Todd Wants Key's Face

Gilder: <:( *he walks out*

Dusk: *he looks up from his spot on the couch, watching Gilder come out* ...

Claire: *follows Gilder out, looking over at Dusk, almost longingly, before looking down, saddened*

Sarah: <:/ ...

Dusk: *he looks over at Sarah, even more confused* D:> ???

Gilder: *leads Claire out and leaves with her*

Sarah: *waits until Gilder and Claire are gone* ...You don't remember her, do you?

Dusk: Am I suppose to? I've never seen here in my life ... Who is she?

Sarah: ...She's your mother. <:(

Dusk: My...? Sarah... I don't have a mother...

Sarah: Everyone has a mother, Dusk... you just forgot about her. <:(

Dusk: ... How can I forget about something like a mother...?

Sarah: When people MAKE you forget... I'm sure you'll remember her soon...

Dusk: *he stares blankly at nothing, confusion mixing in with a usual daze. He says nothing* ...

Sarah: ... *sighs* Do you want to go out for a walk today?

Dusk: ... We talked about... about doing that yesterday... I'd like to, yeah...

Sarah: *smiles at him* Grab yourself a jacket, then. :)

Dusk: *he looks around the place and finally finds a coat - an old denim jacket. He puts it on and walks back over to Sarah, ready to go* ...

Sarah: *already has a jacket on* Off we go. ^^ *leads him out of the apartment, outside*

Dusk: *he follows Sarah out and around the city, looking at everything with curiosity. How little he realizes he knew about this little world he lives in scares him. For comfort, he takes Sarah's hand*

People: *they see him and stare. They are all pretty sure that Lieutenant Gatzsky was supposed to be dead*

Sarah: *had hoped there would be less people out and about this early... she tugs him along, towards a somewhat-empty park*

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Gilder: ... Does he NEED to be ordered around to function, Sarah? Does he still have that mindset?

Sarah: I don't think he needs orders as much as he needs SUGGESTIONS... but he still has a bit of trouble functioning on his own... Not as much as before, though.

Claire: ...

Gilder: Well then, he's been improving. :) Has he remembered anything from when he was Sam? Anything at all?

Sarah: *smiles a bit* Well, he's started being more affectionate towards me, and he doesn't seem to want to leave anymore.

Claire: *relaxes a bit--at least he was getting better* ...

Gilder: Well, that's good... god, I feel like we're talking about a DOG, here... to really think he's been reduced to THIS...

Claire: *looks down* .......

Sarah: *notices* Well, the doctor says he's making good progress, even though it's hard to tell...

Gilder: ... Does... does he still want to eat human flesh, Sarah?

Claire: --!!

Sarah: *shakes her head* No. At first, he kept asking for it, but he doesn't anymore. He eats whatever I make for him without complaint. I don't know if it's because he prefers it or if he just doesn't want to speak against me, though...

Gilder: ... Well, perhaps he'll be able to tell you the real reason one of these days. Does he mention Hobbes?

Sarah: ...occasionally...

Claire: ...

Gilder: ... How much is occasionally? What does he say?

Sarah: Well, it was mostly after Hobbes paid us a visit--

Claire: !??

Sarah: --he started wondering why he didn't take him back...

Gilder: Right... that girl that went missing - Annabelle - he came back to retrieve her... don't worry about her, by the way. We're still looking. *he then stands up* I suppose that's all the questions I have for you. Claire, do you want to ask anything?

Claire: ... *shakes her head, too afraid to ask anything else* ...

Sarah: <:( ... We're working as hard as we can... I promise, we'll bring him back...

Gilder: We'll be leaving then. Come on, Claire.

Claire: *nods. she speaks to Sarah* Keep taking care of him... I want to see my son again.

Sarah: *nods* I will. <:(

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Gilder: Of course you can, Claire. I'll pick you up, then? Or would you rather just meet me there?

Claire: ...Could you pick me up? If it's not too much of a hassle...

Gilder: No, that's fine. I'd love to. See you soon! *he hangs up and quickly and runs out to pick up Claire, which takes about fifteen minutes. Then they go to the apartment and knock on the door*

meanwhile

Dusk: *hears this* Oh. Sarah, there's someone at the door. Do you want me to get it? :/

Sarah: sure, go ahead. Just make sure you check who it is first.

meanwhile

Claire: *waits, anxious* ...

Dusk: Okay... *he walks over and looks through the peephole* ... It's the new Lieutenant and some old woman.

meanwhile

Gilder: *waits*

Sarah: ! *that could be one of two people, she thinks to herself* Go ahead, let them in.

meanwhile

Claire: *waits* ...

Dusk: *nods opens the door for them*

Gilder: Hello, Sarah. Hello, Dusk.

Dusk: *gives Gilder a little wave before backing up, farther into the apartment* ...

Sarah: !! Hello, Lieutenant... Hi, Claire.

Claire: *steps inside, staring at Dusk as if he were a ghost* ...

Gilder: I wanted to check to see how Dusk was doing and Claire wanted to come along. Mind if I speak to you in private, Mrs. Gatzsky? Dusk won't try anything, will he?

Dusk: *awkwardly avoids looking at Claire, as the woman (and her staring) made him feel uncomfortable*

Sarah: I don't think he will, he's been behaving... *lowers her voice* I'm more worried about Claire...

Claire: *can't seem to tear her gaze away* ....

Gilder: ... Would it be better to discuss how he's been while he's here, or can you maybe send him to your room...?

Dusk: *looks back at Sarah, confused* D:>

Sarah: *glances back at Dusk for a moment, then shakes her head* No, he's not a child... come on, let's talk in the kitchen... *leads him over there*

Claire: ...

Gilder: *follows Sarah to the kitchen*

Dusk: ! *also follows Sarah*

Gilder: So, you've said he's been behaving?

Claire: ! *follows them* ...

Sarah: *notices Dusk, and sighs* Dusk, could you wait over there for us? We need to talk for a moment.

Dusk: D:> ... *quietly* ... Okay... *he slinks off to the main room*

Gilder: Ah... well, anyway. Behaving. Has he given you ANY trouble? He seems rather... dependent on you. Or at least from what I've seen so far of him today.

Sarah: At the beginning, he did... he tried to leave through the window a few times, but I managed to stop him...

Claire: *listens, briefly glancing back at Dusk* ....

Gilder: Using the shock collar, I hope?

Dusk: *stays in the main room, lying down on the couch*

Sarah: *nods slightly* Only a few times, though...

Claire: ......

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Dusk: *he smiles widely* I can't wait to see when they're born...

Sarah: *grins* I can't either...

Dusk: *he happily eats his cereal*

meanwhile

Gilder: *after months of hesitation, he decides to call Claire*

Claire: *picks up the phone* Hello?

Gilder: Hello Claire, this is John. We've found Sam and he's back with Sarah.

Claire: !! *feels like a massive weight's been lifted off her chest* Oh, thank GOD... H-How is he doing??

Gilder: Ah, well... uh... hah, uh, y-you see, he LOOKS fine on the outside besides a few scars and a wound in his thigh that he's mostly recovered from by now... but... but Hobbes... DID SOMETHING to him...

Claire: ... *quietly* What do you mean...?

Gilder: ... He thinks his name is "Dusk" and he insisted that he works for Blood Puppet. He's been going to a psychologist, but I haven't recently checked up on them. I don't know how he's doing.

Claire: *the news deeply perturbs her, though she tries to push the uncomfortable feeling aside--her voice remains quiet* ....So I can't go see him?

Gilder: No, you an see him. He's safe to visit - we had to put a shock collar on him, so Sarah should be able to help you if he tries attacking. He just... he won't recognize you, Claire. Not yet.

Claire: *her heart sinks* ...How long until he's back to normal?

Gilder: ... I don't know. I guess it depends on how willing he is to cooperate.

Claire: Do you have any idea how he's progressing...? *is quite desperate to have her son back*

Gilder: I was going to check in on them today, actually.

Claire: Oh... C-Could I go with you?

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Dusk: You're looking kinda happy today. :)

Sarah: Well, I certainly FEEL happy... :)

Dusk: Why're you in such a good mood, Sarah? The day only just started.

Sarah: *shrugs* I don't know, I'm just... I just feel better than I did yesterday. *holds a bowl of cereal out to him*

Dusk: *takes the bowl of cereal* Thank you. *starts eating* It's good to see you in a better mood.

Sarah: *smiles* And how about you? How are you feeling?

Dusk: ... Kinda weird... but weird's gotten pretty normal for me...

Sarha: Heh... *takes a bite of cereal* Well, what kind of weird is it?

Dusk: Kinda... disconnected to everything and everyone...

Sarah: Ah... How so? Would you like to talk about it? <:/

Dusk: No, I'm okay. I'm fine. It's been how I've felt for as long as I can remember.

Sarah: ...Well, alright... *eats her cereal*

Dusk: ... So... how's... how're the babies? You've got two, right?

Sarah: *nods* Yup... They're doing pretty well, as far as I can tell... they still can't tell if they're boys or girls though. <:P

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Dusk: ... Goodnight, Sarah... *he lightly touches his shock collar. It takes him a while to eventually fall asleep*

Sarah: *eventually dozes off as well*

*the next morning*

Dusk: *still asleep. He isn't crying*

Sarah: *wakes up. as she gets out of bed, she notices how quiet Dusk is, and smiles--he was getting better*

Dusk: *he frowns a bit, sensing Sarah's absence beside him*

Sarah: *leans over and kisses his head as she passes him, then goes into the bathroom*

Dusk: *remains asleep, feeling quite tired from the night before. On the inside, Sam screams and claws at himself on the inside, trying to break free and getting stronger with each session with Dr. Ferman*

Sarah: *finds Dusk still asleep when she comes back out, and decides to go back to bed. she speaks quietly* Sam... Sam, if you can hear me... I'm still here. I'll be waiting for you...

Dusk: *he smiles in his sleep when Sarah says this and mumbles out* Mm... love you...

Satah: *gently nuzzles him* I love you too...

Dusk: *he wakes up and gives Sarah a sleepy smile* Morning...

Sarah: *smiles* good morning... How are you feeling? :)

Dusk: Tired. Tired, but kinda happy. <:P

Sarah: Good to hear. ^^ Do you want some breakfast?

Dusk: Uh, okay. *he gets out of the bed and finds a shirt to put on*

Sarah: *gets out of bead, and leaves the room, headed to the kitchen. she calls back to him* What would you like?

Dusk: ... I don't know... I don't really know what I like. Uh. Cereal?

Sarah: Alrighty! *proceeds to pour cereal for the both of them*

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Dusk: ... Do my sessions with Dr. Ferman have anythign to do with it?

Sarah: .... *nods* Mhmm.

Dusk: ... Is... is he changing me, Sarah? <:(

Sarah: ...A little bit. But it's for the better...

Dusk: Wh-why didn't you tell me BEFORE that he was doing this?? D8> *he is legitimately afraid of the idea of changing*

Sarah: *now regrets telling him* ...Because I wasn't sure you had noticed or not... Do you FEEL any different, Dusk?

Dusk: M-maybe - I-I've been able to do more things and say more things than before, b-but other than that, I don't FEEL any different... D:>

Sarah: That's good. That means you have nothing to worry about...

Dusk: But I'm changing and I DON'T REALIZE I AM! D8>

Sarah: Dusk, shhh...!! *quietly* Do you trust me, Dusk?

Dusk: I-I... y-yes, I-I trust you. D:>

Sarah: Then trust me when I say that you're going to be fine... <:(

Dusk: *quietly* O-Okay... *he turns back over and nuzzles her* ...

Sarah: *gently nuzzles him back, keeping her voice low* ...Just try to sleep, okay?

Dusk: O-okay... *he shuts his eyes tightly, trying to sleep. Again, he feels helpless. Stupid. Like he SHOULDN'T be doing everything he's told to do*

Sarah: *lightly touches his cheek, then kisses his nose before turning to lay on her back* good night...

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Dusk: You're welcome. :) *he walks over to the bedroom, opening the door for Sarah*

Sarah: *smiles at him as she enters the room, and sits down on the edge of the bed* ...Today was unnecessarily long...

Dusk: ... Days are long. Twenty-four hours. That's a long time. *he gets into bed* I wonder what Blood Puppet did to Annabelle... I hope nothing too bad...

Sarah: *gets into bed next to him* I hope so too....

Dusk: *he realizes he's uncomfortable in all his clothes and takes his shirt off to reveal the wound Blood Puppet gave him on his chest - a particularly nasty scar to add to his collection of nasty scars, all of which so far have been inflicted by Blood Puppet and Celine*

Sarah: *notices this* --!! H-How did you get all of these...??

Dusk: *quietly* Well, Blood Puppet had to punish me sometimes, because sometimes I'm not good enough or he's upset with me - are you mad at me?

Sarah: No, never at you... *lightly touches the long scar on his chest* ...You don't deserve ANY of these...

Dusk: ... But... I wasn't good enough... Blood Puppet was right to give me these...

Sarah: No he wasn't... he was being cruel by giving you these...

Dusk: *he looks at her for the longest time before looking away from her, turning over onto his side, not facing her. He doesn't want to argue* ...

Sarah: *lightly touches a scar on his back, then pulls her hand away* ...

Dusk: ... I hate feeling so lost all the time... like - I always need something telling me what to do... am I stupid? Is that why?

Sarah: You're not stupid... You just need some help for a little while... Just give it some time, and you won't have to worry about it anymore...

Dusk: ... Does it really go away with time...?

Sarah: ...Mhmm... at least, I think it will for you.

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Dusk: ... ... Yes. Yes I do. *he smiles a little at her reassuringly*

Sarah: *smiles back, more relieved than she could ever describe with words--he was coming back... she continues into the kitchen, and washes the towel, though obviously failing to get the stain out*

Dusk: *he lies himself down on the couch, feeling tired from blood loss* ...

Sarah: *comes back after a few moments, and stands by the couch* ...Do you mind if I sit with you?

Dusk: *pulls his legs in and holds them against his chest so she has room to do so* ... Sure. I don't mind.

Sarah: *smiles at him and sits down. she lightly taps his leg* You can stretch back out, if you want...

Dusk: But there's not enough room for you and my legs. I'm very tall, you see.

Sarah: Oh, don't think I didn't notice. :P You can put them on my lap, silly.

Dusk: ... And you wouldn't mind? At all? <:/

Sarah: As long as you don't kick the kids. <:P

Dusk: Um...okay. .__.; *puts his feet up on her lap*

Sarah: *rests one arm on his legs, and the other behind her head as she leans back against the couch, sighing, a bit tired already* ...

Dusk: ... *quietly* ... It's kinda late... you wanna just... sleep?

Sarah: *without moving* If you want to...

Dusk: ... You want to... move? To the bed?

Sarah: *nods* Mhmm...

Dusk: ... *he takes his legs off of Sarah and stands up, then offers a hand to her*

Sarah: *takes the hand, and stands up* Thank you. :)

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Dusk: *he leans on her, blood trickling down his head and face* M'sorry... shouldn'ta done that...

Sarah: I shouldn't have yelled at you like that... Come on, let's get you back upstairs...

Dusk: *with Sarah's help, he stumbles back up to the apartment. Once inside, he slumps over back on the couch*

Sarah: Okay, okay--*runs over to the kitchen and dampens a towel, coming back with it, and sitting down next to him* Okay, I need to see how bad this is.... *starts cleaning the blood off his face and head* ....

Dusk: *he hisses when she does this, the wet towel against the wound hurting him*

Sarah: Sorry, sorry... *tries to press a bit more lightly to avoid hurting him* ....

Dusk: *he winces, as any touch whatsoever burns him, but he does his best to sit still and not cry out*

Sarah: *tries being as gentle as she can. she finds that, fortunately, the wounds weren't too bad and that he probably didn't have a concussion* ...I'm sorry...

Dusk: ... Why are you sorry? Because you shocked me? Because you said all those horrible things about Blood Puppet?

Sarah: Because you fell out of a window and got hurt BECAUSE I shocked you.... *quietly* I'm not taking back anything I said... I'm just sorry for yelling like that...

Dusk: ... Well... okay. Apology accepted. No point getting angry over it right now.

Sarah: .. *nods, and keeps dabbing at his wound until it's clean* ....there. that should be fine now... just don't touch your head for a little while...

Dusk: ... Okay... You're not gonna tell Dr. Ferman I tried to leave, will you?

Sarah: ...Only if you promise not to try that again...

Dusk: ... *quietly* ... okay... I won't...

Sarah: *allows herself a small sigh of relief* ... Thank you. *gets back up to take the towel back to the kitchen*

Dusk: ... Sarah... I'm only willing to stay and give you another chance because I love you...

Sarah: --!! *stops in her tracks, and looks back at him* ... ...do you mean that?

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