(Okay, I know I took a while, but if you look at the length of this chapter YOU'LL SEE WHY! OH, AND ONE THING BEFORE I BEGIN: I'M INSTITUTING A NEW RULE TO THIS FIC. BEFORE A CHAPTER, I'LL CONTACT THE AUTHOR OF ANYONE AFFECTED BY IT AND DISCUSS IT. If they won't respond or don't have any problems with it, they forfeit not only their right to complain, BUT EVERYONE ELSE'S AS WELL! Okay, enjoy!)
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Insert…NO TIME! SEVERE CRISIS IN THE TEEN TITANS FANDOM!
Chapter Eleven
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It was clearer now than ever. The Elementals had to be stopped. When they put Miri in a coma, they had crossed an invisible line. This was about more than a false peace offering, a bad haircut, or being plowed into a crater by a falling satellite. This was now all-out war.
"Snap out of it, Miri," Michael begged, Claire hugging him tight. "You and I both know you're stronger than this!"
"This never would've happened if it wasn't for that bloody Nightmare deck of yours!" Tash snapped at Marcus.
Marcus held up his hands in defense.
"Hey, three other people—well, two now—in this Society promised to use that deck and never did!" he snapped. "If it weren't for their false promises, that deck never would've entered the Vault!"
"Are you saying that this is my fault?" Michael snarled, narrowing his eyes.
"Partially, yes!" Marcus shot back.
"Guys, please!" Valerie interjected, stepping between them. "This is exactly what the Elementals want! If we aren't working as a team, we're playing right into their hands!"
Michael and Marcus both glared (though it was impossible to see with Marcus' shades), but remained silent.
"Guys!" Harriet suddenly called. "The next story's starting!"
Putting aside their feelings for the moment, everyone besides Valerie walked over to the monitor room, where the rest of the Society had come to see the latest story.
The Elementals had just left Egypt, disappointed at not finding any clues as to the location of the Tome, and were passing over Europe in the E-jet.
Suddenly, as they were passing over a small country called Markovia, Terra insisted that they land. Flare, Cascade, and Gust were surprised at this, but they understood—Markovia was, after all, Terra's home country, and where she had spent most of her life. The odd thing was that she had lost all memory of those days before she had rejoined the team. This could finally be the key to unlocking Terra's memories and mastering her powers!
The team landed, and found themselves warmly greeted by the citizens—until they saw Terra. When that happened, they all gasped and fled back into their houses.
One person, however, greeted Terra like a sister. His name was Gregor, a skinny blonde boy a couple of years older than her, and he claimed that she was his sister! He was highly relieved to see her back home.
Terra couldn't seem to recall details, but she was positive that she and Gregor were related, and hoped he could tell her more of her past.
It turned out that Gregor was actually the king of Markovia, attaining the title at such a young age due to the deaths of his parents and older brother Brion. He welcomed the Elementals into the palace and gladly agreed to tell them more of Terra's past. He spoke of wild games and pranks they used to play, classes they used to take, and holidays with their parents.
Strangely, Terra didn't recall any of that. The only parts that seemed at all familiar were the later ones, where Gregor spoke of when her powers activated and she quickly lost control, causing mudslides, avalanches, and earthquakes at highly random intervals. She remembered fleeing in fright and shame afterward, too, but that was all.
When the day had passed, Gregor welcomed the team to spend the night in the palace. He put Terra up in what he claimed was her old room, which Terra had no recollection of. Nonetheless, the team went to their separate rooms and drifted into a sound sleep.
They never saw Gregor chuckling to himself as he donned a strange suit of cybernetic armor.
"Now's as good a time as any," Marcus sighed.
"A challenge?" Tash guessed. "Who's going?"
"You are," Marcus said simply, pulling an envelope out of his trenchcoat and handing it to her. "Here," he added. "You'll need this."
"But I can't challenge them!" his boss insisted. "Volt beat me ages ago, remember?"
Here Tash ripped off her wig and showed her almost-bald scalp for emphasis.
"I never said you were challenging them," Marcus replied as she replaced her hairpiece. "I said you were going in to make a challenge. There's a difference."
"Why can't you do whatever this is?" Tash inquired, sounding impatient.
Marcus rolled his eyes, though nobody could see it.
"Because," he snapped. "I have more important things to take care of at the moment!"
"More important than stopping those creations of yours?" Tash shot back. "It's all you've cared about since they escaped!"
"Yeah, well, something else came up!" he snarled. "Now just get in and issue the challenge! Everything you need is in the envelope!"
With that, he ran out of the room like a bat out of Hell.
Tash scowled as she opened a portal to the Teen Titans fandom and jumped in.
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Marcus, meanwhile, hurriedly locked himself in his room, pocketed a certain something to help him later, replaced his glasses (which he slipped in his pocket) with a sleep mask, and laid down on the sofa to cast the illusion of slumber. Then, holding his umbrella tight in one hand, he hastily put the other in his pocket and squeezed his sheep talisman copy.
Now, for those who are unfamiliar, the sheep talisman allows the power of astral projection—a rather useless power under most circumstances, as it leaves the body completely vulnerable while a spirit with less substance than a shadow roams, unable to affect any of the five senses of those it encounters. There are few advantages to this, but those that it has makes it invaluable in a situation like this.
Marcus' body collapsed into a heap as his astral form separated from it, then replaced the sleep mask with his usual shade-equipped glasses and silently (not that it was necessary—nobody could hear him) floated up and passed right through the wall as if it wasn't even there.
Marcus nodded as he flew his set course down the hall and into the infirmary, where Valerie was still hovering over Miri's unconscious form, worried sick.
Taking one last look at Miri's pained expression, Marcus gulped and executed a jackknife right into her noggin, entering her dream.
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Tash grumbled as she flew out of the portal and landed on one knee in Gregor's castle. Dusting herself off, she pulled herself to her feet and pulled out a flashlight to illuminate the dark corridors, then took out the envelope and opened it, finding a sheet of paper with a list of instructions. She stared at the first one: Find and wake Gust.
Simple enough, Tash thought, tiptoeing down the hallway.
After several minutes of walking through living rooms, Tash realized that the sleeping arrangements were on the upper floors, so she found the nearest staircase and climbed up. From there she could hear loud snoring from the room down the hall—really loud, like a lawnmower with a bottle cap stuck in it.
Carefully, Tash tiptoed over to the source of the noise and propped open the door. No good—this was Flare's room. Still, at least she was in the correct wing. She tried another door, finding Jinx sleeping within. The next one held Sol and Luna sharing a bed (and Marcus was supposed to pride himself of children's fics…).
Then, on her fourth try, Tash found her target, sleeping like a baby. Grinning sadistically, she ripped off his covers and slapped him across the face as hard as she could.
"WHAT NOW, CASCADE?" he squealed, snapping back into the waking world. He was dressed in fine silk pajamas, the buttons straining against his overly-large stomach. "Oh, it's you," he growled, staring at the Society leader, before turning to the open door. "GUYS, WE'VE GOT ANOTHER CHALLENGE!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.
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Marcus raised his eyebrows as he inspected the area around him. He was all alone in a dark cemetery in the middle of the night. Dirty tombstones and gnarled trees were everywhere. The stars were dim, and there was no moon. Worst of all, Miri was nowhere in sight.
With nothing else to do, Marcus moved forward through the graveyard. It was then that a tombstone caught his eye. It bore only two words—a name, in fact.
NATASHA MARQUAND
Intrigued, Marcus inspected the headstone next to it. It too bore a familiar name.
MICHAEL WASSON
All the headstones were memorials to apparently deceased Society members. Nearby was Claire's, and Harriet's next to that. Even Adrian had fallen in this world.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, Marcus caught sight of a much more ornate headstone, one with a large statue of the angel of death wielding a scythe standing in front of a crucifix. Its inscription was rather predictable.
RESERVED FOR "MIRIKU" HERNANDEZ
At least she wasn't buried alive, Marcus thought as he continued walking down the cemetery's path. Then, he heard a sound. It was soft, but it was clear. It was the sound of heavy breathing.
"Miri?" Marcus called. "Is that you?"
The sound got louder, but no answer was heard.
"Miriku!" Marcus shouted, louder this time. "Are you here?"
"No…" a low voice groaned. "Not here…"
"But soon enough…" another, higher voice laughed.
A chorus of voices began to laugh, and then, out of nowhere, a hand shot out of the ground! Zombified versions of Society agents began crawling forth from the earth—ugly, twisted parodies of the real deal, their hair and skin falling off everywhere.
The group moved as a single unit (something Marcus wished that the real Society could do), marching toward the bandaged agent slowly but surely.
"You, too, shall join us…" the Willie zombie chortled, holding up his rusty blade.
"Nobody shall remain alive…" the Aster zombie moaned, one of her ears suddenly dropping off of her head. She marched on as if nothing had happened.
Marcus gulped again as the zombie army surrounded him. In the blink of an eye, he whipped out his umbrella and drew the sword from its shaft. He began swinging it wildly, slicing off anything he could reach—an arm here, a head there—but the zombies couldn't care less. They just reattached them, not even caring if they went into the right spot.
As Marcus fought, it became increasingly obvious that he couldn't win. It made perfect sense—this was Miri's dream, after all, so only she could permanently banish her nightmares. He had to escape and find her, but how? The zombies had him totally surrounded!
Then it hit him: He'd totally forgotten that he could still fly! He lifted himself up in the air and attempted to zoom off, only to find the zombie version of himself clutching his ankle. The twisted thing was nearly identical to the genuine article, the only differences (aside from the unmistakable aura of menace and scent of grave dirt) being the tattered trenchcoat and blood-soaked bandages.
With an angry grunt, Marcus kicked his evil double in the side of the head, knocking it clean off its neck. The disgusting thing went after its lost cranium and allowed Marcus to escape. As he zoomed away, he noticed that his zombie self's glasses had tumbled off, and its eye sockets were completely empty.
Marcus flew away from the graveyard at top speed, looking for any change in scenery. He got his wish in a minute, finding an old, dilapidated house, worn down with age. Marcus smiled and dove down.
CRASH!
Marcus picked himself up, rubbing his throbbing head. He'd forgotten that he couldn't pass through walls here. Instead, he tried the front door, finding it locked.
It was at that exact moment when Marcus heard the voices of the zombies in the distance. He had to get in that house, and fast!
Marcus circled the house, trying all the doors and windows. All of them were sealed tight. In desperation, he picked up a large stone and threw it at a nearby window with all his might, shattering it, and swiftly climbed through.
The house seemed totally abandoned. Everything within was covered in a layer of dust. Nonetheless, Marcus explored. Climbing up an old, creaky staircase and wandering down a dark hallway, he found a bedroom, dimly lit by a single candle.
And there, on the bed, was Miri.
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At Gust's bellow, the Elementals (sans Terra and Kid Flash) swarmed into the room, wearing only their pajamas, nightgowns, or, in Flare's case, boxers. It was a little scary for Tash to see just how big the fire Elemental's muscles were under that gi of his.
"Come on!" Cascade screeched. "It's the middle of the night!"
"Too bad!" Tash snapped. "I'm here to stop this story!"
"Ugh, whatever," Gust yawned. "What's the challenge this time?"
Tash stared at the list of instructions for a second. "A bending battle in Avatar: the Last Airbender," she finally said.
The Elementals burst out laughing.
"You're joking!" Flare boomed. "You're actually challenging the Elementals to a fight where the competitors control the elements?"
"That's right!" Tash snapped, pulling a Crossover out of the envelope and tossing it to the floor. There was a short quake and when it was over…nothing had changed!
Everybody looked around, trying to find some difference.
"Must be defective," Sol said with a shrug.
"Wheech means zat zis challenge weell 'ave to wait," Luna smirked.
"Uh, guys?" Gust spoke up. "Look outside."
Everybody stared out the window. There, outside, was the Markovian town, but instead of being situated on a dry, rocky desert, it was atop a lush prairie.
Rolling his eyes, Flare snapped his fingers, and suddenly everybody was on the roof of the palace, and looming above them was the tower-like Southern Air Temple.
"Okay, we're here," Cascade sighed. "Now, where's your challenger? After all, you've already lost!"
Scowling, Tash looked at the next thing on the list. Step three came as a big surprise. "The challenged party will be Gust!" she declared, a smile on her face.
"Sure, I'm up for it," Gust replied, stretching his arms. "Who's my opponent?"
"You are," Tash said simply. Out of nowhere, she pulled something else out of the envelope: Marcus' tiger talisman copy! Taking aim, she fired a blast of energy out of it toward the chubby Elemental. Before their eyes, he split into two of himself: A scared-looking one dressed in fuzzy footie pajamas and a very angry-looking one who was, to everyone's disgust, completely naked.
"Eww!" Cascade squealed, snapping her fingers. Robes materialized over both Gusts—red and black on the evil one, white and blue on the good—and the Elemental of water let out a relieved sigh. "Much better."
"Now that that's out of the way," Tash said, quite relieved herself. "We have a bending battle on our hands!"
"And the stakes?" Sol inquired.
"If the evil Gust wins, we—."
"Don't call me 'evil Gust'!" the red-and-black robed Elemental snarled. "Call me 'Typhoon'! It sounds cooler!"
"And you can call me 'Breeze'," the good Gust requested. "I mean, only if you want to…"
"Whatever," Tash sighed. "If Typhoon wins"—here she paused and read off of the instruction sheet again—"Terra loses everything!"
"Very well," Flare replied. "But if Breeze wins, then that accursed talisman and any other with its power can never be used against us again!"
"Sounds good to me," Tash responded.
"Good," Cascade said impatiently. "Then let's get to the part where Gust wails on himself, already!"
"Agreed," Luna stated. "Let ze bending battle begeen!"
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The Miri lying atop the bed was in even worse shape than her real-world counterpart. She was lying in a fetal position, her hair mussed, her clothes ragged, and her eyes clamped shut in a hopeless attempt to make the horrors around her just disappear.
"Miri," Marcus said gently.
The figure shivered, but otherwise didn't react.
"Come on, Miri," Marcus pleaded. "I'm here to help."
"Just another trick," Miri squeaked, more to herself than Marcus.
"No!" Marcus replied. "This isn't a trick! I'm here to help you to end this nightmare!"
"Nobody would help me," the pitiful figure breathed. "There's nobody left."
"There is!" the bandaged agent insisted. "Miri, this is all a dream! The two of us are the only things here that are real! And only you can clear away the terror!"
"I can't do anything," she sobbed. "I'm powerless."
"You are not! This is your dream! You're omnipotent here! You can do literally anything if you just put your mind to it!"
"I can't…"
Marcus sighed in exasperation. This was worse than he'd thought: A clear case of learned hopelessness. Miri had been tormented in this dream for so long that she'd completely given up. He needed to find a way to encourage her to fight back, but how?
Suddenly, the house shook. Marcus looked out of the window and saw why: The zombies had arrived and were using a battering ram to try and break down the door. This house wouldn't be safe for much longer!
"Oh, come on!" Marcus complained. "Since when are zombies smart or even coordinated enough to use tools?" He turned over to Miri. "Hurry up and get rid of them!" he yelled.
"I-I can't!" Miri wailed, bursting into tears.
Marcus sighed again. Since Miri wouldn't fight, they'd have to make a break for it. Spying her weapon—a staff that could change its length at the holder's will—hanging on the wall, he snatched it and grabbed Miri's hand, pulling her to her feet. It wasn't easy—though she wasn't exactly fighting it, she showed no will to move. Eventually, though, he got her up just as they heard slow footsteps down the hall.
"Only one way out now," Marcus observed, handing Miri her staff and flinging the window open. "Jump!"
"What?" Miri cried. "We're too high up!"
"Trust me!" Marcus urged, flying just outside the window and extending his hand. "I'll fly you to safety!"
Miri looked absolutely terrified, and it only got worse when the zombie Michael entered the room. Weighing her two options, she put her faith in Marcus, took his hand, and jumped.
As soon as Marcus caught Miri's hand, he felt himself moving—not up, but down. Miri felt much heavier than she should have, like she was made of solid lead! The two plummeted down and landed in a heap.
"Okay," Marcus groaned, getting to his feet. "Apparently I can't fly when I'm holding you. Good to know. Now come on! We have to get out of here!"
Miri wouldn't move, so Marcus had to pluck her up into a forced run away from the house. After a little while, she began moving on her own.
"Where are we going?" she asked, panting slightly.
"Anywhere but here!" was Marcus' only reply.
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Typhoon and Breeze, meanwhile, had just begun to fight. Typhoon blew a strong wind at Breeze, but Breeze simply leapt aside and dodged it. The evil one then ran forward and tried to punch his good half in his massive gut, but Breeze backed away just in time.
"Come on, Breeze!" Flare urged. "Fight back, already!"
"No, no," the good half replied, shaking his head. "Fighting isn't nice at all."
"That explains why Marcus said to bet on the evil one," Tash mumbled to herself.
"You know what else isn't nice?" Typhoon asked.
"No, what?" Breeze answered.
"THIS!"
Typhoon delivered a painful kick to Breeze's shin and laughed hysterically as he began blasting the good half back with strong wind attacks. The good half recovered and used his own powers to break free and calmly leapt aside.
"That's more like it!" Flare cheered.
"Defending myself is one thing," Breeze lectured. "Deliberately harming someone is something else entirely. I won't do it!"
Tash and Typhoon both let out a confident smile. Victory was assured.
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When Miri finally started running, the two agents began to cover a lot of ground. Even so, they seemed to be going absolutely nowhere. There were no landmarks or structures anywhere in sight—just miles and miles of meadow. Even worse, the zombified agents had followed them out of the house and were catching up.
"How are we supposed to get away from them?" Miri panicked.
"Beats me!" Marcus shot back. "It's your dream! Give us somewhere to run away to!"
"What do you mean?" Miri asked, utterly befuddled.
"I already told you you're in control here! Just think of a place for us to hide and we'll have it!"
Miri looked unsure, but closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. "What should I think of?" she inquired.
"Anything!" Marcus urged. "Just hurry! The zombies are gaining on us!"
Miri focused with all of her might and felt as if a light had switched on in her head.
"It'll do," she heard Marcus sigh.
Cautiously, Miri opened her eyes and followed Marcus into the school building.
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"How could I have ever been joined with such a wuss!" Typhoon raged, aiming punch after punch at Breeze, who carefully dodged each one.
The good half said nothing, finding pointing out Typhoon's faults too cruel.
"At this rate the Crossover will expire before a winner is declared," Cascade groaned.
"Then let's shake things up a little," Tash grinned. "Typhoon, play a little dirty, will you?"
Typhoon stopped attacking and smiled. "Look!" he cried, pointing off in one direction. "A kitten stuck in a tree!"
When Breeze gasped and turned, his evil counterpart slammed his elbow into the good half's neck, knocking him down.
"Stand up, Breeze!" Sol encouraged. "A good guy never surrenders!"
Breeze nodded and used a blast of wind to get back on his feet, ready for more.
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The interior of the school looked perfectly normal—lockers, water fountains, etc—and for Marcus, that in itself was quite disturbing. After all, this was supposed to be a nightmare.
Out of the blue, Marcus' train of thought was interrupted by a loud bell. All at once the students poured out of the classrooms and into the hall. They came in all shapes and sizes, but they all had one thing in common: They had absolutely no facial features.
Suddenly, Miri shrieked in terror. Marcus whipped around to see what was wrong, then turned right back, blushing. Miri was totally naked!
"A little help?" he heard her whimper.
"Why?" Marcus replied. "Nobody here even has eyes!"
As if to prove him wrong, the students' faces began to change. They grew eyes and mouths—and not just in the normal places. One had twenty eyes sprouting all over. Another had just two underneath an overly-large mouth. An even stranger one had an eye that took up his entire place, with mouths where his ears should've been.
The students began to laugh, loud and mocking, and Marcus angrily removed his trenchcoat and held it out behind him. "Here," he instructed. "Put this on."
Marcus could feel the trenchcoat being lifted out of his hand. Soon after, the laughter died down, but didn't altogether stop. Feeling that it was safe to look now, he turned around to see Miri in the hastily-buttoned jacket. Some things were still just barely visible, but it would simply have to do for now.
"The public nudity dream," Marcus muttered. "Classic."
"I'm stuck in this nightmare and all you can do is admire it?" Miri said with a scowl.
"I keep trying to help, but—."
Marcus was interrupted by the loud clanging of the bell. In less than a second, all of the horrific students had run off to their separate classes.
"Now's our chance to get out of here!" Marcus shouted. "Let's move!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Miri replied.
The two began to sprint forward, but before they had made it even five steps, something snatched their wrists from behind. They pivoted on the spot and saw that they had been grabbed by a bony, grey-haired old woman with piercing, steel-grey eyes. She looked frail, but her grip was like a vise.
"Just what do you think you're doing out of class?" she screeched in a high, shrill voice. "Come with me right now!"
Without waiting for a reply, the woman dragged the two agents down the hall and into a classroom filled with demonic students, then threw them into two adjacent desks with papers and pencils on top of them.
"Now that the stragglers are here," the old bat screeched, walking to the front of the room. "We can begin the final exam."
"Exam?" Miri wailed, looking terrified. "B-but I haven't studied!"
"Of course not!" the hag snarled. "You were too busy cutting class! Now," she said, addressing the room again. "Please remember, class, that this test will be the single most important thing you ever do and will follow you through life and beyond the grave, and if you get less than a perfect score you'll be unqualified to be anything more than a prostitute for the rest of your days. Now, begin!"
Like clockwork, all of the students began moving their pencils across their exams at the same tremendous speed.
Marcus looked down at his own test and his eyes went wide. This was the easiest test ever! The questions were things like "What is 2 plus 2?" and "What color is a stop sign?".
The bandaged agent chuckled and raced through the test, then took a glance at Miri. She didn't look as confident, her lips pursed and her brow dripping with sweat.
"What's wrong?" Marcus whispered to her.
"Take a look," she muttered back.
Marcus stared down at Miri's test and saw the problem: It was written in some freaky alien language! Still, there was a remote possibility…
"The first answer is 'butterfly'," he told her.
Miri stared at him like he'd gone crazy. "You can read this?" she murmered.
"Of course not, but I think it's the same questions as mine. And so what if you're wrong, anyway? It's just a dream!"
"Good point," Miri shrugged as she wrote down the answer. "What's the next one?"
"What's this?" came the teacher's shriek. She was standing right behind them. "Now you're cheating? That's it! You two are coming with me!"
Miri gulped as the old bat pulled the two agents out of the room by their wrists.
"Dress code violations, truancy, and now cheating on an exam!" the crone raged. "You two are in big trouble!"
"What're you going to do?" Marcus jeered. "Expel us from dream school?"
"No!" she screeched. "I'm throwing you both in detention!"
The beldam stopped in front of an open door to a big empty room (and I don't just mean there was nobody in it—I mean completely empty of anything!) and threw the two agents in and slammed the door shut.
"Oh, an empty room," Marcus said, his voice dripping with pretend fear. "I'm so scared!"
Then, suddenly, the door disappeared.
"Still no problem," he commented. "We can bust our way out in no time."
Then, slowly, the walls and ceiling began to move in, threatening to crush the agents.
"Miri," Marcus said cautiously. "Did you just think of how things could be worse?"
Miri blushed bright red and nodded. "Uh-huh…"
"Well, at least you're learning to use your power here," he sighed. "Now, how about an exit?"
Miri looked back and forth, tossing her frizzy red hair all over the place. "I don't know!" she wailed. "I need more time!"
Marcus sighed again as the walls closed in. When they got dangerously close, he opened his umbrella and a shield surrounded the two agents. The walls kept trying to move, but the shield was holding them back, at least temporarily.
"Okay," Marcus said calmly. "You have some extra time. Now, focus your mind and think of a way out. A door, perhaps?"
Miri nodded and closed her eyes, focusing as clearly as she could, imagining a door in the room to help them escape. When she opened her eyes again, she found that she had indeed created a door in the room—on the floor.
"Interesting," Marcus commented, watching as the shield's power drained. "But good enough. Let's go!"
Miri grabbed the doorknob and pulled, but the door wouldn't budge. She kept pulling with all of her might, straining and struggling, but the door just refused to yield.
"If I may?" Marcus requested, letting go of his umbrella and taking the sword from the shaft. He turned the doorknob and let go. The door fell downward, wide open, and Miri blushed again.
"Can't believe I didn't see that…" she mumbled. "Where does it go, anyway?"
"Who cares?" Marcus replied. "It'll take us out of here!"
Miri looked worried, but nodded and took Marcus' hand, and the two jumped through the doorway just as the shield broke.
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"Look, Breeze," Flare called. "If you lose, you're letting down your whole team! You need to win this!"
Breeze frowned and just stood there, clearly conflicted. As he did, Typhoon took the opportunity to send a powerful blast of air his way, knocking the good half off his feet.
"You weakling," Typhoon sneered. "You're just too moral to do what it takes to win!"
"Don't fight to hurt him, Breeze!" Sol shouted.
"Yes," Luna concurred. "Fight to protect us!"
Breeze looked at his team and nodded, then jumped to his feet and created a swirling ball of wind in his hands and threw it at his counterpart. The ball struck Typhoon right in the chest, sending him skidding back.
"Looks like we just evened the odds," Flare chuckled.
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Meanwhile, Miri and Marcus were still plummeting. The doorway had apparently put them in a classic "falling" nightmare, a dream representing a fear of situations over which one has no control. Miri had started by screaming incessantly, but had long since grown tired of it, and had simply gone silent and busied herself by staring at the rocky cliff faces that surrounded them and wondering when they'd actually see the ground.
Then, just as soon as she began to wonder about it, there it was, looming ahead of them. They had less than a minute to act!
"What do I do?" Miri shrieked, anxious as ever. "What do I do?"
"Calm down and think of something!" Marcus shouted back (not because he was angry; one just has to shout to be heard when falling from a great height).
"Like what?" Miri shot back.
"A mattress, a trampoline, a parachute, ANYTHING!" the bandaged agent told her. He thought it best to keep quiet about the fact that if they died here, both of their bodies would be catatonic forever.
Miri flailed in the air and just kept staring at the ground. "I-I can't think of anything!" she yelled. "I'm too nervous!"
Marcus rubbed his temples in frustration, but knew that this was no time to berate her for this. The ground was less than a hundred feet away and if they didn't do something fast they'd just be a mess of bloody scattered parts.
"Hang on tight!" he commanded.
Miri raised an eyebrow, but wrapped her arms around Marcus' waist and held on with all of her strength as Marcus held his sword tight with both hands, raised it over his head, and thrust it into the nearest cliff face.
The sword flat-out resented its wielder's course of action, sending out sparks galore and pushing back with all its might, but Marcus held firm, refusing to relinquish his hold.
After a while, the drag slowed the duo's fall considerably and they hit the ground. It wasn't exactly a graceful landing, but at least all of their bones were intact.
"Thanks," Miri panted, letting go of Marcus' waist.
"Don't mention it," Marcus replied, staring at his sword. That last action had dulled it down to the hilt. It was useless now, so he chucked it aside. "Now, where do we go from here?"
Miri stared at the solid cliff walls all around her. "Beats me," she sighed. "It looks like we're trapped here."
Marcus rolled his eyes, though of course Miri didn't see it. "You really need to keep up," he lectured. "As I keep telling you, you have the power here! You can make us an exit if you just will it! But this time, please think of a destination as well, because from here on in, I can only provide ideas and moral support. I've exhausted my supply of tools, so you'll have to be the hero."
Miri gulped, but nodded, trying to show some confidence. "Right," she said. "So how do I wake myself up?"
"Honestly?" Marcus responded. "I have no idea. Perhaps you should just will it? That certainly seems worth a try."
Miri shrugged and closed her eyes tight and focused all her willpower on forcing herself to awaken, but, upon opening her eyes, nothing had changed.
"Any other ideas?" she asked.
"A couple, actually. It occurs to me that since the Elementals did this to you, there may be some slight traces of them in your mind maintaining the nightmare world and keeping you trapped here. So, in theory, if you purge the traces of the Elementals, you can lift the nightmare, and then you can wake up, either on your own or with gentle stimulation from the waking world."
"Sounds difficult."
"Unless you remember that you're all-powerful here, whereupon it should become a cakewalk. Still…" he paused. "I think your first goal should be getting your clothes back…"
Miri blushed, but then nodded. She closed her eyes and concentrated, and before she knew it she had her own clothes back.
"Much better," Marcus sighed. "Now, how about an exit?"
"Okay," Miri replied. She was getting the hang of things now. All she had to do was focus and the mouth of a tunnel appeared before them.
Without a word, the two wandered in.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Back at the fight, Breeze and Typhoon had become a perfect matchup. Whenever one attacked, the other blocked. Whenever one airbent, the other dodged. The fight was action-packed, and near-symmetrical to boot. At first it was really cool, but the novelty quickly wore off.
"Who would've guessed seeing Gust fight himself would be so boring?" Cascade groaned, pushing her blonde locks out of her face in boredom.
"Can't argue there…" Tash sighed, watching Breeze and Typhoon grapple.
"It seems that we are evenly matched, brother," Breeze commented.
"In speed, power, and abilities, yes," Typhoon observed. "But you're forgetting one thing."
"What's that?" Breeze inquired.
"I'm not afraid to play dirty!"
That being said, Typhoon kneed his good half in every man's biggest weak spot, forcing him to gasp in pain while Typhoon began his beatdown.
Tash smirked. The end was near.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The tunnel was long and dark, lit only by the dim flame of a lantern Miri had provided. Neither of the two knew how far or long they had walked, or how much farther or longer they would have to.
"Where are we going, anyway?" Miri asked.
"Beats me," Marcus shrugged. "As I keep saying, it's your dream."
"Oh, there's no knowing where you're going," a voice called out, echoing off the tunnel walls. It was strangely familiar…
"Or which way this dream is flowing!" another voice said. This one was female, and even more obnoxious. "Is it raining? Is it snowing?"
Suddenly, drops of water began to fall from the tunnel ceiling and pelt the two Society agents. It lasted only a second, though, as the rain quickly turned into freezing snow, and then stopped altogether.
"Is a hurricane a-blowing?" a husky male voice chuckled. His voice had an eerie cheerfulness about it.
With these words, a wind whipped up. At first it was a weak breeze that just put out Miri's lantern, but it quickly strengthened, becoming impossibly strong. Miri and Marcus were picked up and thrown forward through the inky blackness of the tunnel.
"Are the frames of Herr a-growing?" said yet another voice, this one with a heavy Japanese accent.
"Eez ze greesly Reaper moweeng?" a fifth voice cackled. It had a heavy French accent.
The voices were growing louder, and echoing more and more.
Out of the blue, the cave was brightened (barely) by eerie lights of every color, and gruesome images sprang up—terrible monsters and scenes of sick torture methods flashed by, each more horrifying than the last. Miri shrieked, and Marcus stiffened up in fright as they continued to hurtle forward at over seventy miles per hour.
"Yes, the danger must be growing!" shouted (you guessed it) another voice. Like the first, third, and fourth ones, this was male, but higher and even less sane. "FOR THE BLOWERS KEEP ON BLOWING!"
The wind sped up even more, recklessly tossing Marcus and Miri through the air, and out of nowhere the tunnel ended and the two were thrown into a large room and up against the wall.
Marcus barely saved the duo from breaking every one of their bones by snatching Miri's staff and letting it hit the wall first.
The two agents fell to the floor, gasping from the terror they'd barely escaped. Marcus handed Miri back her weapon as they surveyed their new location. It was a hellish place, filled with demonic statues, evil portraits, and medieval torture devices, and lit by torches with eerie purple flames.
And there, by the entrance, were the Elementals.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Breeze was taking a serious beating as his evil counterpart used every dirty trick in the book—"your shoe's untied", "look, something distracting", noogies, purple-nurples, wedgies, wet willies, pink bellies, and even Indian burns.
Finally the good half fell to his knees. He couldn't take much more.
"That's it, Typhoon!" Tash cheered. "Finish him!"
"Don't tell me what to do!" Typhoon snapped, but nonetheless he ran forward to deliver the final blow.
"We can't ret this happen!" Sol panicked.
"Well, we cannot use our powers to influence a bendeeng battle!" Luna snarled.
It was Cascade that found a solution.
"Hey, Typhoon!" she laughed. "Check this out!"
Quick as a flash, her nightgown was off.
Typhoon's reaction to seeing the hottest girl on the team naked was a cartoon cliché. He beat his foot against the ground, his eyes bulged, and he started howling like a wolf, completely forgetting about the fight.
Seizing the opportunity, Breeze got to his feet and blew a powerful wind at Typhoon, throwing him against the temple wall and knocking him out cold.
Tash nearly burst a blood vessel.
"I can't believe you would stoop so low!" she shrieked at Cascade. "Stripping to distract your opponent! That's just vile!"
"And I suppose encouraging your player's dirty tricks was perfectly fine, then?" the Elemental of water countered, slipping her nightgown back on. "Besides, you're just jealous that you'll never have a body worth showing off. Now, put Gust back in one piece and get lost!"
Tash growled, but obeyed, reuniting Breeze and Typhoon into one being, then opening a portal to the Library Arcanium and leaping through.
"This isn't over!" was all she was able to say in her rage.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"It's about time you showed up," Flare smirked, staring Miri right in the eyes. "We've been waiting for so long…"
"Sure, these nightmares were entertaining," Gust shrugged. "But just finishing you off will make Willowe so happy! And using their own precious gadgets, too!"
"What are you talking about?" Marcus snapped.
Volt snickered and pulled something from behind his back. It looked like a strange golden gun with a purple dot on the side, swollen to the size of a baseball near the butt of the gun, and narrowed like a mosquito mouth near the head.
"A Big-Lipped Alligator Moment?" Miri exclaimed.
"That would explain what happened in the tunnel…" Marcus muttered. "Right out of 'Willy Wonka', though I think you forgot a few lines…"
"Had the same effect, didn't it?" Cascade shrugged.
"But that gadget is still in the design stage!" Marcus asserted. "We don't even have a prototype yet!"
"Yes, it's amazing what you can find lying around in someone's head," Volt chortled. "And we know how to find all the dark corners and hidey-holes. After all, Creator," he said with an evil grin. "We lived in yours for years, before you cruelly discarded us!"
"And now we get the pleasure of turning not one, but two of our enemies into braindead organ sacks with their own weapons!" Gust whooped. "It's like Christmas came early!"
"We're not going down without a fight!" Marcus shouted.
"Good," Flora sneered. "The last thing we want is for you to…" here she trailed off for some reason, trying to remember what was going on. "Uh…what was I…oh, yeah!" she realized, her eyes lighting up. "To ruin our fun!"
Miri raised an eyebrow and turned to Marcus. "What's up with her?" she whispered. "Did she get brain damage in the saga or something?"
"No," Marcus replied, keeping his voice low. "Her speech was totally normal in my ideas. I have no idea what's wrong with her."
"What's going to be wrong with you is what you should be concerned about!" Flare snarled, raising his hand and sending a fireball their way.
Marcus and Miri barely dodged in time.
"Okay, Miri," Marcus coached. "Now's the time to use what you've learned! It's time to purge your mind of these repulsive ideas just like I did!"
"Right!" Miri agreed, before looking considerably less confident. "Uh, you'll help, right?" she asked.
"Of course!" her fellow agent answered. "That's what I'm here for!"
The Elementals laughed even harder.
"The two of you alone against all of us?" Flora cackled. "Oh, we don't stand a…um, what're we…oh, yeah, chance!"
"We're not alone!" Marcus shot back, pulling his secret weapon out of his pocket and tossing it to Miri. "We have the whole Society on our side!"
Miri looked at what she had just caught. It was the anti-Nightmare deck—the one made with a combination of the entire Society's cards.
"Go on, Miri!" Marcus urged. "Summon reinforcements!"
Miri smiled and focused as hard as she could on getting help. The cards levitated out of her hand and up in front of her, and then began to transform. One card became a giant golden phoenix that let out a shriek before turning into Tash. Another formed into a colossal armored dragon that roared and turned into Michael. All around the room, Society agents formed.
"You're not touching Miri with us here!" Adrian proclaimed.
"We'll protect her with our lives!" Claire announced.
The Elementals laughed and blasted all of them to smithereens.
There was a long pause.
"Well, that was anticlimactic," Marcus finally said, still sounding eerily calm. "But I'm still here."
"We'll soon fix that!" Volt snickered, pulling out another gadget. It looked like an old-fashioned toy wind-up soldier with a little toy blunderbuss.
"A Running Gag?" Miri gasped.
"Fresh off the design phase!" the Elemental of lightning sniggered. "And it's sure to keep you busy while we deal with the Creator!"
With gusto, Volt turned the Running Gag's key and set it on the floor. The little gadget rocketed off and began circling Miri in a seemingly chaotic fashion, firing off its blunderbuss every so often and sending her reeling back.
Miri pulled out her pole and tried to strike the Running Gag, but it was just too fast, and its movements still too unpredictable.
"Stay calm, Miri!" Marcus called. "The Running Gag can't do much damage, and as it goes on it becomes more predictable and less effective! You'll get it soon enough!"
"And by then it will be too late!" Gust boomed. "Now, Creator, it's finally time we took our revenge for casting us aside! Prepare to die!"
Sadistic as ever, the Elementals advanced in on their creator and prepared to finish the job.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"That was a nightmare!" Tash complained as she flopped down on one of the monitor room's sofas.
"Yeah, we saw," Drake commented. "We really need to stop underestimating those guys."
"It is becoming a problem," Doug agreed. "But still, who would've ever guessed that Cascade would do that for Gust? She can't stand him ogling her!"
"I'm afraid that it is too late for that information now," Cristoph sighed. "The challenge has ended in our opponents' favor."
"Well," Willie shrugged. "May as well see what happens next."
The group was quiet as they turned to the screen and watched the rest of the story unfold.
As the Elementals slept, they (sans Terra) were suddenly encased in hardened mud and transported to the palace basement by Gregor, who was now decked out in his new armor. When they'd all been dumped in a large pit, Gregor forced Terra awake and violently escorted her there, too, and used his armor to place a colossal rock over the pit containing the Elementals, saying that in less than twenty minutes it would slip down and crush them unless Terra agreed to fight him.
Terra demanded to know why, and Gregor cackled and told her that he had to know for sure who was truly stronger: Terra or Geo-Force, the new name he had given himself. He'd always been jealous of Terra's powers, and after she disappeared he ordered the construction of a suit of armor that allowed him to do the same to her. After imprisoning his mother and older brother to assume the position of king, his only goal in life left was to prove himself superior to the original.
As the fight went on, it became clear that while Geo-Force was equal in power to Terra, he had much better control of his abilities, giving him the advantage.
Terra became more and more stressed with time, but with the moral support of her team she was able to harness that anxiety and finally access her elemental form, and even better, her memories!
It turned out that Terra was the illegitimate daughter of the king, and had been banished to the outskirts of the city with her mother. Gregor didn't even know they were half-siblings and was always snobby and obnoxious to her simply because he was royalty and she wasn't.
When Terra was thirteen, her mother died of a terrible illness, and she shared the secret with her daughter. Terra became enraged at this, and her powers activated, causing city-wide disasters. In time, she attempted to destroy the palace, but her lack of control ended up killing the king instead. Terrified, she fled the country and began seeking a place where she could do no harm.
From there the fight became considerably more even, and it ended with Geo-Force levitating a giant boulder to try and crush Terra, and instead being killed when the armor malfunctioned due to all the damage it had taken.
Silently, Terra retrieved her teammates, and in the morning they alerted the citizens of Gregor's death, and leadership of the country was assigned to Gregor, who, in the future, proved to be a great leader.
When that was done, the Elementals got back in the E-jet and vowed never to return to Markovia.
"Wow," Rhia commented. "That was…dark."
"The saga's getting heavier," Ben said with a nod. "Marcus really went all-out."
"Where is Marcus, anyway?" Tash inquired.
"Haven't seen him since you left earlier," Drake replied.
"He'd better not be goofing off…" Tash seethed, clenching her hand into a fist.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
This was the single most serious moment of Marcus' life. It was seven superheroes against one teenager with incredibly limited fighting skills. This was not the time for goofing off.
Cascade started things off by firing a barrage of icicles at him. "Hell knoweth no fury like a superheroine scorned, Creator!" she cackled.
Marcus leapt aside and took cover behind a statue of a devilish creature with dragonfly wings, antlers, and a shiny silver trident.
"'iding weel do no good!" he heard Luna cry, with Sol laughing in the background.
Behind Marcus, the statue took on an aura that seemed to combine light and darkness as it was lifted into the air and sent crashing back down. The bandaged agent rolled out of the way just in time as it hit the floor with awesome force, shattering to pieces.
Seizing an opportunity, Marcus grabbed the trident and used it to block as the duo flew at him. Though they pushed up hard, Marcus turned their own strength against them by loosening his grip and sending them hurtling aside into an old-fashioned stretching rack.
Seeing this, Marcus quickly locked their hands into the shackles.
"You rittre brat!" Sol spat, along with several words that simply can't be printed. "Ret us go!"
"Yeah," Marcus replied sarcastically. "That'll happen."
Suddenly, Marcus was struck hard in the back of his neck and knocked to the floor. "What the—?" he gasped.
"One good suckerpunch deserves…uh…um…" he heard Flora drawl.
Just as Flora was about to deal a finishing blow, a long rod suddenly struck her in the side. Miri had escaped from the Running Gag!
"Thanks," Marcus panted as he got to his feet and grabbed the struggling Flora. "Open that stockade for me, would you?"
Miri nodded and pulled open one of the torture devices, a sarcophagus-like thing with an interior full of sharp spikes. Marcus threw Flora right in and Miri slammed it shut and locked it.
"Three down, four to go," Marcus commented. He never saw Gust as he snatched him from behind and held his arms tight.
"Don't fight it, either of you," he warned the two agents. "I can snap his arms right off if I want."
"Great work, Gust!" Volt laughed, stepping in front of Marcus and holding up the BLAM. "Let's give our great Creator another taste of this thing's power so we can wipe out the real threat here!"
Volt held the gadget up and pointed it straight at Marcus, but just as he pulled the trigger, Miri tackled him from behind and messed up his aim, causing him to hit Gust instead!
From what Marcus could tell from Gust's raving as he broke free, the portly Elemental was desperately trying to escape from a hungry singing lizard.
"Oh, enough gimmicks!" Flare spat as he shot a fireball that turned the BLAM into a puddle of hot goo. "Weapons can change hands! We'll just finish them with our own abilities!"
"Right!" Cascade and Volt agreed.
Miri gulped as the three remaining Elementals surrounded her and Marcus, backing them up against a wall.
"This is for all our suffering!" Flare snarled, holding up a hand as a white-hot fireball appeared within it.
"And all our waiting!" Cascade added, sculpting a spear out of solid ice.
"And all your apathy!" Volt raged, electricity coursing through his palms.
The three Elementals attacked the two agents with everything they had, and Marcus braced himself for the end when Miri grabbed him by the collar and pulled him through a doorway that definitely wasn't there before and escorted him up a long, winding staircase.
"Free the others, Volt!" he heard Flare order. "We'll hold them for you!"
Marcus and Miri dashed up the stairs and through another doorway, finding themselves in a very large room with an immensely high ceiling. The room was filled with complex machinery attached to an enormous, evil-looking tank in the middle. The machines were processing something in all sorts of evil ways, and shrieks and moans could often be heard within them as they pumped their finished products through pipes that led out through the walls. There seemed to be something alive within the tank, as it constantly rumbled and roars could be heard inside. The tubes feeding its contents appeared to be leaking slightly—every so often an ugly, transparent ghost-like thing would eke out and screech before disappearing.
"What is this place?" Miri squeaked, her voice tinged with fear.
Marcus didn't have an answer, but Cascade did.
"This is the Nightmare Fuel refinery," she laughed, seeming very eager to talk about it as she and Flare advanced on the agents. "This stuff isn't easy to get ahold of, and the Pro-Cliché and Mary Sue Protection Society is researching about a thousand different ways to use it! We've already sent them over 600 drums!"
"It just so happens that Miri is a gold mine of this stuff," Flare continued with a smirk. "Ever since this nightmare began it's been flowing like a river, and once we wipe out the last piece of optimism over there—" he pointed to Miri "—this stuff will flow forever and the Protection Society will have enough Nightmare Fuel to accomplish anything, including wiping out your Society once and for all!"
Miri tensed and Marcus had to pull her out of the way of another attack from Flare.
"I'm not equipped to fight them," Marcus told Miri as they raced through a maze of ghastly machines. "I need a weapon of some sort. How about a katana?"
Miri nodded and concentrated, and Marcus found himself holding an outdated pop culture idol.
"Madonna," he observed. "Try again."
"Sorry," Miri apologized as the woman vanished. "It's hard to concentrate in a situation like this. How do you do it?"
"Me?" Marcus chuckled as they sped along. "I think about homemade pizza."
"Homemade pizza?" Miri echoed, clearly very confused.
"Sure. There's no endeavor in the world more rewarding when it's done well."
"Interesting," Miri replied as they ran. "If I make it out of this, I'll have to try it."
"That's the spirit," Marcus grinned. "Now, we just need a way to get rid of those Elementals so you can make it out of this! Any ideas?"
"I can help us dodge better!" she said. "Just a second."
Miri stopped and concentrated, and Marcus soon found that his feet were no longer touching the ground. Miri had conjured them each a pair of big, feathery wings.
"It's a start," Marcus said as he flew up higher.
"Oh, so you're airborne now?" Volt observed. He and the other four had arrived. "Well, you're not the only ones who can fly!"
In the blink of an eye, Project Icarus sprouted from Volt's back and he took off, Gust, Sol, and Luna close behind, each trying to strike at the two agents as Flare and Cascade took aim from the ground.
Marcus and Miri did everything they could to dodge, bobbing and weaving to avoid the shots when something very interesting happened—Cascade struck the tank with a large icicle.
"Careful!" Flare shouted at his teammate. "We can't afford to damage that tank!"
Marcus and Miri paused and smiled at each other.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Marcus asked.
Miri grinned and conjured up a bazooka, firing it straight at the tank, which burst in a fiery explosion.
The result was highly unexpected. A black hole appeared underneath where the tank had once stood, an evil vortex of terror that threatened to suck in everyone in the room. Marcus and Miri grabbed onto a nearby pipe as the Elementals fought to stay out of it.
"You fools!" Volt cried. "That tank was the only thing keeping the nightmares from reaching full power! Without it, we're all dead!"
One by one, the Elementals were sucked screaming into the vortex, until only Marcus and Miri were left to fight it.
"What do we do?" Miri screamed, clinging desperately to the pipe.
"You have to taint the nightmare fuel source!" Marcus yelled. "It's our only hope!"
"Taint it?" Miri repeated. "What does that mean?"
As they spoke, the machines began tearing out of the floor as they were pulled toward the black hole.
"You have to introduce it to something so good that it will lose its power!" the bandaged agent screamed. "Otherwise it'll consume your whole mind and kill us both!"
"Something good?"
"Yeah!"
Miri thought and thought as her fingers began slipping, and then she had what she needed. She conjured up the anti-Nightmare deck and threw it into the hole. The vortex gurgled and moaned and screeched and roared, and then it began to consume itself, slowly at first, but then it disappeared altogether.
Miri and Marcus each let out a huge sigh and they dropped to the floor.
"Nice work, Miri," Marcus complimented. "And a good lesson, too: Your friends will always be there to help you in a pinch. And now, you're free to wake up whenever you like."
"Thanks," Miri grinned. "I really owe you for helping me here."
"Don't mention it," Marcus said. "And I mean that literally. When you wake up, don't tell anyone about me being here. I…kind of broke some rules to do it…"
Miri looked confused. "Uh, okay," she agreed.
"Thanks!" Marcus laughed. "I'll see you in the waking world!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Five minutes later, Marcus was back in the Library Arcanium hearing about how the challenge had been a total flop when Valerie's voice came over the PA saying that Miri was waking up.
The Society rushed over and bombarded Miri with questions as she rose from her bed, but the only thing she said was this:
"You mind if I explain it over dinner? I'm craving pizza. Homemade."
"I'll help her," Marcus volunteered. "After all, it's not like I've done anything else today."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
(Whew! THAT WAS AN ORDEAL! WELL, THINGS ENDED UP WELL, AND FEEL FREE TO USE THE RUNNING GAG AND NIGHTMARE FUEL FOR YOUR OWN FICS, though I'd like you to talk to me about how you're thinking of having the PCMSPS use the Nightmare Fuel. ANYWAY, CAN'T WAIT FOR YOUR REVIEWS, WHICH I HOPE ARE LONG AND NON-FLAMEY! Til next time!)