Meta stared for just a moment in shock before his battle instincts kicked in, followed by a surge of seething rage.
"You…" he snarled, shifting his weight, "YOU ABSOLUTE BITCH!" Meta landed a brutal kick to Eclipse's face that forced her deeper into the hole within the crystal. The lance slipped from Dark's body and fell within the crystal as the man staggered back. Eclipse looked up at the two, half of her face marred by cracks.
"I said he wouldn't survive without me, and I'm going to ensure that he doesn't," she cackled. Meta only watched as the hole continued to close, his expression hollow.
"Why…" he said, unable to find his words. Eclipse only gave him a sweet smile.
"Because I love him!" she said, finally falling silent as glass crept over her face. The crystal finally sealed itself, and Meta snapped out of his trance and rushed to Dark, catching him before he could fall. Meta laid him gently on the floor and immediately pulled open the man's jacket, hoping to better see the wound.
"Wow, did the passion of battle get to you this much?" Dark chuckled weakly, wincing as his stomach moved.
"Save your breath," Meta scolded, finding the wound and pulling Dark's undershirt up to expose it. Blood was drippling out of it at an alarming pace, and Meta mentally noted its location, running through a mental checklist of the anatomy there.
"I can breathe fine, but I'm bleeding badly I think," Dark said. Meta allowed his wings to meld into his cape, and he retrieved some gauze from his pocket dimension.
"I think your liver may have been punctured. I need to apply pressure and it is going to hurt," Meta said. Dark looked down at the steady stream of blood and swallowed thickly.
"Damn, alright. I'm ready," he replied. Meta pressed down firmly, causing Dark to cry out in pain and grasp the edge of the man's cape.
"External pressure like this will not stop internal bleeding. We need medical attention immediately," Meta urged.
"Mirror-Worlders usually shatter, they don't bleed like this. No doctor will have anything to stop this here," Dark said through gritted teeth. Meta blanched a little at his words, cold panic rising in his chest.
"Then I will use a healing charm to partially fix it and transport you to Dreamland. Our physicians can help you," Meta suggested. His heart sank as Dark gave him a sad look.
"Eclipse's lance negates healing magic," he explained, "And the Dimensional Mirror is at the bottom of Olive Ocean." Meta gave Dark a terrified look, his usual confidence having totally deserted him now.
"What do I do?" he asked.
"I don't know," Dark murmured, starting to feel light-headed. Both then turned to look at the room's entrance as footsteps rapidly approached. A child with black hair sprinted towards them, and Dark's face brightened a little.
"Shadow!" he cried. Shadow reached them and immediately knelt by Dark's head, his eyes wide.
"Dark, what happened?" he asked, looking at the blood seeping up beneath Meta's hands.
"We fought Eclipse and she got me with the lance. Where's everyone else?"
"They're retaking the castle and town," Shadow explained. He then turned to Meta with fear in his eyes. "Will he be alright?" Meta resisted the urge to lie.
"It is dire," he said.
"Look, I'm sure it'll be OK," Dark began.
"Don't lie to me! It looks really bad!" Shadow cried, tears welling up in his eyes. Meta felt like he was going to begin panicking at any moment, but he forced himself to at least appear calm.
"I am doing my best to control the bleeding, but he needs a doctor," he urged. Shadow shook his head and wiped at his eyes.
"The doctors here don't do this sorta stuff!" he wailed. Dark looked up at his brother, his eyes having dulled a little.
"Don't cry," he said, his voice sounding weaker. His skin was beginning to feel colder beneath Meta's fingers.
"He is going into shock. Reach into my cape and place the blanket there over him, Shadow," Meta said, his voice firm. Shadow hesitated for a second before reaching in, shuddering at how cold it was. He retrieved the blanket and spread it over Dark.
"I feel cold…Is that blood loss?" Dark asked.
"Yes, stay calm," Meta soothed. The gauze under his hands was now saturated with blood.
"I feel faint…"
"Stay awake, Dark!" Shadow sniffled. Dark's eyes slid shut, and he did not respond to several more attempts by Shadow to rouse him.
"I'm sorry…" Dark finally whispered. He then fell silent again.
"Dark!" Meta shouted. The man's eyelids fluttered, and he groaned softly. Meta grit his teeth.
"Brother, wake up!" Shadow sobbed, clutching at the man's chest.
"Dark, you are not dying here!" Meta snarled, pressing down harder on the wound. The man's breathing was becoming shallower.
"Dark…" Shadow's words melded together into an incomprehensible mess as he sobbed. Meta's eyes narrowed.
"You are not going to just die after all of this, Dark. Not after how hard you have fought, not after…" Meta fought through the lump in his throat, "…Not after making me like you." Dark had no response, and he was barely breathing. Something wet trailed down Meta's face, and he only realized he was crying when the tears dripped onto Dark, trailing over the small cracks in his stomach from the fight. Cracks…
"What?!" Shadow cried as Meta leapt to his feet, tearing off the blanket and darting for his sword. The child jumped in front of his brother as Meta returned, brandishing the weapon. "What are you doing?!"
"If I shatter him before the wound kills him, he will survive, yes?" Meta asked. Shadow stared blankly for a moment before he moved aside, hope brimming in his eyes.
"Yes, if the killing blow isn't the lance, he'll be fine!" he cried. Meta ran to Dark's side, and his blood chilled as he noticed how still the man's chest was.
"Forgive me for this," he muttered, plunging his blade directly into Dark's heart. Nothing happened, and Meta stood in hollow shock. Fresh tears began to drip down his face, and he fell to his knees. He buried his face into his hands and silently sobbed. Then, there was a faint crunching noise.
"Is he…?" Shadow asked, returning to his brother's side as Meta looked up at Dark. Tiny cracks began to radiate out from Galaxia that soon grew larger. The child broke into a huge grin as Meta got to his feet, for once happy that Dark was shattering.
"He will live," Meta said, almost feeling faint from relief. There would be time later to process why he'd been so crushed. For now he allowed himself to be happy as he watched Dark crumble into a pile of large glass shards. The pile was glittering and glinting, catching and bending the ambient light.
"Hey, other brother…" Meta wiped his tears onto his sleeve before addressing Shadow.
"Er, yes?" he asked, retrieving his sword and slipping it into his cape.
"Do you have anything to carry the shards with? It'll be a good few hours before he reforms, and he'd probably like to be in his room," Shadow asked. Meta rummaged in his cape for a minute before retrieving a large bucket.
"If I may, I would like to remain here until he reforms," he requested. Shadow took the bucket and began to dutifully gather the shards, being careful not to cut himself.
"You helped save him, and the kingdom. You can stay for a while if you want," Shadow said. Meta knelt to assist the child, offering a spare pair of gloves from his cape as well. Shadow took them gratefully and donned them.
"Thank you," Meta said simply. Shadow gave him a funny look.
"Though, don't you want to get home? Why stay here?" he asked. Meta silently gathered shards for a moment before responding.
"There are matters I wish to discuss with Dark," he responded.
(Bit of a shorter chapter here, but I think it's as long as it needs to be. The final chapter is coming soon, thank you to everyone who's stuck with this story!)