25 The Realm of the Sleep Queen

Miya lie in the hospital bed, the aura she exuded from her proving exponentially more potent than she had given off during her sparring match with Bo as everyone in the room tried to overcome it's power. The air nauseated them, and Fable stood close to Miya, unaffected by the aura being thrown about the room while the others stood a waited for Fable's instructions.

"You were exactly right, Mr. Krewe! This is beyond anything that I've seen before-- I've found something that we can use as-- AT LEAST... It should be able to serve starting point in this operation!"

Although immune to her spell, he was pushed backward, having to regain footing as Miya's hospital bed shook wildy. Krewe trekked closer to Miya, shielding himself from the energy pouring out of Miya's body.

"What did you find, Doctor?!"

"An entry wound directly on the left side of her neck, very small in size!"

Headmaster thought to himself as he stood his ground, Fable still struggling to get a better look at Miya's unconscious form.

'Syringe, perhaps. Perhaps it could've been injected into her body during the attack, yesterday.'

Fable responded to his thoughts, their minds successfully connected.

"That must've been their goal all along! They never meant to capture her but to inject whatever they had in that syringe into her body!"

Beo and Icarus approached Miya's hospital bed. Beo seemed unfazed by the aura, but Icarus nearly collapsed, Beo having to keep him standing. They sat silently for a while, thinking to themselves.

"Maybe…"

With a sudden exertion of his muscles, Beo embedded a flesh probe into Icarus's arm, allowing him to stay awake. He walked toward Miya, placing his hand on her head before pulling it back, taking some of her face's tissue with it.

Krewe's eyes darted to him, his anger swelling.

"What are you doing, Beo?!"

Krewe gripped Beo's wrist, nearly causing him to drop the ball of her flesh.

"Saving Miya, bitch! I've never liked her, but I'm not going to let her die over something so petty!"

Beo threw the tissue in a trash bin that lie in the corner of the room and tied it up.

"We're burning that later."

Beo quickly returned to Miya, replacing the missing skin using his own tissue.

"I have an idea about completing this, but I'll need your help Icarus!"

Icarus stepped forward.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Let yourself fall under her sleep spell!"

Fable grew a look of worry.

"You sure about that? There could be disastrous consequences to doing that."

"Yes, but since he's cursed and can't use Full-body Takeover, I think we're safe. She wouldn't recognize him."

Icarus walked toward Miya, but kept quite a distance from her. Although no emotion showed on his face, Beo sensed his sorrow, coming closer to him and placing his hand on his shoulder.

"You need to do this so that you can stabilize her consciousness while I fight this blessing to get inside of her body! It's not going to let up without some force, and we can't start the operation without doing that! If her consciousness isn't stabilized, her memories could reawaken, or she could become an invalid. We need to get to the bottom of what they're trying to inject into Miya!"

"Ok... Remove the flesh drone from my body then."

Beo placed his finger into Icarus's head, and Icarus's eyes rolled back when Beo's finger began digging into his skull.Once he eventually pulled the finger out, he held a small piece of tissue that had a small bit of grey matter on it, and Icarus instantly collapsed to the ground, Beo catching him. He placed him in a chair, facing the hospital bed.

Inside Miya's mind, Icarus stood inside a broad, traditional village, the rooftops blue and green in color. As he wandered through the village, he saw a small stream with a bridge to travel over it, but one thing stood out to him; a sword positioned in the middle of the bridge, glass protecting it from the elements.

"The Sleep Clan's quarters..."

None walked the paved roads, but he could feel a pressure stalking his every move as he grew closer to the sword, the hilt having a dragon spiraling about it. He slowly reached toward it, and it grew more silent before he finally made contact, shattering the glass with just a graze of his finger.

The sky instantly grew red, and a voice came from the sky, much like a god from a film.

"Why would you willingly come into my dreamscape, Icarus Kreyn?!"

Icarus stood on guard, reaching for the sword. It grew red as he grabbed it, the dragon on the hilt convulsing before biting his wrist, shooting pain making its way through his very core. As he let go, a low whisper came from its blade, its sound nearly hypnotizing him.

"Your... loyalty... lies... in... evil... shall... not... taint... this... holy... sword..."

Sweat dripped down his face as he turned toward the sky, his hand bleeding from the bite.

"I-I came to s-speak with y--"

A large woman resembling Miya appeared before him, wearing a blue yukata with stars littered about its surface. Icarus stood in surprise, the emotion returning to his face as she looked down at him, stopping herself from laughing.

" Y-You're always welcome in my dreamscape, Icarus. Curses don't work in here... Speak, friend."

Miya bore a smile across her face. Lipstick lined her lips and her skin was smooth, without a single blemish. Icarus struggled to get the words out as he looked at her, completely engrossed by the sight of her.

"What do you want to talk about, Miya? It's been a while."

Miya's feet lifted from the ground, circling Icarus. Her hair was much longer than before, and her body was much more lean, standing taller than Icarus. Her hair flew through the air, trailing her like weightless ribbons as she circled him, his eyes following diligently.

"Actually, I've spoke with you a few times through your dreams."

Icarus grew disappointed, rubbing his neck with his hand.

"I-I don't remember them..."

"Right. You're not like you used to be... You never used to forget things."

"Boy do I wish I could've! It would stick into my mind until I forgot it intentionally."

Miya stopped, laughing as she remained levitating before Icarus, but her face soon turned from a smile to a frown, her mind traveling through the memories she'd had with him.

"It's almost funny..."

She moved closer to Icarus, her face nearly touching his, and his face turned a bright red as her hands touched his face, tears swelling in her eyes.

"...Not only are you completely different from when we were kids, this is the first time you've ever been in the dream world, since Full-Body Takeover protects you from attacks to the mind."

"Y-You're right. I'm almost embarrassed."

Miya backed away, pointing toward him in a teasing manner.

"You look embarrassed to me."

Icarus's face turned an even brighter red, and Miya began laughing at him, her hand reaching her slim stomach. Icarus became angry, his face still red from embarrassment.

"I-It's not funny! You've always messed with me."

"It's too fun not to mess with you, Icarus! I think I can get used to being taller than you."

Icarus couldn't deny, Miya was beautiful. She was twenty-three years old while Icarus was only twenty-one, the oldest person in their friend group, but despite her power, the one person she could not touch was Icarus Kreyn.

Icarus's eyes aimed toward the ground, his voice somber.

"I wish we could go b-"

The sky quaked above them, and Miya fell to the floor, gasping for air. Icarus rushed over to her and placed his hand on her head, sweating dripping from his brow. The area surrounding them had completely changed, becoming a desolate village with collapsed buildings and fire surrounding them.

'In her dream world, I can use Full-Body Takeover! I should be able to stabilize her psyche!'

Icarus's hand assimilated into Miya's skin, but Miya's blessing began appearing.

"Please don't stop me! Can't you see I'm trying to help her?!"

The marks stayed but didn't repel his hand, and Icarus was finally able to start Miya's treatment. It took a few minutes, but the process was successful, Miya's eyes slowly opening.

"That's Beo. We're trying to figure out what's wrong with you."

She sat up before going back to her feet, and Icarus followed.

"Thank you... The blessing doesn't seem to know what it is either. Whatever they injected into me is probably not the only of its kind."

"Most likely."

They stopped talking for a while, and the air itself became awkward. Icarus continued to look at Miya who'd been surveying the remnants of the destroyed Sleep Clan settlement. His voice breaking, he struggled to make out the words as Miya turned to him, listening silently.

"You know, I seem to have already gotten used to your smaller form. I-I can hardly recognize you..."

Tears formed in Icarus's eyes, but Miya came, comforting him. They embraced, tears flowing as he screamed at the top of his lungs, clinging to her.

"You know, I can hear everything you say to her. She is me, after all."

Miya started patting Icarus on the head.

"Even while I'm sealed in here, I'm always going to be with you all. Whether it be Chance, Sarah, Parisa, Preacher, You, or maybe even Kem."

"Maybe?"

Icarus struggled to laugh, and Miya continued patting his head, looking sweetly down toward him.

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, don't feel bad about getting comfortable with her. It makes me happy, too."

She paused for a second and gave out a short sigh as she looked toward the sky, black spots appearing in the very air surrounding them.

"It seems like our little chat is going to be coming to a close. Beo seems to have gotten a sample of what they put in that syringe. I'll release you, now... It was nice getting to truly talk to you again."

The plane began crumbing apart, and Icarus looked upward toward her, holding her tightly.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Miya!"

Miya didn't respond, but she continued to look toward him, a smile showing across her face. The next thing Icarus knew was that he'd been slumped over in a hospital chair with Beo holding something in a ball of tissue. Emotionless, he surveyed the room, the aura's force having calmed down.