Chapter 8: An important Clue

Dash was standing between tall buildings and in front of a destroyed minibus.

"Where am I?" He asked himself.

As he took a look around, he realized he is in the city, just a few streets away from the mall. And the ruined bus behind him also felt kind of familiar to him.

'This can't be!' Dash thought as his memories of the day they fought the omnidroid came rushing back. Suddenly he heard a voice coming from a nearby street.

"DASH, HELP ME!"

It was Violet's voice. As he ran to where the sound of her voice came from, he caught sight of a big robot with six legs.

"No!" Dash screamed.

It couldn't be possible. The omnidroid was back? But how? They already defeated it. This couldn't be real. When he looked around, Dash saw his sister protecting citizens from falling parts of destroyed buildings by using her force fields. As the people got to safety, she ran over to Dash and said

"This thing is destroying everything! We need to take it down!"

In his confusion, Dash didn't know what to do. But he wanted to help her, as she was eager to save the town just as much as he was. So, his answer was clear.

"Okay. Let's go!"

They ran over to where the robot was going and Dash had an idea.

"Hey, Vi. Can you make a force field over there, where the sign is?"

He pointed to an almost destroyed building with a big sign advertising a fast-food restaurant.

"Of course I can, but how does that help?" Violet asked thoughtfully.

"It almost broke off when the robot attacked the building, maybe you can knock it off and onto it!" Dash suggested.

It was a good plan. Giving him a reassuring smile, Violet nodded and gazed over to the building's roof. She created a force field and made it grow bigger to ensure it pushes the sign. When it finally fell down it landed on the robot's head, making it fall to the ground. The siblings high fived when they heard the robot getting up again, its head turning to face them. It immediately walked over to them as Violet pulled up a forcefield around them, shielding them from its attack.

"Dash. I want you to run over there, okay?" She pointed to a nearby street. "I will meet you there."

Trusting her, Dash nodded and ran as she ended the force field and turned invisible. The robot saw Dash running and immediately gave up on him. It also knew Violet was invisible as it was an intelligent robot. Dropping to the ground, it stretched the arms out as long as it could and started to spin fast while moving around. Dash was shocked to see his sister got hit and thrown into the building next to him, falling to the ground with a bleeding head and torn suit.

"VIOLET!" He screamed in fear as he ran over to her.

Watching her brother weakly, she started to cry.

"It hurts… I can't… walk."

Tears poured out of Dash's eyes as he grabbed her hand and cried

"I'll carry you!"

"You… can't. Run… It's… coming. Please…" Violet begged him.

Dash stayed by her side and hugged her as the robot grabbed him and threw him away. When he hit the ground, he managed to weakly look over to where Violet lay, the robot standing in front of her.

'Please don't' Dash thought as the robot lifted one of its arms. It came down on Violet and before it could crush her, everything turned black.

Dash's eyes shot open and he was relieved to see he was still in the motel room and his sister lying in her own bed. It was another nightmare. Why did he have to have so many of them lately? It was hard to sleep when knowing there could always be another one, maybe even a worse one.

Dash got up from his bed and walked over to Violet's.

"I need you…" Dash whispered as quiet as he could before hesitantly lifting a hand, trying to shake her awake.

Violet's eyes opened and she yawned as she turned around, stretching in the process.

"Ouch" she said as the pain in her arm made itself known again. "Hey Dash, what's wrong?"

Dash climbed onto her bed and lay down next to her.

"I had another nightmare…" He said quietly, a sad expression on his face.

Violet quickly covered him with her blanked and stroked his arm.

"What was it about this time?" she asked.

Dash hesitated a little, before beginning to explain his dream to her.

"We were back in the city and the crazy robot was there. It attacked and killed… us." He couldn't make himself tell her he had to see her dying. But he knew he made a promise. And only three days were left. He needed to tell her eventually.

Violet pulled him in for a hug and whispered

"But Dash, the robot's exploded. It's gone. And Syndrome is gone, too. It's not coming back ever again."

"I know… I'm just scared, Vi."

Violet felt her heart ache, seeing her little brother sad, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"You know, Dash. I'm also scared. Uriel is strong. But you know what keeps me going?" she started with a soft smile.

The little speedster looked deep into her eyes, waiting for her to finish.

"The bond we share. I know you are there for me, and I know I will always be there for you. No matter what. As long as we're together, we can do anything." She finished.

This made Dash smile at her, tearing up even more.

"I love you so much, Violet. Thank you for everything and for being there for me."

He clutched onto her, burying his face into her shoulder.

"Always, little brother." She answered softly, once again calming him down.

Dash withdrew himself from the hug to face her again.

"You know… it's just. The dreams always feel so real. It's like everything really happens…" Dash explained with a cracking voice.

"I know. But that's what dreams are. But they're just your imagination. Made of the thoughts that bother you. They are simply illusions you believe because you are able to see them, even though they aren't real." As Violet finished her sentence, her eyes got wide.

"Illusions… That's it!" She snapped her fingers as her face showed a smile that had Dash confused.

"What is what?" He asked.

"Don't you understand, Dash? That's why that bench wasn't broken! The things we saw were only illusions! He wasn't stronger than dad and he didn't really break my force field! He just made us believe all that!" The excitement in Violets voice quickly spread to Dash as the information sunk in.

"You're right! That must be it!" He answered as he felt hope coming back.

They shared another hug before Dash returned to his bed and the two siblings smiled at each other.

"Tomorrow, we'll finish him!" Violet said, getting a thumbs up from her brother.

"Do you think you will feel better now? Or do you want to stay with me?" She asked warmly to make sure he knew he could stay with her anytime.

"Thank you, Violet. But I think I can sleep better now. You're the greatest!" He said while returning her look.

"Just like you are" Violet smiled.

She was happy. Not only was she making Dash feel better, she also found a clue how to beat Uriel. 'We're coming for you!' She thought as both siblings closed their eyes, ready to fall asleep again.