Kay jolted, her head snapping up. Her arms were still clamped around Arthur. They sat on the floor of the RV together, his back against her and her back against the bottom of the couch. Arthur's tools rolled back and forth on the floor. He hadn't stopped staring at the camper door since he finished working on the prosthetic. The metallic limb, now firmly connected to his shoulder, clattered loudly.

She didn't dare let go. Every time the RV slowed, he would twist toward the door until she pulled him close again.

The coffee had been nominally helpful, but she wasn't sure she was continually conscious. Sometimes she would slam into awareness when Arthur shifted in her arms. It was so confusing. Then again, she'd never been awake this long before. Maybe there was something she didn't—

She blinked. Arthur was halfway out of her arms. She slurred, "Arthur, wait. Not there yet."

He stopped, still arched forward, vibrating in place. She tugged him back against her, re-wrapping herself around him. "It's okay, it'll be okay," she murmured, the words heavy and thick. "We're going to make it."

It felt like a lie. She didn't know that. She couldn't know it. For all she knew, this was the last time she would get to hold him, and they were both miserable for it.

"Don't want it to hurt," his voice was all shaky and broken up. "If it's quick it'll be okay."

She buried her face in the crook of his neck. The smell of oil and tires had been replaced by woodsmoke and sweat. "It's gonna be okay. You're not gonna die. It's got to be o—"

She jerked upright, just catching hold of his feet as he crawled toward the door. "Nnnnnno. Not yet. Not until I say we're here." She shook her head, grinding the heel of one hand into her right eye. "Let me just… I'll ask, okay? I'll ask how much longer. Wait for me. Here." She tottered over to the kitchen, filled a cup with water, and returned to Arthur. "Take. Try to drink. You're… underhyderation. Not. Not enough water."

His eyes homed in on the cup and she wanted to cry. She'd piled on more orders. It was so hard to keep everything straight right now, and she couldn't afford to slip up at all. She gave him the cup and stumbled back through the kitchen and opened a panel in the pantry. There was an intercom in there, for speaking with the drivers. Pressing a button, she mumbled, "Torque? Kay, here. How longer? How… How much longer? Really hard going back here."

"Not much longer, Miss Kay. We're probably half an hour out."

"Oh. Thank. Thank gods. And you. Please hurry."

"Going as fast as we can, Miss Kay. The road to the lab is barely a road, you know. Doc keeps it that way on purpose."

"Right. Thank." She shut the panel and worked her way back to Arthur one careful step at a time. "Is good. Almost. Little bit longer." She sank down next to him. He was utterly focused on the cup, taking tiny sips every couple of seconds. Maybe if he dragged it out, he could make it last the rest of the drive. Or at least long enough for her to—

She jerked as he dove past her, aiming for the door. "Nowait!" She grabbed the couch, pushing herself up. Were they still moving?

No, not moving. Not at all.

Arthur pressed up against the door, his hand clamped on the knob. She turned to the window, trying to shake the daze off. There was the non-sequitur food mart in the middle of nowhere. Someone had pitched a decent sized canopy out back. Her parents and Uncle Lance milled around under it. Dib was set up there, too, in the middle of a bunch of equipment. Off in the distance, Chloe cantered with a small, pinkish figure on her back. Vivi and Lewis stood a few yards off, hand in hand, staring at the camper.

"Oh," she murmured, "We're here."

The door slammed open. Arthur was gone.

"Arthur!" She staggered after him and tripped face-first off the steps. Scraping herself off the ground, she hurried after the orange bolt headed straight for…

Her heart clenched. A strange blue woman in formal looking robes stood a few paces ahead of him, flanked by Mystery in full kitsune form.

She pumped her legs, her senses sharpened by horror. She would not lose him like this. Could not lose him now. She'd promised everything would be okay. It had to be okay!

Not fast enough. Arthur reached the blue woman and seized her upper arms. "You have to fix it!" he gasped, nearly retching up the words. "Gareth didn't mean to mess it up. You have to fix it so that he didn't mess up!"

The words were barely out of his mouth before his knees buckled. The blue woman caught him by the shoulders, just holding him there as his head rolled back and his joints went loose.

"Don't hurt him!" Kay shrieked. She closed the last few yards and threw her arms around Arthur's waist. "Let go of him! Don't touch him!"

Arthur's weight sagged into her arms. Kay dragged him back a few steps and laid him on the ground, putting her fingers against his neck. Heart beating? Yes. Beating. Still breathing? Yes. Everything around her spun a little. She dropped her head on his chest and shut her eyes, swallowing several times. Wake up. Wake up. What did she do to you?

"You are the Cayenne?"

Lifting her husband had been no issue, but lifting her own head was a herculean task. She managed to raise her face a little and open her eyes. The blue woman crouched on the other side of Arthur, her head tilted to one side. Up close, she looked much more like a tree than a woman. Tree woman. With a tiny shrub growing out of her head. Kay giggled something that turned into a sob at the end. No. No crying. Can't. Be strong. Be scary if you have to. She loosened her grip on Arthur, allowing her talons to poke out. "I am Cayenne."

The tree woman dipped her head. "I am Shiro Mori." She glanced down at Arthur. "You become ill. Both."

"Wh-what?"

"Exhausted." Shiro waved a gigantic hand at Kay. "All over face, yours and his. Inside out exhaustion. No good." She folded her knees under her, staring intently down at Arthur.

Kay seized on her words. "Yes. Yes, exhausted. You can't put him through this… through… whatever. No questioning. He can't even say anything!"

Shiro lifted a hand to halt Kay's babble, but said nothing, still watching Arthur. The hand turned around, midair, beckoning. The next moment, Mystery was at her side. "Mine child. Tell of needs to Dib. Have him bring water. Food. Beds. Out here, where I watch. Say him to tend these two, they wither. Then you bring sacred child and shining child."

Mystery's ears twitched. "Mother, Cayenne speaks truth. Surely Arthur is too worn out to speak for himself, even if you enter his dreams."

She shook her head. "Some things wait. Some things not waiting. Need know some things now."

Mystery nuzzled her cheek and took off toward Dib.

Kay's vision tilted. Now she held Arthur to keep herself upright. "You're using Dulcie to go in his dreams? You take me. He doesn't do this alone. Not ever alone again. We promised..." She sagged over him. "You take me too if you…"

Darkness was supposed to be the absence of light and nothing more, but what surrounded Kay was a physical presence close and heavy enough to shove up against her skin. She didn't dare open her mouth, afraid it would spill down her throat into her lungs. It already clogged her nostrils, and every breath was a struggle. She couldn't see any part of herself, let alone whether there was ground ahead to put her feet on. But he was out there. Arthur was out there in this fog and he was afraid. She knew where he was like she would know where a kite was at the end of a string, even in the middle of a storm. She couldn't let him be alone in this. She pushed forward, slogging through a sea of black, sodden cotton in his direction. She stretched out her arms and tore the mass apart, making space for herself one step at a time.

The dark matter rebounded, pressing even harder against her mouth and nostrils. She brought her hands up to her face, squirming her fingers between the blackness and her skin and forming her hands into a cup around her nose. She could breathe, now, but she couldn't make any headway. Unacceptable. Could she fledge and fly above this, whatever it was?

thmp thmp thmp thmp

A rhythmic sound approached from behind. Muffled, but growing louder. Was the pressure lessening?

Thmp thmp thmp thump

The pressure behind her had definitely lessened. She turned toward the sound and saw the entire foggy bank behind her. It was a stretch of dingy gray in the middle of this endless expanse of black, and the gray lightened with each passing Thump. There was space around Kay, now, and she dropped her hands from her face to breathe deep.

A miniature sun burst through the gray bank, blinding in brilliance, and Kay threw up her hands to shield her eyes.

Thump thump thump thump.

The thumping stopped in front of her and a soft, velvety nose brushed her arm. "Hello Cayenne, found you." whickered a horsey voice. "I'm glad to see you are well."

Blinking, Kay squinted, trying to adjust to the light. It resolved itself into a… she shut her eyes again. She couldn't look directly at it. This creature had touched her, how had she not melted away? "Is that you, Chloe? I can't… I can't see you. I can't look at you."

Dulcie chimed in from higher up. "She's gotten a lot stronger and healed up since we started doing this. She thinks this might not even be the brightest she'll be able to shine, if you can believe it. She's awfully pretty."

"Oh, you're just biased because you get to braid my mane," Chloe laughed. "Heika, will you help Kay?"

A moment later, the unbearable light dimmed. When Kay risked squinting again, she found she was able to open her eyes fully. Shiro Mori removed her hands from Kay's face and stepped back to stand beside Chloe, placing one hand on the unicorn's flank. Kay still could not look directly at Chloe's forehead, but down on Chloe's back she saw Dulcie, sitting bareback and grinning from ear to ear. All around the little group was a wide circle where the darkness curled out and away from them.

Dulcie leaned down, holding her hand out. "C'mon up, Kay. We have to find Arthur in this. He's hidden real good. Might take a while, I don't have a good sense of where he is. Do you?"

Kay reached for Dulcie's hand, then hesitated. She turned to Shiro Mori. "You haven't come to hurt him?"

Shiro Mori tilted her head, staring at Kay nearly sideways. "Who is him to you, Cayenne? The Arthur."

"Everything."

Shiro's lips twisted around the word. "Everything. No. Have not come to hurt your everything. Come to see what is truth of the Arthur."

"Why bring Dulcie and Chloe, then? Arthur has brought me into his mind before. If you created those powers then you have them. You could have come here yourself."

Shiro Mori averted her eyes. "Am less. Less Shiro Mori, still. And if wrong… if everyone speaks wrongly about the Arthur being the Arthur… afraid. Afraid of monster he may be."

Dulcie smiled. "We're here for moral support, and to make the getting together easier. S'okay. We know it's going to be fine, and so do you, so let's help Miss Shiro know that too." Her smile slipped. "And Arthur. He looks really bad out there, and this doesn't look good inside either. The faster we can help them talk, the better it is for both of them."

She was right. Kay took Dulcie's hand and swung up behind her. "I think I can find him. How do I guide you?"

"With your heels, please, not the mane," Chloe answered.

She felt Arthur's terror vibrating like the string between her and a kite caught in a hurricane. She felt her way toward him, digging in a heel when needed to turn Chloe. The darkness melted away ahead of them with every step Chloe took. They rode in silence for a while… miles? Leagues?... still, she felt Arthur was no closer, was perhaps running as hard as he could at the very end of the string to get away.

Dulcie looked up at Kay. "He's still hiding?"

Kay nodded.

Dulcie hummed in thought. Then, she began to hum a simple tune, nearly a lullaby. She reached back and tugged on Kay's arm, and Kay cautiously picked out the pattern and wove her own voice into the melody, sending it out to him along the connection.

She felt the moment he finally collapsed out there in the dark. His thoughts were heavy with despair, and a howl echoed in the void around them. "Lost. All is lost. I am lost."

Dulcie's voice dropped away as Kay's picked up strength, surging with her heartfelt response. "Never lost. Always found. Cherished. Treasured."

"A monster to be destroyed."

"No monster. My husband. A father. Best friend. Nephew. My Arthur, never alone again. Come out. Come out, Arthur. We are here with you."

The void around them gave a long, grinding groan, then began to dissipate. Chloe quickened her pace. Kay could see him—them—up ahead. Two Arthurs. One lay in a fetal position, arms wrapped around his head. The other stood over him, legs spread wide, arms half-raised as if to ward off an attacker. This one looked up and locked eyes with Kay. He had warm, brown eyes. She looked down at the other, shivering violently on the ground, and her heart went out to him.

Kay swung herself off before Chloe came to a stop. She ran to them and dropped to her knees, folding Arcturus into her arms. He shook so violently she could barely keep her grip.

Artie dropped his arms, though he kept his attention on the group. "Thank you," he murmured. "I'm so glad you're here. I can't get through to him at all. Haven't been able to for hours. He's dragged me all over, running from her."

Kay looked up at him. "Artie, did I do the right thing? Is this…?"

He looked down at her, and his smile lit every inch of his face. "This is exactly what needs to happen, Kay. Gods, you're amazing. We're going to be fine."

It really was going to be fine, Artie was sure of it, but gods, he hated being scrutinized by a deity. Hated feeling like she could see straight through him just because her eyes by themselves were more real and solid than the whole of his existence.

Artie turned back to Shiro Mori and spread his arms, palms open. "Hello. I've heard a lot about you. I'm Arthur. It is good we finally meet."

Shiro did not leave Chloe's side. "Good, he says. Can he mean it? To meet Shiro Mori is good to the Arthur-and-Arthur?"

"It is good," Artie repeated firmly. "Even if it's difficult. This had to happen at some point. We..." he sighed and gestured at Arcturus. "We can't keep on like this."

Her lips curved in an odd shape. "Yes. I see. I see you are Arthur. Much like stories I hear from your pack." Her eyes drifted down and behind Artie to where I can feel her eyes boring through me. Any second now. Any second now. Any second now. I cannot bear it. I cannot. Please. Ask. Do not. Ask. Please. Please do not. Do not…

"But. Who are you?"

Justice. Justice. Her question rends you. Everyone keeps telling you who you are, trying to stick a name to you like you tape a paper tail on a paper donkey. Sirens even bound you to the name. You accepted it. You clung to it. But you always waver on its truth. Would you waver if you were truly Arthur? Surely you would know your own name and you wouldn't hesitate to answer. What if you are not Arthur, at the last?

The old name passes her lips, like a question, and you scream like you've been shot, "NO! NO, THAT IS NOT MY NAME!" And in that moment you are sure. The old name doesn't fit and the very sound of it is full of death and you reject it with every fiber of your being. You clutch Cayenne as you cry, "That is not my name! And you are not my Mother! I am Arthur! I am!"

"If you are Arthur, where is other?" she asks.

"Dead… months ago…" you gasp. "Killed by the sacred herd. Only memories left. Memories and his abilities. Please. I am Arthur. I never did these things in my head." You seize on the memories of Gareth and Ginny. They were happy. They bent time itself to help you. The Shiker could never have produced a family like that. Cayenne is here and alive and loving you with all her heart, could a monster make her happy enough to love you like this? "I am Arthur."

The strength of the goddess' gaze grows. Oh let us disappear now. It's going to hurt. It's going to hurt so much.

Fingers as hard as wood and supple as flesh touch your arm. She has come to finish it. You dare not open your eyes. Please be quick. Please.

"You are Arthur," she says. "Arthur-and-Arthur. Peace in yourself. Is all true. Only one soul here, no soul gem at all. Am believing you."

You dare not believe her. She can't have been convinced as quick as that. It is a ploy. A play. She is playing you. Cat and mouse.

"Am believing you," she says, more firmly. Her fingers withdraw. "Not end of our talkings, Arthur-and-Arthur, but enough for now. No child of mine. Am seeing it clear. No unmaking you."

Enough, enough! You tear free of Kay's arms and throw yourself at Shiro Mori's feet, shrieking, "If you are going to do it, do it now! Stop playing with me! I can't stand it anymore! You can't possibly believe that! I don't believe you! I can't run, I can't hide, there's nothing I can do to stop you, so don't drag it out further!"

Artie edged in between Arcturus and Shiro Mori, once again taking the full brunt of her scrutiny. "Shiro Mori, Mystery left us to find you, but he said he hoped there was something you could do for our situation. Is there anything…?"

Shiro Mori folded her hands together. "Things. Yes. Things to do. But already ill, you. Be rest, first. The doing is best after rest."

You scream into the ground. Any second now.

No. Arcturus had carried them long enough. Artie drew himself up. "There is no rest for us! I know I'm overstepping, but… look at him! We are falling apart, and we are in this state mostly because you mistook who we were. You owe us your help for the mistake you made. You owe him, especially, because he's not what you thought and he suffered the most for it. Isn't there anything you can do for us now?"

He was surprised when she broke eye contact first. "I did not the makings of any human. Cannot remake the brain fixed just right."

"But you can manipulate the shapes of things, even organs and individual cells. I know, I tampered with our amygdala when I was desperate…" his eyes widened. "Did… I make this worse for us?" He sat down heavily. "I never put it back. How do you put it back?"

Shiro Mori squatted in front of him. "You human, not even knowing own brain, do damage. What think you Shiro Mori, half herself and not ever touching human brain to shape it, does better?"

Artie's head drooped. "I don't know. I don't know. I'm just so tired."

Any second now. Any second now. Any second now.

Shiro Mori touched Artie's knee, and he looked up again. "Is risk. Understand? Is risk to you if I do the doings you ask. Is no promise of getting better."

From behind, Kay spoke up. "You have somebody else's promise about that, Arthur. Remember?"

And Artie smiled. Of course. "Yes, please, Shiro Mori. Do what you can for us."

Vivi felt like she was only holding herself up by her grip on Lewis' hand. Mystery had warned her, warned them all, but seeing Arthur in this state had hit her like a twenty pound sack of rice in the gut. Now that grief was all swollen up inside her, filling every nook and cranny, and if she didn't keep her jaw locked shut over it, it would overflow and she would end up making it all about her and nobody could afford that right now, so she just had to keep standing still and not making a sound.

Arthur was old. He looked like he had back when they'd had to keep a super close watch on him in Dib's labs. So was all that effort for nothing? Just for a reprieve that he'd burned away in a flash? Maybe if she hopped Chloe's back and rode as far and as hard as she could, she could get back to the realm of the gods and wring another tomato out of Persephone with her bare hands. Would Hades take her life in trade for Arthur? Life was too painful half the time for Vivi, anyway, couldn't hurt throwing what was left of her time in Arthur's direction and joining Lewis for good. That sounded like a great deal to her.

Lewis drew her up off her feet and folded her tight against his chest. She pushed her forehead against his suit, clenching her teeth against the sorrow and the whirling plans to fix it all.

They stayed like that for a while. Presently, Lewis spoke quietly by her ear. "Looks like Dib's team brought up a few cots and blankets. They're hooking Arthur and Kay up to some IV drip bags. It doesn't look like there's anything more than that happening right now. Dulcie and Chloe are curled up nearby. Shiro Mori still has hands on Kay and Arthur. Do you want to go over there?"

She shook her head, dragging his lapel back and forth. She wanted to know what was going on, but if she went over there, it would all come pouring out the cracks and she'd promised Arthur she could hold this situation together. Right now, that meant staying very still and not messing anything up.

She counted the seconds, starting over every time there was an insect chirp or a bird call, or whenever Lance broke into another fit of swearing at the top of his lungs.

Lewis shifted under her. "Company."

She refused to lift her face, clenching her hands into balls. She couldn't meet anybody like this. She couldn't allow… couldn't…

"Lewis." Shiro Mori's voice had softened to a mellow lilt in recent days. "I can please hold VeeVee?"

She had no will. Stones couldn't afford to have a will, so Vivi was passed from one set of arms to another. Cherry blossoms had become as familiar and welcoming a scent as spicy peppers, and she curled into the new embrace, though her feet now touched the ground. She shifted her weight off the booted leg.

"VeeVee. I see the much too much heaviness makes you forget self again. This I know from holding it inside myself." Large fingers combed through her hair. "You gave to Shiro Mori, too, so the knowings of self could come back. Gave time. Advice. Attention. Friendship. Understanding. I receive this, and I give this to the VeeVee; believing you."

Vivi sucked in a sharp breath.

"About the Arthur. Is over. Am knowing he is not monster hiding in Arthurface, like you say to me."

Vivi's throat closed up. No. No. No no no no not supposed to cry.

"It… will… be… okay." Shiro stroked Vivi's hair. "Thank… you. For taking… time. With me. For me."

And then she was passed into an entirely different embrace, but the most familiar one of all. Fur surrounded her, curled around her, and stone cracked open. The flood roared out from her, but it didn't vanish into Mystery. He only licked her tears as they fell, nuzzling her face.

When the worst of the storm passed, he put his face beside hers and spoke. "Kay and Arthur arrived severely sleep deprived and Arthur was dehydrated. Dib is administering fluids intravenously to both, and both are fast asleep. They arrived intact. Everyone is here to take care of them. Mr. and Mrs. Pepper have brought up sleeping bags for everyone and they're warming up an outdoor grill. We've got the situation under control now, Vivi. You and Lewis can rest. You took care of everything and did all that you promised." He licked her face again. "I'm so very, very proud of you. You can let go, now."

And she did.

Note: Chapter title excerpted from Level Up by Vienna Teng. Definitely more to come, and more to explain. Climax chapter has to be split in two, it's too big a thing to happen all in one chapter and, of course, Arcturus simply could not stop running until the very end. I had to try several different versions of this chapter and probably deleted a few thousand words of "Nope that isn't how it goes" as I felt my way along. I kid you not when I say my plans are all the vaguest outlines and I have to feel blindly for every detail as the chapter unfolds. Did it work?