5th Interlude: The Battle of Zest's Gate

Konrad steps away from the space occupied by Samantha's memory of herself listening patiently. "How do you mean we'll 'lose ourselves'?"

Steve is content to watch and see how Jasmine answers the other's questions, as those are the things he most wants to know right now.

To Mihai, she says, "I've been working to keep your minds together. That's what happened."

And to Konrad, she closes her eyes and sighs before she answers. "I mean the memories of these people—"she points at the members of the strike team—"will soon overwhelm yours. Already, you can access their abilities. Soon..." She shakes her head. "I don't know. They'll either replace you completely, or their personalities will merge with yours, creating someone completely new. Either way, your original selves will die."

Jasmine raises her hands in the air and shrugs. "Maybe. Maybe not. The answer might be in the memories of the intruders in your heads, but accessing them might accelerate their takeover. I think the only one who knows for sure is him."

She looks at Jacob, whose head is peeking out of Samantha's pocket.

"We may not find out in that time. In two days, we'll be totally different people before we even get to Lofell." He folds his arms in disappointment and looks down. "Emerald was a crucial victory, but if I hadn't known what's at stake..."

Steve is rubbing his chin in thought, when he suddenly asks, "If we are seeing and experiencing their memories, are they seeing and experiencing our memories as well? Because I was able to pull May into one of mine."

"They don't experience your memories like you do with theirs. It's a little complicated, but the May you've been interacting with is the one in your brain, not the one in the orb. Technically speaking, there are five people in your heads: me, your current selves, your own copies that reside in your orbs, the incomplete personalities of the ISA agents that share your brain, and their full personalities that reside in their own orbs. The reason you're experiencing these memories is because their orbs are trying to copy themselves onto your brains. I cannot stop this process, only slow it down. But I think I've found a way to get some answers. You're the ones who gave me the idea actually." For maybe the first time since the party members have met her, she smiles. "I've managed to establish a link with Breeze."

In his excitement to talk to Breeze again, Steve has already forgotten what they were just talking about. "Really? Do it, do it!"

He starts looking around for her, expecting her to appear at any moment.

Konrad looks back up to Jasmine. "You did? Bring her here, then. Please."

"Very well."

Jasmine turns around and stares at the space where the Dome would usually be in their present time. Then the landscape distorts into a mesh of bright colors, and everything turns black. For a few seconds nothing happens, until a lone lantern begins to glow in the darkness. The light it emits shines brighter, and a room appears around them.

It's a basement with no window and only one door. There are barrels and crates piled up along the walls, and standing in the middle of the room is a wooden table upon which the lantern rests. Placed next to it is a large metal cage, the kind one would use to confine animals.

Breeze sits cross-legged in the middle of the cage with her eyes closed, as if meditating. Facing her is another fairy in the same position, but his face—although still youthful—looks older than the one he had in the memory they just left.

Jasmine is nowhere to be seen.

Konrad watches his step as he walks closer to the table where Breeze and Jacob sit. "Hey, Blue? It's us."

Steve shouts "Breeze!" and runs forward to be as close to his best friend as possible, sticking his hand into the cage if he can.

When Breeze opens her eyes in confusion when she hears Mihai's casual greeting, then rises to her feet when she hears Konrad's. At hearing Steve say her name, tears begin to well up in her eyes, and she runs towards the wall of her cage to meet them.

"Guys!"

She sticks her arms through the bars of the cage to touch Steve, but her hand passes right through her friend's, as if it was immaterial.

"W-What? What's happening?! I can't touch you! Please, get us out of here!"

Crying tears of joy and sadness, she attempts to touch Steve's hand again, to no avail.

Jacob tilts his head in confusion at this scene, and asks, "Breeze? What are you seeing?"

She doesn't hear him however.

He can't help it, Steve also has tears in his eyes as their hands pass through each other. "We're coming to rescue you and Fedler. We stole a ship and hired a fairy crew. And Fluffle is with us too."

At the mention of Fluffle and the rescue, Breeze calms down a little, and she attempts to wipe away her tears with her sleeves. It takes her a moment to compose herself, during which Jacob stands up and walks towards her, looking at where Steve is standing at the moment. He doesn't appear to see them.

"E-Even Fluffle is there?" Breeze asks. "But you, are you okay? What about the other people in your heads? Ja-Jacob said that they might take over your minds if he doesn't remove their memories."

Konrad closes distance with the table until he's leaning against the edge, with one hand placed down close to the cage. "We aren't sure what will happen. They aren't actually erasing our memories like we thought, but putting new ones in. Jasmine has been trying to slow it down, but it will likely happen before we get to you. We are fine right now. We won't be gone, but... well, nobody's sure what we'll be, if we can't get them out."

"Then you gotta find us fast, so Jacob can fix you!" she pleads, holding firmly onto the bars of the cage while looking up at her friends.

"Huh? Can't you ask him yourself?" She looks back at Jacob, who's been listening in silence ever since he first spoke.

"Breeze? Who are you speaking to?" he asks.

"What do you mean? Steve, Konrad and Mihai! Can't you see them?"

"No, I can't." He looks at her pensively. "May I hold your hand? Maybe if you concentrate, you could let me speak to them."

"You think you can do that? Okay!"

She immediately grabs his hand and closes her eyes. A few seconds later, Jacob widens his eyes in surprise, and says, "I can see them now. I never would have expected—"

"Cool! So maybe you can help them!"

"With what exactly?"

"With slowing down the orbs of your friends!"

"Hmm." The old fairy rubs his chin as he ponders the situation. "I don't think we can slow down the process. However, I could maybe help compartmentalize your personalities so they don't merge with those of my companions. Then, if you can find us, I'll be able to erase their memories from your mind."

Konrad's all in. "Absolutely. This is exactly the kind of windfall we've been needing. What do you need us to do?"

"First, I need to make sure of something: how do my friends manifest themselves? And how far along in the process are they?"

Breeze cocks her head and listens carefully, interested by where the conversation is going.