Sorry, I forgot to update this on Monday since I can't access it on the school wifi. I'll try to remember next time lol.

Everyone went back to their day once the meeting was over. Well, all except for Boatem that is. X made the decision to talk to Grian later in private and not follow him for now, not that anyone would be able to catch up with him anyways. So the Boatem members were instructed to tell him when G got back.

"Why do you think he freaked out like that?" asked Scar as they flew back together.

"He's probably stressed about something," Pearl offered. "You know how he does things. If I had to guess he just hasn't slept in a while."

"I guess that makes sense." They landed next to the G-train at Boatem. There was no sign of him there. They decided to split up so they would spot him for sure when he came home.

Pearl wandered down the alleyway. She was looking for something- anything Watcher-y. They would be targeting him and his base area for sure. Nothing looked too out of place but she felt an unsettling aura around his birbs.

She reported back to the others that there she hadn't seen any sign of him. They agreed to take turns waiting for him by the mouth of his cave. Mumbo first, then Impulse, Scar and Pearl. Mumbo got comfortable by the tail end of the train while the others went off to get some sleep.

+++++++

Pearl immediately recognised the smooth masks and the staggering power that could have her dead within seconds by the mere thought. She wasn't even a threat to It. A bug, a nuisance at best. All the players on the server could attack it at once with everything they had and it'd maybe feel an itch. Her voice failed her as she tried to scream, to hear anything but the deafening silence.

"Oh Evolutionist, why do you care for that knavish little traitor?"

Her feet stiffened and her mind froze. Grian had told about how They tended to invade his dreams. She had only experienced it once when They sent a message to everyone via a dream-like vision the night after They took Grian.

"Why are you here?" She managed to squeak. It gave her no response, just looming somewhere far above her.

"Xelqua does not belong to you. Xelqua belongs to us."

"Leave here, now!" She could barely understand a thing it said but she didn't like its tone. Her galactic was practically non-existent but she recognised a few words. Evolutionist and Xelqua. "You are not welcome here! He will not allow it. You'll never get through!"

The being stiffened at her words, not intimidated or worried as she'd hoped. It was certainly taken aback, shocked that she'd had the guts to disrespect Them, especially while They were right in front of her. It surprised her too but she held firm and stared Them down.

"He will yield to us eventually. Perhaps you would be willing to provide him with some extra motivation" She shook her head in defiance, she had to get out of here. The world around her began to shake like a typical nightmare cliché. Her name echoed around the nothingness.

"Pearl... Pearl, wake up.

+++++++

"Pearl?" Scar shook the Aussie a bit more violently. He'd gone over his shift by half an hour to let her sleep in some more. Impulse had told him his concerns about her after their adventures together earlier that day. He would've given her more time to sleep but he was fighting to keep his eyes open at this point. He'd found her curled into her bed and whimpering. The scared builder tried to gently wake her out of her nightmare but got more aggressive as seconds ticked by.

Bloodshot blue eyes shot open, as did the connecting body. Pearl's breathing was erratic and unstable. Scar rubbed her arm comfortably as she calmed down. She thanked him for waking her up and got dressed quickly. Scar bid her goodbye and left in a hurry, hoping to get some sleep in before morning.

Pearl felt restless after her nightmare warning dream. So rather than sit and wait at the end of the train like the others had, she tried to settle his nerves by pacing the alleyway. The sun was starting to rise which bathed boatem in blinding sunlight.

She passed his birds for the 17th time before something else happened. She walked back towards the bank at the end of the road without realising the winged creatures had started to follow after her.

"We warned you, Evolutionist."