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Night hissed as he stared at the gathering of his friends...comrades? The people his former self had fought for and died by.

It wasn't unpleasent, nor upsetting. It felt like another thing for him to box away in his memory, only to fade with time with the friends in their normal state.

But this was normal for them wasn't it?? He hadn't said much to the shades he had been friends with but what did, he went to find them and thank them.

The first was the one of Fortune, because fortune usually ran together. He found the dragon with the one he had been fighting before and smiled.

"Jericho, Fortune brother." Night waited a beat, "I'll find you again and collect some of our debts to each other outside of these walls..." Night cocked his head respectfully at the dragon.

The next for him to find was Merope, knowing that the swamp dragon had only been protecting his friends well...

Once he spotted the hermit shade, he hustled over to him and clapped a hand on the Underwater dragon. "I didn't know you long, especially after you awakened but..." the cat's tail flicked out, "I will look for you in our world. So we can become friends. Someone as loyal as you needs a couple of friends that won't take advantage and be right loyal back to you." The black cat smiled, "And if your ever feeling like you need a bout of luck, come find me. Just don't be surprised when it might turn a little unlucky."

Finally the black cat found the triad of the dragons, his personal friend and the one that was a former shadow of the one that slept.

"Aymet." The black cat hesitated before moving forward, knowing full well he had attacked his friend, even if to save him. "I guess I got a new nickname for you friend, King. King Aymet. I think it'll be fitting and once I tell Remi well..." The cat's eyes danced. "You were a good king, myself...myself that was here....He cared about you a lot. You were one of his only friends that he truly loved so..." Night smiled and held out his hand. "I can't wait for us to get back to that."

The kiss lasted longer than she expected, but Belladonna did not fight. There was no need to fight anymore, only enjoy this one last little bit of a dream where one had realized they were asleep and thus curbed the actions to what they wanted. The upward movement of being, for a third time it seemed, returned to her feet had the faerie flashing open her eyes to see that odd, almost embarrassed look on Mort's face and she could not help but laugh.
"You haven't done a thing wrong." She told him, though she did give pause over that whole sword in the stomach thing. Granted, the wound was healed now and it had been in a very tense moment of misunderstanding, but still. It was good to know that Mort could, when pressed into anger, get a bit stabby from time to time.
A volley of others came forward and the faerie slunk backwards, but only insomuch that she essentially hid behind the shoulder of the hand she held, for while Mort seemed reluctant to let her go, Belladonna was far more than willing to admit the same. But she was good and quiet and listened to him speak. In particular his words to Sophie made her turn introspective, especially with the addition of the look and squeeze on her hand.

Everything was real, but just... Not forever. This had honestly happened, but it wasn't the lifetime that would continue. Mort had been king, had been happy, vastly happy, and had properly ruled his people until interfered with. All these lives had meant something, still meant something and the interlopers meant something too. It all felt very deep, not yet explored in her mind fully, but it was the idea of happiness that snagged Belladonna's heart and distracted her long enough to realize Ofelia was close by and that--
Her own startled cry broke her musings as the faerie pressed both hands against Mort to keep him steady from that headbutt. But she didn't say anything, this was the moment between them and though once more the faerie watched, interjected herself where she might not have belonged, she was with Mort. Which naturally meant this was exactly where she belonged.

"It can't just.. end for you." He murmured, adjusting his glasses meekly as Roar gave them space. "Any of you. The other Me..." He wasn't sure if Cee knew... who he was. What he was. "The Me of The Watch," He tried to clarified, "He... well. I mean he and I are..." He hesitated. What was the point?

He looked over her face, memorizing it, "I'll look for you," He smiled uneasily, "But I doubt the other You will give me the time of day ahahaha." It wasn't... comforting? But it was something.

"He did really like you, the Other Me. Where ever you're going... he could really use the support."

The Mindflayer had wandered off without answering him. It seemed that he was going to be without answers for a little longer. Jericho shook his head, then began to walk off, but he was stopped by a familiar feline. A fellow Fortune. Or former one at least. It was a little strange seeing him without the cloak of shadows covering his body.

Smiling at the cat, he nodded.

"Good. You still owe me a few things too I think," he laughed.

Concetta didn't know what to think of all the 'other me' stuff. He wasn't the only one using the phrase. She even over heard it from strangers. It all seemed very involved and the woman just couldn't put the effort into figuring out what it meant. She felt like perhaps she wasn't meant to know anyway. It was probably better off.

"If the other me is anything like this me," Cee snorted. "She's a good old time.. but watch your back. We're a handful." Herself. Her other self. Whatever. This was confusing her now.

As Jerry talked about his other self, Concetta smiled but shook her head. She was pretty sure that after this there was no going back. No more fantasy life. No more 'other selves'. This was their last chance and then they were gone. Poor Jerry didn't seem like he'd want to hear that so she just gave him a playful shove. "Other you's probably gonna get slapped too." She laughed.

The others were chatting and Cee simply shrugged. That was it for her. What else was there to say? Her time with all of them had been short. She shoved Jerry again. "You should go to your buds over there."

"Yeah, not hard feelings." A sad chuckle trickled from her throat as he wearily shook her head. Even as a fragment, Mot was still the sweet boil she knew in the real world. Rubbing small circles around his hands with her thumbs, she snorted a little in amusement.

"I'm not a big fan of killing anyone, really. But I thought that killing you would save you - yet here you are again." Her smile turned into a genuinely distressed frown. Why couldn't this Mot just stay dead? and not have to suffer the fate of slowly fading out of existence? He deserved better.

"The other Mot, my Mot I guess you could call him, is really a lot like you. The thought of anyone with his face having to undergo what you're going to..." She sighed, tears welling up in her eyes. Nope, not going to cry here. "No one as sweet, caring, friendly, and humble as you deserves it. You deserve a full life."

Not...gonna...cry...

Uru wasn't anywhere to be found, or just simply lost in the crowd somewhere. It made the petite girl sad that their goodbye would have to wait a little longer; or perhaps he could find her as she had first found him. Though, he had been a little easier to spot in the land of Shadows.

But, Maple still made good progress through the crowds. Seeing the mirth of everyone, everyone's farewells and last kisses and slaps and punches. She saw those she recognized from the Tower and the battlefield, though many looking a little different.

At last she came upon a small collection of what was once her Kingdom, comrades in arms once upon a time ago and greats sportsmen to the games of Stair Sliding. Maple's smile found her again as she came up on Amarus and Aezeloth, two whom she had rarely seen without the other. "J-justice, J-judgment!" She called to them in her mousey voice. "I-I'm so glad..." she had found them, she had this last chance to say goodbye, that she had the privilege of knowing them. So much, she was so unsure how to express it all in one go. She left it at that for now.

"H-have you f-found the others?" She asked them, wanting and hoping for them all to be together until the end.

Face your demons

Torvil