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"So, what's going on in the kingdom right now? Why did the Holy Knights suddenly decide to stage a coup d'etat?" Meli asked , looking at King, who seemed to be deep in thought. There was a lot to contemplate at the moment; we were all aware that the best course of action would be to search for either Ban's, Meli's, or Diane's sacred treasure, but we had no leads as to where they were, or whether or not they were still in Liones. The question was rather unimportant at the moment.

"I'm not sure," King frowned, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. "But I do know that somethings wrong with the Holy Knights as a general population. It's their sworn duty to protect the people, yet instead of doing so, they prepare for war. The castle is on high alert as well- I hear nobody except approved Holy Knights can enter or exit..."

Ellie's eyes lit up as she heard that, and she hurriedly shouted; "U-uhm, Lord King! Are my father and sisters okay?"

"I apologize, but I have not been there in person..." he replied, seeming genuinely apologetic for not being able to give her a proper answer.

"Oh..." she said quietly, looking down at the floor, sadly. "I... I see..."

There was an uncomfortable silence that lasted an unnecessarily long time. All of us seemed to be lost in our own thoughts, thinking about various parts of the upcoming mission. It was a few moments before the captain finally spoke.

"I think it's time we all head inside," he said, "It's late and we need sleep."

"Yeah," I replied over-enthusiastically, "I agree! This awkward silence has gone on for too long."

I turned toward the tavern, the first one to head for the door. When I pushed it open, there was a small 'cling' that came from the bell attatching to the top of the door frame. The bar was empty- which was to be expected, since we were in a town with no living residents- but it was still rather odd to see a place that should be bustling with activity entirely empty.

I yawned, bending backwards with my hands on the small of my back so that my spine cracked. After I felt the rising tension in my muscles be relieved, I returned to my normal standing position and began making my way up to Ellie and I's shared room. When I entered, I nearly fell back down the stairs when I saw a shirtless Ban passed out on- what used to be- Ellie's bed.

My first question was how in the world he got up here before me. My second question was why the hell he was in Ellie's bed. My third question was how he fell asleep so fast.

I groaned, walking down the hall to Meli's room. I kicked open the door, cheeks puffed out and hands on my hips. He was closing the window, while chatting calmly with Ellie, who was sitting on his bed.

"Why the hell is Ban in her bed?" I demanded, and Meli glanced over his shoulder at me. He grinned.

"Yeah, he decided that bed was his about ten minutes ago," he chuckled, before wiggling his eyebrows at me. "I thought it was a win-win situation. I sleep with Elizabeth and you sleep with Ban."

"Oh, shut up!" I huffed, my cheeks flushing lightly. "And there is no way she is sleeping with you!"

"Don't worry, (y/n)," Hawk's voice sighed from behind me. I looked, finding the pig with a large rope in his mouth. "I've got that part covered. No way am I gonna let that pervert sleep with Elizabeth without the necessary precautions."

I frowned for no reason in particular, watching Hawk enter the room and approach Meli. At this point, I was too tired to debate any further. I was not at all comfortable with sleeping in the same room as Ban, but I was tired and uncomfortable... and kinda drunk. I was in no shape to debate who should sleep where, nor did I want to.

So, I lugged my tired ass back down the hall and into the two-bed room where Ban was snoring. I closed the door behind me, slipping off my cloak. I dug through my backpack, pulling out comfortable shorts and a large shirt to sleep in, putting them on in a fashion that was... rather uncomfortable, but still prevented anybody from seeing any part of my body I wasn't comfortable with. I tossed my usual outfit onto the floor next to my bag with my cloak before flopping down onto the bed and promptly falling asleep.

I was suddenly somewhere extremely dark, an eerie purple glow emanating from the darkness. There was no singular source, it seemed that it was coming from the ground itself. Or, the lack thereof, I should say. There was a strange sensation covering my being, and I sensed several, relatively familiar magical presences. I couldn't put my finger on what they were, though. It seemed to be right on the tip of my tongue...

There was a sudden, loud scream. It sounded like a child who was enduring an excruciating amount of pain. I furrowed my brow, whirling around in an attempt to find the source. I was only met by the purpley atmosphere, that seemed to expand out endlessly.

There was another scream, this one sounding less childish than the last one and more like a woman. Followed almost immediatly after was a gut-wrenching male scream. I scrunched up my face as more scream echoed, the sound becoming unbearable. I went down on my knees, gripping my hands over my ears in attempt to tune them out. The screams continued, overlapping over each other and becoming increasingly louder with each yell.

It was excruciatingly painful to listen to. Nails grinding against chalkboards is what it sounded like. My entire being shuddered, the uncomfortable shift etching it's way across my insides. I scrunched my face up further, tightening my grip against my ears and closing my eyes.

"Stop it..." I muttered, opening one eye. Now I was in what looked to be in a town in Liones, but... not.

Buildings were lit aflame and people were screaming, running away from an unknown threat. My eyes widened in surprise as I got off my knees, suddenly very alert. I ran forward, grabbing the nearest civilian. The woman looked distressed, fighting against my grip to get as far away as possible.

"What's happening?!" I demanded as she continued to squirm and look backward in distress. "What are you running from?!"

"They're here! The demons, they're here!!" She screamed, causing my eyes to widen in shock. She used this opportunity to escape my grip and run away. I turned in the direction from which the people were running, only to see ten looming shadows. Each had deep purple eyes with slender, black bodies that had no particular shape. Havoc followed them as they moved toward me with unsuspected determination.

My eyes widened in fear as I stumbled backward, a boy who looked strangely like Meli stepping out from one of the shadows and walking toward me. His eyes were entirely black, so he had no identifiable iris. It was painfully obvious that the black-haired Meli was looking at me, grinning evilly. He was a demon- a very, very powerful one.... and very, very scary one.

"You abandoned us..." a sour, scratchy voice echoed from his throat. The screams and crackles of fire turned out, so that it was silence. His voice was the only thing echoing in the quiet, repeating the same phrase. The other nine shadows seemed to be chanting with him. "You abandoned us... You abandoned us...! You abandoned us! You abandoned us!"

They progressively got louder until my head was filled with their raspy, terrifying shouts. I choked, eyes closing as I curled into a fetal position. I clutched my head again, shaking it. Unwanted tears leaked down my cheeks, leaving wet stains behind.

"No I didn't," I cried quietly, causing their shouts to grow even louder. I felt my head pound with each syllable. "I didn't..."

"YOU ABANDONED US!"

I felt a warm liquid seep down the palm of my hand, running down my forearm and dripping into the floor, which was now the blackish-purple that it was originally. Blood. My ears were bleeding; and it hurt. It felt like my ears were going to explode. Like my brain was going to explode.

"YOU ABANDONED US!"

"No, I didn't," I cried, this time a bit louder. They continued to shout. "No... No! I didn't! I DIDN'T!"

The yelling ceased with my sudden cry, replacing itself with silence once again. I continued to clutch my ears, hearing their shouts echoing in the depths of my mind, not allowing another thought.

"I didn't..." I muttered, still trying to convince myself. "I didn't abandon you..."

"You did..." whispered a voice, not the raspy one from before, but still a rather haunting one. I opened my eyes, releasing my head. Across from me was a little girl, sitting down in the same fetal position that I was in. She had the purple markings over almost her entire body, her eyes glazed over in the blackish-purple that demons always had. "You did."

"No, Amelia, I-"

Her head separated from her body as a large blade surged toward her. A disturbing amount of blood spurted from her abandoned neck, flowing down her originally blue dress and staining it a deep purple. Her head discarded to the side, blood flowing out of its base. Her purple eyes had faded back to their natural green, which had glazed over and become hauntingly empty.

I screamed, scooting myself backward frantically as I held my hand over my mouth. I stared at her body with wide eyes, staying in my position as if I would die if I moved in any way.

"A-Amelia...?" I whimpered, extending my hand out toward her body. I retracted it as her body slumped over, lifeless. "Oh, god..."

"You abandoned us," said her voice, causing my head to shoot in the direction of her disembodied head. Her mouth was slightly parted, moving as she repeated the phrase. Her voice was slightly gargled and blood spilled from her mouth and severed neck as she spoke.

"Nononononono," I cried, shutting my eyes and covering my ears again. The voice multiplied, several different tones mingling with the small girl's, each with the same, blood-filled speech. I opened a single eye, which proved a massive mistake.

There were thousands of people I recognized- family, friends, and even a few old acquaintances- that were in the same, disgusting position as the little girl. Their heads lay on the floor near their headless bodies as they chanted 'You abandoned us.' over and over again. Blood spurted from their wounds, leaking over their collective black outfits and staining the, once again purple, floor.

I shut my eyes, covering my ears as I sobbed. Their chants were quiet singularly, but got extremely loud as they spoke together. I couldn't block out all the noise, so all I heard was their gurgled voices as they floated around me. Tears leaked down my cheeks, and I felt them drip onto my legs and arms.

"Please stop..." I whispered, knowing it wouldn't stop all the horrific noises I was hearing. I had to do something, though- to keep myself from drowning in the sorrow more than I already was.

I didn't... they were wrong, so I fought for what I thought was right. What was right. That's not abandonment, is it? I just... they're wrong...

"(Y/N)..." their voices said collectively.

"Stop, please! Please..."

"(Y/N)..." they said again, but it sounded different. Their collective voices seemed like an undertone, highlighting the words of a singular person.

"I know! I left you, okay?!"

"(Y/N)! Wake up, you lazy ass!"

My body shot upward as I breathed heavily, looking vigorously at my surroundings. Ban was standing next to my bed, a raised eyebrow accompanying his usual, indifferent expression. My breathing slowed as I realized I was back in the Boar Hat, where I had fallen asleep.

"Jeez," Ban sighed, "You look like death."

I glared at him, "Thanks. You look terrible too."

"Wow, no need to get vicious, Flamey," he said, smirking lightly. His expression quickly changed back to its normal, stoic self. "So, what's gotcha so spooked?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I hummed, yawning loudly as I swung my legs over the side of my bed.

"Oh please," he scoffed, "I thought you said you weren't stupid."

"Look, it was just a nightmare," I sighed, looking at him. "Nothing to worry about."

"Well, I mean," he spoke, "you were practically sobbing and kept saying 'I didn't' and 'no'. I'd say it's something to worry about just a little bit."

My eyebrows furrowed as my hand connected with my cheek. Sure enough, it was wet. I glanced back at my bed, where the side of the pillow was singed and there was a small tear stain next to it. I cringed, wiping my face with the neck of my shirt to get rid of the tear tracks.

"Night terror," I corrected myself, and he rolled his eyes. He turned away from me and I frowned, seeing him walking toward the doorway. What was with that dream..?

"Whatever, shorty," he sighed, "The captain wants you downstairs to help out with customers when we get to wherever the hell we're going."

"No problem, Tree Legs," I replied, not at all present in the conversation. I faintly heard him sigh, but I wasn't paying attention to him anymore. I had pushed the dream out of my thoughts, deciding it would be better if I ignored it and continued my day as if nothing happened. I was now searching for my clothes, which I could not find. They were not where I remember tossing them last might, and I couldn't find any of my extra outfits.

As the door closed behind him, I furrowed my brows. I swear I had thrown them right next to my bag... None of the outfits I had brought with me were anywhere to be seen, it was like they all had vanished. I turned around; maybe I left them in my bed...?

I froze as soon as I saw what I had dreaded most...

The Boar Hat uniform.

I grit my teeth together, staring at the stupidly revealing outfit laying on the end of my bed. I glared at it, hoping that if I stared long enough it would change into my normal clothes (which weren't too much better in terms of revealing my body, but I at least have a cloak to cover myself up when I wanted to. It wasn't a skirt that practically showed off my panties and a skin-tight button up. -_-)

I growled grabbing the clothes as I stormed toward the door.

"I swear to god, Meliodas, you are going to hell for this."

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