Take Us Home

The tablet burned against Leo's palm. His heart hammered against his ribcage as massive chunks of stone crashed down around them. The Warden's roar wasn't just sound, it was pure rage made audible, shaking the very foundations of the shadow realm.

"Move your ass or die here!" Neo shouted, her fingers digging painfully into Leo's arm as she yanked him toward the glowing stone. Fear flashed across her usually composed face.

"You belong to me now!" the Warden's voice boomed inside his skull, nearly splitting it open. Leo's knees buckled as pain shot through his body.

"Leo, you idiot!" Kaori's voice cut through his agony. When he managed to focus on her face, her clear blue eyes weren't just determined, they were furious and terrified simultaneously. "After all the shit we've been through, you choose now to give up? I'll kill you myself if you don't move!"

The ceiling gave way for a large crack, which opened up to nothing but darkness. From this nothingness, shadow tentacles shot down, destroying everything around it.

Neo pressed her scanner against the tablet, her hands trembling but her voice steady. "Picture home," she instructed. "Want it more than anything."

Leo squeezed his eyes shut, trying to visualize Neo-Tokyo's crowded streets and blinding neon signs. But the shadows inside fought back viciously, flooding his mind with images of endless darkness and whispering of promises of power beyond imagination.

"I… I can't," he choked out, black liquid streaming from his eyes. "It's all up in my head"

Something warm pressed against his face. Neo's face was inches from his, her mismatched eyes boring into his with a seriousness he'd never seen in her before.

"Then focus on us," she said, her voice cracking with emotion. "On ME. This nightmare, us, we're real, Leo. Whatever it's showing you is bullshit."

The tablet's glow intensified, spreading over them. The shadow tentacles lunged for them, their tips forming spears of darkness that could impale them in an instant.

Leo's chest tightened with a surge of protectiveness he didn't know he possessed. With a battle cry that almost took his voice away, he wrapped his arms around Neo and Kaori, pulling them against his chest so tightly he could feel their racing hearts.

"TAKE US HOME!" he roared, slamming his palm against the tablet with enough force to crack it.

The tablet shattered, releasing not just light but a shockwave that disintegrated the approaching shadow tentacles. The Warden's final scream, a sound of pure hatred, followed them into the void as reality ripped apart around them.

****

Consciousness came with a world of pain for Leo. 

Traffic sounds blended with medical equipment beeps and heated voices arguing nearby. Leo's body felt like it had been run over by a truck, every muscle screaming in protest.

"...completely finished at best," Neo was saying, her voice hoarse from exhaustion. "The pathway between worlds is in pieces. Whatever that thing was…"

"Could squeeze through the cracks," Kaori finished, her usually confident voice trembling slightly. "How long before we're completely screwed?"

"Could be days. Could be hours. Hell, could be minutes for all I know."

Leo forced his eyes open, immediately regretting it as the medical lights hurt his eyes. 

He was back in the resistance's underground bunker, on the same uncomfortable bed where this nightmare had started. Neo and Kaori stood by the door, backs to him, studying holographic energy patterns that made no sense to him.

"Look who decided not to die after all," came an unfamiliar voice.

Turning his throbbing head, Leo found himself staring at a young man who looked like he hadn't slept in days. His unkempt auburn or reddish-brown hair stuck out in all directions, and despite his youthful face, his eyes carried the stare of someone who'd seen too much.

"Don't worry about the wonder twins over there," the stranger said, nodding toward Neo and Kaori. "They've been at each other's throats since you three crashed back into our reality like meteors. That was eight hours ago, by the way."

"Eight hours?" Leo tried to sit up, only to have pain shoot through his body.

"Whoa there, tough guy. Most people would be dead after what happened to you." The young man adjusted Leo's bed, raising it slightly. "I'm Marcus. The idiot they call when interdimensional shit hits the fan."

Leo examined his arms, noticing the black veins had partially receded. "What the hell is happening to me?"

Marcus's fake smile vanished. "Well, that's the big question, isn't it? From what I've gathered, you've got a hitchhiker now. A very powerful, very pissed-off hitchhiker that doesn't belong in our dimension."

The heart monitor beside Leo's bed suddenly screamed as his pulse skyrocketed..

"Control yourself!" Marcus warned. "Strong emotions feed it!"

"Feed what?" Leo demanded, sweat beading on his forehead as he tried to calm himself.

"The Warden's essence," Neo answered, turning from the holographic display. Her face clearly showed her exhaustion, with dark circles under her mismatched eyes. "A piece of it came with you. Like a parasite."

Leo's panic rose as he processed the information. "Inside me? That thing is inside me?!" His voice rose to a shout.

Kaori approached his bed, her hand hovering over her weapon even as her expression softened. "Not exactly, Leo. The Warden transferred part of itself to you. It's using your body as a foothold in our world now that its realm is collapsing."

"What about the First Shadow?" Leo asked, remembering the visions that had filled him with fear.

The silence that followed was deafening. Neo and Kaori exchanged glances filled with dread.

Marcus cleared his throat. "If the Warden was keeping that thing locked up, and the Warden is now partially inside you..."

"Then I'm the only thing stopping it from getting loose," Leo finished, his stomach dropping through the floor.

He looked at his companions, forcefully calming his voice despite the fear he felt. "So what's the plan? Because I'm not spending the rest of my life as a demon hotel."

Neo approached, running her scanner over his body, the device making buzzing noises. "First, we figure out exactly what this thing is doing to you. Then we either rip it out or teach you to control it."

"And if we can't?" Leo asked, already knowing the answer by the way Neo avoided his gaze.

Kaori's hand moved to her blade. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."