"A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality."

-John Lennon

Everything was black. Rex's cries of pain vanished, the pounding of Titan's fists silencing suddenly. The itch in the back of Soren's head grew stronger, begging to be scratched.

Someone was there. Ellis was there. For however long Ellis held him in this state, he was dreaming. Ellis's presence sifted through Soren's memories and thoughts, through every nook, leaving his mind naked and vulnerable.

White light crept across his vision, making Soren cringe. He heard voices—a familiar conversation. Then he heard her voice; the same voice that haunted him day and night.

"Mama, come back."

He was looking down on the girl, her chestnut hair draped over her lifeless mother—a vision that crept into his mind in the darkest hours of the night. Sobs rocked through her body—an action that was seared into his mind.

"Please."

The girl lifted her head. Following her line of sight, he looked upon his young adolescent self—his slight body, the scar slicing his cheek, the defeated, soul shredding look in his eyes.

"Why?" she asked.

He never knew the answer to that question, no matter how many people asked him about the horrible things he did. But how he wished he could answer her, give her some sort of explanation for why her mother died—tell her what he did to her mind that day, and witness the emotions cross her face when she realized how he had helped her.

But then the little girl was gone.

Shadows and blurs whipped around the scene in front of him transforming it to a room of black. Kraenite, the disgusting excuse of power. On the far side stood bars of the same stone. Not a room—a cell.

Laying on a bed next to the wall, was a girl. The hues of her hair sparked to life in his memory, her chestnut strands laying across her flat pillow at the same angle they draped across her dead mother.

The girl was in the Pits. Of course, he had never been given the pleasure to see the dome in person, but he was certain she was there. He could sense the smothering pressure from the kraenite even through the dream.

The girl's breathing stopped, her body stilling on the bare bed. Soren took a step closer, leaning forward to try to catch a glimpse of her.

Then suddenly, her hair whipped across his cheek and her face was directly in front of his. Her cheeks were flushed, her breath warm on his face as she panted. He stared into the golden-brown, green flecked pools of her eyes—hers staring right back into his.

He didn't even blink, he just breathed, not wanting the moment to break. He couldn't tell if Ellis was painting the picture inside of his head or if she was really gazing back at him.

She grew up how he had imagined. Her hair stayed long, thick, and rich, her brow defined delicately, her lips shaped as if every word she breathed was poetry. Then he noticed how swollen the area around her left eye was—how much she strained trying to hold it open.

Heat rose in his stomach, burning up through his chest. He clenched his jaw as his teeth began to chatter. What was this? What was happening to him? He stepped back, glancing around the cell as he searched for the answer, for the Wielder who was spreading fire through his body.

"You're angry," the girl said so quietly he could have missed it. Then he was back in her space, his hands braced on the bed around her, his face just a few inches from hers.

"What?" he whispered, the impossibility of feeling something of his own boggling his mind.

The girl shrunk away from him, pressing her back against the black wall. "I said you're angry. Why?" Her voice quivered as she gazed at him with wide eyes.

There was that damn word again.

"I—I don't know." He glanced back at her swollen eye, the fire burning him again. He knew why he was angry, he just didn't have the guts to say it aloud.

"Why are you here? Who are you?" Her eyes raked over Soren's face as if she were trying to pin-point where she recognized him from. The scar on his cheek tingled as her gaze lingered on the imperfection.

"I don't even know if I'm here..." His voice trailed off as his surroundings began to blur.

The kraenite walls of her cell faded away, a white light blinding his eyes. He stumbled back, bringing the back of his hand to his forehead, trying to shield his vision from the blazing brightness. The light only seemed to get brighter.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice sounding so far away.

Daring to lower his arm, Soren squinted through the light. She was farther away, her and the excuse of a bed drifting into the distance. Soon she would only be a dot on the canvas of white.

"Wait!" he yelled, stepping forward as she continued to fade. "Wait!" Then he was running. The stone cracked and broke away underneath him as his feet pounded into the floor.

The last piece crumbled, sending him flying down into the white abyss. He didn't scream as his descent filled with more speed, because he didn't have a single ounce of fear in his body. His hair blew and a whistling filled his ears, his leather jacket billowing behind him like a cape. He closed his eyes from the stinging bite of the wind.

Just let it end.

The fall stopped. The wind ceased. He must have hit the bottom and was dead.

Soren cracked open his eyes expecting to see the fiery pits of the Underworld, figuring it was finally time for him to pay dues for all of the terrible acts he committed. No fire scorched his skin, no screams of tortured souls filled his ears.

In front of him was the face of Titan. Soren didn't die. He was right back to his own personal hell on earth.

"Boy, are we gonna have fun with you," Titan sneered, poking Soren in the chest with a bloodied finger. With a glance, he noticed that all of Titan's knuckles were swollen and bleeding.

Soren pulled at his arms to shove him away, but he was bound. Gazing down, he saw his ankles were tied to the legs of a chair, practically cutting off his circulation. He tried to yank his arms free, hoping that the idiots didn't know how to properly bind someone, but he only succeeded in scooting the chair.

Ellis. He needed to talk to Ellis about the dream. He noticed Basil off to the side, quivering on the floor like a frightened little kitten, but Ellis was nowhere to be seen.

"Ellis!" Soren yelled, veering his head to the side, trying to see around Titan's mammoth body. Apparently he was still filled with rage or else he would have gone back to being tiny again. "Show your face, you coward!"

Ellis stepped out from behind Titan, his hands clasped behind his back. He kept his distance.

"What did you do to me? Was that real? How did you know about that girl?" So many questions blurted out of his mouth, not even half the amount that jumbled in his head.

"Our powers are very similar, Soren," the dream weaver replied. "They come from the same cosmic ancestor, you know. I can see into other's minds, just as you can. I can see their fears, their desires, and I can twist them into a nightmare or into a blissful dream."

"Blah, blah, blah. Get to the point old man."

Ellis shook his head, disappointed. "You're one of the few, Soren. You can manipulate visions when they are awake. You could help turn this world into something beautiful, something worth living for, even if the magic lasted just for a moment."

Soren's nostrils flared as he ground his teeth. His eyebrows drew in, his eyes glaring holes into Ellis. "Answer the question! Was. It. Real?"

"Of course it wasn't real, boy! I weave dreams. When I looked into your mind, I went to that deepest, darkest corner that you keep tucked away. I saw your memory of the little girl and showed it to you, that's it."

"No, that's not it. I was there, looking down on her and then you took me somewhere else. You took me to the Pits, to where she is now."

"I did not."

"Yes, you did! I was there! I was in a kraenite cell and she could see me!"

Ellis brought his hand to his lips. "You—you manipulated the dream yourself. You took control, you took yourself there. But that's—it should be impossible."

"Can I pulverize him now, Ellis?" Titan interrupted, his voice filled with annoyance. He dug his fist into his palm, probably pretending that it was Soren's face. He really wanted to keep his face.

"Gentlemen," Soren began, trying to make his voce as smooth as possible. "Let's talk about this."

"No more talking. You screwed with my head. You made me kill my friend."

"Technically, I didn't make you do anything. I just showed you what you already knew. Rex was never really your friend and was cheating you out of your money."

"He didn't deserve to die for it!" The veins in Titan's forehead began to bulge, his eyes widening so much that they might pop out of their sockets. "Now, it's your turn."

Titan raised his fist and Soren knew that the blow would be one that would hurt like hell, if it didn't knock him out cold first. He ran through ideas in his head of how to stop him, how to make him realize that the smartest thing for him would be to not kill him. Then he remembered the flickers of memories he saw in Titan's mind when he was scanning it earlier—the frail girl whose smile lit up a room, the flashes of golden-red hair and sparkling green eyes.

"Stop!" Soren yelled. "I can help you find your daughter!"

Titan stilled. The rage that filled his eyes vanished as his body shrunk back down to its original size, his ribs very apparent under his pale skin. Slowly, he lowered his fist as his eyes filled with tears.

"Wren?" Titan asked, his voice shaking. "You can help me find my Wren? But she's in Acadia...the Wall..."

"We have a man inside."

"Don't listen to him, Titan," Ellis warned from behind him. "Don't give into his lies."

"Shut up, Ellis!" Titan yelled over his shoulder. "This is my daughter we are talking about!"

"Help me get these guys back to my boss and we will talk details." Please say yes, please say yes.

Titan thought for a few seconds as Basil started to quiver even more. Ellis backed away, his head turning side to side, searching for a back exit. A smile slowly spread across Titan's lips. He rolled his head as he turned around, his body growing as stalked towards cowering Ellis.

Success. Sweet success.

A/N:  Thank you for reading chapter 9!  I really love writing from Soren's POV! 

Playlist ~ Come Away to the Water by Maroon 5

Graphic - Soren