The Sea Against The Storm

Chapter 3: The Trap Of The Mind

The first thing Arthur did was barricade himself inside his home. He locked his door, put some furniture under it, along with a few other doors that led outside. He locked doors of absolutely no purpose, like storage closets. Why? He didn't know. It didn't quell his anxiety, and it surely didn't get rid of the results of the spell gone wrong. Mostly a result of panic, he assumed.

What are you doing? Oliver asked, supposed to be sounding curious, but he could feel the mockery. I'm in here, not out there.

"Stop!" Arthur shouted out loud, thankful that no one was there. He looked around still, and then he took a deep breath. "Stop talking." He said in a normal tone. 

When he was satisfied with why-ever he decided to start barricading things, other than to hopefully keep people out, Arthur sat down on the couch and looked over at the piles of blankets that Francis had left there before he left. Arthur hadn't put them away yet, and the note he had placed back on top of the pile. He stared at it, and for some reason felt a strange calm settle over him, but was quickly interrupted by a familiar male voice -- undoubtedly real -- shouting, "Ah! That's better." 

Arthur turned to look and for the first time, saw his 2P sitting across from him in a chair across from the couch. He had strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes with pink in them that were obvious, at least to Arthur. His clothes seemed similar to Arthur's, except the color scheme held the same two color's of his eyes everywhere. Like cotton candy had puked on his clothes. Arthur scrambled back, but since he was sitting down on the couch, he didn't go anywhere. 

"Relax, I'm not actually here." Oliver said with a warm smile. This way, it seemed easier to fall for his deceptions. When he wasn't, or didn't seem like he was, inside his mind. 

"What happened to you?" Arthur demanded. Oliver seemed more sure than him on the situation. Only one thing had been for sure to Arthur, that his 2P had somehow become stuck inside his body. Yet, how, what either of them were now capable to do to the other, he wasn't sure. Oliver kept his smile, as if they were two old friends having a nice conversation about old times.

"I believe I felt much the same thing you did, and then I lacked a physical form. I saw only darkness, but I could feel your consciousness. I probed at it and, ah," Oliver pointed at Arthur's left hand, the one he felt like he had strained. "That, happened. I was messing around just now and was able to make myself appear to have a physical form. No one else can see or hear me though, but you."

"You seem to know an awful lot about this." 

"So do you, considering you're the one that got us into this mess." 

To that, Arthur had no response. He figured the only way to end this, was to start looking for a way to reverse the spell. Until then, he-- 

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He glanced down at it, pulled it out, and his eyes widened to see who was calling.

He hesitated, but answered. "Hello, Angleterre!" Came the voice of the frenchman on the other side of the device. "I was calling to check on you. There was a loud boom of thunder earlier and there was a bolt of lightning that struck somewhere in England. We don't think anyone got hurt, but I was worried because of... You know, last night." 

Arthur was stuck glaring at Oliver across from him. He had no where else to look. He wasn't really there, but he found it comforting to know that he could look at something when he talked to it. That he found it comforting unnerved him, and he tried not to dwell on it, wondering if Oliver was trying to lure him into a sense of false security. Most likely, that was the truth. "I'm fine." Arthur whispered, and then quickly cleared his voice and said louder, better, this time, "I'm fine. It was nothing."