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She wakes up screaming from a dream that has faded, all darkness and shadow and black, it leaves her memory and all she feels is loss, her body is a prison, her body is not cooperating.

She screams because she is a hunter and Balthazar has abandoned her. He is silent and she refuses to believe he is gone by force so she instead prefers to think that he's gone by choice and she doesn't know which is worse.

Ripping wires out of her arms, she topples the end table, she fights off a nurse with the frantic panic of a cornered animal. She howls like an animal but the medical staff are trained experts, and she's child's play in comparison, and so she is sedated.

The urge to destroy hums in her veins, no matter how much morphine accompanies it.

Clarice has been distant, lately, you realise. It has been such a slow transition that it has taken a long, long time to understand that it's happening at all.

You love her more than anything else in this world or any other, and would follow her to the ends of the earth. You would stare into the abyss after she jumped into it, and immediately follow after her. You would do anything she asked-- anything-- without a question. Clarice Sinclaire taught you how to love, and you do not do anything in halves.

The distance growing between you is subtle enough that you don't want to speak your concern out loud, because that would give it a credence you do not want to lend your suspicions. After all, they are just that: suspicions. Nothing more, and nothing less.

...But the frequency and intensity of her night mares (night terrors) have been increasing. And when you ask how she is, if she's okay--

"I'm fine." A tight lipped smile-- not the smile for you, but for everyone else, and it is proof that her statement is a falsehood. "Everyone gets nightmares, you know? I just, I've been working too hard. That's all. Don't worry." Each sentence punctuated with that smile, the smile that is a reflex. The smile that is a hard, solid shell with barbed wire pointing inwards, so she could suffer with a smile. Most would never be able to tell the difference.

You can. You love her. She tells you not to worry, but you do. She tells you not to worry, and you cannot obey her request, but you can bring her back into your arms, press your nose to her shoulder, and suffocate your heart break with the smell of her shampoo. (Vanilla.)

You hold her, and she says she is okay. It does not feel right, but you trust her. You trust this wonderful, strong, beautiful woman, with your love and your hope and your friendship and your life.

So you hold her, and hope it is not the last time you get to do so.

**** Brought the blankets up to his chin, trying to hide his whimpers as he watched the dark corners of his room come alive. His parents had told him over and over that there were no monsters there, or under his bed, or anywhere in his room.

But he knew they were wrong. Every night he could hear them, waiting for him to fall asleep so they could come and take him away, take him to were it was dark and scary and devour him alive...

The trees were relentless as they smacked into his face. **** ran as fast as he could, his chest heaving with the effort to propel himself forward. The base was being attacked, he had to get to the main area

The moon hunter landed in a clearing. Dozens of Halloween creatures were in front of him, all focused on one man as he gave everything he had to defend the base. He saw the man fall, a grotesque undead being one of many who had taken Killzone's life.

**** had never felt so angry in his life. Angry at this...thing, and angry at himself for not being there.

His sword raised, he charged at the plague doctor.

She was angry. Angry at having her life stripped away from her and not having the power to do anything about it. Rusekop wanted to shout, to scream her rage at being reduced to a mere plaything, but she could not do anything more. The memories that she had just gained, cherish moments of another time, were slipping from her grasp. The harder she tried to hold them, the more faint they became.

Ruse gritted her teeth as frustration set in. How strong had she become? Clearly she wasn't strong enough to save her own dam life. It would of torn at her heart, but she had no heart left.

Soon enough she could barely recall a thing, Her mind was so dim, and yet she still fought to maintain consciousness, hoping that in some blind hope that if she held out long enough all this would end and she would be whole again, able to remember everything, including her real name...

This was not to be, and she soon lost the battle to exist as everything faded away

The haunted house stretched around her as she walked along it's halls, annoyed she had been brought back here again. Her annoyance soon disappeared at the appearance of another. A hunter, but one that was familiar to her. She knew him from somewhere, a dream maybe.

Both regarded each other cautiously, knowing that the other could be a enemy that could destroy them. But they could recall the memories of another time, of the friendship they had shared, and neither attacked the other.

She had hope. Perhaps they could still be friends?

"**....***." A girl squeaked, her form like that of a human and fish beneath the deep murky waters. His own form, four legged and unbreathing as he looked at her with wide, questioning eyes. It was like she was trying to warn him about something, but her voice was lost to the fear.

"What? What's wrong?" He asked, trying to get her to speak. However she couldn't. Instead she could stare in horror as a large figure loomed up behind him. "**...*** SWIM AWAY." She finally said. However, he didn't swim away. He made the mistake of turning around to see the monstrous fish.

"OHHH MY JAAACK! AMPHI, WAIT FOR ME!!"

Something glowed, a swirling bright red on the side of his neck. It was fresh. Just recently added.

"This alliance is only temporary." *** said. He had no intentions of forming a permanent bond with the four clans. Nor would he fight for their cause. If it hadn't been the fact that some of their own had been taken, he would never have accepted her terms and chose to fight alongside them. But she was missing. One of the few friends he had. He was desperate and would do a lot more to get her and the others back.