Queen's Island

10. Dream.

They were standing together, the world crumbling around them. He looked into her face with trembling arms and tears in his unseen eyes.

"You...you don't have to do this." he whispered.
"I must. it's to keep you and everyone else alive." she replied.
"I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYONE ELSE NOW! Only you..." he cried.

She handed him a bundle of blankets. In it, was a child.

"Go." she said.
"I won't! I'll die with you!"
"GO!"
She turned her back to face the giant beast of light, its hands smashing the earth, its wings enclosing the world.

He flew swiftly over the breaking ground with the child in his arms, looking back to see two beams of light battle against eachother and then,

Everything went dark.
--

Dreamer awoke in a cold sweat and took laboured breaths. He looked down at his nervous, shaking hands and felt his quickened heartbeat.
He took a deep breath and looked into the corner to see Pon, sprawled out across their mattress,  snoring.

He stood up, holding his head and stumbled to his small kitchen to make a cup of tea. He looked out the window and gazed as the sky faded from pink to yellow, and the vast fields reaching to the horizon.
He could hear Pon's thumping footsteps coming towards him.

"Good morning, Big dude." mumbled Pon. They took a bucket of water that was sitting outside in the back and splashed themselves.
"Stay outside while you're still wet, Pon." Dreamer said.

"Yep, okay old man." Pon replied.  "Sleep well?"

"..Alright."
"Had that dream again?"
"Yea.."

"You should get some help about that, Dreamer."
"No, no. It's fine. I'm old anyways, I don't need any of those fancy mental doctors or whatever they are.." Dreamer explained.

"Don't think you could get one anyway. King Dumbass is spending way more of the budget on military than health." Pon said.

Dreamer put down his cup. "You're joking."
"I wish I was." Pon replied.

A bang at the door stopped the conversation abruptly.
"Um... I uh.. have to go to Queen's Island and um.. I can't let, uh, anyone see me go there. Can you.. can you get that, Pon?" Dreamer said in a low voice.

Hm. An obivous lie. Dreamer was always bad at lying.
"I know you need to go to whatever you're doing up there but why can't you get the door?" Pon said.

"Well..um.." Dreamer once again lowered his voice. "No one in town knows I'm alive, actually... Except for a few friends like Ave and her friend Boxy I guess. I'm actually labeled missing.."
"WHAT?"

The banging on the door grew louder.
"So, uh.. yeah. See you this evening, small soul." Dreamer said, and he swooped out the back door.

Small soul. He's still using that nickname for me? When Dreamer was safely out of view, Pon opened the front door.

There, at the doorway, stood a Phantom Listener. Pon stood their ground. Is it going to say something?
Suddenly, Pon felt a chill flow through them, and a sharp pain struck through their head. They heard an almost audible whisper in their ear.

"Where is.... Dreamer... angel.."
Pon looked back up at the Phantom. It was taller than them. It had not moved at all.
Pon guessed this was how they spoke, and the whisper started again.

"Where is Dreamer." it repeated.
"Who is.. uh.. Dreamer?"
"...He is not here?" the tiny voice went up in pitch.
"Uh yea.. Isn't he like, dead or something?" Pon said.

"...Good day." whispered the Phantom, and vanished in a poof of black smoke.
Pon closed the door and leaned on it.
"Ohhhh gosh.." they huffed and went back to their mattress to take a nap.
--
Pon woke up some time later, and looked around them. They were in a dungeon cell.