For You, I Live

Ch.16 Rising Hope

  We went inside the cottage. It was just as beautiful inside as outside. It had a wide open floor plan. Plants of all kinds decorated every surface from window sills to the counter tops. The living room had a plush looking beige couches and a dark green tables. The kitchen seemed to be fully stocked with old fashioned cooking equipment and fresh food. There were three green doors to the side and a staircase leading to the second floor. Geno carried me to the couch and set me on it. The bitties jumped down him and climbed on to me.

  "Alright let's unload, then we can go through and organize it. We can put everything in the guest room. You'll probably stay in there for the time being." Geno told us.

   We started pulling everything out of our inventory. It seemed like a lot, but that was probably because of all the packaging. Geno and I started to unpack it, while Reaper and Life went to the kitchen. Reaper could be heard talking to Life about what had been happening in the multiverse. It took a while, but we had everything unpacked and organized. I had my emergency bag to the side with everything my bitties and I would need for a quick escape. Everything else was laid out on the table and couches. I grabbed the sewing kit I requested and put that separate, since I wanted to use it when we were done. Just then a shocked, "WHAT!could be heard from Life. I wondered what part had her so surprised, but continued.

  Now that we had finished, Geno wanted to take everything upstairs. I had the three bitties stay on the couch and grabbed what I could carry. We were upstairs having just finished when I heard, "WHO WOULD DO THAT TO A CHILD?!?!" Followed by loud steps going up the stairs. She must have heard what my medical check said.

  She practically comes barreling into the room to come check on me. I hid behind Geno. "Life, calm down. She doesn't do well with people crowding or touching. We have Medic coming over in a few days for a full mental evaluation. Other than that, we just need to make sure to keep an eye on her, make sure she eats, and gets rest. Her injuries are already fully healed. Though, it might not be safe for her to actually sleep considering who is in the dreamscape." Geno explained.

  Life calms down, but gives him a hard look. He holds his ground. She slumps. "Alright, but I want to give a full physical. Not everything comes up on those checks. Just the more serious information. It won't say how strong her bones are or if she has impaired reflexes due to the trauma." She said.

  "I understand. Are you ok with that Catcher? She will probably have to touch you." Geno asked me. I think about it.

  "Alright Mom, I don't want to be sick later and not know why. At least this way I know ahead of time and if it's fixable. Will you be with me?" I said.

  "Of course. Both Reaper and I will be there if you want. I'm sure Life wouldn't mind." Geno told me looking at Life on that last bit.
She nods.

  "I would prefer if we do this as soon as possible so head into the dinning room, while I get my equipment." Life told us. Geno lead me back down stairs.

  "Have you finished explaining everything or did she leave after telling her the first results." Geno asked Reaper.

  "First results. I still haven't told her about her dieing, what happened with the apple, and the second. Though, I did explain about the bitties. Speaking of which how is that bond developing between you four." Reaper said.

  "It's already pretty strong. It started developing as soon as we made physical contact, and had continued to grow rapidly. I don't think that's normal. Though with the way you were talking about Catcher's past I'm not surprised her soul is building it so quickly. It's desperate for the support." Moon explained from the living room. 

  "Ya, I feel less alone and hopeless now. Though having you two really helps too." I say honestly.

  "Aww, thanks kiddo. We haven't known you long, but I can say your already family. We want you to feel better, so we will do whatever we can to support you." Reaper says blushing gray.

  "I have to agree with Reaper, Catcher. I already think of you as my own, so I'm going to make sure your safe and taken care of." Geno told me. I tear up a bit.

  Life walk into from a side room. "Alright. I'm going to need you to sit in a chair. I need to check you, take a look at the bitties bond with you, and then do the physical. I'd also like to take a look at your soul." She tells me. I sit in a chair. The bitties come over and sit at my feet.

  "Why do you want to look at my soul? I'm not even a hundred percent sure I have one since I was a spirit." I ask.

  "That's exactly why. We need to see what changes have happened in your elevation to a true divine. I understand that spirits can have physical vessels and their actual bodies are just energy. I need to see how that has changed. Reaper, you said you did a second check? What were the results for that?" Life said.

  "Well after Catcher ate a negative apple to keep from dieing." "DIEING!" Reaper was saying but Life interrupted.

  "Alright! Explain you two!" Life demanded.

  "Well, the mass amount of negativity in the universe was killing her. The results said she would only have a few days left to live. She was actually lucky to have come to us before she ran out of time. She probably wouldn't have noticed until she was dusting, with the fact that she seemed to be ignoring it like a trooper." Geno explained.

  "So, she decided to take a gamble and eat a negative apple in hopes of saving her life. She theorized it would allow her to adjust to negativity. She was right, but it also corrupted her. She can shift between forms, so that's why you can't tell." Reaper finishes.

  "And, you didn't think as a positive spirit, it would kill her instead!" Life says angry.

  "We really didn't have a choice. We didn't have enough time to come up with another solution. Having her eat another positivity apple would only buy a little time with the multiversal negativity levels. We couldn't get her out of the multiverse before then. Even if we could, doing so will destroy what's left of the balance. It was our only shot." Geno told her.

  "You still shouldn't have let her do it! Even if it worked out, that isn't a decision a child should make. And, she is a child despite the time spent in stone or her maturity. You said she was depressed, so you practically allowed her to attempt to commit suicide! Your adults, you should have done more research into what would happen.  Her only saving grace is she was already used to living with extreme negative emotions. Otherwise she would either be dead or like nightmare and insane. She has extremely strong DETERMINATION for either of those not to happen, despite her lack of HoPe." Life reprimands.

  "We didn't like it either, but it's already said and done. Now we need to concentrate on making sure Catcher will be ok. Medic confirmed she won't die now, but we don't know much more details due to our time crunch. Everyone is rushing to make sure we're able to make our great escape, so it isn't a huge priority to them. As long as she is healthy we can take our time. We don't have the time to do full treatments. We can start, but we think we will be leaving by the end of the month." Reaper told Life.

  "Well, we better start. We can atlease make sure she gains some mass. She's likely lighter than she should be even with the corruption adding to her weight. We can't do much about height in such little time." Life told us.

  She starts to give me the physical, touching me as little as possible. It was uncomfortable for me. She pulled out my soul to see a half gold and half dripping black apple with flecks of red, cyan, and green through out. She told me she was going to give me a simple check for my basic information. She looked frustrated at my stats, but smiled when she got to my HoPe. "It looks like your HoPe went up. Reaper told me it was not applicable before, but it seems to be rising. Though not nearly as much as it should be." Life said, showing us.

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  HoPe: 136 (Slowly rising)

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  "That's great! Keep it up kiddo! You'll be at normal levels in no time!" Geno tells me proud. I smile back.

  I'm still having issues with numb emotions, but I have been feeling a lot better. More positive about how things will turn out. Because, even with the end of the multiverse around the corner, I found family. I'm not alone, and that gives me HoPe.