My name is Eclipse. They call me a shadow, and they call me a fake. Still they know the truth.

They're only figments of my nightmare.

Everything of value to you is in a dream. Some people think they live in a dream, but they're wrong. Life and dreams are separate beings. Life is not a jewel. It's a mirror. Dreams are jewels. They adorn the mirror of Life, covering up the stains of mistakes.

But one you take them away, there's nothing left but your pain.

That's why everyone everywhere has a dream.

And then there are those who take them away.

I was hungry. Not just hungry. I was STARVING.

It had been a day since I…ate. I was hungry again. Should I…eat?

"Excuse me," I said, getting up, slowly. Amy nodded.

As I walked away, I thought. Dreams aren't satisfying by themselves. You need millions of dreams to go for a week. I had almost expired in Diamond Valley. If I didn't think fast, I would go back.

I…don't want to go back.

I went into the bathroom, where I sat down on the sink's ledge. Whenever I started to eat dreams, I would scare people who got close away. So I'd have to be careful not to make friends. I had made a mistake this time. I had made two.

To survive, I'd have to eat their dreams too.

But I'd feel…horrible. When I didn't know them, then I could easily take their dreams away.

"Miss…uh…" A woman stared at me. I smiled.

"…Dreamweaver…" I murmured, extending my arm and reaching into her soul.

The restaurant was filled with cries of pain and fear and anger…But I could still smile. Only a few more dreams and I'd be satisfied.

"Eclipse!" Amy yelled. I looked her direction. For a second, Amy looked afraid for me. Then, she looked afraid for herself. "It was you…this whole time…" she whispered. Even over the blur of the crowd, the frenzied beating of the hearts, I could hear her, perfectly.

She took two small steps back, and I smiled. "Are you…afraid?" I asked, turning to face her.

Amy lowered her head. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. But then…I somehow knew it was you. Why are you doing this?"

I shrugged. "I have to eat to survive."

"But…" She whispered, and she was washed away by the blur of the crowd.

Still, I smiled. Calm and peaceful. No fear, no anxiety. Finally, I'd be full.

I wanted to finish this and move on. Maybe leave Station Square and head for an even bigger city. If I did, the news would trail me like toilet paper on someone's foot.

That was exciting sometimes.

"You!" I heard Sonic, and I turned again.

He was pointing, trembling. "Me?" I asked, turning to face him now. "What about me?"

"…You're doing this to us!" He said. He narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"That's always the question." I told him. "Always."

"What's the reason for stealing…whatever you're stealing?"

"I'm stealing?" I asked. "If a lion kills and eats an antelope, is it stealing?"

"No…that's survival." Sonic said. I blocked out the blur, the noise. It was silent, save his voice. "…Are you saying…you're doing something like that?"

"I take dreams. I have to survive, don't I?"

He looked like he was sick. "But what about them?"

I looked at the woman I saw in the bathroom. "They are alive. It's fair."

"But they're in pain."

I smiled. "So am I. That's why I'm here."

Sonic narrowed his eyes again. "What do you mean? Why are you smiling?"

I laughed. "I shouldn't smile?" I asked, turning. "I'll tell you something. You don't live in a 'reality'. This is my…nightmare."

"Nightmare?" He asked.

"It's called Lucid Dreaming. To return to a dream in which you once had." I told him. "Of course, I chose a nightmare."

"But no one likes nightmares. They're scary. 'Specially someone like you, you would hate nightmares."

"You don't know that. You don't know who I am." I looked over my shoulder at him. "Everything around you…is fake."

"But then how would I be arguing with you?" He asked. "Shouldn't I be screaming like them?"

"I haven't taken anything from you." I told him. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because…you're my friend."

He wrinkled his nose. "You would spare me?"

"Yes, you and Amy. Why?"

"…" He looked surprised. "That's almost the chance of a lifetime." He said.

"Yeah?' I asked, looking for Amy.

"But if this a nightmare, why are you here? What's the point?"

"In reality," I said, "I'm sick."

"You're sick?"

"I've got a disease." I told him. "They want to study me."

"…" He lowered his eyes. "That's bad."

"I decided I'd rather not…live there through the pain of it all." I paused. "So I came here."

"Pain?" he asked, moving a little closer.

"The disease is…painful." I shuddered. "I would think I'm on the verge of death."

"What!"

But I only smiled. "Life is but a dream…" I said, and I let the noise return, and then I faded into the fabrics of the nightmare.

This nightmare…

Is a no man's land reality.

I wanna thank all you reviewers! I also want to apologize for making it look like I finished. I got writer's block. Again. But, I was up all night, so this is done. Maybe one more chapter.

I know, I know, my story is sooo undramatical. Thank you, thank you.

Yeah, I'm done. Review now!