The Battle

The Aftermath

Dion opened his eyes, greeted by the sight of a silken canopy. He was wrapped in warm softness, and could feel a plush pillow behind his head. He blinked several times. Right at first, he sighed with contentment- this was comfortable. But gradually, confusion disturbed his comfort, and he started to wonder where he-

-then everything came flooding back. He instantly felt alarm, and sat bolt upright, looking around wildly-

-only to see that he wasn't alone. Sitting in chairs all around the bed were a gray dragon, a cyborg reptile, a catcoon in a black coat and brown hat, a husky wearing glasses, a goat in a red medal-studded jacket, and a Samoyed in a green vest. The latter two seemed to be the only ones awake.

The latter jumped with surprise as Dion sat up, then sighed with relief. "It's okay, Dion," Law said gently. "You're safe."

Dion stared at him, breathing heavily. "I..." he started. "I..."

"You're okay," Mel said, his voice also gentle. He stood up and walked over to the bed, kneeling down next to it to look Dion in the eye and give him a patient smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I..." Dion swallowed hard, taking a shaky breath- then they were startled to see his eyes fill with tears. He lunged forward and hugged Mel around the neck, drawing out a slightly choked gasp from him, then started to sob into his shoulder. "I'm sorry..." he gasped out between cries. "I'm... I'm so sorry...!"

Mel quickly enfolded him in a hug. "Nothing to be sorry for," he replied, his voice thick.

Law quickly got up and joined them, adding himself to the hug.

By now, the noise had awakened the others, and as soon as each of them heard Dion crying, they rushed to add themselves to the group hug. Dion was soon tightly cocooned by an interlocking mass of arms.

Gradually, Dion managed to hiccup himself to a point of relative coherence, and everyone broke the hug to step back and give him space. He wiped a hand across his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said again, this time in a rusty voice.

"I think we picked up on that, yeah," Kyurian chuckled, stepping over again to pat his friend on the back. "Don't torture yourself, Dion- I don't think anyone here is blaming you." There was a quick chorus of agreement.

Dion looked down at the sheets, clenching them tightly in his claws. "...You should be..." he mumbled.

"Uh, why?" Fritz demanded. "That wasn't you that attacked us."

"No, but..." Dion sighed heavily. "It was my fault that it got out. I was careless, and that carelessness let it escape."

"Dion," Mel said firmly. "You were hit in the head. It was an accident, and what happened after that was out of your control."

"But I-!" Dion started to protest.

"We can't always be in control," Mel told him. "...Things happen. You must do what you can, when you can, and... deal with what happens when you can't." He looked at the floor suddenly, his eyes far away.

There was a long silence, before Dion finally sighed, looking around at all of them. "Thank you... for stopping it."

"Uh... What exactly is 'it?'" Fritz asked.

The dragonborn shook his head. "That's... a really long story. Short version- it's dangerous. I keep it sealed up. You've seen what happens when it gets out. But if something prevents me from keeping the seal intact... well..."

There was another uncomfortable silence. "The important thing is, it's dealt with now," Law reassured him. "That's all that matters."

Dion grimaced. "It could have killed all of you."

"But it didn't," Kyurian replied. "We're okay- and so are you."

The dragonborn sighed again. His guilt wasn't gone, not even a little- but he could tell his friends weren't gonna be swayed. He offered them a wan smile. "Thank you."

"Of course," Gheras replied.

Dion frowned again. "I'm guessing our battle did a number on the Fortress, though..." He threw off the blankets. "I'll-"

"I already have my magicians and craftsmen working on it," Mel said quickly. "We can handle it- don't worry yourself, Dion."

The dragonborn looked at him, scowling. "...'Don't knock myself out again,' you mean..." he grumbled.

"No, I don't mean that!" he protested... then coughed, looking awkwardly away. "...It is a possibility to avoid, though."

Dion sighed, then offered a tired grin. "Fine." He looked around at all of them again. "I do need to send you all home, though."

"Yes please," Fritz said quickly. "We should actually hang out properly pretty soon, but, uh... today was a long day."

The others offered noises of agreement, with varying conspicuousness.

Dion smiled at them all. "Thank you again, really. I owe you all big time- and I plan to visit each of you soon to cash in those favors. But until then-" He raised a hand and gestured, chanting.

As one, everyone but Mel rippled like water and disappeared.

Dion stood up. "I think I should leave too."

"So soon?" Mel asked. "You just woke up!"

"Let's be honest- this visit started out fun, but it went off the rails hard," Dion said flatly. "I think I need to get out of your hair." He smiled. "But don't worry- like I said, I owe you a favor. I'll be back soon enough."

Mel grinned widely. "Fair enough. In that case, until we meet again, my friend!"

Dion offered one last wave, then chanted again. Like the others, he rippled like water, then was gone.

***

As he moved through the space between universes toward his home, Dion thought back on all the friends who'd gathered to help him, and smiled to himself. He was grateful to know them.

***