Jumping into Nightmares

WiP; will post the chapters later on and NOTE: same with TEWR {The Elemental World Reboot} it is definitely going to be a while until I update the next part.

## ***~ Prologue ~***

His heart pounded in his chest as he pushed himself forward, constantly telling himself not to look back. No! I thought he was gone forever, he thought. He'll always be with you, another part of his mind said. He'll never go away. The dark surroundings were not helping him either. The trees were thin and gnarled, making shadows that appeared to be real. He looked back and tripped, screaming as the thing leaped up to him.

Suddenly, a girl jumped in between the thing and boy, with some gold wispy creature next to her growling. The girl pointed at the thing and her creature leaped forward, fangs bared. The creature wrestled the thing to the ground and soon, the thing turned into floating and glowing gray specks.

The girl turned to the boy and held her hand out, helping him up. She had long, thick purple hair, with blue streaks in it, green eyes and pale skin, with also a blue spot at the corner of each eye. She was thin and a bit on the short side. She wore a purple t-shirt and a leather jacket, with black jeans and black knee-high boots.

"Thank you," the boy said. The dark surroundings changed to a light blue color, healthy trees and plants growing around them

"Anytime." With a wave, the girl and creature disappeared through a hole in a nearby tree, appearing in a bright building.

The building was large (about the size of the Pentagon and similar in structure except circular) and a bit high tech. The girl typed in a code and entered the building. She looked down at the creature, which brightened in its gold color and turned into tiny gold specks. Floating everywhere in the building were the gold specks; the energy and lifetime supply of the building known as Majik.

The girl walked around, saying hello to others she passed by until she came to the middle of the building, which the ceiling was enclosed by a glass dome. Under the dome and floating in slow movements, were millions of glowing white spheres with moving pictures inside them.

"I still can't believe how amazing this is even though I've seen it for years," she said.

"Andalite, rookies just arrived. They need to be shown around," a young woman said.

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" Andalite said and rushed down the halls to the front of Yume Sakuhin Inc.

Fantasy Goldwood tapped her foot on the ground impatiently, constantly looking at a nearby clock and the road. Her wavy coffee-colored hair, that was a little past her shoulders in a braid, complimented her sparkling blue eyes behind her black glasses. Her skin was paler than tan but not too pale, and she had freckles on her face. She wore a flower crown and a sweater with soft pants and fluffy boots.

*Where* are *they?* she thought. *They're going to be late.*

And as a cue, a boy around her age came walking up the sidewalk, taking his time. His skin was a light tan and his hair was black and straight. His bangs almost covered his right eye, their gray color almost making both his eyes look black. He was close to the average height of someone around his age but on the shorter side. He was slightly on the muscular build. He was wearing his dark-colored pants and shirt with no designs on it, and his black shoes. And as usual, he was wearing his hooded, dark blue trench coat, with its white clock with roman numerals and the hands pointing at the twelve.

"Hurry up, Time, we haven't got all night," Fantasy impatiently said. "The movie's going to start soon."

Time looked down at his watch. "I'm right on *time*. It's Paradox who's late."

"Excuse me?" a voice said behind them. "I've been here the whole time."

Time Conquest turned to see the light-skinned, tall and thin boy with messy, side-swept dark brown hair, almost to the point of black and dyed white points on the ends, leaning against a lamppost nearby. His left eye was blue with small yellow flecks and hints of white, and his right eye was neon deep red with small black flecks. He was wearing a very dark gray jacket with light blue stripes on the arms and around the collar and cuffs, navy blue sports pants that had three white stripes going down the side of each pant leg, and black sneakers. His rough hands were wearing fingerless gloves with pads on the palm; the gloves navy blue, fading to red at the finger beginning. His large army knife was in a small sheath that was attached to his pocket, and a mini flashlight attached to his other pocket.

"How long have you been there?" Fantasy asked.

"Since 5:45. Fifteen minutes."

"Actually thirteen minutes," Time corrected him.

"Whatever. Can we just go in and see the movie before it ends?"

"It doesn't really start until 6:15," Time pointed out. "So we have seventeen minutes."

Paradox Morris's hand slightly twitched. Time saying the exact time was starting to get on his nerves. He didn't see how that didn't annoy Fantasy yet.

"Then let's get some popcorn," Fantasy said.

As Time followed her inside, Paradox thought he sensed someone behind him and turned. No one was there.

He narrowed his eyes. *Hmm*. He rushed to catch up to Fantasy and Time. The theater was unusually packed. As Paradox avoided people, two, in particular, stood out. They were standing near the water fountain, looking at everyone with narrow eyes.

One was tall and paled skin, with short black hair black eyes. His whole outfit was completely black. He looked like he was about to attack someone and it gave Paradox shivers down his spine. The other looked just as intimidating, with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes, wearing a dark gray leather outfit.

"You coming, Paradox?" Time called. He and Fantasy were waiting for him with popcorn.

"Yeah." He accepted the popcorn Fantasy gave him.

Fantasy frowned. "I hope you're not like that during the movie. I didn't come here to have a bad time."

"Don't worry, Lilac." Time said. "This movie is supposed to be funny. Now come on." As they headed for the studio, Paradox couldn't help but feel that two pairs of eyes were watching them.

A slightly tanned skinned girl with braided, dark brown hair and a set of gold dragon scale armor that was strong and lightweight, waited with four other girls. Her eyes were bright green and she wore a dark cloak. Her arms were crossed as she looked at the other girls who were rookie Dreamjumpers like her, but she thought that she was better than them.

One of the girls was Forest, a tanned brunette with a natural wave at the end. The tips of her hair were dyed dark green and the roots fading down was a very sea foamy colored green. Her hair went a few inches past her shoulders. She had blue-green eyes with a hint of hazel. She was slightly taller than her, a few light freckles along her nose. Her nails were painted dark green. Forest had pierced ears with rose earrings and a black choker. Her outfit was an earthy colored, long flowing shirt that showed her shoulders, with stretchy, navy blue fading into light blue shorts. She also wore brown boots with a slight heel and a long dark brown cloak with a hood.

*She's alright at fighting, I guess,* she thought as she looked at the girl next to Forest. *She and Boop are good competition.*

Boop was looking around the building with a serious face, her arms crossed. She was around 6'1, her hair dyed light green with a few white streaks. The irises in her eyes were aqua green speckled with darker green spots here and there. She wore a long, army green blazer that reached down to her knees, along with black trousers and black combat boots. She also wore a leather belt. Boop's necklace made out of multicolored bird feathers, with a few long feathers of blue and black, black and white, and red and white, sticking out behind her ears.

She looked around and noticed Sylva looking at her. *What does* she *want? Another match because I beat her at our last match?*

She looked over at Grendel, the last rookie in their group. Grendel wore a long, light gray cloak that swirled around her legs. It had a hood, covering her head, although her face and hair were visible. Aside from the cloak, Grendel wore a light gray tunic and long pants of the same color. She had wavy, messy dark brown hair that reached her shoulders and orange-tan-olive-ish skin. Her eyes were dark brown.

*She's a quiet girl,* Boop thought.

Forest straightened herself and her clothes up as a girl with purple hair came up to them.

"Are you all rookie Dreamjumpers?" she asked slightly shyly. Forest nodded. "Welcome to Yume Sakuhin Inc. I'm Andalite. I will be showing you around."

"I'm Forest. This here is Sylva, Boop, and Grendel."

"Come. I'll show you the basic and main areas. We'll hit the smaller areas throughout your work here. I'm sure you are all aware of the energy and life force of Yume Sakuhin Inc.?"

"Majik?" Forest asked, looking up and around at the floating gold specks.

"Yes. Right when a Dreamjumper enters a dream, some Majik follows them. They're the whole reason we're able to fight off nightmares."

"So is it really that fun to jump from dream to dream in peoples' minds?" Grendel asked enthusiastically.

Andalite shrugged. "Depends. Some like it, some don't. I guess I'm in the middle, but leaning slightly to the like side."

Grendel listened eagerly to Andalite and hoped she would be a great Dreamjumper like her. She looked at the places Andalite pointed out with awe.

"And last, the Dream Room." Andalite led them to a colossal room with floating white orbs slowly moving around. Each one had a different moving picture in it.

All the girls were in awe, even Sylva and Boop.

"Whenever a dream is turning or is a nightmare," Andalite explained, "the orb will turn gray and sometimes even black. The darker the orb is, the worse the nightmare is."

"Like that one?" Grendel pointed to an orb that was above them, which was so black, they couldn't even see the picture.

"Exactly." Andalite looked around. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. Whenever there's a nightmare, a Dreamjumper that is near it goes. You can stay here and wait for me if you want."

"Nuh uh," Forest said while shaking her head. "Can we come too? That way we get the experience?"

Andalite thought for a moment. "I don't don't know."

"Pleeeaaaasssse?" Forest pleaded. "You girls want to go too right?"

Sylva shrugged, Boop slightly tilted her head, and Grendel slightly smiled.

**Somewhere else in the Alternate Reality or Dream World....**

A dark, shadowy person in moving swiftly around, an echoing and slightly hissing voice coming from it.

*"Yessss. Yessss. Nightmaressss to fill the empty sssstomach in me."*

"My lord," a voice said behind it. "The barrier is weakening. Soon you'll be able to enter Yume Sakuhin without any trouble from the Majik in there."

*"Perfect. Ssssoon I will control the Dream World."*

**Back in Reality....**

"You sure they're the ones, Kef?"

"I'm no dummy, Clide. I can sense their powers."

Clide scoffed. "As if they'll be strong enough to stop us."

Violet Field was sitting in the back of the movie theater, waiting. Violet's long, honey brown hair was braided with flowers woven in and the tips of her hair dyed lavender and violet. Her eyes were sharp and light blue. She was average height and weight, yet thin with a small neck. Violet's face had faint freckles scattered around her face. Her nails are painted periwinkle to disguise the fact they were bitten so badly. She wore a silver anklet and locket with a loose cream blouse and denim jeans.

She noticed three people her age enter the theater and sit a row in front of her to her left. She was so distracted by them that she didn't see the person sneaking up on her.

"Hey, Violet."

"Eek!" Violet quietly squealed. She turned her head and slightly frowned while holding her popcorn container. "Imagine, you scared me."

Imagine Hope's smile was broad, his bright green eyes filled with delight, as he slightly brushed his short black hair away. He had slightly tanned skin. Imagine was wearing a t-shirt that complimented with his sweatpants and gray hoodie. He also wore a platinum bracelet that was embedded with an emerald.

He sat down next to her. "Come on, Vi. I haven't seen you smile all day."

"Don't call me Vi," Violet said, frowning a bit more.

"It doesn't matter. You'll obviously smile during the movie. James said that he and Kingston were laughing so hard they couldn't eat the popcorn because their stomachs were hurting so much."

"Well, I'd like to enjoy the movie and the popcorn I paid for," Violet said.

"Too bad James and Kingston couldn't come," Imagine stated as he relaxed in his seat.

"Between the three of you, I wouldn't be able to hear a single thing, even in a theater."

Imagine frowned. "Hey--"

"Shh!" Violet quietly whispered. "The movie's about to start."

## ***Chapter One ~ Protectors***

Fantasy walked out of the studio, laughing with Time and Paradox.

"Did you see him when trying to unlock the door?" Paradox asked in between laughs. "Priceless."

Fantasy laughed as she threw her trash away. "What about the time when he hollered out even more, causing an entire pack of wolf pups to chase him?"

"That still doesn't make sense," Time imputed. "Why would there be a pack of wild wolf *pups*? Where were the adult wolves?"

"Aw come on, Time," Paradox said, throwing away his empty slushy cup. "You at least enjoyed the movie, right?"

Time nodded. "But there needs to be some logic to it."

Paradox raised an eyebrow. "Since when is there logic in *any* movie?"

"He *does* have a point," Fantasy agreed. "Which is rare."

"Hey." Paradox said. This time, Time snickered. Paradox frowned. "Very funny you two."

Time threw away his popcorn container and looked up to see Paradox accidentally bump into a tall man, who was wearing a dark gray leather outfit.

"Oh, excuse me," Paradox apologized.

The man just answered with a glare. Time raised an eyebrow. This man, and another who was standing behind him in the shadows, looked suspicious and Time wanted to get out of the theater to protect his friends. Time was suddenly grabbed by the elbow and yanked behind Fantasy, who was pulling him and Paradox out of the theater.

"Time for rollerblading!" she exclaimed.

"Wait, what?!" Paradox asked. "When did we schedule for rollerblading?"

Time gave him a 'Are you serious?' look. "You didn't read the text Lilac sent after scheduling the movie?"

"Oops. I might've fallen asleep after that text," Paradox admitted sheepishly. Once they were outside, Fantasy pushed the two guys into some bushes nearby, jumping in herself.

Paradox spat a few leaves out. "Why did you—"

"Keep your voices down," she quietly hissed. She looked over the bushes and widened her eyes, pushing Paradox and Time's heads down while ducking. "Get down!"

"What's wrong, Fantasy?" Time asked.

"Something about those men I didn't like. So if we see them leave and head to the skating ring two blocks down, then we know something's up."

Paradox dropped his mouth open. "Wait. So we're not going to go rollerblading?"

"Nope," Time answered while peaking through the bushes. "It was a decoy."

Paradox peaked through the bushes and saw the two men exit the theater, turning to their right and walking in the direction of the skating ring. He gulped. *What do those men want with us?*

"...Are they in the bushes?" Kef asked.

Clide slightly turned to look as they turned the corner. "Yes."

A chuckle came from Kef. "Everything's going to plan."

Violet walked out of the studio, throwing her trash away.

"I can't believe it," Imagine exclaimed. "You didn't *like* the movie at all?!"

"It's just a silly comedy," Violet said.

"A silly comedy?!" he repeated her.

Violet turned to Imagine. "Are you going to keep yelling in my ear or head to the bowling alley with me without one shout?"

Imagine frowned. "Why did you not like the movie?" he asked in a softer tone.

Violet shrugged. "I just didn't. Those parts that made everyone laugh was not...*that* funny."

"Aw, where's your sense of humor, Vi?" Imagine pouted.

"Obviously taken by *you*," she said with a slight smile.

Imagine smirked. "Bowling alley?" She nodded. They walked out of the theater when Imagine bumped into a guy his age. "Oh, sorry."

"Nah, you're fine," the guy answered, Imagine being taken back by his different colored eyes.

"Come on, Paradox," a girl behind him said. There was another guy with her. "I don't want to bowl too late."

Imagine slightly raised his eyebrows. "Are you guy going to the bowling alley? Because we're heading there ourselves. Maybe we can go together?"

The girl shrugged. "I don't see why not. You okay with that, guys?" she asked her companions. The one next to her nodded.

"Sure," the colored eyed guy said. He held out his hand. "I'm Paradox Morris. That's Fantasy Goldwood and Time Conquest."

Imagine shook his hand. "I'm Imagine Hope. This here is Violet Field." He noticed Violet had gotten quiet all of a sudden. *Hmm...* he thought as they all made their way to the bowling alley.

## ***Chapter Two ~ Dreamjumpers***

Andalite dodged a flying ax and looked at the rookies to see how they were doing.  Forest was doing pretty good and Grendel was behind a large, creepy looking boulder...hiding it looked like.  Sylva and Boop were putting up a good fight.

Andalite looked back at the literal nightmare, or nightmares.  It was extremely larger than your normal mare, or horse for that matter.  Its whole body was black and wispy-looking, and its red eyes flashed at her.

What kind of nightmare is this?  Andalite thought.  I've never seen anything like it.

Sylva was enjoying herself.  Now, this is fighting, she thought as she used a Majik-made sword to destroy two nightmares.  She looked around and saw Grendel hiding.

"Seriously?  You're a Dreamjumper.  You're supposed to fight off nightmares."

"Uh...  Not those type of nightmares," she answered from behind the weird looking rock.

"Come on, Grendel," Forest said.  "What's the point in being a Dreamjumper if you can't fight off any nightmare?"

"At least try to fight one," Boop suggested, shooting two nightmares down with Majik-made pistols.

"Oh...  Okay."

Boop turned her head to see Grendel pull out a javelin looking weapon and attack the closest nightmare.  She widened her eyes as Grendel took down the nightmare in two seconds.

I guess she's got it in her, she thought.

Something wrapped around Boop's ankle and she looked down to see a black vine.  She was about to shoot it when it yanked her off her feet, hanging her upside down and making her drop her pistols.

"Hey!  That's not fair," Boop shouted at the plant.  Andalite jumped over to her and cut her down with her dagger.  "Thanks."

Forest was about to out her Majik-made bow and arrows when the nightmares and all that was a scary part of the dream, disappeared.

"Aw, come on!  I didn't even get to use my weapons."  She looked at Andalite and noticed the confusion in her face.  "What is it, Andalite?"

"That's never happened before," she quietly mused.  "I'll need to talk to Fal about it.  Let's go."  Without another word, she jumped into a rock.  Sylva and Boop followed her, Forest and Grendel not too far behind.

Grendel wasn't used to this dream jumping.  Then again, that's why she's a rookie.  She followed the others back to Yume Sakuhin, struggling to stay on her feet when she landed.  Forest grabbed her arm to steady her.

"Thank you," Grendel said.  Forest nodded and slightly smiled.

"I'm going to head over to the office," Andalite said, turning to them.  "You're welcome to keep looking around the place.  I'll be back as soon as I can."

The four rookies walked around, getting a snack here and there, when they ended up back in the Dream Room.  Forest looked at the orbs, noting a few gray and dark gray ones.  Those orbs were soon striped in gold and were back to white, a Dreamjumper jumping out with a Majik creature, which lost its form and floated to the ceiling where the Majik was.

"Look!"  Grendel said.  "A black orb!"  She pointed to the orb that was right above them.

"Let's go!"  Forest said.

"A-are you sure?"  Grendel asked.

"Yeah!  No one else is around."

Sylva shrugged.  "Sure.  Let's go."  She jumped into the orb with Forest following.

Grendel and Boop looked at each other before following.

## ***Chapter Three ~ Protectors***

"Five in a Row!"  the computer screen showed above them.

Fantasy and the guys stared wide-eyed and opened mouth at Violet.  Imagine smiled as he gave her a high-five.

"Awesome job, Vi!"  Fantasy raised an eyebrow when she noticed the slight glare Violet gave Imagine.

Paradox tossed his arms up and slouched.  "That's it!  I'm done.  No way am I going to compete with that."

It was Time's turn and he got his third strike.  Paradox just sunk even further in his seat.

"See?"

Fantasy smirked.  "Well, you don't have a choice.  It's your turn."

Paradox pouted as he grabbed his ball.  Fantasy stood up.  "I'm going to go get something to snack on.  Can I get anyone else anything?"

"Water would be nice.  Thanks," Time answered.  He was glancing at a girl two lanes over.  She had blonde hair in a side braid with piercing brown eyes.  She had on a modest black crop top with black ripped jeans.  She wore a silver snake choker and an elaborate gold bracelet looped around her fingers and up her arm.

"Anything," Paradox answered, getting ready.

"Same," Imagine answered.

Violet stood up.  "I'll help you," she quietly told Fantasy.  As the two girls walked away, Time slightly narrowed his eyes at the girl bowling, who looked at him with a suspicious glance.

Paradox groaned as he missed his spare.  "Why do I even bother with playing?"  He turned around and noticed Time glancing over at a girl two lanes down.

"Finding her attractive?" he asked.  Imagine stood up for his turn.

Time looked at him and frowned.  "No.  Just something about her is making me suspicious."

Paradox crossed his arms.  "Isn't that the *same* response you gave me when we first met Lilac?"  Time's cheeks slightly went pink and Paradox smirked.  "Don't tell me you got a crush on Fantasy?"

"No, I don't," Time snapped.  "It's just been a while since we met her.  That was like what?  ...Five years ago?"

"More like seven."  Wow.  I actually remembered the exact amount instead of Time, Paradox thought.  It...feels weird.

Violet was quiet, but she was starting to like Fantasy's company.  It was nice to have someone of the same gender to talk to since she couldn't tell Imagine everything.  But she'll wait until she knew more about Fantasy.

"...Did you like the movie?" she asked.

Fantasy nodded as she paid for the snacks and drinks.  "It was funny.  Did you not like it?"

Violet shrugged.  "It was okay."

"Hey...are you free tomorrow afternoon?"  Violet nodded.  "Then why don't you and I go see a movie?  You can choose."

Violet widened her eyes.  "R-really?"  Fantasy nodded.  "Okay.  I will like that."

Imagine dropped his jaw as he got a spare out of a split.  "That's never happened before."

"Well, there's a first for everything," Paradox said as he grabbed his ball.

Imagine noticed Time looking at the girl two lanes down and smirked.  Hmm... Time and her or Time and Fantasy?  Such tough decisions.  "Why don't you introduce yourself, Time?"

Time glared at him.  "Are you crazy?  I don't just go to complete strangers and introduce myself.  I actually feel like something's wrong with her.  As in suspicious."

"If you say so."

The girl Time was looking at, finished a game and went a secluded area and pulled out her phone, dialing.

"Hello?" a voice asked on the other end of the line.

"Clide?  It's me," the girl answered.  "I found them.  They're at the bowling alley."

"Good.  Kef says to stay with them at all times.  And if they split, give me a call."

"You got it," she confirmed.

## ***Chapter Four ~ Dreamjumpers & Villains***

Andalite stood waiting patiently after she gave her report.  Head Dreamjumper, and founder of Yume Sakuhin Inc., just had her eyes closed, her elbows up on her desk and her hands folded over her lips.  She was pretty young or at least looked pretty young. In her early twenties, though she was probably older than that.  Her blonde hair that was in a high ponytail, was highlighted with blue and green, slightly sparkling. When she opened her eyes, they were flickering from silver to gold to blue and green.

She stood up, seemingly over six feet tall, and walked to the panorama type window that overlooked the Dream Room, plus the rest of Yume Sakuhin.  She wore a simple tight outfit of some type of light gray leather material, with boots of the same color.

"Your report is most interesting indeed, Andalite," she said after a while.  "But it's not surprising to me.  I can give you an answer about where those Nightmares came from."  She turned her head at Andalite.  "An old enemy of mine.....  Cyril the Dream Demon."

Sylva looked around the black abyss.  "Can anyone see through this smoke?"

"Nope," Forest's voice said, sounding a little far off to her left.

"Where is everyone?"  Grendel's voice shakily asked from the right, a bit far off too.

"How are we supposed to know?"  Boop's voice snapped, sounding a little closer to Sylva than the others.

Boop rubbed her eyes.  This black smoke was making her eyes watery.  She wiped the burning tears away.  "Where are you?"  she called to the others.  "Call out and I'll come to you."

The other three rookies' voices started to say something or make some weird noises, which would be Forest, and Boop followed them.  She suddenly heard another noise, one that wasn't voiced.  It was the sound of clashing metal.  And that was a lot closer than the other Dreamjumpers' voices.

Forest tapped her foot impatiently.  Where is Boop?  she thought.  I thought she said she's coming.  Forest continued to make weird noises when another sound cut her off.  The sound of fighting.  Could that be Boop or Sylva fighting?  Shrugging, Forest ran in that direction.

The black smoke slowly started to turn a little bit gray, but it was going back and forth from dark gray to black.

Is the nightmare that bad?  she thought.  Forest screamed as a blade came coming down out of nowhere.

Grendel jumped when she heard a scream.  W-what was that?  she thought, looking around nervously.  She considered leaving, but she took a deep breath and let it out.

You can do it, Grendel.  You're a Dreamjumper.  Fighting off nightmares is your job.  You were trained to do this after all.

Grendel used the Majik around her to made her javelin-spear weapon and ran in the direction of the scream.

**Somewhere else in the Dream World.....**

The shadowy, hissing and echoing voiced figure was watching black orbs that had moving pictures in it, similar to the Dream Orbs in the Dream Room at Yume Sakuhin.

"Asha," he hissed.

A young woman with sky blue hair and bright purple eyes came out from the shadows behind him.  She was tall with lanky arms and long legs, wearing a gray shirt and jeans that went down to her heels.  She also wore a black cloak with a series of diamonds and dark yellow lines and such.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Is Mystic and Mask in position?"

"Uh..."

He growled, annoyed.  She took two steps back.  "Just finish the portal...  Itisalmost ready, isn't it?"

She smiled.  "Yes, sir!"  She scampered off back into the shadows.

The shadowy figure grabbed a certain orb, which showed the Head Dreamjumper.  He chuckled evilly.  "Enjoy your last night, Fal."

A thin, little over average height figure came sulking out of the black smoke.  He wore a full on mask, with some type of ears sticking out from the top of his head, as well as a tail moving the smoke away from under his flicking cape.  He was wearing a black leather outfit with tight gloves.  His mask was simple but all you could see was his eyes and mouth.  His eyes, were a dark yellow, almost looking feline-ish, but at the same time, not.

A tall figure came into his view in the black smoke, wearing a light gray training suit, with navy blue pads with grids, which went down the thighs and arms, and a hood with a lower mask and lens that went over the right eye.  Under the hood and in the blackness of the smoke around them, you can faintly see bright green hair and the eyes looked like auroras.  They had two katanas in a dual sheath on their back, with the swords' hilts having a laser gun attached to them.

This figure was standing over two downed Dreamjumpers.

The masked figure narrowed his eyes.  "You didn't kill them, did you?"  he asked.

The other sneered at him.  "If only we could," they snapped in a slightly deep voice.  "I don't see the point in leaving them alive when we're going to destroy their base and home.  They'll have nowhere else to go so it makes sense to finish them off now."

"We have our orders."  The masked one narrowed his eyes.  "Don't even think about it."

The other snorted.  "Now what are we supposed to do?"  he asked.

The masked man smirked evilly.  "Make this nightmare even worse and have more Dreamjumpers come.  If there were two, there's bound to be more."

## ***Chapter Five ~ Protectors & Villains***

Fantasy yawned. "Well... I guess it's time to turn in."

"Please!" Paradox pleaded. "I'm tired of losing five games."

Time narrowed his eyes at Paradox. "Lost?! You beat all of us the past two games!"

"Alright, you two. Break it up." Fantasy turned in her bowling shoes and headed out with Violet. "We're all tired." She looked at Violet. "Movie still on tomorrow?" Violet nodded. "Okay, see you here at three." The two girls separated, Fantasy walking to an apartment complex that was a mile down, while Violet entered a waiting car.

Two figures, one on a pale white, wispy, and transparent griffin and the other with a pale white, wispy, and transparent fish, followed each girl.

Time walked down the sidewalk to his house a few blocks away. His mind was still on that girl in the bowling alley.

Who was she? he thought. And why was she looking at us weird?

If Time was paying attention, he would've noticed the figure standing in the in shadows, watching him, with a pale white, wispy, and transparent snake wrapped around the neck. The figure petted the snake under the chin and pointed to Time.

The snake uncoiled itself from the neck and slithered to Time, quickly going up his leg to his right arm.

Time widened his eyes and would've let out a cry when the snake bit his wrist and he fell down unconscious.

Paradox was walking in the opposite direction to the apartment complex that was two miles away. He stopped for a minute to look up at the stars. If he didn't look up, he would've noticed the figure standing next to a pale white, wispy, and transparent dragon. The figure patted the dragon's side and the dragon crept up to Paradox.

Paradox heard something and turned around, holding his hands up while backing up. What in the world?! I thought dragons were a myth!!

In a blink of an eye, the dragon opened its mouth and black liquid shot out from its front fangs and sizzled Paradox's hands. Paradox clenched his hands and would've screamed if he didn't pass out immediately.

Violet buckled up as the car drove.

"How was the movie?" her cousin Ben asked.

"Not really worth my money," Violet answered. "I'm going to another movie tomorrow with a girl I met at the theater. She seemed nice."

"Just be careful around her," he said. "I don't want you to get hurt."

And as if jinxing it, something sliced through the car like it was butter, splitting it in half in between Violet and Ben. Violet screamed when her side skidded and fell to its side. A pale white, wispy, and transparent wild cat appeared, biting her hand. Violet saw nothing else but a black abyss afterward.

Imagine opened the gate to his house, immediately being crashed into.

"You're back!" a voice squealed. "Finally! What took you so long?"

Imagine pushed his stepsister Astra Trinity off of him. "Get off. I went bowling with a few friends," he answered, standing up.

Astra tilted her head. "I thought you only went with Violet."

"I made new friends at the theater." Imagine stopped and backed up when he saw the two pale white, wispy, and transparent creatures in front of them. One was a pegasus and the other was a dragon. Both lunged forward to Imagine and Astra, Imagine hearing Astra scream while feeling the dragon bite his side. Darkness was all around him.

Clide stood in front of the bowling alley, looking frustrated. The same girl Time was wondering about, came out.

"Where are they?" he growled.

The girl sneered at him. "I told you, they split up. They all went in different directions."

Clide groaned. "You were supposed to make sure they stay together."

"Oh sure, "Hey, strangers I'm stalking, come over to my place and have a sleepover!"." She frowned and crossed her arms. "I doubt it."

Clide narrowed his eyes. "Don't play smart with me, Shadow. Just remember we still have evidence against you."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Ah huh, I'm sooo scared, " she said sarcastically.

Kef walked up to them, eyes narrowed. "You two realized that at any moment, the Powered will chose their "Chosen"? Something about those three is special. I can feel it, and I'm sure the Powered can too."

"Don't you mean the five, Kefir?" the girl corrected him.

"What are you talking about?"

She rolled her eyes. "I wasn't trained for this if I didn't know. There were five people in that same group and I felt their surge."

Kefir stopped for a moment, before smiling and patting the girl's shoulder. "Excellent, Ellysia. Now... All we need to do is find them."

Ellysia smirked. "Shouldn't be a problem." She held up a small device that was blinking five different colored dots. "I bugged their jackets and bags."' *'*

## ***Chapter Six ~ Dreamjumpers & Villains***

Andalite widened her eyes.  "Cyril the Dream Demon?"  she repeated.  "As in *THE* Dream Demon, the one who destroyed Dorimu Wakusu Inc.?!"

The Head Dreamjumper sighed, nodding ruefully.  "I had managed to conceal him in the deepest parts of the Realm.  But what you just told me in that dream, means that he's getting stronger and the barrier is getting weaker."  Her face was stern.  "You need to get those rookies ready for anything."  She looked back out the window.  "Where are the rookies?"

"I left them at the entrance.  Oh!  Well, I also said they could check out the rest of the Yume Sakuhin since we didn't finish the tour."

"Well...I had been monitoring them this whole time...  They went into a black Dream Orb."

Andalite dropped her mouth open.  "They WHAT?!"

Fal chuckled.  "You should probably go get them.  I think Sco—"

"Definitely!"  She sped out of the room before the Head Dreamjumper could finish.

Fal sighed and looked back out the window, seeing Andalite jump into the black orb.  She narrowed her eyes and growled, "You won't get my Headquarters destroyed again, Cyril."

Sylva slowly crept up behind the two men, overhearing the very end of their conversation.  Oh no, you won't make this nightmare worse, she thought, using the small amount of Majik she had to create a sword.  She raised it and brought it down full force behind the masked one when he turned around, quick as lightning, blocked her slice with an interesting looking sword.  Sylva's sword vibrated like it just struck a brick wall.

She recoiled back, keeping an eye on the other, and attacked the masked man again.  He easily countered all of her attacks and she was slightly tiring.

Where are his strength and energy coming from?  she thought.  He wasn't panting or breathing hard at all.

Boop was running where she heard the scream when she ran into something...  Okay.  Someone.  The figure turned around and pulled out their two katanas.  Boop created a staff with her Majik and blocked their attacks.  The person was giving out hard and fast attacks that Boop had trouble keeping up to block them.  The person suddenly brought out a flurry of volleys that caused Boop to lose her grasp on the staff and she fell back.  He brought his katanas down and Boop closed her eyes when the loud clash of metal hitting metal rang in her ears.

She opened her eyes to see another sword stopping the katanas right above her head.  Her rescuer moved the katanas away and took a battle stance.

"I see you're still up to your old tricks and schemes, Mystic," he said to the hooded figure.  Boop couldn't tell what he looked like in this black smoke.

A low growl was heard from the latter.  "I knew I should have killed you, Scorch.  You've been meddling with our plans long enough."

"So I've heard before.  Got any more I can mess up?"  He attacked and Boop was awed by his skill.

By the time Grendel found everyone else, the "excitement" was over.

Whew. Good, she thought.  She knew it was part of her job as a Dreamjumper, but somehow she felt she was ready.  I should've just flunked and stayed at the academy.

The black smoke started to clear up and Grendel noticed another Dreamjumper was with them.  He was probably around 5'11", with bright blue eyes.  He wore a red sweatshirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal tape wrapped around his wrists and palms, plus a hood and bandana covering his nose and mouth.  He wore gray cargo pants that reached his ankles and sneakers, and a strap that went over his shoulder and across his chest.  Grendel assumed that it was used for multi-purposes.

"Thanks for saving me," Boop said to him as he picked up Forest, who was unconscious.

He nodded as he looked around.  The area was starting to turn white.  "We need to get out of here.  The person's waking up."  He tapped his foot on the ground and a portal opened up.  He jumped through and the girls followed him.

As soon as they were back at HQ, the mysterious Dreamjumper handed Forest to some Dreamhealers and nodded to the girls before leaving.

"Well he's friendly," Sylva said as they watched him leave.

Andalite suddenly appeared in front of them, her face showing anger and concern.  "Are you okay?  Why did you jump into a Dream Orb, a black one to be specific.  Do you realize how dangerous and foolish that was?!"

Grendel looked at Sylva and Boop.  "I told you."

"The portal is almost done, Lord Cyril.  All that's left is a Dreamjumper."

The Dream Demon didn't look up from the black orb he had been watching all this time.  "You know who to get."