Chapter XVIII - Watching And Dreaming

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I don't know what happened next. One second we were stood at the base of the Head, talking and freaking out Luz's palisman. Hunter had his arm around me. I was feeling surprisingly good about things, and the next thing I knew the world was black. 

I vaguely remember the ground starting to shake. Something came from the sky and grabbed all of us. There was a flash of light, then it was just dark. I felt... alive, but... also not. I knew I wasn't dead, but something wasn't right. I couldn't move, couldn't see, couldn't do anything. It was just me in my brain, nothing to do but think and panic.

I don't know how long it lasted, but eventually it stopped. I opened my eyes, only to squeeze them shut again in the sudden light. I groaned, pushing myself up into a sitting position.

I was on the floor, Hunter, Gus, Willow and Amity around me. A ball of light floated over our heads. It didn't take me long to figure out we were in the Archives. Everywhere I looked, wall to impossibly high ceiling shelves were filled with puppets. A few I recognised, a few I didn't. But I knew just from just how many there were, The Collector had nearly everyone on the Isles.

Gus saw the puppets and screamed. "Where the hell are we?!"

"The Archives, I assume." I said.

"Camila!" Gus yelled, pointing at her. She was a puppet, hung from strings a few shelves off the ground.

Gus stood, summoning his Palisman staff. "Willow, help me get her down."

We all got up, ready to help everyone, but Amity stayed where she was sat.

"Guys, where's Luz?" She asked, voice shaking.

None of us had an answer. We looked around, scanning every shelf for her puppet, but I couldn't see anything. I guessed from the other's faces they didn't either.

"She must be around here somewhere." Willow said, her old reassuring confidence back like it had never left. "We just have to find her."

We all nodded, not wanting to believe any different. And that's what we did, Gus, Willow and Amity hopped on their staffs and started flying around in search of Luz. Me and Hunter could only stay on the ground and watch, scanning the lowest shelves.

One wall was entirely an open window, overlooking all of the Boiling Isles. After a while of searching for Luz, something started to drift through it. Small balls of light, floating in on a breeze, illuminating the room. It almost looked like the energy Flapjack had released when he died.

We stopped to stare, confused. Amity reached out to try and touch it, but the light just floated between her fingers.

"What is this?" She asked.

"I don't know." Hunter said.

"Hey, guys! We got her." Gus called down. He and Willow were holding Camila between them, carefully carrying her back down. They lay her down, and Gus cast a small light spell, holding it in front of her face for a moment.

"She's waking up." He said.

"Wha... what's happening?" Camila asked as Gus pulled her up. "Where's Luz?"

We all avoided her gaze. Camila's eyes widened.

Before any of us could speak, the building started to shake. The beams across the ceiling cracks and chunks of stone rained down on us.

Amity swept her arm over her head, creating a sheild her abomination magic. But the goop just fell onto her head, liquid and useless. Amity fell to her knees.

"What's wrong with my magic?" She asked.

Camila walked over and helped her up. "Can't you tell? You're exhausted. You all are. None of you have gotten rest in days."

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