sweet talk

top a tower and sleep walk

chapter twenty-eight

The darkness washed over Mordecai as it has washed over him before. Eyes shooting open, he found himself somewhere familiar. Where, he wasn't sure. But gazing upwards, and then around, he almost immediately recognized his surroundings. Words raced through his mind.

He was at the pond. It was nighttime, and it was oh, so dark. The blue Jay clutched his pounding heart, and he crept forward despite the alarms ringing in his head.

He peered over the edge and into the shadowy abyss.

"Uhh... hello?" He called out. And then, the surface of the pond began to bubble, and a figure emerged from the darkness. A shrill laugh sounded in his ears, and Mordecai screamed, stumbling away from the demon appearing before him.

He tried to get away, but a hand grabbed his throat and pulled him forward until he and the demon were eye to eye. The creature was terrifying in the dark, but clear as day. His eyes were red, red orbs that glinted nefariously. He leaned forward, and opened his mouth, a mouth, and words flowed from them.

"You shall see your end."

Mordecai struggled beneath the hand, until finally he felt the grip loosen, and he slipped from the demon's hand. He was falling downwards, towards the earth, and he hit the dark ground with a grunt. Something sharp and painful aroused in his chest, and he screamed again. When would it end? When would he wake up?

Opening his eyes, Mordecai found himself somewhere else, somewhere familiar. He was in the backyard of his childhood home, staring up at the blue sky. Grass tickled beneath his form, feeling realer than ever for being a dream. He sat upright, and found himself face to face with Rigby. His best friend.

"You can't save me," the small raccoon said, and his eyes were firm. So damn firm. It scared Mordecai, almost.

"Dude. I'm going to save-" his voice was cut off, as he felt something gurgling in the back of his throat, rising up. Thicker than liquid, but it burned just the same. He cried out, and black streamed through his vision, pulsing. Rigby didn't move. Didn't think twice to reach over and help.

He just stared.

---

Mordecai gasped, and sat up quickly, reaching for his throat.

"Dude! Are you okay?! You were screaming! A lot!" Rigby said, but it came out more as a snap than anything else. The blue jay looked at his friend, blinking repeatedly as if taking in the dark surroundings. Shakily, he lowered his hand, and drew his legs over the edge of the bed. Rigby backed away, giving him space.

"Fine," Mordecai swallowed, and he hastily calmed his beating heart. Then he looked at Rigby again. "Is it time?"

The raccoon softened some, and he nodded, swallowing. Mordecai winced as he saw the fear laced in his friend/lover's eyes, and he reached out a hand to the other, gently placing it on the smaller one's cheek.

He's not going to betray me. He never would. I'm going to save him.

Rigby kept his gaze on Mordecai's, and he took a breath, stepping away from the other. "Do we have our supplies?" He asked, and Mordecai knew he was changing the subject. The blue avian didn't mind, and he quickly looked away, blushing slightly.

"I think so."

They each walked from Mordecai's bed, and to the door, making sure to grab their backpacks from the floor. With a nod, Rigby led Mordecai out the door, and swiftly to the steps. They were quiet the whole way, and Mordecai felt off. This was very unlike them both, to be so serious. So solemn. So quiet.

He gulped. He prayed and hoped that this plan of theirs would work. That demon needed to go.

They continued to descend down the steps, light so they wouldn't wake Pops. The two came to the door and stepped out into the night, warm yet crisp, and Mordecai felt his dream tingling in the back of his head.

You shall see your end.

Fear trickled along his spine, and he forced himself to stop. His eyes strayed downwards, and Rigby stopped as well, waiting for him. They were quiet, still.

Until finally, Mordecai spoke. "Dude... what if this doesn't work?" He asked. And he looked up at the other. "This demon seems pretty hecking strong. What if we don't do the right thing, or mess up and..." his voice trailed away, but judging by Rigby's solemn, fierce expression, the raccoon guessed what he was going to say.

The small mammal walked up to him. "We won't. I'm pretty confident in us, Mordecai. All we need to do is trust each other," Rigby murmured, and he looked closely at Mordecai for a moment. This made the bird nervous. "You do trust me, right?"

Mordecai mulled this over. He trusted Rigby, but only in certain situations. He wouldn't say he put all of his trust in the reckless, irresponsible raccoon. But looking at him, the other looked like he knew what he was doing. And when Rigby knew what he was doing, he really did know. His words were never truer in those times.

The bird swallowed. "I do trust you," he said, firmly.

"Then we won't fail," Rigby said. And they each shared a small smile.

The sky was darker than ever, and the night was quiet as they turned to continue up the slope. Crickets chirped, and frogs croaked. Clouds rolled swiftly above their heads, and Mordecai suddenly felt very dizzy. He would soon see the demon from his dream.

Rigby stopped when they came to the hill, and Mordecai noticed it was even darker yonder near the pond. He shifted uncomfortably, and carefully pulled his bag closer to him. He was, quite frankly, frightened of what would come.

Rigby seemed the same. He trembled violently in front of him, and he was more quiet than usual. Mordecai, however, could tell he was lost in thought. And he wondered what the other was thinking.

"Hey, man?" Rigby said, and turned, suddenly, jarring them both from their distant thoughts. "If we don't make it through this, I..." he stopped, before starting again, "I love you."

Mordecai frowned. "Don't say that. You said you were confident in us!" He exclaimed, and his voice seemed to rise a few octaves out of panic.

"Well, yeah, but I was only saying that to make the voices stop talking to me! And to make you feel better of course," Rigby said, voice wavering some, "Now I'm just kinda scared. I don't wanna die!"

Mordecai sighed, loudly, but that, too came out shakily. Everything seemed distorted, and he wasn't sure if that was the demon's work or just his own fear. He looked at Rigby, taking deep breaths, hoping he wouldn't faint through all of this. Then he finally calmed down. And a sudden spark of determination fluttered inside, and he stepped closer to Rigby, crouching down in front of the other.

"Look. During this whole battle thing, you will not look at the demon, okay? Look at me. We're going to sweet talk this demon into fucking hell." His voice was low.

At first, Rigby glowered with anger, with exasperation, but then he seemed to soften. And then, he smirked, and Mordecai knew his dumb words were encouraging to him.

And they smiled again, and both turned to the hill. It seemed steeper than Mordecai last remembered, climbing upward into the sky, before stopping, quiet and gentle at the top. But evil still lingered in the air.

"Dude?" Mordecai said.

Rigby looked up at him.

"I love you too."

Rigby laughed, half-heartedly. And then they ascended up the slope of the hill.