by DM Fike
Avalon was sure she was either dead or dying, so why was she dreaming about this?
She mulled over the mystery as Vimp paused at the base of one of the healing trees. The tree itself seemed even stubbier than the rest of the grove, its bark greener and thinner. Vimp reached as far up the trunk as he could with his mitten forepaws like a starving cat crying for milk. “Oh yeah!” he cried, then stepped aside for her to view its occupant.
Like the other trees, the tree wrapped its cord-like trunk around an Aossi. The plant engulfed most of the inhabitant’s body, leaving only knobby hands, booted feet, and head fully exposed. Tousled green hair hid most of the face, pitched forward like a dummy in a car crash test. Shaking, Avalon gingerly pushed strands aside, revealing a more pronounced nose and the tips of canine teeth poking out between lips.
“Nobody?”
“Oh yeah!” Vimp clawed his way up the tree to perch on Nobody’s head. He leaned upside down over the gremlin’s sleeping form.
Like the other dryads in the grove, the tree had Nobody on a sort of light magic life support, keeping him alive but barely. Avalon winced as she thought of the fatal stab he had suffered trying to save her. Of course, if he hadn’t betrayed them in the first place, she wouldn’t have needed his help.
“Is that what this is about?” she asked, gently putting one hand on his rough cheek. “I’ve made peace with Bedwyr, so now it’s your turn? How am I supposed to do that with you in a coma?”
“Ee,” Vimp whined.
A blinding light flashed. Avalon stumbled backward, looking upward, thinking the sun might have streaked down through the dense canopy, but the gloom above appeared absolute. In its wake, the light created a humming in her veins, a dull throb that felt soothing and aching at the same time. The buzz peaked in her fingertips, which glowed in the gloom like little fireflies.
Light magic.
Avalon stared at her hand in bewilderment. How could she cast light magic?
Nobody stirred unexpectedly, his head rolling from one side to the other. Avalon flinched in surprise. Then she glanced back at her glowing hand.
“Who knows why I’m dreaming any of this, Vimp, but why stop now?”
She placed her illuminated hand on Nobody’s cheek. At once, that achy warmth intensified. It streaked through her veins before seeping into his, racing throughout his body at the pace of his heartbeat, which quickened with the injection of this new white magic.
Sweat pooled on his brow. “Ladybug,” he groaned.
Something called her away from the grove of trees. It wanted her to go somewhere distant. She hesitated at first, removing her hand from Nobody. The connection between them vanished, and Nobody grew limp again, slumping over anew.
Avalon steeled herself. “I guess it doesn’t matter, one way or the other.” She placed her hand on his tunic, right over his heart. The flow from her fingertips flared from soft candlelight to stadium flood lights. She could no longer see anything, only feel Nobody’s heart beating underneath her hand and a tug pulling her toward him, as strong as any physical force.
“See you on the other side!” she yelled to Vimp.
The demonic creature may have replied, but his voice was cut off as she jetted forward, out of this world and into another.
* * *
A summer breeze blew through a wide field, heather waving like the tides under its touch. Two small birds chased each other, creating a looping pattern before fleeing into the safety of the trees. The sun glinted just over the shoulder of a looming mountain, rising up to touch the sky with a snow-capped tip. The grass tickled Avalon’s calves, exposed in her short robe.
Avalon knew this place all too well. The Mt. Hornley of her dreams. She half-expected to find Ladybug cloaked behind her.
But no one was there.
Avalon waited. Surely the gremlin would show up. She always did. She glanced around, but no one came.
“Hello?” Avalon finally called. “Ladybug?”
A burning scent lit up her nostrils. A tendril of smoke drifted from behind the treetops to her left. Someone had lit a fire.
“Well that’s new,” Avalon muttered. She plunged into the forest, shoulders tense, wondering what she would find.
Drumbeats pounded ahead, marking her path. Its tempo quickened, accentuated by pitches of laughter and cheers. Before long, Avalon thrust into another clearing, this one surrounded by a perfect circle of trunks all the way around. In the center, a magnificent bonfire rose almost as tall as the trees themselves. Around it danced dozens of gremlins, waving their arms and legs, executing a beautiful asynchronous performance. Up above, bright as the raging fire itself, the moon perched on the tip of Mt. Hornley. Somewhere in the trees, it had turned to nighttime.
Midsummer’s Eve under Mt. Hornley. Nobody told her once that it’s the most powerful time and place for dark magic casters throughout Llenwald.
Two gremlin dancers teleported out of sight, reappearing not far away, limbs twirling in their frantic dance. More followed. A few of the younger gremlins howled as the more experienced magic casters joined in, stepping on their toes, pushing them down to the ground. The ritual to prove one’s dark magic prowess had begun.
“You know this is why I did it, don’t you, Ladybug?”
Avalon gasped, whirling around. Nobody, dressed in his ridiculous purple tunic and cloak, sat with his back against a tree trunk, legs flopped out in front of him, useless. He looked like a ragdoll propped up against a tree, unable to support his own weight. His eyes flickered with fire light, focused intently on the dance. Avalon opened her mouth to tell him that he had scared her.
Her body refused to obey.
Instead, a voice came out from somewhere deep inside her. “Yes.”
An odd stretching sensation pulled at her. Something inside her wanted out. She fought against it briefly, but it jerked its way through the aches and pain, emerging before her as a cloaked girl with flyaway red hair, pointed ears, and a pointed-toothed grin.
Ladybug.
Now you show up? Avalon demanded, unable to speak directly, but the thoughts still ringing out in her head. What’s going on? I can’t even talk. I…
Ladybug thrust a finger to Avalon’s lips. Shhh… she replied, as if to an unruly puppy.
Avalon looked on, dumbfounded as Ladybug sat down next to Nobody. Avalon waved her arms, tried to speak, but it was no use. The two gremlins did not acknowledge her at all, lost in their own world. Sitting side by side, Avalon could see their resemblance not as gremlins but to each other: bright eyes, wiry frames, and identical smirks that hinted at the sadness underneath.
Nobody kept his focus on the dancers in his slouched position, either unable or unwilling to face his sister. “Do you remember the tales? All the firstborns in our great gremlin line had become stronger and stronger dark magic casters. It was like a babyfest of talent.”
Ladybug cocked her head at him. “They were just stories.”
“Stories I was supposed to live up to. I was supposed to be even greater than Father.” Nobody snorted. “Joke’s on them. It was you who were the great one. You could teleport so far, hide in shadows better than anyone. And nobody noticed because everyone was too busy waiting for me to surpass even that.”
“You’re right. Nobody did notice,” Ladybug teased.
Nobody chuckled. “Good one.” He quickly regained his solemnity. “And here I am, still moaning about it.”
“You paid a high price.”
“Sadus, no!” Nobody’s head lolled backward. A tremor took hold in his voice. “You’re the one who paid a high price.”
Ladybug put one soft hand on his leg. “Nobody.”
Nobody floundered away from her touch. “You’re not supposed to be comforting me,” he sniffled. “I’m supposed to be… to be… comforting you.” Fat teardrops fell down his tired face, splashing onto his chest.
Ladybug watched her brother break down into gut-wrenching sobs. “You didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”
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Nobody swallowed a bunch of snot to clear his throat. “But I did! I killed you!”
Ladybug threw her arms around his limp body, her face buried in his shoulder. She too began to hiccup, and their comingled weeping filled the air like a sorrowful bird’s song.
A dull ache settled in Avalon’s chest as she watched the gremlin siblings struggle with their tragedy. She could only imagine what both had been through. Nobody had wanted to fulfill his tribe’s destiny but could not, so he cheated by committing a crime that he thought would harm no one, a kidnapping that cost the original Child of the Statue her life. It would be Ladybug, his own sister and chosen as an alternative Child, who would ultimately sacrifice herself to make up for his mistake.
“I love you, Nobody,” Ladybug cried in his shoulder.
Nobody gulped in shaky breaths. “B-but how can you? After what I h-have done?”
Ladybug extracted herself so that they could face each other, their noses touching. “Because it wasn’t your fault,” she emphasized each word. “That’s always been your problem. It always has to be about you.”
Nobody stilled. “What?”
“I chose to become the Child of the Statue. You didn’t do that.”
“B-But…” he stammered. “You died in that last fight against Braellia.”
Ladybug straightened away from him, giving them both some room to process their emotions. “I did. I knew the risks and I decided it was worth trading my life for peace in Llenwald.”
“Then it was my fault,” Nobody said in a gotcha-type tone. “If I hadn’t kidnapped Braellia, you would not have made that decision.”
“Maybe. Or maybe Kryvalen would have captured Braellia some other way. Maybe Gaea would have asked me to do the same thing, and nothing would have changed.”
Nobody’s eyes widened. “‘Gaea asked you?’”
Ladybug nodded. “I could have refused.”
“Then you should have,” Nobody’s tone sharpened. “If you had a choice, then why would you willingly go on a suicide mission?”
“I don’t know, Nobody,” Ladybug shot back. “Why did you die protecting Avalon?”
Avalon stiffened at the sound of her name.
Nobody glared at his sister. “Because that’s my fault too. It’s not the same thing at all.”
“From where I’m sitting, it seemed like you were willing to die for someone else. I couldn’t watch more people die, not after Dad. Sounds similar enough to me.”
“So that’s it, then?” Nobody slid a bit farther down into the tree. “I’m dead, right? Why does it matter now?”
“Because you have a chance to forgive yourself,” Ladybug grabbed him by the armpits and rearranged him more comfortably against the tree.
“And why would I do that?” Nobody huffed.
Ladybug threw her arms up in frustration. “I’d have better luck getting a mermaid to fly! Just forgive yourself, you stubborn donkey butt!”
Nobody grew quiet, the sounds of gremlins howling to their dance overlaying his serious reflection. “Do you really forgive me, Ladybug?” he finally asked.
“Of course, I do!”
The dull ache in her chest intensified. Avalon lifted her hands, watching them shine with intense light magic.
Nobody hiccupped. “Then maybe I should forgive myself.”
Ladybug grabbed Nobody’s cheeks with both hands. “Say it like you mean it!”
Nobody closed his eyes. “I forgive myself!”
Avalon crept up beside the pair, the urge to touch them overwhelming. She hesitated to bother them, so caught up in each other, but Ladybug turned her head to give her a slight nod. Avalon slowly bent over and laid both glowing hands on Ladybug’s shoulders.
A sharp light engulfed all three of them, starting with Avalon but spreading through Ladybug and then over Nobody’s prone form. A surge of pain ripped through Avalon, but she clenched her teeth against it. Gradually, it dulled back to an ache, mingled with a pleasant warmth again.
Nobody must have felt it too, for he half-groaned, half-chuckled. “OwOwOw. It’s like pins all over my body!” But even as he complained, he regained the ability to move, jerking like a robot come to life.
“Quit your bellyaching,” Ladybug grumbled, her face twisted in minor pain herself.
Nobody noticed her discomfort and reached both hands to cover hers, still holding his cheeks. She knew that to Nobody, in that moment, only he and his sister existed.
“Ladybug, I’m so sorry. I love you.”
“I never stopped loving you, Big Brother.”
Then the light overtook everything, and the drumbeats faded away into nothing.
CHAPTER 31
AVALON FELL INTO a heap on top of gnarled tree roots, something heavy sliding down on top of her. A sharp stick poked the side of her leg, causing a stinging pain. She winced, managing to roll away from it despite the burden holding her down. Using her upper body, she crawled onto flatter ground, wrenching first her torso and then her legs free. Panting, she twirled on her bottom to see what had been crushing her.
She found a crumpled heap of purple cloth wrapped around messy green hair full of twigs and dirt. Scrambling to the side, Avalon saw long ears and pointed teeth. Above them, a large gaping hole in a twisted tree marked where the gremlin had once lay dormant.
“Nobody!” Avalon cried.
“Oh yeah!” Vimp popped out of thin air, landing on Nobody’s shoulder.
“What a weird dream,” Avalon said, the glowing ache from before subsiding. “I didn’t know being dead meant jumping about from place to place like a toddler with a TV remote.”
Nobody might have slid out of the tree, but he remained unconscious. The only movement was a soft flutter behind his eyelids and his soft breath, the rhythm of slumber. Vimp shook him with his white mitten paws, but he did not so much as stir. “Ee!” Vimp cried.
“Leave him for a moment,” Avalon told him. “I’m sick of scene jumping, okay?”
But apparently Vimp wasn’t okay with this. He bared his own sharp canines, hissing like a cornered cat. He sunk them into Nobody’s neck before Avalon could stop him.
Nobody shot up like an animated zombie, shoulders hunched up almost to his ears, causing Vimp to fall to the wayside. “YEOW!” he screamed, hand slapping up against the bite mark.
“Oh yeah!” Vimp yelled, straining his arms out to the gremlin for a hug.
Nobody knocked him over with one jerk of his arm. Vimp cried out as he skittered away a few feet. Nobody jumped to his feet, wild with panic.
“Hey!” Avalon cried.
Her voice cut through Nobody’s rage and pain. He focused on her, relaxing his stance but keeping his arms held wide. “Avalon?”
Avalon stood up slowly to avoid scaring him with any sudden movement. “It’s me. Calm down.”
Nobody surveyed his surroundings. He gaped at the trees full of dryads, mouthing numbers as he counted the bodies in their immediate vicinity. “What in Sadus is this place? Some sort of morgue for Satan Claus?”
At least he’d retained his strange sense of humor. Avalon felt bad to burst it but couldn’t put it delicately. “We’re dead, Nobody.”
“Dead?” Nobody blinked in confusion. He then brought up his hands into a ‘T.’ “Hold on. Let me noodle this one. I know I died back when Scawale stabbed me. That hurt like a son of a fish.” A shiver rolled over him. “Wait! Did you die there too?”
Avalon paused, trying to think of the shortest way to explain what had happened since Braellia’s full extraction. “I lived for a while, but things got nuts. Bedwyr couldn’t handle the Child of the Statue, so it merged with Scawale instead.”
Nobody’s jaw dropped open. “No.”
Avalon nodded. “She’s on a killing rampage against humans under Braellia’s control. Summoned dragons from Kryvalen’s island to destroy human towns. She’s also trying to kill me. She tracked me down at Emerged Falls. The Guardians and I tried to stop her, but she took us all out.”
“Oh, man.” Nobody thrust both hands into his hair. “I didn’t like those guys, but oh man. That’s bad.”
“It’s grim, but I’m not sure if there’s anything else we can do about it.”
Nobody rubbed the puncture wound on his neck. “I don’t know. This sure stings for being dead. And you’re bleeding too much for a corpse.”
Avalon followed his vision to her calf. Where she had felt the sharp stick before, she found a small bloody gash, dripping blood below her robe and streaking past her ankle. “Look, I don’t make the rules. It sucks, but I died.”
“If you’re so sure, why are we surrounded by creepy Aossi that are literally hung over in trees?”
“This is a projection of Hamad,” Avalon explained. “Bedwyr took me here right before he extracted Braellia. All these Aossi are dryads, resting in a kind of suspended animation. Bedwyr wanted the Child’s power to bring them back to life.”
“Maybe this is all just a figment of your imagination then,” Nobody said. “You’re hallucinating.”
“If I’m hallucinating, then how did I witness your conversation with Ladybug?”
Nobody froze in shock. “You saw that?”
“The whole thing: the bonfire, you resting all broken against a tree, Ladybug asking you to forgive yourself. I even returned with you in the same flash of light.”
Nobody finally had no quick comeback. “Maybe you’re right. I was lost in a completely empty void for so long. Maybe I was waiting for you.”
Tears stung Avalon. “I missed you, Nobody. I’m sorry you died.”
Nobody threw an arm around her shoulders. “Please don’t cry. This is all my fault. Once again, in my extreme stupidity, I thought I could outsmart everyone else and fix all my mistakes.”
Avalon recalled her own decision to face Braellia back at Emerged Falls. “Ladybug made her own choice. It wasn’t your fault she died, any more than it’s your fault that I died.”
Nobody squeezed her tighter. “You’re as much of an idiot as she is. Was.” Tears filled his eyes too. “If not for me, you’d all be alive.”
Before Avalon could console him, a distant voice cut through their conversation. “Avalon!”
