A Very Bad Dream

[dreamtidemods]

Tonight, even if you are not asleep, you dream.

This is the first of these dreams in which you are yourself. Any thoughts and feelings are your own. The sickness takes no toll on you here as you survey your surroundings.

The world is dying before your eyes, grass dying and rotting and earth eventually becoming dusty rock. The devastation is spreading out from a single point in the distance, a colossal four-legged machine. It’s favouring one side - were it not a machine, you could swear that it almost looks injured. Even from this distance, the way its metal feet tear into the ground is clear, as is the fact that it’s slowly recovering. Whatever’s happening to the world around you, it’s repairing the great machine.

Above you, something begins to encroach on the sun. Pointed silhouettes close upon it and it’s only when its light is extinguished from the sky in a single bite and the world goes dark that you realize that those were teeth. Illuminated by the sunlight shining from its mouth, a great dragon appears. Its scales are crystalline, trapping the sunlight within them and making it glow brightly in the sunless sky. Glorious as it appears, it’s clearly as injured as the machine is. Its scales have broken away in places leaving it to bleed a glowing silver-blue substance, almost like mist, but the sunlight shines through the injuries, reforming scales and healing its wounds.

The earth groans and creaks violently, tearing itself up in places as the machine rips its feet up from the ground. It dashes closer with speed that nothing its size should possess., continuing to rip through the ground below it as it does. The dragon treats the world no more delicately, spitting the sunlight down into it in its attempts to strike the machine. In a matter of minutes, the world has gone from verdant and lush to a dead, burning landscape.

You realize that these two entities, each mighty as a god, are fighting each other. And that you are unfortunate enough to be in the way. The earth itself is as dangerous as either of them, tossing and rearranging itself as if it were a sea in a storm when the machine moves or the dragon’s tail slams against it and throwing anyone unfortunate enough to be stood on it when it does. Flame rains from the skies, meaning they’re no safer. The machine seems to care little for anything in its path, but the dragon occasionally snatches people up into its hands, absorbing something from them before tossing them aside.

It’s now that you realize you’re not alone...

[OOC! Okay, this is going to work differently from the previous dreams, in that it’s a mass log post. Characters are now having kind of a bad dream, as you might have guessed. Important points are-

1) Any injuries recieved, short of those that would cause death, will remain upon waking. Death is possible in the dream, but won’t stick when waking (though a healer will be needed pretty urgently).
2) Characters are unhampered by the illness, since they’re dreaming. They’re as well-armed as they would generally be on an average day, so those currently stuck on bed-rest will be as covered in metal as they’d be were they healthy and fightan things. Much as I’m sure we all want Kain to be forced to fight giant dragons in his favourite baby dragon-printed pajamas.
3) Shinryu can use character’s memories to heal himself. These memories won’t be gone upon waking, though they’ll be inaccessible for the rest of the dream and characters may be a little fuzzy on the details of whatever was forgotten for a few hours.
4) Dissidia folks will probably recognize the place. Shinryu may be familiar to them, but not recognizable unless they’ve survived a cycle long enough to see him. (...so Percy and team Canon Fodder).
5) People who’ve seen either Shinryu or Omega as a superboss will recognize them if they look the same (the robotic Omega, rather than the beasty one). But they’ll know immediately that the one they fought was far, far weaker.
6) If there’s anything else you need to know, tell me! And I’ll edit it in here.]

The injuries remain when you wake, the dragon’s roars and the sound of metal moving still ringing in your ears.

As before, the linkshells transmit emotions for a few hours after the dream is over.

Comments

[mostlineface]

[The warrior stares around him at the landscape- it's one that's horrifyingly familiar, and a place that he would never see again. After only a moment of hesitation and looking around him, he starts toward the throne, paying attention to both the robot and the dragon. Both creatures seem dangerous, of course, but something about the dragon is familiar in an unnerving way. The power of this creature is obvious and terrifying. But something must be done, and the creature is the obvious source of it, so he travels in that direction as best he can with the earth so unsteady. He'll welcome the presence of anyone he comes across, though.

Later on, after the warrior has faced shinryu, he is not at all in the same condition as when everything began. Facing the dragon has left him injured, that much is obvious, but there is something else that may seem... off.]

[dualcast]

[The Shining Wave was fairly easy to spot, and once she realized someone was trying to fight that thing, she tried to make her way over there. Either to stop them or to help them, she'd not quite worked that part out yet.

But navigating the twisting ground isn't easy, even with float. By the time she makes it to the warrior, whatever fight had happened is long over.]

[mostlineface]

[When she finds the warrior, the result of the battle ought to be fairly obvious- even if the warrior wasn't crouched over and struggling to stand, his cape has some rather troubling stains on it. When Porom approaches, the warrior glances up, and makes a valiant attempt at getting into a defensive position.]

[dualcast]

[The defensive position is... kind of worrying. But maybe understandable in the situation, even if she doesn't think herself a threat. She moves closer anyway.]

You're hurt. Let me see.

[mostlineface]

...

[He doesn't say anything, but his stance changes, and he lowers his hands from where they were reaching for his sword and shield.]

[dualcast]

[Curaja will at least keep any wounds from becoming too dangerous.]

What happened? How do you feel?

[mostlineface]

I was injured. [To state the obvious...] It is a hindrance.

[dualcast]

[...okay so either that is kind of odd or he is kind of odd. Possibly both. Her first thought is that he might have hit his head, there's certainly been a lot of things that could result in that, but it's difficult to tell with the helmet.]

How were you injured? Does it still hurt?

[mostlineface]

My chest has several wounds.

[He indicates a place on his side as an example, but there are several dents in his armor that probably indicate other injuries.]

[dualcast]

[She frowns in concern at the damaged armour, drawing in breath as she examines places where the damage to it is severe enough that it'll interfere with healing. She can't heal wounds if there's metal where they should be healing into.

The first thing she does is cast float, because this is not really an ideal place to be working and eliminating the problem of the thrashing ground will at least help with that. Then, after only a moment's pause, she attempts to figure out the fastenings of the armour. If she's allowed to, she'll attempt to remove the chest armour without doing any more damage to him.]

I need to be able to heal them-

[mostlineface]

[He is extremely hesitant about that. Taking off his armor isn't something he does often in the first place, and doing so here seems even more wrong. So he shakes his head and pulls her hands away from where she reaches for the fastenings.]

This place is not safe.

[dualcast]

[She frowns, but doesn't resist when he moves her hands away.]

It's damaged, I can't heal you completely-

[But she tries anyway once her hands are released, healing what she can and trying to guess where injuries are by the damage to the armour. The only wounds she leaves are the ones that the armour won't allow her to heal.]

[mostlineface]

It is enough. [As soon as the healing is finished as it can be, he draws away, looking over the battlefield, as if trying to seek something out.]

[proofofthebond]

[Terra will run into him sometime later, her eyes wide with alarm as she notices his state.]

You tried to fight them?!?

[But conversation can wait--first she casts Cura, since he obviously needs it.]

[mostlineface]

... Yes.

[Terra may not notice in the middle of healing, but the look he's giving her is blank, and the slightest bit surprised, with no sign of recognition of who exactly it is that's healing him. His body language reflects that, his hand automatically moving as if to draw his sword, as she draws near.]

[proofofthebond]

[She doesn't notice the look while in the midst of healing, but does see that hand of his move, and glances around quickly afterward. No other threat is nearby, but....]

...what's wrong?

[mostlineface]

Who are you?

[proofofthebond]

[She stares, eyes widening.]

I'm Terra! We're allies! You really don't remember?!?

[mostlineface]

[He shakes his head.]

I do not know you.

[proofofthebond]

[Terra would flail about this more, were there not a lot of other things to worry about ahead in line. Priorities.]

Well...we are. Are you still hurt anywhere? I can add more healing.

[mostlineface]

I do not need further healing.

[He probably could use more healing, but that doesn't mean he'll ask for it, from someone he doesn't remember that he knows.]

[proofofthebond]

[Terra's a bit skeptical, but she's not going to push it as long as there isn't immediate need.]

Alright, but--

[The ground trembles again, more violently this time. She yelps and stumbles forward--into the warrior.]

[mostlineface]

[He stumbles himself, because of the earthquake, but when Terra trips into him, he staggers and almost falls, having to support both of their weights on the shifting ground, making a small sound of pain as he does.

Once the tremor is over, he helps her regain her feet.]

Are you hurt?

[proofofthebond]

[Terra winces, as she accepts the help.]

No. I'm sorry, did I hurt you?

[mostlineface]

No.

[As soon as the help is given, he moves his hands away, and even steps back slightly.]