Matt slept and remembered…..

Matt. A toddler crawling for the very first time.

Matt. A boy, around five or six years old, relaxing in a wooden chair after a hard first day of school, a bruise upon his neck.

Matt.A boy again. A few years older, chair and desk at hand as he looked over white paged test results, the result of years of hard-won labour, tears of joy in his eyes.

The boy, now 8 years of age, sitting in a desk table chair crying, his eyes out in full black bruising marks upon his chest, face and neck alike as well as many other considerate bits of the body inside and out.

Memories came and went with the wind with every second, every image, every sound that went by, remembering more and more of what he had lost…..

Matt, now 16-17 years old, leaving school for the very first time, excited yet scared out of his mind at the same time, a brave smile on his face as he began to walk away from the only safe space that he had ever known.

Matt, now a young adult of 17 summers old bound, by layers of leather-filled chains, to a blue-white hospital ward bed, fear and confusion on his face.

Matt, nearly 18 years of age, looked up, eagerness upon his face, nodding his head as a man named Morgen, a name that was ever so clearly stated upon the name-tagged lanyard pass that hung around the oddly dressed man's neck injected a small vial of black goo into his brainstem.

The boy, a boy no longer now a young man of 20, sat as the person who had saved him so many times already gave a lecture about insects of all things. Types. Races. Cultures, he talked about it all, making it all sound so simple as explained the many different ways that Insects could be useful to humanity and nature alike.

All this and more were shown as more and more images began to appear from throughout the darkness that was now filled to the brim with light. Matt, remembering more and more with every light. Till finally, he remembered it all.

How he been in and out of hospitals all his life.

How had he been saved by Morgan, his mentor, twice over, first from his unknown mental Illness, and then afterwards, this time from the tender mercies of the foster care system, convincing the social worker assigned to his case to allow Morgigen to become his foster father and latter adopt him altogether.

How after years of careful study in a myriad of subjects under his adoptive father's ever-watchful eye. He was sent to university to finish off his training.

And how four years later this was where he met his beloved. Elysa Benet. The jewel of the whole botany department, something that was obvious to him at first sight.

‘He had no right to keep this from me, no right at all!’ Matt fumed, furious at Bob for keeping such things from him.

“BOB COME OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!”

"BOB!, BOB!, BOB...", Matt shouted over and over again, demanding to be heard. Filled as he was with a sense of furry the likes of which he had never felt before.

"Bob, Bob, Bob...."

“Sir!” Bob suddenly said, his words appearing out of nowhere like they always did.

“Why Bob, why?” Matt yelled, demanding to know why this had happened to him.

“Why...Why what, master?” Bob curiously asked as if he knew nothing of what had happened to him.

‘How dare he!’Matt thought, fueled by red rage the likes of which he had never felt before. ‘He thinks he can get away with it, lie to me, well I’ll show him!’. He was enraged by the very sight of Bob's seemingly innocent words.

“Master, I don’t understand?” Bob said, seemingly intent on keeping up the ruse for all it was worth.

"Oh don't lie Bob the jig is up". Matt said, angry as could be.

“What master? What jig? I’m sorry I just don’t understand?” Bob said, seeming generally confused as if he really didn’t know what was wrong and yet he had to have known, right. ‘How could he have not.'

“Yes, You do, you know what I’m talking about. Don’t you Bob!”, Matt shouted.

“No, Master, I’m sorry I don't know what you're talking about.”

“My memories Bob, my memories, why did the system take them from me? Bob, why….” He shouted as loud as one could, full of anger over what had been done to him.

“Oh, that,” Bob said, sounding surprised.

“Yes, that!” He said, still fueled by anger and rage alike, with a slight wisp of joy springing through the cracks at the sight that things might finally be looking up.

“Master, I promise you we didn’t do it.”

“We?” Matt curiously asked, still filled with anger.

“Yes, we. We are the system and me. And I can assure you that we did not take your memories, master”, Bob sent back.

“If the system didn’t take them, who did?” Matt asked in a part accusation/part questionable tone of voice.

“That Master is a mystery. We may never truly know, Master, but I promise you we did not take your memories!”

"Why should I believe you?", Matt asked.

"Because it's the truth!"

They stood there still for several long, hard, seconds in awkward silence till finally Bob broke the silence and spoke.“Master, I think maybe it’s time you looked over your notifications. You've received quite a few, Sire.”

“What notifications?” He asked, curious as to what Bob was talking about. Surely he would have seen any notifications awaiting him before now. wouldn't he.

“These notifications,” Bob said and suddenly they were somewhere else. A large cinema-like screen standing over him.

‘What, what, what the hell, I can feel...’, Matt thought, stunned out of his mind, filled with amazement to be here, 'Wherever here is, not that I'm complaining anywhere is better than that dark voiceless place'.

Dumbfounded, dazed out his mind, suddenly feeling weight where there had been non. Filled with awe as he looked down at his old human body. ‘Wait, I’m human again’ He thought, astounded, instantly standing up, spotting the Red Churchill chair that he had previously sat upon. ‘Wait, I’

“Like it, master?” A voice suddenly sounded out.

“Bob!” Mat shouted out, turning to the right and spotting a black man dressed in the classic timy butler uniform. ”Is that you?” He asked.

“Yes, master,” The strange man said.

“Where are we, What is this place?” Matt asked, looking around shocked at the large theta-like room. “How are you like that”

“This, this is a mental space I created with the help of your mind, master. Like it. You should. I used your most memories to create it, after all, I thought it would be a good place for you to recover from the terrible ordeal that you just faced." Bob answered.

"What memories!" Matt curiously asked Bob looking around left to right as he did so, asking for mere curiosities sake, not angry in the least about how Bob had created this place. Something he knew should have bothered him, but it just didn't.

In fact. the only thing that he could feel, right now, looking around this mental construct that Bob had created for him was a strong sense of curiosity and happiness, with a hint of bittersweet sadness to go with it. A consequence of regaining the lost memories he guessed.

“Your favourites.”, Bob suddenly said, pointing to his right where a large screen Tv sat on the wall, seeming out of place with the small desk stool that Bob sat upon, in way of explanation.

'Hold is that...' he thought looking around the large theatre-like cinema. Looking over to the right of Bob. Matt Instantly recognising the large flat screen Tv as his home tv where he’d watched many a movie/Tv show with Liam, Tomis, Clark and sera.

“Wait, that sign, I know that sign”, matt muttered, suddenly spotting a small wooden sign hanging above the tv, ‘That’s the morocco cheer’s sign, where I…’

And so. On and on and on, it went. With Matt, moving his eyes over the room, recognising more and more things by the seconds till finally, he looked up at the extremely large cinema screen where he, at 10 years old, had first watched Pirates of the Caribbean hoping beyond all hope, that he would have the opportunity to watch it all over again only to be disappointed.

Looking up to find, instead of the opening scene of scallywag pirate, captain Jack sparrow, escaping the hangman's noose, kidnapping the princess-like Elizerbith, dozens upon dozens of notifications awaiting him, a fatal reminder of the reality that awaited him out of this Mental construct that Bob had created for him.

Congratulations you have unlocked your memories. Seriously congratulations dumbhead. I mean how did it take you this long. Poor Bob here has been dropping hints for ages. I mean what do you have to say for yourself?

Now onto your notifications...

The strange notification-like message said, appearing on the big screen with another dozen or so of its kind.

'Thanks, I think.’ Matt thought, dumbfounded at this strange message, moving his eyes down the cinema screen, going through the strange blue Text boxes one by one.

Congratulations you have unlocked the mental realm. You may now exit and enter it as you please. Well as soon as your timer eclipses. Sucker.

Congratulations due to intense mental stress you have gained access to the hidden Statt (mental health) and are now better equipped to fight off mental type attacks of any kind.

Congratulations due to intense mental stress you have unlocked the dungeon trait Mental resistance:

(Trait)Mental resistance:

Mental resistance gives the users monsters a 50% chance to resist a level 1-5 mental type attack.

Warning this trait may have unintended consequences upon the user's development. Extreme caution is advised at all times.

Congratulations due to the completion of a hidden quest (Unblock those memories dude) you have been rewarded 1000 EP.

Congratulations you have levelled up. you are now level 1. You have gained 5 free attribute points and 1 dungeon point to use at your pleasure

Congratulations you have levelled up. you are now level 2. You have gained 5 free attribute points and dungeon point to use at your pleasure.

“Huh,” Matt sighed, instantly moving his eyes to the left, spotting a small digital countdown clock that abruptly grew bigger the very moment his eyes came upon it.

04:50:00

“What's this?”Matt asked, curious as always, wondering what this strange countdown that continued to count down in the background was. “Is it how long till I can leave or something?” Matt mumbled to himself.

“It's your skill timer”. Bob simply said.

“Skill timer, what does that even mean?”, Matt asked, wondering why Bob was being so obtuse.

“A skill timer is a timer that has…..”, Bob said, attempting to go into another of his dreadful rants.

“Bob!” He said, shouting for all he was worth before Bob could get into yet another talkative lecture of his.

“Sorry, sorry”

“It’s ok, Bob, can you please just sum it all up”. ‘Hey, I’m getting the hang of this aren't I'.

“Sorry, sorry. Ok basically it’s a timer for how long till you may leave this place”

‘Aghh, Why couldn’t you just say that?’

“Why would I?” Bob suddenly said with obvious bluntness.

“Bob!”. He was annoyed at the sheer audacity that Bob had to read his mind out of the blue like this, a thing that he had so obviously done, what other explanation was there, how else could he have gained the information that was needed to say these words out loud any other way.

“Sorry, sorry old habit, won’t happen again”. Bob said the words as if it would make everything better, it didn’t.

“Just please don't do it again”. Matt said, hopeful as one could be about something that had yet to happen. 'How did it even happen anyway? I thought the shield was supposed to protect me from this sort of thing.'

“Ok, Master. I really am sorry, though”. Bob said, sounding sincerely apologetic like he really meant the words this time around though Matt was uncertain. "As for the shield, it's not fully installed yet so it can't protect you yet," Bob said a few seconds later.

"What, really?" Matt asked.'I would have thought it would work straight away.'

"Really sir", Bob sent back in confirmation.

"Ok, so when will it be installed?" Matt asked hoping it wouldn't be that much longer, wanting as he did to just have this whole ordeal over and done with.

"When the skill timer reaches zero, Master." Bob sent back.

00:00:03

00:00:02

00:00:01

00:00:00

‘Finally’, Matt thought as the timer hit the last few seconds of what had been a dreadfully long few hours of waiting.

Congratulations your time is up,

The skill mental shield has finished its installation. You may now safely exit sleep mode at your pleasure.

Exit sleep mode:

Y/N

“Yes”, Matt thought/said as fast as one possibly could and then suddenly before he knew it he was back. Back in the same old grey-blue Diamand-rock-core-infused body that he hated so much.