Gene barely hears Tony shout for him, his head bowed, his chest heaving. His eyes are glassy; even when Tony staggers up to him and wraps him in his arms, he can't move, can't react.
The shade of Malicant, the illusion of the corpse, dissolves into wisps of smoke and vanishes, and Gene finally slumps over, one hand still clutching the hilt of the sword, the other holding Tony close.
Later, he'll realize he has to thank Akito for all his help, too. Now, he can barely think, just mumbling those three words over and over again until his focus slips enough for the Dreaming to carry him away in its current. Malicant's presence being so suddenly eradicated from this section of the Dreaming has had a similar effect to letting go of a rubber band stretched nearly to its breaking point, and Gene is all too willing to be swept up in the released energy and dragged under by the current until he doesn't have to think anymore.
naptime for all these superqueeroes, someone pass out the juiceboxes
The shade of Malicant, the illusion of the corpse, dissolves into wisps of smoke and vanishes, and Gene finally slumps over, one hand still clutching the hilt of the sword, the other holding Tony close.
Later, he'll realize he has to thank Akito for all his help, too. Now, he can barely think, just mumbling those three words over and over again until his focus slips enough for the Dreaming to carry him away in its current. Malicant's presence being so suddenly eradicated from this section of the Dreaming has had a similar effect to letting go of a rubber band stretched nearly to its breaking point, and Gene is all too willing to be swept up in the released energy and dragged under by the current until he doesn't have to think anymore.
Even as he fades, he's still clutching the sword.