"Are you down there?"

Mike looked up from his walkie-talkie to see his mother coming down the stairs. Quickly, he stashed it away and gave her an expectant look.

"What's up, Mom?"

"I need you to put Holly to bed for me. There's a meeting I'm going to that I can't skip."

Mike wanted to say no. He wanted to stay in the basement where he was and keep trying to call El. But he couldn't say no. Holly was the only family member he had that he liked most of the time. And he was more than willing to spend the evening with her if it meant taking his mind off the fact that the love of his life was gone.

"Sure. I'll be up there in a minute."

"She's already had her bath. Bedtime is eight o'clock. Have a good night, sweetheart. Oh, and don't fall asleep in your blanket fort again, okay?"

"Okay." Mike nodded and his mother was gone.

He headed upstairs and found Holly playing with her toys. Checking his watch, he discovered it was seven-thirty—more than early enough to start putting his four-year-old sister to bed. Besides, whenever he put her to bed, she'd demand a story. And he'd need plenty of time to tell a story if he ended up telling her one.

"Holly, it's almost bedtime," he told her. "You wanna go ahead and get into bed?"

"Story," she replied.

"You want a story from me?"

"Mm-hmm!"

"Why?"

"Because you tell the best stories!"

"All right, but you have to clean up your toys and get into bed."

Excited at the prospect of hearing one of his stories, Holly had all her toys cleaned up in record time. She climbed into bed and waited for him to come over.

"What story do you want tonight?" He reached for her bookshelf and she shook her head. "You don't want a story?"

"Make one up."

Make up a story?

"About what?"

"A princess. And a dragon."

Okay. Simple enough. He closed his eyes for a second and tried to think of a princess.

Of course his mind immediately went to his princess. The story of him and his princess and the dragon that had all but taken her away from him. And he had the perfect story to tell Holly… even if it didn't have a happy ending like most stories did. At least, not yet. But it would, one day, when she came back to him and they lived out the rest of their lives in peace.

"Mikey, start!" she demanded.

"Somebody's awfully bossy." Holly pouted and he sighed. "Okay, ready?"

"Ready!"

"Once upon a time, there was a Wicked King. He had a kingdom that was as ruthless and cruel as he was, and they liked it that way. It was far away from any other place, so nobody paid much attention to it. But inside the castle, there was one good person—the King's stepdaughter, a beautiful Princess who also happened to be a very powerful Mage. The King wanted her to use her powers to do bad things and become evil like him. He didn't realize that the Princess was planning to escape and be a good person forever. And she did escape, out into the night, when a Dragon attacked the kingdom of evil."

He noticed Holly was hanging onto every word.

"That same night, a brave Cleric was taken by the Dragon, too. Everyone in the kingdom where he lived was worried about him, especially his three best friends. One was a Bard, another was a Ranger, and the last one was a Paladin. They wanted to be the ones to slay the Dragon and find their friend because they were heroes. So one night, they snuck out of the kingdom and into the woods near where the Dragon had taken the Cleric. It was cold and raining, but they were determined to find him."

"What about the Princess, Mikey?"

"Well, that was it. They found the Princess instead of their friend. The Paladin wanted to take her home and help her get out of the rain, but the Ranger and the Bard said that it wasn't a good idea. They brought her to the Paladin's home anyway, and she slept in his cellar. She liked it more than her cell at the castle of evil, anyway. The Paladin watched her get comfortable and asked what her name was. She didn't know, but that didn't matter to him. He wanted her to feel safe."

"Did he think she was pretty?"

"He didn't. He thought she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen in his life."

"Keep going."

"The Princess knew what had happened to the Cleric, but she couldn't talk very well. You see, the Wicked King hadn't taught her how, and speaking to people was a new experience. But she tried to show them where the Dragon had taken the Cleric. In a strange way, he was at home—but in a place they couldn't see, a hidden realm. The Dragon had taken him there and the Princess knew how to get there. She could even find things there without going through the portal known as the Gate."

"Did something bad happen?"

"Not yet. They had to try and hear the Cleric through a special stone that only a powerful Mage could use. That stone was at the local adventurer's academy, where the Paladin, Ranger, Bard, and Cleric learned how to be heroes. They made the Princess look even more beautiful so that they could sneak her in and the Paladin loved her even more. Especially when she stopped a nasty troll from hurting the Paladin."

The thought of Troy being a troll felt right.

"But then, when they went to find the Gate that would let them into the hidden realm, they found themselves being led in circles. The Princess was trying to keep them from going near it."

"Why?"

"Because the Gate was in the kingdom of evil, and she didn't want them to go there. And the Dragon was still lurking around, too. She was trying to keep them safe. But the Ranger got mad at her, saying she was a traitor. He and the Paladin started fighting, dueling in a way that scared the Princess. She ended up throwing the Ranger into the air and hurting him on accident. The Paladin was horrified and yelled at the Princess, who ran away."

"I don't like that."

"The Paladin didn't, either. He was sorry as soon as she was gone and he was mad at himself for yelling at her."

"Did he go find her?"

"Not at first. He was too mad at himself to go look for her. Then the Bard told him that he should apologize to the Ranger and go find the Princess. Sadly, the Ranger thought that they should continue their quest without the Princess and went to try and find the Gate by himself. That left the Bard and the Paladin looking for the Princess without him."

Holly seemed to be very interested now.

"While they were searching for her in the forest, the troll she'd stopped came out with a friend of his who was a goblin. They chased the Bard and the Paladin to a cliff overlooking the ocean, and the troll caught the Bard. He told the Paladin to jump into the sea if he wanted the Bard to live. And the Paladin went right to the edge of that cliff and jumped."

"But he didn't find his princess!" wailed Holly.

"You're right. He didn't find her… but she found him. She made him fly and helped him land safely on the ground back at the top. And then she made the troll and the goblin go away. Proudly, the Bard declared that the Princess was his friend before the Princess collapsed. The Paladin rushed to her side and woke her up. Then…" He felt his heart catch in his throat. "She told the Paladin something."

"What did she say?!"

"She told him that she was the one who opened the Gate. And that she was the reason the Cleric had been taken by the dragon. She started crying and he hugged her to make her feel better. Because he knew she wasn't the monster that she thought she was. He took her home and helped clean her up, because she was sad and needed his help. And he almost kissed her, but the Bard interrupted because the Ranger needed their help."

"He found the Gate?"

"He didn't. Instead, he found the kingdom of evil. And he found out that the Wicked King was sending an army after the Princess because the King wanted her back. Thanks to his warning, the Paladin and the Bard were able to take the Princess away before the Wicked King's army arrived. They met the Ranger, but they were being chased by the army still. A chariot raced towards the Paladin as he rode furiously to a hideaway, the Princess behind him on his horse. And the Princess flipped the chariot over the Paladin's head, making sure he was safe."

"She loved him, too?"

"Maybe. Or maybe she did it because she was a good person and wanted to protect her friends. She'd never had friends before."

"Because the Wicked King is a meanie."

"Exactly."

"What's next?"

"Well, they made it to the hideaway, where they were called through a magic stone by a Rogue, a Monk, a Druid, and a Barbarian. They knew about the Princess and they wanted to help, too. In fact, the Monk was the Cleric's mother and the Druid was his brother. The Rogue was the Paladin's sister, and the Barbarian wanted to make sure the Cleric came home safely. They brought the Princess and her friends back to another safe place, where they tried to talk to the Cleric through a magic stone again. But the Princess's power was drained from her earlier efforts."

"No!"

"Luckily, the Bard called a knowledgeable Wizard and learned how to make a special pool that would allow the Princess to extend her powers. They went to the adventurer's academy and made the pool, where they found out the Cleric was alive. The Princess told him to wait, that the Monk was coming to save him, and the Cleric asked them to hurry. The Monk and the Barbarian left to fight their way into the kingdom of evil."

"What about the Princess?"

"She stayed there with the Paladin, resting with him and his friends, before the Paladin realized that the Rogue and the Druid had left, too. They'd gone to fight the Dragon, who'd killed the Rogue's best friend. And so the Bard and the Ranger went to get some supplies to help the Princess get better faster. She was going to be free from her stepfather and stay with her new friends."

"I like that."

"The Paladin, of course, was completely in love with her and just wanted her to be happy. He promised her that she wouldn't have to live in his cellar anymore and that she'd have a real bed. The Rogue would be her sister and his mother would be like her mother. He even invited her to go to the Winter's Ball with him, trying to explain how he felt about her. And then…" The lump in his throat returned as he thought back to those final peaceful moments with El. "He kissed her."

"And they lived happily ever after, right?"

"I wish they could have. But somehow, the Wicked King and his army had found them. They chased the Princess and her friends, and the Princess made some of them disappear, but it was too much for her and she collapsed again. The Wicked King took her in his arms and told her that she would go home with him. She didn't want to go with him, and she cried out for the Paladin. And then the Dragon showed up and attacked the Wicked King and his army. The Bard carried the Princess, trying to help get her to safety, and the Paladin held her hand as they took refuge in a small cottage nearby. He promised her that they would stay together, that he would be with her always."

Holly's eyes were wide.

"The Dragon burst through the door and began to try and attack the three adventurers. The Ranger fired arrows at it, but nothing seemed to be able to stop it. Then it was thrown into the wall. While watching the beast screech, they realized that the Princess was going to slay the Dragon herself. The Paladin rushed forward to stop her, but she used her powers to throw him back so he could be safe. She whispered a final goodbye to him before telling the dragon, 'no more.' And just like that, she slayed the dragon and made it disappear… and she disappeared, too."

"She's gone?" whispered Holly, her eyes wide.

"Yes. But the Barbarian and the Monk managed to save the Cleric, so the Paladin had his best friend back. He was happy about that, but he was still hurting. He'd only known the Princess six days, but she'd made his way into his heart and he knew he was never going to let her go. Not if he lived a hundred years would he ever forget her smile or her voice."

"Did the Princess die?"

"No. He knew she wasn't dead. She was still alive, but she was in the hidden realm and he didn't know how to find her there. But he used a magic stone to call out to her every night in hopes she might answer."

"And did she?"

"Not yet. But he'll never stop until he knows whether or not she's okay. Because he loves her more than he loves anything else and that's what love does. And when she comes back to him, they'll go to the Winter's Ball and live happily ever after. The end."

He could feel a slight pain in his chest at the ending. He wasn't a particular fan of it, and his hand shook slightly. Then he felt a smaller hand on his and saw Holly reaching out.

"You'll find her again, Mikey," she told him, her eyes smiling. "You'll find your princess and she'll love you forever."

His eyes widened as Holly snuggled under her blankets to go to sleep.

"Night night, Mikey."

"Night, Holly." He kissed his younger sister's forehead and turned off her light before going downstairs to the basement and picking up his Super-Comm.

She knew.

"Hi, El. It's me, Mike. Right now, it's 8:04, Day 323. I just finished putting Holly to bed for my mom. She wanted me to make up a story for her, so I… I told her about you. And she knew it was about you, even though I tried to hide it. A-and she said that I'd find you, one day, and that we'd be with each other forever." His heart dropped. "God, I miss you so much… please, tell me you're okay. I just want to know if you're okay. That's all I need, please."

There was no answer, but he could… feel her. Her presence. As if she were a feather in the wind, a whisper on the breeze. His heart beat a little faster and he knew the truth. He'd known it since El disappeared at the school. And now Holly knew that truth, too.

The Paladin would find the Princess, no matter how long it took.

Okay, I just wanted to write a Holly-Mike sibling piece. It seems to be fairly accepted in the fandom that Mike would totally tell the best bedtime stories due to his dramatic flair for storytelling—whether that be to his own kids or to Nancy's or to Holly. This was just my take on it. He's not as much of an emo in this story because his little sister is a ray of sunshine that he desperately needs without El.

I see most people asking for Jopper or more Mom-Steve next season, but what I want to see is Mike being a big brother to Holly. Maybe he has to take her along with him when he's supposed to go on a date with El because his mom makes him babysit. And then Holly ends up involved in whatever is going on and El's basically being a mom trying to keep her safe like Steve and Mike just ends up thinking 'I want this girl to have my babies.'

Also, before you jump up my ass about how perceptive Holly is in this, I would like to say this: I am an Early Childhood Education major in college and one of the first things they teach us in those classes is that children observe more than we think. Most kids are much smarter than we give them credit for. I babysit a four-year-old sometimes who is already starting to read aloud on her own.

Anyway… thanks for reading!

So long and thanks for all the fish!