Splendor watched with a sad face as his lover thrashed, punched, kicked and cried out in her sleep, tears streaming down her face. This was the third time in the current night that Cheryl had a horrendous night terror. Night terrors, from what he knew, were vivid and vicious feelings of horror and dread in sleep that were far more intense than simple nightmares. He was startled from his thoughts when Ria bolted upright, screaming at the top of her lungs. She was breathing hard and sweat soaked through her pajamas, blankets, and sheets. He shushed her quietly, using his extras to pull his shaking girlfriend into his lap. Slowly he put her head on his chest and petted her soaked and tangled hair, humming softly to calm her. For nearly a month now Cheryl had been suffering from these ruthless episodes, and each night they only got worse. Splendor didn't know what to do anymore. He had tried his best to help her get through the nights, but it was no use. A week after the violent dreams started he had to stop trying to wake her, and settled for only being there to comfort her after she regained consciousness. He was very concerned as her lack of sleep had begun affecting her work and daily life. Her brother Jacob was the first to notice, and only recently had Slender begun to notice her change in brain activity during the night hours. If the attacks were becoming so violent that even his brother began to notice, then something had to be seriously wrong. But the feeling of not being able to do anything to help his poor Cheryl was becoming too over bearing on poor Splendor. His usually happy demeanor was becoming more depressed and dark. Lately the darkness that he had nearly let take over almost a year ago was becoming much more difficult to suppress, and he feared for Cheryl's safety. What if he snapped and Cheryl was nearby? What if he hurt her? What if he, dare he even think it, killed her? He couldn't bear to think about that. He looked down at Cheryl, who was now awake and staring at him with concerned and curious eyes.
"Splendy? Are you okay?" Her voice came out in a whisper, her amber eyes searching his for an answer.
"Y-Yes, fine… Are you okay? You were worse than normal tonight…" He replied, letting his hand brush her cheek and tuck some of her deep black hair behind her ear.
"I'm okay… I think I need a shower. All this sweating has left me feeling all gross." Cheryl muttered, standing and grabbing her towel and a change of clothes before walking into the bathroom.
Splendy sighed, removing the sheets from the bed and carrying them to the laundry room. Cheryl wasn't the only one being affected by strange happening during sleep. He himself had been having strange dreams, but none were as terrifying as Cheryl's were. No, his weren't scary at all. In fact, it wasn't the dreams themselves that confused him; it was the person he kept seeing in his dreams. He knew it was somebody from his distant past, but he couldn't recall who it was. He knew the person was female, but he couldn't remember her name. As he measured out the laundry detergent, he racked his brain trying to remember. He never spoke to her in his dreams; he had only seen her in a quick flash, or walking by, or out of the corner of his vision. He poured in the detergent and shut the lid to the washing machine, leaving the electricity to do the rest. He turned and stood face to face with his younger brother, Slenderman.
"She is getting worse…" He stated simply.
"Yes, I know… What do I do, brother? I can't take just sitting back and doing nothing anymore!" Splendy half shouted.
"You can't do anything to help, my brother… But, I think I know who can." Slender looked at Splendor right in his eye.
"You mean…" Splendor's voice trailed off.
"Yes, the Angel of Darkness."