[Hey, he's getting jolly good at this Finding Dreamer Crimson thing. Apparently. Somehow.]
[Zeke weighs the stabilizer he has yet to use in one hand, rolling it back and forth along his palm as he debates whether or not to use it. But this place -- it is stable, without a doubt, and yet however they get here, they can't seem to find it properly or remember it...]
[He closes his fingers around it, and puts it back into the pocket of his coat.]
Uh... are we dead? This is still the Dream Sphere, right?
[The cloying smell of lilies is thick in the air, reminding Ango of all the funerals he's skipped going to. He rolls over and scrambles to his feet, crushing more flowers in the process.
Ango's not much of a fighter, at least when it comes to magic - if this were a second-rate isekai fantasy anime, he'd be the party's rogue. An open field offers very few opportunities for stealth or disarming traps, though, rendering him (predictably) useless. He shoves his hands into his pockets and slouches, wishing he had a cigarette.]
[Honestly, Hanako hadn't even wanted to go looking for Crimson in the first place-- sure, he was curious about the turn of events that had gotten the DU into a tizzy, and he was always happy to have a reason to head out on an Excursion, but... this seemed like a problem for the adults, not for him. He was only about three years old when she had originally vanished, after all, so he didn't have quite the same level of knowledge or attachment to her compared to the other Dreamers around him at the moment, so it didn't really seem like his place to go and investigate. But, as usual, Chaosbringer had decided to drag him along, despite his protests, and now they've found themselves...
... wherever this is.
Reading the bulletin about this was one thing, but actually experiencing it for himself... it felt off, somehow. Like wandering down a hallway during the dead of night, or an abandoned shopping mall, all silent and still and horribly tense. Even the moon seemed to be bearing down on them in this place, and it gnawed at his instincts to up and run and LEAVE, before someone realized they were here. This was no spooky mansion with poisonous miasma, but somehow it felt ten times worse.
But instead, Hanako forces himself to stay calm as he sits up from sea of flowers beneath him, reaching for his cap that had rolled off his head upon arrival. Dusting it off, he rises to his feet as well, hovering just above the lilies as he observes the surroundings, his face and tone uncharacteristically serious]
Pretty sure we aren't. If we died, we'd be back in our beds right now.
[That much he knew was true, at least. Quietly, he summons his Haku-Joudai to his side, the twin orbs hovering close to their master. There might not be anything to fight here that he could see, but at least their presence helped him feel a bit more secure.]
[Sam wakes slowly--and with a sneeze, too. Lilies. Ugh. She sits up, rubs her face vigorously, and looks around. And sneezes again. Even in the dream world, she can't quite escape allergies...]
Oh. It's this place.
[Again, she doesn't say out loud. At least it's the weird place and not the place with all the fire and choking ash. So it's a bonus, at least that far. Though she squints at Zeke.]
Maybe I ought to try going someplace without you, for once...
[It might be safer. D-Tune isn't saying this was Chaosbringer's fault. She's just saying she'll blame him. She shoves herself to her feet, though for the moment, she's keeping the battleaxe in its place.]
We're not just going to wait here and hope she appears again, are we? Or hope she does? That didn't have a lot in the way of results last time...
It's still the Dream Sphere. Sam and I have been here before. In fact, this is exactly where we want to be.
[Zeke almost goes for his sword as he rises, but holds off for the moment. It didn't do any good last time, after all.]
We met Crimson here. Woke up the moment she tried to reach for us. My plan right now is to wait for her in the gazebo, then grab her before we can get yanked away. Not mean or anything, just make sure we're touching. Any other ideas?
So it's not Crimson who's kicking you out, it's... something else that's keeping her trapped here? Well, that's messed up.
[Nobody ever mentioned that getting trapped in the Dream Sphere permanently was a possibility during his Dreamer Union employee orientation... it sure seems like the kind of thing they oughta mention in the handbook. What had Crimson been looking for when she got stuck in this place? And more importantly, what did she find?]
Whatever it is, it hasn't kicked us out yet. So maybe it hasn't realized that we're here, or maybe it doesn't see us as a threat until we approach Crimson... so we could try a little misdirection?
[Ango considers transforming himself into a butterfly to reach the gazebo, but 1.) he doesn't relish the idea of being separated from the rest of the group, and 2.) he's never actually tried transforming into something that can fly before and he doesn't want to end up flopping around on the ground like a dead fish in front of the cool kids experienced Dreamers. The brat would never let him live that down.]
Like, I could make a shadow decoy that looks like Crimson and have it hang around outside while we meet with the real one in the gazebo? It might buy us some extra time.
[Hanako's eyes scan the horizon until he catches sight of the gazebo in the distance, and his hand instinctively goes to touch one of the ghostly balls of light nearby him. He didn't exactly want to leave himself down one means of defense, but--]
... I could send one of my Haku-Joudai over there to keep an eye out for her while the old guy's distracting... whatever it is that's keeping her stuck here, if you want.
[Not even the gravity of this whole situation is going to keep Hanako from being a lil shit, sorry Decadence--]
I could also maybe get inside her head and see if I could convince her to meet you guys somewhere away from the gazebo if that's what's triggering whatever kicked everyone out last time. I dunno if it'll actually work on somebody I don't know, but...
[It was worth a shot, at least-- although so much of this was riding on whether Crimson would actually show up to begin with. And Hanako couldn't deny he did have some questions if he was able to speak to her, even if in a limited capacity. Crimson was still in the Dream Sphere when Tsukasa had gone missing, after all, so if they crossed paths somehow...]
I don't think invading her head would be a good thing in this instance. I'm cautious at the best of times, but...
[This is probably not like the comic books she read when she was younger (and, admittedly, still does, though not where she could be caught...). It seems like a Bad Idea, pulling mind tricks here. On the other hand...]
If you can just poof one of your...Haku-Joudai back after it did what you wanted it to do, that sounds like a good idea. I just think something that might trap you or leave your mind behind--it's too much of a risk, you know?
[And it isn't one Sam could take herself, so she'd be damned if she'd okay someone else doing so. Especially not the kid.]
[This... really isn't his thing, you know? Not that he's an idiot -- okay, well, not that he's got not sense for strategy and tactics, but that's about battle and leading Dreamers and keeping things together. Not piecing out mysteries and trying to outwit the bloody Dream Sphere itself.]
The enemy isn't Dreamer Crimson, that's for sure. It's this place. If she's got some special sort of tie to it, using powers directly on her probably isn't a good plan. But intercepting her physically is probably better. She reached for us last time, after all.
So. Let's try all of the ones that don't involve affecting her directly.
[It doesn't actually sound like much of a plan - at best, it's the beginnings of a plan. The brat will scout ahead with his Haku-whatevers, Ango will make a distraction, and Zeke and Sam will try to grab Crimson. After that... ????? profit?]
Guess we'd better get moving towards the... gazebo? Bandstand? Hell if I can tell the difference between rich people's tacky lawn ornaments.
[Ango might be the oldest Dreamer here despite his lack of experience... but he's deathly allergic to responsibility, so he steps back and lets others take the lead. Apart from a unsettling sky the color of a vodka-and-orange-juice cocktail, the world around them is dissonantly serene. It's weird to think that it may also be a prison cell.]
[Hey, don't look for strategy or tactics from the literal child-- he's just here to find cool new places and maybe stab some Torments while he's at it. And while the unanimous rejection of his possession idea does leave him just a tiny bit miffed, he's not about to argue about it with them. There was no telling what was pulling the strings here, exactly, and like D said-- he couldn't be too sure what might happen if he got caught. His parents already went through enough grief when his brother disappeared into this place... they didn't need it happening to their other son, too.]
I can get it to teleport back if things start to get dicey, yeah. We just need to see if she's in there, right?
[Hanako starts making his way towards the gazebostand (heck if he knew what that thing was either), not from a particular desire to lead, persay, but as a matter of necessity. His Haku-Joudai could only travel so far, after all, and the closer he could get to where they needed to investigate, the better. The little ball of light zips along ahead of him, swimming through the air and sights (for lack of better word) set on the opening in the structure before it. Hopefully it can spot something in there!]
[ As Hanako and the others make their way towards the gazebo, something strange happens.
The Haku-Joudai whizz off without any obstruction (and we'll touch on what those little guys see presently) but it seems that the Dreamers will not be permitted to follow. Though they're moving through the flower field at a steady pace, the gazebo never draws any closer no matter how far they go.
It seems that someone or something would prefer to keep them at arm's length. ]
[That wasn't something Sam had bet upon--but she's not surprised to note that they never seem to get any closer now. Yeah. It would figure that they're on infinite loop.]
I think we're kind of stuck here, for the moment. I don't think we're getting closer than we are now--physically, at least. They're on to us. If they're actually a they...
[That does mean that she thinks that Hanako ought to be that much more careful, but she feels like nagging him too much will create the opposite result. So no, we won't do that, now. She looks over at Chaosbringer, now, brows arched.]
What do we do now, chief? [Yeah, he's been ostensibly leading these things so far, so yes, D-Tune IS going to act like he's The Boss.]
Okay, hold up! [Zeke puts his hands out to bring his companions to a halt, then immediately turns on his heel -- and starts walking backwards towards the gazebo.]
[Ango can only stare as Zeke begins to walk backwards.]
There's no way in hell that's going to work...
[Or will it? Maybe the dream space is projecting some kind of illusion, or maybe there's some kind of spatial distortion field that's constantly lengthening the distance between them and the gazebo... but either way, it will probably be harder to maintain the trick if whatever is causing it has to account for multiple perspectives. All this time, they've been walking as a small group and looking in the same direction.]
Wait, what if we split up? Not by a lot - just enough so that we're coming at it from different angles and distances. It seems like the kid's haku-things are able to get closer, so maybe it can't handle approaches from multiple directions? Or maybe it can only move the gazebo when we're looking at it? Walking backwards might not be a bad idea...
[Ango makes a mystic ninja hand seal that looks suspiciously like he's pointing his middle finger in the direction of the gazebo, and an identical clone Ango appears. More perspectives can't hurt, right? He then removes his sunglasses to activate his enhanced perception skill - if their enemy is using illusion magic, there's a chance that he'll be able to see a way through it.]
[... welp. Plan "Approach The Gazebo Without Angering It" was already going sideways!! If there was any upside, at least his Haku-Joudai were able to get through... whatever it is that was going on, though he could only get a vague idea over what it was seeing. Still, it was better than nothing!
Hanako stops in his tracks when Zeke commands him to (not that he could go any further as it is anyway), though he can't help but mirror Decadence's expression at... whatever it is that's unfolding before him at the moment. Hanako wasn't exactly against goofy methods of action himself, but...]
... yeeeeeah, no, I'm not doing that.
[That's not very teamwork of you, Hanako!! Not that he was full of any particular ideas himself-- he didn't have ninja abilities like the old guy did, and he couldn't float high enough to get a better vantage point, so he was sort of stuck on what to do...
... except...]
We might be doing this the wrong way. If this thing's able to effect the environment, I don't think it's a matter of the gazebo being able to see us or not. They probably can already tell what we're doing whether we're forwards or backwards, to be honest. If we're gonna come up with a plan, maybe we shouldn't be discussing it out in the open like this? We need a better method of communication if we want to pull one over on... whatever we're dealing with here.
[He shoots them all A Look, hoping that maybe they could pick up what he was trying to hint at, mouthing the words for good measure.
Possession. He's hinting at Possession. If he couldn't do it to Crimson, then at least let him act as the messenger boy among themselves to at least have some element of surprise on this stupid lawn structure here.]
You're going to face the gazebo alone? [Dry, deadpan, and completely unamused, D-Tune frowns down at Hanako. Yes, Zeke is an idiot and she'll cop to that--even her own ideas weren't always completely sane. Guilty as charged. But she, personally, does not try to be stupid. If she can at all help it. Sometimes she can't.
Sam doesn't like Hanako's idea any more than she did the first time he suggested it, but here, she can see that there might actually be merit in it. There's a damn sight less danger for him, at the moment. So she'll at least hear him out. He's young, but...she leans down.]
All right, try it on me and then explain yourself, eh?
[Mostly it's "can you do it to the three of us at once", or is he going to have to do some weird sort of telephone game via possession? She likes the former idea better, honestly. But even the latter has its merits.]
[ What becomes immediately obvious once Zeke starts approaching the problem ass-first is that this doesn't appear to be a trick of the eyes. Rather, the distance between the Dreamers and the gazebo seems to be physically growing every time they take a step towards it - the structure itself is pulling back and retreating from them.
... Don't ask how that works while Hanako's Haku-Joudai is pulling in close at the same time. This is, after all, a dream.
As the group discusses their next move, Hanako gets a little surveillance ping in his head. His little ghosty guy has pulled up close to the gazebo and...
Standing right there and watching them all approach is Dreamer Crimson herself. ]
[See? They all can think he's crazy, but that's valuable information! The obvious answers, though, are -- well, obvious, like surround it. Or use some of the abilities the others are chomping at the bit to get out there. Chaosbringer, for his part, expects that no matter how advanced his Mobility gets, he won't chase the thing faster than it can move away.]
[So, while the others plan their own tricks... Zeke flips one hand up into the air, then draws it down suddenly as he snaps it into a fist.]
If you'd bloody talk to us instead of just assuming we're your enemy and glaring at us uncomfortably, maybe we'd get somewhere, yeah? We're not trying to make this difficult and it'd be nice to all get on the same page!
[As far as Ango can tell, the gazebo isn't just an illusion... the space between them and Crimson is literally expanding. Even if they managed to split up and surround it, that might only result in the entire domain growing indefinitely larger. Whatever is keeping Crimson trapped here is willing and able to distort the entire Dream Sphere to keep them away... He dismisses his shadow clone and considers their remaining options. They could try a more stealthy approach, but clearly they've already been noticed. Maybe the haku-joudai could act as messengers? Chaosbringer's bold declaration snaps Ango out of his plotting, though.]
Wait, do you really think Crimson is the one behind this!? I thought we were supposed to be rescuing her!?
[He honestly never considered the possibility that she might not want to be found.]
[Hanako can't help but pout a bit at D's question, feeling a little irked by her tone. Sure, he's made some... questionable decisions in the past, but he wasn't so delusional as to face this thing on his own! Sure, he was decently strong for a Dreamer his age, but he wasn't about to fool himself into thinking he could take on something that kept Dreamer Crimson of all people hostage. Before he can tell her as much (or at least try to demonstrate his ability on her and THEN explain), Zeke goes and says THAT, and Hanako turns his head to him, his expression one of complete bafflement. What in the world?]
Yeah, I hate to agree with the old guy here, but didn't you say she was trying to reach you--
[But the words have barely left his lips when a familiar little ping pops up in the back of his mind, the simple message leaving his blood go ice cold.
Dreamer Crimson. In gazebo. Alone. Watching.
His expression pales, as his eyes dart to the structure dipping away in the distance, and then back to the group. Shoot. They were going to have to come up with another idea and fast.
One moment Hanako is there, and the next he's gone without a trace, as if he just up and randomly blinked out of existence. Without time to explain, and given the circumstances... that's kind of terrifying!! But because Sam had volunteered first, she's going to be the one to have a voice suddenly pipe up in the back of her head, one that sounds an awful lot like the kid who just disappeared before their eyes.]
D, Chaos guy is right-- she IS watching us. We gotta pull back, pretend we're giving up, and figure out another way to approach without her finding out what we're up to.
[Unfortunately for all of them, his powers weren't nearly strong enough to take three people at a time, so there was going to be a lot of body-hopping involved in order to get everyone on the same page-- but not until they've gotten out of Crimson's watchful eye.]
[Really, she was kind of memeing at Hanako there, but D-Tune wouldn't be upset if he took it the wrong way. There was a bit of her that wanted to needle him, too. Just a tiny bit!
Wait, old guy? Here's a stage whisper.] Hanako, who's the old guy?
[Being the ripe old age of nineteen Decadence just isn't that old to her. You're welcome! But Sam doesn't have time to continue that line of questioning, or anything else, because suddenly Hanako disappears!]
What the fu--
[Okay, if the kid is in her head, he's gotta be safe so that's fine. She manages to not startle too much or act weird, though her brow furrows just a little bit.]
I'm not sure it's her he's yelling about; she might be the princess in the castle needing rescue, not the perpetrator, but I'm perfectly willing to at least attempt to retreat and regroup until we can hammer out a better plan...
[Sam's at least able to glean something from Chaosbringer's quite literal chaos. At least sometimes. She's generally the cautious one--maybe too cautious! Hasn't led her wrong yet, though.]
[ There's no response from Crimson – at least not one that Chaosbringer and the others can hear. It's D and Hanako who get the response, in another ping from the Haku-Joudai floating around the gazebo. Usually, the pings come through in slightly imprecise language but this time the impression is so vivid it almost feels like a direct image – as if someone was pushing it through to make their message very clear.
Dreamer Crimson cups her hand under the Haku-Joudai and leans in close. ]
Don't come back here.
[ Then, as if blowing out a candle, she extinguishes the Haku-Joudai with a puff of breath.
A second later, the ground under everyone's feet begins shaking. ]
[Okay. That's enough of that. Chaosbringer has TRIED to handle this nicely, and here's this entire dream realm being a little bitch about it all! Yanking his sword free, he slams it into the ground to provide support against the shaking ground.]
I think it just declared war, chums. Time for us to answer in kind!
Fucking hell, did she just kill the kid's haku-whatsit? Where is the kid, anyway!? Did Crimson boot his punk ass back to the waking world?
[It's not like he can blame her for that, but still - if Crimson's gonna mess with his crew, he's not going down without a fight.]
Okay, I guess we're doing war now, but I don't think stabbing the ground is gonna help... have we got any long-range attacks? Can anybody shoot lasers?
[Ango grimaces as the ground lurches beneath his feet. He just had a very dumb idea. He could probably transform into something that can fl... glide, and one of the others could throw him in Crimson's general direction to bypass the spatial distortion... but with the whole Dream Sphere turning against them, discussing battle plans in the open is too risky. And then there's the question of what he could actually do with his useless ninja powers if he reached Crimson... light the gazebo on fire, maybe?]
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beautifuldreamermods) wrote2023-06-15 08:30 pm
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[Zeke weighs the stabilizer he has yet to use in one hand, rolling it back and forth along his palm as he debates whether or not to use it. But this place -- it is stable, without a doubt, and yet however they get here, they can't seem to find it properly or remember it...]
[He closes his fingers around it, and puts it back into the pocket of his coat.]
Let's try not to wake up this time.
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[The cloying smell of lilies is thick in the air, reminding Ango of all the funerals he's skipped going to. He rolls over and scrambles to his feet, crushing more flowers in the process.
Ango's not much of a fighter, at least when it comes to magic - if this were a second-rate isekai fantasy anime, he'd be the party's rogue. An open field offers very few opportunities for stealth or disarming traps, though, rendering him (predictably) useless. He shoves his hands into his pockets and slouches, wishing he had a cigarette.]
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... wherever this is.
Reading the bulletin about this was one thing, but actually experiencing it for himself... it felt off, somehow. Like wandering down a hallway during the dead of night, or an abandoned shopping mall, all silent and still and horribly tense. Even the moon seemed to be bearing down on them in this place, and it gnawed at his instincts to up and run and LEAVE, before someone realized they were here. This was no spooky mansion with poisonous miasma, but somehow it felt ten times worse.
But instead, Hanako forces himself to stay calm as he sits up from sea of flowers beneath him, reaching for his cap that had rolled off his head upon arrival. Dusting it off, he rises to his feet as well, hovering just above the lilies as he observes the surroundings, his face and tone uncharacteristically serious]
Pretty sure we aren't. If we died, we'd be back in our beds right now.
[That much he knew was true, at least. Quietly, he summons his Haku-Joudai to his side, the twin orbs hovering close to their master. There might not be anything to fight here that he could see, but at least their presence helped him feel a bit more secure.]
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Oh. It's this place.
[Again, she doesn't say out loud. At least it's the weird place and not the place with all the fire and choking ash. So it's a bonus, at least that far. Though she squints at Zeke.]
Maybe I ought to try going someplace without you, for once...
[It might be safer. D-Tune isn't saying this was Chaosbringer's fault. She's just saying she'll blame him. She shoves herself to her feet, though for the moment, she's keeping the battleaxe in its place.]
We're not just going to wait here and hope she appears again, are we? Or hope she does? That didn't have a lot in the way of results last time...
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[Zeke almost goes for his sword as he rises, but holds off for the moment. It didn't do any good last time, after all.]
We met Crimson here. Woke up the moment she tried to reach for us. My plan right now is to wait for her in the gazebo, then grab her before we can get yanked away. Not mean or anything, just make sure we're touching. Any other ideas?
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[Nobody ever mentioned that getting trapped in the Dream Sphere permanently was a possibility during his Dreamer Union employee orientation... it sure seems like the kind of thing they oughta mention in the handbook. What had Crimson been looking for when she got stuck in this place? And more importantly, what did she find?]
Whatever it is, it hasn't kicked us out yet. So maybe it hasn't realized that we're here, or maybe it doesn't see us as a threat until we approach Crimson... so we could try a little misdirection?
[Ango considers transforming himself into a butterfly to reach the gazebo, but 1.) he doesn't relish the idea of being separated from the rest of the group, and 2.) he's never actually tried transforming into something that can fly before and he doesn't want to end up flopping around on the ground like a dead fish in front of the
cool kidsexperienced Dreamers. The brat would never let him live that down.]Like, I could make a shadow decoy that looks like Crimson and have it hang around outside while we meet with the real one in the gazebo? It might buy us some extra time.
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... I could send one of my Haku-Joudai over there to keep an eye out for her while the old guy's distracting... whatever it is that's keeping her stuck here, if you want.
[Not even the gravity of this whole situation is going to keep Hanako from being a lil shit, sorry Decadence--]
I could also maybe get inside her head and see if I could convince her to meet you guys somewhere away from the gazebo if that's what's triggering whatever kicked everyone out last time. I dunno if it'll actually work on somebody I don't know, but...
[It was worth a shot, at least-- although so much of this was riding on whether Crimson would actually show up to begin with. And Hanako couldn't deny he did have some questions if he was able to speak to her, even if in a limited capacity. Crimson was still in the Dream Sphere when Tsukasa had gone missing, after all, so if they crossed paths somehow...]
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[This is probably not like the comic books she read when she was younger (and, admittedly, still does, though not where she could be caught...). It seems like a Bad Idea, pulling mind tricks here. On the other hand...]
If you can just poof one of your...Haku-Joudai back after it did what you wanted it to do, that sounds like a good idea. I just think something that might trap you or leave your mind behind--it's too much of a risk, you know?
[And it isn't one Sam could take herself, so she'd be damned if she'd okay someone else doing so. Especially not the kid.]
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[This... really isn't his thing, you know? Not that he's an idiot -- okay, well, not that he's got not sense for strategy and tactics, but that's about battle and leading Dreamers and keeping things together. Not piecing out mysteries and trying to outwit the bloody Dream Sphere itself.]
The enemy isn't Dreamer Crimson, that's for sure. It's this place. If she's got some special sort of tie to it, using powers directly on her probably isn't a good plan. But intercepting her physically is probably better. She reached for us last time, after all.
So. Let's try all of the ones that don't involve affecting her directly.
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[It doesn't actually sound like much of a plan - at best, it's the beginnings of a plan. The brat will scout ahead with his Haku-whatevers, Ango will make a distraction, and Zeke and Sam will try to grab Crimson. After that... ????? profit?]
Guess we'd better get moving towards the... gazebo? Bandstand? Hell if I can tell the difference between rich people's tacky lawn ornaments.
[Ango might be the oldest Dreamer here despite his lack of experience... but he's deathly allergic to responsibility, so he steps back and lets others take the lead. Apart from a unsettling sky the color of a vodka-and-orange-juice cocktail, the world around them is dissonantly serene. It's weird to think that it may also be a prison cell.]
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I can get it to teleport back if things start to get dicey, yeah. We just need to see if she's in there, right?
[Hanako starts making his way towards the gazebostand (heck if he knew what that thing was either), not from a particular desire to lead, persay, but as a matter of necessity. His Haku-Joudai could only travel so far, after all, and the closer he could get to where they needed to investigate, the better. The little ball of light zips along ahead of him, swimming through the air and sights (for lack of better word) set on the opening in the structure before it. Hopefully it can spot something in there!]
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The Haku-Joudai whizz off without any obstruction (and we'll touch on what those little guys see presently) but it seems that the Dreamers will not be permitted to follow. Though they're moving through the flower field at a steady pace, the gazebo never draws any closer no matter how far they go.
It seems that someone or something would prefer to keep them at arm's length. ]
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I think we're kind of stuck here, for the moment. I don't think we're getting closer than we are now--physically, at least. They're on to us. If they're actually a they...
[That does mean that she thinks that Hanako ought to be that much more careful, but she feels like nagging him too much will create the opposite result. So no, we won't do that, now. She looks over at Chaosbringer, now, brows arched.]
What do we do now, chief? [Yeah, he's been ostensibly leading these things so far, so yes, D-Tune IS going to act like he's The Boss.]
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Okay, hold up! [Zeke puts his hands out to bring his companions to a halt, then immediately turns on his heel -- and starts walking backwards towards the gazebo.]
Tell me what it's doing behind me!
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There's no way in hell that's going to work...
[Or will it? Maybe the dream space is projecting some kind of illusion, or maybe there's some kind of spatial distortion field that's constantly lengthening the distance between them and the gazebo... but either way, it will probably be harder to maintain the trick if whatever is causing it has to account for multiple perspectives. All this time, they've been walking as a small group and looking in the same direction.]
Wait, what if we split up? Not by a lot - just enough so that we're coming at it from different angles and distances. It seems like the kid's haku-things are able to get closer, so maybe it can't handle approaches from multiple directions? Or maybe it can only move the gazebo when we're looking at it? Walking backwards might not be a bad idea...
[Ango makes a mystic ninja hand seal that looks suspiciously like he's pointing his middle finger in the direction of the gazebo, and an identical clone Ango appears. More perspectives can't hurt, right? He then removes his sunglasses to activate his enhanced perception skill - if their enemy is using illusion magic, there's a chance that he'll be able to see a way through it.]
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Hanako stops in his tracks when Zeke commands him to (not that he could go any further as it is anyway), though he can't help but mirror Decadence's expression at... whatever it is that's unfolding before him at the moment. Hanako wasn't exactly against goofy methods of action himself, but...]
... yeeeeeah, no, I'm not doing that.
[That's not very teamwork of you, Hanako!! Not that he was full of any particular ideas himself-- he didn't have ninja abilities like the old guy did, and he couldn't float high enough to get a better vantage point, so he was sort of stuck on what to do...
... except...]
We might be doing this the wrong way. If this thing's able to effect the environment, I don't think it's a matter of the gazebo being able to see us or not. They probably can already tell what we're doing whether we're forwards or backwards, to be honest. If we're gonna come up with a plan, maybe we shouldn't be discussing it out in the open like this? We need a better method of communication if we want to pull one over on... whatever we're dealing with here.
[He shoots them all A Look, hoping that maybe they could pick up what he was trying to hint at, mouthing the words for good measure.
Possession. He's hinting at Possession. If he couldn't do it to Crimson, then at least let him act as the messenger boy among themselves to at least have some element of surprise on this stupid lawn structure here.]
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Sam doesn't like Hanako's idea any more than she did the first time he suggested it, but here, she can see that there might actually be merit in it. There's a damn sight less danger for him, at the moment. So she'll at least hear him out. He's young, but...she leans down.]
All right, try it on me and then explain yourself, eh?
[Mostly it's "can you do it to the three of us at once", or is he going to have to do some weird sort of telephone game via possession? She likes the former idea better, honestly. But even the latter has its merits.]
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... Don't ask how that works while Hanako's Haku-Joudai is pulling in close at the same time. This is, after all, a dream.
As the group discusses their next move, Hanako gets a little surveillance ping in his head. His little ghosty guy has pulled up close to the gazebo and...
Standing right there and watching them all approach is Dreamer Crimson herself. ]
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[So, while the others plan their own tricks... Zeke flips one hand up into the air, then draws it down suddenly as he snaps it into a fist.]
If you'd bloody talk to us instead of just assuming we're your enemy and glaring at us uncomfortably, maybe we'd get somewhere, yeah? We're not trying to make this difficult and it'd be nice to all get on the same page!
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Wait, do you really think Crimson is the one behind this!? I thought we were supposed to be rescuing her!?
[He honestly never considered the possibility that she might not want to be found.]
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Yeah, I hate to agree with the old guy here, but didn't you say she was trying to reach you--
[But the words have barely left his lips when a familiar little ping pops up in the back of his mind, the simple message leaving his blood go ice cold.
Dreamer Crimson. In gazebo. Alone. Watching.
His expression pales, as his eyes dart to the structure dipping away in the distance, and then back to the group. Shoot. They were going to have to come up with another idea and fast.
One moment Hanako is there, and the next he's gone without a trace, as if he just up and randomly blinked out of existence. Without time to explain, and given the circumstances... that's kind of terrifying!! But because Sam had volunteered first, she's going to be the one to have a voice suddenly pipe up in the back of her head, one that sounds an awful lot like the kid who just disappeared before their eyes.]
D, Chaos guy is right-- she IS watching us. We gotta pull back, pretend we're giving up, and figure out another way to approach without her finding out what we're up to.
[Unfortunately for all of them, his powers weren't nearly strong enough to take three people at a time, so there was going to be a lot of body-hopping involved in order to get everyone on the same page-- but not until they've gotten out of Crimson's watchful eye.]
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Wait, old guy? Here's a stage whisper.] Hanako, who's the old guy?
[Being the ripe old age of nineteen Decadence just isn't that old to her. You're welcome! But Sam doesn't have time to continue that line of questioning, or anything else, because suddenly Hanako disappears!]
What the fu--
[Okay, if the kid is in her head, he's gotta be safe so that's fine. She manages to not startle too much or act weird, though her brow furrows just a little bit.]
I'm not sure it's her he's yelling about; she might be the princess in the castle needing rescue, not the perpetrator, but I'm perfectly willing to at least attempt to retreat and regroup until we can hammer out a better plan...
[Sam's at least able to glean something from Chaosbringer's quite literal chaos. At least sometimes. She's generally the cautious one--maybe too cautious! Hasn't led her wrong yet, though.]
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Dreamer Crimson cups her hand under the Haku-Joudai and leans in close. ]
Don't come back here.
[ Then, as if blowing out a candle, she extinguishes the Haku-Joudai with a puff of breath.
A second later, the ground under everyone's feet begins shaking. ]
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[Okay. That's enough of that. Chaosbringer has TRIED to handle this nicely, and here's this entire dream realm being a little bitch about it all! Yanking his sword free, he slams it into the ground to provide support against the shaking ground.]
I think it just declared war, chums. Time for us to answer in kind!
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[It's not like he can blame her for that, but still - if Crimson's gonna mess with his crew, he's not going down without a fight.]
Okay, I guess we're doing war now, but I don't think stabbing the ground is gonna help... have we got any long-range attacks? Can anybody shoot lasers?
[Ango grimaces as the ground lurches beneath his feet. He just had a very dumb idea. He could probably transform into something that can fl... glide, and one of the others could throw him in Crimson's general direction to bypass the spatial distortion... but with the whole Dream Sphere turning against them, discussing battle plans in the open is too risky. And then there's the question of what he could actually do with his useless ninja powers if he reached Crimson... light the gazebo on fire, maybe?]
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EXCURSION END