I apologize for the lateness of this chapter and also the relative short length. The entire Fade sequence was originally supposed to be wrapped up by now but it didn't work out like I initially planned. So here is the 14th chapter and I hope anyone that is enjoying this story will continue reading, I really appreciate all the support of everyone here.

Chapter 14: The Fade Battle

There she stood, robes covered in the sticky brown blood of fake pupils, with a look of intense anguish upon her face. She looked exhausted, every wrinkle clearly defined. It took Fallon half a moment to realize that it was really Wynne that stood in front of her and not some apparition. The expression she wore was so unlike the calm and collected mage she had first met in Ostagar. She seemed broken.

Not moments before, the Warden had called off the search for the old woman. Fallon had wanted them to take a few moments to search for her, despite Niall's urgings to get moving, but there were no signs of the elder mage and eventually she had to abandon the quest.

"It's pointless to look for her." Niall had told her. "Once you kill Sloth she will be released with all the dreamers." This did not lessen Fallon's anxiety, but she stopped the search, gathering her people to fight Sloth. She exchanged a look with Alistair before motioning for them to put their hand over the Fade Pedestal. With a nod of her head, they all touched the pedestal together, instantly transporting to Sloth's center island.

And there she stood with tears etching patterns through her bloodstained skin.

"Maker… All this death… all this destruction. Why do I deserve to live and they must die?" Wynne was muttering to herself, surrounded by a pile of corpses. There were several familiar faces among them, including that of Zetheria, mouth agape and blood dripping from her dark lips.

" 'Tis powerful magic, " Morrigan whispered, "to trick the preachy schoolmistress."

"Why is her dream like this? Everyone else's was happy. Why is Sloth torturing her?" Fallon asked audibly, but no one was able to venture a guess. Alistair stepped forward, putting a hand on Wynne shoulder. She failed to react. Her muttering continued until the senior Grey Warden began speaking.

"Wynne. Wynne, look at me." He commanded. Her eyes severed its ties on the dead bodies, glancing upward to Alistair and then to Fallon who stood slightly behind him.

"Where were you two? I thought you meant to take back the tower? Instead you run off and leave it like… this." She gestured wildly. A small drop of blood that had been running down her forearm separated from her during the movement, landing on Fallon's cheek. She wiped it away as she spoke.

"We still have a chance to rescue the Circle. None of this is real. Look, Zetheria is right behind me." Wynne squinted in the direction Fallon pointed but still looked confused, brow furrowed into a tight mark of skin.

"Where? I don't see… there is so much fog…"

"She can't understand you my friends. She's a bit… preoccupied at the moment." The voice was echoing and hollow, with edges like a serrated knife. It tunneled into Fallon's ears and grated on her nerves. She turned to see the source, The Sloth Demon. He slowly took steps in their direction, as if he would collapse from exhaustion at any moment. "Why are the birds out of their cages? If you go back, I promise to make it wonderful this time." The creature gave an audible snort of derision, though Fallon saw no evidence of a nose.

"What are you doing to her? Let her go!" Fallon demanded, but Sloth simply chuckled in his deep, irritating voice.

"She thinks she can become an abomination without all the pain and torment, I am just correcting her." He yawned, exposing long jagged teeth and a mouth filled with rot. "But …it grows exhausting keeping her friend at bay…. Oh I see you have brought friends of your own." He made a gesture toward the spirits that had joined Fallon's crusade, the Templar, the Golem, and the Burning Man.

"I grow tired of your games, Demon. We are here to kill you."

"Why all the violence? Go back and I promise to make you happy." Fallon didn't even deign that with an answer. Instead she burst into wild flames, screaming a loud battle cry as she was consumed in the heatless fire. The clamoring of weapons quickly issued from behind her.

"To Arms!" She yelled at her men. Fallon almost smiled, remember how badly she had always wanted to scream that in battle. It was a small victory in its own right.

The Golem spirit immediately charged Sloth as he quickly transformed into the shape of a Darkspawn Ogre. The hideous monstrosity met the Golem head on, and the two grappled violently for a moment, before the spirit was thrown aside. Leliana let out a gasp when she saw the beast, her drawn bow lowering slightly in confusion and horror.

"What is that thing?" Her mouth hung open in awe and her arms were slack.

"An ogre, and don't worry, Alistair and I know how to defeat it. Don't we? " Fallon yelled as her mages bombarded Sloth with fireballs. He stood in confusion for a moment, attempting to bat them away, roaring in anger toward the mages who caused it. She sent one of her own with them, cackling when it landed, chipping a piece of his horn. Magic was the best.

"That we do. Firsthand knowledge. I believe we used fire as well….." Alistair was at her side as they ran toward the beast, which stood a good forty feet in front of them. They took a straight path, not needing to flank the monster for he was too preoccupied with the spells.

"That we did." The Golem, who had needed a moment to recover from his first attack, was now locked in a fist fight with the demon but wasn't achieving much damage. The Spirit Templar cast spells from afar, while the burning man attempted to launch fire at him in between blows with an ethereal axe. Fallon narrowly dodged the Golem as he fell for a second time, causing the ground to quake beneath him, but lost her footing when her boots met uneven ground . The elf stumbled slightly but corrected herself long enough to send a funnel of fire toward Sloth. Alistair was close at hand, slicing at the creature's legs. The combination made it howl in pain, which usually would have created a pang of guilt in Fallon's heart had it not been for the still ensorcelled Wynne. "Care to distract him again?" She asked with a glowing grin. He smiled back.

"I think it's your turn. I'll even loan you my shield so you don't get crushed, just make sure it doesn't get dented."

"Oh how chivalrous of you!" She sent scorching flames into the Demon's eyes, causing it to writhe in agony. Alistair and the Burning Man hacked deeply into the monster's flesh. It lost balance and fell.

"I know," Alistair shouted as the two rushed toward the disabled Sloth. Niall had just coated the creature in a thick sheen of ice, immobilizing it but also making it incredibly difficult to land any finalizing blows. Only the Burning Man's axe could slice through the barrier, and the ice slowed his chops considerably. "But I was a templar after all. Chivalry is our third most important skill, right after guilt-wielding and self-righteousness."

"Would you two stop with the banter?" Zetheria asked breathlessly. "We are fighting for our lives." She shot electricity at the frozen Sloth but it backfired and hit the Burning Man. He was thrown backwards and straight into the Golem, who had been attempting to rise again.

"Doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves while we do." Alistair added with a laugh that was abruptly cut off. Niall's ice spell wore off and Sloth broke free, sending large chunks of frozen water flying across the Fade, a large piece catching Fallon in the chest. The shocking cold halted Fallon's concentration and her form quickly changed back to normal, flames extinguished.

A wave of energy shook the air, catapulting the dreaming army off their feet. In front of them, the towering form of Sloth was shrinking. His ogre skin melting down, bones breaking into different shapes, and by the end he was a repulsive mass, similar to a mage abomination. He issued waves of fire and hot air, attempting to disarm and confuse his opponents. Morrigan attempted another ice spell but Sloth had built a wall of flames around himself, melting the magic ice ball before it ever reached him. Zetheria tried to injure him with lighting but he took the hits with absolutely no effect. Leliana did get a few arrows through before they burned up but they barely pierced Sloths' skin. Meanwhile, he threw large fireballs, disrupting the group's coordination as they dodged to avoid the flying inferno.

The army was getting frustrated. Alistair and Fallon couldn't get near him, and the projectile attacks weren't working. Fallon attempted to issue an order, but nothing came out of her mouth. She couldn't think. Everything was getting more and more confusing, cloudy and muddled.

"You must hurry! My energy is running out! Sloth will need a new victim!" Fallon wasn't sure what that meant but she nodded at Niall just the same. She slapped her cheek to remove some of the fog settling in her mind and called to the Golem. Although she wasn't certain the spirit could hear her, it followed her instructions. The mass of rock used its large fingers to pry a slab of stone out of the ground, and flung it toward Sloth when it was free. Sloth noticed, and sent a fireball toward it, blowing the rock up mid-air. However, it was just enough of a distraction to allow the Burning Man a brief opening. He charged through the fire barrier, stabbing the Sloth demons straight in the back.

Fallon let out a sigh of relief that was short lived as the dead Abomination Sloth split open. Bone and gristle peeling apart, snapping and tearing noises driving into their skulls in a sickening symphony. From the corpse sprang the original form of Sloth, grimacing. Fallon wasn't sure if the first two had been illusions or necessary battles to wear him down. Either way it seemed they were nearing the end, Sloth looked noticeable weary. That is, if it was possible for a demon to be weary.

"Destroy him! Do it now or you will lose your chance forever!" Niall shouted, but his voice was losing its edge. Fallon looked toward the horizon and saw the Fade was shrinking back. Slowly the islands in the distance were crumbling into Oblivion. She needed no further encouragement. With a senseless battle yell on her lips and swords in her hands, Fallon charged at the emerging demon.

A mighty wind start whirling around her and it became difficult to move. Her hair blew into her face, stinging her eyes and cheeks. The gust confused her limbs, and she tripped multiple times as she sought to get closer, hardly the natural grace known of elves. But she continued onward, uncertain if her companions followed or if they had already been swallowed whole by the encroaching void. A few more steps and she was there, beside the monster as he exited his flesh cocoon. Sloth was hardly moving, perhaps this entire façade had drained him as much as his victims. She granted him barely more than a second thought as her swords drove themselves into his torso to the very hilt. Sloth collapsed to the ground, finally dead, and Fallon left her swords where they were, knowing the real ones awaited her in the Tower.

Surprisingly the strong winds did not cease, she had assumed it was some sort of spell but it didn't stop. Fallon turned back to her companions, who were rushing to her. The spirits were already gone and the Warden hoped silently that they realized how much she appreciated their help.

"You're going to wake up soon, but I need to ask a favor of you." Niall yelled into her ear, though only a fraction of the volume wasn't whisked away by the winds.

"Anything."

"The Litany of Adralla is on my body, any mage should be able to recite the incantation to prevent blood magic, please take it with you and destroy Uldred."

"Niall, what are you saying? You must come with us."

"I can't. Sloth fueled these fantasies with my life energy. I'm beyond help now. Please just rescue the Tower and… one more thing… there was a woman… I was quite fond of her. It never went beyond admiration but could you please tell her… Petra is her name…tell her that I am sorry I never got the courage to …. It doesn't matter.

"I promise she will get your message Niall. Thank you. Thank you so much for your help. I couldn't have done any of this without you," The wind was getting louder and the darkness was descending more rapidly. Fear crept into Fallon's throat at the thought of being enveloped by it. She knew it was her exit but at the same time wanted to avoid the darkness at all costs. From the corner of her eye Fallon noticed a bright blue orb of light descending on Wynne, still standing among her corpses. She had to raise her voice even louder, shrieking over the storm. "I would have… been lost. Niall….I will always….consider…. you a…"

"…friend." Her eyes opened and Fallon found herself staring at the high ceilings of the Circle Tower. She attempted to sit up but her hair tugged at her scalp, stuck to some substance on the floor. Fallon groaned and turned slightly to see it was dried blood. She groaned again, sitting up abruptly and tearing out a few hairs in the process. "Is everyone alright?" The response was murmurs and nods.

Fallon got to her feet and walked toward the abomination that originally housed Sloth. She gave it a swift kick, rolling it off of a dead man lying beneath. Niall looked peaceful, but very pale. Her hand searched for a pulse despite knowing his heart had long ceased beating. After confirming this truth she searched his pockets for the Litany. It had been crumpled but the old parchment was still legible.

"Niall was a good man." A tender voice said behind her, and Fallon turned to see Wynne, looking spritelier then the rest of the group. "He did not deserve this."

"None of these poor people did." Fallon gestured toward the bodies of Sloth's victims. "Are you alright Wynne? In the Fade you seemed…"

"I was plagued by the fears and prior circumstances had left me more vulnerable to the demon then I had anticipated. But, I am alive and I haven't adopted the monstrous appearance of an abomination… well… my appearance is no more monstrous than usual." Fallon wanted to reply to that, but her response was cut short by Leliana.

"We are taking this fight to Uldred now, yes?"

"Yes. And I promise all of you, he will not be ready for the likes of us."