Chapter 23: Our Last Meal

"What did you catch him on?" I was so curious to know.

"That part about him coming to visit me the last time and said I would rise to be a hero." 

"That was the lie?" Thalia asked.

"Yes, he didn't say that. Our last visit he told me to hide away then and be a coward he didn't need me." 

"That's...harsh." Alna looked at Mateo but his smile never faded.

"Its fine, it proves he doesn't remember jack about our last discussion. Mr. Voice isn't making plans, he's probably just winging this as he goes."

"Isn't it just possible he forgot what he told you so long ago?" I asked.

"Hero...he's apparently so calculating and knows what to do next. IF that was the truth, then why did he just agree with my fabricated response? I know for a fact now he's a liar." Mateo kept smiling as if he had become a kid again. 

"Well, as ridiculous as it sounds, Mateo did well. We now know he's not as powerful as he seems nor is his master plan is without a flaw. That's good in one way but still doesn't help us in the long run." Thalia said, finishing off her stew.

"Look, we now know that he's lying and we're heading most likely for a trap. We can prepare for it. Let's assume for a minute the top doesn't lead to what he said it does. What does it lead to then?" Mateo asked. I began to brainstorm with the rest of my party. We all agreed it most likely led to Slain somehow. How though. 

"Maybe he's up there waiting?" Alna suggested.

"I don't think so I think he's still in his castle." I said but when I said this the others looked at me strangely.

"Castle?" Thalia asked questioningly.

"Yeah, he is in a dark castle right?" 

"How do you know where he's in hero?" Mateo looked at me strangely. I then realized I never shared my dream with them. I told them about how I was outside his castle and then I was there fighting him. I didn't see him but I knew it had to be him.

"Interesting...maybe it links with his power?" Thalia looked at all of us.

"He can see the future? No, doubt that. We wouldn't have then went through a marsh filled with dozens of ways we could die." Mateo spoke the truth.

"Maybe dreams show him the future?" Alna thought.

"No, I have only had a few dreams while being here...most weren't related to Slain." I said. 

"What dreams?" Thalia asked.

"Not dreams I'm going to share here!" I yelled.

"Probably dreaming of his girl Alna." Mateo chuckled.

"I mean, maybe a few but they weren't bad or anything!" I looked at the ground covering my face. Alna just rubbed my back.

"There, there...I dreamt of you a few times too Mizuki. Nothing to be ashamed of." 

"I'm going to gag...please stop." Mateo made a gagging motion. 

We all talked more about my powers till we felt sleep begin to wane on us. We said goodnight and went into our tents. I fell asleep pretty quickly, no dreams just pure sleep that was until I was interrupted when someone entered into my tent.

"Huh...who is there?" I got up and saw Alna enter my tent, she was dressed in her sleep wear which took me by surprise.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" Alna came in and stood at the entrance way of the tent.

"No...its fine. I only just fell asleep. What's wrong?" 

"I...can't sleep." 

"Sit down, we can talk." I motioned for her to sit next to me. I offered my blanket, she didn't take it.

"I want to do more than...talking." Alna's face blushed heavily and she made a pouty face. 

"Huh?" I know many of you out there might understand what she was talking about but again, while I wasn't as oblivious as most anime/manga protagonists, I was still a Japanese man who was...new to this. That night, we didn't sleep and to keep this PG, I'll just say we hugged a lot...lot of hugging. 

"You two spent the night together didn't you." Mateo said in the morning as we cleaned up our tents and got ready to eat some breakfast.

"What do you mean?" I handed him some of the blankets.

"Your face gives it away, welcome to adulthood hero." Mateo laughed and punched my arm.

"What are you boys talking about?" Alna came out from her tent which she returned to before the morning.

"Nothing!" We said in unison.

"Suspicious." Thalia came out of her tent. 

We ate breakfast and contemplated how we would handle Mr. Voice trap. The problem was, too many variables were in the way of making a conclusive plan. All we could do is suggest if we found ourselves separated, we'd find a way to gather together. Or if Slain attacked us, we'd us Mateo's created distraction devices (they reminded me of firecrackers) to run and regather ourselves. These plans all seemed overly simple but they eased us, we had a means of avoiding being completely taken off guard. 

We continued walking, it was...boring I won't deny. The most we could do was talk about random topics and occasionally wonder what Slain looked like.

"I bet he is the size of a newborn dragon!" Alna said, which made me wonder how big a newborn dragon was...

"That or he's like Mr. Voice, a ghost-like being." Mateo never looked up from his small device that controlled his bird monitor. We had to a few times stop him from walking off the side of the mountain...

"What do we do about his power though?" Thalia asked the hardest question.

"Well, we know he can make worlds and monsters...the best we can do is to sit and watch as he snaps us out of existence." Mateo laughed at his own stupid comment. I won't deny though...that thought reminded me he probably could do just that.

"Fool. Think reasonably. Yes, he might be strong and have creative God-like powers. If he could do that though, why hasn't he just done that right now?" Thalia wasn't wrong. Part of me thought that Slain's power only allowed him to create things not completely annihilate us in one second. If we could hit him hard and fast, we might be able to  overwhelm him and keep him from using his power.  Reckless and stupid but what other plan was available to us?

Again, we stopped our walk and set up camp. This mountain was becoming tedious.

"The HV really couldn't climb this path?" I asked setting up bread for dinner and frying up some meat, again unknown meat, on the pan we had. The smell was nice and reminiscent of steak but I doubted it was from a cow. 

"Unfortunately, no. The HV is way too big for this path and I can't make it smaller in my mind. Top that off while this mountain isn't steep so far, it still is an incline. That vehicle won't go up this faster than we are." Mateo put away his bird and helped with the dinner set up.

"Dang...this isn't a hard walk but my feet are killing me." I sighed.

"Agree hero...agree." we both sighed.

Together, we all ate and laughed. Talked about the differences in our worlds, some good memories we had, some bad, but it felt nice. I had learned Alna was afraid of thunder, Mateo loved books and Thalia's age was...

"45 technically." We all looked in surprise. She had claimed time worked very strangely in the forest and despite years passing, possibly a century or more, her age internally was 45. Externally though, she didn't age within the forest. She was that of a 14 year old girl...

"I'm sorry..." I said to her. I couldn't imagine living so many years alone or in a place like the forest.

"Don't be Mizuki. In my world, I was always alone. My parents abandoned me as a child and I grew up on the streets. When I came here, it was a blessing. I had a means of getting food and a place I could sleep daily that wasn't in the rain or snow. It was, nice." Thalia took a sip of her tea she had made for us. 

"Still that sounds like a rough life." Alna said looking over at her.

"It wasn't easy but I survived. So yes, this world has been tough in other ways but would I trade it for the hell I endured before? No." 

"I think we all agree with you given if those were our circumstances." I said.

We continued our meal sharing stories but at one point I felt an odd feeling. I looked over at my party...no my friends and thought this would be our last meal together. Why that thought crossed my mind I'd never realize but I was determined I wouldn't let that happen. 

"Guys...I'll keep you all safe. I promise." I proclaimed. It was a bold statement but I meant it with all my heart. None of these three would die...not Mateo, Thalia or Alna. I'd save us...I'd rid this world of Slain somehow.

"We know hero." Mateo smacked my back and we all smiled...little did we know that our final battle was approaching in just a few hours...