(AN: Um. Yeah. OK, well, several people told me they wanted to see Cassandra return, so, yeah, here she is, folks!)

Dark Dreams

Prologue

Cassandra

I stared into the forest. Something was calling me into it.

I saw…something. A red glow came from a pathway in the embowels of the woods. I squinted, trying to see further in.

Weird, I thought. No one used that old pathway, except thieves and people who were new to the town. I shrugged it off. It was probably just a stray dog, or something.

I went back into the house, unknowing that those eyes would be returning to haunt me again.

Chapter 1

Jake

I walked slowly to Cassie's. I was going to see if she wanted to hang out. We didn't get to do much anymore. Not alone, anyway. It was always missions.

But, since the Ellimist had disabled the Yeerks for awhile, we were taking a well-deserved break from fighting them.

Cassie's house came into view. I walked up the porch and knocked on the door. Cassie's parents answered.

"Why hello Jake! We haven't seen you in years it seems!"

"Yeah. I've been busy." I countered.

I didn't really want to talk to Cassie's parents. I just wanted to see Cassie and talk with her about normal stuff.

You know, school, homework, life. Stuff that we hadn't had time for in… well, since the construction site. Where Elfangor gave us the morphing power.

"Cassie's in her room, doing her homework," her parents told me.

"Thanks."

I walked up the stairs, and entered into Cassie's room.
"Hi Jake!" Exclaimed Cassie.

"Cassie," I smiled. "I felt like talking, about, you know, normal stuff. Instead of-" I looked around, as is thinking Visser Three would pop out of nowhere. "Instead of the Yeerks."

Cassie studied me.

"Jake. It's more than that. You want to talk about Cassandra, don't you? You're wondering if we really did the right thing in helping her."

I looked at her, surprised. I knew I shouldn't have been- Cassie has a natural talent for reading people. Like a sixth sense.

"How'd you know?"

"I can tell it in your eyes. You think that maybe we shouldn't have helped her after what she did to Marco.

"Well, if you want my opinion- I think that was a show for Crayak. But you know what? I think inside her intentions were well enough. I know if I had been in her position, I would have been afraid. Afraid of Crayak, us. Everyone. She was in a death-like sleep for five years. It would have been freaky. And besides- look how all her other encounters with humans turned out. That would make her even more fearful. Jake, don't worry. You did the best you could, even if it wasn't the best choice to save her."

"Er… Thanks Cassie. I needed that."

Cassie smiled slightly. "So that's all you wanted to say? Nothing else?"

I looked at Cassie. "No. Let's just. Talk. Want to go see a movie? I know of a cheesy-romance that's on."

"Sure, Jake. Anything to escape the abnormal world we live in."

"Even cheesy-romances?"
"Especially cheesy-romances."

Chapter 2

Tobias

[See anything, Ax-Man?]

[Nothing, friend Tobias. I believe that all evidence- if there even was any- of her existence has been destroyed.]

[Ah. Well. Want to go to the mall? I've got some money we can use to buy cinnamon buns.]

I could feel the glow radiating from Ax even at a half-mile distance.

[Cinnabuns, shorm Tobias?]

[Yeah, Ax. All the cinnabuns you can eat.]

[Let's go!]

We flew in the direction of the mall, Ax leading the way. I cast a last glance at the place where Marco had been traded off for me. It looked completely normal. Not even the shredded rabbit pieces were there.

The Ellimist, it seemed, wanted no one to know of her existence. Even us.

And that wasn't acceptable. I needed to know what had happened to Cassandra. Where she had gone. Why she had gone. What her choice had been.

I don't know why I wanted to know so badly. It was just a yearning inside of me, to figure out Cassandra's past, and where she had gone.

I felt drawn to the spot, and the other place where she had stayed. I wanted to see if I could find any clues. A picture, a note- anything. But it was bare. Nothing was there. It was even barer than it had been when she had kept me there.

But even then, a part of me inside knew there just had to be something there to clue us in on her.

Chapter 3

Marco

It took awhile to recover from what had happened. I mean, when your life has been threatened by a terrorizing vampire whose is half-bent on revenge; you'd know what I mean.

It can be very unnerving staring in the face of death.

But there I was, playing video games with my dad.

"Oooh! That had to hurt!" I said, grinning. I had just blown up my dad's guy.

"I'm still winning by five!" He started firing at me.

I moved my guy to a hidden spot, and just as dad walked by I threw a grenade.

"Yeesh! He's dead now, if he wasn't before."

FIVE MINUTES flashed across the screen. Five minutes to score five more wins to beat my dad when the phone rang.

"I'll get it," I reassured my dad.

I paused the game, and went into the kitchen to get the phone.

"Hello?" I said.

"Hello…" said a raspy voice I had never heard before.

"Uhh.. Are you sure you have the right number?" I asked.

"Oh very sure, Marco. I'm coming… I will be there soon…." The voice trailed off. I heard a click.

I walked back into the living room. Dad had turned off the game to watch some old T.V show.

"Who was it?" Inquired dad.

"Wrong number," I replied dully. I went up to my room, and flopped onto my bed. But no matter how I tried to deny it, that voice sounded deathly familiar.

Chapter 4

Rachel

"Come on!" I dragged her towards the door of the barn.

"No Rachel. I hate the mall, and you know it." She said, giving me her parent look.

I stopped. And stood hands on my hips. "Oh, come on! Just two hours."
"No. I have chores to do. Animals to feed. Animal doo to introduce to my jeans."

I looked at Cassie's jeans. They were old and ratty, covered in bird poop.

"Cassie…"

"Oh alright!" She threw her hands up into the air. "B-"

I cut her off by grabbing her and dragging her out of the barn and about six feet down the road.

Suddenly a big dog popped out from the forest, and looked at us. He wagged his tail and trotted over.

"Woof," he said.

"Hi," I replied, even though he probably wasn't introducing himself, moreover just basking in the blissful happiness of being a dog.

"Bow? Woof?" exclaimed the dog as he sniffed Cassie and I.

I reached down, extending my hand to the dog to let him sniff me.

"Bow!" He wagged his tail faster.

I petted him, and he followed us the rest of the way to town. He stopped to wait by the doors, his tail thumping.

"Wooooooohhffff!" He cried out mournfully as we walked inside.

But as soon as we disappeared, he seemed to recover, sniffing the bushes and people as they walked by.

"He was cute," I told Cassie.

"Yeah," She smiled. "Must be good being a dog. No worries. Hakunah Matata." She quoted.

I clapped my hands together. "Alright, girl! Let's do some shopping!" And I dragged her into 'The Limited'.

Chapter 5

Cassandra

I sat down. It had been a long days work. I was tired. I ate a bit of bread, and then I drank some milk. I went and closed the doors. I had recently heard a vicious wolf had invaded the forests, and had already claimed one victim's life. I hadn't known him well, but he was an acquaintance.

I closed the shutters on the windows, and walked into my room, holding up a candle for light.

And there, on my bed sat a smiling boy. He was about my age, tall with straight, dark black hair. He had an odd smile on his face.

"Wha…what do you want?"

"Why," he said, his smile growing larger. "I came to meet you. After all, you are living in my old home. And everything here belongs to me."

"What are you talking about? I've lived here all my life. I've never met or heard about you before!"

His smile changed from amused to bitter. "That's because when I lived here, no one else did. Years and years ago…"

I stared at him. Clearly, he was delusional. The first human being to enter this forest was an older man, and that alone was hundreds of years ago.

His smile reappeared. "Delusional, am I?"

"What's your name? I will be telling the sheriff about this, you know." I added hastily.

His smile became a half one now. He seemed to be looking me up and down.

"Cassandra, you've grown on me! You must be a foot taller!"

I stood back.

"H-….How do you know my name?" I said, looking into his deep blue eyes.

"I know more about you than maybe anyone in this town," he replied, his smile gone now replaced with a rather grim look.

He leaned closer to me, as if to whisper in my ear. I moved closer even though red-alerts in my mind were going off.

"I know everything about you, Cassandra." He whispered. "Everything."

My eyes widened as I saw his lips draw back, and huge fangs descend onto my neck.

And then everything disappeared in a black haze.

Chapter 6

Ax

[Must we persist in this futile action, shorm Tobias?]

[Yep, Ax. We must. I can't explain it. I just have to figure something out,] Tobias said, absorbed in searching the ground for marks.

[AH-HAH!] Tobias exclaimed.

[What?] I asked, my main eyes on the ground, my stalk eyes on him.

[Come here, Ax-Man. Look at this.]

I trotted over, and I looked down where he had indicated. All my eyes widened.

[What is it, Tobias?]

[I don't know. Some kind of inscription, it seems like. Old, to, by the looks of it. Let's see… This might be an 'L', and this could be a 'C' and… here's a double 'S' a bit after the 'C'. It seems that it says something with an 'L' before the 'C', and I think the 'C' is 'Cassandra'. See how the last letter looks like an 'A'? The rest is pretty fuzzy and all worn though. Keep looking for stuff like this, I'll find some way to mark it.]

[Allow me,] I answered. [Stand back.]

I slammed my tail into the ground a bit next to the writing. A shower of sparks rained appeared, and a deep scratched mark appeared in the floor.

[Wait- Tobias. Look!]

I pointed to another spot on the floor. Four, neat, deep scratches were embedded in the floor. Similar matching marks were about a foot over, and they led down the floor.

[Weird,] He commented. [Let's get back now. We have to tell the others what we've found!]

[OK.] I agreed. I opened the door for Tobias, and he flew out, leading the way back to the barn while I closed the lid securely.