So Farukon's death definitely had some mixed reviews. Writing character death is something I'm good at planning at, but I haven't written it all that much so it was good practice.

AND! We have reached 200 comments, people. Two freaking hundred. That's insane. I love y'all. What do you guys think we should do to celebrate having gotten this far? Comment your ideas!

Comment Reviews:

BedazzleDewDrops - Glad I could help :)

Anonymous7 - Darn fourth wall, trapping us here in the real world. Thanks for not killing me.

TheAmberShadow - An Umbris (Umbrii is plural) is a Creature made of shadows, which is why Jay thought she had been fused with an Umbris essence. As for my theory...*takes in a deep breath and prepares for long explanation* Julien was at the lighthouse, and built Echo Zane as an attempt to replace Zane in his son's absence. But no matter how hard he tried, for so reason all the robots he built didn't have the same sophisticated AI that Zane had. This includes Echo Zane, who back then was just a dysfunctional robot that he kept in the basement. That's why Julien left him at the lighthouse, because there was no purpose in bringing along a robot that doesn't even work. So now you're probably wondering why Echo Zane was suddenly functional in season 6. Allow me to bring to your attention the 'final battle'. When Lloyd fought the Overlord in season 2, the Overlord 'died'. His soul survived though, and inhabited the Borg systems in the form of a virus. The virus is essentially the Overlord's soul. You with me? Now I theorize that Zane had a vision (remember how he used to get those?) that he would have to sacrifice himself to defeat the Overlord, and so he made a backup copy of himself in the Borg systems in the event that he does in fact die. So Zane 2.0 IS actually a replica, as he claimed to be (it also explains why Zane's personality is somewhat different after his reincarnation). So how does this relate to Echo Zane? Let's just say Zane 1.0's soul still did live on, but it inhabited Echo Zane's body in a similar way to how the Overlord's soul inhabited Borg Tower. But that whole spiel caused him to get amnesia AGAIN, and now he just lives in the lighthouse as Echo Zane. Long story short: Echo Zane is the real Zane, just with a different body and no memory. Sorry, that was really long.

LegoTerraWarrior - Sick as in messed up or sick as in, it made you sick/was sickening? Either way I am super sorry that the last chapter made you feel that way. I'm going to have another character death in the future, so it would be great if you could give me advice on how to make it so you don't feel like that next time. Sorry!

Ebony umbreon - RIP Farukon, she will be missed.

Jens - I mean she didn't really have much of a presence in the story aside from being Zane's Guardian. And I honestly feel like I could have done better with writing her death. It was rushed when I wrote it, and the rule of thumb for writing angst is that if you don't cry while writing it then your readers won't cry while reading it. But I appreciate your kind words. :) :) After a while, crocodile!

toothlessturtle21 - Yep, farewell to the fiesty flying bird woman.

And..enjoy!

Griffin Turner knew that he should have just agreed. If he had, then he wouldn't have been where he was.

Staying firm on his morals was, in fact, moral - but it was getting him nowhere.

What did that kid said before taking off? 'I WILL come back for you. You have my word.'

Yeah, something about that didn't seem too likely. It had already been a day since the attack and Griffin was still chained to a wall in some unknown corner of the world. No food, no water, no way out. Just his luck.

At least he was still alive somehow, and he tried his very hardest to be grateful for that. But it was 'hard'. With fatigue biting on his patience and the damp air rusting his prosthetic legs, 'hard' was a gross understatement.

It wasn't like he had much choice in the matter. When those Serpentine douches busted in like they owned the place, snatching up the Creatures and setting the humans free in exchange for joining the Serpentine gang, Griffin hadn't imagined he would be the only one to say no.

Yet here he was, alone. It was strange, even though he had always been lonely. Ever since the Masters chucked him in this forsaken dugout of a prison cell, he had been so very lonely. But never in all his life had he been lonely AND alone.

All he could do was hope that kid was safe, wherever he had found himself. Griffin thought that of all people, at least the kid would stand by his decision to not join the Serpentines in exchange for freedom. There was a grandiloquent feel to that strange kid in the next cell over, a strong moral compass that guided his now-prosthetic heart. And yet the kid was one of the first to comply to the Serpentines' terms.

His conversations with that kid played in his mind, repeating and repeating until Griffin had them memorized.

'Where are we?'

'Masters base. I assume they took you off the streets too?'

'Y-yes. Who are you?'

'The name's Griffin Turner. And you are?'

'People call me Echo.'

'Nice to meet you, Echo.'

'The pleasure is mine, Mr. Turner.'

Griffin chuckled at the kid's - at Echo's - unintentionally pretentious attitude. Mr. Turner this, Mr. Turner that. No one called him Mr. Turner. Just Griffin, Turner, Griffin Turner, or maybe even Griff if everyone was in a chummy mood. Oddly enough, he actually liked it. Mr. Turner. It had a nice ring to it.

'I used to be a runner. That's why the Mechanic took my legs. You see, he takes one part of you that you care most about and then another just for kicks...haha, kicks. You?'

'Are you asking what he took or who I used to be?'

'Eh. Both, either, neither. Doesn't matter to me.'

'It seems he took my heart and replaced it with a mechanical one and though I can't say for certain, I have reason to suspect he took half my face.'

During their time together, Griffin never did see the kid. They spoke through a small hole in the wall separating their cells. Even so, regardless of time or circumstance, it was one of the most meaningful relationships he had ever formed.

'Don't give up hope, Mr. Turner.'

'Why? WHY can't I give up hope? WHY can't I just give up on something of MY choosing, not whatever these sickos want to take from me?! Can I not have the basic human right to at least decide when to give up?! It's OVER, kid. I'm never going to be a runner again, and you're never going to see your girl!'

Griffin shut his eyes at how painful the kid's brief silence was.

'You're right, Mr. Tucker. Maybe we'll never get out of here, maybe you'll never run again or become the fastest man alive like you want to, maybe I'll never see my beloved. But even so, I'd rather die with hope than nothing at all.'

He both did and didn't understand the wisdom in Echo's words at the same time. Griffin was good at that.

Licking his parched, cracked lips, he pressed his ear against the hole. He tried to tell himself that it was hope that drove him to do this, hope that Echo would still be on the other side with his mechanical heartbeat. In actuality, he didn't know why he did it. He just did.

Griffin had yet to forget the days when he was a highly venerated runner. Coach even told him he could be the fastest person on the planet if he kept up with his training. He showed promise, and everyone knew it.

Then he got hammered a bit too hard one night at the bar, and a group of ill-intended Masters decided to take advantage of his impaired state.

Next thing he knew, he was in the chop shop. With the Mechanic. Stretched to his mental breaking point, then robbed of his legs, given mechanical replacements, and shoved into this cell.

He had no clue how long he had been here, just long enough to call it home.

Muffled voices came from the hall, and he thought himself to be hallucinating again. This wouldn't have been the first time.

"Is anyone here?" asked a voice. "Griffin?"

Definitely hallucinating. A real rescue party wouldn't have known his name.

"What happened here, do you suppose?" asked another voice.

"I thought this was supposed to be the Masters place," said a third. "But all this is, is sad and deserted."

Creaking sounds, doors slamming, footsteps.

It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. He'd be a corpse before anyone found him. No one would come sooner than the all-too-near dawning of death looming at the precipice of his shattered mind.

It wasn't real. It couldn't be real.

And yet...he so BADLY wanted it to be. So against all logic, he called out. "Hello?"

The call was weak, raspy, and sick. He spoke with dry words, just as drained of all hope as the rest of him.

"Did you hear that?" asked one voice to another.

"I think so, maybe. I think it came from in there. Let's check it out."

Fwoom! Something pressed itself against the door. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

"Who's there?" Griffin found himself asking. Stupid Griffin. If he wasn't chained to a wall he would have slapped himself for being so stupid. Why respond to a hallucination? It wasn't REAL, dumb-butt.

"My name is Neuro Della-Nova," said the voice. "We're going to get you out, okay sir?"

Neuro? Okay, his mind was DEFINITELY playing some cruel jokes on him now. Why would Neuro be here of all places?

There was light, and it filled up Griffin's thirsty pupils until they overflowed. His eyes constricted as he squinted to get a better look.

There was no greater beauty than the ethereal perfection of the rescuers. Standing tall above his malnourished, huddled half-corpse, they strutted up to him as a pack.

Four in total - one was metal and dressed in black. One looked familiar, though in his frail heart he knew he had never seen her before. The fourth was decked out in steel armour and had thick black facial hair. Another, the one at the front of the troop, was the face of a friend. One with grey and white hair, with monochrome clothes, with lively but calm eyes. Neuro? No, it couldn't be. It wasn't possible.

The fake Neuro took a step back in shock. Still a hallucination, Griffin told himself. "G-Griffin?"

Just a hallucination. Just a hallucination. Just a hallucination.

The hallucination's cold gloved hands held onto Griffin's arms. "Is that you, Griffin?"

Griffin couldn't respond, as much as he wanted to.

"Are you alright?"

No words, though in his mind Griffin shouted a variety of answers to the question. Perhaps it was shock that paralyzed him, or another messed-up element to this dream of his.

The robot frowned. "Who is this?"

"Remember that cousin I was telling you all about? This is him."

"Karlof imagined he'd be...eh, uh, stronger."

"He's been in prison for who knows how long," the Neuro hallucination retorted. "Of course he's going to be weak. Can you stand, Griffin?"

Griffin let out a quiet, "No." He gestured to his chains.

"Karloff, can you-"

"Already on it," said the black-bearded man in his thick accent.

The man came over to him and grabbed the chains. His hands were big, burly, and hairy, most probably bigger than Griffin's face.

In a moment, they fell to the floor. Now all that remained were the rigid cuffs at his wrists and ankles. Still a hallucination. There was no way this was real. It was always fake when the rescue parties came in, or when Echo came in, or when someone swooped in to save him. It was always fake, every single time. And it was fake now.

"Who are you people?" Griffin mustered the strength to ask.

"My name is Pixal," said the girl. Ah. So that was where he knew her from. His mind had conjured up all of what Echo said about her and turned it into an image.

"Cryptor," the robot huffed.

"Karlof," said the metal-clad man who helped him onto his feet. His knees wobbled and shook, causing him to collapse into Neuro's (not real) arms.

Neuro adjusted their positions so that Griffin was using Neuro as a crutch.

The robot, Cryptor, spoke up with monotone impatience. "What happened?"

Neuro shot him a look. "Can't you see he's-"

"I can see he is the only person left in this whole facility," Cryptor argued. "And I want to know why."

"Let him REST, why won't you," Neuro scoffed. "Let's get him back to civilization, feed him, give him some clothes, THEN we can ask him questions."

"We can bring in an android team to look for clues while we wait," Pixal offered.

"MORE androids?" Karlof shook his head. "Those metal men give Karlof the creeps."

"I am right here you know," Cryptor snapped.

"Your point?"

Griffin laughed a bit at their interactions. It was so painfully obvious that these four hallucinations didn't get along, and that they were hallucinations, but he at least allowed himself to enjoy the - albeit artificial - moment.

Neuro was pleased by the sight of his cousin smiling. It had been so long since the last time he saw his cousin actually happy. It had been so long since that night at the bar. Griffin had gotten second place in a race that day. He was mad, despite Neuro insisting that second place was still a good thing. So he went to the bar to drown his sorrows in alcohol, something Neuro had never seen him do. Griffin drunkenly offended him, and he stormed off.

He would never forgive himself for not staying around a little longer, for putting up with his cousin just long enough to get him home safely and keep him from getting kidnapped. But now that Griffin was safe once more, perhaps he could make an effort to redeem himself.

Griffin Turner saw all of the emotions behind Neuro's dark brown eyes, all the thoughts swirling in that smart head of his. But as real as it all felt, he knew he'd only wake up. He knew that any minute he would jolt back into the world of the living, and he would continue to sit in that cell until death came by.

These wonderful constructs of his imagination took him down the long corridors of the empty base, where Masters used to walk to and fro. The place was in utter chaos, having been ransacked by the Serpentines some time ago.

He was going to wake up, he knew he would wake up.

Neuro led him out the front door and into a world he knew was fake, because it was only this beautiful in his dreams. Karlof opened the back of a black van and Griffin stumbled inside. Cryptor took the front wheel and everyone else sat there and watched him.

He huddled in a red blanket they provided for him, everyone wanting to ask him questions but no one actually having the guts to do so.

'What the heck are you doing, man?!'

'I'm escaping, Mr. Turner. I advise you do the same.'

'No, you're agreeing to work with the Serpentines! That's bad!'

'I understand the consequences, but don't worry. I plan on leaving them the moment their backs are turned. I WILL come back for you. You have my word.'

Griffin's eyes drooped heavy, but through a crack in his eyelids he could still see the worried look of his cousin.

He knew this would all be over soon, but perhaps he could have just this one moment of relief from the darkness and despair of his cell.

"What'd I miss?" he asked, trying to stay in character with who he was before the Masters broke him.

Neuro smiled through his eyes. "Just a lot of fussing over your whereabouts. It was an awful lot of doom and gloom, you wouldn't have enjoyed it."

He chuckled breathily, and tossed his head back. "Glad I missed it."

Griffin stretched out his mechanical legs, not caring that everyone could see them. He was very well going to take full advantage of his new freedom to move as he pleased, even if it wasn't real.

He knew he was going to wake up any minute, so Griffin tried not to take a single second of this dream for granted. Any minute he would blink, and Neuro and Karlof and Cryptor and Pixal would be gone. He knew these wonderful hallucinations would vanish, but he didn't know quite when, and that honestly terrified him because they felt far too real for him to want them to leave.

To Griffin's delight, he didn't wake up.