Chapter 1: "It's the least I can do."

It was a brand new day in Syspocalypsestar, the brand new city that once made up Apocolypseburg and the Systar System and now joined together. The world was new, and new friends were ready to be made, after all the conflict that had occurred over the past five years.

On this particular day, Emmet Brickowski opened his eyes as the sun began to rise. A smile automatically mapped upon his face as he was reminded where he was: In his new yellow house, in a comfortable bed, with his 'Special Best Friend' Lucy sleeping beside him. He hopped out of bed and did his morning stretches and breathing, quietly so as not to wake Lucy up…yet. She was still slumbering, not aware at all that a new day had just begun. Emmet figured that she was a night owl; she'd had to be one during their day-to-day lives in Apocolypseburg, never knowing when calamity might strike and their way of life wrecked.

Little did they know that they never needed to have feared the visitors from the Systar System after all! They had simply wanted to bond with them, play with them, and enter their lives as friends. Now, they were capable of doing that, and much more, in the new world they had both created. This was encapsulated by the marriage between their very own Batman and Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi, the ruler of the Systar System.

Emmet got dressed in his regular orange construction worker outfit, quietly as he could so that he would not wake Lucy up. He had gotten the idea recently of trying to surprise her one morning with a special breakfast just for the two of them, and decided that this morning was the perfect day to carry that out.

He already knew what he wanted to make for the both of them – two eggs (sunny-side up), bacon, and toast…the quintessential breakfast! He grinned as he set to work, carefully removing the ingredients from the refrigerator and setting each one aside. He grabbed a recipe from where he would normally placed the instructions in the new house – although he knew this routine by heart, it still made him feel at ease reading the instructions step-by-step, so as to have the perfect meal ready.

"Okay…'Step 1'" he whispered, reading the recipe from the top. He heard Lucy moan, and eyed her tossing from one side to the other, still fast asleep. He sighed a breath of relief; he really didn't want this surprise to be put on hold another day, not when he was so close to getting started with everything. "'Step 1, place the frying pan on top of the stove.'" He did so. "'Put some oil in the pan'." Check. "'Turn the stove on'." He turned the knob for the stove so that it could begin to heat. "'Crack the eggs in the pan and let them cook'." He placed four eggs aside – two for her and two for him. He carefully cracked them open one at a time, slowly so that he would not accidentally break the yolk either.

He cut six slices of bacon while the eggs were prepping, quietly hoping that the eggs would not take too long to finish. Once they were done, he slid the eggs down onto two different plates – again, one for her and one for him, while he placed the strips of bacon on the same pan where the eggs had been. While letting the eggs cool and the bacon cook, Emmet went ahead to start preparing the toast, taking care to put two full slices of bread that he would later cut into four separate pieces.

He grinned as his breakfast was coming together just the way he had wanted it to. The final steps in the instructions were to place the meal at the location where they wanted to eat, and accompany it with drinks. Normally on Emmet's morning run, both Lucy and himself would have purchased overpriced coffee, and Emmet had thought before of maybe just going ahead and ordering for the both of them for this occasion. For the sake of time, though, Emmet decided to have the option of either orange juice or milk to go with their meal.

With everything just about ready, Emmet placed everything at the breakfast table, ready to serve. The aroma of what he had just cooked filled the air, which made him hungrier than he already was. He scanned the table. Everything looked just about perfect…except for one last, small detail.

Lucy opened up her eyes, her nostrils filled with the warm scent of fresh food made from scratch…and it was nearby. She rose up in the bed and stretched her arms, yawning as she did so. It was late in the morning now, and Emmet by now had already made his morning runs, she was sure of that. She leaped out of bed, and followed the smell to where the breakfast table lay, and there she saw…

Two plates with eggs, bacon and toast ready to be eaten, jugs and cups for milk or orange juice…and a vase of yellow daffodils making up the centerfold, giving the entire spread a sweet, homey image.

"Gooooood morning, Lucy!" Emmet's chipper voice popped up behind her, and she turned to meet his eager grin; it seemed as though he had been waiting for this moment for some time and had been in hiding until the moment she woke up.

"Emmet! Did you do this?" Her mouth was slightly agape; it seemed as though Emmet's surprise was a surprise after all!

"Yup! This was a present I cooked up for you – pun intended." He winked at her, hoping she appreciated the little joke. She responded with a small chuckle. "It's an everyday-one-of-a-kind-Special-Best-Friends-breakfast-brunch!" He took ahold of her hands and led her closer to the table. "See? Sunny-side up eggs, bacon, toast, and your choice of beverage – milk or orange juice!"

"This is great, Em! Thank you."

Emmet gently pulled out one of the seats for Lucy, which she obliged by taking it. He took the opposite chair and sat across from her, grinning with anticipatory excitement.

"What about the waffles? I thought when we had this originally built you had an entire area of the house just for making and eating waffles?"

Emmet stared blankly at her, while letting her words sink in. He then grinned and chuckled, relaxing a bit. "I actually forgot all about that room! I didn't know you rebuilt that part – I got the impression you thought it was kind of useless."

"No, I remade everything exactly the way you built it first." She smiled gently at him. "It was the least I could do for you," she continued, a bit more softly this time.

Emmet reciprocated the smile, and stood up. "Well…I better go down and get some waffles to share with.

Lucy stood up as well. "Don't be silly – it was my fault for not telling you in the first place. Besides, you already went through all of this trouble making this for me…uh, us. Let me go down and get some for you."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." She walked over to his side, and planted a soft but quick peck on his cheek. "See you in just a bit."

Emmet blushed; he had not expected the sudden show of affection Lucy had just given him, but he was pleased by it all the same. She liked what you did, he thought to himself. It's the least you could do for her.

It didn't seem right to go ahead and eat with Lucy not here…even if the food was starting to get a bit cold. Emmet took the time to gather his thoughts together, about where they were at this point in their lives. Everything was so different now than it had been several weeks ago…it really was like everyone was starting over. He looked down at his eggs. It would be awesome, he thought, if every morning could start like this. Me and Lucy, eating together, hanging out…going out into the city together with our friends, going on new adventures.

Indeed, life had been just like that for the past two weeks – the new world was expanding and everyone was taking advantage of this fresh, new start that had been given to them. It was hard to think that everything in the future wouldn't be awesome. Things were better than ever before; even President Business was in on the new celebratory atmosphere once he returned from his ill-fated golf game. In fact, he had been so inconsolable the first few days after his return, that Emmet, Lucy, and the others were unsure just how to approach him, much less comfort him. Still, once he was able to get over this slight against his particular skills, President Business had served as a great mediator and motivator, and helped promote harmony between the two factions of what made up their new world. It was helped all the more by Batman's new marriage with Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi. Emmet and Lucy hadn't seen much of their dark, masked friend since those events that brought them together, but according to Sweet Mayhem (the queen's second-in-command) they were still very much in love and enjoying one another's company.

Just like us, Emmet thought, regarding himself and Lucy.

Lucy popped back into the kitchen, holding two large waffles, fresh and ready to be eaten. Emmet leaped up suddenly to fetch syrup – they were just about ready to dig in!

Everything was set on the table, a bit cool by this point in time, but that didn't really matter much to Emmet when you were in good company…the best company. With a nod and a grin, the two began to dig into the Surprise Breakfast, and chatted about what their plans were going to be for that day. Whatever they were, they were going to be…awesome.

Emmet and Lucy walked out of their home together after finishing their breakfast together. "You ready?" Lucy grinned at Emmet. Now that the war with the Systar System was finally over, that left everyone to pick up the pieces…and finding new purpose. There was fun and awesomeness to be had, but work to do as well to help rebuild bridges and reconnect with one another. Emmet and Lucy decided to use their respective talents to do just that.

Emmet, with his skill as a construction worker and with his talent for following instructions and making sure everything and everyone was safe, was tasked with helping build new homes and neighborhoods for the Systarans and the Apocalypseburgians to live together harmoniously.

Lucy, with her natural leadership and strong communication skills would work close to him, mending the fractured relationships that had been affected by the five-year war.

Things so far were off to an excellent start – everyone was excited to be able to put the past behind them, and start anew again. With teamwork, Emmet, Lucy, and the others were building their new world up again to bigger and greater heights than had ever been achieved previously. Everyone knew their purpose and what ways they could help one another. The future, at last, seemed brighter indeed.

That night, as everyone turned in for the night, Emmet and Lucy spent time in their new, humble abode discussing how awesome their day had been, and what they were most looking forward to tomorrow.

Emmet complimented Lucy on the way she had skillfully helped out some of the Duplo aliens who had just arrived in Syspocalypsestar from one of the Queen's other planets, and were not sure where to go as far as finding a place to rest after their long journey.

Lucy likewise complimented Emmet on his Surprise Breakfast for them this morning, and how she had liked how diverse and colorful the housing complexes were after he had completed building them. "All in a day's work for a Master Builder," he playfully bragged. She giggled, pleased at both of their results of their hard work.

They were ready to turn in for the night; Lucy shut the blinders around the house and cleaned up while Emmet readied their bed. Another day had come and gone for them, and a lot of progress had been made.

"Ready for another awesome day tomorrow?" Emmet asked Lucy as she came to her side of the bed.

"You know it!" Lucy replied with a cheerful grin. "Everything's better when we stick together," she sang as she hopped under her covers.

Emmet did likewise. "I cannot believe that you were one of the lead singers of Everything Is Awesome!"

She blushed a little. "It was a different time in my life…but it was a fun time. And it really is a great song. I'm proud I did it then, and…I'm sorry I made it seem like I hated it whenever you brought it up. You really enjoy that song as much as we did."

Emmet could feel himself drifting off to sleep, but he couldn't help but ask Lucy one more thing before he did. "So…why did you color your hair black and decide to try to be tough and dark all that time ago?"

Lucy's eyelids were slowly closing as well. "I'll tell you about it…one of these days…"

The two stopped talking and let rest overtake them. Tomorrow would be another day to do it all again, and more adventures would be in store for them.

For Emmet, everything was pitch black. What's more was that he was conscious but couldn't move. It was as if his body was glued to the floor. He had no feeling of his limbs, no control or will to shift, he was just…still.

He stared ahead into the darkness. Darkness…that's all that there was. Even more, it was silent, as if he were the only being in existence.

"Hello?" He tried to shout. No sound came out – it was as if his voice was trapped in his head with no way out. He tried again. "Is anyone out there?" Again, no response. This deafening silence continued for some time. Minutes…hours…days…months…it seemed endless. It's almost…maddening.

Suddenly, he noticed a soft light in the distance. At last, a change. "Hello?" he called out again. Still, the words would not verbalize and instead remained trapped in his mind. The light, on the other hand, expanded, becoming bigger and brighter. Closer…

Emmet saw images moving in the brightness. Dancing. Celebrating. He heard laughter and cheers. The images become clearer and clearer…until at last he could recognize them.

Benny…Unikitty…Metal Beard…Batman…

Lucy…

They were so close, and yet so far from him. Couldn't they see him if he could see them?

"Guys? Hello?" Emmet expected one of them to turn around at the sound of his voice, to spot him lying in the darkness. He expected them to come up to him, help him up, and take him away back home.

They did nothing of the sort. Emmet almost felt invisible, gone in the eyes of his friends and the world they exist in. Instead, he was trapped in silence, stillness, and darkness.

No one notices him. No one notices his cries for help, no matter how many times he pleads, or how loudly he screams…the sounds never came out. The cheers he heard from far away are only muffled somewhat by the loud tumbles of the invisible winds above him. Dust mites formed around him, growing as the time passed by. Strange creatures crept by, sometimes climbing over him as if he were only one more hurdle for them.

A small pit of grief starts to gnaw at his soul. He is alone, forgotten to the world he once thought he belonged in. It would have been better if he never saw that bright light in the first place…not if it meant he knew he would still have to be stuck here, in the dark, alone…forever.

Emmet woke up gasping, his heart racing. It was almost as if his lungs had forgotten to breathe. It took a few minutes to calm himself down and clear his head of what he had just dreamt. The sun had still not risen yet, so most everyone was still asleep…including Lucy. Luckily, his scare had not woken her up.

After he felt himself relaxing again, he thought about the dream he had just had, if he could even call it that. It was too horrible, more like a nightmare. It was too…Real. He shuddered involuntarily as the memory of the nightmare came back. He tried to remember where he had last seen that dark prison where he had been left behind. It was disturbing how familiar that situation felt to him…when he remembered that he recently had been in that situation. The Undar the Dryar System. Alone…except for Rex.

Rex…Emmet blinked several times as he recalled his future self, his mentor, his savior…and his enemy. Until those last few moments of his life, when he told Emmet he was proud of him for remaining true to who he was. Rex had been the one who had suffered those agonizingly long years, being still and silent, lost in the darkness, away from his friends. Abandoned, he had told Emmet. It was no wonder why he turned dark and bitter, just like the environment around him.

Emmet had been under the Dryar himself, but only for the few hours that Rex had sent him there. What was that to what Rex went through?

Emmet was confused; he hadn't gone through those events himself…but Rex had. Down to watching his friends partying and celebrating, and himself trying to call out for them. And yet, though Emmet had dreamed it himself, he felt as though he had actually lived through it, in the plastic.

This perplexed him, and a new thought entered that made him start to worry – what if it was more than just a dream?

A/N: Woo-hoo! A spur-of-the-moment story! I hope you guys enjoyed this little chapter for what it was: A set-up. I have the first three chapters outlined, but I'm hoping to ballpark around 10 chapters - not a long story, but hopefully an enjoyable one. Let me know if you have any questions, comments, etc. - I hope you enjoy this ride. :)