[Park]

Usually, when Nick says he seen something, people would usually dismiss him. Not this group, to his surprise and relief. Now that he had some

"Ok." he said, "I think they were over here when-"

When he turned around, there was the figure again, hiding behind a tree. This time, he got a clear view of who the person was. He was a young, black boy, looking around seven. He had dark brown eyes, black hair, and wore a white hoodie and black pants.

"Why do you want to leave?" the boy asked, stepping away from the tree, "Why does everyone want to leave? It's not scary here!"

Nick's face visibly went pale, and he took several steps back. "N-No...y-you can't be...you can't-"

"What's wrong, Nick?" the boy then looked over at the other people, tilting his head curiously to the side, "Who are they?"

Aww yeah, my time to shine.

(Park)

"So, let me get this straight. The five goddesses sealed away their powers to protect them from a gang of crooks, but one of the goddesses got herself kidnapped by said crooks, along with her human companion. Now, you've got two jobs; rescue your friend, and get the goddesses' power back. Am I right, or did I miss something?"

Charlotte, meanwhile, couldn't help smiling at the irony of the Dragon's Daughters and the Elemental Guardians getting together, given their respective situations. "It's rather odd that you're trying to get the power of your gods back, because that's exactly what we don't want. We were chosen to stop the god Nightmare from breaking out of his prison in the Black Lands. He can't manifest on Earth yet, but he can communicate with his minions, who just love to summon monsters to spread fear. The more people fear him, the weaker his cage gets, and the closer he comes to breaking out and taking over the world."

"No, we aren't associated with the rich, Phoebe. What Danielle was probably talking about was the time some rich woman tried offering us five million bucks each for our rings because she wanted to play superhero. We kept saying no, but she kept trying... right up until we saved her butt from a giant turtle monster. When she saw us fighting it while she cowered behind a car, she decided we were the ones for the job."

Olivia was startled by Nick's reaction to the little kid, as she had been the one standing closest to him. Then she saw what he was reacting to. "Don't tell me you're afraid of elementary schoolers, Nick. Guy like you should be able to handle them," she teased.

(Forest)

The woods were lovely, dark, and deep. Emphasis on the dark, and the fog wasn't helping matters at all. Amy couldn't see twenty feet in front of her face, but lucky for her, she didn't need a flashlight. A ball of white light appeared in her hand, glowing softly to illuminate the surroundings. "That's better. Now, Zecoria, Zippy, whatever your name is. I'd like to know more about you and your fellow goddesses. What exactly can you do, and why did you pick Ashleigh and her friends as your champions, instead of someone more... experienced?"

[Wasteland]

Miyuki jumped to her feet at the sight of Half, though her Shadow did not seem overly agitated. "I don't know about any manors..." She said, uncertainly. "And I don't really know what's in that city." She glanced around her. The sun glared down at the scorched earth around them with unrelenting intensity. "But it's probably safer there than out here."

[Farm - Exterior (Mazra, Min, Varris, Caleb)]

Mazra listened to what all of the others were saying curiously, but she had begun to drift into only partly listening. Nobody else seemed as excited about this situation as she did. Consequently, she was very abruptly startled back into paying attention when Varris yelped. Even in the dreamscape's fantasy, her reflexes weren't that fast (yet!), but she did still have the field-sword hilt in her hand. Without thinking, she thumbed the external activation switch.

A glowing orange rectangle (now apparently fixed in that color) sprang from the top of the ornate hilt. It was much longer than it was wide, but did not come to a point. The faintly transparent rectangle gave off a soft humming sound.

Almost immediately after activating it, Mazra caught onto what the others were saying. So I didn't need it? Oh well. Hopefully I at least looked totally dashing drawing it.

She let the sword drop to her side, holding it rather casually, and looked at the others - more specifically, at Min and her knife. "Old reflexes? So you've used - " This time, she managed to cut herself off before going any further, remembering how Min had reacted the last few times she'd tried to make an idle comment.

To change the subject, she quickly looked over at Caleb. From what she'd heard, his society (and world) sounded... weird. Maybe even more so than what she'd first guessed. "No, I've never heard of derisium," she said, confidently. It had been a long time since her brief interest in geology, but she remembered most of her metals. She looked at Min and Varris. "Or of a... miryim?"

While meant to occupy the same space opera niche as a Laser Blade, the Corinarchi field-sword has some very specific details about how it works, so ask in the discussion thread if there's anything you need to know.

Park - Fawn, Dragon Girls, Phoebe, Nick, mysterious boy

Fawn at first didn't see anything and wondered if the fog and the dream world was playing tricks on Nick, that is until a little boy suddenly appeared before the whole group. He looked like a normal possibly elementary school boy, but for whatever reason Nick seemed absolutely terrified of him. Or at least very shocked to see him. Curious and not wanting to scare the boy off, Fawn slowly walked over and knelt down to be eye to eye with him. "Well hello there. My name is Fawn. Who are you?" she asked, trying to be friendly and figure out who the boy was.

[Ruins]

Salaam could make out two beings through the fog, they appeared to be of human shape. Salaam decided that it was in his best intrest to approach them, perhaps they could help him. He straightened his robes and made sure that his pistol was well hidden. no sense putting them on edge. Salaam thought. He approached them cautiously, "Hello, I am Salaam Nevan, who are you? And could you kindly tell me where I am?" He asked them.

[Farm – Exterior (Min, Varris, Mazra, Caleb)]

Min just barely managed to restrain herself from flinching when Mazra activated her sword, although it was probably too late to not look like a nervous wreck. Min sized up the blade, her face scrunching up a bit. “I sorta expected it to be more… swordlike,” she said with a frown. “Not just a rectangle. Can you make it any colors other than orange?”

Min slid her dagger back into its sheath, since there didn't appear to be any actual threat nearby. She brushed a strand of hair away from her face and adjusted her tattered jacket, which had gotten all lopsided from her movement. Varris righted himself on her shoulder, folding his wings.

“You don't have mirym in your world?” asked Varris, more focused on Mazra than her sword. “Hm… That's interesting. They're a fairly common race in ours. Unless they just have a different name where you're from…?” Describing them would be difficult without knowing what Mazra's world was like. It would be best to stick what he knew she would understand. “Well. They're… uh, amphibious, and can breathe underwater as well as on land, using gills. I guess they're pretty similar to humans in proportions, aside from their snouts, horns, and their long, flexible, finned tails. Their skin is generally smooth, with sparse patches of scales.”

Varris paused; come to think of it, there was something decidedly strange about Mazra's confusion here. “You know... It's kind of weird that you'd have humans in your world, but not mirym. I mean, if you think about it, humans are kind of a huge anomaly! Out of all sapient creatures, they've inherited the least amount of traits from the original dragons. Yet here, all of these different universes clearly have humans in them. What are the chances of the same anomaly happening so many times?”

Min crossed her arms, pouting facetiously. “Gee, thanks, Varris. Didn't know I was just an 'anomaly' to you.” Varris headbutted her affectionately, and she couldn't help but break into a smile – entirely warm and sincere, for the first time since she'd arrived.

Outside barn (Min, Verris, Mazra, Caleb)

Caleb looked between Mazra and Min and their weapons, "now I'm starting to regret leaving mine at home. Actually that's probably for the best."

He inclined his view towards Verris, "there's a saying I hear, 'humans get everywhere'. A lot of skylings use it as an insult but I don't see how that's a bad thing. I've never heard of a mirym either. What about eotena, or infex?"

Caleb I tented to explain derisium, but remembered how the dragon's daughters didn't know anything about eidolons, "derisium is...weird, basically. Not quite organic or inorganic".

Wasteland (Miyuki and her shadow, Celso, Half)

Half looked to the side; there was indeed a city there, but..., "I don't the monor's there, or else Ashleigh would have mentioned other buildings. All she said was that a trail would lead me there, but she did not predict this place."

Scanning the area, he noticed more bodies and blood, "are these what you seek safety from?"

edited 10th Mar '16 10:22:37 PM by Novis

[Farm (inside barn)]

Those names felt familiar, somehow. "I see. So how is your family doing nowadays?"

Seilaan's tea was defrosted and steaming hot again. Maybe she'd taken it a little too far. Oh well, better than too cold. She gave the wyvern some more scratchies. The poor baby didn't seem to like the tea, but water was a safe bet, right? She took the vapor in the air and turned it into an apple-sized orb of pure water that floated in front of the wyvern.

With her attention totally fixed on this task, she failed to notice the tall, ghostly person in white robes standing behind her. There were more layers, and this style lacked a waist sash, so they looked like they were wearing a fancy white tent. Their black hair was a smooth, thin sheet that almost reached the ground. Their face was slim, with a long, thin, and somewhat flat nose. They narrowed their eyes and tilted their head at Vince, studying his face for a moment before disappearing.

[Farm - Exterior (Mazra, Min, Varris, Caleb)]

Mazra laughed. "Oh, the color's just a setting - nothing important. You can make them any color you want." She paused. "Though multicolor is considered kind of... gauche. I'm still deciding what color I want mine to be, myself." She looked for a moment at the sword, curious why she, or her subconscious, had gone with orange instead of blue.

The moment of contemplation brought another thought to her mind: apparently, she was closer to being a Paladin than she had thought. After all, none of them had told her (the way Talons liked to) that she was holding the sword the wrong way, and Min at least seemed like she might have some idea of how that should be. Though...

"A field-sword's not like a metal sword," she continued. "It doesn't cut or stab, exactly - so it doesn't need a tailored shape. I've read that's possible, but there's no point to it I can think of."

She blinked at Caleb. Not quite organic or inorganic? What does that mean?

She hadn't heard of either of the species he mentioned, either, and said so. Then she continued, to Varris, "Well, I don't know what's the case in your world, but in mine dragons are just from stories." She frowned. "Though stories on a bunch of different planets, which is kind of weird. But humans - humans don't have anything to do with 'original dragons'. We're just one of many galactic species, though the Empire itself is a human nation. I dunno why they'd exist on your world too. Maybe it's a lost colony or something."

Without her being consciously aware of it, her foot had started tapping. This conversation had gone on for a while, and while it was interesting, it wasn't what she'd came out here for. She wanted something more... exciting!

(Whether the dreamscape would respond to that wish was, for now, not yet clear...)

Ruins

As Cirranze kneeled and touched the ground, Reynardo watched him, and considered what he had said. He had come from ruins as well… and while Rey could not tell what he was picking up, the man was likely reading something from it. There was something supernatural about him, after all. Rey was just not wholly familiar with what it was.

At the question regarding the shadows, Rey had to grin. It was not an amused or pleased grin, however; far from it. The expression was more out of unhappiness than anything else. “They are more than visions, friend,” Rey answered, shaking his head. “Here, in this dreamscape, they are as real as you and I. And the vampires will give them anything they need to destroy us.”

Indeed, Rey knew exactly what it was like to constantly deal with those things from the past which he dreaded and feared and missed. The very same occurred to him many nights, if he did not do something to quell the pain. Unfortunately, being a vampire, that meant doing some unsavory things. Which Cirranze, thanks to the shadows, was quite possibly about to become acquainted with in the most unwanted way.

“And the shadows… ah, these shadows, of the vampires, they will be more than that. That is my problem. I do not know how to kill what is already dead.” He paused then, sensing the approach of a third living creature, species unknown. Under his breath, he murmured "Ay...."

Cirranze pointed out the same - or, at least, that there were more pressing matters; whether the two issues were the same, Rey could not be certain. “If you have a plan for the ghosts, it is most welcome,” he said. “Fortunately I think we have some time. In life - such as it was - they were lazy and never did their own work if they could help it. They will use our minds against us first.”

Meanwhile, the third person was closing in; Rey had not turned around but could place the new stranger with his senses. There did not seem to be anything overtly threatening about the approach, so aside from putting his usual guard up Rey did not do anything out of the ordinary. At the introduction he turned and gave a very small, polite bow, and a faint smile. This newcomer was less prepared than Cirranze, it seemed, but who could blame him?

“Reynardo Morales,” Rey answered, studying Salaam a bit closely. Salaam was unlike any creature Reynardo had met before, with his somewhat reptilian nature and unusual manner of dress. That simply meant Rey had to be open-minded. To the possibility of a new friend, or perhaps someone trying to kill him. Either one was always likely.

“And you are standing in the ruins of Chavín de Huántar. Or, specifically, its representation in a dream state.” Rey tilted his head slightly. “Still, it remains, you would do well to be wary of what surrounds you. The shadows that pass over us, most of them are not friendly.”

Ruins:

Cira

That being... It carried an essence different from anything Cira saw before. His heart started racing. Was that a creation of advanced magic? One of those creatures from other planets that the seraphim often spoke of? Some remnant of Telure, the ruined land of myths?

Unfortunately, he had no time to ponder about that being's nature. At least it was nobody he once knew, no shadow from his past. Still, the vampire's words echoed in his head, like a blade swaying over him. If in that dream, his fears would be more than mere illusion, what would he face?

Reckoning. Yes, that was what was coming for him. He was a shadow mage, his memories were strong and living, and never his own. Each insect he stepped on, each toy he broke as a child, each wound he caused, each person he killed, all of them weighted upon his soul, dragging him towards his punishment. He entered Hel itself while trying to find a way to fool it. Why does this aways happen to me?

Could he escape again?

"Salaam, you say? I am Cirranze of Akerom. You picked a horrible place to get lost in.". The strange being had neither a cane nor a wooden leg, so what did Cira hear before? "This ruin, it is..."

"...haunted?", completed the soft voice of an old man, who stepped out from the shadows, wearing a blood red trenchcoat and carrying a simple wooden cane. "So, my pupil, what is this plan of yours?".

Terim

"You!", Cira shouted as he jumped back, his red hair flailing through the air for a moment. One day, the boy would die because his hair got caught by a train or running horse. He grabbed his gun and leveled it at Terim. A trial, the old warlock thought.

"There is no need for violence, Cira. I just came to check up on my student. Who would have guessed that poor little boy would one day become such a strong woman", Terim said with an affable smile, gesturing towards Cira's face, which could look somewhat good on a boy, if it wasn't for the long hair and big blue eyes making him go from pretty to almost girly. If it wasn't for his too deep voice, his friends would probably confuse him with a woman.

"So all it takes for you to respect a woman is being stabbed in the back by her? Because I am more than willing to do it again.", he said, but still didn't shoot. Huh, the fool probably liked being called a girl. Perhaps that was something Terim could use.

"Wait! I wish no harm, Cira. Or do you wish to be called something else? That was not the name that man called you when he grabbe..."

Cira's finger moved, and his handgun flashed thrice as Terim droped his cane and jumped out of the way. The first shot cut through empty air, agitating the shadows, and the second hit Terim's shoulder. He tried to get to his feet but his apprentice was faster and kicked his back, making him fall back on the floor. A small bulled hit the ground a few inches from his left ear.

He does not want to kill me. He does not want to kill me., Terim told himself, while he concentrated on his wounded shoulder, remembering the shapes of his bones, the correct positions of muscles and tendons. As he did so, the wound closed, tissue being transmuted into what it should be. It wouldn't last long, and another could make him break focus and dispel the enchantment, but at least the pain would be gone for the following hour.

Rolling to rest his back on the ground, he turned his face towards Cira again, making his best pained expression. "Cira! Please, I am only a old man. Will you really kill me over an insult? I can hel..."

Cira pressed his boot against Terim's chest, and he asked slowly, his re-lemic acent thicker than usual: "Did those shadows send you?"

"No... Cira, please...", Terim answered, heart filled with terror he never felt in life. Sometimes he forgot the imprint of his mind inside that boy wasn't the only thing that made him though enough to survive. No, Cira had to kill him to get it.

"Did they send you or not?"

"They didn't! You summoned me."

"Unintentionally.", he said, pressing against Terim with more strenght.

"You need me!", Terim said, wild-eyes staring into the barrel of Cira's pistol. He quite liked having a body of his own for a while, and dying was horrible.

"Don't you remember my voice telling you to pull the trigger, when those thugs were trying to kill you? Or when I woke you up on the mountains, when you were almost freezing to death?". He was no scholar, and wasn't sure of how he came to be bound to his killer. Ashes, his dying curse was an improvised mess like no other. However, he knew that if Cira died, both would get dragged into Hel once and for all.

"I have outgrow you. You are a parasite. An intruder in my psyche. A ghost much worse than the ones who rule this place."

"I can help you against them, Cira. I am better at field work than you, and they have trouble affecting me directly, since I am practically an aspect of you."

Cira lowered his gun and stepped back, brushing as he looked towards Reynardo and Salaam. "I... I may have a ghost psychopath bound to my brain. I hope you still trust my sanity enough to listen to my plan."

Terim grabbed his cane and raised to his feet, smiling kindly to the strangers and adding "Don't listen to him. He killed several times more people than I did."

Now, the second trial. Which of the two would prove the better prey?

edited 11th Mar '16 11:23:33 AM by EternaMemoria

[farm, inside barn - Vince, Seilaan, two wyverns, a horse and foal]

The ball of condensed water vapor certainly attracted some attention. The foal had walked around behind Seilaan to get a better look, and both wyverns studied the ball, heads cocked adorably. After figuring out a plan of attack, the wyvern sitting with Seilaan took a large bite of water, letting it drip down its front. In the meantime, Vince tried setting the tea tray on the crate next to Seilaan, and let go of it, to see if it would stay put. If it doesn't, he'll go back to holding the tray down with his psychic arm.

"The kids are in good health now, they got what they needed, so I can't exactly complain in that aspect. My marriage survived, too. That still surprises me to this day, since she was iffy about having kids, and on top of that had kids with health problems unique to humans. And she had to help me raise them in the Mialorian equivalent of a slum." His eye was drawn immediately to the ghostly person behind Seilaan. He blinked, studying them back as he spoke.

"You know... people who go through difficult experiences often say they'd gladly do it all over again." The being cocked their head at him. Meeting their eyes, he touched his hair in a hat-tipping gesture, then looked back down at Seilaan. "Being poor with sick children isn't any fun. Sometimes I still wake up in the middle of the night, panicking 'cause I thought I forgot someone's medication."

Aaand... they were gone, and Seilaan was giving him a look. "Ghostly figure with floor-length hair in a robe was studying me, know anything about that?" Finally, he tried a candied lychee next.

edited 12th Mar '16 11:38:39 AM by CrystalGlacia

[Ruins]

"I appreciate what you have told me, and sanity or not, it is clear to me that you know this place better than me." Salaam told Cira, before turning to the older being, eyeing him with an air of suspicion. Of course that was relative, as Cira himself gave off a sense of taint. And him outright saying he is insane did nothing to help dispel that feeling. "If it is in my best intrest, I will help you with your plan, but I warn you, do not play me as a fool." Salaam told him. He then turned to Reynardo, "And what of you, do you wish to go, or follow your own path, that choice is yours alone to make."

Ruins:

Terim:

"Ha! That was funny. That man is the whole reason the Ruins are here, mister Salaam. I feel it, his presence must have caused them to surface.", the old man said, walking forward. Cira didn't point his gun to him, so he must have been convinced by the whole "you need me" talk.

"If you knew anything about shadow magic, you would know that both Rey and this place could have manifested independently.", the boy said, his eyes still locked on Salaam. Cira's mind was open to Hel in ways Terim could only imagine, so it was best to remain wary around the creature, just in case it was dangerous.

Rey, on the other hand, was something else. While Terim could never read essences like his pupil, he knew the strange man was not a shadow mage, but he was still similar enough to Cira. Perhaps if those ruins cracked him enough, he could take over his body outside the dream? It was insulting, to be a mere espectator trapped inside Cira's mind while outside of those dreams.

"So, my wise apprentice, what was that plan of yours, anyway?", Terim said, a grandfatherly smile on his lips.

"I won't explain in detail, since I am the only one qualified enough to be able to put it into motion." Cira said, baring his teeth as to scare Terim away. Terim tried his best to ignore it.

"Because of the blood rites?", he prodded, anxious to learn more of that magic. From the little he could pry from Cira's mind, it was ancient, powerful, and what made Cira the double-blooded being he was, capable of using the magics of both humans and telens. Maybe it also held the key to creating a real body for him?

Cira leaned against the crumbling wall, his handgun lowered but unholstered. "No. You could probably do it as well, if you had ever seem the occult for what it is, instead of using magic as a mere bag of tricks.". He raised his chin slightly, and let his left hand play with his red hair, running fingers throught it and tugging slightly, in a somewhat feminine way. He said absently in a slightly higher pitch, the volume of his voice lowering as he spoke :"The distant memories that sleep in Hel are hard to touch, buried under deep layers of shadow. Few groups teach how to commune with them."

Terim smiled as he heard that. Giving me another chance to taunt you? How kind.

"Last I checked, only the tseeneist priestesses learned about that... and they only teach girls."

Caught by surprise, Cira removed his back from the wall and sputtered "They... they also teach males!".

"Yes. But only if they declare them as having female spirits and force them to wear dresses and pretend they are females. Am I not correct, Priestess Amana?"

"Shut up, you stincking corpse!", Cira said, jumping towards Terim, who swiftly dodged him and grabbed him by the hair, making the boy let out a short scream that made Terim almost believe he really was a girl. Letting him go, Terim turned towards Rey and said:

"Forgive my manners. You see, when he is not inside a dreamworld I am locked inside his brain, which makes we really hate one another. Do you think those shadows have any way of creating or taking a permanent body in the material world? I may have some methods of stealing their knowledge, if Cira contains them."

"Contain them? It would take years of study for me to be able to do that! I can distract them at best. For years, perhaps, but not forever", Cira said, face still red from Terim's remarks. The boy was sitting on a corner, visibly shaken, and his whole body was trembling. He could play though, but he was still quite fragile inside.

Fragile like a pile of explosives, Terim thought, as he saw that Cira was holding not his handgun, but his flare gun. Heavens, Terim was unsure if there would even be a dream left if he used the black fire.

edited 11th Mar '16 1:21:57 PM by EternaMemoria

[Farm – Exterior (Min, Varris, Mazra, Caleb)]

Min raised an eyebrow at Mazra, and Varris did his best to mimic her expression, slightly narrowing one of his eyes. Up until now, Mazra's universe had sounded fairly similar to Min's own, even if the places were different. But not having dragons… Even Min could see the implications of what Mazra was saying.

“That's... strange,” said Min, painfully aware of the understatement. “'cause I'm almost definitely sure you're speaking draconic right now. Right? Same as me and Varris.”

Was that right? Come to think of it, there was something off about the way everyone was speaking – the way people's mouths were moving didn't really match up to what Min heard them say. They were too exaggerated, compared to the ever-so-slight movements required to speak the draconic language.

“I mean, I guess it is possible that your words are just… being translated into something we can understand,” conceded Min, somewhat reluctantly. She was still trying to wrap her head around the nature of the dreamworld, though it wasn't like a simple language translation would be the strangest part of it. “It's still weird, though, 'cause in my world, pretty much all of us 'sapient creatures' – or whatever Varris said – are the distant descendants of dragons. The first dragons, not the kind Varris is. Archons. They're immortal, supposedly, and bipedal. Again, unlike Varris.”

Varris made a series of small hissing noises, almost analogous to a laugh. “You're right, we weren't lucky enough to receive thumbs. But if anything, it was humans who got shafted the most. Instead of wings or tails or horns, all they got from the Archons was the ability to speak and a few other tiny little features.”

"Yeah, and..." Min trailed off, a strange thought suddenly floating to the top of her mind. “...Hey, Mazra. This might sound weird, but could you, uh, show me your teeth? It's for research reasons.”

edited 11th Mar '16 4:21:18 PM by Collen

Not often could Reynardo say he was surprised. And it had been he who had warned Cira that his mind would be invaded and used by the dead-undead of those ruins. Therefore, Rey was not surprised to see a fourth figure appear from among the shadows. What did surprise him was that Rey could tell, from the first moment he sensed the old man, that the man was not a creation of the ruin’s so-called gods.

An exchange occurred between Cira and his tutor, one that could only have taken place in a dreamscape such as this one. Rey studied both men, the old and the young. Having met Cira first, Rey was naturally more inclined to help him, but he had no way to be certain which was right, if one could use so subjective a term.

There was a problem, however, one that Rey realized even before Cira explained how Terim was bound to him. Much time had passed since Reynardo had last been in this place, but he remembered it; he was part of it; its people and creatures were reaching out to him, shadows still shifting around then, agitated more now that the gun had been fired. Their thoughts brushed against his, in an old forgotten language, untranslatable. He could guess what the vampires would do first.

Rey started to respond in regard to Cira’s sanity, but Salaam’s comment toward him made him stop. To go along his own path? Merely because he had stated that the shadows were unfriendly? Rey’s lips very slowly curled into a smile, but not a friendly one; the smile became a low, deep chuckle, then a dark laugh, all while the old man explained the slight flaw in that comment. Indeed, the ruins existed as a dream because of Rey. Yet it was more than that, more than the others could yet know.

He let Cira and his psychopath have another go at each other, patiently watching them, to see as he knew the other vampires did. This time, it was Cira left shaken, and as Terim turned to Reynardo, the vampire had little sympathy for the past tutor.

“Those shadows are long dead, old man. When living, they did not care to learn such things as possession, or creating more of the living. Only the dead.” He met Terim’s eyes with a steady gaze, which he held as he spoke. Reynardo was sure of himself, enough that he was certain no one present would be able to call his bluff. The truth was that Rey did not know what the dead vampires were capable of now; in death they had mutated psychic abilities that he did not have, so what else might they have learned?

“But I will tell you what you are, and what they think of you. You are a weakness. They see how you have already exposed Señor Cirranze’s secrets, and they like it very much. They will use you very well.” In this Rey was not bluffing; he knew it to be true. He knew it because that was exactly what he saw and exactly what he would have done.

His gaze slid from Terim to Cira to Salaam. “I was one of them, you know. Before they destroyed this beautiful city and died. I know how they think. And now, Cirranze, they will target you first. If you have a plan, best put it to use soon. I do not know what it is you have in mind - in fact, I hope you do not have it in mind or they will see it - but have you considered the effect blood magic could have on a city of starved vampires?” Rey raised one eyebrow but left the rest to Cira.

“For now, it is best we keep moving. And keep your minds clear of all fears and faults. It will be harder for them… to latch on.” He turned to look at the ruins, considering their best route. Then he glanced back at the others. “You will want to follow closely. Of course, you may follow your own path, but that choice is yours alone to make.”

The last was spoken with a direct look at Salaam, returning the words to him - with a smile that grew to reveal his sharpened canines. Unlike the first time with Cira, this show of fangs was meant to intimidate, and to mock. He blinked slowly; behind his tinted glasses, his eyes turned fully black, and he studied the three strangers again, one at a time. Then he blinked again, and his eyes returned to normal, with a touch of dark amusement in his gaze.

A reminder to them, should they wish to challenge his dominance in this place, that among these ruins he had been a god.

“Construí este lugar, cabrones. Todo ello, todos los siglos.” What Rey actually spoke was the true language of the ruins, ancient and forgotten; but the language was extinct and had never been truly recorded, so the dreamscape’s translation matrix fractured around it, and based itself on Reynardo’s accent, so what everyone heard was Spanish. The intention was certainly there, though, aided by the roughness of Rey’s tone as he spoke through his fangs. His eyes narrowed, and he tilted his head, then started to walk across the plaza. “Si quiere vivir, sígame, y no enojarme.”

Rey’s point in speaking in his native tongue and it being mistakenly translated into Spanish is that the characters get the point, but not exactly what he meant, because he just revealed a big secret. If any of the characters happen to know Spanish, then of course they’ll know what he said. That’s up to y’all, of course. Also, the Spanish translation is mine, so any mistakes are also mine. Or you can blame it on the matrix breaking. What Rey said is basically this: “I built this place, gentlemen. All of it, over all the centuries…. If you want to live, follow me, and don’t piss me off.”

edited 11th Mar '16 9:55:42 PM by savlamar

Forest (Demo, Lauren, Moreena)

Moreena watched the woman lower her gun. That went easier than expected. Had she possessed a mouth at the moment, the goddess might have smiled. It was still rather entertaining to keep mortals on their toes, so to speak. Although only up to a certain point...

"There's no need to apologize," she said. "I haven't actually met your husband yet. Has he been looking for me? Or maybe someone like me?"

She turned a non-existent eye back to Demo, still curious about what he'd say about Recon.

[Park]

The boy smiled. "I'm Micheal!"

Nick fell to his knees and hugged Micheal tightly, forgetting, just for that very moment, that he was dreaming. Here, right now, his brother was here. His little brother was right here, in his arms, speaking to him. At this moment, he didn't care about anything else; his brother was here again.

"I'm so sorry..." he whispered.

"What are you sorry about?" Micheal asked.

"I...i-it's nothing. It's nothing." He glanced back at the others, smiling, "Oh...th-this is my little brother...Micheal..."

Micheal curiously looked at the others. "Are you his friends?"

Forest (Demo, Lauren, Moreena)

Demo rubbed the bottom of his helmet, obviously to emulate chin-stroking, trying to remember what it is Recon had said.

"It's been almost a thousand years since he met ya, and a lot of things happened from then ta now, so don't expect my memory to be perfect. He said he was glad to meet a goddess he didn't have to kill, that I remember quite clearly. He said he had quite a bit of fun with you too."

Demo let down his arms and looked her dead in the "eyes".

"That boy never told you his real name or job did he? I'm not surprised he didn't, considerin' yer status and all."

Park (Phoebe, Ashleigh, Nick, Fawn, Dragon's Daughters)

While Ashleigh listened to the Dragon's Daughters' explanations, Phoebe was distracted by what Olivia and Nick found. It was a little dark-skinned boy, in very ordinary-looking clothes. While Olivia mocked Nick for being afraid of a young boy, Fawn went over and introduced herself to him. Sure enough, he turned out to be Nick's little brother, and his name was Micheal. Phoebe breathed a little sigh of relief.

"You nearly scared the bejeebies out of us, hiding and moving around like that! Anyway, I am in fact a friend of Nick. My name is Phoebe. Nice to meetcha!" She offered him a hand to shake. "So uh... do you know what the deal with this park is? Where are we?"

"You've got it spot-on," Ashleigh said to Danielle off in another area of the park, after she recapped her own explanation. "And Rachel, I suppose it's a good thing that rich lady didn't get her hands on your rings then, eh? And Charlotte... hmm, your Nightmare reminds me much of our Virtualmon. He, too, is stuck in a realm we cannot yet reach, but he is also summoning minions to spread fear, as you said. Except his 'cage' is weakened by the Techno Mafia getting their hands on more of the Elemental Keys, in our case. And the monsters are meant more to weaken us so that we may give up our keys more easily. Also, you mentioned a Tiamat, didn't you? I heard about her... she's some sort of goddess, isn't she? It's interesting - almost seems as if we were chosen for similar fates. Perhaps we should stick together and try to take care of each other's issues while we're still here."

After finishing, she glanced over at Phoebe and Nick and Fawn, who had just discovered a small child... one who Nick was currently hugging for some reason. "Well what do you know. It's a kid apparently Nick knows. I suppose I better call Phoebe and Amy back then."

And with that, she took out her Scanner again and pressed another button on it, and another Mystripet came out. This one was more ghostly in shape, his ectoplasmic skin a light blue in hue, his head covered in a white powdered curly wig. On his triangular chest he wore a ruffled white tie, and below that he had coattails with piano keys on them, below which the rest of his body trailed off into ectoplasmic wisps. This musical instrument theme continued to the rest of him: the back of his neck extended into a sousaphone that protruded over his head, on his back were angelic-looking wings that were actually harps, and he held a conductor's baton in his right hand.

"Good day, Ludwig. Mind helping me out a bit? Zippy flew off that a ways, so can you go and fetch her and her white-costumed companion please?" She gestured off into the forest.

The ghostly musical conductor appropriately named Ludwig^note as in van Beethoven flew gracefully off in the direction of the two on command.

Forest (Zippy, Amy, Ludwig)

It wasn't too long before the large bright green hummingbird found Amy, who had just summoned a ball of light to see the way in this particularly dark part of the forest. Immediately, Amy asked her about the Elemental Goddesses, and why she chose Phoebe and Ashleigh as "champions".

Zippy giggled. "It's Zippy, silly. And Zephoria is the name of the goddess I'm the daughter of. Actually, all Mystripets—like myself—have a species name; mine is Silfa. Zippy is just the nickname Phoebe gave me. Similarly, Peggy is a Pegasel, and Geisha is a Samshee. And hee hee hee, I didn't choose Phoebe, silly." She flew over and perched on Amy's shoulder.

"Actually, it was the faeries who chose the Elemental Guardians," Zippy explained. "They were also responsible for creating the Elemental Keys and infusing them with the Goddesses' power, as a more convenient means of distribution. Vi Willow, the creator of Mystrica, also played a part: the Guardians all had to be new Keepers so they can receive new Scanners with an Elemental Key already included in them. They also each got one of five rare "special edition" Mystripets called a Goddess Child, so named for being modeled after one of the goddesses. As you can imagine, I am one. However, it is the Elemental Keys that give us the power to transform into the goddesses during battle, and thus we are the only Goddess Children who can do so. Pretty neat, right?"

Just then, a ghostly musical conductor with a sousaphone on his head and harps for wings approached the two.

"Oh! Ludwig!" Zippy exclaimed, jumping off of Amy's shoulder and zipping on over to him. "What's up - besides the trees of course?"

"Ashleigh and ze ozers 'ave found ze source of ze disturbance," Ludwig replied. His melodic voice carried a heavy mixed European accent. "She is requesting zat you return to ze park wis urgency."

"Oh!" Zippy blurted out. "Well that's good news! Come on Amy! Let's go go go!" She flew behind Amy and nudged her with her beak, guiding her back towards the others.

Misery Manor (Sinistrina, Gabe, Gon, Yamiko)

"So you were unwanted, and then raised to essentially be a soldier," Sinistrina clarified as Gabe told her about his past. "A holy knight of sorts. That must be pretty tragic. And actually, destroying and remaking the world without free will... that's essentially what my sister Lucina wants to do. Although, I have to wonder why you have not tried to destroy me yet." A small smirk appeared on her face. "I am clearly an agent of darkness, after all."

She paused to watch as Gon stopped his silent screaming and jumped off the couch, running into the cobweb-infested kitchen. "Regarding the curse," she continued to Gabe, "I am afraid it is not that simple. There very clearly seems to be something you are fearing. In your case, breaking the curse will involve facing that fear, wherever in the manor that would take you. At this point, you have a choice. Do you succumb to that fear and attempt to triumph over it? Do you attempt to leave the manor and risk spreading its curse around the dream world? Or do you desire to get rid of the whole curse of the manor for good? Although..." and here she took a long pause, closing her eyes momentarily, "...in the latter case, I'm afraid there is no way to do so. The curse of Misery Manor has been around for as long as I have been stewardess of Necromere."

And then she watched Yamiko continue up the stairs and ask a slurred "Whoareyou" on the way up, with continued inaudible mumbling afterward. "You know," she said to Gabe while keeping her gaze fixed on the stairs, "there just might be a way you can help them. If you can find the people trapped inside, you can guide Gon and Yamiko over to them. I have determined that one is in the cellar, and the other is somewhere upstairs, but I know not who they are."

Sinistrina gazed over to an old wooden door that stood ajar off near a dark hallway leading out of the living room. It was the source of a pungent smell of mushrooms and old wine.

<< Gon and the Rotten Curry >>

Gon ran for who knows how long through the blackness, until he came across a refreshingly familiar image: of his mother, cooking dinner for him and Ari. Actually she was currently washing a dish in the sink while a pot simmered on the nearby stove, the scent of curry wafting from it. Enticed, Gon drew near it... but jumped back in surprise as soon as he reached the sink. His mom had suddenly become a skeleton, and several cockroaches crawled out of the sink. He glanced over at the stove, and the smell issuing from it was not rather putrid. He dared not look inside, for it was probably moldy or something.

<< Yamiko and the Phantom Alice >>

"Who are you?" Yamiko asked as she continued up the stairs. "Are you... me?"

The little black-haired girl giggled, walking backwards up the stairs while facing Yamiko. "Sort of. But my name is not Yamiko. It is Alice. And I live here with my parents."

Yamiko's eyes widened in surprise for a bit, but she wasn't deterred too much. "May I see your parents?"

"My mommy's not home," Alice explained, "and my dad's in his study and he's busy working."

"What kind of work does he do?"

"He's a mycologist. He studies mushrooms. He has a whole collection of them upstairs. Even the poisonous ones." She uttered a strangely satisfied giggle. "What does your daddy do?"

Yamiko wasn't expecting that sort of question. "Oh, um... he's, well... well, he's a magician. A stage magician."

"Not anymore," Alice reply was concise and without hesitation.

Yamiko stopped - just as Alice reached the top of the stairs. She was petrified with shock. "What do you mean - 'not anymore'?"

"Because he's cursed, that's why!" Her tone seemed oddly cheerful. "And so am I and - so are you." Her gaze turned downward toward her feet.

Yamiko also looked down, and rotated her right ankle a bit. Then she looked back at Alice, and followed her the rest of the way up the stairs. Once up there, Alice led her down a hallway lined with gas lamps. "So, you know about my ankle? About my past?"

The little girl paused and took a glance back at her. "Everything."

[Wasteland]

Miyuki gave an apprehensive glance over her shoulder, over at the blood-stained sand and the few scattered bodies, but did not address them. "Let's just go." She said, anxiously, and started walking towards the distant city.

Outside barn (Mazra, Min, Varris, Caleb)

Caleb gave the field-sword another look. "So if it doesn't cut I suppose it burns or disintegrates flesh? Doesn't that mean there's a bigger chance of the wielders injuring themselves?"

He also wondered why a civilization capable of building something like that would make a weapon so dedicated to close combat, but maybe they often fought in tight spaces.

At hearing Min's theory of their words being translated, he said "well, at least it's a very contentious crazy dream world. I think you're right though, there's no way everyone here could be talking Valm." He then remembered something from earlier. He began speaking Valm, "so I'm talking like this." Then switched to Iscay "do I still sound the same?"

[Misery Manor (Sinistrina, Gabe, Gon, Yamiko)]

Gabriel shrugged and said, "I haven't tried to destroy because, unlike my old order, I'm not insane. Humanity needs balance, and you haven't done anything to interrupt it. So you and I... we're in this together. But that's the easy part." He turned towards the cellar door, but that was not the door he saw. He took a deep breath. And he stepped through the golden gates of Paradiso, into the light. Sinistrina would only see him enter the hallway, and double over in agony, gripping his head.

<< Gabriel and the Light >>

"My dear, sweet child." The voice of the angel was beautiful, as pure as a ringing church bell, and sent terror down Gabriel's spine. As did the angel's form; approximately, a massive, headless warrior with bright red skin, and armor of white and gold. He wielded a sword the size of a train, black steel with ornate golden filigree, and inset into the hilt was a face, seemingly carved from marble but moving uncannily like flesh. "You had such potential. We are... so disappointed that you did not achieve it. Gabriel wouldn't normally care about "disappointing" his patrons, but, even knowing it was a dream, was too terrified to reply. "But we, at least, keep our promises..."

That was exactly what Gabriel was afraid of. His mind was filled with light. He felt it calling to him, oh so gently, in the way the sea is gentle as it erodes a rock into sand. But much faster... slowly but surely, the things that made Gabriel who he was were drifting away. Accept our gift, as little as you deserve it. Join us, in eternal bliss...

"...no..." he muttered. He hated them, but more, he feared them. And, in a moment of manic terror, or perhaps inspiration, he realized that fear was the very darkness that could shield him from the Light. Fear, he realized in that singular moment, was not evil. It was a part of him. It was the thing that had saved him from being blinded by the Light's evil designs, it was there because, as painful, dangerous, and sometimes irrational his fear was, it was necessary. He neither fought nor submitted to his fear, but, in a strange state of calm, accepted it, for he knew sometimes, it was precisely the appropriate emotion.

I have no idea how the Manor's curse will react to this possibly unconventional approach.

[Wasteland]

"I do not know," Celso replied as he studied the corpses, "if we seek safety from them, or if that city is the grotesque womb from which they spawn. But it is clearly our destination." He took a moment to check his gun, keeping it pointed away from the others and towards the city as he inspected it. (It also served to show off the craftsmanship; he was quite proud of his masterpiece.) "Celso Merquior," he said, "CEO of Laboratório Pereira-Merquior, at your humble service. My young friend is Miyuki, and her dark shadow is... well, I shall allow her to make her own introductions if she chooses." He wasn't going to share his theory quite yet. "For what it's worth," he glanced at the corpses, "there will probably be more of them. They are not particularly conversational; expect to have to deal with them." He finished inspecting his firearm and, after returning the gun to his holster, he turned to face Half. "Now, might I ask who you are? And, pardoning my bluntness, but what manner of being are you?" He gave a wry half-frown. "I mean no offense, but your appearance is quite unsettling to the conventional sensibilities of humanity. As mine may, of course, be to yours."

edited 14th Mar '16 8:24:46 PM by KillerClowns

(Forest)

"And now I understand. I think." Truth be told, Amy still had some questions, but they would have to wait. For at that moment, one of Zippy's seemingly innumerable cohorts appeared. This particular model had a marching band theme, an accent so thick it was barely understandable even for a girl used to the bizarre sounds of Brooklynese, and the moniker Ludwig. "It seems there was never a problem after all. Come on, let's head back."

(Park)

"Tiamat is... well, it's kind of hard to explain what she is to us, but I'll try. She's our patron and the source of our powers. Think giant, multicolored dragon and you'll have a good idea. Essentially, she loans some of her powers to each of us every time we use our incantation. She couldn't give one person all of her powers, as apparently, the power of an entire goddess is too much for one human body. Spontaneous combustion and all that. The rings are our hotline to her. No rings, no magic."

"So, I take it you two haven't seen each other in a while? Looks like we've got a long-awaited family reunion here." Danielle flinched slightly at those words,Thankfully, nobody was looking at her and there were no telepaths around to read her mind. If there were, her goose would have been cooked, stuffed, and served on a platter. As it was, her secret was safe...for now.