Chapter Text
“Hey, Sharkie.”
Sharkboy’s fin was poking out of the water as he swam up to the spot where the water met the solid ground, peeking his head out. He grinned when Starboy laughed.
“You look so goofy when you do that.”
“Well, it’s fun. Maybe you should try it.”
Starboy frowned and looked down at his legs, submerged in the water. That was as far as he’d ever gone.
“You know I can’t swim. I was born up there.” He gazed up at the stars before looking back at the water. “I’ve never had to go down there, before.”
“So let me teach you,” Sharkboy said before jutting his thumb at Lavagirl, who was sitting further back, away from the water. “Even she knows how to swim.”
“Of course I do. Lava is a liquid–even if it is much thicker than water,” Lavagirl stated matter-of-factly.
“I fly, not swim. Or… I used to…” Starboy trailed off.
“You’ll be able to fly again one day, I just know it,” Lavagirl said reassuringly.
“I hope so.”
“Until then…” Sharkboy’s voice caught Starboy’s attention again, but before he could completely turn around, hands yanked him into the water by the legs. He shouted in panic as his body was submerged. His body lit up as he tried to use his powers, but he stopped when arms wrapped around his waist to stabilise him, and he clutched onto Sharkboy in response.
“See? Not so bad.” Sharkboy squinted. “If you could turn off the lights, though…”
“I’m gonna kill you,” Starboy hissed, but made no move to let go. His light dimmed enough to not be blinding.
Lavagirl shook her head. “Come on, Sharkie, don’t be mean.”
“I’m not,” he said before moving further into the water, speaking again when Starboy’s panic heightened. “Calm down, I won’t let you go.”
He grinned at Starboy, who glared back at him. It was obvious Sharkboy just wanted to hold him, and knowing Starboy wouldn’t fight him in this situation just had his grin stretching wider.
“Look, you move your feet like this.” Sharkboy gestured to his submerged lower-half.
Starboy tried to copy his movements. “This feels weird. Water is so weird. Space is much easier.”
“You’ll get used to it.” Sharkboy moved to release his grip on Starboy, but Starboy locked his arms around Sharkboy’s neck, keeping him close. Starboy felt the rumbling in Sharkboy’s chest when he laughed. “Okay. Baby steps.”
Despite the scare of nearly drowning, Starboy enjoyed moments like these, where they just got to spend time together. But he could feel it… he was slowly disappearing. He was scared. He didn’t want to disappear. He didn’t want to leave Sharkboy or Lavagirl, but he also didn’t want to drag them down with this. What if they disappeared, too? He had to find answers, but for now…
He rested his head on Sharkboy’s shoulder, face buried in his neck. The water wasn’t as cold now. It was sort of comforting.
“I guess this isn’t so bad,” Starboy said, closing his eyes.
Sharkboy hummed happily as he held Starboy tightly. “Glad you could see my world.”
The next time Starboy opened his eyes. He found himself suspended in the air by a coil. He looked to his left, Sharkboy and Max were in the same position as him. Lavagirl was to his right, her lower body encased in ice. They were in the Dream Lair, which was a massive bed sitting high upon a cliff.
“You’re all awake now.”
He looked around for the booming voice.
“Welcome to the Dream Lair. I am the ruler of Planet Drool.”
“No you’re not. Max is!” Lavagirl said as she tried to free her body.
“Max may have dreamed it originally…” A shadow sped across the bed, towards the chair at the other end. There was now a boy sitting there. “But I made it much cooler. I am Minus.”
Max scoffed. “How’d you get so powerful?”
Minus pulled out Max’s dream journal. “I do a lot of reading.”
So that's why everything was going wrong. Minus was changing all the dreams in the dream journal. He snapped his fingers and a pool of eels rose up below Sharkboy, who struggled against the coil.
“Electric eels. Shocking, isn’t it, Sharkboy? Reminds me of the time that electrical storm blew apart your father’s laboratory.”
Sharkboy froze and looked at Minus suspiciously. “Where is my father?”
“Hmm, let’s see.” Minus scanned the pages of the book, pretending to read thoroughly, before smirking at Sharkboy. “Check the bottom of the ocean.”
Sharkboy’s composure faltered.
“Leave him alone!” Starboy barked.
Minus looked at him, then back at the book, before shaking his head. “Right. I forgot you two shared a bond. I could barely remember you existed. After all, Max couldn’t be bothered to write more than a page about you.”
Sharkboy growled.
“That’s not true!” Max said, but he didn’t sound so sure.
“Seems true to me. His powers have almost completely faded already, which means it probably won’t take much to finish him off.” Minus waved his hand and a shadowy mist appeared, snaking its way towards Starboy. Starboy tried to get his powers to work, but it was no use. His senses were muffled as the mist enveloped him, but he could feel it draining him of what little he had left. He heard faint shouts of protest. Suddenly the mist dissipated, and he took in quick, shallow breaths.
Sharkboy was glaring at Minus dangerously, but he was ignored. “Just a taste of what’s to come,” Minus said before walking past Starboy.
“Lavagirl. Once I figure out how to freeze the planet’s core, all of your powers will disappear.”
He strolled over to the left again.
“And last, but least, Max. You thought you could escape fear by running away to Dreamland, but fear exists in the one place you can never escape. Your mind.
“I will show you the true meaning of fear. When darkness falls, the rest of your dreams will be destroyed, and I will rule Planet Drool. Blah, blah, blah… threat, threat, threat…”
Minus walked back to the chair. “You must all leave now. I have some dreaming to do.” He snapped his fingers and the floor beneath them all disappeared. The coils released and they all fell through the mountain and landed on a cold, hard surface. A scraping noise echoed as metal bars formed overhead, locking them in a bird cage. The cage moved through an opening out to the side of the mountain, leaving them dangling high in the air.
Sharkboy was by Starboy’s side instantly. “What did he do?”
Starboy gripped the bars and sat himself up right. “Drained me.” He lifted his hand, which felt heavier than ever. “I think my powers are almost completely gone.”
Sharkboy gripped his shoulder. “We’ll fix this. I promise.”
Starboy offered him a small smile, trying to ignore the fact that the slight sparkle to his skin was gone now. The iridescent quality in his clothes had dulled as well.
Max frowned at them. “If I could just get my dream journal, I could turn everything back to the way it was.”
Lavagirl looked out across the dark landscape towards the volcano. It wasn’t as loud as it was before. “My fire’s dimming.” She wrapped her hand around the metal for a few seconds, before sighing. “I can’t melt the bars.”
Sharkboy tried ripping the bars off. It was straining his body. “My strength is failing me as well.”
“So, we’re stuck,” Starboy said. He felt empty, he just wanted to sleep. A faint singing started.
“Lalas,” Lavagirl said as they floated into the cage. Sharkboy growled and swatted them away, but they kept gravitating towards him.
“They like you,” Max said.
Starboy leaned his head against the bars. It was like being sung a lullaby, he could easily doze off. Lavagirl smiled and held out her hands to touch them.
“I don’t feel destructive right now.”
Sharkboy groaned and tried to block the noise from his ears. “I do! This song is driving me crazy. Your hearing isn’t as strong as mine!”
Starboy was fully awake now, sliding back across the floor, away from Sharkboy. Max quickly followed his movements.
“He’s gonna blow,” Starboy warned. But Lavagirl brightened at that, and she urged the Lalas to sing louder. Sharkboy started shaking and Starboy sat himself back against the bars behind Lavagirl. She and Max joined him. “Oh, here we go. Shark frenzy…”
Sharkboy let out a roar and all the Lalas dissipated immediately. He sunk his teeth into the closest available thing, which happened to be the bars. He broke them off with ease and ripped a giant opening with his hands. He stood there for a few seconds as his body calmed down, before he slowly turned around to look at them, a bar piece between his teeth.
“Nice job channeling your anger, Sharkie,” Lavagirl said.
Starboy smiled. “I guess a temper can be useful sometimes.”
Sharkboy spat out the bar piece and grinned sheepishly.
Max looked down at the ground, then back up at the Dream Lair. “I need to get up there, and get my dream journal.”
“Time for some more climbing,” Lavagirl said.
Starboy leaned his head against the bars and took a deep breath. He looked up again when someone nudged him.
“I’ll carry you,” Sharkboy said. “I promise I’ve calmed down.”
“I thought you were losing your strength?”
He flexed an arm. “Still strong enough to carry you.”
Starboy was drained, but not drained enough that he couldn’t move his body freely. Still, that climb was decently far. Risking it in his current state had no merit…
“Okay.”
Starboy wrapped his arms around Sharkboy’s neck, who lifted him up. He wrapped his legs around Sharkoy’s waist and clung to him from the back at an angle–so as not to crush his fin. Starboy imagined it would be uncomfortable, but Sharkboy didn’t seem to have any problems climbing up the outside of the cage and across the beam that connected them to the mountain. Lavagirl and Max were right beside them as they ascended up the rocky mountain side. They remained quiet once they reached the top, and spotted Minus asleep on the chair, dream journal on his chest. Max tiptoed over and snatched it before coming back. There was a large pole protruding from the spot where the cage was, going all the way down, so they used that for a quick way down to the ground.
They landed and Max quickly flipped open his journal. “First things first, transportation out of here.” Max skimmed the pages and smiled. “My dreams, oh I missed them.” He stopped on a page in surprise. “Lavagirl, you have a Lava Bike!”
“I do?” On queue, a lava-powered motorcycle appeared in front of her, she grinned. “I do!” She revved it. “This is so exciting.”
“Everything we need is right here in this… book…” They looked at Max in confusion as the happiness faded from his voice.
“What is it?” Sharkboy asked.
“Your father really is at the bottom of the ocean,” Max said solemnly.
Sharkboy looked at the ground with a deep expression. Starboy moved to grab his hand, but stopped. He didn’t know how to comfort him in this situation. The one thing Sharkboy had longed for since he was little, he could never have. Starboy looked to Lavagirl for help, but she looked just as lost for words as he did. Max spoke again, with new hope in his voice.
“He’s in a submarine… looking for you!”
Sharkboy looked up and quickly ran to Max’s side, reading the page.
“He’s over the hydrothermal vents, mid-Atlantic Ridge. Forty-two degrees west by fourteen north. Depth, eighteen-hundred meters. Near Snake Pit.” He looked up at Starboy with newfound determination. “I need to get back to Earth.”
Starboy smiled at him, then frowned as he locked eyes with Lavagirl. They both wanted answers as to who they were, but Starboy wasn’t sure he would find any.
“Max… is there really nothing else about me in there?” Starboy asked.
Max looked at him guiltily. “I could only find the one page, I don’t know why there isn’t more. I didn’t forget about you, but…”
Then why did he exist? What purpose did he serve in Max’s dreams? Was it just to accompany Sharkboy? Did Max really not have any other goal for him? Sharkboy looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it.
“Does it say anything about me?” Lavagirl asked hopefully.
Max flipped to a page and tilted his head in confusion. “I’m not… sure what this is.”
Lavagirl quickly bounded over. “I can figure it out! Maybe there’s even a section on my true identity.” She grabbed the journal from Max’s hands before Sharkboy or Starboy could shout at her to stop, and the journal went up in flames. She gasped as the smouldering remains fell to the floor.
“What have I done?”
“That’s terrific, LG,” Sharkboy said. Starboy smacked his arm angrily. Lavagirl clenched her fists and Max tried to comfort her.
“It’s… it’s okay, Lavagirl. It was an accident…”
Her hair flared up and she spun around. “Why did you make me out of lava, why Max?!”
Starboy stopped Max as she stormed off. “Let her cool down. She needs to blow off steam.” But Max ignored him and walked towards Lavagirl, who had sat down.
“I know I can be good, I can feel it. But everything I touch, I destroy.” She looked at Max with a pained expression. “Why’d you make me like that? I have more potential.”
“I’m sure you do,” Max said.
She shook her head and stood up, facing the other two. “And why’d you make us a team? We’re nothing alike.”
Max looked back at Sharkboy and Starboy, who frowned at her words.
“When I’m near water, I fizzle out. In a vacuum, lava turns solid.” She gestured to Sharkboy. “When he’s near heat, he shrivels. He would freeze in space.” Then finally Starboy. “He wasn’t even born on a planet, yet he can’t deal with heat, let alone Lava. The light from stars doesn’t reach below the ocean’s surface, they never meet, and he can’t swim. None of us are compatible!”
She flared up in anger.
“Your hair’s on fire…” Max said.
“Yeah, it does that.” Sharkboy sprayed her with water, to cool her off. “Thanks. Sharkie.” He nodded to her as she sat down again. “Maybe I really am evil. So far, everything else you’ve dreamed has been correct. Maybe I just need to learn to accept it.”
Starboy never knew how much Lavagirl wished her dreams could come true. They had been brought into existence by Max, but they didn’t know what the next step was. Dreams always exist within a moment, but what happens when that moment ends?
Starboy looked at his shineless skin. Maybe this was it. Dreams don’t exist outside the mind, unless they’re Max’s dreams. But even then, he never thought much about them. Starboy looked at Sharkboy, who seemed to understand his worries.
“That’s it!” Max said, drawing everyone’s attention to him. “Everything I’ve dreamed so far has been correct. The Crystal Heart. We were captured, because Minus doesn’t want me to get it. It’s not over yet. We can do this.” Lavagirl offered a small smile at his words and stood up. The dark clouds were rolling in again. “We have to get back to the Ice Castle.”
Sharkboy checked the scanner. “Ten minutes left, we’ll never make it.”
“Yes we will.”
“How?” They asked Max.
Max smiled at them. “You’re my biggest dreams. You can do anything.”
They looked at each other, before looking back at Max.
“Okay, what’s the plan?”
Max hopped onto the Lava Bike and gestured for Lavagirl to follow him. “We’ll ride there, Sharkboy can carry Starboy. You’re fast, aren’t you?”
Sharkboy smirked and puffed out his chest. “Obviously.”
“But I don’t go well with ice, Max. We don’t want a repeat of before,” Lavagirl argued.
“I saw it in my journal. There’s another entrance, from the back. It’s much thicker, you shouldn’t have any problems getting in with us.”
She nodded and hopped onto the bike. “Okay, let’s do this.” The tires squealed against the ice as she and Max sped away.
The iridescent quality on Starboy’s clothes had become a washed out grey. “I don’t have much longer. We need to hurry.”
Sharkboy nodded, but stopped Starboy when he went to climb onto his back again. “It’s harder for me to run like that.” Before Starboy could speak, Sharkboy scooped him up in his arms and took off running at incredible speed.
“Warn me next time,” Starboy said, wrapping his arms around Sharboy’s neck as he watched the frozen ocean landscape move by in a blur.
“You said it yourself, we don’t have any time to spare,” Sharkboy said. “We’ll fix this, and get your powers back. I won’t let you disappear again.”
Starboy smiled. Maybe Lavagirl was right. Physically, they weren’t compatible. But they were drawn to each other anyway, and it felt right when they were together.
It didn’t take them long to arrive at the Ice Castle. They followed Max and Lavagirl into an opening. They slid down a steep tunnel before eventually being deposited into a large open room inside the castle. Surrounded by large pillars stretching up to the incredibly high roof, was a large mountain of ice. A hand-sized crystal balanced at the very tip.
“That’s what I saw,” Max said as he stared at the crystal. He turned to Sharkboy. “You’ll have to climb the ice pillar and get it.”
Sharkboy accepted the challenge. He ran up to the mountain and started climbing.
“It’s as delicate as a snowflake, so don’t drop it,” Max continued. “Don’t touch it with your hands either. You’ll freeze! Use your claws.”
Sharkboy slowed down as he reached the top. It was steep and there wasn’t much room to grab onto anything. He reached up as high as he could, but right before he could grab the Crystal Heart, he slipped. He tried to grab onto anything but failed as he slid down the mountain, his fin digging into the ice, leaving a trail before he came to a stop near the bottom, hanging there.
“Lavagirl can you–” Max looked at her, and seemed to realise what he was saying. “Nevermind.”
Starboy concentrated as hard as he could until a very faint glow came from his hands.
“I can do it.”
Everyone looked at him and he continued.
“My powers are basically gone, but I can still make the tiniest bit of force. It should be enough for me to safely take the heart.” The limited power he had was just enough that he could feel faint energy coming from his hand. Not enough to make an explosion, but enough that the heart should be able to hover in his hand. It looked pretty light, after all.
“Are you sure?” Max asked.
“We don’t really have an alternative. It’s safer for me to grab it than you,” Starboy said as he moved towards the mountain. He tried to limit his movements, he still felt pretty weak. Sharkboy’s concerned gaze followed him as he slowly walked over and began to make his way up the mountain. Sharkboy took off one of his gloves and handed it to him.
“Put that on, it can’t hurt to have extra precautions,” Sharkboy said. Starboy nodded and slipped it on before climbing up. He reached the top and got a good foothold before reaching up. He made sure he could feel the faint buzz from his hand before enclosing the tips of the glove around the crystal. He was now glad for it, because his power wasn’t enough to make the crystal hover completely, but enough to not put weight on his fingertips. He held the Crystal Heart up in wonder.
“Great job, Star,” Sharkboy said, twisting to look up at him. The sudden movement made him slide further down, which cracked the ice further. The mountain became unstable and Starboy’s foot slipped. He panicked and lost his grip on his powers, and the Crystal Heart slipped from his grasp. He tried to grab it but lost his balance, slipping down the mountain.
“I’ve got it!” Lavagirl ran forward as the heart fell, and froze completely when her hand touched it.
Sharkboy tried to free his fin in time to catch Starboy, but he couldn’t. Starboy slid halfway down the mountain before hitting a bump and was knocked forward, hitting the hard icy floor with a thud.
“Ow…” he groaned. That hurt way more than it normally would.
“She’s frozen solid…” Max said as Sharkboy yanked himself free. He slid to a crouch beside Starboy.
“Are you hurt?”
“It’s not too bad, I think,” Starboy said as Sharkboy helped him up. He felt very cold now. He tried feeling his power, but he couldn’t. He was more drained than he originally thought. The miniscule amount of energy he conjured up just before was all that remained, and now that was completely gone. How long would he last without his inner light? Sharkboy looked worried and he imagined it was because of how washed out he was. His skin had no glow at all anymore.
New noises filled the room and they looked around to see ice giants forming around them. In their current state, Sharkboy was the only one who would be able to fight, so they had no choice but to comply when the ice giants led them into another room, to the bottom of a large staircase.
“Kneel before the Ice Princess.”
They all dropped to one knee and watched the top of the staircase. Two guards moved out of the way to allow the Ice Princess to walk through. Her eyes moved over each of them one by one. Something about her gaze was piercing, but not in a threatening way.
“You tried to steal the Crystal Heart. Why?” she asked.
Max stared at her in awe for a few seconds before Sharkboy smacked him. Max was pulled from his state of shock as they stood up again. Starboy stayed quiet despite the effort standing up required.
“We believe it can freeze time, long enough for us to defeat Minus,” Max explained.
“My Crystal Heart cannot help you, only I have the power to use it.”
“Then come with us,” Max offered.
One of the guards stepped up. “She can never leave the castle. The Crystal is the only thing that protects our kingdom.
“Please, Princess. We’re running out of time.”
Starboy nearly stumbled but kept his footing. His time was already up. Sharkboy noticed.
“Perhaps I could give it to you,” the Princess said. “But are you worthy to wield it?”
Max nodded quickly. “Yes.”
The Princess smiled. “The Crystal you stole was a decoy. The true Crystal Heart is somewhere in this room.” Dozens of pillars shot out of the ground behind them, all containing a shining crystal at the peak. “Choose the correct one, and you may leave with it.”
Sharkboy kept a steady hold on Starboy’s shoulder, to keep him upright, as he pointed at a nearby pillar. “Pick that one.”
Starboy pointed at one across the room. “That one looks shinier.”
Max looked at all of them for a moment, before turning back to face the Ice Princess. “It’s around your neck, isn’t it?”
“How’d you know?” Sharkboy asked.
Max started walking up the steps. “I saw it in my dream.”
“Usually, you snooze you lose. But with Max; you snooze you win.” Sharkboy shook Starboy when his eyes started drooping. “I wish he’d snooze a little harder, though.”
Starboy chuckled quietly. “Tell me about it.”
The Ice Princess held out the Crystal Heart. “Be warned, Max. If anything happens to my Crystal Heart, my entire kingdom will be destroyed.”
“Do you Max, take this Crystal Heart, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?” the guard asked.
“I do.”
The guard looked at the Ice Princess. “Do you trust him with your heart?”
“I do.”
“The Crystal will now work, but my daughter must stay here. Off with you, now.”
“Good luck,” the Ice Princess said.
Max regrouped with the others and another tunnel opened up in front of them.
“How do we get her out of here?” Max asked, looking at Lavagirl’s frozen figure.
Sharkboy gently moved her onto her side. “We’ll have to push. Star, you sit.”
Starboy could barely move his body now, but he managed to sit himself on Lavagirl while the other two pushed. It wasn’t too difficult, given Sharkboy was doing the heavy lifting, and sliding across the ice didn’t require too much effort.
Max watched Starboy with worry. “I hope this works. You don’t look too good.”
Starboy huffed in amusement. “You noticed?”
“We’re almost at the Dream Lair,” Sharkboy said. “If we’re gonna do this, we’ve gotta do it now.”
“How much time?” Max asked.
Sharkboy checked the scanner. “We’re out of time. Ten seconds!”
They came to a stop on the ice and Lavagirl started shifting around. Starboy moved to step off of her, but collapsed to his knees, his legs were too weak to carry his weight now. Sharkboy was by his side immediately.
“Now, Max!”
Max held up the Crystal Heart as Sharkboy counted down the seconds. Five, four, three, two, one…
They watched Max, who looked at the Crystal Heart in confusion.
“What happened?”
Sharkboy sighed. “It didn’t work.”
“How could it not work?”
Lavagirl freed herself from the ice at that moment and groaned. “I was trying to tell you, only the Ice Princess can use it.”
“It’s not her fault her father won’t let her leave the castle,” Max defended.
“Boo-hoo.”
Sharkboy checked his scanner again. “No underwater readings… No anything!”
A surge of electricity flew across the ice, splitting it apart. The water underneath was dark at first, then hundreds of dead marine animals floated to the surface. Sharkboy growled. “I’ll rip his circuits to shreds.” He stood up and moved forward but Lavagirl stopped him.
“Calm down, Sharkboy! Mr. Electric’s baiting you.”
Starboy noticed the ice cracking from the other direction, and it was heading directly for him. “Guys!”
They turned around just as the ice below him gave way. Starboy fell into the freezing water and felt a sharp pain from the electricity. He tried to swim up but he couldn’t move his body. Sharkboy quickly dived in after him, and pulled him back to the surface.
“Grab onto the edge,” Sharkboy urged him. He brought his hand up but couldn’t pull himself up.
“I can’t. I have no energy”
They both jolted as an electric shock passed through them. Looking down, they could see a dozen electric eels swarming them. Sharkboy quickly used all his strength to throw Starboy back onto the ice as the onslaught of attacks started. He tried to fight them off, but was quickly overwhelmed. He lost consciousness and sank into the water. Max tried dipping his foot into the water but pulled it back after being shocked.
“Can he survive down there?”
“He can hold his breath, but not forever,” Lavagirl said. “He’ll drown if I don’t go get him.”
“You can’t go!” Max said. “You’ll die, too.”
Starboy took shallow breaths and tried to get his body to move–even just roll over, but he was too weak. He couldn’t go after Sharkboy.
Lavagirl looked at Max solemnly, before her eyes landed on Starboy. His tired eyes met hers, they were telling her not to do it, but there was nothing he could do to stop her.
“Look Max. Starboy is dying, and so is Sharkboy. They’re my best friends. If I can make the situation better in any way, then I have to.”
She dived into the water before Max could argue. He looked to Starboy for help.
“My time is up,” Starboy whispered. Even just speaking took great effort now.
“Just… just hold on. We’ll figure something out,” Max said.
“I have been holding on, for a while. I hoped that you would remember what purpose I served, that I would stop fading. I guess I didn’t dream hard enough.” Starboy looked up at the dwindling stars. The darkness was taking over now. It had been quite some time since he had last seen those stars up close. He was sad he wouldn’t see them again. “At least the stars will carry my memory.”
Starboy’s eyes slowly closed. He couldn’t help but sigh out his last breath at the relief.
“Starboy…” Max watched his unmoving body as Lavagirl re-emerged with Sharkboy. Max quickly helped him onto the ice and Lavagirl crawled her way out. Her body temperature plummeted as she collapsed next to Starboy, all light drained from his body. She would end up like him, as well.
“Come on, Sharkboy. Not you too…” Max said as he tried to wake the boy up. He gazed back at Lavagirl to see her unconscious. Her body wasn’t even warm.
“No, no. Lavagirl, please…”
He looked at his friends one by one, tears filling his eyes. Once his most precious dreams, now completely beyond his help. He realised why now, though. His own desire to escape caused this.
“What am I supposed to do now…”
“What do you think you should do?”
Max gazed up at the new voice. It was Tobor, or rather, his eyes and mouth.
Max shrugged hopelessly. “Dream a better dream?
“Interesting. Explain.”
“I wanted all my dreams to come true, but I only dreamt for myself. I wanted to escape my real world, when this world needed my help to make it a better place.” He looked back at his friends. “Starboy and Lavagirl were my own ways of coping. They existed because I desperately wanted to live on Planet Drool and fly out there in the sky. But what about what they wanted? I don’t remember if I ever dreamt up a true purpose for them and they suffered for it… Selfish dreams shouldn’t come true.” He looked up at Tobor again. “What do you do, when your dreams have been destroyed?”
“Dream a better dream. An unselfish dream,” Tobor said as he floated away again. “You’ve become quite a good dreamer, Max. So if you want things to change, change them.”
Sharkboy gasped awake, looking around in alarm. He looked at Max before his gaze landed on Lavagirl and Starboy. He slowly crawled across to them.
“Lavagirl knew this would happen if she saved you,” Max told him. “Starboy… he ran out of time…”
“I promised not to let him disappear again,” Sharkboy whispered as he rested a hand on Starboy’s arm. “And now they’re both gone.”
Max watched him guiltily. This was his fault. His selfishness brought about their demise. Why couldn’t he fix their struggles? Why didn’t he ever dream of a solution? Lavagirl wanted to be good, and Starboy wanted a purpose that would keep him from fading…
A loud rumbling echoed from behind them. They looked back to see Lavagirl’s home. It seemed brighter than before, what changed?
Max gasped and then looked at the sky. Yes, the stars were brighter now. Their light shone brighter, the increased luminosity clearly pushing against the other side of the dark clouds. Tobor’s words echoed in his mind.
“If you want things to change, change them.”
Then he thought of what Starboy said.
“At least the stars will carry my memory.”
It all clicked in his head.
“You have to get her to the volcano,” Max said.
Sharkboy nodded and picked Lavagirl up in his arms. “Are you sure this will save her?”
“It’ll do more than save her,” Max promised. He noticed Sharkboy glancing back at Starboy. As if silently asking, who will save him? “Trust me. I understand what I was missing now. It all makes sense.”
“I’ve never wanted to trust you more than right now, so I will.”
Sharkboy took off, running towards the volcano as fast as he could. Max crouched down beside Starboy again.
“I understand now, Starboy. All this time, I thought because I couldn’t see the answers, they weren’t there. But they’ve been here the whole time.
I know who you are, both you and Lavagirl. Just as she isn’t fire, or destruction, you aren’t missing a purpose. Lavagirl is the same as you, yet so different.”
The stars were shining brighter now, prying their way through the darkness. Max could see a faint sparkle on Starboy’s skin again.
“She is the light of life. A symbol of all the potential good we can find around us.”
Just then, a surge of light burst forth from the volcano. Even from this distance, Max could see Lavagirl standing at the top. She outstretched her hands and large pulses of orange light shot up into the dark clouds above. Max smiled and looked back at Starboy.
“You’ve always been light, you were made by it. But not the light down here, the light up there. Out there in the universe where anything is possible. I get it now. I only dreamt up one page of you. But that’s because the rest is up to you. You’re a dreamer, Starboy. You just have to believe it, and you can do anything.”
Lavagirl’s light dispersed the dark clouds in a dazzling display. Nothing was holding back the starlight now, and it washed over the landscape, mixing together with Lavagirl’s light. Starboy’s skin lit up in a dazzling display of all colours on the spectrum, shining just as bright as Lavagirl, like a diamond reflecting across the icy ground. He gasped and quickly sat up as life flowed back into his body. A glow of golden light surrounded his body as he started hovering. He landed softly on his feet and basked in the feeling of his power surging through his veins–stronger than it had ever been before.
“Oh, it feels good to be back.” Starboy smiled at Max–even brighter now with all the light reflecting off his skin. Max smiled back. “Thanks, Max. I understand now. And it seems like you yourself benefited from your words.”
Max looked down at his hands and nodded. “You might wanna get off the ice.”
Starboy smirked as he took off into the air. Max disappeared in a flurry of speed, and Starboy followed after him, soaring through the sky like a shooting star.
Max appeared next to a startled Sharkboy near the top of the volcano.
“Woah, how’d you get here so fast?” Sharkboy asked.
“Hold off Mr. Electric while I deal with Minus,” Max said.
“I’ll need my fish army,” Sharkboy responded.
Max snapped his fingers and the ice sheet covering the ocean disappeared, revealing the now deep-blue water. “Good luck.” He sped off a moment later, just before Starboy arrived. He flashed Sharkboy a wide grin as he landed in front of him.
“Hey, Sharkie.”
Sharkboy grinned back at him and pulled him into a crushing hug. “You’re alive!”
Starboy hugged him back just as tight. “More alive than I’ve ever been. Everything makes sense now, thanks to Max.”
“Well, I guess he’s good for something,” Sharkboy teased before pulling away. “Now, promise me you won’t leave again.”
“You know I won’t.”
“Just promise me.”
Starboy winked. “I promise.”
Lavagirl joined them moments later, a large smile on her face.
“I guess you were right. Max was the answer,” Sharkboy spoke with slight distaste. He still didn’t like admitting he was wrong.
“I finally understand my true purpose now,” she said.
“It was always there. Max just helped us figure it out.” Starboy said. “Speaking of which, maybe we should go help him.”
“I’ve gotta find Mr. Electric,” Sharkboy said. Lavagirl pointed down across the ocean, below the Dream Lair.
“He’s down there.”
“Go on then. Figure you’d want to take him on by yourself,” Starboy said.
Sharkboy laughed. “Definitely. Time for some payback.” Then he sped off down the volcano.
“Everything seemed so hopeless just a few minutes ago,” Starboy said. “Now I feel like I can do anything.”
“We’ve gotta help Max finish things once and for all, first,” Lavagirl told him. “Then we can live freely.”
Starboy smiled. “I’ve gotta say, we aren’t as different as you thought.”
Lavagirl smiled back. “Honestly, it doesn’t matter, as long as we’re all together.”
Starboy nodded. “Let’s go, then.”
Starboy still couldn’t get enough of soaring through the air again. It was everything he had been missing. Lavagirl propelled herself not far behind with her lava. They found Sharkboy at the bottom of the Dream Lair.
“Where’s Mr. Electric?” Starboy asked.
Sharkboy smirked. “Swimming with the fishes.”
Starboy held out a hand, and Sharkboy took it, being pulled into the air as Starboy flew them to the top. They spotted Max and Minus when they arrived, it looked as though they had come to an understanding.
Lavagirl walked over to Max with a smile. “Max, I am light.”
He shook his head. “You were always that, had nothing to do with me.”
“But now I know, so thank you.”
“You and I both,” Starboy said. He and Sharkboy walked over as well, the latter huffing in amusement. “Okay, so you guys found your true purpose or whatever, big deal. The real news is–” he flexed his arms dramatically before brushing a hand across his hair. “–what I am.”
Starboy and Lavagirl raised their eyebrows.
“Annoying?”
“Prone to temper tantrums?”
Sharkboy rolled his eyes. “King of the Ocean.” Then he looked at Starboy expectantly.
“What, should I be impressed?” Starboy said jokingly.
Sharkboy crossed his arms in defeat. “A little,” he grumbled.
Starboy chuckled before pulling Sharkboy close and pressing a kiss to his cheek, leaving Sharkboy stunned as he pulled away. “Happy now?”
Sharkboy grinned triumphantly, wrapping an arm around Starboy’s waist and pulling him back in. “Extremely.”
“Well, everything will return to being the way it was,” Minus spoke up. “You’ll be able to travel to Earth and back again as you wish.” He gestured to Sharkboy. “You can search for your father…” Then Lavagirl. “You can rule Earth’s lava world…” Then finally Starboy. “And you can fly among the stars again.”
“And what am I to do, now that you’re all buddy-buddy?”
They turned to the new voice. It was Mr. Electric, who looked at Sharkboy with disdain.
“You can go back to being the good electrician of the planet,” Minus said.
“Oh, really? Plugging in power cords? Keeping this loud, obnoxious world a happy place? You’re dreaming.”
“I dreamt you up, and I can undream you,” Max said.
Mr. Electric laughed. “You think you can just make me vanish? Not so easy. I’m the danger of dreaming. For every person who dreams up the electric light bulb, there’s the one who dreams up the atomic bomb.
This is one dream you won’t be waking up from. I’m going to put an end to this ridiculous tangent at its source.”
Mr. Electric launched off into the sky, disappearing almost instantly.
“Where is he going?” Max asked, moving to the edge of the bed for a better view.
Sharkboy pulled out his scanner, homing in on the electric signal. “He’s headed to Earth.”
“He’s going to try to destroy you in your sleep,” Minus said.
Max turned around and looked at them with new fear in his eyes. “You mean all this time I’ve been asleep?”
Lavagirl shook her head. “No. You’re dreaming, Max.”
“With your eyes open,” Sharkboy added.
“Make the dream real,” Starboy continued. “You proved it to me and yourself. You can live out your dreams on Earth, if you make them real.” He gestured to Sharkboy and Lavagirl. “Just like you made us real.”
Lavagirl walked forward. “Blink your eyes three times. One.”
Max blinked. “Wait, what gonna happen–”
“Two,” Sharkboy interrupted.
He blinked again. “Will I ever see you again?”
Starboy smiled. “Three.”
When Max opened his eyes again, he was bombarded by the roaring of wind in his ears. He stood up quickly, and realised he was back in the classroom. Mr. Electricidad was trying to get all the kids up from under their desks. The tornado was still outside, except now Max knew it wasn’t a tornado. He rushed to the opening in the wall, and soon everyone else followed when they saw something strange. Stepping out from the thick, spiralling fog, was Mr. Electric.
“What is that?”
“He’s from my dream,” Max said.
Mr. Electricidad looked confused. “You mean this is real?”
“Some dreams are so powerful they become real.”
“Okay class, I’m just a teacher, and I’m here to inspire the answers from you.” Mr. Electricidad pointed at the giant evil robot version of himself. “And I think that’s some pretty good inspiration. So we need to deal with this situation, and remember, there are no dumb ideas.”
“Maybe we could freeze his circuits,” Linus said.
“That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.”
“Wait, that’s a great idea!” Max made his way back to the front of the classroom, where Marissa was. He pulled the Crystal Heart from his pocket. It was a good thing he took it, after all. “Is this yours?”
Marissa looked shocked. “How’d you find it? I’ve only ever seen it in a dream.”
Max looped it around her neck, securing it. “It can freeze anything.”
“Even time,” Marissa whispered.
“What are you doing? You’re not sending my daughter out there,” Mr. Electricidad said.
“Let her out,” Max said before turning back to Marissa. “Do you know what to do?”
She nodded and started heading for the opening. “I believe so.”
The other kids moved away to let her through and she walked up to Mr. Electric, who scoffed.
“This runt is your defence?”
He faltered when Marissa held up her hand, which adorned a blue glow. Her powers surged forth and froze him almost immediately, before he shattered into a million pieces, falling all around them as snow. The class cheered and ran out to play in the snow.
Then, Max spotted 5 figures approaching the school. His smile brightened when he realised who was approaching. Sharkboy, Starboy and Lavagirl smiled at him, and then he focused his gaze on his parents behind them, who quickly rushed past to meet him. He ran out and practically jumped into their arms. When he looked back over his shoulder, his friends were gone, but he wasn’t worried this time. He knew he would be able to see them again.
After all, he was the day dreamer.
Sharkboy, Starboy and Lavagirl walked away from the school grounds, the cheers fading away in the distance.
Lavagirl turned to look at the two. “You think he’ll be okay?”
Sharkboy waved his arm. “Pfft, he can take care of himself. We can focus on ourselves, now.”
“Then what happens next?” Lavagirl asked no one in particular.
Starboy smiled at Sharkboy, who returned the gesture. Starboy put his hands behind his head as they walked, redirecting his gaze up to the sky. “Anything we can dream of.”