Once again Allura found herself in the nightmare, only this scene was more horrific than the last one. There were swirling and shifting blades, and sheep being hanged and sat on top of blades. As Allura began climbing, she noticed a new block with its top surface covered in blood.

She ran across and was horrified to see spikes sprung from the block. If she had stopped on top of it, they would have impaled her. She felt sick from the thought. Hurriedly regaining herself, she proceeded to climb, being careful of those spike trap blocks, unfortunately, causing to have be slow. Eventually, she made it to the top and breathed a sigh of relief.

"*Pant* *Pant* I made it!" She said relived, but the relief vanished, when the ground below her started collapsing. "Oh no!" She panicked. She quickly stood up and went to jump for the chain when she heard a guitar playing, accompanied by a strange blue light, and suddenly the tower stopped falling. "What the-?" She breathed. Quickly taking advantage of the situation, she jumped up and pulled the chain, and quickly climbed up the stairs to the landing.

When she got to the landing, she noticed someone sitting on a stool, playing a blue acoustic guitar. When she got closer, she was shocked to see it was Lance.

"Lance?!" Allura said surprised. "Wh-what are you doing here?!" She asked.

"Oh, Allura." The boy said when he noticed the woman. "I'm not sure what's going on, but... I found this cool guitar and just started playing." He replied. "But... What are you doing here? And why are you wearing a nightgown? I mean it's pretty, but..." the boy trailed off.

"Wha-?! H-hey! Stop starring!" The girl said embarrassed, then realized something. "Wait... Don't I look like a sheep to you?" She asked. Everybody saw each other as sheep here. Now that she thought about it, Lance didn't look like a sheep at all.

"A sheep? What are you talking about? There's no sheep here. Just people. They all seem really down and jittery though." Lance said.

"There's no time! Lance, you have to get out of here! This place is dangerous! If you stay you'll die!" Allura tried to warn.

"Die...?" The boy whispered then looked at the other sheep. "I see... that's why everyone's so scared. In that case..." He said and took up the guitar and started playing again. It wasn't as bad as last time, on the contrary it was quite the improvement. But was now really the time?

"L-Lance what are you doing?" Allura asked, confused.

"Music calms my heart. Even in a place like this. Maybe, it will help everyone else as well." He said and continued playing the instrument. Suddenly he was enveloped in light blue light, and vanished. Allura stood there shocked. What just happened?

"Lance?" Allura called quietly, but received no answer. What was that? "That music..." She whispered, she recognized it. "It was... the same... the same music I heard when the blocks stopped falling. Was it, because of Lance?" She asked. Allura was still confused, but she had no time to dwell on the situation. She quickly walked up to the other sheep. They were slumped on the ground, and wearing a purple jacket. She walked up to them and began talking.

"That... Guitar player, just vanished. *Sigh* And just when I thought I found another human being in this goddamn place!" They groaned. Judging from their voice they were male. "Hey! You!" The Purple Jacket Sheep said when he noticed Allura. "I'll give as much money as you want, just get me out of this place!" He offered, but Allura had no way to help.

"I'm sorry. I don't how to get out of here myself." She replied.

"How dare to speak to me like that! You're just a sheep! I'm the heir to a big company! I'm a VIP! Why am I even bothering talking to you!?" He huffed and began ignoring her. Allura could tell she wasn't going to get anywhere with this guy, so she left him, and walked over to the Merchant Sheep.

"You want an item? Just hand over the coins and it's all yours. For tonight, you can have either the Bell or Bible." The big sheep offered. Allura thought it over. She remembered the bell had the effect of turning all the blocks normal. She wasn't sure what this bible did... Well when in doubt, go with what you know, as they say. So she bought the bell, just in case. "Come again!" The Sheep said as she walked away.

She talked with the others, many having some interesting comments. One talked about the habits of sheep. How they all follow one leader, and how if that leader falls off a cliff or something, the rest of the folk would go to its death. Another talked about the rumor that the place had eight levels, and a possible exit. Allura really hoped there was. One other sheep talked about Lance, and how he disappeared. Allura herself was still trying to figure that out. She eventually met up with some old faces. The Glasses Sheep and the Spiked Hat Sheep.

"We're talking about techniques. Want to join?" The Glasses Sheep asked. Allura decided to listen. They all came up with some good climbing techniques, when the Spiked Hat Sheep went quiet, starring at the stool where Lance once was.

"Is something wrong?" Allura asked.

"It's just, I swear I've seen that guitarist before, but I don't know where." The Spiked-Hat Sheep admitted.

"I have to say the music was nice refresher from this predicament." The Glasses Sheep added. Allura had to agree with her. She deiced to go to the confessional, on her way she ran into a new face. A sheep with longish hair and wearing a grey beanie hat. The sheep turned to her and started talking.

"Do you hear what they said in the confessional? Someone in the real world wants me dead..." The sheep, male from their voice, said.

"Yeah, I know." Allura said dejectedly. "Can you think of anyone who would want to do that?" She asked. She herself had no idea who would want her dead.

"Yeah... A lot of them, actually." The Beanie-Hat Sheep said. A lot? "But this curse is nothing compared to there... I escaped from "Hell"." He suddenly said. Allura decided to walk away, and went to the confessional and sat down.

"Well, well... Welcome back little lamb." The voice snickered. "And what a surprise. I didn't expect a visitor. This is the first time this has happened." They added. Allura assumed they meant Lance.

"What is going on? You know something about Lance, don't you?" She implied.

"Let's just say, the tide has shifted. Thanks to you, something... unexpected is taking place." The voice said. "Regardless, I'll continue to ask you questions." The voice said and proceeded to ask.

Third Question: Do you believe there's a "soulmate" for you out there?

Yes, somewhere out there <<

No, there's no such thing <<

"Hmm... So that's your choice. Interesting." The voice comments. "By the way, you can't take these memories back with you to the real world." They added.

"So, wait, when I wake up, I'll just forget about this place?" Allura asked.

"We can't have you try anything in the real world." The voice said. "Alright, I'll send you to the next trial." With that, the confessional box went up to the next stage.

"Ugh! More of these traps?" Allura groaned. Suddenly she heard a familiar voice.

"Allura!" Said girl looked up to where the voice was coming from.

"Lance?! Lance where are you?! Are you alright?!" Allura asked worried.

"Up here! The blocks are falling... You have to hurry! And be careful!" The boy warned worriedly.

Allura quickly started climbing up. After nearly getting impaled, she used the bell to turn the blocks normal. She started to climb up fast, but remembered to be careful as well. Suddenly, the crumbling blocks caught up to her, when she heard the guitar music again, and the blocks slowed down. Allura quickly moved up and reached the top, where she pulled the chain and went up the stairs to the landing.

At said landing she found the sheep there, and Lance as well, playing the guitar. Allura quickly ran up to the boy, passed another sheep there.

"Lance, you're alright!" Allura said relieved.

"I don't know how, but I suddenly ended up here all of a sudden." Lance said as he continued to play.

"What is it with you and that guitar anyway?" Allura asked.

"Hey! Knock it off with the chit-chat and keep playing!" One of the Sheep snapped at them. "I don't care if you suck at it. I'm scared of dying, and your music calms me down!" The sheep said. Allura had to agree. Lance's playing was soothing, but still his attitude was very rude.

"Listen, we're talking here, and I'd appreciate if you give us a moment." She said back.

"Oh, shut it! You're not the only whose life in one the line!" The sheep screeched back. Jeez, she knew that, she was just trying to talk to her friend.

"O-oh, don't worry. I won't stop." Lance promised and kept playing. "Sorry 'Lura, guess we'll have to talk later." He said and concentrated on the guitar. Allura sighed, but honestly she couldn't blame either of them.

"I guess this isn't really the time anyway." Allura muttered.

"But, I'm really happy. I didn't think I'd be able to repay you..." Lance added with a bright smile. Allura felt her heart flutter. Lance was just a ray of sunshine. Especially in such an awful place like this.

Allura then walked up to the other sheep and talked to them. One of them commented on doing things you love even when you suck at it. Another had said that Lance, hadn't been "dropped" into the nightmare. Whatever that meant. She then met with some familiar faces, in a manner of speaking. The Glasses Sheep and Spike Hat Sheep. They shared some climbing techniques, before she went to another familiar sheep. The Beanie-Hat Sheep.

"Those sheep over there, with the horned hat and glasses... They're talking about ways to climb. Maybe I should join." He said.

"It might be a good idea. They shared some really useful techniques with me already." Allura agreed. She then moved onto the Purple Jacket Sheep.

"Have you heard the rumor about "true freedom"?" He asked. "They say that true freedom awaits you at the top. What is true freedom?" He said. "Does that mean, I could be free as well? Free from the life I live." He asked.

"I have no idea. You'll only find out if you reach the top." Allura said back.

While walking she found a sheep with particularly big horns who looked nervous. She went to talk to him, but the guy was just muttering about everyone was going to die while laughing hysterically. He clearly was not in his right mind. She walked over to the Headband Sheep from last time.

"Hmm...? Oh it's you. Need something?" The guy asked.

"No... not really. I was just..." Allura trailed off.

"Hey, if you're looking for someone to cheer up, go over to that weirdo in gold. Looks like they could use it." The guy said, pointing to one of the other sheep. Allura looked to where he was pointing, and was honestly stunned. The Sheep in question was wearing a beautiful marigold dress, actually more like a gown, and was wearing beautiful jewelry. Allura hesitantly walked over and greeted the sheep in the gown.

"Oh, hello there." The sheep greeted with a beautiful graceful voice. "Did you need something. If it's money I don't mind. I don't need it anyway." She offered.

"Oh, no! Please, I don't need anything! I was just wondering if you were alright. You seem down." Allura quickly replied.

"I see..." The Graceful Sheep said. "What is this anyway? And why am I here? Did I do something wrong?" She asked.

"I've been wondering that too." Allura admitted. "But, if we want to live, we need to keep climbing. We can't give up." She encouraged.

"Yeah, I guess. Thank you. You're very nice." The Graceful Sheep said. "Hmph... No servants here to help me this time. Guess I'll have to do things on my own." She added. Servants? Was she that rich? Allura decided not to dwell on it and went to the confessional.

"My, that guitar seems to have an interesting power, but will it always work?" The voice said. Allura didn't like the sound of that.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked, annoyed at the attitude.

"It's your fate, so do your best." The voice said and got on with the question.

Fourth Question: Would you want your partner to tell you all their secrets?

Yes <<

Nothing Too Big <<

"So... that's your choice. I hope you were honest." The voice said. "You need to survive, if you ever want to learn the truth. There are those who have persevered before. Maybe you'll be one of them." They added.

"Really?!" Allura asked.

"All the way up on the eighth floor is a Cathedral. It is said those who make it up to the holy pinnacle, will have the path of freedom opened up to them. How you proceed from there will be entirely up to you." The voice said. "Listen... I can hear the voice of the one trying to take your life tonight." The voice snickered. Before Allura could ask what they meant, she was already sent up to the next area.

As Allura stepped out of the box, she heard something. Like a predatory growl. She hesitantly looked down to see something appear. Allura screamed. The best way to describe it was a hungry predator. It looked like an anthropomorphic wolf. It was very beast like, with raven black fur, a wagging tail, sharp claws, large fangs dripping with saliva and familiar bluish-violet eyes. The thing looked at here hungrily, like she was a piece of meat, while licking its lips.

"No! Stay away!" Allura screamed and began climbing.

Immoral Predator

Come here girly!

Let's have some fun!

Ohh... I like it!

I'll show you a good time!

*Growls*

Come on sweetie!

Stop running and let's have fun!

I just can't get enough of you!

You really light my fire!

Give it to me!

Allura panted as she finally made it up to the door, thankfully out running, whatever that was. She sighed in relief and opened the door, suddenly she heard something behind her and turned to see that thing!

"I can't hold back with you! Let's play!" The thing said as it approached her.

"No! No! Get away!" Allura cried, and just like with the last boss, the light from the door disintegrated the beast. With that Allura stepped out and escaped from the nightmare back into the real world.

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