Gabriel Bá: Starting Over

“Gaaabriel…. Gabriel…. Gaaaaaaaaaaaabriiieeelll.” A faint, distant voice sang, in the pitch blackness. But he couldn’t pick out whom that voice belonged too, he didn’t know that voice. He didn’t even know where he was; he could only see blackness amongst blackness.

“Gaaabriel.” The voice called to him, once again. “You can wake up now, Gabriel.”

As his eyes flickered open, he was blinded by bright sunshine, burning down right on his face and causing his eyes to water with the pressure of the brightness.

“Ah, Gabriel. You are awake.” The voice said again.

He jolted his head away from the sunshine to find out where that voice was coming from and who it belonged too. His eyes widened and he started to back away slightly with disturbance.

“N-n-n-no. That’s n-n-not humanly possible.” He stuttered, rubbing his eyes to see if they were playing Halloween tricks on him.

“What’s wrong Gabriel?”

"You can't be alive! You died...over... two years ago." He cried out, in absolute freight. "Fusiá. You died, because of me."

"Gabriel, Gabriel, Gabriel. What are you talking about?" The girl exclaimed, shaking her head with worry. "I think we need to get Dr. Way here and get your head examined."

"What the hell's going on, here?!" Gabriel cried, burying his face into his hands. "I just want to go back to my flat in Manhattan."

Fusiá shook her head, in what seemed to be sympathy. However, she bent down beside him, wrapped her arms underneath his underarms and heaved him to his feet. With one arm draped around his waist, she started to walk with him, supporting him as she did so.

He didn't understand, how could he?! He must've been dreaming; the girl beside him, had been his partner over in Dark Horse Comics and she had died two years ago, in a car crash. He was the drunk driver. He killed his best friend. But more than that, he swore he fell in love with her... But this was beyond bizarre. The girl beside him was not only Fusiá L'Toya, a dead work partner, but she was also all cartooned... just like ones he had to illustrate countlessly, day after day, boredly in his Manhattan office in Dark Horse comics industries.

"I need no doctor." He stated, wincing as they walked. "Fusiá, tell me. Where is this place?"

Fusiá shook her head again, walking into the entrance of a woodland, falling pretty much into darkness but rays of sunshine shone at least a light toward the path. "There is no time to explain to you, Valda's men are already on the move for us. The Mortuary of Darkness no longer rests for our presence. Valda is after us, and is after us fast."

"Valda? Mortuary of Darkness?" Gabriel stated, his eyes widening. "What...who...how is Valda?!"

"Valda is ruler of this land. He will stop at nothing until us Canturs are all dead." Fusiá mumbled.

She told him not to speak another word, as she heard noises coming from afar but too close to comfort. She removed her hand from his lips and ushered him forward but to stay behind her as she climbed up the small hills and rocks. He stopped sharply and turned his head to Fusiá's right, to see a small tunnel that she had took an exit down, to come out of sight of the unknown enemy's eyes who were lurking these parts.

Fusiá was bugging his mind though; when she was explaining about Valda, his men after them and how the Mortuary of Darkness no longer rests for their presence, she didn't exactly tell him why the hell they were clearly wanted for a final death sentence. What had they done, and if he was to stay in this reality that surely wasn't his, why couldn't he have memories or knowledge of this place? He needed help, and he knew he did need it fast.
Before he could ask any more questions, he saw his 'partner' fall into shadows of the tunnel, walking off without him. It was clear that she knew her way and it'd be better advisable for himself if he followed rather than stayed here wondering. Without a word, he tried to jog back to her but the pain in his leg prevented it and he eventually did catch up with her when she, herself, realised he wasn't tagging behind her like a dead smell...

They walked on for miles and direct sunshine soon fell upon them, as the end of the tunnel came out to a cliff side, overlooking forests and forest huts and a forest village. It was fairly large, not small but not over kill either..Just right.
"Welcome to Cantur." Fusiá smiled, slapping him on the back and leaving her hand there. "Our home. Come, I must take you to Dr. Way at once, you have a really bad wound from the Ikoris' this morning."

Ikoris? Was the only thought pounding inside his mind, and before he could open his mouth to speak, L'Toya had started to jump down the pathway leading to the Cantur Village, pushing him to follow with great speed. He let out a gentle sigh and smiled a little, for the first time since he 'appeared' here, considering his friend hadn't changed a bit. She always liked to be the leader, the one to give commands and boss people about. Same old L'Toya. He started to follow after his friend, his smile still promptly on his face. He hadn't felt this ... well, happy, in what seemed like forever.
Fusiá led him down the pathway to the entrance of their home. Whilst setting foot through camp, so many people came out of their wood-built huts and homes, all whispering and gasping, "Gabriel's come home!" and other things of such talk by elderly, "The hero has come home!".

Gabriel felt overwhelmed; he hadn't ever thought of himself being seen as a hero... not even for a day. Or five minutes. Only in his wildest dreams...but who was he KIDDING? This was his wildest dreams! He WAS IN A CARTOON! He was even a cartoon character himself! And it amazed him that despite that, he could feel pain as if he was still human and not a picture in a page of some child's comic or imagination..

"Gabriel, you have returned!" A voice that he knew instantaneously.

"Gerard?!" He beamed, his face falling into a deeper smile that sat proudly on his face.

"You still remember me, after all this time!"

"Could never forget!" He chuckled lightly, as he got pulled into a tight but welcoming hug!

"Thought you swore you were to leave, but never to return?"

"Err, changed my mind." He said, noting that Gerard's smirk hadn't left him. "But anyway, 'doc', I seem to have gashed open my entire leg. Care to lend a caring hand?"

Gerard started tendering for his wound, he was being told tales of what had been happening over the two year period of when he'd left the Mortuary of Darkness after Valda was apparently 'defeated'. But when Gabriel had left, Valda rose yet again... his rotting corpse carried itself from the grave, under a curse, that nobody could diminish but the person who destroyed the heart beat to begin with... Yes. Gabriel...

“So, Valda's not even human?” He asked, looking at a friend he was so glad to see.

“He never was human, Gabriel. Never was.” Gerard remarked, as he finished attending to wounds. “Valda's been a curse from the very beginning. When Thistledown had 'vanished', they all say Valda stumbled upon Thistledown, who used dark, dark magic. Valda was cursed.”

“So...if Valda isn't human, then what is he, and Thistledown was the psychotic murderer who took little children deep within the night?” He stated.

“Very right. Thistledown snatched children from under their mother's toes. Canturs' say he tortured them and cursed them all. And Valda is part Panther, part shadow and a slight part Invisible. He's untouchable.” Gerard sighed, looking discouraged at Gabriel. “Thistledown is still out there. It would not honestly surprise me if Valda was Thistledown's 'apprentice'.”

“The Mortuary of Darkness will fall once more.” Fusiá whispered from behind Gerard. “If Thistledown rises to power again, there will be no hope for anybody. We all will meet our fates... And then, this land will be overrun with cursed breeds and men, enriched with pure evil.”

“I won't let this happen.” Gabriel stated, jumping up to his feet from off the white sheeted bed he was sat upon. “I won't let the Mortuary fall again. I will find Thistledown and Valda, destroy them once and for all.”
“Uh, hello, stupid?” Fusiá snapped, waving a hand in front of her friend's face. “Don't forget, you're a mere human. Thistledown has god knows what imaginable powers and Valda could turn invisible and strike you down in an instant.”

“Who said I was going as just myself?” He grinned, an adventurous sparkle glistening in his brown eyes. “Doc, are you capable of scientific experiments?”

“Well, er, I was always good at science... I could give some experiments a cracking at! What you got in mind?” Gerard stated enthusiastically.

“I need super-powers. I need them fast. I don't have time to be bitten by a spider to gain spider-like powers like Peter Parker, nor do I have time to find a cave underneath my parents' mansion home with a Batman outfit waiting down there with the Batmobil.”

Gerard nodded in response to the command he was given and rushed past the white sheeted bed Gabriel was once sat upon. As he did so, he turned to the left slightly and practically jumped into his swivel chair that sat proudly behind an old-ageing brown oak desk.
His smirk played promptly on his lips as he opened the nearest drawer to his right leg and pulled out a falling-apart notebook that looked like it'd gone past its days of good use.

“Say, Fusiá, why don't you take Gabriel to Cantur Kurtai Woods for a bit?”

Fusiá nodded and told her friend that they should probably leave Dr. Way in total peace to get on with his newest project. As his friend walked on in front of him, he let the deepest sigh escape his lips. This was only probably just another one of his fantasies, and before the “great” battle at every decent comic book, he'd be shouted awake by his overly fuming boss in Manhattan, in Dark Horse Comics.

But there was something he hadn't quite grasped, this was all so real. He was really in a cartoon creation, and he was the super hero... He was the village hero, the one who defeated Valda once before.. But that WASN'T him, that was clearly another Gabriel Bá – this was definitely a different reality.

“Shit.” He mumbled under his breath, as his eyes slowly widened to the thought that just struck him dead.

If he was in this other Gabriel's reality....then... the other Gabriel must be in HIS reality. But if this had happened, he was definitely out of a job. Let's face it...there's no real super-heroes in Manhattan. God, he hoped Gabriel didn't decide to test out his powers or something by jumping off the office buildings' roof.

“Did you say something?” Fusiá asked, looking back over her shoulder at the young man, who looked deeply troubled and in thought.

“Nah.” He shrugged it off, giving her a weak but a definite real smile.

If this had truly happened, he needed to think and act quickly on what he was meant to do to fix this horrible mess. He was knocked out of his thoughts when Fusiá sighed happily, as they entered a woodland. It was small for a woodland but non the less, it was beautiful.

Kurtai held a small stream, flowing right down the middle, and on the far right hand corner, there was crops, for fruits, vegetables. The Canturs' food supplies. But just beside the small flowing stream, on the left hand corner, underneath an old apple tree, there was a rotting bench that looked out over its surroundings. He noted that Fusiá had made her way towards it, trudging through the stream to get there. There was no little walk way across. He had to walk through it too if he was to follow his friend. But something bigger kept pulling on his thinking strings.

Yes, his world was playing on his mind. If the Gabriel that was meant to be here was in Manhattan, then he knew he was surely done for. Not only that but if it was true, there had to be some sort of portal to switch realities... He couldn't remember anything though, just illustrating some terrible artwork and then bang! He was lying on the ground, in the sand, with boiling hot sunshine blazing down on his eyes. He needed to find out where this portal was, and definitely in a hurry.