-the sun is blue, the stars are purple-

Hongjoong felt like he was floating.

He groaned a bit as he opened his eyes, scanning what was in front of him.

He was... On a ship. He saw ratlines in front of him, and he craned his head to see that it went up to the mast. He noticed the pale pink sky, very cloudy, and it felt like he was dreaming.

He turned his head to his left, seeing Yeosang lying against a chest, Yunho not so far away as well, and he got up on his feet, rubbing his eyes.

He saw his friends, all sleeping peacefully, his eyes landing on Eun Byeol, sitting on a chair, her arms sprawled across the table as she slept. For a second he had a feeling like he wasn't supposed to be here, until something clouded his mind and he looked at the steering wheel.

That's right, he thought, we're pirates. I'm the captain.

He clapped his hands loudly, saying, "Ateez! Wake up! That's enough sleep for you all!"

Jongho was the first one to groan loudly, stretching his arms. "Two more minutes, please," he muttered. Hongjoong shook his head.

"Get up and wake everyone else too. We're near our destination."

That woke Jongho up. He yawned once before getting up and going to shake San and Seonghwa up, noticing Eun Byeol near them and waking her up too. 

Eun Byeol's head felt heavy. She stretched back, looking at the sky. The stars are purple, she thought. She smiled at the view in front of her, nudging San with her boots to open his eyes as well. She turned her head to see Hongjoong steering the boat, and Jongho picking his telescope, adjusting it and putting it on his eye to see the view.

San got up, muttering something about how he felt very tired, running his hand through his blonde hair. Seonghwa was up now too, his eyes moving back and forth between San and Eun Byeol.

"You both look like you matched your outfits," he commented, smirking. Both San and Eun Byeol looked down, Eun Byeol noticing that indeed their hair and shirts matched. 

"I-" Eun Byeol paused. When did I even change?

"Seonghwa! You're making her shy! Don't mind him, Byeol," he said, shaking his head as he went to Hongjoong. Seonghwa laughed once before saying he was going to cook or something.

Eun Byeol felt strangely out of place, but she dismissed the feeling, going to Yunho. "What does the compass say?"

"We're in the right direction now, we almost steered wrong. The compass is going crazy, look," Yunho showed the compass to Eun Byeol, the needle moving rapidly between Z and A. "The island has to be somewhere between here, so we're just gonna go through the middle and check."

"Sounds okay," Eun Byeol said, nodding. She went to ask Hongjoong if she should take over while he ate, but before she could say anything, Hongjoong said, "The view is like a lie, isn't it? It's very beautiful."

Eun Byeol nodded. It was pretty.

"I had to open and close my eyes several times when I woke up, you know this feeling? It felt like I was dreaming."

"Yeah, when I woke up, I felt out of place for a second too. But I guess thanks to our captain that I got to see this beautiful view," Eun Byeol smiled at him.

"Yeah, you're welcome but I couldn't have done this without my crew," Hongjoong said, winking at her. Eun Byeol noticed how his ginger-brown hair suited him incredibly well. She shook her head, almost running away before she could compliment her captain and embarrass herself, because god, was she bad at complimenting people.

Jongho was sitting on the chest, the telescope still on his eye as he looked here and there, searching for any sign of an island. Eun Byeol went up to him, asking if he found anything.

"Nothing yet, but Yeosang says we must be pretty close, so I'm keeping my eyes here," he replied. Eun Byeol's eyes went to Yeosang, who was also looking for any signs of an island with his own telescope.

"Ah, I can't wait to land. It's been, how many days that we've been flying?" Eun Byeol asked, and Jongho suddenly felt a tug in his mind, as if he was forgetting something. 

"One, two, three or maybe four days? I don't.. know. I don't remember. That's strange."

Eun Byeol cocked her head, looking at Jongho, who seemed to be lost in thought.

"Does it matter? We're gonna be there soon! Ah, I can't wait~" she sang. Yeosang called Yunho and Jongho, and they started coordinating their findings with the map and the compass, getting busy. Eun Byeol walked across the ship, her eyes running across the scribbles on the deck, falling on a particular one as she narrowed her eyes to read 'a creative adult is the child who survived'.

She wondered who had scribbled it there. She smiled as she looked at all the funny drawings and scribbles, and she thought she could guess whose idea it was. 

Mingi and Wooyoung were still lying flat on the deck, Mingi looked like he was sleeping and Wooyoung dancing his hand in the air. She went to Wooyoung, sitting near him as she said, "Hello, you look like you're very busy."

Wooyoung could hear the sarcasm in her voice and he replied, "I am. Just thinking."

"About what?" Eun Byeol asked, playing with his dark hair now.

"I don't know.. I feel weird." Wooyoung paused. He didn't know exactly how to explain.

"Weird? How?"

"It's like someone is telling me to wake up," Wooyoung admitted. Eun Byeol stared at him.

"Did Jongho scare you when he woke you up?"

"No, no, it's not that. It's like, a voice in my head, that keeps telling me to wake up."

"Did you finally lose it?" Eun Byeol wondered. Wooyoung sat up abruptly, smacking Eun Byeol's hand, and she laughed loudly.

"Hey! Why do you always tease me?" Wooyoung yelled at her, laughing. "I shouldn't tell you my problems anymore, okay, is that what you want?"

"No," Eun Byeol laughed, "but you sound crazy!"

Wooyoung shook his head, his eyes going to San, and he called him, "Hey San, help me out here!"

San came to them, narrowing his eyes at Eun Byeol who was still laughing, and then raised his brows at Wooyoung.

"She's always teasing me!" Wooyoung complained.

"San, you have to listen to this. He says he keeps hearing Jongho telling him to wake up!" Eun Byeol slapped her thigh as she laugh, making San laugh as well. 

"Poor kid, did Jongho wake you up in the wrong way, huh?" San teased.

"You both are the worst. I'm getting out of here," Wooyoung was about to get off the edge but Eun Byeol and San dragged him back, tickling him, laughing along.

"STOP-HAHAHA"

"Who's the worst? Huh?" San asked, tickling him.

"I AM! NOW STOP IT!" Wooyoung couldn't take it anymore. They both stopped tickling him and he wiped his eyes, trying to stop his laughter.

"Ah, I can't tell you guys anything. You always end up bullying me," Wooyoung sighed.

"You know you love it," Eun Byeol said, kissing his cheek and running away, making San and Wooyoung laugh again as they stared at her, hopping away.

"But I'm serious, San. I feel like I'm in a dream and someone is telling me to wake up," Wooyoung wore a frown.

"Maybe it's the fact that we're so close to our destination," San said, referring to the island they've always dreamed of going. "Even if I'm dreaming, I don't think I want to wake up."

Wooyoung said nothing, turning his head to stare at the clouds.

Eun Byeol and Seonghwa were watching them from a distance. They were sitting on the table, Eun Byeol playing with the rope on the table, making knots then opening them up. Seonghwa turned his head back, looking at how Eun Byeol was now concentrated on the rope.

"I feel like I had the strangest dream," Seonghwa said.

"And what was it about?" Eun Byeol asked, opening a knot.

"We were in a foggy place, and there were mirrors, I think? I don't really remember.."

Eun Byeol thought she actually saw an image of what Seonghwa had said, but she dismissed it for strong visualization. "That sounds.. almost philosophical. You know how they say mirrors are for self-reflection?"

"Do you think I need that?" Seonghwa asked, rubbing his chin.

"I don't know. Only you know the answer to that," Eun Byeol said, smiling once before going back to making another knot with the rope. Seonghwa saw the tattoo on her hand, some writing going from her knuckle all the way to her nail, at the side of the hand. He hesitated before lightly taking her hand, surprising her, reading the tattoo.

"'If it's unreal, you're dreaming'," Seonghwa read, looking at her and asked, "What does that mean?"

Eun Byeol cleared her throat. "If I feel out of place, if something is too good to be real, I'm probably dreaming."

Seonghwa raised his brow, "Do you think good things won't actually happen to you?"

"They might," Eun Byeol said, noticing how Seonghwa still hadn't left her hand, "but you know how when something good happens to you, it feels like a dream, even when it's real? So this can go two ways."

"Oh," Seonghwa said, finally leaving her hand, and she started playing with the rope again. "I think I get it."

"I'm sure you do." Eun Byeol smiled.

---------

Night time was approaching and the moon was shining brightly. Everyone had fooled around apart from performing their usual duties aboard the ship, and now they wanted to rest. They were already feeling sleepy.

Eun Byeol had noticed how Yeosang had been unusually quiet today. She considered for a while, then decided to join him on the edge of the ship, legs dangling in the air. Yeosang smiled once at her then turned back to staring into the night. 

"You've been... quiet today," Eun Byeol said after a minute, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, just didn't feel like talking much today," Yeosang said.

"You're okay, right?" Eun Byeol looked at him, concerned. 

Yeosang stared at her. She's still dreaming, he thought. He sighed deeply then said, "Just tired."

Eun Byeol nodded, and Yeosang wanted to shake her awake so bad. 

Yeosang had taken one look at the key necklace he had been wearing, and he instantly became aware. It took him a while to think about how they came here, and he remembered everything. The desert, the palace, Utopia. And he figured out what Dark Ateez had meant with the message.

They were stuck in another limbo. And this one was Dark Ateez's doing. The message back at the rocks '2xlimbo' meant they would be put in a limbo not once but twice. One was dream-patrol's doing, and this time it was Dark Ateez. And boy, was this one a clever setup. The ones who should have been aware were the ones most lost.

Yeosang looked sadly at Eun Byeol, until she noticed and asked why he was staring.

"Do you feel happy here, in this moment, Eun Byeol?" Yeosang asked.

Eun Byeol took a deep breath, thinking. They were so close to reaching the island which supposedly had the treasure they had been looking for. She was with the boys she loved so much, her friends. She had nothing to be sad about...

Was she happy? Yes. But something sad tugged at her heart. She couldn't put a finger on what exactly it was, and it annoyed her a bit.

"I think I'm happy," she said. "I mean, I have nothing to be sad about, right? I'm living the life I always dreamed of."

"Oh? And what exactly was the life you dreamed of like?"

"Going to an adventure with my friends," Eun Byeol said and smiled. 

"Doesn't it feel like a dream?" Yeosang asked, cautiously. 

"Yeah, it does kind of feel like one," she waved her tattoo at Yeosang, "I'm happy and it feels unreal."

"That means you're dreaming," Yeosang said. This should work.

"I might be. It's a good dream."

Yeosang couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did she remember nothing at all?

"What were you doing yesterday, Eun Byeol?" Yeosang asked. Eun Byeol frowned at him.

"I was... just doing the usual, you know.. helping everyone, helping Seonghwa cook, what I usually do..." Eun Byeol smacked her head lightly, "Why is it taking me so long to remember? Oh god, this boring old routine I follow everyday is making me forget things! I need to play some mind games or puzzles before my brain dies," Eun Byeol went away, muttering.

Yeosang shook his head. No use waking up Eun Byeol, it seemed. His mind suddenly clicked, and he gasped a little at the realization. 

Eun Byeol always woke San up. San could be her key too. San could wake her up.

He looked at San, goofing around with Wooyoung, and despite the worries he had, he smiled. He could understand why no one was ready to wake up and face the reality.

He turned back, looking at the sky, and his eyes went wide.

"Guys! A ship!"

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Hi! I hope everything is making more sense now. The dots are finally connecting huhu~

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