Smile Darn Ya Smile (Open)

[Pushing Up Roses]

(ooc: March 12th. Morning. Open to the teens and adults at Roses's house. Want to keep the kids out of this one since the main focus will be trying to cheer up Ma-Ti.)

Ma-Ti walked out into the room. He was still embarrassed at his attempt to speak the night before. Of course him transforming back into human while Joe was riding him was embarrassing too. For both of them. And now anytime he spoke he just neighed like a horse. He couldn't even scream to his irritation. So he'd remained silent and avoided everyone. But he was hungry so he needed something to it. It would be very easy to sneak in and out. Surely no one was up yet. He made his way to the kitchen grabbing some carrots, apples, and sugar. He'd gotten addicted to the stuff as a horse. He'd tried oats but it just didn't taste the same so he gave that up. He grabbed ingredients to make sandwiches as well. He didn't realize he wasn't alone as he kept gathering food.

XXXX

Brock walked into the room and nearly fainted at the sight of Ma-Ti. He was wondering if the place was being haunted. He hadn't been there last night when Ma-Ti had been discovered.

"Impossible. I must be dreaming. Or you're a spy in disguise. That's a mean trick." said Brock.

He pulled out a Pokeball.

"Go Geodude! Grab him!" said Brock.

Geodude appeared out fo the Pokeball and grabbed Ma-Ti before he could escape.

"Alright imposto reveal who you really are! Your disguise isn't fooling me. How dare you pretend to be Ma-Ti?" said Brock.

XXXX

Willie walked in next shocked at the exchange. Hearing Brock's words he stepped back nervously. So someone was pretending to be their dead friend Ma-Ti. This wasn't good.

"Be careful Brock. If he is a spy he probably has magic. But I'm here to back you up." said Willie.

He glared at Ma-Ti not realizing it wasn't an impostor.

XXXX

Roses heard the commotion as she headed downstairs and was speechless seeing Ma-Ti struggling against Geodude while Willie and Brock were shouting at him. Roses rushed forward.

"Stop this! You're hurting Ma-Ti" said Roses.

[Cinema Snob]

"Guys! What the hell are you doing?! He's really ma-ti! Stop it!" Angry Joe burst in not long after Roses. He had told certain people at the moment, such as Roses, that Ma-Ti was here. So at the moment he told only roses and others but the fact Ma-Ti was now being wrestled by Brock's pokemon and he was being interrogated. "Brock, tell that pokemon to knock it off!" Joe shouted in some sort of demand. He wanted to stop this. He knew he had to stop this.
XXXX

Morpheus was more confused than angry or shocked, wasn't Ma-Ti dead? He then responded to the others "Joe is right, we should stop this! You're harming the boy!" Confused or not, brock's sudden attack was unprepared and Morpheus wasn't ready for stuff like that. He turned to see Brock shout that the boy was a imposter "Imposter or not, we can't just attack him, he didn't even have the chance to speak for himself!"
XXX

"OK. What the hell is going on?!" Snob said as he saw the chaotic thing insue. He was confused but also annoyed. Suddenly his gaze fell upon the young boy who looked precisely like ma-ti and immediately his shock overweighed his annoyed, as seen with his open-mouthed expression. "Roses... Do you see what I see?!" Snob said, seeing joe start telling brock to stop his pokemon from hurting ma-ti.


(OCC: Will bring IHeart in a teeny bit, but do you want her to meet ma-ti here or are we going to make her meet him in "Going For A Ride"?)

[Pushing Up Roses]

(ooc: I think Iheart should join Going for A Ride be more emotional to meet him there.)

Brock realized his mistake calling Geodue back who vanished into a red ball of energy returning to his Pokeball.

"I'm sorry. I thought Facilier or Ask That Guy was trying something. Didn't Ma-Ti die weeks ago?" asked Brock.

XXXX

Willie also looked ashamed. While he didn't do anything he might have if Roses and the others hadn't shown up.

"I'm sorry too. Is he alright?" asked Willie.

XXXX

Ma-Ti now free turned and bolted towards Joe hugging him a bit tightly. Ever since his return to human form he'd sort of clung to Joe. He wasn't sure if Joe minded or not but Joe was sort of his safety net. Someone he felt calm with. He knew Brock and Willie didn't mean him harm and nodded as they both apologized. He was still shaking though as flashes of his abuse from Facilier and Malachite had come into his head. They'd done similar things to him during what they called training. He didn't realize he was shaking slightly and then felt a pair of arms hugging him seeing it was Joe as he relaxed a little. He mouthed "sorry" to him as he tried to calm down.

XXXX

Roses saw Ma-Ti was ok and sighed. She looked at Brock and Willie as her anger vanished. Brock was right. If she hadn't seen Ma-Ti last night she would have probably done the same thing to this guy.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you both. You didn't know Ma-Ti was still alive. We were going to tell everyone this morning. We just didn't get the chance." said Roses.

She paused looking at Morpheus and Snob who looked confused as she was.

"Yes. Joe and I were among the group who saw Ma-Ti last night. Well Joe was the first one. You see Ma-Ti didn't die all those weeks ago. He was turned into a horse. The horse we rescued from them when they attacked us a few weeks ago." said Roses.

XXXX

Brock and Willie both looked on in shock.

"Ma-Ti was Midnight?" asked Brock.

Willie was also surprised. He should have spent more time around the horse. Perhaps he would have sensed the spell.

XXXX

Chester meanwhile walked in seeing Ma-Ti. He rushed forward nearly knocking Joe and Ma-Ti over as he hugged Ma-Ti and indirectly Joe as well.

"Ma-Ti! You're alive! You really need to stop scaring us like that." said Chester.

[Cinema Snob]

(OCC: Alright. I'll just send her there then. I'll just leave it to Joe and Morpheus and Snob for the moment)

While joe was aware that the other two were simply trying to be helpful, Joe was still worried over Ma-Ti. He didn't pay attention to the others at the moment seeing Roses handle it but the poor boy immediately turn and cling onto him, Joe quick to hug right back. Joe didn't mind in the slightest but the fact ma-ti was so scared and vunerable made the other man feel quite guilty. Joe didn't want to blame himself but he did. He felt like a guardian and proud older brother of sorts for the kid, and he couldn't even protect him from a accidental attack? It just didn't seem fair. He instantly saw Ma-Ti mouth sorry and he mouthed back It's OK. I'm here while giving a assuring smile. "What roses said. Ma-Ti wasn't killed off, Malachite made it look that way. Ma-Ti was turned into a horse. Ma-Ti was midnight. Sorry for snapping at you two. But ma-ti's back and now that you know, Ma-Ti is here to stay" He turned to ma-ti before sighing "Also, somehow, just so you guys know, Ma-Ti can't speak. The spell seems to still keep a hold of him someway"

He was about to ask willie if he had ideas of sorts since Willie was also a practitioner of magic, but Chester charged right into them. Both he and ma-ti kept their footing but chester's hug squeezed them both. "Chester, it's nice you're glad to see him but you're choking us. Dude"
XXXXXXX

"It really is ma-ti then. Well then. This calls for a celebration" Morpheus said calmly, a big smile on his face. Nani and Lilo would be very pleased to hear about this. "If I may suggest, once we're all settled we allow everyone else in this house to know ma-ti is still alive, yes?" Morpheus asked politely. He turned to see Brock and Willie get explained about ma-ti's return then chester charge at the boy hugging him. Morpheus couldn't help but chuckle "Ah chester. I was wondering when you would show up"
XXXXX

"He really is alive!" Snob said, joy coming out of his face and tone. Unlike brock and willie who were still shocked, Snob was estatic. The one they all cared for was now there's again. Snob laughed out of pure surprise and happiness before turning to Roses "This is so great. We have ma-ti back! He's safe again! He's come back home!" Then he frowned as he learned ma-ti was turned into a horse and that the death was to fool them "Even though I'm still glad ma-ti's alive, I can't believe he was turned into a horse" He turned to ma-ti and responded softly "We're so glad to have you back" He then turned annoyedly as chester came in. He didn't say anything but the sudden greeting was surprising and not something snob liked

[Brock Harrison & Pokemon]

Ma-Ti gasped at the surprise hug. But smiled despite his fear seeing it was Chester. It was hard to stay mad at Chester and the guy had been through so much as a prisoner. He'd sympathized with Chester, Michelangelo, Goggles, and others before. Ones who'd been hurt physically, emotionally, and/or mentally. But now he was the victim and smiled. He paused doubting many of them new sign language so he decided to try something else. He saw some paper and pencils and he picked them up and wrote.

"I can't speak except to horses. Malachite and Facilier could hear my thoughts through their magic. They still can I fear. I'm sorry I'm such a burden."

Ma-Ti paused as Brock and Willie apologized again as he wrote to them.

"It's ok. I'm not mad. You were trying to protect yourselves and the army. If I had been an imposter you'd have been doing the right thing. You didn't know I was still alive."

Ma-Ti turned to Snob and smiled weakly. He wrote back.

"I know it's hard to believe. I lived through it and sometimes I wished it had just been a dream. They made me perform in their circus as a clown horse. Dressed me up and everything. I never want to see another circus again."

XXXX

Chester paused seeing Ma-Ti was a little upset as he stepped back. He then heard what was going on and looked sad.

"Sorry. I was just so happy to see you I wasn't thinking. We all thought you were dead. Although we might want to warnt Critic. Last time Ma-Ti came back from the dead the guy fainted. We don't want to give him a heart attack or anything like that." said Chester.

He paused as Ma-Ti wrote saying he could only talk with horses. But Malachite and Facilier could read his thoughts and he frowned. His eyes widened next as Ma-Ti spoke saying they forced him to dress as a clown horse.

"They did WHAT? That's it. First, they kidnap you, turn you into a horse, torture you, and then parade you like a sideshow. Where's that BFG of Linkara's? I'm going to go blow that place up for hurting one of my friends." said Chester.

XXXX

Willie was glad Ma-Ti was alright still feeling bad at how they'd tried to hurt him.

"I am sorry we mistook you for an impostor. You don't deserve that after what you've been through." said Willie.

He smiled as Ma-Ti said he wasn't mad at them. He paused at Brock's words.

"Reversing spells isn't as easy as snapping your fingers or waving a magic wand. Even if I knew the spell I don't know how many of them cast it. Or how powerful they really are. It might take some time though. I think it'd be better to ask Maleficent. She's more powerful than I am and she could know for sure." said Willie.

XXXX

Brock sighed looking at Ma-Ti.

"I really am sorry about this. I'm the one who nearly attacked you. If Joe hadn't come in I could have really hurt you. I'm sorry." Said Brock.

He smiled glad Ma-Ti wasn't mad so hopefully the matter could be dropped.

"Willie you can do magic? Can't you undo this spell and get his voice back?" asked Brock.

He frowned as Willie said he couldn't and he'd have to talk to Maleficent.

XXXX

Roses listened to the group.

"Yes. We'll consult Maleficent, Linkara, and the others and find a way to restore Ma-Ti's voice. But Willie is right. It won't be easy." said Roses.

She paused as Morpheus suggested they let everyone else know.

"Yes, we should do that. But I don't know about a party. The poor guy's been through a lot lately. We need to get some food in you and get him some more sleep. I don't think he slept much while as a horse." said Roses.

[Angry Joe]

"Whoa whoa whoa Chester. First of all, the BFG is at Critic's place so you can't really get it right now, second of all we can't just go attack them. After all we did, they'd expect us by this point and take us down. We need to think this through. Trust me, if I could, I'd shoot every single one of those assholes but we can't. Ma-Ti deserves everybody here with him, he's been through too much" Joe replied to Chester, who understandably was pissed about Ma-Ti's sufferings. He too was extremely upset. Ever since Ma-Ti's return, Joe felt more and more like the big brother to him and he would never allow Facilier to touch Ma-Ti if he would/could help it. Then Ma-Ti wrote that he was a burden and joe responded "No. It's not your fault. You're not the burden, Facilier is. It's his fault. We'll make him pay ma-ti and get your voice back"

He nodded as Roses and Willie suggested calling up Linkara and Maleficent to get this situation straightened out, even though it would not be easy "Yeah. Besides Willie, they know a lot more than we do. It's best we get professionals for that sort of thing" He then turned to Roses and Morpheus and replied "Yeah. We'll let people know but no celebrations right now. Roses is right. Ma-ti actually needs to sleep and eat. You hungry ma-ti, let me get you something" Joe offered to ma-ti immediately
XXXXXX

"Very well, I was simply offering because it is indeed a joy to see Ma-ti return to us. But yes, the boy needs rest and recuperation a lot more than many of us do. Welcome back Ma-Ti" Morpheus responded as Roses and Joe took off his celebration idea but did agree that more should know. He pondered and responded "Well we obviously shouldn't let everyone know immediately but soon. Right now, as you said, Ma-Ti needs some time to not be so overwhelmed"
XXXXX

"Oh my god. They did that to you? On second thought, they're so cruel so I'd expect for them to be so low as that. Don't you ever worry about that anymore, Ma-ti. You're gonna be ok. I promise" Snob said, almost just as upset as Chester was. "I swear, if I see Facilier ever again, I'm going to make him wish he was never born. He'll get a lesson one of these days. A terrible lesson and he'll regret his actions for the rest of his damned life" He growled before calming down for Ma-Ti's sake. He turned to Joe who offered the boy something to eat and he agreed to eat "Yeah. Do you want anything specific? Like some grilled cheese or something? Anything you want, we'll try to get, or at least I'll try to"

[Chester A Bum]

Ma-Ti paused as Chester threatened to go out there and Ma-Ti shook his head scribbling a note.

"Don't go. There's been enough people hurting. Forget about revenge. I don't want anyone hurt especially because of me. I'm not worth it."

He paused hearing Willie couldn't reverse this. But they were going to ask Maleficent and the others. He hoped not. Critic already owed Maleficent a favor because of him before. That settled it. If they had to rely on Maleficent then he would decline the help. He didn't want to owe anyone anything and he didn't want Critic, Joe, or anyone else to either. He paused realizing everyone was still staring at him wanting to help. He frowned tears going down his face. He scribbled a quick note.

"I don't want your pity. I can make my own food."

He grabbed the food from the counter he'd been preparing and headed to the table. He quickly made a couple sandwiches and had them on a plate along with some apples and sugar cubes. When he was done he put the food away. He grabbed some water and left quietly. He walked to the living room. He wasn't in the mood to see anyone and he was tired of writing. He wanted to be normal but he knew that was impossible. He was a freak and always would be just like Malachite and Facilier had said. He didn't have an appetite anymore but he knew he had to eat something. He took a seat and started eating.

XXXX

Brock looked sad at Ma-Ti rejected their help and made his own food and took off to the living room. He sighed.

"He needs time to calm down. He's only been human again for a few hours. I can't imagine what he's going through but he's going to need all of us to help him. Even if he doesn't want to admit it. Even if he tries to push us away we can't let him. And he's going to need you most of all Joe. I'm not sure if it's the spell but you're the one he comes to for comfort. Sometimes it's hard to believe he's only 15." said Brock.

He paused looking at Joe and Roses.

"The poor guy's confidence and self-worth is gone. He doesn't even think he's worth fighting for. What did those two do to him?" said Brock.

XXXX

Willie frowned clenching his fists in anger.

"They broke his heart. His spirit. That's what happened. And that was the most powerful thing about him. With or without that ring. We have to help him get it back. I don't know if he'll ever be the same person again. The Ma-Ti from the Captain Planet show was just a naive kid. But from what I've heard here he's been kidnapped and abused physically, mentally, and emotionally by friends and enemies. He may have forgiven you but I doubt he's forgotten." said Willie.

He sighed.

"Brock is right though. We must be there for him as much as we can. All of us. I just wish there was more we could do for him." said Willie.

XXXX

Roses watched him go also sad.

"Yes. We have to watch out for him. Iheart, Critic and Spoony were the closest to him. But I think Brock's right Joe. He trusts you a lot now. You may be our way of helping get Ma-Ti out of his shell. Although I don't know if we'll ever completely get the old ma-ti back. Too much has been done. He may never be the same no matter what we do." said Roses.

She sighed making a mental note to contact Maleficent and the other sorcerors as soon as possible.

XXXX

Chester nodded to Angry Joe.

"Alright. You're right. I won't go after them. For now." said Chester.

He paused at Ma-Ti's words.

"No. You're wrong. Of course, you're worth it. You're our friend." said Chester.

He frowned seeing Ma-Ti wasn't listening to him or didn't believe him. Then when they asked to give him food Ma-Ti made his own food and retreated to the living room.

"I hope I didn't push him too far. He seems to have been hurt the worst out of all of us. Most of us got hurt physically but they hurt a lot more than they did to us." said Chester.

[Angry Joe]

The words from the others made Joe's guilt so much worse. Joe saw Ma-Ti react negatively to his help and Joe allowed the boy to go eat alone and yet a large pain in his chest was made. He heard Chester and responded "No chester. You didn't push him. He just has been so used to abuse, he won't accept help because the people who abused him forced him not to. He's hurt. And he needs support" Joe angrily wiped the tears from his face and growled. He heard Willie and nodded to everything he said "He has every right not to forget. After all they did, I wouldn't forget nor forgive" He clenched his fists and pounded one of them hard into his hand "God. If it wasn't for the fact I'd get killed..." He growled again. Frustration came through him like a river and he breathed hearing Roses' calming tone.

She had the ability to make him calm. She had the ability to make him feel anything good at all sometimes. He smiled softly to her "I know I might be. But it might not be either. What if it's somebody else besides me? Maybe...." He widened his eyes "There were two people who have been in most support for him in the longest time besides us. IHeart since the beginning was his go-to friend but she's obviously in a bad spot, but there's another. Spirit. Think about it! Spirit and him have been so close since he was a horse and spirit is more inclined to him since we saw it. Maybe we should get them together and allow ma-ti to hang out with him more? Maybe that'll help?" He then turned to see snob and he tried to get him back but snob stubbornly wished to talk to ma-ti for a moment.
XXXXXX

"Poor boy. He doesn't deserve this. Those horrible monsters. Hurting such innocence like this. But yes. He might never be the same. I would not put it past improbability. He has indeed suffered. All we can do is be there and do everything we can to be supportive" Morpheus offered softly, feeling hurt as the boy rejected all help. He felt sorry for ma-ti. After all he been through and the boy still suffered. He then listened to Joe's offer about Spirit and he didn't know what to add so he didn't say anything. But snob's offer to try and talk seemed a bit risky "I do not think that is helpful friend. He might get angry. After all, he left us. He just wants to be alone for now, we should respect that" Snobs' refusal caused morpheus to back off for the moment and he waited.
XXXXX

The talking caused Snob to feel terrible and sorely responsible. He watched ma-ti leave and saw the others commentate. "If I ever see Facilier again, you can definitely bet your ass he will not go out without a very bad scar or worse" He growled, clenching his hands. He then listened to joe's offer and then snapped "Or we can talk to him for a bit and slowly help him step by step. Which is what I'm going to do" Despite protest from Morpheus and evident worry from joe, Snob responded "Ma-Ti's been alone for far too long. I am NOT going to let him feel so alone. I'm going to help him" He then slowly went over to the living room and saw ma-ti eat, despite his facial features showing signs of reluctance.

Snob went over and softly responded "Ma-ti... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad. If you didn't want me to help that's totally fine. I know you're your own guy, you're a really good kid ma-ti, don't let anyone tell you different" He sighed, nervous of what to do "Do you want me to leave? You're entitled to say yes"

[Ma-Ti]

Chester nodded and sighed.

"I thought Iheart, Michelangelo, and I had it bad being the army's punching bags. There are still times I just want to never leave my room. But you guys have been great. Especially Willie and 90's Kid. The best friends I ever had." said Chester.

He paused listening to Joe's suggestion.

"I think that would be good for him. He needs to spend time with Spirit and you. But also Critic, Iheart, and Spoony. I know the four of them and you can help him the most. If he just lets you." said Chester.

XXXX

Willie looked concerned at Chester spoke. But grinned as Chester said he was doing better with help from everyone especially Willie and 90's Kid.

"I'm glad I could help you my friend." said Willie.

He nodded glad everyone agreed with him.

"Yes. Spirit would be a good start. He spent a lot of time with him while Ma-Ti was a horse. I just hope Snob doesn't make things worse. Ma-Ti's very fragile now. Anything could upset or him or set him off. Or worse trigger a painful memory." said Willie.

He paused looking sad.

"And we attacked him when he first showed up. After all he's been through he didn't need that." said Willie.

XXXX

Brock nodded. He was glad Chester was feeling better. Hearing Willie's words he also felt guilty.

"I acted before I was thinking. I'm the one who attacked. I can't believe I did that. He was my friend. I didn't know him that well but he's still a friend. And I attacked him." said Brock.

XXXX

Roses smiled glad Joe and Chester calmed down and weren't going to go attack Facilier's army.

"Spirit does sound like a good idea. Maybe we should take him there today. Spirit might be worried by now since Ma-Ti didn't return to the stables last night." said Rose.s

Roses frowned as Snob went after Ma-Ti. He wasn't going to listen to them. But she worried Willie might be right. What if Snob made it worse? Roses paused glancing at the Willie and Brock sympathetically.

"Hey. It's okay. You two thought he was an impostor and you reacted. If he had been an impostor and you hesitated you could have been hurt or killed. You just didn't know all the information. Ma-Ti's forgiven you and I don't hold it against either of you. So you two need to forgive yourselves and try to move on." said Rose.s

XXXX

Ma-Ti kept eating but then Snob showed up. He sighed as Snob apologized. Ma-Ti guessed he had overreacted some but he had wanted to be left alone. He thought he'd made that clear. He paused at Snob's words and tear went down his cheek at the way Snob phrased that. He wasn't sure if he'd ever speak again. And to top that off his positive emotions were still in Malachite's hands and the voodoo doll in Facilier's. He was tired of writing. He was tired about all of this. He grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled down some words.

"I'm sorry I overreacted. I want to be normal but I never will be. I'll never speak again. Never be happy again. I'm a freak and I always will be."

He tossed it to him and turned bolting from the room taking his food outside as he headed towards the stables. Maybe talking to Spirit would make him feel better.

[Angry Joe]

(OCC: If you don't want Spirit let me know. But right now I'm just gonna have joe, morpheus and snob just in case for this post. Poor ma-ti though. I want him to be happy soon XC. So will IHeart's inevitable kiss not only get his voice back but his positive emotions too? Because that'd be awesome XD)

Joe nodded in all agreement with chester, Roses and willie "Being with me, Spoony, Critic and IHeart along with Spirit is a good start... And it looks like Ma-Ti has the same idea since he left to the direction of the stables. I can't blame him. Let's just allow ma-ti some space. He probably just needs to cool off. Let him go snob" Joe said as Snob was considering to go. He was relieved that snob actually listened to him this time. He then patted snob "It's ok snob. Although it wasn't such a good idea, you were doing your best to help. I understand. But let's let ma-ti the chance to cool off" He then turned to Willie and brock and agreed to everything roses said "She's right. It was a misunderstanding. You were doing your duty as soldiers to protect us. If anything, you were doing the right thing, just at the wrong time"
XXXXX

"It is a very bad shame. No one should suffer like this" Morpheus commented as Joe, chester, brock, roses, willie and snob all chatted. He then turned to snob who felt bad about this and he couldn't really say anything because of joe doing that. Morpheus sighed "The best way for comfort is for the people ma-ti trusts most to be there for him. So IHeart, Joe, Spoony, Critic and Spirit are probably the only ones that can reach out to him. That said, the fact he cares about them so much, his drive to protect them might force him to push them away. So if he refuses joe, IHeart, spoony, critic or even spirit, he might be only doing it to protect them from his inner demons" He then responded, rubbing his head "Forgive me if I am being, as you say, nosy but I wish to be helpful in some way"
XXXXX

Snob felt bad as Ma-Ti grabbed a piece in anger, wrote on it quickly before throwing it at him and bolting. Maybe leaving him alone was not such a bad idea. Snob picked up the paper and read exactly what it wrote. Snob sighed, rubbing his face. Great, now he made things worse by trying to make them better. He listened to the others discuss that probably only joe, spirit, critic, spoony or iheart were the only ones to be able to connect and that made snob feel so much worse. "You were right guys. I should've left him alone. Now I made things worse. I'm sorry. I just was trying to be helpful" Joe then defended him but snob just shrugged. Snob turned to the door and then heard joe demand to leave it be. And this time, Snob stepped back and took a seat, giving in to the "leaving someone alone" technique rather than try to force the problem to be solved.

[Pushing Up Roses]

]Chester listened to Willie and Brock feeling guilty and sighed.

"Don't feel bad you guys. It was just an accident really. The only ones who are really to blame is Facilier, and that Malachite guy. That Malachite guy must have had it in for him ever since he killed him last time. We should have seen the signs. I still have nightmares from being there. And they just beat me. Whatever they did to him was worse. I think Willie was right. They broke his spirit somehow." said Chester.

He didn't add that his spirit had nearly been broken as well but thanks to his friends especially 90's Kid and Willie he was getting better. But he knew how Ma-Ti felt. He just hoped they could help him. He jumped at Willie's outburst making a mental note not to piss his giant friend off anytime soon.

"It's ok Willie. We all get mad sometimes." said Chester.

XXXX

Willie relaxed a little as everyone was telling them it wasn't their fault. Sure Brock had done more than him but he still felt bad. When Chester said the only one to blame was Facilier and Malachite he nodded.

"I'm tempted to go there right now grow giant and smash them all to pieces. But I guess they'd have a way to stop me." said Willie.

He clenched his fists in anger slamming his fist into the counter as it cracked splitting in two. He suddenly blushed at his outburst seeing everyone jump as well.

"Sorry. That did feel good though." said Willie.

He fixed the counter easily with his magic but it didn't stop the problem of helping Ma-Ti or making sure Facilier's army paid.

XXXX

Brock sighed.

"Thanks guys. I really do appreciate it. It was just an unwinnable situation I guess." said Brock.

He jumped in surprise as Willie broke the counter. He seemed embarrased at losing his temper and soon fixed the counter. Brock grinned.

"Chester's right. Although you might want to take your anger out on the training course and not the house from now on." said Brock.

XXXX

Roses listened glad the situation was resolved with Willie and Brock who seemed to accept it was just an accident. Although Willie's anger and destroying the counter surprised her as she jumped back. She chuckled.

"Sorry. It just surprised us. Sometimes I forget how strong you are. You could probably give Hulk or Thor a run for their money. But the guys are right. It's okay to get mad but take it out on the training course or our enemies." said Roses.

She turned to Snob and smiled.

"I know you were trying to help Snob but Ma-Ti's been through too much since this war began. He was just starting to be happy again. And then Iheart was taken. And then he was turned into a horse and who knows what those bastards did to him. As much as I wish we could go teach them a lesson going in unprepared we could end up dead. Or changed like Ma-Ti." said Roses.

She turned to Morpheus and paused at his suggestions.

"Perhaps you're right. Maybe we should have him talk with Splinter or Mrs. Potts. They seem to be like the army's counselors. They certainly don't judge and Ma-Ti doesn't really know either of them that well so maybe it'd be easier to talk to them. I know it's easier for me when I talked about what happened with Holli." said Roses.

XXXX

Ma-Ti arrived at the stables and knocked on the door. He wasn't sure if Spirit was asleep and he didn't want to disturb his friend either.

"Spirit? Are you awake?" asked Ma-Ti.