Chapter Text
There was a voice bouncing around him. It danced just out of reach, spinning and laughing as he tried to grasp for it. Soon enough, however, he settled down and waited for it to approach, and in doing so he managed to discern one word, echoing over and over again.
“King!”
The titan snapped his eyes open and beheld a miraculous sight. Standing before him was none other than Luz Noceda herself, looking just as he remembered her, with her purple and white striped shirt and her long black leggings, that mischievous twinkle in her eyes glittering, making it look as if she was thinking about a dastardly prank she had just pulled on a friend and was now imagining the outcome.
Luz’s smile widened as she came and sat down next to King. It was only then that he realized where he was. He was surrounded by towering trees, the names of which he remembered Lilith rattling off aimlessly while King was ignoring her. The purple leaves had flown down to the ground below, caught in the process of withering away to make room for the new leaves that would be growing soon.
“What’s going on?” He asked haltingly, his paw rising to his suddenly-aching forehead.
Luz shrugged, responding, “I figured that we should take a break. We have been walking for a while.”
This only deepened King’s confusion. He had no memory of walking anywhere, and what was even more concerning was the fact that he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. “Walking to where?” He asked.
Luz tilted her head, the devilish glint in her eyes fading as they filled instead with perplexion. She exhaled a nervous chuckle and said, “Funny, I never really thought that far ahead.” She playfully elbowed King. “Classic Luz, am I right?”
King rubbed the spot where Luz had elbowed him. “Yeah, classic Luz.” He mumbled.
What was going on? King still felt as if there was something wrong. What was his last memory? He grabbed his head and tried to focus, but everything was fuzzy and disconnected.
King felt a hand on his shoulder. “King? Are you ok?”
Luz. It was something about Luz. King looked up at the human, who was staring down at him in concern, the scar above her eye dancing in the scattered light that managed to shine to the ground through the trees.
Wait, did Luz have that scar before?
Or that jacket, or that ponytail...
Oh.
Like a tidal wave, the memories came flooding back. King’s last memory of Luz came floating to the top of his mind, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he realized the sad truth.
“This isn't real.”
A moment of silence came over the forest. Only a moment. King heard Luz sigh and he looked up at her, his sadness only growing as he saw that the twinkle in her eyes had faded. Luz leaned her head back against the fallen tree trunk they were leaning on.
“No, it's not, buddy,” She spoke. “You're dreaming.”
King nodded. Another minute of stillness passed over the duo before King hesitantly spoke. “I really miss you.” He sniffled. “These past few months have been so scary. You wouldn't recognize the Boiling Isles, Luz, it’s so different. I don't know where Eda or anybody is; I've been stuck here ever since the Day of Unity with the Collector.”
Dream Luz only looked down at him in silence.
“I know that since you‘re my dream, you'll probably just say what I want to hear but... I want to ask you something.”
Luz inched closer to King and put his arm around him. “What is it?”
King clenched his fist and brought it to his chest. The image of Luz standing there, grasping those vines as she tried to make sure her friends would be safe, and all of a sudden desperately grabbing hold of King... Before losing grip on both. Because of him.
“Are you mad at me?” He sullenly asked.
Luz looked shocked. “Why would I be mad at you, King?”
King looked down again, unable to look at Luz’s face any longer. “I pushed you through the portal, Luz. You were going to stay, and protect all of us... I know that might've meant Amity and Gus and everybody being trapped in the human realm without you... But they would've had your mom and that basilisk... I'm just worried that pushing you through that portal was the wrong choice.” He sighed. “Maybe I'm just being selfish.”
Luz pulled King closer, wrapping him in a bone-crushing hug. “King... I can’t deny that does make you sound kinda selfish. But I get it. Honestly, if I had been you in that situation, I would've done the same thing. Heck, I tried to do the same thing. But you made the right choice. Without me, they'd probably be pretty lost and confused. And I doubt that we could've gone back as fast as we did without me.“
King laughed. “You're just saying that because you're my dream.”
Luz raised an eyebrow. “Am I?”
King frowned.
The human winked and stood up. “I think they're waiting for you; you should probably wake up.”
“Who’s they?”
“KING!”
King woke with a yelp, jumping two feet in the air and landing stiffly on all fours, his fur standing wildly on edge. Behind him, he could hear the Collector laughing. He sighed and turned around, the childlike god coming into view.
“Hey, C.”
The Collector looked just as he did every day. Their starry gown glittered and flowed around them as they spun in the air, laughing their head off at the dastardly prank they had pulled on King. “Hey, King! Sorry, I know that was kinda mean, but I just couldn’t resist!”
King was a little upset. But he knew that angering a god would probably result in death, so he had to play it cool. So he waved it off and said, “Don’t worry about it; my friends and I would pull pranks like that all the time.“ It was a lie, of course; Neither Luz nor Eda would ever have awakened something that looked so adorable while sleeping. Which, apparently, was a category he fell into.
The Collector laughed a bit more before gliding down to the cool stone floor below. “Wow, you and your friends sound awesome. I haven't had a friend since...” His face briefly furrowed in a frown before his smile returned. “I don't know when!” All of a sudden, he teleported himself in front of King, frightening him once again. “But I'm glad I have one now!”
The Collector zipped away again, zooming over to a table with a couple of different human toys on it. King only stared at them as they played with what looked to be a board with a ball attached by a strand of string. It looked to King as if they were supposed to hit the ball with the board, but the Collector had decided to instead use it the other way around; they grabbed it by the ball and swung it over their head until the string snapped, leaving them disappointed.
King sighed and fell backward, his eyes roving the ceiling far above. He still had no idea where he and the Collector were; they had reconfigured the skull of the Titan around them and King, and although King had seen glimpses of the now-barren outside world, he had remained trapped with no way of knowing where any of his family were.
The Collector lazily flew overhead. Coming to a stop above King, they spun upside down so they could see King’s face. “So... What do you want to do? I'm bored.” All of a sudden, their face lit up. Quite literally, in fact. “I got it!” He flashed over to King once more, kneeling in front of him as he quickly sat up. “Tell me a story!”
King blinked. “Uh... What?”
“A story! I haven't heard one in so long.” They inched closer to the little Titan. “Please?” They asked.
For a moment, King hesitated. What stories did he have to share? But as he looked into the child’s hopeful eyes, he couldn't help being reminded of someone else’s.
“Uh… ok. But it might not be very good. I’m no good at telling stories without my other half.”
The Collector tilted their head. “Where is it? Maybe I can put you back together! Then you'll have a good story!”
King had to chuckle at this. “No, no, I meant my sister. Luz.” King’s eyes lit up. Maybe he did have a few stories to share. “You know, she and I entered a writing competition once. Together we wrote a bestseller: Ruler’s Reach! But... I took all the credit. Luz wasn't too happy about that.” King’s frown deepened as he wallowed in the memory. “She still came to my book signing, though. She wanted to be there for me, be happy for me. Do you know what I did? I acted like a jerk and asked her to make another book for me as if nothing had happened!” King sighed, the guilt felt long ago washing over him once more. “But, in the end, she still forgave me. She always forgave me...
“You know, when I found out I wasn’t the King of Demons, it felt like the end of the world. But Luz was there; she comforted me. She helped me find out my past, even though it wasn't all that I hoped it’d be,” He added with a sad chuckle. “She was the best sister any Titan could ask for.”
A snore startled him out of his stupor. The Collector had somehow fallen asleep; they were floating an inch above the ground and slowly drifting. King stared bewildered for a moment before grabbing hold of their foot to stop them from moving away.
“Good night, C.” He looked above him at the rocky ceiling far above. “Goodnight, Luz. Wherever you are.“