Conscious, Conscientious

Lammy opened his eyes, and was startled to find a smooth layer of ice high above him.

Oh yeah…he remembered morosely, recalling the fact that he and Zayza were in Folel and Foler’s house, and that the last he knew, two killers were about to attack his mother on another side of this apparent Multiverse. On top of that, they were all about to go fight an unbeatable opponent that had a body of snow.

It was a rough way to start the day.

“Good morning, Lammy,” Zayza said beside him. She was sitting up in her sleeping bag. Though her brown hair was somewhat messy and her eyelids half-closed, her bright eyes still made her look as lively as ever. “Did you sleep well?”

“Sort of,” Lammy answered, though he didn’t sleep much at all. “How about you?”

“I suppose so…technically I was awake in the Dream World, but my body feels well rested,” she said. Suddenly, her eyes opened fully and she was filled with even more life. “Oh! And I found some of my memories!” she exclaimed.

Lammy looked past Zayza at Folel and Foler’s bunks, fearing that her excitement had woken them, but they weren’t there. “Really?” he said. “That’s great! What were they?”

“Well, apparently I have some basic self-defense training,” she explained. “I found that memory floating around above the river across from my cave. I’m not sure how helpful it will be, though.”

“That’s definitely something,” Lammy said. “Either way, this whole fighting thing will be interesting…”

“Right. I know I’m not the kind of warrior these kind people must think we are, but I hope I can do something to help them,” shared Zayza.

I hope so too…thought Lammy. And that we don’t die…

“Oh, and I remembered something else: I like oranges!” Zayza declared.

Lammy was hoping for a memory a bit more beneficial, but Zayza seemed too proud of her accomplishment for him not to encourage her. “That’s really cool,” he told her with a smile.

They heard footsteps crunching in the snow outside, coming towards the entrance. Then Folel walked in, carrying some small logs. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s not as cool as it is outside right now!” he said. “It’s gonna be a cold one, alright.”

Foler entered behind him. “Oh, you two are awake,” he noticed. “Perfect—we’re about to make breakfast. It’s not much, just some more fish stew made out of whatever we have left in here.”

“That’s fine by me,” Lammy told them.

Zayza nodded. “Besides, after we beat that mean old monster, you guys will be able to find all the food you want in the mountains.”

“That’s the spirit!” laughed Foler.

Zayza and Lammy took turns using the bathroom out in the back to get dressed while the brothers prepared breakfast (Folel had acquired more pairs of clothes for them the night before, thanks to the other villagers). Soon they were once again eating and conversing; only this time, it was about their attack plan.

“So Lammy and Zayza,” began Foler, “Since my brother and I have fought Snowdust multiple times, I suggest you follow our lead at first. Just fight however you fight, and we’ll make sure you’re not putting yourself in too risky of a position.”

“Okay,” Lammy agreed, but his mind raced nervously. He had watched Deon fight countless times and coached him, but he never actually took part.

Luckily, the twins didn’t seem to be reading his thoughts and feelings at the moment. “Oh yeah—and Zayza, did you find any memories about your fighting techniques?” Folel asked.

“Just simple self defense,” she said. “Though I did find out that I like oranges!”

“Oh…that’s nice…” responded Foler awkwardly.

“Well either way, don’t worry about it,” Folel said. “If things get too bad, we’ll cut it short. I don’t want you two kids getting hurt.”

When everyone was done eating, they waited a few minutes longer and then suited up for the outdoors. Lammy was grateful that the bulgy winter coats would give him and Zayza decent padding, but it also restricted the speed of their movements. Nonetheless, he put on every clothing accessory he was given: the warmer, the better.

~

The feet of the four consciousnesses sunk into the deep snow with each step as they walked past the Chief’s large igloo and towards the path. Folel was right—it was even colder than yesterday, but luckily, there was no wind this time.

“Hey guys, show Snowdust who’s boss!” a young man exclaimed from behind. They all turned around to see him waving to them by an igloo farther down into the village.

Folel and Foler smiled. “Will do!” they shouted back.

With that, they continued towards the path behind the Chief’s home. It started only a few steps back from the building. Along with everything else, the path was made of snow—it was a smooth white walkway that was dug deeper to the ground’s surface than the snow around it.

On both sides of this path to the far left and right, white, lumpy hills rose in random patterns. They appeared rather fluffy and soft, but snow wasn’t present in certain spots, revealing dark gray rocks hiding underneath. As far as Lammy and Zayza could see, this sight continued in a straight line towards the horizon, which featured three colossal blue and white mountains in the distance.

These mountains overlapped each other and were covered in rock and trees. Their peaks displayed shimmering white snow and were surrounded by gray clouds. Lammy had never seen such an astounding landscape—it looked so unreal to him compared to the typical sights of Tailpiece, that it appeared as though it were a painting.

Folel and Foler entered the path, so Zayza and Lammy followed their lead; it was wide enough to walk in twos. Lammy felt his heart pounding, and its rate only increased the further they went into the path. His first-ever fight was about to start at any moment.

“Like I said earlier,” Folel called back, “just stay back at first, and we’ll keep him busy. No sweat.”

“Right—that’ll also give you time to plan your techniques,” added Foler.

For once Lammy actually appreciated their ability to be inside his head. Their words gave him at least a little sense of readiness.

But then an icy breeze blew through them.

The breeze was quick and smooth, sounding strangely similar to a whisper. It came from behind and whooshed past them. Folel and Foler stopped in their tracks, and so Zayza and Lammy did the same.

“Here he comes,” Folel and Foler announced grimly, shifting into fighting stances.

Oh great…okay, this is really happening…Lammy realized, trying to control his rapid breathing.

Directly in front of Foler and Folel, snow rose from the ground in a spiral of white mist that shot wind out in every direction. As the mist whirled, it began to take on a shape: that of a person. Within seconds the spinning stopped, and before them floated a short, thin man made of hovering particles of snow. He had no face, but even still he appeared upset with the four individuals facing him.

“Hello, Snowdust,” Folel greeted in a low tone. “This time we brought a couple fr—”

Snow exploded under Snowdust as he fired a thick gust of wind at the twins. The blast swept them off their feet and sent them flipping through the air to separate sides of the powdery field. The gust continued toward Zayza and Lammy.

“Look out!!” Zayza cried, grabbing Lammy and pushing both of them over—but the edge of the gust still caught them, and they too were launched to the side. They were airborne for a second, and then tumbled into the snow, rolling to a stop.

Lammy lay there on his back for a moment, feeling snow seep into his boots and hat. With a push, he sat up.

“Are you alright, Lammy?” Zayza asked. She was right beside him, on all fours.

“Yeah,” he said. “That guy’s fast.”

Zayza nodded in agreement as they returned their attention to the fight. They had been tossed a short distance to the side of the path, where Snowdust levitated in wait. Not far to the right of them stood Folel, already prepared to continue battling. Foler was parallel to him on the other side of the path.

In perfect synchronization, the two brothers darted at Snowdust from both angles, not at all held back by the heavy clothing they wore. Snowdust stayed in place as they neared him. When they were only a few steps away, Snowdust unleashed another gust—only this one shot out in two directions: one at Folel and the other at Foler. Mist flew everywhere, covering the three figures in a cloud.

Lammy and Zayza stood to their feet, waiting anxiously to see if their new friends survived the attack. This doesn’t look good, Lammy thought nervously.

The mist faded, but to their confusion, only Snowdust remained. The twins were nowhere to be found!

“What happened to them?” wondered Zayza.

To the left of Snowdust, a pile of snow abruptly burst open, and out from it erupted Foler. He pounced into the air, sticking his tongue out at Snowdust mockingly.

Snowdust turned to face Foler, and just as that happened Folel emerged from another pile of snow behind him. He leaped at Snowdust and threw a powerful fist right into the center of his back. Snowdust instantly fell apart into nothing but a bunch of snowflakes that fluttered to the ground.

“YEAH!!!” Lammy cheered, jumping up and down. “I see: that was awesome technique! They used their consciousness abilities to communicate through their minds so they could coordinate that whole attack! What a great utilization of their powers and surroundings! The timing was just perfect! It couldn’t have been any better! Their—”

“Uh…Lammy, look…” Zayza told him uneasily.

Lammy stopped rambling and returned his focus to the fight scene. To his dismay, a spiral of snow was assembling in front of Foler and Folel. Soon enough, the mist formed into Snowdust just as before, as if he had never been hit. The brothers didn’t seem surprised—they were expecting the monster’s return.

“WHAT?!?!” Lammy exclaimed.

“How horrible…” Zayza muttered.

Before Folel and Foler could attack again, Snowdust put both his arms out to the sides, and in response two large piles of heavy snow rose from the ground. Snowdust fired both of them at the brothers. They tried to dodge the snow, but were both hit and fell to their backs.

The brothers attempted to stand back up, but by the time they were almost to their feet Snowdust fired another pair of snow piles at them. He continued to shoot snow at Folel and Foler while they repeatedly tried to dodge, and were repeatedly unsuccessful.

“Oh, goodness!” Zayza gasped. “We have to do something!”

Lammy knew she was right, but he hadn’t a clue how to help. I can never seem to think of something good to imagine under pressure! he thought. But if I don’t do something, Foler and Folel will be done for! He closed his eyes in concentration, despite his racing mind.

“Lammy, can’t you imagine something?” Zayza pleaded worriedly.

“Yeah, and here it is!” Lammy declared, opening his eyes. “Take this, Snowdust!”

An enormous and perfectly circular boulder appeared in front of Lammy and Zayza and rolled speedily on the snow towards their enemy. Snowdust ceased his attacks to look at the oncoming boulder. It rolled unevenly and unnaturally as it approached him. Right as the boulder was about to crash into him, Snowdust floated higher into the air. It passed underneath him, missing entirely.

“No!” Lammy shouted as he imagined his failed attack out of existence.

Snowdust turned his attention to Lammy and Zayza. Now they were his primary targets.

“That’s okay, Lammy; j-just try again,” Zayza said encouragingly, through her obvious fear.

“It would make no difference,” Lammy told her glumly.

“What do you mean?”

“Look at the snow where the boulder rolled,” he told her. “There’s barely any indentation.” He was right: there was a faint, shallow line in the snow where the boulder had travelled, but it was otherwise untouched. It looked unrealistic.

Zayza was confused. “Why is that?”

“It’s because I can barely ever imagine things that have an actual influence on reality,” he explained. “I’m not good enough with my powers. If it’s any more complicated than a wall or something, I probably can’t do it…which means my fake objects can’t affect Snowdust’s real snow.”

“Speaking of Snowdust, watch out!” Zayza warned Lammy. Before Lammy knew it, Snowdust launched a huge gust at them. It soared astoundingly fast and threw them like they were weightless. Lammy and Zayza screamed as they were catapulted into the air, flipping and twisting in all directions.

Lammy closed his eyes, waiting for some kind of impact. Suddenly he crashed, and felt himself rolling down a hill. When he came to a halt, he was facedown in the snow. He lifted his head and spat snow out of his mouth. Dizzied and soar, he looked around for Zayza.

He saw her lying sprawled out on her back slightly far away. She was completely still. “Zayza!” Lammy called, but she didn’t seem to hear. When his vision returned to its full focus, Lammy noticed that her eyes were closed. Oh no, she’s knocked out, he realized.

~

Zayza’s eyes opened slowly, and then she caught herself—she was standing up. Startled, she looked down to find that she was in her green dress again—and that just beyond where she stood was a thousand-foot drop to a rocky lake.

“Oh, dear!” she exclaimed. Beyond the silver rocks surrounded by pink water a thousand feet down from her, lay a landscape covered in short black grass, tall trees with small twilight-orange leaves, white cobblestone pathways, and a pink river that ran from the lake she stood so high over. The sky was a watery lime green this time, with very few of its purple clouds hovering about in it.

“How did I get in the Dream World?” Zayza wondered. “Did I lose consciousness?”

She turned around to see the steep wall of the brown mountain she was on. “I must have been knocked unconscious; otherwise I would have shown up in my cave like usual,” she realized. “Oh, this is no good…now I can’t get back into the fight until I wake up…”

A quiet, high-pitched mystical sound resounded from further down the narrow path. Zayza looked to find a purplish light glowing from the rocky wall. “Hmm…I’ve seen and heard this before…but from what?” she thought.

“Oh, of course! It was when I found one of my memories last night! Could that light be another one?”

She looked down to find a pebble falling from the path and plummeting towards the rocks. Zayza gulped. “If it is, I’ll have to risk falling to get it…but I’m not much safer here, so…” She lifted her foot and very cautiously placed it a tiny step forward, keeping her back against the mountain.

~

Lammy observed his surroundings, noticing he and Zayza were beside one of the hills at the far end of the land where the path lie. Folel and Foler stood wearily on the path a good distance away, while Snowdust was floating slowly towards Lammy and Zayza.

“Uh-oh,” said Lammy. “Come on; wake up, Zayza!” he exclaimed. “Snowdust is coming! Wake up!!”

It was no use. Zayza wasn’t responding. Snowdust was getting closer, in range to attack at any second. By now Folel and Foler were chasing after Snowdust and trying to get his attention on them, but he kept simply shooting small gusts at the brothers to push them away.

~

“One…two…one…two…” Zayza uttered with each tiny, extremely careful step she took on the edge of the mountain. “One, tw—AAAH!” her foot had slipped on the corner of the path, but she pulled it back as her screamed echoed in the air, rising in pitch with each echo.

Zayza gasped in and out repeatedly, her body flat against the mountain. “If I keep it up this way, I’ll have a heart attack before I make it to the light!” she told herself.

She peered back over at the purple glow, and took a deep breath in. “Here I go…ONE, TWO ONE, TWO, ONE, TWO, ONE, TWO, ONE, TWO!!!!...” she shouted as she practically ran across the thin path, her eyes slammed shut. Eventually she stopped, and while holding her breath, she opened one eye to look over: she had made it!

The glow and mystical sound was coming from a large hole in the side of the mountain, which was a relief to Zayza: no more being so close to a deadly drop. She warily made her way into the entrance of the oddly placed cave, and her eyes widened at what she beheld.

~

This is it—none of us can take him down, Lammy decided as he watched his enemy prepare to end the fight. It’s not fair: those townspeople will run out of supplies, and the four of us will be gone for good, too. Why is he doing this?

He glanced back at the motionless Zayza. And Zayza—she’ll never get to find out who she is…

Snowdust finally stopped advancing. He was ready to finish this. A burst of air lifted around him, sending snow into the air underneath him.

“WATCH OUT!!!” a desperate voice cried. Lammy turned around to see a man dressed similarly to Folel and Foler sprinting down one of the hills, headed for Zayza. When he got to the bottom, Snowdust fired a powerful gust at the two of them. The man quickly picked up Zayza and hopped out of the way, just in time.

Lammy blinked once, then twice as he looked at the man.

He looks just like Folel and Foler! Lammy noticed. He was right: the only difference was that this man had one brown eye and one light one.

“That’s because he’s our other brother,” Foler explained. “It’s him, alright: I can’t sense his thoughts.”

“And I can’t sense his feelings,” said Folel. “It’s been years since we last saw you, Felix.”

Felix smiled. “Hello, brothers. It looks like I decided to pay a visit at the perfect time,” he said, glancing at Snowdust as he repositioned his hold on Zayza. “Allow me to introduce myself, kid. I’m Felix, a triplet of Folel and Foler. Unlike my brothers, I was born without consciousness abilities. But regardless, I’m here to help.” His voice was as friendly and inviting as his brothers’.

He has no consciousness powers? How is that helpful?! wondered Lammy.

Suddenly Snowdust stirred, as if awaking from sleep. He raised a pile of snow and shot it at Felix and Zayza. With little effort, Felix sidestepped the attack. Another two piles came at him, yet he effortlessly avoided both.

It’s like he sees them coming, Lammy noted, impressed.

“We’ll have to catch up with each other later,” Folel said. “For now, let’s take this monster down!”

Everyone expressed their agreement and took on fighting stances. Snowdust floated, surrounded by the four fighters. With a gust of mist and wind, their enemy marked the beginning of Round Two.

~

Zayza inched further into the cave. It only ran several steps into the mountain, and it was barely tall enough for her to stand in. A large, spherical light at the end of the cave lit the space with a purple hue. It also gave off the high-pitched, musical sound Zayza detected earlier.

She walked up to the light—or, lights: there were two purple orbs floating beside each other just above the ground. “Two of my memories are here?” Zayza said excitedly. “How convenient!”

She reached down and held her hands out to the orbs as they began to sing louder and grow brighter. One of the orbs floated to her hands and remained there for a moment; then it abruptly zoomed into her forehead, where it flashed and disappeared.

“That’s right!” Zayza recalled. “There are two categories of imagined objects that an Imaginer can create: physical objects that interact with reality, and ideas, which don’t. I wonder if this can help Lammy somehow…well, now for the other memory…”

~

Something didn’t seem quite right. Snowdust was mostly attacking Lammy, Folel, and Foler, who were all struggling to avoid his gusts and snow piles. But when Snowdust did attack Felix, he would seamlessly sidestep it and evade the attack entirely.

At first, Lammy thought Felix was simply very good at reading attacks—but now he could’ve sworn Felix was beginning his dodge before the attack was unleashed. Is Felix secretly a Thoughts-Senser and he’s reading Snowdust’s mind? Lammy wondered in between dodges. But wait—how could Snowdust have a mind? He’s snow!

Lammy made another weird observation: Felix still hadn’t put Zayza back down. His speed was restricted because of the extra weight, and he was completely unable to fight back because his hands were full.

“Brothers,” Felix began, “we have monsters like this near my village, too. Our warriors defeat them every day.” Snowdust sent a gust at him, and with a spin he dodged it. “Here’s the plan: I’ll bring this beautiful woman back to my village to be treated, while you guys hold the monster off. I’ll return with warriors to destroy it.”

Folel and Foler seemed to hesitate, but they nodded. “Be quick,” they said.

~

Now filled with a second new memory, Zayza stood perkily. “Aha! I wonder if this can be helpful for Lammy too,” she said. “I just need to wake up in time…”

After only a few moments, Zayza’s vision blurred and she felt herself beginning to sink. Soon, everything was black.

~

Lammy noticed Zayza opening her eyes in Felix’s arms. Good, she’s okay, he thought. Zayza looked around, noticing them all standing there as they looked back at her. Even Snowdust had ceased attacking for some reason.

“Uh…why is there a third Foler or Folel?” Zayza asked. “Well, anyway: Lammy! You told me that most of the time, you can only imagine objects that don’t affect reality, right?”

Lammy stood in bewilderment. “Um…yeah…”

“Well, I’m not sure why I used to know this…” she continued. “…But even if you imagine something that won’t have an affect on reality, it can still influence anything that’s created by another Imaginer,” she told him in a very informative tone.

“Huh???” the three brothers uttered.

At first Lammy was just as confused as everyone else by this random fact. Why is she discussing my powers at a time like this? he thought. That would be useful if we were fighting another Imaginer, but we’re not…WAIT A SECOND.

A huge smile spread across his face. “Zayza, you’re a genius!” he exclaimed.

“I am?”

Without another word, Lammy knew just what to do. He looked at Snowdust, and then at the snow-covered ground all around them, and imagined all of it to melt. In response, a thin top layer of the snow turned to water, including much of the snow on the rocky hills, and yes: even Snowdust himself. He instantly became clear liquid, which then rained down into the giant puddle they all stood in. The sheet of water sunk into the snow beneath it, quickly fusing into a soaking mess of mush.

Taken off-guard, Felix slipped on the wetness and fell backwards. He dropped Zayza, who with a yelp, face-planted in the slush. They both sat up uncomfortably, covered in the gooey mixture. Folel and Foler stared at the ground in shock.

Zayza wiped some soaking hair out of her face. “Goodness…what just happened?” she asked.

“Like you said,” began Lammy seriously, “It didn’t matter that I struggle to imagine things that affect reality, because Snowdust isn’t real—he was created by an Imaginer.” He pointed at Felix. “He was behind all of this. Felix is an Imaginer!”

Everyone let out an exclamation of surprise.

“What?! Don’t be silly—I’m not a consciousness,” Felix told him.

“He’s telling the truth,” added Foler. “Felix has never had powers.”

“I’m sorry, but you’re wrong,” Lammy said. “You said you guys can’t read his mind or feelings, right? Well, that has blinded you. Felix is an Imaginer, and he created Snowdust.”

The brothers exchanged uneasy glances.

Lammy continued, “He imagined his own snow and placed a sheet of it over the real stuff, so he could secretly control Snowdust and keep him regenerating. So to us, it looked like a real monster rising from the ground. And while I’m not always good at imagining real objects, one thing I can always do is manipulate other imaginer’s creations. So once Zayza gave me the thought, I simply melted all of his snow.”

“Lammy, trust me,” Felix insisted. “I’m not the one behind all this. If I was, why would I show up and help you guys fight?”

“Easy: you had your eyes on Zayza,” responded Lammy, ignoring the confused expressions from everyone. “Why would Snowdust attack an enemy who’s already unconscious when there are three other enemies who can still fight? You had him go after Zayza so you could save her. And for good measure, you had him attack you a couple more times—but I noticed that you were starting to dodge attacks before they were even thrown.”

“But—” Felix began.

“And then you just tried to leave with her!” Lammy continued.

Felix looked to his brothers for help, but they just watched him sternly. “Is all of this true?” they both asked.

Felix was silent for a moment. “You’re smart, kid,” he finally said. He briefly glared at Zayza as she nervously began to crawl away from him in the mush. Then he shifted his gaze to his brothers, who stared back with the exact same heated expression.

“Hey Lammy, looks like you have a knack for this kind of thing,” Folel said. “And it looks like we have some family business to take care of.”