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fullmetaldevil-blog · 5 years

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Batim Stitched AU: Halloween Birthday Bash ch 4. Fin

Wow~ The end has come and bringing fun and games to light, but all things must come to and end this Halloween night.

SINdy and Confessional belong to @trashboatprince

Angel Henry, Bendy, Alice and Boris (Errand boy AU) all belong to @inkspottie

Bendy (ITT AU) belongs to @soniccrazygal

Beast Bendy (BBendy for short from Family AU) belongs to @doberart

Fate (Broken Cycle AU) Belongs to @vespavespa

Shadow and Ben (Shadows of the Studio AU) belong to @zanzaflux

On with the show~!

The moon hid in and out of it’s curtain of clouds with a pleasant crisp chill to the night air. The streets were bustling with groups of parents and children armed with flashlights and treat bags pacing throughout the hills seeking out homes offering candy. Pumpkins and gourds lined homes sporting many designs carved into them with small candles offering up their little light to the night air. Some homes had fog machines placed in random locales casting a low fog over some areas with a few older kids hiding out in the bushes jumping out at random passerbys.

Allison was thankful she encouraged the toons to all wear some sort of long sleeve as while it wasn’t exactly cold, it was cool enough to want to be dressed a little on the warm side. Shadow helped pull the cart while Allison told the cat which way to go as she wanted the first stop to be grandma’s house. They stopped at the base of the home with Benny eagerly running to the familiar home and carefully opened the gate before continuing further in. At the toons sudden motion, the others soon gave chase and caught up to their friend as soon as he knocked on the door calling out ‘trick-or-treat’

Janice could hear the cluster of children in front of her home as she had decided to camp out in the living room to deal with the visitors throughout the night as the elderly ladies were already asleep. She got up from her couch and grasped onto the candy bowl by her doorway and opened the door. She nearly jumped at the sight of a cluster of devils all wearing bee costumes, while one looked questionably like a shark, as well as a few other characters dressed in costume as well. She thought she was losing her mind as all of the presumed children in front of her strongly resemble toons, but the only ones she knew were Benny and Bendy. A look of confusion crossed her face as she took in the children before her.

Benny noticed the look on Janice’s face. “Hi Ms. Janice!” the toon chirped gaining her attention.

Janice looked down at the toon before doing a double take realizing it was little Benny. “Hey sweetie.” she bent down to give the toon a one arm hug which he happily squeaked in her embrace. “Trick-or-treating tonight?”

“Yep. It’s my first time.” Benny eagerly grinned at her.

“Oh in that case, let me get the good stuff.” Janice let him go and retreated back inside the home before coming back with an arm full of king size chocolate bars. “I have enough for each one of you, but what do we say?”

Benny’s grin couldn’t possibly get any wider, but somehow it did as he held out his bag. “Trick-or-treat and thank you!”

Janice laughed before setting a bar in Benny’s bag with the toon stepping aside to let his friends all get theirs. Everyone lined up with each saying trick or treat along with their thanks while Allison and Henry watched from the edge of the property. Janice spotted the pair and walked out of the home and up to them.

“So I see you’re chaperoning tonight.” Janice hugged Allison. “And hello sir, nice to meet you, my name is Janice.” the caretaker looked at Henry who stood next to the actress.

“His name is Henry” Allison spoke out gaining Janice’s attention. “He can’t speak, but he’s helping me keep an eye on the kids tonight.

Janice chuckled at watching the toons chat with one another “And I see you have a good number of them. Why are they all wearing two costumes?”

“Oh they aren’t wearing two costumes, the only one doing that is SINdy. They are all toons.” Allison gestured to the group earning a shocked look from Janice, but before the caretaker could ask, she decided to clarify. “See it’s Benny’s birthday and I invited all his friends who happen to be toons like him and his uncle.” she gestured to Henry. “Over to celebrate and to go trick-or-treating, they aren’t from around here which is why you’ve never seen them before.”

Janice nodded in understanding before she turned towards the home. “Well I best not keep you all here as you still have a good walk ahead of you. It’s good you started early so you can get the most candy.” She waved to the toons. “Good luck to you guys and Happy Birthday Benny, be sure to pop by tomorrow when the ladies are up.”

The toons waved and thanked her before they hastily retreated back to the cart to continue their journey down the road. Their travels were fruitful as the toons happily waved their bags of candy. BBendy and Shadow were both enjoying themselves as even they were getting candy since people thought BBendy was a guy on stilts and Shadow was a dressed up dog. Neither Allison or Henry were about to clue in their unsuspecting neighbors and opted to let them believe that little fantasy of theirs.

Eager to get to the next set of homes as a little cul de sac set up a multi house haunted corner full of scary characters and lots of candy, Benny darted ahead of his friends whom were chasing after the eager toon. The plushtoon rounded the corner only to let out a shriek in fear falling on his butt as a masked figure jumped out at him brandishing an ax roaring at the toon. The little demon dropped his candy trying to scramble away as the masked individual laughed at the frightened toon as he was sent crying running back to Allison attaching himself to her leg. The masked individual gladly helped himself to Benny’s bag and ran before the remainder of the toons had a chance to react.

“B-Benny sweetie what happened?” Allison tried to calm the crying toon as he refused to remove himself from her side.

SINdy caught up to his friend and nudged Allison to get her attention. ‘Someone wearing a costume jumped out and scared Benny. He then took his candy.’

“But what could have scared him so?” Allison said in a low tone as she repeatedly rubbed Benny’s back trying to soothe him. Alice joined her in humming to the toon trying to calm him down. She was silently thankful Alice’s voice was similar to hers as she could focus on Benny for her as she tried to find out what happened.

“It was an ax” Fate frowned at the sight of his friend. “I think the motion of the guy jumping at him and the ax is what scared him.”

Fate’s words tugged at Allison’s old memories of Benny’s earliest days of him fearing Joey and the man's choice of weapon in trying to kill him was an ax. It was the sole reason why Tom kept his ax well out of sight of the toon as just seeing one put Benny on edge or would he would flee in fear.

Henry’s Bendy scowled at the scene before him. Everyone was having a perfectly fun and enjoyable night and then someone had to ruin it. He noticed the other Bendy and Shadow were both staring off in a particular direction, seemingly transfixed on where the individual ran to. A little thought crossed his mind as he remembered a little unique trait that the other Bendy had. He gently eased himself away from Henry and walked up to the other toon.

“Bendy, you can see the souls of people correct?” the toon nodded. “Then can you ‘see’ where the guy went to?”

Bendy realized what Henry’s Bendy was getting at and focused on the soul of the individual that frightened his friend. Sure enough, he saw that the soul had fled to one of the backsides of the buildings and seemed to have joined in with a few others. Their souls had a sickly glow to them as the group clearly wasn’t up to any good and if he had to guess, Benny wasn’t their only target tonight.

“I see them” he answered Henry’s Bendy earning a mischievous grin from the toon.

“You can?You know where they went?” the demon eagerly rubbed his hands together. Bendy nodded at the toons response before Henry’s Bendy’s grins got almost impossibly wide as he began to take on his ink demon form.

Henry tapped his foot on the ground crossing his arms at the transformed toon with the other Bendy following suit and transforming into his ink devil form unfurling his wings. ‘Now what exactly do you think you’re doing?’

“Well Halloween is a day where the demon’s come out to play.” Bendy turned to face the direction that the Ink Devil had pointed at. “I say we go play with them a little bit as a ‘thank you’ for messing with our friend.”

Henry pinched the area between his eyes shaking his head, he wanted to say ‘no’ but at the same time, karma does come back around. He was about to give his answer when Allison spoke up.

“Just don’t get caught.” The actress looked at the group with clear intent on her face gently passing Benny to Alice. “Don’t get caught, and don’t hurt them.”

The demon’s faces all turned maniacal before the group split up. Ink Devil took to the skies, Henry’s Bendy disappeared into an ink portal while Shadow and BBendy split up. Boris rounded up the bags the demon’s left behind choosing to hang onto them for them and brought them back to Allison and Henry.

Alice looked down at the curled up demon in her arms, she let out a small sigh in gratitude as he wasn’t shaking anymore and seems to have calmed down. She balanced the toon gently in one arm and rested her hand between his horns rubbing them. “Feeling better sweetie?” Her answer was a small nod as a pair of mismatched piecut eyes met her own. She gently set the smaller toon down for while Benny stayed nestled between her and Allison.

Allison chuckled at the silence of the evening looking at Henry who was focused on the direction the demons scampered to. “I only shudder to think what they are gonna do.”

Henry turned and nodded in agreement before he noticed that SINdy was the only Bendy toon that didn’t go to terrorize their evening nuisance. The angel grabbed his halo stretching it out and waved for SINdy’s attention.

‘How come you didn’t go?’ the angel lifted a brow in confusion.

‘Well Confessional wanted to go, but I wanted to keep an eye on my friend.’ the cardboard demon frowned at the angel. ‘I felt it was more important to watch over my friends rather than to go after the sinner.’

Pride swelled in the parents' hearts before SINdy felt himself being pulled into a hug by Allison. “And I thank you for wanting to make sure your friend was ok.”

SINdy happily wiggled in Allison’s grasp. He wanted to go after the sinner, but his friends are more important to him, and besides, he knew that the other Bendy’s wouldn’t just take it lying down and do something about it. Allison felt nudging as he looked next to her side to see Benny leaning against her and she scooped him up hugging both him and SINdy.

Allison stayed that way hugging the two toons until they hear a loud cluster of shrill screams as a group of young teenage boys burst out from behind one of the houses screaming about monsters. The actress looked up from the two boys as a gleeful look graced her face as the boys were clambering over each other and and tangling themselves up in Halloween props trying to get away before they broke free and tore down the street screaming. Benny looked up to see his mother's face as while he knew she was always a sweetheart, he could have sworn he saw a set of devil horns on her before realizing it was a trick of the light off her antenna bandana.

“Have fun boys?” The actress asked as the demons returned to the group with both Henry's Bendy and Bendy shedding their larger form reverting to their toon states.

“We got the sinners, but we weren’t able to recover the candy. Only the bag.” Bendy frowned as he held up Benny’s now empty bag.

Benny gently grasped onto his empty bag with a small frown before he sighed turning it into a shadow of a smile. “At least you guys were nice enough to get it back. I can always replace the candy.”

The toons felt bad as their friend lost his candy and bowed their heads in guilt. Shadow murmured quietly before trotting up to boris and reclaiming it’s bag and returned to Benny. The toon looked at the large cat confused before shadows mouth split open and it gently bit onto a candy bar lifting it out of it’s bag and dropped it into Benny’s.

“Shadow you don’t have to-” Benny started before the cat growled at him and lifted a few more pieces of it’s candy dropping them into his bag.

Shadow gave Benny a quarter of it’s bag and soon found Benny’s arms wrapped around its neck hugging it with the toon whispering his thanks over and over. The cat purred and gently nuzzled it’s companion. It felt bad that they couldn’t get the candy back, but it’s not like it would really eat the candy it got for the holiday. If anything it would just give it’s candy to Junes girls back at home

While the inky cat was giving some of it’s candy to Benny, both Bendy’s looked at their bags and then at each other. BBendy grunted rolling his shoulders at the contemplating toons before striding past them and reclaimed his bag from Boris. He waited for Shadow to step aside before reaching into his bag and pulled out a few pieces and dropped them into Benny’s bag as well. Once he was done he turned his head towards his 2 smaller iterations snorting at them before walking over to Henry and sitting down next to the man.

The larger demon’s actions spoke volumes. ‘If I can share some of mine, then you can share some of yours’.

Both Bendy’s sighed and soon found themselves being nudged forward by Fate with the group approaching Benny. Each of them pulled out a portion of their candy giving it to the plushtoon with words of apology. Boris and Alice happily gave Benny some of their candy with Alice giving the toon a small hug asking him if he felt better. Boris had to almost peel Benny off him as the cartoon wolf gave him his king size bar as some chocolates preferring to keep the lollipops for himself.

Benny was so happy that his friends were willing to share with him to make up for his loss. He carefully slipped out of his costume and made sure no one was around before transforming into his Ragdoll form. His threads laced about the area gently pulling all his friends except Shadow who opted to lean against the demons side, to himself wrapping them all up in one big hug. “ThAnK yOu EvErYoNe.”

The group all laughed at the sudden group hug while Allison checked her watch. “All right boys, it’s getting pretty late. We should head home.” she called out of the bundle of toons earning various ‘nooos’ and ‘do we have to?’

Henry held up his halo ‘She’s right. We still have to walk back to Benny’s house and then head home from there. People generally stop passing out candy past a certain hour as the children tire out quickly.’ The angel gestured around with the toons realizing that the streets were now very quiet and that most of the houses had their lights off.

SINdy let out a small yawn before quickly covering his mouth looking at Allison sheepishly. She laughed before scooping up the cardboard toon as well as her own and helped them into the beehive cart. Shadow got the hint and trotted back to the harness and slid it’s head through it and managed to get itself in the reins. Boris was content with walking with Henry, but he helped Alice sit atop the cart while Henry’s Bendy was more content with riding on his creators shoulders. BBendy was showing signs of tiring as he whined slightly and sat down on occasion. Allison felt bad as she didn’t know if the cart was strong enough to support the weight of the demon given the fact that only she and Shadow were moving the cart.

Fate smiled and gently grasped onto the large demon as well as onto the reins of the cart. “Henry can you grab onto Bendy please?” The god looked over the angel with Henry looking at him confused. He didn’t question the golden Bendy and grabbed onto BBendy’s arm. Once Fate was certain that everyone was in contact with one another he glowled slightly and snapped his fingers.

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Tom stretched in his chair he set out in the front of the house as he glanced at his near empty bowl. He was surprised by how many children braved their long driveway to the house as their home wasn’t exactly welcoming looking at night. He set the bowl on the seat of the chair and lifted it up to carry it inside when a flash of light lit one side of the house briefly.

“What the hell?” The mechanic set the chair down and looked towards the source of the light.

Allison, Henry and the rest of the toons were all standing on the side of the house with a few of them looking around confused. Henry’s feathers were puffed up from the travel and Allison was wide-eyed immediately spinning her head around at her surroundings. The woman clearly baffled at the movement and the familiarity of her surroundings.

‘Honey?” Tom called to her attracting her attention

Fate grinded widely “And we’re back.”

Allison was shocked at the sudden travel by the little golden Bendy, then again he is a god so at the same time she knew she shouldn’t have been surprised. Part of her was thankful that Fate was able to transport them all home as she was feeling pity for BBendy who was tired but still had to walk. She was taken out of her thoughts as she felt something nudging her side as BBendy was gently nuzzling her making gurgling sounds that vaguely sounded like ‘thank you’.

“You’re welcome big guy.” Allison laid her hand alongside the demons jaw and gently scratched him at the base of his horns. “I hope you had fun. Don’t be a stranger and have a good night.”

BBendy nodded and stepped away as Fate came up to the actress. “It was a pleasure to meet you in person and I hope to see you soon. I’m gonna take BBendy home for ya Henry.”

Henry nodded ‘Thanks, My toons are getting tired so I’m gonna have my hands full.’

“My door is always open Fate, thanks again for coming.” Allison lightly hugged the golden Bendy.

“Nice to know, but I don’t use doors. Just set out enough glitter and I’ll come running.” the toon beamed at her before gently grabbing onto BBendy and with the snap of the fingers and a small flash of light they were gone.

A yawn broke the brief silence as Henry’s Bendy yawned and clung sleepily to his creator getting a small chuckle out of Henry as the man readjusted his hold on the toon. ‘I guess it’s time for me to head home.’ The angel looked back at Allison and held his hand out. ‘Thank you for inviting us over and I apologize again for bringing the toons, but I’m glad they all had fun at the end of the day, even if there was a little mishap in the end.’

Allison accepted Henry’s hand and pulled the angel into a one arm hug as to not crush Bendy in his arm. “You’re welcome. I’m just glad that Benny has such good friends like you to where he calls you family. If you’re family in his eyes, you’re family in mine.”

“Which means you needs to visit more.” Tom came over and patted the angel on the shoulder.

A warm smile crossed Henry’s face as he lightly cleared his throat. “T-Thank you.” he softly spoke.

Alice looked at her creator worried about him speaking since it’s excruciating on his throat, but she knew he meant it. Henry cares about the little plushtoon and Benny cares for him in turn. In a way they all were an estranged family spread across multiple worlds. She gently slid off the cart with Boris catching her and she peered inside the cart to say goodbye to Benny only to see both Benny and SINdy sound asleep. Henry looked over at her and began to walk to the cart but she waved him off and pretended to lay her head on a pillow asleep, the angel getting the hint.

‘I see the boys are all tuckered out for the day.’ Henry feigned laughing before looking back at Allison and Thomas. ‘Thanks again and good night to you and your family.’

Allison watched as Henry’s halo dripped a bit of a golden fluid that he collected in the palm of his hand. Boris gently took Bendy off Henry’s shoulders allowing the man access to his other hand that he used to draw what resembled a door on the side of the wall. To their amazement the door shifted turning from a drawing to a real door. The angel waited a moment before resting his hand on the doorknob.

‘Let's go home’

He opened the door revealing a tunnel as Alice stepped in first followed by Boris. Henry looked back at Allison and Tom nodding slightly before he stepped through and shut the door behind himself. The door stayed solid for a time before it reverted back to a drawing and faded away leaving behind a blank wall.

“Well Ma’am, it’s been a pleasure” Bendy strode up to Allison shaking her hand as well as Toms.

“Likewise Bendy. Don’t be a stranger.” the actress smiled at the toon.

“I’ll see you around everyone. Thank you for inviting me and happy birthday Benny.” the toon beamed at his sleeping friend before he pulled out a book.

The book floated in the toons hands before it opened to reveal a bright light engulfing the toon. Bendy’s black body began to turn gold as it seemed to melt away as it spiraled around the book and disappeared into it’s pages. Once the swirls of golden ink was gone the light faded with it and the book slowly dissipated into a mist before vanishing altogether.

The stillness of the night had been restored as all the demons had returned to their homes say for one little straggler. SINdy was sound asleep next to his friend in the cart earning a soft smile from Allison as she scooped up both sleeping toons out of the cart and quietly asked for Tom to put the cart away. Shadow freed itself of the harness and helped Tom push the cart back into the garage while Allison retreated inside to put the toons to bed. It wouldn't sit well with her to wake SINdy and ask him to go home. There was no harm in letting him spend one more night.

Allison entered the home and headed straight for the couch which had been folded up and put away with all the blankets stacked neatly on top of it. She was thankful the toons were children sized as she carefully slid SINdy’s night shirt on him and set him on one side of the couch before dressing Benny and set him on the other. Just as she finished dressing her toon and covered them both with a blanket she heard soft murmuring and looked to see shadow looking at her with its head bowed.

Shadow felt bad that it’s creator hadn’t come for it yet, it had hoped that it would be going home around the time everyone else was going home. Then again, neither it nor it’s creator had any clue as to what time it was in Benny’s world when it got dropped off. It sat on its haunches at a loss as for what it was supposed to do. Allison motioned for Shadow to come to her for which it obliged, it soon found the actress scratching it behind it’s stubby horns.

“It’s ok Shadow. If you have to spend another night here that’s fine. I’m sure Ben will come and get you first thing in the morning.” she reassured the ink cat. “There’s enough room on the couch so you can rest.”

Shadow murmured softly before gently headbutting her in her stomach purring before it carefully climbed atop the couch as to not disturb it’s sleeping occupants. It used it’s tail to gently lift SINdy and his blanket while pulling Benny with its forepaws as it laid the two sleeping toons against it’s side with itself acting as a pillow. Allison fetched a small blanket and covered the inky cat and toons while the cat curled its tail around them protectively.

“G-night Shadow” Allison whispered petting the cat before heading into the kitchen to enjoy a little relaxation time before heading to bed.

Tom entered the kitchen and set himself up a cup of tea as he relaxed in the chair inviting Allison to join him for some idle chatter about the days events. The couple swapping stories about their dealings with the toons and how much fun they had with their respective personalities. Allison had to admit it was cute seeing Benny’s energetic and playful side that he mostly shows when he’s around Bendy. Seeing him behaving more like the toon he’s supposed to be brought a smile to both parents face. They could hardly believe that their toon knew so many interesting characters from other places and the light hints about other people who the toon had heard of by never met. It made them realize that what they thought was a small studio family between them, their Henry and fellow survivors was in truth part of a much larger family spread across several worlds.

Meanwhile Shadow barely laid it’s head down to settle in for the night until movement next to it caught it’s attention. SINdy slowly got out off the bed before turning around and retucked Benny and Shadow back in their blankets. The ink cat tilted its head at the sudden movement from the toon before noticing that the toons eyes were very different. The cat felt like what he was looking at was a different being in its entire.

SINdy rested his gloved hand over his chest above his heart and gently removed it without disturbing it too much causing the toons form to melt into a large puddle. Shadow was alarmed at the sudden action and wanted to inspect the spot before the puddle rippled and bulged upwards taking a large shape. The black mass settled into a cape like form before opening and settling down upon the shoulders of a full grown man with pointed ears and long curved horns that curled downwards like a rams. The man's pale complexion and glowing yellow eyes drifting in a sea of black smiled down at the inky cat with a single finger over his mouth quietly shushing to feline.

“It’s ok. I’m just here to have a lIttle talk and then I’ll let his body rest.” the man spoke to Shadow before turning and heading towards the kitchen.

Allison and Tom were both enjoying their tea with Tom listening to Allison recounting the incident with Benny and the masked teenager. Naturally Tom was angry as he wanted Benny’s first Halloween to be a fun one with his friends and it left a bad taste in his mouth that the kid frightened the toon so easily with an ax. The mechanic still blamed himself over the toons very real fear of the tool as it was the weapon of choice by Joey when the man tried to kill him. A scowl formed on his face at Allison’s words, but it soon morphed into alarm at the appearance of a tall horned man in their kitchen.

“Who are you?!” Tom immediately rose from his chair on the defensive at their intruder.

“Nice to meet the both of you in person.” A smile graced the man's face as he took a slight bow calmly. “My name is Confessional. I’m sure you’ve heard quite a bit about me from Benny and SINdy.”

Allison was shocked at her sudden intruder until the man spoke his name. Confessional. A demon that Benny had told her that resides within SINdy who helps keep and eye on the toons, a being that is seldom seen yet is always there.

“N-Nice to meet you Confessional.” Allison cleared her throat finding her voice. “ Um... would you like to join us?” she gestured to the table.

“Why thank you.” Confessional nodded as he fully entered the room.

Tom had only briefly heard of the name Confessional from Allison when she was giving him the list of visitors, but the demon never showed up. He had assumed that Confessional would be a sort of Bendy toon like most of Benny’s friends or maybe vaguely resembling the Ink Demon, but a human male with horns? He was not expecting.

Confessional took the offered seat as Allison got up to fetch him a mug to set him up with some tea. All the while Confessional waited patiently while the charm at the base of his neck that strongly resembled an eye seemed to stare at Thomas making the man slightly uncomfortable. He had no clue how the toons seemed to enjoy this man's presence as he was very intimidating. He had a calm demeanor, but it was like the charm that resembled an eye seemed to stare into ones soul.

“Here you go.” Allison set down a mug filled with hot water and a floating tea bag. “There a little cream and sugar if you want any.”

“Thank you.” Confessional waved his hand slightly as he wasn’t interested in the additional items. He gently squeezed out the tea bag and set it aside before taking a sip of his tea.

An awkward silence filled the air as neither Allison nor Tom knew what to say to their sudden guest. To say that Confessional was a little intimidating was an understatement as the couple lightly fidgeted while the demon helped himself to some tea.

A chuckle drifted through the air from the demon as Confessional set his cup down to look at the pair before him. “For starters I don’t bite, and second I’d like to give you my thanks.”

“For what?” Tom spoke as he fiddled with his mug, the eye charm still staring at him.

“For taking SINdy in.” The demon looked at Tom before turning his gaze to Allison. “You offered him a place of refuge that he may visit at any time should he need it. The studio isn’t a forgiving place as there are some… complications, on our end that make escaping the studio exceptionally difficult. While he himself can leave at any time, his perceived ‘father’ cannot. For him to be allowed to come and go from this place that gives him a mental break from the stress of the studio to replace it with a joy of being with friends, for that I am thankful.”

Allison’s gaze turned from the demon and to her mug in her grasp as she ran her finger along the rim. “He doesn’t deserve it. SINdy is a little sweetheart. I couldn’t bear the thought of him being stuck in that place.”

“Like how Benny had left there before.” Confessional bluntly pointed out as he leaned back in his chair. “You sympathize with him because you both feel guilty over what happened with Benny and how he had been left behind in that little room cause of lack of communication and trust. Then the studio collapsed imprisoning him and both of you in that place for 30 years.”

“D-did Benny tell you about that?” Allison softly spoke while Tom stayed quiet, but it was clear that regret was on both their faces. They both questioned how much Benny had told his friends about his past as there were some parts that he hasn’t even told them.

“My name isn’t Confessional for no reason. I’m a sin eater and I can see the sins of your past. I just want to make sure that you aren’t taking SINdy in as a way to make up for what you both failed to do.” the demon crossed his arms staring at the parents with both of them averting their gazes in contemplation.

The sineating demon had no intention of separating Benny and SINdy as they were best friends, but he wanted to make sure that Allison and Tom weren’t welcoming in the cardboard demon as a way to make up for their neglect to their plushtoon. Trying to solve one’s problem for one toon doesn’t make up for the mistake with another.

“I-I know I really messed up back then, and nothing I do now will fix it.” Tom’s words breaking the silence. “But he’s a cute toon and doesn’t deserve the hand that’s been dealt to him. What type of person would I be if I didn’t help those that needed it when I am able? I can’t fix what I did then, and Benny knows that, but I can do my best to fix the things within our grasp now and keep them safe. SINdy is Benny’s best friend and those two are like brothers. So if Benny accepts him then I, no, we accept him as our own and he has a place here, should he ever need it.”

Tom stared at Confessional with conviction, he may not have known SINdy for very long, but the toon grew on him quickly. Watching the little toons interact with one another was like watching two siblings laugh and play. Having a fellow toon that Benny could be himself around was more than what he could ask for. Benny spent so long isolated that he needed someone to help hold his hand and to push through life. His friends were able to fill in the gap that he and Allison couldn’t fill with needing to keep a roof over their heads, and for that he was thankful.

Confessional looked at both parents who both were looking at him with determination. He could see that they meant what they said and that SINdy was in good hands. A shadow of a smile crept across his face before he finished the last of his tea and set the mug down. “Thank you. I just wanted to make sure that SINdy is in good hands. I didn’t mean to give you both such a hard time as that was not my intent. I am in charge of the little demon and I value his well being above all else.”

“I understand” Allison smiled warmly at the sineater. “You’re his guardian when Sammy isn’t around and you just want to make sure the boy is happy. Any parent can understand the desire, we just want the little ones to be happy and safe.”

Confessional closed his eyes chuckling. “Well said. Anyways, thank you for the tea and allowing him to stay. I bid you two a good night.” The demon rose from the chair handing Allison the mug.

“Thank you Confessional.” Allison softly spoke.

“And thank you for trusting us.” Tom added in as the two watched the demon leave the kitchen and head towards the living room.

Shadow felt a presence approach it as it lifted it head to see the demon from earlier. The man held out a small heart before pulling it into his form, his body melted into an inky puddle before pulling together to form the familiar form of SINdy. The toon slowly crawled into bed and pulled the covers over himself nestling into the inky cats side before falling asleep. All the while Allison and Tom watched the sineating demon revert to his much smaller counterpart as he let the little toons body rest. The couple looked at each other decided that perhaps they too should call it a night and head for bed.

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The kitchen was full of hustle and bustle first thing in the morning with Allison practically tearing apart her pantry pulling out any item she could think of all the while stuffing them into a backpack. She knew that the studio wasn’t forgiving to SINdy and Sammy, but if she could make it a little easier on them then she was gonna damn well try. Small yawns and the sound of little shoes alerted her to the arrival of Benny and SINdy yawning as they were trying to wipe the sleep from their eyes. Shadow was gently nudging the toons towards the kitchen doorway as the little demonic sloths were dragging their feet. The little toons both mumbling smalls sounds of ‘good morning.’ as they were being herded to the kitchen table.

“Good morning boys, sleep well?” Allison pulled out a few packs of noodles examining them before setting them aside.

Benny opened his eyes to see the table covered in all sorts of canned items and packages of dried foods, the toon looked at the spread in confusion. “Allison, what is all this?”

“Well SINdy’s gotta go back home so I was gonna send him home with a little care package. After all, the only thing you get in the studio is the old bacon soup which I would hardly call a well balanced meal.” The actress beamed as she pulled out the last bag of dried fruits and laid it on the table.

SINdy looked up at his friends mother in shock. ‘You don’t have to.’ the toon began before he found a finger over his mouth with Allison looking at him sternly.

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to.” She pulled her finger away. “I have more than enough to spare that way it’s a little easier on you and you father.”

As soon as her words left her mouth she felt little gloved hands grabbing onto her leg and a little weight leaning against her before a sign floated up for her to read.

‘Thank you so much!’ SINdy was all grins. He didn’t expect for Benny's parents to send him home with a care package for both him and his father. Words couldn’t begin to describe how happy he was.

“Now Benny can you go to the linen closet and pull out a spare set of pillows and 2 blankets?” Allison gently patted SINdy on the head before trying to finish packing the backpack. The little cardboard demon happily clinging to her.

Benny did a mock salute before heading for the linen closet and began to rummage through it. He pulled out 2 fluffy spare pillows and 2 comforter blankets before hurrying back to Allison. “I got the pillows and blankets!”

“Thanks, now can you roll them up for me and use this to tie them down so it’s easier to carry?” Allison handed the toon two ribbons for which he and SINdy rolled the two blankets as tight as they could get them before tying them off.

The pair worked together to round up all the desired items and lump them together for Allison while she prepared the backpack as well as breakfast since she wasn’t about to send SINdy or Shadow home on an empty stomach. Shadow patiently watched and stayed out of the way while they worked while keeping a vigilant eye on the breakfast on the stove. It would occasionally make a gurgling sound to alert Allison as to the status of the eggs and bacon as to make sure they wouldn’t burn.

With a little teamwork the entirety of the backpack and heater were set up. SINdy couldn’t believe Benny’s parent’s generosity in giving him such wonderful gifts. He lifted the backpack up as tucked it behind himself making it disappear into his hammerspace along with the extra canned and dried foods that couldn’t fit into the bag. Allison watched in amazement as SINdy made all the items she was sending him home with disappear. She didn’t know he had a hammerspace.

“SINdy. I didn’t know you had a hammerspace.” The actress watched in amazement as he tucked away the blankets and pillows.

‘Yep, I have a hammerspace just like Benny, except mine isn’t internal.’ The cardboard beamed up at her

“Wait, doesn’t Confessional share the hammerspace with you?” Benny tilted his head. He could already imagine the look on the demon’s face at all the items suddenly appearing in his space.

A grey blush dusted SINdy’s cheeks as he lightly scratched the back of his head. ‘Yeah, I’ve gotten a few lectures about some of the items I keep in the hammerspace as he’ll complain about me ‘junking up the place’.’

“Well I bet he won’t complain if you give him some cake.” Allison reached into the fridge and pulled out a plate with two slices of cake on it as well as a canister full of cookies. She walked up to SINdy and handed him the items for which he stowed away. “There is a slice for your dad, as well as some cookies for the both of you.”

Allison was met with another hug from the little toon before she ushered both toons and cat to the table to eat breakfast. She watched as both Benny and SINdy got into a food eating contest to see who could eat their food the fastest with Benny somehow choking on his food. How he could choke with a nonexistent neck she had no clue, but was quick to the toons rescue with a glass of milk. Needless to say both toons learned to slow down and to finish their meal. Shadow softly gurgled in amusement watching the spectacle while enjoying its slices of bacon.

Bellies were satisfied and a glance up at the clock told SINdy it was time to head home or else his dad would worry, if he wasn’t already. ‘Thank you for having me Mrs and Mr. Connor.’ SINdy hugged Allison’s legs as well as Tom’s whom had just entered the kitchen seeking a breakfast.

“You’re welcome little guy, be careful at home.” Tom tiredly yawned as his hand searched for the coffee pot, one he obtained the pot he slunk away to the corner of the kitchen to fix himself a cup.

Allison accompanied Benny, SINdy and Shadow as they headed out the backdoor and began to make their way across the yard before the wall next to the door began to ooze ink. Shadow purred happily gaining Allison’s attention as she looked to see why the cat was making a happy noise only to see a very familiar dark door appear as well as a lanky demon stepping though.

Shadow trotted up to Ben and gurgled softly as he nuzzled it’s creators outstretched hand. “Ssssorry I’mm late.”

“W-wait a moment.” a voice caught Ben’s attention as he took his attention away from Shadow and to a woman standing before him along with the familiar plushtoon demon named Benny.

The woman looked at him in his unseen eyes. “I have something for you. Can you wait a minute?” earning a small nod from the demon.

Allison hurried into the home tossing open the refrigerator door startling Tom before grabbing the plate containing the last slice of cake. Tom watched her in confusion as she grabbed the last canister of cookies with the actress briefly explaining that Ben had arrived to take Shadow home. She hoped the demon would accept her gift and paced back out the door with her treasure in hand. She walked up to the lanky demon slowly and held out the canister with the plate on top.

“Here this is for you.” she held out the present to the demon. “It’s a thank you for letting Shadow come over.”

Ben looked at the canister and plate in the woman's arms, he wasn’t expecting them to offer him a gift as a thank you for letting Shadow come to their home. It felt strange to receive a gift for such such an act of simply dropping someone off, especially since he wasn’t the one staying. He slowly extended his gloved hand and Allison gingerly placed the canister and plate onto his hand allowing to demon to withdraw his gift. Ben looked over the plate and slice of cake seemingly wondering if it was a trick, he could recall in the past that every time there was cake he never got any as sometime always happened preventing him from enjoying the treat. His inspection was met with a light chuckle taking his attention away from the plate and to the woman standing before him.

“The cake is on one of my plates.” Allison gave a small hopeful smile to the demon. “The rule of thumb is that when someone receives a plate it means that they have to come back with the plate with their own food. It's an invitation to come to the house again.”

Ben looked at the woman before he looked at Shadow, he could feel twinges of optimism from the cat. Shadow was hoping its creator would return and perhaps visit himself. The constant light nudging from the feline finally spurred Ben to speak as his stillness and silence was making Allison fidget slightly. “Thhaaaank you.”

“You’re welcome Ben.” The actress smiled at him with Benny eagerly nodding.

The demon said nothing more as he waved to his portal with Shadow taking the hint, the ink Cat turned and nuzzled Allison, Benny and SINdy before trotting through the portal. Ben took a short glance at the trio before stepping through himself. The dark doorway closed up behind the demon as the ink that made the door seemed to be swallowed with it.

“Maybe someday he’ll visit.” Benny looked up at his mom who was studying where the demon and cat disappeared to.

“Maybe. Ben is very quiet and I can’t read him at all.” Allison looked down at the two toons looking up at her. “It will probably be a little while before he comes, which is fine. We all move at a pace that suits us and his is a little slower than most, and I can’t fault him for it. We really don’t know much about him so only time can tell.”

Benny and SINdy both nodded in agreement at her words. SINdy could feel Ben’s sins radiating from the demon almost like a veil hiding something within. Perhaps someday Ben will be able to shed what’s holding him back and be who he really is. Only time can tell as it seemed that there is a lot that the demon needed to sort out and he could only hope that he has someone who is patient and is willing to give him that chance. Everyone needs a second chance.

Benny gave a small hopeful smile to the wall where Ben and Shadow disappeared. He really hoped that someday Ben would be able to come visit for real rather than simply dropping Shadow off and leaving. He wanted to get to know the demon better as he was a walking mystery, but as Allison said, he moves at a slower pace than the rest of them. He hoped he’ll eventually warm up to them and visit as a friend.

The group stared at the wall a little longer before they slowly made their way across the yard to the heart of the ring of Weeping Willow trees that wrapped Benny’s play hut in a veil of browns and golds from the fall leaves. She brushed the living curtain aside allowing the two toons to slip inside with Benny unlocking and opening the door for them. The group entered the dimly lit hut before Allison turned on the lights casting a warm glow on the interior.

SINdy gazed at his portal before turning back to look at Benny and Allison. ‘I’d like to thank you again Mrs. Allison for allowing me to come over to stay for a little while for my friends birthday, as well as the gifts you’ve given me to take home.’ the little toon hugged Allison’s leg

“You’re very welcome sweetie. I can only hope that you’ll be careful over there and if you need help you know you can always come to us.” Allison gently rubbed the small demons back returning the hug.

SINdy slowly broke the hug and then turned to hug Benny. ‘Happy Birthday Benny and I’m sorry about the scare during trick-or-treating, but I hope you had a fun birthday.’

Benny beamed at his friend giving him a tight hug before letting go. “I had a lot of fun even though there was a little mishap, it happens, but I was glad that I was able to have all of you here to celebrate. It makes it even better knowing that Allison and Tom are allowing you to come over any time to play.”

‘I look forward to it, and can we make peanut butter cookies together next time?’ SINdy looked over at Allison with a hopeful expression.

“Sure sweetie. I always have some on hand. Next time I’ll show you how to make them.” The actress chuckled at the happy toon.

SINdy silently cheered hopping from foot to foot before he accidentally stepped on a pillow in his excitement throwing off his balance. He fell backwards into his portal with his sign following after him reading ‘Not again!’ before it disappeared into the ink stain leaving behind a startled Allison and amused Benny.

“Umm...Benny?” she looked down at her toon gaining his attention. “Will he be ok?”

Benny chuckled at his friends departure. “Yeah, he’ll be fine. That’s how he came across our world to begin with, a little trip down the rabbit hole and here he is.”

Allison looked back at the stain and the pillows before chuckling to herself. Benny has some amusing friends that even she had to admit that she was looking forward to them coming by again. With one swift motion she scooped Benny up into her arms lightly tickling him as she heading for the door.

“Let’s go back inside and harass Tom. That old dog needs a workout.” she laughed, Benny was instantly on board as the pair headed inside and sought out a father to a toon demon and husband to a demonic angel.

Allison had to admit that while the weekend was a little crazy with all the colorful guests, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

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leo-dale19 · 7 years

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Tap-dancing flame man (short story)

Chapter 1

He can be seen on the shores every night as the sun sinks into the ocean on the nearby horizon. He bristles with flaming porcupine spikes of love emanating from his body, and maybe someone out there knows who he is. I have dreamed of him time and time again, yet his physical appearance is of no surprise - he is there and it is the Now. He puts on a pedoskitis (that’s a foot dance in Universal Love) in rhythm to the stars, who he seems to hold paralysed in fear in the exact same places on the carpet-black night sky, sparkling nails, hammered into a blank carpet by the song of the red dolphins. To be stuck in time is a horrible fate to suffer, but you may still be telling unknown entities you have never known very vital things.

Sound waves sometimes travel across the island’s landscapes, they climb mountains with agile ease that would put most mountain-trekkers to shame and reach their destination in record time, but noone’s thought of a corresponding reward for their sonic boom efforts. Davy once looked at me weirdly when I asked him if he was thinking of breaking the speed of sound, and Joey’s lethargic greeting is another memory from galaxies ago that still remains fresh in the memory. If you listen closely, you can hear the animals whisper, and the sun’s light at all times of the day, although especially towards the evening as it sets, reflects it straight into my heart. I can feel a burning sensation if I pay attention to it, otherwise it is merely a minor sensory irritation on my walks along the coast. I can hear him tip-toeing on the spot at high speed as he resurrects the past in the burning oxygen around him with his unusual artistry. I can feel and see the molecules of 2017 combust into cluster bombs of 2011.

I thought of inviting him to the cinema the other day, there is a film-room nearby which we can teleport to if we just focus on our right hand. It’s as easy as that. But the easiest things in this life are the hardest things to realise, and God would never have it any other way. There is nothing we truly want from this life, you can only kid yourself for so long. I’m sure he would understand, but the emotional space in interaction is more important than the intellectual content - I know he would agree. Some people just take on synesthesic sacredness instantaneously, they’re naturals. The room is spacious and in the corner there is always one of two brothers reading a book I keep meaning to look at, although I know how funny it is already - I read it over his shoulder with eagle-eye vision and have a good memory for specific extracts. I lived an entire life blind until a miracle was done to me in a torture camp and I could see the colour green greener than ever before. The people who conducted the operation told me not to swear, but words have a physical life of their own and just knowing that they do what they do is the best way to express your deepest thoughts. But in the end, everything’s simple and all complications are merely a distortion of the essential. I often wondered whether one could take the simple and convert it back to its initial complex form, but I laughed, thought about why I find that funny when other times I would not and let the thought be syphoned away into one of the few memory holes left in my head. There aren’t many, and the light from the Spinoza soldier on the horizon keeps shining through them.

I decided I would pay him a visit soon. The red sharks could be sensed in the distance dragging down Eliot’s human voices, but Alfred Prufrock never said they would shriek so loud. Heartbeats and a D piano octave. Spinal Tap said D major was their favourite key to write songs in, but they are from a pre-period of awakening, merely a prelude. Dylan Thomas’s chains still rattle on the waves, but they merely splash transiently ephemeral bubbles like he intended.

Ancient civilizations ( They seem to always come from islands, is there no depth on the intense land?). They sleep with you at night and respond to your phone calls. The ones in your dreams, of course. The sunrise allows you to see how the bay’s whistling slides on aquamarine tails, upwards and spiralling down.

Chapitre 2

J’ai la soudaine envie d’écrire ce deuxième chapitre en Francais. Le mode de communication intérieur ne change rien au mélodies des dauphins au loin de la fenêtre, mais c’est le seul phénomène constant sur cette île momentanément monotone et mystérieuse. Je recommence à ressentir ces brûlures cardiaques, elle m’enrhument assez souvent. Le chaud a tendance à donner froid, tel est le destin des frileux d’esprit.

Je me souviens littéralement de tout les moments et aspects de ma vie antérieure, mais sans aucun désir d’y retourner. Никакого у меня нет желания порвать с этим миром! comme je me suis dit à voix haute en descendant les escaliers de la gare Cornavin sur cette nuit horrible, où la fumée envahissait mes oreilles de tous les côtés et d’anciens anges me paraissaient démons, tellement ils étaient devenus crudes et terrestres. Mais cette exclamation en russe contradit entièrement ce que j’essaie de dire, mais en même temps pas entièrement - ce passé vit avec moi éternellement, mais l’ayant sacrifié au Dieu de la Sérotonine il occupe maintenant un espace beaucoup plus adapté a ses proportions et étendues. Je ne suis pas dans l’état le plus lucide non plus, mais cela fait tout partie de l’image générale. Les planches du Canada résonnent dans les parages avec leur spectrum tout de suite reconnaissable.

Je n’ai jamais aimé l’admettre, mais il y a eu certaines périodes ou j’éprouvais un sincère mépris pour mes amis qui se droguaient avec leur susbtances. C’était, il ne vaut pas la peine de le cacher, une sorte d’élitisme spirituel entièrement éhonté, mais surement cela venait plutôt du fait que ces nuages toxiques semblaient me persécuter à tous les coins, plutôt que d’avoir quoi que ce soit à voir avec les personnes elle-mêmes. Mais le mauvais temps a tendance à influencer le monde intérieur, vous savez.

Il y’a des recoins de la conscience humaine qui abondent de salons rempls de fauteuils rouges qui fondent vers l’essence des choses comme de la guimauve éthérée, un bac à sable de l’enface au sucre d’orge. Un des plus grand dilemmes à perturber mon esprit concernait le fait que si tout désarroi et mécontentement origine dans nos propres limitations personelles, à quoi donc servent les autres gens? Ce paradoxe louphoquement solipsiste m’a autant rassuré qu’inquiété. Mais peut-être qu’a la fin, les simplets ont raison - un mélange de tout est nécessaire. You gotta have a little bit of everything, как любил поговаривать мой лучший друг всех времен, самодовольный русофоб Simon. Я его люблю и вся боль, причиненная мне им только сделала меня сильнее.

Ma fascination avec tout ce qui se trouve à l’est de l’Allemagne me mystife jusqu’à aujourd’hui. Mais je trouve que ce chapitre est déjà allé trop loin (serais-je conscient de ma présence comme écrivain d’un monde imaginé?) et j’ai intention tout simplement de sortir, voir les meilleurs ami non de l’homme, mais de John C. Lilly dans la baie du seigneur. Le Dieu de la Sérotonine me surveille de la haut, mais il sait qu’il n’est pas le début, il est tout simplement une réincarnation de ma vérité. Une accidentelle métamorphose qui a pris place sous circonstances incroyables. Même dans les camps de concentrations et chambres à gaz, l’on peut crier de joie de la découverte du tout-puissant.

Notre ami flamboyant tape toujours aussi ardemment des fieds. Le soleil se lève mais ce dernier voit en le soldat de la Spinoza son créateur, et non l’inverse. On a toujours besoin d’un plus éthéré que soi.

Chapter 3

What year is it?

2017 feels more 2007 2008 2009 2010 and 2011 than it does like any of its neighbour years that preceded it. The first two chapters of this were shameless stream of consciousness, the strawberry flavoured guitar walls of noise are the priority now. Blonde Redhead’s with their wavy mix of seasons remind me of a girl whose hair I’d like to smell. However, my thoughts feel far more structured than usual and so the haziness of the first part of this story may or may not be repeated. Always the Now, isn’t it? I will die in the coming days. It is the thought with which I start this day, announced by the monolith sun rising on the horizon.

Or maybe I should tell you the truth.

The truth is that I am dead already. This is where I went after that day I ended my consciousness. Chapter 4

Tanya Kravchenko. A chocolate-coated exotic slav name resounding across the nostalgic hallways of the Donbass Arena in Donetsk, which I have never seen. Past autumns and the wonders of growing up and discovering the world. The cold wind in this parking lot brings all that back, topping it up with a dull grey sky for full beauty.

You must excuse me if any inaccuracy in my story suddenly occurs. I have yet again gotten soap bubbles up my nose. It is a memory from the Serotonin God that finds its way into this purgatory eden and can disrupt the Universal Love consciousness at undesirable moments. However, no damage is permanent here. There is too much love in the air for that to happen. The oxygen on this island is really just molecules of pure love, you breathe, inhale and exhale and it flows right through you, like rain.

The Serotonin God, if you’re wondering, is what eventually led me to putting an end to my mind. What led me to the event I am describing.

I had so many reasons to have an incredible life. I was blessed with godly consciousness from day one, quite literally. It came bursting through when I was 14-15 and I realised I could already die happily. Which I do still think is what happened.

It was nearing 1400 hours, the time at which I had scheduled my final appointment with anybody on this earth - my old bus driver from my schooldays, who once told me it was a shame they didn’t see me around anymore (after I went off the grid for the first time).

And yet I did not die, and the Serotonin God still lives.

He just never stops, does he? Look at those feet go. That man in the suit with my name is in the distance, he lives in that French town I brought here from Earth with my love. In the summer you can sometimes see massive fires come from there, but everyone is so unbelievably happy in the dome of consciousness, sailing their boats and riding their racers. Des vieillards en bérets qui jouent à la pétanque, qu’ya t’il de plus Francais? Разве что эйфеловая башня с бутылью роскошненького вина, но увы, придирчивым здесь места нет. Перед всей мощью всеобъемлющей любви, все одинакво бессильны. And yet how he sways! What a sexy groove. Qu’elle divague, cette vague. Evitons-donc d’être trop vague.

The Riverside Stadium, that stayed on Earth. Would love to go see Middlesbrough play.

Chapter 5

Sometimes when I look out onto the beach, I feel I can hear him calling out “Don’t worry, Leo! It was all real! It’s all real! The Serotonin God lives!” as he tap dances away in flames. And he looks so happy in his world, as if dancing in his хоровод to the sounds of Kid A. And we were all just so blissfully happy, hand in hand on the grass… That is who I once was. And somehow, all these years later, I have lost it all and am on the verge of death. I write this all now for I am still in a relatively lucid state. “It was all real! Believe! Universal love awaits after death! Have no fear!” How blissfully peaceful and present he seems. There goes my clarity of mind again. I was in a beautiful world in the supermarket today. The Serotonin God is proof that one can always radically change one's consciousness, expand it to previously unknown extents. How bizarrely I remember that day in autumn 2015, that was the near perfect serotonin god, listening to that electronic artist from Nyon and feeling like I had transcended all suffering, and yet felt insecure about this unknown substance. How strange.

What is interesting too is the story of the Tap Dancing Flame Man. Here is what I have gathered of it based on his occasional singing on the shoreline.

Chapter 6 "Will all those whose mothers are alive step forward JOHNSON WHERE THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING" - it was with this punchline that John Hannon set the cantine table in raptures, an all too popular military joke told far too often in these parts.

The tale of the Schizoid Man

There is a popular song around here; although to call it popular, perhaps, would be a mistake. Only 4 lines of it are known. But known they are by everyone. It goes:

Death seed, blind man’s greed

Poets starving, children bleed

Nothing he’s got he really needs

21st Century Schizoid Man

For a long time, it was thought the 2nd line said “all it’s solving, children bleed”, and some still sing it that way, instinctively.

The Schizoid Man, according to local legend, is a being made of pink fire-red ecstasy, however only of the masochistic kind. His form of ecstasy is inherently superficial, yet the intensity of it convinces him of its depth; often, the most tortured are the most naive. How unredeeming and unfair, isn’t it?

Chapter 7

They’re all still there with you, Leo. You haven’t lost any of them. Besides, you will see it all again after death, exactly as it all happened. The Crown Plaza Hotel remains holy.

This is what the spirits tell me as I look out onto the island. Suddenly, I am visited.

“Leo!”

I turn around, it is me. Another me. Immediately, I can tell it is the Me I wanted to be. The parallel universe I wish I had experienced.

“Stay alive. You will live my life after you die anyway. You must make the most of what you have. The present moment is still king. If you focus on the right hand, you will get better. Eternal ecstasy is everywhere. Wolfgang Voigt loves you. Ulrich Schnauss too. That evening in Berlin will never be forgotten. The pink aquamarine tunnels of dolphin ecstasy, Ulrich knows of them too.”

I am flabbergasted.

“Take me to your world!” I beg him

“Sure. And you will experience it as me.”

And thus, he leads me to an EVA pod straight out of 2001 A Space Odyssey

Chapter 8

Los Angeles, USA

It’s so sunny here, goodness. Today, I have several important musical dates. I am meeting Flea. Incredible. All these years after the RHCP adventures of 9th grade, I am finally meeting the deities responsible. One Hot Minute. So many questions. Need to ask him about that solo on Nobody Weird Like Me too.

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