By: M Monroe Casey
Part 1
It was a few months to the rest of creation but to CJ and Monica in the world “all their own,” it was only mere moments before they were onto the next project of the Windowsill. Their writing utensils and mediums were ready now as the Doenca were beginning to mobilize and because of what recently happened in Tasmania, it seemed that the “1666 Timeline” was only just beginning.
For the Cosmos as a whole, many new days lie ahead now of where the Windowill currently gazed at in the early months of 1981.
Some were better.
Others not so much.
Click.
“Fellow Doenca, I have seen our future, much as you have… and I’ll say it haunts me.”
The small group of them looked around at each other. Their personality traits that formed each of them was as obvious to them as the words that were spoken by their smart leader at their usual morning meeting.
“We all saw it. Our ‘in-fighting’ only had one real outcome. We hunted and killed every last one of each other. We saw our own extermination as the only solution but I, Smart Doenca, have brought you something else… we have another option.”
They all looked around each other again then back again at the “Head of the Cave-Dwelling Doencas,” as their collective breath could be seen in the coldness that surrounded them.
“I give you the way we actually survive… our salvation… The Hive Mind.”
Holding in his hands, all the other clones saw through their blue eyes, a small thin silver crown. In the front of its center, there was a small empty space. The gap where the power source would soon sit.
“Only one small piece remains now and once we have it from Earth, we’ll be able to fire it up. Then, we shall move and function together as one unit. All connected to the smartest of us, me. Contributing our memories over and over again, making us even better. Then, we shall truly become my dream. Our world, Doenca’s United. Long live the Doenca! Long live the Doenca!! Long live the Doenca!!!”
Joining him in the chanting, all of them seemed into it. All but Peaceful. Something seemed off in his face while he quietly mouthed the same words as the others, “…Long live the Doenca!”
As the small group then clapped along to the head of their dissemination tree, the look in Peaceful Doenca’s eyes showed his “spacey mind,” focused in his own internal monologue.
This wasn’t going to solve anything. They would just all be following a different leader. Still lost to what really was important. He could feel it. Things were different now after that “second sight” but none of them cared. Smart Doenca was no different than all the others. He really was no different than the “hated enemies” Jealous or Hopeful. They all wanted the same. To rule and control what they couldn’t control. He claimed it was for the betterment of them all but none of them wanted real peace. But he, the sixth one created, could actually provide that. The realest peace. They all deserved it…
Not letting any one know how he truly felt though, besides the prying magic of the Windowsill being able to read even his inner thoughts, he clapped along while Monica hit the remote to check in on two more of them.
Click.
Hopeful Doenca was walking around his own cave, not too far away from where Smart and Peaceful currently were planning away.
In his lonesome, he was organizing his thoughts too but he spoke to the emptiness around himself out loud without a single bit of external support. But to him, it didn’t matter. He already had the team he wanted. Just himself.
“The sword that formed our beloved world. Pyroclastia. Formed from the merging of DarkFlame, LightBlaze and Freezecry. Together, they combine to become the mastery of life, death and time. But little do those power hungry fools that chased this priceless artifact recognize or realize, they can be used to spread something far greater. Immortality. But what kind of future god would I be if I kept this all to myself… The frozen experiments have been going great so, it’s only fitting that I try the real thing soon. Goodbye death… Your new master has decreed you have run out of your usefulness…”
A diabolical smirk rested on his face as he stared blankly into the darkness ahead. A shutter rocked across Monica’s shoulders at his pure intensity as she hit the button once more.
Click.
In a similar position as his hated enemy, Jealous Doenca talked out loud and planned more of his own ideas too.
“Those stars… they truly represent all which defies and denies me. My greatness. All those who somehow think they are better than me. But what’s even so great about them? All they do is shine and sparkle in the sky but I can shine too… I can shine brighter than they ever can… I’ll show them… I’ll show them all. Everyone who ever doubted my brilliance and my shine. They won’t admire them anymore… you can’t admire what you can no longer see. They will all burn… they NEED to burn… ALL OF THEM!”
Only with an eye-roll at his pettiness, she moved on then, back to Peaceful to further investigate what he really meant in his “internal monologue.”
“The realest peace? That concerns me…” Questioned Monica.
“I agree but I have no idea…” Responded CJ.
“Well… let’s find out.”
Click.
Part 2
As the gathering finished for the day, Peaceful slipped out the cave as fast he could. Leaving behind his hammer, he would be back for his massive and heavy “habitation creator.” It was still a part of the master plan. They just couldn’t think he was gone too long. He merely had to see if something was true was all.
The Master Archives of Pyroclastia… if the record is anywhere… it’s there. The Magic of Memory. If I had that, I could help them all find the realest peace.
Peaceful progressed across the flatlands above the Caverns of Sand then through the foothills of the Fire Mountains now as his “internal” monologue continued on.
With the magic, they could finally forget all that hurts them… they’ll forget their desires… they’ll forget their passions… but that’s for the best. Finally… peace. The truest and realest peace… the absence of all feelings and thoughts.
Moving at a faster rate than most of life, the doenca were truly a unique lifeform. Different from anything else.
Peaceful wasn’t too different from the others though, as much as he disagreed with this fact. Much like all the Doenca that came before and after him, he wasn’t exempt from the “hyper focus” that derived from focusing on his one main personality trait. They even disseminated when they started to develop too strong of other emotions or traits. Almost making avoidance of the “hyper focus” nearly impossible. It’s not even worth mentioning that it even got worse as the Tree expanded even greater. Then, when they reassimilated another that they bested, the confusion inside their core grew even greater.
Scared Doenca can barely make eye-contact with a fish.
Laughter Doenca can almost never stop laughing.
Vomiting Doenca had a terrible existence, as you can probably imagine why, none wanted to assimilate him.
It goes on and on.
Reaching the peaks of the mountains, he continued on too.
I only wish I knew how the Original One did it. How he changed the past… Could I do that? Can I not become a Doenca…? Would that bring me peace? What about peace to the others? No… I must focus… peace. Only focus on peace. Peace. Peace. The realest peace. I must find peace. Peace. Peace. Peace…
Reaching the southern edge of the Fire Mountains, he progressed into the city towards the Master Archives. Without the arrival of their “space and time continuum shattering hero from the future” yet, everything seemed to be the same. King Udo Tadala was still in power and people were moving along in their usual ways. The car-less gray building metropolis moved along without a hiccup still. Thousands of windows on this street alone showed a thousand more unaware “simple souls” just living their lives. Everything was still the same.
Things are peaceful here… Peaceful. Peace. Peace. Peace. Peace………
Able to bring himself inside the Master Archives quietly and easily, it was time to get to work. The Doenca weren’t known for being a favorite species across the Cosmos and Pyroclastia City wasn’t exempt from that either. But with a bustling metropolis, all you need is a quiet enough moment to slip through all the typical “daytime in a weekday” commotion and now that he was inside, no reading soul would bother to look at his face now.
He was safe to search. In front of him now were thousands of multi-colored books on hundreds of gray shelves then without any more prompting, he began to search through them, title by title.
Book after book, he searched for the answer as the hours turned over and over.
The other clientele came and left but Peaceful continued on.
Finally, reaching the fifth book called “The Cosmos: A Personal Narrative,” he cracked it open and began reading his last hope on that shelf.
“Here… Gods, Kings and the Egotistical Disease: Magic for the Egotistical… page 12… I must find the realest peace. Peace. Peace. Peace.” He muttered to himself.
Flipping the thick white paper pages to the twelfth page of the ancient tomb, he smirked.
“The Magic of Memories. It was first discovered in Scotland on Earth. Earth, who would have thought… Okay… that’s the realest peace. Where is the peace…? What is the name of the location of the peace…? Where can I find that peace…? I must have that peace… Where is that peace…?”
His eyes frantically read the page like it was the only thing that mattered ever.
Continuing on, his smirk underneath his hidden sandy blonde hair, grew into a more devious one as he muttered one more name. Finally, shaking off the “hyper focus.”
For now he had a goal.
“Castle Johnson.”
Part 3
Seeing many people walk past all at once, a birthday party was finishing and he had to keep his newest plans under wraps. Retreating to the “inner monologue,” he began to further analyze it all, making a discovery that would forever change the inevitable fate of the Cosmos forever.
Okay… Now, I just need to find how to get to Earth. As easily as possible since I have no idea how fortified that Castle will be. I need to conserve all of my strength… if I was a recipe for a travel magic… where would I hide? Hmmm…”
Returning to the “Table of Contents,” he brought it all the way to page 16 to “Inside the Circle,” as he began to research even more.
Let’s see. One option is an interplanetary bridge. Hmmm… Possible. Oh wait… that’s far too much energy needed… Plus, I don’t even know what kind of energy “Possibilities” is. Or the game, Six Point Stars. Hmmm… Not this time…
Not thinking of it too much as a whole, the two Windowsill watchers and Peaceful moved on. Writing down the necessary components though, with time being of the most important essence right now, Peaceful pocketed those plans then continued on searching.
Okay… here. A portal. It says that within a recent surge of interplanetary travel, there has been a new wave of “Portal Salesmen” popping up everywhere. For a small fee, you can purchase one or two way trips to just about any location. The complete registered use of these portals are managed by the Office of Inter-Portal Affairs on Nuevas Amigas. Interesting… It seems that’s my best bet. A portal.
Asking the oldest librarian with the worst seeming vision for a book called “Portals and You!” He then began reading. It was only a few short minutes after that before Peaceful was on his way to the shop to buy his transport. All the while, back in the Northern Tundra, Smart smiled as his power source began to glow a deep stormy sky blue color. Placing the small crown on his head like the king he desired to be, the Hive Mind was officially then activated.
Watching both events happen simultaneously on the Windowsill, the two of them decided to record Smart but follow Peaceful as he stepped through the silver confines of his travel apparatus. Right onto the forested and lush green lawn of Castle Johnson’s exterior grounds.
Walking up to the door, he entered without knocking, quietly and discreetly as possible.
With the current “Roommates of the Count” outside in the backyard for a daily OBSTACLE COURSE OF DOOM, he passed into Castle Johnson, unopposed or unseen, until he heard the patter of light feet behind him. Turning around, his blue eyes gazed upon the one and only, Count Chuck-Seh-Lot.
“Welcome to Castle Johnson! Where the years disappear and don’t exist! And who might you be?!” Questioned the energetic vampire clown.
“A friend.”
“Oh! I didn’t know I had more friends coming today to my castle!”
Standing off in the hallway to the most eastern edge, they conversed further.
“Tell me, clown, why do all these people stay here and never go back to the lives they had before?” Delivering the heavy hitting questions fast, Peaceful knew that he couldn’t stay out too much longer before the others noticed or worse, Smart finished his device and he became one of those mindless zombies.
“And just who are you?! You certainly ask important questions from me!”
They continued to size each other up, just in case the other made any hasty moves. A clown painted face staring at one without.
“My name is unimportant. I’m just the sixth of many. That is all you need to know.”
“Oh! A Doenca I see! I’ve had one of your kind as a roommate before!”
“Answer my question.”
“How do I know I can trust you?!”
Count Chuck-Seh-Lot approached closer. His long black robes hid a dark and sinister secret of an indescribable diabolic evil, underneath and next to his “Smiley Face” golden chain necklace.
“I’m a friend.”
“Good enough for me! They don’t leave here or me because they don’t know when they arrived! Time moves differently here because I will it to do so! It’s the Magic of Memories! AND I don’t only control it! I am it!”
“You are… the… Magic?” A smirk of intensity and malintentions appeared on Peaceful’s face.
“Yes! I am he. Count Chuck-Seh-Lot, ROOMMATE TO THE STARS and the living incarnation of the Magic of Memories! I took this form to make more friends and have more fun!”
“Perfect. Well, my friend, let’s go on a little trip…”
Pulling out a small dark red crystal case that he purchased in the streets of Old Pyroclastia City’s Relic Market, Peaceful then popped it open.
“What is that?! What do you mean by a trip?! I’m the Count of the Castle! I can not leave!”
“It will be fun?”
“Good enough for me!”
“Excellent…”
Happily jumping into the crystal case, the Castle’s Curse was mysteriously lifted that day.
For it was this exact same moment that Peaceful got a permanent “aura of intense power” upgrade and the “Roommates of the Count” would find themselves a new freedom and goal of putting on an amazing play and concert across Europe and Asia. But for now, Peaceful had other focuses than those eccentric fools. Accomplishing his main mission without so much as a tiny fight, it was coming together beautifully.
Almost like it was his truest destiny.
Preparing to activate the return trip he paid for, he stopped himself just before that happened. Looking over to his left, he then walked into the room labeled, “Costume and Prop Room for the PLAY OF DOOM.” Stepping in, it was a well-organized collection of various outfits for the various plays put on inside the Castle. There were cowboy hats, suspenders, space suits, Chicago style hot dog costumes, chili-cheese dog costumes, standard hot dog costumes, completo hot dog costumes and even more.
Grabbing a silver mask and some silver gloves to compliment his newfound swagger and energy, Peaceful then saw two more interesting items sitting on top of a small yellow tote in the corner. It was a deck of exactly thirty-two playing cards and a small metal ball. Curious about them both, he placed them with the other two items in his small bag then paused alone in the room as the Hive Mind finally reached where he was.
Inside of it, three voices began to argue almost immediately.
There was Hopeful, Jealous and Smart. Three of the original few “Tree Tops.”
“What did you do, Smart?”
“I connected us together, is that so wrong, Hopeful?”
“No. It’s fine. I only wish I commanded you to do it.”
“There goes Hopeful again… All he can think of is himself…”
“Yeah… like you are so much better, Jealous.”
“Both of you, stop! We are all Doenca’s United, stop this fighting!”
“Never.”
“Never with him.”
“Someday, you’ll both see my way. Someday. I am the smartest of us all, after all. Now, my Tree… return to our cave. You know where I am. We shall convince them all. In time it shall be but for now, come home. Peaceful, I don’t know where you went but that means you too. Come now. We shall grow stronger. For we are Doenca’s United!”
“Best of luck, you pathetic peons and if I was you and was actually smart, I would prepare for war. A war against a vastly superior force that you will lose…” responded Hopeful.
“Oh shut up, God-King… none of you can shine like me anyways. I am Doenca the God-Like and I will win against any opponent at any time!!”
“Bring it.” Taunted God-King Doenca.
“Oh… this fighting breaks my heart. I promise, we shall see eye to eye again… in time my brethren… someday…” Responded Smart.
Not feeling the controlling factors of the Hive Mind after his little upgrade a few moments ago, Peaceful could only listen in and agree with the “Head of his Tree,” afterwards, the communication line closed.
With his voice now sheltered off to everyone but himself, Peaceful then mockingly replied in the emptiness of the chilled and crisp Castle air, “… okay, fine, I’ll come back but I got a little surprise for you all… oh, and my name isn’t Peaceful. I am Sixth.”
Part 4
Calling for his portal to bring him back, Sixth returned to Pyroclastia’s Northern Tundra, immediately at the outskirts outside of Smart Tree’s Cave.
Its long and eloquent icy pillars lined the way as he progressed in towards the small group ahead. The same crew that was there before he left, he saw them still dotted across the small area. For the moment, there were only five others there, including their “beloved leader.” The other couple hundred in their collective were still in transit there.
Joining Smart, Cunning, Patient, Scared and Vengeful in the small meeting place by the roaring fire, he listened in to the early parts of Smart’s very early victory speech.
“My diseased brethren, it is our time for action. You heard the communication with the others just like I, Eternal Doenca, have. They plan to move against us so we must upgrade ourselves first. This is why I ask you to contribute your most recent memories to the Hive Mind so we may power it up even more… Please my brethren… join our future and do not stand against it!”
One by one, Smart brought the small and fragile crown to each of them as they began to place their hands on it. Without a second thought about it, they were each uploading memories. No room for their own-self desires. Literal pawns and zombies to a “leader.” The sight of it sickened him and truly fortified his “little trip” today. Reaching Sixth last, their gazes met but Smart saw something in his eyes.
They were different. He didn’t know what but something changed.
“Peaceful? Are you okay? Well, it’s your turn… Go on. Add your memories…”
Sixth held onto the small case of intense new magic in his pocket then with a smirk, he replied.
“No.”
The End
Castle Johnson Publishings 