Episode 81 - Fears

## Fears

A black background with a loose, sketched white border reminiscent of vines. Two humanoid silhouettes are standing within the border, one outlined in red the other in white. The red figure is missing its right leg and arm, loose limbs of what look to be vines growing in their places. Below this image but still within the border are the words "81.FEARS" depicted in white

### Author

William A. Wellman

Ricou gets a knock on the door, Hector stays calm, and Brooklyn takes a risk. The theme of tonight’s episode is Fears.

***Content Warnings:** Graphic knee-related injury, Stabbing, Teeth Falling Out (reference), House Fires, Animal cruelty or animal death (Heidi as usual, the Fisher meets an unpleasant end… again), Suicide (mentioned metaphorically), Violence, Kidnapping and abduction, Death + Injury, Blood (more than usual), Needles, Birds, Gun Mention, Strangulation/suffocation, Static (including sfx), Emotional Manipulation, Drowning, Body horror, Consumption of Inedible Materials (mention)*

## Intro - Only Your Shadow

Nikignik narrates to the Dreamers someone hiding from some form of creature, blending into shadows so well that it cannot be seen. They hear it picking through the forest floor, feel its gigantic jaw stretching wide to devour them, and they wonder if it could smell their fear, took delight in their agony. They turn as the moon emerges from cloud cover, a hand stretched out in silver light, a form and voice that looked exactly like their own.

Nikignik sits amongst Ricou Chapman's collection of stolen items, the dread that their previous owners felt as they were drowned now shared by their murderer, who felt -despite his gills - as if he were drowning.

## Story 1 - The Garden Gate

Ricou Chapman thinks to himself about how Nolan Thair should have returned by then (see Episode 53 - Rivers), having been two weeks since he'd left. He finds himself regretting having met Nolan. Ricou had figured there to be three options for how his lover quarrel would end, the first was with Nolan coming back and admitting Ricou was right, this option was no likely after so much time. The second was that Nolan had not returned because he was unable to be it dead or otherwise. And the third option was that he hadn't come back because he didn't want to, the world that had driven Ricou away had accepted Nolan, and Riou was to jealous and prideful to chase after him. He asks why Nolan couldn't have just been happy with him. There's a knock at the door, and Ricou experiences a rush of joy, being at the entrance in a heartbeat and swinging it open. Instead of finding Nolan he opens the door to The Omen. He yells at the, telling them that they had made a mistake in returning (see Episode 41 - Waters), and Omen tells him that they'd come to challenge. Ricou informs them that he'd gave them a moment to fly before he ate them. The Omen tells him that they only wished to speak, that they had an offering, Ricou tells them that they wanted Walter 'Walt' Pensive's books. Omen tells him that he must have something that he wants, that if they didn't collect the books they would rot, The Director required his books for posterity.

Ricou reiterates that Omen had nothing he needed. Omen brings up Nolan, but Ricou tells them that it was none of their business. Omen mentions that they were a good tracker, but Ricou tells them that Nolan was invisible, Omen hadn't even noticed him last time there were there. Omen proposes that if they found Nolan for Ricou, Ricou would give them Walt's books, and while doubting in their ability to do this, Ricou agrees. Omen leaves. Ricou once again considered leaving, knowing that it would be wrong to do so, but perhaps it wouldn't matter when he held Nolan again. Perhaps he would arrive just in time to rescue him for peril. Or perhaps he would arrive to find him, surrounded by his new friends, and he would turn Ricou away from the life he'd made.

### Interlude 1 - Just A Little Disappointing Is All

Nikignik asks the Dreamers what they were afraid of. They had a fragile mortal body that could fail at the slightest illness, for some of them it was already on its last leg when they got it. They could eat the wrong object and suddenly stop breathing. The Hallowoods were filled of many ravenous animals that were hard to kill and stalked them in the night. The dead often rose to have a little snack, and those that did not rise dreamt of an end that was coming, and end that was already there. It was without meaning that their world was thrown into the universe, full of turning gears and plots and engines that they were too small to put out.

## Story 2 - Be Not Afraid

Hector Mendoza looks up at Jonah Duckworth after the events of Episode 79 - Kingdoms, Jonah finishes the sentence of "Peace be with you" with "And be not afraid". Hector looks up to see Violet Keene clutching her thigh with blood polling around her, and he realises that the rifle had fired where it'd dropped. Jacob Wicker laid in pain over the flipped desk, a crossbow bolt through his knee. Bern Keene abandons her crossbow to aid her wife. The sound of Jonah's voice picks up again, telling the Fort Freedom soldiers and the Froglins to lay down their weapons and leave, return to their homes and live out their remaining days in peace. Violet looks up in shock at Jonah and gasps out that she thought she'd been shot. which Hector tells her she was correct in thinking. He pulls of his sweater and ties it around her leg. Violet notices Jonah and asks why he was doing, and Hector tells her that he [Jonah] was trying to fix things. Jacob also notices Jonah and asks if he was an angle. Hector sets about helping Jacob, who expresses fear at Hector killing him, but Hector dissuades this by telling him that as much as he wanted to this was not the time. Bern calls to hector that Violet had stopped responding, and Hector swaps his attention to her.

They hear Jonah calling out again, and Jacob starts yelling at Hector to tell Jonah not to hurt the people of Fort Freedom. He calls Jonah a false angle, that devils pretended to be angles sometimes and the devil was who the people of the Scoutpost worshipped. Violet whispers to seemingly no one that she had pearl earrings, asking if they'd b enough (see The Grackle). Bern tells Hector that Tarra McGowan was in the infirmary, if Hector could get Violet to her, she could help. Hector picks up Violet (with no small struggle) and leaves for the infirmary, telling Bern that there was a flint-lock pistol in his bag and that if Jacob moved to use it on him. When he leaves her notices that some of the assailants had begun to retreat, but others hadn't, and Jonah watches as a Fort Freedom soldier rises a rifle in aim at Jonah. Hector tries to call out and warn him, but the soldier succeeds in firing a shot, though it is unclear if he was able to hit Jonah. The immediate result of this attack however is the forest violently acting against the Scoutpost, roots breaking out of the ground.

### Marketing - Fear-Based Advertising

Lady Ethel Mallory interrupts Nikignik's broadcast with her marketing segment. She speaks to her Marketing class about fear-based advertising. She tells them that some products told the customer ‘You want me because I mean statuses. some said, ‘you want me because I am the most affordable and practical solution.’ and others said 'if you don’t buy from me, everyone you have ever cared about will meet a twisted, horrible end, and the gnashing world will break into your home and light your home on fire and make you watch the flames consume everyone and everything inside. But don’t worry! If you buy from us, none of that will happen'. She tells them that for their next exercise they were going to identify the classes greatest fear and then construct an ad campaign around it.

### Story 2, Continued - Be Not Afraid

Hector watches as the Scoutpost is torn down by the roots, snapping the guard towers like matchsticks, scaffolds and ramps and sheet metal flung through the air. The flaming crown above Jonah the only present light as starlight poured from his head, forming antlers and branches. People screamed as they tried to escape the roots, some being impaled or sucked into the ground as if it were quicksand. Hector manages to make it to the infirmary, Tara McGowan looking up from the Fort Freedom soldier she was still treating (see Episode 79 - Kingdoms). Hector tells her of how Violet had been shot has be disposes of her on one of the beds, telling Violet to think of Bern in hopes that it might keep her alive, though unsure if she could hear him. The roots begin to destroy the infirmary, shattering windows and destroying floorboards. Tara asks what was happening, an Hector tells her that it was the same thing that'd happened to Solomon Reed's house (see Episode 47 - Regrets) and that he was going to try and stop it. He steps outside and calls to Jonah, telling him that he [Jonah] could stop what was happening; this has no effect and only succeeds in Hector getting sucked underground by the roots (along with the infirmary). Jonah telepathically tells Hector that he couldn't stop it, that he didn't know how. Hector falls deeper, looking up to see the now mangled Fisher he'd thrown a grenade at in Episode 2 - Dogs.

The fisher attacks him, Hector managing to stab it in the neck with the knife he kept in his boot, only to watch as it pulls it out on its own. It sinks its teeth into his shoulder, and he reaches for his tranquiliser, only to realise that the gun he had on his was instead his antique flintlock containing silver bullets. He attempts to discharge the pistol, only to find the gunpower in it wet and useless. The Fisher continues to maul him, ripping off part of his shoulder, one of his legs below the knee before whacking him 20ft across the forest floor. Hector watches on as a root impales the fisher, killing it, and looks up to see Jonah floating above him and looking down. Hector is unsure if Jonah could see or hear him, but he wishes him goodnight and he dies, feeling the forest embrace his body before it is rendered a corpse.

### Interlude 2 - The After

Nikignik asks the Dreamers if they were afraid of losing loved ones, or if they were afraid of what happened after their death. Loosing what they brought to their life, a moment when the pleasure they brought with a smile rendered to ash in an instant. And yet they [the Dreamer] continued to breathe, now empty of purpose. But the after was inconspicuous, the last thing on their mind. But when the moment had happened, that was when the after began. Despite it, they must continue to walk and to run, to survive. And they must do all this knowing that they were secretly, inwardly, long gone, rotted away. It would be easier to have died then with them, and at least been true. Been nothing inside and out. But no. The incongruous after carried them on through eternity alone.

## Story 3 - The Door In the Sky

Brooklyn Williams and Marco Torres have a discussion on what had happened in their lives, Marco attempting to verbally recall the events that lead up to Valerie Maidstone and Other Riot escaping Box Andromeda in Episode 72 - Errors as they pack up in preparation for their escaping the Botulus Corporation (see Episode 75 - Loyalties) with the Stonemaids. Brooklyn asks him if he was actually ready to leave, which he tells her he was but when she asks him about his partners (see Marco Torres: Relationships) he tells her that he hadn't said goodbye to them yet, thought he had tried. She asks him what had changed in him, since they'd first met (see Episode 9 - Birds), he tells her that he'd gotten scared, scared of his job, scared that he might be doing the same thing every day for the rest of their lives. He tells he that she'd changed too, and she tells him that she was scared too, that she couldn't keep doing her job every day knowing what she knew (see Episode 75 - Loyalties and The awakening of Dreaming Box Aries). They start to make their way through their Dreaming Box Cassiopia. Marco tells Boxy, Botco's resident AI to disable the defence grid around their Box which it complies with. They step out onto the roof of the Dreaming Box, listening to the far-off buzz od a helicopter rotor.

Brooklyn walks to the edge of the Box, and hears as the buzz shifts in direction slightly, thinking to herself that it sounded less like a helicopter and more like a screaming vibration just in time for Marco to be attacked by one of the Cluster Drones. Another one flies past her and lands on him, and he screams for her to Go as the expected Helicopter arrives. Lady Ethel Mallory enters the scene from the elevator leading to the roof, commenting that it was fancy seeing her and Marco out for a stroll. Brooklyn runs to try and help Marco, telling him to get up, but he reiterates for her to run away. Ethel tells Brooklyn that she didn't want whatever Marco had offered her. Brooklyn tries to plead with Ethel to let Marco go, to help her fix things, but Ethel tells her that if she stayed, she could be the most powerful person in Botco, besides Ethel herself, and all her hard work would pay off. She looks back at Marco, and wants to tell him that she'd be back for him but doesn't. She tells Ethel that she [Brooklyn] knew her too well, that she [Ethel] smiled when she lied, before turning and running to the helicopter, escaping.

## Outro - Fears

Nikignik begins to wax poetics about Fears, but he cuts himself off. Telling the Dreamers of how it was not easy for him to dictate the stories he told. It should be, him not being a part of them, simply there to share it with a dreaming universe, not truly affect him. So, it shouldn’t matter, shouldn’t trouble an eternal watcher, who had seen a thousand worlds end across the cosmos before. And yet, he tells the Dreamers that he was afraid, for those they dreamt of, and for them. He tells them that he'd thought it would go better than this, and he was afraid it may get worse. This was not the story he'd wanted for them. But nevertheless, he would continue, in the hope that it would get better, somehow. That these vestiges of darkness would melt in the light of some new sun. That there was still a reason to fight.