Knock...knock...knock!
Emily grunted as she rubbed her eyes, throwing the pillow over her head.
Knock...knock...knock!
"Fuck off!" Emily grumbled as she rolled over in the bed. Her head throbbed like a thousand needles were poking at her skull.
"Emily of Leonore...wake the hell up. It's almost noon!"Rachel screamed as she banged on the door.
"Can you just give me an extra hour? I am sure the ENGINE wouldn't mind," Emily replied as she yawned and wrapped herself in the blanket.
"You don't get up, you don't ever get waffles again." Elijah threatened from the other side of the door.
"What the fuck....that's fucking low," Emily grumbled as she forced herself up, rubbing the bags under her eyes.
"ł Ⱨ₳VɆ ₮Ø ₳₲ⱤɆɆ."
"Nobody asked you," Emily whispered to herself as she stared blankly at the wall.
"You say something?!" Shiyu asked as she lightly tapped on the door.
"I said I'm coming! Let me just brush my damn teeth!" Emily yelled as she rubbed her cheeks and groaned.
"Well, make it quick, the ENGINE will wake in a few minutes!" Rachel said.
Emily scoffed as she lifted herself off the bed and shambled towards the bathroom. She flicked the light on, then rubbed her face as she approached the sink. Her shimmering emerald eyes flickered with mulberry as she looked at her reflection.
"ɎØɄ ⱠØØ₭....₵Ø₦₣Ʉ₴ɆĐ...ł ₩Ø₦ĐɆⱤ ₩ⱧɎ?"
"I wish you would just fuck off. Haunt someone else or whatever the fuck you are," Emily mumbled to herself as she brushed her teeth.
"ØⱧ ł₴ ₮Ⱨ₳₮ ₩Ⱨ₳₮ ɎØɄⱤ ₵₳ⱠⱠł₦₲ ł₮ ₦Ø₩? Her reflection replied with a Cheshire smile, and its pale ivory skin glitched with static.
"Emily...hurry the fuck up!" Rachel yelled as she banged on the door.
"I'm coming...I'm coming!" Emily replied as she turned off the faucet and spat in the sink.
"ł ₩łⱠⱠ ฿Ɇ Ɽł₲Ⱨ₮ ฿ɆⱧł₦Đ ɎØɄ Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳₳!"
"Har...har going to go find me a damn exorcist."
"ØⱧ ₦Ø...₩Ⱨ₳₮ ₩łⱠⱠ ł ɆVɆⱤ ĐØ. Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳₳!"
Emily rolled her eyes as she glanced around the bathroom briefly. Her eyebrow raised as she tried to piece together whether she had taken a shower or not last night.
"ɎØɄ ĐØ₦'₮ ɆVɆ₦ ⱤɆ₥Ɇ₥฿ɆⱤ ĐØ ɎØɄ?"
"I am not doing this with you."
"ØⱧ...ł₴ ₮Ⱨ₳₮ ₴Ø?" Her reflection replied, smiling from ear to ear. Her hollow mulberry eyes follow Emily as she leaves the bathroom.
Emily sighed, then opened her hotel room door. Her eyes widened as a creeping dread crawled up her skin like a million ants. She tripped over her feet, gazing down a long corridor bathed in mulberry light. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as her arms trembled.
"Oh shit!" Emily said, noticing heterochromatic eyes staring at her at the end of the hallway. The lights flickered, revealing that the heterochromatic eyes belonged to a pale ivory-skinned woman. A faint mulberry aura crackled around her body as the space around seemed to bend and twist in unnatural ways.
"₩Ⱨ₳₮ ₩₳₴ ₮Ⱨ₳₮?" The pale ivory-skinned woman asked with a eerie smile. Her left eye glowed with mulberry, while her right eye glowed bright like the sun. The white mask on the right side of her face resembled that of Emily's. It cracked and fractured like porcelain glass.
Emily blinked heavily as her body trembled. Her eyes darted towards the bathroom door, then back down the hallway. Her eyes jolted wide as the woman slowly approached. A blood-curdling screech ripped down the hallway as the woman's fingers rubbed across the walls. The paintings on the walls trembled and glitched in and out of existence at the slightest touch from the woman's mulberry aura. Lights flickered violently overhead, bursting after the fractured masked woman walked underneath them.
"Shit...shit...shit!"Emily blabbered as she knocked over bobbles and antiques sitting on the table nearby as she tried to get on her feet. "I am dreaming...have to be dreaming."
"ⱤɄ₦₦ł₦₲ ₩Ø₦₮ ⱧɆⱠ₱ ɎØɄ," the heterochromatic-eyed woman mocked as she continued her approach.
Emily felt a pull on her body, tugging at her, making her legs feel heavy. Her body felt like it was sinking in quicksand as she tried to will herself to run, but her legs wouldn't move. Her arms twitched as she tried to reach for an item to defend herself. She then lost all control of her motor functions. Her body turned towards the fractured masked woman walking down the endless corridor.
"Wake up, Emily...wake the fuck up!" Emily shouted out loud as her eyes widened when the woman approached the front door with an eerie smile.
Emily's eyes snap shut, refusing to look as the pale ivory-skinned woman reached out for her face. Static crackled from her fingertips as she laughed.
"Oh fuck!" Emily screamed as her eyes jolted open and she sprang from her bed. Sweat dripped from her forehead as she breathed out through her mouth. "Fuck....fuck....the nightmares are getting worse," she said to herself as she clutched her chest.
Emily laughed hysterically as she stared at the front door with wild eyes. "Holy fuck....shit. Okay... I'm fine... I'm fine," she said as her heart slowed down to a normal pace and she started to breathe out her nose.
She rubbed her eyes and sighed as she leaned forward at the foot of the bed. Her eye twitched as she heard the doorknob turn. Emily slowly turned towards the sound, eyes fixated on the doorknob that clicked over. Mulberry light spilled into Emily's room as the door creaked open slowly.
"Fucking shit," Emily mumbled to herself as panic slithered down her spine like a venomous snake. "I can't still be dreaming?"
"₱ⱠØ₮ ₮₩ł₴₮, Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳₳Ⱨ!"
Emily recoiled on the bed, snapping her eyes shut and curling into a ball. She rocked back and forth as she heard floorboards creak as the pale ivory-skinned woman approached the bed.
A sharp burning sensation flickered on Emily's cheeks as her emerald eyes snapped open. She stared at Rachel with a bewildered gaze, then reached for her right cheek, which throbbed like a recent bruise.
"Finally...what in the ever-loving PRIME were you dreaming about?" Rachel asked as she rubbed the palm of her hand.
"This is real...please tell me this is real?" Emily muttered with wide eyes, her body dripping with perspiration.
"Relax, welcome back to the real world, kid. Had to bust down the door, though," Elijah explained as he gestured at the door ripped off the hinges. "We thought someone else was in here...heard another voice from outside."
"Another voice?" Emily asked, her eyes glazing over in deep introspection.
"Yeah...you were talking to yourself in your sleep. We thought someone might have been in here, but it was you thrashing about in your bed like some possessed lunatic," Elijah explained as he lit a cigarette.
"Do you have frequent nightmares like that?" Shiyu asked as she approached the bed. "It's okay, you can tell me I won't judge you."
Emily's eyes narrowed, and she shook her head. "It's nothing serious.... don't worry about it."
"Looked pretty serious to me, kid," Elijah replied as he exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke.
"I am not having this conversation with y'all. Just forget you ever saw it."
"But Emily," Rachel replied.
Emily shook her head, got out of bed, and walked towards the bathroom. "Not having this conversation!"
She flicked the bathroom light on and then flinched as she looked up at the pale white light overhead. Emily closed her eyes as her head turned towards the mirror. Her green eyes slowly opened to her reflection as she slowly crumbled to the ground. She curled up in a ball as tears poured from her eyes like a breached dam.
The lights flickered mulberry as the room began to shake violently. Items glitched around the bathroom, then phased out of existence. The bathroom window and mirror shattered as a portal ripped open on the ceiling.
"ⱤɆ₳Ⱡł₮Ɏ ł₴ ₴Ʉ₵Ⱨ ₳ ₣ł₵₭ⱠɆ ₮Ⱨł₦₲...ł₴₦₮ ₮Ⱨ₳₮ Ɽł₲Ⱨ₮ Ɇ₥łⱠɎ?"
Emily did not respond, refusing to look up as she rocked on the floor as the bathroom ripped apart around her.
"Ø₦Ɇ ₥Ø₥Ɇ₦₮ ɆVɆⱤɎ₮Ⱨł₦₲ ⱠØØ₭₴ ₣ł₦Ɇ...₦ØⱤ₥₳Ⱡ ₳₦Đ ₮ⱧɆ₦ ł₮ ⱠØØ₭₴ Ⱡł₭Ɇ ₱₳₱ɆⱤ ₥₳₵ⱧɆ, Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳Ⱨ₳. ₦Ø₮Ⱨł₦₲ ł₴ ₩Ⱨ₳₮ ł₮ ₴ɆɆ₥₴.... ł₴₦'₮ ₮Ⱨ₳₮ Ɽł₲Ⱨ₮, Ɇ₥łⱠɎ?" The pale ivory-skinned woman said as she cackled, her body crawling through the portal.
Then everything went black as Emily screamed as she clutched her head.
A sharp burning sensation flickered on Emily's cheeks as her emerald eyes snapped open. She stared at Rachel with a bewildered gaze, then reached for her right cheek, which throbbed like a recent bruise.
"Finally...what in the ever-loving PRIME were you dreaming about?" Rachel asked as she rubbed the palm of her hand.
Emily gazed at Rachel, Elijah, and Shiyu with suspicion. Lingering dread clung to her nervous system as she blinked slowly.
"This is real...please tell me this is real?" Emily muttered with wide eyes, her body dripping with perspiration.
"Relax, welcome back to the real world, kid. Had to bust down the door, though," Elijah explained as he gestured at the door ripped off the hinges. "We thought someone else was in here...heard another voice from outside."
"Another voice?" Emily asked, her eyes glazing over in deep introspection. A flicker of Deja vu fluttered in her trembling body.
"Yeah...you were talking to yourself in your sleep. We thought someone might have been in here, but it was you thrashing about in your bed like some possessed lunatic," Elijah explained as he lit a cigarette.
"Do you have frequent nightmares like that?" Shiyu asked as she approached the bed. "It's okay, you can tell me I won't judge you."
Emily's eyes narrowed, and she shook her head. "It's nothing serious.... don't worry about it."
"Looked pretty serious to me, kid," Elijah replied as he exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke.
Emily opened her mouth but didn't respond as she was hit with another sense of Deja Vu.
"How about some waffles while we talk about it?" Elijah asked as he flicked the ash off his cigarette.
"Do we really have time for all that with the ENGINE waking in less than an hour?" Shiyu asked, crossing her arms.
"We can take out," Elijah replied. "Besides, I would like to get something myself before we set sail for Tyrial. Might never have another chance to eat Leonore cuisine."
"You good with that, Emily of Leonore?" Shiyu asked.
Emily sighed, then nodded. She rubbed her temples, skull throbbing like she had been stung by hundreds of wasps. "Yeah...sure, whatever, but I can talk to you real quick?" Emily replied as she looked up at Shiyu.
Shiyu raised an eyebrow, then looked back at Emily. "Of course...what is it?"
"Privately," Emily replied as she glanced down at the wooden floorboards.
"You have my ears," Shiyu nodded and smiled, then glanced up at Rachel and Elijah. "Could you give us two a minute. Perhaps pick up those waffles in the meantime?"
"You sure, Emily of Leonore? You can share anything with us. We are all a team here... you don't have to keep secrets from us," Rachel suggested.
"It's not that I don't want to, it's more like you wouldn't even understand. Shiyu might," Emily replied as she refused to make eye contact with anyone.
"Because she is a sage, right?"Elijah asked.
Emily nodded.
"Alright, Rachel, you coming?" Elijah asked.
"I don't see why not," Rachel replied, then looked at Emily briefly as she followed Elijah. "Oh, Emily."
"Yeah?" Emily muttered as she made eye contact with her.
"You can talk to me...seriously. Remember our promise?"
A subtle smile stretched on Emily's face before it was whisked away at the lingering Deja vu that dwelled like a very vivid dream upon waking up.