TW - Panic Attack
---
At Playcare, the children outside were playing around the area. A young Kevin raised his brow, confused. "My middle name?" he asked. A young Michelle nodded. "Why do you want to know something like that?" Kevin asked.
Michelle smiled. "Aw, c'mon, Kevin; I thought we were close enough friends that you would tell me," she said. "Besides..."
Michelle looked at a young Katelynn, sleeping with her head in her lap, and petted her head. "Katie told me her middle name was Penelope, so I wanted to know what your middle name is," she continued.
Kevin huffed a bit and looked away. "Just because Katie told you her middle name doesn't mean I'm gonna spill mine," he said. Michelle pouted a bit. "Aw, c'mon; not even a hint?" she asked.
Kevin remained silent, which made Michelle sigh. "Well, I don't mind revealing my middle name; it's Avaline," she said. The duo remained silent until Kevin snorted a bit and looked at Michelle. "Isn't that just hazelnut in a different language?" he asked.
Michelle crossed her arms. "Yes, but one of my caretakers also said it means 'desired' or 'wished for'," she said. Kevin laughed a bit. "I guess you weren't desired enough," he said
Michelle glared at Kevin before angrily looking away, tears pricking her eyes. "Screw you, asshole..." she said lowly. Kevin stopped laughing and looked at Michelle. "Misha? C'mon, I was just joking; don't—" he noticed she was clenching her arms, which made him freeze up.
Kevin looked down before wrapping his arms around his legs and resting his chin against his knees. "Winston," he said. Michelle was surprised and looked at Kevin. "Winston is my middle name; apparently, it was my grandpa's name on my mom's side..." he continued.
Michelle stared at Kevin before she started giggling a bit, which made him slightly glare at her. "What's so funny?" he asked.
Michelle pointed at Kevin as she tried to keep her composure. "Your middle name sounds like a cowboy's name," she said before she continued laughing.
Kevin stared at Michelle before chuckling a bit and rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it?" he asked. Soon after, the laughter started fading. "Hey... you hear me?" a female voice said. "Hey,"
In the caves, a group was walking forward; Kevin was looking down in silence. "Hey?!" he flinched a bit and looked forward. Kevin saw Hoppy Hopscotch staring at him. "You OK, dude? I've been calling you a few times," she said.
Kevin looked down and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine..." he said as he rubbed his head. "I just remembered a conversation I had a while back..." A pink slime hand held Kevin's hand, which made him look at Suzy. "Was it with the human you talked about?" she asked.
Kevin smiled a bit. "It was... she asked me what my middle name was out of curiosity," he said. Hoppy Hopscotch had mischievous eyes. "If you told your friend, then—" Kevin menacingly glared at her, which made her flinch. "Like hell I'm going to tell you?!"
CraftyCorn tapped her hooves together. "Uh... may I ask a question?" she asked, which made Kevin look at her. "I know you've called her Misha through your stories about her; is that her actual name?"
Kevin shook his head. "Nah, her first and last name is Michelle Mercia; apparently, she's been called Misha her whole life," he said. CraftyCorn hummed. "Interesting..." she said, lowly.
Kevin glanced at Suzy and noticed she looked around the caves, smiling, which made him frown a bit. Misha's full name didn't trigger one of her episodes; while it's painful, I'm glad it didn't... he thought.
The Smiling Critters looked at the siblings, concerned. "D-Don't worry, we'll find her; I'm sure of it..." CraftyCorn said.
Hoppy Hopscotch had happy eyes. "Yeah, don't sweat the small stuff, Ke—" PickyPiggy flinched and punched her gut, which knocked the air out of her and made her groan.
PickyPiggy looked at Kevin. "We'll do everything we can to find her, Doey," she said. CraftyCorn and Suzy nodded as Hoppy Hopscotch slowly gave Kevin a thumbs-up. "Thanks for that," he said.
PickyPiggy nodded. "I know you've told us about Misha's personality, but I don't think you've ever mentioned her appearance," she said. "I know that she's the only walking human in this place, but it would be nice to know what she looks like."
Kevin crossed his arms. "Well, I was told that she was wearing a black tank top, blue jeans, and sneakers," she said. "Back then, her orphanage made her wear very girly clothes; she told me she hated looking girly."
Kevin pointed to the back of his head. "Besides her beaded bracelet, I remembered that every time she would visit Playcare, her hair would always be in a braid," he continued.
CraftyCorn looked at Kevin. "Do you think she got that hairstyle from a Lily Lovebraids commercial?" she asked. Kevin shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe, but I think Misha has the better braid than that stupid doll or puppet or... whatever the hell she is," he said.
Hoppy Hopscotch looked at Kevin with mischievous eyes. "You would say something like that, lover boy," she said. Kevin blushed and glared at Hoppy Hopscotch. "The fuck is that supposed to mean?!" he shouted.
Hoppy Hopscotch looked away and wrapped her arms behind her head. "You talk about her like she's the greatest human in the world," she said. "I'm not gonna doubt some of the things about her, but it sounds like you're madly in love with her."
Kevin's face was red, and he snarled at Hoppy Hopscotch. "You're lucky I need you because I would be kicking your ass for all the bullshit that's coming out of your mouth?!" he shouted.
Hoppy Hopscotch laughed as the group reached an area with a pathway on the right and a cave ledge on the left. Hoppy Hopscotch's ears twitched a bit, which surprised her and made her look forward; the others looked at her. "Did you find something?" PickyPiggy asked.
Hoppy Hopscotch nodded. "I'm picking up a lot of small steps; probably Nightmare Critters," she said; CraftyCorn was worried. "That's bad..." she said, lowly. Suzy looked at Kevin. "What do we do, Big Brother?" she asked.
Kevin looked at Suzy and petted her head. "There's nothing to worry about; these pipsqueaks got nothing on us," he said. "Once we're done with them, they'll be crawling back to their pathetic master."
Suzy smiled and nodded as Kevin removed his hand and looked at Hoppy Hopscotch. "How many do you think we're dealing with?" he asked.
Hoppy Hopscotch twitched her ears a bit before looking at Kevin. "I can't get an exact number, but it's definitely a lot," she said before pointing at the cave ledge. "From up there."
Kevin nodded. "Well then, get ready to kick some ass," he said. The others nodded before taking fighting stances and looking at the cave ledge; soon after, multiple Nightmare Critters started jumping down the ledge.
When Baba Chops, Allister Gator, and Simon Smoke jumped toward Kevin, he shot his arm toward them and slammed them against the wall hard. Kevin pulled his arm away as the Nightmare Critters collapsed to the ground. "Morons..." he said, lowly.
When Rabie Baby jumped toward Hoppy Hopscotch, she kicked her in the head, which knocked her to the floor. As a few of the Nightmare Critters jumped toward Hoppy Hopscotch, she kicked them one after another. "I'm barely breaking a sweat," she said.
CraftyCorn backed away as Maggie Mako crawled toward her; when she jumped toward her, she yelped a bit and covered her face. Before Maggie Mako got too close, PickyPiggy hit her with her arm before slamming her to the ground, which knocked her out.
CraftyCorn uncovered her face and looked at PickyPiggy as she turned her head to her. "You know you're not gonna have a bodyguard with you every time you're out here," she said. "It's why DogDay was teaching us hand-to-hand combat."
CraftyCorn looked down. "I know, but... I don't like hurting people..." she said, lowly. Unbeknownst to CraftyCorn, Icky Licky crawled close to her. "I just don't want to—" when he touched her, she screamed and stomped on him, knocking him out.
CraftyCorn looked at Icky Licky and placed her hooves together. "I'm sorry..." she said, lowly. PickyPiggy sighed and shook her head. "Sometimes you're too kind for your own good..." she said, lowly.
Touille and Poe jumped toward Suzy, which made her smile. "Yay, new friends!" she shouted before shooting her arms toward them and grabbing them.
Suzy pulled the duo close to her, smiling. "You wanna play with Suzy?" she asked. Touille and Poe were biting Suzy's hands, which made her pout. "Hey, that's a bad thing to do," she said as she raised her arms. "You two need manners!"
Suzy slammed the duo to the ground, which knocked them out; she let go of them and dusted her hands. "Bad toys deserve punishment," she continued.
Suzy sensed something from the ground, which surprised her. Suzy looked up. These vibrations... it feels like someone is destroying something... she thought.
Suzy glanced at the others as they continued attacking the Nightmare Critters. I know I should be sticking with Big Brother's group, but... she thought before looking up. Something is telling me I should follow these vibrations...
While most of the group was still fighting, Suzy stretched her arms to the rooftop and got on it before becoming a puddle-like form and slithering away.
Soon after, the Nightmare Critters looked at the group, scared, before running away. The group looked at the cliff, trying to catch their breath. "That takes care of them..." Kevin said.
CraftyCorn looked around and noticed Suzy was gone, which made her freeze up. "Now what?" Hoppy Hopscotch asked. CraftyCorn looked at the trio. "Uh, guys..." she said, lowly. Kevin looked at Hoppy Hopscotch. "We'll continue finding Misha's group," he said.
CraftyCorn held her hoof up. "There's a problem..." she said. PickyPiggy nodded. "Well, with nothing else distracting us, we can—" CraftyCorn had angry eyes before she looked at the trio with her eyes closed. "Suzy has gone missing?!"
The trio froze and looked at CraftyCorn, which made her flinch and cover her mouth. "Sorry..." she said, lowly. Kevin panicked. "She what?!" he shouted; the group looked around. "She was just here not too long ago; where the hell could she have gone?" Hoppy Hopscotch asked.
PickyPiggy looked at Kevin and noticed he was looking around with panicked eyes and hyperventilating a bit, which made her approach him and place her hooves on his shoulders. "Kevin, you need to calm down," she said.
Kevin looked at PickyPiggy. "How the fuck do you expect me to calm down?! She—" she sternly looked at him. "We all know that she's your sister, but getting into a panic attack won't do a damn thing!"
Kevin flinched and looked down. "Just breathe; once you're calm, tell us what to do next," PickyPiggy continued. Kevin closed his eyes and took a deep breath before exhaling.
After Kevin opened his eyes, he looked at PickyPiggy. "Thank you, Amber..." he said, lowly. PickyPiggy nodded before removing her hooves. "What's the next step?"
Kevin looked at the trio. "You three continue the search for Misha; I'm going to find Katie," he said. The trio was shocked. "You're gonna find Katie all by yourself? No offense, dude, but that's risky even for you," Hoppy Hopscotch said.
CraftyCorn quickly nodded. "You've been separated from the other two for about an hour or so; if you're apart for any longer, you'll melt," she said.
Kevin nodded. "I'm well aware, but sibling or not, she's my responsibility..." he said. "I'm the one who brought her here with us, and I'm going to be the one to find her." The trio stared at Kevin before nodding. "We understand," they said.
Kevin looked at PickyPiggy. "Picky, I'm leaving you in charge," he said; she nodded. "We'll find her; I'm sure of it," she said. Kevin nodded and turned away. "Well then, I'm heading off," he said before sprinting on the pathway.
Unbeknownst to the trio, a large purple cat observed them; Hoppy Hopscotch sighed. "Man! How are we supposed to find a human in a place this large?!" she shouted.
When CraftyCorn turned her head to the back, her eyes widened when she saw CatNap standing at the top of a higher ledge. "There's not much we can do; we'll just have to find the outside of a different building and start from there," PickyPiggy said.
CraftyCorn turned her head to the duo. "Uh... guys..." she said, lowly. Hoppy Hopscotch looked at PickyPiggy. "Even so, that's still gonna take a long time, and that's something we don't have," she said.
CraftyCorn looked at the duo. "Guys..." she said. PickyPiggy looked at Hoppy Hopscotch. "Well, I'm not hearing you coming up with any ideas," she said, which made her growl a bit.
CraftyCorn got angry. "Guys?!" she shouted; the duo looked at her. "What!" they shouted. CraftyCorn pointed up. "Look up there!" she shouted.
When the duo looked up, their eyes widened when they saw CatNap. "IT SEEMS YOU FINALLY FOUND YOUR VOICE, CRAFTY..." he said. "TOO BAD IT ONLY HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE TO SHOUT..."
Hoppy Hopscotch glared at CatNap. "What do you want, cat? Here to get your ass kicked while your God watches you," she said.
CatNap stared at the trio before turning away. "APOLOGIES, BUT I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR GAMES... GOOD DAY..." he said. The trio was shocked as CatNap walked away. "He's running away?" CraftyCorn asked, confused.
PickyPiggy stared at the cliff before looking at the duo. "We're going after him," she said. The duo looked at PickyPiggy, surprised. "Are you serious?" Hoppy Hopscotch asked rhetorically. "You know how he is; he finds hunts like this fun."
PickyPiggy nodded. "Yes, but he must also know about Misha's whereabouts if he's outside Playcare," she said. The duo was shocked and looked at the cliff. "That's a valid point..." CraftyCorn said, lowly.
PickyPiggy looked at Hoppy Hopscotch. "Hoppy, see if he's still up there," she said; she nodded. "Right," she said before jumping up.
Hoppy Hopscotch jumped from one rock to another until she reached the top. When Hoppy Hopscotch looked forward, she was shocked when she saw CatNap in the distance. "He's still up here!" she shouted.
The duo was shocked before PickyPiggy looked at CraftyCorn. "C'mon," she said; she nodded before the duo started climbing the rocks. When the duo reached Hoppy Hopscotch, she crossed her arms. "What happened to all that talk about no time for games?" she asked.
CatNap had smug eyes. "YOUR GAMES, NO... BUT I HAVE TIME FOR MY GAMES..." he said. "UNLESS YOU'RE TOO MUCH OF A COWARD TO PLAY THEM..."
The duo was shocked while Hoppy Hopscotch angrily glared at CatNap. "I'm gonna kill you?!" she shouted before jumping toward him. When Hoppy Hopscotch tried kicking CatNap, he leaped out of the way, which made the ground under her foot crack.
When CatNap landed on the ground, he started running away. "After him!" PickyPiggy shouted before the trio sprinted toward him. CatNap glanced at the trio. GOOD, THEY'RE FOLLOWING ME... he thought.
CatNap looked forward. SINCE THEY'RE FROM SAFE HAVEN, THEY WERE PROBABLY TASKED TO FIND ANGEL S GROUP... he thought. LUCKILY, I STILL HAVE ANGEL'S SCENT AND FOUND DOGDAY'S GROUP A LITTLE WHILE AGO; IT'LL BE LIKE CRUSHING MANY BIRDS WITH ONE STONE...
Inside a vent, Suzy slithered forward and looked around. I know the vibrations were around here somewhere... she thought.
"You know... I never thought I'd see another like you, a human," a male British voice said. Suzy was shocked before stopping and trembling a bit. The Doctor... she thought.
"Yeah? Well, I wish I'd never met a human like you," a young female voice said. Suzy was surprised as the Doctor chuckled. "Flattery won't get you anywhere, little germ," he said.
Suzy quietly moved forward. I've never heard that voice before; could it be...? When Suzy got to a large opening, she landed on a piece of broken metal before looking forward.
Suzy saw Michelle stepping back before Yarnaby came out of the cell and banged on the glass, which made her flinch and nearly fall backward, but she quickly grabbed the metal piece. "Please, do keep making this enjoyable for me; I'll be taking notes," the Doctor said.
After Suzy pulled herself back up, Yarnaby walked away; she looked at Michelle as she trembled and wrapped her arms. That human... she must be the one Big Brother is looking for... she thought.
Suzy saw Michelle flinch and slap her cheeks together, which made her flinch. "Get it together, Misha; this is what the bastard wants," she said.
Suzy saw Michelle glare at the camera. "And I'm not giving him what he wants," she continued; she was in awe. So cool... I have to help her... she thought.
Kevin sprinted forward and looked around. "Suzy! Where are you?!" he shouted. Kevin got to the top of a ledge and looked around. "Suzy!" he shouted. Kevin looked in a smaller cave. "Suzy!" he shouted; he heard his voice echoing, which made him growl a bit and run away.
When Kevin reached a platform with a ledge above him, he tried catching his breath and looking around. "Where the hell is she?" he asked himself. Multiple Nightmare Critters stood on top of the ledge; Kevin growled a bit. "I don't have time for this bullshit..." he said.
When Simon Smoke jumped toward Kevin, he turned to him and sliced him in half with his claws, shocking them. Kevin menacingly glared at them as his body boiled. "You want some to?!" he shouted. The Nightmare Critters growled at Kevin before jumping toward him.
Kevin roared at them and started slicing them one after another, which made blood splatter on the walls and floor.
Kevin tried catching his breath as he stared at the carnage on the walls and the Nightmare Critter pieces as his body stopped boiling, and he shook the blood off his claws.
Kevin tried regaining his composure, but his breathing was unaffected, which made him panic and wrap his arms around himself. "Shit... not now..." he said, lowly.
As Kevin collapsed to his knees, he was hyperventilating with dough tears pricking his eyes. Damn it... don't start a panic attack right now... he thought.
(Flashback Begins)
Outside of Home Sweet Home, Michelle looked at Kevin, surprised. "You get panic attacks?" she asked. Kevin sighed. "Yeah... though sometimes it's because things are too loud or if I get overwhelmed..." he said. "That's something I hate about myself..."
Michelle rested her cheek in the palm of her hand. "I don't think that's something you should hate about yourself," she said, which made Kevin look at him. "I suffer from panic attacks, too."
Kevin was surprised. "Really? I figured someone with your personality isn't phased with something like that," he said.
Michelle looked down with a slight frown. "Even the happiest person in the world would still suffer something like panic attacks..." she said, lowly. Kevin looked at Michelle, concerned. What the hell does that mean? he thought.
Michelle glanced at Kevin and shook her head before looking at him. "But I was taught at my orphanage that if I ever get into a panic attack was to close my eyes and take deep breaths," she continued. Kevin looked down. "What happens if you can't take deep breaths?" he asked.
Michelle smiled. "Then I try to sing or hum a tune," she said, which shocked Kevin, and he looked at her. "My orphanage taught me this easy tune whenever I feel like having a panic attack. I could teach it to you, if you'd like."
Kevin clicked his tongue and looked away. "It sounds kinda stupid," he said. Michelle stared at Kevin before looking forward with a slight frown. "Ah... I see..." she said, lowly.
Kevin glanced at Michelle before sighing. "But it could be useful, so I don't mind," he said. Michelle smiled at Kevin before nodding. "Awesome!" she shouted. "Let's get started then." Kevin smiled a bit and nodded. "So, it starts like this..." Michelle said.
(Flashback Ends)
Kevin clenched his arms and looked down while hyperventilating. Come on, Kev... just like how she taught me... he thought. Kevin closed his mouth and his eyes before he started humming.
Link to the song: youtu.be/TgQAX2kdsg8
As Kevin was humming, his grip against his arms loosened, and he started calming down. When Kevin stopped humming, he took a deep breath and sighed before opening his eyes. "The humming really helped..." he said, lowly.
Kevin looked at his right hand. "Thank you for teaching me that song, Misha..." he continued. Kevin wiped the dough tears off his face before standing up. "Now I gotta find—" he heard pained music noises, which shocked him.
When Kevin turned his head to the right, he noticed a building with a large hole. "The noise came from over there..." he said before sprinting toward it.
When Kevin was near the wall, he saw Pianosaurus fly out of the hole and hit a large stalagmite, which caused it to break and fall into the abyss, before collapsing on the ground.
As Pianosaurus slowly got up, he spotted Kevin, which made him tremble and quickly run past him. When Kevin glanced at Pianosaurus, he noticed pink slime on one of his spines. That's definitely Katie's slime... he thought before turning to the hole. Then that means...
Kevin growled a bit before angrily looking at the large hole. "Suzy!!" he shouted. When Kevin heard no response, he gritted his teeth. "Should've known..." he said, lowly. Kevin shot his arms toward the large wall and grabbed the bottom part of it before shooting toward it.
As Kevin got inside the building, he turned his head to the left, annoyed. "I told him that she's not ready for this, but no... he thinks it's perfect if I show her the ropes!" he shouted.
Kevin started growling. "This is what I get for listening to Matthew's stupid ass and taking Suzy with me! I'm never gonna—" when he turned to the right, he saw Michelle sitting on the ground with widened eyes and Suzy trying to hide behind her, which made his eyes widen. "Misha..."
Kevin's vision saw a young Michelle smiling at him before it shifted back to her present self as tears pricked her eyes. "Kevin..." she said, lowly.
As silence filled the room, Kevin stared at Michelle. It really is her... Hoppy can tease about my feelings toward her, I don't care... he thought. She looks as beautiful as she did back in Playcare...
Kevin noticed Suzy looking at Michelle before looking at him, confused. "What's going on...?" she asked. Kevin took a deep breath and exhaled. Just play it cool... don't do anything stupid, he thought before walking forward.
When Kevin stood before Michelle, he knelt and held his hand out. Wait, I can't wipe her tears away with my claws, he thought before stopping and looking at his claws. This reunion is big for both of us... just wipe her tears away like a man and say something to her.
Kevin retracted his claws to blue fingers before gently placing his hand against Michelle's cheek and wiping her tears away. "You've... changed," he said.
As Michelle looked at Kevin, he cringed on the inside. You've changed?! Of course she's changed, you fucking moron; you haven't seen her in years?! he thought.
Kevin heard giggling, which surprised him; when he glanced at Michelle, he noticed she was giggling. "Yeah... I guess I have when you last saw me," she said.
Michelle smiled at Kevin. "I would say the same thing, but both of us know that would be the biggest understatement in the world," she continued.
Kevin stared at Michelle before looking down with a slight chuckle. "Yeah... it would be..." he said, lowly; he sighed on the inside. She's a savior... he thought.
Kevin turned his head to Suzy, which made her flinch; he saw a young Katelynn in his vision before it shifted back to the present. "Suzy," he said before holding his other hand out.
Suzy closed her eyes until Kevin placed his hand against her head, which surprised her and made her open her eyes.
When Suzy looked at Kevin, he smiled a bit and petted her head. "You did good, kid," he said. Suzy stared at Kevin with awe before smiling; he had stern eyes. "However..." he continued.
Soon after, Kevin pinched Suzy's cheek and pulled on it, which caused it to stretch. Suzy yelped in pain, and slime tears pricked her eyes. "You ran away from the group!" Kevin shouted. Suzy looked at Kevin. "I'm sorry, Big Brother..." she said, lowly.
Kevin stared at Suzy before letting go of her cheek and sighing. "And even though I told you to stay with the group, you did find Misha on your own," he said.
Kevin looked at Suzy. "So with that, you're not coming with me on these scavenging missions for two weeks," he continued.
Suzy looked at Kevin, shocked. "Huh! But I found the human all by myself; that's gotta count for something?!" she shouted. Kevin sternly looked at Suzy. "That's why I said two weeks, moron! You're lucky I didn't say never?!" he shouted.
As the siblings argued, Kevin glanced at Michelle and noticed she was giggling behind her hand before smiling, which made him smile a bit. I'm glad you're back in my life, Misha... he thought.