Vince walked out of the bedroom and dumped the glass in the kitchen. Turning, he almost walked into Naboo.

"Hey Vince, you alright?"

"Yeah, cheers Naboo. Where's Howard?"

"He's gone out. Something to do with Lester. You drank it? All of it?"

"Mmhmm."

Naboo nodded "Good. I've been worried about you these past few days Vince, you seemed…distant. But everything's fine now though, yeah? You don't feel connected to Liberty Hope hospital or anything?"

"Nope, I think it's all gone. Although actually…I'm feeling sorta sick right now." Vince told him.

Something flashed across Naboo's face, but it was gone before Vince could really register it. The shaman smiled kindly. "Ok, well I can give you something for that. Come on."

Vince bit his lip, then followed Naboo into his room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Anyone in?" Howard called.

"Hey Howard."

Howard jumped, noticing Vince sat on the sofa. "Christ, Vince, you nearly gave me a heart attack. What're you doing sitting in the dark?"

Vince shrugged. "Couldn't be bothered to get up." He smiled. "Drink, Howard? Cup of tea?"

Howard shook his head and sniffed suddenly, wrinkling up his nose. "God, did Naboo spill something? What's that smell?"

"That would be petrol." Vince said calmly.

It took Howard several seconds to process that. "Petrol? Why is there petrol in the flat?"

"Are you sure you don't want a drink? Doesn't have to be tea, I can do whatever. A latte maybe?"

"Positive. Vince, why is there petrol in the flat?" Vince turned to look at him, and Howard took an involuntary step backwards. There was something in the younger man's eyes… "Vince?"

Vince got up and walked towards him. "I need this." Vince smiled a little desperately, and something that looked a lot like fear passed across the older man's face. "A fresh start. A normal life."

"What're you talking about, Vince?" He gasped. "Oh God, you didn't drink that antidote, did you?"

Vince ignored him "A life where I haven't screwed everything up."

"You haven't screwed everything up, Vince."

"I appreciate you trying, Howard. But, see, I know what this is now. You're the part of my brain which doesn't want to be normal. The part that loves it here."

"Listen to that part, Vince." Howard insisted, fumbling in his pocket trying to find his phone. "You're not crazy, this isn't a dream, I promise."

"You're lying to me!" Vince snapped, anger suddenly blazing across his face. "Because what sounds more real to you, Howard? A man who's loved by literally everyone he meets, who can talk to animals, who lives with a talking gorilla and a shaman. A world where stuff happens like…like a human being able to be shrunk down and injected into someone's blood stream. Or like being able to get a taxi to hell to rescue your dead friend and bring him back to life. Or where the moon, a giant ball of rock which is millions of miles away, can have a conversation with individual humans. Ok that's scenario one. Or there's scenario two, which is that I'm sick and in a mental institution. Which sounds more realistic?"

"Vince listen to what you're saying."

"You're keeping me here. All of you, you're the reason I can't get better."

"Vince, listen to me. You're sick, ok, I get that. Maybe I should have noticed sooner, but it's ok. We'll get Naboo, and then he can get you another antidote, yeah?" Howard smiled anxiously.

Vince ignored him again. Don't listen. Don't look at him. If I don't look at him it isn't real.

I want to go home.

"But I know what I have to do now, see; the doctor explained it to me. If I get rid off you, Naboo, and Bollo; I'll have nothing to keep me coming back here. I'll have nothing to want to stay for." he paused and looked up at Howard, and a slightly pained look crossed his pale face. "So that's what petrol's doing in the flat, Howard. I need to get rid of you all."

Howard turned to run; too late…Vince darted forwards and hit him as hard as he could with the fire extinguisher he'd taken from the shop. Howard crumpled like a rag doll and lay still.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Howard opened his eyes blearily and he shifted. Vince felt the movement and looked up from where he was taping Howard's ankles together. He watched the older man's eyes as they scanned the room, widening in horror when he spotted the unconscious figures of Naboo and Bollo.

"Vince…what did you do?!"

"They're unconscious. I drugged them."

"Vince, listen to me…"

"I wish you'd let me drug you too, Howard." Vince said sadly. "I didn't want you to be awake for this."

"Vince please." Howard's voice shook with barely controlled fear. "Vince just untie me, yeah? We can get you help…"

"This will help." Vince whispered. He tore off a strip of duct tape and stuck it over Howard's mouth. "It won't hurt. You're not real." he reached out and gently touched Howard's cheek with his fingers, dislodging the tears from his eyelids. "You're not real. You're not."

He stood up and walked out of the bedroom. Pausing in the doorway, he glanced back. Howard was watching him with wide, frightened eyes. He shook his head desperately at Vince.

Vince wiped tears out of his eyes and walked down the hall. "They're not real." he repeated to himself. "It's not killing them, because they're not real." he walked into Naboo's room. The smell of petrol was less strong in here, Vince taking a chance that at least some of Naboo's potions would be flammable. Fingers shaking slightly, he pulled a yellow plastic lighter from his pocket, flipped the flame on, and dropped it onto the accelerant soaked carpet.

The effect was instantaneous.

Vince watched for a moment, then turned and ran from the flickering flames out into the hall and to the front door. He hesitated, turning back. Already he could see the flames beginning to lick at the doorway to Naboo's room; smoke curling towards him. He turned and fled again, hearing the smoke alarm suddenly burst into life behind him. He ran straight into the back garden, gasping as the night air bit his skin, then crawled under a hedge and curled his legs up to his chest.

"It's not real, it's not real, it's not real." he repeated desperately. He squeezed his eyes shut. "It's not real, it's not real."

He jumped violently when he felt a hand on his arm, and looked up into Howard's face. He was back in Liberty Hope.

"It's ok, Vince. Whatever's happening, you're safe."

"I can't do this." Vince said desperately.

Diane crouched down next to him "You can, baby. I know you can."

There was a flash of white light and Vince was suddenly back in the garden again. Thick, acrid smoke was seeping from somewhere - clearly Naboo's potions didn't react well to fire. He felt his heart give a sudden lurch of terror as he saw the flames licking at one of the upstairs windows. Which one? Surely it hadn't spread to the bedroom yet? The thought of them burning was almost too much…and then he was back in his hospital room.

"Howard…" Vince whispered, tears streaming down his face.

"It's ok Vince, I'm right here. You're doing great."

"No…not you."

"Vince, he's not real, ok? I'm real. Focus on me, yeah?"

"But they're hurting." Vince whimpered, a single tear running down his face.

"No they're not. They're not real; you're not hurting anyone, little man."

Little man…and suddenly Vince's head was filled with memories. He and Howard at the zoo, playing their first gig, going to Xooberon, beating Nanatoo, stuck on that island, crimping, arguing, laughing; together, always together…

"I can't…"

Diane clasped his hand. "Vince, you can. You know what you want to do, yes?"

Vince blinked slowly at her, took a deep shuddering breath and nodded. "Yeah. I want to go home."

She nodded encouragingly. "Then focus on that. Do what you have to do to get what you want."

Vince smiled then, a sad yet beautiful smile. "Ok. I can do that."

"Of course you can. You're my brave boy."

Vince squeezed her hand. "I'll miss you."

The smile slowly faded and she frowned in confusion. "What? Vince, what do you mean? I'm right here. Vince?"

Howard's face flooded with horror. "Vince…" he said warningly, tears beginning to form. "No. They're not real, Vince, they're not real! Vince, stay with me. You have to stay with me…"

"I'm sorry." Vince whispered, laying his free hand on Howard's cheek.

Howard shook his head. "No. No, Vince, please."

"I love you." he whispered, then screwed his eyes shut and thought of the flat and the shop and Naboo and Bollo and Howard…and when he opened his eyes he was crouched under the hedge in the garden once more. With a choked sob, he got up and ran towards the house. Tearing open the door he recoiled at the rush of heat that rushed out to greet him. Vince gritted his teeth and ran back into the building, ignoring the heat searing his skin and the crackling of the flames above him. Bursting into the flat he cursed, choking. The fire had taken full hold now; flames engulfed the room entirely. The curtains were blackened and singed, small flames beginning to climb up towards the top of the window. The paper on the wall blackened, blistered and smouldered.

"Howard!" he coughed heavily. "Howard! Naboo!"

"Mmph!"

Was that Howard? Please God let him be ok…Weak with relief, Vince staggered towards the bedroom. Through the smoke and the flames he could see the outlines of his friends lying on the floor.

None of them were moving.

Vince started forwards desperately but was driven back by the flames licking their way up the doorframe, scorching the paint. He coughed again, struggling to keep his eyes open against the stinging smoke. He drew in a deep breath, desperate for oxygen, almost screaming with pain as the scalding hot smoke invaded his lungs. He started forwards again but his foot caught on something and he fell.

No! He dropped to his knees coughing and struggled to get up again, but he couldn't breath. No! Howard…

"Naboo!"

Vince looked round in confusion for the source of the voices. He thought he could hear people running.

I'm hallucinating. I'm going to die. He suddenly felt so tired… No…Howard… he could feel nothing but the heat and the pain. Forcing his eyes open, he thought he saw a figure through the smoke but before he could focus on it, darkness claimed him.

"What're we going to tell people? About how the fire started?"

Vince frowned as he heard the voice as if through fog. He was lying down somewhere, in a bed. So he wasn't dead then? But where was he? Liberty Hope?

"Dennis has taken care of it. You can't even tell there was a fire, no-one remembers a fire, and no-one needs to know any different."

"About that…I don't understand."

"What's not to understand Howard?"

"Why did the shaman council turn up? They've never come to the flat before."

"I called them, before Vince got to me."

So he was still here then. Vince waited to feel something - relief, disappointment, anything - but he just felt numb.

There was a low whistle. "That's lucky, eh?"

"Luck has nothing to do with it. I called them to help us. I knew what he would do."

There was a long pause. Vince itched to open his eyes, but he had a feeling that this conversation would stop if they knew he was awake, and he kind of wanted to know what was going on.

Eventually Howard spoke again. "You…knew? And you didn't think to stop him?"

"Well…not 'knew' exactly, but I suspected."

"How?"

"The antidote I gave him would have made him forget. Sort of."

"'Sort of' forget?"

"Changed his perception, then. And it hadn't happened to him, so I knew he hadn't taken it."

"Well then why wouldn't you just say something to him? I mean, come on Naboo, its Vince. He's, what, 50 kilos? He's like a stick, what would he have been able to do?" another pause, and when Howard spoke again Vince could almost here a frown in his tone of voice. "There's something else. What aren't you telling me?"

"The drug he was given…it's more than just a hallucinogen. It…alters your brain chemistry, your thought processes. Messes with your logic."

"So?"

"So Vince was…potentially going to go off the rails." he sighed heavily. "I just didn't know it would be this badly. Stupid idiot, why didn't he say something?"

"Oi! Leave him alone." Howard said sharply. "He came back for us, didn't he?"

"We don't know that. He could have just fallen."

"I heard him call my name, Naboo." Howard said, taking Vince's hand. "I heard him call me." Vince felt a hand gently stroke his cheek and felt his heart leap. "He came back to save us."

Vince opened his eyes and Howard smiled at him.

"I'll get someone." Naboo said, sliding off his chair and leaving the room. Howard sat down next to the bed.

"Hey, Vince."

"How…" Vince hissed in pain. "What happened?"

"It might hurt to talk. The doctors say you've burnt your throat."

"Why am I here?"

"You got burnt in the fire. Partial-thickness burns to your hand, superficial thickness to your arm and chest. Plus any internal damage from the smoke and heat."

"Are you ok?"

Howard tugged his sleeve down, but not before Vince caught sight of the bandage. "I'm…better than you, lets put it that way." he shook his head. "Why didn't you say something, Vince? How could you have thrown that all away?"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Not now. Just concentrate on getting better."

Naboo walked back in. "The doctor's been paged." he reached into his robes and pulled out a flask. "It's the antidote." he explained. "You need to drink it this time."

"Will…it make me forget?" Naboo looked at him blankly. "I was awake. I heard you two talking."

Naboo hesitated. "Not forget, no, not at first, but it will help you to see it for what it was. You'll remember it like you would a vivid story, or a dream. You might actually dream of it from time to time, but it probably won't be anything new so it won't seem real. Then, yes, one day you'll just…forget. It makes it easier, Vince." he said gently.

Vince took the flask and stared at it for a long minute before downing the contents in one, shuddering horribly. "Here." he said weakly, handing it back to Naboo. "It's over."

Naboo hesitated, then nodded. "Ok, Vince."

Vince looked around, frowning as he realised something was missing. Or rather, someone…"Where's Bollo?"

Naboo and Howard exchanged a look. "Um…"

Vince went cold. "Oh God. Please don't tell me I…he's not…is he?"

"No! He's alive; he'll be fine…eventually. He just…he inhaled a lot of smoke. And with his asthma…"

"What did I do?" Vince whispered, staring up at the ceiling. He looked back at Naboo. "Tell him I'm sorry."

"You can tell him yourself when you both get out of here."

Vince nodded. "I don't blame you if you hate me, you know." he said quietly. "I nearly killed you."

Howard exchanged another worried look with Naboo. "Vince, we don't hate you." he told him, "you were ill. You weren't yourself."

"That's no excuse. I was ready to give you all up. I was willing to sacrifice everyone I care about, for…" he tailed off.

Howard took a breath. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"What do you mean?"

He laid hand gently on Vince's arm, careful not to touch the wound dressing. "Vince, you always seemed so happy…"

"I was happy. I am happy."

"But then…I know it wasn't technically real, but…what was so brilliant about that world that you wanted to stay? That you wanted to give up everything you've ever known?"

Vince looked at Howard's hand, comfortingly wrapped around his arm. He thought of his mother, how she was with him as a child, and the way she'd looked at him the night he left home. Like he was the worst person on the planet. Like she'd never wanted to see him again. But Howard had been there for him…

He looked up into Howard's concerned face. His warm brown eyes were filled with worry and affection…and with all the pain and weariness of his years spent with Vince. That hopeful, excited spark wasn't there. The dreamer in him had long since departed, and Vince didn't think he could ever bring it back.

There were no second chances.

He sighed, and looked back at the ceiling.

"It doesn't matter."

"Vince? Vince no! Vince, open your eyes, come back. Please come back…Oh God, somebody help him!"

"Vince, come back, I'll be a better mother I swear. I promise I'll be better, just come back to me."

Doctor Naboo burst through the door and took in the scene before him, Howard crouched on the floor next to Diane who had her arms wrapped around Vince, who sat silent and unmoving, barely even breathing.

He swore under his breath and hurried forwards, dropping to his knees and pushing Diane gently back out of the way. "Vince, can you hear me?" he put a hand to Vince's neck, feeling for a pulse. Then he got out his torch and shone it into his eyes. There was no response, he didn't blink. His pupils barely even dilated. "Vince I need you to let me know if you can hear me."

There was nothing.

The doctor sat back on his heels and sighed. "I'm very sorry, Howard. Diane." he looked round at the pair stood near him. "I really am very sorry, but he's completely catatonic. His body's still here, but his mind…isn't. He's gone. Completely. We've lost him."

"No!" Howard cried, completely breaking down. "Vince!"

Diane's grief seemed beyond words. She took her son's hand and sat next to him again, tears running silently down her cheeks as she looked at him.

"I'm sorry." The doctor stood up and walked over to Howard, putting an arm around him and allowing the bigger man to cry onto his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

Vince stirred in his sleep, a frown creasing his brow as the words echoed through his brain, before being lost amongst the swirling thoughts and dreams.


I think that's the most angsty I've ever ended a story! Fluff wouldn't really have fitted though…*plans to write more fluff*