby.

 

"I don't like that thing, Willow," Wolfgang spoke with a serious tone. His muscles twitched as the urge to smash that thing to bits became quite obvious. Willow broke her gaze from the unmoving man toward the machine that stood center of the room. It creeped her out for some reason. Even so, she reached her hand out toward the lever, and the last thing she remembered was a group of black hands reaching out to her and pulling her in toward the machine that had now opened its maw...

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Meh, I was hoping to see if someone would at least comment...ah, well. I'm more doing this to maintain my own sanity than anything else, heh. I'm not letting this game drive me up as tall a tree as it did to the characters in this game. :-) Also, fair warning...I can't do Wolfgang to save my life, so if he seems off, that's why.

 

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Show Me This Life

Chapter 1: Breakdown & Company

 

"Say, pal, you don't look so good. You'd better find something to eat before night falls." The same voice, the same words. He had 'died' once more and now had nothing in his possession yet again.

 

Bringing himself into kneeling position, he bowed his head down a small bit with open hands on the ground, clear droplets falling from his face to the grassy savannah ground below him. "Why, why does this keep happening, why do I keep coming back to this wretched place, why am I not allowed to move on," he cried to himself, his voice cracking as he tried to speak. "I realize I was greedy for knowledge, but this is just too much for anyone to bear...”

 

"Uncle WIlson?" he heard from behind him, though he shook his head in disbelief.

 

"No, that's impossible, no one else can come---" His words were interrupted when a small hand was placed on his shoulder, causing him to turn his head. "...Willow?"

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

"You didn't have to hit him THAT hard, Wolfgang!"

 

"Not my fault he weakling." Voices could be heard nearby, but these were both different and familiar. Opening his eyes, the first thing that Wilson was the full moon above, which immediately sent off a red flag in his mind. Never before had he blacked out, then awoken at night before, which means the last time he blacked out wasn't another death.

 

"Ow...my head..." Rubbing his head where the pain seems to center, he sat up into a cross-legged position as he tried to regain his bearings on the situation. There was a proper fire pit nearby and walls of wooden logs bound by rope could be seen at the edge of the light as well.

 

"Uncle! You're awake!" Entering his view was the little girl Willow, kneeling down to be even with him while holding her teddy bear in her arms. "Are you alright?" Wilson blinked his eyes for a second before wincing from the headache again.

 

"I've dealt with worse," Wilson replied, reopening one eye for the moment. There was no hit like one from Wolfgang, and that last knockout was definitely a Wolfgang punch. Wilson almost wondered what on earth he did to deserve such a blow, but that was one metaphorical bombshell he did not want to possibly ignite. "Just...how did you two get here?" he asked of the girl before Wolfgang entered barely into view.

 

"Willow passed out in front of machine, hands stronger than me grabbed me and pulled me into ground," was Wolfgang's response, which caused Willow to turn to him before standing up.

 

"What? I didn't pass out; I got pulled into the ground by black hands, too!" Even with a pounding headache, this caused Wilson to begin to start thinking once more. Black hands? Pulled into the ground? That's what happened to him as well, but is it possible that the grab looks like something else to a bystander?

 

"Did either one of you two see me before coming here?" Wilson asked, which caused both to turn back toward him from each other.

 

"You were passed out on the floor in front of that weird machine, uncle. Still breathing, but out cold." Wilson started mentally swearing like a sailor. He maybe referred to as a 'gentleman scientist', but he was no gentleman at times.

 

"If this isn't proof of the existence of souls, nothing is," Wilson commented to himself before looking up just in time to see the sun rising above them. "I was also grabbed by those same hands when I turned that portal on..." Standing up carefully, Wilson looked at his surroundings, slightly amazed by what all he saw. "Um...how long was I out?"

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The more of this tale I write down, the less and less of it there is left to haunt my dreams...which is a good thing for me. It's what I get for listening to "Locking Up the Sun", "War" and "Sleep" by Poets of the Fall on constant repeat while playing this game.

 

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Show Me This Life

Chapter 2: Doorway and the Stranger

 

20 days, that’s how long it has been since Willow and Wolfgang found him on his knees in despair, Wilson recalled as he walked on, following the path of the sun. He had left the pair far behind, hoping to find a way to escape from this wretched world and bring them with him afterwards..

 

“It’s my fault….they wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my stupidity,” Wilson muttered, mentally beating himself up out of guilt. While he did admittedly enjoy their company in this lonely place, they didn’t belong, weren’t supposed to be here. Being stuck here was his punishment, not theirs. “I hope that door is still around here from a few tries back,” he muttered to himself, a spear held firmly in hand as he continued his quiet steps.

 

The moment dusk fell upon the world was when it appeared in view, a double of the portal that had pulled the trio in. “Found it,” he said to himself as he pulled the lever upon the door, causing the device to enlarge before summoning the same pair of shadowy hands that pulled him into the ground once more. Unlike the last time this happened, he had shown no signs of panic. Wilson had already braced for such an action.

 

A moment after he disappeared out of view, a humanoid shadow rustled the leaves among the surrounding trees in the darkness before disappearing into mist.

 

~*~*~*~

 

“We gotta hurry up and find him, Wolfgang,” Willow nearly-shouted while perched upon Wolfgang’s large shoulders, the strongman running as fast as he could, following his instincts as to where their intelligent companion could have gone.

 

“Going fast as I can, little lady,” he retorted, his mind and body on full focus of his task.

 

“He’s already gone through the door, you two,” an unknown feminine voice became suddenly heard nearby, causing the pair to stop. “If you don’t get back to hauling, he’s gonna make the biggest mistake of his life in attempts to free you two.” All of a sudden, a slender woman ran out of the nearby shadows, both her long-sleeved shirt and jeans the color of night. The light of the sun reflected off the lenses of her brownish plastic-framed glasses as her long brown hair flew behind her head. Seeing the speed that she ran, Wolfgang huffed before continuing to run, though this time after the strange lady.

 

“No woman outdoes me!” Wolfgang bellowed in challenge before Willow bopped him on the head, not that he felt it anyway. The woman that seemed to lead the way stretched her arms out to either direction suddenly as a flash appeared from both wrists before appearance of black misty wings began to appear between her arms and legs. With a powerful jump did she take off, moving much faster than Wolfgang could even try to match. “Impossible…”

 

“Are we hallucinating again,” Willow asked questioningly, blinking in slight shock at what she saw. Neither soul was ready for being suddenly taken away by the shadowy mist that surrounded them.

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Show Me This Life

Chapter 3: The Nightmare Throne

 

“Darkness, so much darkness,” Wilson muttered before taking the strange rod nearby from its unique holder. He looked like he had just endured all sorts of violence and physical harm to get to this point. It could be considered a small miracle that he was able to stand at all. “At least I know where I’m going now,” he muttered before walking forward, the pillars nearby lighting up at its tip as he approached.

 

He felt his nerves starting to get to him finally, like his instincts were trying to tell him to run far away from this place, but he simply shook his head. “I have to do this,” Wilson muttered to himself, trying to calm down at least enough to not just turn tail and run once he met up with the being that pulled him here.

 

However, of all things he had expected, seeing someone bound to a throne made of mist and shadow at the wrists, ankles, waist and neck was not on that list.

 

"Is this what you were expecting," the being upon the dark throne commented upon seeing the almost-horrified look on his face.  "Forgive me if I don't get up," he added as he demonstrated by trying to lift an arm and being unable to.

 

“Wha…you’ve been here this whole time?” Wilson asked out of curiosity, unbelieving his eyes. How many times has Wilson heard this spirit’s voice taunt him every single time he wound up faceplanting permanently into the dirt? And yet, despite this fact, here was the being that both tormented him during his stay as well as dragged the scientist into this strange world.

 

"You've been an interesting plaything, but I've grown tired of this game," the bound spirit continued before looking up momentarily toward the full moon above.  "Or maybe they've grown tired of me." A smile creeped onto his face at this thought. "Heh, took them long enough."

 

“They?” Wilson asked as he came closer to the throne and the device nearby designed to hold the rod in his hand.

 

"They'll show you terrible, beautiful things.  It's best not to fight it," the strange man continued in almost monologue with himself. “There wasn't much here when I showed up. Just dust…and the Void…and Them. I've learned so much since then. I've built so much."

 

Closing his eyes for a brief second, he lowered his head once more before opening his eyes level with Wilson. "But even a King is bound to the board. You can't change the rules of the game. I don't know what they want. They... they just watch." A rustling sound became heard with a small creature disappearing into the night. The bound king had managed to turn his head toward it, causing Wilson to notice something coming out of the back of his neck, but he couldn’t tell what. It was enough to send a shiver down the scientist’s own spine.

 

"Unless you get too close... Then...well, there's a reason I stay so dapper." Wilson found himself taking a couple of steps away from the throne, his heart starting to race for no true reason. "What year is it out there, Wilson? Time moves differently here." That immediately stopped Wilson in his tracks as well as snapped him out of his induced moment of panic.

 

“How did you…?” "Go on, stay a while. Keep us company. Or put the key in the box. It's your decision." The being spoke, pointing toward the nearby holder near the throne. "Either way, you're just delaying the inevitable." Looking down at the Divining Rod in his hands then back toward the place that was pointed out, he took a step towards it, but only one.

 

“Uncle Wilson, stop!”

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Show Me This Life

Chapter 4: Loss of Control

 

“Uncle Wilson, stop!” Wilson immediately turned around behind him in time to see two beings emerge into view at full pace. Willow perched on Wolfgang’s shoulders was a familiar sight and he was almost glad to see them. “If you free him, you will take his place!”

 

“Where did you…wha, what?!” All of a sudden, Wilson’s body started moving on its own accord, moving toward the lock with the Divining Rod in hand. “Why can’t I stop?!” As his panic accelerated, he found his hands placing the rod within its proper place. A click became heard followed by the sounds of laughter erupting from Maxwell, whose eyes were glowing with dark, almost black energy. The binds that had him literally strapped to the chair began to unwind as Maxwell stood up after what felt like eons to him, with the strange throne behind him momentarily disappearing from view.

 

“Finally…I’m finally free!” Maxwell cackled loudly, walking away from the spot where the throne was before from the same spot did five misty hands emerge and stretch out for the strangely-immobile Wilson.

 

“Don’t think so!” Wolfgang belted out before jumping between the hands and the scientist, punching a couple out with bare hands before the remaining ones wrapped themselves around him and tossed him aside, the strongman hitting his head on the solid ground with a sickening crunch. During the moment of distraction, Wilson continued to try and move, but he just couldn’t, he was stuck in place and didn't know why.

 

“Don’t bother trying, Wilson. The day I planted that knowledge in your head was the day I planted the seed needed to control you once you were close enough to here,” Maxwell spoke with a Cheshire’s wide grin now planted on his face as the hands reemerged from the ground, lingering frighteningly above Wilson. “It’s your own fault that you’re here, boy!”

 

“LET GO OF UNCLE!” Willow bellowed from the absolute darkness before the ground below her lit ablaze, her eyes burning just as much. Holding out her hands to either side, several flaming spheres began to come into view before flinging themselves forward toward the ancient madman, singeing him in various places while the others missed their mark. For a moment, Wilson could feel the unwanted control over him breaking, with his first action being to run as fast as he could. It was too little too late, however…

 

Without a second to spare, the spectral hands wrapped themselves around his ankles, both tripping up Wilson and causing him to land stomach-first. He tried to dig his hands into the ground to get a firm grip on something, anything that could slow down the hands from pulling him into something that could not end well at all for him.

 

“You little whelp; I should end you right now!” Maxwell growled as he lunged forward toward Willow, whom didn’t even have the second to dodge the hand that now gripped around her throat, slowly squeezing both breath and life out of her.

 

“Willow, no!” Finding a momentary burst of strength from the extreme adrenaline rush, Wilson managed to free one foot and started kicking harder and harder at the hands that had his other one. Just as soon as he managed to free himself and get up onto his feet did Maxwell suddenly get knocked back a distance away by an invisible force, with Willow dropping in her place and regaining her breath rapidly.

 

“What the…?!” Maxwell belted out as he managed to get back up quickly before his eyes fell beyond the darkness, anger rising once more. “Charlie…”

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Almost 100 views...and only one post on this thread is not mine...it's almost disheartening, to say the least. Especially since it is now time to break away from the cannon of the game...

 

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Show Me This Life

Chapter 5: Close Call

 

“I’m not gonna let you imprison him here, old friend,” a feminine voice from the pitch black spoke as a pair of misty hands emerged from the darkness, heading straight for Maxwell. "Not yet, at least." However, he was quick to react. By a simple snap of the wrist did another similar pair emerge from the lit ground, grabbing their counterparts and holding them in place.

 

“It’s just a shame you can only control two Night Hands at once, dear girl,” Maxwell said with a grin. “And you need both hands to control them, too. I, however…” With a snap from his other hand, more of the strange hands, the Night Hands, emerged from the spot where the chair once was. They loomed in their place for a brief moment before lunging toward Wilson once more.

 

They missed.

 

Their intended target had managed to kick off the Night Hand that still held him and roll out of the way just in time. Rolling onto his feet, Wilson made a running start for the little girl that remained lying on the ground, unconscious yet thankfully alive. He realized immediately that Wolfgang did not share the same luck, for he was nowhere in sight.

 

“Willow, wake up, wake up!” Wilson commanded of Willow as he tried shaking her awake, though to no real avail. He caught sight of another pair of Night Hands trying to reach for him again, but this pair was blocked by a single, much larger hand. The sight caught his curiosity, though that was quickly broken by the burst of outrage by the dapper man.

 

“Get out here, so we can finally settle this fight, you coward!” Maxwell roared, which was followed by complete and utter silence before a pale-skinned girl in black shirt and jeans walked out into the light from the darkness. Her right wrist was glowing a dark shade of purple as a stream of shadow emerged from the glow toward the hand that held back the most recent pair that tried grabbing the scientist.

 

“You know full well why I can’t let you succeed, ya doof,” she commented with a straight face.

 

“You won’t succeed in stopping me this time, Charlie,” Maxwell said with an acidic tone as more Night Hands appeared under her feet and surrounded all but her head, pinning her in place as the throne made one more attempt toward new prey.

 

“I must succeed…even if I have to reset him again.” Her voice beginning to echo near the end of her speech, her normally-brown eyes began to glow behind her plastic-framed glasses with a dark-purple color before one last Night Hand appeared, piercing Wilson through the chest before the throne’s hands could catch him. Falling to his knees, the world around him seemed to fade deeper and deeper into black, with the last thing he witnesses being Maxwell letting loose with several obscenities before the hands from the throne turned away and snatched Maxwell once again…

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...alright, folks. I know you guys are reading this, so SAY SOMETHING, DAMMIT.

 

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Show Me This Life

Chapter 6: Charlie

 

“You two really need to get back before your bodies start to decay.”

 

“But why can’t we stay? Uncle will need our help more than ever, if you’re right about him!”

 

“Unfortunately, once the final events begin, even I won’t be of any help, Willow…” Voices were once more talking about him while he wasn’t able to yet wake up truly; however, he wasn’t eager to wake up just yet. Even before being pulled into this wretched world, he had learned that if you want to learn what others say while you rest, you don’t begin to move when you gain awareness of your surroundings.

 

“Little lady, scary lady may be right,” he heard from Wolfgang before hearing someone standing up and walking toward him, tapping him lightly on the forehead.

 

“Up, Wilson. I can sense you faking now.” Slowly opening his eyes, the first thing the scientist saw was the strange lady from earlier, the only form of color being the browns from her eyes, hair and…what is that on her face…are those spectacles? “And technically, these are eyeglasses, boy. I’m nearsighted.” Wilson’s eyes narrowed at her.

 

“Get out of my head,” Wilson remarked before getting up into a sitting position, which is when he discovered what he had been laying on, an actual, comfortable bed.

 

“You were projecting your thoughts, kid,” she replied with a bit of bite before walking away and sitting on a chair-like boulder near a stone firepit next to both Wolfgang and Willow. Moving from bed to another one of these carved stone chairs, Wilson realized where he was. They were all underground, near the beginning of a cave. The light of the sun outside was bright and could be seen quite easily, though the lady in black seemed to avoid it when she could.

 

"Why are we underground?” Wilson couldn’t help but ask, the strangeness of the scene bugging him. A cave couldn’t be the safest place to be, could it? “And why are we all pulled in here?”

 

“More like why are you, I and Maxwell all were pulled here at our individual times, Wilson. You and I were both pulled by Maxwell from differing times…and who knows what summoned Maxwell from my time…” At this moment, she stood up and turned toward the darkness, letting loose a loud whistle that echoed throughout the cavern. From the shadows emerged a rather-large Hound, which caused all but her to jump out of their seats, with Wolfgang flipping out of his instead.

 

“You called, Charlie?” it spoke with a gruff voice, which left Wilson in even more shock. That beast speaks?! How?!

 

“Wilson, you’re projecting again. And yes, I did call, Miero. Grab the gems; we’ve got folks to send out of here.” With a slow nod, the beast disappears into the darkness.

 

“GET OUT OF MY HEAD, DARN IT!” Wilson busted out quite loudly, which managed to make Wolfgang jump again, only not so high and away from the scientist.

 

“Little man have loud voice,” Wolfgang remarked before the hound appeared with a tan-colored sack of cloth in its maw.

 

“Okay, I’m pretty sure you just gave Maxie a whopper earache from here with that one,,” the lady couldn’t help but return fire with her words. Taking the bag out of the large hound’s muzzle, it appeared to sit down near the pit while the lady in black, Charlie, pulled out two gems. She handed the red one of the pair to Willow and the blue one to Wolfgang. “Now, let’s see if I can still do this…it’s been a century at least since the last time I did this.”

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Wow I love it. Very creative, this is posibally the best post on the whole forum.

While I really doubt this, I do appreciate the compliment. I suspect that there are other better than me by a long shot, however.

 

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Show Me This Life

Chapter 7: Locked Possibility

 

"Souls unbound, return now, exit far from the Beyond." As she spoke with an echoed voice, Charlie stretched out her hands toward both Wolfgang and Willow, the two Night Hands that emerged from her wrists reaching out toward and touching the red and blue gems each one held. In only a second after the line was uttered did the pair seem to vanish from view, dropping the gems to the ground.

 

"Where did they go?" WIlson asked as he moved over toward where Willow once was, waving a hand through the space to make sure she was gone.

 

"Hopefully, back to their own bodies in your time," Charlie responded before making a quick wave with her hands, causing the supernatural hands to disappear for the moment. "I just hope their bodies haven't passed on without them. An hour here is two days in the other world. By the way, is it really true you actually made a door way to here?" The look on her face as she asked the question looked to be one that strangely showed a hint of hope as she glanced toward him, a look that threw Wilson off.

 

"I...honestly don't remember how I did it nor know how you knew, but...yes, I did make a portal here," Wilson gupled as he spoke, unsure of what Charlie could possibly be planning. He was even more shocked when he found himself back against a flame-lit section of cavern wall, held up at the shoulders by Charlie's normal hands, her face only a few inches at most from his own.

 

"You've got to remember, Wilson! Resting within your mind may be the key to all of us becoming free from this hellhole world!" Wilson couldn't help but stare at her in shock with widened eyes at this possible claim.

 

"What do you mean 'all'," he asked of his possibly-crazy companion, who let him go and took a step back from the scientist.

 

"Do you really think that you, I and Maxwell are the only trapped ones here in the Beyond? Almost every sentient being you may have ran into has most-likely been a human at one point." A sudden, huge wave of guilt hit Wilson at this revelation, to the point that his chest was starting to hurt from it, which caused him to place an closed fist over it. Over the many attempts to try to survive and escape this world, there was many beings here that he had wound up slaying.

 

"I...I had no idea..."

 

"When you're concerned with survival, such a thought never crosses the mind. It's happened to both me and Maxwell as well." For a brief second did she look toward the cavern entrance, seeing that it was slowly beginning to darken. "Willing to come outside with me once it gets darker to get more resources?"

 

"Are you nuts?! There's a monster out there that attacks when it's dar---" Wilson suddenly found himself with a red handprint going across his face from her slapping him, prompting him to cover the stinging skin gently with his own hand.

 

"I'm not a monster, you jerk," she spoke with a tint of anger to them, her brown eyes glowing slightly in aggravation behind her glasses.

 

Oops.

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"Are you nuts?! There's a monster out there that attacks when it's pitch---" Wilson suddenly found himself with a red handprint going across his face from her slapping him, prompting him to cover the stinging skin gently with his own hand.

"I'm not a monster, you jerk."

Oops.

lol

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"Are you nuts?! There's a monster out there that attacks when it's pitch---" Wilson suddenly found himself with a red handprint going across his face from her slapping him, prompting him to cover the stinging skin gently with his own hand. "I'm not a monster, you jerk." Oops.
lol

Hey, let's face it. You're gonna have a redface at LEAST if you end up insulting someone to their face, even if you didn't mean to. XP  

 

An excellent story. I am enjoying it very much. Very creative. Look forward to the rest.

Hehe, thanks. Here be more story.

 

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Show Me This Life

Chapter 8: Nightmare

 

"Why are you letting that beast here, Charlie? For we know, just like all the other invaders, he may snap and try to kill us," the large Hound, Miero, growled as he cast a glance toward the sleeping Wilson nearby. Charlie herself was ignoring the upset hound as she continued working on a small stone sculpture in her hand, which looked more and more like a chesspiece, specifically the white king.

 

"Because I think he's the one Percival used to tell me about before I was pulled here, honestly," she commented before stopping long enough to look the big ball of fangs and fur in the eyes. "Plus that, you really shouldn't be referring to humans as invaders, Miero. You used to be one yourself." A snort came from the black-furred beast before scootching closer toward the lit firepit.

 

"I like being a Hound better, more simple," it replied before getting comfortable, falling quickly to sleep. Placing the king piece among other pieces on a now-completed chessboard, Charlie stood up and took a peek outside, seeing the full moon high in the air.

 

"Full moon and I can feel winter's chill coming, I need to get a new coat made." Turning around away from the cavern entrance, she spotted Wilson started to move around in his sleep, sounds incomprihensible coming from his mouth. Cautiously, Charlie walked up beside him on the one-person bed and knelt down, gently placing a hand upon shoulder and shook him a little in an attempt to wake him. "Wilson?" He didn't wake. Instead the murmurs became slightly-more clearer, his shaking became increasingly violent and the words in his dream could be heard...by both human and hound.

 

Why, why can't I stop? I don't want to hurt them, why am I attacking?! And why do I have these claws, these wings?! Wolfgang, just knock me out already, I can't stop! Charlie grabbed Wilson firmly by the shoulders and flipped him onto his back, shaking him a bit in hope to wake him up.

 

"Wilson! WILSON!" she screamed at the panicking sleeper, finally causing him to wake up in both heavy breath and cold sweat, drenching entirely his clothes and the bedcovers. Miero pawed its way beside the bed, giving the scientist a wierd look.

 

"You were projecting so loudly that even I heard it, kid. What in the Nine Hells was that all about?" Wilson took a second to cover his face in his hands as he remained laying in bed, still visibly shaken.

 

"That can't possibly be a memory, it's not possible. There's no way I would have willingly attacked Wolfgang and Willow, even if I was at that point..." Miero was giving Charlie a narrow-eyed look toward her, as if he had called such a thing happening already. Charlie glanced back toward Miero and sighed.

 

"Actually, Wilson...you have. According to Willow, you snapped and struck out at them when they found you."

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Show Me This Life

Chapter 9: Let's Make This Clear...

 

The next few nights went rather uneventfully, gathering resources during both day and night to prepare for the upcoming winter cold. Wilson was out alone just outside the cave during one day, harvesting some of the corn and dragonfruit that had wound up growing in a few of them.

 

"Only planting and harvesting these crops at night...that's not how you grow these," Wilson muttered to himself while knelt down during his gathering, his mind lost in various, and almost random thoughts. The last month spent here as a whole would be too much to handle for a normal-minded person, but even with his hands busy was his mind busy analyzing every event that had come to pass.

 

Willow and Wolfgang, the fact that they were able to follow him into this world, or 'the Beyond' as Charlie calls this place, without him anywhere around so easily unnerved the scientist a bit. It worried him, made him wonder who else could wind up stuck here because of the device. Oh, how he hoped they were alright, since he feared that Charlie may have sent them to their doom by accident. If his calculations were correct, their bodies would have aged without them for at least 200 days. The thought made him wonder if his own body was in the same kind of predicament, but that would be something to discover later on.

 

That strange black chair, could have been a throne, that the being that tricked him here had been apparently trapped on, what was it? The hands that grabbed Wolfgang when the big guy jumped between him and them just tossed him aside as if he was nothing. Does it only go for certain types of people? And what was that vine or tentacle that seemed to connect the chair to him, to Maxwell as Charlie called him?

 

Charlie and Miero, the apparent 'Night Monster' and the hound companion that seems to top her height, being able to study them both somehow would prove to be an enlightening experience, though he felt that such an endeavor might land him a one-way ticket to getting killed again. It's a curiosity how she is able to use those 'Night Hands' in her control, however...

 

"Hey, you done with harvesting yet?" Snapping out of his personal thoughts for a brief second, Wilson stood back up onto his feet, picking up the basket nearby as he did before turning around and almost jumping at the sight. It was unnerving to see a Hound taller than him, even if he wasn't going to try and rip him to shreds where he stood.

 

"Um, yes? What's needed now, Miero?" The large paw that pushed Wilson down to the ground and held him place moved so fast that it wasn't even seen. The creature loomed over him, with muzzle over his face and a growl emerging from its throat.

 

"Let's get something straight, you beast. Your only saving grace is the fact that Charlie actually sees use for you. If I ever find out that you have dealt even the slightest bit of harm to her, I will leave you in such a mangled and bloodied mess that you won't be able to reincarnate in this world properly anymore, understood?" It was strange for a human to be referred to as a beast, but that was a thought that wasn't quite on the forefront at the second.

 

Wilson felt that his heart had moved up to his throat from the sudden burst of fear this creature was demanding. As much as he wanted to speak, it was like his voice decided to pick that moment to not work. "Do you understand?" Miero repeated with more of a snarl to his speech. Wilson slowly nodded toward the Hound, who looked back toward the cave briefly then back toward him. "I have one suggestion for you, keep your mouth and your mind silent about this around Charlie." With that did the black deadly ball of fur slowly back off of Wilson and return toward the cave.

 

Still visibly shaken, Wilson regathered the various edible crops that had scattered from the sudden takedown before returning toward the cave.

Edited by Tesability
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Show Me This Life

Chapter 10: Strange Machinations

 

Snoring, that was all Wilson could hear as he laid down on top of the bed, laying upon different covers than the last time he laid down on it. Miero was asleep near the firepit as usual, curled up into a ball that made it look more like a normal Hound than it really is.

 

"How does Charlie sleep around this thing?" He muttered to himself before getting back into a sitting position over the edge of the bed, sighing in defeat as he stood up. He hadn't taken the chance before to take a really good look around the cave, so he figured now would be a good time.

 

The cave was a pretty-decent size, as well as isolated from any other possible cavern system, which helps to eliminate the chance of surprise visitors from anywhere other than the one opening. There were plenty of strange items on what looked like stone shelves carved directly out of the walls, none of which he could even try to identify. His eyes fell upon a thin black box with a wire attached to another, even thinner square that looked like it was tied to the side of a mini firepit made of metal.

 

Very-carefully did Wilson pick up the thin box as he examined it, wondering what it could have been when he spotted hinges on one side. Opening it up from the other end, he became perplexed by the sight. The bottom half looked arranged much like a typewriter, but with clearly more keys than one and the top half showed what he thought was a thick glass-like film.

 

"What is this strange thing?" He spotted a silver key that seemed separate from the rest and curiosity caused him to press it. The glass seemed to suddenly light up, almost causing him to drop the thing. "What IS this?!" Wilson blurted out before quickly putting it back on the shelf. The outburst was enough to wake up Miero, who let out a loud yawn.

 

"Huh, wha..." Out of the corner of its eye did it catch the light from the mysterious item, which immediately caught its attention. "Whoa, stay AWAY from the laptop," Miero spoke with a stern voice before moving between it and Wilson, a single claw being placed below where all the lettered keys were, which moved around what looked like a small white arrow on the top. "Shut this back down while it's still fully-charged," it muttered as the glass flashed in weird ways before becoming lightless once more. "I wouldn't suggest touching this again," Miero started. "Laptops like this aren't even invented until after the year 2000." Wilson was obviously confused by the Hound's statement.

 

"A...what? Laptop? What is a laptop?"

 

"A multi-functional, portable device that can be used to store electronic versions of any document you create in addition to other functions that do not exist in your time," the scientist heard before turning immediately around to see Charlie standing dangerously close to him, a look of stern disappointment on her face. "In a sense, a library's worth of books could be stored in that machine if you're willing to take the time to retype them all. And why are you messing with my stuff?"

 

"That’s impossible,” Wilson almost whispered to himself in disbelief, glancing back toward the strange black box momentarily.

 

“So says someone that’s all about science,” Charlie was quick to return to the whispered statement. “And yes, I’ve seen some of the doodles in the ground you tend to leave behind during night.”

 

“How did you get that thing, though? I thought everyone here came with nothing but the clothes they’re wearing,” Wilson asked in curiosity, the metaphysical gears in his mind spinning at amazing speeds.

 

“Maxwell didn’t learn how to strip people of possessions until much later on. I had that with me when I got yanked from the year 2013.” After a few seconds of expecting a response and not getting one, Charlie waved a hand in front of his face before planting that same hand rather hard on her forehead. "I'm not even going to ask how he can pull a passout standing with eyes open..."

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Alright, I think it's about damned time for some real action. Shall we begin?

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Show Me This Life

Chapter 11: Rude Visitor

 

A sudden thud resounded from through the cavern’s roof, waking Wilson immediately from his standing pass-out and setting both Charlie and Miero on guard and facing toward the cavern exit.

 

“What happened?” Wilson asked as he shook his head slightly to fight off the disorientation, just before another thud followed by a few more became heard.

 

“Grab everything you can and get out of here, I don’t think this place is safe,” Charlie demanded before looking toward the hound. “I need you to pack the special supplies and lead him out of here.”

 

“CHARLIE!” A loud, raspy voice echoed throughout the cavern. “You will pay for your interference with your final life!” At that moment did Charlie summon her Night Hands from the strange glow in her wrists, but instead of bracing for combat, they seemed to stretch out toward her ankles and grab them. She stretched her arms out wide to either side, which triggered the widening of the shadowy arms until they resembled something similar to wings. Wilson tried to get what he could together, but was stopped in midturn by the hound.

 

“Too slow, take this and hop on!” Miero shouted after tossing toward him a rather-heavy backpack, which he was fast to put on. He wondered how the hell he was gonna get on the back of the Hound when it lowered its head, allowing Wilson to get a grip and get up. “Hang on!” In a split-instant did the hound jump forward into a rapid dash out of the cave, which almost threw the man right off at the start. Once he got better handling, Wilson dared to look up toward the sky after hearing a sudden shriek.

 

Against the moon-lit sky, he saw a pair of shadows striking and evading each other’s moves, one considerably larger than the other and with its feet still on the ground against a smaller flying foe. The apparent giant of the pair managed to capture the smaller creature and threw it swiftly toward the ground, causing it to crash just ahead of the Hound’s running path, which had Miero stop dead in its tracks.

 

“He…he’s mad…with the…throne’s…power…” When he heard the word ‘throne’, Wilson shivered before jumping off the stopped hound. The scientist was reacting purely on adrenaline and instinct; he couldn’t even see where he was going before kneeling down beside where the voice had come from. A pair of faint purple lights spotted allowed him to be able to correctly pick up the now-injured Charlie and help her onto the Hound that blended perfectly into the darkness of the ground.

 

“I’m not DONE yet!” the giant called out in a more-chilling tone filled with increasing insanity before following the swift canine of the world.

 

Is that really Maxwell? Almost as soon as that thought left his head was he grabbed quite accurately off the Hound’s back with its large claw, sending him into a justified panic as he tried to wiggle.

 

“I think I’ll take you instead, pal,” the misshapen being roared, the insanity in its voice increasing. “THANKS for TELLing me WHERE you WERE!” It’s strange, fear and insanity can have interesting effects on a person. For some, they surrender to it and allow themselves to fall victim. For others, they become on guard at all times, overanalyzing everything that happens as it happens.

 

For Wilson, he snapped.

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Oh, folks? You may wanna thank Miss for the inspiration behind this chapter. I originally wasn’t gonna add this particular mechanic into the story. Also, doing insane folks is DIFFICULT.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Show Me This Life

Chapter 12: The Winged One

 

Laughter, that was the only thing Wilson seemed capable of doing at first. For no obvious reason did he start to laugh manically, as if he alone had just heard the funniest joke in the world. It was obvious that he had completely lost his mind, even as he managed to slowly push away the top finger that was wrapped around him. He was shaking like a leaf, all of his muscles constantly twitching slightly.

 

“The little gnat finally lets me go,” the maddened Wilson spoke with a significantly-higher voice as he pulls himself out of the giant’s grip. “TIME FOR SOME FUN!” Without a second thought did he take a nosedive toward the ground, his form swapping with increasing speed between normal and a pure-black shadow of himself. Only when the black shadow seemed to stick was the sound of snapping and swooping heard in the pitch black near the ground. Against the light of the moon did he fly with wings much larger than himself, while the backpack that had been worn now rested on the ground.

 

“Twinkle, twinkle little gnat. How I wonder where you at,” he uttered in a singsong matter. “Oh, how I like to look around. To find you easy makes a frown. Twinkle, twinkle little gnat. How I wonder where you at.” The giant, whom was slow to realize that there was now no one in his claw, looked up toward the source of the new patch of darkness to hit its face and roared.

 

“Another one? I thought I was the only Greater Hallucination!” Taking a few steps away from the flying shadow prompted him to fly significantly closer, allowing his hands to enlarge into proper claws before swiping at the black giant’s throat. Blood sprayed from the big guy, whom disappeared into the darkness of night.

 

“Aw, that was no fun---whoa!” A large weight suddenly jumped up onto his back, making it extremely-difficult to maintain proper flight.

 

“I knew you were a beast, but even I’m surprised by this,” was the low growling heard before suddenly struck in the back of the neck by what felt like a large paw, disorienting the maddened soul and hastening his descent toward the ground.

 

“Get off, you flea-bitten furball,” he shouted behind him just before the pair connected to the ground, the large Hound jumping off before the humanoid Hallucination was found itself wrapped up by a pair of rather-familiar Night Hands.

 

“Miero, you brought the Mandrake Tea, right?” Charlie asked of the hound as she kept the struggling being in place. A huff was heard before it buried its head into the backpack with all the supplies packed into it.

 

“With your insomnia? Of course,” it barely managed to mutter as it pulled out a bottle of almost black liquid. Charlie nodded before slamming the winged darkness into the ground wings-down, giving Miero the opportunity to open up and force the tip of the opened bottle into his mouth while holding the nose closed.

 

“You wanna breathe? You gotta drink first,” Miero spoke with a slight amount of glee at the torment being caused. He struggled for a bit before the survival instincts he did have kicked in, making him drink some of the bitter, unsweetened drink before the bottle was pulled out.

 

The effect of the tea kicked in almost immediately, the struggling slowing down slowly before he stopped and the black appearance began to fade away. Charlie lit up a small torch she had in her normal hands before shining it over the now-normal Wilson before incoherently swearing under her breath. While Wilson had returned to normal and was now knocked out, the wings had remained and had become a dark-grey color.

 

“Unless he remembers how to make that portal, he’s now just as stuck as me in this world.”

Edited by Tesability
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This ROCKS! Great job with the dialogue! You've really captured the character's personalities! :D

Ehehe, dialogue was always one of my stronger suits in story-telling, so I appreciate the compliment. Unfortunately, the Hallucinated Wilson has broken my brain worse than I thought. For once, I'm not gonna be able to bust out another chapter tonight as I had hoped. I have plenty of writing to do tomorrow to get back to being a few chapters ahead of what's actually posted up here. It is very difficult for someone who effectively can't become insane to flesh out someone that IS insane. Edited by Tesability
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Ehehe, dialogue was always one of my stronger suits in story-telling, so I appreciate the compliment. Unfortunately, the Hallucinated Wilson has broken my brain worse than I thought. For once, I'm not gonna be able to bust out another chapter tonight as I had hoped. I have plenty of writing to do tomorrow to get back to being a few chapters ahead of what's actually posted up here. It is very difficult for someone who effectively can't become insane to flesh out someone that IS insane.

Well, keep up the good work!
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Again, awesome! Your imagination is vast! Could you explain the gem concept to me, though? Other than that, great job! :D

Your question unbroke my brain and has me typing again. While I don't think I can get the chapter in tonight (I woke up late and scheming takes a bit), I am working on the next chapter, which covers this a bit. You aren't the only curious one. :3
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Your question unbroke my brain and has me typing again. While I don't think I can get the chapter in tonight (I woke up late and scheming takes a bit), I am working on the next chapter, which covers this a bit. You aren't the only curious one. :3

:3 Keep up the genius scheming! BTW, my sis just caught up with me in reading these, and she really likes the lines you came up with for Max when he gets angry! Good job from the both of us! :3
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