AUTHOR'S NOTE: Flash, I live for your reviews. ;) Okay, the title of this chapter came from the song I was listening to as I wrote it. Just wanted to explain that.
"Such damage," Star said quietly. She looked around in horror at the carnage that was once the village of Arlington.
"Nice," Illisaith breathed.
"You are bad, young one," Star rebuked him. "Such loss of life is terrible; you must not be pleased by this."
"And yet, I am," Illisaith replied. "Remember who you're talking to, Star."
Star wilted; she knew all too well who he was. "Come, young dark one…our friends are not here."
"Hey! What did you call me?" he demanded.
"Ask not what we both know you heard," Star muttered.
Illisaith dashed in front of her and forced her to stop. "Oh, no. No, no, no. That's your name for him!"
"Are you not his reflection?"
Illisaith growled. "I am not him!"
Star squealed, eliciting a cringe from the Image. "Then cease to behave as though you are. This is horrible. If you refuse to be like the dark one, then you must agree with me."
Illisaith stared at her. He knew how he was behaving, and it was the same way he always behaved. Then he took a second look around and realized why Star was not her usual indulgent self. She had called him "one of the good guys"; good guys didn't enjoy seeing smoldering ruins. They didn't laugh at the sight of charred corpses littering the ground. He shook his head as he finally figured out why his mentally was becoming increasingly unstable.
"You're right," he said quietly. "I can't enjoy this, but I do. It's who I am. You can't fight who you are."
He felt a light touch on his shoulder and looked up into ocean blue eyes. "You must not give up, young one. That you have recognized this for what it is is good. But you cannot fight who you are if you continue to cling to it. You must let it all go."
She moved around him to continue on the mountain path. She knew he would follow when he was ready.
Mirror Evil King Illisaith took one last look around. Hero Illisaith grinned and left the last vestiges of his hated identity behind.
Rosalyn trudged a few more steps then sat down. It wasn't so bad when they had just been walking around; they could stop whenever they wanted to, whether Stan was yelling at them to keep going or not. Here, however, Rosalyn was on a mission; she didn't have time to just stop whenever she wanted. She had to keep going to save Ari. Or defeat him.
She pushed that thought away. It was very easy to do considering she had plenty else to occupy her mind. Stan had been muttering to himself for some time. Rosalyn simply had to ask him why. He was the perfect distraction.
"I can't take it anymore!" he wailed. "You need to go on a diet, woman!"
"I am not fat, stupid Evil King!" she argued wearily.
"Hey! Are you taking a break?" Stan demanded.
"Well, I could sit down, or fall down," Rosalyn explained caustically.
"I don't recall telling you you could sit!"
"I don't need your permission, pancake shadow!" Despite her anger, Rosalyn grinned. Arguing with Stan almost made everything seem normal.
"You agreed to be my slave when you let me possess your shadow. Live with it, slave girl." He sounded far too smug.
"Or," Rosalyn offered. "I saved your life, and you owe me."
"I don't owe you anything," Stan growled. "This is the worst excuse for a shadow I've ever been in, you fat mule!"
"And how many would that be?"
There was a pause, then, "Two, but that's beside the point!"
Suddenly, the ground to either side of Rosalyn exploded in twin showers of dust and rock debris. Rosalyn scrambled to her feet and whirled, her rapier in hand as if by magic. Ari was standing behind her, a manic grin plastered to his face. His eyes were like a wild animal's. "Make it easy on yourself," he said. "Just give up, and I won't torture you."
"You ungrateful brat!" Stan yelled ineffectually. "Give me back my power!"
Ari sneered. "Temper, temper. I'll give it back…not!" He laughed.
Stan growled wordlessly; he was far too angry to form a coherent sentence, or even bother trying.
Rosalyn took a breath to steady her nerves and remind herself that this wasn't her friend anymore. "I will destroy you if I have to," she announced.
Ari snickered. "No, you won't. I'm your friend, remember? You can't kill me."
"I don't know you," Rosalyn said. "You're just an Evil King, and I will destroy you."
"We'll see." He grinned maliciously and threw an energy shot at Rosalyn, who ducked and rolled to the side. She lunged at Ari, who drew his sword and parried, then vanished in a black smoke. He reappeared behind her, but she had learned from Stan's mistake. Rather than turn to face him, she threw herself forward so that his blade cleaved through empty air.
"Not bad," he yelled with insane glee.
Rosalyn shook her head and lunged at him again. She was afraid it had simply been wishful thinking, but she had noticed that his parry was extremely clumsy. As he performed the move a second time, her suspicion was confirmed. "Who are you?" she demanded.
"Why whatever do you mean?" he asked far too innocently.
Rosalyn ignored Stan, who was demanding to know what she talking about. "You're not Ari," she explained viciously as she traded blows with him. "You're too clumsy, and your style is way off. Who are you?"
He fended off one last blow then vanished. Rosalyn ducked to the side this time; the ground where she had been standing suddenly became black and burned. "Who am I?" he asked, a manic glint in his eyes. "I am the King of Nightmares," he announced. "I am the lord of all things that dream. I am Incubus." He grinned viciously. "And…I am your friend Ari. His mind is dormant inside mine. Kill me, and you'll kill him, as well." He laughed maniacally, secure in the knowledge that he had already won.
"Stan?" Rosalyn asked quietly.
"I've never heard of him," he replied, just as quietly.
Rosalyn nodded, having forgotten that Stan couldn't see her. She knew what she had to do, but she did not want to. "He's possessed," she whispered. "Don't you know anything about that?"
Before Stan could respond, Incubus gave a wordless yell and charged Rosalyn. It was a foolhardy move; he was clearly daring her to take the opening. She dodged, then dodged again as he swung. "You can't kill me," he laughed. "But I can kill you."
"Ari!" Rosalyn yelled. She bit back a sob. "I'm sorry!" She lunged; her sword went in far too easily.
Incubus stopped and looked down as she pulled it back out. "No, that's cheating," he muttered. He sank to his knees. "No, she said you wouldn't hurt me. That's cheating…you can't kill…him…But I still win…he's still…part of me…" He grinned weakly, then his eyes went blank and he fell forward.
Rosalyn dropped her rapier and lunged forward. She carefully rolled him over and put her hands over the wound.
Stan started to ask if he was dead, but the abrupt return of his power rendered that inquiry void. He gratefully pulled himself out of Rosalyn's shadow and looked at the scene he was now able to see. Ari was still breathing, but barely. Rosalyn was in a trance, trying to heal him.
Ari had lost far too much blood prior to being possessed by Incubus. Between that, the trauma of possession, and being stabbed, Stan didn't think the boy would survive, even with Rosalyn's help. There was a time when he would simply have shrugged and killed Rosalyn while she was vulnerable. Now…
He tried to imagine life without his slave to torment and found that he could not. He had come to like having Ari around. He crossed his arms and attempted to look uncaring as Rosalyn roused herself.
"I've done what I can," she sighed. She noticed Stan and glanced up. "I don't think he's going to make it. It's like he's not even there."
Stan leaned down to hoist Ari over his shoulder. "He's not," he said simply.
The sun was just starting to come up when an entire army of wind chimes set up a caterwauling that would have made the dead yell for a little peace. Star shot forward ahead of Illisaith to meet Rosalyn and Stan. Although she was demanding answers, Illisaith was the only one who could tell.
"Would you do something about that?" Stan yelled.
Illisaith grabbed Star by the arm and held her still. "Star! Shut up!" To Rosalyn, he said, "What happened?"
"He was possessed by a creature called Incubus-" she began.
Star squealed painfully. "The Nightmare King?"
"You've heard of him?" Stan demanded.
Star nodded. "He is a creature like my brother and I. There were several of us created around the same time."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Stan interrupted. "Get to the point. How do we beat him, and can we still save my slave?"
Star shook her wings and sighed. "I wish brother was here…I can send you there, but Incubus is a devourer of souls. I fear you will not find Ari there any longer."
"Well, we have to try," Rosalyn said firmly.
Stan laid Ari on the ground. "That thing tried to take my property," he said in a low, dangerous tone. "It's not going to get away with it."
Star blinked. She seemed to smile, but her voice was serious. "This is not a place you can go physically, and defeating Incubus will be your only means of escape. There is no return if you fail." In the face of their unwavering resolve, she nodded once. "Then lie on the ground and close your eyes. The young one will guard you, and I will do what I can for young Ari."
Stan and Rosalyn were already down, but Rosalyn looked back at Star. "Any advice?"
"Incubus is old and mad," Star replied. "Be wary for you will face your worst fears there. What you see will depend on you. Stay together. I know no more. Are you ready?"
They signaled that they were, so she began to hum. It was low, quiet, and discordant. When she finally stopped, she sighed. "I do not like that song."
"Neither do I," Illisaith agreed. "Can you do anything for him?"
"I can keep him alive," she confirmed. "But it will be for naught if they cannot recover his mind."
"Never mind that now. Just do what you can." He wandered around to sit next to Rosalyn. Star chirped something, eliciting a mock glare from her friend, before she turned her full attention to Ari.
Illisaith watched her for a few minutes, then started playing with Rosalyn's hair simply because she wasn't awake to make him stop. Something about her seemed slightly off; when he realized what it was, he gave Stan an amazed stare and started to laugh. He wondered if Rosalyn had noticed yet.