A/N: I always try to be as accurate to the books as I can be, so I often try to consult the Fablehaven books when I can. I swear though, while writing this chapter I spent more time looking back to the books than any of the other chapters combined. I frequently had to check and double check just who is where, and what state they're in. I think I finally got it though.


Dale had been concerned and bored being locked up in Fablehaven's dungeon with Coulter. He couldn't even talk to the older man about what was going on and how to get out of the situation, because he'd been unresponsive and albino, just like Warren. Suddenly, and with little warning, Dale heard Coulter moving around. It had been too dark to see him, but Dale didn't think that he sounded especially lax in movement.

"...Coulter?" Dale said quietly, hesitantly.

"Dale?" Coulter asked. Dale sat up, alarmed. "Where are we?"

"...The dungeons," Dale said cautiously. "Are you...you're actually here?"

"Where else would I be?" Coulter said in a tone that was just shy of a scoff. "Although, how did I get here? Last thing I remember was...the grove," Coulter's tone wavered slightly. "Seth, where is he?"

Dale didn't know how to answer that, but his silence was telling enough. Coulter sighed. "Why did you ask if I was actually here?" Coulter didn't seem to want to think about what had likely happened to Seth, and Dale couldn't blame him. He didn't especially want to think about it either.

"I meant mentally," Dale said. "When we found you, you were albino, just like Warren was, and now, you're just not." For all Dale knew, Coulter was still physically albino, as it was too dark to really tell, but the way he talked showed that he certainly wasn't catatonic anymore.

"How odd," Coulter said quietly. "I didn't think it was something that wore off,"

"It isn't," Dale said breathlessly. What had happened?

"What did I miss?" Coulter asked. "Why are we in the dungeon?" Dale began to explain everything about Vanessa being a narcoblix and what she'd been doing to them.

A few minutes later they heard a door get thrown open. Someone began to hurry down the stairs. "Dale, Stan, Ruth, are you down here?"

Dale moved towards the cell door, which had a window out that was just barely brighter than the pure darkness in the rest of the cell. "Tanu," For a second Dale was worried that his friend was still under Vanessa's control, but he didn't think that was the case. What would she have to gain by trying to fool them at this point? "Tanu, Coulter's back to normal,"

"Yes, I thought he might be," Tanu came up to the cell and unlocked it. He opened it and though it was still dark in the hall, Dale could see enough to see that Tanu was really pale and his hair was white.

"Vanessa sent you to the grove too?" Dale frowned. She was really determined to get whatever was in the grove. "But how are you two okay?" Why would the catatonic state just wear off for Tanu and Coulter when Warren was still stuck like that, unless...unless he wasn't. "Is...could Warren be?"

"It's a very real possibility," Tanu said. Dale felt his breath get caught in his throat. After nearly two years, after all this time and energy and pain, Warren may just be alright. Dale didn't know what could have done it, but he didn't care.

"I have to see him," Dale practically pushed past Tanu. He had to get to the cabin.

"Wait just a minute," Tanu said. He held up the dungeon key in his hands. "I need to get Stan and Ruth out.

"Come back for us later," Stan called out from another cell. "Vanessa can't get the artifact," Dale clenched his teeth. He really couldn't care less about the artifact at this point. It had caused way too much trouble. "And I'm worried the children may be in danger,"

That made Dale pause. Children, meaning pleural, meaning more than just Kendra? "You mean Seth,"

"He's okay," Ruth said. "As unbelievable as it is, he's alive," That was a weight off of Dale's shoulder's. He hadn't wanted anything bad to happen to the boy. "I'm worried they might do something reckless,"

Dale knew that they would. Seth and Kendra, in their own ways, were both extremely reckless. Dale would normally rush to find the kids, except that he was desperate to see his brother. If Warren was really back to normal, even if he was at the cabin, there was no guarantee just how long he would stay there for. Dale would be horrified if he prioritized the kids' safety and later learned that something horrible had happened to Warren because he'd won off when he really shouldn't.

Maybe Dale should trust his brother more, but after taking care of him for nearly two years Dale wasn't eager to take any chances with him.

"The cabin isn't much of a detour from the grove," Tanu said. "We can check on Warren, keep an eye out for the kids, and go stop Vanessa," That sounded like a fantastic plan to Dale. He was fine with not prioritizing over everything important.

"Here," Tanu quickly unlocked the Sorensons' cell. "Fix any issues that Vanessa might have caused around the house and call the Sphinx. We'll take care of everything else." That was all Dale needed. He rushed up the stairs, with Coulter and Tanu right behind him. Dale knew that they should probably find some tools or weapons, something that they might need, but he was far too concerned about finding his brother.

They reached the cabin in record time. Dale went to the front door and brought out the key to the cabin. He was alarmed to find though that door was unlocked. Dale always locked the door, because he didn't want to risk Warren leaving the cabin and hurting himself. Dale felt slight panic at first before he reminded himself that if Warren was okay, they wouldn't have to lock him in for his own safety.

Dale opened the door. "Warren, are you in here?" Dale called out. He was concerned and surprised when he saw that the cabin was empty. Dale froze. He'd known, logically, that it was a very real possibility that Warren might be okay, since both Tanu and Coulter were alright, but it was one thing to know it and another to see a sign of it for himself.

Dale couldn't see Warren, but he looked around frantically to see just any sign of him. Dale had gotten so familiar with the cabin that he almost immediately saw the subtle changes. There were cookies sitting out on the counter, where Dale wouldn't ever leave them, and the ax that Dale kept in the cabin was gone.

"No one's here," Dale went back outside. "And my ax is missing,"

"They might have gone to get the artifact," Coulter suggested. Dale wanted to ignore his suggestion, except he knew it was probably true. Warren, Kendra, and Seth were all far too quick to run into danger and put themselves at risk. They all wanted to save the day, which was great, Dale just wished that they weren't so careless with their own lives about it.

"Then that's where we're going," Dale said. He wasn't really the kind of person to save the day. Dale stayed home and made sure that all the domestic issues were taken care of. It was the kind of person he was, and he was content with it, but that didn't mean that Dale was unwilling or incapable of doing things more dangerous.

Though they had just run to the cabin, the three of them ran along to the grove. By the time they got there, they were all tired, but they weren't there quite yet. Dale had never been in the grove itself before, but he'd been outside it, and he'd felt completely chilled to the bone to just be near the grove. At this moment though, the grove felt completely normal. It almost felt nice.

Dale didn't know exactly where they were going, but after they passed by a skeleton Dale and Tanu began to notice signs that people had passed through lately. It was hard to tell just how many people had been through here, but it hadn't been that long ago that they'd come through here. The deeper they went into the grove, the plants were extremely overgrown. And had recklessly been pushed to the side.

At least Dale knew they were going the right way. It was a lot easier to find where they needed to go when those that had come before them had been in such a hurry that they'd left such an obvious path.

Dale led the way, pushing past the remaining plants that had fallen back into place. It wasn't long before they found themself at a tower. Dale knew that this was their destination. With any luck, this was where Warren was.

Tanu took over leading them at that point. He and Coulter seemed very comfortable in the tower while Dale just started to feel awkward. He was out of his depth here. He wasn't like his parents or brother. He didn't run around and fight monsters or look for treasure. He did, however, look after his family, and that was what he was here to do.

Because Dale didn't know what he was doing, he kept close behind Tanu and Coulter. He only stepped where they did, and did as they said. The tower was like nowhere that Dale had ever seen, but Dale and Coulter were acting like this was par for the course.

Eventually they came to a room with paintings of different monsters on the walls. Two of the paintings were bare, though Dale could see bodies of a minotaur and a cyclops. There was a door in the room, but it was locked. Each of the monsters in the paintings had a key, while the minotaur and cyclops didn't.

"We're going to have to fight one of these guys," Tanu said what they had all realized.

Coulter put his hands on his hips and looked at the remaining paintings. "Any preferences?"

Dale didn't know anything about fighting monsters, but looking at their weapons he realized that he was on familiar ground. "I know my way around axes." Dale said.

Tanu and Coulter exchanged a glance before Tanu looked at him. "How confident are you in your fighting skills?"

"I never dedicated myself to fighting the way that Warren did," Dale said. "But if I can get my hands on one of the axes, I will be able to use it well." Dale wasn't helpless. Though he wasn't a fighter, he was strong. He just had to pretend that this hobgoblin was a tree he needed to chop down. Sure, it was a tree that was attacking him back, but that was something that had actually happened before.

"We'll help as much as we can," Tanu said. "Without getting in your way,"

"Or making ourselves targets," Coulter said with a frown. "It would do us no good to get all the way here if we all get too hurt to move on,"

"I'll handle it," Dale went to the painting of the hobgoblin and, not knowing what else to do, touched the painting. It wavered and disappeared. A moment later Dale heard Coulter call out a warning and Tanu pulled him to the side just before he could be hit by an ax.

"Careful," Coulter said. "Hurry up and get an ax. It'll put it at a disadvantage, and give you a weapon to work with,"

"I know," Dale muttered. Fortunately for him, he vividly remembered what little sparring he'd done with Warren. Because Dale knew his way around an ax, he had taught Warren how to use it. They'd spared against each other a little bit, not with the intent to harm, but the intent to disarm. They'd both learned how to get an ax out of someone's hands, and how to keep a better grip on their own weapon.

When the hobgoblin growled and brought one of his axes up to attack Dale, he dove to the side, out of the way. The hobgoblin immediately turned to attack Dale with his other ax, but he was prepared. Dale ducked under the ax and grasped at the handle. Dale held firmly to the ax and took a page out of Warren's book. While the hobgoblin raised the ax that he was holding onto, Dale jumped and kicked hard at the hobgoblin's chest.

Using his force from the kick, Dale was able to force the ax away from the hobgoblin. The monster quickly tried to attack him again, but Dale blocked the hit with his own ax. The hobgoblin was a lot stronger than Dale was, and he could feel his arms just about giving out. Tanu jumped in and saved him by tackling the hobgoblin while it was distracted with Dale. The hobgoblin was thrown off from him.

Dale held the ax with his left hand and shook out his right arm. He was going to have to be careful with it. Dale only allowed himself to rest for a moment before he ran towards the hobgoblin, raising his ax. Dale swung at the hobgoblin, thinking that he the monster was too big to be quick enough to dodge fast enough. Dale was aiming for the hobgoblin's unarmed side, but he got careless. Even without one of its weapons, the hobgoblin was strong, and it wasn't a fool.

The hobgoblin swung its tail, which Dale hadn't even known about, around and wrapped them around Dale's legs, tripping him up. Dale was barely able to move the ax out of the way before he could fall on top of it. Before Dale could get up the hobgoblin brought its fist down on Dale's legs.

There were two loud cracks and Dale screamed. His vision went white and Dale's legs felt like they were on fire. He felt nauseous. For a long moment Dale forgot all about the hobgoblin. He forgot about everything except for the pain in his legs. He probably would have been killed in a moment if Tanu hadn't been right there to pull the ax from his grip and hit the hobgoblin in the chest, killing it.

Dale laid down, but couldn't relax at all. His arms were burning, his legs were likely broken, and he couldn't focus on anything else. Dale heard a sound buzzing in his ears, and it took him a minute to realize it was him whimpering.

"Dale, are you alright?" Tanu helped him to turn over and so he was lying on his back instead of his stomach. Dale groaned when his legs were upset, but the pain settled when he stopped moving.

"'M fine," Dale grabbed Tanu's arm to help him to sit up. "Did you get the key?"

"Yeah, I have it," Tanu said as he held it up. "We can move on,"

"Me and Tanu can move on," Coulter said as he knelt and felt Dale's leg's gently. "You, on the other hand, aren't going anywhere. Your legs are probably broken, and even if they're not I doubt you'll be able to walk."

Dale felt his chest tighten, and it had nothing to do with the pain in his legs. "I-I can't stay here," Dale had come here to help Warren. He needed to make sure that his brother was alright. He couldn't do that if he was stuck waiting uselessly in this room. "I need to help my brother,"

"The best way you can do that is by staying put," Coulter said gently. "Me and Tanu can focus on helping Warren if we don't have to worry about you too,"

Dale hated it, but he knew that Coulter was right. "Go," He said. "Find Warren,"

Tanu stood up. "We'll be back as soon as we can. Try not to move too much,"

"I don't think I'd be able to if I tried," Dale said honestly. Tanu and Coulter gave him one last concerned look before they used the key to unlock the door and move on. Once they were gone Dale groaned and leaned back. His legs were hurting, and Dale almost thought that he could feel the actual break. Just the thought of it made him feel sick. No wonder Stan had been so moody since breaking his own legs. It hurt a lot, and it was hard to think about anything that wasn't the pain.

Dale glanced towards the hobgoblin, which wasn't moving around anymore, but being so close to the hobgoblin was really unnerving. Especially when both of the axes were still really close to it. Though Dale knew he shouldn't move his legs so much, he didn't feel safe having the weapons be right there so he stretched and reached to grab the weapons so he could toss it away from it, out of it's reach.

Dale would feel much better if he was away from the hobgoblin altogether, but that wasn't necessarily possible without upsetting his legs, so Dale had to be content with just where he was.

Dale had nothing that he could do but wait, but as the minutes passed he realized that the pain was dying down a little bit. It still hurt, but the initial shock was wearing off, and it was much more tolerable now.

Once Dale no longer had the pain around to distract him, he found himself worrying about Warren again. He didn't know for sure if Warren was even there at the tower, and he hated the uncertainty. Dale didn't know where else to begin looking for Warren if he wasn't here, but he also knew that this tower was extremely dangerous, and he didn't particularly want Warren anywhere near here. He didn't know which case he would prefer.

Dale didn't really know just how long he was lying there, just waiting, until he heard the door that Tanu and Coulter had gone through being opened up. Dale sat up and caught his breath. Someone was here. Kendra stepped out, with Tanu dragging a bound Vanessa behind him. Dale blinked in shock. It hadn't been that long since he had seen Tanu, and yet the man wasn't even albino anymore. What had happened?

Tanu met Dale's gaze and gave him a big smile. Tanu looked back behind him. "Hey, Warren, someone out here really wants to see you,"

"Wa-Warren?" Dale froze. Could this be happening? Could this actually be happening? Seconds later Tanu stepped aside and Warren stepped into the room. It was actually Warren, no longer catatonic, no longer albino, it was just...him. "Warren!" Dale shouted, absolutely ecstatic and excited. This was unbelievable.

Dale instinctively tried to get up to move towards his brother, but his legs flared up. Dale's shout of excitement turned to one of pain. Warren's eyes widened and he ran to Dale. Warren knelt next to him and forced him back down. Dale wrapped his arms around Warren's shoulders and pulled him close. Warren tensed and made a noise of surprise, but he didn't pull back.

"It...it's okay, Dale," Warren said, and Dale couldn't help but let out a sob. Two years. It had been nearly two years since Dale had heard his brother's voice. He was better. He was back. He was actually back.

"You were gone," Dale tightened his grip on his brother and leaned against him. "I didn't know what to do. I couldn't get you back,"

"I'm sorry," Warren said. "I really didn't mean it,"

"I know," Dale said. "It wasn't your fault. I was never mad at you for it, I promise," He didn't want Warren to blame himself for this. He'd just been doing his job. Warren really hadn't meant to get in trouble. He really shouldn't blame himself for anything.

Warren pulled away just enough for Dale to really take a good look at him. "Kendra said you really took care of me all this time...thank you."

"I had to," Dale said. "You would have done the same thing if our positions were switched."

Warren gave him a small smile. "I really would." Warren's smile slipped away. "How long was I…"

"Just shy of two years," Dale said. "I was almost starting to think that you would never get back to normal." Dale smiled at his brother. "I wasn't ever going to give up on you though,"

"I never thought you would," Warren glanced towards Dale's legs and cringed. "I think you need to get that taken care of," Warren moved to back away and give him room, but Dale grasped desperately at his arms. He didn't want Warren to go anywhere. He'd just gotten his brother back, he wasn't ready to let him go.

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere," Warren took Dale's hand. He backed up just enough to make room for Kendra to come to Dale. She was holding what looked like a teapot in her hands. Kendra poured some dust out of the teapot onto his legs. Almost instantly Dale felt the burning pain in his legs suddenly disappear. He stared at them in awe and experimentally pulled his legs towards him. He didn't even feel a slight flare. His legs felt just fine, like they'd never been broken in the first place.

"Amazing," Dale muttered. Warren pulled him up to his feet.

"It was able to heal our albinism," Warren ran a hand through his hair with a slight grin. Dale had been wondering how they had been healed so suddenly. He looked at his brother in awe. Seeing Warren standing there, talking, grinning, it was almost like these past two years had never happened. Dale felt tears come to his eyes. All the pain, all the exhaustion that he'd felt when trying to take care of his brother, this moment right here made it all worth it.

"Now I've seen everything," Dale wiped his eyes and embraced his brother again. This time, Warren didn't just stand there. He hugged him back, and for the first time in nearly two years Dale actually felt relieved and okay. He felt happy.


A/N: This was a chapter that I absolutely had to write, for two reasons. First off, Dale and Warren deserve a real reunion. I was never happy with the one they got in the books. Their 'reunion' is made up of just a single sentence. The book literally just says 'Dale shouted in ecstasy upon seeing his brother revived and well, and they embraced for a long while before Kendra could get near enough to heal his legs'...that's it. Warren is catatonic for nearly two years, Dale has been taking care of him for all that time, and their reunion is just one sentence? That's just not good enough for me.

Besides, I had to have Dale fighting the hobgoblin. In all of the books, he doesn't really fight anything, and it's such a shame. I had to give him at least a little bit of credit.