Mine...Yours Pt. 12

"You dare...Ooomph!" He bellowed as Gregory slammed into his chest knocking him off of me. I had always known Master could move quickly when he wanted to, but this was amazing! One moment he had been fifty to sixty feet away, then he had charged with his shoulder into Balmont's chest in the blink of an eye.

I heard a wordless cry from my Master as he raised and lowered his fists slamming them into my old master again and again. I tried to move to help but I couldn't, everything was going very dark. I placed my hands on my stomach, feeling the massive tear in my flesh and whimpered as I tried to hold it closed. Was this what my Greg had felt when he was lying on the ground? Would I be close to death too? I heard my Master fighting and closed my eyelids. The rain felt good, I would just sleep for a bit and when I would wake up we would be in bed, my Gregory and me.

I was so glad my Master was awake...

Chapter 36: The Door

(Gregory's Viewpoint)

24 hours earlier...

I could hear my name being called but I ignored it. I wanted to sleep. Sleep was always a good thing. Not so much in jail because I would always dream of the outside world, or of nightmares. Nightmares I almost always had in jail, but when I woke up from them I was almost always happy to see the concrete walls around me and know that it was just a dream. The happy dreams that were the worst. In my dreams I would wake up in my old bed and get up, have a cup of coffee. Or I would go out for a walk and see the farmer's fields around my home and watch the clouds turn bright in the morning sun. Then get ready to go to work.

Sleep with no dreams was a wonderful luxury and I was prepared to take full advantage of it by going back to sleep and forgetting all about the real world. I wanted nothing to do with werewolves, witches, warlocks, or talking rats, or vampires or chupacabra or any of it! I wanted to fade away to nothing and never come back!

"Gregory?"

Besides...what was life to me now? I was labeled a monster, treated like a monster, and viewed as one? This was my perfect opportunity to pass on right? I mean...heaven is out there right? Go to heaven and see God if heaven exists and then it all will be out in the open and everyone will know that I am blameless of that sin. Course I have done a bunch of other foolish stuff and that will all be out in the open too. Hmmm, maybe we can gloss over some of the more embarrassing things? They weren't really bad but were VERY embarrassing.

"Gregory? You need to wake up now."

Suicide...is it suicide to really give up on life? For so long I had been merely surviving...existing. Now that I know I have been hurt badly if I gave up and let myself move on to the next life would that be considered suicide...or just merely giving up? Is there a difference?

"Gregory, we need you...Lucretia needs you...can't you feel it?"

Wish that voice would leave me alone...Lucretia. Yeah...what about Lucretia huh? She is the most kickass person I know. Even if she isn't human she is more human to me than anyone I know outside of immediate family. Talk about patient, I am one moody son of a gun. A depressing wet blanket. She puts up with all of that! She saved me from more than just those werewolves...she saved me from me! She made me curious about life. I am supposed to teach her about women am I? Teach her how to seduce a man? I don't know the first thing about any of it! I gave her free will and what does she do? She obeys me...she tries out all of my suggestions and puts up with my orders even when I seem to be clueless. I feel like the blind leading someone who can see half the time...I don't deserve to have someone so incredible in my life.

I sometimes wish she had killed me.

"Child...do you truly wish that? If that were true then this has all been a waste, and all has been for naught." A voice made of spun sugar with a touch of sour lime spoke. I opened my eyes and found myself in front of my Door. The words on the floor were crumbled and dust. The final word emblazoned on my door itself shone with an eerie orange light. I turned and saw a slight woman with a mouth full of sharp teeth. Her skin and hair were as white as newly fallen snow and her eyes were a pearlescent white that were looking straight into mine.

"Hi...ummm...Mother." I said lamely. Lucretia's mom always freaked me out a little. She smiled, and it made my spine tingle.

"Greetings Gregory. You still wish to die?" she asked.

"No, not really. I was just having a pity party for myself." I replied.

She cocked her head regarding me. "A pity...party? Festivities for something that is useless?" I sighed.

"Its not useless, well, actually it is kinda useless but feels good for a short time. Sort of."

She seemed to roll this concept around for a moment and then glanced back at me. "So are you done with this pity party now?" I snorted and nodded my head.

"Good because it will be time for you to wake up shortly." She said with a nod of her head. She walked over to my door and stood beside it, indicating the symbol.

"Do you know what this is?" she asked me. I nodded. "It means Surpass." She smiled and again I got the heebie jeebies! Why is it that when Lucretia smiles at me her sharp teeth are hardly noticeable...but when Mother does it, it makes me want to run and hide?

"You are correct young mage, now...you have passed the tests of the other words. Become, you have chosen what you wish to become. Grow, you are growing into what you have chosen to become. Learn, you are learning how to grow into what you have chosen to become..." She paused, and ran her fingers over the symbol and I felt it like a feathers brush on the back of my neck when she did it.

"I wish to know why you have not Surpassed this obstacle...why is this Door still here?" She asked me.

I shrugged. "It's done its job so far, keeping everything inside so I don't have to deal with it" She shook her head and growled slightly.

"What has it really done for you boy!" she spat at me. I recoiled away from her. She appeared to take hold of herself. She ran clawed fingers through her white hair and gave me a sweet smile.

"I am not very good at having patience with those who cannot see..." she said softly.

"What am I supposed to see?" I asked, feeling very confused. She sighed and waved a hand and made a large mirror appear in front of me.

"Tell me what you see..." she said in that odd voice of hers. I pondered my reflection. I saw myself, naked, but not feeling shame for it. Even if I was in front of Mother who I considered a female I felt no shame in my body, no desire to cover up. I wondered if it was the fact that this whole exchange was happening in my mind that made it that way for me.

"I see me..." I said slowly. I was trying to figure out if this was a trick question or not.

"Would you like me to tell you what I see?" Mother said after a moment. She seemed almost disappointed. Well, I have disappointed a lot of people so why not a succubus queen? Round out the whole collection!

She chuckled dryly, "You do not disappoint me young one. As I said, I am not very good at patience. It is no fault of yours, only mine."

She stood next to me looking at her own reflection for a moment and seemed about ready to preen then caught herself and looked me over.

"I see a very strong aspect of who Gregory Brooks is, and I would very much enjoy meeting the man." She said quietly.

I looked down at her in surprise...hadn't expected that. Her words made something inside of me tremble with a sharp pang of fear. Like when you reach inside of a drawer for the fillet knife and you grasp it in your hand and feel the bite of the edge of the blade in your palm. You freeze for a moment and then slowly draw your hand out to see if you have been cut. Something like that.

She nodded her head as if reading my mind.

"Did you believe that you were Gregory, and that you had pushed your emotions and feelings away into a dark place?" I nodded and she laughed a short sharp bark of a laugh.

"That is impossible to do, to really do! All you have done is hide who you are and allow the world to be your cage." She raised up a hand and patted my dumbfounded cheek.

You are the aspect of Survival...Gregory Bastion Brooks. Oh more of you has leaked through than you know. Your sense of Justice and your innocent Trust have come through. I sense Compassion has made itself know as well. Your Door never really was there and I have been waiting all of this time for you to break the final seal and open it. I have wanted you to become whole again, instead of just ignoring who you are and trying to live your life without caring."

My mind was whirling with all of this information . What was she saying? If this was true and for some reason it appeared to resonate within me as true, then I had been...what had I been doing all this time?!

"Trying to protect yourself from the harsh realities of this world..." Mother answered. "You had always believed that you do the best you can with what you have, do no harm to others and no one will hurt you. This is a lie that many believe."

She waved a hand and the mirror dissipated into nothing, taking my reflection with it. "There is a rule that you believe yes? People believe what they want to believe. That is the rule yes? It has been written in many different books and you humans quote it often enough so one would think they would listen to it."

She sighed and shook her head, "You tell someone something and they see fault with it or offense even though none was meant and then they chastise you for it. Even a simple slip of a word or two can cause others to despise you or wish you harm. No Gregory...you cannot live a good life just by being a good person."

I took a step back from her hand grabbed the sides of my head.

"Listen to me Gregory Bastion Brooks..." Mother began.

"I am!" I shouted back at her in angry exasperation, and walked right up to peer down at her face. "You say that you have a hard time with patience? Well then, let me point out to you to have a little more patience and give me a chance to breathe!" I panted at her.

"You want me to open that Door and your asking me why I don't and your telling me a whole bunch of bullshit and having me look in mirrors and spout a bunch of words at me that make no sense..." I paused and considered what I had just said.

"Actually they do kind of make sense but it doesn't really apply right now. You asked me a question, and I want to answer it." I took a deep breath, glared at the Door and then sighed out my air.

"I am afraid..." I said softly.

"Of what?" Mother asked.

"Of...I don't know...the unknown? I haven't really been whole in a while and I know I got a lot of pain locked up in there."

Mother nodded, "There must also be a lot of good, after all you like yourself don't you?" I glanced back at Mother before staring at the Door.

"The unknown is really very frightening to me, Sounds weird to say it like that but it is...What am I supposed to do if I can't handle it...I...I don't know what to..."

Mother interrupted me, "Lucretia will help you...if you can Surpass your own fear in time."

That pegged something inside of me, maybe it was Mother's tone of voice but it carried a clear and distinct warning in it.

"You need to Surpass your fear to Learn to Grow into what you have chosen to Become." Mother said simply.

I waited for more, but it didn't come. "What does Lucretia have to do with it?" I asked slowly. Mother shook her head.

"No...Mother it is important, please tell me. There is something your keeping from me." I asked sternly. The quaver in my voice gave away my emotions.

Mother sighed and looked down as she crossed her arms under her breasts.

"If you do not Surpass...Lucretia will die."

Those words hung in the air as if drawn there. I heard them but also could see them like bold print glowing darkly on the inside of my forehead. The moment of silence lengthened as I stared hard at Mother.

"Surpass my fear? That's it...get this Door open and...and Lucretia won't die?" My voice was rough and choked as I stumble towards the Door. It didn't even occur to me at the time to question what Mother was telling me. I felt it in my entire being, she believed it and so did I.

My hands found the locked wheel and I saw the little bit of play in the chain, I began inspecting it, looking for a weak link. Normally the Door always wants to open, now it was still and silent. I glared at it. Of all the times for it to behave...now was a very bad time to do that!

"Come on!" I groaned, searching the chain. I heard Mother speaking to me.

"You need to get over your fear first Gregory..." I didn't even turn around as I spoke.

"Damn getting over fear! Damn tests and damn the waiting! I don't care if I am afraid, fearful, or a scaredy cat! I need to get over this to help Lucretia...? Then I will!"

The chain broke in my hands and the wheel spun without me touching it, and a second later I heard the clink of metal as the bolts fell into their unlocked position.

"Well done." Mother said behind me. I stood up and squared my shoulders. I grabbed a hold of the door and I saw the symbol on the door glitter again. I took my other hand and wiped it off.

"I guess I just needed a reason to open it that was bigger than my fear." I muttered to myself. I opened the Door and stepped through.

(Addendum)

Mother stood quietly watching as the Door opened, then shut and vanished from view.

"I do not see why I had to be the one to tell him these things...is it not a parents job to do?" Mother said quietly.

"You are a parent yourself..." Mr. Brooks said. He stepped forward to stand next to Mother, staring at the blank wall that had once held a portal that his son had locked. "Why did you not do the same thing with Lucretia.?"

Mother glanced at the much bigger man next to her and shrugged. "I tried...many times. But...she would not listen." Mr. Brooks nodded in agreement.

"Sometimes we have to hear it from someone who is not a parent, and sometimes from someone who is not a friend for us to believe it." He paused for a moment, then smiled. "Probably why people go to see therapists so often!"

Mother gave him a questioning look to which Mr. Brooks replied, "A therapist is someone that people pay a fee to listen to their problems and offer advice or an outside opinion to help them."

Mother snorted and shook her head, "Humans are strange...!" Mr. Brooks nodded, smiling as well.

The succubus queen hesitated a moment, then looked Mr. Brooks squarely in the eye.

"When you summoned me, after so long...I was curious." She stopped, again considering her words.

Mr. Brooks continued instead, "I only knew that I felt the prompting to summon you and tell you of the problems of my son and find a solution with you. It made no sense to me either...but here we are." He placed a hand on Mother's shoulder. "I never dreamed we would be helping your daughter." He thought a moment and smiled a little, "I really like her, a lot. Didn't think that I would."

Mother grinned a shark tooth grin at him and he matched it with his own. "Gregory is very much like his father when he was younger, he is good for my daughter." She turned from Mr. Brooks and began to walk away.

"Yes, we are helping them...and accomplishing so much more as well!"

Chapter 37: Bandages.

I thought for sure I would be surrounded by blue light or white or something dark and dreary. I wasn't though. The moment the Door opened I felt it disappear from my fingertips and I was blinking at sunshine on my face. I held up a hand as I blinked and squinted to adjust my vision. After I could see again I looked at, and then goggled at my surroundings!

It was a giant pasture bordered by wheat fields and vineyards. The grass was thick and lush and I could feel it between my toes. I took in a deep breath of clean air and almost purred in satisfaction. The sun felt good on my body, like I had been in the dark for too long and my skin was thirstily drinking in the golden light.

"Your back!" said a surprised voice. I turned and saw what I thought was a smaller version of myself dressed all in black with a hood on. He spun once and slammed a small globe on the ground causing a flash of smoke to appear with a bang! When the smoke cleared, he was gone!

I heard a lighter flick and looked next to me to see Justice standing beside me. "Do I even want to know?" I asked him.

He rolled his now lit cigarette to the other side of his mouth as he pocketed the lighter. "Near as I can tell, since I have no idea what aspect he is, he was the part of you that wanted to be a ninja when you were young."

I made a sound that was somewhere between a gasp and a laugh. "Seriously? That is so...I don't know...geeky?"

Trust pulled at my hand to get my attention and I looked down at myself...wow this was going to get confusing! "Come on! Lets get this done! He is waiting..."

Who was waiting? I'd kind of thought that I was the lead dog. I was Survival after all. Wasn't I the most important aspect of...well...myself? Trust began leading me down into the pasture. And I began to see more faces. I saw the studious part of me reading next to the lazy part of me fishing. I had always thought those two kind of went hand in hand since I enjoyed reading so much. I saw a few aspects hunting, one that was a boy with a slingshot. The other as a teen with a bow and arrow, and the final very close to they way I looked now give me a glance and a nod before aiming at his target with a rifle.

There were so many, too numerous to count...all variations of the major aspects of who I was. Walking through them, being led by the hand by Trust and being followed closely by Justice...I began to feel it all again. I began to remember all of those memories that I had pushed away because it hurt to think about them now. I began to remember old friends who I hadn't seen in ages and the bittersweet taste of those memories filled my mind. A memory of getting punched by bullies and then getting up and even while crying fighting back against them. I don't remember how it ended as even more memories flooded in.

Trust stopped walking and I was standing beside a pool next to a large tree. Looked to be a sequoia of some kind. I looked down at the pool, it was glowing softly, a rich blue that looked like a piece of the sky above had fallen down to nestle in the grass. It made me think of Chicken Little with the whole shtick of "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" It made me chuckle quietly to myself.

"Something funny?" a raspy voice asked behind me. I immediately stopped laughing turning to face who I knew it was. I had only ever seen his face, covered in bandages, now I could see all of him. He was as tall as me, and as wide. His fingers twitched at his sides and his red-rimmed eyes looked like they had been crying. I watched him carefully as he moved a little to the side, closer to the pool.

"I asked you a QUESTION!" he thundered and all the other aspects moved to give us more space. Trust and Justice stayed by my side. The bandage man gave them each a look that could have melted lead.

"Traitors...he left US! Now you side with HIM?" He took a step forward and Justice met him.

"There is no him or you or us you pain blinded idiot!" He opened his mouth to say more when the end of one of the bandages came up and wrapped around Justices's head and mouth. It was as if he had been plugged into an electrical socket and his body twitched and spasmed like he was having seizures! Trust moved to help him but I held him back and we watched Justice thrash on the ground, trying to scream but unable to.

"There you go Justice...see what I have had to endure for YEARS! Because of HIM!" he said while pointing at me.