Little Dreams and Hollow Nightmares

Ph3 Ch33: What's Next?

Black winds gathered and swirled around Six. Mono was held back by the knight. All he wanted was to make sure Six was okay. That was all he wanted. As Six rose from the ground, the winds became more violent and powerful, consuming the room around them. Mono clenched his chest, and held the knight's hand tightly. But as soon as the started, the winds calmed down, and a faint light was given to the room. The Lady's body was gone, and in her place, was Six.

Mono removed his hand from the knight, and took a single step forward.

"Six?"

Six turned around slowly, and met Mono's eyes. She simply smiled, and Mono's worries melted away. He struggled to walk towards her, but Six ran up, and embraced him with a very tight hug.

"It's over," she said. "It's finally over."

"You did it Six," Mono replied. "You don't have to worry about any danger anymore. You can finally be safe."

"No, it's not like that," Six said. "I mean it's over, I'm free."

"Free? Wait, does that mean-"

"I won't have to eat anyone anymore. I won't have to worry about my hunger. I'm free of it."

"That's... that's great, Six."

As they hugged, the knight walked up to Six. She broke the hug, and they both looked at each other. They had both been lifted of the curse that the Maw inflicted upon its inhabitants. They both understood. The knight hummed it's musical tune, and Six couldn't help but break out into tears. Mono smiled at the whole thing. Both his best friends had finally gotten along, without any trouble.

Hornet stepped in to deliver more good news.

"I don't smell the infection," she said. "I believe it's safe to say it has left the Maw, and possibly all of this land."

"So... we did it?" Seven asked.

"By the looks of things, yes, we did."

"Alright!" Seven yelled, jumping into the air. The Grimmchild fluttered around, happily chirping along to Seven's cheers. Mono looked at everyone, and smiled even more from under his bag. Everyone was happy, everyone was safe, everything was just perfect.

When the cheering and chirping calmed down, everyone was left with a small silence.

"So... what do we do now?" Seven asked.

The question sat amongst the group for a while, no one knowing exactly what. Then, the Grimmchild chirped, and Seven got an idea.

"Oh, you're right!" He said. "I need to finish the ritual! I have all the flames, we just need to get back to Grimm!"

Seven looked at the knight, and approached it.

"Would you like to come along?" He asked. "You were the first bearer of the Grimmchild, so surely you should take part in the final part of the ritual."

The knight looked at the happy Grimmchild, then looked at Mono. Mono nodded, and the knight nodded to Seven.

"Great!" He said. "We'll complete the ritual together, and you'll become stronger than ever!" He said to the Grimmchild.

As the Grimmchild happily chirped and flew, Mono looked at Six.

"So, what do you want to do?"

Six thought for a moment. "Well, I think I want to learn how to control these new powers I got. I can keep them contained and under control to an extent, but I want to learn everything I can about them. I don't want to go back to who I was before."

"That's fine by me," Mono replied.

"What about you? What will you do?" Six asked.

"Well... I don't really know," he answered. "Maybe I'll go back to Hallownest. Might try and repair it. Who knows? Maybe I'll run a thriving television business."

"Mono!" Six said.

"What? I already got the powers for it?" He joked.

"Seriously?" Six laughed.

"Alright, alright, but who knows? I'll just find out as I go."

"What about you, Hornet? What will you do now?" Seven asked.

Hornet stood still, and looked up at the ceiling. "I think I'll visit a few places," she said. "Then I might go in search of a new adventure."

"That sounds good," Mono said.

"Just don't corrupt Hallownest again, glitch. I'll come back if you do."

Everyone laughed for a few seconds, then silence returned to the group.

"Wait, I think we're forgetting something," Seven said. "How are we going to get out if here? The Guests are still roaming around in their quarters, and they'll try and eat us if we get too close!"

"Oh, don't worry about it," Six said.

"Whaddya mean don't worry about it? We can't just walk out of here!"

"Sure we can," Six replied. "That's exactly what we're gonna do."

"What?"

__________________________

As everyone took the elevator down, black winds once again started gathering around Six. The lights flickered, and then completely went out. The elevator doors opened, revealing the hall of Guests in front of them.

"Stand back," Six said. "I still don't have too much control over these powers."

Everyone stayed in the elevator, and just watched in awe as Six walked through the hallway. Whenever a Guest spotted her, the winds would drain them of their life, and leave them rotting on the floor. Six walked through the hallway, and right up to the exit door, which opened as soon as she stepped closer to it, like it sensed her power.

Once she was done, the winds around her calmed down, and she signaled for everyone to come forward. Needless to say, they were all shocked, except for Hornet and the knight. Everyone walked through the door, and climbed up the stairs. They were all welcomed by a warm sunlight, and a calm, blue sea. Mono took a deep breath of fresh air. For so long he had smelled the smog of the city, the sickness if the infection, and the rotting food of the Maw. But now, the air was fresh, and clean.

Mono looked at the sea, and the Howling cliffs of Hallownest came into view. Whatever happened next, Mono knew, would be nothing that he nor his friends couldn't handle.

A little girl, in a golden coat. Filled with hunger, trapped in a nightmare boat.

A lone spider, armed with silk and thread. Seeking peace with herself, on the road ahead.

Come together, complete all six. There is nothing you all can't fix. Through all your struggles, please take care.

You'll make little dreams from your Hollow nightmares.

End Of Phase 3