"ah-Anne?...oh-Oliver?!"
Anne smiled. "Yes, Sasha. It's really us...It's really me."
"ANNE!" exclaimed Sasha, overjoyed. "you're here, You're REALLY HERE!"
Olivier watched as the two girls appeared to run towards each other.
He expected them to embrace each other in a hug like all those Rom-Coms he watched with Anne
(and, indeed. Anne was running at her with arms spread out to give a warm hug.)
...Only for Anne to suddenly grasp Sasha by the neck, and start throttling her.
"AH-AH-AH-ANNE?!" exclaimed Sasha, confused.
"YOU DRESSED MY BOYFRIEND UP LIKE A BELLY DANCER!" exclaimed Anne, angrily.
As Anne continued to shake throttled Sasha, Olivier chuckled as he watched this.
"I know I should probably stop this..." spoke Olivier. "And I will...after just a few more minutes."
[Much Longer Than a Few Minutes...]
In another part of Sasha's mindscape, Anne and Sasha sat opposite from one another.
Anne had a 'displeased' scowl that never wavered, while Sasha just frowned.
"I know you have no reason to believe me..." began Sasha. "but I really am sorry. I mean it, this time."
"I know." spoke Anne, still scowling. "I forgive you for what you did...but I'm still mad at you."
Sasha nodded. "yeah...I understand. I'd be mad too if I were in your place."
Sasha then looked over at Olivier (who had a neutral expression on his face.) "I guess you're mad at me too, huh?"
"You bet. but I can tell your remorse is genuine this time.
So I am willing to give you one more chance to prove yourself." said Olivier.
Sasha nodded. "I swear I won't blow it this time."
Anne finally let her anger subside just a little, and gave a softer expression.
"Even though I am still mad at you...I am also glad to know you are okay." said Anne.
"After all that chaos at Newtopia, and...Marcy. I was worried about everyone that I was forced to leave behind."
Sasha exhaled sadly. "well...Me and Grime got away, and took refuge in Wartwood.
But then King Andrias sent this huge death machine to enslave the frogs, and destroy everything else."
Anne and Olivier widened their eyes at this.
"I managed to fight it off, and save that town...but then a whole army came.
I couldn't stop all that. But, Me and Grime DID discover this underground catacomb under the old frog's farm."
"We suspected you did." said Olivier.
"anyway...we got everyone down there safely. but Wartwood...it's been destroyed."
Anne's heart sank upon hearing this.
While glad that the 'Wartwoodians' were all okay (thanks to Sasha),
it grieved her to imagine the town she called home for five months was now now gone.
"thank you for protecting them, Sasha." spoke Anne.
Sasha sighed sadly. "I was just trying to do what you would do.
After Newtopia...I came to realize what a horrible person, and terrible friend I have been.
You trusted me, even after I hurt you. and what did I do?: I hurt you all over again.
I don't blame you for still being angry with me, Anne...I deserve your anger for what I've done.
but I swear...I will do all I can to earn back your trust. and be worthy of your friendship."
Anne looked at Sasha for a moment...and then smiled. Sasha then looked at Olivier.
"oliver...what I did to you was inexcusable. and I will make no excuses for it.
Only that I did like you, and...I was jealous that someone as cool as you was with Anne.
But I realize now...you are not a prize to be won, nor a treasure for me to take.
I was wrong to try and force you to love me...you belong with ANNE, not me. I see that now."
Olivier had a soft expression on his face.
He was about to say something...when he suddenly looked alarmed. "uh-oh."
Anne and Sasha got up. "what is it, Ollie?"
"we have company."
The Trio looked...and saw an ink blot-like creature speeding towards them.
"oh crap!, not those things AGAIN!" exclaimed Anne.
As the Nightmare Creature opened it's single eye, Olivier acted quickly
and got between it and the two girls, shielding Anne and Sasha from the flash of it's eyeball.
Sadly, Olivier wasn't able to shield his own eyes in time.
But instead of the creature morphing into something specific...the whole environment began to change.
"Ollie...what's going on?" spoke Anne, confused.
"I'm...not sure." said Olivier, equally confused.
"I'm only guessing, but...since we are in Sasha's dreamscape as Dream Walkers,
then it may be possible for our own dreamscapes to overlap into this one."
Sasha stared at Olivier. "Do you come with Subtitles?!"
Olivier rolled his eyes. "I said: Me and Anne's dreams can mix with yours."
"Why didn't you just say that!?"
"I DID!"
"Can we please focus on the fact that Ollie just got flashed by a monster
that can make whoever is affected by it to experience their worst fears?" spoke Anne.
"Because I am a little worried about what Ollie's nightmares might be like."
No sooner had Anne said that...the environment finally became stable.
"We're...in a dark woods?" spoke Sasha.
"It doesn't look like Amphibia...or California." spoke Anne.
"yeah...It kinda reminds me of one of those RPG videogames that Marcy likes." said Sasha.
Anne then looked at Olivier...who was frozen like a statue.
"Ollie?"
"no...not this." spoke Olivier, sounding quite scared. "not here...not again."
Anne ran up to Olivier (as did Sasha.) Upon touching his shoulder, she was surprised to find him trembling.
"Oliver...what's wrong, hon?" spoke Anne, softly.
Before Olivier could answer...everyone saw someone else running towards them.
Anne and Sasha widened their eyes to see that the new figure was a much younger Olivier
...an Olivier who had visibly round ears.
"oh no." spoke Anne, realizing what this was.
"what is it?" spoke Sasha.
"this is...This is it, isn't it?" continued Anne. "this is...when it happened."
Olivier said nothing...as he, Anne and Sasha watched his younger self.
Young Olivier was running, tears in his eyes as he was crying.
He fell down near a river, and remained on his knees. crying his eyes out.
Anne was about to ask Olivier why his younger self was crying...when they noticed something else.
Looming in the shadows...was a figure that looked female with bright, gleaming eyes.
As they approached, their form remained in shadow. trailing smoke like a wraith.
(("SHE IS BETTER OFF WITHOUT YOU...")) spoke the wraith, it's voice distorted.
Young Olivier stared back at the dark figure.
(("YOU WERE HOLDING HER BACK. YOU ARE *ALWAYS* HOLDING HER BACK."))
Young Olivier stood up, glaring defiantly as the wraith approached
(("SHE DOESN'T NEED A HALF-A-WITCH LIKE YOU DRAGGING HER DOWN...")) continued the Wraith.
(("SO STAY AWAY FROM HER. OR BETTER YET, JUST GO BACK TO YOUR BIRD SHACK...END OF DISCUSSION."))
Sasha cringed upon hearing that last line...her formerly favorite words.
"you...YOU'RE the reason she did that." spoke Young Olivier.
The wraith grinned malevolently. (("JUST LOOKING OUT FOR MY FRIEND."))
"SHE WAS MY FRIEND TOO!" shouted Young Olivier. "and you turned her against me...Why?!,
because I was the one person who refused to yield to you!?, REFUSED to be intimidated by you!?"
The wraith then scowled angrily at Young Olivier.
"well, I'm NOT afraid of you...I never was." said Young Olivier.
With that, the Shadowy Figure threw a punch at Young Olivier. Knocking him down.
(("THEN MAYBE IT'S TIME FOR ME TO TEACH TO SHOW SOME RESPECT."))
The Wraith then pinned Young Olivier down, grinning like a Jack-O-Lantern at him.
THEN...it spotted something attached to his belt, and took it.
...It was a wood carving knife.
Anne covered her mouth...knowing full well what was coming next.
"GIVE THAT BACK!" exclaimed Young Olivier. "My grandfather gave that to me!"
The Wraith grinned as she held the knife's blade to one of Young Olivier's ears.
(("SINCE THOSE STUPID ROUND EARS OF YOURS MAKE YOU STICK OUT...ALLOW ME TO HELP YOU "FIT IN."))
With a swift swipe of the hand...Young Olivier let out a blood curdling scream.
Anne and Sasha froze, their mouths gaped open as the witch blood continued screaming bloody murder.
They couldn't see everything...but they did see blood flying in the air,
Young Olivier kicking his legs while screaming and pleading for mercy.
...and all while the shadowy figure cackled wickedly.
When it was finally over, the shadowy figure began to walk away,
tossing the blood stained knife into the ground while Young Olivier curled into a ball.
(("CONSIDER THIS A LESSON...")) spoke the Wraith. (("ANYONE WHO CROSSES ME...PAYS THE CONSIQUENCES."))
As the figure walked away...an angry Anne rushed forward, and tried swinging a punch.
and despite her blows passing through the wraith like smoke, she continued in vain to hit her.
When finally her strength gave out she glared at the disappearing spectre.
"whoever you are...if I ever find you. I will make you SUFFER." growled Anne.
Anne then looked back to Young Olivier...who was finally rising up from his ball form.
Both her and Sasha gasped upon seeing the state that the poor boy was in.
Like the real Olivier, his ears were gone...only the fresh wounds were GUSHING with blood.
Crimson red streaked down his neck, and stained the shoulder flaps of his school uniform.
The boy crawled over to the river, and gazed at his reflection in the rushing water.
He then gasped upon seeing his gruesome visage, freezing in total shock.
His body then trembled as he began to well up in tears.
an audible whine squeezed from his throat as he gripped his arms in a vain attempt at self-comfort.
Finally...he couldn't take it any longer.
Feeling truly broken, the boy let out a wail of anguish...and the cried harder than he ever had before.
Both Anne and Sasha were speechless, shocked and stunned
that something so horrible, so...Evil, could happen to anyone.
Anne wanted so badly to hug the child, and give him the comfort he so needed.
But she had to remind herself that this was a memory, a shadow of the past.
She couldn't give the young Olivier any comfort...as she wasn't there back then to do so.
As the Young Olivier faded, and the memory ended...both Anne and Sasha looked to THEIR Olivier.
He just stood there like a stone statue, a grim expression upon his face.
Olivier shed no tears, but both girls could see the visible pain in his eyes.
Anne finally approached her boyfriend and put her arms around him.
She hugged him tightly, tears forming in her hazel eyes. "i'm sorry...I am so, so sorry." spoke Anne.
Olivier looked at his girlfriend. "it's...f-fine." spoke Olivier, stuttering. "it doesn't...hurt as bad as it did then."
Anne looked at Olivier. "I swear...for as long as I live, I'll never let anyone hurt you like that again."
Olivier looked at his girlfriend...and then smiled, allowing a tear to fall.
He then put his own arms around Anne, embracing the girl who healed his broken heart.
As the pair continued to embrace, Sasha frowned sadly.
She also wanted to give Olivier comfort...but restrained herself from doing so.
Sasha still didn't feel like she'd 'earned' the right to be as close to him as Anne was.
Just then, the three felt a familiar presence nearby.
They looked...and saw the same shadowy wraith looming, grinning like a devil.
Olivier broke from Anne, and stepped forward. Facing the Wraith.
(("YOU REALLY KEPT YOUR FEARS BURIED, CLAWTHORNE.")) spoke the Wraith.
(("I HAD TO DIG DEEP TO FIND IT...BUT DAMN, WAS IT A GOOD ONE."))
"I'm not afraid of you...not anymore." said Olivier, his tone stern.
(("YOU AND I BOTH KNOW BETTER THAN THAT.")) said the Wraith.
(("I COULDN'T EVEN BE HERE IF YOU TRULY WASN'T STILL AFRAID OF ME."))
Olivier grimaced, actually shaking a little.
He hated to admit it, But this shadow phantom was right: he was still scared.
(("IN FACT, YOU ARE STILL SO AFRAID OF ME...")) spoke the Wraith, stepping into view
(("THAT YOU REFUSE TO EVEN SEE ME AS I REALLY AM. I AM EITHER A SHADOW TO YOU...OR-"))
The Wraith then steps into the light...Their appearance now that of Sasha as Olivier remembered her.
(("You project someone who REMINDS you of me...onto "me.")) spoke the False Sasha.
Sasha cringed as she gazed at her now mirror image.
It was like looking at herself from the past...back when she was at her worst.
...and she HATED looking at her. She hated HER.
Olivier then sighed sharply...then looked at the False Sasha.
"you're right. I tried so hard to bury what happened to me back then." began Olivier.
"I tried so hard NOT to think about it. but no matter how much I repress it...it will always be with me.
Hell, my Dark Form exists BECAUSE of the Anger and Grief that first spawned from this place."
Olivier looked at the False Sasha...whose skin was chipping away like an aged sculpture,
slowly revealing the form of someone else underneath. Almost as if Sasha's visage was a mask.
"Everytime I succumbed to the darker aspect of my magic and became that horror...YOU were there.
And you will always be there whenever I feel that rage, that grief...that Anguish."
False Sasha grinned wide, their body cracking more and more. (("Say...My...NAME."))
Olivier glared at the She-Devil standing before him.
He then closed his eyes, and hissed through his teeth as he spoke with venom in his voice.
"Boscha."
[End of Part Thirty-Eight]