It was a typical hospital room that Chloe walked into. Drew was lying on the bed staring up at the ceiling, and Steph and Mikey were playing a tabletop game in one corner. They all looked up as she entered.

"Hey Chloe!" said Mikey, breaking into a smile. He looked genuinely pleased to see her.

"Hey Mikey," said Chloe, then paused. "Are we… good?" He smiled in response.

"Yeah, we're good," he said. "I mean, you weren't there for the right reasons, but you redeemed yourself towards the end."

"You made it," said Steph, also smiling. "Good to see you again, Chloe."

"Hi Chloe," said Drew, "nice to see you." He offered his hand, and Chloe accepted it.

"Don't get up," she said, waving her hand airily, causing both Steph and Mikey to burst out laughing. "Um, how's the… uh… knee?"

"I'm not sure," said Drew, wincing as he jarred his leg. "It's too early to tell, apparently. But it hurts like a good 'un."

"Sorry, dude."

"It's all good," shrugged Drew. "Basically my own fault, I guess. Bit off more than I could chew with Damon." He looked down. "I just hope there's no permanent damage. Still, my father was grateful for the money."

"Hey, I love your hair, Chloe," said Steph, brightly, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, it's really cool," said Mikey.

"Figured I'd go all in with my new barbarian look. You know, war paint?"

"Awesome!" said Mikey, but Drew just rolled his eyes.

"Nerds," he muttered, and Chloe just grinned at him.

"Any news about Rachel?" asked Steph, and Chloe nodded.

"She's stable. She'll wake up soon, her father said."

"What happened?" said Drew.

"You probably think I'm joking when I tell you, but I'm not," she said. "She got stabbed by Damon fucking Merrick."

"Seriously?" said Drew, creasing his brow. "It's… it's not because of me, is it?"

"Nah, don't worry your horses," said Chloe. "We're big enough to have our own shit with him now." She smiled. "It's all good."

"Fuck that guy!" said Drew, balling his fists. "I wish I could get my hands on him!"

"Hey, Drew, calm down, man," said Steph. "Chill out, okay? Doc said you had to rest and avoid stress." As she finished talking, the door opened and Drew's father, Anthony poked his head around.

"I'm headed out," he said. "Everything okay in here?"

"Yup," said Steph, and Mikey nodded along.

"Yeah, we're all good," said Drew. "Take care."

"I will," said Anthony. "Don't have too much fun now, will you? Try to keep it appropriate for the hospital." He grinned and left the room, but Drew immediately clenched his fists again.

"Calm down, Drew," said Steph, and Chloe nodded.

"Yeah, what she said," she said. "Look, getting angry isn't going to achieve anything, you'll just end up…" She stopped talking with a very bemused expression on her face.

"What?" said Steph. "You look…"

"… nothing, I just heard what I was saying. You'll end up like… me," said Chloe. "It's okay, I'm just realising a few things about myself." She shook her head and nodded at the tabletop game. "How's Elamon doing? Did he manage to heal his legs?"

"Um, not exactly," said Mikey, grinning, then sighed. "He tried. It was painful. And ultimately unsuccessful."

"So he can't walk?"

"Nope."

"Shit, sorry dude," said Chloe, but Mikey smiled.

"He's learned to live with it. He's found himself kind of a workaround," he said, and uncovered the game. "We've had to hide the game from the nurse."

"Really? Why?" asked Chloe, and Steph giggled.

"The nurse is a staunch Christian," she said, "and she told us that role-playing games like this accomplish nothing apart from inviting the forces of Satan into our soul." She giggled again, and Chloe joined her.

"That's…"

"Yeah, exactly."

"But…"

"I know, Chloe. So we hide the game from her. Although," Steph continued. "It might not last much longer. Elamon's backed into a bit of a corner here. He might not make it."

"Wait," said Mikey. "What about Barb? She can help me, maybe the two of us together, like last time, can actually make it out alive!"

"Wait, you're into this nerdy shit, too?" said Drew, laughing at Chloe, who nodded serenely.

"Hell yeah," she said, enthusiastically. "It's a game where I make up crazy shit and act like a badass. What's not to like?"

"Look," said Steph, awkwardly, "I don't want to get all technical with you, but I'm pretty sure that Barb died last time out?"

"Ah, yeah, there is that," said Chloe.

"Although… wait a sec, Chloe, didn't Barb have the Anklet of Reincarnation?" said Steph, and Chloe looked at her, confused, then twigged.

"Um, yeah, I totally had that trinket," she said, and Mikey grinned.

"Cool! You mean you can actually swoop in and save the day?"

"Here I come to save the day!" sang Chloe, and Steph groaned.

"Really? Mighty Mouse?" she said, laughing.

"Seemed to fit," shrugged Chloe, trying to suppress laughter.

"Can Barb join, please?" said Mikey, and Steph looked at Chloe, who nodded.

"Sure," she said, and Steph smiled.

"Thanks," she said.

"Gotta save Elamon," said Chloe. "Set me up, o great and powerful Steph."

Steph set the game back up and scooted around behind her manuals. "We rejoin Elamon," she said, "as he majestically soars over the Traveller's Path. He glances over his shoulder, only to discvoer, to his eternal horror, that his pursuers are right behind him. He…"

"… wait, you can fly?" said Chloe.

"Well, yeah. I'm a wizard," said Mikey. "Plus, you hacked off my feet. There's not that many wheelchairs around."

"Ah yeah. Um, yeah, I did that. Nice workaround."

"Elamon rounds the corner, trying desperately to keep ahead of his pursuers, only to discover Barb, the elf barbarian, sitting by a fire, roasting squirrels."

"Barb?" said Mikey.

"Squirrels?" said Chloe, and Steph shrugged.

"You were hungry," she said.

"Barb looks up at Elamon," said Chloe. "Sup?"

"Sup? That's all you have to say," said Mikey. "I'm running from dragonkin because of you. Remember when you killed that jailor and took his key to free the prisoners?"

"Technically he killed himself," Chloe pointed out. "I didn't touch him."

"You scared him to death!"

"Well, yeah. That was kind of awesome."

"Well, it turns out you offended the entire clan. And now they're after me!"

"Well, it was more of a team effort," said Chloe, trying to keep a straight face. "And I died. Makes it hard to come after me."

"A team effort? You told him you'd skin him, make a handbag out of him and carry him around in it?"

"Um, yeah. Team effort," said Chloe. "You picked up the key, didn't you?"

"Totally not the point," said Mikey. "You…"

"Suddenly," interrupted Steph, "dragonkin scouts rush in, clawing you while your backs are turned. Take, uh…" she rolled the dice, "four damage." She turned to Chloe. "You're up, Barb."

"Simple. I disarm them," said Chloe. "I can do that. I can use their weapons against them, then."

"They're not carrying weapons," said Steph.

"Um, okay, then I grab the arm of the nearest dragonkin and pull." She rolled a dice. "Eighteen. Suck it." Mikey chuckled, and Steph just looked at Chloe.

"Fine. You're now wielding the severed arm of a dragonkin. The others are looking at you, more than a little afraid."

"Go on, Barb," whispered Mikey. "Teach them a lesson."

"I beat them to death with the arm," said Chloe. She rolled the dice. "Fifteen."

"You curl the fingers into a fist and bludgeon the dragonkin scouts with it," said Steph, "swinging the arm with a blind fury until no dragonkin remain standing."

"Awesome!" said Mikey, and Drew couldn't help but smile.

"Don't celebrate just yet," said Steph. "You begin to hear the clinking armour of hundreds of dragonkin warriors. The sound grows louder as they approach."

"Shit," said Chloe, and Mikey nodded.

"And that is why I was running," he said.

"Piece of cake," said Chloe. "I just bludgeoned six of them."

"They were scouts. These are warriors. Four times as hard," said Mikey.

"Um, well… shit. Running… sounds good." Chloe inhaled. "Yeah. Sounds like a plan."

"You sprint as fast as you can," said Steph. "Elamon flying close behind you until you come across a fork in the road. With the dragonkin army behind you, you have a choice to go left, towards the mouth of a deep, dark cave. The other path takes you into a dense, misty forest. Which way do you go?"

"Can I, you know, feel it out first, get an idea?" said Chloe.

"Totally. Roll for perception," said Steph. "Okay, a four. You feel out with your emotions, enveloping them around you. You can't be totally positive, but you're pretty sure the cave is dark and forest has… trees."

"Helpful," said Chloe.

"Not really," said Mikey, and Chloe just looked at him.

"Okay, Elamon. Nice and easy, binary choice here. Cave or forest?"

"Cave," said Mikey, after a moment's thought.

"Really? I thought you'd have gone forest," she said. "You know, with the whole no-feet thing."

"Normally, you'd be right," said Mikey. "But Elamon has a deadly fear of forests that are dense and misty."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"Is that an actual thing? I mean, is there a name for it?" asked Chloe, but Mikey shook his head.

"Don't think so."

"There needs to be," said Chloe. "If you are going to use it to get out of going into the forest, then there must be a proper name for it."

"Forest-phobia?" said Mikey, but Chloe scoffed.

"That's… totally shit," she said. "No, we need a proper-sounding name that's all scientific and shit." She thought for a moment and consulted her phone. "Well, Hylophobia is the fear of forests, and Homichlophobia is the fear of mist or fog, so… Homichlohylophobia would be the fear of misty forests." She looked up to see a forest of open mouths.

"How do you…" said Mikey. "I mean, how do you even know this shit?"

"Google is my friend," she said. "Plus, I know shit like this." She grinned. "I'm not just a pretty face, you know."

"How do you pronounce it?" said Mikey. "If I'm, I mean, if Elamon is suffering from it, I should probably know how to pronounce it."

"Hom-i-chlo-hy-lo-phobia," said Chloe, slowly. "Just remember 'chlo' in the middle." She chuckled. "You'll get used to it." She looked at the gameboard. "Okay, then, cave it is, due to Elamon's Homichlohylophobia." said Chloe. She shot her arm out in front of her. "To the caves!" she shouted, and Steph groaned again. Chloe heard a giggle from behind her and turned to see Drew covering up his mouth. "What?"

"Nothing, I just…" said Drew, smiling. "It's good to see Mikey enjoying himself again. Even if it is with that nerdy shit."

"Yeah well," said Chloe, "come on Steph, we need to get into the caves."

"You plunge into the darkness," said Steph. "The uneven, rocky terrain beneath your feet makes it difficult to navigate. You come around a corner to find a cube of bright green goo sitting in your path. Dead rats float around inside it, slowly dissolving."

"Of course it would be here," sighed Mikey. "A Gelatinous Polyhedron. Watch out, Chloe, you don't want to…" As he spoke, Steph rolled a dice, "… fall into it."

"You fall into it," she said, grinning.

"Seriously?" said Chloe.

"It's burning your skin," said Steph. "Only a little at first, but the pain only grows the longer you stay stuck."

"I cast Scorching Scythe!" said Mikey, rolling his dice. "Yes!"

"Your flame-scythe slices the Gelatinous Polyhedron in twain, feeing Barb from its clutches." Chloe began to smile and she and Mikey fist-bumped. "However, before your very eyes, the two halves grow and shift around until you are face-to-jelly with two, fully-grown and pissed-off Gelatinous Polyhedrons."

"Well shit," said Chloe. "They have intelligence?"

"Not really," said Steph. "They're Gelatinous Polyhedra."

"So how can they be pissed off, if they're not intelligent?" said Chloe, and Steph just looked at her.

"Your move," she said. "There are two of them. And they are pissed off. If you want to stay and discuss sentience and emotions with them, by my guest, but as Barb cannot speak um, their, um, language, you'd have a hard time. So I repeat. Your move."

"Let's see," said Chloe, consulting her character sheet. "Striking Smash! That sounds like fun. I smash the shit outta them!"

"You bring the flat of your axe down over the Polyhedra, smashing them each into three little globs," said Steph, chuckling. "But yet again, the chunks of jelly shift and grow and soon you're looking at a small army of six Polyhedra."

"Ring of Fire!" cried Mikey.

"You send out a burst of fire, exploding the Polyhedra into hundreds of tiny pieces," said Steph.

"Temper Tantrum!" cried Chloe. "That sounds like me! I don't give them a chance to transform!"

"It's super effective," said Steph. "You stomp on the little pieces, grinding them up into thousands of tiny jellies, which all begin to move and shift, their colour flashing dangerously."

Chloe and Mikey looked at each other and nodded. "Run!" they both said simultaneously.

"Luckily," said Steph, "Gelantinous Polyhedra have very low movement speed. You manage to flee safely, but the Polyhedra aren't far behind." She paused. "You're near the exit of the caves when you run across…"

"Oh shit, that's me, right?" said Drew. Mikey snapped his head up and looked at his brother with undisguised glee.

"You're gonna play?" he said, excitedly.

"Yeah, little bro," he said. "Can't exactly move here, so you'll have to roll and shit for me, okay?"

"Povel, the arrogant gnome bard is waiting to join you," said Steph.

"Bard?" said Chloe. "That's like, music and shit, right? Do you do requests? Play Firewalk!"

"I know not of your shitty music," said Drew, narrowing his eyes at her. "I am a minstrel of the woods."

"That's some big ass talk coming from someone who's less than three feet tall," said Chloe.

"Size isn't everything," said Drew, dryly.

"This is so awesome!" said Mikey, unable to contain himself. "What now?"

"Well," said Steph, "in the time you've been chatting, the army of Gelatinous Polyhedra has caught up to you. Several spew acid directly at Elamon."

"I grab the bard and use him to shield Elamon," said Chloe, grinning and rolling her dice.

"Whoa, hey, wait a moment!" said Drew, but Steph was laughing too much.

"All's fair in love and tabletop," she said. "You whip the bard's little body back and forth, blocking each blast of acid as they fly at you. The gnome strikes a perfect F-Sharp with every hit. Elamon is safe, but the gnome is badly burned."

"Sing Firewalk, and I'll give you a potion," said Chloe. "You need to be properly burned to do the song justice."

Drew sighed. "Really?"

"It's that or die screaming," said Chloe. Mikey was practically wetting himself laughing silently, and Drew grinned.

"You're a monster," he said.

"Yup," said Chloe. "Now sing, gnomey, sing!" Drew facepalmed.

"I don't know any of their songs," he said, trying but failing not to smile.

"Your skin is beginning to bubble," said Steph. "Barb does have a potion of reviveration."

"Reviveration?" said Drew, and then sighed. He inhaled, and Chloe grinned.

"It's okay," she said. "I don't want to hear you singing that much. I give the bard the potion of… what was it again?"

"Reviveration," said Steph.

"That one."

"You manage to pour the potion down his throat," said Steph, "and the results are near-instantaneous. His skin miraculously repairs itself, and he's able to stand up."

"Cool," said Mikey.

"You continue running away from the Polyhedra, and burst forth into the Majestic Meadow," she said. "All around you, all you can see is lush green fields full of birds, flowers… and dragonkin."

"What?"

"Yes, they didn't chase you. They circled around to set a trap. And you just walked right into it."

"Ah crap," said Chloe.

"Behind you, the army of Gelatinous Polyhedra have caught up."

"Barb?" said Mikey.

"Um, yeah. Gnome. Time to sing. For real this time," said Chloe. "I need those sweet F-Sharps." She turned to Steph. "Okay, this is how it's going down. Gnomey here sings his sweet heart out, and I do ma dance thang on the dragonkin, who will be so enamoured we'll be able to hack a few and escape. Capische?"

"Um, you can do that?" said Drew.

"Worked before," said Chloe.

"Roll," said Steph, and Mikey clasped his hands together. Chloe rolled her dice, then Mikey rolled for Drew. "Chloe, you rolled a seventeen. Nice. Drew, not so good. A two."

"Ah," said Drew. "Shit."

"The gnome begins to sing a sweet melody, and Barb begins her dance of the… what do you call it?"

"The dance of the seven… um…"

"… veils?"

"No way!" said Chloe. "Too clichéd. The dance of the seven army-surplus blankets." Beside her, Mikey practically spit out his drink as he burst out laughing.

"Okay," said Steph. "Barb begins the dance of the seven army-surplus blankets… seriously, where do you come up with this shit… and the dragonkin are as enamoured as expected. However, as you get to the third blanket, Povel's…"

"... Povel?"

"… the gnome…"

"… oh, didn't know his name…"

"… because you never asked me…"

"… you never offered…"

"… so rude…"

"… ahem," broke in Steph. "Povel's voice failed to hit the top not and cracked, causing the spell to be broken. The dragonkin roar in unison and one of them throws a spear, driving through Povel's defences, killing him instantly."

"What? I hardly got to play!"

"Sorry dude, you rolled low, and I rolled really high," said Steph. "Plus your singing was off-key. You deserved it."

"Ugh, we're surrounded," said Mikey.

"We're screwed," said Chloe. "Come on, Elamon, I'm sure you've got some sweet spell that'll save the day."

"Um, well, I do have Searing Crystal," he said, hesitantly.

"Perfect. Searing Crystal the fuck outta them."

Mikey sighed and shook his head. "You don't get it. This isn't just another spell. This crystal is a one-use only last-resort. It's like… dropping a nuke. It'll kill everything. Including you and me."

"Is it fire-based?" asked Chloe.

"Yeah," said Mikey.

"No worries," she said. "When we killed Durgy Ron last time, you nabbed his bracelet, remember? That had fire, um, thingy, didn't it?"

"You did," said Steph. "Elamon, you do have the Bracer of Fire Immunity…"

"… immunity, that's the word…"

"… so you would survive."

"See? No problems," said Chloe, but Mikey shook his head.

"Only one bracer," he said.

"No worries," said Chloe, thinking quickly. "Keep the bracer. Cast the spell. I'll hold them off so you can survive." She smiled. "Gotta do something noble and shit, right? Blaze of glory an' all that, yeah?"

"It won't work!" he said. "Look how many of them there are!" He sighed. "I should never have started this quest. I'm too weak."

"Nonsense!" said Chloe. "You took down Durgy Ron, remember? You nabbed his bracelet…"

"… bracer…"

"… whatever, you took it."

"But I've never even used this spell before. What if I roll too low?"

"You know what else you've never done? Backed down, or given up," said Chloe. "If either of us is going to survive, this is the only way." She put her hand on Mikey's shoulder. "You can do this, Elamon."

"You're the only friend who's ever helped me…"

"… apart from the bard…"

"… my name is Povel…"

"… you're dead, you can't talk…"

"… I can't leave you behind, Barb!" Mikey was getting quite teary now, so Chloe knew what she had to do.

"I haven't exactly been the best of friends. I cut your feet off!" she said.

"No, I can't just kill you!"

"Elamon, you can do this," said Chloe, dropping her voice to a low whisper. "Don't be afraid. You will win the day. You're destined for great things."

"If I can't save everyone, then I'm nothing. I'm useless."

"It's not about what you can and can't do, Elamon," said Chloe, earnestly. "It's about the greater good. I know you'll make the right call." She nodded at Steph. "Do it."

"Drew?" Mikey looked up at his brother with tear-streaked eyes, and saw with surprise that Drew was also getting quite emotional.

"You got this, bro," he said, and Mikey dropped his head.

"Alright," he said. "I'm so sorry, Chloe." He rolled the dice but couldn't look at the result. Chloe looked at it, held up ten fingers to Steph and then held up six more. Steph nodded.

"Elamon secures the Bracer of Fire Immunity on his wrist," said Steph. "He gives the elf barbarian one last nod and reaches for the sky. Barb yells her war cry…"

"… GO JUMP ON A DILDO…"

"… so eloquent, she yells and charges at the hoard of dragonkin. They fight bravely, but Barb is possessed by the red mist and knows she can't be stopped. Time after time their claws and blades wound her, but each time she shrugs it off and raises her axe. Cleaving from left to right, she keeps the dragonkin's attention on her, heroically giving Elamon the time he needs to chant the spell. Eventually, however, the sheer numbers of the dragonkin tell and Barb sinks to her knees. However, she'd bought Elamon enough time and the Searing Crystal lifts from his hands, floating up into the clouds."

"Barb…" whispered Mikey.

"Suddenly, an explosion!" cried Steph, making Mikey jump. "Fire arcs outward in a ring, then the ring begins to spin, quicker and quicker."

"Whoa!" said Mikey.

"A quiet stillness encompasses the meadow. The hoard stops attacking Barb, looking instead to the sky, mesmerised by the spinning fire. Barb, on her knees and gushing blood from her many wounds, turns to look at Elamon."

"Thanks you, Chloe. For everything," said Mikey, and Chloe saluted him back.

"It's been an honour fighting beside you," she said, injecting as much sincerity into her voice as she could manage. There's no way she'd have admitted it, but she was getting quite emotional as well.

"The flames descend over the meadow, bathing everything in liquefying arcs of infernal chaos. The Polyhedra are the first to go, vanishing as their liquid cores evaporate in the intense heat. The dragonkin are screaming now in agony as they are consumed."

"Badass," said Chloe.

"Chloe, you've one final moment before your angry, elven body is burned away forever. Any last words?"

"Yeah," said Chloe. "I turn to face Elamon and say 'thank you, my friend'."

"I roll not to cry," said Mikey, his voice breaking completely. He rolled his dice and looked up tearfully at Chloe. "I rolled a three," he said, tears now rolling freely down his cheeks.

"The spell comes to a spectacular climax," continued Steph, "until all you can see is white. Then, just as suddenly, calm descends upon the meadow. All is quiet." She looks up. "Ash is falling from the sky, swirling around as it falls to earth, like snowfall."

"Daaaamn," said Drew. "You did it, Mikey."

"Congratulations, Elamon," said Steph. "You have completed 'Revenge of the Dragonkin.' You are successful." She turned over the game board and put it down by the side of the bed. "Nicely done."

"That's it? She's dead and the game's over?"

"Campaign's completed, Drew," said Steph.

"And Elamon's alone once more," said Mikey. "It was fun having a companion."

"Sooo," said Drew, "what if I rolled a new character? Could I join you then?"

"Wait, really?" said Mikey, looking up with his tear-streaked eyes. "You wanna keep playing?"

"Well, sure. That was actually fun," said Drew, smiling. "Plus, I can see what it means to you. I mean, look at you! You're crying! Over some make-believe nerdy shit!"

"Yeah. That was intense," said Mikey. "I think that's the most emotional adventure I've ever had." He turned to Chloe and, to her surprise, threw his arms around her. "Thanks, Chloe, that was… amazing." After a moment's hesitation, Chloe returned the hug.

"Thanks for playing, Chloe," said Steph. "That was intense."

"Yeah, it was," said Chloe. "It was fun, too." Her phone buzzed, and she unlocked it. "Rachel's awake," she said. "I need to…"

"Go to her," said Drew."

"Say hi from us all," said Steph.

"Will do," said Chloe.

"We're all rooting for her," said Drew. "When you said that Damon stabbed her, I kept thinking, I'm supposed to look out for Mikey, not bring this shit into his life. Thank you."

"Sure, no worries," said Chloe. "Just… get better, okay? I'll see you around, I want to join in the game again soon!"

"Bye Chloe!" called Mikey as she left the room.