Chapter 16: A Dreaming Nightmare

<Ethan's POV - The Dreaming (Endless White Space Room)>

My white space was turned into a replica of Aunt Fay's former study room in Tintagel Castle.

"Again, Ethan. It's like you're not trying," Aunt Fay said as she casually flicked her wrist, sending me flying into the wall like a crumpled paper ball.

"Ouch! What the he-," Before I could finish my sentence, a bookcase was sent flying through the air and straight to my face.

 *crash*

"Welp, I'm dead," I muttered, now floating in my soul form, detached from my freshly flattened body.

"That's because you're not trying hard enough." Aunt Fay said in a tone with a hint of disapproval. 

"Not trying hard enough? I've just started training and all you gave me were books. How am I supposed to survive when you're using all your powers?" I retorted.

Aunt Fay just gave me a side glance and with a wave of her hand, the bookcase was sent back to where it was before and my head, well my head reformed on my still-healing body, though let me tell you, it ain't a pretty sight. My soul was then sucked back into my body when it was completely healed.

 As you know, she told me she'd train me till I could survive her attacks, but, boy-oh-boy, does she destroy me every time.

"Let's take a break." Aunt Fay said, summoning a portal back to the house. She glanced at the clock. "It's been 12 hours since we started, yet only an hour has passed back home. How is this possible?" She arched an eyebrow. "Was this your doing?"

"I don't think so, Auntie. I mean, I did want it to be like that, but I'm not sure if it was because of me specifically." I told her honestly. 

She looked at me quizzically, "And why do you think that is?"

"Well, dreams always felt like they were longer than they actually are, right? Maybe it was already like this before I got here." 

"Hmm, that's a valid hypothesis." She then looks at me right after closing the portal. "What else can you tell me about this place, and your connection with it." 

I froze for a bit, 'Should I tell her?'

"So–?" She looked at me intently, "Don't tell me you can't trust your own Aunt?"

"Uhm–" I find it hard to answer her since she might erase me completely if I answer wrongly.

I can create things and people here. I can bring objects into our world, but I've never tried with people. I only summon them here in the EWS room." I said as quickly as I could in the hopes of throwing her off, but it seemed that she got it all seeing how she looked surprised for a second, but that look was gone in a moment.

"Show me," she said.

"Show you what exactly?" I asked with a hint of nervousness in my tone.

"Your powers in this dimension, show me," she said in a tone that was a little commanding.

"Uhm, okay?" I said in an unsure way.

At that moment, I imagined a cute, yellow mouse with red circles on its cheeks. I bet some of you guys already know who it is. And in a few moments, glowing sand began to form into a shape that resembled one of the cutest creatures ever. 

"Pi, Pikachu!?" the little guy seemed a bit surprised, but he looked around, saw me, and headed straight to me. "Pi, Pi, Pi!" He started climbing to my shoulders and rubbed his head on my neck.

"Hey, little guy! Aren't you a cutie?" I then imagined a Luxury Ball in my hand, and wouldn't you know it, there it was! 'Would this work?' I wondered.

"Interesting. This is one of the monsters in the games you keep on playing years ago, right? I distinctly remember this one from the box." Aunt Fay said.

"Uh, yes. This is a Pokemon." I then looked at Pikachu. "Hey, Pikachu! Would you be willing to get into this ball? I have something to try and if it works, I could bring you to other places. If it doesn't, I'll just bring you back to life again in this place." I told Pikachu while thinking of the last one to myself.

Pikachu then looked deep in thought, but after a second, "Pika!" he touched the Luxury Ball's button and was caught with it.

*insert caught Pokemon sound music here lol*

Aunt Fay was startled. "Where did that music come from?"

"It's the music that's played when you catch a Pokemon."

She then looked at me in a deadpan expression.

"What? It's fun. You just don't get it." I told her.

"So, you can create life and objects in this dimension, yet you didn't use it once in your training?" Her eyes glowed green all of a sudden.

"Wait, wait, wait! Why are you mad?" Before I could even make my case, she started throwing the bookcase at me again and I started dodging with all my might. "Come on, Aunt! I thought we were on a break."

"I told you to fight like your life depends on it, and yet, you didn't. I think you find my training too easy." She said with a nonchalant tone, but her eyes said differently.

"Why would I use that? Woah!" I dodged an incoming sword. "That would have cut my head off!" 

"That's the point." 

"You're training me to use magic," I see shields coming from both sides, but I was able to stop them with telekinesis magic that I learned. ", NOT my powers in this dimension. It's not like I can use it outside of here." I say while panting from how much dodging I was doing, but since I stopped, Aunt Fay could hit me, and when I looked up, a mace almost hit my face, but it froze.

Aunt Fay starts looking at me intently. "Is that so?" 

"Yes" Was all I said in hopes that she would stop and let me have that break.

"Have you even tried to use it outside of this dimension?" she asked, her voice chilling.

"Well, uh, yes?" I stammered. Remembering that I used the Dreamstone to gain money without being here. Though I did try to give myself Midi-chlorians and that didn't work. I was also not sure whether the money was the effect of using the Dreamstone, so I wasn't lying. Right?

"You don't sound too sure," Aunt Fay said, and when she did, she made me look into her eye which glowed for a second. "Your memory says otherwise. What about the sudden wealth you got? I'm sure that your parents never left you that kind of fortune." At that moment I swallowed like people do when they got caught doing something bad. 

"I wasn't sure if that was the effect of my powers. I swear." I said sounding sincere, but a bit scared.

"Hmm, Perhaps, but if I wasn't in a place where outside forces can't manipulate reality, you might have already planted a memory of your parents leaving you that amount of money to me." Aunt Fay mused. Her eyes gleamed with mischief. "Which means that you're basically a reality warper, albeit limited," she said smiling. That doesn't bode well, "but with training, I can turn you into a being that can go toe to toe with the Scarlet Witch and The Scarlet Warlock."

'A Scarlet Witch Warlock? I didn't know there was such a thing' I thought to myself. "Isn't that a bit of a stretch, Aunt?" 

That earned me a glare. "You think I'll dare make those assumptions lightly? I faced those Father and Daughter duo, but sadly, they passed away and it was not my doing."

"And that bothers you?" I raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a little… disrespectful?"

She glared again. "You just don't understand. Our battles always ended in stalemates. Now, I'll never get a chance to surpass them. The father disappeared without a trace, and Natalya gave her life to save her children."

'Wanda and Pietro? Gotta be,' I thought, putting two and two together.

Aunt Fay must've noticed my thinking face. "What's on your mind now?"

"Huh?" I didn't know what she meant so that's all I could say.

"You get this look on your face when you think too hard. Like you're trying to open a stubborn pickle jar." She scrunched her nose, mimicking my expression.

I just looked at her with a wtf look. "I do not look like that," I said defensively, "And I don't have trouble opening jars." 

She just shrugged while smirking at me. 

"Ugh!" I turned toward the exit, but a green wall of energy blocked my way. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Going out?" I said unsure. "I'm on a break, right?" 

"Nope. We're going somewhere else for your training."

A look of shock can be seen on my face. 

"The break just started." I tried to protest, but a portal opened right below me and in I fell. "AAAAAHHHHH" I thought I'd be falling for quite some time but–

"Huh?" My feet are touching the ground not even 3 seconds into the portal. 

"What are you screaming about? The training hasn't even started yet," Aunt Fay said from behind me. I spun around and realized we were standing in a place filled with portals leading to all kinds of different realms. The air felt suffocating, thick with danger.

"Are we in Limbo?" I looked at Aunt Fay.

"Hmm, so you know of this place?" Aunt Fay looked at me.

"Well, it's in one of the books, you know?" 

"Well, this place will test you. I want to see if you can survive a truly difficult situation," she said.

A potion appeared in her hand. She smashed it on the ground, and a pungent scent filled the air, quickly followed by the sound of distant screams.

"Well, good luck, dear nephew. Make sure to last a few days, okay?"

"What? You're leaving?" Before she even heard my voice, she was already gone. "Fuck!" I muttered under my breath. And when I looked in front of me, hundreds of goblins were running towards my location. 

"Good thing I have my lightsaber with me." I ignited it and got ready to fight, but I did remember that goblins from Limbo are basically unkillable. How do I survive this, then?

<General POV - Stan's Dimension>

Stan can be seen looking into the limbo dimension. 

"So, he started, huh? I can't wait to see what he does next. Don't you feel the same way?" He said to the chubby man beside him.

"Well, I am interested, but I still don't see why you took him from one of my universes." 

"All will be known in good time, my friend," Stan said with a smile.

<Ethan's POV - Limbo>

With the amount of enemies flooding towards me, I then hold on to the Dreamstone. 

'I don't have the best endurance to last a few days of this so I need a more permanent way to reduce the goblins. So, how about giving myself an Immunity Negation? That's not too much, is it?' 

With that thought, the Dreamstone shined bright red, indicating that it was successful. 

"Let's fucking go." 

I charged towards the Goblins and slashed the first ones in half. The other Goblins smiled thinking that I didn't know that they would heal no matter what, but when they realized that the ones who fell didn't start regenerating right away, a hint of fear could be seen in their eyes.

<Back in The Dreaming>

"Hmm, that's interesting," Morgan Le Fay looks at her nephew with interest. 

<Ethan's POV - Limbo...again>

While taking out those goblins was a little easy, I quickly realized I might've made things worse. More goblins started swarming from every direction as if their fallen comrades had sent a distress signal.

"Kreee!" A goblin screeched behind me, thinking it could take me by surprise. 'Amateur move.'

Without looking, I thrust my lightsaber backwards, spearing the goblin through the head. The force of the blow impaled the goblin behind it as well, skewering them both.

But they just kept coming. My fun was over. It was time to get serious.

Switching my lightsaber to its double-bladed form, I shifted my stance and began cutting through them in fluid, precise motions, adapting my technique to match the weapon's new balance.

The horde began thinning as more and more goblins decided retreat was the better option. I didn't let them flee, knowing I couldn't afford to draw more attention. Especially from Limbo's ruler, Belasco, or whoever was in charge these days.

"Is that all you got? Too weak!" I taunted. The insult worked. The goblins roared in anger, charging at me with renewed fury, now throwing themselves at me with reckless abandon.

Still, I could handle this.

At that moment, a louder roar can be heard in the distance.

"ROOOOOOAAAAAAR!" 

The goblins' snarling faces twisted into something unsettling: hope. Whatever made that sound, they believed it could finish what they couldn't.

I felt the ground tremble beneath me as the source of the roar approached. Heavy, earth-shaking footsteps pounded closer.

And then I saw it. A goblin—much larger than the ones I'd been fighting. Towering, grotesque, with its minions perched on its shoulders like accessories. Compared to its massive bulk, they were the size of its head.

'I might be in danger' I thought. 

I kept slicing through the regular goblins around me, trying not to let the giant's presence shake me. But now it was right in front of me. All the other goblins scrambled away, giving the colossal beast the spotlight.

"How you doin'?" I said in the best Joey impression I can do.

The giant's response was a deafening, guttural roar, loud enough to splatter me with saliva.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRR!" 

*to be continued*