Chapter 28 - Adventure of Two

788 I.C, March 6, Everwinter: Underground Tunnels, Morning

Ben looked at the last name on the page and spoke, "Tara?"

The gathered teams split, a female mage emerged, and she raised her hand, "Here."

"Good, that's everyone," Ben said and crossed her name on the roster.

The sound of heavy footsteps made Ben glance back, and within moments Titan walked into the room. A growing muzzle jutted from his face, feral yellow eyes stared with a burning gaze, and gray fur grew across his head while tufts had appeared in his increasingly triangular ears.

Titan stepped in front of the gathered teams, and Ben found his gaze drawn to his backside. There was a bulge in the back of his pants, and it slithered down his pant leg.

I could understand it at first... But now it just seems silly to hide what's obviously a tail...

"Ben?" Titan asked with the rough and dark voice of a wulfkin.

Ben blinked in surprise, and looked up with a sheepish smile, "They're all here and accounted for: Three teams making a total of 18 volunteers."

Titan looked in front, and motioned with his clawed hands. "Without the crystals we cannot get the transporter working, and if the Master figures out what we're planning, then he'll take steps to make sure we never get them. That leaves us with one shot at this, and it's the mission you've all volunteered for. Each team has been assigned a transporter to strike at, it will force the Master's to divide his forces and increase our chances. I will deliver a bomb to the Master's tower, and at best I'll cripple him, or at worst I'll act as a distraction for the rest of you."

One of the mages near the front motioned toward Ben, "And what about him?"

Titan turned and glanced at Ben, "He's going to infiltrate the maintenance tunnels in the residential area and wreak havoc on the aetheric power junctions they've set up. Hopefully it will sow the chaos I'm hoping for."

Ben made a gentle smile while Titan looked back at the teams and continued his speech.

It felt strange that in their fight against the wulfkins, they now had a wulfkin to lead them. Then again, whatever Avery had triggered affected more than just Titan.

Ben reached to his side and scratched for a moment. It itched and he could feel more than just skin hiding underneath his clothes. The soft sensation of fur, growing in places where there had been none before. It made Ben gulp because even if they managed to escape, then what was waiting for them in a world that saw wulfkins as monsters?

"- so start moving, and good luck," Titan said.

The teams started moving, split into different caverns, and soon disappeared from sight.

Ben then moved up next to Titan and whispered, "Are we doing the right thing?"

"We have no choice," Titan answered.

"They're going to be slaughtered, we both know it. There's no way they'll be able to break through obelisks," Ben whispered.

Titan gave Ben a heavy pat on the back and crouched down to catch his gaze, "But they will provide the distraction that we need."

Ben drew a deep breath, "I promised myself I'd never go into the tunnels again."

"We only have one chance, Ben. Make it count," Titan whispered with a gentle squeeze on Ben's shoulder.

"No pressure, right?" Ben answered with a shy smile.

Titan lifted his massive hand, plopped it down on Ben's head, and ruffled the fur on top, "Good luck."

"You too, Titan," Ben whispered as Titan let go, and marched down the corridor.

788 I.C, March 6, Everwinter: Upper Levels, Midday

Titan glanced to the sides, and then focused on the lengthy passage ahead. It was one of the central passages in the upper levels and a few months ago it would have been buzzing with activity. A constant stream of wares, wulfkins, and pups playing through the night. Now they were silent and gaped empty, filth marked the walls, ice grew along the ceiling, and bones littered the floor.

Are they all dead? Did the wulfkin race die out and no one noticed? Are they hiding?

The thought made Titan's ears flicker while his gaze swept the passageways once more. Everwinter deserved to be destroyed, but there was a part of him that felt a rising sensation of dread and fright. A fear that the rebellion had already failed, and that it had merely woken a sleeping bear.

Titan gritted his teeth, scratched his forehead, and then came to look upon his hand. Gray fur, black claws, thickening pads of leathery hide.

Fuck it... The others are my family now... They don't give a shit whether I'm wulfkin or not...

Titan blinked and touched his growing muzzle with a sigh.

Family... I used to be Titan... The one who stood on his own... Feared by all... Bowing to no one...

Since when did I get a family? Where are all of these strange emotions coming from?

There was a noise in the distance and Titan turned to focus on the corridor to the right. His ears shifted and within moments he could make sense of it: A human, panting while sprinting for his life, followed by the bony clatter that could only belong to one kind of creature.

Ben emerged from distant hallway and entered the corridor with a leaping frenzy. His speed made him slam into the wall, but with a forceful push he was off once more. The expression on his face was one of panic, and his arms dug at the air in desperation to make him go faster.

A split second later a massive creature emerged, slammed into the wall, and followed in Ben's wake. Pieces of leathery hide and tufts of fur clung to the bony creature. Crystalline growths glittered from within its warped ribcage. The aether crackled with its hollow presence, and it sang with the pitch of an angered wraith. The massive wulfkin skull had been stripped of flesh but that did not stop its massive jaws from snapping at the air while its claws scraped against the stone floor to gain traction. What had once been a living wulfkin had been reduced to a nightmare of bone, crystal, and desiccated flesh.

Titan stomped the ground with one paw, drew a deep breath, and raised his hand to aim behind Ben. The aether surged within him, the air shimmered, and began to coalesce into a twisting sphere in front of him.

Pure magic won't work... Collapsing the corridor is dangerous... This will have to suffice...

Ben kept sprinting with his face locked in fright while his legs worked ever harder. It mattered little as the undead wulfkin gained on him with a four legged gait of clattering bone.

Titan grew a devious grin, and squeezed his hand. The rushing torrent in front of him was crushed into a tiny marble, and the spell triggered. The marble hurled along the corridor, flew past Ben's shoulder, and unleashed its power. A shield flashed into existence behind Ben and divided the corridor in two. On Ben's side it was calm and quiet, while the other was rocked by a sudden burst of heat and a roaring blast of compressed air.

The undead wulfkin lifted into the air, the fur clinging to it burst into flames, and it was hurled backward. With a slam it struck the wall with enough force to splinter bone and create a shower of crystalline fragments.

Ben looked back, and smiled in relief. A moment later the smoldering wulfkin twitched, and began to rise once more. It made Ben's face scrounge up in horror while Titan began to jog, and then joined up with Ben's frantic pace.

"Did you get the crystals?" Titan asked.

Ben turned his head to focus on Titan and snapped, "NO!"

Damn it...

"What happened!?" Titan snapped back.

Ben glanced back, and his eyes widened in fright. Titan did the same and saw more undead wulfkins pouring into the corridor.

Fuck...

Titan raised his hand, and pointed at his backpack, "I'm going to deliver the Master's present, take the next corridor and head back to base!"

Ben gasped for air while sprinting, and snapped in anger, "You're insane!"

It feels oddly comforting to hear that...

Titan smirked and pointed toward the upcoming corridor, "Go!"

Ben glanced back with a reluctant nod and a pleading expression of 'Good luck'. Moments later he slowed down, pushed himself into the new corridor, hit the wall, and leaped into action once more.

Titan glanced back, raised his hand once more, and summoned another impromptu spell. Filth from the walls were torn loose, compacted, and raised to a temperature where it blazed like an inferno. Within moments black smoke billowed out and created a smokescreen that covered Ben's escape.

Whether the smokescreen was responsible or not, the majority of undead creatures burst through the smoke and readily ignored their previous prey.

Aim for the tower... Drop the bomb... Run and let it blow...

Titan bolted down the corridors with his heart thumping. After a few minutes he turned another corner, and entered an area that differed from the rest of Everwinter. The floors of polished dark granite were untouched by filth, runes were etched in the walls. The majestic hallway led to a pair of giant doors with weaving patterns andmassive girders of shaped steel. In the very center of the door was a large obsidian plate with a single keyhole.

The Master's tower...

A shiver ran through the fur along his back and he felt a twitch in what could only be the tail hidden in his pants. He cleared his throat, adjusted his pants, and glanced back while panting. To his surprise the corridors were now silent and his pursuers were nowhere in sight.

That's odd... Did I lose them? Did the Master pull them back? If so... Why?

Titan looked in front once more, focused on the doors ahead, and started walking.

No matter... If we're lucky this will collapse the entire tower...

He reached back, grabbed the backpack, and unfolded the top. Inside were stacks of the same material that had torn half the mountain apart, and the trigger was a simple construct coupled with a timer.

Titan grew a wicked grin and glanced up toward the doors, "You're going to get it this ti-"

His voice faded with the unnerving sensation of something tickling his feet. It made him stop and look down at the polished floor, yet he saw little more than the reflection of a gray furred face with a half formed snout.

There's something odd going on...

Titan took another step forward and felt it once more: A tickling sensation of static that danced across his feet. He sensed the aether but apart from the tower's looming power he couldn't feel any hostile spells.

What's going on here?

Titan clutched the backpack and raised one hand in the air. A new set of aetheric threads flowed from his hand and reached outward. They sensed his own shields, and protective spells.

It's best to double check...

Titan charged one of the threads, and created a spark that would trigger the shields. To his surprise nothing happened, it was as if... The shields were gone. A cold shiver river ran down his spine and tingled in the very edge of his tail.

CREAK!

With a creak the massive doors to the tower opened and from within poured darkness that flowed onto the floor like liquid.

He's already infiltrated my spells! Without me even noticing! I need to-

Titan looked down at his backpack and tried to reach for it. For some reason his arm felt sluggish, and every inch felt like struggling against chains.

_ No... No! NO! _

He gritted his teeth in panic, and struggled to summon a spell, anything that would trigger the bomb. Nothing would work, the spells faded around him, the threads were dissolved, and the sluggish sensation grew.

• Did you think it would be that easy? -

The voice cut into his mind with a booming pressure that made him squirm.

• I have waited for this -

• The moment when you would step within range, Zachary -

"My name is Titan!" Titan snapped with a snarl while struggling to lift his gaze.

With a sudden jerk the backpack was ripped from his hands and the booming voice returned.

• Your rebellion is OVER -

The darkness from the tower rushed forward and hit Titan's legs with a chilling cold. He winced in pain when the cold seeped deeper and dug in like needles of ice. Like a swarm of flies the darkness climbed along the walls and soaked into the air like fog.

Light itself seemed to fade from the world and Titan jerked his head in anguish. It dripped from the roof, closed in to suffocate him, and the once bright corridor darkened. Crystals of ice formed in the air as he drew breath, and like a flowing sap it washed over his head.

A floating sensation overtook him, like a bath of ice cold water in an abyss of darkness.

This is it... It's over... Damn it... I had hoped to have a more grand exit...

Titan did his best to hug himself, to save what little heat that remained, yet as he tried all sensation in his arms and legs seemed to fade.

Kill me then...

• Not yet -

You can read my thoughts?

• You're in my grasp now - Of course -

Each syllable of the voice cut like shards and made Titan cringe.

Taste this thought then... FUCK YOU!

• Are you aware of what you are? -

The question caught Titan by surprise.

Human? Wulfkin? I don't know...

• Think of Rastlin - What he did to you -

Why... Are you-

A sudden pain like no other pierced Titan's mind. What little sensation his body provided was set ablaze with pain that made him twist and turn with a silent scream. It carved through his thoughts, feasted through his memories, and despite his attempts to resist, he realized that he had given the Master exactly what he wanted.

His back arched, his nerves burned, and he felt his thoughts drift with a bout of nausea that emptied his mind.

Where am I? Who am I? What's going on?

• So simple - Though you can't be allowed to die - Yet -

The pain eased, the knife within his mind withdrew, and Titan felt soothing relief. Second by second his memories trickled back and he remembered once more.

I'm Titan... I'm trapped... This is the Master's tower...

What did Rastlin do to me?

Horror dawned upon realizing that something was missing. There was a gap in his memories and the question in his mind went unanswered.

You took my memories!? What did he do to me!?

• Rastlin played with things he did not understand -

• You are a failure - Discarded -

Titan snarled in his mind and for a moment he could feel his hands digging through the darkness with heat blossoming in his heart.

• Enough -

With a squeeze the cold chill returned, the heat faded once more, and his heart slowed.

• You will serve me - Whether you want to or not -

Kill me then! Raise me as one of your undead! Pluck my memories!

It won't help you! I've made sure of that!

• Transporter mazes - Illusions - Codewords - Aetheric signatures -

• Your defenses are known to me -

Then you know it's useless, there's no way into the base, not even for you!

• Why try to crack those? When something simpler will work just as well? -

What do you mean?

• SLEEP -

788 I.C, March 6, The Pierced Veil: Kitchen, Evening

Talwin picked up a tea-spoon, reached into the pot, and scooped up a little of the bubbling stew. He gently blew on it, stuck it in his muzzle, and tasted. It had a good balance, rounded spices, something hot with a gentle background of cream, and tender meat.

With the spoon still in his mouth he glanced to the side and focused on Clyde. The wulfkin was frying a piece of meat in a sea of fat and it had since long become charred and dry like an old piece of wood.

On Clyde's face was a horrified expression while he stabbed at the grayish meat and glanced over. Talwin met his gaze and he couldn't help but grow a sly grin while biting the spoon in his muzzle.

"You..." Clyde whispered with a seething voice while his ears folded back.

"Ready to admit defeat?" Talwin asked and glanced over at the potatoes.

Clyde snapped, "The meat was fine raw! Besides, there's no competition in cooking food. It's silly!"

Talwin stirred the stew, "So you can compete with strength, but not other skills?"

"That's not what I said!" Clyde snapped and pulled his frying pan from the stove.

"So it's just cooking you can't compete in, what about magic, tactics, and politics?" Talwin asked with a raised brow.

Clyde frowned, "Of course you can compete in those things! But cooking is neither dangerous, takes a lot of skill, nor does it decide the fate of nations."

"Says the one who burned himself, hardly knows how to boil water, and doesn't realize the importance of a proper meal," Talwin mused.

Clyde hackles rose and he stepped closer, "I... I've never cooked before, and I can learn! Besides, what do you mean?"

Talwin removed his tea spoon, scooped up some more stew, and held it up, "Taste."

Clyde stared at the tea spoon in front of his muzzle, "You... You had that in your muzzle."

Talwin raised his brow once more, "You came here smelling like a sewer, and you're scared of my saliva?"

Clyde's hackles dropped and he lowered his head a little, "No..."

"Then taste," Talwin said and inched closer.

Clyde gulped, stared at the cooling stew, and licked his chops. A moment later he inched closer, opened his muzzle a little, and took the tea spoon in his mouth.

You could have taken the spoon... Now you just look stupid... Cute... But stupid...

Talwin smiled to himself and eased the spoon out of Clyde's muzzle, "Can you taste the herbs? The creamy base? How the meat melts in your mouth?"

Clyde's ears perked while his eyes focused on the spoon in silence.

"Well?" Talwin asked.

"I need another taste," Clyde whispered while turning to focus on the pot.

Talwin grinned to himself, dipped the spoon in the pot, and fished out a large piece of meat, "Oh?"

This time Clyde reached out, grabbed Talwin's hand, and wrested the spoon from him. He then chomped down on the teaspoon and fixated on Talwin with a light growl, "Not a word."

Talwin motioned toward Clyde like a demon offering a deal, "In a few minutes Avery and the others will come down here expecting dinner, and unless you yield, we'll serve them..."

Talwin raised one claw, and pointed at the congealing mess of gray meat and fat in Clyde's pan, " That."

"You can't! They'll... Avery will..." Clyde stuttered and inched back with the tea spoon still in his mouth.

Talwin tipped his head, "What? It's not like cooking is an important thing, like making a good impression, or the ability to turn a frown into a smile."

Clyde glanced at his pan for a moment, pondered for a moment, and then sighed while his ears clamped to his head, "Fine, I'll-"

Talwin raised his hand and interrupted Clyde, "Unless, we work together. Then no one has to yield, and everyone benefits, yes?"

Clyde blinked, and then frowned, "I'm not going to cheat. What do I do if they ask me to make dinner by myself?"

Talwin nodded and smiled, "Then contribute, and you're not cheating."

"How?" Clyde asked.

"You tell me," Talwin answered and crossed his arms.

Clyde focused on the wall and seemed to ponder it, "I made the potatoes, that's helping, and... Oh..."

"Oh?" Talwin asked.

Clyde took the tea-spoon out of his muzzle and pointed it at Talwin, "Add some more cream to even out the hotness, and a bit of pepper, it'll make it better."

"You don't like it hot?" Talwin asked.

Clyde shook his head, "No, neither does Avery."

"You sure?" Talwin asked.

Clyde's frown returned and he inched closer, "I may not know how to cook but there's nothing wrong withmytaste buds. I know great food when I taste it, and this it. But the burning sensation is distracting, and it needs a bit of sting that isn't considered 'hot'. You wanted me to contribute, well I am trying.So take it or leave it."

Talwin drew a deep breath and considered it, "Fine, we'll do it your way."

Moments later the stairs began to creak and the others began to descend. Clyde grabbed his pan in his haste and shoved it into a cupboard.

Talwin motioned toward the table, "Quick, set the table!"

Clyde rushed while Talwin turned to the pot, grabbed the pitcher of cream, poured some in, and stirred. He then grabbed the grinder, gave it a few twists, and watched pepper disperse into the stew.

"Smells good," An amused voice chuckled.

Talwin stirred the stew, looked to the side, and saw Avery glancing into the room with a smile.

Clyde set the last of the cutlery on the table, stopped, looked over at Avery, and frantically nodded, "Yeah, and it tastes even better!"

Avery approached while the others followed in his wake and headed for the table, "Who won this round then?"

Talwin dipped another spoon in the pot, sampled it, and swallowed.

It's not worse... Just different... We'll see if the others approve...

"Neither, we supported each other. Such a novel concept, isn't it?" Talwin mused.

"Hmm," Avery mused as he sauntered over to Clyde, "That's surprising."

Clyde's tail lashed while he threw a glare at Avery, "If you start telling stories, then I promise I'll pummel you to death."

"Oh, and what stories would that be?" Avery asked with a growing grin.

Clyde pointed his tea spoon at Avery's chest, "You know exactly what stories I'm talking about!"

Avery glanced down at the tea spoon, "Oh, so you did help?"

Talwin grabbed the pot with both hands and carried it over to the table, "I think you'll be surprised, it's really good this time around."

788 I.C, March 6, Everwinter: Underground Tunnels, Night

Titan felt himself being tugged and pulled while distorted noises filled the world. Yet as he tried to move and open his eyes it felt like his mind was struggling against tar.

A voice cut through the noise, "You did it! It worked!"

What worked? Where am I? What are you talking about?

Titan struggled to grab hold of anything to steady himself and bring clarity.

"Some wanted to just take the crystals and leave you for dead, but we wouldn't allow that," The voice said.

Crystals? Leave me for dead?

Titan struggled against the haze of his mind and forced his eyes open. The world seemed blurred, but he could make out the shape of a tunnel, with magic lights running along one side.

I'm in the tunnels...

"They're starting the transporter, we're finally getting out of here," The voice said.

The transporter? Crystal? No! It's a trap! Don't!

Titan turned his head, and saw people looming over him. They were carrying him through the tunnel on some sort of makeshift frame.

"S- Stop!" Titan wheezed.

The man to the right glanced down, and smiled, "You're awake?"

Titan reached up, gripped his arm, and hissed, "It... It's a trap!"

"What?" The man stopped pulling and the world jerked to a halt.

"Stop them! The Master caught me! The crystals are a trap!" Titan gritted his teeth and snapped.

The men eased Titan down in an instant, turned to face the tunnel, and started running, "Stop! Don't start the transporter!"

Titan shifted his weight, eased onto his side, and watched them disappear down the corridor while screaming.

"It's a trap! Don't start the-"

THOOM!

Something burst in the distance, the cave shook, dust fell from the ceiling, and the aether screamed with a sudden burst of energy. ´The piercing presence of the Master's tower flooded the tunnel like the light of lit magnesium. Screams fueled by surprise and panic followed in its wake. Within moments the screams shifted, and grew louder in the way that panic turned into the horror of nightmares.

Blue light flared in the distance but there was something else approaching as well. Darkness trickled along the walls and strange creatures danced in the air like motes of magic. Survivors burst from the darkness in flailing attempts to flee. They stumbled, and trampled each other in panic. Titan pushed himself off the ground and spotted something strange that emerged from the darkness.

A massive beast on all four with jagged crystals growing from its back. The beast loped forward on all four, opened its massive jaw to reveal a pit of blue light, and snapped it shut around a human's midsection.

The human lifted into the air with a gasp of surprise, and a crunch was heard before the encroaching darkness swallowed them whole.

The so far drifting motes of light accelerated without warning, raced along the tunnel, and with piercing screams they embedded themselves in the backs of the fleeing survivors. It made them stumble in pain while reaching back in panic to grip at whatever it was that had infested them.

Titan drew a deep breath, and for a moment he felt like dropping on his knees in defeat. He had been outsmarted, and in an attempt to harm the Master he had only hurt himself. The sensation gnawed on him, and it fueled a growing fury within his heart.

You are a failure... Discarded...

The Master's words echoed in his mind, and he squeezed his hands while glaring at the massacre in front of him.

Resist... To the very end...

Titan raised his hands and felt his heart thump as he drew on the magic inherent in him. Sparks began to trickle down his arms when he charged a spell that was simple yet destructive in nature. Raw energy, reactive to anything it encountered, and prone to create massive amounts of flux.

Pulsing and surging he poured the essence of his being into one massive bolt. As his reserves drained he felt a tingle of numbness spread through his body.

There's no way to save them... It's over as it is... Maybe I'll finally have the end I've been looking for...

The energy surged down the tunnel like a pillar that set the surrounding air on fire. It vaporized the survivors still struggling on the ground, and pierced the shadows like lightning in the night sky.

With a loud crackle followed by a tremendous blast, the aether shuddered. Within the darkness something red grew and the aether grew erratic. The transporter at the end of the tunnel destabilized and exploded with a burst of molten iron and crushed crystal. It fed back through the tunnel and Titan could feel the radiant heat on his nose.

In fright he stumbled back, raised his arms, and funneled the last of his energy into a shield.

788 I.C, March 7, Everwinter: Underground Tunnels, Morning

Ben slumped against the dirt wall and gasped for breath. His chest ached, his lungs burned, and his mind felt in shambles while he gave himself a quick look over.

There were scrapes on his sides from crawling through the ducts, his foot hurt like hell from the undead wulfkin that had almost caught hold of him, and there was a spot on his head that throbbed.

"Ouch," Ben winced in pain as he touched the spot.

He looked at the bag in his hands and felt a tingle of excitement, and pride.

It took all night... Almost died in the process... But I did it! I fucking did it! I got the crystals!

Inside the bag were crystals harvested from one of the transporter chambers, taken after the chaos of what he guessed was Titan's bomb.

Did he do it? Did Titan destroy the Tower? But If he did, why are the undead still roaming the halls?

Ben shook the thought from his head. It didn't matter if the undead still roamed the halls, the important thing was that he now had a way for everyone to escape.

With a sigh he steeled himself for one last push, and peeked around the corner. The tunnels were still clear, and he hurried down the muddy tunnel while counting his steps.

34... Turn right...

Ben turned to the right, walked toward a wall, and didn't hesitate. With a light shimmer he passed through the wall, continued on the path, and resumed counting.

14... Turn Left...

He passed through more illusions, made his way through the transporter maze, and the machine that Titan had built to check aetheric signatures. With a sigh of relief, he was finally transported into the base, and opened his eyes.

Silence...

Ben looked at the surrounding cage which acted as the final security check before being allowed into the base, to his surprise something was amiss. The cage was crooked, part of it had been torn loose from its foundation, part of the ceiling had collapsed, and a haze of dust lingered in the air.

Oh no...

Ben walked up to the edge of the cage and peeked into the base itself. Collapsed passageways, dripping water, more dust, and enough fallen debris to make it look like a cave in. He then squeezed through the broken cage, entered the main base, and covered his mouth to avoid the stinging dust.

The explosion... It came from down here? Why!? How!?

The still intact bunk-beds were empty, and heavy tracks led toward the to the tunnel where the transporter had been built. A scary thought descended on him.

Did one of the other teams succeed? Am I the only one left here?

Ben hurried down the transporter tunnel, broke into a sprint, and then began to slow once more. The passage ahead had collapsed, and the creaking noises made it clear the tunnel was unstable. He held the bag tighter, squeezed it like hugging another person, and felt his throat close up.

No... You didn't wait for me? I'm all alone? I...

Ben blinked and tried to swallow when he noticed something in the distance. Partially buried in the collapsed tunnel was a big figure that moved ever so slightly. He approached with careful steps and felt the dust settle on him like drifting sand. It burned in his eyes and irritated his throat while he focused on the creature ahead.

To his surprise the creature looked up and revealed the head of a wulfkin covered in brown dirt. The wulfkin had yellow eyes that grew in surprise while the muzzle dropped open.

The clothes... Sparse fur... No visible tail... That's...

"Titan?" Ben said in surprise and marched closer.

"Ben?" Titan whispered in surprise while Ben crouched next to him.

"You're alive! What happened?" Ben asked while he looked down. To his surprise Titan didn't seem to be trapped, rather he was just sitting in the piles of dirt.

"It's my fault, they're all dead," Titan whispered.

Ben blinked and leaned closer. He felt hesitant to touch him, yet couldn't resist and grabbed hold of Titan's furry arm, "Are you alright?"

Titan glanced down at himself for a moment, and murmured, "I keep thinking it's the end, but I end up surviving each time. I don't know why."

"We need to get out of here, can you move? Come on, before the tunnel collapses!" Ben snapped and tugged at Titan's arm.

Titan bared his teeth and glared back, "Didn't you hear!? Let the tunnel collapse, it's over. They're all dead!"

Ben gulped and stopped tugging, "What happened?"

Titan pulled his arm from Ben's grip with a snarl, "I underestimated the Master. The moment I stepped within range of the Tower he captured me. The bastard dug through my memories, and then dropped me off in the tunnels outside with a bag of booby trapped crystals. The others didn't realize and powered up the transporter. It opened up a portal to the Tower and his fucking monsters poured through. They slaughtered everyone and I collapsed the tunnel."

"He dug through your memories?" Ben asked.

Titan grew a pained grimace, "I can't remember what he took, but it might have something to do with Avery. He said I was one of Rastlin's experiments, a failure..."

"We need to do something," Ben whispered.

Titan's glare returned, "You don't get it? I fucked up, I made everything worse, again."

"Again?"

Titan lowered his gaze, "My past is none of your business, Ben. We should just... Wait here and die."

Ben stared back while a strange sensation began to grow in his chest. It felt odd, like his blood was simmering with fury. Everyone had struggled, they had fought, and many had died seeking escape from Everwinter.

He shook his head while the sensation grew and his thoughts began to race. So much had changed since Avery left, and what had once been cowardice had been turned into something else. A sense of belonging, strength, courage, a desire for something more.

Ben lunged forward in fury, caught the fur on Titan's chest with one hand, while he knit his fist and slammed it sideways into his muzzle. Titan's head rocked to the side while Ben screamed.

"You idiot! You annoying fucking idiot! I'm still alive and I want to keep living! Don't dare speak like that, or I... I'll..."

Titan blinked in shock and turned to look at Ben as if he had just seen a flock of pigs fly by.

Ben pulled at Titan's fur, shook him, and gritted his teeth, "You... You asshole. I don't want to die here, I want to go into the world. I want to eat the things I've read about in Avery's books... I want to meet him again. I want... Damn you. You're supposed to be Titan, the one who bows to no one."

Rather than anger, Titan's face shifted to a pained expression of sorrow, "Ben... I'm sorry."

Ben reached to the side, picked up the bag, and shoved it in Titan's chest with a clattering sound of crystals, "I got your fucking crystals. They're right here! Please, tell me it's not too late..."

Titan blinked, glanced down, and sat up straight without warning. Ben almost fell off while clinging to the big beast with a whimper of surprise. Titan then snatched the bag, eased it open, and looked through the crystals within.

"How did you get these?" Titan asked.

"You told me to escape back to the base. But they cut off my path and I had to go higher into the castle. I've been crawling through the ducts and sneaking my way through the castle all night while they hunted me. Once the explosion occurred, something changed and the undead wulfkins lost track of me. That's when I saw my chance and found one the transporter chambers unguarded."

"What about the team we sent?" Titan asked.

Ben shook his head, "Slaughtered, and I doubt they made much of a distraction. But I managed to get these, and then I made my way back here. I thought... I thought you had all escaped without me."

Titan reached up with his dirt covered hand, plopped it on top of Ben's head, and ruffled the fur on his head, "I wouldn't do that."

I guess I'm not the only one that's changed around here...

Ben slowly raised his head and looked into Titan's yellow eyes, "Please, tell me we can escape with this?"

Titan opened his muzzle, hesitated, and then spoke, "I think so, but there's no telling what's waiting out there. We might be going from one hell into another."

"I don't care, Titan. I just want to live, and keep trying for as long as I can," Ben whispered.

Titan made a slow nod, looked into the bag, and moved his fingers like directing an orchestra. One by one the crystals lifted into the air, settled around them like the configuration of a stellar sign, and started to glow.

"We're no longer fully outside the Master's shield, so we only have one go at this, do you understand?" Titan asked.

Ben shrugged, "Not really. What do you want me to do?"

Titan sighed with a bemused expression, "Hold me tight, I need to focus this on an area as small as possible."

Ben tipped his head a little, and then inched closer while putting his hands along Titan's chest, "Like this?"

"Do you understand the concept of 'as small as possible'?" Titan repeated with a frown.

It felt a tad strange, and awkward, but Ben did as told. He settled on Titan's lap, and then hugged him so tightly that his head was pressed against the fur along Titan's neck. He could feel the beat of Titan's heart while clawed hands wrapped around his back and pulled him into a tight ball.

"I'm going to latch onto the strongest presence outside of Everwinter that I can find and hope it's safe," Titan said.

Ben closed his eyes and allowed himself a moment to simply relax. They had done their best, and they could be proud of it, even if it just meant to save their own hides.

"I understand," Ben whispered.

Titan sighed, "Here we go again."

The glow of the crystals increased, loops of energy formed around them, the dust stopped drifting and took on geometric shapes. Static tingled across their bodies and a bubble of energy surrounded them.

Arcs trailed from the bubble and danced across the walls. A noise similar to the wind grew in their ears and the tunnel began to groan. With a sudden thump the world fragmented around them.

It felt like being hurled through the air, followed by a sudden drop that left them falling. With a thud they hit something which was smooth yet shifting. Ben opened his eyes and found himself looking at a black sky glittering with stars and a crescent moon.

The air felt cold to the point of freezing and for a moment he feared that they were still in Everwinter. Yet as he looked around he saw endless dunes of sand, and jagged cliffs.

"You can let go now," Titan whispered with a gentle yet annoyed voice.

"Oh," Ben whispered and eased up on the iron grip that he seemed to have latched on with.

He then sank down against the sand while Titan looked up, sniffed the air, and turned his head to gaze into the distance.

"Where are we? Why is it so cold?" Ben asked.

"We're in what's called the Wastes. It's mostly a desert and it gets quite cold at night," Titan answered.

Ben looked at the ground and saw nothing but more sand, "Why here? Shouldn't we need a transporter on this end as well? There's just sand..."

Titan shrugged, "I guess this is a natural focal point in the aether, a small rip in the veil that divides our worlds. Which means that we should get out of here, because there's nothing stopping others from transporting here."

Ben pushed against the sand, sat up, and looked himself over, "Can we spare a minute?"

"Yes. I need to rest a little," Titan answered with a tired nod.

"... We made it. We escaped from Everwinter," Ben whispered.

Titan chuckled, "Seems that we did, question is... Now what?"

New emotions bubbled inside Ben and he hastily crawled up the dune they had landed on. Once at the top he stood up, looked around, and felt himself smile. It hit him like a bolt from the sky, the fact that he was now free. Free to explore, free to shape his own fate... To make his own choices.

Ben turned to look down at Titan who still looked up with a confused expression.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ben asked.

Titan motioned to the surrounding dunes, "We're in the wastes, the crystals are burned out. All we have is my magic and your... Skill of subterfuge."

Ben held out his arms while grinning and focused on the horizon which was steadily growing brighter, "Do we need anything more? You're Titan and I'm your trusted sidekick! Two wulfkins, and together we'll have adventures just like in Avery's books! Revered by all! Feared by evildoers!"

Titan raised his brow, stared for a moment, and stifled a chuckle, "Did you hit your head or something?"

Ben found himself laughing, pointed at his head, and looked up at the night sky, "Maybe I did, but I feel more alive than I've ever been before."

"You're not a wulfkin you know?" Titan said and rose on two legs while looking up.

Ben drew a deep breath and looked down to meet Titan's gaze, "You're not the only that has changed since the Master lost his Star. Or were you too preoccupied to notice?"

Titan scratched his head and ascended the dune, "What do you mean, little one?"

"It's happening all over, claws on my toes, fur on my chest, and..." Ben reached up to the hair along his ears, and eased it back to reveal pointed ears.

Titan merely stared for a few moments, "You say it and you sound happy. We could be the last ones, and we might be hunted for it as long as we live."

Ben stepped closer, and angled his head to catch Titan's gaze, "We just escaped from Everwinter. We did what only one person has ever achieved before. Since when did you become such a wimp, Titan?"

Titan bared his teeth with a sour grimace, "Since when did you grow a spine, Ben?"

Ben grew a huge grin, "Ever since I partnered up with you, Titan."

Titan's grimace faded and turned into a gentle smile while he shook his head, "You're impossible."

"Admit it, deep down you like-"

Titan interrupted Ben mid-sentence and reached out to give him a punt in the chest. Ben promptly fell back, and landed on the sand with a thud.

"Don't push it, sidekick," Titan answered and looked toward the sunrise.