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The Dark Lord’s hand around Yellow’s throat. She scrabbled, but couldn’t break the grip.
The way Second struggled to get up, wheezing, exhausted, as Red lunged, battering and punching.
They couldn't get up. Why couldn't they get up?
Green next, held at bay only by the bots.
Blue fighting to get Yellow down.
Second, paralyzed.
The blade through Red’s ribs.
The blade through Blue’s neck.
The blade through Green’s heart.
The blade through Yellow’s head.
The blade through Red’s ribs. The blade through Blue’s neck. The blade through Green’s heart. The blade through Yellow’s head.
The blade through Red’s ribs. The blade through Blue’s neck. The blade through Green’s heart. The blade through Yellow’s head. The blade through Red’s ribs. The blade through Blue’s neck. The blade through Green’s heart. The blade through Yellow’s head. The blade through Red’s ribs. The blade through Blue’s neck. The blade through Green’s heart. The blade through Yellow’s head.
The blade through Red’s ribs through Blue’s neck through Green’s heart through Yellow’s head through Red’s ribs through Blue’s neck through Green’s heart through Yellow’s head ribs neck heart head ribs neck heart head Red Blue Green Yellow Red Blue Green Yellow
Light.
BOOM!
Second hit the ground with a gasp. Their heartbeat flew like a shot dove, puttering and pattering through Second’s leaden limbs. Their chest burned and they gasped, heaving for breath, hyperventilating as they sought the air that could quell the swimming in their eyes and the agony in their heart, that panic.
Light began to whisper in the back of their mind.
They had to get up. They had to get up! Second clawed at the nearest item, something soft and woolen, and felt the agony dripping out from their eyes in bright, illuminating tears. Their friends. Their family! The light peeled off their body like scabs, agitation sending it flicking into the air with crackles. They were in danger, they were hurting, Second could see them, those blades in their bodies, their faces twisted in pain and terror, and oh, Second couldn’t bear to see it, and all they had to do was get up-
“Orange? I heard- oh, shit!”
“Red?”
“Guys-!”
But they couldn’t. Their shaking limbs would not obey, shuddering too badly to attempt to stand. Pain radiated from Second’s chest and distantly they wondered if the blade got them too, and that’s why they couldn’t get up, couldn’t do anything but twitch and reel with the frantic effort to do something to save them. Their chest heaved and contracted without their permission in violent spasms.
Alan could save their friends.
Alan could save them.
“Orange? Orange, buddy, it’s okay.”
“Their eyes- it’s back-“
“They wouldn’t hurt me. Orange!”
Their stomach heaved with nausea, with sheer want for their friends and for Alan. They wanted their friends. They wanted Alan.
A touch.
Second twisted violently. The light heaved up like a wave, ready to crash down, and Second’s eyes flashed with the painful brightness-
Second saw Red’s worried face gazing down at them. Her hand tentatively rested on Second’s shoulder. Blurry figures crowded around behind Red, but Second couldn’t see anything through the light beyond Red.
“…Orange?” Red said softly.
Red! Red wasn’t- she wasn’t- Second surged forward. Someone made a noise of alarm as Second grabbed Red and dragged her forward into a tight embrace. Their chest stuttered in panicked relief as Red’s heartbeat tapped in tandem to their own, full of life.
“Woah, uh- hey. Hey there, Orange.” Red slowly relaxed into what they knew had to be a crushing embrace, but they couldn’t unlock their arms even a bit lest Red drift away.
“Their eyes,” reminded a voice. Green? Was he here, too?
The light must be painful to Red, surely, with Second’s burning eyes and ribs and head and neck and heart like little suns bursting at the seams, but they couldn’t make themself let go. They could only lift their head to search for Green’s voice.
Another touch. Second whipped up, the power flowing to their hands to protect Red, but a hand grabbed theirs first. Second hesitated.
Blue’s fingers curled around theirs hesitantly. A hand placed against their back- Yellow, there she was- and finally another hand on their shoulder.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Blue asked quietly. They carefully placed a hand on Second’s cheek. Second could feel their hand acutely, a coolness in a sea of fire, catching the blazing tears as they traced down their face.
They were here. They were alive! They were alive!
Second reached forward frantically and grabbed Blue, hauling them into their side. They were out of arms. Panic rose in them, but suddenly they felt Green’s arms wrap around them, and the pressure of Yellow’s body leaning against their back.
They were okay.
The roaring in Second’s head abruptly quieted. The light grew dimmer, and dimmer, and Second’s burning soothed into that familiar dull pinprick in the center of their being and behind their eyes.
Second blinked.
The light was gone.
Their heart wasn’t racing anymore. All they felt was heat, but not the burn of the light, but the warmth of their four friends pressing up against them. Their heaving chest slowed into stillness. As Second’s vision controlled itself, the little green flecks shedding off of their hands faded.
They were in their bedroom, in the Spire. Right, of course. Second had been taking a nap, the others just outside.
It had been… a dream. A nightmare.
Another one.
For a moment they breathed in the quiet darkness. Their arms relaxed from their vice grip, and they slumped into their friends’ embrace. Beside their head, Red breathed a soft sigh of relief. She shifted. Red tucked Second’s head into his shoulder so that she could brush her hands through Second’s hair, gently untangling it and beginning to weave little braids through it.
“Orange?” That was Yellow, speaking softly from where she was leaning against their back.
“Not now,” Green murmured. “Just give them a minute.”
"But-" Yellow cut off with a sigh. "Okay."
For a few minutes, Second let themselves lay there, curled up in the embrace of their friends. The adrenaline wearing off, the heaviness of exhaustion began to seep back in with even more force. The motion of Red’s hand in their hair, Blue’s hand interlaced with theirs, Yellow and Green’s warmth seeping into them- Second felt like they could start crying again.
Eventually, though, Blue began to shift, and Second reluctantly lifted themself up. They rubbed their eyes as their friends pulled back ever so slightly. Thankfully, they were still close. Second wasn’t sure if their nerves could take much less. The dream-memory was still far too vivid, hazy though it was.
“Let’s get off the floor, yeah?” Red said as chipperly as possible. She stood, pulling Second with her, and led them over to Second’s large bed. Second flopped back on it. They closed their eyes for a moment as the others one by one piled in around them, the mattress sinking.
The only light in the room, blessedly, leaked in from the doorway. Second sighed heavily. They glanced over as Yellow’s head laid down next to theirs. Her eyes creased as she gazed at the bags under their eyes.
“What happened?” she asked. “Bad dream?”
Second nodded.
“What was it about?” Green asked.
Second hesitated. Their mind flicked back to the dream, the memory, the thought of their friends dying and Alan vanishing, and felt that burning turmoil again rise. They squeezed their eyes shut, fighting the light that began to tinge their vision. The panic was setting in, the-
“Woah!” Second’s eyes shot open as a pressure hit their chest. Red laid on their chest, arms folded and head resting on them. “It’s okay. You don’t have to think about it.”
Second sighed heavily again and placed a hand on Red’s back. The pressure was nice. Grounding.
“I could get you a drink,” Blue said with a wink. "Something strong enough to even knock out a hollowhead!" Second huffed a laugh. They reached out and took Blue’s hand in theirs.
Their smile faded.
the fight
“Yeah?” Yellow said. She scooted up and sat up, letting Second’s head rest on her leg. She squeezed their shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
you guys died
again
Second took a deep, shuddering breath. The tears- normal tears, at least; only slightly flecked with light- bubbled to their eyes.
i miss Alan
“Us too,” Yellow whispered.
“More than anything, Orange,” Green said. His voice was soft, encouraging. “But that’s what we’re doing. We’re getting him back.”
“Guys,” Blue murmured.
but i couldn’t
you DIED
i
i let you die
“Oh, Orange, you didn’t,” Blue said with a sad laugh. “Is that what this is about?”
Before Second could continue, Yellow traced a hand across their forehead. She gently brushed the hair from their face and exchanged a glance with Green, some kind of secret communication they couldn't parse.
“You saved us,” Blue murmured. “You could never let us down. We don’t blame you for our deaths.”
“Yeah,” Red said. “Of course not. It’s- it wasn’t- it wasn’t your fault, Orange.”
“We don’t have to talk about this right now,” Yellow murmured. Odd for her, not to dig deep, not to sate her endless curiosity. “You need to sleep.”
Sleep. Wasn’t that a heavenly word. The merest mention, though, sent a thrill of panic through them. They couldn’t fall back into it. The dream of their friends, the promise of Alan’s vanishing.
Alan always knew how to calm them down from nightmares. They wanted Alan. They so desperately wanted Alan. The thought sent another fresh wave of tears to Second’s eyes.
They reached up and grabbed Yellow’s hand, resisting the urge to sob.
stay
please stay
Yellow’s face softened further. “Yeah, Orange. We’ll talk once you’ve gotten some actual sleep, after you wake up.”
Second nodded. They relaxed a little. Slowly, lethargically, they let Yellow guide them up. She shrugged off her trenchcoat, just as Red pulled off her headband and carefully set it aside. Second clambered to the top of the bed and pulled aside the covers with the little strength they had left. One by one, the others crawled in next to them.
Blue snuggled in on their right. Red claimed the spot to their left, hugging Second tightly, with Green next to Blue and Yellow on Red’s side. Green and Yellow pulled the covers up.
Second had never felt so warm. If they weren’t all out of tears, they would cry from relief.
I love you
A chorus of ‘I love you’s from the others replied. They all snuggled down under the covers, a tangle of limbs and breaths.
“Ooh, ooh! Green, sing for us!” Red said excitedly. Second perked up a little as they and the others looked hopefully at Green.
Green rolled his eyes, but they held no malice. “If you insist on claiming my talent for your own,” he said haughtily. “I suppose I can make a private concert- just this once.”
Green sat up and shifted, making a show of clearing his throat and warming up his voice. Then, peeking over to make sure Second was watching, he began to sing.
Second relaxed almost instantly. Green’s melody filled their ears, dragging down their eyes and settling the restlessness in their chest. They felt the other snuggling in around them, swaddled in blankets and safe in their arms.
They were safe.
All of them were safe.
Full of warmth, Green’s melodies gently lulling them, and their friends safe and sound around them, Second fell into sleep.