[CH.009] Rest

The burden of being a hero…is that sometimes heroes have to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Did Daniel's actions make him the hero to save the day?

An adventure that began with Daniel, an adventure that will end with Daniel.

Daniel sat on the ground, his back leaning up against a boulder. Unable to move, unable to speak. His breaths were short, eyes were slowly glazing over.

"Daniel," she said as her lips quivered.

For Petra, this was something she'd never seen coming. Her friend of many years, putting his life on the line for others.

Steve and Alex approached, standing behind Petra. Daniel looked up at them and gazed at them. Alex broke down as she laid eyes upon him. Steve put his arm around her to comfort her. She couldn't look at Daniel, resting her head on Steve's chest.

"Petra," Daniel faintly mumbled. He lowered his head and looked into her eyes.

"No,"Petra said as she grabbed his hand. "You did good," she continued, followed by a subtle, short smile.

Phineas ran over to them, stopping when he saw Daniel. He gasped and covered his mouth. In disbelief, he was.

"Daniel?" Phineas asked as Petra turned to look at him. She didn't say anything. Her feelings said it all. She sniffled and focused on Daniel.

"Daniel, you did it. You saved us again," Petra said with a faint smile. A tear trickled down his cheek.

Phineas approached them and walked up to Daniel. He was a bit hesitant at first, but he wanted to give him a hug before it was too late.

"It's——o-okay," Daniel mumbled as he lifted his hand up. Phineas walked over to him and sat on the ground next to him, putting his head down on Daniel's side.

GASP!

Daniel gasped desperately for air, his breathing growing evermore faint and shallow. He put his arm around Phineas.

COUGH!

GASP!

"Daniel," Petra said softly, "Daniel, look at me."

He lifted his head back up, gazing to his left at Petra. His skin is becoming paler as time went on. Life is slowly draining away.

Three years ago, Daniel sat by Petra's side as she lay dying. Just as he did with her, she now did with him. "I'm—I'm—," Daniel struggled to convey and say what he wanted to say.

"No!" Petra said, "do not apologize!"

His end was near. Victoria, Wynter, Miraz and Stanley stood around him with everyone else. None of them knew what to say. This time, it was different.

SNIFFLE!

Merlin and Ceres came over to witness the final moment of his life.

"Merli—," Daniel mumbled, "Cer—," he mumbled faintly. He smiled at them as they watched him. Leona came over, and was already in tears. Daniel shed another tear and it trickled down his cheek.

SNIFFLE!

GASP!

Petra wiped the tear off of his cheek. She sighed and exhaled. Merlin walked over to Daniel and leaned over. He put one hand on his knee as he reached out to put his other hand on Daniel's cheek.

"Thank you," he said with a sigh, "for everything."

Daniel starred as Merlin rubbed his cheek and backed away. Ceres frowned as he walked over. He got down on one knee.

"Cer—es," Daniel struggled to speak. He was taking short breaths in a quick succession. Exhaling heavily, Ceres grabbed Daniel's hand and held. One hand on bottom, and the other on top.

"Rest peacefully now," he said with a sniffle. "You've—you've—"

"You've earned it," Petra finished.

Daniel glanced back over to Petra. His eyes now fully glazed over; he inhales sharply.

"We're going to be okay, Daniel," Petra said as she wiped a tear away from her cheek. "Go rest now."

She smiled one last time for him as she rubbed his cheek. Her lips quivering, she watched in silence as he exhaled his final breath.

Steve's eyes were glazed and his cheeks were red. Phineas sniffled as he gave Daniel one last hug. As he breathed out, he looked around at everyone else. He smiles. Just then, his head slumped to the side. His eyes remained open, but his body was now lifeless and limp.

Petra gulped, trying to hold her emotions back. She rubbed his cheek again, accepting the fact he's gone. "Rest comfortably," she mumbled as she sniffled and breathed. She closed his eyes and grabbed his hand once more.

His body then disappeared. Steve sniffled and wiped a tear going down his cheek. Alex turned away as she started crying again.

Petra didn't move, she couldn't. Daniel was gone. The one person she could be herself around is no longer here.

When his body disappeared, his inventory contents spilled onto the ground. He didn't have much, but Petra saw a paper with her handwriting on it. When she picked it up, she discovered that it was her letter to him.

"He kept it with him this whole time?" Petra said, putting her hand under her nose. It was folded inside out, with her letter on the outside.

Daniel,

This letter wasn't easy for me to write, but it had to be done. The journey we're about to embark on is going to be extremely dangerous. Traveling through the SwampLands is by far the most dangerous biome there is. When we first woke up in the middle of the woods, I had this strange feeling that something bad had happened. Turns out, I was right.

I knew something was off about Scarlet when we opened the gates to her. At that time, I couldn't quite grasp what that was. But it all became clearer when we woke up in the middle of nowhere. When Robert had come riding up to us on his horse, there was a sense of relief for me.

It turns out that we weren't very far from civilization after all. The reason I'm writing this letter is that if anything happens to me, I want you to have something to remember me by. Something you can hold onto and cherish for the rest of your life. If my death comes to be, this letter shall be given to you so that you can read it.

The adventures we shared, and the memories we made will never be forgotten. I want to thank you for being my friend. I didn't have many of those when I was younger. You saw through my nerdiness and stayed by my side no matter what. Who would've thought we would be given the roles of a King and Queen, am I right? I just want you to know that I'm in a better place. A place where no evil exists. A place where everything is peaceful. We made quite a difference in the OverWorld, didn't we?

I want to thank you for sticking by my side. Being there when I needed it most. Going on adventures together. Goofing around and making fun of eachother. All stories must end. Sadly, mine did. But that doesn't mean yours is over just yet. You've still got a long life ahead of you. Go be a hero to others. Show them your true colors. Show them that you're brave. Noble. Caring. You were more than just my friend; you were family.

Love,

Petra

"Petra?" Alex said.

She turned her head slightly, but didn't look back. She was, however, listening.

"He's in a better place," she told her, "he's resting now."

Petra's lips quivered as she looked back down at the letter. When she flipped the paper over, there was no lengthy letter. Instead, there was a hand-drawn heart with D + P written in bold in the middle of the heart.

She needed no further context to understand what this meant. All that mattered, to her that is, is that he kept her letter with him after all these years. And now, it was her turn. She shed more tears as she got back onto her feet.

"Are you going to be okay?" Alex asked.

"Okay? No. Grateful? Yes. Sad? Absolutely!" Petra responded.