This chapter introduces my OC, Bonnie. She'll be playing a pretty big role in the story later on. I hope you've been reading my story so far (as I've just checked it to make sure that there aren't any errors. I've got to stop doing that...). But that's not the only thing that's happening in this chapter.

Note: This chapter has references to Puella Magi Madoka Magica, which I don't own. I suggest watching it; it's an amazing anime.

UPDATE (2/11/14): I went back and added more to the scene where Zeeter learns of what happened to Multo, and deleted one extra scene.

Chapter 3: The Platinum Blonde

"The gashes he sustained are pretty brutal, but it's nothing we can't handle," the doctor said. "His vitals are picking up, and he's responded to some of our pain stimulus tests, so he should be up in an hour or two."

Zeeter looked ready to jump out of her seat and rush towards the hospital room where her best friend was currently in. "Can we go see him?"

"Not right now. We're still running a few tests on him, and making sure he's stabilized. He did go into shock on the ride to the ER," the doctor said.

"Alright. Please let me know when he wakes up," she replied.

"I will. Please, try not to worry," the doctor said. With a nod, he stiffly walked into the hospital room down the hall, where four other doctors hovered over the table. Zeeter knew exactly who was on that table.

Bula. Never in her life had she been so scared as when the Legion robot practically sliced him open. If it hadn't been for her bashing the robot against the base of the hill, Bula would be in pieces.

She was also partially angry with the doctors when they didn't believe her. They'd heard of robots, of course. Robot dolls with razor-sharp claws that could rip through flesh? No, those didn't exist. They also laughed when she told them when she said that the robot was planning to take over all of Zula.

Well, she probably shouldn't have mentioned that, knowing the backlash she'd get.

The plot about the Legion, the Dreamscape and even the doll's strange master were the least of her worries at the moment. All she really cared about was finding out if Bula was alright. Beside her, Wizzy, Wigg and Gorga fluttered nervously, their expressions mirroring Zeeter's.

"The doctor did say Bula would live, right?" Wigg asked.

Zeeter buried her head in her hands. "That's what he said. We're just waiting on him to wake up," she said. "I still can't believe it. Why would that robot target us? And what is it about this Dreamscape thing that's so important? Why did they say that we'd be a 'hindrance' to their plans?"

"I think I can answer that question."

Zeeter looked up, startled, to face the person who said that. Standing beside her was a tall female Zulean, her face contorted into a look of sympathy. She had platinum blonde hair curled into a wavy like style and wore a bright blue dress that came to above her knees, which were covered with thigh high boots.

"Uh, who are you?" Zeeter asked, then kicked herself for being so rude.

"I'm Bonnie, a volunteer at the hospital. I'm also training to one day work in the Zula Patrol," she said. Then, she blushed. "I'm a huge fan of you guys."

"Oh, uh, thanks," Zeeter said. "Sorry if I sound don't sound so energetic. Bula, the captain of the Zula Patrol, is currently in the ER because of an attack on our base."

"My gods. That sounds awful," she said. "Will he be alright?"

"Yeah. We're just waiting on him to wake up," Zeeter replied. "I can't imagine going on without him…"

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear about that. But don't worry! If what the doctor said is true, he'll come back," she said.

"Yeah, I guess…" Zeeter's eyes widened as she remembered what Bonnie had been talking about. "So, what do you know about the Dreamscape?"

"Oh, right! I did mention that, didn't I?" Bonnie made herself comfortable on the only empty bench available. "During my time at the Zula Academy, we studied many different races of aliens, and there was a race called the Dreamscapers. These people were obsessed with alternate worlds…or rather, creating new ones.

"They hated the way the universe worked, according to legend, and every time they encountered a new world, they would attempt to change it to the way they believed it worked. However…it didn't exactly work out that way," Bonnie explained.

"What do you mean?" Zeeter asked, now taking an interest.

"They're not called the 'Dreamscapers' for nothing. They tended to dream often, as their number one habit was to sleep, and they would see images. Lots and lots of images. Later, they would take those images and put it together inside a very advanced machine, even for the times long past," Bonnie continued. "They called the images they weaved together a 'dreamscape'; the perfect world where everything worked the way they thought it would work. Notice how I said how they thought it would."

"I guess nobody agreed with them, huh?" Zeeter asked.

"No, and the reason was because the Dreamscapers' idea of a perfect world was to create sorrow and destruction everywhere, and make a tyranny in its place. Some of the Dreamscapers, from what I heard, were complete monsters in this area," Bonnie replied. "Others did have sympathy on the aliens they conquered, but they were often killed off for what had happened to them over the years."

"How did they take over those planets?" Zeeter asked.

"They did it with the help of a group of aliens called the Skiseks. They were a tribe of savage warriors, but they died easily. The Dreamscapers decided that they had to do one thing: take out their souls, and put them into mechanical bodies that would work just like them," she said.

Zeeter's eyes widened. "No wonder it looked like there was a ghost in the machine when I destroyed that robot! They…they took out their souls from their bodies! I…I just killed someone!"

"Zeeter, calm down a moment!" Bonnie admonished. "You didn't know about it at the time, right? And you did it to protect Bula, who could've been killed from that thing!"

"Even then…I actually killed somebody," Zeeter said.

Bonnie didn't know what else to say, but just then, the doors to the emergency room swung open and the doctor from before walked out. Sweat adorned his forehead, but he was beaming with pride.

"It took some time, but he's finally opened his eyes," he said. "You can go in and see him now."

"Zeeter…thank goodness," Bula said tiredly. His body was still weak from the attack and the effects of the anesthesia he'd been given on his way to the hospital. Though haggard and pale, the smile on his face was proof that he was hanging in there.

Zeeter grasped his hand as gently as she could. "I should be saying that to you, Bula. For a long moment, I thought you were going to die," she said, wiping a few tears that were trying to form in her eyes.

"It's alright, Zeeter. I'm glad to hear that you and the kids are alright," he replied. He then looked over to see a new face in the room. "Who's this?"

"Oh, this is Bonnie. I met her while we were waiting to hear about your condition," Zeeter said. "She's a huge fan of us, apparently."

"Eheheh," Bonnie laughed nervously, scratching her cheek. "I was also training to be a member of the force one day."

"If you ever get the position, let me know," Bula joked, and a ripple of much needed laughter hit the room. It felt good to laugh again after all that had happened.

"Oh, Bonnie also told me that she knows some things about the Dreamscape and what that robot was talking about," Zeeter replied.

"I overheard her talking about it, and I offered to help with it," Bonnie said. "We studied the Dreamscapers and their plans back at the academy."

The smile fell from Bula's face, replaced with a hardened look. "I don't want to talk about it," he said.

"Bula, we have to. It's the only way we can figure out why those robots attacked you. Plus, it gives a greater clue to their motives," Zeeter said.

"Bonnie, there's also something you should know. It's because of these Dreamscapers, or whatever the heck you call them, that one of our team members is dead," Bula said coldly. "I'm in no mood to discuss anything about those killers."

"I…I'm sorry. I, uh…I didn't mean to bring up an old wound," she said. "But I do know exactly what happened with that incident in the caves. Last week, that's all they were talking about on the front page. Professor Autofocus' story was there, and I truly believe that he's telling the truth."

"But Bonnie, everyone we know told us that he was dead for sure. The cave exploded, and there was fire everywhere we went. Debris blocked the door that Autofocus said some cloud pulled him into," Bula replied. "We all know that clouds and lights can't carry people inside a door, let alone talk. I'm sticking with the facts on this one."

"Mr. Bula, I understand that this whole thing is hard for any of us to believe. But if you would just listen to what I have to say instead of interrupting, then maybe we can shed some light on the situation at hand," Bonnie snapped.

The glares on both of their faces set everyone else in the room on edge. Bula wasn't the sort of person to back down and let people have their way; it was about to get ugly. The captain drew in a breath to speak, and Zeeter quickly jumped out of her seat.

"Bula, Bonnie, please," she said in as reassuringly a tone as she could manage right now, "this isn't the time to be arguing. Let's look at what we've got. Wizzy, Wigg, you said that you looked up some information on this 'Dreamscape' thing Professor Autofocus was talking about?"

Wizzy nodded. "Wigg and I were looking at it since the day Multo…you know. We came up with some really interesting results," she said.

Bonnie tore her eyes off of Bula to stalk over to a chair in the farthest corner of the room. "Well, then, what did you find?" she asked.

Wigg nodded. "Well, first, we discovered that the Dreamscape is just like you said. The second thing we learned, though, is unbelievable. The Dreamscapers are called the most powerful aliens in the universe, but for a terrifying reason. They feed off on the despair and sadness from people, and that's what makes them powerful," he said. "So every time they create a dreamscape, they make it in a way that it only causes despair and sorrow for everybody."

"And when that happens, they become practically invincible," Wizzy said. "Wigg and I looked up all of the planets that they've done this to, and the number is….it's unbelievable."

"That means they've taken over every other planet in the galaxy!" Bonnie exclaimed, "and…t-that includes…"

"Yes. That includes every alien race in the galaxy. Well, not every single one," Wizzy replied, noticing the shocked looks on everyone's faces. "Last time I checked, there are still two hundred alien races that haven't fallen to the Dreamscapers' control."

"And how many have fallen to their control?" Zeeter asked.

Wizzy and Wigg hesitated for a split second before they both answered: "Over three hundred."

There was a stricken silence as everyone went over this information in their minds. Bonnie was flushed and confused, Bula's hardened expression suggested this wasn't what he wanted to hear, and Zeeter looked struck dumb with horror.

After a while, Bonnie spoke. "Is there anything else that you learned about these guys, Wizzy and Wigg?" she asked.

"Another thing these guys are capable of is time travel. They go back in time to get the inspiration they need for their dreamscapes, and put those incidents in there," Wigg said. "But, uh…we also found some evidence that they went back in time to change things…sometimes, for the worse."

"As if their obsession with creating worlds wasn't enough," Bonnie muttered under her breath.

"Do you think they went back in time to mess up certain events that took place?" Bula asked.

"I'm pretty sure of it," Wizzy said. "In the database, there was a planet called Erion that was destroyed by a group of people who called themselves the 'Neo-Rulers'. In school, we learned that Erion overthrew their rulers and established peace on their planet. We went back to our old textbooks and saw that everything had changed to fit the whole 'rulers destroy the planet' story. That can only mean one thing."

"It changed because the events changed. They altered history for their own personal gain," Bula said hoarsely. "And if they were to keep travelling through time…"

"They could very well destroy everything that happened in the past. If they went in the past and created a dreamscape there…that would explain why they destroyed the planet. Anyone who resisted the Dreamscapes would be destroyed. As Erion itself was rather rebellious, it doesn't take rocket science to figure out what's happened to them," Bonnie said.

"This…this is nuts." Zeeter collapsed into the chair with a groan, and buried her head in her hands. "It sounds like a sci-fi film mixed with fantasy."

"The Dreamscapers did study magic, from what I remember. They're also incredibly good at shape shifting," Wizzy said.

"Did you know anything about this, Bonnie?" Bula asked.

Bonnie shook her head. "No. They never told us half of the stuff Wizzy and Wigg are telling you now. I still can't believe those people are still around…"

"Neither can I. But right now, we'll have to figure out a weakness of some sort. Everything has a weakness," Bula said. "Did you find out anything about that, you two?"

"No, not yet. We were right in the middle of researching before you got put here," Wigg said. "But we'll keep looking. It's like Multo always said; never give up looking for answers."

"Yeah…" A sad smile came onto Bula's face as his friend's name was mentioned. "I know that's exactly what he would've wanted you to do."

"We always did want to be professors just like him, you know," Wigg said. "He'd also tell us that we're thinking like scientists."

Before Bula could answer, he noticed that Bonnie was sitting straight up, her eyes wide. Her mouth was hanging open in shock.

"Bonnie, what's wrong?" he asked.

The yellow alien responded by picking up the chair she was sitting in and flinging it towards his side. Bula and Zeeter screamed as they avoided the flying chair. There was a loud crash, and a high pitched scream hit the air. Medical tools and other things fell to the floor with a startlingly loud clang.

Bula took one look at the mess and then at Bonnie, eyes flared with shock and anger. "What was that about?!" he shouted.

"A huge robot with really sharp claws almost impaled you, Bula!" she replied. "You should be happy I saved your life!"

Bula's skin went clammy. "A robot with long claws?" he repeated.

"Yes! It was huge, colored purple and had green eyes. It looked like a marionette of sorts, with really long arms and a blank expression," Bonnie explained quickly. "I don't know how it got in here, but it snuck up behind you while you were talking and…I did the only thing I knew how to do."

Zeeter's face flushed with anger. "Those Legion robots are here again?! I swear, if they touch Bula again, I'm gonna bash it until there's nothing left!"

"Zeeter, I would suggest calming down," Bula said gently.

"No time to do that, Bula. We've got a robot to stop," she said.

Whirring came from behind Zeeter, and everyone present stared in utter horror as the marionette rose behind her like a shadow. Before the pilot could react, it had its arms wrapped around her waist, catching her in its claws. She screamed as the sharp metal punctured her skin, causing red to leak on the floor.

"ZEETER!" Bula looked ready to leap out of bed, but just then, a second marionette appeared behind him. It took advantage of his weakened state, and grabbed him roughly by his antennae, the most sensitive part of his head. He cried out in pain as he was forcibly yanked upwards.

Bonnie rushed forwards and swung out with a kick that caught the robot in the eye. This didn't deter it all, and it simply raised its other arm to grab her leg before she could put it down. Its grip secure, the robot sent Bonnie tumbling into the other side of the room, crashing into the tables and sending tools everywhere. She screamed as several of the sharper tools cut into her.

"Bonnie, hang on!" Wizzy cried, but rings of light snapped around her and Wigg's wings, sending them to the ground. A loud whine let them know that Gorga had been captured as well.

The floor came alive with the sound of footsteps pounding. An army of doctors rushed into the room, looking panicked and annoyed. Some of them even looked like they had been in the middle of operating on people. When they saw the massive dolls looming over the Zula Patrol, instruments they'd been holding clattered to the floor.

The two robots studied the doctors for a moment, and then they both raised their hands towards the group of doctors.

"Sealing Bind."

Immediately, a series of black hoops snapped around the doctors, rendering them defenseless. Some of them screamed in outrage, others in terror. The other doll with the blue eyes snapped its fingers, and instantly, the doctors disappeared through the floor. Their screams mounted in terror as they vanished. The two then turned towards the captive Zula Patrol.

"What…what do you want with us?" Bula gasped.

"It is very simple, Zulean. We want you dead. Our master has given us direct orders to destroy you, as you are a hindrance to our plans," the first robot said.

"What do you mean? We haven't done anything wrong!" Zeeter cried.

"You have attacked one of our own, and you have started putting together the pieces of our plot. We must destroy you before you can do act on your suspicions and attack," the second robot said.

"You can't do this!"

"Who are you to tell us what we can and cannot do?" the first robot asked. Although its voice was just as monotonous as its twin's, there was a hint of fire in its voice. "You are not our Master, and we do not follow your orders. We will do as we are told, and we were told to kill you."

Just when the doll raised its arms into attack position, the other doll held out its arm in a stopping motion. The first doll looked irritated, but stopped when it saw the other's eyes. They were wide with concentration and attention.

"What is it, my sister?" it asked.

The blank look was back on the other doll's face. "Our Master's orders have changed. Rather than killing them, he wants us to take one of them with us to the Chamber."

"And which one of these are going with us?" the first doll asked.

The second doll looked down at the captive Zeeter, whose eyes widened in abject horror. "The purple one."

"Very well. Bind her and make sure she cannot escape."

The second doll barely had time to summon a bind before Zeeter kicked her backwards, sending the doll crashing into the wall. She turned and started running for the back exit, but the first robot extended her arm like a rubber band. Its claws immediately wrapped around the girl's waist, and yanked her backwards. Zeeter cried out in pain at this action, which turned into a scream as black hoops snapped around her limbs, throwing her to the ground.

This time, Bula did jump out of bed at the sight. Pain shot up his body every time he moved, but he didn't care. The one thing he did care about at that moment was his friend as he made his way towards the robot, halfway stumbling. His eyes were pools of pain and anger.

"Let…her…go…" he gasped as he struggled to move.

"Bula, don't! You're hurt!" Bonnie and Zeeter cried out.

"No. I'm not going to let…anything happen to either of you!" he said, grimacing as he forced himself to stand at an even level with the doll who had bound Zeeter.

"You have incredible stamina, Zulean. It will be quite a feat when I destroy you for good," the first robot said. "However, that shall wait for another time. I have orders to bring your friend to my Master."

Black rings snapped around Bula as well, forcing his legs and arms together. He struggled to move, but an electric shock went through him, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Now, sit there like a good pet, and let me do my work," the first doll said. In a single motion, it swept Zeeter into its arms. "Nirvana, teleport us back to the Chamber."

"Yes, Sinatra." The second doll's eyes flashed, and a green shimmer descended on the three.

"BULA!" Zeeter screamed, and that was the last thing they saw before she vanished completely.

After a moment, the black hoops disappeared from the team's bodies, as the robots were long gone. Bula crumpled to the floor, his legs having given out from standing on them for too long. His eyes were tiny black dots swimming in a sea of red as tears spilled from them. His mouth trembled as he struggled to say something, anything that would help him comprehend this situation.

He didn't know what to think when Bonnie stumbled over to him, and pulled him into a hug, his face resting alongside her chest. He stifled a sob, but he couldn't stop the shaking.

"Bula…if you need to cry, don't hold it back," she said softly.

He tried to push her away. "You don't understand…"

She held him firm against her. "You're right. I don't understand how close you two are. But I understand how it feels to be left alone without anyone to help you. I understand what it's like to have your friends practically ripped away from you, and you can't do anything about it; you can do nothing but watch them die," she said. "I would have a heart of stone if I didn't allow you to cry for a little bit. If you need to cry, don't hold it back. If you need to take some time, take it. But please, do it with someone to lean on."

"You sound as if you've had personal experience," Bula replied.

"I have. And I can tell you that crying by yourself-the kind of outraged, hysterical crying-isn't fun, and it only makes you cry even more," she said. "That's why I do my best to comfort people when they're crying. And you look like you could use a good cry."

With that, something in Bula's mind snapped like an overstretched rubber band. Bonnie said nothing more and stroked his back as he cried, restrained anger, sadness, and grief pouring out of him. Behind her, Wizzy, Wigg and Gorga silently cried, too, as they had two friends who were missing.

As she held the captain against her, tears flooded her eyes as memories of her past seeped into her mind. Even though it had only been a few years ago, she had lost the most precious people in her life to a similar accident. One of those people had been a man who Bula reminded her of, and they had been more than just close friends. Whatever future they had together was gone instantly.

In a way, this did change the way she looked at him. If Bula had noticed, he would have probably let go.

Someday, she thought. Someday, I'm going to have all the evidence I need to prove that those monsters killed my friends.

Zeeter awoke to voices.

"I wonder why the professor was thinking of her before he was sent to the Dreamscape. She does not look like she amounts much."

"I do believe that he has quite an attachment to her. As he is key in this matter, we might be able to use her for a suitable bribe."

"Silence! She is starting to awaken."

Zeeter opened her eyes to see the two mechanical robots from before looking down at her. She didn't need to be a rocket scientist to see that something was wrong.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Zeeter of the Zula Patrol. We have been expecting you."

And suddenly, the strangest creature she had ever seen floated into view. It was a sand colored vulture who had glowing yellow eyes and black, bushy eyebrows. His purple robes flowed as he walked, and his beak curled into something that was not a smile as he looked at the Patroller.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" she asked.

"I am the ruler of this particular faction of the Dreamscapers, Paragor. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he said. "Hopefully, things will go much smoother than what happened with the professor."

The professor? Who is he talking about? There's no one else that's a professor other than Auto- Zeeter's eyes widened as she realized what they were saying. No…he can't mean Multo…!

"Multo…that was his name…" Paragor said, stroking his beak. "Please forgive me for entering your thoughts, Zeeter. It is a rare skill of mine that tends to pop up at the most inconvenient of times. Plus, I like to remember names, especially if they belong to currently deceased people."

"You...you're the one who killed Multo, aren't you?!" She was ready to leap at the vulture, but the same black hoops that had captured her earlier kept her in place. "What have you done to him? I want to know!"

"The details of what happened to him is unimportant. What is important, however, is that you keep your mouth shut."

Zeeter's shut her mouth as instructed, hoping to not get this creature angry. Fear quickly gave way to suspicion as she became curious of his true intentions.

"What happened to Multo?" she asked. "You could at least tell me what happened before he died."

Paragor laughed. "He released me from the seal that contained us all. And for that, he was the first one to see the Dreamscape up close. That way, he can get a glimpse of what is about to happen to your planet. He will be quite instrumental in bringing this world to pass."

Zeeter's eyes widened in horror as Paragor turned towards the Legion. "A-Are you saying that...Multo's stuck in another world?!" she shrieked.

"I would not exactly put it that way, but if it helps simplify things...yes. I did." Paragor turned to her sharply, one of his bushy eyebrows raised in a questioning manner. "From what I gather, there is something between you and Multo, Zeeter. Something that you are very unaware of."

Zeeter glared at him. "What are you talking about? Multo and I are friends!" she shot back.

"The last thing he thought of before he passed into the Dreamscape was you, Zeeter...actually, his thoughts lingered on you for much longer than it should be for a friend."

The pieces fell into place like dominoes. "Are you saying that Multo...was in love with me?" she said.

"First, he isn't really dead. Second, he was absolutely smitten with you, but your affection, it seems, is directed towards your longtime companion, Bula. There were many signs of it, Zeeter, but you did not notice or ceased to care," Paragor said. "If I were in his position, I would cease to care about you in return."

Zeeter's eyes were wide with shock. She had figured that she and Multo had been friends, and that was it. She didn't at all think of the possibility that he was in love with her, possibly because she had been so wrapped up in her own thing. But now that Paragor had thrown this huge reveal in front of her, everything started to make sense.

The way he'd look at her, for starters. More than a few times, she caught him watching her as she walked, although he'd deny it if asked.

The numerous times he'd asked her to try one of his crazy creations, when either Bula or the kids could've done it.

The numerous times he would compliment her for her ingenuity and creativity, as well as how cute she was.

And of course, there was the fact that he never seemed to be too upset when he lost a bet or an argument. He always looked like he was enjoying himself whenever they argued.

She wished she had discovered this sooner, and that Multo wasn't gone. She wished she could have talked to him about this, and learn the true story from him. But now, there was nothing she could do. He was...somewhere, and she was trapped here, with a maniacal, bird like creature watching over her.

Worst of all, her friends weren't here to help her.

As Paragor started to bark orders to the Legion, Zeeter prayed that this situation would turn out right...