Andie shook her head and snapped back to reality. The mysterious new arrival could wait, right now she needed to strike - while Dyllan’s evil twin was still distracted. So strike Andie did, tackling the mostly monochrome imitation of her friend to the ground and pinning it there. This was much easier than some might expect, but Andie had already learned the hard way that steady endurance was what made these mirrored rivals dangerous, not raw power. She needed a more permanent solution.

A strained moan of pain gurgled from outside the dead-end alleyway Andie and company were in, heralding the return of the Nightmare. Fortunately, the monster caught the attention of the new arrival before it could attack.

“Reach for the future, my Optimism!” The new arrival’s trigger phrase echoed out, loud and absent of shame or hesitation. From the sound’s origin, there lashed out a length of silken fabric - wrapping around the monster and crushing it, unleashing the horrible shriek and wave of light that signaled the fall of a Nightmare. “Wow. Haven’t seen a Nightie that weak in months. Must be an awful lot of them, if it’s been keeping you bus… y… Oh.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

A middle aged man stepped around the corner, spotting Cedric. He looked to be about 50, but dressed like somebody’s grandpa. He had a stout, tough, and friendly frame that made him look a little bigger than he really was. His age showed, but a sparkle in his eye and a twinge of ginger in his hair proved that there was still life in him. Above all that, though, two things about the man really stood out. A flowing sky-blue silken scarf whose tips were made out of clouds that lifted up the ends of the scarf and trailed behind him, and ectoplasmic ears with a matching tail - which, unlike the evil dreamwalkers’, were bright sunshine yellow and shaped like a Labrador retriever’s.

“Well, howdy! You must be new. Name’s Finnegan, but most call me Finn.” Finn’s eyes drifted across the alleyway, starting with Cedric, who was standing around in a useless panic. His attention lingered on Andie and Dyllan’s shadow, but soon moved on to the true Dyllan, who was propped up against a wall - unconscious. “I’d do the well-mannered thing and wait for you to introduce yourselves, but it looks to me like you need some help first.”