{-Sharena-}

She was able to forget about everything, just for a minute. For the first time in months, she didn't have doubts or fears… she didn't have to worry about making a good impression, or who would look down on her when she did something they didn't like… It felt like a weight lifted off of her that she hadn't realized before.

Then that moment of tranquillity broke when the truth came crashing back to her. She felt the pain, the gap… the sickening sensation from whenever she tried too hard to remember. The voices calling, crying, begging for whatever help they could get from her… a generous gift of a piece of her for every one of those countless pleas. She couldn't breathe under the weight, couldn't bear to be stripped away from that paradise.

Soon she found herself in an area like the final room in the world of nightmares—like the cave she and Alfonse first interacted with Loki when they were kids. The walls were like obsidian, her reflections circling around her even though none of them were her own; the floor seemed to glow purple, but a crack right in the middle kept any light from directly shining on her.

"It sucks, doesn't it? This emptiness…" She didn't need to look to know who it was, feeling him put his hands on her shoulders. "Lekra's lucky to have you. You can't help but lend a hand to those who say they need it… that was something that you had back then, too. Or I guess it's something you still had? But you're not like her… she never had what you do. I wonder why that is?"

Somehow, she knew what this was; still, it didn't keep her from giving it what it wanted. She didn't look at him when she said in the clearest voice she could, "Natheniel, you… you're dead."

"You say that like you noticed," he remarked. "Last I checked, you all could've went on your merry ways just knowing I wasn't bothering you anymore. Until, that is, my nightmare comes running back to you…"

"You tossed them aside because of your own misconceptions, yet act sad when they choice to be around someone who's actually going to care?" Sharena tried to step away from him, but only succeeded in making him pull them closer together.

"What's the matter, little dreamer? It might do you some good to have a chat with me. After all, no matter how different we may seem, there's still one thing we have in common…" His voice wasn't much more than a whisper, even if they were the only ones here. "The nightmares. It's not just Lekra, is it? It's not just a single nightmare, it's a whole flock of them. They yearn for a taste of fear but are denied every single chance of feeding. You don't think you'd be able to control them if you let them into your little bubble. In the end, that's the same doubt that's going to be the end of you when they finally break through."

She didn't want to listen to anything he had to say. And she knew that all she was doing was making it worse for her; she couldn't help but falter when it felt too close to the truth for comfort. "But you don't know me. When you were with us, you couldn't even figure out when I wanted you to leave me alone, and you definitely didn't consider why."

"Being dead must do wonders to a person," Natheniel remarked casually, "Because I can read you like a book. Let's get back to the important part. What makes you so special? I know you're thinking it. Deep down, you know it… you just won't admit it. You're not like any of us, are you?"

"Shut up!" Her distressed plea was paired with another desperate attempt to put space between them. She ended up backing into a wall, somewhat realizing that she'd cracked the wall and floor. There was a little less light because of it, and still none of it touched her—even if the part she was just on lit up as soon as she was off of it.

He completely ignored her. "We're both dreamers; we have a control over the nightmares, but in different ways. All I could ever do was make subconscious instructions. You, though… you actually hear them. You know what they want and you could get them those needs better than I could've. I was the generation point—through me, nightmares were made. So what are you? How do you fall into the grand scheme of things? There's so many things that you fit the qualifications for. You could be a nightmare, like I am, you've already been told that you're as close to an álfar you can get without completely becoming one. You're not human; you might not even be mortal, and need I remind you, that's not a good thing. What are you, then, if you're not any of those?"

Every bit of it just made the pain clearer. She didn't want to think or feel anything, but was faced with no other option. All the different thoughts came together to haunt her; this time, though, she didn't have Lekra right next to her ready to question if something was wrong, nor Fauna to politely remind her that it wasn't the time for getting lost in her own thoughts. Here, it was only her and her thoughts—there wasn't any place to hide when what she was hiding from was right in front of her.

"Getting sick again, little dreamer? You're looking a bit pale." There wasn't any kind of sympathy in his tone, only the expression of someone who was close to getting what they wanted. He didn't get any closer, but really, he didn't need to. "All I'm doing is reminding you of the truth of it. It's not hard."

"If you're really him… you get it, don't you?" She made a point not to look at him. Nothing he could give her mattered in the end, anyway. "You're torn. All this time, they've been keeping things from you… important things. Who you are, what your role is in the world… They're the people you love and admire, but every now and then you can't help but question why… and you know they're just trying to do what's best, what keeps you out of harm… but however much the truth may hurt, keeping secrets just causes more problems at the end."

There was a moment that she thought she'd gotten to him; that he'd listened to her and was going to simply disappear now. Though ultimately, the only thing she succeeded in doing was putting herself in a whole other type of pressure. She gasped when the pain seemed to grow, feeling the sudden dizziness as she wondered how long she'd stay standing.

"The point is, one of us is the greater of two evils. I'm guessing you can get that much." He was looking down at her, slowly beginning to turn into something a little more towering and definitely shadowy. "I'm a nightmare, taken in by the six of you in an attempt to find a way to control their world's threat. All of the nightmares exist because I lived on, and they're still alive now because they have someone to feed off of… they have you. The little dreamer, who isn't really like any of us… you're not a nightmare, you're not a dream, you're not álfar, and I'm confident that means you're definitely not human. If you were to compare us side by side, who do you think will be ruled out as the worst? The creator, or the supplier who doesn't even know how to wield the power she was born with..?"

It was the familiar voice that helped Sharena remember that none of this was really happening. "Well, that's just rude! Be good little nightmares and quit it!"

((A/N: A bit of spoilers, but this… is pretty much Sharena talking to herself. With a bit of third-party influence, of course. And for all of you who've read previous stories and wondering if you missed anything: you haven't, some of the stuff in this chapter hasn't been mentioned before.

Fun fact! This chapter was going to include Ortaire, an Askran noble from Road to Remembrance, but in the end, I couldn't find the room to have him in there. Ah well.))