" My gaze rested on the sleek alarm clock on the floor. Out of instinct, I reached down to pick it up... only to realise that my right hand was on fire.
"WHAT THE FU-?!" I screeched, stumbling backwards before running around in circles, waving my ha...
(Song: Tomorrow We Fight - Syrcina, ft. Tommee Profitt)
《 Tia's POV 》
This time there was shattered glass scattered along the ash-covered ground, creating what looked like a trail up to the familiar, burning building. I sat down to watch the collapse of the temple-like structure for what felt like the billionth time.
This same dream kept haunting my subconscious almost every night as I drifted off the sleep. The same destruction and fire. Over and over and over again. Non-stop. It always seemed to end with the ash condensing around me, followed by me jerking awake. It was getting rather frustrating, to be perfectly honest.
But this time, I could tell it was different. Tonight was the first night there had been any change to the scene. This glass. But from where exactly. Frowning, I let my dream vision roam over my surroundings. As far as I could tell, no building or structure here would have incorporated glass as part of its design.
Now that I looked, there was another strange thing... The path of glass seemed to create a split in the smoke. Not a single finger of flame nor smoke obscured the trail of broken glass shards. I studied the pathway of sparkling shards critically, then jumped to my feet.
I wandered down the path carefully, making sure to avoid accidentally sticking my head into a wall of smoke or something. After a hundred metres or so, the trail ended, and I could see why. A large chunk of ground had caved in, leaving a gaping chasm in its wake. It was so large, in fact, that I couldn't see the bottom.
"Does Lucifer want to devour my soul?" I asked irritably. At this point I was just sick of seeing the destruction of a city I didn't even know, but still feeling devastated about it whenever I woke up again, "Is there a reason for these recurring Satan visions?"
It didn't surprise me that I could speak in these dreams now. I had found out I could move around and speak about two weeks ago, after getting bored of daydreaming (daydreaming... within a nightmare... I tossed logic out the window a long time ago). What DID surprise me, however, was that this time, a voice actually responded.
"There is a reason for everything."
Cue me nearly shitting my dream pants.
"WHO THE ACTUAL FU-," I said loudly (after cussing so badly, even Rocket Raccoon would have been mortified if he heard me).
The smoke and ash began to swirl with increased rigour, cutting off my view of the tumbling city, the shattered glass, and the gaping chasm.
"There is a reason for everything," The voice repeated. I couldn't tell where it was coming from. Of course, it was rather hard to see where anything was with an opaque wall of smoke right in front of my face.
"Where are you? Who are you? Why are you here?" I shouted, but immediately regret my decision to open my mouth as ash filled my senses. Freaking hell.
There was no reply. The edges of my dream vision began to fade away.
"Who are you?!" I spluttered once more.
The was a moment of silence, then the voice answered softly, "Temi."
"What- like in Undertale?"
"What in all the Gods is 'Undertale'?"
Turning in a full circle once more, I grimaced, "Alright. Temi, what is this place?"
"There is a reason for everything..." The voice, Temi, said for the third time, this time sounding notably sadder than the first two times it had spoke.
And just like that, I was lying spread-eagled on the floor of the spare bedroom Sonia and I had been sharing, staring at the blue-painted ceiling in total confusion.
(A/N: Did anyone pick up on the subtle IW reference in this opening part? ;3)
~
"It's been wonderful having some helping hands around the house, thank you," Laura pulled Sonia, Harley and I into an affectionate embrace.
"Oh, thank you for letting us stay here!" Sonia giggled as Lila launched herself into the group hug, too. We were all gathered in the yard, just beside the small pile of logs, exchanging farewells.
"You'll come back, right?" Cooper puffed out his cheeks.
"Well, can't make any promises..." I told him gently, "But we'll try!"
His face broke into a wide smile. In his arms, the traitor youngster Nathaniel squirmed a little and regarded me through bright eyes. I gently 'booped' him on the nose, which caused him to smile widely. Harley crouched down in front of the two older kids.
"Keep building those Lego sets for us, 'kay?" He joked. Lila fist-pumped eagerly.
"Of course!" She cheered, "We're half-way through building Helm's Deep!"
"Say hi to the others from me," Clint said quietly, smiling fondly at his children, "I miss 'em all."
"They're all split up after the 'civil war' we all had in Leipzig," I reminded him, "I'm not sure if I could fulfil your request..."
"You can teleport anywhere," He countered, "Your argument is invalid."
"Yeah, yeah. I will," I rolled my eyes playfully, "Thanks again for letting us crash here."
"Well, you three got chores done, so I don't particularly mind..." Clint shrugged nonchalantly, "As long as you lot don't go flapping your gums about this place. It is supposed to be a safe house, after all."
"We won't, we promise!" Sonia smiled reassuringly at the sandy-haired archer. Harley had turned to watch the darkening sky. The last golden rays of sunlight were clawing at the velvety night sky, already speckled with a myriad of stars and planets. You wouldn't be able to get this spectacular view in the city... I thought wondrously.
"It should be all clear for us to head off now, then..." Harley sighed. We turned to face the Barton family once more, "Thank you so much, you guys were amazing."
"I hope we see you again some day!" Sonia added enthusiastically, draping my fire-proof coat around herself and Harley.
"See you 'round!" I laughed, waving to them as I took a hold of my companions. Amber flames roared up around us. I heard Cooper whoop in excitement at the sight of the fire.
Abruptly, the noise was cut-off, replaced with the sounds of the New York night life. The sizzle of street vendors. The overbearing buzz of chatter. Loud music blasting from different outlets. The smell of a thousand different foods.
"We're back," Sonia smiled softly.
-
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
^ I tried to imagine what Tia would look like as a villain :) Cue the a n g s t lol
