Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There’s knocking on their door. Techno looks to Wil and Phil to see they heard it too. They seem to be doing the same. After a few seconds of silence, the knocking returns, louder and quicker this time.

‘I’ll go check it out,’ Techno says, bookmarking his book and standing up. He walks to the front door and opens it. He is surprised to see Red Glider standing before him. He’s wearing his usual mask, covering the lower part of his face, but his clothing is tattered and bloodied. A piece of it looks like it has been burnt, but the skin beneath it isn’t. He isn’t wearing his usual red hoodie, so Techno can see dried blood in his blond curls.

Red is shaking, looking around frantically, not at Techno. His wings are bad, feathers are cracked, pulled out and his wings hang limp. Fuck, is Techno’s first thought. Please don’t let them be broken, is his second.

‘Please, please, please, Erebus, please let me in,’ Red says, still not looking at Techno’s face. ‘I’m sorry I came here, but I- I didn’t know where else to go, please. Please, Dream-’ Red stops talking while he falls into Techno’s arms.

‘Shit,’ he says. It’s obvious Red passed out, or worse. He wouldn’t just… fall into Techno’s arms like that, certainly not as scared as he had been. Techno hoists Red into his arms and walks to the living room. Phil immediately stands up.

‘Is that Red Glider? What happened?’ he asks.

‘Red was pleading at our door, begging to be let in. He said Dream’s name right before he passed out,’ Techno explains.

‘Okay. We should handle this logically. Techno, put him in a holding cell. Wilbur, he knew our address. Go ask around who else does. I’ll take care of his wounds,’ Phil ordered. Techno nodded and went to the holding cells. He laid Red on the bed, careful of his wings, and stayed with him until Phil appeared with the med kit. ‘Can you go cook something up? It doesn’t have to be big, just something he can eat when he wakes up. I can count his goddamn ribs with this shirt.’

‘I’ll go do that,’ Techno says. He goes to the kitchen and makes potato soup. The familiar movements calm him, and when it’s done, the panic he had been pressing down is gone. He gets three bowls and puts the soup into them. He takes all of them to the holding cell.

Phil is sitting on one chair, and has the other two seats next to him. He’s watching Red sleeping. Techno sets one bowl on the table, gives one to Phil and eats the last one himself. Wilbur returns pretty quickly. His coat his bloody, which means he had a successful mission.

‘I’ll go clean up, then join you both in staring at the sleeping hero.’

‘You go do that, Wil,’ Techno nods solemnly. Wilbur laughs as he disappears to his bathroom. ‘So. What are we going to do?’ Techno asks Phil.

‘Well, we won’t take his mask off. That’s the only part of his costume he’s wearing, it must be for a reason,’ Phil says.

‘But what if he’s hurt there?’

‘We’ll incorporate it into the interrogation.’

‘What else?’

‘His age, why he came to our door, how he knows where we live, if he knows other crucial information, things like that.’

‘Who’s gonna ask?’ Techno asks.

‘First one of us, and if he doesn’t answer, Wil. I don’t want to unnecessarily traumatize him further if he’s compliant.’

‘Okay,’ Techno nods. Wilbur returns with a bowl of soup and their masks in his hands. It takes Red about ten minutes more to wake up. He opens his eyes, freezes, looks around, and carefully sits up.

‘Red,’ Phil says and Reds eyes snap to him. ‘We’re going to ask you some questions, but if you don’t answer them or we think you are lying, Coeus will use his powers, understood?’

Red nods immediately. ‘Yes, sir.’

‘Okay. We didn’t take your mask off, but we do need to know if you’re hurt there. I already took care off most of the wounds, but if I missed any, I need you to tell me.’

‘No- not my face, sir,’ Red answers.

‘Who did this to you?’ Phil asks.

‘Dream, Sandman and Inferno, sir.’

‘Do you know why they attacked you?’

Red looked away. ‘I- um- I questioned their next plan about taking you down, sir.’

‘Why did you come to our door?’

‘I needed- I needed to find someplace safe.’

Techno raises an eyebrow. ‘And why is the house of your enemies considered “someplace safe”? Especially when there had just been made a plan about defeating us?’ he asks.

‘Um- I don’t- I just… it was the first thing that came to mind. Sir.’

‘And how do you know where we live? Do other heroes know?’ Phil asked.

‘Not heroes, sir. I- I told my personal therapist and let it accidentally slip to someone I don’t remember. And- um- I followed Coeus here one time. I didn’t tell anyone else, I promise!’ Techno eyed Wilbur. Wilbur rolled his eyes.

‘Do you know anything else that could be used in finding or arresting us?’

Red shook his head. ‘Nothing, sir.’ Techno believed him. He didn’t have a reason to lie to them, apart from them being his enemies, but he knew that if they thought he lied Wil would use his powers and the truth would be out anyway.

‘How old are you?’ he asked. Red froze. His wings twitched.

‘Tw-twenty,’ he answered. Techno sighed. Seemed he was wrong about the lying.

‘Red. You’re not twenty,’ he said calmly.

‘Nineteen?’ Red tried.

‘No, you’re not. Coeus?’ Techno watched Red’s eyes turn from slightly hopeful, to fearful, to absolutely terrified as Wil stood up. He was scrambling back on the bed, hitting the wall. His wings were rising up, then pulling down again, tucked behind his back as best they could in their state.

‘No, no, no, please! I’m sorry, I-’ He didn’t get further when Wil put his hand on his head.

‘Calm down. Answer the questions correctly,’ he commanded. Red nodded, his eyes glazed over.

‘How old are you?’ Techno repeated.

‘Sixteen,’ Red said. Wil froze and almost pulled his hand back, but Techno asked another question immediately.

‘How long have you been with Dream?’

‘Ten years.’

‘When did you start training?’

‘When I was thirteen.’

‘What are your exact powers?’

‘I can run up to 100 miles per hour, glide and heal.’ Techno took a sharp breath.

‘Have you been forced to use your healing powers on Dream against your will?’

‘Yes.’

‘Since what age?’

‘Eight.’

‘Let him go,’ Techno commanded Wil.

Wil sat back in his chair and said: ‘The previous commands no longer apply.’ Red’s fear returned instantly, before turning into pure horror.

‘I’m sorry, I won’t do it again, I promise! I won’t try to lie again! I-’

‘Calm,’ Phil interrupted, his voice tight. Red cut himself off immediately, still looking fearful. Techno suddenly realized Phil hadn’t spoken at all the last five minutes. When Techno looked over, he saw Phil’s wings bristled and twitching, as if they wanted to snap open. Phil’s facial expression wasn’t any better, a look of utter fury on his face. Red followed Techno’s gaze and stiffened when his eyes fell on Phil. He cast his eyes down and shrunk even further into the corner.

‘Red,’ Phil said. ‘You can heal.’ Red was completely still for a moment, Techno wasn’t even sure he was breathing.

‘Yes, sir,’ he said after the moment.

‘And glide, not fly,’ Phil said.

‘That is correct, sir.’

‘Are you a phoenix hybrid.’ It wasn’t a question. Techno didn’t expect Phil to phrase it like one, not while having all that rage bubbled up to the surface. He was surprised, though. Red could just be a red tanager avian with speed and healing powers.

‘Yes, sir.’ Techno’s head snapped to Red. Phoenixes were extremely rare avians, thought to have stopped breeding about a hundred years ago. The only ones that are alive are all ninety plus years old. Red was sixteen. From the corner of his eye, Techno could see that Wil had had the same reaction as him.

Phil, on the other hand, had snarled and gotten up from his seat, wings snapping open. Red flinched harshly and his arms were coming up to cover his face, to shield it. But Techno knew that Phil wouldn’t hurt a kid. Indeed, Phil turned around and stormed out of the room, wings and tail feathers having to bend behind Phil for him to go through the door.

Techno turned back to Red, who was shaking, his forearms covering his face. He was watching him and Wil though, Techno knew that.

‘How are your wings?’ Techno asked.

‘I- they hurt, sir.’ That was understandable.

‘Do you want us to take care of them?’ he asked. Red stiffened. Then he shook his head. ‘Will you take care of them with the right supplies?’

‘Yes, sir,’ Red answered. Techno nodded, turned around and started to leave the room, going to look for Phil.

‘What’s your name?’ Wil asked.

Red flinched, but answered: ‘Tommy, sir.’

‘Hello, Tommy. My name is Wilbur. That is Techno.’ Techno couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation, focusing his attention on finding Phil.

Chapter Text

Tommy doesn’t understand. These people are supervillains, having killed dozens of innocent civilians with no remorse. These villains were the ones that caused the fall of many great heroes like The Captain and Crowfather. He doesn’t know why his sort-of-drugged brain thought it was a good idea to go to these villains and ask for help, but it did. And now basically all his secrets were out, pried out of his mouth by Coeus and Erebus, Thanatos had left with a snarl and raging body language, Erebus following shortly after.

And now Coeus was asking him questions, but he wasn’t using his powers. First he asked for Tommy’s name, and then gave his own. On top of that, he was giving Tommy choices. Choices were rare, and when given, he had to pick the right one. Otherwise he would get punished. Well, that was with Dream, here it’ll probably mean his death. He should not be in their way.

So, he said: ‘I’d rather stay in this room, sir,’ when Coeus asked whether or not he wanted to go upstairs.

‘That’s alright,’ Coeus said. Then he looked to the bowl on the table. He hummed. ‘That’s probably cold by now. I’ll get you a new one, alright?’ Without waiting for an answer, Coeus got up, retrieved the bowl, and went out of the door. Without closing it behind him. He- he couldn’t have forgotten, that would just be ridiculous for the villain’s intellect.

That meant he did it on purpose. Is this a test? Probably. To see whether or not they need to restrain him. Tommy stayed on the bed, not moving an inch. His wings hurt. He could feel the rumpled feathers, a few felt broken, he knew a few were pulled out. Well. Shit. That was not good.

Dream had never touched his wings before, knowing how important and sensitive they are. Dream had stepped out of line. Yes, punishments were often, as Tommy fucked up more often than not, but he never got his wings, Sandman or Inferno involved. Luckily, Tommy’s healing had already taken care of the burns Inferno left, but it hadn’t been able to completely shake of Sandman’s powers.

Even after Tommy had slept -to be honest, he had no idea how long he had been out- he was still more tired than usual. He sagged against the wall, ignoring the sting his wings gave. Coeus returned with a pile of clothes and a bowl in his hands. He put the bowl on the table and the clothes on one of the chairs. Then he picked up the bowl again and gave it to Tommy.

He flinched away from Coeus’s hand, and Coeus apologized: ‘Sorry. I won’t hurt you, and neither will Thanatos or Erebus. We don’t hurt children.’

‘I’m not a kid,’ Tommy mumbled while he ate the soup.

‘Maybe not mentally,’ Coeus agreed, surprising Tommy, ‘but you are one physically.’

‘I don’t think kids can fight the top three villains,’ Tommy said. Normally he wouldn’t dare to talk back, but he had to test them to see where the line was. Sure, Coeus said they wouldn’t hurt him, but they could still starve him or chain him to the wall or something.

‘No, they can’t, but then again, kids have a still developing brain,’ Coeus countered

‘So do twenty-four-year-olds. Are those kids? Didn’t think so.’

‘Yes, but you are not twenty-four. You are sixteen. Sure, you may not be as much of a kid as a ten-year-old, or even sixteen-year-olds that didn’t get exploited by corrupt heroes since their eighth, but you are still a kid.’ Tommy decided to change the subject.

‘The Heroes aren’t corrupt,’ he said. Coeus laughed.

‘Don’t tell me you actually believe that, please. Okay, the Captain wasn’t, but give me another name of a hero that also isn’t.’

‘Halo,’ Tommy said immediately. Coeus laughed again.

‘You don’t know it yet, but he has been building an underground empire. Some sort of cult. Hasn’t he been away or unavailable for long periods of time lately?’ Tommy thought about it. Yes, the answer was, he had.

‘He probably has a boyfriend or something. Him and Diamond fit really well, you know?’

Coeus snorted. ‘That’s true,’ he said, ‘but back to the subject at hand. Who isn’t corrupt?’

‘Can it also be heroes in training?’ Tommy asked.

‘Sure,’ Coeus shrugged.

‘Bee and Boo. Love those fuckers.’

‘Bee and Boo?’ Coeus asked. ‘I haven’t heard of them.’

‘No, because they didn’t debut yet. They’re still in training.’

‘And how do you know them?’

‘Bee’s mentor is Glatt, who works with Dream moderately often, and Boo’s mentor Nemesis let’s them connect with people his age.’

‘His age? Do you mean to say Boo is sixteen too?’

‘They’re seventeen, actually,’ Tommy said, stupidly not noticing Coeus’s change of tone.

Coeus looked at him like he was dumb and then said: ‘That’s not better!’ Oh. Oh, shit. Coeus was angry now. Tommy set the bowl down and shifted, ready to bolt the moment he needed to. It was going so well, he was having a sort-of conversation with him, and now Tommy had gone and fucked it all up.

‘Ah, fuck. Tommy? Can you look at me?’ Coeus asked, all the anger gone from his voice. Tommy settled his eyes on Coeus’s chin. He ducked his head so they were making eye contact. ‘I’m not angry at you, okay? Just at Dream and the other Heroes. I won’t take that out on you. Do you understand?’

‘Yes, sir,’ Tommy said, because he did understand, he just didn’t believe Coeus.

‘Okay. Do you want me to stay, or leave? There’s no right answer,’ Coeus asked.

‘Um… Can I be alone for a bit, sir?’ Tommy asked.

‘Of course. I’ll close the door, but I won’t lock it. You can leave the room if you need to.’ Tommy nodded and Coeus left the room, closing the door. Closing, not locking. Tommy didn’t hear the tell-tale sound of a lock. He looked at the pile of clothes, his wings, and the door. He put his right wing in his lap and started preening.

He plucked out the broken feathers first, wincing every time. He put them next to him and then started aligning the barbs of the rumpled feathers and the shafts so they fit nicely on his wings. It took longer than normally, but his right wing was finally nice and clean again. Well, apart from the one bald spot where Dream first pulled out a handful of feathers and Sapnap then burned the skin.

Then he started on his left wing. That one was a lot more damaged. His healing hadn’t taken care of the burning on the ends of his wings yet. It hurt whenever he accidentally touched it, so he tried to clean it as quickly as possible. Then the door opened without warning, and an angry Thanatos stormed in. Tommy was alert immediately. He dropped his wing.

‘Come with me,’ Thanatos ordered, beckoning Tommy. Tommy jumped off the bed, getting close to Thanatos. He laid an hand on Tommy’s neck, talons touching his skin but not piercing. Thanatos started walking and said: ‘You’re going to answer some questions.’

‘Yes, sir,’ Tommy said instantly, keeping his eyes down. He didn’t remember the way through the hallways they had taken, but that was probably for the best.

‘We found some footage and you need to verify it,’ Thanatos said before opening a door and motioning to one of the computers that stood in the room. Thanatos stalked over to it and pointed to the chair that was before it. ‘Sit,’ he commanded. Tommy obeyed, keeping his eyes away from Thanatos’s face because he was pretty sure the man wasn’t wearing his mask. Thanatos pressed some keys and the footage began rolling. It had no audio, but what was happening was pretty clear.

It was inside the Hero tower, inside Dream’s apartment no less. It was during one of Tommy’s punishments. Tommy wasn’t sure what he did wrong that particular time, but it was bad based of the chain Dream was getting out. After hitting past Tommy with them a few times, he pointed to the corner of the room and said something.

Past Tommy scrambled to obey, running to the corner. He held his arms outstretched, giving past Dream easy access to bind them together with the chains and then securing them to the wall. Then he left, shutting the lights of and closing the door, leaving past Tommy alone in the apartment, chained to the wall.

Thanatos stopped the feed and turned Tommy’s chair so they were facing each other. It seemed like he had calmed down, because he crouched in front of Tommy and when he spoke his voice was soft. ‘Tommy, is the footage showing what happened?’ he asked.

Tommy nodded. ‘Yes, sir.’

‘Okay. Can you tell me why Dream did that?’

Tommy slowly shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, sir. I don’t remember.’

‘That’s alright. You don’t have to apologize,’ Thanatos said. ‘I should be the one to,’ he continued, ‘I’m sorry for barging into the room like that. I was angry and not thinking rationally. I will try to not do that again in the future.’

‘Future?’ The question was out of Tommy’s mouth before he realized it. He leaned back in the chair, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I-’ He cut himself off when Thanatos reached a hand out to him, cupping his face and bringing him closer to Thanatos himself. He wasn’t wearing a mask, Tommy had been right. He squeezed his eyes close.

‘It’s alright,’ Thanatos whispered. ‘I won’t get mad at you for asking a question. And to answer it, you didn’t actually think you were going back to the heroes, did you?’

‘I- um.’ Tommy didn’t know what he thought. He was half drugged when he came here, and still doesn’t know why they didn’t kill him yet. Thanatos sat down on the ground, taking Tommy with him. He was sat in Thanatos’s lap and suddenly it became dark. It took a second for Tommy to realize Thanatos’s wings were wrapped around them, blocking out the light of the room and making a cocoon around the two of them.

Thanatos hand was buried in his hair, and the other finishing the preening on the wing Tommy had been working on. Tommy let out a content chirp and Thanatos crooned back. Tommy melted into Thanatos’s hands, a stream of chirps escaping him.

‘Welcome to the flock, Tommy,’ Thanatos- no, protector said. Tommy twittered happily, a warm haze spreading over his mind. The protector’s wings pulled away and protector started walking. Tommy didn’t know where to, but it was protector, it would be fine.

He looked up when protector stopped and sat down again. He was in a nest! A very big, very luxurious nest. Two other flock members were in here. None of them were avians, but that was alright. Tommy would just have to find another way to preen them. The biggest one had long hair, maybe he could help style it?

Tommy was laid onto the soft blankets and pillows and instantly he was picked up again, by the other flock member. This one didn’t have long hair, but that was alright. His sweater was very nice and soft and Tommy could burrow into it perfectly. Flock said something, but he couldn’t hear it. It must not have been important, then. He fell asleep satisfied and warm.

Chapter Text

Dream was furious. Not angry, not agitated, just plainly furious. It was understandable, really. His healer had escaped. He scoffed. He knew he shouldn’t have Sapnap take care of it. Sapnap always had a bit of a soft spot for the healer. He thought Dream didn’t see it, but he was wrong.

He might have thought that burning the healer’s wings would show how much he hated it, but Dream had explained very carefully what the healer had done and the punishment that hung to it. Dream only had asked Sapnap to punish the healer because he knew what kind of damage Sapnap could inflict, and instead he had held back.

And now the healer was gone. Dream was going to tear the city apart looking for him, after he held this press conference. He stepped onto the podium, his mask hiding his face and therefore his emotions.

‘Hello, everyone,’ he said, voice serious. ‘I have called this press conference because I need to warn you all of the danger that has occurred. Last night, Red Glider of the Hero Federation has gotten out of his room and hasn’t returned. We have reason to believe he might go on a killing spree, or join a villain group like the Syndicate. We, as Heroes, are doing everything in our power to get him back before he harms someone. His description is as follows: around 6 foot, blonde hair, quite skinny. He often wears red hoodies and shirts and long, black pants. His full legal name is Thomas Innet. I will not be taking or answering questions, as my main priority lies by finding and capturing Red Glider.’

With those words, Dream disappeared and soon four Dreams are running through the city, each going in a different direction. Dream himself goes to the northern part of the city, where the base of the Syndicate presumably lies. When he arrives, he sends out another two clones to help him comb through the area quicker. He isn’t there for ten minutes, or Thanatos lands before him. He doesn’t tuck his wings away, which tells Dream he is angry. Good. Anger means he is uncoordinated.

‘Thanatos,’ he greets. Thanatos doesn’t react verbally, but his posture tenses and his head lifts. Good. ‘Have you seen my healer?’ he asks. Thanatos snarls, wasting no time in running forward. Dream dodges easily and summons the five clones to him. Suddenly, he gets smashed into the street.

He jumps up and makes eye contact with Erebus. ‘Hello, Erebus. Where’s Coeus? Or even better, my healer.’ ‘He’s not yours,’ a voice behind Dream says. Before he can turn around, he hears the word ‘sleep’ and his vision turns black.

\__/\__/

He wakes up slowly. He groans. He doesn’t feel the straps of his mask. He wants to lift his hand, but finds he is unable. He opens his eyes, but the darkness remains. ‘Wha-’ he starts. He stops when the darkness lifted and bright lights forced their way into his retinas.

‘Dream,’ a voice he recognizes as Thanatos says. Dream blinks until he is used to the light. Thanatos stands before him, Erebus’s shadows are prowling around the room and the light which seemed so vivid are dimmed by the amount of shadows in the room. Erebus himself isn’t visible for Dream, but it’s always possible he’s behind him. Coeus is standing in the corner. It’s only at this point that Dream notices they’ve taken their masks off as well. Fools, the lot of them. When Dream escapes he’ll get them arrested immediately.

‘Crowfather,’ he greets Thanatos. Thanatos scoffs.

‘Crowfather is dead. You killed him.’

‘Well, I don’t think so. You are him, and you are standing before me, are you not?’

‘I was Crowfather. Until you forced me to leave. You killed Crowfather, and created Thanatos. And now I will kill you.’

‘Why? I can’t imagine you can hold a grudge this long,’ Dream questions.

‘I didn’t. Until a certain hero landed on my doorstep, heavily wounded and very, very scared.’

‘Ah, so you do have it. I’ll be taking it with me on my way out.’ The shadows closest to Dream attack, tearing apart his costume and one even getting his leg.

‘Get those monsters in control, will you?’ he says disappointedly.

‘I’m not wasting my powers on that bastard,’ Coeus spits. ‘You two can have him.’ He walks out of the room. Thanatos walks forward and touches Dream’s forehead with the tip of his index finger. An unimaginable pain spreads throughout Dream’s head. The darkness returns, and this time it is accompanied by the pain of teeth and withering.

\__/\__/

George was pretty sure he was having one of his dreams again. He was wandering through the empty white space, walking until he heard something. Dream and Sapnap. They were crying out, shouting and pleading.

Forgetting himself, he ran to the sound, shouting their names. ‘Dream! Sapnap! Where are you?’ It became deathly quiet. He can’t see anything, the light is too blinding, where are all the sounds, why can’t he hear them anymore?

He woke up in a sweat, screaming. Sapnap ran into the room, his fire already flickering. ‘What? What’s going on?’ he asked, Dream appearing behind him. Three clones were sent out.

‘Nothing, nothing,’ George said quickly. ‘Just a bad dream.’

Sapnap snuffed his fire out, and his eyes were soft. ‘Just a bad dream, or a vision?’ he asked.

George looked down. ‘A vision,’ he admitted quietly.

He noticed Dream flickering. ‘Dream, are you okay?’ he asked.

Dream nodded, tilting his head. ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’

‘Just- no, drop it. It doesn’t matter.’

Dream looked weird at George, but dropped it. ‘What was the vision about?’

‘I don’t exactly know, it was weird, I was walking through an endless white space, and then I heard you two screaming for help. I ran to the sound, shouting your names, but then all sound disappeared. The light became brighter until I couldn’t see anything anymore and then I woke up,’ George explained.

‘That’s weird. But don’t worry, we won’t get hurt,’ Sapnap said.

‘You don’t know that! It was my vision, and you know exactly what happens when I get a vision!’ George said harshly. A sudden wave of deja vu washed over him. Then Sapnap flickered, and the room too. The bed started shaking and suddenly George woke up in a chair, gasping for breath.

‘So,’ he heard someone say. He recognized the voice as Coeus. ‘How was it, being tortured by your own power?’

‘What?’ George asked, confused.

‘The dream you just had. It was your power. Phil asked Kristen to do that. She agrees with what we are doing.’

‘It- it was stupid. It seemed real, the vision.’ George’s eyes had gotten used to the light in the room and saw Coeus grin.

‘That’s because it was.’

‘Excuse me?’ George asked.

‘The screaming, your friends being tortured, that was real. It has already happened, by the way, nothing you can do about it anymore. It was very exciting, by the way, seeing Dream getting ripped to shreds by Techno’s shadow hounds. Although, I think seeing Sapnap go up in flames was also amusing.’

‘Wha- Sapnap can’t die by flames. He’s fire resistant.’

Coeus laughed. ‘Do you really think I don’t know that? My name is the Titan God of Intellect. I’m not stupid. But what that also means, is that I do know a way to get rid of powers. It’s quite easy, although it can vary per person, and sometimes, power.’

‘Well?’ George asked when Coeus was silent after that.

‘Are you expecting me to tell you? Oh, no, no, no, little Sandman. You don’t get to know that. But what you do get to know, is this: your abusing friends and you, will suffer for eternity in the depts of limbo. You will never get to see each other again and never will talk to another being again.’

Coeus thinks for a moment, and then says: ‘With exception beings that will degrade you. Good luck.’ He clapped his hands and smiled. ‘Now, die.’