His breathing slowed as he began to stand up. Rheimer/Ally and the dragon watched Alex very intently.
"What have I done? This is all my fault!" she cried out.
"Relax child. You were scared," spoke the blue dragon.
"I was foolish Ignitus!" spoke Ally.
"What happened?" asked Alex, "Wait, I shouldn't ask. I'm sorry."
"No. You need to know, you have so many questions. You deserve to know," said Ally, "Go ahead."
"Well, am I a clone of Marty?" asked Alex. Ally gave a long quiet sigh before speaking.
"Yes. Yes you are," she spoke slowly. Alex showed no change of emotion.
"Why are you called Rheimer in the Court?" he asked
"It's my last… my real last name. Though, I prefer Eon to be my last name," she answered.
"Did you write the book that took me here?" he asked.
"Yes," she answered.
"Do you know Marty?" he asked.
"Of course," she answered.
"Why did you put me to sleep for so long?" he asked.
"Sorry, I used too much miasma. I had to test something," she answered.
"What?" he asked.
"Have you noticed that ever since I first saw you, your nightmares have weakened, well except recently?" asked Ally.
"Yeah! Why do I have these nightmares?" he asked.
"It's Vaermina. She's plagued you with these dreams," she answered, "And she wouldn't of… if I… if only I…"
"Young child, it is not your fault. Ease your mind Ally," spoke the dragon in a comforting voice, "I think it's time I answer some of your questions. Vaermina is a daedra, a god-like being that inhabits a realm of Oblivion called Quagmire." Alex took a few seconds of pause to think about this. When he was taken to this place, was it a realm? Was he taken to a different dimension? Was it possible that he traveled across space and time? This seemed impossible, yet, it was happening.
"Wait, so if I'm a clone, who… created me, for lack of better words," he asked. The blue dragon turned to Ally, now facing the opposite direction. She turned around, her face drenched with tears.
"I… I did," she sputtered, "I'm sorry. I felt, alone. I saw Marty burn in my hands and my anger took over. I attacked the squad he was in, killing all six members. I then, was exiled and I created you. I was forced to go back in time so that, when I went back to the present, you would be this age. I tried my best to hide you from prying eyes, but I couldn't. I'm sorry."
"So you went to the Court for help," he added.
"Yes. I've realized my mistake, but I couldn't fix it," Ally explained.
"That's why you made the book! You knew about my dreams! But, how?" Alex spoke.
"Isn't it obvious? The book was about psychology. It was about the mind," she spoke wiping away her tears.
"Wait, are you saying you're psychic?" he asked.
"In a way, yes," she answered.
"Wow, surprisingly that's the most normal thing I've heard all day," Alex said trying to lift his own spirits. Suddenly, Alex felt a cold burst of wind rush past him.
"Oh no, she's back," spoke Ally, summoning her keyblade. Alex drew his dagger and tried to look intimidating. Then, the same shrill voice echoed in his head like before.
"You cannot escape my grasp child. I am Vaermina!" she spoke slowly. A large purple orb of light formed around Alex and consumed him. When the orb diminished, Alex was in a world of darkness. He couldn't see anything at all, except for a staff. A long stick decorated with bones and a horned skull at the top hovered in mid-air a few feet in front of him.
Alex began to walk towards the staff as a young woman in an elegant black robe appeared at the staff's left side like a ghost.
"Vaermina!" he shouted.
"Hello child," she spoke softly. Alex ran towards her with his dagger drawn. She held out her staff and a large red orb shot out at Alex, pushing him back. He couldn't seem to find the strength to get back up. The pain he felt was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
"You're a fool to challenge me boy," she spoke, in the same tone as before. Both her and the staff vanished into a black mist that plummeted into the ground. A large whirlpool formed on the ground. It was about forty feet in diameter and barely visible. Two large yellow orbs formed in the pool, and Alex knew what was happening.
A large muscular creature, easily thirty feet tall emerged from the pool. It was shaped like a human with no head. The two, eye-like orbs, were attached to the creature's chest. Alex was able to gather enough strength to summon his wings, claws, and scales. He held the dagger tightly and jumped up at the creature. He slashed at its eyes, but the dagger went straight through and it grabbed him.
Struggling to get free, Alex was thrown far back, but was not badly injured. He heard Vaermina laugh.
"You fool, you can create a heartless with that blade but cannot destroy them," she spoke, sounding proud of herself, "Even your heartless can destroy heartless, but you yourself are helpless! Ironic is it not?" Alex took this into consideration and developed, both, the smartest and stupidest idea he had ever had. He placed his left hand on the pommel stone while still clutching the dagger in his right and plunged in into his chest as hard as he could.