Little Dreams and Hollow Nightmares

Ph3 Ch27: Awakening Nightmares

That face. That smooth, pale white face. The knight remembered that face. It remembered it well. That was the same face it saw in its dream a while back. The dream that filled it with hunger. Whoever this Lady was, she was responsible for the knight's hunger. The knight looked at Six, and saw her shaking, while slowly backing away. Judging by her terrified expression, it was clear Six knew the Lady as well. If that was the case, then the Lady must have been responsible for Six's hunger as well. Responsible for all the hunger in the Maw. The source of all their suffering. And with the orange eyes, she was the source of the infection as well.

The knight took Six's hand, and stood in front of her in a defensive fighting stance. Mono stood in front of both of them, pointing his ladle in front of the Lady. They were all ready to fight.

The Lady looked at all of them, and laughed softly behind her mask. "Do you plan to hurt me with that little serving spoon of yours, little boy?" She asked.

"Come any closer, and I will," Mono threatened. "This ladle has cracked heads open, and if you don't watch out, yours will be next."

"Feisty!" The Lady said, somewhat amused. "I think you'll do well being trapped here forever."

Mono POV

The Lady raised her hand, and suddenly, Mono started rising into the air. He struggled around, trying to get back to the ground. Suddenly, a sharp pain entered his body. He felt his arms bend, his legs shift backwards, his chest cave in. As his body collapsed, Mono made a desperate last resort to break free of the Lady's clutches. He summoned every last bit of his power, and concentrated it all throughout his body. And just as he felt like his body was about to explode, he unleashed every drop of static energy stored inside him.

The Lady was stunned, and she dropped Mono's twisted body onto the floor. Mono tried to stand up, and set his body straight. Then, as if by magic, Mono felt more power surging through his body. He started violently bending and twisting, as a static aura surrounded him. His body cracked, bent, and glitched and just like that, he was standing up straight, without a single bend in his entire body.

The Lady stared at Mono with her radiant, orange eyes. "So, you're the young broadcaster," she said. "Well, maybe your horned friend will be more amusing to play with."

Knight POV

The Lady turned towards the knight, and her orange eyes flashed. The knight felt something trying to force its way into its body, causing it to hunch over. However, this wasn't the first time the knight had experienced something like this. If something was trying to enter, why not just let it in?

The knight began to focus, and the mysterious force trying to enter was suddenly sucked in. But that wasn't the only thing getting sucked in. The orange glow started leaving the Lady's eyes, and entering the knight's empty, hollow shell. The Lady realized what the knight was doing to her, and started pulling her power back into her, forcing it out of the knight.

Once the knight felt empty again, it stopped focusing. The Lady hunched over, leaning against the elevator door. Her orange eyes glared at the knight.

"You... you shouldn't... you shouldn't be able to do that!" She yelled. "I filled you with hunger and emotion! You shouldn't be able to resist the infection!"

The knight stared at the Lady with the most hollow look it had ever given.

"Unless...," the Lady said. "You found a way to expel it from your body, didn't you?"

The knight kept staring at her.

"Very well, I guess we'll have to see what your raincoat companion has to offer."

The Lady glared at Six. "Yes, I see," she said. "Every bit of pain, torture, selfishness, and regret inside you. Everything you've tried to forget. Everything you can't forget."

The knight felt Six shaking more than ever.

"You're a cruel, heartless, useless, selfish being," the Lady said. "You're nothing. Nothing but a monster."

The knight positioned itself between the Lady and Six, pointing its nail at the Lady's mask. The Lady's eyes flickered with orange flames as she glared at the knight.

"You think you can protect her?" She asked. "You can't even try!"

The Lady suddenly lifted Six into the air, and pulled her right in front of her hand.

"LET HER GO!" Mono yelled, jumping at her with his ladle.

The Lady giggled, and sent Mono flying backwards with the flick of a finger. The knight jumped up and caught Mono, just before he hit the wall. Behind the Lady, the elevator door opened. She backed into the elevator, taking Six with her.

"GIVE HER BACK!" Mono yelled.

"Come and get her," the Lady said as the elevator door closed.

Six POV

Six struggled and squirmed against the Lady's power. As the elevator moved further away from Mono and the knight, she grew even more scared. The door opened, and the Lady walked into a room filled with toys, drawings, and colors. Six felt herself being flung into the center of the room, away from the Lady's grasp.

"L-l-leave me alone!" Six managed to say, trying to sound brave.

"Why of course dear child," the Lady said. "After all, there's no better tormentor than bad memories."

The Lady left the room, laughing under her mask. The door closed, leaving Six all alone.

Six started panicking. She remembered this room all too well. Of all the things she wanted to forget, this was the one thing she wanted to forget the most. She looked at the walls of the room as voices echoed all around her.

"You betrayed him!" "You let her die!" "You ate him!" "You left them all behind!" The voices yelled.

Six covered her ears, but the voices only got louder, and louder, and louder!

"PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE!" She yelled.

Just as she yelled that, a calming melody entered the room. Six looked behind her, and saw an old music box, playing her favorite tune. Six held onto the music box, hoping it would silence the voices around her.

"That's right. Listen to the music box Six," Shadow Six said. "Hold onto it ever so tightly. Let it calm your mind. Let it take you away. There's no need to escape. You belong here. This is the perfect place for a monster like you."

"I am a monster. I belong here," Six said.

Shadow Six giggled. "Indeed you do, Monster Six."

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I really like chapters that switch up the POV. It really helps you see what's going on in the mind of each character.

Oh, I also like chapters that end on cliffhangers. And not just any ordinary cliffhangers, cliffhangers that make the reader want to throw their device across the room, knowing they'll have to wait for the next chapter in order to see what happens next.

Oh well, I guess the big battle will have to be next time. I really wanted it to be in this chapter, but I guess my mind had better plans.

Oh well. See you next chapter!