Webber's POV

My whole body itched. It was the first thing I noticed. For a moment, I found myself fluttering on the edge of consciousness, but my grasp on it was shaky. I chose not to fight it, giving my body the rest it was desperately craving.

My palm burned like fire as blood dripped from the self-inflicted wound. I shook the injured hand furiously, attempting to shoo away the sting that had settled, but rather found myself scattering droplets of ruby red blood as I did so. I dropped the rock that, up until then, had been clutched in the opposite hand, and forced my attention forward.

I couldn't help the burst of pride that glowed in my chest as I examined my handiwork. It was certainly not something I could have created on my own, but with the Shadowed Man's- Maxwell, as he had introduced himself to me- hand guiding me, I had completed the machine he had requested of me.

It was taller than myself, and when I teased at my recent memory to figure out how I had managed to get to the highest reaches of it, I found only blankness. Not that it was something I wasn't accustomed to. It was easy for me to block out things I didn't want to remember. At discovering the empty spot, I immediately let it go, knowing that prying only made things worse.

I heard clapping from behind me. Slow, but almost proud in its beat. Glowing, I turned to face the direction of the sound, only to find that there was an actual figure where there once was none. Up until this point, I had never actually seen Maxwell. Rather, I had sensed him, heard him, felt his hand brush on my shoulder or head more than once as if attempting to pet me, or maybe ruffle my hair. Now, though, I saw a distinct shape, a figure were the shadows converged into the silhouette of a tall man. I couldn't see his eyes, or really any of his facial features, but I honestly didn't care. I was far too excited.

"What a show!" Maxwell praised, still clapping slowly. "And what an achievement, pal. I do believe you are the youngest to had ever succeeded in completing my door! How old are you now, boy?"

"Seven."

"Seven years old! Your spirit truly shines through." Maxwell stepped closer, one shadowed hand raising to touch the surface of the door.

"You said that... that this would help me be with my family again?" I asked hopefully.

He paused, his opposite hand raising to cradle his chin. "Hmm, well, perhaps not your family, but I don't think the specifics count, right?"

I bristled. "You said that you would bring me back to my family if I did this for you! I did it- now let me go home!"

"Unfortunately, pal, that ship has sailed." Maxwell turned his face in my direction, and I couldn't help but feel as if he was grinning at me. "They've moved on. They grieved, they recovered, they moved on. They don't want you anymore. You've changed so much since the last time they saw you anyway- you're not the boy they once knew. Even if you went back, and they accepted you for your... appearance... do you think they would take you as you are?"

I bared my fangs at him, a low growl rumbling in my throat.

"I'm not heartless, though," Maxwell continued as if I hadn't reacted. "You want to be with people again. Fine then. I will give you to people who... might accept you."

"You lied," I snarled.

"Tough," Maxwell snapped back. "This is the deal you are being dealt now. If you want to start again, try to work your way up far away from here, then pull that lever. If you want to spend the rest of your life suffering, within reach of your family but well aware they would destroy you if they ever saw you, destined to slowly starve to death until you succumb to the wilderness before you reach age ten... well, walk away."

"And what if I come back? What if I leave and decide that I would rather die here than survive elsewhere?" I demanded. My voice was tight with rage, my breaths deep and hot with anger.

Maxwell waved a single hand as if brushing off the issue. "Doors go both ways, you know. You might have to look a little bit, but it'll be there somewhere. I assume."

I stared hard at the machine, claws trembling at my side.

"Well?"

I raised one hand, resting it on the lever.

"Pal?"

And I pulled it down.

The itching was back, but now it was accompanied by a burning sensation on the back of my neck. I let out a short hiss of frustration, lifting my hand enough to rub the offended spot only to notice that it wasn't burning from heat. Rather, it was burning from an intense chill. As I pondered the peculiar realization, something wet and freezing pressed into the same spot, letting out a long, high-pitched whimper.

I cracked my eye open, intending to shoo off whatever creature was bothering my sleep, only to catch sight of a familiarly icy coat, and the furiously wagging tail of an ice hound.

"...Popsicle?" I murmured questioningly, pushing myself onto my elbows. As soon as I noticeably woke up, the hound yipped and cried, feet tapping happily as he circled me and licked my face. A giggle bubbled up in my throat as he pushed me back until I was sitting properly and he was able to climb into my lap. His front paws pressed into my chest, still tapping up and down and his tail was wagging so hard that his entire body shook with its force. My giggles erupted into laughter as he nuzzled into my neck, cold nose burying into warm black fur.

"Your hound has a weird accent," a voice piped up from somewhere nearby. I instinctively flinched, but quickly caught sight of Wilbur sitting nearby. He looked equally as exhausted as I felt, eyes still drooping and tail only twitching slightly at the end. "But you were right in saying that he absolutely adores you."

I tipped my head at the ape, considering his words. "Accent?" I echoed.

"Did you forget I can speak hound?" Wilbur teased faintly, flicking one hand. When Popsicle yipped again, Wilbur chuckled. "In case you were curious, his name for you is Snap. Snappy. I don't know, one of those."

I felt my face grow warm at the name, gazing down at the excited little hound in my lap. "You have a name for me?" I asked, mystified.

"This is a sweet moment, really, but you should probably pay some attention to the time of day and where we are." Wilbur took a moment to stretch each of his limbs as he yawned. "It's probably not best to be in the middle of nowhere when night hits. Especially when we've come all this way, it would just be a waste."

"Right!" I jumped to my feet, pulling Popsicle up in my arms with me. For a moment, I swayed on my feet as blood rushed to my head, but Wilbur steadied me.

"Shatter probably knows where your companions are, unless you need a moment to, ah, prepare?"

"Shatter?"

"The hound."

I stared incredulously down at Popsicle again, the puppy's tongue now lolling out of his mouth as he started to tire himself out. "His name is Shatter?"

"Listen, I can translate a nice conversation between you two later, okay? We're here." Wilbur opened his arms, beckoning to the area around him. The familiarity of the Mainland was a comfort I hadn't even realized I missed until now. The ground beneath my feet was solid, and while the grass wasn't as thick or plush, there also wasn't nearly as many rocks buried in the soil. The trees all around us were tall, yes, but not the massive, thick trees that had populated Wilbur's archipelago. A faint smile grew on my face as I scented the air, calmed by the recognizable smell of decaying leaves. "What's the next step, Young Heir?" He said teasingly.

"The next step?" I echoed. I turned my gaze downwards, searching the ground that Wilbur and I had woken from. Sure enough, about ten feet away, my seashell collection lay scattered across the ground. I smiled. "The next step is moving on."

"Tyler, this place is awful," Wilbur whined as he nearly tripped over yet another rock. His tail lashed out to keep his balance, but his face displayed the entire spectrum of frustration that must have been running through his head. Popsicle, keeping pace almost right on top of my ankles, whined in agreement.

I chose to ignore their complaints, instead keeping an ear out for the tell-tale hiss of spiders. Sure enough, I heard skittering feet somewhere far above our heads, coupled with stifled snarls and hisses. Wilbur nervously looked above his head.

Then, the ape yelped as a trio of cave spiders landed on his head, silk already spinning to capture him.

Popsicle barked at the spiders and immediately hid behind me. I moved quickly, batting the attacking spiders away with sheathed claws and stepping between them and Wilbur to protect him. The smaller one of the three, a spitter with disheveled fur, shot forward to snap at me before freezing abruptly.

"Morons!" Came an irritated voice from above. "That is clearly not a splumonkey. And he's traveling with Erika's brother, who mind you, is supposed to be the one we're looking for."

"I was trying to defend him Slinger. It's not my fault this guy looks like a splumonkey!" The smaller spider snapped at the disembodied voice.

Every time they mentioned splumonkeys, Wilbur seemed to grow more and more irritated. The very moment one of the other spiders, a cave spider, started musing over the similarities between Wilbur and splumonkeys, the ape shot forward and pinned the arachnid down, claws out. He spoke calmly, but his voice was so clipped I could tell he was furious. "I swear to myself, if you call me a god-forsaken splumonkey one more time, I will dissect you, and cook you."

I was... confused. Did he know what splumonkeys were?

"Alright, alright, settle down you two." A snow-white dangling depths dweller fell from the ceiling, then extracted his companion from Wilbur's death grip with surgical precision. "I'm assuming you are traveling with Webber and not hunting him, considering he defended you."

Wilbur shot me a look from the corner of his eye. 'Later,' I mouthed, hoping he would get the message.

"Er, yes, I'm traveling with Ty... Um... Webber," he said slowly, tail twitching. "We're looking for his sister."

"Convenient," Slinger said thoughtfully. "Considering she's been looking for him too." He motioned vaguely, and I heard what sounded like a spider skittering away in the equivalent of a run.

"She has?" I questioned. "But... why?"

"She's been in kind of a panicked frenzy since we heard you were missing," Slinger explained. "Your friend asked us if we had seen you. She seemed really desperate."

"She? Winona was looking for me? What about Wilson?"

Slinger shrugged. I heard Wilbur immediately let out a string of soft barks and growls, which were answered by Popsicle, in a seemingly intense conversation.

"Wilbur?" I asked after a moment. The ape shook his head.

"It sounds like... he hasn't been looking for you," Wilbur said slowly.

I could almost hear my heart break at the information. I grasped the fur on my chest and let out a heavy breath between my fangs. "...I see."

A commotion broke out from above, announcing what was likely Erika's arrival. Wilbur smiled faintly. "But it looks like she has."

"Webber!" The pink-eyed dangling depth dweller shouted as she launched herself from the ceiling and onto me. I let out a surprised shout at the force of her jump and immediately wrapped my arms around her. "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, you're alive! I knew it! I knew you were alive!" Then, it seemed as if she couldn't get any more words out, for she broke out in a loud purr and gave up trying to say anything else.

"I've... uh, actually been going by Tyler for a bit now," I informed her, unable to hide my smile as her purrs seemingly grew more intense. "But yeah, um... surprise! I'm not dead!"

"Where were you!?" Erika demanded once she was finally able to speak. Her purrs sputtered out, replaced by something desperate. "When Winona came down here asking about you, I freaked out! I was just so scared that- after what happened- I didn't want-"

"Hey, hey." I rested on my knees, gently prying the spider away from my shoulders. "Look. I'm here right now. I'm not dead. I'm completely and utterly alive. Not dead."

"Tyler," Erika choked out. "Tyler, she thought you killed yourself."

Oh.

Oh.

"Oh," I said lamely. "Um. Well. I didn't. So."

"Obviously."

Wilbur nudged me meaningfully, nodding at the darkness that surrounded us.

"Right, right." I murmured. Louder, I asked: "Hey, uh, do you think you could take us to the Labyrinth?"

"The Labyrinth?" Erika's pinkish eyes widened, and she tapped one of her front legs. "I don't think that's a good idea. Especially since..."

I sighed and shook my head. I understood her hesitation, but I needed this. This one last thing. "Please, Erika. I promise, after this, I don't want to go near that place for the rest of time. I just need some... closure."

Erika frowned deeply, clearly thinking hard. I knew that I could probably find my own way if I really needed to, but Erika was the leader of all the spiders in the caves. If she wanted to stop me, she could easily do just that. Even if Wilbur and Popsicle were with me, the three of us couldn't handle thousands of spiders.

"Fine. Just this once, though. After this, I'm doing everything in my power to make sure you don't go back."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"Um... so, we're not gonna get brutally murdered if we go there, will we?" Wilbur asked nervously. "Because I would greatly appreciate us... not... being torn to pieces?"

"The Ancient Guardian will not attack you," Slinger said from the sidelines. The dangling depths dweller rubbed his front legs together, something that looked almost like uncomfortable fidgeting. "We can't explain it, but the Ancient Guardian has been..."

"Purified," Erika finished. "He won't harm you."

Purified. I had known that something had happened at the end of our battle. Something that had brought the Ancient Guardian back to its senses, if just for a little while. To hear that the mighty creature had been purified of the darkness entirely was... news. I wasn't sure how I felt. Then again, I would have time to ponder that later. I nodded at Erika to lead the way, and with an uncomfortable glance back at me, she did.

Popsicle, once again keeping pace with me, whined low in his throat. Wilbur hummed thoughtfully, shot me a nervous look, then replied to the hound. Slinger joined in their conversation, low growls mimicking the hound's language. I forgot about that. Erika had said that he could speak hound when we first met.

"Should I be concerned?" I asked Wilbur softly. He held his hand up in a so-so gesture.

"Not too concerned. They said it they took care of it."

"Took care of... what exactly?"

Wilbur was silent for a moment, staring at the ground as he walked. He seemed conflicted of whether to respond to me, and when he finally did, I understood his hesitance. "Um... any... bodies. That might have... triggered... something."

Something twisted, deep in my chest. Of course... I hadn't even thought about that. Nausea churned in my stomach at the thought, and I pressed my lame fist into my abdomen to calm it. "Great," I croaked.

After that, any conversation shared between Wilbur, Popsicle, and/or Slinger I chose not to press about. I could only imagine they were talking about me, but even if they weren't, I really didn't want to know.

All conversation died anyway once we reached the labyrinth. Erika hung back for a moment, looking distinctly uncomfortable, but I pushed forward, once again leading the way.

The last time we had been here, the very walls had rejected all light. Absorbing all of it the second light touched it. Now, though, even they had changed. By the light of my torch, I could see gelatinous black fluid dripping from the wall and gathering into puddles on the floor. In places were the strange liquid had left the golden thulecite underneath exposed, intricate patterns could be seen woven into the wall. The light flocked to these openings, causing speckled light to reflect onto the ground. In places were the fluid had gathered, however, something so dark hovered over it that the puddles almost appeared to glow in reverse, shunning the light that its neighbors bathed in. The once bright-red cracks that had broken up the floor were now glowing silver instead. It was true: something really had happened to this place. And, given that the Giants had controlled the intensity of their respective seasons, it was likely the Ancient Guardian's power was behind this.

Even with the labyrinth looking so different, though, I had no trouble finding my way through it. The pulsing wrong feeling was gone, but I could still feel the vestiges of it, and the puddles of black fluid grew only more and more plentiful the deeper we got.

"Okay, I know I said I hated the other place," Wilbur started. "But this is decidedly worse." He flicked black gel off of his foot. "The place is leaking Nightmare Fuel everywhere."

"Is that what the black stuff is?"

"Blech, yes. Basically, wherever Nightmare has power, you'll either find this stuff coating the outside of it or, if its living, running through its blood. It's horrible. Although, by the looks of things... this place is actually clearing up. Nightmare must have lost a lot of power here."

"Well, the Ancient Guardian did say that the beast had lost one of its heads," I mused.

A veil of silence fell over us again. I toyed with something in my hands, struggling to get my lame claws to work with me on tiny details.

"Tyler," Erika said, stopping abruptly at the final turn. She looked carefully at me. "Are you sure you can handle this? If this is going to hurt you-"

"It won't. Thank you, Erika. You have no idea how much I appreciate you letting me come here... I really do."

She let out a long sigh. "You're lucky you're my brother. If anything happens, we'll all be right here."

"Are you kidding me? I'm not letting him go in there alone," Wilbur exclaimed incredulously. "The only homicidal maniac Tyler's allowed to be around alone is me!"

Although Popsicle likely didn't understand us, he yipped in agreement.

"Then Slinger and I will stay back here. Just be careful and don't do anything..." She grimaced. "Stupid."

Stupid, ha, as if.

We pushed forward into the cavern.

The last time I had been here, the cavern had been completely dark except for the present of the field of light flowers in its very center, which had cast the Ancient Guardian in a ghastly glow. Now, the entire cave was lit in bold silvers and glimmering blues. Silver tendrils of light snaked across the rock and through the walls, petering out once they reached the ceiling. In turn, the ceiling was still mostly in shadows save for the occasional drop of glowing silver liquid that dripped from the stalactites. While the field of light flowers was still present, greatly overshadowing their glow was hundreds, if not thousands, of tiny blue blossoms. These new blossoms blanketed the entire floor, leaving the ground underneath almost entirely hidden. Bright blue petals drifted in a nonexistent breeze, birthing new shadows and highlights as they fluttered. Each petal, I noticed, had one end that was fat and rounded, and another that ended in a point; a design that made them look like raindrops falling from the sky.

And yes, the Ancient Guardian was there. While I had vaguely noticed some changes to its appearance at the end of our battle, it looked much... healthier now. Younger, almost. Its skin, once with the texture of rough rock, was now softer and pale tan. Its fur was now peach in color, almost bleached in the silver and blue lighting. The flowers studded its fur as well, settling lightly on its back and horn as they drifted.

It seemed to notice our presence, even though we had been completely silent. It turned, a sort of peaceful look on its face as its gaze settled on the trio that had intruded on its chambers.

"The Young Heir and the One True Heir, together at last," the Guardian purred. "Truth be told, I did not expect to see you again."

"I did not expect to be here again," I replied solemnly. I took a deep breath, clutching shells so hard that they imprinted in my palm. "Me being here... it's not forgiveness. I don't think I can ever forgive you. But I..." I looked up, tracing silver veins through the walls. "I needed closure."

"Yes," it agreed. "To move onto the next phase of your journey, you must let go of the old."

"I won't let go," I retorted. "But I can take it with me. In... healthier ways." I glanced at Popsicle and Wilbur. The Before and the After. "Everything was so hectic after that battle, I never got to truly say goodbye. Not with a clear head." I stepped closer to the Ancient Guardian, presenting the object in my hand to the beast. "I know he still exists out there, in some form. I'm going to take the Throne, and I'm going to bring him back." I raised my chin. "That is my destiny. And, whether it means anything or not, that is my promise, too."

It examined the offered object for a long moment. "A seashell necklace?"

"I want him to know that I'm okay now. I can continue forward with a clear head. And, even though he wasn't at the Archipelago, I want him to still have a piece of it. So he knows that I'm back now." I inhaled softly. "And when I'm on the Throne, I'm going to fix everything. I'm going to fix my mistakes. I'm going to bring my entire family together. My old, and my new."

"Bold words, Young Heir," the Guardian murmured.

"It's... it's Tyler."

"Tyler," it mused. The name sounded strange in its heavily accented tongue. "Then, Tyler, I shall ensure this gets to where it is supposed to. Your gift, and your words."

"Thank you, Guardian."

"Metheus. If names are to be shared, then call me Metheus."

"Metheus," I repeated.

"I will not ask for, nor expect your forgiveness. But at least receive my well wishes for the future. This will likely be the last time we are to see each other, Tyler, before the next act begins. Be warned, it will be dangerous. The five were destined to be brought together, but destined to fall as well. Survival is not guaranteed."

"I understand."

"Go forth, into your future Young Heir. It is quite eagerly waiting for you."

With the Guardian's words spent, I turned back to my companions. Wilbur was clearly antsy, eyes darting back and forth between me and the giant rhino he seemed convinced was going to kill him. Popsicle was shaking now, eyes wide with fear. "Are you ready?"

"To get out of this creepy place? Yes." Wilbur rubbed his hands together as if trying to bring warmth to them.

"Good." I took the lead, leaving the glowing chambers and the mysterious Ancient behind. "Because I believe I know what the next part of our journey is."