//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: The Impossible Encounter 
// Story: Two-World Collision 
// by BRony Engine 
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	Robert made a painful yet exhausted groan as he woke up, feeling some strange pressure and heat around his head. His eyes soon focused enough to have him notice what the cause for the pressuring headache was. As the upper half of his body laid on its back and arched over, Robert came to the conclusion that this was due to his constant tossing and turning throughout the night, leaving him hanging upside down. He could feel all the blood rush down from his head to the rest of his body as he got up, leaving him with a dazed disorientation. Other than that, Robert suddenly began to feel a painful headache emerge through his skull, almost close to a migraine. He rushed himself to the bedroom sink and trifled through the medicine cabinet, groaning in discomfort as he searched for a pain reliever. Luckily, he managed to find a small white bottle sitting in a small blue box. He quickly opened the bottle and threw two tablets into his mouth before swallowing. He sat there for about a minute until the headache died down.
"what the hell?" He groaned.
The groggy teen shortly regained his senses and made is way back to the bed. As Robert took a look at the clock he chuckled to see what time it was- 7:53am. It was merely seven minutes before his alarm would go off to wake him up. He sat in his bed for a few minutes to try to recall what happened last night. Several more minutes passed before Robert came to the realization that he could not remember what he was dreaming about. The entire night- the storm, the dreams, the constant struggle- all a big black blur. His thought trance immediately broke once he heard the loud noise of his alarm clock, which was quickly dismissed. Robert quickly stood up and made his way towards the door until he was stopped by an impulse. He felt as if something was watching him, observing his behavior. It was a presence that felt close, as if something else was in the room with him. He quickly looked around his room for any kind of irregularity, something that's not meant to be there.

Nothing. Robert was completely alone in his room.

He shook off this strange sense and proceeded to retrieve his morning meal. Robert was surprised to find his mother, who seemed dreadfully upset, sitting on the recliner with her cell phone in hand.
"Mom?" Robert asked with confusion.
His mother gasped in surprise to see her son standing in the hallway. Robert could see a few trails of tears running down her face as if something tragic occurred.
"Robert!" His mother cried out with joy, followed by a strong hug and several kisses.
"Good...morning?" 
"I was so worried about you!"
He soon broke from his mother's hug to giver a questioning look. As soon as she noticed, her smile faded into the same look she was receiving.
"Worried?" He asked. "Why are you worried?"
"Robert..." His mother sat down. "I was getting ready for work this morning. I was making my coffee when I heard this loud noise coming from your room. I opened the door and you on the floor, doing this weird breathing..." She paused for a second to wait for a response. "I tried to snap you out if it when I picked you up, and saw that your eyes were open. You looked at me and stopped breathing. Then you made this....this loud scream into my face! Oh, Robert, I was was so scared that I just threw you onto your bed and you wouldn't stop squirming! I ran out of your room, closed the door and grabbed my phone to call an ambulance."
Robert couldn't believe was he was being told. He wasn't one to have seizures or panic attacks, he never had one before. He thought for a moment while his mother quietly sobbed in the chair, and came up with a logical conclusion.
"Mom," he said while trying to cease her tears, "I don't think you had to call ambulance for what happened. What may have happened was that I was having some sort of nightmare, and it simply just caused me to sleepwalk."
"B-but, the way you were acting-"
"Again, it was a nightmare. And besides," he said while spinning a full 360, "I'm perfectly fine, See? You might want to call the hospital and tell them that it was a false alarm."
"I don't want to, but..." She hesitated as she looked back at her son for any illness. "You seem to be okay...for now. I'll call the hospital and tell them that it was just a little sleepwalking incident."
Robert sighed in relief as he opened the cupboard and reached for the cereal box. He could hear his mother talking on the phone in the other room while she prepared for work. Soon after, she came into the living room with her bags ready and gave him a goodbye hug.
"If anything else happens, Robert," She added, "let me know. I'll try to see if I can set up an appointment for the doctor to look at you."
"Sure thing, Mom." Robert smiled.
As soon as she left Robert continued on with his morning routine. He sat down at the table with a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal for breakfast. However, he was stopped about halfway through his meal by a familiar sense. It was the same feeling of being watched he had felt earlier that morning. Something was there with him but Robert couldn't see it, neither could he finish his breakfast. He got up to pour what was left of the coffee and cereal down the drain and quickly went to his room to get ready for a shower. Robert couldn't shake the feeling wherever he went that morning. He felt it in the shower, while getting dressed, and even when he tried to recall the night before into his computer -It followed him everywhere. He then made the decision to take a stroll into the town, in hopes that this sense would go away if he were occupied. Robert gathered his phone, wallet, and keys, and made his way outside.


               


It was almost noon. The atmosphere outside was calm; the breeze was soft and the sky was completely clear. As Robert strolled down the street, he felt as if the strange presence had disappeared and was replaced by this welcoming atmosphere. It was like a cloudy day, but better. He normally didn't like to be outside, but this time it was like he didn't want to go back to the apartment. He visited some of the stores around the area, played some of the arcade games at a local restaurant, and even had lunch when the time came. Robert had spent about two hours in town before he decided to go back home.
It was when he passed by an old alleyway, that Robert found himself caught within a similar state of mind. The feeling of being watched had somehow returned to him, along with faint whispers that sounded like they came from every direction. However, this time the feeling seemed different, more...alluring. Robert occasionally shook his head to fight off this sensation, but with each attempt he slowly fell closer into a dazed trance. Little did he know, he was involuntarily wandering into the mall"s alley. Deeper and deeper Robert went in, dragging his face along the cement wall as he fell victim to the disembodied whispers.
BAM!


               


"Hey, kid!" Said a male voice, along with a pat on Robert's face. "You alright?"
Robert groaned in exhaustion, slowly opening his eyes as he came to.
"Kid!"
"Wha...?" Robert answered sluggishly.
"I said, are you alright?" The man repeated.
"Where...am I?"
"In the alley between Target and Babies R Us. Are you drunk or something?"
Robert gave no answer, for he was too preoccupied with a painful bump on the side of his head. He looked at the man to find that he was an employee to one of the stores - red shirt, khakis pants, name tag. He looked to be about 23 years old and of Asian descent.
"No, I'm not drunk." Robert answered finally, rubbing his head. "What happened?"
"I don't know. I just came out here to do my job and saw you laying on the ground just now." The man explained. "Did you hit your head?"
"I think so."
"Do I need to get you help?" He offered.
"No, that's fine." Robert declined. "I think it's just a light bump."
"Well, I suggest you head your way home then."
As Robert made his way to standing up he noticed that the light was more dim than he remembered. 'How long was I out?' He thought to himself. He turned to the store employee, who was already heading his way back to wherever he was going. 
"Hey!" Robert called to the man, who quickly turned around in response. "What time is it?"
"About 5:07PM." The employee answered after a quick glance at his watch.

5:07?!!!

Not only had Robert woken up in a random alley way, he laid there unconscious for over three hours! What could've caused him to do such thing? He felt fine just this morning. Although now, he could feel nothing but shock.
"T-thanks." He said monotonously as the two parted ways.
Robert was once again alone, and now completely lost. Despite the difficulty of regaining memory, he slowly began to remember the area. This was an old shortcut he used to get home in short time. It was a long straight corridor which made a right turn into the docking  port for trucks that delivered merchandise shipments. That was when he noticed something out of place. There was a child standing in front of him, smiling as if he were the funniest thing he had ever seen. What was he doing here? Robert's curiosity got the best of him when he approached the boy, taking a few steps forward. The child giggled as he ran through the cargo dock in hiding from him.
"Come and find me!" He teased as he disappeared from sight.
"Uh...Okay..." Robert said to himself as he followed the little boy's voice. "Wait! What are you doing here?!"
"I'm over here!" He giggled. "Find me!"
"Who are you? Are you lost?"
"Come find me and find out!"
Robert followed the boy's voice throughout the area. A good few minutes passed by when he finally decided to give up. There was no longer any sight of the mysterious child anywhere- No child, no answers, no progress. He looked around to pinpoint his own location, but groaned to find himself in unfamiliar territory. What exactly was this area? He thought to himself. It most definitely didn't seem like it was part of the same place anymore. The walls seemed to have surrounded him in a way that seemed impossible. Little did he know that has he began making assumptions. the small child was standing behind him, curiously observing his every move. 
"You seem lost..." 
"Huh?" He turned around to look at the child. "Well...I guess we both are..."
"I'm not."
"What do you mean? We're both lost. You were lost when I found you a few moments ago. Then you went ahead and sent me on this wild goose chase after you!" He sighed, leaning a hand on the cement wall. 
"Hehe! Well, aren't you off?" The boy giggled in delight. "I'm not lost because I was only trying to lure you. I know my way around any place." He turned the corner and disappeared. "Especially the ones that were never even there in the first place..."
"Huh? What do you mean by that? Where did you go?" He turned the corner to find the child. It was as if he had disappeared again. "Show yourself!"
"Oh? Hehe! Which one?" He said after appearing behind the confused teen, surprising him and making him jump back. "The me that I'm having fun with messing with you? Or the form I came here in?"
"What are you talking about?!"
"Oh, I've been watching you, Robert. For the majority of today I've been watching you go mad with all that chaos in your head!" The child giggled as he stepped closer to Robert, cornering him into the wall. "I knew there was a connection, but I didn't expect it to come from someone like you. You're so young! I guess it just runs in the family."
"Then family? What family?" He began to feel a bit annoyed now. "You don't know anything about me!"
"Perhaps, but I do know what you see..." He grinned.
"What can you possibly know what I see? How do you even know my name?! Who are you?!" He screamed.
"Wow...such anger. It's almost impressive." He giggled with a roll of his eyes. "But if you insist on seeing my true form, the so be it!"
The shadows had suddenly started to move. They were engulfing the child like a blanket wrapping around him. Robert couldn't believe his eyes as he watched the black blob squirm and grow long right in front of him. He could hear the laughter of a madman echoing through the area. The horrible sight stood and loomed over him as its shape began to take a familiar form. The unequal horns on the head. The claws forming on the arms as the hooves formed on the hind legs. It's tail seemed reptilian with a small tuff of hair at the end. Robert was in shock as the creature looked more familiar. 
"N-No....I-It can't be....It shouldn't be!" He screamed as he had himself pinned against the wall. The creature's eyes opened to reveal the yellow and red glow that emanated from them. Those eyes...Robert had seen them before. But it was impossible. There was no possible way this abomination could be real. But there it was, looming over him like a predator and its prey. "What are you? You shouldn't even be here! You're just a dream! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!!!"
The creature grinned to his question. A deep chuckle could be heard as he peered down on Robert, who was shaking fearfully. "Oh?" He snickered. "What's the matter? Are you not fond of big reveals? I must admit I sure do have a weakness for them. I just love the reactions I get!" He wrapped himself around the boy. "Yours, however...make it seem like you've seen a familiar face! I can promise you that we've never met, but if you want an introduction, then I'll be happy to do that. You see...I'm the king of chaos. The lord of all things insane and non-sensible. Very few call me by the title of The Lord of Chaos. But many simply just call me by my name...."