12Everything didn't go back to normal immediately. Rather, the world hung on a blinding white nothingness for at least a few minutes. Senses were restored in the following order:
Touch; the feeling of cold stone on Aran's hand and a nippy breeze running through her hair.
Smell; a dreary wet-cobblestone smell, dampened yet also accentuated by the chilly night air.
Taste; spittle with just a hint of iron to remind her of her injuries, although her mouth remained noticeably and irritatingly dry.
Sound; the rush and quiet roar of the wind running through her hair, certainly, but also a noise she could not yet identify.
Sight; the top of the clocktower, somehow repaired as if it had never been broken in the first place.
Where Lucid should have been, sat instead what was likely once a beautifully-carved wooden music box with Maha embedded deep in its heart. Still powered through some means Aran couldn't identify, the gears creaked desperately as they tried to turn, the occasional note released as a twang from the now-bent-and-twisted horn.
In a flash, Yuuki's sword whistled past Aran's head and embedded itself in the music box, glowing a bland purple color as the Magic Crash blanked out whatever energy permeated the air.
"Is that…" Tear hesitated. "Is that it? Is it over?"
"How much of that was a dream?" Liuva asked as she touched the glass of the clocktower. "Didn't this…shatter?"
"Lucid is gone." Xenon noted.
"Yes, but she's completely gone," Hayato pointed out, "she could have escaped."
"I think," came Protective Mask's voice from behind them, "it's over."
The group tensed briefly as they turned to see Protective Mask climbing out of the lower clocktower and onto the ledge.
Aran relaxed, her muscles melting into each other as she slumped herself out on the ground. Fighting a commander of the Black Mage was surprisingly stressful.
Yuuki yanked his sword out of the remains of the music box, eyeing the weapon as one might scrutinize an apple for spots.
"And what now?" He asked his sword, but directed the question to Protective Mask. "What are you going to do?"
Protective Mask thought for a moment, seeming to frown.
"Dreams and reality are separate once more," they said, "and now, just like any other, this dream will slowly fade…"
"Eh?!" Tear gaped. "B-but…if the dream ends, you'll…"
Protective Mask looked away.
"The Nightmare must vanish when the day breaks…" They said. "If the people—or the Erdas—are safe, then I've fulfilled my purpose."
Protective Mask stared at Yuuki directly.
"It doesn't matter if I disappear."
Only Tear—bless her heart—sputtered in an attempt to correct this statement. No one on the group thought it to be wholly true, but…it seemed far too difficult to prove otherwise.
"Now that the fog has lifted, I guess you'll be resuming your quest?" Protective Mask asked as the group made their way down the clocktower.
Yuuki swished the remainder of his elixir in its bottle.
"I guess we will, won't we?"
"It will be a difficult journey," Protective Mask said, "I hope you return safely."
"I wonder what's out there, past this city…" Hayato mused as he stole a glance out of one of the stone windows.
"Can't be any weirder than the last place!" Tear chirped, trying to lighten the mood.
"That's a no-brainer," Liuva said, "what could be weirder tha—OOF!"
She stumbled backwards after colliding with whatever it was she had collided with. She looked up to try and figure out what she had hit.
None of them were ready for it.
"H-hello." Liuva said, nervously.
A large, blue stuffed bunny—complete with button-eyes and stitching on the side—wearing a long, purple nightcap, stood towering, literally towering at least twice the height of an average human over the group.
It snorted in derision.
After a moment of stunned silence, Yuuki was the first to recover.
"Who…are you?"
"Mr. Flopsy, duh…" The bunny yawned, its mouth seemed to move simultaneously with and without opening. "It's my job to scare off nightmares and make sure this dream world is a place of deep, restful sleep."
Protective Mask shifted uncomfortably.
"Oh don't worry," Mr. Flopsy huffed, "I'm not like those Dream Keepers. Mr. Flopsy's got his own thing going. I used to live in this little tower until…eh…well, I don't want to bore you with the details."
"You look so soft…" Tear said as she absentmindedly reached out a hand.
Mr. Flopsy slapped the offending limb away
"No snuggles until Mr. Flopsy gets some sleep!" He snapped.
"S-sorry!" Tear rubbed her poor hand. The bunny sighed.
"Look, I'm just looking for a nice place to lie down and sleep." He said. "A nice, peaceful, dreamless sleep. No nightmares, no dreamkeepers, just…sleep."
Mr. Flopsy dug through a pocket no one could see.
"Here," he said as he pulled out a small purple stone, "if I give you this, will you let me get some sleep?"
"I—" Yuuki started, but Mr. Flopsy went ahead and shoved the stone into his palm.
"Great! Now, good night!"
And with that, he stomped up the flight of stairs leading to the top of the clocktower, with the members of the party pressing themselves against the wall to let him pass.
"Can we just…" Hayato hesitated. "…can we just move on and pretend that never happened?"
"I…uh…" Yuuki blinked, turning over the newfound Arcane Symbol in his hand. "Okay."
"Do you guys hear…flapping?" Liuva asked as they approached the edge of the city.
"Yeah I do!" Tear yelped excitedly. "Look over there!"
Tear pointed at the river and as if on cue, the water bubbled a bit and a baby-blue blur bolted out of the river, splashing back down before swimming around in a circle. It almost seemed…agitated. Like it wanted to get a move on.
"Mr. Fish!" Tear cheered.
The fish blubbed in response.
"Are we really calling him Mr. Fish?" Liuva huffed.
"Hey, you got a better name?"
Liuva thought for a moment.
"Salmon Rushdie?" She grinned as if this were the most clever thing in existence.
"Mr. Fish it is!" Yuuki declared.
"Hey!"
"It appears our friend wishes to help us." Xenon pointed further upstream, revealing the team's leaf boat drifting idly towards them. Xenon quickly lassoed the stem with his whipblade and tugged the boat closer, and the group moved to board.
Yuuki paused for a moment as his smile faded. He turned around about halfway.
"Protective Mask…" He began.
"I understand," Protective Mask said, "it's time for you to go?"
"I think so," Yuuki glanced back, "we have to make it to the end of the river. Whether the Black Mage is there or not, we have to try."
"Again," Protective Mask said, "I understand."
"Don't disappear!" Liuva chirped from behind, startling both of them. "Don't act like your life has only a single purpose, you're not just made to do one thing and then disappear. It doesn't work that way. Trust me on that. I've had…experience with that way of thinking."
Protective Masked looked like they were about to say something, but didn't. Yuuki thought about the words for a moment, then smiled.
"Yeah," he said, "I agree. We'll see each other again, Protective Mask. That's a promise. We'll keep it as long as you do, sounds good?"
Protective Mask said nothing. It was impossible to tell for certain, but deep down somewhere Yuuki knew that Protective Mask was smiling.
"I understand," they said, "I'll see you again sometime."
Yuuki thought for a moment. He was happy, but at the same time a small thing nagged at him.
'Is it just me,' he thought, 'or did Protective Mask sound like…'
"Heeey!" Tear shouted, derailing Yuuki's train of thought. "Let's go!"
The group shared a wave to their new friend as they finished piling into the boat, and Protective Mask seemed to slink away into the city depths, vanishing into the alleyways.
"This city was nice." Tear declared. "Sure, ruled by an super-powered elf with abandonment issues, but it was pretty, at least."
"Yeah, sure, whatever." Liuva hummed. "Pushing off now!"
She gave the dock a light shove and the boat began drifting down the river, with the flying fish swimming lazy circles around them before swimming out in front, as if guiding the group through what remained of Lucid's fog.
"Aran?" Hayato asked.
"Wuh-huh?" Aran snapped upright.
"You've been…rather quiet this whole time." Hayato said. "Is something the matter?"
The group stared at Aran, who shifted uncomfortably under their gaze.
"Nothing." She said. "Just…thinking…"
"Thinking about what?" Yuuki asked.
Aran hesitated.
Some time ago, before Damien's war, before the Black Heaven's destruction…the Alliance held a meeting. The topic was irrelevant, for no one could quite remember what it was. Instead, a different discussion inserted itself into the fold.
"I know what our scouts saw!" Claudine shouted as she slammed a hand into the Alliance's meeting table. "The Cygnus Knights betrayed us! They betrayed the Alliance…all of Maple World!"
"Please, calm down." Empress Cygnus frowned. "We all know what was witness beyond the Gate to the Future was a fabrication created by the Black Mage!"
"I would never lead the Knights into such an obvious trap!" Neinheart scoffed. "The very idea!"
"You say that now," Claudine narrowed her eyes at the tactician in particular, "with the benefit of hindsight. Your arrogance won't save us from what could be!"
"You trust an enemy's illusion over your own allies?" Neinheart cocked an eyebrow.
"Please, stop fighting!" Athena slapped the poor, abused table once more. "We can't allow the enemy to divide us!"
The Alliance began to bicker and squabble, and squabble and bicker, and maybe even quarrel somewhat, as Lucid peered in from beyond.
"Hm," she chuckled lightly, "the Alliance is wavering, just as he foresaw. Everything is going according to plan."
She sighed happily.
"Even though they realized it was an illusion, the seeds of doubt have been planted in their minds." She grinned haughtily. "Under the care of the nightmare that is about to unfold, those seeds will bloom."
She turned to her master as the image of the Alliance faded from their view.
"A new era will soon be upon us," she said, "the day when our plan comes to fruition."
She clasped her hands and licked her lips lightly.
"Hehe…I'm eager to see the new world you're going to create." She giggled wildly. "How about a sneak peek? I won't tell if you won't~!"
The Black Mage seemed to consider this for a moment, and waved a hand.
Lucid smiled as the darkness spread throughout the throne room…only to frown as it failed to disappear.
"I…I don't understand…" She squinted, as if this would make an image appear. "I can't see anything…"
'He can't possibly be planning to…' She thought to herself. 'No…it can't be…'
There was no life in the world the Black Mage showed her. No Maple World. Nothing. Not even the Black Mage himself existed.
There was only…oblivion.
It was then that Lucid, for the first time since becoming a commander, thought to defy her master.
And so, in the heart of the Arcane River, she created a city. A city of endless celebration.
Lucid now stood atop her clocktower, balancing delicately on the head of one of the angel statues that trumpeted their silence to the world.
"In this city of dreams," she said, "there is no sadness or pain. This beautiful dream will grow beyond the Arcane River, and envelope the entire world."
She glared into the night sky.
"I will protect it to my dying breath," she said, "even if I have to go against…Him."
She spread her arms and made her declaration:
"Black Mage!" She shouted to the empty air. "Witness the new world that I, Lucid, will create!"
She retired to her room that night, swirling a rather good glass of wine thoughtfully.
"Everything is ready now," she said, "Lachelein is finally complete. My city of dreams…"
She frowned as everything grew quiet. Even the fireworks in the distance seemed to muffle into nothing more than a heartbeat. Her eyes grew heavy. Her glass shattered as it hit the floor, and Lucid fell asleep.
When her eyes opened, Lucid found herself in an endless expanse of space, empty of all but possibilities.
"This is my dreamscape," she noted aloud, "my loom…why am I here?"
Her fists gripped the air around her.
'I have a bad feeling about this…' She thought.
"Master," cooed a voice, "where are you going?"
In a swirl of dark energy, a Wightmare appeared. Lucid turned to look at it.
"You are my creation," Lucid said, "begone. I command you."
The Wightmare chuckled, making a noise that one could feel in their teeth.
"We are the ones who called you here," it said, "you're trapped inside your own dream."
The creature floated closer.
"You'll be staying here with us." It said, closer now. "Forever."
"Relax…" Another Wightmare appeared behind her. "You won't be bored, not for a second."
"This wonderful nightmare will never end!" A third declared.
"What are you waiting for?" A fourth asked. "Show our master the way!"
The Wightmares cackled.
"No…" Lucid growled. "I will leave this dreamscape."
She clenched her fist.
"Leave this place!" She shouted. "Obey me!"
"You're not in control here…" One of the Wightmares said. Lucid could not tell which one, there were so many now.
"T-this can't be!" Lucid struggled to move, finding it impossible.
"You will be trapped in this nightmare…"
"Forever."
Lucid snapped awake, fireworks sounding in the distance and her clothes lightly stained by dried wine.
"I-It was only a dream…" She panted. "But then…why couldn't I control it…?"
She thought on this.
"Ah." She said. "I understand."
She giggled. That giggle turned into a chortle, which turned into a complete laugh.
"Ha…haha…AHAHAHAHA!"
She threw her head up to the ceiling.
"Oh nightmare," she declared, "swallow me whole!"
She clasped her hands together.
"…but now is not my time." She said to no one. "Until my lord, the Black Mage, changes his mind…why not follow me obediently?"
She flopped down on the carpet.
"Until the world is shrouded in sweet dreams…" She said, smirking at her room.
"The festival…must go on."
Aran opened her eyes.
"Nothing," she said, "not thinking about anything, really. Just…processing events, I guess."
"Ah, yeah," Yuuki said, "I get that."
"Look there!" Hayato pointed ahead, at what appeared to be an airborne current, twisting its way through the remaining red fog.
"A path out of Lachelein?" Xenon pondered.
The flying fish seemed to sense their conversation and leapt into the current, swimming along with it.
"I guess there's our answer." Liuva said. "Full speed ahead!"
"Bye everyone!" Tear shouted to the city, though it was questionable if anyone heard her, let alone knew who she was.
The boat drifted into the current and began lifting itself out of the water.
Aran glanced back at the city.
'The dreams and illusions are finally over.' She thought.
She sighed.
"I need to have a talk with Mercedes." She muttered as the city behind them vanished into the fog, as if the city had never existed in the first place.
