From Beyond

[cityship]

The crew will see them slinking off, disappearing around hallways--shifting shadow shapes and the backs of heads ducking around corners. They're always people they think they know. Dead loved ones, perhaps, or loved ones they're not sure are dead or alive. They lead crew members into dangerous places, sudden drops, parts of Stacy where things can go wrong.

And they do go wrong. Floors drop out. Ducts become damaged somehow, invisibly, and suddenly spew hot steam. Around the children, items slam into walls--poltergeist activity.

Whether these are really those lost souls, or just illusions, is hard to tell. Either way, those that are part-ghost or have supernatural powers will have a helluva workout. The upside is the presence of the ghosts might disrupt the Waking Dreams to allow people to escape them more easily.

Which is good because the dreams will start to cause injuries now. Real ones.

And refusing to go to sleep doesn't save you when the dreams can happen while you're awake.

[ooc: Waking dreams will continue--and start causing injuries. Furthermore, ghostly apparitions will start to cause poltergeist activity and lead the crew into danger. Start to raise the alarm, meatship. It's starting.]

Comments

[magictrkswwater.livejournal.com]

Irma tried her best to stifle a yawn. The constant bad dreams and oddball daydreams were really getting to her. She wanted to head back to the bus and pass out again. Passing by Sheffield again, she stopped when she heard a giggle of sorts. Turning her head, Irma's jaw dropped at what she saw.

C'mon, Irma, we're gonna be late! Standing in front of the main doors was a Chinese girl about Irma's age. The most distinguished features about her were the long, dark (nearly purple) hair done up in twin pigtails and an odd set of flight goggles.

"...H-Hay Lin?" Irma whispered.

C'mon! You don't want Mr. Collins to get mad for being late! "Hay Lin" said, racing inside.

"H-Hay Lin! Wait a second, Hay Lin!" Irma shouted, racing after her best friend. Following her inside the building, she made her way into one of the classrooms and lost track of her. "Hay Lin? Hay Lin, where'd you...?" She let out a gasp as she heard something creaking. Turning around, a large coat cabinet tilted over the Guardian. She tried to push away, only to get tangled up in the desks around her.

Anyone outside could probably hear Irma screaming in pain, the desks coming down on her and her foot getting caught in the falling cabinet.

[quark-assassin.livejournal.com]

Ohh goodness. Ohh goodness he was bleeding a lot.

Dustin staggered through the City, clutching his side and whistling as he gasped for breath. No, he didn’t feel like carrying a tune to calm his nerves—his nose was fractured, completely bent to the side. Again. It was a big enough target, so its constant abuse was understandable, and expected after flying face-first into a wall.

But the physical approach to that specter was not going to cut it. Perhaps the explosion was enough to distract the Nightmare King, or in any case, himself, for the time being.

The Shade would return in time. Until then, Dustin was taking advantage and looking for a more effective way to solve this little issue he’d encountered.

The Precinct, as much as he’d studied, was somewhere in the City. Where it was, exactly, should’ve been an easy enough task to accomplish—but not without his Omnicom and cellphone, both with the rest of his supplies in his room. There was no time to go back there. Besides, the guns were a far more important asset; gain control of them, and Dustin wouldn’t need the phone.

Somebody screamed.

Dustin snapped to attention, immediately groaning and leaning heavily onto his side. Blood seeped through his gloved hand while his prosthetic dug through his pockets, trying to find a flashlight, or a laser pointer, or something. Far too dark for this time of day…Damn ship always screwed with the light settings. No wonder nobody could sleep, telepathic specter or nay.

He found a small representation of the latter, which, to his immediate pleasure, was one that he’d modified specifically for his artificial limb. Slipping it into the bundles of insulation plating allowed for an instantaneous electrical uplink—mind-controlled laser pointer, if you want to put it differently. Its power was hardly anything noticeable to the usual torrent of thoughts passing through Dustin’s subconscious, so it was easy to learn how to switch it on and off.

Seconds later he was inside, pointing his hand into various nooks and crannies, increasing the spread and decreasing the velocity to create a makeshift flashlight. Might as well not be a laser anymore, but what the heck, yeah? It served its purpose.

…Ohh, but Dustin hated the dark…

“Who’s there?” called the scruffy man on top of whistling overtones. If his shuffling gait and the stench of his blood and sweat didn’t give him away first, his nose would be the one to do him in.

[am-alwaysfree.livejournal.com]

Mal stretched slowly, and kept walking. He was tired after a long day, and just wanted to fall into his bed on Serenity and sleep off his exhaustion.

But as he walked, the halls seemed to stretch and elongate, until it seemed as though Mal was walking down an endless pathway leading to who-knows-where. He thought to himself that maybe this was the beginning of another one of those bizarre dreams, but then he was distracted by the sight of someone leaning against the wall who he recognized immediately because of his messed up brown hair.

"...Tracey?" Mal barely got the man's name out. "How do you keep comin' back like this? Don't you know you're supposed to stay dead?"

The man Tracey just laughed and smiled. "Come on, Sarge, what're you waitin' for? There's some action to be found ahead."

Mal stared slack-jawed at Tracey. "What's that you're talkin' about? The war's long over."

"No, it ain't, Sarge. Come on, get that gun out and start shootin'," Tracey replied.

Mal was about to step up and smack Tracey across the head when the other man took off running, leaving him no choice but to follow. He didn't notice, but the empty hall had turned into a wild looking piece of land, with boulders and trees everywhere. Gunshots were going off around the two men, and bullets were flying everywhere.

Mal yelled at Tracey, trying to get him to stop, but before he could, he turned his head to the left, and saw a bullet coming right at him. He tried getting out of its path but stumbled over a rock that was in his way, only to have the bullet reach its mark near his right shoulder but miraculously (and very narrowly) missing any vital spots.

As it was, the shock of being hit was enough to send Mal staggering to the ground, and as he fell, he thought that dream or no dream, this definitely felt real.

[almostluver.livejournal.com]

Inara turned a corner, intending on returning to her shuttle after a short use of the Sensoriums, but came to a complete stop seeing Mal running toward her, yelling for Tracey. Her mouth dropped open in surprise because as she too looked around, she wasn't seeing the same thing he was obviously.

And then she watched in horror as a crimson stain began to spread across his shirt and then as he began to fall. "Mal!!" she cried, rushing to his side. She dropped to her knees, and her fingers hovered over him for a moment before she pressed her hands firmly against his wounded shoulder.

"Mal?" she whispered, thinking that this was too much like the dream she'd had where he'd been shot. "Mal?" she repeated, trying to ignore how warm his blood felt against her hands. "You'll be OK, do you hear me, Mal?"

[foreseen-future.livejournal.com]

Nura finishes her training sessions in the sensoriums later than usual. It had done enough to shake the cobwebs from her mind, but still she is plagued by the brief glimpses of darkness and pain and the coming danger and horror that is about to unleash itself upon the ship and each and every crew member.

Her arms and legs are sore, and she is sure that she has split a knuckle when she smashed her fist into a training bot's face during mid-glimpse. They're becoming more and more closer together than before...

As Nura makes a turn at a corner, she hears a sound - "Rough night, huh, Sweetie?" - and the familiarity rings such a memory in her mind that she turns in mid-air to face the opposite hall.

There, floating before the dark corridor, is Phantom Girl, her long inky black hair, sweet eyes, kind smile, and a warm, sisterly manner that Nura almost flings herself forward and embraces her.

"Tinya?" she questions below her breath. Is it really her? Nura takes a step forward. Her warm smile, the curve of her hips, the way her hair sways...and there is the soft touch of tone when she says "Sweetie". Who else can it be?

The phantom laughs in mid-air, does a little mincing circle with a broad grin - "You have been very busy, Sweetie." - and then takes off down the hall with a giggle.

Panic rushes through Nura. "Tinya! Wait!" She takes off after Phantom Girl, with such will that her ring propells her further and further, Phantom Girl is quicker, phasing through wall after wall and door after door that Nura has to wait to slide open.

It is fifteen doors later that Tinya stops at a sliding door, floating, waiting, and locks her eyes upon the harried Nura. "C'mon, Sweetie," she says in a cool, low voice. She then turns her body towards the door and phases through. "You are going to miss it..."

Nura, not wanting to lose Tinya, floats forward and waits for the door to slide open, and then zips in. She whips her head around, trying to find her friend...and then the door slams shut, and Nura is trapped in total darkness.

"Tinya?" She can hear Tinya giggling. But it isn't Tinya's sweet, soft tone. It is more mocking and malevolent.

"Oh, Sweetie..." Tinya appears, higher up in the air, narrowed eyes and a cruel smile upon her features. "...you still can't percieve when you are about to meet your end."

It is possible for anyone outside to hear Nura scream at the betrayal.

[halfa-hero.livejournal.com]

With so many ghosts running around, Danny had a hardtime tracing the ones that were presently causing trouble on his own. Nura's scream however, led the halfa right to her, and he charged through the door, phasing through it and putting himself in-between Nura and Pseudo-Tinya.

"Back. Off."

[quark-assassin.livejournal.com]

He’d avoided the dreams, he’d avoided the insanity. Yet it still managed to find him in the end…

They were following him. Shadows, drifting across the floor and ceiling, hovering just out of the corner of his eye when he stopped moving, that’s what they were, and when he turned around to regard them, where had they gone? Invisible, intangible, Smoke Creatures of the meatship, with their beady yellow dots and sewn-in smiles, just as restless as he was. What did they want?

Dustin knew what they wanted. He knew it before he came here and he knew it before he met the others. He knew it from his dad’s stories. Ol’ Jacob Silver, Shade Assassin, always on an adventure to rid the world of evil, of pests.

The way they were trailing behind him now, Dustin could see why his father was so annoyed with these things. Couldn’t they just leave him alone? Just for a few minutes—just long enough to close his eyes without fearing that they’d take him in his sleep…

Today he made a bold stand. Commandeering some equipment from Engineering and Special Weapons Division, Dustin brought his makeshift lab in several trips up to he and Yoshimi’s quarters. His side of the room was no longer quite so empty, and he still had a few more boxes to lift.

The scrawny scientist worked diligently and without pause or break. Once or twice he’d take a swig from his stolen thermos, grimace, smack his lips, and then continue with new energy, but otherwise he was unrelenting. Even a heavier box of chemicals didn’t seem to faze him, not while he was on the move, on a mission—

”DUSSSSTIIIN”

A grinding halt was reached in short order. Dustin froze solid, peering over his cardboard commodity with wide, serious eyes.

”DON’T LET US STOP YOU DUSTIN”

It was tall, perhaps seven feet if one doesn’t take into account that it’s floating. Black smoke that smelled of volcanic stone drifted from the open spots in its long, black coat, hooded and long-sleeved. Its neck was thin, only bones and vapors, supporting a head that curled with wispy fumes of hair and glowed with two pinpricks of yellow light for eyes. It had a mouth, but heavy stitches kept it tightly closed into a wide, toothless smile; it had ears, but they were covered by smoke and distinctly pointed at the tips. And it breathed, but that was the only sound it made.

It was the only sound Dustin was willing to hear. He dared not make a sound and he dared not move.

”GO ON DUSTIN” it said into the ambient space around them, ”GO FIND HER DUSTIN, WE HAVE RELEASED HER JUST AS YOU WANTED”

The box of ignited chemicals exploded once it hit the Shade’s chest, and it immediately disappeared within the inferno. Dustin’s proximity was such that, if he weren’t wearing his flame-retardant overcoat and hadn’t pulled it over his head, he’d probably have burnt an(other) arm off, and regardless of such it charred a hole clean through the right leg of his pants. It also sent him flying back several dozen feet down the hallway, where he stopped only after a fleshy wall sucked up his kinetic energy and punched it into his nose.

Oof. That is the operative word here.

[craaazyisland]

"You're not real."

Steve was quite sure of that-- the woman who stood before him was an illusion, part of that goddamn Nightmare King's stupid plan. He knew this was going to happen. So he had to tell himself out loud what he knew to be true.

Even if she did look very real. Strawberry blonde hair cut to her shoulders, kind blue eyes, wearing her favorite blouse and that silver bracelet she always liked that his father got her for her birthday. She smiled and looked at him sadly, even as he backed away.

"You're not real," he repeated sternly. "You're not her."

"Steve," she whispered, tears filling her eyes. "Steve, how can you say that to me?"

He let out a dry, furious sob. "My mother is dead! You're not real!"

And suddenly he felt his skin crawling and a rush of heat surge through him. Steve gasped and his voice came out a low half-snarl-- across the hall from him, the woman went pale and flattened back against the wall in terror.

His right arm itched sharply and the heat seared like he was burning up from inside. Soon the flesh on his forearm and the back of his hand was swollen, discoloring green, oozing with pus and blood-- and fire.

Steve fell to his knees and clutched his arm to his chest, muttering over and over. "This isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real..." Blood dripped to the floor around him, slowly smoldering in flames while his arm continued pulsing.

All he could hear over the sound of blood rushing in his head was the woman's terrified screaming.

[silversouba.livejournal.com]

Kadaj idly walked down the ship’s hallways completely bored out of his mind. He wasn’t sure if Stacy was Mother or not but she sure as heck been quiet since his arrival and his patience (the little of it there was) was drastically thinning each day.

A shattering scream grabbed the boy’s attention. Instinctively a gloved hand withdrew his sword. Oh, he wasn’t feeling particularly noble; but if there was a fight going on he wanted to be a part of it! Moving swiftly, he rounded the corner to the original source of the sound.

No woman could be seen but forget that! No, no. THIS, yes, THIS was much much better.

“You!” Kadaj said angrily, and paced in place. “You,” he repeated, this time his tone was more of surprise. The remnant tilted his head slightly and an awkward laugh lingered on his lips. The sight before him was beautiful. Cloud writhing on the ground and horrendously infected with Geostigma. “Is it really you, brother?”

[voiceofserenity.livejournal.com]

The ship bay was quiet, but Kaylee didn’t seem to mind it at all. She whistled as she walked on top of Serenity, double-checking that all of the panels were secure and in good condition. Routine checks, to make sure nothing was going to fall off mid-flight. It wouldn’t be good for anyone if they did.

Pleased with the check--everything seemed to be looking excellent--Kaylee grabbed her pack of tools and turned back toward the hatch.

“It’s been far too long, hasn’t it?”

The mechanic froze, a terrible sense of dread washing over her as the color left her face. Her hand wrapped around a wrench before she stood. “Y-you...” How he had popped on the ship and none of them had noticed, she didn’t know, but there he was, right in front of her, an all-too-familiar smile under the cold eyes of a bounty hunter.

“Seem to recall us having a deal, little Kaylee. Deal was, you told me where your little friend was and stayed tied up in the engine room, and I wasn’t going to hurt you none, wasn’t it?” He took a step toward her, and Kaylee took two back. This couldn’t be happening, he’d been let off in space, hadn’t he? How had he gotten on Stacy? “You broke our deal, Kaylee, and I’m afraid we’ve got some less-than-pleasant business to attend to now.”

There was no time to protest before he had shoved her down onto the panels and his hand was over her throat. The wrench fell from her hand as her hands flew up to pry his away. “Shh,” he told her, “it’ll all be done soon.”

Kaylee managed to choke out a weak, “No!” but anything more was lost as Early’s hand tightened. Her fingernails clawed at the skin of his hand and wrist desperately, and she wriggled to get away from his other hand as it trailed over her tear stained face, down her neck, inside the top of her suit.

It was near impossible to think, and her arms grew too heavy as her vision started to cloud. One hand fell away from his, and landed on the wrench. With a last forced gasp, and the little strength she had left in her heavy arms, she brought the wrench up to connect with her head.

Early fell away cursing, and he grabbed at her as he tumbled over the side of the ship. Fingers found her ankle, and down they both went. She forced out a scream as they fell, but it caught in her throat as Early smiled and disappeared as Kaylee hit ground with a heavy thud.

[wearsagun.livejournal.com]

It was just another normal night for Kate; she was doing her usual rounds of the ship, and wasn't expecting to find much in the way of a disturbance.

But just as she thought about turning in and calling it a night, she heard the sound of curses, followed by a scream and a loud thud. Whipping out her gun, Beckett ran into the ship bay, looking around for the source of the noises.

Once inside, and seeing nothing, she slowed to a walk, keeping her gun held at the ready, and moved forward. When she got closer to the ship (she gave it a brief once-over, but dismissed it as being inconsequential at the moment), she spotted a girl lying on the ground.

Running up to her, she stared down at her, and stuck the gun in her back pocket. No point in scaring the girl anymore than she probably already was. "Hey. What happened?"

[squintybonelady.livejournal.com]

Temperance thought she'd managed to keep herself awake long enough to hold back the dreams. The last one she'd been caught in had been strange enough to last her a lifetime and she wasn't exactly wanting to find herself in another one where she found herself waitressing. It had truly been dreadful. Awful really.

She shook her head and leaned over the remains that were on the lab table, her head tilting slightly to the side as she began her intial examination.

"No matter how hard you look, you'll never find out the reason she died, Dr. Brennan," a man's voice came from behind her.

She froze, her eyes widening. The voice was enough to send a shiver of fear coursing through her body. Howard Epps. She'd seen what he'd done to his victims, and she'd seen how he'd reacted to his deeds. It was a game for him. Nothing more.

"Cat got your tongue, Dr. Brennan?"

She straightened up and slowly turned to face him, careful to keep her movements to a minimum. But as she turned, she saw a flash of metal and then felt the sting as whatever it was sliced into her arm. Crying out, she immediately clutched at her arm, and attempted to turn away, but Epps was already there, slicing again at her.

Stumbling back, the scalpel narrowly missed her, but her movements had brought her to the edge of the lab's platform and the next thing she knew she had stumbled down the stairs. She groaned as her forehead connected with the floor and she attempted to scramble to her feet, but with her head now pounding and the arching sting of her cut arm, she wasn't very successful.

[sgmitchell.livejournal.com]

Cam was not a happy man. Not only did he have to worry about dozing off on his feet--which pretty much fit the description of the hallucination things as well as anything--but now he was sure he'd seen Fergusen just a minute ago.

He did not like it when people--or things--jerked his chain.

He'd just chased the phantom, or the glitch--it had to be one of the two, Fergusen was dead--when he'd heard a shout from a nearby room. People who might or might not be there if he were as awake as he thought he was, slipped his mind momentarily, and he chased aftr the shout.

The only problem with the dramatic rescue was that the only person he found in the room was Doctor Brennan, bleeding, but alive. If she was bleeding, though... "Doctor Brennan? Who was in here?"

[governorkang]

Down in the City, Kang could have sworn he kept seeing flashes of very familiar golden scales and a deep red cloak in the shadows of the alleyways as he made his daily (as far as he could tell, with no sun) journey to the Drunken Dragon. It put him on edge, especially with the waking nightmares everyone aboard the ship was experiencing, though he did his best to try and relax. It wasn't real, after all. Maranta was dead, and even if Stacy had pulled him from Krynn, he wouldn't have been able to keep his presence a secret.

Another flash of scales, this time accompanied by the faintest of growls. The bozak was really getting irritated now.

"Alright, Nightmare King. Give me your best shot."

Unfortunately for Kang, all of his focus had been on the aurak, and he didn't even notice the large sivak that snuck up behind him, grabbing him in a hold he very much recognized. One wrong move, and his neck would be snapped.

"Well, you've done quite well for yourself, haven't you, Lord-Governor?"

Goddamn Nightmare King. He bit back a curse and stopped struggling as the sivak tightened his grip and twisted his arm further back. That actually hurt. "I'm getting sick and tired of these damn dreams. You're going to have to try harder, you bastard."

General Maranta held up a black crystal globe, "I seem to remember that we had some unfinished business. This time, your dear females aren't here to stop me."

Kang couldn't help a twinge of horror, despite knowing it wasn't real. He remembered how terrified he'd been before, at the thought of living in a hundred bodies, with only vague memories of what he used to be. Another sivak appeared, and he hissed as he was released from the hold and his weapons were removed. He lashed out with everything he had, snarling, only to be struck with the pommel of a sword in the back of the neck.

The blow sent him tumbling to the ground, and he barely managed to stay conscious as the sivaks and Maranta disappeared. He lay on the ground, supported only by one elbow; even the thought of trying to stand made his vision swim and his head reel.

This was really pissing him off.

[withanethel]

She recognized the man she'd seen turning corners, headed down to this place. There was no way it wasn't him -- aside from the obvious fact that he was dead, had been for years. Even so, she would know his face anywhere.

And so Œthel followed her father's figure into the city, and by the time she lost sight of him she realized she was completely lost. But he'd been there, right? Unless it was something else -- a figment of her imagination brought on by lack of sleep. It couldn't be a nightmare -- could it? Nothing horrible was happening. It was just... wrong.

As she tried to get her bearings, she caught sight of a strange creature lying on the ground. Okay.

Maybe this was a nightmare.

She cast her eyes about for a weapon of some sort.

[thunder-ace.livejournal.com]

Fate wasn't sure when her surroundings changed. One moment she had been heading back to her room, the next, she was in a dark stone corridor, orbs of magic casting a dim glow around her.

It was familiar. It was a place she hadn't been in, that hadn't even existed, for ten years now, but it continued to haunt her dreams. A chill ran down her spine as she continued down the corridor, towards a certain room... the closer she got, the more memories of this place resurfaced. Arf pleading with her not to go, Fate trying her best to reassure her familiar... her mother telling her how disappointed she was... the sting of a whip against her back...

She stopped in the doorway of what looked like a throne room... and sure enough, there was a woman with long, dark hair standing in the center of the room, her back to the blonde. Fate tried to call out, but her voice was soft, and shaking slightly.

"... Mother?"

[notsaintkaiser.livejournal.com]

Where am I? Vivio thought as she wandered the same hallway Fate had. She didn't know Fate was there and even while the woman was standing at the doorway, staring at the figure on the other side, Vivio didn't see her. Peeking in, she saw the woman on the other side and her eyes went wide.

She heard a little bit about her. Mostly from when they helped out with the making of that movie about her parents. But, there she was. In the flesh.

"...Grandma?"

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

Sokka slowly made his way down another hallway. It was so hard to keep his eyes open these days. Sure, he slept every now and again, caught thirty minutes there, an hour there, but never too much. But the dreams followed him into his waking hours and it seemed as if he would never be able to rest now. He jammed his hands into his pockets, clenching his teeth. He would get through this. He would. As he came to a corner, a flash of movement caught his eye. A vague figure, dark haired and dressed in the clothes of the Southern Water Tribe. His breath caught in his throat. No. It couldn't be...

"Mom?!" He turned, following the shape as it moved down a corridor, around another corner. He sped up, trying to get another glimpse.

"Mom!" He sprinted around the corner to follow and barely caught himself, arms flailing, as the floor dropped sharply away. He reached out, snagging the wall before he could tumble into the dark pit.

What was going on here?

[thethirdhalfa.livejournal.com]

A hand grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back away from the pit just a bit more. "It's a ghost," Dani said. "They've been appearing all over, but I don't think they're who people keep seeing. Don't chase her if you see her again."

[ayasofia.livejournal.com]

There was no warning. Sofia had been flying around through the City, getting used to her powers again and then when she landed, he was there. The young boy she'd almost died trying to save. Perhaps if Stacy hadn't brought her here, she might have.

"My God."

The boy stared at her. "Why didn't you save me?"

"I-"

Another voice from behind her. "Sofia."

She turned and stared. "Mama?" It was her mother, but there was blood on her dress where she had been shot.

"Why did you push them away?" Her mother asked in Spanish.

Sofia couldn't stop the tears. "Who?"

"Your family. They loved you."

"No-"

"They needed you."

"NO!"

The howl of the wind gave voice to the scream that would not come to her lips.

[magictrkswwater.livejournal.com]

It took her awhile, but Irma had somehow freed herself from being pinned. She was in pain - her ankle was certainly sprained and she felt like Cedric just launched her into a wall, but she was still moving.

As she hobbled across the city, she stopped and tried to brace herself as she heard the scream... and felt the gust of wind. At first, she had thought that she had encountered Hay Lin again, but seeing another girl there reassured her... and she was in obvious trouble.

"Hey! HEY! Wh-what's wrong?! Are you okay?!" Irma shouted, struggling to make it over to Sofia.

[is-the-ultimate.livejournal.com]

(http://s79.photobucket.com/albums/j138/SoaringHeadache/Cape%20and%20Cowl/Shadow%20The%20Hedgehog/?action=view&current=thShadow004.png)

Another "day", another sleepless moment. Things were starting to get to Shadow, that's for sure. Rubbing his eyes, he tried to make his way to the Outsiders' place before he stopped and heard a voice.

Shadow... Shadow, how could you? A voice called out. Shadow sneered.

"Maria..." he said, venom in his voice. "You're not fooling me this time."

What do you mean? It really is me. the voice said. Shadow didn't budge.

"You're nothing but a dream." Shadow repeated.

...such a shame. the voice said, the sounds of somethingS clicking. Shadow's eyes went wide as he turned around and found himself confronting a number of G.U.N. soldiers, an old man with hetero-chroma eyes. Things would have been easier if you had turned earlier.

"...Bull$#!t." Shadow uttered before the bullets began flying. Shadow boosted away, pushing his feet to skate on as fast as he could. Some of the bullets would graze him as he ran. And he hoped that no one would get in his way.

[bears-omnitrix.livejournal.com]

Ben had been on high alert since he had woken up that day. Something at the edge of his paper-thin psychic shielding was screaming things were going terribly wrong.

As such, he had been fiddling with his Omnitrix for several minutes as he crossed the threshhold out of the Outsider's plaza when he noticed something. It was indistinct but a person, looked like a black hedgehog, was in trouble. He could see the hazy indentation of the soliders and the tang of gunfire in the air was heavy. A waking dream or something else?

Ben cursed as a bullet came too close, impacting with a loud SPANG noise. "Okay, that's pretty real."

Twisting his Omnitrix, Ben selected a alien and struck the plunger (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz4aQOqZAjI). In an instant, his body changed as he moved to intercept the hail of bullets with a cry of "SWAMPFIRE!"

[madeofwyn.livejournal.com]

Wyn trudges along one of the streets of the City, finally finished with Suddenly, she sees a flash of blonde hair out of the corner of her eye and smells a hint of cigarette smoke. "a Rìgh glèidh sinn, it can't be. Tal? Tal, is that you?"

"Come on," Taliesin says, turning around to give her a teasingly impatient look. "I've found Rose's pub and everything, look." Wyn rushes to catch up to her brother, but there's a moment of heart-stopping panic as she takes another step onto what used to be solid ground and plunges into a pit. It wasn't a hard fall, and nothing vital is injured, but-- Wyn is short, and the hole's deep enough that she can't climb out on her own.

"Aargh, ow, ow... Help! Is anyone there?"

[actuallyahero.livejournal.com]

"Got fooled by the ghosts?" Shadow Link asked, stopping at the edge of the pit. Of course, the only reason HE hadn't been falling for them was because they didn't FEEL right. Too dark for what he knew was light.

...not that he'd follow those ghosts he'd been seeing.

He knelt at the edge of the pit, holding out his hand. "Come on." Sooner he got the girl out, the sooner he got to get out of the sunlight of the City.

[just-like-daddy.livejournal.com]

Russel and Fletcher moved through the city, looking for something digital that they could pull the silicone from. Some broken electronic device, whathaveyou. On the way, they were discussing what some would call elementary molecular physics and biology, but it would be quite an exceptional discussion for a ten and fourteen year old to be having together. Russel had a messenger bag over his shoulder to put things in, but it was currently empty.

[greennotgold]

They'd come to the entrance to a rather unremarkable one-story building, and Fletcher peeked through the open front door. Since meeting Roxie he knew better than to barge in anywhere in the city, but this building showed no signs of being used. He glanced back to Russel, but then caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. Something moving.

"Hey, Brother--" He hated to interrupt their discussion, interesting as it was, but this might be important. "Did you see a person inside just now?"

Chasing Redemption

[bluebrassmonkey.livejournal.com]

Good luck. Goodbye.

He had remembered that note; had kept it along with every other scrap of writing over the years. Why those specific words run through his mind though, is a slight mystery.

"Does he know?"

"No. I told him to stay behind..."

The voices. He knows those voices.
Immediately, the oddity's ears perk forward and he crawls almost eagerly to follow them. They hadn't been heard in years and the fact that it's not very likely they'd be here at all just doesn't quite enter his head.

Renne follows slowly at first, taking heed of new ground changes. When the voices begin to draw away though, he picks up speed in a more frantic effort to catch up.

Chasing ghosts. Chasing a faint possibility, the dream of redemption.

He meets the sound of thunder as the ground drops from beneath. The thin stream of silvery blue is hauntingly familiar as it runs down his face. The voices fade in echoes of a gunfight that never took place here.

"Fine bloody night, this is!"

[sexygman.livejournal.com]

The ghosts or visions or whatever are haunting, frightening. Booth goes to the sensoriums for a while, unable to sleep, but there really isn't any getting away from the fear.

He sees so many...people he killed as a sniper, people he arrested.

He sees Parker, his Army comrade.

Howard Epps. He's seeming to taunt him, to mock him. "You let go and you know it. You got your revenge. Did you enjoy it?"

The worst is his father, however. "You're worthless, and you'll always be worthless. You hear me, boy? You'll never amount to anything!"

He feels the stinging slap of his father's hand, and then a thud as he hits a wall. Later, there's a very real bruise on his side. He isn't sure if he can talk to Temperance about it or not.

[lastofkuith.livejournal.com]

Pirogoeth was extremely impassive. Correction, she LOOKED extremely impassive. She was, in fact, quite emotional when something hit her. She was just good at looking like she didn't care.

Today...today it was very hard.

"Thou art not real. Thou dost not feel right. Thou art not real!"

"Yo, Pirowrench! What sort of babbling is that? Hast thee finally lost thine mind? Always knew thou was crazy."

"Thou art not real..." Pirogoeth said, turning away from the image of Largo, heading down another hall. "Dost not feel right, dost not, thus not real."

"Mine domina, thou must take action! The invaders are coming!"

"All dead. None survived. I saw them possessed," Pirogoth murmured, changing course again then face the one who resembled the captain of her guard.

"Thou should relax." Pirogoeth froze, her eyes widening. She felt arms wrap around her shoulders from behind. "Let me take care of thee. Thou hast been fighting for so long. I can take care of thee."

Pirogoeth murmured something quietly.

"What was that?"

"Shut up...thou is not Moh. I killed him! Thou is not real!" Pirogoeth shouted, pushing away the arms and turning, fire bursting from her hand to banish the ghost.

[demon-alessa.livejournal.com]

Somewhere here there was a voice that whispered into Pirogoeth's ear: she might remember the voice of her roommate, who even in her absence was still watching over Pirogoeth.

"I can lead you out of here if you want," she said. "You are resisting one of the traps, and he is an enemy of mine. I will give you assistance."

[so-pregnable.livejournal.com]

He's just wandering through the halls, minding his own business, when it happens. When he hears it. When he hears that word in that voice, after thinking he'd never hear it again.

[cityship]

"Kid?"

[historyisme.livejournal.com]

When the dreams became too clearly disturbing, and he'd discovered the source of them, he'd simply ceased to sleep. He had no need of it, save to preserve appearances, and while he sat alone in his room, there was no appearances necessary. For awhile, it worked out just fine. Now, however, this creature invaded the realm of consciousness.

Waking nightmares, those were a vexation to be sure. Yet, for all of their persisence and vividness, they were still only nightmares, and Christian had dealt with them throughout the centuries easily enough, before he abandoned the concept of sleep for efficiency's sake. The challenge was blending his persona with the others dealing with similar predicaments. Maintaining the balance was always an artform, but it was one he had ample experience with.

Yet, the angry woman who advanced on him, spewing forth words much too vile to suit her, felt different from waking nightmares. Certainly, the walls of the ship made no move to shift and twist into a familiar visage around her. As far as nightmares went, he'd had worse than Yaeko calling him a monster in creative ways. If the being expected a reaction from him, it expected too much.

When he lifted his hand reflexively to halt the dagger--which in turn served only to sheath it so that it was useless to her purposes--the solidness of the weapon, and the lingering of the wound, caught him somewhat off guard.

He scowled at the woman, and wrenched the dagger free from the palm of his hand. "What are you?"

The wound already began to seal, when the image of Yaeko--for she would have long slapped him and given him a speech, before she attempted to wound him--shoved him a step backward, and dashed off, around a corner.

"Yaeko?" Christian, once called Kensei, was immune to many things. Curiosity was not among them. Clearly she wanted to be followed. (or whatever sent her apparation) He could see no reason not to follow, at least in the hope of more information.

[mapquest-titan.livejournal.com]

He'd been busy tinkering away down in engineering when he first saw a flicker out of the corner of his eye. He no more than turned his head and whatever it had been was gone. Shrugging it off as just his tired mind playing tricks on him, Cale went back to working on the task he'd been assigned. Several minutes, it seemed, ticked by and he was replacing the cover to the module he'd been working on when he caught another sudden motion in his peripheral vision.

Once again, the instant he turned to look at it head on, it was gone.

"Hello?" he called out. "Is anyone there?"

There was no answer. Even after several seconds. He called out again and, still, nothing. "You're going crazy, Cale," he said to himself, shaking his head at his hallucination he was obviously having. Turning to head back up to the city, he froze.

No way. It wasn't possible.

"Dad?!?" Cale called out at the sight of the ghostly image of Sam Tucker standing several yards down the corridor that led to the engine core. Cale closed his eyes tightly then opened them again but the image was still there. Only, now, it had turned its back to him and was moving away.

"Dad!!!" Cale called again, dropping his tools as he busted out into a dead sprint chasing after his deceased father. "DAD! Wait!!!"

He rounded the corner, skidding across the floor and nearly ramming into the wall as he did, then continued to pursue the ghost all the way to the area of engineering where the massive hole leading down into the engine core was located. Only, it wasn't the engine room. It had somehow changed. Cale was standing back on Earth. In the middle of wooded area, Cale--now four years old--stood staring at the image of his father waving at him in the distance, beckoning him.

Fighters zipped over head, jetting up into space as they flew off to meet the enemy. It was that day. The last day Cale had seen his father alive. The day the Drej had come and reduced his homeworld to nothing more than a belt of meteors around the sun.

"Caaaale," Sam Tucker called out. His voice sounded slowed and distorted but was still understandable. He motioned for him again, waving him forward, urging him to run.

Gripped by a sense of terror, four year-old Cale sprinted forward, charging toward his father. Toward the launchpad where the ship that would carry them to safety waited. But just as he was drawing near, the ground disappeared out from under him.

The instant Cale tumbled over the railing and into the massive pit leading down into the engine core, the illusion disappeared. He was no longer four years old. His dad was nowhere to be seen. And he wasn't on Earth.

Those few seconds were the only reason he wasn't dead. The minute he realized where he was, Cale reached out on instinct and managed to grab hold of part of the railing. His body slammed against the wall of the pit, knocking the air from his lungs and cracking a few of his ribs.

"Oh CRAP!!!" he shouted, quickly grasping the railing with his other hand before looking over his shoulder. The pit was massive and stretched on for miles. And at its end...the engine core.

"HEEEEEEEEELP!!!"

[sonotasuperhero.livejournal.com]

Ava's got pretty good hearing, even without the addition of an air-based power, but it didn't take much effort to hear the person yelling for help. "Hang on a second!" she calls over the engine noise, sprinting to the railing and reaching a hand out.

[bonnypiperlad]

Jamie is making his way through the hallways, determinedly trying to keep an eye out for people with that weird shimmer around them, when he sees a small woman with brown hair wearing a plantsuit. She looks tired, frightened - and very, very familiar.

"V-Victoria?"

He can feel his heart skip a beat as he realizes she's awake. However, Victoria doesn't appear to have heard him, and she starts moving down the hallway quite quickly. Without a second thought, Jamie takes off after her. Even though he's taller that she is, she's moving much faster than he thought possible - and it's all he can do to keep up with her.

She takes him into the city. As he tries to keep up with her, he turns a corner and the city vanishes. Instead, he is inside a glacier, making his way through a maze of ice and snow. Victoria is still in front of him, although now she's wearing a fur-edged cloak over her outfit. He's almost reached her when he feels that something is terribly, terribly wrong.

He gives into the instinct and throws himself forward. That small movement saves him as the ground shakes and ice falls from the wall next to him in a mini-avalanche. There's some cuts and bruises from where some of the smaller pieces have hit. A large chunk of ice has pinned his leg, and try as he might, he can't budge it.

"Victoria! Help me!"

But Victoria is gone.

[earnmyplace.livejournal.com]

Tali had caught the movement of the man as he walked by, by all appearances following a designated path, thought led by no guide the quarian could see. She shook her head slightly, resuming her exploration of the area and determining to think nothing more of it. There were enough odd humans in her world, never mind this one. Surely the behavior made sense to him.

The loud rumble, followed by a faint, echoing cry for help a few moments later was another matter entirely, however. Tali deactivated her omni-tool, abandoning all scientific inquiery as the now near reflexive need to be of assistance overcame her. She imagined Shepard would be proud.

“Keehal,” she hissed as she sighted the ice. “Why is it always the cold?”

She pressed forward regardless, shivering in her environmental suit as she jogged, only stopping once she reached the pinned man.

“Is there someone else under the ice?” She asked anxiously as she approached.

[smartnass.livejournal.com]

Lyle knows he's been pushing himself too hard. Even though he's learned the nightmares can strike while he's awake, it's still automatic to want to work too hard, to want to avoid sleep. He's been successful in putting on a happy face for the others, and it makes him feel better, but it's still a strain. He can also tell he's getting a bit snappish, so the sooner this is over with, the better.

He's not looking forward to bed as he walks back to his room after another long day. He's distracted as he rounds a bend and sees him.

The man's older, but not much older. Still pretty much exactly as Lyle remembers him. He's wearing a plantsuit and leaning, half-bowed, against a wall. He's panting a bit, and before Lyle can react, he stumbles forward and flickers in and out a few times before disappearing.

"Jacques?!"

Lyle rushed to the spot, but couldn't find anyone by feel or by omnicom. The last time they'd crossed paths, though ... Lyle didn't want to think of that. He didn't want to think about why his best friend wouldn't talk to him, or what his own invention might have done to him.

Lyle carefully followed the hallway, debating with himself. It was possible that Jacques had woken up with the last group and simply didn't want to see him. Or it was possible that this was a waking nightmare. He wasn't sure which possibility he was hoping for.

Nonetheless, when he thought he heard footsteps, he followed them. He continued, all senses strained, following flickers out of the corner of his eye and the noise of heavy breath and stumbling. If there was the chance that Jacques was here and still hurting from what Lyle had done, he couldn't abandon him. It was his fault and his job to fix it, do whatever he could to make it up to him.

Lyle finally comes to an intersection deep in the bowels of the ship. He has no idea where he is now, but isn't thinking of that. He's exhausted himself by staying up far longer than he usually does at a time when he's not sleeping much, but he's still putting all his concentration into trying to find the next clue where to go.

"Mon ami?"

He can't leave. Maybe Jacques is here. Maybe he's collapsed while invisible.

Maybe he's just being a fool, as usual.

[feelnothinatall.livejournal.com]

Ahava had been investigating a little on her own when Lyle suddenly raced past her, only to pause at an intersection, listen to something it seemed like only he could hear, then dart down one of the paths.

Obviously something was going on, and considering what she'd seen with Muraki before, Ahava had a good idea. She didn't wait another moment before following the young man, finally catching up with him at another intersection.

"Lyle? What's going on?"

[itsmynamenow.livejournal.com]

Terry thought he was used to operating on little sleep, but not like this. At home he could at least catch a few Z's between Batman duty and school. But now... now the nightmares are keeping him from doing even that. He threw himself into training, fighting illusions in the sensoriums and flitting around the city as Batman, willing himself to stay awake.

His willpower only went so far.

He was practicing jumping, around the rooftops of the city. Trying not to depend on flight. He took a running leap off a ledge, but something caught his eye. A figure of a red-headed man, with a thick mustache and glasses, standing in the space between the buildings. Terry focused on the man, instead of where he was going. He missed the next roof by a good half a foot, tumbling three stories to the ground. His suit provided good padding, but he hit the ground hard. There would be bruising soon.

He slowly got to his feet, and looked around. He had recognized the man.

Warren McGinnis.

Dad.

But he was gone now. Terry's right shoulder throbbed from the impact with the ground. He could feel tears running down his face, making the inside of the mask itch.

[fiercerhyena.livejournal.com]

The ship really was vast - almost as big as her tribe's whole territory, and that was a good chunk of land, no mistaking it. Grim Eyes was a hunter, and knowing her way around the territory was the first step for her in feeling comfortable.

She had already found that there were a good number of places on the ship that were blocked off, restricted from passage. That didn't sit right with her, that there were places in her new territory that she couldn't explore, and she could frequently be found lurking near the edges of traversable safe places on the ship, her spear clutched tight and her ears forward in curiosity, wondering what sort of dangers lurked here that the Matriarch had deemed it forbidden.

Grim Eyes was inspecting the recent repairs to her spear - she didn't know what the foul-smelling, sticky goop she had used actually was, but it had fused the broken parts of the spear haft together as if it had never been broken. She ran the pads of her fingers over the jagged crack, now sealed, and snorted softly to herself. She didn't know how her mother would have reacted to the repair, or to the breakage in the first place, but it was nice to have it.

The hackles rose on the back of her neck and she spun around, lifting her spear to an attack position. Then she froze, her ears pressing themselves down to her skull, at the sight she was presented with.

The warrior wasn't looking at her, but Grim Eyes didn't need to see her face. The collection of necklaces around her neck were heavy, the splashes of paint across her fur bright. Grim Eyes took in the proud set of her shoulders and the jaunty angle of her ears and took another deep breath through her nose, trying to make sense of what she smelled. It was just as impossible as it was totally unmistakable.

"Mother...?" she said quietly.

The warrior didn't turn. Instead, she set off at a steady pace toward other parts of the ship - and Grim Eyes followed quickly, in her wake at the proper distance for a hunter to be following their Hunt Leader. That she had immediately given up her position to her mother didn't occur to her as strange. True, her mother had been dead since before Grim Eyes was even partway grown, but this ship contained many impossible things.

Maybe... maybe this was just one more impossible thing come true.

[notadamnangel.livejournal.com]

Dean was on alert in the Obs Deck and armed, the Colt a cold comfort of steel at his side. Trying to watch Dr. McSexy in the Media Library didn't help relax or distract him. He thought his usual insomnia would keep the Nightmare King's influence away. That was proven wrong earlier when he was walking back from the City and found himself surprised by the figure in front of him. There was his father, staring sternly at him. Saying how disappointed he was in how Dean was shirking his duties. Even holding up his journal in his hands.

'Supposed to play the role you were born to play, did you forget every damn thing I taught you?'

"No sir."

'Don't lie son. You're as bad as your brother! You were supposed to protect him!"

He tried to step forward to explain, but his father cut off his words with a gesture, every inch a Marine.

'I trained you better than this, time you remember your training.' He then beckoned him to follow him down another corridor.

And Dean, ever the dutiful son, still wondering how he could have missed seeing his dad at the last podpop, began to follow.

[halfa-hero.livejournal.com]

"Oh for the love of...Would it kill people to check the omnicomm's once in a while? Stop following him Winchester!" Danny said, flying in.