???
Moira's grip on her sword relaxed subconciously. Sonny was broken and torn, and by all means shouldn't even be standing. Or even alive, in that state. Every part of her body screamed at her to just run to him, to hold him and assure him he'll be okay.

Except... it wasn't him, was it? It was playing with her again! "Liar..." she hissed. Her grip tightened again. "How dare you!"

He almost seemed to laugh as he transformed again. Moira snarled, turning to spot her partner just a little behind her. And surrounded by freakish crying child-trees, scratching and tearing at his skin. What the fuck...

"Why did you abandon us?"

"I... I had to!" Syed had his eyes screwed shut, trying his hardest to keep his magic in check as his emotions run rampant. They weren't real, he knew they weren't real! "I couldn't stay... I had to leave!" He looked up and locked his eyes with hers, his heaving breaths finally slowing. "For Moira's sake."

With that, they were falling once more, the children disintergrating in midair. This time there was no reprieve, the cog below them spinning as it fell below... only to go splat in the blackness. And despite the sheer height they fell from, the landing was suprisingly soft. Shame the cog they landed on immediately began to sink.

Was... was that Largo?! Was he... was he attacking everyone?!

"Oh HELL NO you ain't copying him!" Moira screamed, her voice involuntarily shivering from how cold the black goo was. She jumped to a nearby cube which was a little higher.

Syed didn't say a word as he jumped after her, his hands already moving. At least, until he saw Trixie soaring his way. "Trix!" He interrupted his spell and managed to catch her, but her velocity sent the pair of them crashing to the floor and rolling away, at least until his bond to Moira halted them both. "Trixie, are you okay?!"

"THERE'S ONLY ONE LARGO!" Moira continued to scream. She picked up a screw which was floating nearby, throwing it as hard as she could. "And you sure as hell ain't fuckin' him!"

???

The floating cube she landed on was smooth to the touch but still made a hard landing. Thanks to Amy's healing spell, she quickly pulled herself up to look for a path to the others, to get off the cube before she too disappeared into the black ocean beneath her. But she made the mistake of looking up at where the dream eater was, and all she could see was a massive, spinning vortex of a storm, lightning flashing and thunder booming all around her. She could not see Amy, Xandra, and Lisette nearby, and were seemingly invisible. A strong gust of wind that was not there before pulled at her robes, wanting to knock her off the slowly-shrinking platform she stood on.

"No... This isn't real, this isn't real..." she said, pressing her hands against her ears and looking down at her feet. Her voice was small and fearful like a child's, and her entire body shook no matter how much she knew it was all an illusion, meant to manipulate her, to weaken her. "It's not real..."

"I can make it go away." A man's voice called to her, and she turned to see a person standing in front of her, beckoning her with the palm of his hand. His face blurred between his and Don's, back and forth, almost blending into a combination of the two. "I can save you from all of this. You're safe with me."

Selan lowered her hands, her back to the invisible storm. Slowly, hesitantly, she began to walk towards the figure, nearing closer and closer to the edge of the platform.





Lisette felt Xan pull her up, and she looked around to get her bearings again. She had fallen a long ways and thankfully managed to avoid getting injured too badly. At the same time, she lost whatever vantage point she had despite none of her arrows having any effect whatsoever, meaning not only wasted arrows, but wasted magic as well.

Xan was quickly knocked away by a falling Lucien, and both plummeted down until Lisette could no longer see either of them.

"Lucien! Miss Xandra" Lisette cried out, leaning over the edge of the platform and straining her eyes to try and find them. The longer she looked, the more scared she felt; Amy, who was standing next to her, began to fade away, and Kapi's weight in her bag seemed to become lighter by the second.

"Lisette, come on," Amy said, her voice snapping Lisette out of the illusion that crept upon her. "Let's keep moving." Amy led her from cube to platform to cube, healing others as much as she could along the way. They found Selan collapsed on top of a cube, and Amy sent a healing spell towards her. Not long after, the songstress got to her feet, and looked off in a daze, seemingly mortified by some sight in the distance. She turned around and began walking in a straight line, almost determined to walk right off the platform.

"Whoa whoa whoa, she's gonna fall!" Lisette yelped, trying to gauge the distance between the platforms. It was too far to jump... "I'm sorry!" Lisette called out, positioning her hand in front of her bow as if there were an arrow in her hand. Just as she once did with her long-abandoned staff, a sphere of soft green light quickly took the shape of an arrow, and Lisette released it.

The magical arrow pelted Selan in the back of the head, dissipating in a spray like she had thrown a snowball at her. Selan immediately stopped in her tracks and looked towards her and Amy in shock. The frightening visions flickered out of focus, and she could see Lisette hopping to a nearby cube to meet her, calling for her to jump.

"Come on, Miss Selan!" Lisette called, putting her bow down and holding out her hands. The platform was going to sink any moment now. Selan gulped and took a running jump, propelled by the sheer fear of what would happen if she stayed put, and her forearms were caught firmly by Lisette's gloved hands. Lisette had a decent amount of arm strength, more than enough to pull her up onto the platform. Selan watched as the cube sank into the dark void, but the deceptive apparition was no longer there. Instead, 'he' appeared again much higher up on another platform, staring down at her.

"THERE'S ONLY ONE LARGO!" they heard Moira scream.

Searching around for the source of the berserker's bellowing voice, they saw the others collected around a cluster of platforms. Lisette could not see it, but Estelle could, and Selan could see it as well. "Largo..." she murmured, shaken by the sight. "It's using Largo against her..." she said sadly, and after collecting Lucien and Xandra, they began to make their way towards them.

??? - The Abyss Sea

As Estelle was lifted up to her feet with the aid of Dylan’s strength, he could feel her trembling. He winced as he lifted her up, quickly producing a cursory glance over her body to check for any injuries. As powerful and bodily a blow as that was, there didn’t seem to be anything there, bar the shallow cut she suffered in protecting Lute that was already starting to heal thanks to the earlier efforts of Amy in the elevator. He couldn’t see her face, hidden as it was under her fiery hair’s fringe, but the way in which Estelle shook, over and over…

“Don’t listen,” Dylan whispered, in an effort to both reassure her and himself. “Whatever he says isn’t true. No matter how much it hurts, no matter how real it feels, it can’t be true.”

He looked away, back to that central platform, and how that towering warrior lumbered forwards, rearing his giant lion headed axe back over arm, to bring swinging back down and unleash another ripping shockwave towards Aria and Lute. The first time, their narrow avoidance had been through as much luck as it was quick speed and reactions from Aria, but there was no guarantee they could survive a second attack. They needed to get over there. They needed to help. They couldn’t give in. Not to fear, not to this… barbaric farce!

“We can still fight this.” Dylan proclaimed.

“I’m not scared, or afraid, Dylan…” Estelle’s head lifted up. The Matter Artist turned, surprised at first by the tone of his friend’s voice, and then grinning. It was Estelle as she always was.

“I’M MAD! HOW DARE THIS THING DO THIS?!” Estelle screamed, her eyes burning with the same ferocity her sword burned. “WHATEVER THIS THING IS, WHAT IT’S JUST DONE NOW… IT’S CROSSED THE LINE!”

“Dylan!!”

“Right!” Dylan replied, turning again in a ready stance to face the large, sinking clocktower platform that was located in the centre of the platform islands the rest of their friends occupied. His hand, gripping his ready chalk, scratched atop the surface of his slate. His mind willed the object he had sketched to materialise into creation, at the same time as Estelle began sprinting towards the end of their platform, in the direction of that central platform. She jumped, and at the end of the platform, right where she was about to land, a spring popped up into existence.

With a resounding ‘boing!’, Estelle was sent flying through the air, her sword ready at her side, to fight alongside her friends. Meanwhile, behind her Dylan quickly began erasing the spring, to channel his energy anew into another creation – small bridges connecting the islands that his friends were on, that would appear one at a time before fading into nothing, providing them a new path to that central platform.

???

Lisette began calling out about someone falling. Amy was much too far out of reach to do anything to help the dazed Selan in time, but Lisette thought ahead and snagged her with a weak elemental arrow. The cleric sighed in utter relief; a subtle smile crept to her face even, upon seeing Lisette's fast acting. Once Lucien and Xandra were assisted, they followed after Largo, who trailed after Estelle and Dylan.

Before Amy could take another step, Estelle began to scream. A fiery indignation gripped her voice - an anger so heartfelt, it sent shivers up Amy's spine despite their distance. As the swordswoman soared through the air next, Amy extended her gem towards her and called aloud a defense buff. A deep green hue encased the swordswoman's body, much more refreshing than any other Amy had sent out before.

She felt the dire need to call out some phrase of encouragement, but Trixie beat her to it.



"Kick his booty and make pay, Supersis!"

Trixie immediately scrambled to her feet after careening into Syed (and apologizing and hugging the duo profusely while they were still grounded), wanting front row tickets to watch the upcoming ass-whooping. She fired off a couple of rounds skyward before reloading. Soon enough, a bridge materialized in front of them while their platform began to slowly sink into the abyssal sea below. The prankster turned back to the duo and offered her puny hands to both of them. "Come on! Let's join in the battle!"

Once they were up, Trixie took off at lightning speed. Until she jerked to a stop after hitting the third floating gear. A large blackened figure stood before her. "Trixie... why are you running from me? I only meant to throw you into safety... now you are charging back into danger. What are you doing?"

Her cheeks puffed. Though the goopy black figure had no discernible features, the fact that this thing even dared to use his voice... She understood now what was going on. "I'm a little busy right now!! Goodbyeee!" Trixie sidestepped around the figure and charged off again, hopping onto the next platform while Dylan's bridges assisted the others. However, the figure emerged right in front of her a third time, forming from some left over droplings the crows sprinkled around.

Now looking the creature dead in its 'face,' Trixie bit her lip and narrowed her eyes. "I'm sorry, but you're not real!" Before it could even protest, Trixie blasted bullets straight through where its head was, and carried on. Tears welled in her eyes, but she quickly brushed them off and continued onwards.

A couple members were still out of sight, but Trixie was certain they would all gather together soon. Once she reached the central platform, she skidded to a stop beside Dylan and took a knee. "He's gonna pay. He's gonna pay, Dylan." With her guns extended she scanned her surroundings for any other goops that tried to approach them. "We are gonna whip this guy all the way back to Los Paraisos! You don't mess with the Pride!"

???

“Disappointment attracts disappointment, I see,” The warrior said and Lute’s eyes widened as he felt the very air in front of them move. Before he could even react Aria had tackled him over and they skidded over to the edge of the tower, the cold blackness lapping over at Lute’s hands as he pushed himself up. “Aria! Your arm!” He got up just in time to see the illusionist lob one of her daggers at their attacker’s face, and he followed suit by readying his sword as he adopted a defensive stance. They really got the short end of the stick, didn’t they? His sword was chicken doo compared to Largo’s axe.

“Look, spicy big dad, I don’t know what your deal is but you better stay away!” Driven by desperation and fear of death by guillotine Lute resorted to threats, and accentuated his not-so-threatening words with wide slashes as if he was trying to cleave a path back to steady footing. “Plus, how dare you call my friend a disappointment!” Aria’s wound glowed and although he was happy that she wasn’t hurt anymore, the virtuoso couldn’t keep the morale boost running for more than a couple of seconds seeing that they were still cornered.

Swimming away was a bad idea, that much he was certain. But they can’t fight this creature like this! “I’ll distract him, okay? Just run or something,” Lute stabbed his sword through the ground and brought his hands together, his brows knitting together as he concentrated.
“THERE’S ONLY ONE LARGO!” “I’M MAD! HOW DARE THIS THING DO THIS!?”
Voices pounding with fury meshed into one another and he heard them clearer including the dull thudding caused by their opponent’s approach. He crouched down, his free hand shaking as he formed a fist. “I’m almost done!” Lute reported as more beads of sweat gathered on his forehead, and from the corner of his eye he saw a flash of red drop down on their platform from the side. Estelle’s appearance was going to make this tricky. He didn’t even know if he could pull it off…

Lute exhaled and clapped his hands together one time, and a mishmash of voices- screams, laughter, nonsensical chatter- flowed from him, yet the virtuoso stemmed his attack so that only fake Largo, and the people standing directly behind it, heard the piercing cries. A second in the attack, Lute's shoulders sagged and the voices wavered, but were back at loud volume before the change could even be noticed.

???

A golden glow enveloped the gash on her arm, the pain numbing and the wound not disappearing completely but enough that she could ignore it now. Aria mumbled a quiet thanks to Amy, noting to treat the cleric to a drink the next time they had the chance.

“I’ll distract him, okay? Just run or something,”

Before Aria would protest how there was no way she was leaving him to deal with Largo himself, he had emitted a large soundwave at the Dream Eater Largo, sending the large man’s form momentarily quivering back into the consistency of the oily black fluid. A streak of red landed beside her and she turned, gripped by a sudden sense of relief to see a determined and angry looking Estelle glaring at the false Largo in front of them, burning sword held firmly before her.

She could see the rest of the guilders starting to make their way towards the clocktower platform, and she couldn’t help but smile, lifting a boot to squash the oozing face that had risen up again to whisper nonsense by her foot, before drawing out two more knives and launching them at the false Lion who had recovered from Lute’s distraction and was starting to lift his axe again. The blades sank into the man’s right wrist, causing black ooze to dribble out from the cut and causing his hold to weaken, grip slipping on the handle of the lion shaped axe whose blade thudded into the brick heavily.

Trixie and Dylan had reached the tower now as well, and the others were quickly approaching. Largo’s wounds were already starting to heal, oily liquid coalescing at the gashes as he stooped down to heft up the axe.

"We are gonna whip this guy all the way back to Los Paraisos! You don't mess with the Pride!"

Aria couldn’t help but smile, moving over to support Lute who’s attack had left him a bit wobbly. With everyone together- She was starting to see hope.

???

Lisette broke off in a run ahead of the others, crossing each of the bridges that Dylan conjured for them. She jumped and climbed a few platforms higher and aimed her bow down at the tower below.

A puddle of ooze began to shape behind Estelle, but an arrow quickly pierced it, turning it back into a pile of liquidy goop that absorbed back into the platform itself.

"I'll cover you guys from here!" Lisette called down, sniping another ooze monster. She didn't realize that she had a big smile on her face; their determination was rubbing off on her, but her own strength was coming through as well. Wanting to be helpful, wanting everyone's trust... Wanting isn't enough. She could protect them. She aimed at Largo next, at the man she had only heard great tales about from both strangers and her friends alike.

Amy and Selan soon caught up, standing a safe distance from the false Largo but close enough to the Pride to watch their every move. Selan watched Estelle closely, noting that she held no hesitation towards attacking the man that she knew the swordswoman deeply respected and cared for. The determination on her face and that of the others was the reason why she never had any doubts about the younger girl leading them. If Estelle could fight through the illusions, she could as well.

The thunderstorms and the distant, beckoning apparition began to fade away.

The false Largo loosened his grip on his axe, and the blade hit the brick with an audible thud, chips of the ground beneath it spraying in an arc. "They're winning," Selan breathed out of both relief and surprise. He was stumbling from whatever Lute had done to him, and as the oily liquid collected around his wounds to heal him, another one opened up from an arrow piercing him in his abdomen. Largo roared and raised his axe high in response.

??? - The Abyss Sea

The Dream Eater’s large, heavy axe felt from its hand, collapsing into and imbedding itself into the clocktower platform’s brickwork, and one by one its body was pummelled by attacks. First, a sound strike by Lute, then a couple of knife throws by Aria, an arrow shot from Lisette and a round of uzi fire from Trixie. ‘Largo’ looked down at its wounds, surveying the beating its body was taking, and then lifted its head back up into the air, its eyes narrowing as it stared at the Guilders regrouping, all of whom gathered behind Estelle, whose burning Fireblade was held determinedly in front of her. Largo scowled, before shouting. An ear piercing bellow that forced all of the Pride to wince.

“WHAT IS THIS?!” Largo demanded, stepping forwards and pulling his axe out from the ground. “Do you fools not understand what this is? What I am?!”

He swung the axe horizontally again, forcing another sharp slashing shockwave to stream forth the weapon. If it wasn’t for the quick reactions of everyone involved to jump and hug their bodies to the ground, casualties would have been reared, and not even Amy’s considerable healing prowess would have been able to fix the damage.

“THIS, is how you should be!” The Dream Eater scoffed. “On the ground, bowing before me! I am fear! I am evil! I am horror! I am the Master of this Domain! Of you!”

The ground suddenly trembled, violently shaking. Loose pieces of stone and brickwork shook and clattered atop the clocktower, as the quaking grew more and more intense. The black, oily seas around them started to slosh to and fro repeatedly, forming bigger and bigger waves. And then, suddenly, around them all, the black sea began to burst forth in random spots, explosions rocketing the sea and spurting the viscous liquid up like a fountain. Over and over, this grew more and more frenetic. More and more intense. At the same time, deep lines grew along the ground of the clocktower, shattering and splitting it apart, dividing the Pride.

“I am Lord and Master! I control everything! And I will have you submit! This ‘hope’ you feel… it is worthless! Nothing more then a juicy snack for me to feast upon!!”

‘Largo’ grew, his body rising up higher and higher, smothering the sky in a darkness as deep as the black sea, but his body… his body, horrifyingly enough, remained blacker. His form shifted, melting away from the façade of The Lion, to that of a more androgynous, giant form with its bone white, smirking face. A giant hand reached out, to slowly grab and ensnare the Pride, suffocating all light and hope from around them.

This was its World, and it could do anything it pleased.

---

“Uhn… bro… where are we…?”

On a small platform at the furthest reach of the black abyss, two lone figures slowly began to return to consciousness, wearily lifting their bodies up again from the ground. For Don, it felt like there was a hundred man chorus of bros singing the can-can inside his mind, and Marcus couldn’t rate his mental faculties much better. A dull, throbbing pain enveloped them both, but Marcus quickly remembered what had happened to them, and where they were. The room with the knight statues, the tower, the other ‘Marcus’, his friends, the mission. He began to remember everything.

“A nightmare,” Marcus gasped, turning to sit, his eyes bulging in fright at the giant black figure looming in the distance. “Dr. Dream… and the Dream Eater. We’re in a nightmare, Don.”

“A nightmare?” Don repeated, his head turning to and fro as he searched for his friends. For the Little Missy, his Big Sis, and Selan. “We’re… dreaming?”

“Huh?” Marcus blinked, and turned away from the gigantic figure to look back at Don, but he was nowhere to be seen.

---

The ebony shadowed hand descended down around them, its long, thick fingers scraping through and sloshing through the black sea as it clawed its way to tightly shut around them. The sheer size of that hand, and their shrinking platform and the treacherous seas around them made it impossible to escape in time. Estelle raised her sword above her. She wouldn’t give up this easily. She couldn’t. Not now. Not ever.

She would hack and slash and stab that hand until she died!!

But then, all of a sudden, there was a massive, pounding din, and the Dream Eater’s hand was sent far, far away from the Pride. Out of its shadow, all of the Guilders watched in disbelief as that giant, towering figure stumbled backwards and fell, crashing into the sea and sending more calamitous waves rippling out from its body. An unearthly, bone chilling wail almost seemed to sound as if it came from the Dream Eater… in agony.

There was a bright flash in the sky above them. Lifting their heads up, Estelle’s mouth fell wide open in disbelief, at the streaking figure that fell towards them… and calmly landed right before her and her friends, in a breathtaking pose, smoking rise from his fist.

“Don?!” Estelle wanted to run and hug him, but with the Dream Eater still there, slowly rising up again, she did not know if it was safe to dare to do. But what was… what did Don do…?

“We’re dreaming, bros…” Don said, the words escaping his lips coolly. The ends of his mouth rose, into a calm and confident smile. “We’re all dreaming, bros!”

For many of the Pride, that was something they had already managed to figure out. That they were trapped within a nightmare of the Dream Eater’s creation, but what did Don mean? How did he…?

He turned, shuffling his feet and turning slowly around and around from one end of the broken platform and off it, onto the black abyss of a sea. But not falling into it. He walked along the surface of the liquid, small ripples spreading out from his feet, tiny waves of light twinkling within the darkness.

“It means we can do anything we like!” Don grinned, kicked one leg out and throwing his arm outstretched to the side, the other placed atop his groin, in a spectacular pose. A burst of energy and light enveloped his body, and smoke began to waft up and into the sky from the activation of Don’s passion. “It doesn’t matter what Mr. Ugly there can do… we can do anything we like as well!”

Don turned back to his friends, his outstretched hand towards them curling into a fist.

“We just need to believe... let's take back our dreams!”

Estelle looked at Don, rendered utterly dumb. But she closed her eyes, a smile crept across her lips, and she opened them again, even more brand new determination swelling within her. The flame surrounding her sword burned hotter, transforming from red to white, a white flame that crisscrossed around her entire body, and in its blaze creating a white suit of armour adorned in red, fiery lines.

As cheesy as Don made it, he was right. If this was a dreamworld… then it meant they could dream anything they liked.

They wouldn’t allow the Dream Eater to pervert their dreams with its nightmare anymore.

The bridges were working! His grin was infectious, glad that he finally was able to do something here that was effective. He crossed his bridge, moving quickly towards the central platform along with the rest of the Pride. Moving quickly, he didn’t pause to so much as look towards the Dream Eater until he slid to a stop on the central platform.

Trixie appeared next to him. "He's gonna pay. He's gonna pay, Dylan." With her guns extended she scanned her surroundings for any other goops that tried to approach them. "We are gonna whip this guy all the way back to Los Paraisos! You don't mess with the Pride!"

“No, you don’t!” He pulled his slate to the ready, eyes on the rest of the Pride as the moved in, Estelle coming to stand guard between the group and the Lion. Was this the famous Largo? The one who the rest of the Pride and much of the world revered? The lies that spewed from his mouth - in the Dream Eater’s voice - threatened to sap at his courage. All Dylan ever heard was the tales, so he was able to shake it with the knowledge that Dream Eater lied. Though this was the monster’s domain, so maybe it did hold absolute power.

Largo swiped at them with his hand, Estelle moving to block it, before it was knocked aside. He turned to see his Big Bro fall to the ground in a streak of light, striking one of his poses. “How?” Dylan gasped, trying to understand what the man did.

“We’re dreaming, bros…” Don said, the words escaping his lips coolly. The ends of his mouth rose, into a calm and confident smile. “We’re all dreaming, bros! It means we can do anything we like! It doesn’t matter what Mr. Ugly there can do… we can do anything we like as well! We just need to believe... let's take back our dreams!”

Dylan stared at Don as he walked on the goop, shooting powerful blasts from his hands. He turned and watched as Estelle transformed, arming her the most beautiful armor he had ever seen. For a moment he simply paused, letting the image burn into his memory, certain that he would try to recreate it in paint later, but surely fail.

Then he turned and grinned. His friends had the right idea.

Nothing is real. Everything is permitted.

He let his slate and chalk clatter to the ground. He didn’t need it anymore. Tilting his head back, he imagined what he wanted to create, picturing it with absolute clarity in his mind. Through the sheer effort of will he moved his hands, the colors flowing from them and creating the construct in front of him. He didn’t need a medium to work through in the land of dreams - he was the medium and the art flowed straight from him into world.

Dylan glanced around as the world transformed around them, moving his hands to create bridges between the many platforms and cogs, bridges that grew past their means and forged a whole new battlefield - one that the Dream Eater didn’t control, one that he did.

Scattered throughout the field were various vantage points, high and protected towers with arrow slits for Lisette, a sound stage to amplify Selan and Lute’s powers. Most importantly, many more of those springs he had created for Estelle, giving the melee fighters an easy boost to reach the Dream Eater.

The Dream Eater had recovered from Don’s first attack, rising over the Pride.

But Dylan didn’t care. The playing field was leveled.

Syed stared with wide eyes, his mind already working overdrive. It... it was so obvious! It couldn't be true, right?

But then Estelle's sword became brighter, and the landscape itself began to shift around them as Dylan threw his head back. Well, you could count on Dylan to have an imagination that good. Syed looked down at his right hand, at the yellow jewelled ring on his middle finger. Maybe, just maybe...

He followed Dylan's example and threw it to the ground. That's what he thought of it. A relic he had to wear ever since he was sucked into Moira's curse - a symbol of his captivity. He couldn't doubt himself anymore, the others were relying on him. Hell, he was relying on himself!

"Don you genius..." He threw his arms out beside him, feeling the electricity flow through his body. And for once... it felt good. With that, he closed his eyes and magnetically rose high into the air. Lightning began to flash around the edges of Dylan's constructed arena, forming a barrier to prevent the Dream Eater from escaping. He wasn't chained anymore, or at least here. Here... he could do exactly what he wanted. He opened his eyes once more to find something quite simple in front of him - a large metallic paperweight.

He began to charge his railgun.


Moira looked across at everyone, utterly lost. So... they could do whatever they imagined? She... she was never great with imagining things. Well, other than fantisising about beefy oiled up men, but while as much as she fancied it she didn't really want to distract herself when so much was at stake. Well, Estelle was powering up her equipment. Maybe... she could imagine a bigger sword?

Suddenly her sword started to shift, multiple parts expanding and clicking into place as it got bigger, and bigger... okay, that was too big. It shrunk a little. She stared at it in amazement, before she suddenly snarled with a grin so mean it rivalled that of the Dream Eater's itself.

"Oh hell yes motherfucker!" she bellowed. "Bigger everything!" Her armour began to develop spikes, which to be honest wasn't particularly practical. But it looked cool, as far as she was concerned. That was about as far as she was going to get.

And with that, she leapt forward at one of the many springs Dylan had created, ready to intercept the Dream Eater's attack.

???

Trixie was quick to follow up on the wounds inflicted by Lute, Aria, and Lisette. She hammered in the extra pressure on his gashes with her gunshots, sending the faux Lion roaring with anger. He lashed out at them yet again, scattering everyone from the fatal shockwave, before growing and taking on another different form. Then it reached out at them... before being knocked away? By... by Superbro!?

Trixie's eyes sparkled. Of course he would be the one to smell out the monster's loophole - of course. This was only a dream... which meant superheroes were still as dazzling and perfect as they were. A bajillion thoughts crossed in Trixie's mind for all the possibilities they could inflict on the Dream Eater, now that its weakness was discovered. But what would be a fitting end to this tale? Despite this Achilles' Heel, it still outsized them; if they weren't careful, the Eater could just squash them like bugs. So what could.........

Her uzis clattered to the floor.

Trixie gave chase after the walking superhero, the sea of goop beneath her pitter-pattering like shallow puddles. "Superbro!" she called, waving at him. "Our dreams are real here! You know what this means, right!?"



Amy's red, red lips smirked the widest they had been all day. Thanks to Dylan's efforts, the battlefield was much more united; those at a distance like Amy were able to catch up to the others in no time. She watched as Estelle, Syed, and Moira all buffed themselves, while Lute and Selan took to the sound stage.

Everyone prepared for their best move - and Amy could only chuckle at how the outcome of this would turn out. "All we need now is for this bitch to hold still."

She jerked her gem in the Dream Eater's direction, and a white light beamed from the jewel like a searing laser. The Eater recoiled in the sudden brightness, which left the guilders unaffected. Once the beam reached the Eater's position, wrapped itself around the being and roped it in place. With every inch of struggle, Amy pulled back on her gem to tighten her hold. Maybe the Eater would break through, maybe it wouldn't - all she had to do was hold it in place just long enough.

Bridges, and giant swords and now a bright light that snaked around him...they had figured it out.

The creature snarled as it tugged at the beams of light that tried to bind it, he pulled hard but it had fastened him in place. How dare they? This world was his and his alone! The dream eater lurched forward, but once again the bindings of light pulled it back. Its paper-white face contorted into an expression of hate. "I will snuff out your hope and make you wish you had never been born." They had figured it out and Dr. Dream wasn't happy at all. "What you can create, I can also destroy!" There was the sound of cracking bones and the creature once again stood at its full height. It snapped one of its fingers, burning one of Dylan's bridges down, but for every bridge he would destroy, another one would appear out of nowhere to take its place.

No! Nonono! His plan had been foolproof, he had toiled over his machines and wires for years and he wouldn't allow his experiment to fail because of a few pesky and pathetic guilders. "THIS WORLD IS MINE!"





"Apparently, it's our world too." Lucien grinned at the outraged demon then gave Amy a thumbs up. "You look a little tied up at the moment." The summoner gave the dream eater a Cheshire cat grin. Just moments ago, he thought the thing would crush them and use their guts as jam, but now, they were on solid ground. And Don, Estelle, and Moira were dressed up and ready to fight.

Xan gaped, a dream of course... Don was a genius! Things were finally working out in their favor and it was such a massive relief.

"Hey, hey," the summoner elbowed her in the ribs. "Do you want to see something cool?"

A smile lit up her own face. "Sure Lucien, make it a show."

"You betcha!" The summoner was grinning like a kid on Christmas morning. "Abracadabra!" There was a blue-green puff of smoke and suddenly a giant cat with a toothy grin appeared on one of Dylan's bridges. The feline gave everyone a ridiculously wide smile before a ball of yarn fell on the dream eater's head and nabbed the cat's attention.

"Hey Dylan," Lucien was trying hard not to laugh. The summoner slammed his fist into his open palm and blurted out another idea. "You should put the dream eater in a dress."

Atlas could only facepalm in reply, but despite Lucien's rather random suggestion a smirk made its way onto the Magician's face. "They're right, it's not your world anymore and you're severely outnumbered," He began cracking his knuckles.

Syed launched a powerful attack in the dream eater's direction and Moira leaped towards their foe. The creature, still bound by the beams of light could only take the punishment that was dished at it. The cat clawed deep into its skin and lightning seared throughout its body.

It hurt...

The creature's eyes shot open before the sound of breaking glass echoed throughout the place. It sent those who were near it flying and the beams of light that had bound it in place disappeared. "You'll pay for this, you'll all pay!" It began charging towards them.

"Just keep imagining," it was Atlas and he was smiling, "You guys sure are something." If they kept hammering the dream eater with their own imaginations, if they kept warping his twisted reality into something they wanted then they would sure as hell stand a chance!

???

“We just need to believe... let's take back our dreams!”

Aria watched in wonder, an amazed smile spreading across her face as bridges sprang up between each platform courtesy of Dylan, while the others’ weapons shifted into more powerful forms. To think defeating the Dream Eater had been something so simple.

The Pride’s newly found hope and confidence seemed to make the demon panic as it screamed and blew up some of the bridges, only to have new ones take their place almost immediately. The tides had turned and they all knew it, with the Demon growing more enraged by the second.

"THIS WORLD IS MINE!"

“Not anymore it isn’t,” she grinned, not faltering when it managed to shatter the beams of light keeping it in place and charged towards them. It barely managed to take a few steps before it tripped over the striped and strangely colorful ropes that had wound themselves around the monster’s legs, tripping almost comically and landing with a resounding thud on its face that made the clocktower rock slightly.

Aria’s smile widened- as much as illusions were fun, to have them be able to physically affect something for once was quite exhilarating too. A fluffy top hat appeared on the thing’s head too, strapped on tightly and obscuring its sight. It was a little unnecessary but the thing had made her doubt both her friends and herself- a little over the top theatrics to embarrass the dear doctor was to be expected.

While it struggled, a whirlwind of blades surrounded her as she leapt forward with the rest of her friends, ready to end this demon once and for all, no longer cloaked in fear but in determination and just a little bit of exhilaration.

???

'We're dreaming'... Of course! Selan thought, amazed at not only Don's appearance, but the solution that he had revealed to them, which now seemed so obvious in hindsight.

Selan stepped onto the sound stage Dylan created for her, and parted her lips to sing a strong, passionate aria that washed over the battlefield, with a volume and clarity that could only be described as unreal. She imagined a swell of magic emitting from within her, and its power increased the impact of her song more than she thought imaginable.

Her song enhanced the speed of every swing, intensified every ounce of magical energy, augmented every strike.

Lisette climbed into the tall tower, and after briefly aiming her arrow through one of the slats, she realized that why not have a regular arrow, but one made entirely of magic? And why just one magical arrow, but ten? She launched them toward the Dream Eater, only to have misjudged the trajectory, but no matter; she willed them downward like heat-seekers.

"THIS WORLD IS MINE!" The Dream Eater screamed.

Thwackthwackthwackthwackthwackthwackthwackthwackthwackthwack! Lisette's arrows pummeled the Dream Eater's hat-topped head repeatedly.

FWOOMPH. An enormous fireball shot out of Lisette's tower as well, hitting the Dream Eater hard enough to send him spinning in place, still trying to yank off the top hat.

Some of the Guilders looked up to see where it had come from, to which Lisette shrugged in confusion. Kapi sniffed triumphantly and ducked back into her backpack, pleased to see that he's still a magical capybara after all.

???
One by one the Pride’s attacks rang out, assailing the Dream Eater relentlessly and causing its body to quiver and quake from each new attack. For all of its efforts to withstand the Pride’s beleaguering strikes, to unleash a new, horrifying assault, they rose up again, refusing to bow down and give in to fear anymore. The Dream Eater’s nightmares… its attempts at giving birth to the Pride’s deepest, more hated fears and worries were being resisted. A wave of hope and fierce determination grew amongst the Pride… and it wouldn’t be tamed.

But as for the Dream Eater… he wasn’t stopped either. Despite the Pride’s resistance, this was his domain, his forte. The Pride were able to use their imaginations to take control of their dreamscape and fight back, but this was the Dream Eater’s world. He was the Master here, and it didn’t matter how much hope these petulant children had, because now… now he had anger.

The Dream Eater’s right leg scraped backwards through the sea, coming to a stop as it poised and steadied its body. The bonds holding it in place were severed as quickly as they formed, and the attacks that struck against its body relentlessly, from Moira’s sword swings to Lisette’s arrow attacks and Aria’s whirlwind of blade attacks were now all completely deflected by a transparent shield that would flare up in a honeycomb made of prisms at the point the attacks would try to pierce, each one sent rebounding backwards and returned to their owners. One claw snatched the fluffy hat that was used to obscure its vision and destroyed it, obliterating it from existence. It looked back at the Pride, and rearing its mouth wide open, a white light emitted from its maw that streaked across the landscape in a wide arc, creating explosions after explosions.

The world turned and shifted. Despite Dylan’s creations, the world began to turn dark again. Jagged spikes erupted from the ground, with the intent of piercing and stabbing the Guilders from below. Each shot out with frightening speed, ready to impale before any could react-

However each of the spikes most deadly aimed at the Pride were shattered before they could reach. Sliced and diced at the base into a myriad of pieces, a flaming figure appeared next to each member of the Pride, a swordswoman with flowing red hair and a burning sword. In the centre of the group, standing determinedly atop the remains of the Clocktower, Estelle’s eyes slowly opened.



She would protect her friends no matter what.

---

Meanwhile…

Trixie gave chase after the walking superhero, the sea of goop beneath her pitter-pattering like shallow puddles. "Superbro!" she called, waving at him. "Our dreams are real here! You know what this means, right!?"



Don looked back, a small smile growing across his lips, and a playful wink being given back to the Little Missy. He knew exactly what this meant.

His head lifted up, looking into the sky. A deep breath exhaled from his lips, and his body began to slowly fall backwards, his knees bending into a seating position.

And it began to form. Stopping in midair, a seat made of leather materialised from Don’s rear, joining to a body of smooth, black metal, as long curved metal rods formed from his hands, joining the rest of the object being created in Don’s mind. Growing from the framework was a rumbling engine, exhaust pipes, fumes and tires. A motorbike.

But the growing didn’t stop there.

The bike began to rise, as more pieces of machinery, wiring and metal began to extend outwards, constantly shifting and growing, bigger, and bigger, and bigger. Those of the Pride closest to him could only watch in disbelief, their necks craning back as they looked up, and up, and up. Would… would it ever stop growing?!

Eventually it did, and the finished result… there were no words for it.

Amy facepalmed.

A giant, hulking robot, as tall as the Dream Eater was, stood ready to face it. However, this was no ordinary robot, oh no. This gigantic mech was shaped entirely like Don, from his leather jacket and shades to the largest metal pompadour in the world. A giant Don mech.

Estelle stared at it in amazed bewilderment, stars sparkling in her eyes.

The Don mech spun and gyrated, kicking its massive leg out (and spraying the black goop of a sea out for miles around) before thrusting its giant metallic groin out with a swipe of its arm, outstretched a robotic finger, pointed directly at the Dream Eater. Within the Don Mech's neon glowing cockpit residing in its head, Don's pulled out from his jacket pocket a pair of shades, and placed them over his eyes, as streams of data appeared across the monitor in front of him, the canopy beyond showing the giant Dream Eater now at head height. Don's hand tightly gripped onto the controls, revving it over and over, his feet lifting up and down off the pedals.

It was time to get serious.

IT’S ON

???

And just like that, the Don Mech was born. Don himself was seated in its cockpit, within the Mech's visor. The giant bot was poised to battle - but before it could move any further, a ring of steam emitted from its mecha pompadour. In moments its tip flung open like the cap of a lighter, revealing a large green sphere, another cockpit inside. And seated in the very center, surrounded by heaps and heaps of buttons and levers... was Trixie.

"All powered up and ready to go!" she called, her voice projected through the mech's hidden speakers. She reached forward and mashed the conglomeration of buttons at once. Then she began pulling at the overhead levers - "All engines and gears and cool stuff ready! Locked and loaded! Other cool phrases!" - before suddenly stopping herself short. "Hey... wait a second."

Trixie leaned back into her seat, bringing a finger to her chin. The Don Mech too brought its outstretched finger to its chin and mimicked the prankster. "Something's missing here..." She bobbed her crossed legs, deep in thought. "Hmm..." Trixie continued taking her sweetass time deliberating what the missing element to their killer machine could possibly be. The Mech was completely vulnerable during this time, as Don continued revving his engines and waiting for his co-pilot to figure things out - but the Dream Eater was just too baffled to even attack on its own volition. Because a Don Mech was just that fucking cool.

Then it came to her. Trixie jumped out of her seat. "I got it!"

Suddenly the pompadour encased itself in a brilliant white light, with sparkles and high-pitched shing!s echoing throughout the area. Its surface shifted and twisted, metallic pieces rearranging themselves with over-the-top pizzazz and flair. And noises. Lots of noises.

At the end of this henshin, the pompadour was jutted out even further than it had been. Its body now consisted of multiple long cylindrical barrels, with metallic rings wrapped around various parts to hold it all together. At the base of the pompadour, Trixie's cockpit had risen to the top. She too had motorbike-like handles to grip onto, just like her hero downstairs. When she revved them, bright lights and sputtering bullets blasted out of the barrels.

The prankster cackled. "Eat giant gatling gun, biatch!"

Dylan smirked as the world started to fight back against his influence, the Dream Eater clearly fighting his creation. Through sheer force of will he managed to hold the basics together, though the Dream Eater managed to create a series of jagged spikes - which Estelle quickly dispatched, protecting the Pride from the most dangerous of them. It was an exhausting struggle, but he held on, Selan’s aria guiding him to depths of magical reserves that he never knew he had.

Then, the Dream Eater stopped fighting all together, it’s attention drawn to the sight before it. Don - the biggest and baddest of all bros - was creating the most wondrous thing that Dylan had ever seen. It was a giant robot replicant of the man himself, so large in scope that it even gave the Dream Eater pause.

And that pause was just what Dylan needed. While the creature was distracted, Giant Don Mech reeving it’s engines, Dylan’s mind drifted back to what Lucy had suggested before - ”You should put the dream eater in a dress."

He could see it in his mind, quickly sketching it out as Trixie reformed the pompadour. A heavy skirt, with layers upon layers of frills, a tight corset, pinching in tight to point of distraction, and a heavy train that ran along the ground. With a sudden whoop Dylan made it so, the Dream Eater staggering under the weight that appeared out of nowhere.

Women’s dresses weren’t always the easiest to move in, even with years of practice. Suddenly the Dream Eater had to deal with the heaviest layers of cloth, pulling the creature down with the sheer weight of it, despite the fact it looked deceivingly light. And worst of all, it was bright pink, lacy, and just so darn cute.

“Take that!” he yelled as Trixie fired her pompadour gun.

???

Wow, everybody was just amazing! Lute gaped at his companions as he hurried over to the spacious stage. His eyes trailed from one guilder to the next, and the virtuoso was both relieved and inspired by the sudden determination he saw in them. That being said, it was time to go back to work! Everyone was already kicking Dream Eater butt and it wouldn’t do to have him lazing around; while Selan invigorated the Pride with her song, Lute focused on dishing some chaos since the songstress didn’t seem to need his amplifying abilities. The enraged monster was treated to a variety of distractions that ranged from generic to childish; it would hear Moira yelling from behind and would turn there, only to be hit on the side by Lisette’s arrows etcetera, and one time a horse neighed from on top of its head. However the tides seemed to turn once again and spikes shot out everywhere, including in front of the sound stage. “Hey, this is unfair!” Lute howled and slammed his fists down on a nearby desk. The hell!? They were already winning! Slimy old cheat! “You suck, Dr. Dream! You suck big-time!” If Delilah was around she would probably hit her face and say something along the lines of “Oooh, what a burn”, but sadly Lute’s personal sarcasm machine was asleep and nothing could stop him from dispensing the sickest burns ever.

Well, probably nothing except Estelle’s stellar swordsmanship and that bigass robot with the pompadour. Also the Dream Eater in a frilly pink dress, which was the stuff of nightmares but was hilarious under the current circumstances.

“Woooooow,” Lute breathed out, his pupils dilating at the awe-inspiring sight. He looked like he just saw the love of his life… or something. “Wooooow. T-that’s really…. Woooow,” The virtuoso repeated as he slid forward on the desk, propped up on his elbows as he stared at the freaking awesomesauce Mech. “That’s so coooool,” He sighed out again before a bright flame of determination lit up Lute’s face. If they can do it, so can he! Well, not to that extent, but he can help, right? He got up from his fanboy position and strode out of the stage.

And so Lute closed his eyes and summoned every bit of concentration he had. He thought of all the passion and life he had seen the Pride exhibit, how those emotions inspired him to fight for something beyond his means with the help of others, and… Self-confidence was key to a happy, Dream Eater-less future! He opened one eye and waited for something, anything, along the lines of super badass weapon/armor, but nothing came. You could almost hear the crickets chirping. “Okay, maybe being awesome is not my destiny,” Lute sighed and turned on his heel to return to the sound stage but was distracted by the darkness occupying a pretty large area directly overhead.

Also a strange “whooooom” sound like something big was falli- Ohhh snap. Lute glanced up in alarm the exact second a gigantic blobfish was thrown down by the heavens above, and the virtuoso let out a pathetic yelp before completely disappearing under the flabby pink folds.

Syed couldn't help but stare dumbstruck at the mech which was forming below. He knew he shouldn't let himself get distracted, but... look how awesome it is! It was taking all he had to not fanboy on the spot. The product of two people's minds working in tandem. Going above and beyond, with no limits. In the way that most adults forget they can do. Making the most awesome thing ever.

"Oh Vayu..."

This. This was the reason he enjoyed their company so much. This was the reason he was so proud to be a member of the Pride. And it made him realise something.

He wasn't being bold enough. He wasn't being adventerous or imaginative enough. He was allowing himself to be dictated by logic in a word where it didn't exist. Really, he should be doing exactly what Don and Trixie were doing, and allowing his imagination to run wild. Like Dylan was with that dress. May as well dream of the impossible, right? Like...

He swung an arm out and made a loose fist, closing his eyes as he pictures the shape, the size. If only he could have had a good look at it without Gaoh blowing his face off. But hey, it wasn't like specifics was too important here. And sure enough, metal began to form around his wrist, around his hand and up his arm, going up to his shoulder and spreading a little to his spine as reinforcement. At the end the metal began to bulk up and expand, forming a large cannon shape which in no way would realistically work on his lanky frame. But hell, he was flying anyway, he didn't care.

All that mattered was his aim was true, and his shot was both powerful and fast enough. His cannon began to glow a brilliant yellow as he fed more and more electricity into it. A dial popped up over one eye, giving him a scope to aim through.

"Let's see if your shield can hold up this, mate!" he shouted, a broad smile spreading across his face. And with that, as massive arcs of electricity flew around his body, he aimed his magitech-inspired railgun cannon directly at the Dream Eater. "Tell me when!"

???

“Woah…”

The small exhale of wonder could barely be heard over the rumblings of the Don Mech. Aria looked on, mouth hanging open at the coolness and sleekness of the whole thing. When the pompadour converted with a series of whirrs and bangs and copious amounts of gratuitous sparks into a giant Gatling gun- the illusionist had to physically repress from breaking out into excited squeals from the sheer amount of awesome.

The Dream Eater itself looked stricken by either awe at the amazing coolness, or was trying to comprehend the levels of ridiculousness this was all coming to. Before it could make a decision it was promptly weighed down by the frilliest and pinkest dress Aria had ever had the honor of seeing, and she snapped out of her mini fangirling session to clench a fist determinedly.

“I too, shall be cool.” She declared, glaring up at the Dream Eater’s shield. That would have to be taken care of first. Desisting her attacks for the moment, she raised both hands, brows furrowing in concentration as what looked to be a giant and very cool looking funnel slowly materialized in the air above her, wider end glowing and starting absorb all the attacks the various members of the Pride were directing towards the Dream Eater. With every attack, a small meter began to fill up on the side of the machine, and Syed’s railgun cannon blast pushed it over the edge. The funnel let out a loud clank, various gears and wires burning bright hot as a ball of energy appeared on the other end, growing bright and brighter before shooting out a beam of super compressed energy towards the dress-clad monster with a roar.