"What...where am I?"
Jack blinked, looking around in absolute confusion at the black marble landscape he was laying in. The boy slowly stood up, then winced as he hit his head on the low ceiling. He was tucked away in some kind of nook, far too short for him. Crawling out, he surveyed his surroundings. It was dark...unbelievably dark. The only light, a sickly yellow hue, seemed to be emanating from cracks between the heavy marble blocks that made up the wall.
"What the hell...how did I get here? Ugh my head...feels fuzzy."
It was hard to concentrate, to focus. What was the last thing he could remember...bed...he was going to bed...right?
"You need to hide..."
Jack flinched, a yelp escaping his lips as he spun in place, trying to find the source of the voice.
"Kid, seriously, HIDE NOW!"
A scraping noise behind Jack caused him to freeze. The sound of metal on stone, and....giggling? The boy dove back into his nook, pulling his legs up to his chest and clasping his hands over his mouth to stifle his breathing. In the dim light, a huge shadow rolled by of some unimaginable shape, with what appeared to be sickles dangling off it's entire body clanking and scraping against the walls and floors. It paused, right where Jack had been standing, sniffing the air as the sound of giggling gurgled up from it's stomach area. Jack shut his eyes tight, shaking as he tried to keep from whimpering. The creature slowly plodded off, the giggling echoing around the marble before fading away in the distance. The boy realized he had been holding his breath, and let out a loud exhale, shaking as he huddled in the alcove. The voice that had told him to hide came back.
"That was close...what's your name?"
"W-who are you? Where am I, what was that thing?!"
"Slow down, one thing at a time kid. What's your name?"
"...Jack...my name is Jack."
"I'm Einz, and there's a few things you need to know right off the bat Jack. First, you're dreaming. But this isn't just any ordinary dream. It's a Nightmare, and one that won't let you wake up until it wants you to."
"A nightmare...what? How is that even..."
"Second, if you want to survive, you'll need to work with me. We can help each other."
"B-but it's just a dream..."
"You need me kid. I can help you, give you a fighting chance...but I'm gonna need to take something in return."
"....what do you need?"
Jack froze in absolute horror as the dim outline of a shadow, in the shape of a man, suddenly leaned into the nook, one hand reaching out towards his face.
"Something very special to you Jack. Something irreplaceable."

---

((For specifics about your first post, please read this post

It was hard to breathe.

Nathan sat up from his prone position, his eyes stinging, trying to process the information around him. It was a lot of green. A sickly shade of green bathed his eyes, and his nose burned slightly. He coughed, trying to stand up. Where the hell was he? He tried to wipe his eyes, to get a clearer picture. There were hills all around him, and dead trees dotted the landscape. The sky was an odd shade of grey. He tried to get a bearing on where he was, but as soon as he took a step, the ground shifted consistency, turning into a muddy slick.

"Augh, what the...?" he said, trying to free his foot from the sludge.

"Move..."

What? What was that voice? What the hell was it-

"Move... You have to get away! Please!"

Nathan looked down at the ground, which began to glow in a circle underneath him.

"Shit... Shit. Shit!" he yelled, desperately lifting his leg up from the mud. After some deliberation he managed to take a few steps backwards, onto solid ground. And just in front of him, the ground erupted as a large thorny vine sprung from the ground with a terrible croaking sound.

Nathan ran, away from the giant strangling thorn. He looked behind him, noticing more glowing circles appearing on the ground. He ran towards a building he had noticed nearby. Making his way inside, he closed the door behind him.

He found himself in a small wooden shack.

"What the hell was that..." he said aloud, to nobody in particular.

"Um... Are... are you okay?"

Nathan jumped, looking around the shack.

"Who's there? What's going on?"

"You're... having a n-nightmare right now... but... this is different. It's scarier. It wants to k-k-kill you..."

"Wait, hold on... kill me? What the hell is... and who are you? Where are you?"

Something suddenly appeared in front. It looked like a floating doll, with long black hair, one star-shaped blue eye, and one teardrop-shaped red eye. Its face was frozen in sadness. It was wearing a Japanese school uniform.

"My name is... Somnia. I... we need each other."

Nathan stared in disbelief.

"I need something... p-precious from you... and then... I'll help you survive."

Glass. An entire world made of fragile glass. This was what she awoke to -- in a dome of the black, precious material, that was. ...A dream? ...Yet, is was so vivid...? Forcing herself upwards, Eika mumbled as she rubbed her eyes and looked around. The ground looked to be made of transparent concrete from the looks of it -- no end to the black abyss below, yet cracks all throughout of it as if someone had taken a sharp object and slammed it into the ground again and again. The first step taken echoed before her -- the gaping hole to the side of the dome expanding out without logic or reason into a stained glass hallway. This place was like a dream...One so easily broken that it frightened her to be here just on the basis of what would happen if she hit something a little too hard. Would it all shatter? Would it become nothingness, dragging her down to an eternity of thoughtlessness and shattered concepts?

Ę̵͖̻̻͓̜͂̊ͤ̔̓ͨͪͯͅṿ̵̥͚̠͚̠̘̐̄͑ͮ̅͆ͭͧ̃eͨͬ͡҉̵̗̥͙̰ŗ̼̤͗̂ͣͬ̊̈͂́̕y̙̱̟̞̩̾̀ͤ̑ͩ͑ͩͤ͌̕͡ṫ̡͉̫̣ͤ̅̃̔ͩ̊͟h̷̥̑̋ǐ̛͔̠͎͉̪̙̩̽̅̈̀n̸̨͔͈͉̦͇͕̣̜͙ͨ̔͟g̐̉̏̈ͮ҉̥ ̨͙̬͉̤̲͈̞̳̌̓̐̔̈́̇̔̿ị̢̙̹̗͉̜͖̲̉̋͋ͫͩͨͤ͟s̡̻͚̦̖̙͚͖ͮ̈ͩ͆ͪͪ̂͢͞ ̴̧͍̥̳͚̈͒b̡͙̻̮̱̍ͬͪͤͪ̊ͥȑ̢̖͖̘͙̭̼̖̬̼́̚e̡̧̘̼̭̗̞̮̼͒͆͊͒̑à̏ͮ͠҉̘͍̻͍̜̩ḳ̷̱͊̃͞i̷͍̖̔̔͌ͦͭ̅̾ͪͫǹ̗̤̭͋̈̄̊ͧ͘̕g̺̠̝͉̗̻̝̿̔̑͌̈̅ ̲̲̱͈̟͖̺̞̎̅a͖̙̫͙̪͙̮͂̆͐̆̊̿g̴͎̙̙̳̻̦ͦͪ͌ͅa̭̭̫̖̘̎̏ͯͤ̑̉͟͞i̶̡͎̮̯͇͖̰̘͕͎͊́̔ͫ͊͒n͉̱͎̫͖̲͇̍̉͊͌ͅ.̻̳̗̰͈̹̠̬̔̓̾͠ͅ.͖̞̱̣̙ͪ̑͜.̴͕̟̥͈̤͂̌ͪ̏̈́͛̂͑́

Her eyes widened at the sound of a voice -- no...voices. She stopped in her walking as she looked around to find the source. It sounded as if a choir had began to scream, speak, and whisper all at once to create a sickening cacophony of the words. ...And yet, as she was about to continue onward-

CRASH.

The walls around cracked, random holes coming to existence from the shatters as a scream ripped out further down the seemingly endless halls. What in the world could cause such a terrible noise and aftereffect?... She wanted to go back to the dome that she'd woken up in now, but when Eika turned back...

It was gone as well.

Was it a trick of the eyes?...Or was something-

ђเ๔є.

Hide?...Where was she supposed to hide?! Why was she supposed to hide?...She looked around, running over to one of the holes that had been made, and turned towards the other "end" of the hallway, where she could now see...Ah?! A single hand raising out from the ground...Then eyeballs. Oh god...So many eyeballs. She choked on a scream, panic rising in her demeanor.

ςгคฬl เภ. ๔๏ภ't l๏๏к ๒คςк, ๔๏ภ't lเรtєภ t๏ คภץtђเภﻮ ץ๏ย ђєคг. tђเร קlคςє เร Ŧยll ๏Ŧ lเєร. ןยรt кєєק ςгคฬlเภﻮ.

....Keep crawling? Even though there was no ground? ...She contemplated to thought for a singular moment before she saw at the rising mass...a maw. Thousands upon thousands of jagged glass -- "teeth" they could be functionally called, from the looks of things. ...And then that ungodly chorus rang out.

Å̧͈̜̬̏͗͠ ̣̱̠̯̦͎̹̳͉͂͂̈̓̽̕v̷̙͈̳͎̬̝ͧ̋ͅiͮͥͫ̑́̈͏̹͙͖͖̼ͅs̺̣͇͍̄͜i̴̸̫̳̲̯̠ͮ̈́̏̓͑̃ͧ̏ͭt̹͉̠̣̹͊̄͢o̶̶̩͙̣̲̼͊̈́̓r̶̳̞ͨ͂̅͊̈̒͋̄͡!̥͈̼̝͖̖̣̔̄́̀ ̌̿̌̋͆̀ͥ̚͠҉͇̺̜ͅI̘̾̿͂̽̐ͨ̏́ ̨̡̛͔̬̙͓̥̓̑ͨ̉̏̇ͅc̵͕͛ͥ͒̂͂̄a̴̳͍̰̼͇̺̪̺̩̎̈̀̈́n̞̮̱̲̟̤ͭ̀'̵̽ͩ̃̏ͭ͊̽͏̸̤͈̜͚̮̯͓t̙͚ͭͧ̔̆ ̗͔̲̩͊͒ͮ́̉͟W̺̖̣͒̆͋̋̍͆̆A̡͈̘͙͓̰͕̯ͥ̽̊͆̎ͧİ̝͕̣ͯ͊͛̓ͪͨ̂̀T̯̙̼̻͋͡ ̞͐̒̅͆̊t̥̱̳͈͇͎ͧ̋̽̑͊ͥ̿́ͧ́͘͢o̡̨̦͉̮̱̠̱ͪͫͬͫͨͩ͠ ͗͛̈̔̂͂̽͞҉̫̹̻̬͖s̜̹̭̞̝͍ͤ͗͛ͭ̍̿̊̂͘i̅̅̾̈ͮ͜͠҉̺̹n̠̬̤ͥ̑̊͒͂͜͞k̦͉͕ͧ̓̐̊̾͋̈́ ̘̮͕̹̞̮̯̋̋m̧̡̠̯͙̮̺ͮ͛̑͑ͥ̿ͭ͛̀y̢̡̞̦̳ͣ͌͢ ̣̺̒ͥ͗ͨͅt̛̻̰̖̮͎͍͎͂̃̉ͫ͗̐ͤ͊͠ẻ̴̙̒ͣ͊̏̽́̾́̚͜e̩̝͔͕͎̽̽ͥ̋ͥ̿̈́̀͠ͅt̷̡̛̘͔͕͈͎̮͉ͤ͌̔͌̆ͩ̄ͮͅh̸̢̯̦̦̞̜ͭͮ̌ͧͭ̅̋̏ ̶̨̟͙̈͛̓̀̐͜i̅͂̎̎̕͏̠͚̼͕̻͉n̊̃̒ͬ̈̚͏̭̥͇̝͘ṯ͈̙̱͉͚̐͋͐ͥ̀̃͘ỏ̸͈̺̮̠̘ͥ͒̈͗̚ͅ ̳̝ͣ̆ͪͬ̇ͣ̒t̞͖͈̣̘̼ͪ̅ͥ̃́̒̚͝͠h̿ͦ̍ͦ͋̐ͥ͏̭͉̞̰̘̘̫̭͘ë̡̹̲̠̱́͐̊̊̂ͥ̐̓͘m̱̻͚̋͐ͪ͂͟͝!̠̤͎̮͍͕̽̈́̾́

...Chances being taken. She threw herself into the hole, shocked to find her body meet solid ground though her eyes betrayed nothing, and promptly began to crawl, crawl, crawl away as quick she could in order to get to the end. That end being?

...Strangely enough...A glass box on the outside, a white room on the inside. When she forced herself out of the small crawlspace and into the area, she looked around to try and get a grasp on what was going on. This...was a dream? A pinch of the arm made her flinch, then had her eyes widen in shock. Dreams were not felt. ...And yet, she felt pain. A shiver ran through her spine until she noticed something before her -- a figure. Neither male, nor female, it came into further existence as glass seemed to explode from its outline. It was...a fox? A small one at that, far too tiny to be what could be speaking to her-

"tђเร เร ץ๏ยг Ŧเгรt tเ๓є ђєгє, ς๏ггєςt?"

...Well, of course, until it spoke and completely negated her previous thoughts. A small nod followed through until she parted her lips and spoke out in kind. Let's...let's hope this little fox knew something.

"Y-Yes. I'm...Eika. Who are you?...What are you?"
"...คєtђєг. เ ค๓ ςคllє๔ คєtђєг. ץ๏ย คгє เภ tђє ภเﻮђt๓คгє ฬ๏гl๔. ...tђเร קlคςє เร ภ๏tђเภﻮ ﻮ๏๏๔. ...ץ๏ย รєє๓...รςคгє๔."
"Well...Well, yes. I'm scared. I'm in a place where...Where even my own eyes are lying to me. I'm only here because you told me to keep going when there was nothing there to catch my fall in my eyes. I don't...understand what the Nightmare World is...but...How do I get out?"

A moment of silence.

"...ץ๏ย ๔๏ภ't."
"...W-What?..."
"ץ๏ย ςคภภ๏t єรςคקє. ץ๏ย ςคภ ๏ภlץ ђ๏קє t๏ ฬคкє ยק ๒єŦ๏гє ץ๏ย ๔เє เภ ђєгє. t๏ ๔เє ђєгє ๓єคภร t๏ ๔เє เภ tђє ฬคкเภﻮ ฬ๏гl๔."

...Dying in the dream made you die in reality...?! This...This should be a joke. Should be some sick, twisted prank. But there was nothing that could make THAT out there come to life. Make this happen. Make her shake from how scared she was becoming. ...And Aether could see it. From the miniature version of his...her?...its body, a larger, matured version of the fox leapt from its floating position in the air and it lowered its head to allow its gaze to meet her own.
"คгє ץ๏ย...คŦгคเ๔ t๏ ๔เє?"
What form of a question was that?!
"Y-Yes, I'm very scared...I-Is there anything I can do?"
The fox stopped for a moment, not one but...several tails brushing past her skin as it circled around her. Thinking? That must have been such. It was thinking.
"...เ ςคภ...ђєlק. ...๒ยt...เ ภєє๔...ร๏๓єtђเภﻮ Ŧг๏๓ ץ๏ย. ร๏๓єtђเภﻮ...tђคt ץ๏ย ςคภภ๏t гєקlคςє. ร๏๓єtђเภﻮ tђคt ץ๏ย ς๏ภรเ๔єг...קгєςเ๏ยร."

What was something precious?

Opening his eyes, he noticed that everything around him was dark, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to 'wake' up, it didn't help.
"Hah, a dream huh? Alright then, but this dream seems a little, ominous" he thought to himself.

Then he hears a clang and noises that seemingly get closer to him.

"Hey you, funny looking kid, Hide." said a voice.

"Who are you calling funny? Hide? Why?" he asked it as he get up from his sleeping position, and streches.

"I am calling YOU funny, but for now hide cause something coming for you, I'll answer your questions later"

Heeding the warning of this mysterious voice, he gets up, feeling a stinging pain and stifling a cry of pain, he hid behind this wall that looked like it was about to break, a creature, unimaginable terror, Johns eyes opened widely. The creature was twice the size of a human and had human features, but anyone could tell, this creature wasn't human. It turned around and John hid behind the wall, heart racing faster. He then look back and sees that 'it' disappeared.

Asking around "Weird voice in my head, you still there?"
"That was close kid, almost got turned into mince meat ey? Haha" he replies.

John then sees a shadowy figure sitting on a tree, it asks
"Be grateful I saved your hide. Whats your name?

John replies, "Let me ask you the questions this time, I already listened to your warning, what was that?"
Even though the figure was all shadow, he noticed a grin forming on its face "Got a bit of spunk do ya? Haha, alright then, Those things are what roam this world, I think they wanna kill ya. Thing is, you're dreaming, and no it's not a normal dream, its a nightmare and those things can actually kill you"

"What? No way I can believe that" John says with wide eyes.
The figure shrugs "Believe what ya want, I am only telling the truth here. Anyway kid, what's your name, mine's Cledereux, i am a spirit here. Well, this might be awkward, but we need each other to live in this god forsaken world"

"Ah, my names John Marrow. What do you mean we 'need' each other?" he replied.
"I can offer you an edge, not power, just something that might JUST help you live in this world, but I need something precious in return." He says ominously.
"What do you mean by precious?" John asks
"Well something that you hold dear, part of a body maybe? I notice that you're a painter, I can take your left arm haha." he replies in a cheerful tone.
"But I use this to paint in the real world, I need this arm!" He says shrewdly.
"Don't worry, it'll be back there in the waking world, you won't feel it, but it'll be there."
"Well, maybe if you can tell me that 'edge' that you can give me" John says.
"Alright, you cheeky kid, I'll give you 3 pieces of paper everytime you come into this world" He replies to the kid.
"What? That's it? What can these pieces of paper do?" he asks
"Well, with whatever you can muster to draw with that right arm of yours, it'll come alive, well only inanimate objects."

Putting his right hand on his chin, he thinks, "This power might help me live."
"Alright old man, I'll take this deal of yours." He shouts to the shadowy figure on the tree.

"Hey I am not old, but alright. Don't regret this kid."

Light blonde hair floated as though suspended from gravity, and Argo sure as hell felt that way. Weightless, he seemed to be floating along the empty streets of a much too crowded town. Buildings towered over him, the sense of weightlessness also seeming to be in place among the skyscrapers as though only gravity could bring them topping over. "This is nice," mused Argo, his green eyes searching as he made his gentle way throughout the streets. "Very peaceful."

"Oh~! You're so cute!"

Argo paused mid step, his hair falling over his eyes as his shirt rustled over his chest. The voice had echoed from everywhere but yet...had a wholeness about it. "Thank you," cheerfully answered the petite young man before asking in an almost sing-songy tune- "Who are you?" The sound of childish giggles surrounded him in the same haunting echo. It cut off short and Argo called out, his voice barely matching the echoes, "Hello~?"

"If you find me," replied the voice, softer, much more devious, "I'll let you know. And you better do it quick~"

There was a sort of urgency in her voice that spurred something in Argo, and soon he was searching the large buildings, running through streets. His eyes caught a glimmer of movement, and with eagerness he followed suit, bare feet slapping against hard ground. Argo slowed as running became harder, his lungs closing up. Frantic, his eyes searched for the faceless voice, heaviness filling his body until one last step caused the ground beneath him to crumble.

A breathless yell escaped his throat as he reached for something, anything to hold on to. Grabbing onto the side- the end of the city- he gasped, choking on air. What was that? What the heck was that? The sound of creaking from up above caused Argo to cautiously raise his dimmed eyes, cracks on the towering buildings evident even from the distance. "Ungh," grunted the boy as he fought to pull himself up, reaching past the cliff and barely nicking a toe before the buildings collapsed into an abyss.

Cold sweat sent shivers down to his spine as he backed away from the edge leading to nowhere, his breathing ragged and sore. "Hah, hah," he panted, trying to articulate words of distress, "Fucking...what...hah...the..."
"Congratulations!"

Argo jumped as smoke shot past him, collecting to a weak image of a rather attractive woman. Her face seemed to change the whole time, each more attractive than the last, but they were all similarly motherly in a sense. Wispy hair floated about her face, disappearing as it trailed away, much like smoke. On her lips were a smile too wide for her face, with teeth that were too large and too straight. She barely could form a body but made up for it in the eagerness of her attitude- "Oh that was close, that was much too close," cooed the woman as she came closer to Argo who had just backed away instinctively, "I seriously thought you were a goner~! Come on, don't be like that, I promise I won't hurt you~,"

"What... Who?" asked Argo, barely, as he caught his breath. Coughing, he asked again, "Who are you?"
"Couldn't you tell~? I am Uego, your hero."
"My...? Oh, sorry," Argo apologized at the look on Uego's face, clearly demanding an introduction from him as well. "I'm Argo. Your damsel in distress."
"Oh how lovely~! You know, you could've died earlier. Aren't you glad I saved you~?"

Deciding to play along, Argo pulled himself up to an upright sitting position. "Yeah, thank you. Uhm. Eugo-"
"It's Uego! YOo-GO!"
The shout released a small jump from the teen and he coughed, quick to apologize with a smile. "Right, right, uhm, so... is this real right now?"
"Of course it is! You must be so scared being in a Nightmare all by yourself~, but you know I can help you right~? Because you're so cute~"
Wait what? A nightmare? "Uhm," started Argo, wanting a continued explanation. Like, what? Was he dreaming? Usually an adrenaline rush from earlier was enough to wake him up, so either the world suddenly changed or this was a really, really vivid dream.

"Up up up," shook Uego's head as her arms reached to cradle Argo's. The touch sent shivers, cold sweat trickling behind his ears. Uego whispered playfully, "Before I help you, why don't you go ahead and sing me a song~?"

'Unnh...?'

Azalea opened her amber eyes, peering around the room cautiously as she tugged her blankets closer to her body. Something had woken her up, something... wrong. But the room was dark, impossibly dark, so she would wait until her eyes adjusted before she went to turn on the light. Weren't your eyes normally adjusted while you slept? 'Oh well.'

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECHHHHH

She pulled her blanket over her head, trying to block out the sound. After what seemed only a moment, the nails-on-a-chalkboard sound disappated and left her surroundings utterly silent. She peeked one eye out from the confines of her blanket, hoping to be able to see something.

Her surroundings weren't dark anymore, and instead an eery red light dimly illuminated the walls of where ever she was. The room was spherical and incased in countless shining gossamer threads, as if she was inside a hallowed out ball of thread. It was hard to tell where one thread began and another ended.

"Haha, is somebody playing a joke with me? What is this? SUPPPERRRR funny guys, you got me!" Azalea laughed, crinkling her nose up as she tried to push her blankets off of her. A rank smell hit her nose, decay and... blood? "Ugh! Gross, what is that? You guys didn't put a dead fish in here with me did-" Her words were choked out as her heart leaped to her throat. A disembodied head was in her blankets, the eyes and mouth frozen in such terror that she had a hard time really understanding what was happening. It's hair was weaving into her blanket... Her blanket....

She looked at her blanket more closely. It was made of... of... "Oh my god!" Struggling to free herself from that awful thing was harder than hell, but she finally made it after discovering several more terror stricken heads. She turned around in a frantic circle, looking at the room more closely. There, an eye gleaming from beneath the shining threads, there the ashen cheek of another. The entire place was made of... She doubled over and wretched, but nothing came out as she gagged breathlessly.

"You'll end up like them."

A voice, a voice like a young boy...? What would a child be doing here? She wiped her mouth off with the back of her hand and peered towards where she heard the voice coming from. "Where are we? No, no nevermind that. I wont hurt you, just come out so we can leave this awful place!" She called out, walking slowly towards where she had heard the boy's voice coming from.

"She ate them. She's coming for me next."

Azalea stopped dead in her tracks. What was this kid talking about? "Ate? Wh... what are you talking about? Don't worry, I'll make sure whoever did all of th...this," She breathed in deeply in an attempt to stop her stomach from lurching before continuing. "They can't hurt you. I wont let them, okay?"

"Ohhhhh really?" The boyish voice suddenly turned deeper and more sensual as it breathed into her ear. Her shoulders hunched up against her ears reflexively and she jolted back. Shooting a furtive glance over her shoulder showed her that nobody was there. But she had definitely felt hot breath against her ear just a second ago.

When she looked back in front of her, she had to restrain the urge to leap back. A boy, probably three or four years younger than herself, was standing in front of her. He was small, fragile almost, with pale skin and violet colored hair that hung messily around his face and neck. His eyes... they were red. Besides his eyes, something else about him seemed really weird, but she couldn't think about that right now. She grabbed his hand and leaned down so she could speak with him face to face. "I'm Azalea, but my friends call me Azzie okay? Do you know the way out? What's your name?" She spoke softly. His hand felt so small in her own. Something about him made her want to protect him.

"Oh, Azzie, I was so scared." His boyish voice trembled as tears formed in his eyes, "P-please get me out okay?" He threw his arms around her neck and hugged her tightly. She felt her own eyes well up, but shook it off. She couldn't - wouldn't - imagine what he had seen happen here. "I'm Orion." His voice was soft in her ear as he snuggled his face into her hair. "Where is the way out?" She murmured, picking him up easily with an arm underneath him and standing to her full height as he clung to her. "Over... over there!" He said, lifting a long strand of her hair and waggling it to her right.

She followed where he was directing and there was an arched opening in the sphere that hadn't been there before. Heads hanging from their hair decorated the arch and she hurriedly placed her hand over his eyes. "D-don't look anymore, alright Orion? Just lay against my shoulder and close your eyes. We're getting out of here." She felt him nod against her hand and snuggle back into her hair. She took a deep breath and took long, determined strides to the archway, refusing to look at the macabre ornaments.

Outside of the gossamer sphere, she found herself standing in the middle of an intersection at what appeared to have been a very busy street. Cars, buses, motorcycles, all of them appeared to have been abandoned where they sat. She looked up at the skyscrapers lining the road, but she couldn't tell where she was. Some big city somewhere. New York, maybe? From the corner of her eye, she saw a blurry mass of darkness skittering across the road to her left, then just as suddenly a bus was hurtling through the air. She opened her mouth to scream, but her legs reacted faster than her mind. She ducked back into the sphere she had come from just as the bus crashed into the pavement where they had been.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECHHHHH

Above the noise of bus colliding with pavement, that nails-on-chalkboard sound reverberated throughout. Every sound was deafened in comparison to it, and when it ended the world was silent with awe. She felt something shaking against her chest, and she realized she had been shielding Orion with her body. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?!" She tried to sit up, but his grip was surprisingly strong against her hair. 'He's too afraid to let go.' She placed one of her hands over his own where it gripped her hair, and took the other to brush his hair out of his eyes so she could reassure him. Staring back up at her though... His red eyes were gleaming with mirth as he looked into hers, and he was shaking with laughter, not fear?

"Let's make a Pact, Azalea Crowe." The voice that came from his lips wasn't boyish anymore, it was the deeper, more sensual voice from earlier. "W..what... Orion, what's wrong with you? Did you hit your head?" She couldn't believe that he could change his voice like that. Maybe her ears were damaged from that loud sound? Something about her questions set him into more laughter, thankfully it was the high pitched laughter of a boy once again. Surely her ears were playing tricks on her. What happened next though, she hadn't been expecting.

He pulled on her hair, bringing her face down to meet his and he kissed her deeply. She was too stunned, his kiss was too assertive, for her to react. When he pulled away, his eyes were glittering devilishly, looking like they belonged to somebody much older than what Orion could be. "I want whatever is Precious to you, and you want to protect me... right? Let's make a Pact. She'll be here soon if you don't hurry, and she's awfully angry at me." His voice was boyish again but it rolled suggestively in just the right places to make her heart flutter.

She shook her head, reaching up to slap herself across her cheek. 'What the hell is this kid on about?! God, am I a pedo now?!' Without warning, the room started to shake, countless threads quivering and snapping as the entire top half began to tear off from the rest of the sphere. Hundreds of heads began to fall from the ceiling as the roof was thrown away. "Jesus!" Azalea huddled back over Orion, clenching her eyes shut in preparation for the pain.

"I can do at least this much, silly human." Orion's voice... but it sounded weak? Like he was in pain? Azalea opened her eyes just in time to see a head rebound off of an invisible force-field incasing her and Orion. She flinched back, bonking her head against the roof of the force field. "OWfffff" She rubbed her head. "Please don't do that, Azzie. I need to focus on the shield." His voice was ragged now, his skin even more pale, if that was even possible. She bit her lip, considering the situation. "Fine, fine, I'll do this Pact thing with you if you stop hurting yourself!" She muttered, glaring at another head that hit the shield and bounded off.

Orion's eyes shone brightly, actually shone like a flashlight, casting a red sheen over them both. "Promise to give me your most Precious thing and I'll take us away from here, where we can be alone." Azalea frowned, then opened her mouth to scold him, but was beaten to the chase. "Not like -that-, Azzie! Wait, unless you want to - no no, focus. Your. Most. Precious. Thing. What is it?" His voice got deeper again as he spoke, wavering between child and adult.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECHHHHH

Above them, a million eyed monstrosity loomed, it's body was suspended by eight impossibly long legs as it hung where the roof once was. Fortunately, it was too big to reach them - yet. It tore at the sides of the broken sphere ferociously, all of it's eyes focused on it's prey below: them. "This... this can't be real! That's a spider! A gigantic fucking spider. Like Harry Potter on steroids sort of spider. Oh my god. I have to be dreaming." Azalea breathed heavily, her eyes and mouth opening wide in terror.

"Hurry Azzie! We need to go, now!"

"Damnit! I can't think of anything else "precious" to me other than running!" Azalea shouted hoarsely, slamming her fist against her leg.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECHHHHH

The world was silent again. She hadn't realized she was closing her eyes, but she opened them to see that it was just her and Orion, alone, in the middle of a endless field of daisies. The scene was so starkly different from where she had been before that it was hard to believe anything before had happened, except... Orion was here.

"We will make a Pact now, Azalea Crowe."

The first, rather random thought Margaret had was 'oh great, someone again left the rotting rabbit in the cutlery cupboard'. The second was 'oh great, our flat got flooded again', because, as she came to, she could very distinctly feel water around her naked ankles. It would not be the first time. Only then, other things began to register. Like, the fact that, for some strange reason, she was standing in cool, sticky liquid. She blinked few times, trying to make anything out in the dark, but only vague shapes were visible. There was some kind of light, a yellow-green unnaturally tinted with red, but it seemed to have n source.

Confused and liking the situation less and less by the seconds, Margaret turned around, making the mistake of disturbing the not-water she stood in. Immediately, a heavy, suffocating stench rose into the air, clogging girl's nose and throat with vile, oily taste. She stumbled forward, gripping blindly for the way, while her stomach convulsed. The smell was getting ten times worse with every step, and soon whatever illumination the eerie greenish light provided was blurred by the tears that pushed themselves to her eyes. Finally, her hand met the wall. And the wall, cold and slick, shuddered under her fingers.

SHe didn't realise she was screaming and running until she lost her balance, and fell face first into the stinking liquid covering the floor. It tasted even worse than it smelled, and between the coughing, spitting and frantic scrubbing her face, Margaret did everything she could not to think about where it could come from, and trying to hold back tears at the same time. She wanted to go home

"You must be new around here..." a scratchin voice said suddenly right next to her ear, each consonants unnaturally mechanical. The girl scrambled away, another scream getting lost somewhere between sharp inhale and small hiccup, but the area around her was empty, as much as she could tell in the overwhelming shade.

"Who is there?!" MArgaret squeaked, not caring how she sounded. She tried looking around for the owner of the voice, but without result.

"Well, soon it will be again only me if you don't keep it down." the voice sounded somewhere between amused and irritated. "You really are not the sharpest tool, are you."

"SHUT UP!" she screamed properly this time, covering her ears and squeezing her eyes shut, but even despite that she heard a distinct sounds of someone walking through the liquid, splashing it loudly without much care. Clearly coming this way, too

"Now you've done it, I hope you're proud of yourself." voice scoffed, and Margaret could almost see it turning its head away with a huff. She scrambled to her feet, no longer caring for the smell, and began running. Somehow, she could tell the voice was still following her, even if it was silent for the moment.

She run for too long to remember, bumping into walls, falling over and getting up again. While passive at first, after some time the voice began giving small hints - left now, centre at the nearest crossroads, duck or leave your head on lowered ceiling. It didn't seem to care, exactly, but Margaret was not going to say a word to any help she could get in this horrible place.

Still, no matter how long she run, and how well she followed the voice's directions, whatever was after her seemed to get closer with every moment. Finally, completely out of strength, she fell against a wall, breathing heavily. She could tell the voice was hovering near by. The walls were now trembling with each step of the incoming assailant.

"I guess that's it, then." the voice sighed, clearly disappointed. "Damn pity, it was most fun I had in ages. This place is bound to get boring again..."

"Wait" the girl managed to cough out, fighting to get her breathing under control. "If you know this place so well, can you help me get out? You have to know some way!"

The voice hmmed, as if considering. "Well, there is a certain way, but I'm not sure. It would take a lot out of me..."

Margaret's head shot up, in direction the hesitant words were coming from. "Oh god, can you really help me? Please, just take me away from here, and I'll do anything you want."

"Oh, I don't know, I mean, I would be the one doing all the work. No payment, no compensation... I would need something in return, to make it up for the effort." If she was in better state, or even really listened to the voice, Margaret could perhaps tell that it filled with tension at the last words. Like something great depended on the next answer, even if the words themselves contradicted it.

"Anything! Anything you want, just take me away from here and from that thing!"

"Then we have a deal!" The voice announced with unholy glee. "My name is Sardhed, and my price is something I can't find here. Something meaningful. Something big. What will it be?"

She has been here before. Oh, yes she has.

What is this corridor lit by candles; an orange glow flickering with giggling naughty intent, what is this place that smells of lilacs, lavender and lust? A nervous toss of raven hair over a bare shoulder, wispy ends tickling at her neck, but oh, she wishes that it was not her own hair ticking her there.

She has been here before. Oh, yes she has.

Bare feet, pale on top yet dirty like a hidden desire underneath bring her along the dusty dark corridor. She skips along, a single hand tracing along the grooves between the bricks of drab concrete. That single hand holding two fingers extended, aching and trembling to trace the groove of another kind.

She has been here before. Oh, yes she has.

White teeth, just the top ones, bite hard down upon a pink lower lip as noisy breath exhales from her nose and throat, hot and ragged; oh but anticipation makes her heated and, oh so tingly! Her breathing intensifies, breasts heaving up and down neath her night shirt, short, but muscular legs bringing her along, a hip bumps out with each step. There is moisture in the air, thick and unbearable just like the throb neath her rainbow tie-dyed shirt. The candles flicker suddenly as she lets out a gasp.

The smell of the lilacs, lavender, melting wax, dust and desire overcome her when she sees the other girl standing in front of her. They had been planning this for months. They had been plotting their escape from their homes and daily lives just so they could be together.

Alone. And in love. And deeply entranced by each others scent.

Tamara Jane rushes the other girl, strong arms out extended, mouth already opening, lips and tongue ready to taste a love unlike any other she will ever know.

The instant they touch and Tamara Jane is already bursting at the seams with pleasures and ecstasy aroused in her like she had never ever known. The embrace is strong. The kiss is stronger. The heat from the explosion of what happens next--

---

--is complete and utter agony. She can't look away. She just can't. She knows the other girl's name. She knows those eyes. Those bulging eyes. Those eyes panic-stricken and desperate to keep living. There is no sound coming from the mouth of the thrashing tan-skinned girl; only the crazed froth and spittle that makes it past her tongue and lips.

The hands at the neck of the dying girl. Those rainbow painted tipped nails... she know they belong to her. And behind them, the candles have been knocked over, the lilacs are mouldy and baren, the lavender is being eaten by fat, bulbous wet worms and the the desire... the lust... it is painted upon the walls in streaks of wet brown and red. Fire catches a stray cloth. There is no desire nor lust.

Only murder.

Murder.

Murder.

“You're killing her! You're killing her!!!! Stop it! STOP!!!!”

The owner of the rainbow painted fingertips still shakes and throttles the dying girl, the oh so once, beautiful and... loving...? dark eyed girl. Yes, she is killing her. Admit it, TamTam, it's you that's killing her!

“I have to! I have to!!!”

“No. No you don't... listen to me. Tamara Jane. TJ. TamTam. Tamsie-girl... listen to me... you don't...”

Sky blue eyes, that she knows she owns, scans around desperately, but the terrible sight everything on fire and the sight of a lovely, lovely victim still fills her vision.

“I have to! Doncha understand,” says her own voice, tinny and distant, but filled with burning frustration and high-pitched desperation nonetheless, “she's leaving me! She just can't leave me!!! Doncha' understand!!!! I have to! I have to ki--”

“No. No you dont... say it with me. Tamara Jane. TJ. TamTam. Tamsie-girl say it with me...”

“What do you want?! There's nothing left for me to say?! She's gonna leave me--”

“She is still here. Say her name. Say it and she will still be here...”

“No! I won't!!! I don't know her name--”

“You know this is not how it is supposed to end... I know how it is too... I have a name... you can say it too...”

“No! I won't-- Wait. Wut. Soooo... who are you and like, just what are you doing here anyways...?”

“I'm here to save her. To save you. And to save me too... I will help get us out of here, but we don't have much time... So. Will you say her name and keep her safe with you for all times? Will you save your broken heart before it too breaks your own soul? Will you say my name and save me too? You can save us Tamara Jane Winstanley. You can... Will you save us... all of us...?”

---

She has been here before. Oh yes, she has.

But never before in this kind of moment.

A moment of calm.

A moment of choice.

“I... I know her... and I... I love her. I love you, Crystal-Lynne... and I will never let you go.”

A moment of change.

“And I will save you... I will save us. All of us. Me n' LynLyn and you...”

She has been here before. Oh yes, she has.

But never before in this kind of moment--

“...you...? What's your name? I want to get us out of here! Okay? I want us to be saved! Tell me your name and I'mma say it, okay...?!”

A moment of weakness in a bad dream unlike one she has ever had before--

“Then we have a deal, Tamsie-girl...?”

She took a moment to consider just what kind of deal this was but that momentary consideration vanished as soon as she saw the rainbow coloured nails digging into the neck of the limp form of the love of her life, the fire still raging on, creeping ever closer, black smoke set to choke her to death and burn her dead body. Choke her to death just like how she had choked to death--

But she had the chance to save them. Save them all.

All she had to do was say: 'yes' and this nightmare would be over. All she had to do was say: 'yes' and this nightmare would end...

...and the real one would begin.

"AUGH!"
Jenna gave a sharp scream as the foot hit her stomach, carrying her over the low wall of broken stones and slamming into the dirt on the other side. The shadowy figure shivered, twitched, then convulsed rapidly in what sounded like laughing and drowning all at once, heavy antlers scraping chunks out of the ruined walls. Jenna coughed violently into the ground, rolling onto her back.
This is a dream! Why does it hurt so much...why am I here?!
"I keep telling you to just accept my help, kitten."
"SHUT UP YOU SICK BASTA-RAKLUUFGHH!!"
Her words caught in her throat as a massive hand grabbed the girl violently, wrapping around her entire head and squeezing hard. The shaking, twitching deer creature gave another gurgle as she struggled against it. The damned voice, offering help but clearly enjoying the view, dripped into her ear. She swore she could hear her skull cracking under the pressure.
"You're going to die. And not just any kind of death. A darkness so deep, so endless that you can't even have thoughts within it. You'll be dead and you won't even be aware of death. You'll be nothing. Take. The. Deal."
A gurgle, a vain punch at the arm...
"Hold up three fingers for yes kitten. Just three fingers. Before you pop."
The pain was beyond compare...the creature laughed again, it's voice mixed with that bubbling sickness as it's seven eyes bulged and twitched in all directions. Jenna's hand rose as her body began to go limp, about to give in. Three fingers...three...
"Jackpot."
A sound like a whip, the gurgling beast dropped her, reeling back and gripping it's hand. It's fingers were bent in every direction, bones jutting from the knuckles as it screamed in pain. Dull gray flames rose in front of Jenna, taking the shape of...something...a demon almost. It spun, facing her, and pointed one finger.
"Between that and the gift, I'm out of power. It's up to you now. Remember that it was this or death!"
Gift? What gift? No time, run, RUN RUN RUN RUN!
The girl leapt to her feet, and sprinted out of the decayed wasteland.

---

"GAAAUGH! OOOHHAUUUGHH!!"
"Look, Jack, you really need to stop screaming."
"FUUUUCK!"
Jack stumbled through the corridor, pinwheeling into walls and corners as he held his eye. It bubbled and hissed in the socket, his vision distorting, blurring, and then turning red as all the veins ruptured.
"SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT IT HURTS IT HUUUURTS!"
"Kid, screaming isn't a good idea. Ignoring that it'll attract attention..."
"MAKE IT STOP!"
"I can't dull the pain kid. Doesn't work that way."
"AAAAAAAAUGH!!!"
The pain, this unbelievable pain. Jack had been in a car accident before, and had suffered massive injuries, causing intense pain for the majority of a year. In this moment, in this nightmare: He'd have given anything to feel that pain instead of this. He ignored Einz, or rather, couldn't even begin to focus on the spirit's voice. His eye was melting, boiling over in it's socket. His hands, twisting and deforming, the bones snapping and rearranging as they elongated. His screams echoed around the entire area as he struck his head against the wall in agony.
"And that's why you should've stopped screaming..."
His eye completely liquidated, pouring out of the socket, pouring down his face, and into his open mouth. He wretched, gagged, then screamed again, curling up on the ground, gripping his head. Then, he stopped screaming...the pain subsided...and all was quiet except for the heavy, ragged breathing of a young boy.
"Haaaa....haaaaa....haaaaa..."
"....welp, I think you handled that pretty well all things considering."

Nathan had always wondered, idly, what it felt like to be deaf. As the doll reached out, though, as she put her hands over his ears, as she mumbled the words "I'm sorry" over and over again, as he felt something stab into his ears, Nathan felt like a fool for ever thinking something like that. As Somnia pulled back, Nathan fell to his knees, clutching his ears in pain. There was silence. He felt something trickling out of his ears as he looked back up at the doll.

"I'm sorry..." she said, even though he couldn't hear her.

He slowly got up to his feet. He wasn't going to be deaf from now on... right? He wouldn't be able to listen to his music anymore...

He'd felt the buzzing at the back of his head at around the time Somnia disappeared in a puff of black smoke. The buzzing was getting more intense and, on instinct, Nathan went prone.

That was when the vines returned, demolishing the house and showering Nathan with small bits of wood.

Nathan wasted no time, running out of the cabin via one of its newly created holes.

"...W-Whatever you need. Please take it."

That was all she could manage as she felt the soft pads of the fox's limbs stepping along her shoulder blades. Each flicking tail that ran across her skin stopped suddenly, and she could see its head tilt in from the left to look at her. ...Was that...curiosity in its eyes? The softest, beady black...That was all she could see, but there was some kind of light in them...? She didn't have time to really ponder upon the idea much longer, once it pulled back, using her neck as leverage to climb atop he head and place its paws down until it slid over her eyes and gently forced the lids to close down.
"...tђє tгยtђ Ŧ๏г tђє tгยtђ. tђเร เร tђє קคςt tђคt ฬє รђคll ๓คкє."

The truth for the truth?...

...Her eyes. Her eyes felt as if they' been set ablaze for a split second, yet there would be no pain. As if fire had licked up them, but it had not been for the intention of harming them. With a small mumble dished out, she took a deep breath whilst she waited. This...This would help her avoid that abomination she had seen earlier, correct? ...It would be worth it, she supposed...Though, the next sensation was all too confusing.

Her mouth was forced open, and it felt as if something was being forced out from it. A part of her very soul extracted past her lips and taken as a result. Once he lips were able to close again, the paws were removed.
"๏קєภ ץ๏ยг єץєร. เ ђคשє ﻮเשєภ ץ๏ย tђє ค๒เlเtץ t๏ รєє ๒єץ๏ภ๔ tђє lเєร tђคt lคץ ฬเtђเภ tђเร ฬ๏гl๔..."
That was what Aether said as he slid back down, curling up at her shoulders once again, noticeably more...transparent, than before. Faded, in a sort of manner. But that wasn't the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes. No...The luminescent irises saw more than before. Through the white walls of the room, she saw an entire castle, domain, zone of glass. Hidden pathways through solid walls that she never would have known about. Traps laying under floors that looked harmless, and most importantly?..

W͙͉̝͎͔͛̊͗ͣ́͂̃̐ͧ̀͝Ḧ͙̼̺̱̞̮̒E̜̗̟̳͓̠̿̃͠R̵̪̹̝͍̳ͩ͋̈́ͬͧͦͫ̋̔E̵̟̗͙̭̭̝̗̿̊̃́̀ ̲̣̼̰̞̫ͧͨ͂͜͟͜ͅH̶̫̼͌͂ͮͣͨ͒̊ͬ͝͡Ą̶̢̟̘̼̫͎͕͙ͯ̒̄́̋ͅS̥̘̘̲͙̼̣̬͊ͫ̓ͦ͑̿̓͡ ̤̤̠ͣ̇̉̀̒̀͡M̠͈̘̜̘͓̋̿͑ͫ̉̿͆͢͟͝Y͓̎̌͌̈̊̋ ̷̳̭̬̭̏̓͋̎ͨ̍͘G͔̙ͤ̇̂͒̽̔Ự̙̬̫͕̲̂͑ͫ̊̉͊̈́͢Ȩ̠̬̯̝͕͚̫ͦͩ̀S̰͕̍͊̂ͯ͛͂̀͟T̡̞͔̳͊̌̓͛̓ͯ͑ͥͧ͞ ̡̰͇̱̗̘̫͚̿̓ͤ̚͟͞G̶͖̰̺̃̓̊̎̔ͣ͛ͬO̘̺̤ͮ̒̒̍̆̈́͊̏ͩ͜N͈ͧ͑ͨ̄̀E͌̈́̉̊͋̌̓ͧ͏̦̘̖?̺̱͚̜̼̥̭̦̀ͧ͗̾̊͟!̵͔͉ͣͨ̓͆ ̰̳͖͍̹̙͎̜̏ͨ̾ͣͥͭͭ͛͑W̪͔͙̻͔͚̓ͩ̈́͊H̖̳͚͇͖͇̟̥ͫ͋ͩ̇͐͟Ê̡͔͈̠̒̊͋̔ͧͬ͑R̦̘ͩ̂ͣͥ̔ͫ͢E̶̠̱͕͈͕͙̘͋̈̎͘ ̶̰̠̙̳̰̯ͧ̐̃ͤͯA̔ͥ̕͏̧͎͚͖̰R̸̠̀̐̔Ę̯͇̟ͣ̽ͦ͑ͩ ̶̨̝̜ͫ͌̉̀̋Y̡̳̑͑̃́̈̚͡Oͭ҉̷̬̰̬̭̖U̧̙̪̦͈͔̳̣͛̽̐ͭ̚ͅͅ!̜̳͓͉͖̼͇̗͊̊ͤ͟ ̧̤̯̽̋̿ͤ͂ͥ͐͒̕W̸̻͎̘̻̜̝͌̍͘͢Ḧ̴͕͓̱͇̝̫͇͂̐̊ͯ̾ͅË̴͕̥̪͈̝R̳͕̘̱̼͔̤̺͎ͩ̈ͯͮ̆͡E̴͚̭̥͎͖ͮͪ̈́̑ͅ ̲̪̏͢Ȁ̢̙̳̳͓̭̼̃ͫ́̌ͬ͝͝R̨̦̗͚̳͈̺̳ͭ̌Ȩ̖̦̰̗͇͉̠̅̂̔ͤ̋̃̊̿͠ ͇̱̏͛̀Y̡̭̫̜ͧ͑O͉͙͓͈͙̞̼ͦͯ͗͛ͯ͒̓̋̕͜Ư̷̳̩̣̬̗̤̭̖͊̃̓̾ͫ̈̇,̪̠͔̽ͬ̈́͊̅̉ ͕ͪ̄̃͗̇ͧY̧̟̝̹̺̋͆ͪO̢ͥ̋͂̍ͨ̍̈́̾́͏̬̩̙͔̜̱ͅỤ̵͚͔̫ͣ̆ͯ͞ ̪̘̜̈̂ͅR̯̱ͣ͐̒͒ͦ͊ͪͨ͠͡U̝̗̽̄ͩ͑̈́̋́́D̸̷͔̳̯̥ͤ̆ͨ͒̉ͥȨ̠̠̣̟̟̞̿̓͊ͭ͂̽̅ͫ̀̕ ̵̹̜̪̖̗̲͈͒ͬ͂̀ͭ̇̋̄́Iͧ҉̠̼̜͔͚̰N̴͕̪̻̹͙̺͙̗ͣ̌͂̇̎̾̽͐ͧ͞͡V͎͖̩̻̮̰̗̼͑́͑ͯ̿̚͘Ā̷̖̼̯͕̤̞̳̬̥̇ͨ̀̀D̠͕͆͐̉̇͟Ę̵̻̟̬̟̰̫̜͕͐̍R̙̳̙̠̭̙̓̄̉̾̈̉̕?̶̞͉̗̣̠̹̞̪ͯ̄ͮͧ̍̐͂͢!̴̯̟̣͔̭̝̌͌́͒͑ͭ͆̋ͅ ̵̶̩̖͚̜̥ͨͭ̋̽́ͤ͆̕C͚͉̞͖̱̮̻͛̋̈́͡O̡͋͌ͪͤ̅͆͐ͦ͏͈̖̻̥̤̱M̛͈̻̤͚̹̪̭̒̅̀͌̅́͠E̳̭̥̪͉͍͆͛̎͘͡ͅ ̛͎̗̗͈̜͈́ͣͥͥ̾͝Ǫ̷̬̹̺̟̼̻́͗ͦ̅̈́̕U͔̖͔͈̯̦͗̿̐ͧ̕T̳̙̯͕͎̰̝͑̀̏̓̃͑!̢͍̖̹͔̲͕̤̭͑͋̑ͭ͜

...The abomination, peaking through each and every corner it could find.
"ץ๏ย รђ๏ยl๔ ﻮ๏. ợยเςкlץ. รђє ฬเll Ŧเภ๔ tђเร г๏๏๓ ร๏๏ภ."
Ah...Her lips parted in order to thank Aether for the kindness it had shown-
"I don't need you telling me what to do."
...And those glowing eyes widened. T...T-That wasn't what she had wanted to say....That wasn't what she wanted at all! What was going on?!
"I doubt you know what's going on, so there's no point in asking you..."
Her entire body tensed, terror in her mind as she began to realize that...what she was saying was the opposite of what she wanted to say. ...Truth for the truth. Had this fox given her this sight....in return for taking away her honesty? ...The most precious thing to her, the honesty of her words and the faith in her beliefs...And now she would be able to speak them no more. She looked ready to cry on the concept that her mouth would weave wicked things from here on out, but it was not before Aether spoke once again.
"tђє ﻮเŦt เ ђคשє ﻮเשєภ t๏ ץ๏ย เร คll เ ςคภ ๔๏ t๏ tгץ คภ๔ ﻮเשє ץ๏ย ค ςђคภςє คt รยгשเשคl. ...ﻮ๏. รђ๏ฬ ๓є...รђ๏ฬ ๓є ђ๏ฬ ๔єรקєгคtєlץ ץ๏ย ฬเll ςlเภﻮ t๏ lเŦє ภ๏ฬ, єเкค ๓ยภครђเเ. รђ๏ฬ ๓є ђ๏ฬ ๓ยςђ ץ๏ย ฬคภt t๏ lเשє."

...How much...she wanted to live? ...She bit her lip as she heard a shriek come from the upset "host" of this domain closing in, and promptly took few steps forward to the hallway that extended past the solid wall. With one hand coming out at first, slipping through ever so easily, the glass...seemed to become like that of a liquid as she stepped through it. ...This vision could let her see the truth? ...Alright. Alright then. She took deep breath, looked through the glass walls to see the monster turn -- sensing her come into her jurisdiction of the realm once more -- and promptly took off running for her dear life. Whether Aether existed on her shoulder still or not was not something she could see -- all that she could keep her eyes on in order to live was this brand new world shown to her, jumping over trap, dodging over another, all-in-all...

ѕυяνινιηg.

"Don't regret this kid."

As soon as John heard those words, he felt like something cut his hand off, and reattaching it and cutting it again. The pain was so bad that John couldn't even utter a scream, he curled up in a fetal position was was shaking from the pain, "Make it stop" he tried to say but coudn't.

"I know you're probably saying to stop the pain, Can't do anything about it, haha."

Silently cursing the mysterious figure in his mind, the pain wouldn't stop, he couldn't describe the pain, he thought that he'd rather get his private parts cut off than this, the pain was that unbearable. Finally being able to mutter "You're... Doing... This... On... Purpose... Aren't... Yo-" he was cut off and the pain came back.

"Maybe, just maybe, but you need this power kid.

After a long and painful ordeal, the pain went away and his left arm was gone, he looked at it blankly, "Haah, I hope this power of yours will be worth it, old man." he says to the spirit.
"Oh don't worry, It'll help you in this world a bit, but don't depend on it too much, it'll help but it wont guarantee your life. he replies as he snaps his fingers and 3 sheets of paper appear on John's hands. Stuffing it into his pickets with his right hand, a pencil then appeared on his hand.

"That thing is coming back here, Hurry kid, you don't wanna die just yet right?" Cledereux says, and as he said that, John hears the heavy footsteps of what he now branded as "Shadows". The 'Shadow' was making its way around as John hid behind the same wall, he heard the footsteps get closer and closer.

"...As we await you, oh God of silence, we embrace your holy night."

By now Argo's throat was hurting, which was strange given he was barely two verses in and he wasn't pushing his voice at all. He coughed in hopes to clear his throat, too busy to hear the cheerful Uego in the background clapping without sound, exclaiming, "Bravo, bravo!" At this point Argo hadn't stopped coughing, his throat and lungs burning as an itch that couldn't be scratched lurked in his neck. His stomach convulsed as though trying to force the cough into a vomit, releasing nothing but air in loud burps that would've been comedic had Argo not desperately needed air.

"See, I'm gonna need a bit of payment," sweetly continued Uego as she circled around Argo's convulsing body. Blood and spit finally came out in spatters, dribbling down his chin and coating the back of his palm with red, flaky dots. "And I wanna help you, I do, but I can't do that without something in return." Sweat gathered underneath Argo's bangs, falling over his eyes and mixing with tears of pain. He fought desperately to take a breath, Uego's speech was taking too damn long, inhaling sharply mid cough and sending him into a more painful spasm. Acid burned at his throat, phglem and blood gathering to dribble out his mouth, his nose leaking scum. "And since you seem quite fond of that voice of yours, I'll just be taking that," cheered Uego as she patted Argo's back, cooing, "And in exchange I've given you such a marvelous gift~."

There was silence spare the settling rubble and Argo's gut wrenching heaving, Uego's sweet smile distorting to an exaggerated frown. Her voice, a pitch higher, scratched like nails on a blackboard as she asked, "I'm being so kind. Don't I get a thank you?"
"Th.." gasped Argo, sweat and blood causing his shirt to stick to his chest, his voice weak, his neck red, "Thank y-" his voice was replaced with vomit, his dinner rising and mixing with the blood, falling onto the ground. Panting, Argo weakly raised his hands to wipe at his shirt, the edges of his mouth covered in cuts from forcing his jaw so much. His stomach weakly clenched in emptiness, beads of sweat and tears mixing as they fell from his long blonde lashes and over his dirtied face.

Gasping, Argo opened his mouth to try thanking Uego again, only for strain in his throat, a sharp pain rushing through him as though he were being stabbed in the neck repeatedly. He tried again, with the same result, no noise coming out but hot air and sometimes bits of blood that had been stuck in his throat. "Well, I reckon that should be fine, given that you tried," mewed Uego in a sing song voice the mimicked Argo's. "You're very much welcome. I wish you good luck, my little damsel in distress~"

Uego reached in for a hug only to disappear in a huff of smoke, with a stench so great Argo retched again in accidentally inhaling it. Small gasps escaped his mouth as his eyes wandered his lonesome surroundings, deciding to head in the opposite direction of the collapsing city. No shit Argo, he thought to himself as he turned away, his shoes scraping against the blood he'd spilled on the ground. Maybe he should just stay in place instead. Hide for a bit. Collect himself.

(direct continuation, merging as instructed)
"What will it be?"

"Oh god, I don't know!" she sobbe,c trying to get up even though her legs could barely support her weight. With a defeated, broken moan she fell back into sticky tag, covering face with her hands. Anything, anything you want..."

"Anything? So how about I take everything!"

"What?" Margaret managed to raise her head fast enough to see a thin, almost skeletal hand shoot from the surrounding darkness and touch her forehead. She inhaled sharply, instinctively preparing for a pain... that never came. Just a small sting of sharp finger point breaking the skin.

"See? Wasn't that bad, was it?" the mechanical voice asked with obvious mirth, but girl could not feel any change. Nothing seemed different from moment ago. She was still alone, trapped, and whatever was coming after was was getting really close. She could almost see its lumbering mass now. And if she could see it, it meant...

"You lied... " she whispered, and then repeated louder, "You lied, you fucking..." she didn't finish, instead focusing on getting up again. ONly now it was getting to her that there was no escape, no help; whatever the thing with thin, pale hand was it would not do anything. White buzz replaced all logical thought, and, pushed forward by the animalistic fear, Margaret managed to get back on her feet and, with one shoulder pushed into soft, yielding wall for support. And then the hand appeared again, but this time the thin, long fingers wrapped around her neck, not cutting off the air but holding surprisingly fast.

"Not so fast." Sardhed's voice, while still amused, now grew cold and distant. "I gave you a gift. You're not getting away without properly appreciating it first."

Margaret had no time to argue about it, or even try to break free, because the same instant their pursuer finally caught up. It was huge, lumbering mass, barely visible. It's flesh writhed and pulsed, each part in different, uncoordinated rhythm. Even its movements, as much as one could decipher them, seemed jagged and random. Margaret cold feel the moment their eyes met - assuming the thing even had eyes - before it looked away, somewhere ahead, began moving again. Moment later, it was gone, the whole area quiet and still again.

"What.. happened?" she whispered, as if breaking the silence would bring the monster back. She didn't even notice the hand slipping away back into the shadows.

"That was my gift. Pretty useful, isn't it? You will thank me later. For now, have fun with it. I'll be back. Probably." And then its presence, obvious until then, vanished, leaving Margaret alone in the dark corridor, with ten times more questions than answers.

It didn't take long before she rested enough to be able to get up and walk again, and this time for some reason, she immediately found a corridor that felt different. The walls thickened and stilled, became more stone like. Mysterious fluid drained to occasional poodles on the floor, and even smell seemed to thin out. It was still dark, though, only now hitting her head against the surprise ceiling or scraping her knee against a wall in the darkness actually hurt.There also didn't seem to be any trace of anyone else.

That was, until someone screamed, from not far away. It didn't sound like fear, or anger; rather pain - a horrible, overwhelming pain. Someone was hurt, and badly. Without thinking, Margaret sped up trying to feel the way ahead in barest yellowish light,all to happy to forget about what had happened not long ago.

"Hello?!" she called, hoping that, whoever screamed would still be conscious enough to reply. Without that, she had no hope of finding them in this twilight. "Can you hear me?! Please, say something!

Jack shuddered on the ground, staring at the pile of white and red goop that had once been his eyeball. The pain had subsided, replaced with a dull throbbing ache in the socket. A scraping noise as he shivered, and Einz's voice filtered into his head.
"See? Man of my word Jacky, I'm a man of my word."
Jack slowly dragged his hands up, staring at them in shock and slight horror. The wrists were split open, the skin peeled back, and the bones, twisted and gnarled over, grown double the length, had sharp talons instead of fingers. Unconsciously, one claw slowly moved up to the space where he felt...empty. The bone claw tapped against the bone of the socket softly, and he jerked backwards, slamming against the wall as his breathing escalated again.
"Normally, when people give something like that, it's both eyes...or their vision. But you...one eye was enough. Wonder why? What's special about that eye Jacky?"
"SHUT UP!"
Silence for a moment, as Jack pulled his legs up to his chest, trying to slow his breathing.
"I don't think you're getting the concept of gratitude right now. At least try em out before you get all huffy."
"Hello?!"
Jack's head popped up at the sound of...a girl? He went silent, head turning this way and that to try and hear where it came from.
"...I'm here..."
"Can you hear me?! Please, say something!"
"I'm here! I CAN HEAR YOU!"
Above? The voice was coming from above him! A sheer wall lead up to a dark hole with some kind of liquid trickling over it's edge. Jack searched for hand holds, his momentary fear lost at the concept of finding another person who may know what was going on, or who could help him or...or anything!
"My name is Jack! Are you...Are you trapped here also?!"
"Wow, golly gee...if only you had a set of climbing claws or something Jack!"
Jack looked down at his mangled freakish hands. Could...he reached up, digging the claw into the stone. It bit easily, and he found it was a cinch to lift his body off the ground. He immediately dug the other in, gouging the stone as he scrabbled up ungracefully, slipping now and then.
"Kid, go slower or you'll fall and break your neck."
Jack grabbed onto the edge of the hole, legs dangling as he glanced back down in surprise. He had climbed about 15 straight up a sheer stone wall...and he was hardly even out of breath. He could practically feel Einz's smug grin in his head as Jack scrabbled over the edge into a much darker hallway. Reaching out one hand, his bones clacked a wall.
"Hello? Are you still there? Please...please still be there. I won't hurt you, I-...my name is Jack, Jack Simon!"
He took a few steps forward, hand running alongside the wall as his eye adjusted.

(Pact-Making and Merging with Plightz)

"We're away from that monster! We're free! How did you do that Orion?"

The wind felt so surreal as she raced through the daisies, her footfalls both solid and steady as if she was one with the earth. Every step made her heart pound with exhilaration. Her hair flicked back and forth behind her like wings, as if she was soaring through the beautiful azure sky stretching out before her. She couldn't suppress a whimsical giggle. This was her favorite, her absolute favorite! If only Orion would join her, why was he standing there so sullenly? "Sorry Orion, I was just so happy I wasn't paying much attention! What did you say?"

"I'm taking them Azzie, promise not to scream too much okay~?"

In a single moment, her bliss was taken from her. The earth raced up at her and she fell to the ground, her body convulsing uncontrollably before she realized what had happened. She felt her chest constrict as she let out a scream, her throat becoming raw from pure agony. Yet, she couldn't stop. Or perhaps, it was because she wasn't in control of whether she screamed or not? Did her body even belong to her anymore? She couldn't tell, but everything seemed like it was always this way. Dark, shivering, shaking, screaming, writhing, hot and then cold in a seamless pattern. Then, abruptly, there was nothing, and that was the best part. She had quickly learned to cherish the feeling of nothing. This was her new bliss, comforting and numbing. She could feel herself letting go, letting go of all of it.

And then he had to go and ruin everything.

AZALEA CROWE, DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME. YOU PROMISED!

She took a choking, shuddering breath as she gasped for air. Amber eyes went this way and that as she searched for what had her so panicked. Orion's face was above her own, his red eyes looking like twin harvest moons in his pale face, and he was clenching his oddly spiked teeth as if he was angry. Her head was laying in his lap, she realized. But why? "What happened, Orion? Are you okay?" Was what she meant to say, but it came out in a hoarse whisper that she could barely understand, but Orion's teeth un-clenched. He had understood her. "Hmph! Of course I'm okay, you silly human. We traded, and I must say you received a very generous gift from me. Much better than what I got." His boyish voice wavered ever so slightly into his deeper one.

'What does he mean, traded? Oh... the "Pact" thing, right? It was important, I guess.' She hadn't thought much about it since they had managed to escape the spider and it's nest of icky-ness, but he had said something about how he needed her most precious thing. "Well, I guess we're even-stevens now." She chuckled as a smile blossomed across her face. She was glad, she hated owing people anything. "Umm, do you even realize? Ahaha! No matter, I'll write some instructions down for you, 'cus I feel sorta bad for sending you out without any training wheels, okay?" Orion returned her smile with his own and began tracing his finger through the air in-between them. Glowing runes shone and disappeared in sequence, fading into her forehead. She swallowed, trying to wet her throat before she spoke again. Why was it so sore? "Woah, what?! Is that really magic? I know I just saw the world's biggest arachnid like a second ago, but that still kinda wigs me out y'know?" Her eyes followed the runes as he kept tracing them.

She heard Orion chuckle in response, but something felt off. Instructions, training wheels? 'Did he give me a magic bike or something?' It was the only thing that made sense to her. Maybe it could outrace that spider. That'd be pretty awesome. She could probably get out of here, get Orion back to his parents, and go home pretty easily on one of those, if My Neighbor Totoro was any guide to go by. "Alright, Azzie, I'm done! When you activate it, you'll know how it kinda works alright? I couldn't transfer it's full power to you, you slipped too far and cut off the connection, but you'll learn how to make this version work. I trust you." Orion clapped his hands together, then bent down to look directly into her eyes. His own glittered, except not with happiness... He had the same look as the spider who was about to descend upon it's prey. "You'll be mad at first, Azzie. I can't change that, but you'll forgive me 'cus we're lovers now." Before she could respond, he brushed his lips against her own and promptly shattered into a thousand specks of light.

Her head hit the ground with a solid thump, shaking her out of whatever stupor he might have left her in. Her face felt flushed, but above all she was genuinely confused. He disappeared! Why would she be angry with him? Everything that happened left more unanswered questions. She couldn't stay here laying on the ground helplessly though. She had to find Orion, wherever he had gone. She pushed herself up using her hands, and then everything made just a little more sense.

Every bit of flesh past her knees was gone. Blood spattered and pooled across the daisies where her legs should have been. Here, one of her shoes was sitting in the middle of the puddle, there the other was nearly blood free and sitting a good five feet away. She wasn't bleeding now though, as some invisible force had staunched the flows beneath slick barriers and dulled the pain. "This... this can't..." She reached forward with her hands, splashing them down into the puddles of blood. Her... blood. Without meaning to, her mind began to stitch together the bigger picture as she remembered things Orion had said, things she should have been paying attention to.

"We're in a Nightmare, Azzie. We need each other."

"Things here can hurt you, so you gotta be smart. Quick."

"If you don't, we'll both be alone. We'll both die. You don't want that, do you Azzie? After all, you promised to protect me."

"We traded, and I must say you received a very generous gift from me. Much better than what I got."

"I couldn't transfer it's full power to you, you slipped too far and cut off the connection, but you'll learn how to make this version work. I trust you."

"You'll be mad at first, Azzie. I can't change that, but you'll forgive me 'cus we're lovers now."

"I'm taking them Azzie, promise not to scream too much okay~?"

Bile rose in her throat, cascading waves of emotion surged in her. Indignation? Betrayal? Hurt? Disbelief? The one that finally won was rage. Pure. Unbridled. Rage. At herself, at Orion, at whatever this was. A Nightmare? How come it felt so real then? She slammed her fists down, causing blood to splash across her as she let out a roar.

"OOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!"

Carefully evading the monster that he has been hiding from, He had eluded it quite successfully until he made a misstep and almost got caught, then the monster suddenly vanished, much to the confusion and relief of John. "What happened, where'd it go" asking no one in particular,

Then his dream, or 'nightmare' is suddenly warping and changing with different colors and it seems like its mixing with something...

"Well, this doesn't happen too often, weird." Cledereux says out loud, "Hey kid, seems like your nightmare is crashing with another poor, unfortunate soul, like yourself. The dreams are crashing together." he chuckles as he says this.

"You mean I am not the only one who has to go through this garbage?" He asks Cledereux.
"Well Yes and No, Every dream, well let's call it 'nightmare' are different and vary with each other but every nightmare still wants to kill you, so it's not TOO different." He replies while yawning with his shadowy face.

"This whole thing is confusing, but whatever, now how do you get out of this nightma-" John was asking before hearing a scream. quickly flinching and looking towards the source of the scream, he says "What the hell was that?" Running towards the direction of the scream, it seems like Cledereux was following but whenever he looked back he was always on a tree. "Weird old man"
Almost reaching the source, it then turned pitch silent, almost losing where the screaming person was he heard;

"OOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!"
Finally reaching the room this person was in, he saw a girl, sitting in a pool of blood, "Her own?" he asks himself.
"Ooh, looks she got into a pact with another dying soul huh. Oh and don't worry about it, she can't see me." Cledereux says.

Quickly running to her, he asks with a worried tone,
"Are you okay?" and offers her a hand to help her up noticing that she didn't have anything beyond her knees,
"A pact huh..." he thought to himself.

*I'm here! I CAN HEAR YOU!*

Oh god, it was true, she really did hear someone! And then, before she had time to reply...

*My name is Jack! Are you...Are you trapped here also?!*

"I... I think so!" she called back, hating even the thought of losing this thin thread connecting her with another person, someone normal... or at least she hoped so. "I mean, I have no idea where here is, I've tried finding an exit but it's just darkness and walls and monsters..." Margaret clamped her teeth shut just as her voice began to waiver, because the memory of the lumbering hulk of a hunter in connection with word 'trapped' made the bile of fear rise in her throat. She swallowed few times, trying to force the thought away and focus on Jack's voice instead.

It sounded strange, as if from the bottom of a barrel, or a distant end of a long pipe, and seemed to origin from some place to her right. But no matter how far she'd reached with her hand, the girl's hand found nothing but the still air. To check any father, she would have to tear the other palm away from the wall... Gulping, she pressed left shoulder reassuringly into hard stone, and slid down to the floor. Wall meant direction, some sort of compass in the enveloping them darkness. A semblance of safety in this world of madness. She wanted to help Jack, she did, but...

*Hello? Are you still there? Please...please still be there. I won't hurt you, I-...my name is Jack, Jack Simon!*

Margaret's head shot up. This time the voice sounded normal, even if not very close. She shot back up and began walking, slowly, in its direction, one hand on the wall, other stretched in front.

"Yes, I am! And I'm Margaret!" she called back, for the first time noticing how every sound, even their quiet steps, echoed around the place. "I think..." she paused, biting her lip and trying to figure out where exactly Jack was. "You must be somewhere close."

"You must be somewhere close."

Jack's claw scraped the wall again, and the boy froze for a moment, remembering what he looked like. One eyed with bone claws. He could pass for one of the monsters almost...but still...someone else. Someone who could help find answers...or just help keep him sane.

"...listen, Margaret right? Um...I need to warn you. I don't...I may look scary."

He took more steps, eye finally starting to adjust to the darkness. His claws scraped across the wall, but he didn't dare remove his hand from it. It was his anchor at the moment, the one thing he could focus on to keep moving forward in the darkness and to the voice. Something solid. Something that wouldn't lie...maybe. Einz had gone silent, not helping his situation at all. Even if the spirit was a tactless and had taken his eye...it was better than thinking you were alone.

"I...I met someone...and he took my eye. My hands are...well...I promise I'm not a monster GAH!"

He stumbled, foot kicking something hollow. A skull, a rock, something else, he couldn't tell, but he held still for a moment, in complete silence and darkness. Another step, and something cracked underfoot. He looked around, struggling to see in the shadows. From the cracks in the wall, beams of sickly yellow illuminated...bones. Littering the floor. Skulls, rib cages, femurs, every shape and size of bone littered, cracked...gnawed on. A sharp intake of breath before he noticed the figure up ahead. Please...please be human...and alive. He stepped forward, face sliding past a crack that cast a pale yellow sheen across his gaping socket as he finally met Margaret face to face. Blood was still flecked across his face, trickling out of the socket slowly. His claws had left long scratches in the wall as he stared at her with his one good eye, trying hard to not come off as creepy or intimidating. Probably failing...but maybe not...who could tell in this place.

"...hey...nice to meet you."

Nathan only started slowing down when the buzzing in his head subside. He felt the ground under him gain a harder consistency, and he looked around to find the thorny plains beginning to scale concrete and steel, as the best-described-as 'nature' made room for the ruins of a city. Or maybe the city was making room for nature.

He swallowed. His mouth and his throat felt dry. It was almost calm, and that was slightly unnerving.

His brain buzzed, and he looked over his shoulder, but it took just a moment for him to realize that the movement was coming from ahead of him.

He hid between the cracks of one of the broken buildings, his eyes scanning the outside for what was coming.