Little Dreams and Hollow Nightmares

Ph3 Ch2: Lost Children

Mono called for the knight, realizing it was gone. Luckily, it ran up to him very quickly. Mono continued to lead the way, shinning his light in all directions. As he walked, he noticed the knight looked confused. Did it see something? Curious, Mono found a place to stop,and talked to the knight.

"Hey, is everything okay?" He asked.

The knight nodded.

"Okay. You know you can tell me anything if it's bothering you. I might be able to help."

The knight nodded again, and then they both continued. Along the way, there were a few infected bugs that they had to defeat, but these two were used to fighting. These bugs took no effort to crush. They continued on, searching, and searching. Mono looked everywhere for the vibrant color of Six's yellow raincoat, but he couldn't see it. As he walked, he began to think of places Six would like to be.

Okay, she likes food, so she could be up with all those fat things, taking their food, but she's also a survivalist, so going up there would be too dangerous for her liking. He thought. She also really likes music boxes, so maybe someplace with that? Well, she wouldn't be anywhere around here, that's for sure.

Mono stopped thinking, and started to look for the potential places he thought about. As he shined his light around, he noticed a small crack, with light coming through. The light wasn't the same as the light from the infection, it seemed like it was light from a fire. A red fire to be exact. He deduced that going there wouldn't be too dangerous, and that it seemed like a good place to rest.

He and the knight made their way to the crack in the wall, and entered. Inside, there was a group of children, all surrounding a red fire. Once he and his friend entered, the children looked at them.

"You don't belong here," one of them said. "Both if you don't belong in a place like this."

"Why are you here?" Another kid asked.

"Well, we came here looking for my friend," Mono explained.

"So you remember," a kid said.

"Huh?"

"This place clouds your memories, making you forget," they explained. "Please, come sit down."

Mono and the knight walked over to the fire, and sat with the other children.

"This fire keeps us safe," one of them explained. "It protects us from dreams, from the light that lurks inside them."

"If you don't mind, could you explain who you are, and where you come from?" A different child asked.

"Um, okay," Mono replied. "I come from the Pale City. I don't remember much, but I do remember going to a school with other children a while ago. I don't know why I was going there, or where I came from, I just know what happened next," he said. "A fire suddenly started, and the doors suddenly shut. The sprinklers came on, and we thought everything was going to be okay. But then, someone... or something started taking children. I ran to hide, but it was coming after me. I knew if I tried to escape, it would find me, so I hid in a broken television. As the thing got closer, I thought for sure it would find me, but something happened. The rest is just static," Mono explained.

"What about your friend?" Asked one of the children. "What's their story?"

"Oh, uhhh, well you see, it can't really talk," Mono stuttered. "It doesn't really have a voice, it's just... it's almost like it's nothing."

Mono looked at the knight, and saw them staring blankly into the fire. They were not moving. Not even an inch.

"Sorry about that, I didn't mean it," Mono said, thinking he had offended the knight.

But the knight stayed still. It didn't nod, it didn't shake, it didn't show anything to say it forgave him or not. It didn't even show if it was upset.

"Um, are you okay?" Mono asked, now concerned.

He reached his hand towards the knight, and tapped them lightly. Once he did, black particles came from the knight's eyes. Followed by more, and more, and more. The black particles filled up the room, covering the light, and leaving everyone in complete darkness.

"No Cost to Great," a voice suddenly said.

Mono looked around for the voice, wondering where it came from, but he couldn't see anyone. The voice suddenly spoke again.

"No mind to think," the voice echoed.

A small light suddenly appeared in the darkness, and the voice spoke out.

"No will to break," it echoed.

"No voice to cry suffering," the voice echoed again.

"Born of God and Void," it said, the the small light grew.

The light suddenly filled a small area in the dark, and an image was visible. There was a bug with a crown-like shell, and a wearing a white robe, standing in front of a smaller bug, which looked much like the knight. As the crowned bug walked away, the smaller one followed, but stopped suddenly. The bug looked back to see the knight, trying to pull itself up onto where they were standing. The bug walked away however, leaving the knight. The light began to fade as the knight fell into the darkness, away from the bug. Then the light disappeared.

"You shall seal the blinding light that plagues their dreams," the voice echoed once more. "You are the Vessel. You are the Hollow Knight."

The darkness seeped back into the knight, and the red fire roared to lige again. Everyone was left in silence.

"Well, I guess that's one way to tell a story," Mono said.

"You both remind me of someone," said one of the children. "A girl, wearing a yellow raincoat to be exact."

"You saw Six?!?!" Mono yelled, standing up. "Do you know where she went? Please! I need to know!"

"I wouldn't chase after her if I were you," said a different child. "But if you must know, she left for the upper levels of this place."

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Mono said. "C'mon! Let's go!" He said to the knight.

The knight stood up, and left the room, ready to go.

"Wait!" A kid said.

Mono looked back at them.

"You're friend, they might be in trouble."

"I know, that's why I need to find her," Mono replied.

"No, the silent friend of yours."

Mono stopped dead in his tracks. "What?"

"If what it explained was true, then something could fill that void within it," the child explained. "And in a place like this, something very bad could happen to it."

Mono was silent. He didn't know how to react.

"I'll make sure it's safe then," he said as he left the room.

No matter what, he was not going to lose his friends. He stepped out into the Maw, even more determined to keep his friends safe.

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This week has been so hard for me.

School, practice, homework, chores, everything was so exhausting.

I just wanted to get a chapter out, because I know I won't be writing on the weekend.

Okay, I'm done.

See you next chapter!