“Much better. Thanks.” Andie shook her head and took a deep breath. It was nice to have her Will to Live back - she really hated the depression born in its absence. It was a nasty little paradox of emotional energy swirling inside a shell of apathy. Pain and pleasure alike pulled into a black hole of screaming silence. Even though she was usually the type to laugh off her fears with a quick joke, it was still refreshing to be scared again - to really feel the adrenaline pump through her veins.

The metallic crash of steel hitting forcefield echoed throughout the building.

The room fell silent. Nothing was spoken or thought, as the distinct crunch of a Nightmare clawing across concrete made its way down the building.

“You’re up, Andie.” Dyllan’s smirk opened into a grin. “Hit ‘em with the pointy bit.”

Andie nodded, then sprinted across the office, through Dyllan’s forcefield, and out the window. Immediately, gravity began pulling her away from the walls and toward the next building over. A frustrating obstacle, but far from insurmountable. “Alright, here goes…” Andie gripped the handle of her sword tightly. An electric heat began to gather around her. She pulled the weapon back, readying the weapon against her feet as she turned up toward the streets below her - zeroing in on the unsuspecting Nightmare as it looked for a third car. “Blaze a path, my Courage!” Golden fire erupted from Andie’s sword, spiraling out into a corkscrew pathway toward the Nightmare. She could still feel gravity pulling her to the side, but the pathway’s pull was stronger.

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Fear began to flow through Andie as she ran down the path toward her prey. It wasn’t a fear of anything in particular, it was simply an emotional fatigue from using her virtue’s power. The longer the path remained, the greater the strain on her courage grew. Fear swirled more and more chaotically, and drowned out all her thoughts. She lost track of why and where she was running. Her awareness of her surroundings faded away. All that was left was just one foot after another, and even that was no longer a conscious decision. It was an impulse.