A quiet dread settled over the ruins of the mountainside. No one took their eyes off the place where Fone and Thorn had disappeared. Where Shard had betrayed them. Archibald was the only person who moved, dragging himself up to where the fragments of Shard's body had coalesced into the Extinction Drives. With one arm, he gathered them up and dragged them over to where the Councilman stood.
"Do it." He spat, kicking the Drives in the Councilman's direction.
"The outcome won't change," the Councilman replied. "Mon'Yaran has repaired the Dreaming. I can't stop him."
"Bullshit. You won't. That's not the same thing."
"You know nothing."
"I know enough. I've seen enough."
"I don't know who you are," the Great Red Dragon said, walking up to the pair. "But you knew Shard was a traitor. Start explaining."
"We don't—" Archibald shook his head. "A few years ago, Glaian asked me to enhance him, based on scans we took of Deyavara. But I needed more data. So I took some physical samples. They contained memories I don't think Deyvara even knew about. He fought with Nagratek a long time ago, and during their conflict his soul managed to do the impossible and reach out to the Dreaming from inside the dead zone. Mon'Yaran reached back, and a part of him slipped into Deyavara. Deyavara always thought it was a vision of the future, but Glaian and I eventually realized it was a set of orders Mon'Yaran managed to implant in Deyavara. That's why he was so dead set on waiting to use the Extinction Drives. It's probably why he did a lot of what he did. And Shard… He absorbed that piece of Mon'Yaran when he tried to eat Deyavara's soul. I pieced it together while I was watching Havaki here puppet my body around."
"Do not use that name," the Councilman hissed.
"It checks out," Ven said. She bent down next to Nagratek's body and placed the necklace on his chest. "It'd explain a lot about what Shard's been doing. Provoking Fone, stabbing Rankyne, being cagey about what he pulled from Deyavara and Linara… Hell, he might have been compromised even before Deyavara arrived. Nagratek and I just took him at his word."
"What can we do about it?" Gran'ma Ben asked. She looked over her shoulder. "What… What do we do about any of this?"
"We trust the Successor," the Councilman said. "I built him to do what I could not."
"We can't rely on Fone," Archibald said. "Mon'Yaran's done something to him. He's just as liable to help the bastard as hurt him."
"Thorn's with him," Ven said, standing up. "I trust her, at least. She's crazy enough to fight the Locust by herself, she's crazy enough to fight Mon'Yaran."
"It isn't a fight she can win," Eosutana said. She was only about half her usual size, and she wasn't recovering any. "Maybe she can keep the Successor from falling any further, but… It's out of our hands now. I'm going to tend to my siblings." She turned and floated off to examine Ronuba and Xondriss. The other dragons did the same for Breshet, and Bartleby ran over to Smiley's body.
"Fuck that!" Archibald shouted. He looked up at the Councilman. "Glaian was dead set on freeing you because he believed you'd be able to stop what's about to happen! You and I both know it's possible! Stop acting so high and mighty and just do it!"
"The Drives won't work," the Councilman reiterated. "They take too much time to charge up, and the cost would-"
"I'm not talking about the Drives," Archibald growled. The Councilman went silent for a moment.
"Ah."
"What's he talking about?" Ven asked.
"This bastard had Shard design the ontological cannon, and he killed the project when he realized what it would take. But he didn't think it was impossible. Pretty much the opposite, in fact. He knew it would work. But he also knew it wouldn't work without something to match the frequency to. He and Mon'Yaran are brothers. Their souls are similar enough that he could serve as the component Shard was missing. He thought he might have been the only thing capable of filling that role. Trouble was, he knew it would destroy him too. He and his brother are too alike for him not to get caught in the blast."
"That true?" Ven asked, looking up at the Councilman. He met her eyes for a moment, then looked away.
"You shouldn't know that," he muttered. "No one should know that."
"Possession's a two-way street," Archibald said.
Ven lashed out, striking the Councilman in the chest. He stumbled and fell to his knees but didn't fight back. She struck him again. Eosutana lunged at Ven, but the Councilman held up a hand.
"You could have stopped this!?" Ven asked, practically screaming. "You had means to kill Mon'Yaran this whole time, and you've been holding back!? You coward!"
"It will destroy me, completely. Shred my soul down to its last mote. I will not return to the Dreaming. I will face oblivion. That is a fate no one can begin to contemplate."
"I don't care! You swore to defend Mim's creation, but when push came to shove, you chickened out! You're a disgrace!"
"Even the Eternal Dream of Mon'Yaran would be better than oblivion. If you had been in my place, you would have made the same choice."
"No, I wouldn't," Ven spat. "What he's planning will be hell. An eternity of madness and suffering, absolute control over the universe. And end to everything. I've been around too long as it is. If it meant stopping him, I'd face oblivion smiling."
"Then you are braver than I."
"Oh grow a spine." Ven grabbed the Extinction Drive off the ground and pressed it into the Councilman's chest. "I'm not Shard, but between us we should be able to remake the cannon, so let's get to it."
"We?" the Countilman asked.
"Shard did the heavy lifting actually making the thing, but I figure we can put together something that you can aim. We just need something to fire. I've still got some energy left, but it won't be enough."
"Eosutana," the Councilman said, standing up. "The others. What's their condition?"
"You're not seriously considering this, are you?" she asked. "What about the Su—"
"We cannot afford the luxury of waiting for the Successor to finish this for us. Ven is right. Mon'Yaran must be destroyed, and I held back until now because I was afraid. So afraid I was willing to destroy the very thing I swore to protect, if it meant staying alive. No more. How much power do the others have?"
"Not much," she sighed. "But I can consolidate what remains." She spread tendrils of shadow out from her body and wrapped them around the corpses of the other Nightmare Entities in the area. Slowly, they melted into a black sludge that she began to absorb. She also connected one to Smiley, draining the last of the energy he'd managed to collect.
"It won't be enough," Ven muttered.
"You need power?" Gran'ma Ben asked. Ven nodded, and Gran'ma Ben whirled around. "Mermie!"
"Yes, Rose?" she shouted back from the hilltop. The crowd behind her hadn't moved. They were agitated and confused, but with no clear target.
"Get everyone praying again! The fight's not over yet! We'll need to channel it into this big lug here!" She slapped the Councilman on the back.
"I'll get on it!" Mermie replied.
"And now we wait," the Councilman said. Slowly, a mass of crystal began to form out of his back. Ven pressed her hands into it, and the two began to merge. "To see if your morass of humanity will be enough."
"We spent all that time fighting…" Ven sighed. "All that time dancing to Mon'Yaran and the Dragon Council's tune. And you could have ended it at a moment's notice."
"I know." He looked over his shoulder and gave Ven his best approximation of a smile. "For whatever it's worth, I am sorry. For everything."
"You sure changed your tune quick."
"All that Mim created will die soon. This is the end of all things. I can't afford to keep running away from reality. I made all my preparations to avoid facing the truth. I enabled Mon'Yaran's madness. I brought us here, endangered your world with my cowardice. I should be the one who pays the price for that, not you all. As much as I wanted to avoid it, this outcome was inevitable. Still, of all the enemies I made, I never thought you'd be the one to outlive me."
"Hey, we aren't out of the woods yet. This plan might just—"
A spear of darkness burst through the Councilman's chest, impaling Ven and breaking the crystal that had formed between them. It retracted, pulling the Extinction Drives with it back to Eosutana.
"Bloody… Stars…" Ven choked out, struggling to get to her feet. The wound on her chest wasn't closing.
"What are you doing?" the Councilman growled.
"What has to be done." Eosutana said. "I won't let you kill yourself. Even if the rest of creation has to pay the price."
"You will destroy everything we swore to protect!"
"Everything you swore to protect. My only obligation it to you, father. And I will see it through." She held the Drives aloft, and they began spinning. She reached out with her Dreaming eye, connecting with the triggering mechanism on the other side of the world. She unfolded it, and the other Drives began to resonate in response. The Dreaming began to churn, and the waves crashing through everything took its toll. The plants, the beings in creation most in tune with its changes, began to die first. The remains of the forest below them withered and shrank as the waves spread.
"Mermie!" Gran'ma Ben shouted. A wave of illusions tore forth from the old dreaming master, but they were a fraction too late. The cascading waves of Dreaming tore them apart before they could reach Eosutana. The power that was transmitted after them, however, made it through intact. The prayers, and the power they brought out of the crowd, spilled into the Councilman. He lit up a bright blue.
"I will not let it end here," he grunted. He lunged forward, grabbing the Extinction Drives out of Eosutana's hand. He struck a spear through her chest, and the two began to struggle for control. But he had power to spare, and she was nearly spent. He wrested control of the Drives from her.
A moment later, a golden light washed over him, and he collapsed to his knees. The instant before he blacked out, he gathered up every ounce of strength he and Eosutana had left and let the blast fire out. In an instant, he was gone. All that remained was the golden light that consumed everything around him.
Thorn crashed into Shard, driving a knee into his face. She grabbed either side of his head and slammed it into the ground before he could recover. The golden light continued to pour out of his eyes, and he drove an arm up at her, morphing it into a spear. She caught the tip of the weapon with one hand and twisted, breaking it off. She brought the weapon back down on him, impaling one of his eyes.
He wrenched, bucking Thorn off himself and tossing Fone's body aside. He swung a leg around at Thorn, backside elongating into a curved blade. She struck it aside, and it morphed again, shooting out a spear through her hand. She barely flinched. She closed her fingers around the spear and pulled Shard off balance. He staggered, and she drew her sword with her free hand, driving it into his chest. It stopped, imbedded a few inches deep, and Thorn sent a pulse of Dreaming energy through it. Shard flew back, spiraling into a nearby cavern wall.
"The Chosen One," Lorimar said, floating forward on a pedestal of vines.
"Move," Thorn snarled. "I have business with your master."
"In short order. But first, we must sort out the issue of the Vessels. It won't do to have three present and upset the balance. One of you must go."
"I'll leave when your king is dead." Thorn swung her sword, blasting a stream of energy at Lorimar. She broke apart, vines twisting around the incoming attack, and reformed with a lunge. Thorn stepped back, one hand going to her forehead, the other driving her sword into the ground. The resulting shockwave threw Lorimar back, and Thorn rushed forward to move past her.
Shard shot forward and grabbed Thorn's leg. He tried to wrestle her to the ground, but she kicked out, shaking him off with one swift motion. His hand morphed into a claw, and he raked it across her leg as he flew. She fell to one knee and swung her sword toward Lorimar again, keeping her at bay. She kicked off with her good foot, lunging through the gap between two of Lorimar's vines and landing next to Tom in front of the Crown of Horns. He was busy trying to wrench his hands free of the vines pinning him.
"Queen Thorn!" he exclaimed, momentarily shocked at her arrival.
"Hello Tom," she replied. "Glad to see you made it out." She swung her sword, cutting the vines just above his palms. He staggered to his feet, rubbing the holes in his hands. Traces of golden light leaked out from them, lashing out at the air around them.
"I was starting to get worried about you, you know," he said. "Did you find Fone?"
"Yeah," she said. She leveled her sword at Lorimar. "I'm going to kill your friend now."
"She's not my friend." He raised his hands. "And I'll deal with her." Golden light streamed out of his fingertips. He clapped his hands together, and the light compressed into an arc. It shot out of his hands, slicing through several of Lorimar's vines. The light burned at the vines, the fire snaking up toward Lorimar, and she disconnected them from her main body.
"That's new," Thorn observed.
"I'm linked into the Spark. I don't know how long this'll last, but—"
The trick's already gotten old, believe me. A voice rang out in the back of her mind. It was an eerily familiar voice. It reminded her of her parents yet sounded like neither of them. It felt like being able to remember her dreams upon waking, and the sensation that came with using her powers for the first time. She could even see it, dancing in the corner of her vision with tendrils of a shimmering, pale substance that she could never focus on.
"Mon'Yaran," she said. She glanced over her shoulder to see the Crown of Horns.
Chosen One. It said. I have watched you for some time. Your fight against the Locust five years ago was simply riveting to behold. It's a shame we cannot speak under more favorable circumstances.
"The feeling isn't mutual."
How unfortunate. Still, I'm looking forward to all the time we're going to have once the Eternal Dream begins. I've no doubt you Vessels and I would have much to talk about.
"Tom, deal with Lorimar," Thorn said. He stepped forward, and she stepped back, turning to face the Crown of Horns. Lorimar moved forward, and Tom ran to meet her. The golden light poured out of his hands in an almost liquid form, splashing across the cavern's glass floor. Shard shot forward at Tom, but the boy was prepared. He struck Shard across the face with a fist of gold, shearing half his face off in a single strike. He whirled that fist around on Lorimar, driving her back toward Fone's body.
"My Queen," Taneal said, staggering toward Thorn as she advanced on the Crown of Horns. "I cannot let you destroy the crown."
"Out of my way, Taneal," Thorn hissed, leveling her sword at the girl. "This doesn't end until he dies."
"I agree. But if we destroy the Crown, then we irrevocably upset the balance of the Waking World. Reality as we know it will cease to exist, crashing into and intermingling with the Dreaming World. The process will likely destroy them both."
"That's annoying," Thorn said. "What are our options?"
"We seal him off from this world, trapping him forever in the Crown."
"Sounds risky."
"It's our only viable option. All other paths lead to ruin."
"How long do you need?"
"More time than we have. I will be quick, but I need a source of power."
"Take this." Thorn drew a prayer bead out of a pouch around her neck. She tossed it to Taneal. "I'll channel as much as I can into it. I'll—" The room lurched, twisting in on itself and bringing Lorimar closer to the Crown of Horns. Fone was wrapped up in her tendrils.
"Stop them," Taneal said, immediately getting to work setting her sealing ritual back up. Thorn nodded and shot forward, splitting her power between her body and the prayer stone. She only had so much left in her, after going toe to toe with the Locust. She had to end this fight in the next few minutes, or she'd run out.
She closed her eyes and looked around, gauging where everyone in the room was and what they were doing with her Dreaming Eye. Then she propelled herself forward, two fingers hooking into Shard's head as he lunged for Tom. She slammed him into the ground and stabbed her sword through his chest, sinking the weapon in to the hilt. She twisted it, drawing the ground around it into a spiral to keep the blade locked in place. He struggled to get up, limbs changing shape and clawing at everything around him, but he was uncoordinated. Whatever Mon'Yaran had done to him, he wasn't all there anymore.
With Shard taken care of, she turned on Lorimar. Tom was keeping her away from the Crown, but only just. Thorn stepped forward, crossing the gap to Lorimar in an instant, and grabbed one of her vines. She pulled, sending a pulse of Dreaming energy down the entire construct and momentarily unraveling Lorimar's body. The First Folk reformed behind Thorn and tried to grab her limbs with vines, but Thorn ducked, letting Tom strike Lorimar square in the chest with a blast of energy.
She collapsed, clawing herself apart to keep the energy from consuming all the plants around her. Thorn clenched a fist, and all the Dreaming Energy in the area contorted, forming a vortex around Lorimar and grinding her into the ground.
"Thorn!" Taneal shouted. "I need more power!"
"Help her," Thorn said, casting a glance at Tom. "I can handle this."
"But she—" Tom protested.
"Whatever your reasons for fighting her, they can wait. Taneal can't. Put that energy of yours to good use."
"It isn't his," Lorimar grunted. A gust of wind blew through the cavern, carrying seeds with it. They latched onto the walls and sprouted at an alarming rate, lunging at Thorn. She swung her hand, exerting her own Dreaming Energy into the vines and breaking Lorimar's hold over them.
Shard finally managed to tear himself through the sword pinning him to the ground and lunged, tackling Tom as he ran to help Taneal. He grabbed the boy and ran, carrying him as far away from the Crown of Horns as he could. Tom grabbed his shoulders and began to burn Shard's body away, but the crystal deteriorated much slower than organic matter. Shard crashed through the defenses Taneal had set up at the entrance and slammed Tom into the ground.
Thorn moved to help him, but something moved out of the corner of her eye. Fone's body moved toward the Crown of Horns. Thorn reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him back. He looked up at her and smiled, but it wasn't his smile. It was malicious, contorted. Thorn felt bile rising in her throat, and she didn't know what to do. For a moment, the two stood there, staring at each other.
That moment was all Mon'Yaran needed to act. A pulse of Dreaming Energy flooded the room and thrusted Taneal out of it. Tom, attempting to pry Shard in half using the new hole in his chest, was thrown back as well, and the three tumbled over the side of one of the bridges. Thorn stumbled as well, her grip on Fone slipping, and he rushed forward. She slammed into his back, pinning him just in front of the Crown of Horns, and grabbed his wrist.
"Get out," she growled, placing a hand on the back of Fone's head. She forced her own energy through his system, trying to drive out the thing that had attached itself to Fone's soul. But the more she looked, the less clear the distinction between the two became. The parasite had spread too far to pull Fone free like she had last time. The inside of his body was a mess of two different consciousnesses melded around a core of power she couldn't look straight at for fear of burning her Dreaming Eye. That had to be the Spark.
She reached out and grabbed it, doing her best to look only at its edges. Its power burned her skin, and she wasn't even physically touching the thing. But she pulled as hard as she could, trying to break its connection with the thing worming its way through Fone's mind. The pain she endured was excruciating, like nothing else she'd felt, but she pressed on. It was impossible to drag out of him through brute force now that it had attached itself to him so thoroughly, but she could disrupt the power struggle. That disruption was what gave Fone's soul the upper hand. Cut off from its source of power for a moment, the parasite inside Fone floundered. Fone took advantage, forcing the creature back and taking control of his body again.
His first conscious act was to grab Thorn and pull her off him. One of Lorimar's vines erupted up from the ground a moment later, slicing through where she'd been a moment before. She tensed up, smoke rising from her skin as the energy of the Spark that she'd absorbed tried to find a way out of her body. She struck Lorimar's vine, forcing the energy through it, and melted the thing instantly. Whatever power she'd absorbed through direct contact dwarfed the trickle that Tom was receiving, and it made her wonder for a moment how much power Fone had access to.
He didn't get a chance to demonstrate. The Dreaming began to churn and burn as he and Thorn caught their breath. Mon'Yaran's soul reached out through it, and Thorn could feel the character of the hum in the back of her mind change. It felt sharper, angrier, like it was trying to tear her apart from the inside. She knew, almost instinctually, that someone had activated the Extinction Drives. She was out of time.
She lunged forward and swung a fist at the Crown of Horns. If life was about to be extinguished anyway, she might as well start taking risks. For a moment as her fist made contact with the crystal, she wondered what Gran'ma Ben and the Dreaming Masters would say about all of this. When the crystal didn't shatter beneath her strike, however, a sense of quiet dread overcame her. She tried to pull back, but space itself contorted around her, drawing her hand into the Crown. Fone's body was likewise subsumed. She tried to fight against it, but she didn't have the energy left to spare. She'd burned through her entire reserve getting Fone conscious again.
Clawing against the ground, desperately trying to find traction against the inexorable pull into the void beyond the Crown of Horns, she managed to catch a glimpse of Tom and Taneal, flying straight for the Crown of Horns on a jet of his borrowed power. Just before they could strike the crystal, a wall of golden light swept out from the Crown, and her vision went black.
"You're such a dork!" she laughed.
"It looks cool!" Phoney huffed, a smile crossing his lips. "You just don't appreciate good fashion."
Ana laughed even harder, nearly falling out of her chair. He'd bought the star-emblazoned shirt yesterday when it caught his eye. Mostly, he'd bought it because he knew it'd get this reaction out of her.
"I can't…" she wheezed, grabbing the table for support. She took a moment to calm herself down, trying her best not to get herself stuck in another fit of laughter. "It just looks so…"
"Sharp?" he asked. She burst out laughing again.
"Oh, god, now I'm imagining you at a meeting wearing that thing!" she said, trying to keep her voice as low as possible. Some of the other restaurant goers were staring, now.
"Unfortunately, ESI has a dress standard. When I'm in charge, though, I might make some changes."
"Stop!" she said. "Seriously, we're making a scene."
"Sorry," he said, sitting down across from her. "I couldn't resist."
"You'd better not wear that thing again," she said, shaking her head. "I can't take you seriously in it."
"I don't know," he said, smirking. "It's kinda growing on me."
"Oh god," She groaned. "Spare me, please."
"Alright, alright," he said, picking up the menu in front of him. As he did, his watch buzzed, and he checked it. Incoming call from Silas.
"Shit," he muttered. "My boss is calling, I'll be just a second."
"It's fine," she said. "I think I'll need a second."
He stood up from the table and leaned against the wall near the door. Outside, the fall air was cool, and he could feel the breeze of the ocean drifting through the open doors. He didn't have time to stand around admiring the scenery, though. He took the call with a swipe of his finger and put the watch up to his ear.
"Phoney!" Silas exclaimed. Phoney recoiled from the watch slightly.
"Hey, boss," he replied. "What do you need?"
"Are you in the office right now?"
"No, I'm out. I'm at Café Blanche with my girlfriend—"
"Bad time?" Silas asked.
"No, I'm good," Phoney sighed. "What do you need?"
"One of the boys in accounting brought something to my attention. The invoices we've been sending to the government for that new contract don't add up. Someone might be cooking the books. You were on the team that put it together, I was wondering if—"
There was a crash as glass broke inside the restaurant. Phoney jumped, swearing, and whirled around. He nearly dropped his arm as he realized what he was seeing. A pair of armed Bones were holding the establishment at gunpoint.
"Everything alright?" Silas asked.
"No," he muttered. "Call the police."
He lowered his arm and did his best to stay still. One of the Bones was going around with a bag, stuffing everyone's phones in it.
"Back to your seat," he growled, pointing his gun at Phoney. As calmly as he could, Phoney removed the watch and handed it over to the man. Better to be upfront about it and now cause a scene. The man snatched it from him, and Phoney headed back to his seat. Ana was staring at him, eyes wide. He was nearly back to his seat before the man called out.
"Hey dipshit!" The man shouted, stomping over to Phoney. He froze again. "Who did you call?"
"I was on the phone with my boss," Phoney explained, trying to keep his voice level. "I hung up when I saw the guns. I don't want any trouble."
"You gotta be kidding me," the other robber groaned. "We don't have time for this."
"Cops probably gonna be here any minute," the man holding Phoney at gunpoint said. "Let's cap the rubbernecker and leave."
"Are you crazy!" the other one hissed. "You're going to kill a guy, just like that?"
"We've got to set an example," the man said. He said something else, but Phoney didn't hear him. He couldn't hear anything. He stared forward looking at Ana while two people argues about whether or not he was going to die. The situation didn't feel real. He barely reacted as he saw Ana's eyes go wide. Well, wider. He was going to die, and he couldn't muster up the energy to stop it.
Then he saw Ana move. She sprang up from the table and shoved him aside a moment before the gunshot rang out. The robbers tore out of the building as quick as they could, and Phoney's sense of reality returned. Ana was clutching his chest, trying to keep herself upright. He wrapped his arms around her, and his hand touched something wet. He pulled it away to see blood. Her blood, running all over his hands. She fell over, the strength going out of her. He screamed.
Phoney screamed, his eyes tearing open. He stumbled forward, and someone put a hand against his chest to catch him.
"Easy," Glaian said, pushing Phoney back.
"Don't touch me!" he shouted, smacking Glaian's hand away. "Don't forget I've still got—"
"Won't work here," Glaian said. "Look around."
It was dark, so Phoney couldn't see much, but he did notice that Glaian's collar was gone. And he was wearing his robe, somehow. Phoney glanced down to see that his suit had been replaced by his old t-shirt. The floor below them was made of a web of gray fibers, and there was something that looked like a cocoon attached to the wall behind him.
"What the…" Phoney muttered. "How did we—" He thought back to the flash of golden light. They'd been in his office when it happened. Now, they were here. He didn't know how long he'd been unconscious, but he didn't think anywhere like this existed in the real world. Which usually meant one thing, when dealing with the Valley.
"We're dreaming," Glaian said, glancing around. "I've experienced similar situations, when I first obtained my power and when Thorn invaded my mind to kill me. But I've never seen anything like this."
"Are you sure we're not dead? Being trapped with you forever sounds like the exact kind of ironic punishment that's waiting for me."
"I don't enjoy this any more than you do, believe me. But the fact remains, we are alive."
"If we're not dead, that leaves one option," Phoney said. "I think we can assume Mon'Yaran reached his goal first. Which makes me wonder why we haven't been… I don't know, subsumed? Nagratek was pretty vague on what the outcome would be if he actually won."
"According to Deyavara, if Mon'Yaran were to gain power, physical reality would no longer exist. And our minds would become a part of the sea of energy that would be left behind. This… does not appear to be what happened. But we aren't dead, I can confirm that much. Dying was an altogether different experience."
"How do you—" Phoney shook his head. "Whatever. Let's get going."
"Where?"
"To find some other people, obviously. You found me, the others can't be far away."
"I don't think our physical proximity matters here," Glaian said. "It took me several minutes to find you after I broke out of my dream. I didn't seen anyone else around. I think our proximity in this place was due to our connection."
"Thank the start for mutual hatred," Phoney said, rolling his eyes. "If you got out, then we have to assume people like Thorn did as well. They're a lot better than you at all this Dreaming hoodoo."
"I won't argue, but the chance we encounter them is hard to estimate. I don't trust myself to locate any of your allies. But even beyond that, I fail to see the point."
"Giving up?"
"Had we done as I suggested, we wouldn't be in this mess. Now that we're here, I don't think we stand much of a chance in stopping what's about to happen."
"Why pull me out, then?" Phoney asked, waving a hand in the direction of the cocoon he'd been broken out of. "You could have left me in there if you were going to just wait for the world to end. Hell, you could have just stayed put yourself. But you didn't, did you?"
"…" Glaian was silent for a moment. He turned around and gazed into the darkness. "I couldn't find Archibald."
"What?"
"He hadn't had his Dreaming Eye removed yet, we planned to keep ours just in case we needed them. But I couldn't find him. I found you just by following a feeling in my gut that came over me whenever I thought of you."
"Can't say I feel the same." Phoney said.
"Keep your childish thoughts to yourself," Glaian said, snapping back around. "If I couldn't find him, then either he's dead or—" Glaian stopped. Phoney saw a tear form in his eye. "Or we had no bond to begin with. I don't know what to do without him."
"Spare me," Phoney scoffed. "You don't know what to do? Fine, I don't care. But I'm going to get my cousins. It's somewhere to start."
"One of your cousins is likely tied up at the center of this mess."
"I'm aware. But I don't have much of a choice. He's family, I can't just turn my back on him."
"Very well," Glaian sighed. "Lead the way."
Phoney closed his eyes and focused on Smiley for a moment. He felt a sensation in his chest, tugging him ever so slightly in one direction. They started walking, and the landscape shifted around them. Filaments moved, forming a bridge to take them to where they needed to go. After a moment, the platform Phoney had been on disappeared, and a new one came into view. Phoney could see a figure standing on it. When Phoney realized who it was, he broke into a run.
"Phoney!" Smiley shouted, waving at them as they approached. Phoney tackled him in a hug. After a moment, Smiley held him out at arm's length, looking him over. "Your shirt came back."
"We're inside a dream," Phoney said.
"Figured as much," Smiley nodded, setting him down. He held his hand near his face and closed his eyes.
"…What are you doing?"
"Tryin' to visualize a cigar in my hand. It'll help with my thinkin'."
"Is he always this bothersome?" Glaian asked, walking around Smiley to examine the cocoon.
"Who's this?" Smiley asked.
"Glaian," Phoney said, glaring as hard as he could at the man. Smiley's eyes went wide, but Phoney cut him off. "It's a long story, but he's on our side. For now. We're looking to do something about this whole mess."
"Are we?" Glaian asked. "I thought we were looking for your cousins."
"I'm improvising. I figure it can't hurt to keep trying."
"Fair enough," Glaian shrugged. He turned to Smiley. "How did you get out?"
"What d'you mean get out?" Smiley asked.
"Phoncible and I were trapped in dreams. I broke myself out, then freed him. How did you escape."
"I didn't." Smiley shrugged. "I just woke up here, next to Bart."
"That's who's in the cocoon?" Phoney asked.
"I think so. Gut feelin', y'know?"
"Give me a moment," Glaian said, thrusting a hand into the cocoon. It glowed, and a crack formed along its length. Glaian jerked his hand to the side, and the cocoon broke open. Slowly, he and Smiley pulled Bartleby out of it.
"Wha…" Bartleby muttered as Smiley helped him to his feet. "Where are we?"
"Dreaming," Glaian said. "I'm getting a sense for how this place is constructed. What we're seeing is something constructed so our minds can process what's happening, but on a fundamental level we're just looking at raw Dreaming energy. It's directionless right now, so I can break whatever hold it has over people's minds if I can reach them. I don't know how long that'll last, though."
"We should get moving, then," Phoney said. "You two alright to move?"
"I think so," Bartleby said. "I'm a little confused, but that's not really new. Did Ven's plan work?"
"The last thing I remember is fighting the Locust," Smiley said. "But somehow I doubt it."
"The Locust!?" Phoney exclaimed. "What the hell did I miss?"
"The Locust possessed Rankyne," Bartleby said. "I think Fone and Thorn killed it, though? Then that Shard guy dragged the two of them through a tear in the air, I'm not sure what that was about. The Councilman came back too, and he and Ven started arguing with another Bone about how to stop whatever was about to happen next. I was trying to get the rats in line after the Locust arrived, though, so I didn't catch all of it."
"Well…" Phoney paused to take that in for a moment. "At least Fone's back."
"About that…" Smiley said. "Something was wrong with him when we found him. He'd attacked Thorn, and he attacked us too. I'm not sure if they managed to shake him out of it."
"Concerning," Glaian said.
"We can't do anything about it standing around here," Phoney said. "Come on, let's get the others and go find Fone."
Fone felt like he was in the middle of a vortex. Everything moved violently around him, but he was surprisingly calm. The world shifted as he slipped beneath the surface of the Crown. Everything lost its shape, blurring together into a sea of colors and sounds. Lights flashed, vague shapes moved in the world beyond, and a golden light permeated the whole experience. When the world came to a halt, he wasn't inside the cavern in Tanen Guard anymore. He was standing in a meadow of flowers. As he looked around, however, the scenery shifted. From one perspective, it was woodlands, from another a great desert.
"Where are we?" Tom asked, getting to his feet. Taneal was still clinging to his back, but she didn't look conscious.
"Everywhere," Fone said, tilting his head to see a blizzard approaching. "Or maybe nowhere."
"We're dreaming," Thorn said. "We're inside the Crown of Horns right now. Pretty soon, everyone else is going to be in the same predicament."
"Thorn, if we're about to die then—"
"Not the time," she said. She still wouldn't look at him. "We'll talk after this is over."
He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing felt adequate. He wanted to apologize, but where would he start? One the other hand, there was a good chance they didn't live to see this fight through, and—
She was right. They need to focus on the problem at hand. He shook his head and tried his best to refocus.
Stubborn until the end. Mon'Yaran's voice rang out around them. I would admire that about you Vessels if it wasn't such a hinderance.
His body materialized between the four of them. It only had the vaguest of substance, an outline giving shape to a being of pure light. He didn't even have eyes, unlike the other First Folk. He was raw presence, unrefined by a physical form. Fone felt that dreams were the only place he could really take proper shape, if this could even be called a shape.
"Tom, wake Taneal," Thorn said, putting herself between him and Mon'Yaran. Filaments of silver sprung up from the ground, wrapping themselves around Thorn's arms, and she broke through them. She charged at Mon'Yaran, swinging a kick for his "head". He didn't move, but she missed all the same, her course adjusting at the last moment to avoid striking him. She sprung up and tried to grab him, but he slipped away again.
He put a hand on her forehead, and a dozen wounds manifested across her body. Scars on her arms, legs, and chest began to bleed as old, long-forgotten wounds resurfaced. She collapsed, fighting through the pain to take another swing at him.
I'll deal with you in a moment. He said, floating back. A wave of energy tore through the space they were in as he did, striking his body head on. The Coulcilman's body wrapped itself around Mon'Yaran, and Ven's body materialized above them. She reached out, hands gripping Mon'Yaran's "head", and the entire place shuddered.
Look what you can accomplish when you work together. He said. Fone couldn't tell what emotion he was trying to convey. Amusement? Or resentment?
"Burn," Ven spat. Her face seemed to shift as she spoke, parts rearranging themselves to look like people Fone didn't recognize before shifting back.
I would, but I have work that still needs getting done. Successor, if you would?
Fone's body lurched forward, and he could feel the thing inside him struggling to take control again. He glanced down to see the surface of a lake stretching out in every direction. His reflection bore a malicious grin. It moved, and Fone's body tried to match it. The movements were sluggish, but he trudged toward the scene of the struggle.
"No," He grunted, pulling himself back. As he did, however, his hand raised, and a golden light shot out of his fingertips. It struck the Councilman, and his crystalline body began to crack. Fone grabbed his outstretched hand and pulled it down, aiming the blast away from the Councilman.
"You can't stop me," his reflection hissed. "Your body is my vessel to do with as I see fit!"
"Screw that," Fone said. "I'm not your puppet. I'm done being jerked around. If you don't—"
His hand lurched up again, the beam striking the Councilman's leg, and he moved another step closer. He kicked his foot out to disrupt the reflection, and he lost another step. Gritting his teeth, he unleashed golden light from the hand he could still control, burning away his fingertips and forcing himself to recoil. He collapsed to his knees, but his attack on the Councilman stopped.
In that moment, Lorimar erupted from the ground. Her true self, a wispy form made of leaves on the wind, covered the Councilman's body and began to jam itself into the cracks. The two of them intermingled with each other, melting together, until the room's vibration took on a different characteristic. Ven jumped forward, trying to separate them, but there was too much energy swirling around the two First Folk. They began to break apart, and Mon'Yaran floated free of the Councilman's attack.
"Ven…" The Councilman said as his presence faded. "I'm… Sorry…"
Loyal to the end. Mon'Yaran said, his head tilting slightly to examine where Lorimar had disappeared. Ven charged at him before he could say anything else. She was moved aside, just as Thorn had been, but black tendrils erupted from the ground to pin him in place. Nagratek's face loomed over her shoulder, and she struck Mon'Yaran in the head again. A pulse of energy traveled through him, and his form broke apart for a moment.
It then reformed elsewhere, uncontained by Nagratek's tendrils. He waved a hand, and Ven was thrown back. Nagratek's face broke up into a mist of shadow behind her, and she fell to one knee. He pressed a finger against her forehead, and she began to come apart at the seams. Pieces of different people flew off her, and she screamed.
Now if there will be no more interruptions, Mon'Yaran said, turning on Fone. I believe it's time we begin.
In an instant, Mon'Yaran was in front of Fone. He tried to run, but the pain in his hand was still too great. Mon'Yaran placed a hand on his head, and he froze. He could feel power being drawn up from his body and into Mon'Yaran's. Fone forced more power out of his good hand, carving a furrow in the ground. He used the resulting momentum to swing it up, aiming it at Mon'Yaran's head. The golden being was forced back, lifting his hand from Fone for a moment.
Another set of beings entered the clearing in that moment. Glaian ran forward, trying to swing a punch at Mon'Yaran, and a spike of silver filaments struck him in the chest. He tore himself forward, trying to get at Mon'Yaran, but collapsed at the First Folk's feet.
You are all anomalies. Mon'Yaran said. You, the First Queen, the Smiling One, the Third Vessel. None of you should be allowed to exist. So why do you all insist on getting in my way?
"I'm not really sure," Glaian wheezed. "It just seemed like the right thing to do."
Drivel. Mon'Yaran drove a hand through Glaian's chest, incinerating him from the inside out. When Glaian was gone, he turned his gaze on Fone again, but Thorn grabbed him from behind.
"Should've killed me when you had the change," she grunted, driving a hand through his chest. He dematerialized, and she whirled around, driving a hand into where he reformed and forcing him to move again.
Fone looked around, trying to think of a way to help her fight, and felt someone grab him by the shoulder. It was Taneal.
"Have faith, Fone Bone," she said, smiling. Tom put his hand out, and Fone grabbed it. Then Taneal pressed her hand against his head, and he felt a wave of energy pass through him. Tom latched onto that energy and pulled, dragging the thing inside Fone with it. He could feel himself go empty as the creature left, a hole tearing through him that couldn't be filled. But it was out.
It screamed as it emerged from his body in the form of the child it had adopted to deceive Fone. Tom dragged it away, smoke rising from his hands as they burned. He pressed the thing to the ground and hunched over it.
"Tom," the boy said. "Big brother, please, you're—"
"You are not my brother," Tom said. Before the creature could reply, he slammed his forehead into its own. A flash of light tore through the clearing, and when it did, Tom and Havaki were both gone.
A sound emanated from Mon'Yaran's body as he threw Thorn back. He rushed toward Fone, the air cracking around him. He tried to grab Fone, but Fone held up a hand. Instantly, Mon'Yaran's momentum halted. Without Havaki in his body, he had full control over the power he'd been granted by the Spark. He could feel it eating him away from the inside out, now that he was empty.
"This was my fault," he said, looking over at Thorn. "I'm sorry about everything. About hurting you and pushing you away and not believing you when you came to rescue me. I just wanted you to be safe. I never wanted any of this."
"Fone…" She struggled to her feet. "None of that matters right now. As long as you come back alive, I don't care. I love you, I—"
"I love you too," he said. He smiled at her with the same smile he wore the first time he died. "And I'm sorry about this, too. But at this point, I don't think there's any other way."
He stepped forward and grabbed Mon'Yaran's body. If Mon'Yaran could draw energy from him, then maybe the reverse was true. He could drain Mon'Yaran of the Spark he was supposed to possess, and end this before it could go any further. As he drew power, the world shifted around him yet again. Thorn screamed at him, trying to drag herself closer, but he felt his grip on Mon'Yaran's Spark coalesce.
So this is how it ends. Mon'Yaran said. Very well, Successor. Let us see what the future holds.
As Fone ripped the Spark away from Mon'Yaran, the world winked out of existence.
Fone and Mon'Yaran stood in the void, watching the universe create itself. Watching the Spark being torn in two, a pair of realities emerging side by side, right next to each other but unable to interact. They watched as a scientist from one world discovered the Spark and tried to tap into its power. They watched as his efforts opened a rift between realities that threatened to destroy everything. They watched as he set a plan in motion to save his people by merging them with the energy source he had tapped just as his reality succumbed to its grip. They watched as he emerged on the other side to a world that had succeeded where he had failed, a world he had put in danger through his recklessness. A world that would be torn asunder by his mistake if he didn't enact the same plan here.
I was arrogant. Mon'Yaran said. I thought I could control its power, but I underestimated what I was working with. And my reality paid the price. I did what I had to do to save my people, Successor. And I did my best to save yours too, despite everything that was working against me.
"I don't believe you," Fone said. "You created the Lord of the Locusts, killed Mim, and fought against your own brother to save everyone?"
In a manner of speaking.
"And the fact that you'd be the uncontested ruler of this new reality wasn't a motivating factor at all in your plans?"
Maybe it was. Maybe I knew full well what I was doing, and I'm just trying to find excuses now that I've failed. I can't remember the truth of the matter anymore. I remember the lies, though. The Spark was never alive, I fabricated that story after I realized what I'd done to my reality was irreversible. Mim wasn't created by the Spark, I made that up too to convince the Dragon Council that they'd been lied to. She simply succeeded where I had failed and managed to harness the Spark's power without causing untold damage. I learned a great many things from her, even if I was jealous of her.
"She could have helped you, you know," Fone said. "Put your mistake right. Given you another option than making the same mistake twice."
Maybe. But I was too stubborn. In my mind, the only way out was through. I was blinded by the prospect of being able to achieve my dreams after so many setbacks. I dug in and pushed forward with a plan I knew she'd be able to stop. So I had her killed. I often think about what the Waking World might look like had Mim been allowed to maintain the balance. Maybe she could have saved it, like you say. Maybe the end would have come swifter and harsher without me to guide it. Who knows?
"If you're not lying, then reality is going to tear itself apart in the next few minutes," Fone said. "And our only option is to erase it ourselves and rule over what's left? I don't buy that. There has to be something else we can do. If the Spark opened the tear between our world, maybe it can close it too."
The cost would be too great. We are bound to the Sparks and undoing that tear would destroy them both. It would destroy us both.
"I can live with that," Fone said. "As long as it means Thorn and my cousins are safe. Someone has to take responsibility and stop this from happening."
I cannot stop you. I don't think either of us will live much longer anyway. But something will need to mediate the Dreaming in this reality. Without Mim or I maintaining the balance, the world will suffer all the same.
"I think…" Fone thought back to what Nagratek had said about the Successor. It had two souls. He had two souls. "I have a solution for that."
I see. It seems my brother will get his revenge on me after all. Fitting, I suppose. Maybe if there is a god, this is my punishment?
"Maybe. I don't think it's up to us to say."
No. Perhaps not. Goodbye, Successor. And good luck.
With that, Mon'Yaran's soul vanished, leaving Fone behind with the Sparks. He merged them together and fused them with his inner soul. The place Havaki had been inhabiting. Then he forced that energy into the tear in reality, drawing it closed. He could feel the Sparks draining as they burned through their energy, and as the tear sealed shut, they were spent. His inner soul cracked, and he felt the emptiness intensify. If he didn't fill it, he'd die. As the Dreaming flowed through him, however, he dipped his mind into it. Deeper than he'd ever been before, willingly or otherwise. Until he could feel the balance point of it. With the tear gone, it wasn't a precise location, but more of a state of being. He filled himself with that state, taking it on and becoming it.
He felt the world tip and sway, threatening to fall over. And he reached out steadying it with his own power. Not the Spark's power, just his power as a living being. His will, exerted on the universe, to make stable that which naturally tended toward chaos. As long as he held that balance, the world would keep on turning. He watched, barely able to see through the depths of the Dreaming, as Thorn and the others were ejected from the Crown of Horns. As everyone slowly regained consciousness. As the world turned on. He smiled. He wanted to be with them so badly it hurt. He belonged there. But he was needed here. He hoped they'd understand.