The Dream Sanctum: Beyond The End (20 page)

“What our resident saleswoman is trying to say is that all that nonsense
you heard was propaganda and lies. Devnon’s reputation depended on you guys
hating us. You should definitely come back with us. It’d be a good break for
you after this, a chance for a new start in a world you deserve. And seriously,
the food is fantastic.”

Emma looked thoughtful, but Luna looked up at them determinedly.

“I’ll go,” she said forcefully. “I don’t want to stay here. I can’t.
There’s nothing left for me here. All that’s left are bad memories. You guys
are the closest things I have to friends right now, and I don’t want to watch
you sail over the world without me.”

“I guess that means I have no choice,” Emma said with a laugh, and it was
settled.

“Oh, Hercules… you kept our ship safe, didn’t you?” Alastor asked as they
started walking again.

“I assigned a regiment of my most talented and devoted officers to guard
it for you!” he announced proudly.

“You know, you say that, but I don’t feel good about it.”

They pressed on through the trees and back to where their ship floated,
still remarkably in one piece, surrounded by the Shuski fleet.

“Good! At least it still floats. But if I find so much as a single
scratch on the interior…” Alastor started.

“I know, I know,” Hercules said. “To the brig with me.”

“Nope!” Alastor answered cheerily. “We’ll just toss you overboard.”

A
s they reached the ship and
started to board, Hercules stopped on the shore.

“Well don’t stand around! We do want to get back. We’re tired and hurt
like you wouldn’t believe,” Alastor chided, but Hercules shook his head.

“I will be remaining here for as long as I am able,” he announced. “There
are people in need of assistance, and I have the means to provide it. I would
not be living up to my title if I did not stay.”

“I… I’m impressed,” Kwin said. “That’s very good of you.”

“Thank you. The Shuski will be staying with me as well. With our combined
manpower, perhaps we can make a difference in their lives. But I will not
forget that it was you who started this valiant movement! One day I aspire to
be like you, saving worlds wherever you go. For now, you must return home and
rest, for you have all earned it!”

“He’s ruining the moment by continuing to open his mouth,” Kwin muttered,
and Alastor took over for her.

“Thank you for all your help, but I agree, we must be going. So… do write
sometime, won’t you?”

“I will indeed! Have a safe trip! And never fear; I will share the
stories of your glory throughout this new world.”

He gave a straight salute, then turned and marched back across the beach,
followed by his Shuski companions who gave a few finals
woops
of farewell.

“All right. Let’s get this baby moving,” Alastor said. “Elvia, dear,
would you…? Oh, oops.”

Elvia flickered for a moment, and then vanished completely. As everyone’s
look of shock, Alastor chuckled.

“There go my powers. I was wondering when that would happen. I figured
they’d vanish eventually once the world figured out what I was doing. She’ll be
back once we hit the border. For now, I’ll steer.”

The sails were released and the ship once again picked up speed. The
storms had completely abated now, making their trip much smoother. Everyone on
board let out a collective sigh as they watched the land behind them begin to
shrink into the distance.

“Well, we’re safe,” Kai said, and the relief combined with his exhaustion
made him feel as though he were about to fall over right then and there. “I
didn’t think we were going to get out of that one, but we did.”

“Do you think Hercules will be okay?” Lindsay asked.

“Honestly?” Kwin answered as she walked away. “I don’t care. I really,
truly do not care.”

“Don’t worry,” Kai replied, laughing at Lindsay’s expression. “He’s got
an army with him, and everyone left in the world is on his side. I’m sure he’ll
figure out what he needs to do. Besides, he’s there to help. I think he’ll be
fine.”

Lindsay appeared satisfied, and they turned their sights back to the
horizon as they sailed back toward the waterfall and the edge of the world. Kai
knew that it would probably be a while before they reached land again, but all
things considered, he had to admit that he had never been happier to be on the
ship.

There was a sudden cry from the other side of the boat, and Kai whipped
around to see what was wrong. To his horror he saw Kwin Two standing behind
Kwin, a knife to her throat.

Kwin Two looked even more frightening than usual. She had evidently been
injured during the battle; she had a dark circle under one eye, and blood was
trickling down her face. On top of that, she had a look of maniacal desperation
on her face as she pulled Kwin closer to the edge.

“Thought you were free, did you?” Kwin Two said, her voice shaking as
though holding back a laugh. “Oh, I don’t think so. You had my father killed,
you ruined
everything
, and one of you
is going to be held responsible for it. It might as well be you, my dear twin.”

Alastor drew his sword and everyone else began to move over to her, but
Kai knew there was nothing they could do. If they made one move Kwin Two didn’t
like, Kwin could still die.

“All right, let’s just take this one step at a time,” Alastor said
calmly, deciding to put his sword away. “What do you want? The ship?”

“Don’t be stupid. What would I do with this? It’s useless to me now. No,
I’d very much just like to kill all of you.”

“So why didn’t you just kill her while we weren’t looking?” Alastor
asked, confused.

“Oh, thanks, I love you too, buddy,” Kwin shot at him, but Kwin Two
pulled her closer.

“I wanted you all to watch.”

As she spoke, Kai felt a familiar sensation wash over him. He looked down
and saw that his body was free of injuries, that his pain was gone, and that he
no longer felt tired at all. Before he could say anything, he saw a very
familiar-looking white dove glide overhead and land on the mast.

Kwin paused for only a moment, and as she realized what was happening, a
devilish smile played across her lips.

“Before you kill me, I just have one question…”

“What is that?”

“Can you swim?”

“…what?”

Kwin was gone in an instant, reappearing in the center of the deck. Gone
were her normal clothes, replaced by her dark, tattered robes and a set of
black, bat-like wings. In her hand was a scythe nearly as tall as she was, one
that she spun effortlessly as she smiled at Kwin Two, who now looked shocked
beyond words.

Kwin shot toward her counterpart with incredible speed, her scythe pulled
back and ready to strike, and Kwin Two screamed. Before hitting her, however,
Kwin stopped directly in front of the girl, then gently pushed her over the
edge. She fell into the water, coughing as her head appeared above the surface.
Kwin Two took one look back at the ship, then swam quickly toward the shore.

Kwin snapped her fingers and returned to her normal form in an instant,
humming softly to herself as she walked back to one of the benches to sit down.

“Good work!” Alastor said, patting her on the head. “For a second there I
thought you were going to cut her to bits.”

“Nonsense. I just wanted to have a bit of fun.”

“Fair enough. Though it looks like you scared our new friends. I don’t
think they knew you do that.” Alastor looked over at Emma and Luna; both girls looked
stricken, and stared at Kwin with wide eyes. “Ah well. They’ll learn. Anyway,
now that things are back the way they should be, Elvia’s getting impatient.”

There was another burst of flame on deck as Elvia reappeared.

“Right!
Now
everything is back
to… what?” Alastor said as Kwin continued to watch him silently. She raised an
eyebrow pointedly, and Alastor raised his hands in surrender. “Ah, yes, I know.
I have some explaining to do.”

He took a seat on the bench next to her, and the others gathered nearby,
sitting around him like children waiting for their teacher to read them a
story. Even Luna and Emma came over to hear what he had to say. Alastor looked
slightly put off at the size of his audience, but he took a breath and began to
speak.

“Well, you mentioned seemed that photo in my house,” he started, looking
at Kwin. “Well, like I told you – or rather, like I told you through Elvia –
the girl in that photo was my older sister.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t tell us why you created her likeness in the Sanctum,”
Kwin replied.

“It’s a long story, but I’ll try to keep it short,” Alastor continued.
“I’ve lived in that house all my life. Up until a few years ago, my parents and
my sister, Ella, lived there as well. She was always the best child. She had
good grades, good looks – obviously – good ideas, good behavior, everything a
parent could want. I was the opposite. I liked fun too much, and it caused my
marks to suffer. Our parents would go after me for it, but I never seemed to
learn.

“After my parents yelled at me, I would go see Ella. She comforted me and
helped keep me calm. She was the one person in the world I felt I could trust
with my life. After I made it into the Sanctum, I told her about it, and
instead of laughing at me she listened to me, and even asked me to teach her
how to get in. I promised I would someday when we had the time, though I had no
idea how I was going to do that.

“But then my parents and Ella had a falling out. She was seeing someone
they didn’t approve of and applying for schools they didn’t like. They refused
to pay her tuition and drained all the money from her savings. Before they
could kick her out, though, she left. She just… left, in the middle of the
night. I remember her waking me and telling me she was leaving, and that hopefully
we would see each other again one day. My parents left shortly after that,
finally giving up on trying to raise their children, and gave me the house and
part of their fortune. I would have rather they left me homeless, but for them
to leave instead of kicking me out was a sign that they had no intention of
ever coming back.”

Alastor took a moment to breathe and looked up at the sky, a look of
contentment on his face, though Kai could tell that he was trying hard to keep
his expression neutral. After a few minutes of silence that no one dared
interrupt, he looked back at the group and continued.

“The only thing I could think of was how alone I was. I didn’t know how
to contact anyone, not even my sister. The only thing I could think of was the
Dream Sanctum. I spent days and days creating a perfect likeness of her so that
if she ever got in, she would know who I was. Years passed and she never came,
but I kept her by my side at all times. I even gave her a name. It comforted me
and made me feel less alone. Eventually I began to forget that she was my
creation, and I began to feel in my heart that she
was
my sister – or rather, that she was filling the void that my
real sister left. I guess somewhere along the way she became so real to me that
she became a separate person entirely, and I found myself forgetting why she
was there in the first place.”

“That’s so sad…” Lindsay murmured.

“In more ways than one, you’re probably right,” Alastor chuckled. “All I
knew was that everything felt right. I spent so much time refining her
character that I guess subconsciously she ended up being my sister’s
replacement. Deep in my heart I knew she wasn’t, but she was so real and so
believable in every way that I ever remembered Ella that I didn’t care
anymore.”

“I think this explains why Elvia could exist in the mirror world,” Kwin
offered. “If a creation registered as a separate entity, even to its creator, a
mirror might recognize it as a separate entity as well. Elvia was created out
of memories and conscious desires, but acted according to unconscious emotions.
Because of how you let it go, she was by all intents and purposes a completely
real person.”

“I think you’re right,” Alastor replied. “I think that’s what saved us.
Once we lost our powers and Elvia was still there, I realized I had gone too
far, but it also gave me the loophole I needed to use my powers there. I don’t
think I could have done it any other way.” He paused, blinking quickly as
though fighting to keep tears at bay. “You know, I would lie awake at night for
so long wondering if I had gone insane. I always reasoned that since I had the
capability to ask such a question that I wasn’t, but I’m not so sure anymore.”

“We all cope with loss in different ways, Alastor,” Kwin answered, giving
him a smile. “You just happened to use your imaginative talents in a world that
provided you the best possible medium for its exposure. I am glad you told us
the truth; however, at some point or another, you will need to move on.”

“Don’t I know it. I’d been thinking about keeping her around just as a
companion, but I know that if I really want to do this right, she’ll have to go
for good. When that will be, I don’t know, but either way I know what I have to
do.”

“We’ll worry about that another time. For now, let’s just get home. We’ll
take care of everything else after that,” Kwin said softly, and after that, all
was silent.