trans_9 | I can feel the madness slowly creeping in...

Entry tags:

I can feel the madness slowly creeping in...

It is that time again, meatship.

Once again, the King of Nightmares has deigned to spread his touch to all of your dreams.

This time, however, he has decided to give them a much more personal touch, sending his very own children to visit each and every one of you, slowly sowing the seeds of madness within all of you.

Such a kind and loving king he is, isn't he?

[ooc: Alright folks, Nightmare King is ramping things up a bit. These nightmares are a good bit more dangerous now, and he's sending in his minions to make things a little more real. The nightmares will be of a much more serious nature this time, designed to start driving the crew slowly insane. Characters are more likely to run into nightmare minions in the guise of someone or something that will tug at the edges of their sanity. Also, this time, the characters can have joint dreams, as these nightmares are of a more mystical nature this time. Once again, tagging in isn't mandatory, but if you want to, go crazy (literally)!]

[Additional Note: Any injuries won't be carrying over to real life at this point in the plot but don't worry, we'll get there eventually!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Decent," Kala said tightly, ignoring the way her arm was beginning to ache. "I'm better at...blowing things up." Already Rising Phoenix had activated her stabilizers and they were hovering slightly. That queasy thing inside her stomach was only growing.

"What sort did you want?" she asked cautiously.

"Throw up the strongest shield you can and I'll see about patching up cracks. This place is going to go up like the Fourth of July." instructed Matt.

He had long since deduced that they were in a dream. All of his senses seemed to be a little off, and that hazy tint to the gloom suggested otherwise. And Kala didn't seem to be any worse off from that spider bite she received.

Smirking, he decided to be theatrical as he raised his hand and fire started to gather, a golden flame that crackled in the murky underbrush.

"When Shadow comes to claim our souls, some must rise the light of old. Names in stone, spirits of legend, deeds unknown yet never forgotten. These are the Duranin. Of honor within and of fear without, remember them: when in hope you doubt!"

It was a completely makeshift spell, but pressing times were pressing for encouragement, considering how Kala was shaking. The flames grew hotter and brighter, like a star as he prepared to incinerate the room.

Kala went silent, preparing, and finally snapped a tight shield around them, then, forced the edges to curve to funnel anything that rained down on them away. She'd be of no use if she didn't pull herself together, after all. She wasn't helpless, she was strong. She'd survived.

The shield pulsed with light and formed a double-shell.

"Do it," she said, her eyes narrowed.

Matt nodded and raised his hand, clenching the spell within the palm. It went off like a bomb, holy fire searing through the gloom and filling the room with a strange smell of ozone mixed with burning spider-flesh. The spiders screeched and thrashed as Matt poured on the power.

Sweat trailed down his brow as he drew up another idea, forming it from the gloom of his dream-like ideas. "INDIGNATION!"

The flames hit a powerful crackle and exploded outwards like a hurricane of force, leaving trails of ash everywhere where it touched. The spiders, what was left of the small legion were incinerated and Matt finally lowered his arm, panting and sinking to his knees.

"I think that did it," he groaned. Mentally he was exhausted, physically tired and he could feel his coherence on the world slipping. Was the dream ending or was he just spent, unable to help?

Kala opened her mouth to say something, but that's when the rumble started. Trees cracked and splintered, the ground shook, and thousands of silver leaves, and a great deal of ash, began to fall. Kala knew that sounds, the low chittering that was becoming increasingly louder until the bark of the trees across from her began to quake.

No.

No. No. No.

Why do you run from me, Kala? You were my best student and I loved you like a daughter. You were supposed to help me. You were supposed to heal me. A spider, swollen and massive, it's body covered in bright red and orange bristles broke through the clearing. Instead of a spider's upper body, it was human. Kala. Kala. Do you see what they've done with me now? DO YOU SEE HOW YOU'VE FAILED ME, CHILD?

Kala went sheet white and her arm lowered as she stared at the creature in shock. But that was. That was. That was impossible. It wasn't possible, not ever. Never. Not Farla. It hadn't been her fault.

You were too slow. All those lessons, all the training, all of that and you couldn't do the one thing you were supposed to do. You're a disgrace. You might have learned the knowledge, but you lacked the courage to use the magic when it was right in front of you. Venom dribbled down the woman's chin and she fixed inhuman eyes on Kala shocked face. You will die in your attempt to become a real mage.

"Farla," she breathed, her fingers clamping down on her staff as it hummed with power the humming increased as she drew herself up straight. "I'm not a failure! I'm a mage. I'M A MAGE." Wind whipped around her violently as the spider-creature bent down, laughing.

You killed me. You're no mage, she said, her voice a snarl. You're broken.

"Hey!" yelled Matt, his voice hoarse and sounding winded. "What gives you the right to prey on her you sick twisted sob?!"

Staggering to his feet, he glared up at the half-human half-spider creature, his expression twisted into a sneer. It was a terrible thing to see on such a gentle young man, but every ounce of his body screamed to help Kala. "This isn't real Kala, none of it. Not those spiders, not that bite of yours, not this... this horrible mockery of your friend! I don't know who this Farla is but do you think she'd torment you with fears and frighting gestures?!"

He seethed angrily as he stuck a finger out at the twisted reflection. "Let me tell you something Miss Queen of the Spider-People: there is no Goddamn way you're going to be able to control her! Not while I'm around! She's a friend and nothing you can say or do is going to shake her because I'm gonna be right behind her holding her hand! GOT IT?!"

In his hand, a gleaming blade appeared and he split it in two, one golden with the purest light, the other glittering malevolently with fel energy. He shoved it into the ground in front of Kala and smirked. "Take it. And give your fears hell."

I'm here. hat's my right. I'm here and I have done what I needed to do, hmmmmm? Can't you see that? the spider-creature's laugh boomed across the forest and somewhere something diet wetly. Stupid human manling, you know nothing about dreams. You know nothing about this child. Defend her? Hold her hand? Talk to her sweetly? The laughter erupted again. She might be brave enough to stand beside you for a few moments, but she'll r--

"Shut. Up." It wasn't a scream. The words were quiet, biting, and silenced the creature. Kala snatched up the blade and charged, using one massive spider limb to push her higher as she slashed at another razor sharp leg as it tried to spear her. A web shot out and stripped the sword away, but Kala was already preparing as energy gathered in her staff. A cry later and a blast of light lanced out.

Kala didn't feel the way a flailing leg connected to her midsection and dug in, flinging her back through two thickly trunked trees. Farla's ruined torso smoked and shuddered. And was slowly re-knitting.

"See that's the thing about Unity; you never know what kind of power you drag from the depths." Matt spun the blade and hurled it at Farla's knitting torso, the blade shearing out to part the monster from the spider. "I know what this is now: it's a nightmare. One that you sent to Kala to affect her."

Matt appeared that moment next to Kala and held out a hand. "You know as well as I do that we're both dreaming. And in the dreamstate, we're the strongest, not this overinflated demonic clown. This creature is wrong: I'm not holding your hand to protect you. I'm holding your hand because we're stronger together. Focus your anger Kala, FOCUS!"

"I was never weak," Kala said, gritting her teeth and ignoring the fact that she'd been speared straight through her side. She took Matt's hand and forced herself to get up, using him as a brace to pull herself to her feet. She fed the rage into her staff and felt it charge in a pop of gold energy. "And I was born for this. Nothing else but this. And I told Farla I'd do my duty."

She squeezed his arm (her fingers barely made it less than half way around) and her staff charged further, its top changing into something more like a general phoenix motif, and the twin jewels began to rotate. There was still laughter, thick on the air, and Kala fed ever ounce of her anger into the shot.

"This is for my Farla," she spat. Kala let go of Matt and braced herself. "Divine," she began, the gold of her magic giving even her eyes an almost unearthly glow as they glittered in reflection, "BLUSTER." Instead of the messy, inelegant barrage of wind, it was a balanced, clean, but ultimately hammering bolt of concussive force that shredded the nightmare creature until nothing at all remained. The strength of it was both draining and sent her backward, deep furrows in the faux-eath bearing testament to the force she contained.

And then, as she stood there, the green leeched back into the ground, and the silver came back to the bark and into the leaves while the pale fingers of dawn spread in pastel blues and sweet butter yellows. Kala dropped to her knees and her staff clattered from her nerveless fingers.

"Farla," she whispered. "...I'm so sorry..."

Matt smiled, closing his eyes and waving a hand, dismissing the golden and green blades. Walking over, he knelt down next to her. "Kala," he said, wrapping a arm around her shoulder. "You know, when I was first appointed to watch over Will, I had my misgivings. Me, a normal guy? I couldn't, I had a life in Kandrakar."

"So to do this, I put a seal on my memories so I could play the part. But when I discovered how happy I was, I knew then that I had to be myself. I think Farla would have wanted you to be yourself too."

"Look at what you did," he encouraged. "You turned a nightmare into a dream. Not many can say that they did that."

Kala leaned into him her eyes tearing despite the fact that she swore she wasn't going to cry and she shook her head lightly, sending a few droplets flying. Farla had been the closest thing she'd ever had to a mother. He was right, she'd have wanted Kala to be herself. That had been what all those lessons were about. Finding out who she was. Learning. Growing. Living.

"I have a long way to go before I know who that person really is," Kala said. "And when I'm really ready, I'll be able to help other people turn this nightmare, everything that we're fighting for, into the dream it's supposed to be. And I'll do it because of and with my friends."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I can feel the madness slowly creeping in...

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject