Fantasy DreamWorlds

[DergTheDergon]

Nicole heard Rori speaking with the new girl a ways off, seeming to greet her and try to quell the confusion she must feel right now, as Nicole was attempting to do for Hiroshi. She then heard him mention three Dreamers that were missing, asking if this new girl had seen them. Now that she thought about it, and looked around frantically for a bit, Nina, Julian and Alisa were nowhere to be found. This was rather troubling, but Nicole decided it was best to worry about it when these two lost-looking souls that the group actually were able to assist at the moment had thier needs taken care of. It worried her greatly to learn of these disappearances, but Nicole had found years ago that worrying about the things one can control and do something about right that very moment first is more beneficial to everyone than focusing so readily on something no one knows the first thing about, like where these three had gone it would seem. Nicole knew they should have taken a rest back in the Ocean... something must have gone awry with his portal. Too late now, all the group could do was go looking for them.


Nicole noticed stares being leveled at her from time to time, seeming to be directed at her midsection. Her first thought was that these people were simply leering at her like perverts, but then came to realize,, finally, that her hand was still gripping the hilt of her rapier. Carefully loosening her grip, she realized that perhaps the sight of the weapon itself was distressing to the others. Casting an apologetic look at Jaigh as she met her wary gaze for a moment, she concentrated and made her sword disappear, ready to be called back to her side another time. She had learned to do this in a very similar situation, where interacting with forest creatures was proving difficult. Laying her arms neatly at her side, she once again shifted her gaze towards Hiroshi and Nicholas.


Amidst others becoming aware of the missing three, Nicholas heeded Nicole's request to explain the situation to the boy. Just as she suspected, it sufficed. However, before he could finish up Rori called him over. True, the new girl would likely need to hear this as well. Nicole giggled at Rori's quip regarding Nicholas's permanent glare, before seeing the glare he leveled at Rori and deciding it was best to stifle her laughter, and focus on far more important things, like following the boys as Nicholas went over to address Rori, rather exasperatedly it could be noted, and asked him who the girl beside him was. She answered the question on her own, and Nicole took note of the name. "Hello, Jaigh, I am Nicole. Chase seems to be quite the loyal companion... I've never heard of a dog following thier owner into thier dreams. As for why the worlds are dying... I'm not really the one you should be asking, but I believe it has to do with the dreamless sleep others are having. Most of the world's in it right now, far as I know..."


Following her lackluster response, Hiroshi suddenly spoke up with far, far more confidence and volume in his voice than before. Nicole found her eyes widening as he spoke, because to her mind, it all made a great deal of sense. She'd never be able to come up with such a theory herself, she reckoned. As Hiroshi then looked towadrs her, she found herself staring at him in borderline awe for a moment before nodding. "That... very well may be, Hiroshi," She replied a bit nervously. Suddenly, he seemed to deflate and his sudden burst of self confidence fading to nothing in a moment. Had he thought that the Dreamers would harshly judge him before any evidence presented itself? She felt the need to try and reassure him. "I don't think I've heard such a sensible explanation before. Right, everyone?" She looked to the others hopefully. She really did think it was brilliant, and hoped some others felt the same. Sadly, Hiroshi seemed so caught up in his wallowing in his perceived failure that he may not have heard what she had said.


When Ryan asked how he was doing, Hiroshi then brought up yet another good point. Nicole saw this as time to move on from how awkward this situation was becoming, as well as move on to more important matters, and so spoke up towards the group, her gaze flitting between everybody to gauge their reactions. "I agree. We've no idea where those three could be, and while I'd love to find them, we've little time to find the seed. Although..." she then got an idea. "We could split into two groups, one attempting to secure the seed and the other looking for the others. I'm uncertain if it's wise, but, perhaps this way we could find all that we are looking for faster than if we had stayed together."


@AnEternalWinter @thistle @JayfeatherRaven @Spazzycat101 @JaidenLark @Elfia Nightwing @Mitchs98 @Iomana @People I might've missed

 

[JayfeatherRaven]

Worry clouded Valora's mind, and no matter how hard she tried to focus on the matter of the Seeds at hand, her mind kept returning to Julian. Where was he now? No doubt lost and confused. The fact that Nina and Alisa were there gave her small comfort, she trusted them to keep each other out of danger. As she waited for Rori to explain, a louder and clearer voice cut through the air. It was an unfamiliar sound, and Valora looked over at the new boy in surprise. The way he explained the predicament, calm and perspicuous, immediately drew Valora's attention. What was his name again? It was Japanese, wasn't it? Valora racked her brain for the little tidbit of information. It seemed to have a similar pronunciation to hero...Hiroshi.


When Nicole expressed her opinion, Valora found herself nodding in agreement. "Yes," She said, looking at Hiroshi, "That was pretty amazing, the way you laid it out." Perhaps this boy knew far more about the DreamWorlds than most of them combined. Her gaze then flickered to the other newcomer, a girl named Jaigh. In her urgent search for Julian, she had completely overlooked the two new arrivals. Fretting over the trio wouldn't help make things better, and Rori wasn't to take the blame for a faulty portal. She hadn't prevented him from conjuring a portal in his injured state. Handing him the Seed never even crossed her mind! A wave of guilt crashed over Valora as she studied Rori, who looked more weary than usual in the gloominess of the Metropolis. An apology was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't bring herself to say the words out loud.


@AnEternalWinter @DergTheDergon @thistle

 

[JaidenLark]

Ryan grinned proudly as Hiroshi began speaking, his words resonating with both Valora and Nicole. Who would've thought a gentle bump and an encouraging smile could have helped so much? Hiroshi was quickly warming up to these people. But when the boy slipped into silence again, Ryan threw an arm around his shoulder and shook him, but not too heartily. "That was great!" He exclaimed. "You're like, a genius of some sort. How did you-"


A loud sound drowned out Ryan's next words and he swung his head in the direction of the noise. Right beside them, standing in the centre of the plaza was a marble lion statue. At first glance, it looked completely fine, but a small crackling noise caused Ryan to squint and look closer. Right there, from the lion's mane to its haunches, was a large split, a gaping crack that was still spreading.


Ryan's arm tensed instinctively. "What else do you know about the DreamWorlds? Do you know where we can find the Seeds?" He asked Hiroshi, all the playfulness draining from his voice, replaced by a grim tone of urgency. It was a little too early to assume that Hiroshi was willing to help or join them, but the broken statue was a clear warning that time was not a luxury that the Dreamers could afford.


@AnEternalWinter

 

[Spazzycat101]

As Jaigh was about to open her mouth to make another comment, a painful pounding in her ears stopped her. She involountarily flinched at it and the ringing that suddenly echoed in her head, too. She shut her eyes and clenched her jaw for a moment as the noise stopped, but then came back again a half-second later. Chase's mood was thrown off too, back to his more unhappy and growly side rather than his nicer one. It wasn't at the other dreamers he was snarling, though. Taking deep breaths, whatever words the other dreamers might have spoken-- to her or otherwise-- could hardly be heard and the dull light of the metropolis seemed to burn into her vision.


'I-- sorry, uh... I...'


A few quick words were all she could manage before she woke up in her bed, startled. Chase was whining his complaints as he woke too. The pounding noise didn't stop. If anything, it was louder. It was someone or something battering on her door like a madman. Muttering and mumbling her discontent, the red-head took her shotgun in one hand and her hatchet in the other. She sneaked down the stairs, using the insistent banging as sound cover while Chase crouched, snarling, near her feet. Standing at the door, Jaigh cursed under her breath before she threw open the door to greet a small blast of snow and about five police officers-- Dream Police? Her shotgun was already leveled, the barrel balanced on her wrist while that hand clutched her hatchet.


'And you want what?'


'Hands up, in plain sight!'


'You can see them, can't you?'


'Weapons on the ground...'


Just as the officer began to recite the arrest speech, he was interrupted by a bang. Jaigh didn't move, her glare was ice. A second of pause, then another shot followed. As soon as the second one rang out, ice became fire. Jaigh began a quick routine; throw the gun behind her, toss the hatchet to the other hand, ready, wait.


As soon as the other officers passed the roadblock of their now dead comrade, Jaigh charged the first one and aimed the swing of her weapon at the base of his neck.


In short, two officers of the Dream Police left the area via helicopter with an unconscious and rather beat-up girl. With a glare from one officer nothing less than severe, the pilot asked no questions.


(G'bye people, see ya in a month! ^-^)

 

[AnEternalWinter]

Nicole and Valora's compliments caused Hiroshi's face to turn scarlet, and when Ryan hooked his arm around his shoulders, Hiroshi just wanted to melt into the shadows to avoid further attention. Why did he ever think sharing his thoughts would be a good idea?


Then two things happened at once.


An ear-splitting crack sounded, but before Hiroshi could react, Ryan had dragged him around to face the statue placed in the middle of the plaza. The other boy's elbow tightened around his neck and Hiroshi watched as the crack between the lion's head and body lengthened - until finally the large slab of stone crashed onto the ground with a deafening crash. Hiroshi fell backwards, pulling Ryan along with him as the stone splintered into smithereens, lumps of rock scattered around the now headless lion. Swirling bits of code swam on the edges of Hiroshi's vision, but they were either fractured or too scrambled to comprehend. The DreamWorld - it was pulling itself apart.


Then the red-haired girl and her dog suddenly vanished, dissapearing without a trace. The words were barely out of her lips before she winked out of existence. "D-did she wake up?" Hiroshi stammered, barely managing to find his voice. It was only then that he registered Ryan's previous question in his ears. "The Seeds...?" Hiroshi echoed, racking his brain for remembrance. He didn't want to let down the Dreamers now, especially after blurting out his theory, which they - unbelievably - agreed with him.


A particular piece of information surfaced and he ran it through his mind before saying it out loud. "You're talking about the cores of the Worlds, right?" He asked, just to be sure. "I've heard of them, but I don't know their exact whereabouts. The Diamond is said to be split into four shards, which can only be assembled in the main computer - meaning the central skyscraper. I've never tried to find them on my own, but if that's what you all are about to do, then I think Nicole's plan would also work in favor." He knew he was starting to ramble again, but it was the only thing he could do to keep his mind off the daunting situation he had unwittingly put himself into.


@JaidenLark @JayfeatherRaven @DergTheDergon

 

[JayfeatherRaven]

"He's right." Nicholas confirmed. Not that anyone cared about his input. Everyone's attention was on the smart new boy who had explained the decaying DreamWorlds in perfect logical sense. Nicholas had known from the start that Hiroshi was no ordinary, confused wanderer. None of them were. There was a reason that the Dreamers were immune from the DREAM gas, and Nicholas was going to find out why - and also find the murderer within them. The two new additions to the Dreamers would only make his investigation more difficult, so he was privately glad that the redhead and her annoying dog had conveniently gone back to the waking world, where the police would take care of them. It would still take time to narrow down his suspects, but Nick was patient. He would hang back and observe.


Nicholas rolled his eyes again when Hiroshi began disclosing details regarding the Metropolis' seed, claiming that it was divided into four pieces of jewels. The boy's information was far-fetched, yet it had a ring of truth, and was far by the most reliable piece of fact about the Seed they had found since entering this dull city. Nicholas eyed the boy with grudging respect. "You'd better not be leading us on a wild goose chase." He warned. Shoving his hands into his pockets, Nick swept his gaze over the clump of Dreamers, picking out potential groupmates and weighing different combinations. "Okay." He concluded after a minute. "Nicole, Hiroshi, you're with me. We'll go this way." He started towards the alley that he'd first found Hiroshi hiding, then stopped to look back at the rest of them. "Rori, Ryan, Valora and Anelie, you guys can decide where you want to go. Our rendezvous point is the central skyscraper. Go there as soon as you find a shard or two." Nicholas knew he was being a bit too rash - what if they couldn't find the shards? What if they were attacked by NightMares? - but each group had strong members who would be able to make decisions when the time came, and his calculations had never failed him before.


-


[i've changed the groups a little since Spaz will be gone for the month.]


Group 1 (Main Thread)


- Nick @JayfeatherRaven


- Nicole @DergTheDergon


- Hiroshi @AnEternalWinter


Group 3 (ICRP 3)


- Valora @JayfeatherRaven


- Ryan @JaidenLark


- Rori @thistle


- Anelie @Iomana

 

[DergTheDergon]

Nicole turned to Valora and smiled slightly as she spoke, glad that at least one other Dreamer shared her sentiment regarding Hiroshi's brilliant theory. As her light blue eyes traveled back towards Hiroshi however, it was clear that all this positive attention was having nearly the same effect as his previous and obvious worries that everyone thought him a lunatic for what he had said. Nicole's eyes saddened for a moment, realizing she'd simply made things worse for the terribly shy boy.


Ryan, seemingly oblivious to Hiroshi's blatant discomfort, proceeded to worsen it further by wrapping his arm about the boy and turning him towadrs the statue that had suddenly begun falling apart without warning. Instinctively stepping back from the object, she watched in abject terror was the boys were nearly crushed by its falling head. "God above you two, be more careful!" She shouted, blushing a moment later after catching herself in her outburst. At least they both seemed unscathed. It was strange, all these people were practically strangers to her but Nicole felt this certain spark of deep care for each of the other Dreamers. Even Nicholas, who'd gotten on her nerves a multitude of times and was still untrustworthy in her eyes, she would not hesitate to try and protect should they be in danger. Nicole supposed it had to do with the fact that the other Dreamers are all she had at the moment.


Noticing Jaigh's odd behavior out of the corner of her eye, Nicole looked upon the girl with concern and opened her mouth to ask what was wrong after hearing her stuttered apology, only to see the girl vanish the next instant. Nicole stared at where Jaigh and her dog had once stood, remembering Nicholas' earlier warning about waking up as a chill ran down her spine. "I... I think she did... that's the only fathomable explanation..." Nicole stammered in response to Hiroshi's nervous question. Nicole hoped Jaigh could find her way back, but seeing as she barely knew the girl, the moment Nicholas asked Hiroshi about the Metropolis' seed and, to her surprise, he had an answer, her one-track mind had nearly forgotten about Jaigh, if only for a moment.


Nicole's gaze turned hopeful and wide as she stared at the boy whom seemed to know, unlike all the other dreamers where, what they were looking for in terms of the Metropolis' seed. Apparently, it was kept in four separate pieces, each scattered, if Hiroshi was indeed correct. This made splitting up make even more sense, and Nicole felt a tinge of pride for suggesting just that.


Nicholas then began to storm off without a word, and Nicole was about to point out that none of the most neccesary details of a plan were laid out before he suddenly turned back around and addressed the pertinent issue of a rendezvous point, among others. When he unceremoniously split everyone into groups with no one's input, she glared at him but he was already moving. To be fair, it put Nicole at ease in a way to be able to watch Nicholas' every move should he do something rash, and Hiroshi's wit may be paramount in the search for the diamonds. Nicole turned around towards everyone else and said "be safe, all of you. I hope we find the others along the way." She swept her gaze over the others, Rori the longest, before falling into step with Nicholas and looking to Hiroshi, seeing if he was following and how he was holding up.


@JayfeatherRaven @AnEternalWinter