Sleep...

It should be a peaceful respite...

But, not this time...

And not because of nightmares...

But, because of what's to come once this respite ends...

I'm terrified of the fate my companions could face in my absence...the fate Rosa could face...and yet I lay here as a captive of the darker doppelganger of my best friend. Kain...what's befallen you? I can't bear to look at that darker side of him...the one that's desperate to make Rosa his even if he destroys her happiness. Fear, anger, sorrow...all of it starts to suffocate me when I see a light behind my tears.

I look up and find a girl with light blue hair tied up in a bun and lavender eyes showing pity. She wore a white shirt covered by a ocean blue blouse, a navy skirt held up by a sky blue ribbon to resemble a kimono, faded cyan leggings covering her legs, and black heels adorned with tiny white crystals. Her kind smile reminded me so much of Rosa I simply could not hold my tears back. It took a while for me to become coherent enough to speak.

"H-How do you...know me?"

She shook her head and said, "I don't have much time to speak with you, Cecil. Please, permit me to explain a bit."

I decided to let her speak, for it could give me the answers I sorely need.

"We are in a dream at the moment, but I can speak to you through your dreams." She told me.

"Where are you in reality?" I asked.

"Asleep...and probably will not wake up for a long time," She answered vaguely. "But, I wanted to tell you that Rosa is safe."

The moment she said that, I had hold back the urge to force myself awake so I could look for her.

"Please...tell me where she is..." I pleaded desperately.

She sadly told me, "I guided her to another world that clone of your friend doesn't know about."

It took some time to come to terms with what I was told, but decided to believe her. I had no reason to distrust her after all she's done to assist me. Despite the strangeness of her story, there was no hesitation in my next decision.

"Show me how to reach this world."

The girl looked at me and said, "Once you wake up, I will keep guiding you through telepathy.

"You have my deepest gratitude, but may I ask your name?" I asked remembering that I didn't even know her name.

"It's Brielle."

That was the last thing I heard before my dream was over. I woke up to all of the soldiers asleep. To say the least, I was surprised to see this happen, but I also knew this was my best chance to escape even if I couldn't figure out how this happened for the life of me.. I jumped out of the window and landed on my side. That was painful, but it was worth it to get away from that monster pretending to be my friend. After that less than ideal landing, I made a run for it and whispered...

"Where do I go...Brielle?"

I didn't think I'd hear anything, but she proved me wrong.

"I'll open the portal for you, okay?"

When the portal opened right in front of me, I internally thanked every deity in this world and ran inside of the portal. I thought everything was going in the right direction for the first time since my captivity began. I said to myself...

"You won't have to wait much longer Rosa."

Everything went dark after that...I couldn't see anymore...I couldn't hear anymore...I couldn't even feel anymore...But, I could still think. And all I could think about was whether everything that happened was a dream or not. Slowly, I began to regain my senses even if my consciousness hadn't returned. I knew that I was laying on a floor because of the cold, hard touch. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

A/N:

Finally, something new...

Kayla: It's still Final Fantasy, bruh.

It's not FFIX though. I've been planning this since September, but I couldn't get off my butt.

Kayla: LAAAAZY!