Kendrick had been napping while being a resident of this strange hospital until he was awoken again, but this time it was due to an intense aching pain all over his body. In his panic, Kendrick looked up at the drip tank and seen that it only held clear fluids... All the black monster blobs were gone; he could only assume that they had all made their way through the IV into him.
The pain started to wreck his body, and he found that the calming drug they gave him earlier had completely worn off.
"Someone... Help me! Val... Get your ass in here... I need someone... Nurses... Anyone!"
Kendrick pulled his IVs out again, but this time, no blood sprayed... Only a clear fluid leaked from the IV. He had grabbed onto his medical gown and started to try to pull it over his head. As he attempted to do this, his biceps spasmed and he ripped his gown open, in the same style that old wrestlers would.
"What the fuck!"
He looked down and saw his chest pulsating up and down, with the black tattoo on him from earlier emitting a black fuzzy haze around the edges. This effect extended through all the tattoos until his right hand. His stomach that had always been pudgy started to misshapen, as it began to flatten, even exposing a bit of abs.
The door opened and darting in was Val. "Hey buddy, I came as fast as I could... Shit man, It's only been three hours!"
Kendrick looked up to see the old hippie started to speak some weird language... It sounded like chains rattling mixed with death growls from heavy metal vocals.
Behind Val, a large black shadow condensed, and out of the darkness walked a ten-foot-tall nightmare. It was huge and bulked. Bulked not in complete muscles but fat covering the muscles. It had a large upper body with massive arms, that ended is butcher blades that fit directly into its wrists. It had no head, with three eyes in a triangle on its chest. It had no mouth...
"The fuck is going on?!"
"Your integration is completing too early... I don't friggin have a clue... I've called my nightmare to work as back up... The nurses and docs are standing outside if you need to be healed or repaired depending..."
Kendrick kept watching his body twitching and moving uncontrollably... "Depending on what?!"
"If you complete your integration... Nightmare integration can be rejected, but I've never heard of someone that started it so soon. We don't know what's going on..."
"Aren't you the fucking expert?"
"ON FIGHTING AND NIGHTMARE MANAGEMENT, DUMBASS!"
"THEN GET SOMEONE THAT KNOWS IN HERE!"
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT... Let's... Let's not panic... Fear is the weapon; not the enemy!"
"What?!" Kendrick was trying his best to control his body but was failing as he fell out of his bed on the floor with a thud. He felt like his body was being reformed. He had played games and seen movies of the like where someone became a super soldier, but all that happened to them was that they were weak and clumsy afterward... This was... This was exactly a living nightmare!
"That's IT!"
"Yeah! It's not the enemy!"
"Yeah... NO! This is a nightmare!"
"What?! No. This is real life... I would know if it was a nightmare!"
Kendrick started to gain control of his body.
"Huh?" Val could see that Kendrick started to stabilize. He didn't know how or why. He was actually just being on guard in case Kendrick's nightmares ate him and went on a rampage, and trying to talk him through it. Kept him distracted so it didn't consume him until back up came, his old buddy, Yu Kong. He had retired from his research into integration...
Kendrick believed that if this was a living nightmare, and he was part nightmare... Then he should be able to control himself because he was both living and a nightmare. This didn't work because it was true, but because Kendrick thought it was true. A placebo effect. Convincing him that he had figured out the trick, his fear subsided, and he started to master his new body.
Finally getting to his feet, Kendrick noticed... He was slightly taller!
"Val... I did it! I think I completed the intergrate-thingie!"
"Integration, and it's the doc that's going to say if you completed it or not."
"Hey, Val... Do I look taller to you?"
"Well, I don't know... I've only seen you flailing like an ass, or laying in your bed."
"Do I look better? Am I more handsome?"
"The fuck...? Dude... Calm ya tits..." Val elbowed his nightmare behind him, "Get a load of this guy... A bit of nightmare juice, and he's daydreaming... HAHAHA, Get it."
As Val laughed, the nightmare behind him produced a "Huehuehue" Laugh.
"Wait... Your nightmare can think?" Kendrick stopped feeling his body's changes to stare vacantly at Val and his nightmare.
"Well, yeah... I have a high-level Rook rank Nightmare." Val said proudly.
"What's that mean...?"
"I'll tell ya later... In the meantime, can you put your gown back on...? While impressive, I don't need to see you swinging in the breeze."
"Oh!" Kendrick picked up his gown from the floor that had been torn off and tried to put it on. It was in two pieces, so he did the best he could to cover himself, as he got back on his bed. He used the sheets to further cover him.
The same nurses as last time, the raven-haired gemini nurses came into the room. With apparel, and linens.
""Mr. Cain Here is a new gown, and let Us change your bedsheets.""
"Okay..." Kendrick stood up and was helped by both the nurses out of his gown. They gave him a new gown and then proceeded to change the bedsheets.
"Hey Ken, how do you feel now?"
"I feel... Good and bad."
"That's a good thing. My bud is going to be here soon. He would have been here at the start, but he lives off-world now."
"Off-world... Speaking of which... Where the hell are we, anyway? I've wanted to ask this since I got here."
"No problem. This is Lord Candle-Light's Eastern Medical Center plus block." Val spoke slowly the name of where they were.
"Okay, so that's where we are in the world... What is the world?" This was Kendrick's next logical question.
"We are on-" Val was cut short, by another voice.
"We're on Nexus. Val, long time; no see." A wizened old thin man with tanned skin walked in, throwing his arms open to embrace Val.
Val slightly opened his arms to be bear-hugged by this old man. "Come on, old Val... How long have we known each other?" The old man shook Val in his embrace before letting him go. It was interesting that Val was being shaken by a man a head shorter than him, as Val was six foot tall... The same height that Kendrick was now.
"You know I'm not a touchy-feely person, old Yu." Val said leaving the hug and scratching the back of his head.
"You still dress the same... old Val... At your age, you should be more conservative." This old man named Yu Kong was the doctor and buddy of Val that he had called, and was talking about earlier.
Yu Kong wore black robes with many pockets, his hair was in a neat ponytail, and his wise features on his face told of years of knowledge and experience, in what Kendrick didn't know yet. One thing of interesting note was that on both sides of the front of his black robe where strange arcane patterns that looked very similar to the ones Kendrick had tattooed on him.
"So boy, you're the one that Lord Candle-light is spoiling so much?" Yu Kong asked as he looked over to the standing Kendrick.
"Ah... I don't know about spoiling, but yes. Can I ask why you call it spoiling?" Kendrick didn't quite understand, as this was said by both Val and now this Mr. Yu.
"Boy, do you think every Nightmare god has the time to bother with just one Horrormancer?"
"That still doesn't answer my question..." Kendrick found this to be an awkward conversation because it seemed that Mr. Yu was slightly jealous.
Sigh... "Must be nice. Old Val, teach your pupil, while I go and get some equipment from the staff... I came too quickly, so I didn't get a chance to bring any of my tools."
"Alright... Hurry up. I'm ready to get this underway. Me and the little lady at home have a vacation riding on this."
"How is Bell these days?" Mr. Yu asked with interest.
"She's doing great. Your last operation was perfect as always. Her life expectancy increase by another thousand years. She's had so much energy, that she can even keep up with the great-grandkids!" Val started to laugh.
Listening to Val and Mr. Yu talk, Kendrick was at first taking mental notes but soon became bored of all the family talk.
[Even in another world, with nightmare gods, magic, and technology... Old men were still talking about their families...]
"Your youngest grandson still doesn't have a wife, right? My niece is of age this year, maybe we could arrange them to meet?" A light flashed in Yu Kong's eyes.
Val thought for a moment, before speaking, "Which niece... Is it your elder sister's or your younger brother's daughter... If it's your elder sister's daughter... No way!"
"What's wrong with little Yingyue!" Yu Kong said angrily!
"What's wrong with her?! Your brother-in-law spoiled her worse than Lord Candle-light is spoiling this dumbass!" Val pointed his finger over at Kendrick.
"Hey guys, I haven't done anything to be drug through the mud into your conversation..." Kendrick felt wronged.
"Well, maybe this dumbass would be a fine pair with my niece if both of them are spoiled!"
"Maybe they would... But even this dumbass is smart enough to know not to mess with your sister's little demon!"
"Fine!" Yu Kong looked over at dumbass... No... He looked over at Kendrick, "Boy, it's your lucky day. I'm going to set you up to meet my niece."
"Mr. Yu... I-"
"No, call me old Yu."
"O-old Yu... Are you sure it's a good idea to set up your niece with guy you barely know? I'm sure she is a great girl, and she is the pride of your family... But you can't be too safe with who she meets, right?"
Old Yu laughed a few times, "The fact you bring this up puts my old heart at ease... Thinking of her safety and you haven't even met her... I knew her charms were great, but this has opened these old eyes!"
"No, I mean-"
"Besides that, she's a Horrormancer, as well. If a scrub like you whos barely integrated can hurt her, then you'd become the champion piece of Lord Candle-light of all time and space!"
"Old Yu... You're my doctor now right?" Kendrick asked hesitantly.
"Of course, boy-oh! With me here, it would take the Nightmare gods to screw things up for you!"
[Crap... I am not offending the man who holds me life in his hands.]
"Then, if you see it acceptable, I'd love to meet your niece..."
[God, I hope she's not ugly...] Kendrick scrunched his face in thought.
Val and old Yu noticed the change in Kendrick's expression; they looked to each other and began laughing. Kendrick didn't quite understand why they were laughing.
"Ken, her looks are the least of your worries, it's her personality that's trouble."
"Old Val, you shut your mouth! But, yes, my niece is extremely gorgeous. It really is confusing that she doesn't have a husband at her age."
"How old is she?"
"She's forty-five this year, but that's only forty-five standard Terran-Calendar years. She's fifteen per the Nexus Calendar! Still young, right!"
Doing some quick math, Kendrick figured his age with this, 'Nexus Calendar.'
"Wouldn't that make me nine years old then...? Too young for her?"
Slightly angry old Yu lashed out, "Boy, I'm a doctor. Let me ask. Has your nuts dropped?!"
Taken back by the sudden insulting question, Kendrick sharply responded, "Damn right they have!"
"AH HA! Then you're old enough!" Old Yu said with a triumphant smile, he continued, "When your system boots up, I'll send you a memory photo."
Kendrick didn't know what a memory photo is, but he could understand the photo part, "Sure... Now what?"