#105

“Alright,” Doctor Kai says then. “He's back. Now, he needs to revive the others.”

Mark doesn't respond, instead being once more blown away by Kai's cold efficiency. Clearly, this man really hasn't experienced life and death in proper fashion. Mark feels a brief pang of distrust and anger towards the Doctor, but represses it.

You turns and looks over at the three bodies, those of the others. The one closest to him is Mina, and he stands up, walking to her bed. He seems to understand what to do. He reaches over her, and his hand starts to glow. Mark is nervous, even though he was the one to build this function. There's a few beeping sounds, which makes the whole situation ominous—like a bomb about to go off. But then, there's a flash of light, and sparks burst through the girl's body. It's like a dance of faeries all around her, and the living (conscious) duo has to flinch away.

She jerks and then snaps up. “What...?” She looks down at her hands in awe. “But I...” That's when she sees Kai, Klaus, and Mark.

“'Bout time you guys showed up!” she barks. “I-I think we got...fuckin' killed or something...” It's easy to tell her head's spinning. She looks over at Jacob and Susie, which confirms her idea—but she's not proud of this.

Before she can say anything, You walks over to Susie, who is next. Mark wonders privately why You didn't revive her first, but then, he seems to remember. He remembers what the Doctor had said about the price of restoring him to life...

The process takes place again, with Susie being zapped and jolting upward. She chokes for a second, and starts coughing, causing both Doctor Kai and Mark to jump towards her; but she holds them back, gesturing that she's fine. Then she sighs. “That was...cold,” she says. “Very cold. I don't know where I went, but I...I hope Dante wasn't right.”

As You moves on to Jacob, Kai sets his hand on her shoulder, mentioning something about how it just could have been the Elemental Plane of Ice.

Jacob is restored to life too. He gasps and starts hyperventilating; and then falls off his bed. Mina jumps up, concern on her face, and grabs onto him. Susie also looks worried at this, along with Mark; though the latter, to a lesser degree. As Fox's presence fades away, certain personas reassert themselves.

“I-it was horrible...” he wheezes. “It was...” Then he blinks; and the eyeless face before him fades. To this, he also sighs just as Susie did. “I don't even...”

“Is he alright?” Kai asks unhelpfully.

“I'll be fine,” Jacob responds. “I don't remember what it all was, but...man. Whatever afterlife I went to...it sorta made me wish it was my bro's.”

There is silence in the room, before suddenly You begins to move as if agitated.

“Who is that?” Susie asks at once. But then she spots the distinctive hair at the top of the creature's head. “Oh no...” Her voice can barely be heard at all, and there's a twitch of something briefly on Doctor Kai's face.

You looks up then, and aims his hands at the ceiling. From the back, Klaus sees his fuel tank bubble; and his eyes go wide. He instantly runs up and tries to get Doctor Kai's attention.

“What is it?” he asks, wondering why his brother has neglected his telepathy. But then, suddenly, there's a huge pulse, as the fuel is irritated, combusted, and launched upward.

The resultant burst of raw Multiversal energy forms a spear that crashes through to the top of the Red Tower.

Kai instantly panics. “Oh no!!” he cries, waving his hands as if to defend himself. “He's set the Tower to collapse! And that blast is going to attract...” He cuts himself off, and starts pushing the kids. “Move! Move!! I-I didn't anticipate this!”

They begin sprinting to the elevator, just as, high above them, the blast severs the throne room floor from its frame along the outline of the Tower. The floor itself, as a unified piece, slams downward, knocking loose the floor below it. The Tower is literally cascading downward. Any passages that weren't smashed apart by Kai and Klaus' assault now splinter and fall, as the elevator begins to sink towards the passage leading out to McGee Manor.

You seems barely aware of what he's caused, but Susie is squeezing his hand and dragging him along as they enter their proper floor, sprinting past the large computer they once used, which is now flashing an alarm. It's only a few yards to The House, but the speed of collapse is exponential. The sound is deafening as hundreds of tons of metal, glass, and machinery rains down. The central spire is shaking itself to pieces, and the forms of dozens of falling and doomed soldiers and Guards can be seen through the glass walls.

But they make it, charging through the front doors. Klaus silently counts all of them to make sure they all made it. Doctor Kai, Mark, Jacob, Mina, Susie, and You—they're all okay. At least, for now. They still have to lift off.

The Doctor wastes no time persuading The House to move away from the Tower. As the weight of the Tower shifts towards an undesired point of distribution, the Tower begins to fall. The outer shell has already started on fire from the rampant destruction within. The House speeds up, accelerating rapidly away from the giant crimson domino tile. Within moments, an apparent finish is at hand; there's an ungodly slamming sound as the Tower crushes hundreds of trees in the forests below. Within mere seconds, the absurdly huge structure has been obliterated.

And suddenly, t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶'̶s̶ there was no time to rest, or to contemplate the ramifications of a forest fire in this altered terrain. There was a shift in tense, indicating that something was on its way. And all those aboard the House knew that this feeling was no idle hint. That blast, as Doctor Kai suggested, had been seen.