Conscious, Conscientious

Deon soared through the sky so fast he thought he might slip straight off of his plank.

It was too early to assume he'd mastered the speed of the technique, so he knew it was mostly his heightened state of imagining.

His muscles remained tense with impatient aggravation–all of that effort to avenge Hiroko and protect Lammy, all of that power from deep within, only for it to turn out they were fighting a copy.

They gave it everything. Now they had to try again.

But the knowledge only fueled his raging fire. He'd had it with Wei's trickery–with all of Proscious.

Nobody else was getting hurt. Nobody but Wei.

Skrili cut through the sky at a pace only slightly faster than Deon's. With her as a reference, he knew at least they were moving as hastily as they possibly could.

But as he trailed behind his tenacious teammate, further worry set in.

Soon, her light would burn out.

It was the nature of her power up: once her Concussion energy ran out, she would faint. She would be unable to fight, let alone move, for hours.

They needed to beat Wei before her energy depleted, or this was hopeless–and she would end up more vulnerable than all of them.

But Deon knew better than to check in on her again. She already said she could hold out, and she meant it. Doubting her would only show disrespect.

He chose to trust her, just as she trusted him earlier.

Something about this dreary realm seemed to shift as they flew. Deon glanced around.

It wasn't just in his head: Zayza's domain was getting darker, gradually losing what little light it started with.

But his stomach turned. Up in the sky, the amount of shadowy figures only increased. The silhouettes of friends and strangers continued their endless cycles, cowering from the wires around them, and then flashing into oblivion.

That can't be a good sign…Deon noted.

He blinked hard and refocused on their pursuit.

What was once their horizon was now getting closer by the second. The constant flashes and blasts nearly blinded Deon's eyes.

He started feeling a new wave of heat, even through the wind pulling at his body.

"Zayza's losing!" Skrili called back.

Watching closer, Deon tried to achieve her analytical capabilities. The best he could derive was that the green light seemed dimmer and less frequent than he remembered before.

That's her energy…he remembered. Then the situation's even worse now.

Soon they could pick out the specks of Zayza and Wei's figures. Skrili was spot on: Wei was on a devastating offensive, and when Zayza wasn't taking a direct hit, she was retreating through the air.

Then within all the darkness, Deon's heart filled. He caught sight of a rainbow creature and its young rider revolving cautiously around the duel.

He's still okay!

"Lammy!" Deon exclaimed.

They were still too far to hear, especially behind the unrelenting explosions. But his shout seemed to give Skrili an extra spark. She sped up even faster.

Then out of nowhere, the duo watched as the battle took a turn for the stranger.

Objects of all kinds, seemingly unrelated to each other aside from their simultaneous arrivals, popped into the sky all around Wei, Zayza, and Lammy. From Tailpiece trees to banners Deon recognized from Gloat Stadium, there was no clear pattern. They simply drifted in an orbit like they were weightless.

"Is that Lammy's imagining?" Deon guessed.

"He must be cluttering the sky to obstruct Wei's speed and aim!" Skrili marveled. "That's a brilliant move."

"That's Lammy for you!" Deon beamed. "Come on!"

His cousin's plan appeared to be working: he could hardly see them through the objects anymore, but the fighting had clearly come to a pause. No more energy blasts lit the sky, and he spotted no movement.

There was something tense about the stillness–especially without the ability to keep an eye on Wei. But Deon still held on to this inkling of hope.

Keep stalling him, Lammy, he thought. We're almost there…

The objects were getting clearer by the second.

But at the same time, the sky continued dimming. The black moon far behind the halted fight had grown larger, looming like a wordless final warning.

"What's our plan?" Deon checked, fighting to keep his nerves at bay.

"We stay out of view as long as possible," Skrili called back, "and then–"

"Right: we use the Skrili and Deon Ultimate Team Attack again," Deon finished. "But since we're both powered up right now, it's more like the Mega-Strong Skrili and Deon Ult–"

"We're not calling it any of that," Skrili refused. She focused back towards the crowded sky, and Deon knew his assumption was right. "We can't let him see this coming. If he can make another copy of himself, we can't let him realize he needs to," she added.

Something that insanely complicated would take time, Deon knew. It seems like he takes a second to imagine his giant light-ball thing, which means a full copy of himself's gotta take even longer. So if we act fast…

He nodded. Skrili was spot-on: an ambush was the only way forward.

Deon sighed hard and matched her level of focus. They were almost in range.

All that was left was timing and aim.

But Lammy's imagined objects all throughout the air added a complication. Deon would somehow have to push them away in order to place his springs for Skrili–all before Wei caught on to their surprise attack.

He blinked and felt the ongoing heat in his face. He pictured Hiroko.

Confidence sparked through him like fire.

Easy, he thought. I can do this.

For her.

For everyone.

Seeking one final dose of fire, Deon glanced at Skrili, who didn't show a hint of hesitation. In fact, she'd managed to speed up her charge.

Then he caught a quick glimpse of an orange shine from within the hovering objects: Lammy's eyes were glowing just as his.

It's time Wei finds out how it feels to–

His peaking adrenaline finally hit a wall. A deep, heavy uncertainty seeped in as a new sunlike shine collided with his eyes.

It totally washed out Skrili's purple hue, and even the orange light emanating in Deon's own vision.

Another one or Wei's orbs–no, three of them–appeared, and each was even larger than the one he'd blocked before.

They asserted their dominance in the air, immediately disintegrating all of Lammy's objects within its newly occupied space. Their shine nearly blocking out the black moon aside from a thin, ominous outline.

The howling wind ripped at Deon and Skrili.

"NOW WHAT?!" Deon cried.

"I DON'T KNOW ANYMORE! JUST MOVE!!"

Skrili's rare uncertainty only deepened his panic. Squinting to peer ahead, they watched as the massive cluster of pure heat began tumbling forward.

The wind tore the remaining floating objects away, and Deon finally spotted Lammy and Zayza: they were directly in the orbs' path. Green ignited around Zayza again.

Had her strength from before returned?

Maybe it was the deadly aura in the sky, or the discoloring from his own powers…but as Deon forced himself against the wind with all he had, he could have sworn Zayza's energy–even her very appearance–now seemed different.

Darker.

She raised her hands towards their incoming doom, and neither she nor Lammy attempted to flee.

"Don't!!" Skrili tried to scream, but the gusts sucked her breath.

The orbs were nearly upon their friends, a moment from swallowing them whole.

Deon tried and failed several times to speak, before he finally caught his breath for a fleeting instant.

"NO!!!!"

~

All Lammy could hear was the menacing wind, and the flaps of Loozooloozeux's wings at it battled to remain in place.

But he could sense Zayza's sharp protest loud and clear.

Lammy! You HAVE to go!

The light from the rumbling orb was now all he could see before them. It illuminated Zayza, who remained unwavering in its path. She checked towards him once more, her eyes wide and sharp.

Please, Lammy!!

But–

Dreamwake is almost over, she pressed. I may have one last way to end this…but if it fails, I need you to get far away.

WHY? Tell me what's going to happen, Zayza! Lammy cried.

She silenced her thoughts. But Lammy could still feel an impending, deep agony in her heart.

Then, blotches of black began spreading on parts of her dress like spilled ink. It gradually began overtaking the green.

Lammy altered his question.

Is…that because Dreamwake is ending?

She didn't answer.

The orbs' steady rumble intensified before them. In a few seconds, there would be no hope of pulling away from it.

There's no more time, Zayza said instead.

Somehow, Lammy could tell she wasn't only referring to Dreamwake and the orb.

No! If you don't get to make it out of this, Lammy protested, then neither do–

You've saved me so many times. Now let me be the one to save you, said Zayza. Her voice in his head became tender again. And please… look after Layla and Kotono for me.

She turned to him one last time, and despite it all, a smile spread on her face just like the first one she'd ever given him.

Thank you, Lammy. I know I can count on you. I always could.

Lammy clutched Loozooloozeux's saddle so hard he couldn't feel his hands. He couldn't breathe, so tears escaped instead.

It wasn't fair.

Why did he have to make this choice?

The orbs screeched and flickered. For an instant, Lammy assumed he'd taken too long, and their time was up.

But a cross between piercing squeaks and roars challenged its sound.

Lammy returned his squinting eyes to the orb. But now, there were equally gigantic, furry silhouettes pressed up against them, their claws and feet pushing the blast to a near-halt.

Three Giant Twitchy's unleashed another chorus of ferocious squeals.

DEON! Lammy knew.

His hope immediately reignited.

Come on!

Zayza watched the struggle motionlessly for a moment. Whatever she had resolved to do, the rapid shift to this sudden new chance left her stunned.

Lammy swooped Loozooloozeux closer.

Zayza, let's go! Help is here!!

R–right!

Snapping back into action, Zayza trailed behind Loozooloozeux's swirling tail as the two pulled away from the blast. Behind them, the Giant Twitchys' bodies were fading. But just before the power conquered them, they flipped backwards and lunged the orbs off track.

The eventual explosions almost shook Lammy off his saddle, but he hardly noticed. His focus was entirely ahead.

Deon stood atop a floating plank not far away.

"Deon! Nice–"

He quickly found it was far from time to celebrate their rescue. Deon's attention was away from them, his glowing eyes watching in desperate focus.

Because it was a sight so rare on his cousin, Lammy immediately recognized the urgent worry in his face.

He didn't have to trace Deon's gaze to find his source of concern. Across from them in the sky, a ziggzagging purple glow darted around against pads in the air.

And faster than Lammy could keep track, the light collided with Wei.

Only when he caught a quick glimpse of a kick did he recognize the light was Skrili.

Her power up! he remembered from the Conscious Competition.

But Deon's worry appeared only clearer as Lammy and Zayza reached him.

"How can we help?!" Zayza requested before Lammy even got the chance.

"Her Concussion energy is almost out!" he stressed, his eyes still stuck to the fight to maintain his end of the attack.

Lammy looked back. The purple was beginning to flicker sporadically. Skrili's movements slowed.

Then, Wei burst into motion. With a flickering punch, he managed to deflect Skrili back against the pad she'd bounced from.

No!! thought Deon.

In a split reaction, he managed to shift the pad's angle and bounce her away. She reset to their original pattern.

But now with her decreased speed, the assault had evolved into a two-way duel. Wei's counters began landing just as frequently as Skrili's flyby kicks.

"Looks like we're only able to keep him at bay until the rest of her power runs out," Deon warned his friends. "We need something more, like–fast!"

His eyes darted to Zayza for a quick second.

"Sorry, but…any chance you have anything left to give?"

"I do," she confirmed. "But it's at its limit. If I use too much…I won't be able to help any further…"

She glanced at Lammy.

"I'll…vanish forever."

Lammy observed her dress again. By now, it had gone almost entirely black.

Then that's what she was trying to warn me about…

Again, Wei slammed Skrili backwards against a pad. She bounced back towards him in a tumble, only to meet another direct hit.

"Skrili!" Deon cried.

"Keep sending me in!!" came her immediate, fiery demand.

Deon grit his teeth, but reluctantly, he obeyed her insistence. With a flash of purple, Skrili plowed through a thin wall of sparks and sweeped another kick across Wei's chest.

She's keeping him from having time to fully retaliate, Lammy observed. But…

"She can't hold it much longer!" cried Deon, confirming his fear.

Wei's voice was the next to ring out. But in contrast, despite his struggle, it was smooth–frustratingly beautiful.

"You all lasted so long!" he congratulated them. "But I guess fighting me spent up everything you're worth. Your strength equaling mine only ended up making me stronger…which must mean…"

He let a single, blissful laugh escape.

"I've finally answered my question."

"It's true. My power potential…really is ENDLESS!!!"

Lammy glared in defiance.

His mind sparked. It flashed to the initial fight in the Dreamer Chamber.

"He's wrong. It's not." He analyzed Wei for one more quick moment. "And we can do this without using all of Zayza's power."

Deon's better judgment wanted to reject the notion. This man had tapped into so much ability, he'd imagined a second him. Everything screamed they were utterly outmatched.

But he knew his cousin's tone.

"What do you got, coach?" he asked quickly.

"Retribution…you guys already found his weakness with your group attack," Lammy told him. "It was why you almost won: he can stop any attack…but not if he has to divide his strength."

Memories of the fight surged through Deon.

The quick diversions.

Kotono’s attacks, timed with his own.

They'd managed to blast Wei back.

Lammy was right.

Then that means when we got to the ocean, Wei was keeping a closer eye on us than I thought…Deon concluded. He sent his copy to keep us separated from Zayza.

We showed him his weakness.

Zayza spun around to face them. "Whatever we do, we must hurry! I can sense it…Dreamwake is nearly over!"

Behind her, Skrili's light flickered even more.

…And her Concussion is almost up! Deon noticed.

They were all at their strongest.

But they only had time for one try.

The cousins' equally vibrant eyes locked. At this point, neither could tell whose determination was inspiring the other.

The anxiety and rage remained burning. But an old confidence revisited them both.

Just like back in Tailpiece, they both thought.

Lammy's strategy came just as swiftly and precisely as Deon had come to know. He nodded, tensing his muscles.

As always, it was the right call.

Zayza summoned an aura of green light, a tainted blackness mixing into it.

"On your mark, Lammy," she said sharply. "My friends: let's finally bring this to an end."

Skrili let a shout of pain escape, but she kept powering back at Wei with all she had left.

"I've got her!" Deon promised. "Call it!"

"NOW!!!" Lammy cried.

The initial moment was likely the most crucial. Several moving parts needed to come to life at once, with no room for mistakes.

Even as Deon strained to launch his end of the attack, the only proper name for it surfaced in his head.

"Retribution II," he uttered.

He dismissed all but one of his launching pads around Wei, and as Skrili neared the remaining one, he redirected its trajectory. She bounced away from her enemy, flipping through the air until Deon caught her within a floating pillow below the fight.

In practically the same instant, even as the pads were still fading, Deon launched the next phase.

His heightened powers once again didn't fail him: as clear and ferocious as Deon had intended, a Giant Twitchy popped into existence lunging straight at Wei from his right.

And it wasn't alone: simultaneously from Wei's left, Lammy imagined a larger, burlier Loozooloozeux to flash into view and surged forward headfirst.

The two beasts nearly pressed into Wei. But they met an invisible force inches from his flesh: he'd managed to raise his hands towards them within the instant. The monsters collided against millions of small, popping sparks, and pushed against them to try and break through.

But Deon and Lammy didn't waver. They were fulfilling their roles successfully.

Just as their offensives had been unfolding, Zayza had swooped in closer and matched Wei's height in the air. Within a half-second after Twitchy and Loozooloozeux appeared–timing as perfect as Lammy could have hoped–Zayza blasted a smooth beam of energy at Wei's core.

Bogged down by Deon and Lammy's attacks, there was no dodging it. The green and black beam slammed into him.

No–it was halted immediately before his chest. Pressing against yet another wall of sparks, the beam glowed and sang in place.

"Keep it coming!" Lammy stressed.

Twitchy roared, the second Loozooloozeux let out a humanlike shout, and both plowed forward harder. Zayza held her beam steadily in place, wincing as more black seeped into it.

None of the attacks had yet broken through. But Lammy had never felt more fire in his heart.

He could see it for the first time: Wei was straining.

He had nothing to say–or rather, he couldn't afford breaking his focus to say it.

It's working, Lammy knew.

But seconds passed, and still, nobody managed to break through. The black moon behind the struggle darkened into a soulless void.

Wei finally lifted his head towards them. Still grimacing, his smooth smile once again broke through.

"NOT…ENOUGH…" he strained.

But as if in reply, a purple streak of energy shot up from below.

Just beside Zayza's beam, Skrili appeared and slammed her knee into the shield of sparks. Shouting and surrounded in the last of her energy, she forced her knee harder and harder against it.

A crackle resounded. Wei jerked back once, now gritting his teeth from the increased pressure.

Deon couldn't help but let a dark smile spread. He would have taunted out loud, but he remembered Lammy's constant admonishments for doing so and bit his tongue.

"We got him this time," he encouraged everyone instead.

Watching all the simultaneous, heated attacks from a distance, Deon focused on Wei.

He shook his head, a strange sorrow welling within him. But he quickly realized it wasn't pity he felt: it was a touch of embarrassment.

So this guy's just an idiot, like I was.

Wei was supposed to be the strongest. He was, unquestionably, more powerful than all four of them.

But Deon had to face it: if not for Wei's mindset, Proscious very well could have defeated them all.

It came to Deon as a somewhat bitter, but ultimately sweet realization:

Being the strongest fighter didn't truly make you the strongest.

If Wei chose to fight alongside his cohorts from the beginning, if he had learned to operate with Irma, Benton, and Aoi as one constant unit like Deon and his friends had done, this could have turned out very differently. Proscious very well could have defeated them all outright.

But Wei was so enveloped within his fascination and curiosity for his own power, it trumped Proscious's mission in his mind. He practically paved the way for Hiroko's plan to isolate his other members, defeat them first, and face him alone.

He wanted to accomplish Proscious's dark deeds. But above all else: he wanted a good challenge.

Deon could feel that grin Wei always wore. He understood. After all, he ran away from Tailpiece in search of the same exact thing as Wei–but his own discontentment had pushed Savannah, and nearly Lammy, away.

Had Deon not been humbled so immediately into his journey, had he not met Skrili, Pang, and the others and simply remained the best fighter he knew, he could have remained on the same path as Wei. And he would have been weaker for it.

But ultimately Deon realized he was, in fact, stronger than Wei.

Now he could see: true strength took humiliation, failure, and a lot of help. It didn't come strictly from superior power, but from the people he chose to surround himself with. It meant learning to support them, upholding their strong points, and allowing himself to be supported.

He thought he'd left Tailpiece to further test his power. Now he was about to help defeat perhaps the most powerful person he'd ever fight, he was about to help save everyone, because he'd learned something quite different instead:

Real strength wasn't about being the best. It was about bringing out the best in each other.

That, Wei, Deon thought, is why we win.

But a shift in the air jolted his fear back into place.

He could smell the ocean waves again.

Deon glanced around, still focusing his powers on the attack.

The deepening purple atmosphere was giving way to a more natural, starry sky. The black moon was fading, and a silvery one was beginning to appear farther away.

"Dreamwake is ending!" Lammy cried.

Wei's sparks pushed harder against the four attacks. Zayza's beam retreated slightly backwards, its shade almost entirely black.

Skrili's energy now blinked endlessly beside it, about to burn out any second.

But while the cousins shuddered at the sight, Zayza didn't falter. She eyed the sky, and then returned with a new, urgent resolve.

Zayza pushed forward, and no longer holding back, she burst out all of her energy at once.

The shadowy beam rammed against Wei's blaring defense. A crack rang out.

Then another.

Giant Twitchy and Loozooloozeux pressed with deafening roars.

Zayza pushed even harder.

After one last shove Skrili's light finally blinked out, and she began falling limply out of the shifting sky.

Then, the black beam burst through.

Zayza's energy reached Wei.

The explosion rang out for only a second, and then oddly, its sound vanished all at once.

As Deon dismissed his attack and raced to catch Skrili, he found she wasn't falling towards black mountains anymore. Now the open sea was beneath her.

They had returned to the real world.

Skrili sank safely into his imagined floating pillow, but Deon's eyes caught Zayza falling through the sky next.

Before he needed to act, however, she landed within a similar hovering pillow. Lammy let out a sigh at his successful catch from within Loozooloozeux's saddle. His other dragon had vanished with the Dream World, but his eyes remained subtly glowing.

The princess looked up to them, her hair frazzled again and her clothing having reverted back to their form before Dreamwake. With a sigh, she sent them a tired smile.

Wei was nowhere to be seen.

At last, the air was peaceful.

It was over.