Fawful's Day

## **Plot**

Fawful is sleeping in his newly built bed nearby Lizel. He begins to twitch whilst having a dream. Inside the dream, he runs towards a seemingly never-ending field of sunflowers. One of the flowers comes alive and generates fire into his hand which he becomes interested in. Suddenly, the clouds above him depart and make way for a large apparition of Dimentio. Dimentio tells him that he can't hide from his past, and that no matter what he will do to try and redeem himself, he will always be remembered as a man of pure insanity and chaos. Fawful tells him that he has proven to be worthy of redemption and he no longer needs to worry but Dimentio plays with him, provoking him if that's what he truly wants instead of striving to meet the status quo. Fawful is awakened by Lizel who asks him if he is okay as he was violently twitching and moaning in real life.

He tells her he is fine which provokes Lizel to ask him what he was dreaming about. He tells her what happened and she lets him know that Dimentio is just trying to intimidate him, saying they both are now free to make their own decisions, what they want to do in life, further adding similarities on how much they are alike. Fawful agrees which provokes Lizel to ask him what his previous life was like.

*1775 Plymouth, England*

Sailors across the English Channel are trying to unhook a stuck ship package that has been disturbed by stormy waters. Captain Mando asks who is willing to travel with him across the sea to retrieve the goods. A boy named William is tempted to but is too afraid of what would happen, his brother Ulysses however, is fearless and immediately accepts the offer. William begs him not to go but Ulysses stays persistent in his bold move. Thus, the two travel with Captain Mando across the channel and head into stormy waters. Their ship becomes subject to the strong wind which leads Mando to demand that William keep the sails upright but William insists he is unable to as he has "noodle arms". Ulysses quickly takes charge and orders that William stay low. They reach the goods' ship, which has now been shipwrecked due to a reef. After some intense struggles, the crew is able to retrieve the goodies and return to land in one piece.

William and Ulysses return to their home, with the latter scolding William on how he performed. William snaps back, saying that he is too reckless and that one of these days he is going to get himself killed. Ulysses shrugs his words off, saying he doesn't need to worry as he will make sure nothing bad ever happens to him. William tells him that he doesn't want him to end up like their parents, revealing they both perished in a shipwreck. Ulysses promises him that he won't end up like them, saying he will protect "his little brother" as long as he needs to.

William walks out towards the end of the shore holding a journal. Ulysses comes out and asks him what he is writing and William quickly dismisses any mention of the journal, saying he was merely just looking at his fingers. They both exchange into a brief roughhouse until one of the townspeople comes out to tell the brothers that a rare sighting of a mythical beast has allegedly been spotted beyond the town waters. William, already knowing what Ulysses is going to do, begs him not to go as they don't know what creatures lurk beyond their hometown. Ulysses insists that they can't have a beast roaming their waters and potentially putting their lives in danger. With no moment to lose, he books it for a sailboat to sail on. William decides to take this as a moment to prove to Ulysses that he could be just as fearless as him. The town wishes the two off, hoping for a safe return.

While they are out at sea, the ship becomes stuck on a nearby island, leading the brothers to find out how to fix their problem. Ulysses tells William to stay close but he tells him that he is going to find help and will find his way back. William finds a cabin nearby a shoreline. He goes inside to see what he could find but finds the cabin completely empty. He then comes across a gem-like artifact and goes to pick it up. Suddenly, he gets zapped by the gem which causes him to get knocked down on the ground. He wakes up within minutes and has no recollection of the incident but has a mini trance which freaks him out, causing him to run back to Ulysses who found out how to get the boat going. He asks William what happened but he insists nothing did and gets on the boat.

Along the voyage, William observes the sky and sees a bright light, noting that it is the middle of the day. Ulysses however, does not see the light, asking what he is talking about. Suddenly, William has a vision of what's to come, seeing them both dying from the beast if they don't turn back. William doesn't take any chances and begs Ulysses for them both to turn back but he demands that they need to fight off the beast, which blasts out from the ocean, letting out a roar. Ulysses takes out his weapons and begins attacking the sea beast which becomes stunned to attack for a brief period. William decides to take this as the opportunity to take the wheel and steer them away from danger. Ulysses tells him to stop as he has the situation handled but William persists. They both fight over the wheel which gives the beast ample time to grab Ulysses. He tells William his last words and that his death will never be his fault before being dragged down into the ocean by the beast, leaving William on his knees on the boat in the stormy seas.

William makes his way back to town and tells everyone the news. They call William a coward for not saving his brother and resent him. William lives the rest of his days regretting his actions at his house, writing down diary entries in his journal. William then wonders about the light he saw, only connecting that something bad happened as soon as he saw it. He decides to leave town to find answers, saying it wouldn't matter much to him anyways. William travels throughout the world as much as he can, ending up in New York, London, Paris, and eventually Italy. While there, he meets a stranger who hears his concern and asks him to follow him to his house. While there, the stranger tells him that he too has seen things a person cannot explain vividly, and has experienced heartbreak, expressing the love of his life has died because of it. William tells him about the light but the stranger tells him that he doesn't know what exactly that is but may have a solution, offering him the suggestion that it may be "The Dreadful Lights". He explains what they are to William who says that something bad has already happened to him but he saw what the outcome and interfered. Unfortunately, the stranger explains that if someone interferes with what the light has in store for them, the curse is cancelled, and another worse fate is doomed to come. William sobs, asking what fate is worse than losing everyone he loves. Another stranger in the room simply replies, "death". He tells William to change the course of history by spreading the word of what's to come, explaining that an otherwordly presence is planning on conquering Earth. William takes the book he gave him but asks him what his name was before he leaves. It's revealed that the stranger was Blumiere/Count Bleck, who is still alive.

We cut to the flashback showing William on the ship set to crash, therefore revealing the doomed fate was William's own death from the storm. His soul is taken from his body and is judged from the Star Sprites who deem his soul too "pure" and that his life was not lived to the full potential it could have. As a result, they take his soul and decide to reincarnate it as a second chance of living, giving him the form of present day Fawful.

Fawful ends his story, telling Lizel he feels like he wasted his second chance, regretting everything that has happened but admits he doesn't know how to make most choices on his own, he constantly needs someone to tell him what to do. Lizel gives him a big warm hug, tears running down her cheeks, sobbing uncontrollably, causing Fawful to also breakdown into tears, the two silently weeping as the moon shines above them.