Blue remained in the infirmary for as long as she could hold herself together, watching the soft rise and fall of Etrius's chest. Angel had recovered enough to heal the team, but Etrius needed longer to heal the internal wounds. She bit her lip, wondering when he would wake up. Wondering what the Superior would do to her world. What he would do with her power. His power.
Will the power even work in my world? She had to hold onto that sliver of hope, even if it was wishful thinking. She buried her face in her hands. The most powerful characters she'd ever written were fragile glass beneath the Superior's power.
The glass doors slid open, and footsteps emerged into the room. Blue's eyes flicked up, seeing Beecher enter the infirmary with a smoking cigarette between his lips, completely disregarding the "No Smoking" sign. His bones were healed, save for several cuts and blackened bruises. He noticed the war raging in Blue's eyes. He sighed, relinquishing cigar smoke. "Blue. I don't know what to tell you."
Blue ran her hands through her hair. "I shouldn't have given him the fucking power... Hell, I wrote that son of a bitch. I should've known he would do something like this... God, what was I thinking?!"
Beecher raised a brow. "When you created him, weren't you-?"
Blue shook her head before he could finish. "I didn't create everyone here."
Beecher froze, his gaze unnerving. "What? You-" He couldn't find the words.
"I didn't create you, but I picked up you and your world when no one else did. Years ago." Her words were directed at Beecher, but her eyes were on Etrius. "But that doesn't matter right now. What does, is that there are others in my world who have touched this world as well. The only hope we have is that they'll stop him. Or at least, weaken him until I get there."
Blue leaped to her feet, energy coursing through her. "I'm not going to just sit here while shit happens to my world. I have power, even if it's not as much as before. I'm going to stop him, or die trying."
Beecher followed Blue as she made her way to the weapons barracks. He didn't have to tell her where it was. She knew the way. Beecher looked as though he wanted to protest, but he didn't know what to say. Etrius would've been screaming for her to stop. For once, he needed his stubbornness.
Blue found Lloyd in the armory, brooding. When he saw Blue enter the room, he knew immediately what she was doing. He approached her, standing in the space between the armory and Blue. "Blue, the Superior has your power. He'll kill you-"
"Yeah? Who's fault is that?" Blue pressed, more forcefully than she meant to. But she couldn't stop herself. "If I hadn't fucking written you the way I did, none of this would've happened!" Blue didn't know who she was blaming. Lloyd, or herself. She pushed past him, arming herself to the teeth, even though she knew it would be useless against the Superior's power.
Lloyd seized her shoulder. "Blue, I can't let you do this!"
Blue jerked out of his grip. She couldn't stand his grip. His proximity. "Don't fucking tell me I can't do this! This was all your fault!"
Suddenly, The General was between them, shoving both his hands out. "Stop this, both of you! Arguing won't get us anywhere!"
Blue's eyes darkened. "No. I'm leaving. And as for you-" she pointed at Lloyd. "I'm erasing you from existence when this is over."
Lloyd stared at her. "You can't do that!"
"You deserve it, Lloyd. I'd taken pity on you before. I gave you a future, I took you out of that nightmare hell you were stuck in. Fuck, I even brought your comrades back from the grave to make you happy. To make you stronger. And you still make the same. Fucking. Mistake."
Lloyd looked as though he wanted to argue back, but he was at a loss for words. "If you do this... You'll be rewriting everything. Angel would never have existed."
"True. And I don't care. Nobody will ever remember your existence. I'll bring Angel back into this story some other way. Nox was with Boomer first, but then I changed it and brought you into the picture. Nox belongs with Boomer. Not you. Never you."
Lloyd felt enraged. He felt useless and there was nothing he could do about it. Trying to argue was like trying to change the past. He couldn't convince a creator to change their mind. He bowed his head, his eyes shadowed as he ground his teeth.
Blue turned her back to him. "Stay here. We're going into the Waking Realm to fix your mistake." She turned back to face him with fire in her eyes. "Enjoy your existence while you still have it. You're lucky I'm not sending you someplace worse."