Conscious, Conscientious

Lammy wiped his eyes. A misty breeze swept past his face. He gazed around at the new starry sky and the evening waves below, dazed as if he'd just awoken in the middle of the night.

But there was no terror in his heart like the other times he'd escaped from a nightmare. Just as the heat in his face had dissipated at last, a peace from long ago returned to him.

Was…that all real? he found himself questioning. Was all of that really…me?

"It's alright," came a whisper to his side.

He barely heard it over the hushing waves. Zayza floated beside him, sitting atop a hovering wooden plank. Her hair waved gently in the wind.

Lammy finally realized Loozooloozeux was gone: at some point, he'd switched over to a plank himself, and the breeze through his own hair was equally steady. They were in motion.

He quickly deduced the planks weren't his own creations. All he knew was that after he saw Wei vanish in the explosion, his mind went numb. He was alert, but passive, operating without thought until just now.

Deon led the way before them, steering his own floating plank across the ocean and balancing Skrili in his arms, her limbs dangling loosely. Judging by Deon's calm demeanor and steady flight, Lammy's glint of worry subsided: she was just in a deep sleep.

"You should get some rest when we return," Zayza insisted softly.

When Lammy's attention returned to her, he could tell she must have noticed his shock subsiding. Her tired smile warmed under the moonlight.

Though worn down and stained in spots, Lammy found himself utterly relieved to see her real-world clothes again instead of the blackening dress. But the longer her smile lingered towards him, the more he felt a pressure tighten in his chest.

All at once, the tears burst out.

"Lammy–?!" Zayza worried, her arm reaching out.

"So…when you said I might have to run away with everyone else…" he struggled out, "...when you said I might stop hearing your voice…it was because you knew you were gonna…"

He hesitated, his own words only choking his heart further.

"I almost lost you…didn't I?" he managed.

Zayza's softening eyes gave away the answer before she even spoke. His tears only intensified.

"If a Dreamer uses too much of their Nightmare energy," the princess explained fragilely, "they'll trap themselves alone in their Nightmare…forever. I was prepared to risk it, but…together, we found another way."

Lammy sniffled. "Then…right before Dreamwake ended…that last extra push you gave…"

Zayza nodded solemnly. "If Dreamwake hadn't ended when it did, that would have killed me. I wasn't sure if my timing would work, but…I tried it anyway," she said. "I…couldn't let anyone else die."

"Zayza!" Lammy boomed.

She flinched, her green eyes shooting wide.

Lammy wiped his cheeks, though the tears continued. "You couldn't let anyone else die…" he repeated. "You need to include yourself in that."

Within the ensuing silence between them, Zayza's cheeks streaked with quiet tears.

"I'm so happy," Lammy breathed out, "…you're still here."

Finally, her tears poured out as fully as his. Mustering a smile, she nodded.

Barely paces before them, Deon felt a grin spread as he listened in.

Lammy's really growing up, he thought.

He peaked down at Skrili's face resting against his shoulder. She hadn't stirred despite her environment, but he knew she wouldn't for quite a while.

Deon resolved that once they were back in a secure place, he'd imagine the most comfortable bed he could possibly conceive for her.

I guess I've grown up a bit, too, all thanks to you, he noted. We really did it. We proved that vision wrong. Lammy's safe.

But…

He caught sight of the steadily approaching shore.

As they'd all suspected, the battle in the Chamber had come to an end. He didn't know how they could tell–but after Wei fell and Dreamwake ended, the air had simply become too still for the fight to remain raging on.

And with every second they drew closer, no more bursts of light in the sky or distant explosions persisted. Silence was all that remained at the other end of the waves.

Soon he could spot the shadowy outline of the one remaining Chamber wall just past the shore. The moonlight reflected against its steadfast window.

Three individuals stood waiting for them in the sand. Once Deon could make out their figures, the remaining pressure in his chest eased:

Phillip, Kotono, and Layla.

But heaviness replaced that pressure immediately, because even though his mind recalled what had transpired, his heart couldn't help but cling onto denial until the very end.

Hiroko's sharp, fearless stance was missing from the group.

We saved them. We won…but…we lost, too, Deon contemplated.

His mind replayed her last moments. She didn't even hesitate.

She really is gone.

Though he felt weightless, unable to process his senses properly, he kept himself centered enough to ease his floating planks towards the shore. The wet sand welcomed them within minutes.

Deon stepped down, careful to cradle Skrili for a steady landing. Even before he'd dismissed the planks, and before his feet had even finished sinking into the sand, he heard a shallow splash behind him.

Zayza rushed towards Kotono, who was the first to draw close. Reunited at last, the friends embraced tightly and wordlessly.

Lammy dismounted his vanishing plank and joined Deon to watch in equal silence. Likewise, Layla neared from behind Kotono.

Her eyes caught Lammy's for a fleeting moment, but when she looked away abruptly, he noticed the wet shine within them. She sniffed and fought to steady her shaking chin.

Phillip loomed close by, his eyes hidden and his arms wrapped around himself.

It was Kotono’s face Lammy was most afraid to behold. He wasn't ready.

"Kotono…" Zayza whispered, "I'm...I'm so sorr–"

Kotono's head suddenly lifted from Zayza's shoulders with intent, and Lammy was shocked to find her eyes had reverted back to their familiar soft red.

There wasn't even a hint of glowing light from them. Her face was utterly normal again.

Kotono's attention shot to Deon. Noticing Skrili in his arms, she released from Zayza's embrace before the princess could even finish speaking.

Urgent purpose flooded her gaze.

"Skrili," she uttered breathlessly, hurrying their way. Her hyper-focused eyes lit up green.

"She unlocked Concussion. So she probably took a hard hit to the head," Deon explained quietly. "Um…I'm sorry to ask, Kotono, but do you think you could help heal–"

The Emovert's now green-lit arms were already wrapping around Skrili to retrieve her. Startled, Deon helped lower his teammate onto the sand. He watched as Kotono placed her hands on Skrili's head and immediately began the healing process.

Everyone observed in uncomfortable silence. Kotono avoided their eyes, attentive only to her task at hand with an unnatural focus.

Lammy didn't get it. Her soft face was dry of tears.

While he admired her urgency to help Skrili, her demeanor wasn't real.

"Uh…Kotono?" he checked.

But someone's hand landed gently on his shoulder. Lammy turned to find the sniffling Layla, who simply shook her head to silence him.

They continued looking on together. The silence guided Lammy into his thoughts, but for once, that was the last place he wanted to be right now.

What is she supposed to do now? was all he could ponder.

When he met her, Kotono could barely enter the room–or even speak–without her lover's presence.

A piece of her probably died with Hiroko. As far as Lammy knew, it could have been all of her.

So who was she supposed to be now?

This happened because they wanted to save us, Lammy contemplated. But…was it worth what she lost?

He felt his own tears fall in place of Kotono’s.

When Zayza stepped close next, Layla mirrored Lammy's exact instinct. They both leaned forward to embrace her. He could feel her trembling as she leaned down and sunk her face between their shoulders.

Deon remained kneeling stiffly beside Kotono. Somehow, her inappropriately calm demeanor haunted him just as much as her black and white transformation from before.

It gave off the same essence.

He tried multiple times to speak up, only to close his mouth again. What could he possibly say to her? To any of them?

He found himself relieved at the first sign of a distraction. It came in the form of new footsteps emerging from the edge of the beach, and when Phillip, Layla, and Kotono seemed unconcerned at the sound, he decided there was nothing to fear.

He gradually recognized the tall blonde man under the moonlight: it was their Dreamer ally from before.

Lammy and Zayza turned to observe Fewpar, as well. He carried one of the robed Dreamer Guards towards a spot where he'd apparently placed several more of them in the sand already. Some sat seemingly in a daze, while others lay unconscious beside them.

"Your memories, Fewpar…Zayza's account…" muttered the guard he carried. "I was a fool. An utter fool…"

"We all were," Fewpar said. "We fell for a lie."

"I deserve execution…"

Fewpar lay him down carefully. "The Queen will decide our fates," he said, though his unworried tone turned the statement into more of a comfort than an omen.

He refaced the royal sisters with a bow and approached the group.

"My Queen, I'm afraid there is still much to do. The nation is unstable," he said.

Lammy nearly attacked his immediate call back into action–hadn't Layla braved enough of a storm already?

Hadn't all of them?

But he suppressed the notion when Layla straightened up and stood tall beside him, her eyes hardening. She nodded and looked up to her sister.

"It will take time until they understand the truth," she said. "Azvaylen will remain unsafe for you throughout this transition, sister."

"Is there anywhere trustworthy we can hide her until we've eased the climate here?" inquired Fewpar.

"Hidakala," Zayza said immediately. "...Hiroko's home. She originally tried to send us there to hide from you. It's a remote tribe in the Mainland Desert."

Fewpar awaited Layla's show of approval before he nodded, as well.

"Very well. However…" he pondered, "is that not sacred land? Will they permit you to–"

"They'll let us in," Kotono uttered quietly.

All heads turned to her, but she didn't avert her stoic attention from healing Skrili.

"I'm going too," she said. "I…have to tell them myself. They'll recognize the two of us."

A pause befell the beach once more.

"I'll attend, as well," Layla declared, breaking the silence.

Fewpar's eyebrows furrowed. "But–my Queen–"

"Hiroko is gone because she saved my life," Layla stressed. "I must see her family."

"I…understand," Fewpar yielded. "But during that time, there will be nobody to oversee the capital and prepare reparations."

Layla's gaze remained on him. After a moment, Fewpar's eyes widened. His jaw clenched in preparation as he realized her answer.

"Long have you been prepared for such a burden. Vayva made sure of it," Layla confirmed. "I'll be brief, and I'll resume my duties once I return. But I'll need your continued support even after that."

Lammy could hardly tell in the limited silvery lighting, but he thought he saw Fewpar's eyes dampen. Fewpar looked to Zayza, seemingly for further approval, and when she nodded to her former adversary the dampness only increased.

"My…my Ladies…" he uttered, his head hanging in a deep bow.

"All that's left is to secure a team of consciousness body guards to escort me and Zayza," Layla declared, looking at nobody in particular.

After a moment, she glanced at Lammy expectantly.

Finally, he caught the hint. "Oh…uh–"

"We'll be there. Lammy can look after you," Deon promised on his behalf. "We'll all go…right, Phillip?"

The Illusionist reemerged from the shadows enough to confirm with a nod.

"They may not let you all enter," Zayza cautioned.

"That's alright," said Deon quietly. His eyes reached past them all, finding the remains of the destroyed Chamber.

His heart twisted.

"Whatever we're able to do, we owe it to her."

All heads but Kotono's and Skrili's turned to the silhouette of the torn walls. Only the shore's whispers filled the chilling air around them.

"I'll secure a stable place to rest tonight. I know of areas our soldiers won't think to search," decided Layla. "At dawn, we shall depart."

~~~

"Little ones! I am quite a bit relieved to see you return!"

Deon blinked. Then he blinked again.

Standing on what looked like nothing but thin air above an entire reality was already discombobulating enough on its own. The sisters tried to warn him that crossing over the Lanmuraarch Worldline back into the Fantasy Country Mainland might feel a little 'peculiar' the first time, but he realized now how drastically they'd undersold it.

It was more like being sucked into the air through a straw, then eaten by the sky, and finally burped out into the dark beyond. The colossal orb-like mass that was Zayza's dim world was beneath his feet, precisely where he dove in three days ago.

But even still, what Deon saw before him now managed to top his previous confusion.

"Huh? Gibblez–"

"Gibblezgorv!" gasped Skrili beside him. Her eyes filled with tears. "You're okay…?"

Considering she'd only just awoken and sobered up from the healing this morning, her body and mind were still spent. But Deon knew that even if she was back to her full self, her emotions would have welled up just as swiftly at this sight.

The mint green dragon tilted his head around, checking his ancient scales as if trying to figure out her source of concern. He rebalanced himself within the sky.

"Well, I am a bit ruffled these days, but there's not much you can do about old age," he replied.

"Ah, they're back! With new ones!"

"Indeed!"

"Oh, for real? Sick!"

Three more familiar beasts swooped in to join the reunion. Gibblezgorv’s companions, the brilliant Horblezgorz and Fabinwaf and the rather plain Dylan steadied themselves behind him.

Deon blinked a third time. They seemed awfully sprightly for a group that was, when he'd last seen them, about to engage in ferocious combat with a flock of dragon guards.

"Um…how are you guys completely fine…?"

Fabinwaf huffed out a laugh, which evolved into a series of rumbling coughs.

"Well, after we all had a chance to cool our heads," explained Gibblezgorv, "we simply talked. When you live as long as us, you learn that most matters aren't worth dueling a fellow dragon over."

In the slight distance, Deon noticed the dragon guards soar by on watch. They casually waved when they spotted the gathering, and continued their patrol.

"Human lives are so fleeting and fragile," Horblezgorz explained gently. "So when a dragon has favorites, we make the most of that brief time together. The guards didn't dare dishonor that for you, did they, old friend?"

Gibblezgorv looked off with a shy smile. "Oh, don't bother them with that part," he teased. "Though I will reiterate just how thankful I am to see that all of you…returned…safe and…"

As his old eyes scanned the group of consciousnesses again, this time more carefully.

His smile faded.

"Oh…oh dear…" he uttered. "I am so sorry, my small ones…"

Kotono shifted abruptly, leaning down to Layla and muttering something seemingly unrelated to Gibblezgorv's condolences. The Queen visibly hesitated at her stoic demeanor, but nodded at her words.

"Understood. Then we shall proceed with the more favorable plan," she told the others.

Deon figured that much. Layla had originally prepared to win the dragon guards to their aid by revealing she'd overthrown their clients. But with Gibblezgorv and the rest unhurt, their transportation became much simpler.

And to Deon, after what they'd already lost, the dragons' safety was an utter relief.

Skrili clutched her travel bag probably tighter than she realized as she reached into it. "Gibblezgorv," she said. "We need to travel to the Mainland Desert…to Hiroko's home. I know that wasn't the original agreement…so can I hire you to fly us there?"

"No need to take out that dragon scale, Skrili," Gibblezgorv assured tenderly. "I will take you wherever you need today."

The other dragons expressed their solemn willingness behind him.

Deon couldn't seem to shake the ongoing twist in his chest as he observed everyone. It wasn't supposed to turn out like this.

But even as Hiroko's absence weighed down his heart, the sight of Lammy beside him lifted his hopes just above full despair.

Even now, it still felt surreal.

He'd traveled so long with Skrili at his side. Now, with Lammy on the other, it was like he'd obtained the whole world.

The cousins caught each other's mixed gazes. Though neither felt the need to put it to words, Lammy understood.

Standing between Zayza and Deon at last, he felt exactly the same.

He watched in amazement as Deon's majestic dragon friends swooped closer to retrieve them all for the trip. Their presence made it that much more obvious how much Deon and the others poured into ensuring his rescue.

And as he reflected on that, all he could focus on–all he could wish–was that Kotono could have walked away with the same comfort.

And she wasn't the only one.

His eyes lingered on Phillip while the Illusionist climbed into the smallest dragon's saddle wordlessly. He'd only spoken once earlier this morning.

The group had left the shore last night to acquire belongings from a camp Deon and the rest set up beyond the capital. Thanks to Fewpar acquiring warp orbs from the defeated Dreamer Guards, their late-night travel only took moments.

But before they embarked, Phillip broke off on his own.

Nobody needed to ask. They knew he'd gone to question Irma, and he resolved to do it alone.

They didn't see him again until morning. When he convened with them at Layla's indicated location, with a ghostly frown, he uttered six words:

"I searched everywhere. She was gone."

Lammy snapped back to attention when Skrili guided him gently towards the dragons. Kotono had already mounted the white-scaled one with Zayza. Remembering he'd been volunteered to bodyguard Layla, he decided to head over to the pink one where she was beginning her climb.

But despite his unfolding first experience with a true dragon, his mind circled over the same thoughts:

If Irma was gone, so was Phillip's only answer to Pang's whereabouts.

She tried to save us when she was in just as much danger. And when Phillip found out she wasn't here, he still stayed to save our lives, he thought. We can't stop yet. We HAVE to find Pang.

Layla clung around Lammy's waist from behind, just as she'd done on Loozooloozeux throughout the castle. Feeling the immense power underneath them, he couldn't decide if the lack of control on a real dragon would prove reassuring or terrifying.

But he quickly landed on an odd blend of both when they shot upwards and joined the greater Fantasy Country sky. Gibblezgorv and the other two dragons led the way, their tails swirling behind.

As the gloomy Lanmuraarch reality gradually shrunk behind them, Lammy's eyes were focused ahead. The seemingly endless sky was littered with hundreds of other realities, glowing like multicolored stars in the distance.

And Pang was still out there, somewhere in this Multiverse.

Atop Gibblezgorv's saddle, Lammy noticed Deon taking in the atmosphere just as him. But even though he couldn't see his cousin's face from here, he knew: that wasn't simple sightseeing.

It was searching.

Wherever you are, Pang, Lammy promised into the infinite horizon, hold on. We're on our way.

~~~~

The voices finally died out.

There were blue flashes, and then nothing.

Just the ocean waves.

Aoi stepped out from the bushes. The sand barely spread under her light feet. A breeze swept her hood over her face for a moment, but it wasn't much more obstructing than her blue-green bangs hanging over her eyes.

Wei's energy had flickered out. She felt it. There was nobody to use her right now, so there was nothing to do.

After all, when a warrior's fight is lost, his tools don't continue fighting on their own. They fall into the grass. They belong to whomever he served.

But there was still a trace. A weak remnant lingered in the air, and it came from the sea.

Aoi stopped where the trickling shore thinned. She focused her mind outward. Grasping on to the familiar essence, she pulled.

Minutes passed–perhaps it was much longer.

A sluggish figure rolled through the remaining waves. Wei finally washed up on the shore, his face to the sky. He was either dead, or stargazing.

Wei coughed and spat up water, and in the same breath, muttered out a laugh.

"I figured that was you," he confirmed.

Aoi drew closer until her feet were just above his head, and she stood above him. Wei's black eyes peered up into hers, his tired smile warming.

Aoi understood that smile as she loomed above him in silence. She was his highest pride.

Wei paid no mind to her lack of reciprocation. Rather, he treated it as such.

"I finally found my answer," he shared. "For a second there, I thought my potential would keep growing. But I finally found out where it stops."

Aoi watched him wordlessly.

"Well, I've done what I needed to do. There's not anything left to stick around for. And I've gotta say, I'm pretty satisfied."

Aoi didn't stir.

"Don't play dumb. You know what that means, Aoi."

She hesitated still.

Wei sighed. "We made a pact, remember? And haven't I held up my end of it?"

Aoi nodded.

"So now it's your turn," Wei said. "This is what I want."

The shoreline stretched further, wetting Aoi's feet. Soon it reached well past her as she stood above him.

"Aoi," Wei insisted quietly.

At last, she nodded again.

His smile returning, Wei looked past her to the stars again. "I guess the only thing I wish I could know is who the uppers will pick to take my place," he contemplated. "Maybe someone already on the team? Not Irma–she's way too lazy. Maybe Benton, then…yeah, I could see Benton being good…"

Aoi didn't divert from his eyes.

"Also, honestly, it would've been kind of nice to make you see more of the Multiverse with me," he added.

He returned his gaze, and forced himself to regain focus.

"Sorry, sorry. I'm ready," he insisted, closing his eyes.

Aoi watched him. The tide rose further.

"Come on," Wei pushed. He sighed again. "Fine…Aoi: I order you to do it now."

Aoi shifted. She focused on his body closely.

"Hmm…You know what, actually–"

Wei's body ignited in an instant spark that vanished as soon as it appeared.

Only a lingering shadow of ashes remained in his place. And immediately, the waves washed them away.

Aoi stood for another moment, alone on the beach.

Then she turned, took a step, and disappeared in a blink.