Chapter 23 - Taste of Trepidation

My eyes shot open as I felt Niko jerk awake. I threw off the covers, only to see the lightbulb shining brightly near our legs. I breathed a quick sigh of relief before turning my attention to Niko, who was currently holding on to me and shivering. I kept her in my embrace as her shivering slowly ceased. Once it did, she leaned over to grab the lightbulb, looking it over to check for any cracks.

She turned back to me when she finished, "Hey...Alan?"

"Yeah?"

"I guess...you saw my dream?"

I nodded.

"It was…" she trailed off, too troubled by what she had seen.

I brought her back into my embrace, letting us both process the nightmare in silence. We stayed together for a while before Niko finally broke away and hopped off the bed, "Come on, let's go…"

I got up and quickly placed on hand on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks, "Not until I see you smile..."

Her eyes widened before the faint traces of smile started to appear, leading me to smile back at her. I pulled her into one last hug before we left the guest room together and headed back downstairs. George had to be finished by now and we'd finally figure out just what was written in that journal.

"I've done it!" George called out when we entered, "I have finished the daunting task of translating this journal!"

"Oh! That was fast!" Niko replied.

George struck a pose, "But of course! I AM the speediest translator in recent history." She moved around to the table near her, a small stack of paper in front of her, "Anyway, I made you a line-by-line transcript. It looks like this journal might be meant for Alan."

I raised an eyebrow, "For me? I guess that makes sense…"

George's...eye?... stared directly at me before she rushed up to me, "Oh my! I had no idea! Though, I should have known I was worthy enough to be visited by THE Alan himself!"

I sweatdropped, "Uh...yeah. Sure." I backed up from her, "Can I see the transcript?"

"But of course! Take a look for yourself!" she said, handing it to me.

Nine sheets of paper in total, I began to read the message that The Author had written for me, kneeling down for Niko to read it as well:

"Greetings, Alan. If you can finally read this, that means you are near the Tower.

The Tower is the domain of an elusive Entity. This being is connected to the world. For now, you can think of it as the spirit of the world.

It has no physical form, but it can communicate through computers, machinery, and...other means.

...You know who I am talking about, of course.

When you first arrived here with our savior, it no doubt contacted you right away.

Through its own means, the entity will guide both of you to the Tower.

The entry room is at the Tower's base. Not only do you need the sun there, but also three pieces of the previous sun.

The savior will not be able to do anything there. You, Alan, on the other hand…

Look at the pattern on the floor. Do as it says. The window will be gone, so you need to bring it back."

"That's all there is to it. The rest of the pages were torn out," George said when we finished, "You didn't do that, did you?"

"No!" Niko replied back.

"A shame! I was wondering what "window" was supposed to mean." George shrugged, "Ah well, I guess you'll have to figure out that one, Alan."

"...Yeah." I mumbled. I kept re-reading the message over and over. The Entity...the voice that kept speaking to me through the computers we came across throughout our journey. Knowing that the Tower was where it made its home did little to allay me, especially when I knew from the last time it spoke to me that it didn't exactly like me all that much.

And this "window"...could it mean...on the laptop? If this world was on the laptop…

"Alan? You okay?"

Niko's voice shook me out of my thoughts, "Oh! Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about what it meant by 'window'." I stood up and handed the transcript back to George, "At least we now know what that journal says."

"Speaking of which…" George started to say as she handed back the journal, "You'll probably want to keep hold of this. I've already signed it, as I am often accustomed to doing, but it was extra important to do it for you!"

"Uh...thanks," I said, putting the journal back in my pack.

Niko tilted her head at George, "By the way, what did it mean by 'three pieces of the previous sun'? I only have this sun…"

"Aha! That…" she posed, "...is a question George can answer!" She started reaching for something in her pocket, "It means you need items containing yellow phosphor, the rarest of the phosphors...said to absorb sunlight for the longest time and never fade out."

"Oh!" Niko exclaimed, "We do have a piece of amber and a feather. They're both glowing yellow…"

"Don't forget your eyes," I teased, receiving a stuck-out tongue from her.

"But alas, you are missing the third, no?" the librarian asked while still digging through her pockets, "Fear not! For George, collector of rare artifacts...will assist you!" She finally pulled out of her pocket a glowing yellow die. The number dots echoed the lightbulb's luminescence.

"Oh…It looks...like you?" Niko sweatdropped.

George grinned, or what looked like a grin, "Yes! Now you'll never forget my face! The face..." she struck one last dramatic pose, "...of knowledge."

"Ah, thank you!"

The librarian nodded, "Good luck on your journey, you two! George shall bid you farewell now."

Niko pocketed the die and we left the archives, heading back out to the library lobby.

"Well, I sure won't forget her glowing personality…" I said as we passed by the library bot.

Niko giggled, "I thought she was really nice!"

"Just don't start speaking to yourself in the third person, alright?"

"Niko shall make no promises!" she said with a smug grin.

"Oh no, it's already started…"

We both laughed as we left the library before a loud growl broke through the noise. Niko stopped and looked down at herself before another growl sounded out from her.

She rubbed her stomach and looked up at me, "Hey, Alan? Do you remember where the cafe is?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Oh, good! I'm asking because...well…" Another growl rumbled from her, "I'm...a little hungry…" Another growl. This one louder. "Actually I'm REALLY hungry! I haven't eaten anything since I got here...so is it okay if we go get some food before we enter the Tower?"

I opened my mouth to reply before I felt my own stomach grumble loudly, causing Niko to grin at me. I rubbed my stomach and smirked at her, "I think my stomach answered your question."

She giggled once more before her eyes grew wide, "I hope they have pancakes…"

She grabbed onto my hand and we walked away from the library back to the elevator. My thoughts drifted back to the Author's message and what it all meant as we rode the elevator back up to the sky bridges. This "window"...it had to be something on the laptop...but what did that mean about this world? Ever since I came here, I've wondered if this world was real or not. No doubt the laptop sent me here, but I still didn't know where "here" was. Was it a different world? Or...was it INSIDE the computer itself? Was it all...fake?

A chill ran down my spine as the elevator doors opened. I led Niko to where I remember the cafe being, all while still grappling with my thoughts.

This world...it couldn't be fake...can it? Silver, Alula, Calamus, Kip, George...they all seemed real. They FELT real. How could any of this be fake?

I rubbed my head. Maybe I was just overthinking things. Regardless of whether this world was real or not, it wasn't going to change my resolve. Save the world, Niko goes home.

We finally reached the cafe. The bartender from before was busying cleaning off the counter as he noticed us walk in, "Oh hey, you're back! Did you manage to fix the elevator?"

Niko nodded, "Mhm! Alan and I went to the surface already!"

Like George, the bartender snapped towards me with surprise etched on his face. I smiled sheepishly and waved, causing him to sweatdrop, "Well, I should have figured since you're with the messiah. I would have fixed up something for you."

"Well, about that…" I started to say before both mine and Niko's stomachs growled again, "...we remembered there was a cafe here."

"Do you have pancakes?" Niko asked, wide-eyed.

"We sure do!" the bartender grinned.

I scratched my head, "Uh, we don't really have any money…"

He chuckled, "Oh no, no! It's on the house! The least I can do for the savior and god, right?" He motioned to two stools, "Here, why don't you two take a seat? I'll start working on those pancakes right away."

Niko's mouth began to water, "Pancakes…"

I laughed and took a seat beside Niko. The lightbulb shined behind her at the base of the stool. In just a couple of minutes, a stack of fluffy pancakes was set in front of her, glistening from the syrup that covered them. Niko looked ready to just throw her face straight into the stack but restrained herself to eating normally. I received a plate as well, though with not as many pancakes. It had been such a long time since I've actually eaten pancakes to the point where I questioned if I ever really had them at all. Well, here's to finding out.

Niko had already wolfed down two full pancakes before I started eating, albeit at a MUCH slower pace than her.

"These pancakes are so good…" Niko gushed, syrup staining the sides of her face.

I chuckled, "You weren't kidding when you said you loved pancakes."

"Well, she looked quite hungry," the bartender giggled.

Niko nodded, "Yeah...I thought this would be our last chance to eat something before we go in the Tower."

"Ah, gotcha." The bartender went back to cleaning the counter around our plates, "So...I guess pancakes are your favorite food?"

"Mhm!" Niko mumbled due to her mouth being full before she swallowed, "...well, almost! My favorite food in the world are the special pancakes my mama makes!" she continued, her eyes sparkling like stars, "She likes to pick hazelnuts and grind them up into the batter."

I whistled, "That sounds pretty amazing..."

"They TASTE amazing!" she beamed, "She always made them when I was feeling sad. Or lonely...o-or..."

Her joyful mood instantly shattered. Tears began to cascade down her face, falling onto her sleeves. I abandoned my plate and immediately moved to her side to comfort her.

"Mama...I-I really miss her..." she cried, "I just...I just have a bad feeling all of a sudden!" She looked up at me, "Are we...even here to save the world? People have been saying how the sun won't fix anything!" She looked down grimly, "I don't even know why I'M here...I just wanna see my mama again."

I recognized this. This feeling of hopelessness. Everything we've been through on this journey, it's all come to a head for her. I was reminded once again that she was still only a kid, forced into a mission that she didn't ask for.

But that doesn't mean she has to bear it alone.

I wrapped my arms around her, "And you will."

She looked up at me, the tears still flowing down her face. I wiped away some of the tears around her eyes, "I told you...back at the Barrens. I made a promise." I softly smiled, "We would save this world...and that I would get you home."

"Yeah...b-but..."

I shook my head. I could feel my own emotions threatening to break as I held her, "I'm not going to break my promise to you. Not now. I'll be here with you until the end."

Her sniffles continued as she held on to me tightly. I looked down at her. I could see she was trying her best to stop her tears, but I knew better than anyone that that's not the way. I tightened my hold on her and I whispered to her, "...It's okay to cry, Niko...It's okay..."

Her sobs quickly became louder as my shirt became stained with her tears. It broke my heart to see her like this, but all I could do is be here with her. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the bartender shuffle around. It was obvious he wasn't really used to this, but at that moment, I didn't care. Niko was what mattered to me right now.

Eventually, Niko's sobs quieted down and her grip on me loosened. I did as well and looked at her. The last remnants of her tears escaped as she started to calm down. I wiped them away as I finally let go of her, giving her some space, "Are you feeling better?"

"Mhm…" she mumbled, wiping her nose with her sleeve.

I reached up and rubbed her head, finally getting her to smile.

Niko went back to the plate of pancakes, which lifted her spirits a little more, but it was obvious to me that her sadness wasn't completely gone. To be honest, she wasn't the only one who had a bad feeling about entering the Tower. Coupled with how little we knew about the Entity and the Tower itself, we were practically entering it blindly. I couldn't let her see that though.

Niko finished up her plate and the bartender set to work on cleaning it, "Thanks for coming by," he said.

"Mhm! Thanks for listening...and for the pancakes!" Niko replied back as she picked up the lightbulb.

We turned to leave before I stopped, "Oh! There is actually one more thing..." I added, pulling out the empty tube of water from my pack, "Could you fill this up for us? We gotta stop by the Garden quickly."

"Sure! Just give me a quick second...," he grabbed the vial, filled up with water, and handed it back to me before waving us off, "Good luck, you two!"

Niko and I waved back before heading to the Garden. Using the miracle pill that we got from the vendor, we could keep the kernel watered, ensuring that whatever would sprout from it would actually survive. Once we reached the plant, I dropped the pill into the water, letting it dissolved before I shook it up and poured it onto the soil. The moment that water touched the seed, a tiny leaf popped out of the ground. Satisfied, I bagged the vial and we made our way back to the elevator.

We reached the ground and began to make our last trek through the city towards the Refuge, passing through the alleyway and by the vendors as the Tower slowly drew nearer and nearer. At the end of the street where the path branched off towards the lab, a smaller path broke off towards a door that looked to lead to the Tower. The doors slid open when we approached. Niko and I looked at each and, with a nod, moved through the doorway.

The building we entered was bathed in red light, courtesy of the streams of red phosphor that lined the pathway. It was quiet, our footsteps echoing throughout the area. Neither of us said anything as we followed the path. We soon arrived at the base of the Tower. The silver sheen of its walls stretched into the sky and down into the world's core. Up close, it looked completely alien, something you would see out of a movie.

The entrance to the base laid before us. Hardly any light from the lightbulb or the phosphor illuminated the interior, keeping it shrouded in darkness as Niko and I stood before it.

"...Looks like this is it..."

"Yeah..." she replied.

I held out my hand for her, "...You ready?"

She hesitated before nodding and grabbing onto my hand.

I took one last deep breath as I looked back at the doorway, "Well...here we go."

We stepped through the doorway and entered the Tower, the lightbulb shining between us.

A/N: The end is almost here.
Just a forewarning that these next couple of chapters might take a little longer than usual to come out since I want to be sure they are just right before I release them.
Thank you to everyone who has left reviews so far. I'm very glad you're all enjoying this story. I hope you'll look forward to the next chapter!