Fantasy DreamWorlds

[JayfeatherRaven]

Julian instantly poised himself between his sister and the new girl, guarding Valora from danger. He didn't know what was going on, but he wasn't exactly scared. Fear had left him long since his parents had disappeared. Now he only needed and trusted his sister, and he knew with her, he was safe. His eyes darted from side to side as he watched the silent standoff between the three, wondering what would happen next.


Nick noticed, with slight relief, that the girl had lowered her weapon. So, she might mean no harm, but that didn't mean he would disclose his secrets so easily. He ignored her barrage of questions and let his guard down, but not entirely. "I'm Nicholas Archer. Nice to meet you. And who might you people be?" He directed the question to all of them, but what he really wanted to know was what, precisely, made them immune to the DREAM gas.


@DergTheDergon

 

[Mitchs98]

Alisa Ann

Alisa hummed in thought, it wasn't entirely useful nor descriptive information, but it most certainly was a better description than tall and curly hair. "Obeshchaniye(promise). Pan seems important to vy. Ya will help, ya is curious to meet this Pan fellow." She told her with a smile accompanied by a nod before offering the girl a hand to help her up. "Come, my(we) can look for friend. Has vy seen him around here before?" She asked, gesturing to Metropolis.

 

[JayfeatherRaven]

Ryan nodded warily. The boy spoke with a lilting accent, and Ryan suspected English wasn't his first language either. For a second he ignored the other voice, and focused on this peculiar person. From the distance between them, Ryan could faintly make out the outline of boy, who had a hand cupped by his mouth, probably to amplify his voice.


Ryan couldn't help but bristle at the boy's tone. Was his accent naturally condescending? Or was it fact that his questions hit a sore spot? "Were you merely seeking company like a normal person would?" He had asked right after he'd caught sight of him. What was that supposed to mean? Suppressing a surge of irritation, Ryan tried his best to remain calm. He was determined not to let this stranger irk him. Instead, he chose to reply the boy with a question of his own.


"Where is everybody?"


@thistle

 

[thistle]

They appeared to be at a standstill, which Rori didn’t blame. Keeping a distance seemed like the safest idea, although it was hard to tell what the other’s intentions were based on how far apart they stood. “That seems to be the question, doesn’t it? If I had the answers I'd gladly share." From where he was Rori quirked his lips to the side and gave a helpless shrug, the former action no doubt being missed. He hooked a thumb to the side then, the silhouette of his shadow mimicking the action as he gestured to the tower stood in the distance. "I was hoping to find answers by going there.”


Rori considered the situation for a moment before taking an experimental step forward, testing for a reaction. As an extra precaution both hands were raised to chest level, hoping it appeared harmless. “I’m not sure what to expect but maybe others are headed in that direction. Just before you called out I could have sworn I saw another person." To avoid looking like a crossing signal Rori took one last step, feet together and added, "I'm Rori, by the way."


@JayfeatherRaven

 

[Lunar Lunacy]

Kellen immediately felt her footsteps run faster through the Metropolis. Somebody had to be around here. It was impossible for there not to be a soul around here. There was always someone resting. Her blue eyes looked over the tall buildings of the Metropolis. She once called out again to the echoed land.


"Kan nogen høre mig ? Hvis ja, kan du ringe tilbage!" (Can anybody hear me? If so, please call back!)


The Danish girl was in a bit of a panic, she ran faster. The Metropolis was a realistic as she remembered it the first time. Her boots were clicking against the walkway as she searched for somebody. Kellen thought that perhaps she was just dreaming of her reality combining with her dream. No one to greet her than the silence of loneliness. The Danish girl tripped on the laces of her boots, hoping that she would perhaps meet a soul. It was when two forms were not far ahead of her. She grew embarrassed and frustrated with her stupid stumbling on her laces. She hoped that they would not laugh at her, but that might be impossible considering her luck.


@thistle @JayfeatherRaven

 

[Elfia Nightwing]

I don't even know where here is. Nina looked up at the tall buildings, they were all the same monochromatic shade of gray, nothing like some the bright and colorful buildings she had seen from moving around the country. She remembered the Spanish Harlem, walls decorated with colorful art and pictures of history or lost ones. She would have loved to take a paint brush and spruce up these building a bit. It's very...Gray...Why do you think we're here? She asked Alisa, tilting her head slightly to side.Have you been here before?


@Mitchs98

 

[Mitchs98]

@Mitchs98[/URL]

Alisa Ann

Alisa nodded thoughtfully, so she'd never been to the Metropolis before? Interesting. Although, it usually wasn't so grey and death like. "Ya has been here before. My are in the Metropolis DreamWorld. Though..usually not so grey..and has more people." She explained. "Though..ya is not sure why my are in this world specifically." She added "Ya take it vy has not been here before?" She asked. Even better, she could show her new friend around the Dream Worlds and explain things to her while also looking for her friend. It honestly sounded very fun to Alisa, and she was more than willing to do so.

 

[Elfia Nightwing]

Dreamworld? Nina frowned, looking around. That explained the other people, and Alisa. There are other worlds? How many? Nina took Alisa's hand, pulling herself up. The two then started moving from the crowds of people, walking towards the more barren streets. I wonder how everyone got here, surely this many people can't be sleeping at once. Nina glanced over at a crying women and a scared looking little girl. I don't think everyone wants to be here.


@Mitchs98

 

[Mitchs98]

@Mitchs98[/URL]

Alisa Ann

Alisa nodded, "Ya has been to one other one than here. Is big forest, ya actually thinks its named Forest or something similar." She replied while looking around at the other people, something was clearly very wrong here. She almost never saw people crying in the Dream World, everyone was generally relatively happy. Maybe whatever was going on was related to Pan going missing for Nina? She nodded slowly in agreement, "Ya agree..something is clearly wrong. Maybe..my should ask others whats wrong?" She asked her.


Of course, the shy girl was probably against it, but it was worth asking her opinion on the matter since she brought it up.

 

[DergTheDergon]

Nicole simply stood there in silence for a short while, taking in the tense atmosphere her presence had seemingly intensified. Even being approached by her, he seemed calm and collect, coolly dodging her questions and simply following it up with an introduction. Nicole's eyebrow twitched slightly, recognizing this annoying tactic that was essentially a way of saying "I'm not going to answer your questions but here comes my own prying." It was rude, underhanded, and downright wrong in Nicole's opinion... and a very commonly used way of keeping a conversation all about getting what the other person wants out of it and nothing else. She'd heard so many people speak this way that it visibly irritated her now.


Taking a deep breath, she managed to keep her confident stance for now, and simply go along with him for a moment. "Nicole Arden. All you need to know about me, Nicholas, is that I do not like my questions ignored. Tell me what you're doing here. I doubt either I or these other two have time to deal with your nonsense, do we my dears?" She shot a disarming smile in thier direction, then moved her gaze to glare at the mysterious man that had suddenly appeared.

 

[JayfeatherRaven]

Noting that the boy had relaxed into a posture that no doubt indicated that he meant no harm, Ryan also loosened up a little. After all, he shouldn't let a stranger get on his nerves that easily, and he'd also told him his name. For some reason, that made Ryan trust him. But not entirely.


"I'm Ryan." He replied curtly. "I don't think you'll find what you want over there." He said, with a nod towards the direction Rori was pointing towards. "The tower seems to have shut down. Usually, the Metropolis is much more alive than...this." He looked at the barren city before them. "I don't suppose you come here often-"


Ryan's question was cut off abruptly when he heard the girl's voice again, louder this time. As Rori quickly crossed the distance between them, Ryan made out a third set of hurried footsteps nearing them. Ryan shot Rori a look, but the boy looked just as surprised as he did. "I don't suppose you know who that is, then?" He asked Rori, without giving him time to answer his other questions.


@thistle @Lunar Lunacy

 

[JayfeatherRaven]

Valora didn't like the thick tension between the two newcomers, and she became even more confused than before. Minutes ago, she found it hard to even find a single human being, and suddenly two peculiar people stood before her, their hostility towards each other clear. "I'm Valora Sayers." She said, knowing it wasn't exactly the right thing to say at this moment, but it was the only way she could find an opening in their dangerous war of words. "And this is my brother, Julian."


Julian gripped her hand as the two time bombs turned to look at her, dark brown eyes pleading her to be careful. She took a deep breath and continued, "I don't know for sure what's going on here, but if the DreamWorlds are dying, then we have to save it. And apparently, we're the only ones who can do this." She turned to face the boy with the smirk on his face. "Could you start by telling us where have all the people gone?"


-


Nick's smile dimmed when the girl who called herself Valora addressed him. She looked vaguely familiar, but Nicholas couldn't figure out where he'd seen her before. Maybe it was somewhere back in the real world...? He quickly dismissed the thought. It wasn't important. What mattered was finding the person who killed his parents, get vengeance, then get out of these unstable DreamWorlds as soon as possible. But for now, he would play with this girl. Who knows? Maybe she'll lead him to the murderer. Or maybe she was the murderer. In dreams, you never knew for sure. Those who look harmless could own destructive abilities, and Nicholas wasn't about to trust this group of people just yet.


"The weaker people have merely fallen into a dreamless coma which we call 'NightLocked', stuck in someplace between their consciousness and subconsciousness. They have been affected by D.R.E.A.M, a gas that the S.C.D. invented. Its main purpose was to eliminate the possibility of committing crime through dreams. But for some reason, rare people like you all possess a genetically immune system that enables you to continue accessing the DreamWorlds even when others can't. We call people like you Dreamers."


(@DergTheDergon @thistle @Mitchs98 @Elfia Nightwing @Lunar Lunacy @DanishKreddi This is a key post that contains information about the plot. You should all head to the Forest and meet up with the other Dreamers so that the main story can begin.)

 

[Lunar Lunacy]

Kellen has finally made it towards the figures she only saw from a distance. Two boys who were in a standoff at first but saw them relax. English, it was her worst language. But she could try to speak it. Her accent was a little thick.


"Er...h-hello?"


She was embarrassed with her voice. But quickly got over it.


@thistle @JayfeatherRaven

 

[DergTheDergon]

Nicole continued staring the man down adamantly, not saying a word. Her gaze shifted to the one calling herself Valora, raising an eyebrow in question as she simply introduced herself in the midst of this. The still maddeningly calm, grinning man who seemed to be enjoying himself in the midst of Nicole's threat again ignored her questioning. Just when she thought she was about to do something rash however, Nicholas began giving an explanation for the Dreamworlds's current states. Nicole supposed it made sense, and would explain her father's coma-like state... but on top of being preposterous-sounding and not having clear, concise proof that Nicole had seen, it was coming from a man who refused to reveal anything about himself besides his name. Still, she couldn't ignore the possibility that he wasn't pulling her leg. Much as she hated the thought, it seemed wiser to go along with him then attacking, or fleeing, or really any other rash action she could think of right now. Looking down and rubbing her temples for a moment, she breathed deeply then looked back towards the one calling himself Nicholas.


"Well, Nicholas... let's pretend I believe you entirely, and trust your word. You being a Dreamer yourself it would seem, do you know if there is... anything else different about us? Case in point this weapon of mine, one day I was able to just make it appear, on a whim. These abilities of mine, have they anything to do with me apparently being one of these 'dreamers?' Furthermore, how would one go about waking the weaker ones? There are... important people to me in the real world who've fallen into a coma and this gas may, if you're not lying through your teeth, have something to do with it." Her serious glare, staring holes straight into Nicholas's eyes, made it clear she wasn't going to stand to have these questions unanswered, at the very least. @JayfeatherRaven

 

[thistle]

With names exchanged he lowered his hands back to his side, now near enough to make out Ryan’s features. Dirty blonde swaths of hair covered the skull that stood inches taller than himself, and upon initial eye contact, Rori thought his eyes an evening shade of blue. On closer inspection the irises were pale violet. As they stared back at him now he noticed the eyes continued to hold an edge of wariness, hardened in the barest signs of lingering skepticism .


Based on that feature alone Rori, already settling back into a pleasant smile, had a feeling his own light-hearted, often flighty, personality would no doubt conflict with his new found companion.


“This World tends not to be my first choice, no,” Rori agreed, observing the deserted streets in faint interest, “although if you have an appreciation for coffee, I did manage to find a homey café tucked on the edge of Pemmingway and – “


A movement in his peripheral interrupted Rori’s rambling as he and Ryan turned to spot another figure paused a few yards away. Her mouth moved, sending the softest of ‘Hello’s’ from where she was, the words tremulous.


The curtain of black silk that rested against her shoulders and perfectly down her back was recognizable, and Rori brightened. “Yes – well barely,” Rori said, correcting himself in the next second. “I believe she’s the one I spotted earlier.” He raised a hand in the girl’s direction and gave a short, agreeable wave.


@Lunar Lunacy @JayfeatherRaven

 

[Lunar Lunacy]

One of the boys waved towards her, to which she waved back. She still found it a bit odd that there were only three of them, when there were about so many people moving back and forth through the Metropolis. Kellen felt that it was a bit eerie to not see anybody else. But she shook the thought quickly out her mind.


She finally approached the two, noting that they were both taller than her. She was always the shortest out of everybody. Very tiny compared to many of the average height girls. Her neck craned up to look at the two.


"Har du to taler dansk måske?" (Do you two speak Danish perhaps?)


Kellen could only hope that the two did. It would have been at least a little comforting to her, but there were barely anyone that she met who spoke her native tongue. She remembered going abroad with her Mother. The trip was almost exhausting to the then fourteen-year-old who swam in how her Mother spoke English perfectly. Kellen struggled with that language barrier, but she attempted to learn it in her private time. She wasn't fluent, but enough to ask where the restroom was in reality.


@thistle @JayfeatherRaven

 

[thistle]

“Here comes another to join our lost little party,” Rori murmured in unmistakable approval as the girl, returning a timid gesture of her own, arrived before them. She was notably much smaller in terms of height, barely reaching his shoulders. The delicate face that now gazed up to address them, along with the modest, black dress she donned only helped in accentuating her short stature.


The second she spoke his eyes widened.


What spilled from her lips sounded as though the vowels tripped lightly over one another, skipping in soft, broken syllables that intrigued Rori. It shouldn’t have been that surprising to hear a language unlike his own, but having spent the majority of his time in the DreamWorlds in solitude, the fact did catch him by surprise.


Having no inkling of what she asked Rori shook his head, apologetic. “I don’t understand,” he replied, keeping his sentence purposefully short. Rori glanced over at Ryan, wondering if he could make sense of what she said, though judging by his expression, the violet eyed boy appeared just as lost.


“This makes the situation a bit tricky. Based on the look on your face,” Rori said, returning to the girl, well aware he was speaking too fast for her to understand, “our current situation is just as baffling for you as it is for us.” Thinking the situation over - for he didn’t wish for he and Ryan to be permanently known as Boy 1 and Boy 2 - he scanned the building headers.


A simple dual sided board caught his attention and Rori, snapping his fingers and signaling for her to watch, went to the bold print scrawled across the black surface.


The Nightingale: Late night Karaok-y~!


Whoever had been responsible for drawing up the sign must have been going more for style than grammatical accuracy. Rori questioned if the tilde had even been necessary. Never the less it would do.


Purposefully resting a hand on his chest, he began to speak and while doing so a single finger on his other hand began to pick out certain letters on the sign “R-O-R-I. Rori,” he said slowly, tapping himself, and then pointed at Ryan who remained unobtrusively behind. “Ryan. R-I-A-N...” Uncertain of the last spelling, he glanced expectantly at the other boy.


@Lunar Lunacy @JayfeatherRaven

 

[JayfeatherRaven]

Ryan suppressed a sigh of frustration as he was Rori jab a finger at the letter 'I'. This was going to take a while. "We. Don't. Speak. Danish." He said slowly, deliberately, giving a random guess at the girl's former speech. Then he pointed at the girl and asked, "English?"


It was like speaking to a baby, and Ryan's paitience was quickly thinning out. He shot Rori a look. The boy seemed completely relaxed and at ease. Apparently, he was used to taking things slow. But all the confusion was killing Ryan. If he didn't get answers soon, he was going to literally blow up.


@Lunar Lunacy @thistle

 

[JayfeatherRaven]

Darkness grew in the corners of the deserted alleyways, swirling towards the unsuspecting trio. The void solidfied, giving birth to dark creatures, which were known as NightMares. Instantly, the demons picked out the weakest, and with their souless eyes trained on the frail woman, they slithered towards her with inhuman speed.


With a howl, the first and strongest NightMare sprang, gathering the surrounding shadows, then lashed out at the old woman.


@DanishKreddi @Mitchs98 @Elfia Nightwing

 

[JayfeatherRaven]

Nick shrugged with a small grin. "Well, I guess that's up to you to find out." To be completely honest, he kind of enjoyed irritating this girl. She was those kind of people who were used to getting their way, and were easily ruffled when you stroked their fur in the wrong direction. Perhaps he could goad her just a bit longer, before he disclosed his much needed information...


His eyes left Nicole, who was obviously infuriated, and drifted over to the girl who called herself Valora. He couldn't help thinking it was quite a nice name. The girl certainly had guts, or maybe she was just plain stupid to barge into the visibly brewing storm between him and Nicole.


Valora stared at him with such an intensity that the words almost began pouring out of his mouth automatically. He bit on his tongue just in time and narrowed his eyes at the girl. Was that some kind of magic of hers? To hypnotize him so he would spill everything out? Well, he wasn't going to be fooled. He wrenched his gaze away from the girl and glanced at the kid by her side.


"Hey, kiddo. You seem to know a lot for your age. At least you know what's going on here, right? Why don't you tell your sister and this kind lady here?"


@DergTheDergon

 

[DanishKreddi]

It seemed to happen so fast to Henriette. The shadows turned into shapes, leaping and stalking towards the small group. From instinct the old woman opened up a DreamLink, wanting to be anywhere but here. She missed the warm breeze and the green leaves of the trees. She missed the bench she sat on with Egon, the content quietness.


Yet she didn't make it to the portal. On the other end of the portal was the trees, but it seemed like Henriette was stuck on this end. She fell to the ground with a dark red soaking the front of her shirt. 'What a horrible nightmare.' she thought to herself, the dark shape standing on her body, the claws dripping red. 'I cannot wait to wake up. To be safe.'





She woke with a loud gasp, her body soaked in sweat. She took a moment to understand what happened, where she was right now. The living room was hers, still in the same chair she so often falls asleep in. Egon was in his bed, sleeping like he so often did. But why wasn't he there, in her dream?


Part of her wanted to sleep again, to see if Egon would be there. Yet the dark shapes, the shadows surrounding her kept her away. She didn't want to dream again.

 

[DergTheDergon]

Nicole's eyes narrowed angrily the moment he opened his smug mouth. Just barely able to keep from raising her voice, her tone leaking the seething anger she felt, she said, "Yes I suppose it is... but if the answer doesn't come from you in the next few moments.... you'll regret toying with me." He simply turned away from her and towadrs the other girl as if it was nothing.


Luckily for Nicole, though in her mind it was lucky for the man calling himself Nicholas, Nicole was distracted from her anger momentarily as she looked over Nicholas's face and noticed something strange. He seemed to have lost his composure staring at the girl, for only a moment. He seemed to open his mouth to speak but force it close,d as if he was fighting against a will not his own. This was a wild guess, but did this Valora girl do something to Nicholas just then? Perhaps used an ability she gains in the dreamworlds, like Nicole's ability to create things here. If so that was intriguing...


As Nicholas glanced away from Valora and towards the younger boy beside her, turning away from her with such intensity that he was clearly bothered by her somhow, Nicole found herself grinning as she saw a possible opening to pry. Hopefully he was about to get a taste of his own medicine. From behind him, in a mocking, coy tone, Nicholas heard:


"Now now Nicholas, whatever the boy knows I don't think you should be turning your attention away from Valora there and myself. I've got a weapon, and she seems to have one as well. We may be women, but that doesn't mean we're no threat to you... on the contrary, it seems you recognize the sort of threat Valora poses very well. Pheraps if you tell us what we need to know, she won't give you as much reason to fear her, hmmm?" Glancing up towards Valora, a hopeful look in her piercing blue eyes yet a grin on her face, Nicole continued "Isn't that right, dear?"


@JayfeatherRaven

 

[Elfia Nightwing]

Nina perked up at the mention of a forest. Pan likes forests! Maybe he would be there! Nina smiled, thinking back to all the times she and pan had explored the great woods in Oregon. Lets check there first! Do you know how to get there? She looked around, there didn't seem to be any doorways anywhere near.

 

[Mitchs98]

Alisa Ann

Alisa stopped moving for a bit as she thought she heard something extremely close to them, something..off. But as soon as the noise began it seemed to quiet down. Shrugging lightly to herself she continued along the way. She shrugged and shook her head at her question, "Net(no). Sorry. Ya has only appeared there before. Ya doesn't know how to move between worlds freely. Though..ya knows it's possible." She replied. "My can find someone that can help us, ya guess." She added.


At that point they'd reached the shadowy NightMares, causing Alisa's eyes to widen. "Run Nina!" She shouted, grabbing the girls hand without warning and bolting in the other direction. She wasn't sure what poor soul had gotten mauled, but she figured they'd be fine in the real world.

 

[thistle]

When it was apparent none of their attempts were getting across to her Rori abandoned the sign. “I don’t blame you for the silence,” he said, cutting his gaze toward the girl, voice light. If anything he could make things appear nonthreatening by adjusting his tone. “It has been a strange night so far, so speak whenever you feel comfortable.”


Leaving the girl to her own devices for now and sensing the agitation welling right across from her, he considered Ryan. “She’ll warm up eventually. A better option now would be to see if this emptiness is contained” – a hand swept in the air as Rori encompassed as much of the city as possible in the single gesture – “or can be traced to the other Worlds as well.” The image of the emaciated coral flashed to mind, its ashen branches so fragile in the rolling current. “It’s unfortunate that this happened but I hope the situation is only specific to this realm.”


Rori’s eyes glimmered as he whipped a portal into existence, this time really concentrating on his destination. “Care for a change of scenery?” he asked, parts of a thriving glade peeking from the gateway as the Forest drew in sight.


@Lunar Lunacy @JayfeatherRaven