Nngrh… why am I awake… what is that light… I turn in my bed away from it… Even with my eyes closed, though, I can still see the pink through my eyelids… the pink light…

My eyes fly open. Oh shit. Oh fuck.

Suddenly much more awake, I propel myself to a sitting position. As I feared, it’s the gem on the front of the journal. And if Lucy is to be believed, that means that there is something happening in the Metaverse nearby…

I get on my phone and start spamming the group chat. Anja and Nova better have done what I told them to do and left their ringers on…

Thankfully, it looks like they did, as they’re starting to give me incomprehensible strings of letters in reply.

The very second the clock strikes 2:17, everyone enter the Metaverse, I direct them. Due to the time difference there, we must enter almost simultaneously or there will be a heavy delay. Actually, that makes me wonder if we’re even going to be able to get there fast enough to find out anything… But anyways, it’s 2:17, so I hit the app. Let’s hope that the others are awake enough to do their part.

And that’s how I ended up in the Metaverse at 2:17 in the god damn morning. Man, I wanna just go back to sleep.

I look around my room, which I’ve never actually seen in this form before. I don’t see anything out of the ordinary in here, just all of my same furniture. Wait a minute… how are we supposed to communicate with each other in the Metaverse?

I get my phone out, which seems to have traveled with me this time, probably because I have the app now. It was conveniently put in a pocket in my kingly robes. Ashley is able to call that Lucy chick using her phone in this world… maybe we can call each other?

I go to the “contacts” app, which seems to be one of the few that still works on here. All my usual contacts are gone, but I see Ashley and Anja listed there without any numbers. I call Anja.

“Uh… hello?” Her voice says from the other end.

“Hey. Nova here.”

“Oh, hi! Didn’t know we could use these to call each other.”

“Me neither,” I admit. “See anything weird at your place?”

“No. I’ve already looked through my house and around the outside, but I don’t see anything unusual.”

Hmm. I guess I should do that.

“Okay, let me look around mine,” I tell her. I open my door and go out into the living roomLKJDALK;JDF;LJSADF IT’S THAT WEIRD MASKED DUDE

“What wrong?” Anja asks, presumably having heard my gasp.

“It’s… THAT DARK DUDE… UH, I MEAN CHICK… SHE’S HERE! IN MY LIVING ROOM!”

“Oh no, you caught me!” The chick says, in a vaguely Darth Vader-esque voice. “How am I going to kidnap your father and little sister now?”

“Anja! Get over here!” I yell through the phone. “She’s trying to kidnap my family!”

“Got it. I’ll tell Ashley. Be there soon.” She hangs up.

I brandish Mjölnir at her threateningly. “Bitch you better get the fuck out of my home!” I tell her.

“Hmm… don’t think I will,” she says.

I charge forward and swing at her. She blocks it with a sort of electric shield. I’m worried that she’s going to go for the punish… but instead, she uses the brief moment I’m off my balance to dash across the room, her green cape gliding across the floor.

“Hey! Get back here!” I call after her.

“I thought you said you wanted me to leave!” She calls back.

This is pissing me off. I fire one of my lightning attacks at her… only for her to just redirect it around her and fire it back at me; which I then redirect again. Seeing that this isn’t going anywhere, I just slam it into the wall to my left.

Damn. If she’s faster than me, and my electric attacks don’t work, this is going to be a long fight. I hope the others get here soon…

It’s a bright sunny day, and I’m in my grandfather’s backyard, picking oranges off his orange tree. Whenever I pick one off, I hear a very loud and satisfying crack rend the air. I have eight in the basket so far- I need one more. But the last one is just barely too high for me to reach- I can only rub against it slightly with my fingertips.

Then, I hear someone coming up from behind me, and Ashley’s arm reaches over my head and grabs the last one. She sets it into my basket gently.

“You seemed like you needed a hand,” Ashley says. I turn to her, and she’s giving me a sweet smile- the kind I rarely see from her in real life. I jump up into her arms and start kissing her on the lips. The basket falls onto the ground, but I’ll worry about that later. I just enjoy the bliss for a while…

Then, something weird starts happening. I feel like I’m… sinking, somehow.

I turn my head down to my feet. There’s a puddle of black tar on the ground, and I’m slowly being consumed by it…

“Ashley! HELP ME!” I scream, feeling utter panic.

Ashley, however, looks at me thoughtfully. “I can’t help you out of this one. It looks like your dream is about to become a nightmare.”

“But I don’t want another nightmare! This dream was so happy!”

Ashley shakes her head at me. By this time, I’m down to my waist, so she sits down crisscross applesauce on the floor to be level with me.

“Zoe, make sure you remember what you and Nova talked about. Back at the Homecoming Dance.”

“Wh… what? But how do you know about that? You weren’t there!”

“The real Ashley wasn’t there, but I’m Dream Ashley, so I know all about it.” She smiles at me again. “I believe in you, Zoe. I think you’re ready.”

“What? No! I’m not ready! Please, ju-” But it’s no good. My mouth is under the tar, it’s filling my lungs, and all I feel is a horrible suffocating sensation. The last thing I see before my eyes sink underneath is Ashley picking up the basket and walking away.

Then, there’s nothing but blackness for a while. I feel like I’m being forced through a really tight tube, simultaneously not moving at all and moving way too fast.

Then suddenly, I’m back in my bed, gasping for breath as I desperately try to fill my lungs again.

Ashley’s standing over my bed, waiting patiently for me to wake up. However, something’s odd- she’s in her suit of armor. I glance around the bedroom and see that we’re back in the Metaverse.

“Ashley, what’s going on?” I ask her once I catch my breath. “Why are we here again?”

“Zoe… my love, we need to get away from here,” she tells me. “My enemies are approaching, and I must get you to a safe location.”

“Y-your enemies?” I ask. “You mean that… shapeshifting demon guy you told me about?”

She nods solemnly. “Yes, it is Moloch, and his masked servant.” She reaches her hand out for me. “Come on. Time is of the essence.”

I take her hand, and she pulls me to my feet with surprising strength. I continue clinging to her hand for dear life as she walks out of my room at a brisk pace.

She leads me out of the house, and then takes a left, walking straight through the yard.

“Where are we going, Ashley?” I ask her.

“Lucy told me of a place we can go nearby for safety,” she explains.

We continue in that direction, eventually crossing the street perpendicular to hers, and then walking towards the Methodist Church. Of course we’re going there- that made sense as a hideout.

By the time I arrive at Nova’s place, it sounds like a brawl is already well under way. I quickly run up the stairs to his unit and fling open the door.

The Dark Trooper stands on the far side of the living room closer to his TV, while Nova is in the middle. He’s just standing there panting, clearly exhausted.

Without hesitation, I lift up my gun and open fire on the Trooper. She rolls out of the way and takes shelter behind the couch. Nova seizes the opportunity to try and clobber her with Mjölnir from above, but she shields it, and he simply bounces off of her. She leaps to her feet and dashes towards me. I try to blow her back with my wind magic attack but… it doesn’t do anything. Damn, wind seems to be kinda situational. She reaches me, grabs my gun, chucks it into the hallway leading to the bathroom, and then leaps into the kitchen area.

I take the moment of respite to go help Nova to his feet.

“This bitch is… really annoying,” he tells me with his teeth bared as he regains his balance.

“Well, it’s two against one now, and we got her pinned down in the kitchen. Let’s get her!” I say to rouse him. He nods, and we both turn back towards our foe.

We walk across the lawn and through the parking lot in silence. However, instead of going past the church like usual, she leads me towards the entrance.

“Are you going to be able to fight them off?” I ask her.

She grins at me cockily. “Yes, I will have no trouble smiting those fiends. Follow me into here…”

“What brings you two here?” A gruff voice asks in the night.

I turn my head to see Ted, standing just outside the entrance walkway.

“Ted! Moloch is coming to attack us!” I explain to him. “Can you help Ashley fight him off?”

“I certainly can. I…” However, he stops mid-sentence and starts glaring at Ashley suspiciously.

“What are you looking at me like that for?” She asks indignantly. “I can’t waste any more time. I’m going to get Zoe to safety.”

Without any sort of warning whatsoever, Ted pulls out his pistol and shoots Ashley right through the chest, tearing through her armor like tissue paper.

As it turns out, having her pinned down in the kitchen doesn’t give us as much of an advantage as I’d hope. She just keeps using the counter for cover against all of our attacks, and then when we try to jump over or run around to get her, she switches to the other side. Even after I run off to retrieve my gun, it barely helps.

And I begin to notice something odd about her fighting style, specifically that she’s not really doing much fighting. She’s almost entirely using evasion and defensive tactics. Almost as if…

After jumping over the counter to evade us yet again, the Trooper runs back into the living room.

“She’s getting away!” Nova shouts hoarsely. He makes to run after her, but I hold out my arm to stop him.

“Hold on, Nova. Things aren’t quite what they seem.”

“What do you mean?” he asks.

“I think she’s just... stalling us,” I say. “Notice how she’s not actually trying to do much damage?”

“Stalling us for what?” he asks, his eyes wide.

“Let’s go find out,” I say. We walk into the living room, this time more orderly, to find her sitting on the back of the couch, looking almost bored.

I’m about to open my mouth to ask her a question; but then, the door slams open.

“Finally made it here, huh?” Nova asks Ashley, slightly tauntingly, as the latter brandishes her sword at the Trooper.

For a moment, I’m totally dumbfounded at what just happened.

Then, I watch in even more confusion as, right in front of my eyes, the hole in Ashley’s chest stitches itself together, and the armor connects again, as if nothing had ever happened.

Ashley looks utterly furious. “You stupid little rodent,” she spits. Then, forms a sort of ball with her hands in midair, and Ted begins floating. All of his limbs and his head shoot back into his shell. Ashley tosses one of her hands up, causing Ted to fly really far into the air and behind us.

“A-Ashley, why did you do that to Ted?” I ask, absolutely horrified.

“Don’t you have eyes? He shot me. Come on.” She grabs me by the arm and starts trying to pull me into the church. I resist, however.

“What the hell are you doing, Zoe? Come with me!” she growls at me.

“Ashley… when I played Super Smash Bros. with my brothers, what character did I play as?”

“What? How should I know that?”

“I told you, Ashley. Remember?”

She rolls her eyes at me. “Uh, I’m guessing you played as Pit and did nothing but spam side-B.”

I shake my head. “No, Ashley. That’s not it…”

“Well, how am I supposed to remember such a stupid detail about your life?” she barks at me.

“Okay, f-fine. Ashley… what Disney movie were you watching when you realized you were a lesbian?”

She thinks about it for a moment. “Um… Mulan.”

“Hold up a minute, Ash,” I tell Ashley before she can do anything. “We think that she’s just trying to stall us.”

The Trooper laughs, the voice modulator making the noise sound strange and eerie. “Ah, you’ve finally puzzled it out. Well done. You know, I really wish that you wouldn’t poke your nose around in these dangerous matters. But recklessness is a family trait, I suppose…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I shout back at her, raising my weapon. “You don’t know anything about my family!”

“Anja, she’s just trying to wind you up,” Ashley points out. “So, you’re stalling us, huh?”

“Yes, of course I am!” she replies gleefully. “Why on earth do you think we’d want to mess with some fast-food worker and his smart mouthed daughter? You should’ve been more worried about your sweet little girlfriend…”

Ashley’s face contorts into a slightly alarming, stone cold expression. “What did you say.”

The Trooper snickers. “Well, I think I’ve stalled you long enough. She’ll be long gone by now. And by th…”

Before she can finish, Ashley swings her sword through the air with tremendous speed and slices one of the Trooper’s legs clean off. A pale, feminine leg falls down, getting some blood onto the couch and floor.

The Trooper screams a horrible scream, points her gun straight at Ashley, and shoots her with some sort of strange dart. It hits Ashley square in the neck and causes her to start squirming uncontrollably on the floor, an electric current running through her body. Then, the Trooper sets her hand on top of the gun, and simply teleports away.

I lean down to Ashley, who is still overcome with painful spasms, and I yank the dart out of her neck. She goes still, and then shortly afterwards starts getting to her feet, the blood from the floor now dripping down her armor.

“Are you okay?” I ask her.

“I’m fine,” she says firmly, even though she’s still trembling a little bit. “Come on. Let’s go,” she commands.

It doesn’t occur to me for a second to disobey.

I start desperately trying to free myself from her grip, tears pouring down my face. That’s not her… that’s not the real Ashley…

“Stop with this bullshit, Zoe!” She yells at me, her eyes full of malice. She starts pulling me by my arm, using so much force that I can’t resist it. I’m dragged through the church entrance, and then into the sanctuary.

She seems to be dragging me towards the front, where a strange, oily and glassy substance is along the wall at the very front of the room. I kick out with my feet against the pews, trying to get more leverage.

“Quit being a stupid little girl,” she growls at me. “I guess I should’ve just left you to die, hmm?”

“Th-the real Ashley would… sniff… never talk to me like that!” I shout back at her, tears pouring down my face all the same.

“Figured it out, have you?” She says. “Not like it matters. It’s too late. I’m going to take your useless life with me as payback against that bitch for trying to meddle in my plans. And without you, they’ll be useless to go against my glorious creation…”

Abandoning pretense, she flings me over her shoulder and into the bench at the front with tremendous speed. The impact makes me feel bruises all along my back, and it hurts enough to make my eyes wet.

“Of course, they’d be useless against it even with you, I reckon,” she says, walking up to me with an uncanny smirk. She’s breathing deeply for some reason… like she’s enjoying the smell of the air. Each breath makes her smile seem more twisted…

“Y… you’re not… treating me… like… this,” I manage to weakly cough out. I feel something strange inside of me…

Suddenly, Fake Ashley looks at me with alarm. “Wait a minute… what are you doing?” She asks frantically.

And suddenly, I’m back in the backyard, sitting on the ground by the orange tree. As peaceful as if none of it had ever happened.

However, someone new is here. A few feet away from me is a gorgeous woman. She has flowing blonde hair and an ornate, patterned green dress that sways freely in the wind, occasionally revealing more of her smooth legs and bare feet. But her most conspicuous feature was a pair of wings that came from her back, clear like a dragonfly’s. She was holding the basket of oranges I had picked earlier.

“Um… hello?” I say uncertainly. “Who are you?”

“I am thou, thou art I…” she giggles a little bit. “Zoe, it’s time for me to lend you my power.”

She gestures at the basket. “You’ve done good work. But why live your whole life for the sake of others? Maybe you should do something for yourself for once.”

“B-but, working for the good of others is a virtue!” I argue. “It’s how we should live as Christians.”

“Yes, but which others, Zoe?” she replies. “What if you’re ordered to do nothing when something needs you? Or to do the wrong thing? In that case… you have sinned. In what you’ve done, and in what you’ve left undone.”

I sit there for a moment, understanding of what she’s saying dawning upon me.

I rise to my feet. “Okay…”

She smiles proudly at me. “Good. Lovely as it is, it’s time to leave this place behind… forever this time.”

My body begins to convulse. A mask appears on her face, and as if following orders, I reach up and tear it off. The pain is unbearable for a moment, and I scream in a shrill voice, blood pouring out of where the mask was removed. Then, my body is engulfed in blue fire, and I can feel myself being reborn from the flames... I emerge wearing a golden headband over my hair, a fancy dress with a sparkly gold torso and short sleeves, a flowing white skirt, and a gorgerine with a complex green and red pattern hanging over my shoulders. I’m now carrying a gold-plated semi-auto shotgun with a thin barrel.

Fake Ashley looks at me with mild annoyance. “Well, I guess I should’ve just killed you back in the house, then. I thought I’d drag you into the Shadow Realm and have a nice feast at your expense… but whatever. Have it your way.” Then, in the blink of an eye, she lunges for me.