Again I give thanks for pinksakura271 for the monster idea and contributing to the plot. It's nice sometimes to not have to do all of the thinking
Near the shore's edge was a bluff. Once could see the Isle of the Lost from a very long distance there. There was also a small shrine that rumors said would also act as a doorway to the underworld. No one had tested that theory out, or if someone had they hadn't returned to tell the tale.
The area first became swarmed with the Paradias's soldiers, their green eyes glowing in the darkness. Moments later Nerissa and Paradias were there as well.
"You are certain this will work?" The master asked. His yellow and green eye glowed as well.
"Defeating them in this realm has proved difficult. If we can defeat even half of them in another realm than we will be much better off." Nerissa replied. "We lose nothing."
Mal stood at her locker and waited for Ben to join her so they could meet their friends for lunch. She leaned against the metal doors but felt herself brightening the instant she saw her boyfriend coming toward him but her smile fell as she saw the solemn look on his face. "What's wrong?" She asked.
"We need to talk." Ben said and sighed. "Mal, this isn't working."
She looked confused. "What isn't working?" She asked though she felt her stomach sinking in on itself.
"Us." Ben answered simply. "I've tried to forgive you for that love spell, tried to make us work. But I'm just not feeling it." He shook his head. "One of the reasons you and Audrey have gotten along so well since becoming rangers is that you're both so much alike in your own ways and I just can't have that in my life." He turned away. "I'm sorry Mal, but I'm breaking up with you."
"Ben, wait." Mal started but for some reason found she could not move. And was that the knight sitting on one of the benches laughing at her? Was that a caped figure she just saw? "Please, don't go…"
"Ben, please." She whispered before feeling a hand on her shoulder. She sat up and through the pale moonlight saw Evie sitting on her bed, looking concerned. "Evie?"
"Are you okay M?" Evie asked softly. "It looked like you were having a bad dream."
Mal shook her head and only then realized she had shed a few tears at some point. "I…I had a really bad dream." She tried to smile but it was hollow. "It's ironic, considering when I was younger my mom always told me when I went to sleep to 'have a bad dream'."
Evie reached out and took her hand, squeezing it gently. "Mine did to." She replied. "Do you want to talk about it?"
After a moment Mal used her free hand to wipe her tears from her face and shook her head. "No, I'm okay E. As long as it's just a nightmare it can't hurt me. Thanks though." With a nod Evie got up and went back to her own bed. Mal flopped down on the bed and wondered if she would get any more sleep tonight.
Audrey left her diplomatic negotiation 102 class and headed toward the command center, where she swore she received a summons from Fairy Godmother and she assumed the others had gotten the same signal. She quickly made her way to find the screen filled with…something fighting a hooded figure. She also saw the four isle kids standing in the center but of Lonnie, Doug, Jane or her mother there was no sign.
"Who is that?" Audrey asked them. "Who's fighting that thing?"
"That's not important right now." Jay said simply, almost dismissively. It was a tone he had not used with her since they had become rangers.
"But we have to stop him." Audrey said as she took out her iPhone.
Mal stepped forward now. "No, we have to stop him." She said. "You have to get a clue." She laughed, sounding way harsher than the princess had ever heard her in the time she had known her. "Do you really think that we need you for this? You weren't even supposed to be a part of this." She reached out and snatched the iPhone, tossing it to Carlos. "You're nothing more than some pathetic little girl, dead weight. And it's time that we drop that dead weight."
Audrey wasn't sure what she was feeling as she looked from the scornful Mal to the mocking Jay to the laughing Evie and the indifferent Carlos. She turned to see Ben. "Ben, what's going on?" She asked. "I thought…"
Ben walked past her and came to stand next to Mal. "It's been decided Audrey. It's better to have no red ranger at all than to rely on you." He laughed. "I mean come on, I already let you go as my girlfriend, it's time to just cut the ties that bound completely."
Audrey swore she felt her heart breaking, which she found vaguely odd because she didn't think that, aside from Ben, she truly cared enough for the others to enough to have that kind of impact. "But…" She said, not sure what to follow up with that. Instead all she got out was a weak, "Ben, Mal, guys.." Was the hooded figure on the screen laughing?
Like Mal, Audrey had a few tears falling from her eyes but since she didn't have a roommate like Evie did she had no one to even try to wake her.
Again Lonnie felt herself jolted out of bed. She felt a slight irritation as she hadn't even rested well since they had gotten rid of the dragon of destruction. There was a different kind of wrong going through her body now. She sat up and tried to text Audrey but when she got no response she assumed it was just in her mind and she tried to settle down again.
Evie turned around. Mal stood there. Hadn't she just asked her friend if she was okay? "Mal, what's going on?" She wondered. "Is everything okay?"
Mal laughed harshly. "Is everything okay?" She questioned mockingly. "Of course not. I mean what was I thinking, having a pathetic loser like you as my friend?"
Evie wasn't sure she heard right but felt as if she had been slapped in the face. "Mal?" She asked dumbfounded. She saw Jay next to her now. "What are you saying? I thought we had gotten past our differences?" She looked to Jay. "Did I miss something?"
Jay laughed now too. "You are so pathetic Evie." He said. "We're villains, bad guys. We don't get past differences and we don't make friends. It's almost more like gang activity." He started to pace her now. "You really thought that any of us could really be friends. That is just pathetic."
"Pathetic. Loser." Mal repeated derisively. "Of course this is coming from a girl who tries to use a mirror as a weapon." She moved forward and pushed Evie roughly, causing her to fall to the ground hard. In the past when Mal had picked on Evie she had never cried, at least then. Now without really realizing it she was starting to cry as Jay, Mal and Carlos (who had come from nowhere) looked down at her with…a hooded figure.
And Evie had a few tears falling down her face as well, but now there was no one there to wake her.
"You have no idea how much I missed you Bennie-boo." Audrey said in between kisses with Ben. "I knew that the bad girl thing was just an infatuation."
"Of course." Ben said with a smile. "Why would I make a villain a queen? Or even care what she does?" He laughed as they both looked to Mal. Behind them were Evie, Jay, Carlos, Lonnie, Jane and Doug, staring at her with cruel amusement in their eyes.
From the side of the group came Maleficent. Her mother laughed gleefully. "I told you that you had no room for love in your life." She paused dramatically. "I suppose I should have mentioned that you weren't worth anyone loving you anyway." She shrugged. "I sure don't. You're nothing more than a rotten little brat that I should have gotten rid of years ago."
Mal felt herself trying not to cry. Audrey's and her other friends apparent betrayal hurt her almost as much as Ben's did, her mother's words stung her more than she ever wanted to admit and she didn't understand why that cloaked figure was there.
And while she tried not to cry there, she again had tears falling in bed.
Tourney practice was not going so well today. That was because Ben, Jay, and Carlos had expected their friends to show up today. They hadn't had cheerleading practice but they still promised to come out for support. So far only Jane had shown up. They had known Doug wouldn't be there because of the chemistry project he was doing.
Chad stopped right near them. "What's the matter guys?" He asked. "Looking for something?"
"None of your business." Jay snapped back.
"Touchy, aren't we?" Chad asked him mockingly. "Did you get ditched by those bad girls?"
"Audrey isn't here either." The young king said, trying to remind him that he was supposed to be friends with both Ben and Audrey.
Chad gave out a derisive snort. "That girl is worse than the other two I think." He stated bitterly. "At least those two know what they are, but Audrey doesn't even realize what she's becoming. She's nothing but a two face bi…"
Jay interrupted him, this time by giving Chad a push in the chest hard. "I'd watch what you say about any of my friends if I were you." He warned. Ben placed his hand on Jay's shoulder to keep him from doing anything else though in truth he wanted to jump in to defend his best friend as well.
"You're the only one who's proving himself to be like that." They heard Lonnie say now as she came up to them. The boys could see her anger mixed with concern, almost panic. Jane was on her way over to them too, being able to read the tension in the Asian girl's body. "You need to lay off of them before someone decides to lay into you."
Chad looked ready to retort back but with the headmistress's daughter coming over to them as well he decided it was best not to push any more buttons right now. "You guys are just lame." He decided as he walked away.
"What's wrong Lonnie?" Jane asked the pink ranger, ignoring Chad as he walked away.
"I was supposed to meet Audrey for breakfast before coming over to the practice field, and she never showed…" Lonnie started.
"They're not here either." Carlos said.
"I can see that." Lonnie replied. "I went by Audrey's room and checked in on her. She's still in bed and when I tried to wake her I didn't get any response."
"What about Mal and Evie?" Ben asked her now.
"I checked on them too. Same thing." Lonnie answered.
"Okay." Jane said nervously. "Jay, go with Lonnie and bring Audrey to Mal and Evie's room." Both of them nodded. "Carlos, Ben, come with me to get some equipment and then we'll meet them there. Let's see if we can get to the bottom of this."
Audrey couldn't believe how broken she felt inside. She had never thought Ben would turn his back on her despite their relationship ending. And she was starting to think that Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay would do that either after what they'd been through. The fact that Lonnie, Jane, and Doug had not been there did not enter into her mind.
All she had in her mind was the shock and the hurt. She didn't think anything could make this feeling worse. She leaned against the wall, her right side all but pressed into it as she cried. Her head hit the wall a little harder than normal but the princess didn't feel the pain.
"What are you crying about?" She heard a voice ask derisively. She turned to come face to face with Chad.
Despite everything she knew in her heart she could not reveal the others identities. But there was one thing she could say. "Ben, Mal. Jay…everyone…they all…decided it wasn't worth….being friends. That…that our friendship…wasn't worth it…that they don't want to be around me." She wasn't even sure she was getting out what she wanted to say right.
Perhaps the young princess shouldn't have been surprised by the prince's reaction, but it didn't make her feel any better to hear it. "And this surprises you?" He asked in amusement and then waved his hand in dismissal. "You're selfish, you're vain, you're self-absorbed, you're pathetic." He reached out and took her by her shoulders to slam her against the wall. She flinched in pain and then opened her eyes to see Chad glaring at her…was that the same cloaked figure behind him that she saw on screen earlier? He laughed at her again, then took a step back just to slap Audrey in the face hard.
Jay looked down at a sleeping and crying Audrey and for reasons he wasn't sure he could explain even to himself he felt very upset to see her like this. He barely heard Lonnie say, "This is how I found Audrey when I came to check on her." He moved toward the princess and moved a piece of hair out of her face.
Lonnie gathered one of the blankets on a chair in the corner. "Let's meet the others." She said.
"Right." Jay agreed somewhat absently as he lifted Audrey up gently in his arms. The girl almost felt feather light in his arms as he followed the Asian girl out and toward his friend's room.
Carlos, Ben and Jane entered Mal and Evie's rooms and found them in the same condition. The purple haired girl had her crystallized dragon zord on the pillow and perked up in menace for a moment, then upon realizing who had come into the room gave up the pose but still kept its guard up.
Behind them was Dude who jumped onto the bed and licked Evie's face a couple of times as if trying to wake her up but of course got no response. Ben meanwhile was right by Mal's side and taking her hand, trying to pat it gently to wake her up.
Jane felt herself falter just a little as she saw something she didn't think she'd ever see from either of the two isle girls; they were crying. The fact it was in their sleep was beside the point. She went over and felt Evie's forehead. She wasn't running a fever.
"What do you think is wrong with them?" Carlos asked Jane as he sat at the small round table.
"I don't know yet, and I don't want to hazard any guesses until Jay and Lonnie come back with Audrey." Jane answered. She moved to the table and opened up a small kit she had with her. "I would think any monster would set off our alarm system, but can you use the app to do a double check, maybe even access the scanners and do a manual search?"
Carlos nodded. "I'll get right on it." He answered and pulled out his iPhone.
Jay and Lonnie came in. Jay put Audrey down in the unoccupied bed that hadn't been assigned to anyone yet. Jane quickly began to look at the three girls. Jay sat by Audrey while Lonnie wasn't sure where to go and found she couldn't stand still.
After a moment Jane looked up. "They're not just asleep. They're in REM sleep." She revealed.
"Huh?" Carlos asked.
"They're dreaming?" Ben asked incredulously.
"Looks more like nightmares." Lonnie remarked softly as she noticed that Mal and Evie were crying like Audrey was. "Painful ones." She looked to Jane now. "Why won't they wake up?"
Jane frowned now. "I don't know." She admitted. "I think Paradias has to have something to do with it though."
"A monster?" Lonnie asked.
"Not according to the sensors." Carlos replied as he waved his iPhone a little. "I'm currently doing a manual scan for any signs of a monster and so far nothing."
Jay wished that Mal, Audrey and Evie were up right now. He didn't want to sell himself short in the brains department but he also knew that a lot of the ideas came from the three girls who were currently apparently trapped in their own nightmare.
For better or worse though, he seemed to underestimate his friend. "Is there any place in the land that would be immune to the sensors?" Carlos asked as he looked to Jane and Lonnie.
"No." Ben answered simply. "That's just not possible."
Lonnie wanted to agree with him but remembered something she had learned from her mother Mulan. "There might be one place." She said.
"What?" That was Jane, who didn't believe it possible from everything her mother had taught her. "If a place like that did exist, my mom would know about it."
"Not if it went against the belief your mother has developed about magic." Jay pointed out.
"What is it?" Carlos asked her.
Lonnie took a deep breath as she wandered toward the window and moved the curtain to glance outside. "On the outskirts of the coast, facing the Isle of the Lost, is a bluff. No plants grow around it for over 10 miles. Toward the shore's end is a stone object, it has a small top end and two end pieces. My mom called it a torii. She told me a legend that says that it's a portal to the underworld, and that if one stares too long into it, they would get pulled in themselves." She explained to them all. "My mom said that if anything were ever made that could even scan try to scan the area, demonic powers would protect it."
"It sounds like superstitious nonsense." Ben said softly. "But given everything that's happened there might be more truth in it than we're giving credit for."
Jane seemed a bit confused. "Are you saying the devil or some other demon is causing this?" She asked.
"My dad once told me the devil was a small time player compared to some things out in the multiverse." Jay noted dryly.
"No, I don't think it's a demonic thing." Lonnie answered. "But I do think that it would make a great place if they don't want to be found."
Jane knew her three friends were restless and needed something to do. The other truth was that she didn't have any better alternatives. "Why don't the three of you go check it out?" She suggested. "I'll see what I can do from this end and Ben can assist me if I need it."
Jay stood up. "I like that idea." He said simply. Carlos and Lonnie nodded and the three rangers left the room and headed outside, heading toward that shore area.
The three remaining rangers ran as fast as they could, the boys following Lonnie's lead as she was the only one that knew where they were going. Soon it became obvious they were going in the right direction, and that was only reinforced when they saw a soldier looking toward them.
Jay picked up speed, bypassing Lonnie and then jumping up, slamming his fist hard into the creatures head. He released all of his anger and frustration over not being able to figure out or help with the situation up until now, not to mention their brief antagonistic encounter with Chad right into that strike and caused it to disappear. He looked to Carlos and Lonnie. "Time to morph." He said.
Lonnie and Carlos nodded in agreement and took out their iPhones, input their number and transformed. They tried to move as stealthily as they could and with only a few more soldiers that were easily taken out they found themselves at the appropriate clearing. There though they found a huge and unwelcome surprise. The area was all but swarming with soldiers, and just in front of the torii that Lonnie had described to them was a hooded figure, sitting Indian style and levitating slightly off the ground. He seemed unaware of his surroundings
"I'd bet you a pizza slice that that monster over there is the reason the girls are trapped in their nightmares." Carlos whispered to them, though the bet was primarily given to Jay.
"And I bet another slice that I can reach the monster and disrupt his trance before you can." Jay shot back quietly.
Lonnie wished she, Mal, Evie, and Jane had had a chance to do more than just the preliminary work for her idea because it would have been great to have here right now. "We have to get over there as soon as we can." She whispered. "Let's just cut a path through the soldiers and to the monster. Hopefully once that happens we can hold out until the other girls show up."
Jay nodded in agreement, all teasing gone from his face. "Here's what we do. Carlos, Jane, one hand weapon and one blaster. I only have one hand weapon to use so I already know I'll need my blaster. We cut a straight path; hand weapons to cut through those near us we can reach and the blaster to cut down anything we can reach from a distance as we reach that monster." He stated.
"What about behind us?" Carlos asked, aware they were going to be getting cut off from all hope of retreat.
"That's where we hope the girls come in to help in enough time." Jay replied. "We've got to trust they will." He took a deep breath and drew his blaster. "Ready?"
With clawed dagger or tessen in one hand and blaster in the other, the yellow and pink ranger gave the black ranger a nod and then the three of them came out from their hiding spot and started to blast at the soldiers. Few were smart enough to block with their blades but the numbers made it so that very soon the three rangers were doing more hand to hand maneuvers than blasting.
"Good thing these guys are as dumb as a rock." Carlos noted dryly.
"Yeah, but they make up for that with swarming numbers." Lonnie also noted as she took one down herself. "I don't know how much time we have left, if there's a time when pulling the girls out of those nightmares are going to become impossible?" She mused.
"Then we have to speed this up." Jay said. They continued on their way to the hooded monster and through sheer determination got just enough clearing that all three rangers leapt into the air and brought their weapons down on the creature at the same time. For a moment it looked as if time had stopped.
Mal tried to look between her friends and her mother, her visions blurred by the tears she didn't want to shed in the nightmare but were falling in real life. None of them would listen to her pleas trying to get answers on what had gone wrong, not even Ben.
"This is why you can't depend on anyone but yourself Mal." Maleficent said as she leaned down toward her daughter. "This is why you should embrace the evil within."
From the corner of her eye she saw Lonnie step forward now and she braced herself for another insult from one of her friends. Then Lonnie laughed a little, "This is kind of bizarre. Even with us here your mother still makes an appearance." Both the hooded figure in the back and Maleficent looked at the girl oddly.
"What?" Mal asked, confused.
"You remember your mother is in the castle? That nice little terrarium thing until her heart grows or something?" Lonnie asked her.
"What are you talking about brat?" Maleficent asked.
Lonnie looked to the doppelganger. "Let me make this easy for you. You're not real." She stated simply. She shot a round house kick to Maleficent and she vanished. She looked to the hooded figure. "You are, and you've been evicted." She stated and then sent a flying kick his way that caused him to shatter, as did everything around the two girls.
Mal looked up as Lonnie kneeled down next to her. "Time to join us back in the real world Mal." She took her hands and squeezed gently. "Your friends, and your prince, await you." Then everything went white.
Evie had her hands over her ears, trying to drown out the others taunts. It wasn't quiet working and that was why the new noise suddenly caught her attention. "This isn't reality Evie." It was from Carlos. "Jay and I were your friends long before Mal was even a real part of the picture." She looked up to see him push his way past Jay and Mal. He knelt down before her. "We're your real friends and we need you. Mal is lying near you right now going through this thing too, not in here taunting you, reminding you of what was once but would never be again."
"She is?" Evie asked, again vaguely remembering waking Mal up what seemed to be ages ago from a nightmare of her own. "Is this a dream?"
"More like a nightmare." Carlos corrected. Evie saw the hooded figure coming in from behind him but before the blue haired girl could get a warning off he added, "And speaking of." He turned around and kicked the hooded figure, making him shatter. He then looked to Evie. "We need you now Evie, wake up please." Then everything went white.
Audrey pressed her hand to her face and found blood coming from her lip, just as it had with Ben when Chad had attacked him in the chemistry room. "Quite a right hand." Audrey managed to get out through her tears.
"You haven't seen anything yet." Chad said menacingly. He drew his fist back, ready to Audrey in the face again, and for some reason the princess couldn't think to do anything except for try to brace herself for the painful impact.
She heard a gasp and opened her eyes to that had been Chad as Jay grabbed his fist and turned him around. "I've wanted to do this ever since I met you." Jay said calmly before he reared back and punched Chad in the face hard. He stumbled to the ground, seemingly unconscious.
Both Jay and Audrey turned around to see his doppelganger and their friends in the hall. Jay reached over and took the iPhone from Mal's doppelganger and offered it to Audrey. "I believe this is yours." He said.
Audrey seemed confused. "But…you guys…decided to drop me…" She said softly.
"After what we've been through?" Jay questioned and laughed a little. "Not going to happen. You're one of us wicked kids now rather you like it or not." He placed the iPhone in her hand. "That won't change."
"Oh, Jay." Audrey whispered softly and then flung her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. She swore she felt his arms go around her as well for a minute.
Then he pulled back. "One more thing." He suddenly reached over and took a book from Jane's hand and hurled it as hard as he could into the head of the hooded figure, which shattered on impact. Then he turned toward Audrey. "Time to wake up, sleeping beauty." Then everything turned white.
"I don't know what to do." Jane said to Ben softly. "I can't wake them up. Whoever is in their nightmares has to tight of a hold on them." She looked to the young king. "It's in their hands now."
"How much longer do you think it will be?" Ben asked. Jane couldn't answer that but after another fifteen minutes or so Mal shot up and looked around. "Mal?" He asked.
She looked at Ben a moment as if she couldn't believe he was there. "Ben." She gasped and then threw her arms around him and hugged him hard. "You're here, you're here." She hesitated. "Are…am I still yours?" She asked.
"Yes Mal." Ben answered softly as he hugged her back. "And I'm still yours."
They enjoyed the embrace for another moment before Mal got out of bed and asked, "Evie?" Audrey?"
Jane was about ready to answer when Evie woke next. She looked to the purple haired girl and asked tentatively, "Mal?" As if she were afraid of her…kind of like when they were younger.
"Oh, Evie." Mal sat beside her and hugged her. "It's okay, it's alright. I'm right here, as are Ben and Jane."
They all jumped slightly as Audrey sat up calling out, "Jay, wait." Then she realized where she was but didn't have any time to react as both of the girls were up and hugging her tightly, Ben right behind them.
Jane smiled, tears in her eyes. I'm glad the team…my family, is awake and whole again. But they won't be for long unless… "I hate to interrupt you guys but Lonnie and the boys still need you."
Mal kissed Ben on the lips with a passion that caught him off guard. She then looked to her two friends. "Let's make this Invader of Nightmares pay for what he put us through." She stated as she took her iPhone and tossed Audrey and Evie theirs.
Audrey and Evie nodded. "With pleasure." They agreed at the same time. They ran out of the dorm and as soon as they were clear but in the open they input their numbers and morphed, then moved as quickly as they could to help their friends.
"How dare you little brats disrupt my wanderings?" The hooded figure growled as he glared at the three rangers.
"You're the one intruding into our friend's minds." Lonnie shot back. "You're the one in the wrong here."
Carlos couldn't help but noticed they were blocked off from all escape from the soldiers while their hooded adversary was right in front of them. Granted he had nowhere to go either as far as they could tell but there was no guarantee even their ranger powers would protect them from a long fall into the ocean.
The hooded figure leapt at them and smashed both his fists into Carlos. He swung at Lonnie and Jay next but both rangers evaded the attack. The pink ranger had the misfortune of running right into a group of soldiers that promptly tried to pin her down. It was a distraction if nothing else. Carlos likewise was getting piled up against as well. One on one the hooded figure was proving to be an equal match for the black ranger.
Then the soldiers started getting blasted from behind as Mal, Audrey and Evie appeared from the forests. More helpful than that though was the roaring stream of dragon fire that erupted from Mal's freed zord. "Let's even up the odds some." The purple ranger decided.
Audrey leapt in the air and released an arrow from her bow that struck the monster head on. "That's what you get for trying to manipulate us." The red ranger snapped and then knelt down next to Jay. "Are you okay?" She asked, her hand going to his shoulder.
"Just fine." Jay promised as he reached up and set his hand on top of hers. "And I'm glad to see you guys are too."
Audrey felt a bit hot underneath her helmet all of a sudden. "Then let's finish this off." She tried to say nonchalantly.
The large dragon zord had driven off the soldiers and the monster was all that was left. "You're going to pay for what you tried to do Invader of Nightmare." Mal promised.
"You can't stop me fools." He said.
"I think we can." Evie said. "I think you were relying on being able to divide and conquer us, because you don't have the power to take us head on."
"And it's time to find out about that." Audrey agreed. "Let's do it."
Carlos and Lonnie went first, striking the hooded monster with the double clawed daggers and double tessen. That was followed up by Mal and Jay striking with staff and scimitar, and then as they landed Audrey let an arrow fly toward Evie, who used her shield to deflect it at the monster. That was followed by a separate arrow from the red ranger. He landed hard on the ground.
"Just as we thought." Lonnie said. "You're like any nightmare, an illusion of power that can't stand up to the scrutiny of the light and the truth." She looked to her friends. "Let's end this nightmare one and for all."
The six teens combined their weapons; staff and then bow under it followed by shield and topped by scimitar, tessen and daggers. With the Auradon blaster ready to go they easily destroyed the monster.
They powered down and as Mal miniaturized her dragon zord and thanked him for the help in clearing the soldiers, Audrey threw her arms around Lonnie and Carlos now, hugging tightly for a moment. It seemed to catch the other princess off guard and it certainly caught Carlos off guard.
Then both Evie and Mal took turns giving their friends tight hugs. It made Lonnie wonder fully what had happened to them in their nightmares. Illusions they might have been but that didn't completely erase their power.
"Come on you guys." Mal said. "After the day I've had, I can't wait to be around Ben again. Let's go back home."
As the group started back Carlos whispered to Lonnie, "I'm glad that's over and done."
"Sure the monster is done." Lonnie replied back quietly. "But as for everything being done, I don't know about that." He looked at the Asian girl questioningly and she explained, "It was more than the average nightmare and just because it was just that it doesn't necessarily dismiss the trauma they endured." She glanced at her three friends, wondering what was going through their minds despite the tough façade they were throwing out there, and as she recalled some considered nightmares a foreshadowing of reality, if anything they perceived could end up becoming reality.