Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 059

He rolled his eyes. "I mean time. Can you stretch out time?"

"You're no fun, but yes. Not like I did before, but that's your fault for being weak of mind and spirit." She released her tail and it whipped around behind her. "I won't bore you with the math, but I'll toss this bitch back into her bad dream long before I think you might die. Whatever your agenda is, it isn't the same as mine, you got it?"

"That's fair." When his gaze swept over the others, it stopped on Naia. She was smiling, and the runes tattooed on her body were glowing fiercely beneath her dress. "I challenged you to a duel, but maybe we can do something more productive, find some common ground to stand on. Come on, Your Majesty. Come inside my home and learn what it means to live, and see what it means to love. See it from our point of view."

"What trap is this? Are you trying to seduce me, to convince me to join your harem of spiritual concubines?" There was anger in her voice, and he felt her grip tighten like iron. "I would rather fight and lose than indulge in your erotic fantasy."

"That's not what this is about. I want you to see what Cecilia sees, what the others see. Learn that it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all."

"I hate human idioms," she muttered. "I almost would have preferred live, laugh, and love."

Despite her protests, when he pulled her toward the house, she went willingly.

Once they were inside, the home brightened as if it was a beautiful summer day outside, and he led her to the dining room where Sofia had laid out a feast for him.

"Look through my memories," he told the queen. "See how I met her, how we connected. We didn't get along at first, but we found a way to connect. I'm an open book, I want you to have it all."

"But try not to linger on some of the memories," Sofia added, her forehead furrowed. "They're a little embarrassing. Oh, and I hope you like pie."

The queen sat quietly and watched as the others came in and chatted with each other. None of them spoke to her, and Mike just allowed her to sit and observe. The meal proceeded with laughter and smiles as they all talked and had a good time. Even Zel and Abella were there, for his Dreamscape home could accommodate everyone.

After dinner, they went for a walk out back by the fountain. Naia danced and sang for the birds while Tink challenged Lily to a game of horseshoes. It was clear that both of them were cheating, but nobody seemed to mind. At one point, Daisy appeared and swatted horseshoes out of the air.

"This is so saccharine that I'm going to be sick," noted the queen. "There is no chance you actually live this way."

"When I'm not about to be murdered or fixing the house, it kind of is. I like spending time with everyone, and I love them all in my own way. Obviously, I love some of them differently, which is why the others aren't in here, so..."

"Husband likes us best," Tink interrupted, then lined up a shot that rang the stake when it struck. The sound rippled into the sky, causing it to shift in color for a few seconds. Looking disgruntled, the queen wandered out into the Dreamscape, and Mike worried when she stayed gone.

When the sun went down, Mike sat with Cecilia on the porch and watched the sky turn dark as technicolor stars dotted the sky like sparkling confetti. They were quiet, and held hands as he watched the sky, waiting for the queen's return.

The next day, she showed up around lunch and watched as Mike had a water fight with Naia, and then went fishing on the beach with Abella. The gargoyle was reeling in a massive fish that had no business existing in the real world, and when lunch came, Sofia made fish sandwiches for everybody. The queen was silent as she watched them, but Mike didn't mind. He was happy for the peace and quiet.

When he went flying with Abella the next day, the queen came along, staying just out of sight behind them. Once they landed, she approached him with a frown on her face.

"Is it truly possible that you can love all of them? Do none of them suffer as you favor another?"

Mike shrugged. "I can only do the best that I can do."

He wasn't sure if the answer satisfied her or not, for she remained silent the rest of the day. The next morning, he was awoken by Tink, who was playfully biting his thigh. Figuring he should just be upfront about it, he made love to her for almost an hour before they migrated into the tub to join Naia. At one point, he looked up to see that the queen was in his bathroom watching them, but left her to her thoughts.

Days passed, and then a week. The queen watched silently for most of the time, and he couldn't tell if she was gaining anything from the experience. She started taking long walks by herself, and he was wary that she might be planning something.

However, one day she invited Cecilia to go with her. While the two of them were gone, he felt a slight pressure inside his head as the queen looked through the banshee's memories and his own. He could feel her silent judgment, but made no effort to disrupt her search.

Nightly walks with Cecilia became a tradition, and he was surprised when the queen asked Abella to go flying with her. The two of them made regular trips off the island, and he wondered how far they could go over the water before Abella was forced to turn back. He assumed that she was bound to the island much like he was.

Lily assured him that because of the sleeping powder, only a few hours had passed in the real world, but it made him nervous. At some point, his body would need water to survive. Would Cecilia spoon it into his mouth? Or was the queen playing the long game now, intending to turn his kindness against him?

It was something he would have to figure out if things went sideways. For now, it was peaceful in the Dreamscape. Despite the queen's foreboding presence, he wasn't actively fighting anyone, or repairing his house. He spent plenty of time with the women inside his head. Ratu taught him how to play Go, which was difficult at first, because the Dreamscape kept misplacing pieces when he looked away. Zel taught him about some of the plants, but the names sounded made up and would change from day to day. Such was the chaotic nature of the human mind.

One night, when everyone was at dinner, the queen picked up a fork and inspected it. "Why bother with this?" she asked.

"I'm trying to make a point," he replied between mouthfuls of roast beef.

"Not what you're doing here. I mean this meal. We are in the Dreamscape, you do not require sustenance here."

"It's nice to sit down as a family," Sofia replied. "Don't be a bitch about it."

Mike thought that the queen was going to be angry, but a small smile crossed her lips.

"Like a tradition," she mused, and then became quiet for the remainder of the meal.

The next morning, when he got up, he noticed that the queen had finally removed her armor, and wore an intricately decorated dress and carried a staff made of wood that had been braided into shape. She was outside at the fountain, speaking in detail with Naia, and once the afternoon came, she went for another flight with Abella.

His plan was working, and this was the most relaxed that he had felt in a long time.

Kisa was sitting in the old man's kitchen. There was a storm outside, and rain was striking the glass of the windows hard enough to rattle them. She had no memory of how she had gotten here, but when she looked at her hands, she realized that this wasn't a memory. She was in control, and she stood to look outside.

Out the window, there were rows of dimly lit buildings. Even though she could hear the rain, she couldn't see it, which was very odd. Even more striking was the dark cloud overhead that swirled down like a giant snake, circling each building before moving on to the next.

"Maybe we ignore that for now." The old man startled her, and she stepped away from the window as he lowered the blinds. He was holding a cup of tea, which he handed over to Kisa. "In fact, stay away from window. Is bad idea to keep watching."

"Where am I?" She backed away from him and went to the front door of the apartment. When she opened it up, she saw a long hallway that led to the stairs. At the end of the hall was a younger, human version of herself trying to climb the final step while using braces.

"What's going on here?" She moved back into the room and saw herself as a human, lying on the couch with wary eyes cast at the old man's bedroom. There was another version of herself going through the pantry and emptying it out, preparing to run away.

They were her memories, but they were faded and translucent. The old man, however, was not a memory.

"This is safe place," he informed her, his accent as thick as ever, then sat at the table. "Maybe last safe place for you."

"Who am I?" she asked. "Who was I?"

He shook his head, sadness lining his features. "I cannot answer what you don't already know. I am limited."

"Who are you?"

He shook his head again. "I cannot say. That part of you is lost, but what I am is self preservation, Kisa. Part of you that speaks from deep within, reminds you that you matter."

"Like my conscience?" She sat at the table with him, wondering what was going on. "If you're my conscience, am I asleep?"

"No, not asleep. On brink." He pointed up at the ceiling. "That woman, she has pushed her way in, wants to lock you away."

"Is that what the storm is?" she asked.

He nodded. "Your body is a temple, and she has invaded. Even now, she looks for you, but she didn't count on most important fact."

"Which is?"

"You are more animal than human, Kisa. Normal human, easy to lock away. Animal? Much harder to cage. She is looking through memories in attempt to find real Kisa, but so much confusion has led her astray." He grinned. "In this way, your body is mixed blessing."

Intense pain radiated through Kisa's arm, and she looked down to see bite marks on it. Through the howling storm outside, she heard someone shouting in a high-pitched voice that reminded her of Tink.

"What's happening to my body?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Your guess is good as mine. If you—" he held deathly still, and Kisa felt it now, a heavy presence that descended over the building. She ducked away beneath the kitchen table as the window covering rattled itself open. From beneath, all she could see was the old man's legs, and he held perfectly still at the table as her memories manifested throughout the room.

There were hundreds of them. Kisa yelling at the old man, confiding in him, mourning the loss of her legs, and then crying on the floor, frantically trying to pull her collar off.

She grabbed at her throat, and briefly felt something around it, but was relieved when it was just the smooth fur of her neck.

The presence moved on, and when Kisa tried to come out, the old man cleared his throat. She stayed where she was, and the front door banged open. Based on the legs she could see, it was a woman in dark robes, and she stomped her way over to the table.

"Where is she?" demanded the woman in an angry voice.

"Kisa is Kisa," replied the old man. "Sometime wander, rarely come home. Have you come in from storm as well?"

The woman ignored him, and wandered around the room and stopped next to Kisa's memories. She kicked at a few, grunting in disgust when her feet passed through them.

"I know you're in here," she said. "Look, all I want is to get away from this damned house, and you're lack of cooperation is making it very—"

The whole world turned sideways for a moment, and if Kisa hadn't grabbed onto the table leg, she would have slid free. The old man, however, didn't budge, as if affixed to the universe itself.

"Fucking goblin," muttered the woman, and then she left.

Kisa pulled herself free from beneath the table and felt a searing pain on one of her legs. She looked down and spotted some fresh bite marks, and then spat when her mouth filled with the taste of blood.

"She wishes to wear you, Kisa. To wear you like a collar of her own." The old man stood, pushing the chair back. "If you obey her, you will lose what is left of yourself. This much I know."

Kisa was about to reply to him when the woman reappeared in the doorway. The woman had blonde hair that was frayed at the ends, like she had just been in a fight, and her robes had deep scratches in them.

"Okay, look," she said, her voice desperate. "We both stand to benefit from an agreement. I was planning on dumping your body as soon as a better replacement comes along, but what if I told you that I know some powerful people? People who could make you human again?"

Kisa opened her mouth to say something, but saw the old man shaking his head. "All the way human?" she asked.

"Yes!" The woman came closer, and her eyes were glowing. "My mother is a powerful witch, and she knows one of the most powerful men on the planet. Not only could we turn you back, but maybe even find out who you were. I can see inside your mind, Kisa, and I know that you aren't happy here."

"I—" She looked at the woman. "What would I have to do?"

"Just...let me in. Stop resisting." She stared daggers at the old man. "And quit listening to this one. He's not even real, just a manifestation of your conscience. You don't have to listen to him."

"Is true, Kisa." The old man sipped at his tea. "The choice is always yours."

She thought about it for a moment. She really did want to know who she was, and maybe this woman could help. After all was said and done, maybe her place wasn't in the home after all. Her thoughts touched on Mike, and she felt a sudden betrayal from her thoughts.

"That's not real," the woman told her. "You're his familiar now, you'll always be beholden to him. It'll be just like wearing that collar, and—"

"Stupid cat wake the fuck up!" It was Tink's voice, but it had come from the old man. "Tink no let go, make cat—"

He slammed his mouth shut and looked at Kisa with a raised eyebrow. "She fights for you, not against you," he told her. "Even when you were mean."

"Shut the fuck up," growled the woman, her face turning red. "She doesn't want any of this, I know she doesn't. She just wants a normal life, and—"

"Bad bitch making Kisa wear stupid collar!" Tink's voice blasted out of the old man again, and Kisa reflexively grabbed at her neck. This time, she felt her fingers close around something, and she pulled as hard as she could.

The entire world screeched like a car slamming on its breaks and then exploded into fragments of glass. Kisa was tangled up in someone's Halloween decorations, and was covered in blood. She was on the ground with Tink, and currently had a piece of fabric that looked like gauze wrapped around the goblin's neck. Tink was making choking noises, so Kisa pushed her away and fell forward on the ground, gasping for air.

In her left hand was the necklace. When she paused to inspect it, she had a sudden urge to put it back on, so tossed it away from her and went to check on Tink. The goblin was covered in scratches, and when Kisa rolled her over, Tink hit her in the face with a punch that knocked her teeth loose in her head.

"Owwww, fuck..." Kisa grabbed her mouth and rolled away.

Panting, Tink stood, moving as if in slow motion. "Tink no let stupid bitch take Kisa."

"Ith me," Kisa said through her fingers. When she looked at the goblin, Tink had adjusted her goggles and appraised her now, then let out a grunt and fell backward on the ground.

"Stupid cat run too fast," Tink said, then flopped over on her back. "Witch girl make fast run, Tink follow, but just barely. Now Tink tired."

"Tink." Kisa moved over to the goblin and then felt that cold pit in her stomach again. "We need to hide," she whispered, and then looked around.

They were in someone's front yard, and the whole place had been decorated like a giant spider's nest. Huge, bendable spiders had been put out in the yard, and the two of them squeezed beneath a bush covered in cobwebs just as a pale figure stepped around the corner.

"Sarah?" It was the woman with the long braid, and she was holding a wand in her hand that glowed with a sinister light. She waved the wand over the yard, and the discarded pendant flashed in response.

The woman ran to the pendant and knelt down to pick it up while holding the wand at the ready. She tucked the necklace away in her pocket before backing out of the yard, her eyes scanning the terrain. Once on the sidewalk, she broke into a run and disappeared.

"That can't be good," Kisa said, then helped Tink out of the bush. "We should get back before anyone sees you."

"Ha! Everybody love Tink, nobody want to see stupid cat girl." Tink let out a wheeze and then stood to her full height. "But Tink glad—"

"Hey!" The front door of the home they were near banged open, and a man with a flashlight stepped onto the porch. "You kids need to go home, get out of my yard."

Tink blew a raspberry, then mooned him. Stunned, Kisa allowed Tink to grab her wrist and pull her away, and it wasn't until they were almost a block away that she realized that Tink was cackling like a madman.

In that moment, she had a flash, and dozens of memories blew through her mind. They were vague in nature, but all of them involved time spent with Tink inside of Emily's home. The two of them teasing the mandragora plant with tofu chunks, or catching the fairies in jars to squeeze lube out of them, or the time they ate all the ice cream in the house and tried to frame Abella. They had been thick and thin, back then, and Kisa realized how much she wanted to feel that way again.

The memories were few and far between and she was certain that Tink didn't remember them at all. But maybe, deep down, it was something that the goblin felt, and it explained why she always seemed to have Kisa's back, even when the two of them were at odds with each other. Maybe those memories could never be recovered, but as they ran down the street, all Kisa could think about was how much fun it would be to make new ones.

She laughed along with her friend.

Hi all, I really hope you liked that chapter, it was a tough one to write, and I really hope I did it justice.

The next chapter is the last one for book four, and it is definitely the longest. Even though the fighting is over, there is still one final battle to be won, and you won't want to miss it!

As always, don't forget to leave a rating or review, so many of you are doing a phenomenal job of it, thank you! You can check my bio for release dates, and I plan to start posting the first chapters of book five once I get them written down! Thanks again for being the wonderful community you've always been, and I will see you next time!

Annabelle Hawthorne