Victor watched with the up most horror as Barkis roughly pulled Victoria away from his side and down the aisle of the church, all the while ranting something about not leaving empty-handed. That horror, however, was quickly overpowered by an upsurge of anger as the despicable man pulled a large sword out of the dwarf skeleton's chest and brought the sharp point up to Victoria's throat. Her pleading eyes reflected back to Victor in the blade's smooth surface, causing his rage to intensify.

"Sorry to have to cut things short, but we must be on our way," he heard Barkis say as he began to back away with his Victoria in arms. Finally, Victor couldn't stand quiet any longer. With new found courage, he stepped forward, his eyes intense with a look of pure anger and his chest puffed out in determination.

"Take your hands off her," he demanded in a slow, threatening voice, surprising even himself. This, however, only caused Barkis to smirk, obviously unaffected by Victor's rage. As he still clutched tightly to Victoria, he turned the blade on Victor.

"Do I have to kill you too," he asked in a slightly exasperated tone. As Victor stared down the blade of the sword, his mind quickly ran through possible next steps, but all seemed to result in either him, or even worse, Victoria, getting killed. He was dangerously close to panicking, when to his great relief, the next plan of action was decided for him.

Out of nowhere his old dog, Scraps, jumped up and dug his bony teeth deep into Barkis' ankle. Barkis shrieked and desperately tried to shake the dog off his leg, meanwhile losing his grasp on Victoria, providing for her a window of opportunity to escape. She made an attempt to take advantage of that opportunity, and for a moment, Victor felt his hopes soar. But in an instant, all that came crashing down. Somehow, Barkis had managed to kick the dog off his leg faster than Victoria could gain distance from him. He reached out and wrapped a vise-like grip around her arm, proceeding to jerk her back to him and whirl her around to face him. Then, without a moment's hesitation, Barkis took his large sword and plunged a good portion of it into Victoria's abdomen. Victoria gasped in shock as the blade tore through her with ease, piercing and puncturing vital organs on the way.

"No," Victor heard someone call out, not realizing at all that it had been him. He felt all the blood drain from his body as he watched Barkis sneer snidely at Victoria and pull the sword roughly out of her body. Victoria stared at the large hole in her in shock before a second more before closing her eyes and collapsing in a heap to the floor. Barkis nonchalantly tossed the bloody blade aside and, with his work completed, calmly walked out of the church. Victor ran as fast as he could to Victoria's side and gathered her in his arms.

"Victoria," he called softly to her, clutching her closely to him in an attempt to will life back into her. "Victoria?" A few corpses, including Emily, gathered around the couple sympathetically, but Victor saw or heard none of them. All that was real to him was his deceased love in his arms.

END SCENE

Victor awoke with a start, bolting straight up in his bed and feeling himself shaking all over. His eyes quickly scanned his surroundings, but when only darkness met him, he became greatly confused. Fear gripped his heart as he desperately tried to remember what was taking place.

Where am I, his mind screamed wildly. Where's Victoria! He felt himself begin to hyperventilate as confusion and panic clouded his mind, rendering him unable to concentrate. He began to take deep breathes, trying to will himself to calm down. Then, just as he was about to get up and wander around blindingly, memories came flooding back to him.

The Land of the Dead, he realized with relief, greatly comforted that he was finally able to remember. I'm in the Land of the Dead with Victoria, she's lying right beside me, and we're safe.

Victor sighed heavily with relief, and soon he began to feel the fear slowly leave his body.

Oh, what a horrid dream, he told himself as he put his fingers to his temples and rubbing them vigorously. Thank goodness it's over.

But as Victor closed his eyes and continued to massage his aching head, terrifyingly vivid images from his nightmare flashed before him in his mind uncontrollable. He began to feel the distress creep into him again, but he willed himself not to be frightened.

"It was only a dream"he repeated quietly to himself over and over again. "It was only a dream."

But it felt so real, his subconscious thought as the images began to flash before him. The anger, the feel of holding a lifeless Victoria in his arms, the overwhelming grief he felt knowing she was gone…

"Victor," he suddenly heard a voice call out in the darkness. He jumped in surprise a bit before realizing it was Victoria.

"Yes, darling," he responded.

"Are you alright," she asked, her voice full of somewhat motherly concern.

"Y-Yes, Victoria, I'm alright. It was j-just a b-bad dream, I guess," he assured her, rolling his eyes at himself for sounding anything but alright. He felt a soft, gentle hand grip his own.

"Are you sure you're alright," Victoria asked once more, skepticism slightly creeping into her voice. Victor sighed, comforted by her warm touch and loving care.

"Yes, I'm sure," he told her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze for added assurance. "I'm sorry for waking you."

"That's alright, dear," she assured him sincerely. "Just please try and get some sleep.

"Yes, darling," Victor answered her as he obediently lay back down by her side. Still gripping her hand, he leaned in closer to her and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.

"I love you, Victoria," he told her in all seriousness. Victoria returned the loving gesture with a kiss of her own.

"I love you too, Victor," she replied. And without another word, Victoria turned on her side and fell fast asleep. Victor sighed; afraid to join her in slumber for fear that the nightmare will return. Instead he stared into nothingness and contently listened to his wife's steady breathing, glad to have the assurance of knowing she was right beside him, alive and well.

It isn't over, Victor thought, contradicting his previous thought. The nightmare will never be over, not until Barkis is captured and his reign of terror is put to an end forever.

END SCENE

Sorry, I didn't like the way that one ended, but I couldn't think of anything else to put without going overboard, so there you have it. But anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I tried my best not to make it too dramatic, and if I failed, I apologize! Well, reviews are greatly appreciated! Bye!

Oh! And one more thing! This thing wouldn't let me add lines or anything to break up the different scenes, so where it says END SCENE, that's where the lines usually go!