A/N: I have a song that has pretty much been the theme for this story, but it really came into play during the last part of this chapter. It's called Don't You Worry by Lucy Rose. Give it a listen via YouTube during the last little bit of this chapter if you like :)

Chapter 8

"Once again, I must admit I'm impressed," the Siren pointed out cheerfully, its muscles straining as it pressed down on its weapon, currently prevented from slicing Orphen to pieces only by the two daggers he was holding up in front of him, the three blades locked together in a twisted mash of steel. "No one has ever managed to get within three feet of me before, let alone leave a mark."

"What is it with you and your never-fucking-ending monologues?" Orphen spat out, his arms beginning to shake. His lungs were burning, a sharp pain stabbing through his chest with every intake of breath. He'd been pretty sure he'd dodged the more serious assaults, but by the feel of it, the Siren had gotten one up on him. Still, the monster had gotten its share of injuries as well. There were slashes across Its chest from Orphen's twin blades, scorch marks on Its sleeves from a few close spells. The thing may be powerful, but It was definitely not invincible.

"Oh, mind your language, sorcerer," the Siren tsked, Its blade inching ever closer to the soft flesh under Orphen's chin. "That's not a very flattering quality." At that It jerked Its sword forward, the tip of the metal blade kissing the skin of Orphen's neck. With a hiss, he shoved his arms forward with as much strength as he could, managing to push the Siren back long enough for him to port away.

Rematerializing, he had a split second of rest before the Siren was charging him again, looking as if It hadn't even broken a sweat. Orphen tried to take a defensive stance, parrying the first few blows, lashing out whenever he saw an opening. Despite his efforts the blasted creature still managed to dodge him, chuckling gleefully with each swing of his blades.

A slip in his concentration. The sharp sting of steel slicing into his cheek, just under his left eye gave him enough adrenaline to fire off a weak spell. The Siren dodged it with complete ease, of course, but It did have to move further away from him, giving him a moment to recover. He swiped a hand across his face, the back of his glove glistening wetly with fresh blood.

Whatever. He'd been through worse.

Weapons at the ready, he charged forward, the Siren meeting him halfway.

Cleao Everlasting ran like her life depended on it. No, she ran like his life depended on it; he needed her help, and apparently it was her fault that they were even in this mess, so she was gonna do everything she could to get them out of it. Hartia and Majic were right behind her, their protests quickly dying down when faced with her stubborn determination. They were resigned to the fact that once she set her mind to something, for better or worse, she was going to see it through to the end.

Closing in on the fight, she got a better look at the desire demon-thingy. It actually did look exactly like Orphen, save for a drastic change in wardrobe. Even Its fighting style mirrored his own, so much so that she could see Orphen struggling. How did one beat oneself in a duel?

"With a partner like me, that's how." She answered her own question aloud, coming to a stop just on the fringes of the fight. She could see marks in the sand from where they'd been; footsteps mushed together with dips where someone had been rolling. Each time they moved a circle of sand seemed to follow, a flurry of dirt that flew around them in arcs and swirls, encompassing their fight in a shimmer of rocks and dust. Her thoughts momentarily went back to Orphen's fight with the golem, years ago. That had been her first true attempt at her role as his partner. She'd created a distraction, giving Orphen an opening to attack. It looked like he would need something similar to land any hits on the creature. Distractions and annoyances were Cleao's specialty.

"Hey you!" She shouted across the sandy plain, pointing one finger fiercely at the pair of fighters. "Freaky doppelgänger thing!" The pair broke apart roughly, each moving away from the other and turning to look at her. The Siren didn't even bother glancing in her direction.

But Orphen did. He looked at her, simply looked. There was no emotion on his face whatsoever, which was surprising in itself. Normally he'd be swearing a bloody blue streak at her to get out of the way or stop distracting him or whatever. But he didn't say anything at all. And that silence spoke volumes.

When her eyes met his, time seemed to slow; for one second, one instant, something flickered in those amber eyes of his. The way he seemed to search her, as if drinking in her appearance, felt intimate, private. She could feel a faint flush creeping up her chest, her cheeks burning a rosy shade of crimson. Somehow, in that moment Cleao felt closer to him than she'd ever been. Her breath caught.

And then he turned away from her, without uttering a word.

Wow. What a friggin jerk!

Majic had said she'd been in an explosion, right? With lots of blood and gore and unconsciousness and stuff? Didn't he care?

Well, fine. It's not like she was expecting him to just drop everything and run to her, pull her into his arms and whisper how relieved he was to see her. Or something.

The clone still hadn't even acknowledged her presence yet. She clenched her teeth, stomping her foot angrily.

"HEY!I'm talking to you!" She bellowed, her temper raging. That got Its attention. It seemed honestly surprised to see her, scrutinizing her for a moment before turning to glance at her companions.

Orphen looked less than pleased.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" He snarled, sparing her a momentary glare before turning his attention back to the monster, his two daggers glinting dangerously in the sunlight. Now that was a more characteristic reaction.

"Saving your ungrateful ass," she muttered under her breath, getting into her best no-nonsense pose, both hands planted firmly on her hips, legs spread apart and a scowl on her face. "Listen buster," she addressed the Siren-Orphen, giving It her dirtiest look, "if you think I'm gonna sit back and let you hurt my friends, you've got another thing coming."

It stared at her for a moment, Its unblinking red eyes giving her the creeps. And then It threw back Its head and laughed, a deep, throaty cackle that got all the way under her skin and settled in her bones, leaving goosebumps colouring her bared flesh.

"I must be putting more effort into this fight than I thought," the Siren commented, another low chuckle escaping Its lips before It continued. "My spheres usually last a great deal longer. How interesting."

"Hartia, get her out of here!" Orphen demanded, just as he shot forward again, his daggers swinging viciously. They met nothing but air, the Siren dodging them easily, Its eyes still on her.

"Perhaps it's time for me to play the wild card," It muttered to itself, bringing Its sword up to parry one of Orphen's attacks, one hand shooting forward as It cast a spell. Fire shot from Its palm, scorching a black trail through the sand. Orphen teleported away just as the flames reached him; and then he was back and they were fighting as if she hadn't even interrupted at all.

But she was his partner; she wasn't about to sit here and do nothing. Orphen had said it himself; he wasn't going to solve her problems for her. She needed to do that for herself.

Cleao'd studied Orphen's fighting style long enough to learn his tells; he had a way of standing, posturizing that often signaled his next move – even his eyes could give away his intentions, if you knew where and when to look. If the Siren was mirroring his moves, It would be creating the same signs for her to see. All she had to do was pick them out-

-there. It was leaning to the right, as if preparing to strike from that side, but she spotted the small shift in Its footing -

"Block left!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, the monster attacked. Orphen didn't hesitate; swinging his arms forward, he blocked the creature's attack with one dagger and struck out with the other, slicing a ragged opening down Its arm. With an angry hiss It jerked back, clutching the injured arm to Its chest.

"Impossible..." It spat out, red eyes ablaze with fury. "How could you..best me?" Orphen didn't give It a chance to recover; a silent shadow, he teleported behind the creature, bringing both daggers down in one quick motion. The blades sliced through the Siren's back like a knife through butter, sinking until only the hilts remained visible, crimson liquid oozing out of the wounds in torrents.

"I'm the last one to admit it," He muttered, pulling the blades out sharply before bringing them to rest against Its neck. "But I also have the best partner a guy could ask for. She gives me a bit of an edge."

The Siren laughed, a sharp gurgle of blood cutting It off quickly enough. "This..." It wheezed, coughing and hacking up blood. "This is only the beginning..."

He didn't hesitate. Orphen sliced the monster's neck open with his blades, letting out a jet of blood that spewed forward, raining down on the sand in front of them. His clone's body fell limply, landing face first with a solid thump, empty of life. "Looks pretty fucking final to me."

Turning away from the body, Orphen looked instead toward his companions. Cleao was at the front, of course , with the others standing a ways away, watching him silently. As he staggered closer, her eyes widened. She took in his appearance, her mouth dropping open with an audible gasp.

Dried blood crusted his face, the cut having finally stopped bleeding. Small gashes covered his body; his arms had countless nicks and bruises and his bared chest looked worse than he'd remembered, the mix of dirt and blood combining to form a mess of rusty sludge sticking to his skin.

"Orphen..." It came out a whisper, a breath more than a word, shock stealing her voice away. From a distance, he hadn't looked nearly this bad. He'd been moving so quickly, so effortlessly…

How close to death had he really been?

Orphen came to a sudden stop a few metres away, leaving a substantial distance between them. Hesitating, he searched her face, seemingly gauging her reaction.

"It's me." he spoke carefully, raising his arms slowly in front of him in a placating gesture. "I'm..." his voice cracked – his voice cracked – and he cleared his throat to try again. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

Whaaaat?

She blinked; her mouth was working, but no sound was coming out.

He made a frustrated noise, running a hand roughly through his hair - probably the only spot on him that didn't have blood on it. "That..thing that was here. It wasn't me." He grit his teeth, trying to keep his tone level. "It looked like me, and maybe it sounded like me a little, but..." He trailed off, lifting his shoulders up and down in a helpless shrug. "Fuck." He glared at her, his hands bunching into fists. "It wasn't me, okay?"

She took a slow step toward him, her brow furrowing. "I know." God, she'd never seen him so agitated. He looked ready to burst into tears – or kill someone.

Again.

He was staring at her blankly now, so she fumbled for words. "Why else would I have helped you back there?"

"Oh." Orphen seemed to deflate; the tension eased out of his shoulders, his hands slowly uncurling until they dangled uselessly at his sides. "So…" He swallowed, watching her carefully through rusty eyes, "You're not afraid of me?"

She snorted. She couldn't help herself; the idea was completely absurd. How could she ever be afraid of Orphen? Sure, he had a vicious temper that was more often than not directed at her, but she'd never actually been afraid of him. For him? Most definitely. But never of.

"Of course not, you idiot." She couldn't help the snarky comment; bickering was their thing. It was almost weird when they didn't fight.

But for once, Orphen didn't rise to the challenge. He limped forward, closing the distance between them, his expression unreadable. "Good."

And then, shirtless and bloody and covered in grime, he wrapped both arms around her and pulled her into his chest.

For once in her life, Cleao didn't know what to say. Her mind went blank, driven completely off the rails of normal thought into lala land.

What. The. Hell.

Orphen ducked his head, resting against her in such a way that she could feel the faint tickle of his breath against her neck; short, rapid puffs that sent electricity jolting down her spine. He shifted, one hand resting at the small of her back, holding her against him while the other moved to cradle her head. His fingers were gentle, reverent against the fabric of her shirt, in her hair; as if he were afraid. Like if he held her too loose she'd slip through his fingers, too tight and he'd break her.

She should hug him back, right? That would be the normal thing to do. If someone gave you a hug, you were supposed to return it – no matter how completely bizzaro, unexpected and out of wack the whole hugging situation was in the first place. But she couldn't quite make herself do it. She was too stunned, too shellshocked to react. Her arms were lead at her sides, heavy and unmoving.

He turned his head, his lips almost brushing her jawline, sending another tingle through her body. It took her brain a minute to catch up with the rest of her, so at first she couldn't make out what he was saying – or, really, that he was speaking at all. But the sound of his voice, angry and raw and Orphen finally managed to break through her state of confusion.

He was saying her name. It was a mantra, a low oath that he whispered over and over again, the word a soft caress against her skin. How he managed to sound infuriated and relieved at the same time was beyond her, but he did it.

Her arms seemed to move of their own volition then, finding their way around him, her hands bunching in his thick hair, tugging her against him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her throat thick with unshed tears, "Orphen, I'm so sorry." And then the tears were falling and she was sobbing, giant hiccups that wracked her chest and made her quake and this was all her fault –

"-Hey." Orphen murmured in her ear, pulling away so that he could look her in the eye. "You know I hate it when you cry." He slid his hand across the back of her head, the side of her face until it was resting against her cheek. Then, just like that night – that night that felt like both a second and a lifetime ago – he used his thumb to brush away her tears.

"Y-y-you made my problems go awa-a-ay for me." She sniffed, shuddering with each fresh wave of sobs. "And you almost d-d-died doing it." She struggled against him, trying to pull out of his arms but he held fast, his grip unbreakable.

"Stop." Orphen's tone was sharp and severe; cold and unforgiving.

She kept up the fight, tugging and wriggling about until he finally released her, his mouth set in a firm line. He threw his hands up in exasperation, limping a few steps back.

"Fine. Happy now?" He gritted his teeth, the words coming out rough. There was more blood on her shirt now, sticky and wet from where he'd pressed his bare chest against her. She scrubbed at it absently, not wanting another dark reminder of the danger she'd put him – everyone – in. How had she managed this? What colossal error had she made, to end up in this warped reality, with her friends fighting for their lives?

Why the hell couldn't she remember?

"Um, Master?" Majic's voice, timid and unsure piped up from behind her; she'd almost forgotten he and Hartia were standing there. "Maybe we should try to figure out a way back?"

Hartia interjected before Orphen had the chance, rubbing his hands together and trying to look important. "Right. It's actually pretty simple, really. We already know this is a dream world, right?" When Majic nodded, Hartia tapped him roughly on the temple with his fingers, making him squawk in surprise. "And how do we get out of dreams?"

Majic looked less inclined to answer this question, shooting the teacher a wary look. "We…wake up..?"

"Exactly! Smart kid." He turned to face the rest of the group, waving his arms about excitedly. "It's a piece of cake."

"So, what?" Majic mumbled, looking astonished, his mouth hanging open slightly. "We just have to think ourselves awake?"

As if it could be that simple. There would have to be spells and energy wasted, and Orphen would probably end up draining himself, and he'd never cast another spell again –

"Pretty much." Hartia responded, shrugging his shoulders. "The demon is dead, so the magic holding us here had dissipated."

Cleao blinked, her tears coming to an abrupt halt. "That's…it?"

He nodded enthusiastically, shooting her a smile. "All you have to do is tell yourself to wake up, an –"

He disappeared in thin air, his sentence cut off mid-word. Cleao let out a small shriek, Majic rushing forward, his arms outstretched, as if maybe Hartia had merely gone invisible instead of vanishing completely. He met nothing but air, despite waving his arms frantically back and forth through the spot the read-head had been standing in seconds before.

A cold hand took hold of Cleao's heart, squeezing it painfully in her chest.

"What happened?" He sputtered, turning wide eyes toward his master. "Did the Siren do this? I thought you killed it? How are we going to get him back? What-"

"-Calm the fuck down," Orphen sighed, bringing one hand up to pinch the bride of his nose. "You're giving me a headache."

I'm standing on a beach. Everyone's with me, and we're all just enjoying the time together, not having to worry about dragons or Heavenly Beings or sorcerers or runes... And then, it changes. Everyone starts...disappearing.

Cleao's hands clenched into fists at her sides, her heart pounding against her ribcage. She felt like she couldn't breathe.

"But how did he do it?" Majic was asking, his worry transformed into a sorcerer's curiosity. "Is it a spell?"

"No, it's like he said. You have to 'think' yourself awake."

I'm left alone on the beach. And eventually that goes, too; the water dries up, leaving a cracked desert behind. I wander it alone, trying to understand where everyone else went. Why I...

Her breath was coming in short gasps, nowhere near enough to fill her lungs. Her chest started to burn, black dots dancing across her eyes. Her heart slammed in her chest, kicking into a panicked overdrive.

"Think yourself…awake..?" Majic muttered. For a moment he remained, a slight frown on his face, looking stumped. And then, right before her eyes, he vanished.

The world was spinning; she was staring at the ground, and then the sharp blue sky, and her lungs were empty and her brain was panicking and her heart was going to burst right out of her chest –

Strong arms caught her before she could hit the ground, and her vision was suddenly full of him, his sharp red eyes, the smell of blood and sweat and dirt seeping into her nose. He grunted, clenching his teeth, the muscles of his jaw bulging; his legs buckled and he slumped to the ground, still cradling her to his chest.

Why I can't go with them.

"The fuck…was that?" He hissed, glaring down at her, his laboured breathing another reminder of his injuries.

"They're…They're all leaving." She whispered, panic driving her to clutch at him, her fingernails digging into the flesh on his forearms. "You're leaving me here."

At first, he only stared at her, confused and sore and pissed off. But then her words seemed to click into place, and a flicker of understanding crossed his face. His eyes widened marginally.

"Fuck. I didn't even…" He made a face. "Look, it's not like that. No one's leaving you." He gave her shoulders a hard squeeze, but she was still hyperventilating. She couldn't catch her breath, her head was spinning and the darkness was threatening to pull her in –

"-Snap out of it!" He shouted, grabbing her face and squeezing until her mouth puckered. "Look at me." He pursed his lips, taking a slow breath. "In through your nose, out through your mouth." Slowly, the dark spots faded, her aching lungs filling with the air they needed. She blinked once, twice; the world stopped spinning.

"Jesus," Orphen sighed, shaking his head. "You really make it a challenge to save your life, you know?"

"Sorry." She croaked in between breaths, her heart finally slowing to a more reasonable pace in her chest. "I just… I still remember the nightmares." For all the things she'd forgotten, you'd think that would have been one of them, but of course that would be too easy.

"I'm not going to abandon you." He muttered, his arms still wrapped around her. "I promise."

She nodded, closing her eyes.

Breathe. Just breathe.

"All you have to do is wake up, Cleao. Tell yourself to wake up, and you will."

Wake up.

"You can do this, Cleao."

Wake up.

When Cleao opened her eyes again, she wasn't greeted with Orphen's sharp gaze. Majic was staring earnestly down at her, his blue eyes wide.

"She's awake!" He shouted, glancing up at someone. "Hartia, she's awake!"

"Krylancelo will be right behind her, I imagine," another voice sounded beside her. And then Hartia's bright red hair was in view, his freckled face looming over her. He let out a breath of relief before giving her a tight smile.

"Welcome back to reality."

A/N: Also, apologies for any and all typos and grammatical errors. By the end I gave up editing and just plopped it in here. Thanks to everyone who has stuck around so far! :)