Uranus Zone, Fortune City. 58 Hours Until Military Arrives

To say things were hectic after Rainbow Dash and Vikki escaped from that lunatic, Brandon, would be an understatement. Now that night had fallen, the zombies had grown even more ravenous than usual, and Dash didn't have the skill to make herself weapons like Frank and Chuck could. The two were running to try and find safe cover until the zombie hunters finished with the psychopathic C.U.R.E member. Finally, they came across the employee locker room, which was conveniently unlocked. Once entering, the two frightened women stopped to catch their breaths. Vikki sat down on a bench, staring at the linoleum floor, tears welling up in her eyes and her body shaking uncontrollably.

"He was going to kill me..." Vikki stammered. "That piece of glass... he was going to make me one of those things...." The poor gal started to cry. "Then he wanted to cut my neck...." Right then, she burst into tears. Dash, remembering the time she saw Fluttershy cry because of a traumatic experience, felt her big sister instincts kick in. She may not be able to help anyone the way the Element of Kindness could, but she still could help those in need. The rainbow-haired girl sat down on the bench and wrapped an arm around Vikki.

"Don't worry," Dash said, giving off a warm smile. "Things will be fine. Me and my friends, we're going to take you to a Safe House, and you'll be fine." Vikki raised her tear stained face, returning the smile.

"You really think so?"

"Chuck and Frank even saved my flank a few hours ago. They were so awesome fighting with that crazy guy!" Curiosity entered the young lady's eyes.

"The man in the yellow jumpsuit, he said his name was Chuck Greene." Vikki stood up and eased her nervous breathing. "Didn't he cause the outbreak? Isn't he the reason all these people died?" Dash stood up like a board, a determined glare transfixed on her face, ready to defend her friend.

"Didn't you hear that guy in the bathroom or what Frank said? The psycho who kidnapped us started the outbreak!" Vikki's frightened appearance was quickly replaced with one of confusion.

"But... it was his track suit on the TV."

"That C.U.R.E guy was wearing it to cover his tracks! Chuck's got a daughter here, and what would he gain from causing those freaks to run loose?" At the last word, Dash pointed to the shut doorway, leading to the zombie infested amusement park. "Chuck is trying to save survivors, and most of them are afraid he caused this chaos in the first place!" Dash walked over to some bathroom stalls and leaned against a shut door. "He's a good man, and he has a little girl here. He didn't do it. Heck, with him and Frank trying to help people out here, things are gonna go back to being awesome in no time."

Vikki's nervous demeanor faded as Dash brought her words to an end. This teenage girl, who probably saw a lot of people die when the outbreak started, was so loyal to her savior and friends, it was inspiring. However, the door where Dash was leaning against violently flung open, and a fat zombie leaped out, swiping madly at Dash. In a spurring moment of panic, Dash kicked the undead man in the stomach, but it had no effect. A returning blow to the head brought the spunky girl to the ground with a thud. Vikki was too petrified and scared to do anything as the zombie slowly climbed atop Dash. The rainbow haired girl pushed all she could to keep the zombie from biting her, but to no avail. It almost seemed like it was over....

*BANG*

Red liquid splattered the walls, lockers, and the unfortunate girl underneath the now headless zombie. In the doorway stood Chuck Greene, a shotgun with smoke drifting off the barrel sitting in his hands. The stoic zombie hunter walked in and kicked the bloody mess off Rainbow Dash. However, with her new look, the colors of the rainbow run red.

"You gotta look out for the ones that hide in stalls." Frank quipped, emerging out of nowhere to take photos. "Also the ones that play dead." One quick glance was all it took before Frank could burst out into snickers. "You got a little something on your face." Dash quickly ran to a mirror, gazing at the bloody form of herself in the mirror. Eyes widened, jaw dropped, hands shook, and the taste of vomit entered her tongue.

"There's a stall right there." Chuck groaned, pointing to the said stall. In a matter of seconds, the door slammed shut, and the sound of puke hitting the toilet was followed. On the outside, Chuck was pinching the bridge of his nose, Frank was howling in laughter, and Vikki could only stare.

"I should've taken pictures! Priceless!" Frank laughed, wiping away a non-existent tear. Chuck shot the journalist an irritated glance, then gave a worried look to Vikki.

"Are you alright?" Chuck asked, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"I'm fine," Vikki muttered, still shaken up by the zombie attack. "Thanks for saving me back there. I was so scared."

"Just doing what's gotta be done." With a loud flush, Dash stumbled out of the bathroom stall, her clothes splattered with blood and vomit dribbling down her chin.

"Geez, you're a mess." Frank said. "I saw you killing zombies earlier and it didn't faze you at all. What happened with the one Chuck got?"

"Blood..." Dash mumbled. "Head exploded... all over my...." Once again turning green, Dash held in another urge to vomit. "But it's all cool now."

"Let's get you a change of clothes," Chuck said, helping Dash onto her feet. "Sullivan will have a cow if he sees you like this."

"And I've got the perfect solution!" Chuck whipped his head around and saw Frank holding a scantily clad Space Girl outfit. The large smirk accompanying it, Frank must still be in the mood for laughs. Chuck gave an annoyed glare, but began rummaging through the lockers to find some clothes. Eventually, he pulled out a cyan t-shirt and red pants, including a baseball cap with a lightening bolt running across the forehead. Frank, Chuck, and Vikki stepped out of the room to give the girl some privacy, sitting in an adjacent office.

Whilst slipping on her new clothes, Dash noticed that Chuck, Frank, and Vikki's voices had died down. Once placing the baseball cap on her head, Dash walked to the door where her friends had entered. Knocking once, no reply came. She reached down at the door handle, but to her astonishment, there was no handle. That's when she started hearing the sounds of a nightmare. She couldn't tell where it was coming from, but the haunting voices growling within her head scared her. Dash began frantically pounding on the door, attempting to escape the sounds. Finally, she broke the door down, but not into the office that once was there. Instead was a dark corridor, dimly lit by a few lights, that seemed to stretch onward forever. The walls were painted over a dull red and rusted over. On the right side of Dash in the corridor, Dash could see a rusted chain-link fence peering into a black abyss. At the far end, a white door stood, untouched by the darkness of the room. Dash steadily wandered into the corridor, just as the sounds grew louder and more ominous. She could hear a steady heartbeat echo off the halls, and a muffled voice growling something. One opening the door, Dash gazed into another hallway that looked eerily like the one she just was in, only the walls seemed to... move. In addition, a dim red light emitted from the fence. Upon examining the walls, Dash felt it move with the same pulse of her own veins. On the other side of the fence was a bloody figure, chained upside down on the wall, and a large fleshy bulb was suspended by meat hooks beside it. Dash wanted to run, escape as the sounds of the growling and noises grew more frequent and louder. Dash sprinted down the hall, opening a second door, but it lead to another identical hallway. This time, the walls were oozing a red ichor, and the bulbous shape behind the fence opened up to a giant, bloodshot eye. Sweat dribbled down the frightened girl's forehead, and ran as fast as her heart could keep up with her. She opened the door, and again the same corridor, but the eye was looking around the room frantically and the body twitched with every step she took. She covered her ears, screaming bloody murder as to escape this nightmarish hell and the now shouting voices. Finally, the door opened to a black abyss, the sounds stopped, and Dash fell into nothingness. The only sound that echoed her mind was the haunting voice of Keeper Briar, and the horrendous pumpkin carving burned into her mind.

Rise and shine... Rainbow Dash

Upon thrusting upward, sweating a typhoon over her head, she looked around and saw her surroundings. She was no longer in an employee locker room, but lying down on a medical bed. She looked around, and saw Chuck and Frank sitting in chairs by a door.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Dashie." Frank warmly greeted. "You gave us quiet a scare." Dash wanted to get up and thrust her arms around the two, but felt a cold ring around her wrist. She looked and saw her arm was handcuffed to the railing of the bed.

"What happened to me?" Dash asked. Chuck got up and put his hand on Dash's shoulder.

"You went quiet after we left the room." Chuck began. "I walked out the check on you, but you were lying on the ground, shaking and screaming. We tried to wake you, but you were having some sort of panic attack."

"The weird part was that you were screaming about gummy bears for some reason." Frank added.

"We took you and Vikki back to the safe house. You went berserk, trying to attack people, so Sullivan had to cuff you to keep you from hurting anyone. You were out for five hours, we only just got back from getting survivors." Dash looked downward, sweat dripping from her brow. It seemed so real to her. Was it all just a bad dream? Frank stood up and began to stretch his legs.

"Well, I'm gonna go empty the fuel tank. Drank a whole carton of orange juice a few minutes ago." Frank smiled and casually waltzed out the door. Chuck bent down and unlocked Dash's restraint and gave her a warm smile.

"You did good out there, but for now, I think you should stay here. Keep Stacey company, play with my daughter, mess with Sullivan, socialize, just don't head out until you feel better, okay?" Dash felt reluctant to stay while Frank and Chuck risked their lives outside. She never did like getting all cooped up like a hen, all bored and fidgety. But, Chuck was genuinely serious about this, and she did feel a little sick. A confirming smirk flew on Dash's face and a nod soon followed. Chuck returned a grin and opened the door.

"Tell Frank not to break his hip!" Dash joked.

"I heard that," Frank shouted. "And I'm forty-one!" Chuck gave a relaxed sigh and headed out the door. Dash put her hands on her hips and stood watching at the grizzled motorcyclist. Those two were almost complete opposites, but they're made for each other, just like true friends.

"Just like my friends." Dash quietly said to herself.

"Speaking of, another Watcher told me they're doing fine." Said a familiar voice. Dash turned around and saw Watcher sitting in a chair, reading a magazine. The hooded man lifted his head and gave a sharp-toothed smile to the rainbow-haired girl.

"You again?" Dash irritably asked. "What do you want?" Watcher put his magazine aside and gave Dash a stern look, mostly concealed by his hood over his eyes.

"You're showing remarkable progress, especially encountering Keeper Briar." At the name, Dash gave a shudder. "He's a special one. One of the few members of the Mad King's Court that have similar powers of nightmare alteration like Thorn. Briar can't change the world, but he can change what a single person sees." Dash's eyes widened, remembering her nightmare. At the end, Briar's carved face appeared and his voice spoke to her. Was he responsible for the dream?

"So that explains the nightmare I had."

"The only way you can beat it is to realize it's a dream, or have someone else bring you out of it. Just like Freddy Krueger." Watcher stood up, glancing at his stop watch. "Well, I've got to run. Meeting at the Black Lodge. The Master will ask me to accompany him." Before Watcher could leave, Dash stopped him so she could ask one question.

"There was someone else with Briar. He had metal body parts and knife like fingers. I think he called himself 'Seeker'." At that name, Watcher's face turned even paler than usual.

"Seeker? The Seeker?!"

"He said he used to work for the Wanderer of Worlds. Do you know him?"

"My master's primary title is the Wanderer of Worlds, but you know him as Guardian. As for Seeker...." Sorrow entered the voice of Watcher, just as he slumped back down into the chair. "He used to be my Master's most powerful warrior ally, almost as strong as the Wanderer. Seeker, like myself, is from a now extinct universe that thrived on war. I deserted these wars and focused on my special abilities of being able to duplicate myself."

"You can make more of you? That's awesome!"

"Indeed, hell this Watcher you're speaking to isn't even the original. Anyway, Seeker is a living weapon, a cyborg war machine. He lived for the thrill of battle. After a few years of servitude to my Master, Seeker grew bored of his job of stabilizing universes and defected. He now is the leader of a separatist group known as the Shard, causing mayhem across many universes. If he is here... only bad things are in store." Watcher stood up and gave a white crystal to Dash. "If you see Seeker again, throw this crystal on the ground and we'll send a powerful ally to help you. Now if you excuse me." With a prompt spin, Watcher vanished in a green glow. "I LEAVE!"

Dash stared at the crystal in her hand, wondering what Seeker was up to, and what did it mean for her and her friends. Next Chapter: Chaper Eight: Undead Kitchen Estimated time remaining: 32 Minutes