They found themselves in a relatively open area, a cliff on one side and a seemingly endless ocean on the other. Jacquelyn didn't like it one bit, but that wasn't what she found the most disturbing.
What she found more disturbing was the graveyard that sat in front of them. Not very large, but it was certainly large enough. A quick look at the headstones showed that there was one for each of Jacquelyn's companions, even those that weren't there. Her advisors didn't have headstones, and she wasn't sure if she was almost disappointed about that or thankful, but the rest of her inner circle did. She supposed she would have to loosely count Siara in that, even if she didn't like it.
Jacquelyn didn't like the headstones. She didn't like the thought of her friends dying, but equally a part of her saw this as an opportunity, in a way. It wasn't often that one got a look into what one's companions feared most, it wasn't often that one got to look into what those around them were thinking.
She slowly walked around the small graveyard, trying to keep herself together as she did. This was just another of Nightmare's tactics to try and scare them, or make them at the very least feel uncomfortable. She didn't want to let it work.
Jacquelyn could understand what a lot of the fears were. Dying alone, temptation, helplessness… She could understand and even empathise with Vivienne's fear of irrelevance, what with being the youngest child and the one that her family forgot about a lot. She was never going to inherit anything, and once the Circles and the templars fell there wasn't anywhere for her to go. Not until she got the mark, and not until she became the Inquisitor. Now she had a purpose, and she would never be forgotten about again. But that didn't mean she didn't still hold on to some of her old fears of irrelevance.
But she was most intrigued by Siara's fear, as it was the least descriptive.
Jacquleyn looked around at the elf.
"'Death by a thousand paper cuts?'" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Siara just shrugged.
"Those things are surprisingly painful," she replied. It was obvious she was still trying to act as though she didn't care about what was happening, but Jacquelyn was pretty sure she was starting to feel drained. The Blade had been starting to seem a lot more clumsy than she usually was, and her eyes seemed strangely vacant and she didn't move very far from Hawke's side. Jacquelyn wondered what was going on in her mind, but she didn't say anything else.
"We should keep going," Duty told them. "Nightmare will keep sending fearlings and the like after us if we do not."
"What will you do once we reach the breach?" Jacquelyn asked him, now turning to face him. Duty pondered her question for a bit.
"I will do what I must," he eventually replied. Siara didn't look at him, just blankly stared straight ahead, and Jacquelyn frowned ever so slightly. She still wasn't sure about Duty, but she also supposed there wasn't really time to think about it now.
"How far are we from the rift back to Adamant?" Jacquelyn asked, looking around in the direction she believed the rift to be.
"It's hard to tell," Duty replied. "I can feel it, and it doesn't feel to be too far, but Nightmare could be interfering."
"We shall defeat Nightmare before any harm is dealt to us," Justice sounded very sure of himself. "You shall get back to your realm."
Jacquelyn didn't respond. She wasn't the most fond of Justice, mostly because he was inhabiting the body of a mage that blew up a Chantry. But at least he was on her side - at least for now. Once they got back to Adamant, and then to Skyhold, she would be able to think further on what to do with Anders and Justice. Abominations could not be allowed to walk free, but it could be difficult to detain him with Empress Celene protecting him.
The group made their way up some stone steps nearby, and to Jacquelyn's relief it appeared that Duty had been correct in his assessment. The rift wasn't too far away from where they had been before, up a couple of flights of stone steps and past a few groups of smaller fear demons and a pride demon or two. Jacquelyn was now convinced that more was going on with Siara than she was letting on, as she was practically completely sticking out of as many of the fights as she could, instead staying close to Hawke and only attacking when the demons got too close to him. Once they got through a cave, they were very close to the rift. Jacquelyn actually started feeling like they might get out of the Fade in one piece.
But there was a problem, one last hurdle before they could leave.
Below them, between them and the rift, were a small horde of demons. Jacquelyn assumed that the big one looming over the rest of them was Nightmare itself, in the form of what appeared to her to be some sort of giant mutant spider. The rest of the demons were nowhere near as large, but there was one that still looked to be larger than Jacquelyn was. It seemed to be somehow connected to Nightmare, spider limbs growing from its back. She didn't like the looks of the situation they found themselves in, but once again, the only way out was through.
Justinia floated forward, the same bright light still radiating from her. Duty watched as she went past, then bowed his head as she approached Nightmare.
"If you would," Justinia didn't look around at them, "tell Leliana 'I am sorry. I failed you, too'."
Lightning shot out from her, forcing Jacquelyn to cover her eyes with her arm and step back as the Nightmare was hit. The brightest light Jacquelyn had ever seen illuminated the area, and when the small group opened their eyes again, Nightmare was gone. At least for now. That made their job easier, but there was still the aspect of Nightmare and the smaller fear demons, but this situation seemed much more manageable.
Jacquelyn glanced around at her companions, seeing their determined faces, and drew her sword, once again turning to face the demons before her. Now was not the time to begin mourning the Divine again.
Solas, Blackwall, and Bull were closest to the rift once the battle was over, turning briefly to check that Jacquelyn and the others weren't too far behind them. They went through the rift first, Jacquelyn and the others breaking into a run to catch up. They didn't want to be trapped here when Nightmare recovered from what Justinia did to it.
But it was too late. Jacquelyn motioned for the others to get back as Nightmare descended from wherever it had been temporarily banished to. She saw Siara reach out and grab Duty's wrist, pulling him back before he wrenched his arm from her grasp. At that moment, Nightmare swiped at her. Jacquelyn rolled out of range, stumbling back to the rest of the group. Now Nightmare was between them and the rift. Duty acted before it could do anything to harm them, though, taking half a step forward and casting a sort of barrier around them. It shimmered a soft blue in the dingey area, and despite everything, Jacquelyn had to admire it.
"We need to clear a path!" Stroud almost had to yell to be heard, bringing Jacquelyn back to their situation. Something that almost sounded like a growl came from Nightmare, but it seemed to come from everywhere and sent shivers down Jacquelyn's spine.
"Yeah, but how exactly do you suggest doing that?" Siara asked. "That's the biggest, ugliest demon I've ever laid eyes on, and we don't stand a chance against it!"
"Go!" Hawke cut in, turning to Jacquelyn. "I'll cover for you."
Jacquelyn saw the look of absolute horror that appeared on Siara's face.
"Are you nuts?" she demanded, Jacquelyn not getting the chance to get a word out.
"No," Stroud added. "You were right. The Grey Wardens caused this. A Warden must -"
"A Warden must help them rebuild! That's your job!" Hawke turned to glare down the demon before them. "Corypheus is mine."
"There is another option," Jacquelyn turned to look at Justice/Anders and Duty. They had been sharing a look, seeming to be coming to an understanding with one another.
"What is that?" Jacquelyn asked. "And please speak quickly, I do not believe that the barrier will prevent Nightmare from attacking us for much longer."
"Duty and I stay back and hold Nightmare at bay while you all get out," Justice said, plain and simple. Frankly, Jacquelyn didn't see any issue with this. To her it fixed two problems with one stone. It would be easier to explain to Empress Celene that one of her precious advisors stayed back in the Fade to save her life than to explain that Anders was being imprisoned and potentially put to death for being an Abomination.
"Then I'm staying, too," Siara said, almost glaring at Justice and Duty, as though she was daring them to argue. Jacquelyn was almost surprised by this, but again she hardly saw any issue with it. The Blade becoming a martyr to protect the Herald of Andraste would make a good story. Once she thought about it a bit more, however, she knew that there was a good chance that they would still need Siara's skills later.
"No," Duty said, shaking his head. There was something that he wasn't saying, Jacquelyn could sense it.
"I'm not leaving!" Siara turned to glare at Justice. "Does Anders not get a say in whether you stay or not? It's his body you're in."
"It was his idea," Justice told her, gently. "He has seen what Jacen has become, he doesn't want to go back to your world without him. And he wants to redeem himself for his actions," Justice turned to Hawke. "Make sure she gets out of here. Do what you must, but do not let her stay and do not let her come back through the rift."
Hawke frowned, but he nodded, reaching out to grab Siara by the elbow. She shook him off, taking a step closer to Justice and looking him in the eye.
"I will only go if you promise to try and make it through," she said. "If I have to live with the knowledge of what Jacen has become, then so does Anders. There are other things he can do to make amends for his actions."
For a moment Justice didn't do or say anything, then he nodded.
"We will do our best," he said, then locked eyes with Jacquelyn when Siara turned to face Duty. Jacquelyn didn't need to be told what the look he gave her meant, and she just nodded.
"You, too," Siara said to Duty. "I don't care who you are now, you have to try to make it out, too. We can find a safer place for you to return to the Fade if that's what you want, but you're not staying where you can be Nightmare's chew toy."
"I'll be perfectly safe," Duty told her. "The only people you need to worry about are yourself and the Inquisitor."
Siara frowned, glancing at Jacquelyn, then looked back at Duty.
"What does that mean?" she asked, but she didn't get a reply. Justice and Duty had already stepped away from the group, making their way towards the Nightmare as the barrier between them and Nightmare faded away into nothingness. Hawke grabbed Siara by the elbow, and when Duty and Justice attacked, the rest of the group made a run for the rift.
They tumbled out of the rift to see the area still filled with demons, Wardens and Inquisition soldiers finishing them off as quickly as they could. It seemed that the demons were being killed one by one, and that the area would soon be cleared, so Jacquelyn turned her attention away from the ongoing battles and turned to face the rift as she staggered to her feet. She stretched out her hand, feeling the connecting power racing down her arm.
She turned as she felt someone grab her arm, looking right into Siara's face.
"Please," Siara was almost begging, "please, just give them a bit of time. Please, just a little bit. They need to make it through. Jacquelyn…"
Hawke stepped forward and gently pulled Siara back, his grip around her firm. His eyes locked with Jacquelyn's.
"I am sorry Siara," Jacquelyn kept her voice flat, "but we cannot risk it."
She turned back to the rift, allowing the power to once more shoot through her arm. She could feel the power of the mark, could feel her connection.
"No! Please, Jacquelyn -"
The rift closed. Jacquelyn slowly turned to face Siara, who was slumped slightly in Hawke's grasp, her eyes locked on where the rift had just been.