Something Wicked This Way Comes

From the void, we see two figures appear. Two brothers, boys no older than seven or eight, feline in their faces, but with the posture and scale of the Ysoki.
Mist: “Wind! I caught one!”
The boy with purple fur holds a Castrovelian Yellow Fin over his head, a smile spreading from ear to ear. Wind, a miniature version of the man you call Balio, shares his brother grin.
Wind: “Nice! Do you want to show Mom?”
Mist: “Yes!”
Wind tucks a shoulder under his brother’s catch, and the two dash off into the shadows, each step lifted by the lack of gravity that comes with innocence.
???: “So very sweet…”
As with the Shrouded Lady of Tesin’s nightmares, you feel a pain behind your eyes. But there is no sudden waking. Your feet stumble in the Dream Lands, and dip into the shores of Leng. We see the two brothers again, this time much older. Balio is perhaps 1 or 2 years younger than the man you know now, outfitted in professional gear with a decent-looking gun over his shoulder. His hands are covered in blood up to the elbows.
Balio: “No… I don’t want to see this.” Balio is holding his brother, Mist, and the three-foot piece of shrapnel impaling his belly. Around the pair, more bodies lie about...
Balio: “Turn it off… I can’t.”
You see a Kasatha with a bullet wound in his neck, reaching out to Balio, his eyes glazed over with fear. A Lashunta woman covered in frost, as if she suffocated out in space. A Tien woman covered in burns. An Android riddled with bullet holes. And in the back, cloaked by the shadows… Another Android, covered in radiation burns, but still very much alive. His infrared eyes burn into Balio’s back as he steps forward, raising a gun to the Ysoki’s head, and on the breastplate of his suit, you see a familiar label - “Thyst Mining Team 4”. The Android goes to pull the trigger, and then the nightmare freezes.
???: “Woah, woah, woah, little Nightmare! Lucky I got here in time, Balio. They were about to eat ya!”
Balio, as you turn your head to see the voice behind you, you find that you cannot move or speak - a feeling that is shared by your fellow dream walkers. Still, you feel this creature’s darkness on your skin, as if oil pooled from the top of your head and down your shoulders. You recognize the gut rumbling feeling of the Skinny Man, but this one must be on steroids… Or perhaps, their king.
???: “Come now, little guy. Don’t struggle. Cry out and they might snatch up your words. And if you were to see me… Well, you don’t want to see me, and I’m running out of time… [clears throat] You like to put on faces, Balio. I like that. When the Dreamer reached out to you, I hitched a ride. But don’t blame him - no, no, no. The Dreamer is a sweet boy. Just misguided. And he warned you, after all.”
Balio, as you look about, the forms of your friends snap into place, standing around the bodies of your old crew mates. You see that you are all standing in a circle, eyes spinning wildly, chests heaving. A shadow walks about the edge of the circle, but you cannot see this creature’s form.
???: “I want to offer you a job, Balio, now that you’re stuck down here on Varos. And I want your little friends to help. Well, most of them...”
The shadow stops over Isra’s shoulder, and your skin crawls with a roiling aura of hatred.
???: “Never had any luck with you Shepherds. [Looking at Lockette] Maybe a Tinker, but [Looking at Chad] rarely a Smith. [Looking to Tesin] A Scythe, though… You like this girl, don’t you Balio? I could teach you how to make her like you back… No? Think about it. It’s not necessarily how your Walker powers are going to work, but like with me, they can be… modified. Corrupted.”

The shadow gasps, and you hear the distinctive sound of a forehead meeting a palm.

???: “Shit. Getting distracted, Maxy. I know you’re angry, but I can’t get to him yet! So shhhhh! Balio! Go to the cell of the one you call Gorgon, and kill everyone inside. If you do, I’ll give you. Three. Things. Rastelviri will fly you and your friends to a planet or plane of your choosing, one-way trip. I will tell you the command word to your brother’s tattoos. And best of all - [whispers in Balio's ear].” Balio suddenly screams, and a Haze splits from his forehead. You see the Ysoki with an ivory shard lining his chin, his eyes alight with power. With a wave of his hand, the crew of Balio’s old ship, the Maelstrom, gasp as they return to the living, their wounds removed. A new voice echoes from the darkness, and the shadow snarls.
???: “Lies.”
???: “Get out, Rider. He’s mine! Mine!”
There is a laugh from the man unseen, the sound of deck being shuffled, and then the deafening, overwhelming, clattering of hooves. The shadow howls, and the nightmare shatters apart.