Eleven- A Bond Between A Master & A Queen

Chapter 11 in which more to Sarah's story is revealed...

As soon as I exited Master's room and retreated down the hall, I returned to the tranquilly humming main room of the T.A.R.D.I.S., which as you know, I've taken to calling the living room.
I stopped just a few steps past the entryway to look around me at the cold, empty metal interior of the ship. The only thing that actually made this place a home now was the few pieces of furniture I had scattered about in different parts.
The couch, the bar stools, some chairs, an entertainment system, a couple medical cabinets, and of course, the kitchen and laundry appliances.
The dryer and washing machine had been placed to the left of the entrance.
But even with all this, I still had a deep sinking feeling...a feeling that can only be described as dread.
Loneliness..out of sorts..I was out of place.
I realized at that moment that I, Sarah Demens, am living someone else's life. I don't belong here.
Not really.
The boys taking me was a mistake. Me agreeing to come was a mistake. I've done the best that I can, been the best that I can, but honestly..anyone can do this. Anyone can be the 'Queen'.
I'm not special. Not in the way I need to be.

I should be back home, with my family.
No physical friends to mess around with.
Single, jobless, no car, on my own.
Sitting in my room with my dog, snacking on sweets, and dreaming about characters as I pretended to be an actual 12 yr old for the rest of my life. Fantasizing about visiting other worlds.
I'm a dreamer. Not an adventurer. I flipping hate traveling.
It takes me all my strength just to go outside, let alone hop to another planet.
I only imagine going to these places..I should be struggling to simply become a writer and a filmmaker. Not saving worlds and slaying villains.
I'm no hero. None of this is right.

And so what if the boys tried to kill me for pretending to be the Queen?
Maybe..maybe that's what I deserve. That's my punishment.
For doing something so wrong. I make myself sick. It's unbearable keeping such a secret from four very brilliant minds. You've no idea how exhausting that is.

Yet standing there alone, staring at everything around me, rubbing my chilled arms..I realized that..well..I miss their company. I miss them.
Yes, they're a pain. A ridiculously dangerous pain that's aging me by decades..
they've done terrible things and are complete and total monsters.
But the problem is clear. I'm growing attached.
I'm letting myself get close to them, even though all the signals in my mind are telling me not to.
Traveling together, fighting together, going through everything together is causing us to bond, despite our refusal to do so. And now, I'm allowing myself to think of them as friends.
I must be insane for it..but hey.

Prior to my kidnapping, I admired the boys.
Not for their actions, but them in themselves.
I was a fan solely because there was something about them that I just needed  to love.
I don't know why. I've always liked villains, just as much as the heroes, when it comes to characters.
But those four? They were specifically my favorites.
And being in their presence now..all my feelings have escalated.
To the point of me actually caring about them. Worrying about them.
MisSING THEM WHEN THEY'RE AWAY.
Despite knowing they hate me..idk..no matter what, I still found myself believing in a future where I..and them..travel forever. Together. No more innocent killing on their part. No more thirst for blood.
The time for evil passes..and they choose me instead.
The image in my mind mocked me. Seeing us as more than just traveling companions..
seeing them as, well..you know.
And it made me sick to remember the truth.. they'd never choose me.
No one ever chooses me.
I'm just there, needed only until you can find something better.............

I can't wait until I'm not a teenager. I'm so dramatic.

And I forgot my laptop.

......
...
..
.
CURSES OF A THOUSAND SUNS
I squeezed my gloved fists and stomped my boots as I gritted my teeth.
"DANG IT"
I HANDED MY LAPTOP TO A STRANGER, ITY7T7FIFGDDGGIDIGFGDCHUCUGC,
HOW COULD I?!

The whole thing with Master happened so quick, I was rushing to get to him, and that included passing my brand new laptop that I bought at an alien market off to a complete stranger.
Or maybe..it wasn't a stranger..
ah nah, not stranger, 'twas a Claud.
Claud did the thing for me. Good old Claud.
Still, that was pretty stupid and mildly surprising of me. I'd have to punish myself for it later.

Another thing found itself creeping into my subconscious, and gradually ate at my thoughts...
my eyes carefully scrolled to the left.
Directly at the cabinet.
The cabinet that held my marbles hostage.
With the Master out cold and the boys outside doing my bidding, this was quite possibly the single most perfect chance I could ask for to take action.
I needed to retrieve what was stolen from me that I rightfully stole from another.
And I needed to do so fast. Memory reminded me that he had placed the key atop the cabinet, as if I wouldn't be able to reach it, the oaf. I no longer cared if he would "fry me like a fish". I was getting it.

So I skid out a stool, slid it as quietly as possible over against the cabinet, and hurriedly climbed up.
My hand moved about the top as I eagerly anticipated the instance of my fingers brushing against a small, cold metal object.

But..my heart sank....there was no key....there wasn't anything..it was missing..my mouth fell.
That...little....time monkey.
HE TRICKED ME.

Sending out a vicious snarl of fury and vengeful rage, I immediately jumped down and pressed myself against the glass. The marbles were still there. Poking out from the small pouch.
Mocking me with their own existence.
I won those things fair and square, sO NO BLEACH-HAIRED SNARK OF A RODENT'S TAIL IS GONNA KEEP ME FROM THEM. BETRAYAL, I TELL YOU.
I finally got the chance and I would take it, so help me God, IF I HAD TO BREAK THE FRICKING GLASS.
..but nah. #DramaQueen

Even though I could've totally thrown a full-blown hissy fit or run to the Master and yell at him to all spinach and break dat glass and be ridiculous, I merely took out my frustration by huffing, growling, stomping and flailing my arms a single time.
There was no other way of getting into the cabinet with the key missing. He most likely stuck it some place in his room, which meant I would have to search for it, and I was already running out of time.

So I sighed and, reluctantly, turned away from the cabinet.
Sitting on the table was Master's hoodie, that was in desperate need of washing.
Well, it was off to business, then.

Even though Master would awaken from the injection in about 10 or so minutes, he would still be rather groggy and need some time to adjust.
He also would have to stay in bed for at least twenty more minutes.
Meaning I would have to find some way of entertaining the fellow.
Therefore cleaning would have to be done now.

 I scooted to the table and snatched the black material, giving it a quick eye-scan to inspect it's condition. Yeah, it definitely needed cleaning.
Like, ew.
And not just because of the Master's blood being dribbled on there.
So, I huffed again and began checking the pockets for any perishables..
first pocket was full of lint and pokey wires, I hated him.. but moving on to the next.......
I froze like ice. My eyes grew in size..
My hand slowly slipped out..a metal key in my grasp. That little guttersnipe....of course.
I remembered now.. how he placed the key above the cabinet, then turned back to me and immediately stuffed his hands in his pockets. I was rather ashamed of myself for falling for something so simple. He knew I'd try to snatch it...so naturally, he placed the key in the most safest location..with him.

I stared down at the key, blinking all wide-eyed at it, checking behind me toward the hall to make sure I wasn't being watched, before turning my head back at the tiny item. Now was my chance.

I dropped the hoodie, ran to the cabinet, inserted the key and turned it in the correct direction.
Once I heard the click, my heart skipped a beat, and I quickly swung open the glass door, instantly reaching my hand inside. You probably were expecting me to grab the whole pouch, but naw.
I just grabbed a few.
Just to test things out with.
If I took the whole thing, he would know for sure I did the thing, and it wasn't necessary, k?
I quickly withdrew my arm and slammed the glass shut, locking it right back up.
Then like a wuss, I ran to the other part of the room like I wasn't just being a sneaky cabbage.

At that second, I stuffed the marbles into my  pocket, and would proceed to deliver them to my room soon enough, but the clean-up thing still needed to go down.
Even so...I had a few of the marbles now.
When the investigation was finished..I'd have to do some investigating of my own.

- - -

After throwing the clothes into the washing to be washed and putting the living room back in order, I hurriedly returned to my room, delivered the marbles into the drawer next to my bed, and with just a little time left, I snatched my notebook and pen and strolled off to Master's room to set up camp.
I peeked inside first to see if he was still asleep--when I saw that he was, I crept inside and took a seat across from his bed, perching atop a lonesome old chair.

The room, I might add, is a small spacious little hut, the walls a dark gold and lacking any real light minus the dimmed well-shaded lamp sitting on a table behind his bed.
I wasn't oblivious to the fact that his bed used to be in the center of the room, but some time between us having breakfast and the moment I came into the room, he had moved it all the way to the left until it was pressed against the wall. There isn't much else to describe.
The man clearly isn't one for decorating, as evident by everything, so looking around at his little quarters was honestly a bore. It needed more sizzle.
Then again...he did treat this venture as a very temporary arrangement, so, oh well..no wonder.

He was still out cold, so I proceeded to write on, while all the things in my mind were still fresh.

I had just gotten to the part where I was about to fight the punks, when I abruptly heard him stir.
My eyes lifted to the Timelord, who rolled his head around, making pained expressions and grumbling in his sleep. My gaze narrowed at this. "...Master?"
He was quiet. I stared for a few long moments until I finally rose up and approached the chair infront of him. A few more minutes of staring down at him and I sat, leaned over and checked his temperature. He had cooled down significantly, so THAT was a good sign.
As soon as I removed my hand, I moved it down and hovered it over his chest, where I bowed my head and closed my eyes. Quietly, I started to whisper a prayer.
Prayer for healing, recovery, wisdom, strength, yada yada.
And I was just about to finish when I felt a sudden grab of the arm and my head instinctively shot up at him. His eyes were wide open, his blonde hair wildly scattered in all directions, standing as a victim to bedhead, and he slightly raised his head up, breathing a little too calmly.
"You stop that."
I sunk.
"..Well hello there, Sleeping Beauty. Welcome back to the land of the living."
"Very funny. But I wasn't dead."
"You were as good as dead, and that's close enough."
I pat his shoulder with a nod and he shifted uncomfortably.
"How are you feeling, ol' boy?" "Pained..exhausted.." He struggled to move and he groaned at the discomfort his bruises were bringing him. But he managed.
"..how long have I-"
"Been out? About 20 minutes, I'd say."
His head scrolled to me, "Only 20? ....... what......happened?"
My brows raised. "You mean you don't remember?"
More sarcasm. I'm trash. ;)

I had already seated back into my chair, which I proceeded to lean from, lacing my fingers together with a smirk. "You were attacked by ten idiotic scumbags and beaten into a curled up dinner roll, forced to hold onto your stomach for the sake of your insides."
He had a wee bit of angry embarrassment flush over his face,
"Yes, I remember that part, thank you for reminding me.."
I started to snicker, not being able to hide my smugness. I was loving this.
"Then I had to take them out. All by myself."
His eyes instantly flashed to me, widening just a bit with acknowledgement of this memory.
"...That's coming back to me."
I smiled all cutely and tilted my head. His face was priceless.
"...how are you even here?"
"The same could be said of you." I answered, trying not to be offended..which was hard.
He flexed with curiosity.
"..The others were about to give you up for dead. They were 100% certain you wouldn't make it. Good thing I had a drop of faith in you."
He looked slightly surprised, slightly peeved that the others would do that.
I read his thoughts as if they were my own.
"Doesn't feel very nice, does it? To be ditched by your teammates."
His eyes cut over to me. "..And why did you have faith in me? You could have just as easily let me die." "Oh yeah, I could've, and be stuck here. Great plan. You're talking to ME, remember? I make smart decisions." "....most of the time.."

I stood right up and he hurriedly looked away.
"Besides, I also know you. You're strong and won't let a little beating overtake you. I knew you'd pull through. You're much too stubborn to die all over again."
He shifted in response. "............mmmm..tttmm..."
He tried to conceal his face and cough as he said this.
I tilted my head a smidge to pretend I was straining to hear. "Wazzat?"
His brows lowered as he turned his head back to me. "Don't give me that, you know what I said."
I grinned. "You're welcome."
Cue a little bow.

His eyes moved away.
"Lean back, you still need to get your rest."
I once again leaned over and checked his forehead, which he responded by stirring under my touch.
"I'm FINE." He hissed before knocking my hand away.
I thought nothing of it and moved my hands to my hips,
"You look like a sick old woman, sitting there and complaining. Let me do my job."
"I don't need to be nursed like an infant! I don't NEED your help!"
"HA! Without my help, TWICE, you wouldn't even BE here!"
"Well I don't need your help AGAIN. I'm alright now. Go away!"
"Not a chance, buster. I'm keeping you under surveillance."
"Why is my tongue so itchy."
"And this is why."
I took hold of my flashlight and grabbed hold of his head. "Open up."
He was stubborn about it for two seconds until I prodded his side and he winced and complied.
The inside of his mouth looked fine, though, tongue and all.
"Mm..might be just sensitive nerves responding to the injection."
I turned it off and put my tool away.
"My WHAT?!" He exclaimed.
"I injected you." I casually replied. No shame.
"you WHAT?!?!?"

I tried to hide my grin as I tucked him in and he shooed my hands away, wiggling like a newborn.
"WHY?!"
"Cuz you were waving your arms everywhere, screaming like a lunatic."
His face dropped in shock and suspicion. "...you're lying."
"Excuse you, I DON'T lie." I half-smiled.
That's right. I only play with the truth a bit..

Ah, sheepish Master. "....why did I do that.."
"You were delirious from the head injury. So it's not your fault, really. I mean, you only blew Bane back with your shocky hands, knocked down Joker and Jim, and made my arm go numb, so I had to punch you for that." "Is THAT why my nose is so sore??" He held it in accordance.
I sat back in the chair and crossed my legs with a sigh.
"So I injected you with the same stuff they use for tranquilizers. Then sent out the boys to continue searching for clues. While I stayed behind to take care of your rotten hide. All in all, I'd say you've been out for at least 20 minutes. About half an hour, if you count the passing outside."
"..My head hurts." He went to touch his cut.
"Injury."
He stopped, swallowed, then immediately moved his hand to his stomach. "This hurts.."
"Another injury, you sure are whinier than usual, you must still be half out of it."
With that, he withdrew his hand and laid in silence.
"..........what happened to my-" "Hoodie?"
He darkly cut his eyes to me.
"I'm washing it." ".." "...It had blood on it."
"Oh, I'm sure it did."
My eyes crinkled at that, especially when he smirked at me.
"I don't think like that, Jim."
"Sure you don't." "Your mind might be in the gutter, boi, but not mine."
I stood. "Besides, looks and what not isn't what attracts me."
He was intrigued. "Oh? And what does?"
I went behind him and fluffed his pillows. Then I looked directly at him, "Personality."
There, I turned, leaving him to pout.
"Unfortunately for you, dear boy, your personality sucks." "Hold on, I thought you-"
"Oh, I'm still a fan." "Stop doing that."
"You're handsome and hilarious and all, but you're still a villain, remember? Your existence is all about making dumb decisions." "DUMB?! How do I--"
"Choosing to kill people and fight the Doctor over and over, just to be defeated or killed over and over is not  smart. It's stupid. You idiots think you're so clever and awesome, but you can't see the obvious. Your lifestyle gets you lot nowhere. You're stuck, cuz you can't let go of that hateful lust to destroy and bring misery. You think you're strong, but most of the time, it's only in a physical sense.
Inside, you're weak."

WHOA, I did not intend to preach.
But, well, there it was. Even so, he didn't seem too fazed, simply lowering his nodding head and breathing in deeply. Miraculously, I think he was thinking about what I said.
"Right......so if we're so pathetic, then why do you continue to travel with us?"
"Because unfortunately, I seem to have a soft spot for losers."
His eyes gravitated back to me, "..At least we keep coming back."
My head cocked to the side. "Cats keep coming back, too, and look how dumb they are."

An offended streak passed over his face, but he said nothing. Instead, he looked away and swallowed again, playing pointlessly with the lumps in his blanket. For a short while, we merely sat in silence.
Yet again, I felt bad about getting all judgy on him.
Even though he didn't act like it, I knew that somewhere within him, it hurt.
It hurt to be told that you're basically a spec on the ground, ready to be swept away into the trash.
Villains act so mighty and superior to everyone else, but I think deep down, they actually hate themselves. They know what they are....I'm not saying it can be stopped.
I'm not making excuses for them.
From my earthly point of view, I hated them.
I knew full well they were monsters that need to be tried for what they've done.
From my Christian point of view...well..that's the part that I was having trouble with.
That side felt pity.
It's not that they can't  change..it's that they won't  change. And that makes them weak.
They're too addicted to evil. Like a drug.
And that drug feeds on them. They decay.
They're already dead; when there's no love, no hope, no happiness . . there's no life.
They walk around like zombies.
And it's my Christian point of view that doesn't wanna give up on them.

After those few moments of silence, I got bored with just sitting there, so I got back up and started to clean. Ok, so for a supposedly intelligent, advanced and totally superior being, the Master is a freaking slob. And being a minor clean freak, I couldn't stand it anymore.
Cleaning helped to distract me from thinking about the awkward silence that ensued after what I said to him. He just sat there, tired, offended and hungry. Same.
". . . So what exactly are we waiting for?"
"Waiting for you to recover completely, enough for you to be able to stand. Then I'll take you to Thorton and zip off back to the boys so we can find that assassin." "And how long will that take?"
"To find the assassin or recover?"
"You know what." "At least another 20 minutes."
"So that means we've got time." "You can say that."
He nodded his head and looked down.
"..So...what about a story?"
I cut my eyes at him, curiously. "Story?"
He lifted his chin, "You ARE a writer, aren't you? Entertain me."
I blinked. "Okkkaayyyy...what story?"
"..Your  story."
At this, I jerked my head back. "Say what?!"
"I'm curious. How did you learn to fight like that? How did you come to be you? A strange, twisted personality trapped inside a young girl's body. I want to know your highness  better. Because most of the time, I just don't understand you."

I crinkled my eyebrows in a grumpy manner as I nervously bit my lip.
"....ok...whatta ya wanna know?" "The important parts."
Heh. . alright. . I took a deep breath, turned right around, sat, cracked my knuckles and cleared my throat with an immediate chuckle.
"Alright. You asked for it. Here we go."

Master shifted, trying to get more comfortable, as he gave me a very genuinely interested expression and silence soon ensued as the spotlight now shined on me.
Woo..was he in for 20+ minutes of nonsense.

"Well, let's see... uhh... my parents married and had me? Yeah..."
When there's no other sound but silence and my odd little voice, I demote to a more quieter, whispery tone and it gets a little raspy. So I sounded rather pathetic.
"I'm the youngest of five..got three brothers, one sister..so I was, am, pretty spoiled. Wound up inheriting all kinds of their old stuff. Most of my games and systems come from them. From an early age. As you can imagine, I was a pretty weird kid. I was into a lot of things that..well..were uncommon for a girl to get into. Video games, comics, an enormous range of films and TV shows. Us five read books a lot. But I liked...I liked rougher things. Adventures, action, fighting, a lot of the boy things, they fascinated me. I mean, ya know, my mom and sister trained me to be a girly girl. Complete with dresses, dolls, pink, all kinds of girly junk, so, I was raised to be girly......but.....it never felt...right. When my sister put makeup on me when we played around, I just...."
I shook my head with a shrug.
"..I didn't feel like myself."

"I didn't start realizing this, mind you, until I was around 6. We started going to a church..that's when a lot of my life lessons kicked in...when Sarah Demens was truly born. See..being homeschooled and all, and living in a place where I did, where there weren't many kids and junk, church was my first real experience of learning with other twerps and dealing with..socializing. I was the tiny sister to a bunch of teenagers, so my social skills were rather..interesting, when I was around kids my age. Meaning...I had no fear. I said what I wanted and did what I wanted. And I was noticeably rougher than other girls. And much more willing to speak my mind. So yeah, I gave those rotten cabbages a piece of my mind on more than one occasion. I couldn't help it. Still....I felt..awkward around them. All those girls loving on their girly things, they acted differently than me. And I hated 'em. A lot of those chicks? Total snobs. Female kind, from that time on, made me rather bitter against them. I've always seemed to have more problems with them than I ever have with a guy. Because I was feeling differently than them, they treated me differently. I told them about video games, and movies and comics, and rougher boy things, and yeah..they were weirded out by me. So basically, they moved me away from their little cliques. But all they did was push me to the boys' side. Who, by the way, loved  me. When they heard that a girl liked the things they did, they freaked. They couldn't believe it. And they had no trouble bringing me in to geek out with them. See..you've gotta understand..at this time, girls were unlikely to be into this sort've stuff. Sure, it's different now, and it's totally cool for a girl to be a gamer or comic book reader."

"I, unfortunately, was one of the few that was open about it at a time where I would be seen as weird... I might note that pretty soon....I was beginning to make enemies. They weren't all that prominent at first, but it was happening..and I continued to feel weird. Out of place. I questioned why I was different from the other girls. Why didn't I like what they liked? Playing with dolls was fun and all..but still..something was wrong  with me. . . that is, until I watched Mulan. Yes, Mulan. The Disney movie. Just as you all had been there ever since I could remember, you were there for me again. To teach me one of the most important lessons I could ever be taught about myself. Watching Mulan opened my eyes. Mulan was like me. She didn't fit in with the other girls. She felt different. She was  different. She had questions about herself that I was asking myself. About who we each really are inside. That's when it became clear..I wasn't weird. I mean, yes, I'm weird, but not in that sense. Nothing was wrong with me. I was different. In a good way. I was a rare breed of female. Mulan fought, Mulan did things that I would do...or at least be willing to. She became my fictional role model. She changed my whole perspective."

"Once I discovered this, I gradually started to feel proud of myself. I wasn't afraid to wear t-shirts or baggy pants, and do things that I really felt comfortable doing. People started calling me a little tomboy, but that annoyed me. When I looked at other tomboys, I saw that they weren't quite like me. Most of them just wanted to be boys, and I didn't want that. I just wanted to enjoy those things that should be perfectly acceptable for both genders. To like what I like and still be a girl, darn it. Even though girls are lame..I didn't, and still don't, do sports. Not really my thing. But I did  have a growing fascination with something my dear old ancestors were very famous for...fighting.
Yes, beforehand, I got into a few brief feisty confrontations. Like, ya know..attacking my pastor's grandchild...sort've lunging at him and..rolling on the floor into the hallway, trying to choke him...in front of every church-goer there was, who all gasped in horror at the sight of two Christian 6 yr olds trying to kill one another.."
At this, Master snorted and stifled a laugh.
I was serious...
I nodded.

"Yeahhhh....our moms had to pry us away from each other..but our dads just busted out laughing....so, with my aggressive behavior blossoming, and concerning the congregation, I began to make a small name for myself. Surprisingly...people thought I was adorable..even though I had a slight thirst for violence and world domination...and then bam. I turned 7. The age where I rolled from 'Little Class' to 'Big Class'. . and things changed...I started to get bullied. By preteen punks and teenagers as high up as 16. They both physically and verbally did their work on me, with little to no care how I felt about it. I kept it to myself, mostly. The other kids went through it, same as me. Every last one of those punks were jerks to the core. They picked on me because I was small, and a seemingly easy target. Simply because, girls don't fight back. They never did. And the bullies got away with that crap since before I even showed up. And basically, they got a slap on the wrist if they were caught."

"See, most people don't expect bullying and such to take place in church. Like we're all goody, sweet little children, and hold hands while we sing giggly songs. Nah, man. We were nasty to eachother, even when the teachers were around. We were becoming people, after all. Our personalities developed. We were making adult decisions even if we didn't realize it. Like me..I was shaped there...
A lot of the kids' parents brought them there who came from school and rough homes, who were hoping that a good Christian influence would do the work on their children. But no. They wound up just bringing their garbage in and taking it out on us."

Master rubbed his chin, intriguingly.
"So, what happened?"
I couldn't hide my smirk. "Turning point. I fought back. One day, I got just about sick of being pushed around by others. Treated like I was a helpless little infant. So..I snapped. I turned around as he laughed at me, got up, and hit him right in the face. And you know my punches..I've got bony little knuckles. Next thing I knew, I kept attacking the idiot with everything I had until he fell to the ground. His friends couldn't believe it. They stared at me like.. what the frick just happened? A tiny pipsqueak 7 yr old, acting like a rabid squirrel, and bringing down a much bigger, dominant opponent?
When I turned to them, they didn't even bother to retaliate. They retreated. The idiot got up and I told him straight up to never touch me again..he complied and hurried after the others. From that day on, I made a vow to myself. That I would never  be a victim again. Not before giving my assailant as much hurt as possible. I would always go out fighting. Always."

"After that, word got around...the next week, the bullies returned..and something crazy happened. They were being nice  to me. They were practically saints, even. Almost as if they never bullied me. And it made me wonder..it made me wonder a lot of things. Prior to my turn-around, I did what I was supposed to. I told the teachers. I let them know countless times about the bullying. The bullies got in trouble, sure, but it only made them angry. And guess who they would take it out on? So yeah...I was done with that. Talking got me no where. I tried playing nice, I tried to tell others. But I saw now that I would just have to take matters into my own hands."

"Sooner or later, my Pops found out about the bullying, and he talked to me about it. I told him everything and that I had taken care of it myself. Well, this made him realize..maybe I was old enough now. Old enough to learn how to defend myself. So.." "He started to teach you."
I nodded. "From that day on, he began to teach me how to fight. He trained me in all the ways he knew how. How to use countless weapons. Guns, of course, came later. But I learned a lot at an early age. I've been practicing ever since. Making sure that when the time is right..I'll be ready...
When mom was told about the bullying and saw what my dad was doing, she was surprisingly cool with it. She had come to accept that I wasn't a little doll anymore. I was becoming something else."

"My parents supported me 100%. And that was a pretty good feeling...dad was eventually gonna teach me, when I got older, but he naturally wasn't counting on there being bullies inside a church. So..yeah..it was accelerated. I was a fighter now. Just like Mulan. Just like all the other female characters I liked...when I returned to class, I started coming across even more bullies.
Gradually..I took care of business. Making myself my own authority.
Whenever a new kid tried something, I would put them in their place.
They quickly got how things worked.
And they would do the exact same thing as the first bullies; they played nice.
It was pathetic..but I played along. Pretty soon, nobody messed with me.
After awhile, I realized something. A problem suffered by others. The other kids.
The kids who couldn't stick up for themselves. The ones still pushed around by cowards.
It made me start to think..I had myself taken care of..I didn't need to worry anymore...so why stop there? Was I just gonna sit back and let them  be victimized?...naw...
So I came to a decision. I'd eradicate the problem completely.
I saw bullying, I interfered, and I put a stop to it. I became a bully to the bullies.
Embarrassing them, making them cry like wimps. I helped kids who were the outcasts and weirdos in class.. shy, quiet little mice like how I used to be. Sweet kids who had their gentle nature taken advantage of. The ones that were just different. I helped them....pretty soon, the bullies knew perfectly well who I was and what I would do to them if they continued. And all those kids, they started flocking to me. Sitting around me in class. I mean, who'd have thought a weird little outcast like myself would suddenly become popular? I even had little kids calling me their 'guardian angel'.
Bruh. I was shocked."

"All I did was stick up for others, and suddenly, I had a posse. Like a little mobster. And a really weird fact of it was..boys kept crushing  on me. Both the ones I punished and the ones I defended.
It kept happening, like a curse. IT MADE NO SENSE, MASTER. Done me a major confuse.
...Silliness aside, the whole thing made me realize further who I truly was. What I was meant to do.
It was almost as if the pieces of my puzzle were being put together for me, and I was slowly figuring out who I really was. I had discovered in that short time that I was not only a fighter..
I was a protector. I was meant to help people.
This is why, Master, I've done the things I have all throughout this journey. Why I went back for the people of Middle Earth. Why I went back for Tink. Why I go back for you  guys. Why I'm still here for Thorton. If someone's in trouble, I have to help them. No matter who they are. I can't help it.
The urge to protect is too strong."

". . I made a name for myself. To where even the parents knew who I was, and what I did.
A lot of adults loved me, but others started to wonder if I'd start to turn on the other kids. That I'd eventually turn into a problem child. But me? I'd never turn on the innocent. Never. I'd never bring them misery. Never bully my friends and victimize them, no matter what. I had already vowed to myself that I'd never become the thing I fought against. I'd ALWAYS be better than them. Because if I ever become the bully, I let them win. And I'm much too stubborn for that....
The marvelous part of it all was that I never got into trouble. The only time in my church history that I got punished was when I got into an argument with a rather annoying classmate...figures now that WORDS would get me in trouble..."
My eyes lowered to the floor and I fell silent.
But Master shifted and made obvious huffs as if he were trying to get my attention.
". . That can't be all. You're older than 8."
My eyes returned, "I thought you just wanted to know the important parts?"
"Tell me all."
I pointed, "The rest gets sappy."
He made an abrupt face at this that seeped with disgust and disapproval..but after a few seconds, he fell back against his pillows and sighed, defeatedly.
"...do your worst...I'm ready."
Well dang. . I was hoping he would say no. . ugh.

I cleared my throat.
"Eventually, we left the church. When I was around 10. We..well..we're not really CHURCH kind of people. Even though we believe in and praise the same God, my family and I couldn't be any more different from other Christians. We like to keep to ourselves..we act differently..we don't try to do all the social stuff and attempt to impress others. Even those people expect everyone to act a certain way, and we don't play by those rules. So we realized that church, honestly, just isn't for us. We're basically the Addams Family of Christians. We found we have much better relationships with God on our own than we did attending with others...nothing against them, we just work a different way, is all...
after we moved on, I didn't see my friends anymore, and that's ok. I only really had a couple of besties, but they moved away...along the way, while at a campground, I met a girl I took a quick liking to. She was really nice and kept me company. We seemed to really get along...until well....she pretty much deserted me for some richer girls that I had a conversation with..they were well off, had better stuff, and all the cute boys....and I was left on my own...that was the moment, where...I started to see an uglier side to people..a deeper side...it was the first time I had ever been betrayed. And it was hard. She pretty much ignored my existence after that..so I ignored her back. Because of that incident, I started to develop trust issues. I was less willing to make friends and open myself up to people...
A little while later, I met a Ukrainian girl while at a laundry mat, who's dad owned a dollar store. She was my age..feisty, funny, kept me really good company...she and I were the only real kids there, so we became pretty good friends...until she had to go back to her home country to take care of her family.......I never saw her again after that....."
After this, I took a deep breath and a few seconds to recollect my thoughts.
"..After that, we moved to our first real home, since leaving the house I was born in years before. After being in a small apartment and traveling around the state, it felt good to settle into an actual house. Where I had my own property..and at last, a real bedroom. One I didn't have to share.. a year later, after wanting a dog forever, I got Molly. I was 12 at the time..and in that same year, in the very same month..I started something that changed quite a lot for me."
Master turned his head to the side. I smirked.
"..I made a blog. My first blog ever. I had been dabbling on the web for some time between computer games and art and junk, but this was my first real account and I couldn't be more excited. A year later, something else happened. I joined another blogging site. This one for homeschoolers..it was more on the social side, with messaging and friends and what not...and suddenly....I met people that were..different. Like me. They were nice to me. They accepted me. Not only that, but they were into the same kinda stuff as me. They didn't judge me..they didn't bully me or treat me like a freak. They didn't abandon me and they didn't move away. They thought I was COOL. And I knew that instant...things would be different with them. Finally, I met people who were like me. That would actually be my friends. And they wouldn't just leave me."

"Things basically took off from there. I eventually moved from there to Facebook, after they shut down the site, and everyone followed right along. And well..that's about it for that..."
"...and you've never met them?"
"..no..not yet..but..I will. Some day. I mean, the only reason why is cuz I never had a job or car or any money or motivation at all to travel..I kind've hate going outside and being around people..but hey..things are on a tad bit different scale now.."
Once again, I cleared my throat. "...Meeting them was the best thing that could've happened...they're truly the best human friends I've ever had..."
He turned his head away and faced the wall, the room trying to fall silent again.
Until he looked back, "...and where did we exactly come along?"
By "we", we can only assume he meant the Character kind.
So I dived in. "..See...there's the thing. You were always there."
..Cue confused expression.
"..You..the Characters...well...ya know how when kids get older, they grow out of their imaginary friends? And they suddenly can't see them anymore? Least of all remember them?"
He slightly nodded. I shrugged, "Not me. I never stopped believing. Because I didn't have the typical friends kids come up with. YOU were my friends. Ever since I could remember, you guys were right there keeping me company. I mean, think about it. You were teaching me. Making me laugh. Making me happy. Making me cry. To other people, you're just fiction, but never to me. I always knew. You were too extraordinary not to be real. You meant too much. When I had no friends, when my friends left me, betrayed me, or weren't there, you guys were always in the background, picking me back up and lifting my spirits when I needed you most. I grew up with you. You left such an impact on me..being there my ENTIRE life, and you guys didn't even know it. You were there for every stage of my childhood..my teenage years..and now my adulthood...I didn't profess it to the world, but I did believe in you. When no one else did, I believed. I've always kept an open mind about everything, especially the things that make me so happy. People who were aware of my belief thought I was either crazy or just plain childish, but I didn't care. It never stopped me from believing what I wanted because of it. Something inside me just always knew it was true. And I spent so many years praying that I was right. I prayed that if nothing else, that God would make you real for just a few seconds..just so I could tell you how much you meant to me......naturally, I stopped praying for that..but I still wished it in secret. Because I needed it."

"Real life has never been good enough for me. People disappoint me. They've always let me down.
But not you guys. . . all I could do to keep my sanity, from the time I was a tiny kid to a week ago, was write. Write about having adventures with you all. Yes, I was the main character in all my stories and there was no shame. It made the escape feel more real. But eventually..the writing comes to be, well..not enough. One day you get tired of living it through paper. You just wanna GO on the adventures. You wanna run, slay the dragon yourself, be the hero for the day...you just want to save something. To matter."

Master watched me say it all with a look of amusement..and when I had finished, he glared away again, breathing deeply and thoughtfully.
". . . Well, you got the running and dragon part down.."
We both chuckled from that.
"yeeepppp..."
". . . . . . . . . . tell me something."
My eyes lifted. He returned his gaze to me.
". . . . . . . that escape you wanted. . . us villains weren't what you expected. . . were we?"
Such honesty.
I made such a surprised face and turned my gaze briefly to the wall. Well then.
". . .  no . .  no, you weren't. . . but honestly . . I think that. . well . . God answered my prayers. It took some time, but. . I mean . . yeah. I did expect the whole thing to come from heroes. . you're not what I expected. But. . when it comes down to it, I'm here. I'm doing something I've always wanted to do practically my whole life. I get to visit other planets. . meet aliens and fly and travel inside a spaceship.. I mean, you boys might be irritating sometimes..cuz truthfully, people irritate me in general...but being here with you four..experiencing everything with you..I honestly wouldn't want it to happen any other way. And quite frankly..you four have been quite the amazing companions. So, really, you're actually a much better deal, if you ask me. You're all quite the interesting  fellows...and besides...life likes to work in weird ways, so why the heck not?"
bleh, rambling..

Even so, Master seemed...touched. O.o
I swear, I could see a smile try to sneak in there.
". . Demens. . you're going to make me cry. ."
shuddup, you troll.

My expression deepened. "I'm serious.. I know we've had our rough patches and we started out awkwardly and I can be a little demanding at times, but in all honesty, you boys have made my dreams come true and made this the most special thing that's ever happened to me in my entire life."
! ! !
Well.
Even the Master looked stunned by that outbreak. Time to change the subject.
". . anyway. . just. . don't laugh, ok? You guys are.. important to me. ."
I had to stand up to avoid his venomous stare.
"I mean, after all, you're four of my most favorite villains ever."
Shut up, Sarah, you're making it worse.
All the jerk did was stare at me. All I did was stare at the floor. And clear my throat.
And wring my hands.
"Stop staring, it's rude."
. . .  but he continued. I casted him a nasty glare, "WHAT"
Well, there go the hands on the hips.
He only blinked in response. "..I was just wondering."
My brows lowered, "What?"

He stared into dead space for a few seconds more until he shrugged and sighed.
"Nothing....tell me more. I know there's more."
I was willing to tell more. There was SO much more.
But no. I looked at the time. And no.
"Let's put a rain-check on that, bruh. That's all the backstory you get today for this queen."
He scowled at me, "What? NO, why?!"
I approached him, hands on my hips.
"It's been over 20 minutes, and I've got work to do."
He actually growled in protest, the brat, and slammed back his head against his pillow.
"Just when it was starting to get GOOD."
I smacked his head for that. "Shush! Now put this on. And get on up, old man."
He whipped his head at the thing I was offering, being his old black hoodie.
"Ugh..fine.."
He snatched it, made a face at me, then shrugged the matter off, struggling up, pulling the clothing on.
Such attitude.

There were a few wobbles as he stood up. But after a couple of sighs, grunts, balances and gulps of his water, he very soon recovered. At least enough to walk.
"Ah..there.." "It's about time." "Shut up. Give me a minute.."
"I've given you 40+, let's go already."
"Quit ordering me around, I'm the MASTER!"
"And I'm your QUEEN, del wid et!"
He growled again. Impatient, I snatched his arm and pulled him along.
He stumbled a few times, but quickly started walking upright as I tugged him through the door and down the hallway. "Where are we going, anyway?" He grogged, pulling up his hood over his yawning face. I led him by the arm down the darkened path, taking quickened steps towards the living room.
"To Thorton. He's gonna take care of you, remember?"
"Ugh, you lot are deserting me!" "Oh, silence. Don't be a girl. You'll be fine. And we'll find this guy in no time. Then we can zip on off to the next world."
"But-" "NO buts. Deal with it, bruh. This is the way." "But-"
"I'mma smack."
He sighed, defeatedly.

We went past the control panel, towards the exit door.
I pat his shoulder, hurried to the table, grabbed my Pepsi, ran back, and waved for him to follow as I went through the door. "Waiting on you, Masta."