Dungeon 67 - Salvation: Part 2

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It was different this time. Lance yawned, rubbing his eyes. From what little he could feel, there was no sense of height, so he wasn't at the bunk bed. However, his grogginess was still present, as was the pain in his fists. All things considered, he was just glad to not be burnt like before.

Alright, Necroworld number two. Lance opened his eyes, yawning again. As he did so, his whereabouts were made clear: his apartment in Bright Dawn, replicated down to the finest of details, like his bookshelf and table for studies. He yawned once more. Hm… I'm still sleepy, who would've thought living inside a dream world wouldn't give you any rest?

But there was no time to waste, sleepy or not. Lane jumped out of bed and stretched both his arms, taking a look at his knuckles. When he escaped his dream, he didn't have the time to check it before, but they were bruised. It sure would be nice if I was healed. Oh well.

Next step: confirming if the city was the same. If this place was Brian's version of a perfect world, then the city would reflect that. Lance opened the curtain and looked out the window. The city was… mostly the same, but there were no signs of smoke anywhere he could see.

…Alright, I'll admit. I'm a little jealous. A shame that my lungs are dying in the real world. Lance rubbed his chin. Sadly, the view didn't really give him any useful information, other than just saying he was in the city. Except he knew that already.

I'm also aware that this is a dream, but it's not my dream. I wonder if I'm still able to alter things around here. Lance bit a lip. He didn't have any experience entering other people's dreams, much less heard about it. Some psychic Pokémon were certainly capable, but he didn't know what the rules were.

Maybe worrying about the rules would bring him nowhere. Really, Lance could stop everything and just relax. After all, it was a peaceful existence, just enjoying his life. Why try to stop it?

…I knew it. Lance clenched a fist, shaking his head. The dream—or Necrozma, even if he's unaware of me—is trying to make me settle down on the dream. So even if someone achieves lucidity, they won't try to escape, seduced by this promise of peace.

He closed the curtain, turning around and sighing. Would Brian really accept him now? After all he did, would Brian take him back as part of the team?

I had to, I had to—

But did he, though? Lance could have stayed with them. If he did, then maybe none of this would have happened. It was his own stupidity that led them there, to that moment. And now Lance was trying to pick up the pieces that were left.

…Redemption, then. This is my redemption, my way of making things right after all my sins. If they all hate me for this, then they're right. I was despicable, I abandoned them for a cause I didn't even believe in.

Once this was over, what would he do? Lance couldn't just ignore all the things he did, it didn't sit right to do so. Instead, he could try to atone for his sins, make amends, starting with the king he helped overthrow. If Lance was wrong about Scar, then he could be wrong about the king as well.

As for Brian… I'll break his spell if I have to, I'll save him.

In a way, it was up to Lance to fix the mess he made. None of them—not his friends, not random civilians, nobody deserved to live in this fake reality because of his choices.

I'm not despairing, or running away like this again. I'm not… alone this time. And someday, I know that we will reunite. Even if I have to knock on his gate—or perhaps tear it down.

Lance looked at his paw, sighing. He took too long rambling about it, but if it helped, then he was fine with it. Now he needed to test the possibility of creating a book again.

I did it before, but I only had my memories. In this case, I don't have theirs. But… I suppose making them remember me is a good start. With a deep breath, he focused on this reality—on the dream. Lance thought about a book materializing on his paw, with no cover, no title. Just a simple book with blank pages for him to write on.

It poofed into existence, but Lance had to lean against a wall to catch his breath. Alright, I can do this, then. But before I meet with them. I need to be careful, unlike my dream, I don't know what to expect of this place.

The book opened, but not on its own, it was willed by Lance. And he started preparing what memories to add to it. They needed to be related to both Brian and Meggie, if this dream was connected with them both.

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With the book now closed, Lance willed a satchel to put it in, before looking at the door and sighing. To be honest, he didn't know what to expect from this particular dream. So far, he was somewhere familiar, but that could change in the blink of an eye. He also didn't have full control over the dream, and just summoning the book took a lot of him. Lance panted, rubbing a bit of sweat off of him.

It really doesn't matter, now does it? This is for Brian, after all. He was kind enough to keep searching for me, even when I didn't want to see him. I'm just glad he made me see things the way they were.

After opening the door, Lance gasped. Instead of the hallway he was used to, Lance saw a bigger one, with paintings over the walls, which were painted white, vases with plants and a weird-looking television screen that was glued to the wall.

Alright, this definitely isn't something Brian would create. I know Meggie used to be human, so perhaps this is part of what she considers a perfect world?

A good idea, but not one he could easily confirm or deny. Lance rubbed his eyes, just in case his mind was playing tricks with him, but nothing changed. For all he knew, he was inside a mansion. Yes, the architecture reminded him of the castle in Cydonia. Just… more modern.

I suppose my notion of space is meaningless here, as is my perception of time. Lance thought, crossing his arms. Which makes me wonder how much time passed outside. I don't know how long it's been since we lost that fight…

Sighing, Lance shook his head. Thinking about it would do him no good, and he had a mission to fulfill, as hard as it was to do so. So he walked down the hallway, checking the place again. If anything, it'd help passing the time.

It did remind him a little of his home, but at the same time, the place was different, with decorations he'd never seen before, paintings of what he assumed were humans were seen quite a few times. Considering neither him nor Brian knew what humans looked like, this was certainly Meggie's doing.

One of the drawings, however, made him stop. It was Meggie as a Froslass, with… Morgan next to her, as a Gallade again. The two were close, smiling at the artist that drew them.

Did she… Meggie misses him? Lance's ears drooped. She never told him anything, keeping that part of her to herself. Then again, neither did he, so in a way, he couldn't blame her for hiding her feelings.

Knowing it was better to move on from that, Lance headed to the living room. And if he didn't think that place was a mansion before, the sight confirmed it to him.

Three large sofas were next to each other, with Dexter laying in one of them, Brian cuddling with Meggie on another, and on the third… Lance saw himself. Another version of him, that is.

Hmph. Must be my dream version. There was another Brian in mine, after all.

Taking another look, Lance saw a fireplace next to another weird television that was stuck on top of the fireplace. Next to the sofas was a large table full of berries for them to eat. There were also plants nearby, with clouds watering them without the need for someone to do it manually.

All things considered, this isn't so bad. I do need to find a way for them to get their memories back… Lance looked at the sofa containing Dex. The Floatzel was yawning, munching on a piece of meat.

…Right, they invited him to the team. I can't believe he tried to flirt his way out of an arrest. And that it worked. Well, it worked because he was innocent, but— Lance shook his head again. Focus, Lance, focus! What can I do now?

He eyed the television, seeing it turned on. Lance tilted his head, rather confused. He wasn't used to televisions that large, or with such high quality images.

…Seriously, focus. Lance covered his face with a paw. Now, I need to get rid of both myself and Dex. What would even happen if my doppelganger saw me?

Perhaps it was better not to think of that, and instead, focus on getting him out of there. As far as Lance knew, he needed to be alone with Meggie and Brian for time to freeze, giving them a chance to escape.

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His thoughts continued to accelerate, but now Lance was mostly wondering how he could make his doppelganger disappear. Like a magic trick? No, that was a stupid idea and it'd never work out for him.

I might warn Necrozma if I do so much as talk to the other me—I'm calling him Percival. It fits.

So he couldn't talk to Percival, and he knew that Percival wasn't real. Meaning he was part of the dream, meaning…

…I can try and make him disappear. I don't know if it's possible, not with how little control I seem to have here. But I have to try anyway.

Good, Lance had a plan. Too bad he had no idea on how to make his plan a reality. How could he make someone disappear? It was hard to conceptualize, let alone will into existence.

Hm… I might try to think of this as warping him somewhere else. Lance thought, squinting his eyes and only barely seeing his doppelganger. Luckily, nobody else seemed to notice him. Much less Percival.

Alright, let's see what I can do here. Lance sighed, before taking a deep breath to calm down and clear his head. He focused his sights on Percival, thinking. And thinking hard, if that was even possible. Lance thought about Percival walking around the city, far away from them all. He thought about a portal opening on top of his doppelganger and sucking him inside. Another idea: Percival simply exploded.

Out of the three ideas he had, Lance settled on the second one, judging it as the one that had the biggest chance of actually happening. Lance remembered how Necrozma used to open portals, like the air around him was being torn apart, and thought about the feeling—another side-effect of their bond, he felt all that Necrozma felt.

I do have to say, my life would be a lot easier if I could open portals everywhere. But alas, at least I know how it feels.

So it was a lot easier for him to think of a portal than he thought. Lance had his mind focused on it, and looked at the sky, right above Percival. The air started to rumble, and a crack was formed. With it, a gust of wind appeared as well, not that anyone there even noticed it. Unlike him, the others were like puppets, slaves to this reality.

Without any signs of resistance, Percival was sucked into the portal, and it closed. Lance fell on his knees, covering his mouth as he groaned. He also saw sweat dripping from him.

I… I'm really done trying to understand how I can sweat inside a dream. Time to ignore it.

Regardless, Lance rubbed it off, taking another look at his friends. Brian continued to cuddle with Meggie, and the two were giggling as they watched the show on air. Despite them being happy, Lance thought it was eerie.

"We really gotta record this, y'know, Megs?"

"Agreed. But it gets better with every episode! I'm really happy with how this turned out. Don't you think so too, Dex?"

"Aye!"

Hm… I clearly have a lot to catch up on. I didn't even know they were into each other. Good for them, I guess. Lance smiled, rubbing the back of his head. And they're happier without me, hm? Maybe my plans for when this is over won't go to waste after all.

Before doing anything further, Lance decided to observe and see if there were any better ways to jog their memories apart from the book. It'd hurt them. A lot. Just like it did to him, and if there was a better option, he'd take it.

From what he could see on the TV, they were watching some sort of action show, given how flashy the scenes were getting. Really, did they need to go that overboard?

Brian seemed to enjoy it, cheering the characters on as he picked a bit of pinap to munch on. "Look at that, that's the power of bonds!"

"Mhm!" Meggie nibbled on the berry Brian held, before snuggling closer to him. "I could stay like this forever, y'know? Apart from our daily jobs, I guess."

"Well, someone's gotta give folks the tools they need, right?" Brian chuckled, swallowing more of the berry in a single gulp, finishing it. "Besides, it's times like this that make it worth it! I know we're happy all the time, but I love it even more when we can watch shows like this one!"

Bonds, huh? Lance looked up, sighing quietly. If I believed that before, things could have been different. I'm really an idiot, aren't I?

"Y'all love this show a lot, huh?" Dex asked, grinning. Despite being in a dream, Lance could smell the alcohol in his breath.

…Disgusting. But hm, if he stood by them for so long, then maybe things have changed.

Lance came to the conclusion that all Brian wanted was to achieve his dreams with his friends. Or, in Meggie's case, girlfriend. It was a noble goal, of course, so seeing it the way Necrozma did it was annoying, to say the least.

Alright, I think I might need to make Dex go away next. Shouldn't be too hard, if I know him that well. Which I do.

Sighing, Lance prepared for the next step in his plan. Just then, the show they were watching changed, and Lance had to contain a gasp when he saw it.

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The Adventures of Star Blight. That was the name of the show, and the theme song was surprisingly catchy and stylish, showing a bunch of characters in various situations, all led by the so-called Star Blight himself.

There it was again. The same character from his dream; Necrozma. Lance grit his teeth, holding back a snarl as he saw the show go on. One thing was keeping that sort of thing in his dream, but what was it doing in Brian's?

Dex was the first to burst into cheers, his twin tails wagging. "Hey, y'all! I love this show! Didja know Star Blight once fought against three kingdoms all by himself?"

"Really? No wonder he's so cool…" Brian agreed, smiling at Dex. "How many seasons are there?"

"I've heard it's just been renewed for the eleventh season!" Meggie explained. She, too, was fixated on the screen, her eyes sparkling. "I can't get enough of him! It's so nice of him to bless us like this! I really don't want him to go…"

…It's propaganda. Lance realized, holding back another gasp. It all made sense! It was in mine to stop me from getting out, and it's the same thing. Propaganda so nobody will question him, so they'll all love him and want to stay.

His tail swished. In other words, ensuring that they don't even consider escaping. This is brainwashing!

Of course, nobody knew the truth. Nobody but Lance seemed to realize how deep they were in this scheme, and he was sure some of them would even try to defend this system.

But not his friends. No, they fought to the absolute end to win, but now the tides were far from being in their favor. As soon as Lance made them realize, see things his way—

My way…? That's exactly how Necrozma thinks. Lance shook his head, denying the ideas before they even formed. No, I'm not him! I'm doing the right thing here. But they're so happy…

Brian was laughing away at the show, seeing another action sequence. During this one, Star Blight enveloped the entire world in his light, bathing them in his presence. The Zoroark just cheered, before stretching his arms. "I'm getting kinda sleepy, maybe we should watch it tomorrow?"

"Ye got press tomorrow, Goggles."

"Yeah, that's right! We've been invited to the press release of the next season! It's gonna be great!" Meggie started floating upward, giggling… until her eyes landed on Lance. "Huh? Hey, why aren't you watching with us?"

Damn it. Lance rubbed the back of his head, forcing himself to smile. "I was, uh, cooking?"

And that, Lance noticed, made Brian express the first emotion all day: disgust. His snout was curled, and his ears drooped, not to mention his tongue sticking out in a derogatory manner.

"No offense, Shorty, but you suck at it—wait, what does "suck" mean?" Brian tilted his head, looking at Meggie.

"Well, suck means it's bad and—uh… bad?" Now she was just as confused, sitting on the sofa. "Uh, nevermind!"

Lance himself was just as confused, but kept his cool. Perhaps this reaction was due to his presence? If he was resistant, would him being there help them get some of his resistance? Well, except for Dex, because that was the dream version.

If I can keep this up, I might jog their memory even faster. But there's no guarantee we won't keep resetting until they both find out. I still need to figure out how to get rid of Dex here…

"Pup just says some weird stuff sometimes," he waved. "Don't worry about it."

And now there's that annoying sentence. Lance snapped a finger. "Well, err, Dex, can you cook something for us if that's the case? I'm sure your food skills are incredible."

Dex stood up like a switch had been flipped, and turned, running towards the kitchen.

At least his dream self is calm. Phew… Lance sighed in relief, catching curious eyes from his two friends.

"What's going on?" Brian asked, copying Lance by sighing, even if he didn't know what it meant. "It's kinda funny!"

"I suppose I can start now…" Lance sat on the sofa, crossing his legs. "Alright."

Good, he's gone. If Brian and Meggie are real, we should be fine. There's no way we can escape if any of "them" are here.

Lance knew that from experience. His mind drifted back to his own dream, or nightmare, as he found out. Reminiscing about it…

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The tweet of birds woke him up, and Lance yawned, not really wanting to leave the bunk bed. It was a lazy day, all things considered. He just needed to get some breakfast, go out, maybe read a little, all things he was looking forward to.

Leaving his bed, he immediately went to grab his brush, but stopped himself. Why? It was really simple, and just an utensil to make his fur look better. Yet, Lance didn't want to open the cabinet. Something… bad? What did that even mean? What would happen if he opened it?

Nothing… I'm gonna be okay, right? Nothing "bad", whatever that is—it's not gonna happen! I'll just get my brush and groom real quick. Shouldn't take too long, and everyone's waiting for me anyway.

"Shorty."

With a gasp, Lance almost lost balance, only now noticing his brother right next to him, with that signature grin of his.

"Whatcha doing?"

"G-Getting my brush." Or I was trying to. "What's up?"

"Nothing, nothing. Just get it and we can grab something to eat. How about it?"

Lance smiled, yes, it was a good plan. He opened the cabinet, seeing the brush alongside a strange book. What's this? It's not even my book drawer.

"Shorty…"

Once the Lucario opened his book, Brian grabbed his arm, shaking his head from left to right.

"You really shouldn't have done that, mister Williams."

And everything went white.

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My memory got reset instantly. It took me a few more tries to remember it all, so, hm, no dream Pokémon. Just us real ones.

After snapping back to reality, Lance saw both Brian and Meggie playing with each other, sighing. They certainly thought that was a funny gesture.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Well, it's now or never. I don't know how long we have, so better make this quick. Lance sighed as well, opening the satchel. "I have something interesting to show you two."

Brian didn't understand what Lance was talking about, and shook his head. "Interesting? What could be more interesting than the show we were watching? C'mon, it's Star Blight, our hero!"

"Yup, c'mon Lance, join us!" Meggie giggled, holding Brian's paw and motioning for Lance to sit on the same couch as them.

"I'm sure that must be fascinating to you, but to tell you the truth, it's not what I'm here for." Lance sat down next to them regardless. "However, this book here? It's all about Star Blight. How about you two take a look?"

Brian and Meggie locked eyes, before they both turned—almost in sync, which creeped Lance out even further—to face the Lucario with near identical smiles.

"Oh? A book about him? That's so cool!" Brian grinned, his foot tapping the ground repeatedly.

"I wanna see, c'mon!"

They're brainwashed this much? How awful. But just hold on, you two, I'm saving everyone. I promise. Lance picked the book up, showing it to them. This time, it had a proper cover; a drawing of Necrozma in his dragon form.

"I've never heard of it before… whoa…" Brian's mouth was hanging open, and he couldn't believe in what he was seeing.

Meggie had a similar reaction, but she was unable to express it in words, simply staring in awe at the book.

Well, this just looks depressing. Lance grimaced. "Ahem, it tells the story of someone very close to Star Blight. I'm sure you'll find it amusing."

The two grabbed his book, and Lance took a look at the TV. There was nothing in it; the show was still on, but the image was frozen.

Bingo. There should be ten minutes, give or take. We need to move…

Brian opened the book and saw the words float out of it, unable to make sense of what they meant. He looked at Meggie again, but she was fixated on the floating words.

And then, the words entered both of their brains, causing the two to scream in pain and fall to the ground. Lance groaned, but didn't rush to help them, knowing the pain was only temporary and they would soon be alright.

He hoped so, at least. Brian screamed again, grabbing his head, and then slowly raised it to see his brother.

"L-Lance…? Where are we? What happened? I remember fighting Necrozma, and—"

"I remember everything!" Meggie gasped, covering her mouth and then sticking close to Brian. "Lance, we—I… thank you, but where are we?"

"Everything in due time. That being said, we only have ten minutes. Probably less." Lance sighed. "Alright, I'll try to be as quick as I can."

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Despite his words, Lance didn't start talking. Instead, he spent a few seconds looking around, checking all the windows, and everywhere light could enter the house from. After confirming nothing was about to blind them, he turned to his friends. By now, both were standing up, but Meggie still remained close to Brian, tugging on his arm with both of hers.

"W-Where are… I don't understand. Where are we?" Meggie asked, looking straight at Lance.

"Necroworld." Lance answered, sitting on the couch with crossed legs.

"That sounds made up." Brian scratched the back of his head, turning to Meggie, who shrugged. He faced his sibling and raised a brow. "Seriously, where are we? I feel weird…"

"I named this dream—all the dreams as "Necroworld". Like the name implies, a world made by Necrozma," he said, sighing and looking down. "After the tendrils hit us, they trapped us in dream states, where we have the perfect life, designed to prevent us from finding out about it—and even if we do, the day resets, erasing all our memories."

The Froslass went quiet, processing it. Now that her memories were back, she remembered getting hit by the tendril, but everything after that? Nothing. She simply lived this life like it was always the case, but now she knew otherwise.

Brian opened his mouth, raising a single claw to reply, but then repeated Lance's words inside his head. They made sense. Well, as much sense as they could. "...So we're trapped inside this dream together?"

"Yes and no." Lance replied. His tail swished back and forth. Since the light levels were normal, he could afford to take things a little slow. "You and Meggie were, your tendrils connected to each other. Mine didn't, and I had to escape my dream before entering this one. It's a miracle Necrozma hasn't noticed us yet."

To that, Brian looked around again. This mansion they lived in was so very familiar, yet at the same time, it wasn't. The truth was that he didn't remember for how long he lived there, or how long it passed since they were defeated. At least Meggie was by his side, but…

"Why would Necrozma let us be together?" Brian muttered.

"A whim." Lance closed his eyes, sighing. "You got her on a whim. Besides, your idea of a perfect life has her by your side, doesn't it?"

Meggie, hearing that, started to blush. "W-Well, a lot happened since you were gone."

And Lance chuckled at that. "Heh. I never said this, right? Congratulations, you two."

"M-More importantly…" Meggie left Brian's side, sporting a more serious look. "You escaped. How?"

"Trial and error, essentially." Lance opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling next, he checked the windows again. They were brighter, but not by much. "I suspect it's because I spent a long time trapped in my own body, but I was able to notice flaws. Even someone as powerful as Necrozma can't expect to make seamless dream worlds for the entire planet."

Brian gulped. The entire planet. Could they stand a chance against someone so strong? They were just one team, trying to save everyone in the world. It was an uphill battle no matter how you looked at it.

"I uploaded my memories to this—" Lance summoned the book again, showing the cover. He still peeked at the windows, seeing they were brighter than the last time he checked. "Star Blight. It seems that's what he calls himself, a way to show his presence and give propaganda, another way of ensuring we stay."

"How…" Meggie muttered, tilting her head. "How did you upload your memories?"

"This is a dream. Our only limit is our imagination. I simply copied them there." The book disappeared. "I suggest you do the same, it's unlikely we'll be able to leave this place on our first try."

Leave, huh? Brian kept quiet, taking it all. If they could leave like Lance said, they'd have to fight Necrozma. Again. And they would lose. Again. So why? Why try it again? Wouldn't it mean the same thing?

"Does it have to be a book?" Meggie questioned, putting her head on Brian's arm.

"Probably not, I just like books. Hence, my dream had a library I kept coming back to." Lance stood up, hearing a strange noise and noticing the room was getting brighter.

"...We don't have much time. Save your memories, just think of all you remember when you stare at an object. It should remain even after the reset."

Brian didn't reply, other than giving his brother a nod. But why? Why try?

"Alright. C'mon, Brian! We gotta go—"

"Wait." Lance alerted them again. "...It's likely I'll get reset again, but before I do, listen: don't try to recover your memory unless you're alone. It's gonna end in a reset."

Meggie nodded and pushed Brian with her towards their room, while Lance remained in the living room.

"Right… I should save them too." Lance told himself, running to his own. Luckily, he'd done this so many times it was very easy. If they worked together, they could get through this.

Just as Meggie entered her room, she realized there was no time to pick a fancy object to store her memories, so she simply opened a drawer and took a pocket mirror. Brian was a little slower, but settled on his goggles, taking them off and staring at them.

"This gotta work…" Meggie grimaced, focusing all she could on what she was able to remember, from arriving at this world to meeting with them, going on adventures, all the way to the present day.

Brian did the same thing, and looked at the window as a bright flash of light enveloped them.

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Meggie woke up with a yawn. Sleeping in beds was simply the best thing, but it was even better to be spooning someone as fluffy as Brian. Surprisingly, he was the small spoon, and she had her arms wrapped around his stomach, watching them move with every breath he took. Brian looked peaceful.

Hm, I might not need to wake him up. Maybe he should sleep a little longer. Actually, maybe me too…

But she wasn't sleepy anymore. Meggie carefully removed her arms, seeing Brian flinch, but he didn't wake up, snoring loudly. Hearing it, she giggled, floating off the bed and yawning again.

It really makes you wonder, maybe this isn't so bad. Maybe this is… just right for me.

She sighed, looking at a table near the bed. In it, she saw the mirror from before, open. Meggie picked it up, closing it and holding as tight as she could.

I recovered my memories, but it was tiring, so I had to sleep. And now that I'm awake, Brian isn't. What should I do? Meggie sat on the bed, looking at the mirror, though her mind was elsewhere. There was no way they could win, and yet, Meggie still wanted to try. Try again, and again, until she died. Until they all died. Why? What was so wrong about this world, this dream that made the outside better?

Here, she had it all. She had Brian, both her friends, and a nice house to live in. It was real—it felt real, she could feel the soft texture of the sheets, hear the chirping of birds outside…

None of her senses were off. If it wasn't for Lance, she would still be ignorant of this reality. Could she really throw it all away to fight an uphill battle against a God?

Morgan came to her mind. How he did the same, wanting desperately to return home he would destroy all that stood in his way. His goal was understandable; his actions were not. In a way, Necrozma was the same, wasn't he? He wanted peace, and this was his solution.

She didn't think it was a good solution.

"Hm… mornin'." It was Brian's voice, and he moved around the bed, rubbing his eyes. "I'd say sunshine, but you might melt from that."

"Good morning." Meggie continued to hold the mirror, frowning. Was it really a good idea for them to recover?

Of course it was. They got that far, giving up now wasn't an option. It would never be an option.

"I'm kinda hungry, wanna go get breakfast?" Brian yawned again, but didn't leave the bed. Doing that would take effort, and he didn't really have that.

"I'd love to, but…" Meggie paused. "...I'm not hungry."

Truth be told, she was, but it would just be a distraction, and Meggie wasn't exactly sure how it worked in a dream. How did time pass? It was probably too complicated to think about, but the scientist in her wanted to know anyway.

Funny, I didn't really think about science that much. All I really want is to keep helping others. I'm not a scientist anymore, not like… him.

Brian finally left the bed, but he was sluggish, getting out more of necessity than anything else. "Well, I'm gonna make us some pancakes. What'd ya say?"

"Good idea." No it isn't, that's stupid. Make him see the goggles, Meggie! "But, hm… I think you should check the goggles. Maybe they're a little dirty."

"Uh, later, I'm kinda in the mood for pancakes! Really!" Brian's sluggish mannerism was gone, and he seemed a lot cheerie, with a bright smile that could melt Meggie.

"Hm…"

Ding dong! Ding dong!

"Oh, huh? Maybe it's him! He did say he was visiting!" Brian said, opening the door to show the way out. Using just a pronoun would be bad in any other situation, but in this case, Meggie knew exactly who he was talking about.

Him? Oh. Oh no. Meggie shook her head and left her room, going through the small corridor until she arrived at the living room again, hearing another knock on the door.

"Hello? I'm fairly sure this is the right house. May I come in?"

Meggie froze. She, an ice-type, froze. Gulping as she floated towards the door, Meggie touched the handle, but didn't turn it. Could she see him again, after all he did?

"I know you're there!"

She shivered, and finally turned the handle, opening the door to…

A Gallade. He was looking at her, adjusting his lab coat, still torn on the sleeves, and smiled at her. He didn't look nearly as scruffy as the last time she saw him, and was a lot more rational.

"Hello, Meggie. How is my favorite apprentice doing?"

Morgan.

She didn't show any reaction, forcing herself to smile. It was obvious it wasn't really him, but a product of the dream. After all, the real Morgan was still trapped in that dungeon, never to be seen again. Good, he didn't deserve to have a good life, nor did he deserve to see her.

So why was her heart pounding just by looking at him? Why was her smile, once false, slowly turning into a legitimate one?

"H-Hi. I—"

"Mister Morgan!" Brian came running from his room, waving to the Gallade as fast as he could. "It's been a while! How have you been?!"

"Hm, good, good." Morgan entered the house, closing the door behind him. He kept his smile up, looking at Meggie and offering her a hand to shake. "Indeed, it has been far too long."

"Considering I barely remember how we were as humans, I doubt—"

Morgan… froze. He stopped moving, and his body fizzled, but unlike Meggie, who gasped after seeing it, Brian didn't even seem to notice what had happened.

What the hell? She blinked, staying closer to Brian. "Ahem, yeah, it's been a while. I've been reading, err, watching the Star Blight show. You've heard of him?"

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Again, Morgan didn't move. It was as if he was processing what she said, but in a less organic way. Moving left to right, staring at her with a wide grin, it was all wrong. Not that his regular self was even better.

Yes, even when they were human, he was always the oddball. Always trying to come up with ways to better their lives, with experiments, even making sure she had a job, despite only being seventeen. Until that fateful day they were sent to that world, and their lives changed forever.

Wait, what… I didn't remember it before. Did my memories come back? All of them?

"Ah—" Morgan snapped back, his smile growing wider as he clapped his hands together. "Don't worry about it, Meggie! I believe we can simply enjoy the day."

Brian looked at the two of them, grinning. His goggles were in one paw, and he took a quick glance at them, feeling an urge to put them on. However, Morgan's words resonated with him too.

"If we knew you'd be here, I would've made a feast! Maybe I can still make one… I know I can do it, just—"

"Good morning."

They all heard footsteps, and Brian looked back, seeing his brother, which made him wave to the Lucario. "Shorty! Good morning!"

Lance had his sights on Morgan, and at first, he could handle that. Yes, it was simply a dream version, not the real one, therefore, he had nothing to fear. It was the rational thing to think.

Unfortunately, his mind wasn't being rational. He flinched after getting close enough, and stood next to his sibling. "Ah, hello… Morgan."

"Hello, mister Williams." Morgan offered a hand. "I can see you're well-rested. Maybe ten hours of sleep did you some good?"

Ten, huh? Lance slowly put his arm forward, shaking hands with Morgan, On the outside, he managed to force a smile. However, deep inside, Lance held back the urge to break the hand he was grabbing. "Yes, it was a peaceful night. More than I thought it'd be."

"What else could it be, but peaceful, hm?" Morgan folded his hands behind his back, still smiling. "But regardless, today is a great day! I've continued my efforts; investigating life as we know it can be surprisingly fun."

"Scientists always make things sound so, err… I dunno the word." Brian scratched his mane. "I know it starts with a "b", and rhymes with band."

Meggie knew what the word was, but before she could answer, Lance looked at her, moving his head from left to right, as if telling her no.

"But enough of that!" This time, Morgan set his sights directly on Meggie. She had stayed silent all this time, wondering what else she might remember, and didn't notice Morgan at first. It wasn't until he put his hand on the top of her head that she did. "I have an idea, a proposition for you. Would you like to hear it?"

Brian paid attention, just enough to hear it, but continued to stare at his goggles. There was something… he didn't know the word, exactly, but it made him curious enough to want to follow it.

"Hm." Lance noticed this, tapping his brother's shoulder. "You should listen to what Morgan's saying. It might be worth your time."

Not that Lance wanted to hear any word that came out of Morgan's mouth, but he knew that letting Brian restore his memories would be bad news, they weren't alone yet.

Just… I hate this. So much. I can't stop, and I wanna listen to him, but— Meggie shook her head, shivering just a little. Why? Why hear him? She knew he was up to no good, and he hurt her closest friends. Or the only friends she had in that world. But this wasn't him—it was just a dream. So maybe, just maybe, listening wouldn't be such a bad idea.

"I need an assistant again." Morgan said, glancing at the other two. "And, to be blunt, they're not exactly scientist material. You are. Perhaps you'd be interested in coming with me?"

"Hey, I can be a scientist!" Brian shouted, but his tone was more friendly than anything else.

"...Sure you can." Morgan rolled his eyes. "Really, why stay with them, Meggie? You're meant for greater things, not these—"

"No." Meggie shook her head in denial. "No, go away. I'm not interested. I wasn't before, and I won't ever be. Back off."

Morgan stammered, before turning back with a sigh. A sigh. Just that made Meggie's eyes widen. "Suit yourself. But know you're not going to win this one. Goodbye."

And just like that, he left the house, leaving the three alone. In that instant, everything around them seemed to slow down. Meggie didn't really care, though, because Morgan's last words to her made her think.

Was that really a dream? Or did he… I don't think—there's no way he's back. He's a feral now.

"Now, Brian." Lance pointed at his brother's goggles.

"Huh?" Without questioning it, he put them on, and Brian screamed, falling to his knees and panting as his memories started returning. "O-Oh! I-I, Lance, thanks… I remember now."

"Same here." Meggie said, after making sure the door was closed. "I woke up earlier and did it. Can we focus on escaping now?"

Lance smiled. "I thought you'd never ask. This is the hard part."

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Brian crossed his arms, ready to hear whatever explanation his brother was about to come up with. At least, that was the majority of his thoughts. Brian also thought about not trying to escape. Yes, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

"Alright, listen up. We should have enough time for one try." Lance took a deep breath. "I say this metaphorically, I'm not sure how time works here. I just feel it, alright?"

"Alright." Meggie replied.

I can't—we shouldn't do this, we gotta live our life here! We have everything we want! Brian thought, mostly ignoring his brother.

"This is exactly like a lucid dream." Lance said, moving a finger. "Essentially, we're able to create anything here. Since it's a dream, our only limit is our own imagination. For example…"

After some focus, Lance exhaled, an apple appearing on his right paw. "We're in control here."

Brian actually paid attention to this part, his ears flickering. "How'd you realize it?"

"I… I just did. It took me a few times, but I remembered bits and pieces. It was hard, too, because the dream world kept trying to make me forget."

The apple disappeared.

"Are we…" Brian gulped. No, he had to tell them, they deserved to know. "I'm not so sure we should escape. I mean, you know how strong Necrozma is! There's no way we can fight him and win—"

"Brian." Meggie interrupted him by floating and staring at his face. "...We've come too far to give up now."

Lance looked away and sighed again. "I've had that thought too, Brian. One too many times. But I have a plan."

"A plan? What plan?" Brian started hugging Meggie.

Lance shrugged. "...It's a work in progress."

"I still don't think we can win…" Brian's ears drooped, and his hug got tighter. "What can we do against overwhelming odds?"

"I didn't wanna say it either, Lance, but—" Meggie turned to face him, frowning. "I kinda share the same opinion. Sorta. I'm not sure we can win, but I don't want to just give up now."

"We can." Lance said, plain and simple, arms crossed. "Brian, I saw all your encounters with Necrozma. I saw how far you were willing to go, just to save me."

"I-I mean, that's true, but…"

Lance sighed. "Necrozma is not invincible. Tell me, how many stars are there in the sky?"

A weird question, for sure. Brian didn't know the answer, and trying to think of one was hard. There were simply—

"Too many to count." Meggie replied. "What does that have to do with Necrozma, though?"

To that, Lance nodded, raising an arm and materializing a sheet of paper, completely white. "Take a look at this sheet of paper. Now, if I take a pencil and start pressing against it, with every dot I make, there's a star, right?"

As he said it, the paper sheet slowly started to be filled with black dots, just a few at first, but they began to pick up speed, until the entire sheet had turned black. There were also a few noticeable tears in the fabric, like it was trying to handle a lot of pressure from so many pencils.

"This is the number of stars in the sky." Lance added, still showing the paper. "Now, do you see how much pressure there is? Add another star, and…"

The paper was torn apart, split into tiny pieces that slowly fell down.

"We're the stars, and Necrozma is the paper. He can't control us all the time, nobody can. Not unless one has an extraordinary amount of power."

Brian grumbled, looking at Meggie. They both understood the analogy, but what good did it do?

So he had to ask that to his brother. "He does have that power. So what?"

"He must be using all he has to keep us in the dream. If we apply more pressure… Necrozma will be taken down."

Hearing that was like a switch had been pressed in Brian's head. It made sense, hell, it made a lot of sense. They just needed to put pressure, but how? Admittedly, the plan wasn't done yet, but Lance was still thinking about it.

"I'm… I can't say I'm convinced, but it's worth a try, anyway." Brian muttered, gulping. "...I think. I don't know."

He started remembering everything, from before he left his home. At first, it was to support Lance and help bring hope to everyone they could. But slowly, things started growing in scope, and it was pretty overwhelming, but he never gave up, did he? Not before, and certainly not now.

"I think he has his answer now." Meggie said with a smile.

"Yeah." Brian added. "What should we do?"

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First, Lance walked to the center of the room, next to the television. He motioned for his friends to join him, and they did so. Now facing the TV, he took a deep breath.

"I said we're inside a dream. The way we are right now—knowing we're in one… it means we're lucid. Therefore, we can do whatever we want. I said it before." Lance explained. Or rather, said again, just to refresh their memories.

"Right, about that…" Meggie floated next to Lance, offering a hand. "I'm really sorry, I don't know why Morgan was here. I know he hurt you a lot, and I can't really apologize—"

"It's fine, Meggie. It really is." Lance took her hand and smiled, but then he frowned. "I've committed many sins, and yet, you were still searching for me. I can't possibly thank you three for that. So I'm going to make amends, as best as I can."

"Yeah, it's alright. And, uh, what about the lucid thing?" Brian shrugged. Needless to say, this situation was above him, so all he was doing was following Lance's advice. And that was something that he hadn't done in a long, long time. It felt nice.

"It's fairly simple. All we need to do… is imagine our way out. A doorway that will lead us to waking up." Lance glanced at them, seeing that they were both with open mouths. "Before you ask, no, dying in the dream doesn't work."

Brian whined at that, but he knew better than to press Lance on what he meant. "So, just imagine a way out. That's it?"

"It can't be that easy." Meggie retorted.

"And it isn't. We're likely going to keep doing this until we break free. It takes an eternity to break the wall Necrozma built, his will is simply that strong. However, with three of us here…"

"You think we can do it?" Brian asked, and he still wasn't sure. How long would they be doing this? And how hard was it?

"No. I know we can," he said, already starting to focus. He pictured a way out, the mental image of that wall from before appeared again, before the wall itself materialized in front of them.

"My trust in you goes far and wide. We can do this."

Was it finally happening? Was Brian about to have his brother back, after trying so hard to save him? They lost, but now they were reunited, and about to try again. It was invigorating.

"Well, that's a good pep talk." Meggie floated next to the wall, first to analyze it, touching it and feeling the rough, crystal texture it had. Lance was right; this was going to be hard. "The sooner we start, the sooner we finish this, right?"

"Keep in mind it's likely we'll get reset a few more times. As long as you keep the objects with your memories, we can keep trying." Lance took a deep breath. The next second of eternity starts now.

Brian readied his claws, creating two shadowy spheres, one in each paw. He breathed in like his brother did, and then out. "Ready."

Lance's fists started to glow purple with his aura, and he chuckled. "Normally, trying Close Combat is an annoyance. Luckily, this place doesn't seem to have that. But, hm, punching the wall does hurt."

Hearing his brother chuckle made Brian start smiling, and after looking at Meggie, he saw her smiling too. The three of them were together, but there was still Dex missing.

"Right! And Dex?"

"As soon as we get out, we're rescuing him." Lance moved his arms back, taking another deep breath. "Let's go."

The frist two punches came from Lance, and they resulted in him feeling the full force of the wall, but with his friends there, he felt a need to hide how painful it was to the best of his abilities, which resulted in him biting his lip as hard as possible.

"Urgh… I'm saying this again, it hurts. But we need to keep going."

Meggie clenched both her fists in a wispy, shadowy essence, fitting of a ghost like her. She smiled and punched the wall two times, before screaming in pain. Right as she did so, Brian hit the wall with the spheres and he, too, fell on his knees, grunting. Standing up was taking a lot of effort for him to do it on his own.

"I warned you…" Lance sighed, offering to help them stand up, an offer both accepted.

"How many times do we need to do this?" Meggie panted, moving her arms and blowing on her hands. Somehow, she was able to keep herself floating, and not even she knew how.

Lance gave her the smuggest grin he ever did, getting ready to show off how much of a book nerd—in Brian's terms—he really was. "Hah… Meggie, how many seconds are there in eternity?"

"What?" Meggie tilted her head.

"Guys—" Brian whistled to them, and showed how the wall was. There was a large dent in it, and an incredible amount of cracks.

"...There might be less seconds than I thought." Lance prepared to hit it again, even as the other two started laughing. He stopped trying to punch, just looking at his friends. How long had it been since they were together? Lance smiled and laughed with them, as they started punching the wall together.

More cracks started to spread, longer, deeper, and a few chunks began to fly out. The exit was near, so near. They touched it…

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A loud ringing noise woke Brian up. With a groan, he forced his eyes to open, but his body didn't move, neither did he want it to. Everything was slow and heavy, so enjoying that moment where he was quiet was his goal.

Sadly, his goal wasn't met; Lance pushed him out of the way and panted, getting on his knees. "W-We did it…?"

Meggie was next. Her eyes slowly opened, looking at the sky. It was morning, and there were no clouds as far as she could see. If not for the giant, thick tendril of light erupting from Necrozma, and the fact they were on top of a destroyed stage, it would be very peaceful.

"Urgh… I think we did it." Brian rubbed his eyes, slowly trying to move. First, wiggling a finger. Then, two fingers. Then his arm, which was slow to move, but he got the hang of it. His legs took a little more effort, but he was able to move them. Finally, Brian stood up, checking himself. "Goggles are here, bag's here… I think the bracelet too. Everything's here."

Lance stared at the sky, sighing. "When I first woke up, it was night. I don't know how long we stayed there, but it was for a little while, at least."

"Mhm, time's weird inside a dream, y'know?" Brian shrugged. Now that he was awake, he could see just how the situation was. Behind them was Dex, with a tendril latched onto his chest. He saw Lilith, but she was near Necrozma. And lastly, right next to the dragon was Scar, sleeping with a big smile.

"Well, we need to wake him up. But… I want to wake Lilith too." Meggie told them, staring fiercely, a fist clenched. "I didn't trust her before, but she's proved her worth."

"Fine by me." Lance added, looking at the unconscious Lopunny in the distance. "Like me, she was seduced by ideas that ended up being wrong."

"I'm just glad you're on our side. And, uh, without that thing in you." Brian started meddling with the contents of his bag, checking to see if everything was there. He tossed a looplet to his brother, who caught it with one paw. "If you need to mega evolve, which I'm pretty sure you will."

"Got it, thank you." Lance put the bracelet on. "And don't worry about Necrozma, I don't think he noticed us. Yet."

Meggie floated to Dex, seeing him unconscious. "He ran off without us, but I was scared too. Let's save him."

"Of course we will! He's as much of a teammate as Lance is!" Brian chuckled, walking next to Meggie. "So, what's the plan?"

"Simple. We do the same thing I did to you guys. Touch the tendril." Lance did as he said, and found himself asleep again.

Meggie exchanged looks with Brian, and the two touched it. Light enveloped them.