DYLAN

"The Ultimate Armor? Finished?" I can hardly believe it. "And Dark Falls full of Revenants?!"

"It's nothing we can't handle." Cory answers over the phone. "Once we take care of them and cure ourselves, we're heading back. Can you hold out?"

"I…I don't know." I replied. "His army is getting stronger and stronger. You better be coming back SOON. I don't know how much longer we can keep ourselves hidden."

"Just hold on, okay?"

"You too."

I hang up and fall onto the bed. Dammit…I don't understand! When did our luck begin to take a turn for the worse?!

We kept ourselves hidden! No monster ever followed us back! No surveillance spied on us! I made SURE there were no tracking devices on ANYONE or ANYTHING! How did they find us? Now nearly half of our forces have become enslaved…

This is the last place we can fall back to. Our backs are literally against the wall. If we're unable to repel another attack like THAT…we'll be done for.

I have to admit, even I'm beginning to waver in faith. It's been over two weeks! Still, there's hope. Cory proved it with that message. And he's never wrong.

Well, at least he trained me how to be a leader. But maybe…he should've trained me MORE.

Somehow, Slappy and his forces keep KNOWING our every move. Whatever we plan for, they're ready for us. Whether it's a rescue operation, a direct strike, a stealth mission, ANYTHING, they have the perfect counter.

HOW?! How does he know?! How is he always ready for us?! Is it his magic? Can he see into the future? Can he read minds?! Or maybe…

No, I would've sensed any mind-controlled spies. His dark magic is the strongest I can sense. And no one in their right MINDS would be working for him of their own free will. I should know.

I'll have to figure it out tomorrow. I only fall asleep, too tired to focus. Hold on…maybe the Sleep Master knows! Cory looked into Slappy's dreams for answers way back when. Maybe I could do the same.

There has to be an answer to how he's doing this…

My surroundings take the form of Hollowville itself. A phone states that this is September 20th, 2036. The day Slappy takes over.

Something's wrong. This isn't a lucid dream. In fact, I don't think I have any control over this dream!

Did I fall into a Reality Hole? No, wait, if I did, I'd be wanted by the Reality Police. So…did I end up in the Nightmare Realm?

Maybe I should figure out how this played out. After all, I was back in Fever Swamp when this happened. This feels more like a memory than a dream. Is that how it works?

Seems pretty normal at first. I see familiar faces and strangers alike. Nothing completely out of the ordinary.

Wait a second…Grandpa and Jack said that the whole town got caught up in a Be Afraid game following the Mayor's arrest! So…is this Slappy's version of what happened?

The clock tower strikes noon. And as the bell chimes twelve times, I begin to see something forming.

Clouds begin to cover the sky. DARK clouds. I don't think we were supposed to have such bad weather that day.

And then, it rained. Intensely. So much that there was a great storm! Thunder, lightning…and a massive green vortex forming in the clouds like a HURRICANE!

What happens next is like the end of the world. Monsters of all shapes and sizes emerge from the dark portals that rip open all across town. There's running and screaming, and I see monsters emerge from all kinds of places, some of which are magically created! The old tavern, a fridge truck, a wrecked cargo truck, a pyramid, a supervillain lair, a tunnel of love, a water park, a factory, a cornfield, a graveyard, a tomb, some old mansions, meteors, haunted houses, a pumpkin field, a courthouse, an auditorium, a museum, and many MANY more!

I can make out the monsters. They're copies of every single monster we've ever faced. First off is Slappy himself, riding a tricycle to City Hall. HE'S the real deal. As are some others.

Prince Khor-Ru. Nila Rahmad. The Lawn Gnomes. A copy of Everest the Abominable Snowman. The Blue Kerlew Hound. Graveyard Ghouls. Copies of Andrew Craw, Murder The Clown, Bingo Bongo, and Professor Shock.

Cyborgs. Pumpkin Heads. Creeps. Cronby The Troll. Fish Mutants. Muglani Tribesmen. A copy of The Shaggedy. The Brewer Clone and Plant Mutants. Body Squeezers, both blue, green, adult, and babies. Scarecrows. A copy of the Lord High Executioner and the Black Knight. Annihilator 3000s. A magic rabbit monster. Ghostly Witches. Gummy Bears. The Balloon Spider. Skeleton Newlyweds. A copy of the Headless Horseman.

A copy of the Haunted Mask and the rest of the Unloved. Living Christmas Presents. Snowmen. Copies of Wolfsbane, Madame Doom's ghost Corella De Banshee, and The Sleep Master. Mud Monsters. Captain Ben and his crew. Beasts. Sabre. Mr. Wood. Countess Yvonne. Fifi. Vampires. Revenants. Horrors. Living Mannequins. Heart Attack Backpacks. Spyders. A copy of The Phantom and Jenna. Sparkles the Dragon. Jekels. The Giant Praying Mantis and its smaller robot copies. The wolf boy and girl animatronics. A copy of The Class of 1947, Mr. Chameleon, and the Shadow Lord. Lillian, Curly, Drool, Skelly, Boo, and Nightshade. Chicken Monsters. A copy of the Marcus Family. Gronks. Egg Monsters. A Cake Golem. And living Evil Books.

Copies of Will Blake, A.P.E.X., Lynne Dark, Mrs. Maaargh, Mr. Mortman, and Molecule Man. Dr. Maniac. The Masked Mutant. The Blob. Monster Blood. A copy of R.B. Farraday, Amaz-O,Clarissa, Vanessa, Christine, and Belladonna.

The Elite. The Fearsome Four. A copy of the Menace, Dracula, the Wolf Man, Frankenstein, The Mummy, the Invisible Man, the Bride, and the Gill-Man. Aliens, demons, Lovecraftian beings, ghosts, werewolves, robots, copies of invisible people…

They're ALL here. This is Slappy's entire ARMY!

The cell towers are taken out instantly. Police are overwhelmed. And the internet goes down. No one can call for help. Not the national guard, not the army, NO ONE. Everyone's overwhelmed in a matter of seconds.

The sky gets darker. Buildings are transformed to appear more evil and menacing. The decor gets scarier. And soon, the town doesn't seem like Hollowville anymore.

Even City Hall gets a monster makeover! Slappy makes it a castle, and then lets out a booming decoration over the newly-formed speakers.

"GOOD EVENING, HORRORVILLE! SAY HELLO TO YOUR NEW KING! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I wake up as a shaking sweaty mess. I hear my own panicked breath, which begins to slow down. Another nightmare…

The others in the Resistance said they had some similar dreams. All of which involved Slappy himself. Mitra even said she had one such nightmare herself, during her time with the evil phone.

That's when I hear something rustling about. As I go to investigate, readying my amulet, I remember something.

Slappy overthrew Lord Morphos and took over the Nightmare Realm. Has he grown powerful enough to infiltrate dreams now? And manipulate them? If so…was he able to do it to me?

Maybe that's it. That must be why he's staying one step ahead. I really haven't figured out a way to have that kind of mental defense. If this keeps up, there's no way we can win this.

CRASH! I hear something break! I rush over quickly, and then there's laughter. It sounds awfully familiar…

I turn a corner and enter the briefing room. And what I see makes me gasp: Someone is destroying the supplies and seeing the plans! And he's around a kid's age. When he sees me, he freezes.

"What?! You're supposed to be sound asleep! How did you wake up?!"

"Richard Hsieh?!" I state in shock. "W-What are you-?!"

Hold on…his eyes are green! Richard doesn't have green eyes!

Wait…that laughter…NO WAY!

"SLAPPY!" I quickly don my armor and ready my Soul Sword. "What have you done to RIchard?! He doesn't have glowing green eyes like the rest of your slaves!"

"Oh, that's easy, dummy!" Slappy says through Richard's body and voice. "He's one of my SPECIAL slaves! When Richie ended up in my dream and said the magic words, we gained the ability to switch bodies!"

"Switch bodies?! So THAT'S how you know our every move! You've been spying on us through one of our own! But can't Richard do the same?"

"Ha! Nope! My real body's inanimate right now! He won't be able to do ANYTHING! He can't see, hear, speak, or even feel! He's trapped in a nightmare I call reality!"

Hmmm…I think I'm getting an idea.

"Too bad you won't tell anyone about this, even IF your magic managed to wake you up! Now YOU'LL become one of my slaves!"

Slappy seems to try something…but his mind-control doesn't work!

"Hey! What the-?!"

"Guess that's the downside of having someone else's body." I quip. "You lose your original powers! Which means there's nothing you can do to stop me from doing THIS!"

"NO!"

Slappy-Richard rushes at me, but I knock him down with a single punch. Richard's no fighter. But he's gonna be feeling that when he comes to.

"Karru Marri Odonna Loma Molonu Karrano!"

"AAAAARRRRRRGGGHHH!"

And then, Richard wakes up, gasping and panting.

"W-What happened?! How'd I get here?! And why is the side of my face aching?!"

"Must be the worst case of sleepwalking I've ever seen." I state, dematerializing my armor. "But I don't think you'll have to suffer another one of THOSE again. Sorry about punching you, though. That was to wake you up."

This sounds awfully familiar. Dummy causes trouble, kid gets blamed. Classic case of "The Dummy Made Me Do It".

Oh man…Slappy's gonna be SO mad about this.

SLAPPY

AAAAAAARGH! I AM SO MAD ABOUT THIS!

I was this close to figuring out where they were! While trashing their plans and supplies! THIS! CLOSE!

The kid's more tenacious than I thought! I guess my magic isn't the ONLY magic that's getting stronger! For all I know, he could start preventing me from infiltrating dreams! CURSES! And the Midnight Society could be on their way back any SECOND!

So, they managed to make some kind of Ultimate Amulet?! To CURE the army of Ultimates AND the Waldhorn twins?! NO! This can't be happening! I was supposed to conquer the whole world!

Grrr…that's IT! Slappy's DONE playing now!

"So…you think you can outsmart me, do ya? Well…TWO heads are better than one!"

I slam a wooden fist on the intercom button. It's time to make an announcement.

"Send the Zoromosians to Dark Falls! Find the Midnight Society and DESTROY ALL OF THEIR AMULETS!"