Ship In A Bottle (A Monkie Kid Reader Insert)

Chapter 45: A Lantern's Glow

It was a weird sight, as would any dream be.

Everyone in the Celestial Realm was scattered, enjoying their time in the Anti-Gravity Arcade. Wearing modern clothing, they were either playing with the games, raising their glass of heavenly wine in a toast, or roller skating on the dance floor.

Whatever it was, laughter and joy was in the air, only boosted as Gibby entertained a good chunk of them as she juggled torches for the crowd to watch. Wearing a jester outfit and on nothing but a unicycle, she paddled around the dance floor, gliding past the roller skaters with little difficulty.

The jester's giggles were contagious, infecting every celestial she paddled past. Leaving a trail of stardust, she lit up the room with her glow and her liveliness. She watched each celestial she passed by, all with such cheerful faces. Everything was going great, until time seemingly slowed down.

Gibby caught a glance of a still figure between the two celestials she passed by. A monkey demon, eyes eerily following her, their burns sending pangs of guilt down the jester. 

Time resumed back to its normal speed, and everything went back to its lively atmosphere. Distraught at what she saw, Gibby looked around for the monkey, not taking long to find out they were gone. Maybe she was seeing things?

Gibby shook her head, getting herself back to focus. Keep up the act, keep making them laugh, keep ignoring their burns. Keep ignoring their stares, keep ignoring their wounds, keep ignoring their presence. Cold droplets of sweat formed as Gibby faked her smile for as long as she could, breaking out of her trance as she heard someone call her name.

Right, her main performance. Gibby paddled up the platform where you were behind the DJ booth. Wearing Bong Water's shades and party clothes, you immediately lit up as you slung your arm around the gibbon.

"Gibby! How's the life of the porty doing?" Your 'porty' self  greeted, taking your hands off the disks to catch one of the torches Gibby was juggling, the other two safe in her hands. "You need anything before the big gig, comrade?  Maybe some soda, or a snack?"

"N-No thanks." She stuttered, cheeks squished against yours. Her eyes glanced back at the crowd, the amount of burned monkey demons standing unnoticed by the others, growing in numbers. "I-I just might need some rest after this."

"You sure? You don't look so swell, Gibster." You let go off her, pointing the torch at her carelessly. "I have a feeling it's not just rest. If anything, you look like someone who portied too much and got into snorting the wrong stardust."

"W-why would anyone snort stardust?" Gibby was perplexed, but quickly went back to what she was here for as the crowd started to chant her name. "Let's talk later. Time to give everyone a good show!"

You shrugged. "Suit yourself." You then played with the disks before grabbing the mic. "PORTY PEOPLE, MAKE SOME NOISE!" Disembodied airhorns blew as everyone cheered, signaling you to keep going. "Who's ready to see your favorite jester do her grand fire trick?!"

Gibby couldn't tell if she was nervous at the crowd cheering at her, or the burned figures staring at her. She tried her best to shake it off, tossing one of the torches into the air and started juggling it with the other torch.  The crowd let out oohs and aahs as you tossed the third torch at Gibby's direction, her successfully catching it. 

Now juggling three torches, she spun in her unicycle. Everything was finally going back to its cheery mood. At least, that was what she thought before time slowed down again. Seeing through the huge claw machine, she saw Rasmus in the Magpie Prince's clothes, wings hanging slack and face veiled by shadow.