The next morning you awoke to the sound of creaking. The waves that crashed against the ship seemed to echo throughout the upper decks, the noises bouncing off the cold metal walls. This was the kind of ship that looked almost like a warship. It wasn't like those cute pirate ships from the stories your parents used to read to you and Mario when you were younger, back when life was easy.

You still missed that life. You wanted it back more than anything.

Occasionally, there would be a blaring white light that would shine over all of us, coming from the top of the ship. It looked like a small lighthouse, turning around slowly. You knew too well that it was a watch tower. Perhaps if you could somehow get into it, you could find your way to the captain's quarters.

"Psst... guys," You whispered, grabbing Mario's shoulder and shaking it slightly.

Ben and I immediately jerked up upon hearing your voice, but Mario was not awoken so easily. He instead rolled over so he was facing away from you, muttering a small, "It's still dark out. Go to sleep."

"It's always dark," you softly giggled. "Come on Mario. I think I have an idea."

After a few more minutes of sleepy protest, the twenty eventually did sit up, rubbing his eyes and putting his hat on sideways, covering his incredibly messy hair. He used the back of his hand to wipe away a small drop of drool on the corner of his mouth as well before narrowing his eyes at you. 

"What is it? This better be good," he grumbled.

You nodded, then took the lead. The rest of us followed behind, trusting that you wouldn't somehow lead us to our demise. Ben latched onto my right arm, staying close. I followed closely behind you, and Mario was about three steps behind me.

You eventually led us up to the watchtower, pointing to a ladder that led up to the top. The bars were metal and they were wet from the rain, (which had slowed, but not yet stopped.) Mario immediately crossed his arms and shook his head no. "Nu-uh. No way we're climbing all the way up that. We'll slip and fall! AND DIE!"

"We won't fall," you assured us, grabbing the ladder and beginning the climb. "Come on. We can't just sit out here and do nothing. If we're not moving forward, then we're just wasting time."

I nervously swallowed, imagining myself slipping and falling. It almost reminded me of-

No, I couldn't think about that now. I told myself that I was done letting what Blumiere did to me bring me down. I couldn't let what he did ruin me forever. I had to put that behind me and move on.

Ben tugged on my rain poncho, then held up the notepad that I gifted to him the previous night. I gently took it from him, reading silently;

I'm scared.

I softly smiled, then handed the notepad back. "It's okay," I told him. "I'm scared too."

I'm not very strong. Do you think I'll make it? He wrote.

"Of course," I replied. "It's just a big ladder."

No. Do you think I'll make it off the boat?

I paused, feeling my blood run cold.

Did I think he'd make it off the boat? Was he worried about being left behind? 

Sure, he was an Eighty-Eight, but we would never leave him. He was one of our friends. I wouldn't allow him to be left behind, and neither would you. Or Mario, for that matter.

"Of course," I told him with complete confidence, offering him a smile. "Not only do I think you'll make it. I KNOW you'll make it. I'm going to make sure of it."

He blinked twice at me, then wrote a small, Thanks.

We all followed after you. I had Ben go in front of me, just in case he fell. I knew that it would likely be impossible to catch him if he were to actually fall, but if that situation were to come up I would have done whatever I needed to do to save him.

Once we all made it up the ladder and into the watch tower, we were lucky enough to find that it was empty. The room was dark, aside from the blinding light in the middle of the room, which spun around at a slow speed.

The room was surrounded by a glass window that curved all the way around, so whoever was inside could always get a full 360-degree view of everything around the ship. There was a singular metal chair sitting in the corner of the room. It was cold and dark.  I would feel like just working in an environment like that would be enough to drive someone mad. I could occasionally hear the soft squeaking of rats.

Ben grabbed my arm again and tensed up whenever the sound of tiny rat feet scattering about grew louder. I tried putting on a reassuring smile for him. I wasn't afraid of rats the same way I was scared of snakes.

"Come on," you breathed, flicking on your silver lighter and pointing towards a set of black spiral stairs that led down. Each and every one of us was clearly nervous about having to head back inside the ship. We didn't want to even think about the potential monsters lurking in the shadows, waiting for us.

You began to make your way down the steps, holding onto the cold metal railing with one hand and holding up your lighter with your other. Mario followed behind you this time, leaving me and Ben in the back. Ben began to drag me forward, when we passed a mirror, causing me to stop in my tracks like I hit an invisible wall.

The me I saw in that mirror wasn't the me I was. I remembered how I distorted my reflection to show the me I wanted to see before I met you, Mario, and Ben. The boy I saw when I looked in that mirror wore a paper bag on his head. Instead of wearing a yellow poncho, he wore a long brown trenchcoat. There were no bandages wrapped around his foot.

And, most importantly, instead of Ben being latched around his arm, the image of the scared child morphed to look like Six. Like Blumiere...

I squinted at the mirror for a moment, half tempted to go up and touch it. But before I could step towards the mirror and reach out to it, I felt a small tug on my arm. I blinked a few times and snapped out of my trance as Ben looked up at me with big worried eyes, doing his best to pull me towards the stairs.

"Right," I muttered, trying to offer him a comforting smile as I turned and started down the steps, leaving the mirror behind.

As we continued getting closer and closer to the main levels of the ship, the ground almost seemed to shake, making us all fear for what exactly we were getting ourselves into. Once we finally got to the bottom of the steps, you turned your lighter off for the sake of staying hidden, tossing it over to me once again.

"Hold onto that for me," You whispered, turning away and missing the brief smile that swept across my face. "That way if something happens you have something to light your way."

I was flattered but wasn't a fan of every one of us having a light source besides you. Ben had his flashlight, Mario had his own lighter, and now I had yours. But that left you with nothing...

I quickly stuffed the lighter into my back pocket, keeping ahold on Ben with my other arm when you started moving forward again. The wooden planks we were on now seemed less creaky and more well-maintained as if this area was made to be seen by the general public, unlike the depths and the upper decks. 

We could feel loud footsteps coming from our left, so I decided it was my time to take the lead once again, carefully sneaking over towards them while keeping my back to the wall, as if that would hide me.

Ben began to shiver more intensely as I peered around the corner. I could hear the drumming in my heart accelerate as the synchronized footsteps pounded on the floor, one after the other. As soon as I saw the sight unfolding, I couldn't help but cover my mouth.

There was a row of adults, too many to count, all walking in synch towards who knows what. It was like they were on a cruise line and were all being ushered to dinner. Their faces looked droopy. They reminded me of the doctor from the factory, only their world wasn't flipped upside down. They also wore fairly fancy-looking clothes, giving them a more high-class wealthy appearance. Since their sleeves covered their wrists, I couldn't see any of their numbers. Not that it mattered, since there were too many of them to count.

Although, to me at least, they all looked human. They looked like tired, hungry, wealthy humans.

In the middle of the room, if I looked up, I could see a woman standing behind a glass window, watching as all of them walked towards who knows where. She wore a pure golden crown on top of her head, which held a huge purple gem that seemed to glow. On top of that, she wore a white mask over her face, which puzzled me. What was she trying to hide?

I felt my fingers graze over the broken half of the black mask that I carried on me as I nervously swallowed. This woman also had long black hair, which was seemingly tied up into an elegant bun at the back of her head. She was tall and thin, and the skin on her arms was a white color. Her dress was red and elegant. She looked beautiful, even though the mask she wore covered her face. 

Still, I couldn't see what number was on her wrist. My vision was still too fuzzy.

Looking at her appearance, I could only assume that she was in charge. So, all we would have to do is figure out how to get to her. Then we could find a way to her room and figure out how to release the lifeboats. I began to turn around myself, looking for any vents or any ways to travel safely without being seen, when I found a small wooden plank leaning up against the wall.

If I climbed that, I could get to the ceiling fans, climb across the room, and sneak into an open vent on the other side. Yes, it went directly over the line of humans, but all of us seemed pretty agile. I was sure we could make it.

I carefully patted Ben's shoulder, signifying for him to let go. Then I whispered, "Follow me," to everyone, starting up the plank.

Ben followed without question, but you and Mario hesitated.

"What are you doing?" Mario hissed quietly.

"We have to get over there," I whispered back, launching myself from the top of the plank towards the ceiling fan. I was luckily able to grab on and hoist myself up without slipping, which was a miracle since the fans were slowly turning. I then turned around and held my hand out to Ben, nodding at him as if silently saying, 'Don't worry, I'll catch you.'

He nodded back at me, then launched himself at me, grabbing onto my wrist and allowing me to pull him up.

Once he was safe, we looked over at you and Mario. You both exchanged glances when you finally smiled and said, "If One thinks this is the best path, then I trust him."

You trusted me.

Mario let out an upset huff, then reluctantly followed, climbing up the plank and jumping over towards the fan as well, grabbing onto the section opposite from me and Ben. Once I saw that you were all following me, I turned and continued forward, jumping from fan to fan until I successfully made it to the vent on the other end of the room. 

However, the jump to the last fan, the one closest to the ledge by the vent, proved very difficult. The fan was slick, so it was easy to slip. On top of that, it was located right above the line of people walking. I could feel myself tense up as I worried for Ben's safety. You and Mario seemed more used to these kinds of things, but I was afraid for Ben.

Even so, he managed to safely launch himself across that fan and over to me without a problem. I let my heart relax and gave him a quick hug, moving into the vent to create more room for you and Mario. The hard part was over-

The relaxed feeling suddenly faded when I heard a shriek. Ben jumped at the sound as I whirled around, crawling towards the edge of the vent to see what had happened.

But I was too late.

I couldn't see you or Mario anywhere.