This chapter is completely devoted to Pip and understanding him. Well, sorta anyway. That's how I perceive it, so whatever. But, God damn!! This shit gave me so much fucking trouble!! Well, first of all, I actually had saved chapter six twice, once as chapter six itself and once again as this one, so I had to go back and erase it completely from the OpenOffice document it was saved on. Don't worry, I didn't have to re-type it or anything. I went back to my older documents and salvaged it from the whole one I got, but I still had to chop it up to the chapter thing. (sigh) The things I do for you readers. And yes, I know it's short as hell. Deal with it. Review more and I'll update faster, dammit.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN SOUTH PARK!!! Hell, I don't even own my imagination, it's already been patented by my sister.

I would like to dedicate this chapter to one of my more faithful readers, KATAANGFOREVERanEVER, who's birthday was today, I guess? IDK, she didn't tell me the exact date, but yeah! Happy Birthday!!! This one is for you!

Chapter Five
Nightmare

Damien woke up suddenly later in the night, thanks to a sudden hard slap from Pip's hand. His fury immediately flared at this inconceivable gesture of defiance, and he was just about ready to tear out Pip's throat when he caught sight of his face. Pip's eyes were closed, darting around behind closed eyelids as if seeking some invisible enemy only he could see. Whimpering cries escaped him as he thrashed around, fighting off who-knows-what. Pip was having a nightmare.

As Damien watched, a tear ran down Pip's cheek, sliding down other tear tracks that Damien hadn't noticed before. That more than anything shocked Damien. He had never seen Pip cry before. Not when Damien had called on his power to scare him away at the park, not when Craig and the others had beat him up, not even he had almost choked the life out of Pip. Pip had never shed a single tear. Whatever nightmare he was having, it had to be bad.

Damien took hold of the flailing Pip, holding his wrists securely in one hand as he placed his other on Pip's forehead. He focused, then he was in.

A dark landscape met his eyes. The ground was black and rocky, with wickedly sharp stones protruding everywhere. Twisted dead trees rose from the barren ground, forming a forest of razor-sharp thorny branches. The sky was red, dark as crimson, and it seemed to swirl as ebony clouds of smoke and ash scuttled across it.

It wasn't a bad scene, as far as nightmare wastelands were concerned. Damien looked around. If this was Pip's nightmare, where was Pip?

His question was suddenly answered by a great howling noise to his left. Screaming, roaring howls, they got louder, accompanied by thundering footsteps. Trees crashed down and Pip burst throgh, running for dear life. His eyes were panicked, and tears flowed unchecked down his cheeks.

As he passed, the trees came to life, reaching for him with clawed branches to try to stop and catch him. Pip batted them away, ignoring the cuts and slashes they left behind on his skin. Then the demons ripped their way through the trees, coming into view. They were human-like in form but more grotesque. They had human faces on bloated rotten bodies, faces that were vaguely familiar to Damien. He had seen them only once before. They were Pip's schoolmates. They had large claws and fangs, and their clothes were ripped, revealing red skin and boils oozing pus on their dead skin. Uprooting trees, they howled viciously, chasing after Pip.

They yelled obscenities at him, screaming that no one loved him, that he was the most hated person in South Park, that he had no friends, and no matter how hard he tried to be nice, they would always hate him because he was different. They threw Pip's greatest fears at him, crowing victoriously when more tears flowed down his face. Pip tried running faster.

"Go away! Leave me alone!" He sobbed. "Please, just leave me alone!!"

Damien watched it all, silent and unmoving. So this was what Pip was hiding. The happy face and smile he put on during the day was nothing more than a mask, meant to protect himself from the vicious treatment he got from the other kids. But at night, he was haunted continuously by his inner demons of fear and terrible panic that they would kill him one day. It was in his dreams that the demons came out to play.

Just then, the foremost nightmare beast leapt, jumping onto Pip's back. Snarling horribly, it bit down hard on the side of Pip's neck. Pip screamed, a high keening sound, his eyes wide and tearful with the terrible pain, and he went down heavily. The other monsters converged on him, their howls triumphant. Claws flashed and fangs gleamed, and that was when Damien interceded.

With one careless swipe of his hand, he banished them. They disappeared like smoke on a breeze, leaving no indication they were ever there. Pip lay shivering on the ground, spread-eagled. The blood flowed out of the wound on his neck, and his eyes were tightly closed, waiting for the demons to finish him off.

Damien walked over to him, standing over the fallen figure. Pip's eyes fluttered open slowly, and he stared uncomprehendingly up at Damien through the tears.

"...Damien?"

He sat up, feeling the side of his neck. The wound was gone. It was like it was never there. Damien extended a hand, helping Pip up.

"You're waking me up. Calm down and shut the fuck up."

"Waking...?" Pip was confused. Then his eyes widened in realization. "You're...you're not part of my dream? But...how?" He looked up at Damien. "How do I know you're not?"

The unsympathetic look left Damien's face, and he grinned wickedly. He leaned forward, and Pip trembled as he felt Damien's hot breath on his neck. You're not supposed to feel things in dreams...

"Because real demons never show up in the dreams of an angel..." Damien whispered softly.

"And I'm as real a demon as you could possibly get."

Straightening up, Damien laid a hand over Pip's eyes.

"Let me take you away from here."

Pip froze, then collapsed. Already, the nightmare was fading, slowly turning to the lightless black of a dreamless sleep. Pip faded too, and Damien turned, walking away.

In Damien's arms, Pip went limp, his breathing coming slower and gentler. The real demon smiled, fang-like canines gleaming.

"That's better."

At the sound of his voice, Pip turned toward him, cuddling closer. Damien let him, opening his arms further to allow him to come closer. Pip gripped lightly at his shirt, sighing gently.

Damien wondered if Pip knew what he was doing. Obviously not, as he had sent him into a deep sleep, but still he wondered. If Pip was awake, would he still do this? No one, living or dead, had ever dared to touch him like this. For good reason too, Damien would have disemboweled them before they could blink. And his father was never a touchy-feely guy with him. Yet Damien did not feel anger at Pip's unconscious actions. In fact, it was the opposite. He enjoyed it. It was the thought of Pip being completely under his control, yet at the same time something else. He liked the feeling of being around someone who wasn't constantly expecting something great to come from him.

Damien sighed. There would be enough to think about this tomorrow.

A/N: Heh heh heh....yes, you liked that didn't you Pip? Him being in your dreams, holding you tightly in his hot, strong arms...

Pip: (blush) I did not. And I was asleep; I did not feel these 'hot, strong arms' of which you speak of.

Me: You wanted to, I know it.

(Damien walks up.)

Damien: Know what?

Pip: Nothing!

Me: Oh, just how Pip wants to feel y-

(Pip tackles me to ground, covering my mouth.)

Damien: Ooh, dominatrix Pip. I like it.

(Pip turns to protest, I take the chance to rip off Pip's shirt.)

Pip: Oh, dear Lord!

Damien: (drooling) That bastard won't save you now.

(Starts to drag Pip away)

Me: Damieeeen!!!! Bring him back! Now!

(Damien growls. Me snaps her fingers, Damien's black blouse turns bright hot pink.)

Damien: Motherfucking Jesus!!!

Me: That bastard won't save you now. Let him go, or your pants are next.

(Damien drops Pip, runs off screaming and clawing at his shirt)

Me: That's what I thought.