The Only Game In Town [Adventure]

Theo had started running when Joy's mother, no, Cleopatra had breathlessly told him that Lillian had woken up.

He had recently taken care of a shitty parent and had taken himself to the one place in town that served roasted chicken. He had been enjoying the fowl immensely but had immediately dropped his plate to the floor and took off running.

Unfortunately, his excitement had made him forget that he couldn't really see the obstacles in his path. He had immediately slammed headfirst into another patron, who had started yelling at him.

But he didn't care, he grabbed Cleopatra's hand and let her lead him away. He felt pieces of his malaise start to drift away as he realized his best friend in the entire world was back in the land of the living.

He had been so caught up in the loss of his eyes, he had not realized the profound affect that Lillian's absence had caused him.

A smile slowly formed on his face. His muscles were a little weak and unused to this exercise, but they took to it freely as he let a little joy fill his soul.

Theo crashed through the front door, and he heard Lillian shouting, "where are they then? You can't keep me locked up in here, I'm perfectly healthy!"

Antony's reply was much less loud, but firm. "We don't know how you are okay. You were desiccated only an hour ago. Gods forbid we care about your wellbeing."

"Lillian!" Theo shouted as he barreled into the room with both of the previously arguing people.

He couldn't see, but he didn't need to see to be able to guide his body towards Lillian. He could feel her presence in the room radiating like the sun. In a thousand lifetimes he would always have felt her in this way.

He tackled her as hard as he could.

Theo had known she had not been doing well. He had not been in the proper state to truly take care of her, but he had felt her muscles weaken and her bones soften from the long months spent without movement, but she felt strong as he crashed into her.

Theo was rebuffed and sent crashing to the ground. Tears involuntarily started to form in his eyes, but Theo wiped them away. He was just too happy to have Lillian back in his life to care about pain.

"What happened to you? Why are your eyes shut?" Lillian asked as Theo felt her strong hands help him back to his feet.

"How much do you remember?" Theo countered her question.

"I remember you, me, and Joy fighting Ian, but I don't really remember anything other than that. I guess we must have won, yeah?"

"This will be a long story."

Theo heard Antony and Cleopatra slowly wander out of the room as he started trying to explain to Lillian everything that had happened since she had refused to wake up.

He told her about how Joy had beaten Ian after Ian had taken both Lillian and Theo out of commission. About how Vena Cava had collapsed in on itself and how hungry mouths had started consuming the city from the inside out. He told her of Joy's discovery of the former prince, and now king, David's intention to become a god.

He told her of him and Joy carrying Lillian across the continent on a wooden board and how they had finally arrived in this town where Joy's parents lived. Then he told her about how Joy had immediately run off as soon as he had given them to his parents.

He told her about the pain of losing his sight, the endless loss of her and his eyes had devastated him. But he had been feeling better recently, more focused on who he was now instead of who he used to be.

"But that's enough about me. How are you back? We thought you would be asleep forever."

"What in the world do you mean 'that's enough about me.' There's a lot to unpack there, Theo." Theo could imagine Lillian's smile. It was a little snarky as she looked down on him and he was so glad that he could hear her expressions even the faintest bit.

Lillian didn't ask Theo about any of the adventures or misadventures he had gotten up to with Joy. Neither did she ask him about David's plans for godhood. Instead, she asked about his students and about his eyes.

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He despised the pity in her voice. He could feel his own evil thoughts crawling over her good intentions like slimy eels. They cried out that she thought he was lesser, that he was a shadow of the man she once knew and that he could never reach the same peaks ever again.

But she cared. He knew she cared and that made everything a little bit better.

After a long elaboration and Lillian having finally been satisfied with his answers, he asked her about what happened in her sleep and why she didn't seem diminished by her time spent in a coma.

He learned that dreams were so much more and so much less than he had ever thought. Theo heard of a world where your mind created monsters and angels to keep you from learning your own secrets.

Theo learned about Lillian's escapades in the dream realm. About how she had been trapped in her own mind and how she had to realize her own godhood in her mind to escape it.

"But how are you awake? You said you were trapped in the dream."
"That's the thing, Theo. My gift lets me take things out of my dreams, so I just took myself out. Isn't that stupid?"

"That makes no sense. Why couldn't you just wake up the whole time then?"

"Well, I'm like mega-powerful now. I am a gateway to the dream world." Theo heard some indescribable noises. "I realize that example may have been lost on you since you couldn't see that dragon-giraffe-elephant I just made appear out of nothing, but the point still stands. I have power now and I think my subconscious would not let me wake up until I had unlocked the full potential of my power."

An odd silence filled the air between the two of them after they had shared their stories. They were relieved that the other was okay, but there was something missing from their conversations.

"So, what now?" The unspoken question was asked by Lillian.

Theo knew that it was the right question to ask. He just wasn't quite sure himself.

"We could stay here? It's a comfortable little village. There's always some drama, but you can see how Joy grew up to be so carefree in this place."

The pregnant pause in the air told Theo precisely what Lillian thought of that. Of course, she was going to be diplomatic about saying no, but she did not want to remain here.

"But what about the prince and his plans for humanity. Won't we all die or worse if he succeeds?"

"Maybe. But that impending doom hasn't stopped the world from turning. When did it become our job to save the world? Last I remember, we were the two stooges who ran around doing odd jobs for our prince. We weren't the sort of people who would go and save the world."

"But we do have the power. We have the knowledge and some measly power that might be able to stop him. Isn't that reason enough?"

"Look at what Ian did to us? You think we can stand up to someone trying to become a god. We would die before we even got close to him."

Maybe Theo was regressing, but he could feel Lillian slip away. She had always been fantastic and so much more than he was. He had been terrified these past months of a world he could no longer see. She had spent her time wandering a dreamscape and learning to overcome her fears. She didn't want to stay with him and the safe life he had created for himself.

The world needed to be safe for a blind man. Didn't he deserve that little piece of paradise?

"Well, I can't make you go with me. I would love it if you joined me, but I am going to find Joy. Maybe the world doesn't need heroes, it just needs two idiots willing to try?"

Theo heard Lillian standing up and he desperately wanted to tell her to stay. That she would die if she left this place. Instead, he sat there in a dejected silence. As she slowly meandered out of the room.

Before she got out of the room he asked, "how are you even going to find him? He could be literally anywhere by now." There was an edge to his voice that he didn't mean, but he found it hard to take the bite out of his words.

"I am a portal to the dreamworld, I can make whatever I imagine." Lillian was so powerful now, she wouldn't even need Theo anymore. He let it wash over him, how their lives had changed. She had found power in her pain while he had only found that he was good for teaching children. Life wasn't a fair mistress.

"Then I imagine you'll just make a compass that can point right to him and follow it."

"Yes, I suppose I might."

With a huff and a puff Lillian finally left the room and Theo in the silence her absence created.

He had created a life for himself here. It was safe and nice. How could he leave that behind to go one some hare-brained adventure with his friends. That was something that idiots did. Idiots who weren't blind did that, not him.

And despite these thoughts, Theo was already standing up. He couldn't let her go alone. They were a pair, he had been living in a fog before she had woken up, how could he let her go like this?

He started running. His knowledge of the house came in handy, and he knew precisely how many steps he needed to take to try and catch up with her.

He wouldn't let her go alone. The world needed more idiots like them, and they could do something. Maybe it would be like throwing sand at the ocean, but they had to try.

Theo heard murmured words in the other room and a whoosh of cold air.

As fast as his feet would take him, Theo flew into the room, "wait for me!" He cried at the top of his lungs.

"Oh, Theo, we are so sorry." Cleopatra and Antony's arms closed around him in the warm embrace he had never known from his parents. "She already left. She teleported away as soon as she got out of the room with you."

Theo slumped to the floor, distraught.

"But I was going to join her. I was…" He trailed off as sadness threatened to take over his soul.

No. This wasn't how their story was going to end. He wasn't going to slink away to his little safe village and let her go alone.

"I am going after her. I don't know where she is now. But I know where she will be. Will you help me get there?" Theo's earnest voice carried in the room and Joy's parents didn't hide their smiles as they saw true passion burning in Theo's soul.

"Of course we'll help you. What do you need?" Without a thought for themselves, these two parents put aside their safe and happy lives to help this child through his struggles.

"I need a boat and some money." Theo smiled as he felt life crawl back into him. He had found duty before, but now, now he was truly living.