Dreams Collapse

[Venom Adhamm]

Arn sighed. What the hell was he doing out there?

He was in the middle of one of the more dangerous parts of space. He'd lost his cool, space-soldier companion. He was no closer to being over Lili. This was so worthless, the whole endeavor.

And yet... There was no going back. Not after everything else that happened back home. Not after this lead on the girl.

"Monomaniacal Moon Bar," he repeated out loud, entering it in to his console.

Your ship's warp-drive warms up, then activates. Within moments, you arrive at a small white asteroid that reminds you of the Moon that orbited Earth. Built on top of the asteroid is a three-story building with a large neon sign at the front that reads, in bright orange: "Monomaniacal Moon Bar." The building is made of dark brick, with a clear wood trim. There are no windows, and the light from a nearby Sun fails to penetrate the walls of the bar. Perhaps it's for the best. Nobody wants to see the illumination of people throwing their lives away into a bar tab.


You navigate The Enterprise into the parking lot behind the bar. There's a small sign on the back wall of the bar that reads, in large bold text, "NO WEAPONS ALLOWED."


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Arn stood in the cockpit, feeling a brief sense of nostalgia and regret as he saw Luna again, for the first time in... How long? Surely, not much time had passed, but... Still, the sight of a white sky rock seemed so strange to him now. He wondered how alienated he was from his home.


He exited the ship, taking care to leave his weapons in the cargo bay before he went into the bar.

 

[Venom Adhamm]

You leave behind your weapons and, in doing so, feel like you've left behind a piece of your sin.


At the front of the bar, a three-armed bouncer in a suit and a hat that hides his face stops you. He pulls out a metal device from his suit jacket and waves it up and down in front of you. The device beeps happily, and the bouncer puts the item away.


"Don't cause any trouble," he says as he steps out of your way.


Inside, there's some loud music playing. The room is very dimly lit, aside from the dance floor with flashing lights and the occasional flashing person. There's an area where drinks are being served some distance away from the dance floor. Directly ahead of you and past the dance floor is an elevator, albeit a strange looking one, with a lit sign above it:


"FLOOR 1: LOUD AREA


FLOOR 2: QUIET AREA


FLOOR 3: VIP AREA"

 

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Arn gulped at the large man and felt a sense of helplessness. I need to start working out. With a brief nod to the guard, the tall scarecrow of a man found his way into the bar and took a good look around him.


Great. They have pretentious clubs in space, too. I guess douches are a universal constant.


Trying to hide his nervosa at the number of people, Arn moved on the bar itself first- feeling that a couple drinks might soothe his mind, and the bartender could point him to the girl he was trying to find.

 

[Venom Adhamm]

You head to the bar area, sitting a bit away from any other bar-goers. The bartender soon heads over to you and, perhaps a bit to your surprise, you see it's a Human. Completely Human, no augmentations of any sort. He has slightly greying hair and a light beard. He speaks in a deep and aged voice, but one that exudes warmth and kindness.


"Hello, you're new here, aren't you? Do you need any drink recommendations?" he asks with a smile.

 

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Arn knew he had, at some point, moral positions against drinking. Whatever they had been, they were gone. "Uh... Sure, what've you got?"

 

[Venom Adhamm]

The man studies you for a moment, then looks around you, before turning his eyes to look into yours again.


"We have lots of things. You look like you're here for something important though. Might want to keep your senses. How about a The Sun Rises But Not Literally in a Physical Sense? It has a relatively low alcohol content and tastes sweet. It also contains several important vitamins and nutrients."

 

[SampleText]

Arn laughed uneasily. It seemed like everyone outside of Earth was smarter than him, and nobody on Earth gave a shit if he was smarter than them. "Yeah, I guess you could say that... And yeah, give me one of those." He offered a weak smile before he continued. "I'm, uh, here because I heard something about a girl who was hanging around here."

 

[Venom Adhamm]

"Well, there's lots of girls hanging around here," the bartender says, removing some bartender-related items from behind the counter and beginning to mix a drink for you. You don't really recognize any of the tools he's using to make your drink. They escape description, and seem very alien in nature. Strange noises come from the bartender's tools as he works on your drink.


"Is there any girl in particular you're looking for?"

 

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Arn watched in fascination as the bartender worked his magic with the strange tools and liquids. "Eh..." He had to shake his head to snap himself out of his wondrous stupor. "Oh! Yeah, sorry. I'm, uh... A bit out of it. I heard there was a girl around here talking about... Fuck, this probably won't help much, but she was talking about having been to an alternate dimension or something. Have you heard any such talk lately?"

 

[Venom Adhamm]

"Oh, that girl. She was a bit of a killer to the mood here. Some people thought she was just very drunk, and when they found out she hadn't had a single drink, they all got very uncomfortable. She had a lot of credits though, so we didn't really want to kick her out," he says, setting down a cold glass of some liquid that had a mixture of a purple and orange color. He places a tiny umbrella in the drink and pushes the glass towards you.


"We sent her up to a private room in the VIP area, and told her we'd send up anyone interested in her ramblings, and that she could come back down in the morning to babble all she wants. If you want to go up and see her for some reason, she's in Room 6 on the third floor. You can probably just knock on the door and she'll let you in."


The bartender looks away at some other customers sitting down. He looks back at you briefly.


"First drink's always on the house," he says with a smile as he walks off to the other bar-goers.

 

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Arn thanked the man and stared into his drink. Suddenly his mind was more on the alcohol than the situation. Was he really going to drink it? Arn had always figured that when he first drank, if he ever did stoop to that level, it'd be on a special occasion. This "day," as with the last few, had been shitty. Then again... Most of the time when people drink it's because they had a shitty day.


Bottoms up. With some reluctance, Arn downed the drink and stood, heading for the elevator to get up to floor 3.

 

[Venom Adhamm]

The drink tastes like fresh cut spring flowers spewing across a babbling brook with a hint of lemon. It tastes good. Your vision feels like it blurs a bit, but you quickly regain full control of your senses. The bartender was right about this drink having a low alcohol content. You stand up, leaving behind the empty glass, and head to the elevator. Upon calling it down, you enter and head up to floor three.


The elevator doors open to reveal a large, opulent-looking lounge. The color palette is mostly made up of colors that are various shades of gold and yellow. There's a nice-looking bar up here too, as well as a television. Only a few people are sitting around here. They're all fairly well-dressed. You note the silence of this floor, not even the blaring music from below can be heard. To your right is a hallway, with rooms lining both sides.

 

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Arn's mind stayed on the drink, with its low alcohol content and earthy taste- such an unfitting characteristic for a space drink, in his opinion. Still, it reminded him of home, an increasingly attractive concept. No. I have to make a new home, he thought with an assured sensation he found ever-fleeting in the face of the universe's many, many challenges.


Besides, I may have found a higher purpose. That was, in the end, his real desire, wasn't it? Or maybe I'm still stuck on Lili.


Arn shook his head, fighting off the frivolous doubts that clouded his mind for the moment. He was momentarily confused as he took in his surroundings, but quickly remembered the bartender's instructions. Room six. He made his way to the door.

 

[Venom Adhamm]

You take one step after the other as you approach the door to room six. As you approach, you can hear music coming from within the room. Your steps continue, until you're finally stood outside of room six. As you work to summon the courage to knock, the door opens to your surprise.


"Heard your footsteps," a female who barely looks at you says. Inside, the room is fairly nice. Large space, large room, large TV, large bed. There's a table with two chairs in the center, and a jukebox playing the music towards the back of the room. The female sits down in one of the chairs at the table, and it's only at this point that you get a good look at her.


She's a rough figure. Well-built. She's dressed in sleek, black leather biker jacket and a pair of baggy dark-blue jeans. Her brown hair is short and tied back into a ponytail. Both of her hands are resting on the table, the back of her right hand bearing a tattoo depicting a bullet. She turns towards you, showing her scar-ridden and battle-worn face. Staring at you now are a pair of blue eyes. It's very clear that these blue eyes have seen far too much for one lifetime. Looking into them is like looking out of a window in the middle of a warzone. Yet, the longer you look into her eyes, the more recognizable they become, until finally...


"Hm. Do I know you from somewhere?" Lilienne asks you.

 

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Arn found himself drawn inexplicably to the tune, basking mentally in its rythm and, for the first time since leaving Earth, lyrics- save for the Bowie tune in the Enterprise, mysterious as they were- which most space songs appeared to lack. It was from the hypnotizing tune that he found himself shrouded in ignorance, even as he stared his former lover in the eyes. Still, his view of her couldn't have been any less changed.


Beautiful. That was his first thought. Of course it was. That was what Lili was to him. Even through a face worn by war and God knew what awful pains. It made Arn's internal struggle feel... trivial. He looked at her with wonder for a split second, less than that, even, until he realized who she was.


She had Arn dumbstruck, and at a loss for words. For a moment, he stepped back, mouth open wide, anxiety stabbing into him, almost as if to run. He had to stop himself at the door, grabbing the side of the opening. He blinked, feeling his memories return, all the pain of her absence and the darkness of his room. Finally, he managed two syllables, very typical and common utterances for him. "Lili...?"

 

[Venom Adhamm]

"Oh, so I do know you?" Lili questions, looking at you for a moment. After a short moment, she stands up and approaches you, moving her face close to yours as she tries to examine your features. In extremely close proximity to her though, you feel something radiate outward from your former lover. Something that you never would've associated with her before.


Darkness.


Some time passes, before Lili finally backs away and, after another moment, smiles.


"You look different. But... it's... good to see you again. You're a long way from home. Why are you all the way out here, Arn?"

 

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He shivered as she moved so close to him. Weird. Strange. When we were together this wouldn't even be considered close. He had to remind himself that he'd once been with her, once been in her. She was so... different. And yet, those crystalline orbs peered at him with the same wonderful curiosity, and her face still had those full lips and her rounded nose and... everything he'd liked. Everything he loved.


This wouldn't have been close enough then... Now, I feel... happy to be near her at all, he realized. He shook his head quickly, as the Darkness pushed out at him. She was plagued. It was almost hard to be around her, with this force emanating from her body. Lili had changed. It took him a moment to get together the patience and comprehension to smile back, and even when he did it was weak.


"Different... Yeah. I haven't seen myself lately." He paused, then hastily (and awkwardly) added, "You, too. Good... good to see you, too."


He took a minute to think about her last question, then for the first time in a while, he laughed. "I needed a change."

 

[Venom Adhamm]

"Well... come in then," She suggests, before taking your sleeve and pulling you into her room without waiting for a response. She shuts the door behind you, then walks over to the table and sits at the chair again, waiting for you to take a seat as well before she starts talking again.


"So. You told me why you're in space," she says, folding her hands, "You didn't tell me why you're here, in my room. You didn't come out all this way looking for me, did you?"

 

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Indignation poked Arn's heart. He was taken aback. "Uh-... I-... No!" He shook his head to calm himself before he actually got loud or upset. "No, no. I didn't even know you were out here. I mean, I knew you were here, I just didn't know you were here. Does that make sense?" He almost forgot their history. This felt like casual banter.


He shook his head quite characteristically and continued. "I... Look, I came because I... I activated my ship's warp drive in an ion storm and I... I went to another dimension, or universe, or something. It was... alien. Weird. When I was dropping off some arms and munitions in Jaota, these two guys were saying they heard about a girl talking about having been in another universe." When he was done, he inhaled, then finished his speech calmly. "That was you, right?"

 

[Venom Adhamm]

Lili listens to you speaking, looking into your eyes as your mouth moves. For much of your speaking time, her face remains in a neutral, yet engaged expression. That is, of course, until you mentioned the fact that you were in another universe for a time.


Her entire face, from her worn eyes to her soft lips, brighten into an expression of enthusiasm and interest. It's been a long time since she's looked at you this way. She takes a deep breath, before speaking up excitedly, and at a higher volume than before, completely ignoring your last question in doing so.


"Oh! Really?! You went there too?! And, it was nothing but darkness and void right?! Did you see it?! Did you see the Palace?!"

 

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Arn shuddered. Again. Her face... He loved it. Somehow, to him, the scars and "deformities" made her face all the more pretty to him. It stung his chest, though, when he realized that her interest was less in him and more in the story he was telling.


Still, he was pleasantly shocked when he learned that they went to the same place. It felt as if he'd been in a fever dream, only to learn that he was perfectly healthy and entirely awake. The pleasantness, however, died when she brought up the Palace. He stammered as the memories of his encounter with the Station came back to him. "You... You went to the palace of the One Who Sleeps?" he asked, staring at her. "Did you go in...?"

 

[Venom Adhamm]

"Hah! I sure did!" she tells you, a sparkle in her eyes hiding the darkness within her.


"But you know... it was the strangest thing. I went in there and there was this locked gate on the inside. When I touched it... it just blew me back into my ship. I blacked out and when I woke up... there were some men with blindfolds all around me, talking about how I'd sinned against their family."


She seems to think about those men for a moment, before snapping out of it and smiling as she directs her attention fully towards you.


"I got rid of them though. No problem. Did you manage to go into the Palace?"

 

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Arn watched her with incredulity written on his face. "Jesus..." She'd killed people. That was almost too much for him to take. He shook off his shock quickly enough and tried to move past it, realizing that shame crept up on him from her question. "No, I... I went ahead and warped out. From what it sounded like, I was more likely to go insane than accomplish anything."


That did something to abate his shame. "Truth is, I'm interested in the One Who Sleeps himself. Or... Well, what he could do for us." He blushed and corrected himself quickly. "By that I mean, like, us as in people. Not, like... Yo- yeah, no, you get it." He was acting like when he'd first met her. Then again, he supposed he was meeting her for the first time again, in a way. Arn shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know anything about him, other than that he... Created humanity, and he's not fond of us." He looked at her. "Did you meet any of the Stations?"

 

[Venom Adhamm]

"Stations? No... no I didn't see any Stations. I just ended up in front of the Palace when I arrived in that Universe, and I forced one of the blindfolded guys to help me get out of there," Lili says, tilting her head slightly at you as she examines your face and the movements of your body. As the track on her jukebox stops, a silence fills the room for a moment.


"You know... I did feel really awful about what I did to you. But... honestly, I thought by now you'd have move-"


Her voice stops suddenly as her ears seem to perk up. With silence filling the interior of the room again, you can hear what's going on at the exterior. Someone shouts. There's a gunshot. Several sets of footsteps begin to close in on the room. Lili seems eerily calm as she rises from her seat and moves to stand in front of the door, some distance away from it. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a black rod. Suddenly, the entirety of the rod, save for the part covered by Lili's hand, extends outward into a club. In the very next second, several spikes extend out from the club.


With a loud noise, the door is thrown off its hinges. To your surprise, and to the surprise of the people who broke down the door, Lili jabs the top of her club into the door as it flies towards her. You see a shockwave of some sort emanate from the club as the metal door flies into the opposite direction. All you can see from your seat is Lili with her weapon, and a metal door stuck to the wall opposite of the room, with blood oozing out from behind it.


Without warning, a blindfolded man rushes into the room with a rifle of some sort. In an instant, Lili has dashed to the man and slammed her club into his right hand, the spikes tearing into his flesh and bone. She uses her spare hand to grab and throw the rifle away from his combatant, before using that same hand to grab his neck as she rips the club out of his hand.


"N-no! Wait!" the man pleads, just as Lili slams the spiked club into his side, before ripping it out and kicking the man into the wall to the right of the door frame.


"P-please! I... I giv-" he starts, before being silenced by Lili swinging her club into his head. He falls to the ground, bleeding out from a horrible gash. Lili bends down and begins beating the man's head in until there's nothing left but a gory paste.


Slowly, Lili rises from the corpse and looks over at you, blood staining her face.


"Ooh, wasn't expecting a workout at this time of day. We'd better get going. You have your own ship, right? Do you mind me getting in there with you? I think those guys might have mine tracked."