Chapter 26: That's What Friends Are For (Saving Pinggoy and Francis)

Even though they are still far away from Pinggoy's dream, they can hear him scream.

"Whoa, Pinggoy must be dreaming some nightmare for him to scream like that."

"Your friend sure can scream."

"You have no idea how that scream can severe the insides of your ear."

They ran towards Pinggoy who is standing on top of a block. Something below him is wriggling.

"What do you think are those things below him?"

"I don't know. Let's get closer so we can see."

They continued running towards Pinggoy and were surprised to see what the wriggling creatures were.

"Are those kittens?"

"I think so. But why is Pinggoy afraid of them."

"They are adorable. How can such adorable little kittens scare him?"

"Let's find out."

Raffy went a little closer to talk to Pinggoy.

"Hey, Pinggoy. Are you all right?"

"Raffy? Is that you? Please help me. These things are hideous."

"Hideous? What made them hideous?"

"They look scary to me okay? I just don't like them!"

Cassandra walked towards the kittens and took one.

"They're so cute!"

"What made those creatures cute? Who are you anyway? Would you like to introduce me, Raffy?"

"Oh, sure...Pinggoy, this is Cassandra. She's Queen Frella's sister. And Cassandra, this is my friend Pinggoy."

"Nice to meet you Pinggoy."

"Nice to meet you too. Now would you two please help me out of here?"

"Why don't you try coming down from there and touch these kittens."

"Are you insane? They might scratch and hurt me."

"No they won't. Look, Cassandra's holding one and she's okay."

"They're really not that bad. They are so adorable I could hug them all day."

"So? What about it Pinggoy? I have known you to be someone who takes chances. Why not take this risk? You've nothing to lose."

"Well..."

"Here, if you don't like to touch the others because you're afraid they might hurt you, take this one. I have been holding him for quite some time and he hasn't hurt me yet."

"All right. But if he scratches me even once, I'm going to kill you Raffy."

When Cassandra was about to hand the kitten to Pinggoy, it snarled at him and attempted to scratch him. Cassandra took the kitten away so it would not hurt Pinggoy.

"Is that what you call safe?"

"I...I am sorry. I didn't know he was going to do that."

"Why is it that these damn kittens hate me?"

"Maybe because you hate them, that's why they hate you."

"I had enough out of you. Don't you dare speak to me again!"

"Hey Pinggoy, don't say things like that. She was just trying to help you. Besides, I think she is right. Tell me, do you hate kittens?"

"Yes. I don't like them. Don't ask why, I just don't like them. I'm more of a dog person."

"Then that's it."

"What's it?"

"You do hate them just like what Cassandra said. Maybe if you try not hating them, they would not hurt you."

"But how can I do that?"

"I am really sorry about what happened before. But if you try again, I know that he wouldn't hurt you anymore."

"How do you know?"

"Trust me."

"Well...okay."

Cassandra slowly handed the kitty to Pinggoy. Pinggoy closed his eyes and cleared his mind of all the scary things that he thought cats might do to him.

"So? Did I do it? Am I holding the kitten?"

"Yes! You did it Pinggoy!"

"Oh thank you very much Cassandra. You too Raffy."

"So, do you think you can now get down from that block?"

"Of course."

Pinggoy slowly stepped down from the block while still holding the kitten Cassandra handed to him.

"Guys, thank you very much."

Pinggoy walked away together with the kitten and he and the kitten slowly vanished.

"So I think he's now back in his bed?"

"Yes. Just like Paolo. Who do you think is next in this sequence of dreams?"

"I don't know, I can't hear any scream for help."

"Let's just walk ahead till we see the cutoff point of Pinggoy's dream."

Raffy and Cassandra walked and walked until they hear some voices.

"I think we're near him."

They ran and saw that the dream cuts off to a theater. They heard people shouting rude things at someone on the stage.

"Let's hurry up. I think whoever he is; he's in a lot more trouble than Paolo and Pinggoy."

"I think so. Those people shouldn't be shouting such horrible things."

They hurried past the audience and onto the stage. There, they saw Francis singing, only, he does not have any voice.

"Hey Francis, are you okay?"

Francis looked at Raffy and smiled. He mouthed “Raffy! Help me...I don't have any voice.”

"I'm sorry? What is that?"

"He has lost his voice."

"What? So you mean to tell me that he's afraid to lose his voice?"

"Yes."

"Well, that makes sense; he can't stop himself from speaking."

Francis punched Raffy in the arm and took a pad and a pen from the stool beside him.

"I might be dumb but I'm not deaf you idiot!"

"You're dumb? I have always told you that. But you never seem to admit it till now."

Then suddenly, a tomato hit Raffy's face.

"Hey! Stop that!"

"Raffy, I think we better go to the back stage before any more tomatoes hit your face."

Once they were backstage, Francis hit Raffy on the head.

"Hey! What was that for?"

Francis wrote on his pad again and showed it to Raffy.

"Dumb as in 'cannot speak' not dumb as in 'stupid' you moron!"

"Sorry! So Cassandra, how do you suppose we can help him?"

"Well, the only thing we can do is help him get over his fear."

"But how can we help him get over his fear of losing his voice?"

"Well, I don't know actually."

While the three of them are thinking how to bring Francis' voice back, the audience was getting restless.

"Why are they getting that restless? Why can't they just go home?"

"I'll check on them and ask them to leave."

As soon as Raffy opened the curtains, he was shocked to see the audience turn to monsters one by one.

"Umm...guys, I think we should leave...Now."

"Why? What is it?"

Cassandra looked outside and saw the monsters. The monsters saw them and started to go after them.

"I think they saw us Raffy."

"You think?"

"The only way to make them go away is to make your friend wake up. And to do that we must help him get over his fear."

"Well good luck with that!"

Raffy glanced over at Francis and saw that he's terrified.

"I'll hold them back. You help Francis get his voice back."

Raffy went on the stage and faced the monsters.

"You monsters better get back if you don't want to get hurt."

Raffy still did not know how to transform to his guardian form like what happened before in the volcano.

Raffy fought the monsters one by one by throwing at them fireballs.

"Damn! I can't hold them off like this. I need to transform to my guardian form. But how!"

While Raffy's fighting the monsters on stage, Cassandra tries to help Francis get his voice back.

"This is your dream right? So you can stop the monsters."

Francis, still shaking, took his pen and wrote on the paper.

"I know that this is my dream, but I'm not the one doing this. I won't do anything to hurt any of my friends."

"If that's the case, then who's doing all this?"

"I don't know. The only thing I remember is singing in front of the crowd. Then the place suddenly blacked-out. When the lights were turned back on, I couldn't sing anymore."

"Could it be that Somnus is changing the audience to monsters?"

"Hey guys! I'd really appreciate it if you could just hurry it up!"

Raffy's still fighting the monsters. They don't seem to be hurt at all by Raffy's fireballs. They seem to be invincible.

"Francis, listen to me. You're the only one who can stop all this."

"But I don't know how."

"Try shouting or talking or something. Just talk and you can save all of us."

While Cassandra tries to help Francis, Raffy thinks of ways to lure the monsters away from them.

"If I could just do my firewall again. Here goes nothing...Firewall!"

Pillars of fire began to fence the stage. Unfortunately, some monsters got through his firewall even before he cast it. The monster caught Raffy by surprise and scratched him.

"Ouch! Get away from me you monsters!"

Raffy continuously threw fireballs at them. However, he is getting weaker after every throw.

Francis is now crying not only because of losing his voice but also because he's the reason Raffy's hurt.

"Francis, come on! I know you can do it! I've known you long enough to know that you don’t give up easily!"

Suddenly, two monsters held Raffy tightly by his hands. While he is being held, another monster went in front of him holding a metal bar that came from the railing of the stairs.

Cassandra tried to fight the monster but she was just no match for them. As the monster gets closer to Raffy, Francis tries to speak. He tries as hard as he could so he can save Raffy.

Just as the monster was going to smash Raffy in the head, Francis remembered the words Raffy said. His words echoed through Francis' head. Then he shouted as hard as he could.

"Raffy! No!"

Then suddenly, everything changed. The monsters were now gone and they were now in a different place. The place was more bigger than before and the audience are just coming in from the doors.

"Francis, you did it! You saved me!"

"No, actually, it was you who saved me. Thank you."

"Well, Cassandra and I will be sitting in front and we will watch you sing."

Raffy and Cassandra went down the stage and sat in the front row. The host of the concert announced Francis and everybody applauded. Francis sang for a short while as he slowly disappears along with the audience.

"I didn't think I'd get to know your friends this way. Your friend sure does care a lot for you."

"I guess so. He was always hanging around me. I find it irritating most of the time. But I think it was his way of showing how he cares."

"By hanging around you that much?"

"I don't know exactly. I don't want to think about it anymore. The important thing is we saved Francis."

"Don't forget Pinggoy and Paolo."

"You know, you were really a lot of help. I don't know if I could have done this without you."

"Stop it! You're making me blush. We'd better get going. I think there are more of your friends ahead."

"Okay. By the way, I really meant what I said. You were a big help."

Cassandra smiled and walked side by side with Raffy as they went out of the theater.

"Raffy, aren't you hurt?"

"Not anymore. Seeing that I helped Francis and all, it made me feel a lot better."

"Are you sure?"

"And then there's you."

"I said stop it! You're really making me blush!"

Cassandra slapped Raffy's arm lightly and smiled.

"Ouch! That hurt!"

"I thought you're not hurt anymore?"

"Well...I...never mind."

Raffy and Cassandra kept on walking and hoped to see the next dream soon so they could get out of the dream world. They have no idea that the challenge for them is just beginning.