Conscious, Conscientious

Loozooloozeux swerved, orbiting past the castle’s towers.

“Great, Lammy. Now continue this way,” guided Zayza, her long hair waving behind her.

“Got it.”

Deon found himself blinking hard, as if that would help this all finally make sense. His cousin’s composure and, much more notably, his apparent mastery of imagining were completely opposite to when they had last spoken in Tailpiece.

While it felt like forever, it hadn’t really been that long.

Loozooloozeux took a slightly sharper turn, and Deon caught a glimpse of Lammy’s glowing eyes. They were just like his.

“So you, too,” Deon realized. “Hey Lammy, when did this become a thing?”

Lammy smiled shyly. “Well…it only kicks in when I get really stressed. It started when Zayza and I were running away from the people hunting us. All the sudden…I can imagine without trying sometimes.”

“Same here. But…it only happens when I’m pissed,” Deon shared.

Lammy spun his head back to see him. “You have it, too?!” he exclaimed, his face lighting up. “I knew it: you are you, after all. So then, your mind can enter the Dream World, too?!”

Enter the—wait what?! wondered Deon. He has even more powers than me?!

“Uh…I don’t think so,” he replied, burying his shock. He sucked air into his chest. “And I don’t know about the whole dragon thing, but I can make a mean giant squirrel monster!”

“Oh. That’s cool too, Deon.”

Deon deflated behind Skrili. Somehow, his cousin’s forced encouragement only squashed his ego further.

“Interesting…so we both awakened heightened powers triggered by emotions…” pondered Lammy. “Why? Mom and Aunt Meiv don’t have these kinds of abilities…”

“Good question, bud…”

“Well I’m glad you do have those powers,” Skrili said seriously. “We’ll need everything about them to face someone as strong as Wei.”

She turned to meet Deon’s eyes.

“That means yours, too.”

He couldn’t help but repel her stare, looking away towards the passing castle.

I can’t.

All he could think of were the times he hurt Pang. And even moments ago, he drew from that power to push Skrili down and almost jeopardized their rescue. Lammy and Zayza would both be dead if he hadn’t snapped out of it.

I’d put them all in danger. I’ll have to come up with another way, he decided.

By Skrili’s lingering gaze, he could tell she wasn’t buying whatever she saw going on in his head.

“We have another advantage, too: Wei doesn’t expect all four of us,” Zayza shared after providing another direction. “He intended the execution to be staged. Thanks to Phillip’s illusions, they believe we’re now back in the castle’s dungeons.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait a sec—so you guys went to be executed ON PURPOSE?!?!” Deon shouted.

“It was Lammy’s plan. He believed you would rescue us,” Zayza revealed.

Once again Lammy turned from his steering to face Deon, and a huge smile spread.

“And I was right,” he beamed. “This was the only way we could move fast enough to save Layla too, so it needed to work. I knew I could count on you.”

Deon mirrored his smile, his tension easing. Even with Lammy’s new strength and courage, he clearly still saw Deon as the bigger cousin he could always call out to.

It strengthened his resolve.

“Well even out here, it looks like your crazy strategies always work out,” Deon applauded. “So what’s the next move, coach?”

“Actually, this next phase was all Layla’s idea,” Lammy admitted. “We have to get to the Dreamer Chamber before sunset starts…”

“…And then I’ll defeat Wei,” finished Zayza.

Deon’s eyebrows raised high.

Is she serious?

“Alright, hold up,” he started cautiously. “No offense, Zayza, but…I really don’t think that will cut it.”

“We’ll need everyone,” Skrili agreed quickly. “We have to find Hiroko, Kotono, and Phillip.”

This time, Zayza was the one to spin away from her task at hand, her eyes big as they met Skrili’s.

“Then Kotono and Hiroko are alright?!” she pressed in a gasp.

Deon felt his heart weigh him down.

They were the last ones to fight Wei alone…he recalled. That last explosion…

“To be honest, we don’t kn—” he began.

“They are,” Skrili promised flatly. “I know they’re alive.”

Deon fell silent. He didn’t dare challenge her belief, even with the evidence to question it.

Zayza refocused on their surroundings, centering on something ahead. “But we’re nearly there…” she noticed quietly. Then, she observed the tired daylight. “And we haven’t much time left.”

“We’ll have to hope they find us,” Lammy figured reluctantly. He turned back to Deon and Skrili once more. “It’s kind of a long story, but when it hits sunset, Dreamer powers will work in the real world. But that’s also when we think Wei will make his move.”

He hesitated for a shallow sigh.

“…If we miss that moment, it’ll be too late to save her. We have to try, Deon.”

“Layla…” Zayza muttered to herself.

Deon wasn’t about to try and understand the intricacies of Azvaylen phenomena, or of Proscious’s method for snagging the small Queen’s powers. But more than that—he wasn’t about to challenge Lammy and Zayza’s urgency to rescue someone dear to them. Not after he’d just narrowly saved Lammy’s life.

When Zayza muttered her sister’s name, he knew exactly how she felt.

Skrili’s muscles tensed against his wrapped arms.

“Then let’s go in. I’ll give him everything I have,” she declared. “We’ll get your little sister out of there, Zayza.”

Deon found Skrili’s hand and squeezed it. She returned with even more strength. Somehow, the impossible power Wei had displayed days before didn’t shake his mind right now. The intrusive thoughts of Skrili’s mangled body in the aftermath didn’t reappear for once.

Perhaps it was the confidence and euphoria that they’d overcome the vision from their training: they worked together to save Lammy and Zayza, and stood up against fate itself. Perhaps it was Lammy’s presence, safe with them in this moment at last.

Or perhaps, it was just adrenaline.

“We’ll give everything right back to him, and worse,” Deon told his teammate.

“Y—yeah,” Lammy stammered bravely. “Deon, you better show me all the cool new techniques you learned with Skrili.”

“And we’ll reveal a few of our own…” Zayza chimed in, her voice unusually dark. She pointed over Lammy’s shoulder. “There. That structure ahead by the sea.”

Deon assumed Lammy wouldn’t know where to look, as ‘structure’ seemed too vague of a description. But within an instant, he could tell where this Dreamer Chamber was.

For one, it was the sole building at the base of the flowery slopes behind the castle. It rested just before the shore of a wide-open sea, where the sun’s glow was nearly touching the horizon.

But even if several other structures had been built around it, Deon would have been able to distinguish it by its magnificence alone. The purple and white-bricked monument brought a stillness to the atmosphere, encased within its perfectly circular concrete fence. He didn’t need Azvaylen knowledge to recognize they were descending upon a representation of the sacred.

It was hard to believe something so perverse was taking place within its pearly walls.

Lammy took in a deep, shaky breath, and let it out.

So this is the Dreamer Chamber, he beheld.

But its uncanny stillness came to a bone-shaking end: a muffled blast resounded from within the chamber, sending a heap of crumpled bricks diving into the sea.

Lammy jolted, gripping Loozooloozeux’s saddle harder.

“Hey…isn’t that—” Deon started from behind.

“Kotono!” Zayza and Skrili both exclaimed.

Lammy tried searching for the dainty champion fighter, but her glitters were nowhere in sight. He quickly caught on: his companions recognized her by the nature of the explosion alone.

She was inside the Dreamer Chamber.

“Then they’re here!” Zayza learned. “It’s already begun! Hurry!”

Upon Lammy’s command, Loozooloozeux began swooping down towards the ground before the Chamber, his heart racing and eyes brightening even more.

Here we go…his mind stormed.

“Look!”

Zayza had been the first to notice: all along the outer wall, guards lay motionless.

A blue flash suddenly flickered before the narrow entrance. In its place appeared a familiar shadowy figure: Phillip.

At first, Lammy assumed Phillip had been the one to take out the surrounding guards. But he glanced around at the scene with just as much bafflement as them, until peering up to find Loozooloozeux lowering close.

“Ha. Knew he’d slither his way outta that balcony,” Deon said, relief cutting through his confidence.

The rainbow dragon touched down smoothly, and Lammy felt the others already racing out of its saddle. He imagined Loozooloozeux away once they set foot and touched down beside them.

Phillip jogged up to his allies, his eyes mostly hidden behind dark bangs. He held a small, clear blue crystal.

“What, so you teleport now?” wondered Deon.

“Fewpar—an ally of ours—sent me here with this,” Phillip explained hurriedly. His focus turned to Zayza and Lammy. “We were trying to break away and get here, and he stole it off a commander I took down. But we let our guards down and got ambushed. He activated it, handed it to me while he fended them off…and now…I’m here alone.”

Lammy’s head dropped.

“Fewpar…” uttered Zayza.

To Lammy’s surprise, Phillip planted his hand on his shoulder.

“But your plan was still a success. Deon and Skrili, excellent work,” he rumbled. “Fewpar counted on us to finish this. Now, it’s time for Layla’s strategy.”

“But it’s too soon,” Zayza cautioned, eyeing the sky. “And the fight has already started…”

Another explosion from within the Chamber shook the ground. Zayza had to catch herself on Phillip.

“Kotono?” he recognized from the blast.

“Yeah. I don’t get this whole ‘make Zayza fight him’ thing,” Deon said, “but we have to get in there now!”

Skrili was the first to move, leading the way.

“They need us.”

Deon reached her side and met her speed, darting towards the thin entrance.

“Lammy, stay behind us at the back! Alright?”

He didn’t even need to suggest it: Phillip followed next, and Lammy trailed behind Zayza. She kept a wary hand on his shoulder as the group charged forward.

The opening in the outer concrete wall was slim, barely wide enough to fit two people at a time. They passed through and entered the brief open space before the Chamber building itself.

Lammy took a quick glance around. Every blade of grass was an unnatural shade of either white or purple at the tip. Chrome statues of symbols he didn’t understand stood before each corner.

Wait…is this still the real world?

It has to be…everyone’s still here in front of me…

But somehow, he could recognize it: the pure air, the uncanny sunlight…

This wasn’t the Dream World. But it was certainly beginning to feel like it.

The lustrous bricks reflected the five consciousnesses as they powered forward. One by one, Lammy watched his friends disappear under the shade of the perfectly square entrance.

Then with Zayza, it was his turn.

Another blast reverberated all over the dim hallway. Lammy winced.

“You stalked me all the way here, huh? You didn’t learn?” challenged an only slightly-bothered voice. “And here I assumed you’d actually care to save that third piece of your little trio from execution.”

“Just shut up and die.”

Hiroko.

“You’re the one who crashed my private meeting, you know. And it doesn’t help anything—now you’ll die next, like the pesky little Queen, and I’ll still get what I want.”

Lammy almost tripped.

Are we…

Breathless, Zayza sped up in desperation.

We’re too late?!!

“WEI!!!!!!” Deon roared.

His voice alone rivaled Kotono’s explosion.

The hallway had felt eternal listening blindly to Wei and Hiroko’s voices, but at last, it opened up. Deon, Skrili, and Phillip slid to a stop at the beginning of the room.

Lammy and Zayza reached them promptly. But Deon stretched his hand back to halt them, maintaining his attention at what lay ahead. They stopped behind the fighters and beheld the atrocities within.

He was certain the Chamber had once been beautiful and serene, before the massive wires covering much of the floor, the cold machinery, and the subtle bitter odor. The device-ridden walls were pale against the artificial lighting, leaving only the arching window at the back untouched.

The Great Window, Lammy remembered. That’s what signals the start of Dreamwake…

Its extravagant glass only welcomed a hint of indirect light from outside—the sun’s setting rays weren’t yet shining through.

There was still time.

For now, the artificial lighting dominated. But though it was lifeless, it painted the hallowed room with an excess of clarity. Lammy could see every corner.

He could see all the tears and frays in Hiroko’s clothing, and the gashes within them.

The champion floated in the air only paces ahead, side-by-side with the unblemished Kotono. And though Hiroko’s several wounds proved their unsuccessful efforts thus far, they still failed to diminish the team’s glory.

To Lammy’s surprise, they both glowed with Kotono’s energy, which flickered rapidly between blue and red. They faced their target with equal splendor as any of the opponents they fought in the Conscious Competition.

…No: with more.

The man Lammy had to assume was Wei stood on thin air across the room, hands in pockets. With his head cocked back a bit, his nonchalance matched Zayza’s recollection back in the dungeon.

Evenly between the combatants rested a dark square platform: the destination for the heaps of heavy cables. And unmoving, totally unfazed by—or perhaps, oblivious to the ongoing violence, stood Aoi.

Her cloak waved in the warm wind shooting from Kotono and Hiroko’s energy, but her hidden eyes didn’t even glance their way.

“Aaaaaaaaaand, great. Now the whole fan club is here. Because why not?” came Wei’s perturbed acknowledgement. “I swear, those Azvaylen soldiers can’t comprehend the simplest orders. Not to be mean—like, that’s a pretty fair criticism, right? That’s fair game?”

He seemed to be speaking to Aoi, who did nothing more than lethargically look his way as if she just noticed he was there.

“I mean really—I told them to use you, didn’t I?” he continued.

Nothing.

“Well again—it just comes back to understanding instructions, like I said. Obviously they didn’t use you right, because now the entourage is here,” Wei shared with her. “I feel like that’s on them, I really do.”

Lammy’s stomach twisted. This man was responsible for the torture and death of Zayza’s loved ones, and he had the audacity to feel slightly inconvenienced by their resistance?

Did he really think his aims transcended human life? That Proscious’ mission justified death for the innocent?

The thought turned Lammy pale:

Layla.

As he tried searching around the Chamber, he knew Wei’s disregard had found another prey:

He couldn’t find Layla.

He couldn’t breathe.

They were too late.

“Sister! Noble Lammy!”

Her young voice broke through tears of pride and terror.

Lammy whirled around almost in sync with Zayza: the Queen stood far in the back corner, a crowded ensemble of pipes and wires from the wall all angled at her head. Her hands pressed and pounded against an invisible surface in the air.

The wave of relief dropped Lammy to his knees. His eyes locked with Layla’s.

To his bafflement, she smiled through her tears—a smile she hadn’t shown him before, yet he’d seen countless times on her sister.

“Magnificent, Noble Lammy. Your plan was magnificent.”

Zayza brushed passed him in a dash towards the Queen. But a seemingly automatic sensation slowed her run and tossed her backwards off her feet. She crashed beside Lammy, rolling to a recovery.

“Nope,” denied Wei.

“Zayza!” shot Hiroko’s sandy voice.

Her head and Kotono’s only slightly turned back, but not nearly enough to look at their friends—even despite all this time apart from their dearest friend.

They’re not letting Wei leave their line of vision, Lammy identified. Then he really is that dangerous…

“Don’t try to do anything,” Hiroko continued, her tone harder than she likely wished it needed to be. “Not yet…”

That last part sparked Lammy’s mind. If he was reading her right, she’d spoken with concealed intentionality.

Is she familiar with Dreamwake, then?

It was possible: her best friend was perhaps the most powerful Dreamer.

Then…did she figure out Layla’s idea?

Unable to restrain herself any longer, Kotono finally turned to behold Zayza. Lammy only got a glimpse of her longing eyes before they pressed shut in a flinch.

A zap just before her triggered a burst of red energy, which lunged her backwards towards the group. Hiroko winced as the energy around her glinted red in the same moment. She flew back after Kotono, her eyes still glued to Wei.

They both stopped in the air, now within arm’s reach of Deon, Skrili, and Phillip. Thankfully, Kotono still appeared untouched: it seemed her powers automatically deflected whatever powers Wei had used to attack her.

“Hey! Cheap shot, much?!” Deon barked.

“I thought you came here for Round Two, Ms. Inoue,” Wei cooed. “Don’t get distracted, now.”

Skrili grit her teeth. “We’re here, guys. All of us,” she whispered to her seniors.

“Just as we planned. Benton and Irma are down,” Phillip added lowly.

Still facing Wei, Hiroko rolled her shoulders ominously slow.

“Cool. Kotono: you can disengage Emotional Support,” she instructed.

Something about her quiet collectedness gave Lammy a shiver.

“Y—you got it, Hiroko.”

The light energy around Hiroko departed from her. She touched onto the floor neatly as it became one with Kotono’s rays.

“Hey guys, Zayza and Lammy have been putting up with this little pest for quite a while now, huh?” Hiroko uttered. “Let’s cut them a break and exterminate it for them…the way we said we would.”

With their backs to Lammy, Zayza, and Layla, the five consciousness pros took on a joint stance.

Deon turned back to catch Lammy’s eye with a mischievous grin—the same one he’d often give back in Tailpiece…

…Whenever he had a secret new fighting move to show off.

And when his grin opened up, he snarled the same exact words he would say back then:

“Hey Lammy—check this one out.”