There was a bright flash, and a fuzzy, almost electric taste in Jamie's mouth. And then...
"James Robert McCrimmon. Come here."
"Hey?" Jamie turned to see one of the Doctor's people - the Time Lords - standing there. What did the man want now? Surely it was enough that they were forcing him to go home? He didn't really want to go, after all. His place was with the Doctor.
"It is time." The Time Lord looked at him, his face expressionless. "Come with me."
"Time for what?" Jamie asked in confusion. "Are we back in Scotland already?"
"No. It is time for...something else." The Time Lord raised a hand and beckoned him closer.
Jamie hesitated, looking at the other man with growing suspicion. "Time for something else? Och, what are ye on about?" He looked around, realizing that something was missing. "Hey, where's Zoe?"
"She is safe, and well." At that moment, Zoe came into the console room with a second Time Lord. Her face was oddly blank, and she seemed to look right past Jamie without seeing him.
"Zoe?" There was no response. Jamie stepped forward and waived a hand in her face, but there was still nothing. He turned a baleful look on the first Time Lord. "What have ye done to her?"
"Nothing harmful." The Time Lord spoke in a mild tone devoid of any emotion, as if he were discussing the weather. "It is a simple adjustment. She will not remember anything apart from her first meeting with you and the Doctor. It is better this way."
"Better this way?" Jamie asked, confused. "But why remove her memories of us? What good would that do?" His eyes widened as he realized they meant to take away his memories of the Doctor, too. "Oh, no. You're not going to do that to me!" He turned to run - but there was nowhere to run to. He found himself facing a wall and turned about quickly, bringing up his hands to fight.
"There's no point in resisting," the first Time Lord said. "After all, you do not have a choice in this matter." The second Time Lord reached out to restrain him and then did...something.
Jamie reached up to clutch at his temples, his head feeling like it was turning inside out. "No! I willna..." He let out a cry and collapsed. The next thing he knew, he found himself in a hallway. The floor felt uncomfortably squishy and alive. He slowly got to his feet, patting his chest to make sure he was still in one piece. He half-expected a Redcoat to be there - after all, he was on the moors. Wasn't he? As he looked around at the walls of Stacy, he realized that no, he wasn't in Scotland any longer.
"Where am I? What is this place?" Not finding any immediate answers, he cautiously started off down the very strange hallway, trying to swallow the knot of fear that was threatening to rise up into his throat.
As Jamie continued his exploration of this strange place, he found less and less comfort in his surroundings. At first he thought maybe he was in a castle - but it wasn't stone. Too fleshy. Maybe it was some sort of city. Or maybe, he thought, he's been eaten by some giant monster. But if that was the case, surely he'd be dead, and not wandering down what seemed like endless corridors? Whatever it was, he knew he'd feel a lot better if he had his claymore in his hands. Or any weapon, really.
That was when the voices started. Subtle, for now, more like little pinpricks of sound in the back of his mind. They were still unnerving, and made him more jumpy than usual. As he continued, they slowly - oh, so slowly - started to get louder. Half-heard words urged him onward, down one more corridor, one more turn.
And then he saw the boy.
((OOC: continuing down here, then here and then to the fight thread.))
She didn't know why she was standing there, but she was. She looked out at the lawn in front of her and could make out a figure running. They were running slower than her heart knew they should be. And then it hit her. She backed away from the images, her hand going to her mouth as tears sprang up in her eyes.
"No. Not this... god anything but this.." She continued to back away from the image but it kept coming towards her. Then she heard the voices. The Rogues and their word of hate to the man who was running towards her. She wanted to run to him to help him. And she did just that. Running towards him, she held out her hand. "Bart please.. I can.." But as she went to grasp his hand, it phased right through hers. She couldn't touch him. And as she turned she came face to face with Captain Cold himself. His gun armed and ready.
"No!" She jumped in front of the blast, but it went right through her. Right into Bart's back. She turned to face him and screamed as she watched the Rogue's continue to shoot him. Watched him die in front of her.
She dropped to her knees and brought her hands up to her face. Kneeling by Bart's fallen body as the Rogues turned and fled. Her sobs were the only sound she could hear.
As the voices started in his head, the strange walls also started to shift back and forth. One moment, he was in this odd, fleshy place. The next, he was on the moors of Scotland. Time seemed to slow, then speed up and nearly fly by. The voices continued to whisper subtly to him.
So when he came across Cissie, kneeling on the ground and crying, he wasn't sure what he was seeing at first. One moment, it was a blond girl he didn't know, crying over nothing at all. The next, it was a dark haired lass, kneeling by a plaid covered body. And this person he knew all too well. He paused and laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Kirsty, lass, ye should go." He knows she's mourning the loss of her brother, but he also knows that neither of them can do anything for Alexander now. "Your father is waiting for ye on the Annabelle."
Cissie had thought she had heard an accent, but when she looked up at the person, it wasn't a man at all. It was a woman, one she'd never officially met but knew well. Iris West Allen, Bart's grandmother. She wiped at her eyes and listened to the woman.
"He'll be okay. He's just like his grandfather, he's a fighter." Cissie was confused by this and shook off the feeling. As she stood she saw a flash of flesh covered walls, and a man she hadn't seen before.
"No." She looked back at the older woman and then back to the retreating forms of the Rogue's. "No. I wasn't here. This isn't real." Her eyes narrowed as her hands fisted at her sides. "Bart's alive. He's waiting for me back on Stacy." She took a deep breath and turned. When she blinked this time, she was back on Stacy.
"Well now I hate this Nightmare King all the more."
Stacy? What's Stacy? And what's this Nightmare King? Jamie looks confused - and for a moment, his mind starts to question what is going on.
The Nightmare King, however, isn't done with him just yet. The voices in Jamie's mind rise sharply, distracting him from trying to figure out what Cissie is saying. Words he doesn't intend to say come out of his mouth, the force that has a hold of him drawing on his past to come up with with something that will maintain the illusion for the young Scot.
"Aye," Jamie says woodenly, "I've no love for King George either. But...he..." He trails off, uncertain. The Nightmare King frowns. This isn't going to work. Another tack, perhaps. The voices rise again.
She is of no concern to you.
He grimaces for a moment and shakes his head, trying to fight back, but the Nightmare King is too strong.
Leave her.
"I..."
GO.
"I have to go."
Stiffly, he turns and walks away from Cissie down the hall. She can follow him if she likes, but the Nightmare King makes certain Jamie does not realize she's there. He does not see another soul, until he finally spots the evil Ranger.
In the moment that reality starts to fade, Billy clings to the desperate hope that he can survive---and then the familiar but long-lost sensation of teleportation washes over him, pulling him up and out of the hallway.
Then---impossibly---he's standing in a very familiar place. An endless sky of stars stretches out from the circular blue platform he stands on. Shining columns of light stretch up from the abyss, pointing to a long blue surrounded by rays of light. The face within is wise, old, and troubled. Zordon.
The six standing in front of him are familiar. In red is Jason. In yellow is Trini. In black is Zack. In pink is Kimberly. In green is Tommy. But in blue is...Adam? This isn't right, Billy's mind protests. I need to find the truth and break away. I'm aboard Stacy. This is a trap.
"Everyone, what's going on?" The last few nightmares have silenced him. This one does not.
"Adam, what are you talking about? I'm your friend. We're working together aboard Stacy, remember? This isn't real. The Nightmare King's trying to trap us!"
Ah, the others have awakened from their nightmares. Excellent.
Not so excellent, though, (at least from their perspective) a pesky boy in blue is standing in their way.
He advances with a deadly calm, visor-masked eyes surveying the targets. Two strong women. A confused (but also strong, as he knew from the weakling's memories) man. And a particularly fearsome opponent---the weakling's former teammate.
The Blue Ranger stands apart from them, waiting to begin.
Confused is an excellent word to describe Jamie. Perhaps the others are free, but since he wandered off on his own, he is still without the memories that make everything on Stacy make sense. The Nightmare King continues to whisper in his ear.
Why is that boy there? It's not someone he recognizes, so what is it about the boy that seems...familiar?
Lowlander, hisses the voice only Jamie can hear.
He no longer sees the boy. He sees a man, dressed in the colors of a Lowlander clan, and frowns. He's not sure how to react. There's no love lost between Highlanders and Lowlanders, but he's fought alongside them before. Granted, it wasn't what any of them would have wanted, but it's not enough to do anything other than make Jamie pause.
Traitor. The murmur is subtle, but the word is clear.
The shadows writhe around the Lowlander, curl and form into the shape of a second man - a Redcoat. Judging by the accouterments the second man is wearing, it is someone very highly placed in the British army. Only Jamie can see the Redcoat hand the Lowlander a piece of paper with the drawing of his Laird on it. Only Jamie sees a large bag of money exchange hands.
He means to kill him, Jamie.
Colin McLaren had lived through the battle of Culloden, but was injured. His son, Alexander, was killed shortly after. Clearly, the Lowlander was meant to get close enough to make sure of Colin's demise as well. The Annabelle had not yet left for France. If the Lowlander was able to get there and manage to get on board...
Jamie could not risk that happening. He launched himself at the Lowlander, uttering his clan's battle cry.
"I've been expecting you," he almost laughs, lunging to shield himself from the blow with his Power Lance. But he doesn't really hurt the lad. Not yet.
"You're rather proud of your men, aren't you?" The Blue Ranger sniffs, then withdraws, briefly glancing over the others mid-movement. But the Scotsman will strike again quickly, he knows.
He cackles, in a dark voice nothing like the one this body's vocal cords usually produce. "My master will be overjoyed!"
Jamie doesn't say anything in reply. Rather, he warily circles the Blue Ranger, looking for an opening. He's not going into this fight at full strength - not only is his leg not completely healed from the last waking dream, the Nightmare King is sapping his strength, making him feel even weaker.
It would be a bad idea to show that to his opponent, however, so his face remains a smooth, impassive mask. With luck, his leg won't give out while he's fighting.
He tries for a feint, making it look as though he is going to throw a punch. However, he's simply trying to get close enough so he can attempt to slip in under the other's guard and try and send him off balance.
Hmph, no participation in the conversation? Blue Ranger and his overlord are not pleased with this development.
Blue Ranger dodges, realizing the trick when Jamie is close enough to deal some damage. He shields with his right arm and balances on his left foot, bracing for a blow. And what's to come.
It wouldn't do to knock Jamie out without a fight. Not when there was so much fun to be had.
With Jamie carefully moved out of the way for the time being, Blue Ranger was free to focus his attention on the next target.
Ah, Adam Park. The Ranger in black. What a thrill it would be to dispatch of the weakling's former friend. He doesn't trust you, the King's' spirit reminded to quiet the growing protests from the cage within.
"So we meet again, Black Ranger. I'm impressed---you actually resisted for this long. But no matter. You're next!" The evil Ranger crouched, preparing his body for battle.
Adam backed away. He trembled lightly. This was not Billy. No, this couldn't be Billy. Why would his friend turn on him? How could he? The Billy he knew wouldn't and Rita and Zedd were not here, so how was it possible? "Billy, please! What are you doing?"
Blue Ranger stalks forward, spurred on by a chilling combination of anger and thrill. When close enough, he tries to strike out with a fist.
"Do not address me by that name! The person you used and manipulated is dead. What remains is my true form. I am now the vassal of the greatest lord to ever live!"
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Assault of Darkness
[Echo, Adam, Cissie, Jamie, your fight against your nightmares goes here. Don't wait for Billy, he's approaching separately.]
Jamie's Nightmare
"James Robert McCrimmon. Come here."
"Hey?" Jamie turned to see one of the Doctor's people - the Time Lords - standing there. What did the man want now? Surely it was enough that they were forcing him to go home? He didn't really want to go, after all. His place was with the Doctor.
"It is time." The Time Lord looked at him, his face expressionless. "Come with me."
"Time for what?" Jamie asked in confusion. "Are we back in Scotland already?"
"No. It is time for...something else." The Time Lord raised a hand and beckoned him closer.
Jamie hesitated, looking at the other man with growing suspicion. "Time for something else? Och, what are ye on about?" He looked around, realizing that something was missing. "Hey, where's Zoe?"
"She is safe, and well." At that moment, Zoe came into the console room with a second Time Lord. Her face was oddly blank, and she seemed to look right past Jamie without seeing him.
"Zoe?" There was no response. Jamie stepped forward and waived a hand in her face, but there was still nothing. He turned a baleful look on the first Time Lord. "What have ye done to her?"
"Nothing harmful." The Time Lord spoke in a mild tone devoid of any emotion, as if he were discussing the weather. "It is a simple adjustment. She will not remember anything apart from her first meeting with you and the Doctor. It is better this way."
"Better this way?" Jamie asked, confused. "But why remove her memories of us? What good would that do?" His eyes widened as he realized they meant to take away his memories of the Doctor, too. "Oh, no. You're not going to do that to me!" He turned to run - but there was nowhere to run to. He found himself facing a wall and turned about quickly, bringing up his hands to fight.
"There's no point in resisting," the first Time Lord said. "After all, you do not have a choice in this matter." The second Time Lord reached out to restrain him and then did...something.
Jamie reached up to clutch at his temples, his head feeling like it was turning inside out. "No! I willna..." He let out a cry and collapsed. The next thing he knew, he found himself in a hallway. The floor felt uncomfortably squishy and alive. He slowly got to his feet, patting his chest to make sure he was still in one piece. He half-expected a Redcoat to be there - after all, he was on the moors. Wasn't he? As he looked around at the walls of Stacy, he realized that no, he wasn't in Scotland any longer.
"Where am I? What is this place?" Not finding any immediate answers, he cautiously started off down the very strange hallway, trying to swallow the knot of fear that was threatening to rise up into his throat.
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That was when the voices started. Subtle, for now, more like little pinpricks of sound in the back of his mind. They were still unnerving, and made him more jumpy than usual. As he continued, they slowly - oh, so slowly - started to get louder. Half-heard words urged him onward, down one more corridor, one more turn.
And then he saw the boy.
((OOC: continuing down here, then here and then to the fight thread.))
Cissie's Nightmare
"No. Not this... god anything but this.." She continued to back away from the image but it kept coming towards her. Then she heard the voices. The Rogues and their word of hate to the man who was running towards her. She wanted to run to him to help him. And she did just that. Running towards him, she held out her hand. "Bart please.. I can.." But as she went to grasp his hand, it phased right through hers. She couldn't touch him. And as she turned she came face to face with Captain Cold himself. His gun armed and ready.
"No!" She jumped in front of the blast, but it went right through her. Right into Bart's back. She turned to face him and screamed as she watched the Rogue's continue to shoot him. Watched him die in front of her.
She dropped to her knees and brought her hands up to her face. Kneeling by Bart's fallen body as the Rogues turned and fled. Her sobs were the only sound she could hear.
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So when he came across Cissie, kneeling on the ground and crying, he wasn't sure what he was seeing at first. One moment, it was a blond girl he didn't know, crying over nothing at all. The next, it was a dark haired lass, kneeling by a plaid covered body. And this person he knew all too well. He paused and laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Kirsty, lass, ye should go." He knows she's mourning the loss of her brother, but he also knows that neither of them can do anything for Alexander now. "Your father is waiting for ye on the Annabelle."
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"He'll be okay. He's just like his grandfather, he's a fighter." Cissie was confused by this and shook off the feeling. As she stood she saw a flash of flesh covered walls, and a man she hadn't seen before.
"No." She looked back at the older woman and then back to the retreating forms of the Rogue's. "No. I wasn't here. This isn't real." Her eyes narrowed as her hands fisted at her sides. "Bart's alive. He's waiting for me back on Stacy." She took a deep breath and turned. When she blinked this time, she was back on Stacy.
"Well now I hate this Nightmare King all the more."
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The Nightmare King, however, isn't done with him just yet. The voices in Jamie's mind rise sharply, distracting him from trying to figure out what Cissie is saying. Words he doesn't intend to say come out of his mouth, the force that has a hold of him drawing on his past to come up with with something that will maintain the illusion for the young Scot.
"Aye," Jamie says woodenly, "I've no love for King George either. But...he..." He trails off, uncertain. The Nightmare King frowns. This isn't going to work. Another tack, perhaps. The voices rise again.
She is of no concern to you.
He grimaces for a moment and shakes his head, trying to fight back, but the Nightmare King is too strong.
Leave her.
"I..."
GO.
"I have to go."
Stiffly, he turns and walks away from Cissie down the hall. She can follow him if she likes, but the Nightmare King makes certain Jamie does not realize she's there. He does not see another soul, until he finally spots the evil Ranger.
Blue Ranger Gone Bad
Descent
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Then---impossibly---he's standing in a very familiar place. An endless sky of stars stretches out from the circular blue platform he stands on. Shining columns of light stretch up from the abyss, pointing to a long blue surrounded by rays of light. The face within is wise, old, and troubled. Zordon.
The six standing in front of him are familiar. In red is Jason. In yellow is Trini. In black is Zack. In pink is Kimberly. In green is Tommy. But in blue is...Adam? This isn't right, Billy's mind protests. I need to find the truth and break away. I'm aboard Stacy. This is a trap.
"Everyone, what's going on?" The last few nightmares have silenced him. This one does not.
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Adam is the first to detect the intruder's presence. He turns, moves protectively in front of the others, and glares.
"What right do you have to be here, after everything you've done? Get out!"
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"Adam, what are you talking about? I'm your friend. We're working together aboard Stacy, remember? This isn't real. The Nightmare King's trying to trap us!"
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Approach
[Here's where reactions and first blows go. The two planned fights have separate threads, and then the final shutdown.]
Re: Approach
Not so excellent, though, (at least from their perspective) a pesky boy in blue is standing in their way.
He advances with a deadly calm, visor-masked eyes surveying the targets. Two strong women. A confused (but also strong, as he knew from the weakling's memories) man. And a particularly fearsome opponent---the weakling's former teammate.
The Blue Ranger stands apart from them, waiting to begin.
[This section now open for tagging!]
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Why is that boy there? It's not someone he recognizes, so what is it about the boy that seems...familiar?
Lowlander, hisses the voice only Jamie can hear.
He no longer sees the boy. He sees a man, dressed in the colors of a Lowlander clan, and frowns. He's not sure how to react. There's no love lost between Highlanders and Lowlanders, but he's fought alongside them before. Granted, it wasn't what any of them would have wanted, but it's not enough to do anything other than make Jamie pause.
Traitor. The murmur is subtle, but the word is clear.
The shadows writhe around the Lowlander, curl and form into the shape of a second man - a Redcoat. Judging by the accouterments the second man is wearing, it is someone very highly placed in the British army. Only Jamie can see the Redcoat hand the Lowlander a piece of paper with the drawing of his Laird on it. Only Jamie sees a large bag of money exchange hands.
He means to kill him, Jamie.
Colin McLaren had lived through the battle of Culloden, but was injured. His son, Alexander, was killed shortly after. Clearly, the Lowlander was meant to get close enough to make sure of Colin's demise as well. The Annabelle had not yet left for France. If the Lowlander was able to get there and manage to get on board...
Jamie could not risk that happening. He launched himself at the Lowlander, uttering his clan's battle cry.
"Creag an tuire!"
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"You're rather proud of your men, aren't you?" The Blue Ranger sniffs, then withdraws, briefly glancing over the others mid-movement. But the Scotsman will strike again quickly, he knows.
He cackles, in a dark voice nothing like the one this body's vocal cords usually produce. "My master will be overjoyed!"
The Middle Ground
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"Are you ready?" The ball's in your court, Mr. McCrimmon. The Blue Ranger uses a defensive posture, allowing Jamie the first move.
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It would be a bad idea to show that to his opponent, however, so his face remains a smooth, impassive mask. With luck, his leg won't give out while he's fighting.
He tries for a feint, making it look as though he is going to throw a punch. However, he's simply trying to get close enough so he can attempt to slip in under the other's guard and try and send him off balance.
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Blue Ranger dodges, realizing the trick when Jamie is close enough to deal some damage. He shields with his right arm and balances on his left foot, bracing for a blow. And what's to come.
It wouldn't do to knock Jamie out without a fight. Not when there was so much fun to be had.
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Black And Blue
[Adam and Billy's duel goes here.]
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Ah, Adam Park. The Ranger in black. What a thrill it would be to dispatch of the weakling's former friend. He doesn't trust you, the King's' spirit reminded to quiet the growing protests from the cage within.
"So we meet again, Black Ranger. I'm impressed---you actually resisted for this long. But no matter. You're next!" The evil Ranger crouched, preparing his body for battle.
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"Do not address me by that name! The person you used and manipulated is dead. What remains is my true form. I am now the vassal of the greatest lord to ever live!"
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YAY FOR IC CORNINESS~
Re: YAY FOR IC CORNINESS~
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Submission
Everyone? It's time to take him down.
[One big brawl for everyone here! You won't break the spell, so the goal is to knock him out or otherwise render him harmless.]