97. In Mere Hours

Lammy watched on, frozen despite his bodiless state, as Fewpar—the very man who tortured and humiliated Zayza while she was at her most vulnerable—now stood with Layla's hand in his.

The Queen lifted her head to see the eyes of her much taller rescuer, her youth poking through her demeanor for just a moment.

"I believed the deception, Queen Layla. Blaming Zayza gave me a conquerable enemy," Fewpar uttered unevenly. "It's far too late to correct the pain I've caused you. I thought our kingdom's hope for justice—no—my hope for justice—lay in my vengeance. But I've heard the truth, and now, I know where this justice resides: in the sisters of my only beloved."

Fewpar turned his head from the sky filled with robed Dreamer guards, and down to Layla.

"My Queen, if you'll accept me again, even just this once—"

"Fewpar!! What are these utterances?!" the nearest guard demanded, his voice reverberating below the increasing clouds. "Stand down!"

Another guard flickered into view just beside him. Lammy hadn't even noticed one had left in all the commotion.

"Officer, his real world body is gone now!" she urged. "He's hiding!"

Fewpar returned his eyes to them, his cunning smirk returning even wider than before. He muttered something to Layla lowly. Her eyes widened.

Fewpar created the Dreamer traps, she confirmed in Lammy's head.

Huh?! Why?! I thought he just said he's Team Zayza now?!

"Stand down, Fewpar!" the leading guard ordered once more. "This is a warning!"

He's hoping to speak with you, Layla added. So I told him you're here.

Me?!

Lammy knew Fewpar had seen his ability to participate in the Dream World first hand. But why was he counting on it now?

Wait…let me attempt something…Layla uttered broodingly, ignoring Lammy's accelerative bewilderment.

Within a moment, Fewpar's hushed words suddenly started flowing into Lammy's mind. They sounded oddly distant, as if he was hearing thoughts inside of thoughts.

Layla was relaying Fewpar's words—as her own thoughts—directly to Lammy.

"Boy: I knew not if you'd use your strange ability to follow the Queen here," came Fewpar's faraway whisper. "I could only pray you would. Your decision has granted us precious time."

"General Fewpar, we WILL take aggressive action if necessary!" the guards continued. "Stand down! We must seize the Queen!"

"And alas, we still don't have much of it," Fewpar realized, his murmurs speeding. "Both of you: listen closely. And do exactly as I say."

His next words poured out as eloquently as they did urgently. And by the end of it, Lammy felt as if reality itself had flipped.

First came an elaboration. Next, a reason to hope.

And finally, a daring plan.

Fewpar was—quite easily—one of the only people whose guidance Lammy was certain he'd never willingly follow. And more than that, tied only with Najinzu, he was the last person Lammy thought could ever instill a sense of optimism in him.

So as he listened to a strategy that involved relying on both of these men, and as it filled Lammy with that exact feeling, he didn't know what to make of it.

All he could fathom was that it was time to move.

"I hereby declare General Fewpar guilty of treason and a threat to our objective," the main officer proclaimed back to his forces. "Target them both."

"Boy: go now," Fewpar urged. "Make haste."

Blue energy flashed to life around his body.

Layla! Lammy called.

I know, came Layla's voice wisely. I shall reprimand Fewpar for referring to you in such a demeaning manner, Noble Lammy.

W—what? No—I was gonna say, shouldn't we get you out of here?

But he could sense a hint of her impatience before she even replied. That's not how the enchantment was written. You must carry me until I awaken. Until then, I've no choice but to fight here.

Lammy glanced repeatedly between the nearly fifty robed warriors and Layla. And according to Fewpar, a similar threat was closing in from the real world—perhaps it was there already.

But if Fewpar's words were true, this could work.

There was hardly a choice: they had to trust him.

Right…Lammy ultimately uttered.

Besides, if what Fewpar said is true, Layla added ponderingly, this battle might be exactly what we need to cripple Proscious's new objectives…

Lammy could see her mind working rapidly, yet he couldn't interpret what it had just begun building.

"My Queen, I regretfully caution you to prepare your abilities," Fewpar said, this time loud enough for Lammy to hear on his own. "Stay close to me. I'm ashamed to say it, but you'll need to get your hands a bit dirty."

"Very well."

A tugging and sinking overwhelmed Lammy's senses: just as Zayza had before, Layla was pushing him back out to the real world.

I will return to you, the Queen promised quietly.

Darkness shrouded Lammy's sight, but he heard the roars of the guards. Blasts resounded in his head, and he couldn't decipher their origins or outcomes.

But as he sunk, only a few final words cut through clearer than anything. While most were directed at Layla, somehow Lammy could tell they were meant for him, as well:

"You've shown me what your stubborn courage can accomplish," Fewpar's voice resounded. "There's never been a more critical time for it than now."

And then, one last word—clearly directed at their Dreamer enemies:

"Nightmare."

~

As Lammy reluctantly expected, his return to the real world was far from a welcome one.

The defining factor came in the form of dozens of royal guards storming down the hall straight for him, light swords blazing against the walls.

Armor clanked from behind as well: they were closing in on both sides.

Letting a shriek slip out, Lammy fell forward and covered the sleeping Layla with his own body. His head tightened, but his eyes continued to glow with heat.

It seemed his heightened powers had remained active in response to his stress. It felt automatic—like a muscle strengthening from continued use.

Perhaps these abilities were maturing in such a manner.

"Explain yourself, terrorist!" growled a guard, sword high and feet running past the spot where Layla had christened Lammy's dragon technique.

Lammy pulled Layla close. His eyes brightened.

"LOOZOOLOOZEUX!!!!" he hollered.

"Loozoo…come again?"

Faster than Lammy could process, a powerful yet fuzzy force pushed up from underneath and swooped them into the air. His dragon emerged from nothing, rising just in time to evade incoming sword strikes.

Turn right to head west…Lammy recalled from Fewpar's rushed instructions. The dragon swerved as he wished, leaving the unsuccessful, yet still clamorous, royal guards behind.

It turns out putting a name to the technique helped my mind conjure it faster, Lammy noted. …Even if it's a weird name.

Loozooloozeux roared unintimidatingly.

Thanks, Layla-AH!!

With Loozooloozeux's uneven flight, the Queen's body began to slip. Lammy clutched onto her even tighter and pulled her back up with everything he had.

When she'd succumbed to the enchantment, this was precisely why Lammy chose to follow her into the Dream World instead of attempting to fly again: he hardly knew what he was doing.

Yet as Fewpar had said, choosing to enter the Dream World then may have bought them just enough time. They'd fallen right into his trap…

…A trap that, as it turned out, he repurposed to help them.

Mind still spinning, Lammy did his best to try and organize all the details of Fewpar's revelation:

"Your escape was destined to fail without outside aid—but Proscious couldn't know I intended to aid you. So I needed to fool you both, and go along with their wishes. Knowing they could read my thoughts if I seemed suspicious, I chose to tell them outright of your intent to break free. As a General, I offered to ensure your failure with my own resources. And so I created the Dreamer traps.

"To Proscious, they were fences to sabotage and block your escape. But I knew I could use them to locate you immediately and communicate with you with a more thorough escape plan. I had to design the enchantment to hold Dreamers for a short while—they needed to be convincing. But it also gave me enough time to locate and speak to you.

I'm here to protect you from the Dreamer guards I've sent here, Queen Layla, but more than that: I have crucial information. There have been developments that could turn the tide to your rebellion."

Lammy's hair stood up as he replayed Fewpar's next words over and over:

"Listen closely, both of you: a resistance of outsiders—a group of professional consciousness fighters—has come to rescue you. From what I could gather, Proscious offered them some sort of deal. They have until tomorrow to respond. And if they don't accept, Proscious will have its hands full with another battle outside the castle. That will be the perfect time for us to strike."

A group of pro consciousnesses…Lammy repeated, his heart filling.

"So, boy: you must hurry the Queen safely to the western tower. Najinzu waits there, guarding my real world body. Once I can, I'll relay the same information to Zayza. Together, under Queen Layla, we can forge another resistance from the inside of the castle."

A sinking inertia jolted Lammy back to reality. Loozooloozeux was fading and falling.

In a panic, Lammy steered the beast back upwards. Thankfully, its vibrancy recovered and the dragon flew steadily once more. But Lammy knew he'd need to pay more attention: if he stopped channeling his stress into power, they'd crash just as before.

Jolted back to the present, he observed their new surroundings. They flew along another much longer and darker hall. Elaborate diamond shaped windows were spread evenly all the way down the left wall, revealing a deep night sky. It was far too dark to pick out anything else.

A resistance from the outside…Lammy thought as he observed the dull stars.

All this time, he'd never stopped believing. But now, hearing confirmation that it was actually happening, Lammy had never felt more hope.

Deon's coming for us.

They just had to hold on. They had to make it to tomorrow.

He had to get to the western tower.

Carefully repositioning Layla again, Lammy focused forward. Fewpar's brief directions seemed unbelievably specific: from this point, he was supposed to just keep going straight until he reached the opposite end.

But it meant clearing the entire castle, in one night, without capture.

He prayed Layla would not only survive her now-raging battle, but be able to return soon. As Queen, she would know exactly how to make it there. But for now, Lammy was on his own.

And as if this mission didn't feel unrealistic enough, he was rushing towards Najinzu, of all people, for solace.

He'd seen Fewpar's transformation and intent to support them, but all he knew of Najinzu's stance was based on Fewpar's word. Lammy had to trust that Najinzu's loyalty to Fewpar was enough to change him, too.

Just hold on…he kept telling himself. Keep moving…

He peered around the massive hallway for any sign of more guards. For now, they traveled alone…but he knew that wouldn't stay the case.

Deon will show them what real strength is, he thought. I just have to be strong, too…

~~~

The night sky was so dark, Deon could barely make out the castle's distant towers.

He wanted nothing more than to get up and charge straight towards them right now, imagine his giant Twitchy, and burst his way through the walls to scoop up Lammy, Pang, and Zayza.

But he had to follow the plan. He had to wait until morning.

They only had one chance.

He didn't even bother to pretend he'd be getting any form of sleep tonight, so instead, he sat alone in the grass several paces from their campsite.

His eyes didn't leave the castle.

Deon ran their strategy over and over again in his mind. He knew every detail and every contingency they could predict off what little they understood of their enemy. They'd trained together all day under Hiroko's coaching.

They were prepared. But they wouldn't truly know if they were prepared enough until the fight began.

And there was still one looming question—one factor that was most likely to bring about their failure:

How is he so powerful? Deon wondered.

Wei's smile plagued his head, as did the images of Skrili's mangled body.

There was nothing he could have done to stop it.

The grass shuffled in a whisper, and suddenly Deon found himself no longer sitting alone.

"Can't sleep either?" he asked Skrili.

"I don't even know why I tried."

The two sat in silence for a while, as still as the entire the Lanmuraarch reality felt around them.

"I won't let that happen again," Deon uttered, clenching his fists.

"Let what happen?"

"What Wei did to you," he explained. "I won't let him even touch you. We'll get in there, kick his butt, and get out…with everyone."

Skrili glanced away from the castle, staring off into the darkness. "That's not how these types of fights work," she cautioned. "Some of us might…get hurt."

"You seemed a lot more confident about this when we were practicing," Deon noted.

"I'm just realistic. I still know we'll win," assured Skrili solemnly. "I…I promise I'll save them this time."

Deon turned his gaze from the castle to her. He didn't need her to elaborate: her brother's ghost was in her eyes.

Shifting closer, Deon wrapped his arm around Skrili.

"Hey…it doesn't all fall on you. You're not alone this time," he said softly. "It's up to all of us. And because of that, we'll save them."

Skrili's stare into the dark void finally broke off. She turned as if to reface Deon, but ultimately shifted her eyes to the ground before them. Quietly, she nodded.

With his arm around her, Deon realized how equally genuine and hypocritical his own encouragement felt. He meant everything he'd told her, yet at the same time, he'd just spent at least an hour sitting and pondering how tomorrow would really play out.

His heart was set on it more than anything before. There was no other option: he would save Lammy and the rest, and he would protect Skrili while doing it.

But did he really believe he had what it took to uphold that promise?

Skrili's weight pushed in as she leaned up against him. Deon sighed as her warmth warded off the midnight chill and her hair tickled his face. He held her even tighter.

"Don't do anything stupid tomorrow," Skrili murmured.

A chucked burst from Deon. "Way to kill the mood."

"There's a mood?"

Deon initially assumed her comment was sardonic, until her head rose from his shoulder. Her face was just before his, and her eyes seemed to beam straight through him.

He tilted his head forward.

"Ahem," came a low, forced cough not too far to the side.

Deon and Skrili jolted.

"PHILLIP?!" Deon exclaimed, squinting to pick his dark form out from his shadowy surroundings.

"We get it. You like each other."

"What the—how long have you been standing there?!" Deon demanded. "That's creepy, man!"

"I came over here hours before you sat down," Phillip defended evenly.

Deon was about to search for a worthy rebuttal, but a more sobering realization sunk in.

He's only here because he's just as stressed about tomorrow, Deon reasoned. Of course he is.

"Hey…Pang's gonna be—" he started.

"Pang is the strongest person I've ever met," Phillip uttered. "She's holding on. We'll win, and I'll save her. I don't need anyone to convince me she'll be alright."

Deon hesitated at his intensity.

Phillip turned his head to them. "But…thank you for wanting to convince me, nonetheless."

A patient smile spread on Deon's face. "Anytime, Phil," he said. "Sorry—Phillip."

"I thought I heard talking," came yet another voice.

From the opposite side, two more figures emerged out of the gloom of night and stepped close. Hiroko and Kotono joined them in their nightclothes, hand-in-hand.

"Sorry—did we wake you guys?" Deon checked.

"W—we've been up," Kotono said. "I can't sleep."

"So we went for a little walk," Hiroko finished.

"And here I thought it was just me," Deon commented.

The five consciousnesses fell into a cohesive silence. Their eyes all found the looming Azvaylen capital skyline once more.

This means everything to all of us, thought Deon.

"We're all part of three separate teams," Hiroko started pensively. "But for tomorrow, that won't be the case anymore. Everyone's work today convinced me: tomorrow, we'll be one team."

"And we'll win, " Deon added.

Hiroko paused. "You know…speaking of that," she uttered. "Clearly none of us are getting much sleep tonight. And if we're all a team, I feel like I should introduce you to how I do things a bit…"

"Oh—I know where this is going," Kotono realized.

"You know what, everyone?" Hiroko said. "I think there's one more thing we need to do before tomorrow."