The Dream Quest

     Solanza looked at Xantan, but he wasn’t pressing the advantage against their weakened opponent. Instead, the Lupe slowly lowered his wand. There was heartbreaking recognition in his eyes. “Rohane…?” Xantan said quietly. “Is… is it really you?”

     The Blumaroo bared his teeth in a vicious snarl. “I know no one by that name! I am the Mastermind! I will not let you defeat me!”

     Xantan sighed. “Oh, Rohane, it’s me, don’t you remember? It’s Xantan. We grew up together as children. Your mother raised me after my parents died. We used to play together in the fields.” Powerful emotions spasmed across his face. “You disappeared,” he choked out. “When the monsters started attacking again. We grieved you. We thought you were dead! I never could have imagined you would have become something far worse.”

     The Mastermind looked at him, and Solanza thought she could see a glimmer of recognition in his eyes. But all too quickly, it disappeared, replaced by anger in his eyes and flames crackling in his paws. “I am the Mastermind,” he repeated, “and you will not foil my plans. Only I am strong enough to carry the weight of the world.” He brought his paws together, and the energy wave that shot out knocked them both off their feet.

     Her ears ringing, Solanza struggled to roll over, but it was as if her body was encased in sand. Xantan’s voice sounded like it was travelling through murky water. Gradually, she began to hear the words he was screaming: “Move, Solanza! Move out of the way!” At the edge of her vision, she could see the Mastermind start to take aim. She began to push herself to the side, but slowly, too slowly. Xantan’s shouts rang in her ears. There was a blinding flash of light- she closed her eyes-

     And then the light vanished. Solanza opened her eyes, expecting to see the Mastermind’s flames barreling toward her, but the only bright thing before her was…

     Xantan. Xantan stood in front of her, shielding her with his body. For a brief, glorious second, she could see the fear in the Mastermind’s eyes. Then Xantan crumpled to the floor, his white fur sang, and his wand shattered. There was no movement.

     “No!” Solanza screamed. She dragged herself towards him and started to root clumsily through her bag. Already his body was starting to fade. She grabbed the first potion bottle that she could find- a Weak Healing Potion- and tipped it down his throat. She could see the stone tiles of the floor start to become visible through his fur. She found another potion- ripped the stopper off with her teeth- but it was too late. Xantan was gone.

     Tears blurred her vision as she stared at the space where her friend had just been. Dimly, she was aware that the Mastermind was closing in, but she didn’t bother to move. She had no magic and no way to defend herself. Let the flames come.

     The Mastermind stopped at the edge of her vision, and Solanza lifted her face in defiance. The Blumaroo looked not at her, but at the place where Xantan had been. There might have been regret in his eyes. “It had to be done,” he said, almost to himself. “I can allow no one to stand in my way. I alone can bring order to this land.”

     “You are a fool,” Solanza hissed. The Mastermind looked sharply at her, as if he’d forgotten she was there, but she didn’t care. She was beyond fear. “The ‘order’ you claimed to bring to this land is nothing but chaos. You have corrupted the inhabitants of this world and turned them against each other. You could have used your power to create peace, but instead, your arrogance and greed dragged everyone around you into your darkness.”

     “I have done what I could,” the Mastermind snapped. “I could not trust something so precious to the incompetence of others.”

     “And you have never once doubted yourself? Never once felt remorse for the suffering you have caused? Never once considered that someone other than you could be right for a change?” Solanza closed the distance between them with furious strides, and the Mastermind took a startled step back. “You are wrong. You are wrong, and whether you truly believe what you say or have willingly deluded yourself into believing it, you are wrong. Even now, you could still repent and undo all you have done, and maybe then you would find forgiveness. But you have to start by admitting you were wrong.”

     The Mastermind looked at her in silence for a long moment, and Solanza felt a spark of hope. Then he shook his head. “There is no turning back for me,” the Mastermind said, his eyes bleak. “If I can only redeem myself by rewriting history, then I will do what I must!” A fireball grew in his palm.

     Solanza met his gaze unflinchingly. She would be strong. For Xantan.

     The fireball flew towards her, molten-hot, and then…

     An unearthly roar filled the room. The fireball arcing towards Solanza turned to harmless ash. Reeling, Solanza turned behind her to see the source of the noise, only to find-

     “Xantan!” the Mastermind howled. “You won’t foil me this time!”

     Xantan stood tall and proud, his white fur unblemished, his eyes burning like embers. He was her friend brought back to life, and she could barely recognize him. Magic crackled around him, and the air smelled like a lightning storm. “No more, Rohane,” he said. “You will harm no more people. Surrender now, and you will be brought to justice.”

     The Mastermind gave a scornful laugh, and with a wave of his wand, more fireballs shot towards them. Xantan lifted a paw, and the fireballs disintegrated in the air. In a calm voice, Xantan said, “Something changed within me when Solanza poured that potion down my throat. Her existence here is enough to alter the fabric of reality, and when she tried to save me, I was born anew. You can no longer defeat me, Rohane. I will not let you hurt anyone else.”

     The Mastermind let out a scream, half frustration, half rage, and unleashed another volley of attacks. Fireballs layered with electricity hurtled towards them, only to fizzle out to the ground. He sent another array of attacks, and again Xantan blocked them. Another wordless shriek. The Mastermind sent another wave of smaller attacks, then as Xantan was busy neutralizing them, hurled a massive fireball directly at Solanza.

     “No!” Xantan roared, and flung up both paws. The fireball ricocheted off of an invisible wall just inches from Solanza’s nose and flew back towards the Mastermind. It slammed into the Mastermind and knocked him to the floor. Xantan and Solanza stood there, panting from adrenaline and poised to fight, but no flurry of flames came soaring at them from the heap of robes.

     Xantan and Solanza exchanged a glance, then crept as one across the room to where the Mastermind had fallen. Xantan’s eyes still glittered with magic barely leashed, but they both knew no trap would come. The room was so still.

     As they drew nearer, the Mastermind’s eyes fluttered open, and Solanza was seized by a sudden wave of pity. His robes were too big for him. He was just a young Blumaroo wearing too-big robes, tiny pained noises escaping him with every breath, and he was afraid.

     Solanza knelt beside him and took his hand. Behind her, Xantan gasped but relaxed when nothing happened to her. The Mastermind fixed his gaze on her with effort and breathed out, “Why?”

     Solanza didn’t know the answer to that question. But Xantan did. “Because all creatures should be shown mercy. Even the ones who don’t deserve it.”

     “Mercy… I see… it now…” the Mastermind wheezed. “The pain I have caused… I tried to forget… I told myself… it would all be worth it… but now I see… I was wrong.” He drew in a laboured breath and clutched at Solanza’s hand, his eyes fevered. “I wanted… to redeem myself… but I never… knew… how…”

     The fire faded from his eyes, and he grew still. Xantan pressed his snout to the Mastermind’s forehead. “Goodbye, Rohane,” he whispered. “May you find peace.”

     They sat there for a long time, long after the Mastermind’s body had faded away. They sat together in silence until the first rays of dawn began to slip in through the cracks left behind from the fighting.

     “It’s morning,” Xantan said softly. “I didn’t think the sun would ever come.”

     Solanza placed a paw on his shoulder. “The sun will always come, no matter how dark the night.”

     He smiled a little wistfully at that. “We should probably leave. You’ve been trapped in this land for long enough.”

     “And you? What will you do?” Solanza asked.

     “Go home, I guess. Tell everyone what happened here and try to make sure it never happens again.” He swallowed hard. “Tell Rohane’s mother what happened.”

     “I can come with you, you know,” she offered quietly.

     Xantan smiled but shook his head. “You’ve done more than enough for the people of this land, and for me. You deserve to go home, too.”

     Solanza confessed the fear she had kept hidden in her heart all along. “I don’t know if I can go home. This isn’t a dream. I can’t just wake up from it. I think… I think I might be stuck here.”

     Xantan looked at her, his eyes like twin flames. He was great and terrible and for a heartbeat, she could see every life he would ever live, every path he would ever take. In some of them, he was Xantan of the caves, grotesque and grasping, scheming to corrupt the world. But in most of them, he was her Xantan, healing and helping the world he loved. “When you revived me, something happened. I feel more powerful now than I ever thought was possible. I am Xantan Reborn, and I am strong enough to send you home.”

     She embraced him tightly, and as he hugged her back, she whispered into his fur, “May you be strong and wise and kind. May you bring peace to this land. May your magic never be stronger than your compassion.”

     Xantan laughed as he pulled away. “Solanza, don’t worry, I’m not going to go mad with power any time soon. But I might have if I hadn’t met you. All of this magic…” He shivered, and his eyes went distant. “I would have taken my revenge upon the pygmies, and then I would have defeated anyone who dared to stand in my way. I would have become everything you feared I was when you first learned my name.”

     Solanza thought back to her NeoQuest game. It felt like a lifetime ago. “What if you make a failsafe? Something you can channel your power into, so it can be removed from you if need be. Something you’ll always have on you… like a ring.”

     He tilted his head, considering it. “That may not be a bad idea. I’ll talk to Eleus once I return and see what he thinks. But first, we need to send you home.”

     They made their way outside, and Solanza took a deep breath of the pure air as they stepped into the clearing. Her last glimpse of ancient Neopia was softened by the early sunlight and the dew in the grass. The journey had been exhausting and frightening at times, but she felt sad at the thought of leaving it all behind.

     “Ready?” Xantan asked softly.

     Solanza smiled at her friend, memorizing his features with her final glance. “Yes.”

     Those features turned alight with the force of his magic as he raised his paws. The wind roared in her ears, and everything started to go white. Faintly, she heard a voice say, “Thank you,” and then all was nothing.

     —

     Light streamed against the backs of her eyelids, and Solanza squirmed instinctively away from it. She was burrowing deeper into the covers of- her bed! She was home! She snapped open her eyes, and she was in her bedroom. The half-open bag was still sitting on the floor, crumpled papers were still scattered across the desk, and the laundry basket was still overflowing. Nothing had changed. Nothing except for the Xweetok fighting back tears of joy and grief from her eyes.

     “Good morning, sleepyhead!” Domria sang out, poking her head through the doorway. “I’m going to volunteer at the hospital in a few minutes, did you want to- Awww, what’s this for?”

     Solanza had flown across the room and squeezed her sister in a fierce hug. “I’m just really glad we’re sisters,” she said, muffled into Domria’s shoulder.

     Domria hugged her back and ruffled her fur. “I love you too. Hey, I know you were probably planning to go to the arcade today, but do you want to come with me to the hospital? We can bond even more over helping our community!”

     Solanza gave a slightly crazed laugh at the idea of playing more NeoQuest so soon. “I’d be happy to go with you. Can you give me a few minutes first? There’s just something I need to write down before I forget,” she said.

     “Of course!” Domria said. “I’ll be in the living room when you’re ready.”

     “Thanks, sis.”

     As Domria left, Solanza sped to her desk and pulled out a blank sheet of paper. Her paws were trembling, and she willed them to be still. She had to get this right. The power she had discovered… maybe she could use it one last time. Xantan was right. She could show mercy. She might not be able to forgive the Mastermind’s actions herself, but maybe she could place him on the path to seeking redemption.

     When her paws had steadied, she grabbed a pen and began to write:

     “In NeoQuest II you control a White Blumaroo by the name of Rohane, and....”

     The End.