The voice was back and seemed better than ever. Whatever inspired such joy was unknown to me. "Good evening, (Y/n)!"

"What do you want?" I pushed out the words with the little bravery I had left after fighting for my life in the realm of nature.

"I certainly hope you haven't forgotten anything," it told me. How vague.

The joke's on them because I wanted to forget everything. "And I assume you know what I forgot."

"Oh, the rebellion!" the voice gawked. "It seems that staying with Pit and the dear Lady Palutena has strengthened your courage. Too bad it didn't happen sooner."

"What do you mean?" I asked, unaware that I had fallen right into a trap.

It laughed, "You haven't forgotten about your best friend, have you?"

I gasped, "Kari!"

"Yes, she must be very burdened with the thought that her best friend has died along with everyone else," it reminded me.

"Right, she was out of town when the reset bomb hit..." my voice trailed off.

I turned around, and the black void I was floating in transitioned to a hospital waiting room. That's when Kari, my best friend, rushed in. "Is Issac alive?! I came as soon as you sent me that text. You could have provided me more detail, (Y/n)!"

"I'm sorry," I glanced down at the small blood stain on my (f/c) hoodie. "I don't know how he's doing. The doctors haven't come out and said anything."

She took the seat next to mine. "How did it happen?"

I could hardly speak, but I needed to get everything off my chest before it exploded from the horror I experienced. And the horror I caused. "I said hi. But I walked into the road... and he saved me."

"Issac? Saved YOU?" she gasped. "Even after you embarrassed him? I didn't know he was so nice!"

"Can you not tell?" I looked up at her. "He does the tiniest things to help people, but they are so important."

"Wow you like him more than I thought you did," Kari opened her phone. "Oh, Sadie says hi. She can't be here for you because she promised her boyfriend they would hang out tonight."

"It's good that she finally has time to see him," I muttered. "She's always so busy."

"Well, she's kind of been avoiding him because she swears he was flirting with someone at a party the other night," Kari started. If she loved anything, it was drama. And it didn't matter who got hurt. "So actually, she's going tonight just to confront him!"

She slapped a hand over her mouth as a couple of Issac's friends walked in and sat in another part of the room. The sight of them made me sick. Who knew what they would do once they found out this was all my fault. I whispered to Kari, "Maybe we should wait outside."

"Why?" she questioned before using my head to point in the direction of the two boys. She only rolled her eyes. "You are so antisocial. It's not like they will get mad at you. The whole thing was an accident."

I opened my mouth to speak, but then I saw her expression dim, followed by her standing. "Oh... my mom texted me. I need to go. Tell me if Issac gets better."

It then occurred to me exactly what went through Kari's mind... and what she was going to do about it.

"Wait! It wasn't a revenge plot or something!" I shrieked and could feel the two boys' line of sight burn into the back of my head. "Please, Kari! Don't tell anyone that- "

But it was too late, the door had closed as she sprinted away, no doubt mid-text about how I was a monster.

The scene faded to black.

"That's not how it happened," I said, once again floating in the void of my sleeping mind. "She never thought for a second that I wanted to kill him."

"She never showed it," the voice corrected.

"But..." I said, tears pricking my eyes. "She's my best friend."

"Don't despair," the voice attempted to mock me. "I lost a friend once two."

"As if the voice in my head has friends," I crossed my arms.

"Still feisty, I see," it commented before going on. "For your information, I did have a best friend, and she beats your's any day of the week."

"You know, I bet they do." That's when something in me changed. Suddenly I no longer lamented for Kari. I no longer needed her validation even though she was allegedly still alive.

It was silent for a second before the voice spoke again. "it's so odd to see you agreeing with me."

"Maybe it's time to stop fighting whatever this is. You heard what Dark Pit said. Tonight, your existence saved me from the goddess of nature," I said, letting out a breath of air.

"One of my more heroic moments, I suppose" it replied.

"Well, it would have never happened if you didn't decide to take over my life," I grumbled.

"It could be worse," it told me nonchalantly.

"Worse? WORSE!?" I cried. "My home is gone, my friends are dead, and Hades could be back!"

"Maybe you could put that on your resume," it retorted. "Who knows, maybe you will be applying for a position soon."

I didn't know how to respond to that last part. "... How so?"

"You never know, dear (Y/n)," the voice echoed into the void of my subconscious. "I'm closer than you think."

That's when I shot up and threw the covers off. I would have to make the bed later. For now, I needed to catch breakfast and hope it wasn't two in the afternoon already. Sleeping in late after these dreams until late hours seemed to be a trend.

But bad luck didn't seem to be haunting me that morning. When I looked out a large, stained-glass window, I saw the sunrise peak over the clouds that surrounded Skyworld, my new home.