No. Not this time.

I'm not going to let that clock get the better of me this time.

I had called Elbrook for an emergency session. It had been some time since I had this vivid dream of my uncle, and he knew best what it meant when I was seeing him again. There was a lot of work we put in together to help me repress the memory of the man, and now that it has resurfaced, I felt it best to work on those techniques again. So here I was, spilling my guts over the events of the dream; the visceral detail of each of The Many Faces' deaths, my encounter with Anton, and his violent response to my protests, causing me to awaken as a result.

Elbrook...remained silent through all of this. No notes were being written. Nothing was being referenced. He simply listened, nodding in understanding as I spoke. There were several minutes of hanging silence when I finished talking. His expression was of a stone; unmoving, seemingly uncaring, but when I looked into his eyes, I could see the gears moving inside. He was simply being analytical as opposed to caring, one of the many reasons why I continued to see him. There were times I needed compassion, and other times, like now, where I needed pure logic. "So...after all this time, your uncle has resurfaced in your dreams. And I had thought we had made great progress here," he commented.

I shook my head. "I thought so too."

"It is not an unexpected result, however," Elbrook continued. "He did take over a great portion of your life without your knowledge. It is understandable that your unconscious mind would return to thinking of him."

"That is true," I replied. "But I really thought we had wiped him out completely. I never wanted to think of him again...and the things he did to me and my mother."

Elbrook clicked his tongue in disagreement. "Well, again, with how much he had affected you, it is no wonder that thoughts of him would resurface. The question is what has caused this resurgence." He retrieved his notes from the coffee table in front of him and began to flip through a number of pages. "When we began that process, it seemed like it was only moments of great stress that brought back this...demon...to your dreams. Is there anything causing you stress now?"

"You mean aside from just my life?"

His expression soured. "Being flippant with me will not help you recover from this. You know this, and yet you antagonize."

I hung my head. "Sorry doc. I'm just tired of rehashing old shit."

"It is no trouble. It is what I am here for, after all." I looked up at Elbrook, his stony expression shifting to a mild smile. "I am glad you came to talk to me about this, Dionysus. What you went through was a troubling ordeal, and this experience was simply not going to go away. Since we have experienced this before, we should focus again on repressing that memory...or if you prefer, we can address it properly at a later time."

"What would you recommend, doc?"

Elbrook sighed, thinking of how to present the options. "Well, both have their merits. Repression would be the quickest, as we have established techniques together that helped in sealing away those memories. But much like your dream from a few days ago, the possibility of those thoughts returning will still remain. On the other hand, reconciling these experiences will make accepting them easier, and thus prevent this demon from returning again. Of course, the drawback here is based on your willingness to tell the complete truth."

"And this on top of dealing with Truman Syndrome, right?" I inquired.

"This would be a separate treatment plan, and based on my analysis of you, your Syndrome does not seem to be interfering with your life in as meaningful of a way as this dream has."

"Meaning what, exactly?"

"Meaning that we are at a great point in our therapy together. It means we can prioritize immediate issues while still working on lingering problems. Despite how you feel about all these thoughts and emotions, you have to admit that this would be a good problem to have."

It was true, to an extent; much as I would like to have these voices gone, dealing with past trauma did seem to be a more immediate concern. Especially considering I thought we had dealt with this to begin with. Besides, it would be good to let some old ghosts go to rest. "I think...I think I might be ready to deal with this. My uncle has affected me for this long, and I'm sick of it. Lets nip this in the bud once and for all."

"And indeed we shall," Elbrook said. "...Another time. I'm afraid this session is up, and I do have another appointment after you." Elbrook stood, gesturing toward the door. "I will call to make arrangements, as always."

"Sure thing," I replied, also standing up. "I appreciate you seeing me on such short notice."

"I do charge extra for non-emergency sessions," Elbrook joked, "So really, you are doing both of us a favor. Until next time."

Giving him a polite wave, I left his office. I turned to see a stout-looking man sitting in a chair by Elbrook's door. I gave a polite nod and walked down the stairs and out of the building. The weather outside was nice; a bit overcast but with rays of sunshine poking through. My thoughts drifted to my uncle, knowing he was still serving his sentence...hopefully. My mind kept turning to the moment in the dream where he swung the bat down on me. The manic look in his eyes. The sadistic laughter in his voice. It was the image of a man who would willingly sacrifice his own family if it meant he could get ahead in life. He was exactly the kind of person I vowed I would never turn into. And if I ever saw the sick son of a bitch again-

My dark thoughts were interrupted by a buzzing in my pocket. I dug out my phone and hit answer, not bothering to see who was calling. "Yes, hello?"

"Hey, Theo here. Got a minute?"

"Just about. What can I do for you?"

"You know, I could call back later."

I sighed loudly. "Look man, you put us through hell already. I'm here, I've got the time."

I could hear Theo chuckle on the other end of the line. "Right, I'm sorry Dio. Look, we got the paperwork back on your boys and everything checks out. Looks like you're getting The Many Faces to actually happen. They'll get contracts as we agreed to. If you want, I can have HR send those over now, or if you want to bring them to Warfare and handle it at the show, we can make arrangements for that as well."

A weight had been lifted off my shoulders. The Many Faces were getting the green light. They could come with me on the road, if they wanted to. Even back me up, if the need ever came.

That was when a spark of inspiration hit me.

"...Say Theo, you still need my stipulation from me, yes?"

"I...still do, yes, but what does that have to do with the guys?"

"Everything. I think its high time The Many Faces make their debut."