"There is no calming him, I'm afraid." the healer said, shaking her head sadly at the pink Glen boy, his arms fused around the Gummadoon Captain.

Plucki nodded, wanting her to leave. She'd been summoned by Gumlittle at the cub's outcry. She meant well, but she really had little knowledge of what was going on. He knew, however. He knew all too well. The twisted dreams. The nightmares of things happened, things to come. They were only illusions, but they could still hurt and make permanent scars if untreated. The healer knew only physical wounds. She did not have any treatment for mental ones.

Thankfully, she left. Cubbi wasn't crying. He simply wouldn't let go.

"Still not willing to tell me about it?" Plucki asked with an awkward smile.

"It's Zorlock." Cubbi blurted out. "He's still inside of me. I'm him!"

"Ah. Those dreams." He tried to pass it off as nothing new, and something that would go away in time. Any time Aldi had had a bad dream, it worked.

"A dream? But how do you know for sure? Couldn't he still be lurking in me? How do I know? What I did--"

"Cubbi!" At Plucki's stern command, the cub silenced. "Did you hear what you said?"

"Yeah..." The tears started again. "Me. I did it. I let it happen. I know you say I didn't, Plucki, and that anybody would have had at least as hard a time... Hard? Gum, it was the hardest thing I've ever had to live through! I can't do it again!"

"No one expects you to. And Zorlock has been banished for good. He can't come back. I swear to you. Have I ever led you off, Cubbi? Hm?"

"...No."

"Don't you see? It's been your fears and doubts that fuel the dreams. You have to let them go or you won't be able to live happily again."

"Live? Happily? Plucki, I don't deserve to live! I should have died..."

"Cubbi Gummi, honorary knight or not, that is the last thing anyone should be allowed to say. My great grandmother Destini foretold you would live and save us, and continue to live a good life afterwards. Yes, Zorlock was inside of you when he ... he defeated her... I don't blame you one bit. You were and still are a victim, Cubbi, and you've got to get used to that idea. Destini was never wrong and I won't have you trying to live miserably. She wouldn't stand for it and neither would I. Swear you won't ever say that again!"

Oh, but Plucki was livid! Cubbi met his eyes. "I... I swear. Plucki?"

"Don't apologize. You didn't kill her. We all lost someone dear to us, Cubbi. That's the horrible part of war. But they saved what mattered. The lives of others. Destini saved all of us. Yaci and Lucki and the other squires. Everyone who fought and fell. They all saved us. It is now the job of those who survived to carry on with holding to their efforts, to keep what really matters, and to live happy and remember them. That is our job."

"What if... what if I can't remember how?" he squeaked, tears choking him. Plucki smiled, chuckled a bit. "That's where others come in. We aren't alone, Cubbi. We're all here. For you, for me, for whoever may need us. I... I need others to keep me fighting. Ramsus and Gumlittle and Blastus. We all fight for others. Little Tavi. She needs you more than anyone else. You have to be there for her, Cubbi. Won't you be there for her?" Cubbi bit his lip, knowing how much she missed her big brother. How could he possibly fill in for a family member? "I... I'll try." Plucki smiled. "Good lad. Now... Could you do something for me?" "What?" "Er... You're cutting the circulation to my left arm." "Oh." Their conversation faded to low whispers as dawn broke. The Gummadoon knight standing outside his captain's door silently moved away. He just wanted to know that Cubbi would be fine. He was worried. And he knew some of what the cub was going through. Guilt. Lucki. The boy had potential. Moreso than many of the others. He would have gone far. He had a full life to lead, and now? Dust and ground and spilt blood on a poor battlefield. Nothing...

The hardest thing a knight without a family has to do is bury his own squire.

The Gummadoon knight retired to his room and locked it so he could weep in peace.