The microwave beeped, signaling it was finished, and Julian moved quickly to retrieve the mug inside. The scent of coffee reached his nose as he held it, filling him with a small amount of hope as he left the kitchen and headed for the living room. There was a slight chill in the air, seeping through the thick socks and large violet nightshirt he wore, and it sent a cold tingle up his spine as he hurried back to the couch. He set the mug on one of the coffee tables, and plopped down onto the large leather sofa positioned in front of the television, filling the room with a bluish light.

Thunder rumbled overhead, coupled with the pitter patter of heavy rain. He was briefly distracted with worry for his parents, who were out late for a business meeting, but it soon passed; they'd traversed through worse weather just fine. A simple storm was nothing.

He had far worse problems to deal with at the moment, namely, staying awake.

It had been two days since his last nightly encounter with his evil self, this one having taken place at a run down version of Mr. Knightfire's Illusionarium, and included possessed props and strange monsters that would scare even Lovecraft. He'd eventually been corralled into a hallway that went on forever, no matter how many turns he made or which direction he went, with the snarling monsters never too far behind. He wasn't sure how long he'd been running through it, before finally collapsing from exhaustion against a wall and allowing himself to be caught.

Ever since, he'd taken to a new tactic of trying to avoid sleep entirely. The first night had been manageable, and a couple cups of coffee the next morning had gotten him through the day. Coffee had become his new best friend these last few days.

The second night though, it was much harder. Not even the distractions he'd set up had been enough; books, a few board games, music kept low enough so as not to disturb his parents, none of it seemed to keep his mind awake. He'd given out somewhere around five, but fortunately it seemed that was short enough to avoid any dreams and nightmares until his alarm went off at six.

Now he was tackling his third night without sleep, and it was even worse. He at least had the house to himself, so he could do more to stimulate his mind and keep it up, but his body was starting to give out on him. His movements were slow and clumsy, and he'd been a laughing stock the other day at school when he'd walked right into a wall. His eyes were struggling to stay open, but the weather wasn't exactly helpful in this case. He'd hoped some coffee and a movie would do the trick.

He put in some old 80's film, grabbed his coffee, and leaned back into the cool leather, lightly sipping on the drink. Surprisingly, he was able to focus, even enjoy some of the monster scenes, despite the cheesiness that was present in most old movies. He fell into a content daze as the time ticked by, and at one point he pondered what else he could do for the evening.

Maybe I could do a few climbs up and down the stairs, or reread one of my vampire novels, or…fix a snack…or…do…school…

He jolted back to alertness, barely catching himself when his eyes slid shut. The mug tumbled from his hands, shattering on the floor and spilling the rest of his coffee. He gave a startled yelp as he drew his feet up to avoid the shards, then let his head fall back with a groan. So much for that…

Grumbling, he scooted to the other end of the couch and got up, heading for the kitchen once more. Best to get it cleaned up before his parents got home. Armed with a broom and towels, he returned and set to work. After disposing of the shattered remains and tossing the towels into the laundry hamper, he returned to the couch. He fell onto it with a sigh, and against his better judgement, stretched out, resting his head against the arm.

Just a few minutes…to rest my eyes…just…for a moment…

Turning onto his side, he let his eyes close, and welcomed the darkness it brought. The TV soon began to fade into unintelligible murmur, and a sense of weightlessness overtook him. He didn't feel panicked this time though, only the desperate need for sleep.

Just…a few minutes…

Within seconds, he was passed out, vaguely hoping he'd be spared from night terrors.

Just this once. Please…

::::::

He wasn't sure what time it was when he regained consciousness. He could still hear the faint rumble of the storm, so it wasn't too early yet; it wasn't supposed to clear up until six the next morning.

The area his head had been resting was replaced with someone's lap, and he felt a hand running through his hair, gentle and comforting. A content sigh escaped him; he'd been desperate for any comfort since this all started, but he'd been too afraid to tell anyone exactly what his nightmares consisted of. He'd be written off as crazy, no doubt, even by the ones who HAD been aware of his evil self. This he was sure of, thus, he'd avoided any further mentions of it.

The hand stilled, resting on his arm, and he faintly heard his name called. Probably Mother, trying to send him up to bed, but he didn't want to move now, when he was at such ease. He mumbled incoherently, fighting to stay in sleep's embrace. He heard his name called again, a bit louder, and his eyes cracked open. His vision was blurred from sleep, and they quickly closed again, desperate to return to slumber.

"Mmm…five…more minutes, Mother…"

Soft laughter answered him, before he felt them lean over and hiss in his ear.

It wasn't Mother.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Julian…"

A few seconds passed before the voice's owner registered, and he snapped awake. He jerked away from the person, scrambling to the other side of the couch and plastering himself to the arm. Ghoulian sat calmly at the other end with a smirk etched on his face.

"What's wrong, Julian, didn't you miss me? I certainly missed you; the evenings have been far too quiet…"

"N-no, no, NO," Julian cried, and fell back against the sofa with a sob, "please not again…"

"Didn't quite make it through the night this time, did you? I think you only managed to get to midnight. Ah well, you did put in a valiant effort, I'll give you that much; perhaps another cup of coffee might've helped."

Julian didn't respond, instead choosing to hide his face in the sleeves of his shirt. Ghoulian scoffed when he collapsed against the arm of the couch, and soft sobs could be heard.

"I can't take this anymore…" he whimpered, slightly muffled by fabric.

"Please, I can't…so tired, I just want sleep. Why can't you let me do that? Just let me sleep…please, please just let me…"

Laughter answered him, before the weight on the couch shifted as Ghoulian moved closer, and placed a hand on his shoulder, a mockery of comfort.

"I'd love to, Julian, I really would, but you have to meet me halfway, here,"

More quiet sobs followed, and he allowed himself a chuckle.

"You already know what I want, Julian; all it takes to stop this, to finally get the rest you're so desperate for, is three little words…"

Julian hesitated, before peeking out at the other curiously.

"All you need say is, 'I give up', and we can put an end to this."

Almost immediately, Julian shook his head, burrowing into his arms again.

"No, no…never…"

Ghoulian heaved out a sigh, and rolled his eyes as he muttered, "Why are you making this so difficult?"

He paused for a moment, before another smirk took hold.

"Actually, that's a good point; we've already discussed my motives, let's talk about yours, shall we?"

Julian gave a startled cry as he was pulled away from his spot, and forced to meet the other's gaze. Although he'd asked the question, the smirk and gleam in his eyes made it seem he already knew the answer.

"What exactly are you fighting for, here? Tell me, what are you hoping to accomplish?"

Julian stammered for a moment, before managing to get something out.

"Y-you…you'll try to take over the world…I can't just let you—"

"So you want to protect this world? A world that didn't even care when you just vanished from it? Or even notice the drastic differences between us when I showed up to the school? No, it didn't care; so, do you have any other reasons?"

"M…my friends…"

"Oh, your friends? The same friends who didn't think anything was amiss when I refused to hang around them and called them a bunch of fools? The same friends who never even once questioned the change in wardrobe? Not even Theresa asked about it!"

"…I…th-they—"

"Before you spout some other ridiculous reasons, let's see if I can cover the rest of them; Mother and Father? Also didn't question our differences, nor did they question me about being gone for hours at a time. They didn't even panic when I stopped showing up!"

Julian winced, attempting to pull away, but Ghoulian held his arms tightly, preventing escape.

"And the Ninja? Don't even get me started on him. Not once did he ponder why you would be looking for the power ball, or where you might actually be when I told him I wasn't you, per say. I'll wager he spent more time looking for me than he ever did wondering where you were. I even told him where I was from, and still he didn't think to check. So tell me, Julian…"

He leaned closer, relishing the look of terror on Julian's face, mixed with traces of denial.

"…why do you continue to fight me? Why struggle to protect this world when it clearly never did the same for you?"

Julian was silent for a long while; he didn't even move, he simply stared at his darker half. Several thoughts were clearly at odds in his head, trying to reason with each other that the other was wrong. Ghoulian sneered, before releasing him and moving away, bringing his feet up to rest on the table.

Julian quietly drew away, returning to his corner of the couch and pulling his legs into his chest. Small sniffles would occasionally escape him, but otherwise made no other noise. The silence continued for another few minutes, until his small voice finally spoke up.

"Mother doesn't like feet on the table…"

"Well, Mother isn't here right now, is she?"

A small laugh escaped him, though it held the tones of a sob within it.

"I suppose not…you're wrong, though,"

Ghoulian turned to look at him, arching a brow.

"Oh? How so?"

"I know they care about me; my friends, my parents, everyone," Julian stated, slowly getting to his feet, "but I'm sure that's hard for you to understand, since all you seem to care about is yourself!"

Ghoulian scoffed as he stood as well, meeting the sturdy gaze with his own.

"So what if I do? I'm focused on what's important in one's life; self preservation, and power. Anything else is expendable, so long as I get what I want."

"Well then, I have something else to fight for; you want me to give you control? It's NEVER gonna happen!"

Ghoulian's humor vanished, and he stepped closer to match Julian's determined glare with his own steadily angering one.

"I'd tread carefully if I were you…which I am…"

"Or what?! What else could you possibly do to me? If spiting you is the only reason I ever have, then so be it!"

He wasn't sure why he was suddenly snapping at his evil self; maybe it was from exhaustion, or maybe from anger, or both. Whichever it was, he didn't care at this point, he just wanted to unleash as much of this anger as he could, before he lost the nerve. Even with the increasingly furious glare of Ghoulian directly in his face, he continued his rant.

"I don't care if I have to keep this up until the day I die! I won't let you win!"

He punctuated his declaration with a harsh shove, and Ghoulian fell back with a startled yelp, tripping over the table, and hitting the floor on the other side.

A few seconds passed in silence, save for Julian's heavy breathing as he began to calm down. He actually felt relieved; weeks of torment, three days without sleep, and being unable to talk to anyone about it, all of it had been weighing heavy on his mind. The release of it was beyond refreshing, even if it was only to his evil self.

The relief faded though, when he heard a growl; Ghoulian rose up from behind the table, and pushed himself off the floor. He locked eyes with Julian, who felt his stomach turn to ice as he took a cautious step back. Ghoulian's lip curled, and he slowly began to circle around, causing Julian to retreat further, stumbling back towards the stairs and stammering.

"I-I…um…sh-should I…?"

"RUN."

Squeaking, Julian turned on his heel and bolted for the stairs, clambering up them two at a time. He heard a snarl from behind, and caught a brief glance of a large form lumbering towards the stairs. He reached the second floor, and raced for his bedroom, reaching it just as a loud crash sounded from behind. Looking back, the terrifying blue monster had broken through the banisters lining the stairway, and was eyeing him with cold yellow eyes before releasing a loud roar.

Julian yelped as he burst through the door, and quickly slammed it shut again, locking it despite how futile he knew it was. He took in the room as he pressed against the door, trying to figure out where would be best to hide. But then again, how could he hide when Ghoulian knew the room just as well as he did?

A hard slam against the door from the other side got him moving, and he scrambled towards his closet. It was a decently sized walk-in, with clothes hanging on either side, and he quickly shut the door as he entered. He curled himself up in the far corner, and waited; he knew the door wouldn't hold, and he knew it wouldn't take long for Ghoulian to find him. It was only a matter of time…

Not long after, he heard the bedroom door finally give, and a loud snarl as Ghoulian entered the room. Loud breathing coupled with heavy footfalls, traversing the room at a slow pace.

"JULIAN…"

The garbled voice sent a chill down his spine, and he pressed further into his corner.

"COME OOUUT…"

He heard a loud crash across the room; most likely his bed being thrown over. More steps lumbered through the room, followed by a frustrated growl.

"GET OUT HERE AND FACE ME! YOU WERE SO SURE OF YOURSELF EARLIER!"

The shout was followed with unnerving silence; Julian listened carefully, but he couldn't hear the heavy steps or harsh breaths. He knew the other hadn't given up, not with that much anger, and he should have been able to hear, so where…?

The closet door snapped into pieces as a large fist broke through it, startling a shriek out of Julian. Ghoulian's monstrous form towered in the doorway, too large to fit through, and preventing any hopes of escape. Their eyes met, and a crooked sneer split Ghoulian's face, before he contorted and shrank in size. His large form was replaced with his human one, and approached Julian as the goth stared up at him with resignation.

However, Ghoulian merely gave a stiff chuckle, and crouched beside him.

"You know," he said, reaching forward to take hold of Julian's wrist and pull it towards him. It wasn't necessarily a tight grip, but it was firm enough to get the point across.

"downstairs, you asked what else I could do. Well, it's a funny thing about this whole 'dream' setting…"

His hand was turned over, and a sharp nail lightly traced along his palm. Julian tensed, and hesitantly looked up at the other, who met his timid gaze with an eerily cheerful demeanor.

"See, there are no real world consequences. For example, I could do…THIS!"

The nail suddenly dug into his skin, and slashed across his palm, leaving a thin but deep gash in his hand. He let out a shriek as he yanked his hand away, holding it close to his chest and wincing at the stinging sensations that came from it. He chanced a look at Ghoulian, who sported that same sneer that almost seemed to never leave his face.

"And when you wake up, whenever that may be, viola, no damage. So, I suppose in answer to your question…I can do worse, so much worse…"

Julian gave a whimper, attempting to retreat to the other side of the closet, but Ghoulian was faster; he snatched him by the hair and hauled him off the floor, sneering at his pained cries.

"So, the next question is, how far are you going to push me, Julian? How badly do I have to hurt you before you stop this useless struggling?"

Another harsh yank forced Julian to meet his eyes, and he felt immense satisfaction at the sight of a new wave of tears.

"We both know I can be quite nasty when I wish, so the longer this takes, the worse this is going to get. Either you submit to me, or I shatter you beyond the point of recovery, which, given how you've acted tonight, isn't too far off."

With that, he released Julian, flinging him to the floor. He stalked past Julian as he shakily pushed himself onto this knees, and paused at the crumbled remains of the door.

"I'll give you one last chance to agree to my offer; and, I suggest you think it over carefully this time. Let me have control, and you can get all the sleep you want…and when I regain my own body, I'll even refrain from throwing you into the Land of Shadows this time. All you need to do is say yes…"

Julian was silent for several minutes, face obscured by his bangs. His hands were clenched into tight fists, despite the sharp pain it caused his hand, and a slight tremor ran through him before he finally looked up. His face was determined, but his eyes betrayed the terror he was feeling inside as he murmured,

"N-no…"

Ghoulian's smirk fell, and was replaced by an irritated frown.

"So be it…" he grumbled. Before Julian could even get another word out, a coat tail shot out and wrapped around him. A yelp was all he could give as he was pulled from the floor and flung through the opening.

He hit the wooden panel floor with a grunt, sliding across it until he hit the opposing wall. Pain shot through him upon contact, and he gave a moan as he rolled onto his side. He heard soft growling, causing him to look back at Ghoulian. His monstrous form had taken his place, and was lumbering towards him, sharp teeth bared and eyes aglow with rage.

He scrambled into a sitting position, pressing against the wall as a whimper bubbled up from his tight chest. Ghoulian came to a stop before him, towering over the shivering boy, and slowly lowered himself until they were face to face. Julian turned his head away, bracing himself for whatever was to come. Hot breath hit him full force, along with some flecks of spit, and he could feel the small rush of wind from a large arm being lifted.

He waited several seconds for the blow, but it never came. He chanced a peek, and saw Ghoulian had paused mid swing, and was glancing up at something unseen. A few seconds ticked by, before he growled to himself and returned his eyes to Julian. Quick as a pouncing snake, his hand shot out and snagged Julian's leg, dragging him away from the wall as he screeched in panic.

"What're you doing?! Let go of me-!"

A snarl cut him off as Ghoulian crouched over him, and lifted his free hand.

"WE'LL CONTINUE THIS TOMORROW…"

He then brought his fist down, and all Julian could do was shriek as it came down on his head.

His eyes snapped open to the darkened living room, and the first thing he noticed was a shadowy figure standing over him. He jerked up with a yelp, but his head collided with the person beside him. Both gave startled cries, and Julian fell back to the couch holding his head while the other stumbled back and took a seat on the coffee table.

"Oww…yeesh, kiddo, didn't mean to scare ya."

The familiar voice was a welcomed one; a small light came on, emitted from a cell phone, and revealed the slightly pained face of his father.

"O-oh…sorry, Father…"

Alfred gave a snicker as he rubbed at his nose, and set his phone on the table beside him.

"Don't worry about it, bud; probably shouldn't have been hanging over ya like some shadowy ghost." he said, waving his hands in an attempt to be creepy. Julian giggled at his antics, before he gave a yawn.

"You better head up to your real bed, Jules. I'm sure it'll be far more comfy."

Julian nodded, and both headed for the stairs. As he was passing the door to his parents room, his mother came out, looking slightly startled.

"Oh, there you two are; I heard some screams downstairs."

"Nothin' to worry about, hon, just displaying my well-known IQ by scaring our kid awake…and getting my nose smashed."

Marilyn smirked as she leaned on the doorframe.

"Well, serves you right. Never wake a sleeping teenager unless you're prepared for retaliation."

Alfred gave a grin, shrugging as Julian laughed quietly. However, his mother soon fixed him with a stare he'd come to recognize when he'd done something he shouldn't.

"As for you, young man, what have I said about late night movies on school nights?"

"Sorry, Mother…I was gonna go to bed after, but…I fell asleep."

She snorted a bit, and ruffled his already disheveled hair.

"That's alright; it's just nice to see you're getting sleep again."

"No kiddin', it took me three tries to wake you up," Alfred added, "musta been really out of it. It's been what, three days without nightmares?"

Julian's mood, which had been steadily rising, suddenly dropped again. He'd almost forgotten about that…

Struggling to keep his content face, he gave a nod, before quickly faking yawn.

"I think I'll return to that, if I may. Good night…"

"Night, kiddo, see ya tomorrow."

Before he could move away, Marilyn pulled him into a hug, and planted a kiss on his head.

"Good night, my precious jewel, sweet dreams…"

He returned the hug tightly, before reluctantly moving away and heading for his own room. He entered and closed the door as calmly as he could, and slumped against the door. He felt bad for lying to them, but he couldn't bare to worry them. It's not like they could help anyway; even if they would believe the situation, what could they possibly do to stop Ghoulian?

He heaved a sigh as he moved towards his desk, dropping into the seat quietly and turning on his desk lamp. He really wanted to return to sleep, but…he also didn't want to chance another nightmare with Ghoulian. Even if he'd said tomorrow, Julian wouldn't put it past him to go back on that word. He was more than willing to use physical violence, so lying was nothing to him.

His hand twinged from memory, and he turned it over to inspect his palm. There was no sign of any injury, not even the slightest hint of a scratch. That much was true at least…

He glanced at his bed, debating for a bit, before shaking his head.

No, not again.

He pulled a book out of one of the drawers beside him, and opened to the first page with a sigh. Perhaps Dracula could keep him company until morning….

As it turned out, Dracula only kept him company for ten minutes.

::::

His school alarm jolted him awake, lurching off his desk with a start. Had he actually slept through the rest of the night?

The left half of his face was numb, and the pages of his book were slightly damp from drool. Both were signs that he had indeed gotten a few hours of uninterrupted rest; the first time in weeks. A sense of relief overcame him, and he briefly glanced at the clock—and did a double take. It read 6:45; he was running far behind his usual schedule, he should've been having breakfast downstairs by now. He must've slept through the first few rings.

He leapt from the chair and rushed for the bathroom, grabbing some clothes from the closet along the way. He'd need to take a shower, along side the rest of his usual routines.

Hopefully he'd have time for coffee. He was gonna need a lot of it to get through today; and even more to get through tonight. There was no way he could fall asleep again, not after last night. If Ghoulian had allowed him the meager hours of rest, then he was definitely holding to his statement of making life a living hell for him tonight…or at least, more than his life already was.

He had to stay awake.

He had to.

:::::::::::