Side Effects
(Gary's Point of View)
Inside the room was
Friz, he looked very distraught, Timler and Regir, they were both trying to
calm him, and Ghastillo. Ghastillo had probably sneaked upstairs without me
realizing, and he looked embarrassed and ashamed. Friz was also wearing nothing
but a diaper, as was Ghastillo and Timler. I was very confused at this until I
remember why I was carrying Nick up the stairs.
"Uh, guys?" I asked,
"What's going on?" Friz jumped at my voice and hid behind the couch he was
sitting on when I came in. The room's layout, by the way, is as follows:
The door leads to a
fairly open space occupied by only a table then couch then table furniture combination
on the left wall and a long dresser with lamps and a TV on it on the right
wall. The far wall was mostly windows, and the blinds were currently drawn.
Everything had an almost creamy color to it as well. Same for the bedroom. Friz
was almost crying from embarrassment, I could tell.
"Friz, get out from
under there. I already saw you." I ordered. Without realizing it, my power
forced him to comply. He stood up and I examined the state he was in. The fur
around the area covered by the diaper he was wearing looked wet, meaning he
probably wet himself. He had been crying, and his right knuckles were bleeding,
which was me number one concern. The diaper itself had childish designs on it,
which surprised me for a garment that size to be modeled for those who wouldn't
even fit in them. "So, Timler, Regir, care to tell me what happened?"
"I think it's the
side effects from time travel." Timler mused. "It's happened to me before, and
it wasn't fun. Only problem is, it took a month to wear off after only going
back a month. If we went back a thousand years..."
"Basically, it's
not going away?" I finished. Timler nodded. "Fair enough, though I don't see
why Friz is making such a scene out of it."
"Because it's
embarrassing!" Friz exclaimed.
"That's like saying
it's embarrassing when you can't control your thoughts." I snapped. "Try to
consider that you can't control it, so it's not a problem." A thought then
occurred to me. "What about the others?"
"Everyone but you, Feir, and Fluhr has lost
control of his bladder." Regir confirmed.
I was suddenly
uneasy. I set Nick down, asking Regir to tend to him. "I probably shouldn't be
taking any chances now, should I?" I asked Timler, who said that it would be wise
to take extra caution. "Fair enough, so I'll go back into town and acquire some
clean pants for everyone. Hopefully I won't lose control while doing this..."
"I don't get it. Why
didn't Feir and Fluhr lose control of their bladders?" Friz asked, stuck on the
initial problem.
"Friz," I said, "Stop
complaining. Be glad you didn't do much worse than that." Friz shut up from my
power, but I knew he appreciated my wake up call. Regir used his powers to help
regress me to eleven so I could fit into the diapers he had, then he progressed
me back to twenty two and I left to hit the town.
(Friz's Point of View)
"Are you okay,
Friz?" Ghast asked me. I merely nodded, letting him sit close to me. We'd
become extremely close at a fast rate, and I didn't mind. I tried my hardest to
not let my teenage angst get the best of me, but my losing control of my
bladder didn't sit well with me. I'm glad Ghast was here, really. Without him,
I'd be losing my mind. He and I chatted about various topics, mainly why we
were chosen to fulfill this prophecy, and I suddenly became tired. I guess
having a mental breakdown (almost) over a bladder malfunction can really drain
your energy. I slipped into a lying position on the couch, and Ghast didn't
hesitate to snuggle against me.
"I don't know why,
but I miss home." Ghast said.
"It's not exactly
surprising really. We're not used to a quiet environment." I reasoned. "I think
I actually like being able to relax for once."
(Gary's Point of View)
I had just finished
persuading merchandise out of small store owners and was on my way back to the
inn when a knife was pressed against my back and I heard a voice.
"Speak, scream, or
do anything that I don't want you to, and you die. Got it?" The accent was
definitely a hyena's. I let him direct me to an alleyway and threw me into the
wall, making me drop my grocery bag. "Look, you better tell me where we are, or
blood's getting spilled."
"What?" I asked.
"Don't play dumb! I
arrived here with you and all your little freaklings. Where the hell am I?" the
hyena's sanity was definitely lacking. The blood on his knife told me this wasn't
the first time he threatened a life.
"Dude, put the
knife down." I ordered. "And back up." He complied with both, much to his
chagrin. I grinned and told him to not move while I leaned in very close to
him. "Answer my questions with a nod or shake of the head. Are you gay?" a nod.
"That must mean you have a crush on me in some way. I've never seen someone
this close to my age so willingly obedient to my voice." My evidence for this
was the store owners I'd robbed. The males were resilient to my voice, so I
avoided them. "Tell you what, turn around, and keep walking until your feet
stop working. I've no business with you, and you've pissed me off." The hyena
obeyed with hesitation, and began walking down the sidewalks, not stopping and
not changing pace. I smiled to myself and ran to the inn.
(Friz's Point of View)
Dreams are scary.
That's not even an opinion, it's a fact. I've never come across a single dream
that I've liked.
This nightmare had
me strapped to a chair in the middle of a dark room. I was surrounded by
voices. Voices I recognized.
"You let me die.
How could you, brother? I trusted you!"
"How could you
leave your mother so vulnerable? You weren't there when I needed you most! How disappointing."
"Is this how
everyone you get close to ends up? Will I end up the same? Huh, Friz?" This
voice was Ghastillo's.
"You're a worthless
leader, you know that, Ice Breath? I would do a much better job." Feir's
insulting voice rang out.
"No, stop!" I
yelled. "I don't deserve this! I've done nothing wrong!"
A choir of voices
rang out, "But you killed us. You killed all of us. Do you not think that's
wrong?" It was the sound of the ones that I slaughtered the day I was captured.
My head was beginning to hurt, and my hands were literally tied, so I couldn't
massage it. The voices chanted, "You killed us, you monster! You killed us, you
liar! You killed us, you traitor! You killed us, you perish!" Over and over,
getting louder and louder. It was obvious what they wanted. They wanted me to
suffer for what I've done. I couldn't control myself at the time. It wasn't my
fault! If those Pinnacle hell-spawn hadn't killed Wallace... I heard Wallace's
voice grow above the rest.
"You didn't even
say goodbye, did you? You just watched me die. You weren't even there to help.
I needed you, Friz. Where were you?" The sentence "Where were you?" rang in my
head endlessly. I felt my sanity degrading into nothing. Soon I would become a
ghost like them and sing their chorus. Just when I thought I was going to
break, I woke up...