BH: Hero's Nightmare - Ch. 10

Chapter 10


~Giant Palace

What few troops Dark Raven had left fell quickly to the onslaught of eggs from the Heroes of Morning Land. The plan of attack was simple but effective; Billy would run towards a group of crows, ordering a strategic retreat, then lead them to an isolated corner where Rolly, Chick and Bantam had set up an ambush. While they obliterated the Grays and Batters, Billy would race off in search of a new squadron.

"That the last of 'em?" Chick asked as he looked around the ruined area once more. Bantam wiped his brow with a handkerchief and gave him a thumb's-up. "Is Billy back yet?"

"He's coming. No crows with him. Guess we got them all." Rolly remarked as the boy came running up to them, kicking the gray egg along. He kept glancing skyward at the dark clouds churning overhead. She noticed this and frowned at his actions. "Billy! What are you looking at?!" she added loudly, drawing his attention to her.

"We've got thunder coming in; maybe the storm is strengthening." Billy reported thoughtfully, "The lightning was strange though. Like it was flashing to form letters or something." He looked confused. "I don't remember storms in Morning Land ever doing that." Another glance skyward. "I think it was trying to spell my name." The other three Heroes looked at each other in concern, then glared up at the clouds for a moment.

"That's silly!" Rolly finally decided with a giggle, "C'mon! Let's attack the main tower!" She winked at Billy, giggling again when his face took on a faint pink color. "Just a few gates stand between us and Dark Raven!" she added, "Then we can pay him back for ruining your memories and taking you away from us for so long!"

"Maybe one of his stupid spell books has a counter-spell for what he did to my head." Billy agreed, kicking the metal egg up onto his knee to bounce it a few times, "Then we can undo the damage and I can finally know who I really am." He grinned at them, a vaguely malicious expression on his face that was often considered to be the only warning anyone had before they got a serious beating. It looked disturbing on his face, as he appeared to be more suited to smiling cheerfully. "And if it turns out I really am your enemy, then I want you out of my palace so I can straighten it up for my plans." he purred at them, "No more of this 'Come back to your true friends' crap. Got it?" The three teens gulped and nodded meekly. "Right then." Billy went on, returning to a more bright personality, "Follow me. I've lived in the palace for four years, so I know it way better than you guys." With that, the group of them raced to reach the heart of Giant Palace.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The King of Crows stood waiting, but he was growing more irritated. The other presence was still trying to get through. There had been other attempts, one of which managed to get in touch with Billy, only to drive him so close to insanity he was very nearly lost to them both. What had once been his mind trying to coerce Billy into surrendering the missing half of the Giant Egg's power now became a battle of three wills. Dark Raven knew exactly who the other mind was but dared not say his name. One whisper was all that was needed to ripple the delicate veil surrounding the Hatcher boy. And Billy, though stupid enough to continue his course as set by the Dark King, would instantly dig in his heels and start bombarding everything around him with questions the moment that veil was disturbed.

That was his nature, and it annoyed Dark Raven to no end. It made the spell he had cast a hundred times more difficult to begin and maintain.

"Corvo. He nears. We must implement the final phase before the other entity disturbs my spell once more." Dark Raven murmured to the wizard beside him, "Soon, my loyal soldier will reveal the whereabouts of the Giant Egg's power." He lifted a wing to sweep it over the courtyards of the palace. "Go. Break his heart, and in the midst of his madness the boy will release the power I desire."

Corvo nodded curtly. His earlier attempt to recover his former status by reporting Billy's 'death' had been for naught. Dark Raven knew far better; after all, the entire world they inhabited depended upon the boy's vitality. Kill the Hatcher boy, and the whole of Morning Land would crumble to nothingness, every life within it snuffed out. The wizard bit back spiteful words and vanished in a burst of feathers to perform his task.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chick and Bantam snickered as Billy circled the grown egg cautiously. Rolly had found and raised it, telling him that it had been one of his favorites to use. The white feathers on the yellow shell revealed it to be the Wing Egg. She had rolled it to a stop, then stood back, smiling at him.

"Go ahead! Hatch it!" Rolly said brightly. Billy looked dubious, eyeing the egg as if it were going to roll onto him if he so much as breathed on it.

"Why me?" he asked her plaintively, "These eggs aren't my thing anymore."

"Oh, come on!" the girl cooed and sidled up to him, hugging his arm, "Would you do it for me, please?" Billy turned bright pink, unsure of whether to stand still or try worming his arm free. "Just for old times' sake?" she added, winking slowly up at him.

"Fine." the blonde finally relented and walked around the egg to hide behind it. He crowed in a soft and halting voice, too embarrassed to show himself. Chick snickered again.

"Billy, you have to crow louder! You're not going to be able to hatch it unless you crow louder!" Rolly called out teasingly.

"All right! I'll do the stupid call!" Billy shouted in exasperated fury, "Look! I'm calling! Cock a freaking doo, damn it!" He shook a fist at the egg. "Hatch or I'll throw you off this damned floating island!" The egg cracked and fell apart, leaving behind the red-tipped white wings. Billy blinked at them and stood back in a huff. "All that for this? What a waste of breath." he grumbled.

"That's a little harsh for a Rooster Call, but at least it worked." Bantam remarked with a wince, "Uh, Billy? Mind cutting down on the language? Where did you learn that stuff anyway? Your mom and dad don't talk like that around us."

"From Uncle Langshan. He got drunk at Dad's last company picnic and started ranting about his wife before passing out in the potato salad." Billy muttered absently, picking up the wings and watching them flutter to his back, magically becoming a part of him. Chick lit up at the memory of that day.

"Oh yeah! 'Cuz she was gonna divorce him, right? And he couldn't pay the court costs so he tried to make some quick cash by kidnapping you and holding you for ransom." he blurted out, "Man, that was the scariest thing ever! I thought for sure you were gonna get hurt and everyone was panicking and stuff! And then the cops came and were all 'Bam! Pow!' and... what?" The smaller teen blinked in confusion as Billy continued glaring at him with such venom it disturbed the whole group.

"How the hell did you know that?" the blonde snarled in a low voice, walking towards him menacingly, "You weren't there at the picnic. It was company members only and your parents don't work for my dad. The kidnapping wasn't publicized; the only people who know what happened are my uncle, my parents, the police and me." He reached out and grabbed Chick by the neck, ignoring his startled cry of alarm and glances to his friends for help. "How did you learn about something that was never talked about?" he hissed.

"Chick's always going to your house to play, remember?!" Rolly exclaimed frantically, shooting looks at Bantam as they tried to calm down their leader, "Maybe he was there when it happened and he saw the whole thing but didn't say anything?!"

"It's an old memory! He could have just kept it secret for you!" Bantam put in helpfully, "Now let Chick go so we can take out the final gate and beat Dark Raven!" Billy glared at the smaller boy a little longer before finally releasing him with a shove, stalking back to the metal egg. Rolly moved to Chick's side and glared at him.

"What are you doing?!" she hissed under her breath, "You almost ruined it!" Chick coughed, rubbing his throat gingerly before matching her angry expression.

"It wasn't my fault. Something came over me." he muttered as Bantam joined them, his face blank of expression.

"We can't afford any mess-ups. Not when we're so close to getting this done." he pointed out coldly, "Don't give him any more reasons to doubt us. We're his friends; keep us that way." Chick coughed again and curled a lip back as he shot a look at Rolly again.

"Then tell her to either watch her face or amp up her moves. Hormones can make anyone overlook stuff they don't want to see or know about." he pointed out icily, "C'mon, Rolly, if you haven't done it with him yet, do it fast and do it now, or we're gonna lose him!" Rolly huffed and flicked her hair back indignantly.

"Do I look like some cheap girl that will do something like that at the drop of a hat? I tried the whole time in Sand Ruin, trying to build up some romance to lure him, but he keeps thinking about himself." she griped, "If I just jump his bones now, that's a bigger signal to him and the last thing we need is for him to start unraveling everything just because you want to get a cheap thrill, you little pervert!" Chick snarled and stomped a foot towards her, lifting a fist to punch her. Bantam immediately put his hands down between them, separating them before a fight could start.

"Not now. We need teamwork to pull this off; don't fall apart now." he told them sternly. Rolly huffed again, pulling away as she folded her arms over her chest, eyes flashing angrily.

"I thought I was the leader here!" she snapped.

"Hey, are you guys coming or do you wanna stay here and wait for someone to come kill you?!" Billy shouted at them from across the courtyard, aggravated expression on his face as he tapped a foot on the stone tile. "I've got no problem taking out Dark Raven on my own, but that doesn't mean I'll be leaving you three idiots alive if things turn out differently!" he added as extra motivation. The three teens looked over at him in surprise, glanced at each other sternly and nodded once. There was a bigger fish to fry than their little spat. Once all was done, they can sort themselves out.


The foursome raced on to the tower together, only to be halted when Corvo burst into the scene. A dozen Anters and Batters materialized around them, blocking the final path to Dark Raven. The wizard smiled and twirled his wand.

"Don't think you can get past me and take out the most powerful crow in the world!" Corvo declared. Billy grinned as the others took up stances with their eggs.

"Well, least we all know you don't have that big head anymore. Did he make you eat the whole humble pie or did he just shove it down your throat to block that hot air of yours?" he taunted and launched the metal egg at him, the others taking that as a signal to attack before rushing at the army with yells and whoops. Corvo shrieked in a fury, firing beams of magic at the blonde as he darted and dodged them, laughing at each miss.

And yet, Billy couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Maybe it was the way his so-called friends were acting, or the explanations they kept giving him whenever he questioned something, or maybe the way his memories kept vanishing or fading whenever he thought about them too much. Maybe it was the fact that Corvo was throwing a hissy fit in the air above them when everything in Billy's body kept insisting and swearing that he'd died in Sand Ruin. Whatever it was, Billy felt that tiny bit of doubt in him, that nagging hunch that things weren't how they were supposed to be.

He looked over at Rolly as he leaped back from another blast of magic, a thoughtful expression on his face. She was different from the way part of him remembered, the half that had insisted he was a Hero like them. If the dark half was right, then she was supposed to be weak and pitiful, using whatever she had to try to escape him. If the light half was right, then she was to be a sweet and gentle girl with her heart in the right place even when her brain was addled by something she forgot and she couldn't remember what it was she forgot. And yet, this Rolly he fought beside contradicted them both. He remembered, faintly, having a bit of a crush on her some years ago, and still having that crush but never actually acting on it. And here she was practically throwing herself at him, as if she was making herself out to be just what he always wanted....

Wait....

"The hidden desire." Billy murmured to himself, dodging another blast and kicking the ball up at Corvo to knock him out of the air. His gaze landed on Bantam. The older boy was supposed to be the gentle giant; yet Billy could recall, vaguely, an instance where he'd used brute force to get him to go with them, that grip on his neck that had forced him into unconsciousness... but for what purpose? That wasn't like Bantam at all. Sure, he'd been somewhat afraid of Bantam at first because of his size and it had always been his earliest fear that the boy would see him as some kind of threat and do some serious harm to him. But Billy wouldn't tell that to Bantam; it would mar their friendship and drive a wedge between them. So why was it that he was acting as he'd been afraid he would?

The courtyard hazed suddenly, going out of focus and fuzzing over, as the combatants noticed and cried out in alarm. Billy's attention turned to Chick, his frown deepening while Corvo flapped about on the ground and picked himself up, staring down at the tile in shock.

Chick knew about the kidnapping when he shouldn't have. That explanation earlier seemed okay at the time, but now that he thought about it, something seemed wrong with it. What was it? Billy thought quickly, picking through those memories before it struck him. The divorce; the divorce wasn't mentioned during the picnic since all his uncle raged about was his wife's behavior, and Billy himself didn't talk about it because it was a subject that he was uncomfortable with. However, he did know about the divorce because his father had told his mother about it when they thought Billy wasn't listening, and that was long before the kidnapping ever took place.

It was in his memory, so how did Chick know of it?

Unless, Chick could read his memory.

Like Rolly could read his desires.

Like Bantam could read his fears.

Like everything that was around him was reacting to his mind, such as the ball and the shifting landscape....

The three teens and the crows all stopped fighting and turned to stare at him in horror as the blonde stopped moving and just stood there, eyes wide and clear, the light shining at the knot of his neckerchief.

"This is all wrong." Billy finally stated in a strangely calm voice. He closed his eyes and remained silent for a moment before looking up at the clouds. "I know you're out there! The other voice!" The clouds rumbled around themselves before finally going silent as well, hanging in the air like suspended black silk.

"Billy! Don't act stupid! We're in the middle of a battle here!" Rolly called out to him, "There's no voice around here! C'mon! We have to stop Dark Raven!" The blonde glared back at her.

"Don't lie to me! You're not the Rolly I know!" he shouted angrily, "You're not the Rolly I like because I didn't tell her I liked her yet!" The redhead stepped towards him with an imploring look on her face, reaching out to him.

"But Billy! I like you too! I just never told you because I didn't get the chance!" she cried and flinched when he yelled at her again.

"No! Stop lying to me! You don't really like me; you're just acting like it because that's what I want! I don't want your fakeness!" Billy snapped back, shaking his head furiously, "I want the other voice here, now!"

"Foolish human! Turning on your friends like this; I shall destroy them all and you will be guilty of letting them die!" Corvo declared, pointing his wand at the three teens, all of whom gasped and looked frightened by the threat. Billy turned on him, undaunted.

"And you're not supposed to be alive! How the heck are you even here and why are you talking like that?!" the blonde yelled, "I know why! It's because I always thought you'd talk like a big, show-offy jerk if I gave you the chance to talk!" He pointed an accusing finger at the crow wizard, who squawked indignantly at him, "That means you're a fake too! Why are you here in Morning Land when you should be dead?!"

The whole group of crows and Heroes stood in silence, glaring at him without an answer to his question. Billy glared back and forth between them, daring them to give him a satisfactory answer. And then....

"Because this isn't Morning Land." the ethereal voice remarked smugly and everyone turned their attentions to a figure leaning against a nearby building. Billy's eyes widened in recognition.

"You! You're the other me from the dream! The one that fought the evil me!" he blurted out. Rolly darted forward, grabbing his wrist as she threw a hand out to the loitering double.

"Intruder in the land I reign, vanish from this-!" she began and cried in pain when Billy twisted free and kicked the metal egg up to smash into her stomach, sending her flying back to join the other Heroes.

"You shut up!" he snarled, "I've had enough of all this lying and fake stuff and everything!" He glared at others before turning back to other Billy, the one in the glowing white Rooster Suit. "Tell me what's going on!" he demanded, "Why is everyone acting like this?! Why are my memories all tangled up like this, too?!" The other Billy watched him for a moment before speaking.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to reach you without driving you crazy again?" he asked conversationally, "You've got a really rebellious spirit when anything tries to force itself on you. Makes any kind of magic hard to put to work on you."

"Magic?" Billy echoed blankly, then narrowed his eyes at the figure, "Who are you?! Did you do all this to me and my memories?! What do you mean this isn't Morning Land?! I've lived here for four years; I think I'd know my surroundings after being anywhere for so long!" The other boy lifted an eyebrow at him, seemingly surprised at being asked those questions. All around them, the palace fuzzed again before coming back into clearer focus.

"You already know who I am. My name is being blocked right now, but you're already working through getting freed of that little trap." he remarked casually, "A few more shakes of the foundation and you'll be able to speak my name. That should help throw a wrench in Dark Raven's plans." Corvo turned his wand on them next.

"Pity you won't be here to help that! The boy is ours!" the crow wizard declared, "Intruder in the land-!" Billy spun around and kicked the gray egg again, slamming the wizard against a pillar before mentally calling the ball back.

"And I told you guys to shut up! Every time my memories get all torn to pieces, I hear that stupid chant!" he yelled and glared at the Heroes as well, "You three say it sometimes too! I'm not that stupid!" He looked between the wizard and the three gawking teens. "Yeah, I get it now! You guys are actually working with this stupid wizard!" he accused and the palace grew hazy again. Chick knelt down and frantically began patting at the tile in lame attempts to return its detailing.

"That's crazy!" Bantam shouted back angrily, "We're the Heroes of Morning Land! We were brought here to fight the crows and save the Giant Egg!"

"By who?!" Billy demanded and the teens froze at that, "Tell me who sent us here!"

"They can't tell you. If they say my name, the spell on it is broken and you'll be able to see the truth more clearly." the other Billy remarked, walking up to join him and picking up the metal egg. The blonde glared at him, hands clenching into fists out of frustration.

"That's all I want, the truth. What is the truth?" he demanded harshly, "All this time, all these years... just tell me, here and now." The glowing boy looked at him with a hooded expression.

"First, tell me what you found out about these people." he answered and Billy blinked in confusion, "What you were thinking about earlier; tell me what you found strange."

"Bantam was acting like he would if he was the scary person I thought he was; like how I was afraid he would act if he really was that way." Billy murmured aloud, turning to look at his 'friends', "And Chick knew things that I remember but never talked about. And Rolly acted like how I wanted her to be because I like her and want her to like me back. And Corvo talks like how I always imagined he would talk like, but I never actually heard him talk because he was always saying weird magic things to attack me and he only stopped when he died." He blinked suddenly, a faint trickle of understanding dawning on him as the courtyard seemed to bleed its colors into one another, the Heroes and crows looking around themselves fearfully. "They all act like they knew my thoughts and were making them all come alive." Billy whispered, "Like none of this is really real; it's all made up and it all came from me!" His breath caught in his throat as something seemed to pull away from him, a weight he hadn't realized was there suddenly falling into nothingness and leaving him freer than he'd ever been.

"Good. And there is your truth, Billy." the other teen remarked with a smile, "All of this is fake. The Morning Land you believed you lived in for four years doesn't exist." Billy lifted a hand and looked at it, then down at himself.

"My normal clothes fit me, even though they shouldn't. Because if four years passed, they should have been too small for me. But they fit, because I remembered they fit me." he added softly, "So in my mind, the clothes they gave me in Windmill Prison fit perfectly; it was all they had to work with in my memories." He closed his eyes. "Four years. Those are fake too. I'm not... I'm not...."

"You're not sixteen, Billy. You're a twelve-year-old boy trapped by magic." the other Billy murmured gently, "I asked you once if you remembered the last fight you had with Dark Raven. I'll ask you something else, something that the last spell had been blocking before it fell apart." The blonde looked up at him, eyes wide and shining with unspilled tears. "What is the last thing you clearly remember about the fight against Dark Raven? When the Master Rooster Suit was taken from you and you were helpless against him?"

"Don't answer him!" Rolly called out to him, "He's a mirage sent by Dark Raven to trick you!" Billy ignored her voice, focusing on his memories as he searched them for the day in question.

"We made wishes to the Giant Egg when we couldn't defeat each other and when it hatched... there was a bright flash and a cloud surrounded Dark Raven." he recalled slowly, "He became this giant black crow..."

...blur of black and violet and silver... looming over shattered gold....

"...and he tore the Master Rooster Suit away from me when I didn't dodge fast enough...."

...shreds of white....

"I lost the ability to use the eggs... on the balcony!"

...silver marble... sharp claws... pinning his body... blood all over....

"I tried to keep away from him, but he suddenly pinned me under one of his talons, and the claws dug into my sides!" Billy went on, eyes growing wider as he finally began understanding all those strange half-messages that kept making his head hurt, "That's why I kept remembering blood and red on silver! I was bleeding from that!" He lifted a hand to his head, wincing at the sharp pain as the Heroes and Corvo all began chanting together, glaring at him. The other Billy glared back at them.

"Keep going, Billy! You're almost there!" he urged the blonde, "Focus on the memories and ignore the pain! It's the only way to truly see this world!"

"I... I can remember him talking. He was saying things, like the stuff Corvo said. Magic stuff." Billy went on, shutting his eyes tightly as he put all his attention on his memory of the battle, trying to recall the words, "It was a spell... not the deal he made me... the spell made me feel... sleepy...."

"No! No! The spell he cast was to make you his slave!" Rolly yelled as the others continued chanting, "He would spare you if you agreed to the spell and that's what he was saying! He was making you the deal!"

"I tried to get away, but it only made my bleeding worse... tried to stay awake, but it was so hard and I felt so tired...." he continued sifting through the fog that tried to hide his memories, more lies being placed there by the chanting, "Dark Raven said something... as I was falling asleep or passing out or whatever...."

"Intruder in the land I reign, vanish from this mind again!" Rolly screamed at him frantically, but the spell failed. How could she banish the one who truly ruled the land? Her hands flew up to her mouth in horror as she realized the voice that had come from her was not her own. In that moment, Billy's eyes snapped open, clear and shining with realization.

"He said 'I will have your half of the Giant Egg's power'." he finished and lifted his hand to the sky, gazing up at it as he spread his fingers, "The wish I made really wasn't ignored; I don't know where it is, but the Giant Egg granted me the power to defeat Dark Raven, and he was going to put me to sleep and trick me into giving it to him!" He lowered his gaze at the group before him, frowning. "This... isn't real. You all exist in my mind, so I'm the one in control!" Billy hissed and stomped his foot, "Get away from me!" The courtyard split in half, separating him and the glowing teen from the Heroes and crows. The half that had the three teens and the remnants of the Crescent Crow Army suddenly shot up into the sky in a huge upheaval, with only the shrieks trailing behind to let him know they were still on the chunk of earth.

"Impressive. I should have expected it from an imaginative boy like you, though." the other Billy remarked with a grin, watching the island shoot up into the clouds. He looked back at the blonde as he huffed in annoyance and held the metal egg out to him. "Now that you've thoroughly confused Dark Raven's presence enough to mask us both, you have a choice to make." he went on and Billy blinked at him, confused.

"Huh? Why? Can't you just use magic to get the spell broken or something?" he asked and the other teen shook his head sadly.

"No. You might be aware of what this place is because that spell was weakened by your doubt. However, the initial spell that put you here is much stronger and is woven using your own mind." he replied grimly, "If I tried adding my magic on top of that to break it, you'd be destroyed mentally." At Billy's blank stare, the glowing double sighed and shook his head again, more slowly. "You would die, Billy Hatcher; your body would remain whole, but your essence, your soul and mind, would be torn to pieces and evaporate to nothing."

"Then... then what can you do?!" Billy cried in horror.

"I can add a trap to Dark Raven's spell, and give you another reality to live in if you reject the one he's going to remake to gain control of you again. I can't free you from this, but I can use his spell to weave a new Morning Land in your mind." the other teen explained and tossed the metal egg into the air, watching with Billy as it split in two while it hung suspended; one was the Crescent Crow Egg, the other a shining white egg with the Emblem of Courage on it. "You can see what each reality has to offer, then you'll have to choose which one you'll accept." he murmured, "There's no way I can free you and Dark Raven will never release you from this spell. This is the only way I can give you peace."

The world suddenly went black.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Billy!"

He gave a start at hearing his name being called and gave a small yelp as the sight of a palace interior bloomed into his field of vision.

"Billy? Are you okay?"

He pressed a hand to his head to steady himself, feeling a vague sense of dizziness at the sudden change in surroundings. Looking around quickly, the blonde found himself seated in a golden throne on a pedestal covered with red carpet.

"Rolly?" he finally named the voice that had called to him, "Wh-where am I?" He blinked as her face came in front of him, she was leaning from his side to study him with concern.

"The Royal Hall of Giant Palace, my lord. You were about to pass sentence on the Chicken Elder, Oma-Oma." she replied, the same worried look on her face, "You seemed to lose focus for a moment. Perhaps I kept you up too late last night?" Billy stared at her for a moment, taking in the redhead when she waved tentatively in front of his face and pulled his attention to the rest of her.

"What are you wearing?!" he finally cried, unable to pull his eyes away once he registered her appearance. The girl looked surprised, then looked down at herself to check her clothing. She wore the same pink helmet of her Rooster Suit, but instead of the cute pink dress and red neckerchief with pink shoes she wore a deep rose top that barely covered her chest and a matching miniskirt, the neckerchief tied around her left upper arm in an attempt to keep it on somehow. The curled-toe shoes had been replaced with stiletto boots, giving her the 'evil hot babe' look that constantly showed up in the comics Chick's older brother kept trying to hide from them.

"The same thing I've always worn since we conquered Morning Land, Lord Billy; the modified Rooster Suit that you had commissioned by our slaves." Rolly replied and pouted, pursing her pinked lips together, "You said I looked sexy in it." With that, she waved her hand at the Elder that crouched before them with a despairing look on his face. "Now, hurry up and have the Elder killed and fried for dinner so you can come back to the royal chambers with me." Rolly added flippantly, "I'm bored with watching Chick and Bantam spar all day." Billy held his head in his hands, alternating between staring at her and at the disheartened Chicken Elder gazing up at him with disappointment, guarded by a pair of Big Doras that just grinned vacantly up at him in utter adoration.

"Um, uh... I'll do it later." the blonde finally stammered and waved at the guards, "Take him back to... wherever it is you were keeping him and uh... feed him?" The Big Doras grinned wider and hauled Oma-Oma away, the Elder babbling praise and thanks for being allowed another day to live. Billy jumped from the throne and scrambled to catch a small crown that toppled off his head from the sudden motion. He stared at it with wide eyes, then looked up at Rolly as she sighed and tapped her foot impatiently. "Rolly, when did we conquer Morning Land? When did you join Dark Raven? When did the others join? What's going on?!" he fired off questions in a rising panic. She sighed again and snapped her fingers, summoning a Larpee that scurried up to her with a tray of wine glasses. She took a pair and handed one to Billy after he set the crown on the throne, then began leading him down another corridor to leave the Royal Hall.

"You really should switch to the Merlot. Chardonnay tends to make you zone out like this." Rolly told him bluntly, "After locating the missing half of the Giant Egg's power, you used it to destroy Dark Raven and overthrow his rule, becoming the new King of Crows yourself. That was three years ago, and you just celebrated your eighteenth birthday yesterday." She sipped at her glass as they continued walking and then went on. "Chick and Bantam both joined you when you convinced them that the four of us ruling Morning Land would be better than a bunch of half-cocked chickens and brainless crows. You named Chick commander of the assassins and Bantam lieutenant general of the Crescent Crow Army." Billy sipped at his own glass as he took in the information, too stunned to say anything else. "And I joined you shortly after you defeated Dark Raven when you asked me to marry you." Rolly jumped at the sound of glass shattering and looked back at him with another pout. "You see? This is why you should switch to the Merlot." she pointed out.

"I did what?!" Billy shrieked, ignoring the shards of glass and spilled wine on the marble floor. Rolly shook her head and sighed, her long hair shimmering in a cape-like wave as she moved.

"Billy, you have everything you could ever want. Power, riches... me." she told him and walked up to rest against him, tucking her head against his neck. The blonde hesitated, then haltingly brought his arms around her. "Why are you acting this way? What happened to my strong fearless husband who rules Morning Land with an iron fist?" she asked softly, "This is the life we live now; you should be used to it." She blinked in confusion when Billy pulled away, shaking his head.

"No, I don't want this life. This isn't who we are, who I am." he told her grimly, backing away from the redhead as she watched him impassively, "What is this?!"

The Crescent Crow Egg appeared over Rolly's head as the scene faded to black. She gazed at him, her hands by her sides as she stood frozen before him. The ball pulsed with a dark aura, glowing violet in the darkness.

"I am Rolly Hatcher, your wife and princess. I represent what you desire most." she intoned, her eyes deep emerald pools that saw nothing, "Choose this path and the Giant Egg's energy fueling the spell Dark Raven cast will be drawn into you, snuffing out the Evil King's life and sealing his power within your body. The darkness will forever sleep within you and this eternal dream will grant you your deepest desires in payment."

"But...!" Billy began, but the image of Rolly vanished, plunging him into darkness once more.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The world exploded into light once again, this time shining in Forest Village. Billy shielded his eyes from the painful resurgence and could hear the cheers of chickens and the other three Heroes of Morning Land. Carefully removing his hand, he looked around himself, discovering banners proclaiming his heroic deeds draped all over the place and that he was standing atop a giant tree stump. In a moment of confusion and dizziness from yet another shift in surroundings, Billy reached up to his head to be sure another crown didn't suddenly decide to pop up there, and breathed a sigh of relief that no such thing happened.

"Billy! Guess what?!" Chick exclaimed as he jumped and down beside him in hyperactivity, "We've been invited to stay as their guardians! The Chicken Elders named us honorary Elders to all the regions!"

"I wouldn't mind sticking around. The food ain't half bad, once you get used to it." Bantam laughed, patting a baby chick on the head. Billy stared at him, then out at the crowd, confused once again. Why were they invited to stay?

"With Dark Raven gone, the power of the Giant Egg had to be contained inside you, Billy." Rolly explained suddenly, looking cute in her normal dress and shoes. She giggled and winked at him. "You looked like you zoned out, so I thought you might need a reminder of what happened. We defeated Dark Raven with your half of the Giant Egg's power, but we couldn't leave all that magical power floating around like that since it could hurt Morning Land. So you jumped up into it and let the whole thing soak into your own body to act as the new container." With that, she lifted up one of his hands and shaded it with her own, letting him see the soft golden glow that surrounded it. "The rest of your body is the same way. As the Bearer of Dawn's Light, you have to ensure its protection and stay here in Morning Land to keep the Giant Egg's power safe."

"I... did this...?" Billy whispered in shock, staring at his hands while they continued glowing. Rolly nodded and winked at him again.

"But don't worry! I'll stay by your side and help, too. We all will!" she declared brightly, "Together, we can keep Morning Land and our world safe forever!"

"But what about our lives? Can't we just go home and be ourselves again? What about our dreams and goals?" Billy asked her in alarm, then turned to a baby chick that looked up at him in adoration. "What about the hopes and wishes we have to fulfill in our world?" he asked it, "Our families miss us and we miss them!"

"We love you, Billy! Stay and protect us, Defender of the Dawn!" the crowd screamed joyously, ignoring his protests as the scene faded to black, the white egg appearing over the chick.

"I am the hope and future of Morning Land, whose people admire and adore you for your great deeds. I represent the innocence you fought to protect by defeating the Evil King." the baby chick intoned, staring vacantly up at him, "Choose this path and the Giant Egg's energy within your body will rise up and consume Dark Raven with its white-hot fury, snuffing out the Evil King's life and draining his half of the power into yourself. The power of the Giant Egg will resume its sleep within you and this eternal dream will bathe you in our love and everlasting gratitude to comfort you as you rest."

Rolly appeared beside the baby chick, both staring through Billy into nothing as the second Billy with the glowing white Rooster Suit stepped in from the darkness.

"There you have it, Billy Hatcher. The choice is yours. Either way, Dark Raven will be defeated and you will remain trapped in this eternal sleeping spell. This is all I can do to help you; I'm not powerful enough in the realm of your mind to do anything more." the other teen told him, "No entity is. So, which path will you take?" Billy blinked at him, then looked between Rolly and the chick a few times before closing his eyes and sighing in exasperation.

"Great choice, Menie-Funie." he growled, surprising the copy by announcing his name as clearly as if he'd known all along, "Be the Destroyer of the Dawn and rule a nightmare world where everyone hates me, or the great Defender of the Dawn and trapped in a twisted dream-role that sacrifices the hopes and wishes I have for myself and my friends!" He finally glared at the other teen. "You couldn't make it any harder, huh?"

"Sorry, but I'm glad to hear you say my name, if for nothing else." Menie-Funie remarked with a tight grin, "You still have to make a choice."

"Well, what if I choose neither one?!" Billy snapped, "What do I get then?! What if I just want to go home?! To beat Dark Raven at this stupid game, shove the Giant Egg's power somewhere else and finally go home?!" He clenched his hands into fists, shaking in a fury. "This can't be all I have to work with! You said you weren't strong enough to break the spell because you're in my mind, right?!" the blonde demanded and the Chicken God nodded once, "Well, it's my mind and all that's going on is I'm having a crazy dream! So I should be the one in control of it! My mind means my power!" Menie-Funie grinned as the figures faded away, flicking a hand to send the white ball bouncing over into Billy's hands.

"Then you should have the power to break the spell yourself. All you have to do is end the battle on the balcony twice." the God of Chickens remarked. Billy stared at him in confusion.

"Twice?"

"Dream within your dreamer's eye to escape the Watcher's lie. Fall again to lose this fate; only then can you escape." Menie-Funie chanted and smiled at him, "Solve it and you'll know how to get free. You're a smart boy. I'm sure you'll figure it out. Moreso if you remember what I told you in that previous 'dream'." With that, the glowing teen turned his back on him, waving a hand back in farewell as he walked into the darkness.

And the world exploded once more into color and sound and sensations, blinding Billy as he hugged his new ball tightly.