The Golem Tower theme should work well here. You don't even have to play it: if you've played the game, it is BURNED into your memory at this point. Oh, and the old one, not the updated one with the choir.

Chapter Four: Our First Look Outside

PAIN. ONLY PAIN. FOR YEARS, EONS, UNTOLD ETERNITIES. NO MEMORIES, NO DREAMS, NO BEING. NO BEGINNING. NO END. ONLY A VAST, SHRIEKING VOID.

…

…Has there ever been a joke more bitter?

…No, no, this is not the time. Comprehension will come eventually. For now… knock 'em dead, kiddo.

I slammed back into my body with a gasp. I sat up, and promptly lied down again, clutching my head in agony. I heard a voice snap, "Hold on, hold on, I'm not done yet!" I felt a cooling current of energy run through my head. I sighed in relief as the pain disappeared entirely, and I opened my eyes to see Chrome staring at me intently, her hands on my temples. I coughed; my throat was lined with sandpaper. "Hey Chrome," I croaked as I sat up on my elbows, "do you have any water?" She silently handed me a cup. "Thanks." I swallowed a few welcome mouthfuls, and stood up with no problem; Chrome's healing magic was nothing to scoff at. I looked over to Lady Oriel.

She was sitting on the ground, legs tucked under her and wings folded. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was easy. It was a marked improvement from the last time I saw her; Chrome seemed to be an expert healer. Beside me, the healer herself got up with a groan. "Yes, she's resting now," she said. "But right now we've got bigger problems. If you're actually going to fight the F-fir Darrig, I'll help you, but I have to warn you: I'm mainly a healer, and after all of that I can only heal a few times before I run out of energy, so we'll have to make this quick. Most of the Fir Darrig took Marcas and cleared off, but it looks like the Ghoul and the Leprechaun are ready to fight in their p-place." I looked over there, noting that Abraxus and Dean were the only ones there; the others must have taken Marcas to a safer location to revive him there. I looked back to Chrome, who nodded, pale but determined, and we moved to meet with the two Fir Darrig.

We stopped roughly sit feet away from the pair. Feeling their animosity from there, Chrome seemed to shrink within herself. I rested my hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. She looked at me, and relaxed when I flashed a reassuring smile. Confident that she had my back, I turned back to the Fir Darrig. "Okay, you two," I called to them, "how do you want us to kick your asses?"

Dean snorted and said, "If you think you can take us, miss, I think a classic duel will do nicely, no need for anything fancy. Lead us to your circle." Abraxus growled in what I assumed was agreement. I turned to Chrome and asked, "Okay, so where's the circle?"

"We… don't have a circle."

"What?"

"We don't have a circle," she repeated, looking at me as if I was dense. Well, she got her nerve back right quick. "Who would use it? There are only fairies here, and Lady Oriel would usually blast whatever decided to break in."

"Oh yeah, because that system is working SO well right now."

"So what, this is my fault?"

"Well it isn't my fault."

If you two are done carrying on," Dean called out to us, taking off his hat as if to inspect it, "there's another option available to us."

I turned, yet again, to him. "Oh, really? What, pray tell, would that be, my good— GAH!"

Chrome pulled me toward her, allowing the spray of gold coins aimed for my head to pass by and hit the ground behind us, scoring deep grooves in the stone before fading away. I stared at them for a second, and rounded on the Leprechaun once again. "What the HELL, man!? Is taking my head off really your FIRST GODDAMN MOVE!?"

Dean waved his hands in front of him in a gesture of surrender, clearly flustered. "I threw the wrong coins, I swear! I meant to throw the putty ones that stuck to people's faces!" He pulled out a handkerchief and mopped the sweat from his brow. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I did it all arseways. I was just trying to distract you for a minute, honest." I wanted nothing more than to punch him, but he looked sincerely apologetic.

"Whatever." Just because he was sincere didn't mean I had to forgive him. "Let's just go outside and duel on the circle there." Dean seemed relieved, if only because I wasn't shouting anymore. "All right then," he said. "Abraxus, let's go." Abraxus nodded, and the two went through the ruined doors.

I turned to face Chrome, mulling over my words. She waited patiently for a few seconds, wanting to hear what I had to say. When it became clear that I was having difficulty, she cleared her throat. "Well?" she prompted. My face burned with embarrassment. "I'm trying to thank you, just give me a second!" I blurted.

She gave me a sardonic look. "'Thank you' is a favorite, I hear."

Shut up! You saved my life; I'm just trying to do it properly. 'Thank you' doesn't cut it, you know?"

"You don't have to thank me; anyone would do the same. And besides, we're on a tight schedule. Have you even been in a duel before?"

Annoyed and relieved at the shift in the conversation, I filed away the topic for later, promising myself I would make it up to her. "Lady, I don't even remember my own name. You'd think I had to, though, since I am a Dark Fairy; fighting is kinda what we do. I'd ask you the same question, but I think you answered that already. Just follow my lead, and we'll be fine." I smiled at her, but the look on her face made it clear that I didn't inspire confidence. She closed her eyes for a second and, her expression cleared, began, "About your name…"

My name? What does she…

A throaty bark reached us from outside. "Yeah!" Dean's distinctive lilt followed, "Hurry up in-" he stopped and began to cough. Chrome shook her head. "I-I'll…" she petered off, nervous. She breathed in, clapped her hands together, and continued, sounding a bit more confident, "I'll tell you later. For now, let's deal with these guys, okay?"

I sighed, a bit miffed about having to wait, and said, "Okay." Together, we went through the doors, and had our first look of Unicorn Way proper.

"Holy crap," I breathed to Chrome, "this place is a war zone." It was only a slight understatement. There were piles of rubble where homes stood, and the ones left standing were defaced by huge fractures in the walls. The street was scorched and almost completely shattered, the area closest to the Hedge Maze being the only exception that we could see. I could see the forms of ghosts farther down the street, most likely the Lost Souls that inhabited the Way. It's a bit weird for them to be this close, though. They're usually closer to the park. Apart from the Souls, the only things I could see were Dean and Abraxus, standing on the magic circle in front of us.

Chrome began to speak, but broke off as a wave of sparkling red fumes blew into us, sending us both into a coughing fit. In between hacks, she managed to choke out, "Oh god, it stings!"

"I know, right?" Dean croaked, eyes streaming. "I got a face full of the stuff earlier! It's coming from that manhole over there." He jerked a thumb behind him; there was a wall of the same red vapor rising from a semi-melted manhole cover. "Chances are," Dean continued, "that's from the latest batch of potions that Rattlebones guy is cooking up. Anyway, let's do this." Abraxus let out a long growl and clanged his shovel against the ground. "I'm… not really sure what that means, boyo," Dean said, puzzled.

"He said, 'here's to a good match'. Clearly, he's taking this seriously."

We all turned towards the speaker in shock; we didn't notice anyone else before. Leaning against a tree was… some guy. He was around fourteen or fifteen years old, and had blue hair and green eyes. He wore a white jacket and pants with red trim, and similarly colored boots with buckles. He was tossing a yellow scepter topped by a large, glowing pink gem from hand to hand. I could feel his energy from where I was standing: much smaller than Lady Oriel's, yet somehow more ordered and calm, like the surface of a lake. He was a wizard, and a powerful one at that.

He straightened and walked towards us with an airy smile. "So a duel, huh? That sounds like a lot of fun. That might even get Ni- get a friend interested. For once." For a moment, an unidentifiable emotion flickered in his eyes, and disappeared just as quickly. "By the way," the wizard continued, "the name's William. Will for short."

"Hello, Mr. ForShort, how do you – wait, no, that joke doesn't work in this situation. Damn."

Chrome gave me a reproachful look before she spoke to the wizard. "Hello, Will, I'm Chrome, and you mentioned a friend of yours? A… I want to say Nick?" The effect that name had when spoken was instant, and varied: Will's face displayed equal parts melancholy and irritation; Abraxus let out a bark of surprise, and dropped his shovel; I dropped to one knee, eyes squeezed shut, as pressure began to build in my skull. I couldn't hear anything over the roaring in my ears, though I could feel Chrome shaking me, trying to snap me out of it. The roar grew louder and louder until, all of a sudden, it stopped completely. The tingling in the back of my mind was gone; there was no one to sense. Somehow, some way, I was completely, utterly alone.

A few things changed this time around, but for the life of me I just don't care enough about things that don't matter to list them, as opposed to things that barely matter, such as my pride as a writer, that compels me to rewrite this story.