Chapter 6

At first, all i can see is darkness.

I can't see where I am, or anything around me.

Then I hear their voices.

"Serves you right. You totally deserved that." Says Bino.

"Why'd you leave yourself vulnerable like that? You're totally pathetic for not defending yourself." Says Tarot.

"You know, normal pets don't act this way. Do you understand that word, normal?" Says Max.

"Get away from me, I HATE YOU!" Says Fox.

Every sentence that they speak forms into a blade and stabs me. I usually end up covered with my own blood. But despite my injuries, despite my pain, I don't succumb to it.

Then, she appears. She appears right next to HIM, she talks to HIM and laughs and laughs, and laughs. But as she turns away from HIM and looks at me, her cheerful demeanor changes to one of pity, if not cruelty.

"My god." She says to me. "What a nuisance you turned out to be."

Another blade stabs me in the back.

"After what you went through, you actually tried to have us bear your burden for you? You're weak."

Another blade stabs me in the leg.

"You're even incapable of ending your own life. Are you really THAT stupid?
Another blade stabs me in the shoulder.

"Get away from me. I hate you, and I've always have."

I let out a gasp as a rather large blade stabs me in the chest. She simply giggles and turns her back towards me.

HE doesn't even let a second pass as HE approaches me and grabs the blade in my chest.

"I'm sOrrY, bUt YOu hAvE sOmEthIng thAt bElOngs tO mE…"

HE rips out the blade, as well as my heart, which is impaled onto the blade. I cry out in pain, just as I did before.

HE removes the heart and examines it. It is still beating and connected to me.

HE looks at me with HIS eyes, just like before. Then, HIS mouth grows wide, exposing pointed teeth and a serpentine tongue. His eyes turn pure red, and he dangles the heart above his head and he tilts it back.

"THiS iS MiNe NoW!"

He eats the heart in one gulp, and I look desperately at her, who is now facing me again, laughing.

She is laughing.

Laughing at me.

"Goodbye Peanut, I'll make sure the others forget about you…"

Digredior scribbled into a notepad before talking. It had been several months since Peanut's accident, and he was now getting counseling by Digredior three times a week. Dreizehn was nowhere to be seen.

"He got hit by a train that carried milk." Digredior explained. "Fortunately he's alive, but all of his limbs are broken. He'll be absent for most of the time."
Digredior was with Peanut in the living room of the Sandwich household. Digredior chose to sit in a lounge chair while Peanut simply sat on the couch. A box of "Tiss-You's" was between them.

"Does anything happen afterwards?"

Peanut's darkened eyes looked down at the carpet.

"N-No, I usually wake up afterwards."

Digredior added that note.

"I see. I don't have to guess who HE is, do I?"

Peanut said nothing, he continued his staring match with the floor.

"And the girl is Grape, I presume?"

Peanut's eyes welled with tears. Digredior let out a slight "tch", and muttered something under his breath.

"Need a tissue?"

Peanut looked up and grabbed a tissue, whipping his eyes and nose with it as Digredior looked at his watch.

"Why do you think that everybody hates you Peanut?" Digredior asked the sobbing dog. Peanut gasped for air and coughed. Digredior approached the dog and was about to pat him on the back when the dog decided to cling to him and continue to weep.

"Because… Because I could've prevented this. Mom said I shouldn't talk to strangers, b-but I didn't listen. I'm weak, I don't even deserve live."

Digredior looked down at the crying animal that clung so helplessly to his jacket and smiled. He wrapped around him and squeezed him gently in a hug.

"Peanut, you're not weak. You have a strong heart, you shouldn't think that this in entirely your fault."

Peanut lose his head in confusion and sniffed. "Huh?"

"There are things that people cannot control in their lives, but they do what they must to live from their mistakes. True, you should've listed to your "mother". But you also proved to be polite and respectful by choosing to help someone who asked for your help."

Peanut pushed himself away from Digredior and stood upright. A look of realization appeared on his face.

"Sure, rape a horrible scenario." Digredior spoke bluntly. "But now, you should come out of it stronger. Don't let it take your life away. Learn from it and become a better person than you were before."

As Digredior finished his speech. Grape and Mr. Sandwich walked in the room.
"Mr. Digredior, is everything alri-"

Grape froze as she looked at Peanut, who now looked like he finished carrying something heavy. He looked at Grape and smiled.

This time, it was real and warm.

"Hi Grape."

Grape's eyes instantly began tearing up as she embraced her friend, who after all this time, finally returned. She looked up into his eyes, they were bright again.
Digredior observed Peanut again.

NEW DATA ENTRY: Victim has gained understanding of the problem before him. Analyzing data based on new entry:

Possibility of [SUCCESSFUL] suicide based on acquired data – 15%

Current victim mortality status based on acquired data – FINE.

Victim has [HOPEFULLY] recovered meaning in life.

Current course of action: Despite this miraculous recovery, I will recommend two One-hour therapy sessions a week to monitor the victim's condition. Hopefully, this change will be permanent.

Digredior sat in a folding chair in his apartment as he heard a knock on his door.
"Open." He shouted.

He looked over to see Tarot and King enter the doorway.

"Ah, well if it isn't my client and her friend. I trust everything's going well?"

"It is." Tarot said. "Thanks to you, Peanut is almost back to his original self."

Digredior smirked. "No, not yet, but at least he's finally starting to let it go."

"Indeed." Tarot said, bowing. "I must go now, have a good day."

Tarot vanished instantly, leaving King behind.

"Wait Tarot, no… damn." He swore and he looked at Digredior, who was staring back at him.

"What are you looking at?" He snarled at the blond-haired man, who leaned back in his chair and put a hand to his chin.

"Which one of them changed you?"

"What?"

"Which one of those three fools changed you? Just tell me that."

"How did you-"

"Are you actually going to ask me that, or are you going to answer my question?"

"Uh… Pete, the blue griffin…"

"Ah, yes, Pete. He's a rule-breaker, like me."

"Huh?"

"Say, how's about I turn you back to a human? Hm, does that sound good for you?"

"Um… No thanks, I don't think it's good for me to turn to a human at the moment.
What with that I was a convict and all that before Pete showed up…"

"I could remove your record…"

"AND I'm kinda in a… 'relationship' at the moment."

"I know, 'Fox' right? Hmu, you guys make a cute couple."

King was about to protest when he felt a presence behind him.

"Dreizehn." Digredior muttered.

Dreizehn stared at King for a few moments before speaking.

"Isn't he the queer one?"

Digredior nodded, and Dreizehn giggled as he sat down in another chair, leaving a now embarrassed King between the both of them.

"Oh, King. Feel free to enjoy yourself to the kitchen; we're just going to talk."
King walked into the kitchen and began making himself a sandwich.

"So." Dreizehn began, "How's Peanut?"

"Fine, but overall, he's STILL an utterly annoying creature."

King stopped spreading butter on a piece of bread, a look of surprise on his face. Did Digredior just…?

"But when he began crying about Grape, it took almost every fiber in my body not to laugh."

"Really? That's terrible!" Dreizehn let out a whooping laugh while Digredior
smirked. A cup of tea formed in Dreizehn's paw and he began taking large gulps.

"Go on."

"And then, just to make things better." Digredior said, now beginning to giggle. "At the start of our session, be began whining about some stupid nightmare he had."

Dreizehn spat out a mouthful of whatever he was drinking and began giggling. "ARE YOU SERIOUS? WHAT WAS IT ABOUT?"

Dreizehn blinked and a tiny figure of Peanut appeared on the small coffee table between them, it looked around and stared at the both of them. King suddenly walked into the living room, without the sandwich.

Digredior looked toward King.

"Oh, you're still here, I almost forgot."

He snapped his fingers.

"Watch closely, or you'll miss the show."

King watched in horror as Peanut's nightmare unfolded on the coffee table, like a tiny horror show. He watched as Peanut was stabbed with those blades, and he watched as his heart was ripped out by a mysterious blacked haired man, who turned into a demon and ate it afterwards.

Throughout the horrific spectacle, both Digredior and Dreizehn were laughing, unable to contain themselves.

When it was over, the figures that stood on the table vanished as instantly as they appeared, except for the Peanut figure, which Dreizehn picked up and examined.

"Huh, I see he 'found a reason to live' right?" He handed the figure to Digredior, who glared at it.

"Yes, that means I've won, you have nothing left to use. I win this game, despite how tedious it was at my part."

"Hey, at least you weren't the bad guy, getting your plans shot down like that."
"If I was the 'bad guy'…" Digredior crushed the figure in his hand, which gave out a loud cry before turning into glittery dust. King felt sick to his stomach.

"He would've been dead long ago."

King suddenly stepped between them. "What are you saying, is this some sort of game to you?"

Digredior stared at him with a confident expression. "Yes." He said calmly. "It is a game between the both of us."

"YEAH, SO BUTT OUT!" Dreizehn shouted at the corgi before getting a stern look from Digredior.

King glared at the blonde sorcerer that sat before him. He was worse than Pete!
"What's wrong? I thought you 'hated' pets."

King clenched his fists.

"Yeah, I used to think animals card only about themselves. That they were mean and would betray you in a second." King closed his eyes. "But then, I met Fox, Sasha, and Peanut, and they changed me. I found out more about myself as King them than I ever did as Joel."

Digredior stayed silent as he listened to King, his eyebrows raised in interest.

"And now I see that you guys are even worse than Pete, playing with Peanut's life in some sort of twisted game."

"Yeah, so?" Digredior asked.

King's ears flattened as Digredior brought his face close to his, and cupped the corgi's muzzle with his hand.

"You know, you should be grateful that I'm at least on your side." He whispered, smiling warmly. "Because I'll gladly change sides at any minute."

King growled. "You damn…"

Digredior released King and giggled. "Anyway, the endgame is approaching soon, so goodbye."

And in an instant, King vanished.

Dreizehn smirked. "He's funny."

Digredior sighed. "Alright, since you have no more tricks, I conclude this game ov-"

"WAIT!" Dreizehn shouted, his paws in the air. "I have one more trick left!"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, I saved the best card for last."

"Will it be worth it?"

"Oh, you have no idea…"

Meanwhile, at the edge of Babylon Gardens, a man stepped out of a crimson red van. His black hair blew in the wind as he looked at the sign that said, "WELCOME TO BABLYON GARDENS!"

In his hand, he held a dog tag shaped like a white bone.

"I'm back, my friend." He muttered, as he got into his van and drove towards Babylon Gardens.

"I'm back, and this time, I'll be sure to silence you for good."