Hearing the child’s screams freeze up finally managed to get Melissa’s fingers to move. Two shots immediately ripped through Deam’s body, sending him flying off the girl and into a nearby table. She quickly charged up two more and fired them off, one landing in the middle of his chest while the other blasted a hole in his head. The nightmare’s body fell limp, and with the belief he was dead Melissa lowered her revolvers. The sight terrified her, the screams over the phone from years prior playing in her mind.

She had once again killed something, just like her father.

Shoving those thoughts to the side for the moment, Melissa jumped up and over the window. She winced as she felt a piece of glass slice through the leather boots she wore and scratch the underside of her foot, but that wasn’t her concern at the moment. Her eyes focus on the child, curled up on the floor and hiding their face in fear. Melissa reached out to tap their shoulder but pulled away, unsure how well they would react to physical touch at the moment. It was better to keep her distance and show she wasn’t a threat, which led to her unsummoning her revolvers and outfit.

“Hey, are you okay?” She asked in a soft, calming tone. The girl looked at her, uncurling her body the tiniest bit. “I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to get you home.”

The child looked behind herself to Deam, the living nightmare bleeding profusely on the classroom floor. In silent terror she backed away, only to gasp and clutch her hand as it landed on a piece of broken glass. She didn’t look to see the glass, however, instead starting to cry from stress, pain, and fear. She didn’t know why she was at school, what the creature before her was, or why they had so much blood running from their body, but she more than remembered what it had tried to do. It was then she looked at Melissa, and her heart knew behind them lies safety.

It didn’t make Melissa any less surprised when the girl ran up and hugged her. The sudden weight nearly made her fall, but she kept her footing. A good thing, considering the amount of glass that laid behind her. Melissa looked around, unsure if she should hug back or not. Then she heard the child start to cry, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around them like a protective mother. Seeing them like this made her mentally berate herself for her constant hesitation.

“It’s gonna be okay. You’ll be home and safe before you know it,” Melissa told her, eyes turning briefly back to Deam. Though the sight of so much blood made her sick, she couldn’t help but feel the wounds were too small for the amount that had spilled out. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your name?”

“N-N-Nicole,” The child blubbered, looking up at Melissa.

The trans girl looked down at her, giving a warm smile as she stood up. “Nice to meet you Nicole. How about we get away from the creepy monster to someplace safer.”

Nicole nodded as she let go of Melissa, the latter holding her hand out for the former to take. Nicole quickly accepted it, and both moved towards the door leading out of the classroom. Melissa made a note to come back and fix it up once the girl was safe, knowing the state it was currently in wasn’t a good teaching environment. For now, she wanted to get as far away from the blood stained classroom as possible.

As they exited out into the hall, Nicole halted as she saw Lucy approach them from the direction of the front entrance. She looked up at Melissa, who gave the girl a pat on the head as she stepped forward. The French girl looked to the child, then to the broken window, and finally to her crush with an expression of confusion. It took all Melissa’s will not to chuckle at the sight.

“It seems I missed quite a bit,” Lucy said. Her eyes landed on the child with her friend, a relieved sigh leaving her at the sight . “Thank goodness, she is safe.”

“Don’t worry, Nicole, she’s with me,” Melissa whispered to the girl. Nicole looked between the two young adults, nothing about her stance or expression changing. She did slowly walk back to the tran girl’s side, though. “Thanks for turning the lights on Lu. I was so focused on stopping Deam that I forgot to do so myself.”

“Um, I didn’t actually turn anything on,” Lucy explained. Melissa eyebrows raised as she heard that. “They were on when I came in. I thought it was you who did so.”

“Wait, then if neither of us did then who–”

Melissa was cut off as she heard the sound of growling come from the classroom she had rescued Nicole from. The little girl’s eyes went wide as she backed up, only for an invisible force to suddenly throw her into the floor. Both Lucy and Melissa looked back to them, watching as a strange circular cage surrounded the child. Lucy’s eyes went wide in fear as the vine-like bars of the cage grew wider and thicker, immediately throwing her walking stick to the ground as she reached down, trying to rip the vines apart with her hands. Melissa joined her a few seconds later, only to find that it seemed to retract inwards, constantly out of her reach.

Nicole reached in arm out, only for the vines to immediately push it back in. “Miss Melissa!”

“Don’t worry Nicole, we’re gonna get you out,” Melissa called out as the cage completely sealed itself. She tried to grab it one more time, but as before it bent to avoid her touch. The amount it bent made it seem as if no one lay inside of it. “What the hell is this thing?”

“I don’t know, but it might as well be made of latex or some shit,” Lucy replied, trying her damndest to rip the cage apart with her hands. It never gave, stretching like an elastic band and refusing to break. “There has to be some way to get her out of this.”

“Yes, and that is by focusing on me.”

Melissa and Lucy turned, the former’s mouth dropping open at what she saw. Standing in the middle of the hallway, looking no worse for wear, was Deam. An aura much like the one Zarlaus had gained covered him, only thicker and more oppressing. He stood tall on all for legs, the ground giving under him as if they were a mattress rather than tiles. Melissa immediately summoned her outfit and revolvers back, and Lucy grabbed her walking stick. Both stood guard, stances tense and ready for anything he threw their way in an attempt to defend Nicole.

“Heh, I thought I was done there for a moment, but it seems you’re not a smart one,” Deam mocked, a sinister grin on its shadow-like body. “Fun fact, missy: dreams and nightmares don’t die like you dreamers do. We don’t collapse on the ground as an empty husk.” His voice grew more sinister as he leaned his head forward, holding in laughter. “No, they are shattered!”

Melissa scowled at his words, her mind briefly flashing back to the sight of Zarlaus shattering before her. The pain of remembering having killed him pulled at her heart at the reminder that, good or not, she had snuffed out a life. Deam saw that pain briefly appeared on her face and chuckled. Perhaps she did know how dreams and nightmares died; he could smell where her nightmares came from.

That, however, was nowhere near as enticing as what he smelled on Lucy.

“Well well, certainly out of my preferred age group, but you smell delicious,” He said. His words sent a shiver up Lucy’s back, teeth grinding against teeth in fear of what he knew. “You aren’t a knight either. Perhaps I’ll keep you around as desert, once I’m done with your friend here.”

“That is not happening,” Melissa said, putting an arm out in front of Lucy, her eyes narrowing at the nightmare. The French girl smiled at the act, her face turning a very light shade of red. “How the hell are you standing? Whether I killed you or not, you shouldn’t be able to stand right now.”

“Heh, Zarlaus must not have gotten the chance to show you then,” Deam said. Melissa and Lucy felt the ground shake under them for a moment, the latter’s eyes turning to the wall. They seemed to bend and sway, as if she was viewing them from underwater. “Allow me to show you then the real power of a living nightmare!”

A sudden wave of energy spilt out of Deam, so strong and thick to Melissa’s eyes that it made it impossible to see anything else. Lucy, however, only felt what the energy’s force, unblinded like her friend was. What she could see was what it did to the environment, the walls turning black and red, gaining a look more like chitin and flesh than wood or brick. The floor seemed to widen as it turned crimson, and the lighting took a more dim, ethereal turn. Behind Deam the walls closed in, and where there had previously been nothing desks, a chalkboard, and other school related things took his place.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

None of the items that now line the hallway looked right through, but Lucy wasn’t sure how to describe it. It felt like everything except Melissa, Deam, and herself had a filter over it, making it hard to discern what they truly looked like. The things she could make out were all very clearly wrong, the chalkboard filled not with lesson plans but drawings. Obscene drawing, taking her to a time far less comfortable in her life. She wished not to see what was on it and, as if god itself had heard her call, the drawings on the chalkboard became so covered by haze she couldn’t make them out.

“Welcome to my domain class. Take your seats, be patient, and Mister Deam will teach you all you need to know,” Deam called out, motion with one hand to the desks. Lucy looked back to them, letting out the gasp as she noticed the shadowy outlines of children sitting on them. “Make me upset, however, and I’ll see you “punished” for your behavior.”

“You sick, twisted fuck,” Lucy muttered, growling to herself in rage. “You mean to tell me the cause of your creation was a teacher?”

“A backwards nation creates a backwards man,” Deam said. The sentence was said in such a matter-of-fact tone it just proved to make Lucy hate him more. “Besides, don’t tell me your experiences aren’t similar. Given this country, if it wasn’t a teacher who hurt you it must have been a priest. Am I right?”

Those words were what finally caused Lucy to snap. She rushed past Melissa, her friend unable to grab her in time. Tunnel visioned on the nightmare before her, Lucy wound up as big of a swing as possible with her walking stick. She waited for the right time to let her strike loose, her arms swinging out at him with less than five feet between them. The walking stick should have hit Deam in the head.

Instead, he bit down on it. All the force in the force ceased, and to make sure Lucy couldn’t try again he crushed the stick in his mouth. The French girl’s eyes went wide, watching Deam’s seemingly permanent smile grow. Her vision was so focused on his face that she didn’t notice him raise a hand to grab her throat. At least, she hadn’t noticed until she felt the front of her neck press in slightly, triggering her gag reflex.

Deam easily slammed her to the ground, Lucy weighing nothing with the power he had obtained. Melissa tried to aim her revolvers at him, hoping to get him off her friend, but a sudden force against her legs broke her balance and concentration. Looking down, she saw the shadow children tugging at her armor and trying to shake her legs. A few more tried to reach up for her arms and two painfully tugged at her hair. She struggled against the children, doing everything she could think of to free herself as they laughed at her expense.

“Well aren’t you a feisty one,” Deam teased as he watched Lucy squirm under him. Her heart rate was starting to rise, a childlike fear she had abandoned rising from the ashes. “I’ve never seen a dreamer so willing to become the main course. Not that I’m complaining.”

“Let… let go of me,” Lucy commanded him, trying to do everything she could to get him off her. She couldn’t remove his hands from her neck, and her attempts to kick at his stomach proved ineffective.

“In time, once you no longer have any substance,” Deam replied, leaning down a bit more as he began to open his maw. “Now just lay still. That will only make this easier.”

Lucy could do nothing but watch as his mouth closed in on her head, the childlike-fear inside of her starting to surface. Her motions slowed down, a piece of her mind telling her what was before her was inevitable. That same line of thought haunted her back before being adopted too. From the other side of the nightmares domain, being weighed down by the shadow children that seemed to multiply by the second Melissa watched on in fear. She couldn’t even raise her arm anymore, being forced to watch what she feared would be her best friend’s end before her very end. Through the children's laughter, she heard one word leave Lucy’s mouth.

“Maman.”

Then, mere moments before Deam’s head enclosed, several shards of glass found their way into the back of his neck. He lifted his head up and howled in pain, the sight waking Lucy up from her terror. Seeing her chance, she brought all the force she could into one more kick. That one threw him off her, her right hand grabbing the remains of her walking stick and slamming it into the right side of his head for good measure. With space between her and the nightmare, she got to her feet as quickly as she did, eyes locked on Deam in wonder at what had saved her.

Melissa found herself similarly saved, watching as rows of mechanical pencils, pens, and glass ripped through the shadow children holding her down. They turned to dust the moment the objects impacted with them, making them seem more like clouds than solid objects. Using her arms freedom, she raised her revolvers to the ones that hadn’t been dealt with and let off a volley of shots. Her aim was true, none grazing her body as shadow child after shadow child turned to mist.

“Lucy!” She called as soon as the last one was gone. She stood up and rushed to her friend, the French girl turning to her. “You okay?”

“Yes, somehow,” Lucy replied with a nod. “Yourself.”

“Could be better, but I’m standing,” Melissa answered.

Their attention turned back to Deam as he growled in rage. A wall of shadow children surrounded him on all sides as he plucked a piece of glass from the back of his neck. The sight of his own black blood made him growl even louder. He tossed the shard to the side as he looked in all directions but directly behind him.

“Who the hell did that?!” He exclaimed in anger. “Show yourself!”

“Well, if you insist.”

Melissa and Lucy’s eyes looked straight behind the Deam, the nightmare swiveling around to do the same. A blur of yellow cloth appeared through the walls of his domain, shadow children leaping at the figure to defend the place’s master. Each and every one was quickly dealt with as school utensils ranging from rulers to pens to whiteboard markers sliced through them like butter. When it wasn’t school utensils, their end came from a staff topped with a glowing yellow gemstone on its top. After a point in time, the figure jumped over the wall of shadow children, staff pointed down as shards of telekinetically held glass fell from the sky. It was only blocked by more shadow children climbing on top of the nightmare to shield him.

When they landed on the ground again Deam, Lucy, and Melissa finally got a good look at who was before them. They were a girl only a couple years younger than the college student. Red hair, freckled face, clad in yellow cloth covered them from their knees up to their neck. The bottom of her staff tapped the ground as she gave Deam a serene smile, nothing about her stance showing a hint of tension.

“I’m guessing I missed quite a lot,” the girl joked. “Would have been here earlier but I thought you would be on a different floor.”

Melissa blinked in surprise. “Another Magral Knight?”

The new knight giggled and faced Melissa and Lucy. Her smile seemed far too innocent for what surrounded her, as if she had seen stuff like this so often it couldn’t phase her anymore. A couple of shadow childs tried to leap at her the moment she turned her back, but a whisk of her hand sent utensils and glass sailing towards them. Like all the others she had attacked, they disappeared into mist with not a scratch on her body.

“I should be the one saying that to you! There aren’t that many of us in Vermont after all, given how rural and unpopulated the state is,” She replied, her voice a little too cheerful for the situation around her right now. “Nice to meet you two. The name is Jessica Wilde, but please just call me Jay.” She pulled something out of her pocket and flicked it to Lucy. “Oh, and this is for you.”

Lucy snatched what she saw easily, her eyes going wide as she saw what it was: a knight’s pin. It started to shine brightly, the French girl looking back to Jay only for her words to get caught in her throat. She saw shadow children stuck mid leap behind the girl, glass and other things moments from ending their existence. It was then Lucy knew what was likely to come, remembering Melissa's words at the café yesterday.

“So that means I’m gonna becom–“

“To you, milady, I give this power,” A voice suddenly boomed. Lucy looked up, recognizing who it was that spoke. “To you, stolen from your home and broken by the cruelty of man, I give you the power to make your dreams a reality. Say the pledge of the Magral Knight, and see to it none around you know the pain you felt.”

“Baarham, is that you?” Lucy asked, looking around for where her old nightmare was. “Where are you? I haven’t seen you since the day I escaped.”

“Now is not the time for reunions, milady,” The voice spoke. “Do you not have someone you need to protect? Someone who you want to keep from harm just as much as they want to keep you from it?”

Lucy looked at Melissa, frozen in shock and her eyes looking down. She had been looking at the knights pin Jay had tossed to her best friend, unaware of all currently going on for them. A warm smile graced Lucy’s face gripping the knight's pin strongly in her hand. She thought of all she would do for them, and all they had done for her by just being her friend. It all made her face just a small bit more red.

“I do. Someone who means more to me than I can ever put into words,” Lucy said softly.

“Then take your place alongside her as defenders of your home,” Baarham replied, clipping the pin to her shirt. “You already know the words. Just say them, and become a Magral Knight.”

Lucy held a hand out, confidence growing within her as she recited the words the pin had placed in her head. “I dream a dreamer's dream: of a world of endless possibilities – of a world with infinite realities – to carve into my own.”

As she spoke, dream energy already started to form itself in her hands. She glasped to the end of it, which turned into a hilt. A crimson blade formed where the hilt ended made of multiple segments. Each was held together inside by chain, and each held a different letter ingrained on it. She did not need to see the letters to know what it spelled, as the word had formed in her head long before the blade appeared.

When she did look to see the engraved word, even more dream energy started to surround her body, a feeling of determination took root in her heart.