Once Master Magnolia and his 'friends and crew' were dropped off on Eris, the plant creature gifted the group with a Starman skill disc he'd found aboard ship as a thank you for finding the diplomatic solution. "I left enough dead vines back aboard for you to explore, and none of my friends to get in your way," he assured them as they lifted back into space. "Good luck...and don't forget to think."
With that done, the group returned to the old Mothership, determined to explore the last portion awaiting them. With no plant creatures to get in their way, it was a straight march through the ship to the engine room, where the Nightmare Engine sat silently, menacingly in wait for them. Once there, they made their way to the other end of the room, where a large blast door was sealed, the computer controlling it waiting for the final Reboot Orb. Once installed, the computer beeped back to life.
"Sealed Blast Door Control System, Status: Ready," the computer read out. "Warning: Door Sealed By Command. Door Has Not Been Opened For 8X Years - Error: Door Seal Circumvented Once Within Solar Cycle-. Unseal Anyway?"
Alinivar hesitated. "More than 80 years?" he murmured thoughtfully. "What was down here that was so important to keep hidden? And...how was it circumvented?"
"...that was me," Moondancer murmured softly. "This area...it was where Dad lived with George and Maria...his human parents. I was able to use my energy to pass the blast doors without opening them. Dad...didn't like this area. It filled him with too many...dangerous memories. That's why he kept it sealed, never opening it after the Geeg sealed it when they had no more use for it, even though he had the authority to do so."
"Then...should we open it?" Alinivar asked softly.
"...I think we should," Moondancer stated firmly. "It's...important. I'm just not sure how."
Nodding, Alinivar gave the command to unseal the door. Behind the door, a dark corridor that was so shadowed Alinivar could barely see his tentacles held out in front of his face awaited them. Moondancer ignited her horn, giving just enough illumination to move through the hall. "Follow me," she spoke up softly, turning left and moving down the hall. The others followed silently.
Once again, Moondancer entered the chamber where her Father had spent his childhood. It was almost exactly as she remembered it. Everything was still in its place, only the music box showing some damage from having fallen off the shelf when the ship took the initial impact that caused it to fall apart. She walked up to it sadly, distressed to discover that the damage had caused its song to become distorted...as though hope lay dying now that the ship had been lost.
As they turned to leave, they found Niiue standing by the door. "Hey," he greeted softly.
"...Niiue..." Moondancer began nervously.
"Alinivar, you should take the others back to the ship," Niiue instructed gently. "There's...something I can learn here, but I need to do it myself-"
"I'm going with you," Moondancer stated firmly.
Niiue looked towards Moondancer. I'd rather you not face what will arise, once the others are gone, Niiue sent to her alone in thought. Once I raise the echoes left behind...
The echoes are of dangerous memories, Moondancer sent back flatly. And your powers continue to dwindle. If I don't go with you, you might not make it back alive. I'm going.
Niiue tried to stare her down, but could tell she would not budge. Sighing, he nodded. "Moondancer will stay with me," he told Alinivar. "The rest of you should get back to the ship quickly. No matter what happens, once you've returned to the ship you should not board the Mothership again. Wait for us on our ship. We will return."
"If it's going to be dangerous-" Alinivar began.
"Not in that way," Niiue interrupted. "Trust us, Alinivar. Things will become clear soon. And Moondancer is right. What we'll find here...might well be the key to saving Giegue. And I don't want you exposed to it."
Alinivar stared at him for a time. "Alright then. Larice? Recall?"
"Over *bzzt* here," Larice stated, moving to an open space in the room. Alinivar moved to stand beside him. Col. Saturn soon moved to join them. Zarbol hesitated, glancing between Moondancer and Niiue, but eventually joined them. Once all four were together, Larice warped them back to the ship.
Once they were alone, Niiue released his PSI, calling back the memories resting within the ship as the Nightmare Engine slowly whirred to life, thumping like a heart beat. Through the windows, shadows of Geeg could be seen watching, observing the 'experiment' that was one of their own children, used to become a weapon. Turning, he led the way into the corridor, Moondancer following.
With each beat of the ship's engine, the corridor shifted between Memory and reality. In Memory, the ship was cast in a purple glow, a light that in no way illuminated. As they exited the corridor into the engine room, monsters roamed in the Memory. The monsters were swirls of the red energy of madness that had filled Giegue's mind towards the end, and that Fobbygig had summoned to battle at his sides. Despite its power, it was easy to escape when encountered, though difficult to evade. As the pair made their way towards the bridge, an angry voice spoke to them.
Leave.
Go back.
Get Out.
As they continued, images of their friends appeared briefly, echoes of their footsteps. The 'heart beat' quickened as they approached the bridge, the dangerous swirls becoming harder and harder to avoid as they popped in and out of perception.
Finally, they reached the bridge. As reality and Memory pulsed in and out, an echo of Giegue could be seen at the helm, from the moment when he had severed himself from Niiue and set time on its present course. Moondancer and Niiue carefully approached the echo as it appeared and vanished with the heart beat of the Nightmare Engine, approaching it in a moment it was there.
Giegue smiled softly at Moondancer. "I'm...I'm sorry."
Moondancer gasped in shock. "D...Dad?"
"I failed, Moondancer. I...I thought maybe I could hold me together, that maybe...maybe what you had given me would be enough to stave off the splintering. But I wasn't strong enough. I didn't believe enough. I cast Niiue out and left...and I was left behind, a fragment of a fragment, trapped in the pulse of the Nightmare that created all of me. But...maybe it is for the best. I've barely held on here...but I can help Niiue now. A skill he lost...and the essence of Nightmare, that will reach through the Devil to touch the heart of The Child. Take it, Niiue, that a chance can exist..."
With that, Giegue's Love sank into Niiue, awakening in him the Unnatural Wave and the Nightmare Empower. With that, the Nightmare Engine shut down for the last time...and the place Moondancer once called home died. In silence, the pair warped back to the ship, letting Alinivar set a new course.