Once Again

Chapter Three - Insomnia

Picture: Moonlight -- Daybreak by Dreamin-8-bit

Insomnia

Rogue knew something was wrong the moment he heard Echo scream. He grabbed his sword and ran as fast as he could to Tristam's blanket tent. "Noise! We have a problem!" he shouted. 

Noise was there in a split second, racing with him to the danger. They threw open the tent flap and immediately staggered back, the wave of heat surprising them. Rogue could barely see through the purple flames, but he finally saw the glimmer of Tristam's glasses and dove into the flames. He pulled his friend away from Echo, who was laying unconscious on the floor, and Noise carefully picked the boy up before he got hurt again. 

"Tris - wake up, Tristam!" Rogue shouted, shaking the leader of the Raiders. His flame filled eyes just stared back at him, full of fury. He fought back, the fire in his hands growing brighter, and Rogue threw him down onto his back, holding his sword out. "Noise, go get Fij. He can wake him up."

"But Echo - "

"He can wait. Go get Fij!"

Noise took off as Rogue tried to keep Tristam back, but the leader was slowly pushing forward. Tristam's hungry eyes darted back to Echo, laying unconscious behind him, and Rogue moved a little closer, determined to protect the boy they'd dragged into this mess. 

"Tristam, it's me," he said. "Wake up. I'm not the enemy. I'm your friend. Your second in command."

"I will watch you burn," Tristam whispered in his crackling voice. 

Fij came up behind Rogue and gently tapped him. "Ready?" he asked, and Rogue nodded. 

The healer carefully took Tristam's arm as the crazed Raider lunged for them, and a squeeze was all that was needed to wake him up. Tristam jolted again, stumbling as he tried to regain his balance. The fire extinguished quickly, vanishing and leaving only the burns and the slight smell of smoke behind.

"What ...?" Tristam whispered, trying to clear his throat. "What happened?" He glanced around and his expression fell. "I was asleep again, wasn't I?"

Rogue nodded. "We have to help you soon. If we don't get this taken care of ... "

"I'll burn the whole world," the other said. "That's what it wants, anyway. To watch the world burn."

"The fire keeps you alive, and yet that monster inside of you is using it to destroy the world. Perfect," Noise grumbled sarcastically.

Tristam glanced back behind Rogue and noticed Echo crumpled on the ground. At first, Rogue almost thought he wasn't breathing, but then he noticed the sight rise and fall of the  boy's chest and sighed in relief.

"I didn't kill him, did I?" Tristam asked softly.

Fij shook his head. "But you did do this." He gently turned Echo over and tipped his head up, revealing a massive, blistering burn on his neck. "A pretty bad second degree burn. I'll have to keep him for a couple days, just to make sure it's not worse than I thought."

"But he's alive?"

"Yes, he's alive."

"Good." Tristam turned back to Rogue.  "I need you to talk to me until the drowsiness wears off."

"That's not going to happen, Tristam. You know that. You're always exhausted," Rogue said gently.

"Friend to friend. Just a normal conversation. It'll be fine."

"Tristam, it's never fine. It never has been."

"Well, then do something!" Tristam shouted. "Do something to keep me awake so I don't kill the one person who can save me! It knows the kid's my only chance. If I fall asleep again, I'll go straight for him and there'll be NO STOPPING ME!"