-Chapter XXX- Dreams In One Hand, Hope In Another

-Chicago, Illinois

-March 29, 2012

-4:39 A.M.

-Nicholas

I found myself running, running far away without cause nor thought, only that I needed to evade that what was following me, something chasing me, relentlessly attacking me, trying to end me. I looked back only for a second to see my enemy. It was a being that...I just couldn't make out, a figure lost in a ball of light, with all it's energy focused on me. The strange being shot a beam of red light towards me, and I did my very best to evade it, but I only ended up on the ground. It flew above me, hovering in the air, and as I began to see a figure amongst the light, but it was only an evanescent glimpse.

At long last...I finally have you... the voice penetrated my very conscience, with a voice that sent shivers down my spine making me feel completely vulnerable. Prepare for your doom, Sapphire... this was the voice of a long-lost friend, now thirsty for my blood. And as I braced myself, I beheld my foe absorb the energy around them, compacting it within their body, and just before the true forme and shape of the opposing force became visible before me, they vanished...

I shot up, looking around in the endless void that I felt as though continuously consumed me every moment I sat within it. "Is...anyone out there? Anyone at all?" I heard, far in the distance.

"Hello?" I called back.

"Guys!? Hello?!"

"Hello? Who...are you?" I asked, but it was then I realized I was calling to myself.

My vision briefly flashed white, only for a moment before it was back to the pure darkness. I was searching for something...or perhaps, someone? I unconsciously called out names...some I didn't recognize, but the only one I did being...Saria... Faces flashed before my eyes as I called out, failing to peer through the impossibly thick shroud of darkness. "Saria?" There was no response. "Link?" still no response. "Aang? ...Cloud! Sora! Anyone? Hello!?"

I heard footsteps from behind me, heavy boots treading on a stone floor. "They say the Power Keeper is a being of light, but you and I both know the truth behind these little rumours, don't we, Dravius?"

I quickly shot around toward the source of the somewhat familiar voice. "Who are you?" I asked, but found that no one was there.

"We both know who I am, Dravius. We've met more than enough times. However, your newest forme is quite...different from your last one." the voice echoed through my mind. "So why don't you tell me who you are?"

"I don't have to do a damn thing." I retorted bitterly.

"Oh, come now, you're being unreasonable."

"Says the one cowering in the dark."

"Oh, Dravius, I am not hiding, simply...residing in our place of birth."

"Who the hell are you?"

"You most likely know me by many names..." he suddenly appeared before me, looming over me as though I were but a mere child. "The Hand of the Dark, being my...personal favorite."

His eyes set deep fear into my soul, but I did all that I could to mask it. They were a bright-red in a similar fashion of my own bright-blue eyes... "Who...are you..." I asked again.

He rolled his eyes in irritation, "Would you please move on, Dravius? You really are beginning to bore me."

My mind flashed to what Celestia had said in my dream the previous night. The only thing concerning her was killing the parents of one of her past students...Drennen! "You're Drennen?" I asked in shock, now realizing the being before me was the very same from the dream.

An eery smile graced his face, "well, you're nearly as dull as I imagined." his smile suddenly vanished, "don't worry, Dravius, you'll find everything out soon enough..."

I shot up, again in my bed. I looked around frantically, examining my simple room, lacking in any sort of bibelots. I got up, and fumbled in the darkness of my room, reaching for the door. When I found it, I felt for the doorknob, and stumbled into the hallway. I continued walking along the wall of the still strange place that I now lived, and nearly tripped when I reached the stairs leading to the first floor. After carefully reaching the bottom of the hardwood steps, I found myself again in the living room. The only light I could see was that of Johnson's study, where he was asleep at his desk.

I walked away from the study, and walked into the kitchen, and felt for the light switch. The concept of just a simple flipping of a switch could light a room still amazed me, but it was the last thing on my mind, as I panted heavily with sweat dripping from my forehead. I turned on the lights and was surprised to find Saria, sitting at the dark wood kitchen table. "Saria?" I asked. "Why are you up?"

She shrugged, "My head hurts."

"That's what you get for going out and drinking." we heard, simultaneously surprised as we turned toward the source of the voice.

"Rains?" I asked.

"What are you doing awake?" Saria asked.

He looked at Saria, then me, examining every detail of my being. "I was awoken by some imbecile fumbling down the stairs."

I felt myself blushing as I raised a hand in embarrassment. "That would be me, sorry."

"Now that would bring me to my question, what are you doing awake at an hour like this?"

"It was just a nightmare."

"Aw, what happened?" Saria asked sympathetically.

"Oh please." Matthew said as he rolled his eyes. "Big bad Nicholas Swiftsword the Fifth had a bad dream." he shook his head as he turned around, "I'm going back to bed."

Saria and I exchanged looks as he left the lit room and disappeared behind the wall as he went back up the stairs. "He's just so friendly, isn't he?" Saria asked.

"So, if this 'Drennen' guy is so evil, why don't we just go find out where he is and beat his ass?" Saria asked as she lied on the large sofa, toying with a small ring as her head rested on a throw pillow.

I lied on the loveseat, using the armrest as a pillow of my own. "That's just it, I don't know where he is, and I definitely don't know even what he is..." I flipped to my side toward her. "So, now that I've told you my dream, why don't you finally tell me what you dreamed the other night?"

She looked at me in confusion, "What?"

"The other night, when we were on the ferry, remember? You and Rayman just freaked out...or whatever." I explained.

She shrugged, "I don't know, I don't really remember it all that well."

I sat up, looking at her, "Sure, Saria."

"No, really!"

"Hey, what're you two doing up this early?" I turned to my right to see Johnson leave his study, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"I'm always up this early." I said.

"I have a hangover, I think." Saria said.

"You do realize the best thing for that is sleep, right?" David said with a smile. "Or, at least, I think it is."

"Yeah, but what's the fun in sleep?"

"That's how I look at it." I told her.

"Well, I hope you two are rested enough, because today, we have our first assignment." Johnson told us as he sat beside me.

"What are we supposed to do here, anyway?" Saria asked.

"We're supposed to help get rid of these damn drug dealers infesting the city."

"Drug dealers? Like...moon sugar?" I asked, referring to the most common drug of Skyrim.

"No, no, like cocaine and crap. All the stuff that'll mess with your head." Johnson answered.

"Moon sugar kinda does that."

He shrugged, "But apparently there's a marijuana dealer somewhere just a few blocks south of here. What we've gotta do is go undercover and pretend like we're customers."

"And that's when we capture him?" Saria asked.

"Exactly."

"Well this should be fun."