Dean, Claire, Bianca, and Ruby—with the exception of Lily, who seemed to have fallen asleep—immediately stood up and walked closer to the girl. When Dean stood in front of her, it turned out she was almost the same height as him, around 5 feet 9 inches compared to Dean who was 6 feet 1 inch tall. This was a contrast to Claire, Bianca, and Ruby, who were only about his shoulder height, around 5 feet 6 inches, and Lily, who came up to his chest, around 5 feet 3 inches, making her much smaller than the others.
Looking up close, the girl's face was not just beautiful but also had handsome features, like a prince from a fairy tale. Her face was clearly different from Natalie's, even though both were pretty.
"Who are you?" Dean asked, studying the girl's face.
"Me? Oh yeah, my name is Alison Reed. Nice to meet you," the girl said.
"Huh... Alison?" Claire asked.
"How did you get here and help us?" Bianca asked.
Ruby didn't say anything, since she didn't know Natalie and didn't understand what was going on. She just stared at Alison's face, confused.
Alison, seeing Dean, Claire, Bianca, and Ruby's confusion, finally couldn't hold back her laughter.
"Hahahaha... it's me, Natalie!" Alison said.
"Huh... really?" Dean asked, still confused.
"Yeah, the real Natalie is 26 and still a virgin... but you... you look our age," Claire said.
"Hey, what's with the 'still a virgin' comment? And why are you bringing up my age?" Alison asked, annoyed.
"Never mind that. Are you really Natalie?" Bianca asked.
"Hmm... the blonde hair is the same, though," Ruby muttered.
"I really am Natalie, and my name is Alison now. I'm the same age as you guys, 18. Let me tell you everything," Alison said.
*****
A moment earlier, while watching the fight with Dean and the others, which looked exhausting with all the giants and the barrier they couldn't get through, NS muttered with a serious face.
"W-what is it?" Natalie asked.
"They're exhausted. They can beat the enemies easily, but that barrier is a real pain," NS said, pointing to the screen with his cane.
"So what do we do?" Natalie asked.
"Do you want to help them?" NS asked, turning to look at Natalie.
"Huh... help them?" Natalie asked.
"Yeah, by becoming Dean's soul partner and taking on a debt for the price of your soul. Don't worry, your debt will be added to theirs," NS replied.
"Huh... a debt?" Natalie yelled, glaring at NS.
"Well, if you don't want to, that's fine. They're fighting to get revenge for you, but I thought someone with such a strong sense of justice wouldn't just sit there," NS said, shrugging his shoulders.
Natalie turned to look at the screen and watched. Her sense of justice and revenge started to flare up when she saw the face on the ceiling, plus she saw Dean and the others endlessly fighting the hockey-masked giants, who looked like a squadron of horror movie killers. Natalie clenched her fists, then she turned to look at NS.
"Quick, explain what a soul partner is," Natalie said.
"Hmm... you know Claire and Bianca, right? The other two are named Ruby and Lily. They're all soul partners tied to Dean because their souls are all special," NS said.
"Special... souls? Them?" Natalie asked, looking back at the screen.
"Yeah, you're special too. That's why I'm offering you the deal. Their combined debt is worth the price of all their souls, and now they're working as Nightmare Agents to pay off their debt," NS said.
Natalie was silent for a moment. She kept looking at the screen in front of her, then she looked at Dean and the others one by one.
"Why is Dean the only guy?" Natalie asked without looking away from the screen.
"Oh, that's just a rarity issue, you see. Special male souls are very rare, maybe a ratio of 10,000 to 1, whereas for female it's 10,000 to 10. So Dean is rare... very rare, in fact, hohoho," NS said.
"I see," Natalie muttered.
"Oh, that's right. A soul partner also literally means wife because they're tied to each other and become one," NS said.
Natalie was stunned. She quickly turned her head so fast her neck cracked and stared at NS with her mouth hanging open.
"What... so... all of them are... Dean's wives?" Natalie asked.
"That's right. Do you want to join them and become one of them? I know you have feelings for Dean, and there's no need to deny it, hohoho," NS replied with a sly smile.
"What? No... that's not it! I mean... I just see Dean as a little brother," Natalie said, embarrassed.
"Hohoho... ever since you first met him that morning at school, you've been thinking about him every day, haven't you? Then you got mad at Claire when you found out she was his fiancée at the cafe, and you even made time in your busy schedule to stop by his class a few days ago..."
"Okay... stop!" Natalie said, cutting NS off while holding up her hand and covering her red face.
"He's definitely a bad boy... just your type, hohoho," NS added.
"I said stop!" Natalie said.
"If you're thinking your age is a limit for getting close to Dean and you're embarrassed because you feel old compared to him, I can give you a new life," NS said, turning to look at Natalie's body. "Besides, it seems like your body can't be used anymore. You're on the verge of death, so what do you think of my offer?"
"Huh?" Natalie asked, turning to look at NS, a spark of interest in her eyes as she realized he was right. "What do you mean?"
"You were worried about the debt before, right? Please think about it carefully," NS replied.
"Hey, quick, explain what you mean! What do you mean you can give me a new life?" Natalie asked, completely ignoring the debt part.
"Hmmm... let's just say I can make you a teenager again, and you can enjoy your youth, a youth you never had before, with those girls. But it has to be my way, hohoho," NS said.
"Really?" she asked, turning to look at the screen again, then looking back at NS. "I can really be a teenager again and live my youth without any regrets?"
"Yes, I promise," NS said.
Natalie turned back to the screen, but this time she was smiling. She looked back at NS with that same smile.
"Okay, I'll do it," Natalie said.
"Hmm... and the debt? Do you need me to explain that, because I haven't had a chance to explain about..."
"I said I'd do it, didn't I?" Natalie said, pointing to the screen. "They need help." She looked at NS, still ignoring the debt.
"Okay, have it your way," NS said. "First, I need a part of your body that seems to still be intact. Just a moment."
NS walked over to Natalie's burned, prone body. Then plop, a large tube appeared in his hand. He placed the tube on Natalie's head, and plop, the brain that was in her body suddenly moved into the tube. Natalie was shocked when she saw it.
"H-hey, what are you going to do with my brain?" Natalie asked.
"Hohoho... you'll see. Let's go somewhere else," NS replied, holding the tube with the green liquid and Natalie's brain floating inside.
Snap, NS snapped his fingers, and suddenly Natalie's surroundings changed into an old lab full of machines and tubes on the tables.
"Huh... wh-where is this?" Natalie asked, looking around.
"My lab. Come here," NS replied, gesturing to Natalie.
They walked down a hallway that looked like a dark, old monastery. Natalie kept following NS from behind, though she kept looking around her. When they got to the end, they arrived at a large, round room with a dome overhead. In front of them was a table that stood vertically, flanked by two large tubes on either side. The base of the table was covered in a cloth, and many cables connected the table to the machines around it.
NS pulled back the cloth, and Natalie's eyes widened when she saw the body of a beautiful, tall girl. But her arms and legs were full of stitches with different patches of skin. Her body was the same, full of stitches and patches.
"Hey... this is..." Natalie said.
"Yeah... here we call it a Nightmare Golem, but in the real world, it's known as a Frankenstein monster," NS said.
"This is the body you were talking about?" Natalie asked.
"That's right. But because your soul is going to enter it too, you'll be half-human, half-Frankenstein," NS replied.
"I see... so that means I'll be weird," Natalie said.
"They're all the same, including Dean. What about it? Did you change your mind?" NS asked.
Natalie looked at the girl's body in front of her and shook her head. Then she turned and stared at NS firmly.
"Okay, I'm good with it," Natalie said.
"Good. Now I'll put your brain in first," NS said.
NS placed the tube on the head of the girl's body, which was lying on the vertical table and strapped down with belts. Shlop, Natalie's brain in the tube disappeared and went into the girl's head. Then NS looked at Natalie and pressed a button on the machine, and the table lowered to a horizontal position.
"Now you lie down and enter your new body," NS said.
"Um... just lie down like that?" Natalie asked.
"Yes, go ahead," NS said.
Even though she was hesitant, Natalie approached the girl's body. Then she got onto the table and lay down. Slowly, Natalie's soul entered the body. When Natalie's soul was fully inside, NS walked to a machine and pulled a lever. The two tubes flanking the table started to spark with electricity, and the table automatically lifted back to a vertical position. Zzzzzzt, a massive bolt of electricity hit the table and zapped the girl's body until the entire room was filled with white smoke.
After a moment, click, NS pushed the lever up again and the electricity stopped, leaving behind the white smoke. Clang, the sound of broken straps was heard. The girl fell, but she immediately went down on one knee and lowered her head without lifting it.
"Now your name is..."
Suddenly the girl raised her hand, and then lifted her head. Her red eyes stared at NS.
"Can I choose my own name?" the girl asked.
"Go ahead. But it can't be the same as your old name, and you can't use your father's last name," NS replied.
"Okay. I'll take the name of my deceased mother, Alison, and the last name of my former partner who passed away... Reed. So my name is Alison Reed now," Alison said, looking at NS and smiling.