Chapter 14 Living My Nightmare

Aria drummed her fingers on her desk as she squinted at a screen. When a little blip appeared, she wrote something down on a piece of paper. She took note of the amount of purple on the screen, how it seemed to be gathering in one specific area. This was promising, but she wasn't willing to get her hopes too high. Her goal for a while had been to find the Dark Prince, and she previously thought she had gotten close. She of course hadn't; the purple indicating the presence of dark magic had failed to actually allow her to achieve her long sought after goal.

She shook her head. Man, wouldn't it be so much nicer if this little bugger of a demon wasn't so hard to find? Sure, on some level, Aria was glad that he was so elusive. If some of the legends regarding him were to be believed, he had a boatload of demonic powers under his belt. If he were actually released into this plane of reality, he would cause great havoc. At least, that was what some of the legends talked about. Aria had also read that the Dark Prince didn't have as much power as other people thought, so he would try to get as much of it as possible to resurrect his mother, the Shadow Queen. Aria honestly didn't know which scenario would be worse, so she was actually really thankful that he was locked away in a pocket dimension.

At the same time though, she wanted to know more about him. There was very little information regarding the Dark Prince, so much so that demon hunters in this day and age didn't even know his true name. Sure, Aria would NEVER want to actually release him. But for curiosity's sake, she at least wanted to uncover more information about him. She could already imagine entering the information that she hoped to uncover into textbooks for the future generations to read and learn about. That thought was so pleasing to her that it actually made her smile.

But alas, life wasn't as easy as that. She was still as close to finding the Dark Prince's identity as she had been when she first became a demon hunter almost three years ago. That being, not close in the slightest. It frustrated her for sure; she liked her job, really really liked it. But between the fact that it wasn't the highest paying job someone with her certification could have AND the fact that she felt like she wasn't making a dent in achieving her goals…

Yeah.

With this thought in mind, Aria shook her head and turned off the screen. She directed her eyes out the window, taking note of the sky. The sky was that very special shade of blue that only appeared when the evening was on the brink of turning into the night. There was some light to speak of, but Aria knew that it wouldn't be there for long. After all, the sun had already sunk below the horizon line. Within minutes, the sky would turn black, and the stars and moon would come out and shine what little light they had to offer.

Aria rubbed her eyes and yawned. Man, she couldn't even remember the last time she felt this tired this early. Maybe it was when she was a kid? She didn't know, and quite frankly, she didn't care. All she cared about was getting in bed and sleeping until tomorrow. So, she did just that. She got in the bed, wrapping the comforter around her reptilian body. As she closed her eyes and prepared to drift off to sleep, she thought about everything that had happened to her over the past few days. She wasn't about to give up with finding the Dark Prince. All she had to do was keep trying; she would make progress eventually.

But honestly, while her job was one of the things in her life that garnered a lot of focus, it wasn't what was most important to her at the moment. No, that honor belonged to a koopa, a koopa with wild blue hair and special powers. Just imagining Ludwig's face was enough to make Aria's heart soar. With her eyes closed and her head planted firmly on her pillow, she tried to picture his reaction to her gift. There was no doubt in her mind that he would love it. She wouldn't be surprised that he would put it in a very special place, away from the prying eyes and fingers of his younger siblings. She actually laughed a little imagining this; it just seemed too in character for him to not do.

She turned over on her side, all while thinking about the last two outings she had with Ludwig. She couldn't even begin to articulate how much fun those events were. Sure, she had fun outings with her friends before, and she more than likely would have fun outings with them after. But these two outings, to the Palace of Spice and The World of Thunder Strike, were amazing. The looks of pure happiness on Ludwig's face while there had only served to bolster Aria's mood even more. She would remember these events for the rest of time.

Aria smiled. Sure, there was some frustration in her heart and Ludwig insisting that they were only friends. But that didn't matter. If they were only friends, then he was a good friend. If they eventually became more than that… well, Aria had no doubt in her mind that he be good at that too.

Yep. No doubt whatsoever.

…

Cold. The air had a bitter, stinging cold to it. It caused Aria, the girl who had grown up in freezing temperatures, to shiver. She looked down at her hands, feeling a little surprised to see that her fingers weren't blue. She lifted her head, hoping that she could see where she was to get an idea of how to get out of the cold.

She blinked, all at once feeling really confused. She was in Frostwall! There was no doubt about it; the blues and purples that exterior of the buildings had gave it away. She took a step forward, looking around her old home in awe. One thing she noticed right away was that there were no people walking the streets. Made sense; they probably recognized that walking around in temperatures this biting would be a bad idea. Aria rubbed her arms, trying to warm them up. Shivers ran down her body, but now they were caused by something completely different. Even though she recognized why there was nobody out in this weather, there was still an eerie quality to the whole scene. The lack of people making their way up and down the streets made it seem like Frostwall was a ghost town. It chilled Aria's heart in ways she hadn't thought possible. She couldn't even remember the last time she had seen her beloved city be this quiet and still.

A gust of wind blew through the streets, making Aria shiver and her teeth chatter. She needed to take shelter. If the dark gray clouds over the city were any indication, it was going to start snowing in just a short amount of time. In this cold, getting buried in the snow was the absolute last thing that Aria wanted. So, she hurried down the streets. She kept her eyes peeled, hoping to see a house that would be willing to open its doors. Unfortunately, all she saw were stores, each having closed signs hanging on the door.

Aria shook her head, noticing the first snowflakes beginning to fall. No, she wasn't going to let this happen. She would find shelter even if it was the last thing she did (wow, she was just realizing how poor that word choice was). She sprinted, looking from one end of the street to the other. She still didn't see any houses, nor did she see any people. She turned the corner, hoping that she would find more success there.

That's when she gasped. She slapped herself in the face, not quite believing what she saw. The Grand Library of All Mushroom World Knowledge was there, right there. Odd; she hadn't expected to come across it so easily. She ran up to it, feeling drawn to the building for a reason that she couldn't quite put her finger on. When she got to the fence, she hesitated. She knew that it was against the laws of the city to climb over them. She was just about to turn around when she remembered that no one was there to see her. Plus, the snow was now falling at a much more consistent rate. So…what choice did she have? Really, what choice did she have at this point?

So, despite her conscience telling her it was a bad idea, she jumped the fence. She bolted toward the library, blowing into her hands in an attempt to warm them up even a little bit. She was just about to climb the steps and make her way into the library when the doors burst open. She gasped, almost shrieking. She bolted toward the side of the building and hid behind the wall. She peaked out, curious to see who exactly was exiting the building.

Her eyes grew wide. It was Ludwig! He was shorter than she had grown accustomed to, and his hair was wilder. However, those two details meant very little to Aria due to one other detail that made her quake. That being, he was on fire. The blue flames around his body rose into the sky, the sparks going in the opposite direction of the snowflakes. Aria trembled at the sight, not even appreciating the warmth that the flames provided her. She pondered what her next course of action should be when the young special bolted into the air at top speed.

What happened next was something that Aria couldn't explain to save her life. The ground rumbled like it would in an earthquake, something that struck Aria as concerning. Frostwall had never experienced any earthquakes before; it wasn't situated on any fault lines. She held out her hands for balance, freaking out for the first time in a long time. What did this mean? What was the cause of this? Why was this happening?

She didn't have time to think about those questions for long. A wave of darkness surged towards her, one that resembled a giant tsunami. Except, instead of being made of water, it was made of nothingness. Nothingness was what the wave consisted of, and that was what it left in its wake. Fear struck Aria as the wave got closer and closer. She screamed, the sound immediately snuffed out when the wave engulfed her.

…

Aria screamed as she bolted upright. Breathing was an almost impossible task, and getting her breathing rate down to a manageable level even more so. She stared at the end of the bed for a good five minutes, all while cold sweats streamed down her body. She shook, even more so than when she had stood in the frigid cold of Frostwall.

After about ten minutes, she put her hand to her head. It was another dream. She should've known, but in the long run, that fact provided her with next to no comfort. Especially when she considered the fact that this dream was suspiciously similar to that other dream she had just a few nights prior. Both took place in Frostwall. Both featured Ludwig when he was a seven year old boy. Both ended in the city being completely swallowed in darkness.

Aria got goosebumps, her stomach churned and made her feel sick. What's more, the eerie feeling returned. It spider walked up and down her spine, making her feel even more sick than she would be otherwise. She tried to piece together why this was happening to her, why she had these dreams and why she had this eerie feeling. Her mind came up blank.

She shuddered and pulled the blankets further up around her body. She looked out the window, just now noticing the sunlight streaming in. She looked over at her clock, noticing that it read eight thirty am. The world was just waking up right alongside her. She pondered what to do, whether she should get up and make breakfast. That idea didn't appeal to her; she felt so sick that she no doubt would vomit up any meal she made for herself.

No, she didn't want to do that. However, there was something that she did want to do. With shaking hands, she reached into her hammerspace. She pulled out her phone, all while her hands sweat like crazy. She unlocked it and went to her contacts. With shaky breaths, she pressed on her father's number.

He responded within the next minute. "Hey Aria! How are you doing?"

Aria inhaled, the action painful. "I'm not doing so good, Daddy."

"Oh. What's wrong?" He spoke with the same level of concern that he used when she was a little kid.

Aria exhaled, this action somehow more painful than the inhale. "I…I had a dream." Saying it out loud, she realized that it didn't sound like the biggest deal. She considered putting the phone away.

"Tell me about it sweetie," her father said, his tone just as caring as she would've expected from someone like him.

So, Aria jumped right into explaining the dream. When she finished with that dream, she went on to tell her dad about her first dream, and how it had similarities to the most recent one. She also mentioned the eerie feeling they talked about when she visited him, how it cropped up both times she woke up from both dreams.

"I don't…I don't know what's going on," Aria concluded. "It just feels…weird. It's also terrifying. More terrifying than any other dreams I've had."

Smoky was quiet on the other line for a little bit. Just as Aria was about to get worried, he spoke up. "It's just like the dreams I had a while back. Remember when I told you about them? When you visited me for my birthday?"

Aria nodded. "That's part of the reason why I decided to call you." She put her head in her hands, rubbing her tired and terrified eyes. "What do you think this could mean, Daddy?"

Smoky hesitated. "I don't know, sweetheart. It just seems too… well, it seems like this too much of a coincidence. Both of us having dreams like this, both of us having that eerie feeling, and you having two dreams like this… I mean, there has to be a deeper reason behind it. I don't know what it could be, but I know it has to be there."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Aria said, her stomach churning some more.

"Hmm," Smoky said, clearly thinking about this. "Maybe some dark magic is involved. You're a demon hunter Ari; do you think that could be the case."

Aria blinked. "I…" she put her hand to her chin. "I mean, that's definitely a possibility. I guess I should look into that."

"Good idea," Smoky replied. "If you find anything, please let me know. I'm just as eager to find answers as you are.'

Aria exhaled and nodded. "Of course Daddy." She put her other hand up to the phone. "I'll talk to you later. I love you Daddy."

"I love you too, sweetheart." With that, Aria hung up.

…

Aria stared down at her bowl of oatmeal. She took deep breaths, trying to get herself to feel less sick and less scared. She kept telling herself that she would find the answer, that all it took was just a little bit of searching. She could definitely do find it. She would find it and put this nightmare business behind her once and for all. Yeah, it wasn't going to be difficult at all.

This thought eased her enough to actually eat. She dipped her spoon in the oatmeal and took a bite. As she chewed, her mind formulated a plan. She would have somebody (more than likely another trusted demon hunter) do a blood test for any potential dark magic in her veins. That wouldn't be too hard a task; anybody with a rudimentary knowledge of the topic could detect dark magic. After she got the results, she would find out where to go from there. Maybe she would try to get an exorcism, maybe she would try to do some special meditations to rid the dark magic from her thoughts. Either way, she wasn't going to just sit idly by and let that magic rest in her veins.

She took another bite. Yes, she had a concrete plan. She would jump into doing that the second she had eaten and cleaned herself up for the day. It was going to be easy. Easy peasy lemon…

Knock knock knock.

Aria blinked. Pushing her oatmeal to the side, she got up and made her way over to the door. When she opened it, she was surprised to see a paratroopa floating there with a package in hand.

"Special delivery for Miss Aria Shellcreep."

Aria blinked. A package? Weird, she couldn't remember ordering anything recently. She gingerly took the package and signed for it, closing the door and carrying the box over to her dining room table. She stared at it; it wasn't big in the slightest. It could probably be used as a jewelry box if she so desired it. She got a knife out of her hammerspace and began to open it, all while a significant amount of wonder occurred in her mind. Just what could it be?

Well, she got her answer within thirty seconds. She gasped when she saw what was inside the box, pulling it out with wide eyes. The object in question was a container of hot cocoa mix. But not just any hot cocoa mix, oh no. This mix had the Freddie's label on it.

Aria smiled. She couldn't believe it! She could only ever have Freddie's hot chocolate when she visited Frostwall! But now…now she could eat it whenever she pleased! She opened the box, smiling as she counted the number of packets. There were about twenty, meaning she would be drinking good for a little under a month.

With the smile still plastered to her face, she set the box filled with deliciousness to the side. She looked down in the box, having a very distinct feeling that there was a note contained in it. Sure enough, she was right. She pulled the paper out and read it.

Hey Aria. You did such a good job choosing such an amazing gift that I thought I'd return the favor. I know how much you enjoy Freddies' hot cocoa, so I personally went down to Frostwall and got you a whole box full! Now, you can enjoy the taste of home whenever you like! I hope that makes us even.

Ludwig

Aria smiled. Ludwig. Oh Ludwig, who knew that he could be this considerate? Seriously; he went all the way to Frostwall just to give this to her! That was incredible! She placed the note down on the table, licking her lips as she looked over at the hot chocolate. All of her stomach problems were completely forgotten; now all she wanted to do was fix a cup up for herself. She picked up the box, about to take it over to her teapot to boil some water…

When she noticed something else on Ludwig's note; a "P.S." She couldn't believe that she missed it. She leaned down to read it. When she did, her heartbeat sped up and she let out a gasp.

P.S. I was wondering…would you like to meet my family?