In one month's time, this life he had come to know may abruptly cease. He tried not to think about this, but with all of the chaos sprouting up piece by piece, he couldn't help but become overwhelmed. Everything he hadn't known he wanted to know, but not so much that it would cost him his sanity!

     And after those attacks before, he was now too paranoid to leave his mindspace. If that guy, whoever it really was, was still out there, he couldn't risk it. He knew this was a dream, but those strikes felt too real, and if a vital spot was hit, how would that feel? What would happen? Whether the risk was real or not, that person was after him for some reason.

     It was too much of a danger.

     "Hey." Ambrose's voice startled the brunette, his eyes blinking wide as the rampaging inner questions suddenly came to a halt. His companion smirked wickedly, as if this was amusing to him. "We're gonna be holding a meet-up in my mindspace. I should actually get going now. Wanna come along? It might benefit you, you know?"

     'We'? Those friends of his, huh?

     Hollis couldn't help but find them all too weird for his liking. But still, they were all from the real world. The things they discussed would most definitely be to his benefit. Then again, after thinking that same thing before, it had only led to trouble.

     To go or not to go. That is the question...

     "C'mooon." Ambrose nudged Hollis with his elbow, a bright glint of mischief passed over his sharp gaze as he squinted. "Everyone was helping out. Trying to grab info on you, I mean. They all lent a hand so you should go and thank them."

     "I guess you have a good point," Hollis admitted with clear grimace.

     When the pair reached Ambrose's palace of a mindspace, it was empty of any life. None of the others had showed yet. "Guess we got the place to ourselves for a bit. Who knew!" Ambrose let out a hearty laugh.

     Did he just drag me along, knowing full-well no one else was here yet? What's with him?

     With an air of confidence, the muscular youth flipped back to face Hollis. In this lighting, one could clearly see the two distinguishing colors in his hair: light browns in the shadows, and bright golds in the light. It was quite a magnificent phenomenon.

     Ambrose noticed the awe-struck stare of his friend and his comfy smirk grew more impish. "Are you really so in awe of my beauty? Boy, did I model myself so perfectly, didn't I?"

     Was that even proper English?

     "Could you lower your narcissism a little?"

     "Aw, you're really no fun, huh?" There was a slight ring of disappointment in his words, but nevertheless he persevered. "Anyway, let's get inside. I wanna talk to you a little."

     "Couldn't you have done that back in my space?"

     "Sure. But like I said, I'm waiting for the others, so it's a bit more convenient for me if we're here." He peered back for only a moment before looking away as they stepped into the massive structure.

     "There was...something I wanted to ask you." His tone was low and had that odd downtrodden sound to it. Hollis's mind was eager to jump back to the attacker, but he clamped his mouth shut and let the taller boy finish. "While I was searching for you, some things about Somnium came up that I found...interesting."

     "What's that have to do with me, though? I mean, aside from me being a Somnium."

     Ambrose's lips curled into a soft smile as he turned to face Hollis. Silence hung over the two. All Hollis could hear was his heart pounding louder and louder. Ambrose seemed to be watching him with a look that seemed unbefitting of him; still and methodical. At a leisurely pace, his gaze wandered away from the smaller boy.

     Just as he went to speak a sweet, yet winded voice interrupted. "Heey!"

     Hollis nearly jumped from his skin as he felt a hand latch onto his back.

     "I made it...but not before you two, huh?" Terra leaned forward, her cheek nearly pressing against Hollis's as she looked over his shoulder. Ambrose chuckled, setting his hands on his hips and dropping his head to the side. "You're always spot on when it comes to meet-ups, Terra."

     "Of course. I never liked being late." Her smile broadened when her eyes settled back on Hollis. She released him and moved next to Ambrose. "It's nice to see you here, Hollis."

     "R-right." He wasn't sure how to respond to this. Having spoken only with Ambrose, he was accustomed now to that outgoing, mischievous boy running the conversations. This girl seemed more inclined to listen than to speak.

     Noticing the obvious awkwardness in the boy's demeanor, Terra giggled that raspy giggle of hers. "Ah! Ammy? Did you tell him already?"

     Ambrose's mouth sank to the side, his eyes trailing off once more, as if this would help him avoid the topic. Again came silence.

     "I was about to..." Turning his attention to Hollis with a clear stoicism in his movements, he said, "There's...a killer running rampant."

     Hollis felt his body go stiff. His hand slipped quietly into his jacket pocket, and he felt the blade that had pierced his flesh sitting there.

     "Oh, he looks so...shocked." Terra's voice carried pity as she approached, running her hand over his hair like he was a scared child. "They say...he's been out there for a while..."

     "The only reason any articles were written on him was because he attacked some regular dreamers."

     "Hm? What does that mean?"

     "It means that, up until now, he was only going after Somnium. The police didn't want to get involved since he was only taking out people who were breaking the law." There was a shift in his expression, his muscles tensed, and a severe sneer seemed to momentarily brush his lips. But as quickly as it came, it settled away.

     Seeing this, Hollis's guilt came rising back up. How could I have thought it was him? It clearly couldn't have been him who attacked me...

     "I see... But why didn't you tell me earlier?"

     "Well, I thought you'd have been safe in your mindspace and all, but..." His eyes narrowed as they seemed to burrow deeply into Hollis. Crossing his arms, he turned away.

     Silence.

     Hollis was unsure what this meant, and Terra herself was clearly just as confused. Upon glancing down, Hollis realized what Ambrose had been looking at. The slit in his shirt was still there. His wounds had healed, but the shirt still had that cut in it. Albeit, it was barely noticeable unless he turned certain ways, but it was still there for all to see, and clearly, Ambrose had noticed.

     He knew he had been attacked.

     "Y-yeah. I saw him. He attacked me."

     Terra's expression froze, her mouth agape. Ambrose turned back, his brows low over his eyes. He looked like he wanted to speak but said nothing.

     "He attacked me earlier, twice in fact."

     "Why didn't you say anything?"

     "Well, I'd like to know why you didn't say anything first. Sure, I'm stuck in my room most of the time, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested in knowing when a killer is running around."

     "Girls, girls~" Terra waved her hands slowly as she wandered weakly between the two. The static in the air was nearly tangible. "You both have your reasons...for not saying anything, right? Is that so bad?"

     When the risk of death is involved, I think so. Though he thought this, Hollis didn't have the guts to say it and thus, he kept mum.

     The taller boy had stood still, but suddenly he turned away. "Alright, I get it. Maybe...maaaybe I should have told you before... But I found out just this morning. Would that have made a difference?"

     Hollis tried to swallow, but his throat felt like it had closed up.

     That morning? If Ambrose only came when he was sleeping, he likely would have been able to tell Hollis only  after the attack had already happened. If Ambrose had noticed the slit in his shirt when they met up in the mindspace, he probably realized right then that it was from the killer. He must have thought it would have been inappropriate to bring it up right after he had just been attacked. That's why he was waiting. 

     Hollis couldn't come up with any sort of rebuttal and only shook his head. Again, he felt like a jerk.

     "There! See?" Terra grabbed both of them by their wrists and pulled them closer. "Now it's time...to hug!"

     "N-no hugs!"

     "I'm good. Thanks, Terra."

     Hollis was surprised. While he had started to lose his cool, Ambrose had remained steadfast. Even now he was smiling again.

     Soon enough, the smile faded and he spoke, returning to the topic at hand. "We don't know how long this guy has been out there exactly. No news outlets had covered it, and the police hadn't started looking into it until more people started to complain when they realized anyone could be a target. But the biggest reason no one had heard about this until now is that...no one has escaped this guy."

     "Ah? For real?"

     That can't be right, he thought. Him of all people? He got away when no one else could?

     "That's so scary." Terra shivered, running her hands up and down her bare arms.

     Hollis gripped his bicep as he felt his stomach turn. Ambrose watched him with, what seemed to be the utmost interest. "Why do you think he let you go?"

     "Does it matter? I'm alive, aren't I? Then again...how can anyone die? If these are all dreams..."

     "They used to say...if you die in your dream, you die in real life. It's like that."

     "Specifically, I heard that they're all beheaded. This Somnium killer is removing the heads, severing the connection from the chip to the rest of the body. With the connection cut off, you're basically dead in a matter of seconds. It's a sort of 'simulated death' that tricks the chip into shorting out a person's brain." Turning his attention back to Hollis, he asked again, "Why do you think he spared you? Did you do something to scare him off?"

     "W-well, kind of..." He didn't want to say it. He didn't want to say, "I tore away his face covering and saw it was you". Even if he just said, "he saw his face", that would lead to the question of, "what did he look like?"

     "Well, maybe. I'm not too sure. It was really weird."

     "It sounds like...he has his sights set on you." Terra ran her thin fingers through her golden locks as she spoke, her lips puckered as she seemed to ponder the idea.

     "We need to know a little more before we can assume that." There was a light chuckle as he said this, but his brows were furrowed and his eyes dark. "If you tell us exactly what happened, we might be able to piece things together a little more, right?"

     Hollis had begun to assume the frequent questions at the end of the things Ambrose said were just pure habit, and he wasn't truly asking, just using them as a form of affirmation. So, as much as he wanted to say 'no', he figured Ambrose wasn't really asking.

     Suddenly, he heard a commotion at his back and felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder, a very big hand.

     "Hey! It's Hollis! Fancy seeing you here!" Tic let out a joyful laugh as he laid down three rough pats to Hollis's shoulder before moving on. Noodle followed behind the large, shouting man and behind him, Shyed, who, like Noodle, seemed to be paying no mind to anyone in the room. It was almost like those two were lost in their own worlds. What were they even doing here?

     Ambrose and Terra greeted the group with pleasant smiles and handshakes. Now, just as before, Hollis was ready to leave. He felt like he didn't need any further information and was good to go, but deep down there was a part of him that was aware that this would all be for the best. He needed to stay just a little longer, and then he could go.