"Erm…" Moxy stirred. Her eyes fluttered open, darkness licking the edge of her vision.

"What… what happened?" she whispered with a crackly voice, a side effect of her abnormally parched throat. A dead branch lay beside her, and rocks and sand poked her back.

"Awake at last," A familiar, scraping voice rang.

"Crap." Moxy palmed her face. "I shouldn't even be surprised at this point. Just get on with it."

There was silence for a few seconds, and nothing happened. With a raised brow, Moxy sat up, rubbing her eyes.

Desolate couldn't even describe what she saw. Dead trees dotted the sandy landscape she was in, and that was it. Just dunes of sand for miles under a gray, cloudy sky. It was all so…

"Depressing," The voice said. "I expected better from you, champion. Couldn't even kill the lad, eh?"

Moxy looked to where the voice was speaking from, and her heart jumped. There, half-buried in the sand, were the remains of a human skeleton. The worst part about it was the red, ghostly ball inhabiting its skull.

"Stop calling me that. I'm not your champion!" She was firm. Her shoulders ached as if she'd been asleep for years.

"And I'm not a killer."

"How noble," The skeleton spat out in sarcasm. "And what of our contract?"

"I'm working on it," Moxy fumed, brushing sand off her clothes. "Nothing's changed since the last time we spoke."

"Ah, I see."

And that was the end of their conversation. Moxy just sat in silence, staring at the skeleton. Despite the desolation surrounding her, its emptiness was soothing. A cool wind breezed through her crimson hair.

Like the calm before the storm, she became suddenly curious as to what would attack her first. Would the sand give in and eat her up? Will the wind turn violent and rip her to pieces? What if the skeleton climbed out of its grave and bludgeoned her to death?

"Yes, so many choices to feed my violent tendencies," The skeleton answered. "But alas, it would prove fruitless. You've become… accustomed to this."

"Hmph." Moxy frowned. "You could also stop reading my mind. It's creepy and weird."

"How else am I to make conversation?"

"You could tell me who King Caltis Grieviron is, for starters."

There was a long, drawn-out sigh from the skeleton. The orb in its head grew a bit brighter, and some of the clouds parted to reveal a splatter of stars in the deep space.

"Long ago, he conquered the region of sands. He held great power, and revered no deity on this plane except for the fabricator of elements."

"Do you mean Arceus?" Moxy tilted her head.

"Are you listening? I said no deity!" he roared with disgust.

"U-uhh… elements?" she racked her mind quickly. "So, the Regi Trio?"

He chortled, acknowledging her. "Yes. The Colossal. The King traveled this plane searching for its underling, the titan of clay. And when he discovered it, King Caltis brought the titan down to its knees and created lush land for his subjects to thrive in."

Moxy went wide-eyed. "You're saying the desert region used to be… a place people lived in?"

"The arms of willows grew over its rolling, grassy hills. Seated in the very middle, his tower overlooked the entirety of his people's domain."

"He sounds like a nice-" Moxy withdrew from another roar.

"NO! HE WAS A FOOL! He terrorized his people! Subjected his only loyal follower to centuries of torture!"

"S-sorry!" Moxy squirmed. The skeleton's breath fumed like a raging fire for a moment, but it receded along with its intensity.

"…Powerful, he was. But there is reason not a single soul sings his requiem…"

Moxy ruminated on the words. "So the King trapped you? And now you're trying to escape?"

There was a moment of silence, and the voice became strained like it was on the verge of a sob.

"It's all I wish."

The wind whooshed through her hair again. Moxy shut her eyes and listened. Despite all the horrible things this being did to her, hearing its story made her heart ache. She imagined if someone she trusted were to trap her for eternity. All the while begging someone to free her. And in this demon's desperation, it killed her. She didn't know if that justified its actions enough, even though she was still breathing well and alive.

"I feel sorry for you," was all Moxy knew to say.

Suddenly, a spot of sand near Moxy gave out, revealing a hole shining with white light and tiny, purple globules rising from it.

"You tire me. Leave."

Moxy looked at it for a second, dumbstruck.

"This is a trick, right? You're telling me I can just end this dream right now?"

"Yes."

Moxy widened her eyes. "Seriously?!"

The laugh rippled throughout the field. "So excited you became at that very moment. Don't be shy now."

Moxy stood up quickly. If what it was saying was true, she could leave. She just had to step through the ominous-looking hole.

"However…" the voice stopped her. "Allow me to offer you something before you go."

There was a rumble beside her as more sand began to take form. First, legs. Then, a strong, tall body. Lastly, the sand washed over a familiar face.

"Charles?!" Moxy whispered in disbelief. Rather than run to him, she fell back in horror. If he knew all the things she'd been doing…

She couldn't even bear to look at him.

However, he didn't respond. His body just stood there, looking straight into the horizon with glossy eyes.

"What's wrong with him?"

"A figment of your imagination," The skeleton answered."You love this creature, don't you?"

"W-what!? No, it's not like that! He's just my friend." Moxy's face turned just as red as the spirit inside the skeleton's skull.

"You can't fool me. All of you humans are the same. You all require that insufferable emotion."

Moxy turned away. She didn't know. Ever since that day Charles almost confessed, confusion had festered her mind on the subject. She liked him, sure. But she couldn't be with him. Ever since they met, Moxy always knew Charles was the type to risk his life for anyone he cared about. Unfortunately, her pathetic life was not worth the risk.

Suddenly, Charles turned back into sand just as quickly as he was built.

"No, wait!" Moxy cried desperately, clawing her hands through the cold sand.

"Fret not, my champion. A lord of nightmares, I am. But what are nightmares without dreams?" The voice was distorted in her mind, almost enthralling her."I am nothing short of a dealer. Tell me your wishes. Your… fantasies. I shall sell them to you."

"S-sell?" Moxy looked at the skull. "Wha… what do you want? Money?"

Another laugh boomed out, this time louder. "How quaint. I have no use for something so corporeal. The other girl. Your… friend. So… cheery, she is. Allow me to feast on her dreams. In return, I'll release you from my nightmarish grip. Not a bad bargain, eh? All you must do is hold your palm on her head during her inevitable slumber."

Before she knew it, the sand underneath Moxy turned into liquid. She tried to dig her way out, but she was sinking too fast into the hole. The red ball in the skull shone brighter than everything else in the wasteland, and it almost resembled an eye now.

"Sleep on it. On the next moon, I'll beckon you back here. And we shall see if you did indeed heed my request."

With a scream, Moxy fell into the darkness.

A/N: Happy Early Halloween, friends! I hope this spooky-ish chapter somewhat satiated your appetite! I would love to hear your guesses about this mysterious pokemon... or demon, who seems hellbent on ruining our protagonist's dreams.

All in all, I appreciate you guys reading, and apologies for the lack of posting. I started a new semester of college and I am so chin-high in homework that it's really hard to find time to work and edit this to my unfortunately high standards. Nonetheless, I've made finishing this fic a priority, so I appreciate your patience while I do so. I'm nearly done with Episode 5, and I'll be releasing that as soon as I start Episode 6.

Thanks, and cheers!