Zace was more anxious than he had been in a week. His hands quickly ran along the handle of his tennis racket. For weeks, he'd been training, working, and doing the best he could.

He glanced at his other teammates, who were whispering amongst themselves. "Are we seriously trusting Scar-Hands over there?" He heard one hiss. Zace looked at his hands, noting the burns and cuts, all scarred over. Normally, he wore gloves to cover them up. However, he didn't trust his usual ones to have a good grip on his racket. Of course his teammates would pick at that. They didn't take him seriously at all.

The entire time he'd been on the team, he was poked at for his height, how he wore dresses and skirts, the redness around his eye, and more. Zace considered himself a good player, but it wasn't like they'd care.

He couldn't get nervous now. This was his chance to prove himself to them. If he helped win this, and they got to the champions, maybe he'd finally be respected.

All he had to do was not screw this up.

~~~

Zace had screwed up.

They'd been winning. He'd been doing so well, then... what happened?

Maybe he got cocky. Maybe he wasn't paying full attention. He missed one shot. Okay, unlucky.

Again. Then again. Again.

Soon, his mind started blocking out everything. For a moment, his disguise of a black-haired, brown-eyed teen waivered. He felt like his whole body was turned to ripples, like throwing a stone into a lake. He refocused back on his surroundings, feeling more grounded.

Then, a tennis ball flew past his head.

And the game was over.

The racket shook in his hands. Sound around him blended into a ringing. His breathing stopped for a minute (literally- being a demon, he didn't need to breathe). His vision was fuzzy as his hands became numb. For a moment, he felt alone- almost cornered.

And before he knew it, he was back in the locker room. "What..." He muttered. "What just happened..."

"You ruined it for us, d!ckhead." One of his teammates, a tall, dark-eyed boy named Ash grumbled. Zace tried to respond, looking at him for a moment. "I-I'm sorry, I just got stressed or-or something, and-"

Ash, threw his duffle bag down, making Zace flinch. "Oh my GOD! Would you just shut up and deal with the fact you ruined our chances!" He yelled.

Zace quickly looked down. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Stop saying you're 'sorry'! You're so f^cking annoying!" Ash grabbed Zace's forearm, his eyes blazing with hate. "You always screw EVERYTHING up!" Zace quickly pulled away, his fear spiking. Okay, this was getting physical. He quickly grabbed his bag, stood up, and backed away. Every alarm in his mind was blaring. Still in his uniform, he opened the locker room door and rushed out.

He had screwed this up, hadn't he?

Ben was waiting outside the door for him. He couldn't meet his eyes. The younger shifted a bit, crossing his arms. "You feeling okay?" He asked.

Honestly, he knew the answer Zace would give him. His confidence, though fake, was persistent. It didn't matter how badly his brother was feeling, or how much the situation was breaking him. It would always be the same response.

Zace let out a sharp laugh, giving him a smile that screamed "don't ask." The demon waved off his brother's concern. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Oh, I'm very much worrying."

"Then stop wasting your time." The older one said quickly.

The two stared at each other. Zace wasn't usually direct. Ben could most certainly sense things were worse than he thought. "What happened in there." He said. He tried using the firestorm voice he could muster.

Zace avoided his brother's gaze. "I'd like to skip the interrogation, Ben." Ben threw his hands in the air. "Will you just TELL ME what's wrong!?"

"NOTHING IS WRONG."

A pang of guilt immediately hit Zace. He noticed the way Ben inched back, his hands raised to his chest like he'd need to protect himself.

"I-I'm not mad at you. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled." Zace said, his voice hardly a whisper. Ben cautiously grabbed Zace's sleeve, a sign of affection that came to him easily. "It's alright, let's just go home."

~~~

Home didn't feel much better for Zace.

His mother, Elizabetta, had made his favorite food, sushi - specifically salmon rolls. Still, when Zace tried eating them at the table with his family, his throat choked. Hot tears spiked to his eye as the little worm in his brain hissed about his failures. He quietly asked to eat in his room, to which his parents allowed in understanding.

In his room, he managed to finish his food. Guilt panged in his body, and his thoughts raced. He didn't understand why he had to fail so horribly, especially during such an important time.

For years, he had considered himself a failure. This just seemed to confirm it.

So, he contected the one person he ever told of these problems. A certain Princess he met in the Ghost Realm.

Zace took out a small pack of dandilion seeds and took one out. He pressed it into the nightstand, crushing it. Instantly, the illusion of a girl appeared in front of him. She had dark skin, black hair tired in pigtails, and indigo eyes with white pupils. She wore a long, teal gown, and a white veil-like mask over her mouth.

As soon as the demon saw her, he smiled. "Benita!" The girl looked at him and returned the smile. "Ah, Zace! How are you?"

"Eh, I've been better." Zace sighed, shrugging.

Benita's smile faltered for a moment. "Did the game not work out?" She asked gently. Zace's silence was answer enough for her. The ghost sighed sadly, sympathy in her calm eyes. "Oh... I'm so sorry. But I know you must've done your best." She assured.

Zace smiled, gazing at the celiling of his room for a moment. "Y'know, I really wish you could be here..." He said, his voice quieter.

The ghost hummed happily. "Well, good news for us, then. I'm almost ready to leave this place. Then, I can be in Gravity Falls." She said, sighing. Zace smiled excitedly.

"Well then, I can't wait for you to be here, Princess." He said teasingly.

Benita rolled her eyes playfully. "Oh, don't call me that. When I'm out of this place, I'm abandoning my role of-" she dramatically placed her hand on her forehead, leaning back. "Helpless Princess!"

The two laughed, making Zace's spirit lift. Benita sighed, taking off her crown and glaring at it with contempt. "That's what Father wants me to be." She shook her head. "I will be more than that." She said, determination in her voice.

"You will, sweetie." Zace said, his expression practically glowing with admiration. Something suddenly rang in his ears. He felt the sudden urge to look around for the source. After a moment of consideration, he looked back to Benita. "Well, I'll talk to you later."

The ghost nodded, placing her crown back in her raven locks. "Yes, yes. I love you." She said.

Zace smiled, his face nearly as red as his hair. "I love you, too." With that, the illusion disappeared, and silence filled the room. The demon sat there, waiting for the noise to sound.

Then, he heard it again. He could make it out clearer. A smooth, drawn out whistle in the woods. The urge to get up and follow it filled him again.

He stood up, going into his closet and getting into a new outfit. Then, he grabbed a denim jacket and a pair of sneakers. He wrote a note and put it on his bed. "Okay, it'll be just a bit." He said to himself.

With that, he walked to his balcony and stood by the railing. The whistle rang out again, just a bit louder than before. He flew to the ground, glancing back to the balcony.

He hesitated for just a moment, staring into the darkness of the woods. "I shouldn't... There's probably bugs there..." He shivered at the thought of creepy bugs crawling on his legs. They'd been his biggest feat since he was about three. Not many took his fear seriously, but they terrified him.

Again, the whistle sounded, almost begging him to follow. "It'll be just a few minutes." He assured himself.

So, he ran into the forest, listening to the whistle drone on, leading him somewhere in the woods.

After tripping over dozens of roots and rocks, he reached a deep corner of the forest. He had no idea how long he was out in the forest, nor did he have his phone on him. However, he had finally found the source of the whistle.

Standing there was a woman, seeming almost six years older than him. Long, mauve-and-white hair tumbled down her back. Her olive skin nearly matched his, though it was slightly lighter. She wore a dusty blue blouse and black skirt. The woman turned to face Zace, who felt frozen in place.

Her eyes were the same color as her eyes, with white slit pupils.

That was when Zace's heart dropped.

The woman standing in front of him, still whistling calmly, was a Dream Demon.

Not just a Dream Demon. She was from the Nightmare Clan- the same one Ben had once been a part of.

He tried moving his legs, but he seemed paralyzed. The whistle grew louder, drowning out the birds and frogs in the woods. Zace felt as if all his energy was being sapped from him.

Dark spots filled his vision as exhaustion consumed him. His legs became weak and his arms felt numb.

Then, everything went dark.