Achieving Heaven Through Hell Part 3: Only the Results

Chapter 6: Shadow

Chapter 6: Shadow

Moonchild sat, staring vacantly into a cup of cocoa as Niffty pat him on the back. Angel sat nearby, all six arms still at work on his embroidery. Charlie, Vaggie, and Husk stood off to the side, warily observing the innocuous demon.

"What the fuck was that about?!" Vaggie whispered. "Did he tell you anything?"

Charlie shook her head. "No. He won't talk about it. It was like... I don't know, a hallucination?"

"A flashback," said Husk, soberly.

"What?"

Husk shrugged and shook his head. "I dunno. It just looked a lot like what some guys in my platoon came down with after 'Nam. They'd be goin' along, perfectly fine then BAM! Something sets 'em off and suddenly they think they're back in the jungle, shootin' at Charlie."

"At me?"

"Figure a'speech."

Vaggie crossed her arms. "What? You're saying the kid has PTSD?"

Husk snorted. "Wuzzat? Some kinda sex-bug?"

Across the room, Angel sneezed.

"No, no, it's a trauma-induced mental disorder..." Charlie pondered this for a moment, rubbing her chin. "That's something I hadn't considered, actually."

"What?"

Charlie looked over at Moonchild, who was examining Angel's embroidery, a furious blush forming in his cheeks at the doubtlessly lurid image. "What if he has some kind of mental illness? He's clearly suppressing a lot of unhealthy emotions, and his memory of his past seems to be patchy at best."

Husk raised an eyebrow. "What, you sayin' the kid's nuts or somethin'?"

"No, no! I'm saying that he might have suffered a traumatic event early in life and has dissociative episodes where he represses memories. Maybe something he did in some these episodes is what got him sent here? It would also explain why he's so passive, he's trying to wall himself off from further trauma." Charlie sighed and set a hand over her heart. "Poor guy. I can only imagine how confusing this must be for him."

"Well, that's the theory, anyway," said Vaggie. "He could just be lying or playing it up."

"Helluva an act," Husk said, pointing to Charlie. "What's the plan, Princess?"

"I understand your skepticism, Vaggie, but I have to rule out every possibility. As for what's next..." Charlie looked over at Alastor, who was watching Moonchild with peculiar interest. "You're not gonna like it."

Octavia walked into her father's office, two tall cups in her hands. "Hey, Moonie. Is my dad in?"

"Just missed him, Octavia," said Moonchild, that practiced little smile on his face. "He had me clear his schedule and left in a hurry. Sorry."

"Nah, it's cool," she said, sitting on his now empty desk, handing him a cup. "I figured he'd be out."

"He's very busy nowadays."

"You don't know the half of it," Octavia grumbled, a smiling spreading across her face. "Hey. You said he had you clear his schedule? That means you're free, right?"

Moonchild nodded. "Yes, I'll just be reorganizing the files for the rest of the day."

"Right, okay..." Octavia tapped her talons on the desk. "Nah. You're hanging out with me, now."