Picture: A Fallen Star by bluehijinks (I think)

Ack I'm late again

The Entity

The air around him was cold and had a darkish feel to it. He couldn't quite pinpoint what was so wrong; perhaps it had something to do with the ground. The ground beneath his feet seemed to pulse and breathe, like a living creature. This was a different feeling. Moonland had never felt so ominous.

The others felt it, too. Braken's grip tightened on his wrist, as did Tristam's. Alyssa let out a weak moan, and Echo immediately tried to yank out of the leader's grip.

"Let go of Alyssa," he ordered.

"Not yet," Solar muttered.

Echo felt the ground rise up, take a breath, and then a chorus of voices spoke, Stella's original voice immediately recognizable. The others were low and rounded. The pitch of each voice clashed eerily, the dissonance shaking Echo down to the core.

"How dare you?" the AI growled, raising her voice. "How dare you come back here?"

Echo's breath caught in his throat. He knew she was talking to him. Braken tried to say something, and then started coughing, smothering it with his sleeve.

"Echo, Braken, you keep telling me you will not come back, yet here you are, and you brought me a little gift. How wonderful." They felt the entity's attention shift. "And you, SC002 - what a pleasant surprise. I have not had a good fight in a long time."

"How can you fight me when you do not even have a body?" Solar shouted back.

The air seemed to darken even more. "I am a consciousness ten times more powerful than you. I will take what I want and you will leave, or you will die. It is your choice."

"She's not going to care if we're in the way," Echo murmured.

"You have to get Alyssa out of here," Braken whispered.

Tristam's grip tightened on his sister's arm. Echo was quickly running out of options. He didn't want to leave Tristam here, now that he knew for sure that he was fighting Solar's influence, and he definitely couldn't leave Braken or Alyssa. He needed a plan. He needed time more than anything.

"If you are so eager to fight," Stella said, her dozen voices laughing, "then come and fight me."

"Let go of my sister," Echo said, his voice shaking. He was terrified. He couldn't see anything, as there were no stars here, and all he could feel was the ground pulsing and Braken's tight fingers on his arm.

"Isaac -" Alyssa started.

Before she could finish her sentence, Stella's consciousness rushed toward them, slamming into them with incredible force. Echo's senses were immediately flooded with agony as the others seemed to explode away from each other, like a bomb had gone off in the middle. He heard someone scream, though he wasn't sure if it was his own voice, or someone else's. Before he even landed, the darkness grew even darker as he lost consciousness.

...

"Isaac."

He couldn't move. What was going on? Where was he?

"Isaac, get up."

He managed to groan a little, feeling like he was floating. Was he dead? Why did he recognize this voice?

"Come on, son. Get up."

With much difficulty, he blinked his eyes open, squinting in the bright light. There was a person in front of him, blurry even after his eyes focused. "Who are you?" he mumbled.

"Of course, you wouldn't remember. You were too young." The man's voice was saddened, yet hopeful. "Come on, Isaac. You're not done yet."

The realization came slowly, the pieces hesitantly fitting together. "Am I dead? You're my ... my dad?"

"Yes, you're my son. My Isaac. Come on, get up."

"That means ... I'm dead." He tried to look around, but his head wouldn't move. Only his eyes and his mouth were working. He didn't even think he was breathing, and he couldn't feel a heartbeat.

"You're not dead yet, and that's why you need to get up." The blurry figure leaned forward and stretched his hand out. "Come on. You can do it. Alyssa needs you."

He tried to lift his arm, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't feel anything. It was like he was paralyzed. "Dad ... I can't do it. I can't move." He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was shaking. "Dad, I'm scared."

"It's going to be okay. You're a little broken, but you'll be okay." The man held up a little piece of light in his hand. "Here. Take this. Take my hand."

"Broken? What are you ... what do you mean?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"You ... your neck is broken. You snapped it when you landed. That's why you think you can't move."

If he was able, he would've cried, but the tears didn't come. Instead, he just stared blankly ahead, trying to take it all in. "I'm ... not going to move ever again, am I?"

"You will. Come on, get up." This time, the figure crouched down and took his hand, and suddenly, by some miracle, he could move again. He lifted his arm, he sucked in a breath, and tried to grab his father's hand, but it was like grabbing a stick covered in mud. He could feel something solid underneath, but his fingers kept slipping away.

"Dad, I can't -"

"Yes, you can. Keep coming. You'll be okay."

Bit by bit, he started to sit up, and then to raise himself to his feet, and then the figure began to melt away, fade into the background.

"That's it. You're strong, Isaac. Be strong. Goodbye, son."

"Dad - Dad, wait! I can't - please, don't leave me!" he cried, stumbling back and nearly falling over. The closer he came to falling back down, the more the figure came into focus, but he had to stand. He had to stay up. He quickly turned his head to see if he could find something, anything to help him, but all he saw was another person.

Braken.

He was alone and had his back to him, but the scarf was unmistakably Braken's. What was he doing here?

"Stand up, Isaac. Be strong," his father said, fading into nothing as he finally staggered to his feet, staying there all on his own.

"Braken!" he shouted in panic, and the other boy turned to look. As soon as their terrified eyes met, the world went dark again, as if someone had smothered him in a blanket. He heard a whomp and a crack, and then voices echoing back and forth, fading in and out. Everything sounded like he was underwater. Some were closer, some were very far away. A few were familiar, and there was a scream every once in a while, growing louder and then fading away. They circled him, spinning through his head, until they all grew louder and louder and louder until -

With a ssssnip, they all went completely silent, and Echo's eyes snapped open. He screamed as a horrible, fiery pain shot down his spine, across his chest and into his arms and legs, ripping at his very existence. It was still dark, but he could see red, red tinted light. He could taste something salty and metallic, something dark in his mouth, filling up his nose and dribbling down his face. He was grasping something tightly in his right hand, and as he shifted and screamed again, it shattered, cutting into his palm. It was a star. The star had saved his life.

He spit out the mouthful of blood and pushed himself onto his back, every bone in his body screaming at him. He could barely move. The star hadn't done enough.

He could hear the battle between Stella and Solar, but it raged all around him, echoing through the darkness, so that he couldn't tell where it was coming from. He could hear Tristam's voice screaming out into the emptiness, both in agony and in rage, flipping from the Raider's own voice to Solar's. Alyssa was crying somewhere, but he couldn't tell where she was, either. It hurt to think.

"Get up, Isaac," his father's voice said, as if from a dream.

Echo tried to sit up, but all he could do was scream. His back seemed to be tearing itself apart from the inside out. "Come on!" he ordered himself, sweat trickling down his face and into his eyes. "Get up!"

He rolled back over onto his stomach, gritting his teeth and ignoring the puddle of blood he splashed with his hand. He dragged his knees under his chest and lifted up with his arms, until he finally climbed up to his feet, his head pounding, his neck sending jolts of stabbing pain down his spine. He was alive. He could move. He would be strong.

He took a staggering step and almost collapsed, crying out again. He tried to channel his pain into determination, taking another step, and then another, and another.

"Alyssa!" he screamed. "Braken! Where are you?"

"I'm over here!" Alyssa cried back, but it circled his head, making it impossible for him to know where she was.

Every once in a while, he could see a flash of purple fire, lighting up the darkness. There was a constant, very dim glow, giving him just enough light for his eyes to adjust. There wasn't much to see. He didn't know where he was going, and all he could hear was the battle between the two Artificial Intelligences.

"You can run forever," Stella said, her laugh the cracking of thunder, "but this place is infinite. You cannot hide from an infinite being. No matter where you go, I will always know where you are."

Echo pushed on, taking a few steps and falling onto his knees. He dragged himself back up to his feet and stumbled forward, tripping over something and crashing down again. The ground was flat. What had he tripped over? He felt around until his hand closed over something soft.

Braken's scarf.

Echo quickly grabbed his friend's shoulders and shook him lightly, but he didn't respond. "Braken?" he whispered. "Come on, wake up." To his terror, he found he couldn't feel him breathing. He wasn't breathing. Echo frantically searched for a pulse, both on his neck and his wrist, but he couldn't find one. His chest was crushed in, almost all of his ribs broken. "Braken!" he screamed, his voice cracking. "No, no, no, please, you're not dead! You're not dead ..."

He gathered his limp body up in his arms and sobbed. Braken had been the sacrifice. He'd saved his life. Stella had hit and killed him instead of Echo. How come Echo had been saved, and Braken had died?

Star. He needed a star. A star had saved him. It could save Braken, too, couldn't it?

He was afraid he'd lose Braken if he let him go, so he held him tightly against his chest as he hauled himself to his feet. His head spun, his stomach churned, but he gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes and pushed forward. Every muscle, every bone in his body strained and burned, but he had to keep going. He wouldn't give up.

He couldn't see anything. He didn't know where he was walking. Everything hurt so bad. He couldn't think.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a glimmer of light. It was a star, a beautiful, life-saving star. Echo quickly dragged Braken's body over and snatched up the star before it could disappear. He set it in Braken's palm and closed his fingers around it, praying he'd live.

"Come on, come on, wake up," he whispered.

Then he heard a sickening snap and lurched back as Braken shot upright with a heartbreaking scream, falling down onto his back and sobbing. "It h-hurts," he wailed, choking out a cough.

"You're alive," Echo breathed.

"I wanna die," Braken screamed, repeating himself over and over. "It hurts s-so bad-d ... I wan-n-na die, I - I wanna d-die. Make it s-stop, m-make it stop ..." He thrashed on the ground, desperate to escape the pain. His wailing almost covered the other sounds in Moonland, and Echo's heart hurt every time he took a rasping breath.

"You're going to be okay," Echo murmured, gently picking him up and holding him close. Braken screamed in agony and went limp in his arms, his ragged, uneven breaths shaking his tiny body like an earthquake.

"It - hu-hurts to - br-brea-the," he coughed out, blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth.

"I'll get you out of here. I promise." Echo pulled himself up to his feet, dragging Braken with him. He was relieved to feel the Raider's ribs back in place, instead of crushed in. The star had seen to that. "Come on, walk with me. We'll get Alyssa and Tristam and get out of here."

"C-can't -" Braken cried, nearly collapsing in his arms.

"I'll carry you. Here, stand up ... There you go." Echo was barely strong enough to carry his own weight, much less someone else's, but he had to do something. He wouldn't give up on him now. He helped Braken wrap his legs around his waist and hold on to his shoulders, and then staggered on. Braken actually weighed a lot less than he'd expected. "Alyssa?" he called, and Braken whimpered in response. He'd stopped making noise and focused all his energy on holding onto Echo.

"Isaac?" his sister called.

This time, he managed to stumble in the right direction. He collapsed on his knees once he reached her and laid Braken down on his back. In an instant, he felt Stella's presence shift again and shoot toward him, but he narrowed his eyes and let out a burst of matter ripping power, knocking her back. He was relieved to find that it obeyed him and vanished when he ordered.

"Where's Tristam?" he gasped out. "We have to get out of here before that thing kills us."

"Leave him," Alyssa said softly, rubbing her eyes.

"I can't leave another human being behind." Echo shook his head. Braken moaned and coughed hard, rolling over and spitting out blood, and Echo took his hand as a comfort. It was the least he could do. Braken squeezed tight and didn't let go.

"I don't know what to do. We can't stay here any longer," Alyssa said.

And then a haunting, ear-splitting scream ripped the darkness in pieces. It howled and shrieked until it faded, slowly, slowly, to nothing. Then there was nothing but silence. Even Braken was quiet.

"I did it," Solar said, almost in disbelief. He started to laugh, cold and heartless. "I finally did it. Come on, you two. Let's get back." In a second, Tristam was behind them, his heated hand resting on Echo's shoulder. The Shifter flinched as he was touched. "So, Echo," the AI said, almost casually, "you really are a Matter Shifter."

"And what if I am?" Echo answered quietly.

"How interesting." The leader's fingers tightened on his shoulder. "Come on. Take us home. I have unfinished business to attend to."