(Thank you so much for 300+ reads! I don't deserve that, and I don't think I can thank you enough!

And why aren't my mentions working? I tried to @ the person who requested the previous one shot, but it obviously didn't work. oh well, you can see their name up there.

And I just wanted to say that these stories aren't connected, but they happen in the same type of universe? AU?)

(November 17, 2019)

Word Count: 1159 words
Category: none
Warnings: blood

Lucid dreaming could be a good thing or a bad thing. It could be good because you could technically do whatever you want. It could be a bad thing if you wake up with sleep paralysis. It depends how you see it. If you have experience, you can avoid sleep paralysis. If you're new to lucid dreams, you can scare the crud out of yourself.

Iskall's situation was... different? Is that the right word for it? Anyway, Iskall was experiencing something similar to lucid dreams. But... they weren't dreams.

Well, I hope being stabbed by your best friend isn't considered a dream.

Iskall looked down at the sword going through his heart. He didn't feel the pain, thank god, but he felt it go through him. He looked at Grian, who had a nasty, sick looking grin plastered on his face. His eyes had a crazed look in them, and hair was disheveled and messed up. Iskall felt the blood dripping out of his wound. He pushed Grian away. Grain stumbled backwards as Iskall fell through a hole, transitioning into another nightmare.

Iskall fell onto a grassy area, sword still in his chest. He pulled the bloodstained blade out. It dripped his blood, staining the soft grass he laid on. Iskall stood up, wiping the blood off his hands. He looked around. He seemed to be in the Shopping District. At first, he looked left, and it was only shops. To his right, Cub suddenly appeared. Iskall yelped and stumbled away. He put his hand on his chest, trying to calm his fast-beating heart down. Cub glared at him, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Why are you even here?" Cub asked, stepping forward. "No one wants you here, alright? You're just in everyone's way and another obstacle to pass."

"What-" Iskall started.

"Don't waste your breath. Really, no one wants you here. Get out of here, you can't change my mind."

"Cub-"

"GET. OUT!" Cub roared, taking out splash potions of poison and damage. Iskall scrambled away, not knowing where to go. He fell through another suddenly appearing hole and landed in a room made out of obsidian. It was well lit from a non-existing source. Iskall saw Mumbo sitting in a chair. He was sharpening a dagger. He looked up and saw Iskall with an unreadable expression on his face. Mumbo got up and approached Iskall with dagger in hand. Mumbo stopped just in front of Iskall. He tilted his head like a puppy. Mumbo put his left hand on Iskall's right shoulder. Iskall's eyebrows furrowed as Mumbo stabbed Iskall in the gut. Again, Iskall didn't feel it, but felt the force from it. Since Mumbo is very strong, Iskall breath got knocked out of him because it was like being punched or kicked in the gut. Mumbo took the dagger out of Iskall and grinned. Iskall slapped his face with a bloodied hand as he fell back...

...and into the Sahara's meeting room, where both Mumbo and Grian were glaring at him.

"First of all, you're late. That's not like you. We are more strict with the employees who have higher expectations with them." Grian said, in a cold voice. Iskall raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, what do you-"

"Don't. Speak. Then, you have the nerve to come here all bloody and stain the floors of the meeting room." Iskall looked down, seeing the blood had dripped down to his boots.

"Well, that's ridiculous because both of you stabbed me in the first place-"

"You dare accuse me?!" Grian yelled. "I have given you this job, and you blame me for your problems?"

"But it's true!"

"Save it, Iskall. Grian would never stab anyone, especially his employee." Mumbo said, in an uncaring voice.

"Mumbo-"

"You're fired." Grian hissed. "Get out, and never come back." The setting shifted. He was stuck in a wooden box, with no one inside except him. He started to panic and pounded on the walls, screaming for someone to let him out. He screamed until he couldn't anymore. He laid defeated on the floor, staining the wood with blood. His fist was bruised and more bloody than before. His wish of getting out was granted. The floor opened up, leaving Iskall to free fall into darkness like the void. He didn't have enough strength to move, so he watched as the light of the wooden box faded. Iskall closed his eyes, wondering if this nightmare would ever end.

Iskall woke up crying. He shot up in his bed, breathing hard. He looked around, recognizing his base. He put a hand on his chest and eventually moved it to his gut. He breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that it wasn't real. He also checked his fist. Not bloodied or bruised. He flopped back down in his bed. But, his eye caught a glare of light. He looked at the source, and his throat tightened.

It was a slightly bloody diamond sword.

Much like the one in his dream- um, nightmare.

"No, Grian wouldn't do that. The blood on it is from the mobs that attack me-" Iskall muttered, looking the other way. His breathing was uneven and heart beating loudly. He was sweating profusely, and shaking violently. He threw off his blanket and got out of bed. He put his hand on the wall next to the bed, using it a support. He heard alarmed fireworks, and saw Xisuma fly in, not landing until he was right next to Iskall. Iskall heard beeping coming from Xisuma's communicator.

"I came as quick as I could. My communicator told me that you have high stress levels, exceeding normal levels, obviously." Xisuma said, sounding out of breath and running a hand through his hair. "So what's wrong?" Iskall mentally sighed from how laid back Xisuma was from this situation.

"You know what, Iskall? Sit on your bed, it'll-"

"Do you not see how it looks like I peed in it?" Iskall interrupted him. Xisuma looked startled. He looked there and pursed his lips.

"Uh, yeah, you're right." An awkward silence happened as Iskall slowly calmed himself down. He sighed loudly, as the beeping in Xisuma's communicator lessened.

"Dang it, I hate nightmares."

"We'll have them eventually, Iskall. It happens, they're not real. I promise you that-"

"I'm not sleeping ever again."

"I- ok, Iskall. Whatever floats your boat."

(I feel like I give all these characters a panic attack/mental breakdown. I also didn't check this for errors, sorry.)