Chapter Text
The journey back through the gates was quick, each one only taking time enough to trace William and Willow's steps to the previous one.
Ascending was easier than descending, and with each layer that they climbed, Wilson's face took on more color. The shadows left him, his eyes returning to the soft hazel color that they had been when he'd started. William's hair was the grey-streaked brown it was supposed to be, and the lines in his face made him seem softer now.
Willow watched the two of them walking together, a grin on her face.
With every step, their fingers brushed together, as if they were already used to being at each other's side. When some creature reared it's head, William would leap to Wilson's defense, the book that seemed to hold his spells already in hand. If she hadn't known any better, she would say that they had been together for years. They acted as if they had, the bond between them forged in metaphorical fire.
A hand waved in her face and she jolted, an embarrassed blush on her face. "Sorry, what?"
"I was hoping to ask you how much the world has changed," Wilson explained. "And also make sure that you knew where you were walking. It would not do to make it this far and then fall off the edge of a cliff."
William's hand was on his hip, his fingers tucked neatly into the watch pocket of his waistcoat. "I do not recall this area having very many cliffs, save the one that I dropped my sword off of." he cleared his throat. "And on that note, would you mind if we took a detour? There are people that I must see, if they are still here to be seen." he gestured at Willow, his smile almost bitter. "You should recognize them, if the research you have done is as thorough as I believe it to be."
"Wait-" Willow frowned, then nodded. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind the detour, but who are they?"
"The Strongman and the Mime." William's lips pressed together, like he was trying to hold back a fond smile. "Wolfgang and Wes."
"Okay, so my question is, why are there so many names that start with double-u?" she looked between them, crossing her arms over her chest as all three of them continued walking. Since the plan was now made, they could all head in the same direction and know what was happening. "Seriously, there's me, Willow, and then there's Wilson and William. Wolfgang, Wes-"
"The woman I met in the forest called the metal creature that accompanied her 'Willford', and my niece was Wilhelmina, going by the name Wendy." William arched an eyebrow. "I must question the motives behind this gathering of people."
Willow nodded. "Yeah, that's kind of where I was going with that."
"It poses a question of the reason behind it as well as the reason for collecting the group of personalities that hold the names." Wilson added, looking up to meet William's eyes. "For example, the deal that brought me here was knowledge."
"...Mine was made for power." William's free hand tugged something out from under his collar and ran his fingers over it. Willow didn't get a very clear view of it, but it seemed like it might be an engagement ring on a chain. "I doomed Wes and Wolfgang, as well as- But maybe my deal did not doom her so much."
Pressing a kiss to the taller man's knuckles, Wilson shook his head. "I don't think you did doom them. As far as I can tell, it takes the making of an individual deal to bring someone here, or the loss of a conscious state. Wendy seems to have been an anomaly in these lands, and I think that the only reason she was able to travel here was because you acted as an anchor." he smiled up at William reassuringly. "If anything, that means that Wes and Wolfgang made deals of their own. It might be that-"
"The ones who control the throne took advantage of the train crash to force their hands." William finished, narrowing his eyes at the ground.
The shorter man nodded. "Precisely." Wilson shook his hands free, standing on his toes to be able to put them both on William's face. "So you do not need to drown yourself in the guilt you carry. You can live with it, carry it all you like, but you do not need to hang yourself with it."
William smiled, clasping his hands over Wilson's. "I think that I will thrive with you at my side. You, Wilson Higgsbury, with a mind that is just as stubborn as my own." the moon glinted off the lenses of his glasses as he leaned down, pressing his nose into Wilson's wild hair. "You are wonderful in a way that I have yet to grasp how I earned." his smile fell slowly, something occurring to him. "How are we to reach the world again?"
"What do you mean?" Willow frowned.
"I mean, my dear, that I do not believe that we will be able to exit this realm without the last gate, something similar to what I had Wilson build." William shook his head, pulling back, his hands still tangled with Wilson's. "Such things are not easily replicated."
"And if we simply built one from this side, it would only lead back down." Wilson frowned as well, biting his bottom lip as he thought. "This poses a conundrum. I propose that we continue on with out back-tracking, returning to the surface as much as we can." he shrugged. "Where we go from there...I will work on that. It seems that, while I have broken my end of the deal, I get to keep what I asked for."
Nodding, William drew one hand back to pat his bag. "I still get command of the powers I asked for."
"Okay, so, first: we should keep moving, we probably want to get somewhere else before night falls." Willow interrupted, pulling the lighter from her pocket and turning it over in her hands. "Second: we should probably try to find those guys if we're going to find them."
"...What was it that you asked for?" Wilson peered at her, head tilted to one side.
Willow shrugged, her thumb running over the half faded inscription on the lighter. "I asked for my dad back. You guys get to keep your knowledge and your powers and I don't get to keep him." she forced a smile onto her face, shoving the lighter back into her pocket and walking away, tugging her red sweater down as she went, settling it over her hips.
Pulling on William's hand to get him moving again, Wilson whispered to him, "I think- They would interpret a deal like that to mean she wanted him back in the real world." he went to call out to her, but William stopped him.
"Let her foul mood run through, then speak with her." William smiled gently at Willow's back. "I suspect she wishes to be angry right now, and we will be of no comfort."
"Even with good news?"
William nodded. "Even with good news."
With no trace of Wolfgang or Wes, they were forced to move on, the camp the two had obviously shared empty of all life.
Except, for some reason, an odd creature that seemed to be made entirely of fur and feet. The top of it's head opened, and when it heard Wilson's voice, it made a happy noise that had sounded for all the world like 'Poing!'. At first glance, it seemed like a dog, and Willow made a panicked face when Wilson stuck his hand inside what appeared to be it's mouth.
"Hello Chester!" he greeted cheerily, dropping to his knees next to the thing. When he pulled his hand back, he held something that looked like a bone with an eye set into it. "How are you doing? Are you being good?"
The thing lashed out it's tongue and slobbered over Wilson's entire face, causing the man to laugh. "Well!"
Willow looked like she might be having an aneurysm. "Wilson, are you sure you should be letting that thing lick you? We don't know where it came from, it could be dangerous!" she floundered for a second, then turned to William for backup. "You're not worried about this?"
"This, the thing in question, is a creature that is loyal to the one who carries the eye-bone." William informed her, a small smile on his face as he watched the two. "I was the king of this world when Wilson arrived, and I watched him find and name Chester. Chester is..." he made an amused noise. "Chester is living storage, and he is rather sweet." he leaned over to run a few fingers through the fur that covered the creature. "I take it that he shall be coming with us?"
"If we can, yes." Wilson hugged Chester close, a grin on his face. "I had to let him go when I traveled down to free you, he couldn't stay with me."
He held onto the eye-bone when he stood up, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "Shall we?"
William leaned down after Wilson stood up, pulling Chester into his arms. "For service beyond compare, I shall carry you." he chuckled as Wilson laughed. "He kept you safe, of course he gets to come with us if we can figure it out."
"He's actually really adorable." Willow added, craning her head back so that she could look up at William.
"Of course he is," Wilson hooked his fingers around William's bent elbow. "He's Chester."
A few more days passed as they traveled back to the first world, the one that William had started in.
The sun was rising when they got there, casting a brilliant yet soft light over everything, surrounding the world in a gentle glow. The only noise in the group was Chester 'poinking' along behind them, his purple tongue wagging with every bouncing step. Looking around, Willow rubbed at her eyes, a yawn big enough to make her jaw crack forcing it's way out of her.
To their surprise, a door appeared as they got closer, the shape of it slightly different than the ones they were used to. It was also a fair bit plainer, like someone had used different materials to make it.
"Well..." Willow gestured at it, her face screwing up in confusion. "Does that in any way solve our dilemma?"
Studying it for a moment, Wilson nodded. All signs of exhaustion were gone from his face, and he let Chester lean against his leg. "Yes and no. It solves it by virtue of existing, as it means we can leave this place. The very fact that it is here means that we can leave through it."
"What's wrong with it?" Willow questioned immediately, looking over at him.
William shook his head. "If there is a door, and this is not something I created, it means that there is someone on the other side who is attempting to enter. Doors open both ways, my dear, and we have no idea as to who or what is on the other side, only that they are attempting entrance into this world."
Willow frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "That's- That's really not good."
"No, it is not." both men spoke at the same time, sparing a fond glance at each other as they realized it. "I say we go through despite the caution." William continued, lacing his fingers through Wilson's. "We may never get this chance again, and if we enter it all at once, the group of us, we will not be separated."
Leaning down, William scooped Chester into his other arm, smiling at the tongue that drooped out over his wrist. "Are you coming, my dear? I would hate to leave you behind."
Looking between them and the door, Willow nodded slowly. "I'll probably never get this chance again." she whispered. Wilson smiled, holding out his other hand for her. "I just want to go home." she sobbed quietly as the shorter of the two men rubbed soothing circles over the back of her hand.
Together, the three of them took a step through the door.
The moment they were gone, the entire world went dark, the proverbial final curtain on a show that ended long ago.