Tale Of Souls (Cathartic Nightmare)

18 - Carnival Uprising

Don't believe everything you've ever been told. At least that's what I believed. I woke up in the middle of what seemed like a nightmare. I smelled smoke, I smelled pizza and I smelled children. I didn't get it - but yet at the same time it felt familiar. My joints were stiffer than usual, older than usual - like I'd been here before.

"Don't worry asshole, those aren't your kids."

Strangely, the voice was familiar - but the face wasn't. That one sounded far too much like myself, and had a helix-like tattoo under his right eye... at least that's what it looked like at first glance. Wait, the long brown hair and the red headband - that's the one they've shown on the television...

"You're ok, that's all you have to worry about."

Familiarities are piling up like fries straight out of the oven - I still can't properly see what's going on.

"Sorry, you're experiencing a time reflux kiddo, not some narcoleptic vision."

That tshirt, the pocket - the grey, except it's torn and burnt and stained from blood. He was in that photo that Lily had - the one she kept calling a stupid mouse.

"Puppy had his jimmies rustled didn't he?"

Sensory overload, I think I'm starting to get a migraine... I saw that one's face in my narcoleptic visions, only we were all much younger. Maybe this is one of those visions.

"Skye, you idiot - it's no time for fucking around."

"Bah, I can focus on the task at hand Mickey. Don't make everyone sing your club theme song." The blonde one scoffed. "I'll start thinking you're a dirty rat instead of a Dangerous bunny hopping mouse."

"What's going on?" I yelled, I couldn't see properly - things were blurry, hazy.

"Nations fall once in a while, things become one and disasters happen. We are lucky to still be here, the last time this happened it almost killed off my father's kingdom."

There's far too many blondes around me, and three people with pink hair - this is confusing. Three Goddamnit, there's only supposed to be one. Worse off, one looks like one of those really adorable cute Japanese he-she's... my mind's playing tricks on me.

"Oi, don't get up -both of you aren't done healing yet"

Both ... of us?

"They're slowly pulling us properly off each other like hot water to wallpaper retard."

Her face was familiar, I looked at her dead on, and she's to the right of me. It's Lily, the only familiar face I can see - but she's aged, and she has a mark on her face. Also, she's far more bite than bark than she usually is - never weak in her tone, but usually more polite than this.

"At least they can tell which one of you are which by the smell you produce when you don't shower for days." Terrin laughed, and put his hand on the doorway. I blinked, and looked at him as if I didn't have a fucking clue what just conspired. "Let me retrace what Tensei just said, POINT BLANK you're in another warzone. This is what happens when your precious government toys with the space and time bullshit. Everything collapsed around us and we ended up together here."

Let me just get my cellphone and call Bobby Singer, and ask him how we managed to slip time and space without the help of a witch.

"And so there's a reason and rhyme behind Izuchi being asleep, Lily looks she has a Lightning bolt tattoo like Lady Gaga, and my joints were feeling like I'm 35 and not 21?" I grumbled, and as soon as I realized I opened my mouth - I sounded 35 or older, scratchy and like I'd been smoking for years.