Nocturne didn't always tamper with his victim's nightmares. Well, sure he choose to spice up some of the gruesome visions at times, a death here, a traumatizing ordeal there, a swarm of ravenous beasts descending on his unsuspecting prey sometimes, all of them in good fun of course, but the Eternal Nightmare didn't have to construct any new additions however in order to further torment the poor scout. Shauna's childhood memories, brutally extracted from the huntress' tortured mind during a League match were all the tools the specter needed in order to turn the softhearted scout into a lifeless husk of breathing misery. Any other detail was unnecessary.
Still, the Eternal Nightmare was a strict perfectionist and it had been so agonizing long since he had last encountered such a tantalizing prey without the shackles of the Institute limiting the spectrum of his abilities, a few more additional scenes shoved between the tragic memories wouldn't possibly hurt or change the final result for that matter.
Nocturne first started by burrowing deeper into the scout's head deftly making his way towards the innermost part of the ranger's mind, a few haphazardly mental wards placed around the girl's mind would ensure that the Summoners would leave him alone for the time being while he was busy playing with his new toy. He then started testing the ranger's mental fortitude, filtering though her memories like a rabid bloodhound following the sweet scent of fear.
One particularly vivid image drew the specter's attention, a woman with flowing raven black hair and piercing crimson eyes holding a young boy's corpse somewhere in the woods. The image seemed to be repeating itself, surfacing throughout the scout's entire life, consuming his prey's thoughts for what felt like several lifetimes only to fade back into the darkness of her memories.
It wasn't the only fractured reminiscence however, most of the memories from that time period seemed to be suppressed upon first inspection, as if the girl had repeatedly tried to lock the traumatic events in the darkest corners of her mindscape, but a bit more probing and a few more painful mental excavations later and Nocturne had finally gathered enough information to start constructing his first terrifying visions.
The Eternal Nightmare would definitely smile if he could, he leisurely stretched inside the scout's mind, griping Quinn's consciousness and savored his prey's agitated expression as he painfully jabbed his inky-black fingers into the ranger's mind injecting the first series of nightmares inside his captive's defiled mindscape.
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Quinn took another step back until her back was firmly pressed against the wall of the basement, the puppets followed her silently, bloody fingers stretching towards her pale face. The ranger had long since noticed the unnatural behavior of the shades surrounding her, the lecherous grins, the milky eyes, the sinister reflexions of sharp teeth and crooked smiles, warping the moment her gaze wandered elsewhere.
Quinn was puzzled at first, she had reluctantly stopped paying attention to the events unfolding before her very eyes, letting her gaze travel around the grim interior of the prison, searching for anything out of place. She had found nothing out of the ordinary of course, the events she had been witnessing were flawless memories ripped straight from the head of the Night Hunter herself. The blood escaping the vampire's lips, the agonizing cries of pain, the despair hidden inside little Shauna's eyes, the crude acts of violence taking place inside the dirty walls of the basement. Everything had been perfect, a sickening masterpiece crafted by the selective memories of Shauna, Jarvan and Quinn herself. Even psychotic monster like Jhin would feel awe after witnessing the ancient specter's handiwork.
The barrage of nightmares kept flowing endlessly as Nocturne kept molding more and more scenes and viewpoints of Shauna's personal hell, carefully forming new illusions like an artist sculpturing clay.
Time flows differently in the dreamscape where a single daydream can last several hours and a short nightmare can last an entire lifetime and Quinn was starting to lose her mind when Nocturne finally decided that sadness was not an appropriate emotion capable of satisfying his endless appetite for human torment. The specter then started nurturing a different kind of feeling, planting it deeply inside the slumbering girl's mindset. The fertilizing process was as calculated and as it was cruel, Nocturne just let the scout catch a glimpse of the shifting guises of his puppets effectively planting the first seed of terror.
The scout suddenly stiffened when abruptly Caleb's kind smile turned into a vicious snarl for just a fleeting moment and Quinn had blinked in confusion, eyeing her brother curiously when a moment later her sibling's face returned to normal. Was she imagining things?
The next one had been Charles, Quinn's second uncle. The scout was calmly observing a brief exchange between her younger self and the closest of her uncles, smiling gently as the old man instructed her in the use of the crossbow. Her younger self had finally managed to hit the farthest part of the practicing target and Charles was in the middle of congratulating her for her achievement when the man's irises had suddenly vanished, turning an eerie white. Her past self didn't seem to notice the change, but the actual scout didn't manage to hold back a scream of surprise and shivered when the kind old man turned around and smiled at her viciously, small inky shades of inconceivable darkness twirling behind his milky white eyes.
The image dissolved the moment their gazes met, but Quinn was now sure of what she had seen and her original uneasiness quickly turned into fright in just a couple of heartbeats when more and more puppets came into existence and started approaching her. And so the first seeds of terror slowly bloomed inside the young ranger's mind.
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Vayne dashes through the corridors dodging champions and Summoners alike, running like a woman possessed as hands tremble and ruby lips form a thin line, crimson eyes open wide in fear hidden behind her signature pair of scarlet shades. She is pale, the words of the old Summoner are still ringing in her ears.
''The Eternal Nightmare has escaped..''
She spots the hulking form of Alistar conversing with the Starchild and she instantly lunges forward diving between the minotaur's feet, her body barely touches the ground before she tumbles forward continuing her frantic race and she hears Ahri apologizing behind her as she all but tosses herself at the top of an empty staircase.
''The specter is still weak… Searching for prey… Avoid sleeping at all costs.''
There is a group of champions flocking the passageway, Vayne grits her teeth, she keeps running straight for the small gathering, red eyes practically blazing. Braum notices her and moves forward placing his shield between the crowd and the approaching vampire, but Vayne ignores him, she jumps forward smashing her shoulder against the enchanted ice-shield and Braum actually staggers as Shauna pushes him out of the way and continues onwards, fractured arm and shoulder miraculously mending in a couple of seconds after she darts into another hallway.
Braum blinks in surprise, eyeing his shield warily and Ashe takes note of the small cracks covering the artifact's surface as the item starts repairing itself with a loud hiss, a faint glow starts building-up around the item as a new layer of True Ice wells up from the center of the artifact's core, sinking into the cracks.
"Nightmare feeds on negative emotions.. Wounds while dreaming will actually appear on the victim's body.."
She has finally reached the Demacian section of the Institute and she can already spot the Ranger's door, carefully closed as she has left it before heading out. Shauna had left the key under the rag facing the entrance before leaving so she falls on her knees and shoves her hands under the fabric silently begging for the small object to be absent. It doesn't seem to work but then again, when was the last time some kind of higher being had actually decided to answer to her desperate pleas? Never. She grabs the key and nervously inserts it in the keyhole, her hand twists even as her gaze drops on the floor and the door opens silently.
"Please be awake, please be awake and I promise I won't let you out of my sight ever again."
But it is of no use, the scout is still slumbering on the bed and she won't wake up no matter how many times Shauna calls her name or shakes her shoulders and the metallic scent of blood suddenly makes the vampire choke on her own saliva as she grabs hold of the linen covers and slowly peels them off Quinn's motionless body only to take note of the woman's pale complexion and the contact mark bleeding profusely underneath all over the place.
She doesn't react when Ahri approaches her and wraps her arms around her waist, pressing her chin against her freshly healed shoulder blade and she doesn't even blink when the seductress kisses her cheek tenderly, whispering that everything is going to be alright. She feels cold, hollow. Her heart is slowly collapsing inside her chest and her legs are shaking. A small series of bruises starts appearing around the scout's throat as if Quinn is being choked to death by the hands of a small child and the ranger starts coughing weakly.
And it's only when Quinn's whimpers slowly turn to sobs that Vayne finally turns to face the Ionia seductress, eyes wet and glazed with tears, sending Ahri a pleading look that could even melt the Ice Witch's heart if she ever laid eyes upon it. The huntress takes a shaky breath as she reaches for the miniature crossbow attached on her leather gauntlet and dislodges the silver tipped bolt resting against the stretched strings of the mechanism.
"Please, let me drink some of your blood."
Ahri blinks, she takes a step back and releases the vampire in order to take a better look at her face, she doesn't really mind letting Vayne feed on her, both of them have let the other one feast on them at some point, but..
"I thought you could only drink from your mate after the contract is formed."
The scout grunts in her sleep as if to confirm the fox's suspicions and then starts sobbing pitifully, meanwhile the bruises on her neck start bleeding as the invisible assailant's fingernails puncture the soft skin around her throat and Shauna is about to have a heart attack.
"I do, I am not trying to quench my thirst, I just need to slow down my healing for a few minutes. I will explain later if we have the time. Now, please, I… I don't want to attack you, but I am desperate. I will take your blood even if that means you would come to hate me."
Ahri just spares her a glance before sighing in defeat, she takes a step forward and offers the vampire her throat.
"I could never hate you Shauna, you are a dear friend to me and the kindest soul I have ever met even if you try to hide it most of the time, so please stop torturing yourself like that. You have my permission to drink my blood.''
Shauna nods, she steps forward and wraps her arms around Ahri, she pauses for a moment in order to murmur a thank you before she plunges her fangs into the rich fountain of her friend's neck. Ahri stays relatively still while the vampire proceeds to consume her blood, her eyes pinned on the slumbering form of the girl resting under the linen covers.
"I really hope she is worth all this trouble."
"She is."
Shauna doesn't even pause to think before she answers and she then instantly collapses on the floor, spewing blood and breathing heavily. Ahri grimaces, but Vayne stands up in a matter of seconds still shaky and breathless but determined and sighs before raising the crossbow bolt, aiming its tip on the pale skin of her forearm.
"I need to concentrate now so I will have to ask you to leave, you can wait outside if you would like to, but I would really appreciate it if you would be kind enough to alert the Summoners of our ordeal, and maybe bring me a couple of healers.''
Ahri is speechless, she silently observes Vayne as she plunges the silver bolt inside her limbs and forearms and even the top of her forehead, hastily curving symbols against her own bleeding fresh.
"What the hell are you doing!?"
Ahri's hand shoots out, trying to grasp the bloodstained crossbow bolt, ruining the huntress' peerless skin only to be slapped away by the bleeding palm of the Night Hunter. Vayne just stares at her and even if her expression is cold, Ahri can still spot the sparks of despair rapidly coming ito life behind her dear friend's eyes. Vayne just jerks her head towards the sobbing scout.
"I am taking her place, I can survive this, she won't. Bring me a Summoner if you really want to help me, the ritual has already started and disturbing it will only cause me more pain."
Their eyes meet and Ahri abruptly slaps her, Vayne just turns her head along with the blow. The cursed blood of the Night Hunter now stains the Ionian Seductress' hand.
"You dumb bitch! You of all people should know that no one has ever survived a full scale invasion from the Eternal Nightmare. I practically helped you commit suicide!"
Crimson tearstained eyes rise and Shauna somehow manages to smile as her fingers open and the now scarlet crossbow bolt hits the ground with a loud thud.
"No, you just helped me save someone I can't live without and you even stayed with me during most of the ritual even though you couldn't stand seeing me in pain. You are a really good friend Ahri, more than I have ever deserved."
She leans in pressing a soft kiss against the seductress' cheek and gives her a gentle push towards the door still smiling awkwardly.
"Now off you go, the next part of the spell is a bit disturbing and I don't want you to see me crying if I can help it. Bring me a Summoner in time and I might even survive the first few hours, or you can just stand there watching Nocturne taking over my body, meanwhile I am bleeding all over the place."
Her smile falters as Ahri run away spewing curses and Vayne sighs and raises her hand, curling her fingers around one of her extended canines. She breaks the tooth and then the other one and uses the sharp bone fragment to curve a final rune under each eye. She has to move quickly, a vampire's fangs are not just for show and she has seconds before she succumbs to a shock induced coma, screaming her lungs out.
She harriedly crawls under the scout's covers and presses herself against her potential mate's body. Quinn's skin is pleasantry warm and Shauna can already see the black mist swirling around the slumbering scout and she smiles bitterly when the smoke suddenly invades her nostrils and eyes filling her lungs with poisonous ink. And then everything fades into darkness and she hears herself screaming until she sinks into oblivion only to come face to face with the Eternal Nightmare. That's when she finally allows herself to cry.