Reality and Fiction

by TsubameSutaa

Fictional characters, both the good and the bad, are appearing all over Wands & Worlds County; now they'll have to band together with the local residents to fight off the bad characters and survive. Co-written with a friend. K-plus to be safe.

14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

POV: Spottedfire

I knocked on the door, vaguely wondering what was so important for Sheila to have sent a message asking for everyone to gather at her house. The Skitty in my arms cocked its head up at me and mewed softly. I had found it sleeping at the foot of my bed this morning, with no clue of where it had come from. Sheila had asked us to bring fictional characters too, so I figured I might as well bring it along.

The door opened to reveal Sheila with a large toad sitting on her shoulder. She looked a little bit harried. "Hello, Spotty," she greeted. "Everyone else is in the living room if you want to go ahead and join them."

"Okay," I said, following her as she led the way into the house. I turned the corner—then stopped dead in my tracks. The living room was literally stuffed, with Wandies and fictional characters all over the place. I stepped carefully through the crowd, nearly tripping over a large dog—wolf?—on my way to the couch. Starsight and Rabbitfoot were already sitting there, squished in with a couple fictional characters on either side. "Any room left?" I asked.

"Sure, there's plenty of room left!" Rabbitfoot said, elbowing Starsight over and squishing to the other side to make room between them. Starsight let out a slight yelp as she was shoved against the man she was sitting beside; Fai, I think his name was. She blushed bright red, and he gave her an almost apologetic smile as I sat down next to her.

"Aww, you got a Pokémon?" Rabbitfoot asked, reaching over to pet the Skitty. It purred, pushing its head against Rabbitfoot's hand.

"Yeah, I found it sleeping at the foot of my bed this morning," I replied.

"It's so cute," Starsight said, giving the Skitty a scratch behind its ears.

I noticed for the first time that her hands were both thinly wrapped with bandages. "What happened to your hands...?"

"Ah, it's nothing," she said, quickly dropping her hands into her lap. "It's just what's left of the burns I go the other day...you know..."

"Didn't Emily-chan heal those?" Fai asked.

"Yeah, most of it. I told her that she should save some of her energy for the others..."

"You should've gotten them fully healed," he said, a hint of worry in his voice.

"It's nothing, really! It doesn't hurt that much, and it'll heal on its own anyways. Emily has about a hundred other Wandies to worry about—"

Their conversation was cut off when a white creature resembling a rabbit bounded over to us, leaping up into Starsight's lap. It was carrying what looked like a shard of glass in its paws. "Can Mokona sit here?" it asked.

"Sure, that's fine," Starsight said with a small smile.

Something glimmered in the corner of my eye, and I turned my head to see the ghostly outline of a silver cat perched on Fai's shoulder. "Do you mind if I watch from here?"

"Not at all," Fai responded.

I glanced about the room, taking a quick count of who was there. Most of the group was made of Wandies, all crammed together closer than sardines in a can. I wasn't surprised that I could hear several people talking about claustrophobia. There were several fictional characters scattered here and there too, though admittedly I didn't recognize many. Just in sight near the stairs I spotted a small knot of ThunderClan cats; Firestar, Brambleclaw, Squirrelflight, Sandstorm, Leafpool, Jayfeather, Lionblaze, Graystripe, Dustpelt, and Hollyleaf. They all looked incredibly jumpy to be in an enclosed space packed to bursting point with Twolegs. I both pitied and admired them for having the courage and patience to put up with it.

"'Scuse me, coming through," a voice said, and I turned my head to see a boy walking through the crowd towards us. And when I said through, I meant literally. He was walking through the people in the room as if they weren't there; I saw several people shiver after he passed through them, as if hit by a sudden cold wind. "Gosh, it's packed in here, isn't it?" he said, sitting down between Rabbitfoot and the bespectacled boy on her other side, where there was absolutely no room whatsoever.

Rabbitfoot shuddered and shifted over in my direction as far as she could go. Which was pretty much nowhere. "Jeez, Danny, you have no idea how weird that felt."

"Well, hey, at least I'm saving some space," he said, shifting position so he was sitting on the back of the couch instead.

"You could've picked a better spot," Rabbitfoot muttered at him. She glanced over at the boy who had originally been sitting there. "This is probably your fault, Watanuki," she said in a slightly teasing tone. "You're the spirit attractor after all."

The boy, Watanuki, went red in the face, and seemed to be about to reply when Sheila's voice echoed above the noise. "Are we all here?"

"Still waiting for a few more Wandies!" Ashtail replied.

"But just a few, right?" Sheila asked. "We might as well get started then."

Something brushed against my shoulder, and I twisted around to see Lilacheart leaning over the back of the couch. "Starry, you've got Mokona?"

"Yeah," she responded.

"Okay then. You're going to have to hold the shard against its forehead in order to amplify its power enough to reach Yûko."

Starsight gave her a nod in return. Mokona handed her the glass shard, which she took and turned around so the point was facing Mokona. The little white creature reached forward and tapped its jewel against the shard. "Mekyû!" it cried, its eyes opening so wide that I jumped. The jewel shimmered, and a beam of light emitted from it, projecting an image on the far wall. Everyone fell silent as the image cleared to reveal a woman with long black hair, surveying us with scarlet eyes.

"Yûko-san!" Watanuki cried, sounding strangely overjoyed.

"Ah, Watanuki, I was wondering where you'd gone off to," the woman, Yûko, said with the air of one not surprised. "I have already compiled a list of chores that need to be done when you return." She lifted a rather thick scroll into view.

Watanuki groaned audibly and thumped his head against the back of the couch.

"Yûko...san," Sheila greeted.

"Just call me Yûko if you'd prefer," she replied with a slight smile. "You are Sheila, leader of Wands and Worlds County, correct?"

"Yes, if you'd like to put it that way. We're actually waiting for a few more Wandies to get here, but we figured we might as well get started anyway."

No sooner had she said that than the front door banged open. There was the sound of rapid footsteps down the hall, and milliseconds later Sevenclaws skidded into view. "Yûko-sama(3!" he cried.

"Seven, I am not even going to ask how you managed to put a heart into that," Starsight stated.

"It be extreme skill, LTOL-san," Sevenclaws responded.

Starsight groaned and thumped her head against the back of the couch.

"We're just about to start, so find a place where you're comfortable," Sheila interjected, nodding to Kitten-chan, Adderfang, and Thunder, who had followed Sevenclaws inside. The four of them managed to squish themselves into the crowd—how I'll never know. Once everyone was settled again, Sheila turned back to Yûko. "Lilac and Soundy said you'd be able to give us an explanation of the...events that have happened here."

Yûko nodded. "There have been many different people and creatures that you assume to be fictional appearing in your town, correct?"

"That's right," Sheila said with a nod that was instinctively mirrored by most of the people in the room.

"Three separate powers are behind the cause of these events. Three powers that some of you know well." She cast her gaze about the room, hesitating slightly on Syaoran and Fai, two girls wearing gleaming jewels at their wrists, and the group of ThunderClan cats gathered by the stairs.

"...What are these powers?" Sheila asked slowly.

"There are three in total," Yûko said, turning to look at Syaoran and Fai again. "Sakura's feather is one."

I could practically feel their surprise as I noticed them exchanging a quick glance out of the corner of my eye.

The Time-Space Witch turned to the two girls she had lingered on earlier. "A power crystal of Avalon is another."

The red-haired girl gasped, while I saw the raven-haired girl's hand tighten slightly in the ruff of the silvery-white wolf that stood beside her.

"And the near entirety of StarClan is the final power."

Yowls of shock echoed by the staircase as the news sank into the ThunderClan cats. I heard a sharp inhalation of breath, and turned my head slightly to see the ghostly silver cat on Fai's shoulder tensing. Yûko glanced at her. "I say the near entirety because you managed to escape, correct, Brightspirit?"

The cat, Brightspirit, nodded slowly. All eyes in the room were now on her. "It was nearly a moon ago now...it began back by the lake in the Clan's real territory. We're not sure what it was, but some power managed to completely overshadow us, taking us captive. I managed to escape at the last moment, though when I did it was in different skies than before, even though the Clans were still there." She glanced over at Sheila. "It was these skies, the ones in the county."

Starsight and I exchanged a look of surprise. If what Brightspirit had said was true, that would mean that the Warrior cats had been in Wands and Worlds County a full week before Syaoran, Fai, and Mokona's initial arrival.

A patch of ginger moved in the corner of my eye, and I turned my head to see Firestar weaving through the crowd until he could leap up onto the arm of the couch next to Watanuki. "That would explain why StarClan has been so silent this past moon," he said quietly with a glance at Leafpool and Jayfeather. Brightspirit gave him a nod of confirmation.

"Where are they now?" Sheila asked Yûko.

"Currently all three powers are residing in a dimension parallel to yours," the Time-Space Witch responded. She glanced at Mokona. "The barrier is interfering with some of your powers, which is why contact has not been possible without this mirror shard."

"Mirror shard?" Lilacheart echoed.

Yûko gave a short nod. "It originates from a video game I believe some of you are familiar with."

"Wait, not Kirby and the Amazing Mirror?" Rabbitfoot asked suddenly.

Her only response to Rabbitfoot's statement was a slight smile. "Dimension travel will not be possible for you, Mokona, until the powers have been neutralized. You will have to use the mirror shard instead to traverse between the two dimensions."

"Use the mirror shard? How would we do that?"

Yûko glanced about the room again. "Are any of you familiar with the book The Subtle Knife?"

There were a few yeses from several of the Wandies.

"The shard will work much in the same way as the knife. You will need to hold out the shard, feel for the correct dimension, and cut through to it."

"I volunteer!" Rabbitfoot said, throwing her hand up in the air to a few giggles from several Wandies. After a moment, however, her face fell slightly. "I wouldn't have to cut off my fingers, would I?"

Yûko shook her head. "This mirror shard is not the subtle knife. Many of the latter's requirements do not apply. In addition, the barrier becomes a boon in your case. It will block other paths, so there is only one way to cut, into the dimension where the three powers are being held."

Rabbitfoot nodded quickly. "Can I try it now?" she asked eagerly.

"Not right now, if the shard breaks contact with Mokona's jewel we'll lose the transmission," Starsight muttered back at her.

"It's all right, I've told you what I can for now," Yûko interjected. "If you need to contact me again, touch the shard to Mokona's jewel and a connection will be established instantly." She gave us all a nod. "I wish you all the best of luck."

"Thanks!" several people called out to her as Starsight removed the shard and the image of Yûko flickered and faded out.

Rabbitfoot held out her hand, and Starsight passed her the mirror shard. "Are you really going to try it now?"

Rabbitfoot shrugged slightly as she took the shard. Before she did anything, though, she cast a glance over at Sheila. She looked hesitant, but at last she sighed. "Be careful. Start small to begin with."

"Okay," Rabbitfoot answered, raising the shard in front of her. The room fell silent as she closed her eyes and held the shard out in the air. Several long seconds passed, then she slowly moved the shard down, as if cutting something.

Cutting something indeed.

As she moved the mirror shard, I saw a slit appear in mid-air, a slit through which I could see nothing but darkness. It widened as she drew the shard downwards, until it was about a foot long. It looked almost exactly like the red scratches that had been dumping fictional characters all over the county, except for the fact that it was pure black instead of red.

Whispers broke out across the room as the scratch hung there for a few moments before sealing itself up again. Sheila took a step forward. "I think that we'll definitely be using that later," she said over the noise. "But for now, I don't want anyone trying to use the shard to go through into the alternate dimension Yûko mentioned. For now, we'll keep to what we've been doing so far. Everyone, go back home and rest for a bit. Training will start again at three, at the school."

There were many nods and murmurings of various yeses as the Wandies and others got up to leave. I stood, gathering the Skitty into my arms again.

"Where're you headed?" Starsight asked me as she stood beside me.

"Probably just back home, like Sheila said," I answered. "I've got to figure out some living arrangements for this Skitty here."

She smiled. "Have fun with that then," she said. "Meet you back at the school later?"

"Sure," I agreed, weaving my way through the crowd and heading out the door.

—

POV: Rabbitfoot

A black void.

...Yeah, that's pretty much how I would describe it.

I knew I was dreaming, but it was a little strange to actually be aware of that fact. Wherever this place was, it kinda reminded me of the dimension I had cut to with the mirror shard earlier that day. I slowly turned in a circle, squinting and trying to see farther. Nothing.

...Okay, I lied. I suddenly could feel a presence somewhere out there, and getting closer. I wasn't really afraid though; it didn't feel threatening. I guess I was nervous, like meeting someone that I hadn't seen in a really long time.

I felt whoever it was stop behind me, and I turned. A little man stood there, so old and wrinkled yet still seeming to be filled with life. He wore a dark purple robe like something out of Medieval Times, and he was so short I was looking down on him. Like, half my height short. ...Short.

HELLO, RABBITFOOT.

I stared at him. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

He chuckled, and that chuckle seemed to fill me like a hot air balloon. NO, WE HAVEN'T MET. MY NAME IS THE ELLIMIST.

"Ah. Okay."

I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU ARE ONE OF SEVERAL WHO HAVE OBTAINED THE POWER OF THE BLUE BOX, CORRECT?

"Um, yeah. Wait, are you connected to Animorphs then?"

The Ellimist smiled. YES. TO PUT IT IN YOUR TERMS, I AM A CHARACTER FROM THE ANIMORPHS BOOK SERIES.

"...That explains a few things."

He chuckled again, and I suddenly felt the air stir next to me. I glanced down, then nearly leapt back in fright.

Sitting next to me was a cheetah. It cocked its head up at me, a low rumble coming from its throat. It took me a moment to realize that it was purring.

I BELIEVE IT MAY BE A BIT DIFFICULT TO SECURE SATISFACTORY MORPHS IN YOUR SITUATION. I'M OFFERING MY HELP TO ALL OF YOU.

I hesitated for a moment. Starsight had explained the basics of acquiring a morph: you have to make physical contact with whatever you want to acquire, then focus on it. And even though it was a dream, I was still standing next to a freaking cheetah!

Screwing up my courage or whatever you want to call it, I slowly reached out to touch the cheetah's head. It didn't flinch or try to attack me or anything, which I took as a good sign. I took a deep breath, then closed my eyes and focused on the cheetah. I felt it become limp and relaxed beneath my touch; the acquiring trance, apparently it was called.

I opened my eyes to see the ceiling of my room again. Slowly, I sat up, glancing around to make sure. Yep, this was my room alright.

TWO HOURS IN MORPH. DON'T FORGET.

"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled, flopping back on the bed and pulling the covers over me again.

—

POV: Kurogane

I took a step forward, pushing back her sword and striking out with a light thrust at her shoulder. Starsight blocked the blow with an ice shield and struck out again. I parried her blow, our swords clanging together as we both tried to push the other back. After a moment I shoved her sword aside, swinging Sôhi forward and stopping millimeters from her throat. She froze, lowering her sword arm as her Kudan melted away.

"Better," I grunted, also lowering my sword and taking a step back. "You've definitely improved these past few days."

"It's almost hard to tell, I keep losing all the time to the ninja master," she joked. She rubbed the back of her neck and added, "Three days of training in a row like this is a bit hard, though."

"You can't get there the easy way," I responded. "There're no shortcuts to strength."

She gave me a wry smile. "Yeah, guess I can't really complain to you about that, can I?" She held out her hand, and her Kudan rematerialized as a sword once more in her palm. "Can we try it again?"

I gave her a short nod, and we began the training again. After the battle against the clone and those Hork-Bajir, Starsight had requested that I teach her the basics of sword fighting. Honestly, I was rather glad I had switched students with Fai; how was I supposed to teach someone to fight with a chair anyways?

I ended the round again by knocking the sword out of her hand entirely; it morphed back into her Kudan's regular form in mid-air and soared back down to her, chirruping. I sheathed my sword. "Go take a break. We'll meet back here in fifteen minutes."

She nodded, crossed to the gym doors, and pushed them open, her Kudan hovering after her. I stood off to one side of the room, crossing my arms over my chest. The gym was full yet again with Wandies and all manners of other people, all of them training for battle. I spotted Fai and Lostpaw across the room, training in "the art of fighting with a chair". Hey, I didn't come up with the name.

In another corner, Sevenclaws and Spottedfire were practicing battle each other with their Pokémon. Personally I didn't like that style of battling, commanding something else to do the fighting for you, but they both seemed to have gotten the hang of it. As I watched Sevenclaws' Absol lunged forward and lashed out with its claws, dark ghostly power trailing in the air behind it. Spottedfire's Skitty seemed unfazed by it, ramming the Absol in the side and causing it to stumble backwards a few paces.

In the center of the gym I could see a rather fierce mock battle taking place between a large cougar and a silver-white wolf. Minou and Wolf, I remembered. They had both used whatever power was in that blue box Magicyop had found, which let them turn into animals. Wolf was a perfect copy of Stormbringer, while Minou had some help from a guy called the Ellimist in gaining the ability to become a cougar. They seemed pretty evenly matched, even in just a mock battle.

Nearby, Lilacheart and Icestar were practicing their archery skills, with Halt watching over them. Icestar seemed to be playing both teacher and student, helping Lilacheart where she needed it while also receiving tips from Halt. Perhaps it was because of their different bow designs that Halt didn't just teach them both directly.

I was debating about whether or not I should go find Starsight to continue her training when the gym doors suddenly flew open, and Soundstorm stumbled inside. The sword she was carrying clattered to the ground, and she fell to her knees, gripping a long wound in her shoulder that still dripped blood. A claw wound, I could tell.

"Soundy!" Lilacheart yelped, dropping her bow and racing to her sister's side. The entire room had fallen silent now, nearly everyone staring in shock at Soundstorm.

She staggered to her feet, leaning against Lilacheart for support. She tried to speak, stumbled over her words, then coughed and shouted, "We're under attack!"

Cries of shock broke out across the room. "By whom?" someone shouted over the noise, and I spotted Roy, who had been teaching Rubystripe how to use alchemy only moments ago.

"It's the Sc—"

Without warning the door exploded inward, sending Lilacheart and Soundstorm flying across the room since they had been standing so close to it. Smoke and dust filled the air, reducing everyone to mere shadowy silhouettes. Shouts of panic echoed throughout the room as everyone tried to find each other and figure out what was happening. The dust began to settle, and someone stepped through the ruined doorway into the room. He was wearing a long white coat, and carried a small gun at his side. I drew my sword, levelling it at him. "Who are you?" I demanded.

He took his time, scanning leisurely about the room as the last of the dust and smoke settled and the Wandies and others picked themselves up after the explosion. At last he looked at me and smiled. "I am one member of a wonderful organization called the School."

A tide of Erasers surged through the door behind him, snarling as they threw themselves on us. Three Erasers charged me at once; I swiftly took down the first and blocked the blow of the second. The third one attacked me from the side, but I easily ducked its swipe and shoved it backwards. "Hikôgeki!" I snapped and electricity crackled from my sword, slamming into the two Erasers and knocking them unconscious.

There was a loud snap, and a torrent of fire roared past me, incinerating a group of Erasers on my right. I turned, realizing that Roy had been the one to launch that attack. I fought my way towards him, cutting through the Erasers until we were fighting side by side. "Cutting it a bit close back there, huh?" I grunted.

"Saving you from a nasty attack, actually," he responded, sending small jolts of fire out at individual Erasers that attacked us.

"I could've handled it just fine on my own!" I snapped.

"Duck."

Annoyed, I tucked and darted around him as he launched another blast of fire past me at a new group of Erasers. I lashed out with Sôhi, slicing into an Eraser that had lunged at him from behind. "Now we're even!"

We fought together for a while, hacking our way through the wave of Erasers that continued to pour through the ruined doorway. Everyone was fighting now; I caught glimpses of Rabbitfoot using her pin to send Erasers flying, Cloudwind smashing through them with her keyblade, Lostpaw swinging her chair. It was like a never-ending flow of Erasers pouring in through the door, and after a while Roy shouted at me, "We're not winning this battle!"

"We're not losing yet!" I responded, shoving a rather persistent Eraser back again.

"We can only hold out for so long," he reminded me, more fire blazing from his gloves into the crowd of Erasers.

[Hey! Everyone who can hear me!]

I nearly stopped out of pure shock at hearing a voice inside my head, but there were several attacking Erasers that needed attending to.

[Sorry, sorry, don't panic. It's me, Magic. Anyone and everyone who can, get to the janitor's closet!]

Roy and I exchanged incredulous looks. "Why do you think he wants us to meet there?"

"Beats me," I grunted in response.

[I haven't got time to explain now, but it'll make sense when you get—gah!]

His voice abruptly cut off. We glanced at each other, then lunged towards the doorway and out into the hall. We cleared a path through the Erasers that were still trying to get in through the door, making room for several Wandies to dart out past us. I glanced back once, catching sight of Lilacheart soaring down towards us, her wings outstretched. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the guy in the coat raise his gun. There was a bang, and Lilacheart cried out, her wings folding as she slammed into the ground. I heard a shout, and Syaoran appeared out of the crowd, charging at the man as he swung his sword. He turned, levelled the gun, and fired again; I spotted something bright blue sticking out of Syaoran's shoulder as he fell to his knees, his sword clattering to the ground.

"Kid!" I shouted, trying to force my way back into the gym. But the tide of Erasers was thicker than ever, preventing me from going back. I swore furiously under my breath, then whipped around and raced after Roy and the others. I'd just have to trust him to get out of it on his own.

It seemed like the Erasers were no longer following us, since the hallway was deserted. Roy was leading the group, Rabbitfoot, Sevenclaws, his Absol, Cloudwind, Lostpaw, Balto, and Cooro making the middle, while Halt and I brought up the rear. We skidded around the corner, the open janitor's closet coming into sight just down the hall. Sheila was standing in front of it; she gestured frantically for us to come as we skidded to a stop in front of her.

"Why'd...Magic...call us...here?" Lostpaw panted, setting her chair down and collapsing in it.

"Do any of you remember when Magic and I were looking for maps of the county a little while back?" Sheila asked.

Nearly everyone looked confused (myself included), but Rabbitfoot nodded. "Yeah, I remember that."

"One of the maps we found was a very old one, from before the county really got started and running. It shows a large system of underground tunnels spanning all over Wands and Worlds County."

Everyone exchanged glances of surprise. "Is this the entrance to them?" Cloudwind asked.

Sheila nodded. "One of them. Nearly everyone else has already gone inside, to a cavern a little ways along. I want the rest of you to follow them, and stay there until I join you."

"I'll stay back here, to help keep those Erasers from getting this far," I said, gripping my sword.

"No. I need you to go with the others into the tunnels, then wait in the cavern."

"Why should I? I'm better off staying here!"

"I'm telling you to go! I don't want more people to worry about here!"

I didn't reply, mainly because, in the short time that I'd known her since arriving in Wands and Worlds County, I had never heard Sheila snap like that. Instead, I turned and followed the others as they trooped into the closet. There was a large hole in the floor at the back of the closet, through which protruded a hard metal ladder. Half the group had already gone down it while I had been arguing with Sheila; as I entered the cramped space Sevenclaws' Absol leapt down through the hole, with its master close behind. I guessed that the entrance wasn't very deep.

I followed them down, finding the group clustered near the ladder in the darkness of the tunnel. Cooro was carrying a flashlight; its beam bobbed erratically about the tunnel, giving me a headache.

"Are we all here?" Roy asked.

One by one the others answered, confirming that our group was all in the tunnel. Roy took the flashlight from Cooro, steadying the beam (much to my relief) before leading the way down the tunnel. Our footsteps echoed back and forth to us down the long tunnel, each one sounding different. I didn't keep track of time, but it didn't take too long for the tunnel to suddenly open out into a massive cavern.

Like Sheila had said, nearly all the Wandies and others who had been at the school barely an hour ago were clustered together in the cavern. The glow of flashlights pointed upwards spread across the ceiling, illuminating the cavern with a dull glow. Someone had set up some kind of platform-like structure to make more room for everyone. I was slightly surprised to find that, despite the number of people present, it was nearly silent. There were a few whispers here and there, but for the most part I couldn't hear anything.

We split up, distributing ourselves into the crowd. I wove through the mass of people until I found Fai and Sakura. She glanced up at me, her eyes betraying her fear. "Where's Syaoran-kun?"

I shook my head. "I lost him in that mess of a battle up there."

Sakura fell silent, the worry clear on her face. Fai hugged her gently, looking just as worried though plainly trying to hide it.

The silence fell thick again over the cavern, all of us waiting anxiously for Sheila's arrival. At one point we all looked up expectantly at the sound of footsteps, but it was only Soundstorm, Danny, Sunstreak, Will, and Amaterasu. They were all injured in one way or another; I saw Emily push her way through the crowd so she could heal them.

After what seemed like an eternity, Sheila finally returned. Everyone glanced at her, the shock and fear echoed on every face.

"We didn't all get out," Sheila said flatly. "Some of us got left behind."

Sakura let out a gasp beside me as a storm of muttering filled the room. "Who are those still missing?" Roy called above the noise.

"Icey, Allen, Lilac, Syaoran, Spirit, Firestar, Jayfeather, Starry, Katara..." Her voice choked slightly as she uttered a final name: "Magic."

The mutterings intensified, increasing to the point of hysteria. [We're going after them, right?] I heard Minou ask via thought-speak.

"Well, of course you are, aren't you?"

The reaction was instantaneous. Everyone reached for their weapons, stiffening in readiness to battle. The crowd parted slightly, and I spotted the Dark Sorceress standing at the mouth of one of the tunnels that led out of the cavern. Two identical wolves materialized out of thin air behind her, blocking her escape route. Wolf and Stormbringer. It was impossible to tell them apart.

Sheila made her way to the front of the crowd until she was standing in front of the Dark Sorceress. "What are you doing here?" she asked, the hostility barely contained in her voice.

The Dark Sorceress raised her hands in a calming gesture. "Peace. I come here with information for you, and to request to join your side."

Whispers swept throughout the cavern, but Sheila silenced them with a gesture. "Why do you want to join us? And what kind of information?"

The Dark Sorceress snorted. "These Erasers...they gladly agreed to work for me, to help me with my desires. But as soon as their old masters arrived, they turned on me, even tried to make me a prisoner of them. I have nowhere else to go now...as for the information, I can tell you exactly where in the building each of your captured friends is being held."

There was a long silence as Sheila seemed to consider the offer. "Including...Magic...?"

The Dark Sorceress stared at her blankly. "The toad," Sheila clarified.

"The toad too."

Sheila hesitated a moment longer, then turned and waved Roy over. "Tell what you know to Roy. Halt, Minou, Brambleclaw, Whisper, Adriane, Storm, Thunder. Get ready, we're going in."

A flurry of activity started as everyone began talking at once and those Sheila had named hurried to the tunnel that led back to the janitor's closet. Sheila wove through the crowd towards me. "Kurogane, I want you to watch the Dark Sorceress. Even though her information seems to be legit, I don't trust her."

"Neither do I," I grunted back. "She won't be going anywhere."

Sheila nodded shortly. "Good," she said, before disappearing back into the crowd.

—

POV: Allen Walker

Slowly, I came back to my senses. The bruise on the side of my head where one of the Erasers had whacked me pretty hard was throbbing, sort of making it a bit hard to see. Eventually my vision cleared, enough to show me that I was in a dark room that rather resembled a classroom. Some kind of weird glove was wrapped around my left arm, and my right was handcuffed to the teacher's desk at the front of the room.

"Oh great," I mumbled, glancing around. The room was empty, aside from the student's desks and chairs...and a clear box sitting on the nearest desk. Inside the box was what appeared to be a large toad. It looked at me and blinked slowly. How're you feeling?

Somehow I managed to remember that this wasn't a real toad but just Magicyop in morph. "Okay, I think."

[That's good...] Magicyop muttered in reply. He sighed. [If I don't get out of here soon I'm going to end up stuck like this...]

"What do you mean?"

[Oh, right, I don't think anyone's explained the morphing process to you or anything yet. Well...there's a two hour time limit. If I don't morph back in fifteen minutes, I'm gonna be stuck as a toad forever.]

"...That can't be good," I replied. I glanced down at my left arm, trying to focus on it and invoke my Innocence. Nothing. "I'm not sure what this glove thing is, but it's preventing me from using my Innocence. I can't break out without it."

[Do you think you could reach this container, at least? If I can get out and demorph it'd be easy to free you.]

"I'll try," I responded. Straining against the handcuff, I reached for the desk with my left arm, trying to at least knock the container to the floor. It was too far away; I couldn't quite reach it. I stuck my foot out instead, but though I could brush the leg of the desk, I still couldn't reach. "I hate being short," I muttered.

[Eh?]

"Nothing, never mind about it," I said quickly. I tried to pull on the desk I was handcuffed to instead, but it refused to budge. "Is this desk bolted to the floor or something...?"

Without warning I heard something that sounded like an explosion from outside in the hallway. I jumped in surprise, and the container Magicyop was trapped in slid slightly on the desk, though it refused to fall to the floor and break. I craned my neck, trying to see out the small window set in the door. At least I had an excuse this time for not being able to see; I was sitting on the floor.

A dark shape appeared outside the window, and I heard the door handle rattle. But the room must've been locked, since the door didn't budge. There was a short pause, then the door suddenly burst inwards, blowing clean off its hinges and missing me by inches. I barely had time to recover from the shock of the sudden explosion when what looked like a golden eagle zoomed inside and smacked into me. "Wh-wha?"

[Allen!] the eagle squeed in what I recognized as Whisperheart's voice.

"Get off him, Whisper, you'll choke him to death," a voice laughed, and a girl holding what looked like a meat hook picked her way over the debris inside. The eagle made an odd harrumphing sound and flapped up to perch on my shoulder. Several more people followed the girl inside; two men, one dressed in a military uniform, the other wearing a long cloak, a girl dressed all in black, a silver white wolf, and a woman who I recognized as Sheila.

...Wow, I had a lot more names to learn.

[M-Mom!] Magicyop yelped.

"Magic," Sheila said. She quickly crossed the room, grabbed the box he was trapped in, and quickly popped the lid open. Magicyop hopped out, already beginning to demorph before he hit the floor. "How much time did you have left?"

"Minutes," Magicyop replied as he emerged from morph. "We're lucky you guys came when you did."

Sheila stepped forward, gave him a quick hug, then turned back to the rest of the group. "Thunder, Roy, see what you can do to free Allen, then we're getting out of here."

"We're not going to free the others?" the man in the military uniform—Roy, I assumed—queried.

Sheila looked pained as she shook her head. "We can't stay any longer, it'll put Minou and Brambleclaw in more danger. They've already taken care of the Eraser guards so far; any longer and they may not get out unscathed."

Roy gave a short nod before he and Thunder kneeled down next to me and began to work on the handcuffs that attached me to the desk. I was a little reluctant to let Thunder try to pry it apart with her meat hook, but I was even more reluctant to let Roy use his fire to burn it off (especially after witnessing the destruction of the classroom door). Eventually between the two of them they managed to get the handcuffs off, as well as the glove that encased my left hand. I staggered to my feet, Whisperheart still perched on my shoulder. I glanced down at my left arm, then focused on invoking my Innocence. My arm expanded until it nearly dragged along the ground, transforming into something silver and claw-like. I wasn't sure how effective it would be, since it was meant to be a tool for hunting Akuma—demons, essentially—but this world was so messed up that maybe the use of my Innocence had changed too.

[So cool!] Whisperheart squealed, making me turn slightly red in embarrassment.

"Are we all ready?" Sheila asked, heading to the door. "Minou and Brambleclaw said they'll meet up with us on the way back."

We left the room in single file, Sheila taking the lead while the man in the cloak—Halt, I believe—brought up the rear. I was kind of surprised that we didn't meet any of those Erasers on our way through the school's hallways, though I guessed that meant that Minou and Brambleclaw were doing their job properly in holding them off.

We managed to make pretty good progress towards the janitor's closet (I remembered that from Magicyop's message earlier) before the sound of footsteps rang out on the linoleum behind us. We all swung around, readying our various weapons, but it turned out to not be Erasers. A large cougar and a much smaller dark tabby cat skidded around the corner and raced towards us, sliding to a halt just in front of us. Both of them seemed rather out of breath.

"Minou, Brambleclaw," Sheila greeted. "Are you both okay?"

[Yeah, we managed to draw all the guards away and take care of them,] Minou responded breathlessly. [One of them tried to call for reinforcements, but Brambleclaw managed to distract him long enough for me to get to him. I don't know if said reinforcements are actually coming or not.]

"Let's be ready for them if they do," Sheila said, gesturing for the rest of us to follow as she continued to lead the way down the hall. I winced slightly as Whisperheart dug her talons into my shoulder in readiness, but I didn't say anything.

We had just rounded the final corner when a loud shout went up, and suddenly a whole pack of Erasers were sprinting down the hall towards us. Whisperheart lifted from my shoulder with a screech, struggling to fly in the cramped space. One of the Erasers lunged at me; I lashed out at it with my left arm, gouging several deep scratches in its shoulder. It snarled with pain, swiftly striking back. I blocked the blow, shoving its claws back. Its next strike grazed my right arm; I bit back any reaction to the pain and countered with a final blow to its chest, ending it.

"Allen!" a voice shouted, and I spun around to see Sheila beckoning me towards the janitor's closet. I raced over to her. "I want you to get inside and start making your way towards the others. The rest of us can handle this battle."

I wanted to protest, to insist that I could keep fighting, but instead I just nodded and followed Sheila's orders. I entered the closet to find a large hole in the floor, accessible by a metal ladder. I peered inside; it was nearly pitch black, broken only by a flashlight beam that cut through the shadows. I glanced back once before stepping onto the ladder and beginning to climb down. I hadn't known her for very long, but already it felt like something was different with Sheila.

—

POV: Icestar

Carefully, my arms beginning to feel the strain from the repeated effort, I took aim, levelling my bow at the target placed on the opposite end of the gym. I closed one eye, checking my aim once more before letting the arrow fly. It struck just under the target, barely clipping the circular board. I let out a sigh, dropping my arms to my sides to rest for even only a brief second. For a long time now I had been forced to fire arrow after arrow at a small target on the other side of the gym. I don't know exactly what these School people wanted with me—I was just a normal girl who was fairly good at archery. From what I knew, though, it couldn't be good.

One of the School scientists was standing near the doors off to my left; he glanced up from his clipboard and gave me a look that clearly said "Keep shooting." I took a deep breath, raising my bow again. I had been going at this for probably hours, though it felt longer. I didn't know anymore; I had lost track. But I did know one thing.

I couldn't take this any longer!

Swinging around, I nocked an arrow in my bow, aimed at the scientist, and fired. He barely had time to dodge; the arrow struck the white brick wall behind him and splintered. My aim had been off too, I hadn't had time to properly focus on my target.

The man pulled out a small black box—a walkie-talkie. "Test Subject 379 is loose!" he shouted into it. "Repeat: Test Subject 379 is loose! Requesting—"

I fired a second arrow. He flinched out of the way, but this time my aim was dead on. The arrow struck the walkie-talkie, shattering it. I nocked a third arrow, ignoring my muscles' screams of protest as I drew it back. "Don't move."

He smiled coldly at me. "I have no need to."

Without warning the doors burst open, and about twenty Erasers flooded into the room. I swung around, changed my aim, and fired. One Eraser went down. I drew a second arrow and shot it into the crowd before they were on me. My bow was wrenched from my hands, sent skittering across the floor. Claws tore into me, forcing me to the ground. The healing wound on my back from two weeks ago tore open, and I had to force myself not to scream with pain. Hands pressed down on my back, arms, legs, pinning me to the floor. I struggled, trying to break loose—

Something hard and cold snapped shut around my neck.

At once the Erasers that were pinning me down let go. I would've scrambled to my feet that instant, but I wasn't prepared for what came next. I heard a harsh crackle, then a huge jolt of electricity leapt from whatever was around my neck and into my body. This time I couldn't hold back the scream of pain as my body convulsed violently. Instinctively I tried to curl up, but my body no longer responded to my commands.

Without warning the jolt cut out. I lay there, flat on my back, panting for air. I tried to lift a hand to feel for whatever they had put around my neck, but I still couldn't move.

A shadow fell across me, and the scientist I had attacked earlier crouched down next to me, staring at me with an expressionless gaze. "Let this be a lesson to you. We do not tolerate rebellion. Next time, you may not escape with your life."

I couldn't answer, I was still paralyzed from the shock. If only I could've answered, I would've given him quite a talking to.

He stood again. "Give her another dose, just to cement the idea permanently."

Cement the idea? No, they were just playing now. Enjoying the torture.

I heard a second crackle of electricity, and steeled myself for the blow.

—

POV: ?

Get out! Leave me alone!

[It's useless to beg like that. You should know yourself.]

I can try.

[It's hopeless. I have full control. You may as well not be alive.]

Except that I'm still living. Get out!

[If I felt like it, I could kill you. You are completely mine. Stop these pathetic rebellions.]

If I don't fight you, will you leave my friends alone?

A harsh, humourless laugh. [That's the whole point of having you. If I gave up on pursuing your so-called friends, there wouldn't be any reason to keep you alive, now, would there?]

My heart sank faster than a stone through water. Maybe there was no hope left.

The door opened, and I raised my head. "Come."

I attacked him one last time. Let me go!

He barely had to do a thing, easily crushing my will. [When the entire county is dead.]

If I could've, I would've sobbed with hopelessness as I was forced to my feet and walked to the door.

—

POV: Starsight

I curled up in the bottom of my cage, trying fruitlessly to get some sleep. The collar rubbed uncomfortably against my neck, but I tried my best to ignore it. I heard a rustle from the cage next to me, and guessed that Lilacheart was likewise trying to rest. The day after we had been captured, Lilacheart and I had launched an escape attempt. Needless to say, it had failed miserably. As punishment, we had both been fitted with these metallic collars that shocked us whenever the scientists wanted. We had also been moved to cages far apart from the others. But at least they hadn't separated us yet. I don't think I would've remained even remotely sane if I were on my own.

I heard a click in the lock, and I glanced up to see a pair of scientists wheeling a cart into the room. An assortment of vials and other scientific equipment stood on the cart, clinking together ominously as the cart rattled to a stop next to us. Without meaning to, I realized I was already beginning to tremble slightly. A new round of torture was about to begin.

One of the scientists knelt down next to my cage to peer in at me. I glared back, trying not to let my fear show. "Hand me a dose of that new stimulant that was just developed."

His partner took a vial from a stand on the cart, then picked up a needle and jabbed it into the vial, withdrawing a clear liquid. Instinctively I flinched back. I hated needles...all the more so that I didn't know what was in it.

There was a sudden loud crash from the cage next to me, and I guessed that Lilacheart had thrown herself against the bars, trying to stop them. "Leave her alone!"

"Lilac, cut it out!" I snapped. "Don't make it any worse!"

But it was already too late. There was a harsh crackle, then Lilacheart screamed with pain as the collar delivered a large jolt of electricity to her body. I cringed, sympathy for her and intense hatred towards the School clashing together at once.

I swung back towards the scientist, ready to snap at him for hurting Lilacheart, when I saw that he was already sticking the needle into the cage. Instantly my body tensed up, and I shut my eyes as if it would make everything go away. I felt a jab in my arm, and I gasped with pain as whatever toxin they were injecting into me began to flood my veins.

"That's it for now," the scientist said, removing the needle and standing up. "It should be a while before it begins to take effect. We'll come back in a few hours to take notes."

The two scientists left, the cart rattling as it was pushed out the door. They pulled the door shut, locking it behind them. Silence fell thick in the room again. It could've been only a few seconds or several minutes until Lilacheart broke it. "You okay, Starry?" I could hear the strain in her voice. After-effect of the shock, I guessed.

"Y-yeah," I muttered. "I'm f-fine." If you didn't guess already, this was an outright lie. It suddenly felt extremely cold in the room, and at the same time it felt like I was overheating. I moaned and rolled over as best I could in the confined space, my head pounding with the beginnings of a headache.

"Try to rest, okay?" Lilacheart said, sounding worried.

"Yeah...uh-huh...okay..." I mumbled, closing my eyes. It kinda felt like I was developing RLS but for my entire body; I didn't want to lie still. I lost track of time, just trying to cling to...something. I couldn't think clearly anymore; my thoughts were muddled, jumbled together incoherently. Eventually, I managed to force myself into a fitful, restless sleep.

—

I woke again to the sound of the lock clicking and the door creaking open. This time, I didn't bother raising my head. It was probably those scientists coming back again to conduct tests. I curled myself tighter in an attempt to fall asleep again, when I realized that I couldn't feel my left arm. I shrugged the thought away; I had probably slept on it funny. Wasn't hard to do in this cramped cage.

Voices reached me through the haze that floated over my brain. I latched onto them, using them to remain conscious even though the words held no meaning to me.

"Can you do these locks too?"

"They're more complicated than the door...but yes, I should be able to."

"We'll work on this one."

"Can you slash it open?"

"No, we'd risk hurting Lilac."

"I can use magic too on this one."

"I really wouldn't recommend it in your condition..."

"I can try to bite it off, though that's likely going to hurt..."

"If you can. Don't hurt yourself too much."

There was a soft click, and the sound of creaky metal hinges grated in my ear. Someone grabbed me, gently pulling me out of the cage and setting me down. I heard another click, this one louder, more jarring, accompanied by a short, irritated growl. My curiosity finally getting the better of me, I shifted my head slightly with a moan and forced my eyes open.

I was lying on the floor of the classroom, three people bent over me. ...Er, make that two people and a wolf; Amaterasu's nose was practically in my face. Weakly I lifted a hand and tried to nudge her aside. She huffed, blowing a puff of warm air in my face before withdrawing. I noticed for the first time that the other two were Fai and Spirithunter. Shutting my eyes again, I gathered whatever strength I had left and attempted to sit upright.

"Careful," Fai cautioned, grabbing my shoulder and supporting me. "If you're gone through anything like the others told us, you're going to need a good deal of rest."

"What...how did you...?"

"It's a bit of a long story," came Soundstorm's voice, and I looked past Fai to see her kneeling next to Lilacheart, who looked about the same as I felt. "To cut it short, the Dark Sorceress gave us info on where you all were. Sorry we took so long, we had to find you all over again when you were moved."

"The Dark Sorceress...?" Lilacheart exclaimed.

Soundstorm nodded. "Like I said, long story. Let's get back to the others first, then we'll tell you. Promise." She suddenly flung her arms around her sister in a hug, which Lilacheart returned.

"Hold on a sec, let me get these off you," Spirithunter said, crouching down in front of me. She touched the collar around my throat; I felt a small panel spring open. There were several soft beeps, then with a click the collar snapped open, and Spirithunter pulled it off. I rubbed my neck, grateful that it was gone. "How'd you do it?"

She shrugged. "I saw some of the scientists adjusting them, and just guessed from there."

I nodded, too tired to question her further about it. She went over to Lilacheart, and I caught sight of a wolf standing nearby. It's pelt was jet black, and it was opening and closing its jaws repeatedly, as if stretching them. It passed its tongue over its lips, then realized I was staring at it. Instantly it snarled slightly, the fur along its back bristling. It glared at me with golden eyes, and I felt a sudden jolt as I spotted a fleck of emerald green deep inside one of them.

"Fell," I whispered.

Fell tensed, then slowly made his fur lie flat. With effort, it seemed. "So you know me too," he growled.

"We'll have to do proper introductions later, right now we should go before we're found," a new voice said, and I turned slightly to see Syaoran. I remembered that I had seen him among the other captured before Lilacheart and I had been isolated. He looked in no better condition than Lilacheart or me, but he seemed okay enough as he offered his hand to Lilacheart. She took it with a nod of thanks, letting him pull her to her feet.

I staggered upright myself, instinctively gripping Fai's arm for support. "Are you all right?' he asked me.

I paused, thinking that one over. "I still can't feel my arm...they injected something into it a while ago..." It felt like my arm wasn't even there, just a deadweight. I could move it slightly when I experimented, but for the most part it was totally numb and useless.

Fai looked worried, but he just shook his head. "We'll have to ask Emily-chan about it later, right now we need to leave. Come on."

The entire group trooped out into the hall, Spirithunter checking first to make sure it was all clear. We went through the school in silence, always checking before turning corners and constantly glancing behind us. "Is there anyone else left?" Lilacheart whispered after several minutes of tense silence.

Soundstorm shook her head. "The four of you are the last," she whispered back. "We've already gotten everyone else out."

The four—...Oh yeah. Spirithunter had been one of the captured too. I glanced at her; compared to me, Lilacheart, and Syaoran, she seemed relatively uninjured. I guessed that she had probably been smart enough to keep silent rather than rebelling like the rest of us.

I couldn't help but feel slightly surprised when we reached the janitor's closet without running into a single scientist or Eraser. Fai held the door open, checking up and down the hall as the rest of us slipped inside. Spirithunter went to the back of the room, knelt down next to a metal disc like a manhole set in the floor, then grasped two bars set in it and yanked it off. A dark hole yawned open in the floor; looking into it I could see a metal ladder leading down to the ground below.

Soundstorm grabbed a flashlight off a nearby shelf and switched it on. "I'll go down first, we can wait until everyone's in before going on," she suggested. Everyone nodded, and she carefully lowered herself into the hole and began to climb down the ladder. One by one we followed her, until all eight of us were clustered at the base of the ladder. Spirithunter was the last one down; she pulled the cover back into place before jumping down to join us.

"The cavern where we're staying for now is down this way," Soundstorm said, shifting the flashlight over the walls and pointing it down the tunnel. She led the way, with Lilacheart and me close behind. The others trailed after us, our footsteps echoing off the dirt and stone walls.

"How far is it?" Syaoran asked, sounding weary.

"Not too far," Soundstorm answered. She paused, then added, "Well, it's a bit of a walk, but we'll get there eventually."

"Or not."

Something black streaked in the corner of my eye, and I glanced up in time to see a line of ink glow brightly against the ceiling before turning into a Power Slash. "Look out!" I shouted, leaping backwards as the tunnel roof suddenly caved inwards. Dust and bits of flying rock filled the air; I raised my arms above my head to protect myself from the debris.

At last the dust settled, and I dared to raise my head. The entire tunnel had caved in, completely blocking off our path. I could hear the others picking themselves up behind me, coughing from inhaling the dust and just general soft exclamations of shock. Spirithunter was standing directly in front of the cave in, still looking completely uninjured. She turned back to us, and I flinched slightly when I saw her expression. She was smiling.

"None of you are going a single step further," she said. "You're not going to meet up with your friends again."

"S-Spirit!" I gasped. "What are you talking about?"

She snapped her head around and glared at me. "I can't get any clearer. Your journey ends here. This is where I'm going to kill you all."

A snarl echoed off the tunnel walls, and Amaterasu stepped up beside me. That's not Spirithunter, she growled. You're that parasite, aren't you?

"Wai—wh-what?" I exclaimed. "Parasite?"

Amaterasu gave a short nod. That time when we went to train on our own...we were captured, taken to that place you call a Yeerk pool. I thought I saw something sliding into her ear near that pool, but at the time I didn't think it mattered.

Spirithunter smiled coldly. "Correct, wolf," she said in a voice that was Spirithunter's, but at the same time clearly not. "Your mistake is going to cost you now, with the lives of these so-called Wandies here."

She lifted the Celestial Brush and swiftly slashed it through the air. I snapped my arm up, barely managing to create an ice shield before the Power Slash formed. The shield was sliced in two, and I felt a stinging pain cut across my cheek, but the worst of the blow had been blocked. My Kudan materialized in mid-air beside me, swiftly transforming into a sword. I grabbed it, stepping into the defensive stance that Kurogane had taught me. I cast my eyes around the area; the tunnel was so narrow that there wasn't room for any of the others to fight alongside me. I was on my own.

Spirithunter whipped the brush through the air, drawing two vertical lines side by side. Without warning a torrent of rain washed into the tunnels, each drop burning as it struck my skin. I moulded an ice shield above my head, deflecting the raindrops until the rain had passed. Pulling the ice shield down in front of me, I lunged towards her, pulling back my sword to try and strike a superficial blow. She leapt backwards, this time drawing two horizontal lines. Thick purple mist filled the air, and my body instantly began moving at a snail's pace. She was slowing down time.

A growl came from behind me, and Amaterasu suddenly thrust her way up front. Being a goddess and originally the one who knew the technique, she was the only one aside from Spirithunter who was unaffected. Spirithunter took several paces back, drawing long, squiggly lines with the brush. Vines appeared out of thin air, lashing and striking out at Amaterasu. The sun goddess swapped out for Thunder Edge, using the glaive to cut down the vines.

She couldn't stop them all though. Several of them snaked past her, wrapping around me and tightly binding my arms to my sides. I skidded to a halt as time sped up again, struggling against the constricting vines. I could hear shouts and footsteps behind me; the others were trying to get into the battle.

I caught Spirithunter's eye again; she was grinning, raising the brush to carefully draw a symbol in the air, directly between her and me. My eyes widened in horror when I recognized what she was drawing. I snapped my head back to the others. "Get back!" I shouted frantically.

With a flourish Spirithunter finished drawing the symbol: a lightning bolt. The ink lit up with a flash, and a massive jolt of electricity leapt into my body. I screamed; this amount of power made the collars the School had forced us to wear seem like little static shocks. The vines burned off me from the power, but I barely noticed as a white light filled my vision.

The power suddenly cut out, leaving me swaying on my feet. I was surprised I was still alive, let alone standing. I fell to my knees, my Kudan disappearing within me once again, then collapsed on the ground.

Someone shouted my name, or maybe several people, I couldn't tell. My grip on reality was beginning to slip, a soft blackness enfolding itself over my vision. I only had one last thought before I blacked out: How do we win this battle against our own friend?