Danny groaned as his eyes fluttered open, his head pounding from the blow that had knocked him unconscious. The world around him was dim, the vibrant colors of the Land of Imagination muted as though they had been drained. Golden grass lay wilted, curling at the edges as if scorched, and the sky above was a swirling vortex of black and gray.
"Danny!" April's voice pierced the haze. She knelt beside him, her hands gripping his shoulders. Relief flooded her face when his eyes focused on hers. "Thank God. I thought you—"
"I'm okay," he said, sitting up slowly. He winced as the pounding in his skull intensified. "What... happened?"
Dave's sleek form appeared over them, his usually playful grin replaced with a grim expression. "You lost control, kid. The whole place started to break down. If I hadn't dragged you out of there when I did, we'd all be floating in the void right now."
Danny shook his head, trying to shake off the fog. "The black hole... where is it?"
Dave gestured behind him. In the distance, the swirling vortex loomed, still consuming pieces of the land at the edges. But it hadn't reached them yet.
"For now, it's staying put," Dave said. "But we're on borrowed time. If we don't find that slate soon, this whole world's going down."
Danny got to his feet, steadying himself against April. "Okay. We're close. I saw the pedestal before everything went crazy. It has to be nearby."
"You mean the pedestal you dreamed about?" April asked, raising an eyebrow.
Danny nodded. "Yeah. If this place works like I think it does, it's still here. We just have to find it."
The three of them set off again, the muted landscape eerily silent except for the occasional crack of the collapsing terrain in the distance. As they walked, Danny focused hard, trying to picture the pedestal as clearly as possible.
It appeared suddenly, rising from the cracked ground a few hundred feet ahead. The pedestal was smooth and white, faintly glowing against the bleak surroundings.
"There!" Danny shouted, breaking into a sprint.
April and Dave followed close behind, but as they neared the pedestal, the air grew heavy, thick with an oppressive energy. Shadows began to shift along the ground, pooling together like ink, until they formed humanoid shapes with glowing, empty eyes.
"Of course," April muttered, skidding to a halt beside Danny. "It's never easy."
The shadow creatures moved toward them, silent and menacing, their forms rippling like smoke.
"I'll handle this," Dave said, stepping forward. He cracked his knuckles—or at least made the motion, though it was unclear if his dolphin anatomy actually allowed for it. "You two go get your magic rock."
Danny hesitated. "Are you sure?"
Dave grinned, baring his sharp teeth. "Oh, I'm sure. Go!"
Danny and April didn't need to be told twice. They darted past the creatures as Dave launched himself into the fray, his form shifting and stretching like liquid. His arms morphed into long, blade-like appendages, slicing through the shadows with precision.
The pedestal was only a few steps away when one of the shadow creatures lunged at them, cutting them off. Danny acted on instinct, grabbing April and pulling her behind him.
"What are you doing?" she hissed.
"I've got this," he said, fumbling in his pocket. His fingers found the pen he'd used to summon the griffin before.
The shadow creature lunged again, and Danny crouched, using the pen to draw a glowing shape in the air. A shield appeared just in time, blocking the attack. The creature recoiled, and Danny pressed forward, sketching quickly to form a glowing sword.
"Where did you learn to do that?" April asked, impressed despite the danger.
Danny swung the sword at the creature, forcing it back. "It's my imagination, right? Might as well use it."
The shadow creature dissolved, and Danny grabbed April's hand, pulling her the rest of the way to the pedestal.
The slate sat atop it, a smooth, flat stone etched with intricate markings that shimmered faintly. It pulsed with energy, almost like a heartbeat.
Danny reached out, hesitating for a moment. "This is it."
"Then grab it already!" April urged, glancing nervously at the battle raging behind them.
He took the slate in his hands. The moment his fingers touched it, a wave of energy surged through him, and the world around them seemed to ripple. The pedestal cracked and crumbled, the shadows around them shrieking as they dissolved into nothingness.
Danny turned to see Dave standing triumphantly among the fading shadows, his form returning to its usual humanoid dolphin shape.
"Nice work, kid!" Dave called out.
The ground beneath them shuddered violently, and a loud crack split the air.
"What now?" April groaned.
Danny looked around as the black hole in the distance began to grow again, pulling everything toward it with renewed force.
"We need to go!" Dave shouted, running toward them.
"Go where?" Danny yelled back.
Dave grinned, grabbing both Danny and April by their arms. "Anywhere but here!"
He leaped into the air, and his body expanded, forming a large bubble-like sphere that enveloped them. The bubble lifted off the ground just as the black hole consumed the space where they had been standing.
Inside the bubble, Danny clutched the slate tightly, his mind racing. He glanced at April, who looked as stunned as he felt.
"We got it," he said, his voice trembling. "We actually got it."
"Yeah," she replied, her expression softening. "But that was way too close."
Dave floated along, steering the bubble toward the edge of the collapsing world. "One down," he said, his tone light but his eyes serious. "Five to go."
Danny nodded, determination hardening in his chest. The journey ahead would be even harder, but for the first time, he felt like they might actually have a chance.
As the bubble rose higher, the Land of Imagination disappeared into the void, leaving only the vast expanse of Danny's dreamscape ahead.