As the seconds ticked past he began losing more and more of his world.

The dream eater's bone-white face had contorted into an expression somewhere between awe and rage. He wouldn't let it end this way, he wouldn't! He prepared to charge into the ridiculous mech that had appeared before him, but he couldn't because suddenly he was in a dress that weighed as much as a bolder. He cursed, his voice booming across the realm. Bullets began pelting him from all sides and this time he felt them and they hurt.

They would all pay for this! This was getting ridiculous. Even his spikes had been slashed to ribbons by a red-haired child. His years of work and experiments, he wouldn't let it all go to waste, he just wouldn't. Not now and not ever, especially not to them.

With his shield in place he leaped forward, arms outstretched. He was ready to grab the giant mech and tear it limb from limb. However, before he could do that a bright ball of energy, a mixture of all the pride's efforts was shot towards him. His eyes widened as his shield shattered into a thousand pieces, the sheer awesomeness of it all blinded the reaper and he flailed and screeched before planting face first into the ground.





"Bro!" Lucien was leaping up and down and waving his hands in the air. "Give me an autograph later!" The summoner beamed before deciding to do something grand as well. He screwed his eyes shut and imagined a dragon. Lucien the dragon tamer, it had a nice ring to it! He opened his eyes to see a dragon in a top hat grinning at the fallen dream eater.

The giant beast inhaled before shooting bubbles at the fallen beast.

"EH!" He had been expecting something much cooler. Well, at least he hadn't summoned a blobfish like had.

The dragon continued its useless stream of attacks before getting upset and falling onto the dream reaper's back. At least that looked like it had hurt.

Atlas was sitting on a floating desk, enjoying the show. He imagined up a bowl of popcorn and began eating contentedly. "This could really use some butter--what?" Out of nowhere a giant pitcher of steaming hot butter appeared above the dream reaper's head. The magician laughed as the hot liquid poured onto the poor monster's face. "Not exactly what I was going for, but I'll take what I can get."

Xan laughed and began imagining a giant sack of feathers. The sack exploded above the fallen dream eater and clung to him like feathers. Just laughing at the thing that had caused them so much fear felt good.

The creature flailed in the pool of steaming hot butter, sparks of electricity shocking it now and then.

Funny how such a powerful foe had been reduced into something so pathetic.

???
“This… can’t… be…” The Dream Eater groaned, struggling to rise to its feet. Its shield had been utterly shattered thanks to Aria’s quick thinking and imagination in funnelling all of the Pride’s attacks into one giant ball of energy. With it destroyed, the Pride’s subsequent attacks all ran true along the giant behemoth’s body, from the amazing to the obscene.

Scorching hot butter steaming across its body caused it to rear and contort its face in twisted agony, with the piling of feathers afterwards adding insult to injury, and forcing it to be weighed down much the same as Lucien’s dragon and Dylan’s conjured dress had. At the same time, constant attacks pulverised the Dream Eater’s body. The giant Don Mech that Don and Trixie had summoned continued to pulverise at the Dream Eater’s body with blow after blow, ripping fresh new holes into it, as did Syed’s infrequent release of a railgun blast. The time to recharge was a lot longer then Trixie’s attacks, but produced that much more of a powerful effect that ripped a larger hole throughout its body. From her tower, Lisette arched her aim up and away from the Dream Eater, pointing straight up vertically in the sky. She unleashed an arrow of pure light that dazzled into the sky… and in the next instant, a hundred arrows fell from the sky in a frenzy, intermingled with meteoring fireballs that continued to push it down into the ground. The Dream Eater was completely pinned, unable to do anything to resist such an onslaught.

“This… isn’t… right!” The Dream Eater’s claw scraped through the abyss, raking giant crevices in the black oily sea. A glowing eye centered upon the Pride again. It would not… submit like this! This was his world! He could change and shape it however he liked! He just… needed… to…

But the Dream Eater couldn’t. A melodious sound, swelling with power from the stage that Dylan had created reverberated through the Dream Eater’s mind, and made it impossible or him to concentrate, impossible for the Dream Eater to properly put thought into reality. Everything it tried to create was not how he intended. For some strange and inexplicable reason, Selan’s singing sent the Dream Eater’s thoughts go awry, changing the wavelengths that the Dream Eater’s power flowed through and forcing his perverted creations into something completely different. Chains to form around the Pride’s body, snaring them shut and then slowly grinding into their bodies tighter and tighter instead summoned a wave of adorable puppies and kittens. The attempts to change the skies above into a calamitous thunderstorm that would strick the Pride with lightning instead created glistening sunlight and rainbows. This… this was not right!

“I… will… make… you… all… pay…” The Dream Eater wailed, its body struggling to stand up again, but fresh new golden ropes courtesy of Amy forming across its entire body pulled it down again. This… wasn’t… right!

BAM

And then the Dream Eater was suddenly sent reeling to the side, as something unbelievably huge and powerful connected with its face. As the Dream Eater tried to look up, tried to recover, it slapped him again. And again. And again.



The Pride below all looked up, their eyes blinking in disbelief, as the giant Don Mech that Don piloted swung the giant blobfish that Lute had summoned over and over again, slapping the Dream Eater’s face relentlessly as Trixie’s gatling gun continued to shoot at it as well. Over and over, like a hurricane.

All eyes turned to Lucien.

”What, I didn’t summon that one,” Lucien snickered.

A pitiful wail could be heard from the blobfish overhead. Was it… crying?

“Wait!” Aria looked in disbelief. “That’s… that’s Lute!”

Indeed, the virtuoso was still stuck to the blobfish, and kept being spun around and around as the giant blobby fat fish kept smacking the Dream Eater with a growing, disapproving expression.

But Don hadn’t noticed, and revving his Mech even higher, he poured all of the Mech’s power into one, final swing, the blobfish connected with what would pass as the Dream Eater’s chin in a devastating uppercut, with the blobfish (and Lute) being sent flying high, high into the sky. At the same time, on the ground, a massive explosion erupted out of the Don Mech’s robotic pompadour. Trixie whooped and hollered at her next firing- the gatling gun had now transformed into a giant cannon. And from that cannon…

Spun Moira, who at the last second uncurled, reared back her head, and pelted that giant son of a bitch right in the kisser. The sound of a church bell gonging was all that could be heard echoing for miles upon miles around, as the sun shined down on them. The Dream Eater was collapsing… this time its body unresponsive, as it crashed into the ground, the abyssal sea that remained erupting into a giant tidal wave at its landing.

“Geez, Lute…” A calming voice spoke to the dizzy, pale blonde haired youth. His eyes continued to roll about, and he would mutter incoherent sentences under his breath, talking about Delilah, Robin and Ruana. “There’s crazy and then there’s crazy, you know. You should be more careful next time.”



Fluttering to the ground on wings made of burning fire, Estelle gently landed beside her friends, one foot after the other, the dazed Lute held in her arms. She looked down at him with a smile. The guy was in some ways as much of a rookie still as the day she had met him, but he was her friend, the same as everyone else, and like all of her friends here… he had done good.

Another arc of white light shot through the sky, disturbing the peaceful quietude to explode against the Dream Eater’s rising face, this time forcing it to remain still. Estelle looked over her shoulder with a wide, sparkling smile as she Xan with her prosthetic arm stretched out at their foe, it now having transformed into a small cannon. Xandra was as shocked, if not more so then the rest of everyone there, whilst Estelle snickered a devilish laugh.

“Serves that prick right,” Moira grumbled, folding her arms over her chest. “You don’t fuck with the Pride.”

“What now, though?” Aria asked, taking Lute from Estelle arms and supporting him with Atlas’ help.



“Now,” A voice called out from behind them, illuminating the presence of Marcus who smiled towards all of them. “Now it’s time for us all to wake up.”

The world went white.

It was over.

Moira stood with her hands folded under her chest, not saying much at all. Her forehead was still steaming a little. Even she couldn't stop the small smile creeping up at the edges of her mouth, though. She would be glad to get out of this place. She never wanted to see anything like the things she had seen here again.

As soon as she got out of here, she was contacting Sonny. She... hadn't realised how worried she was about him until now. After all, he was a grown man, older than Syed even and by now a father himself. But as much as her place was now with the Pride, and his with his small family, she was still his mother. She always will be.


Syed landed silently beside them all, back to normal in appearance. He wore a massive dorky grin on his face - a mixture of relief and amazement. "That... was the best thing ever," he gushed, stars in his eyes. He wouldn't be able to get that mech out of his head for weeks now. "Well, the last bit. Oh man I can still feel the adrenaline..."

“Now, now it’s time for us all to wake up.”

"Definately." While a part of Syed worried about where exactly they would be waking up, mainly... mainly he was just thankful. Thankful to have friends like these - friends who guided him through his darkest moments. They all guided each other, really. And friends like that? They are the rarest, most precious thing you can find.

"Yeah, I'm gagging for a drink," Moira added, just before everything faded from her view.

He didn’t know what to make of it - the blobfish, Lute, Moira being fired from a fricking cannon - so he simply cheered as their combined effort brought the Dream Eater down. In the end, it was not skill or pure strength that beat it, but hope and imagination. These were things that the Pride had in excess, and it warmed Dylan’s heart to be part of such a close group of friends.

“Serves that prick right,” Moira grumbled, folding her arms over her chest. “You don’t fuck with the Pride.”

Dylan laughed at that. “Oh Moira, don’t ever change.”

“Now,” A voice called out from behind them, illuminating the presence of Marcus who smiled towards all of them. “Now it’s time for us all to wake up.”

“Yes,” Dylan said with a smile. He was eager to forget the nightmares that this place had stirred in him, the false visions of Tobias and the man he feared he was becoming. But this had shone a new light on it all - as long as he was with his friends, he could never lose his path.

The landscape around him bled out of existence, burning into a blinding vision of pure white. “See you all on the other side.”

Let me tell you one thing: getting crushed by a gigantic blobfish was not for the fainthearted. Lute felt like he was being molded into something else entirely as the flabby pink flesh slammed against his face and spine over and over again. If that wasn't bad enough that he slipped each time he tried to get out of the monstrosity, the virtuoso was now covered in a questionable clear fluid that was odorless but somehow convinced him that it was stomach acid and that he was slowly being digested whole. Then everything went to pink slimy Hell- something picked the blob up and used it as a mace to clobber the Dream Eater with, and Lute felt like he was he was in a blender and the other main ingredient in the smoothie was the blobfish's fat. After the first swing he was knocked out senseless, and the other slaps reduced Lute's consciousness to nothing but the overwhelming desire to see solid ground with nary a hue of pink. He didn't even realize he was screeching "I want out! Ouuuut!" the entire freaking time.

He knew not when he got out of Hell, but something hot was near his face and he glanced up. Estelle. Oh gods he was going to puke. Lute was passed over to Aria and Atlas- for a brief moment there he thought they were twins- and he made a point of expressing his need to hurl, but the stuff that came out of his mouth resembled a baby's incoherent speech. Well at least the goddamn Dream Eater was done and over with, yeah!?

He would ask Atlas later for the moments of awesome that he had missed, and would probably contemplate about the important lessons he had learned in this nightmare sequence Dr. Dream had cooked up, but for now Lute just wanted to... collapse.

That and to never see a blobfish again, thank you very much.

???

Poor, poor, Lute. Aria chortled as she steadied the dizzy Virtuoso, handing over a black kitten she had scooped up from pile of fuzziness and happiness by her feet so she could free up her arms to help him. The grand finale was certainly grand, for a lack of better words to describe it. The sky was still swirling with rainbows, and the sunshine on her face was certainly welcome after a long period of darkness. The kittens and puppies were a welcome bonus as well.

“Now, now it’s time for us all to wake up.”

Yes, it was time for them to leave. They still had to deal with the good doctor in the real world, though Aria assumed that he wouldn’t be too much of a threat now without the Dream Eater to help him.

She shifted her grip on Lute, giving him a squeeze before closing her eyes and feeling the world fade away around her. Time to go back to the waking world, where there were no Don Mechas nor giant blobfishes, and yet after this mission she was sure that the normality of the real world would be a welcome feeling.

Good Night Demon Slayer

Lucien pumped his fists into the air and cheered. They had done it, they had freaking won and it felt amazing.

He looked around, at the people he had come to know and care about. The summoner grinned from ear to ear, it was good to know that they'd be going on more adventures together, that this wasn't their last stand. Hell, when he got old he'd have amazing tales to tell. The pride, they were simply amazing.

“Now, now it’s time for us all to wake up.”

Lucien puffed up his cheeks like a sulky child. A baby dragon was napping comfortable on his head and a part of him wanted to stay for just a little bit longer. Whatever this place was, it wasn't as frightening anymore. "Fine, fine."

"Y'know, if you stay here you might never leave." Atlas gave Lucien a smirk before fumbling with a dizzy Lute. "Man, we'll have to tell Ruana and Robin all about this, huh? It will be a whale of tale." He couldn't wait to have a nice glass of wine and more than anything he wanted to turn Robin into a pillow and sleep for ages. "Whatever that was," he focused his eyes on the rest of the pride. "It was pretty damn impressive."

"That's the pride for you!" Lucien gave Atlas a thumbs up before Dylan's little comment made him grin. "The other side, yeah? Almost makes it sound like we're dying." He pulled a silly face. "Booo!"

While the others talked and joked around Xan continued to stare at the rainbows and puppies, amazed by everything. She gave them a smile then closed her eyes, "we have a doctor to catch."

---

???





The sound of several machines going off filled the room.

Bright lights shone overhead and the curtains were drawn shut. Slowly, the pride opened their eyes to an empty lab.

Xan felt cold metal against her skin, each of them had been strapped onto a gurney as if they were patients awaiting an operation. She squeezed her eyes as a wave of nausea swept over her, the room zoomed in and out of focus and it felt like someone had smashed a hammer into her head. The girl sat up and tore the oxygen mask off her face. Minutes earlier a steady flow of sleeping gas had kept them out of commission, but now there was no sign of the doctor and the only sound they could hear was the beeping of several machines.

She looked around and watched as her friends began to stir, some were already awake, scanning their surroundings.

Her throat was so dry, had they been drugged? "He's gone," she croaked before another dizzy spell made Xan shut her eyes. They had to find him, if they didn't there was no telling what he would do. That man was a threat and his rightful place was behind bars.

Atlas nearly fell off his own bed as he batted away at the electrodes attached to his head. The man let out a flurry of curses before his eyes went wide. There, on several giant screens were recaps of their worst nightmares. He saw his siblings and Robin being torn to ribbons then watched as the other members of the pride battled their own demons. Everything seemed so real on screen that it took all of his willpower to not grab a chair and fling it at the machine. He let out a sigh, "is everyone alright?"

"Aside from a massive headache," Lucien was sprawled over his bed, he didn't even want to get up so he simply raised a wobbly thumbs up. The lab had been deserted, but for how long, none of them could tell.

The lights flickered off and the giant screen in the center of the room flickered to life.

They were greeted by a smiling man with a tiny hedgehog perched comfortably on his head, he even had the audacity to wave.

Dr. Dream said
"You were all such a crucial part of my experiment and I'd like to thank you from the bottom of my heart!" He walked around in tiny circles gesturing excitedly with his hands and grinning from ear to ear. In the background, the pride could see their unconscious bodies. "I guess I messed up, things went downhill for my little pet and you'll all be waking up in a couple of hours. I'll be leaving soon, but it'd be rude to skedaddle without a proper goodbye, yes?" Dr. Dream leaned towards the camera with a childish grin. "I learned so many things. You guys have definitely helped me out...I've even found a way to destroy that little loophole you've found, but blah! I'll need years worth or maybe decades worth of information."

The man pouted, "whatever, your emotions have powered up my little pet, he might have taken a beating but we'll definitely learn from this. THIS, well this isn't the last you've seen of us, not by a long shot." The lights around him dimmed and he pulled out a plug.

"Thank you for helping me, this information brings us all one step closer to a new world."

The screen went blank.

Abatheo:
En route to the Guild:

The day had been long, and the trek back to Abatheo from Thaum more exhausting then any of the Pride had expected. Despite their entire adventure within Thaum, from the minute they had received the mission to hunt for and exterminate a mysterious monster known as the Dream Eater involved them being asleep, none felt rested and energetic. All in fact felt more lethargic then before, and disturbed by the ominous news left behind them in their waking.

The video they had seen of Dr. Dream, hovering around their sleeping bodies, promising to meet them all again in the future, with a new and improved, much more powerful Dream Eater… Estelle didn’t know how to respond to that. Her thoughts flitted back to the rest of the adventures she had had with her friends since meeting them back at Tabul, and the enemies they had all encountered… and the ones whom got away. The two neko thieves from Fenaru, Java and Lyja. Members of the Hawthorne Family they had fought within Vandrell who had all vanished when Tiberius and his men had arrived and searched the manor, finding no one bar Lucifer and Oren’s deceased body behind. And the events in Paraisos… the man whom tried to kidnap her and sell her and Josette into slavery, as well as try and kidnap Selan… Estelle had learnt his name was Neil Hunter. He too was still out there, walking free. As was the band of mercenaries working for the noble, Dumont, who called themselves the Suits.

Too many loose ends… the Pride had managed to stop them all, but those battles were far from over yet. And Dr. Dream and the Dream Eater… they were still out. Still out there to plague the dreams of the innocent, to steal their hope and happiness and grow more frighteningly powerful from it. The cases of people suffering from apathy… the Pride might have halted and slowed them down, for a spell. But it wasn’t truly over.

“It’ll be alright, Estelle,” Marcus said, putting his hand on his partner’s shoulder. “We’ll place a report of everything that’s happened in with the Guild, and they’ll forward it on to the Artar Empire’s authorities as well. Dr. Dream will be a hunted man, and he’ll be found and stopped sooner or later, I’m sure.”

It didn’t entirely ease her, however. The nightmares she and her friends had suffered… what the Dream Eater had done to them, she didn’t think those nightmares would ever go away, at least not for a long, long time. And they would keep coming back, until she was sure Dr. Dream was no longer a menace. It frustrated her. She wanted to chase him, to hunt him down and put a stop to him, no matter where he might hide. But there were no clues to go on, at least none that they could find within his lab. Any information or data that might have been gleamed had been sabotaged. There was nothing left.

And even then, she and her friends had an important mission of their own to carry out. To deliver the sealed letter Largo had entrusted to her in the last moments before his death to Clockwork Town’s two missing Guild Leaders; Rize and Kara. On and on they would go, following the trail they had left behind using whatever information they could from the Guilds they passed, and the secretaries that worked there. But she couldn’t be sure if they were ever getting any closer, if even going in the right way. Rize and Kara had been missing for nearly a year now… would their search ever end?

“MAN THIS WALK IS TIRING!” Don moaned loudly, as his feet trailed one step at a time up the hill towards the Guild. They had missed the last tram. “I can’t wait to get to the Guild and get some food… ugh… but that was some mission, huh?” Don suddenly perked up, throwing his body onto Atlas and Lute, pulling them in close. “You bros were pretty awesome! Sorry for the, er… suspicion earlier,” Don looked to Atlas, and then turning to Lute- “And, er… sorry for smacking you with that blobfish a hundred times.”

A smile formed on Estelle’s lips. Despite the uneasy worry that mission had caused… with friends like these it would be easier to ignore and forget what had happened.

And she couldn’t wait to have a shower and some dinner, either.

Abatheo: En route to the Guild

The message from Doctor Dream and the disturbing lab they had woken up in had done quite a bit to take the edge off of Dylan’s high - that and the strange lethargy that he probably wouldn’t shake till he had a night of proper rest - but he found the walk back to Abatheo to be peaceful enough. It was a nice night, after all.

“MAN THIS WALK IS TIRING! I can’t wait to get to the Guild and get some food… ugh… but that was some mission, huh?” Don said.

Dylan smiled at his Big Bro, watching as he apologized to the new Guilders who had worked with them. Lute had seemed a bit odd at first - he was still certain the man talked to himself - but he had been solid through it all. Coming up behind them, he clapped Lute on the soldier. “Hey, at least the blobfish thing was memorable. Maybe I should paint that someday...” He started to imagine it - Giant Mech Don wielding the blobfish, Lute plastered right on it’s flesh. “I’d call it The Deadliest Weapon.”

He grinned at the virtuoso. “Seriously, though, you did well. How about we get you some dinner when we get back to the guild?”

Abatheo: En route to the Guild
“Seriously, though, you did well. How about we get you some dinner when we get back to the guild?”

"And a drink," Moira butted in. "We definately need to get a drink down you. You do drink, right? Nobody fuckin' does these days."

"Leave him alone," Syed said, still chuckling a little at the thought of Dylan's painting. Like many of the others, he too was trying not to think about the disturbing situation they woke in. Or the worrying implications of how long they might have been trapped in there. He kind of blew up his machine in shock when he finally came around.

"Bah! You lot don't know fun if it hit you in the face." She shrugged towards Amy. Oh Amy, her ever faithful companion in the quest to drink anything they can get their hands on. She could always rely on her. Even if she did tend to not recognise drinks by their names very well.

Syed waved his hand dismissively at her, before turning instead to the person who walked beside him - Xan. "I don't know about you, but I'd be happy with just a cup of tea. The good stuff. What do you think?"

Abatheo:
En route to the Guild:

Aria grinned tiredly as she watched Lute be approached by various members of the Pride as they slowly trekked back towards Thaum. It was unfortunate that they had missed the last tram, but the night wind was doing wonders clearing up her grogginess- she had nearly tripped over her feet when she managed to get free of the gurney, and during the first few minutes of the trek had been sorely tempted to curl up on the pavement and sleep.

“Seriously, though, you did well. How about we get you some dinner when we get back to the guild?”

"And a drink, we definitely need to get a drink down you. You do drink, right? Nobody fuckin' does these days."

“If you’re going drinking, count me in.”

Aria quickened her pace a few steps, joining in the conversation before her mind could wander too far into the circumstances of their awakening. The mission had been hard on everyone, and she would prefer to have a nice dinner and a few glasses before thinking about the doctor and his demon again.

“I could use a good pick-me-up. And a long bath.”

Abatheo:
En route to the Guild:

"Hey Dellie, you okay now?" The virtuoso whispered to his friend and received an affirmative. In storybooks when you defeat an evil sorcerer the plague they have caused will reverse and the sickness will vanish from the infected. Lute wanted to hope that at least by defeating the Dream Eater's beta mode they were able to help out a few souls.

"Hey Atlas, you're going to The Red Parasol after this, right?" Lute shifted his gaze over to the dark-haired magician beside him and smiled. "Wow, I think I kinda envy you. The beds there are really soft- or at least that's what Lil says- and they won't let me sleep over unless I 'finally reveal' which part I like the most! What part of what? Cow? Chicken? Potato?" The virtuoso got caught up in his confusion and was now making animated gestures, when all of a sudden Don pulled them close.

“And, er… sorry for smacking you with that blobfish a hundred times.” Oh the trauma was once again rekindled. A bead of sweat trickled down Lute's forehead but he managed to smile widely. "N-no problem- Ohhhh it's you!" All at once the nervousness brought on by the memory was replaced by shock and... widespread blushing. "You're Don, right? You guessed the Dream Eater's weakness and t-totally pbh-lasted that arm off so cool, man! That thing- The Mech! It was a-awesome! Wow!" Lute gushed that and then some so Dellie made sure to mute his voice so that only the aforementioned praises reached the Bro's ears.

Dylan walked up and changed the topic. Lute craned his neck to look at the person who tapped him and eventually ended up peering over Don's shoulder. "Huh? Oh hey Dylan, right? That... I wasn't cool or anything... I kinda messed up at summoning a mega Bubbles..." He laughed timidly and scratched the side of his face. The virtuoso then refocused his eyes on the matter artist and added, "But changing the stage completely... That was great! It's really imaginative- I mean I wouldn't even be able to think of that but that's no wonder since I practically have no imagination ahahahaha... Ha. But dinner! Dinner would be nice! Let's eat when we get there!" Lute blushed yet again and stared at the road ahead as if he was trying to summon a new building sorely out of willpower, shaking his head when Moira extended the offer to go drinking.

"Yeah," Atlas nodded. "I feel ready to crash, so after we chow down I'll be heading back." Lute mentioned the Red Parasol and a cheeky grin lit up the magician's face. "Oh boy, you should sleep over sometime." Lute would probably turn several shades of red if he did, but heh, that would be interesting to see. "Y'know the soft beds aren't even the best part," his tone had turned mischievous. "You should see the girls--" before he could say more Don yanked them close and began apologizing for his suspicions.

Atlas tried to wriggle free. "As long as you don't crush my spine, we're all good." Being in such close proximity to a man he had only met recently wasn't exactly on his to do list. Now, if Don were a lady, well that'd be an an entirely different story.

Don and Dylan began to talk about the blobfish and he couldn't help but laugh a little at Lute's expression. The poor guy was probably going to remember that for a long time. He smacked the virtuoso and the shoulder and grinned. "Deadly, huh? Ruru would be proud." His gaze shifted towards Don and Dylan. "This little group of yours, it's really impressive and that mech, it was a job well done--wait did someone say a drink?" In a split second Atlas was gone.

"I would mind going out for a glass as well." He was beside Moira now, "would you ladies mind if I joined you for a drink?"




Dr. Dream was still out on the loose. They didn't know where he was or what he was planning next, and the only thing he had left behind had been an unsettling video.
While the others talked about dinner she was replaying everything over and over inside her head, so she was thankful when Syed broke the cycle of unpleasant thoughts.

She gave him a smile, "After that mission, a cup of tea sounds wonderful though a bite to eat doesn't sound bad either. I heard Abatheo made delicious cakes, might as well try some while we're here." The others began to discuss drinks and Xan laughed a little. "Don't drink too much, we still have some travelling to do."

While the others talked about drinking and eating, Lucien was in the need for sugar. He made his way towards Trixie and gave her a knock on the head. "Hey kid, you up for ice cream? It'll be my treat."

It was amazing how quickly everyone could bounce back. Xan gave Syed a grin then waved a hand in Lucien's and Trixie's direction. She wasn't one to ask for freebies but after that mission ice cream with tea sounded like a great combination. "Lucien, we'll take you up on that offer."

"Sounds sweet." The summoner laughed a little before giving them a thumbs up.

Abatheo: En route to the Guild

For Trixie, the entire trek back had been somewhat of an awkward boat. Everyone can admit to the killer combo she and Don had put forth during their final stride against the Dream Eater - blasting it to pieces and thwaking and slapping the monster silly. The others pitched in with their own fun additions, ridiculing the Eater further in its own world after all the pain and suffering it had caused them. Once it could not handle the pressure anymore, the battle ended, and the world went white.

Only for them to wake up in yet another laboratory. The third one in a single day.

The entire trek to the guild left Trixie walking close to Amy, holding onto the cleric's arm with both hands. Even Amy was disturbed (or probably just annoyed) from the uncharacteristic silence of the prankster, especially after all the spunk she showed during the final showdown. Amy would have offered to carry Trixie if her arms weren't as weak as sticks.

"And a drink!" Just that very word itself was enough to catch Amy's attention, shaking her out of what would have been an otherwise reflective journey. "We definately need to get a drink down you. You do drink, right? Nobody fuckin' does these days."

Still, it didn't stop Amy from laughing alongside Moira when she exclaimed about getting a drink. Her red-lipped smile lit up when Aria - and even Atlas - offered to join. "About time we have a round going. I've been dying for a drink all day."

After enough walking, the guild soon came into view. Amy was the first person inside, and only held the door open for a fraction of a second to look back at her drinking buddies. "You guys coming or what? I'm not going to wait." She then charged her way inside and made straight for the bar. Every competent guild had a bar. And sweet, sweet red wine.

Trixie on the other hand lingered behind, still unsure of what to make of the past events. She kept wondering back to what they had woken up to. That strange room, what they were strapped to, their nightmares on those screens...

Lucien quickly jarred her back to reality though, with a knock to her head. She nearly tipped over. "Hey kid, you up for ice cream? It'll be my treat." Xandra was quick to follow up.

Trixie grinned wide. "Ice cream! Ooh, ooh, maybe they'll have the same flavors as Los Paraisos...!" She began tugging on the summoner's sleeves, dragging him away from where the guild was. "Let's gooo! Oh wait. Lissa!" She waved with her free hand to the archer. "You're joining us too, right? Yeah? Doctor Dylan, you too? Superbro?"

Abatheo: En route to the Guild

Selan breathed a heavy sigh, rising a weary hand to her head. Seeing all the others enthused to drink together somehow only made her more exhausted from their journey from Dr. Dream’s lab back to Abatheo, and she wanted nothing more then a nice long soak and some sleep. She didn’t even feel hungry, her mind was far too nauseous replaying the nightmares she and the others had experienced, not to mention the chilling video the doctor had left behind. The others were rebounding well, but Selan, she…

“Oh, yes, I’m in!” Lisette hopped and skipped, racing after Trixie, Estelle and Xandra to the approaching Guild in the hopes of their being ice cream. Selan couldn’t possibly imagine how this was a good time for ice cream, but if it made the others happier, then all the better.



BAM

-rocked the double doors to the Guild, swinging inwards with a shaking clatter and introducing the entrance of Estelle and the rest of the Pride amidst hearty chatter. Being a large sized town, Abatheo’s Guild was similarly large in size, with a spacious lobby filled with wooden tables and stools surrounded by Guilders conversing, drinking and eating. Low music wafted from the jukebox in the corner of the Guild lobby to provide ambient background music, and Estelle automatically dashed to the built in, adjacent restaurant that served the delicacies and delicious dinners that Xandra had mentioned. But before she could even draw close to the restaurant, she was suddenly stopped by a loud voice calling her out from the Guild reception. Estelle’s feet screeched as she skidded along the shiny floor, almost tripping over herself and landing into a group’s table.

“Estelle Fenix?” A woman walked out from the secretarial booth, to cross the distance across the Guild to approach the Pride. The Secretary almost seemed to glide across the floor with how proper and refined she was, sauntering through the clutter of tables and passing Guilders without missing a step.

“Ah, Miss Fenix.” The Secretary’s face lit up with a smile upon confirming that it was indeed the person she recognised. “I managed to find through our records the information you were looking for. Clockwork Town Guilders Rize and Kara. They passed through Abatheo approximately five months ago. They had a meeting with our Guild Leader before leaving, I didn’t see or speak to them, and unfortunately our leader is away on a mission at the moment, but I have all the details here,” She passed to Estelle a sealed parchment containing all the relevant information. “It mentions where they said they were departing to next. I wish you all the best of luck in searching for them. And when you next see her, give my regards to Marise. Unfortunately I do not have the magical talents to regenerate your diamond necklace that can summon her sprite familiar, but you may be able to find another Guild secretary who can do that soon.”

“Thanks, Chloe! Sorry for all the trouble!” Estelle’s smile broadened wide, and the secretary returned the smile with one of her own and a shake of the head. It was no trouble at all. She then turned her attention to another member of the Pride…




“And Miss Marchand, here, I have a letter for you.” Chloe turned to the pig tailed girl, who took the sealed envelope with a measure of great surprise and curiosity. Kapi waddled around the Guilders’ legs, sniffing at Lute’s feet before briefly looking up at Syed, pondering in his usual manner how much of a nice perch his head would be. “It was delivered here with great haste and urgency, I believe,” Chloe continued. “From the Kingdom of Ritona. It’s a bit luckier, and more fortunate, that you all document your travels to the Guilds more officially, which made this letter easier. If only your own mission was as simple.”

“Ritona?!” Lisette gasped, tearing the envelope open and pulling the letter out as Chloe curtseyed and left the Pride to their devices. Lisette’s eyes moved from side to side, quickly reading the letter, her jaw dropping at the contents of the writing.

“It’s from my father. I… I have to go,” Lisette could hardly believe what she was saying. “I have to go back home, right now. Some important things have come up and… and I don’t have any choice.” Lisette frowned, her eyebrows twitching. Estelle looked to her and put her hand on her friend’s shoulder, reassuring her.

“Hey, Lisette, it’s okay. If it’s something important, we can all go with you, it’s not a problem,” Estelle started, but Lisette shook her head, her pigtails waving from side to side.

“No, no. It’s okay. This… this isn’t something massive that would need anything. It’s more personal then that. Although I appreciate it Estelle, really I do. You have your own mission to do, right? Deliver Largo’s letter! Me and Kapi will just be gone for a while… but we’ll finish this up as quickly as we can and then come rejoin you! I promise!”

Estelle nodded, and embraced her friend. “It’s a promise.”

Abatheo: Guild

"Ice cream! Ooh, ooh, maybe they'll have the same flavors as Los Paraisos...!Let's gooo! Oh wait. Lissa!" Trixie called. "You're joining us too, right? Yeah? Doctor Dylan, you too? Superbro?”

Dylan halted in place, a smile on his face. There was just so many choices! Dinner! Booze! Ice Cream! His mind, still a little bit addled by the Dream Eater, decided to combine all three ideas into one crazy-ass dinner, an ice cream float with beer instead of soda, and the entire thing was as large as his head. “Eh, I think not,” he said with a shrug. “We’re gonna grab some real dinner - unless you guys want to just grab the ice cream afterwards?”

He joined Lute and the others in the restaurant, mulling over the menu as they gathered round. The blobfish was still on his mind - did it ever even exist? - so he made a point to avoid the seafood. Finally settling on something simple, he looked up from the menu to see Lisette frowning over a letter. “What’s it say?”

He wished he hadn’t asked, as her revelation tore at his heart. “Oh, Lisette.” He listened in silence as she waved off Estelle’s suggestion that they go with her, that they travel to Ritona and help her however she needed, and the gracious way that Lisette declined it.


“I’ll hold you to that promise,” Dylan said as he got up to hug his friend. “And while you’re gone I’ll keep a sketch journal so that when you get back you’ll see everything we’ve done. How does that sound?”

Abatheo Guild
Ritona?

Well whatever it was, it sounded important. Syed cocked his head a little to the side, a look of sympathy on his features. He was sure if Sonny asked Moira to come back, she would in a flash too. As he would with his family... if his family knew where he was or who he worked for. He always made sure to cover his tracks when writing to his mother though, so they shouldn't know. Hopefully.

"Family is important," Moira shrugged, averting her eyes towards the secretary desk. Yeah. The most important thing on Ddaear.

"Family is very important," Syed agreed with a smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be back with us in no time." He bent over a little to allow the archer to hug him too. "In a way, we're all kind of like a family ourselves, aren't we?"

"Come on," Moira gestured him away and towards the bar. Best to leave the others to their goodbyes rather than just swarm the poor girl.

They soon sat down, and Moira promptly began ordering pretty much half the bar. "You hear that? Lizzy's leavin'," she added to Amy. She wasn't really paying attention to if the cleric actually reached the bar before the secretary got to the others, but whatever.

"I'll miss her," Syed sighed. "She's really good company."

"Ey, steady on, she's like, ten years younger than you." Moira was oblivious to the look of offense which flashed across Syed's features. "That said, if that magician guy was a bit older, I'd be up for some of that." She sighed. "What a guy."

"Moira! How many times- oh for goodness sake!" he threw his arms up in the air, before ordering himself a soda. "Forget it!"

The upbeat but somehow relaxing music made even Delilah fell better and Lute felt his familiar fade into silence. He looked over at the menu and mentally computed the amount of gald he might have to fork out tonight if he decided to buy meat dishes. Ah, screw it. He'd buy french fries. Lots and lots of french fries. Or was there boiled potato somewhere...? Thankfully there were a lot of cheap but fulfilling deals on the menu and Lute was practically swimming in indecision. It was hard choosing when everything was so affordable!

"Ah, um... Goodbye, miss Lisette," Lute awkwardly joined in on the farewells and he crouched down to give cute little Kapi a wave. After some time of sticking around the archer and her friends, the virtuoso finally gathered the cheek to step away; he didn't have anything to say and his presence in their tightly knit group might seem like a third wheel to some. So, he did what any hungry person would do and hovered near Lucien and Trixie.

"So, um... You guys are getting ice cream, right? Mind if I tag along?" He gave the summoner a timid smile and then shrugged. "Although Dylan's right. I think we should eat real food first before we go for the sweets." However, it seemed as if Lucien wasn't going to listen to him so the virtuoso just gave up. "Fine," Lute acquiesced as he crossed his arms over his chest, "But make sure to brush your teeth before you sleep and drink a lot of water! And come back to our table and order food, okay?"

That said, Lute glanced around for a table that could hold, like, how many people together and settled on one which was near the corner, but was not too obscured so that the ice cream lovers could see it once they get back from the soda fountain. He waited for Dylan to finish saying his farewells to Lisette, as he had heard earlier that the matter artist was going to eat dinner first, and then gestured to the table before jerking his thumbs towards their friends who left for sweets. "Agh, this is embarrassing. Thank goodness I'm not a waiter. Those people have it tough," Lute sighed as he plopped down on a chair and then propped himself up with his elbows.

"Suit yourself, Lute." Lucien gave the man a tap on the back, "we'll order some for you!"

The summoner began placing orders at a counter and the waiter passed him his orders. He passed a giant cup of ice cream to Trixie before giving another one to Xan, he then began balancing a tray full of different flavors. The others would like this, it'd be a treat!

Xan laughed a little at the several cups of ice cream. "Be careful."

"I will," he chirped, "now let's get these to the others." He made his way towards the tables. For some reason, everyone had began gathering around Lisette. "You guys hungry?" He slid the tray across the table before finally realizing just what everyone was talking about.

Lisette was leaving for Ritona. "Oh..." he didn't really know what to say, so he offered her a smile. "We'll definitely meet up with you when all of this is over, whatever it is, you'll be alright. I mean, you slayed a freaking demon." He shrugged a little then gave her a thumbs up. Travelling without Lisette or Kapi around, well, that'd be a little different. He hoped they would stay but he had to agree family was important.

"Stay safe, okay?" Xan gave the girl a smile then passed her one of the several glasses of ice cream.

Lucien waited for the others to grab a glass before he picked up the tray and headed towards Moira and Syed's table. "Boss, Syed? You guys hungry?"

Not too far from everyone Atlas was taking a sip from a glass of wine. He didn't want to interrupt them while they said their goodbyes, it simply felt too personal. He hadn't known them for very long after all.

Abatheo Guild

Selan watched with an arm folded over her side onto one hip as Lisette relayed the news of her letter, and the pressing need with which she had to return home to the Kingdom of Ritona, and Selan drew quiet, thinking intently as she watched the reactions of their friends around them, bidding Lisette fair well. Dylan promised to create a sketchbook of their adventures to show Lisette when she and Kapi returned, and the gesture made Selan smile, as did the other hugs and tears being left behind by Lisette’s friends, Estelle particularly. Selan raised a delicate finger to her lips… and nodded.

“Lisette, would you mind if I went with you?” Selan asked. Lisette’s head immediately turned to Selan, and her eyes lit up with delight and relief, before quickly shaking her head again.

“No, no it’s quite alright Miss Selan, I’ll be fine, seriously! You all have your own mission to follow, and this… this will be fine, I promise, and…”

Selan laughed. “It’s not just that I’m worried about you, Lisette. Although of course, I am. I just… I think I need a little break of my own.” Selan sighed wearily. “We’ve been travelling a lot together, and I’ve gotten stronger, I think… but you guys seem to always attract trouble wherever you go, and the trouble we end up getting into… even Paraisos was-” Selan stopped, flinching. She didn’t finish the sentence. “I’m not exactly built for all this running and fighting. I need a little break of my own, and I also need to get my thoughts together too. So this would be a nice relief for me. That is, unless you and Kapi wouldn’t like me to come?”

“Oh, oh no that’s not it at all!” Lisette frantically shook her head from side to side, her cheeks growing red with embarrassment. “Me and Kapi would… would… be honoured, Miss Selan!”

“Ha.” Selan smiled, patting Lisette’s head. Kapi waddled over to her from Lucien, and looked up with his own infectious smile. “I’m interested in seeing what Ritona is like myself, as well. And Estelle…” The songstress turned to her flame haired friend, who seemed on the verge of a full teary meltdown. “I promise you and everyone else that we’ll come back. Not to suggest Lisette can’t, but it’d probably be easier to return in a sensible time and not get lost if I was with her.”

“Yeah! Yeah that’s true, she- wait, what are you implying?” Lisette cocked her head in confusion. “You do know that to get to Ritona we have to go by airship, Miss Selan?”

Selan’s face immediately paled whilst Lisette tittered mischievously, as if Trixie’s antics had been rubbing off on her. Airships weren’t nearly as bad as traditional boats and seaships, but it was an experience she was now not looking forward to.



During the conversation, Don had been watching it all in silence, not knowing how to process Lisette’s departure. But then Selan spoke, and his face grew mortified at the words she spoke, contorting into an expression of intense pain. His jaw simply dropped.

“I-I-I-I’ll go with Selan and Sis too!!” Don’s hand suddenly outstretched high into the sky, his head lifted, eyes looking up at the ceiling. Estelle and everyone else spun with a shocked gasp. Marcus pushed his glasses up further along the bridge of his nose.

“Don?” Selan frowned. “You don’t need to. We’ll be alright, you know, and honestly I think-”

“I’VE MADE UP MY MIND!!” Don shrieked again, sweat dribbling down his face, his legs shaking and his throat swallowing a massive gulp. “T-t-to look after and protect Selan and Sis and make sure we all come back to Big Sis!!”

Selan sighed and shook her head, as the relief in Lisette’s smile grew wider and wider. She felt guilty about taking people away from Estelle and her mission, but she couldn’t deny being happy at having some of her friends want to accompany her. Selan meanwhile, felt like she could do with a break away from Don to collect her thoughts… about Neil Hunter, her past and nightmares, how she felt about Don himself too… but perhaps it would be for the benefit of him, too. Even if he did bounce around as if nothing had happened, he did almost die. They were perhaps fortunate their last mission was actually a dream. If it was real… Don might have actually died during it. Playing nursemaid would be aggravating but… she couldn’t bring herself to say no.

“BIG BRO?!” Trixie and Dylan both shouted in unison. “YOU… YOU CAN’T GO TOO!!!”

Don looked down at his friends from the corner of his eye, scrunching them tight and swallowing hard, inhaling a deep breath through his nostrils. He opened them wide again, smiling, and did an instantaneous spin across the floor to them both, skidding in front of the duo and Estelle, finishing in a terrific pose, sunglasses whipped out over his eyes, one hand over Trixie’s hair.

“Now, now, little missy, little bro. I’ll be gone for a short while… but I’ll always be here.” His hand left Trixie’s hair, stretching out one finger, pointed towards Trixie’s chest, and…

“In your hearts.”

The emotion was deafening.

“Whilst I’m gone though, you… you need to do me a favour!!” Don’s voice quavered. One hand continued to hold onto his glasses, his face doggedly pointed upwards to avoid looking at his friends. “You need to look after and protect everyone for me! You need to be… awesome and cool and strong! Okay?!”

“DYLAN!!”

Don suddenly span on the spot again, before suddenly stopping in another post, facing away from him, but with one hand outstretched and pointing to him. “You’re no longer Little Bro! From now on… now on you’re the Big Bro! And that means you have to look after Big Sis, and our other sises, and all of our other little bros! Like… like Light Bro! And Mage Bro! And Lucy Bro! And our new Little Bro too!”

Lute suddenly turned in confusion. He wasn’t talking about him, was he?

“BLOBFISH BRO!!!”

He was. Oh, poor Lute.

With a snap of his wrist, a pair of sunglasses appeared in his hands, given towards Dylan. Although the man looked confident and cool, there was still a slight shake in his hand. He then spun again, towards Trixie, this time surprising everyone to see that he looked different. He was now only in his red t-shirt, his leather jacket outstretched, handed towards Trixie, and…

“LITTLE MISSY! THIS… THIS IS FOR YOU!!” Don sniffled. “This is… this is really important to me! Really important! And so are you! And… and that’s why I’m giving it to you, to look after until I come back! As a promise between us!” Memories of the time they met in Tabul came flooding back into both of their minds. A mission that saw the two of them begin as enemies, and meet as total strangers, with Don looking out for and protecting her, supporting her and encouraging her to believe in herself. To be… “YOU’RE A SUPERHERO, TRIXIE!” Don continued to loudly scream. By now, of course, everyone within the Guild had their eyes on them, watching in disbelief. “YOU’RE MY SUPERHERO!!!”

The hearts and souls of brotherly… sisterly… superheroly… love could be felt by all. Everyone in the Guild echoed a unanimous “AWWW”.

“Don, please…” Selan shook her head, grabbing him by the ear and dragging him away towards the restaurant. “You’re making a scene. C’mon everyone. We and Lisette will leave tomorrow, but tonight… let’s have a party, yes?” She had gotten a second wind even from Don’s ridiculousness. “To friends. To each other.”

“Yeah, I-”

GURGLURGLE GURGLE

Lisette’s face turned red again.

“I’m feeling really hungry…”

Estelle took her and Trixie by the hands, and with the rest of her friends walked towards the restaurant.