Inside the Nightmare Realm again...

James and Leaf ran through the back alley-way of the many buildings trying to find Makoto. The geeky goth was in leading the way, while Leaf was following right behind him. They ran, and they ran, until they stopped at the town's middle area, where the town hall is at. The two behind one of the buildings, before they saw a random monster pass by them.

They kept their eyes on the shadowy beast as it passed by the building they were hiding behind, before they looked over to the town hall building. James then looks at another nearby alley that was right across the street. The boy picks up a nearby rock off of the ground, before tossing it straight towards the nearby window of a random building far away from them. The couple monsters heard the noise, giving James and Leaf enough time to run across the street.

"Where would Makoto be in a place like this? It's like she's nowhere around here." James said, looking behind himself at the elf.

"I don't know, dude." Leaf said. "If this is really the Nightmare Realm, who knows how huge this place is. She could be literately anywhere in this world."

"Well, knowing that we've been in this town for a very long while, I think that she doesn't really have any other place to go outside of this place. Aside from me and Jenny's hometown, I mean." James crossed his arm, before glaring at the alley-way. "But that would be impossible, if those monsters don't want to kill her along the way there."

"Then she must be close..." Leaf held the side of his head, before staring off to the nearby forest. "Wait...I think I see something, James..." Leaf points towards the cave in the distance. "It's the cave that we went down, following Preston and Esma in, to get the rare metal. Maybe Makoto's in there, right?"

"...And you're jumping to that conclusion just by the cave itself?"

"Then what's that light that's flickering in there if the only humans that are in here are us?"

"What are you..."

James looks forward, seeing what looks like a shining light that would be found on a flashlight, flickering inside the cave. So far, James was thinking of his own fear, nor did it seem like Leaf was either. So by the looks of it alone, it seems like this might be where Makoto is located at.

But before James could make a break for the cave, he took notice of Preston moving out in the distance. He noticed the light from a mile away, which he assumes it's either one of the two. James places a hand in front of Leaf, keeping him from walking into the open, as Preston walked into the cave. Just as Preston entered the cave, that was when the two started to make their move towards the cave in the mountain.

"Are you crazy?! Why would allow Preston to reach Makoto, dude?!" Leaf asked. "We have enough trouble being in here as it is!"

"We don't know if Makoto's actually in there, or if it's some monster playing some sort of trick on us." James said, as the two ran onto the dying, red grass that leads straight to the cave in the distance. "If that's a monster trying to get us into that cave to kill us, it's better Preston goes in first so we know if that's really Makoto or not." Leaf cringed, as they were still running.

"Still king of a jerk move there, James."

"No offense dude, but do you want to die in a world like THIS?!"

James points behind himself, as a nightmare monster steps onto a bench, breaking it into pieces as it was walking by. Leaf's eyes widened by the sight of that happening, only to turn around to face the cave, cringing at the sight of that. He slowly nodded, just as they arrived at the cave.

"Makoto?! Are you in there?!" James shouts, looking inside the cave, standing by the side of it. A voice was spoken immediately, only to discover that it's Preston.

"YOU?! If you're out there..." Preston's voice said, trailing off, before a couple seconds later. "...Well, you're the only who was flickering that light!"

"James! Leaf! HELP!" Makoto screams inside the cave.

James looks behind himself at the town, before looking at Leaf, silently nodding his head at him. Leaf silently nods his head as well. The two fist-bumped on it, before the two started to make their way into the cave so that they can save Makoto from being attacked by Preston.


Inside the cave...

Makoto was backing up from Preston as he was trying to trap her in the same room that they had the fight inside. It felt like only seconds ago, that Preston was in this room, finally being revealed to him that Leaf is an elf, with magic as well. But he had no time for remembering a time like that. He had Makoto right where he wanted him.

"Well...well...well...now isn't this just how you will end up dying, hmm?" Preston asked the robot with a smirk on his face. "Too bad it had to be in the Nightmare Realm of all places, you know." Makoto glared at Preston, backing up from him.

"You'll never win this, Preston. Once James and Leaf are here, you're done for." Makoto said, ready to pick up a nearby tool off of the table behind her.

"I'm not scared of you, Makoto...you and Leaf act like I'm afraid of you, when in reality, I'm not." Preston pulls out a hammer from his back pocket, glaring at the robot as she was approaching her. "Kind of a shame that things escalated to this..."

"Not if we have anything to say about you attacking her!" Leaf shouts from the cave entrance, sending an orb of purple magic at the prep.

The magic hits Preston's arm, causing the prep to scream in pain. The cave shook after the scream happened, causing some small rocks to fall from the ceiling above. The two boys ran into the cave room, seeing Makoto was standing there, in front of Preston. Leaf held up a hand, signaling her to come towards them right now.

Makoto ran straight for Leaf and James. The robot girl hugs Leaf, happy to see him. "Leaf...I-I thought you'd be killed by those guys...or one of the monsters..." Makoto said, still keeping the elf in a hug. "I was chased by one of the creatures while one of them was in the warehouse. I thought they got out of the Nightmare Realm by mistake..." James shook his head at Makoto.

"If there was a nightmare creature leaving the Nightmare Realm, we'd probably get rid of it before it could kill anyone." James said to the robot. The boy then picks up the hammer off of the ground.

"Oh, don't you three dare try to escape me!" Preston shouts, getting up from the ground. "I'm not finished with you the most, James..." The geeky goth glared at Preston, clearly angry with him still.

"Leaf...try to get Makoto to the portal..." James said to the elf. "...I'll handle Preston on my own."

"I won't back down from a prick like you, James..."

"Are you nuts, dude?! I'm not leaving you in here!" Leaf said, looking at his new best friend in shock. "If we leave, you'd be left behind!"

"Then stay outside the cave! I'll slow Preston down so you and Makoto can get away from him!" James said, before glaring at Preston again. "Not to mention...I feel like this is well-deserved after all the times he screwed my entire life over." Preston balled up his fists, glaring at James.

"Then drop the hammer...me and you are using fists instead..." Preston said, before wiping sweat off of his forehead.

"Agreed..."

James threw the hammer he picked up aside, running straight at Preston. Leaf and Makoto started to make their way out of the cave. James and Preston were not fighting each other, as they were escaping.


Outside the cave...

Makoto and Leaf finally got outside the cave. The two stayed outside of the cave, looking inside of it, before Leaf took a bit of worry for his own best friend. He did tell him to go straight out of the cave, and then head for the Nightmare Realm, but he can't just leave him in there to die. Leaf looks down at his arm, before looking at Makoto one more time.

"I got to go back for him." Leaf said, looking at the robot girl. "Stay out here, I'm not just going to head back to the real world, knowing James is left behind to fight off Preston." Makoto shook her head, grabbing onto Leaf's wrist as he was trying to head back inside.

"Leaf, James told us to go back to the portal!" Makoto said, not wanting Leaf to go back inside the cave.

"Well, I'm not abandoning him." Leaf frowns, looking at the robot girl. "I don't listen to other elves...and they want me to be more helpful around the Forest...I never saved anyone, nor did I even help anyone else...and I might've never saved anyone's life..." Leaf then looks inside the cave again, before looking at Makoto one more time. "...As far as I'm concern now, from all my time being here with the humans...I'm no longer not helping, and not leaving without James." Makoto stared at the elf for a few seconds.

"If this is the end...at least..."

Makoto steps forward to Leaf, placing a hand onto his shoulders. She leans in closer to Leaf, kissing him on the cheek one more time, in hopes of him surviving this fight. Leaf sighed at the robot's kiss, before backing up from her. Makoto frowns, still feeling like trying to get Leaf to fall in with her is futile at this point.

"T-Thank you..." Leaf said, before backing up into the cave to go save James. Makoto stared inside the cave, as Leaf ran into it to save the geeky goth.

"Please be safe, Leaf..." Makoto said, softly.