The following morning, I woke up feeling refreshed and reenergized.
After yesterday's events, I decided to take today off. My body was exhausted from all the adrenaline coursing through me.
Ding!
[You are given a span of 30 hours to boost your link's serotonin levels. This enhancement is set at a normalized rate of 1% per hour.]
Right, I had nearly forgotten I had a timer attached to this task.
"Mom... hic, ma." Lianne muttered in her sleep.
She stretched lazily, her arms flying above her head as she did so.
Bam!
I felt an unintentional punch to my chin.
"What the hell?!" I exclaimed, rubbing the sore spot on my jaw.
Then she yawned, stretching herself even further.
Bam!
This time her legs kicked a sleeping Fredrick in the back of the head, sending him sprawling forward onto the floor.
"Ow, fuck!" Fredrick grunted, rolling onto his side.
Ding!
[Serotonin level: 8.5/12.5%]
'It looks like that kick was just the boost I needed to start the day.'
I stared at Lianne's sleeping form, wondering if I should wake her or not.
She looked so peaceful and cute, and a smile was plastered across her lips.
"Wakey, wakey, little girl!" I whispered in a singsong voice.
My hand gently brushed against hers, and she stirred slightly.
"Hm? What...?" Her voice came out slurred as she opened her eyes.
"Good morning, sleepyhead." I replied, smiling.
Her eyes fluttered open slowly. She squinted at first, trying to figure out where she was and why she couldn't remember anything about last night.
"Aahh... oh, I remember now," she murmured, sitting up.
She blinked several times and took in the surroundings around her.
"Where am I, Uncle Ally?" She asked in confusion.
"Blue eyes gave us this room. We slept here after dinner last night." I explained, gesturing around us.
"Oh, okay. Where is Ruff?" She looked around for her familiar companion.
"He's probably with Akemi," Fredrick offered, standing up and walking over towards the bedside cabinet.
Lianne stood up too, looking at the door.
"I miss my momma; when is she coming back?" She said it sadly.
Fredrick and I locked eyes, both of us unsure what to say.
His eyes encouraged me to tell the truth about Mia.
My heart urged me to lie.
"Well, Lianne, your momma is busy right now." I started.
"Why?"
"Umm... because there's something very important she needs to do."
"That doesn't sound good," Lianne stated matter-of-factly.
I shrugged my shoulders awkwardly.
"Don't you want to stay here with us and see the magic castle until your momma comes back?" I asked.
She thought about it for a minute.
"Maybe. But only if you promise to show me everything in the magic castle, feed me lots of food and sweets, and buy me new clothes every week." She added quickly.
Fredrick and I exchanged a look of horror.
Then he mouthed the words, 'Don't worry, I got this.'
"Are you sure about this, little one?" Fredrick asked.
"Mhmmm," she nodded enthusiastically.
"Alright then, let's go find Ruff!" Fredrick smiled.
"Yay!"
With that, they headed out the door together, leaving me alone in the bedroom.
I sat down, contemplating what I should do next.
The whole situation was pretty fucked up.
And the more I thought about it, the angrier I became.
I wanted to punch someone in the fucking face.
I laid back down on the bed, my arms spread out along the top edge of the mattress.
I closed my eyes, breathing deeply through my nose, hoping that some calming thoughts would come into my mind.
Nothing happened.
Instead, all I could think about was how much I missed Mia and how I wished I didn't have to deal with this bullshit right now.
After another few minutes of lying still, I finally decided to get out of bed.
I walked over to the bathroom and used the toilet. Then I washed my hands, splashing cold water over them.
Next, I grabbed a towel and wiped myself dry before heading back to the bedroom.
There, I sat down cross-legged in front of the wardrobe.
I pulled out the drawers, searching for something suitable to wear today.
I found a pair of black cargo pants, which I pulled on. They felt comfortable and loose-fitting.
I also found a white t-shirt with blue sleeves, which I put on next. It had a cartoon character on the front, but I wasn't sure what kind of animal it was supposed to be.
Lastly, I slipped on a pair of light brown leather boots. The shoes were fairly high-cut and made from thick material.
Once I'd finished getting dressed, I went to the mirror and inspected my outfit.
It seemed like a decent enough outfit for a day in the city, especially considering we weren't exactly going anywhere special.
'Downstairs it is! Yay!' I dryly muttered to myself.
So, I left the bedroom and headed downstairs to join Fredrick, Lianne, and probably the rest of the group.
–––––––––––
As I descended the stairs, I could hear the sounds of muffled giggles echoing from downstairs.
♪ In the land of dreams and sand,
Stands a castle, oh so grand.
Magic Castle, full of light,
Shining brightly, day and night.♬
...
"What is she doing down there?" I wondered aloud.
Then I heard Lianne's voice.
"Uncle Ally! Come quick, you have to see magic castle is playing on the TV!"
I stopped at the bottom step and looked across, my focus on the television Lianne was watching.
The screen was playing the 'Magic Castle, Oh So Grand' theme song.
The very song that had inspired Lianne's obsession with the place.
There, sitting on the sofa, was Fredrick holding a remote control, and Lianne was staring intently at the television.
Ruff was lying beside him, licking his paw.
I tilted my head at the theme song playing, wondering how the channel still aired with all the commotion going on.
"Magic Castle in the sky,
Where the happy dreams fly high.
With its towers silver and vastle,
Come and visit MAGIC CASTLE!" Lianne sang along to the chorus.
Then she went mute again, watching the next verse play onscreen.
♪See the dragons dance and prance,
Fairies twirl in a merry dance.
Magic Castle, where dreams come true,
Waiting there just for you. ♬
The scene changed to a shot of a castle, which slowly zoomed into view as the music continued to play.
Suddenly, the camera panned away from the city and began to follow a group of children running through a field, laughing and jumping around.
They were chasing each other around and making faces while they did so.
It wasn't until the next part of the song played that I noticed Fredrick had been singing along to the chorus, as Lianne had done earlier.
"Magic Castle in the sky,
Where the happy dreams fly high.
With its towers silver and vastle,
Come and visit MAGIC CASTLE!"
I couldn't help but laugh when Fredrick broke into the chorus.
He grinned at me before looking over his shoulder towards Lianne, who was still watching the television intently.
"Hey, you two!" I called. "Any idea where the others might be?"
"No..." Lianne answered, her attention still focused on the television.
She didn't seem too bothered by their absence.
Fredrick gave me a worried look, walked up to me, and pulled me toward the window.
From the look on his face, I could tell he wanted to say something. But he seemed reluctant to break the silence.
Finally, he spoke up, but in a whisper.
"I've already tried calling them all, but none of them answered. It almost feels like they vanished."
Lianne turned to look back at us, smiling softly. She started humming the theme song once again, swaying to the rhythm of the tune.
I forced a smile before turning my attention back to Fredrick.
"What do you mean 'vanished'? Did anyone leave the building or anything?"
"Well, no," he replied, frowning. "But we can't even find them anywhere inside the building. We've searched every room and haven't found any trace of them whatsoever."
That's odd.
"So I had to keep the little one distracted." He smiled sheepishly. "I thought it would take her mind off things if she could watch some TV instead; it turns out that kid shows are as tough as a needle."
I let out a sigh. This was starting to feel like a bad dream.
If this was a bad dream, then I'd probably wake up soon enough.
"Okay. Well, how about we split up? I'll go check outside; you search the rest of the building. If neither of us has found them in an hour, we'll meet back here and decide what to do next."
"Sounds good," Fredrick nodded. "Let's meet back here in an hour; don't worry about Lianne; she still has her bracelet on, and Ruff can offer some sort of companionship for a while."
"Lianne, you're in charge of the house, most especially the television. Be sure to lock all the doors behind us and make sure everything's alright. Keep the bracelet on you at all times, okay?"
"Roger that. Puppy is staying with me!" She flashed another dazzling smile at me before returning to the television.
We parted ways. Fredrick headed for the front door, while I took the stairs down to the ground floor and made my way outside.
My breath caught in my throat when I stepped out into the blood-soaked garden.
All of the plants were dead or dying, and the grass beneath my feet was brown and dry. The air was heavy with the smell of rot and death.
As far as the eye could see, there wasn't a single living thing.
Even the trees and bushes looked dead, their branches bare and brittle. They were twisted and withered, barely clinging to life.
Something isn't right...
I heard a strange noise coming from somewhere nearby. At first, I thought it was my imagination. But I quickly realized it wasn't.
"Hahaha..."
The faint sounds of laughter echoed throughout the empty space.
It sounded familiar somehow.
I closed my eyes so I could focus on the sound.
It came from above.
My eye shot open, and I immediately looked up.
There, standing by the window, was a masked person peering down at me.
–––––––––––
Author's note
¶ 'Magic Castle, Oh So Grand' Theme song is an original written in my boredom(official audio will be out on my Kofi on the 14th of January 2024)
¶ Would you like to listen to the theme songs of each important character shown so far or scenes?