Chapter 90: End of a World

Perspective: Narrator

They stared up into the infinite blackness and not a single one of the worlds that had been so close moments before remained. It took a few moments for the realization to settle in. They had won. The road to victory had been paved with many difficulties and near-misses, but they had made it to its end.

Jennifer was the first to break out of her post-victory daze when, after the briars released her, she noticed that the patch of nothingness that had consumed Freak was currently in the process of slowly devouring the obsidian floor tiles.

She called out: "Guys, we should probably make tracks."

Before anyone could respond, the scenery around them had shifted and they found themselves in the re-fortified ruins within the Tower's outer walls. The area around them teemed with activity. Shelter logistics personnel had moved in and was now ensuring that wounded soldiers received medical attention. Tower prisoners were held in temporary cells. According to the radio chatter the fighting was over, save for a few individual holdouts.

Some of their party were already recovering. Amanda stood off to the side, looking very small as she gazed up at the broken peak of the Tower. Steve's eyes were open, but he couldn't yet wake his body back up all the way. Rose, Urist, Voidblade and Tyron all showed signs of recovery, stirring, and groaning on the ground. Astro lay propped against a nearby wall, his head jerking this way and that as he muttered beneath his own breath. Kay continued to bleed from the gut as several medics took notice. Fire's body, whether Peter or Claw had control, remained unresponsive in its shattered breastplate.

"That was rather sudden, Shadow," commented Steve as he shakily returned to his feet with the help of Jennifer.

Shadow looked very satisfied with herself, her physical form still a mass of Void. The main difference to any point before was that now looking at her did not turn minds inside out, instead her dark form had something calming about it.

She replied: "It feels like I can finally breathe after spending my entire life in a musty cave. All this time the Entity or Freak were opposing me, now I don't have to fight anymore to be myself."

"Very good, welcome to the open air," yawned Rose with a cat-like stretch and an unpleasant click of the back. She ran her fingers over the four red wounds Freak had left on her face and walked off toward a nearby supply chest. "Someone get me a potion."

"Congratulations!" trilled Kir, more obviously impressed.

Tyron rolled onto his side and accompanied it with a pained thumbs up. He had one hand pressed against his nose, now considerably flatter since Freak punched him in it.

"Glad you're feeling better," he wheezed. Then, as a medic ran over and placed their glowing hands against his face. "Ooh, that's the stuff."

A portal opened in their midst and out stumbled an exhausted looking Veronica Mercury, still wearing her light powered armour. She looked around, quickly scanning each of the faces she was presented with.

She muttered to nobody in particular: "They really did it."

Then, louder she said: "You really didn't give me much time there, like… what? Thirty seconds maybe?"

Fire jolted awake after a Mencur-Besh administered him a particularly potent healing potion. He looked around, and after spotting Dr. Mercury he gave her an appreciative nod. "Thank you for assisting us."

Voidblade then asked the question that many of them had: "Now that this is done, how do we get back to our worlds?"

Shadow responded: "I've got an idea or two."

From one moment to the next Shadow's eyes began intensely glowing. From her feet outwards, bright lines and runes began manifesting on the floor, spreading first slowly then faster and faster until they raced towards the horizon. The lines shifted, offshoots splitting away and knotting together into a bundle in the middle of the Tower's courtyard. At their densest point, a brilliant ray of light shot up towards the sky. The column of light grew taller and brighter with each passing moment, reaching a stop at several meters in diameter. Off in the distance, more such pillars of light were visible in regular intervals.

Before anyone could ask what this was about, everyone simply knew. The pillars of light were portals that would take them back to their home world, or the closest fit, if there was no home world to return to.

"Woah," said Amanda.

Shadow grinned, causing a bright rift to appear where her mouth normally was.

Astro's muttering ceased and his half-open eyes settled on the injured Tyron, who still lay opposite him. He laughed, but halfway through it turned into a cough. Or the other way around.

"I take it we won," Astro smiled.

"I think so," answered the Dragoknight

"Who should I be thanking?" He squinted at the black skies above. "Shadow? Great work!"

Shadow shrugged. "Amanda was the one to flip the switch."

Astro's lips parted meaningfully, and he shifted his head over to the teenage girl.

"Thank you, Amanda."

Amanda, who had returned to looking up at the Tower, glanced back over her shoulder. Gratitude flashed across her features, then was covered back up by the descent of her brows into sadness. She looked back up at the Tower. Unreality had begun to eat through the bronze outer walls, and creep down the edges. The swollen horizon seemed to be crumbling under its own weight.

Astro allowed his own attention to drift from her. He slid over Rathina and Seth rushing down to Tyron as Glowstar settled on a nearby rooftop. Rathina immediately dropped to the ground and lifted Tyron's face to her own, embracing him.

Brad the Eye-and-Claws operative had made his way to Fire, reporting the capture of General Issa, who was currently being escorted out of the Tower alongside her civilian employees.

Then, Jennifer appeared in Astro's field of view. She was helping Steve awkwardly pull his armour off without disturbing the massive bruises on his arms, only for Ozen and Drake to run in and collectively bear-hug him, causing the seasoned adventurer's eyes to water with pain. Jennifer caught a glimpse of Wolfric calmly entering and made sure to playfully ruffle his hair.

Voidblade and Urist could next be seen talking with other soldiers of their unit, Urist much more enthusiastically than Voidblade but the difference was smaller than it would have been a few weeks ago. Rose uncomfortably sipped a healing potion behind them, still mustering her sly almost-smile despite the pain.

From behind the pillar of light emerged Lucy, having just come through the Tower's outer gate. She wasted no time giving out hugs to everyone gathered, ending with Fire and Shadow, who she then urged to tell her the details of the battle against Freak. While Lucy stood and talked, Wodahs took over on hug duty, making full use of the many appendages she had available in her current state.

Over in a nearby square Astro saw a small crowd of figures forming. Dinnerbone sat on a nearby awning, strumming his ukulele without commitment and occasionally rubbing the wound on his forehead. The hunter chieftains showed off the many trophies they had won in battle. He spared a breathless nod to his own friends, bloodied but alright, as they slowly escorted the wounded Herobrine over to their location. The Blind Watcher boomed and thundered in joy, lavishing praises on his own and the Shelter's leadership from afar, the Wraith hobbling slightly before the pack.

Astro wasn't even that annoyed to see Vacar of Arcation trade boasts with Tauto Chrone of the Brotherhood in a fruitless attempt to impress Lupe and Kami. In the background of this little tableau, he saw a bemused Clarke testing the bindings on the wounded Glibby.

His eyes glid across Shadow, her Coven had found her and were in the process of somewhat awkwardly swarming her while still maintaining a respectful distance to their exalted leader. It seemed that Iridia, Pallas and Danann had made it out of the deeper sections of the tower, though Danann was currently missing an arm. Talita was at the very forefront, caught somewhere between reverence and smugness, and if Astro had to guess what she was saying, it probably was something along the lines of "See, I told you you were a god".

Then, suddenly, a glimpse of a torn red scarf drew him straight to his feet. Suddenly he remembered the briar piercing Kay's gut, pushing through the back, blood showering out of him. He ran across to where the medics treated him and began to flail around for a good look at his one-time friend's face, or stomach, or anything. He heard voices in a tangle as medics tried to ask him to calm down, and others spoke to each other and somewhere in the midst of it all…

"...Again, very sorry about this, I should have seen the bloody thing sooner. Almost got Astro. Cost us the shades, I think… It was all quite fast-moving, you see."

"Kay?"

"Astro?"

Kay gently brushed one of the medics aside as though he were opening a curtain. Astro looked away from his face and saw the skin on his stomach slowly knitting back together. One of them was even finally having a look at his leg after he'd refused to get it checked for so long. With slight annoyance Astro finally met his gaze.

"You're alright, then?" he managed.

Kay's lips curled into a smile.

"We both know the answer to that, but thanks for asking, despite everything."

Astro felt an involuntary warmth and allowed himself to smile back.

Suddenly a hand clapped him on the shoulder.

"Lap Dog!" boomed Herobrine. "Fire tells me the training I gave you proved most helpful out there! Excellent work!"

He had one arm wrapped around Aaron, the other pressed against Fire's shoulder. Fire seemed quite at ease, understandable since he lacked the innate cultural awe most people felt when interacting with Herobrine. Kay shuffled uncomfortably into a more upright position he considered more General-like.

"I'm not the one you should be thanking, master, I just did what you taught me. Astro expanded the playbook entirely, found a way to make shades from Freak's nightmares."

Herobrine's fingers curled tightly around the Wizard's shoulder, and his cocked his eye in admiration.

"Did you now?" Herobrine stroked his chin and smiled. "Well, we must chat about this some time, Wizard. You and your Guild have quite impressed me. Such ingenuity should not be spent carrying corpses in Acrisius."

Astro's entire mind seemed to explode outwards as he realised the implications. Aaron's eyes widened until it looked like they might implode under their own weight. Was his exile ending?

"I - I don't know to say…"

"Thank you, will suffice," winked the Blind Watcher. He turned away, letting go of Aaron and steadying himself on Fire. "A shame about the corpses we must carry today, however."

Lucy spoke up with some hesitation: "We were unable to get an accurate count, but more than two thirds of our forces are dead."

A silence fell across the group.

Tyron raised Kir.

"To the fallen," he said.

Everyone else raised their weapons and echoed him:

"To the fallen!" they called.

A more reverent silence fell across the group as they began to remember all those who had fallen, seen and unseen. That day and since the beginning of the conflict. Ozzy the Selvan; Moderator Viking; Lieutenant Raphoe; Besta of Arcation; countless Mencur-Besh, all merged for that day but who had all been individuals before it, and so many more… Warnado, the demon-sorcerer who had learned so much, and won so many of their hearts, only to be taken so suddenly and cruelly. From his perch on the awning, Dinnerbone suddenly squinted and began to count the members of the leadership on his fingers with considerable irritation.

"I hope there's an afterlife here," said Seth.

"Would that be good, though?" frowned Ozen. "Wouldn't they, y'know, be in the wrong afterlife?"

"How alienating would that be?" said Steve. "I mean, even beyond the difficulty of potentially not seeing your loved ones, or at least, not the right version of them, you'd be dealing with a whole other conception of paradise or punishment or whatever. Unless, I suppose, there is one universal creator, or the Prophet's adherents were right about the 'gods of many worlds' idea-"

Jennifer patted him affectionately on the head.

"-Getting a little high-concept there, sweetie."

"Sorry," Steve chuckled.

"That said," Jennifer thought. "Can you do anything about that?"

She was looking at Shadow with a slight pleading.

Shadow replied quietly to avoid being heard by her worshippers: "Nexus does not have an afterlife, but all that means is that people's 'souls' or equivalents are floating around somewhere in one of its outer planes. I suspect the Entity's plan was to absorb them along with everything else, so not even the dead would go to waste." After a slight pause, she continued: "But I think I can create something like an afterlife, not enough to house the dead forever, but sufficient to let them return to their worlds."

For a moment Shadow appeared distracted, as if focusing on something that wasn't there.

"I think I did it, you shouldn't have felt that unless I did something terribly wrong."

Jennifer said: "Didn't feel a thing."

Voidblade, with unexpected energy pointed to the portal and called out: "Look!"

Small motes of light were gathering in the upper sections, slowly gaining in intensity and once their glow was strong, submerging themselves in the beam. At first there were few, but gradually more and more motes appeared and soon a steady stream of them flowed into the portal. And soon, faces began to appear, visions of ecstasy as they were released from their captivity in Nexus. Humans, endermen, villagers, pigmen, a million peoples no one could name or recognise.

One of the motes ran past Steve, and for brief instant he could have sworn he saw Fristad's face materialise and wink at him. A tear ran down his cheek and he squeezed Jennifer close to him. Lupe let out a startled, joyous laugh as she saw David swing by, sneering playfully. And for a faint moment, Kay and Fire exchanged a speechless look as a shape resembling the Prophet and his bodyguard stopped to offer them a respectful nod before passing on into the light. Shadow simply looked on in satisfaction, the visuals simply confirming what she already sensed.

They let the motes of light drift by for some time, appreciating them like a long-awaited snowfall. Until…

"I'm telling you, he's alive!"

"No, no, you're not doing this to me!"

It was Amanda, struggling against an excited-looking Dinnerbone, who had her by the arm.

"I can sense the Heroes, and he wasn't there!"

"Then, where is he?"

"...I don't know. I don't think Warnado127 is in the dimension anymore. You said he exploded?"

"Yeah! In a cloud of demon-fire!" Amanda snapped. She choked out, "Just like his dad."

"Okay, yeah, that doesn't sound great…" Dinnerbone lifted his hat and frantically massaging his skull. "May… maybe it's you, maybe you're the real Hero of the Prophecy! I kind of get a Hero-ey vibe off you!"

"I'm not a part of your dumb prophecy!" she screamed. "I was there to help Helix, and now he's gone!"

"Listen here, kid," Dinnerbone yanked her by the arm. "You don't know what that thing showed me!"

At that moment Kay moved in to push Dinnerbone back while Astro and Jennifer swept in to put an arm around the teenager's shoulder.

"Cool it off, Bone," called Herobrine.

Kay said, less diplomatically: "I swear I will rattle your bloody skull if you don't back off right now."

"I'm not going back with nothing!" Dinnerbone raised a fist emphatically.

Suddenly a dagger stuck into the wall between them. Rose glowered over from the side.

"Then go back with your life, while you still have it," she warned.

Dinnerbone went very pale, then looked at Amanda and hung his head.

"I'm sorry."

He backed off into the corner and began to tune his instrument. Herobrine came up and began to massage his shoulder reassuringly. Tyron and Kir also approached with some reluctant comfort.

Kay turned around.

"Amanda, I know I have no right after all I've done, but my offer to Helix stands, you are welcome back with me…"

Amanda was staring up at him in disbelief, mouth open and eyes narrowed. Unable to take the force of her reaction, Kay turned his head away.

Fire spoke up: "Kay, I know why you're extending that offer and I know that at the bottom of it you mean well, but with what happened… and might still happen. It won't work, not really."

Kay nodded, then turned his eyes back to Astro. A ring of merciful, pitying wrinkles had formed around the Wizard's eyes. He couldn't bear to look at them much more than he could Amanda's.

"My apologies, you're absolutely right."

Kay withdrew and looked up at the crumbling Tower, its branches folding in on themselves as the Void dismantled their dimensional structure. Astro blinked and cast his eyes over to the companionable sadness of the Guild, then looked back down at Amanda.

"You could come back with us," he said.

She didn't look up.

"Sure." She shrugged off Jennifer and Astro. "Whatever."

She took two steps forward, then turned back to hug Jennifer, crying openly. Rose came in tentatively and found Amanda gripping her even more tightly. Then, finally, she let go and pulled back. Her fingers shot to her face, then scraped the water from her cheeks.

"Okay," she said. "Thanks, Astro, sounds good."

She shot him a sincere smile, then walked into the Guild's number. Secret put a hand on her shoulder and Tass began a tentative conversation that would inevitably cascade into torrential one-sided chatter within a few minutes.

Shadow turned to the rest and said: "We should probably think about going back to our worlds now, won't be long until this place starts properly collapsing. I'm slowing it down, but Nexus is crumbling under its own weight."

At that moment, Herobrine spoke up.

"Yes, we probably best. Come on Bone, Guild. Let's rally the troops and head back home. I imagine the Shelter's leadership want a few moments alone." he walked up to Fire, "It has been an honour." They shook hands.

The Blind Watcher then took his forces and left for another nearby portal. Dinnerbone smiled apologetically. Ozen and Wolfric bid farewell to Steve and Jennifer. Rathina briefly embraced Tyron, then went away with Seth and Glowstar. The Remaining followed with them, though Lupe briefly stopped.

"See you, friends," she smiled wryly.

Kir trilled happily.

And so, they found themselves left alone. The ones who had found themselves in Nexus, scattered and confused. Who had fought their way through the Tower. Who had escaped their clutches at the village, founded the Shelter and fought a war for the freedom of all worlds. They who, ultimately, had won the day. They stood in silence.

Rose was the first to approach the portal. "Alright, it was nice doing this with you. Let's see what changed in my world in the meantime. Doubt my old employer is still alive with me gone. Might open up some opportunities for me. Might try the whole cult leader thing myself, Shadow has certainly given me the taste for it. Maybe I'll become immortal, who knows?"

"Rose," Tyron groaned. "Please don't become a cult leader."

Rose laughed. "It's a lot more normal in my world, still illegal though, but that never stopped anyone."

Rose then lightly tossed a knife, which embedded itself in the ground at Amanda's feet.

"There, I threw a stiletto for you. Satisfied now?" She said playfully, before walking straight ahead into the portal.

A few moments after Rose was gone, Voidblade slowly stepped forward, clearly intending to leave next.

"I think I know what awaits me back home, and I think with what I experienced I might be able to make a difference. There might be a chance at peace, maybe even at reconciliation."

He patted Urist on the shoulder, then smiled with surprising sincerity at Lucy. He turned to look at Fire, the two simply exchanged a nod and soon after Voidblade disappeared into the portal as well.

It seemed like Urist was the next one to say goodbye. His previous enthusiasm drooped into melancholy as he thought on where he would go back to.

"It's been an honour fighting with ye. Though I do na want tha return to me world. Shadow, can ye make it so this spits me out anywhere but home? Between before and now, I've had enough fighting an' heartbreak."

Shadow replied: "Calm, peaceful world it is then."

"Thank ye." Urist simply said, then too walked into the bright column of light.

Tyron stepped forward next, holding Kir flat across his palm. However, he didn't go straight for the portal. Instead, he went up to Astro. A furry green hand landed on the wizard's shoulder.

"Well, buddy, it's been a ride."

"It certainly has. But it looks like you've got your happy ending."

"You don't seem to have done too bad yourself."

He squeezed Astro's shoulder then tilted his head over to Amanda.

"I mean, you're going back in great company."

Amanda sniffled and managed a heartfelt smile. She came up and wrapped her arms around Tyron. She rested her hair against his breastplate and looked up into his luminous blue eyes.

"You don't think I should go with Dinnerbone?"

"Not if you don't. Do you?"

"No."

"You owe Dinnerbone nothing," agreed Kir. "Can't hold you to Warnado's duty."

"Then, I'm going to need you to keep an eye on Astro for me. He's a little old and silly, he'll need someone to keep him out of trouble."

Amanda nodded: "I think I can do that. Keep him away from all that 'stupid tribal crap' he keeps complaining about."

Astro feigned outrage with an open mouth and Tyron laughed. The Dragoknight leaned down and kissed her on the crown of the head.

"Alright, I'll speed it up a little bit. Steve and Jennifer, you know I love you guys. And you keep that beautiful little enderdragon safe. Lots of head-pats and treats for him!"

"Well, if we have to," sighed Steve.

"Keep safe, Tyron," smiled Jennifer. "I hope you and Rathina are very happy together."

Tyron rounded on Fire, Lucy, and Shadow.

"Shadow, of all the people in the group who could have attained god-like power, I'm glad it was you."

Shadow replied with a chuckle: "Talita just left me alone Tyron, don't start with the god talk. But thank you, I'll try to make the best of it."

"I'm sure you will," Tyron reassured her warmly, then approached Fire.

He held out his hand.

"Fire, thanks for everything. You were the second-best commander the Shelter ever had."

"Was close contest."

"Not just of the Shelter, but the Tower too, thanks to Claw." Fire paused, having suddenly realized something. "In hindsight, the Prophet saying that I'd command the forces of life and death makes a lot more sense now."

"Don't dwell on it, big guy," Tyron clapped him on the arm. "You came through when we needed you."

"Did what heroes do," Kir chirped supportively.

He turned to Lucy, pointing an accusatory finger.

"And you, don't think I've forgotten about you!"

He reared up, forcing a scowl. Then he shrank back down and chuckled.

"You are the most scarily productive person I've ever met. Please, promise me you'll get some rest once this is all over."

"It'll be the first thing I do. I might not have been in combat, but it sure feels like I was. The only reason I am awake right now is because I want to spend some more time with everyone."

"I forget to mention that you are the sweetest person in the multiverse. Never change that. It's been a pleasure knowing you."

He drew her in for a brief hug, then stepped back. He cast his eyes around the group, then finally they came to rest on Kay. The General had his eyes averted, cracking his fingers. He looked timidly up.

"Kay," said Tyron. "I'm going to miss our heart-to-hearts."

Tears flooded the General's eyes, and he ran forward to hug Tyron. There was a loud crash as their breastplates connected and they struggled to stay upright. Tyron cackled in surprise and patted him on the back. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, Kay withdrew, swiftly drying his eyes.

"Thank you being my friend, Tyron."

Tyron didn't say anything for a bit.

He ultimately settled on a calm: "Stay safe, Kay."

"Never stop trying," elaborated Kir.

Tyron walked up to the pillar of light and reached out a hand to touch it. He cast one look back, and a smile spread across his face one last time.

"I'll never forget this."

He closed his eyes and fell forward. The light engulfed him. He was gone.

Kay cleared his throat and stepped out, rubbing his eyes as he did so.

"I'll try and keep this brief. Steve, Jennifer, Astro, Amanda, Fire, Shadow, and Lucy, I've treated you all abominably from start to finish. No apology I can offer will make up for that, so I shall endeavour to prove it by action. Hopefully by the time the next Astro is kidnapped and taken to Nexus, we shall see a better run of things."

A tear ran down his right cheek and another began to well in his left eye.

"Now, if you'll excuse me…"

He nodded awkwardly, then turned toward the portal. A shield formed in front of him.

"No," Astro said. "Not letting you away with that."

Shadow explained: "You can't leave through this portal either, you are from a different time, so you need to go through the one you entered Nexus from. I will take you there once it's time."

"Ah," Kay said. "In that case, I suppose I should get a little more specific."

Shadow closed her eyes and began to scan for the portal matching Kay's signature in the rapidly crumbling world of Nexus. Kay, meanwhile, shambled up to Steve and Jennifer, gritting his teeth and readjusting his hair.

"I'm sorry I tried to kill you in order to get into the Tower's good graces."

"That's okay," Jennifer sighed. "You were just as confused as us."

"And about the failings in my plans that led to Fristad being out in the open, and the infantry being caught off guard by the Tower's Endlings."

"You couldn't have accounted for everything," Steve forced himself to admit. "Fristad in particular wasn't your fault, I was just… grief is a funny thing."

"And about sending poor Raphoe to threaten you."

"Less excusable," Jennifer said.

"Yeah, that was pretty messed up."

"And trying to separate you so as to be able to better control Steve, and for teaming up with the Book, and letting it try to kill you both, and for-"

"-You can stop, Kay," said Steve.

"Apologies really don't begin to cover any of that," Jennifer maintained.

Kay nodded tremulously. The two adventurers before him had shifted from uneasiness into steely determination. This was a bridge he had burned and attempts to ford the river completely would not be looked on kindly.

"I know. What I really want to say is, you were both an asset to the team. I enjoyed shooting the breeze with you in the village, Steve. And Jennifer, you walk a line between practicality and simple kindness that I wish I could replicate. I wish you both the absolute best."

He hung his head and began to walk away. Steve and Jennifer frowned, then exchanged a look. Their features softened.

"The officer's lounge was a good idea," conceded Steve. "A lot of good memories in that place."

More hesitantly, but no less sincerely, Jennifer added: "And thanks for pulling that dream voodoo on Freak, you got us out of a jam there."

Kay stopped. He turned his head, meeting Jennifer's gaze. He then flicked his eyes over to Steve.

"Thanks."

He went up to Fire. He opened his mouth, but words wouldn't come. His tongue rolled uselessly around. As he looked into the Mencur-Besh's red eyes, he realised how wide-ranging it all was. Specific instances, general attitudes, too much and too little to weave together. And yet, he had forgiven him time and time again, ever-patient and ever-worthy of respect. Once more, he threw himself on Fire's mercy:

"I really am sorry about the door I broke," he managed. "And of course, the - the reason I broke it."

"Can't change much about the fact you tried to kill me, but at least you went about it in a way that didn't force me to shoot you. If I had, we probably wouldn't be standing here, you being alive did enable us to get Herobrine on our side after all."

Kay swallowed and it felt like gravel. He deserved that.

"That is a fair response… I have a knack for dressing up ugly situations with pretty words," he said. "I'm sorry I tried to kill you and thank you for allowing me to continue to help in what ways I still could. You were a venerable leader, and the most patient man I've ever met."

"For lack of a better word, knowing you has certainly been interesting, Kay. I wish you the best for what's ahead of you."

Kay averted his gaze and stifled a desperate smile of gratitude. He brushed past Shadow, toward Lucy.

"Shadow, I'll say to you on the way out. Lucy, thank you for your diligence. I should have trusted you better, it was entirely pettiness, would have saved Astro a lot of stress as well."

Lucy replied: "I… might have lost some sleep over the whole situation back then. In a way I'm glad it's cleared up."

She fell silent after that.

Kay moved on to the last two, the ones he'd dreaded the most. He came to a stop before Astro and Amanda. He forced himself to look up.

"What I did to Helix was unforgivable. If I hadn't built him up and then betrayed him like that, he'd still be alive…" He wiped his red, raw cheeks with his scarf. "Thank you for trusting my friends, I assure you they're much better than me."

"Sure."

She said it simply, coldly, and then went back to lean against a nearby wall. She looked at Astro who gave her a pained look which said, 'whatever you have to say, no one will judge you'. She sighed.

"You're a parasite, Kay. You choose people because you know they're better than you, and you leech off their goodness. If you want to change things so much, to be better, just leave them alone. Have a nice life."

She began to fiddle with her crossbow, and Jennifer came up to put a hand on her shoulder. Kay's heart felt like it was fit to burst from agony. Agony he knew he had earned. He bowed his head, scrunched up his eyes and turned to Astro. He opened his mouth…

"I'm really going to miss you, Kay."

His eyes shot open. His breath stopped. Astro's face was covered in a sad smile. A tear ran down his cheek. His arms spread wide. Kay took him and held him tightly.

"I swear to you, I shall do everything in my power to change things," Kay promised.

Astro clapped him on the back and broke off the hug. His smile was unbroken. Tears streamed down both of their faces.

"You know how much I want to believe that, Kay."

Kay put his face in his hand and rubbed intensely. His fringe had separated into strands on his forehead. His cheeks remained redder than ever. He threw his arms wide and turned his eyes to the infinite, black sky.

"Alright, Shadow, I'm ready."

Nothing happened for several moments. Kay looked at Shadow with a mixture of expectancy and apology.

"We will go once everyone else has departed." She said.

"Oh," said Kay. "Alright."

He drew aside a little deflated, though reminded himself that it had been presumptuous. After all, it would have interfered with Shadow's ability to say goodbye. He cursed himself that little bit more.

Steve stifled some derisive laughter and approached Fire. Jennifer went up to Amanda.

"Thanks for everything, Fire," Steve said, offering his hand.

Fire took the hand offered. "Likewise, Steve. I'm glad to have had you and Jennifer at my side."

"We were glad to be there," he turned to Lucy. "Sorry we never got to finish our D&E campaign."

"That's okay, we had fun with the one session we had. It had a good conclusion if you ask me."

Lastly, to Shadow: "Hey, thanks for quoting that poem. I really need to start reading more."

Shadow replied: "Glad it helped, I read it a long time ago, but the concept stuck with me."

Meanwhile, Jennifer stooped down and clapped Amanda on the shoulder.

"Hey, you're sure you're going to be okay out there?"

"I will, Jennifer. Stay safe."

They hugged, and as Jennifer disengaged, she took Astro by the sleeve.

"And you, be a little less harsh on yourself, okay? You're a good guy, don't be afraid to remember that every now and then."

He beamed like an excited child.

"It's a deal."

Jennifer and Steve broke off and approached the Portal. The light glimmered before them, bathing their features, and reducing them to silhouettes. Their hands touched.

"I'm glad I knew you people," said Steve.

And in a flash, they were gone.

Amanda walked over to the portal, continuing to fiddle with her rockets and crossbow. Astro approached the others, shooting respectful nods to both Fire and Lucy. His wide grin had settled into a satisfied incline of the lips. He stopped before Shadow and stooped down to hug her. She stabilised her form as he did so, looking effectively normal for the time being.

"It's been really nice talking to a mage on my level," he said into her white hair. "Well, miles above my level, but you know what I mean."

"The feeling is mutual, Astro. I just wish that we could have avoided what the whole Coven situation did to our friendship."

"The Coven certainly made things worse, but I'd already screwed it up with my own stupid bitterness and suspicion. I'm sorry, I should have been there for you when the Entity got Fire."

He shot an apologetic look at Fire.

"And thank you, Shadow, for letting me back in after all that."

"I'm glad it worked out in the end, despite everything."

Astro grunted and drew himself up with difficulty.

"And of course, Fire, thank you for your leadership. Lucy, thank you for your tireless work."

He looked back over at Amanda expectantly. She raised the crossbow and fired a rocket into the air. Golden sparks rained down. Looking at the falling sparks seemed to re-energise her, and she managed a smile.

"Fire," she said. "Tell the Lady I say hi."

"I'm sure I'll meet her in due time, we have a lot of things to talk about."

"Oh, I'm sure you do, like, uh, when you're taking her out for a proper dream-date. You guys would be really cute together."

Shadow stifled a giggle and nodded in agreement. Fire simply shook his head with a smile, clearly amused by the prospect.

Astro exchanged a final meaningful look with Kay, and then went up to Amanda. He let his hand fall on her shoulder, perhaps to guide her, perhaps asking to be led. He looked and felt dreadfully old.

"Shall we?"

She wordlessly stepped forward. The portal flashed, and they were gone.

Lucy approached Dr. Mercury, who up until now had been watching from the sidelines. "I hear you're going with Fire and Shadow to their world?"

Dr. Mercury replied: "Seeing as my own world no longer exists, it's one of the few good options I have left."

Lucy briefly contemplated, then turned to Fire. "Would it be alright if I came along too? I'm in a similar situation, no world to return to. From what you've told me your world would be a lovely place to live."

Fire barely waited for her to stop speaking, as if he had waited for her to ask. "Of course, you can come with us, it's the least I can do. After all, I did show up at your door and took you on a grand adventure simply because I had a good feeling about you."

Lucy's smile widened. "So, let's go!"

As they turned towards the portal, Shadow said: "After I take Kay to his time, I'll stay behind in Nexus to make sure it collapses fully. I won't be long, time flows quickly here."

That was all she needed to say, Fire, Lucy and Dr. Mercury fully turned towards the portal and passed into the bright beam of light. Now only Shadow and Kay stood within the Tower's walls.

"So, just us…," Kay said, frowning. "Shadow, I would… like to apologise. I used half-legitimate concerns about your abilities to justify antagonising you when we should have been working together. It was motivated by lust for power, habitual paranoia, and what can only be described as a rather pedestrian bitchiness. For what it's worth, I am deeply sorry."

Right after Kay finished speaking, the environment around them shifted. They now stood in a great canyon made from red sandstone, their feet almost immediately sunk into the sand as they landed. A waterfall cascaded nearby, though the lake into which it fell had crumbled away into the infinite black. Within touching distance of them was yet another portal, visually identical to all the others, but this one would lead Kay home. Not just to his world, but also to his time.

Shadow replied: "I've already said what I thought about your royal escapade, I don't think there is a need to repeat it now, especially since I'm about to send you off and never see you again. Kay, you have done a lot of bad things in your time here, but also some good ones, and I can't ignore that. You are a thoroughly complicated person, but I think you know that best yourself."

Kay scoffed.

"I wish I could say I understand myself much better."

He sauntered up to the edge of the collapsed lake and looked into the Void.

"Shadow, I'm not going to pretend I'm in a position to advise anyone anymore, but please believe me when I say I'm worried for you."

"I somehow doubt that, but go on."

He kicked a stone off the edge and into the pit.

"That level of power… I held only a fraction of what you have now and all it made me want was more. More power meant more control after a long time of feeling like I could control nothing. Now, you seem to have gotten your powers back under control by gaining uncontested control of Nexus... Am I making sense? Probably not. Just, as advice from a man who did it all wrong: let it end here. Please."

He lifted a hand to his face and Shadow got the impression that he had started crying again.

Shadow thought for a moment. "No, I can see where you are going with this, but this is only the beginning for me. Though, we are similar in one respect, we are both in conflict with fate. My battle has been going on for a long time, though I did not realize that until recently. As for your battle, it begins the moment you step through that portal. Whatever you did and will do, I wish you luck fighting fate."

Kay exhaled deeply and then turned. He offered his hand to Shadow with an echo of his old pomp.

"I wish you luck as well. Here's to our eventual victory over fate!"

"We can both hope for that." Shadow said.

She then took his hand and gently, but firmly pushed Kay towards the portal. He did not resist, and moments later Shadow was alone in the canyon, perhaps alone in Nexus.