Nightmare Realm Summoner

Aaron dragged himself out of the Forsaken Grounds.

Everything hurt.

His body felt like it was a bowl of jell-o that someone had dropped down a flight of stairs. Even standing properly was a challenge. His legs trembled beneath him with every step he took.

But he couldn’t stop now. Every step was coming — somewhat counterintuitively — easier than the last. He’d had to sit at the edge of the tower for a few minutes just to get enough energy back before moving. So long as he kept moving, he’d be fine. He just had to keep taking one step after the other.

The sun hadn’t yet fully set in the sky. He’d been in the tower for quite some time. Several hours, at the least. A fair portion of that had been spent passed out on the grass outside it. But there was still some time left in the day. And that was time he couldn’t afford to waste.

His hand clenched tighter around the gold coin grasped within it. The cold metal pressed into his palm. It gave his mind something to focus on. And that was enough. He could feel focus returning to his body, strength pouring back into his limbs.

Blade hadn’t gone easy on him — but whatever the potion he’d drank was, it was doing work within his body. The weakness within him felt like it was burning away in the bubbling magma that filled his limbs. It wouldn’t be long before all of it was gone, replaced by determination and strength.

And, by the time it did, Aaron planned to ensure he was in a place to use it.

A shadow fell over him as he dragged himself toward the Warped Embassy. It was a big one. He didn’t pause, but he did glance over his shoulder.

“Derek,” Aaron greeted. “I see you’ve found a few new weapons.”

Derek grinned down at him, easily matching his pace. The large man was indeed riddled with a number of new weaponry. The majority of it seemed to have been made from bones and monster parts. Derek would have resembled a pincushion if not for the sheer size of many of the items lodged in him.

Many of his new weapons were positively huge. Derek had clearly decided that size was, in fact, important. There were still a few daggers and other assorted small blades jutting out of him at various angles — but the vast majority of them were so large that Aaron doubted he could have held them if he’d wanted to.

“Yup,” Derek said. “Had Mite make them for me with some scraps. Kept breaking everything. I still have a few of the good old ones, but I needed a refresh. I’m just glad I was able to find enough space to hold them all.”

Does that really count as holding?

“Right,” Aaron said. He continued to push himself in the direction of the Warped Embassy. “Well… that’s good.”

“It is,” Derek said as he walked alongside Aaron. “Where you going?”

“The Mirrorlands.”

“Why?”

“To train. I’m weak.”

“I don’t know if I’d say that,” Derek said with a frown. “I’d definitely be happy to kill you if you were an Anomaly. I bet I’d get some great rewards.”

That gave Aaron a moment of pause. He glanced at Derek out of the corner of his eye. Then he grunted and started back toward the Embassy. “Thanks. I think.”

“You’re welcome,” Derek said with a cheerful grin. “I was just actually going to go kill a few monsters to test these out. I wanted to see how they feel, especially with my new abilities. The Rotkeeper stuff is really cool. You should definitely get a Legacy.”

A snort of laughter slipped free from Aaron before he could stop it. “I don’t think that’s something you just get, man. Ancestries aren’t just randomly lying around everywhere.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what they’re doing,” Derek said. “What else would you call it?”

Aaron had to admit that it was a bit hard to argue that particular point.

“Okay. True,” he allowed. “But I don’t think I’m lucky enough to just stumble into one on accident. And I can’t afford to just go on a wild chase in hopes of finding one. I just need to get stronger.”

“Everyone does,” Derek said. “What changed?”

Aaron’s hands clenched at his sides. “May. She got—”

“Her eye. Yeah,” Derek said. “I know. She got caught. Orchid feels really bad about it. She isn’t saying, but I can tell.”

Aaron’s jaw worked. The two of them drew up to the crooked building and he paused to look over to Derek. “I know she does. And part of me feels good about that. The other part feels like an asshole for thinking that way. It wasn’t Orchid’s fault. She did what she could.”

“Yup,” Derek agreed with a nod. “Shit happens. That how it is, you know? Just have to keep it up. Kill some more Anomalies. Get stronger. Train until you can catch the ball. Once you get it the first time, the second one will be easier. The third will be easier still. Eventually, the ball will just be yours.”

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What does catching a ball have anything to do with this?

“I’m not so sure its that simple,” Aaron said.

“No,” Derek said with a thoughtful frown. “I figure it is. Life is never as difficult as everyone makes it out to be. It’s only as tough as you think it is.”

“You think enemies become weaker because you think they’re weaker?”

Derek’s brows lowered. “That’s not what I meant. And I think you know that. I’m not talking about your enemies. There are always gonna be things stronger than you are. That won’t change no matter how much you train or improve. You’re thinking about the chase. Not the ball.”

What is it with the ball?

Aaron grunted. Then the corner of his lip twitched. “Yeah. Maybe you’re right.”

“I know,” Derek said, moving to stand in front of the door of the Warped Embassy. “So. You’re gonna go to the Mirrorlands and fight some shit? Like this?”

“I’ll be fine,” Aaron said. “I’ll wait until I can fight.”

“You think May is going to be happy if you get yourself in bed next to her?” Derek asked. “I think that would make her pretty sad. And it would probably make Orchid pretty sad too. I don’t like it when Orchid is sad.”

“I’ll be fine,” Aaron said. “I’m not weak. Not anymore.”

“Never said you were,” Derek said. “But I’m not letting you go out there alone. You’re going to get yourself killed.”

Aaron’s jaw clenched. “I don’t think I’m going to let you stop me, Derek. I need to get stronger. My enemies aren’t always going to wait until I’m in peak condition to fight. I need to train for every situation.”

“That’s not what you’re doing, though, is it?” Derek arched an eyebrow.

Aaron gritted his teeth. “Get out of the way, Derek. I’m going to the Mirrorlands.”

“Never said you weren’t,” Derek said. He patted Aaron on the shoulder with enough force to nearly send him straight into the ground. “I’m coming with you.”

“Huh?” Aaron asked, stumbling from the impact of Derek’s hand. “What?”

“I’m comin’ with you,” Derek said. “You can do what you want. I’m not your father. But you aren’t mine. I do what I want. And you sure as hell can’t stop that.”

Aaron paused for a second. Then a small smile crossed his lips. “Yeah. I suppose that’s true enough. Thanks.”

“Any time,” Derek replied. He grinned. “Let’s go kill something.”

***

“What?” Alex asked, staring at Absolution in stunned disbelief. His eyes flicked back to Teddy before returning to Absolution an instant later. Then, very intelligently, he managed another, “huh?”

Even Claire looked stunned.

Absolution’s lips curled in amusement. “Is something a matter?”

“I — wasn’t the whole reason you helped us here so you could get an invite?” Alex asked, blinking heavily to make sure he wasn’t somehow hallucinating. His eyes narrowed. “This isn’t an illusion, is it?”

Something did certainly fell a bit off. There was no way that Absolution could have been here. Alex straight up refused to believe it.

But his eyes were being pretty insistent.

“You’re welcome to punch him to find out,” Teddy offered.

“You’re welcome to try,” Absolution said in his typical, flat tone. “I will inform you that if you attempt it, I will take that as a challenge. And I do would fancy your chances against me in an one-on-one fight. The Empty Court’s rules prohibit Claire from aiding you. You will lose. Badly.”

“You knew the whole time?” Claire asked. “About Teddy?”

Absolution’s lips thinned. “There is little to be known about Stargazer. He is an insufferable entity. But I have greater enemies than those in this room.”

“So… you never needed entry into the Empty Court?” Alex asked. “That was all just bullshit?”

Absolution inclined his head. “I am somewhat pleased that you thought I was strong enough to stand against the Starfallen without at least some place to retreat to and recover. There is no place in the universe that such a family would let somebody hide from their wrath… other than here.”

“Why help us, then?” Claire asked with a frown. “You got nothing out of it.”

“Nothing?” Absolution smiled. Then he looked to Teddy. “I wouldn’t say that... unless Stargazer is planning to renege on his promise.”

“You fulfilled your half of the Bargain,” Teddy said with a nod. “I’m not going to stiff you. Not in the way you expect me to, at least. You’ll have your favor.”

“Then I will take my leave,” Absolution said. He turned to leave. Then he paused, sending a glance back over his shoulder at Claire and Alex. “Welcome to the Empty Court. To be fully honest, I did not truly believe that you had entry. It seems I was wrong. It will be quite interesting to see how powerful you become.”

Then he swept out of the room. The door slammed shut behind him.

There was a moment of silence.

“God, he’s such a drama queen,” Teddy said with a sigh.

“You traded him a favor?” Alex asked. “Just to get him to take us here? Or was every other interaction with him also somehow—”

“Oh, no. Just the trip,” Teddy said. “And to be clear, I actually just paid him to tolerate your presence for a few days. Not to agree to take you here.”

“Somehow, that’s even more insulting,” Alex said.

Teddy shrugged. “As I said, I’ve just helped put a few dominos in place. You did the rest. Getting him to agree to actually take you here was all you. Honestly, I’m surprised. It doesn’t sound like you had to actually give anything up to pay for the trip. Absolution isn’t the type to do favors for free. He must really think you’re going to cause the Starfallen a huge pain in the ass.”

“Shouldn’t you already know that?” Claire asked.

Teddy’s features turned serious. “The Starfallen are not a force I have any desire to screw with. I try to avoid looking too close into any future pertaining to them. I’m not the only one with the power to meddle with things… and I’m much newer at this than the others.”

“There are other people screwing with the future?” Alex asked, aghast.

“Not the future,” Teddy corrected. “Nobody controls the future. Don’t forget that. Nobody. It’s just a few people shuffling pieces around on a chessboard in their best attempt to make sure things fall out in a way that favors them. It doesn’t always work. There are some things that nobody can account for.”

“And what would those be?” Alex asked, sending one more disbelieving glance at the door that Absolution had just left through.

“Idiots,” Teddy replied. He rose from his chair. “But we’ve sat around here for long enough.”

“Hold on,” Alex said. “I’m not nearly done.”

“That’s fine,” Teddy said. “Just save it for later. I was thinking we could go get some pizza.”

“You’re not going anywhere until — oh.” Alex paused for a moment. “I thought you were going to try to run away. The Empty Court has pizza?”

“Not the frozen kind, unfortunately,” Teddy said. “But it’s good enough. I’ll show you around Empty Court after we eat. Introduce you to the people you need to know. Should have enough time for that, and it’ll let you get any last questions out as well.”

“That makes it sound like we’re on a time limit,” Claire said. “You have somewhere to be?”

“Always,” Teddy replied. He glanced at his watch. “I’ve got a date coming up. Don’t want to be too late for that.”

“Seriously?” Alex asked.

“Quite,” Teddy replied. “So… you coming?”

Alex sighed. “One more question before we go. This shit with Absolution… is there anything else you’ve already done? Where else have you messed with things? Surely you can tell us that much.”

Teddy stared at him for a second. Then he shook his head. “Nope. As far as things that have already happened, that’s it. I haven’t done anything else.”

“Okay.” Alex pursed his lips. Then he nodded. “Then I suppose we might as well. I’m starving.”

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