Dream-Hunters - Chapter Twelve

Exem gripped Chaser’s machete with his own gloved hand, letting the sickle cut through his glove, spilling blood along his sleeve. “Just made it,” he breathed.

Chaser stumbled back, letting go of his machete. “Exem?” he said. “What a pleasant surprise! Tell me, how’s the family? ...Oh wait, I killed them!”

Exem turned to face Chaser, his face stony and grave. “I’m afraid that this is where it ends for you.” He tapped his cane on the floor raptly.

Chaser turned excitedly to look. The exit was blocked by Exem’s entourage of humans. John growled ferally, and Sophie raised her Lance with a scowl. Tessa took a somewhat brave fighting stance, which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn’t going to do much.

“Oh, you put all this together for me? You shouldn’t have!” Chaser laughed maniacally, his aura doubling in size. “Well, since you’re offering…”

He lunged toward Tessa with a viper's ferocity. John reacted first, defending her with a sonic wave, pushing Chaser back toward Exem.

Swinging his cane viciously, Exem scored a resounding crack on the side of Chaser’s head. “That is for one thousand years ago,” he muttered.

Chaser staggered from side to side, his drunken smile widening further. “Eheheh. Fine. Phobos can wait. Now then. Acrophobia,” he said quietly, cracking his knuckles. “It’s time for you to take the fall!” The mire surrounding him gave birth to a dark silver greatsword, which Chaser grabbed hold of, swinging it easily through the air in a wide arc. “Say hello to the Sword of Panic.” The sword was 2 meters long, laced with archaic markings that glowed a fearsome gold. Its sheer presence seemed to cast the room under a spell of terror.

“I’ll see your sword and raise you a dream-relic,” Exem stated bluntly. An emerald glow pulsated from beneath his suit, washing out along the dark walls. Exem reached beneath his shirt to pull out an emerald necklace, hanging it out in front of him. “Meet the Camaraderie Pendant.” As he stated its name, the Pendant pulsed with a green light, enshrouding Exem completely.

“So you’ve been preparing for this. Well, that’s fine.” Chaser crossed his arms, baring his sharp teeth. “It’s just a second-hand knock-off, like every other thing I don’t own!”

John flew at Chaser, snarling like a lion. Chaser flipped backwards, effortlessly jumping in the air to stomp on John’s back, driving him into the earth. “Case in point,” he said, grinding John’s face across the floor with his heel.

Exem seized the opportunity, lunging at Chaser, who drove him back with a wide swipe. “Now just what are you trying to-”

“Ow!” The cry came from Chaser, who was struck by a feathered shape from on high. Exem’s crow was swooping down, pecking at his eyes with each pass. The bird glowed with the Pendant’s indestructible green light, fearlessly striking at Chaser’s head and face, dancing in and out of the sword’s reach.

Chaser growled, discarding his sword, and thrust his hands toward the crow. “I hate birds!” A fusillade of missiles burst from his sleeves, arcing through the air the explode in the crow’s path. The avian’s shape plummeted from the cloud of ash, trails of smoke peeling from its form.

“Now I’ve got you,” Exem said quietly. Chaser’s arms were suddenly pinned behind his back, his captor well out of range of his writhing hands . Exem held tight, speaking through a grimace. “Vile wretch. Sink into oblivion!”

A black hole opened up in the floor beneath them. Chaser smirked. “Self-sacrifice, eh? How adorably cliché.” He cast his eyes toward the heavens. “You’re only slowing me down. But hey. Dramatic race against time! Let’s hear it for plot stalling!” He laughed as his legs were swallowed by the darkness.

“You will fall, Chaser,” Exem declared. “I swear that you will be defeated.”

“By who?” Chaser cackled. “By them? By the humans? By him?” He gestured to John, who was standing up with a pained expression.

“Do not underestimate the power humans possess,” Exem stated. “They have risen before, and will do so again.”

“Against who? They’re only good at fighting themselves.” Chaser’s entire torso was consumed, painted by the shadows. “That’s why we’ve got to take over! We’re holding back! The humans are a thing of the past! We’re top dogs now!”

Exem turned his head to John, nodding slightly. “I leave the rest to you.” The black hole eclipsed their heads, until their voices just echoed from the void beneath.

“Never stop fighting.” He could not tell if it was his voice or Chaser’s that spoke.

The portal sealed shut above them. Looking around, there was nothing but a vast expanse of blackness as far as the eye could see. Chaser’s dark light mixed with Exem’s Pendant aura, casting a sickly glow on the far corners of the Dream-World. Exem let out a deep breath. “Chaser.”

“What? You really think you can keep me here forever?”

“I can keep you here...long enough.”

“Believe what you want to. Reality’s a real bastard sometimes.”

“So be it.” And the sounds of nightmares in battle screamed throughout the dream, making it tremble with indescribable power.