CHAPTER 4: Soulsend, Part 2

The tallest tower at the opposite end of the fortress... Of course it's there, Peasley thought as he ran through the fortress. It hadn't been long until Soulsend had started catching up with him again, but fortunately Peasley was much faster than Luigi by nature. Thank goodness Dimentio's so light, otherwise, I'd be done for!

It had occurred to him that he could have left Dimentio with Sibella, but that seemed like a bad idea. He didn't think that he would react well to waking up in a strange environment with a strange woman. And by "react well", he meant "start attacking people".

At last, he reached a tall spiral staircase at the north end of the fortress. It began in a large outdoor courtyard and went up into a narrow, blue brick tower. He paused and looked up it. There was nowhere to go but up. If he failed, there was no getting away from Soulsend.

"Hey, just what do you think you're doing?!"

Peasley turned around. Soulsend stood at the other end of courtyard, still possessing Luigi's body.

And so begins the mad dash, he thought.

He sprinted up the steps, at first going one stair at a time, then two, then three. He heard Soulsend's steps thudding up after him, and made himself move faster.

The density of the Life Energy seemed to grow exponentially, and Peasley began to see dark spots in his vision. Just a little bit longer, just a little bit longer! he urged himself. If I don't make it, all three of us will fail, and the world will fall into the Prince of Null and Void's hands!

Thunder clapped behind him, and a bolt of lightning hit the ceiling above him seconds after. He didn't dare look back.

"Stop! Get back here!" Soulsend yelled, beginning to sound desperate, almost pitiful.

Peasley didn't waste the breath saying it, but he thought, There's no way in hell I'm stopping now! You deserve exactly what you get!

He saw lavender light above him. He felt his legs start to shake and burn from exhaustion. Another lightning bolt was shot at him, and it hit the far wall.

Then he saw it: a small, grey-blue room. A man's body in extravagant clothing lay on top of a stone bed, his hands clutching the hilt of a sword as if he were in a coffin to be buried with it. Purple light burned from the hilt of his sword so bright it was nearly blinding.

Peasley dropped Dimentio uncermoniously in a corner of the room on his short way to the body on the bed. He stumbled, gasping for breath before collasping against the table. He rose with shaking legs and drew his sword.

"No, wait!" Soulsend cried, at the door of the room.

Peasley plunged his sword into the body's heart.

He heard one last gasp behind him before he turned and saw Luigi's body slump to the ground. When he looked back at the table, the body had turned to dust, leaving only the sword in its place.

He gingerly removed the Thread from the hilt of the sword. The light faded, and he could breath again.

His knees buckled and he collasped to the ground, gripping the Thread tightly and breathing heavily. Even now his body felt weak and frail from what it had endeavored. He saw the light of the setting sun from one of the windows.

"Ugh, what happened...?" Luigi groaned, sitting up. He saw Peasley shaking like a leaf and stumbled over to him. "Are you okay? What happed to you? You look awful!"

Peasley looked up at him and smiled. "I...I got the Thread! And you're okay!"

Luigi raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean I'm okay? I feel fine. Except that I feel like I just ran a mile, don't know what's up with that." He shook his head. "Anyways, what happened? All I remember is that Dimentio got knocked out by some dart or something. Where is Dimentio?"

Slightly irritated, he pointed at the corner where he had dropped the jester off. "I'll...I'll tell you what happened later, for now, we need to get out of here. The fortress will disappear soon..." His voice sounded weak and gravelly.

"Okay. Can you walk?" Luigi helped him stand.

"I think I'll be fine."

Luigi grabbed Dimentio and slung his body over his shoulder. "Let's go."

"...And that's how it all happened," Peasley finished.

Dimentio blinked and looked around. It was nighttime in some grassy area. There had been lots of them on the way to the fortress, so this one could just as well be any other. He looked over to his left. Peasley and Luigi were sitting facing each other around a small fire.

"So, do you ever plan on making good on your promise with that lady?" Luigi asked.

"Psh, no. She kind of creeped me out," Peasley said with a small laugh.

Dimentio sat up and rubbed the back of his head. He tried to remember what happened before he woke up. The last thing that came to mind was them just walking through a large room, then darkness. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Oh, good, you're awake!" Luigi smiled at him. "You got knocked out, I mean, we both did, but there was this whole thing- Peasley can explain it better than I can."

After a brief explanation, Peasley handed Dimentio the Life Energy Segment. "Can you put this in Dimension D?" he asked.

"Yes, of course." Dimentio snapped his fingers and the Thread disappeared. "You said that Soulsend was first possessing some kind of doll-person?"

Peasley nodded. "That was terrifying in and of itself."

"There's actually a race of living doll people where I come from," Dimentio said. "They're called the Soffthred. There's some myth that a king needed an army to fight for him because he was losing a war and running out of people to recruit, so he enchanted some dolls to fight instead. I forget how the rest of it goes, but it's probably not even true." Dimentio shuddered. "You're lucky that Soulsend gave up that body when he did. You can only kill those things if you burn their entire body, otherwise they can just sow themselves back together."

"...You're kidding," Luigi said with disbelief. "You have to be. That's just not a thing that happens!"

Dimentio laughed. "You'd be surprised."

"I can't believe we've gotten three parts of the Thread in one day!" (Just one day? You should go back and double check the time that has passed, I feel like they had a break somewhere to sleep or something) Peasley said, eager to change the subject. "I thought this would take much longer. Maybe along the lines of a month."

"Yeah, I thought so too," Luigi agreed. "Tomorrow we'll get the Time Segment and take down that Prince guy!"

"You know what, Peasley?" Dimentio said. "Until now, I almost thought you were going to be, oh, some kind of useless burden!" he laughed. "Funny, right?"

There was a tight, tense silence.

Oh, now you've gone and done it, Luigi thought, pulling his hat down slightly.

In his mind, Luigi imagined a small measuring device, similar to a speedometer, labeled "Peasley's Rage-O-Meter". The little arrow went swiftly from "Built Up Irritation" to "Ready to Actually Murder".

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Peasley said with a strained voice. His left eye was twitching.

Dimentio, master of sensing the mood, replied, "I said, until now-"

"I know what you said, okay?!" Peasley yelled. He got up and unsheathed his sword, then threw it on the ground. "Fight me! Right now! No weapons, no magic!"

Dimentio stood up and, instead of levitating, stood on the ground. He looked surprised, but Luigi could almost see that he was trying not to smirk. "Alright, I'll take your challenge!"

Luigi quickly jumped between them. "No, no, no! Are you two crazy? We're supposed to be working together, not trying to kill each other!"

"I don't care!" Peasley shoved Luigi out of the way. "I have put up with you long enough, jester. Now that it's come to this, I'm not backing down!"

"Whatever you say, your highness," Dimentio said.

Peasley swung at him, but Luigi grabbed his arm and Dimentio's shoulder and electrocuted (you might want to use a synonym, electrocution means that you are zapped to death; it shares the same root as execution) them both. It was nothing deadly, but it was still enough to burn for a few seconds after.

"I didn't want to have to do that," Luigi said gravely. "But you can't just go off like that."

Peasley looked at the ground for a moment. Then, he turned around and started walking off.

"Wait, where are you going?" Luigi demanded.

"I want to be alone for a bit," Peasley murmured. "Don't follow me. I'll be back when I'm ready." He walked off into the night, disappearing from sight.

"Hmph, I'm not surprised," Dimentio said nonchalantly.

"Would you shut up?" Luigi groaned. "Oh, no, he forgot to bring his sword with him, too!"

Away from the fire, Peasley found that the night air was cold and uninviting. It was dark too; he could barely see a few feet in front of him.

He wasn't going any direction in particular, just away. He felt ashamed now that the anger had worn off. He shouldn't have let himself get so worked up by just one little comment. Besides, it had been a kind of compliment, hadn't it?

Yes, it was a compliment, but a backhanded one, he thought. And he hadn't been upset over only that. It was from built up problems that had suddenly come to a head. He had every right to be angry- in his opinion, at the very least, -and yet...

"We meet again, your highness," purred a familiar voice.

Sibella was standing a few feet to Peasley's right. He would have missed her completely if she hadn't spoken up, though her dress shimmered in the dim moonlight. She was hiding something behind her back.

"Oh. Greetings, Lady Sibella," Peasley said, lacking excitement.

She smiled and stepped closer to him. "Have you come to finally fulfill your promise?" she asked hopefully.

Seriously?! Right now? Peasley thought. "I, um, I'm a bit busy at the moment-"

She giggled. "Oh, don't be shy, your highness! Why else would you be wandering out in the middle of the night?"

Peasley's face flushed. "Well, actually, I was just..." His mind was blank for excuses. Then, an idea struck him.

He stepped up to her and kissed her on the forehead. "There. I've filled my end of the promise," he said with deep self-satisfaction.

Sibella wasn't quite as happy. She pursed her lips and complained, "I know you're not empty-headed, your highness! I guess if you want to get something done, you have to do it yourself." She grabbed Peasley by the front of his shirt, tugged his face down to hers, and kissed him on the lips.

Peasley shoved her off of him. "Hey! Don't do that!" he commanded. "I already kissed you. You never specified where you wanted to be kissed, so I was completely in the right. You have no right to force me to kiss you!"

Sibella's face was a deep red, but she looked happy. "My deepest apologies, your highness. Perhaps I can make it up to you?"

She brought the item behind her back into view. At first, the dark obscured what it was, then it became clear: it was a sword in a sheath. When she pulled it out, Peasley recognized it as the sword that was with Soulsend's body. Had it been glowing blue before?

"Oh, I already have a sword. Besides, I'm experienced with that type, whatever it is..." Peasley said, shifting backwards. The glow was oddly transfixing.

Sibella giggled. "But, it's a very special sword. It was the key to Soulsend's power: it gives the wielder the strength of ten men and lightning-quick reflexes. Some even say it gives the ungifted the ability to use magic."

Peasley thought for a moment. It would be very easy to say he had just found the sword and keep Sibella out of the story. Not only that, but enhanced strength and speed, with magic on top of it all? Who would be useless, then? he thought mischievously.

"Well, I think you've got yourself a deal, Lady Sibella," Peasley said. "There's no hidden price for it, right?"

"None at all! It's yours," she said.

Peasley picked up the sword and weighed it in his hand. It was obviously meant to be used with two hands, but that felt awkward since he was so used to using his rapier. It's shockingly light!he thought. Oh, the look on Dimentio's face will be-

His hand went numb and ice blue light flashed behind his eyes. He heard an awful laugh- no, felt it as if it were in his own head. It was the same voice he heard whispering in his ear in the fortress, cold and cruel.

"You fool! Did you really believe any of that?" it taunted as the numbness traveled up his arm.

"What-What's going on?" Peasley struggled to let go of the sword, but it felt like some otherworldly force was keeping his hand around the hilt.

"I'm sorry, your highness," Sibella said sincerely. "But I am still loyal to my lord. I lied to you before. You did not defeat Soulsend by killing that body- he in fact does not have a 'real body'. Or, at least, a human one."

"So, you're saying that..." He looked down at the glowing sword in horror.

"That's right, idiot! That body was just a decoy. Now, you're my puppet until I say otherwise," Soulsend jeered.

The numb feeling filled Peasley's chest and spread throughout the rest of his body. "You... You won't get away with this..." Peasley gasped. He felt light headed and nauseous. "Luigi will... He'll..."

"I think your little friends will have a hell of a time fighting back without killing your body!" he laughed again.

Peasley's vision became ice blue as the rest of his body went numb. The last thing he heard was Sibella saying, "Once again, I'm very sorry..."

Soulsend took a deep breath and looked around. He tried moving his new limbs- always a bit tricky the first time around -and grinned.

"Hey, this is better than I thought it would be!" he cheered. He saw Sibella's guilty look. "Sibs, don't look so glum! This time (-around-), things will be much better."

"You said that last time," she muttered. "I'm tired of living like this. Tricking people and watching them get hurt over and over."

Soulsend scowled. "I don't think I'll ever understand you. I give you so many nice things and you still aren't happy."

Sibella looked at the ground, unresponsive.

"I'll be back in an hour with the three pieces of the Thread they have, okay?" he informed. He grinned eerily. "Until then, don't move an inch!"

Luigi sighed and tried again. "Sometimes, Dimentio, when you say something, it will hurt their feelings even if you didn't mean for it to. You should still apologize because it will make them feel better and it will make them stop being mad at you."

"First of all, don't talk to me like I'm a child," Dimentio said curtly. "Second, I didn't say I didn't see a reason why I should apologize, I said I wasn't going to. There's a difference."

"Dimentio, I swear, if you don't say at least something along the lines of an apology when Peasley gets back or by the time this whole prophecy thing blows over," he paused and looked him dead in the eye. "I will kill you. And it will hurt."

Dimentio swallowed. "Oh. So it's like that," he muttered.

Luigi blasted the makeshift fire pit with another jet of flames. He was exhausted, and, frankly, just wanted to be home. He didn't want to think about horrible people trying to overtake his world, or cryptic phrases about Dimentio's past from his old "friends" or monsters that could possess people on a whim. A small, wishful part of him hoped that when they got to the next piece of thread that they would just hand it over without any fuss.

"Well, speak of the devil," Dimentio said.

Luigi looked behind him. Peasley was slowly coming into the light. He was looking down, so his face was concealed by his hair.

"There you are!" Luigi said, standing up. "I was beginning to get worried. You shouldn't have just stormed off like that, especially without...your...sword...?"

Peasley slowly looked up at him with a fixed grin and ice blue eyes.

"Greetings, heroes of prophecy," Soulsend answered.

Luigi almost fell over backing away. "You! But-But how? Peasley defeated you!" He glanced back at Dimentio, who looked equally confused.

Soulsend laughed. "Oh, sure that's what you all thought- I'll have to thank Sibella for that one later, that was clever, -but I'm a little harder to kill than that." He paused. "Come to think of it, nearly impossible."

"Okay, but what are you doing in Peasley's body? We already have your part of the Thread, so there's no point in bothering us anymore," Luigi said pointedly.

Dimentio nodded. "Yes, and don't you know what we did to the other holders of the Thread?"

Luigi grimaced. Okay, Dimentio, how are we supposed to kill this guy? He's possessing Peasley, and he just said he's nearly impossible to kill, he thought.

Soulsend smirked. "I'm impressed. I thought there would be a lot more pathetic groveling from the two lesser heroes."

Luigi's face flushed. Instead of succumbing to a flashback to every single time he had been called inferior to his brother, he said, "Just what do you want, Soulsend?!"

"I want the Thread, and to bring you back to my liege. Dead or alive, that is," he shrugged. "Doesn't matter much to me." He paused thoughtfully, then muttered. "Actually, this guy's a prince, right? I like royalty. Plus, I could make an alliance with my prince in the name of his kingdom- Beanbag or whatever it was, -and that would definitely make him happy." He grinned at the heroes. "Okay, three things-"

"We heard you already," Dimentio said flatly. "And the answer, again, is no."

Soulsend scowled deeply. "Fine. Don't take my kindness." He raised his sword in both hands. "I guess it had to come to this. Die!"

He slashed diagonally at Luigi, who jumped back. Luigi quickly took off his gauntlets, then swung at his adversary. Soulsend took one hand off the hilt of his sword and caught Luigi's fist. In a swift motion, Soulsend wrenched his arm so that Luigi's balance was lost and he fell on his back. While his opponent was stunned, he stabbed down and aimed for the stomach. Dimentio grabbed Luigi and pulled him away, but half a moment too late. The sword made a harsh wound in his side and spattered blood on the ground.

Dimentio helped the shaking Luigi up. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Ugh, I... Dimentio, there's a giant gash in my side, what do you think?" Luigi groaned, clutching the bleeding wound.

After a brief moment of thought, Dimentio said, "I'll handle this. You go look for something to cover that." He snapped his fingers, and Luigi disappeared to Dimension D.

"How touching! You know, I don't think I've seen something that nice in quite a while," Soulsend said with mock sympathy.

"Do you do anything but cause trouble and make people uncomfortable?!" Dimentio snapped.

Soulsend's eyes widened and he seemed hurt. Then he smirked. "So now it's just you and I. Dimentio, scoundrel, murderer, and masquerader, versus the grand Soulsend-"

"Scoundrel, murderer, and body-stealer," Dimentio finished.

"You know, the prince has been dying to see you." He chuckled. "Get it? Because he's probably going to kill you after a few long months of torture?"

"Could you tell me something?"

"Yes?"

"Who the hell is he?!"

Soulsend stared at him. "You. You don't know?"

Dimentio shook his head. "Don't have a clue."

"You literally ruined his life and you don't know who he is?" Soulsend demanded, pointing his sword at him.

"I wouldn't say I ruined his life, he seems to be doing pretty swell," Dimentio said defensively. "I'd rather say I'm about to ruin his life. Or end it, preferably."

"Ugh, why am I even talking to you about this?! You'll meet him soon whether I get my way or not." He got back into a battle stance. "Let's get this over with!"

Soulsend slashed horizontally at Dimentio, who teleported behind him. Dimentio raised his hand to use magic, then had a thought, No, he needs to stay alive so we can save this world. He was slightly disgusted by his own heroism.

Instead, he turned himself and clocked Soulsend across the face, then teleported out of the way of the sharp, swinging retort. When he tried to go for a second hit, he was hit in the stomach with the pommel of Soulsend's sword. He was almost hit again before he flew above his opponent. Soulsend grabbed Dimentio's ankle and swung him downward, and he hit the ground on his side. Before he could move out of the way he was grabbed again, this time by the collar, and pulled close to Soulsend's stolen face with a sword against his neck.

"You know, it's a real shame," Soulsend crooned. "If my liege didn't hate you so damn much, I'd love to take your body for a spin. You're strong and fast, and I love your sense of style."

Dimentio shuddered. He tried to teleport away, but found he was stuck fast. It was weird enough to have some kind of spirit compliment him on how much it wanted to possess him, but Peasley's voice saying it made it worse.

He was tempted to use the Nature Segment again, to perhaps use the grass around his antagonist's ankles to snare him, but he held back. When he had used it on Innui, it felt less like his conscience decision to use it, and more like something making him do it. Like a voice whispering into his mind. The thought was enough to make him shudder again.

"If you give me the Thread now, I won't spill your guts on the ground," Soulsend offered.

"Okay, but, if you do kill me, you can't get the Thread," Dimentio said, trying to think of a way to get out of his situation.

Soulsend tilted his head. "What... What do you mean?"

"I have the Thread in my pocket dimension. You don't know how to get there, so you can't get to the Thread. If I die, you can't get there, so you can't get it," he said slowly.

"Well, then..." He paused, thinking hard. "Give me the Segments you have now! Or I'll-"

"Or you'll what? You'll kill me?" Dimentio said, starting to enjoy himself a little.

Soulsend shook his head and gritted his teeth. "No, wait. If I kill you, I win. But I don't get the Thread? If I let you go, I lose, and I still don't get the Thread?" He shook his head again. "I don't get it! If only Sibella was here..."

Two different streams of thought came to Dimentio at once. The first one was: Man, this guy is an idiot. It's almost like he's not used to thinking or something. It's as if an animate object came to life. He glanced down at the sword near his neck. Most normal swords didn't pulse and glow bright when their user talked. Like a sword, for instance.

The second one was: Wait, what am I doing here, dangling like an idiot? I can just duplicate myself and fight that way.

Soulsend was still muttering to himself. "She'd know what to do. I shouldn't have ignored her feelings before. She's probably upset now."

Dimentio duplicated himself and used the duplicate to punch Soulsend across the face.

Naturally, Soulsend lost his grip on Dimentio and was sent tumbling sideways. With a new objective, the masquerader was filled with renewed confidence. He felt his hands glow with purple magic, but held himself back from going all out.

"Y-You! You bastard!" Soulsend sputtered. "Using duplication to trick me... What a cheap tactic!"

Dimentio laughed. "You know, it's funny. You use fancy words to cover up the fact that you're a sword that gained a consciousness."

Soulsend's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

"Because you're fucking stupid," Dimentio said flatly.

Thank goodness that shot in the dark went well, he thought, relieved.

The fight resumed with Soulsend slashing wildly at Dimentio. He dodged rapidly, laughing as he went. He even used more duplicates of himself to add to his enemy's confusion. Then, in one moment of tension and frustration, Soulsend stabbed downward and stuck his sword- or his true body, that is, -halfway into the ground. Dimentio kicked him in the stomach, knocking him back, his hands wrenched from the sword.

As he fell backwards, the ice blue color faded from Peasley's eyes. He landed roughly on the ground, unconscious.

Dimentio let his duplicates disappear as he dropped from the air to the ground. His shoulders sagged and he breathed heavy, shaking breaths. He looked at the still-glowing sword in the ground, and Peasley laying not far from it. His breath hitched when he saw the prince's right hand. Something told him wrists should not bend like that.

He knelt down near Soulsend and said, "I know you're not gone. Can you talk, sword?"

The sword's light pulsed as it said, "I'm impressed." It had a shrill, irritating voice. "You not only figured out my weakness, but beat me, too!"

"It wasn't that hard," Dimentio lied. "What can you tell me about the Prince of Null and Void?"

"I will reveal nothing!" it shrieked.

Dimentio rolled his eyes. He formed an opaque yellow box around the sword- and some of the dirt around it -and sent it to Dimension D. He then snapped his fingers, bringing Luigi back from there.

He wasn't looking good. His face was pale, and the wound wasn't looking any better. He gasped, "I couldn't- Couldn't find anything to cover it up. Why don't you have anything to wrap wounds with?"

Dimentio gritted his teeth. I never thought I would need it, he thought.

"Can I help you?"

Dimentio turned his head. There was a red-headed Soffthred standing there, just in the light.

"I-I'm good at healing wounds," he explained. "And- though it may not be my place to say so -it looks like you might need that right now."

A pink figure- or a figure in pink, one couldn't tell from a distance -held out a long, sharp sword to Lady Sibella. "Here it is! The prince's rapier," she exclaimed.

"Oh, thank you!" the lady cried. "This will do nicely, yes."

The figure stood there awkwardly. "I um. I don't really understand why you wanted me to bring you this. You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to-"

"No, no, I don't mind," Sibella reassured. "Could you tell me what kind of sword Soulsend is?"

The figure thought for a moment. "No, I don't think I could."

"Exactly. No one can. Not even the Prince of Null and Void." She smiled conspiratorially. "I'm going to bring this to the prince and tell him Soulsend has died."

"Why? Don't you have some sort of loyalty to him? I know you told Prince Peasley your father owed him money," the figure asked, confused.

Sibella scoffed. "All of that was a bunch of lies to draw sympathy. I just..." She looked off wistfully. "I used to like him quite a bit."

After a long silence, the figure said, "Well, good luck, my lady."

"Thank you, Lily."