Uranometria--Chapter 9

This chapter also has something in here that is based of my hypersensitivity and my dark nature after the so-called trauma is over. Stay tuned for the next chapter coming your way soon. Thank you for all of your support y'all! --KatDon

Chapter 9: Another Side, Another Story

There it was again, the same dream over and over. The same one he had billions of times, and it never goes away! He was a little boy, frightened by the muffled screams. The blood he saw on the walls, and the people in masks that were responsible. When the ones in mask heard him, the little boy ran and ran until it felt like his lungs were going to burst. Then, he tripped and fell down. It all went black. Trygve woke up with a start, gasping for air. Sweating. He looked around as he was in a chamber alone in his bed. He was OK, it was just a dream. It wasn't real...Or was it? Why couldn't he remember anything? What happened to his mother? Why was there blood smeared on the walls? The next day, they were all staring at her. Here she stands today. In her brilliant shining way. Stronger than her pain. They wonder if she will ever better. Cassandra is sick of people being worried about her, she's fine. She is not in any critical condition towards herself, she feels fine. And is no where near feeling super suicidal. But today she is given a room to breathe for she is researching about Wendigos. What she discovered shocked her--According to the The Wendigos were experiments done by a sociopath scientist name Constantine Zephyr. Cassandra was surprised by how much he has done to violate humanity. She went to report this to Mimir, who listens and then asked, "Are you sure?" "Yes sir." Cassandra answered. Mimir nodded, "All right. Thank you, Agent Endymion." He replied. Cassandra nodded with a salute and then leave while Mimir ponders this for a while. His mind has a plot of what he now knows. 

That night, Cassandra was dreaming once again: She dreamt that she saw four pieces of bread with butter on them sitting in a basket. One is separated from the others and is half-bitten. The basket sits on a white cloth. In the next dream is that she at a smooth gray plane. It is elevated on the right and steps down to a lower level at the left. Clustered in the middle of this space is a variety of strange and colorful surrealist images. In the distance is the small shadowy figures of a man holding the hand of a small boy. Toward the left is a figure seated in a chair with his back turned to the entire scene. She begins to walk away from the scene as Cassandra saw herself in front of the Virgin Madonna seated with the infant Yehshua on her lap. Both figures have rectangular holes cut into their torsos, suggestive of their transcendent status. In the background were nails, fish, seashells, and an egg. The Virgin Madonna has a sea urchin, a rhinoceros and figures of angels. In the middle ground of the scene, where the sand of the beach appears to end, a small version of the fruit dish can be seen on the ground with several pears scattered near it, all to the same scale as the only embodied human figures depicted in the painting. A second iteration of the face appears further in the distance, just to the right of the elbow of the nude male figure; in the same area of the painting, two dogs are playing along a path in the distance. One of those dogs is itself an echo of the immense, illusionary figure of a dog which stretches from the left to the right margin of the painting, with the dog's collar formed by a multi-arched bridge or aqueduct in the landscape beyond.

In another dream; Cassandra was at what appears to be a slave market, while a woman at a booth watches some people. She moves along to see something of brown-skinned pears with the eponymous footed silver fruit bowl, which somewhat resembles a wine glass. A deliberately created optical illusion of the eponymous human face occupies the same space as the dish; the fruits suggest wavy hair, the dish's bowl becomes the forehead, the stem of the dish serves as the bridge of the nose, and the dish's foot doubles as the chin. The eyes of the large face. Psyche was startled by this as she walks away quickly but she saw something in the distance is a wall housing a bell resembling the figure of a woman in bundled skirts. In the distance towards the center is a strangely eroded rock form. The most significant element of this image is a small figure in the lower right of a woman running with a large hoop. In the shadow cast by the figure, her arms appear to merge into a circle around her head. The shadow cast by the figures head takes on the appearance of the hub of a wheel. Cassandra found herself at a twilight atmosphere with deep blue sky. There are two female figures in the foreground, one with drawers opening from her side like a chest. They both have undefined phallic shapes of melted clocks protruding from their backs which are supported by crutch-like objects. The hands, forearms and face of the nearest figure are stripped down to the muscular tissue beneath the skin. One figure is holding a strip of meat. Both humanures that double as a chest of drawers as well as the crutch like shapes.

Cassandra has a third dream of the Sparta queen Leda who is seated on a pedestal with a swan suspended behind and to her left. Different objects such as a book, a set square, two stepping stools and an egg float around the main figure. In the background on both sides, there was a violent struggle of the men in the picture and the big fish. A golden knife stabs into the fish and the azure- blue sea becomes red with blood. Cassandra is horrified, the water begin to smell like fish and she finds a door, opening it. She saw in the room that puzzled her: The bishop chess piece seems to play an inanimate role analogous to a tree or plant. In other instances, it is given the anthropomorphic feature of a single eye. There is an ambiguity between windows and paintings. The back of the room shows a boat in a thunderstorm, but the viewer is left to wonder if the depiction is a painting or the view out a window. Near the bishop chess stands a table. On the top, a disembodied hand is holding a red bird, as if clutching it. The front right leg of the table resembles a human leg.  Instead of taking place in a room, the action has moved outside. There is no table or hand clutching a bird and the scene of the rough sea in the ambiguous window/painting at the rear becomes the entire new background. Near the front a low brick wall is seen with a bilboquet behind and a suited figure with an eyeball for a head in front. There is ambiguity as to whether the suited figure is a man or another bishop. Some other bishop figures have similar eyeball heads, however the suit covers the body and no clear identification can be made. If the suited figure is a man, it could be a self portrait, which means that the eyeball is covering his face.

More dreams became more vivid and made her mind: There were many different varieties of life--history, religion, art, and myth into a unified whole. She saw a large egg which was entrapped in a cage. There was nocturnal scene of a forest of bizarre, abstract trees. In the thick of the forest is a childlike depiction of a dove. Cassandra saw herself at a swimming pool surrounded by buildings. The sense of dimension is unclear. The features of the buildings appear to be hand-drawn. The buildings leave shadows against the sky like a wall. Hanging in the sky is a clock that reflects on the water as a moon. In the pool, the picture shows a possibly female or childish body in an upside-down position with only the waist and legs above the water level. The person appears to be diving or is drowning. In the foreground is an armless stature-like figure that appears to have been made out of clay, throwing a shadow in the direction of the pool, similar to another shadow originating from outside the picture. The person looks away from the pool and bears a handlebar mustache, but also has features which could be interpreted as female. She walked over and saw three seemingly identical men in bowler hats. They are in an outdoor setting at twilight. Though they appear to be sharing the same space each one also seems to exist in a separate reality. Each is facing a different direction. In the sky above each figure is a separate crescent moon. Cassandra walked around and she saw a geometric figure with a tumescent red hand protruding from its head. The figure is composed of cones and triangles. Surrounding the structure are ghostly images of nude female figures and torsos superimposed on a blue, watery dreamscape.

Cassandra woke up, her hair was a mess and her eyes were bloodshot. Those dreams really made her feel weird, and she didn't know why. They were all staring at her again. Cassandra didn't glance at them, she kept her head down and didn't meet anyone's gaze. Next to her, Stoic Captain Krieger was next to her, looking concern. "You OK?" Captain Krieger asked. "It's just the medicine I took that's making my dreams go insane." Cassandra assured. Cassandra felt unease by this a little however she was also relieved that she doesn't have to suffer from any nightmares. Captain Krieger had to leave the room for once second so Cassandra felt as if it was quiet and begins to sing to herself softly to a song she has in her head for so long: "Art of war….Quick as the cyclone air. Art of war….Of the calming as the woods. Art of war….Be brutal as the flaring flames, adequate as the great peaks of the mountain." "Where did you get that song?" inquired Captain Krieger, it seems he had been listening. "I'm a mind reader, remember? I heard it in my head on the first time I display my powers." replied Cassandra. Captain Krieger stared at her for a moment, "Oh, is that so?" He said. "What is that song, anyway?" asked Cassandra. Captain Krieger pulled up the song on an old record player where a choir line was crooning before a man begin to sing, "To be a warrior, work hard and walk the path to fight. Strong, brave, and heroic; that is who you are inside. Do not cower, it may be dangerous yet find the courage in you. Do you want to survive? Come with me if you want to live, do you want to die tonight? I'm not leaving you here alone, teamwork means everything. Heed my words if you wan to stay alive." 

The choir belted out, "Art of war…." and the male main vocalist sings, "You must be quick as the cyclone air." "Art of war…." The choir crooned together. "With all of the calming as the woods." The male singer vocalized. "Art of war…." echoed the choir. "Be brutal as the flaring flames, adequate as the great peaks of the mountain." sang the male man. Cassandra was amazed, "What an awesome song, who wrote it and who sang it?" She asked. "Someone who was once a soldier but anymore. He's moving on from war however he was a great man and is still alive but he's suffering from survivor's guilt. He will be remember as a true warrior." explained Captain Krieger. "What's his name?" inquired Cassandra, curious to know. "Braggi Väinämöinen." Krieger replied. In the meantime; Ophelia is stressed out, she cannot deal with the stress, the doubts, and the negative thoughts. She is troubled for some reason, no one is in her heart or anything related to love. She had her nose in a report about how an enemy has worked for Constantine Zephyr has a source of the project about the Wendigos. So, Ophelia made a decision. She went to say her prayers before she head off to get herself a gun. Find a horse to 'rent'. She got a saddle, and she loaded her weapons to prepare against the enemies. She road off but before she did, she left a note for Mimir that said, "Please forgive me. I just wanted to help." She managed to find the enemy's warehouse. She got off her house and entered it. Just then while inside, she heard something. Something that made her cover her ears. She heard it--A creepy sound of belly laughter. "No...No, it can't be!" She thought. Ophelia heard laughter over and over again. She tried to plug in her ears however it was too much. Hearing all that. 

"Stop it!" She called out. But it wouldn't. It kept going on and on, like an eternal torture. Ophelia couldn't take it anymore: She screamed and kicked the box, which is where the laughter is coming from. It was a recorder that was playing that laughing track. Angry of what has happened; Ophelia begin to go crazy. The first thing she did was hypnotized the guards, saying to them: "I hate you all, die for me please." and then she caused them to commit suicide. She begin to repeatedly stomp her until she was bloodied and bruised. Ophelia spit on her, "Stay away from my men, they are mine!" She screeched. Then she hurried away and then she went to the flirty girl's house and she set it on fire, melting the ice palace. She almost set the city on fire in her rage and emotional passion. And finally; Ophelia became furious and pursued her enemy in rage. When Ophelia saw that he was escaping her, she jumped into the river and started to swim after him. While swimming in the torrent of the river, Ophelia then got close to boat and attack him, going underwater. But when she got closer, she saw it all got black. This time, she wasn't going to brush this off. Now she was on her guard. Ophelia turned around to see who it was, but she saw that no one was there. Ophelia kept walking, a little faster however the person who was stalking her was closing in on her. Ophelia quickly turned around to face her stalker. She was surprised to see that it was--The enemy spy. "Oh, it's only you." Ophelia said coldly. "What do you want?" "I got something that will make your eyes sparkle." said the enemy spy. He pulled out a slim box and hands it to her. Ophelia took it curiously, she opened the box to see a necklace of white pearls with a sea blue charm to the necklace. "Oh, it's so pretty. You got this for me?" Ophelia asked, touched by his kindness. 

"Yes. For your heroic efforts that is." replied the enemy spy but a smirk appeared on his face. "I feel you need to be more honored in a special way, like...Maybe joining me in a more--burning sensation." He said. Ophelia's face fell, she closed the box and glared at him. "You got to be kidding me! First, you give me this gift. And now you tell me this? Oh no, I don't think so. I'll take your gift but I'll have to refuse your offer." She said. The enemy spy was disappointed by this news. "Hmph. That's a shame, really." He said. "I am not fighting crime by burning criminals to a crisp. I won't. Forget it!" Ophelia declared. But then she felt a painful sensation in her body and she cannot move anything herself. "Leave. Me. ALONE!!!!" begged Ophelia. "You can't stop me, Sweetheart. I can control every muscle, every nerve, every vessel in your body." The enemy spy declared, laughing insanely. Then, Ophelia writhed on the floor. Her body parts--Hands, fingers, toes, feet, and legs--were twisted around on their own. "Stop....Please, stop! I can't take much more of this...." She begged. "Accept my offer and I'll let you breathe!" The enemy spy replied. "NEVER!" screeched Ophelia. "Fine. I'll make you suffer more and more...AND MORE!" cried the enemy spy. The next minute, Ophelia was chained from her wrists and feet. She looked miserable, being the damsel in distress sucks as she feels like this could be the end. That's when she could hear something, or something in here. "Hello?" Ophelia called but no one answered. However she heard a small childlike laugh and then a strange, familiar figure appeared. It was Astrild! "Well hello there, my pretty." He greeted. Ophelia was shocked to see him, "I--I--It's you!" She gasped. 

Astrild did some acrobatic movements before appearing at her. "Looks like someone bound you good." He said, looking at the chains. "Yeah, not so comfortable now, is it?" remarked Ophelia. "Actually, you look so good helpless. It makes me all weird inside...." said Astrild with a smirk. Ophelia groaned, "Don't start!" Astrild looked at her chest, Ophelia let out an 'ahem' but Astrild was not listening. "Oh for the angel's sake, FO-CUS!!!!" exclaimed Ophelia. "You or your boobs?" Astrild asked cluelessly. "For heaven's sake, get me out of here!" said Ophelia. "Fine, fine, I'll help you....Only because he asked me too!" said Astrild with a sigh. Ophellia looked at him, "'He'?" "Ace, you know him?" replied Astrild, shrugging. "Ace..." Ophelia is shocked, Ace sent him to rescue her. In the meantime; Ace was beating upon the enemy. He had heard about the laugh track. He had done research on Ophelia. He was shocked on the Moneta about how much the noise bothers Ophelia so much. When Ace learned about the laugh track by the thugs, he was filled with rage. He begin to beat them so much that they cough up blood. "You bastard, you have no idea how much torture she'd suffered from noises like that. You should have known she would have a weakness such as that!" Ace said with menace in his voice. Ophelia and Astrild managed to escape from the prison however they were confronted by the Wendigos. But Roland came to aid, Ophelia was thrilled to see him. "Roland!" She cried, she threw her arms around her. Roland blushed as he felt the warmth embraced of this girl. "H--hey Ophelia." He greeted shyly. "What's a pretty thing like you doing here?" Ophelia said teasingly. "Um...The jerk off Ace got me here, what'd you think?" snapped Roland, "And I wanted to save you." Ophelia smiled, touched, and embraced him further, "My pretty kitty." She whispered. 

"Hey, when you're done making out; get your asses over here!" Astrild called. Immediately, Ophelia lets Roland go and they fight together. Later, Ophelia talks to Ace alone on the roof, "How did you know where I was?" asked Ophelia. "Your boss, Mimir Sofus, sent me. He gave me the coordinates so I decided to bring Roland with me. And along the way, we meet that imp Astrild. And he helped us with his sensory detecting abilities." Ace explained. "So, why'd you do it?" asked Ophelia. Ace flashed a glare at her, "You have no idea do you?" He snapped as he went over to her. He grasped her chin and pulled her close in a kiss.  Ophelia's body pulsate, "Mmm..." She said muffled but she felt something lingering in her mouth that caressed the roof of it inside. "Oh..." She thought. Now, she felt a different sensation....Arousal. "Oh my God! I--I--" thought Ophelia, she pushed Ace away as blood spurt from her nose. Ophelia panted, and panted, she clutched at her throat as she tried to catch her breath. "Oh...Wow...That was..." stammered Ophelia. "Did you like that? Hm?" said Ace smugly. "Um...I need to clean myself up, OK? I feel...oooh." said Ophelia. She left in a hurry as she closed the door and ran to the bathroom where she saw how much blood was running down her face. "Good God, have mercy." She muttered as she used a paper towel and soaked it with water while cleaning. Ophelia remembered that kiss from Ace. The way he pulled her in, mouth to mouth....It was his tongue in his mouth that caressed the roof of her mouth. But that wasn't why she was getting a nose bleed. It was his unbuttoned, hairless, bare skin against her own that turned her blood up in her nasal passages. "Good God, bless him for that smooth, silky skin...." thought Ophelia, feeling turned on a little. That night; Ophelia somehow sleeping out in the open, without a blanket, She's shivering in her sleep, turning over in a really vulnerable way and clutching herself. Ace comes along, see her distress, and react to it by tenderly draping a blanket over her shoulders, petting her on the head, and saying, "Sleep tight, Ophelia." 

Freed from the discomfort, Ophelia faintly smiled in her sleep, she is grateful for the warmth. But Ophelia could hear an argument outside her room as she went to check it out. She saw Roland standing over Ace, who was bloodied and bruised. "You son of a bitch, how dare you--!!! Are you trying to manipulate her?" Roland shouted. "No...I...." Ace started to say but Ophelia stopped them. "What the hell?" She demanded. "Did this bastard kiss you?" Roland enjoined. Ophelia looked down shamefully. "Y--yes..." She admitted. Roland was about to hit Ace again. But Ophelia seized him from doing this. "Why do you care if I kiss who?" She asked. "Because, this jerk off did it before and left someone to die!" claimed Roland. Ace sat up, "I'm not trying to do anything to do that to her. You don't understand--" He said. "Oh I understand completely. You try to use her because you want something from her. And then, she gets confused by your manipulation!" Roland cried. "How about we settle this somewhere secluded?" Ace suggested, "Just to get things off your chest." Roland looked at him for a moment and then nodded, "It's on!" He declared. "No!" gasped Ophelia. But it was too late, she felt helpless. In an empty alley, all silent and nobody was around; Roland and Ace were standing in front and apart from one another in preparation of their battle. Ophelia was there too, she didn't like this. This was all too much for her to bare. "I’m grateful for your 'love'. Come on and we'll play this friendly match enthusiastically." said Ace. "Yeah, let's rev it up." Roland accepted. "I’m going to make you look sharp, Orlando. I’m so bad at the game that your skill will shine like the sun in the sky." Ace said. 

Roland rolled his eyes, "You’re making fun of me." He said. "No, I swear I’m not." replied Ace. They fought each other, Ace strike Roland but he didn't seemed to be unfazed. "That was one hit." claimed Ace. Roland shook his head, "No, it wasn’t." He said. Ace looked at Ophelia for help, but Ophelia nodded as she gestured him that it was. "Well, let’s go on." Ace said to Roland, motioning him. Their battle continued, none of the two can't seem to take a breath for one second. Heart pumping, nerves wrecking. Blood and wounds from each of their strikes. "Another hit. What do you say?" Ace said smugly. "You got me, I admit it." Roland said. "Get ready for the third hit, Orlando. You’re just playing around. Come on, give me your best shot. I sense you’re treating me like a child." replied Ace. "Really? OK then, Jack of all trades....Bring it." Roland called. Ace charges at him and strike Roland in his shoulder. He is shocked of himself as he backs away. Roland smirks at him. "What's the matter, Fresh meat? Not so tough isn't it?" He taunted. Ace felt anger and he stabbed him in the side of his abdomen. Roland grimaced in pain and he was about to attack however Ophelia just had enough about this. She ran over but then, she sensed someone was here! And knocked out Roland and Ace. They looked up at Ophelia. "Hey, Ophelia!" Roland protested. "That wasn't me." claimed Ophelia. "Then who--?" Roland started to ask when the three of them heard a voice from above, "Honestly, you guys are acting like children. Can't you get along for once in your life?" Ophelia flushed and smiled happily. "Oh my God, you too?" She squealed. It was Janus Sayer. 

"What are you doing here?" Ophelia asked. Janus landed to her and said, "Mimir sent me to help you." He pulled out a piece of paper and hands it to her, "He's got an assignment, he said you could finally debt you talked about." replied Janus. Ophelia is curious to know as she opens and looks at the piece of paper. What she saw amazed her, she just couldn't believe it. A few minutes later, Ophelia begin to do acrobatic moves and laughing maniacally. "This is great, now I won't have to say 'I promise' and not do anything. Now I can repay my debt to everyone." She said, and she laughed like crazy as she went away like Spider Man would. Roland looks at Janus and said, "You really are a manipulative bastard." Janus shrugged, "Yeah, well. It's the truth." He said. Roland and Ace looked at him confused. Ophelia stopped after jumping and flipping from rooftop to rooftop. She pulled out a Moneta and looked up at how it all began: On Friday night, during the set at a comedy club, a woman called out that jokes of Wendigo assaults are never funny when the comedian said: “Wouldn’t it be funny if that girl got attacked by, like, five Wendigos right now? Like right now?” The woman and her friend were so uncomfortable while the audience laughed at this so they left as 200 eyes stared at them while they left. As they were in the car, they begin to talk about how bad the comedian and his joke was. "That’s not a joke. It’s an invitation. It’s a celebration of a violent crime, which is itself another violation. It’s not a way to cope." said one of the two women. The comedian that the two women were talking about exactly was Cailleach Arlequin. 

Ophelia hated comedians. But not to get the wrong idea, she hated the sounds of belly full of laughter, it's unappealing for her. She had been traumatized since the loud noises of one possibility of her parents' arguments. They didn't mean it, they were going through troubles before they divorced. But throughout childhood, she hated the sounds of laughter. She always plug her ears or hide in the bathroom. At first, her mother didn't understand until Ophelia turned 19-20 years old. She learned about why her daughter hates it so much. It was a trauma she'd been through since she was about 3 years old. But Cailleach wasn't the only one, there are others who are most hated: Thalia Columbus is one of the most hated comedians on this list, but it's not the fact of women should be funny or not sort of thing. But Thalia is too crude for her own good. She's hated also for being popular, and also for the punchlines that nobody saw coming. There is also Momus Pantaloon, who has puppets that make racial jokes and that causes shocked to others. Some may find this funny, but most others aren't pleased.  And then, there is Gelos Payne; a fiery, obnoxiously loud comedian. Then, there is Alcaeus Koosby who has props of all sorts of crude things that relate to carnal essences. And is repulsive for his 'tighter face' because of the plastic surgeries he had. 

Baubo Owlglass is one of the most hated for smashing big fruits such as watermelons. In an interview; she showed off being a nuisance, bigoted, and unfunny. There are others out there that really do comedy in an unfunny fashion. Euphrosyne Motley did a sitcom about domestic violence and child abuse. Even animal cruelty. It was supposed to be a joke, right? Wrong! And then there is Lambe Pedroline and his laugh tracks recorded on recorders or boxes of all that. He only uses it when he makes a joke, even if it's not funny. He steals jokes and he is one of the few who are most hated. And now, they are kidnapped & brutally tortured by haggish looking creatures. They have stringy long hair and have hands of claws. They mutilated almost on the crude, hated, vile, disgusting, obnoxious, and jerk off people that some would ever meet in their entire life: Cailleach, Thalia, Momus, Gelos, Alcaeus, Baubo, Euphrosyne, and Lambe. Do they deserve it? Well, their jokes are very gross and controversial but unfunny. How Ophelia knows who did this? She knows because she created 'him'. And by 'him', she means Cheshire. A dark character she created in her upheavel state. As a child, she was in her room where she hid in the closet after she shuts the door. She had suffered of a 'trauma' while she had expereince the loud laughter from downstairs that upset her. She begins to cry as she begins to write about some killer who is cursed with a Glasgow smile as he gained the fear of not smiling or laughing so he decided to make people have 

Ophelia used an 'alter ego' name Larunda 'Lara' Sordino. She created creatures who were liked the calm and the quiet. But if they heard loud noises or belly fulls of laughter, they can get violent and kill. She called them 'Tacita' and Lara is known as Queen Muta to the Tacitas. And she orders them to kill the laughter. But it was all in her imagination. Ophelia, Roland, Ace, and Janus managed to tame the Tacitas, but an uninvited guest appeared. "Hello Lara, long time no see. You've grown into a lovely young lady." Cheshire stood there. Ophelia was shaken in fear by this nightmare she had created. Roland and the other two guys were appalled of the sight of this guy. A pale face, black ominous eyes like they were bordered in. A long, horrendous grin plastered on his face. "This is impossible, you are a figment of my imagination." Ophelia exclaimed. Cheshire smiled, a slasher looking grin. "Oh, I've existed before you could ever created me on paper or in your head." He said.