Crash and Burn (Lifetimes AU, 71,955 words) - Part 6
Title: Crash and Burn (Lifetimes #28)
Authors:
bookishlady242 and
ocelot_l
Pairings: Harvey/Linkara, 90s Kid/80s Dan, Boffo/Linksano, Kung-Tai Ted/Ninja-Style Dancer
Rating: R
Warnings/Triggers: Graphic violence, graphic blood, heavy angst, mind control, hallucinations, drug use, references to drug use, death, references to past death, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, allusions to sex, mild sexual activity
Summary: When Linkara learns about a devastating new weapon which could destroy lives if it falls into the wrong hands, he and his team must prepare for a mission harder than any they've faced before. When challenges threaten their lives and their ties of friendship, will they manage to save the world and, most importantly, themselves?
DISCLAIMER: We do not own the characters, the shows, or the people who portray the characters. This is meant as a work of fiction and is fair use. Please support the creators by watching their videos, letting the ads play, buying their DVDs and merchandise, and/or contributing to their Patreon(s). "Crash and Burn" is performed by Savage Garden.
Very special thanks to
njdoodler112 and
trulyamindlost for the bonus content! :D
Part 1/ Part 2/ Part 3/ Part 4/ Part 5/ Part 7/ Part 8/ Part 9/ Part 10/ Part 11/ Part 12/ Part 13/ Part 14/Bonus Material
Linkara walked with his team down the spotless white hallway, for how long he wasn’t sure, since his watch had stopped working the moment they’d entered this magical sub-universe. It may have been hours, it might even have been days; he wasn’t certain since the usual signifiers of passing time like hunger or fatigue never arrived. Instead of feeling relieved about not having to worry over such matters, this only added to the unsettled feeling that Linkara was experiencing. The aura around him and his team was much worse than it had been in a long time, and his companions were not doing well.
Linksano was more withdrawn and barely spoke a word, while every so often twitching and looking around in all directions, as if he’d heard something, and Ninja...well, there was no way to really tell what Ninja was thinking. He was keeping a great distance between himself and the rest of the team, which wasn’t a new thing really, but unsettling nonetheless. Ninja’s eyes had also never given offthat thousand-yard stare before. No one had ever seen the fighter seem quite so miserable and it was an extremely uncomfortable thing to witness.
Linkara glanced back at 90s Kid, who was sticking close to Harvey’s side. He had easily caught on to the fact that the teenager was ignoring him, and as long as that didn’t affect the mission, Linkara didn’t really care about that. What he did care about was how the negative atmosphere was already affecting them, since 90s Kid was walking much more hesitantly now, as if afraid that every door around him might suddenly pop open so that some monster could drag him inside. He kept checking that bizarre Care Bear watch of his as well, which was useless since it had stopped functioning, and even more bizarrely he kept nuzzling it to his cheek. At least he didn’t seem as stressed out as Harvey, who was cursing more often than normal every time he tugged on a doorknob and failed to open it, and who was leaving a trail of cigarette butts behind him thanks to his recent chain-smoking.
Linkara knew what he must do. He would gather them all together, offering words of comfort and a shoulder to cry on, before giving a rousing speech about the importance of moving forward. Rousing speeches always did the trick, and he was certain he could come up with a great one to lift their spirits and emphasize how their mission was too important to abandon now, so they must press on at all costs. Everything they’d suffered through would be worth it once they found and neutralized this weapon.
Just as he was beginning to compose the grand finale of the speech in his head, Linkara’s eyes flickered over to a door a few feet ahead of him which bore golden letters.
TROBHAD
“Everyone! It’s over here!” Linkara cried as he dashed ahead, already pulling out his Magic Gun and getting into position. After assembling and opening the door to once again find no enemies behind it, Linkara led the group inside, releasing a soft gasp when he realized he was standing in what looked like a castle’s banquet hall.
Swords and shields and armor of all types rested along the walls, and the ceiling seemed as high as the sky. A round table sat before them, filled with shimmering and gleaming dishes, and every chair neatly positioned for hungry occupants. A few steps forward revealed a throne, which was empty, and cobweb-covered iron chandeliers, which hung dim. Linkara was so overcome with excitement that he was nearly compelled to kneel at the throne himself, but he managed to keep in control. He had a mission to complete, so living out his knight-related fantasies could wait.
As they continued to walk through the majestic castle interior, Linkara noticed a white stone pillar in the center of the room with a silver scroll resting upon upon it, and he took off at a run for it. “Come on, guys! We’ve got a trial to do!” he said with an excitement that did not quite reach the others.
Linkara grabbed the scroll, examining it with an impressed expression. “It’s silver now. I wonder if that means something.” Without waiting for anyone else to comment, Linkara unrolled the shiny parchment and scanned his eyes over the words eagerly. “Words Can Conceal. Obey the Words: Obey the Voices that Will Guide You Along the True Path of a Hero.” Linkara gazed down at the bottom of the scroll, furrowing his brows slightly. “Huh. This is different too. It looks like there are five silver checkmarks at the bottom of the scroll.”
“What does all that junk mean?” 90s Kid wondered, looking to Harvey, who shrugged.
“Beats me. I never was good with riddles-”
“Ah! Ow! Damn it!” Harvey broke off when he heard Linkara’s sudden screams of pain. Linkara was grimacing and clutching at his head as if it were about to split in two.
“Kid, what is it?” Harvey hurried to Linkara’s side, searching for whatever had caused his sudden ailment.
“It’s m-my...ugh...my head,” Linkara moaned, staggering a few steps back until his back hit the solid rock of the castle wall.
“A migraine?” Linksano wondered, taking a cautious step toward Linkara.
“No...n-no, it’s...these voices.”
“Voices?” Harvey asked, trying to place his hands on the younger man’s shoulders to steady him.
“In my h-head. All of a sudden they-start, stop, leave, go,” Linkara murmured, squeezing his eyes shut as the voices grew louder. “Save her, run away, solve the mystery, ride into the sunset. All these v-voices...ah...they won’t s-stop…stop it…God…”
Harvey’s expression grew even more worried and he quickly turned to Linksano. “Doc, this sounds like your area of expertise. Help the Kid out, quick.”
“What do you mean my area of expertise?” Linksano snapped, the memories of his trial once again flooding his mind. “Do you think I’m constantly battling psychotic voices that tell me to do unspeakable things?”
Harvey stared at him, almost at a loss for words. “I mean, you’ve gotta have a painkiller for headaches in your bag, right?” he finally answered.
Linksano’s face flushed. “Right.” He hurriedly searched through his medical bag before pulling out the appropriate bottle and shaking a few pills into his hand. “Here.” He offered the pills to Linkara, but jumped back like a frightened animal when a wild swing of Linkara’s arm knocked the medicine to the floor.
“Kid!” Harvey again tried to grab onto Linkara, but he pulled away and started moving away from the group.
“Excalibur!” Linkara cried, his eyes wide and manic. “The voices-they say I have to get Excalibur! That’s something a h-hero would wield! Excalibur!” Still yelling wildly, while holding onto the sides of his head, Linkara rushed outside, into the wilderness.
“Follow him! We can’t let him run around like that by himself!” Harvey ordered, and everyone quickly ran after Linkara.
Linkara ran, panting and clutching at his forehead with one hand, darting to and fro as many different voices tried to offer him directions. “Will one of you just pick left or right and stick to it?!” he shouted to no one, and the others began to look around.
“Uh, guys, I think we should go that way,” 90s Kid piped up, pointing to a long, curved trail that led to a hilltop.
“The voices are telling me to keep going straight, 90s Kid.”
“But like-”
“No buts! I have to listen to them or else I’m never going to pick the right path!” Linkara snapped back, causing 90s Kid to grumble and reluctantly pick up his pace. They kept running along a path that curved around and around in many different directions for about ten more minutes, with Linkara changing direction every so often, until they finally circled back to the path that 90s Kid tried to originally direct them onto, which only led to more muttering from the teen.
The five slowly climbed up the hilltop until Linkara approached the legendary sword in the stone, Excalibur. It was nearly glowing, bathed in emerald green light, and as he drew closer, Linkara could see the inscription on the hilt. His smile spread wide across his face. He was going to be the hero. He was going to be King Arthur! As the others watched him curiously, Linkara placed both hands on the hilt and drew the sword from the stone, as if he were pulling a knife out of soft butter. He held it high into the air and beamed at his team.
“Got it!”
Linkara’s victory proved to be short-lived, however, as the sword almost instantly vanished from his hands, leaving him wobbling slightly as the voices in his head seemed to increase in volume. “Ow! Damn it all!” he moaned while rubbing at his temples again.
“Kid, I’m begging ya, take the pills, please.” Harvey approached Linkara with medicine that had not been dropped on the dingy floor of an old castle and a bottle of water.
Linkara groaned before downing the pills in one swallow. “I just d-don’t understand...why didn’t that work? I-I followed the voices...I freed Excalibur like a t-true hero would...so why...?”
Linkara seemed as if he might fall over at any second, so Harvey quickly laid an arm across his shoulders so he could steady himself. “I don’t know, Kid, but I don’t think you should keep running off willy-nilly like that.”
“Yeah, man, you should probably take it easy for now,” 90s Kid agreed, his animosity currently replaced by fear. He couldn’t stop looking from Linkara’s pained expression to Ninja’s solemn one, and Linksano’s nervous one, each expression only causing him to feel worse. “Maybe we should all, like, take a break and rest, you know?”
“No!” Linkara shook his head ferociously and pulled up the scroll to read once again. “I refuse to stop until these damned voices have b-been silenced for good.” His eyes pored over the words again, looking for any tricks or loopholes he might have missed, while completely failing to realize that the number of checkmarks had lessened from ten to nine, before his forehead crinkled and he grimaced again with pain.”N-no...owww…stop it...w-what are you saying? The...Lady of...Shallot? Where...the tower? The tower! I will go and...and save her!”
“Kid, stop!” Harvey watched in frustration as Linkara once again set off on an unsteady path through the lush wilderness. “Come on, we gotta keep up with him!” he called to the others before setting off at a run.
By the time they caught up to him, Linkara was already halfway up the side of a stone tower, having climbed it with his bare hands if the blood dripping down the stones was anything to go by. “Kid!” Harvey cried out in a panic upon noticing the stains. “You’re hurting yourself! Come back here so Doc can treat you!”
“Linkara-dude, please!” 90s Kid begged as well. “You’re really scaring me!”
“I have...to save her...” Linkara grunted, continuing to climb higher.
Harvey turned helplessly to the other members of their group. “Can’t you do anything to stop him?”
Ninja merely sat down at the base of tree, keeping his head lowered and his hands together. There was nothing a pitiful waste of a human being like him could do right now. Linksano also sat down, still keeping his distance from the others for the time being. “His injuries aren’t life-threatening,” he murmured. “I can treat him when he climbs back down.”
“But he’s not gonna climb back down! Doesn’t anybody get that?” Harvey was at the end of his rope, panic and worry overtaking him as Linkara continued to climb ever higher.
Suddenly, Linkara’s blood-soaked fingers slipped from the stone and he began to fall. Harvey could only watch in horror as Linkara hurtled through the air at a rapid speed. His whole body turned to lead and his heart plummeted alongside the man he loved, but before he could even start to scream, a flash of black hurtled up into the air. Seconds later, Ninja-Style Dancer landed gracefully on the ground, Linkara held safely in his arms.
Harvey immediately rushed over to them, looking at Linkara with an expression of anger and relief. “Thank God you’re alive, because I’m gonna kill ya myself!” he exclaimed before squeezing his shoulders again. “Dammit, Kid, you can’t scare me like that, you just can’t! Alright, this stops right now. We’re finishing this thing up later; right now we need to get the Kid fixed up. Ninja, carry him. Doc, check out his hands. Junior, help me grab this stuff.” There was such a tone of authority in his voice that he sounded more like the Captain Finevoice of years past rather than the mellow lounge singer of the present, and nobody dared dream of disobeying Harvey’s orders.
Linkara, who had passed out from shock during the fall, was both astounded and embarrassed when he woke up to his head in Harvey’s lap, with bandages on his hands, and Harvey’s fingers stroking through his hair. “What the hell is this?” he bellowed, sitting up and ignoring the pain that followed. “I d-didn’t give the okay for a retreat!”
Harvey reached for him and tried to pull him back down again. “Do you realize what could have happened if I didn’t? You nearly got yourself killed!” Harvey told him, refusing to let the man go. “You nearly scared me into giving up the ghost! Kid, we’re all counting on you and you-you can’t just do that-” Harvey’s voice cracked and Linkara quit struggling, looking to Harvey with concern.
“Harvey, I’m f-fine. I was just d-doing what I needed to do. Nothing bad was g-going to happen to m-me.”
“You don’t know that.” Harvey murmured, his gaze no longer upon him, but looking through him, to a time where he’d had nothing left to live for. “And I wasn’t gonna let you keep going unless I was sure we knew what we were getting into."
Linkara sighed, wanting to placate Harvey, but finding it very difficult to keep his emotions in check when there were still several voices squabbling in his head. “H-Harvey, I’m sorry for worrying you...ow...b-but I promise you that I know what I’m g-getting into. N-none of this is real, remember? None of it really means anything because it’s all some kind of m-magical illusion created by this world.”
“But your hands, Kid,” Harvey tried to protest, looking down at the bright white bandages he now sported.
“They d-don’t hurt nearly as much as the voices do,” Linkara said, suddenly turning a pitiful expression on Harvey. “You w-want me to get rid of these voices, right?”
“Of course I do, Kid.”
“Then you h-have to...ow...let me keep going until I p-pass this stupid trial.”
Harvey continued staring into Linkara’s eyes until the pain he could see within forced him to turn away. “Alright, Kid. I can’t stand knowing you’re suffering like this. I guess we can keep going.”
“Thanks, Harvey.” Linkara managed a smile before he climbed back to his feet. “Now, I have to g-get back up that tower and...” Linkara trailed off when he noticed a beautiful young woman was standing in the window high above him, gazing down at him and his crew in shock. “No...damn it all...sh-she wasn’t supposed to look down here!” Linkara groaned as the tower and the lady vanished before his eyes, just as the sword had done before. The voices screamed their displeasure at him before offering multiple new suggestions for what he could do.
Harvey watched him anxiously stagger around again before he finally settled on a path leading further into the forest. “The...H-Holy Grail...we...we have to find it...” Linkara said, gesturing for the others to follow him. “Finding it will...m-make me a true hero for sure...oww...”
As they walked along, the forest grew wilder and denser; as trees tall enough to tower over the travelers spread their branches out so wide that the sky was becoming obscured, making everything darker and quieter too. 90s Kid whimpered softly as they headed deeper into the woods, keeping as close to Harvey as he could. “I-I really don’t like this,” he whispered.
“I know, Junior, but we have to do what the Kid says until we can figure out how to end this thing.” Harvey patted 90s Kid’s shoulder before he glanced back at Ninja, who was again trailing the group. “Thanks again for what you did back there. If anything had seriously happened to the Kid, I...I don’t know if I coulda kept going.”
*I will never again miss an opportunity to save a life* Ninja held up in response. He might be a worthless shell of a human being, but he would spend the rest of his life repenting for that fact and hopefully, one day, he would be forgiven.
Linkara kept taking them in deeper and deeper, occasionally having to rest against a tree when the pounding in his head became too much to bear. “T-this way...no wait...it’s behind us...no...argh, why can’t they decide on something...?”
The others were very unnerved by the situation, and even Ninja didn’t look to be on his guard at all anymore. 90s Kid was growing more and more upset as they were led deeper and deeper into the woods, to the point where Harvey had to lead him along by his arm so he wouldn’t stop or turn around.
“Linkara, I fail to see how we are going to find this fabled grail if we can’t even see our hands in front of our faces,” Linksano said from somewhere, though nobody knew the exact location.
“The grail will be...nngh...bathed in light w-when we find it,” Linkara panted out, trying to figure out which way to carry his legs next.
“Kid, I don’t know if this plan is gonna work out. You sure those voices ain’t telling you about something else?”
“I’m sure, H-Harvey! Just keep going! This w-would all go a lot f-faster if you’d just listen to m-me!”
“Dude, we don’t even know where we’re going or if the Holy Grail is even out here!” 90s Kid suddenly piped up, startling the others into stopping. “If we keep listening to you, we’re never going to get anywhere! Why don’t you let Ninja-dude and I look for it, we’re good at figuring out where stuff is!”
Linkara turned on 90s Kid and glared, feeling his head throb with anger. “90s Kid, I am the leader here, and-oh jeez-you will listen to my instructions!”
“I’m sick of listening to you!” 90s Kid yelled, his frustration at the futile search and fear of the dark rising up to claim him. “You haven’t had one good idea this whole time!”
Linkara’s eyes flashed with anger. “Y-you of all people are going to tell me that? Who was the one who...ahhh...who wasted all the p-power cells in the BFG because Youngblood was renewed? W-who tried to...skateboard off the roof of the apartment building?”
“Th-that was different!” 90s Kid protested, his face slightly reddening as he flushed in embarrassment.
“Well you know what? You might be sick of m-my ideas, but I’m sick of your...your...oh God.” Harvey rushed forward as Linkara fell to his knees, the pain in his head overwhelming him.
“Kid, are you okay?”
“Grrr...ahhh...owowow...damn...it...okay, fine...we break for h-half an hour. Dismissed...owww...”
Harvey cast a pleading expression to 90s Kid, begging him to not continue his argument with Linkara for the time being, and despite how annoyed he felt, 90s Kid nodded in agreement. Linkara was not looking well at all, so there was no point in fighting when he was too far gone to listen to reason. Relieved, Harvey mouthed a word of thanks to the teenager before he helped Linkara over to a soft patch of grass where a few shafts of sunlight managed to peek through the foliage.
-----
90s Kid watched as once again Linkara rested his head in Harvey’s lap and tried to close his eyes. Harvey did his best to make him feel comfortable, stroking his scalp once again and speaking to him in low, loving words that no one else could hear. 90s Kid saw the love and tenderness shining in Harvey’s eyes and he felt a raw, hungry ache well up inside him that caused him to turn his head away from the pair.
His gaze landed on Ninja, who was sitting at the base of a tree and staring intently at one of his notecards. From his view, it seemed to 90s Kid as if it were covered not with words but merely splotches of ink, and when a sudden breeze bent the front of the card downwards, 90s Kid realized what was on the paper. The splotches of ink, red in color, had been crudely shaped into the image of Kung-Tai Ted’s smiling face. 90s Kid felt a wave of empathy for the fighter and he started to stand up, but his movements caught Ninja’s attention. Instantly he was gone, having disappeared into the highest branches of the tree where he was no longer visible to the others, obviously not in the mood for conversation of any sort.
90s Kid sighed and sat back down, still feeling restless and disgruntled, before turning his attention to Linksano. The scientist had taken out some of his gadgets to test if they were still functional, including his finger beams, what looked to be a Geiger counter, and the communicator. 90s Kid’s eyes landed upon that last device and the anxiety inside him was swiftly enveloped by his desire for home. There had been very little about this mission that had been enjoyable so far and 90s Kid couldn’t help but wish that he had refused to go in the first place. If he had, he would still be home safe and sound, not watching his closest friends being wrecked by invisible monsters they seemed unprepared to fight and, more importantly, he would still be with Dan.
Dan. 90s Kid closed his eyes and tried not to whimper as he thought about the older man. How long had it been since he’d last seen Dan? Since he’d heard him laugh, told him he loved him, kissed him good night? There was no way to know; for all 90s Kid knew years could have passed in the real world. This thought terrified the teen. What would have happened to Dan if it turned out 90s Kid really had been gone for a year or longer? Would he have been able to stay strong as he promised, or would he have...90s Kid refused to entertain any other notion. Dan would stay strong. He must stay strong, even if he needed another bit of encouragement to accomplish this.
An idea suddenly sprung to 90s Kid’s mind, one he was sure Linkara would reject outright, but he didn’t particularly care about what Linkara thought right now. 90s Kid snuck another glance at Harvey and Linkara, making certain they were too busy to notice him, before he plopped down beside Linksano and said to him in a soft, whispered voice, “Linksano-dude…I need a favor.”
Authors:
bookishlady242 and
ocelot_l
Pairings: Harvey/Linkara, 90s Kid/80s Dan, Boffo/Linksano, Kung-Tai Ted/Ninja-Style Dancer
Rating: R
Warnings/Triggers: Graphic violence, graphic blood, heavy angst, mind control, hallucinations, drug use, references to drug use, death, references to past death, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, allusions to sex, mild sexual activity
Summary: When Linkara learns about a devastating new weapon which could destroy lives if it falls into the wrong hands, he and his team must prepare for a mission harder than any they've faced before. When challenges threaten their lives and their ties of friendship, will they manage to save the world and, most importantly, themselves?
DISCLAIMER: We do not own the characters, the shows, or the people who portray the characters. This is meant as a work of fiction and is fair use. Please support the creators by watching their videos, letting the ads play, buying their DVDs and merchandise, and/or contributing to their Patreon(s). "Crash and Burn" is performed by Savage Garden.
Very special thanks to
njdoodler112 and
trulyamindlost for the bonus content! :D
Part 1/ Part 2/ Part 3/ Part 4/ Part 5/ Part 7/ Part 8/ Part 9/ Part 10/ Part 11/ Part 12/ Part 13/ Part 14/Bonus Material
Linkara walked with his team down the spotless white hallway, for how long he wasn’t sure, since his watch had stopped working the moment they’d entered this magical sub-universe. It may have been hours, it might even have been days; he wasn’t certain since the usual signifiers of passing time like hunger or fatigue never arrived. Instead of feeling relieved about not having to worry over such matters, this only added to the unsettled feeling that Linkara was experiencing. The aura around him and his team was much worse than it had been in a long time, and his companions were not doing well.
Linksano was more withdrawn and barely spoke a word, while every so often twitching and looking around in all directions, as if he’d heard something, and Ninja...well, there was no way to really tell what Ninja was thinking. He was keeping a great distance between himself and the rest of the team, which wasn’t a new thing really, but unsettling nonetheless. Ninja’s eyes had also never given offthat thousand-yard stare before. No one had ever seen the fighter seem quite so miserable and it was an extremely uncomfortable thing to witness.
Linkara glanced back at 90s Kid, who was sticking close to Harvey’s side. He had easily caught on to the fact that the teenager was ignoring him, and as long as that didn’t affect the mission, Linkara didn’t really care about that. What he did care about was how the negative atmosphere was already affecting them, since 90s Kid was walking much more hesitantly now, as if afraid that every door around him might suddenly pop open so that some monster could drag him inside. He kept checking that bizarre Care Bear watch of his as well, which was useless since it had stopped functioning, and even more bizarrely he kept nuzzling it to his cheek. At least he didn’t seem as stressed out as Harvey, who was cursing more often than normal every time he tugged on a doorknob and failed to open it, and who was leaving a trail of cigarette butts behind him thanks to his recent chain-smoking.
Linkara knew what he must do. He would gather them all together, offering words of comfort and a shoulder to cry on, before giving a rousing speech about the importance of moving forward. Rousing speeches always did the trick, and he was certain he could come up with a great one to lift their spirits and emphasize how their mission was too important to abandon now, so they must press on at all costs. Everything they’d suffered through would be worth it once they found and neutralized this weapon.
Just as he was beginning to compose the grand finale of the speech in his head, Linkara’s eyes flickered over to a door a few feet ahead of him which bore golden letters.
TROBHAD
“Everyone! It’s over here!” Linkara cried as he dashed ahead, already pulling out his Magic Gun and getting into position. After assembling and opening the door to once again find no enemies behind it, Linkara led the group inside, releasing a soft gasp when he realized he was standing in what looked like a castle’s banquet hall.
Swords and shields and armor of all types rested along the walls, and the ceiling seemed as high as the sky. A round table sat before them, filled with shimmering and gleaming dishes, and every chair neatly positioned for hungry occupants. A few steps forward revealed a throne, which was empty, and cobweb-covered iron chandeliers, which hung dim. Linkara was so overcome with excitement that he was nearly compelled to kneel at the throne himself, but he managed to keep in control. He had a mission to complete, so living out his knight-related fantasies could wait.
As they continued to walk through the majestic castle interior, Linkara noticed a white stone pillar in the center of the room with a silver scroll resting upon upon it, and he took off at a run for it. “Come on, guys! We’ve got a trial to do!” he said with an excitement that did not quite reach the others.
Linkara grabbed the scroll, examining it with an impressed expression. “It’s silver now. I wonder if that means something.” Without waiting for anyone else to comment, Linkara unrolled the shiny parchment and scanned his eyes over the words eagerly. “Words Can Conceal. Obey the Words: Obey the Voices that Will Guide You Along the True Path of a Hero.” Linkara gazed down at the bottom of the scroll, furrowing his brows slightly. “Huh. This is different too. It looks like there are five silver checkmarks at the bottom of the scroll.”
“What does all that junk mean?” 90s Kid wondered, looking to Harvey, who shrugged.
“Beats me. I never was good with riddles-”
“Ah! Ow! Damn it!” Harvey broke off when he heard Linkara’s sudden screams of pain. Linkara was grimacing and clutching at his head as if it were about to split in two.
“Kid, what is it?” Harvey hurried to Linkara’s side, searching for whatever had caused his sudden ailment.
“It’s m-my...ugh...my head,” Linkara moaned, staggering a few steps back until his back hit the solid rock of the castle wall.
“A migraine?” Linksano wondered, taking a cautious step toward Linkara.
“No...n-no, it’s...these voices.”
“Voices?” Harvey asked, trying to place his hands on the younger man’s shoulders to steady him.
“In my h-head. All of a sudden they-start, stop, leave, go,” Linkara murmured, squeezing his eyes shut as the voices grew louder. “Save her, run away, solve the mystery, ride into the sunset. All these v-voices...ah...they won’t s-stop…stop it…God…”
Harvey’s expression grew even more worried and he quickly turned to Linksano. “Doc, this sounds like your area of expertise. Help the Kid out, quick.”
“What do you mean my area of expertise?” Linksano snapped, the memories of his trial once again flooding his mind. “Do you think I’m constantly battling psychotic voices that tell me to do unspeakable things?”
Harvey stared at him, almost at a loss for words. “I mean, you’ve gotta have a painkiller for headaches in your bag, right?” he finally answered.
Linksano’s face flushed. “Right.” He hurriedly searched through his medical bag before pulling out the appropriate bottle and shaking a few pills into his hand. “Here.” He offered the pills to Linkara, but jumped back like a frightened animal when a wild swing of Linkara’s arm knocked the medicine to the floor.
“Kid!” Harvey again tried to grab onto Linkara, but he pulled away and started moving away from the group.
“Excalibur!” Linkara cried, his eyes wide and manic. “The voices-they say I have to get Excalibur! That’s something a h-hero would wield! Excalibur!” Still yelling wildly, while holding onto the sides of his head, Linkara rushed outside, into the wilderness.
“Follow him! We can’t let him run around like that by himself!” Harvey ordered, and everyone quickly ran after Linkara.
Linkara ran, panting and clutching at his forehead with one hand, darting to and fro as many different voices tried to offer him directions. “Will one of you just pick left or right and stick to it?!” he shouted to no one, and the others began to look around.
“Uh, guys, I think we should go that way,” 90s Kid piped up, pointing to a long, curved trail that led to a hilltop.
“The voices are telling me to keep going straight, 90s Kid.”
“But like-”
“No buts! I have to listen to them or else I’m never going to pick the right path!” Linkara snapped back, causing 90s Kid to grumble and reluctantly pick up his pace. They kept running along a path that curved around and around in many different directions for about ten more minutes, with Linkara changing direction every so often, until they finally circled back to the path that 90s Kid tried to originally direct them onto, which only led to more muttering from the teen.
The five slowly climbed up the hilltop until Linkara approached the legendary sword in the stone, Excalibur. It was nearly glowing, bathed in emerald green light, and as he drew closer, Linkara could see the inscription on the hilt. His smile spread wide across his face. He was going to be the hero. He was going to be King Arthur! As the others watched him curiously, Linkara placed both hands on the hilt and drew the sword from the stone, as if he were pulling a knife out of soft butter. He held it high into the air and beamed at his team.
“Got it!”
Linkara’s victory proved to be short-lived, however, as the sword almost instantly vanished from his hands, leaving him wobbling slightly as the voices in his head seemed to increase in volume. “Ow! Damn it all!” he moaned while rubbing at his temples again.
“Kid, I’m begging ya, take the pills, please.” Harvey approached Linkara with medicine that had not been dropped on the dingy floor of an old castle and a bottle of water.
Linkara groaned before downing the pills in one swallow. “I just d-don’t understand...why didn’t that work? I-I followed the voices...I freed Excalibur like a t-true hero would...so why...?”
Linkara seemed as if he might fall over at any second, so Harvey quickly laid an arm across his shoulders so he could steady himself. “I don’t know, Kid, but I don’t think you should keep running off willy-nilly like that.”
“Yeah, man, you should probably take it easy for now,” 90s Kid agreed, his animosity currently replaced by fear. He couldn’t stop looking from Linkara’s pained expression to Ninja’s solemn one, and Linksano’s nervous one, each expression only causing him to feel worse. “Maybe we should all, like, take a break and rest, you know?”
“No!” Linkara shook his head ferociously and pulled up the scroll to read once again. “I refuse to stop until these damned voices have b-been silenced for good.” His eyes pored over the words again, looking for any tricks or loopholes he might have missed, while completely failing to realize that the number of checkmarks had lessened from ten to nine, before his forehead crinkled and he grimaced again with pain.”N-no...owww…stop it...w-what are you saying? The...Lady of...Shallot? Where...the tower? The tower! I will go and...and save her!”
“Kid, stop!” Harvey watched in frustration as Linkara once again set off on an unsteady path through the lush wilderness. “Come on, we gotta keep up with him!” he called to the others before setting off at a run.
By the time they caught up to him, Linkara was already halfway up the side of a stone tower, having climbed it with his bare hands if the blood dripping down the stones was anything to go by. “Kid!” Harvey cried out in a panic upon noticing the stains. “You’re hurting yourself! Come back here so Doc can treat you!”
“Linkara-dude, please!” 90s Kid begged as well. “You’re really scaring me!”
“I have...to save her...” Linkara grunted, continuing to climb higher.
Harvey turned helplessly to the other members of their group. “Can’t you do anything to stop him?”
Ninja merely sat down at the base of tree, keeping his head lowered and his hands together. There was nothing a pitiful waste of a human being like him could do right now. Linksano also sat down, still keeping his distance from the others for the time being. “His injuries aren’t life-threatening,” he murmured. “I can treat him when he climbs back down.”
“But he’s not gonna climb back down! Doesn’t anybody get that?” Harvey was at the end of his rope, panic and worry overtaking him as Linkara continued to climb ever higher.
Suddenly, Linkara’s blood-soaked fingers slipped from the stone and he began to fall. Harvey could only watch in horror as Linkara hurtled through the air at a rapid speed. His whole body turned to lead and his heart plummeted alongside the man he loved, but before he could even start to scream, a flash of black hurtled up into the air. Seconds later, Ninja-Style Dancer landed gracefully on the ground, Linkara held safely in his arms.
Harvey immediately rushed over to them, looking at Linkara with an expression of anger and relief. “Thank God you’re alive, because I’m gonna kill ya myself!” he exclaimed before squeezing his shoulders again. “Dammit, Kid, you can’t scare me like that, you just can’t! Alright, this stops right now. We’re finishing this thing up later; right now we need to get the Kid fixed up. Ninja, carry him. Doc, check out his hands. Junior, help me grab this stuff.” There was such a tone of authority in his voice that he sounded more like the Captain Finevoice of years past rather than the mellow lounge singer of the present, and nobody dared dream of disobeying Harvey’s orders.
Linkara, who had passed out from shock during the fall, was both astounded and embarrassed when he woke up to his head in Harvey’s lap, with bandages on his hands, and Harvey’s fingers stroking through his hair. “What the hell is this?” he bellowed, sitting up and ignoring the pain that followed. “I d-didn’t give the okay for a retreat!”
Harvey reached for him and tried to pull him back down again. “Do you realize what could have happened if I didn’t? You nearly got yourself killed!” Harvey told him, refusing to let the man go. “You nearly scared me into giving up the ghost! Kid, we’re all counting on you and you-you can’t just do that-” Harvey’s voice cracked and Linkara quit struggling, looking to Harvey with concern.
“Harvey, I’m f-fine. I was just d-doing what I needed to do. Nothing bad was g-going to happen to m-me.”
“You don’t know that.” Harvey murmured, his gaze no longer upon him, but looking through him, to a time where he’d had nothing left to live for. “And I wasn’t gonna let you keep going unless I was sure we knew what we were getting into."
Linkara sighed, wanting to placate Harvey, but finding it very difficult to keep his emotions in check when there were still several voices squabbling in his head. “H-Harvey, I’m sorry for worrying you...ow...b-but I promise you that I know what I’m g-getting into. N-none of this is real, remember? None of it really means anything because it’s all some kind of m-magical illusion created by this world.”
“But your hands, Kid,” Harvey tried to protest, looking down at the bright white bandages he now sported.
“They d-don’t hurt nearly as much as the voices do,” Linkara said, suddenly turning a pitiful expression on Harvey. “You w-want me to get rid of these voices, right?”
“Of course I do, Kid.”
“Then you h-have to...ow...let me keep going until I p-pass this stupid trial.”
Harvey continued staring into Linkara’s eyes until the pain he could see within forced him to turn away. “Alright, Kid. I can’t stand knowing you’re suffering like this. I guess we can keep going.”
“Thanks, Harvey.” Linkara managed a smile before he climbed back to his feet. “Now, I have to g-get back up that tower and...” Linkara trailed off when he noticed a beautiful young woman was standing in the window high above him, gazing down at him and his crew in shock. “No...damn it all...sh-she wasn’t supposed to look down here!” Linkara groaned as the tower and the lady vanished before his eyes, just as the sword had done before. The voices screamed their displeasure at him before offering multiple new suggestions for what he could do.
Harvey watched him anxiously stagger around again before he finally settled on a path leading further into the forest. “The...H-Holy Grail...we...we have to find it...” Linkara said, gesturing for the others to follow him. “Finding it will...m-make me a true hero for sure...oww...”
As they walked along, the forest grew wilder and denser; as trees tall enough to tower over the travelers spread their branches out so wide that the sky was becoming obscured, making everything darker and quieter too. 90s Kid whimpered softly as they headed deeper into the woods, keeping as close to Harvey as he could. “I-I really don’t like this,” he whispered.
“I know, Junior, but we have to do what the Kid says until we can figure out how to end this thing.” Harvey patted 90s Kid’s shoulder before he glanced back at Ninja, who was again trailing the group. “Thanks again for what you did back there. If anything had seriously happened to the Kid, I...I don’t know if I coulda kept going.”
*I will never again miss an opportunity to save a life* Ninja held up in response. He might be a worthless shell of a human being, but he would spend the rest of his life repenting for that fact and hopefully, one day, he would be forgiven.
Linkara kept taking them in deeper and deeper, occasionally having to rest against a tree when the pounding in his head became too much to bear. “T-this way...no wait...it’s behind us...no...argh, why can’t they decide on something...?”
The others were very unnerved by the situation, and even Ninja didn’t look to be on his guard at all anymore. 90s Kid was growing more and more upset as they were led deeper and deeper into the woods, to the point where Harvey had to lead him along by his arm so he wouldn’t stop or turn around.
“Linkara, I fail to see how we are going to find this fabled grail if we can’t even see our hands in front of our faces,” Linksano said from somewhere, though nobody knew the exact location.
“The grail will be...nngh...bathed in light w-when we find it,” Linkara panted out, trying to figure out which way to carry his legs next.
“Kid, I don’t know if this plan is gonna work out. You sure those voices ain’t telling you about something else?”
“I’m sure, H-Harvey! Just keep going! This w-would all go a lot f-faster if you’d just listen to m-me!”
“Dude, we don’t even know where we’re going or if the Holy Grail is even out here!” 90s Kid suddenly piped up, startling the others into stopping. “If we keep listening to you, we’re never going to get anywhere! Why don’t you let Ninja-dude and I look for it, we’re good at figuring out where stuff is!”
Linkara turned on 90s Kid and glared, feeling his head throb with anger. “90s Kid, I am the leader here, and-oh jeez-you will listen to my instructions!”
“I’m sick of listening to you!” 90s Kid yelled, his frustration at the futile search and fear of the dark rising up to claim him. “You haven’t had one good idea this whole time!”
Linkara’s eyes flashed with anger. “Y-you of all people are going to tell me that? Who was the one who...ahhh...who wasted all the p-power cells in the BFG because Youngblood was renewed? W-who tried to...skateboard off the roof of the apartment building?”
“Th-that was different!” 90s Kid protested, his face slightly reddening as he flushed in embarrassment.
“Well you know what? You might be sick of m-my ideas, but I’m sick of your...your...oh God.” Harvey rushed forward as Linkara fell to his knees, the pain in his head overwhelming him.
“Kid, are you okay?”
“Grrr...ahhh...owowow...damn...it...okay, fine...we break for h-half an hour. Dismissed...owww...”
Harvey cast a pleading expression to 90s Kid, begging him to not continue his argument with Linkara for the time being, and despite how annoyed he felt, 90s Kid nodded in agreement. Linkara was not looking well at all, so there was no point in fighting when he was too far gone to listen to reason. Relieved, Harvey mouthed a word of thanks to the teenager before he helped Linkara over to a soft patch of grass where a few shafts of sunlight managed to peek through the foliage.
-----
90s Kid watched as once again Linkara rested his head in Harvey’s lap and tried to close his eyes. Harvey did his best to make him feel comfortable, stroking his scalp once again and speaking to him in low, loving words that no one else could hear. 90s Kid saw the love and tenderness shining in Harvey’s eyes and he felt a raw, hungry ache well up inside him that caused him to turn his head away from the pair.
His gaze landed on Ninja, who was sitting at the base of a tree and staring intently at one of his notecards. From his view, it seemed to 90s Kid as if it were covered not with words but merely splotches of ink, and when a sudden breeze bent the front of the card downwards, 90s Kid realized what was on the paper. The splotches of ink, red in color, had been crudely shaped into the image of Kung-Tai Ted’s smiling face. 90s Kid felt a wave of empathy for the fighter and he started to stand up, but his movements caught Ninja’s attention. Instantly he was gone, having disappeared into the highest branches of the tree where he was no longer visible to the others, obviously not in the mood for conversation of any sort.
90s Kid sighed and sat back down, still feeling restless and disgruntled, before turning his attention to Linksano. The scientist had taken out some of his gadgets to test if they were still functional, including his finger beams, what looked to be a Geiger counter, and the communicator. 90s Kid’s eyes landed upon that last device and the anxiety inside him was swiftly enveloped by his desire for home. There had been very little about this mission that had been enjoyable so far and 90s Kid couldn’t help but wish that he had refused to go in the first place. If he had, he would still be home safe and sound, not watching his closest friends being wrecked by invisible monsters they seemed unprepared to fight and, more importantly, he would still be with Dan.
Dan. 90s Kid closed his eyes and tried not to whimper as he thought about the older man. How long had it been since he’d last seen Dan? Since he’d heard him laugh, told him he loved him, kissed him good night? There was no way to know; for all 90s Kid knew years could have passed in the real world. This thought terrified the teen. What would have happened to Dan if it turned out 90s Kid really had been gone for a year or longer? Would he have been able to stay strong as he promised, or would he have...90s Kid refused to entertain any other notion. Dan would stay strong. He must stay strong, even if he needed another bit of encouragement to accomplish this.
An idea suddenly sprung to 90s Kid’s mind, one he was sure Linkara would reject outright, but he didn’t particularly care about what Linkara thought right now. 90s Kid snuck another glance at Harvey and Linkara, making certain they were too busy to notice him, before he plopped down beside Linksano and said to him in a soft, whispered voice, “Linksano-dude…I need a favor.”