//------------------------------// // Awaken to Nightmare // Story: On the Corner of Straight and Narrow // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// "Hush little pony, don't say a word Daddy's gonna buy you a mockingbird And if that mockingbird don't sing..." Trixie slowly opened her eyes as she heard that song. "...Daddy...?" she asked, looking up. Floating around her were three floating, not-quite-physical Max heads surrounded by flame. All three were singing the song to her as they slowly orbited her. "So hush little Trixie, don't you cry As Daddy sings you a special lullaby." Trixie let out a scream of absolute terror. "Trixie!" Sam called out, rushing up to her. "You're awake! Thank goodness!" "U-Uncle Sam?" Trixie asked as the floating Max heads moved away. "W-what's going on? What's wrong with Daddy? What's with the floating heads?" Glancing around, she saw she was in Mama Bosco's lab. Nearby was Paperwaite - a strange tentacled face on his chest - Agent Superball, and Mama Bosco, who was no longer a ghost. "Well, long story short," Sam began, "we destroyed the Devil's Toybox, but Max wound up eating a partially formed Elder God corpse, which turned him into a Cthulic Maxzilla which is rampaging through the city, releasing spores that feed on dreams in the shape of flaming Max heads. And we're trying to figure out how to stop him, and hopefully change him back." Trixie raised a hoof, her mouth hanging open. "That's...different..." "I know," Sam replied. "As if the army of clones of me wasn't strange enough." Trixie's eyes widened. "H-how long has Trixie been sleeping?" "A little over a week," Sam told her. "We've been really worried about you." A sudden roar echoed through the lab. "Is that Daddy?" Trixie asked in surprise, rushing to the window. "Trixie, no!" Sam called. But it was too late. Her jaw hung and her eyes widened and beaded as she beheld the creature Max had become, a creature that defied description. "D-d-d...Daddy?" she whimpered as she fell back on her rump. Falling forward, she began to sob quietly, her body shaking as tears fell freely. Sam walked over to her, pulling her into his lap. "It's going to be okay, Trixie," he began softly. "No it won't!" Trixie wailed, burying her face in Sam's chest. "D-daddy's gone! J-just like before! And without D-Daddy...I'm gonna lose everything all over again! You won't keep me..." Her voice chocked as she sniffled. "Mommy won't keep me...I'm gonna be all alone again and no one will love me!" Her tears began staining Sam's chest. Sam shuddered internally. He'd been piecing together the bits and pieces Trixie had said, awake or asleep, ever since Sybil first tried to analyze her dream, bits and pieces that painted a rather grim picture of Trixie's life before she'd come to the Freelance Police. A lifetime of loneliness, abandonment, rejection... He pulled her into a tight hug. "I'll never let you go, Trixie," he promised. "By the Freelance Oath, I will care for you forever, even if...even if Max can't." He choked on the end, not really willing to consider the possibility that Max couldn't be saved. "Freelance Oath?' Trixie asked, confused. "Oh, we haven't taught you about that, have we?" Sam asked. "It's a promise Max and I made up between each other, a completely unbreakable oath. The only time we've ever used it was a promise to be friends forever...and I'm going to use it again now." He cleared his throat. "Cross my heart," he said, drawing an X over his heart with his finger. "Hope to fry," he continued, wriggling his body like he was being electrocuted. "Stick a doughnut in my eye," he finished, covering one eye with his paw. "I promise, no matter what happens, I'll take care of you." Trixie sniffled, her tears becoming less hysterical. Something about that promise felt...absolutely believable. Somehow, she knew this was a promise that couldn't be broken...even if it felt a little off. "...okay," she whimpered softly. "I'm going to try and find a way to fix Max," Sam said softly. "In the meantime, you just stay here and rest, okay?" Trixie nodded. "Can I have something to eat-" One of the Max head spores floated by, depositing a basket of fresh fruit and other greens practically in Trixie's lap. "By the twisted soul of a sociopathic sweetheart riding an extra dimensional roller coaster of super juice!" Sam gasped in awe. "Your oaths seem to be unusually specific and appropriate to the situation, Uncle," Trixie muttered, burying her face in the basket and proceeding to eat. "I can't always pull it off, but it's fun when I can," Sam allowed. "But this proves that Max is still Max inside! Even his spores are trying to take care of you! I have to tell the others!" With that, he ran deeper into the lab. Trixie ignored Sam's antics, continuing to eat. As far as she was concerned, all she needed to know was that her Daddy was still trying to take care of her. The fruit and vegetables were very fresh and very filling - the spore had probably raided a farmer's market - and was refreshing both her physical and magical reserves. However, her vital energy was still rather low, so she definitely needed another nap somewhere quiet. "It's soundproofed!" one of the spores said as it lifted the trunk of the Desoto. Smiling, Trixie curled up inside to take another short nap. "Hush little Trixie don't say a word, Daddy's gonna buy you a mockingbird..." Trixie smiled as she drifted off into slumber. She barely noticed when it suddenly became warmer as a result of batter coating much later.