He opened his eyes and looked around him, he was in a tent…an army tent of the Klatchian army. Ignoring the protesting of his ribs he sat up and looked out of the tent to see the night-time desert outside. He sighed and felt a tear run down his face.

Was it all a dream? He thought

Lying back down again he closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep, seeking to find that dream he had lost, trying to return to Domino and his better life.

It seemed to work because minutes later he heard movement outside the tent and the whispered conversation between two people.

"Looks like he's still sleeping." That was Nagy

"He looks so young…and innocent." Beowolf

"I hope he's resting well." That was the sound of his beloved Domino

"Me too." Nagy again

Illusion and reality mixed together in Thunderchilds head, he didn't know whether this was a dream or whether it was reality. Was he really a hero…or just a standard foot-soldier in the Klatchian army dreaming of a better life. Did he have all that power or did he just want it one day?

He sighed, this line of thought was doing his head in and achieving nothing. Why did he have to question everything instead of just taking it for what it's worth.

"Is he awake?"

"I don't think so Wolfie."

"He is…I know it." Said Domino

"Well…we'll leave you two alone then." Replied Nagy

Someone entered the tent, Thunderchild didn't want to open his eyes, scared that if he did he would find himself back alone in the tent in the desert, all traces of the dream gone.

"What are you dreaming my love?" asked the quiet and caring voice of his wife

"Of you." He replied

"You don't have to dream…I'm here for you."

He sighed

"But when I open my eyes you'll be gone and I'll be back to my life as a foot-soldier in the army, marching through the desert sun and scrubbing latrines."

"Do you really think that, do you really think I am a dream?"

"What else could explain you…you are too good to be real…Nothing that good has ever happened to me before…I must be dreaming."

He felt a gentle force on his lips as she kissed him

"Did that feel like a dream to you?" she asked

He opened his eyes, knowing that if she was gone at least he would have the kiss to remember her by…but was delighted to find that she was still there in all her glory when he looked at her.

"Domino?"

She shushed him and gave him a gentle cuddle, whispering into his ear.

"I'm here for you my love, and I always will be."

"But Jara…and Funa…"

"Shush, you must rest…you've been through an awful lot Yissan." She whispered, accidentally using his real name instead of Thunderchild.

"I failed!" he wept, crying freely into her chest as she hugged him close.

"You did everything you could, more than you could in fact…Yissan, you nearly killed yourself out there, when will you learn? How can I love you when you're dead Yissan?" she started crying now

"Domino…my sweet, sweet Domino, I will never leave your side…not even death could keep us apart…this promise I make to you."

She looked down at him, her eyes wet with the tears she did nothing to hide, the wet drops falling down onto Thunderchilds face where they mixed with his own.

"You promise?" she asked, stifling a sob

"I promise…with all my heart and all my love."

She smiled and they kissed again, letting their love flow between them. Then Domino lay down next to him.

"We won you know." She said

"We did?"

She nodded and stroked his cheek

"Yes…when Jara left her army just fell apart…the monsters put up some resistance but many of them just fled. You know…everyone says they couldn't have done this without you, you organised the army to be brought here and during the heat of battle you kept things together."

"But still…she got away."

Domino sighed, again he returned to that fact, she could see it troubled him and so tried to sooth some of that worry.

"To what? A destroyed world…she isn't a threat anymore love, forget about her…we've got our entire future together. The Black Mages are gonna portal everyone back to Gaia…after your actions here I'm sure that Cid will let you…let us settle down in Lindblum."

Thunderchild smiled, briefly forgetting Jara and following Dominos idea.

"I'd like that…I like Lindblum, its airships are beautiful."

"I know…I could see it in your eyes from the moment you first set foot in the place."

Thunderchild chuckled and turned to her

"Am I really that readable?"

Domino grinned

"To me you are." She semi-lied

Then he became all serious again, the look of humour leaving his face as he turned onto his back again.

"No…I can't just leave her be Dom…she may not be a threat to the Discworld now, but she's still a threat to Gaia…Terra isn't that far from Gaia and Jara's powers are strong…especially now she knows how to use Trance," he remembered the total ineffectiveness of his attacks "She's almost invincible now." He sighed

"We'll stop her…"

He shook his head, surprising Domino by what he said next.

"No…no Domino…I will stop her, this is between me and her…"

She opened her mouth to protest but Thunderchild continued

"This is my destiny you see my love…why do you think this has all happened…I am in the right place at the right time."

She sighed

"I kinda hoped it was our destiny to find each other again." She whispered sadly but Thunderchild didn't hear her and continued.

"That's one of the things I saw in the Twilight Forest that I realised would lead to my…" he suddenly cut the sentence off.

Domino instantly pounced on his lack of will to finish the sentence, she had felt something from her husband then…it wasn't often that they could feel each others emotions but when really intense emotions were released within either of them, the other could feel it.

Domino had just felt incredible sadness.

"Your what?" she asked

"Perhaps I should get some sleep…it's been a long day." He said quickly, turning onto his other side so his back faced Domino, she sat up next to him and shook him gently.

"Your what!" she demanded

He sighed and rolled back over onto his back.

"It doesn't matter Domino…please." He begged her not to pressure him anymore.

"Thunderchild…if you love me, then you must trust me, you've been hiding this from me for ages, now TELL ME!"

He shut his eyes, not wanting to see her face when he told her.

"Domino…it is my destiny to kill Jara by sacrificing myself." He said, slowly and quietly, regretting having to tell her. He had wanted to keep this to himself.

She went very quiet for a minute and then whispered

"I feared as much."

He opened his eyes again and looked at her, she wasn't crying with desperation as he imagined she might have been, she was sorrowful yes but it was more of a sorrow which had been expressed many times before.

"How?" He asked

"When I heard of your battle against Jara…I realised just how powerful she was, and I knew that for her to be defeated it would also take a lot of power…now I've seen you use such power…it nearly killed you…and you say you want to take her on alone?"

He shook his head

"I'm not afraid Domino, I'm not afraid of my fate."

Now she started crying, gently sobbing as she pounded his chest.

"Well I am, you insensitive jerk! I don't want to go on alone! Why can't you just open up and let me in on this quest of yours to rid the world of Jara, huh? Why can't you just GIVE ME A BREAK!" she yelled, Thunderchild was worried the entire camp might hear her.

"Hey, hey, hey," he whispered soothingly to her as she collapsed onto his chest "What did I say to you? What did I promise? That I would be there for you, no matter what?"

She didn't answer, just kept sobbing.

"I'll never leave you Domino…even if I do die, my spirit will walk beside you through all your troubles. Domino, remember this…you'll never walk alone."

"But how…how will you be there for me if not in psychical form!" she wailed

"I don't know…I've never died before," he joked, the attempt at humour falling on deaf ears "But I do know that the love I feel for you, and the love I know you feel for me is stronger than the will to live, stronger than death…stronger than anything I know of, and come hell and high water I'll be there for you…if only in your memories."

She looked up at him, a hint of desperation in her eyes.

"Don't leave me Yissan…please."

"I won't…remember…a promise is a promise."

They slept well for three hours but then Thunderchild awoke again, as he struggled to sit up, Domino woke up and helped him up. It was still dark outside but there was a faint line of light on the horizon suggesting that dawn was on its way.

Thunderchild crawled forward and sat outside the tent, looking up at the stars overhead, Domino followed him, sitting down by his side.

"Look at all the stars up there." He whispered

"Beautiful aren't they?"

He gently put his arm around her shoulders and she leant her head on his left shoulder.

"I meant what I said earlier." She said

"Shush, let's not go into that for now…lets enjoy this moment while it lasts."

They sat, watching the stars twinkle above them, the moon shining brightly in the rimwards sky. Thunderchild felt so relaxed, so at ease after the past few weeks, and so did Domino. Although their battle wasn't over, they could almost kid themselves that it was.

"Every night while I was here in the Klatchian Army, I used to look up to those stars…and I used to wonder if anyone was looking back at me…Somehow, some part of me knew that there was something else out there, someone else out there…waiting for me."

"Then you found out it was me." Whispered Domino

He squeezed her shoulder gently and lay his head on hers.

"All the time I thought about you, even when I was still under Lawrence's control…over a period of time, I began to lose hope to you were still alive…I thought you were a dream, something in my mind…then when I saw you on the Prima Vista…part of me remembered, part of me felt something for you."

Thunderchild nodded

"I know…so did Zidane…and when I first saw you, I virtually fell in love with you there and then. Even before I knew who you were…who you had been."

They sat there in silence for some more time, listening to the sound of each others breathing, reassured by each others presence, enjoying the moment while it lasted.

"Do genomes…dream?" asked Thunderchild

"I think so…We always hoped for something better when we were under the control of Lawrence…we…did dream of a better life. Then came Kuja, and he showed the genomes on Terra that they didn't need to go on mindlessly serving Garland or Lawrence, that they could decide their life for themselves. That's when they came to Gaia and started to understand just how to do that, how to live without the constant guidance of a mentor…I had to do that too you know?"

"You did?"

Domino nodded

"Yes, when I first left Lawrence, I wondered alone on the Forgotten Continent, living off the meat from monsters I fell, all the time I dreamt of going back to Terra and living the life I had with you…all the time I dreamt to sitting in your arms like I am now…you got confused earlier whether this was a dream or not…I know the feeling, I felt the same thing when we got married but then I decided…dream or no dream I had to enjoy it, every minute of it, for if I should wake up and it all be gone, at least I will have the memories."

"Don't worry Domino…we can't both be dreaming."

She chuckled and hugged him tightly.

"I know…But still, every night I held you in my arms and begged you not to leave…but every morning you were gone and I was back by myself on a godforsaken continent with nothing to do, no-one to talk to…just existing day by day."

"Oh Dom…you poor thing, I had it easy…what with my lost memories and everything."

She sighed and nodded

"There's a happy ending to the story though, and we're living it now Thunderchild…whatever happens between us, at least we have had now…we might not have forever…but we have the here and now."

He nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with what she said…they might not have each other for long, but at least they'd had each other for a period of time. At least they had returned to where they belonged…together.

They sat there, watching the stars until the sun began to creep above the horizon and the glow of the new day pushed the stars of the night before away with its blue sky. Then they returned to their bed and their dreams of each other, knowing that when they woke up, the dream wouldn't end.

"Breakfast!" yelled a voice in Klatchian from outside. Thunderchild stirred and propped himself up on his elbows, yawning he looked out the tent flap. Soldiers and genomes alike wandered around outside and he could smell bacon and eggs cooking outside.

"Hmph, you can tell it's Morporkian troops here." He muttered as he slowly sat up.

He looked down to see Domino curled up in a ball next to him, he chuckled and decided to let her sleep for a little longer.

Inching his way out of the tent he stood up and stretched, creating a chaos of agony within his chest and back and making him double over in pain.

"You look healthy." Remarked a dry voice from his left, he looked up to see Proeliator standing with his hands on his hips.

"I feel it too." Muttered Thunderchild with a smile

"Where's the other half?"

Thunderchild pointed back to their tent.

"Asleep still, I decided to let her sleep in a bit, she's been through a lot."

Proeliator started laughing making Thunderchild frown.

"What? What's so funny?" he asked

Proeliator made himself stop laughing and tried to regain his composure.

"That is so typical of you TC, She's been KO for half of yesterday! But she has to come first…you really are in love aren't you?"

Thunderchild raised an eyebrow.

"Pro…I'm married, think about it."

Proeliator started laughing again as he walked off.

Thunderchild chuckled and shrugged as he walked over to the food tents, as he got closer the hubbub of conversation got louder, several men saluted Thunderchild as he staggered towards the tent, his legs ached like mad but he concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward.

He reached the large green tent and opening the flap, walked in.

Three rows of tables greeted him, each one filled up with men noisily munching their way through breakfast, as he walked in, the tent went totally silent as each man turned as one to look at him. Then they started clapping, one man at first and then soon the entire tent was in applause, cheering and banging the tables as Thunderchild let go of the tent flap and let his jaw drop open at the applause.

"Khit-Ghot-Jip! I said we would make history, and we did!" shouted Al-Ghip-Jot as he walked over to him and gave him a bear hug which threatened to break the rest of Thunderchilds ribs.

"You did all the work, I merely held things together." Weakly muttered Thunderchild.

Al looked at Thunderchild strangely and started laughing again.

"You really think that don't you?" he asked "Khit, you are a hero you idiot…get over it, live it up a little…it doesn't happen to people often you know!"

"You're the heroes here," Thunderchilds voice rose until he was sure that every man in the tent could hear him "Each and every one of you are heroes…if I had medals to give you I would…but you have my eternal gratitude…not just my gratitude but the gratitude of each and every living inhabitant of the planet Gaia."

Thunderchild paused, looking at the men looking at him, he had the undivided attention of each and every one of them, this was something he wasn't used to, he was used to being on the other side of the tables, being the one listening and reacting to orders, not sorting things out himself.

He didn't want to complain though, it was something he quite enjoyed.

"I will have to leave the Discworld soon though…though Jara has been removed from our world she is still a threat to the people of Gaia."

Someone walked into the tent behind him, but he didn't turn around, he was focused in speaking to the people of the army who had served him so well.

"Some of you may question my loyalty to Gaia when I've spent so long on the Disc…but I've been there, and the people of Gaia welcomed me with open arms…I can't go back on them now. My wife, Domino, was forgiven by each and every one of them after her bad past…I owe them…we owe them so much. I must prevent Jara from destroying Gaia, and I know I can do so, safe in the knowledge that the Discworld is no longer under direct threat."

He felt a hand drop on his shoulder, turning around he saw Domino standing behind him with a smile on her face.

"That was a beautiful speech. Thank you…"

"What for?"

"For helping us…for helping Gaia…for helping me."

She reached up and kissed him longingly making the entire tent break out in applause and wolf-whistles at them.

Someone cleared their throat behind them, Thunderchild broke away from Domino and looked to the tent entrance, Zidane was grinning as he ducked under the flap.

"Honestly…you two are always at it!" he said

Domino stamped her foot and scowled at Zidane, before giggling.

"You and Garnet were just as bad once you came back to Alexandria!"

"So…what's the next move?" asked Zidane with a cheeky grin.

Thunderchild stroked his chin while he weighed up the options.

"Well…if Mikoto could take the genomes back to Gaia, the Black Mages can portal them and themselves back. Zidane…I'm gonna need you to come to Terra with me, you're the last person amongst us that went to Terra. Nagy and Proeliator can come with us to Terra…that leaves Beowolf, who can lead the Ankh-Morpork troops back across the circle sea."

"How do you propose getting to Terra?" asked Zidane

Thunderchild smiled, a large smile of memory and happiness.

"We fly…"

Zidane gave him a very strange look.

"Fly!"