Dreams and Realities

Chapter 3: In the Wild

"Everyone ready? Then let's go!"

I watched from behind a pillar as various scribbles all sat atop of a large floating metal tray. In front of the tray floated the caretaker, and behind him was the door. He looked around for a few moments before raising his hands up into the air and then pointing to the door, smiling as it slowly opened. I stared outside for what felt like an eternity. I could see them, trees, real trees!

I forced myself to stay as I watched the tray float out of view, I waited to see if the door would close, but nothing. I was about to start moving when I noticed something, or well, someone, rush through the door. It was clearly a scribble, but I didn't get to see their eyes, meaning I had no way to tell who it was.

"Ready to make a break for it?"

I spun around and looked at K and M, just how long had they been standing there? It didn't matter, I nodded as I heard a strange mechanical sound. I turned to the source, the door, it was slowly closing. The three of us instantly began charging towards it, moving with all our might. I closed my eyes as I moved, memories of the first trial filling my mind.

I felt every part of my body begin to ache, it wanted to give up, but I knew I couldn't, this was my chance, this was it.

I then fell. I lay there, too tired to get back up. I knew I wouldn't make it, not after having fallen down. I just decided to wait there, to wait to see if I'd ever get a chance to leave.

"A-are you okay? Come on, you can't stay here, we have to start moving!"

I opened my eyes and could feel them beginning to water. I hadn't noticed it before, but the ground was green, blades of grass surrounding me. I could feel a gentle breeze, and could see a bright light up in the sky. I was outside, I had made it.

I looked behind myself, trying to find the door, but there was nothing there, it was all gone.

"W-where did it go?"

"I'm not sure, but when the door closed it disappeared. So what do we do now?"

I looked at K for a moment, feeling nothing but joy. I looked around the area, the trees, the grass, and the path. I made my way towards it and stopped to look at the others.

"We're going to follow this path to wherever it takes us!"

Even without mouths, I could tell the other two were smiling, at least on the inside, as they came up to me and we started our little voyage. We went down the path, taking in the sights, though K and M didn't seem to pay them much mind, I observed every little detail. The moving leaves, the sound of the dirt beneath us, and even the fruits in the trees. It was all so wonderful. Was this how freedom felt like? True freedom, the world expanding around me infinitely, and the only thing determining where I went was myself.

After what felt like seconds, though was more likely a longer time, we reached a stream, the crystal clear water flowing over the glowing stones. We tried to figure out how to get across, K thinking we should try charging through it while M was more of the opinion of going around it. I on the other hand had another idea. I hopped over to the edge of the stream, checking to see how fast it was going. Not too fast, but still too much for us, after all, we had never swum before. I hopped over to a conveniently placed plank of wood and hopped onto it.

"Guys, this thing looks like it'll float, why don't we try it?"

K and M seemed a little concerned but nodded, K hopping onto the plank while M followed closely behind, pushing the plank into the water hopping on at the last moment. When he landed on it, I struggled to remain standing as the plank wobbled from the added weight. The plank slowly drifted across the stream as the water carried us further down the stream. Yes we were going off course, but it didn't matter, at least not to me. Where ever I ended up it didn't matter, the freedom I was experiencing was everything that mattered.

As we were carried by the water I began to notice something on the other side of the stream. There were large stones everywhere, each one a different color with various patterns. I felt drawn to them, as if something was calling me from within them. I could hear a whispering in my head, to come closer to just take a few hops forwards.

I regained my focus as water covered me and I felt the water pull me away. I struggled to move forwards, to even remain floating. K and M were shouting at me, giving me what they thought was advice, but it was mostly inaudible as I kept floating back under the water. After a few moments of struggling, I felt something push me. I tried to look at it, but the water had blurred my vision. With each push, I came closer to land, and once I was out of the water I tried my best to calm down. I looked over towards the stream, seeing a familiar scribble. Her light blue eyes instantly told me who she was.

"You should be more careful next time, I won't always be around to save you..."

If it was possible for a scribble to blush, I'd have looked like a tomato. This was our first time talking, and it had to be with me acting so uncool.

"T-thanks for that...Um, how did you know how to swim?"

"Huh? Oh, I actually don't..." She turned away from me, most likely embarrassed, "It's just...well, when I saw you fall into the water I couldn't stop myself. Before I knew it I was in the water and well...it just came naturally to me..."

We both stood there in silence, only the sound of the stream filling in the emptiness.

"So...what are you doing out here?" S quickly turned to look at me as I asked.

"Well, for the same reason you are. I failed the test but still wanted to leave so here I am. Gotta say, I'm glad I overheard your little conversation, that was a nice idea."

"Y-you overheard us?" That was when I remembered the scribble I had seen earlier, so it had been her. "But you left before us didn't you?"

"Yeah, but I couldn't get past the stream...until I ended up just swimming across."

"Hey, L! You're okay!"

K and M jumped off of the plank which had just reached land nearby. They both seemed so happy. Just seeing how happy they were to see me filled me with a strange warmth, it felt so peaceful and nice.

"Yeah, it's all thanks to S here, though I think we should get mov...ing..."

I was lost in thought, at least that's what it felt like. So many thoughts began to fill my head, though I wasn't quite sure if they were mine or not. To come closer, to examine it, to touch it...to break it...but what was it?

I felt something smooth and hard which brought me back. I was looking at one of the stones. This one was a bright yellow with red squiggles covering it. It was roughly the same size as me, and I swore I could hear a voice coming from it.

"What is this thing?"

I noticed that the others were near me, though the stream seemed to be quite a far away.

"Do you guys hear that?" S hopped over to the stone and closed her eyes as she listened. "That voice, it's calling out for us to help it out...to release it..."

I closed my eyes and tried to listen, though despite my best efforts all I could hear was a slight whisper. When I looked at K and M, they too were perplexed.

"We don't hear anything..."

S let out a sigh before staring longingly at the egg. She really did hear something didn't she?

"We can try to break it if you want, that way if there is something in there it will be let out."

S and the others nodded as he began to look for a way to break the stone when an image of a rock atop a small hill flashed in my mind. It was quickly replaced by an image of where we stood, making it clear where the rock was. When the vision faded away I looked around and noticed that there really was a small hill nearby with a rock atop it. I hopped up the hill as fast as I could and got behind the round rock.

"Everyone, get out of the way!"

I took a deep breath before charging into the rock with all my might. My body was filled with pain, but the rock had begun to move, just enough to start rolling down the hill. I watched as everyone moved out of the rock's path. It continued to pick up speed until it crashed into the stone and yellow shards flew everywhere and we huddled near where the rock now was. The stone had not been completely destroyed, but there was now a large hole, from where nothing but darkness was visible.

"T..h..a..n..k..y..o..u.."

I wasn't sure if the voice was coming from within the hole or from my head. At least I wasn't sure until I noticed everyone slowly moving back. The voice seemed so unsettling, and full of what I now can only describe as murderous intent.

A shadowy figure rose out from the hole, with two dark purple eyes atop of it. The figure slowly began to take shape, long claws extending from the two limps on its side, and a pair of wings forming on its back. It looked at us and gave us a large toothy grin before it reached down and grabbed the nearest one, which unfortunately was me.

"For...releasing...me...I...will...kill...you...last..."

Immediately all I could feel was fear as it squeezed me in its claws. The creature towered above the others, and barely left me any space to move. I looked at the others, who were paralyzed in fear. I closed my eyes and began to shout, "Leave them alone!"

It seemed my shout made the others realize the situation they were in as they all began to run in different directions. The creature just gave me a smile before it began to move. I noticed that it didn't have legs, instead a long serpentine tail which it was using to slither. When I looked at where it was heading, I saw S heading up the hill, doing her best to move forwards.

"You...fools...I...will...grow...strong...once...we're...done..."

I started shouting at S, telling her to keep going, to not give up, and I also shouted at the creature, to let them go, to just kill me, and it seemed to be enjoying my pain. Once it reached the top of the hill, it gave another grin, seeing S continue to run forwards, until she tripped and fell. As the creature lunged forwards I felt something change inside me. All of the anger and rage I had been feeling up to that point vanished from me, and was instead replaced by worry, and a desire to protect S.

"I SAID LEAVE THEM ALONE!"

As I gave out my shout the creature's arm stopped moving. It looked at me, a look of shock on its face before it let go of me and used its other claw to strike at S, only for it to not move further than the other. The creature moved backwards, its arms beginning to move again. It spun around and struck at S with its tail to no avail. That was when we both saw it, there was a wall of light between the two of them.

"Your...core...must...be...strong..."

The creature turned towards me and opened its mouth, a long tongue rubbing its sharp teeth, as if anticipating the deed they were about to do. I quickly regained all of the fear I had, and noticed that the wall vanished, though the creature continued to focus on me. It rose up its sharp claw and lunged it forwards. I felt something hit me, and when I looked it was S. She had pushed me out of the way, but the claw was still going towards where it had been heading. I stared at S, tears in both our eyes as the claw pierced her. I felt as if time had stopped moving as I looked at her for that moment. I couldn't move, I couldn't think, all I could do was stand there.

After that I'm not sure what happened. I heard shouting, saw something strike at the creature and throw it out of the way, and then I saw the caretaker chasing after the creature. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that the caretaker was holding a blade, but what he did with it I didn't see. Instead I was now standing at S's side crying.

"Funny...today was the first time we talked wasn't it?"

"Y-yeah...."

"For some reason...I get the feeling we could...could have been great friends..."

"P-please don't talk like that. Y-you'll be fine! T-the caretaker will heal you...You'll be able to hang out with me, and M, and K! W-we'll be the best of friends!"

"Heh...I...I'd like that..."

S closed her eyes as she lay there. I felt as if the world around me had fallen apart as I began to nudge her. "S...S...please wake up...I-I never got to tell you...please..."

I watched in horror as her body began to turn into light-blue sparkles which filled the air around me. All I could do was close my eyes and cry as I felt a strange warmth surround me. A few minutes later, I heard the caretaker speak to me.

"L...I'm so sorry..."

I didn't answer him, I couldn't answer him, all I could do was cry...

Chapter 4: Moving On

"So, what now? We searched the area and couldn't find any trace of her...do you really want us t-"

"Yes, that is the best course of action. None of that should leave this room, we are the only three who know what happened, and it will stay that way."

"B-but this seems so...wrong..."

"It all depends on where you look at it from. A young scribble was lost under your care, do you realize what will happen if this news gets out?"

"Y-yes, I'll be fired..."

"No, you'll be put to work in the Red Zone, and my position will be in jeopardy. You do recall what's so special about us don't you? We're nightmares, unlike every other emote that was placed in this job. We're the first nightmares to get this job, and we're also the first emotes to botch this up so badly. You remember the state the realm was in just a few years ago don't you?"

"....war."

"Exactly. If this slips out, then the dreams will likely want our heads, and that'll cause another war to start up. Most likely other nightmares will take our side, believing you that it was an honest mistake, but the dreams won't."

"B-but it really was a mistake! It's frequency was so similar to a scribble, it was nothing like an animo!"

"That's not a good enough excuse for them. Our choices are cover this up, or allow another war to begin, we both know which of those is the lesser of two evils."

"B-but if we're found out..."

"If we're found out then I'll deal with that then. I'll use this time to figure out a way to prove that it was an accident...and if push comes to shove I'll take the entirety of the blame..."

"Bu-"

"Don't you dare question your king!"

"U-understood..."

I sat in the corner watching the two emotes in front of me argue. The light was dim, all I could make out was the fact that they were both emotes. One of the voices was clearly the Caretaker, but the other...I had never heard it before, though what the other emote had said peaked my curiosity.

"Um...did you say you were a king?"

"Huh? Oh you're awake little one. Yes, I'm the Nightmare King Dharc, and I have a small task for you...I want you to forget what happened."

"H-how can you ask me to do that! I watched my friend d-d-"

I couldn't finish talking as tears began to flow down my eyes. The scene played over in my head multiple times. She was right there, and there was nothing I could do to help her...

"NO! I WON'T HIDE THIS! I REFUSE TO LET HER BE FORGOTTEN!"

My body was suddenly pushed up against the wall behind me. I struggled to breathe as the pressure continued to increase and a face began to take shape in front of me. It was a monstrous face, sharp dagger-like teeth, a glare that chilled me to the bone, and fur so dark it was a miracle it was even visible in the dim light.

"I think you misunderstood me, I didn't ask you to forget, I told you to!"

I opened my mouth to scream and nothing came out as I saw the silhouette of a clawed hand rise up, point towards me, and then...darkness.

I let out a scream as I realized I was still in the room, down on the ground, I hadn't moved an inch.

"So, will you listen? That was just a fraction of my power, a mere twitch caused by my...slight irritation. You can feel it can't you? The pressure."

He wasn't lying, I could feel the shadows closing in around me, everything got darker as the scene continued to play over and over and over in my mind, each time the emotions drove me closer to the brink of madness until...

"Okay...I'll do it...just...make it stop..."

"Make what stop?"

I blinked at the emote's silhouette. Yes, he was right, make what stop? I tried to remember what was going on, but nothing came to mind. All I could remember was escaping from the facility...was that it? Was I being punished for my escape? Yes...that made sense.

"Your punishment for escape is...nothing, it was part of the test, to see how strong your desires and emotions were, if they'd push you to action, and they did, after all, look at yourself."

The lights came on and I jumped back. Before me was the Caretaker and another emote, he was a dark grey and had even darker purple eyes. His wings seemed like those belonging to a bat, and his gloves were more like metal gauntlets. He also wore a crown, small and black, and staring into it was like staring at the night sky.

That wasn't what had shocked me though, I had looked at myself. I had changed color. I was now a light blue and something felt strange on my back. It felt like I was moving something as stayed up in the air. The grey emote smiled at me as it materialized a mirror out of thin air. I looked in it and held back my shouts of excitement. My yellow eyes looked back at me in the mirror and stared at the wings on my back. They were thin and seemed to be made of paper. I was no longer a scribble, I had become an emote!

"You see, when a scribble feels a sudden surge of emotion, if its core is strong enough it undergoes a change, turning into an emote. That is why almost every scribble is told that they failed the test. Usually that sadness is enough to begin a chain reaction inside them which leads to the transformation. One or two scribbles are told that they passed so that when the Caretaker comes to pick them up some scribbles let their emotions push them, and get on as well. The Caretaker clearly does nothing, pretending to not notice that they got on, which makes other scribbles get on too. Then there are those like you and your friends, who decide rather than sneaking onto the transportation unit choose to sneak out the door which is left open just long enough for some to get out. Every emotion brought out by those events helps push the scribble until their core can no longer keep the power contained and they transform."

He smiled at me as most of what he said flew over my head. I had been lied to, I understood that much, but didn't really care. I was an emote now, I would get to go to Brainstorm Academy now and that was all that mattered to me. I flew around in a circle a few time, then came down for a landing. The grey emote pressed against the wall as it moved aside, revealing a passage which led right towards a hallway.

"I'm sure you're exhausted, why don't you explore the academy?"

"Y-you mean we're already there?!"

"Yes, now go have some fun and stay out of trouble!"

I flew out as fast as I could but lost control as soon as I left the room and crashed into a wall. I groaned in pain but managed to hear something behind me from the emotes in the room.

"So...do you think he'll talk?"

"No, I suppressed his memories of her deep within his mind, but keep an eye on him, should those memories resurface...I fear his mind...and core...might not be able to handle the surge of emotion."

I should have thought more about that, but I didn't, I was too preoccupied with the fact that I could now fly. Perhaps if I had gone back to question them things would have turned out differently...