Reynald always liked listening to Baldwin's stories.The Leper King rarely spoke of his past,but when he did,his stories were long and filled to the brim with details.He spoke of battles from times long past,of victories and faulires,and seldom of celebrations.From what the crusader could gather,Baldwin's kingdom wasn't a big one,and it was quite prosperous,largly thanks to the wise leadership and the hard-workingness of it's citizens.The leper described his living quarters,seeming nostalgic for more comfortable accomodations.He particularly missed the royal bed,made from red wood,silk sheets covering it and pillows made from softest feathers in the land.Not to be outdone,everything in his quarters was guilted,peculear patterns lining the walls.The Leper's tales flooded Reynald head when he entered the royal chambers.He was expecting somethin akin to Baldwin's quarters,and was surprised when he noticed the lack of gilting.The room looked royal,sure,but it was more...subdued than he expected.The sun princess gestured the others to take a seat on the sofa in the center of the room.

"Wait for a moment,i will notify my sister.In the meanwhile,you can help yourself to a cup of tea."-she smiled,opening the door with her magic.Before Dismas could wonder about the whereabouts of said tea,a teapot appeared on the table before him.Once Celestia left the room the highwayman let out a sigh of relief.Light knows what to expect from such a powerful pony.He was about to open his mouth,when he noticed Junia was about to drink from a teacup.Her lips were mere centimeters from the cup,when Dismas slapped it away.

"Are you out of your mind?Light knows what could be in that teapot!What if she mixed us some kind of potion!"

"Oh,stop being so suspicious Dismas!Since we came her,these ponies showed us nothong but compassion,if they wanted to get rid of us,they could've done so many times already!"-Junia protested,insulted by the action.

"And by the way,that was very rude!The tea smelled very nice,and you could've asked me to stop."-she added.

Dismas rolled his eyes.He couldn't believe the vestal sometimes.She went through the same things as the rest of them,and yet she was still so naive!

"Whatever,what i want to discuss, is the chain of events that is going to happen now."-he started.

"My best guess,she will iether interrogate us with her sister,and i'm sure that a questioning from two god-like creatures won't be pleasant,or her sister will simply get the information straight from our head.Since she can get into the dreams of others,it's not a stretch to suppose she can do the same when we are awake."-he concluded.

"Well aren't you nervous about the job interview."-Paracelsus said with a chuckle.She groaned when she was met with a questioning look.

"I don't get why you are so paranoid about it.I bet my ass we're gonna get a job here."-she was,once again,getting bewildered looks.

"Fine,fine i'll explain it.Imagine this:four stranger appear in your kingdom,speaking of some kind of evil,they then tell you about how this evil will corrupt your land and kill your subjects.They also have experience with dispatching said evil.Do you get where this is going?"

"Do you think they will let us deal with it?"-Reynald asked.

"Precisely!They get a solution to their problem,and we get a somewhat steady job.It's a win-win situation!"-she said beaming.

"While i like your optimism,we still need to prepare for the worst.I propose we do the following:Junia will prepare a sanctuary and pray for our protection."-he turned his head to the vestal,who nodded and began preparing for a ritual.

"Para,can you find something to cloud our mind?It would be hard to extract any information if we wouldn't be able to recall it."

"I got it big guy."-she was already searching for something in her doctor bag.

"And now we wait,hopefully we have enough time to finish our preparations."-he said before beginning to pray.

Celestia was more wandering the castle, than actually searching for her sister.She knew exactly where she was-in her bed,resting before her night duties.The Sun princess was very worried.While she was amused by the behaviour of the plague doctor,she noticed that she was under an influence.That implied she wanted to ease her mind before talking to the princess.And the fear in the highwayman's eyes was of great concern too.

Celestia considered herself a kind and benevolent ruler.Not without her own quirks,of course,but she believed she acted out of a desire to keep her little ponies safe and happy.She couldn't understand why the human feared her so much.Could he have heard some unsavory rumors?Even so,even the worst of these rumors hardly warranted such a reaction.If it wasn't her,she concluded,the man's preconceptions were the cause.The thought bothered her.What could've happened in one's life,to leave such a lasting fear of authority?Was he wronged by somepony in position of power...or did he wrong them?

The other man was better,but not much.He held up much better and spoke with confidence of a man who has served in some kind of guard,or an army,perhaps.But the same spark of fear,although much smaller,was prevalent in his eyes.

The second woman was a mixed bag.While she seemed exited to see Celestia,she was downright terrified of her.During their first meeting she was shaking like a leaf,and was avoiding the princess during their walk to the royal chambers.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when the doors in front of her were engulfed in a cobalt blue aura,and flung open.The Princess of the Night exited her bedroom,a cup of coffee in her magic grasp,bags under her eyes.If she was surprised to see her sister,she didn't show it.

"Ah,I see you came to see me,sister.Have i overslept?"-she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No Luna,I believe it is i who is late.Remember the letter Twilight sent me?"-she said,gesturing Luna to follow her.

"Indeed i do,i presume our guests arrived?"-her sister responded,sipping on her cup of coffee.

"Precisely.I do hope that they will be more talkative when we arrive."-she remarked.

"What do you mean by that,dear sister?"

"Our guests are particularly shy and,perhaps,are somewhat afraid of authority.I hope that by the time we come back they would calm down a bit."-she replied.

Luna thought for a moment,before having a brilliant idea.

"I could put them to sleep,and search their dreams for information!I'd just ask them to remember whatever we need,and see it for myself.If they allow such a thing,of course."-The Princess of the night shared her idea.

Celestia sighed.It's not like she didn't entertain the idea,but given the state of the guests,she doubted it would work.I wouldn't hurt to try though.

"I doubt it will work,but i wouldn't hurt to try."-she said with a soft smile.

They were about to enter the room,when a loud bang was heard from inside.

Dismas finished cleaning his flintlock pistol for the seventh time,and it is safe to say he was bored.Adding to his boredom was the drink Para gave him.He was getting woozy already.By the time he put down his pistol Junia was asleep,Paracelsus soon to follow her friend,and only Reynald was wide awake,still sitting on the sofa.The highwayman sighed as he sat beside the holy man.

"Hey,you've got that escape plan?"-the former asked sarcastically.He was met with a soft smile and a tired gaze.

"I'm working on it.And what are you going to do if i don't have one by the time we need it?"

Dismas smiled and laid his head on Reynald's shoulder.The highwayman searched for something on the opposing wall,before whispering.

"You see that stained glass window,now imagine these are the princesses."-He said,raising his pistol.Before Reynald could protest,he heard a loud bang,and the sound of shattering glass.Both Junia an Para jolten awake,startled by the sound.But before Para could rain metaphorical hell on Dismas,the Diarchs entered the room.

Clear concern was visible on their face,that faded only when they noticed that none of their guests were harmed.The princesses frowned,however,when they noticed the shatterred window.Celestia looked calm,if a little stern.Luna,however,was visibly angry.Dismas rolled his eyes,ready for the oncoming scolding.

"What is the meaning of this?Which one of you broke the casement?Explain this,now!"-she cast an accusatory look on everyone in the room.The adventurers seemed to shrink at the sound of her voice.All,exept one.

"By the light,can you quiet down a little?Any louder,and i wouldn't have to pop my eardrums myself."-Dismas said.

The Princess of the Night was clearly stunned by such disrespectful attitude.So stunned,she paid no mind to the man's slightly slurred voice and dilated pupils.The highwayman was most certainly not ready for what came next.

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT IN SUCH TONE OF VOICE!"

Dismas's ears were ringing,and he clutched his head in his arms.He saw Celestia turn to her sister with a worried expression and move her mouth,but he couldn't hear anything.What he thought was an absolutely brilliant idea appeared in his head.He took a deep breath and screamed.

"SEE I CAN SCREAM TOO!IF YOU WANT A SCREAMING MATCH,I'M SURE WE COULD ARRANGE IT LATER.NOW,WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT?"

When he finished his throat was sore,but the ringing was almost gone.The Princess of the Night still looked angry,but seemed to subdue herself before speaking in her quiet voice.

"I demand an explanation for the broken window and the loud sound!"

Dismas rolled his eyes before raising his pistol and responding."This-is a pistol.It shoots things.Sometimes,when it's not maintained properly,it will shoot things when it's not supposed to.That is what happened with your window.No,i won't show you how to use it,and no,it's not magical."-he put the pistol away.

Luna was about to say something,but she was cut off by Reynald.

"Your majesty,pardon my friend's attitude,we've all been through a lot lately.I assume you gathered us here for questioning?"

Celestia responded with a smile.-"I'm sure he didn't mean to come off as rude,and yes,we would like to know about what you've seen at the castle and,perhaps,what you've seen before you came to Equestria."

"Uh-huh,and how does your majesty plan to go about the questioning?"-Reynald said,and to his surprise Luna continued instead of Celestia.

"While we could start with simple questioning,we propose to skip such inefficent methods."-the mercenaries all tensed up.

"As the Princess of the Night we posses the ability to walk through the dreams of others,as such we urge you to accept this alternative solution,since you have something important to say."-Luna concluded.

"But your highness!"-Junia interjected-"Wouldn't that take up a lot of time?There are four of us,and i'm afraid it would take to long for us to dream of exactly what you need to know!"-she finished,hoping to deter the pony from invading her mind.

"Nonsense!My presense in your dream will allow you to remember anything you need.Alas,there might be a period of time where you are on your own,i presume your dreams differ somewhat from the dreams of ponies..."-she said,putting a hoof on her chin.

"Unfortunatly,your... nightness?Flame,am i doing it right?"-Para said-"There are still four of us!Wouldn't it take some time to go through each and every one of us?".

Luna smiled.She anticipated this.

"I can merge all your dreams into one,i assure you it won't take long,and it would be more efficent than simple questioning."-she answered.

For flame's sake,she thought through everything!Reynald had no rebuttal,apart from admitting they had something to hide.And that would lead to even more trouble.The best thing to do was probably to go with the flow.He took a glance at everyone,and they nodded.But if he had to do this,he could at least sweeten the deal.

"Your highness,if we are to do it,may i ask one thing of you?You can look through any of our memories,but can you please not look further than three years?You wouldn't miss anything importnat,just more...private information."-He concluded,and before Luna could say a word,Dismas interjected.

"We would be honored if your highness,in your infinite wisdom and magnanimity would hearken to the wishes of simple mortals such as ourselves and fulfill our plea for privacy."-he said with a bow.

Luna was shocked.Did they think she would show such indecency?She only entered her subject's dreams if they had nightmares,and she always respected their privacy!Well,most of the time that is...

"It pains me that you accuse me of such impropriety!I will adhere to your wishes,but not because you asked me to,but because i show respect to all those who cross into the dream plane,subjects or not."-she finished with her head held high.

Hook,line and sinker.Reynald's plan worked better than he thought,in part thanks to Dismas's silver tongue.If all this works out,the tavern is on him.Celestia cleared her throat.

"Now that we agree on the details,i ask you one question:Are you sure you permit my sister to delve into your dreams?"

A thick silence fell upon the room.The usual suspects looked at eachother before a single reply came through-"Sure,whatever,couldn't be worse than what already happened."-Dismas said.

And just like that,four beds appeared all over the room in a circular formation,and the humans prooceded to lie down.They were comfortable,Para noted,although unsurprisingly so.They were getting the royal treatment,after all.She seemed to sink into the comfy mattress as she laid down.Judging by the sighs of relief she heard from her friends,their thoughts alligned.Once everyone were comfortable enough,the lunar princess stood in the center of the aformentioned circle and began to speak.

"Do not fret,in a few seconds i will cast a sleeping spell,and then a sleep binding one.Get comfy,because you have a long night ahead of you."

"See you on the other side!"-Para exclaimed.

"I just hope i don't come off as indecent..."-Junia whispered.

"Heh,how many adventurers does it take to make a coherent dream?I guess we find out tonight."-Dismas replied with a chuckle.

"Sure,goodnight everyone!"-Reynald finished,getting three goodnights in return.

Four white snake-like lines appeared out of Luna's horn,and began waving their way to the four beds.The lines crept up to the craniums and entered through the forehead.The whole affair felt ticklish,and that was what Dismas was thinking as he drifted off to morpheous's kingdom,or Luna's kingdom,he supposed.

Reynald found himself in quite the predicament.One moment he was in a comfortable bed,drifting off to sleep in a world that was filled with colorful horses,and the next he was here.Before him,in a hundred meters or so,towered a castle that seemed to be under siege.The front gates were still holding,but a giant ram was making it's way towards them,threatening to fulfill it's destructive duty.

Zealous men with crosses stitched into their clothing were climbing the ladders,but their ascent was put to a deadly stop by a waterfal of scalding oil.They screamed as their grip loosened and their flesh boiled and peeled away.The men plummeted to the ground,and landed with a sickly CRUNCH as their bones snapped,and the life left their eyes.Reynald was snapped out of his stupor by a hand clutching his shoulder.A young man was looking at him with distress clear on his face.He was young,no more than 18 years old.As he spoke,his voice sounded distant.

"Sir,we are being overwhelmed,what are your or-"-he was cut short by an arrow through the forehead.As he fell to the ground his face distorted and became a spiraling mess of facial features.Reynald barely manage to dodge a sword strike from a nearby enemy.He focused on the task ahead,and started doing what he does best.

He wielded his sword masterfully,smiting down a dozen or so heretics,before one managed to cut his face.He disposed this one with extreme prejudice,before noticing something shifting.As he looked up at his attacker his stomach turned.Big,black unblinking eyes stared at him.An elongated nose and bloodied mouth stood out,but not as much as a pair of transparent wings on the body's chitinous back.

That's when he heard it.

The buzzing

The sky turned a deep shade of crimson in an instant.The rivers of blood flowed all around him.Men from both side were feasting on the bodies.They were ripping flesh and drinking blood.Reynald was horrified by the sight before him.It was at this moment when he felt a sudden thurst.A familiar thirst.

One simple cut is all it takes.He looked at the crimson rivers with a newfound adoration as he drank from it,indulging in the unexpected vice.He was about to dive into the welcome embrace of crimson waters when he was engulfed in a cobalt blue aura.The sun set down and was replace by the moon as he screamed curses at nobody in particular.

"LET ME DOWN!THE BLOOD MAKES ME WHOLE!"

"SILENCE!"-A dark blue alicorn bellowed.

"You will cease this disgusting feast at once!"Luna said,and a tingling sensation went through the crusader's body.

And just like that,the unyielding desire faded into memory as the world plunged into an inky abyss.

Junia wasn't being wierd at all!She was simply observing a pair for...Their text-book depiction of sin!Yes,that was it.From what she knew,they were both unmarried,and they were dong some very...questionable things,to say the least.But they were so beatiful doing these things.And they looked happy!Truly happy.They didn't need to follow any dogmatic rituals.No idiotic gospels,no nerve-wracking ceremonies,no confession booths that judged you for each and every commited sin.And definitely no penance halls where blood flowed like a river.

Blood

She stalled at the word for an unusual amount of time.Warm,crimson,alive blood.She shook her head,she was thinking impure thoughts!She must get rid of them to make space for more...pleasant impure thoughts,these were no fun...She froze as she locked eyes with the woman.With her big,black,unblinking eyes.Her nose was piercing the man's neck,and her jaw was biting into his flesh,sucking the blood from it.Her monstrous wing shuttered with unholy excitement as she drained the body of color.

The monster turned it's head towards the vestal,a primordial hunger burned in her eyes with unyelding intensity.Junia dashed out of the room at the exact moment when the monster dashed towards her,and broke the glass.She slammed the door close the second she was out of the room.She turned left,but more of the creatures were there.She rushed down the right side,and managed to dodge the insect-looking thing's strike.But in her rapid get-away,she wound up in a dead-end.

The only way to go,was down,into the cellar.The wine cellar,that is.She rushed down the stairs and slammed the door,locking it with all 10 locks.A surprising amount,actually.Why would there be so many locks on the inside of the wine cellar?She paid it no mind,she was safe,after all.She was also surprisingly thirsty,presumably from all the runing.It surely wouldn't hurt to have a drink or two!

She opened the sealed bottle and drank straight from it.The crimson beverage was quite refreshing,surprisingly so.She felt more alive than ever before,her veins were on fire and the only thing that could that could soothe them was more wine.Thankfully,she had a cellar full of it.After a few bottles she was graced by the appearance of Luna herself.

"Hello there!Your highness,would you mind a glass of wine?I'd offer tea,but i'm afraid we're a bit short on that."She giggled slightly.

"It's fine,you don't need to provide anything.What are those...things outside?Where have you seen them?"Luna inquired.

Junia's face turned to marble.She gulped before replying.

"T-they're bloodsuckers,like the ones in the courtyard!"She sad with a stutter.

"Can we please not talk about the courtyard?"She begged.

With a sigh,Luna nodded and the both of them were gone in a flash.

Her shoulder stung like hell.Paracelsus understood that they had to take some precautions,it wasn't the safest vivisection she was going to have,but it was kind of overkill.A long coat covered her body up to the neck,she wore a protective bird-like mask,and a pair of protective gloves.She was practicly impenetrable to any sort of miasma.Plus she's done a hundred vivisections but this point,she's a natural!This speciment was different though.Her professors said it was donated from some kind of estate.

Estate...

That word was causing a headache.For some reason the word felt...Familiar?Can words be felt?That line of thought was causing even more of a headache,so she stopped ruminating about it,and headed for her class.She was a little late,and hastily took a seat before her desk.

To said desk,was strapped a body of a wierd-looking creature.It's proportions were human,no two ways about it,but the skin itself was like that of an insect.Chitin coated it's entire body,the nose was more akin to a proboscis.When it noticed her,a faint buzz became audible,and the thing's transparent wings sprung into action.Quite the peculear speciment,she thought.

She looked around and noticed an unusually large number of students.Hundreds of desks towered behind her,and thousand more stretched down infinitely.Each of the desks had a speciment,just like her's,strapped to it.Most of the students already opened up the bodies and began to note down the anatomy of the speciments.She dug out her fountain pen,placed an inkwell on the table,and opened her journal on a blank page.

"Subject #40 Notes"

She took a close look at the subject.It was thrashing in place,trying to combat the restraints.It's wings were flapping furiously,and it looked ready to kill.She slowly brought her hand closer to it,to wich the bug tried to prick it with it's nose and snarled at her when it found it's efforts were in vain.

"Subject is about 2.7 meters high,the body is coated in a layer of chitin,a pair of wing is present on it's back,but according to my calculations they do not support flight.Incisors and canines are more pronounced,with no sight of premolars or molars.Nose is elongated,supposedly for the purpose of stabbing and/or ~~sucking~~ ingesting blood.Subject appears to be agitated by my presence,and exhibits hightened aggression.Time is 8:30,beginning vivisection."-She put down the pen,took her scalpel,and made incision on the chest.When she was about to open up the chest cavity,she heard a loud snap behind her.She sighed.

"Good to see you,your majesty.Or,hear,i suppose.I was wondering just now when will you show up!Please forgive me for the lack of a tea party,i'm a bit busy right now,but feel free to observe my work and ask anything you want,it's practically muscle memory now."-she said,continuing her vivisection.To say Luna was surprised was to make an understatement.It was a rare occurance for somepony to know they were in a dream,especially before seeing her.She cleared her throat before speaking.

"No need for apologies,i rarely see somepony who knows they're in a dream before i arrive,how did you manage that?"

Paracelsus continued to scribble in her journal as she answered."Well,the first red flag was my headache,i don't have them usually you see."-Luna heard something that sounded suspiciously similar to a bone breaking.Paracelsus put down a chunk of a rib on the table.

"The seemingly infinite amount of desks did not quell any suspicions either,and the esquire was just the nail in the coffin."-Luna was purplexed once more.Did she recognise the creature before her?

"Paracelsus,do you recognise the body before you?You said it once was an... esquire?"-Luna asked,coming closer to take a better look at the creature.

"Not was,is.And yes,i've met these things back at the Courtyard.Can you please hold him still?I want to make a sketch."-she replied nonchalauntly,waiting for the princess's magic to envelop the bloodsucker.She turned her head around when no aura appeared.She saw a stern,if somewhat disturbed expression on Luna's face.

"Uhhh,please,pretty plesase?"-She tried her best.

"Why are you torturing him?From what i gathered,he was human before!how could you do something like that to one of your own people?"

"First:he was a human.Emphasis on was.The crimson curse changed him beyond salvation.Second:scientific understanding of the crimson curse is way more important than the life of this speciment.Third:this is a dream,so,in the end,it doesen't really matter.I already have the notes on subject #40,i'm just trying to reconstruct it from memory."

Luna was shocked by this responce.Sure,it was a dream,but how could one be so cruel to a fellow pony?Even if they were sick.Especially if they were sick!

"I still do not condone such barbaric procedures.What is this "Crimson Curse" you keep talking about?"

"It's a desiase.It taints the blood,and induces a thirst for blood,that can be quelled temporarily.I still don't understand a lot of things about it,but the longer the person is ill and the more blood they consume,the worse the deformities get."-She motioned towards the creature at the table.

"This one spent uncountable years in the courtyard,and we're still in the beginning of the mutation process.You should've seen the Countess..."-A shiver went down the plague doctor's spine.

"I see...You seem to talk from experience."-Luna replied.

"Well,duh.We've all experienced it.Some had it worse than the other,sure,but we all went to the courtyard.The call is unyielding; the urge is irresistable.Only the Blood will quell this thirst."

"We need to move now,Paracelsus,the others are waiting."-Luna said,her horn glowing with a dark blue aura.

"Sure,i'm almost finished here anyways."-The Plague doctor replied,plunging the knife into the creature's heart.It thrashed for a few moments,and lied motionless.

"There,i'm done.By the way,my friends call me Para,i suggest you do the same."

The Princess of the night nodded,and the world around them faded to black as they disappeared in a flash.

Man,fuck Audrey.Not literally,she'd never shut up about it if Dismas did.More like...spiritually.Sure,playing any sort of gambling game was practically suicide,she was notoriously good at them.But he was bored to death,and noone was willing to play with Dismas.Yeah,being a known cheat had it's disadvantages.And he almost had it,she had to be cheating!He sighed.Not like it mattered now.A wish was a wish.In her drunken stupor she made him go to the weald to get her "a flower that is worth a fair maiden like her".

Dismas scoffed.Yeah,he was going to give her something of worth.He was going to find the worst looking shroom,and throw it into her smug fucking face.She was a good pal to drink and pull pranks with,but by the Flame she pissed him off sometimes!Whatever,he was going to get the shroom,get back to the Hamlet,and unwind back at the penance hall.He found bloodletting strangely soothing.

Being deep in thought,he wasn't paying attention to the road and tripped on something.He barely managed to balance himself,but it made him take notice his surroundings.A stagecoach lied on the middle of the road,battered and broken.The luggage was lying all over the place,a myriad of gems were scattered on the ground.This afternoon wasn't all bad,he supposed,stuffing his bag full of gems.

When he was done,he decided to take a look inside,there could be injured people inside,after all!Or untoched bodies full of loot,depends on how you look at it.He approached the opening in the side of the stagecoach,and cautiously peered inside.There was little to see in the dim moonlight,but what little was visible,wasn't hope inspiring.Personal possesions lied broken on the floor in a pool of blood.Dismas decided it was for the best to retire from the scene.Nobody who lost this much blood is still breathing.Nobody human,that is.He backed away,and,unexpectidly,bumped into something.Something alive and breathing.He turned around,unsheathing his blade,and striking whatever was behind him.

Well,kind of,striking.The thing darted back,and he only managed to nick its snout with his dagger.Its dark blue,and very pissed off snout.Fucking hell.He looked closer at the figure of a pony standing before him,and sure enough,it was the Princess of the Night herself.She looked both surprised,and irritated.His blood ran cold as he remembered a fun fact.He was sleeping,which meant...

He was in her world.

Dismas glanced over his options.He could try to leg it,which wouldn't help,seeing as he was in a dream,so she probably knew where he was all the time.Or he could try to play it cool and resolve the situation with his quick wits and a silver tongue.He wondered what would happen if she killed him here.

"This is quite unexpected,i must say.Your friends weren't nearly as jumpy."-She said,the wound disappearing from her snout."Although,i would appreciate it if you were more observant next time,were this not a dream,you would've hurt somepony."-She finished in a calm,somewhat soothing voice.

"I beg your pardon,your highness.It seems i have forgotten this was a dream,and the situation wasn't exactly comfortable."-Luna nodded,before approaching the stagecoach.

"Worry not,Dismas,i bear no grudge against you.Some ponies could be quite paranoid in their dreams,and your reaction does not seem unwarranted,given the circumstances."-She looked inside,and jumped back with a yelp.Something buzzing jumped at her,and Dismas shot the creature square in the chest.It fell to the ground and spasmed a little,before becoming still.

"Damn -- I missed the eyes!"-The highwayman said in mock-dissapointment,before addressing the princess.

"I knew i had this dream before!The cursed bloodsucker almost got you there!I don't know how dreams work,but i'd suggest staying away from these bugs,unless you're fine with drinking a cup of blood from time to time."-He stated matter-of-factly.Luna rolled her eyes.

"Yes,i know of these...vampires.Your friend already told me about them.Speaking of,your friends are waiting for you to show up right now,we mustn't keep them waiting."-She said approaching Dismas.

"Yeah,yeah i'm coming.One question before we go,can you get these into the real world?"-He showed her his bag full of gems.

"You wouldn't believe how many problems such an abuility would entail."-She said with a sigh,as they dissapeard in a flash.

Dismas was the last to appear with princess Luna,and after a few greetings,they all turned to the Princess of the Night.Reynald was the first to ask the question.

"So,what do we do now?"

"Now,you will need to remember what you wanted to tell me,however i will need the four of you to remember it simultaneously,for greater accuracy.Then i will cast a spell,that will make the memory play out for me to see.Any questions before we begin?"-Luna cast a glance at the group.A now unmasked plague doctor raised a hand.

"Yes,Para?"

"Will we feel everything we went through?Like pain,and stuff like that?"-Luna sighed,she anticipated this question,but she was not eager to answer it.Based on their dreams,whatever they wanted to tell her wasn't pretty.

"I am afraid you will,but it would be unwise to turn back now.If you wish to,however,i will not hold you here against your will."-She finished,and looked at the misfits before her.The two men were conserned,but they both looked at the Para and Junia,who looked deathly pale and scared out of their mind.The latter looked at the former,who nodded,and turned to face the princess.

"It's fine,just be quick with it."-Luna nodded,and cast the spell.The world around melted,and the princess became but an observer,as she saw the events unfold.

It was worse than she thought.Much worse.The space-dstorting corridor was nothing in comparison to the horror she witnessed inside the chamber.At first it looked like a human,just like the others.But then it multiplied.Made reflections of itself,reflections that were indistinguishable from the origin.

But then they broke the mirror.Fleshy growths appeared on one of the reflections as it materialised.More of the imperfect ones began to appear,at the original seemed to get hurt when they killed them.Sooner or later the thing was struck down,but not before three spots of... nothingness appeared.The absolute monstrosity she saw after that was maddening.A hideous mass of fluid flesh taking the form of a heart.

She watched in horror as it tore both Para and Junia to shreds,before being overwhelmed by the two remaining heroes.The dream began falling apart as she heard two distant pained screams.

Author's Note

For the people who are reading this,i am terribly sorry for the delay!I had complications that are now resolved.Please write what you think in the comments,and be ready for more chapters soon-ish enough!