[IC] Dream Network - The Roleplay of Dreams

[dabeatmaster123]

'It was 6 PM... And to think all of this would all start to happen... I was there in my seat, my chair, pencil in hand...

just moments ago...'



It was a clear day within the depths of his kingdom. He loved the control and dominion he had, or rather the palace itself had. It was just unbelievable. It felt good to be inside of this...majestic place... on such a vivid scale of imagination for him. The sound of his footsteps reverberated through the hallway chamber, making his way through it to make it back to his sovereignty rule. Or that's what he believed what was happening. He was in his room moments ago before he suddenly walked into this grandiose spire. It was a little vague how how he managed to wind up in a place like this, but it felt like it worked somehow. He suddenly gazed off towards the windows, looking out at the many buildings that stood in pride, the beauty amongst the harsh cold world surrounding it.



'...This place...-'

He felt as if he were talking, but his mouth had never moved. Maybe they were thoughts. But since it was so quiet, he could feel the movement of his thought... unsure about this though, he turned back around, his hands shifted into his pockets. As his shoes began to clamp down on the ground ever so gently, he looked at the large door that stood at the end of the hall. At this point, he had nothing to lose, or gain really. The hallway felt like it became a bit more vast the longer he eyed the large crimson doorway. The framework of it was just so perfect to him.

'-...it feels like home.'

After walking up to the door, he pushed it up, only to see a throne room on the other side. It was even more impressive than the hallway he had just walked around. The ceiling around a mile high, decorated with an ice-like serpent-like dragon that wrapped around the walls towards the top. Two massive Icebergs were stained with the architecture, pointing out towards the ground from high above. It was beautiful not only in the look, but rather the full depth of the experience of being in the presence of such an amazing location. A long stair case lifted high off of the ground, about two stories up, waiting for someone to place themselves with it. The throne chair. It had a tall back that connected with the Serpent's mouth on ceiling, ice was displaced all of it from above. It was a crimson color, contrasting with the cold atmosphere the rest of the room had brought. The stairs seemed to stretched out rather far, each stair looked to be about a yard each. Ryuji started to walk towards it, strangely feeling a little more out of place now. He wanted to believe this was his home, his throne room, his hallway, his everything... but was he really alone here? After walking towards the second step, he stopped for a moment.

*crash*

'Hm...?'

He turned around looking around, only to notice a few ice particles shattering in the distance. He ignored it, considering this place had glaciers darting through the walls before him. He continued to walk to the throne, slowly but surely. It took a little while, but it was a graceful action to take part in.

He was face to face with the seat now, unsure whether to sit, or if a consequence would take place after...

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TIME: 6 PM [ JST ]
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[Dlayeth]

United States 3:00 AM (CST)

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Bethany found herself staring into the soulless eyes of a child who was neither living, nor dead. She shuddered and ducked back into the safety of the room. Let someone else stare into that face, she did not want to view it again. If it hadn't been for what the young girl was, she would have been cute. The young child wore a cute little panda hoodie, and a short skirt. On her feet were little pink sneakers. The issue, though, was the fact that the little girl's heart did not beat and yet she moved. She had no breath, and yet she moaned. She had no life, and yet she hungered.

Even now, Bethany could see the girl in her mind. Empty eye sockets, filled with shadows, stared sightless-ly up at her. Tear tracks of blood ran down her face past her tiny mouth, which was open in a little “o” shape. Her fingers and lips were covered in dried blood, and the little figure seemed to stare up at her, as if it could still see. As if it knew she was there. As if it could see into her soul.

Bethany buried her face into her hands. She did not want to be here. She did not want to see this. She was cornered. Trapped. If she tried to escape downstairs, she might meet more of them, and alert them of her presence. If she stayed here, they might eventually find her. If she went higher, she would be exposed to the elements, and perhaps she would still be found. Besides that, she was low on supplies, and did not have much in the way of weapons or defense.

All she wore was a light jacket, t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of sneakers. Her weapon was an iron bar. The small amount of supplies she had were in a sack sitting next to her. The door… The door was blocked up with heavy furniture. She wanted to stay here. She couldn’t stay here. If she stayed she would die. If she ran… she might die. She didn’t want to make this choice. She didn’t want to die.

There was no way out. No matter what she did, it seemed hopeless. If she stayed here, she might live longer. If she ran away, there was a slight chance she would escape. She was paralyzed by terror. She was suffocated by the feelings of despair rising like the tide and swallowing her whole.

Below her, the uncaring dead shambled through the streets.

Suddenly, inhuman groans came from the other side of the door. Something threw itself into the door. Bethany dove to help brace the furniture. They'd found her. She was going to die. The inevitable had finally come for her. There was no hope left.



Bethany shot up from her blankets, still choking on despair. She froze and eyed her open door and the open window blinds. She listened carefully to the sounds coming from the hallway, while she observed the world. On her dresser was a knife she had bought as a souvenir, she made note of where it was. Then as she observed, she debated the pros and cons of getting up. It was quite possible the floor would creak, so if anything was lurking, she would automatically draw it's attention by leaving her bed. Her knife was a good 4 feet away and at the top of the dresser. Outside the streetlight illuminated the street. If she saw anything shambling by, she would take no risks. She would leave this world quickly, before anything could attack her.

There was no way she was up for handling more terror and despair. What she had experienced in her dreams still clung to her. The feelings hadn't let up. Not even for a moment. Half an hour past, and she had neither seen nor heard anything unusual.

So then... it was really just a dream...

Even though she had finally come to a logical conclusion, she couldn't shake the feeling of terror that had overwhelmed her. Bethany curled up in a little ball against the headboard opposite the door, covered herself with a blanket, and kept a watchful eye on the door. When she closed her eyes, images of scenes she had seen in her dream floated up into her mind. If she dozed, the zombies would once again invade her sleep, so Bethany stayed awake and vigilant, despite her exhaustion.

Around 7:30 it was time to leave for school. The sound of people waking and moving about eased some of the tension. Bethany eased herself out of the bed filled with trepidation. She took a very quick shower, got dressed, and prepared for school. School, as usual, was boring. Lunch, as usual, was spent alone in the library. By 3 in the afternoon, Bethany was bored out of her mind and staring at the clock tick away.

---

United States 3:00 PM (CST)

[Seravee]

United States 3:00 PM (CST)

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The buckskin mare, which Reagan had nicknamed “Aja,” trudged on through the cold, her head low, her ears laid flat to her skull. The wind whipped her mane and tail violently, and she stretched her long, muscular neck out as she took each step forward. She embodied the look that one might expect from a human moving through the harsh weather, leaning slightly forward as if balancing her whole body precariously against the strong gusts of wind. The individual who sat in the saddle, however, was curled up into a ball. She had withdrawn her feet from the stirrups, and had curled her legs under her indian-style. It was an awkward position for a rider, but the deep-seated western saddle allowed the tall girl to cram her legs in with only a bit of discomfort. Eventually, her legs grew numb anyway, so it mattered very little in the end. Her heavy coat, which she was quickly learning was certainly not heavy enough, was then pulled over her crossed legs, allowing her entire body to exist in a cocoon of sorts. She was by no means toasty, but the position kept her a bit warmer. A less experienced rider might have struggled to stay atop the horse while riding this way, but Reagan had more than enough balance to remain seated. Now it was just a matter of keeping her face warm. She did this by hunkering down in her coat, pulling the ends up over her nose. Only her eyes were exposed, as a hood covered the top of her head.

She spoke to no one, and no one spoke to her as a small group of other riders moved through the snow. It was a silence that made sense, as it was far to cold for her to pull back her coat from her face and start blabbing away. But it was also a silence that grew more uncomfortable as the time passed. Had Reagan stopped to really think about it, she did not know these people, or why she was out in the snow in the first place. But somehow, deep down, she felt that they were her allies, and she was where she was supposed to beYanking the edge of her coat even further over her face to hide any small expressions of pain, the girl thrust her body forward slightly, commanding Aja to walk on.

Her seat in the saddle would prove extremely detrimental when the group was jumped by wild dogs. She had never experienced such beasts before, though that mattered very little, as she would have been no more prepared for what happened. When the great dogs leapt from the trees, Aja gave a shrill cry of surprise. Startled, the usually calm mare sidestepped suddenly, causing the confused Reagan fall to one side. Her hands had been pulled into her sleeves to keep them warm (she had simply draped the reins over the horn as she often did while having a relaxed ride), so she had no chance at grabbing something and holding on. Reagan gave a surprised cry over her own as she toppled from the horse’s back and landed with a hard thud on the frozen ground. She groaned, rolling onto her side and grabbing at her already bruising hip. She had taken worse falls, but there was nothing worse than the unexpected dismount.

A low growl snapped her back to reality, and she looked up into the face of one of those dog things. Her heart leapt to her throat, and she grabbed for the small knife that always hung on her belt. She pulled it out, but as she met the gaze of the pony-sized beast, she knew she stood no chance. Just when Reagan was sure the dog would lunge on her, there was sudden blurred motion in front of her eyes. Aja, who had recovered quickly from the loss of her rider, had barreled into the dog, knocking it away from the fallen young woman. The beast was clearly stunned by the attack, and for a moment, he was still where Aja had knocked him onto the snow. But Reagan knew the shock would not last long. She took that opportunity to crawl to her feet, cringing as her body cried out in protest. She might have liked to lay there in the snow a little longer, but she realized she only had a few precious seconds left. When she turned back to the beast, she was disheartened to see that it had recovered faster than she thought it would. Now, it was crouched down, that same growl rumbling deep down in its throat, its hungry eyes on Aja. The mare stared back at him, ears laced back, tail flicking madly back and forth. Most regarded horses only as peaceful, flighty creatures. Those who had not ever seen a mare become separated from her foal, or two stallions competing for power among, would be blown away by what happened next. But Reagan had seen both of these things. And she knew that Aja would fight for Reagan, her filly. And she knew what the cost might be.

Aja moved first, rearing back onto her hind legs, thrashing out with her front hooves. The dog took this opportunity to lunge forward, and unfortunately for it, right into the path of Aja’s falling front half. As Aja landed from her rear, she struck the dog with her sharp hooves. There was a satisfying crunch, and a dark red grove appeared over the dog’s right eye. It stumbled to the side, reeling from the unexpected attack. Like a drunken fool, it attempted to keep its balance as it took a few shaking steps forward. Reagan was pleased to see that the dog was injured, but upset to see that Aja was heading back for another go.

“Aja, to me!” She cried. The mare slid to a halt and looked over her shoulder at the the young woman for a few seconds, as if determining whether or not she should do so. Finally, her training and trust in Reagan won out. She tucked her head down, kicked up her back legs in a final gesture of anger, and loped to Reagan’s side. When the girl looked back toward the beast, it had disappeared into the trees. Once the immediate danger had subsided, the woman looked around for the others. The attack had surprised them all, and she was not surprised that their own defenses had sent them in all different directions. She began walking, following the footsteps in the snow.

[dabeatmaster123]

After the moments had passed a gentle voice boomed through the throne room...

"Why...? Why do you ponder to sit?"

Ryuji smirked for a moment before turning around to find out her the voice belonged to. He saw a little girl standing at the bottom of the stairs. She looked to be around ten to twelve years in age and her complexion was rather pale. Her eyes were pure white with light blue pupils that dazed out to him. Her hair looked as if it had been soaking wet, but it was a short bob but and shined a silver tone. She wore a long sleeved sweater that was colored a light blue and she wore a short lavender skirt that seemed to go only about six to eight inches down her thighs. For some strange reason he had a feeling he had met her before, but wasn't confident in who she was or what she was doing there. All he could really say was that she was probably the one that caused the ice to crash just a few moments ago...

"Why do you ponder to show your face?"

Ryuji had asked in such a conceded tone in his voice. For some reason, he felt the need of acting mysterious around such a curious little girl. For him it was an enjoyment to choose certain words to control such a weak looking girl. He admiringly despised kids who tried to size up against their peers as if they were in some sort of children's RPG video game. He smiled gently and put his right hand inside of his pocket.

"So... why are you here?"

The girl smiled for a brief second before nodding her head. She giggled and placed her hands behind her back.

"Well you see... I just want to be your friend... your only friend. Are you scared of little girls like me?"

Ryuji glared at her now. As fun as this felt, the little girl made him feel a little uneasy.

She then continued on...

"Why do you look so sad? This is all yours you know... and yet you don't sit...? Is it because you're scared? What would you rule...nothing."

She skipped up the first stair as if she were merrily floating to the top. Her hair gently waved through the cold air like a stiff paintbrush, but something had caught Ryuji's eye. He noticed that her hair had lengthened after she had placed her tiny foot on the icy texture. Her lips started to grow to the sides of the cheeks in an inhumane way, stretching her skin as it moved gently to disfigure her adorable face. It wasn't too adorable after awhile though...

"But you see... A queen is only suited for such a beautiful place like this... a queen and her young prince...~"

Suddenly the little girl bent her knees inwards in as if she were struggling to keep her body lifted. With a large leap into the air her mouth opened and large iron mechanical legs rushed out. They grew and it seemed like they would never stop rushing out of her, but once they were about a few stories high the joints bent and landed on the ground. They clawed into the ice and the girl's body was dangling high above in the air. It was as if it were shaped like a type of spider, whatever it was. Then, a few seconds later a small eye had appeared from the mouth of the girl, now pulsing as the body and the vision of the beast. Ryuji crossed his arms and he tapped his foot. He wasn't scared, but this wasn't the most pleasant sight.

The winds started to pick up inside of the citadel, and small lights began to glow around him. The sounds of giggling echoed from the small lights and they circled round and round, singing and mocking in unison together. He wasn't sure what they were saying since it sounded like some sort of foreign language. Ryuji wasn't sure what was happening, but his body became numb and he was paralyzed to move from the situation. No matter how hard he attempted to move his legs or to try to reposition his body, it just sat there aloofly unable to respond to what his brain told him.

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TIME: 6 AM [ JST ]
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[StarInaBox]

Darkness. Darkness everywhere. Enveloping darkness. Then footsteps. They sounded conspicuously like rain, but just different enough to be considered human. Or at least something that was capable of wearing shoes. The footsteps stopped. A match was struck, cutting a small disturbance in the darkness. The match was lowered, until it hit a candle. Behind the flame was a face. It looked human, but the skin was purple, and so was it's long hair. However, this could have been blamed on the darkness. It's eyes were what made it seem inhuman. They were yellow, and glowing eerily. The face smiled behind the candle's flame. "Hi, Aaron. How have you been?"

"Subby!" Aaron jumped on to Subby, wrapping his arms around the purple-skinned human. "Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Aaron scooted off of Subby and sat up. He didn't wait for an answer. Instead, he jumped right in to talking about his day, and as he did, the darkness around the two of them changed colors prismatically. Aaron had had this dream before, many times in fact. He called it the Void.

[Dlayeth]

United States 4:00 PM (CST)

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Home...

Bethany got up and shuffled off the bus. A few people got off at this bus stop, so at least she had numbers on her side. Her eyes warily swept the surroundings, and she followed a guy across the street. She didn't really know him, they hadn't said more than a couple of words to each other, but having company made her feel safer. On the other side, they went their separate ways. Bethany hurried her feet, heading for a temporary haven. In her mind she calculated the weaknesses and strengths of having her house as a hideout for a zombie apocalypse. Unfortunately, there were too many windows, and the stairs were sturdy. Most of what they owned were downstairs, and they probably wouldn't have enough time to move things up in case of an emergency. Seems there weren't many options in her area for someone trying to hole up in a zombie apocalypse.

She unlocked her door and let herself in, making sure to lock the door behind her. Even though her dreams were only dreams, they still haunted her outside the borders of their realm. She sighed, got herself a snack from the pantry, and made her way to the computer. She'd relax for a bit before doing her homework. She was tired because she had woken up very early, but she did not intend to fall asleep. What would await her in the land of dreams would be nothing but more nightmares, more agonizing decisions, more terror, and nothing but despair in the end. She absorbed herself in a game, with luck, the terrors of her nightmares would fade.

Like clockwork, her brother got home 30 minutes after she had arrived home, so she closed her game and dragged her backpack over. At least her homework would help to occupy and exhaust her brain. Maybe if her brain was tired enough, she wouldn't dream. As she worked on her homework, she played music in the background. The assignments she had would take time. Plenty of time. She might not be done with them until after dinner, and that was good. It was something to focus on. Something to distract her. The terror of her dreams was fading, but by nightfall, it would be back in full force. For now, though, Bethany found peace.