Heroes of Dreamland Rewritten, Book 2: Stars in Far Places

Chapter 38

Meta | メタ

There is a quiet rattling sound, like a bubbling pot on a stove with a metal lid on it. The air smells savory. It's not very bright, here. My left paw hurts, and I am warm, far too warm.

These are the things I first become aware when my consciousness finally begins to return.

Giving a groan, I try to roll over, only for my entire body to respond in pain, especially my one paw. Unable to help myself, I let out a quick yelp of combined surprise and discomfort. There's a bit of a clattering sound from the same direction as the bubbling pot sounds, followed by the loudness and then utter silence of someone holding their breath.

I force my eyes open, even though they're rather heavy still. The only light I can see comes from the small kitchen cabinet with a hot plate on it running along one wall of the tight space. In front of the hot plate stands Blossom, who has turned to face me in the instant since I opened my eyes.

I give her a tiny smile. "Hi."

Her response surprises me a bit, as she bursts into relieved tears. "Oh, Meta, you're awake. It's been three days since—I was getting so worried, especially since your fever started going up so high at first, and then I was so scared that I'd made it worse—"

"Hey, calm down; I'm fine," I try to soothe her as I try to sit up using my good paw, only to grunt in pain again as my entire body protests against the movement. I feel so heavy all over. "Well, not fine, per se, but alive, at least."

"Thank the Star Power," she hiccups as she tries to calm down from her initial outburst. "I'm sorry; the past few days have just been so scary."

"Why's it so dark in here?" I question as she turns off the hot plate and comes to stand next to me.

Ignoring me at first, she pops off her glove so her paw is bare and gently places it on my forehead. "Oh, good, you're so much cooler now... You started sweating last night, so I had hoped the fever would break, but your skin stayed so hot for so long..." After a moment of silence, she adds, "It's so good to see your real eyes, again; after seeing you with your mask on, I was scared Nightmare had somehow turned the beautiful white to yellow forever..."

I take her paw in my unhurt paw (my gloves are gone, it seems) and hold it to my cheek drowsily for a moment. "Why's it so dark? What's going on? Why am I so sick?"

She sighs heavily and turns away, taking her paw with her as she puts her glove back on. "You remember the Mariel, right?"

I nod once, and then immediately regret the motion as it makes the room lurch and spin a bit. "Yeah, I remember that. We killed it, and then as you opened the door, I passed out. That's the last thing I remember."

She nods slowly, sitting down on the floor with her back to the couch that I'm lying on. It's made of a rough material. There's only a thin bedsheet laid over the top of me, but it still feels so uncomfortably hot in here. "That's the last time you were conscious, so it makes sense." She buries her face in her gloves before continuing to speak.

"The Mariel we blew up did end up raining down all over the city, like we thought it would, but it wouldn't have been so bad, except Nightmare sent in several more stealth ships that rained ground-up Mariel powder all over the city. Thankfully, it was still the middle of the night, and the trains had stopped running, so everyone was inside, but..." She takes a deep breath. "Everyone's on orders to stay inside for a week, so three more days, yet. Thankfully most people have been smart enough to stock up on food and water ahead of time given the circumstances, and thankfully the running water's alright as long as you filter and then boil it first, but... Well, it's so hot in here because it's Midsummer in the big city and I've got all the windows and the door blocked off with blankets and curtains, and the vents are all clogged up with them, too. The radio said to do that wherever possible, to ensure no Mariel dust made it inside."