Celestia heard her mother's words and they felt like stones striking her body. She was being so hurtful and yet she was beginning to make sense. Celestia was beginning to hate herself. She was beginning to wonder why in all the worlds she would be chosen for anything of great responsibility. She should have never entered the Vander home. She should have listened to her mother and stayed with her. She'd live a normal life and live to be old and grey. Was that truly so bad?

Amidst the stream of curses and insults a whisper was heard. It was extremely silent at first but she was certain she had heard it. She blinked her eyes and wiped them of any tears and looked around, ignoring her shouting mother. The whisper was heard a second time and Celestia gasped when she heard it call her name.

"Look at me when I speak to you!" her mother cried out, her face red with fury. "Just another show of your utter lack of respect! I should have you—"

"Celestia!" the whisper called, louder this time.

The young woman heard it from all around her, as if the darkness itself was whispering her name. She stood up and heard it call another time. Her pain subsided slightly and she felt a strange rush of something warm crawl across her whole body. Was it hope?

"She isn't your mother, Celestia," the whisper said. This time her mother heard it too and glanced about, a strange look of uncertainty appeared on her face. "It's me, Casandra! This is a trick by the corruption on the anchor. It's trying to subdue you and kill you from the inside. Do not let it! Rise up and face your fears! See the truth!"

"Casandra!" Celestia called out, her body feeling lifted by her words and strength returning to her soul. Casandra would never lie to her. She had never met someone as honest as her before. She was a true mother. Not like this imposter.

Celestia frowned and set her eyes on the woman that called herself her mother. "You are not real! You are not my mother!"

The woman laughed, though with a slight hint of fear in her voice. "You are mistaken, Celestia. That voice you heard is the lie. I am the truth!" She stepped forward and slapped Celestia across the face. "How dare you doubt me!"

Celestia didn't wince from the slap despite the burning string she felt on her cheek. The woman pulled her arm back and went to slap again. Celestia snapped her hand up and grabbed her wrist before it hit her face. She squeezed tightly, finding power she had been unaware of and nearly cracking bone. She felt her nails begin to elongate and her eyes widened at the sight.

"Unhand me!" her mother shouted, her eyes frowning but her face beginning to pale. "I am your mother, Celestia! How can you treat your mother like this?"

That was too much for Celestia to handle.

"How can I treat you like this?" Celestia asked, her grip tightening and her long nails beginning to curve inward and dig into the woman's skin. "How can a mother treat her daughter the way you treated me? You have done nothing but hold me back and keep me away from the world around me! You never let me become the person I am meant to be! You never gave me any freedom! You never let me be me!

"You curse me and insult me and talk me down and make me hate myself and expect me to love you for it? What kind of mother do you think you are?! A mother's love should be the strongest bond of all and I want nothing more than to be rid of you! You should let me grow up and find out who I am! You are a mother, not a jailor! So how dare you to treat me like this!"

Celestia snapped her mother's wrist clear off her arm and with a cry of anguish the imposter began to fade and disappear as her severed hand fell. Before the dismembered appendage hit the black ground it had faded away, as did the rest of Celestia's mother. Celestia then watched the blackness lighten and take shape.

Standing in Valthumar's sisters' room she saw Casandra before her, a warm smile on her face.

"I always knew you had the strength in you, Celestia," Casandra said to her.

Celestia leapt at her and wrapped her in a tight hug. "Thank you! You are a true friend."

"I would never abandon you. We go through this together, as we are meant to."

Celestia stepped back and smiled back at Casandra. "Your children are the luckiest in the world to have a mother like you."

Casandra blushed.

****

The cold metal felt pleasant against his temple. Boog held the gun tightly as his parents stood before him. They had let his neck go and given him the ability to breathe but were now only encouraging him to pull the trigger. His younger self stood off to the side and said nothing, watching the scene intently.

"All will be set right, son," his father said. "Pull the trigger."

"You will be doing us and the world a great favour," his mother was telling him. "Just pull the trigger."

"There will be no more pain and no more fear, son. Pull the trigger."

"Do it for me, Charlie Bear. Come back to us now. Pull the trigger."

Pull the trigger.

Pull the trigger.

Pull the trigger!

His finger wrapped against the smooth metal hook and his teeth chattered as he prepared to pull it back. Visions of his childhood, the happy moments, flashed through his mind. He saw his father playing catch with him. He saw his mother reading him a book. He saw himself watching an intense game of football with his father, a bowl of popcorn between them. He saw himself playing with the neighbor's dog as his mother and neighbor watched on, talking to one another. He saw himself in the old truck as his father drove him around town, enjoying some time together. He saw himself helping his mother clean the house and listening to music on the radio. He saw himself sitting outside, on the ground, watching his father spray his mother with the garden hose as she pulled weeds in the flower bed, the two of them laughing gleefully.

"Boog," a weak voice said from beyond.

He glanced from side to side, his head never moving, the gun still pressed against it. His parents hadn't noticed and were continuing to urge him on. His younger self watched him, his face expressionless.

"It isn't real. None of it is. See it for what it really is. It's Casandra. Trust me."

He must be going crazy, he thought to himself. He was hearing Casandra's voice for no reason. Why would he be hearing her voice? What did she have to do with any of this?

"Boog!" This voice sounded younger and held more energy. It was incredibly familiar. "Boog!" He knew who it belonged to now. Celestia! "It's a nightmare! Wake up! Don't let it take you! I had the same thing happen to me! Casandra helped me out of it! None of it is real. The corruption on the anchor is trying to make you kill yourself! Don't let it!"

A trick? A nightmare? An attack on his own mind? The corruption was trying to make him do its dirty work for him? No one fooled Boog. No one played him for one. No one did and survived anyhow.

His clattering teeth clenching tightly and his face contorted into a deep frown of rage. Boog lowered the gun and aimed it at his father. "Pull the trigger? You're damn right I'm going to pull the trigger!" He did, and the bullet pierced his father's skull. His body strangely vanished, as if it had never been there in the first place. He aimed at his mother.

He hesitated.

Her face was etched in fear and he felt his heart ache at the sight. She looked so much like her. She begged him not to shoot and her voice tore his soul in two. She sounded just like he remembered. Maybe it really was her. His gun began to lower.

"Boog!" he heard Casandra and Celestia call out to him.

No. It wasn't real.

Before his mother could attack or run he fired a shot into her head. She vanished as quickly as his father had and Boog fell to his knees, dropping the gun. He gazed to the side, where his younger self still stood, watching.

The young Boog smiled at his older self and nodded, content with what happened. He then slowly faded away into nothing and the scene before Boog warped and twisted into another one he recognized. He was in his room in Val's mansion, kneeling beside his bed as Celestia and Casandra stood in front of him, the latter jumping with joy and the former offering him one of her warm smiles.

He found himself smiling back, grateful to have them by his side.

****

Graham sat on a demolished house with his legs dangling off the side and his head bowed in utter shame. He had lost everyone. He had killed them all. Celestia would never return and it was his fault. She shouldn't return. He didn't deserve anyone like that in his life.

He felt the stone around his neck and eyed a huge destroyed building. He should just conjure a powerful wind to lift up some of the debris and have it crush him. His misery would be over and he was sure Celestia would be happy to know he was gone for good. It could be his last gift to her.

He felt the stone and raised his other hand, felling a breeze wrap itself around his arm and swirl around his fingertips. He eyed the large pile of debris and took a deep breath. He sent his breeze toward it and intensified it as it gathered speed and power. Lighter objects began tossing about, circling around the demolished building as the larger pieces began to shake and shudder. He increased the wind's strength and soon some of the larger pieces began to lift and slowly raise themselves into the air. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he concentrated and the whole pile began to swirl slowly as it rose higher and higher.

Something appeared on the road to his right and he glanced at it. His eyes widened at the sight and he lost all concentration. The piles of debris crashed back to the ground, creating a huge cloud of dust that blew over him. He blinked rapidly as the dust stung his eyes and with a frustrated wave of his hand a powerful gust of wind blew it aside. There were three figures standing on the road. Casandra and Boog stood and watched him as Celestia ran his way, her hands lifting her dress as she ran as quickly as she could.

His heart beat like a drum as he launched himself off the pile of debris and ran toward Celestia, his mind racing to find a reason for any of this. She was calling to him, her face all bright and wonderful.

"This is a nightmare, Graham!" she yelled as she rapidly approached him. "Don't believe any of it! It really is me! Wake up!"

The two reached one another and wrapped their arms around each other, hugging tightly. Graham held on to her and felt her warmth and her heart beating against his chest. It was powerful, fast, and it was real. He looked at Casandra and Boog, the former smiling and the latter nodding with a wink. He hugged Celestia tighter and closed his eyes.

When he opened them he was in his room in Valthumar's mansion, Casandra and Boog standing only a few feet in front of him and Celestia still in his arms. He pulled her back and smiled at her. "You saved me."

Celestia shrugged. "I figured it was my turn now." She gave him a peck on the cheek and pulled him out of the room as Casandra and Boog followed. "Come, we have to help the others."

****

Ivory breathed as slowly as possible, remembering her training and burying her fear as well as the earth above buried her. She dwelled on the fact that she had been betrayed. She hadn't been betrayed by just anyone but by her own brother, the same one she had thought had died before she ever became a Captain. He was alive and she had saved him but for a reason she couldn't decipher why he had buried her alive. Her heart was crushed and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, not wanting any tears to flow out. She would die with dignity. She would die brave and strong.

She would die alone.

"Ivory," she heard a voice say.

She wanted to open her eyes but stopped herself, not wanting any soil to get into them. She could do nothing more but listen. The voice had been familiar and sounded as if it was coming from the earth itself, as if the ground was speaking to her.

"Wake up, Ivory," the voice said. "Open your eyes and see that whatever is happening around you isn't real. It is a trick by the corruption on the anchor. Do not let it kill you."

Casandra, Ivory recognized. She was saving her again. She was once again preventing death from reaching her. A tear did escape her closed eyes then. As much as she wanted her brother to be with her, deep down she had known it couldn't be real. With a deep breath, feeling the earth press down on her more tightly as she exhaled, she remembered the bed she had lain in before arriving at this strange place and opened her eyes.

A thick blanket lay atop of her and four figures stood by her bed, looking down at her.

"Welcome back," Casandra said, gripping Ivory's hand in hers.

Ivory squeezed it. "I am in your debt."

"Nonsense," Casandra said, placing her other hand on Ivory's forehead. "You are a part of this team and we all look out for one another. Together, we are unstoppable."

Ivory frowned and nodded. "Let us be rid of this corruption."

"Music to my ears," Boog said with a smirk and a nod.

****

Elmar eyed the silver sword in his hand. It had belonged to a silver soldier, an agent of the enemy king, and had probably killed many of his father's soldiers and guards. With nothing left for him, it would finish his father's line completely. The conquering king had left the room some time ago, attending to other matters, and Elmar was alone with the bodies of the slain soldiers from both sides and his father and wife's corpses. Ilea's hand was in his and it was so cold. She had already begun to stiffen and his heart felt as if it was obliterated.

All it would take is one stab into the abdomen. The sword was blessed with holy energy and would ensure that even a demigod as himself would die from a wound it committed. All he had to do was plunge it in his gut. His failing body would do the rest.

He looked down at Ilea, her pale face and blank eyes staring at nothing. "I will be with you soon, my dear. I promise you. You will not have to wait long this time." He placed the tip of the blade against his belly, feeling the burning energy running along its length singe through his mantle and heat his skin. "We will be together again, my love. We will be in each other's arms again."

"Stop, Elmar," said a feminine voice.

His eyes snapped down to Ilea, but she hadn't moved and her expression hadn't changed. Had it been just his imagination? Was his mind trying to trick him and stop his act of suicide?

"It's me, Casandra," she said. "Listen to me, Elmar. You are living a nightmare. It isn't real. See through the lie and come back to us."

The blade in Elmar's hand quivered. With another glance at Ilea he threw it aside and blinked away his tears. "Casandra?" he called out. "Is it really you?"

"Yes, now wake up, Elmar. We need you here with us. Boog, Celestia, Graham and Ivory are waiting for you to help us free the others from their nightmares before it's too late."

The anchor! The sickness destroying the anchor was doing this. He should have known better. He should have known! Frowning, he stood up and looked away from Ilea, feeling a sting of guilt pierce his body. She was still alive and waiting for him. He had to return to the others and complete his task so he could come back to her. He took a deep breath and stared forward.

The scene around him altered and transformed into something different. The diamond throne became a simple wooden chair, the throne room shrunk and became a bedroom. The soldiers and other deceased disappeared and were replaced by hardwood floors, furnishings, and a large bed.

Standing around him was Boog, Celestia, Ivory, Graham and Casandra. He smiled at them all and they smiled back. He eyed Casandra and gave her a wink. "Let's finish this dance."

Casandra nodded back. "I agree."

Elmar grabbed his staff leaning against the wall and followed the others out of his room.

****

Karmen sat on her knees with her head bowed low and her arms hanging limply at her side. She was motionless, expressionless, and completely silent. She breathed but she felt completely dead inside. She had been assaulted by all the emotions and memories she had buried deep inside her and now she was finished. Her soul was laid bare and her heart was tattered and torn. She had lost the will to live.

She found herself thinking of events that hadn't happened yet. She began to think of a faceless man she was laughing with. She saw them becoming friends and later on a couple. They were walking in a museum together, admiring the exhibits. She then saw the two of them sitting in a park as they both read books, enjoying the tranquility and bonding together wordlessly. She saw her leaning her head against him as they sat on the couch watching something on the television. He wrapped his arm around her and she held it against her, a smile coming to her face. Karmen felt a cold hand grip her heart and squeeze it. She saw her and her mystery man standing together at an altar, her dressed in a gown of white and he in a black suit. She saw herself suddenly become a fearsome beast with fur and claws and teeth. She saw her kill the man beside her and then attack all the people seated and watching the ceremony.

"It's all that would happen anyway," she mumbled to herself. "I can't be trusted with anyone. I'm just a danger." She raised her hand and looked down at it, picturing it becoming a clawed paw and slashing a large gash across her neck. It would so simple and so easy.

She never did it.

Casandra's voice begged her to see reason and truth. It had come quietly at first but Karmen heard it clearly now. It really was her voice. She looked up and saw her standing there in front of her with Boog, Graham, Ivory, Celestia and Elmar. It really was them and they were all looking at her and waiting for her to move.

Casandra extended a hand to help her up.

Karmen, finding courage and strength, reached up and took it.

****

Aragol walked slowly, leaving the room of dead civilians and held himself up by grabbing the doorframe when he reached it. He glanced back, his face tear-stricken and red, at the bodies of Trystania and Elario. He breathed deeply as more tears rolled down his cheek. What had he done? How could he have killed them? Trystania may have been the enemy but she had been unarmed and wearing royal garb. And Elario...

Dear Elario...

Aragol sniffed and walked out the room, unable to bear the sight any longer. He walked past the slain king and his men, the survivors watching and waiting for an order. He never gave them one. He walked by them, his silver-haired head hanging low, and left the throne room. He turned right toward a spiral staircase that led him higher up the tower. He walked up many steps before he found the door he had been looking for. He pushed through and found himself on one of the tall stone bridges that spanned the moat and connected to a smaller tower across from it. He estimated himself to be about a hundred feet high.

High enough for the fall to kill him.

He walked along its length and reached the small tower at the end. Before entering it he looked down and saw large boulders and rocks placed against the base of the tower, a crude defense mechanism designed to kill any enemies thrown over the side.

Good, Aragol thought to himself. It would fulfill its purpose this day. He climbed onto the edge of the bridge and stood straight. He had sheathed his blade but he unsheathed it now and eyed its blood-stained edge. He hadn't even bothered to clean it. Grabbing his cape, he wiped the blood off the fine sword and eyed his reflection upon its shining surface. Some lucky Draconan survivor would find himself with a new sword in the near future. It was the least he could do for slaying their king and princess. Without another thought he tossed the sword over the edge. It tumbled through the air and landed with a bounce on the soft ground beyond the boulders.

"Now it is my turn," he said, looking down.

"No it's not!" a voice he recognized as Casandra's called out to him. "Listen to me, Aragol. None of this is real. You never did any of this. Wake up from this nightmare."

"I'm a killer. I don't deserve to live..."

"You are not a killer, Aragol. You are our friend and our companion."

"Snap out of it, buddy!" he heard Boog's deep voice call out. "We need you and that sword of yours!"

"Aragol." It was Karmen. "What they say is true. It's all a nightmare. We all had to go through the same thing. Don't give in to it. You aren't a killer or a murderer or someone evil. You are...you are...you aren't any of those things. Come back to us..."

"Come back, High General," Ivory said to him firmly, like the Captain she was. "We have a war to win."

His fists clenched and he set his jaw. They needed him. It was his duty to complete the task that was given to him. It was his duty as High General to protect his people and to honour his king. If he let the darkness destroy his world he would fail. He could not let that happen. He stepped down from the edge of the bridge and frowned. The bridge disappeared and so did the tower and the moat and the entire city around him. It was replaced by his room in Valthumar's mansion and seven of his friends standing before him.

He nodded to them. "Forgive me for losing myself... I let my greatest fears take over. I was not strong enough to stop them..."

"You are here, aren't you?" Casandra asked him kindly. "You certainly were strong enough to come back."

"Where is Victoria?" he asked, not seeing her with them.

"Come with us and help us bring her back."

Aragol nodded as the group left his room and hurried to Victoria's. They entered it to find her on her knees with her head bowed and her hands gripping something they could not see. She held it close to her heart, as if it was precious.

Elmar recognized the scene immediately. "She's going to stab herself!"

Casandra rushed to her side and put a hand on her head. She extended her other hand and Celestia grabbed it. She extended hers and Karmen grabbed it as Graham grabbed hers, Boog grabbed his, Elmar grabbed his, Ivory held on to his and Aragol grabbed hers. Linked together, they closed their eyes when Casandra instructed them to and remained quiet as she probed Victoria's mind.

****

It was a dagger. She held it in her hands and was amazed at how sharp it was. The grey woman had tossed it to her when passing Ivory's dead body, pulling it from a sheath on her side. Victoria couldn't see the grey woman anymore but her dead friends lay in front of her still, reminding her of her failure. She would die with them now, as she should have when they had battled the grey woman. All would be as it should be.

She placed the dagger under her left breast and titled it upward, feeling the prick of the sharp blade through her shirt and into her skin. She pushed it in slightly and winced as it sunk into her flesh, shedding blood. She looked down and watched as blood slowly dripped down the blade and reached the small crossbar. It dripped on the ground, forming tiny red dots on the black marble floor.

Just a little further, she thought as she felt her heart beat faster and faster as if it knew what was coming. She wondered how it would feel to have her heart sliced open. Would she feel immense pain or nothing at all? She looked down at the dagger, buried half an inch into her chest, and steeled herself. She would find out soon enough.

She pushed the dagger into herself, all the way to the hilt. She had felt the pain of the blade slicing through her ribs and now experienced warmth spreading throughout the inside of her chest as blood poured out of her sliced heart. Overall, it wasn't as painful as she had thought it would be. Her head felt light and her vision became hazy. All would be as it should be.

She had just enough time to see Casandra running toward her before her world went black.

****

The group of frightened and alarmed men and women stood in a circle around Victoria as she lay on the ground, motionless and not breathing, their hands unlinked. She appeared completely unhurt yet was acting quite dead. Casandra had her hands on her, focusing hard as she struggled to keep her wari intact.

"Her life is slipping," she said, her eyes closed in concentration. "She thinks her heart is pierced and is rapidly losing the will to live. I am having difficulty convincing her she is alive and keeping her wari from getting severed. I...I don't know if I can do this..."

Celestia stepped forward and placed her hands on Victoria's cold body. She looked at Casandra. "What do I have to do?"

Casandra didn't open her eyes. "Feel for her life force. Feel for the energy that keeps her alive. Her soul is weak and fading fast. She has a powerful essence but it is being tricked by her mind into thinking she is dying. Either try to keep her wari in one piece or try to peer into her mind and convince her she isn't dead. I am failing at both attempts. We have little time..."

The others still standing exchanged worried glances. They watched as Celestia and Casandra tried their best to keep Victoria alive. To them she already looked dead yet she suffered from no wound. They didn't know what to do to help her.

Karmen bent down and grabbed Victoria's face in her hands. "Don't die on me, you little bitch! Don't do this to me! You can't leave us! We are a team! We need you here with us! You aren't dying and whatever nightmare you see isn't real! Snap out of it, Victoria! We all did it and you can too! You're stronger than all of us and you know that."

There was no reaction at all.

Karmen frowned and her lips quivered. "Fine! Show me I'm wrong! Show me that you are actually weak and pathetic and useless! You aren't good enough to be with us! You couldn't even beat me in a fight! What good can you do against a force capable of ending all life in the universe?"

"Her spirit," Casandra gasped. "It's coming back! She hears you, Karmen! Keep it up!"

"What?" Karmen asked, her eyes glistening with tears and her expression one of bewilderment.

"Keep insulting her!" Boog said with a stomp of his foot. "You're pissing her off and she's coming back to us! Don't stop!"

Celestia smiled, her eyes closed as her hands pressed on Victoria's body. "I can feel something! I can feel it! I can feel her wari!"

Karmen looked down at Victoria and pressed her hands tighter against her face, squishing her cheeks together and making her lips bulge outward. "You're weak, Victoria! You aren't good at anything! You're a useless member of this team and nothing good will ever come from you! You're making a mistake being here!"

A hand snapped up and grabbed Karmen's neck, squeezing tightly. Victoria's eyes opened, burning in brown fire. Karmen pulled her hand off of her neck and hugged her tightly, pressing her face into her chest. She then realized that everyone was watching and quickly let her go. She stood up and veiled her blushing face with her hair, completely embarrassed.

Victoria looked at her and everyone else and rubbed her head. "That was a strange trip...I don't know what Valthumar put in those drinks we had last night but I'm not having any of that again..."

"It is good to have you back, Victoria," Aragol said with a smile. "We nearly lost you."

Victoria looked down at her chest and patted it with her hands. "No blood. I...I saw it leaking out of me. I felt my heart bleeding inside of me. What...what happened?"

"The mind is a powerful thing," Casandra said to her. "You had convinced your own body that you had stabbed your heart and it was shutting down on you. Had Celestia and I not been slowing it down Karmen's insults would have never woke you up."

Victoria looked up at Karmen, her back to her. "I...I heard her insulting me and for some reason I couldn't let her do that to me, not while I lay dying. I didn't want her having the last word... I know it sounds stupid..."

Boog shook his head in disbelief. "Women are weird, man. They could be walking into the light but if a bitch talks smack about them they're turning right around to strangle her. Whatever works, I guess."

There was a loud crash outside and Boog, Aragol, Ivory and Elmar moved to the window. A great battle between an army of undead creatures and Zerek and Valthumar was taking place and the two defenders were vastly overwhelmed. They saw the man with fire, the young woman with the glowing sword and further out into the swamp the man with the mask was direction his army toward the mansion.

"It's them again!" Boog growled. His muscles tensed and his fists shook. "Good. I need something to break!" He turned around and stormed off toward the front doors. The others followed. Karmen and Victoria were the last to leave. Karmen turned to exit the room but Victoria put a hand on her shoulder.

"Karmen," she said softly. The other woman turned, her face still showing signs of red as she recovered from her blush. She appeared uncertain and cautious. "Thank you. I know you didn't mean any of what you said."

Karmen shrugged. "I...we needed you back to us, Victoria. We can't beat this thing without you."

"I know. I like to think maybe deep down inside that cold heart of yours you like me a bit. It's hard not to like me, after all."

Karmen said nothing and glanced away, her face beginning to redden again.

Victoria gave her a playful slap on the arm. "Don't worry about it, Karmen. I kind of like you a bit too. Just, uh, don't try to suffocate me with your pillows again, ok?"

This time Karmen's face turned as red as a beet and she wrapped her arms around her, covering her chest. "VICTORIA!!"

Victoria laughed and hurried to catch up the others.

Karmen shook her head and followed, somehow finding herself smiling slightly.