Nightmare was the very first fanfic I ever posted. It was 2007, I was 13 years old, and I thought I was the best writer on this site, which is all kinds of laughable when I go back and read my old stories now. But for several years now, a part of me has really wanted to go back and rewrite Nightmare, and its two sequels, because I think the foundation of a good story was always there; I was just too young and too inexperienced as a writer to really do it justice the first time around.

This trilogy is a second season AU that takes the place of The Love Cruise, Homecoming, and basically everything after that. It wasn't an AU when I originally had the idea; it was meant to be a continuation of Rose's story arc after Dreamscape. I used to lay in bed at night and imagine the scenarios that I would eventually turn into these three stories. But by the time I actually wrote and uploaded them, Homecoming had already aired, retroactively making my trilogy an AU.

Anyway, Disney+ recently added AD:JL, which led to me experiencing a resurgence of my childhood obsession, so I decided this would be the perfect time to finally rewrite my very first fanfics. The originals are still here, if you're interested in reading them for comparison.

This story takes place between Breakout and Dreamscape. The trilogy doesn't actually diverge from canon until the second story, so this one can technically be read as a standalone, canon-compliant fic, if you're so inclined.


Huntsgirl stood before her master, watching expectantly as he took in the information she had given him.

"You're certain you know the identity of the American Dragon?" The Huntsman asked her.

"Yes, Master." Huntsgirl nodded. "His name is Jake Long. He goes to my school."

"Really?" The Huntsman's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yes," Huntsgirl said. "He revealed his human form to me when I captured him during the Grand Equinox Hunt. He must have thought I would show him mercy because he was someone I knew. As if that could somehow change my destiny!"

"And yet he escaped," The Huntsman said, eyeing his student suspiciously. "How did that happen?"

"Because," Huntsgirl narrowed her eyes. "I let him go."

"What?" The Huntsman towered over her, furious. "Why would you—"

"I saw a greater opportunity." Huntsgirl interrupted. She stepped forward and lifted her chin, facing her master unafraid. "I realized that if he believed I was on his side, if I let him think he could trust me, I could gain access to parts of the magical world that no Huntsclan member has ever come close to rooting out. This idiot boy has practically handed us the entire magical community on a silver platter."

The Huntsmaster regarded his young apprentice contemplatively, and she folded her arms and smirked.

"Excellent work, Huntsgirl." The Huntsman said at last. "You are—truly—one of us."


Rose bolted upright in bed with a gasp. She looked around frantically, breathing hard. She was alone in her quarters, and all was quiet, save for the pounding of her own heart.

One of us…

The words reverberated through her head, and Rose drew her knees up to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the lingering vestiges of the nightmare.

"It was just a dream," she whispered. "It was just a dream."

She raised her head, took a few deep breaths to calm herself, and swung her legs over the edge of the mattress. Standing, she crossed the room and stood before the floor-length mirror on the opposite wall.

Her reflection stared back at her—a slim, blue-eyed girl of thirteen, dressed in the form-fitting maroon uniform of the Huntsclan. There was a time not long ago when this uniform gave her a sense of belonging, a time when she wore it with pride. Now she couldn't stand the sight of it.

Rose turned away from the mirror and paced the length of the room, her braided hair swishing behind her with the movement. She stopped by the bedside table, where her mask lay on top of a stack of schoolbooks, and ran her fingers over the fabric. She clenched a hand around the hated mask for a moment, then set it down and picked up her room key instead. She needed some air.

Her boots lay beside the bed, and she left them there and walked barefoot across the room to the automated grey door; she tapped her card key against the glowing panel on the wall, and the door slid open with a soft whoosh. Pocketing the key, she slipped out of the room and into the darkened corridor.

Out here, the hallway looked like an abandoned service tunnel, a thoroughly unremarkable space between subway stops, thanks to an enchantment the Huntsman had placed over it to disguise the living quarters and the control room of his base of operations. The Huntsclan had dozens of bases like this one all over the city, all hidden in plain sight by concealment charms to keep them away from the prying eyes of curious New Yorkers.

For an organization that viewed magical creatures as unnatural and disgusting—to the point of seeking their total annihilation—the Huntsclan certainly didn't seem to have any qualms about using magic for their own ends. For that matter, weren't they themselves imbued with a kind of ancient magic? Everyone who bore the mark of the Huntsclan possessed supernatural strength and agility, after all.

Rose flexed her hand, where her own dragon birthmark splayed across her palm, ever-present at the edge of her awareness, and let out a humorless laugh. She wondered, not for the first time, how it had taken her so long to see the staggering hypocrisy of it all.

There was an older student at the Academy who used to go off on rants about that exact issue, so at the very least, Rose wasn't the only one who noticed the double standard. On the other hand, that same student had a penchant for indiscriminately slaughtering magical creatures, even the ones that tried to cooperate with the Huntsclan, so he wasn't exactly emblematic of a reasonable person. He had a bloodlust and a sadistic streak almost unparalleled among his fellow hunters, and he had managed to corrupt a handful of younger boys into parroting his troubling rhetoric. One of many reasons Rose was glad to be away from that place.

Recognizing the hypocrisy of what you've been taught, Rose realized, wasn't enough in and of itself. It was what you decided to do with that understanding once you had it. You could let it take you to a place of extremism, like the older boy at the Academy, or you could choose to have empathy and reach across barriers, as Rose herself had spent months trying to do.

It was nights like this when she wondered if even that was enough.

Rose reached the end of the corridor, crossed silently through the empty 5th Avenue subway station, and took the stairs up to street level, emerging by Grand Army Plaza near the southeast corner of Central Park.

It was only 10:30, but for a city that supposedly never slept, the streets of Manhattan were surprisingly quiet. That was perfectly fine with Rose. She made her way into the park, not entirely sure where she was going, but enjoying the solitude and the feel of the cool grass beneath her feet.

After a while she reached a cluster of trees by the pond; glancing up, she spotted a sturdy-looking branch a little ways above her head. In a single, graceful bound, Rose leaped up and caught hold of it. The branch creaked a little under her weight, its leaves rustling as she hoisted herself up, then all was still again.

Rose sat for a while in silence, looking out over the moonlit water. From her vantage point she could see Gapstow Bridge to the north, and a glimpse of Wollman Rink over the tops of the trees just beyond. Jake had promised once, before either of them knew each other's true identities, to take her ice skating there sometime. But life and fate and the expectations placed on both of them had gotten in the way, as they always did, and Rose found herself wondering what kind of relationship they might have if they were just two normal seventh graders, instead of mortal enemies caught in a clash of destinies neither of them had asked for.

"Guess we never did get that ice skating date, huh?"

Rose gave a start at the voice behind her, and she turned and looked over her shoulder to see Jake hovering in midair, wings flapping softly.

"I was just thinking about that." Rose said quietly.

Jake dipped under the branch and came up in front of her on the other side. "It's good to see you."

"You too," Rose smiled at him. "What are you doing out here?"

"Just finished a patrol." Jake said. "Pretty quiet for a Saturday." He reverted to human form, and his feet hit the ground with a soft thump. Leaning forward, Rose reached down to him, and Jake grasped the offered hand and pulled himself up to sit beside her.

"What about you?" he asked.

"Couldn't sleep," Rose said. "Bad dream."

Jake touched her arm. "You wanna talk about it?"

Rose laid her hand on top of his and met his concerned gaze with a small smile. "Honestly? I'd rather talk about anything else right now."

Jake nodded understandingly. "Sure."

They talked about school, and their friends, and music, and what they had been watching on TV lately, and just for a moment Rose allowed herself to believe they really were a couple of normal kids, and it felt good, but it pained her to know it couldn't last.

"It's almost midnight," Jake said after a while, looking down at his watch. "I need to be home soon. Are you okay now?"

"Yeah," Rose said. "Thanks, Jake."

"Anytime." Jake pushed himself off the tree branch and dragoned up in midair, flexing his wings in preparation for takeoff. At the same time Rose jumped down and began to make her way back towards the street.

"Hey," Jake called out.

Rose turned back and looked up at him.

"See you in my dreams?"

She smiled, a little hesitantly. "Yeah."


When Rose arrived at school on Monday, Jake was waiting for her by her locker.

"Hi Jake," she said cheerfully.

"Hey," he said. "I missed you in the dream realm last night. Where were you?"

"Oh, uh…" Rose's smile faltered. "I was just…uh, really tired last night. Must've fallen asleep without my dream charm."

"Got it," Jake accepted the excuse without question, and Rose instantly felt a stab of guilt.

"Wait!" she caught his arm as he started to walk away. "That was…that's not true. I'm sorry. I don't want to lie to you. I didn't wear my dream charm to bed last night because I was afraid I was gonna have another nightmare, and…I didn't want you to see it."

"Did you?" Jake asked. "Have another nightmare, I mean?"

Rose averted her gaze. "Yeah, I did."

"The same one? From the other night?"

"Uh…" Rose hesitated. "Yeah."

"What's going on?" Jake pressed. "If something's bothering you, I want to help."

"Jake…" Rose sighed. "I—you know I trust you. I just…I'm not ready to talk about it yet, okay?"

"Sure," Jake said helplessly, trying to sound supportive. "I mean, yeah, that's…cool."

"I gotta get to class," Rose said as the bell rang. "We'll talk later, okay?"


Rose went to bed without her dream charm for the next several nights, and Jake grew more concerned as the week wore on.

"She's been having this recurring nightmare," he told Fu Dog on Thursday afternoon; the Shar Pei was perched on the stool in the back room of Lao Shi's electronics shop, working on a new potion, and Jake was slouched on the sofa nearby. "And she won't talk to me about it. She's bailed on our dream dates every night this week."

"Missin' out on time with your sweetheart, huh?" Fu raised his eyebrows playfully.

Jake scowled. "I'm serious, Fu. I'm worried about her."

Fu hopped down from the stool and trotted over to the couch. He placed a paw on Jake's arm. "You just gotta be patient, kid. She'll talk to you when she's ready."

"Maybe I should just go into her mind and see this nightmare for myself," Jake said thoughtfully, standing up and pacing across the floor. "Technically we don't both need to use our dream charms. I can just use mine."

"That is unwise, young dragon."

Jake turned and saw his grandfather standing in the doorway. Lao Shi folded his hands and strode calmly into the room. "If Rose does not want you to see her nightmare, you must respect her wishes."

Jake opened his mouth to protest, then shut it again with a sigh.

"You're right," he relented. "It's just…something is scaring her enough to cause these bad dreams. If I knew what it was, maybe I could help her."

"You must use your discernment." Lao Shi told him. "What could Rose be afraid of that she would be reluctant to share with you?"

"It could be anything." Jake said.

"Really?" Fu Dog pressed. "Cuz I can only think of one thing."

Jake frowned, brow furrowed in concentration. Gramps and Fu watched him expectantly, waiting for him to get it.

His head snapped up suddenly. "Oh."

"There we go!" Fu gave him a friendly smack on the shoulder.

"Oh," Jake repeated, quieter.


At school the next day, Jake slipped a note into Rose's locker, asking her to meet him at the shop that afternoon. When school let out, he headed straight to the shop and spent the next twenty minutes pacing the floor anxiously, hoping she would show.

The bell above the door dinged, and Jake stopped his pacing and looked up eagerly. Rose stood in the doorway, holding his note in her hand.

"I'm glad you came," Jake said. He gestured to the couch, and Rose crossed the room and sat down beside him.

"What's going on, Jake?"

"That bad dream you've been having all week..." Jake began. "It's about me, isn't it? About…betraying me?"

Rose drew back, looking suddenly like a caged animal. "How—" she eyed the dream charm on his wrist. "Did you—"

"No," Jake assured her. "I wanted to, but Gramps told me that if you didn't want me to see it, I should respect that."

"Th-then how—" Rose faltered.

"I just guessed." Jake said honestly.

Rose stared silently at the floor for a long moment. "I can't stop thinking about it," she said at last. "I-I can't help thinking, what if everything the Huntsclan taught me is just…too deeply ingrained in my head? What if something snaps in me and I go back to hating magical creatures?"

"That's never gonna happen." Jake said firmly.

Rose looked at him with desperation in her eyes. "How can you be so sure?"

"You can't go back to hating magical creatures because you never did in the first place." Jake said. "You only believed what the Huntsclan taught you because it was all you knew. When you realized they were wrong, you did something about it. You changed your beliefs and started trying to be better."

"I know," Rose sighed. "It's just sometimes I worry that…what if that's not enough to overcome the instincts the Huntsman drilled into me my whole life?"

"Remember what I told you the night of the Equinox Hunt?" Jake took her hands in his. "You're not like the Huntsman. You never were. You have empathy. You're…kind. You care about people. And there's nothing he could ever do to train that out of you."

Rose drew in a shaking breath and tried in vain to fight back the tears welling up in her eyes. "Every time he talks about what I'm destined to be, I get this horrible feeling deep down that maybe he's right, that it's all somehow…inevitable. I know that's not true, but…" she trailed off, letting the sentence hang in the air.

"The Huntsclan doesn't control your destiny." Jake insisted calmly. He cupped her hand in his and gently caressed his thumb over the dragon birthmark on her palm. "And neither does this."

"I know." Rose nodded, trying hard to swallow the lump in her throat. A few tears slid down her cheeks, and Jake reached up to brush them away.

"You're a good person," he said. "And you did that on your own."

"Well," Rose smiled at him. "Not entirely on my own. I have you."

"Yeah," Jake said. "You do have me—and Gramps, and Fu, and Trixie and Spud. All of us. You're on our team. I trust you with my life, and they do too."

Rose blinked fast, trying once again to fight back tears, and pulled Jake into a tight hug. He returned the embrace, and they held onto each other for a long while, before Rose finally pulled back and stood up, wiping the moisture from her eyes.

"I should get going," she said, composing herself. "The Huntsman still gets suspicious when he doesn't know where I am."

Halfway to the door she stopped, hand on the knob, and turned back to him. "Hey."

Jake perked up.

"See you in my dreams?"

He grinned at her. "Most definitely."