The fire started to change into a fluffy cotton, still pink, though the insides of the ears and stomach were white. The right eye was a black bead, but the left was a stitched up X. This… I had a plushie once, by the age of 7. It looked like this. What’s happening right now?

The bunny was sitting up and slouched over now, head facing towards the ground. There was a golden mist over this one now, and I slowly backed away, unsure of if this thing was a ticking time bomb, or alive. Suddenly, its head tilted up and the thing started vibrating violently. Okay, it may be both.

“It’s… It’s you, right? The hero, the guy? You’re the guy, right? You gotta be!” It was nearly shouting now, with a voice similar to a young boy’s; not too dissimilar to what you’d expect a plushie to sound like, really. Though it had a little line for a mouth, it didn’t actually move while he spoke. Hm. In spite of it all, I’m less surprised by this all than I likely should be.

“Yes… that’s me, according to what others have said. Who would you happen to be?” The bunny hasn't stopped shaking.

“Me? Oh, right! I’m… Er, I’m your assistant! Or spirit, I think. I was made to help you! I’m attached to your soul, and I have a super big amount of abilities, like-” it was rambling now, though it sounded like some kind of script. Did this thing come from the summoners, or me?

“-Right, that’s good, but what’s your name? Or, do you have one?” This caused the bunny to pause, as it had suddenly started waving its arms in the air. It tilted its head, thinking.

“I, I don’t think I know. Say, could you come up with a name for me please? We’re gonna be sticking together for a while ya know, partners in crime! You’re the boss of course. Say, could I call you boss?” Okay, so it wanted to serve me. An assistant could always work, but I suddenly got a headache at the thought of it. Maybe a couple more questions can clear things up.

“We can go back to that later. Do you know if I was the one that made you?”

“Sure do boss! The Veeral kingdom made me from, uh, something, and influenced some of the ways I work, but you were the one that fully developed me, and made the final extra-special touches on my powers. My charming personality’s all me though!” He said, posing with the end of his hand-less arm over his heart. That headache was developing, and I suddenly remembered that I was not good with these types of people.

Or plushies.

What was my world coming to.

“...Right, thank you. So, do you remember anything else? How you were made, what you are, things like that.”

“Ehh, nope! I do know a bit of magic: mana, life force and all that. Oh! I could teach you a bit about the soul, I think!”

“That would be fantastic. Although, by chance, can you contact the people who contacted you, or know if they can find you?”

“Hmm, nope! But I’m pretty sure they couldn’t track me, since I’m built on your soul. Like a parasite! I was only activated when you focused on your soul, which had you bring me out of hibernation. At least, that’s what I…apparently know. Huh.” He seemed confused at his ability to say things he didn’t actually know of, which furthered my concerns more than anything else.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

This plushie didn’t mean harm, that much I was willing to bet on. That didn’t mean it couldn’t truly be tracked, or followed, however. Though all things considered, the same could be said of me. And it could be helpful.

I knew that, if its first thought was to serve me, some deep form of manipulation had occurred. There was no freedom in this bunny’s desire to help me, no free will. That could pose an issue, in the long run, if it gained a sense of independence. But this may work out for the best, and it’s not like I know how to detach the plushie from my soul, which it so claims to be.

And it was… odd, seeing Pippy again. I knew he wasn’t what I once had, and that this sense of familiarity to a foreign object could become dangerous, but all bias aside, I do need assistance, and powerful ones are especially necessary, if I’m to have a chance in this world. I’ll play this out.

“Well then, if you’d like to help me, you’re certainly invited to."

“Really?! I mean, if it’s not that much of a bother I’d love to, but…Well, thanks for having me over, boss, you won’t regret it!”

“I’m… Sure I won’t. So, let’s go over everything you know, from your powers to knowledge, sound good?”

“Course boss! Well, I think you could consider me a-” The stuffed rabbit looked around, his little line of a mouth turning into a frown.

“Say, boss, do you hear that?” I immediately looked around, straining my senses. For just a few seconds, everything was perfectly still. Silent.

I felt the rumbling of footsteps first.

Then the noise of breaking branches and heavy thumps, like an avalanche was quickly approaching. Along with it, I heard breathing, though more like a furnace’s than a man’s.

And me, finding myself shaking once more and praying I was wrong and that this was all a dream, I turned my head.

It was a boar, but just barely. It came above my waist, and instead of simply brown fur, I saw patterns of bright orange mixing in there, like stripes. Its tusks were black and segmented, with thin glowing lines going through them like molten lava. It was snorting out smoke and small spouts of fire, and there was a haze all around it. The boar had red, burning eyes.

For just a second, time slowed around me. In the corner of my eye, I could see the stuffed animal take a step back, seemingly frozen. What could I do? It was sprinting at me now, going at a speed I couldn’t possibly hope to match. I don’t know how to climb trees, I don’t know how to jump over it or if I can, and- “Gah!”

And before I could understand what was happening, I could feel my gut being pierced, and being smashed against a nearby tree. Pain. Pain all over again, so much more real this time with so much heat. My eyes had widened in absolute, panic, and I was coughing up blood. My eyes managed to land on the bunny still standing there, watching me like it didn’t just say it had stupid fucking magical powers just a second ago!

“F-Fuck! Dam-damned Rabbit, h-help!” I shouted, feeling the boar grind its molten scorching tusks in me. It was melting me alive, its heat scorching my skin and my insides firing making me feel like death and torture and heat. Fuck, fuck, fuck! A-Again and again, I’m– I’m helpless!

Thoughts are failing me, that bulls-fuck me this hurts!- that rabbit still hasn’t done anything, and I’m gonna die. Alone, pinned by a ssss-shit-stupid red pig!

Fine… One more thing. I-I focused on the stupid ass soul one more time, telling it to release whatever the fff-fuck it tried the first time!

The black soul turned red, blood red, bleeding red, and after– after it sss-fuck me, I’m really gonna die– started to have its energies turn rapidly, a heap of energy burst out once again, but in me.

The pain, the agony the hatred and futility was all amped up again, and th-the… the energy was still in me, and I felt strong, stronger than I ever had before, even with my lower half paralyzed and my lower half is paralyzed and I curled my hands into fists, brought them up, and smashed the boar’s burning skull, bringing its whole body into the ground, wh-which brought my pierced body down with it and oh it hurts

I k-kept hitting though. As awful as my half fallen posture was, practically fucking on top of this burning pig burning me to a crisp, I kept smashing and feeling the breaking of bones, and separation of skin, and the thickness of its boiling blood on my hands.

It might’ve stopped moving at one, point, but I kept hitting. Hitting the thing that made my wish I died the second I came here, that was probably the reason I’ll die in the next minute; hitting it and hoping its squeals still continued, because I couldn’t hear anything but the rushing of blood since it pierced me against a tree.

Eventually, my smashing slowed, and w-with one last… piece of effort, I held its broken ss-skull, and pushed my skewered body off its tusks. And then.

I fell asleep.