Part 2: The One True Heir

Wilson's POV

Faint quivers of terror continued to wrack my body long after we had left the Ancient Guardian's chamber behind. I wasn't one to pray, but I couldn't help but thank whatever higher power, benevolent or not, for not making the outcome so much worse.

Heavy silence had fallen over us, the sort of silence that felt like a sin to break.

It had been a struggle to leave the chamber behind, both mentally and physically. The collapsed wall made for an annoying obstacle, although one passed easily enough when not being pursued by a rhino demon monster.

I couldn't help but glance over at Winona, cradling Webber in her arms. The boy had all but crashed, his body simply incapable of handling the trauma he had suffered. I had wanted nothing more than to scoop him up and comfort him myself, but he was scared of me. Terrified. I wasn't going to make this any worse than it had to be.

Rather, he had pressed himself into Winona's hold, shivering and shaking and sobbing until he had cried himself out. Even now, unconscious as he was, his lone eye was puffy and his furry face was matted into damp clumps.

Winona caught me looking and frowned. "Wilson... don't beat yourself up about this."

"He was my friend, Winona." I hadn't been as close to the robot as Webber, but that didn't mean I didn't care for him. The three of us had been through too much together to not consider each other friends. Webber had called us family. I sighed, raising a hand and running it through my hair. Under my breath, I cursed myself for my stupidity. My heartlessness. "It was for nothing."

"No," Winona protested. "It wasn't for nothing. The Ancient Guardian gave you information that you would never have had otherwise. This was... a tragedy..." Winona glanced down at the boy in her arms for just a second. "This shouldn't have happened... but from what I knew of him, I promise that WX-78 would not have wanted either of you to be discouraged. He saved Webber," she added gently. "That was his choice. He knew he was going to die, and he did it anyway. It would only be a disservice to him to do anything else but continue forward."

There was a moment of suffocating silence. I wanted to say something, but I couldn't come up with anything to say. I didn't want to tarnish WX's memory, but...

What would he rather I do? Continue towards our goal? Try to puzzle out the Guardian's cryptic "Doors go both ways" comment?

Or keep Webber safe, the way he had died doing?

Because we couldn't do both.

I had begun to make peace with the idea that leaving, that going home, was fruitless. We had lived here for a year, now. It was almost tempting to just abandon the idea of going home ever. To stay forever in this makeshift Hell just to preserve what little life we had left.

I felt like that wasn't an idea the others would appreciate, so I didn't mention it. But it was always there now. I shook my head, confused yet unwilling to break the spell of silence we had fallen under again.

And so, Winona took it upon herself to break it. "Wilson... what the Ancient Guardian said about us."

I winced. This was the furthest from a discussion I wanted to have.

"Why did he call you 'The Host'?"

I shrugged, trying to come off as loose and calm but it probably only served to highlight my discomfort. "Ah... maybe it's best we don't talk about that. It's a long story, anyway."

"We still have awhile to go before we're back," Winona pointed out.

I debated brushing it off and telling her to drop it, but I glanced quickly at Webber and decided against it. "I hurt him," I said softly. "No... Nightmare hurt him. He just used me to do it." I shook my head. "So... the 'Host' of Nightmare, I'm assuming. Hah... what a title to be remembered by, right?" Winona still looked confused, but before she could ask the obvious question, I jumped in. "I don't know what Nightmare is. It's... some sort of demon, I know. Something with a vendetta against Webber, and apparently some sort of past. Nothing that I know about. What about you?" I pushed in hopes of getting the attention away from me. "It sounded like it was saying..."

Winona nodded, keeping her eyes decidedly away. "That my sister is here? I've not stopped thinking about it... is she alive? Is she alright? Where is she? I don't know, Wilson, I really didn't trust that thing. Especially since..."

Ah, the elephant in the room.

"It called Webber the Young Heir?" I guessed.

"Saying that he's destined to quite literally be the King of the World?" Winona scoffed. "No way. I'm not saying that he's weak, but he's so... small." He shifted slightly in her arms as though aware we were talking about him, but Winona paid him no attention. "I think it'd be best if we just took everything it said with a grain of salt. That long in the shadows can't be good for your noggin, right?"

"But don't you want to see your sister again? Wouldn't it be a good thing if she was here?"

Winona cast her gaze down. "I... don't know. Do you remember what it said? 'She finds herself in the midst of darkness, running from a monster that only wants to give her answers. Fleeing from the same beast that she came here seeking.' What does that mean for Charlie? Is she the beast that it was talking about?" She paused. "Maybe I should've just... continued with my life like the rest of my family."

"No," I responded immediately. "Just because everyone else gave up doesn't mean you have to, too. We'll find her, Winona."

She gave me the smallest of smiles from the corner of her mouth. "Thank you, Wilson."

"Hey." I paused in my step, forcing Winona to do the same. She tipped her head at me. "Listen. You shouldn't think that you have to thank us for something like that. You are one of us now, and... well, there's nothing much else we can do, right?" I chewed at the inside of my cheek, looking past Winona's shoulder and into the darkness. "After all... it sounds like we're kinda stuck here for now."

She reached out a hand and placed it on my shoulder. The strength of her grip surprised me. "Let's get back home, and then we can discuss this more. Once Webber is up to it."

"Right..." It was optimistic, really, thinking that Webber would be up to talking any time soon. I would be surprised if he even woke up in the next three days. I think we all needed some good rest at that point.

God, I was exhausted.

"Wilson." Winona snapped her fingers in front of my eyes, forcing me back to reality. "Let's get moving before the lantern is out. No use in letting ourselves die too, right?"

I couldn't argue with that. Maybe I would also have more luck thinking once we all got some sleep... and some time to recover. We were all injured to some degree, and some down time to heal both physically and mentally was more important than anything else right now.

I nodded at her, and once again took the lead.

…

Webber's POV

"I warned you."

Even in my dreams, my head throbbed dully. Old tears stained my face, but for now, no new ones rose to add to them. I curled my arms around myself and looked away, unwilling to make eye contact with the arachnid who chose to haunt my dreams.

"Get away from me." My voice was low, lame. Completely emotionless and flat, rendering the typical anger of those words entirely moot.

"You are still blaming me? You know you are kidding yourself. Just because you want to pretend that this is someone else's fault doesn't make it so."

I lifted my gaze to glare down at the spider. A heavy moment passed, and he sighed, his accusing eyes softening ever-so-slightly.

"You will only continue to hurt yourself if you deny that, Tyler. Besides, however untimely your friend's death was, there is much to be gained from it. After all, I believe that the Ancient Guardian provided you with some helpful information, did he not?"

Once again, I turned my eyes down. "Shut up."

He growled, clearly irritated now. "Ignoring what you know helps absolutely no one! Besides, Tyler, what does it matter? Your companions are nothing in the grand scheme of the world. Nothing at all like you. You are destined for the Throne! What a legacy! In the end, none of this matters. None of them matter. All that matters is that of which is immortal now. Nothing but you and I and Them, for as long as eternity lasts."

"Stop," I snapped. Anger was quietly starting to boil up from the pit of my stomach. The only emotion that felt safe to feel right now. "Just... stop talking. I don't want that. I- I don't-" A sharp intake of breath came in as a hiccup. A dry sob.

"It doesn't matter what you want anymore. Once you take your throne, you can have everything you want, for however long you want it." The spider paused, tapping a clawed leg thoughtfully. "Well, except perhaps freedom from Them. But Tyler, think about it." He grinned. "With the power of the Nightmare Captor... you can do anything in this world. You can walk the streets of your old home as a god, worshiped and feared by every single person who shunned you. You can make them pay for every rock, every piece of debris they threw at you. You can make your family immortal beside you. You can bring WX-78 back to life."

A shiver rose up my spine, and for a moment, I almost lost my balance. I leaned forward slightly to remain on my feet, one hand resting against my knee as I did so. "I... what?"

"What do you think happened to Wilson? Who else would have the power to revive a soul, especially one who died so brutally?" He leaned forward as well, although in anticipation rather than shock and confusion. "Why stop at him, though? Why not think bigger?" He turned around so that his back was facing me. He started to walk away, but he paused just long enough to say one more thing. "Why don't you bring Erika back to the way she used to be?"

Something snapped. I lunged forward desperately, trying to stop him from disappearing. "Wait!"

But he was already gone, leaving me alone to fall fully onto my knees. I wrapped my arms around myself and blinked emptily at the ground beneath me.

I could bring my sister back, to the way she was before she was killed and reborn into a spider. Shakily, I raised my hands and stared at them- furless, human, as always in my dreams.

I could go back to the way I used to be.

But, I argued internally. At what cost? My sanity? My hope? My freedom? What would I have to give up to take the Throne? Would I even be myself anymore at all?

Would I even want any of those things anymore?

"You know, I can't stop thinking about that hint it gave you."

My heart skipped a beat in my chest as I heard the spider speak up from somewhere behind me. I didn't turn to face him, but I listened nonetheless.

"'Doors go both ways'. What a peculiar thing to say. After all, I can't for the life of me remember a door."

I raised my hand and turned my palm upwards. The scar was still there. It always was. The very scar that I had given myself over a year ago now, in a desperate attempt to regain everything I had lost. I still remembered my wish, too.

Even as I thought it, the memory swelled over me, so harshly and suddenly that I felt as if I was there again. So scrawny that I could see my ribs even through my fur, hungry enough for it to hurt, and bleeding from multiple wounds of varying ages that refused to heal. How could they heal? I couldn't even sleep at night and barely ate enough to keep myself alive. I had grabbed the soft ground beneath me, my body heaving with sobs. For the last time, I told myself. I would never cry again, if I could just get it out now and steel myself against any other reasons to cry in the future.

I had never seen Maxwell in person. I had felt him, had sensed him, but he hadn't come to me in any physical form.

"You're so much... smaller than I imagined. Little more than a toddler."

I never looked up. Not once.

"What do you want?"

His voice had been strangely soft.

"I... I just want my family back."

"That wouldn't be too hard. I would be more than willing to help you if you are willing to help me. I just need you to help me... build a simple door."

"If only," the spider tutted, a sneer evident in the way he spoke. "If only I had any clue what door it was talking about."