The Adventures Of Mint & Coco

32: I Still Dream (Mint)

"Let's find Elsa." I hear Coco's word echo in my mind. I feel relieved to have the weight of darkness off my shoulders, like a storm that has faded into a drizzle. And then it's gone. Though we defeated Jared, Elsa still remains. I give a smile. "We're almost done..." I let out my breathy sentence, and feel warmth throughout my body; like I've been given a strength buff. But from who? Memories seem to slam into my mind as soon as my last question had vanished. Kona is... human... I died... I say the rest aloud, starting from there, "I died! I was with Kona... I woke up on earth..." I speak fast with confusion and intense remembrance, "I thought all of this was just a dream... I tried to come back, but the portal was closed..."
I press my fingers firmly into my temples as I stand up, backing away from Coco. "I got sick, I almost died. I found a picture that I had seen before with Kona's real human parents in it... The cops came... Kona was a murderer... Stella brought me back..." my speech fades into a mere whisper as my eyes tear up.

Coco steps up to me, and grabs my hand. Her face is scarred with claw marks, and I think about my own flaws. My leg aches from Jared's sword slash, and my ear still throbs. Coco breathes, "We'll talk later. Let's go. What should we do when we get to her?" I shrug, but then become positive of what I must do. "We just need to convince Elsa to let her brothers go." Coco's big brown eyes widen, "How?"
I know how.

Coco follows me through the giant doors of Jared's room, and I gaze one last time back at him. His big black cape lays over his body, blocking any view of him. The doors shut behind us, and the stairs that were in front reappear. I feel relieved. "Hopefully we won't run into any danger." I hiss, thinking of Elsa. Coco puts a foot down on a stair, "Where should we look for her?" I shrug, not answering. We run down the slabs of the staircase, particularly because I feel watched. Is Stella watching over me? Or is it Elsa?
We come into a familiarly creepy room, but everything seems safer now that Jared is gone. "There's too many rooms... like a maze..." I confer. Coco swooshes her tail in agreement. "Should we split up?" Coco asks, shrugging. I shake my head reluctantly. "Not this time," I say, "We've been away from each other too many times... Let's stick together." I finish. We begin into a long hollow sounding hallway, with candles hanging from walls, and poles with skulls on them lining the entrance to a different room. Coco and I share confident glances; her round brown eyes glow against the light of flames. See how strong we've become? We're not kids anymore.
"Up there!" I point. Coco's head shifts upward toward a small spiraling staircase just above our heads. "That must lead to the roof of the castle!" Coco guesses with eagerness. I grin happily, "Elsa must be up there! And if not, we can get a good look at our surroundings." I imply. Coco reaches her arm above her head, jumps, and grabs onto the rod of the staircase. She pulls her legs over the broken stairs, and stands up. I climb up and stagger to my feet. I feel heavy, observing myself. I unhook my amour, and toss what shields remain down below. I buckle my sword back to my waist, and nod to Coco. My bared arms are grey with dust, and dried blood is crusted scarlet downward my forearms. We march determinedly up the stairs, and pastel light begins to seep through from above us. I hear wind roaring like a million lions, yowling with triumph. My hair flows in the breeze. I take a deep breath, glad to feel the cool to my face once again. Coco shuts her eyes and takes my hand. "She's up there. I can feel it." She murmurs. I turn my nose to the sky, and exhale, "Let's go."

We step away from the stairs, and I unsheathe my sword. Coco pulls out a knife. "Elsa!" I call. "Release your brothers!" Please be here. Please don't be gone. Coco repeats, "Release your brothers! Or we'll make you." I hear a screeching laugh, like a crow crying in the night. "Will you?" Elsa remarks. Dark matter swarms again on the red bricks of the castle, reaching from the darkening grey sky. The swarming greyness grows wider, reaching around both me, and Coco. No turning back now. It seems to suck us in like a tornado, and Elsa's voice rings all around us. "You think you're powerful. You think you can defeat me. You think I'm scared..." The grey of the twister alters to red, then to yellow, and then to black. "But the truth is..." her mocking voice howls, "I'm stronger than Jared ever was. And I'm stronger than you could ever be. And there's nothing you can do to get me to release my pathetic brothers." She lands perfectly onto the brick of the roof, and the smoke fades. "No stopping me," she smirks as she pulls something from her pocket. Jared's hourglass pendant! It's powerful... it holds- "It is power. It is indestructible. It holds my brothers, it holds-" The rest of Elsa's words sink into my mind, "It holds eternity." I cringe, looking through the glass of the pendant. "Shadow..." I see his tiny form inside the pendant. I look back to Elsa, who smiles sheepishly, "Oops. Looks like they're trapped. And only I know how to get them out." Coco growls, her fists clenched. "What did we ever do to you?" Elsa squints, "You took over. I want to be the most powerful in all the Realm. And there's no one I care about. I will kill you." I push my hair aside from my eyes, and slide my hand into my pocket. I dangle a sword pendant from my hand, the one that Shadow gave to me. The one that used to belong to Elsa. "How about your family... your brothers! They loved you..." I start, "This... do you remember this?" I say, holding it in front of Elsa. Her red eye gleams and her expression flashes sadness, and then is gone with the wind. "That's not mine," her voice is barely a hiss of air. I raise an eyebrow, "Yes it is. You left it when you left your brothers. You betrayed them! You betrayed your home! You betrayed this!" I feel my blood heating, and the silver of the sword glistens, and then dulls. I toss it to the ground. Elsa stares sadly at what used to be hers. She sniffles, and crinkles her eyebrows with anger and sadness. "That was never for me. My father used to say that one day I'd be strong... I'd be a protector... and a savior... I never felt worthy of such power... To be a knight that could be strong... I didn't bestow it. I never could. I was too weak..." she lets her voice falter, "I couldn't stand it. I left it. For something that I could be proud of. I'm a savior now. Like my father always wanted." My feelings of sympathy fade to irritation, "A savior of who? All you've done is kill!" Coco tilts her head to one side, eyes clouding, and hair waving in the wind. "What have you become? Shadow and Niko never did anything wrong. Niko's been there for me from the beginning. And you claim to be a savior? A protector? All you're doing is bringing hurt, not only to me, but to Mint. And to them! Along with the entire Realm who fears you! You're not worthy of this." Elsa shakes her head tiredly, her teeth clutched, and shoulder length black hair wet with tears. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to make my father proud. Wherever he is now..." she croaks, looking to the sky, "I just want to be appreciated. I want people to be proud of me, of what I am. Of who I am... maybe..." she continues, taking the hourglass pendant from her neck, "This isn't me." She drops it to the ground, shattering glass particles all around. A bright light shines from it, and figures begin to appear. "Niko?!" Coco exclaims. I realize that Elsa has vanished, but I concentrate on the figures. A boy comes into vision, and I don't even need to ask. "Shadow." I smile. I walk to him, and he walks to me. "I knew you could do it. He laughs." I giggle, clutching my pendant. "It was our destiny." He nods, and we both shed tears, "I know it was." He wraps his arms firmly around me, and murmurs, "Thank you." I rub my cheek against his, "For what?" He releases me from his grip, "For helping me free myself from stress... I had always wondered, never not one moment in my life, who murdered my tribe. And you helped me find that. I love you." I cannot stop smiling, feeling dimples appearing on my face, "I love you too." Shadow suddenly looks around me. I turn around. Elsa sits floating in the air. Her long black dress dangles far below her, and her hair wisps in every direction. I look closer, her red eye has vanished. She half smiles, eyes wet with tears. Niko walks over to Shadow, and they stare at her. "I'm sorry," is all she says. She begins to bat her wings, preparing to spiral into the sky. Shadow and Niko run to her, hoping to stop her before she vanishes forever. They stop at the edge of the castle, looking far out at their sister who spirals away, high into the sky. "No! Elsa, come back! We can't lose you again!" Niko cries into the night. Shadow watches after her, but then his eyes shift down. Coco and I walk to them. "I'm sorry she's gone," Coco murmurs. Niko and Shadow look at each other. Please hug, please put the feud behind, because it happened so long ago. They hug. "I'm glad we're brothers again." Shadow grins. Niko smiles, his teeth shining. Coco and I sigh in relief, happy to still be alive.
"Let's go to the Plaza."

"Everyone! They're back!" yells a bystander at the entrance to the Plaza. Stella rushes from Luna's old room, and runs straight to Coco and I. She hugs her, and then me. "I knew you could do it! You've freed us from darkness, and all of us here in the Realm are grateful," she exclaims proudly, her blue eyes piercing anyone who looks at her. I take her hand, "We did...!" Coco laughs, "Yes!" We all hug each other, a hug that seems to last forever. Stella's eyes sadden, "Coco," she looks at Coco, "Mint," then at me, "I'm so sorry, but you guys won't ever see me again." Coco and I stare at her in confusion, like a rock had just hit us out of nowhere. "What do you mean?" we ask. She shakes her head. "You'll see tomorrow. Goodnight." She pads away, shrinking into her cat form. Her fur is white, and her tail streams thickly behind her as she disappears into her room. We stand, watching the door close in dismay. "I'm going to go talk to Niko," Coco says before walking in the opposite direction.

My mind whirls with thought, past deaths and events replaying over and over in my mind. I hear a knock on my door. I sit up and walk to the door. "Shadow," I start, opening it so he can walk through, "What's up?" He leans against the wall, clothed in clean smelling clothes, hair dripping water as if he had just stepped out of the shower. His face has scars all over, but his eyes still shine. "It's the middle of the night," I yawn. He shrugs, "I don't know, I couldn't sleep. I just wanted to see you." I close my eyes, "Okay," I lay back down onto the bed, and he lies down beside me. I cannot stop thinking, is this it? Is the darkness gone forever? Or have we just scratched the surface...? And what does Stella mean by: "You guys won't see me tomorrow?"
Shadow clears his throat, "I feel you shaking. Is something wrong?" he asks. Should I involve him in my worries? I confess, "I'm worried this isn't the last we will see of the darkness..." Shadow moves closer to me, "Of course it isn't, we all have our bad days, and we can never rid of them forever. But..." He tosses the bed covers over our heads, "We have the present to be happy about, and I'll protect you." I laugh, "No Shadow, I'll protect you."