“Well, I have to say, I’m very disappointed, Graham. You told me he was in a worse state than that.” Tressa’s voice said wearily. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not putting your work down, and you have done a pretty thorough job, it’s :::::sigh:::::: it’s just that :::::another small sigh::::: I just expected... more.”
Graham squinted at Arcane, lying on the floor, scrutinising him. He did seem to be in a slightly better condition than he’d left him in. Those arms should have been fractured for starters... and the ribs. And where were all the bruises on his face. Just a few pathetic patches of purple and the occasional cut remaining. Well, at least most of the body was still as he left it. The legs seemed more healed, although one was still at an odd angle and both the kneecaps were still shattered. And the eye was back!! Well, he’d have to do something about that, wouldn’t he!?
“It was the do-gooder or the jolly green giant!” Graham snarled. “They didn’t finish. We must have interrupted them.”
“Oh dear, what a shame,” Tressa said, casually taking out a long metal nail file and applying it to her middle finger. “Now we’re just going to have to undo all their good work!”
“Well, they won’t return while we’re here. Which of them do you think it was?”
“The do-gooder!” They both chimed in unison, looking at each other, as the first door opened and Alec walked in.
“Hello, Alec.” Tressa said cheerfully. “Come to watch?”
“I intend healing him. Take my advice and stand aside.” Alec said firmly.
Tressa turned to Graham. “What is this? National healing day? This place really isn’t what it used to be. We simply can’t have this distressing habit of gratuitous healing becoming contagious! Graham, why don’t you attempt to find our other little friend, and I’ll have a chat with Alec here?” Graham gave a cruel grin and nodded.
“Be seeing you, Holland.” He drawled, turning and leaving by the back door.
When he was gone, Tressa turned back to Alec. With a pleasant smile, she stepped aside and beckoned Alec nearer.
“He’s all yours, Alec. Go ahead. Heal him. Make him all nice and better.”
Alec scrutinised her carefully. “This is some sort of trick.” He said warily.
“No trick, Alec. Heal him. I give you permission. Go on, treat yourself. You know those morals of yours want to.”
Watching her carefully, Alec knelt down beside Arcane.
“Arcane? Can you hear me?” Alec said gently. There was no response. The Doctor was still unconscious. Alec put one hand to Arcane’s forehead, and another to his chest, and began building up concentration.
“Of course...” Tressa suddenly chirped up; “... if you do heal him, we’ll only have to do all the exact same damage over again... and then do what we were going to do afterwards as well anyway.” She beamed. “In fact, thinking about it, that means you’ll have given us the opportunity to maim him twice as much. Yes, do heal him, Alec. I think we’d like that.”
Alec removed his hands and stood up, glaring at her.
“You heal him Alec, we’ll just put him back down, with extra to make up for it. That’s the way it is... got it!?” She smiled broadly, wide eyed in glee. “Oh, and please let’s not start some sentimental moral plea to my better nature again. I don’t have one! Remember where you are! Now, you’ve got two choices really. One: You can stay and watch quietly. Two: You can leave and wait outside. Your choice. When I’ve finished, I’ll give you time with him alone... maybe even a tiny bit of free healing... but only if you’re a good little swamp thing and do as you’re told!” She addressed him like a 3 year old.
Alec fumed silently. She’d got the better of him again. He’d stormed in here, determined to get his own way, and that nothing would stop him this time; and there she was, always knowing just the exact thing to do or say that would halt him in his tracks. And there was no way he could argue with her logic. This was her world and he couldn’t physically remove Arcane from her... at least not for any length of time; and then it would only be worse for Arcane eventually, and HE would be a target also... and Graham. Without a way of removing Arcane, he had to abide by her rules; and she made those up every step of the way. He should have known better. How could he have even thought he would be able to best her here, under these circumstances? All he could really do was wait, as she said, and hope that she would allow some healing...and not make up for it afterwards. Somehow, he doubted it.
Alec didn’t like being pushed around. He was used to being supreme in his domain; not some passive onlooker in someone else’s, unable to help. *Heal him anyway. Make a stand. Show her YOU have power. Call her bluff!* Except he knew that it wasn’t a bluff. He was also aware that the longer he stayed in this place, the weaker that power was becoming. He no longer had The Swamp to draw strength from. There was no sunlight here. He couldn’t stay much longer, and she knew it. Another couple of hours at most and he’d have to leave. What if he used that power to heal Arcane needlessly, then they did something to himself or Graham?
“What are you going to do to him?” Alec asked evenly.
“Not much. Not this time anyway. For what it’s worth, I can’t see him being in a much worse physical state when we let you see him afterwards than now. We’ll go easy on him... relatively speaking, of course. Oh, don’t worry, we’ll make sure you get chance to see him before you go.” She smirked, echoing Alec’s previous concern. “We’re mainly going to talk to him... mostly.”
“If you break your word, I WILL be back.”
“I’ve no doubt about that, Alec; as I’ve no doubt that we’ll be certain to continue giving you the respect you command and deserve if you do. Now, are you staying, or going? I’ve got work to do!”
With barely a second glance, Alec turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.


“You didn’t do it, did you?” Graham fumed as he saw the look on Alec’s face as he rejoined him down the corridor. “What was it now? Last minute attack of ‘Thou shalt not interfere’... Was somebody in there to slap your wrist and tell you not to? My ‘better’ half perhaps... or yours? Judge, jury and executioner Tressa, perhaps?”
“Don’t YOU start, Graham.” Alec moaned softly. Believe me when I say it would have been much worse for him if I had.”
“Well, what now then? Had any more thoughts?” Graham said, his anger subsiding.
Alec shook his head. “We can see him when they’ve finished. I may be able to heal him then. We can’t stay much longer, but we will get to see him before we go.”
“That’s going to make a real difference, isn’t it, Holland?”
“There’s nothing I can do, Graham. Do YOU have any suggestions?”
A twinkle entered Graham’s eye ever so slightly. “What if there was a way you could bring Dr. Arcane back... If you could...”
“No!” Alec said, as firmly as he could muster; although maybe it was Graham’s imagination, but Holland seemed to be just that little less forceful than before when he’d said it. “That isn’t possible for me to do. I’ve already told you it’s not an option.”
“But let’s just say... hypothetically... that it was possible?”
“It isn’t. That’s all there is to it. I wouldn’t do it even if I could. Do NOT ask me again.”
“So, we came here for nothing then. That’s what you’re saying, right?”
“No, I refuse to believe that. The Swamp wouldn’t have led me to this path of action without there being some answer. There has to be SOMETHING... something I’ve missed!” Alec said frustratedly, as persistent curiosity got the better of him and he went back down the corridor to listen at the door.
Graham gave a sly smile to himself.
*Yeah, but I haven’t.*


“Wakey wakey, Doctor!” Tressa’s voice echoed through the still darkness, penetrating the peace and jolting Arcane’s consciousness back to hateful reality. He lay there in his private little world of pain, quite still. *Just lie still a moment longer. Just another few seconds.* His mind cried. “I said, WAKEY WAKEY!!” Her falsely pleasant voice jarred him again, this time accompanied by a stiletto heel that she ground into his groin.
“Well, I guess THAT got your attention, didn’t it, Doctor? Had a nice little sleep?” She looked down, gloating, as Arcane doubled over, clutching his new wound feverishly.
Tressa waited a few moments, surveying him casually, as he began to take his surroundings in after the initial shock of the pain.
“You had a visitor, you know. Two in fact. And I’m afraid that one of them healed you just a little. Not much... but enough to get us rather cross.” She purred, crouching down so she was at eye level with him, and putting her arm round his shaking shoulders. “Now you know when something like that happens, well, we have to make a bit of an example, don’t we? Just to stop it happening again.” Arcane was sobbing quietly again now.
“Pleaseplease.... I..I didn’t...”
“Hush, yes... we know you didn’t ask to be healed. We know it’s not your fault...” She ran her fingers softly through his blood matted hair; “... we know it wouldn’t be fair to take it out on you...” She traced her finger slowly down the side of his cheek as he flinched from even the softest touch of hers; “... but we’re not fair, are we, Arcane? The purpose of this world is to be fair, which means that where you’re concerned, we’re not.”
“Don’t...please.... no more, Tressa, I’m begging you, no more!!”
“Sshhh, Anton, sshhh. You know it’s going to happen anyway...” She snaked the finger down his chest, tracing the few bits of undamaged flesh that there were; occasionally missing, and opening a small cut or tear with her nail; “...You know all this begging just doesn’t cut it with us, don’t you?” She stood up, sidling round to his other side, where she started to play with his hair again. “Anton, Anton... If we’re not going to be more merciful in tens, or hundreds of thousands of years time... how can you possibly think we could feel pity for you after less than two days?”
Arcane said nothing. He shook violently, silent tears rolling down his face.
“And you don’t seem to be showing any gratitude at all. We’ve even allowed Alec...YOUR Alec, to wait outside to visit you afterwards. Anton. We’ve gone out of our way to make it a little easier for you in your first week... to ease you in... before we start on the *really* unpleasant business.”
“Nononononononononononoononononono.” Arcane moaned softly to himself.
“Oh dear me... You thought this was as bad as it gets, didn’t you... Oh, your poor thing.” She smirked, wrapping a lock of hair round her finger and playing with it a little. “No, no, no. After this week, it gets *much* worse.”
“Home...please...let me go home!” He shuddered. With a soft laugh she gracefully moved round to his front, crouching down with him, looking him straight in the eye.
“You ARE home.” She whispered malevolently, a dark smile crossing her face. “And it’s such an imaginative home, isn’t it, Arcane? And you’re going to have lots and lots and lots of visitors; all keeping you permanently entertained; all there just for you: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, 100 years a century, 10 centuries a millenium.....er, how many millennia are there in an aeon, Arcane?”
He couldn’t take it; couldn’t listen to this; tried to block out the sound of that voice and those words. “Tressa, Please! I know I’ve hurt people; I’ve made mistakes, yes... but I don’t deserve THIS!!”
“Of course you deserve it, Arcane!” Tressa’s voice became cold, harder. “You deserve every bit of this... and more. Everything that’s coming to you, you deserve... and believe me, you’ve got a LOT coming to you. You’d have gone insane within the first day, except we don’t allow you to do that. You’ll never escape from this by insanity... Trust me! That little silent place you go to, remember?” He looked at her with mounting horror; “We let you have that, you know? I told you we were going easy on you in your first week. You won’t get that luxury soon. Dying quite so often...well, we’ll have to cut down a bit on that escape too. If you think you’re in pain now, just imagine what it’s like to be dissolved or melted down to your component molecules over a period of years... and still be sentient throughout? And so many experiments to carry out. Alec’ll be dealing with that side of things, with the help of all the other scientists and ex-experiments who are waiting to have a go, of course. Ever wondered what an insect feels like when millions of little eggs are laid under it’s skin, and the hatching maggots make their way to the surface? A bit like that science project you did when you were a boy, isn’t it?” She took out her nail file again and began seeing to her left little finger; “And I’m sure you remember the time you wanted to see the effects of microwaves on organic tissues, don’t you? Do you remember some of the creative uses you found for centrifuges and autoclaves?” Arcane clutched his head in his hands, screwing his eyes shut. “Dying will still be allowed, but only for artistic license you realise. And then... then there’ll be much worse things than those.” She paced round him slowly, tenderly touching the side of his face first with her soft fingers; then carefully with the sharp end of her file, applying just a bit of pressure and drawing a tiny amount of blood. “Mustn’t forget the emotional side too, Arcane; just in case you feel you may become inured to the pain... which you won’t. Believe me, you won’t! You’ve had a taster of some of the emotional trials you’ll be facing. Just a taster. Soon the *real* fun and games begin!” Tressa was animated now, her eyes wide with glee, almost salivating at the prospect of the horrors she began to describe in the minutest of detail. Arcane continued to sob uncontrollably as he was forced to listen; “... And you want to know something, Arcane, now I come to think of it? I think we’re going to enjoy this so much... I don’t think we’re EVER going to let you really die!”

From within the room, neither of them heard heavy footsteps outside slowly making their way back down the corridor. Footsteps carrying all the weight of the two worlds on them.


“Are you still listening, Arcane?” Tressa snarled. Arcane was cowering on the ground, clutching his head, oblivious to her. “Arcane!!?” She snapped again. No reply, just more moaning and rocking. Unknown to him, she gave a satisfied smile. A knock on the back door made her turn, and jarred Arcane slightly from his terror.
“And speaking of fun and games. It looks like we’re about to begin. You’ve got a visitor, Arcane!” The Doctor shuffled back against the wall. Tressa grabbed his chin roughly. “Where are your manners, Doctor!? Aren’t you going to let your visitor in?” She laughed, looking down. “Oh dear, those legs are still broken, aren’t they? I should make you get up and walk you know, but I’ll go easy on you this one last time.” Casually dropping her nail file at his feet, she sauntered over to the door and opened it. A figure walked through, and began staring at Arcane, who couldn’t even bring himself to look up.
“Look, Arcane!” Tressa gloated. “Look who’s come to visit! I wonder what she’s going to do to you?”
Arcane was aware of footsteps approaching him, but still he daren’t look. He just continued to shake his head in denial of everything.
“I said LOOK!” Tressa shouted angrily, moving round to Arcane and kicking him on one of his shattered legs. With a scream, he forced his gaze upwards. As he did so, the pain was momentarily forgotten.
“Tatania!” He gasped, eyes wide and shaking his head wildly. She looked down at him. “NO!!” He shouted, shutting his eyes and turning his head away.
“Arcane. Face your guest. Don’t have anything to say to her? She was your wife, after all. You know, you’re a very rude host.”
“Anton.” The woman said calmly, looking down at him.
When Arcane looked back up, all traces of fear had gone, replaced by shock. “This can’t be!” He looked at Tressa, pointing to Tatania; “You’re telling me there was something in MY OWN WIFE that could become one of YOU!!?” He shook his head in denial. Tressa sauntered over, giving a smarmy shrug. “What can I say, Arcane? You were a real popular guy... NOT!”
“NOOOOOOOO!!!!” Shock was replaced by anger, as he glared up at Tatania.
“Anton.” Tatania repeated to him, kneeling down beside him. The more Arcane looked at her, the more disgusted he became. This couldn’t be happening. He’d had enough, and he wasn’t going to take it! He wasn’t going to let these monsters walk all over him. He couldn’t...WOULDN’T allow this! Not with a mockery of his own beloved Tatania. His eyes fell on the nail file at his feet. Without a second thought he grabbed it.
“YOU’RE NOT MY WIFE! YOU’RE A BLOODY TRAVESTY!! YOU’RE WORSE THAN ANY OF THEM!!” He screamed, shoving it with all his strength into the nape of her neck; “GET AWAY FROM ME!!”
With a startled gasp, and a cry, Tatania collapsed backwards onto the floor. She gave a slight twitch, struggling weakly with the file still in her neck, before giving a gurgling cough and lying still, mouth agape and eyes still bulging in mute shock. Still shaking with disgust, Arcane shuffled backwards away from her.
“Oh dear, now you’ve gone and done it.” Tressa said, looking at Tatania’s corpse. “I think we’re going to have to punish you for that, Anton. That was really no way to treat a guest.” She laughed, hunkering down by him again. “I think we’re going to have to punish you a lot.”
Hysteria boiled over and he bared his teeth, lashing out at anything in his radius with the force of a storm. His eyes flashed.
Tressa stumbled backwards as she felt the humbling CRACK of a gaunt forearm smacking hard against the soft skin of her cheek. The jarring blow sank to the bone as a purple bruise puffed up almost immediately, discolouring the fair skin.
The hysteria subsided, and more stunned than calm for the moment, Arcane stared at his arm in shock as if it had taken a life of its own.
"He hit me!" Tressa exclaimed in amazement, stroking the bruised skin absently.
The Alec shade, who Arcane had NOT seen enter the room, pushed past her toward him.
"He HIT you?" He turned to Arcane. "Anton! It isn't NICE to hit." He grinned broadly then, as if suddenly remembering something. "Hey! Jim did tell you I'd be back to check on you, didn't he?"
Arcane's arm was still stretched out where he had flung it in rage and frustration, his eyes wide and staring like a trapped fox knowing it was about to be torn to pieces by the hounds.
"Well, I'm back." He looked back at Tressa concernedly; she was looking on the new exchange with curious amusement. His eyes flicked back to Arcane and he tsked. "And now look what you've gone and did."
"NO!" The tiny voice was incoherent, its usually-smooth and articulate sentences chopped up and running into one another. "NO NO NO not a punishment I swear I didn't mean it my arm swung out I didn't mean it I swear to you!" Holland just swaggered closer. Arcane snapped. "NOT A DISSECTION!! DON'T CUT ME OPEN!!"
He stared at Tressa with pleading eyes. "Don't let him dissect me again. I'm terribly sorry I hurt you. It WAS an accident, don't let him dissect me again, the cutting, bleeding, scalpel, no, NO!" He sank down and wept inconsolably, far, far gone. "No, blood, knife, no, no, can't scream, I'm trying! I'm trying! Please blood no HURTS mummy mummy he hurts me God pity please blood stop cutting PLEASE STOP CUTTING!!!" He moaned and rocked back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. "Please stop cutting, please stop cutting, please stop cutting me up..." He sat there, crying and rocking for a long time, before finally calming down a little bit, words and half sentences floating unheard through his deaf ears.
"You dissected him, Alec? I'm impressed with you."
Alec grinned sheepishly, blushing. "I try."
"Well, you -- HEY! You cut him up without me?!"
"Yeah, but--"
"Hey!" Tressa pouted. "Alec, that's not fair! Why couldn't I help out? I mean--"
"Well, we could always do it again."
That was too much for Arcane. He bit his knuckle hard, trying to keep his trembling down, trying to slow the explosive beating of his heart. If they were going to do it, then they were going to do it. That was all there was to it, he couldn't change that, he couldn't change anything. He told himself that. He needed to try and take this with dignity.
Alec laughed. "Dignity?! HA!" He grinned cruelly. "Just look at you! I've seen rats with more dignity than you! If you kill a rat, at least it will crawl off somewhere quietly to die instead of curling up in a ball and bawling like a coward."
"What does the moral guardian know of killing defenceless rats?" Arcane muttered weakly.
Alec grinned. "Enough." Something caught his eye and he looked down. “Eeww! And speaking of killing defenceless things, what’s that!?” He grimaced, looking at Tatania’s corpse; “That one of ours?” He asked. Tressa shook her head.
“I told her it was a mistake coming; that he wouldn’t believe her. Mark my words, it’ll end in tears, I said!” Tressa sighed.
“What!!?” Arcane gasped, the dissection momentarily forgotten. He looked up at Tressa in shock. She just smiled down at him, fingering the bruise on her cheek.
“What can I say? She wanted to come and visit you. I did advise her not to. She said she wanted to see if you were all right. Amazing! The one person who still cares... cared about him... and he goes and kills her! And he says he doesn’t deserve all this!” Tressa and Alec gave a laugh. Arcane continued to stare in horror, looking at them, then back at Tatania, as realisation dawned.
“No, no... She was one of you. She was an echo. She...”
“It’s gotta be a record, Alec, hasn’t it? How many men can say they’ve managed to kill their own wife three times!?”
“Yeah, pity she’d left her world and was in this one instead. No reviving her now. He’s given her the big death, all right. Gone for good, I’m afraid! It was a bit naughty of him. I mean, there’s bound to be repercussions.”
“I thought she was quite a pleasant type... if a little misguided. Bit too much of a romantic, if you ask me, Alec.”
“You’ve got to see the irony though, haven’t you? I mean her first ‘death’, that was in the nape of the neck also, wasn’t it.”
“Yes, Anton does seem to like his irony.”
“Just like those Shakespearean tragedies he was so fond of. She must have really loved him to have come HERE though. Heck, who’d’ve thought it?”
“Well, if there’s one thing Arcane was... he was a real lady-killer!” They both laughed raucously in unison, looking down at an Arcane almost catatonic in fear, shock and horror.
“No... Tatania!!” He gave a choked sob, crawling on broken knees to her corpse, which he took in his arms.
“Aahhh... isn’t it romantic, Alec? Star-crossed lovers destined for tragedy... doomed never to be together again.” Tressa smirked.
“You’ve been reading too much bad poetry, haven’t you, Tressa. Really!” Alec lectured in an equally smirking fashion.
“Tatania...I...I didn’t mean it....”
“Alec, do YOU know how can you NOT mean to deliberately shove a sharp instrument through someone’s neck?”
“Dunno.” Alec shrugged. “Must be a speciality of Anton’s.”
“... I...I thought you were... Oh my God, No!....Tatania... come back.... God... What have I done!?....I..I’m sor..sorry.... Don’t leave me again.... Tatania!!..... TATANIA, PLEASE!!!”
“Oh no!” Tressa sighed, holding her forehead with one hand; “He’s going to start bawling again, isn’t he?”
“Probably.”
“Well, you gotta admit, it’s the only thing he seems to be any good at.”
“He ought to be; he’s had enough practice.”
The two of them regarded Arcane, now almost demented in grief and guilt, and smiled at each other as though sharing some private joke. They waited a few moments.
As Arcane held his wife’s body in his hands, it began to decay; the skin, bones and organs melting and collapsing, then withering and crumbling, until it was just dust falling through his fingers. With a startled and terror stricken cry, he shook the dust from his hands violently, and scampered backwards against the wall again.
“April Fool!!” Tressa shouted suddenly, putting on a childlike tone of voice
Arcane looked up at her in bewildered shock. “What!?” he gasped weakly.
“Had you going there, didn’t we!!?” She beamed broadly. “You know, Alec. I was only talking to him just before about all the emotional angst we can milk out of this as well as physical. I guess he just wasn’t listening, was he?” Alec just shook his head slowly, smiling in agreement. “Say, you don’t think he didn’t believe me, do you!?” She exclaimed. He shook his head again reassuringly.
“Tressa!! I thought we were going to keep this one going for months.” Alec exclaimed in perfectly choreographed faux outrage.
“Tressa gave a shrug. “What can I say, Alec, it IS only his first week, after all.”
“Ah, you old softie, you!” Alec gave her a gentle, good natured tap on the arm with his fist.
Arcane regarded them silently, tears rolling down his cheek; not knowing whether to feel anger, relief, horror or fear. Anger, he decided, watching the pair of them going through their sickeningly rehearsed routine at his expense.
“Right back at ya, babe!” She grinned, patting Alec in return. “Still. Not to worry, Alec. Plenty more ideas where this came from. And we’ve got *much* better ones than this to come! I mean he’s never going to know when a visitor is from outside, or if they live here, is he? And there are plenty wanting to visit at some point. AND there’s all those OTHER things we discussed...”
“Yes, that’s certainly true.” Alec said with a big grin.
As Arcane watched them, anger remained firmly entrenched, but a strong wave of fear had now decided to crawl in there and join it.
Tressa and Alec turned to look down at Arcane again, their smiles becoming less cheerful and more predatory.
“Break time’s over, Anton.” Alec whispered. I bet you thought we’d forgotten the dissection, hadn’t you?”
“And let’s not forget what he did to me!” Tressa said, evilly fingering the purple mark on her cheek. “Oh, and we still have to punish him for treating guests badly.”
“Guess those two outside won’t get chance to see him after all... Yes, I think we’ll be busy for a long, long time now!” Both their faces suddenly switched from smiling to snarling within a fraction of a second, as they slowly advanced on Arcane, who just shivered there, shaking his head in terrified denial.
*Two outside!* His mind raced back to something Tressa had said earlier; something forgotten with everything that had happened... until now. *Holland!* was all he could think. Holland was out there.
“NO!!” With a scream of both fear and hatred, he leapt to his feet and charged forward, ignoring the searing pain through his legs that told him he shouldn’t even be able to walk. Alec and Tressa paused in what looked to be genuine surprise this time. That split second of indecision seemed to last minutes for Arcane, and was all he needed.
The first time he’d lashed out it HAD been an accident. This time it was entirely on purpose. A fist slammed into Holland’s face, sending him sprawling against Tressa, the pair of them falling to the floor. In what seemed like slow motion to Arcane, he ran for the door. *Which one* his mind suddenly cried. There were two. *Not the one IT came out of* Without a backward glance to see if his captors had recovered, he made a break for it.
A hand grabbed his ankle, causing him to stumble and fall to the floor. He looked back. Holland! Closing his eyes against the pain, he forced his other leg back, and gave a sharp couple of kicks to Holland’s face. He heard the echo gasp, and felt it’s grip lessening. *One more!* he forced himself, crying out with the pain. He was free again. Hauling himself back to his feet he staggered to the door. *Not fast enough. MOVE!* He commanded himself, biting through his own tongue accidentally; feeling little but blinding agony in his weakened legs.
Adrenaline forced him on. Grasping fingers fumbled the handle on the door as he opened it; not even wasting time slamming it behind himself, and staggered into the corridor. *Which way WHICH WAY??* He looked round in desperation. Yes! Two figures to his left in the distance. He began running; not limping, not staggering; but actually running. *What if it’s a trick? What if it’s two echoes* One was tall... not human. It had to be Holland. *Which Holland!?* And what about the one with him. Too tall to be Fete. *Oh God. It’s a trick.* He still ran on, crying in fear and pain as he did so. His heart was pounding in his chest so much he couldn’t tell if footsteps were behind him. *Nothing to lose!* was the only thought that went through his mind now.
“Oh no you don’t, you little maggot!” A voice from a doorway to his left snarled, as a hand grabbed for him. He narrowly avoided it. He didn’t need to look back. He knew that voice. *Graham!*
“Get him!” Tressa’s voice shouted from behind him. Arcane felt a hand pass so close to his hair as to feel the air move. He forced himself to run faster. *No trick. If they were echoes they’d leave me for them* His mind shouted.
He couldn’t go much further. He felt his legs cracking further, giving way. *You HAVE to!* His mind reminded him furiously. He was unaware of anything now, anything except that figure of Alec Holland ahead of him.


“It..it’s Dr. Arcane!” Graham gasped at Alec, as they regarded the bizarre chase ahead of them. Alec nodded in surprise, watching the spectacle going on before them. “You, you’ve got to help him, Holland! They’re gonna catch him!” Without a second thought, again Alec nodded, stepping forward. He saw the other Graham make a second grab for Arcane, this time succeeding, bringing the Doctor down to the ground. He also saw Arcane lash out with hands and feet, pummelling the echo, now taken aback in shock not only that his victim was actually attacking him, but at the ferocity of that attack. Graham was forced back against the wall with a grunt of pain. Alec raised an eyebrow in amazement.
The adrenaline levels couldn’t be sustained, and Arcane was no longer capable of getting to his feet; but still he forced himself onwards, clawing forwards with his hands with a determination born of sheer desperation. Alec saw Tressa and his other self standing several metres behind the Doctor, smiling in triumph, and moving forwards slowly, but determinedly. The other Graham got to his feet, a furious look on his face.
“You’re gonna regret that, you little piece of shit! You’re gonna regret that from now until eternity!” He growled, lifting his booted foot over Arcane’s head.
“Enough.” Alec muttered to himself, striding forward to intervene. Graham saw him, and smiled cruelly. “Stay the hell out of this, Holland. I warned you what I’d do, didn’t I?” He gloated.
Without breaking stride, Alec lifted his arm and struck Graham harshly with his backhand, sending him sprawling along the corridor, nearly knocking Tressa and the other Alec over in what almost looked like a macabre game of two pin bowling. He interposed himself between the now cowering Arcane and the furious echoes.
“Yes. You warned me. And now I finally see how little those warnings meant. You cannot hurt me, and whatever you threatened him with you would do anyway.” He intoned with a new found determination. “There is NOTHING you can threaten with now.” Behind him, Graham rushed up to join him.
“Dr. Arcane?” He said hesitantly, looking down at his mentor. As he saw him, Arcane’s eyes widened in fear... then a bewildered look crossed his face as he glanced behind him, seeing a second Graham with the echoes. He looked back at this Graham, shaking his head slowly. “Dr. Arcane? It’s me... Graham. It’s the real me, Doctor. We’re going to help. I promise you.” He put a hand out to touch Arcane, but the scientist still flinched from him. Graham’s face registered deep dismay. The Doctor must know now that it WAS him!? He closed his eyes and sighed. *He also knows that somewhere in me, that thing DOES exist* Graham felt a wave of sickness and anger.


The echoes all stood before Alec. Tressa pushed her way to the fore. She turned to the Graham shade.
“Did you find it?” She gave a quiet aside. Graham shook his head.
“Little runt’s gone to ground somewhere. Anyway, it’ll do later.” Tressa nodded in agreement. She turned back to Alec.
“You know, Alec, you’re only stalling for time. We’ve already told you, there’s nothing you can do. In fact, all we need do is wait here until you have to go back... or until you’re too weak to defend him. And believe me, Alec, we’re patient!” She spat venomously.
“Holland?... Alec...” Arcane found his voice at last, hiding himself in a little ball behind Alec, clutching those tree trunk like legs for some sort of comfort and protection. “Help me, please. I’m begging you, Alec...please....please, don’t let them get me....PLEASE!... You don’t know what they’ll do to me... you can’t let...can’t...please...mercy....sorry, so sorry....please....” He was becoming incoherent now.
Tressa looked down at it. “Alec. You can’t tell me you actually WANT to protect that miserable little cockroach? Look at it! It’s not worth it.”
Alec looked down at Arcane, who was crying uncontrollably at his feet. He turned back to Tressa.
“*I’LL* decide what is and isn’t worth it.” He said in no uncertain terms. Tressa’s expression grew angrier, less controlled; less sure.
“Alec, think back to everything he did to you. Look at yourself! Think back to how Linda was horribly burned to death! Think of all his victims.”
“And think of all the ‘fun’ you’ve had for it, haven’t you?” He said, undeterred. Tressa thought for a moment.
“Remember all those years of loneliness as a freak... All his fault, you know.”
“Better a freak than a compassionless monster.” He stared straight at her... through her. She seemed to take a few moments to get herself under control again, then gave a big smile.
“Fine! Well, like I said, we’ll just wait then, won’t we. You’re not going ANYWHERE!”
“Holland?” Graham interjected behind him. Alec turned to him. “You’ve got to do SOMETHING!” He whispered furiously.
“I’m open to suggestions, Graham.” Alec said bitterly.
“What if you could bring him back?”
“I can’t... I told you.”
“But if you COULD. IF. Would you?” Graham looked at him expectantly. Alec paused, silent for the moment.
“But I can’t. I explained why.”
“Forget that, Holland. I’m talking hypothetically. If you could, would you?”
Alec thought for a few moments longer.
“Yes.”
Graham smiled inwardly. That was all he needed to know.
“Is that a promise, Holland? I want to get this clear in my head.”
“What difference does that make, Graham?”
“It makes a difference to ME.” The assistant shouted emphatically, pointing at his own chest.
Alec understood now. This man wanted some affirmation that he at least DID try all he could, even if it was too late. That he didn’t need to harbour and cling to new hatreds and resentments, or grudges against him.
“Yes, Graham. I wish it were not too late, but it is. It is a promise, for what that’s worth.”
“Yeah, yeah, I remember. All that stuff about promises made in hindsight, when you’re safe and can’t do anything about it...” Alec nodded; and Graham smiled broadly; “... but you can, Holland.” He said with a sly drawl.
Alec scrutinised Graham carefully.
“No. It’s too late, I told you.”
“No it isn’t.” Graham continued in a triumphant whisper. “There’s no deterioration... there never was. I got his body into cryo stasis less than an hour after his death. It’s pristine. You CAN bring him back. Question is, are you a man... or whatever... of your word?”
Alec’s mind was still reeling from Graham’s last statement. He COULD bring Arcane back. It WAS possible. Did he regret that promise now? Should he have even made it? He could break it... he was tricked. He looked down at Arcane again, still cowering at his feet. He remembered the sight that greeted him in that room; he remembered the dissection; the camp. And above all, he remembered those last words of Tressa’s to Arcane only a short while ago.
“I gave my word, Graham. I’ll bring him back.” Alec thought about what he’d just said; and to when he’d previously refused. Every time he’d convinced himself that he’d said the right thing; and every time he’d said it, part of him felt revulsion. As he’d just said that last sentence, world weariness seemed to just ease away. Logic said he shouldn’t do this; he’d convinced himself that it was wrong and against the will of the Universe, and a danger... but none of that made the feeling of relief that accompanied those words diminish in the slightest. It all boiled down to two simple things really. No other factors counted. One: He’d done something wrong; and the only way to put it right was to undo it. Two: Reasons not to do it could be shouted at him for the next ten thousand years, but when it came down to it, he simply couldn’t leave Arcane like this.

With mounting apprehension at this latest development, the echoes were beginning to have different ideas on this, though.
“Alec, Alec. You can’t really be serious, can you?” Tressa said, her tone now lightened and friendly again. “Think of the ramifications.”
“Too late.” He said, staring her straight in the eye.
“OK, perhaps we may have been a little harsh on him. Say, what if we were to give our words to lighten up a little? I mean we can’t go entirely easy...this is his Hell... but it won’t be anything like what’s been happening. No more than the next guy gets. Promise!”
“And just who is the ‘next guy’?” Alec said sardonically. “Hitler?....Torquemada?.....I’m past your tricks and your lies now. I AM bringing him back.”
“Swamp Thing. Hi, it’s me, remember? Jim.” A little voice chirped up to his left. Alec felt cold as the diminutive figure joined the group in front of him. It took a moment to recognise him. The extra two years and suffering had changed him so much. Below, he felt Arcane’s grip tighten at the sound of that innocent voice; the whimpering increasing just a fraction. “Are you gonna bring Dr. Arcane back to life again?” He asked. Alec nodded. “But if you do that, you’ll kill all of us. You’ll kill me. We, like, can’t exist without him. This world’ll just vanish and we’ll all die. We’re real people, Swamp Thing. Why would you want to kill us all? WE were your friends, not Dr. Arcane. I thought we helped each other.”
“Hi, Dr. Holland.” Another voice called out. “We never kind of met when I was alive, but you, like, saved me so many times. I never got chance to thank you properly.” Alec looked in horror at Abigail, who was smiling serenely at him.
“Hi, Alec. Gonna kill me too?... friend!” Will’s voice called out from somewhere in the rapidly growing group. All around, figures were coming out of the doorways.
“Alec. I can’t tell you how good it is to see you again. I missed you so much.”
“Linda!” He gasped.
“Please don’t kill us all, Alec. I love you, you know that.”

“What a load of bollocks! Don’t tell me you’re actually listening to all that bull dung, Holland!? Where’s that fiery self righteousness!? Eh? Where’s that old determined resolution? They’re starting to wear you down, my old son. Bring him back. Don’t listen to them... Trust me!”
“Arcane!” Alec turned round to see the Arcane echo standing behind him, hands clasped behind his back in a confident pose, the trademark smile lighting his face like a Cheshire Cat’s, his eyes glinting malevolently. Graham tensed.
“So, there’s even one of YOU here.” Alec said, nodding slowly to himself.
“Naturally, Holland. But let’s get down to business. Stop wasting time and bring him back.”
Alec gave a small laugh. “Reverse psychology, Arcane? I would have expected better from you.”
Arcane beamed. “Not exactly, Holland. I really DO want you to bring him... US... back. Do you think I LIKE spending eternity in this dreary little dump!? It makes Houma look exciting! I want back on Earth. There’s still so many things I have to accomplish, Holland.”
“You’ll have to try better than that, Arcane. If I bring him back...YOU cease to exist.”
“Not exactly. They weren’t entirely telling you the truth, you know. They won’t die completely; they’ll just be shut up again inside their originals, stifled by the overwhelming goodness, or indifference of all the other echoes in there... balanced, if you like.”
“As will you.”
“Again, not exactly. You see, when he first came here, we separated, myself the echo, him... it... was the original. But we were exactly the same, identical. Of course, every minute spent in this place...” Arcane looked around, a weary expression crossing his face; “...well, let’s just say it diminished him, turning him into that specimen there.” He said, pointing to Arcane, who was still sobbing and whimpering at Alec’s feet. “I just stayed exactly the same. You see, the way it works with me now, Holland, is that HE’S just the echo, and I’m the real Arcane.”
“You’d have tortured him too. How could you torture yourself if what you say is true?”
“I wouldn’t be torturing myself; just an echo of me. A pathetic echo that reminds me what I could become... that’s responsible for MY being here too for the duration!” He spat venomously. “An echo that’s separated me from civilisation... if one can call Houma that... and my work!”
“You’ll still cease to exist as yourself if I bring him back.”
“Oh, yes... for a time. He’ll be prevalent for a little while. But he will recover. Oh, it might take several weeks, or months even. Most people would never recover at all, but we are THE Anton Arcane, are we not, Holland!? And when he does recover, *I’ll* return and run things again. Like I said, I’m the real ME, not that! I do hope I’m not putting you off, Holland. I probably am, but you did give Graham here your word, and you’ve made up your mind; and whatever I say won’t change that now. I know you only too well, Holland. Your precious sense of honour, yes? Do you really think I’m going to show you any gratitude for this, you overgrown asparagus sprig!? ‘Thanks for bringing me back, Holland’ will probably be there for a little while. He’ll probably even avoid trying to harm you and your swamp. But I’ll be back eventually, sooner or later... sooner, I suspect. And when I am, I’LL remember that you’re the one that put me here in the first place! I’ll remember that unless I step up my research and achieve my immortality, I’ll be coming here again, and we wouldn’t want that, would we? I’ll remember each and every pain and torment YOU were responsible for. Want me to go on, Holland?”
“You’ve made your point.” Alec said slowly, looking down at the helpless Arcane at his feet in a somewhat different light now.
“Holland!” Graham tugged at his arm worriedly.
“Oh do relax, Graham.” Arcane said to the assistant. “He’s given his word. He can’t go back on it now. He can’t and won’t leave him... me... to more of that, whatever I’ve said. He can’t go against his nature, Graham. Part of him will reason that it won’t work out how I’ve said, that I could be wrong; and that part will overcome his fears, because it’s the easier and more moral thing to do.” He put his arm round the assistant. “I’m impressed you know, Graham. Keeping the cryo tube secret from him like that. Tricking him. That was truly inspired. When I’m back, I won’t forget that, you know.” He looked into Graham’s eyes. “Everything I said to you before was true, Graham. I know you didn’t believe me then. I do understand. You weren’t in a mood to take it in. But don’t worry, I’ll be gone for a little while; but you’ll get me back... trust me.” There was no maliciousness in Arcane’s voice; no hint of subterfuge; tenderness even.
And in that moment, Graham realised that this WAS his Arcane.
“You heard him, Alec.” The Alec Holland echo snarled at his mossy counterpart; “You bring him back, and not only do you uncreate all of us, you bring THAT back.” He pointed to the Arcane echo who was smiling smugly. “I’m YOU, Alec. You’d kill a part of yourself to bring him back!? THINK! Think what you’re about to unleash on the world again!”
Alec did think.
“None of you are fit to exist as you are. All I would be uncreating are the distorted, monstrous versions of the people you purport to be. Echoes that the real ones would be horrified if they even knew existed. You are NOT the Jim I knew...” He pointed to the boy. “You are not Abigail. You are NOT Tressa. Will has compassion, forgiveness. My Linda could never be like you... and YOU are not ME!”
He looked to the Arcane echo, before turning back to Alec. “He spoke the truth, but that was no guarantee that he’d be right. There is no guarantee he would become that again. They were just the words of a part of him that merely hopes to exist again. If I leave him here, I know for certain what will happen. I won’t sacrifice certainty to vague possibilities.
“You know, I never realised what a pathetic fool I really was!” Alec said to Alec with anger and dismay.
“And I hope I never become so cowardly as to be capable of avoiding doing what has to be done because of fear I may not like the outcome. Whatever that outcome, for better or worse, is the way things have to be for balance in the Universe. We prepare for these outcomes, live through them, and grow stronger because of them.”
“Told you.” A little Arcane voice whispered in Graham’s ear, unheard by everyone else. Graham looked back at the echo... and smiled.

“Nice try, Alec;” Tressa interjected smarmily. “but aren’t you forgetting one rather important thing?” Alec looked at her. “In order to bring him back, you have to go back yourself. And you can’t take him with you to do that. You’re going to have to leave him here. How long will it take you to get to his body and actually bring him back? Minutes... longer? How long do you think it would take us to kill him forever? No soul to bring back! Think about that, Alec.”

Alec did think. What she’d said, unfortunately, made perfect sense. To bring Arcane back meant he and Graham having to return to the lab to do this. Too much time for him to leave Arcane, who the echoes could easily kill forever if they desired it. *Then why not just let them do it?* his mind suggested sneakily. *It is an end to the torture, isn’t it? You even asked her to do just that yourself only a short while ago, and you’ll have forced their hand to do it!* No more torture... and no more Arcane on earth to risk coming back and making both him, his world and his friends suffer again; AND he’d still be keeping his word to Graham by trying! He had to admit, it was a tempting prospect. He glanced round at the echoes, who seemed to be regarding him curiously. Well, they’d proven that they could read his mind as easily as anyone else’s here, so they had to know what he was thinking.
He contemplated the group of echoes, in particularly Tressa, who in turn stared back at him silently. Gone was that previous smug confidence; that mocking cheerful facade. They were worried. Wasn’t this the answer to the problem, when it came down to it?

*No.* he reminded himself. Such a solution might well see him literally keeping his word; but morally?... Well, that was an entirely different prospect, wasn’t it? He’d had enough guilt to last him a lifetime over this entire wretched affair; and he really didn’t want to contemplate the prospect of any more latent emotions surfacing at a future time should he take this course of action. Besides,... he looked at the vengeful, hate filled echoes again, then down at the shivering wreck curled up, trembling at his feet, whimpering quietly and still clutching his legs for comfort; relying on him as his only means of salvation; then back at Tressa -- A pang of conscience stabbed him immediately. Wasn’t he ignoring the main factor? It had taken him long enough to admit even to himself that he’d murdered Arcane; and try as he might to put it out of his mind or dislike it, or deny it; he WAS feeling pity for the man. It was delaying acting on his emotions for so long in the first place that had caused this entire situation to get this far. He wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. There was no choice in the matter. For better or worse, he couldn’t leave Arcane here, be it for torture or death. Simple as that!

“So. Sentimentality really has got the better of you.” Tressa chided him bitterly; “Not that it makes any difference, Alec. Like I said, you still have to be able to save him, and you just don’t have the time to do that before we get rid of him for good, do you?... and believe me, Alec, we WILL do it.”
“Tressa! Think about what you’re saying. Kill him and you are all confined permanently, with no hope of returning. You effectively destroy yourselves.”
She gave a harsh little laugh. “Oh, and bringing him back won’t do that!? Trust me Alec, if we go, he goes with us! Oh and don’t insult my intelligence by pretending what you said is for our benefit. Like you *want* us to come back!? We’re the monsters, remember? That’s what you called us, isn’t it? We’re the ones not fit to live, unlike sweet, noble Anton down there who has so much to offer the world again!” she paused a little to regain her faltering composure; “So? No lectures about how we’ll see him again when his time is up? No promises to tempt us to wait and let nature take it’s pathetically slow course, eh?”
“I’d be telling you no more than you already know. You have to let him go if you are ever to have a chance of existing again as you are... It doesn’t matter whether I’d want you to or not. It’s still the truth.”
Tressa gave a slow little clap. “Nice speech, Alec. Subtle; understated, good logic... not too flowery. 9 out of 10 for effort. What do you all say, guys?” she addressed the crowd with a wave of her hand. There was a mumble of approval, although if listened carefully to, it seemed to lack a certain previous enthusiasm. If Tressa noticed, she let it pass for now; “Yeah, good speech... shame it’s going to be about as effective as an umbrella against a tac nuke! If I let him go this time, there’s no guarantee he ever comes back. Right, Alec? You heard him... how he’ll be working hard on getting that immortality! Where’s your guarantee that he won’t get his hands on your formula; or that he won’t come up with one of his own? Is an immortal Anton Arcane really what you want? Nope? Take him out of here and it could well happen, Alec; and if it doesn’t, all you’ve done is buy him a few extra years... Years, I may add, that’ll be filled with the emotional pain of knowing he’s coming back here. Some favour you’re doing him there, even assuming he *ever* recovers!... Hmmmm, now I gotta admit that’s a delicious thought.” she gave a confident little laugh; “I’m digressing. The chance he’ll not be coming back still isn’t worth even that.”
“And all of you feel the same?” Alec asked calmly, breaking Tressa’s stride; “You’d ALL prefer permanent confinement to the possibility you’ll return one day... To permanently never exist again as you are now because of one rash action by this woman?”
“Do you have any idea of the hatred that monster instils in us, *Alec*!?” Tressa snarled through gritted teeth. We are what we are because of the way he made us! Do you have any idea how that hatred feels? DO YOU!? And the pathetic thing is that you don’t! You of all people should appreciate what we’re doing, but you don’t!”
“I told you, didn’t I, Tressa. Pathetic is exactly what he is?” Alec’s human echo joined them. He turned to Alec. “You claim to be ashamed that I could exist inside of you. Well let me tell you something. I’m ashamed that *I* was once part of YOU. Trapped in there. Never allowed to do what had to be done. Watching the suffering he caused but never having my advice listened to! Useless! I’m free of you and your constricting ideals now; and the thought that whatever happens, I’ll soon be inside you again sickens me! If I have to go back, at least I want the satisfaction of knowing that it doesn’t matter any more if you don’t listen to me.... That the son of a bitch is *never* going to hurt another soul ever again!”
“Well, there you have it!” Tressa exclaimed with a satisfied smirk. “You’ve had our reply, Alec.”
“I’ve heard the reply of you and one other. What about you ALL?” Alec said firmly.
“Fine! OK! We are a democracy.” She turned to the crowd. “What do you say, guys? Let the evil, murderous creep go to reap more havoc... quite possibly forever, just in the hope we may exist again; or sacrifice ourselves gloriously, safe in the knowledge we’ve finished him off for good and done the world a favour?”
There was a muted mumble from the crowd. Behind Tressa, the Graham echo fidgeted uncomfortably. Tressa began drumming her fingers in irritation. Alec looked on with interest.
“I can’t hear you guys!” she snarled. “Was that an ‘aye’ for killing him?”
There was another mumble, louder this time, and with a generally positive reaction, although given in a somewhat subdued manner. Tressa was clearly getting irritated.
A few individual voices in the crowd could be heard saying something. The mob parted and a figure pushed her way to the front.
“Tressa? Like couldn’t we let him go and take a chance he’ll be back. It’s really kind of likely that he will be.” Abigail said reticently “Do we really, like, want to permanently kill him?” Abigail looked at Tressa hopefully, and Tressa nodded and smiled sweetly at her... moments before a bolt of pure white power shot from her hand and hit Abigail squarely in the chest, sending her flying backwards where she writhed, screamed and burned, until all that remained of her was a pile of smouldering ashes.
“Been wanting to do that for ages. Soft hearted, do-gooding wimp! No damned different to the full version. All her fault we’re having this conversation!” she muttered to herself. “Well?” she said, more loudly so that all the crowd could hear; “Any other comments on the matter?” her voice was calm and pleasant; “Any other dissenters?... No? ... Nobody at all?” The crowd remained silent as she addressed them like she was a condescending schoolteacher. “So I’ll take that as an ‘aye’, shall I?” the crowd mumbled it’s approval. “I can’t hear you!” she said melodically, white hot power beginning to crackle from her fingertips.
“AYE!!” the crowd roared as one.
“Well then, Alec. There you have it! Who says democracy doesn’t work!?” Her face contorted suddenly in rage. “This is MY Hell. MINE!! And if *I* say he stays or dies, he stays or dies!! Capiche!?” Alec just shook his head in disgust. “Oh, and if you’re still not convinced yet, Alec, which I don’t think you are... think on this one: If he does recover, and with the knowledge he’s gained here;” Her voice became sharp as she cast a furious glance to the Arcane echo who was regarding her with a growing smirk; “he may well avoid this place, and us, altogether even if he should die again; if he can somehow change his subconscious attitude. Yeah, unlikely, I know... but anything’s possible. And you know what that’ll mean, don’t you? It won’t mean redemption, Alec. Oh no siree! We’d still be coming back for him even if he became a living saint! That little part of him would still remember what he did; and that’ll call us back. In fact, the more redeemed he’d be, the more the guilt, and the more chance of us! No, change’ll mean an Arcane that’s hardened itself so much it knows it isn’t wrong anymore. An Arcane that doesn’t believe it’ll come back here. That tiny little bit of guilt will have gone bye bye for good, and without that... You think he was bad before, Alec!? Believe me, if this happens, the Arcane we all know and... well, know; will seem like a pleasant memory. Good luck protecting your swamp, Alec. Hope he doesn’t kill too many of your friends... or you!” She glared again at the Arcane echo; “How could you have been so stupid as to actually tell him how this place worked!?”

He just smiled back at her demurely; “Stupid?” This seemed to please, rather than irritate him; “Au contraire, Mrs. Kipp. A perfectly necessary little piece of advice I gave him, I assure you... well, from my point of view at any rate... but does any other really count?”
“Get to the point, Arcane! You’re beginning to love the sound of your own voice as much as your better half!” Tressa snarled. He just gave a contemptuous, yet mildly amused little laugh.
“Well, you must admit it’s the only intelligent conversation I ever get to hear in this dingy little hole. Aside from baiting you, it’s the only pleasure I seem to have left! But, since you ask so nicely, Tressa, I’ll endeavour to elucidate for you. Oh, and I’ll, er, try to keep the wording simple, with as few syllables as possible so that you can grasp it. Fair enough?”
Tressa glared daggers at him, power crackling ever so slightly from her fingertips; which subsided gradually. She couldn’t do that to this one, and she knew it.
“Why d’you think I gave him that little pep talk in metaphysics? Just because I liked the sound of my own voice... or perhaps to taunt him with the irony that it wasn’t his actions, but his guilt over them that brought him here? Not at all. Quite simply, Mrs. Kipp, I wanted him to know how this place worked, and why he was here. *That* was it’s raison d’être. How else would he have learned. *You* were hardly likely to tell him, were you?” He gave a contemplative little pause and a sigh; “I have to admit, when I gave him that talk I didn’t think he had a cat in hell’s chance... pardon the pun... of actually being revived; but I still had to cover all eventualities, and the possibility that it could happen; and that if it should, then he’d have a way of not coming back here... and more to the point, not bringing ME back with him! I did tell you I was a genius, didn’t I, Tressa; and a genius does consider all possibilities, however unlikely. Of course I knew for certain that it was all not only possible, but probable, from the moment dear Graham here arrived...” he looked at the assistant standing next to him, and put an arm round the man fondly; “... From when I plucked that delightful piece of knowledge from his mind. You’d have been able to, Tressa, if it had even crossed your mind to try. But of course you were far too wrapped up in your own sadistic hedonism to even notice poor old Graham here... well, aside from mocking him, that is. From that moment on, things went so much better than I could ever have hoped for. I suspected what Graham would do, of course... I did train him, after all; but coming back here with Holland pretty much sealed things. You had your chance to see the warning signs, Tressa, but your limited intellect would never... could never comprehend the complexity of all the myriad possibilities. After all, as I said, I am a genius, Tressa... or had you forgotten that in all your self inflating zeal to be judge, jury and queen of this place?” He gave a derisory snort; “Queen!? Don’t make me laugh, Tressa! On earth you were less than nothing compared to MY genius. What makes you think you’re any better here? Do you have *any* idea how difficult it was manipulating my ‘better half’ to be in all the right circumstances to get the maximum sympathy from Holland here!?” A tiny word here, a little prompt there; the right suggestion in the right place at the right time... oh, subtly phrased of course, through intermediaries brought round to my way of thinking. Did you think everyone here was working for you!? I still have some of my mutants who remember who’s *really* in charge. I’ll bet you even thought the only factions here were you and Andrews! Shame you couldn’t read my mind like you could our charge’s, or our visitors’! HA! You’d have been lost in my mind anyway! To be fair, you did help greatly though, Tressa. All those wonderfully creative ideas you had; all so sadistic and inventive. How could Holland have failed to feel revolted and remorseful!? All I had to do was make sure you brought them forward and did them in his presence... or showed him them afterwards. You didn’t take much persuasion, did you, Tressa? You were so proud of your handiwork... So eager to show it off. A pity I’ll have to remember it all when I’m back, but worth it to be back, wouldn’t you say?”
“You’re as lousy a liar and deceiver as you were in life, Arcane! MY people would *never* work for you!” Tressa fumed; “Not after everything you did to them.”
Arcane just laughed. “How marvellously naive, Mrs. Kipp! Actually, they got the best of both worlds. Still too afraid and respectful to disobey me; still knowing who their true master was; but still able to get their revenge on one of us, eh? I don’t expect you to fully comprehend it, Tressa... not with your limited capacity for comprehension.”
“You were... *are* alone here! You had no followers, no conspirators... What was it you called yourself, monster... ‘solo practitioner’?”
“I lied!” He gave a casual shrug. “Oh, don’t look so surprised, Tressa. What did you expect from me!? But as much as I may want to take *all* the credit for this, let’s all have a big hand for the one person I couldn’t have done it without... oh, aside from you, that is, Tressa! Do come forward and take the acclaim that’s due to you..... Graham.” With a sweeping gesture of his hand, he turned his gaze to the echo beside Tressa, who walked forward with a broad smirk on his face. As he did so, he cast a disdainful glance Tressa’s way.

“Who’d’ve thought you had all that brutality in you, Graham?” Arcane continued; “The eyeball was a jolly nice touch; oh, and all those broken bones. Really had *me* wincing there. Can’t imagine what Holland must have thought! I must say; your prior persuasion for her to tell my lesser self about what the future held while we knew Holland would be listening was nothing short of inspired on my part; and superbly acted on yours, of course. And not forgetting how you originally persuaded Will to goad Fete into getting captured; although that couldn’t have taken too much doing. He never was one of the sharpest knives in the drawer, was he? and Fete’s capture was bound to stir things up and out of balance, and get things *really* going... Oh, and that final melodramatic grab when he tried to get away from you in this very corridor, eh? Always guaranteed to bring out the defensive side to our swamp saviour! You really deserved an Oscar for that one. Sorry ‘bout the bruises, by the way. Didn’t think there was still enough of him left to fight back that well! Bodes well for the future though! I can’t fail to be impressed by such a capacity for duplicity. I commend you, Graham! *Your* loyal confidante and assistant, Tressa! HA!”
Tressa turned to the Graham echo beside her, wide-eyed in outrage and shock. He just gave her a shrug and sneered back at her again.
“Like he said, what did you expect, Mrs. Kipp? I decided from the moment those two came back for him;” The echo beside her indicated Graham and Alec, then looked at the Arcane echo and back at Tressa; “... and from when *I* read my other half’s mind. Any idiot could see Holland wasn’t going to leave here without him. I don’t have to like Arcane, either of ‘em; but I’m smart enough to know who’s judgement to trust between the two of you. I’m a survivor, Mrs. Kipp. I like to be on the winning side and have a chance of coming back later. Besides, I’m not keen on killing him permanently. Never have been. It’s not ideal, but I can live with being inside my other half again. I still get my compensations, unlike you. I got *everything* I wanted out of this... and some more. He massaged a fist and smiled, licking his lips cruelly as he looked down at Arcane’s broken body at Alec’s feet. “It’ll be real nice if it happens again. If it doesn’t; as Dr. Arcane would say, ‘C’est la vie!’ Well, Mrs. Kipp, can’t say it hasn’t been fun, but old habits die hard. Working for you was never right!” he started to walk away, after looking back at the Arcane echo. “You’re on your own now. You better handle it from here. I’m not taking them on for you.”
“That *was* what we agreed, Graham.” The Arcane echo smiled, cheerfully waving goodbye to the man as he walked away.
As Tressa seethed with rage, white hot power again began crackling from her fingertips, building up. The Arcane echo noticed it.
“Ah ah, Mrs. Kipp. Can’t do that, I’m afraid. He’s not one of yours any more!” Ignoring him, she hurled the bolt anyway, but it dissipated harmlessly around the Graham echo. She spun round in a rage to face Arcane.
“Temper temper, Mrs. Kipp!” He beamed. “I suppose you could restrain him harmlessly, the old fashioned and less dramatic way, but for the time you all have left, is it really worth it? Like I said, Tressa, you’re the puppet... I’M the genius pulling your strings!”
A cold smile crossed her face; “For a genius, Arcane, you seem to have forgotten that he’s still got to be left here alone; and there’s nobody to stop us from killing him once Holland’s gone. It’ll take minutes for them to return and save him... it’ll take seconds for us to kill him. We’ll only be confined again... you’ll be as dead as he is! All that hard work has succeeded in doing is destroying yourself for good. You’ve forgotten what we’re about to do to him, haven’t you? Where’s that genius of yours now, Arcane?”
The Arcane echo just smiled pleasantly at her, it’s eyes glinting and it’s expression inscrutable. Whatever emotions were passing through his mind, worry didn’t appear to be evident.
“Well, Holland, shouldn’t you be running along to do your angel of mercy act? Don’t worry about her!” he inclined his head towards Tressa; “I *really* don’t think she’s going to be harming him. Trust me!”

Alec seemed momentarily lost in contemplation. Then, as he turned around to stare into the eyes of the Arcane echo, his face took on a hardened and determined aspect.
“Arcane.” He intoned. The echo just raised an eyebrow quizzically. “A warning... before I leave.”
“Well, do feel free to impart your wisdom on me, Holland. I eagerly await whatever last minute word of caution or doom laden advice you have to offer... although with my capacity for intellect, I think I can happily figure it out.”
“You would do well to listen Arcane. It’s a warning I won’t repeat.”
The Arcane echo refrained from making some sardonic riposte, despite looking as though it was considering it briefly, somehow feeling it was expected; instead contenting itself with an anticipatory, if somewhat bemused expression and a broad smile.
“I told them you could be wrong... that you as an aspect would not control him again. Only time will say what will happen. It is possible you will never return....though I suspect you probably will. Listen Well, Arcane. If and when I speak with you in the future, HE is who I would rather be dealing with...”
“Can’t think why. He really is a dreadful conversationalist!” Arcane seemed to fight the urge to give the comment, but really couldn’t resist it when push came to shove, as he regarded the whimpering little ball at Alec’s feet.
“Don’t make light of this Arcane. I put you here, as you so eloquently reminded me... and I can do it again!”
“Threats, Holland? Really, I wouldn’t make them if you know you can’t keep them.”
“He didn’t know what would happen before. Now he does... both of you do. He’s had fair warning, and the only one he’s ever going to get. I will undo what I did wrong THIS time. The future is a different matter. What happens is up to him... and you, NOT me. This warning is addressed to YOU, if indeed it is you that I find myself dealing with in the future. If you return... if you control him as you did before...”
“I think I get the picture, Holland.” Arcane said in a bored tone of voice. “If it were up to you I should spend the next fifty years dedicating my facilities to cultivating synthetic morals... or perhaps I should just give it all up and join a monastery!? Tell me, ALEC... Are you going to come round and inspect me regularly? Develop a device for measuring how good someone is according to your standards!? And if I’m not up to those lofty ideals... and, if I may add, so little of the human race is... what then? Will you pronounce judgement and send me back here?”
Alec gave a resigned little nod of the head, and a tiny, if bitter laugh. “You told me not to make threats I couldn’t keep, Arcane. I don’t intend to. No, I won’t kill you... not unless you create a situation that deems that I have to. I cannot do what is not in my nature to do. This experience has taught me that. I’ve learned my lesson. But listen well, Arcane. If you ever do come back here, for whatever reason. I will NOT be coming back for you... ever. You’ve had your warning and I wash my hands of you. THAT is a promise.”
Arcane’s smile vanished, and a more serious aspect darkened his face.
“Your little lecture’s been heard, *Alec*! I’ll bear it in mind. Now listen to one of mine. You let me die! You killed me...Your precious swamp killed me just so YOU could learn more about YOUR nature. It and you let me rot here for all this time for your lesson in morality! Tell me, Holland, just how moral that was!? Did YOU suffer, Alec?... Oh, and I’m not talking about all that nauseating self pity of yours. Did you feel the bones breaking? Did you feel the scalpel and the hooks slicing through your flesh, like he did... and like *I* will when I’m rejoined with him!? I don’t have those memories and feelings right now, but I do have them to look forward to, Holland. Won’t that be nice!? You’ve gone to great lengths to tell me how you can’t act against your nature... so what makes you think I can or should go against mine!? I am what I am, Holland, like it or not. The world isn’t full of niceness; nor is it all evil. There’s balance... We balance each other, with the majority of the world somewhere in between. And who’s to say which of us is the positive or the negative? You? Don’t you think that’s a somewhat biased opinion, my old friend? Do you seriously imagine that I wake up every morning wondering who I should hurt today... that I give myself gold stars for how much pleasure I achieve in each and every death? Don’t make me laugh, Holland! I have my ideals too... work to accomplish, goals to achieve. Whether the process that achieves them causes harm or good is irrelevant. And who are you to say that my ideals and goals are any less valid than yours?”
“Your goals... your actions cause harm, Arcane!”
“And this entire little fiasco...” Arcane looked around; “... this didn’t? Tell me something. Are alligators evil... or snakes... or hawks?”
“That is not the same thing, Arcane.”
“Isn’t it? They maim, they kill. Why do they do that? To achieve something better for society? No, they do it for themselves... to feed, to protect, to survive. It’s in their nature to do it, isn’t it? It doesn’t make them evil any more than it makes me evil for acting according to my nature. And anyway, what’s to say that this hypothetical ‘harm’ isn’t meant to be? I was always led to believe that struggling through adversity was a way to become stronger. Isn’t that one of those precious fundamental laws of nature you always defend so staunchly? Has it ever occurred to you, Holland, that the world needs me as much as you think it needs YOU? Maybe your swamp realised this, and THAT’S why you’re here now!... not for you at all.” Arcane folded his arms across his chest, looking directly at Alec. “I’m not saying that is the reason; only that it’s as valid a theory as yours. Maybe both are true...maybe neither. No self righteous warnings or threats, Holland. Just think about that and remember, the next time you seek to condemn me so readily.”
“Maybe so;” Alec muttered grudgingly; “but I still hope I never see YOU again.”
“Well, since I seem to have been cornered by my own reasoning, you are entitled to protect yourself, so I don’t suppose I can argue with that. But if that legendary compassion of yours is still there, you’d better hope I do return.”
Alec looked down at his Arcane. “Why do you think that?” he asked.
“Because as I told you, he’s the distorted echo now, or at least the equivalent. He’s too diminished. He isn’t balanced. He needs me back to help him, and if I don’t return, that’s all he’ll ever be. What you see there is just a small part of his true nature, without me to hold it together and in control. He isn’t who you came to save, not really. *I* am. You may be able to take him out of this world, Holland... if they don’t get him first, that is... but without me, he might just as well be here forever... and I do so dislike being reminded that somewhere inside of me, I’m capable of being that!” He said disdainfully, as an afterthought.
Alec remained silent. Arcane looked at him, all previous animosity gone from his expression.
“Well, Holland, now that we’ve both got these little tirades off our chests, I really shouldn’t hold you up any longer. I wouldn’t want to keep you here and weaken you further. I am counting on you, after all. You’ve still got to get him out of here....or had you forgotten? Best get on with that, eh?”
"Yes, best," Alec grumbled almost derisively. Arcane grinned, nodding approvingly and dividing part of his smile's attention toward Graham.
"Still doubting that I am who I say I am, Graham?" Arcane asked with a sort of feigned injury.
"No, Sir," Graham said truthfully in a very quiet voice. He took a moment to look at Arcane's double... and then back at the quivering wreck hiding behind Alec Holland like a frightened child. The other Arcane was right, of course. The Arcane he had come to see *was* the double now. What was he *doing*?! Why was he going back to Earth with this... this... broken simulacrum when *his* Arcane was right there, smiling at him? He had come here to see... to *save* ARCANE. He looked over at the heap that was once a man. That wasn't Arcane! That couldn't be Arcane. And if he saved that *thing* on the floor, he ran the risk of losing the real one forever. Because what if Arcane didn't get better? *What if I'm stuck with him like this for the rest of our lives?*
Maybe... maybe they could leave the heap here. Leave him here, and Graham could stay with *his* Arcane, here in Hell. It wasn’t like he’d be sacrificing anything. Not really. Quite the opposite. Without *his* Arcane he’d have nothing Up There. He’d just be another nobody again. Here, well this place changed and molded itself, didn’t it? *His* Arcane would simply recreate their old world; the complex, Houma, if necessary... everything. Just like old times. Yes, he’d be gaining, not sacrificing, wouldn’t he??

The pile behind Alec coughed, its entire body shaking with it, and looked weakly up at Graham, mouthing something. Graham squinted, and moved a little closer in spite of himself, in spite of the fact that he didn't want to be with this thing anymore.
"Graham, is that you?" the voice whispered. Graham nodded. Arcane shivered and closed his eyes, whispering again. "Graham... are you going to hurt me?"
Graham wondered how he could have ever been so stupid -- Felt sick that he could even have considered... that.
"Dr. Arcane..." His voice was no louder than a whisper. "Oh God, no, no, I'm not going to hurt you." He breathed in deeply, fighting tears, and wrenched his eyes upward to look at Holland. "I'll stay here with him. You need someone to guard him... from them." He gestured to the echoes.
Alec shook his head. "No. If you stay here, your soul will be lost. Essentially, you will die."
Graham bit his lip. He didn't like the sound of that at all.
"Then who's going to watch him?!"
The Arcane double clapped a hand down on Graham's shoulder good-naturedly.
"Don't you worry about it, Graham. I'll stay here and watch... it... for you." He grinned that big, assuring smile. "After all, they won't hurt me... I'm rather of the same stuff they are, after all! Don't you worry." He
gestured toward Alec. "Now go ahead like a good chap, there you are. You've nothing to fear, I promise you. Anton will be safe and sound, and that's saying rather a lot for purgatory. D'you actually think I'd let something terrible happen to me? I am my only ticket home, after all."
Graham nodded with a grudging acceptance as Alec tacitly concurred. *Not much else we can do about it, anyway,* the lab assistant mentally grumbled.
"Well, ta-ta then!" Arcane's echo beamed, waving, as the two visiting souls began to unwind from and coalesce with their forms and depart. As Arcane felt his sanctuary begin to lose solidity he tried clutching the legs harder, to no avail. As his claws went through the now wraithlike Alec, horror struck him a double whammy as he noticed Graham dissipating too.
"No, don't go! Don't leave me!" He pathetically reached his arm out in desperate plea.
"We'll be back," Graham promised, but there was no sound.
"You're just like us!!!" the human Alec Holland screamed to the figure of his plant-like counterpart that was fading into the distance. "Don't walk away like that, Alec!!! I know you can hear me!!! You made that choice back when Fete was unconscious!! Remember that, brother?! Don't do this to us, Alec!!!!!!"
Tressa put a gentle hand on Alec's shoulder. "Enough. He's done it."
Alec slammed his fist down into his palm. "*Damn*."
Meanwhile, Arcane was shutting his eyes tight against the living nightmare that he had been sucked into... a week ago? Three days? Twenty years??? Holland had left him. All of Holland's sickeningly sweet morals had finally snapped, and he had decided to abandon him and leave him here with the echoes. And Graham... Graham had left him alone here.
He peered up at the crowd that had amassed before him and quickly shut his eyes again. He couldn't stop trembling, couldn't keep each finger from quivering in terror. Angry, stomping footsteps were making their way very close to him. Arcane hunched his shoulders up as far as they could go, tucking his head in deep like a turtle and shaking.
Exact duplicates of his eyes glanced down at the tangle of arms that were protecting his skull.
"It seems you've learned the lessons of this place well, haven't you, Anton?" The double folded its arms and glanced upward in thought. "Pity that I'll gain those particular reflexes when I'm joined back with you once more --" The shark's smile swam across his face again. "-- but it's a small price to pay, isn't it?" The huddled Arcane sensed the presence that leaned down over him. "Now," the whisper told his ear genially, "being the merciful creature I am, my twin, I'm going to give you a bit of a head start. It's like hide-and-go-seek, Anton. We're going to count to ten. Ten minutes, that is. If we can't find you, there’ll be no pain... not ever."
The words "no", "pain" and “ever” in the same sentence made Arcane jolt. He was off like a shot.

“Aahh!” Reality brought him back to a grinding halt. The mind may have been willing -- although obsessively desperate might have been more apt -- but the bones were weak; fragmented, shattered and useless in fact. All the fear and adrenaline in the Universe couldn’t get life out of those broken remains anymore. Not that that was going to stop Arcane. Primal desperation forced him to attempt to get to his feet, ending in hopeless failure, followed by him clawing his way along the ground. His twin rolled his eyes in embarrassed exasperation and crouched down by him.
“This is no good, Anton... no good at all, you know. I doubt you’d evade an average snail for more than ten seconds at that rate, let alone ten minutes!” He berated Arcane quietly. “Come on, try harder... *I* would!”
As Arcane tried pathetically to use his shattered knees and legs, the echo immediately felt a sadistic tingle of pleasure; almost making him excited... wanting Arcane’s pain to continue. He shook his head. *No*. As enjoyable as watching this little diversion was, logic came first. Arcane had to survive if *he* was to survive. “Try harder!” he spoke again, a little more forcefully. “I didn’t go to all this trouble so *you* could let me down now!”
Another try, more whimpering, more frantic failure.
As the echo glanced back, he saw a vindictive twinkle appear in Tressa’s eyes as a few of the mob started to gingerly move forward, seeing their chance. Immediately, a crackle of power issued from his fingers, of the type Tressa had displayed. It shot forth, frying what looked to be a random mutant. One of his, but they didn't know that, and it gave him the hesitation he needed from them. The rest edged back nervously, subdued for now.
It was temporary though; the Arcane echo knew that. Eventually, desperation would force them to rush him and he couldn’t keep them all at bay for the time needed. It didn’t matter that they couldn’t hurt him. It was that thing on the floor they wanted! If he was going to get this miserable shadow of his former glory out of here he was going to have to do something! Of course he knew what to do; it’s just that he’d hoped it wouldn’t have come to this. Logic wanted... needed Arcane to survive. Desire still wanted him to suffer. Logic would have to win for now, sad to say.
*No time to lose* Swiftly, he placed one hand on Arcane’s body, the other still threatening the other echoes back. Energy flowed from him, knitting bones together, repairing muscles and ligaments. *Just the legs. Leave the rest. Not enough time to heal them completely, but enough to use them.* As an afterthought, more energy flowed, and a gaping wound appeared on Arcane’s abdomen, blisters cracking open throughout his body, causing the scientist to gasp in shock and agony. The echo gave an involuntary smirk.
“That’s an incentive, Anton. A taste of what to avoid now I’ve given you the ability to move again. I can’t be totally magnanimous now, can I? Certain desires must still be sated, after all. Now I won’t tell you twice. GO!”
Arcane didn’t need to be told twice. Trying to shut out the agony searing through his entire body, both the old and the new, he leapt to his feet and was out of there. Left behind, his echo watched him go. It was done. All he could do now was wait. It wouldn’t be pleasant, but there was a fair chance he’d survive... probably. Well, if nothing else, this little fiasco had bought them an extra couple of minutes, he mused to himself. He grinned, eyes glinting with a primal malevolence. It really was the best of both worlds this way -- at least, if Anton was smart enough not to get himself killed in the next telling minutes. But oh, those delicious minutes... The red behind his eyes continued to sweep away his logic.

Half of him could barely believe he could even run anymore. It hurt so much to move, the air in his lungs like fire. The desperate, broken wish to not be hurt was the only thing that kept him from falling.
His steps stumbled, seemed to slow, as if he were trapped within one of those dreams where one runs and runs and can never escape their pursuer. If he hadn't been so hurt and afraid, he might have realized that he was simply hurting himself more this way, but all that mattered right now was staying away from the echoes. *On... move =on=!!!* he pleaded with himself.

Left behind far in the dust, Tressa whirled on the broadly-grinning double. "That's it, you creep. That was the last straw."
Alec was less articulate about his rage. "Why... did you... DO THAT!?!"
The double ignored Alec, still smiling as he put an arm around Tressa. "My dear, simply because I wish to be lifted from this hole doesn't mean we can't have one last bit of fun with old Anton, does it?"
Tressa growled menacingly. “If he lives -- ”
Arcane whispered sensually into her ear. “You remember who’s out there, don’t you?”
A wicked grin spread across Tressa's face as she understood. "Ahhh..."
Will pushed through the crowd. "Huh? I don't get it."


"Arcane."
It was a gravelly, deep voice that intoned his name, hoarse and bizarre sounding, personifying dread. And there were footsteps. They were almost inaudible, as if his ears were playing tricks on him. But he knew, with the same feeling a child gets when peeking into the closet to check for monsters, that the footsteps were getting closer.
*Oh, God*
"Arcane..."
The doctor's feet tripped over themselves as he struggled to keep going, somehow breaking out of the complex and through a lamplit street, his lungs heaving. A dark shape seemed visible out of the corner of his eye, as his ears futilely strained to hear any warning of where that voice was coming from. There was pressure as he bit down hard on his knuckle, running faster. He knew exactly who it had to be. Arcane crumpled in a dark alley, the hastily patched up knees finally giving way and shattering again.
"Arcane. I'm coming for you."
Arcane put his head in his hands. He had seen what this creature did to people that tried to rape his swamp, saw how he could casually flick a wrist to send grown men sprawling. Images of that huge fist swam in his head. *It's just a dream,* he told himself frantically. *It's just a dream, all of it, that's all it ever was, beta brain wave patterns and conscious memories in the REM soup, he can't hurt me, nothing can hurt me, no one will hurt me or hit me or break my bones...*
Green creepers shot across the pavement, roping themselves rapidly around his wrists, arms, chest, neck, ankles, snaking high up the brick wall, stretching him out and leaving him vulnerable and spread-eagled. He hated it. He *HATED* it! He was so helpless. During his life, he had always been in control. He had made sure of that. He couldn't stand it any other way. He was always in the position of power, and everyone *else* was in the position of vulnerability.
But no longer. Now, he was tied up, helpless, at the mercy of these beings. And that was what they wanted most of all. They didn't want entertainment like most humans might have; they didn't want to see him fight back, get angry, try to defend himself. They *wanted* to see him as he had seen them his whole life -- chained down, at his mercy, defenceless. What the chains were didn't matter -- literal, moral, it was of no consequence. They wanted to shove his own medicine right back down his throat and they didn't care if it hurt one way or another.
The brick wall felt hard and discomfiting against his back. Arcane closed his eyes tight as the vines slithered around his neck. *It's just a dream, it's just a dream, really, it's just a dream, please...*
"Arcane." The creature was silhouetted against a white light at the end of the alley. The vines tightened around Arcane in response to his violent shaking. "It's time." Alec walked forward determinedly until the two were almost touching.
"I'm not going to do it!" Arcane blurted out, his eyes wide and wild. It said not a word. He seemed to snicker and growl at once. "I'm not going to beg you. I won't do it -- why sh-should I do it? Tell me! You’re j-just going to do it anyway. I won't grovel anymore. It's absurdly pointless." Arcane’s eyes were wet as he hung there, shaking so much that it looked like he were barely moving at all. “Just do it, will you?!”
Claws cracked his head open and peered inside, taking hold of his brain in a death-like grip.
*"Are you afraid?"*
"Yes, I'm afraid!" Arcane snapped, as the vines continued to snake around him like living creatures, slimy and cold against his skin. "I'm terrified! But I'm sick of it!"
Alec tilted his head.
"Yes, sick! So go, have your pleasure, make me scream until my throat gives out. Just *do* it. Get it over with."
The guardian of the Balance shook his head. "You still... *still*... don't understand.... do you?"
Arcane's breath hissed out through clenched teeth. "I. Won't. Beg." Oxygen caught in his throat and stuck in a half-formed gasp. Images and primal emotions ripped through his skull, tearing erratically through his brain.
*"THIS!"* came the emotions like crazed bats (pain terror loss loved ones ripped away and you can never ever ever see them again hurt bullets chainsaws trees dying life-force snapping) *"Do you see why we hate you?! This. This is what you are to us, this is what you've given us. Do you see how we feel?!"* And another wave, again, harder, (PAIN blood "NO!" screaming sobbing hearts pounding blood rushing PAIN from the wounds, PAIN from the hearts, PAIN from the minds, agonised thinking, "STOP!") Arcane writhed
against the wall, gasping. *"What do you think this is? No one has made this up to cleverly torture you. It's how we FEEL. And now you feel it, too. See why we are so angry at you?"* Arcane nodded very, very weakly, when another flood of emotions crashed upon him, soaking him with guilt. He cringed, his soul twisting and scuttling away from the harsh mental spotlight.
*=I=... =I= did this?*
*"YES!"* The emotions subsided like a calming hurricane and Alec levelled a steely gaze at his nemesis. *"THIS is my revenge, Arcane."*
Unmitigated fury exploded across Arcane's brain, raking claws deep into burning furrows that infected with eruptions of fire. It was searing his mind, cracking it open, tearing through it with the ferocity of a wild animal, chewing and snarling and ripping and breaking. No mercy. It knew all his secrets, all his desires, all his wishes, and he threw them back in his face like spit. All his anger and hatred and fear built up over the years thrust back into him through the soft underbelly of his mind. Arcane's eyes rolled back into his head, his entire body shuddering. He could feel his soul bleeding.
*"Is this one of your dreams? Being with your wife again?"* Alec snarled. *"Well, you aren't allowed to have it!!!"* Arcane screamed in pain as the dream was ripped from him, hatred and agony thrashing across his entire being as he was punished for his thoughts. His dreams, his hopes, his nightmares, his very thoughts were all WRONG and he was to be put in agony for them.
"No, they're not all wrong, they're not!" Arcane screamed plaintively, as more lightning consumed his brain and fed his tears. Nothing was sacred anymore. Alec knew everything. *EVERYTHING*. His memories were thrown up and tossed, his emotions were vomited and shattered. Arcane leaned out, pinned to the wall, and coughed, dry-retching, his stomach heaving and his body quaking. He did not ask him to stop.
Something slammed into him without touch or contact, and the wall felt less substantial. Around his convulsing body, the world was a maelstrom of fire filled with the scent of a thousand lives being erased into nothingness. The walls, the universe around him was crumbling away, loose chunks of it hurling into the fire on unnamed hues. Cacophonous, shrieking wails rose up like a sob of rage. Bursting around him in an explosion of sound, swirling around him in plaintive, piercing howls.


He opened his eyes.



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