Aquata Cove

Chapter 90: Water About

"And then I'm in this big, dark space." Adam says with his back to the cushion chair, looking at the ceiling, "And everywhere I look, there are these glowing playing cards, all arranged neatly in a circular array around me."

"Was there anything else there, Adam?" Donna asked as she sits in her chair with her notepad and clipboard, "Did the cards do anything at all?"

"Some of them flip over, and just light up white, and sometimes I see images coming out of them, like... Like... Gaahh, I don't know. All of them just seem so familiar."

"It's alright, Adam, we often can't remember what happens in our dreams."

"That's the thing, though." Adam said, "Half of these dreams are so vivid, I can't remember almost all of the details - in THIS one, the cards literally do feel familiar, whether I'm awake or asleep. As in, they feel like I know them and I know what they're showing me, but I can't remember what they're supposed to look like. I think it's like... Eating some kind of food 2 weeks ago, and you know you LIKE it, but you can't remember what you ate in the first place, and when you try to remember, nothing is coming to mind, and it gets frustrating..." He sighs as he peers around to his psychologist, "Is this making any sense?"

"Ahahahah, I think so, Adam." Donna chuckles, "You're very good with your wording. See, what you're telling me is that your dreams are reaching out to you, from your old life. So far, these dreams of yours are the safest approach to helping your mental health."

"Well, that's not all to the dream."

"Oh? What happens next?"

"Well, it's like, I'm in the middle of the cards, and I look around, and... I see ME."

"You see yourself? Like, as in a mirror?" Donna asked.

"Not really... It's like, while I'm looking at myself, I'm some kind of stranger, and myself is looking right at me... Except this guy who looks like me, he's... He doesn't have any color on him - he's all black and white and grey. And I remember my appearance was a little distorted."

"Really..." Donna says as she leans in, "Does this copy of you talk?"

"Well, I ask him, 'Who are you?'. And he doesn't respond until I ask him a second or third time."

"What does he say?"

"All he said was... 'I am something that is supposed to exist'. And that's all. That's all he says."

"That is interesting." Donna says with intrigue, "It seems like some portion of your memory is still trying to reconnect yourself in a metaphorical way."

"It's kinda scary though..." Adam says, "No matter what I say to him, he just says the same thing. Over and over again, 'I am supposed to exist', 'I am supposed to exist'. No matter what I ask him, he just keeps repeating that."

"Does he do anything to you, Adam?"

"No, he just stands there, and tells me that phrase."

"Is there anything else in the dream?"

"Yeah... Eventually, I hear another voice. When I turn around, I see someone else."

"Who does this person look like?"

"I... That's another thing... I can never remember what this one looks like either..."

"What do you mean?"

"It's like, this person is the same no-color tone as the other guy, but... I can't remember what he looks like. If anything, he's lighter, but he's a lot more distorted than my look-alike."

"Does THIS individual say anything?"

"Well... That's the scary part..." Adam says lowly.

"How scary is it?"

"Well, sometimes, the dream ends differently. Most of the time, this blurry person just does the same thing the other guy does, and just repeats the same sentence."

"You mean, 'I am supposed to exist'?"

"No. THIS guy says 'I am a place you are supposed to go'."

"Oh?"

"And again, no matter how many times I ask, or whatever I say, these guys just repeat themselves."

"... And what's the other ending like?"

"In the other ending... There is no second person... The guy who looks like me just starts to hold his head and scream. He just starts yelling, like he's in pain, and he eventually changes into the other person I see, still shouting like he's being stabbed or something... And then he just turns into smoke, before I'm suddenly falling into a bunch of shattered glass all around me."

"How often do you have this dream?"

"At least about... Twice a week, I think. And I have other dreams besides that one that are strangely detailed that I can remember."

"Such as what?"

"Well, last night, I dreamt that I was falling through the sky... Along with a whole bunch of arrows - like a bow and arrow - and these... Like, balls of light keep flying from below me and flushing out the other arrows. When I look down, I see one of the balls of light in my face, and then I woke up..."

"That one... MIGHT indicate you being under some sort of attack? I don't know quite what to make of it." Donna says as she jots down a note, "What else have you dreamt, Adam?"

"Well, in one dream, I see myself in this castle... This big, complicated, crystal castle that has a lot of areas and structures that look more like optical illusions. And I'm trying to find this one person who keeps getting lost. Half the time, when I have this dream, the castle itself breaks apart like it's under attack."

"Wow, that sounds amazing." Donna says while jotting a few notes.

"But... Every time I find whoever it is that I'm chasing, I only see them for about a minute or two and then I wake up." Adam said sadly, and I can't, for the life of me, remember who this person looked like."

"If these dreams are as familiar as you're describing them, would it be possible for you to recognize real people if you were to meet them on the day after you've had the dream?"

"Haven't so far, and I've been having all kinds of dreams like that for as long as I can remember - even when I was still in the hospital."

"Oh, I see." Donna nods, "Anything else that's been troubling you? We still haaave," Donna checks her watch, "About 10 minutes left for this session."

"Well... A couple of days ago... I-It's about Merrick."

"Oh?"

"Yeah... See..."

~~~

"Aaaawwwooo!! I'm such an IDIIIOT!" Merrick whines out as he presses the pillow on his face. He grunts and moans as he slaps the couch cushion into his face.

"Here, lemme help you." Yuri says before she takes Merrick's forehead, and shoves the back of his head into the wall.

"Oowwww!"

"Merrick, I can't stress enough to you just how serious this is." Donna said firmly in a chair, leering at him "Exposing yourself like that to Adam, seducing him even?? His head is still damaged enough as it is, he doesn't need you trying to sexualize him."

The door opens up, and in comes Jamal, "Hey'all"

"You!" Merrick says as he points to Jamal, "This is partially YOUR fault!"

"Whaat?" Jamal's voice cracks up as he stares at him, "The hell did I do?! I just got here!"

"Your friend Sasha told me to get freaky with Adam, and I ended up freaking him out!"

"I- Wha- Oh, is this about when you tried to fuck'im?"

"You KNEW about this??" Donna asked accusingly, "And can you please use a better phrasing than that?"

"Hey, I took the wrap fo you, man!" Jamal says, "I told Adam it was a dare I made ya do."

"Gaaaahhhhhd!" Merrick whined as he pushes the pillow in his face again.

"Whoever this Sasha is, Jamal, if you know her, I think you should tell her just how this affected Adam."

"Agghhh, fiiiine." Jamal groaned.

"And YOU, Merrick." Donna turned to leer at him, "I expected better from you. Seducing Adam before he's even ready to step outside the ward without a chaperone?? What were you thinking?! You've always told me how disciplined you are, and you do something like this?"

"Sasha told me about Sexual Healing, and I don't know what you humans do, you have all kinds of ways of doing everything, I hardly know what and what not to take seriously!"

"And at what point did you ever consider asking ME about any of that??"

"It's not fair. It's been a couple of months since this thing happened. I've got needs, Donna, and he seems fine to me."

"Merrick, as his mother and his psychologist, I, and I alone will be the judge of that. And I expect you to be patient and not pull anymore of these stunts in the future."

"I hate thiiiiiis." Merrick groans, "Ok, so I went overboard against my better judgment - even I was feeling uncomfortable about it. All I wanted was to get on my knees and have Adam melt in my mouth."

"PKLL!" Donna chokes in her teacup from that remark.

"Is that so much to ask?"

"Merrick!"

"Ooook, Merrick, tone it down a bit." Yuri said, while Jamal snickers and shakes his head in the kitchen.

"What? It's not like I go around blowing every guy I see like Nick. You get me, right, Jamal?"

"Hahahaha, leave me outta this, dude." Jamal barely says as he smirks as he sucks an orange slice.

"I mean come on!" Merrick continues, "After two moons worth of hate and fear that I've had to put up with, who wouldn't want to pet and ride a big hairy beast-"

"Merrick!" Donna says at him, "You are talking about my son here! I am not a prude, but I am not comfortable with you talking like that about him, if you please!"

"You work with people's feelings and thoughts, don't you? You should know better than anyone how sex relieves stress." Merrick asked, "Don't YOU process that sort of tension with Luther??"

"Oh my God." Yuri says as she turns her face away, her cheeks getting a bit pink.

"Merrick that is between me and my husband, and wish you would drop this matter."

"I would, except me and Adam aren't married yet. I'm sorry, it's just been far, far too long since Adam removed his pants and-"

"Alright, that's enough!" Donna says as she puts down her cup, "I'm going to the TinTop to see Luther, and then I have to go back to the ward. Do let me know when you want to stop being so childish, Merrick." She says before she stormed off.

"Wow man, that was whack even fo me." Jamal says as he takes a load off with them.

"Eh, it's how I handle my resentment towards her for keeping Adam locked up like an infant. I still have my problems with her besides that."

"Merrick, you know she's only doing this for his own good, and even you said you didn't like stripping and seducing Adam."

"I know, but honestly, I was hoping Sasha was right about the Sexual Healing stuff, and since Adam is my soulmate, I honestly thought I had a good shot."

"Yeah, blood rushing to and from his bruised brain, adrenalin racing though his coping vessels, and unfamiliar feelings racking his nerves. Yeah, brilliant plan there, Nemo." Yuri says snidely before she gnaws on a red bean pastry.

"Which reminds me," Jamal says, "How's you and Dennis, by the way? You two still goin out?"

Yuri swallows her treat, "Well, first of all, that was an unexpectedly mature way of asking me, Jamal, bravo."

"Psshhh, aight, sorry" Jamal smirked, "You and he-"

"Ah-ah-ah, Jamal, I'll take this one." Merrick said, "Yuri, you and Dennis: are you, or are you not, shaking the medical closet and shocking the nurse staff with your wild and proper intercourse?"

Jamal snickers as he flops back and covers his eyes. Yuri stays silent as she closes her eyes, and almost robotically, turns her head to Merrick. After a few seconds of starring into each other's eyes, Yuri's hand goes to the side, and slaps the back of her fingers into Merrick's lower jaw.

"Ah, ow!" Merrick says as he rubs his chin area.

"Now that that's settled." Yuri says as she shifts back around in her seat, "Yes, me and Dennis are still going out. He's a very patient young man for my schedule, and he is incredibly shy, and that's just fine with me. Now, take your sex jokes, and shove them up your prostates, you filthy pigs."

"WHA-" Jamal gaps his mouth, "What'd I do?!"

"You were THINKING, Jackass. And he gets that kind of junk from you - and don't build off of that!" She pointed quickly.

"What? WHAAAT?"

"Still don't like this though." Merrick whines, "I miss Adam like crazy. I just, I know he'd be fine if we were more intimate, and thinking that, I feel like I can't go to him without wanting to hug, kiss, cuddle, and fu-"

"Merrick, I swear to God, I just beat that out of Jamal a while back, I do NOT want to beat it out of you too." She said with a pointed finger.

"Ghh, alright alright, I'll lay off the bed stuff." Merrick said.

"So what'ya gonna do then?" Jamal asked.

"Think I'll spend some time in the ocean." Merrick said, "Maybe I'll give Chibaku a call and see if he needs any research assistance."

"Wait, you're going back out there again?" Yuri asked, "For how long??"

"Don't worry," Merrick smiled, "I'm not going anywhere, I'm just going to spend some time in the reefs and local areas. I'm still going in for work and such, and I'll come see Adam when he's a little better."

"Aight, cause Nick's still not cool wit'chu just yet." Jamal says.

"I know, and I'm going to make up for it." He tells them. "I just think some time in the water will do me some good. Maybe I'll swim by the docks and screw with a couple of fishermen by pulling on their hooks again."

"GggGGG!" Yuri snickers and laughs, "Hahahaha, that actually does sound funny. Right, well, I'm gonna go see Adam and introduce him to a few video games to familiarize him."

"Aight." Jamal says as he gets up, "C'mon, Salls! Lessgo to the Hound Hut" He calls, instantly getting his dog's attention as he goes to get her leash, while Merrick gets up to go put on his sea equipment.

~~~

"Ok, thank you, Jessica." Adam says as he takes the black leather-bound book with shiny golden pages, "I'll read it tonight." He assures her with a smile.

"Bless you, Adam." Jessica says before giving him a kiss, "I'll see you tonight."

"Alright. Oh- and thank you for-"

"I have to go! Bye, love!" Jessica says quickly as she climbs over the railing, and scales it down.

"Ok..." Adam says, before putting his hand over his mouth and wipes it a little. He appreciates her going to these lengths for him, but he's not really comfortable with the kissing. He's gonna need to talk to her about that... If it won't hurt her feelings TOO hard, that is...

"Hi Adaaam!" Yuri says as she beams in carrying some hard black box-like item, just as Adam puts the Holy Bible onto his nightstand.

"Oh hey, Dr Yuri!" Adam says as his chest feels lighter as he feels a smile come back on.

"You're looking better today." She pointed out as she closes the door.

"I'm doing ok, still bored with the job classes."

"Well, that's what I'm here for." Yuri smiles as she sets down the device she has, "Got the O.K. from your psychologist, and I'm going to try jogging your memory a little."

"Really? How so?" Adam looks curiously at the piece, "What's this thing?"

"It's a PlayStation4." Yuri answered, "It plays video games, aaand..." She tucks her hand into her purse, and takes out a game jacket, "When we first moved in together, this was the first thing we played together as roommates."

Adam looks at the image of the jacket, "... Kingdom Hearts 1.5... 2.5 Remix? What does that mean?"

"Long story, but there's about 4 games in this disk, and 2 theaters worth of scenes."

"Ooooook?"

"Just trust me. This was one of your favorite games ever." She says as she takes a few cords, and hooks them up to Adam's TV.

"Alright, I'm game." Adam smiles as he takes a seat on his bed, while Yuri starts it up. They go to Kingdom Hearts 1.5, and started a new game. Adam raises his brows as the title on the screen flashes with twinkling music.

"Oh, wow..." Adam coos as he watches the graphics of the night sky and dark clouds and the sheer metal-like sound effects of the letters and words. The screen then shows the sleeping eyes of a boy with spiky brown hair, as if he is sleeping on and off in a weird abyss of color.

The screen then goes to a blank area with flashing golden letters, before a young voice speaks, "{I've been having... These weird thoughts lately...}"

Just then, Adam feels something. His fascination quickly turns into quiet bewilderment as his mind goes back to his previous session with Dr Donna. The screen zooms and moves around some different words, before the boy speaks again.

"{Like, is any of this for real? Or not?}"

"Huh... Wow..." Adam mumbles as some tapping and techno music begins to climb in the game.

"Hm? What?" Yuri asked as she sits on the floor, holding the controller.

"Ah- What? Nothing, just... It seems weird and cool, and kinda relates to my life right now."

"I know, right?" She said with a smile before they both turn back to the TV. "We spent so many hours playing these games in the past.

~~~

"Errff. Nnnhh!" Arnaav growls as he contorts and flexes his body as the Kenovani hunts in the local rock barriers.

"Are you ok, Arnaav? You have been squirming like that for a long time." Jegola says as she pushes her tentacles to move

"My items feel so uncomfortable!" Arnaav says, "It's almost like they are trying to choke me."

"Hm..." The octopus mermaid examines his belts and ropes, "It seems you are growing bigger than what you're wearing. You will have to mend or make new wares."

"Grrrrrr," Arnaav frowns as he tugs at his vest, "I'm going to search in this area." He tells her before his tail pushes him forth.

"Please, be careful!" Jegola calls after him.

Arnaav paws and swims through a large, gapping opening, with filtering green and blue light around. His belly pushes against his belts, feeding his frustration as he curls around in the water.

"Rrrrhh! No more already!" He says as he yanks at his items, and finally kicks them off, breaking off one of the belts that held his dagger and knife. "Fix it later." He growls as he just takes the two short blades and swims up.

He sends a signal in one direction, one in another, and rolls in the water, before his eyes spot something odd. Among the field of healthy algae-grass, there is a pale, green-tinted round object tucked into the water gravel. He swims downward and puts down his weapons.

"What is?" He ponders. It can't be a rock, it's too round and white among the surroundings. Arnaav puts his paws onto it, and dug into around the object. Pulling the orb from the rubble, Arnaav sees half of it is somewhat preserved, before rubbing off the green mush off of it, and looking at it all around.

Still half white and half light green, he sees a weird symbol on the ball that is within the greener half.

"Ooh, I think I remember this." He says as he holds it up, and lets go. The small ball sinks back down in front of him, before he picks it up again. "Hehehehehe... Hey..." He looks all around the well-lit cavernous basin around him. His eyes take in all the surroundings, small fish, and branches of coral here and there.

"This... This is where..." He looks back at the ball in his paws. It looks so much smaller than it used to...

"This is where I found that human girl..." He said, "When I..." His eyes feel a tinge of sadness as he looks down. His little ears droop as he recalls what happened. Arnaav looks up to the surface, before kicking his hind legs from the bottom.

Arnaav's head breaks the surface as he looks around. He takes a small gasp as he looks around. The same environment as all those years ago, the same two pink-flowered trees as before, all those years ago...

Putting the ball onto a nearby rock, Arnaav irks as he pulls himself out of the water, and picks the ball back up, leaning it onto a rock for balance, turning his head around.

"Mizu!"

"MEEP!" Arnaav squeaked as he jumped, turning to a sudden voice from above. He gasps as he sees a young Japanese girl standing up in an open yard of an authentic, old-fashioned house. A young teenage human girl, holding a school bag and dressed in her school uniform.

"Fumiko!" He squeals in his merfolk speech, which sounds like a strange, purring noise, as he leaves the ball on the rock, and hops up on rock after rock. He grunts and irks as he climbs up, slipping here and there, now proving difficult to get up more.