249 - Deepest Desire

“NO!”

The sound exploded out of Aiden’s chest as Lexie vanished, her teleportation glitching at the last second, preventing her from coming up for air.

"NO!" He screamed again, and it was echoed around him as more of the heroes disappeared, along with the hands that haunted them.

Aiden's eyes were focused on where Lexie had vanished, leaving nothing but darkness in her wake.

He'd seen it coming.

Somehow, he'd known this would happen, yet he'd still been powerless to stop it. 

“Lexie!” he screamed as Vacek said something behind him. But Aiden didn’t hear him. Only silence followed his shout, without even an echo. It seized his breath, shattered him.

Lexie was gone. 

Disappeared. The space where she should be, empty.

Not again.

His mind fractured. Memories pushed in uninvited. 

He felt it all like that first time.

Getting the phone call.

"Aiden, I'm so sorry."

"She's lost in a dungeon."

The same rage flooded his being. The fear.

He remembered the endless waiting. The cycle of hoping and despairing.

All of that hardening into a bone-deep grief that he almost didn’t survive. He wouldn’t survive it this time. If Lexie were truly gone, he would go with her. 

“Aiden!” Someone smacked him across the face, hard. He blinked even as the sting numbed into nothing. “Focus! We need to get out of here.”

Aiden couldn't focus. His mind clung to the inevitable, rushing ahead to the worst possible ending so he could prepare himself for it. Lexie was gone. He knew this would happen.

That was the sick part of it all.

Somehow, something had been naggling him for weeks, telling him to wake up.

Telling him that this would happen.

That he was putting Lexie in danger by bringing her here.

Yet he’d done it anyway. He’d failed her, failed himself…he’d–

“Aiden,” Vacek said. “Lexie’s alive.”

“How the fuck would you know?” Aiden rasped, glaring at Dominic Vacek because this was all his fault. “How would you know she’s alive?”

“Because he’s still here.”

Aiden followed Vacek's pointed finger to find…

Pvilycht. Lexie’s Eldritch cousin. 

He was still there, staring at Aiden, and it was like all the air rushed into his lungs at once. His knees shook so much that he nearly collapsed. 

“Thank the Guardians,” he whispered, and Vacek gave him an odd look, probably because Aiden wasn't the religious type.

But Aiden didn’t care. His daughter was alive. That was all that mattered. 

He needed to find her, but he also needed to find a way to collapse this trap, and now he was more motivated than ever before. 

“You can feel her?” Aiden asked Pvilycht, and Pvilycht nodded. 

Aiden exhaled again deeply. Only then did he finally take stock of his surroundings. The rest of the heroes were gone. Probably either dead or in other pocket dimensions like Lexie was. The Alchemist was trying to divide and conquer.

The darkness was rumbling, about to release a new horde of beasts.

Rather than going to Lexie immediately, Aiden decided to focus on the task of inverting the dungeon again.

His going to her may not help her, and might end up exhausting some of the magic stores, which he needed in order to save her from this pocket dimension. He had to believe that she could take care of herself for now, while he worked.

Though he hated the very thought of it.

She survived on her own once, he told himself. She’s stronger now. She’ll be fine, and finding her will be useless if I can’t find a way to invert all these pocket dimensions right now.

I need to trust her. I need to let go of her to save her.

"Pvilycht, did you figure out the control points?" he asked.

"Yes," he said. "The pattern keeps changing, but I've isolated the constants."

"Good. Vacek, focus on weakening the Alchemist's hold, which should help weaken the monsters. I'll invert us."

"Okay."

Together, the three worked to escape the dark prison.

Aiden used his power to calculate with the constant, finding the other pocket dimensions in the space. He created corridors connecting them, stilling them as they tried to morph into something else.

The corridors were too small for them to move through, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that they were connected.

The Alchemist attempted to destroy the corridors, but Vacek's powers prevented it.

Nevertheless, the power of the dungeon remained strong. As his perception strengthened, he sensed a battle ongoing right outside of them.

It wasnt the fighting necessarily that fed the dungeon, but the nature of the battle. A battle of desire that grew stronger the more they fought.

As Aiden strengthened the connection and tugged at the pocket dimensions, he began to expand his senses. Sounds floated in his mind. Multiple consciousness. he could see things that were going on in the other pocket dimensions. Hear things.

Then he heard everything.

Lexie.

Vulcan.

What he was saying to her.

What she was saying in return.

She was with Vulcan. 

He nearly panicked again, but listened to the conversation. Felt that familiar anger, that rage, the need for revenge.

The need to protect his daughter from the same monsters that killed his wife.

It burned, and burned, like a fire refusing to be put out.

Protecting Lexie.

That was what he wanted more than anything. The more he thought of it, the stronger he felt.

He felt more powerful than he’d ever felt before. 

Powerful enough to protect his daughter, now and forever. And now, he had all her enemies in the palm of his hand.

Unbeknownst to Lexie, Aiden had overheard her conversation with Dewie.

He'd suspected for a while that Vacek had something to do with Lara's disappearance, but with a lack of evidence and probable cause, he'd just let it go. Just let the anger go.

But now the snake wanted to do the same thing to Lexie.

It didn't matter how many times Aiden tried to stop him, how many times he warned him to stay away. Vacek was always too greedy and would always cross the boundaries Aiden had laid. He would use whoever he could to get whatever he wanted. Then he somehow always managed to talk them into trusting him again, despite their knowing better.

Lexie...she was too much of a free spirit, too willing to use her strengths to help others. Too soft-hearted and good.

Exactly like her mother.

She wouldn't stand a chance against Vacek's manipulations.

So it was up to Aiden to protect her. It was what he wanted more than anything else in the world. Nearly every night since she'd been back, he'd had nightmares about losing her again. He couldn't let that happen.

Something cautioned him that he was crossing into dangerous territory, but Aiden didn't listen.

Even after he eliminated the Alchemist and Vulcan, he had to protect his daughter from the more treacherous internal threat.

Aidne had to protect Lexie.

It was the only thing he desired, the only thing he wanted more than anything else in the world. 

Something nagged his brain. Something that tried to force him to see things a different way, even as the power flooded him.

But it didn't prevail because he was too sure.

He was willing to do anything if it meant Lexie was safe.

Everything that threatened her simply had to disappear.

***

As the air closed in on Lexie, she immediately took control of this space. While they’d been talking, she’d tapped a little of Pvilcht's magic, and he'd already figured out much of the dimensions' constants.

She also used him to learn a few things about alchemy. 

First, it was very similar to Eldritch magic. It wasn’t the same, and they weren’t siblings, but they were second-cousins. 

The pocket dimension acted as a kind of extension of the owner’s conscience, but it was also a living thing on its own. It could create and contain monsters, just like the Old One Lexie had faced in the dungeon.

And with her soul card, she could take control of the space. 

Which was what Pvilchct was trying to do with Aiden. 

Lexie left them to it and focused instead on using the control she had against her opponent. Vulcan.

He was somewhere in here with her, but in a larger pocket dimension. She was the inner box, and he was the outer.

So Lexie only had to merge them to find him.

And that was exactly what she did,

Even as the space closed her out, she forced her powers against her own containment.

Her control of Alchemy was shitty and not as strong as Aiden's, but Vulcan's was shitty, too.

He was also just an emissary of the Alchemist, and the latter was too busy controlling too many other things.

So Lexie just pushed and pushed, and the bubble burst.

And then she had him.

He was standing on a small patch of grass in the outer darkness, and his eyes widened in horror when Lexie floated above him.

“There you are,” she said.

"Shit," he exclaimed. "You weren't supposed to do that."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have talked so much shit." She cracked her knuckles. “Looks like you’ll be the one to die.”

He immediately stepped back, and the environment began to attack her, shooting light beams at her.

But Lexie avoided them, sweeping through the air.

Paths appeared in front of him as he ran to escape.

She giggled as she flew around him, toying with her food. Now that she had full access to her powers, she could kill him very easily, but she wanted to savor it and draw it out first. A quick death would be too painless for everything he had done.

He had to suffer.

She used an air slap and backhanded him into a newly erected wall that she sprouted out of nowhere. He slammed into it and dropped to the floor, struggling to get back to his feet.

When he did, she picked him up again and used him as a lasso, round and round and round before slamming him back down again.

His face was bleeding when he got back up.

He whipped out a machine gun from nowhere, but she quickly dismantled it before he could use it.

Then she slapped him again.

And again.

And again.

"That's for Max." Slap. "And that's for Ceciia." Slap. "And that's for Theo." Slap. "And that's for Lucy Frank." Slap.

Lexie's smacks were turning into full-body smackdowns, increasing in intensity and damage generated.

Vulcan's body was turning into a mess, his arm broken from being slammed, his nose flooding his face with blood.

Lexie wondered distantly if system healing even worked here. Luckily, she didn't need it, but he definitely would.

"Am I forgetting anyone?" She wondered as she drifted closer to deal more personal justice. "I guess we can add Stella and Mane to that." Slap. "Oh, and Torin, since he almost got trapped in that dungeon with me." Slap. "Also, throw in all the innocent people that I don't know about." Slap.

"Stop." He was coughing up blood and gasping for air. "Please."

Lexie had no mercy, but she held back, not wanting to kill him yet.

He tried to hold up his hand to use the dungeon to fight her, but it was no longer under his control.

It was in Aiden's and Lexie's.

Very soon, they would be free. And he would be dead.

She stepped closer to him, putting her feet on his head, and shoving him into the ground.

She leaned in and looked into his fearful, hateful eyes.

“I told you,” she said. “You can’t kill me because you’re too weak.” She slammed him again. “And dumb.” She said. “And useless. Ultimately, you can’t beat either Vacek or me, so…”

"Who said I was trying to beat you?”

Lexie shrugged. "Well, I guess you're not as delusional as you look. Congratulations."

She prepared to smash her feet into his face and crush his head like a tomato, but then he said, "Your mother's not dead."

Lexie paused. "You said she was."

"I lied. Or I guess I told the truth based on a technicality." He coughed, gurgling blood from his chest. "You can read me now, so you know I'm telling the truth. I know where she is. I can help you find her."

Lexie hesitated.

She hated that even now, when he was almost dead, he could still instill this turmoil. Was he really telling the truth? The card seemed to think so, although it had thought he was telling the truth earlier, too. But then she hadn't been too sure. She couldn't see him, so she'd only been going by his voice.

Now, she could see him. She knew he was telling the truth.

But she couldn't keep him alive. Having him alive turned the tide against their favor since he couldn't meet Vacek. Reality would twist to help him escape.

"I'll find her on my own," Lexie said. "Die, you creep."

But right as she was about to do it, the pocket dimension dismantled.

 They were outside again, in the open.

And they were surrounded by a fierce battle between hundreds of people. It looked like the militia versus the Hunts again, complete with the same weapons.

Lexie sighed, put a hand up, and dismantled it all.

At the same time, she also glanced around her and spotted her father, and a few more heroes started popping into view. Some of them were seriously injured. Others were worse off. Some were gasping for breath but still standing somehow. 

Aiden looked tired, but he was alive, and that was what was important. Lexie was flooded with relief.

When he spotted Lexie, his face rippled with emotion. 

“Hey, Dad,” she said, smiling from sheer relief at seeing him. “I told you I’d be okay.”

"I know," he flashed a grin. "'I trust you."

Lexie beamed, pleased.

To her surprise, he didn’t come over to her yet. His hand was still held out as though waiting for…something. Lexie didn’t know what. 

Meanwhile, the masses were starting to take notice of them. Lexie, specifically.

Someone charged towards her with a knife, and she stared at him. He froze. It was as if he recognized her. 

He stumbled back and shouted something to the masses. 

Lexie could also see flames zipping through the air and rocks being thrown. 

“Stella!” She yelled when she saw the other woman, and Stella descended to the ground. 

“Lexie!” She said, hugging her instantly. “They told me you’d disappeared. What… what happened?”

Lexie pointed down at her feet, where Vulcan, beaten and bloody, remained. “He wanted to kill me. He’s the one who trapped me in the dungeon, and he killed my mother, too. Oh, and he kidnapped Theo."

“What?” Stella glared at the man. Vulcan gave her a wry look.

“I’ll tell you the story later.” 

As Aiden finally moved his hand, the air shimmered, and he was grabbing someone out of it.

A short, old man with a trimmed white beard and mischievous eyes who was wearing a scientist's robe and smiling in the air. 

“Aiden Sparrowfoot,” he said. “Good to meet you again. Do you have more questions for me today?”

Aiden’s eyes widened, and then he paled. 

He jerked like he just realized something, like memories suddenly came rushing back.

He shook his head and stared at the other man in horror as he chortled.

Lexie didn’t know what was going on between the two of them. Neither did Stella. 

But she asked the question that was on everybody’s mind. 

“Where’s Vacek?” she asked. 

Aiden stared at them and said in a very flat tone. “He’s gone.”

Lexie blinked. "What do you mean, gone?"

"We got separated," Aiden said. "I couldn't find him."

"What?" Stella exploded.

The rest of the heroes looked alarmed, but Aiden was calm.

Then they were distracted by something.

The Hunts seemed to have given up their fight.

But they weren't just standing there either. They'd all begun prostrating themselves, going on one knee.

"What the hell?" Lexie wondered. From the corner of her eyes, she spotted PHORBS whizzing about, but she was more focused on the fact that the warriors seemed to be bowing.

For her.

***

Tate hadn’t gone back to sleep after that dream.

It was early in the morning, and Lexie and Aiden had gone off somewhere, with Aiden keeping Tate’s food warm in a food warmer.

Tate sliced his pancakes and chewed them mechanically.

He felt terrible this morning, worse than he'd felt in some months.

He didn't think it was just because of the dream. The dream was a symptom, not the cause.

The real problem was that day by day, Tate felt like he was fading away. He was not in pain, but there was an emptiness growing. Like any second now, he would cease to exist and simply become air.

He knew his time was almost up. 

He would have to die soon.

He thought he'd accepted it before, but now he couldn't stop thinking about....nothingness.

He didn't want to die.

But if he had to die, he wanted to be gracious about it. He wanted to not be angry and to not blame everyone for his mistakes. He wanted to enjoy his last days and leave a good memory for the people he cared about.

But it all felt so damn unfair.

He wanted to live. He may not deserve to live, but he wanted it.

That was his deepest desire.

It was agonizing to believe it wouldn't come true.

Don't write yourself off so quickly now, Ael's voice appeared from nowhere, as it often did these days. Circumstances can change. They may be changing right now as we speak. You can still earn all the power you've wanted.

Tate wanted to ignore him. Nothing good could come from Ael's suggestions.

But he found himself asking it anyway. How?

Ael smiled. You know how. The Dark Tower.

AN:

Hi all!

This is the end of Book 4. Book 5 starts next week Monday on schedule, and it will be somewhat lighter than the last book, full of father-daughter (and occasionally uncle and aunt) adventures, Fae shenanigans, friendship, Eldritch politics, Earth politics, Fae politics and more twists.

Thank you so much, everyone, for reading and all your comments! I enjoy reading them even when I don't craft thoughtful replies. I will be answering every comment on this post, and will explain anything you need as long as there aren't potential spoilers.

Would also love to hear your thoughts about things so far and theories about the next two books. Also anything or any interactions you would like to see more of, so I see if I can fit it into the planned storyline of the coming books.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everybody!