Star Darlings; The Soldier

Myrmidons All Go Through This?

"Dream. DREAM!" Virtue said as she shook the fully unconscious Dream. "WAKE UP."

He didn't respond. Virtue shook him more before he collapsed on the bed, a snore audible from where Virtue was. "Dream?" she places a hand on his head, concerned. "Are you still there? Why are you-"

"What's going on?" Piper's voice asked from outside. "Why are you- why is there a knocked out Myrmidon in your room? Is that Dream? Is he ok?"

"I just found him spasming in the room, I came over to him and pulled off my visor, and he just went unconscious." Virtue said.

Dream shuddered in his sleep. "Ow. Where am I?"

"Dream!" Virtue said. "Are you alright? Are you ok?"

"Yeah... I don't know what just happened... I was walking... then I'm here." He shook his head. "I don't know what's going on..."

Virtue narrowed her eyes. She popped up her visor. "Is he alright?" Piper asked.

"He doesn't remember what happened... I think I've had blackouts before; I'm just doing my thing and suddenly I'll end up in my room, unconscious."

"Maybe a side effect of something?" Piper proposed.

"I don't know... I think all of us have had this little blackout before except Dream." Virtue said. "Something triggered it."

"So it's normal for Myrmidons to randomly blackout and forget whatever they saw for the last few hours?" Piper asked incredulously. "That's gotta be messed up..."

"Wait. Forget." Virtue repeated. "Forget... hmm..."

"What?" Piper asked.

"Nothing. We'll be fine; he may take a night to recover, but he'll be ok." Virtue said. "We've all gone through this; it was only a matter of time."

"You make it sound like it's puberty: 'something we'll all go through when we grow up'" Piper said, a small smile creeping on her face.

"I'm really starting to not like you." Virtue said.

Dream closed his eyes. Woman. He thought. Virtue and Piper turned to him. "I said that out loud didn't I?" He asked. "Well... can you argue with me?"

While Virtue was teaching him how rude it was to say what he said, Piper walked out of the room.

So Myrmidons randomly forget everything... maybe that's how they wipe their memories; they don't do it in one instant; they wipe them as they resurface because they know that they will remember something. Piper thought. Maybe they'd make their soldiers ingest something that'll do routined memory wipes... there are so many possibilities...

Piper opened the door to her room; before putting on a sleep mask and tucked herself to bed.

Colin took a sip of his ginger ale, something he'd become addicted to ever since his wish mission. He was pulling another all-nighter, so he thought he might as well draw some strategic plans for the next battle.

He rubbed his eyes. Over the 5 years of nothing but war, fighting, and walking amongst soldiers and people under his command, his mental health deteriorated. He knew that, and he did try to open up to others, but besides Nicholas, he and his fellow SD have... fallen apart. Besides the pairings, the relationship between everyone else slowly started fizzling out. They weren't as close as they used to be, despite Nicholas' attempts for them to be the big happy family they once were.

Then Nicholas was presumed dead. A month without him and everyone all felt like they were punched in the gut. They never realized it, but Nicholas was the glue that kept them together. The thing that made them a family.

Now, however, a spark of hope is visible in everyone's eyes, knowing that Nicholas is still alive.

Colin didn't realize the tear falling on his face until it fell down his chin. He wiped his eyes with a tissue, but another tear replaced its place. Without even knowing it, he was now full-on crying.

"Calm down Colin. You'll be fine." He said to himself. "You'll be fine... it's alright."

Suddenly, his door room opened to reveal Diana, curiosity and concern edged on her face. "Colin. Are you- oh my..."

"What are you doing here?" Colin asked, quickly wiping away his tears. "You should be asleep."

"I'm a teenager whose melatonin only activates at 11," Diana said. "So I took a walk and heard you... crying."

"It's nothing. Go to sleep." Colin said.

"It's obviously something if you're crying your heart out while constantly saying you'll be fine," Diana said. "Come on. You can tell me."

"I just- I just miss your uncle. Nicholas." Colin admitted. "I know he's still alive but..."

Diana's eyes softened, something Colin never expected the reckless and naive Starling to do. "I know. I miss him too."

"It's not just that," Colin said. "It's that I feel everyone drifting away. Nothing's the same anymore; sometimes I wish I can go back to when I was still in Starling Prep."

"But isn't that just life?" Diana asked. "Nothing lasts forever; not even friendship as tight as the Star Darlings. One day you're all destined to change and forget. It's normal to feel that way."

Colin didn't respond, instead of looking away. "It's late now. Go to sleep."

"Ugh," Diana grumbled. "For the last time, I'm not-"

"Or else I'm not letting you on the battlefield," Colin said. "Forever."

Reluctantly, Diana slipped out the door, closing the doorway with a visible attitude.

Open up to people instead of staying away and pushing them away. Nicholas' voice said in the back of his mind.

I guess I owe her an apology. Colin thought.