A/N: Bastian meets the Empress again...surprise! I am not sure how well this chapter turned out, because it's relatively short. But anyway, here it is!

Chapter 4 - The Empress

At first he thought he hadn't found anything. The room was dark, save for a small candle in the corner of the room that illuminated little. If there were windows, the curtains were drawn. If there was anyone in there, he couldn't tell. He stared at that little candle as if it would provide the answers, but of course the light only flickered a little. He sighed.

As he moved to close the doors and try looking again, he heard a soft voice, barely above a whisper, say, "Come in, Bastian."

He nearly jumped out of his skin. That voice…it was the Empress, he was sure of it. He peered into the darkness, trying to see if he could see her. "Where are you?" he asked. "I can't see you."

"I'm in here. Please, come in and shut the door behind you." Her voice sounded desperate.

He did as she had told him, some large part of him wishing that he could just turn around, run back to Falcor, and fly away as fast as he could. He didn't know when he'd ever become such a wuss…or perhaps he'd never grown out of that stage. But this was the Empress…how could he be scared of a girl?

Correction…immortal girl…with more powers than he could ever dream of possessing. He swallowed hard, and wished his throat didn't feel like it was stuffed full of cotton. "You called?"

"I did," she replied. "My world is in disarray, Bastian. I feel as though I have lost control of everything. Perhaps it is my fault…I don't know. But in spite of whose fault it is, which really matters not, I need you to help me restore Fantasia once more. You have spoken to the Oracle?"

"Yes."

"Good. What did she say?"

He ignored her question…impertinent of him, he knew, but at this point he really had to know why she was sitting here in the dark. He remembered what Falcor had told him about her. But he didn't think it was right for her to be sitting in the dark, trying to hide. "Empress, why don't you turn on the lights, so I can see you."

Silence. Then, "No."

"Are you sick?"

"No, I feel fine."

"Have you turned into some monstrosity, too hideous for the world to see?"

"…No…"

"Then you shouldn't be sitting here in the dark, trying to hide yourself. This isn't like the Empress I know."

"I've…changed, Bastian. I don't want anyone to see me."

"I've changed, too…you don't see me hiding in the dark."

"I can tell you've changed. Your voice is deeper, and you're taller. You've grown up."

"So what's the problem?"

"I don't like being in this form!" she yelled. It took Bastian by surprise…he'd never heard the Empress use such a tone of voice before.

"Look, just turn on the lights. You know I wouldn't make fun of you, or whatever it is you're afraid of."

"…Alright, fine." He heard her sigh, and then all at once, the lights came on, and he could see her.

"Woah…" was all he could say.

She was considerably taller, and the way her body had filled out, she was no longer childlike in any aspect. She gazed at him with eyes that still spoke of ageless wisdom and innocence, but which shone from a face that no longer belonged to a child. Full, rounded lips, and a hint of blush to her high cheekbones, and framed by a mane of blonde hair that was also considerably less organized and more unruly than he'd ever remembered it being. His eyes could not help but drift downward from there, and he immediately wished that he had kept his eyes on her face. She was, in a word, perfect. And his equally adult body could not ignore this fact.

The Empress watched Bastian with confusion, watching as the expression on his face went from shocked to pleased and then back to shocked. "It's horrible, isn't it?" she asked.

"Not quite the word I was thinking of," he replied, his gaze never leaving her. "In fact, the very opposite."

"That's very kind of you, Bastian," she said, though not convincingly. "However, you agree that this has to be rectified. What if this is only the first stage? What if tomorrow I wake up and I've aged more? I can't die of old age, Bastian; I can't die. I live forever. Or, I'm supposed to."

"Don't worry about it, Empress. I have confidence that things will work out."

She gave him a dazzling smile, and he had to keep his knees from giving out on him. "Well, as long as you are positive. Did the Oracle tell you what was happening to us?"

"Um…not exactly…"

She frowned. "What did she tell you, then?"

The Oracle hadn't really told him anything that would help him save Fantasia, and he really wasn't sure he wanted to tell the Empress what he had been told. Neither could he keep it from her, and there was his dilemma. "Well," he began. "I doubt you want to hear what she did tell me."

A look of horror now crossed over the Empress' face, and Bastian regretted starting it out like that.

"No, no, she didn't predict the end of the world or anything," he said. "We really just talked about me, in the context of saving Fantasia, of course, but it wasn't good. She told me, in not so many words, that I wasn't needed."

"Wasn't needed? How could she tell you that? You are needed! That's why I called you!"

"Well, you see…she told me that since I've grown up, that Fantasia is no longer mine to keep. That in a sense, my being here was doing both Fantasia and myself harm, because I don't belong here in a world that relies on the innocence, and imagination of children. I can't argue with her, Empress. She is right."

At that, the Empress sank back into her chair and put her face in her hands. She began to cry, and Bastian felt horrible. But what else was he supposed to say? Make up some false plan and end up screwing everything up? He wasn't about to do that, not to Fantasia.

"Don't cry, Empress. The Oracle is letting me stay here, in hopes that maybe we'll come up with something. You and me, if we think about this long enough, I'm sure that something will come to us."

"I don't see how," she replied, her voice muffled and teary. "I don't know what to do…I always know what to do. And now it appears that I've made a dire mistake."

"It can't be all that bad." He was trying desperately to be positive, here, and she wasn't making it easier for him. "Look, why don't we just calm down and think rationally. Ok, maybe rational thought really doesn't work here, but at any rate, just calm down…"

He began pacing back and forth, while she eventually dried her tears and watched him. He was thinking…what was this caused by? This wasn't like anything he'd experienced here, before. How did the immortal beings of Fantasia all of a sudden become mortal?

He turned to the Empress. "Did you notice anything out of the ordinary whenever this first started?"

"No, not really," she said. "In fact, I didn't even notice it myself until my assistant pointed it out to me. She was quite shocked. And that's when I started hearing reports from all throughout the land that it was happening to others who were immortal like myself. The Plains people are not affected, because they live and die like normal humans."

"I know. I went to see Atraiu."

She smiled. "Then you've met his lovely wife. I'm very excited for them."

"Yeah, me too." Bastian felt that unexplained feeling of awkwardness again, and changed the subject back. "Anyway, you're sure nothing strange happened? Think hard."

She did, and still came up with nothing. "Each day has been like the one before," she said. "Things have been peaceful here."

"Until now. Something must have happened."

"If it happened, I am not aware of it," she said.

"Well then we need to go find out."

She looked at him curiously. "We?"

"Yes 'we'. You know, 'out', as in 'out of this tower'."

"But I can't leave this tower. Not looking like this."

"How often do you leave the tower, anyway? Never? If I were you, I'd want out at least sometimes."

"But I have duties to fulfill..."

"Duties that can wait until this thing is resolved. Do you or do you not want to help save your people? Since the Oracle was so straight with telling me that I'm not needed, I'm being straight with you in telling you that you ARE needed. Now come on, pack some stuff, we're going on an adventure! And change into something else, that dress just won't do."

Bastian couldn't believe what he was saying. Was he out of his ever-loving mind? Taking the Empress with him, dragging her into who-knows-what and only-God-knows-where. If anything happened to her, it would be not only his fault, but his undoing of the world of imagination that he once helped re-create. Some rational part of him begged her to say 'no' once more, at which he would leave the subject alone and continue on his journey by himself. But the irrational part of him would be overjoyed if she said 'yes'. The irrational part of him, unfortunately, was much larger than the rational at this point. The irrational was trying to convince him that this would be the blast of a lifetime and he would be able to protect her from anything that came their way. After all, he had no idea if she was still immortal and just looked grown-up, or if she really was mortal and had no powers whatsoever. The latter was very unnerving, to say the least.

The Empress was looking at Bastian as though he'd grown two more heads. Where had her sweet, agreeable, docile little boy gone? Before her now stood a man who had just suggested something that no one else had ever suggested to her. Leave the tower? He might have suggested she impale herself on a hot burning iron stick. But now that the thought…and that word 'adventure'…had crept into her mind…she saw the light in Bastian's eyes and realized that whether he was needed here or not, he was more alive than he had been in the last ten years. Perhaps it would help clear her mind if she were to get out of the tower for a while. After all, her assistants could do the work while she was gone…and really what duty was more important than saving her people?

"Alright then," she said, standing up. "I'll go with you. But we must leave soon, and under cover. I cannot be seen."

Bastian inwardly groaned and thanked his irrational side, telling it he hoped it was happy.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A short while later, the Empress was ready, having donned a long cape and a more suitable outfit for traveling. The two of them made their way to the top of the tower where Falcor was waiting. As soon as Bastian and the Empress arrived, and stepped down to where Falcor could see them, the luck dragon's eyes grew wide as it dawned on him what was going on.

"Bastian, I do not think this is a good idea. Empress, surely you must reconsider."

"My mind is made up, luck dragon," she replied. "I must do what I can to save my people."

"Getting yourself killed will be no way to help them," Falcor said, with an icy tone in his voice that took Bastian by complete surprise. He had never heard Falcor speak in such a way.

"Falcor, look, she'll be fine. She has to get out of this tower sometime. She's needed."

"No, you're needed," Falcor replied. "She needs to be kept safe, not pulled around by you on your quest."

Bastian frowned. "No, I'm not needed, at least that's what the Oracle told me. So what else am I supposed to do? The Oracle told me to do what I can, but if I'm not needed, then what can I do but take along the person who is needed? It's her world, she called me here, and I'm going to help her do what she can to save it."

Falcor stared at Bastian. "The Oracle…told you that you weren't needed?"

"Pretty much."

Silence fell over the three of them as Falcor mulled this over. "That's quite unlike her. She would never just turn someone away who was there to help."

"Apparently she's gotten a lot more picky in her old age."

"Normally she has a plan," Falcor said thoughtfully. "She told you nothing of how to save Fantasia?"

"Not really…I mean, she told me that I was no longer its Keeper…so there was really nothing I could do, and that the only reason she was letting me stay was because the Empress called for me."

"And why do you think bringing the Empress along will help?"

"Because it's her world, like I told her. If I am no longer its Keeper, than she is all it has left by way of guardianship."

"Then perhaps you should find another Keeper for Fantasia," Falcor replied. "That may be the way to save it."

"Find one here?" he asked.

Falcor winked. "With luck, we can do anything."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

End chapter 4…chapter 5, the real adventure begins!