It had been long enough. After everything with the Nightmare King, he'd gone through the usual; self doubt, self pity, self loathing, and the inevitable drinking. Trying to fill the void left behind by not being able to play Ria, not having the music, was tough. Then there was Kala, the one who continued to fill the void he'd left in himself all those years ago when he lost the real Ria. The closest he'd ever come to filling that void on his own was naming the damn guitar after her. But he'd seen it in her as well; pity. Pity for the blind musician who could play anymore. Concern was there as well, but he hadn't focused on that; the pity was the more important part.

It was time to do something to get rid of the damn pity. Kala had mentioned someone in the med bay who might be able to help him out, had some kind of magic that may be able to regrow tendons a bit. It was a good lead (it was his only lead), and he was done with waiting to heal.

Plus, the bandages itched.

So he finally found himself at the med bay once again, after much searching. He need some kind of map for this damn ship... last time he'd only ended up here as an accident. Not really having too much of a plan, he just opened the door, did a quick sweep, and called out to the closest person he could find.

"Excuse me, I'm lookin' for a lass named Arha. Could ye lead me to 'er?"

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers. After the revelation that their worlds are gone, many of them are even more eager to see people they knew from home.

Several people are set up near the doors to provide the new people with omnicoms and comm rings. New crew-mates might see a green-skinned alien and snake girl among their number. There are also several authoritative-looking figures ready to introduce themselves.

There's a lot to tell the new people. It's going to be a lot to take in.

[ooc: Only new characters and Command Staff can start new threads for introductions, to limit the number of threads. Everyone else, just tag in and have your guys greet the newbies.]

It was probably too soon for her to be back in her feet and training, but Kala couldn't just sit.  Or sleep.  She'd slept for days after the conflict, even when she was worried about Will's hands.  And she was still worried about them.  Naturally, since she couldn't do a gafting thing about it, she was working out her annoyance by working on her ability to control energy in the form of bolts from her staff.  It also meant she had taken the time to find something relatively harmless to shoot.  In the end, it was a ball of something inorganic, but light, and made out of a substance she was unfamiliar with, but it was as good as anything else.

An hour passed before she paused, leaning on her long staff, heavily winded, cold, and disappointed at the number of times she'd missed, as the ball rolled back toward her.

She lacked focus.  Again.  And this wasn't the first day since she'd finally made up lost sleep that she'd been out in the park picking away at her skills.  They were better and whatever growing she'd needed to do had helped, but her aim was still off.  After a moment, she closed her eyes and the staff became a sword.  Kala moved through the practice routines Matt had given her to help train her in his Paladin path, but she found herself tiring quickly even as she drove all of her will into staying focused and channeling her energy.

A swing and thrust culminated in a burning itch that quickly became a warning twinge of pain.  It threw off her balance and she felt her knees give.  A second later, she was sprawled gracelessly across the grassy knoll where she'd been practicing, cussing softly under her breath as she stared up into a decidedly fake sky.  She stayed there, her fingers clutching the hilt of her sword (which abruptly turned back into a pendant with a few concerned burbles and some garbled grumbling from Rising Phoenix), and for awhile, drifted into a light doze.

Maybe a nap wasn't such a bad thing.

Several buildings in the City had been completely destroyed during Aang's rampage, but a few had survived relatively unscathed. It had only taken Kang two days to repair the Drunken Dragon; he'd done so by himself, not even waiting for his leg to heal up a bit first.

Usually, he didn't bother lighting any candles or using the fireplace in the tavern unless it was a period when the artificial sun had set. He could see perfectly fine in the dim light. For the celebration, though, he'd thrown the windows open wide, scrounged up every candle he could find, and started up a fire, knowing that human vision wasn't as good as his own. The tables surrounding the stage had been cleaned, as well as the tankards, and the door was propped open. The bozak had even wrestled two of the 60-gallon barrels from the back room into a corner of the main room for easier access, one of cactus juice and one of ale. If more was needed, he was sure he could get someone to help bring out another.

Tess had commandeered the kitchen to make her food, bringing in her own equipment. Kang had been slightly afraid at first that she was going to burn the place down, but nothing had happened yet. She seemed to know what she was doing, even if she'd given him a few scares.

The sunlight glistened on the old sword blade teeth and dinnerplate eyes of the comical-looking wooden dragon grinning above the entrance. Come in, relax, have a drink and a bite to eat!

[OOC note: Both drinks are alcoholic, and the cactus juice has twice the kick of the ale. :D;]

Welcome to the Unholy Cathedral at the heart of Escherville. It is here, in this place, that the Nightmare King has made his bid for release.

And he will not be stopped by the likes of you.

More monstrosities pour out of every angle, intent on ending this adventure. These monsters are every bit as horrific as the ones you all faced to get to this point, though you will quickly notice there is something drastically different about them.

Magic does not affect these creatures. At all.

Your spells do nothing. Your prayers are meaningless. The power of your God is useless against them.

No force in heaven or hell can affect them.

Nothing at all Magical can hurt them.

You're the ones who are good enough (or lucky) enough to be close to Escherville. You've had the good fortune to be scooped up and now you need to regroup and get ready to take on the Nightmare King himself. Time to reorganize and gear up as best you can with what you've got. The Nightmare King isn't going to wait for you.

Get moving.

_{((OOC: This is for the various groups/peoples who will be fighting the Nightmare King directly or assisting in that endeavor. If your character was in one of the Challenge from Beyond Groups, tag them in here! Feel free to do some tagging back and forth and enjoy yourselves. Please get tagged in by Tuesday night, March 2nd though, so we can get the Final Fight properly organized. ))}

Nightmare becomes reality....

[roster: leader - Jean Grey, Aeneas, Billy Blin, Vivio, Zelda/Sheik]

There were many flaws involved in having your life uprooted and moved onto an multidimensional-migration-ship-thingie. Chief among them was dependency issues. Addictions. At least, this was chief among them in those with an addiction to nicotine. Sure, the ship cured the physical addiction before it released you, but there were other things involved. There were mental and social components that the ship just couldn't fix.

Luckily, there was one man on the ship who had something to help; when he was popped, Nicholas d. Wolfwood had come across a small device that produced 'syntho-smokes', a clean-burning, odorless solution to all their smoking needs. No smell, no cancer, fake smoke, technically worthless, but you still smoked it like a cigarette and got your nic-fix taken care of. And luckily, this man was Will's roommate.

Of course, he'd gotten the tech guys to duplicate the pack, so he had one as well, but they still bummed from each other all the time. It was just what you did; smoker bonding. There was even a small sign, stolen from a hotel in the city, affixed to their door denoting it as a smoking room.

They just called it The Smoker's Lounge; their room where every smoker on the ship sooner or later found themselves to get their fix.

Sadly, Will hadn't explained any of this to Kala before bringing her to the room (as per their rooming arrangement). He also hadn't told Wolfwood she was going to be staying with them. All things considered, he'd been forgetting to do a lot of important things lately.

But, no time like the present. He looked back to Kala, her hand still in his, as he opened the door to the room and a wall of synthetic smoke poured out.

"Welcome to the Lounge."

Wolfwood had made the call over the omnicomm. However, he received a far larger audience than expected. He had no idea of how people were even possibly looking for faith after Daimon's admonishions, so the crowd disturbed him a bit. He pushed ahead anyway.

"Well, here I go." He started, picking and chosing his word carefully. "In these harsh times, it's easy for all of us to look outward for salvation. We all come from different worlds, with different religions. Now, more than ever, clinging to those beliefs seems natural. And it is, because you aren't wrong. We all believe in the same thing, in the end, don't we?" He paused for a moment, to let it sit. "We all believe in a higher power. Now, I am going to tell you a truth I have normally only shared with my close friends: I... am a cynic." He paused again, letting it sink in. "I know, right? Horrible quality in a priest. But it's how I have been. One of my favorite expressions was that man is nothing like God. Not only are our powers limited, but sometimes we are forced to become the devil himself. You, every one of you here today, has proven me wrong, regardless of belief or religion, or lack thereof. Every single one of you have shown a devotion, a faith, a strength that I have always lacked."  The ertswhile priest paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts.

"I was raised with my faith from childhood, and until being on this ship, I had no concept of divinity. It hasn't come from your abilities, skills or powers. It has come from your faith. In yourselves, or in others. And truly , truly, I understand that now.  Every one of you has shown divinity in your own way, from the lowest to the highest."  He pause again, yet more collecting of his thoughts, before moving on.

"In my time on this vessel, I have seen you all perform everyday feats that you may take for granted. I have seen sinners forgiven their past. I've seen evil men turn their backs on evil to benefit the greater good. I've seen people being kind to eachother for no reason other than being kind. These things, at best, are a luxury where I come from. And yet everyone here displays it fervently, with the kind of faith and strength most saints wish they could have. That is my proof, as a man of God, not just in my own holy power, but in all of them. Yours, mine, his, hers, they're all the same, and they all show themselves in your actions." Now was not only a pause, but a deep breath, as he had been ranting for a little bit. "In short, it is easy for any of us to look for our gods in the heavens. Hell, it seems a natural reaction. But maybe, just maybe, that proof of God you are looking for in these desperate times lies, truly, in the kindness of a neighbor. In the support of a friend. In the strength of an admired comrade." He stopped, this time to let it all sink in.

"So, the next time you want to look outwards to see divinity, I would rather inspire you to look to your friends and allies, and ask them and accept them for their beliefs. Because their strength is your strength, and yours theirs. Maybe, just maybe, all of the gods want us to work together." Another pause, another prayer, another moment.

" I will be taking confessionals and offering counseling in this church's offices after this service. All who want to talk are welcome to have their discussions with me, or be guided to a proper minister of their own faith, if I know of one." He then walked to the office, thinking one solitary thought.

Sermons are hard.

Slowly but surely, the nightmares have been chipping away at the mental defenses of the crew.

Even those who attempt to stay awake to avoid the nightmares find themselves too on-edge to completely concentrate their defenses.

And the Nightmare King has not been idle during all this, no. He has been slowly feeding off the crew, gathering his strength so that he may yet break free from his prison.

And he now uses that new found power, reaching out to affect the minds of the crew even in the waking world. Even those avoiding sleep will find themselves drifting in and out of their nightmares, bringing everyone a taste of despair.

After all, no one can escape the grasp of the King of Nightmares.

No one.

[ooc: OH NOEZ. As you can guess, the Nightmare King is getting stronger. As such, the crew will start experiencing waking dreams. These are much more subtle than the normal nightmares, however, and are more so depressing and surreal than actually brain-breaking. Mostly they would be miserable versions of the character's normal life, or perhaps even their life on the ship.]

Everyone had been so nice to Ryo since he had awoken a day prior. He wanted to show his appreciation to his friends and the crew, and get a chance to meet others. So, he walked back into the sensoriums and imagined a place. As he opened his eyes, there was the Milk Dipper. Wood finish, stars decorating the place, rough hewn wooden tables and the telescope in it's pedestal at the center. Everything was as it should be, except for one thing. Behind the counter, looking very confused, was a green-skinned demon who bore no resemblance to Airi. Ryo registered his shock as the demon spoke.

"This... is NOT my bar..." The green one said, his own shock evident. He looked at Ryo. "And you're not Peter..." Ryo, not knowing what to do, bowed quickly.

"I'm sorry, Oni-san, I just wanted to throw a party for everyone, with karaoke and dancing, and I didn't mean to summon you!" The demon shook his head, waving Ryo off.

"It's Lorne, and you had me at karaoke. Now, this place.... I like it. Kind of a kitsch-meets-class thing going on... It does need to be bigger, though..." Lorne snapped his fingers and the cafe expanded, now as large as an auditorium. The telescope pedestal sat firmly in the center of a well-polished dance floor, underneath a disco ball and lighting set up. To the left of the counter was a stage with a karoake set-up, and behind the counter was now a lot more than just coffee. Otherwise, the decor remained the same.

"Alright, Ryo-kun." Lorne said with a smile. "Give everyone the heads up and get this party started." Ryo nodded, amazed by the demon's abilities, and gave a call on the omnicomms.

[[ OOC: It's karaoke dance party time! Start a sub-thread with your character singing a song, socializing, or just being a wallflower, and let the CR flow! Especially great for newbies to meet folk and influence people!]]

[[This is a continuation of this thread, open to magic bus people and probably anyone who happens to be walking by.]]

Kala watched Mister Barlow's hat bob a bit as he carried her.  The bus wasn't that far away now, not really.  She could almost feel it pulling at her.  In it was a warm, safe bed, a bathroom that was very nice and had pipes, but she was worried.  Not for herself, but for Mister Barlow, because it was made up of magic and it would be so bright.  She'd been stupid.  Stupid for not controlling herself.  Stupid for letting herself slip up, for not forcing herself to spar.  It hadn't been real fighting anyway.  The ship probably would have stopped them.  And they hadn't been fighting dead on, it was just a stupid surge.  One she'd managed to stop.

Now, here she was, limp as anything and being carried by Mister Barlow all the way home when he was still hurting because she'd gone and--  And tried to just about fry him.  It wasn't exactly successful, but at least she managed to heal him a little.  Kala blinked and a few tears slipped down her cheeks.  It wasn't his fault.  Not even a little.  But.

She'd...helped. 

That was worth something.

All in all, things were getting off on the wrong foot for Irma. Bad enough to know that the Will and Matt here weren't the ones she knew (not that she minded - they looked different, yet felt the same), but now she's being told to put trust in someone's crazy plan to deal with a god? That just about ranks up there with turning into your element to defeat a snake man armed with twice the elemental power as her and her friends!

Out of curiosity, frustration and boredom, Irma decided to glance around the City. All in all, it was pretty bland, to her, at least. Before turning around to head back, she had remembered that she wanted to see the Jedi Temple - thus the W.I.T.C.H. Bus. Pressing forward, she got nowhere fast.

Until she saw it. It looked dusty from the years of lack of care, but for the most part, it was still standing.

Sheffield Academy. Her school.

"Noooooooooooooo!" Irma cried, falling to her knees dramatically. "They didn't blow it up! Darn them all to heck, they didn't blow it up!"

Okay, enough of the melodramatics. Getting back up, she looked around and realized that no one was around.

"Good. Good. Awesome! No one's around! This will be my little secret. No one's going to make me go to school while I'm stuck in this flying piece of meat!" Irma said, hoping to walk away before anyone spotted her... or the school.

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers. After the revelation that their worlds are gone, many of them are even more eager to see people they knew from home.

Several people are set up near the doors to provide the new people with omnicoms and comm rings. New crew-mates might see a green-skinned alien and snake girl among their number. There are also several authoritative-looking figures ready to introduce themselves.

There's a lot to tell the new people. It's going to be a lot to take in.

[ooc: Only new characters and Command Staff can start new threads for introductions, to limit the number of threads. Everyone else, just tag in and have your guys greet the newbies.]

It seemed weird to think about it, but ever since arriving on the Meatship, Will hadn't really spent any time just...working. He'd taken the time to walk around, he'd met people, given some good advice (and lots of bad), tried to do well by people, but he hadn't taken the time to do what he did best; relax.

It was odd that even with the threat of dreams looming over them all, people were still...functioning; their worlds were dead, they were being driven into a war, and they had next to nothing, but they kept going. They weren't in the best moods, their tension had all gone through the roof, but they were surviving. And it was time for him to do his big as well.

He found a nice spot in the middle of the city park and sat down with his back against a large fountain with his guitar across his legs. He'd played a little, but not enough. This was who he was more than his powers. He may have been told he had a destiny in the celestial war, and he'd also been told he was to fight for all the multiverse against...whatever they were, but this was his real calling; busking.

It was a quick few minutes tuning up Ria, his old sixstring, before he set his hat down in front of him (habit more than anything, that) and began to pluck out a tune he'd known for years and always found appealing. After a minute or two to warm up, he began to sing a bit as well, lost in his own little world.

( Busking for fun, not profits. )

Since the announcement, Matt had done his best to clean up everything and prepare a pile of food. There were small sandwiches, various snack foods, chips and several bottles of soda. It was simple snack fair, but it was enough to give people reassurance that there was normal food within the lunacy.

Rein puttered around, the little girl heaving up seats and moving them to accomodate the meeting place in the dining hall, pushing together chairs and tables with surprising strength. The pair worked busily and soon were prepared for whatever would come.

"Seems like we're all ready," said Matt, wiping his forehead. "Made all sorts of snack foods, and I've got the slow roast in the pressure cooker for those who want something hearty."

Walking to the door and wiping his hands on a rag, he opened the door to the bus to welcome anyone who was coming in.

Some cheer was definitely needed on this ship. Whatever chance meeting had brought Kaylee and Claudia together in mechanical mischief had also set their minds to turning over what they could possibly do to get some smiles back on the faces of those onboard.

A costume party.

Claudia had come up with the idea, really. She knew a bit more about it than Kaylee did, but she explained it all in such a way that Kaylee really couldn’t resist wanting to throw one. It’d be a good chance for everyone to let loose and have a good time in the midst of the nightmare madness. Who could resist that?

The sensorium had been melded to an image from Kaylee’s mind, though. A grand ballroom, with marble floors and painted ceiling. A large buffet table stood against one of the walls, covered mostly in fruit, but in some other hors d’oeuvres as well.

[[ OoC: Party style!! Costumes aren't a requirement, but they are fun. If you've got questions about anything, ask Cheryle or Holly. :D ]]

If one were to pass by the Sensoriums today, one might hear some rather loud noises coming from inside - and if one were a mage, one might sense some blistering magical power being released from within the room.

After her little incident (what with collapsing from overexertion and all), Nanoha had managed to convince Fate, arguing that if the blonde girl didn't want her to go overboard on training, she'd have to be Nanoha's training partner. Naturally, Fate had agreed. It was a good thing, too, because Nanoha knew that Fate was someone who was strong enough to go toe-to-toe with her, meaning they could push each other to grow stronger... even if she did have to be reminded not to go easy just because they were close.

"Axel Shooter."

The two of them were flying in the air high above a simulated park, flashes of pink and yellow magic arcing through the clear blue sky as they traded fire. Trying to keep her distance from her friend's melee, Nanoha flew backwards, weaving to make herself a harder target to hit, as little pink orbs sprung into being around her, jetting at the other girl one by one.

They had to be ready for whatever the Nightmare King was going to throw at them, mentally and physically.

(ooc: Come in, interrupt them! If you want training, if you want to just hang out and chat, or if you want to watch two high-powered mages going at it just shy of full-tilt. :D)

Tonight, once again, the dreamscape of the meatship has been altered.

However, this time, the dream was the same, no matter the dreamer, and was neither good nor bad, but simply odd.

Only a portion of the crew would have this dream, some of them intentionally, others whose mind simply happened to drift upon it in the dreamscape.

Regardless, it starts out the same for each dreamer:

The dreamer finds themselves standing on some rocky, barren world.

( Read more... )

[ooc: This is just Seer's way of checking up on the crew. Once again, posting isn't mandatory, but if you want your pup to meet/interact with Seer, feel free!]

Nighttime.

Or, at least, what passed for nighttime on the meatship.

A time when most of the crew was already fast asleep, dreaming away pleasantly throughout the night.

...Or, perhaps not. For you see, tonight, something particularly strange is happening.

Now it is not all that unusual for someone to have a nightmare, especially not on the ship.

Yet tonight, no one will sleep easily, for the Nightmare King deems it so.

Everyone's dreams will have a tinge of horror to them. Nothing so out of the ordinary to rouse one's suspicions, but at the same time, no one is left out.

Pleasant nightmares, meatship.

[ooc: And thus begins the start of the Nightmare King's spree of insanity. He's starting out subtle, of course. The nightmares won't be anything more than your run of the mill bad dream, but he is giving them to everyone. Posting in isn't mandatory, but if you want to have fun with your character's nightmare, go right ahead.]