I look up at Jaak. “I think it’s time we, you know,” I make stabbing motions to express my level of wanting to get this over with so I can stare at him some more.
Jaak puts his hand on mine and stops me from stabbing the air. “That does not look like what you think it does, my heart.”
I look down at where our hands are touching. “I don’t get it.”
“It’s probably best you don’t.
“You will fear me! I have had enough of your insolence. You come into my lair and this is the treatment I’m given. I am owed more!”
I turn away from Jaak to survey the toy store mayhem in front of us. The aisles have all been knocked down now, toys of all kinds have amassed themselves into a writhing army. I can feel the anger rolling off each and every one of them towards us. Behind them the mass of tentacles rises up. It’s bigger than I thought, it takes up the entire room, wall to wall tentacle action. There’s no clear head or body, it’s only the one-eyed tentacles that writhe and reach for us.
“You will fall to your knees in terror and worship me!” The tentacles shoot out and give a little shake that I know is meant to be menacing but it’s not. Nothing here scares me.
“What the hells?” I whisper and press my hand to my chest. I look down at it to see if there’s some magic anything going on. A light, a thread, a neon sign that says ‘you’re magically healed’ anything, but no. There’s nothing.
“What is it?” Jaak asks.
“I’m not scared,” I tell him. “I-I should be terrified. Normally I would be but I’m not scared.” The realization is sweet relief. I laugh and clap my hands over my mouth. “I’m not scared anymore! How am I not scared even with all of that eldritch horror going on over there?” I ask, flinging an arm out towards the tentacles still throwing a hissy fit.
“Fear me!” It throws a stuffed bear at me that’s as big as Jaak and I don’t think I react and hit it. I punch right through the bear before I grab hold of it and rip its head off.
“No!” I yell and lob the head back at the tentacle mass.
“You monster!” It shrieks when the bear head lands smack dab in the middle of it. “Mr. Honey Bear?!How could you?”
I flip off the screaming tentacles and it lets out a shriek.
“You’re not afraid because of the soul-bond. You aren’t afraid because I have seen worse, we have seen worse, and defeated far deadlier foes than this one,” Jaak says.
“You and I are connected now. My power is yours, and so are my memories. Before, it was only you that shared with me but now the circle is complete. Anything that I know how to do, so do you.”
Jaak’s memories are mine. Of course. That’s why I saw him as a child, why everything in me feels like laughing at this so-called monster throwing stuffed animals at me. Right now it doesn’t seem scary at all. In fact, it’s coming across as downright petulant.
“You’re right. We have.” Even though I can’t sort through them, I can feel the memories surge around me. Planets have died and crumbled to ash beneath our feet, entire armies have begged for mercy, kings made to bend the knee before us. We have never been defeated in battle,and we never will.
“Can we shut it up now? It’s starting to get on my nerves.”
“Gladly,” Jaak answers. He nods over at the toys that have started marching towards us. They’re assembling into what looks like a decent sized human-shaped being that’s about as tall as Jaak is. “That first and then our screaming foe?”
“Sounds like a plan.” I smile at him and take one last lingering look at him. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this was your real form.”
He makes a face, lip curling back and I see fangs flash but it doesn’t scare me. Naturally, I want to get a closer look. I would too if the toy giant weren’t running at us. A series of balls shoot out from its hand at us. Jaak deflects them easily and drops them to the floor. They’re metal from the clanging sound they make when they hit the ground.
“We will discuss thislater.”
“Right. Monster to defeat. My bad.”
The floor shakes and pitches beneath us but I’m steady. The toy giant comes for me first. I don’t know if it’s because it thinks I’m the weak link but whatever. I’m excited for the fight. My blood sings in my veins, hot with fury. At its side, I see tentacles explode forward towards Jaak. They whip towards him for a direct hit and I gasp.
I felt that. I look down at my arm and see the welts appear there.
“Okay, so the bonded twin thing isn’t a magic metaphor.” I shake my arm out and think about going to Jaak to help him but in the end, I don’t. He can handle this. I know he can, just the same as this toy monster will be handled by me. It brings down a fist to hit me and I dodge it, rolling to the side. I hop to my feet and kick the back of the toy giant’s leg once, twice. The third time sends it pitching forward and I see my opening. I bound forward, running right up its back and grabbing hold of its head.
The toy giant thrashes when it realizes what I’m going to do. It turns and bucks, trying to throw me off but it’s useless. I’ve gotten my legs around its neck and have it in a death grip. I clasp my hands together and bring them down to hit it as hard as I can. Each hit sends toys scattering, a doll, a car, a jump rope, and a bunch of plushies. I keep swinging until there’s a hole big enough for me to reach inside and shove my hand through the front of the giant’s face. I lean in and curl my arm towards me while I bring my free hand to the front of its face and pull.
I pull as hard as I can and then some. I scream when I feel it give way and for the second time that day I behead a toy. I drop the head and it shatters apart the second it hits the ground while its body fights on, or at least it tries to. Its arms pinwheel as it staggers forward drunkenly. I don’t know if it’s trying to hit me or keep its balance.
Whatever. Not important.
