Self Reflection

After calling Miss Martian I broke the phone apart making sure it wasn't sending or receiving anything further. Then I started my trip going in the direction I told her to meet up with me.

The moon was almost full so I could see well enough in the dark. I decided to go in the form of a lion. {Great, even in my head I sound like one of the Wonder Twins.}

Knowing that not many things will want the attention of a lion I figured I would be safe.

After running for 15 minutes, I would switch back, and rest then change again and run more.

After a while I felt an itch in my skin like I did just before I turned to see Mammoth trying to hit me, I panicked and started to look all around for a threat, but I didn't see anything.

Looking around I found a sheltered spot to investigate and moved to it.

Returning to my normal shape, I looked at my shoulder to find it swollen in one specific spot.

{What the hell is this?} I run my hand over it to see if there is any pain, when I don't feel anything, I push at it to see if it's tender.

Surprisingly I feel as though my finger is pushed back. Starting to wonder if this is something the scientists put there, I noticed a liquid oozing out of my poor's.

Before I panic too much, by the light of the moon I see that it is the same color as the sap Monkey gave to me that I absorbed.

{Why is it coming out, I thought I absorbed it to put this body at its best for when I escaped.}

{Wow you really are a dumb shit aren't you! You have been acting like an 8-year-old kid that thinks he is a whole lot smarter than he really is.}

Instinctively I knew the voice came from the sap on my shoulder. I look closely and see a pair of eyes in the puddle but no mouth. It looks irritated and I feel his voice inside my head and weirdly the voice sounds like me.

{That idiot Monkey really did a number on you didn't he. Get somewhere safe and then we need to talk internally.} After that the voice just went quiet.

A little insulted, I quickly changed into my Lion form and started to look for a cave or something.

After finding a good spot I return to my form and enter my mindscape again.

Entering my construct of a defended Japanese house I move to the front room and see myself sitting there like he was waiting for me.

"Are you the 'Treasure Planet" Morph rip-off that was on my shoulder?" I ask.

"Oh ho, that's a good vision you just put in my head there junior. I'm going to have some fun with that one. But that's for later, we need to go to the library." Getting up he heads in that direction.

I follow him and wonder why, if he has the same green teenage body as me, why does he seem so much older than me?

As we walk into the library, he waves his hand then a couple chairs appear, and he sits in one then points to the other, so I sit.

Gesturing at the 2 bookshelves and asks. "Why two? I loved the idea for the false bottom but what made you create two separate bookshelves?"

"It just seemed natural, Monkey made one life look like a long movie and the other felt more real I guess, so I made two bookshelves." I defended.

"There is the problem. Monkey left you thinking there are two people in one body but there isn't. There was a clone with no consciousness, basically brain dead and there was you. That is until Monkey awakened the blood memories that should have just meshed with your original memories"

"Even I am still you, Monkey just prioritized his ward as the main memories because he is this universe's Garfield Logan's guide. That is the reason you have been running around like a scatterbrained 8-year-old with some experience from another life."

"Then what is Morph?" I ask.

He replies "Morph is also us. When we aren't actively thinking about him, he is an impulse like a background memory. But he will gain sentience and emotions through that channel, eventually he will return to The Parliament of Limbs but tell then he is our baby. He also serves as a direct line to The Red to watch and see if I am worthy of being an avatar."

"Why do you have all this knowledge, you act as though Morph told you all of this? Why didn't it come to me as well?" I asked in frustration.

"That is the other issue with what Monkey did with the blood memory. By making it the dominant set he made it so you can't learn anything new. Every thought you have had is from the past, you have done no forward thinking. Why contact Miss Martian and turn yourself in? Why go to them for help after we have escaped already?"

"I should be looking for a place to settle down and learn. About this world, about this body but you instead put us in line with the base of the lightning rod."

"I will leave the other few things to when we finally fully mesh. Now grab that bookshelf."

Grabbing the bookshelf named Garfield Logan (8), we placed it next to the one labeled Garfield Logan (36) both moving to the same side, and he yelled "Now push!"

Once both bookshelves occupied the same space, I felt a click and then noticing the "other me" was gone and my mind felt full and well rather frustrated with myself as I left my inner world.

I opened my eyes and decided to stay in the cave and work my way through a few things.

{Why do you keep changing back to the base form before going to the next? Just shift in the form you're in!}

{Really, 15 minutes are all you can hold your mind free from an animal with no self-awareness just instinct?}

Realizing how childish all my thoughts have been since leaving The Red and even before that I'm a little frustrated with myself. But wallowing in it isn't my style, I'm far from the smartest person but I have a wealth of lessons from the hard knocks school of life.

Knowing I can judge distance better by foot than air, I take the Lion form again but this time I just stand next to The Red in my mind and envision the form in my mind I don't try to force The Red I just let it flow through me then I begin my trip.

In my mind's eye I see my Lion shape standing next to the red wall in my mind and just to check I envision a Timberwolf and suddenly I shift to that form and a range of new smells and sounds hit me that the Lion didn't catch.

After about a half hour of running I turn out of a small canyon only to have the wind shift from in front of me to from behind me and I smell something. Its smell has a faint tint of blood to it, so I know it's a carnivore.

Running the smell through my memory, I come up with a Hyena.

Not wanting to carry this danger behind me I wait until they come into sight, picking out the leader of the pack of 12 I send a mental message of {I'm dangerous, so leave while I let you!}

All I get back is {We are hungry, and you are big enough to feed us all!}

Can't say as I'm going to complain or try too hard to get them to leave, I need to train anyway.

Backing to the canyon wall I ensure that they can't get to my back, and this makes them nervous, so they start darting in and out trying to get me to jump at them and then get tired enough to make a mistake.

One lunges just a bit too far and I manage to catch him by the scruff of the neck and shake him a little, so he stays still. I keep my eye on the leader who has stayed back so far. {LEAVE NOW} I mentally send to him.

With him not replying I threw the Hyena I have in my mouth at him. When he jumps to the side, I bolt towards him and shoulder block him while he is still dodging his pack mate. In a flash I chase him down as he rolls and stand over him with my right paw shoving his head into the ground and place my growling mouth just over his neck.

Feeling his panic and his acceptance of me no longer being prey, I lift my leg in contempt and pee all over him marking him as my territory. Once I let him go, he just runs, and his pack takes off after him.

Deciding that it wasn't much of a battle for this body, I just snorted and continued my journey.

Though it entered my mind to just ignore the rendezvous message that I had sent earlier, it didn't sit well knowing that they would be entering a dangerous area in search of me. I wouldn't take the chance of them getting hurt on a wild goose chase I sent them on, so I intended on keeping it.

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OK, 10 chapters in and anxiously waiting for comments and or concerns. Hope I didn't screw it up by putting it in the wrong category first time around.