Must ... Stay ... Awake ......

It was ... Savage's classroom again? No... yes. Orange hair flitted back and forth as Danny surveyed the now-emptied classroom. Even Savage was gone. Why was she in this classroom? This was weird. Even weirder? The room was completely empty, absolutely void of even gross icky Roch. It was eerily quiet, absolutely too quiet. She took a step foward and it seemed to echo off every surface of the room. It was like the noise bounced off the walls and started ramming into every surface it could find.

She held her head for a moment and then took another step in the quiet zone. What was going on? Why was everything so ... halted ...

All at once the trollapus rose up from a corner of the room, and engulfed the classroom in its tentacles. Water was splashing everywhere, and tentacles devoured her vision. What was happening to the classroom ... no it wasn't a classroom anymore was it? Suddenly she was standing in the middle of an ocean ... a lake? It was just water, endless water. Completely still water too, save for the rapid splashing that was droning near the trollapus. She was left with a single granite tile to stand on, one that seemed set in the ground, buried deep and supportively. It wasn't moving anytime soon.

But Danny was. Suddenly the trollapus, singing its lovely song, nabbed her and pulled her closer in. No matter how much she thrashed at the air, how much she clawed at the tile, like a lover leaving on a trip, how much she screamed bloody mary, how much she was shaking, it wouldn't put her down. It just kept pulling her closer and closer to its odd, gaping, singing mouth. She was inches away from the trollapus, and she could smell its fishy, wet scent. It was like something had died, been soaked in water, and then thrown on her doorstep.

When she was within reach, she shoved her foot out and gave it a good kick, right in the trollapus equivalent of a jaw. The trollapus lurched back in response, and she thought she was scott free. Just a jump back to that tile, and she would be back in the classroom. It must've been a portal stone or something right? That's how these games normally worked.

This wasn't a game. The trollapus lurched back towards her with an even tighter grip around her waist. The suckers pulsed violently, attempting to eat her from the inside out via suction cup. Danny writhed in the tentacles grip, but couldn't break through this time.

Just as she was about to be eaten and meet her watery doom, she was falling. Falling, falling, falling. The trollapus had plunged her into the ocean, and they were now diving; presumably to its ocean lair, where it would feed her to its children. It would start with her toes, and work its way up, slowly but surely. Danny tried to scream, but nothing came out.

Oddly though, no water rushed in. Her tail wasn't extinguished, her body wasn't covered in the slimy sensation she shared with Calder at the fountain. In fact, when Danny's terrified eyes opened to face the music, there was nothing. No water, no ocean, no trollapus, no clinging sensation that she was drowning and going to die. Danny blinked a few times. She attempted to scream, but just gave up part way through. What was the point anyways? It wasn't like some brave, black-haired knight on a pony was going to save her.

She sat there for a moment, just taking in the sensation of floating in nothingness. This must've been what ghosts felt like, huh? She tried saying a few words to keep her spirits up, but nothing came to mind. Her mind drew a total blank; not the usual nothingness of stupidity or daydreaming, but true nothingness. The type of nothingness you feel when experiencing your first kiss, or learning that a close relative or friend has died. Danny felt a shiver go up her spine, and her tail flickered. For a single moment, everything just stopped and held its breath.

Then all at once, it let the breath go. The world reanimated and built itself up from the ground to the sky. She was in a city of some sort. Tall skyscrapers littered the surrounding, all identical to each other. Tall, grey buildings with black windows and golden doors at the bottom. She stared up at the sky, laughing at her surroundings. It was like the buildings were forming a cage upon her, keeping her trapped with promise of shiny baubles and expensive contracts.

Out of nowhere, identical demons began marching towards her. Each was equipped with a leather briefcase and a style pantsuit. The women had their hair up in tight buns with stereotypical elitist glasses. The men had their hair combed back, and one hand in their pocket, the other on their briefcase. An instantaneous text message came upon them all, and they all checked their phones at the exact same time.

Danny's eyes widened as she watched them pass by. Suddenly, she was in a suit as well, and found herself walking towards the nearest building, without the slightest notion why. She panicked and tried ripping her suit, burning it, squirming, doing anything to prevent herself from having to do ... whatever it was this higher power wanted her to.

Soon she started screaming, yelling at anyone nearby to help her, but of course, no one responded. They all just glanced at her quickly, and then turned back to their phones or computers. What was this place? Why was no one playing sports with their kids, doing messy finger painting, having fun? Danny screamed even louder as an elevator took her to the top floor of the building. Static music played from a speaker somewhere, and mirrors reflected her terrified face.

The elevator light lit up and made a ringing noise as she hit the desired floor. A quaint business office decorated the floor, two plush chairs, fake plants galore. A desk stood next to an open view of the entire city. Though it was identical to all of the other buildings, this one seemed to be higher up than the other ones.

At the mahogany desk sat a namecard that Danny couldn't read. There was a quaint set of pens, and a flower pot with a dying rose in it. There were no photos, no ink stains, no crumbs that normally filled the desk of the average worker. It was spit spot in every sense of the two words. Danny took a nervous gulp of air.

There was a chair at the desk, though the person sitting in it was turned away from her view. What was going on? Who was this person? Danny let out a nervous breath of air, and attempted to gain entryway into this ... place ... "E... Excuse me." No response. Everything was deadly quiet again- the noise of the streets, the people, the phones, all of it gone. "Excuse me," she said a bit louder. The chair slowly turned around, revealing a handsome demon with a pinstripe suit that fit his figure well. There was a devilish, but dull look in his eyes. Like he was bored with her presence already. Like he was bored with everything, and just wanted to wipe it all off and start anew.

"Oersted?"

Danny woke up in a screaming fit. If she could sweat, it would be dripping down her back in a stereotypical horror movie scenario. She took in deep breaths as the familiar sights of her dorm took claim over her consciousness. There was the lava fountain, her familiar minis, a concerned looking Gamyiel, a bored looking Ignis. She took a few more breaths in. It was okay. She was still here. Nothing had changed. She just fell asleep, and had the nightmare again. Danny sucked in air one last time, and then leaned back into her pillow. Everything was going to be alright. She just needed .... to stay ... awake.

((WC: 1,356))