"There."

Cecilia pointed at the entrance of a rocky cave. Everyone stopped in their tracks to look before Alistair decided he would be the first to take a closer look. Discarded silk lied on the ground at the entrance, something the boy kicked to the side. The entrance was dark enough, but he caught a faint blue light deeper inside.

"Phosphorescent fungi, right," the boy asked Cecilia.

"Yeah. It's dark around this area, but once you're deeper inside, you won't need torches," Cecilia answered. "What's the plan, handsome? Even if we find that moth, we can't just go in swinging around our weapons."

Lenoria nodded. "You're right. You already mentioned how dangerous she was. If we're careless, we'd risk hurting your captain and the others."

The scientist's eyes shifted to Pearl's direction. The woman in black had wandered inside the cave, marveling at the walls and the overall structure.

"Everything okay, Pearl?"

"Yeah, it's just..." Pearl slid her hand up and down on the cave wall. She seemed lost and unaware of her surroundings, her face brimming with curiosity. "This place feels familiar..."

***

A strong wind pushed Caesar and Precious from the graveyard back into the dark void. The trees, the graves, and the sun had disappeared without warning or explanation. Yet, despite feeling rattled, Precious refused to run away. Whether she was a figment of his imagination or something else entirely, Caesar quietly appreciated his furry companion for sticking around despite the danger they would surely face.

"Go back to sleep, my sweet prince," Luno said with a sweet voice. Once more, she had hovered at a higher altitude than Caesar, though her presence was more menacing than before after what just transpired. "You have a destiny to fulfill."

"Luno." The moth woman's presence confirmed something Caesar had suspected for a while. "I was never back home, was I?"

"No, dearie. When you fell asleep, I had you and your crew dream about sweet things, about the things you desired the most. Your friend Charlie, for example, wants to be pardoned by the king of Helix and hold a feast in your honor. Your dogfolk friends wish to get married someday and want you as the best man. All of your pirate friends have included you in their dreams because they respect you that much. Well, all except for one."

"One?"

"The one with the red hair. She was the only one who overcame my enchantment. However, instead of saving you, she ran away to save herself."

"No, that doesn't sound like Cecilia at all." Caesar bared his teeth to the moth girl. "Don't lie to me. Cecilia wouldn't have ran without a good reason. Knowing her, she would have tried to free us, first."

"Uh..." Luno dithered as she tried to come up with a way to keep up the ruse. But it appeared the captain knew his crew well. Trying to antagonize Cecilia was a careless gamble.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

Luno's shoulders dropped as she gave up in her deceit. "Fine. There's no hiding anything from you, is there? I was hoping to spend as much time as I could with you under the guise of a human girl. But after inspecting your memories, I realized you didn't have any friends growing up. I had to alter your memories a little so you wouldn't suspect a thing. The best way I could do so was by twisting your perception during your dreams. It was easy enough, but it only worked for as long as I could concentrate on the spell. Right when I thought everything was going swimmingly, your halfling brat attacked me. After that distraction, it took me forever to find you again."

"Then...Selena was never real?" The revelation didn't surprise Caesar, but finding out the sweet girl he grew up with never actually existed gave him plenty of grief. And then there was the piece of advice his 'father' gave him; was that just Luno manipulating things?

"I'm afraid not. But if you stay in the Realm of Dreams, I promise to take on that form as much as you want."

"What about Devin? And Antoine?"

"I don't know what you mean, but if you're talking about the last place you were in, I had no part in that. You ventured into that person's dream on your own."

Caesar growled. "Stop playing with me. I'm dreaming, then? Why did you put us to sleep? What do you want with me? What did I do to you?"

"You did nothing wrong. In fact, the timing of your arrival is impeccable. You are destined to defend my forest with me. The demons grow even more tenacious by the day, and they want to exterminate my babies. But if the threads of fate say you and I will protect this forest together, then you must have the means to destroy the demons."

"Wait a second. Me? Destiny? You must have me confused for someone else."

"But it's true! You have potential, my sweet lantern in the night. You even ventured far to the depths of the Realm of Dreams. I never thought you would have the mental fortitude to make it this far, especially after I had you and your friends locked away in a different section of the Realm. You even wandered into the dreams of other people. None of my other captives have accomplished that before."

The moth woman crossed her arms. Precious's growling did not go unnoticed, and she was getting more annoyed by it by the second.

"And then there's this anomaly. You named her 'Precious,' correct? My power created the world you lived in, down to the last detail of your house. I made everything there, including your parents. But this one?" She pointed at Precious. "I thought I created her, too, based on your memories. If that were the case, she should have vanished when your halfling friend attacked me. But she didn't..."

"Precious is very special to me," Caesar retorted. "You may have manipulated my dreams, but she was part of my childhood! No matter how many bad days I had, she was always there to make it all better. She was my first friend..." Caesar gently squeezed the cat in his arms. "She was my best friend. Even after 24 years, I never forgot about her."

Tears streamed down Caesar's cheeks and dripped into the solid ground below. He had recalled something unpleasant that needed to be remembered.

"I remember how I died. A group of punks were going to kill her. They stuffed her into a bag and tossed it at the river. I jumped in to save her. Next thing I knew, I'm in this world..."

The critter in Caesar's arms looked up at him. She bumped her head on to his chin to get his attention and licked him when he brought her closer to his face. Caesar quickly wiped his tears away and smiled at her.

"Well, it doesn't matter what she is, I guess. The important thing is that you can spend as much time as you want with her. All I need you to do is come back with me and let your consciousness rest."

"What happens if I do that?"

"I can turn your dreams into reality. I tried it with your halfling friend earlier; the result was a knight in shining armor she dreamed about. It's still a work in progress, but I can basically siphon elements of your dreams and make them real. With the help of you and your crew, I can amass an army that can battle the demons and drive them away. All you have to do...is spend time with everyone you like in the world I crafted for you."

Caesar shook his head. "That's the problem, Luno. You created that world. Even if you made perfect replicas of my family, they'd still be just copies. If I can't even meet with my real family, then I don't need to go back with you. I'm not going to help you."

Caesar turned to leave but nearly jumped in place when he found Luno right behind him.

"Get out of my way, Luno."

"No. I don't get it; you were smiling when you were back with your family. I did my best to make you happy; why won't you help me?"

"You don't kidnap people and put them to sleep. If your forest is really infested with demons, then my crew will be in danger if they stay asleep. Besides, that wasn't my real family." Caesar thought back on his meetings with Devin and Antoine. "Except them. If those were really my brothers, then that means I can find my way back to them even without your help."

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Not if I can help it," Luno warned. "As far as you're concerned, I'm your only gateway to the Realm of Dreams. If you refuse my help, you'll never see your family again!"

"You're wrong," Caesar said defiantly. "There are other ways. I'm pretty sure dream magic isn't something exclusive to you, and even if I can't visit my family in their dreams, all I gotta do is leave this planet and go back to Earth!"

"You plan to leave this world for another planet?"

"It's worth a try. A couple of weeks ago, I had given up on the idea of seeing my family again. When my crew was trapped in a warehouse, surrounded by giants, I wasn't sure we were going to make it out alive. But then I met this cute babe who figured out how to handle them. She taught me that it's not pointless to have hope, even when the world around you gives you every reason to despair. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that she and Beckett were part of something greater."

The pirate grinned. It was all he could do to stop himself from crying again. It was a shame Beckett could not stand by his side right now, but he wholeheartedly believed the old codger would if he could.

"Constable Richards gave my crew a chance to have a clean slate, but really, all I needed was an excuse to see Lenoria again. At first I just wanted to thank her for everything, but when I found out about her little quest, and how our stones are made from the stars themselves, that's how I knew she was my ticket back to Earth." Caesar thumbed his nose. "That's why I can't stay here, Luno. Lenoria's counting on me to keep the kids safe, and I can't do that if I'm sleeping on the job."

"No...you can't!"

"You could have asked us to help you, Luno. You didn't have to put us all to sleep; if you said 'Hey, I have a demon problem and I need your help,' I could have talked the crew and tried to come up with a game plan. That's kinda what we were doing, actually. Heck, I would have sent someone to get Lenoria and everyone in her crew; I'm sure they would have been a lot better than a bunch of pirates, she's very resourceful, after all. But now that you put us all to sleep without consent...I'm not sure we can trust you anymore, no matter what you say."

Judging by the moth woman's mouthless expression, she must not have thought of simply asking nicely. Perhaps if she did, without putting anyone to sleep, everyone would have been more willing to help her. Perhaps they could have even found a better way to deal with the demon invasion. But she was focused so much on destiny that she didn't come up with other ways on how to arrive there; all she wanted was for Caesar to protect the forest with her.

"Do the right thing, Luno. Please let us go."

The silence was nearly palpable. Caesar anticipated things going either way and was prepared to fight if Luno did not comply. On the other hand, he promised himself he'd be open to compromise if she agreed to let him go. To him, his crew's lives were more important, and depending on what Luno said, he would be more than willing to stay behind for a little while as long as everyone else was free to go.

"This...Lenoria," Luno inquired, "would your halfling friend bring her to the forest if she succeeds in escaping?"

"Cecilia can get any job done. I know she'll bring Lenoria back to help me and the rest of the gang."

Luno could feel the cogs of her mind rotating unceasingly. If Caesar was unwilling to help her because of the way she handled things, then she may have inadvertently changed the fate of her forest to a less favorable outcome. Without Caesar, her forest was doomed. And now that he disapproved of her methods, perhaps there was nothing she could say that would change his mind.

And then it hit her; what if Caesar's destiny was not to destroy the demons? What if his arrival merely kickstarted things in Luno's favor, and this 'Lenoria' he spoke of was his means of dealing with the demons? What if Lenoria was the tool necessary to drive them away or, even better, wipe them all out? If him being in danger meant that Lenoria would eventually come looking for him...

"...I'm afraid I'll have to say no." Luno used her four arms to grab Caesar's arms. Her grip was firm enough to provide little means of escape, and when she lifted him up, Caesar's grip on Precious loosened up, dropping the poor cat on the ground. Just as cats are wont to do, however, Precious landed on all four feet, and growled at Luno once again as she stared her down.

"Precious, get out of here," Caesar ordered. "I won't let anyone hurt you anymore." The pirate captain grunted as he tried to break free. "But you're not safe here!"

Upon hearing his orders, Precious stopped growling. She bared her fangs on Luno, but after a moment the critter closed her eyes and directed her face to Caesar. He had no idea what the moth wanted to do to him, but without either of his weapons drawn, he was as vulnerable as any civilian.

"Thanks, Caesar. But I don't think I can do that."

The psychic voice was not from Luno; this voice was matronly, carrying the weight and wisdom of old age.

"By chance, I took a trip to the Realm of Dreams. I never would have expected to see you again, after all these years." A glimmer of emerald-green color came from Precious's collar. A glimmer that Caesar was all too familiar with. The light had somewhat of a hypnotic effect on Luno, who took her compound eyes away from Caesar to look at the talking cat. The pirate used this distraction to break free long enough to slap her face, stunning her long enough to let him go.

"Precious..." Caesar landed on both feet. He quickly drew his cutlass, ready to fight. "You can talk?"

"Ordinarily, you shouldn't be able to hear me. But we're in the Realm of Dreams; anything is possible." The cat arched her back in a defensive stance. Her unblinking eyes stayed on Luno, who recovered from the slap on the face. "Word to the wise; if you ever fall asleep in a strange place, keep your Soulstone active. It may be taxing on the mind, but you'll be able to stay in touch with the spirit if you end up in a situation like this."

"Soulstone?" The glimmering collar caught Caesar's attention again. The light was so familiar to him, and it reminded him of Beckett. "You have one, too?"

"Yeah. If you kept yours on, you would have been able to handle this monster." Precious took a step forward. "I guess it's up to me. I can't bear to see a human who loves cats in trouble, so I'm going to need you to get out of here."

A telepathic cat was already so surreal to Caesar, but one who was familiar with the nature of the Soulstones was something else entirely. With it being a dream, he didn't question it. But was this truly the same Precious from all those years ago?

"Precious...it's been so long. I can't leave without you. My crew and I live the nomads' life, but we have plenty of food and shelter. Please come with us."

"I can't. Once I wake up, I'll be back where I fell asleep at, and it'll just be another day for me. But if you don't wake up, your friends will be in trouble. That's why I'll do everything I can to save you."

"I won't give you the chance!" Still in the air, Luno dive-bombed to Caesar's location. The pirate braced himself, cutlass ready, to defend against whatever attack Luno had planned.

But Precious had other plans. By jumping in the air and curling into a ball, the small cat body-slammed one of the moth woman's hands. The moth's psychic scream assaulted both of their minds, but Precious wasn't the least bit fazed.

Luno held up one of her fingers, bent towards her thanks to the body slam. "My finger! That hurt! That actually hurt! How dare you!"

"Your fight's with me, monster! Leave this human alone!"

"You can fight, too?" At this point, Caesar had stopped trying to make sense of his furry companion. "Okay, that's gotta be from the Soulstone..."

"It's a long story. We'll catch up later," Precious commented. "Right now, you need to wake up."

"Wake up?"

"You're still asleep. You need to wake up and save your friends while I keep this monster busy. I don't know how long I can hold her back, so you need to hurry."

"How am I going to do that?"

"Fools! I won't let you!" Luno swiped a claw at Precious. The small cat dodged it in time by jumping away but had little time to think as Luno tried attacking with her other claw. Precious evaded the claws skillfully and countered with a paw of her own. To Caesar's surprise, he witnessed a bigger paw - made of pure energy - swipe at Luno at the same time Precious did. Luno tried blocking the attack, but the bigger claws drew blood. "Ah!"

Caesar balled his fist. His best friend was putting up a fight, but he couldn't bear the thought of leaving her behind. Drawing his pistol, he opened fire on the moth woman. The bullet should have hit her shoulder, but it went right through her harmlessly, instead.

"I told you," Precious scolded, "if you kept your Soulstone activated, you would have been able to handle this monster! We're in her playground, and until we leave, we'll be at her mercy!"

"Then you're coming with me. I'm not leaving you alone!"

"Forget about me! I promise we'll see each other again. I don't know how, but if we both carry our Soulstones, then we're bound to run into each other eventually. But if you stay here, there's no way that'll ever happen!"

Arguing with a feral cat was not something Caesar expected to do; it was strange enough he already had to do it, what was even stranger is that he knew she was right. He had to wake up, but how?

"All you have to do is remember the one way people wake up from their dreams, guaranteed."

Beast and insect engaged in melee again as Caesar thought on Precious's words. How could people wake up from a dream? Most cases, dreams play out of the control of the dreamer. Then, they end, allowing the dreamer to wake up and start their day. Even if Caesar could run away, there were no more doors for him to go into. All three of them had spoken and battled in the empty black void, and there was no clear indicator where Caesar could go to.

Precious may have been small, but she fought with the ferocity of a tiger. She would pounce, bite, claw, or even curl up into a ball to attack her foe. What was even more surprising was each injury Luno sustained. The moth woman bled as if she had been on the rough end of a sword fight. The small cat was clearly winning.

But then, something unfortunate happened. Just as Precious pounced again, everything had gone dark. Caesar and the moth were gone, and she couldn't even see her own paws. Then, she felt leather all over her body. It was as if the empty black void had reduced its size to a small leathery sphere that trapped her inside. Precious could not move freely anymore; she tried to claw and bite her way out, but she could not escape.

From Caesar's point of view, Luno had stuffed Precious inside a leather sack. The moth quickly worked to tie a tight knot at the entrance in such a way that left very little space inside the sack. Then, with a single crushing motion, Luno made the bag disappear....along with Precious.

Caesar was left speechless.

"To think all I needed to do was search for her worst fear. Now, my sweet lantern, what would your worst fear be?"