//------------------------------//
// Fear in the flesh 
// Story: A Dreamless World 
// by SilverHoof1 
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"Well, Isn't this just a charming little place?" Bio commented dryly, looking around the room they had rented. After entering the city they had done their best to avoid the locals, making a b-line for the Inn near the center of the town, which only seemed slightly bigger than the average home here. "Its better than the cave," Selena remarked, yet her eyes showed her doubt in that statement. The cave had been nice and lit by bioluminescent mushrooms with a clean water source, and the horror living there had been killed. This tiny room, on the other hand, was awful. 
The beige carpet was stained and torn in places, dirt and grim creating a permanent mark where it sat. The walls were yellow striped with white, yet even that was torn in multiple places with exposed wooden planks and stone showing through. The two beds in the room smelled of mold and were strangely slimy as if a giant fish had laid here. Bio almost would have preferred fighting the monster again to sleeping here. Almost. 
Pomella, her usual bounciness dulled by fatigue, sighed and sat on the edge of the closest bed, cringing as it squelched underneath her weight. "None of us like it, but we can leave once it hits the morning... I'm tired, and I have a bad feeling about going outside this room into the town at night, even if to leave,"
"True, it does have that kind of eerie presence huh?" Selena concurred, frowning out the single window in the room, the only clean spot in the entire room. Framed to resemble a squid, the glass was spotless and framed the black, crashing waves perfectly. The three of them stared at the window, transfixed by the insidious rhythm the sea held. It was almost hypnotic as if calling us to its depths to play with the creatures of the deep. Of course the sharks and angler fish don't want to hurt you, they just want to be friends...
Violently shaking her head, Bio snapped a few times to get their attention. "Pom's right, sleep,"
The two nodded, then as Pomella, as if sentencing herself to death, slowly spread out onto the bed she had sat on, the present party stared at the second bed. "I uh, guess that means we share that one..." Bio mumbled softly, looking over to Selena. The implications of that, while not intended, caused a small blush to form on Selena's face as she slowly nodded. Selena slowly laid down, grimacing at the feeling.
Bio, at a snail's pace, lowered herself onto the bed next to her, the texture of the bed under her forgotten when she met eyes with Selena. The two stared for what felt like an eternity, then slowly began edging toward each other. The two got close enough to feel each other's breath as both wore a small blush. Unbeknownst to the two, Pomella smiled tiredly before slowly turning away, trying to give them some privacy. At least, she had the attention to till she saw the figure in her bed.
Her yelp of surprise snapped Selena's and Bio's attention to her, Bio quickly sitting up to look over at what the commotion was about. "Oh I'm so terribly sorry to interrupt, I had hoped to see 'something' before I said something," the figure teased, standing up from the bed in one graceful movement. He smirked at the three as they stared at him dumbfounded, trying to comprehend how they had gotten into their room. 
He was tall, easily six feet with blue skin so deep it was nearly black. His red eyes were that of a cat's, vertical pupils shimmering with mischief above his gleaming white smirk. His hair was short in a perfect bed-head you only saw in movies, taking on shades of blue and grey. He reached up and tightened his blue tie, bringing attention to his white tuxedo lined on the inside with black stripes. His pants were equally fancy, a swirl of white and black in dizzying patterns.
"It is an honor to make you lovely ladies acquaintance, I am Fobus, the mischievous personification of fear, at your service," he purred, bowing deeply while keeping his eyes trained on them the entire time. Pomella, unsure how to cope, simply rolled out of the bed and thumped onto the ground. Selena hid behind Bio, while Bio couldn't help but shake her head, dragging a hand slowly across her face. "Great, we have a stalker..." 
Putting a hand over his heart in mock pain. "Oh, my heart! Sorry sweetie, but you don't warrant that much attention just yet," he jested, his smirk only growing as he dropped his hand back to his side. "I'm just here to make sure you don't die in the next..." he looked down to his wrist as if wearing a clock, then gasped. "Oh! Nevermind, you already died didn't you? I should probably just go then!"
"wait," Bio sighed, looking at him in annoyance. "Sorry for being rude, I should expect to find random strangers in a room we purchased," 
"Indeed you should! After all, in only about 10 minutes you're going to have thirty of them in here," he mused, then thought for a moment. "Give or take, hmhm," 
If he wanted to get our attention he couldn't have chosen a better thing to say. "Excuse me?" 
"Oh yeah! Ropes, gags they're bringing the whole shebang just for you! Well, you and the creatures of the deep anyway," 
"I'm sorry but I'm just going to repeat myself, excuse me!?" 
"You remember that absolutely lovely little beastie that killed you? That's a puppy compared to some of the things in this twisted world!"
"Oh lovely, I'll just prepare my magic then..." Pomella grumbled darkly, sighing deeply. Fobus chuckled at her comment, before clearing his throat to continue. "Anyway, while I am supposed to be all spooky I prefer using suspense and what better suspense then openly telling them what's going to happen! Aren't I clever?" he preened, fingers drumming against each other diabolically. Bio decided it better not to comment and instead stood up from the bed. "Well thanks for the 'suspense', I think we have some work to do,"
"Oh, yeah I guess you do," he said flippantly, seeming disappointed that his brilliance wasn't acknowledged, hands dropping back to his sides. "Well I'll see you later, try not to die!" and with that, he walked through the wall. As soon as the heels of his shoes had left the room, three shadows could be seen moving around in an absolute tizzy. 
Fobus sighed to himself, staying a second to watch the commotion with a small smirk. "Honestly, those three are going to be put through the wringer in this world," he looked out over the black sea, keen eyes picking out the dark figures of monsters preparing to breach the surface. Green eyes peered up at the streets from the murky depths, a group of villagers clothed in dark robes gathering near the water's edge. "They better succeed in this world though..." he murmured, smirk sliding off his face. "Otherwise, it may cease to exist all together"